Interview: Grace & Frankie's Emmy-nominated costume designers

by Nathaniel R

One of the most satisfying moments of Emmy nomination morning was the contemporary costume nomination for Grace & Frankie. The Netflix sitcom starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin is hot off its third and best season. The writers and creative team seem to know the characters and their interpersonal dynamics, in and out at this point. That intimacy is abundanctly evidence in the terrific costuming. Until the television Academy split off their costume design category into period and contemporary, their was little opportunity for designers who specialize in contemporary clothing to be honored no matter how strong their work - exceptions like Sex and the City were all too rare.

I had the opportunity to discuss Grace & Frankie's worthy and vibrant work with its three nominees Allyson B Fanger the costume designer, Heather Pain, her assistant costume designer, and Lori DeLapp the costume supervisor. Their overlapping answers, despite their separate duties, and light ribbing over the abundance of statement piece jewelry worn by Frankie were ample evidence that they're totally in synch.

That's true whether or not their subjects Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) are seeing eye to eye in any given episode...

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would you rather...?

Time for another silly 'let's fantasize about hanging out with celebrities' game. Would you rather...

• visit South Africa with two of its most famous exports Charlize Theron and Trevor Noah?
• cheer Ashley Judd's cat on as it fully recovers from a near fatal attack?
• do goat yoga (there are so many kinds of yoga!) with Marisa Tomei?
• watch the eclipse with Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda, and Mary Steenburgen?
• bask in the afterglow with Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally?
• mother kittens with Kristin Bauer?
• hang in Brooklyn in your pjs with Anna Kendrick?
• wish John Stamos a happy birthday suit?

pictures after the jump to help you decide.

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Cozy Up to "Our Souls At Night"

Chris here. Lost in the festival announecement hullabaloo was the announcement that the screen legend pairing of Jane Fonda and Robert Redford Our Souls At Night will be debuting out of competition at Venice. Shouldn't we be a little more excited that we're getting these megastars in a new love story?

The film arrives on Netflix on September 29, so maybe it's also just lost in the theatrical vs. streaming debate as well. But it seems the legends have something lovely in store: both star as neighbors who get another chance at love after losing their respective partners. The film comes from The Lunchbox's Ritesh Batra and (500) Days of Summer screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, so expect a certain degree of warm fuzzies to go with your stargazing. Netflix just dropped a charming little teaser with Fonda and Redford getting cozy on their road trip, so it begs the question: which screen performance of Fonda or Redford would you must want to snuggle up to?

Q&A: Best 'Best Actress' Decade? Gay for Play as Actorly Rite of Passage?

Four more reader questions to kick off the weekend. Wheeee. As ever, I'd love to hear your answers to these questions thrown my way.

MATT ST CLAIR: Is there an unseen awards contender this year that you are hoping doesn't fail?

NATHANIEL: My "please let this be successful" hopes reside with Blade Runner 2049 (because the original's reputation being tarnished would be such a pity), The Greatest Showman (because musicals MUST continue to thrive) and Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (because it's infinitely annoying that Annette Bening doesn't have an Oscar yet and didn't even get nominated for such gorgeous work in 20th Century Women). While we're well- wishing please let Wonderstruck, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, and The Florida Project could be bigger hits than usual for Todd Haynes, John Cameron Mitchell, and Sean Baker, since they're three of our most distinctive American auteurs. I could go on but I'll stop as no genie grants unlimited wishes.

CATBASKETS: I've been thinking a lot about straight actors getting their starts or big breaks playing gay roles--Hugh Grant in Maurice, Guy Pierce in Priscilla, DDL in Beautiful Launderette, Charlie Hunnam in Queer as Folk, Eddie Redmayne in Savage Grace, etc. etc. Do you think this was/is a major rite of passage for actors? Do you think this will slow down now that there's more awareness/active demand for gay actors to play these roles?

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Today's 5: 'You do an eclectic celebration of the dance!"...

Five Life-hacking / mood-boosting / homework assignments -- whatever you want to call them -- pulled from showbiz history each day. Here are your assignments for May 11th! 

2007 It's the tenth anniversary of Georgia Rule, which featured Lindsay Lohan as the wayward granddaughter of strict religious Jane Fonda, the last time Lindsay would lead a reputable mainstream film (whatever one may think of its actual quality). She was just 20 years old...

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