Happy Hump Day Almost! Why do some weeks feel so much like surviving itself is the only goal / triumph? I have let the Q&A column go but we're getting back on the horse and will try to do them more regularly. Here are seven questions from last week and two from a long time ago.
Ready? Let's go! Questions about awards seasons calendar, Brie Larson, director/cinematographer teams, and coping with depression after the jump...
STEPH: Do you think Hidden Figures (given it's box office + SAG win) could've been a bigger Oscar player if the award season was later? To me the Oscars were SO much better when they were in March because it allowed a lo of time for voters (and viewers!) to see all the films and make surprising pics: some good (Stephen Soderbergh, Adrien Brody etc), some not good (Crash) but at least always there was more genuine suspense.
NATHANIEL: I am adamantly opposed to a later awards season. Much has changed in film distribution since the years when the Oscars were held in March and April. Up until the late 1980s it was common for films, if they were popular, to play for months in theaters. But with each new technological shift starting with VHS in the 80s, the theatrical window got shorter. The only thing that would change if the Academy moved the date back is that we'd get MORE one-week qualifiers (the bane of awards season as they're fully anti-moviegoer, keeping the conversation about the "Oscar movies" inside a very limited bubble). More movies would do that and then wait until March to open. Quality and box office used to help drive Oscar results but now studios are largely dependent on Oscar buzz to generate ticket sales in the first place. I think it would be disastrous for Oscar to move later again when the rest of the world (and thus film distribution) has sped up so much. Literally the only films it would help would be late arriving films and Oscar is already too fond of those.
As for Hidden Figures. I think it's super cute and I enjoy it a lot but I think it should be happy with its nomination count: an acting nod, a script, and picture is just fine. I am a bit mystified about people who really wanted Taraji P Henson nominated. This was an astounding year for Best Actress and as much as I love her as a celebrity and and as an actor -- she should 100% have an Emmy for Empire. In fact she should have Viola's Emmy ;) -- she just wasn't as strong as those nominated or several of the snubbed.
RAY: Have you thought about adding the Oscar nominated performances from this year to your rankings list of the nominated performances of the 2010s? Was interested to see where you'd place the ones from this year.
Proud to have been in Brie's corner long before ROOM (2015)
To be honest I completely forgot that I even did that. That's a good idea, though, even though it would be weird to do that before we've finished up awards season.
CLARICE: If Room had come out in 2016, how would Brie have fared in Best Actress? And who would have won in 2015?
Whoa. What a difficult / interesting question considering that release dates are kind of arbitrary. This year was already too full of Best Actress candidates so ouch at making it even more contentious. I'm still 100% sure she would be nominated (Streep, bye) because that performance was so passionately embraced. In fact, I think enthusiasm for her work (and Jacob's) powered the film's Best Picture nomination (a rare case of a lead actress pulling a film up with her). Not that the film wasn't deserving. But I think Stone still emerges as the winner through the sheer force of La La Land's popularity. I suspect it's going to have a great Oscar night with 9 or 10 wins.
And maybe Saoirse Ronan wins for Brooklyn last time with the other young rising star out of the equation? I'd also like to think that if last year were less crowded maybe voters would have rejected category fraud and included Rooney Mara from Carol in Best Actress in Brie's place? But that is surely wishful retroactive fantasy since we keep learning that nobody cares about actors campaigning in totally inappropriate categories.
JAKE: If you could see any director/cinematographer have an extended team up (like the Coens/Deakins or Innaritu/Chivo), who would you pick?
Don't you miss Rodrigo Prieto shooting Ang Lee movies?
Bradford Young needs to do more pictures with Denis Villeneuve. Arrival is just beautiful. Villeneuve usually uses Roger Deakins but Deakins can't be EVERYONE's muse. Share the great directors, man. I would also like Rodrigo Prieto to leave Scorsese-land and return to Ang Lee because their movies together (Lust, Caution and Brokeback Mountain) are both so dreamy-looking. And if Steven Soderbergh is going to return to the movies, he really needs Edward Lachman in tow. Lachman is so much better for Soderbergh movies than Soderbergh himself is as their DP. Soderbergh defaults to yellow and slightly flat but with Lachman you get rich color, depth of pathos, and indeed full worlds of feeling.
POLIVAMP: What's a highly regarded classic movie that you are cold towards? Is there a highly regarded classic that you outright dislike?
I mean, define "highly regarded classic." I loathe both Forrest Gump and Braveheart and I'm cool towards Unforgiven while recognizing its merits (yes the mid 90s were very very tough time with Oscar and me, an abusive marriage). I tend to be relatively cool on Stanley Kubrick movies but I don't "dislike" them per se... they just don't wow me the way they do others. This question is stumping me but I'm sure they exist. Hmmm, I used to dislike The Maltese Falcon but in truth I haven't seen it since I was like 12 so I'm willing to bet that I was just too young for it?
STEVE G: What's an Oscar-nominated movie you initially disliked on first release, perhaps because it was overhyped, but have since reconsidered and now love?
I had a hard time with Working Girl (1988) when it premiered because of the movies it pushed out of the conversation at the very last minute creating that least favorite thing of mine: an all December release Oscar lineup. I still don't think it deserved all that attention but years later I admit I always enjoy it and it was so fun to revisit it recently. I never disliked LA Confidential (1997) but my heart was definitely with other movies that year and I wondered why everyone else lost their minds so thoroughly. That's another one that's aged very well. It's such a firecracker.
Can I suggest a movie for everyone else, though? People HATED American Hustle (2013) when it came out and I fully believe that 89% of that animosity was the hype and the Oscar abundance. It's so energetic and fractious and weird and well acted. I think people should give that one another shot.
CRAVER: Do you think that the current political climate will somehow influence how people vote at the Oscars? i.e. a surprise win for The Salesman. God knows I love Toni Erdmann, but it would be nice to see Asghar Farhadi win twice even though he won't be at the ceremony.
For some time Toni Erdmann appeared to have this locked up but the response to it in release has been surprisingly subdued. This indicates that it was always more of a critical pet than a wide-appeal winner... we just didn't know it at the time because the critics were stroking their beloved so much. That race feels very up in the air now (a win for Land of Mine also feels more than possible). The T**** Muslim ban situation may just tip the favor Farhadi's way. I'd be happy with that as it's my favorite of the nominees but it's still frustrating that AMPAS discarded Elle and Neruda, either one of which would have made great Oscar winners. Notice how the buzz just vanished from that race as soon as the high profile pics like Elle were discarded.
OKAY, TO WRAP UP TWO OLD QUESTIONS THAT I HAD TYPED UP ANSWERS TO AGES AGO AND FORGOT TO POST... APOLOGIES.
EMMA: From one short-sighted cinemagoer to another: how bad is your eyesight? Has watching so many movies / writing about them made your eyesight worse, or were you destined to wear glasses regardless?
NATHANIEL: I actually had perfect vision until a few years back and the eye doctor says this is totally normal when you hit the fortysomething years so I don't think anything caused it. And if it was all the screens, so be it. I shall never go screenless. I only wear glasses to read, work on the computer, or play on my phone... so, in other words, always. It's a great relief to take them off to watch bigger screens that are further away like movies or TV.
MARK: I have been a fan of your site since 2002 after a bad break up and am having a bad time at the moment but your blog and the features you post keep me going a lot of the time, so firstly thanks, my real question is underneath. How do you handle the down days?
HUGS! This means a lot to hear because sometimes writing is a lonely profession. I wish that I had great advice considering that I've struggled with depression, too. Mostly I remember to take the happy pills (there is no shame in seeking treatment for depression) but here are six tactics I use when I'm having a rough day:
Monty helping me with my yoga routine in 2011
- Pets. I miss my kitty so much but playing with friend's dogs/cats can work sometimes. Animals are totally in the moment; it helps to stay there with them.
- Musicals. Sometimes even sad musicals can help because you can ache with them melodically.
- Exercize. I hate it when people use this as an answer to depression (because I hate going to the gym) but it helps... at least as a preventive measure. You're less likely to spiral if you're in a good groove of regular activity. The only exercizes I truly enjoy are yoga and swimming so I lean into those.
- Allow Negativity - but Only in Short Doses! I once had a boss in corporate America who offered a silly but great technique when we were all bitchy or down in the office. Since repression isn't all the healthy you have to acknowledge bad feelings sometimes but the trick is to not dwell on them. He would give us 60 seconds --"let it out!" and we could be super negative and shouty (amongst ourselves) and then when the clock was up we would laugh because the 60 second window was weird and silly and then we'd all go back to work.
- Drawing. This might not work for everyone but whatever your creative outlet is, lean into it.
- Actressexuality. This can't possibly surprise anyone about me but thinking about them is a wonderful tonic. Next time you're sad pick a random actress and then do listmaking in your head: best performances, best chemistry with co-stars, etcetera.
If you've struggled with depression, and discovered a helpful tactic for coping please share in the comments. ANSWER ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS, ACTUALLY. The more answers the merrier. Literally in the case of the last question.