Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Pt. 3: "Get the Guests"

For the 50th Anniversary of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Team Experience is celebrating with a four part miniseries. Begin with Part 1 "What. A.Dump!" or Part 2 "Firing Squads & Flop Sweat" if you missed them.

Pt 3 by Kyle Stevens 
[Kyle's book "Mike Nichols: Sex, Language, and The Reinvention of Psychological Realism" is available for purchase.] 

01:04:30 We pick up with Nick and George, left alone. Nick ceases peacocking for a moment since the ladies have gone, and, for George, this is the moment to assert dominance. For Albee, their tête-à-tête is an allegorical showdown between biology and history, nature and nurture: what they are, what people are, and who gets to say. Albee is on George’s side:

To take the trouble to construct a civilization, to build a society based on principles of, uh, principle. You make government and art and realize that they are, must be, both the same. You bring things to the saddest of all points, to the point where there is something to lose. Then all at once, through all the music, through all the sensible sounds of men building, attempting, comes the Dies Irae. And what is it? What does the trumpet sound? Up yours.” 

Thank you. Thank you!

1:05:52 Honey and Martha return from “the euphemism,” where Honey has been throwing up. Honey, who always seems to be out-of-step with the group, assumes that Nick’s sarcastic applause is for her. Her readiness to see everything as a performance, though, is also spot-on, hinting that she’s perhaps the most insightful one of the bunch...

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Cue the Imperial March.

Daddy's back!

One of the most iconic characters of all time is set to return to the big screen. Darth Vader returns to cinemas when Rogue One hits on December 16th. But do you sense a disturbance in the force? A few questions get raised here. Was Darth Vader added in the reshoots when the studio was reportedly in panic? Perhaps the biggest question of all is: do we need to see Darth Vader again?

It would be surprising not to have Darth Vader mentioned at all as he is a very large character in the universe at that time this new (old) story takes place, but to appear on screen is a huge moment to promise. Audiences will return just to see this character again but isn't that, perhaps, detrimental to the larger revival of the franchise. Part of the success of The Force Awakens was the way it balanced nostalgia whilst shaping a new path. It ensured Vader cast a dark shadow, and his absence was felt which is a successful use of nostalgia but not overkill.

Have we already spied Darth Vader in the Rogue One trailer?

Vader has appeared frequently in the animated TV series but the big screen where he’s the big bad is another thing. Still a tip of the hat to the never ending successful Star Wars PR machine. They reveal only that Darth Vader will reappear, and millions of voices cry out in glee. But do you find the lack of originality disturbing?

Links: Danielle Brooks, Shark Movies, Ghostbuster Themes

The Ringer "True confessions of Shark," the star who invented the blockbuster (Ha!)
IndieWire calls The Shallows the best shark movie since Jaws. Wow... but then, on the other hand, are there any good shark movies since Jaws so maybe that's not such high praise?
Buzzfeed has a long gripping read about director Karyn Kusama's tough journey from Girlfight (2000) through two studio disasters and on to her new film The Invitation (2016)
TFE... which we reviewed in April, icymi
YouTube the new Ghostbusters theme song "Ghostbusters (I'm Not Afraid)" by Fall Out Boy is basically a cover with some new flourishes including Missy Elliott so it won't be Oscar nominated (or even eligible) like the original tune from 1984

 

US Magazine there's a Golden Girls Cafe opening in NYC but "cheesecake" isn't the menu headliner so fire everyone. (If you read the fine print it's actually a restaurant in honor of Rue McClanahan... but they're really pushing it as a Golden Girls Cafe so they need to step up their menu game)
Variety This Euphoria movie cast gets better and better: Eva Green, Alicia Vikander...and now Charlotte Rampling? And it's got a female director and a great cinematographer (Ex Machina's Rob Hardy). Be still my (frost-bitten) heart 
Slate rips apart 2016's sequels as anti-storytelling, pro-branding. Yes. 
BeSpoke Redmayne awww a little precocious 8 year old who loves Stephen Hawkings and "Eddie's Marilyn movie" got to meet her idol Eddie Redmayne  
NY Theater in case you want a headstart on NEXT SUMMER's Tony Awards - lots of potentially exciting shows opening in the next 11 months including revivals of Falsettos, The Little Foxes, Hello Dolly, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses with Janet McTeer as the Merquise de Merteuil and Liev Schreiber as her partner-in-love-crime Valmont

Quote of the Day
Today Show Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black, The Color Purple) says: 

My career is a Crayola box now!"

I demand remakes of Blue Angel, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Foxy Brown, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon all starring this fine actress. LOVE HER SO MUCH. Hoping Emmy notices her soon for Orange is the New Black. 

Uh... Try 'Movie of the Year'

iTunes rental deal this week is Todd Hayne's Carol, our #1 film of 2015. It's only 99¢ so there's no time like the now if you've been putting it off. (If you're into buying digital copies of things -- I am not. I need physical copies as digitial is too ephemeral and as soon as there are technology updates or you get a new computer suddenly you lose things -- there are a ton of great deals on LGBT movies at iTunes under their Pride month label)

"Mr. Robot", "People vs O.J." Lead Television Critics Association Conglomeration Nominations

The Television Critics Association announced the nominees for their 34th annual TCA Awards yesterday, as Emmy nomination ballot deadlines loom (Monday). For those unitiated into the organization's particular mode of aggregating accolades, it may come as a bit of a surprise to see Bob Odenkirk and Sarah Paulson mentioned in the same acting category. The TCA loves a good buffet. Rather than divvy up the love by format, they scoop a big heaping of pick-and-choose onto their nominating plate; the tip-toppest acting bona fides of series, miniseries, talk shows, TV movies, and different genders all taste great so why not load them all onto the same plate?

Granted, they break up serials and self-contained shows for their Best categories but there's something thrilling about weighing Samantha Bee's achievement in fervent fact-boiling against Aya Cash's honest exploration of depression in a way that feels less competitive than it does conversation-raising. In fact, there's not a straight white male amongst the Individual Achievement in Comedy group, which is 5/6 women; its selection of nominees balks at the idea of institutional placeholders in favor of true grit. Inclusion, it appears, garners a compellingly reflective list.

Individual Achievement in Drama

• Bryan Cranston, All The Way
• Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
• Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
• Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
• Keri Russell, The Americans
• Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Individual Achievement in Comedy

• Aziz Ansari, Master of None
• Samantha Bee, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
• Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
• Aya Cash, You’re The Worst
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Constance Wu, Fresh Off the Boat

Outstanding New Program

• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
• Marvel’s Jessica Jones
• Master of None
• Mr. Robot
• Underground
• UnREAL 

Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries, and Specials

• All The Way
• Fargo
• The Night Manager
• The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
• Roots
• Show Me A Hero 

Outstanding Achievement in Drama

• The Americans
• Better Call Saul
• Game of Thrones
• The Leftovers
• Mr. Robot
• UnREAL

Outstanding Achievement in Comedy

• black-ish
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
• Master of None
• Silicon Valley
• Veep
• You’re The Worst

Program of the Year

• The Americans
• Fargo
• Game of Thrones
• Making a Murderer
• Mr. Robot
• The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
• UnREAL

What do you make of the TCA's kitchen sink approach to their nominations? By eliminating binaries, does its all-of-the-above inclusion cut straight to the heart of the talent, or does it winnow its window of worthy contenders?

YNMS: American Honey

Murtada here. The best thing about this lackluster summer movie season, might be the trailers for fall movies. This week sees one of our most anticipated, Andrea Arnold’s American Honey starring Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough and introducing Sasha Lane in the lead role. The film is about a young woman who joins a travelling magazine sales crew, and their adventures as they travel the midwest, party and maybe fall in love. There’s also some law-breaking.

Let’s deep dive with a Yes, No, Maybe so after the jump..... 

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