Balder & Dash Dan Callahan on Alfre Woodard's contribution to 12 Years A Slave
Pixar Times on The Blue Umbrella failing to make the Academy Animated Short finalists
Huffington Post wants a return policy on Dallas Buyers Club's AIDS history
Awards Circuit notices some campaign trickery chez TWC. Fruitvale Station's lead actor is now supporting? and it's screenplay is Adapted. Whaaaa?
Man at Arms crafting Mjölnir, Thor's Hammer
THR on the success of black cinema this year. I'm alarmed at some of these clickbait (racebait?) headlines lately on this topic but i love sentences like "The Butler's success in crossing over is attributed to Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker, mainstream stars who relentlessly promoted the film"... relentlessly sounds so threatening given the context/headline. LOL!
AV Club kicks off a series of "firsties" with Guillermo del Toro. I'm not crazy about his films (I know this is an off consensus opinion) but he's always a good listen/read. Like this quote:
I’m not a brand. I’m an acquired taste. So who’s going to buy this? I’m a caviar-filled doughnut. There’s not a huge demand; it’s not going to be in every supermarket.
Finally...
If you're still thinking about The Governor's Awards which brought us this hot pick, a smart off-mainstream honor, and those wonderful acceptace speeches, make sure to read Mark Harris's piece on why it's a travesty that these awards aren't still part of the Oscars. He calls it the worst decision the Academy ever made and I wholeheartedly agree. As stated in the comments of an earlier post, my whole indoctrination into cinephilia was prompted by the Oscars and I sought out and learned so much Old Hollywood BECAUSE of the ceremony's focus on multiple generations. Meanwhile if you're still smiling from Angela Lansbury's win enjoy this old haiku for her at Dial M for Movies that's a sweet reminder of the anticipation.