11 days til Oscar - Is Bette Davis a 10 or an 11?

The closeup changes everything. In 1934, Bette Davis became a STAR.

A very random question for you Oscar fanatics out there. Do you count Bette Davis as having 10 or 11 nominations? In other words, do you count her write-in nomination for Of Human Bondage (1934), her breakout star-making role which obviously led to her first win for the lesser performance in Dangerous (1935) the very next year, as one of her nods or do you go by the Academy's 'Of Human Bondage is not an official nomination' stance even though it's such an intrinsic part of Oscar lore of the 1930s?

PETA's "Oscat" Winners: Bradley Cooper, Black Panther, Annihilation

by Nathaniel R

Here's an award you might not have heard of. PETA, the animal rights organization, gives out "Oscats" each year honoring the most animal friendly films and stars. So, even though Bradley Cooper has PETA's senior vice president says:

PETA is thrilled to recognize the people and projects behind Hollywood’s most significant animal rights advances of the year.”

The winners and why they were chosen after the jump...

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Soundtracking: Bridget Jones's Diary

by Chris Feil

We have so many emotional ties to movie music that represents love fulfilled, love remembered, love not meant to be. As Valentine’s Day comes around, and with it annual love story rewatchings, we’re reminded of the “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”s and the “The Way We Were”s with sudden impact. But for some folks still waiting for their love story to begin, the reflection of their romantic reality gets foolishly less heralded. People like Bridget Jones...

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Great Moments in Screen Kissing: "Love, Simon"

We asked Team Experience to share favourite screen kisses this week. Here's Dancin' Dan...

Love, Simon isn't the first film to be made about LGBTQ teens. There's Beautiful Thing, But I'm a Cheerleader, Camp, Edge of Seventeen (not the Hailee Steinfeld one), Get Real... the list goes on and on. It certainly won't be the last film to be made about LGBTQ teens, either. But it is the first one produced and distributed in wide release by a major Hollywood studio. Because of that, yes, there is an air of polished mediocrity and safety to the whole enterprise. And yet, it's hard to deny the film's effectiveness.

I don't know if, when I was a teenager, I would have had the courage to buy a ticket to see Love, Simon by myself. I do know, however, that if I had, it would have made my teenage years that much better...

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Film Bitch Awards: Casting, Ensemble, Breakthrough, Young Actors

by Nathaniel R

We're still hoping to have the Film Bitch Awards wrapped up before Oscar night. Tonight, the remaining "extra" acting categories. We've already shared the Best Cameo performances so here's four more prizes to discuss and consider. Please do share your own favourites in these categories, too.

BEST CASTING / BEST ENSEMBLE
Some might argue that these categories go hand in hand (the way others object to the notion of Picture/Director splits) but we think of them as two different though highly complimentary accomplishments...

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