Box Office Fault Lines

I didn't see the latest disaster epic this weekend - but maybe you did? How many people did The Rock save with his giant arms and helicopters and diving (the three techniques he used from the trailer - I'm just guessing). San Andreas the movie may have killed off Californians but it was spectacle enough to attract the nation at large with a $50+ million opening weekend which makes this his biggest opening weekend outside of the Mummy and Fast & Furious franchises.

WIDE RELEASE
May 29-31 Weekend
01 San Andreas NEW $53.2
02 Pitch Perfect 2 $14.8 (cum. $147.5) Review
03 Tomorrowland $13.8 (cum. $63.1) Review
04 Mad Max Fury Road $13.6 (cum. $115.9) Review & Podcast
05 Age of Ultron  $10.9 (cum. $427) Review & Marathon & Podcast
06 Aloha NEW $10 Review
07 Poltergeist $7.8 (cum. $38.2)
08 Far From The Madding Crowd $1.4 (cum. $8.3) Review 
09 Hot Pursuit $1.3 (cum. $32.3) Review
10 Home $1.1 (cum. $170.4) 

Meanwhile Aloha, Cameron Crowe's latest had a dismal $10 million opening (That's a dismal opening when you've got three mostly bankable A list stars) and terrible reviews - many critics calling it his worst yet. I was curious to see it despite the reviews until I heard that Emma Stone was playing a character that was meant to be half Asian American and then I was like...'you know what Hollywood? Just not doing this anymore. ENOUGH.'

In better news Mad Max and Far From The Madding Crowd (the two we're rooting for at the moment from genre quality and "make more movies like this" concerns) held fairly well in their third and fifth weekends respectively. Fury Road's exorbitant price tag isn't going to make it one of the most profitable films of the year but at least it will eventually make its money back! I had the laziest weekend ever as you probably sensed from the unusually quiet blogging... but I'm hoping you found excitement. What did you see?

NYC Readers Take Note:
I will be appearing in a show at UCB in the East Village called "So Into It" on Tuesday night (June 2nd) this week. It's a comic variety show that changes themes each month and this month the topic is 'awards shows'. I'm not totally sure what to expect but I will be interviewed on stage at some point during the show. Please note: I am not the one bringing the comedy -- not a comedian. I'm just being interviewed but I'd appreciate support from anyone reading who is So Into The Film Experience (and also non-judgmental) as I'm terrified of being on stage. 

Julie Harris, Costume Designer (RIP)

One of the oldest costume designers passed away this weekend. Julie Harris, not to be confused with the legendary stage and screen actress of the same name, died in London at the age of 94. Though she was well loved at the BAFTAs with five nominations and a win, she only had one brush with Oscar. But if you only get one shot, make it a zeitgeist moment.

And boy did she. She designed the mod classic, John Schlesginger's Darling (1965) which won her, Julie Christie, and the screenwriter golden statues 50 years ago, in a year otherwise Oscar-dominated by a certain other Julie in an Oscar winning musical. Harris had quite a streak in the 1960s. It didn't get much hipper then than designing for the original Bond girl (Ursula Andress in Casino Royale), Julie Christie (Darling!) and The Beatles themselves (A Hard Day's Night, Help!). About the Fab Four, Harris famous quipped

I must be one of the few people who can claim they have seen John, Paul, George and Ringo naked.

Other famous films included The Swiss Family Robinson (1960), The Chalk Garden (1964), Goodbye Mr Chips (1969), Rollerball (1975), The Slipper and the Rose (1976) and Dracula (1979). She retired from the cinema at the age of 60 with an unusual assignment - The Great Muppet Caper (1981). 

costume sketches for Alfred Hitchcock's FRENZYJulie Christie & Dirk Bogarde on location for DARLING

Have you ever seen Darling? We keep meaning to write about it for the blog but have never quite done so.

1979 Look Back: Bette Midler and "The Rose"

By 1979 Bette Midler was already a star. She had a Grammy (Best New Artist), an Emmy (for her televison special Ol' Red Hair is Back), and a Special Tony award for "adding lustre to the Broadway stage". (She performed in a show called Bette Midler's Clams on the Half Shell Revue). Naturally the next entertainment medium to conquer was film and become an inevitable movie star as well. Despite uncredited small parts (including 1966's Hawaii, which filmed in her home state) and underground film, Midler made her official film debut as a lead with her electrifying performance as a troubled rocker in The Rose - which, of course, brought her a Best Actress nomination, a Golden Globe, and a film career to add to her impressive résumé.   

The film earned a total of four Academy Award nominations (Midler plus Best Supporting Actor for Frederic Forrest, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing). Just recently the film scored another honor when it was released through the prestigious Criterion Collection. In addition to a gorgeous restoration (I had previously only seen the film on grainy VHS and I was amazed at how sharp and bright the colors are - especially during the stage numbers), there are new interviews with Bette Midler, director Mark Rydell, as well as archival footage from a day of shooting that aired on the Today show.

More...

Click to read more ...

May. It's a Wrap

Summertime is here. May done flew by. Okay okay. There's technically two days left but I was eager to share my latest photoshop frenzy. Isn't it a sad beauty?

So May departs leaving us with excessive anticipation for Cannes titles, summer blockbuster excitement at its peak (that tiny window before the supersizing fatigue hits sometime around July 4th), but let's take a quick look back at the Month that was...

Most Popular Articles:
Gold: The New Best Actress Field (& all things Carol)
Silver: Revenge of the 80s: Now With More 10s Sexism
Bronze (+ Most Discussed): Yes No Maybe So: Ricki and the Flash

Important Singular Events ICYMI
David Dastmalchian Guest Blog -What he learned from Paul Rudd & more...
Cannes Closing Ceremony - Who won, what the jury said going in
Mad Men Finale - "Person to Person" 
Orson Welles Centennial - a special 'best shot' episode  

Other Highlights:  
Dubbing Movies for Foreign Markets - Yuck!
Best Action Acting Ever? Besides Sigourney in Aliens... Hmmm? 
George Miller's Triptych Career - Talking Animals + Susan Sarandon + Mad Max 
Bette Davis, Mother's and Tell-Alls - Now Voyager discussed 
The Bening - announced her sure-to-be triumphant return 
The Podcast -we really dug into Ex Machina 
"It's For People" - have a cup of joe with David Lynch 

Series
As ever we love a good theme / project. Manuel began his HBO LGBT series, Anne Marie looked at the work of Sofia Coppola, and the team looked at 1979 as well as a few sex scenes.  

Reviews - Catch Up!
Fury Road (A), Carol (A), Age of Ultron (B), Far From the Madding Crowd (B), Welcome to Me (B-), Pitch Perfect 2 (C+), Tomorrowland (C+), Irrational Man (C+), Maggie (C+), Hot Pursuit (C), Chocolate City (D+) 

COMING IN JUNE: Cara Seymour (American Psycho, The Knick, An Education) will guest blog!; 'Best Shot' returns with Dick Tracy, Amadeus, and Magic Mike; Anne Marie's "women's pictures" looks back at the career of Agnes Varda, mother of the French New Wave; we'll surely talk dinosaurs and emotions with Jurassic World and Inside Out arriving; Two big Smackdowns headed your way as we finally get to 1979 next weekend and 1948 at the end of the month; and Team Experience sounds off with some FYCs for Emmy Voters since they'll be turning in their nomination ballots in June

... Any requests?

"I'm trying to help you!"