Mar 25 2009 Dennis Quaid Working on His Clinton Impression

If you've got an HBO subscription, keep an eye out for Dennis Quaid to be playing that president from all the McDonald's and semen monologue jokes. The gruff-speaking actor has signed on to play Bill Clinton in the Frost/Nixon playwright's directorial debut, The Special Relationship, a TV movie that, surprisingly, has nothing to do with infidelity. Rather, it's "about the unique and sometimes turbulent political relationship between the newly installed [Tony Blair] and the U.S. president," and Frost/Nixon's Michael Sheen, already Blair twice before, will again play the prime minister. Julianne Moore will co-star as Hillary, so, you know, either a joke about gaining ankle weight or something about a pantsuit fitting.

Quaid to play Bill Clinton in 'Special' [Variety]

Apr 7 2008 'Blindness' Poster Accurately Simulates Actual Blindness

Hmm, how can we portray blindness in a poster for the movie Blindness...? Wait, I think I got it! If my understanding is correct, being blind is a lot like always seeing the form of a beautiful, long-haired woman behind a haze of foggy glass, so how about that? Oh... you say it's more like eternal darkness in an unaccommodating world than a graceful female form exiting a shower? That's weird. Well, let's split the difference and go with the lady behind glass, but make the title lettering sort of like it's an eye chart--you know, the kind blind people use to make sure they're still living in shadow.

Blindness Poster [IMPA]

Apr 4 2008 'Blindness' Trailer Envisions World Without Blog Skimming

Sure, the dismal events of 28 Days Later painted a grim vision of a future overrun by a spreading zombie plague, but man, wouldn't it also suck to be blind? Fernando Meirelles offers just such an experience, placing Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo in a world where a sudden blindness-inducing virus threatens the population's retinas. It asks a chilling question: how will Moore sell Revlon cosmetics if no one can see her ageless, near-translucent skin? I have no idea.

As you'd expect from the director of City of God and The Constant Gardner, it looks both beautiful and frightening while managing to steer clear of becoming a cautionary tale of over-masturbation. I suggest watching.

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Feb 27 2008 'Shelter' Looking for Freakish Imbreds, Albinos, Mobile Mutants

Reminiscent of the Star Trek casting call, or the end of The New Colossus, the upcoming horror film Shelter is looking for some mutants to join star Julianne Moore. Specifically, the release asks for men and women of all races, so long as they have the following freakish attributes:

Extraordinarily tall or short. Unusual body shapes, even physical abnormalities as long as there is normal mobility. Unusual facial features, especially eyes.

A 9-12-year-old Caucasian girl with an other-worldly look to her. Could be an albino or something along those lines -- she's someone who is visually different and therefore has a closer contact to the gods and to magic. 'Regular-looking' children should not attend this open call.

I hadn't realized that albinos lacked pigment because of their closer contact with gods and magic--I thought it was just genetics! Guess you learn something new about the accuracy of Powder every day.

And I won't even get into the obvious irony of a Julianne Moore film looking for the ghastly pale. I think we all get it.

Thanks for the tip, Matt.

Film's casting call wants that 'inbred' look [Pittsburgh Live]