Southern Man

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Cash for Clunkers

According to this report from the car folks at Edmunds, we (well, that is, the half of us who actually pay taxes) shelled out about $24,000 for every vehicle sold under the three-billion-dollar Cash for Clunkers program. That's only a little less than the average transaction price for a new car in August.

What does that say about government-managed car sales? Up next - government-managed health care!


UPDATE: The Empire Strikes Back.

ANOTHER UPDATE: BusinessInsider.com chimes in with this chart (shown below) showing quarter-to-quarter changes in auto sales. Cash for Clunkers produces an enormous spike in Q3 sales relative to Q2; they speculate that C4C just stole sales from the future and predict a dramatic drop next quarter.



Note to the BusinessInsider chartmeisters; Southern Man is available on a contract basis to show you how to create graphs with complete titles.

AND ANOTHER UPDATE: As was widely predicted, C4C took lots of inexpensive used cars off the market, and now it's difficult to find an inexpensive used car - which means that C4C, as many well-intended but ill-concieved government programs do, hurt the poor more than it helped.

AND YET ANOTHER: Remember how C4C was supposed to help us out by improving the country's overall gas mileage? According to this report, the most frequent transaction in the program was one Ford F-150 for another, with a marginal increase in mileage.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Books and Presidents

A much-publicized comment by the new head of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman, caught Southern Man's eye the other day. "This is the first president," he says (in reference to the Chosen One) "that actually writes his own books since Teddy Roosevelt and arguably the first to write them really well since Lincoln."

Unless Southern Man's memory deceives him (which it does with alarmingly increasing frequency these days) autobiographies and memoirs and other missives of various sorts have been thrust upon us with authorship claimed by (let's see here) former Presidents Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald R. Ford, Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry S Truman, Hervert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, and Woodrow Wilson (just to name thirteen of the last sixteen presidents, with the only non-writers being George W. Bush (so far), Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Warren G. Harding). While one can imagine that while these works no doubt benefited from the aid of research assistants and editors, there is not much doubt that most of the words are the alleged author's own. Does Landesman hold that Kennedy's Profiles in Courage is second-rate, or that Eisenhower's Crusade In Europe was ghostwritten? Does he imagine that anything penned by Glorious Leader will still be in print a century from now, as Teddy Roosevelt's The Naval War of 1812 (to name one of the nearly forty books that fell from his pen - look at this list and note how many of these century-old books have modern ISBNs) or Ulysses S. Grant's Personal Memoirs are today, or that He is equaled only by Abraham Lincoln as a presidential author?

Oh, wait. While Lincoln was highly regarded as a speaker and letter-writer (Southern Man submits the Gettysburg Address and
Letter to Mrs. Bixby, even though authorship of the latter is contested), he wrote no books.

And this is the guy running the National Endowment for the Arts. Sheesh.
As Glen Reynolds of Instapundit is fond of saying, it appears that the country's in the very best of hands.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Concert Review - U2 / The Black Eyed Peas

Southern Man was something of a U2 fan way, way back in the day (many of Southern Man's favorites date back to the old Live at Red Rocks album from '83) and their 360° Tour finally brought the acclaimed Irish rockers back to Southen Man's neck of the woods (for the first time in nearly three decades, and no, he didn't see them the first time around) where they put on the innovative, high-tech show that one would expect from a band of that stature. The setlist contained a good mix of old and new and the big screens on the central "spaceship" let those of us up in the nosebleed seats have a good view of the on-stage antics. Then venue was a large university football stadium and it was a bit cool and breezy, but we were dressed for the weather and had a great time eating stadium food and doing "the wave" and generally enjoying ourselves. The opening act for this particular performace was The Black Eyed Peas, who put on an energetic and futuristic and somewhat incoherent set of hip-hop, which isn't Southern Man's thing but was still fun to see and hear. Especially the dancers decked out as silver robots and animated stage speakers and such. Getting in and out of town with 60,000 other U2 fans was no treat but we were home and in bed by one am or so. All in all, a good time was had by all.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Searching For Roman Polanski Petition Signers

Southern Man was curious as just what film notables signed the now infamous "Petition for Roman Polanski" so here is the list of signers, along with Wikipedia or Internet Movie Database (IMDB) links when found (note that the Wikipedia article generally includes the IMBD link as an external reference). Southern Man cannot know whether the Wikipedia entry is actually that of the petition signer or some other similarly-named person, but took a chance if the article described someone in the film industry. The list is available from several web sites; the one Southern Man used to construct this list was found was at AwardsDaily.com but there are many versions, all slightly different, so the research continues and this list will be more or less continuously updated until Southern Man tires of it. If you are on this list and feel that there is some error associated with your entry just leave a comment and Southern Man will get back to you just as soon as he can.

UPDATE (10/7): Southern Man's research (if you can call typing "Polanski petition" into Google "research") has paid off. The actual, real petition, which was organized by the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD), can be found here, with the official list of signators here. Southern Man's unofficial list, with links, is below; this list will be updated as the spirit moves him. Overstrikes indicate names that appeared on earlier versions of the list (either official or unofficial) that no longer appear on the SACD web site. If real, there are more than a few well-known defectors from the "Free Polanski" camp.

ANOTHER UPDATE (10/8): Having merged the most recent list of signatures into the original work, Southern Man finds that the first version of the list (about a hundred names) included fairly noteworthy individuals, with most having Wikipedia articles and almost all with IMDB listings. Researching these has been a fairly interesting tour through the world of French cinema. However, the newer signators are by and large unknowns; few are mentioned on Wikipedia and many don't even rate an entry on IMDB. Names followed by commas haven't yet been checked. Be patient; Southern Man is working as fast as he can. Well, not really. It's not like he's getting paid for this or anything.

Individuals:

Michael A. Russ
Erika Abrams
Isabelle Adjani, French film actress and singer
Fatih Akin, German film director
Yves Alberty
Stéphane Allagnon, French film director and screenwriter
Woody Allen, American film director, screenwriter, actor, and writer
Pedro Almodóvar, Spanish film director, screenwriter, and producer
Gianni Amelio, Italian film director
Michel Andrieu, French film director, actor, and screenwriter
Roger Andrieux, French film director, producer, and screenwriter
Pascale Angelini
Yannick Angelloznicoud
Greta Amend, German cast director and actress
Wes Anderson, American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
Jean-Jacques Annaud, French film director
Tomas Arana, American actor
Frédéric Aranzueque-Arrieta
Alexandre Arcady, French film director, producer, and writer
Fanny Ardant, French actress
Asia Argento, Italian film and television actress and director
Marie-Hélène Arnau
Stéphane Arnoux, French film director, screenwriter, and actor
Antoine Aronin
Darren Aronofsky, American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer
Olivier Assayas, French film director and screenwriter
Alexander Astruc, French film director, screenwriter, and actor
Simone Audissou
Gabriel Auer, French / Hungarian film director, producer, and screenwriter
Paul Auster, American author
Zdzicho Augustyniak
Alexandre Babel
Vladimir Bagrianski
Lubomila Bakardi
Fausto Nicolás Balbi
Eleonor Baldwin
Jean-François Balmer, Swiss actor
Alberto Barbera (Museo nazionale de Torino)
Sylvie Bardet-Borel
Luc Barnier, French film editor
Christophe Barratier, French film director, producer, and screenwriter
Ernest Barteldes
Carmen Bartl
Pascal Batigne
Anne Baudry, French film editor and screenwriter
Henning Bauer
Tone Bay
Juan Antonio Bayona, Spanish film director
Xavier Beauvois, French actor, film director, and screenwriter
Morgane Beauverger
Liria Bégéja, French film director and screenwriter
Matthieu Béguelin
Gilles Béhat, French film director, actor, and screenwriter
Jean-Jacques Beineix, French film director
Candice Belaisch-Goldchmit
Marco Bellochio, Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor
Yannick Bellon, French film director, screenwriter, and editor
Florence Bellone, French actress
Monica Bellucci, Italian actress and fashion model
Véra Belmont, French film producer, screenwriter, director, and actress
Jacqueline Belon
Jean-Marc Benguigui, French film director and actor
Yamina Benguigui, French / Algerian film director
Djamel Bennecib, French film editor, director, screenwriter, and producer
Saïd Ben-Said, French film producer
Luc Béraud, French film screenwriter, director, and actor
Jean-Pierre Berckmans, French film director, producer, and screenwriter
Jacob Berger, French film director, screenwriter, and actor
Christof Berger
Alain Berliner, Belgian film director
Gael Garcia Bernal, Mexican film director and actor
Pascal Berney
Xavier Berry
Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian film director and screenwriter
Giuseppe Bertolucci, Italian film director and screenwriter
Jean-Marie Besset, French filmwriter and actor
Nico Beyer
Marlène Bisson
Arnstein Bjørkly
Lucien Blacher
Virginie Blanc-Brude Bard
Jean-Marc Bloch
Léa Bloch
Catherine Boissière
Anne-Sylvie Bonaud
Olivier Bonnet
Thierry Boscheron, French film director and producer
Renata Bosco
Freddy Bossy
Jacqueline Bouchard, French film costume designer
Louise Anne Bouchard
Patrick Bouchitey, French actor and film director
Cédric Bouchoucha
Paul Boujenah, French film director
Patrice Bourbon
Frédéric Bourboulon, French film producer and actor
Etienne Boussac
Katia Boutin, French film sound and dialog editor
Elizabeth Brach
Ian Brady
Jacques Bral, French / Iranian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
Sophie Bramly
Paulo Branco, Portuguese film producer
Patrick Braoudé, French actor, director, screenwriter, and producer
Guila Braoudé, French actress
Edwin Brienen, Dutch film director
Adrien Brody, American actor
Isabelle Broué, French film director and screenwriter
Pascal Bruckner, French writer
Max Brun
Merima Bruncevic
Bastien Brunel
Anne Burki
André Buytaers, French film director
Emilie Buzyn
Anthony Byrne
Marco Cacioppo, Canadian actor
Gérald Calderon, French film director, screenwriter, and actor
Monica Cannizzaro
Peggy Carajopoulou-Vavali
John Carchietta, American film producer, director, and screenwriter
Christian Carion, French film director and screenwriter
Henning Carlsen, Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer
Jean-Michel Carre, French television director
Esteban Carvajal-Alegria
Lionel Cassan, French film editor
Bryan Cassiday
Miss Catadler
Steve Catieau
Mathieu Celary
Teco Celi, French actor
Muriel Cerf
Dabiel Chabannes
Thierry Chabert, French film director
Jean-Yves Chalangeas
Daniel Champagnon, French film production manager
Christophe Champclaux, French film director, screenwriter, and editor
Georges Chappedelaine, French film producer
Litseselidis Charalampos
Yann Charbonnier
David Charhon, French film director and screenwriter
Fabienne Chauveau
Claire Chazal, French journalist and writer
Patrice Chéreau, French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, producer, and actor
Brigitte Chesneau
Marie-Christine Chesneau
Michel Chevalier
Mishka Cheyko,
Catherine Chiono,
Catherine Chouchan, French film editor
Élie Chouraqui, French film director and screenwriter
Alex Cichy
Souleymane Cissé, Malian film director
Jean-Pierre Clech, French film production designer
Henri Codenie
Jessika Cohen
Olivier Cohen
Robert Cohen
Catherine Colassin
Suzanne Colonna
Jean-Paul Commin
Andrea Concato
Anne Consigny, French film actress
Alain Cophignon
Philippe Corbé
Antony Cordier, French film director, screenwriter, and editor
Alain Corneau, French film director and screenwriter
Jérôme Cornuau, French film producer, director, and screenwriter
Bruno Coulais, French film composer
Guy Courtecuisse
Miguel Courtois, French film producer, director, and screenwriter
Antoine Courtray
Guillaume Cousin
Morgan Crestel
Rudyard Cretenet
Dominique Crèvecoeur, French film producer and director
Penelope Cruz, Spanish actress
Alfonso Cuaron, Mexican film producer and screenwriter
Estelle Cywje
Nicola D’Ugo
Frédéric Damien
Sophie Danon
Olivier Dard
Luc et Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgian brothers; film producers, directors, and screenwriters
Isabelle DassonvilleFilm crew and personal assistant to Roman Polanski
Sophie Davidas
Jean-Paul Dayan
Bruno de Almeida, French film director, producer, writer, editor, and cinematographer
Marion de Blaÿ
François de Lamothe, French film production designer
Hervé de Luze, French film editor
Katarina De Meulder
Artus de Penguern, French film actor
Valérie de Saint-Do
Virginie De Wilde
Christel de Wit
Olivier Debert
Viviane Decuypere
Guillermo del Toro
Alain Delannoy
Benoît Delmas
Michel Deloore
Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter
Nicolaine den Breejen
Ruud den Dryver, French film producer and screenwriter
Louisa Dent
Edwin Dervaux
Dante Desarthe, French film producer, director, and screenwriter
Romain Desbiens
Sophie Deschamps, French film actress and screenwriter
Thomas Desjonquères, French film sound editor
Alexandre Desplat, French film composer
Chris Devi
Rosalinde et Michel Deville, French couple; screenwriter, producer, and film director
Guillaume D'Ham, French film sound editor
Christelle Didier, French film editor and production manager
Kathrin DiPaola
Claire Dixsaut
Julien Doger
Catherine Doire
Xavier Dolan, Canadian actor
Arielle Dombasle, French / American singer, actress, model, and film director
Helen Donlon
Ariel Dorfman
Kristen Doty
Jean Douchet, French film actor, director, and screenwriter
Thierry Drean
Fabrice du Welz, Belgian film director and screenwriter
Marina Duarte Nunes Ferreira
Danièle Dubroux, French film director, screenwriter, and actress
Marc Dufrenois
Martine Dugowson, French film director and screenwriter
François Duhamel
Sissi Duparc, French film actress
Jean Dusaussoy
Georges Dybman, French film producer
Daniel Edinger, French film actor
Arne Eickenberg, French film composer
Yaniv Elani
Gerónimo Elortegui
Sam Enoch
Peter Lucas Erixon
Ann Eyckmans
Nicolas Fagard
Jacques Fansten, French film director, producer, and screenwriter
Joël Farges, French film director, producer, and screenwriter
Gianluca Farinelli (Cinémathèque de Bologne), French film producer
Nathalie Faucheux
Etienne Faure, French film director, producer, and screenwriter
Pierre Antoine Faure
Maud et Romain Ferrari
Michel Ferry, French film director, producer, and screenwriter
Corinne Figuet
Jean Teddy Filippe, French film director
Aurélie Fiorentino
Alan Fischer
Bob Fischer
Martine Fitoussi
Sebastián Fleischhacker
Joy Fleury, French film director and screenwriter
Michael Flynn
Hugues Fontenoy
Pierre Forciniti
Scott Foundas, American film critic
Werner Fraai
Jean-Robert Franco
Stephen Frears, English film director
Patrick Frégonara
Marion Frelat, French film visual effects coordinator
Thierry Frémaux, French film editor
Marc Freycon
Nadine Fruchard
Sam Gabarski
Dominique Gadoin
Jean Francois Gaillard
René Gainville, French film director and screenwriter
Sara Gandolfi
Fernand Garcia
Matteo Garone
Yves Gasser, French film producer
Tony Gatlif, French / Algerian film director, screenwriter, actor, and composer
Louis Garrel, French actor
Catherine Gaudin-Montalto
Jean-Marc Gauthier
Albert Gauvin
Costa Gavras, French / Greek filmmaker
Christiane Gehl-Gabadou
Nathalie Geiser
Lizi Gelber
Isabelle Gély
Jean-Marc Ghanassia
Alain Gil
Véronique Gillet
Terry Gilliam, British / American filmmaker, screenwriter, and animator
Christian Gion, French film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
François Girault
Stéphane Gizard
Nelson Gonzalez
Carlos Miguel Bernardo González
Charles Andre Gordeaux
Christophe Goumand
Johanna Gozlan
Michel Gras
Eric Gravereau
Martin Gregus
Dominique Greusard
Thierry Grizard
Serge Grünberg
Philippe Gruss
Geoffroy Guerrier, French film actor
Florent Guézengar
Marc Guidoni
Marta Gutowska
Taylor Hackford, American film director
Mikael Håfström, Swedish film director and screenwriter
Lesly Hamilton
Catherine Hargreaves, French film actress
Ronald Harwood, English actor, screenwriter, and playwright
Dimitri Haulet
Geert Heirbaut
Buck Henry, American actor, screenwriter, and film and television director
Nicole Herbaut de Lamothe
Thoralf Herz
David Heyman, British film producer
Laurent Heynemann, French film director and screenwriter
Joshua Highfield
Patrick Hirigoyen
Dominique Hollier, French film actress
Davide Homitsu Riboli
Isabelle Hontebeyrie
Frédéric Horiszny
Andreas Horvath
Robert Hossein, French film actor, director, and screenwriter
Isabelle Huppert, French actress
Jean-Loup Hubert, French film director and screenwriter
Wendy Hudson,
Allison Hull,
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican film director
Eric et Veronique et Nicolas Jacquelin,
Olivier Jacquet,
Gilles Jacob, French film producer, actor, and screenwriter
Just Jaeckin, French film director
Thomas Jahn,
Olivia Janik,
Nihad Christian Jarallah,
Jean-Baptiste Jay,
Anne Jeandet,
Marie Jergan,
Alain Jessua, French film director and screenwriter
Renate Jett,
Sébastien Jimenez,
Arthur Joffé,
Pierre Jolivet, French film director, actor, and screenwriter
Kent Jones (World Cinema Foundation), Executive Director
Neil Jordan, Irish filmmaker and novelist
Erik Jørgensen,
Peter Josy,
Florence Joutel,
Rémy Jouvin Bessière,
Alexandra Julen,
Paola Jullian,
Roger Kahane, French film director and screenwriter
Pierre Kalfon,
Elisabeth Kalinowski,
Thierry Kamami
Michel Kammoun,
Pascal Kané,
Reena Kanji,
Nelly Kaplan, French / Argentitian film director, screenwriter, and actress
Wong Kar Waï, Chinese film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
Katylodola,
Nicolas Kermel,
Darius Khondji,
Nathalie Kiener,
Ladislas Kijno
Luc Kinsch,
Muriel Kintziger,
Richard Klebinder,
Jonathan Klein,
Harmony Korinne
Jan Kounen, French / Dutch film director and producer
Andrzej Krakowski,
Chantal Krakowski,
Sylvia Kristel,
Hanna Kudelski,
Milan Kundera, French / Czech writer
Diane Kurys, French filmmaker and actress
Elzbieta Kusak-Majchrzak,
Emir Kusturica, Serbian filmmaker, actor, and musician
Elzbieta Kusak-Majchrzak,
Gaelle Lancien
John Landis, American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
Claude Lanzmann, French filmmaker
David Lanzmann,
André Larquié
Pauline Larrieu,
Jacques et Françoise Lassalle,
Marc Latil,
Carole Laure,
Christine Laurent-Blixen,
Pierre Laville,
Emilien Lazaron,
Eric Le Roy,
Pierre Le Scouarnec,
Fábio Leal,
Vinciane Lecocq
Eric Lecocq,
Patrice Leconte, French film director, screenwriter, actor, and comic strip writer
Linda Lefebvre,
Béatrice Lefoulon,
Delphine Legros,
Claude Lelouch, French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, and cinematographer
Ann Lemonnier,
Julieta Lencina,
Alain Lenglet,
Gérard Lenne
Claudine Lenoir,
Julie Lerouxel,
Les Nanaqui,
Larry Levine,
Charlotte Levy,
Bernard-Henri Lévy, French / Jewish philosopher and journalist
Lorraine Lévy,
Pierre et Renée Lhomme,
Katarzyna Lipinska,
Marish Lippi,
Jean-Marc Loiseau,
Jean-Claude Irving Longin,
Marceline Loridan-Ivens,
Nicole Lormeau,
Joffrey Louis,
Michael Louis Wells,
Boris Loundine,
Rachel Lowenstein,
Catalina Lozano,
Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski,
Flore Luquet,
Laurence Lustyk,
David Lynch, American filmmaker
Bania Madjbar,
Krzysztof Majchrzak,
Velipekka Makkonen,
Laurent Malet,
Tim Malieckal,
Guy Malugani,
Erling Mandelmann,
Michael Mann, American film director, producer, and screenwriter
Alessandro Marcelli,
Yvon Marciano,
François Margolin, French film producer, director, and screenwriter
Joseph Marin,
Jean-Pierre Marois, French film producer and director
Tonie Marshall, French film director, screenwriter, and actress
Alain Martin,
Sandrine Martin,
Danielle Martinetti,
Florent Martinez,
Didier Martiny,
Mario Martone, Italian film director and screenwriter
Thierry Mathelin,
Christine Mathis,
Esmeralda Mattei,
Nicolas Mauvernay, French film producer
Yannick Mazet,
Spencer et Claire Mc Andrew,
Natalie Mei,
Michelle Géranium Melman-Gory,
Guillermo Menaldi,
Sam Mendes, English stage, film, and commercial director
Mathieu Mercier,
Muriel Mercier,
Frédéric Mermoud,
Nicolas Mesdom,
Laura Metaxa,
Camille Meyer
Allison Michel,
Radu Mihaileanu, French / Romanian film director and screenwriter
Anna Mikropoulou,
Jean-Louis Milesi,
Claude Miller, French film producer, director, and screenwriter
Patrick Mimouni, French film producer, director, and screenwriter
Lionel Miniato,
Eric Miot,
Bernard Mirgain,
Annie Misserey,
Nelly Moaligou,
Jean - Marc Modeste,
Yann Moix, French film director and screenwriter
Mario Monicelli, Italian film director and screenwriter
Miguel Morales,
Jeanne Moreau, French film director, screenwriter, and actress
Frédéric Moreau,
Sarah Moreau-Flament,
Gael Morel,
Omayra Muñiz Fernández,
Carmen Munoz,
Stephanie Murat,
Christian Mvogo Mbarga,
Tim Myers,
Anna N.Levine,
Perez Neël
Elisabeth Nègre
Charles Nemes,
Mike Nichols, American stage, television and film director, producer, and screenwriter
Florence Nicolas,
Juliette Nicolas-Donnard,
Sandra Nicolier
Edouard Niermans,
Marie Nieves
Rachel Noël,
Rui Nogueira,
Olivier Nolin,
Alejandra Norambuena Skira,
Anna Nordahl,
Fabrice Nordmann,
Fabrice O. Joubert,
Marc Obéron,
Michel Ocelot, French television and film writer, director, and storyboard artist
David Ogando,
Mariana Oliveira Santos,
Szentgyörgyi Ottó,
Martine Pagès,
Eric Pape,
Vincent Pappalardo,
Nadia Paschetto,
Abner Pastoll,
Alexander Payne, American film director and screenwriter
Guy Péchard,
Nicola Pecorini,
Richard Pena (Directeur Festival de NY), film program director
Lindsey Pence,
Olivier Père,
Suzana Peric,
Vladimir Perisic,
Jacques Perrin,
Cesare Petrillo,
Thomas Pibarot,
Michel Piccoli,
Arnaud Pierrichon,
Stéphane Pietri,
Anne Pigeon Bormans,
Samuel Pinon,
Claude Pinoteau,
Jean Piva,
Guillaume Pixie,
Michele Placido, Italian telivision actor and director
Sabrina Poidevin,
Agnès Catherine Poirier,
Emmanuel Pollaud-Dulian,
Maud Pommier-Samaan,
Jean-Yves Potel,
Stéphane Pozderec,
Harry Prenger,
Jean et Marie Prévost,
Gilbert Primet,
Stefanos Psaromiligas,
Florence Quentin,
Marie-Hélène Raby,
Philippe Radault
Tristan Rain,
Florence Raphaël,
Jean-Paul Rappeneau, French film director, screenwriter, and actor
Joseph Rassam,
Rolandas Rastauskas,
Brett Ratner,
Raphael Rebibo
Redha,
Ben Omar Redouan,
Carol Reid,
Dusan Reljin,
Jo Reymen,
Laurence Reymond,
Yasmina Reza, French actress, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter
Christiane Rhein,
Jacques Richard
Dominique Robert,
Margarita Robski,
Jean-Jacques Rochut,
Christian Rogler,
Yannick Rolandeau,
Michèle Rollin,
Paul Rondags,
Avital Ronell,
Frank Roozendaal,
Graciela Rosato,
michèle Rossi-Ducci,
Elisabeth Roudinesco,
Kontochristopoulou Roula,
Laurence Roulet
Joshua Rout,
Paolo Roversi,
Didier Roy,
Jacques Rozier,
Charles Rubinstein,
Isabelle Ruh,
Martin Ruhe,
Salman Rushdie, British / Indian novelist and essayist
Sonia Rykiel,
Anita S. Chang,
Esteban S. Goffin,
Joaquin Sabina,
Marc Saffar,
Ludivine Sagnier,
Gabriela Salazar Scherman,
Walter Salles, Brazilian film producer
Jean-Paul Salomé, French film director
Jean-Frédéric Samie,
Marc Sandberg
Carine Sarna
Ysabelle Saura Del Pan
Léo Scalpel,
Jerry Schatzberg, American photographer and film director
Richard Schlesinger,
Kirstin Schlotter,
Daniel Schmidt,
Georg Schmithüsen,
Julian Schnabel, American artist and filmmaker
Pierre Schoendoerffer,
Barbet Schroeder, French / Swiss film producer and director
J. Neil Schulman,
Pierre Schumacher,
Pierre-Alexandre Schwab,
Ettore Scola, Italian film director and screenwriter
Luis Gustavo Sconza,
Zaratin Soares,
Martin Scorsese, American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and historian
Carole Scotta,
Steven Sedgwick,
Andrea Sedlackova,
Frank Segier,
Michèle Seguin-Sirhugue,
Guy Seligmann,
Dominique Sels,
Elis Semczuk,
Lorenzo Semple Jr,
Julien Seri,
Joël Séria,
Catherine Sermet,
Olivier Séror,
Ken Seton-Vyhnal,
Sophie Sharkov,
William Shawcross, British writer and commentator
Boris Shlafer,
Antoine Silber,
Pierre Silvant,
Charlotte Silvera, French film director, producer, and screenwriter
Noel Simsolo,
Christophe Sirodeau,
Philippe Sisbane,
Abderrahmane Sissako, French / Malian film director and producer
Beatrice Sisul ,
Petter Skavlan,
Romain Slocombe,
Olivier Soares Barbosa
Marcin Sokolowski,
Steven Soderbergh, American film producer, director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor
Loïc Sorel,
Paolo Sorrentino, Italian film director and screenwriter
Valérie Soulier,
Vassilis Sourapas,
Yannis Stavrou,
Roch Stephanik,
Karen Stetler,
Denise Stieglitz,
Guillaume Stirn
Bernard Stora,
Gérard Stum,
Jean-Marc Surcin,
Tilda Swinton, British actress
Nil Symchowicz
Piotrek Szymanek,
Jean-Charles Tacchella, French film director and screenwriter
Radovan Tadic, French film director and screenwriter
Mickael Tanguy,
Danis Tanovic, Bosnian film director and screenwriter
Bertrand Tavernier, French film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
André Techiné,
Katie Teece,
Cécile Telerman, French film director, producer, screenwriter, and actress
Harold Alvarado Tenorio,
Marie-Ange Terrier,
Alain Terzian, French / Armenian film producer and film executive
Christian Texier,
Jean-Paul Thaens,
Valentine Theret,
Virginie Thévenet,
Alexandre Thiery,
Jacques Thivierge,
Pascal Thomas, French film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
Jeremy Thomas,
Marc Thomas Charley,
Danièle Thompson, French film director and screenwriter
Cyril Thurston,
Giuseppe Tornatore, Italian film director
Serge Tosca,
Cali Tosca,
Serge Toubiana, French film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and editor
Walter Toubin,
Jean-Luc Touillon,
Maurizio Trani,
Daniel Treichler,
Nadine Trintignant, French film director, producer, and screenwriter
Claire Tromeur,
Fernando Trueba,
Julie Turcas,
Mitja Tušek,
Tom Tykwer,
Alexandre Tylski
Stephen Ujlaki,
José Antonio Valdés Peña,
Kenny Valdisserri,
Jaques Vallotton,
Phil van der Linden,
Bertrand Vam Effenterre, French film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
Leopold van Genechten,
Christophe van Rompaey,
Dorna van Rouveroy,
Elbert van Strien,
Vangelis,
Alessio Vannetti,
Eugenia Varela Navarro
Jean-Pierre Vaucouloux,
Lucília Verdelho da Costa,
Christian Verdu,
Jean-Pierre Vergne,
Sarah Vermande,
Maryana Vestic,
Julien Veyret,
Caroline Veyssière,
Francesco Vezzoli,
Régine Vial,
Daniel Vigne,
Vivien Villani,
Marta Villarroya Estruch,
Marc Villemain,
Jean-François Villemer,
Daria Vinault,
Verde Visconti,
Diane von Furstenberg, Belgian fashion designer
Alain Vorimore,
Thomas Vossart,
Margaret Walker
Gilles Walusinski,
Eric Watton,
Lioba Wehinger,
Monika Weibel,
Florian Weigl,
Dominique Welinski,
Wim Wenders, German film director, producer, playwright, author, and photographer
Raphaël Wertheimer,
Andy Whittaker,
Cornélius Wiijgers,
Dorothée Wiijgers,
Anaïse Wittmann,
A Wolanin,
Margot Wolfs,
Peter Woltil,
Arnaud Xainte,
Steve Yeo,
Likhem Young,
Paule Zajdermann,
Christian Zeender,
Claudie Zehnacker,
Fabrice Ziolkowski
Terry Zwigoff
Elsa Zylberstein, French film, television, and stage actress

Organizations:

l'Académie des César, a French film academy
l’API (Association des producteurs Indépendants), a French film association
l'ARP
l’ARRF – Association des Réalisateurs et réalisatrices de Films - Belgique
la Cinémathèque Française, a French film archive
la Cinémathèque de Dijon / Cinémathèque Jean Douchet, a French film academy
le Festival de Cannes, a French film festival
le Festival des Rencontres internationales du cinéma de patrimoine de Vincennes
le Fonds Culturel Franco Américain, a professional cultural agency
le Groupe 25 images, a French television association
la SACD, a French film professionals society; sponsors of this petition
Le Bureau National du SFA
le SPI
Le Syndicat National des Techniciens de la Production Cinématographique et de Télévision, a French television and film production association
l'Union des producteurs de films
L’équipe du dernier film de Roman Polanski « Ghost »
Pathé, a French film production and supply company
Scott Foundas (LA Weekly), an American newspaper

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Movie Review - Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 3D

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs isn't much like other kid movies that Southern Man gets dragged to by ten-year-old daughter. It's quite funny and often wonderfully wierd. There are plenty of homages to classic movies, including quite a bit of old sci-fi, and pokes fun at a number of well-remembered disaster flicks. The dialog is witty and often razor sharp. The gadgets are low-tech retro-seventies, complete with blocky graphics and cheezy eight-bit sound. The animation reminds Southern Man of the old Rankin-Bass 'toons. And the movie is hardly anything like the book at all, other than the food falling from the sky. See this one in 3D if possible.