The Costume Designers Guild loves themselves some Witches

by Cláudio Alves

Paul Tazewell is dancing through the season, toward an Oscar win for WICKED.

PGA this, DGA that, SAG whatever. The most important guild in my heart is the Costume Designers Guild (CDG), formed by those great artists who clothe our movie stars and style the pictures we love so dearly. This year, they're feeling especially witchy with their nominations, somehow bestowing three nominations on Agatha All Along and two for the Dune universe and the formidable Bene Gesserit sisterhood. And, of course, there's Wicked with its aesthetically opposite duo – green does go well with pink. I imagine Paul Tazewell is about to win his first Academy Award for the blockbuster musical, this CDG nod and likely victory a stepping stone on his path to Oscar gold. 

But enough about magical women. Let's assess the complete CDG nominations…

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Target Audience: Victor / Victoria (1982)

by Nathaniel R

VICTOR / VICTORIA

Last month I had the pleasure of rewatching Blake Edwards 7-time Oscar-nominated musical comedy Victor/Victoria (1982). The occasion was to prep for a conversation with our friend Ben Miller for his podcast "Target Audience" in which Ben invites a guest to discuss a movie that they feel was made for them for all kinds of differing reasons, beauty being in the eye of the beholder...

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Drag Race RuCap: Season Sixteen's “Grand Finale”

Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves watch and recap RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for the grand finale…

Look at those ponytails! Sasha Colby's impact is immeasurable.

CLÁUDIO: Better late than never, amirite? Well, even if I’m not, please pretend. 

Many days have passed since season sixteen drew to a close, with Taiwan goddess Nymphia Wind crowned America’s next drag superstar. It was a conclusion I wished for but wasn’t expecting, thinking Philly had the win secured up until those final minutes. After all, nothing in the season’s edit positioned the Banana Buddha as a threat, mostly ignoring her to the point she was invisible for a couple of episodes in the middle. On the other hand, Sapphira had winner energy from the go, a notion bolstered by the judges’ unvarying praise and four wins to her name. It’s easy to see why Miss Cristál’s stans feel a bit flabbergasted, though I wish some of them weren’t so quick to invalidate RuPaul’s chosen champion.

NICK: It’s still a shock! A pleasant one, but an odd one, and one I can understand folks feeling snaked by. As gaggy as Nymphia’s finale lip sync was - and I do think she won that battle - Sapphira gave a winning performance too! She was winning the whole episode, the whole season, until she didn’t. . . .

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Drag Race RuCap: “Reunited - LipSync LaLaPaRuZa Smackdown”

Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are watching and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for episode fifteen…

This week, Megami pulls a Silky and a star is born.

CLÁUDIO: After weeks of complaining about the season’s declining quality, the Drag Race producers shut me right up. This spin on a reunion episode is the best of the year, a super-charged queer Super Bowl of lipsyncing that serves as a respite before next week’s finale. Most of the girls brought their A-game, fighting for their Ru-demption with everything they got, and even the losers seemed to have a good time. Well, most of them. More important, still, was how the hour felt formed around the arc of one particular queen, subverting folks’ expectations both among the audience and the contenders themselves. To paraphrase Mother Jinkx, anyone saying Megami isn’t a star after this episode is so full of shit the toilet’s jealous.

NICK: As far as sports analogies go, I feel more partial to Sapphira calling this the gay Kentucky Derby, though perhaps I was swept up by the fantasy her gigantic hat inspired. But this was a total joy from the first second to the last. Megami’s superstar ascendancy is a Rudemption for the history books, bolstered in every way by how tough the competition was. I loved this episode, and I hope we get this format again in future seasons. . . .

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Drag Race RuCap: “Booked & Blessed”

Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are watching and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for episode fourteen…

Ronan Farrow has that All Stars glow-up.

CLÁUDIO: Just when we were starting to think the season had turned into a two-way race for the crown between Sapphira and Plane, here comes a new episode to shake things up. After years of top fours and a one-time fiver, RuPaul’s Drag Race has returned to a triadic finale, using this fourteenth chapter to boot its fourth-placer, fragilize one of the frontrunners’ bid, and bolster another contender’s narrative. A well-produced piece of television, this game-changer hour felt like a gift to Nymphia Wind fans everywhere, making it look like she might stand a chance after all. Considering her strange edit, I’m skeptical, but this episode gave me some much-needed hope. Were you similarly enthused, or is this season’s sagging energy getting to you?

NICK: The sagging energy is definitely getting to me. As much as I’ve been eager for this particular queen to get the boot, and as rewarding as this challenge was, I wouldn’t have minded a top four for the sake of wrapping it all up a little sooner...

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