Saturday, January 14, 2017 at 9:30AM By Glenn Dunks.
The Film Experience would be remiss to not mention the nominations of the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA) given there are multiple members among the writing team here. Last year the organisation went all in on Carol for obvious reasons, winning five awards. This year another Oscar-favored film with LGBTQ themes leads the pack with seven nominations.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at 12:45PM The Kinsey Report looks back at the troubled history of early 80s sensation Gene Anthony Ray (aka "Leroy" from Fame)
Variety Director Fred Schepisi (Six Degrees of Separation, Roxanne, Plenty) is lining up an all star cast for his new dramatic thriller Andorra: Vanessa Redgrave, Guy Pearce, Toni Collette, Clive Owen and more. Can he regain some of his 80s/90s heat? None of his films have had much impact in the last 20 or so years
/Film Lin-Manuel Miranda is working on a secret Disney project with Zootopia's director. Guess he liked that Moana experience
Towleroad an interview with Martha Plimpton on The Real O'Neals and becoming a new gay icon
Metro Michael Shannon is not afraid to speak his mind on the current political climate. Also he has a bajillion movies coming out
AV Club why Moana will be named Oceania in Italy
AV Club Beauty & The Beast (1991) remains Disney's best modern movie
Pajiba Carrie Fisher & Harrison Ford were totally doing it on the set of Star Wars in 1976
Coming Soon Robert Heinlein's classic Stranger in a Strange Land is being adapted to series on the Syfy network
LAist Multi-hyphenate talent Rob Reiner, like Michael Shannon, is not holding his tongue about our new US nightmare
Stage
Theater Mania Philippa Soo of Hamilton fame takes on Audrey Tatou's famous role in the musicalization of movie favorite Amelie beginning in LA next month before a Broadway transfer. If you're in LA let us know how it is, won't you?!
Playbill Molly Ringwald is back on stage, taking on Shirley Maclaine's role in a stage version of Terms of Endearment. It opens tonight.
Playbill If you've never seen Sweeney Todd on stage you have another chance early next year at the Barrow Street theater. The British cast of a new production is transferring over but when they leave in early April, Norm Lewis and Carolee Carmello (both of whom have sensational vocal instruments) will replace them. I guess we've got to see it twice!
Today's Watch: A new "Billy on the Street"
Would you have a threesome with Billy and Jon Hamm?
The Only Magically Great News in Weeks
Hayao Miyazaki wants to come out of retirement for one last film. The 75 year old director has pitched a feature (sprung from a short Boro the Caterpillar) that he wants made by 2020.
Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 1:00PM 
There may be plenty of gripes about snubs from this year's Emmy nominations, but one of the bigger letdowns in my estimation is Hulu's Difficult People. Emmy is rarely kind to cult shows and the comedy's caustic humor is admittedly not everyone's cup of tea. However with its enviable explosion of big names guest stars, you would imagine that the voters could have recognized it with a nomination in the guest acting categories.
And with the start of the second season, they are only upping the ante for their day planners. By now I'm sure you have been teased on upcoming stints from the likes Lin-Manuel Miranda and Julianne Moore after the premiere episodes already gave us Tina Fey and Nathan Lane. In fact, as it returned this week all of the discussion around the show seemed targeted on who would be popping up rather than what hilarity we could expect from the season itself. When the fun of the show is its rat-a-tat, layered punchlines and the bad behavior of its two leads, that tactic seems in disservice to a show that's only getting better and funnier.
So here are five reasons we should be excited about the return of Difficult People that have nothing to do with its celebrity guests...
Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 1:32PM I was hoping to hear a little Boogie Nights! But this will more than do. Billy Eichner is a national treasure. Or at least a regional treasure. Does he go over well in the southwest?
P.S. Mark Harris made a funny about this video on twitter.
ALL Oscar campaigns are basically this brilliant @billyeichner segment w/ Julianne Moore acting for tips in Times Sq.
It's funny because it's truthy.
Friday, August 28, 2015 at 11:23AM 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...]
