In Entertainment...
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| The critically acclaimed, but Oscar-snubbed The Past |
Playbill: Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth will play the third key role in Broadway's long-running Chicago. Neuwirth originated Velma Kelly for the revival and played Roxie Hart later in the run. This time she's filling the shoes of Matron "Mama" Morton, the role that won Queen Latifah an Oscar nomination for the filmed version.
Broadway World: Since we're already on the stage, Harry Potter will be making its way to the boards in London, where a J.K. Rowling produced play of the series will be landing at some undetermined date in the future. I cannot wait to see it when it inevitably transfers to Broadway, though how can you really improve on Darren Criss?
In Contention: Every year there's another critics' group I didn't realize existed that comes out with a Top 10 list, and releasing all of the lists here would bore both of us. However, I noticed a couple of the awards for the Women Film Critics Circle Awards, as well as the comments released. First of all-the comments released, regardless of whether you agree with them (I didn't, including in the case of Blue is the Warmest Color...I have the review halfway written and am mighty ashamed it's taken this long to finish, but I'll get there before the Oscar nods are announced), are highly interesting-some context amongst the voters is always a good thing. However, I think that putting The Bling Ring, a film that only gets better the further you get away from it, on a list of the worst of anything is a stretch. Yes, it makes women look terrible in the film, but it's more about making commercialism look somehow sexy, boring, and horribly misguided. It doesn't deserve to be on a list like this, particularly considering it's made by a provocative female director.
The Film Stage: For those of us that are frantically trying to catch up on films before the end of the year, this was an interesting list: a list of films that made less than $1 million at the Box Office this year but were still critically and commercially recognized. Many films from the Indy Spirit nominations popped up here, and I shamefully have only seen one (but I loved it!). I'll be catching Ain't Them Bodies Saints in the next week though, and I just added a couple more to the Netflix queue. Do you have a favorite?
Hollywood Reporter: Like the swallows at Capistrano, each year the Foreign Film branch releases their list of the nine shortlisted movies, and we all are stunned when certain films don't make it. While expected frontrunners Broken Circle Breakdown and The Hunt made the cut, the list that stunningly missed the cut included Iran's The Past (from Asghar Farhadi, who won this category two years ago with the brilliant A Separation), Saudi Arabia's critically-acclaimed Wadjda (which I figured would win the whole damn thing), and Israel's Bethlehem (Israel being the go-to country in recent years for AMPAS). I have actually seen one of the nine (The Grandmaster), and my gut is telling me that the final list will look something like: Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium), The Great Beauty (Italy), The Hunt (Denmark), Two Lives (Germany), and Hungary's The Notebook.
Also, in the world of Entertainment, but I don't have a link (and it's not worth a full post)-is anyone else disliking the latest ad campaign from AMC theaters? I visit that place all of the time, but the end of the commercial, where the cell phone is eaten by a bear is just bizarre. I mean, the LOL/BRB dog poop joke is mildly clever, but the end is so odd. Also, doesn't AMC realize that people see this campaign all the time and these jokes get super old fast, especially since they only update this campaign maybe twice a year (and usually less)? The theater growing into plants is easily the best campaign they've had-simple, classic, highlighting both the fun of the movies (the point of being there) and the delicious nature of the concessions (where the theater gets its profits). Skip the jokes, just celebrate the movies. And explain why the bear is supposed to be funny.
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| Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) |
RothenBlog: Everyone and his mother is talking about the recent decision by the Obama administration to appoint Sen. Max Baucus as the next Ambassador to China (I could have picked from a dozen
websites discussing it, but Roll Call broke the story so I'm giving them the link). Stu Rothenberg is the most annoying of the top trio of political analysts (and by that, I mean Charlie Cook, Larry Sabato, and Rothenberg), but his columnist (Rothenberg didn't write this, which is probably why it isn't condescending) is fairly accurate in his assessment. I do feel that the Democrats are catching a lucky break here-Dean Heller is the best recent example. You make the Nevada Senate seat open in 2012 and it's difficult to see Heller topping Rep. Shelley Berkley in a race President Obama is winning. If Steve Bullock appoints John Walsh (and the hubbub that he won't want to get political is idiotic considering he doesn't have to stand for election until 2016 and no one can please Brian Schweitzer), the incumbency will be an inherent advantage and will make up for some lost ground. In addition, Baucus leaving the Finance Chair means Ron Wyden takes over, and as a result Mary Landrieu gets the Energy Chair. Considering the importance of oil in the Bayou State, this appointment could dramatically help two Democratic races.
Boston Herald: Scott Brown has moved to New Hampshire. It's become fairly obvious that he is running at this point, even though he claims the move is "personal" (I think PolitiFact should update its lie list after that one). The better question is-what is he thinking? I know I've devoted time to this in the past, but seriously-the least attractive thing about his candidacy is the carpet-bagging aspect, and for some reason he's letting that play out over an extended period of time on the national stage. Every major Senate candidate for 2014 has already announced, and its almost Christmas. If you're really going to run, why not make the announcement? And if you're teasing the NH GOP because you really want to make a longshot run for the presidency, is this the best way to treat the only early primary state you could post a reasonable showing?
New York Times: In two major victories for gay and lesbian Americans, two new states got added to the list of states that legalized same-sex marriage, one fairly expected and one surprising. New Mexico became the seventeenth state on Thursday to legalize gay marriage, something that we had been anticipating for months (the Land of Enchantment had been allowing gay marriage in some counties for months now and was the only state to have no law on the books regarding same-sex marriage). The stunning development happened in Utah on Friday, when a judge struck down the same-sex marriage law in the state. Utah thus becomes the first red state (it has not gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 and it's the only state in the past four decades where a Democrat got third place in a presidential contest) to legalize gay marriage, ahead of more expected states like Alaska, Arizona, and Montana. It will be very, very interesting to see what develops from this-I can imagine that gay marriage will be challenged in the Beehive State, but it looks like marriage licenses have already been issued for some couples. Merry Christmas!
Just One More...
The Wire: Joe Reid tackles, in his typically hilarious and insightful manner, the art of making a Top 10 and the inner struggles that come with cementing a list of your favorite films of the year. I have been doing this in some fashion since 1995, when I was a wee award-loving pup, and can definitely identify with the fights over which films I "have to see to meet consensus" and the moment when you see another film from that year that you wish you had a time machine for so you could put it on the list.
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