Fallon, Paltrow sued over Apes
And the Globe nominations are here
What to know
Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Hart, and other celebs sued in proposed Bored Apes NFT class action lawsuit… From the people who brought you Larry David sued over NFT ads, comes this schadenfreudtastic story. A proposed class action suit has accused several celebrities (including Madonna, Stephen Curry, Snoop Dogg, Serena Williams, Post Malone, The Weeknd) of fraud for pushing Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, which the suit claims were “drastically inflated” “losing investments” pushed using “insidious marketing” tactics. The ugly ape NFTs have lost 93% of their value since peak price. The lawsuit also pulls back the curtain on Fallon promoting Bored Ape NFTs on The Tonight Show, which it claims was a misleading paid promotion. I’m glad people are fighting back against predatory nonsense like this. 🦧
Golden Globe nominations are in… The Golden Globes are an odd award show, and thanks to a rocky few years, it’s hard to tell what influence or relevance they’ll have this season. That said, I’m shocked by how normal the nominations are this year across TV and movies (and so is Variety). The HFPA’s Best Pic nods and Best Director nods seem safe and reflective of movies people liked in 2022 (though they snubbed women directors). Meanwhile, its acting selections are focused predictably on star power in OK to good movies — but will those people go to the ceremony? Most of the nominees are silent today, which is telling. The best nomination has to be Ke Huy Quan. It’s nice to see his recognition start to materialize! 🌐
James Gunn: “Superman is a huge priority, if not the biggest priority”… With Gunn and Peter Safran seemingly rebooting the DC universe, I wondered what A-list heroes would make it into their new vision. This seems to confirm that Gunn and Safran won’t be throwing the billion-dollar babies out with the Snyderverse bathwater. Makes sense from a business perspective to continue to showcase the heroes everyone knows, but will new iterations of Superman, Wonder Woman, etc yet again fatigue people? 🦸🏻
Minx canceled at HBO Max despite season 2 wrapping production, season one being pulled as well… Yo, this sucks. A cancelation after renewal would have been bad enough, but Minx season two was about to wrap production AND Warner Bros. Discovery is pulling the whole first season as well to save money. Minx is a great show, watch it while you can. Hopefully it finds a home elsewhere. 👎
Variety speculates on Tom Hanks Oscar love for A Man Called Otto… Hanks’ new movie just received a warm reception at an Academy museum screening, leading to the trade to theorize on his awards chances. This would be a very late entry into the field, so I'm skeptical — but then again, he’s Hanks and if this is good, it might be an easy fit for voters. 🏆
An ad full of fake plaudits for George & Tammy ran in the NY Times… Did you know Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon are starring in a Showtime miniseries right now? The TV landscape is so crowded that this one has hardly made any noise — unless you count this embarrassing fake ad. 🤔
Ticketmaster giving verified fans another chance to buy Taylor Swift tickets… This is good, but how are there even seats available? If remaining inventory was so low that the company had to cancel the general public sale, what is still left for these verified fans? I don’t get it. 🎸
Ain’t No Mo’ closing on Broadway after three weeks… Rather than make an easy “ain’t no mo” joke, I’m going to lament the challenging economic landscape on Broadway right now. This follows KPOP’s abrupt closing notice. 🎭
Strange World is coming to Disney+ Dec 23… If at first you don’t succeed in theaters, try again quickly on streaming. Don’t expect such a fast turnaround for Avatar: Way of Water. 🚀
Netflix making live-action My Hero Academia movie… They’re going to keep trying to adapt anime series until something sticks. 🍿
Christopher Nolan recreated “a nuclear explosion” without CGI for Oppenheimer… He would. 💣
What’s new
Kindred — Dec 13 | Hulu/FX drama series | 🍅 75%
National Treasure: Edge of History — Dec 14 | Disney+ action series | 🍅
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths — Dec 16 | Netflix drama film | 🍅 60%
Avatar: The Way of Water — Dec 17 | Sci-fi film in theaters | 🍅
1923 — Dec 18 | Paramount+ Western series | 🍅
What to watch
Todd Field’s Tár is going to make you feel uneasy. In his attempt to wrangle ideas of so-called cancel culture and gendered power dynamics, Field goes straight for the mushy grey area. He comes out the other side with a bit of a hedge, but a beyond compelling character piece.
Cate Blanchett’s virtuosic performance as conductor Lydia Tár is career defining. It’s the reason to watch this movie. In fact, the film’s first act—in which Field and Blanchett are shading and defining the character through verbose monologues and dense, rapid-fire dialogue—is the highlight of the film. Worth the price of admission, as they say. The character they’ve built is so well sculpted, film goers have been left wondering if Tár is based on a real person. She’s not, Blanchett is simply that good. The actor matches Field’s specific and intentioned character with even more specificity and intention. No choice is made haphazardly. Blanchett is in master control of her instrument, a singular force of her craft, maybe even more than we’ve realized — and that’s saying something considering her body of work up to this point.
The story Field is telling is where things get complicated. He’s doing a gender-flipped portrait of a person in power getting “canceled” for their horrific misdeeds and abuses of said power — but he ever so slightly “both sides” his argument and adds to the complexity by making his central figure a woman. Field purposefully sets us up to both despise Lydia for her behavior, but also empathize with her. Field argues textually for separating art from artist (Lydia says we must still appreciate Bach even though he was a misogynist) — but he inevitably punishes his main character for her transgressions. He marries these dichotomies with a disorienting, oft experimental final act, leading to the aforementioned (necessary) queasiness. Tár is a messy and boldly told character study without easy answers, with perhaps the best performance of the year. It’s now available to rent on demand.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!