TV: 'The Gilded Age' Premiere Gives Us Actresses Galore

By Christopher James

Which side do you choose in this actress battle royale - Baranski or Coon?

The Gilded Age has so much going for it. Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon are old money sisters engaging in war with their new-money neighbor, played by Carrie Coon. Created by Downton Abbey and Gosford Park scribe Julian Fellowes, HBO’s latest series promises opulence, conflicts around societal manners, corsets, and actresses galore.

No surprise, then, that there has been considerable interest from the rest of the Film Experience team on The Gilded Age, so we’ll be doing weekly coverage of each episode. Five episodes have been screened for critics, so for today quick overall thoughts, followed by a review of the pilot. Make sure to check back each Monday as we recap the latest episode of the nine-episode first season.

Does The Gilded Age live up to its pedigree?

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Vintage '47: What was going on in showbiz that year?

by Nathaniel R

Let's look at some cultural background on the year 1947 before we reach the new Smackdown event in exactly one week (have you voted yet?). Light entertainments were very popular but Post-War America and by extension Hollywood was feeling a dark undertow and anxiety. Cinema went deep into noir territory (men really didn't know who to trust or what to make of women after they'd becoming working girls during the War and the anxiety definitely showed onscreen) and offscreen things were treacherous. The infamous witchhunt for Communists began in Hollywood, cutting off the careers of many talented actors and filmmakers who wouldn't 'name names', beginning with "The Hollywood Ten". 

Great Big Box Office Hits:
A now long-forgotten picture, Welcome Stranger (reteaming the Oscar-winning stars of Going My Way) was one of the year's very biggest attractions. The best-seller turned rom-com The Egg and I was also a huge success. Other light entertainments that were audience favourites included all star comedies like Life with Father (currently streaming!) and The Bachelor and Bobby Soxer, and the Betty Grable musical Mother Wore Tights. But Oscar drifted towards more serious fare... 

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Stage Door: Kiss, Me Kate

by Dancin' Dan

“I hate men,” sings Kelli O’Hara in the Roundabout Theater Company’s revival of Kiss Me, Kate, and the audience applauds in agreement. It may be a bit counterintuitive, but right now feels like exactly the right time to revive this golden age musical, about a formerly married, constantly bickering couple starring in a musical version of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. It's the right time to go to the theater and see a farce where a woman gives as good as she gets from a powerful, abusive man. And Scott Ellis’s sparkling revival delivers, with a little bit of help from some “additional script material” by Amanda Green, and a lot of help from its dynamite leading lady.

This is the best Kelli O’Hara has been since her performance as Nellie Forbush in Bartlett Sher’s 2008 revival of South Pacific...

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Stage Door: Joshua Henry Wows in "Carousel"

by Nathaniel R

"So that's why 'Carousel' is rarely revived... got it!"

Dear reader, I have a confession to make. I had never seen the golden age Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "Carousel" performed before this week. Nor had I ever seen the now rarely discussed film version Carousel (1956), starring Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae. So when I sat down in Broadway's Imperial Theater for the 11-time Tony nominated revival, I really had no idea what to expect...

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When Meryl Met Anna... and Other Stories

Salon Sandra Bullock to play Texas senator Wendy Davis, who famously filibustered an anti-abortion bill for 12 hours. Oscar #2?
Variety interviews actor/playwright Tracy Letts who is really having a good year you must admit. Lady Bird is a hit in theaters and his new play just opened in Chicago
Hollywood Reporter has a good interview with Steven Soderbergh
Instagram Lupita Nyong'o loves her natural hair and is upset with a magazine for airbrushing it away
Variety Replacing Kevin Spacey in All the Money in the World is going to cost at least 2.5 million
MNPP Do Dump or Marry: Thor Ragnarok edition

Stage
Deadline this is a surprise the Tony Awards have declared the recent production of "1984" ineligible for prizes. They have not stated why exactly.
Playbill reviews are in for Broadway's new musical The Band's Visit, based on the Ronit Elkabetz film of the same name if you remember that one
Theater Mania photos of Kelli O'Hara and Patrick Wilson rehearsing for Brigadoon. Hope it's swoon-worthy
Playbill Jake Shears (of Scissor Sisters fame) joining Kinky Boots on Broadway next year. Damn, I guess I'll have to see it a third time

Harassment Epidemic Updates
AV Club on Hollywood's long overdue moral reckoning
New Yorker Emily Nussbaum has a terrific piece on Louis CK's comedy through the lens of recent allegations
New York Times Louis CK has confessed to the claims against him "These stories are true"
Medium Actor Anthony Edwards has come forward to say he was molested by a producer when he was underage
Guardian Ellen Page has detailed homophobic remarks director Brett Rattner made to her during the production of X-Men: Last Stand
Washington Post showing their utter depravity GOP officials are now citing the bible to justify Roy Moore's sexual assault on an underage girl. And just think, last month they were slamming Hollywood for its depravity with Harvey Weinstein.

Oscar Campaigns Heat Up
Awards Daily Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) to receive Rising Star award at Palm Springs
Variety Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) to receive Vanguard award at Santa Barbara

And cheeky Meryl Streep met with Anna Wintour (who she sent up in her Oscar worthy work in Devil Wears Prada) to promote her new star vehicle The Post