Shorts, 6/29.

By David Hudson on 06/29/2009

"Jerry Lewis is headed back to Broadway, this time in the director's chair," reports Dave Itzkoff for the New York Times. "The veteran comedian, last seen in 1995 on a Broadway stage as Applegate in the revival of 'Damn Yankees,' will direct a musical adaptation of his hit 1963 comedy 'The Nutty Professor' that is planned for the 2010-11 season."

Also in the NYT: "Although ['Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of "Fitzcarraldo"' (excerpt)] provides a hypnotic chronicle of the film crew's daily progress, it inevitably heats up when [Klaus] Kinski arrives," writes Janet Maslin in the New York Times. "No malevolent tarantula in the rain forest can match this volcanically hot-tempered actor for entertainment value. And the Kinski presence brings out the best in [Werner] Herzog's invective. Complaining constantly about his star's divalike behavior - Mr Herzog predicts there will be trouble when the steamship becomes more important to the film than its leading man is, and of course he's right - Mr Herzog is nonetheless invigorated by collaborative conflict." Related online listening: Herzog's a guest on the Leonard Lopate Show.

"The actress Melissa Gilbert has a best-selling memoir, 'Prairie Tale,' and for once the jacket copy gets it right: 'Only after years of substance abuse, dysfunctional relationships and made-for-television movies did she begin to figure out who she really was.'" David Kelly picks over some of the juicy, star-chunked bits for, yes, the NYT, albeit the Paper Cuts blog.

"In 'Cinema of the Other Europe: The Industry and Artistry of East Central European Film,'" writes Acquarello, "Dina Iordanova proposes a reframing of Eastern European cinema (and by extension, film culture studies) away from conventional, western-centric paradigms that tend to evaluate post World War II cinema from the 'other Europe' within the context of cold war politics and chauvinism."

For Filmmaker, Nick Dawson talks with Agnès Varda "about turning the camera on herself, her continuing drive to work, and her fascination with Film Forum's restroom patrons." Related: UbuWeb loves Agnès Varda.

The Playlist passes along news that Julien Temple is planning a doc on the Kinks.

"'Brüno's' representation of homosexuality has been the crux of concern in certain corners, and with some good reason," writes Nick Schager in his three-out-of-four-star review for Slant:

Whereas Kazakhstani journalist Borat is an anti-Semite whose prejudiced comments compel others to articulate hate for Jews, Brüno attempts to prod homophobia through aggressively gay behavior. The two characters have divergent relationships to their intended targets - Borat being on their side, Brüno being the source of their bigotry - and, given those dynamics, Brüno's lurid behavior could, in theory, become the joke itself, confirming and exploiting stereotypes for derisive humor. Yet Cohen, shrewd as ever, sidesteps such pitfalls by immediately going for the over-the-top jugular, providing during 'Brüno's' first few minutes a montage of machinery-assisted sex so insane that the star swiftly, definitively posits his material as first and foremost about the hilarity of boundary-pushing nastiness. In that sense, the film is something along the lines of a triumph, a ribald 88 minutes of ever-increasing outlandishness that takes a studio-cinema taboo - the sight of men getting it on with men, often with the aid of toys and/or kinky getups - and makes use of it for oh-no-they-didn't craziness.

More from John Hazelton (Screen), Drew McWeeney (Hitfix), David Poland - and Kyle Buchanan and Seth Abramovitch at Movieline: "nlike so many of the people who natter on endlessly about this film, we have two advantages: we've actually seen it, plus we're gay."

Tom Stempel files his 27th "Understanding Screenwriting" column at the House Next Door.

The Academy carries on tweaking the Oscars, reports Peter Knegt at indieWIRE.

Benjamin Percy in McSweeney's: "Great Moments in Cinema Ruined by Cookies."

While the AV Club lists "12 things Woody Allen just doesn't get," it's "Woody Week" at This Recording.

Robert Horton lists the "Ten Best Movies" of 1961.

Copyranter has an example of an innovative use of a camera and a screen.

Another online glance: The Wexner Center for the Arts "ommissioned local rock poster artist Clinton Reno to create an original piece for the Soundtrack Available: Music in American Film series, and he didn't disappoint."

Online scrolling tip #1. "The Great Cosby Experiment 09."

Online scrolling tip #2. "Macho Men and Flirtatious Women," a gallery of movie posters spotted in Bangalore. Via Coudal Partners.

Online viewing tips, round 1. At Cartoon Brew, Jerry Beck's got some "Trippy 'Spongebob' MTV IDs from Pepper Melon."

Online viewing tips, round 2. Cinefils, a new "Cinephile Interview Magazine," featuring the likes of Catherine Breillat, Christian Petzold, Ken Loach and many more - speaking in their respective mother tongues, of course, but with English subtitles. Via Thomas Groh.

[Photo: "The Nutty Professor," Paramount Pictures, 1963]

Tags: Agnès Varda, Brüno, Jerry Lewis, Melissa Gilbert, Sacha Baron Cohen, Werner Herzog, Woody Allen