The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
Every year, The New York Times Magazine picks their greatest performers of the year. This year's top ten each got to star in their own silent, "Horror Show" themed short. Italian-Canadian photographer Floria Sigismondi directed the group as characters that wouldn't be out of place in Beyoncé's haunted house. Hopefully next year, the magazine will branch out and recognize some of television's equally terrific performances. Check out the spooky standouts after the cut...
As you surely know by now the Academy held the annual Governor's Awards last night honoring directors Agnes Varda and Charles Burnett, actors Donald Sutherland, and cinematographer Owen Roizman who we've been celebrating here on the blog this past week. The giddiest moment was surely Angelina Jolie and Agnes Varda doing a little dance when the Mother of the French New Wave was presented with her statue, complete with spins and everything.
As something of a surprise to yours truly (did I miss a press release somewhere?) they also honored director Alejandro González Iñárritu with a special Oscar for an experimental VR project...
Your host (c'est moi, Nathaniel) is weeks behind his movie game. So here's part 1 of a massive link roundup to try to catch up. Twenty-five mini stories in this one, let's go...
EW celebrates Idris Elba on their cover The Vulture a profile of the screenwriter of The Post who was inspired to write it after reading Katherine Graham's memoir "Personal History" Meryl Streep will play Graham in the film (which is not based on that memoir but on one event in Graham's career.) Awards Daily laments that big box office hits like Get Out and Wonder Woman are not considers shoo-in for Best Picture nominations Variety Darren Aronofsky tapped as keynote speaker for next spring's SXSW festival The Hollywood Reporter Disney is not moving forward with its Jack and the Beanstalk animated film named Gigantic Playbill Glee's Lea Michele finally met Barbra Streisand People Dan Amboyer who plays the twin of Hilary Duff's deceased fiance on Younger (long story) has come out as gay Mirror Rob Collier believes his gay under-butler role on Downton Abbey has made it difficult for him to find other roles
More after the jump including Weinstein harassment fallout, agressive Netflix recommendations, Jonathan Groff's penchant for singing on set, and more...
With Sean Baker’s compassionate ingenuity, The Florida Project is a heartbreaking (and heart-renewing) fable of American poverty seen through the resilient eyes of children. Set in a slum motel just a stone’s through away from Disney World, the film follows a boisterous toddler names Moonee and her mother Halley as they struggle to get by. But like Baker’s other tales of people on the fringes, Project lives more in their joy than their pain.
Chris here. We were already on board for whatever director Sean Baker would be giving us post-Tangerine, but after his follow-up The Florida Project received some of the best reviews out of this year's Cannes Film Festival, it quickly became one of our most anticipated of the fall season. The first reactions primed us for something equally heartwarming and breaking, with some stunning 35MM lensing that is just as inventive as Baker's iPhone innovation on Tangerine - and the new first trailer promises just that.
What I already sense from this candy-coated jungle that we weren't expecting is that it might be just as instantly quotable as anything we got from Sin-Dee and Alexandra ("YOU'RE NOT WELCOME!" - I mean, come on, little Brooklynn Prince is already giving such gold here). The trailer certainly sells the lighter side of this look at poverty just outside of the excess of Disney World, so we'll see just how optimistic the film turns out to be. A24 is planning a big Oscar push for the film and if the film remains a tiny tough sell for that crowd, this trailer does lay a lot of ground work for a major play for Willem Dafoe. Could he be this year's "career recognition in a sentimental role" supporting nominee? Or if it is a major player, will they pass out soft serve ice cream for some cute bit during the ceremony?
We're keeping our fingers crossed that The Florida Project is added to the TIFF lineup, but the film will play NYFF before opening on October 6.
Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 10:14PM 
