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I'll go first with the Fox thing. I am of decidedly mixed mind. On the one hand, I think we take terrible care of our cultural history, for reasons that are largely about money instead of the relationship we have to these things. That 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare mean something to film fans, for whatever that's worth. But I also think Rupert Murdoch has made the Fox name mean something very specific, and however you feel about that word now, it's pretty undeniably tied to the news channel. I understand why Disney doesn't really want to have the same brand under their own umbrella. It's not because Disney is ideologically pure (trust me, they're a corporation... they're not ideologically pure) but because of the perception that their brand is so radically different from the Fox brand.

In the end, it's a shell game. Whatever Fox was is gone, and simply strip-mining their library and their IP doesn't make them the same company. It feels like the final inevitable step in a process that burned down a big piece of this industry's historic identity. It makes me sad.

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Jan 18, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

Looking forward to the film club! Good choices for the first round

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Jan 18, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

Anyone else see Bad Boys For Life and think it was pretty wild seeing Don Simpson’s name again during the Bruckheimer Films production logo. It’ll likely happen again over the next two years with Top Gun: Maverick and Beverly Hills Cop 4. With the National Treasure 3 announcement, Jerry Bruckheimer is having a bit of a renaissance.

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Jan 18, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

And before anyone gives Disney too many pats on the back for acknowledging the toxicity of the Fox brand now:

https://twitter.com/WilliamBibbiani/status/1218222126013935617

(I missed that point too. Disney $$$ fund more Murdoch bullshit.)

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Jan 18, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

LMFAO is Underwater going to be the last movie to say Fox.

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Jan 18, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

I’ll miss the Fox logo but glad it still lives in some capacity. I hope they keep the fanfare. I also hope they utilize the name for properties like Alien and use it for other movies that are more outside the Disney realm. I am also concerned about all the concentrated media corporations and what that means for the future of film.

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Maybe I've just been reading a lot of Kayliegh Donaldson's work, but the re-branding of 20th Century Fox to just f 20th Century Studios just unnerves me to no end. I have so many questions about how it's going to be run, what it's future output will consist of, and most importantly what becomes of the Fox back-catalog.

There are so many Fox movies there that deserve a good Blu-Ray and/or Streaming release like The Driver, Betrayal, In Old Chicago, The Culpepper Cattle Co, The Enemy Below, and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? but I don't think Disney will really care what happens to them unless companies Shout Factor, Criterion, and Kino fit the bill.

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Drew, just had to give you a shoutout for the killer job moderating the Freaked screening last night. My wife and I were there and it was a total blast. Thanks for all the great questions and the way you facilitated the cast/crew discussion. What a fun night.

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Jan 18, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

I was happy to see you recognize "Midsommar" in your 2019 Part II newsletter. I know lots of people didn't like it and that others think "Hereditary" is better, but honestly, I understand what Aster says when he calls the movie a "fairy tale" instead of a "horror movie." Watching the movie closely, I think I understand what he means. Do you plan write about the best of the decade in the same style as your 2019 newsletters?

With the Fox thing, I wonder if a name change was quasi-inevitable since Disney doesn't own ALL their assets and perhaps wanted to make sure they stand out on what they do own? I'm not saying its right or wrong, but just wondering.

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Jan 19, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

Hey all! Glad to join the chat, happy to be here!

As sad and end-of-an-era as the Fox name change is, I can understand it from a brand management perspective and, as anachronistic as '20th Century Pictures' sounds, it was one of the original parent company names, and the big 20th logo with klieg lights and cinema's greatest fanfare is remaining, so I'm happy with that as a compromise. (Why not '21st Century Pictures'? Blame Menachem Golan, haha! Oh, and, uh, the advertising video agency that currently seems to own that title.) But, yeah, as long as the logo and fanfare are staying.

(Plus, for me? As a child of '70s who grew up in the '80s but came of age in the '90s, 20th will always mean hazy, pumped-up action pictures to me: from ALIENS and PREDATOR, to DIE HARD and POINT BREAK, to MARKED FOR DEATH and SPEED. They seemed to be the one-stop shop for that kind of cinema from 86-95 or so.)

As for what I've been watching? I've been showing my partner the films of Lynne Ramsay and Jonathan Glazer -- we've been alternating them as doubles, which feels weirdly appropriate -- and they've been blowing our minds. Saw RATCATCHER and MORVERN CALLAR for the first time and loved them, especially the latter, which is my new fave Ramsay. Few filmmakers do subjective realities as well as her. Whereas Glazer's films just have this bewitching dark beauty to them, even when they're horrifying.

Have a great weekend, all!

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Jan 19, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

I haven't had as much time to watch movies this month due to personal family issues and stress, but hopefully, once that is resolved, I'll be able to get back in the swing of things.

Some of the highlights for me thus far:

-The first three films of the "Lone Wolf & Cub" series, which I got for Christmas.

-"McCabe & Mrs. Miller," which I watched for the first time today, and absolutely loved.

-"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," which I watched this Wednesday after a particularly tough day on the family front. I needed that blast of goodness from Mr. Rogers like Lloyd does in the movie. Such a wonderful film.

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Jan 19, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

I think removing the Fox from 20th Century Fox is a garbage move by a garbage company; there's not much more to say about it. 20th Century Fox was at one time one of the greatest studios there was. This is a sad day for those of us who care about movies, but just another day for people who only care about IPs. I'm not a purest, I know this is a business and the art is always secondary, but this is an incredibly sad day (or day after the day). Thinking that people can't tell difference between 20th Century Fox movies and FOX News Channel is the same kind of dumb thinking that keeps Batman off the small screen. Hey, people are okay with different Flash's!

Speaking of, did anyone watch that amazing cameo this past Tuesday and just geek the eff out in the biggest way? While I'm not a fan of what WB/Snyder/Whedon did with BvS and Justice League, I think their casting for those films were amazing (that includes Batfleck who was sadly wasted in bad movies... a great Batman and Bruce Wayne, both), and I can't wait to see Ezra Miller's Flash movie whenever it gets here. And I hope, since it's Flashpoint, that they can bring in Grant Gustin's Flash for a cameo!

You know, for all the crap WB deservedly gets for mishandling their two biggest characters, they've done good work with Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Shazam, and their TV work, especially with Legends of Tomorrow and Lucifer, and to a lesser extent The Flash and Arrow (at least the last few seasons, as their first few seasons were much better). Also, while Kevin Feige refused to bring the Defenders into the MCU, where they could've been a big help in that Endgame final fight (how difficult would've it have been to green screen in Daredevil and Luke Cage for a 5-second cameo, really?), it was awesome to see WB work with Marc Gugenheim to tie together their TV and movie universes in a meaningful way, even if the scene was only about 90 seconds.

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Jan 18, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

I find it interesting that Color Out Of Space wasn’t bolded in your what you’ve watched. Not that that means you thought it was a bad film, but I thought it was pretty good, well made and found it interesting enough that I was a little surprised to not see it bolded. Of course any week Shogun Assassin is watched, that’s going to get bolded.

I didn’t know Joe Begos from Adam earlier last year, but I got to see Bliss and VFW at Monsterfest in October, and thought they were both fun films, but especially liked Bliss, so was happy to see that get a shoutout.

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Jan 18, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

I saw Underwater in theaters, the experience was almost ruined by a trio of teenage girls. They held the theater hostage with their giggles and scrolling through their phones. Nobody wanted to be the one to yell at them. Leviathan was better.

I also finally sat down with all 4 films in the Tombs of the Blind Dead series on Amazon Prime. What a blast. It's so interesting to compare other culture's versions of common plots and film scenarios. I enjoyed the Templar Knights and their quest for virgin blood. At one point they were on a ship! Those were the first Spanish Horror films I've that I'm aware of. The last one, Night of The Seagulls, was the only one I didn't care for. Its so nice to be able to stream all the films and not have to go digging online for expensive copies in poor quality.

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Jan 19, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny

Just wanted to say I really dig a thread like this under your stewardship, Drew. Excited for all the goodness you're bringing us this year...

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I’m kinda bummed out by the whole GIFGate regarding Kenobi. Watching a bunch of people I like reading posting cryptic GIFs and not saying anything was frustrating.

It feels, to me, like there is a condescending attitude from The Verifieds on Film Twitter towards us. We are the people that follow them, retweet them, read their stories, and share their stories. It’s like we are the family in Parasite and we exist to prop them up.

I ended up getting blocked by a writer that I really like reading for critiquing the GIF practice, not the actual writer. That GIF posting thing sucks. The whole reason people do it seems to be to provoke a response. There is no link to news or anything. Just this signal that they are in the club.

Then if anybody critiques them or voices frustration your are blocked or muted. Often there is this sort of celebration towards blocking or muting.

It just sucks

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After listening to the Screen Drafts episode of sword and sorcery films, I decided to rewatch the Lord of the rings trilogy. Haven't done so since before the hobbit came out. And I'm doing the extended editions. Watching them with my brother who never watched them. Gotta finish up Return of The King tomorrow but I am just once again stunned at these movies. Just absolute perfection.

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One of my New Years resolutions was to watch a classic black and white movie everyday. Many I’ve seen before, many I haven’t. So far I’ve watched...

Sweet Smell Of Success

Duck Soup

My Favorite Brunette

Horsefeathers

Monkey Business

Animal crackers

Dead end

The naked city

Now Voyager

The 39 steps

Make way for tomorrow

I Married a Witch

The Gold Rush

Gold Diggers of 1933

The Man Who Came to Dinner

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

Sunset Boulevard

His Girl Friday

Sorry Wrong Number

Laura.

I downloaded the TCM and Criterion app which has been a godsend. Any suggestions welcome! Any genre will do. 🙂

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"Too Many Chefs" is not a particularly good film, but I sure miss the comedy mysteries. Glad to see Knives Out doing well, since that particular subgenre has become more or less extinct. I also miss Robert Morley a lot.

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Even though they frustrate the hell out of me I have of course been sucked in as usual to watching hours of award ceremonies and getting sucked up into the whole process as per usual.

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deletedJan 18, 2020Liked by Drew McWeeny
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