Norma Shearer, the First Lady of MGM

by Cláudio Alves

It's odd that so few people talk about Norma Shearer nowadays. This Academy Award-winning actress was once one of the greatest stars of moviedom, First Lady of MGM, Queen of the Lot. Her arch elegance typified the glamour of Old Hollywood, while her evolving acting style often reflected and predicted the trends of the industry. She was a phenomenon, a sensation, a diva, but her modern recognition pales in comparison to many of her contemporaries like Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, and others.

Since we're celebrating 1938 and that was the year when she got the last of her five or six Oscar nominations (depending on how you count her double from 1930), it's a good time to look back at the life and films of Norma Shearer…

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Adrian, God of Glamour

by Cláudio Alves

Born Adrian Adolph Greenberg, the designer best known as Adrian was one of the most influential costumers in Hollywood history. After working in his family business of millinery, Adrian went on to study costume design in New York and Paris and later found work dressing the starlets of Broadway. His talents soon took him to Hollywood, where he found a home from the mid-1920s to the 1940s, designing the costumes for many an MGM classic. Throughout his tenure in Tinsel Town, Adrian perfected the on and offscreen looks of such great divas as Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, and others. Among them, his most essential collaborator and muse was the one and only Joan Crawford…

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Saoirse moves up the "fastest to..." Oscar ranks

by Nathaniel R

Saoirse Ronan preparing to burn up the record books

With Saoirse Ronan's fourth Oscar nomination at 25 years young, the Irish child prodigy turned even more excellent movie goddess' steady rise to top of her generation is more than complete. She appears to be the first real rival to Meryl Streep's eternal Oscar dominance since people thought Kate Winslet would be some 12-15 years back. 

So it's time to reshare/update one of our favourite charts that we haven't updated since 2015 (!). Herewith...

THE YOUNGEST TO EARN MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS
All Acting Categories Included

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Showbiz History: Norma, Viola, and Two Sexy Guys Named "Chris"

10 random things that happened on this day in history (Aug 11th)

1902 Norma Shearer is born in Montreal. Or was she? IMDb lists her date as August 10th but most sources say August 11th. There were previous disputes about the year, too -- 1900, 1902, 1904? But most sources seem to have settled on 1902. Regardless she was a huge star in the 1920s and 1930s. We love her here at TFE even if nobody else does.

1937 The Life of Emile Zola premieres. It goes on to win Best Picture and oh my god y'all...  J'accuse that one of being a giant slog! Seriously it's unending. They had so many better choices that year including one of the all time best screwballs The Awful Truth (Sigh)...

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Infinity Link

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• Metrograph NYC's coolest repertory movie theater has a series on Fire Island set films this weekend including Barbara Hershey in Last Summer and seminal queer indie Parting Glances
• Show-Score I did a piece for their new series on 'first times' with my experience sitting in the back row at a musical

• Variety here's a new possibility for the animated category at the Oscars this year -- Big Bad Fox and Other Tales from the director of Ernest & Celestine
• Coming Soon filming has begun on Avengers 4 which doesn't have a title yet but will end Marvel's Phase 3 in May of 2019
• Variety looks back at Fast Times at Ridgemont High as it turns 35
• Gold Derby Meryl Streep is an Emmy nominee this year. Whaaaa?
• LA Times New AMPAS president John Bailey "not as boring as you think" (FYI the media has become obsessed with Laura Dern running for this position but she actually declined the nomination)
• EW First look at Jessica Chastain in Molly's Game
• Awards Daily Sasha looks at the Best Actress race, wonders if it's finally Annette Bening's year.
• MNPP Norma Shearer can't scream
• Variety you may have heard that Disney is leaving Netflix when the current contract ends. But Netflix is still trying to get rights to some of their biggies post 2019
• /Film details on Wonder Woman's blu-ray releasese
• Boy Culture meet Carrie Dragshaw, a queen recreating SJP's iconic looks on Sex & the City