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It's 120 days until the Oscars. So for today's random number celebration let's talk Moses! According to the Bible he lived to be 120 years old. The most famous Moses film is inarguably The Ten Commandments (1956). We always forget that Charlton Heston wasn't actually Oscar-nominated for playing Moses in that now camp classic despite the film receiving seven Oscar nods including a Best Picture citation. Curiously and conversely, the film's only Golden Globe nomination was in Best Actor, Drama for Charlton Heston. How about that?
Mariah Carey and Whitney Huston perform a song from THE PRINCE OF EGYPT at the Oscars.
Before implementing the Best Animated Feature category, the Academy gave out three special awards over six decades honoring individual achievements in the art of feature-length animation – Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and Toy Story were the honorees. It was only in the new millennium that AMPAS finally buckled to rising pressures and created the official prize. In 2001, this Oscar was finally established. As we ready ourselves for the Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1998, it's easy to wonder what would have happened if the category had been around a few years earlier…
My New Plaid Pants Jake Gyllenhaal accepts Tom Holland's challenge to put on a shirt while doing a handstand (everyone is bored these days!) IndieWire Pedro Almodóvar and Spike Lee will both curate exhibits for the new Academy Museum. Great choices, right? Film School Rejects a psa "what's on Quibi and what can I watch on it" good question!
Artemis Fowl, ever-shifting release dates from Marvel and otherwise, The Prince of Egypt, Ryan Murphy's Hollywood, All About Eve and more after the jump...
• /Film RIP Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca actor in the original Star Wars films • Film Comment a wonderful anecdote-filled interview with the legendary casting director Juliet Taylor Dangerous Liaisons, The Exorcist, Close Encounters, Schindler's List, and Broadway Danny Rose are among her many classics. • Deadline It's official: Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges and Tracy Letts to headline French Exit... • TFE ...our earlier report about Michelle's interest in doing this movie • Slate thinks the romcom Long Shot is actually pretty feminist (though it's initially strange to hear that claim about yet another movie where the schlubby guy gets the hot girl)
More after the jump including Lucy Liu, an 80s singer coming out, the Karate Kid, the German Oscars, upcoming stage musicals based on movies, and more...
The Ringer Who is winning the Chris wars: Evans, Pine, or Hemsworth? /Film Stranger Things will get a sequel season, Netflix confirms. I'm a bit disappointed honestly because I thought an anthology approach would be more satisifying, with a whole new story. Season 1 was resolved satisfyingly. Who needs every story thread neatly tied up? Boo. The Metrograph has a Madonna week in August which will include a Q&A with Truth or Dare director Alek Keshishian - alas, the latter is already sold out. They also have a fun series in a week called "This is PG?!" featuring movies from the late 70s to the mid 80s when the MPAA was pressured into adding "PG-13" (I really have to get better at this Metrograph thing. They're big nights with Q&As seem to sell out instantly so I keep missing them.)
IGN interviews Joss Whedon at Comic Con. They talk Buffy comic book, secret projects, and whether a Black Widow movie would lure him back to Marvel EW on the pilot for Riverdale, the new CW series that will rethink the Archie comic books. Unfortunately it sounds like all TV high school dramas mixed with Twin Peaks (???) and not much like Archie apart from the character names. The New Yorker has a really interesting review of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie The Hairpin on the 20th anniversary of Fiona Apple's awesome "Tidal". Fun read. Current Affairs isn't happy that our political leaders love Hamilton the musical
"New" Musicals and Plays Playbill This sounds interesting -there's a new stage musical in readings called Flying Over Sunset about Hollywood's LSD craze in the late 50s the main characters are Claire Booth Luce, Aldous Huxley, and Cary Grant. Good luck casting Cary Grant! Playbill another movie to stage adaptation - the animated feature The Prince of Egypt has been adapted into a full musical and gets a free concert next month in Sag Harbor, NY Variety wonders if the new Harry Potter play is the next Hamilton. It's sold out in London and expected on Broadway eventually
Trekkies Rejoice Coming Soon Bryan Fuller, who makes such good television (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls) has two new series coming up in 2017. The first Star Trek Discovery, due in January, now has a visual teaser. American Gods has no air date yet but is also expected in 2017. Forbes argues that Star Trek's movie franchise division would be smart to go smaller for bigger payoffs at the box office: Agreed. Space a Star Trek art exhibition called "Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years" debuted at Comic Con and will now be touring conventions and museums, including NYC's Paley Center for Visual Media in September THR Gene Rodenberry's son is playing release rare unseen footage from the original Star Trek series
Today's Watch This reworking of the Cheers theme song by K Anderson & Rosered to celebrate LGBT history is really cool and poignant. [Hat Tip: Towleroad]