So how did Jimmy Kimmel do? A conversation

EDITOR'S NOTE: Hello readers. My brain is always so scattered post Oscar. The hosting gig, which so occupies discussions of the show each year in real life and online, is curiously the part of the show that I always find least interesting. I'm there for the movies and the celebrities, not the jokes.

But recognizing that this is an uncommon blind spot, I asked three of our contributors, Sean Donovan, Chris Feil, and Eric Blume to weigh in on Jimmy Kimmel as host. They're joined by new team member Kim Rogers, who is a talented actress I saw in a play a couple of years ago, who also likes to blog. Naturally they didn't quite obey the Kimmel directive... but who can concentrate on one topic with Oscar's Envelope Gate and Trevante Rhodes running around in his undies. Here is their conversation. - Nathaniel R 

CHRIS: So how well has everyone studied the Oscar Zapruder film of the Moonlight team taking the stage?

SEAN: I feel like it could be the next season of SERIAL- unpacking who had what envelope when, and why, and how many duplicates? so many questions

CHRIS: First of which: has anyone checked on Trevante Rhodes? Is he ok?

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Let the new "Girls Trip" teaser be a salve for your weary spirit

Robert here! Boy, these are some trying times to be alive and conscious in the world. Luckily no matter what shenanigans are going on in Washington, Hollywood continues to churn out entertainment to allow us a few hours of blissful ignorance to the outside world. In the spirit of that I present to you the first teaser trailer for Girls Trip, in theathers July 21st. The film is a raunchy R-rated comedy starring Queen Latifah and front woman of the nu metal band Wicked Wisdom, Jada Pinkett Smith, along with criminally underused comedians Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish. Check out the trailer and more details about the film after the jump...  

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Pfandom: The Reluctant "Bombshell"

P F A N D O M  
Michelle Pfeiffer Retrospective. Episode 3 
by Nathaniel R 

Michelle Pfeiffer, Surrounded by the Male Gaze. That'd be a fitting title for the screen capture above and an apt description of her first major role. Her character on the 1979 sitcom Delta House wasn't even alloted a real name, but only referred to as 'The Bombshell'. Though Pfeiffer had, according to various sources always been wary with men and uncomfortable with her sex appeal, it will become one of the most fascinating things about her screen persona, this friction between how she looks and how cagey and sometimes even hostile she is about being looked at (but Scarface is a few weeks away!). Nevertheless she ran with the opportunity, despite her discomfort. A recurring role on a TV series is a big deal for young actors, financially and for the resume...

Confession: I have never seen the smash hit frathouse comedy Animal House (1978). But I have, now, seen a couple of episodes of its immediate TV sitcom spin-off Delta House (1979). The things I do for you, blogging! Or, rather, in this case, the things I do for Pfeiffer completism...

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Linky Pudding

Buzzfeed It's official Will & Grace (& Karen & Jack) is returning to NBC for a ninth season. The series ended on May 18th, 2006 over 10 years ago but their recent one-off election special got everyone excited again. 
AV Club supposedly that long hinted at Eastern Promises sequel will start shooting in only two months and supposedly Viggo Mortensen and Vincent Cassell will return. We'll believe this when I see it but would be happy to do so
Criterion Ira Sachs on Rainer Werner Fassbinder's classic Fox and His Friends

Arnaud Trouvé offers up César nomination predictions. If you can read French you'll enjoy it more
THR It's Octavia Spencer for "Woman of the Year" and Ryan Reynolds for "Man of the Year" at Harvard's annual Hasty Puddings celebration. Someone cast them in a rom-com together!
Coming Soon Sony Pictures Animation slate to come from The Smurfs onward
About Last Night a long lost interview/profile of Mikhail Baryshnikov from 1998. Just because! 
Boy Culture Betty White interviewed for her 95th birthday this week
Paste Manuel on One Day at a Time's successful resuscitation of the theater/tv hybrid of the multi-cam sitcom
Decider in Joe Reid's new Oscar column he talks to me about three Oscar races: Actress, Director, and Supporting Actor. Here's an excerpt:

My fantasy is that Ralph Fiennes, easily the single most Oscar-worthy actor who can’t seem to ever catch Oscar’s eye, is nomination morning’s biggest shock for A Bigger Splash. The key word in that sentence being “fantasy”.

Pfandom: More than a pretty face? Too soon to tell.

a 1979 publicity photo

P F A N D O M  
Michelle Pfeiffer Retrospective. Episode 2 
by Nathaniel R 

All Pfans, if not fans, know and relish Michelle Pfeiffer's very first line onscreen. Say it with me now... 

Who is he, Niobe?!

Fantasy Island S2E10 "The Island of Lost Women"
First aired November 25th, 1978 

The line was spoken, emphatically, even giddily, while Pfeiffer gave the goofy Robert Morse (no really) a thorough twice over with her eyes while her hands investigated, too. She barely even looked at Niobe, so intoxicating was the sight of the only man in the vicinity. When Niobe tells her the man has magical powers, her eyes flash with unhinged if virginal comic eroticism. "REALLY?!?"...

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