I’m sure most of you will have seen this already, it’s been heavily doing the rounds on the ole intertubes but some nut has put together a seven minute mash-up of the oevres of Joel and Ethan Coen and Quentin Tartantino. Enjoy;

Thank to Jacob for giving me a further poke of encouragement to post it up

Long time Coen brothers composer, Carter Burwell, was in attendance at the Nashville Film Festival this week for two reasons. The first was to pick up their annual Mike Curb Career Achievement Award For Film Music award and also to take part in a special event – “One on One with Carter Burwell”. During said event the subject of his work on the forthcoming Coen brothers’ adaptation of the Charles Portis novel, True Grit, came up, on which he had this to say;

“We don’t always see eye to eye.” Burwell noted when discussing his 14th collaboration with Joel and Ethan Coen. But when it came to the conception of the True Grit score “We both had the same idea at the same time: Protestant hymns.” The composer went on to explain that the lead character, Mattie Ross (to be played by Hailee Steinfeld) was so convinced of her own righteousness that they all thought Protestant hymns would be a fine way to play with her misplaced rectitude … He’s currently looking for appropriate hymn recordings but griped that “they all sound too sweet.”

Burwell was quick to point out that this is only the current concept and could very well change entirely. Indeed he said that he liked the idea of a call and response feel to the theme, a solo instrument echoing back since Mattie is marching off alone, determined into dangerous territory to find her father’s killer and recruiting others to join her. He spoke a little about his past work with the Coen brothers and cited Miller’s Crossing as his best ever work experience due to the fact that he got to spend three months creating the score rather than the usual three to six weeks. He was asked which was his favourite Coen score and he said; “I like Fargo but I don’t really have favorites.”

You can see some photos from the event here. Parts taken from original post on Film Experience Blog.

The Oxford American have bestowed their Lifetime Achievement in Southern Literature upon reclusive True Grit author, Charles Portis. He collected his award at the inagural Best of the South Gala in Little Rock on Saturday, April 3, 2010.

Read this interesting summary of the evening which includes his thoughts on the Coen brothers’ forthcoming adaptation – “I’m all for it,” he said, “as long as the checks don’t bounce.”

The production crew of the Coen brothers’ next movie, True Grit, have been hard at work transforming the town of Granger, Texas so that it represents 1800’s Fort Smith, Arkansas. Movie blogger Joe M. O’Connell has posted up two batches of photos. You can see them here and here. Meanwhile, photographer Crystal Edwards has taken this set of photos. Hopefully they won’t mind me popping one or two here just to illustrate my post;

As you can see from the photos it’s going to look great!

The May edition of Playboy magazine (out tomorrow, April 16th) contains an original piece of written fiction by Ethan Coen. I’m assuming it’s the US edition of the magazine. According to Playboy it is titled, “Love to All”and is;

…a steamy short story. The tale weaves an erotic web of elite academics involved in some very liberal arts, andPlayboy is proud to showcase Coen’s incredible talent.

I really can’t imagine the Coen brothers doing sexy but we’ll see. I am being sent a copy of the story for review, alas not the magazine itself I doubt I’ll be able to post it up here but, if I can, I will.

In possibly the shortest news item in history, Variety is reporting that Paul Rae has joined the cast of True Grit as one of Ned Pepper’s (Barry Pepper) nefarious gang.

You may well recognise Rae he’s been in just about every hit US TV show in recent years including House, Fringe, Californication, Malcolm in the Middle, Desperate Housewives, Monk and The West Wing as well as movies including Oliver Stone’s W.

Santa Fe County Sheriff, Greg Solano found his way onto the set of the Coen brothers’ currently shooting True Grit in New Mexico. He has posted a couple of shots of him and his wife with Matt Damon and the one and only, the Dude himself, Jeff Bridges.

Unfortunately they’re not in character/costume but still – THE MOVIE IS SHOOTING RIGHT NOW!!!

Fred Melamed, last seen playing the incredibly earnest Sy Ableman in A Serious Man, has confirmed in an interview with Empire magazine that the Coen brothers may have a role for him in their future adaptation of Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. In said interview in the April 2010 issue of the magazine, when asked how he landed the role of Sy he said;

“I know the Coens a little bit as I went to school with Joel’s wife, Frances McDormand. I actually auditioned for a role in Barton Fink, the pushy movie executive, but Michael Lerner got it. Then they offered me a part in The Hudsucker Proxy, a character wearing only a baby diaper. Luckily, I wasn’t available. Finally, we made it work. And they told me there may be a part for me in The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, when they make that.”

I would love Melamed to become one of the Coen Family.

Variety is reporting that actor, Barry Pepper, has joined the cast of the Coen brothers’ forthcoming adaptation of Charles Portis’ novel, True Grit. He will play the part of ‘Lucky’ Ned Pepper (played by Robert Duvall in the 1969 John Wayne version) and joins Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld in the cast.

Pepper is perhaps best known for his role as crack sniper, Pvt. Daniel Jackson in Steven Spielberg’s (who acts as a producer on True Grit incidentally) Saving Private Ryan and for his part in the interminable, Scientology nonsense, Battlefield Earth. I recommend checking out the excellent Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada in which he played alongside No Country For Old Men star, Tommy Lee Jones.

Last night’s Oscars ended with Katherine Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker being the big winner with six. Indeed that film beat the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man in both of the categories it was nominated in – Best Film and Best Original Screenplay.

Better luck next year with True Grit which stars brand new Oscar winner, Jeff Bridges!

Full list of winners here – http://www.empireonline.com/oscars2010/winners/