American Link Story

Playlist Adam McKay (The Big Short) planning a Dick Cheney biopic which may star Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Steve Carell
LA Times comedian Don Rickles has died at 90
Vulture Interesting observations: blockbuster filmmakers are making the same single parent family drama inbetween their visual fx movies
Movie City News on the tired false notion that 'movie stars don't matter anymore' in terms of box office which we're seeing a lot of post Ghost in the Shell opening and which we see every time a star driven movie fails essentially. Movie stars obviously do still matter but the economics of movies are always changing.

/Film in this week's strangest news: Actor/Hunk Joe Mangianello has written a Dungeons & Dragons movie
Washington Post another 'Nicole Kidman is awesome and always has been' essay. Glad we're getting a wave of these but kind of annoyed that people haven't taken our word for it all these years ;) 
Billboard Adele's "21" album from 2011 just broke a record long held by Carole King's "Tapestry"
IndieWire ranks the top 14 female action stars. The top three are unassailably major (Jolie, Johansson, Theron) but the list gets weird and debatable thereafter even including Cara Delevigne who's not yet headlined an action film at #14
Yahoo American Crime Story's Versace murder cast keeps growing and it's always celebrities. Ricky Martin has signed on as Versace's longtime partner Antonio D'Amico
Telegraph Stage star and sometime screen actor Tim Pigott-Smith has died at 70. Screen credits include V For Vendetta, Downton Abbey, and The Jewel in the Crown (BAFTA award)
Variety Angelina Jolie rumored to be buying a $25 million estate (less than two miles from Brad Pitt's home) that used to belong to Cecil B DeMille 
EW Alexander Skarsgård worries he won't get work after Big Little Lies because Perry was such a monster 

P.S. A follow up yesterday's "on this day" post. VOTE!

For his birthday, What's Francis Ford Coppola's greatest creation

— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) April 7, 2017

P.P.S. Have you begun thinking of the Emmy race yet?

We're still in the eligibility period and the nominating doesn't begin until early June but the campaigning has already begun in force for many shows, both Emmy darlings and other.

Last nights #FYC for #crazyexgirlfriend was #bonkerballs As if performing live with our cast and having our creatives, executives, writers and casting director there wasn't enough of a love fest, we even got these swanning tote bags WITH Season 2 soundtrack CD!! 😮🎁🎉 #TotesTotes #ILoveSwagBags #TeamCrazy #crazyexfyc

A post shared by Vincent Rodriguez III (@vrodrigueziii) on Apr 6, 2017 at 10:25am PDT

It must be frustrating to be on great TV shows that the television Academy ignores. History has shown that they don't change course unless they're basically forced to which they will be this year at least in one category: Best Drama Series has a single new opening since Game of Thrones isn't eligible for the very first time. The Emmys would be so much more exciting, and frankly mean a lot more, if the nominations were done by special committees forced to watch a bunch of things. Imagine if the nominations actually shifted per season depending on quality. All series have ups and downs! 

Two Oscar Rule Changes: One great, the other tragic

by Nathaniel R

The Academy announced some a few rule changes today. You no longer have to have only one composer to be eligible for Original Score, and producing partnerships will be considered a single entity now -- meaning more people could be nominated for producing Best Picture nominees. But the two big changes are about the Documentary and Animated Feature races and one of those changes we applaud and the other makes us want to riot to protect a beloved artform...

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Feud: Bette and Joan "And the Winner Is" (Part 2)

Previously... And the Winner Is (Pt 1)

-Wait up for me boys. Tonight I'm bringing you home a baby brother.

by Nathaniel R

Picking up where we left off... and, to quote, Mamacita (the delightfully dry Jackie Hoffman) "pick up the pace, it's Oscar day!"

In the second half of Feud's best episode, after watching Joan & Hedda swaying voters away from Bette Davis and arranging for Joan to both present (Best Director) and accept (Best Actress should Bancroft or Page win), it's time for Oscar night. A whole army of hair and makeup people swam Chez Crawford...

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Interview: Guillaume Gallienne and Danièle Thompson on 'Cézanne and I'

By Jose Solís.

In Cézanne and I, director Danièle Thompson chronicles the ultimate bromance: the lifelong friendship between Emile Zola (Guillaume Canet) and Paul Cézanne (Guillaume Gallienne) who went from being schoolmates to becoming two of the most influential artists in history. In the film we see Zola’s literary work flourish, as Cézanne struggles to make a name for himself when his contemporaries fail to see the quality of his work and mock his technique. But rather than being a condescending story about “poor genius men”, the film addresses the terrifying idea that not everyone’s talents are meant to be recognized. I sat down with Gallienne and Thompson to discuss the themes in the film and the challenges of capturing the creative process onscreen.

JOSE: Why did you want to make a film about Zola and Cézanne?

DANIÈLE THOMPSON: I was very intrigued by the fact I knew nothing about their relationship, very quickly I thought that for these two men to have met as little boys in school, and to remain friends as each of them became monumental figures of the 19th century was very intriguing. I was also intrigued by how their friendship ended, it had the roots for a dramatic story.

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First Look at Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy in "Breathe"

by Murtada

While we wait for Nathaniel’s first Oscar predictions of the 2017 season (soon) let's discuss one of the films that might contend, Andy Serkis’ Breathe. The new drama announced an October 27th release date in the UK with a US plan still forthcoming. A la The Theory of Everything (2014) it is the true life story of a marriage altered by disease. Based on the life story of its producer, Jonathan Cavendish’s parents, Breathe, is about a man who is struck by Polio in his late 20s...

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