Good Links Revolt

Autostraddle "How to Dress like Cate Blanchett's Oceans 8 Character Who is Definitely Queer, Right?"
Comics Alliance Pixar's Coco gets concept art and a voice cast - Gael García Bernal! 
Sydney Morning Herald Australia's own version of the Oscars goes big for Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge with 9 wins from its 13 nominations.
The New Yorker "the fate of cinephilia in the age of streaming"

 

Awards Daily interviews the production design team on Loving 
EW Ryan Reynolds as Entertainer of the Year
Boy Culture Hunky Van Williams, discovered by Liz Taylor of people, who came to fame on TV's The Green Hornet has died at 82. His last movie role was as homage to his friend and co-star Bruce Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
The Wrap Madonna raises $7 million for Malawi with a little help from Sean Penn who she offers to marry again
THR Harsh words for Amazon with the cancellation of Good Girls Revolt 

The World Has Lost Its Mind
Twitter protesters of the lack of gender equality in the Australian film industry dressed as sausages at the AACTAS. "End the Sausage Party!"... they were not talking about the animated movie.
Daily Beast Sofia Vergara sued by her own embryos 
Time has released their Person of the Year stuff. I shan't type his name anymore ever (vomiting ∞). Beyoncé was apparently runner up. So that makes the second strong woman he who shall not be named has grossly defeated in this awful no good terrible when will it end year (except for at the movies. So many good movies) 

List-Making. Tis the Season
Vulture David Edelstein's top 16 includes 20th Century Women and The Fits
Vanity Fair Richard Lawsom's top 10 includes Jackie, The Lobster, and Fire at Sea
Time Stephanie Zacharek's top 10 includes The Shallows, Loving, and Paterson 

And we'll end with David Ehrlich's annual Top 25 Video Countdown. It's always a pleasure to watch this even if you don't agree on the films or their ranking though this year is a far more worthy selection than last year's!

Instagram Battles: Baz, Sutton, Josh, Amy, Elle & Kiki

Would you rather...

...sort through childhood photos with Baz Luhrmann or Sutton Foster?
... stand naked for Standing Rock with Josh Brolin? 
... determine your own story with unapologetic Amy Schumer?  
... or take a nap on Kiki's lap like Elle Fanning? 

...Or maybe an all singing, all dancing musical! All the best wishes for opening night to the cast and crew who have worked so hard bringing #StrictlyBallroom to @westyorkshireplayhouse.

A photo posted by Baz Luhrmann (@bazluhrmann) on Dec 6, 2016 at 12:01pm PST

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Judy by the Numbers: "The Judy Garland Christmas Show"

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

Full disclosure: I am in the middle of finals hell, wherein I have to write roughly 45 pages and grade exactly 48 exams before I can finally collapse at home for the holidays. So this episode is an especially selfish choice on my part. Since it's been a rocky year, I thought the best choice would be to post the entire episode, so that we could come together over a warm Christmas computer and spend the holidays with Judy.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 15
The Songwriters: Various, arrangement by Mel Torme
The Cast: Judy Garland, Mel Torme, Liza Minnelli, directed by Dean Whitmore

The Story: Call me a sap (and I am), but I cannot watch Judy Garland sing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" while she and her children watch fake snow fall out of a studio set window. In a season that seems to demand yearly special televised events, The Judy Garland Christmas Show ranks as one of the most special Like every episode of The Judy Garland Show, there are some nasty rumors that have risen to the level of legend: that Judy and Mel were fighting, which caused her to flub his name and two song lyrics, that Judy refused to rehearse, that she was high, etc. But somehow the backstage antipathy doesn't diminish the near-camp joy of Judy and co. sitting around a mid-century fireplace singing the songs that she made famous. Much of it has to do with her kids: as the Luft siblings and Liza make appearances, their improvised bits may be stagey, but their affection for their mother is real. Gaffes, bad jokes, and creepy Santa dancers notwithstanding, The Judy Garland Christmas Show remains a classic staple of holiday television.

Documentary Oscar Race Narrows to 14 Films (Plus 1 Mini-Series)

Oscar has winnowed down that massive Best Documentary Semi-Finals list to a more manageable fifteen. We've reviewed just over two thirds of them. Nine are currently available to stream online (handy links provided) and four are in select theaters. The finalists for the five nominations are...

• Cameraperson (IN THEATERS / on Criterion Collection Blu-Ray February 2017)
• Command and Control  (coming to PBS in January)
• The Eagle Huntress (IN THEATERS)
• Fire at Sea (IN THEATERS)
• Gleason (available to rent on Amazon)
• Hooligan Sparrow (streaming on Netflix)
• I Am Not Your Negro  (IN THEATERS FEB 2017)
• The Ivory Game (streaming on Netflix)
• Life, Animated (available to rent on iTunes)
• O.J.: Made in America (series available to purchase on iTunes)
• 13th (streaming on Netflix)
• Tower (IN THEATERS)
• Weiner (available to buy on iTunes)
• The Witness (streaming on Netflix)
• Zero Days (available to buy on iTunes)

What's missing? Well, what isn't. There are always scads of depressing omissions. Let us focus our tears on the delicious Sondheim retrospective reflection about "Merrily We Roll Along" The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened which really deserves a big audience. But all told this list is not surprising finals list. In fact I am quite shocked to tell you that in my Top 20 Most Likely To Oscar chart page (being revised at the moment) I missed only two of these fifteen (Command and Control and The Witness) in favor of films like Newtown and Miss Sharon Jones. 

Interview: Director Paula van der Oest on Dutch Oscar Submission 'Tonio'

By Jose Solís.

In Tonio director Paula van der Oest chronicles the grieving process of two parents (Pierre Bokma and Rifka Lodeizen) who have just lost their 21-year-old son (Chris Peters) in a tragic accident. As they cope with the pain and chaos, they must also come to terms with the fact that Tonio was much more than they thought, and we see them discover their son’s passions and dreams. Based on an autobiographical novel by A.F.Th. van der Heijden, the film is an unsentimental portrait of pain, told with inventive storytelling techniques and featuring superb acting by the leads. I spoke to director van der Oest about finding the film’s tone, working with the actors and doing the Oscar circuit once again (she was nominated for Zus & Zo and her film Accused made the finals two years ago)

Read the interview after the jump...

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