The trailer for Werner Herzog’s death penalty documentary — Into the Abyss: A Tale of Life, a Tale of Death — has arrived. In the film, the acclaimed director follows the stories of several death row inmates in Texas, interviewing them and those who have been affected by their incarceration. Tackling such a difficult subject that inspires a lot of heated debate seems impossible to handle fairly, but if anyone could do it, it’s Herzog. Hit the break for a preview of this intimate, moving portrait — which arrives in limited release on November 11.
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And now for what has to be one of the craziest casting stories that we’ve ever read: According to a report from Variety, famed filmmaker Werner Herzog will join Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, and Richard Jenkins in the cast of One Shot, Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie’s forthcoming film adaptation of Lee Child’s 2005 novel of the same name. For his first major onscreen role, Herzog will be playing “The Zec,” a maimed ex-prisoner of war who’s described as “ageless and shadowy figure,” and presumably the mastermind behind the conspiracy that Cruise’s ex-Army cop, Jack Reacher, is investigating. Suddenly we think that this project, which is set to begin filming in Pittsburgh this month, sounds a lot more interesting. How about you? [via Slashfilm]
We recently learned that Bethenny Frankel, of Real Housewives and resultant spin-off fame, has teamed up with Ellen DeGeneres to start working on a pilot for her very own talk show. Though available details are few, Frankel told the Hollywood Reporter, “I want to be on TV in a format where I can have a longer conversation with my fans rather than 140 characters on Twitter.” Now, we’re not too sure what we think of this — does the world really need more Bethenny Frankel? Since we’ve yet to try the Skinnygirl margarita, we’re not at liberty to say. But we can think of several celebs whose talk shows we would watch without a doubt, especially if they turn out the fantasy talk shows we imagine for them. And don’t worry — we’re not about to suggest James Franco. That kid does enough. Click through to see our list of ten celebrities that should definitely have their own talk shows, and to check out our predictions as to what those gab fests might look like. And of course, let us know who else you’re dying to see in a maroon armchair in the comments!
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Today at Flavorpill, we found John Edwards’ smiley mug shot absolutely terrifying. We were thrilled to hear that Lauryn Hill performed a recognizable (if slightly sped up) version of “Doo Wop (That Thing)” on Jimmy Fallon last night. We listened to Werner Herzog read Go the F*** to Sleep. We met a bunch of people who became nouns. We were kind of jealous of this woman’s iPad hat. We streamed The Guardian‘s 100-track history of modern dance music. We were impressed by the work of Polish artist Marek Tomasik, who built a 16′ x 14′ x 15′ room out of old computer parts. We wondered what look Helena Bonham Carter is going for in a new campaign for Marc Jacobs. We giggled over old footage of Larry David doing standup back when he had hair. And finally, we learned the secret history behind Oreos’ signature embossed look.
Even though it’s just hitting shelves today, chances are you’ve already heard plenty about Adam Mansbach’s profanity-laced children’s book for adults, Go the F*** to Sleep — in fact, maybe you were even one of those people who received a pirated PDF version of the book, helping to drive its pre-release buzz through the roof. The unconventional bedtime story — which was inspired by Mansbach’s own experiences with his daughter — has already spent 50 days in the Top 100 on Amazon.com, and is currently sitting pretty in the number two spot.
If you haven’t read Go the F*** to Sleep yet, and you’re curious as to what all the fuss is all about, you can currently download an audiobook version read by Samuel L. Jackson for free here. In even more exiting news, The Guardian reports that Werner Herzog is also working on a recording of the book that will be unveiled at an event at the New York Public Library. Based on previous spoofs of the auteur’s deadpan delivery, we’re expecting it will be hilarious.
Acclaimed filmmaker and pillar of New German Cinema Werner Herzog may be the most beloved cynic of all time. Inarguably brilliant and completely deadpan in the delivery of his bleak worldview, he finds nature to be “violent and base,” believes the universe to be completely random and godless, and thinks there are too many “vitamins” in vegetarian food. He also was once shot during an interview and refused to go to the hospital or take a break, showing his interviewer the bloody wound and shrugging, muttering that “it was not a significant bullet.” That’s some serious German stoicism for you.
Beloved as he is, there are a wealth of fantastic parodies based on Herzog’s attitude in relatively normal situations. In our roundup of the best Werner Herzog spoofs out there, watch as he reads classic children’s books in his droll, stoic voice, fixes a car, tries to cook something, and looks for love.
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It’s October again, which means that the annual conference of literary types and the people who love them that is The New Yorker Festival appears on our cultural radar. This year’s festival was held last weekend, and in addition to a heaping serving of high-falutin’ book-writin’ folks — Seamus Heaney, Michael Chabon, and Zadie Smith, to name a few — there was also a substantial does of television actors, comedians, rappers, and, of course, Justin Timberlake. We’ve rounded up the best quotes from the panels, from Alec Baldwin’s thoughts on Tracy Morgan to Cynthia Nixon’s riveting defense of gay marriage — after the jump.
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Today at Flavorpill, we watched the world’s smallest dog meet the world’s largest dog. We argued over hip-hop’s 50 greatest album covers. We met Kanye West’s stylist and BFF — a Yale undergrad. We poked around Herman Miller’s archives. We watched Errol Morris and Werner Herzog chat up a storm at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. We realized how much Joyce Carol Oates resembles Woody Allen. We were intrigued by a new study that says that falling in love will cost you two close friends. Technique aside, we found it a little hard to buy Danny Devito as Ghandi. And finally, we couldn’t believe that E! ordered a new series that “crosses a wedding competition with extreme plastic surgery.” That sounds even worse than The Vanilla Ice Project.
In promoting his new film, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, director Werner Herzog responded to questions posed to him via Twitter with video clips on YouTube. With his pleasant voice and sharp intelligence, Herzog tells of being shot at, claims not to know who Chuck Norris is, and describes what makes a great wedding. When asked whether he uses social networks he answers, “Yes… I invite friends to dinner and I sit at the table and I cook for them.” Click through to watch Herzog tell the story of saving Joaquin Phoenix’s life after a gruesome car crash in response to a question from @davidlynch.
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Notorious avant-garde filmmaker and Dogme 95 member Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers chronicles the antics of three fascinating and disturbing geriatric degenerates.
Korine lightens things up VHS-style with the film, in which a trio of grotesque, masked protagonists causes relentless mischief against a backdrop of light-flooded underpasses, abandoned parking lots, and nameless alleyways. It’s a crudely edited journey into a world where people are joined to the head by pantyhose, pancakes are eaten with dishwashing liquid, and dirty sock puppets can be just as entertaining as prostitutes.
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