Links!

film/tv
• Towleroad - I am so not an Andy Cohen fan but this game 'uncomfortably close' that gets Andrew Rannells and Matt Bomer nose-to-nose is... well, I'm here for it. It's also nice to learn that they both made excellent choices in their favorite movie ever.
• i09 fun illustrated poster of 80s movies. I'd ask you to see how many you recognize but if you know the 80s you'll know them all because the films represented (save arguably one) are fairly pop culture famous
• IndieWire -the new super in Incredibles 2 is very Kristen Stewart-esque
• AV Club -apparently ABC is really trying to come up with a way to continue Roseanne without Roseanne!
• Deadline report on the filming of Avatar 2 and Avatar 3. Zoe Saldana has already wrapped her part and James Cameron brags that Kate Winslet can hold her breath underwater for seven minutes. Hmmm. Is that even possible for humans? Really?
• Mirror - very odd report on Catherine Zeta-Jones bragging about her fortune and beauty. File under 'if you got it, flaunt it' I guess?

all Supers all the time
• FSR Captain Marvel will use female Turkish composer Pinar Toprak for the score. That's quite a surprise since her filmography to date is quite obscure with mostly low profile documentaries and TV movies but congratulations! I've never seen the series Krypton, her highest profile gig. If you do, how do you like the music?

• Coming Soon - Wonder Woman's sequel is called Wonder Woman 1984 and there are a few new photos. Love the brighter costume. Annoyed that Steve Trevor is back. No one ever stays dead in comic book films!
• ComicBook.com - Kevin Smith got Marvel screenwriters to say how they'd fix the DC Extended Universe of movies. Sound simple advice but I can't imagine DC is happy about the conversation.
• /Film a bit of info on Patrick Wilson's villain in Aquaman and why he was cast

offscreen
• Damian Alexander - insightful cartoon about the way boys are trained to devalue female protagonists. I relate so much because I loved heroines from the start but knew instinctively that that was 'weird'.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Steven Spielberg playing with the legacy of Leonard Bernstein

by Nathaniel R

Have you heard the news that there's a Leonard Bernstein biopic coming? There's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that there's a Leonard Bernstein biopic coming at all! I mean... he's only a bonafide genius of the 20th century. Even better Jake Gyllenhaal is attached to star. Even better Cary Joji Fukunaga (Jane Eyre, Beasts of No Nation, True Detective) will be directing! Gyllenhaal gives quote:

Like many people, Leonard Bernstein found his way into my life and heart through West Side Story when I was a kid. But as I got older and started to learn about the scope of his work, I began to understand the extent of his unparalleled contribution and the debt of gratitude modern American culture owes him. As a man, Bernstein was a fascinating figure—full of genius and contradiction—and it will be an incredible honor to tell his story with a talent and friend like Cary.”

More after the jump...

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April Foolish Predictions: What film scores will be loved in 2018?

by Nathaniel R

Mary Poppins (1964) was nominated for 13 Oscars winning 5. Will Mary Poppins Returns (2018) also win Oscar hearts?

Since scores are often one of the very last components to fall into place in post-production, determining which scores might stand out at year's end is like throwing darts blindfolded. Each year some composers are replaced between our first round of predictions and the time their films arrive. Plus some 2018 movies haven't even hired a composer yet. Presumably they're waiting for Alexandre Desplat's schedule to open up. Only half joking! The perpetually in demand French composer and double Oscar winner generally scores anywhere from 5 to 10 (gulp) movies a year and he only has three films currently scheduled for release in 2018 (Isle of Dogs, Operation Finale, and Kursk... though we suspect The Sisters Brothers will hit this year as well, making it 4). Other Oscar favorites who have suspiciously empty schedules this year include Hans Zimmer and Thomas Newman.

From the year's releases that we've already seen we're curious about how A Quiet Place and Black Panther might hold up in the sound categories, too, since both films are blockbusters and A Quiet Place, especially, relies heavily on its aural elements for its success.

In related news: Best Original Song is next to impossible to predict this early as details are always scarce until late in the year but if you have any premonitions do let us know!  Here is our guesswork on the sound categories for the next Oscar race and the April Foolish Predictions thus far.

Jóhann Jóhannsson (1969-2018)

by Nathaniel R

Photo by Timothée Lambrecq

Tragic news: The gifted Icelandic film composer Jóhann Jóhannson, who lived in Berlin, died on Friday at only 48 years of age. The cause of his death is not yet known...

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Middleburg Farewell: Nicholas Brittel, Greta Gerwig, and "American Crime Story"

Day 1 (Darkest Hour), Day 2 (James Ivory, Mudbound, A Fantastic Woman) in case you missed them, Day 3 (Last Flag Flying)

Ann Hornaday and Greta Gerwig talk after a screening of Lady Bird. photo src

The last moments of Middleburg were a blissful blur that it's taken me a week to recover from. Before I left the splendor of the country at this under-the-radar festival in Virginia, I managed to attend three more events.

Lady Bird
I caught some of Lady Bird again (one viewing is definitely not enough). Just enough to give me that rush of pre-college feels again before meeting one-on-one with Greta Gerwig. We'll share that interview next week as Lady Bird begins its theatrical release. Gerwig is such a singular actress that we don't want her to give that up (please never leave our screens!) but it's a joy to know that she writes and directs just as beautifully. 

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Since Middleburg largely takes place at a single resort, there are several panels and discussions in their coziest event space. The last on the menu was a discussion about the forthcoming miniseries The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story which is the second season of that anthology series which began with the Emmy-winning The People Vs Oj Simpson...

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