Revisiting "Spotlight" on Netflix

Please welcome new contributor Juan Carlos Ojano

As the 88th Oscars neared its conclusion, the anticipation for the Best Picture winner was high: The Revenant had previously won the DGA and three Oscars including Directing, The Big Short had momentum, the PGA win, and an Oscar for Adapted Screenplay, and Spotlight had previously won SAG and on the big night Original Screenplay. Meanwhile, the critics had rallied behind Mad Max: Fury Road and it just kept winning Oscars that night. But ultimately, it was Spotlight that prevailed, winning the top prize. With the film now streaming on Netflix, it's worth a revisit...

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Streaming Roulette, August: Exotica, Harriet, and Muppets Now

If you're new to the site this is how we share new streaming offerings for the month. We select a handful or two of titles and just randomly hit a place on the scroll bar to see what the film looks like - no cheating.  Ready? Let's play...

I CAN'T WATCH!!!

Muppets Now (2020) Season 1 on Disney Plus
Let's HOPE Kermit isn't being prophetic about the quality of his new show with this random shot/dialogue. Maybe because we grew up with them, we always give new Muppet content a chance. Will you?

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Oscar Ceremony: How to Present Costume Design

by Murtada Elfadl

The presentation of the Costume Design category at the Oscars has always perplexed whoever is chosen to produce the show. It feels like there’s something inherently visual about the costumes that calls for doing more with that presentation than other categories. Yet they rarely get it right! Last year’s was actually one of the times it worked because of the brilliant comic timing of Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry. Plus they wore ALL the costumes and that was such a funny visual gag...

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What if DiCaprio had lost for "The Revenant"?

by Cláudio Alves

Oscar narratives can shape an entire awards season. More radically, they can transform the way we perceive certain films, actors and other artists. Leonardo DiCaprio is an example of the phenomenon. Until he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, the star brought with him a baggage of perceived injustice and honors long deserved but never given. He was due an Oscar, many argued, and the hysteria around his lack of one made every one of his new releases into an event – Would this be the movie to finally earn DiCaprio the Academy Award?

The Revenant (2015) was the production to eventually capitalize on all this hubbub, mounting a mighty campaign to win DiCaprio his prize. It worked and so it was that the poster boy for "Oscar dueness" lost his shine. That meant his following films wouldn't be able to take advantage of his lack of recognition and the reactions to his performances would no longer be inflated by the urgency to award him. But the next big film on DiCaprio's resume after The Revenant has proven to be an even more remarkable showcase for his talents than the production that earned him his overdue honors…

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What if there had been a Best Casting Oscar this past decade?

Since we shared the news that Casting Director David Rubin had become the new president of the Academy, we've been thinking a lot about a potential Best Casting Oscar. The common 'they shouldn't do this' feeling in the comments and on twitter was based on the fact that the Academy would likely get it all wrong and only pick a random sampling of Best Picture nominees with starry casts. But that's never a reason not to have a category when there should be one. Lord knows they get a lot of things wrong and many of the branches are susceptible to strangely ignoring anything outside of the Best Picture race even if the film isn't strong in their particular field.

Here at TFE, in our Film Bitch Awards, we've had a Best Casting category since 2013 which makes it pretty much our newest category. Why did we wait so long? Who knows. But after the jump we thought we'd share our nominees each year and what we think Oscar would have nominated in those same time frames. Play along in the comments, won'cha?

2013
Film Bitch Nominees	What Would Oscar Have Chosen?

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