To close out our little Oscar 1963 celebration, Nathaniel talks Lilies of the Field and more with this month's panel: Teo Bugbee, Keiran Scarlett, Séan McGovern, and Brian Mullin.
Smackdown '63 Companion Podcast Part 2 (42 minutes) In which we wrap up our discussion of big budget airport trifle The VIPs. Then the panel has differing opinions on the merits of the classic feelgood Lilies of the Field. Also up for discussion: Sidney Poitier's unique spot in Hollywood history, Denzel Washington comparisons, and an aside to Alfred Hitchcock and The Birds. And, as we say our goodbyes, we each offer up one must-see film from 1963 that we hope you'll watch.
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?
Nathaniel and Nick discuss six new films. No spoilers.
Index (42 minutes) 00:01 Why you should see A Ghost Story & Lady Macbeth 04:00 Kathryn Bigelow stumbles with Detroit (what we hope she does next) 16:40 Atomic Blonde is a blast, a true feat of direction and Charlize Theron-ness 29:40 Girls Trip is crazy well-acted fun 37:00 Landline is a let-down 38:30 Recommendations from 1963 for the helluva it
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?
• The Cut "I'm rooting for the Lannisters" fun piece on Game of Thrones (which I still read about on occasion even though I haven't watched since season 2) • /Film Guillermo del Toro's official tequila looks like it's from one of his movies • Vulture every Charlize Theron performance ranked. Interesting list though I quibble with the order (as they seem to equate the quality of the movies with the quality of her performance and Theron is precisely the star she is because she is often able to be good even in terrible pictures). Also Young Adult should be #1
• Playbill all star cast lined up for Steve Martin's next Broadway show (after his musical Bright Star), this one's a comedy called Meteor Shower • Browbeat the internet goes wild for old Russ Tamblyn dancing clip from 1956 • Tracking Board Nicole Kidman is in talks to headline a crime thriller called Destroyer directed by Karyn Kusama. Kusama is promising that though it's a genre film it's also "a beautiful character study of an incredible female" • Variety we were wondering when Ruth Negga would start lining up big roles after Loving. She'll star opposite Brad Pitt in the sci-fi movie Ad Astra • Awards DailyThis is Us has lost one of its Emmy nominations, costume design. • The Wrap this piece about Marvel's plans for Spider-Man got a lot of internet pass-around but it really doesn't tell you much other than they're going to make Spidey a thing in all the crossover movies
Two pieces about criticism/discussion of racial politics in movies/theaters right now
• American Theater a thoughtful piece on the counterproductive assault on Broadway's Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. (We haven't yet heard if the show is actually closing following it's poorly handled casting changes but it might... but the producers were apparently considering it) • Birth Movies Death a very navel gazing piece about being an ally and trying to navigate pop culture criticism in the current political climate and intersectional age
Exit Video Handsome talented Aaron Tveit is taking on the classic role of Bobby in another production of Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece (one of them, at least) Company. This one starts in a couple of days in Massachusetts so go if you live near there and report back. Here he is rehearsing...
Florence Pugh in Lady Macbeth / Nicole Kidman in The Beguiled
In a summer filled with movies by or starring women of exceptional talent, The Beguiled and Lady Macbeth make an especially fascinating cinematic pairing. Both films center on mid-19th century women who appear trapped by their societies’ constricting gender norms. In both, the women are confined to an isolated, often claustrophobic space, yet nature is a constantly beckoning presence that at once shapes and reflects their desires. (Both even have plots that turn on poisonous wild mushrooms!) And in both, the women up-end the patriarchal structure of their circumscribed universe without liberating themselves. If anything, they reinforce that power structure even as they seize momentary control of it, leaving not a feeling of triumph but a somber queasiness.
For all these thematic similarities, the differences between the two films are even more striking...
AV Club RIP voice acting legend June Foray Variety Amazon is moving into being their own distributor now after partnering with other distributors before. They'll try it out with Woody Allen's Wonder Wheel which they seem to have high hopes for. Screen Crush It's official - Emoji Movie is worst reviewed wide release of the year
/Film a photo tour of the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image Deadline Anne Hathaway circling the Barbie movie that Amy Schumer abandoned Coming Soon Warner Bros considering "formidable" Oscar campaign for Wonder Woman
off cinema Variety Jack O'Connell talks about his nude scene in the new revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and why he hasn't watched Paul Newman in the film version Playbill Ellen Greene shares a scrapbook from the original run of Little Shop of Horrors Chicago Tribune recommended theater shows on a budget in Chi-town Boy Culture the world's youngest living Madonna fan - a 13 year old violinist! Exeunt a piece about that 'critics camp' I went to this month by one of the other fellows NYT terribly sad debacle going on with The Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway. When I first heard about Mandy Patinkin's casting I was thrilled because I haven't yet seen the show and totally love that man. But it seems in order to accomodate him (in the role formerly played by Josh Groban) they were ousting their current leading man Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan (from Hamilton)earlier than his scheduled final date. The optics look bad even though Broadway shows do these type of celebrity casting changes constantly. Patinkin has now dropped out and Oak won't extend and now the entire cast, which includes several actors of color (the show was previously praised for its diverse casting), could be out of jobs because they might close early due to the public outrage.
Exit Video The new Charlie XCX video "Boys" is a sexy blast. So many celebrity cameos including the internet's current boyfriend Riz Ahmed, diver Tom Daley, and a slew of musicians. There is a chainsaw in this video but as Charli states
Tuesday, August 15, 2017 at 6:00PM 
Previously, in this '63 Party: 
