TPF1138

My thoughts about Jennifer’s new project at A24, with Scott Rudin producing and an exciting first time female feature director behind the lens?

Well, it’s like this:  I was sitting in a movie theatre yesterday afternoon watching the titles come up on Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, mid90s (a somewhat over hyped, if capable indie drama). As I’m reading the production credits at the front of the movie, I find myself idling thinking that I’d like to see Jennifer Lawrence get involved with A24, and that working with the likes of Scott Rudin would be a good move for her. Then I get home and open my laptop…

Anyway so, my thoughts are really about what else I should wish for? Do I just get the one, or are we talking the standard three? If it’s just one I’ve arguably wasted it, so I want to take my time with the potential other two. Any suggestions?

No, but seriously this is exactly the type of small scale indie production I’ve been itching for her return to. It’s got a script, a director, and a set shoot schedule. Not to mention it’s happening with one of the most exciting indie studios on the scene right now .

Hopefully they let it just be a little indie flick and don’t go firing it at awards voters without real cause, but regardless this would seem to be a good first step towards that accumulation of creditable, critic-friendly films I hope to see Jennifer build up over the next few years.

It also covers her on the whole 4% challenge business. But, beyond that I’m just all around thrilled to see her work again with a female director… and writer for that matter. That was a distinction she had as a young actress, and one I’d like to see her reclaim as she moves towards her thirties, where I predict she will do the very best work of her career. Good news indeed.

It’s a reference to George Lucas’s first feature, THX1138, but using my own initials in place of ‘THX’. :)

Yeah, Jennifer’s youth is clearly being leaned into by the movie. Both to make her vulnerable and to make her seem fertile and alive. We need only look to the other two actresses cast as her predecessor and successor, who are equally young, for confirmation on that score. 

lawrencepedia:

Yeah, I’m hoping they’ll be ready to shoot by this time next year, preferably sooner though, so we get the movie out in late 2020. But we shall see…

Just glad Adam said something about it and that things are ticking along. 

Well, it’s all dependent on how many notes McKay has on this first draft. It’s entirely possible they could be shooting by late this year if the script’s already in strong enough shape that only another draft or two is needed.

Hard to say. So much is up in the air right at the moment anyway.

All the same, I tend to think Bad Blood will shoot within the next 18 months. But, it might be reasonable now to expect similar gaps as there’s been between that movie and Red Sparrow, for all her projects going forward. That’s nothing really unusual for A list stars after all.

Again though, it’s hard to say.

Hello back. :)

Where “best of year” lists are concerned I always have a problem, because certain films in that conversation have yet to be released where I am. So, I can’t speak about buzzy movies like The Favourite, or divisive flicks like Vice. For that reason, I generally stay away from “best of” lists, Not that I’m inclined to put much stock in the practice anyway, since I’m generally of the opinion it takes a few years for movies to really find their proper place. For better or worse.

That being said, here’s a list of what I thought were the best new releases in 2018, in alphabetical order…

A Quiet Place
Annihilation
Avengers: Infinity War
Bad Times at the El Royale
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
First Man
Hotel Artemis
Isle of Dogs
Leave No Trace
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Ready Player One
Red Sparrow
Roma
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
The Death of Stalin
The Hate U Give
The Old Man & the Gun
Tully
Unsane
Widows
You Were Never Really Here

lawrencepedia:

Which I’m sure she’s happy about. She was spotted in NY yesterday though, so while thankfully MIA from the paps, she’s still seen out and about here and there, be it in New York, Vermont or Kentucky. But the less interaction with the paparazzi, the better. 

Found it…