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This just in. The Academy has announced their plans for which awards aren't going to be shown live this year and it's not actually as bad as we thought it would be in that it is not as MANY as we though it would be. They're leaving four off the air: cinematography, editing, makeup, and live action short. Not being as bad as we thought, though, is NOT to say that it is any less horrific. The decision remains as tone deaf in its disrespectful, self-destructive, and against-the-point way as it always was. It's easily in the top two or three most terrible decisions that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has made in its entire 91 years.
Once you start demoting categories to "less important" you're sending a message to the world that the craft of filmmaking doesn't really matter; just look at the gowns and sit through the commercials which make us money...
Did you see The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part this weekend? It's actually the fourth animated LEGO feature, the first becoming an unexpected blockbuster five years ago... But returns have been diminishing so perhaps they've overestimated the demand with their intense supply?
Weekend Box Office Estimates February 8th-10th (ESTIMATES) 🔺 = New or Expanded Theater Count / ★= Recommended
W I D E 800+ screens
PLATFORM / LIMITED excluding prev. wide
Lego Movie Part 2
Oscar Shorts Program
1 🔺The LEGO Movie Part 2 $34.4 *NEW*
1🔺 Oscar Nominated Short Films$912k *NEW* Oscar Chart ★
• /Film the Wicked movie has a new release date, December 22nd, 2021. We'll believe that once we see actual casting news or a start date for filming. So should we start talking about the 94th Academy Awards yet. LOLOLO no. No we shan't. • Library of America Sheila O'Malley's great essay on East of Eden (1955) • Deadline Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect, True Blood) gets a leading sitcom role. Yay, it's about time since she's always hilarious. The comedy is about a church choir that gets a new director (Bradley Whitford)
• IndieWire interesting quotes from indie filmmakers trying to diversify their crew to have more gender parity and multiculturalism and the obstacles they do and don't face. • LA Times women over 70 are killing it right now: Glenn Close, Betty Buckley, RBG, Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda, etc • AV ClubBlack Panther's Michael B Jordan is attached to a film adaptation of the popular new fantasy epic Black Leopard, Red Wolf set in an alternate reality Africa. (Hmmm, can he also make movies called Black Tiger, Black Jaguar and Black Lion for a full set of big cats?) • /FilmAquaman's gross has gotten so big that Warner Bros is going to do a spin-off horror film The Trench set in the kingdom of the film's most memorable sequence • AV Club Steve Buscemi learns about that viral 'deepfake' video of his face superimposed on Jennifer Lawrence's body • Pajiba explains the whole Jeff Bezos vs National Enquirer business. My god what a mess (but a fascinating one) • MNPP's obsession with Armie Hammer really does make us love Armie Hammer more • Towleroad Ellen Page drags Chris Pratt over his homophobic church • Variety controversial Michael Jackson Sundance doc Leaving Neverland premieres on HBO on March 3rd
• Gurus of Gold the latest charts on our Oscar predictions • Coming Soon The Oscars are going hostless this year for the first time in decades but as it turns out they were originally going to go with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson who still hopes to do it someday • Vanity Fair film insiders are speaking out about the Oscars intended changes. Thankfully many in the insider are as angry as we are about shunting some awards off air.
more after the jump including Avengers Endgame, Juliette Binoche in Berlin, Michelle Pfeiffer's smell, a new Pixar short, and the Gypsy remake...
Watching this video (embedded after the jump) is so worth your time. Why does anyone want the Oscars to be short? Even 48 minutes just to celebrate the nominees taking a photo is too short!
00:27 Why isn't Laura Dern president of the Academy. Save us, Laura! Things have gone so haywire and the rumor is you yourself put the kabosh on the "popular film Oscar" idea so we know you have common sense.
01:15 "...A narrative that does not propagate myths but dispel them." Hmmm, whatever/whoever/what political party / propaganda channel could she ever be talking about? Hee.
02:00 I imagine these decorative bells on her dress making beautiful tiny ringing noises, too faint for the mic, when she moves, like she herself is giving wings to many angels by the second. She's one of them...
Monday, February 11, 2019 at 8:12PM 
This just in. The Academy has announced their plans for which awards aren't going to be shown live this year and it's not actually as bad as we thought it would be in that it is not as MANY as we though it would be. They're leaving four off the air: cinematography, editing, makeup, and live action short. Not being as bad as we thought, though, is NOT to say that it is any less horrific. The decision remains as tone deaf in its disrespectful, self-destructive, and against-the-point way as it always was. It's easily in the top two or three most terrible decisions that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has made in its entire 91 years.
