a big final round of thanks...
Saturday, November 27, 2021 at 4:02PM 
Hey all. Nathaniel here. We've been quiet this weekend for offscreen life (remember that?) with friends and family for the holidays. But soon I'll try to have some words on Sondheim. And next week should be ultra busy: interviews, new reviews, precursor season, etcetera
But one last heaping of gratitude. THANK YOU TO ALL OUR READERS! Thank you for sticking with us for years and supporting and sharing in our actressexuality as well as our more niche interests like oh costume design, cinematography, international cinema, and love of sudden retrospectives...
The past two years have been super challenging. Technical problems, comment registration, the pandemic, everyone (including other film sites) gleefully attacking our lifelong favourite hobby (moviegoing)! Big love to everyone who comes here regularly and anyone who has ever donated, especially to those who donated monthly to keep us afloat. Big love to those of you who comment regularly, too, or share the site with friends. As for the site's future. We've always run at a deficit but we keep trying because, hell, we love writing about the movies. So we will keep going until we can't.
Some other things I'm personally grateful for in 2021, besides you, include:
-Nicole Kidman for being Nicole Kidman. Even her flaws, like saying yes to everything (hi AMC commercial) are endearing. But mostly for proving everyone wrong yet again via Being the Ricardos.
- The team here. You've already read about Lynn, Ben, Deborah, Jason, Nick, Cláudio, Juan Carlos, Baby Clyde, and Christopher but the shy ones or thte ones who were too busy for those mini-interviews this time around including regulars like Glenn, Abe, Eric, and more. And the people who are either on hiatus or who have moved up in the world like Murtada, Chris, Michael, Daniel, Manuel, etc... huge thanks to them as well for their past contributions.
- Lil Nas X for running with decades of historical momentum from past pioneers of allyship and gayness and exploding queerness all over the mainstream.
-Colby, the new boyfriend. He's enriched my offscreen life and has not only been patient but enthusiastic, too, about his new role as 'Person Who Suddenly Goes To All The Movies' including attending his first film festival this year (thank you Middleburg!).
- The world-building craft work for Dune. Dry but delicious, too. Bring your own moisture.
- David Dastmalchian's "I'm a superhero" line reading in The Suicide Squad
- They way every single character in The Green Knight gives off 'horny for a piece of Dev Patel' vibes. Relatable. No wonder he can't, um... contain himself at the end of the second act.
- My friends picking Power of the Dog as the annual group Thanksgiving movie outing. Though it was the third time for me this movie gets richer with each screening. Perfect construction and hours of great post-movie conversation!
- Those few but brave critics who agree with me that Spencer is bad. Sorry but feeling lonely is the worst and you start to feel insane when there's a lot of "masterpiece" consensus around a movie you are just not having. Special shout-out to Nick Davis for sending me a hilarious text about this just when I needed it. Love you Nick, come back online!
At a ZOLA party in Manhattan.
-Colman Domingo & Taylour Paige for following Ma Rainey's Black Bottom up so quickly and with an even better pairing/movie, Zola (even though they shot Zola first I believe). Seeing it a second time was pure pleasure.
-Kate Winslet's return to form in Mare of Easttown... that form being "MAN, YOU'RE GOOD AT ACTING" to quote co-star Julianne Nicholson at the Emmys.
- Jessica Chastain's giddy performative enthusiasm in Eyes of Tammy Faye. Especially the simultaneous giggling/crying affect. Her best performance in years.
- Benedetta, Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar, and that Harriet Samson Harris cameo in Licorice Pizza for being the three funniest movies of the year. Laughter is not just great medicine but a non-synthetic endorphin rush with no harmful side effects.
- Those who pressed me in the site comments (you know who you are) to see Dance of the Forty-One which I would have otherwise skipped due to an almost non-existent profile Stateside. It's so good and the world needs more unapologetically lusty queer films.
- Showtime for giving the leads in Yellowjackets to Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci; it's like they travelled back to the 90s and read the room (of actressexuals) for future co-star fantasies
- The Worst Person in the World's imaginative coffee 'break'
- The movies for being so good this year that the Oscar race is looking delicious and competitive in multiple categories.
Pick your favourites, Nathaniel.
Fine. Since I did make the Team do it...
YOU SHOULD ALL ANSWER THIS IN THE COMMENTS, TOO.
I want to note that the first column is a real Sophie's Choices. If you ask me tomorrow my answer would definitely change. It could just have easily been Streep or Fonda or Taylor depending on the mood. But honestly shouldn't we all be so grateful that there's so much mood variety in that list of Oscar queens? All eight of those women are so special and none of them in the same way as another.
Actresses forever and ever. Amen.
Thanksgiving, The Film Experience
Reader Comments (16)
Thank you, Nathaniel, and everyone on the team!
And Spencer IS bad. Terribly bad.
Wouldn't it be beautiful to live on the same planet as "Two-time Oscar winner Nicole Kidman"?
Thank you for all the time you and your team invest in this site. I've lurked here for years (long enough that I remember the black screen after Crash won), visiting daily, before occasionally starting to comment. Your hard work has always been appreciated.
Love the headshot, Nathaniel!
I loved Zola so much as well.
Saw Power of the Dog last night and I’m gonna need to rewatch at some point because I was not into it at all. If it weren’t for Kirsten Dunst I wouldn’t care but I really want to give it another chance. I still want her to get her Oscar nod/win regardless.
I loved Spencer though. Sorry, not sorry :-)
Thanks for every article,I don't comment on some but I read them,Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy Friendsgiving, Nathaniel.
Sadly this past year I had to stop contributing (money, I mean). I'm on SS and just needed to tighten things up. I will probably restart contributions at some time in the future.
I love the site, even though I have to skip over some parts. Not totally enamored of all movies (I guess none of us are). But this site is my absolute go-to to learn about what's new in cinema world, and i LIVE FOR the smackdowns and your Oscar Predictions.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR CREW!!!
You're hardly alone in disliking SPENCER, Nathaniel. Legendary film scholar Bill Nichols (IDEOLOGY AND THE IMAGE, MOVIES AND METHODS, BLURRED BOUNDARIES) posted on Facebook today that he couldn't make it to the end. I'm hearing that more and more from people I know who are finally catching up with it.
Oscar Queen: Jane Fonda
Oscar King: Marlon Brando
Oscar Loser: Glenn Close
Genre: Tie: Horror/Thriller & Musical
Spencer just hit all the wrong notes for me. I think Stewart got the impression down OK, but the performance was really one-note. I have to wonder if Diana was really not able at that point in time to put on a face for the people around her, she was usually so good at it. I still think a nomination will be deserved for Stewart, but I'm rooting against the movie in other categories.
While I disagreed with your overall assesment of Spencer, I appreciated your criticisms of it as much as I do your praise of movies where we mutaully agree, though I wish for your sake that you enjoyed it. I thought it was such a lovely visual poem.
Thankful for this site and all you do to organize such tasty content. Thanks, Nathaniel and team.
Queen: Streep
King: Nicholson (if I'd been alive in the days of Chinatown, he would have been my biggest crush)
Loser: Adams (Her performance in Junebug is an all-time great)
Genre: Anything but westerns and sci-fi. Musicals on screen can be amazing or so disappointing. So grateful for the tremendously moving experience I had watching Tick Tick Boom just a week ago (watching Larson prepare to turn 30 as I prepared to turn 40 just yesterday) and the beautfiul Sondheim connection. His voice on the answering machine tore me up even before knowing we were about to lose him, really a lovely last grace note for his brilliant career.
I was such a pleasure reading the profiles these last few days. Many thanks to all to participated and to all those to work on Film Experience.
Queen: Bette Davis (but Hepburn is constantly battling her)
King: Nicholson (although Brando and Newman are constantly battling him)
Oscar Loser: Kerr- She is a better than the sum of her nominations. Her best work mostly was not nominated.
Genre: I can take them all but usually prefer thriller/horror. Right now though comedy is becoming my go to.
Sorry, I mostly colored outside the lines.
Queen: Katharine Hepburn
King: Jack Lemmon
Loser: Thelma Ritter
Genre: Action-Thriller (led by Hitchcock)
Streep > Davis > Bergman > Hepburn ... maybe ...
Day Lewis > Brando > Olivier > Newman ... maybe ...
Stanwyck > O'Toole > Burton > Ritter* ... maybe ...
Noir > Musical > (Dark) Comedy > (Absurdist) Drama ... maybe ...
🎶Thanks for the memories...🎶
PS. What Doug said re: Spencer
* Since Stanwyck was only nominated four times as opposed to as many as eight times for the others, I almost wrote in Montgomery Clift instead of Thelma Ritter...
Thank you, Nathaniel, for this site. It's my favourite website and I think it's such a positive place. I just love the passion for film that you and your fellow writers share with us every day.
Thank you also for responding to my question a couple of weeks back; I've been so immersed in work recently, I didn't get to say thanks at the time.
A special thanks for your coverage of the International Feature Film category. I can see that a lot of work goes into it but it always reads as effortless.
My choices from the poll: Hepburn, Nicholson, Kerr, Musicals and Westerns jointly.
yes... "Dance of the 41" is magnificent and its ending is a marvel of acting, directing, editing and even sound editing... one of the films that should be in discussion for Best Picture this year, but won't. Sad. Any given year, it would be deserving of noms at...
International Film
Picture
Director
Actress
Adapted Screenplay
Cinematography
Score
Film Editing
Production Design
Costume
Sound
Make Up/Hairstyle
I would still put Parallel Mothers slightly on top - pun intended, lol! - but it is one of the year's best. Here's hoping some english-spoken film - Bo Burhan's Inside aside - gets to that level, but I have so many yet to see...
I'll go Hepburn-Oliver (for his hotness in Rebecca if nothing else!)-Stanwyck (for the fact that she guest starred on an episode of Charlie's Angels and was supposed to get a spin-off that never materialized, if nothing else) and drama.
Of all the online sites/blogs I am most grateful to The Film Experience for bringing a uniquely queer sensibility to film culture and awards season!
Oscar Queen: Streep and Bette, I cannot choose
Oscar King: Newman
Oscar Bridesmaid: Stanwyck
Genre: All of them but Western and Fantasy
Thankful for:
Winslet in Mare of Easttown
Jennifer Coolidge in The White Lotus
2 great musicals (In the Heights and tick, tick...boom!) by 2 great new directors of musicals. I hope Hollywood moves on from offering everything to Rob Marshall and Tom Hooper now!
Jane Campion's return to cinema
All the French women directors following their muses
My 2 local arthouse theaters, who made me safe to go back to the theater this summer
The moviegoers who made House of Gucci a hit this weekend! I hope this secures Gaga's nomination!
Happy Thanksgiving, Nathaniel!
Release the Nick Davis text! We miss and love Nick!