The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
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Friday, August 13, 2021 at 9:03AM by Nathaniel R
Tess Harper and Chocolate Covered Donut
This morning I had the most terrible urge to shove multiple pastries into my mouth. This was surely due to my diet (I've lost 10 lbs since June!) and unrelated to watching Crimes of the Heart (1986) at 6:30 AM. But, speaking of, my goodness those Southern belles have major sweet tooths...
Thursday, August 12, 2021 at 11:52PM The Film Experience Team takes a look at the major Emmy categories & some extras, too.
By Nathaniel R
If you're a regular reader 'round Emmy time you'll know that this particular category is of significant niche interest to us. That's partially because voters are (mostly) forced into keeping it fresh. Unless your show changes its opening titles significantly each season, you'll only be eligible on your first season. It's also because we dig main titles and we totally miss them in cinema which seems to have (mostly) abandoned this wonderful practice of setting the mood before the story begins. Let's look at the nominated titles.
The nominees are listed below the title and, unless otherwise noted, this is a first nomination for each of them...
Thursday, August 12, 2021 at 7:46PM by Nathaniel R
Today on Instagram, Florence Pugh shared the first image from The Wonder, a thriller from Chilean director Sebastián Lelio. Lelio, as you may recall, had a truly sensational three film run circa 2013-2017 with the marvelous character study Gloria, the Oscar-winning trans drama A Fantastic Woman, and the Jewish lesbian drama Disobedience. He interrupted that amazing run of originals by remaking his own international breakthrough film as Gloria Bell with Julianne Moore which was good if not as magical as the original. Now he's finally back to work...
Thursday, August 12, 2021 at 1:00PM By Glenn Dunks
The nostalgia is strong in Searching for Mr. Rugoff, a delightfully cinephile-oriented documentary from director Ira Deutchman. It is an affectionate dive into a beloved segment of New York City’s film culture of the 1960s and ‘70s—one that no longer exists and is built around a figure who remains little known by those who didn’t work directly alongside him. His name is Donald S. Rugoff. A pioneer of the global exhibition and distribution market who bought international, experimental, and acclaimed cinema to a chain of upmarket boutique arthouses in New York from his office decked out in modern furniture and art, he steered successful Academy Award campaigns for the likes of Z and Seven Beauties, and was a gimmick superstar who would make William Castle kick himself that he didn’t get there first.
Does that make Searching for Mr. Rugoff a great movie, though? Not exactly...
Thursday, August 12, 2021 at 10:19AM 
Like its respective writing category, the Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or TV Movie Emmy race is a mess of inconsistent rulings. Some shows compete with entire seasons, while others have submitted individual episodes. This is allowed, so that miniseries with different directors per episode can compete. However, this year, I May Destroy You's Sam Miller got two nods through a technicality, making the rule feel superfluous and poorly conceived. Beyond that, the big oddity of the category is the presence of Hamilton's Thomas Kail. While similar projects of filmed theater were deemed TV Specials and are competing in that race, the Disney+ musical somehow got into this lineup. If he wins, Kail will repeat his Tony victory. With that out of the way, let's dive in and explore the nominated works…
