-I’m one of those people who would not be heartbroken if La La Land wins Best Picture, but damn this screenshot of a scene from Moonlight’s screenplay makes its case well.
-Today’s brutally honest Oscar voter is a producer who may be a bit racist (but hey! He loves Moonlight!) His thoughts on Dev Patel: “He really seems like he’s needy as an actor and just wants you to like him, but he shouldn’t be that needy — he’s grown up to be a really handsome, sexy dude, with this mid-range brown color, so everyone loves him.”
-UNreal’s Shiri Appleby directed this Funny or Die shortstarring Tyler Posey.
-These stories about Madonna‘s legendary Oscars partiesare pretty great. Both Jennifer Lawrence and Eddie Redmayne have puked at one!
-Gilmore Girls’ Lauren Graham is heading back to TVwith a new sitcom on Fox.
-I typically avoid horror films, but Jordan Peele’s Get Out is getting such rave reviews I might have to see it.
-I really like this article about how there’s a total lack of comfort TV these days. From mindless shows like Burn Notice to family-oriented fare like Gilmore Girls, that stuff just doesn’t exist anymore.
-On the new Variety cover, Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman are all smiles, while Rooney Mara is like “nah, I’m good.” (I was a bit more meh on their new movie than critics seem to be, but my friend and I both left the theatre saying “Damn! That Slumdog Millionaire kid grew up rul good!” So that’s something.)
–Milo Ventimiglia continues to do push-ups — this time with Ellen DeGenereson his back. He’s so charming now. Remember when there were all those stories about him being a maybe not-so-nice dude when he dated Alexis Bledel and Hayden Panettiere? I’m glad he seems to have grown out of that.
-The Grammy nomsare out and Beyonce is leading the way with 9, followed by Drake and Rihanna with 8, Chance the Rapper with 7, and Adele with 5.
–Amy Schumerdefended herself against haters on Instagram after her Grammy nomination.
-Variety’s Mo Ryan just posted a great article talking to TV execs, showrunners and writers on why rape is used so often on TV and whether progress is being made regarding how it’s depicted.
-I spent way too much time watching Katie Holmes’ appearance on GMAthis morning and wondering if she was wearing a wig or not. Her bangs are mesmerizing these days.
-Don’t ask Helen Mirren for a selfie. It’s fine. Her beauty can’t be captured by a cellphone camera, anyway.
–Josh Brolin posted a photo of his assistant-turned-wife in racy lingerie. Cool story, bro.
-This is an excellent deep dive into why the Academy picked Jimmy Kimmel to host the Oscars. The Academy’s negotiating power with ABC has weakened following several low-rated Oscars in a row, so ABC scored several wins, including greater influence in the host selection process. (I’m guessing if the predictions remain true and critic darlings that mainstream audiences will never see like La La Land, Moonlight and Manchester By the Sea dominate the nominations, the ratings are going to dip even lower this year. 2016 was a weird year, in which no artsy blockbusters broke through. There’s no Gravity, Inception, The Martian or Mad Max-style box office hit to root for.)
-Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel and wife Molly McNearneyhave another baby on the way!
–Felicity Huffman and Courtney B Vance just landed a new political comedy at ABC. I really want her to go back to comedy. She was so great in Sports Night.
-I’m so glad the media picked up on this Twitter threadthat was going around during the weekend, started by a comic book employee who comforted a teen girl looking to learn more about Supergirl. It made me tear up when I first read it.
-Good read on how 2016 was the year the hourlong TV drama died (or at least took a back seat to miniseries and 1/2 hour comedies).
–Emma Watson lands a new job at a mysterious tech company in the trailer for The Circle, costarring Tom Hanks and John Boyega. I liked this book a lot.