Back "2" School Again!

Dancin' Dan here to welcome you all to 'Back To School' Month at The Film Experience! We'll be sharing our favorite moments from cinema's schools all month.

Has there been a better back-to-school anthem than the opening number of Grease 2? I just love it.

Of course, it was always my fantasy to return to high school on the first day back from summer break and have the entire student body descend upon the front doors with a crazily-choreographed, flawlessly-danced production number, but that's just me. I mostly just settled for a snazzy outfit instead. Usually with a bow tie.

Any fond memories of the first day of school you'd like to share?

Morning Truth Tell: All That Jazz is a Freaking Masterpiece

If you haven't yet seen All That Jazz (1979) or haven't yet loved it -- you better stop and change your ways, daddy! Joe Gideon deserves the kind of hallowed cinema rep that Michael Corleone and Charles Foster Kane enjoy.

Live this truth. Carry it with you today.

Ellen Round Two!

Guess who's strapping in for another Oscar night adventure? Ellen Degeneres that's who! Just announced: the comedienne and talkshow host will do her second solo gig as Oscar Host this coming March 2nd, 2014. She first hosted, as you'll recall, for the 2006/2007 Oscar ceremony which saw The Departed crowned Best Picture.

I'm glad Ellen is back for round two. You?

Since we all know Ellen loves to dance I hope there's either a Mary Poppins/Saving Mr Banks inspired "Steppin' Time" number in which various movies are represented -- you know how that song keeps changing to mirror whatever it's celebratin' -- or she does a group dance with the cast of American Hustle since they're already getting their boogie on.

Any other proposals as to what Ellen should do on Oscar night?

Goodbye, Bunheads

Andrew here with a eulogy. Nathaniel just can't.

You have heard by now that ABC Family has officially pulled the plug on the comedy musical series Bunheads. It’s been five months since the show aired the final episode of its first, and only season, ironically titled “Next”. Since then the network has failed to definitively address the issue of whether or not the show was done for good. The statement the network released Monday afternoon reads, thus:

“Bunheads is a wonderful series that we are very proud to have aired," ABC Family says in a statement. "The series had amazing storytelling, the most talented cast and a passionate and loyal fan base. Recognizing all of this, we took extra time to try and find ways to bring the series back for another season, but in the end it simply wasn’t possible.  We wish the cast and crew the best in their future endeavors”

It’s difficult to speculate on the veracity of a claim like “we took extra time to try and find ways to bring the series back” but to the outside eye the line reeks of the disingenuous. [more...]

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Great Moments in Gayness: "Fosse, Fosse, Fosse"

Happy Gay Pride Week Everyone!

Dancin' Dan here to wish you all a Happy Gay Pride Month! When I think about the first gay person I ever saw on screen, I usually think of Rupert Everett in My Best Friend's Wedding, a performance I kind of love in a film that actually has a very gay sensibility. But just recently I realized that there was a much gayer mainstream Hollywood hit which came out the year before that Julia Roberts vehicle : The Birdcage.

Yes, in 1996, The Birdcage was a massive hit. It was also, oddly enough, a prestige comedy - based on a popular French play-turned hit crossover film, directed by Oscar winner Mike Nichols, starring Oscar nominee Robin Williams and Oscar winners Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest (the cast, which also starred soon-to-be-Tony winner Nathan Lane, actually won the Best Ensemble SAG Award that year). It grossed over $100 million. And not only did a good percentage of the film take place in the titular drag club, its two main characters were gay. [more...]

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