Best LGBTQ Movies - Nathaniel's List

by Nathaniel R

At the beginning of the month we shared a collection of disparate lists from various websites on the "best LGBTQ films ever" and since that got such a good response let's return to the well for something more personal as Pride month winds down. Naturally when you make personal lists the order can be justifiably odd, even to your own eyes, so we must acknowledge first and foremost that this is by no means definitive: I haven't seen every queer movie ever made, and were the list to have been made on a different day or perhaps a different hour, it might be noticeably different, at least in ranking.

Nevertheless here's to hoping you enjoy this imperfect list of... 

Nathaniel's 125 Favourite Queer Movies

1. Cabaret (Fosse, 1972) 8 OSCAR WINS INCLUDING BEST DIRECTOR
2. Carol (Haynes, 2015)

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Showbiz History: For your eyes only, Mrs Miller...

10 random things that happened on  this day (June 24th) in showbiz history

1916 Mary Pickford, a very savvy businesswoman, becomes the first female movie star to get a million dollar contract. That was on top of her $10,000 a week (The average US income was under $20,000 in 1916... for the whole year). Can you imagine how much money that was in 1916 ???

1960 Opening weekend for the musical Bells are Ringing starring Judy Holliday (reprising her Tony-winning Broadway role). It proved to be the Oscar winner's last movie, tragically, since she died at only 43 years of age from cancer.

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What did you see this weekend?

Weekend Box Office Estimates June 21st-23rd (UPDATED WITH ACTUALS) 🔺 = New or Expanding / ★ = Highly Recommended
W I D E	PLATFORM / SPECIALTY TITLES
Toy Story 4	Last Black Man in San Francisco
1 🔺 Toy Story 4  $120.9 *NEW* on 4575 screens	1🔺 The Dead Don't Die $1.1 (cum. $4.7) on 690 screens REVIEW
2 🔺 Child's Play $14 *NEW* on 3007 screens REVIEW	2 🔺  Pavarotti $431k (cum. $1) on 135 screens
3  Aladdin  $13.2 (cum. $288.5) on 3435 screens REVIEW, 1992 RETROSPECTIVE	3 🔺 The Last Black Man in San Francisco $410k (cum. $1.3) on 72 screens REVIEW ★
4 Men in Black International  $10.7 (cum. $52.6) on 4224 screens REVIEW	4 🔺  Echo in the Canyon $225k (cum. 1.1) on 81 screens
5 Secret Life of Pets 2 $10.2 (cum. $117.5) on 3804 screens REVIEW	5  Biggest Little Farm $164k (cum. $3.2) on 134 screens
6 Rocketman $5.6 (cum. $77.2) on 2414 screens  REVIEW ★	6 🔺 Wild Rose $52k *NEW* on 4 screens

What did you see this week? 

• True to the overstated but possibly real 'franchise fatigue' of summer 2019, Toy Story 4 opened lower than both studio and analyst's expectations though $118 million is still a hefty opening tally, and the third best of the year (Disney has the top four openings all to themselves). Meanwhile Child's Play also fell short of expectations continuing the trend. If only some original film would break out we could view it as people being tired of sequels and franchises, but it's probably not that as they're not seeking out anything new instead. Speaking of franchise fatigue, Godzilla: King of Monsters managed to inch over the $100 million mark this weekend. But with a budget of $170 million (not including P&A) that's still rough waters for the iconic kaiju to swim in.

• In platform releases, The Last Black Man in San Francisco and the music docs Echo in the Canyon and Pavarotti continued to do well all three crossing the $1 million mark this weekend. 

• The new titles not listed above included Anna, earning $3.6 million its opening weekend, the documentaries Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, A Bigger Splash (a rerelease of the art doc classic) and The Quiet One earning $48k, $18k, and $10k respectively.

Emmy voting is in progress. Confessions from a sitcom agnostic.

by Nathaniel R

Aidy Bryant in "Shrill"

Voting is winding down for the year's Emmy nominations, which is why we've been sharing FYCs.  If past years are any indication the nominee list will look nearly identical to last year's with the exception of shows/performances that are no longer eligible. Their slots will be filled by the new hits (it seems likely, for example, that Pose and Russian Doll and a couple of other freshmen series that got people talking for months on end, will receive attention). But looking over the ballots for performers, it becomes suddenly clear that NO ONE can watch this much television...

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Emmy FYC: Eliza Scanlen in "Sharp Objects"

Team Experience is sharing Emmy FYCs as the television Academy finishes their voting in the next few days. Here's Ginny O'Keefe

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

“Don’t tell Mama.” Three words that left me gasping and slack-jawed all through the credits of the final episode of the hauntingly beautiful and addictive HBO miniseries “Sharp Objects”. Now I, along with everyone else who watched this Jean-Marc Vallée gem, ranted and raved about Amy Adam’s broken and scarred performance as Camille Preaker (I think its her best performance to date). And of course, shook my head in incredulity and awe at Patricia Clarkson’s callous and melodramatic Adora Crellin. But one performer who perfectly balanced being the star of the show and not drawing too much attention to herself was the crafty newbie Eliza Scanlen. Her performance as the psycho-in-plain-sight, Amma Crellin, was one of the breakouts of 2018, and just like the show it cut deep. Unlike Emmy sure things Adams and Clarkson, she lacks star power to stir talk of a nomination, but it's an honor she needs and deserves. It all comes down to her twisted performance, which doesn’t lack for power. 

Every time Scanlen came on screen I would get severe anxiety (I hadn't read the book that the show is based on)...

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