Friday, June 19, 2015

IT'S CONTRACTUALLY REQUIRED:  Some interesting category decisions in the Emmy ballot:

  • Chris Messina and Adam Scott submitted as leads.
  • Tatiana Maslany is submitted as "as Sarah, Alison, Cosima, Helena, Rachel and Krystal" for leading actress.
  • There was apparently something called Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder Mystery.
  • Even though he was always billed as a guest, and appeared in not every episode, Lawrence Fishburne is running in Supporting Actor for black-ish, as are Hugh Laurie for Veep, and Kyle McLachlan for Agents of SHIELD.
  • But despite being regulars, Jessica Pare and Kiernan Shipka get to submit as a guest for Mad Men.
  • Yet again, appears Game of Thrones is running all submissions in supporting.
  • The CW is pretty sparing in submitting folks beyond leads, but does submit Emily Bett Rickards for Supporting Actress (who would have a pretty damn fine submission episode).
  • Guest Actor submissions include Josh Charles (for the Inside Amy Schumer episode) and Dwayne Johnson (for hosting SNL), 
SADLY, I WILL NOT BE ACCOMPANIED BY AUDREY HEPBURN:  So, I will be in Rome in September for 4 and a half days (a Tuesday night through early Sunday morning), preceded by a jaunt to Manchester, England.  I invite the collective wisdom of the ThingThrowers for things to do (and eat), places to stay, and books I should read.
WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO BE A LANNISTER TOO?  Take a look at the casting call for a "little moment in a major scene" from the GoT season finale, and its rather particular requirements.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

NO, IT'S NOT (JUST) A REMAKE OF HERMAN'S HEAD:  Per Carrie Rickey, Inside Out is also related to Walt Disney's Acacdemy Award-nominated anti-Nazi 1943 short, "Reason and Emotion".
MEOW:  An upcoming study to be published in Computers In Human Behavior finds that "results support a conceptual model arguing that the happiness gained from viewing Internet cats can moderate the relationship between procrastination motives, guilt, and enjoyment." You may now resume watching cat videos.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

KNOW WHAT YOU'RE WORTH:  Kyle Buchanan explains why "If anyone in Hollywood is worth a $20 million paycheck, it's freaking Jennifer Lawrence."
DINOSAURS BEHIND THE CAMERA, TOO:  Jessica Ritchey, on Jurassic World:
It’s hard to believe a female director would let the characterization of Bryce Dallas Howard’s scientist that four credited screenwriters coughed up, stand. Poor Howard runs the gamut from “brittle” to “screaming” and seems mainly to exist so Chris Pratt (drained of every ounce of charm he showed in “Guardians of the Galaxy”) has someone to constantly be a horse’s ass to. Sneering at her choice of heels in the lab leaves an especially bad taste in the mouth. It’s not that a female director wouldn’t put her in heels, but a female director would know she wears heels because she likes the extra height; she can look her co-workers in the eye. A female director would know she wears sneakers on the trek to work and changes into them there. And a female director would know she keeps the sneakers in her bottom desk drawer so there’d be something to change into when the fleeing-for-your-life portion of the film starts. And yes, it’s “just” shoes, but it’s more than that, it’s paying attention to the details, it’s caring enough to see women as people with worthwhile stories to tell. Because that’s the great irony of effectively barring women and minorities from directing blockbusters. The tools may get fancier and more futuristic, but you’re stuck spinning tales that are hopelessly prehistoric. 

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

NO, NOT THE GUY FROM AEROSMITH: Bradley Whitford talks to the AV Club about his career, ranging from a small role on an episode of The Equalizer to ER's "Love's Labor Lost," and how Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise was instrumental in him becoming Josh Lyman.
BUT DOES IT FEATURE "KING TUT?"  Bright Star, a new musical from Steve Martin (book and music) and Edie Brickell (music and lyrics), will premiere in DC this fall before a Broadway transfer in the Spring.  Other musicals competing to lose a bunch of Tony Awards to Hamilton this time next year include School of Rock (featuring new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber) and George Takei in a musical about Japanese internment in World War II.

Monday, June 15, 2015

FOR WHICH THE TRADITIONAL ANNIVERSARY GIFT IS ... TIN?  Congratulations to Ms. Kim Cosmopolitan, who joined our blog ten years ago this week: "Kim is new to ALOTT5MA, but not to the business of opining on matters pop cultural. She’ll be joining the fracas on The Amazing Race and American Idol while bringing back nuanced discussion of America’s Next Top Model. Her passion, however, is the oeuvre of J.J. Abrams, and thus we may expect to hear a great deal over the coming months about both Lost and Alias. She’ll also discuss both current theatre and the occasional work of fiction, as the mood strikes her."