OSCARs Shmoskers

producer Scott Rudin with winner Aaron Sorkin - yes!

You watched it. You blogged it. You avoided it. Now, it's all yesterday's news. No I wasn't there. But I have had a few close encounters, and am pulling them out of the Godlis archives, dusting them off and posting them for one last look.

Anne Hathaway 

She wore a million dresses last night. She wore this one at the opening night of the NY Film Festival in 2008. I don't think you can take a bad picture of her. 

David Fincher  - didn't win but should have

The Social Network opened the NY Film Festival last fall - easily the best opener they've had in years.I was rooting for it. But then I was rooting for punk back in the 70's. I am not a reliable predictor of mass success.

Jesse Eisenberg - he didn't win

The Social Network team - only one of these guys won

She won - Melissa Leo (rt) with Frozen River director, Courtney Hunt in 2008 

Melissa Leo won, dropped the F-bomb, uncomfortably mingled with Kirk Douglas. Here she is in 2008 at the New Directors/New Films opening night presentation of Frozen River. If you haven't seen Frozen River - rent it immediately. 

Inside Job director Charles Ferguson with Matt Damon - he narrates it.

Charles Ferguson deservedly won for his documentary Inside Job. That too was shown at the NY Film Festival last year. Equally daring was Restrepo, directed by Sebastian Junger, who showed Restrepo at the Walter Reade Theater (below) Human Rights Festival last summer.

Sebastian Junger , Restrepo - he didn't win, but could have

Time for just a few last thoughts and pix...

 Andrew Garfield at the NY Film Fest opening party - not nominated

Andrew Garfield, who plays Mark Zuckerberg's "friend" in Social Network,  is going to be the new Spiderman. Until then, catch him in the very creepy British trilogy series Red Riding. 

David Fincher with Gina Gershon at the NY Film Festival

Anne Hathaway - same dress, different angle

David Fincher

I took this photo of David Fincher at a "Director's Dialogue", one of the great sidebars to the NY Film Festival. Right after he finished this talk, Fincher caught a plane back to Sweeden where he was returning to the set of The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo - coincidentally starring Rooney Mara, who played Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend from the great opening scene of The Social Network.  Until that film comes out, I suggest you rent Zodiac and Fight Club. Over and out. 

Roll on Columbia

OK, let's put yesterday's name thing to rest, and get on to bigger and better things. Like the  "on the road" version of the Who Shot Rock exhibition, curated by Gail Buckland, which started it's natural life at the Brooklyn Museum back in 2009.  Who Shot Rock opens today and runs through May 22nd at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina. That's a little far for me to get to today at the end of February, but I guarantee you it's a beautiful place to be hanging if you find yourself anywhere near South Carolina this spring. And, get this, it's sponsored by Piggly Wiggly!

This looks like the last stop on the tour. The show's made stops in Memphis and Akron. And if you can't get to South Carolina,  you can always purchase the Who Shot Rock book - excuse me, "exhibition catalog" - here.  But what I've discovered - only yesterday, my god - is this great extended piece about the show put together by the public television station in Akron. I present it here now for your mid-winter enjoyment.

Watch the full episode. See more Western Reserve Public Media Specials.

By any other name...

Shakespeare once said, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" - well actually he didn't say it, he wrote it. But what about a GODLIS by any other name, would that smell as sweet? As I was gobbling down my oatmeal this morning, I came across a new variation on my name while reading a  review of the Who Shot Rock exhibition which opens tonight at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina, where I am mentioned more than once as Michael Godlis.

Now maybe there is another guy called Michael Godlis with a Patti Smith photograph, but I doubt it. And actually they say some really nice things about me (and my photos) in the article.  But it's been one of those months for a photographer named GODLIS. 

When you have a photograph in the Sunday NY Times, you really want to see "credit where credit is due", so to speak. In there, my photo of film director Kelly Reichardt - whose fabulous new film Meek's Cutoff will be opening in April - was credited to David Goodlis.  Now, David is indeed my first name. And it would be cool to be mixed up with the great noir writer David Goodis, who wrote the book that Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player is based upon. But Goodlis just doesn't carry the weight of a name like Godlis. I mean Godlis sounds like an atheist - that's the point really. But Goodlis just sounds like a nice guy with a funny name.

Look, it's a real name. I didn't make it up to sound punk, like Johnny Rotten or Richard Hell. I was already Godlis. I just dropped my first name, when I published my first picture from CBGB's. But people seem to have a problem spelling a word that has God in it. Hey I've got some Jewish friends  -why not, I'm a Godless Jew myself - who won't even spell my name out for crazy religious reasons. Oy vey! But at least they're not photo editors.

And then, for the trifecta this month, I have photos in a cool new book about the The Bowery by Eric Ferrara. Now Eric Ferrara is a really nice guy, and though I haven't seen the book yet, it looks pretty great in the preview on Amazon here.  But damn if my damn name isn't spelled wrong.  Here I'm Goldis.  That's a pretty common one. Invert the D and the L and get rid of God. But again, it doesn't carry the weight of GODLIS.  Hey at least in this case, I have just one name - well one wrong name.

So who knows, maybe Shakespeare was right. But it's not as I like it. This godless rose don't smell so sweet. You know, like the sweet smell of success.

Who What Where When?

unlikely pairing: Joan Jett & Jessica Alba 

Me myself and eye have been a long time gone from these pages, so there's a lot of catching up to do. Where do I start? Well it's got to be this shot of Joan Jett and Jessica Alba, taken after BAM Cinematek's tribute to Susan Sarandon, at Susan Sarandon's ping pong club Spin New York. This shot kind of reminds me of the pictures that used to make the back page of Creem Magazine in the 70's - unlikely pairings backstage at rock shows. Joan looks fantastic (not that different from when  I photographed her with the Runaways onstage at CBGB's in 1977).

A few minutes later, Susan Sarandon and Jessica Alba were playing ping pong. No Joan Jett didn't partake. 

And Susan Sarandon looked just as fabulous as her former Rocky Horror Picture Show self, glaring from behind her during the publicity shots for the event out at BAM. 

John Turturro showed up for a screening of the film he directed "Romance and Cigarettes".

And Todd Oldham made sure to get his picture taken with Joan Jett. I squeezed an image of Susan Sarandon into the backdrop. Kool Kats. 

Joan Jett with the Runaways in 1977 CBGB's