More 'Moana'!

Makes me miss Hawaii

Disney's big 2016 animated feature, Moana, is about a seafaring teen navigator from the South Pacific islands who goes on an adventure to a fabled land. Apparently there will be demi-gods and sea monsters and all kinds of mythology! Neat! You can read more about the new movie over at /Film.

#Shonda + #Mindy = #BestShowEver!

Shonda Rhimes will appear on The Mindy Project. She will play - of course - herself.

Once I watch that episode, my life will be complete.

Get ready for a new definition of time: BSAM (Before Shonda And Mindy) and ASAM (After Shonda And Mindy).

[via HuffPo]

"Dear White People" Trailer!

I am going to love this movie so hard.



Dear White People has everything I want in a movie - satire, social commentary, a cast with more than one black character who gets to be a real person, solid jokes - plus two Veronica Mars actors! Can't beat that. Also, someone should let Lena Dunham know she needs another black friend because just Donald Glover isn't cutting it anymore.

So Many Movies to Be Excited About!

First off, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Maya Rudolph are all doing The Nest together. Secondly, Kristin Wiig is going to write, direct, and star in her own movie, too. How awesome is that!? I cannot wait to see these future movies that don't yet exist!

[via Jezebel, /Film]

Watch Five Minutes of "How to Train Your Dragon 2"

I know I should be really cool and ignore Dreamworks' new sequel to How to Train Your Dragon (which doesn't even have a clever title), but it actually looks super good, which kind of makes sense since the original was surprisingly super good, too. And now we can watch the first five minutes here and now!



Right? I think it's going to be really fun. Let's all go see it on June 13th and pretend the one who accidentally snorts their coke from laughing too much is the little kid next to us.

[via /Film]

Tribeca Film Festival

Anyone want to go with me? Seems like there are a lot of good films this year...

Harry Potter London Studio Tour

All hail butterbeer.

Speaking of Harry Potter... I recently had one of the best days of my life (and I'm super lucky that there have been many of these) at the Studio Tour at Leavesden. Not only did I have 1.5 butterbeers (the husband had the other 1.5), but I got to live inside and learn all about my two favorite world: film and Harry Potter. As a film student, I loved seeing the intricacy of all the sets, costumes, props, graphic design, and especially the animatronics. As a Harry Potter nerd, I loved feeling like I was inside the world of witches and wizards - walking through Diagon Alley itself was a particularly engrossing moment. Dumbledore's office and the Gryffindor common room were two other mind-blowing moments. The suggested time to be there was 2.5 hours. We were there for 5.5. hours. That's what you get for making it a self-guided tour and writing so many plaques and making so many behind-the-scenes videos and commentary!

More butterbeer. Couldn't help myself. The foam is butterscotch!

Most of all, though, I loved what a love letter the studios are to the 4,000 crew and cast members. The tour allows you to really appreciate everyone's work and contributions in great detail - something you aren't able to do when the images are flashing by your face for only a few moments, if they were lucky!

Cannot emphasize enough how cool this is in person.

So run, don't walk, to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. Best shameless nerd decision ever.

The Artful Nails to Come (in 2014)

So what'd you think? Some progress, some devolution into obsession, not too bad. In 2014, I'm going to get some more colors (kelly green, cobalt blue) but not too many new colors (I'm quickly running out of space on my desk). I'm going to try and balance my themed nails (i.e. holiday) vs my abstract nails (i.e. chevron or wavy stripes). I'm also going to try and get a little faster at it. I think that will happen naturally, but who knows? Since there's no limit or anything, I'll try to do some more different, fun themes, like various kinds of art or nature things or animals. The sky's the limit! Or not, since I already did a sky one... Haven't tried a sunset yet, though.

I'd like to do some fun New Year's nails, but I'm super busy right now, so they might be New Year's themed but actually get painted after New Year's proper. We'll see!

Vulture Tries to Convince Alfonso Cuaron to Direct Harry Potter Spin-Off

Yes, please!

(Although, having just re-watching HP 6, 7.1, and 7.2, I am reminded that David Yates did an admirable job, and how important the consistency of those last films really was to the overall cohesion of the series. That being said, Alfonso Cuaron + Fantastic Beasts = Amaze-pants)

'Murder, She Wrote' Starring Octavia Spencer? Yes, please!

I really hope this 'Murder, She Wrote' pilot gets a series order.

A) I love Octavia Spencer starring in anything.
B) I love procedurals with a lighthearted, drama's-version-of-comedic bent (i.e. Bones and Castle)
C) I love both together!

Plus, NBC doesn't have any fun procedurals. I should know because I watch one from every network except for NBC (Elementary is my CBS one. I definitely don't get what everyone sees in CSI: Anything or NCIS).

Octavia, do you need any up-and-coming writers for your new show? I can write jokes and also character arcs!!

Fantastic 'Fantastic Beasts' News!

If you're a Harry Potter fan, then you already know this, but I figured I should post about how pumped I am for the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film adaptation! Who knows how well JK Rowling's writing will transfer to the big screen (novel structures are quite different than screenplay structures), but with a good editorial team at her back, I'm sure it'll turn out great. Most interestingly, it'll be neat seeing how the wizarding world in America differs from that in England. Plus, how cool is it that it's set in the early 20th century? It's basically going to be steampunk wizards + insanely weird animals. How cool is that?

A Long Time Ago. We Used to Be Friends.

Veronica Mars is coming...



Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I hope it's good! At least it looks like they had a blast doing it!

Go See "The Heat"!!

The Heat is definitely the funniest movie of the summer (I'd say "so far" but what else is coming out?). This review over at NPR sums up my feelings about the movie quite nicely.

Basically, the joke are great. I was laughing out loud a lot. My husband cracked up, too. The plot is forgettable (aren't they always in buddy cop movies?), but one of the things I love the most is the surprising depth of both Mullens and Ashburn (which I initially misheard as "Asperberger's" and I thought, "A little too on the nose, but I get it?"). We really get a read on these women, and that's awesome. I also appreciate the physical humor. There's a chase scene in the beginning that is particularly delightful (fruit is involved), as well as a really weird scene in the end (referenced by the NPR review) that is a ton of fun, too.

The movie is a definite win for comedy (which is the most important thing), but also for feminism, and for choosing two male leads (Ashburn's boss and fellow FBI agent in Boston) of color (though I could have done without the Albino jokes - no thanks!). A well-rounded cast!

So what are you doing reading this blog for? Go see The Heat!

Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches are the New Cronuts

Now THIS I can get behind.

Macarons - Good
Ice cream - Good
Multiple flavors - Gooooood

Have any of you tried a macaron ice cream sandwich? I can't wait!

I Heart the Superamazing Shonda Rhimes

Don't know who she is or why you love her (you do!) - check out this NY Times profile on the creator of "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy" - i.e. ABC's Thursday nights.

No Sh*t, (More) Sherlock!

Sherlock, the SUPER AWESOME BBC series, is (almost certainly) getting a fourth season! The series was up in the air due to the hyper-success of its stars Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch. The tv-as-movie series starts shooting its third season soon, with plans to air it (at least in the UK) in late 2013. Knowing it'll be coming back for a fourth season after that is pretty sweet.

[via /Film]

Wedding Flowers

There are so many, and they are all so pretty, how do you choose?

Here are some we're thinking about. What do you think? Did we do good?

Wedding colors are coral, green, and blush. Think we got them?

I do not know the name of many of these things, but I'm very excited for the daisies, as they are my favorite flower! 

Monkey tails and Succulents and Poppies, oh my!

New 'Game of Thrones' Trailer - A Real, Proper One, Too!

This is a real trailer!! Not those "Bad things are coming and let's look at everyone's most serious faces over black with no new visuals" lame trailers.



Woo! Looks like the s is really going to hit the f and it's going to be awesome.

And did you see what was flying next to that ship!? Baddass!!!

Amy Poehler, How You Be So Smart?

This is a great Ask Amy on jealousy.



Amy, I'm so jealous of how wonderful you are at giving advice on jealousy! But now that I've admitted it, I'm also proud of you for having such a great perspective. Aha, I'm cured! You've done it again!

New Pixar Movie!!!!!

There's movies a'brewin' on the Pixar front!

Writer Derek Connelly (Safety Not Guaranteed) spilled the beans that he's working with director Teddy Newton (Day and Night, which is the rare Pixar short I was not really a fan of - just didn't get the hype. People were super obsessing over it and I thought it was... fine?) on a new Pixar feature. Of course, we probably won't see the film before 2017 or even get a glimmer of news as to what it's about before 2014, but it's always good to know they have new, interesting writers working on their team.

In other news, he's also working on a remake of 1986's Flight of the Navigator, which I recently discovered my fiance hasn't seen before! Got it on the Netflix yesterday - totally watching it tonight or tomorrow. I hope it holds up. It was one of my brother's favorite movies when we were little. I loved the weird little animals - duh.

Best of luck, Derek! 99% of screenwriters (yours truly included!) are incredibly jealous of you. Don't screw it up!

[via /Film]