Summer movie news is usually dominated by talk of the latest blockbuster or trailer for the next great Oscar contender, but just this past week news broke that could have profound impact on more than just films. Via The New York Times, a judge has ruled in favor of the two unpaid Black Swan interns who sued Fox Searchlight for compensation. I’ve seen many opinions regarding the case over these here interwebs ranging from those who think this is a good thing to those who bemoan the case. Therefore, it is only fitting that I throw my hat in the ring.
So something kind of wonderful happened on last night’s Tony Award telecast. Amidst the wonderful opening number and raucous atmosphere, history was made: two women (Pam MacKinnon and Dianne Paulus) won the directing prizes, Cyndi Lauper became the first woman to win for Best Original Score without a writing partner, and four out of the eight acting winners were African American. Wait, what? Yes, the Tonys became the anti-Oscars, with women and minorities just winning every damn where. It was a wonder to behold not only for the sheer weight of the occasion, but because it didn’t feel out of place or momentous, just felt like the right people won. After doing the latest Awards Circuit podcast where in the subject of race came up and spurned on by a colleague’s great analysis of sexism within the Academy, I wanted to share my thoughts on why I think Hollywood is severely behind in terms of equality.
So something kind of wonderful happened on last night’s Tony Award telecast. Amidst the wonderful opening number and raucous atmosphere, history was made: two women (Pam MacKinnon and Dianne Paulus) won the directing prizes, Cyndi Lauper became the first woman to win for Best Original Score without a writing partner, and four out of the eight acting winners were African American. Wait, what? Yes, the Tonys became the anti-Oscars, with women and minorities just winning every damn where. It was a wonder to behold not only for the sheer weight of the occasion, but because it didn’t feel out of place or momentous, just felt like the right people won. After doing the latest Awards Circuit podcast where in the subject of race came up and spurned on by a colleague’s great analysis of sexism within the Academy, I wanted to share my thoughts on why I think Hollywood is severely behind in terms of equality.
It has come to my attention that we have reached a critical juncture in our society. People, and by people I mean celebrities, have been engaging fans and haters alike on social networks to some foolish to disastrous results. From the Ian Bohen tomfoolery to Dylan O’Brien casually replying to a fan who said they wanted to rape him if The Purge was real, things have just gone to shit (well not really but go with me here). I found myself the past two days, wanting it to go on forever cause I found it hilarious and wanting it to end out of mercy for their mentions. However, I’m a giving person, so I decided to help these social network challenged celebs out with a few tips to maximize your potential.
I thought about doing this piece as a standard review but I’m tired and I don’t particularly feel the film demands much attention for its strengths. Sure Now You See Me is a fairly entertaining film that keeps you enthralled till the end through it’s fun performances and high octane action. I gave it two and a half stars and I’ve no doubt many people will come away from the movie with higher grades than that. However, what interested me the most about the film were it’s short comings, specifically how the magic was portrayed, so I’ve decided to focus on that.
One of the best things about the advent of this here internet is that it opens the airwaves for dialog and opinions of people you would never have heard of without it. It’s how I ended up writing for Awards Circuit and also how I discovered the Operation Kino podcast. For those of you un familiar with OpKino, it’s a podcast that features four film writers, Da7E from Latino-Review, David Ehrlich from Film.com, Katey Rich from Cinema Blend, and Matt Patches of Hollywood.com. On a recent Tuesday episode, they spoke about scarcity in art and it’s merits. It was a fascinating discussion, a topic I’ve often thought about and it seemed like an interesting place to start a discussion.