The Lessons For Hollywood From 2009

“Among them: audiences don’t flock to see just any superhero … torture-porn is over, with the Saw franchise finally hitting a wall; and people seem more interested in seeing stars … on tabloid television shows than on the big screen.” Most of all, “[m]oviegoers decided that relatable, nonthinking comedies … are the perfect balm for the recession.”

The Semiotics Of The Dude

The Big Lebowski has spawned its own shaggy, fervid world: drinking games, Halloween costumes, bumper stickers (‘This aggression will not stand, man’) and a drunken annual festival … The movie is also the subject of an expanding shelf of books,” including scholarly studies. Why? “Where cult films go, academics will follow.”