One of my New Year’s resolutions was to …. *checks notes* …. share more from Steve Aoki on this site so I guess I better get around to honoring that resolution by sharing the oddly disturbing video for Wake Up Call.
“WAKE UP!”
I’ve actually come across some online criticism of Wake Up Call, with the most frequent complaint being that it sounds “messy and confused” but personally, I think that’s kind of the point. It’s all about the sensation of being jarred awake, of being snapped out of a dream and into the real world. Everyone wakes up messy. Everyone wakes up confused. The messiness is kind of the point here. Seriously, whenever I wake up, it always takes me a few minutes to realize where I am and then it takes me even longer to get my hair out out of my face. Sleep is messy, which is why I try to get as little as possible of it.
As for the video …. AGCK! I mean seriously, what the Hell is going on? Is Steve Aoki trying to kill Clifton Collins, Jr? Or is Michelle Rodriguez just dreaming that Aoki is strangling her …. well, I want to say lover but they don’t really appear to be too much in love. Who is dreaming in this video and who needs to “WAKE UP?” Personally, I think Michelle Rodriguez may have seen what Clifton Collins, Jr. was dreaming about so she summoned Aoki from her own dreams, specifically so he could be her vessel of vengeance. To be honest, the whole thing kind of feels like a Jean Rollin vampire film to me. And yes, yes …. I know that I tend to compare anything that is the least bit surreal to a Jean Rollin vampire film but that doesn’t make the observation any less pertinent.
Of course, it’s also possible that there might not be any definite explanation as to just what exactly is happening. Perhaps the point. Like life, the video may mean whatever we want it to mean.
Now, I will admit that I did attempt to search around online and find what other people thought this video was about. Unfortunately, almost every link that I followed led me to someone talking about the video for Maroon 5’s Wake Up Call. I’d actually like to see someone remake Begin Again with Steve Aoki in the Adam Levine role. I think that would be hella interesting.
Instead of getting any sleep last night, I decided to stay up and watch the 1983 dance film, Flashdance. As a result, I’m not only very tired but everyone I see today, I’m just like, “You’re not really a welder, are you?”
In the film, that question is asked by bitchy Katie Hurley (Belinda Bauer) to 18 year-old Alex (Jennifer Beals) and the answer, by the way, is yes. Alex is a welder. Judging by the way the film handles the topic, it appears that audiences in 1983 were really stunned that a woman could be a welder. (I kept expecting to hear someone say, “She’s one of those lady welders, like you read about in the Reader’s Digest.”) Myself, I’m more amazed that an 18 year-old in Pittsburgh could get a high-paying union job. Then again, we never really see any evidence that Alex is really doing much as a welder. We do see her at a construction site holding one of those torch things but that’s pretty much it. Last night, I started Flashdance with no idea what a welder does and I ended the movie with even less of an idea but then again, the movie really isn’t about welding.
Instead, it’s about dancing! And love! And holding onto your dreams! And living in a big warehouse with a dog and a handsome boyfriend! As one character puts it, when you give up your dreams, you die. Of course, most people have multiple dreams so what happens if you only give up one but hold onto the others? I guess you just lose a toe or something. But anyway….
Actually, before we move on, how much money did welders make back in 1983? Because seriously, Alex lives in a gigantic and very nicely decorated building and her only roommate is a dog. As Alex explains to her boss and boyfriend, Nick (Michael Nouri), the building was an abandoned warehouse before Alex moved in. So, does Alex own the building? Does she just rent it? It’s a great place and I love what Alex does with it but seriously, it’s hard to believe that any 18 year-old — even one who is working two jobs — could afford it.
Yes, Alex has two jobs. Such is the price of independence. When she’s not welding, she’s dancing at a dive bar. Her routines are amazingly filmed and a lot of fun to watch but they’re also so elaborate it’s hard to believe that they could be performed in such a run-down establishment or that the bar’s blue collar clientele would have much patience for them. She’s an exotic dancer, which means she doesn’t take off her clothes. The sleazy owner of local strip club (Lee Ving) keeps trying to encourage Alex and her friend, Jeanie (Sunny Johnson), to come dance at his place but Alex has no interest in that. Jeanie, on the other hand, accepts the offer. Fortunately, Alex is there to run into the club and yank her off stage and then yell at her. Alex spends a lot of time yelling at people. She also throws a rock through one of Nick’s windows when she sees him talking to his ex-wife. One could argue that Alex has rage issues but no one in the film seems to take them personally. How could they? Alex is pursuing her dreams and the good thing about pursuing a dream is that you can do whatever you want while doing so.
(Interestingly, you can tell that the filmmakers were a little bit concerned that audiences in the early 80s might view Alex as being a bit too independent and confrontational. In between the scenes of Alex yelling at people and casually reaching underneath her sweatshirt to remove her bra while Nick watches, there are also scenes of Alex going to confession. It’s as if the film’s saying, “Yes, she welds! Yes, she has a temper! Yes, she’s flirty! But fear not, she’s a good girl! So, it’s okay for you to be on her side….”)
For a film that was shot on the streets of Pittsburgh, there’s not a gritty moment to be found in Flashdance. This is the type of film where Alex rides her bicycle across the city and it never once gets stolen, despite the fact that she never actually locks it up. In the world of Flashdance, all conflicts are easily resolved, all insecurities are ultimately conquered, and all dreams come true. It’s a world where Alex can become a great dancer despite having never had any formal training just because, as she puts it, she’s “watched TV and read books.” (My old dance teachers probably hated this movie.) It’s a fairy tale and, like most fairy tales, it’s deeply silly and yet oddly compelling at the same time. Never once do you buy that Alex is a welder and it’s pretty obvious, from all the quick cuts and the skewed camera angles, that Jennifer Beals did not do her own dancing. But it doesn’t matter because it’s hard not to get pulled into the film’s glitzy fantasy. Flashdance may technically be a bad movie but I dare you not to cry a little when Alex leaves her audition and finds Nick waiting for her. Not only does Alex achieve her dreams, but she also get a rich, older boyfriend, the type who gives her flowers and puts a bow on her dog.
It’s interesting to note that the two films that practically define the early 80s cinematic aesthetic, Flashdance and Scarface, were both released in 1983. (Not only was Flashdance initially offered to Scarface director Brian DePalma but Al Pacino was also offered the role of Nick. Pacino, of course, turned it down and played Tony Montana instead.) To be honest, I think you can argue that Flashdance and Scarface are essentially the same film. They’ve both got neon opening credits. They’ve both got a score from Giorgio Moroder. They’re both elaborate fantasies about someone who won’t surrender their dream. Just replace all the cocaine that Tony Montana snorted with Alex’s love of dancing.
Finally, I have to mention Flashdance‘s music. The score and the song may be totally 80s but it still sounds good in 2019. The theme song won an Oscar and let me tell you, if you can listen to this song without dancing around your house in your underwear, then you obviously have a lot more self-control than I do.
Believe it or not, this is the video that got Jennifer Lopez sued.
That’s right. Paramount Pictures actually sued Jennifer Lopez and Sony Music over a claim of copyright infringement, saying that they had no right to make a video that was clearly a recreation of the 1980s dance film, Flashdance. Lopez countered that Flashdance is one of her favorite movies and that the video was meant to be a loving homage. Personally, I think the video plays more like a satire but regardless, Lopez’s affection for the source material does shine through.
Here’s the thing, though. Paramount might have had a point about the copyright infringement thing. But this video introduced a whole new generation of people (like me) to their film. Would I have ever watched Flashdance if not for this video? Well, probably. I have a weakness for 80s dance movies. But what about people who aren’t attracted to flashy 1983 films like a moth to an open flame? This video is probably the best advertisement for Flashdance that’s ever been made.
While it’s easy to dismiss Paramount’s lawsuit as a miscalculation, the lawsuit filed by Maureen Marder was a far more tragic story. Marder was the dancer whose life story inspired Flashdance. Marder was paid a flat fee of $2,300 for her story. Flashdance went on to make 150 million at the U.S. box office. Basically, a lot of people got rich off of Flashdance but the dancer who inspired the film did not. Nor did Marder see any money from the subsequent Broadway musical or Lopez’s music video. Marder, whose career was ended by a spinal injury, sued Lopez for copyright infringement in 2003. Three years later, Marder’s suit was dismissed.
Anyway, despite all of the legal drama. I like this video. I like that Lopez dances as if her life depended upon it and I like that she’s unashamedly and unabashedly sexy in the video. Famously, Lopez was intimately involved in the editing of this video and refused to allow any type of retouching to be done to her famously curvy figure. This video features her at her most confident and determined, showing off the drive that made her a star. Say what you will about Jennifer Lopez as an actress, she can dance.
Hopefully, someday, someone will do a music video based on the finale of Dance or Die. Now, that would be something to see! Until then, I’m Glad is the perfect 80s homage/satire.
A few years ago, Dan Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Rene Russo excited film viewers everywhere when they collaborated on Nightcrawler, a portrait of a psychologically damaged man who proves to be quite adept at playing the media game. The combination of Gillroy’s atmospheric direction and satirical script with Gyllenhaal’s wonderfully unhinged lead performance made for an incendiary and prophetic film. Just why exactly Nightcrawler was totally snubbed by the Academy continues to be one of the most perplexing mysteries in recent Oscar history. Despite strong support from the critics, not even Gyllenhaal picked up a nomination.
Dan Gilroy followed Nightcrawler up with Roman Israel, Esq., which was as forgettable as Nightcrawler was memorable but which still managed to accomplish what Nightcrawler didn’t. It received an Oscar nomination for its leading man. One gets the feeling that nomination had more to do with Denzel Washington’s reputation for award-worthy work than for anything that actually happened in the movie. Gyllenhaal went on to give award-worthy performances in films like Southpaw and Stronger but the Academy has continued to snub him. As for Russo, she’s only appeared in three films post-Nightcrawler and none of them were worthy of her talents.
Well, this year, Gyllenhaal, Russo, Gilroy, and Nightcrawler‘s cinematographer, Robert Elswit, have reunited for Velvet Buzzsaw! That’s right, they’ve got the band together again! The film appears to be a mix of horror film and an art world satire. As the film’s plot description puts it: After a series of paintings by an unknown artist are discovered, a supernatural force enacts revenge on those who have allowed their greed to get in the way of art. The trailer would seem to suggest that paintings themselves are coming to life to enact revenge on sell-outs, everywhere. The idea of haunted paintings has been explored by everyone from Oscar Wilde to H.P. Lovecraft to Lucio Fulci and I look forward to seeing what type of spin Gilroy puts on it.
Along with Russo and Gyllenhaal, this film also features John Malkovich. Honestly, I don’t think you can do an art world satire without finding a role for Malkovich. Much as how Bill Paxton simply belonged in Nightcrawler, it seems that Malkovich would just belong in Velvet Buzzsaw.
Velvet Buzzsaw will be playing at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and it will be officially released by Netflix on February 1st! I get the feeling that we’re either going to love it or we’re going to hate it. I don’t think there’s going to be much in-between.
Are we in the past, the present, or the future? It’s an interesting question and one that’s more relevant than you might think. I may be writing this in my present but you’ll be reading it in the future, which of course means that I’m currently speaking to you from the past.
What does that have to do with today’s music video of the day? Perhaps nothing, though I do like the way that this video seems to be a perfect illustration of how people in the past once spent their present visualizing the future. There are oppressive government agents, all wearing suits. There are people fleeing after committing some sort of vague, possibly criminal act. There’s the appropriately decadent club where people dance while the world outside descends into stormy chaos. Today, this video and this song would be considered to be rather retro but, back in 1997, it was all undoubtedly viewed as being quite futuristic.
Needles to say, I like this video. With all the rain and its neon noir atmosphere, it’s a video that seems almost as if it’s been excerpted out of a larger movie. One could easily imagine a 90-minute version of this video, one that would undoubtedly feature a lot more time spent in the storm. It’s a video that does a very good job at suggesting life under a dystopia and while dystopian societies are terrible when it comes to day-to-day living, they have inspired some memorable music videos.
This video is one of the many Chemical Brothers videos to have been directed by Nick Goffey and Dominic Hawley (better known as Dom & Nic). According to the imdb, the cinematographer was Simon Chaudoir, who is credited with not only several other music videos but also with working on two episodes of the British spy series, Spooks. Here in the States, Spooks was known as MI-5. I watched a few episodes when it aired over here. It was a stylish show but I quickly learned not to get too attached to any of the characters.
The Director’s Guild announced their nominations for 2018 earlier today.
Typically, getting a DGA nomination tends to translate into a film also getting a Best Picture nomination from the Academy. There’s been some exceptions, of course. David Fincher somehow received a DGA nom for his work on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but the Academy was not quite as enamored. Personally, I’m hoping that, this year, Adam McKay will get the David Fincher treatment. McKay may have picked up a DGA nom for Vice but that doesn’t mean that the film’s actually any good. In fact, I’d say that Vice is one of smuggest, most self-congratulatory films that I’ve ever seen but I’ll save all that for my review.
Anyway, here are the DGA nominations! For Best Director of a Feature Film:
Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Peter Farrelly, Green Book
Spike Lee, BlackKklansman
Adam McKay, Vice
Can you believe that, until today, Spike Lee has never received a nomination for the DGA? Interestingly, BlackKklansman is one of his weaker films but it’s also definitely more of a mainstream crowd pleaser than some of his previous work, which I imagine is why he received a nomination for it and not Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.
This is also the first nomination for both Cooper and Peter Farrelly. With Cooper, that makes sense because this is the first film that he’s ever directed. But how did the Guild fail to nominate Peter Farrelly for that movie where Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear are conjoined twins?
This was Cuaron’s second nomination. It was also McKay’s second nomination, despite the fact Adam McKay hasn’t made a good film since The Other Guys.
Here are the nominations for Best First Time Director:
Bo Burhnam, Eighth Grade
Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
Carlos Lopez Estrada, Blindspotting
Matthew Heineman, A Private War
Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
For everyone who is hoping to see Black Panther become the first comic book movie to receive a best picture nomination, it’s hard not to be disappointed by the snubbing of Ryan Coogler. A DGA nomination would have really Black Panther with the members of the Academy who might still be hesitant about the idea of honoring a Marvel film.
Personally, I would have replaced Adam McKay with Ryan Coogler. For that matter, I would have replaced Adam McKay with just about anyone else who had a film released last year. Lynne Ramsay. Debra Granik. Yorgos Lanthimos. The Russo Brothers. Peyton Reed. Who directed The Equalizer 2? I’m not sure but I’d nominate him before I nominated Adam McKay. Hell, I’d even build a time machine and bring Ed Wood and Phil Tucker into the present and have them collaborate on a movie about a haunted laundromat before I gave that fifth slot to Adam McKay.
Anyway, should I try to make a prediction? Okay: Alfonso Cuaron wins Best Director for Roma while Bradley Cooper is named Best First-Time Director for A Star is Born.
How do I know that 2019 is going to be a good year?
Because The Chemical Brothers have got a new album coming out! No Geography, their 9th studio album, is set to be released this spring. Today, they released a video for a new song called MAH. What does MAH stand for? Mad as Hell, of course! As for the video, it was shot at a recent show at London’s Alexandra Palace.
We’re only seven days into 2019 and I think we already have a contender for creepiest video of the year.
Of course, when I say that, I’m not talking about the bad type of creepy, like that guy who works across the hall from you and who is always trying not to get caught staring whenever you walk by. No, I’m talking about good creepy, the type of creepy that sticks in your mind and makes you wonder what the point of it all is.
Are those spiders or are those ants exploding out of everyone’s head? Either way …. AGCK!
