Thought I posted it somewhere but can't seem to find it anymore. The opening of Hard Eight - skip to 2:10.

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kmkmiller wrote:i can see how it might not seem a very tight MD reference, but I take into account a bunch of other things I see from JJ Abrams's Bad Robot films and TV.

also the director does say don't play it real, and she does ask how she did after a performance that makes everyone totally speechless.

I think it's pretty good and felt that way when I watched the film.

well thanks, ctyankee.

one of the nice things you'll see in movies is an allusion to the old bicycle scenery thing. I got to thinking about this because I recently saw THE TRUMAN SHOW again, and all my Lynch brain cells started firing big time. There's even a scene where one might surmise that Bucky J from INLAND EMPIRE might have worked on THE TRUMAN SHOW at one point in his career. One of the 2ks comes falling out of the sky.

and then I got to thinking about Sheriff Truman from TWIN PEAKS. So THE TRUMAN SHOW, just in general.

so here's what I mean by the bicycle scenery thing.

the contraption the old guy is riding at the beginning of this REM video. you know what I mean.

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well in THE TRUMAN SHOW there's a guy riding an exercise bike at the bottom right of the giant tv screen that displays Truman sleeping. Peter Weir is awesome. Great image.

So in MULHOLLAND DRIVE Lynch does show a bicyclist behind the soundstage. Which is also cool.

I may have mentioned this before but LOOPER is on the STARZ channel this month.

LOOPER is about a hitman named Joe.

Probably the least airtight of references, but worth mentioning nonetheless. Actually there's another datapoint on this reference. The young boy in the movie has a poster of Big Bad Bob on his wall.



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Bob wrote:It didn't strike me as relevant at the time but seeing it now ... with the phone in the background ...

I'm not sure what you mean about the phone. But, there is more ammo to the idea that the filmmakers are referencing Lynch ... if you buy that the Hairy-Arm Man is an example of Lynch's interest in putting One-Armed Men in his films. We only see the Hairy-Armed man use one hand both to hold the receiver and dial.

Now watching Super 8, doesn't it seem odd that the kid on the phone is framed so that his left hand is *just* out of the frame during both rehearsal and filming scenes? Note, before rehearsal, at the 2:25 mark, it almost looks like his hand is missing from the end of the sleeve, but is inconclusive. Contrast that with 2:29 (after the fireworks go off) when we DO see the arm in the sleeve and note how the sleeve looks with an arm in it. Then the sleeve sags big time during rehearsal (2:58) and during filming.

Btw, big continuity error at 5:50 with kid on the phone five feet away from it after jump cut.

Unfortunately basing something on what you don't see versus what you do see is riddled with problems. A classic I may like this because I want to like it.

It will be interesting to see what others think.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2561973273/

I'm not sure what you mean about the phone. But, there is more ammo to the idea that the filmmakers are referencing Lynch

well ok then, let's go outside the scene itself and note that SUPER 8 begins with an accident that turns out might not have been an accident.

and sure it's a train, and not a limo, but the train carrying a certain piece of cargo, looks like it has a head on collision a white vehicle resulting in this incredibly violent crash.

crazy, you say. just a coincidence, beyond the realm of possibility?

well, one thing that is rarely considered in the time honored practice of charting references is that there is a middle ground between reference (one director paying homage directly to another virtually copying the scene) and pure coincidence. this middle ground exists where two film makers and writers are exploring the same subject material, the same themes and thus -- independently -- gravitate towards the same set of motifs.

I think this middle ground is MORE than coincidence, but maybe not a direct reference too.

But with that said, when I look at movies, I see this middle ground as being equally important as the direct reference because it still teaches you more about each film maker or writer.

The scene with Elle Fanning is definitely a direct reference to Mulholland Drive, I think. Anything else I bring up about SUPER 8, like both MD and SUPER 8 starting with an accident that turns out might not be an accident, that's middle ground connection points.

I don't think it rises to the level of a reference, but I thought of MD when reading about the recent psychological-horror movie, BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO...

Thumbnail sketch of the movie that I'd gathered from reading the reviews: down-on-his-luck straight-laced composer (or foley artist?) goes to Italy during the analog era of film sound effects ('70s?) to work on a grizzly Italian gore-fest film, and spends day after day creating sound effects of different ghastly injuries, then [spoiler]#[/spoiler]

What made me think of MD was that my friend who watched it mentioned they frequently say, "Silencio" when they're going to start recording -- presumably that's the Italian version of "Quiet on the set," as in, "we're going to start recording."

So, that little mote of speculation is kind of fun if, after all, Club Silencio is all a tape recording.

Having watched Berberian Sound Studio, I would suggest that the film swims in the same sort of gene pool as some of Lynch's work, but I didn't notice any direct references. Actually, if the word "silenzio" was spoken, I don't remember it. However, the word "silenzio" - Italian spelling - flashes several times during the film. The film largely takes place inside a sound stage and "silenzio" warns anyone in the hallway not to enter the room while they are recording. Thus, saying "silenzio" inside the stage would be comical as the only other people in the sound studio other than those in the recording booth are those recording sounds.

The protagonist gets on the phone with Luigi or wants to talk with Luigi, that's about the only link I remember. And since they are in Italy ---

There is a Lynchian vibe of sorts so I wouldn't doubt that the filmmakers would count Lynch as a hero. However, as Lynch references Le Mepris (Contempt) at the end of Mulholland Dr. as the film's last word is "silenzio" much as Le Mepris' last word, one might be a firmer ground suggesting that Contempt is a stronger direct reference to Berberian Sound Studio than MD is. While both Contempt and MD are films-within-a-film kinda movie, Contempt is about a foreigners going to an Italian studio to help make a movie as is Berberian Sound Studio.

However, the non-direct strength of MD as a connection to Berberian Sound Studio is not to be discounted, in my view it is ...

[spoiler]o[/spoiler]

I found the film interesting but I really could get into the old-school sound effect editing and the like (which is a good bit of the entire film). To be fair, I think many people will be unhappy with the film as the first half of the film moves like a snail and since (it seems like) 50 percent of the screen time is looking at close-ups of Toby Jone's expressionless ugly mug - fair warning to all.

Watched The Pervert's Guide to Cinema yesterday which is a documentary-style, philosophical journey through film history, touching on numerous classics such as Vertigo, The Birds, The Exorcist, The Conversation, Solaris, Persona and so on. The writer/narrator Slavoj Zizek seems to be a huge Lynch fan as he decided to includes Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Lost Highway and MD.
Unfortunately, I couldn't follow most of his mumbo jumbo psychoanalytical reflection. Too deep for me. Students of film probably shouldn't miss it.

A nice touch is the revisiting of memorable film settings. Here's the creator at Club Silencio.

Watch the music video for Phil Collins' "I Wish It Would Rain Down" and notice:

• Setting is a theatre in the 1930s or 1940s (Club Silencio)
• A bald-headed director (Jeffrey Tambor)
• Rehearsing a 1950s style dance act
• The star of the show is unavailable (not missing due to a car accident but appendicitis)
• This is the girl (Phil)
• A delivery that turns from bad bad acting into star performance
• The director not appreciating Phil's talent

First watch the clip, then read the spoiler below.

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Here's a treat for movie lovers: Final Cut - Ladies & Gentlemen.

The trailer:
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It's a feature length montage of movie classics, weaving together snippets from around 100 movies into one coherent storyline. It features at least five Lynch movies and I counted 6 scenes from MD plus use of the soundtrack and a line from the Cowboy. The movie was made by Hungarians and is officially distributed via torrent only, so don't feel bad about using this link for download. https://kickass.so/final-cut-holgyeim-% ... 54582.html (hope you know how to handle torrents)

Thanks bob, just watched Final Cut, really enjoyable though quite silly. So many good films used it sort of fired off all sorts of memories an connections...

I'll be recommending it to my cinemati crowd.

Birdman (2014) brings us Naomi Watts, in a supporting role, as a struggling actress doing a broadway play, having an unexpected lesbian kissing scene with a brunette.

That movie is just awesome. Go watch it, if you haven't. 9/10

I loved Birdman. But, I love the theatre so that certainly helped. I also loved the long takes.

Bob wrote:Just watched Blood Simple. (1984), the Coen bros feature debut. Very MD-esh, surreal atmosphere and gripping suspense. Plus something I rarely pick up in films: a terrific sound design. If you haven't seen it yet, go and get your hands on a copy.

Stuff I noticed (spoilerless):

• The film starts off with a nocturnal limo ride and blinding lights of oncoming cars. There's no ambush, but we learn that the car is being followed.
  
  
• There's a creepy cowboy who's driving the bug... ehmm .. plot. He seems like a composite character of MD's cowboy powerfigure and Joe, the hitman.
  
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• [spoiler]a[/spoiler]
  
• At some point a "There Is Only One Bed" situation arises with both characters ending up in the same bed...
  
  
• The main character's getting ready to split town, his apartment packed with moving boxes.
  
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• MD's phone
  
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There is another phone like that, only white, in Blood Simple. The more interesting thing is, it's on a table with a cigarette tray and a lamp, ringing: