Oscar Volley: Best Original Screenplay is the Battle of the Auteurs

In this Oscar Volley, Eric Blume and Cláudio Alves discuss the Best Original Screenplay race…

HARD TRUTHS, Mike Leigh

ERIC BLUME: Hi Cláudio, I put us together on this one because I love arguing with you.  Hope that's okay.  Plus, I am curious to get your takes on some of these films and scripts.

Best Original Screenplay has a lot of strong contenders this year.  What I find particularly interesting is that eight of these feature scripts written by their directors - Seed of the Sacred Fig, A Real Pain, The Substance, September 5, Anora, The Brutalist, All We Imagine as Light, and Hard Truths.  That has to be some kind of record? 

CLÁUDIO ALVES: With the growing connection between the big European film festivals and the awards season, auteur cinema is on the rise as an Oscar gold magnet. And many of those selections favor director-forward productions, often where the folks in the director's chair also penned the script. Indeed, from the octet you mention, only A Real Pain and Hard Truths premiered outside Cannes or Venice. And with Mike Leigh's latest, it wasn't for a lack of trying on his part…

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Adam's Rib @ 75: The Best Tracy/Hepburn vehicle

by Cláudio Alves

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn's love story is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Whether you believe their devotion or side-eye the whole affair, whether you're charmed by their commitment or support the lavender allegations of some, it's impossible to deny how each of the actors' mythos exists in conversation with the other. Part of it stems from the bleeding of off-screen liaisons into the screen proper, immortalizing their partnership at 24 frames per second. They starred in nine pictures together, starting with 1942's Woman of the Year and ending with 1968's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, for which Hepburn won her second Best Actress Academy Award. 

Out of this silver screen ennead, Adam's Rib is probably their best, joining the couple with George Cukor's elegant touch and a fantastic Oscar-nominated script by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. Today, the comedy celebrates its 75th anniversary…

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AFI Fest: Emotional Outbursts in “A Real Pain” and “Nightbitch”

by Eurocheese

Festering emotions were front-and-center in these two strong films at the festival, though they were expressed in very different ways. Both screenplays played with tone, though Nightbitch’s swings didn’t always land as successfully as A Real Pain's. In each film, one charismatic performance will be the top takeaway for most viewers..

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AFI Fest: “Hard Truths” Tackles Modern Social Anxiety in One of the Year’s Best Films

by Eurocheese

Mike Leigh is a filmmaker who has always evoked strong opinions, with your typical cinephile having their own takes on which films are strongest among his catalog. Certainly one of the highlights of his career has been Secrets & Lies, with the memorable pairing of Brenda Blethyn and his leading lady from this film, Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Her subtle work in that film, clashing against her brash co-stars, is often cited as one of the best performances from any Leigh film, earning her only Oscar nomination to date. Seeing her back in one of his leading roles, fans of the director and actress will be pleased to hear that their reunion brings us one of the best performances and films of the year.

Jean-Baptiste’s Pansy introduces herself to the audience by waking up screaming, and her intensity doesn’t dial down from there...

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Split Decision: "The Holdovers"

No two people feel the exact same way about any film. Thus, Team Experience is pairing up to debate the merits of this year’s Oscar movies. Here's Abe Friedtanzer and Cláudio Alves on The Holdovers…

ABE: Cláudio, it is always my pleasure to talk about films with you even though I know our tastes rarely overlap. In fact, when I met you in-person at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, you noted that we were barely seeing any of the same films. I was only in Toronto for three and a half days and saw a whirlwind eighteen films in that time, the best of which was The Holdovers. My editor decided to hold my review for the theatrical release, which proved somewhat underwhelming, but fortunately there was plenty of awards acclaim for the film to keep my enthusiasm up about this gem.

I remember seeing Sideways twenty years ago and very much enjoying it as I was just starting to really get into film (and The Film Experience as a reader), and it's great to see Alexander Payne reunited with his star Paul Giamatti for a role that's perfect for him. He's one of the best parts of this film but there are so many, at least in my opinion. Cláudio, tell me about your experience of seeing the film and what did and didn't work for you...

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