Hello, Gorgeous: Best Actress of 2014

A returning series by Juan Carlos Ojano

Nice to be back doing this series after last year's Oscars.

One fascinating thing about this group of nominees is how, in medias res, they provide a lot of context as to what their respective arcs will be: a depressed worker being awakened, a mother on the verge of isolation, a mysterious wife to be cracked open, and an injured traveler hitting a roadblock. Only one of the nominees gets a traditional introductione, and even that is already in establishing her dynamic with her male co-star. It’s a fun lineup of first moments with key details sprinkled in from the get-go.

Are you ready? The year is 2014...

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Nicole Kidman Tribute: Big Little Lies (2017)

by Mark Brinkerhoff

Wow. The power of women.

 I remember Nicole Kidman's speech at the 2018 Golden Globes like it was yesterday. You certainly could sense a genuine sisterhood between the five principle stars (Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz and Laura Dern) of Big Little Lies, HBO's unexpectedly titanic, initially limited series. Amid the backdrop of #MeToo, it was quite a moment for Nicole Kidman and company.

The actress's output in the 2010s was, charitably, something of a mixed bag. For every dazzling turn in Rabbit Hole (2010), The Paperboy (2012), or Paddington (2014), there were plenty of barely released (if at all) misfires like Tresspass (2011), The Railway Man (2013), and Queen of the Desert (2015). With the notable exception of Lion (2016), things looked awfully bleak for Kidmaniacs stateside heading into a post-presidential election year...

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Emmy Category Analysis: Lead Actress in a Drama Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

Previous winner Zendaya in her standout episode of Euphoria

Though none of last year’s Lead Drama Actress nominees were eligible this year, the shortlist for 2022 is actually pretty close to what this category was like two years ago albeit with a different actress from The Morning Show in contention. Two Emmy seasons ago, Zendaya was the big winner for her buzzy freshman show, and now her fiercest competition is also in a buzzy freshman show. Melanie Lynskey is hot off a win from the Hollywood Critics Association. While it’s possible that the other four will factor into the race, it feels like a race between those two.

But let’s dig deeper. Brief descriptions of the nominees below - click on the episode titles for spoiler-filled reviews…

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Would you rather?

We haven't loooked at Instagram for a bit. So let's play our fantasies about celebrity bffs game which is just an elaborate excuse to share photos we liked recently. Would you rather...

• hang at the pool with Elliot Page?
• celebrate the anniversary of "Born this Way" with Lady Gaga?
• sit for a portrait with Kristin Scott Thomas?
• make like Tarzan under a waterfall with Tony Goldwyn?
• have a "salad" with Reese Witherspoon?
• get an honorary degree from Yale with Ava DuVernay?
• visit Monaco with Haz Osterfield and Tom Holland?
• relax at a resort with Kathryn Newton?
• bungee jump with Zac Efron and brother?
• celebrate pride with Jeremy Pope's cake?

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide. (If there's a gif, you can click on it to see the whole video)

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Beauty Break: National Book Lovers Day

Curated by Nathaniel R

Clark Gable reading about Rhett Butler. Research!

Today is National Book Lovers Day so we thought we'd celebrate with heavenly creatures getting their book club on. Please enjoy these stars reading (or pretending to read) books for pleasure, or work, or photo-op purposes. Or sometimes as a character in a movie. We love this sort of pic as it's harder and harder in the real world to know what people are reading. You can no longer track what the hot book is by glancing around on the subway -- it's how i discovered lots of great books in the Aughts -- because everyone reads on very private tablets now.

Photo gallery after the jump...

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