Take me to the link

• NYT Which Cannes films and performances will factor into the Oscar race. Kyle Buchanan thinks Parasite and Pain & Glory are the biggest foreign threats but Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the big one.
• Hugh Jackman singing Happy Birthday to Sir Ian McKellen with a whole staidum backing him. Awesome
• Variety Owen Gleiberman surveys his Cannes experience and how well the movies filled the big screen
• Variety Chris Hemsworth is the coverboy at the moment so here's the big profile
• The Sheila Variations on Joseph Cotten's active listening in Gaslight (1944) 

• Variety so far Netflix is the only studio to speak out on Georgia's attack on abortion rights which could threaten the massive amount of filmmaking that goes on in that state.
• Out for a blu-ray release of To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, John Leguizamo is talking about his character Chi Chi Rodriguez
• Town & Country we missed this news during Cannes but congrats to Jennifer Lawrence who is now engaged
• IndieWire surveys critics on the best movies that played at Cannes. Parasite comes out on top just as it did with the jury, but Portrait of a Lady on Fire (which only took Screenplay at Cannes) was the runner up.
• Variety more Cannes prizes. FIPRESCI chooses The Lighthouse (from the director of The VVitch)
• /Film a piece on Quentin Tarantino's female characters  in light of a tense moment at Cannes when he was asked about Margot Robbie's lack of dialogue in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Tony Season
• NYT fun piece on "mysteries" of this Broadway season including how tall is the tall man in Hadestown, how does Santino Fontana sing like a woman in Tootsie, and how does one do partner dances while in a wheelchair? As for that 'tall man' in Hadestown. We first noticed him in Frozen and we ran into him on the subway over the weekend and he was as sweet and gorgeous as can be while towering over us.
• ... Timothy Hughes is his name and you can follow him on Instagram 
• Stagecraft Rosemary Harris will get a lifetime achievement at this year's Tony Awards. But her previous Tony has a typo on it!
• Playbill Wesley Taylor (Smash) who recently won the Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Male Dancer is engaged to marry Isaac Powell (last seen in Spongebob Squarepants) 
• Playbill Fresh out of high school, Renée Rapp, who won this year's Jimmy Award (that's the highest honor for High School students in musical theater) is stepping into the role of Regina George in Mean Girls for her Broadway debut this summer.

And look here's a video about Dianne Wiest's latest play Off Broadway. It's a monologue play from Samuel Beckett

Tweetweek

A collection of random tweets for your (hopeful) amusement...

"One for the new Dianne Wiest, please!" — me at AMC on opening weekend of The Mule pic.twitter.com/dXcb91KudI

— Matthew Eng (@Eng_Matthew) October 4, 2018

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Tues Top 10: Oscar's All Time Favorite Supporting Actresses

Let's discuss Oscar hiearchies. This one is ultra specific and could be argued that it doesn't exist since actors can be nominated in leading categories, too. But we love ultra niche rankings and trivial Oscar Trivia, and you do too! So who are Oscar's 10 favorite supporting actresses of all time? We'll work the ranking like so: Supporting nominations count most, and wins act like half a nomination to help determine rank. The tiebreaker is the spread of time of nominations which can denote either long term fandom on the Academy's part or more shortlived enthusiasms. If a final tiebreaker is still required (and it is in the case of the second place ranking on this list), that's the only time activity in the Leading Actress category is factored in. READY?

The Ten Most Oscar-Lauded Supporting Women

RUNNER UP: 
AMY ADAMS (4 nominations across a 7 year period)
Her leading miss for Arrival (2016) despite its Best Picture nomination could mean her Oscar time is up (it ends for most performers at some point, no matter how beloved they are). On the other hand that might have just been the actors branch bias against science fiction throwing a tight race. If she's nominated for the political drama Backseat this year, she might be impossible to beat given the decade plus of momentum. Currently in Sharp Objects on HBO.

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Smackdown '94 Companion: "Mrs King" and vague 'Women's Troubles'

Nathaniel R welcomes Erik Anderson, Nick Davis,  Itamar Moses, and Alfred Soto to talk 1994 movies

The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1994 has just gone up and the panelists have gathered for a deeper conversation. 

Podcast (42 minutes)
In part one we discuss people we wish had been nominated in the category. We also discuss the comic tone of The Madness of King George, and there are split opinions on Helen Mirren's work and whether she's elevating or bringing down the movie. Surprisingly though she won the Smackdown Dianne Wiest's classic performance in Bullets Over Broadway isn't quite as loved as it once was. The panel also discusses Miramax style filmmaking of the 90s and the troubles with the 'approved' nature of literary biopics like Tom & Viv. 

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? 

Smackdown 94 Madness of Viv Over Broadway

Smackdown '94: Uma, Dianne, Jennifer, Helen, and Rosemary

Presenting Oscar's Chosen Supporting Actresses of the Films of 1994.

THE NOMINEES: The Academy wrapped up their love affair with a previous winner (Dianne Wiest) while starting a new one with a future winner (Helen Mirren). Two fresh-faced delights (Uma Thurman, Jennifer Tilly) and an esteemed veteran (Rosemary Harris) were along for the ride.

In a rare turn of events the shortlist leaned far away from tears and dove headfirst into stylized fun or outright belly laughs (Rosemary Harris was the only player in a traditional drama). A quick list of the roles sounds like a joke set-up or at least a wild party: A fertile queen, a pompous diva, a wealthy society matriarch, and not but one but two trouble-maker gangster molls who moonlight in acting. 

THIS MONTH'S PANELISTS   

Here to talk about these five nominated turns are, in alpha order: Erik Anderson (Awards Pundit), Nick Davis (Professor),  Itamar Moses (Tony-winning Playwright), Alfred Soto (Editor/Critic), and your host Nathaniel R from The Film Experience. [Apologies but the sixth announced panelist Sheila O'Malley -- who previously provided brilliant insight in our 1984 discussion -- had to attend to a last minute emergency so we'll have to catch up with her again down the road.]

Readers form the collective panelist each month (though there were weirdly fewer votes this round for such a recent year!). You broke the panel tie to determine the winner this time around. Now it's time for the main event... 

1994
SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN  

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