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Recent Headlines
a la Mod:

Domino is
a "disarmingly
straight-forward"
work that "pushes
us to reexamine our
relationship to images
and their consumption,
not only ethically
but metaphysically"
-Collin Brinkman

De Palma on Domino
"It was not recut.
I was not involved
in the ADR, the
musical recording
sessions, the final
mix or the color
timing of the
final print."

Listen to
Donaggio's full score
for Domino online

De Palma/Lehman
rapport at work
in Snakes

De Palma/Lehman
next novel is Terry

De Palma developing
Catch And Kill,
"a horror movie
based on real things
that have happened
in the news"

Supercut video
of De Palma's films
edited by Carl Rodrigue

Washington Post
review of Keesey book

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Exclusive Passion
Interviews:

Brian De Palma
Karoline Herfurth
Leila Rozario

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AV Club Review
of Dumas book

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Interviews...

De Palma interviewed
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De Palma discusses
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No Harm In Charm

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Scarface: Make Way
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Carrie: The Movie

Deborah Shelton
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italkyoubored

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Entries by Topic
A note about topics: Some blog posts have more than one topic, in which case only one main topic can be chosen to represent that post. This means that some topics may have been discussed in posts labeled otherwise. For instance, a post that discusses both The Boston Stranglers and The Demolished Man may only be labeled one or the other. Please keep this in mind as you navigate this list.
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Ambrose Chapel
Are Snakes Necessary?
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Friday, October 8, 2021
WILD SIDE 'CASUALTIES' BOX TO INCLUDE 200-PAGE BOOK
THEATRICAL CUT AND DIRECTOR'S CUT WILL EACH BE INCLUDED; DEC 1 RELEASE DATE
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/outragesbox55.jpg

This morning, Wild Bunch tweeted the cover image for its upcoming box set Blu-ray and DVD release of Brian De Palma's Casualties Of War. "An edition that was long overdue ..." began the tweet. "OUTRAGES by Brian De Palma, in Cinema & Director's Cut Versions, will be available on December 1st on Blu-ray · DVD · Large format book. It's happeninnnnnng".

More details were provided by Cine Series' Pierre Siclier, here with the help of Google Translation:

A newly restored Master on DVD and Blu-ray

Released in a 113-minute cinema version, Casualties of War also received a 121-minute Director's cut version. These two versions will be combined in a collector's edition Blu-ray / DVD, which will be offered on December 1st by Wild Side.

In a press release, the publisher writes:

From Obsession to Carlito's Way, from Blow Out to The Untouchables ... Haunted by their past or driven by their integrity, the heroes of Palmiens denounce crimes that others would like to keep silent and come up against systems that crush. Brian De Palma will have had to persevere to transpose to the screen this appalling tale recounted as early as 1969 by journalist Daniel Lang.

The box set, in addition to bringing together the two versions of the film, will offer bonuses that promise to be exciting. Including a twenty-minute interview with Michael J. Fox and a making of that we will scrutinize with attention. As said above, the shooting was quite complicated, in particular because of the difficult relationship between the two main performers. Along with these video documents is added a large-format 200-page book illustrated with rare photos and archives. An object not to be missed.


Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
Updated: Saturday, October 9, 2021 12:39 AM CDT
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Thursday, October 7, 2021
THE MOST MONTAGEY MONTAGE
DE PALMA PUSHED IT TO THE LIMIT IN 'SCARFACE'
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/scarfacesound1.jpg



Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
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Wednesday, October 6, 2021
JESSICA HARPER DOUBLE FEATURE AT THE NEW BEV
JUST THE TYPE OF DE PALMA/ARGENTO PAIRING YOU MIGHT EXPECT AT A TARANTINO-OWNED THEATER
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/newbevphantomsuspiria2.jpg

"While our allotment of advance tickets has sold out online, some additional tickets will be available to purchase at the door on a first come, first served basis on the night of the show." So reads a blurb at the top of the description of the New Beverly Cinema's double feature of Brian De Palma's Phantom Of The Paradise and Dario Argento's Suspiria. All three nights sold out weeks ago. This is very much the type of film-pairing one might expect at a theater owned by Quentin Tarantino. The 35mm print of Phantom Of The Paradise being projected on these nights is most likely the one donated to the theater by Guillermo del Toro. Chris Crofton tweeted a streetview pic from last night's screening:


-FLASHBACK-
Thursday, January 17, 2019
DEL TORO DONATES 35MM 'PHANTOM' PRINT TO NEW BEV
RIAN JOHNSON & EDGAR WRIGHT POST RESPONSES TO GUILLERMO'S TWEET
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/phantomrageinred.jpg

Earlier today, Guillermo del Toro tweeted the image above with the following message:
I love this film (Phantom of the Paradise) so much that I bought a great 35mm print. I then donated it to the @newbeverly cinema. Hopefully they'll program it soon!

Rian Johnson then responded, "I have never seen this movie and am waiting until I can see it on the big screen. Soooooo....."

And then Edgar Wright jumped in: "But how many times have I gone on about?"

Rian Johnson: "I blame you for all of this."

Edgar Wright: "My first ever programming at the @newbeverly was a double bill of Bugsy Malone & Phantom Of The Paradise with a @IMPaulWilliams Q&A (and a secret midnight of Ishtar). I'm not sure I ever topped it."

New Bevery Cinema to Rian Johnson: "This is very exciting to hear! I can’t imagine a better way to see it for the first time."

(The New Beverly, of course, is owned by Quentin Tarantino, but I don't know who tweets on the New Bev's behalf.)

Aaron Stewart-Ahn, co-screenwriter of last year's Mandy, responded to del Toro's initial tweet, writing, "The Academy archival print is so effin gorgeous and such a highlight of how prints even of films from that era and stocks can hold saturation and inky blacks." Stewart-Ahn also retweeted del Toro's tweet, adding, "One of the most underrated movies ever."


Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
Updated: Thursday, October 7, 2021 12:11 AM CDT
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Tuesday, October 5, 2021
COLUMBO - NEW BOOK DETAILS LOST DE PALMA EPISODE
VIA MCWEENY TWEET - CRAZY WHAT-IFS INVOLVE PAUL WILLIAMS & MARTIN SCORSESE
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/shootingcolumbo.jpg

"Wait," tweeted Drew McWeeny a week ago, "so Brian De Palma and Jay Cocks co-wrote (on spec!!!!) a COLUMBO, the studio bought it for DePalma to direct with Paul Williams co-starring, and when he dropped out to make PHANTOM, Scorsese stepped in, but then Falk decided the script didn't work?! THAT ALMOST HAPPENED!?"

From the responses that followed, it appears that McWeeny had been reading David Koenig's new book, Shooting Columbo. When Kip Stiles tweeted a response about Steven Spielberg having directed an episode, McWeeny responded, "Yeah. He's the one who recommended DePalma to the producers. DePalma was between jobs and liked the show, and he and Jay Cocks had a pitch: what if Truman Capote killed Johnny Carson on live TV?" Which of course brings to mind De Palma's idea, just two or three years earlier, to have Tommy Smothers appear to saw a rabbit in half live on the Johnny Carson show at the end of Get To Know Your Rabbit. (De Palma was fired from that project before he could film such an ending.) The idea resurfaced in 1980, for a potential "comedy" -- Dene at The Story Of Euston Films found the following extract in a Milwaukee Journal profile of De Palma, written by Helen Dudar, and dated April 20, 1980, "a few months before Dressed to Kill was released" --

Previously:
Brian De Palma & Jay Cocks' unproduced 1973 Columbo script discovered


Posted by Geoff at 11:18 PM CDT
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Monday, October 4, 2021
'BRIAN DE PALMA LET ME IMPROVISE LIKE CRAZY'
JOHN LEGUIZAMO ON DEVELOPING HIS STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES AS HE MOVES INTO WRITING COMIC BOOKS
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/carlitolegend.jpg

The Hollywood Reporter's Aaron Couch interviews John Leguizamo, who is creator and writer on PhenomX, published next month by Todd McFarlane's Image Comincs:
Leguizamo and McFarlane reconnected three years ago at New York Comic Con and started talking about collaborating. Leguizamo was already an Eisner-nominated writer at that point for his graphic novel Ghetto Klown, but McFarlane gave him some tough love on how challenging it is to make a successful comic.

“Just because you are a celebrity does not mean this is just automatically going to work,” McFarlane recalls saying. “You need to deliver a story that people are going to want to read.”

Leguizamo recalls feeling pressure to deliver something McFarlane would approve of.

“It was very sobering talking to Todd. He wasn’t trying to discourage me, he was trying to make me sharper,” says the writer-actor.

As an actor, Leguizamo has worked with acclaimed directors such as Brian De Palma, Spike Lee and Baz Luhrmann and has studied storytelling from them. Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge was a formative experience, with the actor recalling the script was originally a whopping 300 pages. (A two-hour movie generally has a script that runs about 120 pages.)

“We’d read it every Friday, and he kept reducing it until it got to 150. That process became a part of me. I got to write one of the scenes in the movie, which was an incredible opportunity,” recalls Leguizamo. “Brian De Palma, when I did Carlito’s Way, he let me improvise like crazy. There are so many possibilities in a moment. A moment could go anywhere and still be part of the plot and move the plot forward.”


Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
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Sunday, October 3, 2021
1976 FLASHBACK - DINNER BY CANDLELIGHT
IN-BETWEEN THE 45TH ANNIVERSARIES OF 'OBSESSION' & 'CARRIE'
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/candlescarrieobsession.jpg

Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
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Saturday, October 2, 2021
CARLOTTA DE PALMA EDITION BACK IN PRINT & IN STOCK
SAMUEL BLUMENFELD & LAURENT VACHAUD'S CAREER-SPANNING INTERVIEW BOOK
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/carlottabook1.jpg

Carlotta Films has announced that its nearly-out-of-print book of Brian De Palma conversations with Samuel Blumenfeld and Laurent Vachaud is back in print again in limited quantities. Carlotta had published an updated edition of this book in 2017, as Blumenfeld and Vachaud added conversations they'd had with De Palma covering the films he made after 2001, when the book's first edition was published by Calmann-Lévy. This recent Carlotta edition even covers the Noah Baumbach/Jake Paltrow documentary (but not Domino, which was released after this edition).

The career-spanning Baumbach/Paltrow doc is terrific, of course, but if you really want to go in-depth with De Palma discussing his career, the Blumenfeld/Vachaud book is the go-to source. As we know, there are several great books about De Palma and his work -- this one fits in with something like Hitchcock/Truffaut, or Matt Zoller Seitz's comprehensive conversation books with Wes Anderson and Oliver Stone. There really should be an English-language translation -- hopefully someone will look into that and make it happen.


Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
Updated: Sunday, October 3, 2021 4:50 PM CDT
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Friday, October 1, 2021
'CARRIE' WAS 'LIFE-CHANGING' FOR SALEM FEST DIRECTOR
BUT A DIFFERENT DE PALMA FILM - 'PHANTOM' - WILL PLAY SUNDAY FOR THIS YEAR'S EDITION
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/carrieperiod.jpg

The Swan Archives' Ari Kahan will be on hand to present "a very special screening" of Brian De Palma's Phantom Of The Paradise this Sunday night at Salem Horror Fest 2021, in Salem Massachusetts. However, in an article for The Advocate, Salem Horror Fest director Kay Lynch tells Rachel Shatto about being inspired by De Palma's Carrie:
Brian De Palma’s Carrie is considered one of the greats of the horror film genre. However, for Salem Horror Fest director Kay Lynch, catching it on late TV one night it was more than great, it was life-changing. “It was one of the first films I can remember ever feeling validated by,” she recalls. “The body horror in the shower, the insecurity, and rage. I felt so connected to her... I’ll never forget the palpitation in my chest. It was an emotional catharsis. That’s when I realized that horror could be a healthy way to face my darkness.” And for Lynch, the film festival, which is celebrating its fifth year this October, offers audiences an opportunity for that same kind of emotional outlet.

The festival, which screens a mix of repertory and independent premieres, first began as a response to the 2016 election. “I was angry, hurt, and scared. Knowing that there were millions of others who felt the same way, I wanted to devote myself to something that would foster community, creativity, and critical thinking,” Lynch, who saw it as an opportunity to fulfill the need for a specific kind of catharsis, said.. “[It’s] for anyone who reads the news and needs to scream bloody murder in a safe environment.”



Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
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Tuesday, September 28, 2021
'VERY SPECIAL SCREENINGS' OF 'PHANTOM' THIS WEEK
EACH ONE PRESENTED BY THE SWAN ARCHIVES' PRINCIPLE ARCHIVIST
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/phantomcolumbus.jpg

"Our Principal Archivist's tour of elegant theaters continues," reads a post from earlier this month at the News page of The Swan Archives, "this time at the Columbus Theater in Providence, Rhode Island. We hear it's a nice town. September 30, 8pm, he'll be introducing a 'very special' (we're sure we have no idea what THAT means...) screening of Phantom."

In fact, this will be the first of several "very special screenings" of Phantom Of The Paradise that Ari Kahan will be presenting in the next few days. More details of each screening are available at the aforementioned news page, but the Principal Archivist has also provided a handy little schedule via Twitter:

9/30 Providence RI
10/1 Brookline MA
10/2 Brattleboro VT
10/3 Salem MA
10/6 Philadelphia

Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
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Monday, September 27, 2021
'VOYEURS' DIRECTOR TALKS ABOUT 'BODY DOUBLE'
"THIS FEVER DREAM OF A MOVIE" IS AMONG MOHAN'S SIX FAVORITE EROTIC THRILLERS
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/bdbrinke.jpg

"My new movie, The Voyeurs, is a reinvention of the erotic thriller for a modern audience," begins writer-director Michael Mohan in an article today at Talkhouse. "In preparation for the film, I devoured countless films in this lost genre and wanted to share six of my favorites." After starting with Adrian Lyne's Unfaithful, Mohan moves on to Body Double:
Watching this fever dream of a movie, it feels like Brian De Palma learned that he had six weeks left to live and decided to put all of his cinematic ideas in this film, whether or not they fit the story. It’s about an out-of-work actor who is housesitting at the Chemosphere and how he becomes more and more intrigued by a porn star he watches through a telescope. But following the plot is a fool’s errand – it’s the kind of film where you simply need to let the vibe wash over you in order to enjoy the onslaught of baffling maximalist creative decisions. From the sudden switch to rear projection mid-scene, to the abrupt musical number that happens toward the film’s climax; it’s crazy to think this is the blank check movie De Palma wanted to cash after the massive success of Scarface.

Body Double also contains one of my favorite set pieces in all of De Palma’s filmography. In a moment of pure visual storytelling, we follow the main character tailing his object of desire, while a stalker is simultaneously tailing her at the same time. It’s the kind of sequence that can only exist in a movie; it would be so challenging to read in a novel and could never work in audio form. The way De Palma carefully lays out the geography and visual design of how his three chess pieces move across the board is remarkable.

I also just love that the killer’s weapon — a giant drill — is a direct homage to Slumber Party Massacre, one of the smartest horror movies ever made, and directed by a woman.


The other four movies Mohan discusses in the article are Barbet Schroeder's Single White Female, Alain Guiraudie's Stranger by the Lake, Curtis Hanson's The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and Harold Becker's Malice.


Posted by Geoff at 10:33 PM CDT
Updated: Monday, September 27, 2021 10:37 PM CDT
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