by Emily Nagle
“Vulveeta” has made its debut at LGBTQ+ film festival NewFest 2022, and is ready to rock your world.
This mockumentary follows a riot grrrl band called Vulveeta that’s reuniting for the first time in 20 years, just in time for former lead singer Grrrilda Beausoleil’s (Maria Breaux) 50th birthday. Grrrilda ghosted the band right before they got big, but now she’s ready to rock again. However, the punk scene has changed drastically since those days, as have her former bandmates.
Former drummer Killer Child (Dakota Billops-Breaux) is working odd jobs to save up for college, rhythm guitarist Gordonx Garcia (StormMiguel Florez) now works in social media, and one of the band members Susan (Ruby Goldberg) refuses to even see the camera crew. Not all of them are thrilled to get the band back together, but it doesn’t matter, because they’ve only got one week to prepare for their reunion show. To add to the excitement, a camera crew is documenting the entire adventure.
This film is entirely improvised, which allows the dialogue to flow better and gives it a more authentic feel. We get to know the characters intimately through confessionals that are reminiscent of reality TV. And much like the punk scene that started back in the 1990’s, it’s got plenty of DIY flair (including the opening credits, which are reminiscent of zines from the time period). For example, KC’s phone vlogs reveal that she’s on board with Vulveeta’s return because it might give her a shot at college.
Not only is “Vulveeta” raw and authentic, but it’s also super empowering! Riot grrrl first started as a feminist movement in the 1990s, but Vulveeta is different in the sense that the band includes trans members. That’s not something you see every day, and in that sense, “Vulveeta” is a bit of an underdog story. We watch this group of people that initially wants to move on from their music days, but then they all get back into it to create something incredible. Check out the trailer below.
by Emily Nagle
In an age where media is powered predominantly by nostalgia, yet another childhood series has been confirmed for a reboot; the first trailer for the second reboot of the British children’s show “Teletubbies” (the last one ran from 2015 to 2018) premiered online today.
Described as a “21st-century refresh” of the series that first aired in 1997, the upcoming “Teletubbies” series boasts an all-new cast: in addition to the Teletubbies themselves, the Voice Trumpets and the iconic Sun Baby are all portrayed by different actors than the original series. Even mischievous vacuum cleaner Noo-Noo has been updated, now sporting a fresh coat of orange, pink, and yellow paint instead of blue.
Narrated by Titus Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Central Park), not much is known about the reboot yet. It appears to have the same content as the original series: the Teletubbies spend their days frolicking around their grassy, hilly home, feasting on Tubby Toast and Tubby Custard, and learning about the world through videos on their belly screens. They are also joined by the Tiddlytubbies, which are baby Teletubbies introduced in the 2015 revival series.
Adults who grew up watching the original show are flocking to Twitter to express their feelings on the upcoming revival, with many of them criticizing the changes made. One specific detail viewers are hung up on is the Sun Baby; more specifically, the animation team chose to simply superimpose the babies’ faces on top of the sun without making it blend in (as opposed to the original series), and many are criticizing this as laziness on the animators’ part.
The “Teletubbies” reboot is coming to Netflix on November 14.
by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for October 14 – October 16, 2022
5. Amsterdam ($2.9 million)
4. The Woman King ($3.7 million)
3. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile ($7.4 million)
2. Smile ($12.4 million)
1. Halloween Ends ($41.3 million)
With October halfway through, audiences are prepping for Spooky Month and flocked to theaters for “Halloween Ends”. Despite also being available to stream on Peacock at no additional cost, the long-awaited final installment in the Halloween film series dominated ticket sales this past weekend. Starring series veteran Jamie Lee Curtis and Andi Matichak, in addition to newcomer Rohan Campbell, this movie received mixed reviews for its confusing story.
by Emily Nagle
Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, best known for portraying half-giant groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” film series, has died at the age of 72.
After graduating from the University of Edinburgh, Coltrane got his acting career started in his early twenties with theatre and comedy shows. His first film role came in 1980 with “Flash Gordon”, but his breakthrough came when he played criminal psychologist Dr. Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald in the BAFTA-winning British crime drama series “Cracker”.
When Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling was giving her choices for cast members for the first film adaptation, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, she was so set on Coltrane portraying Hagrid that when asked her top casting choices, Rowling replied in a single breath, “RobbieColtraneforHagrid”. Coltrane, who was already a fan of the book series, portrayed Hagrid for all eight films, starting in 2001 with “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” all the way through 2011 with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2“.
Coltrane’s role as Hagrid was one that brought joy to children and adults around the world, and he recalled receiving fan mail and having children excitedly run up to him and ask him to autograph their books. “The legacy of the movies is that my children’s generation will show them to their children,” Coltrane said in the “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” that was released on HBO earlier this year. “So you could be watching it in 50 years’ time, easy. I’ll not be here, sadly, but Hagrid will, yes.”
In addition to “Harry Potter”, Coltrane is well-known for his role as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky in the James Bond films “GoldenEye” and “The World is Not Enough”. He also appeared in “The Brothers Bloom” and “Ocean’s Twelve”, and had voice roles in “The Tale of Despereaux” and Pixar’s “Brave”.
Coltrane’s death was confirmed by his agency on Friday. He died after being in poor health for the past two years. Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, as well as his children Spencer and Alice.
by Emily Nagle
After years of Netflix CEO Reed Hastings stressing the necessity of the platform’s ad-free nature, Netflix will be rolling out an ad-supported payment plan in the United States on November 3, going for $6.99/month (as opposed to the ad-free Basic plan, which costs $9.99/month).
So, why is Netflix adding in commercials after being opposed to them for so long? In the first few months of 2022, Netflix lost a substantial amount of subscribers (200,000, to be exact) for the first time in a decade, and its stock plummeted as a result. The “Basic with Ads” plan will hopefully replenish Netflix’s revenue by introducing a cheaper option for customers who don’t want to pay premium. Ideally, this will help the platform to regain 1 million customers in the third quarter.
“We want to offer consumers choice,” Netflix COO Greg Peters explained in a media conference call, “and figure out what the best offering is for them.”
While they may have more choices, consumers aren’t particularly thrilled with the streaming platform’s decision. Many social media users have commented that the company has defeated its own purpose by adding commercials. Netflix, however, sees this as an opportunity to expand their services to people with different viewing and spending habits.
by Emily Nagle
As of earlier today, Cartoon Network Studios is essentially no more after the animation department was combined with Warner Bros. Animation in yet another cost-cutting realignment.
Ever since WarnerMedia’s completion of the Discovery merger back in April, CEO David Zaslav has been aggressively cutting costs by cancelling upcoming content and projects and laying off hundreds of employees – as a result of the consolidation, 26% of Warner Bros. Television Group’s workforce was axed.
WarnerMedia chairman Channing Dungey announced yesterday in a company-wide letter, “We are implementing a new streamlined structure in which the development and main production teams will now work across both Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios.”
In other words, Cartoon Network Studios will have to share resources with Warner Bros. Animation. This is bad news for Cartoon Network, which in recent years has produced original animation including Craig of the Creek, Infinity Train, Steven Universe, and Over the Garden Wall. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Animation is more focused on creating content for WB’s many preexisting properties, such as Looney Tunes, DC, and Hanna-Barbera characters.
As a result of the studio realignment, Cartoon Network’s future content could very well consist of more reboots and spin-offs of popular Warner Bros. properties, being more focused on nostalgia than original stories and characters.
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