The Next Supporting Actress Smackdown is on Sunday - get your votes in by Friday night please. Please only vote on the performances you've seen. Your host has been backstage doing the difficult (but exciting) work of wrangling up critics, industry professionals, and writers to discuss these Oscar years with you. (Coming soon: 1944, 2017, 1970, 1994)
MEET THE PANELISTS
Here's a little bit about our exciting panel to prep you for our conversation as we finish up our screenings. We're heavy on new Smackdowners and Los Angelenos this time which is a fun development.
First Time Smackdowners
NORA ZEHETNER
Nora Zehetner is an actress who most recently appeared in the Amazon Studio/Magnolia film Creative Control which was on the National Board of Review's list of top ten indies. Her previous work includes Maron, Greys Anatomy, Brick and Mad Men. [Instagram]
What does 1985 mean to you?
1985 was a good year for me. I was footloose and fancy free embarking on my 4th year in this sordid world. I have no recollection of my favorite movies at the time, but I was keen to dance to Michael Jackson (often copying his one glove look) and crush on George Michael. All my heroes are dead. The Goonies and The Breakfast Club have gone on to become my most favorite (and most viewed) films from 1985. .
LOUIS VIRTEL
Louis Virtel is a comedian, writer for Billy On The Street and Throwing Shade, and panelist on Maximum Fun's Pop Rocket podcast. The Advocate called him "the gay president of pop culture comedy." [Twitter | Instagram]
I was born in 1986 but I associate '85 with three pop culture moments that were crucial to my conception: Madonna's rapturous "Material Girl" video, Suzanne Vega's dark, wise self-titled debut album, and the wickedly bonkers whodunit Clue. All three contain throwbacks to saucy icons of the past (Marilyn Monroe in "Material Girl," a portrait of Marlene Dietrich on Suzanne Vega, and that minx J. Edgar Hoover in the '50s set Clue), and I consider such homages in line with my personal mantra: Pick your icons carefully and toast them with grand, showy conviction whenever possible.
MICHELLE MORGAN
Michelle Morgan has written numerous projects for film and television. Her feature directorial debut, L.A. Times, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and she loves cats very much.
What does 1985 mean to you?
1985 was a seminal year for Michelle. Even though she was a young child at the time, her parents were pretty chill about the movies she watched and as a result she got to enjoy enjoy a lot of titles from that year at a very early age. Many of those films, such as Real Genius, Desperately Seeking Susan, The Legend of Billie Jean and Murphy's Romance are still amongst her favorites today.
PHUONG LE
Phuong Le is an MA in Film Studies candidate at King's College London. Her writings can be found at Film Comment, Movie Mezzanine, Vague Visages and PopOptiq. [Twitter]
What does 1985 mean to you?
When I think of 1985, because I am from Vietnam, my first thought unfortunately goes to Rambo First Blood Part II. After a decade of films that are critical of the Vietnam War and its aftermath such as Taxi Driver orApocalypse Now, it is jarring that a movie like Rambo II whose plot can be considered a kind of reinvasion of Vietnam actually became the second highest grossing film of the year. Besides reflecting the politics of the time, this change also signals a shift from 1970s auteur-filmmaking to approaches that are more high-concept. Nevertheless, my connection to 1985 is thankfully not all about men killing one another in tropical jungles. 1985 was when Sade's Promise, one of my all-time favorite albums came out. Sade's gorgeous songs have been with me through tough times, such as when I had to sit through, you guess it, Rambo II.
Returning Panelist
A photo of little Abdi FROM 1985. Well done, Abdi
ABDI NAZEMIAN
Abdi Nazemian is an author, screenwriter and producer. His debut young adult novel, THE AUTHENTICS, was released by Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins on August 8, 2017, and was chosen as one of Amazon's best books of the month and as People Magazine's Teen Pick. Abdi’s first novel, THE WALK-IN CLOSET, was released in 2015 by Curtis Brown Unlimited, and was awarded Best Debut at the Lambda Literary Awards. Abdi has written four produced films: MENENDEZ: BLOOD BROTHERS (Lifetime, 2017), THE QUIET (Sony Pictures Classics, 2006), CELESTE IN THE CITY (ABC Family, 2004), and BEAUTIFUL GIRL (ABC FAMILY, 2003). He also wrote, directed and produced the short film REVOLUTION (2012). As Head of Development for Water’s End Productions, Abdi has been an executive producer or associate producer on numerous films, including CALL ME BY YOUR NAME. [Twitter | Instagram]
What does 1985 mean to you?
Here's a Clue: Miss Ciccone. In the Canadian Library. With the Breakfast Club."
And your host...
NATHANIEL R
Nathaniel is the founder of The Film Experience, a longtime Oscar pundit, and the web's actressexual ringleader. He fell in love with the movies for always at The Purple Rose of Cairo even though he didn't quite understand it at the time (which happens to be, you guessed it, 1985) but mostly blames Oscar night (in general) and the 80s filmographies of Kathleen Turner & Michelle Pfeiffer (specifically). [Twitter | Instagram]
What does 1985 mean to you?
It was all about the Material Girl. Her "Virgin Tour" brought me that seminal youth experience (pre-internet that is) of waiting in line for many hours for concert tickets with hordes of other very excitable fans... for the very first time 🎶 (shut up. I'm old). My mom was horrified at my 'all Madonna all the time' headspace.
It was also the first year I ever saw an R rated movie. I marvelled at my mom's obsession with Witness and I myself was obsessed with The Breakfast Club and I went with a group of friends almost every week for two months! They were lax about checking IDs in Detroit, okay? It's weird now to think that The Breakfast Club was rated R... but MPAA was stricter in those days. It was also the first year where I 'followed' the Oscar race BEFORE nominations, a big rite of passage for an awards freak -- at least pre-internet when you had to really pay attention to do that.
What does 1985 mean to you dear readers?
Do tell in the comments. Here's a helpful overview of the year if you need one and here's how to vote on the Smackdown.