Ballet is tough.

Have you guys heard of city.ballet? It's a twelve-part online documentary series about New York City Ballet, narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker. Each episode is about 6 minutes, and I watched them all in one blast last night. You hear from apprentices who are trying desperately to get into the company, corps de ballet members who are hoping to stand out, soloists who feel stuck in the ranks and principals feeling all eyes upon them. It's inspiring and fascinating, and another example of how it's hard to make something look easy.
(A bunch of little ones auditioning for the school! Those little bellies!)

P.S. Toby taking ballet.

(Photos of the School of American Ballet auditions by Greg Gilbert/Seattle Times and Jason DeCrow)

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When Harry Met Sally prank

Improv Everywhere just pulled a hilarious stunt: They sent twenty women to Katz's Deli to reenact the famous orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally. Check this out...Read More >

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A fourth grader's documentary about school lunch

Have you guys heard about Yuck, the documentary about school lunches written and directed by a fourth grader? Zachary is the brave filmmaker who goes undercover to reveal the truth about the gross meals at his NYC elementary school. He's hilarious, adorable (love his polo shirt and gelled hair!) and totally intrepid ("I could get in big trouble for this," he says, while sneaking his mini HD camera into the cafeteria). He has a big future ahead of him!

Here's the trailer, below, and you can watch the full 20-minute documentary online here.

P.S. 20 favorite documentaries, and cooking with toddlers.

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Her

I've been such an old lady lately and keep complaining that they don't make movies like they used to. But the new Spike Jones movie—about a man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with his computer—looks really weird and great. The release date is November 20th. Will you see it?

(Via Kottke)

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Auditions for The Office

Wow! This old video shows a bunch of celebrities auditioning for roles in The Office back in 2003. Can you imagine Seth Rogen as Dwight?!

Also, here's an awesome interview with John Krasinski about his nerve-wracking audition for the part of Jim. He seems so sweet and humble.
P.S. The 101 best written TV series.

(Via Mashable)

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Famous cars

These etsy posters feature iconic cars from classic movies. Double thumbs up.

P.S. The Shining still gives me chills.

(Via Fast Company)

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Summer movie

On August 10th, HBO will premiere Clear History, a new comedy directed by Greg Mottola (of Superbad fame) and starring Larry David and Jon Hamm. What a dream team. Larry David's face alone makes me laugh when I see it, and Jon Hamm was hilarious in 30 Rock. Doesn't the trailer look great? Will you watch it?
P.S. The 101 best written TV series, and Sh*t Liz Lemon Says.

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Summer movie

Old man Alex is always complaining that movies aren't good anymore. But! The new drama Ain't Them Bodies Saints looks incredibly gripping. Its official release date is August 16th, although BAM in Brooklyn is showing a screening next Wednesday along with a talk with the director David Lowery and star Casey Affleck.

"The gritty landscape of 1970s Texas Hill Country serves as the backdrop for this mood-drenched collision of love and crime. After his pregnant wife (Rooney Mara) makes one false move during a bloody shootout, a bank robber (Casey Affleck) faces a 25-year sentence that destroys his dreams of a family life. Shot through with the yearning and melancholy of a folk ballad, Lowery’s directorial breakthrough...extends the Bonnie and Clyde tradition with its breathtaking meditation on the fragility and transience of love." — BAM

"I wanted this whole movie to have the texture of, like, an old piece of wood that you'd find in an abandoned house, and that's sort of what we strove for." — Director David Lowery

The Guardian called it "exhilarating." Will you see it this summer?

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New Yorker cartoonists documentary

Director Leah Wolchok is filming a documentary about New Yorker cartoonists. Did you know that the regular cartoonists submit 10 to 15 cartoons a week, every week, to the magazine; even some of the best cartoonists sell just one a month; they commiserate about rejection during weekly lunches, a tradition that started in the early days of the magazine; and their day jobs include gravestone portraiture, fit modeling and furniture reconditioning?

Leah is about halfway through her fundraising goal on Kickstarter. I made a a contribution, since I'd love to see this funny film. Back it here, if you'd like. Good luck, Leah!

P.S. 20 best documentaries.

(Cartoons above from the Conde Nast Store, by Christopher Weyant, Roz Chast and Charles Barsotti)

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Celebrity look-a-likes

Do people ever say you look like someone else? Over the years, I've gotten Hilary Swank and Amanda Peet (we all have cheekbones and big teeth). Well, this slideshow of famous look-a-likes made me laugh. Here are Alec Baldwin and Millard Fillmore, the 13th President, and below are seven more (poor Kathy Bates!)...Read More >

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The Kings of Summer

Have you seen the trailer for The Kings of Summer? It's a comedy about three teenage friends who decide to run away from their stressful parents and spend the summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. It has been compared to the 1986 movie Stand By Me, which was so great, and it got rave reviews at Sundance. The movie opens in New York and LA tomorrow, then a bunch of other cities on June 7th. Do you want to see it?

P.S. 10 entertaining movies, and the seven types of women in romantic comedies.

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Business cards

Remember the scene in American Psycho, where Patrick Bateman obsesses over business cards? Well, The Mandate Press has recreated the card, so you can order his exact design with your information. How hilarious is that?
P.S. A resume makeover, and 10 creative business cards.

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New documentary

Have you heard of the new documentary Stories We Tell, by Oscar-nominated director Sarah Polley? She interviews her relatives about her late mother's affair—in fact, Sarah might not be her father's daughter—and found that everyone has different perspectives and anecdotes. She's interested in how the truth depends on who's telling the story. Critics have called the film "riveting," "genius," "remarkable," "a triumph" and "extraordinary in every way." It opens tomorrow at the Angelika and Lincoln Center Plaza.
Will you see it? Also, have you seen Polley's romantic movie Away from Her? It was heartbreaking and so, so beautiful.

P.S. 20 best documentaries.
P.P.S. My sister and I are going to see this movie in San Francisco tonight!!

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An omelette-flipping dog

This two-and-a-half-minute short by Maddie Sharafian about a stressed-out guy and his foodie dog will make you smile (and want a dog of your own). That's all :)

P.S. Dog names.

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Before Midnight

Everyone seems to be waiting with bated breath to see the movie Before Midnight, which hits theaters on May 24th, and I'm happy to say that they finally released the trailer...

Such an intriguing portrait of a marriage. Will you see it?

P.S. "If we were meeting for the first time today on a train, would you start talking to me? Would you ask me to get off the train with you?" Her question was so real and vulnerable and touching.

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Lost love

Oh my goodness, this video is so moving and electrifying. The artist Marina Abramovic did a 2010 performance art piece at the Museum of Modern Art, where she sat in a chair, and, one by one, people could sit opposite her and look into her eyes. It was a powerful experience even with strangers, but then her former love Ulay arrived without her knowledge. This video shows the moment she sees him. Apparently they had had a passionate love affair back in the 70s, but when they felt the relationship was fizzling, they decided to walk the Great Wall of China, each from one end, meeting in the middle for a last hug and never seeing each other again. Here they are, meeting once again.

P.S. Old loves.

(Via Swissmiss. This video is edited footage from the documentary, The Artist is Present)

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Paperman

Have you guys seen the Disney short Paperman? It's a charming romantic comedy set in 1940's New York, and it has been nominated for Best Animated Short at the Oscars. Watch it here, if you have six minutes:)

P.S. Last year's Oscar-winning hilarious short film.

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Before Midnight

Have you seen the beautifully romantic films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset? Well, director Richard Linklater has now made a third film in the series, Before Midnight...Read More >

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56 Up!

As you may know, the Up series is a series of eight fascinating documentary films that has tracked the lives of fourteen English schoolchildren since 1964, when they were seven years old. Every seven years, the director Michael Apted releases a new documentary that checks in on their increasingly varied lives (when they're aged 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49...). The children all came from very different socio-economic backgrounds, and the director, Michael Apted, wanted to see how this would affect their futures.

The documentary films are wildly compelling—you follow these people as they graduate from school, move cities, find jobs, lose jobs, have children, get married, have affairs, dash their dreams, find happiness, lose their way, face whatever life brings. Each episode, you think you know where their lives are headed, but I've been shocked, thrilled and devastated to see certain updates. The most recent installment—56 Up—came out in England this past May, and I've been waiting with baited breath for it to reach the United States.

Well, 56 Up is finally released today! (Right now I see showtimes for just New York, but it should be hitting more cities on January 18th.) Film critic Roger Ebert called the films, "Brilliant! The 'Up' series is on my list of the 10 greatest films of all time." He also wrote a great overview here.

Will you see it? I highly, highly recommend the series.

P.S. 19 more fantastic documentaries...

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