Austin moves to "Beale St." and AWFJ loves "Roma"

by Nathaniel R

How many critics groups are left? We honestly lose track!

Today we're looking at two more. First is the Austin Film Critics Association who were the only group brave enough in 2006 to step away from Helen Mirren's inexplicable steamroll for The Queen in a Best Actress year that was insane with great options (their iconoclastic choice that year: Ellen Page in Hard Candy). This year though they haven't strayed very far from consensus except that they gave Roma only one prize (!).

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists also announced their prizes which are an exact carbon copy, down the line, of critical consensus leaders, so it's a good thing they have several unusual categories, too. Here are the results...

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FYC: Nicholas Hoult in "The Favourite"

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

The Favourite is making a big splash this awards season – there’s no question of that. Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz are looking good for Oscar nominations, even if the classification of the latter two in the supporting race continues to infuriate Nathaniel every time a new organization announces. Its screenplay is a shoo-in, director Yorgos Lanthimos has a good shot, and the film will also be cited in a few technical categories.

There’s one great element of the film – aside from its makeup and hairstyling, which failed to make the finals -- that likely won’t be on the Oscar list. Though the film is dominated by women, one male actor makes quite an impression...

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Showbiz History: Hitchcockian Cop, Blige Strippers, and Keanu Replicas

Today in showbiz history. Happy January 11th!

1914 Dorothy Jeakins, one of the most celebrated costume designers of all time in Hollywood (12 nominations and 3 Oscar wins) who designed classics like The Ten Commandments, The Sound of Music, and The Way We Were was born in San Diego

1919 One hundred years ago today Mort Mills, was born. He's the highway patrolman in Psycho that freaks Janet Leigh out with those black hole sunglasses -- it's like looking at a skull...

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Double Feature: On the Basis of Sex & RBG

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

It’s not uncommon for documentaries and narrative features about the same subject to be released around the same time. In some cases, the impetus for a narrative film comes from the success of a documentary, as with recent Robert Zemeckis' movies the The Walk and Welcome to Marwen, which told the same stories as the hit docs Man on Wire  and Marwencol, respectively. 2010 saw concurrent releases of documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money and the feature Casino Jack.

This season's double feature is undeniably inspired by the need to champion strong women in the face of divisive times. Who better than civil rights icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second female justice appointed to the Supreme Court, to serve as the figurehead for two very different movies in 2018?

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Interview: Ben Foster on "Leave No Trace" and Acting as Therapy

by Nathaniel R

Ben Foster discussing "Leave No Trace" last summer when it openedWhen I first met Ben Foster he was promoting Rampart (2011), a hard and angry movie about corrupt cops in which the acting was (unsurprisingly) terrific, he would barely speak about himself. Time has mellowed him, or at least made him more lighthearted about his own intensity. He ended our last interview begging for a screen comedy but sadly that project has never materialized. In person he's friendly and thoughtful and funny, never as impenetrable or scary or tragically sad as he has been is in his famous roles. In fact he's a happy new father, having had a daughter with his wife, the actress Laura Prepon, just over a year ago.

We met last month to discuss Debra Granik's award-winning drama Leave No Trace. He plays Will, a former soldier who has shut himself off from society with only his daughter Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) for companionship.When Will and Tom are found living in the woods at the beginning of the film, social workers attempt to reintegrate them into society. The daughter immediately adapts but the father is tougher to reach. Leave No Trace is moving and insightful and beautifully acted so that's where we begin as we discuss his career, his early days in acting, and what's next.

Our interview, has been edited for clarity and length...

with Director Debra Granik on set

NATHANIEL: Projects like Leave No Trace live or die based on the chemistry between the leads, so how can you prepare for a two-hander like this. Were you involved in casting? 

BEN FOSTER: I was involved in casting so far as Debra said 'I found someone I really like, and she's in New Zealand, here's the tape'. It was recorded on her phone and I watched like 30 seconds before I was like 'Oh yeah, that's it.'  

Instant approval. That's so cool.

She has a quality --you see it in person and you see it onscreen, she's lit from within. [In awe] She's one of them.

And I assume you trusted Debra a little bit on unknown actors, too, because she's famous for that Jennifer Lawrence discovery...

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