It’s a Christmas season like no other. With the simultaneous (or shortly after the theatrical release) release of Hollywood films on digital platforms, this year there are more streaming possibilities from home than for any other party in history. See where to start, whether you’re watching a screen or listening to a podcast.
New publications : The holiday movies that we, Toy Store in the neighborhood made.
(
Netflix,
Amazon
Prime Video, YouTube)
In addition to the numerous documentaries about serious history, the streaming services offer a growing subgenre about less important chapters from the past.
Producer Brian Volk-Weiss specializes in what he calls pop history: Shows the origins of the cultural ephemera that is considered sacred by many people today. Netflix’ Toys That Made Us series explores the evolution of He-Man, Barbie and other characters over three seasons. It’s not about small children playing with plastic, he says. It’s about how this plastic has affected their soul, heart and mind.
His company Nacelle directed the latest series for Netflix Holiday Movies, where we focus on filming classics such as Elf and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Among other things, it provides the following information: The producers of Elf originally wanted Chris Farley to play in the classic Christmas film, which was eventually released with Will Ferrell in the lead role.
Will Ferrell in Elf.
Photo:
The Everett Collection
In the meantime, new episodes of the series Mr. De Volk-Weiss toy store near you at Christmas will be shown on Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. The programme profiles independent toy stores and examines which items are most important to them and how they can stay in business during a pandemic. Due to travel and film restrictions, the producer used footage shot by the shop owners themselves and said he would share the profits of the show with the participating shops.
Mr. Volk-Weiss has produced over 200 stand-up comedy specials and has fuelled demand for streaming offers for the genre with breaking comic book specials (Iliza Schlesinger, Ali Wong) and established stars (Jim Gaffigan, Kevin Hart). According to Volk-Weiss, despite his influence in the category, it took him seven years to sell Toys That Made Us, which was inspired by his passion for the collection.
Producers, he says, are stereotypical, just like actors. Why does a stand-up comedian come to us with a toy show?
Critical consensus: One more round.
(Amazon, Apple TV)
Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen defrauded a militia (Casino Royale), created the Death Star (Rogue One) and replaces Johnny Depp in the next episode of Fantastic Beasts. But the feat he tries to achieve in the new Danish film Another Round is perhaps his most dangerous: teaching a class of teenagers after a few drinks.
Another tour for sale and rent is Denmark’s bid on the 2021 Oscar for the best international performance. This is a group of teachers who experiment with the theory that the ideal alcohol level in a person’s blood is 0.05 and who try to maintain the noise all day long. The experiment leads to surprising results that go far beyond the obvious, just like the film which, according to Mikkelsen, only uses alcohol as an excuse to make a film about embracing life.
In my case it’s a middle-aged man standing on a platform looking at a train, and the train has just left him, the actor says about his character, and adds: Ten minutes after the movie, he realizes he didn’t get what he wanted.
Mads Mikkelsen, in the center, in the other bend.
Photo:
Samuel Goldwyn Films
The expert recommends: Sessions of light, in an unknown forest, lunar view…
(Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.)
Rob Herting is the CEO of Qcode Media, a podcast company specialising in the production of scripted fiction. Here he recommends fiction podcasts outside the Qcode family. Excerpt from the interview.
Lauren Shippen’s Light Sessions was one of the first versions of science fiction podcasts. It had a great concept and a great catch – it’s a group of patients with a therapy, and each of them has their own supernatural abilities – but it also had an element of mystery. The show seemed very neat and professional to me, and the lyrics and performances really jumped out. She produced a new podcast, In the Strange Forest, which started airing earlier this month. After the death of a boy in the forest near a village in Minnesota, his sister and friends go into the service of a grumpy old man who teaches them survival skills and prepares them for their journey in the forest. It is partly documentary fiction, partly pure fiction and partly musical fiction. I like ambition. There may be another fictional musical, but I haven’t heard it yet.
Moonface is so fresh and original that it looks like a Sunday sci-fi podcast. It was created by James Kim and published last year. It’s the story of a young Korean-American boy named Paul who lives in Los Angeles. Paul is gay and has trouble letting his parents know. You get this very intimate and quick look at the history of immigrants with this subliminal element. It’s super poignant and very raw, in a good way. It’s just very honest, like listening to real life. It has this texture: Oh wow, I was just looking at this story and listening to this guy’s life and hearing what he was waiting for. I’ve never listened to a podcast so well filmed. And in six episodes, you fly through it.
Family time: Soul, Wonder Woman 1984.
(Disney+, HBO Max)
The Troll World Tour (Peacock) ushered in a revolution in the film world when he visited the cinemas in April and arrived directly in the living room. Director Walt Dorn told the magazine at the time: I’m an optimist. I feel there is room for both experiences, and both are equally valid.
Warner Bros. is currently releasing the long-awaited Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and at HBO Max on the same day, a strategy the studio has adopted for the entire 2021 season. But
Patty Jenkins,
The director of the sequel, also has film experience in the city.
Wonder Woman 1984 is one of the few potential blockbusters of the season whose theatrical premiere has not been postponed until 2021. The theatres have asked a lot of us and that’s why I believe in it, Jenkins recently told the magazine. We hope that we will be very helpful to the film and theatre industry by showing that people want to return to the cinema when they can.
At the moment most families stay in their living room during the holidays. Besides the new Wonder Woman there are the Christmas blockbusters Pixar’s Soul on Disney+, with Jamie Foxx as jazz teacher and pianist, whose body is separated from his soul.
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