Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2021)

[therewillbeblus]

EDIT: Or maybe not on the Stiller point, someone who's proven to have very good information on the production says that Stiller's in it credited as "Sam Harpoon". This also explains the existence of this Sam Harpoon Twitter account, which this same source believes could be written by PTA himself.

Yeah, the way they gaslit Mankiewicz's confidence in Stiller's casting came off as a playful attempt to not give away the gag. Especially with them mentioning that the man Mankiewicz thought was Stiller is "a very famous director named Sam Harpoon," who is unlisted outside of said Twitter account, is suspect- but PTA pretends to not even know what he's talking about when referencing the actor in a specific scene (a meticulous and observant filmmaker like PTA does not strike me as a person who will 'forget' his cast or characters) and there's a lot of laughter, I assume, because it's clearly Stiller. Also, there seem to be similarities between this Sam Harpoon and Thomas Pynchon regarding info in the Twitter account, which would be a fun in-joke for PTA to mess around with

[therewillbeblus]

The OST is available for pre-order, so if you want you can view the list of 70s tracks used in the film

[therewillbeblus]

Tix are on sale for limited NY/LA run, which will be exclusively 70mm prints

[therewillbeblus]

OST cover art- expectedly gorgeous

[Roger Ryan]

"Balls To Play: 2" is cheeky fun, especially as the number rests on the mother's (?) forehead!

[swo17]

We can put the rumors to bed about how prominent Sean Penn's role is in the film: evidently he is playing half of the male characters!

[therewillbeblus]

We can put the rumors to bed about how prominent Sean Penn's role is in the film: evidently he is playing half of the male characters!

Ha! The young boy in the lower right corner does bear a striking resemblance at the very least

[Brian C]

Which one is Ben Stiller though?

[therewillbeblus]

My money is on the mustachioed bald man on the telephone, or none

[skilar]

Tix are on sale for limited NY/LA run, which will be exclusively 70mm prints

Thanks for the heads up. Looks like three theaters in NY (AMC Lincoln Square, Village East, and Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn) and only one in LA (Regency Village in Westwood). Picked up some tickets for NY, might go twice.

[Red Screamer]

That Sam Harpoon account is pretty great:

I hate the phrase “digital projection.” What does it mean, “digital projection.” When Moe pokes his fingers into Shemp’s eyes, THAT’S “digital projection.” And, frankly, when it has to do with cinema the effect is exactly the same — except there’s nothing funny about it. SH.

The most complicated film I ever made was probably “Chekhov’s Gun.” If you recall, the gun is revealed in the opening shot and stays in the exact center of the frame for five reels until it’s finally discharged as we fade to black. VERY difficult to plan, block, shoot, edit. SH.

It was the first time a film was reviewed by every single critic on the LA Times staff, even the dance critic though there was no dancing in the film. It clearly hit a nerve, though did EVERY lede have to include a play on the gun thing? (Misfiring, shooting blanks, etc.) SH.

For a guy who did paranoia so well, you’d be surprised by how cavalier Alan Pakula was when it came to Expired By dates on canned goods. He’d eat practically anything on the shelf. And if you didn’t want to partake, he’d make YOU feel like the crazy one! SH.

I still can’t believe Dick Donner is gone. Such a great guy. We once made a friendly bet involving one of Holly Palance’s roommates. Let’s just say I won, and he never paid! He claimed it was just a joke, but it wasn’t. Ah well. No chance of getting it now. He will be missed. SH.

I’m getting a lot of attacks for the last tweet and the reference to the wager. But when did I say it was about anything regarding sex? And even if it did, I also said it was “friendly.” Remember, back then it was all in fun, even if there was a bet. (Which I won!) SH.

All of these attacks I’m getting are distracting from my original point, which was that Dick Donner was a spectacular guy and we’ll never see his likes again. (And if we do, you’d better believe I’m going to collect on that bet! Which was made with total respect for women.) SH.

Vilmos Zsigmond was a genius at visual expression, except when it came to charades. If he was your partner you knew you were in trouble. Like trying to interpret the Rosetta Stone if the stone had a Hungarian temper. SH.

[Aspect]

These are gold! I don’t think this is PTA. A thought I just had: could it be Thomas Pynchon? They know each other, after all. The made up names and films. The humor. Would be glorious if true, but we’ll likely never know.

[hearthesilence]

Could it be Stiller himself? Or possibly him and Anderson sharing the account?

[therewillbeblus]

These are gold! I don’t think this is PTA. A thought I just had: could it be Thomas Pynchon? They know each other, after all. The made up names and films. The humor. Would be glorious if true, but we’ll likely never know.

That was speculated on Reddit, and tho I assumed it was PTA writing as Pynchon, if true it would be a pretty outrageous collaborative project.. fun to muse on nonetheless

[yoloswegmaster]

For all the Canadians who are excited for this, this will be opening on Christmas and there will be 70mm showings.

[Guido]

Amazing — not seeing anything come up in a quick search, though. Any links to 70mm tickets in Toronto or Montreal by any chance?

[yoloswegmaster]

Amazing — not seeing anything come up in a quick search, though. Any links to 70mm tickets in Toronto or Montreal by any chance?

There aren't any tickets up, and they it hasn't been revealed where the 70mm screenings will be held. This info was provided by Barry Hertz, who works for 'The Globe and Mail'.

[ianthemovie]

It looks like this will also screen in 70mm at the Coolidge in Boston starting Christmas Day (no tickets available for pre-order yet though).

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles is running it for a week at the end of December on 35mm.

[Never Cursed]

Advance tix spot

[Never Cursed]

Glad to hear that the critical consensus on this one is pretty wildly positive, but the film is also currently the subject of one of the most laughable attempts to politically impugn a movie through reviews I've ever seen. A small gaggle of critics (led by Yolanda Machado and prominent denouncer of Isle Of Dogs' "racism" Walter Chaw) is attempting to spin the narrative that the film is problematic because of the age gap between Hoffman and Haim's characters. (If they sincerely believe this line, I would advise them never to view Red Rocket, as they may go into cardiac arrest).

[therewillbeblus]

Anderson addressed this very nonchalantly in the Q&A, which, if true, makes the criticisms even more laughable (Not really a spoiler, but I'll put it there anyways)

Spoiler

The two lovers apparently never actually 'do' anything physical- even kiss- but they have a romantic connection... Have none of these critics ever felt an attraction to anyone older than them in their youth?!

[Pavel]

The funniest part of this whole "discourse" was when Chaw suggested the new Ghostbusters movie is better because it doesn't feature a big age gap, but does feature an Asian character

[Lemmy Caution]

Appreciative Manohla Dargis review.
I liked this line: "Deranged optimism and self-importance are American birthrights"

Didn't really get much out of the trailer.

[willoneill]

For all the Canadians who are excited for this, this will be opening on Christmas and there will be 70mm showings.

I received an e-mail from TIFF stating that they're hosting a sneak peak 70mm screening on December 10th, followed by a a Canadian-exclusive 70mm run starting on Christmas Eve. "Canadian exclusive" would imply to me that the TIFF Bell Lightbox is the only theatre in Canada that's getting it in 70mm.