So much for Matt Farmer being crowned the American Idol Season 12 champion. Following a successful audition in Long Beach, Farmer has come out and admitted that he’s one giant liar. That whole tale he told? About being injured in an IED explosion in Iraq? And being diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury? And how the medication he was assigned would supposedly make him sterile, until he ended up fathering a daughter named Cadence who joined him in front of the judges? LIE, LIE, LIE. Matt Farmer American Idol Audition “It was ALL lies,” Farmer admitted to GuardianOfValor.com. “I in fact HAVE lied since a younger age and had a problem with it… “I am EXTREAMLY remorseful and VERY upset that I allowed myself to take from the hard work of the guys that i was deployed with among others. To think that I would go on a national TV show and get away with continuing a lie so big, and so deeply imbedded in my lfe [sic] and brain … Is rediculous [sic]. “Hindsight is always 20/20 … To EVERYONE but more importantly the men I served with, I AM DEEPLY REGRETFUL AND SORRY … I at no time was a sniper, was never deployed to Afghanistan, did a single tour in Iraq, and was never at any time hit or wounded by an IED” Farmer, as you might expect, has been booted from the competition. So that’s one fewer person early favorites such as Ja’Bria Barber and Seretha Guinn need to worry about.
So much for Matt Farmer being crowned the American Idol Season 12 champion. Following a successful audition in Long Beach, Farmer has come out and admitted that he’s one giant liar. That whole tale he told? About being injured in an IED explosion in Iraq? And being diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury? And how the medication he was assigned would supposedly make him sterile, until he ended up fathering a daughter named Cadence who joined him in front of the judges? LIE, LIE, LIE. Matt Farmer American Idol Audition “It was ALL lies,” Farmer admitted to GuardianOfValor.com. “I in fact HAVE lied since a younger age and had a problem with it… “I am EXTREAMLY remorseful and VERY upset that I allowed myself to take from the hard work of the guys that i was deployed with among others. To think that I would go on a national TV show and get away with continuing a lie so big, and so deeply imbedded in my lfe [sic] and brain … Is rediculous [sic]. “Hindsight is always 20/20 … To EVERYONE but more importantly the men I served with, I AM DEEPLY REGRETFUL AND SORRY … I at no time was a sniper, was never deployed to Afghanistan, did a single tour in Iraq, and was never at any time hit or wounded by an IED” Farmer, as you might expect, has been booted from the competition. So that’s one fewer person early favorites such as Ja’Bria Barber and Seretha Guinn need to worry about.
The headline above and video below speak for themselves. A guy dressed as a zebra attempted to flee a Japanese zoo in an earthquake preparedness drill designed to train employees for such a situation. Good times. Japan Zoo Escape Drill Taking full precautions so that no animals go missing in an earthquake, Tokyo’s Tama Zoo came up with an elaborate (and unintentionally funny drill). Similating a realistic sense of fear and emergency (and hilariousness) the zoo employed a human to dress in a zebra suit and terrorize the other workers. Well, as much as a dude running around in a zebra suit can terrorize anything. The man-zebra put forth a good effort, delivering a nice head-butt to one of the workers, but he was fake tranquilized in the end. Mission accomplished! No word on whether a zebra was chosen due to its prisoner-like appearance.
The headline above and video below speak for themselves. A guy dressed as a zebra attempted to flee a Japanese zoo in an earthquake preparedness drill designed to train employees for such a situation. Good times. Japan Zoo Escape Drill Taking full precautions so that no animals go missing in an earthquake, Tokyo’s Tama Zoo came up with an elaborate (and unintentionally funny drill). Similating a realistic sense of fear and emergency (and hilariousness) the zoo employed a human to dress in a zebra suit and terrorize the other workers. Well, as much as a dude running around in a zebra suit can terrorize anything. The man-zebra put forth a good effort, delivering a nice head-butt to one of the workers, but he was fake tranquilized in the end. Mission accomplished! No word on whether a zebra was chosen due to its prisoner-like appearance.
SIGN THE PETITION FOR THE RELEASE OF DARREN’S COVER OF “DRESS YOU UP” AS A CHARITY SINGLE!!! (AND SHARE!) twitition.com Promo video for Fashion’s Night Out (September 6, 2012) The song is a cover of “Dress You Up” from Madonna’s 1984 album “Like A Virgin” sung by Darren Criss (Glee, StarKid) (Although I would totally UNdress him right away with this stubble and those moves!!! Wouldn’t you?!) Also participating: Justin Bieber, Victoria Beckham, Taylor Swift, Olivia Wilde, Usher, Julie Bowen… New York City, Paris, London, Tokyo… stores all over the world will stay open late on Sept 6, 2012 to celebrate Fashion! You can get official FNO apparel here: fashionsnightout.com http://www.youtube.com/v/QSQg3Wn9ATQ?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Read this article: Fashion’s Night Out 2012 – Dress You Up by Darren Criss [HQ]
If you thought Japanese animation was all horny teens and laser guns and rocketships, prepare to have your mind blown by a tragic tale of wartime and lost youth ( Grave of the Fireflies ). And if you thought French star Alain Delon was known only for his work for art-house directors like Luchino Visconti and Jean-Pierre Melville (and for appearing on the cover of The Smiths’ The Queen is Dead album), get ready to watch him buckle his swash ( Zorro ). HIGH: Grave of the Fireflies (Section 23; $19.98 DVD, $29.98 DVD) WHO’S RESPONSIBLE: Written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on the novel by Akiyuki Nosaka. WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Teenage Seita and his young sister Setsuko are on their own after their mother dies in the firebombing of Tokyo in the waning days of World War II. There’s never a good time for children to be separated from their loving parents, but there are few junctures of history worse than being in Japan in the final months of that bloody conflict. The two do what they can to survive, but hopelessness is hard to overcome. WHY IT’S SCHMANCY: My friends in the cartoon biz love to say “Animation is not a genre,” so even though this is an animated movie, and one about kids no less, Grave of the Fireflies is an intensely moving (and often disturbing) film that’s definitely not for the youngest of viewers. Director Takahata doesn’t have the PR in the Western world of his Studio Ghibli partner Hayao Miyazaki ( Spirited Away , My Neighbor Totoro ), but he’s made two movies (this one and Pom Poko ) that leave me a sobbing wreck every time. Fireflies deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with other antiwar classics like Forbidden Games and Spirit of the Beehive , both of which are also told from young people’s perspectives. WHY YOU SHOULD BUY IT (AGAIN): It’s a gorgeous piece of work, even when the misery portrayed is hard to watch, so the fact that the film is finally getting a Blu-Ray release in the U.S. is exciting news. This version also features a new English-language dub, as well as storyboards for the film (and for some deleted scenes), along with the Japanese theatrical trailer. LOW: Zorro (Somerville House; DVD $19.98, Blu-Ray $24.98) WHO’S RESPONSIBLE: Written by Giorgio Arlorio; directed by Duccio Tessari; starring Alain Delon, Ottavia Piccolo, Stanley Baker, Moustache. (Yes, Moustache.) WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Nobleman Don Diego de la Vega (Delon) masquerades as his dead friend and fills in as the governor of an embattled province so that by night, as masked swordsman Zorro, he can engineer the overthrow of the despicable Colonel Huerta (Baker) and his troops. Zorro fights on behalf of the oppressed peasants with the help of Brother Francisco (Giampiero Albertini) and the beautiful Hortensia (Piccolo). WHY IT’S FUN: The character of Zorro dates all the way back to the pulp magazines of the early 20th century, and he’s been a reliable standard of film and TV, portrayed by everyone from Douglas Fairbanks to Antonio Banderas. (And I will admit a soft spot for George Hamilton’s hilariously spoofy turn in Zorro, the Gay Blade .) If you’re a fan of spaghetti Westerns — those wonderfully grimy and wildly entertaining horse operas that inspired Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming Django Unchained — you’ll enjoy watching Italian day players pretending to be South American peasants. Delon puts a fun spin on the material, and director Tessari (most known for his contributions to the screenplay of A Fistful of Dollars ) keeps thing exhilarating and exciting. This was my first Zorro movie as a child — it played theatrically in 1976 and then seemed to air perpetually on television soon thereafter — and it imprinted on me for life. (As did the catchy theme song, which will never, ever leave your head after you hear it.) WHY YOU SHOULD BUY IT (AGAIN): This Blu-Ray debut offers up a few extras, including trailers and radio spots, biographies of Delon and Tessari, and side-by-side comparisons that demonstrate how much better the digital restoration makes this zippy Euro-adventure look. READ MORE HIGH & LOW ON DVD! Alonso Duralde has written about film for The Wrap, Salon and MSNBC.com. He also co-hosts the Linoleum Knife podcast and regularly appears on What the Flick?! (The Young Turks Network). He is a senior programmer for the Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles and a pre-screener for the Sundance Film Festival. He also the author of two books: Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas (Limelight Editions) and 101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men (Advocate Books). Follow Alonso Duralde on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Two soldiers face tough choices in the military drama Allegiance ; skilled National Guard medic Specialist Chris Reyes ( Bow Wow ) faces redeployment to Iraq away from his sick son, while his superior (Seth Gabel) must decide whether or not to help him go AWOL, risking his own career in the process. Adapted from writer-director Michael Connors’ 2006 short Recalled , the film marks a welcome lead turn by Gabel ( Fringe , Dirty Sexy Money , Nip/Tuck ), and the continuing evolution for rapper-turned-actor Bow Wow (or as the poster says, “Shad Moss AKA Bow Wow”), whose previous acting credits include Like Mike (obviously!), Entourage , Roll Bounce , Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift , Lottery Ticket , and Madea’s Big Happy Family . Aidan Quinn, Malik Yoba, and Pablo Schreiber co-star in the indie drama (formerly titled Recalled ), which opens January 4, 2013 through XLrator Media. Check out the exclusive poster debut and updated trailer below: Watch it on YouTube . Synopsis: After being granted a questionable transfer that will keep him stateside as his National Guard unit deploys for Iraq, Lieutenant Danny Sefton (Seth Gabel) becomes embroiled in a last minute AWOL attempt by one of his soldiers (Bow Wow) — forcing him to choose between his loyalties to the fleeing soldier, his unit and his fiancé. Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Also in Monday morning’s round-up of news briefs: The deadline looms for the 19th Screen Actors Guild Awards consideration. Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter receive London Fest honors; And a Chinese-Japan row over uninhabited islands spills into the Tokyo International Film Festival. Sundance London To Return for 2nd Round The Sundance London Music and Film Festival will return again next year and 2014. The second Sundance London will take place from 25-28 April, 2013, and host the international and UK premieres of American independent films fresh from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah as well as live music performances, panels and events. The 2013 program will continue its 2012 focus on presenting new work by American filmmakers and music artists. Sundance Institute, which annually presents the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, will select the films and related programming. Screen Actors Guild Deadline Loom Acting submissions for this year’s 19th Screen Actors Awards consideration is fast approaching. Submissions must be turned in by Thursday October 25th at 5pm PDT. For the first time, submissions are only accepted online . Around the ‘net… Specialty Box Office: The Sessions Tops Debuts; Holy Motors , Brooklyn Castle , The Flat Solid Fox Searchlight’s highly anticipated The Sessions starring John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy debuted with a robust $30,100 average in its four-theater run in New York and Los Angeles, by far topping newbies in the specialty arena, in another crowded field of newcomers, Deadline reports . Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg Donate $1M Each to Obama Super PAC A filing to the Federal Elections Commission show the Oscar-winning filmmaker and DreamWorlds Animation CEO made their donations, one of the largest to the Obama campaign, on September 24th, Deadline reports . Tim Burton Honored at London Film Festival “It’s good because there’s no jealousy at home,” partner Helena Bonham Carter who also received an award said. “It’s very thoughtful for them to give us both one at the same time,” BBC reports . Tokyo International Film Festival to Screen Feng Shui Despite Official Withdrawl The Chinese film was withdrawn from the Japanese festival and director Wang Jing and actor Jiao Gang canceled their visits due to political tensions between the two Asian giants. But the Monday night screening went on as planned, THR reports .
Also in Wednesday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, a Tony Bennett documentary is headed to theaters. John Boorman will lead the jury in a Moroccan festival. And China goes for the film jugular at the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival. The Zen of Bennett Heads to U.S. Theaters The film is an intimate portrait of legendary singer Tony Bennett, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Abramorama, which will handle the theatrical release of the film, will roll hit out beginning in New York October 24th with L.A., San Francisco and other cities November 2nd Benedetto Films which is handling rights for the title has completed a deal with Netflix for streaming beginning November 12th. John Boorman Named Marrakech Film Festival President The winner of two Best Director awards at the Cannes Film Festival for Leo the Last (1970) and The General (1997), the filmmaker will head the jury at the Moroccan festival, taking place November 30 – December 8. Around the ‘net… Anne Hathaway to Channel Cabaret For New York Public Theater Titled, “Perfectly Marvelous: The Songs of Cabaret with Anne Hathaway and Friends,” the benefit show will take place at Joe’s Pub on October 24th. The performance at the venue, an intimate cabaret annex of the NY Public Theater, will be fro the classic John Kander and Fred Ebb musical, THR reports . Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer Eyes Spy Hunter This is the film adaptation of the classic 1983 Bally Midway video game. The Warner’s Bros. project had been making the studio rounds for the last decade, first attracting John Woo and the Rock in 2004, Vulture reports . China Pulls Film From Tokyo Film Festival Over Islands Row Festival organizers said that Yim Ho’s Hong Kong-Chinese film Floating City, a Cantonese-language feature that centers on the meteoric rise of an illiterate man (played by Aaron Kwok) from a local fishing family to a powerful figure in Hong Kong’s corporate world will not screen at the festival, which opens next month. China is currently locked in a diplomatic stand-off with Japan about the ownership of a few uninhabited islands in the South China Sea that Japan has administered for decades, The Guardian reports .
Filmmaker and actress Julie Delpy won accolades at the Berlin International Film Festival back in 2007 with her hilarious 2 Days In Paris , in which she starred opposite Adam Goldberg as a couple who stop off in Paris for a short visit, staying with her parents en route back to the U.S. Delpy, who wrote and directed the feature that did solid numbers in release jiggered the formula for a sequel, 2 Days In New York , which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January. This time, she stars opposite Chris Rock , and similarly to Paris her family factors into the dialog-heavy plot that’s riddled with eccentricity, social commentary and crazy mishaps. In the film, Delpy’s character Marion is now living with her boyfriend Mingus (Chris Rock) in a New York apartment with their cat and two children from their previous relationships. Marion’s father (played by her real-life dad, Albert Delpy), her sister and her over the top boyfriend suddenly decide to pay a visit from France, unleashing another 48 hours of family drama. Similarly to 2 Days In Paris , Marion’s family is sometimes unnervingly open in their discussions about sexuality and other topics most would consider crosses social boundaries. The French-American cultural disconnect only amplifies the gulf and the result is laugh out loud funny. Julie Delpy and Chris Rock chatted with ML about the film at Sundance. Initially Rock was about to leave, but sat down for a few minutes before heading out of Park City. Delpy, who first acted in none other than French-Swiss maestro Jean-Luc Godard’s Détective in 1985 and has since gone on to do many roles including Before Sunset , has since taken on the director’s hat herself and is a steadfast filmmaking convert. She talks about making films outside the studio system, though she said she’d like to try it sometime and would consider it another welcome challenge. In fact, she would like to try almost everything – almost… Similarly to 2 Days In Paris , you pulled together financing through Europe, can a dialog-driven film exist within Hollywood or is this the only way to put together a film like your latest, 2 Days In New York ? Julie Delpy: I never even thought of going to a studio. It’s just the way I do things. I put the financing together through a European financing system and it’s not easy – it’s a struggle. It might be easier in a way to go to a studio Chris Rock: I think it depends on who you are as a filmmaker. JD: I’m sure if it was through a studio, I wouldn’t be able to do this film exactly the way it is. Though I’m not really sure because I’ve never really been approached by a studio. I’m not sure if they know who I am or know I’m a filmmaker. They don’t even know I’m an actress – trust me [laughs]. CR: I think it depends on who you are as a filmmaker determines how much control you will have and, you know, if you want more control, you’re better off not going through a studio, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. JD: Some things in this movie may not have been their whole thing. They may have wanted a different ending, though honestly, I don’t know what they would want because I haven’t worked with them. For me, I just do it in the way I know how. How did you both come together for this project? CR: I saw 2 Days in Paris and I Loo-oooved 2 Days in Paris . JD: I’d seen his work and have always loved his work. I met him briefly once and he stuck in my mind. The minute I thought of doing a sequel to 2 Days in Paris , I knew I was going to be in a relationship with Mingus who is going to be Chris Rock, so he just came to my mind How has this contrasted with your most recent work Chris? CR: It’s fun, but the French thing – you have to get used to the fact you don’t understand what people around you are saying, but other than that it wasn’t much different than any other movie. I found working with the star and director was easy because you’re always talking to the boss. It’s harder when you’re talking to different people about different things. Because normally when you’re doing a movie, the star is kind-of half-way the director anyway… If the star doesn’t like what’s happening, you’re going to do what the star wants 90% of the time anyway. I hope I get to work with more star-directors… I read that when you were writing this story, you said you wanted to build on “real ground,” what did you mean by that? JD: I spent a lot of time with [Krzysztof] Kieslowski after we did White (1994) talking about movies and writing and everything. He’d tell me that I’m such a movie buff and I was obsessed. He’d tell me, ‘I haven’t seen this, or I haven’t seen that,’ and I’d say, ‘what have you seen?’ and he’d tell me, ‘real life.’ And that stuck with me. What can be more true than take some truth and build something from that. Obsession with death for instance – so something like that – and build from there into a story. 2 Days in New York is grounded in reality. There’s a couple with kids re-constructed and brought together… [ Chris Rock is pulled out of the room at this point and they say their good byes ] [ Continuing ]: I like to base my stories on simple things. It could have been a drama, but I love comedy so that’s what I did. But for this, I like to incorporate things that I know. So in it, I talk about my mother’s death. She actually passed away three years ago. She was in 2 Days in Paris and she was a wonderful actress. So she couldn’t be in this film obviously, so I had to find a way to talk about it… Your father is in this film as he was, of course, in 2 Days in Paris. Are his antics in the film similar to how he is in real-life? Yeah he’s very crazy. He’s very funny and very light, but also a very profound person. He’s not a superficial person at all. He’s fun and he likes to laugh and loves life, but he also has profound problems. He’s not happy all the time, but if we’re at a festival and the film’s playing well then we’re all happy. For me it was great to write parts for my parents in the first film and in this film for my father. It’s wonderful to be able to do that. They gave me so much by exposing me to film. My father gave me directing education through his past direction of plays. They gave me so much, so I’m glad I could give back a little bit. He keys a Hummer in this film in one memorable NYC street scene, and I was thinking it’s his almost child-like rebellious way of perhaps lashing out about global warming… Yeah exactly, that is a stand on global warming. Is he like that in real life? No, but my dad hates cars. They’re all over the place in Paris and they park on sidewalks and have no respect. As he ever keyed a car? No, but he’s joked about it for years so I let him have his fantasy in the film. I mean, I hate cars too. I live in L.A. so of course I have a car, but it’s the only real way we have for transport. But we’re polluting every moment of the day and we’ll pay for it. We’ll be gone [some day]… But Earth will be ok, but it’ll shake us out. So what do you think about Sequels? What about a 2 Days in L.A. or 2 Days in Tokyo ? I think the franchise is going to stop there. I’m not a James Bond kind of girl. I think it stops here at 2 Days in New York . But I’d certainly like to direct more films and will if given the opportunity to do it…I have a lot of friends who are directors and they call me to ask if I’d like to be in them – people like Richard Linklater etc. or maybe not someone who’s my friend but just someone I really like, but I think my first desire is filmmaking. What other kinds of stories do you want to do? Everything. Just everything from sci-fi to dramas – but maybe not sports movies. It’s not that I don’t like sports movies, but it’s just that I don’t get it. I don’t really understand sports, but everything else I’d like to do. I’d like to do a thriller, though I don’t know if I’d be good at it, but I’d like to try it. Maybe it’s pretentious and I’m crazy and all that, but I think I will do a thriller one day. It’s such a struggle to make movies. With this movie, we stopped two weeks before we started shooting and the film fell apart and then we put it all back together and then four weeks into the shoot we stopped. It was really, really hard. Was it harder than 2 Days in Paris ? In a way it was. There was more money involved with shooting in New York. I thought Paris would be more expensive. No, Paris is much less expensive. New York is… I think $3 million went into trucks, so I mean it’s really expensive. I mean like basically it’s very very expensive. And it’s fine if you have the money, and we had the money, but when the money fell apart at the last minute, it was just drama. It was the most painful experience to think you’re about to shoot and then everything just stops. Would you consider going a different route when tackling some of the other stories and genres you’re interested in doing down the line – maybe even the studios? I think I would do it if given the opportunity. But I’m also interested in working within limitations. I have limitations with my films which is typically major financial limitations, but having a studio tell you what to do would be a limitation too, but it would be manageable. I think the only thing that’s not manageable is death. People dying or people who are sick is not manageable. Everything else is nothing. You know I consider in life, people in movies lose perspective because it becomes so important… I’m not like that. It’s life, there are people dying around you, there’s craziness – that’s serious. A studio telling me what to do, that’s manageable. That’s just a boss telling you what to do and that’s fine, I’ll do my best within my limitation… So if that opportunity came along, then you’d do it? Yes, it’s almost fun to me, it would be a fun thing to do.
