1991: Carina Lau in "Days of Being Wild"

by Nick Taylor

Happy Birthday, Wong Kar-Wai, who turned 62 years old last week, something that surely feels impossible for anyone younger than 61 to really consider for themselves! The celebrated auteur is known for his indefatigable sense of coolness and poise, doing for delicately conjured yet passionately felt romanticism what Ingmar Bergman did for psychological anguish. Especially in certified masterpieces like In the Mood for Love and Happy Together but even in lesser works like My Blueberry Nights, Wong’s sense of style is refreshing to sit with and inimitably his. And so, in celebration of our beloved birthday boy and the many gifts he’s given us across his career, I’m here to discuss Days of Being Wild, and the bewitching, jewel-toned performance of Carina Lau...

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News & Tidbits: France, Brad Pitt, Julie Andrews and more...

Deadline France will send contemporary police/citizens/gang tensions drama Les Miserables to the Oscars (sorry, Portrait of a Lady on Fire fans)
Latino Entertainment Journalists Association - In their first ever TV awards, Barry, When They See Us, Chernobyl, and Euphoria lead the nominations. Jimmy Smit (Lifetime Achievement) and Isabella Gomez (Breakout) will also be honored.
Indie Wire - Have you heard that Brad Pitt is “abstaining” from Oscar campaigning. In our long years of following the Oscar race this only works for mega-stars and those who have just given undeniable performances (like Mo’Nique in Precious). Everyone else has to play the game. 

After the jump Julie Andrews, Maggie Cheung, Downton Abbey, Kevin Spacey and more…

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"I only need one of you to help me"

...please decide between yourselves."

Welcome to the Academy (2017 Invitee List)

The Academy continues its diversity push this year with a record 774 new invitations for membership including people from all over the world. The youngest this year is Elle Fanning and the oldest is Betty White. The list is 39% female this year and 30% people of color.

Chinese superstar screen partners Maggie Cheung & Tony Leung Chiu Wai are finally invited!We must also note that AMPAS's diversity push is also doubling as a major expansion. They're not just inviting differently (i.e. less white men and more women and people of color) but MORE in general. If all of the invitees accepted the invites from this year and last that's 1400ish new members in two years for an institution that previously kept its ranks steady around the 6,000 member mark. 

Everyone's gagging over Gal Gadot being invited but that's obvious. She's in a phenomenon sized hit at the moment and timing is everything -- see also Riz Ahmed whose career is also white hot at this very second and who is also invited... 

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Golden Horse Winners: Stray Dogs, The Grandmaster, Ilo Ilo

 I watched the show live. I didn't understand a word but awards shows are universal. Full list of winners and what it might mean for Oscar (multiple Oscar submissions competed here) after the jump.

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