Monday, October 17, 2005
"Across the Universe"
When I got out of the subway station this morning at 51st and Sixth, a bunch of people were standing around in 40's retro clothes. I then noticed that it was unnaturally bright, and a crane with a camera on it was swinging around, and then it dawned on my sleepy Monday morning brain: Oh, a movie.
I passed a couple of crew guys and asked, "What movie is this?" And they answered with an attitude that let me know I had probably been the 89th person to ask this in the last two minutes. "Across the Universe."
"Oh," I replied. "Nice costumes," and as I put my iPod phones back in my ears, the crew guys laughed, Haw Haw Haw. I wondered if I should be insulted or if I came off as some kind of fool. When I got to my office I Googled "Across the Universe movie" and got this:
Oh.
I also saw this on Curbed:
So, apparently my remark about the "nice costumes" garnered Haw Haw Haw's because this is some kind of glorified music video, and the retro costumes and colorful scenery are basically what it has going for it, and when people come out of the theater they're going to be saying, "Nice costumes."
Then again, it's Monday morning and I could easily be a fool.
I passed a couple of crew guys and asked, "What movie is this?" And they answered with an attitude that let me know I had probably been the 89th person to ask this in the last two minutes. "Across the Universe."
"Oh," I replied. "Nice costumes," and as I put my iPod phones back in my ears, the crew guys laughed, Haw Haw Haw. I wondered if I should be insulted or if I came off as some kind of fool. When I got to my office I Googled "Across the Universe movie" and got this:
A romantic musical told mainly through numerous Beatles songs performed by the characters. A young man from Liverpool comes to America during the Vietnam War to find his father. He winds up in Greenwich Village, where he falls in love with an American girl who has grown up sheltered in the suburbs. Together they experience the sweeping changes of America in the late 60's
Oh.
I also saw this on Curbed:
Yesterday, we reported on the technicolor dreamcoat enveloping Rivington Street on the Lower East Side. We knew there was some sort of movie shoot going on, which accounts for the first urban renewal seen east of on Rivington Street since the city plan was laid out, but we didn't have the scoop.
Now, a reader tips us that the film is called Across the Universe, starring Rachel Wood, Eddie Izzard, and Bono. (Oh yes.) It's—brace yourself—a romantic musical featuring Beatles music, directed by Julie Taymor, which means it will be delightful to look at but ultimately incoherent. Naturally, we can hardly wait.
So, apparently my remark about the "nice costumes" garnered Haw Haw Haw's because this is some kind of glorified music video, and the retro costumes and colorful scenery are basically what it has going for it, and when people come out of the theater they're going to be saying, "Nice costumes."
Then again, it's Monday morning and I could easily be a fool.
