Catching Up: Depp's Trump, Ladd's Gripe, Amy's Drama
Thursday, February 11, 2016 at 8:30PM We've been busy busy with interviews, awards pieces, Silence of the Lambs anniversary, and more so we're way behind on film news. So let's get caught up with news, awardage, and random recommended links...
RANDOMNESS
• Pajiba Meryl Streep getting herself into trouble with an African comment when asked about diversity
• LongReads Pregnancy in movies with Mad Max Fury Road as starting point
• Inverse The Rock gleefully warning fans he'll get naked on HBO's Ballers
• Funny or Die! Johnny Depp as Donald Trump. Didn't know they did 50 minute skits!
• Cinematic Corner we need to talk about Harrison Ford in Witness
• Library of America Carrie Rickey on The Age of Innocence
• Unseen Films would like you to consider Toni Collette in Glassland
• Coming Soon Gal Gadot's career before Wonder Woman
• Regal Cinemas cute teaser poster for Finding Dory
CASTING & PRODUCTION
• Variety Amy Schumer trying her hand at drama. She's joined the cast of the PTSD movie Thank You For Your Service which stars Miles Teller
• THR Chris Weitz will write the screenplay adaptation of upcoming nonfiction book 21 Years to Midnight which centers on Obergefell v. Hodges, which eventually led to the legalization of same-sex marriage
• AV Club The Bachelors will star JK Simmons as a widower. He and his son (uncast) meet two extraordinary women and their lives are transformed. Julie Delpy will play one of the women. We just hope this isn't yet another movie where women only exist to help the man through their character arc.
• Tracking Board Goldie Hawn might finally act again... in a new Amy Schumer comedy
• The Film Stage has a lot of info on Claire Denis new project High Life so it's spoilery but the film will star Robert Pattison, Patricia Arquette, and Mia Goth from Nymphomaniac
AWARDAGE
• Variety Mustang tops the Lumiere Awards in France (precursor to the Césars)
• THR I apologize that TFE forgot to cover the Goya awards. So much happens every week with awardage this time of year. The big winner was Truman starring Ricardo Darin (Secret in Their Eyes) and Javier Camera (Talk to Her). Best Actress had some international superstar nominees in Penelope Cruz and Juliette Binoche but they lost to Natalia de Molina (Techo y Comida)
• AARP "Movies for Grown-Ups Awards" red carpet. Spotlight took Best Picture. Ridley Scott best director. Acting winners: Lily Tomlin (Grandma), Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Diane Ladd (Joy) and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies). And you should know that Diane took the opportunity to speak out against Category Fraud. God bless her! And FYI, Ladd is NOT the Academy member actress I spoke to earlier this year who was angry and vowed to not for anyone pitched in the category. So people are finally if slowly starting to see this for what it is. Now, if only critics and journalists, who have such opinion-making power would stop promoting it in their own awards and write-ups!
Here is Queen Ladd on the topic.
I've already seen snippy things on line about "she wouldn't have been nominated regardless," but, FACT: We do not know this. Listen up: if we didn't have Category Fraudsters each year people would be discussing the options among real supporting actresses (because people always discuss possibilities when it comes to the Oscars) and who knows who might have gained traction without Vikander and Mara sucking up all the conversation?
BRIE LARSON WORLD
• In Contention Brie and Saoirse Ronan honored in Santa Barbara
• Elle Magazine more Brie. Lots more.
• Pajiba ...Elle Magazine has gone a little crazy with the photoshop, though.
THEATER & TV
• Playbill Aaron Sorkin writing a new adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird for Broadway
• Gothamist Sikh actor Waris Ahluwalia, from Wes Anderson's movies, was banned from a flight since he wouldn't remove his turban!
• MNPP Great news for Bryan Fuller fans. The Hannibal and Pushing Daisies man will be running the new Star Trek series premiering a year from now.
• Slate reviews Samantha Bees political comedy show Full Frontal. (I was really hoping she's get Jon Stewart's seat when he left The Daily Show.)
• Playbill YES! Sutton Foster will be part of the Gilmore Girls reunion. Can they just have her play her character from Bunheads since they take place in the same Sherman-Palladino world?
• Theater Mania Stephen King's 5 reasons you should see Misery on stage.
Reader Comments (25)
Good for Diane Ladd, she made the same remarks about category fraud on Travis Smiley a few weeks ago. Nice to see your hard work having a wider effect Nathaniel.
Aaron Sorkin better treat "To Kill a Mockingbird" with kid gloves, because the movie adaptation was pretty much perfect. No need to goose it up with any walk and talk speeches. Just use the lines in the book. "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing."
Gilmour Girls reunion + Sutton Foster = pure happiness. I still miss Bunheads.
I noticed that Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, and Naomi Harris will all be in the new Will Smith film "Collateral Beauty" slated for next Dec. They should re-name it "British Beauties".
Diane so right. I remember in 1988 Siskel and Ebert arguing about Geena Davis in supporting. One felt he would not vote for her because she was lead, and the other saying why penalize her for being in the wrong category.
Shockingly, she won and Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Pfeiffer are STILL Oscarless.
@Nathaniel...will we be seeing any more of the Film Bitch awards soon?
Kaa -- i work as fast as i can. haha.
Natalie Portman, Nicholas Hoult, and Thandie Newton joined Xavier Dolan's The Death and Life of John F. Donovan.
Oops, Nat! The article about the Goyas that you posted corresponds to last year's Goyas! (Article dated 2/7/2015).
This is the link to this year's awards: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/truman-wins-top-goya-awards-862672.
Cesc Gay's drama "Truman" was the big winner, with six awards.
Oops to me! Make that five Goyas to "Truman" out of six nominations.
MARCOS -- omg. thank you. How embarrassing. I guess i got confused because Marshland was in the Euro Film Awards this year and Penelope Cruz was at the ceremony again!
To add to the plethora of award shows - The Evening Standards held theirs in London Sunday -
Film - Brooklyn
Actress - Maggie Smith
Actor - Idris Elba
Screenplay - Room
Doc - Amy
Comedy - Emma Thompson
I'm a little confused about Meryl's comments. It's not like they asked her what are your thoughts on the lack of diversity and she said we're all Africans really. They asked her how can she be able to relate to middle eastern and North African films and she was trying to say all cultures are connected by humanity and that life originated in Africa. It's like when Kristen Stewart was talking about women in film and the headlines said she was talking about racial diversity. They both said something stupid but it wasn't directed at the reason everyone is so upset.
It's nice that Ladd spoke out about it. I was really rooting for Joan Allen in "Room" to get a nom, and I really wonder who else would've gotten some more support/buzz if Mara and Vikander were competing in Lead. This reminds me, I should go see "Joy" before it leaves theaters!
Meryl mania whenever she speaks. I liked her comment that the Berlin jury was diverse because it had equal numbers of men and women. She doesn't play into press. She has my full support.
There has been a Meryl drought around here, but the first news about her is THIS? I CAN'T!
I often wonder if we now live in a world where people can't listen and take things in, so they immediately attack. White women proud to take on Mery Streep. As if she is a President. Good night Nurse.
Good for Diane Ladd! She deserves SO much credit not only for being brave enough to speak the truth on this issue but also to actually name names/shame names. More actors should do this. Nathaniel, I've always wondered, what if from the very inception of the Oscars the category was called "Best Character Actor" and "Best Character Actress" instead of supporting? I bet a lot of these leading stars would not be so comfortable being slotted into that designation.
This "diversity" nonsense has to be fought and fought hard. This type of totalitarian mindset is NEVER good regardless of what side of the political spectrum it is coming from.
Art can not kowtow to social values of a loud and obnoxious group of twitter hystericals. Hollywood was bound by conservative social norms during the Hayes Code era and now this "progressive" social justice warrior mobs are trying to enforce one of their own from the viewpoint of the Left. It starts with this diversity bullshit and soon enough it escalates to safe spaces and micro agressions and all that other nonsense that is threating American higher learning institutions.
Great art trancends politics! Where is Camille Paglia when we need her?
PS: the implication that Meryl Streep is recognized by the Academy because she is white and the Academy is a largely white voting body is just the type of ridiculous nonsense easily refuted by empirical evidence. I have lived in three completely different parts of the world (South America, Far East Asia and Middle East), have travelled to over 45 countries in all inhabited continents and I am yet to go to a place where Meryl is not known and regarded as one the finest actresses of all time, by people of all races and nationalities. The fact that this type of bullshit passes as social science now is the perfect evidence that Academia has been corrupted and viewpoints of the worst corners of the American Left have become articles of faith that sustain themselves just because evidence be damned.
Meryl Streep is a giant of her craft and must be respected as such.
I hated her in August Osage County, though. I wish Julia Roberts had gotten that lead actress nom instead of her. Random info.
By the way, I am writing this from Kenya, in a wildlife conservation project , I am not white and I am not straight (coz I know that is the type of BS argument headed my way).
"...I am not white and I am not straight..."
After reading your comment, I personally am more curious about who you are than who you aren't.
Rooney Moore?
Thank you so much for the link! Harrison in Witness is just beyond wonderful. And ELLE really, really really overdid it with photoshop, it looks ridiculous :/
Diane Ladd is right! She deserves a tribute from The Film Experience.
There's a great clip of Miriam Margolyes on the Graham Norton show talking about how pissed off she was that she wasn't Oscar nominated for Age of Innocence, because of (her belief) Winona Ryder's category fraud!!
Good to re-evaluate that film, I've always loved it, always felt Michelle Pfeiffer was robbed of an oscar nom, she's sublime in it. But I've just looked up who else was nommed over her, and damn, that was a strong year!!
"Putting leading lady stars into MY Oscar category."
Anyone who's seen Wild at Heart knows that yes, Best Supporting Actress IS Diane Ladd's Oscar category. They could rename it for her and I'd be fine.
@GeorgeP - yeah, I'm really curious to see who came in sixth and seventh in the voting for Supporting Actress.
@Carmen - "PS: the implication that Meryl Streep is recognized by the Academy because she is white and the Academy is a largely white voting body"
I don't mean this as argumentative, but I'm honestly curious where you see this being "implied"? I didn't see that in the articles about Meryl's comments.
@DJDeeJay
The very first paragraph of the Meryl Streep article:
"Meryl Streep is a terrific actress, who is regularly nominated by a largely white Academy for an Oscar every other year because, let’s face it, the experiences depicted in her movies often reflect those of the white Academy voters"
@Jonn - Doh! I had already read numerous other articles about it but hadn't clicked on that one yet, which would've made sense. Thanks!