Yes No Maybe So: "Bombshell"
Thursday, August 22, 2019 at 8:00AM
On the heels of Showtime’s unheralded miniseries The Loudest Voice, Lionsgate and director Jay Roach are diving into the zeitgeist with Bombshell (formerly titled Fair and Balanced). The film details the #MeToo fallout at Fox News and stars three of today’s greatest working actresses. For whatever reason, Bombshell is being mostly ignored by many early Oscar prognosticators.
This despite, well...let’s dive into that teaser shall we?
YES
• An actresssexual’s dream. Charlie Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie in one movie, and here sharing one tension-filled elevator ride. Heavy-hitter cast on display.
• That’s not even to mention the rest of the cast: Allison Janney, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Alice Eve, Ashley Greene, Mark Duplass, Malcolm McDowell, and John Lithgow as Roger Ailes. None of them are really seen here but who cares...that’s a banger of an ensemble.
• Director Jay Roach has proven himself before when it comes to juicily relevant sociopolitical material (Game Change, Recount), even if it was for the small screen.
• “It’s hot in here.” Love the marketing’s wink-wink acknowledgement of how cool it is to have the big three of Theron, Kidman, Robbie acting in the same movie... even in the same shot.
NO
• Roach’s last effort Trumbo may have been a late Oscar surprise in 2016, but the movie itself was no great shakes.
• Zooms. Not a fan of multiple filmmakers commandeering the tired reality-TV/nu-sitcom aesthetic of handheld cameras zooming and panning haphazardly. Adam McKay’s doing it already. Would rather not see Roach copy it for the big screen.
MAYBE SO
• Lionsgate has given it a prime date in December, and while that doesn’t likely spell a Best Picture win (especially given the earlier awards dates this year), it definitely spells awards hopes on behalf of the studio, which might mean something of worth coming our way.
With that cast and a subject matter ripe for cinema at the moment, we're firmly a YES. If it’s good enough, expect Oscar nominations.
Reader Comments (65)
Very effective teaser. Call me intrigued.
I have a weird feeling that they're afraid to market this in the Trump era, because that teaser was a mess. The zoom-in -- oof.
Hoping for the best, though, because I love Charlize.
YES
YES
YES
TAKE MY FUCKING MONEY NOW!!!
i'm in, because the last time charlize was this unrecognizable... well, you get the point.
also, it cracks me up that the trailer is depending on you to recognize kelly and carlson's hairstyles to figure out what is going on. that said, what fantastic casting. the film may not be great, but i hate fox news and want them to crash and burn so i will take whatever gasoline we can pour.
I cannot wait for this, but I feel prognosticators reticence to predict this is due to the fact that liberals strongly dislike both Gretchen Carlson and (especially) Megan Kelly. Also, Trumbo was kind of awful.
YES!!!
The three xmas ghosts I'd like to visit me in december: Nicole is the Past, Charlize the Present and Margot the Future.
Please, give me now!
I already watch this teaser at least 15 times and still love it!
If we are just looking at the actors than YES, but Megyn Kelly....She's awful and I'm not sure I'm ready for a film that makes her somewhat of a hero.
Looks like more of a "guilty pleasure" to me. I'll probably see it on the day it opens.
Not unless it gets raves. I just watched the Roger Ailes miniseries on Showtime and nothing about this feels compelling enough to revisit the material, particularly given how busy late December will be with film releases.
Yes unless it gets panned.
I've seen the Roger Ailes documentary and the Showtime miniseries with Sienna Miller covered in latex so I'm a bit fed up with the subject matter.
I have no desire to see this if all it does it paint these Aryan fembots as #metoo victims without examining their complicity in one of the most insidiously deleterious rightwing propaganda machines to exist.
I’ll wait for the Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein or Bill Cosby project...
i almost passed out from joy at this trailer. whomever made charlize look EXACTLY like megyn is probably winning an Oscar? turbo notwithstanding, jay roach is an unbeatable director when it comes to political movies (game change and recount are pretty perfect), and has very left politics, so i can't imagine that it won't be a thorough indictment of all things Fox News? at least that's the hope.
I have a feeling the prosthetics will be most talked about,my god does Charlize look like Kelly or what!
Bitch stole my part.
Is a yes for me.
I hate that zoom effects but i LOVE when a trio of competent actresses stars a story full of tension and intrigue. Having Janney, McKinnon, McDowell and Lithgow in the cast sounds irresistible.
If the tone of the movie is dark comedy it would be a perfect film for me.
I wasn't particularly interested in this movie but I thought it was a really well cut teaser and now I'm all over it. Charlize's Megyn Kelly look is something else!
Charlize would win Snatch Game no contest.
Unless this gets great reviews, I am a strong no. They seem to be hiding the fact that it's about Fox News and Roger Ailes, which was also a Showtime miniseries. And are these really the best roles for women now? Yikes.
Charlize in the elevator in this teaser is the big dick energy I aspire to have when I grow up
I'm a yes, sight unseen — Charlize, the chameleon, strikes again! — though the subject matter is not my cuppa.
That these ladies literally are going down (to level two), is this some kind of subliminal message? You could infer that someone's headed to meet Roger Ailes, but surely his office wasn't on the second floor...or maybe I'm just reading way, way too much into this. ;-)
Hmm. Not getting the December release. If it was any good it would be in film festivals. Maybe on a plane.
A lot of the comments here seem to indicate that Kelly and Carlson will be painted as heroes. I'm not sure that will be the case.
Roach was able to make a compelling film, Game Change, where the lead character was never the hero. I also think Kidman and Theron will play their roles with complexity. I'm excited to to see Theron and Kidman portray these women as the vipers we know them to be in front of the cameras, as as real people dealing with sexual harassment behind the scenes.
I hope Lithgow gets some buzz for this too.
watched it without the sound first, and the tension is impressive. A definite "YES"
It's Nicole, Charlize and Lithgow. Not even a question. All in.
I'm leaning towards a maybe though part of me wants to go Yes because of Kidman, Robbie, and Theron. That's a fucking power trio.
This is my absolute favorite kind of trailer/teaser. I wish this was the only kind we ever got. Just a hint of the film, from a single scene. maybe my fav trailer this year
The screening reports I've read (at awardswatch, possibly) suggest that Megyn Kelly is indeed portrayed as a hero in this film.
Amen. Don't you love Kidman's little head tilt when she walks into the elevator?
Who knows how good or bad the movie might be but one thing is for sure, they sure know where their strength lies. Putting these actresses together in an elevator with barely any speech. they have all of us on our knees.
I thought THE LOUDEST VOICE was terrific, so I'm all for exploring this from a different angle, especially with this cast.
Directed and written by straight white men. Ew.
YESS!!
Wow, what a teaser! Loving what Charlize and Nicole are doing here with subtle gestures / looks. Brilliant.
Been here done this. Theron would be my only reason to see this.
@NATHANIEL
Very agree with you. I feel most of the trailers very invassive givng you a lot of information about the story.
What about a best trailer category for the Film Bitch awards?
@Mareko, I love Kidman's little head tilt, it's everything, Oscar nod for the tilt alone.
If Kidman burps, you all think she deserves an Oscar!!!!!
I. LOVE. This.
Feels tabloid-y, so it’s either cheap or camp. I hope it’s camp/glam. But they nailed the Fox News esthetic.
G
Charlize has me shook - she even has the same mannerisms as Megyn! I was unnerved watching this...that's acting!
rdf, you are the same way with Streep. Glass houses...
I think you need to read back on my comments... I like Streep but not to the point of distraction... You have made it a point to follow up on me. And to me you may know a lot (? ) , but to the point of sanctimonious knowledge>
NO LOL
BTW... my post above was to brookesboy....
What Troy said, but I really don't want to see this current political era memorialized in pop culture until I can spit on its grave.
brookesboy: High Five!!!
suck it, you, Nicole is more my favorite too!
OMG YES!! This is a brilliant teaser
It has a vibe of terror. I am not liking this trend of portraits of terrible women, like Meghan and Phyliss Schafly, unless it's camp.
“Terrible” is subjective, and did you not see Game Change? Because you can approach the subject of “terrible women” in an insightful, nuanced way, which is why it’s catnip for many actors.