Sunday
Jan042015
Podcast: Selma & The NSFC Prizes
Sunday, January 4, 2015 at 12:49PM 
In this new episode of The Film Experience, Katey returns to chat with Nick, Joe, and Nathaniel. We mostly focus on Ava DuVernay's wonderful Selma and The National Society of Film Critics but the conversation wanders to various Oscar races. As it does, don't you know by now?
Recommended Supplemental Material:
Timothy Spall Interview
Pride DVD packaging
You can listen at the bottom of the post or download tomorrow from iTunes. Continue the conversation in the comments!
Reader Comments (21)
I think it's hilarious that the only reason Joe wants Robert Duvall to get nominated is to justify him seeing it. I've heard that a dozen times.
Also that Christoph Waltz is Katey's babadook.
Riz Ahmed! That would be something.
So annoyed hearing you guys talk about the movie because still it is such a hard movie to see. I cannot wait to see it and am glad you guys liked it. Also having not seen The Judge and not wanting to see it I also hope Duvall does not happen but really there are not really many other contenders with a strong case. If Selma gets a massive nomination hull on nomination morning and Wilkinson hits BAFTA he could likely get in. Then there is Waltz who I thought was awful in Big Eyes could be Harvey's nominee in the category. I agree coattail nominees like Riz Ahmed, Tyler Perry and Chris Pine are much more excited then stale old Robert Duvall who is a good actor but is just starring in a film not worth watching.
I had an awful thought for a coattail nominee...Ben Affleck could get pulled in if Gone Girl does well in the nominations.
Isn't Oyelowo's name just pronounced phonetically? oh-yeh-LO-wo. That's how I've always heard/understood it.
O-yellow-o sounds like something they would say to help Tom O'Neil pronounce it.
@J: That's what I thought and what I've always said, but a recent profile in the NY Times (I think that's where it was) made clear that the stress fell on the second syllable. Great line, though!
Back to the discussion re: Selma - I think it's only safe in best picture. I'll feel comfortable predicting DuVernay if she gets in at the Director's Guild - they often lean populist and late releases always struggle with them (especially if they haven't been screened hard).
That moment with LBJ and Hoover that Joe is talking about is when Hoover says (paraphrasing) that they could release some info to the public that would shut MLK down permanently to which LBJ responds, basically, "yeah, I'm aware that we could shut certain people down with the info we know about them." Joe was right about the implication. I actually laughed at the scene myself. However, I also thought it was also rather smart for explaining why they didn't smear MLK despite all the wiretapping (i.e., they didn't know who'd take his place). Again, another instance of Selma explaining the tactics of the time so well.
Nick is very funny. :)
Oyelowo was on Fallon and explained that in Nigerian, the emphasis is on the third syllable, but somehow (and Oprah is involved in this) he is allowing it to be pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable. Second syllable is certainly easier for western tongues to handle. If Oyelowo is happy with the more western pronunciation, I see no reason to debate it.
He is very charming and funny. I hope we get to see a lot more of him during this campaign season.
Hilarious and delightful podcast (as usual). Also, whose washing machine's spin cycle was it that I heard in the background? haha
Assuming he gets the nomination, I think we can all agree that however Cate Blanchett chooses to say "Oyelowo" at the Oscars will become the official pronunciation.
Carlos -- unfortunately that is just my apartment. in the winters we have this awful building noise that sounds like a washing machine spinning. I'm on the top floor so i think that's why it's so loud here. lol
I wasn't that much into Selma. It had a few very powerful scenes and some strong performances but overall I wasn't as invested as I wanted to be. I was actually a bit bored during it. I think it needed more scenes like the ones between Cory and King regarding his cheating. It needed to be more personal for me. But it is light years better than The Butler and I actually liked Oprah's performance in Selma.
I have yet to see three biggies: "Mr Turner," "Two Days, One Night," and "A Most Violent Year" but will be delighted if any of them are good enough to knock a film off of my current Top Ten as I really loved all of these:
1. Starred Up
2. Nightcrawler
3. Stranger by the Lake
4. Locke
5. The Babadook
6. Ida
7. Selma
8. Gone Girl
9. Birdman
10. Under the Skin
Miyavi for the fifth slot in supporting actor! He's that good. Crazy that no one's talking about him. Does Robert Duvall really need another nomination for "The Judge"? Give it to someone who can get some career exposure and mileage out of an Oscar nomination! He was the only thing worth a damn in the awful "Unbroken," and that's worth some reward.
Video of the Brad Pitt/David Oyelowo sing-along:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30672606
Didn't Duvall already get a nomination the likes of which he could get again for THE JUDGE? Isn't this the exact same circumstances that lead to him being nominated for A CIVIL ACTION, another legal thriller? That's an odd niche to be filling, Duvall!
I've always ("always" he says meaning since THE PAPERBOY when I first noticed him) David Oyelowo's name as Oh-yell-low-whoa. No real emphasis anywhere, just letting the sounds run together. I guess that's wrong, but pronouncing it Oh-yellow-oh sounds weird and disjointed and even if it is correct I unfortunately doubt it'll make a habit out of it. I think i've educated myself into pronouncing it the first way and can't change it.
Start uploading this podcast to You Tube. Unable to listen to the current one due to technical difficulties with downloading the link.
@3rtful: Can you not hear it if you just click the link that says "SELMA podcast" at the bottom of the post? That's where it goes live immediately, even before it's available on iTunes, which seems to be where you run into problems. If I remember right from last time.
Yes, Riz Ahmed!