Meet the JAWS camera operator who now saves sharks; Netflix requires vaccinations; Bob Odenkirk is “stable,” and a talk about people taking Kevin Smith’s He-Man much too seriously. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.
But First: No Rundown tomorrow! And you all have the day off, too. Enjoy the beach.
JAWS: Valerie Taylor, a camera operator on 1975’s JAWS, now devotes her life to protecting oceans — and sharks. The 85-year-old continues to dive, and stars in the new Disney+ documentary Playing With Sharks. Margeaux Sippell tells her story.
Whew: Bob Odenkirk is in stable condition after a “heart-related incident,” his reps say. The Better Call Saul star and Mr. Show genius has always been one of those entertainment-industry treasures we all kind of took for granted, and the long hours without any updates about his condition yesterday made many of his fans, myself included, realize just how much we love and value his work. Get well soon, Mr. Odenkirk.
We’ll Always Have Paris: The Paris Theater, the beloved single-screen theater saved by Netflix in 2019, will reopen August 6 with Radha Blank’s very New York film The Forty-Year-Old Version, as well as a week of repertory films she will program, Deadline reports. Here’s Radha Blank’s piece for us about the creation of The Forty-Year-Old Version.
Vaxxy Time: In a move that I’d bet will soon be the industry standard, Netflix is requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone working on a production in Zone A, the Zone with actors. (Aka the KWZ: kissin’ an’ wrasslin’ zone). Variety has more details but don’t you dare take credit for KWZ, Variety, that’s all mine.)
Is Netflix Allowed to Do That? Yep.
When You Are Ready to Hear a Serious Discussion About He-Man, Listen To This: We go deep on Kevin Smith’s new Netflix series, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, in the latest Low Key podcast, focusing especially on a big death scene that has elicited many angry/silly complaints.
https://shows.acast.com/low-key/episodes/its-impossible-to-talk-seriously-about-he-man
Did He Just? Rip off an Onion headline from 2002? Yep.
Save the Date: The Austin Film Festival returns virtually and in-person October 21-28. The festival just announced that this year’s lineup includes Sera Gamble, Meg Lafauve, Derek Kolstad, Glen Mazzara, and Kemp Powers — and that Emmy and Oscar-nominated writer and director Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) will be honored as the 2021 Bill Wittliff Award for Screenwriting recipient. More information is here.
Comment of the Day: “Agreed on NOFF and Clint is the best!!!!” says Joel Kazuo, commenting on our list of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World. “Met so many people and you really feel embedded in the NOLA family. Can’t wait to get back there.” Joel is referring to the New Orleans Film Festival, and artistic director Clint Bowie. Thanks for commenting!
The Highest Number: Why not another brilliant Mr. Show sketch, featuring Don Bob Odenkirk?
Main image: Playing With Sharks star and JAWS veteran Valerie Taylor wearing shark armor on a dive with a shark.
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