Fosse/Verdon - Finale!

by Eric Blume

Michelle & Sam as Gwen & Bobby

Fosse/Verdon wrapped its 8-episode run this Tuesday, and here’s a quick recap on the final three episodes, and some overall thoughts on this captivating mini-series.

Episode Six, “All I Care About is Love” 
Episode six concerned Fosse’s heart attack during the editing of Lenny (1974) editing and rehearsals for Chicago on Broadway.  It was one of the weaker episodes of the series, especially coming off the previous episode, the almost-staged-play episode with the characters locked in a Hamptons house, arguably the show’s high-water mark.  That episode gave director Thomas Kail (who went from Hamilton to TV with graceful ease) the opportunity to put in the nails early on and keep screwing tightly, with all the actors laser-focused on their objectives and obstacles.  Episode Six, on the other hand, contained some material handled directly in All That Jazz, and it felt more like a transitional episode for the final narrative haul of the show...

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Interview: 'Diamantino' directors on queer influences, genre twists, and Pekingese puppies

by Murtada Elfadl

The balancing of many different tones differentiates Diamantino, which just opened in theaters after a hit run at Cannes last year. It's a satire, an allegory, a rom-com and a fantasy -- all of those things in one yet it all jells. Co-directors Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt kept all these different balls in the air. The story is absolutely bonkers. Let’s see if we can get it straight with the help of the official synopsis: 

Portuguese soccer hunk Diamantino (Carloto Cotta, Tabu) blows it in the World Cup finals, he goes from superstar to laughing stock overnight. His sheltered worldview is further shattered after learning about the European refugee crisis and he resolves to make amends by adopting an African refugee – only to find that his new “son” is actually an undercover lesbian tax auditor investigating him on the suspicion of corruption. From there, Diamantino gets swept up in a gonzo comic odyssey involving cigarette-smoking evil twins, Secret Service skullduggery, mad science genetic modification, and a right-wing anti-EU conspiracy.

This doesn’t even include the fluffy giant Pekingese puppies that make the best co-stars. Critics, including this writer, have been in love since the film premiered at Cannes last year winning the Critics' Week Grand Prize. We recently had the chance to speak to the co-directors in New York. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity...

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Showbiz History: Lady Godiva, RMS Titanic, and a Good Girl Gone Bad

15 random things that happened on this day, May 31st, in history as it relates to showbiz...

1279BC Ramasses II becomes Pharoah in ancient egypt. He grows up to look like Yul Brynner in the 1950s. yum. 

1057 Lady Godiva takes a naked ride. 898 years later Maureen O'Hara fills her shoes...er... saddle (she weren't wearing no shoes) in an G-rated wig in Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955)

1790 President George Washington signed the first US copyright act into law...

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May. It's a wrap

In May we were busy gazing forlornly at Cannes and also watching Fosse/Verdon intently. What were you up to? Here are a dozen highlights from the month that was so you can get caught up if you're rejoining us or if something grand slipped past you.

ICYMI
• Midnight Cowboy a 50th Anniversary look-back
• Game of Thrones "The Iron Throne" meltdown
• Pain & Glory at Cannes  Pedro Almodóvar has another hit on his hands. And an Oscar contender?
• Posterized: Keanu Reeves Whoa. He's made 55 movies and he's 55 years old. How many have you seen?  
• Top 10 Nicole Kidman Vanity Fair Covers The enduring beauty hit a milestone so we ranked them.  
• Two new Hong Chau movies The Downsizing breakout made good on her promise at Tribeca
• Booksmart a great comedy. Go see it
• Aladdin a three-part retrospective of the 1992 animated classic. One of our three wishes at the moment is that you would comment more on this deep-dive.
• Y Tu Mamá También's Ending the latest episode of your new favourite series "The New Classics" 

Most Discussed Posts
• Doris Day (1922-2019) A  legend has left us after a long life / huge career
• Posterized: Anne Hathaway She's back with The Hustle. How many of her 27 features have you seen?
• Renée Zellweger as Judy The teaser shows her singing. What do you make of it?

Previously in 2019 Summaries
Best of April | Oscar Season | Best of January

COMING IN JUNE
We have not one but two Smackdowns coming this month (2001 and 1960) for a double-whammy. Plus Emmy FYCs as nomination voting begins and various movies/festivities for LGBT Pride Month. All that plus new movies: Ma, Late Night, The Dead Don't Die, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Rocketman, Yesterday, Men in Black International, and The Last Black Man in San Francisco. 

Doc Corner: Dancing About Architecture in 'The Proposal'

By Glenn Dunks

There is an architectural quality to Jill Magid’s debut feature. Appropriate since it is about architect Luis Barragán. Not that that has stopped bio-docs about artists before lacking an ounce of artistry, but Magid has transferred her talents over well to the cinematic artform; among all of the wonderful things that The Proposal has going for it, it’s one of the most beautiful documentaries of the year.

This is hardly surprising given cinematographer Jarred Alterman is one of the most exciting names in the field and whose work on Bisbee ’17 and Contemporary Color were among those films’ most valuable assets.

Barragán, who died in 1988, remains Mexico’s most celebrated and acclaimed architect and with this film it is not hard to see why. “The artist among architects”, he was called.

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