Steve Pond's Blog, page 2048
December 5, 2019
Golden Globe Nomination Predictions: ‘The Irishman,’ ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ … And What Else?
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has always been an idiosyncratic group with shifting tastes and agendas, and these days it seems particularly hard to figure out how the 90-odd voting members might cast their ballots for the Golden Globe Awards. Will the more conservative members get “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “Ford v Ferrari” and “Richard Jewell” onto the slate of nominees, or will more adventurous and looser voters land “Joker” and “Dolemite Is My Name?” on the list?
We don’t really know, but here are our best guesses as to what we’ll see when nominations are announced on Monday morning.
And yes, there may well be some bewildering, head-scratching choices that we’re not anticipating, because it wouldn’t be the Golden Globes if there weren’t at least a chance of those.
Also Read: Golden Globes Nomination Predictions 2020: Top Contenders in TV Categories (Photos)
Best Motion Picture – Drama
Globes voters can’t ignore Martin Scorsese and “The Irishman,” which has already won the top prize from the and New York Film Critics Circle. They can’t deny the late-breaking “1917” from Sam Mendes, or shrug off the critical love for Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” even though those close to the group say they’re mixed on the latter film.
Of the other films in the running, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “Bombshell” and “The Two Popes” all have a shot, and a significant number of bolder voters are said to have loved “Uncut Gems” and “Joker.” But the cinematic pleasures of “Ford v Ferrari” will probably win out, and a lineup of male-dominated films could use Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” for balance.
Predicted nominees: “Ford v Ferrari,” “The Irishman,” “Little Women,” “Marriage Story,” “1917”
Watch out for: “Joker,” “Richard Jewell,” “Uncut Gems”
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
The two locks seem to be Toronto Film Festival audience winner “Jojo Rabbit” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” which was submitted as a comedy by Sony Pictures and accepted as one by the HFPA. “Knives Out” has proven to be unexpectedly popular with awards voters, so it probably finds a place here.
Options for the last two spots include “Dolemite Is My Name,” which has big fans in the HFPA but also has way too many swear words for some older members; “Rocketman,” which has been the beneficiary of avid campaigning from Elton John, and would also help justify the musical part of the category’s name; “Cats,” which slipped in under the wire in some form; “Hustlers,” which would bring J-Lo’s star power to the game; and “Booksmart,” which has managed to at least stay in the conversation since its release in May.
Predicted nominees: “Dolemite Is My Name,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Knives Out,” “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” “Rocketman”
Watch out for: “Booksmart,” “Cats,” “Hustlers”
Also Read: Ricky Gervais Makes a Splash in First Golden Globes Promo (Video)
Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
Like the Academy, the Globes had more than 90 entries in this category this year. The big ones, of course, are Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” which would definitely be in the running if it were eligible in the Best Motion Picture category, and Pedro Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory,” which benefits from a starring performance by four-time Globe nominee Antonio Banderas.
Among films also competing for the Oscars, Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” and Ladj Ly’s “Les Miserables” are two of the strongest contenders – but the Globes love to nominate movies that aren’t in the Oscar race, which could be good news for “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.”
The odd entry here, though, is Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” which would be competing for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy if it weren’t predominantly not in English. It would be an unusual nominee for this category, but it’s hard to imagine Globe voters not giving it some love.
Predicted nominees: “Atlantics,” “The Farewell,” “Pain and Glory,” “Parasite,” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
Watch out for: “Invisible Life,” “Les Miserables,” “The Traitor”
Best Motion Picture – Animated
The HFPA tends to go with major studios, giving fewer slots to indie animation than the Oscars does. That means that Disney’s “Frozen II,” Pixar’s “Toy Story 4,” DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden” world and Laika’s “Missing Link” are the strongest bets, with “Abominable,” “Klaus” and “The Secret Life of Pets 2” threatening to make it a studio sweep.
But over the last three years, at least one indie has grabbed a slot each year. The hand-drawn French film “I Lost My Body” may be the best bet if it’s not too weird for the HFPA, though the Japanese hit “Weathering With You” or the movie-themed “Bunuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles” could be in the running as well.
Predicted nominees: “Frozen II,” “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” “I Lost My Body,” “Missing Link,” “Toy Story 4”
Watch out for: “Abominable,” “Klaus,” “Weathering With You”
Also Read:
Best Director
Over the last five years, an average of three Globes directing nominees a year have come from films also nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama, while a little more than one a year has come from films in the top comedy/musical category. Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes and the dueling couple of writer-directors, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, are the likeliest from the first of those categories, while Quentin Tarantino is the one lock from the second category.
But “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho seems likely to follow “Roma” director Alfonso Cuaron as a nominee whose film wasn’t eligible in either of the top categories because it isn’t in English, while Clint Eastwood might just be the occasional director who cracks this category even though his film isn’t nominated for one of the top awards. (Ridley Scott, Tom Ford and David Fincher have all done that in recent years – and Eastwood apparently had voters eating out of his hand at a recent HFPA press conference for “Richard Jewell.”)
Predicted nominees: Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”; Greta Gerwig, “Little Women”; Sam Mendes, “1917”; Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”; Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood”
Watch out for: Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story”; Clint Eastwood, “Richard Jewell”; Taika Waititi, “Jojo Rabbit”
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
The HFPA’s recent decision to move “Uncut Gems” from the comedy to drama category seemingly killed Adam Sandler’s chances of landing a nomination for his performance, because he’s now in a fearsome category whose favorites include Joaquin Phoenix for “Joker,” Adam Driver for “Marriage Story,” Robert De Niro for “The Irishman,” Antonio Banderas for “Pain and Glory”, Jonathan Pryce for “The Two Popes” and Christian Bale for “Ford v Ferrari.”
Phoenix, Driver and De Niro seem to be locks, and Banderas should be. It’s not unheard of that Sandler could grab that fifth slot, but it’s not likely.
Predicted nominees: Christian Bale, “Ford v Ferrari”; Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”; Robert De Niro, “The Irishman”; Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”; Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Watch out for: Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”; Brad Pitt, “Ad Astra”; Adam Sandler, “Uncut Gems”
Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
The New York Film Critics Circle’s choice of “Us” star Lupita Nyong’o for best actress is the kind of delicious shock that just might be repeated by the HFPA in a category that is otherwise dominated by Renee Zellweger (“Judy”), Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”) and maybe Scarlett Johansson (“Marriage Story”). Three-time Globe nominee Saoirse Ronan will definitely be in the mix for “Little Women,” as will Cynthia Erivo for “Harriet” and Alfre Woodard for “Clemency.”
Predicted nominees: Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”; Lupita Nyong’o, “Us”; Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”; Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”; Renee Zellweger, “Judy”
Watch out for: Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”; Kristen Stewart, “Seberg”; Alfre Woodard, “Clemency”
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
It feels as if the top four in this category are spoken for: Eddie Murphy for “Dolemite Is My Name,” Taron Egerton for “Rocketman,” Leonardo DiCaprio for “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and Daniel Craig for “Knives Out.” But after that, things are up in the air, with the preteen star of “Jojo Rabbit,” Roman Griffin Davis, perhaps holding a slight edge over Himesh Patel from “Yesterday” and Shia LaBeouf from “The Peanut Butter Falcon.”
Predicted nominees: Daniel Craig, “Knives Out”; Roman Griffin Davis, “Jojo Rabbit”; Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood”; Taron Egerton, “Rocketman”; Eddie Murphy, “Dolemite Is My Name”
Watch out for: Shia LaBeouf, “The Peanut Butter Falcon”; Himesh Patel, “Yesterday”; Will Smith, “Aladdin”
Also Read: Tom Hanks to Receive the Golden Globes' Cecil B. deMille Award
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
This category may well end up full of actresses from films that didn’t quite make the cut for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Beanie Feldstein for “Booksmart,” Constance Wu for “Hustlers,” Emma Thompson or Mindy Kaling for “Late Night,” Awkwafina for the ineligible “The Farewell.” But Ana de Armas, the closest thing to a female lead in the “Knives Out” ensemble, should also be here. And if Angelina Jolie gets in for “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” we’ll know Globe voters really, really want her to come to their party.
Predicted nominees: Ana de Armas, “Knives Out”; Awkwafina, “The Farewell”; Beanie Feldstein, “Booksmart”; Emma Thompson, “Late Night”; Constance Wu, “Hustlers”
Watch out for: Emilia Clarke, “Last Christmas”; Kaitlyn Dever, “Booksmart”; Angelina Jolie, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
Best Supporting Actor
Just like at the Oscars, the contenders in this category include lots of guys who actually gave co-lead performances: Brad Pitt in “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” Al Pacino in “The Irishman” (or will they recognize his subtler co-star, Joe Pesci?), Tom Hanks in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” Anthony Hopkins in “The Two Popes,” Willem Dafoe in “The Lighthouse.”
Predicted nominees: Willem Dafoe, “The Lighthouse”; Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”; Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”; Al Pacino, “The Irishman”; Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood”
Watch out for: John Lithgow, “Bombshell”; Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”; Wesley Snipes, “Dolemite Is My Name”
Also Read: Aubrey Plaza to Return as Host of 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards
Best Supporting Actress
By far the most wide-open of the acting categories, supporting actress should allow for the feel-good nomination of the 75-year-old, scene-stealing grandma from “The Farewell,” Zhao Shuzhen, and for the stripper-pole gymnastics of Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers.” Beyond them, Laura Dern and Margot Robbie feel like the surest bets for “Marriage Story” and “Bombshell,” respectively, while Annette Bening’s channeling of Dianne Feinstein in “The Report” will likely get attention.
But don’t underestimate Florence Pugh, whose performance in “Little Women” could be recognized as a way to also salute a year that included “Midsommar” and “Fighting With My Family.”
Predicted nominees: Annette Bening, “The Report”; Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”; Jennifer Lopez, “Hustlers”; Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”; Zhao Shuzhen, “The Farewell”
Watch out for: Florence Pugh, “Little Women”; Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “Dolemite Is My Name”; Meryl Streep, “Little Women”
Best Screenplay
The Globes don’t separate adapted and original screenplays, so the competition will be tougher here and will likely focus on the films that seem most formidable and the screenplays that have lots of words, “The Irishman,” “Marriage Story” and the always-verbose Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” among them. “Jojo Rabbit,” “The Two Popes,” “Little Women” and “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” are clearly in play as well, while the intricate whodunnit “Knives Out” could be a dark horse.
Then there’s “Parasite,” which is vying to become the fourth non-English screenplay (and the second in two years, after “Roma”) to be nominated in this category.
Predicted nominees: “The Irishman,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Marriage Story,” “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” “Parasite”
Watch out for: “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “Little Women,” “The Two Popes”
Also Read: New York Film Critics Circle Awards: 'The Irishman' Named Best Picture of 2019
Best Original Score
There are lots of adventurous choices in the category this year, among them Daniel Lopatin’s score for “Uncut Gems,” Michael Abels’ for “Us,” Mark Korven’s for “The Lighthouse” and Hildur Gudnadottir’s for “Joker.” But there are also plenty of more straightforward scores that are likelier to get attention from the voters, like Thomas Newman’s “1917,” his cousin Randy Newman’s “Marriage Story,” Alexandre Desplat’s “Little Women,” Michael Giacchino’s “Jojo Rabbit” and, one presumes, John Williams’ final “Star Wars” score.
Predicted nominees: “Joker,” “Little Women,” Marriage Story,” “1917,” “Us”
Watch out for: “Avengers: Endgame,” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” “Uncut Gems”
Best Original Song
Here’s a category in which who you are (and how famous you are) has been known to mean something. With that in mind, how do Globe voters ignore “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” the new Elton John song from “Rocketman,” or “Beautiful Ghosts,” the Taylor Swift/Andrew Lloyd Webber collaboration from “Cats,” or “Spirit,” the new Beyonce song from “The Lion King”? The answer: They don’t ignore them, they nominate them. Along with “Into the Unknown,” the new song from “Frozen II,” of course.
Also in the running: the ever-reliable Diane Warren’s “I’m Standing With You” from “Breakthrough”; star/singer/songwriter Cynthia Erivo’s “Stand Up” from “Harriet”; “Randy Newman’s “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4”; “Speechless,” the Alan Menken/Pasek & Paul collaboration from “Aladdin”; Jackson Browne and Leslie Mendelson’s affecting ballad “A Human Touch” from the documentary “5B”; and the country anthem that serves as a grand finale to the indie gem “Wild Rose,” “Glasgow (No Place Like Home).”
Predicted nominees: “Beautiful Ghosts” from “Cats,” “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman,” “Into the Unknown” from “Frozen II”, “Spirit” from “The Lion King,” “Stand Up” from “Harriet”
Watch out for: “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” from “Wild Rose,” “I’m Standing With You” from “Breakthrough,” “Speechless” from “Aladdin”
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Colbert Celebrates Latest Impeachment Happenings – And Also Lightly Roasts Nancy Pelosi (Video)
Stephen Colbert was in a celebratory mood on Thursday following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement earlier in the day that the house will draft articles of impeachment against Donald Trump. But he also took a moment to lightly roast Pelosi for a somewhat ahistorical comment she made about religion.
First though, Colbert looked at the announcement itself. “That’s right, after opening an inquiry into the possibility of impeachment, then reading the impeachment report and considering impeachment options,” Colbert said, “we finally made it… to the beginning of the end of the starting and we’re about to start the beginning of the middle.”
He then rolled a clip of Pelosi explaining her impeachment framework, which she described as “Legislate, investigate, litigate.”
Also Read: Nancy Pelosi Approves Drafting of Impeachment Articles Against Trump
“As opposed to Trump’s plan,” Colbert said, switching to his rhyming Trump impression, “obfuscate, irritate, partially hydrogenate, chocolate cake, on the paper plate that I also ate.”
But Colbert did find one of Pelosi’s comments preposterous. After the announcement, when she was asked if she hates Trump, Pelosi angrily replied “I don’t hate anybody. I was raised in a Catholic house, we don’t hate anybody–not anybody in the world.”
“Well said. We Catholics don’t hate anyone, OK?” Colbert said after running a clip. “We are not allowed to. We don’t hate anyone. That’s why we waged 11 crusades: To remind those people how much we love them.”
Also Read: Trump Accuser Karen McDougal Sues Fox News Over Tucker Carlson Comments
“The Inquisition was just a tickle fight that got out of control,” he added.
Watch the whole clip below:
TONIGHT: Do not mess with Speaker Pelosi when it comes to impeachment. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/EDoKaEQTFb
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) December 6, 2019
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‘Birds of Prey': See Harley Quinn’s Flying Skates and More in Whimsical New Character Posters (Photos)
While the film’s stars and director were dropping some exclusive “Birds of Prey” footage on Comic Con Experience Brazil, the film’s official twitter account shared some brand new character posters that are as whimsical as they are examples of movie marketing.
Painted in bright, friendly colors, the posters feature Harley Quinn, Black Canary, Huntress, Renee Montoya, Cassandra Cain, Black Mask and Victor Zsasz, along with some wacky visual elements emphasizing the DC Comics film universe’s recent turn away from unrelenting grimness. Come for the flying roller skates, stay for the floating hot dogs, psychedelic eyes and purple boa-infused brass knuckles.
Sure, it’s no substitute for the film’s opening scene and a brand new trailer, both of which were presented exclusively to fans at CCXP by Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco, and director Cathy Yan. But they’ll definitely tide you over until early next year when the footage gets released to the rest of us.
For instance here’s Harley Quinn in some new overalls. Yes she has a hyena in the movie though as far as we know her roller skates and hot dogs don’t fly:
Here’s Black Canary, getting ready to beat something or someone down:
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Huntress and her fairly badass ’90s rave/tactical gear:
Renee Montoya, who definitely doesn’t have time for your B.S.:
Cassandra Cain and an adorable pink cast:
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A very dapper Roman Sionis AKA Black Mask, looking pretty evil:
And last but not least, Victor Zsasz and his knife:
In “Birds of Prey,” Robbie once again plays former Joker-accomplice Harley Quinn, now teaming up with Black Canary (Smollet-Bell), Huntress (Winstead), and Renee Montoya (Perez) to stop the villain Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) before he can have Cassandra Cain (Basco) murdered. It hits theaters Feb. 7.
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Is JJ Abrams’ LGBTQ Tease for ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Just More Queerbaiting? (Commentary)
Director J.J. Abrams is in the midst of doing press for the upcoming “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” and naturally, questions have arisen about the close relationship between Resistance fighters Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Issac). Abrams, which he established in his first “Star Wars” film, 2015’s “The Force Awakens.”
And he was quick to dash the hopes of fans who read a lot into Poe and Finn’s reunion halfway through the film (which you can watch here) that includes a deep embrace and long looks between the two characters. That interaction led audiences to believe that franchise would have its same same-sex romance but instead turned out to be the latest case of queerbaiting — when creators tease a same-sex relationship to draw in an LGBT audience but don’t actually depict the relationship on screen.
Speaking with Variety on Tuesday, Abrams denied an onscreen romance between Finn and Poe in this month’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” defining their relationship as a “far deeper one than a romantic one. It is a deep bond that these two have, not just because of the trial by fire in which they met, but also because of their willingness to be as intimate as they are, as afraid as they, as unsure as they are, and still be bold, and still be daring and brave.”
Later in the same piece, Boyega confirmed that Finn and Poe’s relationship does not become romantic, stating “they are just platonic at the moment.”
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A gay relationship between Finn and Poe — which fans have dubbed #FinnPoe or #Stormpilot — could hardly be seen as controversial, as the franchise has flirted with incest (Luke and Leia), abuse (Anakin and Padme) and estrangement (Han and Leia) in previous films. (Finn and Poe were separated again in 2017’s “The Last Jedi,” with director Rian Johnson admitting “there wasn’t an opportunity” in the story to develop their bond.)
But Abrams’ additional comments about gay representation in the Variety interview were even more problematic. After dashing hopes for a Finn-Poe coupling, Abrams noted: “In the case of the LGBTQ community, it was important to me that people who go to see this movie feel that they’re being represented in the film.”
He declined to offer any further detail, saying, “I will say I’m giving away nothing about what happens in the movie. But I did just say what I just said.”
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Anyone (including myself) who has interviewed Abrams for any of his projects knows this is his modus operandi. He never spoils details from his films (even his trailers remain opaque about plot points). But to say the LGBTQ community will “feel like they’re being represented in the film” is literally baiting “queers.”
First, no single scene is representative to the entire LGBT community. The term LGBT encompasses many different things, not just lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (the L, the G, the B, the T and the Q).
It’s presumptuous for cis straight men like Abrams to believe all LGBTQ viewers recognize and feel represented by a singular representation, whatever that turns out to be. Even if Finn and Poe were to walk off holding hands as the suns of Tatooine set, they would only represent a same-sex, cis male-cis male relationship.
And any gay relationship outside of Finn and Poe in the final film would be coming out (pardon the pun) of nowhere, last-minute, and as a result, underdeveloped.
Also Read: Disney Confirms Ewan McGregor Back as Obi-Wan Kenobi for Streaming Series
Second, the “LGBTQ community” isn’t solely defined by sexuality. Representation may refer to gender identity and not sexuality.
A new character, or one we haven’t seen in a while, may be transgender or non-gendered. But in a sci-fi world where aliens and robots and droids may have undefined or no genders at all, that doesn’t seem like a stretch of the imagination.
Ironically, the last time LGBTQ representation was so callously teased in a big blockbuster was for another Disney movie, 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Director Bill Condon told Attitude magazine that the movie included an “exclusively gay moment” with Josh Gad’s character, Le Fou. That “gay moment” ended up being a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, two-second dance between Le Fou and another man in the ending ballroom scene.
A gay moment doesn’t have to hit viewers over the head. When Justin Lin took over directing the “Star Trek” franchise from Abrams, he established Sulu as gay (by showing him reuniting with his husband and daughter). Representations don’t have to be overt to be meaningful. But they can’t be so subtle that most audiences miss them altogether.
That’s why Abrams’ wink-wink, “I did just say what I just said” is just more queerbaiting. For representation to be meaningful, all audiences, not keenly observant LGBTQ ones, should understand and feel its impact.
For the record: A previous version of this story mentioned actor Billy Dee Williams preferring to use gender-fluid pronouns. Williams later clarified and said his words were misinterpreted.
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‘Jagged Little Pill’ Broadway Review: Alanis Morissette’s Classic Album Becomes a #MeToo Angst Fest
“Jagged Big Pill” would be a more apt title.
Never has a more angst-ridden musical opened on Broadway. We’re treated to opioid abuse, white male privilege, lesbian discrimination, insensitive interracial adoption, toxic parental pressure, acute porn addiction and teenage party rape. Most Broadway musicals are a decade or two behind the times when it comes to major social issues, but here’s one that appears to have been inspired by, among other highlights of the #MeToo Movement, last summer’s U.S. Senate hearing over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Surprisingly, the source material for this very up-to-date musical is almost three decades old: Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album, “Jagged Little Pill.” The musical version, with original book by Diablo Cody and direction by Diane Paulus, opened Thursday at Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre.
There are actually two assaults in “Jagged Little Pill,” the musical: A supporting character named Bella (Kathryn Gallagher) is raped at a high school party and that event triggers horrific memories of abuse in the show’s lead character, the wife and mother of two Mary Jane Healy (Elizabeth Stanley, being very empathetic). When “Pill” opens, Mary Jane is recovering from a car accident and finds herself addicted to opioids. In addition to being unhappily married to the workaholic and porn-addicted Steve Healy (Sean Allan Krill), Mary Jane claims she has single-handedly raised her adopted bisexual black daughter, Frankie (Celia Rose Gooding, in strong singing voice for her Broadway debut), as well as her biological son, Nick (Derek Klena). Nick is going off to Harvard in the autumn — but not before he witnesses Bella being raped at a drunken party by his good friend, the very wealthy and equally white Andrew (Logan Hart).
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Cody makes her Broadway debut with the book for “Pill,” and the “Juno” screenwriter gives Mary Jane enough trauma to trigger a dozen somber musicals, much less one bad flashback. She’s called Mary Jane because otherwise Morissette’s song “Mary Jane” from the album wouldn’t fit into the stage show. No matter that the song is about marijuana and that a woman born to clueless parents in the late 1960s would have shortened it to Mary to avoid all those inevitable jokes about guys wanting to smoke her stash. Jonathan Deans’ sound design for “Pill” is so mushy you won’t be able to understand the lyrics (by Morissette and Glen Ballard) anyway. Do remember, every character in “Pill” has a lot of crap to get off his, her or their chest.
Never are the lyrics more mangled-sounding (or louder) than the musical’s big showstopper “You Oughta Know.” It comes after Frankie’s lesbian girlfriend, Jo (Lauren Patten), enters the Healeys’ unlocked house unannounced, and since no one answers her call, she feels enough at home to walk into Frankie’s bedroom to find her girlfriend under the sheets with a new boyfriend, Phoenix (the cheerful Antonio Cipriani, seemingly the only actor on stage allowed to smile). Being mortified and more than ready to slut-shame her suddenly ex-girlfriend, Jo squeals to Mr. and Mrs. Healey about Frankie’s brand-new heterosexual affair so that they can rush home, fresh from a disastrous session with a marriage counselor (Nora Schell, turning a cliché into a real person), to catch their daughter doing it with a male person her own age.
Let’s consider for a moment how Paulus handles Phoenix after the Healeys find him and their daughter in bed together. Instead of having Phoenix jump out the upstairs window to run somewhere off stage and out of sight, Paulus directs the half-naked Cipriani to take a circuitous shortcut down the stage and into the audience where, grabbing onto the trousers around his knees, he plows through the first row of the orchestra as amused theatergoers get to guffaw at his totally exposed skivvies (costumes by Emily Rebholz). One can only imagine the reaction if the sexes were reversed and a director had a half-naked young woman run through the audience to provide a moment of cheap comic relief.
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Frankie’s betrayal does lead to Jo’s singing “You Oughta Know” after she rudely tattles to her now-ex’s parents. Beyond vengeful, Jo doesn’t slug Frankie or pull out a gun, but she does give a good impression of that outer-space creature shooting out of a guy’s belly in the first “Alien” movie. Talk about overreaction.
In previews, Patten has received standing ovations for this amazingly overwrought rendition of “You Oughta Know.” The performance makes “Defying Gravity” sound like “Do-Re-Mi” from “The Sound of Music.” Because Patten’s screaming, twitching, hopping and other physical contortions aren’t sufficient, Paulus brings in the full chorus and rolls out the band from backstage to accompany her as Justin Townsend’s lighting signals a five-alarm fire and Deans’ amplification goes up another notch to blast out to West 44th Street. Here’s a safe prediction: Patten will win the Tony for best featured actress in a musical. This is a minority report, but I felt sorry not for Jo but Frankie, who had no idea at age 16 that she’d committed to a lifelong relationship with a lesbian who clearly harbors anger-management issues.
And while we’re on the subject, can costume designer stop putting lesbian characters in stocking caps? A moratorium, please.
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Dan Bongino Says Traffic Surge to His Drudge Report Competitor Forced a Last-Minute Server Upgrade (Exclusive)
Dan Bongino did a soft launch of his new conservative news aggregator Wednesday morning, before starting to promote it in earnest on Twitter and his podcast later in the day, because he wanted to be sure the server could handle the traffic. A short while later, Bongino and his team had to upgrade the server because the traffic to the site was even higher than they’d expected.
“The launch was incredible. I don’t know any other way to say it,” the frequent Fox News contributor told TheWrap by phone Thursday night, adding he hadn’t expected the “voluminous” traffic in spite of the heavy flow of visitors to his other site, bongino.com. “By noon it just exploded and by the evening it was nuclear. Traffic never really slowed down.”
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Bongino said at one point he looked at the number of unique visitors on the site — then at his wife — and said, “We’re going to need to hire someone else.” Asked what sort of a number he was looking at, Bongino estimated 20,000 uniques, but the site would have an Alexa score soon enough that could give more of an overview.
What is the appeal of the site? It’s a conservative news aggregator in the vein of Matt Drudge’s popular Drudge Report, but Bongino is quick to point out he and his team aren’t trying to copy Drudge in every way. His aggregator, for instance, will highlight almost exclusively right-leaning, conservative and libertarian outlets. It won’t ever link to pieces at the Washington Post or New York Times, he said, “unless it’s to make fun of them.”
By contrast, Drudge’s site had a Washington Post piece linked near the top of the page Thursday evening.
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When a more traditional “straight news” outlet is highlighted, Bongino says his site will editorialize through headlines meant to convey that the story linked isn’t one to be taken seriously by his readers. In other cases, in the event of a “serious” event like a terrorist attack or disaster, Bongino noted the Bongino Report might feature Associated Press or Reuters reporting.
“What’s ‘straight news?’ I guess a lot of people out there in the general public would probably say the New York Times and Reuters,” he said. “I just disagree that is straight news.”
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Representatives for the New York Times and Reuters didn’t immediately provide comment, nor did Drudge himself.
While Bongino said, “being a consumer of conservative news sites as well as a producer of one, I felt like Drudge’s site abandoned that,” he also added, “I don’t know Matt. I’ve never met him. It’s not personal. I just felt like conservatives needed a place to go for reliable conservative news.”
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Conservative commentators like Mark Levin and politicians like Rep. Devin Nunes have promoted the site’s launch in tweets. A Red State piece on the new site accused Drudge of taking “a noticeable turn to the left as of late,” citing CNN reports that Drudge has been highlighting negative news for the Trump administration.
The newly-launched site’s top link on Thursday afternoon linked to a Fox News story about President Donald Trump threatening to have Rep. Adam Schiff, the Bidens, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi testifying in Senate hearings in the impeachment process. True to what Bongino told TheWrap about the site’s editorializing, the words “TRUMP FIRES BACK” appeared before the article’s headline.
Other links on the Bongino Report directed to outlets like WarRoom.com and The Blaze, or directly to the tweets of government officials. They were listed under subheadings as direct as “Election 2020” or as evocative as “The Impeachment Witch Hunt.”
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R Kelly Bribed Government Employee to Obtain Fake ID for Aaliyah (Report)
R. Kelly has been charged by federal prosecutors for bribing a government employee to obtain a fake ID for a Jane Doe in 1994 — and according to reporting by the New York Times, that Jane Doe was none other than late R&B songstress Aaliyah.
According to a person familiar with the matter who spoke with the Times, the fake ID was used to fraudulently list Aaliyah’s age as 18 years old — she was 15 at the time — so Kelly could obtain a marriage license.
These additional details reported by the Times accompany a racketeering indictment released by federal prosecutors on Thursday. According to the indictment, Kelly — together with other unnamed people — “did knowingly and intentionally cause another individual” to bribe an Illinois “public officer and public employee property” in exchange for “the creation of a fraudulent identification document for Jane Doe #1” on or around Aug. 30, 1994.
The indictment does not name Aaliyah or indicate how the ID was used, but the two were married on Aug. 31, 1994, according to a Cook County marriage certificate first published by Vibe magazine.
Earlier this year, Kelly was arrested on 18 federal charges, including for child pornography and kidnapping. He has pleaded not guilty to five of the charges.
Douglas Anton, Kelly’s lawyer, told the New York Daily News that the claim was “ridiculous.”
“He still wouldn’t have the slightest clue how to get it done or instruct anyone on how to get it done,” Anton said. “He wouldn’t know the first thing about doing it.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
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Paging Ira Glass! Pulitzer Prizes Add Podcast Category
Hey podcasters, recognition for your fledgling program just got a whole lot more interesting. The Pulitzer Prize Board announced on Thursday that the organization was adding a new category for podcasting for its 2020 prize cycle. The Audio Recording prize is the first new category for the Pulitzers since 2007.
However, if you think your sitdown show should be considered, there is a catch. The podcast must, in the words of the board, be in audio reporting. So if you thought your sketch show or variety program would get a coveted award from the Pulitzer Board, sorry. And if you were a foreign podcast that wanted to be considered, well, not for this one. Non-U.S. outlets are ineligible for consideration.
The prize will be awarded “For a distinguished example of audio journalism that serves the public interest, characterized by revelatory reporting and illuminating storytelling,'” the board said.
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“The renaissance of audio journalism in recent years has given rise to an extraordinary array of non-fiction storytelling. To recognize the best of that work, the Pulitzer Board is launching an experimental category to honor it,” Pulitzer administrator Dana Canedy said.
The entries should include investigative reporting that exposes wrongdoing to dynamic features, and news coverage of major issues or events.
Submissions will begin on Dec. 16, 2019, and the deadline for all submissions is Jan. 24, 2020 at 5 p.m. ET. Audio entries must be submitted without preroll advertising.
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The Pulitzer Prizes were established by Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian-American journalist and newspaper publisher, who left money to Columbia University upon his death in 1911. A portion of his bequest was used to found the School of Journalism in 1912 and to establish the Pulitzer Prizes, which were first awarded in 1917.
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‘Birds of Prey': Black Mask Revealed While Harley Quinn Breaks Things (and Up With Joker) in New Footage
After skipping San Diego Comic-Con entirely back in July, Warner Bros. brought its upcoming slate of DC Comics films to Comic-Con Experience Brazil 2019, starting Thursday night with a panel focused on “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn).”
And along with appearances by stars Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, and Ella Jay Basco, plus director Cathy Yan, the packed auditorium was treated to exclusive new footage, including the film’s opening scene, and a new trailer featuring the first-ever look at the film’s villain in his costume.
In the opening scene, Harley Quinn (Robbie) explains her current relationship status — she recently kicked The Joker to the curb — while she goes on to burn a lot of bridges in service of reinventing herself in Gotham City.
“We broke up,” she narrates. “Mr. J was super broke up about it.” But, Harley continues, she’s got “an amazing new place that was all mine,” where she has “the space to reflect on the mistakes of my past.” But, this freed her up to become “a new me” she says, and “soon enough I was back on my feet, ready to make new friends.”
While Harley talks up her fresh start, we see her trademark pet hyenas, as well as a scene in which she rollerskates, then knocks people down. “This is the time for Gotham to meet the new Harley Quinn,” she continues as we see her steal an 18-wheeler and crash it into Ace Chemicals — AKA the plant that gave her and the Joker their bleached-white skin and crazy hair. Naturally, the plant blows up.
“It was the closure I needed” Harley says, as we see a massive, Joker-green explosion while she walks towards frame. The footage was followed by quick bumpers featuring the other Birds of Prey.
The new trailer began in a similar vein, with Harley narrating the “quick history lesson” that she and Joker broke up. That’s followed by footage of the villain Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) as we see him putting on the mask for his Black Mask persona. “It’s not a party without a little drama, right?” Roman asks while we see that his costume is pretty much straight out of the comics.
This is followed by an appearance by Huntress (Winstead), a little more Black Mask, and it closes with Harley’s voice over declaring “meet the new Harley Quinn.”
Cool stuff, but unfortunately for those of you not currently in brazil, the footage is exclusive to CCXP for now — though the new trailer will be released to the public in early 2020.
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During the panel discussion, the stars and their director talked the film up and detailed some of how it came together. Some highlights:
Robbie explained that she “wanted to see more female ensembles on screen,” and that she first pitched the project while “Suicide Squad” was filming.
Smollett-Bell revealed that like the character’s comics counterpart, her version of Dina Lance/Black Canary will have full on superpowers — though whether or not Dina will be able to fly along with her signature sonic scream remains to be seen.
Perez noted that her character, Renee Montoya is “smarter than most of the men she works with,” and a “hardcore” who “doesn’t take any B.S.”
Basco meanwhile described her character, Cassandra Cain, as “a street girl, sneaky, a bit of a potty mouth, and the one who brings everyone together.”
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In “Birds of Prey,” Robbie once again plays former Joker-accomplice Harley Quinn, now teaming up with Black Canary (Smollet-Bell ), Huntress (Winstead), and Renee Montoya (Perez) to stop the villain Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) before he can have Cassandra Cain (Basco) murdered. It hits theaters Feb. 7.
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‘En Brazos de un Asesino’ Review: Telenovela Hunk William Levy Turns Off the Charm in Awkward Thriller
In the early aughts, Cuban actor William Levy burst onto the telenovela scene, quickly amassing a fan base among women viewers. Since then, the actor and model has gone on to movies, English-language TV shows and even a season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
It helps to understand his previous work as a perennial thirst trap and overall handsome man to appreciate his turn into a steely gun-for-hire in Matías Moltrasio’s “En Brazos de un Asesino” (“In the Arms of an Assassin”).
Levy plays the titular assassin, Victor, and the movie wastes no time getting him in front of the camera. Quickly, we see him violently set up a contract with a drug lord named Guzman — not to be confused with “El Chapo” Guzman, or should he be? On Victor’s way out of the kingpin’s mansion, he realizes he’s picked up a stowaway, Sarai (Alicia Sanz, “Shots Fired”), too late. He feels for her desperate attempt to escape the cruelty and violence that has fallen on her shoulders as Guzman’s main girl. But aiding in her escape unleashes a bevy of unintended consequences for both Victor and Sarai.
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Not only is Levy the star of this movie, he’s also one of its producers and writers, working with producer Jeff Goldberg to adapt J.A. Redmerski’s thriller “Killing Sarai” into “En Brazos de un Asesino.” There are hints near the movie’s end that there may be a sequel in store, but that feels like a big leap of faith for anyone who’s just watched the film. It’s terribly predictable and suffers from a rare case of too much plot and not enough connections between plot points to straighten out the story’s copious details.
It’s easy to get confused when things are only half-explained, like when a mysteriously generic group only referred to as “the Order” appears to have a big effect on the characters late in the movie. Along the way, there are a few surprises and many more unpleasant clichés. We get some truly dreadful lines of dialogue, like when Victor compliments Sarai on her basic piano skills and tells her she should look into going pro. If it was supposed to be a joke, Levy doesn’t sell it as such, and it’s just another bad moment in the movie.
Unfortunately, Levy doesn’t quite master the reluctant, soulful attitudes of other assassins/spies with a soft side, like John Wick, James Bond or the established killer in “Léon: The Professional.” He seems too emotionally detached to sympathize fully with a young woman trying to escape what she describes as slavery. Yet, he’s also noble to a fault, almost laughably so, like when it comes to killing henchmen but making sure not to hit any women unless they also try to kill him.
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That nobility takes a side-step when it suits his needs, like using Sarai as a means to lure in another target or tying her up and keeping her uninformed of what he’s going to do. There’s a fair bit of tying people up, strip searches and bad movie sex, set to really even worse music, not to mention flashbacks to a traumatic rape scene.
Moltrasio’s feature debut feels less polished than its leading man. Cinematographer Sebastian Cabrera Chelin offers a few moments of inspired lighting and staging, but for the most part, the movie feels as if Moltrasio is still getting used to working with a camera. Some shots are too distant from the characters, revealing the cheapness of sets, and other shots betray how few extras are there in the scenes. The action sequences can be so messy that information about who’s punching whom or shooting what gets lost in the crosscuts.
Moltrasio also handles the movie’s editing, which feels just as inexperienced as his direction. There are many fade-to-black cuts and a number of shots that feel like they could be cut quicker. Then there are the things I just cannot explain, like an “Eyes Wide Shut”-style party, complete with topless models and blindfolds in place of masks for little reason, and references to literary names like Vonnegut and Faust that serve no apparent purpose. In one scene, Sarai has a self-defeating victim-blaming monologue that feels quite egregious, almost offensive in its insensitivity at what that character might be going through.
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“En Brazos de un Asesino” is not self-aware enough to have a good laugh at its self-seriousness, even as supporting characters and extras don’t seem to know how to react to painful gunshot wounds or whenever the camera accidentally reveals the film’s budget constraints. The movie’s few bright spots feel unintentional, like mistakes left in because no one else noticed the absurdity of some scenes or the comic potential in others.
It seems like a wild misstep to keep Levy from doing what he does best — turning on the charm — so he can play a dispassionately stoic figure. Oh well, at least Levy gets to live out his hero fantasy of playing a cold-blooded assassin. The question now is if that’s how audiences will want to see him.
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