Very Gay Film/Very Straight Guy: "Princess Cyd"

For pride month, straight critic Ben Miller takes a look back at a gay film he otherwise would have never seen

What is the ideal world we would like to be living in when it comes to understanding and accepting sexuality? How about one of gentle understanding, filled with mutually beneficial grace? Stephen Cone's Princess Cyd might not be outwardly presenting an ideal world of magical realism, but it's one we can at least look to as a beacon of light.

For too long, the world of heteronormativity has actively attempted to suppress and silence the LGBTQ+ community. But, what would happen if not only did the straight world not interfere with queer lives, but actively attempted to cheer them on?

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Pushing Linksies

• The Reveal "The Gotham City liveability index" through Batman projects. Hee
• Vulture interviews Lee Pace about Pushing Daisies for its 15th anniversary. Of all the shows being rebooted, shows that didn't get long runs should be at the top of the lists
• AV Club gets righteously snarky about theater chains upping their prices for The Batman. Cosign
• Letterboxd curating a fat girl cinematic canon
• Dread Central "a timeline of women monsters in film"

More after the jump including Austin Stowell, Paul Dano, M Night Shyamalan casting news, and Disney's disgusting anti-gay politics...

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Smackdown '37 - The Podcast Companion

by Nathaniel R

150 years ago on this very day the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 began. It raged for three days (October 8th-10th), ravaging most of the city and killing hundreds. In the blockbuster movie In Old Chicago (1937), which we discuss on this Podcast, the cause of the fire is pinned firmly on careless Mrs O'Leary (Alice Brady) and her cow. A new report from the AP for the fire's anniversary says  that there's no evidence to suggest they were the culprits; the widely believed and Hollywood-endorsed story may have sprung from the virulent anti-Irish prejudice of the time. That's just a little anecdote to share since we're finally publishing the podcast portion of the 1937 Smackdown which is now officially the season finale (the other years we had planned to do will have to wait a few months)

Thanks to our guests Chelsea whose letterbox review of Stage Door is "hot girls unite", Pamela who has a hot take on the sexworker trope in Dead End, Tim who makes his case as the world's biggest Stella Dallas fan, and Boyd who shares a possibly apocryphal but amazing stunt double story from In Old Chicago. Hope you enjoy the conversation! 

SMACKDOWN 1937

Showbiz History: France loves KStew, and infamous 'Chicago' trials, real and fictional

5 random things that happened on this day, February 20th, in showbiz history...

two Oscar-winning Roxies, Ginger Rogers & Renée Zellweger

1939 A shameful moment in US history: an American Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden. Footage from this event became the basis of the recently Oscar nominated doc short "A Night at the Garden". 

1942 The film Roxie Hart adapted from the play "Roxie" opens with Ginger Rogers playing the murderous showgirl. Roxie would go on to pop culture immortality with the long running musical adaptation of the play and its Oscar winning counterpart, called simply Chicago...

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How Do Stage-To-Screen Adaptations Fare At The Oscars?

Will Viola Davis be able to win Best Actress at the Oscars?The first step to Oscar success is appearing like a frontrunner. This is why adaptations always are at the top of people’s year in advance predictions. Yet, sustaining that early buzz (often sight unseen) can be a dicey proposition.

Both Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami are play adaptations that are towards the top of many Oscar predictions right now. Now that both are available on streaming (Netflix and Prime Video, respectively), audiences are finally seeing and enjoying both films. While critics have been giving out their awards recently, the major precursors for the Oscars (guilds, Golden Globes, Critics Choice) still have not been announced. Can we look to the awards run of their source material as a signal for how they will perform at the Oscars?

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