Months of Meryl: Sophie's Choice (1982)

Hi, we’re John and Matt and, icymi, we are watching every single live-action film starring Streep...

#8 — Sophie Zawistowska, a Polish Holocaust survivor now fighting back personal demons as a Brooklyn émigré.

JOHN: Meryl Streep is as defined by Sophie’s Choice as Tiffany's is by diamonds. Her “choice” is perhaps the most notorious scene in Streep’s oeuvre, known by people who have no idea that The Deer Hunter or Silkwood or Ironweed even exist. In only our eighth entry, we have already arrived at the performance in which the legend of Streep was crystallized forever...

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Blueprints: "I, Tonya"

Jorge continuing to look at the screenplays of this year's Oscar crop... 

All through this year’s awards campaign, the team behind I, Tonya has repeatedly stated that the movie came to be because of screenwriter Steven Roger’s interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly, in which he realized that they both had widely different recollections of their relationship.

The movie that came out of those interviews decided to play with perspective, memory, and point of view to give an unreliable retelling of this story, and playing with biopic tropes. Let’s take a look at how Rogers used various formal devices in the script to convey that we all remember things differently...

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"On Chesil Beach" Trailer Arrives!

Chris here. Oscar wrapups and a lingering winter have us longing for the beach - and look we have one of our favorite nominees to take us there! Except maybe this isn't quite the kind of oceanside relaxation we had in mind: Saoirse Ronan is headlining On Chesil Beach, a drama about a young newlywed couple stuck in the crossfires of sexual expectation and trepidation.

The film is an adaptation of the highly praised Ian McEwan novel, a bit of a full circle moment for the actress, who first came onto everyone's radar with the adaptation of his novel Atonement...

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Mike Leigh at 75: "Vera Drake"

by Eric Blume

Mike Leigh nabbed his second Best Director nomination and his third Original Screenplay nomination with his 2004 film Vera Drake (he has yet to win any Oscars despite seven nominations across those two categories).  Imelda Staunton scored an Actress nod as well for this tale of the vibrant eponymous character who “helps girls out” as part of her many job and family responsibilities. Her actions carry a brutal cost, and the film still carries incredible power.

Fourteen years later, Vera Drake has aged beautifully, perhaps in part because Leigh has structured and staged it in a classical framework...

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Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson Get Their "Hustle" On

By Spencer Coile

Rebel Wilson recently took to Instagram to reveal the title of her latest film, The Hustle. Originally named Nasty Women, this female-led remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will star Wilson and Anne Hathaway as two con-women who team up to scam a tech billionaire (Alex Sharp) out of all his money.

Originally slated for an August release, Wilson also declared that The Hustle will be out early on June 29, writing: 

Get ready for this beaut... The CON is ON xx

This Chris Addison directed comedy has so much potential to be a summer hit, but we're still buzzing with questions: Will Hathaway and Wilson have chemistry? Will the material feel fresh? And perhaps most importantly, will this inspire another stage musical adaptation?