Yes No Maybe So: Baz Luhrmann's 'ELVIS'

by Nathaniel R

Baz Luhrmann's career began explosively with two of the most endearing, unusual, and entertaining films of the 1990s (Strictly Ballroom and Romeo + Juliet). His promise as a Great Showman was realized with his masterpiece Moulin Rouge! (2001) which was only his third feature. Unfortunately in the 21 years since that very modern movie musical revitalized its genre, he mostly vanished from movie screens. He's made only two features since, the disjointed epic Australia (2008) and a box office hit adaptation of The Great Gatsby (2013). Nearly a full decade later we finally have a sixth feature. His latest, which was untitled long enough that its official title Elvis is hysterically anti-climactic, is a biopic of the rock n roll superstar. The movie hits theaters on June 24th, so let's break the trailer down with our Yes No Maybe So™ system...

Click to read more ...

Exciting Project Alert: 'Spanish Dracula'

Remember the filmmaking brothers Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz? Their career together started strong with a box office smash American Pie (1999) and a well-loved modest hit About a Boy (2002). The brothers soon went solo as directors though they kept working together, producing and what not. Their subsequent work didn't capture the zeitgeist in the same way though there were sure-fire sequel hits (Little Fockers, The Twilight Saga: New Moon) a troubled attempted franchise (The Golden Compass) a few well received smaller pictures (A Better Life, Grandma) and an award winning TV series (Mozart in the Jungle). Their next project, their first co-directing gig in ages will be a biopic of their Mexican film star grandmother Lupita Tovar (pictured left) and it sounds just great...

Because of our long running "200 oldest living film stars" list we already knew that the brothers were descended from actresses...

Click to read more ...

Oscar Volley: Can Penelope Cruz or Kristen Stewart land in Best Actress?

Our Oscar Volley series is almost at an end. Here are Matt St Clair, Josh Bierman, and Baby Clyde to talk Best Actress

Matt St Clair: Even though Best Actress has a pretty clear frontrunner, the rest of the category seems mostly up for grabs. Do you guys agree and also, besides Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter, do you think there's hope for another non-biopic performance to make the cut?

Josh Bierman: Interesting. I don’t agree that there's a clear frontrunner! I assume you mean Nicole Kidman who is the most solid lock for a nomination. This is a category where I think I have to wait to see who’s nominated before I can declare a winner...

Click to read more ...

Tweetweek

I would like to give this proposed movie all the Oscars now, plz and tx.

BEING THE RICARDOS but about the week leading up to the filming of the AMC ad

— Jorge Molina (@colormejorge) January 14, 2022

The Lost Daughter, possible casting for that Madonna biopic, Lady Gaga drunk on fake booze, Andrew Garfield in a pool, imporant news from Lee Grant, Oscar hosting funnies and more after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Who is now in the lead for Best Actress?

by Nathaniel R and Team Experience!

The morning after and we're still reeling from the SAG nominations. But in particular what it's done to presumptions about the Best Actress category. I've updated the Oscar chart but after a brief flirtation with Nicole Kidman as #1, I suddenly felt the urge to give that spot to Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter. Is this insane? Not exactly though it is probably the common pundit psychosis of "overthinking it". My pundit brain began imagining that all the biopic ladies are getting in each other's way with their elaborate makeovers and mimicry (or lack thereof) and through the chaos emerges the true stealth battle of all along: superstar Lady Gaga vs revered thespian Olivia Colman.

Lady Gaga is also playing a real person, like the biopic ladies, but Patrizia Reggiani isn't a famous celebrity being recreated by another famous celebrity as is the usual draw of these things. So the traditional biopic advantage (aka default love for "what a transformation!") doesn't quite apply in Gaga's case. In the end given Olivia Colman mania and Gaga's film having more detractors, is it so outlandish to presume a quick second win could very well happen. So I polled the team, hoping that a crystal clear hive mind pundit choice would emerge. Whoops! Though there is a hesistant "consensus choice" opinions are truly all over the place.

Here's how the team responded to the big question of the moment...

Click to read more ...