What to know
The Golden Globes were a mess in more ways than one | Various
It’s Tuesday morning by the time you’re reading this so the Globes are already old news — but I do want to touch on the highlights and many, many lowlights. Tina and Amy’s jokes were funny (as were bits from other SNL alums), but I was confounded as to why the show needed to be on 2 coasts. Additionally, the show’s attempt to recreate the party atmosphere over Zoom was a massive failure.
While, we got our first of what will likely be many beautiful tributes to Chadwick Boseman and Andra Day surprisingly became the 2nd Black woman ever to win Best Actress in a Drama, the HFPA’s pledge to diversity rang hollow — and Time’s Up is among those calling it out. Hey HFPA, it’s not great when your hosts and winners are all mocking you.
Anyway, it was great to see Borat 2 get the love it deserves, Chloé Zhao become the 2nd ever woman to win Best Director, and Nomadland cement itself as the Oscar frontrunner. But when it comes to running an award show in a pandemic, hopefully the Academy was taking notes on what not to do this April.
Tom and Jerry opened to $13.7M in theaters | Variety
Are movie theaters showing signs of life? While $13.7 million would be a dismal failure during normal times, that’s a pretty significant haul in this era — especially considering the family movie only notched 30% on RottenTomatoes AND dropped simultaneously on HBO Max. Box office prognosticators are feeling optimistic about all this, so I will too.
Ellen Pompeo isn’t sure if Grey’s will continue | TVLine
In a new interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Ellen Pompeo revealed that the people behind Grey’s Anatomy are still trying to figure out how and if the show will continue after the current season. Pompeo says it will if they have more story to tell, if not they’ll have to find a satisfying way to wrap tings up. I’m surprised by this, it seems like Grey’s will just go on forever.
Taylor Swift blasts Netflix show for ‘horse s—t,’ ‘deeply sexist’ joke | TVLine
Swift’s got bad blood with Ginny & Georgia, and by extension Netflix, for using her as a punchline. She’s not wrong and it isn’t a good look for Netflix who hosts her Miss Americana documentary. I expect we’ll see an apology from Ginny & Georgia as well Netflix by the time you’re reading this.
Also...
Collider asks if we should get rid of the Golden Globes completely … I wish it were that simple 🌐
This new Baby Yoda toy actually floats … this is the way to sell a lot of toys 💰
Maya Rudolph will host the next SNL March 27 … lace up your chucks 👟
Read the Borat Subsequent Moviefilm ‘transcription’ script … with lines like “Giuliani lies back horizontal on the bed and puts his hand into his pants” 👀
Shira Haas to star in Streisand-produced Golda Meir bio series … they just might need to put some aging make up on her 🇮🇱
Comic Con will be virtual again this year … one day, thousands of sweaty fans will squeeze into the San Diego convention center again 💥
Disney seems to have another hit toon on its hands with Raya and the Last Dragon … can’t wait to see the live-action remake in 20 years 🐉
What to watch
If you’re looking to complete your award season checklist, Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari is now widely available on-demand. Beautifully photographed and performed, Minari is the inspiring, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story of a Korean American family’s pursuit of the American dream in the 1980s heartland. Minari’s genius is how it uses specificity as the way to universality. While your family might not be 1st-generation immigrants who picked up and moved to the Ozarks to start a farm, I dare you not to see your family and your own dreams in this one, regardless of race or language. Also, 8-year-old Alan S. Kim gives one of the finest young actor performances in a long time, delivering comedy and drama with equal impact.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!
New notables this week:
Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell (Mar 1) — Netflix documentary feature about the Notorious B.I.G. | 82% RT
Debris s1 premiere (Mar 1) — NBC sci-fi drama series, starring Thomas Cadrot, Jennifer Copping, Armin Karame | 50% RT
Moxie (Mar 3) — Netflix teen dramedy, directed by Amy Poehler, starring Poehler, Hadley Robinson, Lauren Tsai, Marcia Gay Harden, Ike Barinholtz | No RT yet
The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run (Mar 4) — Paramount+ animated feature, starring Tom Kenny, Awkwafina, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown | 68% RT
Coming 2 America (Mar 5) — Amazon comedy feature, starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones | No RT yet
Raya and the Last Dragon (Mar 5) — Disney+ animated feature (also in theaters), starring Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim | 94% RT
Before you go… this is why I can’t get “Agatha All Along” out of my head
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About the author: Alex Rabinowitz has led the way on social media and story packaging at media outlets big and small. With his acclaimed Tumblr site PopCultureBrain.com, Alex became a leading figure in emerging social networks and entertainment news. Sourced by many top destinations, including New York Magazine, BuzzFeed, and Videogum, Pop Culture Brain was featured by BuzzFeed and TIME as the best pop culture blog on Tumblr. Alex's writing has appeared on The Huffington Post, GQ.com, Mic, and Time Warner Cable.