"Spark"

Illustration Friday is fun internet exercize for artists and though most of the participants seem to be professional, which I am not, I'm trying it again to celebrate my first iPad (which is much easier to draw on then the phone). This weeks topic is "Spark" and the second I saw the words this image popped into my mind. Because few things at the cinema have ever felt so much like a lit fuse to something powder-keg explosive...

To this day I remember the chills, my breath stopping in the movie theater when the Marquise de Mertueil (Glenn Close) and Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich) had their final heated confrontation. They'd fallen out over previous verbal arrangements and epistolary evidence. "A single word" is all he asks to mend things between them, though it sounds like a threat. The single word he's looking for is "yes" but she has a different three letter word in mind.

War.

Movie go boom.

If "fierce" hadn't yet been invented as a word, the existence of Glenn Close's Marquise would have birthed it right then and there. (If Glenn Close were half as frightening as the Marquise crossed, the Academy would never have dared rob her of that Oscar. And rob her they did.)

Which moment lit the most explosive fuse in a movie you love?

Drag Race: Big Opening Pt 2

Sorry this is so many days late! I promised we'd play along this year. And by play along I don't mind dress up in drag while typing but you can't see me so you'll never know but weekly posts on the best reality show on television (the Emmys sure are missing the boat float with their exceedingly conventional and stale nominations). Unfortunately "The Big Opening Part 2" which brough us another set of 7 queens, was much less cinematic in its shout-outs, so I made one up myself: Darienne Lake and June Squibb have the same designer. Pass it on!

 

Oh. my. god. Revelation as I typed: June Squibb would make the best Guest Judge on this show. Make that happen, Ru.

Not that no queens were compared to queens of the screen. Milk was told to "flash that Lauren Hutton smile" and Trinity K Bonet decided to go with 'something between Star Wars and Buckingham Palace for her look, citing Princess Leia as inspiration. The actual runway look skipped that generation and went straight for Princess Amidala. It worked for the judges.  

Click to read more ...

Beauty Break: Happy International Women's Day!

But, let's be honest: that's kinda every day here at the Film Experience. Therefore I have nothing special planned for it. Sorry bout it. I'd list my single favorite actress from every country but who got time for that? Instead a shout out to international readers and please enjoy these pictures of Anouk Aimée, Nicole Kidman, Maggie Cheung & Zhang Ziyi, Monica Vitti, Melanie Lynskey & Kate Winslet and more after the jump...

Tell us which actresses you'd like as cinematic ambassador from your country (or State)!

Click to read more ...

Oscar Coverage. It's a Wrap!

Still so cold. Perhaps a tropical vacation post Oscar? Whew. We made it through another season (but for one last podcast - see below). Kisses. Hugs. No-Doz. Please stay with us throughout the year as 2014 WILL be our best yet.

2013 was a breakthrough year starting with a spot on CNNi, joining the Gurus of Gold, doing TIFF (and then Sundance) and the Critics Choice event officially, and the best year yet for ad sales. But a breakthrough is not, unfortunately, quite the same thing as 'making it'.

I recently made a tough life choice to make writing my sole income  -- yes, believe it or not, I've been juggling a second career for most of the 8 years that The Film Experience has been a daily endeavor (TFE existed before 2005 but that was before all sites needed daily content to stay competitive - the speed of content has increased exponentially all over the web). But now I'm just writing about the movies. Juggling the two became more and more difficult and right here is where the passion lies. To help me prove that it wasn't the worst decision of my life: read, share, link, tweet articles you like, donate, or best yet subscribe (see "Keep TFE Strong" in your right hand sidebar) and for the price of a cup of coffee each month (or more if you're flush) you can make sure a roof stays over my head. I feel enormous gratitude that people read at all much less so many of you. I'm particularly grateful to those who are already subscribing but just 300 hundred more of you and things get substantially easier (i.e. [cue Pet Shop Boys/Destiny's Child/] i love you you pay my rent ♫! / Can you pay my telephone bills? Do you pay my automo* bills? ♫ / )  

Complete Oscar Week Coverage 

• Red Carpet Lineup (pt 1) - The Golden Ladies
• Red Carpet Lineup (pt 2) - Everyone Else
• The Night in Liza - because she deserves better!
• "A Pizza Ranks the Celebrities Who Ate Him"
• "Speech! Speech!" - Cate reigned benevolently over us all while Matthew worshipped himself
• Second Nominations? Which first-timers will be right back?
• Backstage at the show - bon mots from the press room
• The Big Show reviewed - crumbs, mysteries, endearments
• Winning Moment / Loveable Losers - slo-mo fantasies of victory & defeat
  Oscar Foods & Frozen Cake  - What did you serve at your party?
• "2013" - Let's get the date right. Plus photos
• The Beautiful People - Cate, Matthew, Lupita & Jared
• Order of Presentation - Performance Order & Winners List
• Arrivals - Live Blogged

PODCAST !? GOT ANY QUESTIONS FOR US? As an addendum to all of this and for the Season Finale, Katey, Nick, and Joe join Nathaniel for the final podcast of the season. (The podcast will be on hiatus until mid to late April but I think you'll love next season even more)

P.S. BRAD PITT HAS AN OSCAR NOW. xo

* I do not actually have automo' bills. I take the subway

Linksy

TV Blend Mad Men Season 7 key art features a famous graphic designer - April 13th, y'all
My New Plaid Pants first pic of Dane Dehaan as James Dean in yet another bio of the actor
/Film gross... the proposed reboot of Zorro is going to be Dark Knight-esque. Good god, Hollywood, be smarter. Anyone interested in Zorro, its own brand which is why you're rebooting it, is going to expect light swashbuckling FUN.  

New Now Next Teen Wolf adding a third gay character for season 4. (Weird that they haven't expanded the opening credits sequence to feature the other regulars from the ever expanding show.)
Towleroad RuPaul teaches his Pit Crew to "Sissy That Walk"
Guardian Idris Elba providing the voice of Shere Khan in the new live action/CGI Jungle Book
Fashionista costume designer extraordinaire Janie Bryant on what's next for her after Mad Men wraps
i09 on 30 cult movies everyone should see once. I love this type of list except for when they put something totally mainstream on it. It's mostly solid until Lost Boys? nope. try again. Saw it in theaters opening weekend, had a major release not cult at all but standard grab for teen audience. I think it was even a minor hit.
Gawker Lindsay Lohan already complaining about her reality show's portrait of her 
Attitude Jamie Lee Curtis, suddenly busy again, in addition that pilot she's shooting is producing a biopic film about a gay baseball player 
/bent has a handy list of all the LGBT filmmakers on twitter. Follow! 

This is what Glenn Close was wearing underneath her long dress! She wins.Oscar Crumbs
... the internet is still sweeping up the party
Confabulations Brian (StinkyLulu) and Aaron discuss the Oscars
Gothamist Poor Leo. Now his 1990s teen self is appearing all over Manhattan 
My Space you must read this hilarious Oscar report from Jennifer Lawrence's bestie. 

❝I am one of maybe two non-famous people there. I kind of just sit there and smile creepily when someone catches me staring—shout out to Penelope Cruz.❞

wimp a pretty amazing video of the control room during an acceptance speech (Cuba Gooding Jr's in this case)... and this reminds me how glad we are that they didn't play people off this year
Guardian oh, so that's why Andrew Garfield wasn't at the Oscars! 
Dissolve on social media and the Oscars 
Slate really fun conversation about sexism and actress backlashes that's focused on Gwynnie, Hathaway, and the recent success of Jennifer Lawrence and Lupita Nyong'o 

Today's Watch
This video from the Oscars official account is titled in such a way that you think it's going to be a history of Best Actress but it's just about Oscar with famous Actresses educating you on the history of AMPAS: Katharine Hepburn, Olivia de Havilland, a brunette Grace Kelly (!!!) and Anne Bancroft who wins with a little winking trivia about Oscar gaining weight.