Emmy FYC: Christina Hendricks in "The Romanoffs"

Team Experience is sharing FYCs as the Television Academy votes on Emmy nominations over the next two weeks. Here's Mark Brinkerhoff.

The general consensus, if we even can have one in these divisive times, seems to be that Matthew Weiner’s The Romanoffs is an ignoble failure. As his immediate follow-up to Mad Men, the seminal, peak-TV series that gave him pretty much carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to creatively, The Romanoffs arrived last fall on a wave of buzz and eager anticipation. With a star-studded, international cast and intriguing, globe-trotting storyline (made possible by Amazon’s $70 million investment), what would Weiner & Co. ultimately deliver? The answer: Zzzs. (I sort of checked out mid-way through the second to last episode, as a matter of fact.) 

Nevertheless, within this eight-part limited series (which surely was meant to continue?) are elements that succeed better than they ought to quite frankly. Indeed, the parts are greater than their sum, and one in particular stood out to me immediately/in retrospect: Christina Hendricks... 

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The Romanoffs 1.1 "The Violet Hour"

By Spencer Coile 

I vividly remember watching Mad Men for the first time during my junior year of college, struck by the way Matthew Weiner crafted a series that was cinematic and rich in detail, dialogue, and characters. Since its finale in 2015, I’ve been searching for a series that struck the same chord with me. Enter: The Romanoffs, the new Amazon Prime series from Matthew Weiner. Its premiere was a long time coming, with news, expansive cast announcements, and speculation circulating for years. Would Weiner capture lightning in a bottle again?

As it turns out, The Romanoffs is an anthology series, where each episode presents a new story about people who believe themselves to be descendants of the slaughtered Romanov family. Based off the first two episodes, it’ll be a globe-trotting series, bouncing across countries, and continents...

In its pilot episode, “The Violet Hour,” we are introduced to Greg (Aaron Eckhart), an American living in Paris who also takes care of his snobby elderly aunt, Anushka (Marthe Keller). Anushka takes great pride in her lineage, announcing herself to be a direct heir to the Romanovs. Her lavish Parisian apartment reflects her wealth and status, to the chagrin of Greg’s girlfriend Sophie, (Louise Bourgoin), who is waiting for the fateful day that Greg will inherit it...

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The Link With Two Brains

• Vulture Kathleen Turner in conversation, dishing on Burt Reynolds, William Hurt, Eileen Atkins and more. I had no idea that she didn't like Elizabeth Taylor! That's insane but Turner is always good for a blurb. So frank and funny. 
• Parade 10 Steve Martin quotes to brighten your day on his birthday
• Variety Ruby Rose is the latest actress to quit her social media after online trolling. This time a bizarre she's not gay enough to play a gay character or some nonsense (even though she's been out for years!). When will the madness end and why do we live in such a mean world?

 

• MNPP the trailer to Gaspar Noe's latest provocation, Climax
• Slate a round up of all the shark jokes people made while reporting on The Meg
• Film School Rejects Netflix's original film slate for the last few months of this year. It's stacked. 
• Variety an update of sorts on that Fan Bingbing rumor we told you about. Is China banning her from acting for 3 years?
• Variety should the Emmys have even more categories? Acting categories too often combine very disparate skills.
• /Film Neill Blomkamp (District 9) is directing a sequel to Robocop, ignoring the other sequels apparently, and he wants Peter Weller to return as star. 
• Variety Instant Family, a comedy starring Rose Byrne and Mark Wahlberg moved up from 2019 to a November bow this year
• i09 Jeff Goldblum jigsaw puzzles!
• Coming Soon Train to Busan, the Korean zombie hit, is getting a sequel 

Exit Video
It's another teaser for Matthew Weiner's new series The Romanoffs. I'm soooo excited for this because I love Weiner AND I have no idea what to expect really even after watching this. Looks like the kind of show that might have instant takes which prove incredibly wrongheaded once you see the show develop. 

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Lots of stories to catch up on...

Screen
• Boy Culture on Faye Dunaway's Gucci ad
• The Guardian -Margot Robbie has joined Fox News sexual abuse scandal movie which already features Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson and Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly. Talk about star power in one film
• /Film -The more Tom Cruise runs in his movies, the better they perform at the box office. No, really
• THR -Mary Carlisle, who had been the oldest living screen star, has died at age 104.

More after the jump including Fan Bingbing rumors, Greta Garbo, Linda Hamilton's return, and Julia Roberts as an audience member...

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