Oscar Volley: Best Director could be 2012 all over again

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category before the nominations come out. Here's Eric Blume and Glenn Dunks to talk Best Director...

ERIC:  Hi Glenn, excited to dive into this year's crop of Best Directors with you.  To me, the big question is whether all three of the "big gun pictures" will carry their directors to nominations.  That's Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon; Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer; and Greta Gerwig for Barbie.  I personally can't get too excited about Nolan or Scorsese, even though they both do expert work but nothing that rattled my cage.  I think one of Gerwig's biggest achievements directing that film...and this is no easy feat...was dealing with what must have been BINDERS of notes from Mattell and Warner Bros and still delivering the film she set out to make...

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BAFTA makes a split-decision on "Barbenheimer"

by Nathaniel R

Sandra Hüller scored double nominations with BAFTA. Can she repeat that trick at the Oscars?

While "Barbenheimer" has largely led the American precursor system's many many many many many awards bodies / nomination tallies, the British felt differently. They'll take only the latter half of that summertime phenom; Oppenheimer nabbed 13 nods but Barbie only received 5. The runner up to Oppenheimer's British dominance was Poor Things with 11 citations (though none of those went to either of its two supporting actors who've had a curious precursor season despite being in such a popular film.) Killers of the Flower Moon and Anatomy of a Fall and Germany's Sandra Hüller (double-nominated) were also very popular with BAFTA voters. 

All the nominations and commentary are after the jump...

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Oscar Volley: Will there be any surprises in Best Cinematography?

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category before the nominations are announced. Here's Eric Blume and Lynn Lee to talk Best Cinematography...

ERIC:  We have the pleasure of discussing the insanely talented cinematography candidates this year.  It seems like this year's two big awards players, Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon, will certainly make the slate here...so, can I say, why I am not particularly excited about the work of either Hoyte van Hoytema and Rodrigo Prieto for these two films?  Don't get me wrong, both are beautifully lensed films and these men are brilliantly talented, but their work seemed more standard than inspired. 

Neither world, neither Oppenheimer's labs and offices nor Moon's flat plains, are the most visually exciting terrains, and while both men work with their respective directors to build a few lovely frames, I was definitely more knocked out by the imagery in some other films this year...

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Drag Race RuCap: "Queen Choice Awards"

Bukkake, but make it BARBIEcore.

NICK: There’s nothing like a timely, provocative recap published several days after the episode aired, amirite? The second half of season 16’s split premiere has come and gone, providing us with another talent show and, most importantly, another chance to see Derrick Berry. I wouldn’t say this batch of bitches is categorically stronger than the first group, but they’re all distinct drag artists who I cannot wait to see interact with the other queens. Two contestants stand out from the pack as ones to watch, albeit for very different reasons, but before we get into all that, how did you feel about this episode, Cláudio?

CLÁUDIO: First of all, thank you for not making any hollow promises of succinctness on our part. We love to see such self-awareness, personal growth… 

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FYC: Julianne Moore in "May December" for Best Supporting Actress

by Nick Taylor

I don't think Julianne Moore has enough awards

Another year, another Todd Haynes film in grave danger of being overlooked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I don’t love May December as deeply as some of y’all, but its complete omission from SAG was a gigantic bummer. With Oscar voting underway, I’ve decided to do what I do best: write about actresses for a moderate and appreciative corner of queers on the internet. I’m bringing back my Supporting Actress write-ups as an For Your Consideration pulpit, starting with my absolute favorite of the performances currently contending for a nomination: Julianne Moore’s black hole of pathetic neediness and weaponized ignorance in May December.

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