Emmy Analysis: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

by Juan Carlos Ojano

Unlike other categories, Lead Actor in a Comedy Series has been a foregone conclusion even before nominations were announced. With Ted Lasso skyrocketing to the frontrunner status with 20 nominations, Jason Sudeikis is poised to take this as one of the easiest calls come Emmy night. Two of the nominees also came from Comedy Series nominees, but both are nowhere near Ted Lasso’s winning chances. Meanwhile, two of the nominees are sole representations of their shows - one in its first season, one in its last. 

Without further ado, here are the nominees...

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Smackdown '86: Tess, Piper, Mary Elizabeth, Dame Maggie, and Dianne Wiest!

Welcome back to the Supporting Actress Smackdown. Each month we pick an Oscar vintage to explore through the lens of actressing at the edges. This episode takes us back to 1986.  

THE NOMINEES  For the 1986 film year the Academy honored three newbies (Tess Harper, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Dianne Wiest) the latter of whom would become a two-time winner, and welcomed back two veterans (two time winner Maggie Smith and previous nominee Piper Laurie). The characters assembled were a nosy cousin, a savvy girlfriend, a neurotic actress, a spinster chaperone, and an estranged mother.

THE PANELISTS Here to talk about these performances and films with your host Nathaniel are two regular TFE voices Cláudio Alves and Lynn Lee as well as civil rights attorney / cinephile Jonathan Diaz, and writer/cartoonist Rob Kirby.

 SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN + PODCAST  
The companion podcast is embedded in this post and can also be heard at Spotify, Stitcher, iTunes...

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Emmy Analysis: Will "Pose" FINALLY win Outstanding Costumes?

by Cláudio Alves

We all have heard and discussed category fraud when applied to acting races, but the problem doesn't end there. Not at the Emmys, it doesn't. After two seasons competing as a period show, Pose is now up for the Outstanding Contemporary Costumes Emmy. Sure, the two-part episode submission is partially set in 1998, but that still involves the recreation of a gone-by historical milieu. Saying it's a contemporary-set drama would be like describing World War II movies from the late 60s as contemporaneous stories. Still, it's not difficult to understand the logic behind the move. Generally speaking, Contemporary Costumes is a less competitive category. If that's what it takes for Pose to finally win an overdue costuming Emmy, I can't say I'm too angry about it. But what about its competition? Let's examine the seven nominees…

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"Dance of the 41" and "Identifying Features" are up for Ariel Awards

by Nathaniel R

"Identifying Features" is available to rent on several services

The nominations for the 63rd annual Ariel Awards (Mexico's Oscars essentially) have been announced. Identifying Features, a drama about a mother travelling across Mexico in search of answers about her son who vanished trying to cross the border made the biggest noise with 16 nominations. In happy news ALL of the Best Picture nominated films are readily available online to US audiences. We've seen more of the Ariel contenders than usual thanks to their festival appearances and current availability (links in the nomination list if we've written about them). Identifying Features is up against two films we loved, Dance of the 41 and Los Lobos along with Tragic Jungle and a documentary called The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo... 

[UPDATE THIS POST NOW REFLECTS THE WINNERS OF THESE PRIZES AS WELL]

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European Film Awards long list, Part 1

by Nathaniel R

Celine Sciamma's "Petite Maman" could be up for EFAs this year

The European Film Awards (EFA) don't yet have the same cache as BAFTA or the Oscars. They have a more difficult hurdle to climb to form a recognizable identity. It's much easier to asses just one country's cinema (primarily) as BAFTA and AMPAS do, then determine "bests" from a vast swath of  different cultures, different cinema trends, different languages, and so on. Nevertheless, we think EFA deserves more attention than they get. Last season's big winner Denmark's Another Round was also a hit at the Oscars.

They've recently announced the first of two longlists for the 2021 season from which their 4000 or so members will vote on to choose nominees later in the year. The list follows after the jump...

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