Actor/director George Clooney was "toasted by a host of fellow stars" at a lavish benefit held last Friday for American Cinematheque, a not-for-profit organization in Los Angeles that, since 1981, has supported film -- the kind of film not always available to a wide audience. American Cinematheque brings audiences a truly impressive array of film from a wide variety of cinematic niches, nooks and crannies. A peek at their calendar reveals such delectable and diverse events as "New Argentine Cinema," "Russian Fantastique Cinema, "Cinema Italian Style," "An Evening with Christopher Nolan," a screening of Al Jolson's 1936 film The Singing Kid, and a Halloween screening of a 70mm print of Ghostbusters! And that's just in October.

Since 1986, American Cinematheque has held a fundraiser at which it honors "an extraordinary artist (actor, director or writer) in the entertainment industry, who is fully engaged in his or her work and is committed to making a significant contribution to the art of the motion picture." The first honoree was Eddie Murphy; subsequent artists honored by American Cinematheque are: Bette Midler (1987); Robin Williams (1988); Steven Spielberg (1989); Ron Howard (1990); Martin Scorsese (1991); Sean Connery (1992); Michael Douglas (1993); Rob Reiner (1994); Mel Gibson (1995); Tom Cruise (1996); John Travolta (1997); Arnold Schwarzenegger (1998); Jodie Foster (1999); Bruce Willis (2000); Nicolas Cage (2001); Denzel Washington (2002); Nicole Kidman (2003), Steve Martin (2004) and Al Pacino (2005).

Benefit co-chairs included Matt Damon, Ethan and Joel Coen, Sydney Pollack, Steven Spielberg and the Weinsteins (although I kinda doubt that in this case the co-chairs were spiking the fruit punch and scotch-taping crepe paper streamers to the rafters of the high school gym, which is the visual that phrases like "benefit co-chairs" bring to my mind), and ticket prices ran $550 a pop. With 1,200 or so stars expected to be in attendance at the time of the press release, the event is American Cinematheque's primary fundraiser, supporting maintenance of the org's two theaters, The Egyptian and The Aero, as well as funding programming throughout the year.

It's great to see the stars come out to support the kinds of films most people will only get to see if they attend film school or go to a lot of film festivals; American Cinematheque, like Film Forum in New York City and Northwest Film Forum here in Seattle, makes it possible for the average cinephile to have access to some amazing films, both new and old. Cinematical recently brought on board two LA-based writers, so look for us to start covering American Cinematheque events along with our Film Forum and Northwest Film Forum coverage, fellow film buffs.

Ever since the Dixie Chicks went off on George W. Bush at a concert in the UK back in 2003, the musical trio have been almost as well known for their politics as for their music. Country music fans, who tend as a group to lean to the right side of the political aisle, took great umbrage to the Chicks making their opinion on the president -- is is from their home state of Texas -- be known to the world. In Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing, directors Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck take a look at the fallout of the Chicks refusal to shut up: The radio stations refusing to play their music, the right-wing bloggers urging fans to boycott them, the letters from fans, one of which inspired both a Dixie Chicks song and the title of this documentary, by telling the women to just "shut up and sing." Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck sat down with Cinematical's James Rocchi and Netscape's Alexia Prichard to discuss their controversial film. You can download the video here (60.9MB, 9: or watch it over on Netscape.

Earlier today, I was catching up on my newsfeeds and read Matt Dentler's description of the Saturday night Toronto premiere of the teen horror film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, the audience for was chock-full of distributors. Sure enough -- not two hours later, I learned that Dimension Films, the genre arm of The Weinstein Company, acquired the film for worldwide distribution. After hearing Dentler describe the film as a slasher flick with "more than enough humor and originality in the film to keep it interesting," I'm looking forward to the opportunity to see it. (Especially since IMDb says that Texas musician Robert Earl Keen has a role.)

The Weinstein Company also bought the distribution rights to Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show, which premiered at TIFF on Friday. The title evokes all kinds of bizarre possibilities, but it turns out to be a documentary about comedians (including Vince Vaughn) travelling across the U.S. on a series of stand-up comedy evenings. I didn't recognize the other comedians' names, but the "guest stars" include Peter Billingsley, whom I haven't seen onscreen since his child-actor days, and Justin Long, whom I recently saw briefly in Idiocracy.

Odds and ends from Friday and the weekend:

• In finalizing the cast for his part of Grind House (titled Death Proof), Quentin Tarantino has brought on Michael Bacall, newcomer Omar Doom and Eli Roth. Labeled a "slasher flick" and currently shooting in Austin, the three will star alongside Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson and Rose McGowan, among others. Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror wrapped its production recently and Grind House (as a whole) is expected to invade theaters on April 6, 2007.
• 20th Century Fox has gone ahead and snatched up Adam Sztykiel's spec script Matchbreaker, with Shawn Levy to produce the comedy through his 21 Laps Entertainment. Though the plot is being kept a secret for now, it's vaguely being described as a "high-concept comedy about two guys and a girl set against a vibrant cultural backdrop, which we haven't seen in a movie before."
• Looking to add a bit more funny to their repertoire, the Weinstein Co. has signed a one-year, first-look deal with Underground Films and acquired the comedy pitch Rising Son for Underground to produce. Pic revolves around a "young American who proposes to his Japanese-American girlfriend just as they are traveling to visit her estranged family." While there, he must compete in a bunch of challenges in order to win the respect of his future father-in-law, a la Meet The Parents.

I couldn't wait to read Peter Biskind's Down & Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and The Rise of Independent Film when it first hit the bookstore shelves -- but I was at Sundance at the time and (curiously enough) you couldn't find a copy of the thing anywhere up there! I knew going into the book -- which includes some pretty scathing swipes at both Miramax overlord Harvey Weinstein and Sundance cowboy Robert Redford -- would be half true and half sensationalistic-ish ... but obviously I'd never be able to tell the one from the other. Overall it's a very fun read if you're a diehard movie geek, but doesn't come close to the author's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, which is one of my very favorite books.

So get this: Much like someone (Richard Linklater, actually) took Eric Schlosser's non-fiction tome Fast Food Nation and turned it into a "traditional" movie, director Ken Bowser (he directed the excellent doco based on ERRB) and screenwriter Dean Craig have acquired the right to turn Biskind's book into a narrative feature. How one would turn a collection of Indie Hollywood's war stories into a three-act piece of amusing fiction remains to be seen -- but I know it's a movie that I'll want to see!

Unlike myself, Mr. Bowser has no problems at all seeing Down & Dirty Pictures as a straight comedy: "You couldn't make these guys up. They're like offensive linemen rampaging across the fields of Sundance sacking anyone who gets in their way, while the handsome movie star owner of the stadium smiles benevolently down on his charges. If that's not a movie, I don't know what is." Ha! Something tells me that The Weinstein Co. won't be picking this flick up for distribution -- nor will it be playing at Sundance anytime soon.

Time to check in with some film blogs:

• Nistagmus, submitted to me a while back, is based in Argentina. Unfortunately for those of you who don't speak Spanish, that's the language it's in. It's a nicely-designed site, and co-administrator of the site, Martin, who submitted it to me, describes it thusly: "We just blog about the kind of movies we love, and we love "geek" films. I mean, is it a strip/cartoon/graphic novel/comic book based feature? Is an asian pop-culture weird film? It´s a 20k slacker garage film? It is a surprisingly buzzy indie horror film from middle east? We may be interested... It´s the next Brangelina of J-Lo Housewives-targeted flop? We probably don´t want to hear about it... Well I think you get the point.". I can muddle my way through just enough Spanish to figure out that if I was really fluent in Spanish, this site would be a regular read. You folks out there who do speak the language, check it out.
• Over in England, Matt Grover runs The Matte Reviews, "Film reviews by Englishmen who watch films (if only we'd get paid for it!)." Most recently, Matt has written up reviews (from a "regular guy" viewpoint, not a film critic one) on Japanese flick Haze ("I just didn't know what was going on by the end"), Spielberg's Munich ("ok, film, long but good performances and some good sequences"), and a low-budget UK flick called Crooked Features (which he highly recommends). Nice versatility -- if you want a Brit point of view on film, this is a good site to peruse.

Those clever little (actually, they're not so little) Weinstein boys are hoping to turn political controversy into box office gold, as they've gone and picked up the worldwide distribution rights for the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing. Directed by Barbara Kopple (who also helmed the Oscar-winning strike doc Harlan County, U.S.A.) and produced by Cecilia Peck and Kopple, pic follows the singing group around, while documenting the aftermath of Natalie Maines' heavily publicized anti-Bush comments.

Now, I'm far from a rabid Dixie Chicks fan, but I was certainly surprised to see how hated these girls became after Maines simply stated that she was ashamed President Bush was from Texas. I mean, we're talking radio boycotts and death threats -- all because she decided to speak her mind and be truthful? Not surprisingly, the Weinsteins are looking to shove the film into theaters this November, right in time for elections. Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing will officially debut in a Gala Presentation next month at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Over at Hollywood Elsewhere, Jeffrey Wells (and, it must be said, at least one other critic, whom he quotes) is finding himself very impressed by George Hickenlooper's Factory Girl, the Edie Sedgwick biopic that may or may not be coming out at the end of the year. More specifically, Wells is blown away by the performance of Sienna Miller in the lead role and, assuming the Weinsteins get it on some screens in time to qualify, he's expecting her to get an Oscar nod, alongside such grand dames as Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada) and Helen Mirren (The Queen). According to Wells' post, Miller "gets [Sedwick's] fluttery debutante laugh, that mixture of Warholian cool and little-girl terror, the giddy euphoria, the cracked voice. It's more than convincing -- it's a kind of rebirthing."

Um, wow. And hooray! I know essentially nothing about Sedgwick, but I've adored Miller since she lit up the small screen in the under-seen (and under-rated) Keen Eddie, and would love to see her get some credibility -- particularly given the fact that she been turned into something of a joke by the tabloids (as well as evil bloggers like ourselves).

Man, all this stuff about more Mulan movies is confusing the hell out of me. It seems pretty solid that the Weinsteins are at least considering making a live-action film (listed in the IMDbPro as a 2008 release) about the Chinese folk hero (already brought to screen by Disney, albeit in animated form), and there's been talk that they've got Zhang Ziyi in mind to play the title role. In addition, though, there's also a China-based production in the works, that one under the direction of Stanley Tong. Where it all gets a bit muddled is in the reports about Zhang being asked to star in Tong's version, as well. So, is this a case of Tong trying to steal some Weinstein thunder, or of people in the media getting confused and assuming the films are one and the same? Your guess is as good as mine on that one.

That said, however, it now sounds as if the whole thing might be moot, because there are now other names in the mix for the starring role in the Tong film. Get this: First, it was reported that Li Yuchun, the wildly popular winner of a recent, girls-only American Idol-type show in China, would play Mulan. But now the speculation about Li has fallen quiet, and her name has been replaced by that of ... Katie Leung. That's right, the girl of Harry Potter's dreams -- the Scottish one -- is going to play Mulan. According to the Chinese press, anyway.

Don't like the news? Not to worry -- at this rate a new name will be connected to the part by Monday.

[via Twitch]

At the Traverse City Film Festival, Michael Moore finally talked in practical terms about his health care film, Sicko, for the first time. Though he's clearly passionate about exposing the problems with American health care, Moore still seems to be struggling a bit with the film -- after all, he says, "everyone knows that health care is a mess in this country." His goal, then, seems to be less education than motivation: Moore hopes that Sicko "pushes health care to the top of the public agenda" and, presumably, forces politicians to get involved. The problem, though, is that all the health care companies know exactly who Moore is, so the moment he shows up to document the struggles of a family dealing with an outrageous situation, "they get free health care." According to Moore, "There has been a 100% success rate of the people we're filming of getting whatever they need from the HMOs, pharmaceutical companies, whatever." Well, that's progress. Now all we have to do to fix things is have Moore travel to all the families with complaints, and the health care issue will be solved, right?

In addition to the pressure of simply pulling the film together, Moore is facing high expectations, from both his supporters and his bosses, Harvey and Bob Weinstein. According to Moore, the pair have been securing financing for the film by telling potential investors that it will gross $40 million, a total that would make Sicko the third highest-earning documentary of all time. Whoa. I mean, it's nice for bosses to have confidence and all, but couldn't they have said, like, $15 million? At this rate, ending up the fifth most successful doc ever would make Sicko a failure to its investors.

Finke Blasts Clerks 2 for its Never Ending Credit Roll!

A while back, we told you how The Weinstein Company partnered up with MySpace to draw more attention to Clerks 2 by awarding 10,000 fans a spot in the film's credit roll. Odd? Yes. Brilliant way to market your film for practically nothing? Hell yes. While this maneuver opened up new doors in the world of movie marketing, giving your average movie fan something to brag about, others felt the whole thing was just plain wrong. In her Deadline Hollywood blog, Nikki Finke blasts the marketing move, saying "This could very well be the most insulting thing I've ever heard, a huge diss, to anyone who's ever legitimately earned a credit on a film. It's the sort of shenanigan that, if the guilds in this town had spines, they should stop immediately." Look, I understand her point, but Kevin Smith is who he is because of his fans. They deserve the recognition. I mean, let's be real here Nikki -- these are minor credits in an indie film and Clerks 2 isn't exactly Academy Award material. Why the beef? Personally, I applaud the Weinsteins and Smith for getting the fans more involved, instead of just plastering posters here, there and everywhere. Should every film follow a similar path? No. But I do like the creative thinking.

Baby Shiloh Turned Into Wax!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's first-born child will become the first baby to be transformed into wax for Maddam Tussaud's historic wax museum in New York City. That's right, baby Shiloh will join her parents in what appears to be an odd re-creation of the Nativity scene. I kid you not. According to the story, Shiloh will lie before her parents inside a woven bassinet "in her very own African-themed nursery." Aww, that's wonderful news -- but what about their other adopted children? I can totally picture it now: "Mommy, why does Shiloh get to be in wax and not me?" "Well Maddox, that's because adopted children aren't important enough to become wax statues. It's true. I read about it in People Magazine."

Samuel L. Jackson Hates Snakes!

While shooting Snakes on a Plane, Samuel L. Jackson was so freaked out by the slithering creatures, he had a clause put in his contract stating all motherf**kin reptiles were to be kept 20 motherf**kin feet away from him at all times. Jackson says, "My agent was insistent: 'No snakes within 20 feet.' In the beginning they were talking about having rattlesnakes they had taken the venom sacks out of them, but I was like, 'Hell, no. That don't work for me.'" Ha. You gotta love Sam Jackson. However, the actor later went on to say he wasn't afraid of snakes. In fact, when he was growing up, he'd capture the poor things and beat them to death. Hmm, perhaps that would make the perfect premise for an eventual Snakes on a Plane prequel?

One of the things I really like about director Kevin Smith is his relative accessibility. True, he's never (yet) agreed to an interview here on Cinematical, but he has made an appearance in the comments, here and other other sites, and his View Askew website is one of the most fan-centric filmmaker sites out there.

Over on Hollywood Elsewhere, Jeffrey Wells posted a couple days ago about a Smith interview in the L.A.Times. Wells said in the post that he'd like to see Smith write a play about "a Gen-X marriage gone bad," and Smith in turn (or, perhaps, to be fair, someone doing a truly spectacular Smith impersonation) has been conversing in the comments with readers who are both critical and favorable toward Smith and his films. Among other things, Smith talks about why he gave up on Green Lantern, why he chose to make Clerks 2, how Jersey Girl didn't suck, and why Harvey Weinstein is an idiot for refusing to let Smith cast Jason Lee in Fletch Won (okay, he maybe didn't exactly use the words "Harvey" and "idiot" in the same sentence -- the guy knows which side his bread is buttered on, after all -- but the implication is there, yes indeedy).

I know there are those who will say that an artist shouldn't debate his critics that way, but hey, this is the age of the internet, and Smith is doing a good job of playing up his "I'm just an average guy who happens to make films" persona by interacting with fans online, chatting it up at events like Comicon, and maintaining a fan-centered website. Check out the entire comments thread on that HE post, it's pretty interesting reading. I particularly like how Smith wraps it up: "This has been fun. I thank all for not smelling blood in the water and turning this into an AICN Talkbacks feeding frenzy. I feel like, even though some of us disagree, we were able to do so with little bitchiness. You HE comments sections folks are alright in my book."

Even though Kevin Smith probably has a lot of fans who would do anything for him (yes Scott, I'm talking to you) without asking for anything in return, he's Harvey and Bob Weinstein are apparently not sure those people exist in big enough numbers to promote Clerks II effectively. So, in an effort to make sure that all of MySpace loves him, Smith and and his friends at The Weinstein Company has worked out a deal with MySpace and is offering the following perk: The first 10,000 MySpacers who "friend" the Mooby's Presents: Clerks II page will get on-screen credit in the movie in return.* Um, woo hoo?

If you've got limited space in your friends list, or have stringently high standards for adding friends, keep in mind that the names aren't going to appear in a giant font, surrounded by flashing lights or anything. According to TWC, "the names will appear horizontally and begin scrolling after the credits." So, basically, you're going to need to wait for the DVD SE before you can pause the credits and actually see your name. But hey, if you love Kevin Smith, you'll be linked forever on celluloid, which I guess is something. The count begins today at 5pm, so get that friend-adding finger ready.

*I'm not a Smith fan and tend to pretty cynical about all things related to him, but he's apparently blameless here. According to his own post at the View Askew forums, it was an entirely TWC deal, and all he did was provide a quote. So blame Harvey and Bob, not Kevin.

EDIT: The consensus seems to be that the site originally linked here was fake -- we'll see what pops up after 5pm.

EDIT AGAIN: The real page is here. Thanks, Wes and Scott.

The Brothers Weinstein have a soft side? Who knew? Apparently so, because The Weinsten Company is set to bring Unstable Fables, an irreverant take on classic tales.  TWC is partnering with the Jim Henson Company, Flame Ventures and Prana Studos for the CGI-animated, direct-to DVD series. The first three titles on the boards are Goldilocks, The Three Little Pigs and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

All lthis brought to mind one of my fave childrens' series, Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theater, a marvelous series on Showtime back in the '80s, wherein Duvall told classic fairy tales, acted out by some of the most famous actors of our time. The Faerie Tale Theater version of Goldilocks starred Tatum O'Neal as the title character, with Carole King as her mother. Hansel and Gretel starred Rick Shroeder as Hansel and Joan Collins as the mean stepmother. Here's hoping that the Weinsteins have plans just as unique and interesting as Faerie Tale Theater.

Rapper-actor-producer Ice Cube is taking over Hollywood and more. As we reported earlier, he's set to star in and produce Dimension Film's Welcome Back, Kotter. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Ice Cube and producing partner Matt Alvarez have signed a two-year, first-look deal with the Weinstein Company and Dimension Films to produce film and TV projects through their Cube Vision Productions company. If you haven't seen Cube Vision delights such as Friday and Barbershop, check them out now. Ice Cube is also the executive producer of the TV show "Black/White." As if he wasn't busy enough, he's coming out with a solo album in June called "Laugh Now, Cry Later," released on his own label, Da Lench Mob Records.