592 Days Til "Mulan"

Production has begun on Disney's live action adaptation of Mulan starring Liu Yufei (pictured below) whose 31st birthday is in just two weeks time. So happy birthday to her as she hits the global stage. 

Curiously Disney says they conducted a 'year long search' for the lead as if they were going with an unknown but Liu Yufei has been a busy actor for over ten years now, first breaking out in Forbidden Kingdom (2008) starring Jackie Chan...

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New Academy Rulings = Catastrophe

Oh dear.

Whatever goodwill Oscar has gained recently with their commendable efforts to diversify their membership appears to have not appeased their naked NEED to more popular with people who they'll never be popular with. Three new changes have been announced two of which are potentially catastrophic.

Let's take them in order of least to most upsetting.

The Oscars will be earlier after this year. 
The 2019 Oscars will be held on February 9th, 2020. The benefit of rushing the Oscars is that it also helps alleviate (in theory) the December glut as well as the ever-tacky "one week qualifier" release tactic that feel like cheating even though it's technically just fine with the rulebooks...

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Showbiz History: Actress Stamps, Beyoncé's Debut, and Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"

10 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history

1775 The US Postal System is created. Are there any great movies about mailmen? I'm drawing a blank. Do not say The Postman.

The first movie actress to get a postage stamp would be Ethel Barrymore but she had to share it with her brothers Lionel and John! Grace Kelly was (I believe) the first movie star to get a solo postage stamp. Since that time (in 1993) we've had: Theda Bara, Clara Bow, Zasu Pitts, Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Hattie McDaniel, Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, and Shirley Temple. Who is next? Any guesses?

More after the jump including Mr Julie Andrews, Pee Wee Herman, and Cate Blanchett...

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Almodóvar has started shooting his next film!

by Nathaniel R

Pedro Almodóvar has begun shooting his next film which is called Pain & Glory, so we can expect it in 2019. This will be Penelope Cruz's sixth collaboration with one of the world's greatest directors (she previously headlined Volver and Broken Embraces and had supporting roles in Live Flesh, All About My Mother, and I'm So Excited). Antonio Banderas will also co-star, marking his 7th Pedro film. Other Almodóvar regulars appearing will be Kiti Mánver (6th time) and Julieta Serrano (5th time). Though Pedro pictures are usually all about the actresses occassionally he throws gorgeous men into the mix. And this looks like one of those times. In addition to Banderas in what we assume will be the lead role (?), we've got: Raúl Arévalo from I'm So Excited, Leonardo Sbaraglia (Wild Tales) and Asier Etxeandia (Ma Ma).

The movie will also be the feature debut for a young popular singer named Rosalía. She posted the following picture on her instagram...

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The Link Jar

NewsTalk How Cartoon Saloon became a major draw and how those Oscar nominations helped
Playbill Stephen Schwartz says Wicked (the movie) will have several new songs. Geez, it already has a ton of songs. I guess he wants that Oscar.
MTV Frankie & Johnny is Garry Marshall's best film

Variety Idris Elba responds to those endless Next James Bond rumors
Coming Soon Star Wars: Episode VIII (as yet untitled) wraps production. It's due in theaters in December 2017 as these things take time in Post-Production
The Playlist the teasers for all the new Marvel/Netflix TV series: Iron Fist, Defenders, Luke Cage
Towleroad an interview with the stars of Looking 
Comics Alliance Wonder Woman gets her own US postage stamps for her 75th anniversary this year 
AV Club Brie Larson spoils Room for dumb people on Twitter 
The Retro Set looks back at Judy Garland in her final film I Could Go On Singing (1963)
The Guardian celebrates the five great screen moments for Penelope Wilton (of BFG & Downton Abbey fame)
EW Justin Timberlake talks about his theme song to the upcoming Trolls movie 

Finally....
I was going to write a piece about Kirsten Dunst choosing to direct the feature film adaptation fo Sylvia Path's famous novel "The Bell Jar" with Dakota Fanning in the starring role. But Indie Wire's Kate Erbland beat me to it and said basically everything I wanted to say. I love this part.

Dunst’s ability to dive deeply into depression was not just confined to her work in “The Virgin Suicides,” she also captured rich, worldly ennui in Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” and terrifying, world-ending fear in Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia,” for which she won Cannes’ Best Actress award... Even in her younger years, Dunst was uncannily able to translate bone-deep sadness to the big screen in fascinating ways, like she did as a child in “Interview With the Vampire.” And while most fans of Michel Gondry’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” remain hung up on Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet’s work in the film (and rightly so), Dunst’s own subplot about lost love (and lost memories) is one of the film’s most heartbreaking elements.

My only fear here with this project is that it's too on the nose for Dunst. Like Terry Gilliam's desire to make a Don Quixote Picture; haven't they already been making these pictures, figuratively speaking, for their whole careers?