Posted seven years ago (3.25.12): “I still have problems with the Grapes of Wrath diner scene, which, as mentioned a couple of times, is a near-perfect thing until the very end when John Ford‘s sentimentality ruins it. If he’d only ended the scene with the trucker telling the waitress, ‘What’s it to ya?’

“This has always been Ford’s problem, and why his films are best appreciated in limited doses. Not to mention his tendency to prod his supporting actors into over-acting and doing the ‘tedious eccentricity’ thing — Ford’s ultimate Achilles heel. The overacting of that waitress is especially painful.”

Warner Bros. honcho Kevin Tsujihara has resigned — killed by Kim Masters and Tatiana Siegel’s 3.6 Hollywood Reporter story about his having philandered with actress Charlotte Kirk and then dealt unsatisfactorily with her demands for casting opportunities. The man did nothing, relatively-speaking. He fucked a hungry would-be actress — something that heavy-hitter studio execs and hotshot producers have been doing in this town since the days of Jesse L. Lasky.

Excerpt from HE rewrite of Tsujihara statement: “I deeply regret having brought pain and embarrassment to the people I love the most, yes, but mostly I regret having been busted and publicly shamed by Masters and Siegel. What did I do, really, that was so terrible? I catted around with a pretty English actress, knowing full well I’d probably have to reciprocate with some casting favors. And so what? This kind of thing happens all the time.

“Okay, so the actress felt she didn’t get what she expected out of our arrangement, and yes, that was completely my fault. But I’m hardly Charlie Sheen or Brett Ratner or Leonardo DiCaprio back in the late ’90s. I’m a 50ish married guy with kids who got caught poking around…BIG DEAL.

Not being a regular junketeer on the take, I won’t be seeing Dumbo until next Monday evening, 3.25. Or whenever the Manhattan all-media is, which I’m presuming will be the same day as the LA all-media. (My NYC flight departs late Friday night, 3.22 — I’ll return on Friday, 3.29.)

Tuesday’s big L.A. screening is Jordan Peele‘s Us (Universal, 3.22).

The absolute finest 2019 film so far is Kent Jones‘ Diane (IFC films, 3.29). Definite Best Actress action (or at the very least strong Spirit/Gotham award respect) for Mary Kay Place.

HE’s second best of the year is Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre‘s The Mustang. Struggling with reviews for both as we speak.

NYC get-around guy: “I’ve seen Dumbo. You can take the ‘o’ out of the title.”

You will believe an elephant can fly! #dumbo pic.twitter.com/aRXtJbvDRj

— Richard Crouse (@RichardCrouse) March 18, 2019

Even if endless post-production tweakings (i.e., CG de-aging refinements) hadn’t gotten in the way of a possible Cannes debut, Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman would have never been slotted to debut two months hence. The intimate, end-of-the-road, old-guy gangster flick screams Venice-Telluride-Toronto. Plus Netflix Oscar strategist Lisa Taback would’ve never approved. The basic drill is that Netflix won’t be Cote d’Azur-ing this year — forget Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat, the Safdie brothers‘ Uncut Gems, Noah Baumbach‘s untitled whatever and a little touch of The King‘s Timothee Chalamet in the night. So say Variety‘s Elsa Keslassy and Matt Donnelly.