Karina Longworth writes about film and media for publications such as LA Weekly, Village Voice, The Guardian, Slate and many more. She was the co-founder of Cinematical. She recently wrote a short book about George Lucas, and is currently working on a longer book about Meryl Streep.
She lives in Los Angeles.
Email her at her first name dot her last name at gmail dot com.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Essentially an experimental fiction film presented in documentary style, I’m Still Here was, Affleck suggests, drastically misinterpreted. “Which maybe just says I didn’t do a good enough job. I thought it was a comedy. Other people didn’t find it all that funny.”
Did it make his life as an actor more difficult? Affleck sighs. “That just made my life more difficult in general…”
I interviewed Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara in Cannes, where they were promoting Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, which is one of the best movies I’ve seen all year. Regrets? Casey has a few. Also, Rooney gave me frostbite, and it was awesome.
After becoming an instant star with the release of The Godfather, Al Pacino literally and figuratively retreated from the spotlight, shooting the all-location road movie Scarecrow with director Jerry Schatzberg and Gene Hackman. Scarecrow has long occupied a weird, oxy-moronic space: the”forgotten classic.” Although it won the Palme D’or at Cannes, it bombed in the US (with audiences and critics), both of its stars at one point or another inferred that the finished product did not exactly match the film they had signed on to make, and for years it wasn’t available on home video. A new, 40 year anniversary restoration of the film premiered last month at the TCM Film Festival in Los Angeles, and tomorrow it arrives at New York’s Film Forum for a week run. When I was researching my book in late 2011, I could find virtually nothing written about this film at length in English, which moved me to devote an entire chapter to it. But the rerelease has occasioned a slew of pieces which you should read, including Peter Debruge’s interview with Schatzberg, and reviews by Alan Scherstuhl in the Village Voice and Keith Uhlich in Time Out New York.
And, of course, if all of this leaves you thirsty for even more analysis of this odd, great film, you can buy my book on Amazon, and you’ll get it next week!
Al Pacino, The Face of Facebook
Remember that sad-looking blue guy on Facebook’s homepage who used to stare you down every time you went to log in?From the I Wish I Had Read This A Year Ago File. In related news, you can pre-order Al Pacino: Anatomy of an Actor on Amazon and you’ll get it in a week!
Louis CK pays $25,000 to take a Christmas card photo with Al Pacino
Playing a character is an illusion, and I feel that when you know too much about a person, possibly part of that illusion is disrupted. I don’t know how right I am, frankly. But it’s been a thing with me. Sometimes, you know, we get into habits, and we don’t even know why anymore, but we’re in a habit. This is what you try to do in acting too. When you’re acting in a scene, in the theater, say, you do something and you know it’s right. You’re lucky enough to get a moment. And then the next night you try to repeat it. Then pretty soon all you’re going after many, many nights is repeating the moment, and it’s gone bad. You’ve forgotten about the source, how you got there, what made that moment possible.
Pacino, in conversation with Julian Schnabel, in 1991 for Interview. On a semi-related note, yesterday I did my first batch of interviews for the book. If you would like to talk to me about Pacino and/or write about the book, in English or French, you can email me and we’ll get you a copy. (via alpacinobook)
Al Pacino: Anatomy of an Actor
A new book by Karina Longworth, published in May 2013
I created a new Tumblr for my new book. More to come!
Media Log, April 28-May 5, 2013
Passion by Brian DePalma, projected (on film?) at Le Grand Action
Dodger vs Brewers, April 28 game, live on MLB.tv
To the Wonder by Terrence Malick, projected off DCP at Les 3 Luxembourg
Mad Men, Season 6, episode 5, iTunes
Festival in Cannes by Henry Jaglom, iTunes, first 20-30 minutes
Spring Breakers by Harmony Korine, projected (off DCP?) at Le Grand Action
Maron, Season 1 episode 1, iTunes
Lucky Louie, episodes 1-4, iTunes
Chopped, one episode, iTunes
China Seas by Tay Garnett, projected on film at Action Christine
Seven Sinners by Tay Garnett, projected on film at Action Christine
Dodgers vs. Giants, May 4 game, innings 7-10, live on MLB.tv
Media Log, April 24-27, 2013
1. Secret Ceremony by Joseph Losey, film projected at Action Christine
2. Dodgers vs. Mets, April 25 game, live on MLB.TV
3. Highlights of dodgers vs. brewers, April 26 game, AT Bat app
4. An American in Paris by Vincente Minnelli, +- the first 20 minutes, iTunes
5. Iron Man 3, projected in 2D at Cite Cinemas Les Halles
6. Jefferson in Paris by James Ivory, iTunes
7. The Australian episode of Chopped, iTunes
Media Log, April 20-23
1.Looney Tunes: Back in Action, iTunes
2. First two innings of each game of the Dodgers-Orioles doubleheader, live on MLB.tv
3. First five innings of Dodgers-Orioles Sunday day game, live on MLB.TV
4. Mad Men, season 6, episode 3, iTunes
5. Okay, America! By Tay Garnett, projected on film at the Cinematheque Francaise
6.YouTube videos of Chloe Sevigny showing off her closet
7. Several YouTube trailers for Baz Luhrman’s The Great Gatsby
8. Multiple Dodger Talks
9. Sunday in the Park With George by Stephen Sondheim, live at Theatre du Chatelet
10. First three innings of Dodgers vs.Mets, live on MLB.tv
Also, I stopped including books on here because it was a pain in the ass to keep track of my daily pages, and also if I’m really keeping track of what I’m reading then I should also be tracking what I’m reading online, which would be tantamount to publishing my google searches, which would be insane. Instead, I’m trying to be better about using Goodreads.
