I heard something disturbing on TV the other day. It was a commercial for the movie Scoop. "From the director of Match Point" was the pitch. Jeez, I know he made some lousy flicks in the last twenty years, but is "new Woody Allen movie" so unpalatable to Scarlett Johansson fans?
M Night Shyamalan, meanwhile, has bigger problems. His new thriller Lady In The Water is fun to whisper, but a drag to watch. I'm told the plot is more incoherent than a Justin Timberlake video. How long will "Directed by M Night Shyamalan" remain a valid marketing angle?
Let's momentarily ignore the writer/director/actors' big screen slumps, and see who's got the better iTunes Celebrity Playlist (both posted yesterday).
M Night Shyamalan
1. Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash - "Girl From The North Country"
Damn, I wish I could be one percent as inspiring as this.
2. Bob Dylan - "Blowin' In The Wind"
This is empircal evidence that he is a god.
3. Blink-182 - "All Of This"
I love this song. Almost did a video for this. It would have been about vampires.
4. Pearl Jam - "Rearviewmirror"
"I wrote my first studio screenplay to this."
5. Concrete Blonde - "Joey"
Reminds me of my N.Y.U. days. Love this song.
6. Tesla - "Love Song (Live From The Trocadero)"
I was there when they recorded this. I'm screaming with the rest of them.
7. Eminem - "Lose Yourself"
Anthem for all us outcasts.
8. Jeff Buckley - "Strange Fruit (Live)"
Like being in a trance. Spiritual.
9. Jeff Buckley - "Hallejulah"
One of the ten best songs ever recorded. I tried to get this for The Sixth Sense.
10. Kanye West - "Through The Wire"
When this song comes on, my children and I start cheering at the Unbreakable reference.
11. Pearl Jam - "Alive"
Somehow, these three songs are what I feel inside, but can't express.
12. Pearl Jam - "Black"
Somehow, these three songs are what I feel inside, but can't express.
13. Pearl Jam - "Jeremy"
Somehow, these three songs are what I feel inside, but can't express. Pearl Jam are gods of storytelling.
14. Johnny Cash - "Hurt"
It brings tears to my eyes. Are we all going to feel like this in the end?
15. U2 - "Bad"
One of the classic songs of all-time. Sprawling and epic, like "Stairway To Heaven."
Woody Allen
Jazz
Tough call. I'm gonna give it to Woody. You can't put three songs from the same album on a mix.
