The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
Another scorcher today so take it easy if you can. Here are three moments of celebrity chill to inspire you if you're stressed about the week: Naomi Watts drinking Watts Rose, waterfall gorgeousity with Luca Calvani, and a staring contest with Chris Hemsworth.
The Ringer Who is winning the Chris wars: Evans, Pine, or Hemsworth? /Film Stranger Things will get a sequel season, Netflix confirms. I'm a bit disappointed honestly because I thought an anthology approach would be more satisifying, with a whole new story. Season 1 was resolved satisfyingly. Who needs every story thread neatly tied up? Boo. The Metrograph has a Madonna week in August which will include a Q&A with Truth or Dare director Alek Keshishian - alas, the latter is already sold out. They also have a fun series in a week called "This is PG?!" featuring movies from the late 70s to the mid 80s when the MPAA was pressured into adding "PG-13" (I really have to get better at this Metrograph thing. They're big nights with Q&As seem to sell out instantly so I keep missing them.)
IGN interviews Joss Whedon at Comic Con. They talk Buffy comic book, secret projects, and whether a Black Widow movie would lure him back to Marvel EW on the pilot for Riverdale, the new CW series that will rethink the Archie comic books. Unfortunately it sounds like all TV high school dramas mixed with Twin Peaks (???) and not much like Archie apart from the character names. The New Yorker has a really interesting review of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie The Hairpin on the 20th anniversary of Fiona Apple's awesome "Tidal". Fun read. Current Affairs isn't happy that our political leaders love Hamilton the musical
"New" Musicals and Plays Playbill This sounds interesting -there's a new stage musical in readings called Flying Over Sunset about Hollywood's LSD craze in the late 50s the main characters are Claire Booth Luce, Aldous Huxley, and Cary Grant. Good luck casting Cary Grant! Playbill another movie to stage adaptation - the animated feature The Prince of Egypt has been adapted into a full musical and gets a free concert next month in Sag Harbor, NY Variety wonders if the new Harry Potter play is the next Hamilton. It's sold out in London and expected on Broadway eventually
Trekkies Rejoice Coming Soon Bryan Fuller, who makes such good television (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls) has two new series coming up in 2017. The first Star Trek Discovery, due in January, now has a visual teaser. American Gods has no air date yet but is also expected in 2017. Forbes argues that Star Trek's movie franchise division would be smart to go smaller for bigger payoffs at the box office: Agreed. Space a Star Trek art exhibition called "Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years" debuted at Comic Con and will now be touring conventions and museums, including NYC's Paley Center for Visual Media in September THR Gene Rodenberry's son is playing release rare unseen footage from the original Star Trek series
Today's Watch This reworking of the Cheers theme song by K Anderson & Rosered to celebrate LGBT history is really cool and poignant. [Hat Tip: Towleroad]
Randomness. Sensory overload. Once I started I couldn't stop. Much amusement, a little fright, and beauty after the jump from the world of showbiz and its onlookers...
"Am I the ONLY ONE who doesn't care about __?" Yes. It is you alone in the great stark wilderness, you brave, rugged Jack London protagonist
Remember when Sony rebooted Sam Raimi’s take on Spider-Man (2002) with The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)? Their whole conceit at the time appeared to be “What if you didn’t know the story?” so they just told it again. Only everyone actually did know the story. The result was an instantly forgettable retread, useless but for the printing of money. While that may have been the whole point, it left a lousy corporate aftertaste. It took the world gargling with some Marvel Studios mouthwash (aka Captain America: Civil War) to make people excited about Spidey again.
The good news is that the mega corporation appears to have learned from their mistakes. Ghostbusters NOW does not moronically assume you don’t know Ghostbusters THEN. Sure, it’s the same story again — the Ghostbusters set up shop, refine technobabble gadgets, fight against a supernatural invasion of New York and the bureaucrats that get in their way — but writer/director Paul Feig and his cowriter Katie Dippold (who wrote The Heat together) have correctly guessed that the fun of the movie will be in the makeover.
the ladies fighting the (undead) patriarchy
The story gets a new look, freshened up details, and most famously, four female Ghostbusters and a male receptionist in place of the original’s four men and a female receptionist; that gender inversion proved more revolutionary that any rational human might have expected because a lot of manbabies have been freaking out on the internet ever since...
Alanis Morrisette had a baby daughter. Named her "Onyx Solace" MNPP Chris Hemsworth's Australian commercial Film School Rejects Where is Shelley Duvall? Coming Soon First photo of Colin Firth on the set of Kingsman: The Golden Circle Christian Siriano of Project Runway fame, got married in black - guests (a celebrity who's who including Danielle Brooks and Christina Hendricks) wore white Revelist on Poussey & Soso's relationship in the new season of Orange is the New Black (spoilers)
Mike's Movie Projector remembers Deborah Kerr's iconic nun characters Towleroad apparently Christoph Waltz kissed Tarzan in the original cut of The Legend of Tarzan. Test audiences were perplexed i09 Kiefer Sutherland takes a supporting role in the remake of a film he once starred in, Flatliners (1990) Pajiba whiny women-fearing Ghostbusters haters are still at it, giving the movie a 3.5 rating on IMDb before the pubic has seen it Times of Israel talks to Quentin Tarantino about his career. Sadly he's still planning to quit after a 10th movie so we only have two left. I hated The Hateful Eight but I'd rather not see him quit altogether Interview Jon Favrea (The Jungle Book) talks to Idris Elba about his career thus far Theater Mania Marisa Tomei is starring in The Rose Tattoo at the Williamstown Theater Festival. If only she'd get roles that good in film! (Christopher Abbott co-stars) Michigan Avenue Scarlett Johansson was recently honored in Chicago with a "Renaissance Award" and talked about her love for her job and for playing The Black Widow AV Club looks at the collaboration of Woody Allen & Scarlett Johansson in their "Together Again" series /Film Carrie Coon will play the chief of police in the third season of Fargo. Ewan McGregor co-stars. I guess I have to start watching.