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Napoleon Slumdog Juno Took Little Miss Sunshine to Garden State

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Videos | Comments (25)

ellen-page-juno_l.jpg

We’re obviously not big studio slobberers around here — my philosophy when it comes to studio productions is SHOOT IT IN THE HEAD. But there’s a couple of studios that I’ve always given the benefit of the doubt, specifically Magnolia and Fox Searchlight. To call Fox Searchlight an indie studio would be misleading — yes, it specializes in distributing indie and British flicks, but it’s still owned by 20th Century Fox, which means that Rupert Murdoch had a very tiny hand in the anti-abortion film, Juno.* And you know my philosophy on Rupert Murdoch. SHOOT IT IN THE HEAD.

Anyway, Fox Searchlight is celebrating its 15th Anniversary since it released its first film, Brothers McMullen (awww, remember when we liked Ed Burns? Now, what’s our philosophy on Ed Burns? SHOOT IT IN THE HEAD). And while we wouldn’t normally devote a post to a studio’s Happy Birthday to itself, this is different for two reasons: 1) Fox Searchlight had made a lot of great films, and watching the video below, I realize that the studio must have made fully half my favorite films over the last decade; and 2) the video montage below is fantastic, and it’s fantastic because it was created by Harry Hanrahan, who you all know as our video editor behind The 100 Greatest Quotes Series and the Greatest Insults of All Time.

Anyway, check out the video — you may be surprised by how many of Fox Searchlight’s films you love. You might also find it striking just how successful the studio is at finding hugely successful indie flicks that developed cult backlash followings.


* (I only called it an anti-abortion film to see how many of your faces I could make cringe)










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Comments

I've found the quirmsy genre excessively bathetic and sentimentalist in the Victorian mode; none of these qualities are esteemed by me. And then there's the shitty music taste (yes, it's fucking shitty).

They also can retrospectively called "manufacturing grassroots", to borrow a political phrase. Astroturfing the indie genre indeed.

Posted by: Recondite at October 27, 2010 9:52 AM

What a great way to start the morning.

Posted by: Marcela at October 27, 2010 9:53 AM

The corporate cock takes many forms. Its preferred form is like The Thing: it looks like someone you know, but it's only going to use this cover to devour you, from the inside-out.

Posted by: Recondite at October 27, 2010 9:54 AM

Disclaimer: I'm making these comments independent of actually watching the video.

Posted by: Recondite at October 27, 2010 9:56 AM

I think Recondite is actually Adventureman because those posts were complete gibberish, yet oddly entertaining.

Posted by: Kballs at October 27, 2010 10:07 AM

Wow. There were actually some great films in there. A bunch of crap too but really not all that bad.

Posted by: admin at October 27, 2010 10:11 AM

I wondered where you were going with thst ...

Wow, there's a lot of good movies in there. Did I see "Waitress"?

Posted by: , at October 27, 2010 10:13 AM

That's two "wow"s in two minutes.

On Pajiba.

Someone call Guinness.

Posted by: , at October 27, 2010 10:14 AM

If you were to chart Ed Burns' and Ben Affleck's career paths it would like a giant X.

Posted by: John W at October 27, 2010 10:17 AM

,

I'm wowed by all the wows as wowll. It's a wownder we dwown't all drwown in wownderment.

Posted by: Kballs at October 27, 2010 10:26 AM

That was lovely. Rupert Murdoch can go to hell, but there were a lot of excellent films in that. And hh, a fabulous job, as always.

Posted by: tamatha at October 27, 2010 10:30 AM

Posted by: Kballs at October 27, 2010 10:26 AM
---
+ wown.

Posted by: , at October 27, 2010 10:37 AM

Recondite is certainly living up his/her/hir name today. Clearly, Recondite got more sleep than me last night. Must... get...caffeine. I'll be at my desk with a teabag hanging out of my mouth.

You see how tired I am? It took a full ten seconds to realise how magnificently lambasteable that last sentence was and I can't be bothered to change it. On an up note, I can still think clearly of enough to use words like "lambasteable". It reminds me of the day I was awakened to strange noises outside my window and said half asleep, "that was an interesting confluence of sounds" or the time I was in the shower and said aloud, "I need some sort of dermal abrasive". So what I'm really saying is that

1. I have no idea what Recondite is saying.
2. Exhaustion does not seem to have a deleterious effect on my vocabulary use, or its pretentiousness.
3. Exhaustion does seem to make me even more blitheriffic than usual.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at October 27, 2010 11:29 AM

Mrs. Julien,

Funny you mention Recondite's insanity. I posted about it earlier, but the Overlords blocked that post, ruining its chances of getting into a prestigious college.

I sent this post to a community college and voila! Accepted!

Posted by: Kballs at October 27, 2010 12:25 PM

Maybe its just because I'm knocked up, but that actually made me tear up a little bit......must watch Little Miss Sunshine again.

Posted by: Finn at October 27, 2010 12:51 PM

Finn,

Congratulations on the productive sex! Most of the time it just ends up eternally encased in latex or wiped up with a towel.

Posted by: Kballs at October 27, 2010 12:54 PM

Good Grief! Those really were most of my favorite films over the last 15 years.

Posted by: Devo at October 27, 2010 1:00 PM

Finn -

If you think the hormones now are fun, just wait until you have a young baby. Oh, you'd like examples?

a. I've mentioned this before, but I cried at the concept of Sarah McLachlan singing Rainbow Connection.

b. I was expressing genuine concern when I said, "He's behind at peekboo!".

Or maybe this isn't your first child and I am preaching to the choir.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at October 27, 2010 1:13 PM

hh impresses the hell out of me, every time. He's cute, too.

Posted by: replica at October 27, 2010 3:23 PM

Super Troopers!

Posted by: SaBrina at October 27, 2010 5:38 PM

So many "OHILOVEDTHATSHOULDREWATCHIT!" moments. Also, loved the inspirational music. That always gets me. You can show me a video of puppies with sad/inspiring music and I'll cry. Or, I supposed, a video of dead puppies with happy/inspiring music and I'll laugh. Not sure what that says about me.

Posted by: esme at October 27, 2010 6:44 PM

I like this.

Garden State and Little Miss Sunshine and Bend it Like Beckham The Darjeeling Limited and (500) Days of Summer and Fantastic Mr. Fox and Napoleon Dynamite and Juno are all some of my favorite movies.

Not everything Fox Searchlight distributes is any good, and the films I listed aren't the best movies of all time or anything. But I still love them.

Posted by: Talia at October 27, 2010 10:16 PM

SIINTH just became my acronym de jour.
The vid will have to wait til I'm no longer at work.

Posted by: cinekat at October 28, 2010 9:22 AM

Searched Google and ended up here - its good so I posted the site on my Facebook account !

Posted by: Evangeline at December 11, 2010 10:12 PM

Agreed, very well written and can't wait for the second half.

Posted by: Hollis at December 12, 2010 2:16 AM