Here comes “Babylon” from “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle. The trailer features Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Jean Smart, and if you look closely, Tobey Maguire.
The much anticipated film has a huge cast and a strong pedigree, with lots of award winners above and below the line. Paramount is releasing it with strong hopes for Oscar gold. I’m psyched. After “The Fabelmans” and “Empire of Light.” we need some Best Picture contenders.
The 2022 Emmy Awards, you may have heard, were a gigantic ratings disaster.
The NBC show on Monday night scored just 5.924 million viewers, the smallest ever audience. But what did anyone expect?
Monday Night Football was shown not just not on ABC but over at ESPN as well. Their totals came to almost 17 million fans. That didn’t leave much room for the Emmys.
And the Emmys, sorry, looked bad to begin with. The list of presenters was unremarkable. The list of nominees was predictably all from cable and streaming. There was no nod to anything mainstream, network, or otherwise unique. The most praised presentation came from Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, from the cult “Only Murders in the Building” from Hulu. The best speech was from Sheryl Lee Ralph, but that couldn’t have been promoted because no one knew it would happen.
Did they think giving Geena Davis, not a TV star, an award for promoting gender equality would make anyone tune in? What, are you kidding? If I had been watching TV Monday night (I was in Toronto seeing cool films), I would have flipped over to baseball or football immediately. How about tributes to popular people? Anniversary reunions of beloved TV casts? Something for the people who actually watch TV?
Indeed, the Emmys ignore the shows that get the 3 to 5 million viewers a night per show, like “Ghosts” and “The Conners.” Or even “This is Us.” The cable shows they honor, all high quality and “in,” get less than a million viewers, some less than half a million.
So, you know, NBC was lucky to get 6 million people. You reap what you sow.
Just when you thought Fox Searchlight would just be a legacy, Disney Searchlight is back in the Oscar race.
Yesterday, the now slimmed down to one name– just Searchlight-debuted back to back hits at the Princess of Wales Theater in Toronto.
“Empire of Light” directed by Sam Mendes has been a little divisive so far on Rotten Tomatoes. But I’ll fight anyone who didn’t like it. Starring Olivia Colman, Toby Jones and incredible newcomer Michael Ward, “Empire of Light” is exceptional filmmaking. I had no qualms about it. Maybe it’s because it’s set in 1981 Britain by the sea and features ska hits from the Specials and others. But it’s also about the restorative power of films, a moment 40 years ago when theaters still meant something.
Colman plays Hilary, a damaged character, an older woman who suffers from schizophrenia and goes off her meds to feel alive. It’s Ward’s Stephen, a much younger man who is also Black, whose love, attention, and friendship save her. Roger Deakins’ precisely lush cinematography and a gorgeous art deco set of the Empire Movie Theater underscore this film’s beauty. Colman is set for an Oscar nomination, the whole film is awards worthy.
Searchlight’s second film of the day is the already much ballyhooed “Banshees of Inisherin” from writer-director Martin McDonagh. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are pals on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. Gleeson suddenly “ghosts” Farrell, dropping him for no apparent reason after a long friendship. Both actors are sensational although it’s Farrell who outdoes himself with a brilliantly textured performance. They should each get Oscar nods. McDonagh, whose “Three Billboards” was an awards favorite just three years ago, is a stellar playwright who creates memorable characters. Some of “Banshees” is a little grisly — be warned — and things take a bad turn in the third act, but this is lovely work and not to be missed.
And, you know what? It was great to hear the old 20th Century Fox theme music before each film. It warmed the heart!
All last week there were no performances of “The Music Man” on Broadway because Hugh Jacknan was promoting his new movie, “The Son,” for which he’s received excellent reviews.
And now comes the punchline. “The Music Man,” currently the biggest hit on Broadway, is shutting down on January 1st, 2023 because Jackman is exiting, stage left. He’s got to hit the Oscar campaign trail.
Obviously what’s become clear is that without Jackman as Professor Harold Hill, “The Music Man” is too expensive to produce. Bringing in a replacement, even with a “name,” won’t cut it. Numbers will With Jackman, “The Music Man” averages $2.2 million a week. Without him, audiences aren’t so interested.
“The Music Man” is a Scott Rudin production funded by Barry Diller. Rudin is supposed to be uninvolved with decisions but this reeks of his handiwork. Rudin is the reason “To Kill a Mockingbird” never returned from its COVID break last June. Without Jeff Daniels, Rudin felt he couldn’t make it work. He killed the Mockingbird without thinking twice.
So hundreds of people lose their jobs. Some investors may lose their shirts. But someone’s got to pay for those 76 trombones.
“The Music Man” will have played a paltry 358 performances, making it one of the shortest runs ever for a totally sold out show.
The Golden Globes are returning to NBC. I’m told the announcement will be made soon that the Globes will air on Tuesday, January 10th, just five days before the Critics Choice Awards.
The Globes have faced two years of scrutiny, investigation, and changes. They recently added 103 voters– not members, just various POC to pump up their diversification numbers. The only actual members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association remain largely the same. Those 97 or so veterans have been making the rounds at the Toronto, Telluride, and Venice Film Festivals.
In Toronto, I’m told an HFPA party usually thrown with InStyle magazine (now just a website) fell apart at the last minute. A source says, “No one could agree on anything.”
Back to the new voters: although diversity is the object, 41.7% of the new voters are White. According to the HFPA, the new voters are also 22.3 percent Latinx, 13.6 percent Black, 11.7 percent Asian, 10.7 percent Middle Eastern and 41.7 percent white, with 58.3 percent self-identifying as ethnically diverse.
The Globes will be welcomed back not for their critical appraisal of movies, but for the fun of the parties and so on. A source tells me that older members of the HFPA have been retired. And current members — the core 97 — could be receiving $75,000 a year salaries from parent company Eldridge Industries, which also owns Dick Clark Productions and the Hollywood Reporter.
For HBO, Emmy Awards night was a sweet, sweet set of victories. “Succession” won Best Drama, “White Lotus” Best Limited Series, Jean Smart for Best Actress in a Comedy– “Hacks”, plus a raft of other awards.
HBO put together around 29 wins including for shows like “Barry” and “Late Night with John Oliver.”
Zendaya won Best Actress in A Drama for HBO’s “Euphoria,” beating a number of older, more accomplished actresses like Laura Linney for “Ozark.”
Netflix didn’t do too badly, either. “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things” led them to 11 wins. Lee Jung Jae won Best Actor in A Drama for “Squid Game,” probably because Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox split the vote from “Succession.”
Jennifer Coolidge won Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for “White Lotus.” Murray Bartlett won Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for “White Lotus.” The series itself won 10 awards, the most of any show.
The only show on broadcast TV to make a dent in the Emmys was ABC’s breakout hit, “Abbott Elementary” which picked up three awards including Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for Sheryl Lee Ralph. It was much deserved and long overdue.
Music stars like The Beatles, Adele, and Lizzo picked up awards for their specials and documentaries.
Apple TV Plus once again hit it big with “Ted Lasso,” which was Best Comedy Series. Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldsmith won Best Actor and Supporting Actor in a Comedy. Apple also won a couple of awards for “Severance.”
The most glaring snubs were for Showtime’s “Billions,” which could have had at least 10 nominations if the CBS owned cable network would show some initiative. One of the great Emmy scandals of the last six years is no love for Paul Giamatti, who should be Best Actor in a Drama.
Sheryl Lee Ralph just won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress for her role on the ABC hit comedy “Abbott Elementary” and she deserves another Emmy for her acceptance song/speech that brought the crowd to its feet. Sheryl belted the Dianne Reeves song, “Endangered Species,” which then prompted host Kenan Thompson to call her rendition, ‘unreal and unbelievable’ and left Lizzo stunned.
Mega-talented Sheryl was an original Broadway “Dreamgirl” in 1981, was nominated in 1982 for a Tony Award, and has been toiling in Hollywood for decades. She is truly one of the most genuine, gracious ladies in the business. Sheryl has long been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, she founded the D.I.V.A. Foundation.
Sheryl is a trustee at Project Angel Food and continues her work worldwide. She’s being honored this Thursday night by the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation aka ETAF at their The Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS fundraising gala. She is receiving the Elizabeth Taylor Commitment to End AIDS Award along Colin Farrell and Charlize Theron. Brava to Sheryl! DIVA Sheryl has a heart as big as her talent.
The era of Zombies is over at AMC. Or as the real Zombies sang, “it’s the time of the season” for a finale.
Sources tell me “Fear the Walking Dead,” the spin off of “The Walking Dead,” will follow the mothership show and wrap its run with its next season, number 8. “The Walking Dead” itself is ending with its next season, number 11. “FTWD” is filming the ending now.
Both shows have had huge declines in ratings. “Fear the Walking Dead” wrapped season 7 last June down 31% in overall audience and 46.77% in the key demo. The final episode had only 710,000 viewers.
The whole fervor for these shows is long gone. Plans for separate movie spin offs have been scaled way back, too.
For more than a decade AMC has feasted on its audience with this stuff. But all things must come to an end. Maybe AMC can get back to quality shows again like “Mad Men” but it’s unlikely.
There’s no question that teenage girls are Wild about Harry Styles. They lined the streets around the Princess of Wales Theater in Toronto yesterday to catch a glimpse of the pop star. When I mentioned to a 20 year old volunteer that it was like Beatlemania, he looked at me blankly. What the heck is that?
Inside the POW the audience was enthusiastic but not quite so over the top. Harry got a big ovation during the introductions and then things settled down. At the end of the time, the audience showed its appreciation, but there were no panties thrown on the stage.
Now come the reviews and so far, on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has scored a 50 from 8 reviews. That’s not a lot of reviews, but it does point to the response in general. I wrote last night that “My Policeman” looks like a Merchant Ivory production of a Harold Pinter play. Three people are caught in a triangle. One of them does something terrible to another, in the process ruining their lives. It’s all very polite, except for the sex between the two men, which may seem surprisingly graphic to the teen age girls. And for straight men, “My Policeman” will not be a destination movie.
Amazon Studios has nevertheless produced a smart looking, reverential film of high quality. For a certain audience beyond Styles fans I’m sure there will be debate and discourse. The acting, of course, is vivid. I really enjoyed Linus Roache and Gina McKee as the older versions of Styles and Emma Corrin (who is a star in this film a la Carey Mulligan). McKee has to sell her character’s simultaneous concern and duplicity, and pulls it off with aplomb. Roache brings a grief to the adult version of the Styles character that you don’t expect.
But what I didn’t understand about all these characters is how they proceeded to live after the events of the film. The story takes place in 1957-58. The two men have an affair. There’s a trial because being homosexual in Britain is a crime. The married couple, Tom and Marion. do not divorce. David Dawson’s Patrick, a museum art curator — goes to jail for two years. And then, they just… went on? I couldn’t figure out how Tom and Marion got through the sexual revolution of the 60s and the freewheeling 70s not having sex, or children, or any connection to each other. Also, how Tom didn’t know what Marion did in 1958. It never occurred to him?
One last PS: Dawson’s Patrick is five foot eight inches, He reminded me of Charlie Chaplin. Yet, 40 years later, played by Rupert Everett, he’s six foot four and substantially larger physically even sitting in a wheelchair. Those intervening years must have been hectic.
Sometimes you don’t know what to expect from a film and then you’re pleasantly surprised.
Such is the case with Netflix’s “The Good Nurse,” starring two of the top actors of the younger generation: Oscar winners Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne.
“The Good Nurse” is based on the true story of nurse Amy Loughren who helped police unmask a serial killer nurse in her hospital named Charlie Cullen. It’s thought that Cullen killed hundreds of patients in the nine hospitals he worked in, just because he could.
Tobias Lindholm has constructed a taut thriller that works not despite but because you know right away Cullen is crazy.
Chastain and Redmayne have serious chemistry and are working each of them at the top of their game. Each of these actors is settling in for the long haul, and it’s thrilling. There’s also great supporting work from Noah Emmerich, Nnamdi Asomugha, and Kim Dickens. (Poor Noah– for years he was duped by the Russians on “The Americans.” He finally figures out a case early this time!)
“The Good Nurse” gets a theatrical release for Oscar eligibility at the end of October. I’d love to see it in the Hamptons Film Festival.