A History of the Oscars at the Emmys (Can They Win Variety Special, Live, for the First Time?)

by Christopher James

Could continued fervor for the Oscars that awarded Everything Everywhere All At Once lead to an Emmy win for the Oscars ceremony?

The Academy may hand out awards, but they also compete for them! The Oscars regularly compete at the Emmys in the Variety Special categories, having won 7 Emmys from 68 nominations over the past 10 years. This flies in the face of the common joke that the Oscars are regularly the most maligned awards show on the block. Still, Hollywood's big show has never won the Variety Special (Live) prize, nor the Special Class Program award before it. This year’s Oscars got above average reviews, including from The Film Experience. It contends in four categories, including Directing (which it has won twice previously). 

Could a strong show and a great winner with Everything Everywhere All At Once propel the Oscars to a big Emmys win?

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Oscar Volley: "Naatu Naatu" vs Pop Divas for Best Original Song

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category in the lead up to the ceremony. Here's Baby Clyde and Chris James to talk Costume Design.

CHRIS: A round of APPLAUSE for my volley co-host, Baby Clyde. Now, let's Tell It Like A Pundit - what is going on with the Original Song race? On the surface, it seems like "Naatu Naatu" has this category in the bag after winning this prize at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. RRR's grand dance number is one of the most memorable scenes of the year and would make for a worthy winner. However, one can't forget that it is against some heavy hitters, such as Rihanna and Lady Gaga, both for films that made over a billion dollars at the box office. Are we underestimating them?

And do you have any favourites that weren't nominated?...

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Oscar Volleys: How Many Pop Hits in Best Original Song?

Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Eurocheese and Baby Clyde...  

"Ciao Papa" in GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO

EUROCHEESE: Well Baby, It's Cold Outside and you know what that means - we're Falling Slowly into awards season, and it's time to name the songs seeking Glory in the City of Stars. There are a few big hits that Take My Breath Away: Rihanna's "Lift Me Up," which seems to be everywhere at the moment; Lady Gaga's "Hold My Hand" in the year's biggest hit that just won't slow down; and the standout song from Del Toro's Pinocchio, "Ciao Papa," which I expect will make the cut. Do you agree these three are solid initial nominees, or do you have High Hopes that rest elsewhere? Any Secret Love that you see near the top of your list?

BABY CLYDE: Hey Mr Cheese, I Just Called To Say I Love You. The Academy must be salivating at the prospect of this year’s nominees. Am I correct in thinking that Rihanna, Gaga, Taylor and Billie Eilish are all legit contenders in this category...

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Showbiz History: Casablanca, The King's Speech, and "We Found Love"

5 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history

1937 Nothing Sacred, one of the great screwball comedies of the 30s (but there are so many of them, he said with glee) opens in theaters after its NYC premiere the previous day. It was a personal favourite of Carole Lombard so in addition to being a genius actress, she had good taste in her own work. 

1942 Casablanca premieres in NYC. It has one of the weirdest Oscar timetables ever for a Best Picture winner...

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Soundtracking: Girlhood

by Chris Feil

“Shine bright like a diamond...”

I could (and have) go on ad nauseum about the cinematic relationship between music and the emotions of teenagers, how movies can embody and amplify the way music helps mold our sense of self in youth. But of all the recent films as keyed into this, none of them shatters the fourth wall for empathic purposes as Céline Sciamma’s coming-of-age tale Girlhood. Here she uses the already momentous track “Diamonds” by Rihanna to its own iconic end, embodying female togetherness and the spirit of youth that once made us all feel infinite.

It’s one of the most singular and ecstatic movie moments of the past decade, certainly an essential scene as people begin to reflect on the movie decade...

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