Monday, March 23, 2020 at 8:10PM 
Today marks the 30th anniversary of Pretty Woman. It was released on March 23rd 1990. Of course now it’s remembered for making Julia Roberts one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history. It launched her career to the stratosphere and she still ranks as a major star even if the star system itself has evolved drastically in the last thirty years...
Friday, March 20, 2020 at 10:30AM 
Over at Sundays With Cate, my podcast series about the films of Cate Blanchett, I just finished a three part miniseries about her Oscar winning performance in Blue Jasmine (2013). Something I thought The Film Experience readers might enjoy so I’m sharing with you. Here are some details about the miniseries:
In part one we discuss Cate Blanchett as the real auteur of Blue Jasmine, and the many ways her performance makes her the author of the film.
In part two, we talk about the similarities to Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, the character of Blanche Dubois clearly is the blueprint for Jasmine. The many actresses who played Blanche - including Blanchett herself in a production of Streetcar directed by Liv Ullman - or were inspired by her. From the women in Pedro Almodovar’s movies to Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence (1974) to most recently Carey Mulligan in Wildlife (2018).
And in the final part we discuss Jasmine and her sisters within the Woody Allen oeuvre. Annie Hall, Helen St Clair in Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Maria Elena in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) and Cecilia in The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), among others.
Those episodes are now available wherever you listen to podcasts or at Sundays with Cate. Let me know what you think?
Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 1:48PM 
The new trend in celebrity videos is about hand washing and social distancing. But trust a revered Oscar winner to add a dash of poetry. Dame Judi Dench appears in a short clip with her friend and fellow actor Gyles Brandreth as they lather up their hands for the required 20 seconds. Instead of singing a song or reciting a famous monologue they recite the opening verses of Edward Lear’s beloved poem The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.
Ever the showwoman, Dench even begins purring and nuzzling up to Brandreth when they reach the line “What a beautiful pussy you are.” Nice homage to your current movie, Dame Judi, but perhaps not keeping with the current guidelines for social distancing.
A Public Service Poem - from Judi Dench & Gyles Brandreth pic.twitter.com/jocgJtjvVd
— Gyles Brandreth (@GylesB1) March 15, 2020
Now that Cats is available at home, have you watched yet and what do you think of the Dame’s feline moves?
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 3:45PM 
Remember the 2018 Oscars? Amy Adams was nominated for Vice and there was a time early in the season when we talked about the possibility of her winning because of the 6 nominations that she had amassed so far. That was of course before the Golden Globes when Regina King won for If Beale Street Could Talk on her way to the Oscar podium. Even then some said well King isn't nominated for SAG, Adams is bound to win there and start her narrative, Emily Blunt won for A Quiet Place, and at BAFTA Rachel Weisz won for The Favourite. Then we all looked at what’s next for Amy. For sure that would be her Oscar vehicle. Adams has given many great performances and is an actress who deserves to have an Oscar on her mantle.
The Woman in the Window was next...
Monday, March 16, 2020 at 1:45PM 
Vanity Fair has the exclusive first photos from Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. They are certainly colorful, in more ways than one, if your main concern about this remake was the usual grayish color palette of Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski.
Authenticity in casting is what differentiates this version, according to Spielberg.
