October. It's a Wrap.

Gulp. Just two months left in 2021. Here's what you might have missed but shouldn't have from the past month

A dozen highlights
• Girl Interrupted Matt has a personal connection to Winona Ryder's star vehicle to wrap up our team tribute to Winona for her 50th birthday
• King Richard and Belfast Crowdpleasing Oscar threats
• No Time To Die Deborah, our resident Bond expert, considers Daniel Craig's farewell
• Coffee & Contenders Nathaniel's annual panel at the Middleburg Film Festival
• Almost There: To Die For Cláudio takes on one of Nicole Kidman's most beloved star turns
• Yes No Maybe So: Being the Ricardos Nathaniel looks at the trailer

• Irene Dunne Baby Clyde wonders why the versatile actress isn't as big of a name to modern audiences as some of her glamorous peers still are
• C'mon C'mon Jason falls hard for Joaquin Phoenix's latest
• Gotham Nods they went all in for two Netflix titles: Passing and The Lost Daughter
• Gay Best Friend: Darling Christopher looks back at the 1965 film that was both totally of and ahead of its time.
• The Velvet Underground Glenn on Todd Haynes first documentary feature
• Dune (2021) Elisa thinks the Villeneuve picture is a dream come true
• Dune (1984) Claudio finally sits down with the notorious Lynch misfire

Previous wrap-ups if you're just rejoining us...
Oscar 2020 Wrap | May | June | July | Aug | Sept 

COMING IN NOVEMBER
A team experience tribute to Honorary Oscar winner Liv Ullman, the AFI festival in Los Angeles, Jane Campion's return with The Power of the Dog, new musicals Tick Tick Boom and Encanto, Marvel's superhero oddity Eternals, Kristen Stewart in Spencer. Plus interviews with Kenneth Branagh, Clifton Collins Jr, Ann Dowd and more... and probably some Thanksgiving activities. ANY REQUESTS?

Interview: Director Eran Kolirin on Israel’s Oscar Submission "Let It Be Morning"

By Abe Friedtanzer

The winner of Israel’s Oscars, the Ophir Awards, automatically goes on to become the country’s Oscar submission for Best International Feature. This year, that film is Let It Be Morning, which made headlines at Cannes because its Palestinian cast refused to attend, objecting to it being labeled an Israeli film. Those who have seen the film will surely appreciate that this attitude is expected and and very much in the spirit of the film’s content. I had the chance to speak with the film's Israeli director, Eran Kolirin (pictured left) who is best known for writing and directing The Band’s Visit. His new film premieres this week in New York City at the Other Israel Film Festival… 

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Horror Costuming: Black Swan (2010)

by Cláudio Alves

Unintentionally, this year's Horror Costuming miniseries has featured a lot of designers' partnerships. In both Hellraiser and The Cell, we explored how one person created a fantasy world while another cared for the mundane existence and its subtler evils. Those films showed how exemplary collaboration could produce unforgettable movie wardrobes. Now, with Black Swan, we arrive at a more disharmonious sort of alliance, one that fell apart after the fact, as the media celebrated some designers' work while ignoring the other, and the awards bodies did the reverse. It's a pity how much the controversy came to dominate conversations on the film's costumes. But, beyond the acrimony and scandal, Black Swan is a superbly designed horror movie whose costumes deserve analysis, applause, awards too…

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Happy Halloween!

We're laying low today but will surely pick something scary to watch tonight. If you need something frightening to think about to get you in the holiday mood, though, imagine Jared Leto winning a second Oscar when...

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Portugal chooses "The Metamorphosis of Birds" for Oscar

by Cláudio Alves

When reading the list of films shortlisted for the Portuguese Oscar submission, I confess I was a tad disheartened. Only two of the six films had even been released when the finalists were announced, and I only had watched one of them. The other happens to be a project that reeks of exploitation, which I wasn't enthusiastic about promoting. At least, the film I did see, Catarina Vasconcelos' The Metamorphosis of Birds, was one I loved, going so far as voting for it as one of the best unreleased films on last year's Team Experience Awards. As luck would have it, the voting body responsible for the submission fell for it too…

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