Screening Gotham: Hounddog Can Only Get Better, Right? Right???

Some of today's movie news of note from around New York:

--Lou Lumenick points readers to a revealing press release from the executive producer and director of Hounddog, which so touched audiences at Sundance with its sclerotic depictions of child rape and earnest racial stereotyping that distributors fled in terror and it will evidently be recobbled from scratch. Editor Sabine Hoffman is out, Andrew Marcus is in. “It was clearly worth the rush in getting the film ready for Sundance, even with the stressful working environment it created," said executive producer Scott Franklin. "The willingness of someone as talented as Andy joining the project further reaffirms to us the quality of filmmaking already present in Hounddog." Translation: If we spend enough time recutting, maybe I can get a free Volkswagen out of it.

--As you read here last month, director Jafar Panahi has had a bit of trouble getting from Iran to America to talk about his new film Offside. That didn't keep my relentless colleague Jennifer Merin from getting a nice chat in with him over at the Alliance of Women Film Journalists site. Not to be outdone, Deborah Solomon turns up the third-degree on Panahi's countryman Abbas Kiarostami in The NY Times Magazine: "Do you always wear sunglasses?"

--Also at The Times: Surprisingly enough, cops want nothing to do with the new Busta Rhymes movie shooting in town. And can we please, please, please stop already with the Three Fucking Amigos? Lynn Hirschberg is so far behind she thinks she's first.

--And where else but Cinematical: "Curious about what goes on behind-the-scenes at some of your favorite film-related websites?" Um, no? Alas.

Posted at March 12, 2007 7:31 AM