This has been a very good couple of days for Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. Just one day after winning Best Picture-Comedy or Musical from the Golden Globes, her little coming-of-age drama has scored another major victory, this time from the National Society of Film Critics. The movie earned four wins, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress for Laurie Metcalf, Best Screenplay, and Best Director. Momentum is definitely on Gerwig’s side right now.
Below is the complete list of winners, and I think it’s worth noting that Daniel Kaluuya looks like a legit Oscar threat as he won Best Actor yet again for Get Out…
Best Picture: “Lady Bird”
Best Director: Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Best Screenplay: Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, “Blade Runner 2049”
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water” and “Maudie”
Best Actor: Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Best Supporting Actress: Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Best Foreign-Language Film: “Graduation”
Best Nonfiction Film: “Faces Places”
Special Citation for a Film Awaiting U.S. Distribution: Agnieszka Holland, “Spoor”
Best Experimental Film: “Good Luck,” Ben Russell
Film Heritage Award: “One Way or Another: Black Women’s Cinema 1970-1991,” BAMcinématek; Dan Talbot for his pioneering work as an exhibitor and distributor in bringing worldwide cinema to the United States
We used to make fun of Sony’s desperate franchise-grabbing efforts, but now the one laughing is Sony itself. Quietly they’re beginning to grow quite an arsenal of properties, from the over $500M-grossing Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the upcoming Spideyverse with Tom Hardy’s Venom, and the Valiant comic book universe which is to launch with a Bloodshot movie.
While Jared Leto had been eyed to play the nanite-powered soldier Bloodshot just a few months ago, clearly that didn’t work out and they’ve decided to go in a completely different direction. Vin Diesel is now in talks for the role, which is about as different from Leto as it gets. The Fast & Furious star will be working off a script by Eric Heisserer (Arrival) with visual effects wiz Dave Wilson, a buddy of Deadpool director Tim Miller, at the helm.
This is meant to be an R-rated flick that will help launch a Valiant cinematic universe along with Harbinger and a Harbinger Wars movie. We’ll see if it gets that far. You can actually watch former Power Ranger Jason David Frank as Bloodshot now in the Ninjak vs. The Valiant Universe web series. [TheWrap]
One of my favorite high school comedies to watch in the ’90s was actually pretty terrible, Trojan War, which found Will Freidle as a guy who just wants to get laid by Marley Shelton, but scrambles all around the city just trying to find a condom. And Jennifer Love Hewitt was his best friend that he had zero interest in. Yeah, it was one of those movies. Teen sex comedies always have some kind of hurdle placed in front of the horny, hormonal virgins, but in the new film Blockers it’s a trio of parents standing in the way of their kids having some horizontal fun.
John Cena, Leslie Mann, and Ike Barinholtz star in the film, which marks the directorial debut of Pitch Perfect writer Kay Cannon. If it looks like it just got rolled off the set of Neighbors or Neighbors 2, well, that may be because Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are on board as producers. Formerly titled The Pact, the story finds three overprotective parents who discover their daughters’ sex pact for prom night, and set out to make sure they don’t get to do any of it. Hence the title “blockers”, in case you couldn’t figure it out. And the picture of the…ahem, cock-a-doodle-doo.
Three teenage girls looking for sex, with a screenplay by five dude writers. This should go well. Seriously, how did Cannon not take a run at this script?
I get some fascination at seeing Cena in such an awkward role, and the opening gag where he’s chewing his daughters’ panties is disturbing but kinda funny. However this looks absolutely atrocious overall, and I won’t be surprised if it catches some heat upon opening on April 6th.
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free advance screening of Den of Thieves, starring Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, 50 Cent, and O’Shea Jackson Jr.
SYNOPSIS: DEN OF THIEVES is a gritty Los Angeles crime saga which follows the intersecting and often personally connected lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff’s Dept. and the state’s most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan.
The screening takes place on Wednesday, January 17th at 7:00pm at Regal Majestic in Silver Spring. If you’d like to attend, simply register with the STX ticketing site here. Please remember that all screenings are first come first served and having passes does NOT guarantee entry.
In the new spy thriller Red Sparrow, Jennifer Lawrence plays a Russian woman who, after getting mixed up in what looks to be a KGB operation, finds herself forced to become a sparrow. Basically she’s trained to become an elite agent whose skills in the art of seduction are as lethal as her killing ability. The whole thing kinda looks like an extended riff on Black Widow’s backstory in the Avengers movies, only with a little less ballet.
The film reunites Lawrence with that other Lawrence, Francis, the one who directed her in three Hunger Games movies. It’s based on the books by former CIA operative Jason Matthews, and if you’ve read his stuff then you know he gets down to the tiniest detail on the spy game. Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons, and Mary-Louise Parker make up one Hell of a supporting cast. Here’s the official synopsis:
Dominika Egorova is many things. A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs. A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit. A master of seductive and manipulative combat.
When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands, with her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, including an American CIA agent who tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust.
Chris Hemsworth’s time playing Thor is up as of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, but he really doesn’t want to be done with Marvel. Not anymore. We’ve heard that both movies could see the Asgardian undergo some serious changes, even more than he faced in Thor: Ragnarok, which were pretty damn significiant. And it seems the evolution in Thor has sparked Hemsworth’s interest in sticking around.
Oh, and he really wants Thor to meet Wolverine. Here’s what he told IGN while doing press for his upcoming war film, 12 Strong…
“I’ve just, literally two days ago, finished Avengers 4 and that’s my contract — my preexisting contract is done now, so it’s kind of like, ‘wow, that’s it,’” Hemsworth said. “Two or three films ago I was like, ‘okay, a couple more.’ I was enjoying it but I was like… I felt a little restricted. And after this last experience with Taika, and actually these last two Avengers, I feel like we’ve reinvented the character a number of times — even in these next two, he evolves again, and you don’t get that opportunity often in a franchise. So I definitely feel a renewed sense of excitement and enthusiasm, and more so than ever, I think…I also think there’s an appetite for it now, or there’s a far greater range of possibilities of where he can go now, what he can do, just because we’ve kind of broken the mold a bit.”
Speaking of “breaking the mold”, how about a meeting between Thor and the X-Men’s resident loner, Wolverine? I guess it could happen now with the Fox/Disney deal, but Hemsworth really wants it to be Hugh Jackman and not just any ol’ body sporting the claws. He tells Screen Rant…
“I mean, Wolverine, just because I love that character, you know what I mean? I just love Hugh Jackman. Unfortunately, he died in the last movie, didn’t he? We can bring him back to life… Now that you’ve informed me that it’s a possibility I’m going to get on the one phone and try to coax him over or convince him and see if he has one more in him.”
How about a Thor/Wolverine buddy comedy? It’d be even better with a little Hulk thrown in, though.
For now, it’s all about Avengers: Infinity War which opens on May 4th.
Just as women owned it at the box office in 2017, they took the floor at last night’s Golden Globes ceremony and made it their own. With the power of the #metoo and #TimesUp movements behind them, helping to reshape Hollywood before our very eyes, it was a night more dedicated to activism than ever before. And while there were a number of lofty, heartfelt speeches made by men and women over the course of the night, only one had everybody on film Twitter asking “Did Oprah just make her first speech as a Presidential candidate?”
Oprah Winfrey brought the house down with her touching speech, given after she was presented with the Cecile B. de Mille award by her A Wrinkle in Time co-star Reese Witherspoon. Hey, if she’s running for President, she’s got my vote, and I’ll happily support Dwayne Johnson as her VP. Here’s the whole thing in full because just posting some quotes won’t do it justice…
It’s gold every time Ridley Scott opens his mouth lately. He’s always been someone good for a snappy quote, but lately it’s like he’s always in “Don’t give a f**k mode”. Lately he’s been open about his thoughts on Blade Runner 2049 being “too long”, and even went so far as to say he’s too “dangerous” for Disney to offer a Star Wars movie. Of course, he immediately went and signed on to direct Disney’s kid-friendly The Merlin Saga, so perhaps we shouldn’t put too much stock in his boasts.
Scott, who is still doing press for All the Money in the World, spoke with Digital Spy about his mountain of projects. The 80-year-old director isn’t slowing down at all, but still he thinks there is time to expand on the world of Blade Runner, and says he has the story already in mind…
“I hope so, I think there is another story.” he said. “I’ve got another one ready to evolve and be developed, so there is certainly one to be done for sure.”
I don’t know how feasible that is given the box office returns on Blade Runner 2049, unless Scott directed it himself and did it for a smaller budget. The film will go down as a sci-fi classic regardless and over time it will prove to be as evergreen a property as the original, so perhaps Warner Bros. will look at it from that perspective. Lord knows I and many other movie fans would love to see it continue on.
The Golden Globes, due to the way their categories are separated, isn’t always the best indicator of how the Oscars will shake out. Still, tonight has to be considered a pretty good boost for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which came away with victories for Best Picture-Drama, Best Screenplay for Martin McDonagh’s script, Best Actress for star Frances McDormand, and Best Supporting Actor for Sam Rockwell. Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird won for Best Picture-Comedy, which has to significantly increase its chances of a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
The complete list of winners, including television, are below:
Movies
Best motion picture, drama: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best motion picture, musical or comedy: “Lady Bird”
Best director, motion picture: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, drama: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy: James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in any motion picture: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in any motion picture: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best screenplay, motion picture: Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best motion picture, animated: “Coco”
Best motion picture, foreign language: “In the Fade”
Best original score, motion picture: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”
Best original song, motion picture: “This Is Me” — “The Greatest Showman”
Television
Best television series, drama: “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Hulu
Best performance by an actress in a television series, drama: Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Best performance by an actor in a television series, drama: Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Best television series, musical or comedy: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon
Best performance by an actress in a television series, musical or comedy: Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Best performance by an actor in a television series, musical or comedy: Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”
Best television limited series or motion picture made for television: “Big Little Lies,” HBO
Best performance by an actress in a limited series or motion picture made for television: Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”
Best performance by an actor in a limited series or motion picture made for television: Ewan McGregor, “Fargo”
Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television: Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies”
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television: Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”
Paul McGuigan is a veteran filmmaker of the big and small screen, directing everything from Wicker Park to Lucky Number Slevin to episodes of Sherlock and Luke Cage. He’s always busy working on one project or another, but this year he’s in the awards discussion for Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool, which features another notable performance from Annette Bening. She plays Oscar-winning Hollywood star Gloria Grahame, as she spends the final months of her life with her much-younger lover, Peter Turner, who is played by Jamie Bell.
It’s a wonderful performance by Bening and Bell, with McGuigan given an inside look at their terrific chemistry. I had a chance to talk to him about the film, his thoughts on Grahame as a forgotten part of Hollywood history, Bening’s deep commitment to portraying Grahame, and much more.
You can listen to the interview below, and find my review of Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpoolhere.
