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Billionaire and key Republican donor Charles Koch today endorsed Nikki Haley as the best bet to beat Donald Trump in the GOP primaries, conspiciously dumping previous beneficiary Ron DeSantis in favor of the former U.N. ambassador.

The announcement was made in a memo to grassroots activists via the network's advocacy arm Tuesday and is being backed by a multimillion-dollar ad campaign beginning this week in states that hold early primary contests and several that vote on Super Tuesday.

In "Tár," Cate Blanchett plays the fictional Lydia Tár, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, so it's only appropriate that — of all the film festivals in the world — the 2023 Berlinale should provide the stage for the expansion of the "Tár" cinematic universe.

You heard that right: while Lydia herself may be down and out, the adventures of "Tár" are far from over. The movie actually begins with Lydia giving an interview at The New Yorker Film Festival, and in a felicitous case of life imitating art, writer-director Todd Field recently spoke to the press at the New York Film Critics Circle awards ceremony, where "Tár" was named Best Film and Blanchett was named Best Actress of 2022. There, Field discussed the upcoming short film "The Fundraiser," which is set in the same world as "Tár" and which will feature select cast members, perhaps even Blanchett herself.

Blanchett will be on hand for a talk at the Berlinale next month with her German co-star Nina Hoss and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, whose soundtrack for "Tár" takes the form of a highfalutin concept album. Speaking to Indiewire in New York, Field was coy about what exactly viewers can expect from "The Fundraiser," saying only, "Is the entire cast [of 'Tar'] in 'The Fundraiser'? No, not the entire cast. You'll see a few faces and you'll see some things that I think are surprising."

Tar Can Play That Game

"The Fundraiser" is an apt title and concept for a short film follow-up to "Tár," given that the movie charts Lydia's downfall from a respected composer-conductor to a disgraced figure in the orchestra world. She could probably use a good fundraiser, as could "Tár." Despite the mountains of critical acclaim it's received, the movie has only made $5 million on a $35 million budget. Last month, The New York Times discussed it in the context of an article about how "Highbrow Films Aimed at Winning Oscars Are Losing Audiences."

Like Martin Scorsese, I felt the clouds lift when I watched "Tár." For me, it was the perfect antidote to the franchise films currently dominating at the box office, like "Avatar: The Way of Water," which I've proudly managed to avoid seeing if only because I don't want to give it my "vote" and line James Cameron's pockets with more money. Field is an interesting filmmaker; this is the same actor-turned-director who told Tom Cruise the secret password, fidelio, in "Eyes Wide Shut" before he made "In the Bedroom."

I don't necessarily think "Tár" is the cure for what ails all modern cinema, though, and I can see how a film like this might alienate some viewers. The movie sets the viewer down in Lydia's pretentious music world and expects you to keep up with what's going on without over-explaining things. In some ways, "Tár" shows the increasing disconnect between casual moviegoers and the insular world of critics and film festivals, but maybe one way for it to bridge that gap is to get in on the shared-universe game in a tongue-in-cheek way. At the very least, "The Fundraiser" should be a nice little treat for "Tár" fans.

Read this next: The Best Movies Of 2022

The post Tar is Getting a Cinematic Universe with Todd Field's New Short The Fundraiser appeared first on /Film.

On the October 4, 2018 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor-in-chief Peter Sciretta is joined by /Film weekend editor Brad Oman, and writers Hoai-Tran Bui and Chris Evangelista to answer some questions in the Mail Bag.

You can subscribe to /Film Daily on iTunes, Google Play, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (here is the RSS URL if you need it).

Opening Banter: HT is away but magically joining us through the power of a previously recorded show.

In The Mail Bag:

• Mike S asks “What is your favorite genre and favorite sub genre?”
  • Peter: Big Event movies? If not maybe Sci-fi, Coming of Age drama/dramedy
  • Chris: Horror & Stephen King adaptations
  • HT: Lush fantasy/sci-fi that speak to the inherent goodness of humanity; sub-genre maybe fairy tale
  • Brad: Comedy for overall genre, and comedies that are self-aware and meta, sometimes parodies, but not always
• Kolin from San José, CA writes in “What are some of your top Disney Channel Original movies from the 1990s?”
  • Peter didn’t really watch many of the 90’s ones but did watch a couple 80’s ones: The Parent Trap II more times than he cares to admit, and Not Quite Human
  • Chris: Mr. Boogedy
  • HT: Smart House, Halloweentown, High School Musical (2000’s)
  • Brad: was a Nickelodeon kid.
• Peter suggested there should be a zombie movie with baby zombies, James W wrote in “Closest thing I can think of to a zombie killer kids movie is this 2008 film The Children. I actually remember it being pretty fun.”
  • Chris have you seen it and gives his opinion.
• Nicholas E from Chicago Heights, IL writes in “Hey guys, I was wondering which movies provoke a great emotional response for you. Whether it be something that makes you feel happy, sad, angry, etc. as long as it makes you feel something great. Keep up the good work, I’m a big fan of the show.”
  • Peter is a sucker for crying in movies, E.T.
  • Chris says  E.T. is a big one as well, and most Spielberg movies in general; and Lord of the Rings, specifically Fellowship of the Ring.
  • HT cries over every movie that gives her hope, as well as transportative, bittersweet romances: A Little Princess, Bridge to Terabithia, Call Me By Your Name
  • Brad: Movies with troubled or (almost) unrequited romance always pull at my heart strings. Eternal Sunshine. Sleeping with Other People. Like Crazy. Before Sunrise Trilogy.
• Andrew Haynes, from St Ives, Cambridgeshire UK writes in: “Hi Peter and friends,  Really enjoyed your discussion on physical vs digital media. I started out with VHS and even Betamax back in the day, then it was Laserdisc, DVD and now bluray 4k.  Whilst I’m resigned to the fact that one day physical media may die, I still think the picture and sound quality of bluray will always be better than digital download / streaming.  I’m also a fan of special features and commentary tracks. Also, a couple of years ago I started collecting Steelbook bluray editions which are often limited runs, have unique and exclusive artwork and usually do not lose their value.  Specialist companies such as Filmarena, Mantalab, Novamedia, Kimchidvd and some others also produce really great editions with art cards, lenticular covers, and other goodies.  Admittedly, some of these editions can be expensive, but they are definitely worth purchasing for your favourite films.  There is clear demand for these special editions too, as they usually sell out within hours of being released! Keep up the great work!”
  • Do any of you collect Steelbooks and what are the coolest ones you own?
    • Brad –  I collect some, but more often than not I don’t like the artwork on most Steelbook releases as much as the normal cover art. But two that I have which I really like are Guardians of the Galaxy that looks like Peter Quill’s Walkman and Doctor Strange that looks like the Book of the Vishanti
    • Chris – While I’m a huge fan of physical media, I don’t actually collect steelbooks.  

All the other stuff you need to know:

• You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes.
• /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.
• You can subscribe to /Film Daily on iTunes, Google Play, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).
• Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air.
• Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes, tell your friends and spread the word!
• Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo.

The post Mail Bag: Favorite Genre, Disney Channel Movies, Emotional Films, Steelbook Blu-rays appeared first on /Film.

When Oscar-winning screenwriter Tony Gilroy joined the production of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story late into Rogue One reshoots, a few eyebrows were raised. Rumors were already swirling that Disney was unhappy with the first cut of the standalone Star Wars film, and that as much as 40% of the film needed to be completely redone. And reports of Gilroy’s big paycheck didn’t help alleviate fears that Rogue One was going to be a total bust.

Rogue One ended up being a big box office and critical success. But it was suggested that much of that success was because of Gilroy’s last-minute efforts to salvage the film. We weren’t sure exactly how much of a role Gilroy played in the Rogue One reshoots — until now.

“I have to be careful,” Gilroy said on The Moment With Brian Koppelman podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter). “I don’t know what the statute of limitations is. I’ve never done an interview about Rogue [One], ever.”

Gilroy spoke candidly about his experience on the Star Wars film for the first time since Rogue One premiered in December 2016. And from the sound of it, Gareth Edwards‘ original cut of the film had run into more than a few problems:

“If you look at Rogue, all the difficulty with Rogue, all the confusion of it … and all the mess, and in the end when you get in there, it’s actually very, very simple to solve. Because you sort of go, ‘This is a movie where, folks, just look. Everyone is going to die.’ So it’s a movie about sacrifice.”

This lines up with reports that entire subplots were cut out of Rogue One, resulting in a confusing first two-thirds of the movie before the film rallies around the Rogue One team’s noble sacrifice.

Gilroy was vague on how much of the film was changed after he boarded the project, but it seems to align with star Ben Mendelsohn‘s remarks that “an enormously different” version of the film exists. While Gilroy was only credited as co-writer of Rogue One, it’s widely known that the Oscar winner did more than tweak the script. Disney called Gilroy late in the process to lead extensive reshoots that would reshape the film. “I came in after the director’s cut,” Gilroy said. “I have a screenplay credit, in the arbitration, that was easily won.”

Translation: Gilroy must have made extensive changes to the movie. To come on board long after a director’s screenplay was effectively set in stone and “easily win” a screenplay credit means that Gilroy’s changes were definitely significant. And those were changes that Gilroy was able to make because he doesn’t really care for Star Wars:

“That was my super power. I’ve never been interested in Star Wars, ever. So I had no reverence for it whatsoever. I was unafraid about that. And they were in such a swamp… they were in so much terrible, terrible, trouble that all you could do was improve their position.”

But Gilroy couldn’t have done it without the complete trust of Lucasfilm and Disney. “The gumption, the balls of Disney and Bob Iger and the people there to gamble on what they gambled on is astonishing,” Gilroy said. “It was just a mess and fear.”

To listen to the full podcast of The Moment With Brian Koppelman, click here. Gilroy’s remarks on Rogue One begin just before the 46:00 mark.

The post Screenwriter Tony Gilroy Says ‘Rogue One’ Was a “Mess” Before Reshoots appeared first on /Film.

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Julian Huxley (1887-1975) is remembered as one of the most eminent biologists and science writers of the 20th century. He's less well known for what he considered to be his true life's work: the establishment of a new religion he called "evolutionary humanism."

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