I was just re-watching Eugene Jarecki's terrific documentary Why We Fight the other day and wondering, "man, how did this not win an Oscar?" Both its ineligibility and the strength of the 2006 feature documentary category aside, it's a really great visual essay on the problems of the U.S. military -- particularly the allowance for the military industrial complex to grow so large -- since the mid-20th century. If you've never seen it, you should. It'll bring you up to speed right up to the Iraq War (and feel free to make it an informative double feature by following it up with Charles Ferguson's No End in Sight).

For his next feature, Jarecki is sticking to the subject of war, though he's going back and focusing on Vietnam, specifically the evacuation of U.S. troops from Saigon in 1975 (maybe it can parallel an exit from Iraq? huh? maybe?). He and screenwriter Jesse Wigutow (It Runs in the Family) are basing the doc, titled Irreparable Harm, on former CIA agent Frank Snepp's book "Irreparable Harm: A Firsthand Account of How One Agent Took on the CIA in an Epic Battle Over Free Speech," which details the author's struggle with the federal government after he published his Saigon evacuation document, "Decent Interval."

Jarecki's film, which is being produced for HBO Films, will be more about Snepp than on the history, and hopefully that won't get him in trouble with the feds too. Also, here's hoping that Irreparable Harm at least makes Jarecki eligible to be nominated for the Oscar he deserves.

One of my favorite documentaries last year was Crazy Love, about a New York couple named Burt and Linda who have been together off and on for 50 years despite some serious setbacks, e.g., the time Burt hired a man to throw lye in Linda's face and blind her. These are people who should hate each other -- she for the way he physically harmed her, he for the way she nags and pesters him now -- and yet they are in love. And yet I, a normal person, remain single. Life is bizarre and unfair, that's the message I got from the film.

Crazy Love did well enough for a doc, but of course a non-doc would reach wider audiences. So now Variety reports that the doc's director, Dan Klores, will make his narrative debut writing and directing a fictionalized version of the story for HBO Films. There's no announcement yet on whether it will premiere on HBO or open theatrically, but either one is a possibility. Crazy Love premiered at Sundance, as have many other HBO Films productions, and sometimes the level of success on the festival circuit determines whether it goes to theaters or straight to cable from there.

For an emerging filmmaker, the Sundance Film Festival provides a starting point for the life span of a feature-length work. There's a far greater sense of immediacy, however, for the filmmakers involved in the shorts program, where a wide variety of material tends to begin circulating the festival world before fading into complete obscurity. That's why the short films that screened yesterday as part of the third annual Sundance Institute at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) signified the most important aspect of the two-week event: With few exceptions, the films on display received the kind of exposure that helped validate this frequently neglected format. While some of the titles are available on iTunes, many that were shown to a packed house finally got the long-delayed reception they deserved.

Animated efforts almost always offer the best ingredients in any shorts program, since it's here that you'll find a combination of inspired side projects from gainfully employed studio animators and the works of struggling independent artists. The latest program couldn't beat the sheer brilliance of cult animator Don Hertzfeldt's short Everything Will Be Ok in last year's showcase, but two particularly memorable films left distinct impressions this time around.

The HBO-produced documentary film Baghdad High offers a fairly basic yet intriguing enough premise: The filmmakers gave video cameras to four Iraqi high school students and asked them to simply record as much of their "normal life" as possible. (I'm of the opinion that any time you give a teenager a camera, you're getting everything BUT "normal life," but obviously I'm not the first to claim that the act of recording something instantly obliterates "normalcy.") The point here seems to be that ... hey, you know what? Aside from the fact that they live very far away in a country that's going through some terrible problems these days, these teenagers are a whole lot like ... our teenagers! Wow, how shocking is that?!?!?

What's most interesting about these kids is that, despite the fact that they all live in Iraq, they also come from very different religious backgrounds -- and yet they're still friends! (Hope for the future sometimes comes in small packages, I suppose.) All four of the boys are perfectly charming and entirely typical: They whine about homework, they stress over studies, they gripe about being bored, they argue with their parents, and they do all the stuff that your favorite teens do: Video games, pop music, sports, rough-housing, etc. So far all its admirable intentions, the simple truth is that Baghdad High makes a very good point about the similarities of human nature (especially where teens are concerned), but then it just sort of ... keeps making the same point over and over.

There is nothing new about the debate over rampant commercialism and Sex and the City. So, I'm not even going to go into whether empowerment can be achieved through shopping. But, Fergie's new theme song for the big-screen SATC has hit the web, and she has no qualms about making an ode to designer labels. Titled Labels or Love, the track sounds like a My Humps redux, and frankly, it's pretty awful. For starters, throughout most of the song I had a hard time understanding what she was even saying. But when you can make out the lyrics, they include such philosophical statements as: "Love is a like a runway," "Stop chasing those boys and shop some more," and "No emotional baggage, just replace it with Dior."

Fans of the show have been awaiting the feature film version with bated breath since the news first hit, and the fever pitch has only risen now that Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker have been letting the spoilers fly. Unfortunately, SATC was never really my thing, so I only have a passing curiosity to see how they translate Carrie and the gang on the screen. One thing is for sure, if this theme song is an indication of the music for the movie, I definitely won't be buying the soundtrack.

Take a listen and tell me what you think: Did Fergie improve upon the original? Or is this track best reserved for the closing credits?

An award-winning photographer, Lauren Greenfield's work has appeared in magazines, newspapers and her own books; her debut documentary, Thin, was an impressive and sensitive examination of eating disorders in America through the lives of women at an outpatient center recieving treatment for their problems. She's back at Sundance with her short Kids + Money, an examination of shopping and spending among L.A. teens. Greenfield spoke with Cinematical about finding her subjects, whether school uniforms help keep kid consumerism at bay, and her own high school years in Los Angeles. Greenfield thinks her mix of L.A. kids -- from striving lower-class ones to pampered and privileged ones -- all have something to say about the mindset of teen America: "Sometimes the stories that they tell seem shocking or seem extreme, but I really think they speak to the mainstream that young people are experiencing all over the country."


This interview, like all of Cinematical's podcast offerings, is now available through iTunes; if you'd like, you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:

Variety reports that HBO Films will bring the Barry Bonds story to their network. San Francisco Giant Bonds recently broke baseball's all-time home run record, "allegedly" lied to a jury under oath concerning his use of performance-enhancing drugs, and was indicted on federal charges. Say it ain't so, Barry! HBO has purchased the rights to Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked Professional Sports, which is said to paint Bonds as "a gifted player who made a Faustian bargain to increase his power." Ron Shelton will adapt the book with John Norville (co-writer of Shelton's Tin Cup) after the WGA Strike. Shelton is also set to direct.

Ron Shelton is a terrific writer/director of sports movies when he's on, but he doesn't have the greatest batting average. Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump, and Tin Cup are classics of baseball, basketball, and golf film, respectively. But Cobb? Play it to the Bone? The dreadful Hollywood Homicide (not a sports film I realize, but so bad I had to mention it)? Hopefully the Bonds film will be one of his "hits." I always find it interesting when movies are made about figures who are not only still alive, but still going strong. It just seems like it'd be...awkward for all involved. Who do you think should play Barry Bonds? Shelton regular Kevin Costner? I kid, I kid. Do you think they should get a newcomer or go for a star? And which star?

So while I might not be the biggest Jackie O or Jeanne Tripplehorn aficionado, I will say this: they do look an awful lot alike. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Tripplehorn has signed to play the iconic Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the HBO Films 'remake' of Grey Gardens. Tripplehorn will be joining Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange in the 'true' story of two of the most eccentric women you could ever meet.

Back in 1975, Albert and David Maysles, Susan Froemke, Ellen Hovde, and Muffie Meyer made a documentary about the lives of Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale. They were the aunt and cousin to Onassis and lived a bizarre life in almost total isolation in a ramshackle mansion by the name of Grey Gardens. After trying for years to have the home brought up to code, the two were finally separated when "Big Edie" died in 1977 (Little Edie finally sold the house in 1979 to a former editor for the Washington Post). The documentary inspired an award winning stage musical in 2006 starring Christine Ebersol as Little Edie. The new film from HBO will not be a musical (thankfully, I might add) and instead was based on the original documentary.

The cast also includes Daniel Baldwin as Julius Krug, the former secretary of the interior and true love of Little Edie (Barrymore). Tripplehorn is doing some post-production work for Winged Creatures, an ensemble drama about a group of people who survive a shooting in an L.A. diner (I guess it will be kind of like Crash, but with more gunfire). Grey Gardens is being directed by Michael Sucsy (who also co-wrote the script with Patricia Rozema) and is currently shooting on location in Toronto, Canada. Grey Gardens will hit theaters in 2008.

Oh, what times we live in, that we can enjoy foul-mouthed documentaries like The Aristocrats and F**k. I grew up equating "documentary" with "National Geographic," so any nonfiction film that uses four-letter words or would shock my mom, automatically makes me smile a little. As a result, I was slightly biased toward Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project from the moment the film's subject uttered his first profanities during a stand-up routine.

Rickles reportedly has been reluctant to have his live performances recorded until now, but let director John Landis shoot part of his Vegas show. The documentary uses the footage from Rickles' stand-up act as a springboard for a biography and filmography of Rickles, a superficial discussion about intentionally offensive comedy, and a general reflection upon Las Vegas and how it's changed in the past 40 years or so.

Before I go any further, I should probably get this off my chest. I never liked Sex in The City; there, I said it. I know there are millions of you out there with plenty of valid reasons as to why it was the greatest show ever -- but those four chicks just got on my nerves. Which is a shame considering how much I like Sarah Jessica Parker -- anyone who starred in Footloose and Square Pegs can't be all bad.

Variety reports that Parker will star in The Late Bloomer's Revolution. Based on Amy Cohen's memoir of the same name, the film will follow a "single woman who, after the death of her mother, develops a bond with her father as they both try to get on with their lives in the dating world." It's a character remarkably similar to Carrie Bradshaw, and the book was described as having a "much deeper masochistic streak than Sex and the City, even if she copes with setbacks like a virulent face rash with as much self-deprecating humor as she can muster."

Revolution will be the feature directorial debut of Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of The Gilmore Girls and executive producer of the upcoming Parker Posey comedy series, The Return of Jezebel James. All eyes are still on Sex and The City though, and between rumors of fake flashbacks and pregnancies the production is under some serious scrutiny right now. Parker (Sarah, not Posey) seems to be firmly entrenched in the romantic comedy camp, and has also been attached to A Family Affair, about a woman who accidentally has an affair with her future father in law. Now that's someone who sounds like they could use advice from someone like Carrie Bradshaw.

Chicago Tribune television critic Maureen Ryan has done a follow-up piece on Cinematical's story about the decision of HBO to scrap the series-ending Deadwood movies it promised fans after the show's abrupt termination. Ryan, crediting Cinematical as a source in her article, contacted representatives at the network about the move and got a long-winded response. Here's the relevant portion: "There are no current plans to make the movies," the HBO publicist admits, before adding a never-say-never caveat. "The dismantling of the 1878 set is irrelevant because Milch has indicated that the story for a Deadwood movie would resume after the Deadwood floods and fires, which changed the face of the first settlement." As Hugo Jarry would say, the statement continues ... "HBO has renewed its deal with David Milch, who is currently developing another series for the network. It's a drama set in the New York police department during the 1970s, when the Knapp Commission was formed to ferret out corruption in the force."

In other words, 'please stop thinking about Deadwood and start thinking about Milch's new show'. And if you're holding on to that sliver of hope they tossed out, I've got a bridge to sell you. I would consider it unlikely in the extreme that, having dismantled the old show sets, HBO would shell out for new ones for any reason, although that's just a layman's speculation. In conclusion, I'll repeat what I said earlier: at this point, it's a Deadwood theatrical film or bust. If Sex and the City can get a theatrical film, why in the world wouldn't a show that's actually good get one?

Two days after Cinematical broke the news of HBO discarding plans for a pair of TV movies to send the popular Deadwood series off in style, the series regulars have started to get wind of the move, and no surprise, they aren't happy about it. Jim Beaver, who played the luckless prospector Ellsworth on the show, spoke with Remote Access and had this to say: "I saw the McShane quote. I don't doubt it. I have no insight or special knowledge, but my sense of things is that it's over ... My gut tells me that if the movies or a fourth season were going to be made, the announcement would have already been made. That's just my gut. But Ian's remarks don't surprise me in the least."

Remote Access also got in touch with W. Earl Brown, who played Dan Dority, Al Swearengen's sidekick for three seasons, and he had this to say: "I called Ian, it seems that it's true -- the sets are being dismantled ... I guess the horse is dead." He went on to say that the timing makes sense, because HBO's lease for the sets is about to expire anyway, but nevertheless, he wants his props back. "I called both producers this morning about getting the Dority hat, knife and gun belt," Brown said. "I haven't heard back from either. Once I talk to either of them, I'll know where things stand. But I'm figuring that it's over." He also compared the Deadwood ending to the way The Sopranos went out, saying that the latter was "either great or awful (depending on one's interpretation of it) but at least it got people talking. Deadwood -- it just stopped. Just stopped. It's like never finding out that 'Rosebud' was his sled or that Darth was Luke's father. F*ck."

Oh, well -- as McShane said, that ship is sailing, and nothing can be done about it. However, given the way 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford have been positively received by critics and the public, is a theatrical film out of the question? I can't imagine why it would be.

Yeah, I'm not happy about it either. Earlier today, I got a call from Ian McShane to talk about his new family fantasy movie, The Dark is Rising, and I asked him the big question Deadwood fans have been wanting to know for a while now -- was HBO just blowing smoke with its promise to wrap up the series with a couple of made-for-TV movies? Well, the answer is yes, McShane revealed to us. "I just got a call on Friday from ... a dear friend of mine, who told me that they're packing up the ranch," McShane said. "They're dismantling the ranch and taking the stuff out. That ship is gonna sail. Bonsoir, Deadwood." He went on to say that even if the movies were happening, there would be the strike to consider, and on top of that, he's committed to a filming schedule that would prevent him from doing them anytime before late next year anyway.

I told McShane that as a fan, I felt completely cheated by this move on HBO's part. "You feel cheated? Imagine how I feel!" he replied. "We all do. We all do. It was one of those one-off jobs that you do which has got an extraordinary creative brain behind it, and it kept getting better, and the actors were great. It was a fabulous place to be and work. It was a workshop cum theater cum film. It was an extraordinary time. But everything has to come to an end, babe." So, there you have it.

I was talking with a friend the other day about the shocking decline in the quality of Kevin Spacey's films. It seems as though that Oscar for American Beauty was some sort of horrific curse, sending him into a long run of ill-advised, disastrous movie projects. Look at the man's filmography pre and then post Beauty. It's distressing! But Variety is reporting on a flick that sounds like it might turn things around. HBO Films' Recount will tell the story of the Florida results in the 2000 election, one of the most controversial political events of recent years. As Monika recently told you, Sydney Pollack was supposed to direct but dropped out due to "an undisclosed illness." Jay Roach, a director primarily known for broad comedy (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Meet the Parents, and their lesser sequels), will now direct. Danny Strong wrote the screenplay. The film will document "the legal and political maneuvering from the point of view of both the Bush and Gore camps."

Spacey will star as Ron Klain, "former chief of staff to vice president Al Gore and one of the lead attorneys who challenged the voting results in Florida." In addition to Spacey, Recount has lined up one hell of a supporting cast: Laura Dern will play Katherine Harris, the Florida secretary of state who certified that George W. Bush had won the state. Denis Leary (what went wrong on this season of Rescue Me, DL?) plays Michael Whouley, a Democrat pollster. John Hurt plays Warren Christopher, a key player for Gore. Tom Wilkinson plays James Baker, brought in by the Republicans to see that the disputed results held up. And two Christopher Guest alums will duke it out in the courtroom. Ed Begley, Jr will play David Boies, the lawyer who appealed the results and argued for the Democrats. Bob Balaban plays Ben Ginsberg, head attorney for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. See what I mean about that supporting cast? You won't have to demand a Recount -- look for the film on HBO during the 2008 presidential election.

The big ceremony for the Emmys isn't until Sunday night, but the Creative Arts awards, which include nonfiction programming, have already been announced, as Variety has reported. Several documentaries that originally played film festivals took home Emmys, including Spike Lee's look at post-Katrina New Orleans, When the Levees Broke. The HBO-produced film won three awards for directing, exceptional merit in nonfiction filmmaking and picture editing. I own the DVD myself and highly recommend it, although you'll want to have a box of tissue close at hand.

Other Emmy-winning documentaries included A Lion in the House, which shared the exceptional merit award with Levees, and Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, which won for best nonfiction special. As usual, filmmaker/blogger A.J. Schnack, who keeps a close watch on all documentary-related news, has the best roundup of Emmys given to documentary films, so you don't have to pick through a longer list of all the Creative Arts awards for guest appearances on TV dramas and so forth. He's also posted a photo from the awards ceremony of the producing teams from Lion and Levees together. I love seeing Spike Lee with his Emmy statuette and hope it's a sight we'll enjoy again with future projects.