Regional Critics Round 4: "The Green Knight" joins the 'Best Film' fray

by Nathaniel R

Previously in the overcrowded circus that is precursor awards, we've had three wins for Power of the Dog (Philadelphia, NY Online, and Boston Online), three for Japan's Drive My Car (NYFCC, LAFCA, and Boston). two wins for Licorice Pizza (Atlanta and NBR), and one each for Cyrano (Detroit), Dune (Sunset Circle), The Lost Daughter (Gothams) and Belfast (DC). 

We got only one "new" Best Picture winner (The Green Knight!) from the latest batch of six critips groups: Chicago, Portland, St Louis, Las Vegas, Southeastern Film Critics, Las Vegas, and the Women Film Critics Circle. You can see the selections from all of those groups after the jump...

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Kit Clarke as Rupert Everett? Good casting!

We totally missed sharing this story that is now a bit old but it might be news to you! 

Rupert Everett will be played by Kit Clarke in a new film

Rupert Everett was one of our first heroes. The now 62 year-old actor is the first movie star in our lifetime that came out of the closet. It was such a ballsy move for a leading man in 1989, you can't even imagine if you weren't alive at the time. While it's still a brave move in some ways for today's actors, it's no longer at all unusual and large pockets of the media, Hollywood, and fan culture are supportive enough that we have dozens of famous  out actors in 2021! (The closet still exists in Hollywood, too, of course). Everett was the only one back in the day. (Sir Ian McKellen came out a year before Rupert but he was not yet a movie star and the stage has always been more accepting of gay talent.) Everett doesn't always get the credit for being a pioneer, partially because of his repeatedly sharp tongue and controversial statements (including his own coming out) as well as that "difficult" reputation. But we will forever love him for paving the way.

We forgot to share the news from a month back that the star is moving behind the camera for his latest which will be an autobiographical film called Lost and Found in Paris...

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TV Review – ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel ‘1883’

By Abe Friedtanzer

Paramount Network, formerly known as TNN and Spike TV, has found its flagship series in Yellowstone, the Montana-set drama starring Kevin Costner currently airing its fourth season. It’s no surprise that the show’s immense popularity would create the desire for a spinoff, and instead, sister streaming service Paramount+ has opted for a prequel. Set more than a century before the original, 1883 is a pretty straightforward Western tracking the establishment of the Yellowstone Ranch that serves as the center property of the franchise…

These two shows come from Taylor Sheridan, writer of the underrated Hell or High Water and also director of Wind River and Those Who Wish Me Dead. After I sampled the pilot, I didn’t stick with Yellowstone, even though I did enjoy Longmire, which had a similar vibe, and I continue watching the Montana-set Big Sky for unknown reasons since it’s really not good at all. Objectively, 1883 probably appeals more since it has to do with the trek west during lawless times and the official establishment of an American presence in a rural region already populated by indigenous people...

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LAFCA embraces "Drive My Car" and "Power of the Dog"

by Nathaniel R

The rivalry between the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association is an abstraction. The two groups aren't at war though occassionaly their choices do feel like responses to each other, critical volleys if you will. Plus they're the two groups most likely to grab the attention of Oscar voters due to their high profile, coastal presence, and esteem.

This year they're co-signing each other naming Drive My Car the film of the year with Power of the Dog a close second taking the Director prize. They also agreed on supporting actor (sort of), too.  Their full awards and more comments after the jump...

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Best International Film: Argentina, Hungary, Thailand

by Cláudio Alves

No matter how many masterpieces the genre regularly produces, the Academy cares very little for horror. Every year, a bunch of cinematic nightmares get critical raves and sometimes box office success but fail to capture AMPAS' attention. Not even the Makeup and Hairstyling category, a logical place to reward a cinema full of dilacerated flesh, is very keen on horror. The same happens with the Best International Film race, though that doesn't stop some brave countries from submitting scary movies. This year, some of the more horrific offerings include submissions from Argentina, Hungary, and Thailand…

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