She Likes to Watch

Martin Scorsese uncovers a lost treasure by the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock

It should come as no surprise that Martin Scorsese, the director of “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull” and other American classics, is a big Alfred Hitchcock fan.

After all, Scorsese thrives on suspense and dramatic tension. He’s mirrored many of Hitchcock’s more familiar visual styles. And he loves appearing in offbeat cameos — just like Hitchcock, whose portly, tweed-clad frame and beak-nosed profile crop in every one of his masterful films.

In the above video, Scorsese uncovers three pages of a long-lost Hitchcock script, “The Key to Reserva.” Being Scorsese, he decides to make the missing movie.

The result, a brief thriller set during a classical music concert, is simply spectacular.

“The Key to Reserva” looks and feels right — from Simon Baker’s crisp suit to cunning camera work that takes viewers from the orchestra to the audience to the box seat balcony.

Of course, the film owes a lot of “North By Northwest” — from the iconic credits to the cliff-hanging suspense to Bernard Hermann’s thrilling score. There are also clever nods to “Vertigo,” “To Catch a Thief” and “The Birds,” including a final parting shot that will leave you chuckling.

The fact that the short film is a cleverly disguised ad for Freixenet, a Spanish sparkling wine manufacturer, makes the joke all the better.

For more on the connection between Scorsese and Hitchcock, check out the 2008 television documentaries “In the Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Legacy” and “Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock’s Maestro.” (Marty previously talked about Herrmann’s music in a 1992 film.)

Scorsese is also mentioned in the “special thanks” section for “Vertigo,” having been instrumental in the 1996 restoration of the 1958 film.

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Thanks to Chris for the tip, via GeekTyrant.com.

 Japanese animation classic “Princess Mononoke” kicks off sci fi series

Before “Spirited Away,“ before “Howl’s Moving Castle,“ there was “Princess Mononoke.“

Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki had a pretty solid reputation in international animation circles by the late 1990s. He had crafted a few cute features, including “Kiki’s Delivery Service,“ a high-flying adventure starring a young witch and her talking cat, and the thrilling “Porco Rosso,“ about a porcine pilot.

Then came “Princess Mononoke.”

Set in feudal Japan, the anime epic centers around a cursed prince who travels to the Far East in search of a cure.

Soon, Prince Ashitaka finds himself caught in a battle between a mining village, Iron Town, and the forest denizens it’s threatening. Leading the animals is Princess Mononoke, a brave, gun-wielding human princess raised by wolves.

Originally released in 1997, “Princess Mononoke” outstripped “ET: The Extraterrestrial” as Japan’s highest grossing film of all time — a title later surpassed by “Titanic” — and raised the bar for animators worldwide.

It also cemented Miyazaki’s reputation as an animation master.

His latest film, “Ponyo,“ is slated to hit American movie theaters later this summer. It centers on the relationship between a 5-year-old boy and a goldfish princess who longs to become human

“Princess Mononoke” screens tonight at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at the Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. Tickets are $7.50.

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“Princess Mononoke” is the first film in the Palm Wednesday screening series for July. This summer, the series will focus on science fiction and fantasy.

Here’s what’s next for the Palm:

• July 8: “Pan’s Labyrinth”
• July 15: “John Carpenter’s The Thing”
• July 22: “Twelve Monkeys”
• July 29: “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”
• Aug. 5: “Serenity”
• Aug. 12: “Dark City”
• Aug. 19: “2001: A Space Odyssey”
• Aug. 26: “Army of Darkness”

CollegeHumor.com spoofs popular Web sites with “West Side Story” parody

Everybody loves musicals. Especially nerds.

As “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” proved last summer, Internet users are more than willing to watch people sing and dance. They flock to YouTube music videos. They go crazy for remixes and mashups.

Now the wise guys at CollegeHumor.com have created “Web Site Story,” a fiendishly clever “West Side Story” parody that takes digs at Facebook, Google Earth and other popular sites.

Maria’s “I Feel Pretty” becomes “I’m on Twitter.” “Tonight” turns into “Evite.”

And “I Want to Be in America” turns into a diatribe against one of the Web’s most popular dating sites, eHarmony.com. “How could a modern technology hold onto ’50s philosophy?” the cast asks. “Sorry to preach, eHarmony. Get with the 21st century!”

Sam Reich wrote and directed the musical, which stars Kyle Harris as Tony and Lindsey Liberatore as Maria.

It’s College Humor’s first Broadway musical since “(LOL) Cats.” Whatever that means.

Scottish movie star Sean Connery sells big in Japan, it seems

Do stars have no shame?

Last week, I shared how Lee Majors, star of the hit ’70s television show “The Million Dollar Man,” is supporting his retirement with hearing aid endorsements.

This week, I’ve got another offbeat celebrity endorsement to share with y’all: Sean Connery. And a bunny. Selling yogurt.

The above commercial shows Connery — best known for his stint as British secret agent James Bond — hawking a Japanese snack called Biogurt.

For some reason, this requires that he give a ride to a demented singing rabbit. While wearing a bow tie. Bizarre.

Connery is no stranger to commercial endorsements in the Land of the Rising Sun.

He’s used his rugged mug to advertise Suntory whiskey several times — poignantly sipping a glass as his faithful hound looks on, practicing dance steps in an empty hall or pausing for a drink before a big date. And he goes nuts over Regno tires (a subsidiary of Bridgestone).

Agent 007 is apparently also a big fan of Ito-brand ham. How wonderfully appropriate.

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Thanks to TheWorldsBestEver.com for the tip.

My thanks also go to YouTube poster Hatsujoki, who has an amazing collection of Japanese commercials. I”ll be featuring more of them in the future.

It’s tempting to take a different approach to mourning Michael Jackson

As my fellow blogger Pat Pemberton writes today, “Mourning Michael Jackson is not easy.”

Michael Jackson is the perfect example of what happens when a celebrity’s notoriety eclipses his or her fame.

It’s difficult to praise his musical genius, skilled choreography and unmistakable talent for showmanship, when faced with all the controversy that clouded his latter-day career — his bizarre physical appearance and weird behavior, his legal troubles, his financial problems.

The first half of his life was so promising, so influential. The second half was alienating and disappointing.

It’s far easier to, as Pat says, draw a distinction between one public persona and another.

Michael Jackson the pop star versus Michael Jackson the alleged child molester.

Mel Gibson the family man versus Mel Gibson the anti-Semite.

Michael Richards the “Seinfeld” goofball versus Michael Richards the racist.

Roman Polanski the filmmaker versus Roman Polanski the creep.

Such an approach makes it easier to reconcile our own memories while acknowledging each artist’s flaws. It’s a cop out of sorts, yes. It’s not a perfect solution. In some ways, you might even say, it’s cheating.

But it’s ultimately more graceful and gracious than piling blame on the head of a dead man.

It’s a way to say, “I remember you, Michael.” It’s a way to say, “I’ll miss you.”

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Above photo courtesy of AP Photo/Lennox McLendon.