And I suppose it is in keeping with Johnny’s maverick spirit that I offer today’s THINK piece below, a conversation-starter about how often films and folk heros are pigeon-holed because of the general public’s discomfort with any ambiguities.

Please, let me know where you stand, then watch my interview with filmmakers David Barba and James Pellerito — recorded at Seattle’s first-class Pan Pacific Hotel — to be posted on The Warren Report in the very near future.

WE LIVE IN PUBLIC documents the origins of social media through the cold, dead eyes of one of its most charismatic pioneers, Josh Harris. Watch today’s THINK piece below for my take on Ondi (DiG!) Timoner‘s film, then click here for my interview with the whip-smart and statuesque director and her debt-defying subject shot on location at Seattle’s posh Pan Pacific Hotel.

Next step: Confess how often you check your Facebook page or tweet over the course of a single day. Do so right here on The Warren Report. Or, text #345AREYOUEFFIN’KIDDINGME?  

Before you deliver the dvd to me, though, take a look for yourself, then listen to my conversation with the director, recorded at a FILM RAP session held in conjunction with TheFilmSchool just a month ago. Or, I’ll be forced to heave you by the legs with a running bowline.

As always, I encourage to share your thoughts right here.

Your thoughts? Share them here. Just sign on the dotted line…

I stumbled upon a substantial nugget a year ago on the festival circuit. Despite a name lead — a well-loved sitcom star! — a solid supporting cast and a smart, sensitive script, this romantic comedy did not receive a proper theatrical release. The Warren Report screened it in conjunction with TheFilmSchool and the audience embraced it. Now, you, too, can fall in love with this overlooked gem. Just watch the THINK piece below for the movie’s identity and a brief analysis of its maker. (Click here for my extended interview with the immensely talented and immensely neurotic writer-director.) Then, rush to your local video store, rent it and draw your own conclusions. I’ll wait for your Report here.

For those of you with a more conventional bond, why not celebrate your very first landlord — she sold you a womb without a view, after all — with the special screening I am hosting tonight at Theo Chocolate. Even if you aren’t feeling sentimental, contextually, she’ll think you’re the sweetest! And isn’t that what’s important? Scoring brownie points with Mom just in case you need to move back in with the folks someday? (Given the economy, never say sever.)

To find out which of the all-time funniest, family films we’ll present this evening, watch today’s THINK piece below. To reserve seats for yourself and your favorite mother, click here. And if you can’t make, at least order some Theo Chocolate on-line so that she’ll know you’re thinking of her, so everyone will know “Why, she wouldn’t even harm a fly…”

Watch today’s THINK piece for the identity of tonight’s guest. To reserve your seat at the event, click here.

If you absolutely must rent a brand new release today, consider WENDY AND LUCY, the second feature from Kelly (OLD JOY) Reichardt that traces the sorry steps of a young woman, and her title-sharing dog, whilst trekking to Alaska, virtually penniless. Car troubles, money woes and petty justice impede their so-so-laid plans; their unraveling the essence of the film’s “plot.” WENDY AND LUCY doesn’t meander. Michelle Williams may mosey, but her introverted performance is so compelling that it is a pleasure watching her do so very little. Her character is enigmatic though perhaps less so than imagined and in no way the script is willing to reveal. Maybe she is just a member of another lost generation, minus the Francophilia and the literary aspirations, yet nevertheless, a woman without a country… or much hope for the state’s she’s in. (To watch the trailer for WENDY AND LUCY, click here.)

Now, make time for the THINK piece below. And, if you’ve already seen my selections, do share your opinions right here on The Warren Report.

Will it work? Watch today’s THINK! piece and draw your own conclusions. Then, help me contact Bill Gates, Warren Buffett or T. Boone Pickens. Or, send Xanax.

(Bonus! Billy Bob Thornton‘s another big name susceptible to mile-high panic attacks. His solution: Get Pat Boone! Read all about his unusual coping mechanism here.)

Not much has changed over the years except now I’d rather stay home and get my fix on dvd. Why? Watch today’s Entertaining Thought for my inflated reasoning. Then, draw your own conclusions and share them here on The Warren Report.

Draw your own conclusions.

Watch today’s THINK piece for a sneak preview. Then, draw your own conclusions.. and buy your tickets here.

When celebrities are, er,  consigned to the earth, we spout humbling homilies of “tragedy” and “loss” as if these stars were closer to us than family and more valuable than capital gains taxes. But we don’t know really know these folks. Yes, I know: Stars, they’re just like… US! However, I think we should save our blubbering for those within our own bubbles or, better yet, for all the anonymous souls who have truly suffered.

Today, I propose a compromise, a way to properly pay respects for one fallen star while saving another so desperately in need. Watch today’s THINK piece, then draw your own conclusions and share them right here on The Warren Report.

Tellingly, his fellow knights of the crafts service table object to this actor’s assumed appellation. But what do you THINK? Watch today’s video for the secret identity of Sir Self-Important, then draw your own conclusions. Should actors be eligible for knighthood? Need Obama create a similar reward for American (screen) idols? If so, which cinema vet would you choose to fete? Smart or funny suggestions received on this here blog post by Noon on Monday, March 30th, 2009 might just win film-related sur-prizes.

* The actor’s detractors claim Sean’s appearance in New Orleans was just a publicity stunt. Watch the documentary, read the reports, discuss amongst yourselves. (Feel free to include me in the debate!)

† Delightfully, a quick Google search revealed an article in The New York Times —written more than a hundred years ago! — complaining about the practice. Further proof, that The Warren Report is always current. Like Law & Order, but ripped from… last century’s headlines!

Walt Disney

Watch today’s THINK piece to see my best Peter Finch impersonation!?!

Here are a few other new releases well worth renting…

Got MILK? This year’s Better Picture® is more inspiring than Tony Robbins and Bette Midler serenading you with Wind Beneath My Wings. (Sean Penn earned his Oscar® as Harvey… though I’d ask him to return his award for MYSTIC RIVER and give it to Sir Ben Kingsley for HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG instead.)

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN and CADILLAC RECORDS are also worth a watch. I’ll write more about them soon. 

Finally, if I can stop you from renting just one movie this week, let it be Mike Leigh‘s exercise in scurrility, the obnoxiously rose-lensed looked at the life of its lead, an unbelievable Poppy-anna,  portrayed perfectly, if infuriatingly, by Sally Hawkins. Despite the edgy appearance of Eddie Marsan as a racist driving instructor — who makes Mel Gibson sound like the President of the Anti-Defamation League — the film cannot overcome its hollow core. Sadly, there is too little of Marsan’s spittle, too much of Hawkins’ twattle. While I have admired many of the filmmaker’s previous efforts, this one made we want to scream: HAPPY-GO-F**K-YOURSELF! For a bit more about what bothered me, watch today’s THINK piece below. (To hear me more restrained, speaking with Mr. Leigh himself, watch the FILM RAP during which George W. Bush gets blamed for another atrocity.)

Then, share your thoughts about your favorite and least favorite trailers of all time. What movies are you most looking forward to this year?