New CD: Best of Raffi
Posted on January 31, 2017 at 3:49 pm
Raffi will also be on tour, with family concerts in California in late January, Minneapolis and Chicago in April, and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in May.
James Franco: Making a Scene — Returning for a New Season
Posted on January 31, 2017 at 8:00 am
The third season of James Franco’s “Making a Scene” will be available in April on the new digital media company Blackpills.
The new season includes “Anaconda Scissorhands,” a parody fusion of Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda and Edward Scissorhands, “Famous Potter” a mashup of Kanye West’s “Famous” with the Harry Potter series, as well as “Poker Things,” a satirical collision of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” with the Netflix original, “Stranger Things,” featuring guest stars including Josh Peck and Juno Temple.
Trailer: Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur
Posted on January 30, 2017 at 8:00 am
Guy Ritchie’s “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” stars Jude Law and Charlie Hunnam, with Eric Bana as Uther Pendragon, and Spanish actress Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as Guinevere.
SAG Awards 2017
Posted on January 29, 2017 at 11:01 pm
The presenters and the awardees brought a strong message of justice and inclusion to this year’s SAG awards, which were given out at the end of a long, combative weekend following the new restrictions on people entering the country.
The awards were satisfyingly spread out, honoring a range of productions and sources. Long-time awards favorites and newcomers were recognized, from Denzel Washington (“Fences”) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”) to Claire Foy (“The Crown”) and the cast of “Stranger Things.” The SAG Award show is always straightforward and elegant. It does not waste time on musical numbers or elaborately produced opening sequences. There are no high-profile hosts. Members of the Screen Actors Guild spoke simply and sincerely about what being an actor meant to them, and then it was just a matter of introducing the nominees and presenting the awards, plus the in memoriam segment and the Lifetime Achievement Award to Lily Tomlin, presented by her “Nine to Five” co-star Dolly Parton (a bit nervous and giggly because her co-presenter, Jane Fonda, had to cancel due to illness).
The awardees:
Hidden Figures
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Denzel Washington, Fences
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Emma Stone, La La Land
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Viola Davis, Fences
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Hacksaw Ridge
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Stranger Things
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Orange Is the New Black
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
John Lithgow, The Crown
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Claire Foy, The Crown
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
William H. Macy, Shameless
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
Game of Thrones
Women Characters in Movies: Only 27% of the Dialogue
Posted on January 29, 2017 at 3:27 pm
Take a look at this data visualization of dialogue in 2016’s top movies, sorted by gender. According to a study by Amber Thomas, women characters said only 27 percent of the words, even in a year with many movies that had female lead characters, from “Rogue One” to “Zootopia.”
She also found that:
“Finding Dory” and “Zootopia” were the only 2 movies in 2016’s top 10 in which a female character had the most dialogue.
Female characters were outnumbered in “Captain America: Civil War’s” final battle 5:1. Throughout the movie, they only contributed 16% of the dialogue.
Batman spoke 2.4 times more than Superman and 6 times more than Wonder Woman in “Batman V. Superman.”
78% of the female-spoken lines in Rogue One came from Jyn Erso.
While Harley Quinn was a highly advertised character in “Suicide Squad,” she only spoke 42% as many words as Floyd/Deadshot (played by Will Smith). Notably, Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis) spoke frequently, totaling just 222 words (16%) short of Deadshot’s word count.