Film Art: Jane Austen Edition

Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen and James McAvoy as her fictional lover in Becoming Jane, coming to DVD February 12.

Illustration by Lara Tomlin for the New Yorker.

Click here to pre-order Becoming Janeon DVD from Amazon.com.

Awards Watch: Producers Guild

No Country for Old Men continues its reign over this year's award season, winning the top prize at the Producers Guild of America Awards last night.

The animated hit Ratatouille and Michael Moore's documentary Sicko also won in their respective categories, making these three the ones to beat come the Oscars on February 24.

And speaking of the Oscars, they may go on as usual if the current rumors of a resolution to the writers strike are true; if not, producer Gil Cates says there is always plan B.

Mutha of a Ride

"Disaster! A Major Motion Picture Ride", the quickie re-do of the former Earthquake ride, opened recently at Universal Studios Florida.

Now, instead of Oscar-winner Charlton Heston, the attraction features Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson "starring" in a fictitious disaster movie titled Mutha Nature, directed by ... Oscar-winner Christopher Walken.

Nice.

31 Days of Oscar: Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility proved six things upon its release in 1995:

1. That (at least in the 90's) Jane Austen was hot.
2. That Ang Lee, the Taiwanese director then best known for the Oscar nominated foreign language films The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman, could direct anything -- even a British period romantic drama.
3. That Emma Thompson, who wrote the Academy Award-winning screenplay, could do anything.
4. That Kate Winslet, fulfilling the promise seen the previous year in Heavenly Creatures, would be a star (Mira who?).
5. That the Academy knows nothing: despite seven nominations (including Best Picture), the director branch snubbed Lee. No matter, he would go on to win the award for some other movie.
6. And finally (and this is still true today): that hunky Greg Wise needs to be in more movies.

Sense and Sensibility airs tomorrow on Turner Classic Movies at 8:00 PM EST.

Not Directed By ...

Imagine that you pour your heart and soul into making a movie, only to find out that when it comes out, everyone thinks some other guy directed it.

Inspired by the recent example of Cloverfield (not directed by J.J. Abrams), IFC.com has compiled an interesting list of film directors overshadowed by their more famous collaborators.

I must admit, I always thought Mel Brooks directed To Be or Not To Be; turns out, it was ... some other guy.

Out in Film: Chad Allen

Idol worship: Chad Allen, actor/producer.

- Started his career at the age of 7, guest-starring in everything from Saint Elsewhere to Punky Brewster; he even played the ill-fated Daigler boy in the TV movie remake of The Bad Seed.

- Became a Tiger Beat staple with his role as Jane Seymour's son on the wholesome family drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

- Stars as gay detective Donald Strachey in the here! TV series of TV movies based on the mystery novels by Richard Stevenson; the third, Ice Blues, will air later this year.

- Along with Robert Gant and Christopher Racster, he is the founder of the production company Mythgarden, which produced last year's Save Me. In the topical drama, he and Gant starred as two men who find love in an "ex-gay" ministry.

- He is currently starring in Douglas Carter Beane's Hollywood satire The Little Dog Laughed in a role that he is familiar with: a closeted actor. He hopes to take the play to Los Angeles.

See more pictures of Chad Allen in The Back Room (NSFW).

31 Days of Oscar: The Time Machine

Lots of cherished childhood memories with this one, not the least of which was the exposure it gave me to probably my very first cinematic crush, Rod Taylor.

The incredibly handsome Aussie star played the author of the source material, H.G. Wells himself, in the film, manning the movies' coolest time machine ever (Back to Future's De Lorean, eat your heart out). Add Yvette Mimieux as Eloi waif Weena, Oscar-winning special effects, and the creepy-crawly Morlocks, and you end up with one of the finest film fantasies ever.

The Time Machine airs tomorrow on Turner Classic Movies at 12:45 PM EST.