Who is now in the lead for Best Actress?

by Nathaniel R and Team Experience!

The morning after and we're still reeling from the SAG nominations. But in particular what it's done to presumptions about the Best Actress category. I've updated the Oscar chart but after a brief flirtation with Nicole Kidman as #1, I suddenly felt the urge to give that spot to Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter. Is this insane? Not exactly though it is probably the common pundit psychosis of "overthinking it". My pundit brain began imagining that all the biopic ladies are getting in each other's way with their elaborate makeovers and mimicry (or lack thereof) and through the chaos emerges the true stealth battle of all along: superstar Lady Gaga vs revered thespian Olivia Colman.

Lady Gaga is also playing a real person, like the biopic ladies, but Patrizia Reggiani isn't a famous celebrity being recreated by another famous celebrity as is the usual draw of these things. So the traditional biopic advantage (aka default love for "what a transformation!") doesn't quite apply in Gaga's case. In the end given Olivia Colman mania and Gaga's film having more detractors, is it so outlandish to presume a quick second win could very well happen. So I polled the team, hoping that a crystal clear hive mind pundit choice would emerge. Whoops! Though there is a hesistant "consensus choice" opinions are truly all over the place.

Here's how the team responded to the big question of the moment...

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Kit Clarke as Rupert Everett? Good casting!

We totally missed sharing this story that is now a bit old but it might be news to you! 

Rupert Everett will be played by Kit Clarke in a new film

Rupert Everett was one of our first heroes. The now 62 year-old actor is the first movie star in our lifetime that came out of the closet. It was such a ballsy move for a leading man in 1989, you can't even imagine if you weren't alive at the time. While it's still a brave move in some ways for today's actors, it's no longer at all unusual and large pockets of the media, Hollywood, and fan culture are supportive enough that we have dozens of famous  out actors in 2021! (The closet still exists in Hollywood, too, of course). Everett was the only one back in the day. (Sir Ian McKellen came out a year before Rupert but he was not yet a movie star and the stage has always been more accepting of gay talent.) Everett doesn't always get the credit for being a pioneer, partially because of his repeatedly sharp tongue and controversial statements (including his own coming out) as well as that "difficult" reputation. But we will forever love him for paving the way.

We forgot to share the news from a month back that the star is moving behind the camera for his latest which will be an autobiographical film called Lost and Found in Paris...

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125 days until the Oscars...

It's 125 days until the Oscars and when we do countdowns at TFE we like to play number association. What do you think of when you hear the number "125"?  I personally think of 125th street in Manhattan since I have lived in Harlem for 16 years. The most famous attraction of 125th street might well be The Apollo Theater but curiously searching for articles or a list of movie scenes set there comes up a big blank. How is there not a big article about this already? There's not even a Wikipedia section for "references in film/tv".

The only things I could remember with the internet refusing to help (other than various comedy/concert films shot there) was the Emmy-winning recent documentary The Apollo (2019), a major Emmy submission from The Marvelous Mrs Maisel ("A Jewish Girl Walks Into the Apollo") and Denzel Washington giving good speech in Malcolm X (1992)...

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Kidman rising, Stewart holding for Best Actress. But who else?

by Nathaniel R

Our favourite category! Not that Oscar chooses well but it's always the best acting category IN THEORY. So let's discuss Best Actress. You know you want to.

THE SURE THINGS
While Kristen Stewart has maintained the early frontrunner lead handily for her work as Princess Diana in Spencer, response to this past week's screenings of Being the Ricardos have suggested that Nicole Kidman could overthrow her for Oscar #2 for her work as Lucille Ball. She's sensational in the film, doing really interesting work (vocally and physically) differentiating between Lucille Ball and Lucy Ricardo, and also marrying some elusive internal issues like creativity, inspiration, ambition, with external stuff like a chain-smokers voice and the drama of the plot and multiple interpersonal conflicts. Ball's tetchy relationships and hot/cold rapports with each I Love Lucy cast and crew member is brilliantly differentiated and articulated. Besides, if any current one-time acting winner deserves a second statue, it's Kidman. This theoretical competition between Stewart and Kidman is interesting because both films originally raised eyebrows with their casting...

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I Put A Link On You... and now you're mine 🎵

• The Reveal you may have heard that NEON is planning an unusual release for Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria in that it will only play in one movie theater at a time for one week and continually move to new cities and never come to streaming. The internet was furious about the 'elitism' of this but Scott Tobias has a different take that's well worth reading
• Coming Soon Trailer to season 2 of Locke & Key. Not half enough Connor Jessup in this teaser!
• Vulture Bayard Rustin is FINALLY getting a biopic and Colman Domingo will be playing the gay Civil rights hero of yore. Now we can begin dreaming that Domingo will finally become an Oscar nominee a year or two from now. It usually takes a biopic (sigh)

First movie shot in space, Hocus Pocus-themed concert, Andrew Lloyd Weber on various stage-to-film adaptations, Théodore Pellerin rumors, and more after the jump...

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