Posted on January 10, 2018 at 2:42 pm
I am beyond excited for “The Current War” with Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, and Michael Shannon in the story of the fight over control of electricity. Money, ideas, power — which will win?
To learn more, read Empires of Light
Posted on January 10, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Scooby Doo & Batman: The Brave and the Bold pairs up the mystery-solving Great Dane and his crime-stopping pals with the caped crusader. After an unsolved case from Batman’s past comes back to haunt him, and the mysterious Crimson Cloak threatens to take over Gotham, Batman recruits Mystery Inc. to help crack the case. Will their teamwork be enough to solve the mystery and foil the plans of the most dangerous rogue villains the world has ever known? Pack your utility belts with gadgets and Scooby snacks to find out, as you takeoff for a wild crime-busting thrill ride of a caper!
And jinkies! I have a copy to give away! Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with Scooby in the subject line and tell me your favorite cartoon show. Don’t forget your address! (US addresses only). I’ll pick a winner on January 16, 2018.
Posted on January 10, 2018 at 3:32 am
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists is pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 AWFJ EDA Awards. This year, AWFJ presents EDA Awards in 25 categories, divided into three sections: the standard ‘Best Of’ section, the Female Focus awards and the irreverent EDA Special Mention awards—including Actress Most in Need of a New Agent and the AWFJ Hall of Shame Award.
In the ‘Best Of’ section, this year’s big winner is “THE SHAPE OF WATER”, garnering EDA Awards in two categories including Best Film, Best Director for Guillermo del Toro. The film’s lead actress, Sally Hawkins, was awarded an EDA Bravest Performance Award to make the film’s cume of three awards.
Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” was also honored with three awards that included Best Supporting Actress for Laurie Metcalf and two awards for Gerwig for Best Woman Director and Best Woman Screenwriter.
“The Florida Project” won two EDA Awards for Best Supporting Actor for Willem Dafoe and Best Breakthrough Performance for Brooklynn Prince.
In the EDA Special Mention Categories, documentary filmmaker Agnes Varda was voted the Actress Defying Age and Ageism Award, while receiving the Best Documentary Award for her film “Faces, Places.” Kate Winslet won the Actress Most in Need of a New Agent for “Wonder Wheel” and “The Mountain Between Us.”
The AWJF chose to honor Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd and all women who spoke out against sexual harassment with the EDA Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry.
The Annual AWFJ Hall of Shame Award was bestowed upon Sexual Tormentors: Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, et al.
“This year was an important year for women to feel empowered to speak out and be heard,” states EDA AWARDS and AWFJ founder and film critic Jennifer Merin. “The need for gender parity and gender diversity in the movie industry is patently clear, and the time to stop sexual harassment in all industries is now. These goals are fundamental to AWFJ’s mission and it’s core values. I am thrilled that for this year’s awards, our AWFJ members voted to honor such a diverse array of talent and to recognize those who are leading with their voices to put an end to long time misconduct making the 2017 EDA Awards particularly relevant when art and film must be the vanguard of social progress.”
Here’s the entire list of this year’s winners:
AWFJ BEST OF AWARDS
These awards are presented to women and/or men without gender consideration.
Best Film
THE SHAPE OF WATER
Best Director
Guillermo del Toro – THE SHAPE OF WATER
Best Screenplay, Original
GET OUT – Jordan Peele
Best Screenplay, Adapted
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
Best Documentary
FACES, PLACES
Best Animated Film (Tie)
COCO
LOVING VINCENT
Best Actress
Frances McDormand — THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Laurie Metcalf — LADY BIRD
Best Actor
Gary Oldman — DARKEST HOUR
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Willem Dafoe — THE FLORIDA PROJECT
Best Ensemble Cast – Casting Director
MUDBOUND – Billy Hopkins and Ashley Ingram
Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins — BLADE RUNNER 2049
Best Editing
Lee Smith — DUNKIRK
Best Non-English-Language Film
THE SQUARE
EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
These awards honor WOMEN only.
Best Woman Director
Greta Gerwig — LADY BIRD
Best Woman Screenwriter
Greta Gerwig — LADY BIRD
Best Animated Female
Parvana — THE BREADWINNER
Best Breakthrough Performance
Brooklynn Prince — THE FLORIDA PROJECT
Outstanding Achievement by A Woman in The Film Industry
Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd and all who spoke out against sexual harassment
EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS
Actress Defying Age and Ageism (name actress and film)
AGNES VARDA — FACES,PLACES
Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award
I LOVE YOU DADDY — Chloe Grace Moretz and John Malkovich
Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent (name actress and film)
Kate Winslet for WONDER WHEEL and THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US
Bravest Performance (name actress and film) (Tie)
Sally Hawkins — THE SHAPE OF WATER
Margot Robbie — I, TONYA
Remake or Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made
THE MUMMY
AWFJ Hall of Shame Award
Sexual Tormentors: Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, et al
Posted on January 9, 2018 at 3:58 pm
It almost seems like there really was a movie back in 1977 called “Stinker Lets Loose,” part of those affectionately remembered cornpone road films like “Every Which Way But Loose,” “Cannonball Run,” and “Smokey and the Bandit.” There should have been, anyway. And now there sort of is, with the novel and audiobook (exclusively from Audible) starring Jon Hamm.
Posted on January 8, 2018 at 9:10 pm
The New York Times, which broke the story about the abuse by Harvey Weinstein, is changing the way it reports on the red carpet at awards shows.
Red carpets have always been a clash of fame, sponsored content and super-cute shoes. The red carpet is where huge, powerful industries — celebrity, fashion, Hollywood, media, beauty, publicity — meet. Now that the curtain is finally being lifted on some of the grimy underbelly of Hollywood, we feel it’s more important than ever to not treat awards shows as silly things for silly people.
Given the enormity of our cultural reckoning in the last year with how women are treated in the workplace, on the internet and in Hollywood, we want to take a fresh look at how we cover this stuff. We have some plans about how to recognize the cultural moment — and would love to hear from readers about what you would like to see (and not see).
I’ll be very interested to see where this goes. I don’t watch red carpet coverage (and won’t do it anymore myself) because it is so vapid. I hope they ask people on the red carpet about why the projects were so important to them and what they hope people will think about what they see. And that they give credit to the hard work of the designers they are wearing, too.
