Saturday
Oct312015
Ask Nathaniel
Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 10:20PM 
Oh my friends my friends don't ask me...
Marius can't handle your questions right now, okay. So ask your kindly editor instead. Yup, it's that time again. Ask questions and Nathaniel will do his best to answer about 10 of them on Monday night. (As always questions that would require whole huge essays, entire books or top ten articles to answer will be ignored.)
Reader Comments (36)
To what extent do you think an actor's face / bone structure contributes to his or her effectiveness on-screen?
London - favorite city of all time to visit? Runners up?
Which foreign country's movies that you got most excited about?
Why wasn't Chantal Akerman's death mentioned more prominently on this blog?
What are your thoughts on Julianne Moore's wig in Freeheld?
including the film, tv & stage versions of gypsy, please list [in order of awesomeness] the roses you have seen
What was the last book you read and who would you cast as the protagonist in a dream movie adaptation?
so many actressexuals swear by Gena Rowlands, yet you hardly mention her. Are you not a fan?
Will you ever post your proper thoughts on Hotel? Can we at least hear your thoughts on Gaga, Paulson and Chloe Sevigny who looks just as confused at the fact she's playing a dowdy doctor mother as I am?
Have you considered picking up on HTGAWM again? Season 2 is a different show and I am beyond impressed - I was a fan of the first season but mainly for Viola and Jack Falahee, this season the story is matching their game and it's thrilling to watch.
Thoughts on the 2010 best actress line up? Best in years? I can't stop thinking about it recently, perhaps because with Julianne tipping the no Oscar winners in their 50s mantra on its head this year, there is hope for Pfeiffer, Kidman & the Bening? I notice you didn't place Jennifer Lawrence in your FB awards at all - what were your thoughts on her performance, back then - pre her being a star?
Sorry for blabbing, I've had a wine or five - you understand. Pick one or none and keep up the good work, as always.
- someone who literally checks your site 8-10 times a day :)
If Maureen O'Hara was a young actress these days, what roles do you think she would be taking?
What are some horror films that could've been deserving Best Picture nominees--or at least Oscar nominees in some sense? And I mean real horror films.
You've probably written about this before, but... What do you make of the push for a best casting director Oscar that's been happening the last couple of years?
Between Spectre, Hunger Games, The Good Dinosaur & Star Wars it's going to be an enormous November & December in the Box Office. Can any of the more Oscar-baity films breakout this year?
What is your favorite film set in New Orleans?
What are your favorite male performances in Woody Allen films?
Which years are your favourite when Best Actress & Supporting Actress were both excellent,mine would be the 1988 line ups.
Is there any way to download or stream Film Experience Podcast episodes of Years past?
Given that they'll probably be one at some point, what would be your choices for director, writer, cinematographer and lead actress for a Madonna biopic? Here's the caveat: You have to pick a current working actress to play Madonna (an unknown would be a cop out). You're free to pick the time period it takes place in, however (I'm no big Madonna fan by any means, so you'd know better than I would what period of her life is most interesting).
Blanchett: CAROL or TRUTH?
Cast American Horror Story: GOP Debates with actors who could capture the grotesque absurdity of this year's candidates.
Do you have a favorite film from the Philippines, and do you think they'll ever get a nomination at the Oscars for Best Foreign Film?
What is your favorite theater(s) in New York? Least favorite(s)?
What's your favorite movie poster of all time?
What advice would you give to struggling and aging actresses Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Sandra Bullock?
What performance/s from a Spike Lee joint deserve Oscar recognition? Only two actors have received nominations under his direction.
If you could be a member of the Academy, which branch would you be in?
What's your fantasy project for Meryl to embark on after she finishes her year off? Alternative: Why is Jessica Chastain SO annoying?
Which movies changed your opinion about something or your perception of the world or simply made you understand something that eluded you before (humanity/human behavior/ society)?
Which actors best transitioned from the heightened old school style of Hollywood acting to the more modern and realistic method of acting ushered in by Marlon Brando?
Fave Television performance of all time?
Do you consider Kate Winslet's performance in Steve Jobs annoying? I was surprised how drastically her accent changed. Shame on the Academy if she wins on a tag-a-long nomination instead of someone like our Elizabeth Banks, who might actually be a real contender without tag-a-long Winslet and fraudulent Vikander and Rooney. Not saying anything bad about Rooney or Vikander, but they both belong in lead. Winslet belongs on a Razzie list.
Is there an Academy Award winner (actor, director, whatever) that you are very happy has an Oscar on their shelf, don't you don't think they deserved the award for the film that they won?
For example, I am happy to live in a world where Thomas Mitchell has an Oscar, but his performance in Stagecoach did not merit an award.
I realize I was gay when I was 8 & saw Michael York in "Cabaret". Do you have any Actor / Performance that gave you a hint you were into boys?
Which Oscars awarded the best quartet of acting winners?
P.S. I live for the press photos of each ceremony's four acting winners. Live for them.
Which actress stuck in a rut, either self-imposed or accidental, are you rooting for most to bust out of that rut, a la Kristen Stewart in Clouds of Sils Maria/Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married/Scarlett Johansson in that bleak phase post Lost in Translation and pre-Don Jon-Under the Skin-Her?
Don't you think you contribute to category fraud when you count main and supporting nominations together? Is Woody Allen the most nominated director since he has all those writing nominations? Main and supporting categories are not the same. Thelma Ritter is no Deborah Kerr. This in my cause. I will say the same every opportunity I have. Unless you block me, of course.