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When you read the Perks of Being a Wallflower in high school did you feel bad about yourself for not being as smart, screwed up, and hip as the characters? There is a list on Wikipedia with all the references in that book. I’m almost 24 and I still haven’t read/seen/heard everything on this list.

Books

In the novel Charlie’s teacher, Bill, assigns him various books to read. Charlie describes them all as his favorites.

* To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
* This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
* Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
* The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
* A Separate Peace by John Knowles
* The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
* On the Road by Jack Kerouac
* Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
* Walden by Henry David Thoreau
* Hamlet by William Shakespeare
* The Stranger by Albert Camus
* The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The book also references The Mayor of Castro Street by Randy Shilts

Films

The novel references these films:

* Rocky Horror Picture Show
* The Graduate
* Harold and Maude
* My Life as a Dog
* Dead Poets Society
* The Unbelievable Truth
* A Perfect Paradise
* It’s a Wonderful Life
* Reds
* The Producers

Songs

The novel references these songs:

* “Asleep” by The Smiths
* “Vapour Trail” by Ride
* “Scarborough Fair” by Simon and Garfunkel
* “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum
* “Time of No Reply” by Nick Drake
* “Dear Prudence” by The Beatles
* “Gypsy” by Suzanne Vega
* “Nights in White Satin” by The Moody Blues
* “Daydream” by The Smashing Pumpkins
* “Dusk” by Genesis
* “MLK” by U2
* “Blackbird” by The Beatles
* “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac
* “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana
* “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. II” by Pink Floyd
* “Something” by The Beatles

Charlie also mentions M*A*S*H (TV series)

Apparently Stephen Chbosky is working on a screenplay. I wonder if Ellen Page is attached yet…

“Later this fall, the movie all your friends will be seeing, and urging you to see, will be “Juno,” Jason Reitman’s hyperactive picture about a 16-year-old girl (played by the peppery Ellen Page, who gives a performance that’s just one eyelash away from being exhausting to watch).”

-Stephanie Zacharek at Salon.com

Erick posted before explaining the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” contest that asked for video submissions of would-be sitcoms. Hosted by MySpace, the 20 semifinalist videos have been uploaded, ready for you to stream.

The videos had to be 5 minutes or less, and simply had to make the judges laugh. The site claims that about 3000 videos were submitted.

I watched all 20 videos, or at least the first few minutes of them, and was pleasantly surprised. I doubt any were done specifically for the contest, and so they don’t seem rushed like I worried they would be. There’s even a few name actors who make appearances.

I’m not going to get into all 20, but here’s the videos you should watch and consider voting into the finals.

Division III -

About the football team at a small liberal arts college, where they don’t get the normal respect from their peers. With Andy Dick as the coach, this packed a lot of laughs into five minutes. Over the top, but definitely has potential to be a winning sitcom. 3 and 1/4 stars.

Good Cinema -

Two filmmakers order a couple of pizzas and take the delivery man and woman hostage, then force them to act out a scene. Possibly my favorite of the 20, this is really a short film that might have trouble translating to the small screen. But I think the people who made this could figure out something extremely funny to make with the $50,000 prize. 3 and 3/4 stars.

15 Newsflash -

Bizarre. A faux newscast of a live car chase, with the twist that the driver is a mouse. The mouse is in a toy tank on a track the filmmakers have set up, and the newscaster describes the action with a straight face. The end gets silly, but this gets my vote for creativity. 3 stars.

Two Cop Presentation -

With some improv (UCB) comedy veterans in the starring roles, this seems similar to “Reno 911″ in premise, but it’s too funny and promising to really care. McGinty and Sullivan play off of each other and the victims or criminals they have to deal with. Ian Roberts is particularly funny, and this series would have a lot of UCB power behind it, so it would be great. 3 1/2 stars.

Party Animals -

Not the smartest comedy in the world, this faux documentary is about a fraternity of losers. Many of the shorts were clearly influenced by “The Office”, with many actually taking place in an office. This is the funniest of the bunch, although not the most well made. Looks like it was made by a college comedy troupe, and so there’s plenty of funny, and most of it’s not too sophomoric, which is saying something given the subject matter. 3 stars.

The Comedy Team of Pete and James -

Another documentary-style show, this is about a now defunct stand-up comedy team. One is extremely succesful, and one is trying to tell the same jokes he was in the 80s, without his balancing sidekick. Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla make appearances, and the leading character is likeable enough. This wasn’t my favorite, but it’s worth seeing. 3 stars.

Also worthy of mention are “Peanut Hut”, “Jay Hole” and “Men”. Worthy of avoiding are “The Stupid Adventures of Captain Happy” and “Snowmen”. Check them out and help make someone a star!

The Los Angeles Film Festival kicked off last Thursday and Losanjealous hooked me up with two tickets to Darkon. What is Darkon?

Filmmakers Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer boldly catapult us into the make-believe medieval world of Darkon, a fantasyland where Baltimore area residents staunchly partake in an elaborate live action role-playing game. Biweekly, these men and women leave behind their ordinary lives, don their alter egos, and become warriors and heroes in a fabricated community based entirely upon wish fulfillment. And though the film’s humor is rich and the lifestyle rings peculiar, Darkon touches on a fundamental truth shared by the warring factions: in order to endure reality, you need a little or, in this case, a lot of fantasy.

It seemed like a lot of the filmmakers and quite a few of the film’s subjects were in attendance. We got there just in time to catch this tender moment between Prince and Princess Keldar Vinnerex, Knight Baronet of Mordom.

This is either Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer. In either case, the man pictured below directed exactly half of the film.

As for the movie our audience appreciation forms ranged very good to great. The production value on this doc is very impressive. There is some downright gorgeous aerial photography of the Baltimore area and a couple of hilariously epic Braveheart-esque battle scenes.

Can we think up a term for documentaries about nerds and their stupid hobbies (Spellbound, Wordplay, etc)? Hobby Doc? Geekumentary? DocuNerdary? Help me out here. Darkon was well made and entertaining but I’m not awarding any points for creativity.

During the QA the subjects ended up fielding a lot more questions than the directors. Listening to geeks explain the intricacies of Darkonian sex politics didn’t make me want to become a live action fantasy role-playing enthusiast. Nevertheless, if your interested every other Sunday members from the Southern California Darkon Chapter gather in costume and armor to fight unchoreographed mock fantasy battles with padded weaponry and magic.

Darkon (the movie) Website: http://www.darkonthemovie.com
Darkon (the game) Website: http://www.darkon.org
Darkon LA: http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/DarkonLA

Last weekend GlitterFish attended the CineVegas film festival. The fest ran all week and will end today. Here’s some pictures and my thoughts on the on the festival.

CineVegas is held at the Palms Casino and Resort. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a Vegas Casino that lacked plastic monuments, novelty buildings, and a fake sky painted on the ceiling. It’s a little far away from the Strip but that’s a positive in my book. The Palms is also affiliated with Playboy which assures attractive cocktail waitresses as opposed to the aging ex-stripper/chubby single mom that describes your average Vegas cocktail waitress.

One cool thing was the swanky CineVegasHQ press center. Decked out with free Vitamin Water, Red Bull, and Stella Artois, you could check your email at the bank of iMacs available and pick up as many free sharpies as you wanted. If you were really ballsy you could chat up the celebrities and filmmakers walking around but mainly I just scooped up free swag.

Speaking of celebrities we spotted Bobcat Goldthwait, Dennis Hopper, Marguerite Moreau, Ben Foster, and that dude from road trip.

As far as the films go they all screened at the Brenden Theater at the Palms. The first show we saw was the Shorts Program #1. I was really impressed and a little intimated by how good the films were. I could be nit picky (a lot of the films ran a little long) but the fact was they were all well done and entertaining. Interestingly enough, and something that should be encouraging to poor young filmmakers, between the four of us our two favorites also featured the lowest production value. My top pick was What the Captive Ate directed by Matt Lemche, a hilarious video diary about an image-conscious man trapped in his bedroom when his roommate’s guests stay longer than expected. Our other favorite was The Smoking Section directed by Chris Pozzebon. We also saw Shorts Program #2 and you can read Nate’s review of that here.

I want to quickly mention one of the features we saw, The Puffy Chair. This movie showed up on the blogosphere last year after it got some great press at Sundance. Since then it’s been all over the festival circuit and just started playing in select markets. The movie has no stars, was shot for $20,000, and its written and directed by two brothers you’ve never heard of. All it has going for it is terrific acting, a great script, and the enthusiasm of everybody who has ever seen it. I briefly talked with director Jay Duplass who explained their unfortunate lack of marketing money. They do have a MySpace page but I asked him if had done anything to engage bloggers directly and he said they hadn’t! If your going write, direct, and star in a guerrilla feature you might as well do some guerrilla marketing. It’s a great film so do yourself a favor and see if its playing in your area (it opens in LA July 7th).

As good—and bad—as the films were its cineVEGAS. Any fest that bills itself as the most dangerous film festival has got to be all about the parties. We managed to hit up the Foundation Room at the Mandalay Bay and had a really good time. There were playmates, a snotty director, and lots of suits pecking at their Crackberries. There was as also a view.

You can check more pictures over at Flickr.

This is the first batch of reviews from our trip to CineVegas

We’ll try to get a few up a day over the next few days with reviews coming from all four of us who went on the trip.

These four films are from Shorts Program #2. Two of the reviews are positive, and two are negative.

Bugcrush (Carter Smith) - 36:00

This terrifying film, which also played at Sundance, occupies the awkward space between short and feature at 36 minutes, but is so great that it could pull off any length. Innocent Ben has a serious crush on the new bad-boy at his high school, Grant. He attempts to get close to him and find out what the mysterious trips he takes into the woods could mean. Hopefully, it means he’s also gay. Ben maintains an acquaintance relationship with Grant, but tries to make it more than that. Eventually, Grant and his creepy misfit friends invite Ben to hang out at Grant’s house after school one day.

Ben drives them through dark rural areas and woods, up dirt roads to Grant’s abandoned shack of a home. All the while the tension builds as it’s not quite clear what Grant and his friends do after school, or what they play to do to Ben. The driving shots that peer out at the dimly lit road are particularly effective as we hear foreboding dialogue from the car.

Frightening throughout, this is a curious horror film that boasts an unforgettable ending I’m not about to spoil for you. This is director Carter Smith’s first film, but he’s done loads of commercials and makes his living as a fashion photographer. See this somewhere, somehow.

Denial (Joel Kelly) – 15:00

Starring Superman aka Brandon Routh, this short looks great thanks to some nifty 35mm camera work. There’s really nothing else positive to say about it.

The story starts with Routh and his girlfriend playing around in bed and being very lovey-dovey. As the film moves along, Routh’s character can’t seem to get a grasp on the reality of his relationship with his girlfriend. He starts to see her all around their apartment in different moods and outfits, recalling The Butterfly Effect scenes where Ashton is going a bit off the deep end.

In the end, we find out that he’s a heroin addict and as the drug wears off he is unable to maintain the good memories of his former love. As he injects in the bathroom, we see the film go back to the beginning, back to when their love was still strong.

Shot just a few weeks before Superman, Routh is the unlikely heroin addict who has time to constantly lift weights and make sure his hair is perfectly trimmed. All style and no substance, this must be a USC student film. I laughed a lot at this one as the clichés kept rolling onto the screen.

Bob Log III’s Electric Fence Story (Tinka Stock, Sébastien Wolf) - 2:30

Those who aren’t from Tucson probably don’t know about musician Bob Log, who wears a space helmet on stage and dips audience members’ boobs into glasses of scotch. Needless to say, he’s a character who can hold an audience with his music and his stories.

In this short and silly animated flick, Bob recounts the story of when he drunkenly tried to show some friends how to cow-tip, but ran into an electric fence. The claymation perfectly fits Bob’s storytelling, and this clearly surpasses anything I’ve seen on Shorties Watching Shorties.

Pardon My Downfall (David and Nathan Zellner) - 3:00

This film, if you can call it a film, consists of one joke that lasts for about three minutes as we watch the downfall of a rock-a-billy group called the Jibcutters. The joke is that they really like cocaine.

There’s nothing funny about drug addiction people, unless it’s given the student film treatment – like in Denial.

This weekend I’ll be heading to Las Vegas for the CineVegas Film Festival. Known as a mini-Sundance, I figured I would get ready by reviewing one of the many Sundance shorts that are temporarily online.

When I hit the streets of Park City back in January, The Pity Card was the one short I really wanted to see. But, unfortunately, my internship with the Sundance Channel didn’t allow me to get to a shorts program.

The Pity Card (2005) - 12:00

Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show) wrote and directed the comedy, which has one of the more inspired premises I’ve heard of; a young man takes a girl to the Holocaust Museum on their first date. To make matters worse, the girl (Ashley Johnson) is oblivious to the Holocaust.

It’s a rather far-fetched character trait, but the film doesn’t really take place in the real world, but a sketch comedy world. This is good and bad, since it’s very funny but not much of a “film.” But thanks to some good comic actors and original jokes, I enjoyed The Pity Card.

You might recognize some of the faces among the cast, with Simon Helberg (Old School) in the starring role and comedian Zach Galifianakis steals the show in a supporting role.

Odenkirk said he was inspired by Woody Allen and The Celebration, with the latter nod contributing to a jarring visual style that seems out of place.

Check this one out, if only to remember why you miss Mr. Show so much.

As Thank You For Smoking enjoys critical and financial success in its final days at the theater, it’s time to take a look back at the insanely-hyped short films that helped director Jason Reitman land the big-screen adaptation. Three off his four short comedies have played at Sundance and all of them have been at a shitload of other fests, but let’s give them another look under a critical eye.

These three are available at AtomFilms, and I couldn’t find Operation. Let me know if you can.

In God We Trust (2000) - 16:35

Robert is daydreaming in the middle of the street and is killed by a passing truck. He arrives in the processing area of purgatory – depicted as a typically bureaucratic office building – and finds out from an angel that he has done more bad than good in life, and will be sent to Hell. Robert sneaks back to Earth when a computer crashes and races to do good deeds before the angels can kill him again.

An extremely long short film, most of the time is devoted to variations on the same scene, with Robert trying to help someone out as inept angels try to create some disaster that will lead to his demise.

The concept is good, but it gets old. The most impressive aspect of the film is the production budget, which must have been huge. Great graphics, solid acting, and professional cinematography make this film enjoyable. Personally, I find it to be far too cute and safe, and the comedy hardly cutting edge.

Gulp (2001) - 7:12

Gulp follows a man trying to save his saltwater fish before it drowns in fresh water. Mostly a chase film, this one is also professionally produced with really neat graphics and technical crane shots, etc. It’s “Dude, Where’s My Car” meets “M:I 3,” as the main character races from place to place, denied saltwater at every stop.

Produced to promote the Ford Focus, the movie isn’t as blatant a product endorsement as you might expect. Once again, Reitman doesn’t seem to have that original of a voice, and every character seems to be written for Jim Carrey. This one might be his worst; it’s as boring as the car its meant to sell.

Consent (2004) - 6:00

Reitman’s style is apparent. Find one funny concept and try to ride it as long as you can. This story follows two college students ready to have sex on the first date, but have their lawyers step in and set the rules for what is acceptable behavior (“no: groping, yes: light petting”).

This one is short, and may keep a smile on your face throughout, even though the joke may get a little tired by minute three. There’s only so far you can take a high concept short comedy. The song during the end credits, although censored by AtomFilms, is great.

While Consent is the only Reitman film that didn’t do Sundance, it played pretty much everywhere else.

I have the same problems with Reitman’s shorts as I did with Thank You For Smoking. His style is too polished, his humor is too safe and his stories rarely catch the audience by surprise. But I think he has a great career ahead of him directing commercials.