Best Shot Index: West Side Story (2021)

Thank you to everyone who participated tonight. Next week's film is Romancing The Stone (1984) streaming on HBOMax so we hope you'll join us and pick your own shot. Here were the eight choices from West Side Story (2021) and we're marvelling at the variety and beauty. The film is up for Best Cinematography, Best Picture and more at the Oscars. Click on the image for the article, tweet, or tumblr post...

Ryan on Twitter (thread)

Keisha at Cinema Cities (article)

Cláudio Alves at The Film Experience (article)

Working Stiff at Tumblr (multiple articles)

Intifada on Tumblr (gallery)

Ben Miller at  Ice Cream For Freaks (article)

Steven James on Twitter (capsule)

And finally we love this fascinating choice from Alexander Georgakis on Twitter who writes:

The dissolve from the former Anita to the current one is more than a clever meta moment -- it asks us to consider if over the last sixty years, America has finally become that better time and place Valentina dreams about in “Somewhere”? In some ways, yes; in others, sadly, no.

CDG Award winners: 'Dune' and 'Cruella' to fight it out at the Oscars

by Nathaniel R

Andrew Garfield accepting his prize

The Costume Design Guild Awards were held last night. Teary Andrew Garfield received the Spotlight Award and said costume designers were his favourite to collaborate with. Producers Amy Pascal and Rachel O'Connor where honored as Distinguished Collaborators and Sharen Davis received the Career Achievement Award. The late Anthony Powell was also inducted into the CDG Hall of Fame by Glenn Close in a prerecorded segment. The Costume Designers Guild divvies their annual prizes up into Contemporary, Fantasy, and Period which means that three films get to share honors. This year they went for Coming 2 America, Dune, and Cruella... the latter two are also competing for the Oscar. Winners and comments after the jump... 

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Casting: Austin Butler as Feyd Rautha in 'Dune Part Two'

by Nathaniel R

Twink Wars 2023

In what surely must be a sign that Warner Bros is very happy with Baz Luhrmann's forthcoming Elvis, Austin Butler is now reportedly in talks to play the cunning Feyd Rautha, in their pricey franchise installment Dune Part Two. (Earlier online rumors had suggested Barry Keoghan was in the mix). Dune Part Two is due in theaters in October 2023 so filming starts later this year. Florence Pugh is also joining the sequel...

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot: WEST SIDE STORY (2021)

by Cláudio Alves

A beautiful shot, full of carnality and color!

Re-watching Spielberg's interpretation of the classic musical made me realize that, beyond the mournful tonalities of Rita Moreno's Valentina, the new West Side Story works mainly as a tragedy of two gang leaders, what they symbolize, and the clashing communities they represent. So, logically, my best shot would have to feature Riff and Bernardo while also showcasing the best aspects of the picture's photographic strategy. Hopefully, it'd also hide some of my personal misgivings with it, too – namely, the overabundance of glaring lens flares...

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Three cheers to Pixar employees for their forceful righteous letter to Disney

by Nathaniel R

Thank you to the always informative Cartoon Brew for sharing this letter from Pixar employees. The original  source was the subscription newsletter Popular Information. The letter addresses Disney's disgusting support of anti-gay legislators in Florida (which we discussed a couple of days ago) and the company's lame attempts at pretending they haven't given that support without actually removing it. The letter was written by 'LGBTQ+ employees and their allies' at Pixar. It's forceful and necessary. Of notable interest is the admission that Pixar films have tried for greater diversity in their storytelling years before the current wave of movies but has always been shut down by their parent company. We're sharing it in full because it's 100% worth reading...

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