#TIFF20 has started so it’s non-stop movie viewing and writing for your girl…so I’ll keep this one quick!
What’s The Word on the Street?
- Jamie Foxx and his producing partner, Datari Turner, have signed a producing deal with Sony Pictures. This is dope and I’m interested in seeing what these two come out with.
- “Green Book” is now a podcast called “Driving the Green Book.” It’s a podcast + audio guide that allows listeners in cars to travel the same route through an integration between Apple Podcasts and Apple Maps. The podcast drops Sept. 14th. This should be interesting.
- Ukonwa Ojo is the new CMO for Amazon Studios, Prime Video — Big ups to all these badass Black women making major moves. This racial reckoning in America is making ripples, lets hope its not just a passing fad…
- “Tenet” made $20 million stateside in its debut and $53 million overseas…not bad for pandemic numbers, but I’m still not sure if I’m ready for theatre viewing…
- The Academy made a historic move when they announced their new inclusion requirements for best picture eligibility for the Oscars…as usual, there were some folks in favor and others not…me on the other hand, I’m here for, it should be that hard and it doesn’t stifle creativity or freedom in anyway.
- Sundance Institute has a new Head of Documentary Film Program in the likes of filmmaker and journalist Carrie Lozano…congrats!
- Mara Brock Akil has inked a new overall deal with Netflix…she was previously housed at Warner Bros. TV — I used to love me some “Girlfriends” and Netflix does pretty good with their original programming so I’m looking forward to this partnership.
- “The Walking Dead” is finally coming to an end with Season 11 (but there are a couple of spinoffs in the works)…Imma be honest, I stopped watching a few seasons back…loved it in the beginning…
- There was an executive shakeup over at Netflix this week…Cindy Holland, who was pretty much there from the beginning is out…Bela Bajaria is promoted to VP of Global TV.
- “The Chi” has been renewed for 4th Season…I’ve never seen it, but its on my forever-growing watchlist.
- The “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” is getting a reboot over at Peacock…I’m not usually a fan of reboots…some magic just can’t be rebottled
- Variety had an interesting article about whether or not film festivals are doing enough to invite diverse jurors…give it a read.
- Neon has acquired Ivory Coast’s Oscar submission “Night of the Kings”…which I’m looking forward to screening at TIFF
- Neve Campbell is reprising her roll as Sydney Prescott in a new “Scream” movie…Hollywood just doesn’t know when to quit lol
- Nicholas Cage‘s “Joe Exotic” film has found a home over at Amazon…as if we hadn’t had enough Joe Exotic SMH
- A series spinoff of “Blindspotting” is official and heading to Starz…“Blindspotting” was one of my favorite films of 2018 — if you haven’t seen it yet, definitely give it a watch
- Diana Riggs, star of the original “The Avengers” television series and “Game of Thrones,” has passed away at the age of 82.
- Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz Join Jonathan Majors and Idris Elba in “The Harder They Fall”all-Black Western…this should be interesting (never been big on Westerns).
What We’re Looking Forward to Seeing…
“Dune” – December 18th
Been waiting on this one!!! I’m here for anything Timothée Chalamet (“Lady Bird” “Beautiful Boy” “Call Me By Your Name” “Little Women” “Miss Stevens”…you name it) and the supporting cast is just as good.
“Rebecca” — Coming to Netflix on Oct. 21st
“Emily in Paris” — Netflix in October
From the same folks behind “Sex and the City” so this should be fun…
This Week’s Spotlight
In honor of #TIFF20, let’s take a look back at some of the standouts from last year’s festival.
- “Bad Education” *
- “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
- “Dolemite is My Name” *
- “Ema”
- “Ford v Ferrari”
- “How to Build a Girl”
- “Hustlers” *
- “Knives Out” *
- “The Lighthouse”
- “Marriage Story” *
- “Pain and Glory”
- “Parasite” *
- “The Personal History of David Copperfield”
- “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” *
- “Synonyms”
- “The Two Popes”
- “Uncut Gems” *
- “The Vast of Night” *
- “La Belle Epoque” *
* Films I’ve seen…all of which I enjoyed! Which ones have you seen?
Last year I had the pleasure of attending TIFF for the first time (and my first time visiting Toronto) as a regular film lover. It was an amazing experience! I’m super excited to be coving TIFF this year as a member of the press and I look forward to returning to the festival in person in the future!
Musings of A Streaming Junkie 