Time for a few new quickies.
1. Glenn Erickson has a fascinating item up at DVD Savant on the restoration of Kiss Me Deadly (1955) — which I saw in film class in the mid-’90s, before it was restored — and the possibility that a blatant act of censorship may have been interpreted as a sign of artistic genius, with far-reaching consequences for cinema.
2. The New York Times reports that some scientists feel they were tricked into appearing in the upcoming documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which features Ben Stein as a champion of so-called Intelligent Design theory. The film’s producers have responded at their blog, but without linking to the Times story or even specifying which newspaper published the article — which doesn’t bode well if anyone was hoping the film would promote good research habits or open and transparent dialogue.
3. Ain’t It Cool News reports that the set on which Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is currently shooting just happens to be the warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant was stored in a crate at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Make of that what you will, but if it’s true, that would seem to confirm certain rumours. (Note also the Egyptian props mingling with the Mesoamerican props in the photos at Harrison Ford Web.)
4. Yahoo! Movies has a fun new featurette on the development of the “daemons” in the upcoming film of The Golden Compass.
5. Kyle Smith at the Wall Street Journal looks at the rise of action movies, vigilante movies, and similar violent movies that come from the left-leaning end of the political spectrum.
6. The Canadian Press says the town of Vulcan, Alberta is lobbying to host the premiere of Star Trek XI. I happened to visit that town with my family a couple months ago. ‘Twas kinda silly, but fun.
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