Sunday in the Link with George

This link roundup was intended for last night, hence the title. We cannot be bound by time here at TFE

• Jake Gyllenhaal omg he's joined instagram and on his second post he's singing Sondheim with Annaleigh Ashford. L-O-V-E
• Vulture a fun interview with Patrick Wilson on Aquaman and much more
• Talkhouse Bruce LaBruce on underknown Canadian Christmas thriller The Silent Partner
• MNPP Stephan James eight times
• Jezebel Oscar-nominated actress/ sometime director Sondra Locke (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter) has died but the obituaries are all about her turbulent relationship with Clint Eastwood

• THR Netflix is making a Dark Crystal prequel with Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Nathalie Emmanuel as the lead gelflings
• AV Club more Emmy rule changes around what counts as a TV movie 
• Deadline Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan to star in a lesbian romance
• Variety Lumiere award nominations from France (not to be confused with the Césars which are the Oscar equivalent but announce later)
• The New Yorker a convincing pan of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (and you don't see that every day!) that ends with a recommend list of other 'high-feminine mythmaking' worth checking out
• Polygon talks to Phillipa Boyens about the best moment in Return of the King for its 15th anniversary

Finally...
The IndieWire Critics poll has been released. I continue to be dumbfounded that critics support, nay, EMBRACE, category fraud as if they, too, have no respect for any actor who isn't the lead of a movie. You'd think critics (of all people) would be the check and balance on this sort of anti-art gamemanships. It's dumbfounding because they have nothing to gain by kowtowing to the whims of publicists and the egos of movie stars, rather than voting with integrity. They get access either way. I know as one such critic who everyone knows rejects category fraud wherever I see it. As with SAG, 60% of the Supporting Actress list is leading ladies. If you're wondering why Bradley Cooper missed the Best Actor list please know that for some reason he was left off of the pulldown list during voting. I wrote him in but I imagine a lot of people would not have gone to the trouble, not for any nefarious reason but because he slipped their mind when they did not see him on the list of choices. I do not support these kind of shenanigans! But the winners are Roma, Alfonso Cuarón, Olivia Colman, Ethan Hawke, Rachel Weisz (for best leading supporting actress), and Steven Yeun.

Care to make any NBR Predictions?

by Nathaniel R

The National Board of Review will reveal their winners later today. They're much harder to predict than other high profile awards bodies because their organization is secretive and untelevised. That said, there are some patterns that have emerged over the years. Though there are rumors that The Mule did not screen for them, for example, it's otherwise a foregone conclusion that if there is a Clint Eastwood film available to them in any way, they WILL honor it and often in a major way. The last Clint Eastwood film they skipped from honoring in any way was Jersey Boys (2014) but that was an exception to the rule. Since Mystic River they've otherwise always given his movies something, even the ones that don't have significant awards futures like The Hereafter (top ten list) or Gran Torino (Best Actor AND Screenplay) or Flags Of Our Fathers (top ten list), or the ones that nobody is all that passionate about but have awards appeal in some way like Invictus (Best Director AND Best Actor). So I'm expecting The Mule or even The 15:17 to Paris to show up, as absurd as the latter sounds.

Another very safe NBR bet is that they'll choose as Best Picture something that has either just opened in limited release or is yet to open...

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Yes No Maybe So x 4: The Mule, The Happy Prince, Mortal Engines, and Aquaman (again)

Let's get caught up on movie trailers. Clint Eastwood is dropping another December surprise, Rupert Everett reminds us that Bradley Cooper isn't the only actor stepping behind the camera, and there's always another would be franchise or two on the horizon. Four trailers after the jump starting with the Eastwood...

THE MULE

Yes - Very effective trailer opening with that car trunk mishap and the barking dog. Perhaps it's a bit vain, given that he is directing and starring, but we admire the honest of Clint only giving himself a solo title card at trailer's end despite major stars and cherished character actors supporting him (Bradley Cooper, Michael Peña, Dianne Weist, and Laurence Fishburne) since that's probably the truth of the movie. It'll live or die based on Clint's work behind and in front of the camera...

No - This isn't fair to the movie but I dont think I can take Clint Eastwood dashing lots of other people's Oscar dreams AGAIN with a sneak attack in the last two weeks of the year...

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Netflix in October: Big Mouth, The Shining, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Time to play Streaming Roulette. Each month, to survey new streaming titles we freeze frame the films at random places with the scroll bar and whatever comes up first, that's what we share! 

What does Netflix offer us for free viewing this month? Let's survey...

Well, personally I think teaming up with a Chinese-American was good for the department's image.

The Dead Pool (1988)
Not to be confused with Deadpool. It's Clint Eastwood in his fifth and final Dirty Harry movie, this time paired with Evan C Kim. This line reading is really weird though out of context. I've never seen this but there are lots of stars before they were big: Jim Carrey six years before superstardom, Patricia Clarkson ten years before her critical breakthrough, and Liam Neeson just as he was breaking out. Weirdly even though this movie was a hit it didn't budge the needle on Eastwood's screen partner Evan C Kim's career. He did lots of TV guest spots before it and lots of TV guest spots after it. 

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Showbiz History: AIDS Movies, Reese & Ryan, and the Orient Express

by Nathaniel R

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Happy June 5th, especially if it's your birthday. Is it your birthday? Do speak up this month if you're a Gemini please. Here's what was happening on this day in history as it relates to our favorite topic: showbiz.

1883 The first Orient Express leaves Paris. The train ride becomes mythologized in multiple pop culture works.

1953 Producer Kathleen Kennedy born in Berkeley. Currently rules the Star Wars franchise with a director-firing iron will. 

Lisa Cholodenko with her two time muse Frances McDormand (Olive Kitteridge, Laurel Canyon)

1963 John Profumo resigns his post in the House of Commons due to an affair with an alleged prostitute. There's an underdiscussed movie about this called Scandal (1989). 

← 1964 Happy 54th birthday to undervalued writer/director Lisa Cholodenko born in Los Angeles on this day in history. She goes on to make two bonafide lesbian classics (High Art, The Kids Are All Right)...

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