January. It's a Wrap
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 6:45PM The first month of 2012 is a wrap. And you, yes YOU, have really helped the year off to a wonderful start. What can we do to convince you to stick around all summer when Oscar buzz is coolest? The Film Experience turns it out all year long so don't toss us in the spring. The robust discussions recently surrounding Albert Nobbs, Viola's "Dream Big Dream Fierce" and Vanity Fair's Hollywood cover have been a treat and can continue all year long.
Ten Highlights from January
Best of the Year - Nathaniel's top ten list from American stadiums to Iranian courtrooms
Charlize Theron Interview - on Young Adult's biting character study and that Snow White trailer
Burning Questions - Michael's new series is a big hit. Keep on answering those discussables.
Corey Stoll on Hemingway & Allen - this rising actor was fun to talk to.
Bret McKenzie Interview - He's already left Middle Earth but he's still playing with Muppets
Sing Far From Heaven, Sing - Todd Haynes's masterpiece has been musicalized
A Heartful of Uh-Oh - Taylor Swift for Les Misérables? ****
Pancake Breakfast With Nathaniel - this live chat was a fun experiment. Perhaps we'll do it again?
My "Drive" scorpion jacket pancake. Although maybe it looks more like an Aliens face-hugger?Most Eyeballs & Comments, Special Event:
Golden Globe Live Blog
Most Eyeballs & Comments, Normal Post:
Oscar Snubs That Hurt
COMING IN FEBRUARY
Madonna's W.E., television's "Smash", The Secret of Arrietty, Animated, Documentary and Foreign Feature nominees, screen romance, the rest of the film bitch awards, and more Oscar madness including interviews with a few nominees!
**** Thanks to Ryan in the comments for the heads up. Word is spreading that Samantha Barks and not Taylor Swift as originally announced will play Eponine. Casting can be a fluid thing. It's best to not believe anything until people start filming. Here is Barks singing "On My Own". She will look much more believable as Helena Bonham-Carter's daughter.
Year in Review
Reader Comments (18)
Boy, that Taylor Swift news sure was a heart-stopper, but it's comforting to know that she's not taking the role. With the already star-studded cast, it's kind of refreshing that they're going with a "nobody," because Barks is insanely talented. Hopefully this will be a great transition into her potential stardom.
http://upandcomers.net/2012/01/31/west-end-eponine-samantha-barks-not-taylor-swift-to-reprise-role-for-tom-hoopers-les-miserables/
I'm impossibly excited for Smash. Not that I think it will be great, I just want it to be so badly.
Ryan, I was just coming over here to post that link right now. Consider me excited for this movie again :)
That New York Observer article that you (Nathaniel) linked to today about Smash and "the death of Camp" was pretty thought provoking. I'm interested to know whether or not you think it's a valid point, both as a criticism of Smash itself, and as a critique of the state of Camp in entertainment today. I hope you talk about this some more. Anyway, yeah, lots to look forward to in the coming weeks.
Downton Abbey!
Request: When things slow down, can you guys bring back Best Pictures from the Outside In? Love love love that feature. But of course I will stick around either way. Easily one of the most enjoyable things to read online.
Nathaniel,
Lots of activity going on at Awards Daily right now with backlash against Viola Davis' performance, SAG win, campaign, etc. Would love for you to do a short post taking your stance on this.
Luke -- but I just did a massive post about that very same topic! Like two posts ago ;)
Luke -- in case you missed it that was here. It had a lot of traffic so i assumed people had seen it. But you never know. The internet does move fast.
U haven't posted ur personal best supporting actresses, Nat. I'm dying to find out ;)
How embarrassing for me...
Thanks!
Should I say that Samantha Barks sounds pretty mediocre to me or will I sound nasty?
@JamesT
same here. not really impressed with that performance at all.
Tag me as amongst the unimpressed as well. Though Bark's better than Swift, I still think she over sang the song. By trying to emote so much, she ended up giving a performance - and not in a good way. To me, she seemed so concerned with hitting the notes and giving a good show that she forgot to *be* Eponine, to be a waif of a girl wandering the streets of Paris at night, singing about her love for a boy while knowing that he didn't return her love.
Where are the Streep reader ranks????? :)
Samantha Barks was on I'd Do Anything on BBC1 and was my fave, so glad she is in over Taylor
And she sounds much better here http://youtu.be/PuJSDILBqdI (she starts at around the 5:00 mark)
I watched I'd Do Anything and also think Samantha is a great talent. She can look ugly or pretty depending, and she can really sing. If people don't like the clip of her, I think she was singing to a stadium of 25,000 people or something. I'm sure she can bring it down to "cinematic" level.