Drawing on his roots in the fecund 1970s East Village avant-garde film scene, critic J. Hoberman has spent his three decades at the Village Voice introducing readers to the more adventurous cinematic worlds awaiting beyond the realm of Hollywood. He is the author of nine books, most recently The Dream Life: Movies, Media, and the Mythology of the Sixties, which was described by Slate as "an extraordinary publishing event." To commemorate his thirty years at the Voice, BAMcinématek has invited Hoberman to select films that have sparked some of his most stimulating reviews and articles, as well as a few personal favorites.
J. Hoberman, Film Critic
SNL Returns, Fred Armisen is Barack Obama
Saturday Night Live is back! Wasting no time digging into primary season, the opening skit was a debate between Hillary and Barack, immediately answering the big question posed this week: who will be our Fauxbama? The answer: Fred Armisen! The Huffington Post raises the controversial points of this decision, given the previously-noted lack of minority players on the show (Armisen is not black - he's Venezuelan and Japanese - but has played Prince on SNL) and the whole "Is Obama black enough?" debate. As for the sketch itself, it was about the media's infatuation with Obama - and it even included Obama Girl!
The Oscars Are Coming!
The Oscars are in town! Well, at least some 8-foot Oscar statues for the official New York Oscar night celebration at the Carlyle hotel, where east coast industry folk will come together Sunday night as the show goes down in Hollywood.
Commish Says Mary-Kate Olsen Not Wanted in Heath Ledger Death Questioning
After intense speculation about why the masseuse who discovered Heath Ledger's body last Tuesday called actress Mary-Kate Olsen multiple times, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly spoke to reporters yesterday to clear the air. Kelly said, "We believe that of the three phone calls by the masseuse to Mary-Kate Olsen, only one got through. That call was 99 seconds long."
Oscar Loves Michael Clayton, Blood, Old Men, Juno
- Perhaps the big surprise (besides Juno getting nominated for Best Director and Best Picture) was Ruby Dee for her work in American Gangster (its only other nomination was for art direction)
Golden Globes 2008: Annoying Yet Efficient
Due to the Writer's Guild of America strike, Hollywood's party, the Golden Globes Awards were transformed from a boozy, fun dinner party to a press conference where presenters from entertainment programs like Extra! and E! News got to announce the winners. Yes, it was as painful as it sounded (Giuliana Rancic, it's not about you); many said they couldn't believe they were announcing the winners but said they would prefer it with the stars. Inside Edition's Jim Moret struck a classy note when he acknowledged the Hollywood Foreign Association (the organization that doles out the Golden Globes) President Jorge Camara.
No Country For Old Critics
The New York Film Critics Circle met yesterday to vote on their “Best of” list for 2007; widely viewed as a barometer for the upcoming Academy Awards, the critics pride themselves as “a principled alternative to the Oscars, honoring esthetic merit in a forum that is immune to commercial and political pressures.” But if one anonymous member is to be believed, the meeting sounds more like a “principled” excuse for an Aint It Cool News-style...
A Conversation with Jonny Greenwood
Jonny Greenwood was named the BBC’s composer-in-residence in 2004; during this time he debuted "Popcorn Superhet Receiver", a twenty-minute work for string orchestra inspired, in part, by the phenomenon of white noise and Penderecki’s "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima". Tickets are on sale for a two-night performance of the composition at The Church of St. John the Apostle in January as part of The Wordless Music Series; works by John Adams and Gavin Bryars will also be performed.

