The Linkhouse

• Film Doctor ten notes on the beginning of Psycho (1960)
• The Guardian we love hero Abigail Disney who continues to fight the good fight against the company that makes her one of the 1% - she's now criticizing Disney for laying off workers while protecting executive bonuses of more than 1 billion dollars:

That’d pay for three months’ salary to frontline workers,. And it’s going to people who have already been collecting egregious bonuses for years. Dividends aren’t all bad, given the number of fixed-income folks who rely on them. But still 80% of shares are owned by the wealthiest 10%. Pay the people who make the magic happen with respect and dignity they have more than earned from you. This company must do better.”

"Curated" tv binges, Ghibli backgrounds for your zoom sessions, a sad cut from The Lighthouse, and a new ageist threat for film and tv production after the jump...

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Tweetweek: Special Gallows Humor Episode

This message popped up on Twitter and we all had a good laugh about it. Niche humor for Oscar watchers only but something might be wrong with Twitter's notification algorithms.

They are??? pic.twitter.com/5RRsUkMzwW

— Kevin Jacobsen (@Kevin_Jacobsen) April 24, 2020

More after the jump including Mad Men, proprietary feelings about Keanu Reeves, a Nicole Kidman ditty, Simu Liu's quarantine and lots of gallows humor because that's the world we're living in...

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Introducing the Smackdown Panel for '81

We're so excited to bring you a new super-sized season of the Supporting Actress Smackdown. First up in early May is the year 1981. We'll be talking about Reds, On Golden Pond, Only When I Laugh, Ragtime, and Absence of Malice... so watch those flicks, won'cha? We've gathered a panel of actors, critics and industry cinephiles for you.

Ready to dive into 1981? Let's meet the people who will be talking about the Oscars of 1981 with us. 

PLEASE WELCOME ...

SEAN MAGUIRE
Originally from London, Sean started his career at age five starring alongside Sir Laurence Olivier in his final film, A Voyage around my Father. He then rose to fame at age ten when he was cast in the BBC drama "Grange Hill." He was cast as the lead in US number one box office feature Meet the Spartans. Sean has also starred in the TV comedies Off-Centre, Eve, The Class and took the title role in the Comedy Central series Krod Mandoon opposite Kevin Hart. Sean has also appeared in shows such as BBC series Scott & Bailey, the hit series Criminal Minds, and Timeless as James Bond creator Ian Flemming. Sean is best known for playing "Robin Hood" on the hit ABC series Once Upon A Time.  Sean just completed the 5th series of The Magicians on SyFy where he played two separate characters. Sean is an ambassador for the charity Oxfam. Sean resides in Los Angeles with his wife Tanya and two sons Flynn and Leo. [Twitter | Instagram ]

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Performing Spectatorship

by Cláudio Alves

As people who love cinema, I think we can all understand the power art can yield over those who experience it. Whether finding refuge in an escapist dream or seeing an ugly truth reflected at us, the act of being an audience has the potential to startle and surprise, to devastate and entertain. I can often recall those moments when a film overwhelmed me in such ways that I ended up making a spectacle of myself. There were my sobbed laughs at a Whitney Houston karaoke in Toni Erdmann, the breathless shock at Hereditary's peanut panic, the miraculous tears when faced with Parasite's perfect montage and so much more. Those memories are like precious jewels, bright reminders of why I love cinema.

Because of this, I have a special fondness for films that try to capture that inchoate ecstasy that happens when an audience is similarly enraptured…

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"The New Classics" Returns

Exciting news! Michael Cusamano's engaging series "The New Classics," which focuses on top-notch 21st century films by dissecting a single scene, begins its second season April 28th --weekly editions Tuesdays at 1 PM! Here's what's been covered previously if you'd like to catch up. Any suggestions for season two? 

Season 1 of The New Classics

• Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
• Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
• Sexy Beast (2001)
• Master and Commander (2003)
• Shattered Glass (2003)
• Before Sunset (2004)
• Collateral (2004)
• Eastern Promises (2007)
• Michael Clayton (2007)
• No Country For Old Men (2007)
• Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) 
• The Hurt Locker (2009)
• Inglourious Basterds (2009)
• In the Loop (2009)
• I Am Love (2010)
• Meek's Cutoff (2010)
• A Separation (2011)
• Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
• It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
• Blue Ruin (2013)
• 20th Century Women (2016)
• The Florida Project (2017)