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Huge news: Soderbergh is committing to simultaneous release across TV, DVD, and theaters (original). His next six movies will be released in theaters, on DVD, and on television (via Mark Cuban’s high def HDTV network) at the same time. The movies will be funded by Cuban, shown in Cuban’s Landmark Theaters chain, and the DVDs will be released through Cuban’s DVD label. So it’s all Cuban, all the time. This is something Cuban’s wanted to do for a long time; he is betting heavily on digital distribution and he’s probably right. He built his corporate structure with exactly this kind of deal in mind; he owns a company at each level of the movie distribution chain, from production studio down to every consumer product distribution channel. He must be thrilled that he managed to get someone as prestigious as Soderbergh to buy into the concept. Chances are that Soderbergh will bring one of his star stable (Clooney, Roberts, or Damon) along for at least one of these six movies, which should do wonders for publicity. ...

Ladies and gentlemen, Iraq has a government. Took a while, but they got there. I’m happy about that. I find myself concerned that Chalabi is the acting oil minister, since he’s not exactly a beacon of shining moral integrity. I’m also rather bemused that the Prime Minister is the acting defense minister. Having the head of state also be the head of the armed forces has not traditionally been a sign of democratic process, but at least it’s temporary. ...

When Phantom Menace was released, I took the day off work and drove up to the AMC 1000 Van Ness in San Francisco. If you ask me, it’s got the best screens in the city, although maybe the new AMC multiplex in Daly City beats it these days. But that multiplex was built over hospital parking, and is thus morally flawed, so I vote for the 1000 Van Ness. Besides, the Daly City multiplex wasn’t done when Phantom Menace came out. ...

Weird idea, while drifting off to sleep: A Lexicon of Lost Hollywood. Each entry is a movie review of a movie that was never made; each movie review must refer forward and back to other movies. You can make up actors and directors and screenwriters if you like, but they cannot be entries: they will always be defined only by the reviews of their movies. Or, if you wish, you can use the stars that we know. ...

Etymology buffs! Learn where the phrase “ no strings attached (original)” came from. Or so British tailors say, at any rate. Visit for the etymology, stay for the insight into tailoring.

We’re a step closer to the showdown on judicial filibusters. I kinda figured Harry Reid would force the issue. The short version of what’s going on: you can prevent a vote from occurring in the Senate by filibustering it. It requires 60 votes to end a filibuster. Senator Frist is threatening to change the Senate rules in order to require only 50 votes to end a filibuster. However, changing Senate rules has always taken a 2/3rds majority vote. How’s Frist gonna get around that? ...

The cardinals are spilling details on the conclave, although the article doesn’t get into the change in voting rules. (Via TPM.)

I’ll have a formal Actual Play post at the 20’ by 20’ Room later, but right now I just want to say that Dogs in the Vineyard (original) rocks hard. Whoa, but that’s a strong game with a beautiful clarity to it. At first glance it maybe doesn’t look like the setting and the system are so tightly linked. But they are, maybe not so much in the details of place and time but certainly in the moral certainty aspect. The key aspect of the system is the ability to escalate: the ability to slap down a bunch more dice and say “I’m willing to go this far to make this thing happen.” That is reinforced by the moral correctness of the player characters and creates a very powerful dynamic at the table. ...

It hasn’t been posted on their calendar (original) yet, but the Spring 2005 Brattle schedule is out. Highlights include: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and The Pink Panther, both with new 35 mm prints. Ong Bak one more time, if you missed it at the Kendall. A classic Westerns series, including Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, John Wayne), The Searchers (more John Wayne), Shane (mmm, Alan Ladd), High Plains Drifter (Clint Eastwood directing and starring), Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In The West, and The Quick & The Dead. The Asian Cinevisions (original) Film Festival, which includes Joint Security Area this time around — it’s Park Chan-Wook’s first feature movie, which was followed by Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy. Neither of which I liked, but so many people I respect adore his work that I’m gonna keep delving into it until I figure it out. (Which means seeing Old Boy at the Kendall this weekend, I think.) A Hal Hartley mini-fest, just for Jeff. It includes Girl From Monday, his latest movie. Hartley’s latest, not Jeff’s. A Harold Lloyd (original) festival, running a full week and showing 13 different Lloyd movies. All three James Dean movies. That’ll keep me pretty busy.

I’m heartbroken. I wanted to watch Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow forever, dancing back and forth in slow motion, captured in the timeless rhythm of Wong Kar Wai’s directing. Despite the titles which fix the story in Hong Kong: 1962 and Singapore: 1963 and Cambodia: 1966 — despite them, there’s no chronology to it. There are panes of glass layered one on top of another, and you peer through them murkily, making out the outline of a fruitless love affair. ...