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Critics Choice TV Nominees: Only One Network Nominee for Best Drama Series, Two for Comedy Series

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If you’re in the network TV business this morning, congrats if you’re from ABC or NBC. The former network scored two nominees for Best Comedy with “Blackish” and “Modern Family.” The latter has one entry for drama series for the new “This is Us.” That’s it. CBS got nothing. Nada. Zip.

All the other nominees are from cable or whatever– Netflix, Amazon.

The group included a show called “Fleabag” made by Amazon. I’ve never heard of it. Maybe you have. Amazon did not yield any nominations for Woody Allen’s series with Miley Cyrus and Elaine May, however.

The Critics Choice Awards are shown live on A&E December 11th. They will announce movie nominees on December 1st although it’s likely a couple of movies won’t be ready yet for screening.

TELEVISION NOMINATIONS FOR THE 22nd ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS

BEST COMEDY SERIES

Atlanta – FX

Black-ish – ABC

Fleabag – Amazon

Modern Family – ABC

Silicon Valley – HBO

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix

Veep – HBO

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Ellie Kemper – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix

Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep – HBO

Kate McKinnon – Saturday Night Live – NBC

Tracee Ellis Ross – Black-ish – ABC

Phoebe Waller-Bridge – Fleabag – Amazon

Constance Wu – Fresh Off the Boat – ABC

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Anthony Anderson – Black-ish – ABC

Will Forte – The Last Man on Earth – FOX

Donald Glover – Atlanta – FX

Bill Hader – Documentary Now! – IFC

Patrick Stewart – Blunt Talk – Starz

Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent – Amazon

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Julie Bowen – Modern Family – ABC

Anna Chlumsky – Veep – HBO

Allison Janney – Mom – CBS

Jane Krakowski – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix

Judith Light – Transparent – Amazon

Allison Williams – Girls – HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Louie Anderson – Baskets – FX

Andre Braugher – Brooklyn Nine-Nine – FOX

Tituss Burgess – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix

Ty Burrell – Modern Family – ABC

Tony Hale – Veep – HBO

T.J. Miller – Silicon Valley – HBO

BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alec Baldwin – Saturday Night Live – NBC

Christine Baranski – The Big Bang Theory – CBS

Larry David – Saturday Night Live – NBC

Lisa Kudrow – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix

Liam Neeson – Inside Amy Schumer – Comedy Central

BEST ANIMATED SERIES

Archer – FX

Bob’s Burgers – FOX

BoJack Horseman – Netflix

Son of Zorn – FOX

South Park – Comedy Central

The Simpsons – FOX

BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES

America’s Got Talent – NBC

MasterChef Junior – FOX

RuPaul’s Drag Race – Logo

Skin Wars – GSN

The Amazing Race – CBS

The Voice – NBC

BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SERIES

Chopped – Food Network

Inside The Actors Studio – Bravo

Penn & Teller: Fool Us – The CW

Project Runway – Lifetime

Shark Tank – ABC

Undercover Boss – CBS

BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SERIES

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown – CNN

Chrisley Knows Best – USA Network

Deadliest Catch – Discovery

Ice Road Truckers – History

Intervention – A&E

Naked and Afraid – Discovery

BEST TALK SHOW

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee – TBS

Jimmy Kimmel Live! – ABC

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – HBO

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah – Comedy Central

The Late Late Show with James Corden – CBS

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – NBC

BEST REALITY SHOW HOST

Ted Allen – Chopped – Food Network

Tom Bergeron – Dancing with the Stars – ABC

Anthony Bourdain – Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown – CNN

Nick Cannon – America’s Got Talent – NBC

Carson Daly – The Voice – NBC

RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race – Logo

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones – HBO

Kit Harington – Game of Thrones – HBO

John Lithgow – The Crown – Netflix

Mandy Patinkin – Homeland – Showtime

Christian Slater – Mr. Robot – USA Network

Jon Voight – Ray Donovan – Showtime

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Christine Baranski – The Good Wife – CBS

Emilia Clarke – Game of Thrones – HBO

Lena Headey – Game of Thrones – HBO

Thandie Newton – Westworld – HBO

Maura Tierney – The Affair – Showtime

Constance Zimmer – UnREAL – Lifetime

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Sam Heughan – Outlander – Starz

Rami Malek – Mr. Robot – USA Network

Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul – AMC

Matthew Rhys – The Americans – FX

Liev Schreiber – Ray Donovan – Showtime

Kevin Spacey – House of Cards – Netflix

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Caitriona Balfe – Outlander – Starz

Viola Davis – How to Get Away with Murder – ABC

Tatiana Maslany – Orphan Black – BBC America

Keri Russell – The Americans – FX

Evan Rachel Wood – Westworld – HBO

Robin Wright – House of Cards – Netflix

BEST DRAMA SERIES

Better Call Saul – AMC

Game of Thrones – HBO

Mr. Robot – USA Network

Stranger Things – Netflix

The Crown – Netflix

This Is Us – NBC

Westworld – HBO

BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES

Mahershala Ali – House of Cards – Netflix

Lisa Bonet – Ray Donovan – Showtime

Ellen Burstyn – House of Cards – Netflix

Michael J. Fox – The Good Wife – CBS

Jared Harris – The Crown – Netflix

Jeffrey Dean Morgan – The Walking Dead – AMC

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

All the Way – HBO

Confirmation – HBO

Killing Reagan – National Geographic

Roots – History

The Night Manager – AMC

The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

Bryan Cranston – All the Way – HBO

Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock: The Abominable Bride – PBS

Cuba Gooding Jr. – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX

Tom Hiddleston – The Night Manager – AMC

Tim Matheson – Killing Reagan – National Geographic

Courtney B. Vance – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

Sterling K. Brown – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX

Lane Garrison – Roots – History

Frank Langella – All the Way – HBO

Hugh Laurie – The Night Manager – AMC

John Travolta – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX

Forest Whitaker – Roots – History

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

Olivia Colman – The Night Manager – AMC

Felicity Huffman – American Crime – ABC

Cynthia Nixon – Killing Reagan – National Geographic

Sarah Paulson – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX

Lili Taylor – American Crime – ABC

Kerry Washington – Confirmation – HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

Elizabeth Debicki – The Night Manager – AMC

Regina King – American Crime – ABC

Sarah Lancashire – The Dresser – Starz

Melissa Leo – All the Way – HBO

Anna Paquin – Roots – History

Emily Watson – The Dresser – Starz

Review: “Fantastic Beasts” Will Do Well Over $80Mil Next Weekend and Save Warner Bros.

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David Yates’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is coming on Friday to save Warner Bros. from a terrible year.

The Harry Potter-esque intro to a series of five J.K. Rowling films premiered Thursday night at Alice Tully Hall to a wildly enthusiastic crowd, then repaired to a big tent in the Central Park Zoo for lavish refreshments. Aside from the cast– Eddie Redmayne, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, and Katherine Waterston– the only other celeb I really saw was comedian Jim Gaffigan with his kids.

There were a lot of kids at this premiere. And why not? Part of the movie reads like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” with extraordinary graphics and animation. The other part is aimed for a more adult crowd, so parents won’t get itchy and scratchy. J.K. Rowling’s adaptation of her own idea runs from tight to loose depending on how much Yates could rein in. But the overall movie is a big home run for everyone involved, starting with the studio.

Warner Bros. is having an iffy year, like a lot of studios except Disney with its Marvel movies. WB’s two DC Comics films– “Batman v. Superman” and “Suicide Squad” — did well, not great, and didn’t win over the fanboys. Other than those two, WB hasn’t had a stellar year with the exceptions of “Sully” and “Central Intelligence.” So the Rowling series is a gift from the heavens. “Harry Potter” was considered over. But now it’s back, with five stories as prequels to the first “Harry Potter” movie. Hallelujah!

The studio has been low balling expectations with an $80 million opening this coming weekend. I think $100 mil is more like it. “Fantastic Beasts” is simply fantastic. Everyone who sees it will want to see it again, immediately. Even when the plot wobbles, the overall tone is so charming, the actors so lovely, and the production so engaging that it doesn’t matter.

Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander– the nerd who comes to New York from Britain with a suitcase full of magical beasts– like a young Stephen Hawking. This works because Newt is an egghead who will need five films to emerge as a person. For now, he’s blinking a lot. At least he has his magic wand to help him out of jams. Katherine Waterston is fine as Tina, his female counterpart, who may or may not turn into a romantic partner.

But this first movie revolves around a more compelling couple– Newt’s new New York pal Jacob Kowalski (Fogler) and Tina’s sizzling sister Queenie (Sudol). Their little pas de deux is what drives the plot among the humans, and turns this pair into a hot commodity. Sudol is particularly a revelation– she’s 31, a singer from Los Angeles, this is her first film. I do think Queenie is going to be a huge character in the “FB” saga.

I wanted to talk to Rowling on Thursday night, but she refused even to say hello and stayed behind a well guarded barrier. Oh well, you can’t have everything. Eddie Redmayne was upbeat and open as usual. When I mentioned the rapport among the four leads he said, “I’m happy about that. They cast the movie like they were casting for a band.”

So let the band play on. And kudos to all the artists, designers and cinematographer Phillippe Rousselot. Also, I’m wild about the score from James Newton Howard. Many nominations to come….

PS Yes there is a cameo from Johnny Depp. Not sure why. Didn’t bother me, but on the other hand, he’s bad luck at this point.

Leonard Cohen’s Son Announces Dad’s Burial in Montreal, in a “Traditional Jewish Service”

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Leonard Cohen was buried today, Sunday, in Montreal next to his parents, grandparents and great grandparents according to the Toronto Star. The family had a traditional Jewish service with just close family.

Leonard’s son Adam Cohen posted this to Facebook:

My sister and I just buried my father in Montreal. With only immediate family and a few lifelong friends present, he was lowered into the ground in an unadorned pine box, next to his mother and father. Exactly as he’d asked. As I write this I’m thinking of my father’s unique blend of self-deprecation and dignity, his approachable elegance, his charisma without audacity, his old-world gentlemanliness and the hand-forged tower of his work. There’s so much I wish I could thank him for, just one last time. I’d thank him for the comfort he always provided, for the wisdom he dispensed, for the marathon conversations, for his dazzling wit and humor. I’d thank him for giving me, and teaching me to love Montreal and Greece. And I’d thank him for music; first for his music which seduced me as a boy, then for his encouragement of my own music, and finally for the privilege of being able to make music with him. Thank you for your kind messages, for the outpouring of sympathy and for your love of my father.

What a week: Leonard Cohen and then Leon Russell, not to mention the election. Life is looking grim right now. Trump seemed unusually subdued on “60 Minutes” and clueless about the reaction to what he’s planning to unleash. Protests are growing exponentially. Who will replace the great artists of the 60s and 70s who joined the ranks of the disaffected and led them? Will any of our current performers grow a backbone?

Leon Russell Dies at 74, Legendary Rocker, Blues Man, Influenced Elton John Among Others

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The great Leon Russell has died at age 74. The amazing rocker, blues man, pianist extraordinaire wrote his own hits like “A Song for You” and “This Masquerade” which were covered by many. He also had his own hits including “Tightrope” and “Delta Lady.” He was a member of Phil Spector’s Wrecking Crew that created the famous Wall of Sound, and influenced Elton John so much that the two made an award winning album called “The Union.” What a shame. This was an Artist. Add his name to the long list of music stars who’ve passed away in 2016.

Watch these videos below. After this incredible career, Russell was a little forgotten. Then Elton John told me he was making an album with Leon, who’d influenced him greatly. Elton told me, “Just listen to Tumbleweed Connection or Honky Chateau”– two of his beloved early albums– “it all comes from Leon.”

Because of Elton, Leon was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I was on the nominating committee that put Russell into the Songwriters Hall of Fame even before that happened. Russell was rediscovered. He made one last album produced by Don Was, called “Life Journey.”

Keep refreshing…

George Harrison and Leon Russell– Concert for Bangla Desh– one of the best recordings ever

Elton John and Leon:

Elton and Leon on The View

Leon was a huge part of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen. He was a Mad Dog, playing the piano here, his famous hat in place:

Leon talks about Phil Spector’s Wrecking Crew:

“SNL” Brilliant Opening: Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton Singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”

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“Saturday Night Live” serves up a brilliant cold opening night. Kate McKinnon, in another Emmy performance, is Hillary Clinton singing and playing the late Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Just gorgeous. And then Dave Chappelle delivered the best monologue ever.

Watch Michael Moore’s Broadcast from Trump Tower– Including Trying to see The Donald

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Michael Moore visited Trump Tower early this morning, tried to see Donald, and was turned away. Fifth Avenue was fitted out for a riot, but no one was there. Then the protesters came. See the whole thing here:

(Watch) Sting Re-Open Paris’s Bataclan Theater with “Message in A Bottle” A Year After Terrorist Attack

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Sting is playing Paris’s Bataclan Theater in Paris– one year after the terrorist attack.

Here is singing “Message in a Bottle”:

Sting’s new album “57th and 9th” is full of hits. He appeared on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show on Thursday and performed “I Can’t Stop Thinking About You”:

There are plenty of instant classics on the album. Here’s one that I really love, called “Down Down Down”

There’s also a potential number 1 single with “One Fine Day”:

NCIS Star David McCallum aka “Duckie” is “Utterly Devastated” by Death of “UNCLE” Co-Star Robert Vaughn

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“I am utterly devastated. Robert and I worked together for many years and losing him is like losing a part of me. My deepest sympathies go out to Linda and the Vaughn family.”

David McCallum posted this to Facebook last night after the death of actor Robert Vaughn at age 83. He and Vaughn famously co-starred in the 1960s hit TV series “The Man from UNCLE” as respectively, Ilya Kuriyakin and Napoleon Solo. Each went on to very successful careers, with McCallum currrently doing just “Duckie” on the long running “NCIS.”

Vaughn just worked and worked and worked. His best known film role was in the original “Magnificent Seven.” He was nominated for an Oscar in 1959 for Supporting Actor in “The Young Philadelphians.” (Paul Newman was the lead.) But he also appeared constantly on TV, in limited series and regular series, and doing guest spots. His “Columbo” episodes are remembered fondly. From 2004 to 2012 he was the star of the TV series “Hustle,” where he acquired a whole new audience.

Vaughn died leukemia two weeks short of his 84th birthday.

And yes, he’s not the father of director Matthew Vaughn, but for a time it seemed like he was because Matthew’s mother let people believe it. Matthew got the Vaughn name, and maybe some of the panache.

Robert Vaughn in The Young Philadelphians:
forward to 1:58

Vaughn and McCallum in “The Man from UNCLE”

Columbo:

“Fantastic Beasts,” “Harry Potter” Writer JK Rowling Says She Can Write Anywhere, Even the Lavatory “Where I Get Temporary Peace”

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“As far as writing’s concerned I need to do it. I feel strange if I don’t write,” replied J.K. Rowling to a question about her writing process and motivation. The most successful and famous writer in the world was at a press conference Thursday afternoon for her new film, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” The movie, which is released November 17, is a prequel to the Harry Potter books. And most notably, Rowling makes her screenwriting debut.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is based on a novella Rowling wrote for charity, which features many of the magical and extraordinary creatures now featured in the film. “Fantastic Beasts” was also one of Harry’s textbooks at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizandry, and pretend-written by Magizoologist Newt Scamander. Newt is a nerdy wizard who anchors “Fantastic Beasts” and is played by Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne. (Redmayne attended the press conference along with co-stars Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol, director David Yates and longtime Potter producer David Heyman.)

“Clearly I don’t need to write anymore,” Rowling told journalists and fanboys. “But I love it so much it would feel like some sort of psychic amputation if I didn’t…basically I have to write. I never forget how incredibly fortunate I am. Genuinely, I get up every day and I think I’ll do the thing I love, I have a wonderful family, I’m the luckiest person I know and I would wish the same for everyone who is out there working hard and trying to deal with life, which is tricky for all of us, no matter who we are.”

As for her writing process, Rowling said, “We flew out here yesterday evening. I can write anywhere, at any time. I can write with the TV on in the background. I can write half answering my kids’ questions. I have written a surprisingly amount of one chapter actually on the lavatory, which is the only place I could get temporary peace. And last night I was in a kind of a bleak mood,” she noted, “and I thought I need to work, so I got out the second screenplay, and I did some work on that and that made me feel a whole lot better, so I can write all the time, anytime.”

Asked how she learned to write a screenplay, Rowling conceded screenwriting was different and new and she bought a screenwriting book.

“I never read it. It just sat on my desk,” she said. “I think I felt like that was my homework, but I actually hadn’t done my homework. Maybe I just thought I would absorb it somehow by it just lying there.” Rowling added, “I was very involved with the Potter scripts in as much as I had script approval and I spoke a lot to Steve Kloves about what he was doing, so I would say Steve was my tutor,” she said of the previous Harry Potter screenwriter, who has a producing credit on the film. “That’s why I was so keen to have him attached to this project because I knew he would be the guy I could phone at 4 a.m. if I needed to.” She never needed to she laughed.

Warner Bros. is banking on “Fantastic Beasts” to be a huge success. Rowling has already written the screenplay for the second film and five are planned.

Rowling said novels remained her first love. “I’m still writing novels. This is why I look so tired – I’m writing a novel and a screenplay,” she said. Actually she looked great, not tired at all, and almost all the questions were directed at her, which she answered amiably and passionately, especially about the film. “For all the tricky bits, if I hadn’t enjoyed writing a first screenplay so much I wouldn’t have said I’d keep writing, so I’m loving it.”

There were a few spoilers at the press conference, including to a question to Rowling about whether in the next Fantastic Beasts film, Dumbledore – who was played in the Harry Potter films by Richard Harris and after his death Michael Gabon – will make an appearance as a young gay man.

“Well, I’m very comfortable with the question,” Rowling said smiling. “I can’t tell you everything I would like to say because this is obviously a five-part story, there’s lots to unpack in that relationship.”

“You will see Dumbledore as a younger man and quite a troubled man, because he wasn’t always the sage (in the film,” Rowling added. “We’ll see him in what I think was the formative period of his life. And As far as his sexuality is concerned,” she said, taking a long pause, “watch this space.”

The Beasts of course are the real stars of the film and some are adorable. Rowling said some of the creatures were always intended to be in the film. “And then we swapped a couple of beasts just because we thought it would make for more interesting escapades. But I think everyone’s going to want a Niffler afterwards. I want a Niffler quite honestly.” The Niffler is a small, black furry creature with a duck-billed platypus face and a kangaroo-like pouch. The Niffler is attracted to shiny, bright objects and hoards them in his little pouch out in the open as though this is perfectly normal.

“I can’t wait for people to see it. You know I really can’t,” Rowling said of the film. “This is just the beginning. It’s a five-part movie. I know which characters are coming back… I know what’s coming so this is chapter one and I think people will like what’s coming.”

Legendary Hollywood Star Warren Beatty Reluctantly Steals His Own Movie in “Rules Don’t Apply”

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Warren Beatty tells you he didn’t make a Howard Hughes movie.

Listen, Warren Beatty made a Howard Hughes movie. In “Rules Don’t Apply,” which he wrote and directed, Beatty plays Howard Hughes circa 1958. Beatty has worked on this movie for years. He was almost thwarted by Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator,” in which Leonardo DiCaprio played a younger Hughes. But you know what? There was room for more than one Howard Hughes movie. For Beatty, rules don’t apply. And I’m so glad he made this movie.

The funniest part of “Rules Don’t Apply,” which opens November 23rd and opened the AFI Film Festival last night, is that Beatty steals his own movie like it or not. He created a young star crossed couple with two really talented up and coming actors– Alden Ehrenreich and Lily Collins. (The former is going to be the new young Han Solo. The latter is like a new Audrey Hepburn, and she can sing!)

But in the end, it’s Beatty as a kind of going crazy Hughes who is both full of pathos and humor. And when the movie bends to Hughes’s will– and Beatty’s– those are the very best moments. Two scenes in particular may kick Beatty into the Oscar race for Best Actor– a hilarious one with Matthew Broderick that elicits belly laughs from the audience; and another with Collins that’s very sad and revealing.

Is everything about Hughes in “Rules” true? No. Or rather, it’s an imagined story about someone for whom truth was a stretch and facts were scant. But smartly Beatty and Bo Goldman have taken just enough tidbits about the reclusive, elusive Hughes and made an entertaining story about Hollywood just as sexual repression was about to explode. The time — 1958– is that of Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and “Pillow Talk” moments before the dam burst, so to speak. It would be another 16 years before Beatty himself, a sex symbol, sent himself up and put all his cards on the table with the classic, “Shampoo.” But in 1958, here was the struggle between good and evil as Hollywood tried to grow up.

The supporting cast is excellent. Broderick is hilarious, doing his best work here and in the also coming “Manchester by the Sea.” Annette Bening is lovely as Collins’ stage mother leaving her in Sodom and Gomorrah. I really loved an expected cameo from Steve Coogan. Alec Baldwin, Candice Bergen, Taissa Farmiga, Martin Sheen and Oliver Platt all punctuate the film.

I really wish Beatty had made movies in the last sixteen years. But now that he’s back I think he’s energized. And what would really be cool is more movies with Beatty front and center without having to add young people as diversions. They’re fine, but seeing “Rules,” you realize just how good he is. He and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel score here by putting Hughes in shadows and just letting in glimpses of him. But next time, Warren can shine the light more brightly on himself. It’s a tribute to him that he leaps out of those shadows anyway.