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The Fractured Mirror

Created by Nathan Rabin

Nathan Rabin's Happy Place's Definitive Guide to American Movies about the Film Industry

Latest Updates from Our Project:

The final lineup!
3 months ago – Sun, Aug 18, 2024 at 10:44:01 AM

When I write up Blonde and Boogie Nights, I will officially be done researching and writing The Fractured Mirror. After that comes edit upon edit upon edit and then convincing Martin Scorsese to write the introduction. Then book design and getting it to you beautiful people by February. As tends to be the case, it took much longer than expected, but it will be worth the wait! It's a beast of a book. I am excited to share it with the world, and Felipe's illustrations have been particularly good this time around. 

This is what's in the book: 

  1. Abbott and Costello in Hollywood
  2. Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Cops
  3. Actors and Sin
  4. Adaptation
  5. Affairs of Annabel
  6. After Adderall
  7. An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood Burn
  8. Alex in Wonderland
  9. All That Jazz
  10. Almost Salinas
  11. The Amateurs
  12. An American Carol
  13. The American Dreamer
  14. American Movie
  15. America’s Sweethearts
  16. Annabel Takes a Tour
  17. The Anniversary Party
  18. Another Face
  19. Argo
  20. Thr Assistant
  21. The Assistants
  22. The Aviator
  23. Badasssss!
  24. Babylon
  25. Bad and the Beautiful
  26. Bad CGI Shark
  27. Baghead
  28. The Barefoot Contessa
  29. Barton Fink
  30. Be Kind Rewind
  31. Being Michael Madsen
  32. Best Friends
  33. Best Worst Movie
  34. Big Fat Liar
  35. The Big Knife
  36. The Big Picture
  37. Black Bear
  38. Blow Out
  39. Bombshell
  40. The Boneyard Collection
  41. Bottoms Up
  42. Bowfinger
  43. Boy and Girl
  44. Break a Leg
  45. Breast Picture
  46. Brigsby Bear
  47. Brother’s Justice
  48. Brutal Massacre
  49. The Bubble
  50. Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
  51. Burden of Dreams
  52. The Buster Keaton Story
  53. Buzzkill
  54. California Suite
  55. Callaway Went Thataway
  56. The Cameraman
  57. Cannes Man
  58. The Canyons
  59. The Carpetbaggers
  60. Cats Don’t Dance
  61. The Cat’s Meow
  62. Cecil B. Demented
  63. Celebrity
  64. Celluloid Closet
  65. Chaplin
  66. Chip N Dale: Rescue Rangers
  67. Chump Change
  68. Clerks III
  69. The Comeback Trail
  70. The Comeback Trail
  71. The Comic
  72. Comic Book: The Movie
  73. Cover Me Babe
  74. CQ
  75. Crashing Hollywood
  76. Crazy House
  77. Crystal Lake Memories
  78. Dangerous Game
  79. Danny Roane: First Time Director
  80. Dark Feed
  81. David Holzman’s Diary
  82. The Day of the Locust
  83. The Dead Hate the Living
  84. Dead List
  85. The Deal
  86. The Death Kiss
  87. The Death of Superman Lives
  88. De Palma
  89. Destroyer
  90. Directed by John Ford
  91. Director’s Cut
  92. The Disaster Artist
  93. Disclosure
  94. Doomed!
  95. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
  96. Du Beat-E-O
  97. The Dying Gaul
  98. Ed Wood
  99. Effects
  100. 100.Ellie Parker
  101. 101. Entourage
  102. 102. Entropy
  103. 103. Evil Eyes
  104. 104. The Exorcism
  105. 105. The Extendables
  106. 106. The Extra Girl
  107. 107. The Fabelmans
  108. 108. The Fall Guy
  109. 109. A Family Affair
  110. 110. The Fanatic
  111. 111. Fast & Serious
  112. 112. Fedora
  113. 113. Festival in Cannes
  114. 114. Film Fest
  115. 115. Final Draft
  116. 116. Final Draft
  117. 117.  The Final Girls
  118. 118. Finding Bliss
  119. 119. Finishing the Game
  120. 120. First Nudie Musical
  121. 121. The Fluffer
  122. 122. Fool’s Paradise
  123. 123.Forever
  124. 124. For Your Consideration
  125. 125. Found Footage 3D
  126. 126. Four Girls in Town
  127. 127. Frances
  128. 128. Free and Easy
  129. 129. French Exit
  130. 130. Full Frontal
  131. 131. A Futile and Stupid Gesture
  132. 132. Gable and Lombard
  133. 133.  The George Raft Story
  134. 134. Get Shorty
  135. 135. The Goddess
  136. 136. Gods and Monsters
  137. 137. Going Hollywood
  138. 138. The Goldwyn Follies
  139. 139. Goodnight, Norma Jean
  140. 140. The Great Waldo Pepper
  141. 141. Guilty by Suspicion
  142. 142. Hail Caesar!
  143. 143. Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood
  144. 144. The Hard Way
  145. 145. Hardbodies 2
  146. 146. Hardcore
  147. 147. Harlow
  148. 148. Harlow
  149. 149. He’s Way More Famous Than You
  150. 150. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
  151. 151. Hearts of the West
  152. 152. Hellzapoppin
  153. 153. The Hills Run Red
  154. 154. Hitchcock
  155. 155. The Holiday
  156. 156. Hollywon’t
  157. 157. Hollywood and Vine
  158. 158. Hollywood and Wine
  159. 159. Hollywood Boulevard
  160. 160. Hollywood Boulevard II
  161. 161. Hollywood Canteen
  162. 162. Hollywood Cavalcade
  163. 163. Hollywood.con
  164. 164. Hollywood Dreams
  165. 165. Hollywood Ending
  166. 166. Hollywood Hotel
  167. 167. Hollywood Man
  168. 168. Hollywood or Bust
  169. 169. Hollywood Party
  170. 170. Hollywood Shuffle
  171. 171. The Hollywood Sign
  172. 172. Hollywood Story
  173. 173. Hollywood Thrill Makers
  174. 174. Home Movies
  175. 175. Hooper
  176. 176. Horror Noire
  177. 177. House of Seven Corpses
  178. 178. How to Make a Monster
  179. 179. Hugo
  180. 180. Hurlyburly
  181. 181. I Blame Society
  182. 182. I Ought to Be in Pictures
  183. 183. I’ll Do Anything
  184. 184. I’m Still Here
  185. 185. I Love Your Work
  186. 186. In a Lonely Place
  187. 187. In a World…
  188. 188. In the Shadows
  189. 189. In the Soup
  190. 190. Incident at Loch Ness
  191. 191. The Independent
  192. 192. Inland Empire
  193. 193. Inside Daisy Clover
  194. 194. Inside Monkey Zetterland
  195. 195. Interior. Leather Bar
  196. 196. Into the Sun
  197. 197. Irreconcilable Differences
  198. 198. It Happened in Hollywood
  199. 199. It’s a Great Feeling
  200. 200. The Invention of Lying
  201. 201. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
  202. 202. Jay amd Silent Bob Strike Back
  203. 203. Jim and Andy in the Great Beyond
  204. 204. Jiminy Glick in LalaWood
  205. 205. Jodorowsky’s Dune
  206. 206.  Johnny Doughboy
  207. 207. Jolson Sings Again
  208. 208. The Jolson Story
  209. 209. Judy
  210. 210. Just Write
  211. 211. The Kid & I
  212. 212.  The Kid Stays in the Picture
  213. 213.  King Cohen
  214. 214. King Kong
  215. 215. King Kong
  216. 216. King Lear
  217. 217. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
  218. 218. Knight of Cups
  219. 219. La La Land
  220. 220. Lady Killer
  221. 221. Last Action Hero
  222. 222. The Last Command
  223. 223. The Last Film Festival
  224. 224. The Last Horror Film
  225. 225. The Last Movie
  226. 226. The Last Movie Star
  227. 227. The Last of Sheila
  228. 228. The Last Producer
  229. 229. The Last Shot
  230. 230.  The Last Tycoon
  231. 231.  The Legend of Lylah Claire
  232. 232. Licorice Pizza
  233. 233. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
  234. 234. Life Itself
  235. 235. Living in Oblivion
  236. 236. Lobster Men from Mars
  237. 237.  The Lonely Lady
  238. 238. Looney Tunes: Back in Action
  239. 239. Lord Love a Duck
  240. 240. Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley and The Island of Dr. Moreau
  241. 241. The Lost Squadron
  242. 242. Love, Hollywood Style
  243. 243. Love Me or Leave Me
  244. 244. Lovelace
  245. 245. Lucky Devils
  246. 246. Mad Holiday
  247. 247. Madness in the Method
  248. 248. Maidstone
  249. 249. The Majestic
  250. 250. Make Me a Star
  251. 251. The Making of “And God Spoke”
  252. 252. Malcolm & Marie
  253. 253.The Man of a Thousand Faces
  254. 254. Mank
  255. 255. Matinee
  256. 256. MaXXXine
  257. 257. May December
  258. 258. Memories of Me
  259. 259. Merton of the Movies
  260. 260.  The Mighty Kong
  261. 261. Miracle of the Bells
  262. 262. Mistress
  263. 263. Modern Romance
  264. 264. Mommie Dearest
  265. 265. Movers and Shakers
  266. 266. Movie Crazy
  267. 267. Movie 43
  268. 268. Mr. Imperium
  269. 269.  Mulholland Drive
  270. 270. The Muppet Movie
  271. 271. Murder a la Mode
  272. 272. The Muse
  273. 273. My Week with Marilyn
  274. 274. Myra Breckinridge
  275. 275. My Geisha
  276. 276. My Life’s in Turnaround
  277. 277. My Name is Bruce
  278. 278. My Tiny Universe
  279. 279. Naked Movie
  280. 280. National Lampoon’s Another Dirty Movie
  281. 281. National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie
  282. 282. Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
  283. 283. Nine
  284. 284.  Nobody Knows Anything
  285. 285. Nobody Walks
  286. 286. Nope
  287. 287. Not Another Church Movie
  288. 288. Not Another Not Another Movie
  289. 289. On the Corner of Ego and Desire
  290. 290.  Once in a Lifetime
  291. 291. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
  292. 292. The Oscar
  293. 293. The Other Side of the Wind
  294. 294. Overnight
  295. 295. Paparazzi
  296. 296. Paris When It Sizzles
  297. 297. The Party
  298. 298. Pauly Shore is Dead
  299. 299. Pawparazzi
  300. 300. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
  301. 301. The Perils of Pauline
  302. 302. Pick a Star
  303. 303. The Pickle
  304. 304. Pipe Dreams
  305. 305. Play as it Lays
  306. 306. The Player
  307. 307. Playing it Cool
  308. 308. Playmaker
  309. 309. Please Stand By
  310. 310. Postcards from the Edge
  311. 311. Poultry in Motion: Truth is Stranger than Chicken
  312. 312. The Pretenders
  313. 313. Preview Murder Mystery
  314. 314. The Purple Rose of Cairo
  315. 315. Queen of the Lot
  316. 316. Real Life
  317. 317. Red Flag
  318. 318. Redbelt
  319. 319. The Remake
  320. 320.  Rented Lips
  321. 321.  Return to Horror high
  322. 322.  The Rewrite
  323. 323.  Road to Nowhere
  324. 324. Room 237
  325. 325. Rules Don’t Apply
  326. 326. Saving Mr. Banks
  327. 327. Scream 3
  328. 328. Scream, Queen!
  329. 329. Search and Destroy
  330. 330. Searching for Bobby D
  331. 331. Second Fiddle
  332. 332. See This Movie
  333. 333. Seed of Chucky
  334. 334. The Seven Psychopaths
  335. 335. Sexbomb
  336. 336. Shadow of the Vampire
  337. 337. She Wants Me
  338. 338. Shoot or Be Shot
  339. 339. Show People
  340. 340. Showgirl in Hollywood
  341. 341. Shrink
  342. 342. Silent Movie
  343. 343. Silver Bullets
  344. 344. Singing in the Rain
  345. 345. Sitting Pretty
  346. 346. Slightly French
  347. 347. Slipstream
  348. 348. S.O.B.
  349. 349. Something to Sing About
  350. 350. Somewhere
  351. 351. Souls for Sale
  352. 352. Southland Tales
  353. 353. Special Effects
  354. 354. Stand-In
  355. 355. The Stand In
  356. 356. The Stars
  357. 357. Star 80
  358. 358. A Star is Born
  359. 359.A Star is Born
  360. 360. Star Spangled Rhythm
  361. 361. Stardust Memories
  362. 362. Starry Eyes
  363. 363. Starstruck
  364. 364. Start Cheering
  365. 365. State and Main
  366. 366. Stranger’s Kiss
  367. 367. Straight Jacket
  368. 368. Student Affairs
  369. 369. The Stunt Man
  370. 370. Stunts
  371. 371. Sullivan’s Travels
  372. 372. Sunset
  373. 373. Sunset Boulevard
  374. 374. Super 8
  375. 375. Supporting Characters
  376. 376. Susan Slept Here
  377. 377. Sweet Liberty
  378. 378. The Talk of Hollywood
  379. 379. Targets
  380. 380. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
  381. 381. Ten Items or Less
  382. 382. Terror Firmer
  383. 383. That’s Adequate
  384. 384. 13 Fanboy
  385. 385. Three Amigos
  386. 386.3 Geezers
  387. 387. 3 Holes and a Smoking gun
  388. 388. 365 Nights in Hollywood
  389. 389. Timecode
  390. 390. Tinseltown
  391. 391. Too Much Too Soon
  392. 392. Top Five
  393. 393. Tropic Thunder
  394. 394. Trumbo
  395. 395. Two Weeks in Another Town
  396. 396. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
  397. 397. Uncle Kent 2
  398. 398. Under the Rainbow
  399. 399. Untitled Horror Movie
  400. 400. Urban Legends: The Final Cut
  401. 401. Valentino
  402. 402. Valentino
  403. 403. The Valley of the Dolls
  404. 404.  Variety Girl
  405. 405. Venice/Venice
  406. 406. Wag the Dog
  407. 407. The Wager
  408. 408. The Watermelon Woman
  409. 409. The Way We Were
  410. 410.W.C. Fields and Me
  411. 411. Welcome to Hollywood
  412. 412. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
  413. 413. What Just Happened
  414. 414. What Price Hollywood
  415. 415. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
  416. 416. White Hunter Black Heart
  417. 417. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  418. 418. The Wild Party
  419. 419. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton
  420. 420. The Wings of Eagles
  421. 421. Wired
  422. 422. Without Reservations
  423. 423. With Friends Like These
  424. 424. The Wizard of Speed and Time
  425. 425. The Woman Chaser
  426. 426. A Woman, Her Men and a Futon
  427. 427.Won Ton Ton, the Dog That Saved Hollywood
  428. 428. X
  429. 429. You’re My Everything
  430. 430. Young and Beautiful
  431. 431. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
  432. 432. Zeroville

The Fractured Mirror entry: The Fabelmans (2022) FM
3 months ago – Fri, Aug 16, 2024 at 01:54:55 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

The Fractured Mirror entry: Licorice Pizza (2021) FM
3 months ago – Fri, Aug 16, 2024 at 11:04:21 AM

Licorice Pizza (2021) FM

Paul Thomas Anderson’s early immersion in show-business figures in his 2021 semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy-drama Licorice Pizza but not as prominently as you’d imagine. While Anderson rose to fame behind the camera his cinematic surrogate Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) makes a precocious living in front of the camera as an actor. Gary’s acting career reflects his internal drive and entrepreneurial spirit. He’s interested in anything that will bring him money, fame, and the attention of pretty girls. Despite the nature of its writer-director’s fame, Licorice Pizza somewhat puzzlingly seems more interested in Gary’s adventures selling water beds and pragmatically pimping pinball. 

Alana Haim of the rock group Haim delivers a star-making debut performance as Alana Kane. She’s an immature and directionless young woman in her late twenties floating through life. That changes when she meets Gary, a fifteen-year-old who is as precocious and mature as Alana, who is immature and emotionally stunted. Gary pursues Alana relentlessly, but Alana resists for various reasons, the most valid of which is not wanting to commit statutory rape. 

Alana falls backward into an acting career when Gary introduces her to his eccentric mother hen of an agent. The Hollywood professional responds positively to her youth, offbeat good looks, and magnetism. Alana ends up auditioning for a film starring warped movie star Jack Holden. Though the character is based on William Holden, there is also an unmistakable element of self-parody to the performance. 

While selling waterbeds, Gary encounters future Hollywood powerbroker Jon Peters (Bradley Cooper). Cooper steals the film by portraying Peters as a manic maniac who thinks he’s the ultimate street tough despite being a hairdresser who owed his early power and fame to being Barbra Streisand’s boyfriend. Cooper is not the focus of Licorice Pizza, but he is its most electric and unforgettable element. 

The Fractured Mirror: Life Itself (2014) FM
3 months ago – Thu, Aug 15, 2024 at 01:52:27 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

The Fractured Mirror entry: Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004) FM
3 months ago – Sun, Aug 11, 2024 at 11:48:00 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.