Borderlinks

• Deadline Master and Commander (2003) is finally getting a sequel... or rather a prequel based on an earlier book so new actors will be in the Crowe/Bettany roles
• Vanity Fair an interview with screenwriter Michael Waldron who is helping to shape Marvel's Phase 4
• The Guardian profiles After Love director Aleem Khan. We really want to see this film. The mother role sounds like a great part for undervalued and excellent Joanna Scanlon

More after the jump including Billy Magnussen, Borderlands, Cruella, Dick Van Dyke, The Conjuring franchise, and rumors about The Color Purple movie musical...

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Almost There: Paul Bettany in "Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World"

by Cláudio Alves

Paul Bettany's one of those actors who feels like an Oscar nominee despite having never received love from the Academy. Since the late 90s, the British thespian has starred in various awards-friendly titles, including a Best Picture winner, and is regularly praised by critics even when his projects disappoint. Nonetheless, AMPAS always ignores him. His best shot came in 2003 when his supporting turn in Peter Weir's Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World earned him some well-deserved buzz. Since the actor just celebrated his 50th birthday, I chose to celebrate the occasion by looking back at that performance in a special entry to the Almost There series…

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The New Classics: Master and Commander

Michael Cusumano here to explore what keeps fans returning for repeat voyages on Peter Weir's 2003 nautical adventure.

Scene: Exploring the Galapagos
Right before the climactic naval battle in Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the story pauses to watch a scientist leisurely wander the Galapagos Islands, collecting lizards and measuring giant tortoises. How many modern adventure films would halt the action dead in its tracks like that? Hell, how many films from any era would resist relegating such a detour to the cutting room floor? I can imagine David Lean including the sequence, but then his version of Master and Commander would probably push the four hour mark.

This adaptation of Patrick O’Brien’s series of novels is less about narrative urgency and more about creating a world to get lost in. Sure, when the time comes to pay-off the naval duel at the center of the plot, Master and Commander delivers in spectacular fashion. But that’s not what keeps the devotees of the film returning over and over again...

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The New Classics and the return of Michael C

The Film Experience is very pleased to announce that one of our long-lost contributors, Michael Cusumano, is returning to the fold. After a few years off, he has a new weekly column launching Tuesday and new readers are in for a treat because Michael is a fine and insightful writer. We asked him about where he's been and what we can expect. Please welcome him back with open arms! - Nathaniel R.

Michael, where the hell have you been? We haven't seen you around these parts in 4 (gulp) years! We hope you've been having film experiences without us at least.

I’ve been living in New York doing my own creative writing. I needed to take a step back from online film culture and clear some mental space. I had tried to write a first draft of a screenplay and I ended up with a ranked list of all the meaningful glances in Carol.  

You’ll be relieved to learn I still have plenty of film experiences, although I no longer feel the pressure to stay up to date with everything playing...

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Linker and Commander

My New Plaid Pants the greatest "which is hotter?" of all time
Pajiba's bitch rankings for the new season of Downton Abbey. So happy it's back. Love Mary so much. 
The Backlot Did Sir Ian McKellen out gay actors who everyone knows are gay even though they're not actually really out even though they're gay? The silliest "controversy" of the weekend. Gay gay gay

Awards Daily seems convinced that American Hustle is going to win Best Picture and everyone knows it. Ummm... we don't even have the nominations yet. I'd say the race is still on.
The Carpetbagger let's ask Siri about Samantha in Her why don't we? Yes, let's.
Variety Judi Dench, Bruce Dern and 12 Years get props from the AARP in their annual "best movies for grownups" list
In Contention oooh, it's BAFTA's rising star nominees! I always forget that they do that.  The nominees are: Dane DeHaan (Kill Your Darlings), George Mackay (How I Live Now), Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave), Will Poulter (We're the Millers), and Léa Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color). They aren't nominated for those specific pictures but I just include them to remind you. Who would you vote for?

Best Read
If you haven't yet read this open letter to James Franco from The Village Voice's Amy Nicholson, titled "do the double dick dude" you absolutely must: hilarious, provocative, and smart.

Today in Randomness...
A happy 25th birthday to actor Max Pirkis. Remember how great he was opposite Paul Bettany and Russell Crowe in Master and Commander: Far Side of the World? I've been meaning to rewatch that for in forever. You never know with child actors if it's merely a great director, a natural gift, or a happy accident. Pirkis later had a supporting role on HBO's Rome as the evil Gaius Octavian (I only saw the first season of that show but I understand it was akin to a King Joffrey part?) but he's been absent from screens for all of his twentysomething years. He's returning to the movies this year in Flying Home (with Jamie Dornan) and the horror flick The Quiet Ones (opening in April) and we wish him well, especially if Master and Commander was indication of his potential. As I was typing this up I realized he was on twitter and twitter accounts from non celebrity actors are a peculiar joy. There you can sometimes spot actual opinions instead of careful PR positivity about everything. For example, he has Oscar opinions, didn't like whatever Jodie Foster was doing in Elysium (but who did, really?). And, this is my favorite, because I never quite understood why people were so gaga for The World's End (which I think is the worst of the Cornetto Trilogy and by a significant margin. 

#TheWorldsEnd old fogeys trying to revive former glories by making a film about old fogeys trying to revive former glories #timepleasegents

— Max Pirkis (@Pirkky) August 1, 2013