Remember when we loved Taika Waititi?

by Cláudio Alves

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once upon a time, the prospect of a new Taika Waititi movie was cause for celebration, with excitement erupting across cinephiles everywhere. Now, however, when his oft-delayed Next Goal Wins finally makes it to theaters, the occasion is met with general disinterest. Sure, some critics have praised the thing, but the excitement doesn't seem there. Not even the inspirational true story or the return of Michael Fassbender to big studio fare is enough to provoke more than a shrug. As far as awards go, Oscar hopes are nowhere to be found unless the season suffers some severe transformations. 

When did the consensus about the Kiwi director curdle into indifference on the verge of dislike? Well…

Click to read more ...

Emmy Category Analysis: Fantasy Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

From 2015 to 2017, fantasy and sci-fi costumes were awarded alongside period stylings at the Emmys. Then, in 2018, they got their own category. Unlike the category for contemporary costumes, this one's fond of repeats. At least, it was fond of Game of Thrones, which won the race thrice. For the past two years, though, this has been a category where the TV Academy honors big superhero productions. Watchmen and Wandavision are our most recent winners, and either Loki or Moon Knight could continue the trend. That being said, the biggest boon to a show's chances in this race seems to be its overall popularity across the board, in which case, What We Do in The Shadows might have a chance…

Click to read more ...

Podcast: Emmy Noms, Voting Systems, Breakout Newbies

by Team Experience

You already read our immediate reactions to the complete Emmy nominations, and some odes to snubs. But to put the Emmy nomination week to bed, how about a podcast? Nathaniel met with Abe, Chris, Cláudio, and Mark to discuss the nominations for the 74th Annual Emmy Awards. Somehow a lot of past TV shows and Emmy history keep cropping up like Damages, Game of Thrones, Shameless, and Parks and Recreations. 

Podcast - 70 minutes
00:01 Overabundance of noms: White Lotus
07:00 Final seasons: Killing Eve, Ozark, and This is Us
11:00 Guest categories: Hacks & Succession
14:00 Hanging episodes: Stranger Things
17:00 Standout actors: Pam & Tommy, Ted Lasso, The Morning Show
23:00 Weird categorizations and awards as industry promotion
30:00 Limited vs regular: Squid Game, Pieces of Her, White Lotus
33:00 TV Movie Category - What can be done? 
37:00 Peacock, Paramount+, CBS All Access, Starz, etc...
42:00 Severance, Abbott Elementary, Yellowjackets
46:00 Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, etc...
49:00 Fav noms: Barry, What We Do in the Shadows, The Staircase
59:00 Final thoughts: Rothaniel vs. The Closer, Sydney Sweeney in Euphoria, release dates of series


You can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify or download the attachment below. 

2022 Emmy Nominations

Showbiz History: Annie Get Your Gun and What We Do in the Shadows

6 random things that happened on this day, February 12th, in showbiz history...

1949 Annie Gets Your Gun starring Ethel Merman closes on Broadway after a nearly three year run. The troubled film adaptation directed by George Sidney (a replacement for Busby Berkeley who was fired) and starring Betty Hutton (a replacement for Judy Garland who was fired) arrives the following year. 

1959 The Black Orchid starring Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn opens in theaters. Sophia Loren had won the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival the previous summer...

Click to read more ...

Showbiz History: Billy the Kid, Doctor Who, Kayvan Novak

8 random things that happened on this day (November 23rd) in showbiz history

Paul Newman as Billy the Kid

1859 Billy the Kid, future outlaw and movie inspiration was maybe born on this day (there's disagreement on that front). Numerous westerns would feature the gunslinger as a character, sometimes as hero sometimes as villain, who was orphaned at 15 and a wanted outlaw by 16. He's been played on film or television by numerous stars who were usually much older than the actual "kid" (given that he was killed at just 21 years of age), including but not limited to: Val Kilmer, Kris Kristofferson, Dane DeHaan, Emilio Estevez, and of course Paul Newman in The Left-Handed Gun (1958).

1923 Cecil B DeMille's The Ten Commandments premieres. He would of course remake it as the infinitely better-remembered 1956 classic of the same name...

Click to read more ...