Originally there were rumors that the first trailer for Wes Anderson’s animated Fantastic Mr. Fox would be attached to Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. As you’ve probably figured out by now, the trailer was not attached. So right now, I have no idea when the trailer will hit. Anyone have any ideas? The movie isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until mid-November so there is still a lot of time. The next possible sighting would be Fox’s hybrid Aliens in the Attic on July 31st.

The kids over at IMDB similarly wonder out loud:

I think the best bets are Harry Potter (highly unlikely), G-Force (also unlikely), and Aliens in the Attic (probably the best bet seeing as how it’s the same studio.)

Thanks to Christian for the lead.

Artist I’d Most Like to Collaborate With

SK: I can’t totally decide, but I will say that for a long time now I’ve had this fantasy where Wes Anderson just calls me up, casually introduces himself, and explains that he’s run out of cool 1960s and 70s pop to use for soundtrack material and would really appreciate it if I could try writing some tunes for his upcoming film. Then I’d say that I’m super busy right now but his ideas sound “interesting,” and that we should talk about it over a beer.

Krug happens to be a personal favorite musician of mine, and Sunset Rubdown is my favorite of his many projects (read: Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, et al). Needless to say, I was excited to read Wes’s name in Pitchfork’s sub-head.

Full interview can be read here (Wes is mentioned once more): http://pitchfork.com/features/guest-lists/7674-sunset-rubdown/

It isn’t done yet.

From the LA Times:

Routinely termed a neglected figure of the 1970s New Hollywood, Hal Ashby has been undergoing a modest posthumous renaissance of late: a smattering of retrospective screenings, an overdue biography, a vocal celebrity fan club whose ranks include Wes Anderson, Judd Apatow and Cameron Crowe.

Only his most partisan admirers would deny that the director suffered a drop-off in inspiration after his last major film, 1979’s “Being There.” Still, as part of the ongoing Ashby revival, some of his later works, until now dismissed as footnotes at best and outright follies at worst, are being given a closer look. One, the odd-couple caper “Lookin’ to Get Out,” surfaces this week on DVD in a director’s cut about 15 minutes longer than the version released to hostile reviews and minimal box office in 1982…

The troubled circumstances of the movie’s production and release are well recounted in Nick Dawson’s meticulous new biography “Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel.” The director was juggling the postproduction of another doomed comedy, “Second-Hand Hearts” (1981), and the development of “Tootsie” (a gig he eventually lost to Sydney Pollack because “Lookin’ to Get Out” fell far behind schedule).

Unhappy with the version of the film he turned in, Paramount executives demanded a reedit, and Ashby, fed up and beaten down, left it to his editor, Bob Jones, who worked with Voight to produce a shorter cut.

It was in the course of researching his book that Dawson realized that Ashby’s preferred edit, a further fine-tuning of the cut he submitted to the studio, still existed. The director’s cut of “Lookin’ to Get Out” is no lost masterpiece, but you can easily see how a truncated version would have stifled its loose-limbed energy.

(read more)

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Coconut Records is back with The Gonz! Jason, Mark Gonzales, Chloe Sevigny and friends are skateboarding around NYC (with Big Ben shot thrown in for good measure). From the album Davy available everywhere online now.

From Variety

The Motion Picture Academy announced Wednesday that for the first time in more than 65 years, the field of best picture nominees will be expanded to 10 contenders for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

“Having 10 best picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” said [Academy president] Sid Ganis in announcing the shift. “I can’t wait to see what that list of 10 looks like when the nominees are announced in February.”

People are speculating this will allow more animation and comedies to slide into the top slot. What this means for Wes?

If heavy hitters like Pixar’s Up end up in the Best Picture category, that could create space for a smaller animated film in the Best Animated Film category, like Fantastic Mr. Fox. It would also ostensibly give comedies that in the past have only managed screenplay nominations a shot at the big prize, which means that films like The Royal Tenenbaums (Nominated for Best Original Screenplay in 2002), or The Darjeeling Limited (well reviewed but without the money that bigger, lesser films had) could compete with the standard Oscar fair Not that the awards mean much, of course, but they do provide exposure.

Tip: AV Club, AwardsDaily

Details after the break…

Two new classics are out on DVD today from The Criterion Collection. First, the 1981 film My Dinner with Andre directed by Anderson favorite Louis Malle. The disc includes a discussion with the film’s writers/stars Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory and Life Aquatic and Fantastic Mr. Fox co-writer Noah Baumbach.  The film was previously only available on an out-of-print DVD that was running for nearly $100. You can order the much, much better looking and more reasonably priced new DVD from Amazon here.

Second, is French New Wave pioneer Alain Resnais’ iconic 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad. The film is available in both standard DVD and Blu-Ray editions, the latter of which looks stunning. Get them from Amazon here (Standard) or here (Blu-Ray). 

If you happen to see either of these films (or anything else) let us know what you thought at the Yankee Racers Forum. You can also tell us what movies you’re looking forward to, or read about the camera being used to make Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Next week, Criterion offers up another film from one of Anderson’s favorite directors, Roman Polanki’s 1965 film Repulsion. Available in both standard DVD, and Blu-Ray editions.

The interview has now been posted in its entirety here.