Best Supporting Actor - "How'd he get nominated?"

by Nathaniel R

The Best Supporting Actor Chart now contains a ton more information and a poll which you can vote on daily. If you fused all these men into one Oscar-Nominee they'd be a 6' tall 49 year-old veteran character actor with 41 films under their belt and experiencing their first career nomination thanks to the help of a female director. Incredibly the majority of this acting lineup was directed by a woman -- an Oscar first...

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Japan and the Oscars - a History

by Timothy Lyons

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and actress Reika Kirishima at Cannes this past summer with "Drive My Car"

One of the more pleasant surprises of this year’s Academy Award nominations announcement was the shortlisting of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s subtly masterful Drive My Car in Best Picture. In addition to this mention, Hamaguchi himself was nominated for Director and Adapted Screenplay (along with co-writer Takamasa Oe) and the film received an easily predicted nod in International Feature. While there seemed to be enough of a groundswell of support for the film to break into the general field, its inclusion in the top race remains a largely unexpected and refreshingly left-of-center occurrence. Despite now being the very first Japanese film nominated for Best Picture, Drive My Car is not the first to be recognised overall. It is also not the first to find favor beyond the usually ghettoized International Feature category.

Japan’s history with Oscar began in earnest during the 1950s...

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TV Review: Inventing Anna (Netflix)

By: Christopher James

Julia Garner brings to life viral sensation Anna Delvey in Shonda Rhimes' latest show "Inventing Anna."We have a long history of idolizing iconoclast grifters. From Robin Hood to Jesse James, there’s something alluring about an outlaw getting one over on the hoity-toity establishment. Perhaps this is why Jessica Pressler’s article about Anna Delvey in The Cut went viral when it came out in 2018. Delvey pretended to be a German heiress and conned her way to the top of New York society. She lived large in swanky hotels and on lavish Marrikesh vacations all without paying for a dime of it herself. This was never destined to last, and Delvey wound up in jail for her crimes.

Netflix’s Inventing Anna dramatizes Delvey’s exploits, with Emmy winner Julia Garner bringing her to life...

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Podcast: The Team chats Oscar nods

Nathaniel gathered the team members who were available on Tuesday night for a quickie discussion of the Oscar nominations.  

You can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify or download the attachment below. And while you're thinking of the Oscars, check out the charts and vote on the polls!

Post Nomination Discussion

I'll Link to That

• Vulture "Do they really have enough champagne in Death on the Nile to fill the Nile?" funny must-read!
• IndieWire Hilarious marrieds Megan Mullaly & Nick Offerman will be hosting Spirit Awards
• MNPP a preview of NYC's annual "Rendezvous with French Cinema"
• Forbes Highest Paid Entertainers - annual list topped by Peter Jackson who sold part of his vfx firm WETA. He's now the third director to become a billionaire (after Spielberg and George Lucas)

Rumors about Blonde, Lady Gaga's congratulations, Flee's record-breaking Oscar triple, Dolly Parton's generosity, and more after the jump...

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