Yesterday, November 19, acclaimed filmmaker, director of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?, The Graduate, and so many more, passed away. He was 83. He lead the life of about two 83-year-olds. The genius of his films is well known, but the way he uses music — aside from the indelible soundtrack of The Graduate — is so often overlooked.
Do yourself a favor and give a deep listen to the works selected in this Wandering Sound piece. It’s worth it for the music alone, but it’s also a fitting tribute to one of the most important figures in American film.
Nick Offerman and Colin Meloy did a retro talk show-y clip series to promote the new Decemberists album, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World. The Decemberists might be a little also-ran at this point, but I’ll always leave the house (or click a mouse!) for a little slice of Nick Offerman, of which there is plenty in this little series. He’s doing a kind of ’70s German thing here. I’m not sure if he really sells it, but he sure as hell can sell a turtleneck.
Let’s delve further into some oddities, shall we? First up is a music video by the band Dear Blanca that features Steven Anthony Lawrence, better known as Beans from the Disney Channel comedy and kickstarter of Shia LaBeouf’s career, Even Stevens. It’s an odd clip, and confronts the notion of Lawrence as Beans head on, with steaming piles of baked ones graphically overlaying clips of Lawrence smashing things with a Louisville Slugger.
Another strange, TV-related thing today is this piece about Scandal-scented candles over at Vulture. The two are a perfect match, as candles are inherently scandalous, what with their history of erotic uses. The above Moonlight Shiraz candle, for instance, is best for enhancing your mood when you’re “wondering whether it was all worth it.” Other scents include Shower Scotch, Zanzibar Getaway, and Smelly Mellie.
Another oddity: The largest movie poster and lobby card collection is being sold for millions of dollars. The collection is of “nearly 200,000 lobby cards, posters, and other material collected from over 44,000 films” and is said to represent “nearly every movie ever made.” The collection’s owner, Morris Everett Jr., was not shy about his intentions for auctioning off the collection in lieu of having it dealt with in his pre-death estate. He wants “the pleasure of hopefully seeing people fighting over it worldwide.” Ah, that’s some kind of spite, and it’s nice.
And lastly, here is an interview with a man who considers himself a zoophile. It’s an interview that will probably disturb a lot of people, but it’s an interesting and fascinating insight into small a group of people who might not normally be so vocal. I don’t know if it will change any opinions — nor do I necessarily think it should — but, man. Human beings sure are fascinating.