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)
Megyn Kelly and Phyllis Schlafly may not be my personal picks for biopic treatment, but they’re very representative of where we are (or were) and the schism that continues to fester in this country.
Which ones give the blowjobs?
I love Nicole. I love Charlize. After her Sharon Tate, I love Margot, too.
But based on a true story/biopics are my least favourite genre, and this one is directed by the same man who brought us...TRUMBO. And the film’s setting is... Fox News.
This was a teaser and it got the "Yes, No, Maybe So" treatment. 'Dolemite is My Name' released a whole trailer and not a peep.
Yasssss! And what's being "hidden" here? FOX NEWS CHANNEL is right there at the end. If you've been remotely paying attention to the world of today, you have a glimpse of what's in store. "Trumbo" aside, I have faith that Jay Roach will deliver here. "Game Change" was fantastic, and Julianne Moore wasn't playing "likeable" whatsoever there and was brilliant as Palin. Robbie's serving audience surrogate realness. Nicole swoops by for a cameo and effortlessly nails it. But Miss Charlize is like, "Do I need to remind you guys again who is the baddest bitch around here? Like, just in case you didn't KNOW or FORGOT that I'm the BADDEST BITCH IN TOWN, then now you know better." I just can'ttttt! She looks like Megan Kelly's twin! That makeup work is insanity!!!
Theron looks like Elizabeth Banks. Like I legit thought that it was her! Also, if Nicole doesn't wear a bad wig in a movie.....is it really a must see event?
An actual teaser, what a novel concept.
Another "maybe so" for me would be that the 'hero' so to speak is Megyn Kelly I hope the film points out that she is a hypocrit and an awful human.
Can we also just point out that Nicole and Naomi are playing *the exact same person* in two different projects. I am fascinating by this. What is their friendship like?!?
Hoping that Charlize kills it. I would prefer her for new #1 dramatic actress. The range of talent now from young to old is extraordinary. My regards.
If you want to cast somebody who looks like Elizabeth Banks sucking a lemon just hire Elizabeth Banks god damnit! It must suck to look enough like a real person that when the film version comes they’d be boneheaded to overlook you....
as a teaser this looks great!
but subject matter is a ehh and trying to portray any of the women as complicit/into it although realistic (and great for creating complex female characters) would lead to an absolute uproar and could come across as icky so the film has a losing battle on that front.
@Laquanda
The point is not just hire someone who looks like a person, the actor needs to know how to display a character and i´m sorry if someone disagree with me but i don´t consider Elizabeth Banks enough talent to play a role like this.
Cesar, the taste clearly did not jump out.
Just watched The Loudest Voice with Russell Crowe, Sienna Miller and Naomi Watts. That miniseries gave me more background to the Bombshell movie. I think that Bombshell is going to be a great movie because both Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson are not very likeable characters. Megyn and Gretchen did not even liked each other at all. But the sexual harassment they go through made their dislike for each other pass by for the bigger picture.
The way Annabella Wallis played Laurie in that miniseries was heartbreaking
And for some reason, Sienna Miller is fantastic as playing the wife or girlfriend to the male lead. Russell Crowe, Bradley Cooper, Steven Carrell. Miller has in each case a believable and very good chemistry with all of them. She fleshes out the girlfriend role and we as the audience get to know her
Hear, hear. But when did Miller play Carrell's wife or girlfriend? Are you thinking of Foxcatcher? Because she played Mark Ruffalo's wife in that.
@WTF: I'm not signing the film off because it's written and directed by men (I will NOT miss the Charlize splendor), but I'm surprised how few people are discussing that this is basically a #MeToo movie with a #TimesUp problem.