Best. Movie. Year. Ever. (Part II)

Some other thoughts on this fun book:

*A thesis is that "marriage" and "work" -- as institutions -- were in crisis, in the America of 1999, and that this crisis was reflected in "Being John Malkovich," "American Beauty," "Office Space," "Election," and "Eyes Wide Shut," among other films. Fair enough. But when are marriage and work -- as institutions -- *not* in crisis?

*Though "Being JM" was widely seen as the Movie of the Year, it did not earn an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. (Keener did, for Best Supporting Actress.) You can now find "Being JM" on some of the Greatest Films of All Time lists.

*P. T. Anderson said, when making "Magnolia," that "family is the vein you want. Open that vein, and everything spills out." Tom Cruise was favored as a Best Supporting Actor winner--but the ultimate (boring) choice was Michael Caine, for "The Cider House Rules."

*Cameron Diaz is great in "Being JM," and I wonder if Amy Adams's frumpy look in Jonze's "Her" was partly an act of homage to Diaz.

*Hilary Swank would dress as a man off-set, during the filming of "Boys Don't Cry," and she counted as a major triumph for herself the first time a store clerk indicated that he had been fooled.

Obsessed!

P.S. The main actors from "Blair Witch Project" were told, basically, to make themselves invisible during the marketing of the film. They were even listed as "deceased" on IMDB. This was so fans might believe that the film was actually documenting The Truth. You must suffer for your art!

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