In this week's podcast Nathaniel and Nick return happily to that galaxy far far away and go off consensus to enjoy the Jennifer Lawrence hit Joy. (Plus miscellania but you'll have to listen to see how Carol and Batman v Superman show up since you know how we do...)
43 minutes 00:01 Written on the Wind (1956) 03:00 David O. Russell's Joy feat. Isabelle Rossellini, Virginia Madsen, Robert De Niro and Elisabeth Röhm 12:00 Loving Star Wars: The Force Awakens andsexy Oscar Isaac. 27:00 Childhood fascinations with the original trilogy and minor quibbles with the new/old plot and the First Order. 36:15 Nasty Baby & Mississippi Grind (2015) 40:10 The FabulousBaker Boys (1989)
Jennifer Lawrence's Joy starpower couldn't match the double-teaming bankability from Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg for the comedy Daddy's Home but she's still got nothing to worry about as Hollywood's current most popular actress pulling in 17.5 million in Joy's opening weekend despite middling reviews, a glut of new wide releases, and two hot button limited bows, all hoping for those same Christmas dollars.
Meanwhile every movie in theaters is trying to stay visible under the galactic-sized shadows of The Force Awakens which has already topped half a billion in the US box office in record time and should leapfrog Jurassic World's once unthinkable $652 domestic gross pretty soon at this rate. We'll also know fairly soon if the Star Wars saga's sheer cultural size affects the Oscar race. The question is not fully restricted to whether it will be nominated for this or that or a wholla lotta that like the '77 starter-kit, but whether it will drown out conversations about the newer or the more struggling Oscar campaigns and we end up with less movement in the Oscar race from where we were in say, October, because people are thinking of little else than Star Wars right now.
BOX OFFICE WIDE (Christmas Weekend) 01 Star Wars: The Force Awakens$153.5 (cum. $544.5)Review, parody fun Emo Kyle Ren 02 Daddy's Home$38.8 *new* 03 Joy$17.5 *new* 04 Sisters $13.8(cum $37.1) Review 05 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip $12.7(cum. $39.3) 06 Concussion$11 *new* Review 07 The Big Short $10.5 (cum. $16) Review & SAG Ensemble 08 Point Break $10.2 *new* 09 The Hunger Games Finale $5.3 (cum. $264.6) Hunger Games & Oscar 10 Creed$4.6 (cum. $96.3)Review
Christmas proved to be a death wish for many awards hopefuls since behemoths like STAR WARS and talking points like HATEFUL EIGHT & THE REVENANT sucked all the oxygen out of the room for other films
It's so tough to keep up with other movie stuffs during precursor week. So here are several news items, essays, montages to help up catch us all up. Ready. Set. Go...
NEWS i09 One sorcerer supreme is not enough for Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch. He's also signed on to play Jasper Maskelyne, a Nazi-fighter War Magician The Wrap Universal's Mummy reboot will swap the gender of the monster. Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: Secret Service) will star Film Stage George Clooney's next directing job is the noir Suburbicon. He's lining up an all star cast and Julianne Moore just joined
Playbill Lee Daniels creating a girl band tv series for Queen Latifah (Empire was such a succcess that there are lot of music industry series about to hit or in development) /Film Ang Lee's Thrilla in Manila, a boxing drama is said to be eyeing Ray Fisher as Muhammad Ali and David Oyelowo as Joe Frazier Guardian looks like it's Idris Elba vs Matthew McConaughey for the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's Dark Tower
OF INTEREST Film School Rejects has a curious but interesting take on why people need to stop naming Mad Max Fury Road "Best" of the year Film School Rejects on the Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation commentary track Viv & Larry interview with illustrator Alejandro Mogollo Diez who specialize in movie icons MNPP Rob Kazinsky's new tv show has been renamed... but will it help? People really aren't into the Frankenstein myth that much as evidenced at box office Pajiba's review of Joy is getting a lot of traction for its skewering of David O. Russell as a mansplainer of feminism. I suppose I should write about this movie. It's not great but I don't think it's getting a fair shake Comics Alliance Frank Miller is not into Netflix's Daredevil choices
LIST MANIA / AWARDAGE Washington DC Film Critics award Spotlight best pic but give multiple prizes to Room, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Revenant African American Film Critics Assn give Straight Outta Compton Pic, Ensemble, and Supporting Actor (Jason Mitchell - weirdly ignored by NAACP). Creed wins three prizes including Breakthrough for Michael B Jordan... um, he broke through years ago people! Vulture & Slate both do best TV shows of 2015: Jessica Jones, Mad Men, Jane the Virgin etc The New York Times best theater of 2015: Hamilton, The King and I, Lupita Nyong'o etc
TODAY'S VIEWS If you haven't yet seen these give them a spin. It's David Ehrlich's Top 25 Films of the Year (his editing skills are absurd but so is having Tangerine way down at #24), Channing Tatum saying 8 Hateful things to a kitten "you know what sucks about you, dude. You don't have thumbs" You know what sucks about you, Chan. You're not in nearly enough of The Hateful Eight to make that 182 minu--- oops, embargo.
Nathaniel, popping in from a busy AFI schedule to gossip with you!
One of the best things about this annual trip to Los Angeles, besides meeting West Coast fans and spending time with rarely seen LA friends, is hearing the gossip around the Oscar campaigns and individual opinions on the movie. As I suspected Youth resonates with a lot of people in the industry. I've always thought the Oscar conversations on the internet are sleeping on this one because it's a) not in theaters yet and b) skews older than active rooting interests of typical online communities. Also extremely happy to report that people in town seem more confident in Charlotte Rampling's prospects for a 45 Years nomination than I have previously been. She's getting a tribute at the AFI and Kirsten Dunst is even hosting a party in her honor this weekend.
Now, one must always take every anecdote and opinion with a whole block of salt since one man's treasure is another's junk, some assumptions will always be proven wrong, and depending on who is talking there may be an agenda floating around, visible or well hidden. Here are some tidbits you may be interested in though keep in mind that it's all just hearsay after the jump...
It's been amusing for months now to see Oscar pundits fall all over themselves declaring Joy and Jennifer Lawrence frontrunners sight unseen. Unbroken anyone? It's never smart to declare frontrunners sight unseen. But now that we're finally getting more of a peak at the actual movie -- though it's still anyone's guess as to the final quality and perceptions thereof -- It does have the making of an entertaining 2 hours at the movies. So bring Christmas on. Deck the halls. Etcetera.
The new trailer beautifully sequelizes the conceit of the teaser, in which Joy's grandmother (I think) lectured to her. Now Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) is the one imparting wisdom... to her daughter. Of the every-man-for-himself cynical variety but still. Yes No Maybe so breakdown after the jump...
Sunday, December 27, 2015 at 8:00PM 
43 minutes 
