Stumped Magazine

Exploring Film Culture Since 1997

Features

Raiders of the Lost Ark Running Commentary

Chris Neumer sat down to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark and took notes. Get inside why Marion Ravenswood's drinking context win was so impressive, one of the best stunts of all time and why Rene Belloq is one mightily strange dude.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

Phoning It In

It was probably inevitable, but 'filmmakers' are now shooting projects on their cell phones.

[ by Chris Neumer ]
BasicInstinct2

My Nemesis

Most people are lucky enough to not have a nemesis. Chris Neumer is not one of those people. He breaks down his most nefarious archrival here: himself at age 16.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

Jeff Daniels Interview

Pushing aside his own stardom in favor of what's best for his movies, intent on being professional and fascinated by simplicity, he is not anyones idea of a normal leading man. Welcome to the world of Jeff Daniels.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

The Most Unusual Superhero Movie Ever

Chris Neumer investigates the strangest superhero movie of all time, Batman: The Movie. Prepare yourself for one hell of a trip.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

Josh Lucas

Actor Josh Lucas has anchored the casts of movies both big (Glory Road and Poseidon) and small (Undertow and Little Murder). More impressively, he has done so while making a name for himself as a stylish, intelligent and charismatic on-screen force.

[ by Chris Neumer ]
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Because Someone Like You Has Gotta Give The Holiday Two For the Money

When it comes to romantic-comedies, Hollywood has finally crossed a line: industry professionals are becoming completely and totally confused by the broad, non-specific names of these projects.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

Jesse Jane

Jesse Jane is one of the adult world's biggest stars. So big, in fact, her movies are being stripped of the sex and released as R-rated films. Jane talks shop and gets inside the actual filmmaking of her films.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

How Do I Make It?

The hardest question anyone can ask of people in the film industry is undoubtedly the 'How do I make it?' question. Chris Neumer investigates and takes a stab at answering it.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

Animal House: The Movie that Changed Comedy

National Lampoon’s Animal House is the comedy that changed everything in Hollywood. In honor of its 25th anniversary this year, Josh Karp talked to director John Landis, co-writers Harold Ramis and Chris Miller as well as studio executive Thom Mount to get the full behind-the-scenes picture on this pop culture icon.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

Nat Faxon Interview

There isn't another actor in Hollywood who plays more of a variety of characters that women do not want to date than Nat Faxon. Chris Neumer chats with Faxon about acting, writing comedy and the fear-based decisions that dictate what films and television shows get made.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

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Features

Getting Inside the Least Formulaic Movie Ever Made

FatalBeauty

The only thing worse than a formulaic action movie is a non-formulaic action movie. Chris Neumer delves into the short lived period in Hollywood history where Whoopi Goldberg, Action Hero was a thing.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

Billy Bob Thornton Interview

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Billy Bob Thornton in Chicago

Billy Bob Thornton has made a career out of playing what he calls "the asshole". And nobody has done it better than he has. Thornton talks to Chris Neumer about getting into character, why Americans seem to not want to like things and whether Hollywood has its own version of Marty Schottenheimer.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

The Complete Guide to Location Scouting: The Manhattan Edition with John Fedynich

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John Fedynich in Manhattan's Meat Packing District

It takes a lot more than one might imagine to secure locations and shoot in New York City. Veteran location manager John Fedynich takes Chris Neumer on his own location scouting expedition and together the two find the perfect Manhattan alley, stumble into some intriguing neighborhoods and deal with unexpected problems. After this article, you'll never look at that Fifth Avenue setting in the same way again.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

Shia LaBeouf Interview

Shia Labeouf in Transformers 3

Shia Labeouf in Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Shia LaBeouf is Hollywood's fastest rising male star. His films Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen have been some of the biggest hits of the last decade years. We talk to him about life in the fast lane and why he feels that Michelle Trachtenberg is the female Garry Shandling.

[ by Chris Neumer ]

Quotes

It has everything to do with anything.

– Ben Stiller hits the nail on the head in Starsky & Hutch

The pill makes her crazy?  She is crazy.  The Pentagon should use her hormones for chemical warfare.

– Woody Allen recommends that a friend break up with his girlfriend in Anything Else

I’m still burning up.  Do you have any ice cubes I can rub on my nipples?

– James Duval needs to work on his pick-up lines in May

Give me a Scotch on the rocks, I’m starving.

-Robert Downey Jr. is, uh, hungry in Iron Man

North Hollywood is great for war stories.  A filmmaker’s first apartment is usually in North Hollywood.  It’s great to be to say, ‘Look, I suffered.  I lived in North Hollywood.’

– writer/director Brian Herzlinger shares his feelings on North Hollywood

[The future is hard to predict.] It isn’t ‘being’ yet; it’s in the future. If you ask me, “What do you know about last month?”, that I can tell you with a high degree of accuracy.

– Peter Guber details his ability to see forward and backward in time.  Read more…

The problem is that I sometimes start to answer the same question differently.  I get so bored, I go, “Well, yeah, blah blah blah. Fuck it.” And it’s terrible, because at one of the important interviews I ended up just talking shit, I couldn’t help myself.

– Matthew Vaughn discusses the perils of doing junkets.  Read more here.

“Oh my God, Karen!  You can’t just ask people why they’re white!”

– Lacey Chabert brings up a little known bit of social etiquette in Mean Girls

The studio was like, “Who is this guy? He’s done nothing and he’s not financially viable. His movies are weird and dark and his characters are always bad?”

-Josh Lucas explains his less-than-stellar reputation to the studios.  Read more of Lucas’ interview.

I smoke so much, I’m not running out of cigarettes, I’m running out of lighters.

-Thomas Lennon puts things in perspective on a commentary track for Reno 911.  Read the interview with Thomas Lennon.

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