'I'm Not There' Interview With Haynes and Heath Ledger At Venice Film Fest

There's a lot of unseen footage from "I'm Not There" in this clip. "I didn't need to contribute to the fandom or the worship of Bob Dylan - that's taken care of," director Todd Haynes said. "But I felt like what an amazing opportunity to get inside this artist and get inside the years and the eras that defined him." It also features Dylan's "I Want You," from Blonde on Blonde, a song curiously so far not accounted for at least where the film's various covers are concerned (maybe the original is in the film perhaps?). "I think [the actors'] task was to provide a fragrance of Dylan and let the story and the movie as a whole be the portrait," Heath Ledger says in the clip.

T.I. And Danny Glover Set To Be BFF

Atlanta trap muzik rapper T.I. has landed a role in the new Danny Glover movie, "Once Was Lost," about the relationship between a senile jazz musician (Glover) and a money-hungry drug dealer (T.I., duh!) who end up taking a cross country drive from Mississippi to Harlem and becoming bff's that learn and grow from one another! As we've noted before, T.I. tends to have trouble with English. Try and make sense of this next sentence if you can. Something about an upcoming comedy. "Acting is well, acting is well. In preparation to do another movie with Danny Glover starting October which I will be producing as well, and another film, another comedy that we're working on," he rambled. [Artisan]

"Wild Style," the film about the nascent, hip-hop, breakdancing, bboy scene in late 1970s New York turns 25 this year. The "Wild Style 25th Anniversary Edition" DVD will be released by Rhino on September 25. [Rhino]

Brassy cabaret singer Nellie Mckay got the boot from a movie with Hilary Swank and Kathy Bates ("P.S. I Love You"), but scored a song in the film, sort of against her will, of course. "I recorded a song as a present for the cast, and the director wanted to use it. My mom said, 'he's using it cause he's cutting all your scenes.' Big joke, ha ha. Then we went to the screening and he cut out all my scenes," a feisty and slightly argumentative McKay told Time Out New York.

The Toronto International Film Fest had a feast of rock-related movies in early September. Not only did the festival have the Ian-Curtis related films "Control" and the doc "Joy Division," "Lou Reed’s Berlin" (directed by Julian Schnabel) and the Dylan film, "I'm Not There" (just to name a few), everyone seemed to neglect the fact that there was also a documentary about The Who on hand. "Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who," was a "near-definitive tribute to the group’s abandon, loaded with euphoric footage of guitar destruction and Keith Moon’s exploding drum kit." The doc comes to DVD on November 7 and features testimonials from The Edge, Who-fanatic Eddie Vedder and Noel Gallagher. [TONY]

The DIY anti-music industry film, "All Ages Night" - which recently finished shooting - captures the tale of tech-saavy " 'Tell-All Culture' kids who live online as well as their rejection of the record industry's outdated star-making machinery." [L.A. Times]

Be prepared for an onslaught of James Blunt music in films and TV. “We will license these records, in movies, TV and commercials,” Warner chairman Lyor Cohen said. “Trust me, you will hear these records.” Heaven have mercy on us all. [New York Times]

The new Otis Redding documentary "Dreams To Remember: The Legacy Of Otis Redding" will have its world premiere in Hollywood on October 8. [AntiMusic]

The 2007 Woodstock Film Festival, set from set to run from Oct. 10-14, will feature Moby on the panel "Music in Film," (where the Mobester will expound on whoring yourself out in movies), Todd Haynes' oft-discussed Bob Dylan film "I'm Not There" (which will close out the fest), "Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten," and "Chasin' Gus' Ghost" a documentary on the history of Jug Band Music which includes interviews and live performances with John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful) and Bob Weir (The Grateful Dead) and was partly filmed in Woodstock. [Poughkeepsie Journal]

Four For Friday - Troubleman, Amateur, Midnight Cowboy, Devil's Rejects,

It's that time of the week again: Four For Friday. Four random soundtracks and one song chosen from each (with exceptions of course).

First up was Marvin Gaye's foray into the world of blaxploitation scoring for the 1972 film, "Troubleman." Everyone was doing it (Issac Hayes for "Shaft," Curtis Mayfield for "Superfly," a then-unknown Earth Wind & Fire performing the director-written music for "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" ) so why not get in on the then in-vogue trend (he beat James Brown's "Black Caesar" score by a year). The title theme is pretty typical of what was happening at the time and the wah-wah guitar pedal abuse that was extremely prevalent at the time.

And while Hal Hartley's 1994 indie-film "Amateur" had what some could easily consider the very first indie-rock soundtrack (songs by My Bloody Valentine, Pavement, PJ Harvey, Liz Phair, Yo La Tengo), years before it was cool to have an "indie-rock soundtrack" (OK, "Pump Up The Volume" doesn't quite count cause that was an alternative rock soundtrack, slight distinction) we've always had an amazing soft spot for the original music that Ned Rifle (aka Hal Hartley) and Jeffrey Taylor composed for all of Hartley's early films. They always seemed to have this romantic immediacy to them that we always identified with. Still to this day, we like them better than the indie tracks in the film (though Pavement's "Here" and MBV's "Only Shallow" are amazing songs on their own). We included a lesser known Red House Painters track to fulfill the indie quota.

Everyone should remember Harry Nilsson's classic theme song for "Midnight Cowboy," "Everyone's Talking" - a song now ubiquitous with any scene where an out-of-towner discovers the big city (see it's winking use in "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" when Baron-Cohen first arrives in New York), but the song is always fun to revisit.

While, we'll totally admit to never having seen a Rob Zombie film (and in some cases purposely stayed away), the man always has some admirable and tasty choices on his soundtracks. The Robert Plant-sounding Terry Reid (in fact, Jimmy Page wanted him for the group that would become Led Zeppelin, but Reid suggested Robert Plant instead!) is a fave of Zombie's and his dark, trouble on the horizon, near-country dirge, "Seed of Memory," must had worked like a charm in the film (though we bet the funky 'up' part was omitted).

Listen: Marvin Gaye - "Main Theme From Trouble Man" (from "Troubleman")
Listen: Red House Painters - "Japanese to English" (from "Amateur")
Download: Ned Rifle - "Original Score - Cue 24" (from "Amateur")
Listen: Harry Nilsson - "Everybody's Talkin' " (from "Midnight Cowboy")
Listen: Terry Reid - "Seed of Memory" (from "The Devil's Rejects")

Watch: Terry Reid's " Superlungs" being used in the 1969 film, "Groupies"

Back In The Day David Cronenberg Was Offered 'Top Gun' And 'Flashdance'

Finally, my old pals at MTV Movies have made their content embedable, about time. In this fun little clip "Eastern Promises" director David Cronenberg talks to MTV's Kurt Loder (a true and genuine movie lover) about the "films that got away," or at least the ones that odd script he was flattered to receive. Cronenberg reveals that he was offered to direct both 'Top Gun' and 'Flashdance,' but says it's a good thing he turned them down cause in his case they would've be "flops." He adds, "I would have tried to subvert 'Flashdance.' And [I told the producers], 'I wouldn't be doing you any favors to direct this movie, I swear.' "

Cronenberg also relays the old tale when he almost directed "Total Recall" (about as weird as when David Lynch was offered "Return of The Jedi;" hold the phone Cronenberg was offered 'Jedi' too.). He wanted William Hurt for the role and of course the producers wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger and well, that was that.

The interview can be read it its entirety over at mtv.com.

Joe Meek Biopic Gets Some Darkness And A Libertine

Are ex-Darkness singer Justin Hawkins and ex-Libertine / current Dirty Pretty Things found Carl Barat going to appear in the music biopic of legendary British freakbeat producer Joe Meek? [ed. a Playlist favorite]

Sure looks that way. According to British site Digital Spy, the film is called "Telstar" (named after Meek's most famously produced hits by the Tornadoes) and the aforementioned rockers will play the roles of Alice Cooper-like rocker Screaming Lord Sutch and American rock pioneer Gene Vincent in the movie about the life of the famously tone-deaf, closeted and thoroughly kooky music producer.

Nick Moran, star of "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," and apparently a Meek-obsessive is set to direct based on a script he wrote, based on a a play he already directed about the very same subject in 2005. Kevin Spacey apparently has a role as well.

Addtionally, a separate documentary called, "A Life In The Death of Joe Meek" is scheduled for release sometime in 2008.

“Joe Meek has two legends. One is his own life, which was a bit fragmented and quite sad and would make a very good movie story and the other really is he was a totally innovative producer.”-Simon Napier-Bell, manager of The Yardbirds, Marc Bolan and author of "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me."

Tracks produced by Joe Meek:
Download: Jimmy Miller & The Barbecues - "Sizzling Hot"
Download: Mike Preston - "A House, A Car And A Wedding Ring"
Download: Lonnie Donegan & His Skiffle Group - "Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O"
Watch/Listen: The Tornadoes - "Telstar"
Download: Joe Meek - "Telstar" (1st Stage Demo)

Trailer for "A Life In The Death of Joe Meek"

New 'Southland Tales' Trailer And Eddie Vedder Both Surf

The new and official trailer for Richard Kelly's long-awaited "Southland Tales" (the guy who did "Donnie Darko") features the Pixies' "Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf Version)"- first seen on the "Pump Up The Volume" soundtrack in 1990. This new trailer (which sort of cements the reputation of this film being disjointed, ludicrous and awful) also features Moby's "Blue Paper," and the Elbow track "Forget Myself." Justin Timberlake narrates. [Yahoo]

Magenta-haired tart and UK "soul" singer Joss Stone will perform a cover of Nat King Cole’s classic 1964 ballad "L-O-V-E" for the soundtrack to the short film for Chanel, entitled "Coco Mademoiselle," which stars Oscar-nominated puckerface actress Keira Knightley. Sounds like an awesome, extended and long-form ad. "Film" my ass.

Members of Beirut, TV On The Radio and Guided By Voices, Shudder to Think, Vampire Weekend, and OK Go are guests on the soundtrack to the biblical-based indie-vignettes comedy, "The Ten." The songs were written by indie-rocker turned film composer, ex-Shudder To Think Craig Werden. Everyone on the planet forgot about this film's existence and the possiblitly of a soundtrack, but Pitchfork finally clued us all in a month late. The album came out Aug 28. Aren't we all on it. [PFM]

As you've probably read, Eddie Vedder is mulling about the idead of taking his "Into The Wild" solo soundtrack album onto the road for a tour. Of course, Vedder - an avid surfer - can take any subject - even ones as boring as comparing Pearl Jam stadium shows to the intimate, smaller show he hopes do' - into a surf for life metaphor, which he does. "If you surf 50-foot waves all the time, you can't try too many new things, because 50-foot waves are kind of life and death. Playing big shows is like that...so you want to take on some smaller waves to rework or refine what you do, and then take it back to the big surf." [L.A. Times]

Watch: "The Ten" trailer
Download: Eddie Vedder - "Guaranteed"
Download: The Pixies - "Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf Version)"
Listen: Nat King Cole - "L-O-V-E"
Watch: Moby - "Blue Paper"
Watch: Elbow - "Forget Myself"

The Fall Preview - Everyone's Doing So Why Can't We, Part Deux

The fall Oscar prestige season is in full swing and a bunch of films will be competing for both your dollars and the consideration of a certain Academy. But awards are whateves, so without further adieu, the second part to our Fall Film Preview. This pretty much concludes the films you need to keep your eye on between now and the end of December.

Margot At The Wedding (dir. Noah Baumbach. Nicole Kidman, Jack Black)
Noah Baumbach's follow-up to the very-excellent "The Squid In The Whale," follows an uptight ice-queen (perfectly cast with Kidman) who objects to her sister (Jennifer Jason-Leigh) marrying a schlub of a loser (Jack Black) and family dysfunction ensues. Problem is the film is getting extremely mediocre reviews so far. Well, at least the soundtrack is fantastic. We have a softspot for this filmmaker so we reserve the right to not judge yet until we've seen it.
Trailer

There Will Be Blood (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson. Daniel Day-Lewis)
After a long-awaited five year absence, Paul Thomas Anderson takes a decidedly unhip left turn with the 1920's oil drama "There Will Be Blood." Based on the Upton Sinclair Novel, "Oil!," PTA's return features Daniel Day-Lewis as a ravenous and misanthropic oil baron who gives not a flying fuck about all humanity, save for his young son. Paul Dano co-stars as a young priest (the only other "name" actor) trying to dispel Day Lewis' greedy scrooge from ruining their California town. Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood scores, but expect bleak drama and file under: not for fans who count, "Punch Drunk Love," "Eternal Sunshine" and "I Heart Huckabees" as their favorite films.
Trailer

The Savages (dir. Tamara Jenkins. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney)
Two estranged and stunted family members (Hoffman, Linney) reevaluate their wandering asshole adult lives and face real-life reality when their father has a stroke and has to be placed in a home for the elderly. The film seems to signal the full-on return of Tamara Jenkins, who hasn't really been heard of critically since 1998's underrated "Slums of Beverly Hills" (her 2004 film went nowhere). With a cast as impeccable as the two leads and a trailer that is bitingly funny as this one, it might be hard to go wrong with this one. Plus "I'm Not There" soundtrack supervisors Randall Poster and Jim Dunbar picked the music for this film (its trailer includes Pinback's Rob Crowe and Spoon for starters)
Trailer

Lars and the Real Girl (dir. Craig Gillespie. Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer)
Ryan Gosling ("Half Nelson") stars as Lars, a delusional young man with a fair amount of romantic and need issues who strikes up a fairly unconventional relationship with a blow-up doll he finds on the Interweb. Sounds sort of retarded, but the cast also features indie-regular Patricia Clarkson and Paul Schneider and looks emotional, funny and sympathetic without devolving into base freak tactics. Looks solid, right? Be careful, director Craig Gillsepie is also the same guy who directed the recently-savaged by critics comedy, "Mr. Woodcock" starring Billy-Bob Thorton. Let's hope that was a work for hire.
Trailer

Funny Games (dir. Michael Haneke. Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt)
Austrian director Michael Haneke is a master of the psychotic mindfuck and messing with his audience (go run and see "Caché," and "The Piano Teacher," but be forewarned they are brutal), but he already made this excruciating film about two psychotic boys who take a family hostage back in 1997. Somehow, Hollywood (dollars likely) convinced him to remake and cannibalize his own work only with American name brand recognizable actors. The trailer looks just gratuitous and idiotic and Haneke somehow has a knack to take extremely brutalizing subjects and somehow inject a layer of honesty to them. Well find out later in December we guess.
Trailer

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (dir. Sidney Lumet. Ethan Hawke, Phillip-Seymour Hoffman)
The film stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a coke-addled loser and Ethan Hawke as his impressionable and gullible little brother and the two of them try and shave off their amounting debts. What do these geniuses do to solve their financial woes? They knock off their parent's jewel store cause no one's going to get hurt, right? Right? Obviously, things get worse from there, and without spoiling things too much loved ones die. Of note, for perverts on the Internet like this guy, Marisa Tomei gets naked in this film.
Trailer

Paranoid Park (dir. Gus Van Sant)
Gus Van Sant hit up myspace for his almost completely-unknown cast about a skatekid who accidentally kills a security guard and tries to keep it quiet from his unsuspecting teachers and classmates. The story is based on the Portland young adult novel by Blake Nelson. The film won the extra-special 60th anniversary prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Scene Clip

American Gangster (dir. Ridley Scott. Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe)
'70s cop versus drug dealer movie starring two heavyweight actors. Ridley Scott's been hit and miss in recent years, but this one has a lot of hopes attached to it, both critical and commercial (not that that means anything). The trailer looks cliched to all hell, but we've been known to be wrong. Hank Shocklee of Public Enemy producing fame is apparently making music for the film. Public Enemy's newest album features a song called, "American Gangster" that we can assume we'll hear somewhere in the film. Common and T.I. also make acting and musical contributions. Oh yeah, and Jay-Z did a whole album inspired by the movie.
Trailer

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (dir. Julian Temple)
Julian Temple (the man behind The Sex Pistols doc "The Filth & The Fury") doesn't do a disservice here to his late Clash buddy Joe Strummer in the fair and balanced 'Future Is Unwritten.' The film is neither a love-letter to Strummer, nor is it the toppling of a sacred cow, but rather a reflective look back at the punk rock icon warts and all. Or as Temple describes it: "not a hero-worship film." The film features glowing testimonials with such Strummer disciples as Martin Scorsese (he says "Raging Bulls" was directly influenced by the Clash), Bono, Bobby Gillespie, John Cooper Clarke, Don Letts, John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Jim Jarmusch, Steve Jones and Johnny Depp who's difficult to take seriously while still in full 'Pirates' make-up and ratty goatee.
Trailer

Youth Without Youth (dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Tim Roth, Alexandra Maria Lara)
Frances Ford decade belated return to the world of film improbably about about a septuagenarian linguistics teacher (Tim Roth) who gets struck by lightning and becomes physically young - but retains his wisdom, memories and experiences. While that seem hokey, the film is supposed to tackle lofty subjects of "time and interior consciousness." Matt Damon has a small cameo and co-starring is Alexandra Maria Lara, who plays Annik Honoré in Anton Corbijn's Joy Division film, "Control.")
Trailer

Redacted (dir. Brian DePalma)
Brian DePalma might be one of the most polarizing directors of the last 20 years, but almost everyone seems onboard for his Iraq war film, "Redacted." The film received a standing ovation at the recent Venice Film Festival and DePalma walked away with the best director prize. About to be steeped in controversy in the next few months from conservative pundits and those that view the film as "anti-soldier," the film is a docudrama based on the real-life Mahmudiyah killings, the real-life rape, murder, and burning of Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi, a 14-year-old Iraqi girl in March 2006 by U.S. soldiers, who also killed her parents and younger sister. For the first time in his career, DePalma's going to be polarizing for more than just his odd, revered and loathed aesthetic choices.
Italian News TV piece

The Diving Bell & The Butterfly" (dir. Julian Schnabel)
Julian Schnabel ("When Night Falls") tries to wring drama and pathos out of a paralyzed French writer who authors a novel solely from blinking and succeeds winningly with evocative and gorgeous painterly tones. A shoe-in for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and already one of the year's most powerful, emotional and effecting, the film stars "Munich" actors Mathieu Amalric and Marie-Josée Croze plus Schanbel's hot trophy wife Olatz Lopez Garmendia and onetime model and Roman Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner. "See our full review [ed. we haven't written it yet]. Oh yeah, Schnabel said Cannes' top prize was supposed to go to "Diving Bell', but politics apparently robbed him.
Trailer

Other Films Not Worth Exerting The Effort Of A Paragraph
Other films to look for (our typing hands are tired, links are generally trailers when applicable): Jake Paltrow's "The Good Night" starring Penelope Cruz, Simon Pegg and big sis, Gwyneth; "Dan In Real Life" with Steven Carrell and the always amazing Juliette Binoche; "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," a costume drama sequel where nothing gets blown up starring Cate Blanchett as the Queen again; "Wristcutters: A Love Story," Patrick Fugit (the kid from "Almost Famous") and Shannyn Sossamon star as successful suciders that life on in limbo (with Tom Waits!); "Rendition" we have a crush on Reese Witherspoon; "Fred Claus" - Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti could be funny; "Cassandra's Dreams" - Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor try and prove Woody Allen's serious comeback wasn't a fluke; "Leatherheads" - George Clooney likes tough subjects, this time it's a screwball comedy about roaring '20s-era football; "Sweeney Todd" - Tim Burton and Johnny Depp reteam for the murderous musical. Sounds wretched; "Persepolis" - won the Jury prize at this years Cannes festival is an animated black and white movie based on a graphic novel memoir experience of growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution (it's not fun for an Iron Maiden fan). Fun for the whole family to be sure.

'Wristcutters' Soundtrack Features Gogol Bordello, Tom Waits, Joy Division; More

Ever remember the story of "Wristcutters: A Love Story" a 2006 Sundance hit about suicide victims banished to a purgatory-like afterworld starring Patrick Fugit ("Almost Famous"), Shannyn Sossamon and Tom Waits (who plays a sort of dead-guy Guru)?

The film was indeed a hit (it also won the best feature honors at last year's Gen Art Film Festival) but for reasons unknown (studio coldfeet likely and whatnot), the film couldn't find a distributor for some time, but it finally found a distributor in March of this year, but AfterDark films (who apparently had planned - at least then - a potentially controversial marketing plan).

Notice that the lead Shea Whigham, has more than a passing resemblance to Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz? Well, the character's name is Eugene, and the gypsy rocker is actually a friend of director Goran Dukic who modelled the character after him (Hutz starred alongside Elijah Wood in "Everything Was Illuminated" but was apparently preoccupied when this film started rolling. A scene in the film even has "Eugene" fronting a Gogol-like band and accidentally electrifying himself onstage - or maybe its purposely).

So, it's no suprise then that the party gypsy Bordello rockers contribute three songs to the film ("Through The Roof And Underground" from Multi Kontra Culti vs. Irony is used in the trailer). The film naturally features a Tom Waits track (name one movie Waits starred in that didn't feature his music somewhere off the top of your head, go!) and what's a film about star-crossed suicide lovers without Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (young filmmakers take note, they'll pretty much sell this song to anyone at this point)?

Indie-film composer and multi-instrumentalist Bobby Johnston created the lovely score (his music is often featured on NPR's This American Life) and the film also features tracks by Gram Parsons, Joe Meek (the excellent freakbeat track "Telstar") and Del Shannon. The film is due in theaters October 19th.

"Wristcutters: A Love Story" tracklist
1. Dead And Lovely - Tom Waits
2. Deathwish - Christian Death
3. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
4. Occurances At The Border - Gogol Bordello
5. Song For You, A - Gram Parsons
6. Through The Roof And Underground - Gogol Bordello
7. Oasis - Vivienne Dogan-Corringham
8. Telstar - Joe Meek
9. Cry Myself To Sleep - Del Shannon
10. Huliganjetta - Gogol Bordello
11. She's Fallen In Love With A Monster - Screaming Lord Sutch
12. 24 To Vector Z - Daniel Wang
13. Gloomy Sunday - Artie Shaw
14. Love Song - Mikal Lazarev
15. Brennan's Theme - Mushman

Download: Tom Wait's - Flower's Grave
Download: Joy Division - "The Eternal"
Download: Joe Meek - "Telstar" (1st Stage Demo)
"Wristcutters: A Love Story" trailer

Let us note: This movie was terrible. [C-]

Jay-Z Records Album Inspired By Ridley Scott's 'American Gangster'

Ok, first Jay-Z "retired" and then when no one was looking recorded an entire album (2006's Kingdom Come). It was terrible (what did you expect? It had Coldplay's Chris Martin, aka instant hip-hop buzzkill).

Then again, when no one was the wiser, Jay-Z quietly did his own thing and then recorded a whole album's worth of material inspired by the upcoming Ridley Scott film, "American Gangster" according to the New York Times.

The album - which is due November 6 - came together quickly over the last several weeks after Jay-Z was shown a screening of the film that stars Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and his hip-hop brethren, Common and T.I. (Washington plays Frank Lucas, a early 1970s Harlem heroin kingpin, and Crowe plays the obsessive cop gunning to take him down). Apparently nine tracks are already complete.

So yeah, being President of a label will help you record an album in a matter of weeks and then schedule it for release just over a month later. Gotta love them perks.

We all should have probably seen this coming, the "American Gangster" trailer features Jay-Z's, "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" from The Blueprint. Jay said after watching the film he had a burst of creativity that was unprecedented even for him. “It was like I was watching the film, and putting it on pause, and giving a back story to the story,” he told the Times.

Apparently Denzel had already pressed producer Brian Grazer to include Jay-Z's music in the film more than a year ago, but Grazer resisted, insisting the movie required an authentic 1970s feel. Def Jam will be releasing the film's actual soundtrack which features songs by '70s funk star Bobby Womack ("Across 100th Street" is also used in one of the trailers), the Staple Singers and Sam & Dave.

“Watching that film, it brought back all these memories,” Jay said. “It took me back to those emotions.”

Download: Jay-Z's - "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)"
Download: Bobby Bland - Ain't No Love In the Heart of the City" (original sample source)
"American Gangster" trailer

If I Were Wes Anderson: Soundtrack Series Vol. 9

Perhaps you heard about this Soundtrack Series we do from time to time (read more). We could go on for years to explain our intentions here, but we won't bore you. Suffice to say when we heard back in early 2006 that Wes' new movie would be set in India we began mulling that idea around and obviously came up with the films of Satyajit Ray which lead us to all kinds of things (some on the mark and some just nice and different, aside from all the other wide possibilities of course). This is a lot to absorb in one sitting so we suggest you don't, but we hope you enjoy. A bit of thought and time went into it.


If I Were Wes Anderson: The Playlist Presents Soundtrack Series Volume 9 - Volume 1
01 - Vandanna (excerpt 1) - Ravi Shankar
02 - Trains And Boats And Planes - Burt Bacharach
03 - Le Temps Des Souvenirs - Françoise Hardy
04 - The Doge's Decree - Concerto In C Major - Alexandre Desplat
05 - Kathakali Katthak - Ravi Shankar
06 - Black Sheep Boy - Scott Walker
07 - Quand On Est Ensemble - France Gall
08 - Lonely Girl - Sagittarius
09 - Felu Theme - Satyajit Ray
10 - Goin' Down - Harry Nilsson
11 - I've Got Something On My Mind - Left Banke
12 - Monica - The Kinks
13 - A Bicyclette - Yves Montand
14 - This Little Bird - Marianne Faithfull
15 - I Want You - Bob Dylan
16 - Sister Marie [edit] - Sagittarius
17 - Back Street Girl - The Rlling Stnes
18 - Rings For The Kings - Satyajit Ray
19 - I'll Live Yesterdays - Lee Hazelwood
20 - Little Sister - Nico
21 - How Wrong Can One Man Be - Colin Blunstone
22 - I Go to Sleep - The Kinks
23 - Tuesday's Dead - Cat Stevens
24 - So Long, Marianne - Leonard Cohen
25 - Freedom - Oliver Onions

If I Were Wes Anderson: The Playlist Presents Soundtrack Series Volume 9 - Volume 2
01 - Bhupati And Amal - Satyajit Ray
02 - Late In The Evening - Paul Simon
03 - The India Song - Big Star
04 - Don't You Know - Maxine Darren
05 - Que Pena (Ele Já Não Gosta Mais De Mim) - Gal Costa
06 - I Live For You - George Harrison
07 - Goopy And Bagha's Magic - Satyajit Ray
08 - Love Goes To A Building On Fire - Talking Heads
09 - Got A Feeling - Mamas And The Papas
10 - Mother Whale Eyeless (edit) - Brian Eno
11 - Angelsea - Cat Stevens
12 - Love You Till Tuesday - David Bowie
13 - Chappaqua (excerpt 1) - Ravi Shankar
14 - Loneliest Person - The Pretty Things
15 - Be Still - The Beach Boys
16 - Farewell To Ernest - Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
17 - Someone I Know - Margo Guryan
18 - River Theme - Bob Dylan
19 - Tattoo - The Who
20 - Lindsey's Song #1 (I Know I'm Not Wrong) - Fleetwood Mac
21 - Andalucia - Yo La Tengo
22 - Bikram Theme - Satyajit Ray
23 - Snowball - Devo
24 - Let Me Count The Ways - Yoko Ono
25 - Tonight We Fly - The Divine Comedy

If I Were Wes Anderson: The Playlist Presents Soundtrack Series - Outtakes Disc
01 - Discovery (edit) - Ravi Shankar
02 - All The Tired Horses - Bob Dylan
03 - Too Much On My Mind - The Kinks
04 - Holiday - Bee Gees
05 - The Island - The Millennium
06 - Kathy's Waltz (edit) - The Dave Brubeck Quartet
07 - Ponta de Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma) - Jorge Ben
08 - Chappaqua (excerpt 2) - Ravi Shankar
09 - Skyline Pigeon (Harpsichord Version) - Elton John
10 - Oh Deed I Do - Donovan
11 - Captain (The Mermaid) - John Phillips
12 - Sister Marie - Chad & Jeremy
13 - Turtles Have Short Legs - Can
14 - The Rhythm - XTC
15 - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do - Alton & Hortense Ellis
16 - Paris 1919 - John Cale
17 - Cotton Fields - Unit 4 + 2
18 - Poquito cantando - Zoot Sims
19 - On A Slow Boat To China - Sonny Rollins
20 - Wishyouawish - The Hollies
21 - Who by Fire - Leonard Cohen
22 - Whippings And Apologies (edit) - Sparks
23 - Mr. Songbird [Stereo Version] - The Kinks

*We was too lazy to change the artwork to "outtakes" on Disc III, sorry.

*Links removed, too many issues with Google.

Watch Your Back Wes Anderson & Zach Braff: 'Juno' Soundtrack Tries To One Up "Hip" Soundtracks; Ex-Moldy Peaches Singer Kimya Dawson Featured

OK, someone gave Jason Reitman ("Thank You For Smoking," son of comedy director Ivan Reitman) just a little bit of extra dough for soundtrack clearances for his upcoming new dark comedy, "Juno," which recently debuted to strong reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival (the film won the People's Choice runner-up prize at TIFF - Eastern Promises took the top honors)

And so, attention Wes Anderson, Zach Braff, Sofia Coppola and filmmakers with tastefully chosen "hipster" soundtracks (in Braff's case, emo-ly chosen nu-ish indie rock soundtracks to accompany your cranberry juice order), Jason Reitman might be gunning for you.

The "Juno" movie features Ex-Moldy Peaches singer Kimya Dawson who contributes a bunch of pre-existing songs to the comedy about a teenage girl ('X-Men 3''s Ellen Paige) who gets pregnant (by Michael Cera) and finds her unborn child a “perfect” set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), longing to adopt (hello, small-"Arrested Development" reunion).

The movie also features existing songs by the Kinks, the Velvet Underground (a self-titled 3rd album B-side), Buddy Holly, Cat Power, Hole, Belle & Sebastian, Sonic Youth (an excellent B-side Carpenters cover) and Ellen Page and Michael Cera singing together in the film; singing the Moldy Peaches song, "Anyone Else But You."

Director Jason Reitman explained in the film's press notes that actress Ellen Paige actually informed some of the musical choices.

“At one point, I asked Ellen Page before we started shooting, ‘what do you think Juno listens to?’ And she said ‘The Moldy Peaches’. She went on my computer, played the songs, and I fell in love with it. [Screenwriter] Diablo [Cody] and I discussed putting a Moldy Peaches song in it where the characters would sing to each other. I got in touch with Kimya Dawson of The Moldy Peaches and she started sending me her work, which was beautiful, and that became a lot of the soundtrack.”

In the same press notes, Screenwriter Diablo Cody said, "I love the music. I think that Ellen Page as a person informed a lot about the movie. She’s just an interesting personality and such an amazing person, that you couldn’t help but put her stamp on things.” Kimya Dawson wrote rather self-deprecatingly on her livejournal about the songs used in the film, noting she didn't really write anything original for the film.

“Some of those songs were recorded in my bed in Bedford Hills, under the covers, on the 4-track. And when people were coming up to me telling me I did a great job it felt weird because I didn’t do a job. I wrote a bunch of crap when my heart was hurting. Everyone else had to do a job. The songs were already there. Just floating around in space. I didn’t do anything specifically FOR the movie. Except record some instrumental versions of a couple songs that only have two chords. That was easy. so, yeah...”

Kimya also contributed tracks with her kid-folk band Antsy Pants, that features 12-year old Leo from the kid one-man-band Bear Creek.

As we've noted before, our Raison d'être might seem like we live for pop music in movies, but au contraire. We've said it before: pop music in films can easily act as a cheap emotional shortcut to dial up feelings that the actual scene and film aren't executing themselves and in the worst scenarios they seem forced, lazy and gratuitous (see a lot of comedies). With that said, Filmwad has a pretty good rant and plea to "Stop Ruining Comedies With "Cool" Soundtracks," and we definitely think this is a salient concern to raise or at least think about.

Juno is due December 14th and there's no word on a soundtrack release yet. The trailer (below) features the Moldy Peaches' "Anyone Else But You" and Mott the Hooples' "All The Young Dudes."

"Juno" Soundtrack (not necessarily what will eventually be on the soundtrack CD)
The Moldy Peaches - "Anyone Else But You"
Ellen Page and Michael Cera - "Anyone Else But You"
Kimya Dawson - “Tire Swing” (from Remember That I Love You)
Kimya Dawson - “My Rollercoaster” (from Remember That I Love You)
Kimya Dawson - “So Nice So Smart” (from Knock-Knock Who?)
Kimya Dawson - “I Like Giants” (from Remember That I Love You)
Kimya Dawson - "Reminders of Then" (from I'm Sorry Sometimes That I'm Mean)
Kimya Dawson - "12/26" (from Remember That I Love You)
Kimya Dawson - "Loose Lips"
Kimya Dawson and Antsy Pants - "Tree Hugger"
Kimya Dawson and Antsy Pants - "Sleep"
Astrud Gilberto - "Once I Loved"
Barry Louis Polisar - “All I Want Is You”
Trio Los Panchos - “Besame Mucho”
The Kinks - “A Well Respected Man”
Courtney Love - “Doll Parts” [ed. pretty sure they mean Hole here]
The Velvet Underground - “I’m Sticking With You”
Buddy Holly - “Dearest”
The drop - “Why Bother”
Sonic Youth - “Superstar”
Belle & Sebastian - “Piazza, New York Catcher”
Belle & Sebastian - “Expectations”
Mott The Hoople - “All the Young Dudes”
Cat Power - “Sea of Love”
Antsy Pants - “Vampire”

Download: The Moldy Peaches - "Anyone Else But You"
Download: Sonic Youth - "Superstar"
Download: Kimya Dawson - "12/26"
Download: Kimya Dawson - “I Like Giants”
Watch: Kimya Dawson's kid Mahala singing the Antsy Pants song "Henry Kelly"
Official Juno Trailer

Comedy Abomination "Good Luck Chuck," Features Marginally Better Soundtrack: Plus New Flaming Lips and Dandy Warhols Tracks

Do you think when Jessica Alba signed on for "Good Luck Chuck" she begged her agent to renege the contract when she learned she'd be starring next to jock "comedian" Dane Cook?

For instance: Cook's observational humor uses slang vocabulary to match his talkative manner. For example: A bad relationship is a "Relationshit", Walgreens is "The Wall," and a sandwich is a "sangwich." [ed. hilarious]

Nevertheless the "Good Luck Chuck" soundtrack, features some semi-decent nu-indie rockish tracks that will probably thrill the Stereogum crowd. Though let's face it, we've called them out before: The Flaming Lips will pretty much crank out a new song for you in 10 minutes if you offer them $50 bucks. As director Mark Helfrig tells it, "It was a personal thrill to work with some of my favorite bands like The Dandy Warhols and The Flaming Lips on an idea I had and have them come up with a song for it. Thrill is an understatement – I couldn’t believe my good luck!"

Dude, like we said, it's not hard (see every lame comedy soundtrack of the last five years). For his part, Wayne "I'll Do That For A Dollar" Coyne said, "It is sometimes very easy to work with directors. But you know, honestly, they have more to lose than we do," Coyne said of the film and music collaboration (umm, really?) "And when we are asked to help we try to be as accommodating as possible." Yeah, no shit.

For the new Dandy Warhols track in the film, Helfrig said he originally cut the scene to the Dandy's "Bohemian Like You" from Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia (a fiercely underrated album that has been absolutely plundered and raped for bad scenes in lame films since its released in 2000) : "Courtney Taylor-Taylor came by the editing room, I showed him about half the movie and he was inspired. He came up with the idea for a fast paced, fun song consisting primarily of girl’s names. It had a retro-y Beach Boys vibe to it, with a twist only the Dandy Warhols could put on it. I loved it instantly."

Taylor-Taylor, no stranger to schilling for a buck said, "It was pretty fun making the song for the movie 'Good Luck Chuck.' We sat around with guitars and watched this goofy montage of Dane Cook pretending to "do it" with a lot of different ladies. Now that's funny."

We bet it was. We're sure both of these tracks suck honestly, but Olivia Newton-John and Bauhaus are good choices (albeit, extremely obvious ones).

The Honorary Title and Aidan Hawken both contributed original songs to the film and The Feeling - the band that sounds like a perennial-tampon commercial - changed the lyrics of their song "I Love It When You Call," so it would fit the tenor of what was happening onscreen. Whatever...

"Good Luck Chuck" tracklist
1. The Flaming Lips - "I Was Zapped By The Lucky Super Rainbow"
2. The Honorary Title - "Accident Prone"
3. The Dandy Warhols - "Good Luck Chuck"
4. The Feeling - "I Love It When You Call (Cherrytree House Version)"
5. Art Brut - "Good Weekend"
6. Shout Out Louds - "Hurry Up Let’s Go"
7. Aidan Hawken - "Shut Me Out"
8. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - "You’re Gonna Get It"
9. Pepper - "The Whistle Song"
10. The Cars - "You Might Think"
11. Olivia Newton-John - "Physical"
12. Bauhaus "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
13. Antique Gold - "Crazy In Love"

Download: The Flaming Lips - "I Was Zapped By The Lucky Super Rainbow"
Download: Olivia Newton-John - "Physical"
Trailer: "Good Luck Chuck"

Paul Haggis Acutely Aware How Awful You Think He Is

The newest issue of Entertainment Weekly has a pretty amusing article with Paul Haggis (aka "Paul Hack," the article is not online yet.) In it Haggis seems to be painfully aware of how much you hated "Crash" and how much you hate him for it.

Backing up, in case you forget, "Crash, - the ham-fisted, hammer over the head intersecting racial issues in L.A. film - won the 2005 Oscar for Best Picture and a nation of movie-goers groaned and took up pitchforks and flaming torches in a confederacy of disgust and outrage.

Well, Haggis is well aware of this and likes to point out to everyone within earshot that while he might have made, "Crash," but he didn't award himself the Academy Award for the film. His guilt and apologeticness about the film is rather funny.

"I think what people didn't like about Crash was that they thought it was overrated. But I didn't rate the movie!", he protested, also noting the fact that trumping the popular, "Brokeback Mountain," didn't help its case.

In fact, he all but disowns the film. When he's asked what he thinks about people calling the film manipulative he answered, "It's completely manipulative. I set out to manipulate, and I did! All good films are manipulative. What people probably didn't like was that they could see the manipulation happening and that may be true. That's one thing that made me uncomfortable about the screenplay [ed. which he wrote] - it all happened in very short bursts, there wasn't a long lead-up to anything. So yeah, it's totally manipulative."

He also apologizes for "Crash" by way of his new film, "In The Valley Of Elah" (see our Fall Preview). "I think it's a much more subtle vehicle," he said playing to the audience that wanted to burn him at the stake. "But hopefully it leaves people...talking about it in the lobby."

You gotta give the guy (a Scientologist, btw) points for a least being cognizant.

Musical Preview: "I'm Not There" The Educational-Only Originals

Ok, you haven't yet heard the covers made by various classic and indie rockers on Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There" soundtrack, right? Right, none of us have, but the tracklist is now out.

So we thought we'd give you a preview cheat sheet of what the music on this soundtrack might sound like. Here's the tracklist, song for song, with the Bob Dylan originals for educational purposes only of course.

Get it while you can, this won't be up for long. Keep in mind there is no 07 - track because the track, "Can't Leave Her Behind" was never officially released (though yes, we're sure some of you bootleggers out there have it). The song was first heard on the 1966 Dylan film, "Eat The Document," and the clip is provided below. Also there's no track 16 because the the "I'm Not There" has the title track on the album twice (the long-waited official original version and also Sonic Youth's cover version)

I'm Not There - The Bob Dylan Originals
"Can't Leave Her Behind" from "Eat The Document" featuring The Band's Robbie Robertson

The Fall Preview - Everyone's Doing So Why Can't We PT 1

Oscar-bait prestige season is upon us: no more CGI, no more Michael Bay-esque titantic explosions, no more fart jokes. You can either look at it as where the year ends for films or where it begins and let's face it, we enjoy a cock n' balls joke as much as the next guy, but we're ready for, ahem...*cough* the cinema to do its thing.

I'm Not There (dir Todd Haynes. Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale)
We think this is a film about Bob Dylan with a bunch of actors, but we're not totally sure. We need to do some research about this one. Todd Haynes ("Velvet Goldmine," Far From Heaven") directs; that much we know. Cate Blanchett is said to be a lock for an Oscar or something...
Watch The Trailer.

The Darjeeling Limited (dir. Wes Anderson. Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman)
Wes Anderson's fifth film is either his worst or his best. A story about three estranged brothers on a spiritual journey to India has some critics howling at its disjointedness and lack of substance, while a small minority is praising its mature tones calling it the most melancholy film he's ever made. We've seen it, but we'll keep mum until our review later this week.
Trailer.

Eastern Promises (dir. David Cronenberg. Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts)
Estimable film critic J. Hoberman calls director David Cronenberg the "most provocative, original and most consistently excellent North American director of his generation" (above Spielberg, Scorsese and Lynch). While that remains to be seen, Cro's re-teaming with Viggo Mortensen as a ruthless Russian thug caught between the ever more ruthless mob and a nosy midwife is fierce, unforgiving and at times utterly thrilling. But much like the sometimes-episodic feeling "A History of Violence," the ending wraps way too neatly, it runs out of gas, and a lot of loose ends are left in the open.
Trailer.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
(dir. Andrew Dominik. Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck)
The film has been in studio limbo for almost two years, which usually spells doom, but it's for the best reasons: the suits want a western epic and instead, director Andrew Dominik turned in a meditative epic more in line with the poetry of Terrence Malick than the shoot 'em ups of John Ford. Casey Affleck is said to be fantastic as the coward and Brad Pitt just won the Venice Film Fest award for best actor.
Trailer.

Gone Baby Gone (dir. Ben Affleck. Casey Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris)
Ben Affleck was self-aware enough to realize that Bennifergate made him one of the most loathed men on the planet so he did the wisest thing possible: he disappeared. Then he took small supporting roles and starting writing a film he decided to direct. Smart move, right? Only he decided to adapt a Dennis Lehan novel and made a film that looks like a paint by numbers version of Lehan's popularly adapted "Mystic River." It looks like almost a shot-for-shot remake, but we could be wrong. A similar and current, girl gone missing incident in the UK have fucked the films chances of playing across the pond anytime soon. Pity that.
Trailer.

Into The Wild (dir. Sean Penn. Emile Hirsch)
Sean Penn does whatever the fuck he wants, so that means adapting a novel about some idealist hippie who drops out of society to live off berries and bear shit. Even better he casts the so-far unbankable Emile Hirsch as the lead. But it's a wise choice. Anyone who's watched Hirsch knows he's destined for greatness and a Johnny Depp-style career if he doesn't fuck it up. The performance could be this years dark horse nominee ala Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson." The supporting cast includes Hal Halbrook, Vince Vaughn and Catherine Keener. Penn's bff Eddie Vedder wrote the flannel-like mountain man folk tunes.
Trailer.

No Country For Old Men (dir. Ethan Coen. Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin)
Much like Woody Allen in recent years, every four-five films (about once a decade) the Coen Brothers decide to throw their wacky lightness off track for an excursion down the dark side and the desert-set 'Old Men' looks black as night and makes "Fargo" look like as cuddly as Teddy Ruxpin. Javier Bardem stars as a unforgiving mercenary in a really bad paigeboy haircut which might be the reason why he's so brutalizing and pissed off. Expect lots of blood, a high body count and laughs that can only be squeezed out of the irony of human misery.
Trailer.

In the Valley of Elah (dir. Paul Haggis. Charlize Theron, Tommy Lee Jones)
Everyone outside the Oscar committee with a function left and right lobe thought "Crash" was utter tripe, so maybe Paul Haggis has something to prove? Charlize Theron stars as a detective on the case of an AWOL Iraq war vet and Jones plays the ex-military man assisting her investigation. Haggis calls it a "moral whodunnit," and it could be more of his ham-fisted platitudes and cliches, but Toronto Film Fest reviews are strong.
Trailer.

Lust Caution (dir. Ang Lee. Tony Leung, Tang Wei)
The most lauded film of the summer (so far) is also probably the most difficult sell in North America. Plus: Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (the gay cowboy film that turned 'brokeback' into a verb). Minus: Not In Engrish. Plus: "Caution' just took the top Venice film fest prize. Minus: It's rated NC17 for explicit sexuality and violence. Plus: It's a war espionage thriller with sex! Minus: It's an arty erotic foreign-language thriller with a cast you've never heard of unless you know who in god's name Wong Kar Wai is (if you don't you should).
Trailer.

Lake Of Fire (dir. Tony Kaye)
Do you remember career down in flames self-saboteur Tony Kaye? Kaye burned every Hollywood bridge there was to burn (and spat on the ashes) and went near bat shit crazy when Ed Norton took "American History X" away from him (let's face it, kinda of a dick move). He took out full-page Variety ads condemning the studio and Norton and tried to change his credit to, "directed by Humpty Dumpty" (he failed). An infamous 2003 Vanity Fair piece, firmly established Kaye's psychotic personality as he befriended and then brutally betrayed Marlon Brandon about two years before his death. Well, Kaye's returned with "Lake of Fire," a unaffected black-and white documentary about abortion that's supposed to be completely non-partisan and completely powerful.
Trailer N/A.

Control (dir. Anton Corbijn. Sam Reily, Samantha Morton)
The life and untimely demise of Joy Division's Ian Curtis is yet another rock biopic in the crowded fall season (see "Across the Universe," "I'm Not There") and first time filmmaker, longtime rock photographer Corbijn is ostensibly the only man for the job (his original Joy Division photos gave the band their iconic look), but alas it's not meant to be. The script is flat, the direction and execution is uneventful. There's great moments of unexpected comedy and flashes of side-actors' brilliance, but overall it's not even affecting enough to stir Curtis let alone have him rolling in his grave. The overall feeling is: meh.
Trailer.

Michael Clayton (dir. Tony Gilroy. George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson)
Stock lawerly drama with George Clooney, right? Maybe. Clooney wanted to direct, but first time filmmaker and screenwriter Tony Gilroy somehow convinced the persuasive actor that he was the man for the job and his passion made the star acquiesce (the two shared a passion for '70s thrillers "Klute" and "The Parallax View"). Clayton is about corporate lawyer who discovers a conspiracy and his own moral compass and while that sounds cliche, the trailer looks riveting. Clooney slashed his $20 million dollar asking price so Gilroy could preserve final cut and that's something to admire.
Trailer.

And that's really just the tip of the fall season iceberg [ed. does that even any make sense?]. Later this week (or next week if we get lazy), the final pt.II of the film's you should be most looking forward to see (or should be forewarned about at least) and there's lots of them.