"Dreamgirls" at 10

by Chris Feil

With La La Land, isn't it great to have a musical out in front again this Oscar race, especially one that brings such joy (sideyeing you specifically, Les Miz)? And as Nathaniel pointed out, that shouldn't be taken for granted.

Ten years ago, Dreamgirls was a more traditional genre high, and ulitmately taught us not to get too comfortable with a musical's Oscar chances after it landed that year's highest nomination tally but missed Best Picture and Director. But maybe that miss resulted from voters tiring of a campaign that started a full year before release, and not from the quality of the film.

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Grammy Nominees... As They Relate to Movies, Theater, and TV

Nominations have been announced for the 59th annual Grammy Awards honoring the year in music (sort of.. their timelines can be very confusing). More than any of the other big 4 awards shows (Tonys, Emmys, Oscars) Grammy nods are largely based on financial success so it's usually the superstars in the major categories and that's true again this year with Beyoncé leading with 9 nominations and other superstars not far behind. The surprise this year was country star Sturgill Simpson (A Sailor's Guide to Earth) sharing the most coveted category "Album of the Year" category with Beyoncé (Lemonade), Adele (25), Justin Beiber (Purpose), and Drake (Views).

Adele's "25" is so great. But if she loses everything she can console herself with her 10 previous Grammys

But since the Grammys have over 80 categories (we are not exaggerating) here at TFE we just focus on those in which film, tv, or stage types are in play. i.e. the ones that can  sometimes lead to EGOTing are after the jump.

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Tweetweek + All Hallow's Eve

image sourceHappy Halloween 

Be safe today and tonight! This year our only long read horror offering was Anne Marie's fine female directed horror miniseries though we threw in a bit more Horror here and there. But if you're looking for Halloween movie suggestions see something you've never seen from Team Experience's Top Ten Pre-Exorcist Horror Films or the Top Ten Post-Exorcist Horror films. 

But enough about Halloween! After this amazing sketch of Catwoman from Batman Returns (I ♥ I ♥ ) -- which is kind of a good Halloween movie even though it's set at Christmas time -- check out amusing tweets of the week starring Steve Martin, The Shining, Monica Bellucci and more! 

Cats + Selina Kyle. #CatDay @Sketch_Dailies pic.twitter.com/ayDKrvIGHx

— Luis Burguete (@luisbrgt85) October 29, 2015

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TV @ The Movies: "Difficult People" and the Golden Globes of Hate

NEW SERIES! Since our eyes always flash and a smile spreads when a movie is referenced on a tv show we're watching, we've decided to make it a habit to share these cross-platform romances with you. Whenever we see one worth discussing, we'll share it.

Have you been watching Hulu's Difficult People? You should be watching Difficult People! Admittedly, it could be a very hard show to fall in love with if you’re not a fan of watching terrible New Yorkers act like exclusionary, entitled gits while spouting cruel insults about celebrities – but hey, that’s one of my favourite genres! What it does mean is references galore, like an audition for a remake of the 1988 body swap comedy Vice Versa in episode two, or a PBS roast in episode three that finds time for jokes about Shining Time Station (“If there’s one thing children love, it’s having Ringo Starr yell at them about trains”) and Maggie Smith’s genitals being named after Mr. Bean.

Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner star as Julie and Billy. They are less successful, but very pseudo-autobiographical versions of themselves - a mildly successful recapper of reality television and a waiter trying to be an actor respectively. They are trying to build a career in comedy while he works for Gabby Sidibe and she deals with her psychiatrist mother (Andrea Martin). Their love of pop culture knows no meta-bounds and they show has already landed in hot water over a joke in episode one about Beyonce that was the target of people who apparently know nothing of irony, criticising the show, the network, Klausner, and executive producer Amy Poehler as “disgusting”.

Sigh, right? [More...]

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A Star is Born Again... With Bradley Cooper as Midwife.

A Star is Born is like the undead of showbiz movies. Every so often it rises from the grave. The oft told tale of a young actress whose star rises as her alcoholic svengali husband's star falls has four film versions What Price Hollywood? (1932) A Star is Born (1937) A Star is Born (1954) and A Star is Born (1976), the latter shifting the story to the music world instead of the movies. Incredibly ALL of them were Oscar nominated for something or other for a total of 18 Oscar nominations, 3 wins and an Honorary plaque to boot! But we've actually gone without it for quite some time now. The last version, the Streisand (critically reviled but a major hit), was a full 39 years ago so it's unsurprising that there's been talk of a remake for quite a while now. Especially considering that each version has ranged from somewhat successful to blockbuster sized and statistically you'll receive about 4 nominations and an Oscar for your troubles should you make your own.

What was surprising, apart from Oscar security, about the proposed fifth version was that Clint Eastwood was the one that wanted to do it. With Beyoncé no less! So Streisand's music-word detour for the unofficial franchise stuck... at least with ol' Clint. Despite Eastwood's Barry Allen-like speed, that ability to take a project from glimmer in his eye to finished movie in theaters in 6 months, he somehow never got it made and has now passed the project on, supposedly to...

Bradley Cooper (?) his American Sniper star. Cooper wants Beyoncé back on the project who has vacated it since it entered development hell. 

So saith several outlets and noisy funny twitter. Bradley will also star in it. Why an actor at the heighth of their white hot career would want to try directing is a little puzzling -- don't get distracted, secure your possible place in the pantheon of movie stars! -- but Coop wouldn't be the first. Costner, Gibson, Eastwood, Foster, and Jolie all moved over while they were still bankable movie stars... some to stay in that chair and lose interest in acting altogether. 

Related / Recommended:
Mike's Movie Projector found an original review from 1954 of the Judy Garland version.
TFE and you can always revisit our Best Shot episode on that classic film Or...
Nick's Flick Picks incredible piece on Judy Garland's five-star performance