Months of Meryl: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

John and Matthew are watching every single live-action film starring Meryl Streep. 

Meryl talking to director David Frankel during shooting

#34 —Miranda Priestly, ferocious editor-in-chief of Runway magazine.

JOHN: How do you solve a problem like Miranda Priestly? Or, more specifically, The Devil in Prada? How do you make walking into a room a distinct and indelible character trait? How do you continue assembling a mannequin’s outfit while simultaneously delivering a brutal lecture about the color cerulean? How do you not only resist but upend the misogyny inherent in your role? How do you grip the audience by their necks while still having them root for your victory? When your name is Meryl Streep, such issues are not problems or challenges, but more like Smith & Wollensky porterhouses, plump, juicy, bloody gifts, presented to you on a plate...

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Nicole Kidman in "Destroyer". Is De-Glam Back?

by Nathaniel R

We've seen set photos but this is the first official image from Annapurna of Nicole Kidman in Destroyer, her LAPD drama and suspected second Oscar bid. She plays Erin Bell, a woman haunted by her past when she was undercover with a criminal gang...

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Podcast: Crazy Rich Asians and Glenn Close for Best Actress

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl welcome Nick Davis back to the podcast this week for lots of Crazy Rich Asians talk.

Index (58 minutes)
00:01 Introductions. Randomness.
02:10 Nick has read the book that The Wife is based on!
05:01 Crazy Rich Asians talk. Lots and lots on with SPOILERS (sorry). We love the ensemble including Michelle Yeoh, Harry Shum Jr, Pierre Png, Gemma Chan, and more...
36:34 Older films we've been watching: Travels with My Aunt (1972) Your Name (2016), and Luchino Visconti's The Damned (1969)
42:00 Recent releases: I Feel Pretty, Madeline's Madeline, The Darkest Minds
50:45 Steve James new docuseries "America to Me"
54:00 Glenn Close for Best Actress! 

Referenced in this discussion
• Nathaniel's year old review of The Wife from TIFF
• Murtada's Desiree Akhavan interview
• Justin Chang's Crazy Rich Asians review
• Kelley Dong's Crazy Rich Asians review
• The 1972 Best Actress list

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Crazy Rich Asians, The Wife

Go See "The Wife"

by Nathaniel R

TFE's Blurb Whore triumphs are few and far between -- we don't seek them out and Rolling Stone we are not -- so I was surprised and delighted to see my quote on the poster for The Wife  in the top right under her above her eye. The quote is from our TIFF review last fall

She's spectacular. Put simply, it's the best work Close has done in over 20 years. 

Sadly I've been unable to find this particular poster online, but for snapshots from screenings that people have drawn my attention to...

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All Sissy, All the Time

by Eric Blume

From now until the end of the year, we will very surprisingly (and pleasantly!) get several doses of the great Sissy Spacek.  She's currently part of the cast of Hulu's Castle Rock, which brings her back to Stephen King territory three decades after her virtuoso performance in Carrie.  You can also find her in the trailer for the upcoming fall release The Old Man & The Gun opposite Robert Redford, and she'll play Julia Roberts' mom (!) in the November 2nd debut of the new Amazon series Homecoming.  That's a lot of work for the 68-year-old Oscar-winning actress, and it's marvelous to see her still getting roles in such large-scale projects...

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