- Every year, Film Streams brings an insanely hella cool movie person to Omaha for their annual fundraiser, Feature. You can tell it’s classy AF because they use Roman numerals, and they’re already up to Feature VII. This year, they have one of my all-time favorite humans, Julianne Moore, who belongs in every conversation of great acting and remains the low-key best part of The Big Lebowski. In advance of her appearance at Feature VII on April 24, Film Streams has unveiled a repertory series of her work, a list of films that should be called “The Oscars Are Illegitimate Until Julianne Moore Has a Few.” Starting with Far From Heaven the first week of April, the list includes Vanya on 42nd Street, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, The Big Lewbowski, The Kids Are All Right, Children of Men, The End of the Affair, Safe and The Hours, along with Rosemary’s Baby and 3 Women, two films Moore selected for the series and from which she draws inspiration. Because of course she draws inspiration from Rosemary’s Baby because she’s perfect. That list has sci-fi, comedy, period pieces, dramedies and whatever Magnolia was. She’s a national treasure, and she’ll be in Omaha. Respond accordingly.
- One other bit of Film Streams news, the Dundee Theater will have a kitchen table! That is to say, when the Dundee Theater reopens, The Kitchen Table restaurant will be opening a second location there. Proud bearers of the delightful oxymoron “slow-food-fast,” the menu options will use local ingredients, will be portable enough for eating in the lobby or patio or carrying out and will also feature a happy hour because Film Streams and The Kitchen Table love me. Us. I meant us. They love us. And I love them. We love them. You get the idea.
- Your periodic Star Wars update: First off, Han Solo may not really be named Han Solo. Disney CEO Bob Iger detailed the first plot for the upcoming Solo spinoff, and he mentioned it will cover the smuggler from age 18 to 24, follow him as he meets Chewbacca and gets the Millennium Falcon and also reveal “how he got his name.” Apparently, the answer to that last one isn’t just “Momma Solo picked it.” I hear his birth name was Shootsfirst but Lucas changed it. Second, even though she left this world far, far too early, Carrie Fisher will not be missing at all from Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. She has been confirmed to be “throughout” the film, which is a shallow and silly thing for us to worry about, but since we loved her very much, we’ll take whatever comfort we can get.
- Finally, director/producer/allegedly-really-gross-sexist-shitbag Brett Ratner made some really obnoxious statements about Rotten Tomatoes lately, suggesting that the critic aggregation site is bad news for the movie industry. It’s not, just ask Jordan Peele or any other talented person making quality movies. It can be a boon or a bane, depending on the film and the director. If the director is Ratner, Rotten Tomatoes is not going to help. Still, there’s something interesting to be said for the move towards aggregate opinions, lack of dissent and sophisticated criticism that transcends “rotten or fresh.” This is me foreshadowing an upcoming piece. Oh God, I just foreshadowed with Brett Ratner. Pretty sure I have herpes now.
Cutting Room provides breaking local and national movie news … complete with added sarcasm. Send any relevant information to film@thereader.com. Check out Ryan on Movieha!, a weekly podcast, catch him on the radio on CD 105.9 on Fridays at around 7:40 a.m. and on KVNO 90.7 on Wednesdays and follow him on Twitter.