Would you rather?

We haven't played our dumb instagram game in a while. So here are celeb pics we felt the need to share (*sharing is not endorsement). Would you rather...?

• barbecue with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II?
• take allergy teests with Mark Wahlberg?
• receive flowers with Nicole Kidman?
• have a comfort food moment with Pierre Png?
• play with Jai Courtney's puppy?
• spend hammock time (in the 50s) with Natalie Wood?
• find positive energy with Cynthia Erivo?
• cosplay woodland creatures with Amanda Seinfried
• make Alec Baldwin mow your lawn?
• snake charming with Elle Fanning?
• dance on a mini-tramp with Goldie Hawn?
• pretend you're at a private nightclub with Kate Beckinsale?

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide. 

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50th Anniversary: The 42nd Academy Awards

by Cláudio Alves

Here we are again. After revisiting the Oscars of 1994 for their 25th anniversary, it's time to go further back to the 1969 Oscars, whose ceremony was celebrated 50 years ago today. Unlike the Forrest Gump year, when the Academy Awards were pretty much business as usual, the 1969/70 awards season was part of a transitional period. The tension between the decomposing corpse of the studio system and the brats of New Hollywood was on full show for these Academy Awards. Each victory represents a prickly negotiation between the new and old guards. On one hand, we have the only X-rated movie to ever win Best Picture. On the other, John Wayne is our Best Actor for True Grit.

Speaking of the Duke, there's no better way to understand the singular contradictions of these Oscars than to look at the cowboys of 1969…

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Podcast: Quarantined with "Emma" and "Cactus Flower"

with Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl

Everyone's a shut-in so we'll be watching the same movies at home.

Index (33 minutes)
00:01 Updates on health and the NYC self-quarantine 
04:20 Cactus Flower (1969) is a delight, though crazy sexist. We both fell hard for Ingrid Bergman and enjoyed Goldie Hawn's Oscar winning debut, too. It's streaming on Criterion Channel. We also talk briefly about our reader's choice series thus far and what's next.
17:38 The latest adaptation of Emma starring Anya Taylor-Joy. Murtada really loves Bill Nighy and Nathaniel loves the look but we both think it's not as strong as the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version. 
26:30 Bonus randomness - two perfect leading lady star vehicles: Rita Hayworth in Gilda and Cher in Moonstruck.
31:00 Wrap-up

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? 

Cactus Flower, Emma, Quarantine

Oscar Ceremony: The Greatest Oscar Presentation

by Murtada Elfadl

Remember the Oscar ceremony in February 2009. Hugh Jackman was the host, he brought the house down with his charming opening number. Then it was time for the first award of the evening, best supporting actress. Five former winners came out and what transpired was without doubt the best Oscar presentation in the history of the Academy.

The gasps. How? What? Who? They repeated the same scenario 3 more times that night with the other acting awards. Nothing beat the surprise of that first one though. As someone who loves acting and actors, it was valhalla. A long stretch of time spent on celebrating each nominated performance by previous Oscar winners. No one was in a rush, the jokes were minimal, it was sincerne, it was earnest, it worked. 

The winner from the year before Tilda Swinton talked about Marisa Tomei. Whoopi Goldberg got Amy Adams, Goldie Hawn waxed poetic about Taraji P Henson. Eva Marie Saint paid tribute to Viola Davis and the eventual winner Penelope Cruz was congratulated in Spanish by Anjelica Huston. Bring this back Academy. I don't care how long it is or how too earnest it could get, this is why we tune to the ceremony and why we talk about it all year.

What is your favorite Oscar presentation of all time?

Would you rather? (special dance break edition)

Would you rather

...eat shrimp with Salma Hayek?
...get down with Niecy Nash in a catsuit?
...attend the Royal Ascot with Kim Cattrall? 
...do the conga with Keiynan Lonsdale? 
...bike and stroll through Italy with Goldie & Kate?
...dance to TLC with Sharon Stone? 
...get a haircut with La Pfeiffer?
...attend a Pride event with Charlize Theron? 
...enjoy a Queen classic with Liev Schreiber?
...wear kilts with Broadway stars Ephraim Sykes and Jeremy Pope?
... or sing Moulin Rouge! songs with Keith Urban & Nicole Kidman, the sparkling diamond? 

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide.

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