More stories

  • in

    Same-Sex Kisses Under the Mistletoe: Holiday Movies Rethink a Formula

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storySame-Sex Kisses Under the Mistletoe: Holiday Movies Rethink a FormulaIn a conservative genre that has mainly told straight stories, six new films, including titles on Hallmark and Lifetime, center on gay or lesbian characters.With Daniel Levy by their side, Kristen Stewart, center, and Mackenzie Davis play a couple in “Happiest Season.”  Credit…Lacey Terrell/Hulu, via Associated PressDec. 11, 2020, 4:36 p.m. ETWill the adorable couple adopt a baby in time to celebrate Christmas with Mom and Dad and the neighborhood kids? Sounds like a delightful holiday TV movie. But this is disruptive 2020, so here’s the thing: the couple are Brandon and Jake and the channel is Hallmark.“The Christmas House” is one of six new original holiday films released since November with something rare: main characters in same-sex relationships. Others include Hulu’s “Happiest Season,” a lesbian coming-out comedy starring Kristen Stewart; “The Christmas Setup,” a Lifetime rom-com debuting Saturday and starring the real-life husbands Ben Lewis and Blake Lee; and “Dashing in December,” a drama starting Sunday on the Paramount Network about two men who fall in love on a ranch.More under the radar but still noteworthy are two indies: “A New York Christmas Wedding,” a drama on Netflix about a woman who has relationships with both a man and a woman, and the scrappy on-demand “I Hate New Year’s” (for rent on major platforms), a lesbian romance set on New Year’s Eve in Nashville.L.G.B.T.Q. characters aren’t new to holiday movies, and six films may not sound like a revolution. But so many leading queer love stories — and same-sex kisses! — is a sea change for Christmas cinema, a conventionally heterosexual universe with more stories about puppies than gay people.“It’s the start of something bigger,” said Clea DuVall, the director and co-writer of “Happiest Season.” She added, “Networks and streamers are starting to see the value in telling these stories that have always been there but were not given the platform to get out to wider audiences.”According to Hulu, “Happiest Season” is the first holiday rom-com about a same-sex couple from a major Hollywood studio. Nicole Brown, the president of TriStar Pictures, which sold “Happiest Season” to Hulu in October, called the queering of the Christmas picture “very organic.” So what took so long?“Film has always been under the assumption that the safest kind of characters are the way to go,” Brown said. “Our studio felt confident that the script and Clea’s vision and her ambition were aligned to make a commercial story, and that the quality of her storytelling would bring everybody in. When something’s great, it’s great.”This shift is most seismic for Hallmark, which has become shorthand for “holiday movie.” “The Christmas House” is one of 40 new holiday films released this year on the Hallmark Channel and its sister network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, the leaders in the holiday moviemaking machine. What’s most striking about “The Christmas House” is that Brandon and Jake, played by Jonathan Bennett and Brad Harder, are unconditionally accepted as part of the family.L.G.B.T.Q. people “work on a lot of these Christmas movies,” said Bennett, who is gay but has played straight in Hallmark films before. “For the first time we feel we belong at the holiday table.”Last December, the Hallmark Channel faced a firestorm when it pulled four television ads with kissing brides after a conservative group petitioned the network to “reconsider airing commercials with same-sex couples” and to refrain from adding L.G.B.T.Q. movies to its schedule. Days later, Hallmark apologized for removing the commercials, and said it would work with GLAAD, the media advocacy organization, “to better represent the L.G.B.T.Q. community.”Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of programming and network publicity at Crown Media Family Networks, the parent company of the Hallmark Channel, said in an interview that her chief goal this year was to make “a bigger holiday table where people can see themselves on TV.” In 2021, Hallmark “will be moving forward, not backward,” she said, with more L.G.B.T.Q. tales at Christmas and during the year.“We are really focused on continuing our commitment to the authenticity in our storytelling for all of our characters, and making sure that everyone can see themselves represented on Hallmark services,” she said. “It’s the right thing to do.”Jonathan Bennett, center, and Brad Harder in “The Christmas House.”Credit…Hallmark ChannelLifetime, Hallmark’s biggest Christmas competitor, has featured original holiday films with L.G.B.T.Q. characters in supporting roles and story lines before; last year for the first time it ran one with a same-sex kiss. But “The Christmas Setup” — one of 34 new holiday movies on Lifetime this year — breaks ground as the channel’s first such film with an L.G.B.T.Q. romance front and center.Tanya Lopez, Lifetime’s executive vice president of movies, limited series and original movie acquisitions, said having gay leading characters in a film was “an incredible positive.” But the real breakthrough?“Remember when we would lower our voices and say a movie has a very special holiday twist?” she whispered. “We’re not doing a very special kind of Christmas.” Gay characters “being treated normal in storytelling is what feels fresh,” she added, “and that’s the norm I want to create.”Holiday TV movies generally follow a formula — a young city gal unexpectedly finds love with a small-town handyman or prince in disguise. Viewers show no signs of fatigue with that basic plot, and it’s a pretty white world. But while racial diversity has become more prevalent in the genre, if only a little, queer representation has not kept pace with even that minimal progress.Guaranteed, aspirational feel-good: that’s the name of the holiday movie game, said Joanna Wilson, the author of the Christmas entertainment encyclopedia “Tis the Season TV.”“These movies are fantasies where the real world doesn’t exist,” said Wilson, who also runs the blog ChristmasTVHistory.com. “Families don’t worry about different political viewpoints or health care. These are very cautious, conservative stories to begin with. But changes are coming, and that matters.”Wilson traces the holiday TV bonanza to ABC’s “Carol for Another Christmas,” a 20th-century “Christmas Carol” written by Rod Serling and broadcast in 1964. Original holiday films blossomed on the networks in the ’70s and ’80s, and in the ’90s, cable TV first marketed them as niche programming, Wilson said. This year, there are an estimated 115 new holiday movies on cable and major streaming platforms, including original films on Fox Nation, the Fox News streaming service.If ratings are an indication, the move toward L.G.B.T.Q. story lines isn’t a fluke. Hallmark said “The Christmas House” attracted over two million total viewers in its premiere last month. “Happiest Season” got the biggest audience for any Hulu original film in its opening weekend, according to Hulu.Complaints remain. One Million Moms, the conservative group that took credit for Hallmark’s decision to pull ads last year, is boycotting the company. Some L.G.B.T.Q. advocates are dissatisfied that the husbands in “The Christmas House” take more of a back seat to the film’s straight romance. There’s also disappointment that trans characters and actors are scarce.But for holiday movie fans like Kevin A. Barry, a higher education administrator in West Hollywood, Calif., there’s joy in knowing the days are numbered for watching only straight people smooch under a snow-coated gazebo.“We’ve always had to fight for love,” Barry said. “These movies remind us that love always wins.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    Tommy Lister, Actor Who Menaced as Deebo in ‘Friday,’ Is Dead at 62

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTommy Lister, Actor Who Menaced as Deebo in ‘Friday,’ Is Dead at 62The actor was found dead in his California home on Thursday after friends and business associates could not reach him, the authorities said.Tommy Lister’s acting career started in the 1980s, and he also developed a following in wrestling.Credit…Rob Kim/Getty ImagesDec. 11, 2020, 3:57 p.m. ETTommy Lister, a 6-foot-5-inch actor nicknamed Tiny who played the hulking neighborhood bully Deebo in the “Friday” films, has died at his home in Marina del Rey, Calif. He was 62.Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies visited Mr. Lister’s home on Thursday to do a welfare check, urged by friends and business associates who had grown concerned after not hearing from him. Mr. Lister was found dead inside the home, the Sheriff’s Department said.The department said that Mr. Lister’s death was being investigated and that a cause would be determined by the county medical examiner-coroner’s office, but added that the actor’s death “appears to be of natural causes.”Cindy Cowan, Mr. Lister’s friend and manager, said in an interview on Friday that by Wednesday night, none of his friends had heard from him for several days. After one of them knocked on his door and got no answer, the person contacted the authorities. “I think we are all shocked,” she said.Ms. Cowan said that Mr. Lister had struggled with his health after testing positive for the coronavirus several months ago, and that more than a week ago he was unable to keep a meeting at her home because he felt sick and weak. He later told her he was having trouble breathing and was unable to show up to work on a new project last Sunday, Ms. Cowan said.Mr. Lister’s acting career started in the 1980s, with roles in movies including “Runaway Train,” “Blue City” and “Beverly Hills Cop II,” according to his IMDb profile, which lists more than 250 film and television titles.Tributes to the actor from co-stars were shared on social media.Ice Cube, a writer and star of “Friday,” the 1995 comedy that gave Mr. Lister perhaps the signature role of his acting career, praised Mr. Lister as “a born entertainer who would pop into character at the drop of a hat terrifying people on and off camera” before following up with “a big smile and laugh.”Mr. Lister was also cast as President Lindberg in “The Fifth Element” in 1997, and would joke that he was the “first Black president,” Ms. Cowan said.He also gathered a following in the world of wrestling, where he was known as Zeus or the Human Wrecking Machine. He appeared with Hulk Hogan in the film “No Holds Barred” in 1989.Thomas G. Lister Jr. was born on June 24, 1958, in Los Angeles County, according to California birth records.Keith Lister, a brother of Mr. Lister, said the actor was married to Felicia Forbes and had a daughter, Faith, 12. Other survivors included Mr. Lister’s mother, Mildred Edwards Lister, and his siblings Anthony and Jill.During public appearances Mr. Lister would often oblige requests from fans to act out a few lines as the character Deebo, jokingly “scaring” them, Ms. Cowan said.“Then his teddy bear would come out, and he would break into these great, goofy smiles,” she said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    ‘Wander Darkly’ Review: After Death, a Fractured Life

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Wander Darkly’ Review: After Death, a Fractured LifeIn this drama, Sienna Miller plays a woman who gets to witness her own funeral after a car crash.Sienna Miller and Diego Luna in “Wander Darkly.”Credit…Lionsgate, via Associated PressDec. 11, 2020, 2:50 p.m. ETWander DarklyDirected by Tara MieleDramaR1h 37mFind TicketsWhen you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.Surviving a car crash, even a minor one, is a singular experience. In “Wander Darkly,” a film written and directed by Tara Miele, Adrienne (Sienna Miller) has an extra-singular experience — she dies in her auto accident, but lives on.At the time of the crash, she and her partner Matteo (Diego Luna) are at an impasse. Unmarried, with a child they thought would focus their relationship, they’re angry at each other: Adrienne at Matteo’s inattention, Matteo at Adrienne’s flirtation at a party. After the collision, Adrienne, believing herself a ghost, wanders out of a hospital and to her own funeral. The experience is more “Carnival of Souls” than “Tom Sawyer,” and that’s encouraging.[embedded content]Then Matteo shows up. For reasons never thoroughly rationalized or explained, he can see her, while others can’t. He becomes her docent in scenes from their shared past and possible future. They can converse privately while witnessing various scenarios, just like Marley and Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.”But instead of a revelation of past sins, we walk through the travails of yet one more generationally vague bourgeois bohemian Los Angeles couple grappling with the question, “What’s the point of us?”Miele presents some interesting, insinuating imagery — a sidewalk that morphs into a wave-lapped beach, a Day of the Dead dance popping up in the middle of an idyllic Saturday-in-the-park scene.But Adrienne and Matteo are, even as insular indie couples go, poorly developed. “You are my calm and my truth,” Adrienne says to Matteo in one scene. Only he doesn’t appear to be anything of the sort. Rather, both characters are attractive, socially presentable people who are ordinarily, aimlessly and stubbornly self-absorbed. Car crash, or baby, or neither, their alliance never seems worth sustaining.Wander DarklyRated R for intense content and language. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    'Dune' Director Furious at Warner Bros. Over Decision to Release Movie on HBO Max

    Legendary Entertainment/Chiabella James

    Denis Villeneuve has publicly called out the movie studio for their decision to release his movie on the streaming service on the same day it hits theaters.

    Dec 12, 2020
    AceShowbiz – “Dune” director Denis Villeneuve has penned an op-ed slamming Warner Bros. for their decision to release his movie on HBO Max, as part of a huge new deal with the streaming platform.
    The Oscar-nominated director opened up about his feelings surrounding the move in the piece for Variety, as he also revealed that he found out about the deal by reading about it in the news – just like everyone else.
    “I learned in the news that Warner Bros. has decided to release Dune on HBO Max at the same time as our theatrical release, using prominent images from our movie to promote their streaming service,” he wrote. “With this decision AT&T has hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in film history. There is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here.”
    “Warner Bros.’ sudden reversal from being a legacy home for filmmakers to the new era of complete disregard draws a clear line for me. Filmmaking is a collaboration, reliant on the mutual trust of team work and Warner Bros. has declared they are no longer on the same team.”

      See also…

    Calling Dune “by far the best movie” he’s ever made, Villeneuve added that Warner Bros. “might just have killed the Dune franchise” with their decision.
    Villeneuve’s op-ed comes after it was reported that Legendary Entertainment, the production company behind “Dune”, is considering filing a lawsuit against Warner Bros. over the studio’s new release plans.
    “(They’re) hoping to first negotiate a more generous deal, but isn’t taking legal action off the table should the two companies fail to come to a compromise,” a source told Variety.
    Legendary Entertainment also produced “Godzilla vs. Kong” – another movie which Warner Bros. is planning to release on HBO Max on the same day it hits theatres.

    You can share this post!

    Next article
    Taylor Swift Pays Tribute to Late Grandmother on New Album About Infidelity, Revenge and Murder

    Related Posts More

  • in

    ‘Safety’ Review: It Takes a University to Raise a Child

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Safety’ Review: It Takes a University to Raise a ChildThis Disney+ film isn’t your typical sports or adversity movie; it asks questions of what educational institutions owe to their community.Jay Reeves and Thaddeus J. Mixson II in “Safety.”Credit…Chuck Zlotnik/DisneyDec. 11, 2020, 9:00 a.m. ETSafetyDirected by Reginald HudlinBiography, Drama, SportPGFind TicketsWhen you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in “Safety,” it takes an entire university campus to do so. Overly sentimental traps line the plot of the film, streaming on Disney+. But it scores points for giving its lead characters complicated situations, emotional depth and political dimension.Based on a true story, the movie follows the Clemson University freshman football player Ray McElrathbey (Jay Reeves), affectionately called “Ray Ray” by his peers. The ambitious student athlete has a lot on his plate. When his mother (Amanda Warren) goes into addiction recovery, he’s forced to take care of his younger brother, Fahmarr (Thaddeus J. Mixson), housing him in the dorm. With this new task, Ray Ray’s ability to balance family, school, friends and athletics risks being toppled. That’s when his coaches and teammates step in.[embedded content]“Safety” is, for better, neither a strict sports movie nor a rigid tale of adversity. Banal time management scenes are enlivened by the director Reginald Hudlin’s fun camera swooping and rollicking tumbles as Ray’s life grows dizzyingly busy. Some of the earlier moments in the film, like when Fahmarr hides in increasingly ludicrous spots, have the humor of a heist comedy. And Hudlin intermittently blends in sharp visual gags.But the film’s touchdown is its sincere questioning of what colleges and universities owe to its students and, more broadly, the community around them. Hudlin transforms a film that would be, in lesser hands, a formulaic hardship-as-aesthetic drama, into an earnest examination of what community means on the field, in the classroom and in our society.SafetyRated PG. Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes. Watch on Disney+.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    ‘Giving Voice’ Review: August Wilson Is Uplifting a New Generation

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyCritic’s Pick‘Giving Voice’ Review: August Wilson Is Uplifting a New GenerationNetflix’s inspirational documentary follows talented theater kids who are devoting themselves to Wilson’s writing.Cody Merridith performs an August Wilson monologue in the documentary “Giving Voice.”Credit…NetflixDec. 11, 2020, 7:00 a.m. ETGiving VoiceNYT Critic’s PickDirected by James D. Stern, Fernando VillenaDocumentaryPG-131h 27mFind TicketsWhen you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.The everyday hopes and heartbreaks of African-Americans were dramatized in August Wilson’s 10-play Century Cycle. And every year, since Wilson’s death in 2005, thousands of students from 12 different cities vie for the chance to perform a monologue from one of his plays for the competition’s final round on Broadway. James D. Stern and Fernando Villena’s uplifting documentary “Giving Voice” (streaming on Netflix) further explores this competition and explains how the playwright’s legacy is inspiring a new generation.Interviews with the actors Viola Davis, who is one of the film’s executive producers, Denzel Washington and Stephen McKinley Henderson (all from the film adaptation of Wilson’s “Fences”) are interspersed between segments that follow teenagers advancing through the 2018 iteration of the competition.[embedded content]This is a film that worships the ways acting can instill determination in young people. Gerardo Navarro, from South Central Los Angeles, says he was unaware a space for Latinx actors existed in theater, but feels seen by Wilson’s work. Callie Holley, hailing from Houston, sees her mother, who weathered cancer and the 2008 financial crisis, in the character of Berniece from “The Piano Lesson.” And the Chicago high schooler Cody Merridith, who performs from “King Hedley II,” innately feels the hurt present in Wilson’s work. Not only does Cody come from the Auburn Gresham neighborhood, where poverty is a daily struggle for many of its residents, but also his school is without an arts program of any kind.In addition to hearing themselves in the voices of these characters, the kids hear their aunts, uncles, grandparents and neighbors, too. They hear the timeless struggle of Black America reaching across the generations. They heave the emotional weight of Ma Rainey, Cutler and Hedley with a maturity far beyond their years and come out empowered. And in capturing these moments, “Giving Voice” becomes as inspirational as Wilson’s words, as fulfilling as each teen’s declaration of self-worth.Giving VoiceRated PG-13 for the power of theater. Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes. Watch on Netflix.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    ‘The Bee Gees’ Review: Night Fever, for Decades

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘The Bee Gees’ Review: Night Fever, for DecadesThe documentary “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” from Frank Marshall, strives to paint a wider picture of the band often associated with its disco hits.From left, Maurice, Barry and Robin Gibb, the subjects of the documentary “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”Credit…HBO/ShutterstockDec. 11, 2020, 7:00 a.m. ETThe Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken HeartDirected by Frank MarshallDocumentary1h 51mFind TicketsWhen you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.“The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” pays tribute to the Gibb brothers with a tour of their pop music reign. Grooving through the decades, this entertaining documentary aspires to prove that the Bee Gees were more than a hitmaker for disco nightclubs. Rather, Barry, Maurice and Robin were master songwriters and chameleons, continually reinventing themselves to harmonize with the times.Working largely off archival footage intercut with interviews — both original and vintage — of the brothers and their collaborators, the director Frank Marshall graphs the band’s ups and downs onto a chronology of ’60s, ’70s and ’80s popular music. At first the Bee Gees, forming at a young age, echoed early Beatles albums. As their warbling harmonies evolved, the brothers’ star rose.[embedded content]In addition to laying out the personality of each member, the film offers a satisfying look at the process of making and marketing music. Barry recalls that he found his trademark falsetto, later flaunted on disco hits like “Stayin’ Alive,” after a producer urged him to let loose while recording “Nights on Broadway.” Barry also confesses that the song was originally “Lights on Broadway”; an executive suggested they change the lyric to make the band seem more adult.Once it reaches the disco era, the documentary hits a bump. Interviews with the DJ Nicky Siano and the dance music producer Vince Lawrence detail how disco was born in Black and gay spaces before the music was commercialized and eventually axed in a backlash inflamed by racism and homophobia. The movie implies that the Bee Gees, evermore linked to the genre after “Saturday Night Fever,” got swept up in the chaos. Crucially, Marshall fails to probe where the Bee Gees fit into a history of whitewashing and profiting from Black music. For several pesky beats, the film slips into hagiography — like an awkward bridge in a song that, otherwise, makes you want to hit the dance floor.The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken HeartNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 51 minutes. Watch on HBO Max beginning Dec. 12.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    Harrison Ford Teams Up With 'Logan' Director to Close Out Indiana Jones' Journey

    Paramount Pictures

    The Han Solo of the ‘Star Wars’ film series is set to return for the fifth and final ‘Indiana Jones’ film that is currently in pre-production and will kick off production next spring.

    Dec 11, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Harrison Ford is set to embark on his one last adventure as Indiana Jones. The actor has been confirmed to reprise his role as the title character in the upcoming fifth and final installment of the “Indiana Jones” film franchise.
    Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy brought the good news to fans during the 2020 Disney Investor Day presentation on Thursday, December 3. At the event, “Logan” helmer James Mangold was also announced to be on board to direct the film.
    According to Kennedy, “Indiana Jones V” will “conclude this iconic character’s journey.” Reiterating her announcement, Disney tweeted, “Lucasfilm is in pre-production on the next installment of Indiana Jones. At the helm is James @Mang0ld, director of ‘Ford v Ferrari,’ and Indy himself, Harrison Ford, will be back to continue his iconic character’s journey.”
    Filming is slated to kick off in spring 2021 for a July 2022 release date. There’s no word about Chris Pratt’s involvement in the project, although the “Guardians of the Galaxy” star was previously rumored to be attached to star in the fifth “Indiana Jones” movie.

      See also…

    Prior to the announcement at the Disney Investor Day presentation, producer Frank Marshall revealed that Mangold has been working on the script. He also assured that Ford will not be recast in the title role.
    “Yeah, we are working on the script,” he told Den of Geek. “There will only be one Indiana Jones and that’s Harrison Ford. What I’m excited about with Jim is a great story. I think you see that in his movies like Ford vs Ferrari. It’s all about characters and telling a good story. So I’m excited to see what he comes up with. I haven’t seen (the script) yet so I don’t know what to tell you.”
    The fourth “Indiana Jones” movie, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, featured Shia LaBeouf as Indy’s protege/son Mutt Williams. The film seemed to hint that Indy would pass the torch to his son, but Ford has been persistently against the idea.
    “I think it just doesn’t work that way. And there’s definitely a distinction between passing the fedora and someone picking it up,” he said in 2008 of the final scene, which saw Indy’s iconic hat being blown away by wind and landed at Mutt’s feet, before Indy grabbed it out of Mutt’s hands and put it on his head again.

    You can share this post!

    Next article
    ‘RHOC’ Star Braunwyn Windham-Burke Details Physical Altercations With Husband Sean

    Related Posts More