Linkinator
Monday, July 6, 2015 at 1:30PM Awards Daily set pictures on the new film from James Marsh (Theory of Everything) this one starring Colin Firth & Rachel Weitz
Bloomberg Steve Wozniack love the Steve Jobs trailer
Slate Dana Stevens on the particular appeal of Channing Tatum, film star
The Dissolve on Ava DuVernay's hard pass on The Black Panther. I'm so relieved she's not doing this. Now she can make more movies like Middle of Nowhere or Selma. Why lose great individualistic directors to Marvel when what Marvel wants is journeymen to realize their Cinematic Universe goals?
EW Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher got married
Theater Mania has an interest piece on why so many musicals disappear in the development stages
The Film Stage looks at MoMA's Scorsese exhibit of film one sheets
CHUD an editorial on why we need gays as main characters in mainstream blockbusters - written by a straight man
Guardian Hilary Swank scaling back career to care for her ailing father. Best wishes to the family
TV
Salon comprehensive list of booze consumed on True Detective S2
Vulture thinks True Detective Season 2 owes a lot to David Lynch
Empire Fatal Attraction to become a TV miniseries - good luck finding a Glenn Close replacement
Birth Movies Death Marvel/Netflix may be struggling with how to do Iron Fist for the small screen. Whatever direction they go in, please make the character Asian as he always should have been considering his origins
Terminate the Terminator Franchise
Forbes on why Terminator: Genisys opened weak in the States -- curiously no one ever mentions that Emilia Clarke is not a strong actor and she's up against memories of Linda Hamilton's Oscar nomination worthy work!
The Daily Beast interviews Alan Taylor (who has not had much luck as a feature director after proving a hot commodity on TV) and he has curious "just go with it" opinions on how messy his movie is
NYT profiles producer David Ellison (Megan's brother) on his struggles getting Terminator Genisys going and building a multiverse like Marvel. This was a good read but the title is truly bizarre. How is investing solely in mainstream tentpole franchise moviemaking an example of 'not playing it safe.' That's exactly what playing it safe is. Not playing it safe is what Megan Ellison does with her risky art films.
Look, I am one of the biggest Terminator fans that exists. I saw the first two a ton of times, and think they're veritable masterpieces of their form. They still play today and their action sequences are more exciting (still) even knowing every beat than anything in any of the ill-begotten sequels. Enough already. This franchise was already complete when James Cameron was finished with it twenty-plus years ago. Making money is perfectly fine as one goal but if it's the only goal when making a movie, you've already failed. Movies made solely for money (and for no other reason) are never good.
Are you watching True Detective Season 2? Do you also wish Skynet would stay down after being defeated for the fifth time?
Reader Comments (16)
Very admirable of Swank.
Iron Fist Racial point: Asian-AMERICAN, though, right? I mean, no, it's not the 70s and you can't regurgitate Kung Fu's dated racial politics, but losing Danny Rand as even an American loses the fish out of water core.
Iron Fist Show Problems: The way I see it, there's three things holding Marvel TV and/or Netflix back from this: Racial issues with the set-up that you mention, the Wuxia weirdness and (because of Guardians) wanting a naturally mostly "fun" show as an equivalent to that movie. If they don't clear it up soon, I wouldn't be surprised if Marvel TV tries to pitch Squirrel Girl to Netflix as a replacement.
I'm not watching True Detective 2. I will, but not anytime soon. I'm not the biggest fan of any of the leads.
Good luck finding a new Glenn Close, I can't think of any actress with the right amount of craziness and danger.
I tried watching the first season of "True Detective" and couldn't get through the first episode. I thought I would try again with the second season and I've gotten further but it's been a struggle. The plot is way too convoluted and the characters deliver too many oddball speeches but everytime I think "I'm done", there's something in an episode that draws me in enough to want to check out the next one. Rachel McAdams is the absolute best thing in the show.
I have not seen Terminator Genisys and not planning to any reviews or reactions have not said Emilia did a bad job, the only things that I have not read that were not positive where when people have said she could not sell the bad script. But granted I like her and like I said I can not say did she do a good job or not but I am glad she is not getting blamed for this.
curiously no one ever mentions that Emilia Clarke is not a strong actor and she's up against memories of Linda Hamilton's Oscar nomination worthy work!
I don't see how that could have affected it much, since when a movie opens weakly, by definition the problem is people not seeing it in the first place, so how good the performances are isn't the problem.
Sean C -- that's a great point. I was jumping forward in "why the movie isn't good" but you're right that that's never the issue on opening weekend (unless of course the audience believes already that it won't be good.)
I watch TD 2, and I hate it. Ugh the TRUE PRETENSION more likely.
And I'll just say this once and for all. Rachel Weisz needs to make a Jackie O legit biopic, not Natalie Portman.
She resembles the first lady more, and damn she is a beaute.
I feel so much for Swank. After getting so much shit for winning an Oscar for an perfectly deserving performance (but not the best) she finally had that stellar comeback in The Homesman with the most moving, touching and delicate performance of 2014, and now this happens and all the momentum is lost. But I can relate to her. I hope her father gets better and she gets a good role again.
Still on last season: I feel so bad that my two favorite performances (Swank is silver to Marion's gold in The Immigrant) got absolutely NO traction.
The original "Terminator" is a great sci-fi /action film- this new movie seems like a rehash of the first two- and seriously Sarah Connor is a WOMAN not a teen girl.
...Emilia Clarke is not a strong actor and she's up against memories of Linda Hamilton's Oscar nomination worthy work!
Not to mention her Game of Thrones co-star Lena Headey's great TV interpretation of the role as well a few years ago.
Swank is a wonderful actress. The web's (including this blog's) brutal uncalled for turn against her was horrible.
"Whatever direction they go in, please make the character Asian as he always should have been considering his origins."
FYI: The current Iron Fist, the one who has inherited the mantle of past Iron Fists, is American. A New Yorker. And that's what's fascinating about it: an American kid inherits a very Asian tradition of mysticism and martial arts.
I'm also very much against the whitewashing of Asian roles by Hollywood, but that wouldn't be the case here.
Ron -- the American who is the best there is at other people's traditions is a long long tradition but one that reeks to me of patriotic jingoism "we're #1 we're #1" considering that Iron Fist was created in a time when there were only white characters basically --i realized feelings may vary on this but even when i was a young kid reading the comics i was always like 'why isn't Iron Fist Asian?" since he comes from Asia and has all these Eastern Mysticism based powers. Same problem as Kung Fu. And really same problem as Dr Strange. Why all these white guys getting their powers / mythology from Asia? Why not Asian Americans if you have to have the homegrown aspect?
but mostly i'm just tired of Hollywood's idea of "diversity" in movies being limited to black and white. Why can't we have a hero here and there of multiple ethnic origins. It would be a better representation of not just the world but also of America.
I never lament when an unnecessary sequel, remake, redux, or reimagining tanks at the box office because I see it as the universe's way of saying enough is enough. It's just too bad it didn't get that message about Jurassic World.