Ask Nathaniel. And "Best Shot" Scheduling Notes
Monday, March 7, 2016 at 10:00AM Time for another Q&A Column. So ask away. I'll pick 10 questions to answer for Wednesday evening. We'll try to do this weekly. Now that the Oscars have wrapped it's time to get back to something like a regular schedule (though we're still working out the kinks backstage. There's always something happening here at TFE is the point so visit us daily.)
Hit Me With Your Best Shot Schedule
TOMORROW
GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) If you're playing along post your best shot by 9 PM EST so we can include you in the round up. (Amazon Prime)
• Tues March 15th ATONEMENT (2007) revisit Saoirse Ronan's breakthrough before Brooklyn in this Best Picture nominated romantic drama (Netflix Instant Watch)
• Tues March 22nd TBA
• Tues March 29th ZARDOZ (1974) a Sci-Fi oddity starring Sean Connery & Charlotte Rampling & Unfortunate Costumes
• Tues April 5th GREGORY PECK CENTENNIAL Pick either Roman Holiday (1950) or To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), whichever you'd like. They were both nominated for the Cinematography Oscar in their years. (Netflix Instant Watch)
Reader Comments (45)
Let us never forget: the penis is evil.
I keep suggesting a Video Game Cutscenes week as a last season experiment. Hope that's what March 22nd is.
volvagia -- i don't even know what video game cutscenes are so that wouldn't be an option, no.
Which auteur(s) do you want see Brie Larson and Saoirse Ronan work with next?
What are your favorite things about the moviegoing experience aside from the actual movies themselves (ie the theater, the concessions, things of that nature)?
My HMWYBS entry can be found by clicking my name, going to the URL, and waiting a few hours since it's scheduled to go up a little later today.
Which acting Oscar winner's performance from this year will endure the greatest.
For the Peck Centennial, it would be lovely to chat on Roman Holiday. I feel it's underappreciated. It really is a perfect little film.
@ Nat - videogame cutscenes are interstitials in videogames using cinematics to propel the story forward or explain some vital context. A good game uses these judiciously in combination with gameplay to tell a good story.
An interesting example is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU0qz-dJna8. The context behind it is these are two young girls facing a separation due to their goals, set amidst a zombie apocalypse.
It would be a fascinating experiment indeed, but I think the crowd here is entirely wrong for it, because a good videogame cutscene relies on the game for its context, depth, and meaning. Divorced from it, it's basically a clip show. Could still be a good one, but it's like someone watching just the last scene of Phoenix.
My question would be this: who among the superhero movies cast has given a performance that you think should have merited award consideration, apart from Ledger and Downey Jr.?
What festivals are on the calendar for TFE to cover this year? (I just moved to Austin and will be attending SXSW next week - so... any tips on creating a realistic festival schedule?).
Live footage of me writing about ATONEMENT
Q: in honor of DEATH BECOMES HER finally coming to blu-ray, what's your favorite gay classic that has basically nothing to do with gay people?
I have had this question for a long time now, so this is as good a time as any to ask. I always see those "best places to retire" lists on the internet and they never ever have the information that I want, so here goes:
What is the very best city in the world to retire to based on the number and quality of movie theaters? And I don't really mean number of stadium seating screens, but rather, perhaps, how many grand single screen movie theaters a place has, and particular extra points for showing arthouse or "old movies" or something along those lines. Is it New York? Is it London? Is it Paris? And/or is there some forgotten gem city out there that we should all know about?
"COME BACK TO ME" - thanks Nathaniel, great choice.
Chris Feil - I loved your link, and yes I still cry every time I re-watch Atonement - you're not alone.
With the recent interview Amy Adams gave on her experience filming American Hustle and how much of a bad experience it seemed for her this leads me to ask with O.Russell being apparently not the best director to work with who would you believe are some of the nicest directors currently working.
On a previous Oscar wrap up podcast you suggested some picks of nominated directors and actors from that year you would want to work together. Looking at the nominees from 2015 and possibly those close to nomination from the actors and directors you want to see collaborate on a film together.
Who are your top ten actors/actresses that also participated in politics (were appointed/elected to office or just participated in an election but were not elected, for example)?
Do you think there's any chance Bullock and Roberts will return to their 90's Romantic Comedy roots.
Might as well try again since this site is so gay-friendly and then ensuing conversation could be fun and frisky: what's your favorite example of male objectification in a movie?
Zardoz is such an insane film. Rampling's in the seventies is one of the strangest resumes out there.
Atonement has THE BEST CAMEO EVER by Redgrave,can we discuss cameos and how they can change a film and how we view it entirely and the characters within it as this one did and recently Fonda's.
What do you think of the cast of Broadway's newest production of "The Crucible"?
Since you have that fantastic image of Faye....what are your thoughts on Mommie Dearest? Did it ruin her career or was it her great last hurrah?
OH. MY. GOD. Atonement!!!!!!!!
Is the Rob Lowe/Snow White duet as awful as people remember it, and does it deserve to be considered the epitome of awfulness at the Oscars?
On a related note: Do you think Rob Lowe will ever return to the Oscar stage, and if so - in what capacity (presenter, performer, host, winner - or maybe just the butt of a Snow White-related joke)?
Is there a below the line worker that you believe should win an Oscar? Or at least get an honorary one? I would root for Roger Deakins, Kevin O'Connell (20 noms and no wins!) or Carter Burwell who I can't believe just now got his first nomination
I am definitely going to participate for Atonement. It's one of my favorite films of all time(not kidding). I am going to try to do Ghostbusters, but it will depend on if I can watch it tonight or not.
Are there any actresses/actors doing work on television that you would love to see on the big screen? Not counting those that have already had big screen success.
Two actressexual dreams of the mid-'50s through the early '80s (give or take a Querelle) are among the forgotten women of TFE: Jeanne Moreau (three Césars; Nouvelle Vague goddess; stage diva; romances with Tony Richardson, Louis Malle, Lee Marvin and Pierre Cardin; co-produced Jules et Jim; turned down Mrs. Robinson and Nurse Ratched) and Romy Schneider (daughter of thespians; three Césars; romance with Delon; Visconti muse; adored by Almodóvar and Ozon; tragic death).
Why?
This is inspired by me re-watching Casino, but has there ever been a character on screen that annoyed you to the point where you hope they die at some point in the movie? (Side-eye to Sharon Stone's Ginger)
And I totally vote for Scarface for a HMWYBS shot. 80/s excess, violence, bored/fabulous Michelle Pfieffer, what's not to love? I would love Joe Wright's Anna Karenina too (so pretty!) but we already have Atonement.
Derreck- I loved Casino. I would prefer to see Pesci disappear from the movie though. Sharon Stone is just a fabulous mess and wonderful to watch in that movie despite how shrill her character is.
Nat, you're failing me if you put that picture of Faye Dunaway up top and not include NETWORK as HMWYBS.
I for sure am picking To Kill a Mockingbird for that Peck Centennial.
Weirdly I keep thinking about that Fun Home the Movie.
Hugh Jackman as Bruce
Amy Adams as Helen
Christina Ricci as Adult Alison
Boom! Oscars all around lol.
Question: Who is your favorite fictional president?
The more I watch the trailers for Batman vs. Superman and Captain America, the more I'm worried for their quality. So my question is, have you seen any movie with bad trailer but ended up a good movie, and a good trailer ended up a bad movie?
Thoughts on The Flash's second season?
Nathaniel: Here's a question. Since we've been going through the category fraud roller coaster this past awards season, I'd like to know how you define a Lead performance vs. a Supporting performance. What are the criteria you use to measure whether a performance is Lead or Supporting and where would you draw the line?
ATONEMENT! I had been wanting to re-watch this. Perfect reason to now! But holy crap HOW DO I PICK A SHOT FROM THAT FILM?! Just kidding already have one... or a dozen.
Which movie actress do you think has the most potential to successfully transition from her 30's and have box office success into her 40's? So many flounder at this juncture.
If you were forced to remake a Hitchcock movie, which would you choose and who would you get to direct and star in it?
Top Ten Madonna Songs.
If you have to give Pixar a screenplay Oscar (and I think we really should by now), which film will you choose? Keep in mind you have to actually take away the Oscar from the actual winner.
kin: Ratatouille over Juno is a pretty obvious one and Inside Out over Spotlight should have been an Eternal Sunshine moment. But I'm also someone who wants three things. 1. Movies with improvisation as a primary creative force to be banished from the Screenplay categories. A line or two is okay, but stuff like the Mike Leigh process and Borat should not be stealing slots from ACTUAL writing processes. 2. Adapted becoming Adapted/True Story. Even if there's not an actual book, stuff where it actually happened should not be competing with stuff created from whole cloth. 3. A third screenplay category: Expanding. Here's what I guess the last two years would look like for Expanding, just to get a sense of what I'd expect the category to be about:
2014:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Lego Movie
Maleficent
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2015:
Mad Max: Fury Road
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Chi-Raq
Ant-Man
Creed
Elisabeth Moss has carved out an interesting post-Mad Men career in independent film, but a lot of the other Mad Men actors have struggled to find a good fit (Christina Hendricks), or are coasting on self-deprecating comedy (Jon Hamm). If you could pick a director for each Mad Men principal performer to pair up with, who would you pick and why? I’d love to see Christina Hendricks with Todd Haynes, for example.
A question for right now: is that Fassy up top? That head tilt + facial hair + tan is making hard for me to place the face... I'd say Tom Hardy or Joe Manganiello but I know it's neither of them.
@ben1283 - Oh my god, I'd LOVE to see Hendricks star in a Haynes film. How is she not more in demand? She's gorgeous and talented.
I'd also love to see Hamm get all dirty and de-glammed, like maybe with Aronofsky?
Paul -- yes, it's Fassy
::sigh:: I didn't think it was possible to ____ him more than I already did...
Oh, and as a slight addition to my question, what about cinemas that are open to the public (more or less) at universities? If I can't afford to retire/move to Paris, is there anywhere in America that is good for this? I remember great (albeit very censored) cinema at BYU, though only for students.
Dave in Hollywood, your questions would turn Nathaniel into Google! ;-)