While i have some time, and before Philadelphia Pride (where I am at the moment) kicks off, I have to lock in my predictions for this year's Tony winners. My Tony predictions will have little to no explanation. I am not as much of an expert, and did not follow this season much. With that said I have been reading up on precursors, and the yearly New York Times article, which polls some voters, and I think my hunches are on the money.
The Tony Awards rarely have upsets, but it looks like there may be a few this year, many are predicting Matilda in Best Musical, while my hunch is to go with Kinky Boots. Best Actress in a Musical started out as all about Patina Miller in Pippin, but I think Laura Osnes from Roger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella has the edge. Here is the thing, most of these winners that I have hunches on, are not exactly upsets they are often in the number two spot, so it would not be that odd. Many of these categories have a couple contenders so it could be an interesting night!
Best Musical: Kinky Boots
Best Musical Revival: Pippin
Best Play: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Best Play Revival: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Best Direction in a Musical: Pippin
Best Direction in a Play: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Best Musical Book: Matilda
Best Musical Score: Kinky Boots
Best Actor in a Play-Tom Hanks-Lucky Guy
Best Actor in a Musical Billy Porter-Kinky Boots
Best Actress in a Play: Cicely Tyson-Trip to the Bountiful
Best Actress in a Musical Laura Osnes-Roger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Best Featured Actor in a Play: Danny Burstein-Golden Boy
Best Featured Actor in a Musical-Terrance Mann-Pippin
Best Featured Actress in a Play-Judith Light-The Assembled Parties
Best Featured Actress in a Musical-Andrea Martin-Pippin
Best Choreography: Pippin
The people behind the scenes, putting the words to paper, or their computers, then those who bring the action to life through their vision of the script. Over this past television series writing and directing within dramatic television series have become even more sophisticated. Men who, and I stress men because I have not seen any high profile women within this arena, have started to transition from their work in film to the smaller screen more, as writers and directors.
Over the past few years men like Spielberg, and Scorsese have brought things to life on the small screen from mini-series like Band of Brothers, to dramatic series like Boardwalk Empire. This year there was a one two punch from Beau Willimon (Ides of March) and David Fincher (Seven, The Social Network, Fight Club) with the Netflix original series House of Cards. Cards, not only put Netflix on the map, but the show upped the ante making the political arena one of the most interesting. Willimon's creation of Franic Underwood feels as though you are in the intimate reality of DC, and Fincher's direction takes direction of a television series to a whole new level, making this intimate series feel much more large scale, an impressive feat for both men.
Some writing was a bit more controversial, namely television producer/writer Aaron Sorkin who has also made a name for himself in film writing both The Social Network and Moneyball, Network scored him a win, and Moneyball a nomination. Aaron Sorkin was praised for his television series The West Wing, but his newest creation The Newsroom received mixed reviews. Newsroom was seen by some as misogynistic, and manipulatively liberal. While watching this series I could see the critiques having merit, but this show was just too compelling, and Sorkin's writing style is too brilliant to ignore. Sorkin creates an accurate representation of the real life news world. Even seasoned news anchors like Dan Rather praised the show, for being realistic, that's an impressive affirmation.
Sorkin is not alone in the world of transitioning from television to film seamlessly; he is joined by writer/director Rian Johnson (Looper, Brick). Johnson made his first foray into television in 2010 directing episodes of Breaking Bad, and Terriers. Johnson has returned this year to Breaking Bad directing the season finale entitled Fifty-One. In Fifty-One Johnson creates a sequence mirroring the genius story transition of the film Goodfellas. Johnson shows his mastery of the show through elegant, but gritty direction, which highlights the show perfectly. The episode takes television to a higher level raising the the bar for style and substance like no show, proving once again television has become an elevated art form.
Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
Breaking Bad-Fifty-One-Sam Catlin
The Good Wife-Red Team/Blue Team-Robert King and Michelle King
Homeland-Q&A-Harry Bromell
House of Cards-Chapter One-Beau Willimon
Justified-Decoy-Graham Yost & Chris Provenzana
The Newsroom-5/1-Aaron Sorkin
Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
Breaking Bad-Fifty-One-Rian Johnson
Dexter-Are You….? -John Dahl
Game of Thrones-The Rains of Castamere-David Nutter
May was an interesting month. Will Smith had his biggest flop of his career (not surprising) and The Incredibles, I mean Iron 3 soared at the box office (also not surprising). Star Trek has done business on par with the sequel proving you can't bring in more people to that franchise. The film really hitting it big (along with Iron Man) is Fast & Furious 6, which has become this incredibly bankable franchise.
Now You See Me is a surprise hit, as was The Great Gatsby ! Even on poor reviews Gatsby is up to 250 million worldwide, which is fantastic. After, After Earth the biggest flop is The Hangover III which will barely make half of its domestic gross, although the overseas numbers will help.
From a creative perspective, most of the films were solid, but nothing out of this world. Kings of Summer is great small film, and I have Before Midnight and Frances Ha still on my list of must sees. Iron Man was decent, Star Trek beautifully shot, but I was not blown away by any of them. I hate to say after looking, just briefly, at the June slate, there is not much hope there either.
June 7th
The Internship
The Purge
Much Ado About Nothing
The Internship pairs Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn together after their first succesful outing 8 year ago with Wedding Crashers (can't believe it was that long ago). Crashers is funny, but has not aged as well for me (40 Year Old Virgin was released the same year). I think this pairing looks a little bit more force, but they are both fun guys. I am going to skip it. You can go, but do so at your own risk!
The Purge starring Ethan Hawke looks like a great concept, but all concept and little execution. People can do what they want (include kill) within 12 hours? I am going to skip it, and maybe wait for DVD, or HBO.
Much Ado About NothingWhat does one do after directing one of the biggest comic book films of all time? Why direct a modern creation of a Shakespearean novel with some of your favorite actors. I love Joss Whedon because he change it up, and this film adaptation looks great! I will be seeing this, although I am not going to run out right away.
June 14th
This is the End (June 12th)
Man of Steel
This is the EndI saw it already, and you should see it too! This is one of the funniest, scariest movies, and I loved every second of the inside jokes. Even though I saw it I would pay to see it again!
Man of Steel sure spent a lot of money in promotion, they can't afford a failure here, and they will not have one. Based on the good word of mouth, the trailer, the featurettes etc all online I will absolutely be seeing this, even though I am not crazy about the man of steel himself (my least favorite super hero).
June 21st
World War Z
Monster's University
The Bling Ring
World War Z looks boring for a zombie film. I have heard a lot of complaints from people who read this book that Z looks nothing like they imagine, and Pitt is miscast, that's not a good sign if book fans are angry from the beginning. The trailer has just never sold me. I will be skipping this, and probably watching for free on flight at some point.
Monster's Universitylooks different or that it has lost something from the original. There was something about the first film which had character and heart this sequel looks like a cheap ploy to make money, although I think that's the bad taste of the 3-D re-release this past December. I will not be joining Sully and the gang in college.
The Bling Ring got some mixed reviews from critics already citing same old same from Sofia Coppola, but less like able. I am not sure a film about young girls who steal from celebrities is meant to be a warm and fuzzy film. I am going to give this one a chance, Coppola has been hit or miss, but who doesn't like a good heist film?
June 28th
The Heat
White House Down
I'm So Excited
The Heat looks like it needs more fire. Pardon the bad pun, but that's all I could think of. Pairing McCarthy and Bullock with great comedy director Paul Feig seems like a sure fire hit, but just looks terrible like Identity Thief. Reviews from screenings say this is just a mess and not funny. I will be skipping this and never watching it just like Identity Thief (can we get Melissa McCarthy better stuff).
White House Down, yes another movie about an attack on the President and DC. The theme of these movies is obviously a lack of faith in government, but they are not that smart. While this film has Tatum and Foxx, it's sad to say it does not look as good as the other mediocre film with the same premise released earlier this year. I will be skipping this assassination attempt.
I'm So Excited, comes from Pedro Almodovar, and this film promises to be in line with his earlier more campy comedies. I loved Almodovar's darker work like Talk to Her and Volver, but I am excited to see him return to his lighter, and from the looks of the trailer, gayer roots. I will be seeing this with my red cowboy boots on, thanks Ted!
At the beginning there was Lucy, and it was good. Lucille Ball played Lucy Ricardo on I Love Lucy; she was the first housewife, who wanted more, she wanted to be in the show. Lucy did some cooking and some cleaning, but most of an episode was her trying to work, trying to be in Ricky's show, and make it big. Lucy was of course a lot funnier than Desi, but at the end of the day she lost out on her dreams. Behind the scenes Lucy ruled with an iron fist; she was half of the company Desilu Productions (a television production empire). Lucy was the brains behind the creative side of things she put shows like Star Trek and The Untouchables into production. The most famous shows produced or filmed by Desilu were: The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mission Impossible, Make Room for Daddy, My Three Sons, I Spy, The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle USMC, That Girl, Mannix, and Hogan's Heroes. Almost everything this production touched eventually turned to syndicated gold! Desliu Productions produced most of memorable television series in the late 50s early 60s. Many of these shows pushing boundaries, like Star Trek, That Girl, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Lucy was ahead of her time in many ways; she was the most powerful woman in television during this era. Inevitably the dust settled after the divorce of Lucy and Ricky and where things fell with Desilu. The late 60s and 70s brought a rise in the influence of feminist ideals with television shows Mary was on the pill, Maude had an abortion, Gloria was promoting women's liberation, and got divorced. Carol Burnett had her own Variety Series, entitled The Carol Burnett Show where she was producer but not in the writer's room. Burnett headlined the show with an ensemble cast; she never won a variety performer Emmy, but Tim Conway and Harvey Korman dominated this category. While the late 60s, and mostly 70s highlighted some great female characters (mostly thanks to Norman Lear and James L. Brooks) there was something missing, the women. Women soon started to come back in full force behind the scenes in the mid to late eighties, through three television series Designing Women (1986-1993), Roseanne (1988-1997), and Murphy Brown (1988-1998). Designing Women was created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. Thomason was the main writer for the series, and most of the other credited writers were also female. While the show has some slap stick comedy, and often loses out credibility to the superior Golden Girls this show was at the forefront of creating a show about women by women. Thomason added the personal touches to this show making it richer and deeper, talking about gaining weight, spousal abuse, AIDS, divorce, being a single parent, but at the end of the day female friendship. Roseanne broke new grounds as well it was a show created by her, which she and another female Marcy Carsey, and Tom Werner produced. Roseanne was the first mainstream sitcom about blue collar families. Roseanne ruled the house, and pushed the boundaries of the the traditional mother from the 50s and 60s. Roseanne based this show on her own experiences, wanting to be more realistic. This series also tackled obesity, teen pregnancy, gay issues, divorce, abuse, and much more. At the core Roseanne broke ground because she was herself, and people had never seen anyone like her on television. At the same time as the other two shows Diane English brought Murphy Brown to life with actress Candice Bergen. English wrote Murphy to be a somewhat flawed (coming out of rehab) smart journalist. Bergen brought Murphy to life with so much much flare; she was truly a force to reckoned with, she was Lou Grant, not Mary. English also broke ground with Murphy, making her a single mother, one of the first, which even got Vice President Dan Quayle is a tizzy. These women broke barriers, they were loud, stated their opinions, and were not the typical wives and mothers of television. Together these three shows (brought to life by women) represented something which pushed the envelope, and allowed audiences to not feel betrayed by the legacy of Donna Reed et., al. Then there was a shift, as these shows hit their peak Seinfeld and Saturday Night Live, and the numerous cop dramas brought back the boys club. Fewer women were writing, and creating television series. While television quality was advancing the amount of women behind the scenes had plateaued, and even dropped. Enter Tina Fey the first head writer of Saturday Night Live in 1999. I have written numerous times about the talent of Ms. Fey, but I can't convey more just how important this women has not only been to comedy, but to the face of television. Fey got the ball rolling; she was given the reigns to the "boys club" of Saturday Night Live, while sitting in the Weekend Update desk, and proving how funny, and talented women are. Fey's reign as head writer at Saturday Night Live lasted until 2006. 2006 was also the birth of a show entitled 30 Rock, which Fey, created, produced, wrote for, and starred. Fey's 30 Rock is seen as one of the funniest comedy series of the modern era, and all time. I have spoken mostly about comedies, because female produced/created/written dramas centered on women from women still have a way to go. The person who changing the face of this female driven drama is Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, 2005-Present, Private Practice, 2007-2013, and Scandal 2012-Present). While many will write of Shonda's shows as soapy (which they are) and melodramatic (which they are) there is something about the way she writes people, which gets at the human element so well. Rhimes herself has stated Grey's is a love story for Meredith and Derek, but in reality it's a love story between Meredith and Christina, two women who value their careers more than anything. Shonda has created complex women like Addison Montgomery in the spin-off of Grey's entitled Private Practice. This show like Grey's deals with the eternal working women who walks that tight rope. Scandal is Shonda's passion project, and a show she has always wanted to tell, the show also has the first African American female lead of a drama series since Julia starring Diahanne Carroll. Shonda is the example of the women changing the dramatic television world one step at a time, and her influence will reverberate to shake things up even further. Fey and Rhimes are just two of the powerful women behind the scenes within the last decade or so Amy Sherman-Palladino, Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), Bunheads (2012-Present) Jenji Kohan,Weeds (2005-2012) Diablo Cody, United States of Tara (2009-2011), Liz Brixius and Linda Wallem, Nurse Jackie (2009-Present, Michelle King, The Good Wife (2009-Present), Elizabeth Meriweather, New Girl (2011-Present), Lena Dunham, Girls (2012-Present), Mindy Kailing, The Mindy Project (2012-Present). This is just the women behind the scenes, many star in their own shows, but the key factor is the growing influence of women behind the scenes, which is creating greater roles for women in television. If only this were the case for film. From Lucille Ball to Tina Fey to Lena Dunham, these women have impacted the way female characters have been seen on television. Each of these ladies had a voice, and changed the face of a generation. While there could be more diversity (more lesbians, or women of color) that area of diversity has grown slightly as well. There is still a long way to go if you look at the statistics below:
Reality shows employed 21% women, while sitcoms and dramas employed 28% women.
Women achieved historical highs as creators of shows (26%) and executive producers (25%). These numbers mark an 8% and 3% increase from the previous year, respectively.
The number of female producers jumped one percentage point to 38%
The number of female writers rose 15 percentage points to 30%.
The number of women working as directors in prime time stayed flat over the last year at 11%
The number of female editors dropped seven percentage points to 13% over the last year.
90% of primetime programs employed no female directors
from (http://www.thegrindstone.com/2012/09/18/office-politics/women-creating-more-tv-shows-157/#ixzz2VHRSwNlr) If you look at late night television as an example most all late television is fronted by male hosts, with mostly male writing staffs, except for Chelsea Lately who is another television pioneer. Women are gaining ground, but she is a prime example of the male dominated world of late night television. Not only are men still the dominate forces in late night, but they are still (percentage wise) most of the actors, producers, writers, directors, and editors. Women have come a long way, but there is still a lot of ground to gain.
Overall a pretty great list, my only two complaints are that Golden Girls is too low, and Gilmore Girls missed the cut for over Family Ties!? Check out the list below. 1. The Sopranos 2. Seinfeld 3. The Twilight Zone 4. All in the Family 5. M*A*S*H 6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show 7. Mad Men 8. Cheers 9. The Wire 10. The West Wing 11. The Simpsons 12. I Love Lucy 13. Breaking Bad 14. The Dick Van Dyke Show 15. Hill Street Blues 16. Arrested Development 17. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 18. Six Feet Under 19. Taxi 20. The Larry Sanders Show 21. 30 Rock 22. Friday Night Lights 23. Frasier 24. Friends 25. Saturday Night Live 26. The X-Files 27. Lost 28. ER 29. The Cosby Show 30. Curb Your Enthusiasm 31. The Honeymooners 32. Deadwood 33. Star Trek 34. Modern Family 35. Twin Peaks 36. NYPD Blue 37. The Carol Burnett Show 38. Battlestar Galactica (2005) 39. Sex & The City 40. Game of Thrones 41. The Bob Newhart Show and Your Show of Shows (tie) 43. Downton Abbey, Law & Order and Thirtysomething (tie) 46. Homicide: Life on the Street and St. Elsewhere (tie) 48. Homeland 49. Buffy the Vampire Slayer 50. The Colbert Report, The Good Wife and the UK Office (tie) 53. Northern Exposure 54. The Wonder Years 55. L.A. Law 56. Sesame Street 57. Columbo 58. Fawlty Towers and The Rockford Files (tie) 60. Freaks and Geeks and Moonlighting (tie) 62. Roots 63. Everybody Loves Raymond and South Park (tie) 65. Playhouse 90 66. Dexter and the US Office (tie) 68. My So-Called Life 69. Golden Girls 70. The Andy Griffith Show 71. 24, Roseanne and The Shield 74. House and Murphy Brown (tie) 76. Barney Miller and I, Claudius (tie) 78. The Odd Couple 79. Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Upstairs, Downstairs (tie) 83. Get Smart 84. The Defenders and Gunsmoke (tie) 86. Justified,Sgt. Bilko/The Phil Silvers Show (tie) 88. Band of Brothers 89. Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In 90. The Prisoner 91. Absolutely Fabulous and The Muppet Show (tie) 93. Boardwalk Empire 94. Will & Grace 95. Family Ties 96. Lonesome Dove and Soap 98. The Fugitive, Late Night with David Letterman and Louie 101. Oz
I decided to separate these categories from the writing and directing this year. All I can say is that The Good Wife could fill all twelve spots on these lists. The Good Wife's use of their recurring/guest stars is handled better than any other television series on the air. Wife seamlessly blends together the guest with their main characters. Whether you are watching Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) a lawyer who often work with Lockhart Gardener, or is sometimes represented by them, or Clarke Hayden as Lockhart Gardener's trustee. These are just two of the many memorable guest performances from this past television season.
What makes a memorable guest performance? Hard to say, but these twelve people do a great job, and represent some of the best I have ever seen in these categories. William Daniels is a person on few people's radar, but as Dr. Craig Thomas a mentor to Christina Yang he made your heart melt as someone Christina finally believed in without sleeping with him. Game of Thrones has so many moving parts, but Diana Rigg who played Lady Olenna Tyrell stood out as a larger than life character in the few scenes she has had. While Daniels was on Grey's Anatomy for several episodes, and Rigg has had only a few scenes their impact on the season has been important, and they have made an impressive showing.
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Contagion)
Written by: Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King, The Bridges of Madison County)
Starring: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Rob Lowe, and Scott Bakula
On a yearly basis HBO rolls out a film, which is a landmark event not only for the network, but makes an impact on the landscape of television. From Angels in America to Band of Brothers, Recount, Mildred Pierce, and last year's film Game Change. These are only a few television films, which have changed the perception of television film concept. In the past many television movie/miniseries were a little hooky, and melodramatic. The films/miniseries listed are some of the best television of all time. Behind the Candelabra, competed at the Cannes Film Festival. HBO has once again pushed the boundaries and made a great film.
Candelabra focuses on not just Liberace (Michael Douglas), but two men, the other being his male lover/boyfriend/partner Scott Thorson (Matt Damon). The film chronicles the six year relationship of these men through the ups and downs of the late 70s early 80s. Candelabra is more than a biopic of these two men, but rather a tale in love, morality, and a journey as director Steven Soderbergh says "down the rabbit hole" into high priced fame and fortune.
Soderbergh is is the perfect director to take people "down the rabbit hole" he has knack for character driven stories, which do not hold anything back. Most recently his films Contagion, Side Effects, and even Magic Mike do a great job exploring the nature of characters within their specific situations. In this case you have two men, Liberace who has been deemed this massively talented entertainer, and has built an empire out of this in Las Vegas. Then you have Scott who finds himself entranced by the man, and everything he has to offer.
Part of the credit is due to screen writer LaGravenese. LaGravenese interestingly enough had a very eclectic screen writing background ranging from The Fisher King to this year's Beautiful Creatures. LaGravenese uses the book written by Scott Thorson which slants things against the man who tinkled the ivories. As you see by the end of the film, and Scott is thrown out and given nothing for his time in sun, but this Soderbergh/ LaGravenese version explores the context of both men. Liberace had a penchant for younger men (the real Scott was 18 when they met), and his fetishizing of youth comes across as manipulative, especially when he forces Scott to get plastic surgery to look more like him. On the other hand Soderbergh and LaGravenese explore the other side of the coin with Scotty. Scotty never says "no" does not walk away even when loses things valuable to him from his past. Scott is a representation of the materialistic younger boy who is transported to a world he had never experienced.
Part of the strength within the added context is the layered performances from Damon and Douglas. Damon's Scott goes from the quiet young farm boy, the manipulative disco queen, with a snap. Watching him lose himself as he is sucked into the world, while also becoming this other person is one of the most interesting character studies on film. Few films have explored the birth of this gay materialism with such forthright frankness and honesty. Damon had this characteristic while exploring Tom Ripley back in 1999, but his acting chops have grown, and this role proves he can dance with the big boys.
Douglas's Liberace is also an incredible accomplishment. Douglas never takes things over the top, never mimics; he owns the role. While I was more fascinated by Damon's role and his acting, Douglas clearly is a master at portraying the confidence, and vulnerability within Liberace. Part of the strengths to the way this role is portrayed provide this indelible larger than life image. Liberace was not only a man of talent, but adored by many; he had an image to live down, or up to, however you want to understand him. Douglas gets lost in the role, and never lets you forget every moment of the characters joy and misery; he captures each action perfectly.
Recently Steven Soderbergh gave a speech about the downturn of film, and the way the human drama is no longer relevant the way it was in older films. Soderbergh's speech has elements I agree with, and ones in which I disagree with. Film/television etc have evolved (just look at the influence of Hulu, and Netflix). People are consuming media in different formats. Behind the Candelabra works on HBO, because of the willingness to provide freedom of expression, and not having the make the film more mainstream audience friendly to turn a profit. Soderbergh's film will be remembered as great mainly because it was an impressive (well shot) feat of honesty that is an impressive character study. Soderbergh has his own style, and it works so well with this film because its not a "gay film" but an character study, which helps you to have better understanding of people, and their era.
While i have some time, and before Philadelphia Pride (where I am at the moment) kicks off, I have to lock in my predictions for this year's Tony winners. My Tony predictions will have little to no explanation. I am not as much of an expert, and did not follow this season much. With that said I have been reading up on precursors, and the yearly New York Times article, which polls some voters, and I think my hunches are on the money.
