Todd Haynes

[samsong]

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is one of the greatest things in life. 

[godardian]

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is one of the greatest things in life. 

Yes, definitely! Though it is hard to come by.... Also of great interest to any Haynes fan (and easier to get--there's a legit DVD edition available) is his PBS short, Dottie Gets Spanked.

[bonanzataz]

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is one of the greatest things in life. 

Yes, definitely! Though it is hard to come by.... Also of great interest to any Haynes fan (and easier to get--there's a legit DVD edition available) is his PBS short, Dottie Gets Spanked.

nah, karen carpenter is right here on this website:
http://illegal-art.org/video/index.html#superstar

they used to have a dvd quality copy of it but took it down so they could burn it and sell them to the unsuspecting. good thing i saved it on my computer before that happened.

anyway, dottie gets spanked is also quite good, but i honestly don't know how/if a straight audience could really relate to it. i'm curious to know if any other posters have seen it and what their thoughts are on it.

[modage]

2 hourlong audio interviews with Todd Haynes from the Museum Of The Moving Image circa Velvet Goldmine and Far From Heaven...

Todd Haynes - November 3, 2002
Far From Heaven is Todd Haynes's most critically acclaimed film to date. Nominated for four Oscars, it swept the New York Film Critics Circle awards, including Best Film and Best Director. Both an homage to and an update of Douglas Sirk's 1955 melodrama All that Heaven Allows, the movie stars Julianne Moore as a 1950s housewife coming to terms with her husband's homosexuality and her own affair with a black man. At a special preview screening, Haynes discussed the film's astonishing craftsmanship, its political relevance for contemporary audiences, and his desire to make a film that would engage audiences intellectually and emotionally.

Far From Heaven: http://www.movingimage.us/pinewood/mp3.php?media_id=220

Todd Haynes - November 15, 1998
From his first film, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, the story of the pop star's rise and early death told entirely with Barbie and Ken dolls, Todd Haynes has been one of the most idiosyncratic anatomists of the culture. While exploring many of the same themes as Superstar, Haynes's 1998 film Velvet Goldmine is an ambitious large-scale production that borrows the structure of Citizen Kane to chart the rise of glam rock and a Bowie-like star who is the movement's brightest flame. In this interview, the always erudite and engaging Haynes talks about his ongoing fascination with themes of spectacle and identity.

Velvet Goldmine: http://www.movingimage.us/pinewood/mp3.php?media_id=207

[Heinsbergen]

kinda resurrecting this thing here.

since i've seen the brilliant trailer for "i'm not there", which has since climbed enormously on my ladder of most anticipated films, i'd really like to see some other stuff by haynes. i saw "superstar" a while ago on google video and really liked it. you'd expect some spoof but it's heartbreaking with what kind of honesty haynes pulled that thing off.
any recommendations as to which film of his i should check out next?

[hedwig]

any recommendations as to which film of his i should check out next?

i'd go with Safe and then Far From Heaven. those are his two best movies (so far).

[ElPandaRoyal]

any recommendations as to which film of his i should check out next?

i'd go with Safe and then Far From Heaven. those are his two best movies (so far).

I've never been able to see Safe, but I back Hedwig on Far From Heaven. It's quite something, and with one of the greates performances ever by a leading actress to top it all, IMO.

EDIT: Also, of course, Velvet Goldmine if you're into the kind of music and living depicted in it. It's one hell of a bizarre experience, but for someone with great expectations on I'm Not There, that shouldn't be a problem.

[w/o horse]

Watch them all starting with Poison.  That's four films plus a Dottie Gets Spanked.  It's worth making the time.

[Heinsbergen]

"poison" sounds so promising, but i can't find it anywhere. can't find "dottie gets spanked", too. but i downloaded "velvet goldmine" and "safe". i'll probably watch them when i get home tonight.

[Pubrick]

i don't approve of downloading movies.. safe is beautiful and should be seen in the highest quality vision and audio available. just don't watch Far From Heaven on your iphone for christ's sake!

speaking of shabby treatment, Todd Haynes' wiki page deserves better than this.

anyone up for a make-over? hedwig i'm looking at you, you anonymous-editing mofo.

[Heinsbergen]

i don't approve of downloading movies.. safe is beautiful and should be seen in the highest quality vision and audio available. just don't watch Far From Heaven on your iphone for christ's sake!

if you can tell me where i can get "safe" and "poison" here in germany without paying 50 euros for an import, let me know. high-quality-dvd-rips they are.

[MacGuffin]

Winslet Game for `Mildred Pierce'
Source: Variety

Kate Winslet is attached to "Mildred Pierce," a miniseries adaptation based on the James M. Cain novel that Todd Haynes is writing and directing. Sources said that HBO is the lead contender to get the mini, but payweb sources said no deal has been struck.

Cain's tale was famously turned into a 1945 film that won Joan Crawford an Oscar for the lead role of a bored housewife who gets into the restaurant business, an enterprise that leads to back-stabbing, romance and murder.

The involvement of Winslet--right after her Oscar-winning performance in "The Reader" and her work in "Revolutionary Road"--underscores how much paywebs like HBO have become prestige venues for films that might vanish as theatrical releases, a fact underscored by the success of "Grey Gardens," which garnered Emmy noms for Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.

Haynes directed "I'm Not There," "Safe" and "Far From Heaven."

[New Feeling]

holy shit this is good news!  I read the novel, and the other two big ones by Cain (Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity) earlier this year and they were all amazing.  Haynes and Winslet is a perfect team for this. 

Speaking of which, it was fascinating how much influence those 3 books seemed to have on The Man Who Wasn't There.   

[MacGuffin]

HBO picks up Kate Winslet miniseries
'Mildred Pierce' is being directed by Todd Haynes
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Todd Haynes' "Mildred Pierce" is headed to HBO.

The cable network has picked up the five-hour miniseries starring Kate Winslet, which it will co-produce with MGM, Killer Films and John Wells Prods.

Haynes is directing the mini, an adaptation of James M. Cain's classic noir novel, which centers on Mildred Pierce Beragon (Winslet), a proud, single mother struggling to earn her daughter's love during the Great Depression in middle-class Los Angeles.

Haynes and Jon Raymond wrote the script for the project, which is being executive produced by Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon and John Wells. Ilene Landress serves as producer.

Casting for the other roles is under way, with production on the mini slated to begin in April in New York.

This marks the second major screen adaptation of Cain's novel.

The 1945 feature by Michael Curtiz earned Joan Crawford an Academy Award for the title role.

The Haynes/Winslet take on "Mildred Pierce" had been percolating for a month, with HBO considered the leading contender.

Winslet is hot coming off her Oscar win for "The Reader" last year.

Haynes' writing/directing credits include "I'm Not There" and "Far From Heaven."

For HBO, the green light for "Mildred Pierce" follows the critical success of another longform project toplined by feature stars, the movie "Grey Gardens," starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.

[children with angels]

Whoa, that's pretty exciting news. Great film (there's no way Haynes won't be approaching this more from a cinematic than literary viewpoint), perfect director, perfect actress, intriguing format...