Enough with the Music Biopics!

by Cláudio Alves

What has BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY wrought?!

Over the past five years and across nearly a thousand write-ups for The Film Experiences, you might have denoted my slight distaste for biopics. To be fair, "slight" might be an understatement. I bring this up to admit my bias against these projects, often conventional to a fault and dripping with mercenary intent. But even if you're a fan of them, you must admit there's been a disproportionate influx of these productions in the past few years, especially in the context of dramas about musicians. It's likely a consequence of Bohemian Rhapsody's immense success at the box office and with awards groups, generating a thousand copycats that may not reach the depths of its ignobility but still plateau at a level of miserable mediocrity.

As Timothée Chalamet is hounded by paparazzi on the set of his Bob Dylan biopic, the Bohemian Rhapsody editor announces his directorial debut, and Back to Black spits on the memory of Amy Winehouse in theaters, let's discuss…

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'Don't tell me not to link, I've simply got to... 🎵 '

This Week's Must Read: Everyone has been talking about the cast changes at Funny Girl on Broadway and it's been very messy. Daily Beast has the gorey details in an inside scoop on how things have played out as Beanie Feldstein announced an early departure and Lea Michele prepares for the iconic titular role.

More after the jump including new projects for Jonathan Bailey, Chris Hemsworth, a second season for The Bear, an Amy Winehouse biopic, and appreciations of Nicole Kidman, the Three Colors trilogy, and the year's best action films...

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Links: Annapurna Chaos, Flash Delay, Franchise Resurrections

• Pajiba wonders what the hell is going on at Annapurna pictures (they've dropped that upcoming all-star Roger Ailes movie just two weeks before production)
• Forbes good piece on why Warner Bros doesn't need the troubled DC superhero films any more
• YouTube Jon Hamm and James Corden asking each other humiliating questions about people they dont want to work with, penis size, Batman, and more...

More after the jump including more icky Bryan Singer drama, The Flash's delay, TV spinoffs and franchise relaunches (sigh) and Broadway's Beetlejuice...

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Soundtracking: "Westworld"

Westworld returns to HBO this Sunday, so Chris is taking on season one's hidden songs...

Remember back in 2016 when Westworld debuted and select corners of the internet went gaga over the songs that underscored its Thandie Newton-forefronted saloon. This would-be jukebox of pianistic gloom christened its maidens and gunslingers in the likes of Soundgarden and Radiohead, an easter egg in plain sight meant to draw oohs and ahs of macho irony.

Instead of stereotypical ragtime revelry, this wild west fantasy sounds like a wind-up music box sold at a Hot Topic...

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IDA Nominations Honor Amy, Kurt, Nina and Marlon

Glenn here. The nominations and specialty category winners were announced today for the 31st International Documentary Association Awards. It's a line-up heavy on artist portraits, Ukraine, and films heavy on the use of archive footage. Last year's IDA list featured three eventual Oscar nominees (Finding Vivian Maier, Salt of the Earth and the winner of both Citizenfour), but other years since 2010 the number has only been two. Except 2011 when the IDA people went way off course (in the best possible way) and awarded Patricio Guzman's Nostalgia for the Light with no eventual Oscar nominees in their list (Guzman's The Pearl Button didn't find favor from them this year, though).

I see no reason why this year won't follow that ratio status quo. But firstly let's take a look at the nominees.

BEST FEATURE

• Amy
• The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
• Listen to Me Marlon
• The Look of Silence
• The Russian Woodpecker
• What Happened, Miss Simone?

I am extremely pleased to see the excellent Russian Woodpecker cited here. If Oscar could pay attention to that superb examination of paranoia amid the Ukrainian revolution then I would be more than ecstatic. And if you have the chance to see it then do yourself a favour. But what about the rest...

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