Del Toro's last stop before Oscar

by Nathaniel R

Last night Guillermo del Toro took his expected win at the Directors Guild Awards. Next stop: the 90th Academy Awards where he's also expected to claim his trophy. No one else in the Best Director field has enough momentum or goodwill to upset him, particularly given that the DGA prize is historically super predictive of the eventual Oscar win. They only seem to stray when they're making a "statement"...

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Uma Speaks Out

by Nathaniel R

Uma Thurman photographed by Damon Winter for the New York Times

"This is Why Uma Thurman is Angry" is the weekend's must-read. The movie star has been suggesting that she had a rage boiling up inside her for months now. She has now added her voice to the chorus of women accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. Though she spares us the sickening details this sharply written editorial by Maureen Dowd, who spent two nights talking to Uma, suggests plenty. Surprisingly it's more damning, in a curious and, for this particular season, atypical way, of her chief collaborator Quentin Tarantino with whom she had enjoyed a long and creative relationship.

I had really always felt a connection to the greater good in my work with Quentin and most of what I allowed to happen to me and what I participated in was kind of like a horrible mud wrestle with a very angry brother. But at least I had some say, you know?

The account of their strained relationship after Weinstein's misconduct and their falling out over a dangerous accident (warning the video is very upsetting) on the set of Kill Bill feel emotionally brutal.

The Bride had more names to cross of her list. 

RPDR All Stars 3: E2 - Divas Live!

by Chris Feil

After a phenomenal premiere last week, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars retuned with a nod to it’s new VH1 home for a lipsync tribute to VH1 Divas Live.

For the children who may not remember this landmark televised event of living legends sharing a stage and its subsequent installments, this was the thunderdome of vocal runs and balladry. Some helpful context: last week Aja’s jawdropping performance snuck up on formiddable competition and Céline-d a stage of Aretha’s and Mariah’s. Morgan McMichaels was Carole King and didn’t stick around. Valentina Whitney Houston-d because everyone wondered why she wasn’t there.

Seriously VH1, it’s the 20th Anniversary of the first Divas Live. Be good to us and start a revival. And true to Divas Live, this episode delivered as much on personality as it did performance.

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Quick Links: Jordan Peele, Italy Dance Party, Nipplegate

• Collider why you should keep buying movies on DVD/Blu-Ray
• Vanity Fair wonderful account of Jordan Peele's visit to a UCLA class studying Get Out and how Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost inspired his career
• E! on the rise of RuPaul's Drag Race. Is it mainstream now despite RuPaul's protestations?
• select/all a terrific piece on "Nipplegate" at the Superbowl (since Justin Timberlake is headed there again) and on viral content before YouTube
• EW pandeomonium in Italy when Armie Hammer, Luca Guadagnino and Timothée Chalamet arrive. Dancing with fans, etcetera

Claire Foy Goes Positively "Unsane"

By Spencer Coile 

In just a few short years, Claire Foy has created an electric resume. After a lauded performance in Wolf Hall, she was cast as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown - leading to heaping amounts of accolades and acclaim. Now that her two season stint as the royal monarch is up, she is ready for exciting film projects. 

Unsane, the latest from Steven Soderbergh, feels different from many of his previous films. Shot "in secret" on an iPhone, it tells the story of Sawyer (Claire Foy), a woman who is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she confronts her stalker face-to-face. Or does she? Is it all in her head? 

Watch the trippy trailer after the jump...

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