Wednesday
Feb252015
Ask Nathaniel
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 12:09AM Got a question you'd like answered? Here's an open thread to ask it. Perhaps your questions will inspire podcast discussions or future posts.If you don't have a question, how about healing words? (Note: Do not get sick! This is a nasty one, whatever I've got and it's taking forever to get over. Brutal winter we got here in the Northeast.)
Reader Comments (45)
Now that Julianne has her Oscar, which overdue actress would you most want to see walk away with her golden boy? Annette? Michelle? Someone else?
Now that Julianne has her Oscar, which overdue actress would you most want to see walk away with her golden boy? Annette? Michelle? Someone else?
Now that Julianne has her Oscar, which overdue actress would you most want to see walk away with her golden boy? Annette? Michelle? Someone else?
Force fluids and try to sleep as much as possible. That cold (or whatever it is) is everywhere. I had it not too long ago and it wreaked havoc on my sinuses and bronchi for weeks.
Here's a question: Are the header banners gone for ever? And if not, how about a series of some of our favorite actors in their debut roles?
If you could veto only one Oscar win (from this year), which would you choose?
Momentum from one year sometimes plays a big role in promoting one's Oscar chances in subsequent years. Who do you think will benefit from being nominated or even from just being in the Oscar conversation this year? Do you think anybody's stock will fall based on their involvement in the race this year? (In this last question, I'm thinking specifically of David Oyelowo. I'm afraid that his outspoken nature about the Selma snub may have turned some of the Hollywood brass off of him. Agree or disagree?)
I'd love a Team Experience Top 50 of the current decade! Or even a personal list.
Get better Nat! Get lots of sleep and drink lots of fluids :)
I am always curious as to know which performances of certain actresses are your favourites, so:
Either Top 5 Drew Barrymore performances OR
Top 5 Sarah Michelle Gellar performances OR since Julianne Moore finally won her Oscar the other day.....
Top 5 Glenn Close performances
Ok Nathaniel, who do you think gave the best "stuck in bed sick" performance ever? Emmanuelle Riva in Amour and Emma Thompson in Wit come to mind immediately. :)
Could you edit the mistake of "Alice" (and not Amelia) being Essie Davis's character in the Babadook in your Film Bitch awards?! Haha. Sorry. It sticks out so much to me!
We never heard everyone's favorite Julianne movie role on the podcast! Or better yet, how many Oscars would you have given her and which years?
I'm a big believer in Zicam for knocking the f-ck out of a cold. And chicken soup. And Yin Chao. A little bit of everything. Rest, rest, rest!
I have a half-formed question for a future series on this site, or for a podcast, that has something to do with LGBT/queer film, and how little of it winds up on end-of-year critic lists, and how this says something about the way that even progressive/liberal film critics -- and even to some degree certain gay film critics/critics groups -- continue to not take it seriously. A lot of these critics and tastemakers are not homophobic; it has more to do with a kind of mindset that disregards this work based on subject matter without even necessarily knowing it.
I see a ton of queer films at the San Francisco LGBT International Film Festival every year, and occasionally at other festivals too. They're not all good but some of them -- especially the international work and documentaries -- are amazing. Some of these get distribution, but with the exception of maybe one a year, "Love Is Strange" or "Pride", they never get any traction with the listmakers and gatekeepers.
Like Santy C I have a couple of questions related to your predicament:
1) Favorite movie that you watched as kid staying home sick from school?
2) Movie that most cleverly built from and/or incorporated/featured a "common" cold? (Inspired somewhat by Locke in which the title character had a cold for no apparent reason beyond Hardy being sick in reality during filming. Also, this question is dedicated to Guys and Dolls' Adelaide).
Who won your gold medal for best actor last year? Tom Hanks? Ejiofor?
We need to know!
As we know there is a new female version of " Ghostbusters" being made.
If I had the power to "greenlight" any new version of an older movie I would go with a "Two for the Road" remake set in the present day with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, directed by Joe Wright, costumes by Jacqueline Durran.
What do you think? Casting is up to you. If you don't like this option please suggest your own dream project which you would greenlight.
In what order would you rank the Best Actress winning performances for the last 10 years?
Now that Michael Keaton sadly lost the Oscar and Juliette Binoche lost the César: If Birdmans Riggan Thompson and Clouds of Sils Marias Maria Enders had a "fear of age and obscurity"-off, who would win? ;)
All the The Hours leading ladies are Oscar winners now! Meryl, Nicole and Julianne. Time for a reunion?
Thank you for all the hard work, Nathaniel. It was a super fun awards season.
Hey Nathaniel,
Been reading for years and recently started a blog of my own. I was wondering what CMS you use. Also, did you develop the layout of your site yourself, or did you have a company/designer design your User Interface?
Now that Anderson and Linklater's films have broken through in big ways, do you think their next ones will reap momentum much easier?
Which director should Our Newly Golden Goddess Julianne work with next? Who could really bring something special out of her?
Where do you think Bradley Cooper should go from here in terms of roles and directors? Ditto for Steve Carell.
Can El Chivo ever win again? He hasn't won for a Malick film yet and he's so perfect with him.
Now that Poland has finally won in FLF, which most-nominated-without-winning country do you think will get their due next? Israel, Mexico, or Belgium?
What happens to Morten Tyldum now? Does Harvey keep him on a bail and chain for unspecified future purposes like Lasse Hallström in the late '90s/early '00s?
Which of the Best Actress non-winners do you see returning the quickest? Cotillard, Jones, Pike or Witherspoon?
How far away is Laika from actually winning a damn award next time? Seems like they can't catch a break even when their fellow competitors aren't slam-dunks.
What does someone like Diane Warren actually need to do in order to win?
How can we shake up Colleen Atwood? She seems to be in a rut lately. This nomination was frankly embarrassing.
And the classic: which ones of the acting nominees do you see coming back next year? Who seems like believable one-hit wonders?
Sad Man - I was searching high and low for a pic with Julianne, Nicole and Meryl together at this year's Oscar but to no avail....
However, there's one with two of them plus Madame Blanchett..
https://instagram.com/p/zcJCMLEPFa/?modal=true
Wish Julianne were at the table too:)
We want film bith awards results! XD
Podcast Questions:
1) Do you agree that 3 Oscars in 1 night is excessive (Inarritu's trifecta of Picture/Director/Screenplay)? He, Linklater & Anderson all had the same 3 nominations; I NEVER thought any of them would win all 3. Even Cuaron couldn't do it last year. Then again, the Coens did it a few years back and it was deserved. Thoughts?
2) Group Question: How does 'Birdman' rank for you among Best Picture winners? Up there with the 'Godfather' or way down there with 'A Beautiful Mind'?
3) Repeat of a question from last year: Pair up this year's Director nominees with this year's Acting nominees. Who should work together?
4) By going with 'Birdman' for Best Picture, the Academy seemed to clearly want to ignore the consensus with the critics (whether you agree with the critics or not), which they did similarly with 'The Social Network' & 'Brokeback Mountain'. Why do you think the Academy (and industry) is blatantly rejecting the critics?
Hooray (this is my favorite Film Experience series as we get such a variety of topics in one post) and Boo (on you being sick-get better!):
My question: It's been a few years since we had a pop star get an acting Oscar nomination, which happens every decade or so (Peggy Lee, Bette, Cher, J Hud, etc)-who do you think will be the next one?
I know you're into Mad Men -- it'd be cool to know your thoughts on the series as a whole and what your hopes are as it ends.
Which actresses (one newcomer, one established) would you like to interview in person next (like the lovely one you just posted on Julianne Moore)?
I've read and seen a lot of filmmaker interviews and you ask some very good questions, so I always love when you post them here.
For FTE Team--what movie from the last decade is your guilty pleasure to watch again (for me it's any of the Fast & Furious)
1- If he stays consistent, will Wes Anderson be back?
2- Has anyone turned you on to Flora Bye Bye Cold tea? They sell it in NY (I checked) and it's an effing miracle.
3- Are there enough TFE readers to crowdfund Lady Edith's Two for the Road remake, or do is it need a Kickstart?
I want to know who is the woman in red, sitting behind Meryl and JLO, that has a sourpuss look on her face about women having equal rights?
Get well, stay safe, and now that our heroes are winning Oscars, here's 2015 is finally QT's year for Best Director.
I am completely terrified of some people's terrified reaction over the fact that Reese Witherspoon's forehead muscles still have the ability to move and express human emotions. What's your take on actresses doing plastic surgery (including botox)?
Is it the first time that an Actress/Actor won both Cannes & Oscar in the same award year BUT for different films? Is it the first time that 3 Red head (JK, Julianne & Eddy) are Oscar winners in the same year? Hang in there Nate. I am in Montréal & yes it is a tough winter this year...
p.s. I am (re)reading the God's interview that you did with her. Im a bit jealous that you got to met her, but you did a great job (as you always do) thank's!
Because you seek advertising dollars from the studios to fund the site, do you ever feel the need to "be kind" to projects over others as a means of survival? How difficult is that tight rope of absolute integrity to keeping food on the table to walk? We all have to make compromises so just curious.
Feel better. Lots of water, juice, kitty hugs and sleep. If all that fails, vodka.
@LadyEdith: my dream project would be a film musical version of The Good German with music and lyrics by Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza).
I loved the book, but it is very dense, so I can understand taking only one thread of it to make a movie. I was seething though that in Stephen Soderberg's version, they gutted the love story, having such contempt for it that they made the heroine a prostitute (!!)
So the film musical would use the thread of the love story and the missing German scientist husband mystery.
Soderberg could be a producer on the film, so they could use his meticulously researched background shots (from his version of The Good German) to set the story in place and time.
I see at least 5 musical numbers:
1: an upbeat Irving Berlin style opening number for the female war photographer
2: an "I'm broken, damaged, why did you come back for me" number for the heroine
3: a "you are the one for me" number for the hero
4: a Kurt Weill style "I'll always end up on top, screw the rest of you" number for the German scientist husband
5: a "we're going to be okay, one day at a time" duet for the hero and heroine.
Nathaniel, I hope you're feeling better soon.
Two-part question:
1. Michael Keaton's situation fascinates me. How often has a beloved male movie star gotten his first Best Actor nomination in his 60s, lost, and then won later? And what's your forecast for Keaton in the next few years--can he ride a career resurgence to another nomination?
2. Since Julianne broke the 50s ceiling for Best Actress, can we expect a long overdue change in Hollywood so casting can get creative and allow Jessica Lange, Glenn Close, Kathleen Turner, Sissy Spacek and Marsha Mason to get another shot at Best Actress?
Adri, & mike in Canada: Thanks!
Fantasy Greenlight: Just to clarify when I said remake, I do mean loose variation, not faithful duplication. This game should be played while drinking your favourite cocktail.
For Nathaniel I recommend Hot rum toddies for that lingering cough.
Nat, how would you rate the Foreign-language Oscar winners of the past decade?
Have you tried Vicks VapoRub? That was one of those childhood remedies which I always remember fondly. And don't forget orange juice and brandy...together or separately.
Also, @Santy C. -- how about Barbara Stanwyck in "Sorry, Wrong Number?"
Nathaniel, I hope you're on the mend. Lots of water, fruit, and not too much sleep, if you can. Being up and about might help. You can always go back to bed again if it's too much!
My question relates to category fraud.
As we know, there are various performances over the years that have been in the wrong category: Al Pacino in The Godfather, Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon, Albert Brooks in Broadcast News, Ethan Hawke in Training Day, Jamie Foxx in Collateral, Jake Gyllenhall in Brokeback Mountain, Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit...to name a but a few.
I know you are particularly incensed when this is done at the campaigning stage, as it potentially robs others of their rightful chance of being nominated in the correct category, and I feel the same.
But my question relates to borderline cases. Are there, say, 10 performances that you legimitately feel can be argued either way?
It could be a simple list, or an article, or a podcast discussion, or something where readers give a for-or-against for each category, or a reader poll...
A few to get things started:
David Niven in Separate Tables
Charles Boyer in Fanny
Patricia Neal in Hud
Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs
Julianne Moore in The Hours (or is this obviously an incorrect category placement?)
Christoph Waltz in either of his two winning roles
Jans, that picture is actressexual porn. Nat don't you think it is time for an update of actress of the Augths?
Any news for us on what Anne Marie's follow up project will to as a follow up to A Year with Kate? Feel better!
Are you still on the Pfeiffer train? Or is all hope lost? Will La Pfeiffer ever get out of her own way?
@ joel6: Women's Pictures. The first three have already been posted.
Whom do you think are the 10 greatest screen beauties?
I second these five questions:
"Which of the Best Actress non-winners do you see returning the quickest? Cotillard, Jones, Pike or Witherspoon?"
"Since Julianne broke the 50s ceiling for Best Actress, can we expect a long overdue change in Hollywood so casting can get creative and allow Jessica Lange, Glenn Close, Kathleen Turner, Sissy Spacek and Marsha Mason to get another shot at Best Actress?"
"Repeat of a question from last year: Pair up this year's Director nominees with this year's Acting nominees. Who should work together?"
"By going with 'Birdman' for Best Picture, the Academy seemed to clearly want to ignore the consensus with the critics (whether you agree with the critics or not), which they did similarly with 'The Social Network' & 'Brokeback Mountain'. Why do you think the Academy (and industry) is blatantly rejecting the critics?"
"If you could veto only one Oscar win (from this year), which would you choose?"
When can we expect your first predictions for next awards race? In late summer? I love your predictions.
(Sorry, not sorry).
do you think Nicole Kidman will be back with another nomination?
Looking back on your past Film Bitch Awards, do you regret giving a particular performance your win?