Chris here with some quick affection for one of the heroes of the season, Jordan Peele. While some (including yours truly) had predicted a Best Picture win for Get Out and its timely instant classic, it ended up being the other genre mashup to take the top prize. After Saturday's big win at the Indie Spirits and the rapturous standing ovation that greeted Peele's Best Original Screenplay win, it certainly looked like it might go all the way and you'd have to imagine it was a very close miss.
But the prize that Peele did win shouldn't go without its own celebration, triumphing in perhaps the tightest race of the night. As Nathaniel already pointed out, it's the category's first winner for an African American and horror film. Remember this time last year when people questioned if a horror film from a comedy outsider could even stay in the conversation? This win makes those reductive talking points look quite silly and serves as a trailblazer in more ways than one. Whatever Peele has coming next, you'd be a fool to doubt him any more.
Screen • Forbes a theory as to how network TV could survive the exodus of both Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy • Film InkLady Bird was forced to make cuts and dub dialogue to get an M rating in Australia (essentially our PG13). That Playgirl magazine scene really upset the board that much? Ugh. I guess puritanism isn't only for Americans. • /Film The Duplass Brothers have signed a four film deal with Netflix. This makes so much innate sense to me because their work always felt very televisual. •/FilmBond 25 is taking an awfully long time to come together. Danny Boyle and the screenplay still aren't even done deals • Pajiba Disney's upcoming streaming service and the possibility of more Muppets • Decider Joe Reid reveals his obsession with To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar
Black Panther Mania • The Atlantic "The Tragedy of Erik Killmonger" • Shadow and Act Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan's next project together, their fourth, is Wrong Answer a true story about an education system scandal. • MCN David Poland persuasively argues which ways Black Panther will change things in Hollywood and which ways it won't • Coming Soon Lupita Nyong'o will costar in Born a Crime, based on the memoir about the childhood of The Daily Show's Trevor Noah. She'll play his mother
Off Cinema • Playbill watch highlights from a reunion concert of Thoroughly Modern Millie starring Sutton Foster and Gavin Creel -when is someone going to give Sutton a movie musical. She's great on camera (see Bunheads and Younger) and a bonafide Broadway star. • The New Yorker a thought-provoking piece on the official Obama portraits in case you missed it • W Mag Greta Gerwig directs Florence Welsh in a photoshoot • W Mag Jordan Peele directs Janelle Monae in a Hitchcock inspired photoshoot • W Mag Luca Guadagnino directs two models in a desert photoshoot • Playbill Santino Fontana (Crazy Ex Girlfriend!) taking over for Gavin Creel in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway. Apparently Gavin Creel is having back surgery? Ouch.
Exit Video Keala Settle and Pasek & Paul are all still out there campaigning for The Greatest Showman's Original Song. Pasek & Paul were just interviewed by Variety and Settle just performed "This Is Me" this time on Ellen. I love this song even though you hate it. Sorry not sorry.
That said, I still haven't decided if it's going to win Pasek & Paul a consecutive Oscar (they won last year for "City of Stars") or if Oscar voters will be more partial to honoring Mary J Blige (given the Mudbound fanbase and her double nomination) or if Coco will mean more to voters than just the mandatory check mark for Best Animated Feature.
Thoughts? Sing your Original Song prediction in the comments.
Chris here. One of the final major set of prizes before the Oscar ceremony was handed out over the weekend, the Writers' Guild of America awards. The WGA awarded their screenplay honors to Get Out in original and Call Me By Your Name in adapted. Even though the latter's Oscar competition is now even further in the dust, its safest-bet-of-the-night odds to win the big prize will still be an exciting victory lap for its never-awarded legend screenwriter James Ivory.
• Collider why you should keep buying movies on DVD/Blu-Ray • Vanity Fair wonderful account of Jordan Peele's visit to a UCLA class studying Get Out and how Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost inspired his career • E! on the rise of RuPaul's Drag Race. Is it mainstream now despite RuPaul's protestations? • select/all a terrific piece on "Nipplegate" at the Superbowl (since Justin Timberlake is headed there again) and on viral content before YouTube • EW pandeomonium in Italy when Armie Hammer, Luca Guadagnino and Timothée Chalamet arrive. Dancing with fans, etcetera
Dance party! "Call Me By Your Name" wins yet more prizesThe Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association have spoken and it probably won't surprise you to hear that they were "wilde" for Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, and Big Little Lies. As a member of the organization my only really gripe is that there are too many multiple winners (three prizes for Jordan Peele, two for Timothée Chalamet, two for Kate McKinnon, Call Me By Your Name winning both film categories) which can feel like overkill when there are so many beautiful achievements each year worth honoring. That's why some festival jury rules or some awards that are forbidden to give a film or performance multiple prizes make a kind of sense to me even though everyone gets up in arms about those kind of rules.
But, regardless, the winners are listed after the jump as well as Kate McKinnon's musical performance winning SNL skit...
Monday, March 5, 2018 at 6:00PM 
