Film Bitch Awards: Best Supporting Actor Ballot

by Nathaniel R

Brian Tyree Henry in "Causeway"

Historically among the main acting categories, Best Supporting Actor is where the Film Bitch Awards diverge most strongly from Oscar's path. Oscar tends to use the category for co-leads (anathema to us!) or for career achievements (that's fine when the performance is excellent but otherwise, no thanks!) or for star turns that are fine but don't do much for your host here. So imagine my surprise when Oscar exhibited mostly good taste in this category this year robbing us of a superiority complex in our exceptional taste in this category (haha). During awards season it was a pleasant surprise to see Barry Keoghan pick up steam (despite internal competition from a co-lead, which often ruins the chances for honors for supporting actors) for Banshees of Inisherin. And he even won the BAFTA this weekend!

On nomination morning my biggest inclusion thrill was the long shot triumph of Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway...

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Oscar Volley: Two locks for Supporting Actor... and then it's wide open?

Here are Chris James and Eric Blume to discuss one of Oscar's trickiest categories, Best Supporting Actor:

ERIC:  Chris, so happy to be reunited with you, this time to discuss the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.  This category is always one of the weirdest and often the worst... I'm still not done being angry that arguably-bad Troy Kotsur beat the genius work of Kodi Smit-McPhee last year.  But that's how this award often goes.  

Let's start with our "locks".  I think we have two:  Brendan Gleeson and Ke Huy Quan.  And that's great news, because they're both splendid performances and either would be one of the best winners in this category for the last decade.  Gleeson is the embodiment of tragicomedy, and Quan finds that perfect note between farce and realism in an incredibly playful piece of acting.  How do you feel about Gleeson and Quan personally, and would you agree they're locks? 

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Review: All Quiet on the Western Front

By Christopher James

Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) heads into World War I in "All Quiet on the Western Front," the German submission this year for Best International Feature.

It’s daunting to remake a Best Picture winner. Steven Spielberg was able to breathe new life and vitality into West Side Story, making it a companion to the timeless original. But, more often than not, filmmakers buckle under the weight of expectations and self importance (like the failures of, say, Steven Zaillian's star-studded rendition of All the King’s Men or Timur Bekmambetov's Ben-Hur).

The Lewis Milestone adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front in 1930 struck new ground for realism, brutality and anti-war sentiments. It earned Oscar wins for Best Picture and Best Director. It's been regarded as a classic ever since, later receiving citations on AFI’s list of best films and best epics and inclusion in the National Film Registry. How could a new film pack a similar punch? Director Edward Berger doesn’t reinvent the story, but his 2022 re-telling of All Quiet on the Western Front is loaded with enough technical panache to make it a worthy, additive remake and a great time at the movies...

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"European Shooting Stars 2021" Announced

by Nathaniel R

Each year European Film Promotion highlights ten up and coming stars of European film and television. Variety co-hosts their annual event which runs from February 23rd-25th (mostly virtual this year of course). Here are the  recipients this year, a couple of which we were already familiar with though the others are new to us. We'll always take an opportunity to get to know new actors.

If you are an international reader and are familiar with these talents, tell us your impressions of these rising actors in the comments...

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