Yesterday we got all the Leonardo DiCaprio questions out of the way so now on to other Reader Questions. Let's jump right in. Here's eleven questions from readers. You asked. I'm answering.

EUROCHEESE: What's your favorite comedy to win Best Picture?

NATHANIEL: Toss up between It Happened One Night (1934) and Tootsie (198---Damnit. Tootsie is >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Gandhi)

CHRIS JAMES: Sylvester Stallone now holds the record for the longest time between Oscar nominations for the same character (39 years between 1976 nomination and 2015 nomination). Which nominated roles would you love to see a sequel of 39 years after their original film with the same actor reprising the role? Is there some from the past year or are there any characters this year you would love to check in with 39 years down the road?

NATHANIEL: What a cool question! Unfortunately a lot of these characters might not be alive in 40 years... so we'll have to stick with (mostly) the younger players and wonder who still has story left in them? Brooklyn ends so winningly in the golden sunshine, so let's leave Eilis there. I'd say Ma & Jack from Room but I don't wish them anything but completely normal non-eventful lives after Room. 

Some of the "true life" characters died or died much sooner than 39 years after the events of the film.Which leaves us with Therese Belivet from Carol which is the correct answer. Rooney Mara will be 69 years old in 39 years so that puts her at the same age as Charlotte Rampling now...

Will the world still care about Rooney Mara in 2055?  Who can say but imagine a movie about an elderly lesbian photographer who lived through the Stonewall years in NYC and is still working in 1990 (when the movie would take place, in the chronology of this question) during the AIDS epidemic in NYC. 

PEDRO: Of the eight Best Picture nominees, which ones do you think could have been made with people of color in the lead? And how would it have affected their Oscar chances?

NATHANIEL: People are just trying to keep me in the hot seat on this topic huh? It is an interesting question from the casting side though and I do love a casting angle. Obviously Spotlight, The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, The Revenant are out of the conversation since they're true stories based on actual pasty white people. Brooklyn's out too since it's all 1960s Irish immigration (Even in this century, Ireland is still 94% white). Which leaves Room, Mad Max Fury Road, and The Martian and there's no reason that any of those stories couldn't be told with an Asian actor, or a black actress, or any other non-white ethnicity. 

But here's where I get in trouble in the second part of the question: I don't think it would have affected their Oscar chances to be cast with a person of color -- certainly not Mad Max (which in play solely because of the strength of its filmmaking... which almost never happens. Yipee!) or The Martian (which is already diversely cast) -- maybe Room would have had trouble getting people to watch it (trouble it already had with a white cast given how horrified people were with the premise) I guess? Here's the thing: I don't actually think the Academy is racist and even among their members, I'm betting the actors branch is the least racist. I think what we're dealing with here is racial bias (i.e. they're most drawn to stories they can personally relate to which is true for just about everyone on the planet no matter their skin color which is why a diverse membership -- which they don't have -- is super important). That and the most defining factor which is that they're dealing with a hugely white crop of movies each year. I think their past history indicates that they are very open to actors of color -- except Asians. I have NO idea what that is about and it bugs the shit out of me!

That's not to deny that we have had a rough couple of years (we have!). I'm glad the conversation is happening because it seems to be slowly dawning on the easily outraged internet (and I thank Viola Davis again for being so wise and underlining this) that this is a much larger studio and film-production problem than it is an Academy members problem. And once you understand the problem you can work towards fixing it.  

TW: I don't think I've seen much about Glenda Jackson on this site. I've never really understood why she won two Oscars. Can you explain? How do you feel about her?

NATHANIEL: I cannot explain. I don't really remember her work clearly. When I first because obsessed with the Oscars in the 80s I watched a lot of movies on VHS that I was way too young for including some of hers and I didn't 'get' them. I remember nothing from Women in Love (1969) for example beyond the nude man wrestling -- so it's hard to reconcicle that memory with the knowledge that it's a Best Actress Winning Film! And her second Oscar pains me because I am a huge fanatic for The Way We Were (1973) so that Oscar shoulda been Babs'.

I think if I watched her work now I might feel differently but I never have time to do all the projects I'd love to do.

KIMBERLY S: Do you think that nowadays remarkable actress like Streep, Blanchett, Winslet, Moore, Viola Davis, etc, will be remembered from here to 40 or 50 years and will be myth (with a thousands of books, movies, documentaries) like the usual Marilyn, Greta, Ingrid, Grace, Audrey, Marlene, Bette, Doris, etc?  Do you agree that the most remembered are from the big studios age (1930's-1950's) ? 

NATHANIEL: The studio system had its issues but they did right by the myth and persona building around their biggest stars. They invested a lot in making sure their personas were clearly defined because they essentially owned their careers and saw the ROI for careful handling. It was oppressive for the actors, creatively, but it mostly helped them when it came to film immortality. The problem with modern actors being remembered in 50 years will be twofold: the quality of the films themselves and the erratic nature of their output since most actors want to be chameleons but not all of them are Meryl Streep level talented at being different in every film.

Meryl Streep will obviously be remembered because her name is now shorthand for something else (GREAT ACTING!) the way say Audrey Hepburn (ELEGANCE) Marilyn Monroe (SEX SYMBOL) and others mean something outside of the limits of their filmography. I think Tilda Swinton will be remembered too because she has an out of time otherworldly quality and is not like anyone before her so she'll probably read as completely modern long after she's dead... plus she has a good track record in terms of quality films. Not sure about the others though Blanchett, Kidman, and Moore have an advantage in that they are drawn to auteurs and auteur films are the ones most likely to survive if past history is any indication. 

If Hollywood would only build films around Viola Davis (as they should have done starting with her blockbuster success in The Help) she might have stood a chance, as her screen persona is also unique. And I'm not talking about the color of her skin though that would also help bolster her myth if she was the first blacktress to have an expansive film career worth celebrating 50 years later; her predecessors were abandoned by Hollywood before they could stick the landing if you will. As for TV stardom... I think no one knows what will survive there because TV has entered a whole new era of anything-goes in terms of genre, quality, quantity, ways to see it. The only TV stardom that seems immortal from the first few decades of TV is sitcom stardom: Mary Tyler Moore, Lucille Ball, the Golden Girls, and so on. So who knows what kind of TV show/star from today people will still remember in 2066? 

CHRISTOPHER: Several years ago you posted about how many acting nominees are never nominated again. What first time nominee do you think is least likely to be nominated again? Which one is most likely to be nominated again?

BELLA THORNE: Which ten actors of today would you bet are likely to be nominated in 2026?

NATHANIEL: Okay so we're sticking with the crystal ball future fame thing, eh? Our first time acting nominees this year are Leigh, McAdams, Vikander, Rampling, Larson, Hardy and Rylance. Of those I think Vikander and Hardy (both just warming up and hugely talented) are most likely to return and McAdams and Leigh least likely. 

As for ten years from now: Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet will both be in their 50s which is still the most dangerous life decade for any actress in terms of getting good jobs (though Hollywood usually comes back around to the superstar thespian women in their 60s, perhaps since by then people have remembered their talent and forgotten about that awkward period wherein they had their "last fuckable day" to quote Amy Schumer)...

Awards magnet Christian Bale, smooched by his Big Short director here, will continue to be one.

I'd say Alicia Vikander is likely because she's, thus far, super consistent and will be in her 30s which tends to be the most superlative decade for leading ladies. I love Brie Larson but i still don't quite know what to make of her longevity as a film star. I could see her being one of those huge talents that never quite hits with the public and moves to TV where she is fully embraced (like a Claire Danes) though I hope film stardom works out. Obviously Christian Bale will still be nominated because men are allowed to work in their 50s and actors idolize him. I'm guessing by 2026 we'll have moved into a less frequently nominated DiCaprio period since that usually happens to stars who win the Oscar once they're "overdue" - awards take a break (see also: Winslet/Sarandon/Kidman... oh wait, maybe that's just actresses). So my answer is, in this order: Bale, Vikander, Hardy.

But, yes, 1st nominations are often last nominations for actors -- not to pour cold water on anyone's happiness this season. So I turn it over to all of you: Who do you think is coming back soon and who will still be vying for gold in 10 years time?

VOLVAGIA: Jacob Tremblay is making rumblings of wanting a role in Star Wars. Would you prefer he do that, or get him playing Dick Grayson? I know I'm leaning on the latter, but that's because I think the opportunity to do a good take on a Robin origin. 

NATHANIEL: I can't think of a worse fate for a complete dramatic natural like Jacob Tremblay to get stuck in a dull superhero movie like yet another Batman.

/3RTFUL: What actor do you want to see win a Second Oscar?

NATHANIEL: This year Kate Winslet without a doubt! As for a second Oscar, it should be plainly stated that I am not a big seconds and thirds guy. I am more of a "spread the wealth" person. I'd much rather have Fiennes, The Bening, Viola, La Pfeiffer, Knightley, Norton, Linney, Martin, Williams, and other Oscarless winning before anyone gets a second. This is probably why SAG and EMMY just don't captivate my imagination the way Oscar does, since they repeat so often. All that said if I had to gift one previous winner with a killer performance/role that can't be denied it'd either be Nicole Kidman/Tilda Swinton (due to consistent brilliance and auteur lust) or Anne Hathaway/Marisa Tomei, just to f*** with people's heads. 

BD: Considering the lack of precursor dominance and the (mostly) unpredictable race for Oscar, do you think this was generally a strong year in film or not?