Manhattan Hillbilly

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Tom Hanks and Sandra Bulloch were all over our neighborhood this spring filming this movie. Watching the trailer released yesterday, I don't know if I can wait until December to see it. I may have to read the book, but this may be one of those rare instances where the film exceeds what's been put on the page.

 

Geography's not filmakers' strong point, apparently

The Tribecca Film Festival takes place in Chelsea?

My evening with "The Dude"

One of the advantages of living in the environs of New York is that there's an event for about any interest or taste. Want to visit a Czech festival or one celebrating Ethiopian Jews? No problem. Are you a big fan of chowder? This was your weekend. Think The Big Lebowski is one of the greatest movies in the world?

Welcome to Lebowskifest.

To be fair, the original Lebowskifest was held in the Southern city of Louisville, Kentucky, but it's the festivals in New York and Los Angeles that tend to turn out the most Dudes. And Walters. And Jesuses (Jesusi?) And all-around strange people who like to dress up, bowl and revel in all the quirky characters created in this Coen Brothers epic.

I'm a big fan, and so last Thursday I donned by Domke vest, orange sunglasses and khaki shorts and headed out to the Brooklyn Bowl to enjoy some caucasians, watch a screening of TBL with a few hundred fellow fans, and hang out with Scott, one of my new-found New York friends who bears a not-unimpressive resemblence to The Dude, played in the film by Jeff Bridges.

The bowling alley was awesome, with plenty of comfortable leather couches to recline in while you waited your turn, food and drinks galore and movie screens above each lane so you could watch the movie while you rolled. (Fortunately, it was on a Thursday night, and I'm not "shomer Shabbos!")

While I entered the "Best Walter" competition, I didn't win. ("Those judges are a bunch of f----- amateurs!") and with the next day a work day I had to bail shortly after Moby and Diamondsnake began playing. But the event got great reviews, and you can enjoy more photos here.

And now I know what happens when you fight a stranger in the Alps.

 



Bruce Wayne moving to Queens?

 

Nothing like walking down the sidewalk in the Astoria section of Queens and seeing the Batmobile parked along the curb.

Apparently, the movie Arthur, a remake of the 1981 film, is filming in the area.

Adapting to New York: The Pace

As we approach the one-month mark of our New York City adventure, I get asked "what's the biggest change from living in the South?" There are lots of answers, from the food to accents to living space. But perhaps the biggest change is the pace.

Everything here is fast. It's movement. New York does not stand still. That's not a cliche. It's the god's-honest truth. Everything here is a convaluded ballet of energy. People walking. Dancing. Waving for cabs. Rushing to beat the crossing signal. Stutterstepping down stairs to catch a subway train. Pacing the platform. There may be moments of solitude, silence and stillness, but I haven't seen or experienced them yet.

Want to immerse yourself in this feeling? Check out this three-minute film shot by three members of the production company Stereoscreen. They were part of a German crew filiming a commerical here last month, and in their spare time they shot street footage and then edited it into what Gawker calls "perhaps the greatest New York home movie."

Lights! Camera! New York City!

My expectations about what it was like to live in New York City were formed by movies. Admittedly, movies are perhaps the most inaccurate representations of real life, but my expectations of the subway system were formed by The Warriors. My ideas about what it is like to work at Rockefeller Center were created by My Favorite Year.

Since there's a film festival this week at the lawn at Central Park, this seems like a good opportunity to rattle off some of my favorite films about New York. Have your own favorite? The comments section is located below.

• The Warriors - I remember watching this film in high school, and it was powerful and controversial. People said it glorified gangs, and there were some news stories about fights at theaters. I plan to re-watch it and see how many places I can recognize. You can't watch this film and not have the hairs on the back of your neck pop up when you hear "Warrrioorrrs! Come out to pla-yah!" Trivia: Movie was loosely based on Xenophon's "Anabasis," about Greek mercenaries caught behind enemy lines.
• My Favorite Year - Although set in New York of the 1950s, this is my ultimate cheer-up movie. The comedy is so good your ribs start hurting from laughing. Mark Linn-Baker does a great job carrying the film and casting Peter O'Toole as the drunk Errol Flynn-like actor was genius. Favorite quote as Swann starts drinking: "Stone, you can watch me or you can join me. One of them is more fun."
• The Devil Wears Prada- Book was a little better, but a good look at how the magazine business here works with a very thinly disguised Anna Wintour character played by Meryl Streep. Trivia: Stanley Tucci, who does a great job playing Nigel, went to high school with my wife.
• Miracle on 34th Street -- Best. Christmas. Movie. Ever. Original version. 1947. Ignore the remakes.Trivia: Movie received a "B" rating rather than the more family-friendly "A" from the odious Legion of Decency rating system because Maureen O'Hara played a divorcee.
• Searching for Bobby Fischer -- They still play pickup speed chess games in Washington Square Park. My son went through a brief phase of loving chess after watching this movie.
• When Harry Met Sally -  The orgasm scene was filmed at Katz's Deli, on New York's Houston Street. The table at which the scene was filmed now has a sign  that reads, "Congratulations! You're sitting where Harry met Sally."
• Ghostbusters - The "Ghost Central" building is seven blocks south of my place.
• Midnight Cowboy - I'm waiting for the first time a cab cuts the corner and almost hits me so I can utter that famous Dustin Hoffman line: "Hey! I'm WALKING here!"
• Barefoot in the Park - Since I'm the practical one, and the missus is more of the "ready-fire-aim" type, I've been thinking about this great Neil Simon film a lot as we get our apartment set up.

Those are some of my favorites? Got films to add?