Martha Stewart gets popcorned off her pedestal

Dear Kat over at Petticoats and Pepblums and I have wanted to have a blog party for a while, and about a year after coming up with the idea we finally did it yesterday. Okay, since I just got back from the US and was recovering from gnarly jet lag, it was more a blog morning tea but it did happen to coincide with my third blogversary. Being the ridiculously talented person she is, Kat made this INCREDIBLE movie themed cake to celebrate. It. Is. Wow.

It almost seemed like a crime to cut her artwork to pieces, but then again, how else do you get a piece?

Also, since my cooking skills are about as good as my mathematical skills – non existent – I contributed these adorable cupcakes I bought from the farmers markets.

I swear there was healthy food as well, but sundried tomato dip and watermelon slices just aren’t as interesting to look at. Unlike one of the coolest things I broke back from the States – crazy/beautiful hand-painted skulls

In summation, by far the best and most collaborative blogversary to date. Thank you to all the fantastic writers who penned things I'm undeserving of and, of course, thanks to Kat for the incredible cake and morning.

HAPPY THIRD BLOGVERSARY MOVIE MAZZUPIAL!

(Above) Of all the Movie Mazzupial years, this has to be the best photo ever taken. Movie Mazz on the right, with her favourite filmmaker of all time - Robert Rodriguez - at Comic Con last week. Fuck. Yes.

So, today is my third blogversary. It has been three years, to the day, that I first started Movie Mazzupial. I mean it in a good way when I say it feels like a lot longer, because hot damn I’ve fit a tonne of stuff in. From interviewing my artistic heroes to covering Comic Con, an event I’ve dreamed of going to since I was a kid, this blog has mapped my journey and progression (I hope) as a film writer.

The origin of this blog is no secret to most of you. I was working at a newspaper, the same one I work for now in fact, and I wanted an outlet to rant about film. My colleague Rick had such an outlet, a blog, and with much encouragement and technical instruction he helped me set up this site. At first it was merely a place I could express my thoughts on all things films, mainly reviews and my take on showbuzz news. And lists, I love lists.

Over the years though, it has morphed into something more. Through Movie Mazz I’ve had the opportunity to interview filmmaking idols of mine, such as James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Robert Rodriguez and literally dozens and dozens of others who are too numerous for me to mention. From five followers to nearly 100,000 hits now, this blog has become an essential outlet for me. I can write, rant and question elements of an art form I love in a completely unrestrained manner. And although I now get to do that full time as the film writer at my newspaper, as the Australian correspondent for BloodyDisgusting.com and as a film commentator on 92.5 Gold FM, 102.9 Hot Tomato and 107.5 Juice FM, Movie Mazzupial is the one place I can completely let my film freak flag fly.

Perhaps, most importantly, it has exposed me to you; the reader. Through the blogesphere I’ve got to meet a bunch of other fantastic, young and talented writers whose work I look forward to reading everyday. Therefore, instead of making a Movie Mazzupial cake again or ranting any further like I have for previous blogversary celebrations, I thought I’d let my readers do the talking. Below are `happy blogversary’ messages from some of my favourite writers, who have amusing and insightful blogs I demand you read. If you feel like adding anything, Tweet me and I can put up your message as well.

Thanks again for the readership. I hope Movie Mazzupial has showed you something, made you laugh at something or distracted you from another something at one point or another. I have some great stuff coming for you guys over the next 12 months, so please hang around and have a squizz when you can.

Right now, I’ll leave it up to people much wittier and concise than I.

Movie Mazz xx

Kat over at Petticoats and Pepblums:

"Happy Bloggy Birthday Mazz!!! I have loved reading your blog for the past few years. You are my go to source for all things movies. Corey has even started asking me "what did Maria think of it?" before we go and see any movie. Keep up the amazingly witty and informative posts. Here is to many more bloggy birthdays in your future. Love Kat xoxo"

Bridie over at Jadour Jabour:

"What does Movie Mazz mean to me? I think I speak for my whole family when I say she is a life saver. Literally. Our own personal lifesaver who chaperones us to any beach we want. We Jabours are notorious for a few things – shortness, mismatched clothing and our complete lack of swimming ability. It must be some genetic curse because despite years of swimming lessons the furtherest any of us can go in the water before needing a life raft is 20m.

Enter Maria. A certified lifesaver who has been patrolling beaches for years. When she first came to meet the family and visit Grafton we took her to one of our favourite beaches, Minnie Waters. But this time we did not have to go to the main beach with all the commoners. Because of our own personal lifesaver we were able to go to the special locals back beach where we frolicked in the waves carefree knowing our lives were in safe hands. I distinctly remember after we safely got out of the water Maria saying: “I don’t know why you guys were swimming there, there was such a dangerous rip, I was a bit worried.”

Some lifesaver.

I was there when moviemazz.blogspot.com was created. Well not there exactly, but I was there when Maria said “hey, I’ve created a blog”. At the time I thought “I don’t care.” But like the baby you are required to have affection for, I have grown to love the site and even ripped off some of the content for late night stories. I keep having affection for it because it’s funny and whenever I come here I am sure to find out something I did not know before.

I’ll leave the last words to a quote from Dad: “I read Maria’s blog. I don’t understand it but I read it.”

Sacha over at Style Lexicon:

“You are my geekazoid doppelganger, my unhealthy obsessesion with fashion rivals your mania for movies and fixation for films. Happy blog birthday Mazz!!!”

Tricky Hickson over at Tricky Hickson’s Sew Awesome Blog:

"Movie Mazz was the reason I started my own blog. I wanted to reach the dizzying heights of interwebz fame that she has reached even if it meant altitude induced nosebleeds which I’m assuming she suffers from on a daily basis. When I type my blog name into Google, hers comes up first because she mentioned me on it once. THAT’S how famous she is. It might get confusing for the two people who try to look up my blog – (my mum and me) – when they click on the MM link and think ‘Wait a second, this isn’t a blog about some excellently crafted wares!’ but I digress. One day, I hope to be as great as Movie Mazz. She’s an awesome writer and has an equally awesome rack. I love you Movie Mazz. Happy Blogversary!"

Rick over at The Ambiguity Report, Maybe:

"Happy Blogversary Movie Mazzupial, the coolest marsupial-themed movie blog going around. No, wait, the coolest blog full stop. I had the pleasure of witnessing your blog-birth (minus placenta = WIN) and watching it morph into the wicked oddity it is today, like a Transformer which I know you hate. I can only hope others have the sheer delight of discovering your rambunctious talents because you deserve it and, if they're nice, so do they. (Please do more things with dinosaurs in them. Thanks)."

Jon Snow: Winter's coming

I did promise more Game Of Thrones stuff, especially after the general awesomeness of my interview with Kit Harington aka Jon Snow from the show. I was postponing Harington's comments on Season 2 until after Comic Con in case there were any updates, but it doesn't get much better than this. Anyway, here's what he had to say on what GOT fans can expect come Season 2:

"The characters you invest and know will carry on, but they don’t get it much easier from here on. War’s coming, winter’s coming. You will invest in them just as much as you did in the first season, but it’s not going to be easy for you or them."

I also asked him who he thought would win in a fight between Jon and Rob. His answer went something like this:

"Jon."

MM: That was a pretty quick response, you sound very decided on that?
"They’re brothers, but Jon would definitely win."

The long Con

So, it was my intention to write some lame farewell message before I left. However, time got away from me. As it stands, I’m actually writing this from LAX airport after an excruciating 13 hour flight from Brisbane, Australia to Los Angeles, USA. The fact Richard Branson was on my flight and I got to say `hi’ to him maybe it marginally better. Marginally.

To my point . . .Movie Mazzupial readers, my blog posts are going to be a lil’ erratic and, well, less over the next few weeks because I’m heading to San Diego to cover COMIC-FREAKIN-CON! Going to Comic Con has been a dream of mine since I knew the difference between Dick Grayson and name, so finally getting to fulfil said dream is exciting. Amazing. Incredible. All of the mentioned.

But I will be mixing business with pleasure and although I can’t guarantee how many Comic Con related stories I will be able to post on here, I can guarantee you can follow my coverage at BloodyDisgusting.com and News.com.au – the two primary companies I will be writing, interviewing, combusting for.

Yet never fear, I do have a handful of very interesting posts saved up for you guys and I will, as always, be tweeting like a mad dog. I’ll post pics and tid bits as I go and a full Comic Con report when I finish up. Because my schedule is so chocca-block and I’m readjusting and updating things as new interviews/previews/parties come through I can’t tell you everything. But I have some great stuff coming for you. In the mean time, see y’all on the flip side.

Movie Mazz

Ray Liotta's 5 best films

With Ray Liotta’s new film Bad Karma starting production on the Gold Coast this week, I figured what better time to take a look back at his finest work. Liotta’s done some schlockers, but these are my personal favourites.

Goodfellas (1990) The Oscar-winning gangster capper directed by Martin Scorsese is Liotta's most memorable film and made him Hollywood's go-to guy for crime drama.
Box office: $73,878,632M (Worldwide)

Hannibal (2001)

His biggest box-office hit, the Silence Of The Lambs sequel featured Liotta in modern cinema's most famous dinner table scene. Sautee brain, anyone?
Box office: $349M (Worldwide)

Identity (2003)

This psychological horror film, directed by James Mangold, was a critical and commercial success for Liotta and inspired by Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None.
Box office: $77,409,882M (Worldwide)

Smokin Aces (2006)

Liotta was part of an A-List ensemble that included Ryan Reynolds, Alicia Keys, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine and Jeremy Piven in a pulpy action-comedy.
Box office: $53,735,046M (Worldwide)

Field Of Dreams (1989) Nominated for three Oscars, this heart-warming tale provided Liotta with his breakthrough performance as Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Box office: $64.4M (US)

It all ends . . .

After 10 years and eight films, the Harry Potter franchise is avada kedavra. The force may have been strong, but it was a glasses-wearing boy wizard that overtook Star Wars as the most successful film franchise of all time. Based on the best-selling books by British author J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter films have become a phenomenon in their own right. Just fours years after the first book was published, Warner Brothers pushed out Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone in 2001. It cast a spell on audiences worldwide, grossing a colossal $969M at the international box office and setting up a market for seven more films.

Director David Yates (below) has been responsible for the last three Harry Potter films (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1) and said going out with a bang was crucial for fans and the crew.
``It was important to end the series with an epic finale, so we have battles and dragons, spiders and giants,'' he said.
``But at heart, this is a story about the characters.
``Spectacle is important, but caring about the people in the middle of it is what pulls the audience into the journey with them.'' A bevy of first class actors have helped bring the colourful cast of Harry Potter to life over the past decade, including Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix LeStrange), Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) and many, many more. But the responsibility for bringing the most beloved characters from within the Harry Potter universe has fallen on three people; Daniel Radcliffe as the title character and Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as his best friends Ron and Hermione. The trio have become worldwide celebrities in the roles, starting as children and growing up on screen.

Yates said Rowling's message of the books goes beyond magic and without the pitch-perfect and relatable performances from the three young actors, that message could have been lost.
``In following the characters, many of the values that Jo (J.K. Rowling) celebrates in the books come to the fore in the films; the value of loyalty and love and friendship and understanding versus intolerance and evil,'' he said.
``One of the most interesting things about the way this story unfolds is that the line separating the forces of darkness and light is blurred and we see that certain people are more complex than they first appeared.''

Yates said now that Harry is out of the woods, literally, come the start of Part 2 he becomes ``ruthlessly sure of his task''.
``At the beginning of Part 2, Harry is a man rather than a boy,'' he said.
``He needs to kill Voldemort.
``He knows he must be the one to finish it and he is determined to see it through.''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is out Wednesday, July 13.

Taking the throne

The Wire. Sopranos. True Blood. And now Game Of Thrones. The 10-part fantasy series has just finished screening its first season on HBO in the US and already it's being hailed a masterpiece. Based on the series of novels by George R. R. Martin, Game Of Thrones follows the struggle for power among kings in the mythological land of Westeros. The high concept and high budget production is one of epic scale. The pilot alone is said to have cost $US 5 - 10 million.

Among the cast of acclaimed actors such as Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Mark Addy and Lena Headey, is 23-year-old Kit Harington. The English actor is straight out of drama school, with only a lead role in stage show Warhorse to his name. Yet somehow he scored his breakthrough role as Jon Snow, the bastard son of Bean's Eddard Stark.
"I've been a jammy, jammy sod,'' says Harington.
"I'd been doing Warhorse for a year and wanted to do something else when this audition came through the door for a pilot in a HBO series.
"I did three auditions and as I got further I began to think `this is a part I could really do.'
"I guess the more I thought that, the more they did too.''

Harington says he was attracted to Jon Snow because he's "an unusual hero type.''
"I don't think I've read or seen a character quite like him,'' he says.
"His story's very separate from what goes on the with the iron throne and his father and family. "He's been rejected by everyone because he's an illegitimate child and I like that he has to go off and do his own thing.
"It makes him incredibly strong-willed, determined and he has this chip on his shoulder.
"At the same time he's dealing with something much darker than everyone else is (in the series). "It's exciting.''

His first film job of any kind, Harington says it was "terrifying and amazing'' to be on the Games Of Thrones set in Northern Ireland with renowned actors and multi-million dollar set pieces.
"I kept asking people `is this usual for a TV show, is this normal?'' he says.
"And they were all like `no, this is usual for a big film.''
"I've grown up watching Sean on shows like Sharp, I've seen most of Pete's movies, I'm a huge fan of Mark Addy and it was fantastic to be opposite them.
"I look up to them and it was great to see how they worked and what they'd do.
"This was my first film job so I had to learn on my feet.''Part of that learning experience was dealing with the pranks of show creators and lifelong friends David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Harington says although you "honestly couldn't ask for two nicer guys'' as bosses, they can be "a bit mean.''
"They were horrible to me once,'' he says with a laugh.
"We get new editions of the script every day and they noticed I was a bit of a vain narcissist so they sent me this version of the script where Jon gets set on fire and his whole face gets burnt off.
"They had things in there like he was permanently disfigured and horrific to look at.
"I called my mum and I was like `I can't believe they've done this.'
"I thought I'd just have to deal with it like a professional.
"Then when I walked on set that day they were all there laughing at me.
"I'll get them back one day.''

In the meantime, Harington and the team are basking in the success of Season 1, with Season 2 set to commence filming in Northern Ireland at the end of this month. Harington says he’s relieved Game Of Thrones is a success, like he originally predicted it would be.
“It always felt like something that should work, but you’re never sure what the outcome’s going to be,” he says.
“As it’s gone on, more and more people have got on board this thing we’ve created.

“One of the most satisfying things is that people become involved with what you’re involved with, they fall in love with this thing you’re in love with.”

After getting the part of Jon Snow, Harington says he started reading Martin’s books and, like millions of readers before him, got hooked.
“They are page turners,” he says.
“They really get you completely immersed in that world.
“I never used to be a big fantasy fan but I’ve got into it now, it’s true escapism.”

A slap back to reality for Harington has been the “mental” fan mail he gets from Game Of Thrones diehards, particularly those of the female variety.
“I can’t say specifically what it is in case they’re reading this,” he says.
“But I also get a lot of normal fan mail, which is brilliant because I’ve never had it before.
“I like getting it and reading it and learning about someone else’s’ life which is very different from my own and has been effected by the show.
“It makes for an interesting read.
“I think it’s really sweet someone takes the time to write a letter to say they like what you’re doing.
“Especially a handwritten letter, you don’t get those very often nowadays.”

Harington will experience fandom on a whole new level when he takes part in the Game Of Thrones panel at Comic Con, San Deigo this month. He says it will be his first time at the “massive” event and he’s looking forward to “lots of attention, because I’m an actor.”


**Stay peeled for my follow-up story with Kit Harington on Game Of Thrones, Season 2, and my exclusive on his first film Silent Hill: Revelation 3D at Bloodydisgusting.com

Favourite Movie Friday with Daniel Lee Kendall

The talented indie singer/songwriter gets Lost In The Moment talking favourite movies . . .

“I was just thinking about this the other day if anyone ever asked me a movie question, and I think I’ve got my top three. I’m not sure what the order would be, but Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carrey, In The Army Now with Pauley Shore and Happy Gilmore with Adam Sandler, I’ve watched that so many times. I do like to laugh a bit, but I don’t really watch comedies any more because none of them are that funny."

June reading list

Well, if my reading-pact buddy Kat thinks she had a slack reading month wait until she sees my effort. Or lack thereof. Anyway, my excuse for reading only one thing - the season eight Buffy The Vampire Slayer graphic novel finale - is being busy. Really busy. I'm leaving for Comic Con this Wednesday, so I've been drowning in arrangements and trying to get ahead of things at work. Lame, but true.This is a series I think started out really well, but descended into ridiculousness. I need some grounding in reality, after all, that’s what drew me to these characters and storylines in the first place. By the final third of the Season 8 finale I thought Joss Wheedon had got back to that and I’m really excited to see how things progress come Season 9, which is out later this year. RIP Giles.

I also got through this, which isn’t a book so I’m not including it in my 2011 reading list. However, it is a freakin’ fantastic collection of comics from The Argyle Sweater by Scott Hilburn, one of my personal faves. I can’t praise his wit and talent highly enough, just get your hands on it.

So, this month I’ve already read two proper books so my track record come August 1 will be considerably improved (I hope), especially once you factor in the travel-reading time I’ll have to and from America.

My mother discovers who I really work for – the devil!

Mum: *proudly*"I put a link to your Absolutely Fabulous story on my Facebook!"

Me: "My what story?"

Mum: "Absolutely Fabulous. You know, that place you work for?"

Me: (Pause) "Do you by chance mean Bloody Disgusting?"

Mum: "Same thing."

Oh mummy dearest, I cannot begin to list the ways they are not the “same thing”. Alas, considering she cringed when I first told her I was working for a horror movie website I consider this a vast improvement and quite cute.

The 5 best short films fo all time

Short films can be a gateway to the big time. Hollywood heavyweights such as James Cameron, Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese all got their starts making attention-grabbing short films. I’m judging the finalists in the Shorts On The Green Short Film Festival at Circle On Cavill, Surfers Paradise from 6pm tomorrow night and it got me thinking. . .what are the best short films of all time? Yep, it killed me to leave out Spike Jonze’s I'm Here from last year but since it was 30 minutes I decided to keep the pool to actually short films. Here are my picks of the five best short films.

Harvie Krumpet (2003)

This animated short film by Australian writer/director Adam Elliot won the 2004 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Narrated by Geoffrey Rush, the dark yet beautiful story of a man with Tourette's Syndrome won over critics and set Elliot up for his exquisite debut feature Mary & Max.

Geometria (1987)

Before visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro played with Hellboy or got lost in Pan's Labyrinth, he cut his teeth with Geometria. The Spanish horror/thriller follows a boy tired of failing geometry, so he summons a demon. Spooky and wildly creative, this nine minute gem gave audiences a taste of what del Toro could do.

Two Cars, One Night (2004)

Young New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi had his breakthrough with this Oscar-nominated short set in the car park outside a Maori pub. The sweet sentiment and understated humour of Waititi's tale was his breakthrough and he's gone on to direct Eagle Vs Shark, Flight Of The Conchords, Boy and star in blockbuster Green Lantern.

Vincent (1982)

A young Disney animator by the name of Tim Burton already had three short films under his belt when he made the stop-motion animation Vincent. Voiced by B-grade horror movie icon Vincent Price, it follows a young boy who dreams of being just like Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams. The dark humour and striking visuals caught the attention of several film studios and marked Tim Burton as a unique talent.

Miracle Fish (2009) From brothers Nash and Joel Edgerton's production house Blue Tongue Films came this captivating, inventive and simply brilliant short. Nominated for an Oscar, director Luke Doolan toys with viewers expectations in this beautifully realised about an 8-year-old's not so ordinary day at school.

Favourite Movie Friday with Dileep Rao

The Indian/American actor has only stared in three films, but every single one is a knockout. Dileep Rao’s credits include Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell, James Cameron’s Avatar and Chris Nolan’s Inception. Quite the balls-to-the-wall awesome track record. I met Rao back in April when he was here for Supanova Pop Culture Expo and he shared these favourite movie picks with me:

"Citizen Kane, The Godfather, parts one and two, Deerhunter, The Third Man, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Jaws. The Shawshank Redemption is a great pleasure for me and Monty Python and The Holy Grail. I love The Dark Knight, Memento, The Prestige, The Abyss, Titanic, Sam Raimi’s film called A Simple Plan, Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, Days Of Heaven . . .There are so many movies that have changed my life with their originality and or certain sequences, like The Shining. In that way I guess Chris (Nolan) is like Stanley Kubrick because he makes movies I can’t stop thinking about. But Kubrick was his own dude, you know? There’s something so Kubricky about his films and you that can’t translate that to anyone else."