a short Tweetweek distraction

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The final dance in Dirty Dancing, but they’re dancing to The Muppet Show theme tune. pic.twitter.com/ldfjmm5JoQ

— Amanda (@Pandamoanimum) May 17, 2022

Social media has been hellish lately in tune with a country that's rapidly falling apart. So we haven't been as active for sanity reasons though we share the outrage. So for this tweet roundup, happy/funny showbiz stuff only as a silly diversion to brighten your morning as the week begins anew. More after the jump obviously...

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Links: Wicked delays, Jennifer's campaign, Disney streaming

• Deadline Stephen Daldry is leaving Wicked. Universal wanted to work faster than Daldry was willing but losing a director will slow them down anyway so why not meet his schedule? 
• Variety The Avengers acting heroes want you to Vote Blue this election
• EW Jennifer Hudson fires up her second Oscar campaign (for Aretha Franklin biopic Respect) with an EW Cover and profile

Jeff Bridges cancer reveal, Disney news, Noah Jupe confession, Dirty Dancing tribute, Sigourney's Avatar training, and more after the jump...

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Showbiz History: Blade, The Bad Seed, and Basterds

10 random things that happened on this day in history as it relates to showbiz

1942 Disney's Bambi released in theaters, emotionally scarring unsuspecting children from that day forward. But what a gorgeous movie!

←1945 That Bad Seed herself, Oscar nominee Patty McCormack born on this day in Brooklyn. Get this, Rob Lowe has directed and is starring in a Lifetime remake and he cast Patty McCormack as a psychiatrist. Here's the trailer. 

1959 Hawaii officially becomes a state. The day isn't widely celebrated due to Hawaii's complicated political history. Several famous actors were born in Hawaii including total legends like Bette Midler and Nicole Kidman! The current star most associated with Hawaii is Aquaman himself Jason Momoa...

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The Link Down

It's impossible to keep up these days. So herewith a bunch of news we haven't covered and other enjoyable places to go on the web today...

News
Baz Lurhmann has written a letter to fans about the cancellation of The Get Down, his Netflix series. My favorite bit because I like having him on the big screen in 2 hour doses:

All sorts of things have been thrown around for the future... even a stage show (can you imagine that? I can, concert version anyone? Next summer? Just saying.) But the simple truth is, I make movies. And the thing with movies is, that when you direct them, there can be nothing else in your life. Since The Get Down stopped, I have actually been spending the last few months preparing my new cinematic work...

Variety IFC is on a buying spree at Cannes, including Lars Von Trier's latest, a serial killer drama named The House That Jack Built starring Matt Dillon and Uma Thurman
BBC Star Wars' John Boyega hits the London stage in Woyzeck. Reviews are a bit mixed but everyone seems to love that he challenged himself to such an extent post stardom
Cartoon Brew Pixar has a new experimental shorts division without executive oversight. This sounds like a great idea for the company, fostering new creative visions without much investment or interference
Kenneth in the (212) Jeffrey Schwarz, who specializes in documentaries about gay or gay-interest historical figures (I Am Divine, Vito, etcetera) has a new documentary on Producer Allan Car (Grease 2, Can't Stop the Music)
Broadway World Glenn Close stops a performance of Sunset Blvd to address a rude audience member:

We can have a show or we can have a photo shoot

Variety Kirsten Dunst gets emotional at The Beguiled premiere
Variety Gina Prince-Blythewood (Beyond the Lights) tapped to direct Spider-Man spinoff Silver and Black  about the characters Silver Sable and Black Cat.
Angry Asian Man there's a Joy Luck Club tv series in the work and they're looking for Chinese American women

Good Reads
Vanity Fair on that new unforgivably hideous Spider-Man Homecoming poster
Jezebel on the terrible Dirty Dancing TV remake. (I have to ask though, why do people keep watching TV remakes of movies. They're all just t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e... remember that trainwreck that was Beaches recently?)

For Fun
Gay Comic Geek [nsfw site] Wonder Woman cosplay... by men
The New Yorker Joe Dator draws a comic about his fortieth anniversary with Star Wars. Cute.

Exit Video
Dynasty is getting a reboot.

I object that Krystle isn't a blonde and doesn't look that much different than Fallon (why does the CW have such trouble varying haircolors/styles and overall looks in their casts in all their shows?) but otherwise some of the changes are fun. The most potentially interesting touch being that trashy golddigger Sammy Joe (the Heather Locklear role) is a gay man this time but still after the same mark, Steven Carrington (the family's gay son). But, is this really the right era to idolize the super wealthy? Not sure it will sit as well in 2017 as it did in the 80s when people were more naive about the 1%'s havoc-wreaking on the economy of everyone else.

Q&A: It's a zoo in here.

Hello! It's your host Nathaniel checking in from a screening frenzy. I'm at the Nashville International Film Festival briefly to serve on their New Directors jury but coming back to you, dear readers, on Monday night. Meanwhile here in New York, Jason and Manuel have already lept into Tribeca Film Festival reporting.

For this week's Q&A column I asked readers for a few animal questions since Monty, my baby boy and the world's first Oscar predicting cat (unfortunately he was never a very committed pundit), has been ill. While he's on the mend (hopefully) it's hard to pull my thoughts away from our four legged friends. Herewith 9 reader questions, some animal themed some not...

JAMES: Ever named a pet after an on-screen animal (or human)? 

My cat is named after Montgomery Clift and unfortunately the name suited him because he has been quite a moody thing from his teensiest days until now. He was found in the streets of the Bronx, as far as I know, as a tiny mewling mama-less thing and I got him way too young from the shelter. But even grumpy as he is, he is always right next to me no matter what room I'm in and every once in a while he looks at me like I'm Elizabeth Taylor and snuggles up and it's all worth it. 

(I was actually going to get a second cat years ago and name it Liz but for various reasons it didn't happen.)

HAAJEN: Which animal should be paired with Julianne Moore, Juliette Binoche and Jennifer Law in a movie?

What a weird freaking question that I love. It's like when Kidman's familiar was a monkey in The Golden Compass. So I'm going to say black panther for Julianne, seagulls for Juliette (I always picture her in the salty air near water -- is this a ghost image of Lovers on the Bridge (1990)?) I would also pay to see JLaw in the Clint role in a remake of Any Which Way You Can (1980) if only because I can't imagine the outcome of an absolute war to steal scenes between JLaw and an Orangutan. 

Naturally I have no photos to support this so please enjoy this photo of Idris Elba with a fake tiger.

It is extremely easy to enjoy. 

PEARL: What are your thoughts on Barbra Streisand and Barry Levinson embarking on yet another production of Gypsy for a start up studio? My spirit animal (fox) says they likely face a difficult and painful journey.

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