Interview: Jessica Chastain on playing "Miss Sloane"

If you haven't yet seen Miss Sloane about a formidable political mastermind and the sure-to-lose case against the gun lobby that she takes on to the surprise of DC, you'll want to catch it soon. It's rather a classic star vehicle in that the glamorous leading lady is front and center and steering all the juicy twisty drama. That leading lady is, of course, the tireless Jessica Chastain. Chastain shot to stardom with seven films in 2011 (including The Tree of Life and her Oscar nominated role in The Help) and she seemingly hasn't left movie theaters. She's starred in everything from moody business thrillers (A Most Violent Year), gothic horror (Crimson Peak), fiery military dramas (Zero Dark Thirty), and more.

I sat down to talk with her in NYC a month or so ago about how far she's come since that explosive debut year, how she recharges between movies, and how she approached her Golden Globe nominated role as the amoral steely Miss Sloane.

NATHANIEL: One of the things that stuck with me from the first time we talked years ago was how many questions you write into each script about your character. With this character in particular, she is really a complicated woman

JESSICA: So complicated.

NATHANIEL: So was your script just buried in notes? 

JESSICA: Oh my gosh, it was insane...

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What will you see this weekend?

It's the perfect weekend to catch up on movies! Will you...

... catch up w/ Globe nominees (Elle? Hacksaw Ridge? Miss Sloane?) that are losing theaters?
... join the teeming masses for Rogue One (just reviewed) in that galaxy far far away?
... rubberneck the Razzie contender Collateral Beauty? 
... hit Oscar player Fences or Pablo Larraín's terrific Neruda in NYC or LA?
... check out Manchester by the Sea (just podcasted) now that it's gone wide?
... or maybe you're seeing Jackie or Lion or La La Land? 

Share your plans in the comments. There's just so much to see out there! 

Podcast: Manchester by the Sea & Reader Questions

Katey, Nick, Joe and Nathaniel answer reader questions and discuss the new Kenneth Lonergan weepie

Index (43 minutes)
00:01 Manchester by the Sea
12:30 Separating art from artists
24:00 Director nominations and Ruth Negga in Loving
26:28 Things you should see that won't be nominated
31:00 Almodóvar's Julieta which we'll discuss later
34:30 Nomination Announcement Memories
37:20 Did we see these movies or not? 
39:00 How did Nick, Nathaniel, Joe, and Katey meet?

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments. Next podcast: La La Land and Lion

Manchester by the Sea

Oscar's Visual Effects Race, Round Two

The Academy has spoken and they've axed half of the semi-finalist for visual effects so we're down to just 10 films competing for the five nominations. It's the only bad news Deadpool has received all week after great showings at the Globe and Critics Choice and the only good news Passengers has gotten considering its excoriating reviews. The list is now like so...

• Alice Through the Looking Glass
• Arrival
• The BFG
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
• Captain America: Civil War
• Deadpool
• Deepwater Horizon
• Doctor Strange
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Independence Day: Resurgence
• The Jungle Book
• Kubo and the Two Strings
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
• Passengers
• Rogue One 
• Star Trek Beyond
• Suicide Squad
• Sully
• Warcraft
• X-Men Apocalypse

But nothing has changed really since this race is surely a battle to the finish between Doctor Strange and The Jungle Book. One assumes the disturbing CGI humans in Rogue One won't help it win.

The Oscar Week

In this weekly feature from Murtada we will follow the Oscar contenders and examine how their many interviews and appearances impact their chances. This week we check in with Ryan Gosling, Viola Davis, Pedro Almodovar and Annette Bening.

Ryan Gosling

Gosling is trying to catch up with co-star Emma Stone who’s been promoting La La Land while he was away shooting Blade Runner 2049. He also trying to catch up with Casey Affleck and Denzel washington who’ve established themselves as the frontrunners in Best Actor. Last week he got his hands and footprints immortalized. This week he gets his first solo magazine cover - he's been in a couple with Stone - of the season in GQ. Gosling thinks the his appeal and the popularity of the Hey Girl meme are because … he’s Canadian?

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