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Manuel here with an extra episode of HBO LGBT to celebrate the release of Looking: The Movie. I get the title format but would it have hurt Andrew Haigh to give it a less generic title. I mean, “Looking for Closure” would have been a bit on the nose but it’d have fit nicely with the show’s episodic titles (which included “Looking for a Plot” and “Looking for Home” after all).
I have gone on the record before saying how much I treasured Looking—recapping its second season right here was wonderful and a chance to really flesh out why I think Haigh and Michael Lannan’s show was such a striking meditation on gay male intimacy...
Salon Why Rooney Mara can't win for Carol. Interesting piece on what really matters in Supporting Actress (Hint: Best Actor) MCN David Poland looks at the writers branch and how the new Academy rules might affect them Gurus of Gold interesting to see where the volatility is in the new charts: Best Picture and Best Director contain all the (seeming) drama Towleroad Jonathan Groff interviewed by Kevin Sessums talks sex scenes in the Looking movie, filming wrapped, and his Sutton Foster obsession
AV ClubThe Flash will officially crossover with Supergirl despite different networks Variety on the new warp speed market for television shows The Film Stage first clips and new images from Jeff Nichols's Midnight Special. I'm not watching them because I want to be surprised Variety Jessica Chastain still looking for her Oscar movie, in talks for Woman Walks Ahead, about a 19th century woman who advised Sioux chieftain Sitting Bull The Hairpin a listical "best friends of rom com heroines" from Judy Greer through Joan Cusack and back to Carrie Fisher Pajiba praises Helen Mirren's beer commercial
Today's Watch Secret Talents of leading ladies and more links after the jump
LA Times the Academy has clarified some of its new rulings on membership due to confusion from within its own ranks - very useful info In Contention Kris Tapley has some thoughts on that as well and depressingly mentions there is still talk of "expanding" the acting categories. This will be very hard for yours truly to stomach if it happens. Traditions are important (and no I dont mean traditions of discrimination - don't confuse the issue!). Changing an 80 year tradition of a set of five slots in no way helps diversity and may actually serve to make the Academy look much much worse sending an accidental message (you weren't good enough for five but maybe with seven -- oops you weren't good enough for seven either!) so I pray to all the cinematic gods that wiser heads prevail and they reject it. Fistful of Films... speaking of working through something by talking about it. Fisti takes on the subject of Leo's Oscar baiting through the years and denies it! Interesting and entertaining though he's totally crazy that his work in The Revenant will be the best leading actor win in some time. (Noooo. I mean, he's fine but good ≠ great)
Guardian $17.5 for Nate Parker's Birth of a Nation a record Sundance sale TFE ICYMI we were just discussing that film's buzz last night Pajiba reminds us that Blade Runner 2 is about to start production so Harrison Ford is reviving another one of his classic roles Pajiba also tries to decipher Kristen Stewart's much misquoted outrage producing "stop complaining - do something" quote by transcribing the interview. (This serves as yet another reminder why the outrage factory is so annoying and boring itself. People contradict themselves ALL THE TIME when they're talking on at length about complicated subjects and sometimes they dont even know what they're saying. And if you lift a few words out you can make anything look worse. Give everyone a f***ing break. Chances are they weren't trying to offend anyone.) Comics Alliance I keep hearing competing things about Thor: Ragnarok. First that it's the "darkest" film yet (ugh) and second that it's going to be the funniest. Usually those things dont go hand in hand so who is telling the truth? But Taiki Waititi the new director has a good sense of humor (see What We Do In the Shadows) so let's hope for the second one. i09 Speaking of Taika... the sequel to his great vampire mockumentary has a title We're Wolves (get it werewolves) but he has to wait until after Thor to do that. Vulture Sir Ian McKellen would like to remind you that the Academy could be more inclusive with gay people too. Thank you Sir Ian, Hero. Playbill well that didn't take long. Hamilton, Broadway's new mega hit, has already announced its tour plans to kick off in 2017 Playbill Jonathan Groff's turn in A New Brain -- which I don't think we discussed here - has been recorded for posterity. He was just superb in that staged reading and Saturday Night Live's Ana Gasteyer was sensational as his mom... can we get them both in movie musicals please?
Cinematic Corner reacts to a bunch of recent news but I'm linking up because it's always fun when Sati drools on Tom Hardy and she's so enthused about his enthusiasm over the Oscar nomination Towleroad okay this is adorable. One of the dancers from Kinky Boots celebrates his 29th birthday by doing 29 death drops around Manhattan Vulture has a longread on the fall of Ryan Kavanaugh and Relativity's bankruptcy Variety Abe Vigoda, the film (The Godfather) and television (Barney Miller) actor has died at 94 John August... responds to that but encourages us not to dismisses the story as opportunism or embrace it as cautionary tale.
Today's Teaser Awww, it's Ellen DeGeneres signature film role, returning to us in Finding Dory. In which we will find out if a character that was so wondrous in short comic relief doses can handle carrying a whole film...
Playbill Reviews are in for Keira Knightley's Broadway turn in Therese Raquin Variety Nicole Kidman lines up a new thriller Silent Wife. The good news is the director is Adrian Lyne who is great with actresses: see Fatal Attraction & Unfaithful Just Jared Jonathan Groff dies of happiness when Beyoncé pays him a compliment
Brooklyn Mag pornish art films before Gaspar Noé's Love Pajiba Patton Oswalt ranks the GOP candidates with D&D statistics Pajiba Quentin Tarantino vs. Cops. Ugly business. My New Plaid Pants Rachel McAdams, Serious Journalist (via Spotlight)
The Superverse Variety talks to superhero loving TV megaproducer Greg Berlanti (The Flash and Supergirl are big hits ... but they aren't even his first superhero shows - remember that Incredibles/Fantastic4 ripoff called No Ordinary Family?) Empire lots of new Suicide Squad photos Coming Soon Matthew McConaughey turns Marvel villain role down - I mean wouldn't you? Their villains suck Tracking Board Li Bingbing (not to be confused with fashion icon X-Men actress Fan Bingbing) will supposedly headline a superhero film called Realm which is an original idea of Stan Lee's. It's a long ways off since the script isn't even written yet. Li Bingbing has previously appeared in action films like the recent installments of the Transformers and Resident Evil series
Oscar Mania Movie City News Why The Martian is the movie to beat for Best Pic at the Oscars Awards Daily Time to take Room seriously as a Best Pic winner? In Contention on the costume design Oscar race
Trailer Tease After lots of teasing -- and we're sick of teasing! -- a real trailer finally emerged for Netflix's Daredevil followup, Marvel's Jessica Jones starring Krysten Ritter. ICYMI it goes like so...
(On a personal note it'll be interesting to watch this one as for once I have no connection to the comic books. So much of contemporary comic book cinema and television is based on characters who've been around since before most of us were born. Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman are practically octogenarians. Most of the Marvel superstars at the movies recently hit the half century mark. Etcetera. Jessica Jones didn't emerge in comic books until 2001 long after I had stopped reading them so I have no idea what to expect. )
Must See Mashup This one is from some place called "GumpTV" which I hope isn't inspired by Forrest himself (blech). The short is called "The Red Drum Getaway" and it pits Hitchcock's Jimmy Stewart against the sinister auteurism of Stanley Kubrick. Terrifically edited, well paced, and that finale. Wowee.
Showtune to Go Did you know that Oklahoma! (1955) is coming back to movie theaters for its 60th anniversary? Here's Kristin Chenoweth singing "I Cain't Say No" in celebration.
Film School Rejects on Comic Con leaks and what the studios should worry about instead Arts.Mic Netflix has the best opening titles Empire Jennifer Lawrence attached to The Rosie Project, a romantic story of a man with aspergers and a free spirited woman who inspires him /FilmX-Men Apocalypse teaser posters Queerty interviews Alex Keshishian on the seismic impact of Madonna's Truth or Dare (1991) back in the day. It changed lives! My friends and I still quote it regularly to this day.
Freier Fall 2 -- um, WHAT? They're raising money for a sequel to that very hot LGBT movie that's streaming on Netflix that stars Max Reimelt from Sense8. Awards Daily Sasha compares Oscars to the presidential primaries Guardian one million dollar reward in the case of Judy Garland's missing ruby slippers i09 first look at HBO's series version of the old sci fi classic Westworld FSR checking in with Hayao Miyazaki who is still working -- albeit on short films -- and experimenting at 74. Variety Guillermo del Toro on his female centric Gothic horror, Crimson Peak
Off Cinema B&N Reads Esther Bloom on inappropriate books she read as a tween. I didn't do this but I remember the whispered conversations in school about books we weren't supposed to be reading. Playbill interviews two of the most talented people in the world: Sutton Foster and Jonathan Groff and talks tv learning curves, their summer productions at City Center, and Groff's fanboy obsession with Foster before he himself was famous. It's sweet
Pic of the Day "Chewie's Angels" (from Comic Con via HitFix) Mwahhhaaaaahaaa. L-O-V-E.
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 5:00PM 
Manuel here with an extra episode of HBO LGBT to celebrate the release of Looking: The Movie. I get the title format but would it have hurt Andrew Haigh to give it a less generic title. I mean, “Looking for Closure” would have been a bit on the nose but it’d have fit nicely with the show’s episodic titles (which included “Looking for a Plot” and “Looking for Home” after all).
