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Fosse/Verdon (2019)
Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon is brilliant.
The 8 part series "Fosse/Verdon" on FX , takes us into the world of Broadway's iconic couple: director/choreographer Bob Fosse and singer/actress/dancer, Gwen Verdon.
The project based on the biography "Fosse" by Sam Wasson, who captures both the creative and personal turmoil that surrounded their partnership. In spite of infidelity, drug use and a massive ego, Gwen Verdon stayed loyal to the creative genius that was Bob Fosse. In fact, we find she was his muse and extremely responsible for many of his successful projects, including "Sweet Charity" and "Cabaret", which won 8 Oscars, including Best Director for Fosse.
"Fosse/Verdon" shows us once again how exploitative the entertainment industry has been for women. Fosse is revealed as a predator who uses his power to coerce women into sexual trysts. His addiction to drugs, cigarettes and sex almost took his life in the 70's when he had a massive heart attack.
This show is heavy on quick flashes to show the respective backstories of the duo before they met. Their talent and was evident-- even as young kids. It led them to New York in the 50's and greatness, but not before their innocence was stripped away in the pursuit.
Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon is brilliant. This project shows once again the chameleon she is onscreen. We see how strong Verdon was-and at times, just as manipulative as Fosse. Sam Rockwell's performance was fine (episode 6 was the highlight), but it's Wiilliams that makes "Fosse/Verdon" worth watching. The creative team behind this series includes director Thomas Kail and Lin-Manuel Miranda, both of another Broadway show-- "Hamilton". The "behind the scenes" rehearsals they create for shows like "Chicago" are exceptional. If you're a theater enthusiast, it's another good reason to see this series.
What/If (2019)
If you are still looking for a reason to watch the show, it can easily become a guilty pleasure.
Netflix's new show What/If starts with a blunt suggestion made by Anne Montgomery (Renée Zellweger), portrayed as a ruthless venture capitalist. She will invest 80 million dollars to save Lisa Donovan's (Jane Levy) medical start-up from bankruptcy under one condition: a night alone with her young husband, Sean Donovan (Blake Jenner), no questions asked. If it feels like you have seen it before, it is because you probably have. The show's premise is so openly a gender flip of the 1993 film Indecent Proposal, starring Demi Moore and Robert Redford, that Lisa's response involves a reference to "a bad '90s movie."
But it is the 21st century, and the questionable ethics and morals of Anne Montgomery go well beyond those of the billionaire John Gage, played by Robert Redford. She is an unapologetically ambitious financier who openly argues that, to be successful, one must free himself or herself from "lesser people's moral agendas."
The night alone with Sean is just the beginning of Anne's twisted plot. As she moves on with her plan, the viewer wonders if her obsession is with the handsome, former baseball player Sean or with his brilliant wife, who has dedicated her career to finding a more efficient way to deliver treatment to cancer patients - a medical revolution that would arrive too late to save the life of Lisa's sister, who died in childhood, but that could give her loss a meaning.
Anne Montgomery proves that female characters don't need to be always heroic or inspiring to be great. They can be as calculating, power-hungry, and unscrupulous as the worse - or best - male villains. Although this looks to me like a step in the right direction, we know that we still have a long way to go when we note that female villains almost invariably need to be "explained" by some kind of trauma.
In Anne Montgomery's case, it is not enough that she had a childhood defined by violence and neglect. She needs a second, even more obvious experience (I will stop here to avoid spoilers) to justify her evil genius. And, in case you still didn't understand it, the show overstates its points by having Anne's sidekick Foster tell her that "the worse kind of victim is the one that chooses to create another."
To be fair, it is not only in explaining Anne that What/If goes overboard. The show has way too many parallels, competing subplots, and an overwhelming amount of twists and turns. (There are only so many revelations that can be packed into ten episodes before it gets too much...)
But if you are still looking for a reason to watch the show, which - I admit - can easily become a guilty pleasure, I have one: Renée Zellweger. Anne Montgomery is clearly not her typical kind of role. And yet, Zellweger has found the right mix of cynicism, strength and just enough fragility to make the noir-style femme fatale Anne almost believable and, why not, entertaining.
Wild Rose (2018)
Movie Review: Wild Rose
Which are the odds of a Scotswoman from Glasgow, with a thick accent (to the point that some US theaters are offering subtitles), becoming a country music star? Add to that the fact that Rose-Lynn Harlan is a young single mother of two kids, with no money to her name and who has just served a year-long prison sentence for a drug charge.
Wild Rose, starring Jessie Buckley (Chernobyl), tells the improbable story of the fiery Rose not simply as an aspiring artist but as an aspiring female artist. She has more than enough talent and drive to succeed, but this is not a story about potential, hard work or a romantic star-is-born kind of movie. The real conflict in Rose's life is the forced choice between family and career.
Rose believes, as songwriter Harlan Howard once said, that country music is about "three chords and the truth," a description that she had tattooed on her right arm. But the truth is that the pursuit of a singing career is seen, in this unsentimental British movie, as basically incompatible with her role as a mother who has to work to support her kids. Something that Rose's own mother, Marion (Julie Walters), who took care of the grandchildren during Rose's incarceration and with whom the aspiring singer moves in after getting out of jail, won't let her forget.
Yet, Marion is not the simplistic archetype of the evil mother who gets in the way of her daughter's success and happiness. She is doing the best she can, and Rose has clear flaws too - which, by the way, work to make the character believable and endearing. Most of all, she is not very good in taking responsibility for her life and choices.
The conflict between Rose's dream and her reality is not an easy dilemma to solve. Marion has a point when she says that it wouldn't be fair to simply leave the kids behind to try to be a star in Nashville (not that this would have been an issue if the movie were about a man). On the other hand, Rose's talent is undeniable, and she should have the chance to use it. It soon becomes clear that there won't be simple answers. The movie doesn't go for the expected stereotypes, even though at some point it looks like it is about to turn into a modern-day fairytale. But well, it is a British movie after all, not Hollywood... Don't worry, this is a good thing.
Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019)
Movie Review: Brittany Runs a Marathon
It is interesting how sometimes a movie creates a lot of buzz and expectation just to, after a disappointing delivery, have those expectations fulfilled but a much less celebrated film. The last time this happened to me was with The Beguiled, directed by Sofia Coppola with Nicole Kidman in the leading role. The movie danced around the idea of a strong woman who will do whatever it takes to survive in a violent and dangerous background, but never really gets there. Around the same time The Beguiled was released, Florence Pugh, who will soon get back to the big screen in Greta Gerwig's Little Women, portrayed the strong and ruthless Katherine in the almost obscure Lady Macbeth (an adaptation of the 1865 Russian novella by Nikolai Leskov). I won't expand much except to say that there is only so much violence and humiliation Katherine will quietly endure after being sold into marriage to a weak man and moved in with him and his abusive father.
All this to say that it has happened again, but with a very different kind of movie. When Amy Schumer's I Feel Pretty was released, it was supposed to be a funny and empowering movie, led by a strong female character. It did not live up to the hype though. At the end, I Feel Pretty was little more than another film about an outsider who wants to fit in - in other words, who wants to become more conventionally pretty and date the cute guy. The newly-released movie Brittany Runs a Marathon is a simple and unpretentious movie that, nevertheless, manages to avoid this trap.
When we meet Brittany, she is drifting as a party girl approaching her thirties, unsatisfied with her job and surrounded by shallow, unreliable friends. When she goes to a doctor trying to score a prescription for Adderall, Brittany hears that her health is not doing well and she should lose around 50 pounds (or, as Brittany puts it, "to pull a median-size working dog" off of her body). She initially resists, but it gets harder and harder to pretend everything is fine with her life and Brittany reluctantly decides to take up running. By the end of the film, Brittany (no spoiler alert required here) runs the New York marathon. But it is not about the end, it is about what she learns on the way there.
Between that doctor visit and the marathon, Brittany may lose weigh and get a boyfriend, but that was never the goal and this is not her main achievement. It is not about external - and male - validation. Once she starts running, Brittany makes new friends, changes her relationship with her family, gets healthier, and manages to turn her life around. All that with some funny moments and others more serious and conflicting.
Starring former SNL writer Jillian Bell, Brittany Runs a Marathon is loosely based on the story of a friend of the movie's screenwriter and director Paul Downs Colaizzo. What makes Brittany Runs a Marathon different from many makeover movies is that the most important relationship developed in the film is the one between Brittany and her unlikely new friends Catherine (Michaela Watkins) and Seth (Micah Stock), who support her and train with her for the marathon. Real-life marathon runners proved the camaraderie among the characters right when they kept "disturbing" the filming of Brittany's marathon. Part of the movie was shot during the 2017 New York marathon and many fellow runners, who didn't know Jillian Bell was acting in the scenes that Brittany struggled to complete the marathon, kept trying to help her, making it harder for the director to get the scenes he needed.
I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story (2018)
Movie Review: I Used to be Normal: A BoyBand FanGirl Story
In the 1940s, teenaged girls swooned over Frank Sinatra. In the 1950s, Elvis' gyrating hips gave them fits. However, the early 1960s ushered in a new era, that of the "boy band," in the form of The Beatles - John, Paul, George and Ringo. ("Ringo? What's a 'Ringo?" we'd ask each other)
Prior to The Beatles, adolescent girls pinned their romantic fantasies on one singer. Oh, there were the Everly Brothers and the Beach Boys, but they were related. Familial harmony wasn't new. But a group of unrelated young men, coiffed, groomed, and packaged to appeal to the masses, was.
As Susan, a 64 year-old Australian filmmaker when we first meet her in "I Used to Be Normal: A Fangirl Story," a new documentary from Tri-Coast Film noted, The Beatles, her personal "boy band," (she was a "Paul") multiplied the joy.
"There were plenty to share around," she explained. Instead of fixating on a single singer, girlfriends could get together at slumber parties, play the newest records, and wax poetic (and argue) the merits of their favorite band member. The girls believed them to be "good" boys with whom one could hold hands, and though they resented the first "Mrs." Beatle, John's wife Cynthia, they came to understand that perhaps they should allow the boys the same courtesy when they themselves began dating.
As a shared pastime, it seems an innocent way for budding teens to, in a sense, have a pseudo first boyfriend. As Diane Renner, a retired Chicago-area high school guidance counselor explains, "Boy bands are a safe way for adolescent girls to have a 'fantasy' boyfriend. While they are not ready for a real one-on-one relationship with a boy, this provides what is generally a safe, healthy way for young girls to explore their feelings."
However, when does attraction turn into obsession, and does it help or hinder "normal" development? That's what Director Jessica Leski set to find out, over a four year-period. As synopsized by the distributor, it is a story of "four women whose lives were radically changed by their deep love of boy bands." Or, as Elif, 16 at the start of the film calls them (her boy band was One Direction), "The boys."
Perhaps that was my biggest gripe of the movie. While it was certainly an intentional choice to begin with Elif's storyline, I perhaps would have started with the woman who I personally found to be the overall most compelling, 33 year-old Dara, a spunky Australian Marketing Strategist (whose band was "Take Back" lead by Gary Barlow) who, in later scenes laid out the best explanation of what a boy band consists of that I've ever heard.
The earnest Elif, at 16, was the youngest super fan profiled. The daughter of strict Turkish immigrant parents and living in New Jersey, her over-the-top reactions to all things One Direction did indeed dredge up memories of my own Beatle phase. However, I quickly lost two of the viewers watching the film in the room with me, a 34 year-old female and a 66 year-old male, until the more sedate, aforementioned Susan appeared on the screen, eyes glistening over at the memory of her young self in the fourth row at a Beatles' concert in Melbourne. "We couldn't hear a thing!"she laughs,"Because of the shrieking."
We meet the wide-eyed, likable Sadia, a 25 year-old writer from San Francisco who claims that her boys, the "Backstreet Boys," have been her longest relationship. She claims that she feels unconditional love from the band, whose members she calls "the five most decent men in my life." (Which, I must admit, gave me pause - Nick Carter, a singer in the band, has a very well- documented drug and alcohol addictions and interactions with the law, but I guess, as they say, love is blind).
The daughter of a traditional Pakistani couple, and self-described "rebel" as a teenager, one of the films' awkward moments came when Sadia quite vividly recalled her fantasies about Carter. I found myself wishing for a boyfriend (or girlfriend) for her - STAT!
Later on, an older Sadia seems to genuinely wonder, after taking a Backstreet Boys' cruise, if perhaps it isn't time to put the boys on the shelf and find a real man. (Not discounting her eighth grade boyfriend who was secure in his own masculinity enough to gift her with a Backstreet Boy doll for Christmas. What ever happened to him? I found myself thinking...)
The four women, of varying ages and ethnicities (and other things, but I don't want to give too much away) give a great deal of the credit for becoming the women they eventually became, (or are still becoming), to their obsession with boy bands. If that is good or bad, is up to you to decide.
Meanwhile, as in life, it's the journey, not the destination. You'll meet a quartet of diverse, thoughtful, entertaining women, who will, at the very least, stir your own fond memories of boy band fandom, and at most, continue to open your eyes to the masterful machinations of female manipulation by those who seek to exploit your innermost thoughts and dreams for their financial benefit.
Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (2019)
Movie Review: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Little Women and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which recently arrived in US movie theaters, have more in common than being on the top of most lists about the best female-directed films in 2019. Both movies deal with the pressure for marriage and, more specifically, with marriage as "an economic proposition" for women, as the young March sister, Amy (Florence Pugh), describes in Greta Gerwig's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel.
In Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Marianne (Noémie Merlant) travels to a remote French island to paint a portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), which will be sent to an Italian nobleman in hopes of sealing the marriage arranged by her mother, La Comtesse (played by veteran Italian actress Valeria Golino). Héloïse had been contently living in a convent before being summoned home to fulfill the destiny first designed for her older and recently-deceased sister - an irrelevant replacement in a business-like transaction in which the couple-to-be does not know each other.
The promised bride had already refused to pose for a previous artist, in an attempt to avoid the wedding by preventing the creation of the required "business card." Marianne is introduced as a companion for the young lady's walks, and instructed to study and memorize her subject's face, and paint the marriage portrait in secret. This dynamic transforms the movie into what the director and screenwriter Céline Sciamma calls "a manifesto about the female gaze," in which painter and subject collaborate to create art together. And in Héloïse and Marianne's world, the long walks by the sea quietly turn into love and desire.
If Greta Gerwig uses a golden glow to separate the March sisters' childhood from their adulthood, in its lyric film Sciamma portrays the life of her characters in a mix of light and shadow, which Claire Mathon's cinematography uses to turn each scene into a painting. Between bright and dark moments, the couple enjoys the days before Marianne's scheduled departure, sometimes including in their private world and partnership Sophie (Luàna Bajrami), the house's young maid who is dealing with a female problem of her own.
With few options and little say over their own destiny, Marianne and Héloïse have to accept the "poet's choice," as Marianne describes the Greek myth Orpheus, of creating memories that they can keep and cherish for the rest of their lives.
The stories of Little Women and Portrait of a Lady on Fire are separated by almost a century, with the first taking place in US civil-war era and the latter circa 1770. Nevertheless, seen through 21st century's eyes, the discussions about the role of women in society that inform both films remain surprisingly - and sadly - relevant.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
Movie Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
I went to see "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" on Thanksgiving with two friends. The theater was empty, which surprised me. I thought it was the perfect selection for a day of reflection and giving thanks. I never watched "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," nor did my daughter, who we put in front of "Sesame Street." Mr. Rogers was way too slow-moving for the likes of my fast-track mind. I now regret it.
The story is one of connection. An angry guy who has just had a child with a much more forgiving wife than I would have been is filled with rage at his father who ran out on a dying mother and two teens. The drunken father shows up now in hopes reconnecting, toward the end of his life, with his relatives who he has done wrong. Our long-suffering new dad is asked to write an article (the film is based on the real-life article, "Can You Say ... Hero?" written by Tom Junod for an issue of Esquire magazine in 1998), and finds himself in front of the unrelenting goodness of Mr. Rogers, while himself enduring the pain of a wounded face from a father-son encounter gone wrong. At this point, the audience is given an inside track on what made Mr. Rogers what he was: thirty years of connecting with small children in ways we, unseeing adults didn't take the time to figure out how to do. We get to see what forgiveness is made of and learn how it works so much better than words and actions that fester in us all over time.
I found myself crying during the film at times that didn't warrant it - something about old stuffed animals and childhoods gone awry when we didn't even realize it. It will touch you in ways you won't understand and should journal about for days afterward to try to figure out. I'll get back to you when I find the parallels in my own history that made me so raw at the end of this magnificent look at what makes us all tick and how to reset the clock when, as Mr. Rogers points out, we need to.
The acting is perfection. At first, I thought Forrest Gump had returned to the screen. Tom Hanks employs a bit of the slow-talking twang of Forrest in his portrayal of Fred Rogers, but either he loses it quickly or I'd become so engrossed in the storyline that I stopped noticing it; I'm not sure which. But the real star of this film is Matthew Rhys, whose native Scottish brogue and Russian spy character from "The Americans" was nowhere to be found. He so deftly communicates the transition of angry and hurt to controlled forgiveness and the shedding of that which never serves us well. The man has serious acting chops, and the difference between the roles he plays and the tools he needs to have to play them including simmering rage and decades of hurt, make him a strong contender for awards season. The character of his wife, played by Susan Kelechi Watson, is strong and nurturing throughout. Everyone helps to bring together these two men and their back-and-forth struggle that we each contain within us, which makes this film more than simply entertaining. It is important for us all.
There was one thing about this film I didn't enjoy. I felt that the transitions between the fantasy of the set of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" and real life wasn't necessary. I have always believed that tricks like this must add some value to the storytelling, but with the exception of dream sequences, they do not. It is the only decision I didn't appreciate by the director, Marielle Heller, whose direction of Melissa McCarthy in "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" which tells the true story of Lee Israel's forgery of famous people's letters in order to survive a dying writing career, was also flawless. Sticking to real-life narratives based on fact but calling for nuanced reasoning to take viewers behind the scenes is her gift to cinema.
Behind the Scenes
The film cost approximately $25,000,000 to make. I wonder how much of that went to Hanks.
This is the eleventh film in which Hanks plays a historical figure.
The puppet makers for "Sesame Street" fabricated the Rogers' puppets used in the film. Sacrilege?
Rhys and Hanks previously worked together on the film "The Post." My favorite quote: "If you can mention it, you can manage it." Lesson: Speak the unspeakable aloud.
Learning to Drive (2014)
Learning to Drive
Hollister and O'Toole were completely charmed by "Learning to Drive" at this week's Provincetown International Film Festival – where it rightfully took home the @hbo #AudienceAward. (At the Toronto International Film Festival audiences ranked it second only to "The Imitation Game".)
It is a simple story of two very different lives intersecting, at just the right moment. As Hollister says, it's not just about Learning to Drive – it's really about Learning to Live.
Featuring the indomitable re-pairing of Sir Ben Kingsley (yes, our Oscar-winning "Gandhi") and Oscar-nominee (and two-time Emmy winner for "Six Feet Under") Patricia Clarkson. Directed by Barcelona's very talented Isabel Coixet (who also directed Kingsley, Clarkson, and Penélope Cruz in "Elegy"). Screenplay by Sarah Kernochan – who has won two (!) Oscars for her documentaries, and whose artistic output has given O'Toole a complete complex.
Grace Gummer (Meryl Streep's real-life daughter) plays the movie daughter of Clarkson (who, like Meryl, went to the Yale School of Drama) and Jake Weber (Patricia Arquette's husband on "Medium").
Hollister and O'Toole – and their complexes – completely apologize when it comes to pronouncing last names in this podcast. Isabel Coixet, Sarah Kernochan – please just come give us a tutorial so we can sing your praises in person.
Theatrical release set for August 21, 2015.
Podcast extras include:
Official "Learning to Drive" trailer Clip from "Elegy" Musical excerpt from "Thoth" (the Oscar-winning short documentary by "Learning to Drive" screenwriter Sarah Kernochan.
Now put your seatbelts on first, and go listen to the podcast. http://screenthoughts.net/podcast/learning-drive/
Mrs Brown (1997)
Dame Judi Dench and "Mrs. Brown"
The intrigue and scandal surrounding Queen Victoria (Dame Judi Dench) and her devoted Scottish servant (played by stand-up comedian Billy Connolly) rivals any of today's tabloid headlines. Hollister (who is obsessed with the did they or didn't they?) thinks history is brought alive through film. O'Toole would have given Dame Judi the Oscar (you'll be surprised with Hollister's take). Hear in Judi Dench's own words what deterred her from film for so long. O'Toole, groupie that she is, is blown away by her range (from sitcoms to Shakespeare) – concluding the podcast with a recording of Dame Judi performing in a Sondheim musical. Enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at the making-of – as well as the historical asides – what did Queen Victoria bring with her to her grave? There are some things that only the two of them will know for sure. But for the rest of eternity it is one of the great stories of love, commitment, honor and discipline during the Victorian era. Directed by John Madden ("Shakespeare in Love").
Finding Vivian Maier (2013)
Take this journey into a strange, paradoxical life. It's well worth the listen.
Vivian Maier, living incognito as a nanny, led a mysterious double life – unbeknownst to all, she was a prodigious street photographer, taking more than 100,000 pictures in her lifetime. She died without resources – and without recognition. Enter John Maloof, who years later, bought a box of her negatives at an auction, and discovered what he had – spending countless hours devoted to bringing her work to the public. Thanks to his efforts, Vivian Maier is now considered one of the major photographic portraitists of the last century. Fiction, you ask? Nope, an Oscar-nominated documentary. Finding Vivian Maier is part mystery, part documentary, part biography, and never boring.
O'Toole likes the story behind the work. Hollister is all about the genius of the work itself. While this is one podcast where imagery might have made it better, the descriptions of the work by Hollister and the story behind the artist by O'Toole more than make up for the fact that you will have to rush to your computer and look up the work long before the podcast is over.
Podcast available at - http://screenthoughts.net/podcast/finding- vivian-maier/
Mad Men (2007)
Hollister & O'Toole take a look back at the much-ballyhooed series
A special shout-out to Screen Thoughts listener Erin Burke – who pointed out that we should be sure and discuss Mad Men, which begins its final season April 5 on AMC. Hollister & O'Toole take a look back at the much-ballyhooed series – which has won 4 consecutive Emmys for Best Drama. Join us in paying homage to the Mad Men of Madison Avenue and the drama surrounding Don Draper.
Listen in to hear what this show has to do with Wendy Wasserstein; Archie Bunker; the sitcom Becker – and which cast member is married to "Berger" (the man who broke up with Carrie on SATC via a Post-It note).
Hollister, who's often on the move, had to call this one in from the road (so the sound is a little tinny) but boy are her thoughts worth a listen (she has, after all, her own Madison Avenue experiences).
We conclude the podcast with a clip of a real Mad Man from that era – Keith Reinhard reminisces for Ad Age about how he came up with "You Deserve a Break Today" for McDonald's (which inspired Peggy Olson and Don Draper pitching "Burger Chef").
After all – happiness is
well, Don, you don't have to sell us: a new Screen Thoughts podcast, of course!
Podcast available at - http://screenthoughts.net/podcast/mad-men/
McLeod's Daughters (2001)
A group of women sharing their passionate opinions – against a backdrop of laughter.
Hollister and O'Toole discuss the multi-Logie-winning drama "McLeod's Daughters" (2001-2009) – at its height, the most popular show on Australian TV. Still enjoying a cult following around the globe (and available on Netflix and Hulu), McLeod's was filmed on location – telling the tale of two sisters running a cattle station ("Drover's Run") in the Australian Outback. Not only did the actors have to learn their lines and hit their marks, they had to ride horses and shear sheep – convincingly.
A special guest (and equestrian expert) weighs in: Shanette Barth Cohen, Executive Director of The Hampton Classic Horse Show (one of the biggest show jumping contests in the U.S.).
O'Toole, who would love to live in the Outback (if only she could get up early!) might never recover from a particular episode in Season 3 (seriously). Whereas Hollister (far more resilient) is ready to leave our show and open "Hollister's Run" out West. Shanette wonders if just watching the beautiful cinematography has given both Hollister and O'Toole sunstroke.
This podcast is not unlike a McLeod's episode: a group of women sharing their passionate opinions – against a backdrop of laughter.
Podcast features: interview with international bestselling author Posie Graeme-Evans (writer; creator; producer, McLeod's Daughters) as well as music from the show (how can one not hum along)?
Podcast available at: http://screenthoughts.net/podcast/mcleods- daughters/
Le refuge (2014)
The making of an award-winning comedy short
While in New York, Hollister & O'Toole had the enormous pleasure of speaking with the amazingly talented writer and director Elliot Thomson – founder of Empire Arts Film Corp.
Elliot's short film "Le Refuge" is currently enjoying a very successful run at festivals around the globe – from Istanbul to the Cleveland International Film Festival – an Oscar-qualifying fest, where it recently won Best Comedy Short out of 224 films. "Le Refuge" elegantly tells the tale of an American lawyer – on vacation with her family in Lausanne, Switzerland – who's coming unhinged from the guilt of representing the manufacturer of a cheap car that tips over when it turns left.
Talking with Elliot is like viewing his art – witty and thought- provoking – and very, very engaging. We might as well call this podcast How to Make a Film with Integrity. Holding on to Your Vision. Collaborating without Compromising.
Elliot aimed high, and landed on his star. Come along for the ride – listen to how his short film is linked to Broadway greats, the New York Philharmonic – and even the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
We spoke to Elliot for nearly 2 hours – truly, one of the most engaging afternoons we've had. While we couldn't manage to whittle that conversation down to a length shorter than "Le Refuge" itself, we wanted to include here as much as possible – since, in our opinion, listening to these 38 minutes with Elliot is a gift (and one that sure beats the price of film school).
Integrity in (wry) storytelling. That's what it's all about.
Podcast available http://screenthoughts.net/podcast/le-refuge-making-comedy-short/
Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
Aca-mazing or a dis-aca-ppointment?
Screen Thoughts was present at a special sneak preview (along with every teenage girl within a 100-mile radius).
Tune in to hear the latest from the a cappella world of the Barden Bellas. Directed by Elizabeth Banks; starring Rebel Wilson and two Oscar nominees: Anna Kendrick ("Up in the Air") and Hailee Steinfeld ("True Grit").
Hollister & O'Toole are in harmony on some elements (the music! the cast!) but discord on others (body parts, anyone?).
One thing is for sure: these girls can sing!
Podcast extras: clips from the trailer; "Wrecking Ball"; and the podcast concludes with Anna Kendrick's hit song "Cups" from Pitch Perfect 1.
Listen to the entire podcast: http://screenthoughts.net/podcast/pitch-perfect-2/
Woman in Gold (2015)
Gustav Klimt. Helen Mirren. The same director who brought us "My Week with Marilyn".
Hollister & O'Toole were asked to moderate a panel of experts (weighing in on the art, the legal issues, and the movie itself) in conjunction with a special premiere screening of "Woman in Gold". The panel was so informative, we wanted to share some of that information with our listeners.
So Jerry Forman, Esq. was kind enough to join us in our studio – Jerry is well-known in legal circles for his work on seeking restitution for Nazi crimes – he also happens to be the author of Graphic History of Antisemitism. Jerry provides great insight into Maria Altmann's case – a fascinating triumph – everything from what to do if you find yourself before the U.S. Supreme Court and you don't understand the question – to how Maria Altmann's attorney found jurisdiction in a bookstore. Ryan Reynolds might have played a lawyer on the big screen, but "Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act" naturally rolls right off Jerry's tongue.
Woman in Gold
Meanwhile, O'Toole's nose was in the book inspired by the same set of characters: The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Anne-Marie O'Connor. O'Toole thinks the book should be an entire mini-series (The Orient Express! Syphilis! Bambi!) – it's that rich.
As always, Hollister humorously keeps us all on track – weighing in on the performances (Jonathan Pryce; Katie Holmes; Elizabeth McGovern) – and what she thinks of both the painting and the movie.
Trust us: if you're a deep-diver, this is one podcast you don't want to miss.
http://screenthoughts.net/podcast/woman-gold/
Network (1976)
Why casting should be an Oscar category
Warning: while Hollister & O'Toole certainly believe in the power of TV to inform and inspire, this week they acknowledge the dark side – dipping into the archives with a look back at Network (1976).
Whether satire or reportage, the film firmly lands on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Greatest Movies of All Time. Network was nominated for 10 Oscars (including Best Picture) – winning four (Best Screenplay; Best Actor; Best Actress; Best Supporting Actress).
Written by 3x Oscar winner Paddy Chayefsky.
Starring Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch, William Holden, Robert Duvall, Beatrice Straight, and Ned Beatty.
Directed by the late, great Sidney Lumet ("The Verdict", "Serpico", "12 Angry Men"). Truly an actor's director (he directed 17 actors to Oscar nominations) – his films from the 1970s alone garnered 30 Oscar nominations.
Has there ever been another movie so prescient?
Podcast features include:
– Clips from the movie
– Jeff Daniels' famous rant on The Newsroom
– Three things O'Toole learned from Sidney Lumet's making of Network
– Why casting should be an Oscar category
Listen to the entire podcast: http://screenthoughts.net/podcast/network-1976/
Grace and Frankie (2015)
Hollister and O'Toole debate Netflix' latest offering: Grace and Frankie.
Starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, whose husbands (played by Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) announce that they are running off – to marry each other.
Can frenemies Jane and Lily forge a new life for themselves as unlikely roommates in the Malibu beach house the two couples once shared?
These respected actors have garnered Oscars, Tonys, Grammys, Emmys, Golden Globes – taken together, their resumes represent more than 200 years of performing.
Series created by Marta Kauffman ("Friends") and Howard J. Morris ("Home Improvement").
13 episodes. Season 1 runtime: 6.5 hours. Comedy or drama? To binge or not to binge?
Podcast extras include:
– excerpts from interview with Jane Fonda
– series trailer
– excerpts from Lily Tomlin's monologues
Hear our entire podcast at: http://screenthoughts.net/podcast/grace-frankie/
Pollyanna (1960)
A must see for all in the family
Both Hollister & O'Toole agree that Pollyanna is timeless, filled with lessons that are relevant today (community is larger than any one individual).
Then there is the Lincoln Quote about looking for the good in someone that turned out to not be from Lincoln at all.
And, can we discuss the rich collection of actors brought together, each with an character trait that, when brought all together, make up all of us as individuals?
Check out our podcast review.
http://www.screenthoughts.net/pollyanna-review/