Lupita Lives To Fight Another Day

JA from MNPP here. If you don't count doing voice-acting the wolf-mother in the upcoming Jungle Book CG-stravaganza, we're blasphemously still waiting for Lupita Nyong'o to find her follow-up to her Oscar-winning role in 12 Years a Slave. But now we've got a whisper - she might be taking a role in Southpaw, the upcoming "Jake Gyllenhaal is a boxer (and then JA blacks out thinking about Jake Gyllenhaal as a boxer and misses the rest of what the movie's about)" movie written by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter and directed by Antoine "Training Day" Fuqua.

She'd be playing a social worker keeping track of Jake's young daughter. Dunno how substantive the role is - are we talking Mariah Carey in Precious or Brie Larson in Short Term 12? Whatever the case let's once again say a humble yet firm prayer to the Hollywood Gods that they do right by Lupita. We're watching you!

Also in talks to join the film are Forest Whitaker as Jake's coach and Rachel McAdams as Jake's lady. And in case you missed the pictures of Jake getting into prime boxing shape for the movie click on over here - they're worth your time and effort, I guarantee it.

Under the Link

Playbill a Broadway musical of Pretty Woman? They're determined to make every 90s movie hit into a musical
The Gayest of All Time The Many Tears of Leonardo DiCaprio
Vanity Fair tries to get Matthew Weiner to talk the final season of Mad Men but wisely settles for more fertile ground since you know he won't do that! 

World of Wonder I subscribe to everything they're saying about the new Flash costume on Arrow. I have tried to watch that show so many times but i just think it's terrible and so personality free 
Screen Crush another look at the costume and in action. It does not look aerodynamic to me -- way looser fit than most superhero costume and shouldn't it be more like a swimmer's outfit to enhance speed? So who knows what Colleen Atwood was thinking
Pajiba on Lena Dunham's keynote address at SXSW
In Contention Guy Lodge reports on how Brad Pitt almost starred in Under the Skin but I can't read this because I'm keeping myself as virginal on the film as possible. I want to be surprised
MNPP continues to spread the joy of Jake Gyllenhaal's return in Enemy
Empire a new motion poster for Noah which trippily takes you through caves and the ark and fields and foes and loops back like the world is round and infinite or something
Vulture interviews True Detective's Glenn Fleshler on how he approached his very very sick character 

Today's Must Read
Jezebel's funny thinkpiece "A Grown Woman's Guide to Responsible Celebrity Worship" which examines the problem of the "It" girl narrative, the recent Oscar media Jennifer vs. Lupita situation, celebrity backlashes (almost always towards women... the men actually have to EARN backlash), and self-identification. It's pretty great. The piece also references this amazing article "Lupita Nyong'o Doesn't Need Your Permission to Be Beautiful" which is also a very good read.

Linkpourri

Change.org a petition to get Lupita Nyong'o cast as Storm in the next X-Men movie. Too bad there's still one more round of Halle Berry!
Ellen TV somehow I hadn't see Cate Blanchett's post Oscar win visit to Ellen until just now. So funny and I love what she says about sleeping with her statue at the 4:30 mark 
Cinema Blend Kristen Bell planning to work with the Frozen songwriter team again. More musicals, yay! 

In Contention lessons learned from this Oscar season. I've been preaching the "don't open in December" thing for a long time but finally other pundits are coming round! 
Comics Alliance whoa. superhero figures are getting way more realistic than when I was a kid! Here's Black Widow -- I assume Scarlett Johansson gets a huge cut of this for allowing her likeness. Can you imagine the market if they could make sex dolls this realistic. Did I just type that aloud. My deepest apologies but it's Scarlett. She does things to people. 

small screen
Slate talks to True Detective's costume designer
The Guardian Lee Daniels and Gabby Sidibe of Precious fame are reuniting albeit not as spectacularly. This time she'll play the assistant to a lead character (Terence Howard) in a new TV series about a hiphop record label. 
The Week is there too much nudity on HBO?
TFE If you love Faith the Vampire Slayer than you must please stop goodie Buffy in this reader's poll. Buffy Buffy Buffy
Pajiba on dead TV characters they'd like resurrected
Comics Alliance Oh my Dark Phoenix. They're reviewing every episode of the 90s X-Men animated series
Salon the vague plans for Season 2 of True Detective 

Today's Watch(es)
For the adults... Strangers kissing for the first time, an experiment. (Weird that the gay guys are the most demure about it!)

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For all ages... Sesame Street does Les Miserables with Cookie Monster taking up the lead duties

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Do you hear the cookies crunch?
It's really more than we can bear
That's the sound of Jean Bon-bon
He's the guy who would not share ♫ 

Monologue Special: Four Acceptance Speeches

In the Monologue series (usually on Mondays, oops) we opine on those rare onscreen moments when an actor gets a whole chunk of lines to run with. It's rarer than you'd think unless you're dealing with a stage adaptation that they haven't worried about "opening up".

Not so on Oscar night where each winner gets to speak without interruption unless the "stick man" grows impatient. Thankfully, at the 86th Oscars, they didn't play people off. The Academy producers rarely show common sense in this regard so this was a special treat. For years they've misunderstood the entire appeal of their broadcast. But think of it: What is an awards show without the spectacle of ego, wit, nerves, emotion, gratitude and body language of the acceptance speech? The acceptance speech is to awards shows, what setpieces are to action films, love scenes are to romantic drama, and what song & dance is to musicals. Without the speeches, you'd be left with haphazard montages celebrating random themes, context free fashion parades the likes of which we haven't seen since they stopped interjecting them into movies, and an Ellen DeGeneres comedy show. And nobody wants those things. Or, okay we do but maybe not together and definitely not without context!  So all praise the acceptance speech.

I would like to salute three people and chastise a fourth as quickly as I can -- which is not quickly, I know. shut up! -- after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Links & Ink

Awards Circuit is hosting a March Madness tournament featuring all the Best Actress winners ever - the games started yesterday
Rope of Silicon a special remix of "Hero": Mariah Carey feat. Matthew McConaughey
Daily News Cate Blanchett & Amy Adams went to a tattoo parlor together with their men in tow after the Oscars! I would never have predicted that for a double date between them, would you? The bandages indicate that at least Cate and Amy's man got tattooed.

D-Listed The gowns from the Vanity Fair party (I'm so far behind I'm still reading about Post-Oscar partying)
PopBytes sneak peak at Lindsay Lohan series on Oprah's channel (I forgot all about this!)
Hollywood Elsewhere blurry snapshots from the set of Warren Beatty's Hughes film 

<--- Variety Alfonso Cuarón on life post-Oscar. Um... it's been 72 hours! LOL. But we'll excuse it because isn't that cover image great?
The Cut Lupita Nyong'o breaking the mold of the "ingenue 'it' girl" as a dark skinned 31 year-old
Twitter... but apparently Christian Bale is not impressed?
EW why Vivienne Jolie-Pitt is in Maleficent
Pajiba on Anna Kendrick's Oscar weekend diary
Self Styled Siren interviews Mark Harris on his new book "Five Came Back" 
Defamer how much booze was consumed at Vanity Fair's Oscar party? Celebrate the excess. Hey, it's only once a year and it's all over. *sniffle*