Showbiz History: Sophia Loren, Emmy Nights, and Female-Driven Hits

13 random things that happened on this day, September 20th, in showbiz history...

1941 The Porky Pig short "Notes to You" was released. It's sometimes credited with introducing Sylvester the Cat but that's erroneous. The confusion probably stems from the fact that this short was remade as "Back Alley Uproar" seven years later with Sylvester, by then an official character who looks not unlike this cat, and Elmer Fudd in the roles. 

1975 "Fame" hits #1 in the US, the first David Bowie record to do so... 

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Remembering “Precious” on its 10th Anniversary

by Cláudio Alves

Considering I haven't watched it in almost 10 years, it was amazing how much I could accurately recall from Lee Daniel's Precious. As I revisited the Academy-Award winning film to write this piece, I found myself startled at how much of it had seared into my mind. A few line readings were so vivid that, even before hearing them again, they felt like echoes from years ago. Individual scenes had metastazied into memories like vociferous ghosts, brighter than any recollections of my actual life.

The way Gabourey Sidibe says that nobody loves her still hurts, a dagger of vulnerability mercilessly plunged into the audience's heart. No less affecting is Paula Patton's desperate response, assuring Claireece 'Precious' Jones that she is loved. Notice how Mariah Carey shows her social worker's interiority through repressed horror. She wears an armor of acerbity, delivering her lines with a put-upon dryness that both masks and iluminates the hurt inside. Then there's Mo'Nique and her final monologue, a sobbed question tearing through her throat and reminding us that this monster is painfully human. The film even packs some comedic delights. Who can forget Xosha Roquemore telling the class that her favorite color is fluorescent beige?

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Tweetweek: "We Fought a Zoo" and #Filmstruck4

Tweets of the week, curated for you in case you don't want to wade endlessly through twitter feeds each day.

I hate that this will end up being in no way representative of the content of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom pic.twitter.com/rUSj35Ec9K

— Clarisse Loughrey (@clarisselou) April 18, 2018

More after the jump including Rampage, Amadeus, and Love Simon jokes and other little morsels about new and classic films including the popular FilmStruck4 challenge of picking four films that define you...

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RPDR All Stars 3: E2 - Divas Live!

by Chris Feil

After a phenomenal premiere last week, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars retuned with a nod to it’s new VH1 home for a lipsync tribute to VH1 Divas Live.

For the children who may not remember this landmark televised event of living legends sharing a stage and its subsequent installments, this was the thunderdome of vocal runs and balladry. Some helpful context: last week Aja’s jawdropping performance snuck up on formiddable competition and Céline-d a stage of Aretha’s and Mariah’s. Morgan McMichaels was Carole King and didn’t stick around. Valentina Whitney Houston-d because everyone wondered why she wasn’t there.

Seriously VH1, it’s the 20th Anniversary of the first Divas Live. Be good to us and start a revival. And true to Divas Live, this episode delivered as much on personality as it did performance.

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Soundtracking: "Love Actually"

Chris's weekly look at music in movies gets festive for Love Actually!

Love Actually is so loaded with musical sequences you could almost call it a quasi-musical. That said, it is light on holiday music even though it is set at Christmas time. However, you can easily forgive Love Actually if you want it to be loaded on melodic holiday cheer because it uses the Christmas song of the past few decades: Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You”.

Like Spider-Man and multiple lobsters’ participation in this Christmas pageant, Love Actually throws everything it can into its insane mix but is nevertheless a delight because of the reliable charms of genre hallmarks. “All I Want for Christmas is You” is about as indispensable as they come and a guaranteed bop. How many times have you already heard it this holiday season and how many more times will you hear it again before it’s over? Despite its ubiquity, the answer to both questions is “probably not enough”.

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