Monthly Archives: July 2023

Barbenheimer: Hollywood’s Last Barbecue?

New York Times



The film industry’s happiest weekend in a long time may also be its last happy weekend for many months.

With the dual opening of “Barbie,” Greta Gerwig’s comedy based on the Mattel doll, and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” a biopic about the mastermind behind the atomic bomb, the pop culture phenomenon of “Barbenheimer” is upon us. Though the movies are wildly different in style and tone, by helpfully landing on the same day, the buildup has so captured the public consciousness that many movie fans, who have been slow to return to theaters at all, are eager to watch two of the year’s most anticipated titles back-to-back.

Analysts have predicted a record-breaking box office weekend: “Barbie” will debut well north of $150 million domestically and may even top the opening gross of this year’s champ, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” “Oppenheimer,” also in its first weekend, is set to make more than $50 million, a thunderous achievement for a dense, three-hour drama. For a theatrical sector still battered by the pandemic and diminished by the rise of streaming, this potent double win would normally presage popped corks all over Hollywood.

But any champagne will come with caveats, as the two movies open during a dual strike that has brought the industry to a near-standstill.

On Friday, the Hollywood actors’ strike reached the one-week mark, after the 160,000 members of the SAG-AFTRA union joined members of the Writers Guild of America, who have been on strike since May. Both labor actions are expected to last for months, scuttling plans to put new studio films into the pipeline and jeopardizing the ones already set to come out, since actors have been ordered not to promote them during the strike.

Even those cheering the success of “Barbenheimer” fear this weekend’s box-office sugar high might be short-lived. There are no other “Barbie”-level blockbusters on the release calendar until “Dune: Part Two” on Nov. 3, and even that sci-fi sequel could be delayed until next year if the actors’ strike persists, since stars like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Austin Butler would be forbidden to take part in the film’s global press tour.

Already, some upcoming films have had their release plans modified as a result of the SAG-AFTRA strike. The Helen Mirren drama “White Bird” and A24’s Julio Torres comedy “Problemista” were supposed to launch in August and are now without an official release date, while “Challengers,” a tennis romance starring Zendaya, on Friday abdicated its prestigious slot as the opening-night title at the Venice Film Festival, which begins Aug. 30. That film, like the Emma Stone comedy “Poor Things,” had been set for theatrical release in September in order to capitalize on a starry press push at Venice. Now “Challengers” has moved to April 2024, according to Deadline.

Theaters that are barely back from the brink since the pandemic would be tested once again, while the films that were already dated for 2024 might be forced to free up space. And without the usual influx of year-end prestige films, this year’s awards season could look very different — and, in another way, all-too-familiar.

Worst-case scenario: Every studio on the planet decides to move their fourth-quarter movies into next year. Suddenly, the last contenders for awards are ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer.’ Then what happens?

Take it from an old newspaperman: Never test what the public can do without. You’d be surprised how much.

Open Letter to a Puppy: Upward Dog



My scoundrel,

It occurs to me I rarely write to you solely. Usually jointly, the second name of conjoined existence. Mr. Hardy. Mr. Costello. Mr. Jadie. 

And when you came into this home, your role was as adjunct, as supplement, as ventilation for Jadie’s endless combustion. You were my last attempt at Labradoring.

Now you are helping me to human.

I didn’t realize the lesson initially, which perhaps meant it was to take. You were a hyper, nervous wreck when you got here. Or I was. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference, so constant are you now.

But then. Then you were a bait pup, a dog race bunny mix of pit and beagle used to train attack dogs. A family had returned you for being too anxious. Now you sleep stretched like a hobo  on Xanax.

You used to fear humans. Now you stand on hinds to lick fingers (we gotta work on that).

You used to hate crates. Now you bound into yours for food and toys.

You used to navigate life. Now you celebrate it. 

Thus, do I. You have seen: I am not fully recovered from the back break. Some days, you must join Jadie and the dog walker, for this body abides its own calendars and alarm clocks, and I hate that they don’t always jibe.

But you do. Everyday, you are there. And I mean tHERE. When I join you kids in the park, you greet me like a teen girl at a Beatles concert.

When I go under hot water, you lay in bed to steal an ear tuck when I dry.

When I do yoga mat stretches, you plant your nose about an inch from where mine dips. Maybe less than an inch; definitely lick-lengthed.

And with each dip, you remind me how a little bad luck can land you on the wrong side of the crate. That timing is everything. That acknowledging the timing — here, at this very second before you reach the period — is everything plus 1.

This isn’t me keeping things whole. More than one physical therapist told me to literally brace for back issues in geezerhood (i.e., Tuesday). The five months since the break haven’t been completely wince-free. And Jadie, you’ll get your futon pad back soon, I promise.

Until then, Chuck, you’re the star, the headliner, the top of the fold. Mr. Abbott. Mr. Laurel. Mr. Charles DeAndre. 

Take a bow, bud. Keep this up, and soon I’ll be able to, too.