93rd Academy Awards: The Women of Best Actress

By Abe Friedtanzer

When I requested to cover this category just one week after Oscar nominations were announced, I didn’t realize quite how competitive it was going to be, putting us in a scenario where anyone could win. Day won the Golden Globe, Mulligan scored with the Critics Choice Association, Davis won the SAG, and McDormand won the BAFTA! Fortunately, this is a truly fantastic slate, and as a result, I’m not going to rank them in any order of quality. Let’s dive into a remarkable list of some of this year’s best female performances…

Click to read more ...

This post is not an advertisement but also is.

Thirteen days until the Oscars. Are you counting down? Does this insanely stacked list of presenters move your personal excitement needle? 

P.S. Isn't it weirdly embarrassing for the Academy to use a fake non-Oscar statue in an commercial for their own show? I get that they're protective of the statue as a copyright / trademark but this is a commercial for their own show. Why is the "awards show" statue some weird not-the-real-thing cross between an Emmy and an Oscar?

Introducing the Smackdown Panel for '20/'21

Are you ready for the season premiere of what's going to be the final season (at least in its current form) of Supporting Actress Smackdown? The Smackdown and companion podcast arrive this Thursday. We're starting with the current Oscar race honoring the films and performances of 2020 and your votes count so hurry up and get them in.

Let's meet your fellow panelists, shall we?

PLEASE WELCOME...   

Click to read more ...

93rd Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (aka Best Lead Actor Overfill)

by Christopher James

(from left, clockwise) Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Paul Raci, Leslie Odom Jr. and Sacha Baron Cohen make up the 2020 Supporting Actor race.Category fraud has been talked about extensively at The Film Experience. Yet, year after year the supporting categories are filled with leading performances. This year, one could argue that four-fifths of the Supporting Actor field is made up of leading performances. How is a true supporting actor supposed to compete with a lead performance that has been strategically "demoted."

Bad blood aside, the field is filled with many interesting performances from a diverse group of nominees. Even better, four of the five nominees are celebrating their first acting nomination this year. The Oscars can often be accused of repeatedly nominating their favorite actors, whether or not they deserve it, so it's nice to see fresh blood...

Click to read more ...

DGA Winners: Chloe Zhao, Darius Marder, Melina Matsoukas, etc...

by Nathaniel R

Zhao on the set of Nomadland

As expected Chloe Zhao took the DGA prize last night  for Nomadland on her way to making history (hopefully) on Oscar night. She's only the second woman to win the DGA for Feature Film and she'd be the second to win the Oscar if she prevails later this month on Hollywood's High Holy Night. She reportedy praised her fellow nominees at the guild awards where her peers convene honoring David Fincher as "master class", Aaron Sorkin as  "a poet". And echoing the sentiment of many of us movie lovers in that Lee Isaach Chung's Minari touched her personally and she can't wait to see what Emerald Fennell does as a follow up to Promising Young Woman. Relatable words and classy, too...

Click to read more ...