Emmy Nominations 2012

Mad Men, The Film Experience's favorite show for five years running, and American Horror Story -- cheating with a "miniseries" categorization (like Downton Abbey in its debut year) -- led the nominations with 17 a piece. 

The Emmys seem to be over genre shows... or perhaps American Horror Story and Game of Thrones hogged too much attention for the wealth to be spread. True Blood and Teen Wolf scored 0 nominations between them (and to think True Blood once was a nominee for "Best Drama Series") and The Walking Dead and Ocne Upon a Time scored only 3 nods apiece. Dexter somehow managed to keep Michael C Hall nominated for a really terrible season despite earning no other nominations.

Best Dramatic Series
 

• Boardwalk Empire 
(not my cuppa)
• Breaking Bad
 (the show I feel guiltiest about missing year after year)
• Downton Abbey 
(bliss. I'd be happy to see this win)
• Game of Thrones
 (wildly overrated)
• Homeland 
(so much better than I expected. a worthy nominee.)
• Mad Men (still the best show on television - my vote)

Snubbed Entirely and Not Just Here: REVENGE. How weird is that given the impact it made as a new show? It's the best nighttime soap since Dynasty. Respect!

Best Comedy Series
 

• The Big Bang Theory
 (laugh track.noooooo)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
 (still. really?)
• Girls (yay! so individualistic)
• Modern Family
 (still funny. but not as strong as parks & recreation)
• 30 Rock
 (still hilarious. but not as strong as parks & recreation)
• Veep (often funny. but not as strong as parks & recreation which also lampoons government)

Snubbed: You guessed it!

"We demand a recount"

And the rest of the nominations play like those are the only 12 series the voters watch, if you ask me!

MORE after the jump including THREE UNFORGIVABLE SNUBS

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot: "Pink Narcissus"

In the Best Shot series we challenge participants to watch a pre-selected movie and choose what they think is the best shot... according to their own fluctuating rules about what "best" means. Next week we return to widely seen classics with The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) -- will you join us? --  but this week I wanted to challenge everyone with an influential avant-garde gay indie known as Pink Narcissus (1971). 

original newspaper ad... cinema village still shows hard to see movies. "MARGARET" played there recently

You can see modern echos or just plain stealing from Pink Narcissus in everything from Michel Gondry music videos to Pierre et Gilles celebrity portraiture. I like to imagine that it's a movie the young Todd Haynes watched non-stop before making Superstar, his Karen Carpenter biopic with Barbie dolls. Truly creative artists, don't need a big budget. They just need the will to make art. Even if it takes them years with their friends (see also: David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE)

Due to the adult nature of the material this NSFW edition has to go after the jump.

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Q&A: Working Girls, Two-Time Winners, Generational Comedy

It's time to answer reader questions again! Roughly once a week I'll throw up an "Ask Nathaniel" post and then select the questions that trigger something in me. There are often great questions I don't answer because they'd require a whole book. Or a top ten list and we save the listing mostly for other features. Let's go.

CARLOS: I recently came across Working Girl (1988) on TV by chance. I think Griffith and, especially, Weaver are great and the costumes (unintentionally) hilarious when seen today, but what's YOUR opinion on the movie and Griffith? Do you think she could have a comeback? What would it take?

Working Girl is a total time machine for the late 80s. But truth: the costumes were intentionally funny. Or at least those worn by Griffith and the adorable Joan Cusack who were meant to be absurdly dressed. Most readers won't be aware of this because there's no reason to talk about her now, but Melanie Griffith was, for me in the 90s, the equivalent of Swank and the Zeéeeee in the 00s (i.e. actresses who I just can't with). My friends in college used to hide pictures of her in my dorm room to torture me with when I discovered them. Once, a huge poster of Melanie was staring at me from the ceiling when I jumped in bed!

I like the movie well enough but at the time it was wildly overawarded -- one of those AMPAS Christmas crushes that plays so well in the moment but is hardly better than earlier releases that it temporarily shoves out of favor during the crucial nomination period.  When I look back at 1988 I'm always pissed that Bull Durham (a summer hit 1 nomination), Running on Empty (a September critical darling, 2 nominations) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (a June smash with 6 nominations and better than nearly every one of the Best Picture nominees) didn't get various big Oscar props that they deserved. I blame Working Girl because it's the easiest film to blame that year. And I especially blame Griffith because Susan Sarandon's "Annie Savoy", one of the greatest performances of the whole decade, was snubbed to include her!

JAMES: Many lament the onslaught of remakes/reboots/re-imaginings, but what film(s) would actually benefit from a remake? As an example, I ask you to consider Rosemary's Baby. While the acting stands up, much of the rest of the film is pretty creaky. What are your thoughts?

&

STEVE: What cinematic, television or literary character do you think should be revisited?

[Remakes, Chris Nolan, and Oscarables AFTER THE JUMP]

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Finding Nemo 2: Jumping the Shark

By now you've heard the news that Pixar is working on a Finding Nemo 2 with director Andrew Stanton (John Carter) returning to the fold. Someone really needs to give little Nemo a compass, poor thing. 

More distressing is the persistent rumor (not fact as far as I can tell) that Toy Story 4 is being developed. If they make it, I honestly believe that they should revoke all of Toy Story 3's reviews and its Best Picture nomination; its massive success and emotional wallop hinged on it being the finale, the moment you, like Andy, had to say a tearful final goodbye. If they make Toy Story 4 it was a lie. (It already was a fib given that the characters lived on in short films immediately thereafter.)

The Hollywood Reporter doesn't mention Toy Story 4 in their roundup of what's going on with Pixar but they do say this very very odd thing:

The move is also a safe one by Pixar, the company that once was praised for cranking out original film after original film, but now seems to trying to balance commercial prospects with unique creations.

What is there to balance?

Pixar IS the safe commercial prospect. Sequels are redundant since people go because the movies are Pixar. They don't go because they love the characters/singular franchise. Most of the time they haven't met the characters yet. All Pixar movies are already "safe commercial prospects" by virtue of the studio's reputation and marketability. So why not make original movies and keep the reputation intact, keep the legacy and critical sheen as The Greatest Movie Studio Ever?

PrincesssSS$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Frankly I don't get it. Yes, Finding Nemo 2 will make more than Brave but why sacrifice your reputation and legacy for an extra ½ billion when everything you release makes at least that much? Brave, an original that was seen as a risk given its female protagonist, has earned $244 million globally and is still going strong and Merida herself will surely generate 100s of millions more in merchandising by virtue of that billion dollar Disney Princess branding. Ratatouille, an original that was seen as a risk due to its subject matter (ewww!), earned $623 million globally. Up, an original that was seen as a risk given its old man protagonist,  earned $731 million globally and a Best Picture nomination. WALL•E, which was seen as a risk given its nearly silent movieisms, earned $521 million globally along with an instant reputation as a masterpiece and did more than most Pixar pictures to cement their reputation as a commercially minded company that also indisputably produces great art.

Didn't Cars 2 do enough to sully their reputation, making them appear as Profits-First driven as every other studio?

Stripper of the Day: Gilda

[Editor's Note: While Magic Mike is in theaters we're revisiting memorable stripteases. Here's Jose to talk Gilda.]

When I was thirteen, I found Madonna's SEX on eBay and bought it. Upon its arrival I showed my new prized possession to everyone including my father who for a while seemed enthralled by the Queen. Upon finishing leafing through the book he came over to me and quoted something he'd said to me many times before and it was this:  "I'd rather have a fully clothed Rita Hayworth than a naked Madonna".

I dismissed him. But then a few years later I watched Gilda.

This sexy noir from 1946 has Glenn Ford playing a gambler who perpetuates the classic Hollywood curse that the more you want to run away from someone, the more you'll run into them. His life becomes a living hell when he runs into his ex-lover, the title femme fatale played by Hayworth. The movie mostly concentrates on having them despise and then love each other and along with evil Germans, fake deaths and shocking twists, makes this a truly unmissable event.

However the film is mostly remembered for being Hayworth's pièce de résistance and especially for her outstanding song numbers including her performance of "Put the Blame on Mame"

more...

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