Blue Valentine // Current TV

Lots of love for Oscar nominated Blue Valentine

What makes Blue Valentine such a poignant film is the honest way it depicts a... more

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Movie openings for January 28, 2010

Movies, movies, movies. All killer, some filler.

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Gregg Araki Talks About the Sex and Sci-Fi in "Kaboom"

Gregg Araki, the director of such films as Doom Generation, Nowhere, and Mysterious Skin, says that his latest, Kaboom, is inspired in part by Twin Peaks -- but with a lot more sex. Centered on a college student named Smith (played by Thomas Dekker from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Kaboom clocks in at 85 minutes but manages to cram conspiracies, end-of-the-world prophecies, cults, magic, and sex of almost every stripe into its plot. Despite all that, Araki says this is one of the most real films he's done so far.

Q: How autobiographical is Kaboom?
A: It sounds crazy because the movie is so crazy, but of all my movies, this is the most from my life. I've always denied my movies are autobiographical, until this one. I did not have nearly as much sex as Smith does, but I was an undergraduate film student, just like Smith, at UC Santa Barbara. My best friend wore crazy outfits like his best friend Stella. We hung out in coffee shops like that. There's just so much based on what happened to me and my friends.
Q: And yet it goes in all these crazy directions.
A: Twin Peaks came out when I was in grad school, and it had such an impact on my young, vulnerable mind. I just remember being blown away that it was on TV, and it was really a huge inspiration, the way it was its own thing. It sort of confounded all your expectations. It was never weird for weirdness' sake. It was very purposeful, and it made sense -- at least to David Lynch. It had its own kind of internal logic, and that's what I was aspiring for with Kaboom.
Q: Twin Peaks had the luxury of unraveling over time, but your pacing is more frenetic.
A: Kaboom was actually developed as a TV pilot, in one of its various incarnations over the years. And it would have been fascinating. With what it became, somebody said to me that it was like watching an entire TV season crammed into 85 minutes. And there is that aspect to it, of that hyper-accelerated serial.

Q: Some things go by so fast, you don't even get a chance to go, "Wait, he just had a threesome with his sister!"
A: I know, it's like, "What?!" That's one of the most fun aspects, the jampacked nature of it, the relentless pace. I wanted your mind to be reeling, which is better than the opposite, feeling like a movie is too long. This is a runaway train, and you have to keep up with it. It goes off the rails, and the audience is going, "What the..." It's a very modern movie that way. And I give my audience a lot of credit, that they can get these things. Get on stage, tell your story, get off.
Q: Is that a little Donnie Darko nod, considering James Duvall was Frank, and you have the animal-masked stalkers?
A: James Duvall was in my movies long before he was in Donnie Darko! That's why he was in Donnie Darko! [Laughs] But yeah, I've wanted to make an old-fashioned cult movie like Donnie Darko. My movies like Doom Generation have a similiar sensibility, because cult movies are like a genre. And this is definitely a cult movie. I really love James Duvall in Kaboom, the use of him, because he's so different. He's the stoner guy, and then he has another side to the same character.
Q: Most of your films are released as unrated. Have you ever battled with the MPAA?
A: It's always a battle. For Mysterious Skin, we were trying to get a R rating, and they absolutely refused us, because of the sexual nature. It's always a weird double standard when it comes to sexuality versus violence. My argument was that it was about young people who are being sexually abused, and while I agree that 12-year-old kids at the mall should not be seeing it, there are some mature teenagers who could handle it, with a parent -- because that's what a R rating is, it's not just parental consent, they have to accompany you and supervise you. Brady Corbett, who read the book when he was 12, was 15 when we made the movie and 17 when it came out. Kids like that should be able to see the movie with their parents. I just think the whole ratings system is kind of a crock.
Q: It's like with Blue Valentine -- the reasons they first got a NC-17 instead of the later R...
A: It's almost a weird, backhanded compliment, like the problematic sex scenes are the ones that work too well, that are too real. The cunnilingus scene in Kaboom would have been outrageous to the MPAA. You don't see anything. It's not pornographic. But it's honest, and it's real, and it's true. It's Blue Valentine -- that's the way people have sex. Kaboom is very pro-sex and sexual experience. Obviously, people should be responsible, but sex is so much a part of the human experience and growing up. These kids, and their adventures, and their encounters, that's how they become people. Those are the most important experiences of your life. It's what makes you who you are.
Kaboom kicks off this year's San Francisco Independent Film Festival on February 3rd. Gregg Araki, the director of such films as Doom Generation, Nowhere, and Mysterious... more

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‘Blue Valentine’ Celebrates Dysfunctional Romantic Relationships

Do you know why Derek Cianfrance‘s “Blue Valentine” was such a good... more

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Ryan Gosling Calls "Blue Valentine" a Whodunit -- Who Killed Love?

Like his co-star Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling has already snagged a Golden... more

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Michelle Williams Learned to Fight for "Blue Valentine"

Michelle Williams has already snared a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for... more

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Three Oscar contenders set to open Wednesday

Days after Oscar ballots were sent out, the final three awards contenders are set to... more

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Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams Fight NC-17 Rating for "Blue Valentine"

On Wednesday, Blue Valentine goes to war. The Motion Picture of Association of... more

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Disney Dumps Fairy Tales For Original Stories

As Disney prepares to release its 50th animated feature film Dawn C. Chmielewski of... more

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Harvey Weinstein Fighting MPAA Over Blue Valentine NC-17 Rating with Best Movies Ever

Blue Valentine got a shocking NC-17 rating and Harvey Weinstein ain't gonna take... more

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Blue Valentine Gets Ryan Gosling An NC-17-Best Movies Ever Movie News

The MPAA strikes again on Ryan Gosling's Blue Valentine for best movies ever.

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Michelle Williams & Ryan Gosling Talk Steamy Sex Scenes In W

Actor Ryan Gosling and his co-star Michelle Williams posed together for a very... more

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Ryan Gosling Gets Rejected by Michelle Williams in New 'Blue Valentine' Clip

When meeting Cindy for the very first time in this Derek Cianfrance-directed movie,... more

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Saturday's Important News: The Sundance Acquisition Edition

We're getting the heck out of Park City today, so that's why this entire... more

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tagged w/ Blue Valentine

Lots of love for Oscar nominated Blue Valentine

Movie openings for January 28, 2010

Gregg Araki Talks About the Sex and Sci-Fi in "Kaboom"

‘Blue Valentine’ Celebrates Dysfunctional Romantic Relationships

Ryan Gosling Calls "Blue Valentine" a Whodunit -- Who Killed Love?

Michelle Williams Learned to Fight for "Blue Valentine"

Three Oscar contenders set to open Wednesday

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams Fight NC-17 Rating for "Blue Valentine"

Disney Dumps Fairy Tales For Original Stories

Harvey Weinstein Fighting MPAA Over Blue Valentine NC-17 Rating with Best Movies Ever

Blue Valentine Gets Ryan Gosling An NC-17-Best Movies Ever Movie News

Michelle Williams & Ryan Gosling Talk Steamy Sex Scenes In W

Ryan Gosling Gets Rejected by Michelle Williams in New 'Blue Valentine' Clip

Saturday's Important News: The Sundance Acquisition Edition

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