Links: Sadie Sink, Kurt Russell, Jean Smart, and "Giant"

• Advocate If you're in LA this weekend note that the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills is showing a restoration of Giant (1956) -- excellent epic with three ridiculously iconic stars (Rock Hudson, Liz Taylor, and James Dean) and meant to be seen on the big screen
• Antidote Director Bruce LaBruce interviews Betty Blue herself Béatrice Dalle. Great photoshoot
• PrimeTimer all of Jean Smart's Emmy nods, ranked: Hacks, Fargo, Frasier, Watchmen, etc

More after the jump including Kurt Russell's Elvis movie, Sadie Sink on Broadway, and, sadly, more actor deaths to report...

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Interview: Mike Faist on nihilistic teens, stardom, and "West Side Story"

by Nathaniel R

Mike Faist on his "transcendent" experience making West Side Story

The reinvention of West Side Story (2021) has been the subject of much conversation since it opened, from Spielberg's incredibly enduring career, to the health of the movie musical genre, to the complicated subject of its Oscar prospects since the 1961 picture was a sweeper. The one thing that's felt especially unanimous in the response, though, is the exciting work from a trio of Broadway breakouts making a very big leap into movie stardom: Tony nominees Ariana DeBose and Mike Faist and Tony winner David Alvarez (Bernardo). I had the pleasure of sitting down with our new Riff, Mike Faist a couple of weeks ago to discuss the movie and his career (well, sort of. Read on).

He was in great spirits, laughing frequently, and filled with praise for his co-stars. Coincidentally we had both just been back to a Broadway show for the first time since the shutdown. He describes theater as an important "communal empathy project" and West Side Story continues that tradition.

Faist is funny and thoughtful. He is also, as it turns out, self-deprecatingly aware of his caginess around certain topics, like, his future and stardom...

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Well done, Ansel Elgort

Ansel Elgort is trending today and we've never respected him more. Here's why. He posted a nude photo to his Insta a couple of hours ago with the familiar "OnlyFans LINK IN BIO" message used by exhibitionists worldwide...

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Photos from 2020's West Side Story

by Murtada Elfadl

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.

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Golden Globes Men: Pick a Trio

by Nathaniel R

Men's fashion continues to be a bit more interesting than it was in previous decades though it's hard to fault a dapper classic tux. Herewith some men who caught the eye on Globes night.

Let's play a variation on do dump or marry. You can meet one of them for a drink at the bar, nab one for a quick selfie, and take one home in your limo. Who is it gonna be and why? 

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