Smackdown '00: Chocolat, Billy Elliott, Pollock, and Almost Famous

Welcome back to the Supporting Actress Smackdown. Each month we pick an Oscar vintage to explore through the lens of actressing at the edges. This episode goes back to the turn of the millenium, when Almost Famous, Pollock, Billy Elliot, and Chocolat were new in theaters and the following actresses were having a moment...

THE NOMINEES 2000 provided a bevy of possibilities in the supporting actress category but Oscar ignored the gifted comediennes (Parker Posey in Best in Show and  Elaine May in Smalltime Crooks), the foreign divas (Catherine Deneuve in Dancer in the Dark and Zhang Ziyi in Crouching Tiger), indie darlings (Lupe Ontiveros in Chuck & Buck) and even women in Best Picture contenders (Catherine Zeta-Jones in Traffic, Connie Nielsen in Gladiator). What they came up with instead was an almost eerily archetypical shortlist which included five different kinds of traditional Oscar-friendly roles: long-suffering wife, feisty grandmother, manic pixie dream girl, mama bear, and the tough mentor. The mix of actors was also super traditional: Oscar voters invited back two recent previous winners (Judi Dench and Frances McDormand), one returning nominee (Julie Walters), and welcomed to the club one rising character actress (Marcia Gay Harden) and a golden child of Hollywood (Kate Hudson). 

THE PANELISTS Here to talk about their performances and films are (from left to right) actor Nicholas D'Agosto (Trial & Error, Masters of Sex), journalist Kyle Buchanan (New York Times), actress Vella Lovell (Mr Mayor, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and from The Film Experience, Eric Blume and your host Nathaniel R. Let's begin...

 SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN + PODCAST  
The companion podcast can be downloaded at the bottom of this article or by visiting the iTunes page... 

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Introducing the Smackdown Panel for '00

Have you lined up your screenings to play along at home with the Supporting Actress Smackdown? The Smackdown and its companion podcast arrive in two weeks time. This next episode discusses the films and performances of 2000 so we'll be watching Almost Famous, Pollock, Chocolat, and Billy Elliot. Your votes count so hurry up and get them in. Let's meet your fellow panelists, shall we?

PLEASE WELCOME NEW GUESTS...

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Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (S1. E1-2)

You know what's crazier than leaving a half a million salary in NYC to move to West Covina, California (2 hours from the beach! - 4 in traffic) on the off chance your ex boyfriend from teen summer camp might be interested in reviving your fling as an adult? Not much. But it is crazy that The Film Experience didn't adopt Crazy Ex Girlfriend in the way it adopted Smash since musicals are kind of our thing (well, one of our things). Over the past two weeks I accidentally ended up rewatching the first five episodes again with friends who hadn't seen them so they're fresh in mind. So with Season 1 now on Netflix, let's catch up before Season 2 arrives in October.

S1:E1 "Josh Just Happens to Live Here!"

In which Rebecca randomly spots her first love in the street and takes it as a sign that she should follow him to West Covina, California, leaving her entire successful New York City life behind.  Let's rank the crazy... 

Greg: Yes, like a date because you're pretty and you're smart and you're ignoring me so you're obviously my type.
Rebecca: I'm sorry what were you saying?
Greg: Perfect.  

Relatably Foolish (Or as Norman likes to say 'We all go a little mad sometimes')
Greg, a bartender, falls hard for Rachel at first sight when she barely looks at him, and talks incessantly about his friend Josh...

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