the square – The Comedy Bureau

Comedy Gets Plenty of Nominations for This Year’s Oscars Thanks to Lady Bird, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, I, Tonya The Disaster Artist, The Big Sick, and The Sqaure

January 24, 2018

2018, oscars, the big, the square

Comedy Gets Plenty of Nominations for This Year’s Oscars Thanks to Lady Bird, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, I, Tonya The Disaster Artist, The Big Sick, and The Sqaure

More so than any year that we can remember, comedy got a bunch of nods from the Academy (of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences). In fact, it was a surprising year for genre films all around (Get Out, Logan, etc.).

Not only is there more diversity in representation, but the type of film that is getting recognized at this level isn’t just a historical drama about marginalized people that are probably children. Sure, we would have liked to see Michael Showalter and Ruben Östlund get nods for their directing work, but it’s a nice step forward for what is arguably the most venerable awards ceremony in entertainment.

So, here are the nominations that 2017′s most critically acclaimed comedies landed for 2018 Oscars:

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri-Best Picture, Best Actress (Frances McDormand), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell), Best Editing (Jon Gregory), Best Music-Original Score (Carter Burwell), Best Writing-Original Screenplay (Martin McDonagh)

Lady Bird-Best Picture, Best Directing (Greta Gerwig), Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Laurie Metcalf), Best Writing-Original Screenplay (Greta Gerwig)

I, Tonya-Best Actress (Margot Robbie), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Allison Janney)

The Disaster Artist-Best Writing-Adapted Screenplay (Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber)

The Big Sick-Best Writing-Original Screenplay (Kumail Nanjiani & Emily Gordon)

The Square-Best Foreign Language Film

See the full list of nominees here.

January 3, 2018

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claes bang, dominic west, elisabeth moss, free screening, los angeles, ruben ostlund, terry notary, the square

The Square was one of our favorites from 2017 and there’s a free screening of it tomorrow at USC. RSVP here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Please Go Watch “The Square” and Enjoy a Spectacular Takedown of Modern Art Pretension

October 30, 2017

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cannes film festival, magnolia pictures, ruben ostlund, the square

Swedish writer/director Ruben Östlund seems to enjoy thematically subverting outdated notions of privilege in his films and we love him for it.

In Force Majeure, masculinity got a great send-up. In his latest film, The Square, the often pretentious modern and contemporary art world teeming with so much self-importance that it forgets about what it’s trying to say gets a similar treatment from Östlund.

Even though it’s a laugh-out loud satire that often follows Murphy’s Law, The Square landed the coveted Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Comedy isn’t often honored at such high levels of merit in the film world, but Östlund earns it with making this movie as exquisite in its mise-en-scene as it is unflinching in its indictment of high class snobbery stemming from the very insular art world with pitch perfect performances from Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and the guy playing the artist playing the primate, Terry Notary.

We highly urge you to see it as its currently in limited release and will be expanding to more theaters in the coming weeks. Find a showtime, release date for a theater near you here.

Trailer for Ruben Östlund’s The Square Shows Chaos Run Amok in the Contemporary Art World

September 6, 2017

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claes bang, dominic west, elisabeth moss, ruben ostlund, the square, trailer

Swedish director Ruben Östlund is one of the rare modern day auteurs that deals often in comedy. 2014′s Force Majeure made Östlund’s presence known as someone who can make a high art comedy film that isn’t covered in pretension.

Östlund’s latest, The Square, nabbed one of cinema’s most revered prizes, The Cannes Palme d’Or, which isn’t an award that ever really goes to any sort of comedic work. Even more impressive, he seems to have made a truly international movie with stars from all over the globe (Claes Bang from Denmark, Dominic West from UK, Elisabeth Moss from the US) without having it seemed forced.

On top of all of that, The Square appears to be a devilishly calculated, comedic dressing down of the art world and the people who run it.

See all of this for yourself in the trailer here.

The Square starts its theatrical release on October 27th.

“The Square” from Ruben Östlund, an Expert in Dry Comedy/Satire, Wins Cannes Prestigious Palme d’Or

May 30, 2017

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cannes, palme d'or, robert ostlund, the square

“The Square” from Ruben Östlund, an Expert in Dry Comedy/Satire, Wins Cannes Prestigious Palme d’Or

Ruben Östlund put the world on notice a few years back with his film Force Majeure. As we said, you’ll probably never see a better dry comedy involving an avalanche that questions gender politics ever.

Östlund’s latest, The Square, just won the Cannes Film Festival’s highest honor, the Palme d’Or for this year.

As Ruben deals in a very sharp and refined comedic sensibility in his films, it’s heartening to see that some comedy gets recognition where heartbreaking dramas usually dominate. The Square clashes the world of contemporary art with moral quandaries, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West, and men pretending to be apes and we can only hope for a full trailer and news of U.S. distribution soon.

Get a taste of The Square from this clip and read a full interview of Ruben Östlund by Deadline.