BE KIND REWIND: Michel Gondry is the greatest. Ever.

No one has ever made movies like Michel Gondry. In a world full of remakes and sequels and franchises, he is a genuine auteur. A free-thinking, unbridled explosion of child-like creativity. So what does he do when New Line makes a flashy trailer from his movie about making lo-fi versions of flashy movies? He makes a lo-fi version, of course. Brilliant.

Note: In case you are completely confused, the man who is playing all the characters in the above trailer is Michel Gondry. He is the director of the film BE KIND REWIND, being advertised in the trailer below. which is being 'sweded' in the trailer above. To learn what sweding is, go here. And go see the movie when it comes out on Feb 22. You will love it.

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New Podcasts Posted

Hey everybody, the new podcasts are up. On STC News, we've got Hollywood Headlines, with Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro sharing stylists as well as duties on THE HOBBIT. Plus Paul Haggis is bringing CRASH to the small screen. Then there is a new Soundtrack News, with a look at the scores from CASSANDRA'S DREAM and RAMBO. Then there are 2 Special Edition: Best Soundtracks of 2007 segments, with a look back at the music from 300, HOT FUZZ, SUPERBAD, and the Oscar-nominated score from 3:10 TO YUMA.

Plus, this week's STC Previews show is up, with some sassy reviews by Mieke Buchan of THE EYE, STRANGE WILDERNESS, OVER HER DEAD BODY and CARAMEL, with a First Glimpse at the big screen adaptation of MAMMA MIA! (The exclamation point is a part of the title. I didn't put it there. I'm not excited about it at all.)
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JUNO Video: Anyone Else But You

A cool little clip of Michael Cera and Ellen Page singing the Moldy Peaches' song "Anyone Else But You" from the Juno soundtrack. The whole album is pretty solid - full of standard mellow indieness - mostly from Kimya Dawson (the female half of the Moldy Peaches). Interestingly, it was Ellen Page who suggested Kimya's music for the film. Check it out.

As a side note, turns out the movie is actually really great as well. Just got a boatload of Academy Award noms, too. So if you're planning on making any money at all in the office Oscar pool, you probably ought to check it out.
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New Podcasts Available

4 new STC News podcasts were posted on iTunes today. They include reviews of 2 new soundtracks (There Will Be Blood and Youth Without Youth), as well as a look back at 6 of the best soundtracks of 2007 (Across the Universe, La Vie En Rose, August Rush, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Rendition). The STC News segments are also available on our official YouTube channel, as well on the player there to the right.

Also posted is the STC Previews show for films releasing this Friday, January 25. It includes reviews of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Meet the Spartans, How She Move, Untraceable and Rambo. Yikes.

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WIRED: Academy score rules suck

Wired Magazine recently reported something we've been saying for years -- that the Academy's eligibility rules regarding music and scores are antiquated and lame. They sight AMPAS's disqualification of the amazing score from THERE WILL BE BLOOD, written by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. They canned the score because it sampled pieces of other existing classical works, completely ignoring the fact that the 35 minutes of new music he composed for the film is more original than basically anything else to come out this year. Kinda makes me hope the writer's strike lasts long enough to send the blessed Oscar ceremony the way of the dodo. Or at least the way of the Golden Globes.

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Sad News: Heath Ledger is dead.

Actor Heath Ledger was found dead in a Manhattan apartment early this afternoon, allegedly of a drug overdose. It's a pretty tragic story from a guy who was on top of his game. Defamer is following the story closely and, unlike a few other places, with a bit of respect.

Ledger was in production on Terry Gilliam's latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. He is survived by his daughter Matilda.

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HONEYDRIPPER: Rocking the blues

HONEYDRIPPER is a new indie flick about the roots of rock n' roll -- namely, the blues of the 1950's deep South. And as you could probably guess, the soundtrack is the best part. It's packed with blues staples like Mable John and Keb Mo', and introduces an amazing new guitar talent in Gary Clark Jr. The film is still in extremely limited release (like '30 theaters in the entire country' limited). So chances are you might have to wait a bit for it to come to your local art house. (If it comes at all. Sorry, Burnsville, WV. Life's hard.) But let us make it up you. While you're pining away in your room waiting for your release date to come, you can check out the entire soundtrack via the exclusive Rhino Records listening party. Links are here, here and here. So no more tears.

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Welcome to the official STC blog!

Welcome to the official blog of the Soundtrack Channel. Here you'll get access to all of our digital content, including podcasts, YouTube video and links to IPTV providers. Plus you'll find loads of extras not available anywhere else -- including promotions, internet-only trailers and exclusive soundtrack and movie reviews. So check back often, and don't hesitate to leave us all your comments and suggestions.
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