Hollywood
2013 Oscars: The Onion’s High-Tech Lynching of Beasts of the Southern Wild Star Quvenzhané Wallis
February 25, 2013 | Eric ShapiroDuring the 2013 Academy Awards ceremony (sorry, the Oscars), satirical publication The Onion set Twitter ablaze with an outrageous – and, many claim, racially-charged – tweet about 9-year-old Beasts of the Southern star Quvenzhané Wallis. And just what were those 17 inflammatory words that sparked such an uproar on the night of the Oscars?
“Zero Dark Thirty” Review: Torture Controversy in bin-Laden Raid Movie Absurd
January 15, 2013 | Eric ShapiroDirector Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal have caught a lot of flack for their portrayal of torture in Oscar-nominated film Zero Dark Thirty, detailing the operation that resulted in the death of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin-Laden. Ultimately, the controversy says a lot more about the state of Hollywood than it does about the film.
Bigelow handles the loaded issue of torture in a manner in line with her cinematic vision, as witnessed in prior films such as 2008’s The Hurt Locker. That being said, her latest movie harbors, if anything, an anti-torture message, although it requires a bit of discernment on the part of her audience to notice. Fortunately, the Flatiron Hot! News critic is on hand with 800 words of discernment.
Flatiron Hot! Q&A: Jacob Krueger Talks Hollywood and the Art of Screenwriting
December 4, 2012 | Eric ShapiroFlatiron Hot! recently had the privilege of sitting down with Jacob Krueger, the screenwriter responsible for critically-acclaimed drama The Matthew Shepard Story, to discuss a wide variety of topics ranging from the current state of Hollywood to Krueger’s unique approach to teaching screenwriting. In the interest of brevity, the latter part of the interview will be published on Thursday.
The Dilemma of the Brainy Sci-Fi Blockbuster (BSFB) Part 1
November 8, 2012 | Eric ShapiroThe Flatiron Hot! Critic deconstructs the Sci-Fi Blockbusters – Part 1 …
One can select any number of summer blockbusters to support the cliched assertion that Hollywood has lost its magic. Loud, flashy, and utterly bereft of such cinematic staples as storytelling, characterization and directorial vision, the films in question are unashamedly tailored to deliver the biggest possible adrenaline rush to the widest swath of the testosterone-fueled young male demographic.