Open Thread - Three Questions

I'm a smidge under the weather tonight. So it's your turn to talk. Answer me these questions three: 

1. What movie is constantly on your mind lately?
2. What kind of top ten list do you wish your were reading here right now since it is Tuesday and we really should be topten-ing?
3. March 12th, which starts in 3...2...1..., is Liza Minnelli's birthday. She'll be 68. How do you plan on celebrating? Post Oscar we should all be celebrating since she deserved better. 

It's Happening Again... Dates For The Next Awards Season

Just when you thought you were safe... it's happening again. No sooner has Oscar season ended than the powers that be are setting dates for next season. Dates which will determine the schedules of virtually everyone in Hollywood. Do we already have to start thinking about this? Yes. Yes, we do.

SAG Awards® Committee Chair JoBeth Williams agrees that it's terrifying...

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'The World is Round, People!' But Can It Spin a Little Differently?

Blue Jasmine was one of Woody Allen's biggest hits, earning $94 million globallyGeena Davis and I have been harping on gender disparity in film for ever and I've also spent a lot of time on its sister problem: ageism focused on women. But in the past couple of years it feels like the conversation has finally reached the mainstream. 

Every website, even the most misogynist-friendly, now knows what the Bechdel Test is and that the majority of movies still fail it even though it's super easy to pass. Cate Blanchett's Oscar speech got a lot of attention and Kevin B Lee recently had a major cinemetrics piece in the New York Times about women's limited screen time and now, as The Wrap reports, a new study out of San Diego State's Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film shows how bad the problem is not just in lead roles (only 13% of the films in the top 100 of last year) but in ageist double standards (women over 40 account for only 30% of female roles while 55% of male roles are for the over 40 set) and in racial representation (73% of all female roles are for caucasian women).

All of this despite the fact that Cate's Oscar speech was total righteous truth-telling. [More...]

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Curio: Matryoshka Movie Night

Alexa here. The other night, as I watched my daughter play with a set of nesting dolls while watching Ponyo, I realized that it would be great to have a set inspired by the film (with all the characters inside Granmamare, naturally), and the artist to make them would be Irene Hwang.  Irene lives in Queensland, Australia (lucky lady) and spends her free time painting extremely detailed matryoshka dolls with a pop culture theme.  She is also something of a film buff, as these eclectic selections reveal. What makes these so special is her attention to detail, how she includes appropriate accessories for the characters. It is unsurprising that she is Wes Anderson acolyte. You can buy some here; she even accepts custom orders.

Click for more including Audition and The Princess Bride...

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Linkpourri

Change.org a petition to get Lupita Nyong'o cast as Storm in the next X-Men movie. Too bad there's still one more round of Halle Berry!
Ellen TV somehow I hadn't see Cate Blanchett's post Oscar win visit to Ellen until just now. So funny and I love what she says about sleeping with her statue at the 4:30 mark 
Cinema Blend Kristen Bell planning to work with the Frozen songwriter team again. More musicals, yay! 

In Contention lessons learned from this Oscar season. I've been preaching the "don't open in December" thing for a long time but finally other pundits are coming round! 
Comics Alliance whoa. superhero figures are getting way more realistic than when I was a kid! Here's Black Widow -- I assume Scarlett Johansson gets a huge cut of this for allowing her likeness. Can you imagine the market if they could make sex dolls this realistic. Did I just type that aloud. My deepest apologies but it's Scarlett. She does things to people. 

small screen
Slate talks to True Detective's costume designer
The Guardian Lee Daniels and Gabby Sidibe of Precious fame are reuniting albeit not as spectacularly. This time she'll play the assistant to a lead character (Terence Howard) in a new TV series about a hiphop record label. 
The Week is there too much nudity on HBO?
TFE If you love Faith the Vampire Slayer than you must please stop goodie Buffy in this reader's poll. Buffy Buffy Buffy
Pajiba on dead TV characters they'd like resurrected
Comics Alliance Oh my Dark Phoenix. They're reviewing every episode of the 90s X-Men animated series
Salon the vague plans for Season 2 of True Detective 

Today's Watch(es)
For the adults... Strangers kissing for the first time, an experiment. (Weird that the gay guys are the most demure about it!)

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For all ages... Sesame Street does Les Miserables with Cookie Monster taking up the lead duties

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Do you hear the cookies crunch?
It's really more than we can bear
That's the sound of Jean Bon-bon
He's the guy who would not share ♫