AND THE WINNER IS...

Heading into Manhattan today for a few more "pre-season" chats, and then a little picnic and movie with a friend in Bryant Park, where classics are shown outdoors on a big screen every Monday night—tonight's selection is Hud (1963), in which my friend Patricia Neal gives a great performance opposite Paul Newman (who is now ailing), and for which she ultimately received the Academy Award for Best Actress.

UPDATE: The bad news? Rain drove us away from the outdoor screening fairly early. The good news? It drove us to the Regal Cinema in Times Square to see WALL-e, something I had put off doing independently—I'd had a scheduling conflict with the press screening, and then found other things to do this past weekend when it was released nationwide (and, along with the Angelina Jolie-starrer Wanted, made history: never before had two newly-opening films both earned more than $50 million at the box-office in a weekend.) The bottom line? I'm man enough to admit it: WALL-e is the real deal. I'm not as convinced as some that it can earn a Best Picture nomination (the early release date and widespread condescending attitudes toward animated films will probably be too much for it to overcome), but it certainly represents Pixar's best argument yet, is earning a ton at the box-office, and seems a cinch to win Best Animated Feature. The capper? At about 10pm, on my way from the theater back to Grand Central Station, I passed Bryant Park, and was pleasantly surprised to see that not only was the screening going forward, but that the lawn was absolutely packed with people of all ages, races, and orientations who seemed to be eating it up. As someone whose greatest hope is to see old movies find new audiences, this really warmed my heart... or perhaps the heat can be attributed to the one steamy scene from the film that I stuck around for before running to catch my train, which you can see for yourself below...