1946: Martha Vickers in "The Big Sleep"

Each month before the Smackdown event, suggested options for an alternate ballot in Best Supporting Actress... 

by Nick Taylor

How is it I've ended up watching three Bogie & Bacall collaborations in reverse chronological order while celebrating the Smackdown years? At least this means that their pairings have only grown more rewarding, rather than less. I’d probably rank To Have and Have Not ever so slightly above The Big Sleep, but boy is it a twisty, entertaining film, making real cinema out of Raymond Chandler’s novel without sanding away his cynical wit and venom (This write-up is based on the 1946 version of the film, rather than the substantially reorganized and shorter 1945 cut). The Big Sleep also boasts the only real instance in any of these films of a supporting performer truly overshadowing the star couple for sheer charisma and watchability. That actress is Martha Vickers, in the role of Lauren Bacall’s drug-addicted, nymphomaniac sister Carmen Sternwood. If it’s one thing for Moorehead to walk away with a barely-there film like Dark Passage, it’s an entirely different feat to watch Vickers’ intense, dangerous, but visibly curtailed supporting turn swipe the whole movie out from under Bogie and Bacall at very nearly the top of their game. 

Before getting into Vickers’ performance, it’s worth sharing a bit of Hollywood history that explains why Vickers is in less of the film than one might be expecting...

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Cruella's best looks: A "complete" ranking

by Cláudio Alves

If there were any doubts that Jenny Beavan is a costume design goddess, Disney's latest live-action remake/villain origin story proves it beyond any reasonable doubt. Unencumbered by the financial restraints inherent to independent cinema, Beavan serves up an orgiastic ecstasy of excess and punk rock fashion pastiche. According to interviews, she conceived 47 different costumes for Emma Stone's redeemed villainess, making Cruella the most-dressed movie of the year. It's also a good contender for the title of best-dressed. It's fair to say that an Oscar nomination is all but guaranteed. However, since the 94th Academy Awards are still nearly ten months away, let's focus on other matters.

Specifically, let's delve deep into the matter of Emma Stone's outlandish outfits and decide which are her grandest, most devilishly glamorous looks…

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Borderlinks

• Deadline Master and Commander (2003) is finally getting a sequel... or rather a prequel based on an earlier book so new actors will be in the Crowe/Bettany roles
• Vanity Fair an interview with screenwriter Michael Waldron who is helping to shape Marvel's Phase 4
• The Guardian profiles After Love director Aleem Khan. We really want to see this film. The mother role sounds like a great part for undervalued and excellent Joanna Scanlon

More after the jump including Billy Magnussen, Borderlands, Cruella, Dick Van Dyke, The Conjuring franchise, and rumors about The Color Purple movie musical...

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Yes No Maybe So: "Belle" from Mamoru Hosoda

by Nathaniel  R

We recently debuted our first Oscar chart of the year for Best Animated Feature as well as an extensive overview of all the international animated films  which could be competing for the unofficial "foreign" spot in that particular Oscar race. Perhaps we underestimated Belle by Mirai director Mamoru Hosoda who we had the pleasure of interviewing a couple of years back. Here's the international trailer...

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Emmy Watch: Will 'The Crown' or 'Handmaid's Tale' take up the majority of Drama Supporting Actress?

Our team is breaking down the top contenders in all the major Emmy races and highlighting some of our favorites over the next few weeks. Today, we’re looking at Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Ann Dowd ("The Handmaid's Tale") is the only former winner still eligible for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series this year.By: Christopher James

When the Emmys fall in love with a show, they really fall hard. Specifically, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series can get filled with multiple nominees from a single show. For example, the final season of Game of Thrones in 2019 earned four nominations in this category alone (Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams). While that show is no longer on the air, The Handmaid’s Tale has also seen a large number of women nominated. Ann Dowd won the category in 2017 and the following women have been nominated for past seasons: Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel and Yvonne Strahovski. Will The Handmaid’s Tale continue to dominate this category, or will another show, like The Crown, take up the most slots?

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