SAG Awards - a brisk bellwether for Oscar night

by Nathaniel R

Did you watch the SAG Awards last night? Apart from one surprising win on the television side (an inebriated, honest Pedro Pascal for The Last of Us) it was a night of frontrunners, continuing to run so far front that their competitors are all well out of focus. Honestly at this point, all the suspense of Oscar season has entirely dissipated (but we'll get to that soon). Given the lack of interesting narrative curlicues and detours and the same faces delivering the same kinds of speeches, the highlight for yours truly was in the presenters.

The grandest entertainment came in the form of a fashionable reunion for the stars of The Devil Wears Prada...

Click to read more ...

On Gladstone and Scorsese's Mollie Kyle

by Cláudio Alves

Oscar voting opens today, and, for once, some of my favorites are poised to thrive on the nomination ballot. Because of that, it might seem overkill to write FYC pieces, those love letters by another name. Even so, as it's a time for advocacy, I shall articulate why some of the year's best cinematic achievements deserve to be recognized as such. Today, I find myself inspired to make the case for Lily Gladstone, a virtual lock for a Best Actress nomination who might win it all. And to think some said going lead would ruin her Oscar hopes. 

As Mollie Kyle in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, she breathes life into a dark chapter of American history. Gladstone illuminates the tragedy of a woman and people betrayed, forsaken by individuals who claimed to love them and systems who exploited them under the guise of protection, brutalized by greed and white supremacy…

Click to read more ...

Oscar Volley: Who's Really Safe in Best Actress?

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Eurocheese and Nick Taylor to talk Best Actress . . . .

Lily Gladstone is coming on strong for KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON . . . .

EUROCHEESE: Hi Nick! So excited to discuss the award we all care about most here at The Film Experience - Best Actress. This year has given us a deep bench of competitors, making this feel like a category where we could see a curve ball or two.

Maybe it's best to get the obvious out of the way first - Lily Gladstone's subtle, moving work in Killers of the Flower Moon steals the film from her veteran costars, and Emma Stone's risky, inventive performance is the heart of Poor Things. I don't see the Actress field without them, and I expect one of them will most likely run away with the Oscar. Which one of them takes it? I don't think that's clear yet. I don't put any stock in LA Critics' Supporting mention for Gladstone though - these are our sure things.

NICK: Hi Euro! I’m so excited to discuss this category with you again. I remember we did the pre-nomination volley for last year’s Best Actress contenders. There were so many fun performances to talk about, and in the end I got maybe 3/5 of my predicted lineup right. This year looks similarly crowded, though who knows if another To Leslie is lying in wait . . . .

Click to read more ...

NYFCC Winners: "Killers," Nolan, Rogowski, and more!

by Cláudio Alves

The first major critics award of the season is upon us in the form of the New York Film Critics Circle. Killers of the Flower Moon was the big favorite, scoring two wins in Best Film and Actress, while a couple of other productions also won themselves a pair of prizes. Oppenheimer and May December were warmly embraced by the New York set, as was Franz Rogowski, whose Best Actor victory is this year's biggest surprise. The multiple winners and lack of disclosed runners-up means many of the season's hottest titles were left empty-handed. They include Maestro, Poor Things, Barbie, and The Zone of Interest, which many pegged as likely darlings among critics. Time will tell if other groups take the NYFCC's lead.

Though these things aim to celebrate cinema, one must recognize their fame as Oscar predictors. With that in mind, let's delve into numbers and trivia, history and percentages galore, as one explores this year's complete list of winners…

Click to read more ...

Gotham Awards 2023: De Niro Censored and Gladstone Crowned

by Cláudio Alves

With the Gotham Awards ceremony, the season is officially underway. It was a night marked by studio intrusions into a space heretofore reserved for indie filmmaking, a "spread the wealth" attitude, and one controversy. When introducing a prize to Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro found his speech censored – presumably by Apple – but that didn't stop him from saying everything he had in mind. As soon as the video package wrapped, De Niro made sure to read his original text, complete with anti-Trump sentiment and John Wayne shade.

Some surprising results included a victory for A.V. Rockwell's A Thousand and One over Past Lives in the Breakthrough Director category, though the Celine Song film still took home the night's biggest prize. On the acting front, Charles Melton won Outstanding Supporting Performance for May December and charmed the whole room, while Lily Gladstone took the Lead Performance prize for The Unknown Country. Even when she's not representing Martin Scorsese's latest, voters are eager to recognize the actress…

Click to read more ...