Favourite Movie Friday with John Cameron Mitchell

You may remember me ranting and raving about interviewing one of my heroes, John Cameron Mitchell, back in March of this year. Although I’m yet to post my extensive feature with him (it’s coming, I swear) here are his picks for favourite movies:

“I would say A Woman Under The Influence, throw in Annie, Knight Of Siberia, The King Of Comedy, Dr Strangleove and Network.”

Short, but to the point. Stay tuned for my feature with one of the nicest guys in show bizz coming later this month. We talk homosexuality, republicans, censorship and Hollywood. There are minimal tangents, I swear.

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Gay man directing Gaiman

I’ve just finished a colossal feature article on John Cameron Mitchell (above) for my newspaper’s weekend magazine and, if possible, writing that story has made me love him more. More than Tiger blood even. I will post an online version of said feature once its run in print, but in the meantime, here’s an update on his next project – an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s How To Talk To Girls At Parties.

Seriously, Cameron Mitchell and Gaiman collaborating? I haven't heard of a duo this awesome since . . .well, lets just say I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. How To Talk To Girls At Parties is an award-winning sci-fi short story written by Gaiman in 2006 and is set in 70s Britain, when two teenage boys go to a party to meet girls and find out they’re actually aliens. I quizzed Cameron Mitchell about the project at the end of our interview, so he only limited time to talk about it. Alas, here’s what he had to say:

MM: Now, I heard you're directing Neil Gaiman's short story, How To Talk To Girls At Parties. What can you tell me about that?

JCM: I’m on the verge of starting the script with Neil (Gaiman). We’ve been talking about it a lot and we’re on the same page. It’s like British with aliens and that goes back to my roots of sci-fi and B movies as a kid.

MM: It's an awesome lil' story. Were you a fan of Gaiman's work before coming onboard this?

JCM: I’ve always been aware of him, but not his work. It’s fun to get to know it and I’ve been a fan of comic books as a kid but dropped it when Reagan came in. It’s fun to see that adult comic underground he exemplifies, you know, along with Alan Moore and Frank Miller. They use the comic book super hero themes but it has these different ideas and adult humour.

This is pretty different territory for Cameron Mitchell but as he proved with Rabbit Hole, he’s a director who’s willing to try new things. I mean, after a film about a transgender rock singer and another which pushed the boundaries of explicit sex in mainstream cinema, who would have picked him for a muted drama about parental loss and love? Then to follow that up with a B-movie-esque teen sci-fi . . . the man is versatile. How To Talk To Girls At Parties hasn’t been tagged with a release date yet (even the basic dets aren’t on IMDB Pro) and with rumours still swirling around about whether it will be live-action or animated, it’s clear we will have a long wait before we get any more solid info on how the project is progressing. The bottom line is, stay tuned.

Note: The second image is a limited edition poster by Camilla d'Errico based on Gaiman's short story.

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Celebs share their Oscar tips with movie Mazz

It's almost Oscars time bitches! Booyah! Now I've got to dash because I've got the live event to cover, but in the meantime . . . here are some hot and exclusive tips from a bunch of fantatsic people I've interviewed over the past few weeks. I had a ball compiling this list and I hope you have just as much fun reading it. Stay posted for live Oscars results today AND all the rad pics from 2011 Oscars party. Ciao.

Chris `Ludacris' Bridges, Actor and RapperThe rapper turned actor found critical success in best picture Oscar-winner Crash and nominee Hustle & Flow. He said the ``smart money'' is on his No Strings Attached co-star:
``Natalie Portman man, this is her year. She's come out with Black Swan and she's in like three other movies this year. I think that she's just shining right now. I'm really proud of her and I wish her well. Plus, she did she did a damn good job in Black Swan.''

Callan McAuliffe, Actor

The 16-year-old actor from Sydney has spent his first year in Hollywood starring in blockbusters such as I Am Number Four and Flipped. He throws his support behind an animated contender:
``How To Train Your Dragon was my favourite film of 2010, I love it and I hope it wins the animation category. I saw True Grit and I want it to win something, it was great, and Inception, which was amazing. I think both of those two deserve an award.''

Stephen Frears, Filmmaker

As a two-time best director Academy Award nominee and the man who directed Helen Mirren in her award-winning turn in The Queen, Frears knows all about the selection process and his bet is on a fellow Brit for best actor.
``Surely Colin (Firth) will win. That's what everyone seems to think. I'm not really too good at guessing those sorts of things.''

Oliver Ackland, Actor

The star of upcoming Australian film Wasted On The Young and recipient of the Heath Ledger Scholarship tips Ledger's The Dark Knight co-star:
``I think Christian Bale for best supporting actor, but I'm not so sure for best actor, I'll leave that up in air. I'm a big fan of Christian Bale, he deserves to win every time around. It's nuts that this is only his first nomination, it doesn't make any sense. I really like Inception, but I think something like The King's Speech will probably get up.''

Posdnuos, Rapper

As one third of legendary hip hop group De La Soul, Posdnuos aka Plug One is an influential force in the music industry. But he's also an avid movie lover who has been following the Oscars race closely:
``I just saw Winter's Bone the other day and that was a really great film. That actress, Jennifer Lawrence, is young and just getting into it, but it's so great that movie can be a part of the Oscars.''

John Cameron Mitchell, Filmmaker and Actor

Best known for his boundary pushing films Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus, Cameron Mitchell is behind the raw drama Rabbit Hole, which scored Nicole Kidman a best actress nomination:
``I have a mechanism when my film is out or up for award that I have to tune everything out, I get to crazy. But I'm cheering for Nicole. It's just the perfect role for her and one of her best performances to date.''

Damian Walshe-Howling, Actor The former Underbelly actor and star of shark thriller The Reef has his fingers crossed for one of the few Australians in the field:
``I just hope Jacki (Weaver) as the underdog takes the prize. It's such as such an amazing performance and Animal Kingdom is such an amazing film. I love that she's so down to Earth. The other day I read a quote from her in the paper where they were asking her about her chances and she said ``I feel like a Shetland at the Melbourne Cup.'' I think that's so wonderful. She's taking it in her stride and I would love an Australian film to take an Oscar, but just to get there is great. Also Christian Bale in The Fighter was sensational. That role, I just can't fault it at all.''

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