Shelly Duvall is a badass
Vol 94: ...as is Daniel Kaluuya, Twins Scenes, Ari Aster's next, Giger's original Alien design, more
Welcome to Friday morning (or afternoon for you slackers) and welcome to The Watchlist - where @yojrb recaps the week’s top stories in Internet film news and culture. If you are enjoying this little once-a-week infotainment link dump and use Gmail do me a quick favor and drag this email from your “promotions” tab to your “inbox” tab. Not only will this ensure you won’t miss a single issue of this very important and not at all frivolous communication dispatch - but i’ve heard it helps in other ways mysterious and unspoken. Or don’t, whatever…
WATCH THIS…
…but first make sure you’ve watched Judas and the Black Messiah now streaming on HBO Max. Not only does Daniel Kaluuya and cast completely dominate the screen, but it also happens to be a pretty layered take on the old reluctant FBI informant trope.
Once you’ve finished the film, check out the full 1990 interview with William O’Neal (played by Lakeith Stanfield in the film) that is referenced in the credits - it’s a good background watch and expands the story with further info on the events depicted in the film, some of which could probably form the basis of a few additional movies.
READ THIS
I have to admit that despite a life-long love with The Shining and Popeye, I’ve too rarely thought to myself “Whatever happened to Shelly Duval?” …which is crazy, she’s as much a part of those classic films’ success as their respective male leads and directors. Well I’m happy to let THR report that Duval is living her best eccentric life out in the Texas desert…
Shelley Duvall pulls up in a white Toyota 4Runner. Her favorite place to sit is in the driver's seat. It's also the only place to sit: The rest of the car is filled from floor to roof with a crush of acquisitions, including a bucket of plastic silverware, a jar of Green Giant sliced mushrooms and a bouquet of silk roses. Duvall, 71, passes entire days in her car, chatting with locals and snacking on takeout food. She shares a home in the area with Dan Gilroy, 76, a member of the early Madonna band Breakfast Club. Gilroy was briefly romantically linked to the singer but has been with Duvall since 1989, the two having fallen in love while co-starring in the Disney Channel movie Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme. Produced by Duvall, it featured an all-star cast (including Duvall's former boyfriend Paul Simon) and has become an abiding cultural touchstone among millennials.
That’s just the opening paragraph. Keep going, it’s an excellent read - full of color, harrowing hollyweird stories of the 70s and 80s, triumphs, and tears - well worth your time.
Related: Hello, I'm Shelley Duvall (REMIX)
WATCH THIS AS WELL
Insider magazine put together an interesting look at the evolution of twin-based special effects in film over time. Please forgive them in advance for glossing over this classic.
RANDOMS
The A24 / Ari Aster love affair continues, with Deadline announcing the studio will produce and finance the director’s third film - this one starring Joaquin Phoenix, said to be “an intimate, decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time”. I’m in.
Polygon celebrated Valentine’s Day by ranking all of the orcs from The Lord of the Rings by sexiness which was a far better Feb-14 activity than what I did, namely nothing.
Mortal Kombat somehow stayed relevant long enough to warrant a full reboot attempt, which now has a very NSFW red-band trailer.
Ben Affleck enthusiastically interviewed David Fincher, proving the age-old-adage that you are what your Zoom background says about you.
The alternate ending for James Cameron’s Titanic is pretty awesome and hilarious and I really wish it had made the final cut.
These old Hollywood bloopers made me smile (nsfw language).
Don’t click this link. I warned you.
If you haven’t seen the 2018 documentary Last Breath on NetFlix yet definitely do that sooner rather than later and go in as cold as you can - don’t even read a plot description, just know its about deep sea diving. I’ve said too much.
See you back here in 168 hours, give or take a few.
—James