Slog - Comments on The Faux Amour of the Academy Awards http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards As I learned from this incredibly stupid article that I nonetheless read, Hollywood is the land of "frenemies." Global Hollywood is also the land of frenemies, as I have learned from Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The (now Academy Award-winning) director called the regional publicist for his film, The Lives of Others, in a rage after The Stranger published this interview. Seems that the ten minutes or so he spent condescending to American audiences, impugning the moral complexity of his Oscar competition Pan's Labyrinth, etc., was supposed to be "off the record." Unfortunately, he tried to convey this information with his... Copyright 2008 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 15:35:58 -0800 Fri, 02 Mar 2007 09:36:59 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Fnarf Wait, Stephen Colbert didn't invent the word "frenemies"?

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652505 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652505 Arts Thu, 01 Mar 2007 15:52:18 -0800 Comment by michael strangeways it's from sex in the city

]]> michael strangeways http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652529 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652529 Arts Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:17:03 -0800 Comment by monkey I learned "frenimies" from Defamer.com, specifically referring to Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.

]]> monkey http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652542 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652542 Arts Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:38:12 -0800 Comment by Nat Donnersmarck went out of his way to hug Guillermo Del Toro on his way to pick up the award. They were seated a couple rows apart.

]]> Nat http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652547 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652547 Arts Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:42:45 -0800 Comment by infrequent well, as donnersmarck said himself, "[In reality,] [t]here are mixed motives; every villain has a good side, and every good person..."

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652553 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652553 Arts Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:47:41 -0800 Comment by Laurence Ballard Note to Donnersmarck:

Never do press interviews.

]]> Laurence Ballard http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652668 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652668 Arts Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:35:12 -0800 Comment by JMW I have to say, I loved both movies, but I did find the violence in Pan's Labyrinth that he mentions (the torture scene in particular) very disturbing, and quite gratuitous. It wouldn't be my ONLY comment about the film, because I thought there was something stunning and unforgettable about it, but I have to say, I agree with what he says here, and I don't think it's all that mean-spirited.

]]> JMW http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652711 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652711 Arts Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:01:01 -0800 Comment by JMW In case you didn't notice, I HAD to say those things. It's late here. Forgive me.

]]> JMW http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652714 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c652714 Arts Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:02:23 -0800 Comment by Emmakat I liked both movies, and I agree that I don't think the comments in the interview seem mean spirited either. It speaks to the difference between the two movies. Pan's is seeming to have more appeal to American audiences. It's interesting to think about why that is.

It seems kind of obvious Donnersmark wouldn't really like Del Toro's film, it's not his style. It's okay to have a preference, especially as an artist, it's pretty essential. The stuff he said in the interview just let us in on that.

]]> Emmakat http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c653115 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c653115 Arts Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:59:35 -0800 Comment by Gurldoggie I've read quite a bit about the Spanish Civil War, and spent some time in Spain speaking with people who lived through it. By most accounts, the Franco supporters were bigoted, uneducated and cruel to the point of sadism. And the people who survived that madness are deeply scared by the atrocities they witnessed. I liked Pan's Labyrinth, and was quite riveted by the imagery, but if anything it wasn't violent enough. The fantasy element serves to mitigate what was, by all accounts, a grotesquely violent moment in the history of Europe.

]]> Gurldoggie http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c653337 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/03/the_faux_amour_of_the_academy_awards#c653337 Arts Fri, 02 Mar 2007 09:36:59 -0800