ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY and AWARD NEWS, compiled by REBECCA KEEGAN
Friday, September 8, 2017
It's Friday, I'm home in the San Fernando Valley, and once again surrounded by the totems of my people: juice bars and nail salons.
Hello from L.A., where we're counting on Stephen King to save the box office, keeping an eye on the buzzy Toronto International Film Festival premieres, and planning a hot weekend of filling out our interactive Emmys ballots.
SEND IN THE CLOWN
After the cruddiest summer box office in years, September is looking up thanks to New Line's adaptation of Stephen King's It, which took in a whopping $13.5 million Thursday night—putting the hallucinatory horror film on track for a more than $60 million opening. If It delivers as expected, the film about a creepy clown named Pennywise terrorizing the children of Derry, Maine, will crush the September opening record set by Hotel Transylvania 2 in 2015 (with $48.5 million), and the horror record set by Paranormal Activity 3 (with $52.6 million) in 2011. "I wanted to bring a strange and unsettling balance to the character that is mainly a combination of a childlike features and cute and innocent," director Andy MuschiettitoldV.F.'s Laura Bradley, of casting Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. "He has these huge eyes that he uses very well, and the minimal gestures he does in the contrary direction immediately give you a very twisted feeling of, 'This is cute but it's horrifying at the same time.'" But it's the film's terrorized "Losers' Club" cast of kids that delivers the standout performance, especially from 15-year-old Sophia Lillis. "The blood. Oh my God, the blood," Lillis said, describing one memorable scene to V.F. contributor Carey Purcell. And for King obsessives, V.F.'s Hillary Busis supplies a list of eight Easter eggs in the film. Dive in, losers!
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
GO FOR THE GOLD
V.F.'s Hillary Busis e-mails:
The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and the silly network fare that's been crowding airwaves all summer (hello, revival of The Gong Show) is making way for bona fide good television. All of which means only one thing: it's nearly time for the Emmy Awards, which air just two Sundays from now (September 17) on CBS. Prepare for the big night by playing around with V.F.'s interactive Emmys ballot, a nifty little creation that allows you to play prognosticator before the winners are revealed. Oh, and for the analog among us: there's also a printable paper ballot available, if you're into that sort of thing.
THE FORCE IS NOT WITH YOU
V.F.'s Yohana Desta e-mails:
Earlier this summer, Disney hit Netflix with a one-two punch by announcing that it is starting a streaming service of its own, just one year after the Mouse's deal with the streaming platform went into effect. And on Thursday, C.E.O. Bob Iger hit Netflix again—not only will the studio take back Disney and Pixar properties, but it will also go ahead and take Marvel and Lucasfilm movies, too. You don't mind, do ya, Ted Sarandos? Iger announced the decision on Thursday, during a Q&A at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media conference (sounds low-key!). The Disney head added that his corporation's streaming service will launch in late 2019, and that Disney has plans to produce "four or five original movies per year, as well an equal number of original series and TV movies," Ricardo Lopez reports. Prepare for the streaming wars, all you sweet summer children.
SAY MY NAME
V.F.'s Katey Rich writes:
The Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing, and so far the film getting all the critical attention is . . . the one that everybody fell in love with back at Sundance. Luca Guadagnino'sCall Me by Your Name screened to a packed press audience on Thursday morning before its premiere that evening; I wrote about the luminous supporting performance given by Michael Stuhlbarg, who is not as central to the story as leads Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet, but certainly worthy of any and all buzz that comes his way. Thursday also brought opening night film Borg/McEnroe, a Swedish production that re-creates the famed 1980 Wimbledon final between Björn Borg and John McEnroe. Reviews on the film have been mixed, but the consensus, as summed up by Indiewire's David Ehrlich, is that Shia LaBeouf is so compelling as McEnroe he makes it worth the watch. For more of the latest from T.I.F.F., check out the Facebook Live our critic Richard Lawson did this morning, and find Mike Hogan and myself on the red carpets for Stronger and The Upside tonight by following T.I.F.F. and Vanity Fair on Twitter.
IT'S STUMPING SEASON
V.F.'s Laura Bradley writes:
Get ready, late-night fans: politicians are coming to a show near you. First up, Sean Spicer will sit down with Jimmy Kimmel on September 13—hopefully to explain to all of us disappointed Americans why he won't be appearing on Dancing with the Stars after his departure from the White House. Next, Stephen Colbert will interview Hillary Clinton on September 19. We're guessing she'll have a few things to say about Bernie Sanders's sit-down with the Late Show host: on Thursday night, Bernie batted away Clinton's suggestion that his campaign made it harder to unite progressives, and said that at this point, relitigating the election is "silly." Clinton likely won't be able to resist parrying back in a few weeks.
EARBUDS TIME
V.F.'s Katey Rich writes:
If you can't get enough of festival chatter and want the lowdown on Telluride and T.I.F.F., catch this week's Little Gold Men podcast, in which Richard Lawson takes a breather between the two festivals to talk about the state of the Oscars race so far. Spoiler alert: it might be a very, very good year for Gary Oldman.
That's the news for this sunny Friday in L.A. What are you seeing out there? Send tips, comments, and your best Emmys picks to Rebecca_keegan@condenast.com. Follow me on Twitter @thatrebecca.
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