"Oh, my God, I'm kissing Spicoli."

By Alison Willmore on 08/13/2008

Yet again, the world in quotes:

"The first kiss of the movie was out on Haight Street, with, like, 200 people watching, outside. It was a crane shot--I'm sure in the end it will be a really cool shot, but it starts close and then it takes maybe a minute. That's a long time on film with everybody watching and, like, a fake mustache getting in your mouth. It was long enough that you couldn't help thinking, 'Oh, my God, I'm kissing Spicoli.' "
         --James Franco on his role in Gus Van Sant's "Milk," at GQ.

"[O]n the whole, I do feel that it's a very pessimistic picture, and sad."
         --Woody Allen on the inherent tragedy of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," at the Onion AV Club.

"I have no view on whether it should be remade but it doesn't have my blessing... I'm not co-producing it and I won't be involved in any way. The first I heard about it was when people sent me cuttings from US papers."
         --"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" creator Richard O'Brien on the upcoming remake of the film, at BBC News.

"Larry Charles' theory is--just keep going till they throw you out. I guess he learned that on 'Borat.' The crew would set up and at the last second, when the cameras were already rolling, I would show up. So either they'd be seen on camera leaving the interview and lose face or they'd have to talk to me. It was like--'And now here's ... Bill!' You could usually see the troubled looks on their faces. At the Holy Land theme park, the PR woman freaked out and finally told us to leave. She was definitely not a happy camper."
         --Bill Maher on how he got interviews for "Religulous," at the LA Times.

"It's not really such a huge leap, but of course there are certain tonalities you've got to be aware of. One thing, for example, is the profanity of the C-word, which is a real no-go area in American comedy, whereas in Britain we use it like confetti."
         --Steve Coogan on the U.S./U.K. cultural divide, at The Phoenix.

"It's well made and interestingly cast...but there is something about the writing that I find almost surreal, and not intentional. It is character based (like Powell) but the characters do not seem at all real. It feels to me like the 60's are being observed through glass. More of a period piece than restoration comedy."
         --Director Mike Figgis dwells on "Mad Men," at Film in Focus. (Hat tip to Filmmaker.)

[Photo: "Milk," Focus Features, 2008]