Find Your Legacy
James Frey YA Alien Invasion
A Flood of Alien-Invasion Projects Is Approaching — But Why?
This is the Nazi one.Photo: Iron Sky
Do you enjoy movies and TV shows about alien invasions? Great news, then: There is a ridiculous number of upcoming movies and TV shows about alien invasions! That includes (deep breath):Falling Skies (Steven Spielberg alien invasion); Super 8 (secret Spielberg-indebted JJ Abrams alien invasion); Battle: Los Angeles (pro–U.S. Military alien invasion); I Am Number Four (James Frey YA alien invasion); Cowboys and Aliens (period-piece alien invasion); Monsters (romance/alien invasion); The Event (Lost-replacing alien invasion); Skyline (human-tornado alien invasion);Men in Black III (franchised alien invasion); The Thing (prequel alien invasion); Battleship(childhood-toy alien invasion); Iron Sky (dark-side-of-the-moon Nazis alien invasion). Andexhale.
Will this new surge of alien-invasion projects be met with boffo box-office tallies and ratings? We have no idea! Will this new surge of alien invasion projects be met with oodles of theories by pop-culture “experts” purporting to explain the sociological reasons behind the new surge of alien-invasion projects? Absolutely! Can we try to predict the most popular alien-invasion theories ahead of time, handicapping their individual odds of emerging as the reigning alien-invasion invasion theory? Why, yes.
Koons CT Scanner for RxArt
Jeff Koons Redesigns CT Scanner Hospital Rooms for RxArt
No matter your opinion of Jeff Koons (we’re looking at you, angry French men), here’s something you’ll have to give the guy credit for. The non-profit group RxArt, which was founded by art dealer Diane Brown to help redesign hospital interiors to make them less sterile and fear inducing, had long considered Koons the one artist they’d love to work with, having already commissioned pro-bono work from people like R. Crumb and John Margolis. While they thought it would be nearly impossible to talk him into it, given his celebrity, the artist agreed readily.
Destruction in Slow-motion
with thanks for the tip to W.T.A. Cameron
NUMBER FOUR Scores A Girlfriend
Alex Pettyfer: Dianna Agron’s Basketball Boyfriend
Alex Pettyfer helps his new girlfriend Dianna Agron shoot some hoops while on break from filming Glee in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (August 23).
The duo star in the upcoming I Am Number Four, story of nine aliens who escape their planet and hide out on Earth. Disguised as a human teenager, the title character (Pettyfer) discovers that he is being hunted by the enemy that destroyed his planet.
The novel of the same name by Pittacus Lore is currently at #7 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. Have you picked up the book yet? You must! JJJ just got done reading it and it’s a fantastic adventure of what-ifs and action.
Also, don’t forget to enter Movieline’s contest to win tickets to the premiere!
[ click to continue reading at Just Jared Jr. ]
I AM NUMBER FOUR Book Review
Mozart’s Death Lives On
After Mozart’s Death, an Endless Coda
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Direct medical evidence? None. Autopsy? Not performed. Medical records? Nowhere to be found. Corpse? Disappeared.
Yet according to a recent article in an academic journal, researchers have posited at least 118 causes of death for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
A modest industry of medical speculation has grown up around the subject, evidence of our fascination with what cut down great creative artists in history. In Mozart’s case published speculation began within a month of his death in 1791, and musicologists, physicians and medical scholars have regularly joined the fray ever since.
Dr. William J. Dawson, a retired orthopedic surgeon who is the bibliographer for the Performing Arts Medical Association, decided to organize the theories. He examined most of the 136 entries in the association’s database dedicated to Mozart’s death, a list by no means comprehensive.
“Reviewing the publications on this topic finds many of them to be confusing, complicated, conjectural and contentious,” Dr. Dawson, an emeritus professor at Northwestern University’s medical school, wrote in the latest issue of the association’s journal, Medical Problems of Performing Artists. His conclusion is not surprising: controversy will rage on, unabated.
With direct evidence lacking, researchers have had to rely mainly on accounts by Mozart’s widow, Constanze Mozart, and her sister, Sophie Haibel, given some decades later. Evidence also comes from an undated document by Mozart’s son Karl Thomas and from a description — again, decades later — by a Viennese doctor who spoke to the physicians who treated Mozart in his final days.
Scholars have also examined accounts of Mozart’s ailments in letters written by family members, especially his father, Leopold, to uncover signposts regarding his final sickness. Speculation about an abnormality in the shape of his ear has even led some to suggest that kidney failure was likely, since urinary tract deformities are sometimes related to ear abnormalities.
19y.o. + Black Trans Am + 100mph + Bridge Abutment = And He Lives (Or, The Concrete Wins Yet Life Prevails)
“A sprawling epic about the porn business in LA.”
HBO eyes show on L.A. porn business
Mark Wahlberg, Steve Levinson developing the project
Aug 19, 2010, 07:28 AM ET
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HBO is working on a hour-long drama series about the porn business that will use actors and adult performers.
The New York Post reported Thursday that “Entourage” and “Boardwalk Empire” executive producers Mark Wahlberg and Steve Levinson are working on the project with controversial writer James Frey who is penning the pilot.
“The plot will focus on a giant video company under siege from Internet competitors and a girl from the Midwest whose boyfriend convinces her to move to Los Angeles to become a star,” the Post wrote.
“We’re going to make a sprawling epic about the porn business in LA,” Frey told the paper.” We’re going to tell the type of stories no one else has told before, and go places no one has gone before.”
[ click to read at The Hollywood Reporter ]
I AM NUMBER FOUR Book Trailer 8/17
Glenn Goldman’s Gold
Selling the Treasures of Book Soup’s Late Owner
“When you get a call about books, you hope to hear two things,” says Catherine Williamson, director of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams & Butterfields, the house that is running the sale. “That the collection belonged to someone who follows the rare-book trade, or that it belonged to someone well-connected. Glenn was both.”
Known for high-profile signings that wrapped crowds around the block of its Sunset Boulevard digs, Goldman turned Book Soup into a model of a modern, major independent bookstore. Literary (and actual) rock stars sign there, as do artists, politicians, actors and porn stars.
While he certainly had a soft spot for the flashy guest author, Goldman did not mess around when it came to collecting. There are first editions, and then there are first editions. He owned, for instance, a first edition of James Joyce‘s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It went up for auction in New York last month along with the choicest bits from his collection, including a first edition, first issue of Steinbeck’s first book, Cup of Gold.
The single most coveted book in the July L.A. sale was a signed copy of photographer Richard Avedon‘s Observations, with commentary by Truman Capote. Williamson believes it will attract more interest than even the signed, first edition copy of Raymond Carver‘s What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
Dr. Elliot Stout – Sadly Gone (Thank you thank you, Dr. Stout)
with thanks to Dave Bussan
Suspect tells police he “was just swagging”
Indiana Man In Saggy Pants Bust
Suspect, 21, told police he “was just swagging”
AUGUST 18–An Indiana man was arrested last night after cops spotted him with his pants “pulled down to his knees” and his boxer shorts exposed.
Demetrius Russ, 21, was sitting on top of an electrical box talking on his phone when approached by cop Daniel Green. According to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report, after Russ ignored Green’s repeated requests to provide ID, he announced, “You can’t ask me for shit.” Green reported telling Russ that he was “sitting on private property with his pants pulled down on top of an electrical box.”
Russ’s perch can be seen in this Google Street View photo.
When Green asked why his pants were so droopy, Russ noted that he “was just swagging.” The officer replied that, “swagging did not involve exposing your genitals through your boxers because your pants were pulled down all the way.” The term “swagging” generally refers to getting your drink on.
During his interaction with Green, a “belligerent” Russ allegedly cursed frequently and called the cop “nigga and muthafucker on several occasions.” While police contended that Russ appeared drunk, he claimed to have only consumed “one 40 ounce.”
I AM NUMBER FOUR Movie Premiere Tickets
‘I Am Number Four’ Movie Premiere Sweepstakes
Could there be another ‘Harry Potter’-type franchise brewing in Hollywood?
Featured on the New York Times Bestseller list less than two weeks after its release, ‘I Am Number Four’ by Pittacus Lore is currently being adapted to film by director D.J. Carusoand producer Steven Spielberg.
The sci-fi novel is the first in the Lorien Legacies, which will chronicle the captivating tales of a group of teen aliens running from a dark past. The characters, forced off their home planet, struggle to reinvent their existence … on Earth, among humans.
‘I Am Number Four,’ which will star Timothy Olyphant and Alex Pettyfer in the film adaptation, follows alien Number Four as he tries to escape his unique and deadly fate. The extraordinary adventure is an exciting blend of aliens, romance and drama.
In anticipation of the film release of ‘I Am Number Four,’ we’ve teamed up with Harper Collins for a massive sweepstakes. One Grand Prize winner will receive a three-day / two-night trip to the ‘I Am Number Four’ movie premiere next year. The prize package will include two tickets to the premiere event, roundtrip airfare for two and hotel accommodations.
[ click to read and sign-up for the contest at moviefone.com ]
Dumbasses
Rare yellow lobster dies in captivity
Saturday, August 14th 2010, 9:48 AM
Perez/AP
Denny Ingram shows off a yellow lobster he caught in Newport, R.I.
SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. – A rare yellow lobster pulled from Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay – a one-in-30-million find – was found dead Friday in its protective tank.
The University of Rhode Island, which was keeping the crustacean, said it hadn’t eaten for several days and was “stressed to death” from too much attention.
The yellow lobster was caught last month by lobsterman Denny Ingram.
He temporarily made it available for display in the lobstermen’s co-op building at the State Pier in Newport. Ingram then gave the lobster to URI, which kept the lobster in a secluded protective tank.
[ click to read at NYDailyNews.com ]
James Frey Moving To The Country
recap of The Fabulous Beekman Boys Finale
Finale Recap
By James Frey
Dare to dream. When I was a little kid, I used to hear it all the time. Dare to dream. You can be a lawyer or a doctor or even the President of the United States. I dared to dream. And I became me. Hahahahahaha.
Sometimes though, if you dare to dream, things can work out beautifully. I dared to dream of double digit episodes of the Fabulaous Beekman Boys. And motherfuckers, it came true. We’re on episode 10. Woohoo, woohoo. Episode 10!!! As usual, the goat scale will be used.<
Tension in the relationship. Josh lives in the city making the money. Brent lives on the farm making the soap and the cheese. Tension isn’t fun. Working isn’t fun. Two goats.
Brent gives us his relationship philosophy. Let your partner think they have a say, but they really don’t. I think Brent might be Lex Luther. I like Lex Luther. Four goats.
Brent wants to open a store. Josh is skeptical. Brent shows him the site. It’s mess. Josh is more skeptical. Brent is a force that cannot be stopped. If you try, you get turned into one of his bars of soap. Josh intelligently relents. Because I like Brent’s relentlessness, five goats.
Brent goes to open a soap shop across the street from his soapmakers soap shop. He goes to talk to her about it. It looks like it is going to go poorly. Cut to commercials. Perfect editing. Cut back. It’s tense as fuck. She’s actually not mad. Awesome sequence. I was almost shaking. Four goats.
Farmer John brings the goats out into the spring air. The goats go crazy. They roll around in the grass and make noise. Even Pokey, the annoying llama is in a good mood. When I was younger, I rolled around in the grass and made noise. It was fun. And it put me in a good mood too. Four goats.
Brent cleans out the new store, preps it for the opening. Looks like awful work. Fuck that. One goat.
Josh is in a good mood. Spring has arrived. Brent wants him to work at the store. Josh wants to grow potatoes. Me, I’d rather sit on the porch and read a book. Two goats.
Josh gives tutorial on planting potatoes. It’s interesting. I’d still rather be on the porch. Two goats.
We hear the story of Josh and Brent meeting. Online chats, picture exchange, Chinese food in NYC. Very cute. Very 21st Century. Four goats.
Josh gives relationship advice. When partner is in a bad mood, put them in a worse mood so they are forced to get into a better mood. This is some Machiavellian shit going down with these dudes. I sort of dig it. Four goats.
Brent surprises Josh on their anniversary by coming into the city. Surprises are great. They are great great great. Four goats.
Brent takes Josh to lunch and tells him they aren’t making enough money to quit his job. Josh is pretty upset. He gives a great speech about how we move through life. He cries. Actually a really moving moment. Four goats.
Brent gives store philosophy. He sounds like Martha Stewart so I almost immediately tune him out. One goat.
Store opens. All nine of the people who live in their town show up. They give a nice funny speech. The store looks great. Four goats.
Josh gives another speech after none of the locals buy anything, and after a few glasses of champagne. He cries again. Man, that Josh is a sweet dude who likes to cry. We need more of those in the world. Five goats.
Total number of categories: 15
Total number of goats: 48
Average number of goats: 3.2
Looks like I’m moving.
Insane Clown Posse Posse Assists Band In Removing Tila Tequila From Concert Stage
I AM NUMBER FOUR – No Adults Needed In The Keys
Casting firm hires for Keys film shoot: Hundreds line up for chance to be a movie extra
Aug 13, 2010 (The Reporter – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) —
Conventional wisdom says American teenagers don’t want to work hard, especially for low pay in difficult conditions. Still, 100 or more teens and young adults lined up Saturday for a temp job paying under $10 an hour for working outside all day in August.
In a bad economy, it’s not surprising to see lines of job-seekers. But the people waiting at the Outback Steakhouse and Hampton Inn in Islamorada were probably lured by who was hiring: a company named Dreamworks, for a project led by Steven Spielberg, who you may have heard of, and Michael Bay, director of “Transformers,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Armageddon” among others.
Not that this was a star search. The casting call run by Miami Beach-based Ellen Jacoby Casting International was for 30 or so teenage-looking people to be in the background, as extras during filming in the Keys for a few scenes of “I Am Number Four,” a science-fiction film about teenage aliens, the good kind, hiding on earth.
Bad aliens persuing the teenagers have found them, and they’re killing them one by one. “Three are dead. I am number four,” the story tagline says. The film is scheduled for release in early 2011.
D.J. Caruso is directing the film, which stars Alex Pettyfer as Number Four, Timothy Olyphant (“Justified”) as his guardian and Dianna Agron (“Glee”) as the love interest. The book came out just last week.
The production has been filming in Pittsburgh, including high school scenes. Once Number Four is discovered there, he does what aliens have been doing since Blackbeard — he tries to hide in the Florida Keys.
Jacoby’s assistant, Laura Aceves, said the extras will used in a daytime beach scene and a night beach bonfire scene.
On which beach, exactly? Jacoby and her team couldn’t provide any filming details, except that the extras would be in beach scenes filming in the Upper Keys, and the crew may film aerial scenes of cars driving, possibly on the Seven Mile Bridge.
No adults needed
I AM NUMBER FOUR #7
Neela Vaswani @ The Rumpus
The Rumpus Interview With Neela Vaswani
AIMEE ZARING BIO ↓ · August 11th, 2010 · filed under BOOKS, RUMPUS ORIGINAL
Neela Vaswani is author of the award-winning short story collectionWhere the Long Grass Bends (2004). An education activist in India and the U.S., she lives in New York and is the founder of the Storylines Project with the New York Public Library.
Her new book, You Have Given Me a Country, is a blend of history, memory, myth, and Cultural Studies. The memoir blurs borders of genre and identity, exploring what it means to be bicultural in America. The book follows the paths of Vaswani’s Irish-Catholic mother and Sindhi-Indian father on their journey towards each other and the biracial child they create.
The Rumpus: As a writer of fiction before this book, did you have any misgivings about writing a memoir and sharing your personal narrative and family history?
Neela Vaswani: Definitely. Moving away from the protective mask of fiction was a real adjustment. But oddly enough, the hardest part about writing nonfiction has been reading it in public–standing up at a podium, looking out at the crowd, and thinking “They know this is true because I just said so!” You feel naked, or like there’s a booger peeking out of one nostril or something. And I think there’s a larger issue of judgment. I worry, with nonfiction, that if people don’t like the work, they don’t like the author. I’m not in the writing business to be liked, but with fiction, there’s a distance between the work and author that allows for a greater sense of safety, I guess you’d call it. Anyway, I’ve gotten used to the feeling now. I have learned to accept the booger.
Rumpus: Before the book’s prologue, you write, “What follows is real, and imagined.” In light of the controversy surrounding James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces and the increased blurring of lines between fact and fiction in the memoir genre, did you feel a certain responsibility to mention that your memoir is a hybrid? What do you feel is more important to convey in a memoir—emotional truth or factual truth?
Vaswani: It’s funny, but in a way, I think I’m more honest in fiction than nonfiction. No, honest isn’t the right word. Bare is better.
Interview with I AM NUMBER FOUR’s Callan McAuliffe
Interview with Callan McAuliffe
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FLIPPED’S CALLAN MCAULIFFE
Here at Ones2Watch4, we’re always on the lookout for fresh, talented new faces, and 15-year-old Callan McAuliffe is no exception.
I hear you’re currently working on a film called I Am Number Four. (Callan co-stars in the film alongside fellow One2Watch4 Alex Pettyfer).
I am. In Pittsburgh.
How is that going? Can you tell us a little bit more about the film and the character you play in it?
Well, I can’t divulge too much information, but it’s going fantastic. I play a character called Sam, and it’s a classic, alien sci-fi modern day film. I think people will really enjoy it. It’s loads of fun. It’s definitely a stretch from Flipped as well. It’s good to get a bit of contrast in [my] career, so I’m not typecast.
In the future, is there any sort of specific role that you’d like to pursue?
I would love to have a film with Johnny Depp. He’s my role model. If there’s anyone I look up to, it’s Johnny Depp. Just the diversity of his roles is fantastic.
Bohemian Rhapsody In Sign Language While Driving
Jack White Goes Off
Dead Weather front man Jack White blows up at ‘hip motherf-ers’ at concert
Bedder/Getty
Jack White of Dead Weather unleashes fury at his audience Wednesday night.
– Too cool to let your freak flag fly? Then stay out of Jack White‘s audience. The Dead Weather front man unleashed some breathtakingly funny abuse on the star-studded but tight-assed crowd at Don Hill‘s Wednesday night when they didn’t respond to the hot licks he and the band were laying down.
“F- you, you hip motherf-ers!” White screamed at the audience, which included Liv Tyler, rock royalty Alexandra Richards, Shaun White and Mary-Kate Olsen. “Why don’t you rock the f- out?! Maybe I should go grab those free drinks and shove them down your throats, you hip motherf-ers!”
After the outburst, which one concertgoer tells us elicited an eye roll from Olsen, the red-hot White stopped the show midset to insult and throw out a guy in the front row who’d been taking photos.
By the end of the concert, White had calmed down enough to offer an apology. “I’m sorry I blew up at you guys earlier,” he told the audience. “Thanks for coming out.”
I AM NUMBER FOUR – In Stores Today
The Legend Ray Bradbury Speaks of God, Love and Science Fiction
Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury on God, ‘monsters and angels’
By John Blake, CNN
August 2, 2010 12:33 p.m. EDT
Ray Bradbury turns 90 this month, but his house, which is filled with stuffed animals and toys, looks like a playhouse.
(CNN) — Ray Bradbury lives in a rambling Los Angeles home full of stuffed dinosaurs, a tin robot pushing an ice cream cart, and a life-sized Bullwinkle the Moose doll lounging in a cushioned chair.
The 89-year-old science fiction author watches Fox News Channel by day, Turner Classic Movies by night. He spends the rest of his time summoning “the monsters and angels” of his imagination for his enchanting tales.
Bradbury’s imagination has yielded classic books such as “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Martian Chronicles” and 600 short stories that predicted everything from the emergence of ATMs to live broadcasts of fugitive car chases.
Bradbury, who turns 90 this month, says he will sometimes open one of his books late at night and cry out thanks to God.
“I sit there and cry because I haven’t done any of this,” he told Sam Weller, his biographer and friend. “It’s a God-given thing, and I’m so grateful, so, so grateful. The best description of my career as a writer is, ‘At play in the fields of the Lord.’ ”
Bradbury’s stories are filled with references to God and faith, but he’s rarely talked at length about his religious beliefs, until now.
‘Joy is the grace we say to God’
He describes himself as a “delicatessen religionist.” He’s inspired by Eastern and Western religions.
The center of his faith, though, is love. Everything — the reason he decided to write his first short story at 12; his 56-year marriage to his muse and late wife, Maggie; his friendships with everyone from Walt Disney to Alfred Hitchcock — is based on love.
Bradbury is in love with love.
Hefty I AM NUMBER FOUR Excerpt Available
EXCLUSIVE: A Hefty ‘I Am Number Four’ Excerpt Is Now Online
Posted 7/26/10 1:18 pm ET by Adam Rosenberg in News
I read “I Am Number Four” a few weeks ago and it was a delightful experience. There’s been a rush on to find the next “Harry Potter,” the next “Twilight,” the next big ongoing adult-and-child-friendly literary series, and here we have one of the strongest contenders I’ve seen. “Number Four” shifts away from the fantasy seen in “Potter” and “Twilight,” looking instead to another genre which is particularly well-suited to epic storytelling: science fiction. The tale is credited to author Pittacus Lore, an alien life form who, along with a small group of others, escaped the destruction of his homeworld by a malevolent race, the Mogadorians.
Like “Harry Potter,” “I Am Number Four” succeeds by slowly introducing you to its unique universe, learning about the lost planet of Lorien and its culture through the eyes of a young man who escaped the destruction. The first book (oh yeah, it’s a series) ends with some key questions answered, but many new ones raised. It hits stores on August 3, with an adaptation starring Alex Pettyfer arriving in theaters early next year.
The first nine chapters, roughly 20% of the book, have been dropped into a PDF for a quick and easy download at this link. Just right-click (or Ctrl-click on a Mac) and select Save Target As to capture the file.
More Class Action Idiots
Apple Faces Class Action Suit Because iPad Not Like Book
Apple is a facing a class action lawsuit in California from consumers who feels that Apple’s claim that “reading on the iPad is just like reading a book,” is false.
Follow this link to read the complaint in PDF form. It was filed last week claiming that because the iPad overheats after prolonged use and its poor visibility in sunlight prevent it from living up to Apple’s marketing promise.
From the complaint: “Indeed, according to the www.apple.com website, ‘[r]eading on iPad is just like reading a book.’ However, contrary to this promise, using the iPad is not ‘just like reading a book’ at all since books do not close when the reader is enjoying them in the sunlight or in other normal environmental environments. This promise, like other portions of APPLE’s marketing material for the iPad, is false.”
Via Consumerist.
[ copied in full from MediaBistro – sorry, but we love you ]
The Girls Of NUMBER FOUR
‘I Am Number Four’ EXCLUSIVE: Director Details Alex Pettyfer And Dianna Agron’s Roles
Posted 7/29/10 10:26 am ET by Terri Schwartz in Crush Exclusive!, Hot Stuff, Movie News,Movies, Page Turners
With “Beastly” bumped back to March 18, 2011, the release date jumble leaves its stars in an interesting predicament. Now “Beastly” will be coming out a week before Vanessa Hudgens‘ other starring vehicle, “Sucker Punch,” and Alex Pettyfer will have been first known for “I Am Number Four,” which he signed on to after “Beastly” but which is expected to be released February 2011.
“I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you I was more excited that we were coming out first,” director D.J. Caruso admitted to MTV in an exclusive interview. “The thing I like about Alex is that, first of all, he’s this really dynamic, interesting, good-looking kid. But the most important element for me is that there’s this real vulnerability. It’s rare; you can see that, though there’s a confidence there, there’s a little bit of a pain that we can [relate to].
Alex will be starring opposite another high school musical star: Dianna Agron (pictured, left) of “Glee,” who D.J. said is bringing a whole new persona to her character, Sarah. He said that, “totally against what she does on ‘Glee,’ [Dianna] is playing this sweet all-American girl who’s a photographer in a small Midwestern town.”
And then there’s the film’s other leading lady, Teresa Palmer (“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”), who plays fellow alien Number Six (not to be confused with that other hot Number Six from “Battlestar Galactica,” mind you). D.J. described her character as “this hot, sexy chick on her Ducati [motorcycle] who can fight with swords and kill f–kin’ aliens.”
“I Am Number Four” has often been cited as the next “Twilight” or “Harry Potter“-sized phenomenon, and D.J. seemed to think that, because of the content of the stories (they have signed on for six installments of the film series) the comparison is apt. In his opinion, there seems to be plenty for everyone from the film.
SWANS speaks
Michael Gira On Swans’ My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
The Quietus , July 30th, 2010 07:39
Michael Gira has reactivated his No Wave/industrial/apocalyptic folk project SWANS for the first time in 13-years, so who better to ask than him for a track-by-track review…
No Words/No Thoughts
Listen to ‘No Words/No Thoughts’ here
The Quietus says: What appears at first to be field recordings of church bells (but is actually percussion) and squealing, workshop band saws slicing through timber set the tone for what is a serious but beautiful album. A statement of labour and love.
Michael Gira says: “I think the intro to this song should have been longer. I showed cowardice here. it should have lasted 10 minutes at least, instead of the 3 1/2 minutes it is now.
Ideally this song would sound like a steady gale force wind of hydrochloric acid. The guitars should wipe your mind clean. the words state one thing, and also the opposite. sometimes all points of view seem equally true simultaneously. I wanted my voice to sound like the weightless vocals of certain very early Pink Floyd songs here, but it’s hopeless with a voice as cantankerous as mine
.
So now we’re off on a new journey, by reigniting swans I’ve unlocked the trunk where I’d trapped my demon brother. Now that he’s out again I am wrestling with him and am determined this time to not only kill him, but all his friends and family as well. I’ve enlisted my comrades Norman Westberg, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo, Thor Harris and Chris Pravdica as the primary soldiers in this quest.
I AM NUMBER FOUR – Open Casting Call in Islamorada, Florida Keys
Hollywood coming soon to Upper Keys: Producers holding casting call Aug. 7 in Islamorada
By David Goodhue, The Reporter, Tavernier, Fla.
July 30–Think you ought to be in pictures? If you’re at least 18 years old, a Florida resident, and can pass for a high school senior, Saturday, Aug. 7 might bring your big break.
A Miami Beach casting company is looking for extras to be in a science fiction-action movie whose executive producers are Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay. Crews will be filming scenes for “I Am Number Four” in the Florida Keys from Aug. 13-19.
An open casting call for the film is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 7 at the Hampton Inn, mile marker 80 oceanside, in the Outback Steak House’s meeting room, from noon to 3 p.m.
Ellen Jacoby of Ellen Jacoby Casting International said interested actors should bring proof of residency and age, and a recent photograph with their name, phone number, height and weight written on the back.
Jacoby is a veteran casting agent in South Florida whose movie credits include “True Lies,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “The Truman Show” and “The Bird Cage,” and television shows “CSI: Miami” and “Burn Notice.”
The stars of “I Am Number Four are Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron and Kevin Durand. It is being directed by D.J. Caruso, who helmed recent big-budget films like “Disturbia,” “Taking Lives” and “Eagle Eye.”