I Am Link

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--- Fashion Plate - Ryan Murphy has gotten his greedy gay hands onto Edgar Ramirez! Edgar is going to play Gianni Versace in the upcoming "Versace Murder" themed season of American Crime Story! My first thought was "Wow that's awfully nice to Gianni" but you know what I actually think he's pretty decent casting, looks-wise. Darren Criss has been cast as Andrew Cunanan, Versace's murderer, and I think that's about the same level too. Is this Edgar's first time playing gay? But of course everybody's just waiting to hear who'll play Donatella. (thx Mac)

--- And Speaking of Ryan Murphy I'm trying to avoid everything related to Feud at this point because it's only a couple of weeks away and I certainly don't need to be convinced any further (although if Susan Sarandon keeps yapping her goddamned filthy garbage opinions everywhere they might need to) but I couldn't help myself and watched the opening credits sequence that Nathaniel posted at The Film Experience and they are a delight.

--- Ladies Who Larceny - Casting on Steve McQueen's upcoming film Widows, based on the 80s British miniseries about three women whose husbands died doing a heist teaming up to finish the job, has been going strong and I keep forgetting to trumpet its coolness - he's had Viola Davis and Cynthia Erivo (she played Celie in the stage version of The Color Purple) for a few weeks, and just today he added Michelle Rodriguez as one of the leads. Oh and last week Elizabeth Debicki and Andre Holland also joined. That's some cast! Gillian Flynn, of Gone Girl fame, is writing the script with him.

--- The Disappearing Director -  I swear that I write a "Sam Raimi has signed on to direct a new movie!" post every couple of months and then nothing, nothing, nothing happens. Back in June there was "a tornado heist thriller," and in March there was a movie about the prospective future, and in January of last year he said he was going to remake A Prophet. But these things get announced and then... poof, nothing. So excuse me for taking today's news that he is making "a Bermuda Triangle movie" with a great big grain of salt. It does make me want to watch Christopher Smith's terribly underrated 2009 flick Triangle though.
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--- Queer History - Different From the Others, a German film from 1919 that is considered the first properly gay movie ever made, has been making the rounds at festivals; I missed it when it played here in NYC in the fall and I still haven't caught up with it. Anyway there was a fine piece on it in The New Yorker for Valentine's Day, looking at the moment in time it was made compared to where we are today.

--- A Waters Deluge - On Monday I posted a link to a terrific interview with John Waters, thinking I'd struck gold, and then suddenly all week it was like non-stop golden showers -- he gave an amazing interview to Dazed right here, and he gave an amazing interview to AnOther right here, and he gave an amazing interview to The Stranger right here. Hell I think if I check my phone I might find out I interviewed him in my sleep last night. (Please sneak in my window any time you like, John Waters.)

--- The Beard's End - Part of me always thinks I'm going to find Justin Theroux irritating when I go to read an interview with him but then he usually turns out coming off fine and I remember oh right he's good friends with Amy Sedaris, of course he's fine. Anyway this interview with him at TimeOut about the last season of The Leftovers and other stuff is pretty good, as are the pictures. The first trailer for The Leftovers showed up today too, you can watch it right here. There aren't any swinging gray sweatpants to be seen though, so fuck them.

--- Sex Talk - Over at Vulture today Kyle Buchanan compares and contrasts the blunt force trauma sex scenes of  Fifty Shades Darker with the slow lingering eroticism of Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name and concludes that American Directors are nothing but thumbs when it comes to cinematic schtupping. Having not seen CMBYN yet (and hating the world because of that) I can't say as to the specifics but I will agree that all of the legitimately sexy movies I have seen in recent years - Neon Bull and Stranger by the Lake come immediately to mind - have indeed been foreign films. Can you guys name an actually sexy sex scene in an American film lately?