Tony Award Winners

Did you watch the Tony Awards last night? The evening began with Hugh Jackman proving his physical fitness -- his knees get such a workout -- by hopping through his entire continuous shot production number, basically a tour of the backstage and upcoming performers in costume.

That led to a night of high energy but strange and touristy musical number choices like numbers from ancient top-selling shows (Les Miz and Wicked) rather than new ones that need the sales help and non-Broadway celebrities like Sting and Jennifer Hudson taking up a lot of room to sell shows that aren't even open. It'd be a bit like the Oscars going "how about Interstellar?" while giving prizes to Gravity back in March. 

Hugh Jackman also rapped with LL Cool Jr via the famously chatty opening number of "The Music Man" Hugh Jackman has now spent 14 years of his career playing Wolverine and at this point he's really wasting his life (I mean once you have 100s of millions, what's 20 million more?). He needs to commit and make only movie musicals before he's too old.  

Highlights and winners of the night after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Say What, Benedict?

We asked you to amuse us by adding a caption or dialogue to this photo the winner is John

Benedict Cumberbatch, I am arresting you on the charge of SERIAL UBIQUITY. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

John gets to choose our banner theme up top this week. What'll it be John?

Podcast: Summer Fun Times Movie Watching

Nick & Joe & Nathaniel are surveying highlights from the summer season thus far. Nick and Joe love Only Lovers Left Alive and Nathaniel has just returned from How To Train Your Dragon 2. 

00:00 Intro and Lucy
02:20 Alternative Blockbusters & Action Figures
04:00 Favorite Things We Saw This Summer 
08:45 Maleficent and Villainous Backstories 
12:00 Many Tangents: Kill Bill, The Lion King, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Jude Law
19:10 Summer Releases To Come, Melissa McCarthy & Channing Tatum
25:00 Jersey Boys vs. Think Like a Man 2
and...
30:00-48:00 As an appetizer for next week's 2004 10th Anniversary Podcast. We look back at the Oscar winners: Morgan Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Jamie Foxx, Hilary Swank and Million Dollar Baby

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download the conversation on iTunes (though sometimes it takes a day to show up there). Continue the conversation in the comments.

Related Reads:
Keith Uhlich on Godzilla and Wesley Morris on Maleficent

Summer Fun Times

Box Office Haiku: The Fault in Cruise's Budget

Cancer romance tops
Critics loved expensive "Edge"
Maleficent's legs!

Mutants or Monsters - 
What did you see this weekend?
Time for Tonys. Bye!  

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
01 THE FAULT IN OUR STARS $48.2 NEW Review
02 MALEFICENT $33.5 (cum. $127.3) Podcast
03 EDGE OF TOMORROW $29.1 NEW
04 X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST $14.7 (cum. $189.1) Review
05 A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST $7.1 (cum. $30) Guest Review
06 GODZILLA $5.9 (cum. $185) Review & Podcast
07 NEIGHBORS $5.2 (cum. $137.8)  Review & Podcast
08 BLENDED $4 (cum. $36.5)
09 CHEF $2.6 (cum. $10.3)
10 MILLION DOLLAR ARM $1.8 (cum. $31.3)

P.S. Good Captain
Finally lapped those Legos
Champion of the year

Open Thread. What's On Your Cinematic Mind?

My day is jam-packed full: podcast recording, possible movie outing, Tony Awards and such so there's no time to write just yet. But this morning I kept thinking about Hattie McDaniel (random!) and how she must have had just one costume in her dressing room for years: the maid's uniform. We so need a biopic! 

What's on your cinematic mind?