Locarno Diary #1: The festival begins with "Beckett"

by Elisa Giudici

A couple of weeks after having saying goodbye to Cannes and to the superb blue sea of the French Riviera, I am back at it by the majestic, cloudy mountains of Switzerland for the Locarno Film Festival: the long summer of European festival continues!

Up top you see the Piazza Grande (the biggest outdoor screen in Europe!) where we'll discover smaller movies and younger directors than the ones seen (and reviewed) at the Croisette. Unfortunately today the weather is really rainy. I am writing these lines with my raincoat on, wishing I followed that note I write to my future self every year at Locarno to stuff appropriate clothes in my car for mountain weather. The scenery is really majestic though, with clouds moving fast over the mountain tops and the city, like you're inside Olivier Assayas' Sils Maria.

Enough with scenery, let's talk about the opening night film... 

Click to read more ...

The Piano Lesson - Let's keep this August Wilson ball rolling!

by Nathaniel R

Netflix announced yesterday that the next adaptation from August Wilson's Century Cycle will be his second Pulitzer winner The Piano Lesson. For those who thought Ma Rainey was way too stagey... well, you're not in luck! It's way too early to know how this will pan out given the pandemic and Broadway having been closed so long but this one is sticking even closer to the stage in a sense. The current plan is for Samuel L Jackson,  Danielle Brooks (yay!!!) and John David Washington to play the central roles (and uncle and his niece and nephew) in the Broadway revival in 2022 and then go directly into filming the movie version when they're done. Having seen Danielle Brooks on stage in The Color Purple trust that Orange is the New Black barely scratched the surface of what she can do so this is exciting news for her fans.

The play, which centers on the theme of family legacies, is about a brother and sister in conflict over what to do about a family heirloom which has been connected to the family since the days when their great grandparents were slaves...

Click to read more ...

When People Stop Being Polite...

by Jason Adams

Euphoria writer-director Sam Levinson is about to maybe have a movie in the Oscar discussion this year with the news that his pandemic-shot relationship drama Malcolm & Marie, starring Zendaya and John David Washington, will be hitting Netflix on February 5th. M&M has Washington playing a film director while Zendaya's his girlfriend; the two have just gotten home from his latest film's premiere and as they wait to hear how the reviews are they decide to sort out their myriad relationship shit...

Click to read more ...

linknil

• Esquire John David Washington profile before Tenet arrives
• Instagram Nikki Blonksy (Hairspray) came out for Gay Pride 😍
• Cartoon Brew new trailer for animated feature Over the Moon 
• Variety RIP Bollywood's famous choreographer Saroj Khan
• /Film The Ghibli Museum is offering a rare online peak inside
• Film School Rejects Ray Harryhausen's monstrous centennial
• /Film Lesley Manville to take over the Princess Margaret role in The Crown
• Variety San Sebastian takes on the Cannes selections
• Cartoon Brew Sony Animation pres thinks adult toons are coming
• Instagram in lieu of clubbing Kate Beckinsale and cat 😂
• Esquire Chris Pine exuding internet boyfriend energy

Team Experience's Happy Gay Thoughts, Our Globe Reaction Finale.

Thank you for your robust comments on our the Golden Globe nominations, Globe snubs, and Vice/First Man nomination theorizing! Please do enjoy your weekend but it'll be busy here non-stop through the Oscar nominations so please check back in daily... or several times a day, bitches! To wrap up our Globe nomination reaction coverage, let's get happy and gay.

We asked friends and teammates at The Film Experience to share their giddiest thoughts and we hope you'll answer these final three questions, too. Here we go...

1. Which acting nomination were you most thrilled about?

DEBORAH LIPP: Alex Borstein 4Ever! I am here for any woman who appears on television in boxer shorts. 

MURTADA ELFADL: John David Washington because he is the real star born in 2018 and should be rewarded as such... 

Click to read more ...