Major shakeups in the Best Supporting Actress race

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There's a ton of movement on the new Best Supporting Actress Oscar prediction chart. Laura Dern and Jennifer Lopez might be all locked up but that's for nominations, the win is still very much anyone's game. Florence Pugh has been gaining momentum with Little Women more heavily screening now and the fact that she takes a well worn familiar character and suddenly makes her freshly fascinating. The Academy would never touch MidSommar but enthusiasm for her leading performance there in critical quarters doesn't exactly hurt her prestige factor since she's still a relative lesser known in Hollywood. Meanwhile in the Oscar darling realms of voting, early screenings of Richard Jewell in Los Angeles have prompted suspicion that Kathy Bates might finally be back in an Oscar lineup (it's been 17 years since her comic turn in About Schmidt brought her her third and to date final nod). Perhaps we shouldn't have plopped her right into the lineup so soon but if we have misjudged we'll adjust next week after screening the picture. 

Also rising in the charts this time: 75 year-old newbie Zhao Shuzhen (The Farewell), Oscar winner Octavia Spencer (Luce), and fresh revelation Taylor Russell (Waves) who all netted important Spirit nominations this week. 

Musings from SAG screenings (Pt 2): Judy, Bombshell, Little Women, and Dolemite

renee's first SAG winsIf you missed part one, we've invited a longtime SAG member to share this thoughts from SAG Nominating Committee screenings of the would be contenders... 

JUDY:  This one definitely got the most lackluster response.  When the movie was over, there was only a smattering of applause—though I had the feeling that had something to do with the way it ends.  It kind of ends with a whimper. But people got on their feet for Renee Zellweger—who appeared along with Finn Wittrock. They gushed about her performance—the acting, the singing, all of it.  And she had some interesting things to say about the research she did—particularly in regard to addiction. It’s an engaging performance, I think—but is it really as much of a “transformation” as people say?  I feel like you see a lot of Renee Zellweger in there—like, it’s as much Judy Garland playing Renee Zellweger as it is Renee Zellweger playing Judy Garland. Does that make any sense? And for what it’s worth, I hated the Oz stuff.  Was Louis B. Mayer a sexual predator?  You can’t just drop that suggestion into all the other horrible stuff and move on.  It all felt very undefined.

BOMBSHELL:  With no disrespect to Ms. Zellweger, the “transformation of the year” has got to be Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly...

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Best Costume Design. What we've seen and what's to come.

Please welcome new contributor Cláudio Alves...

Multiple Oscar winner Colleen Atwood on the set of "Dumbo"

As we head into the heart of festival season, the Oscar race is about to take shape. Many of the buzzier titles are finally being seen and, some will emerge as major contenders while others will fall by the wayside. That is true for most categories, but not always true for Best Costume Design. That wonderful craft award, oft celebrated here at The Film Experience, is less dependent on Best Picture buzz as other craft prizes. Let’s not forget the sole nomination likes of The Tempest, W.E. and The Invisible Woman.

It’s quite likely we’ve already seen at least one of the eventual nominees. Let's take a more thorough look at the contenders for this award...

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Let Them All Link

• Salon The Marvelous Mrs Maisel's Emmy campaign disrupts Los Angeles with 1959-era prices 
• The Atlantic's "friendship files" talks to three thirtysomething women who all cosplay Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow 
• Slate comparing the starpower of 2019's Little Women to the starpower (back in the day) of the 1994 cast - Saoirse vs Winona and more. Really fun article but the part on Sarandon and Dern is a major misread of the mid-90s. Sarandon was at the very peak of her fame in 1994, headlining a sleeper blockbuster (The Client) and building yet more momentum to win her inevitable Oscar win the following year. She should have bested Dern (who we loooove, don't get us wrong).

 After the jump The Godfather, Faye Dunaway's trouble, Steven Soderbergh's secret movie, Mulan trouble, Kristin Chenoweth's breakout and more...

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Yes No Maybe So: Greta Gerwig's "Little Women"

by Eurocheese

Greta Gerwig's follow up to the brilliant Lady Bird looks like a potential Christmas smash hit waiting to happen. Can it stick the landing with such high expectations? Well, if the trailer is any indicator, we may be in for a treat. The Yes No Maybe So™ breakdown follows after the jump...

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