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Under discussion:

The Squid and the Whale  (2005)

Margot at the Wedding  (2007)

I first saw Margot at the Wedding, Noah Baumbach’s follow-up to The Squid and the Whale, in September at Telluride. I generally disliked it, but I vowed to see it again at the New York Film Festival and, if my opinion had changed, update my original review. If anything, the second viewing solidified many of my initial, negative feelings about the movie, but I did gain deeper respect for the performances, particularly that of Nicole Kidman, who creates a magnificent villain with a vivid backstory, despite the fact that Baumbach gives her very little to work towards. I’ve updated my review to include some thoughts based on a second viewing; you’ll find the old version here, and the new version after the jump.

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Talk is brewing on Nikki Finke and Jeff Wells‘ sites of promoting a movie theater boycott over Thanksgiving weekend as a show of solidarity with the striking writers. The concept, says a commenter calling him/herself “writer/producer”, is simple: “All you have to do is stay home and spend more time with your families…Thanksgiving is one of the biggest weekends of the yeah and lowering the box office take that weekend will really hit the studios hard. Hard core fans could even picket their local movie theaters if they wanted to???”

For his part, Wells says he’ll support a boycott if it happens–”Hitting the producers and studio chiefs where it hurts is pure Frank Capra, but I love it”–but maybe he should take minute to think it over. Another Finke commenter says advocating such an organized show of solidarity would be illegal: “Secondary Boycotts are illegal Big-Time! While it might help a lot to boycott the theaters over the thanksgiving weekend it is very illegal to advocate that, especially on Nikki???s board which would surely be closed down when the first Studio Mogul secretly objected.”

A couple of hundred potential ticket buyers picketing on CityWalk would certainly cause a media-friendly ruckus, but I seriously doubt such a boycott could happen on large enough a scale to make any real difference. The fact is, there are five major studio films opening that weekend, many of them family-friendly films with aggressive ad campaigns. It seems hugely unlikely that anyone outside of New York or LA with plans to take the whole family to see Enchanted or This Christmas is going to care enough about a labor issue (especially one that they perceive impacts rich people) to stay home.

Under discussion:

The Woman Next Door  (1981)

The Wicker Man  (2006)

• A twist in the strike saga: the AMPTP’s lead negotiator Nick Counter has accused the WGA of creating a blacklist by “using fear and intimidation to control its membership.” WGA reps were quick to refute that charge, but the writers maintain they will not break the picket line until the studios respond to their final offer on internet residuals. “This is our last chance to get residuals for work on the Internet. If we don’t do it now, they’ll never give it to us,” said writer/showrunner Jack Kenny. Meanwhile, SAG officer Valerie Harper hammered home the point that this is not a Hollywood issue, but a labor issue: “A lot of this is going on in our country — doing business cheaper and decimating the middle class,” Harper said. “In the future, this strike will be a historic moment for unions.”
• Neil LaBute has been hired to write a remake of Truffaut’s La Femme d’a cote (AKA The Woman Next Door) for Taylor Hackford to direct at New Line. Because LaBute, whose last released film was a disastrous remake of The Wicker Man, technically cannot write the script until after the strike, it could be years before this project actually comes together. Also, Hackford has to finish that movie with his wife in the brothel.
• Ira Levin, the author of the novels that inspired films like Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, and one of my favorite guilty pleasures, Sliver,?? died on Monday at age 78.