Why aren't poster photos taken on set? The eternal mystery.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again has a new eye sore poster. Every single cast member has been photographed separately and then composited together like some Ensemble Frankenstein Monster. The poor beast is then tasked with imitating pure joy before it has learned to control its facial muscles.

It's easy to imagine some photoshop artist creating their own mini-narratives to keep them interested while hunched over their computer jamming all the stars together. Do I spot a romantic comedy between Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård whose eyelines are matching up?

Why does this type of poster keeps happening? Why aren't poster images and promotional photoshoots done on sets on the days when busy actors are already all assembled together? If you want to see the full poster just click on Cher's sassiness to your left. I didn't want to sully up the front page.

Oh and go ahead and tag yourself in the comments. I am Lily James' left foot that's eager to jump into the water. 

Film Bitch Awards: More Acting Honors!

by Nathaniel R

Twenty acting nominations (i.e. the traditional Oscar-like honors) just aren't enough at the Film Bitch Awards. Here where we also like to shout to rising stars, actors who make vivid impressions or give full characters with barely any screen time, cast chemistry, and the men and women who collect all the talent in these thrilling combinations. So click on through for our nominations in...

• Best Actress in a Limited Role or Cameo
• Best Actor in a Limited Role or Cameo
• Best Juvenile Performance (17 and under)
• Breakthrough Performer
• Best Ensemble
• Best Casting 

Films scoring multiple nominations on this page include Lady Bird, Get Out, Lady Macbeth, Wonder and The Big Sick.

Lost Podcast / Last Jedi

Surprise! The following podcast was lost after a recent move but has been recovered. This podcast was recorded over the Christmas break but the SAG part at least is hyper relevant to this weekend with the Screen Actors Guild Awards hitting tomorrow. 

Nathaniel welcomes a particularly grouchy Nick Davis and new guest Teo Bugbee who had just pulled an all nighter to see Star Wars The Last Jedi. We discuss what the hell Laura Dern and Benicio del Toro are doing in it before moving on to SAG's "Outstanding Ensemble" nominees (and other ensemble films we like, too). 

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Lost Podcast Last Jedi

"Everyone is Nominated... but you!" Our annual SAG Ensemble Rules Exposé

by Nathaniel R

Betty Gabriel is not included in the Get Out ensemble nomination. For shame, SAG!The Film Experience started a tradition of exposing the Screen Actors Guild Awards unfortunate rules regarding ensemble nominations back in 2004. If you'd like a little history as to why we became advocates for change in this matter you can find the details at the bottom of the post. But for now let it suffice to say that SAG's rules for inclusion strike us as punitive for less famous actors and thus unbecoming given that they are a union and unions are ostensibly there to support the workers. The rule boils down to this: you need your own title card in a movie to be so honored - being on a shared title card or in the credits scroll won't do. With a new set of nominees for Outstanding Cast of a Motion Picture let's investigate which valuable players were unjustly left out while their (usually) more famous coworkers were honored, no matter their actual contributions to the movie in question.

2017 SAG OUTSTANDING CAST NOMINATIONS
Who was excluded this year despite their fine work?

THE BIG SICK
Nominees (in billing order): Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher, Zenobia Shroff, Adeel Akhtar 

Who was left out? The first shared title card belonged to Bo Burham and Aidy Bryant, with the second shared card going to Kurt Braunohler and Vella Lovell. Burnham, Braunohler and Bryant played Nanjiani's inner circle of comedian friends. Lovell was fantastic as a would-be arranged bride for Nanjiani but anyone who has seen her on Crazy Ex Girlfriend knows that she is skillful with mixing sharp comedy with dramatic undertow.

Click to read more ...

Screen Actors Guild Nominations 2017

By Nathaniel R

Another day, another set of honors to parse. Refresh your screen for updates. The nominations were announced by Olivia Munn and Niecy Nash this morning. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri and Big Little Lies led the honors with 4 nominations each. Generally speaking the SAG lineups indicate you have a great shot at also becoming an Oscar nominee, if not a locked shot, so the nominees this morning have a lot to be excited about. SAGs nominations for TV are less relevant in terms of awards prospects since they don't divvy up the categories in quite the same way as the Emmys, nor is their timetable the same. 

The nominees are...

Click to read more ...