Shattered Glass

Earlier this year, there was a bit of a kerfuffle when an editor at the German mag NEON was fired after it became clear that some of his articles were based on interviews that had either taken place in a different way to which they were used in the articles, or had not taken place at all. Shit got real for Ingo Mocek when an interview he had done with Beyonce, via message boards, found its way to her US management, who smelled a wolf-sized rat and got in touch with NEON. 

I remember reading that interview in this year's January edition and thinking that this was possibly the most interesting and fun Beyonce interview that I'll ever read (partly due to the fact that while she's an incredible artist and woman, she's got to be one of the dullest interviewees ever). And when the story came out about Mocek having made the whole thing up, I had to wonder whether I actually cared that much that the interview had never happened - I was entertained for a good 10 minutes (which I wouldn't have been had actual quotes been used) and issues of "accurate reporting" are surely more important when it comes to actual newsworthy and significant topics.

"Shattered Glass" deals with the similar true story of Stephen Glass, who got fired from The New Republic after making up whole stories - quotes, interviews, people, places, everything. It's got two of my favourite actors in it (Chloe Sevigny and Peter Saarsgard) and is a pretty gripping account of what happens in a newsroom full of young, ambitious (and, usually, dickish - although almost every journalist in the film is played as a perfectly nice person) hacks. There's a scene I loved where two of Glass's colleagues talk about how he's schmoozing every important editor in Washington. "Is that what you want? Editors blowing smoke up your ass?" asks Sevigny's character. "Yes. Yes, it is." replies her mate.

But it's really all about Glass (played excrutiatingly angelic - but well - by Hayden Christensen) and his step-by-step breakdown in the face of an online publicaction (another nice lil' subplot there) picking apart a story about hackers and his editor (Saarsgard, who really does look like Ed Balls) getting increasingly furious at what he considers treason of the magazine.

Glass, who we're made to believe was well-liked by almost all of his colleagues and had a maddening tendency to apologise for everything (it made me realise how annoying I must be most of the time), first tries to deflect people's suspicion by saying that he was "misled" by the hackers he spoke to for the article (there is, at one point, talk of a "National Assembly of Hackers" or something equally ridiculous). This apparently happens often and has certainly happened to me once. A year ago, I was writing an article on the Babycakes craze, and got in touch with a dude who was posting pretty nasty stuff on some kids' myspace profiles and on YouTube. I got as far as interviewing him via e-mail before realising that he was trolling me like a n00b. Roflcopter etc.

But anyway, the film. It's really very good and not just for journo geeks. I had a bit of a Google craze afterwards, looking for other stories about journalists making up stories (apparently Glass even worked for the incredibly awesome This American Life). It's an interesting topic, and I couldn't help but thinking that there might be a place for fiction in journalism. I'll go think about that some more now.

 Photo credit: Infinity Ranch

Tamara Drewe

I'm afraid I noticed that this film existed for the obvious reason - Gemma Arterton in those hot pants, photos  which conveniently made the rounds during Cannes festival earlier this year. I'd never seen any of the films she's been in (James Bond - yawn. Clash of the Titans - groan. Prince of Persia - snore. RocknRolla - vomit) until yesterday night, but I'm guessing that Tamara Drewe is Arterton's career highlight by a long shot. Because it's great.

The poster and the plot synopsis (young journalist returns to hometown of her childhood and wreaks havoc among locals) is actually misleading, because it distracts from the fact that it is actually Tamsin Greig's character Beth, and Jessica Barden's mouthy 14-year-old, lovestruck Jody (on the left), who drive the film along and cause all the havoc. Arterton's character, I have to say, I pretty much hated. Young, beautiful, successful, with a massive house in the country and the obligatory Apple work station, all the while complaining how tough it is to be beautiful AND smart. Because nobody takes you seriously. Why yes, shit, I can't believe you make it out of bed in the morning. Anyway, that isn't to say that Arterton is putting in a bad performance - she's very good. As is almost everyone, in fact.

Dominic Cooper's Ben Sergeant is blatantly modelled on Yannis from Foals (although when I asked him about it he wouldn't directly admit to it, just said that he knows a few people in bands), and I found him a bit too overdrawn at the beginning. But during the Q&A afterwards, him and the other actors said how much they'd enjoyed playing people who were comic book characters, i.e. characters who were (over)drawn.

Beth and Jody, the long-suffering wife of a successful, lecherous author and a teenager bored to death by life in the village, provide most of the laughs. We see Beth wearing an impressive number of aprons, and making and fixing things. When she says, after an argument with her husband, that "it's all falling apart", we get a first glimmer of the unhappiness she's lived with and which could erupt any minute.

Jody, on the other hand, has her life in front of her, but is already scared that "nothing will ever happen" to her. So she tries to make stuff happen - throwing eggs, breaking into houses, fantasising about sleeping with rock stars. It doesn't sound like a huge character, but she's by far the most lovable and funny figure in this film.

What I also enjoyed were details like the skull & crossbones dog tag on Ben's beloved dog 'Boss', and the awful/amazing 'surfer dog' T-shirt worn by the hapless American author Glen, who seems unable to view the writing process via a metaphor other than digestion. I could go on about how much I liked the way writers are portrayed in the film (not very sympathetically), but I'll make do with saying that this was, as a straight up film (not qualified to comment on the adaption of the respective comic books), better than Scott Boring vs The World. Peace out.


Photo credit: Empire Movies

Sauna Youth

Yesterday, I ordered the new Sauna Youth tape. Today, I got in the post. This is how I like my oders to be processed. In addition to not fucking around when it comes to mailing things, Sauna Youth are also one of the best and most interesting new (ish) UK bands I've heard this year. They kind of mix RAW POWER-era Stooges and a punk rock ethics (and, in places, 60s girl groups) into a retro garage punk that sounds like it's the most fun to play ever. All of the dudes in the band have played in other bands for hundreds of years - there's two guys that used to be in The Steal, one of them was in Twofold, one in Captain Everything... you get the picture. All great bands, but Sauna Youth for me is the best of the bunch (well, maybe close second to The Steal). They've already released a couple of tapes and a 7" (which is ace too). Check their myspace for availability - they only made 50 of these particular bad boys and I've already got one so it's get one while they're hot (they've put a download link on their blog, which I hope they don't mind me reposting - if you do, let me know guyz).


SAUNA YOUTH - NEGATIVE OBSESSIONS from lindsay on Vimeo.


Another reason for you to get one is the B side, which doesn't have any songs but an awesome short story by Jennifer Calleja, read by (I think) the singer and accompanied by a kind of ambient electro track. Not what you'd get from your average hardcore band, and it works perfectly. The story's about a university professor with a serious masturbation issue, but it's not garish or crude in any way - it's really sharply observed and beautifully written. She's got some more of her writing here, and most of what I've read so far is pretty good, too.

Photo credit: Sauna Youth