Thoughts I Had... While Watching the "Interstellar" Teaser

Presented in the order I had them without self-censorship... you do the same in the comments!

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SAG to Assemble Ensemble Nominees Now

Glenn here with news that Screen Actor's Guild voting forms have been shipped out in the post. As my tongue-twister of a title suggests, a select number (2,200 to be exact) of SAG members will be given the arduous task of deciding whether This is the End has an ensemble on the same playing field as 12 Years a Slave (I say yes!), if middling films with sprawling big-name casts like The Butler should be up there (I say no, but since when has that stopped them?) and which of the best actor favourites is going to pluck this year's unlucky short straw. There are so many contenders that somebody has to, right?

SAG are unique in that the people chosen to select the nominees changes each year amongst its hefty membership (now even bigger thanks to a merger with AFTRA, or is my lack of knowledge on the subject getting me into a mess?) That means whoever voted for that incredible roster of ensemble nominees in 2007 didn't necessarily vote for Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy, but we thank them for both nonetheless. It also means that sometimes curveballs are thrown that can signpost Oscar surprises waiting in the wings (Demian Bichir for A Better Life, anyone?) or can send prognosticators on a wild goose chase (Cloris Leachman in Spanglish?).

Last week Amir looked at SAG's ensemble category so there's no need to dip back into that well, but what are we thinking could surprise in the acting categories? Is there a Hilary Swank in Conviction waiting to win their lone citation of the season? Is there a Jacki Weaver who has two Oscar nominations to her credit and yet can't seem to get herself a solo SAG nomination? I'm personally wondering whether the older-skewing Best Actress category may make voters throw a bone to a popular young actor such as Brie Larson (Short Term 12) or if Matthew McConaughey can snag a double nomination with Dallas Buyer's Club in Best Actor and Mud in Best Supporting Actor. Lest we forget that Mud was the first screener sent to voters and that helps! 

What are you hunches or sneaking suspicions?
Speak up in the comments or make your FYCs.

The SAG Award Nominations will be announced on Wednesday, December 11th by TV stars Clark Gregg and Sasha Alexander

Review: Dallas Buyer's Club

This review was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad

"Silence = Death" was a particularly genius political slogan for AIDS activists in the 1980s. Potently succinct, righteously angry, and, best of all, both literally and spiritually true.  The conversations it prompted about systemic gay oppression, political complacency, the importance of frank sexual discussion, and gay liberation -- particularly in regards to the fight against HIV and AIDS --  surely saved countless lives. But isn't it a curious thing that HIV/AIDS in the arts and entertainments still remains so tied to gay-only narratives of roughly a ten year window from the early 80s through the early 90s? Time to tell new stories from fresh perspectives? Enter DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, one of the first AIDS dramas (that I can recall at least) that is not about the gay community. 

Matthew McConaughey stars as Ron Woodroff, a hard-living homophobe electrician. When we first meet him he's having a drug-fueled three way with two women behind the scenes at the rodeo. While we're watching him getting it on, he's watching a man getting gored at the rodeo. This opening sequence arguably shoves the entirely less useful 'Sex = Death' argument in your face, but the film quickly finds its footing as an involving drama about a man who doesn't know what's knocked him out and also is too damn stubborn to stay down. 

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Notes From L.A.

backlit by L.A.'s eternal sunshineHello you. It's Nathaniel. I've been absent but with good reason. I'm in Los Angeles for a few days visiting friends and catching up with favorite peeps at a couple of studios before the season hits like a tornado and whisks us all away to the Merry Ol Land of Ozcars. But really things are already spinning furiously. And there's no Kansas. There's only New York and L.A. where your house might land. Los Angeles is sunny and beautiful and there are more blondes per block radius than you could ever imagine in NYC. I get why people love it here but I started longing for the East Coast within 36 hours. People complain that NYC is loud and crowded but at least you don't have to drive. Driving is terrifying here. Google maps is currently in hate with me for my frequent confusions on the road. I've driven to about 6 places and been lost 4 times. 66% chance of things going wrong! Yay me. 

 I just wrapped up a junket at The Four Seasons for Dallas Buyer's Club (more on that film real soon) and the conversation before the talent arrived was all about "locks" for Oscar. The press gathered were saying things like "there are 5 locks for... and 5 locks for..." and if you've been reading The Film Experience for any length of time whatsoever you will know that I was horrified.  This is not how it works people. Sigh. Entire categories don't lock up before the precursors and even when they do firm up, there's usually a deathmatch for slot #5 in any given category. Unless by "lock" you mean "this looks like it might happen but who knows" in which case the symboic word has lost all correlation to its real life counterpart so quit using it. 

I don't normally do junkets since it's virtually impossible to get fresh exclusive coverage from them. Apparently I have control issues because not being able to shape a conversation with a fine director (let's say, oh, Jean Marc-Vallée) or ask about his past work in relation to his new work while the noisiest junketeer in the room merely asks him to regurgitate the entire press note package for his entire alloted time in the room just makes me C.R.A.Z.Y.

HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING, YOU UNDERSTAND.

view from my room at the Four Seasons

 But I can't say that I didn't enjoy my time at the Four Seasons. Lounging poolside first thing in the morning, or typing in a plush bathrobe while the balcony door lets in a cool breeze, or a quick elevator ride up several floors to sit down with Matthew McConaughey? I'll take it!  

P.S. Good god his eyes are blue in person. When he touched the hand of the girl next to me to illustrate a point, I thought she might spontaneously combust. Or melt.

How is your weekend going? 

Podcast: Best Actor Captain Phillips? Plus Inside Llewyn Davis

For this weekend we have a mini podcast but good things come in small packages.

Katey & Joe attended the Inside Llewyn Davis premiere at the New York Film Festival and tell Nathaniel about it from Garret Hedlund's ponytail, Carey Mulligan doppelgangers, Coen ambience shenanigans and film festival fashions.

All three of us loved Tom Hanks performance in Captain Phillips and Nick joins us, finally, to chat about the Best Actor race. We reference this "no frontrunners" article if you missed it. You can listen at the bottom of the post or download it on iTunes. Join in the conversation in the comments.

[Editor's Note: Because iTunes only hosts the 10 most recent episodes (I'm not sure why that is), the podcasts for this year's films we'll start disappearing after this particular episode so make sure and download them if you haven't yet listened to any episode.]

Inside Captain Phillips, Best Actor