‘Gilmore Girls’ Revival A Go: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel & 4 Other Actors Return (Deadline)

Amazing news from Deadline Hollywood. Not one but four, count them four 90-minute brand-new Gilmore Girls television films are being produced for Netflix. Kelly Bishop in the house! From Deadline,

UPDATE with Netflix confirmation: The Gilmore Girls follow-up movies are officially cleared for production after securing six cast members from the original series, led by stars Alexis
Bledel and Lauren Graham. After lengthy negotiations, Graham and Bledel have closed deals to reprise their roles as the mother-daughter duo of Lorelai and Rory. The Gilmore Girls lead quartet is returning intact, with Scott Patterson and Kelly Bishop signed to reprise their roles as Luke and Emily alongside Bledel and Graham. Also, returning are Gilmore Girls co-star Sean Gunn (Kirk) and Keiko Agena (Lane).

The Gilmore Girls revival, which Netflix is treating as a farewell season of the cult show, consists of four 90-minute movies. TheGilmore Girlscreator/exec producer Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Daniel Palladino, a fellowGilmore Girls executive producer, are writing and directing the four films that are said to be set in present day and unfold over a calendar year.

Read the entire article on Deadline.

 

Bridge of Spies

Watched the Spielberg/Hanks epic, Bridge of Spies this weekend on Blu-ray. I used to wonder if I liked Tom Hanks, but I certainly have enjoyed some of his earlier films and believe it or not, loved Captain Phillips, so I no longer wonder when I see a new Hanks vehicle being released. Steven Spielberg certainly doesn’t need my permission to do anything. He’s had a stellar career. He’s also dipped his toes or in many cases dove successfully into numerous genres. Spielberg favorites include E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler’s List, Minority Report, Munich, War Horse, and Lincoln. There continues to be what I call a “golly shucks” quality to many of Spielberg’s films I fail to connect with which makes me hold off on giving him perfect scores. He’s a crafted filmmaker, certainly knows how to tell a story. But particularly his historical dramas tend to veer too easily into “gee whiz” territory. Such is the case with Bridge of Spies. Even with a Coen Brothers script, the feeling blazed loud. The best part of the film came from Mark Rylance’s (Wolf Hall) performance as Russian spy Rudolph Abel. The most wasted talent was not Alan Alda’s three minutes on-screen. It was Amy Adams suffering through a part as Hanks’ wife which gave her virtually nothing to work with. I’m so tired of movies with ten men and one woman in the cast. There’s meat to the story, but I never felt real terror or suspense. Bridge of Spies feels sanitized to me. A kinder, gentler version of the dirty Cold War. 3 out of 5.

HBO’s LGBT History (The Film Experience)

Manuel Betancourt chronicles in detail the history of LGBT characters in HBO television series and original films. Betancourt’s exhaustive 27 chapter essays are a must-read. From The Film Experience,

Manuel here kicking off a mini-series of sorts focusing on HBO’s decades-old commitment to telling quality LGBT stories. I spent much of this spring recapping Looking here at The Film Experience and as polarizing as many (both here and elsewhere) found the show, it remained the sole American television show centered on the gay male experience to air last year. As we all know, shortly after the season 2 finale, HBO understandably pulled the plug; the show garnered a mere 0.298 million viewers for that episode, a mere pittance when compared to their Westeros-set hit, but also nearly half of what Lena Dunham’s show metered that same evening. And so, to fill the void and build up to a very gay-friendly upcoming HBO film roster (Queen Latifah’s Bessie, that rumored Matt Bomer/Montgomery Clift biopic, the Looking wrap-up film), we’re diving headfirst into a crafting an oral LGBT history of the network that gave us Patrick, Richie, Kevin, Agustin, and Dom, but which had clearly paved the way for such a show with a long storied list of LGBT stories even before it became the ratings giant it is now.

To say HBO, as a cable provider, as a television network, and as an independent film producer, has changed the media landscape is perhaps a bit of an understatement. Its long-running tagline, “It’s not TV, it’s HBO” spoke to the core of what has made HBO such an institution. Despite various attempts at replicating its successes, HBO remains staunchly and idiosyncratically itself. Netflix and Amazon may be sniping at its heels but with a bucket load of Emmys, a gigantic and zeitgesty fantasy series on hand, and its new streaming service (anyone sign up for HBO Now, yet?), the cable giant is showing no signs of aging.

Begin at The Beginning with Manuel’s journey on The Film Experience.
Scan the 27 essays on Manuel’s website.

Retro Sundance (The Film Experience)

Nathaniel Rogers and his contributors over at The Film Experience posts several great reviews of past winners from Sundance. Personal favorites include,

You Can Count on Me
Run Lola Run
Poison

Check out Nathaniel’s blog, The Film Experience.

Fargo: S1

Took two tries for me to get hooked on the FX television series, Fargo. First I watched one episode and gave it a 2 out of 5 for gratuitous violence. Then I gave Fargo a second chance and boy am I’m glad I did. You betcha. There are homages to all the Coen Brothers’ films yet the story in this first season remains fresh. Billy Bob Thorton is creepy and eventually you get used to the hair and then he changes it anyway, so I stopped worrying about that. Fargo is shot like a film – lots of towering establishment shots, beautiful close-ups ala the Coens. The series films in Alberta which gives the bitter winter the authenticity it deserves. Outstanding cast including Billy Bob, Allison Tolman (Molly is hands-down my favorite character), Martin Freeman, Colin Hanks (who knew?), Bob Odenkirk, Keith Carradine, Joey King, Adam Goldberg, Oliver Platt, Kate Walsh, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. The ten-episode story arc simmers in most places – purposefully and then those gotcha moments happen that make you jump. Looking forward to season 2. And now I want to revisit Marge. 4 out of 5 for the series Fargo.

1/21/2017: Revisited the folks from Fargo (and Bemidgi) once again. Under the weather today and binged through the remainder of the first season I began this past week. Still love Molly played by Allison Tolman. Honorable mentions to Kate Walsh, Bob Odenkirk, Keith Carradine, and the two young actors who play Kate’s boys, Atticus Mitchell and Liam Green. A lot of violence that’s hard to stomach, but the writing, acting, directing, and cinematography make it worth the nausea.

Amy

Well now I know what all the fuss is over the documentary Amy. Now I know why it’s received so many awards and why it’s on the short list for the Oscar. The documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse not only tells the tragic story a young woman with too many problems who received too much fame due to her colossal talent. Amy tells it 100% with footage. We live in an age where everyone records their lives. So the talking heads in Amy become voice-overs because there’s already enough footage to make 10 films. The authenticity of primary source material casts an eerie shadow over the film making it feel more realistic that any biographical documentary in recent years. I still wish the Nina Simone documentary, What Happened Miss Simone would win, but I understand why Amy probably will, and rightfully so. Outstanding work from director Asif Kapadia who creates magic from archival footage. Such a talented young woman. So sad she couldn’t rid herself of the demons. 5 out of 5 for Amy.

Mozart in the Jungle: S1

Circled my way around Season 1 of the now award-winning Amazon Prime series, Mozart in the Jungle – a half hour comedy about life in a New York City symphony. Based on the memoir, Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music by oboist Blair Tindall, the adaptation stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Lola Kirke, Saffron Burrowes, Bernadette Peters, Hannah Dunne, Peter Vack, and  Malcolm McDowell. I’m struggling not to use the word cute, but I can’t seem to help myself. I watched most of Mozart during some late night battles with sleeplessness. The show is tight, well-acted and more than a bit predictable. That’s not a bad thing. Shows like Mozart can be great when lighter fare is a necessity. Formulaic with a great cast and good direction certainly fills a niche. 3.5 out of 5 for Mozart in the Jungle.

Everything You Need To Know About The Upcoming Season of The Outs (Buzzfeed)

Great news! The fantastic web series, The Outs prepares for a second season picked up by Vimeo. From Buzzfeed,

The Outs showrunner and star Adam Goldman is in full-fledged boss mode while filming outside Sid Gold’s Request Room, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it piano bar off W. 26th St. in Manhattan. He readies equipment, fine-tunes lighting and framing, rounds up fellow talent Sasha Winters, Mark Junek, and William DeMeritt — and he even puts this unsuspecting reporter to work. It’s a 7pm bar exterior shoot in early November, and while it’s unseasonably warm, rush hour foot traffic abounds.

“You’re sure you don’t mind?” Goldman — sincere, but understandably preoccupied — asks as executive producer Vaughn Schoonmaker (of Michael Urie’s Cocktails & Classics) ushers me to the scene’s background. There, we nonchalantly redirect passersby from stepping through the shoot, so expect a “background talent” cameo from yours truly. (“Nobody gets to come to the set for free — everybody’s gotta work,” costar and Brooklyn-based photographer Hunter Canning later jokes.)

Read the full article on Buzzfeed.
Read Reel Charlie’s ep by ep review of The Outs from 2012/2013.

 

Stonewall (2015)

Roland Emmerich’s controversial Hollywood film Stonewall based on the riots that launched the modern-day LGBT civil rights movement ends up feeling less controversial by simply being a poorly crafted film. Yes, the star of the film is a blond, corn-fed young white boy from Indiana. But there’s also a lot of drag queens, one or two dykes – yes another film with a ton of men and virtually no women, and a lot of people of color in the cast. Yes, I get that Emmerich told the story through the eyes of a white boy. That’s a whole other issue to address. From my vantage point watching the film tonight, Stonewall simply isn’t a good film. End of story. Sometimes it reads like a filmed play, often it reads like a simplistic YA adaptation knocking us over the head with Gay Rights 101. In the end, I contemplated turning if off about 3/4 of the way through, but made it to the end. My favorite bad line that’s too good not to repeat over and over – “I’m too mad to be in love.” 2 out of 5. Next.

Academy Board Endorses Changes to Increase Diversity in Oscar Nominees and Itself (NY Times)

Good news from The New York Times today,

Confronting a fierce protest over a second straight year of all-white Oscar acting nominations, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on Friday that it would make radical changes to its voting requirements, recruiting process and governing structure, with an aim toward increasing the diversity of its membership.

The changes were approved at an unusual special meeting of the group’s 51-member governing board Thursday night. The session ended with a unanimous vote to endorse the new processes, but action on possible changes to Oscar balloting was deferred for later consideration. The board said its goal was to double the number of female and minority members by 2020.

“The academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up,” the academy’s president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, said in a statement. Ms. Isaacs referred to an often-repeated complaint that the academy, in its lack of diversity, reflects the demographics of a film industry that for years has been primarily white and male.

Read the full article.
Hat tip to my good friend Nina for sending me this story.

“The academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the academy’s president. Credit Kevin Winter/Getty Images