The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
Pike earlier this month in LAYou can see Rosamund Pike's acclaimed performance as a war journalist in A Private War today in movie theaters -- the movie's now gone wide. Pike, who is 39, was born in Hammersmith London, the only child of musician parents. We've been fans of Pike since her slyly terrific work in An Education (2009). Though she's headlined one huge hit (Gone Girl) it still seems like she's waiting for that one role / star vehicle to cement those career gains, and make people remember her name, doesn't it? If you were her agent or management what would you be fighting for right about now? I know I'd immediately put the kabosh on 'the girl' in male-driven action ensemble pictures and fight for more complex female leads -- why not another play? She hasn't been onstage in quite a while.
I'd also be looking for a drama which flirts with mysterious woman elements to capitalize on her Gone Girl fame and her sometimes deliciously remote aura without attempting to recreate that film. Just make sure it's a juicy role because she's up to the task.
After the jump all the posters from her feature film filmography. How many have you seen? And did you remember that she was in them (since you probably saw a few before Gone Girl!)
Babs getting verklempt over Hathaway is too camp for even me.
I mean. Between those two tweets who can we think of anything else now? Okay we'll try after the jump with tweets on tv feminism, Sully anticipation, Sally Field's range, and finding Mr Darcy...
A somewhat quiet week for moviegoing as all eyes turn towards the Superbowl. Well, not all eyes. I don't know who's playing other than Beyoncé. Kung Fu Panda had no trouble fending off newcomers. Star Wars recently crossed the $2 billion mark worldwide (though it's still behind Titanic and Avatar globally) but the new movies didn't make enough of an impression for ticket buyers. Unfortunately Hail, Caesar! opened significantly below the gross of the last widescreen comedy from the Coen brothers Burn After Reading.
BOX OFFICE 01Kung Fu Panda 2 $21 (cum. $69) 02 Hail, Caesar!$11.4 newCoen Brothers - 17 Films, Interview: Score 03 The Revenant$7.1 (cum. $149.7) Interview: Costumes, Interview: Production Design 04 Star Wars: The Force Awakens$6.9(cum. $905.9)Review, Podcast 05 The Choice$6 new 06 Pride & Prejudice & Zombies$5.2 newReview 07 The Finest Hours$4.7 (cum. $18.3) 08 Ride Along 2$4.5 (cum. $77.2) 09 The Boy $4 (cum $26.8) 10 Dirty Grandpa $4 (cum $29.3)
What did you see this weekend? I rewatched Silence of the Lambs (for our 25th anniversary celebration which starts tomorrow!) and also hit Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. Some friends asked me to wait for them for Hail, Caesar! and I agreed. This is always a bad decision because they are never in the hurry that I am to devour new movies
This review originally appeared in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad...
Lily James, from Cinderella to Zombie Slayer
“Pride and Prejudice,” Jane Austen’s classic novel about the Bennet sisters and their suitors, has one of the most famous opening lines in all of literature.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an adaptation Jane never could have seen coming despite her gifts, twists the opening line so that we’re no longer talking courtship but hunger; zombies in want of brains. So let’s twist the line again. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that pop culture, possessed by the love of fanfic, must be in want of works in the Public Domain!’
EW Marisa Tomei joins the cast of Empire as a lesbian billionaire - whoa. Please let her throw down with Taraji Nicks Flick Picks is also on the halfway mark, year in review beat with a lot of movies I haven't seen (sigh) Jane Fonda on her summer screenings and returning to work on Grace and Frankie - she got an acting coach! EWPride & Prejudice & Zombies photos. Yikes. What's with the lingerie ad costumes? Awards Daily thinks Scorsese's Silence might be ready just in time for Oscar. I personally hope he takes his time and we get it next year. I like having breaks from the Oscar regulars or Oscar just becomes too much like the Emmys!
Slate thinks Rolan Emmerich's Stonewall looks too much like a cheap musical Playbill reminds us that Magic Mike (2012) is being made into a stage musical. What isn't... but still I'd totally forgotten Business Insider here's an area you never see covered: the weapons department on a studio picture. Terminator Genisys in this case Comics Alliance new pics from Batman vs. Superman. One of them seems to have Superman surrounded by a bunch of zombies so.... Twitter cracked me up when looking at that picture
Yes No Maybe So Queen of the Desert trailer has arrived, asking the question "Who the hell is Gertrud Bell" - I can't give it its own post because there are too many trailers these past couple of days. But you should YNMS in the comments if you're in the mood. So jealous of Robert Pattinson when he's holding those lion cubs. Awww.
Show Tune To Go Showtunes to Cherish For All Time These couple of weeks have all been about City Center productions for me. Every summer they do these amazing staged readings. Last week I saw Jonathan Groff and Ana Gasteyer do William Finn's "A New Brain" which is a terrific underperformed musical. (Gasteyer as it turns out was born for the musical stage, SNL aside). Next up is Sutton Foster doing "The Wild Party" so naturally I'm quite excited.
In between those two shows, as you may have heard, Ellen Greene reprised her "Audrey" role in Little Shop of Horrors this week at a staged reading at City Center. Jason went. I went. Joe Reid was wayyyyy up front (I was green with envy and confused since I bought my tickets the second they went on sale!). The New York Times Ben Brantley raved. Everyone was there. Or everyone will pretend to have been there years from now when people are still talking about this.
Ellen, who is now in her sixties, was in fine form and wearing her original costumes no less. She was a shameless ham, milking her every line, pose, and big notes for maximum audience pleasure. Whenever a singer with a gargantuan voice has a signature tune that they've sung for decades the tunes always get a little more affected every time, possibly to keep them entertained. (Have you heard Jennifer Holliday do "And I'm Telling You" lately? It's just a series of abstract vowels and growls now, it's so weird.) Ellen nearly took "Suddenly Seymour" there but still brought the house down. "Somewhere That's Green" on the other hand was just so tender and yearning and funny... my god the goosebumps. That voice can still send shivers all over you of aural pleasure, innate empathy, belly laughs. She's a treasure.
FWIW Jake Gyllenhaal played Seymour and he was very funny when ad-libbing (it's a staged reading with limited rehearsal time so some flubbed lines allow actors to embellish or get the audience on their side) and his voice ain't half bad either.
Ellen Greene's standing ovation was so epic and rumbling I feared the balcony would collapse and kill us all. Which would, come to think of it, be a fitting end for this grim comedy. The movie (be very grateful that her performance was preserved for all time) granted Audrey and Seymour a happy ending but they die in the musical. And then they sing their warning tale.
Whatever they offer you, don't feed the plant!
Picking a favorite song from this musical is impossible, I've listend to it so often over the years, but "Skid Row" is the one that doesn't get any attention that I cherish so here that is.
Friday, November 16, 2018 at 5:00PM 
Pike earlier this month in LAYou can see Rosamund Pike's acclaimed performance as a war journalist in A Private War today in movie theaters -- the movie's now gone wide. Pike, who is 39, was born in Hammersmith London, the only child of musician parents. We've been fans of Pike since her slyly terrific work in An Education (2009). Though she's headlined one huge hit (Gone Girl) it still seems like she's waiting for that one role / star vehicle to cement those career gains, and make people remember her name, doesn't it? If you were her agent or management what would you be fighting for right about now? I know I'd immediately put the kabosh on 'the girl' in male-driven action ensemble pictures and fight for more complex female leads -- why not another play? She hasn't been onstage in quite a while.
