episode 23: live from the picket lines
do you ever think about.......... dropping an atomic bomb to end the strikes so we can have the 2023 awards season we deserve?
Ciao pals! Did you miss me? I missed you! I deeply apologize for my absence. Like the Europeans, my summer working hours cannot be trusted, especially in August. But in this case, I was not in vacanza, (ok un poco in vacanza), but standing strong alongside my SAG and WGA brothers and sisters on the frontlines of the strikes! Though obviously there’s very serious issues at play, we had fun with it and it was great to reunite with some close friends! Here’s some pics from the NYC & LA protests -
Here I am in NYC! It’s still important to look chic whilst protesting corporate greed!
Also in NYC! Pete and I brought L&B Spumoni Gardens pizza to the WGA protest in Greenpoint! He’s a laugh a minute this guy!
Always great to see Adam and fight the good fight! We were supposed to hit Maui together with our fams and a few other friends this month….. and then :/ We told Paris not to go!
Jon! I missed you! Thanks to streaming, more and more people are discovering the genius that is Mad Men! A top 5 all time TV show for us at TT. Throw this guy a bone, better yet, A HAMM! 🥁🥁🥁
There’s a full stop on any sort of press, promotional activity, interviews etc. during the strike, but don’t worry. I am not breaking any union rules. I’ve been granted special permission to write to you all today.
P.S. and writing I am doing from my new MacBook Air! Female Founder ALERT! I invested in my business by receiving a gold MacBook for my birthday. Just wait until I open an LLC, all bets are off. We’re hitting Cannes baby! It’s a “write off!” Also moment of appreciation for my background. One day I’ll be there again on assignment, interviewing (Academy Award Winner?!) Greta Gerwig at the Polo Lounge. It’s called the POWER OF MANIFESTATION PPL!
Anyway, it’s time to address the Weird Barbie in the room. The Atomic Bomb of it all, if you will. The biggest cinematic event of the summer. On one hand I feel sorry I wasn't readily available to deliver my reviews to you all immediately, on the other I’ve been waiting 15 months for these movies. I needed a moment. Also respect the union rules ya know?
As you know TT is brought to you in part by Alamo Drafthouse, but I did go to AMC for Oppenheimer and TALK ABOUT ‘We Come to this Place for MAGIC’. Nicole Kidman’s poetry has never hit so hard!
Light spoilers ahead.
I was LOCKED into Oppenheimer start to finish. 3 hours have never gone by so quickly. I felt like I was watching a historical superhero movie if that makes sense? Obviously the cinematography, sound, visual effects, etc. were quite literally mesmerizing. But also - the performances! 12/10. Every actor had A SCENE. Robert Downey Jr. what a little villan! I love Matt Damon too much. Emily Blunt dropped her own bombs! And of course Cillian Murphy; West Coast office and I agree, OSCAR.
Don’t cancel me but I’m getting a little tired of Florence’s angsty characters? I know she can play frustrated, questioning woman, I want some more range!
Something that surprised me was how many chicks Oppenheimer was pulling back in the day. To quote a ‘Friend Of the tomatoes’ and paid subscriber - “OppenHorny!”
It’s received a fair amount of negative reviews. A lot of its criticism is a bit above my pay grade to respond to. Listen, it’s a 3 hour movie about a manorexic quantum physicist developing a weapon that killed as many as 226k people, mostly civilians. It’s not exactly the Forrest Gump. TLDR: I was truly captivated, it lived up to the hype for me. I found it a great balance of serious/smart Oscar movie, while still very watchable. However, If it wasn’t for you, no shade.
BARBIE ON THE OTHER HAND. ANY HATER OF THIS FILM SHOULD SEE THEMSELVES OUT !!!!!!!!!!!
Where to begin. I don’t know if I have the words to describe how much I loved this movie. West Coast office said it best.
IMPORTANT!!!!
I’m willing to go as far as saying it’s Tricia’ Tomatoes highest rated movie. It redefined our highest honor ‘BUY ON iTUNES’. REDEFINED!!!!!!
I saw it with my fellow barbies, including my sister and then again alone on my birthday. I’m ready to go a third time and buy it on every apple device I own. I laughed, I cried, I sang along, I danced, I laughed more, I missed my mom, I felt so grateful to be a woman!!!!!!!! It’s just impossible not to leave smiling and in an excellent mood, tapping your toes to every catchy jam on Mark Ronson’s No Skips Soundtrack.
(LIZZO is a bit problematic at the moment, but I think I am going to make my alarm PINK)
I’ve been a long time fan of Greta Gerwig who, I discovered this year, I share a birthday with <3 <3 <3 !!!! She was also raised Catholic which slips into her movies quite a bit, went to an all girls catholic school and grew up doing community theater. She was also an ENGLISH MAJOR !!!! Don’t even get me started on the importance of a liberal arts education!!!! God how I wish I went to Barnard and was in her clique with Kate McKinnon. If somehow Barbie was your first foray into the world of GG, may I suggest you watch Lady Bird. (Naturally all of her films are in my iTunes Library - Lady Bird, Little Women, Frances Ha etc.)
Greta and her partner writer/director Noah Baumbach (they live in BK, we love!) began writing Barbie together in the early days of the pandemic. She said on the Smartless Podcast that back in March 2020 since everything was so uncertain, they had no idea if the movie would be made, she wasn’t attached to direct, no clue what the future of movies was etc, they decided to go all out, off the rails and just write the hilarious unhinged story of Barbie that THEY wanted to tell. Never knowing if we’d even go to the theaters again it was like who cares! Thinking about the movie’s beginnings knowing 3 years later she’s become the first female director to surpass $1B in the global Box Office, I could cry!!!!! Go Barbie! Make your dreams come true!
But I have to say after the initial serotonin rush provided from this historical cinematic event wore off, I started to feel exactly like this….
Respectfully, respectfully, the Strikes are Ruining My Life!
OK. Maybe that’s harsh. I support the WGA and SAG. I mean see above, I truly do! I know they are in a historic fight that will define the future of the industry. The business model has completely changed, I too am scared of AI, character actors (not the 1% of top-dog earners) and writers deserve to be paid living wages for their extremely important work! Streaming residuals! Pay Kirk from Gilmore Girls!
BarbenHeimer was such an exciting, successful, landmark Box Office W that should be solidifying the resurgence of theater going! We should be heading into Q3/Q4, staring down the barrel of big, prestige, Oscar contender movies releasing every week! 2023 was supposed to be for the movies!!!! Instead studios are considering, if not already confirmed, pushing releases to 2024. (Including the ONE I WAS MOST EXCITED TO SEE SECOND TO BARBIE. FML, a personal attack. Thanks MGM).
If releases DO remain on schedule on this Fall, theres no premieres or press so we’re robbed of Red Carpet Fashion, cheeky Late Night Talk Show appearances, European press tours.. the list goes on. The Venice Film Festival is around the corner. NO ONE CAN GO! What would the internet have done last year without Don’t Worry Darling’s ‘Spit-Gate’ ! Who honestly wants to sit through Dune 2 in November without the excitement of a Timmy C, Austin Butler, Zendaya world tour of red carpet fashions and candid flirty moments! Not me!
2024 movies and tv are already getting screwed since a lot were in the middle of production. So many tv shows are going to be canceled- I mean I guarantee you Euphoria will not get a 3rd season by the time this all wraps up.
Movie theaters are going to struggle again. So are stylists, publicists, every unseen person who contributes to the spectacle of the movies. Also me emotionally lol. The ripple effects are endless.
And don’t even get me started on what this means for Awards Season…………….. Emmys already postponed to Jan 2024 and here’s a a direct quote from Vanity Fair that truly broke my heart: “it’s unclear as to whether or not actors and writers will participate in January’s show.” DAGGER! and that’s just the EMMYS. 2020 was FUCKED, 2021 was weird, 2022 we started to head towards normal, and now here we are. It’s literally Kendom all over again!
Again, I’m making light of a very serious situation only I have granted myself the personal authority to speak on so like don’t come for me. I just love the movies and was so excited for this year!
Goddamnit America Ferrara, WE NEED YOU TO FIX THIS TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They could save us! Leverage Allan!
Anyway, I shall leave you with something funny that’s been on my mind all week lolz
ciao!
Also appreciate the photoshop efforts!
10/10 article! I will be your counsel when Tricia’s Tomatoes goes public.