Beauty Break: Born on Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS. Listen, we can't do an "on this day in showbiz history" post for Christmas because approximately a trillion movies have opened on Christmas day over the years. It's traditionally the biggest moviegoing day of any year... or at least it was before COVID made movie theaters unavailable or scary. But what we can do is celebrate movie and tv stars who were gifts to their parents on Christmas day because there aren't too many of them. We were only going to highlight 5 legends but we ended up including 20 showbiz people because we are insane. Please enjoy the pretty people after the jump...

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Review: Sylvie's Love

by Matt St Clair

We're happily beginning to see a broader variety of black-centered period dramas. Although Sylvie’s Love does touch upon the racism of the 1950s, it's more concerned with showcasing romance than trauma. This light holiday viewing serves up an old-fashioned “one that got away” story that thrives on the simplicity of the romance genre. 

During the first act of Sylvie’s Love, the song “Fools Falls in Love” by The Drifters sets the tone for the entire picture. A song about the problem with falling in love too fast perfectly captures the conflict that Sylvie (Tessa Thompson), an aspiring TV producer, and saxophonist Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha) face after an encounter at a record store owned by Sylvie's father where she works...

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Oscar Chart Updates: Costume Design

by Nathaniel R

The costume design branch loves Michael O'Connor's film work. Could Ammonite bring him his fourth nomination?

Let us know ask our crystal ball about the robust possibilities in the Costume Design race at the Oscar. This contest don't feel quite as wide open as Best Supporting Actor or as Best-Picture-related-simple as Adapted Screenplay or as 'what the hell will they choose?' unusual as Visual Effects and Makeup. But it does present several interesting options for a nominated quintet.

Oscar's three favourite living costume designers (Atwood, Canonero, Powell) aren't around this year -- well, Sandy Powell is but does anyone think the Academy will watch The Glorias? -- so where will the Academy's costume branch look?

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Year in Review: The 20 Greatest Stocking Stuffers of 2020

Our year in review lists begin!  We'll try to bring you one each day for the next couple of weeks. We polled the team for this one and haphazardly tallied the results. At least two members had to vote for them or they had to score really high on one person's list. It's so not scientific but it was fun to think about: Which movie or television prop did you most covet this year? Here are the items Team Experience craved.

Just imagine pulling any of these things out of your stocking this holiday...

20 A BOTTLE OF SECONAL from Mank
If the pandemic has reeked havoc on your sleeping schedule, and what timetable hasn't it disrupted this year, you can take back control with one of these babies if someone is kind of enough to throw it in your stocking. No wrapping necessary. Maybe don't down a whole travelling case full of them like a boozy screenwriter, though.  - Nathaniel

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Showbiz History: Bob Hope, Ava Gardner, and Herbie the Love Bug

7 random things that happened on this day, December 24th, in showbiz history

1936 The Jungle Princess starring Dorothy Lamour and Ray Milland opens in movie theaters. How about that tagline?

"You savage, untamed she-devil -- I adore you!"

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