Links: Fletch, Hamilton, most-watched on Netflix
Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 8:16PM 
• /Film Exciting project alert: Viola Davis will headline 19th century drama The Woman King from Old Guard director Gina Prince Blythewood
• Deadline Paul Thomas Anderson's 1970s high school drama is shifting studios from Focus to MGM
More after the jump including Hamilton, Nine Perfect Strangers, a streaming stage recommendation, a reboot of the Chevy Chase franchise Fletch, and that 10 most watched Netflix list
• IndieWire Pedro & Tilda have started shooting their short film. Cute photo
• Coming Soon Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans will star in The Gray Man. Netflix is investing a whopping $200 million in the thriller about two rival spies
• /Film they're rebooting the 80s comedy franchise Fletch and Jon Hamm is taking the lead
• Coming Soon Hollywood slowly getting back to work. Tom Holland's next franchise Uncharted has begun production now
• Coming Soon Nine Perfect Strangers, a new Hulu miniseries (from the writer behind the bestseller Big Little Lies) has six of its nine stars: Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Samara Weaving, Luke Evans, Manny Jacinto, and Melvin Gregg
• Variety Owen Gleiberman takes the words right out of our mouths (seriously, co-sign) when reacting to the publication of Netflix's "most viewed" movie list.
- Extraction
- Bird Box
- Spenser Confidential
- 6 Underground
- Murder Mystery
- The Irishman
- Triple Frontier
- The Wrong Missy
- The Platform
- The Perfect Date
The biggest takeaway I had when we first glanced at the list is "what's that?" as most of the titles were unfamiliar. I've only seen three of these (Bird Box, The Irishman, and The Platform... the latter two are good) and had only vaguely heard of a couple of the others.
We miss Broadway so much!
• Billboard Hamilton just rose to #2 on the album charts, it's the first cast album to chart that high since Hair in 1969 (Book of Mormon came close in 2011)
• Broadway Blog reviews Bright Colors Bold Pattern which is now streaming on Broadway HD. We saw this one man show live and Drew Droege is just hilarious in it - Recommended!
• Playbill Mandy Gonzalez, who was co-starring in Hamilton before Broadway's shut down penned a YA novel that features the ghost of Ethel Merman! Haha
Reader Comments (19)
I love movies as much as the next guy, but aren't there better uses in the world for $200 million?
Nathaniel - you’re not missing much with Triple Frontier. Ugh! Poor JC Chandor
I dislike the face that Viola Davis took the cowards way out to get her Oscar, though I understand historically why she would do it. Her team should have informed her that she could take Lead Actress in a cakewalk. In terms of long game this is very Jessica Lange: be one of the most lauded actresses and win first in Supporting despite being primarily a lead actress, then proceed to let the "She needs a Lead Oscar" narrative build and voila Viola. You're already a guaranteed two-time Academy Award Winner in due time.
I'm sorry but I cannot accept Jon Hamm as Fletch. There is only one Fletch and he's played by Chevy Chase.
Owen Gleiberman is a fucking idiot and can't write for shit.
/3rtful: Um...Viola as mostly a lead? She's transitioning to that, but I'd still say, at 2016, she WAS mostly a character actress. Fences was only her THIRD A/V lead role (after The Help in 2011 and How to Get Away with Murder starting in 2014),
thevoid99: I mean, I'm not against trying a Jon Hamm Fletch. Did you SEE Fletch Lives? Would YOU want to see Chevy try to do Fletch 3 after that?
The Platform is an instant classic, and I am SO HAPPY that it is in the top 10 of most viewed (and discussed!) films in Netflix history... despite being a Spanish film, in Spanish.
I'd dare to say that Ivan Massagué is Oscar worthy (as Antonia San Juan) in this. A pity, he has zero chances (or in 2019)
Extraction (not seen)
Bird Box (* 1/2)
Spenser Confidential (not seen)
6 Underground (1/2*)
Murder Mystery (*1/2)
The Irishman (*****)
Triple Frontier (not seen)
The Wrong Missy (not seen)
The Platform (**** 1/2)
The Perfect Date (not seen)
Jon Hamm deserves so much better than this.
@Nathaniel R
The impostors here love me the most because I have established a persona from the Streep hate alone. I know monitoring replies isn't your preference but there's no way to stop others from using handles to instigate.
At least your imposters spit the truth I guess.
/3rtful -- even if i were to begin moderating comments I would have no idea whose were from the actual people in order to approve or not. I can't read each of your minds from afar and I don't actually know any of you! Not even Peggy Sue who people hilariously claimed I was sleeping with ;)
@Nathaniel R
Even when I create alternate handles people spam impersonate me.
@Volvagia-Yes and if there was a Fletch 3 w/ Chevy.... you goddamn right I would see it! I love Chevy Chase. I grew up on Chevy Chase. He was one of my dad's favorite comedy actors.
Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling in the same movie! Yes!
One of you is bad enough.
I’ve only heard of two of those Netflix movies and I’ve seen exactly zero of them. I can’t stand the way Netflix works. You scroll past something and if you linger more than two seconds the movie/tv show starts playing. Then when you finally watch something, before the credits start to play it’s NOW PLAYING: LOVE IS BLIND 3, 2, 1...... thanks for taking me out of the movie and what makes you think based on what I just watched that I want to watch your horrible reality tv show anyway? Seems kind of insulting to all of the cast and crew to not play the credits. There’s an option to keep playing the credits but you only have about three seconds before they make the decision for you. I just find Netflix so bizarre.
Out of that Netflix top-ten list, I've only seen "The Irishman" (great movie) and that is all I plan on seeing. I've seen the trailers for the other nine and I'll pass. Also, Netflix considers a "view" as someone watching only two minutes of the movie. That's nonsense.
We only did above the belt stuff guys! ;) But seriously /3rtful I never saw any of your alternates, so unless you were didactic about Bates or Nick Davis in a post to give it away I think alternate handles would be effective for you.
Already going to predict that Gosling/Evans movie will be three-and-a-half stars at best and probably three stars and a bit of a shrug that people will forget about not too long after it premieres because filmmakers don't really know how to use $200mil. The Russo Brothers? Eh.
That new Kidman/Moriarty adaptation will actually be *set* in Australia, I think. I know it's being filmed here on the northern beaches, which is where Big Little Lies was originally set. Which makes that cast... interesting. But super eager to see Melissa McCarthy does with an accent (if she does one at all).