Showbiz History: Harvey Milk elected and Moonlight and La La Land both win... no take backs

6 random things that happened on this day, January 8th, in showbiz history

1941 William Randolph Hearts forbids any of his papers for running advertisements for Citizen Kane (not in theaters till later that year), after Hedda Hopper informs him of the film's content and treatment of Marion Davies. His anger about the film spreads to Hollywood, where he had many allies and where the arrogant young Welles had already pissed off many in power. Citizen Kane struggled at the box office and was supposedly booed at the Oscars (imagine... though it's hard to fact check that since the awards weren't televised then) but history has, of course, been kind to it. 

1942 Stephen Hawking born in Oxford, England...

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"Minari" picks up a little steam with critics prizes...

Minari wins two best picture prizes

Here's four more groups of prizes from critics groups. Chloe Zhao continues her total sweep of Best Director prizes for Nomadland (she hasn't lost one yet) but Minari and Promising Young Woman find some love in this week's batch of honors...

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Review: Vanessa Kirby is a tour de force in "Pieces of a Woman"

by Matt St Clair

British thespian Vanessa Kirby has been on a steady rise, having earned an Emmy nomination for playing Princess Margaret on The Crown while kicking action ass in both Mission Impossible: Fallout and Hobbs & Shaw. With Pieces of a Woman, Kirby is finally given a project where she takes center stage and she emerges as the shining star of a picture that’s drenched in darkness due to its distressing subject matter.

The first major sequence in Pieces of a Woman involving Martha's (Kirby) home birth will be a deal-breaker for some viewers...

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Showbiz History: Hurston's work, Nicole's night, and Fame's debut

7 random things that happened on this day, January 7th, in showbiz history

1891 Best-selling author Zora Neale Hurston is born in Alabama. Where's her biopic? Hell, where are the movies based on her books and plentiful short stories? The only movie length adaptation has been the TV movie Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005). 

1971 Today is the big "5-0" for Jeremy Renner, twice Oscar nominated (The Hurt Locker, The Town), but whose promising gifts were completely swallowed up by a desire to become a franchise star which was both successful in a supporting sense (9 years and counting as Hawkeye in the MCU) and not in the headliner sense (Mission: Impossible... Tom Cruise quickly taking the franchise back, Hansel & Gretel... one and done, The Bourne Legacy... Matt Damon quickly taking the franchise back)...

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'Promising News in Miami'

by Nathaniel R

Good news for those still stuck at home, which is most of us. Both the provocative Carey Mulligan vehicle Promising Young Woman and the thoughtful Tom Hanks western News of the World are arriving On Demand starting Friday, January 15th (a week from tomorrow!). Coincidentally that's also Regina King's birthday and the day her directorial debut, One Night in Miami, begins streaming on Amazon Prime. It's like Regina is giving us a gift for her birthday. Generous!

So circle that date on your calendar. You'll be able to have a delicious Best Picture hopeful triple feature weekend. Your mileage will of course vary on whether each of these three are worthy of a "Best" stamp but at the very least they're all interesting and handsomely made movies and as a triple feature they offer a ton of variety in tone and theme and acting styles.

Which are you most eager to see?