The Planet of the Links

Pull it together, Nathaniel! There is so much showbiz news of late that we've been buried in avalanche of it. How to stop and collect the linkage? So herewith a looooong list of links in a vain attempt to catch up or but by the time you've read it we'll surely have missed another 20 stories in addition to those that already slipped by in the past two weeks. What I'm saying is "too many things too many things too many things" 

So read on and click away for The Avengers: Infinity War, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jessica Chastain, Big Little Lies paydays, Sundance buzz, and much much more. Please to enjoy or at least peruse...

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Poker with Molly & Wrestling with Brie -- onward to the Globes!

by Nathaniel R

A silly and serious Globes preamble. We won't be live-blogging the Globes tonight though we'll do as much as possible tomorrow for a recap so until then one serious thought and two silly ones. We're heading into an unusual season when Hollywood is in a very serious mood due to the sexual harassment scandals. Awards shows aren't all that well-equipped to be serious as their format is inherently celebratory and "fun". That comes partially from the practice of comedians as hosts but it's there in the basic DNA since each awards night is a long and glitzy  'you get a prize and you get a prize and you get a prize' parade of the rich and beautiful and famous. In times when Hollywood curtails the glamour to address a serious crisis (like a new war for example or the lack of gender parity in Hollywood) it can come across as merely glum. It's as if the entertainment industry has crises of identity whenever they think people don't want escapist diversions but direct addresses to their ills.

Our theory is that people actually want both (which is why we try to balance the fun and the serious here in film conversations) and the celebrities that are best equipped to actually deal with tonight's mood are probably the celebrities who are inherently "fun" but can also turn deadly serious without feeling like a buzzkill. Or, in other words: Meryl Streep. Rescue us Meryl.

One area we know will be atypical (at least) is the red carpet...

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Tweetweek. Calm Before Globes Storm

In this weekend's very short tweet roundup: Jessica Chastain, Michelle Pfeiffer, Lady Bird, Noah Baumbach, and much more... 

Film Twitter & a film. pic.twitter.com/mduFzFzfvd

— Tom Reagan’s Hat (@andymannion777) December 30, 2017

Michelle Williams has received four Oscar nominations for playing Carey Mulligan with a migraine.

— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) January 7, 2018

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The Oscar Week with Haddish in New York & Chastain in Palm Springs

by Murtada

Welcome back to The Oscar Week, where we follow Oscar contender appearances and interviews and examine how they impact their chances. After a 2 week hiatus, all the contenders were back in full campaign mode on both coasts, cramming in as many events as they could before the Golden Globes. Even hitherto missing person, Sally Hawkins, made an appearance at the Palm Springs Film Festival.

However the week, the moment, maybe even the year belonged to Tiffany Haddish. She took the New York Film Critics Circle awards dinner by storm, delivering an 18 minute epic speech. Here are a few excerpts:

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Golden Horse Winners 2017

by Nathaniel R

The 54th Annual Golden Horse Awards were held today in Taipei. That's the Taiwanese Oscars if you will. Though a female-led comedy called The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful took the top prizes, the film with the most wins was The Great Buddha+ which took home five. A romantic comedy called See You Tomorrow (the all-star cast includes TFE favorites Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Angelababy) took home most of the 'eye candy' prizes. The family tragedy Old Beast, about a father in court and at war with his kids, also did well.

Curiously Taiwan's Oscar submission Small Talk was eligible last year at this ceremony but wasn't a major player. You can see the whole 2017 ceremony online here but it's not subtitled so good luck! Toward the end of the ceremony Jessica Chastain even shows up to help Ang Lee present Best Actress (which went to Kara Wai) so we've included gifs of that and the list of winners after the jump...

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