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.)
"I threw my back out," is going to be my excuse for everything for next few weeks since I have rarely taken this long to recover! Anywayyyy, on Wednesday, Forbes released their annual list of highest paid actresses. Since the list also includes and ALWAYS reflects the kind of actresses that also promote beauty/luxury/leisure, it might more accurately be called the Highest Paid Female Celebrities Who Also Happen To Act. I mean... Mila Kunis is on the list again. Quick: when was the last time people lined up to see her headline a movie? Follow up Question: Yes, Bad Moms. But was it a hit because of her? I rest my case.
TV Vulture provides an A-Z glossary of all of Stranger Things mad sci-fi referencing from Alien (1979) toVideodrome (1983) Comics AllianceAmerican Gods, Bryan Fuller's adaptation of the Neil Gaiman book, gets its first logo and a promotional image EW Impromptu Smash reunion. Katharine McPhee invited Megan Hilty on stage with her Sunday night at a LA jazz club - and yes they sang Smash songs.
Movies PlaybillFences sets its release date for December 16th Antagony & Ecstasy looks back at His Girl Friday - the Rosalind Russell role was a male role in the source material.
The Root Leslie Jones of SNL & Ghostbusters fame was hounded by racists on twitter - they're feeling so bold these days thanks to the GOP -- fans rallied behind her Salon "Free Jillian Holtzmann" on why Sony isn't saying that the most popular new Ghostbuster character is a lesbian AV Club talks to John Cho about Star Trek, gay sulu, and Asian representation in cinema The Guardian Antonio Banderas to play Gianni Versace in a biopic. The Versace estate is not pleased calling it "fiction" Coming SoonFifty Shades Darker set photos The Guardian on film franchises with the most episodes: Jungle Jim, Godzilla, and a few more Awards Daily wonders if the political turmoil will turn the Oscars nostalgic rather than brave (see also 1968 Best Picture winner Oliver!) Towleroad Twenty year-old actor Ross Lynch is going from Disney Channel fame to serial killing? He'll play Jeffrey Dahmer, pre-murders, as a troubled teen in a new film. Variety Sigourney Weaver will be honored for her career as this September's San Sebastian film festival
...and Anton Yelchin's parents sent a beautiful message to friends and fans and the industry...
Beautiful. Anton Yelchin's parents thank Hollywood in ad @THR: 'Grateful for your unconditional love of our son' pic.twitter.com/01yn7owcL5
Theater Playbill Jake Gyllenhaal to headline the revival of Burn This. The original hit production in 87/88, which went from Off-Broadway to Broadway for a year-plus long run, won praise for Eric Roberts (Theater World award), John Malkovich (Drama Desk Nomination) and Joan Allen (Tony win) NYT Estelle Parsons health scare prompts closing of her new play. Send healing vibes her way. She's a national treasure. If you haven't yet seen Season 2 of Grace & Frankie it closes beautifully with an arc about her guest starring role as "Babe," a larger than life friend of the pair who's throwing herself a big going away party. Parsons has done a lot of work on TV but weirdly despite being a highly esteemed actor with an Oscar win and 5 Tony nominations, she's never received an Emmy nomination.
Miscellania Huffington Post Jennifer Aniston tears into the media for their obsession with women's bodies and whether or not she's pregnant Wicked Gay Blog Dolly Parton working on a dance album with a track called "I'm a Wee Bit Gay" The New Yorker "Donald Trump's Ghostwriter Tells All" a harrowing profile Logo My Way hosted a contest to redesign the embarassing Trump Pence logo - Love some of these entries Pajiba on the shitshow that was the RNC's first night with its plagiarized First Lady speech
Randomness Film School Rejects it's all about talking animals who sound just like celebrities this year Towleroad ABC rejects a TV ad for Carol because (GASP) naked lesbian shoulders John August shares depressing box office stats on why we get so many sequels Guardian picks 5 best moment of Jane Fonda in the movies - bizarre choices beyond her Oscar winning roles Guardian investigation of why movie posters are so terrible in comparison to their aged counterparts The Wrap TV adaptation of American Gods (a must read from Neil Gaiman) has cast Ricky Whittle (the 100) in the leading role MNPP ...goes all out with an endless gratuitous post celebrating Whittle Awards Daily Awesome crusading Senator Elizabeth Warren loves The Big Short
New Projects Tracking Board Chan-wook Park to direct the adapation of sci-fi novel Genocidal Organ about homemade nuclear devices Coming Soon Oscar winning director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) are reteaming for a film about the 1967 Detroit Riots. Shooting to start this summer Variety Ruh-roh Jennifer Aniston is doing a true life sports drama called The Fixer -- she's got her eyes on The Blind Side's surprise prize if you know what I mean Coming Soon(sigh) Dear Toni Collette's Agent, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? I know we ask this all the time but you have not answered. (Toni is now signed to do a bureaucrat role in xXx: The Return of Xander Cage because Hollywood weirdly believes we want every Vin Diesel franchise revived) /Film Stretch Armstrong series (yes, the boys doll with stretchy arms) is going to Netflix. For kids. Variety Meg Ryann behind the camera. Her first film Ithaca did not yet find distribution which is weird (all star cast) but she's signed to direct a second, a romantic comedy even, called The Book
Theatre People Playbill Zachary Quinto, about to reprise his Spock role on the big screen, on why he prefers theater to film or television Playbill Dominic Cooper returning to the stage for a new production of The Libertine about the hedonistic Earl of Rochester in 1670s London. Did any of you ever see that Johnny Depp film version of the play?
Today's Watch A well timed brief history of white actors playing ethnic roles from Screen Crush. (Minor Quibble: Technically some consider Russian born Yul Brynner as Asian -- he claimed Mongolian heritage but others denied it was true)
Awards Update Everyone's making their final moves -- Oscar ballots out on Feb 12th. Jennifer Jason Leigh is getting a tribute at the American Cinematheque. They'll be screening Hateful Eight, Georgia (the closest she ever came to a nom' previously), her divisive Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle (she's excellent), Single White Female and breakout hit Fast Times at Ridgmont High.
Finally, the ACE Eddie Awards were handed out last night. The winners:
Forbes annual Highest Paid Actress list arrived this morning. It tracks income from films and merchandising and endorsement deals and so on and prints the (estimated conjecture) total before management fees and taxes are removed. The endorsements is why household name celebrities, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Roberts, stay on the list for years and years after their peak bankable actressing. Here's the list if you don't want to have to click through the 19 page gallery. But you will have to click through 19 pages if you want to know just how each of these women is making so much bank.
Gothamist the first look teaser at Martin Scorsese's new HBO series Vinyl starring Bobby Cannavale (just how many tv shows are going to be about the music business post Empire? it seems like there's at least 3 new ones on the way from reports. This, Baz's, and Lee Daniel's second). Speaking of... Coming SoonEmpire Season 2 has a teaser i09 Agent Carter's villain in seaon 2 will be Madame Masque -- and get this... they're modelling her on movie siren Hedy Lamar!
Playbill Shoshana Bean singing "The Wind Beneath My Wings" - she's starring in the pre Broadway stage musical adaptation of Beaches Yahoo "Kirsten Dunst is tired, you guys" THR What if Werner Herzog directed Ant-Man? HAHA FSR 44 Fantastic Foursomes because the Fantastic Four aren't Signs and Sirens has a mean girl astrological note to Jennifer Aniston Variety Josh Trank blames studio for Fantastic Four's abysmal reviews E! Awww, matching foot injuries for Kelly Ripa and Marc Consuelos Coming SoonBlack Mass just got a bunch of character posters Playbill talks to Mamie Gummer about working with her mother and her recent stage appearances THR What if Werner Herzog directed Ant-Man?! HAHAHA
He can lift things 100 times his body weight but what does this achieve but to increase his burden, his capacity for suffering?"
Edward Norton Once Turned Green When You Made Him Angry... He is also angry about Oscar turning green. I know I know. I did not say anything about Edward Norton's rant against the monetization of awards season at IndieWire and surely you expected me too. So here we go.
While there is definitely too much politicking / campaigning and Oscar might do well to cut off a few of its competitors at the knees with tighter rules about campaigning, do we really want to lose a great deal of the Oscar coverage in the world? Again, as a reminder, it's the only time of the year when the media pays attention to films made for adults. I believe that the media frenzy would die down if there were less money to be made. And then were would movie culture be? Superheroes, dumb comedies, franchises and summer blockbusters already hog movie culture for the rest of the year. It's nice to have four months where people think about dramas and dramedies and ambitious auteur vehicles and traditional star vehicles and such. (Some of us -- the craziest ones -- would still obsess without money to be made as we have always... but most outlets would reduce coverage on these films if there were less money in it).
That said, I do understand why actors get frustrated; It's a huge chunk of their year when they would surely rather be acting or vacationing on their private island or whatnot. But there are easy solutions to that one like not showing up at every event but picking and choosing key ones. Everyone seems too afraid to miss anything which is silly because there are only a few essentials. Everything else is like cumulative effect and going to 7 things instead of 10 won't kill people's interest in you or your film or your chances at winning gold. That's my belief at least.
Yes No Maybe So Here's the red band trailer to Deadpool. I don't have the strength for a YNMS but perhaps you do for the comments section? I think I've been burned by Ryan Reynolds too many times and anything originally born from that awful X-Men Origins Wolverine risks being inexcusable from conception but bless him/them/someone for that joke at Green Lantern's expense
Saturday, August 19, 2017 at 7:10AM 
Forbes Highest Paid Actresses 2017
