Other TV Shows That Could Take Place in Minnesota

Fargo made its debut on FX this week. It was a gripping premiere, full of plenty of the shenanigans we’ve come to love from the Coen catalogue. Having lived in Duluth, Minnesota briefly, I got a kick out of hearing locations like Bemidji and Duluth referred to regularly. Then on Twitter, I saw this banter between IndieWire editor Sam Adams and Daniel Fienberg of HitFix:

ST LOUIS PARK ELSEWHERE. RT@HitFixDaniel: “Fargo” premiered well. Expect FX to greenlight “A Serious Man: It’s Always Jewish in Minnesota."

— Sam Adams (@SamuelAAdams) April 16, 2014

Naturally, this led me to wonder what other Minnesota-themed TV shows might be created.

Tales from the Synapses

The other day, I realized that I hadn’t posted anything in a few weeks. Rather than letting TDYLF remain dormant, now seemed like as good a time as any to bang out a quick article. Of course, I don’t have any specific focus. However, I do have a lot of random thoughts to dump out of my head. Let’s do this Larry King-style, with a bunch of meandering garbage that’s crept in and out of my skull in the last few weeks.

12 Images of the Coen Brothers On Set

Joel and Ethan Coen are an undeniable filmmaking force, a pair of brothers who have asserted themselves by making some of the best films of the last 30 years. From Blood Simple (1984) to Fargo (1996) to A Serious Man (2009), they’ve established a very distinct style that has wowed critics and audiences alike. Seeing the recently released footage of their upcoming movie, Inside Llewyn Davis, has left me feeling nostalgic about their past work. Relive their masterful career with these behind-the-scenes photos of the Coens on set.

Meet the Droids

Forgive me for going meta for a quick article, but I wanted to take a minute to introduce the (slightly) new droid banners. Think of this article as an Easter egg of sorts for the site. As many of you have probably noticed, I swapped out the regular TDYLF masthead for a French-themed masthead for a few weeks following Bastille Day. What you may not have noticed is that I’ve placed several mastheads in rotation over the last few months. Half the time, you’ll see the original- the Andalusian Droid, which is my favorite because it conveys everything I want in the TDYLF “brand”, so to speak. The other half of the time, there’s a rotation of other banners. For instance…

The Evolution of the Movie Trailer

Movie trailers have taken on a life of their own. We’ve reached a point as a movie-watching society where people will go see films that they’re less interested in, purely in the hopes of catching a trailer for an upcoming movie with tremendous buzz. The whole process is absolutely fascinating. Despite the fact that most movie trailer styles have had an impact on the trailers of the modern era, trailers haven’t always had such importance for movie-goers and studios. Someone had to come up with the idea and implement it.

Ten Cool Posters for 1990s Indie Films

The 1990s were a magical time for cinema. Studios began to embrace newer, younger filmmakers with their own unique stories to tell. Fortunately, I was old enough to watch these movies, and they subsequently played a pivotal role in my development as a cinephile. The high school and college years are the perfect time to be introduced to new culture. And for me, that culture included quite a few of the very best films made in the last 30 years. Even the posters left an impression on me. Here are ten of my favorite movie posters from 1990s independent films. All images used courtesy of the IMP Awards site, a tremendous resource:

Fake Criterion Covers of Coen Brother Films

Gentle readers, today marks the end of an era. A year and a half ago, I discovered that people everywhere were creating fake Criterion covers for various non-Criterion films. There was some amazing artwork out there (along with some really crappy stuff), and I wanted to hop in the game. Since then, I’ve created several of my own. However, after a year and a half, lots of people are doing it now. It feels like it’s become played out, or jumped the proverbial shark. And many people are doing it quite a bit better than yours truly. So short of a very specific reason to jump back in, I’m hanging up the fake Criterion covers after this entry. That said, I have one more article in me–today’s article, featuring fake Criterion covers of Coen brother films. Without further ado…

Slam Trunk: An Abridged List of Movie Characters Stuffed into a Car Trunk

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Everyone likes going on a nice, leisurely car ride… unless they’ve been stuffed into a car trunk. Here’s an abridged list of movie characters who have been stuffed into a car trunk. Today’s list has been brought to you by the letter “Q”, as in “Quentin Tarantino”.

100 More Things I Love About the Movies

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When I passed the 100,000 hit marker in November, I honored the event with what became one of my most popular entries- 100 Things I Love About the Movies. As it turns out, my odometer recently rolled over another milestone- the 200,000 hit marker. As logic follows, I’m due for another stroll down 100 Things Avenue. So without further ado, here are 100 More Things I Love About the Movies:

Film Interpretations of Various Artists

Photoshop is an absolute blast sometimes. It allows you to entertain yourself for hours. And that’s precisely what I did here- I imported film themes into the artistic styles of various artists like Warhol, Munch, Van Gogh, etc… Be sure to click on any of these to get the full-resolution versions, especially the more horizontal prints.

The Last Supper using only Scorsese characters:

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