Showbiz History: La Traviata, plus Sandra Bullock "Best" and "Worst" simultaneously

On this day, March 6th, in showbiz history...

1853 La Traviata, Verdi's popular opera premieres in Venice. Have you ever seen the 1982 film version by Franco Zeffirelli? My parents took us, if I recall correctly. I wasn't sure what was going on but I remember it being quite beautiful. Oscar voters thought so too nominating in 'the Moulin Rouge! categories' (Costume Design + Art Direction) 

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What did you think of WandaVision?

by Nathaniel R

DO NOT READ OR COMMENT IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED WANDAVISION - SPOILERS

Today we were treated to the final episode of Disney+'s hit WandaVision, returning us to the Marvel Cinematic Universe by way of streaming sidebar. Watching WandaVision was a like a meta experience on steroids. The show itself was intentionally constructed that way using Wanda Maximoff's (Elisabeth Olsen) love of TV sitcoms to comment, however broadly on them, but more pointedly on nostalgia and the human need for escapism...

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1983 Flashback: The Best International feature race

by Cláudio Alves

Have you ever seen a film so good it makes you happy to be alive? For me, Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander is one of those films. 

After I guested on the 2001 episode of The One-Inch Barrier, a podcast about the Best International Film category, the amazing Juan Carlos Ojano asked me to choose another year to do and I immediately knew I wanted to talk to him about 1983. Since last summer, I'm happy to say Juan Carlos and I have become friends, and there are few things I like to do more than sharing the movies I love with the people I love and there are few things I love more than Fanny & Alexander. I'd be even more joyful if you, lovely readers, could share in this lovefest for cinema. Join us as we travel back to the early 80s and talk about Bergman's legacy, World War II movies, the magic of dance on the big screen, and much more. Take a listen:

What do you think of this Oscar lineup? Are you as in love with Fanny & Alexander as I am or do you have another favorite from '83?

Interview: on "Welcome to Chechnya" and putting visual effects to humanitarian use.

by Nathaniel R

Director David France and Visual Effects Supervisor Ryan Laney on "Welcome to Chechnya"

If you haven't yet screened the documentary Welcome to Chechnya, a finalist for Best Documentary Feature, don't delay. The film details the journey of a group of incredibly brave LGBTQ activists in Russia, working to help people escape Russia and Chechnya where the government condones the abduction, torture, and murders of queer people, by denying that it's happening at all. The primary storyline involves "Grisha" (not his real name) a gay event planner who was abducted and tortured in Chechnya while working on a job there.

Due to the unique risks to the people involved and the need to protect their identities, Welcome to Chechnya opted to deploy innovative visual effects rather than the traditional "shot in shadow" or blurred faces you would usually see with anonymous voices in documentary. Now the film finds itself charting unfamiliar awards territory as a finalist for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, a category that's usually focused on sci-fi films, superheroes, and action blockbusters...

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Lunchtime Poll: Who would Bette & Larry vote for?

IT'S 10 DAYS UNTIL OSCAR NOMINATIONS. Academy voting on those nominations begins right now. For a bit of silly "lunchtime poll" fun, let's place ourselves in the shoes of 10* times nominated legends Bette Davis and Sir Laurence Olivier.

Both legendary performers liked to go BIG. Bette was a dangerous risk-taker and Sir Larry a big ol' THESPIAN ham. Pretend they're still alive and staring at their Oscar ballots. We know Sir Larry loved other hams (Mickey Rooney was his favourite) but what did Bette like in other actors? She was inarguably opinionated but her passions and turn-offs were hard to predict. We know that in the 1980s she preferred Debra Winger's work to Meryl Streep's (which makes a lot of sense if you consider that Debra's obstinant fire was much closer to Bette's persona than Streep's chameleon fluidity) but who would she have been into right now?   

Which movies and stars would they be voting for this year? Share your theories! 

* Bette has 10 official Best Actress nominations but we view it as 11 due to her write-ins for Of Human Bondage (1934). Olivier had 13 nominations but 3 of them were in non-acting categories.