Four Handfuls of Link
Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 3:30PM • Deadline Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) has passed away unexpectedly at 67. He was shooting a film called Dangerous Waters in the Dominican Republic. RIP
• Vulture Alison Willmore asks where the abortion thriller goes to next after recent films like Happening, Lingui the Sacred Bonds, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always
• Deadline Ellen DeGeneres bids her talk show farewell after 19 seasons on air
More after the jump including Gone Girl's legacy, frequently naked Clae Bang, Tom Cruise's all time biggest hits, Kevin Doyle from Downton Abbey A New Era, and a fascinating history of where streaming fits in the history of Hollywood...
• The Guardian talks to Claes Bang (The Northman, The Square) about his frequently nude performances and his starring role in the play Daddy in London
• National TV Awards You can vote now on the semi-finals for this British awards show. Lots of Heartstopper, Bridgerton, and A Very English Scandal plus a lot of things from British television that we haven't heard of.
• Film School Rejects celebrates the "crossover" success of Bollywood's RRR (now streaming on Netflix)
• MUBI Notebook first wave of awards from Cannes including prizes for Mia Hansen-Løve's One Fine Morning starring Léa Seydoux, the Paul Mescal starrer Aftersun, and a Colombian film called La Jauría about a home for criminal teenagers
• Esquire the legacy of Gone Girl on the psychological thriller genre
• IndieWire Cannes sales market is hot. Here's what's been selling
• THR Kevin Spacey accused of sexual assault again
• Cartoon Brew Warner Bros has two new Scooby-Doo series in the works. They really do keep trying with that IP
• MNPP Josh O'Connor tries a twinkie (yum)
• /Film Winnie the Pooh has entered the Public Domain. So of course there's already a slasher film using the character (gross)
• Forbes Tom Cruise's all time biggest hits (when adjusted for inflation). It's no surprise to see Top Gun at the top but a few of the other rankings are a bit eye opening
• Vulture Kevin Doyle knows he 'won the lottery' playing Moseley in Downton Abbey: A New Era. He does have one of the most audience-pleasing threads in that movie!
• Cartoon Brew Former Disney Boss Michael Eisner lists his Malibu Estate at (gulp) $225 million... which will be a record if it sells
Must Read
• Observations on Film Art has an interesting comprehensive look at streaming and where it fits within the history of Hollywood's business practices over the past century of movies. I only quibble with one bit
In sum, streaming has become the next step in the majors’ reassertion of control over their IP. It surpasses the old video store’s inventory, offers the convenience of click-ordering and time-shifting, and retains the advantages of in-home consumption. All we relinquish is ownership of a copy.
It is simply not true that streaming services have surpassed video store's inventory... or not in the way that that sentence implies. The video stores of yore, both the Blockbusters and the mom &pop shops, gave over their biggest shelves to "new releases," yes, but they had a vast array of options for consumers from all decades of film and from all genres. Streaming services have "more" titles yes (not needing physical space will do that) but the bulk are recent in-house "content" from their corporate churn (Disney+ being the grossest example of this with much of their programming being basically commercials for the rest of their programming). All streaming companies have been moving away from licensing films from other places and focusing on in-house which means, essentially, that the consumer has to "visit" 7 different video stores to "rent" movies and good luck finding any title that's over 20 years old that you read about somewhere or that your parents or your favourite director recommend. My local Blockbuster in the 1980s had a more robust "classics" section (a catch-all word for any "old" film, sure, but still a useful comparison) than literally any streaming service has had with the exception of maybe Criterion Channel or the first couple months of HBOMax when the TCM options were abundant. This is not to say that streaming isn't wonderful and convenient (it is) but it's always been untrue (despite being repeated endlessly over the past 20 years by many journalists and cinephiles who should know better) that streaming has made everything accessible to audiences. It's just made a lot of new stuff plus an infinite amount of new filler accessible.
Reader Comments (5)
R.I.P. Ray Liotta. One of the best.
As for Ellen.... na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey-hey-hey, GOODBYE!!!!!
Other Liotta roles will get more attention but pour one out for "Ray" in Something Wild.
To me that is the most quintessentially Jonathan Demme movie. The suspense of The Silence of the Lambs, the whimsy of Married to the Mob, the pathos of Rachel Getting Married, the music of Stop Making Sense (and Rachel Getting Married...), it's all there. I don't know if Something Wild is his *best* movie but it's certainly the most diverse and accurate snapshot of his style and passions!
Liotta was amazing. Deserves a proper obituary.
When I need to see classic films, I turn to my local library. It's a pretty robust system and huge collection relatively. Plus they still have physical media usually so I can catch special features and whatnot.
Moseley's arc in DOWNTON 2 was so much fun! Especially for all of us #FilmTwitter peeps probably. It's the dream!
RIP Ray Liotta. What a talent! Explodes off the screen.
I’ll be blaring the Motels “total control” tonight. All (had) respect.