Picture, Director, Screenplays ~ April Foolish Oscar Predix

by Nathaniel R

I've been rubbing my crystal ball vigorously backstage to bring you the new Oscar charts. Everything is up but the acting now Let's discuss our way too early April guesswork in these categories: PICTURE and DIRECTOR and SCREENPLAYS. Thoughts? Objections? Applause?

Which 2017 releases will Oscar voters fall hard for?

Perfect on paper
Looks right on paper for major Oscar love doesn't always translate to the real thing but I've fallen for the chances of this year's World War II dramas from Chris Nolan (Dunkirk) and Joe Wright (Darkest Hour). Curiously, though both men have helmed Best Picture nominees in the past, neither have been nominated for Best Director yet. So strange but I'm predicting both of them to get in. I'm also predicting Get Out to score a Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Film Editing nods. That might sound crazy but I don't think it is. As I've often said genre pictures need time with awards bodies to cement their worth. Jump in your time machine and I'll bet you people are still talking in glowing terms about Get Out in December and everyone starts rooting for its Oscar nomination because they've accepted that it's special...

Click to read more ...

Box Office: "Get Out" Won't and "Fate of the Furious" Grows

Get Out, now in its 8th weekend, just refuses to enter the sunken place i.e. the lower echelons of the box office charts. That's a long run already with enormous returns ($183 million worldwide on a $4.5 million budget? It's what all scrappy films dream of!)

But the story of the weekend was the return of the Fast and Furious franchise with film #8 The Fate of the Furious. It grossed an estimated $100 million out of the gate which is significantly lower than its previous Paul Walker farewell entry. But don't cry for it. $100 is still a big big opening weekend and its foreign gross quadruples the American haul so it's already broke a half billion in that first weekend. If the estimates hold it will just barely edge out The Force Awakens as the biggest global opening ever.  I'll just be over hear pretending that that $100 million in the US is audience excitement about Charlize Theron wreaking havoc because we love that badass bitch. The charts are after the jump...

Click to read more ...

The Last Tweetweek (Not Really)

The Last Jedi gets top billing because everyone's been talking about it.

Just watched THE LAST JEDI trailer, noticed that "this film is not yet rated." Crossing my fingers it's gong to be straight-up XXX! pic.twitter.com/GJEqmbtVJH

— Scott Sigler (@scottsigler) April 14, 2017

After the jump more on The Last Jedi and other random movie and celebrity amusements

Click to read more ...

RuPaul's Drag Race S9E4 - The Knives Are Out!

by Chris Feil

Hope you wanted some drama this season on RuPaul’s Drag Race! You could almost consider this week’s episode an ode to machetes for how much the knives came out across the board.

No one was safe this episode: Aja continuing to go in on Valentina, Eureka’s spoiled brat defensiveness to Trinity and Sasha, Charlie’s mean-spirited micromanaging of Cynthia. While I think this season is losing it’s eye somewhat on discussing drag as an art form, it’s at least back to the days when the drama didn’t feel manipulated by editing or the queens feared backlash on social media. And this was a fantastic challenge (ripped off somewhat from season 3, but we’ll allow it): two teams performing their own live morning talk show. Throw in Glee’s Naya Rivera for some star-gazing and you’ve got a pretty dynamic episode...

Click to read more ...

Costume Design ~ April Foolish Oscar Predix

on the set of THE CURRENT WARCutting right to the chase tonight. Here's what I'm predicting for Oscar's Costume Design category in this first round of punditry

• The Current War (Michael Wilkinson)
• The Greatest Showman (Ellen Mirojnick)
• Murder on the Orient Express (Alexandra Byrne)
• Victoria & Abdul (Consolata Boyle)
• Wonderstruck (Sandy Powell)

[Here's the chart]

Sandy Powell is always a good bet of course with 12 past nominations and 3 wins and she'll obviously be having a great time with the dual time frames and actressing of Julianne Moore. The other designers are less regular with the Academy but they've all been nominated with the exception of Ellen Mirojnick. But Mirojnick is no slouch having designed iconic pieces seen in films like Basic Instinct, Showgirls, and recently she won the Emmy for Soderbergh's Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra. She's got one of the year's (presumably) showiest gigs : Hugh Jackman's PT Barnum musical The Greatest Showman.

Ali Fasal stars opposite Dame Judi Dench in VICTORIA AND ABDUL

But that's just scratching the surface of what will surely be lots of fine threads in the movies this year from many talented designers. After the jump, a Beauty Break of Costume Design possibilities this year...

Click to read more ...