Spotlight #17 – Christmas Edition

Only a few more nights and we got Christmas Eve! But I guess you knew that, unless you're like me, not keeping a track of what day is today. Anyway, some of you asked if we're going to social media with Spotlight and today is the day we're saying "Yes, we are!".

So, let's take a look at our Instagram profile @behindtheslate.co and check out how we're adapting to a different platform. And if you like it, please, share it with your friends, help us spread the word around, it would mean a world to us!

This Week's Bullets

• Unlike some of his colleagues, Steven Soderbergh defends WB/HBO Max deal, saying "There are just certain economic realities that you cannot wish away"
• Variety is on fire (speaking about interesting articles) lately – and this one is for all of you who cheer for underdogs as Oscar race is closing in
• Last week we spoke about 10 Directors to Watch, this week we're coming in hot with 10 Actors to Watch
• Nathan Crowley, the production designer of Tenet, shares some information from his latest adventure with Christopher Nolan
• Let's address that elephant in the room... did he overreact or not? George Clooney was pushed to share his opinion about Tom Cruise's rant, and he says Cruise didn't overreact, but that he (Clooney) would approach it differently. Well... maybe it was just a publicity stunt?
• Anticipated documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Nelson is coming to Netflix in January, showing the War on Drugs, crack epidemic and its consequences that are shaping current situation in the US, from a different perspective

This Week's Curated Articles

Analysis of 2020 Black List

Just this Monday, December 14, the 2020 Black List was rolled out featuring 80 scripts. It is the highest number in years. But that's not all, Scott Meyers analyzed them all and came back with some statistics! For example:

• Biopics are on decline, original stories are in demand
• Almost 3/4 of scripts have a producer attached
• More than one thirds of scripts were written or co-written by women

Billie Eilish, Finneas, Hans Zimmer and Johnny Marr on How They Crafted the 'No Time To Die' Theme

Billie Eilish with her producer/brother in one person, Finneas, about putting together the theme song for No Time To Die Bond movie. As Finneas said, they wanted to obey one rule – that the title of the movie must also be the title and the main topic of the song. I wonder if Eilish siblings would be in charge of other Bond theme songs, how would, for example, Thunderball (1965) or Octopussy (1983) sounded like?

The 13 Best Film Performances by Actors in 2020

We understand that everyone could make his own list of best performances in 2020, but why not to get inspired by anyone else? The team from IndieWire likes to work together (so do we) and that’s why they released two lists of best performances by actors and actresses in 2020.

There is, of course, mentioned Madds Mikkelsen in Another Round, if you did not see it yet, you still have a chance in another Be2Can edition these days. And by the way, it’s a pity that internet journals are still sticking to the women/men category of acting performances.

I think it would make much more sense to divide it, for example, according to the genre of the movie, not according to the two most common genders. But ok, here you go.

Award's & Festival's Window

Berlin Film Festival Goes Virtual in March 2021, with Physical Event Planned for Summer

Surprise, surprise, Berlin Film festival is officially going online. The virtual event will take place from 1st till 5th March 2021 alongside the virtual European Film Market. Organizers are still optimistic though about the summer (physical) edition, and they are planning to go wild. Fingers crossed, we already have some festivals’ withdrawal symptoms, and we cannot wait.

This Week's Recommendation

The Best Documentaries of 2020 - Year in Review

A recommendation for documentary lovers, and maybe not just for them! Eric Kohn and his colleagues from IndieWire put together this list of the best documentaries made in 2020. Of course – vegans, politics or violence will always be the thankful topic and there are certainly plenty of them out there, but you can find many other topics which are worth to follow up.

For example, Jeff Orlowski’s The Social Dilemma about how a free-to-use business model has become an existential crisis has a lot to offer. Although this year was really, really crazy, we can find there a lot of pieces which are not affected by affairs of almost the past year. But if you insist, let’s check, e.g. 76 days in Wuhan from the very beginning. So what are you waiting for? Dive in!

The 10 best films of 2020, from Uncut Gems to Shirley

End of the year. Everybody is making Top 10 (15, 20, 50, 100) Films (TV Shows, Documentaries, Actors) of this year. It's so overwhelming. We should do our own, but right now, we don't have one, so we're going with the ones Independent UK announced (because giving you a Top 100 movies of the Year seems more like a curse than a blessing).

And of those 10 we recommend right away these three:

• The Assistant
• Uncut Gems
• Jojo Rabbit

Trailer of the Week

Palmer - Official Trailer | Apple TV+

“Next door is a beautiful 30-year-old woman who’s a meth addict, has an eight-year-old boy, who likes to play with dolls and dress up as a girl in red-state America,” director Fisher Stevens said of the film Palmer in an interview with Billboard.

“Justin Timberlake’s grandmother is co-parenting this boy with the meth addict mom who's always off trying to cop dope.” That’s in short a description of a new movie with JT in the lead.

The story of Eddie Palmer, an athlete who becomes addicted to painkillers and who gets caught robbing a home, is (as soon as he gets out of the prison) influenced by this little boy, who's not average – and thank God for that. More stories like that, please! And by the way, if you are interested in what Apple TV produces, check it here.