My Link Will Go On
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:04PM Baz Bamigboye talks to an acting coach about the lead acting nominations
Washington Post Nick Davis dispels five Oscar myths
Buzzfeed Jennifer Lawrence and the types of Cool Girls
In Contention on the first Oscars concert. Sounds like it needs to become a tradition!
New York Theater on that West Side Story screening with Rita Moreno last week (I so wish all these things weren't happening DURING Oscar season. I have no time. Sad face.)
BDCWire You know the McConaissance has gone over big when Matthew McConaughey starts winning comparisons to Brando and de Niro
VF live blogs the 1993 Oscars - twenty years ago looked suspiciously like now with Leonardo, an AIDS drama and more...
MNPP a review of Enemy which has been intermittently flashing into my brain since Toronto
Carpetbagger on the pundit confusion and predictions for the big night
Salon a reminder: Jennifer Lawrence doesn't want a second Oscar right now
We Recycle Movies charts some Oscar stats involving Best Picture and the original vs adapted situation
Fun Interactives
Slate is really killing it this year and I'm not saying that because they did such a great job with my acceptance speech piece. This "name that screenplay" quiz is super weird/hard/gripping... I didn't do as well as I was expecting (I did get Braveheart, Crash, Schindler's List and Chicago on their first word clues but the rest were much harder for me) but it was exciting to play. They've also got a tool where you can adjust percentages of what will win Best Picture based solely on math of which "lower" categories mean the most to a Best Picture win. It's worth noting that before you even begin they have Gravity as the projected winner with 37.5% to 12 Years' 35.1% and American Hustle's 27.4% so that's their baseline. The percentages adjust as you click on winners. But usually Gravity comes out on top. (sigh)
Today's Must See
People magazine did a little photoshop wonder pairing the nominees (and Tom Hanks?) with their younger selves with conversations. It's super cute/cheesy but somehow kind of wistful at the same time - neat trick.
Are you afraid of me? That's all right – I'm afraid of me, too."
Reader Comments (17)
The People mag post is adorable. Aging has been incredibly great for Sandra and Julia, who've never looked better. And Meryl---are you kidding me? She's got to be drinking Isabella Rosselini's elixir! The Lawrence pix are ridiculous, because the first one was taken, like, 3 years ago?
FYI--I didn't do so well on the Slate quiz either. It was harder than it looked!
I really appreciate all of your movie links!
That younger self thing is really creepy. Also, Julia Roberts younger self looks like her older sister from the midwest. Looking at the photo, I just kept thinking about that line from 30 Rock--"Your name is prooobably something like...Melissa."
12 out of 20---629 points.
The acting coach piece is so safe to be sanitized. He really didn't say anything new (although I like that he pointed out the importance of quiet moments).
Loved the People piece. Sandra either has a picture in the attic or a pact.
That concert sounded amazing.
YES! Made it to the links page! Thanks, Nathaniel!
Just for the sake of gender equality regarding cosmetic surgery :). Has Leto had some work done in his nose? It looks completely different now from the one in his younger self nominees photos.
That Vanity Fair live blog is so great. I'll be forever grateful that I grew up with '90s pop culture - it was the best.
iggy: I thought that about Leto as well, but I think its just the camera angle. Roberts looks to me like the nose has been done however.
I'm glad the Salon article didn't dump the haterade on Lawrence too much -- I do think it's ridiculous that people are tarring her over the possibility she may win. For god sakes, if she does, she does.
Henry, as the owner of a nose similar (less upwardly directed) to that of a younger Leto; I can tell you there's no camera angle that can make it look like the photo on the right.
Bia: I think it's less about her and more about the fact that, if it happens, that's twice in a row that someone has won a second acting statue, even though there's little to nothing in THIS winning performance that WASN'T in the LAST winning performance.
Bia -- Easy she's 23 winning a consecutive Academy Award. These things are meant to be coveted to the point where winning one statuette in a lifetime is a monumental achievement. Lawrence winning so early so quickly in consecutive succession is unprecedented. Also, she's not some revelation as an actress. She really is a movie star. Charm, sex-appeal, a willingness to pull out all the tricks with no substance beneath. It'll make the Academy look ridiculous and Lawrence is the new Swank.
Justice for Lupita and Jessica (Chastain)!
I hear you Iggy, but I also think the lighting is not helping. In the younger picture, he is lit from beneath, the older picture is almost studio with key light.
I find it interesting that all the men's eyes (much more than the women), have narrowed as they got older. MM and CB are the most obvious, but its consistent.
14 of 20 on the slate screenplay quiz! shocking, especially since the first several were just lucky semi-random guesses. i first word listed for The Departed made me laugh out loud.
Relax! 12 Years a Slave is totally wining the polls of Imdb, Variety and Vulture.
I'm enjoying the McConaissance as much as everyone else, but the careers of DeNiro and Pacino in the 70s were out of this world. Tough comparison.
The 1993 Oscars is probably one of my favorites. I'm going to watch every single video again.
3rtful - But Jennifer has never even given a performance like Swank in Million Dollar Baby, so I don't even find that comparison fair. I thought Hilary's first Oscar was very deserved; I didn't find Jennifer's deserved at all.
Well, it'd be more organized (we wouldn't need to recheck the comment when we see the @x), but fights would get worse (and annoying the people who's opining below). Also could meant much more people commenting, even though the voices would feel smaller (oh, boy, I sound like the people from South Park in the episode where they can't decide whether to fart or take care of environment).
Philip H -- My comparison is superficial. Two ingenues receiving two-Oscars early in their careers ruins their reputations permanently with awards watchers and the industry. I don't care for either actress so history would be different if I had say.
(99) Actress: Bening, (04) Actress: Winslet, (12) Actress: Chastain, (13) Sup Actress: Nyong'o