Daniel Gives Thanks, 2020

Somehow it’s November! Any retrospective look back at 2020 is surreal, particularly given that this feels like the 9th month of March and we're speeding into another lockdown here in New York City. But I suppose the year really is almost over! So here are some of the movie and TV-related things I’m thankful for this year.

• The opera-obsessed hotel clerk in The Whistlers

• Taco Chronicles on Netflix, which is addictive and charming, and which has turned me into a Lady Tacos de Canasta superfan

• This couch in Shirley:

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Meryl Streep and Renée Zellweger are up for Grammys...

We don't really cover the Grammys here at TFE as it's rather beyond our wheelhouse but to give you a general sense of that awards landscape, Taylor Swift ("Folklore"), and Dua Lipa ("Future Nostalgia") dominated and Beyoncé, too, despite the lack of a new album. Everyone's fav obsession at the moment, BTS, disappointingly scored only one nomination for Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Dynamite". Insane that that wasn't up for Record of the Year.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

• Black Pumas -Deluxe Edition (Black Pumas)
• Chilombo (Jhené Aiko)
• Djesse Vol 3 (Jacob Collier)
• Everyday Life (Coldplay)
• Folklore (Taylor Swift)
• Future Nostalgia (Dua Lipa)
• Hollywood's Bleeding (Post Malone)
• Women in Music Pt III (Haim)

But as we do we focus on categories that fall more under our umbrella here. So after the jump the categories for visual media as well as actors and composers who work primarily in film and television who are up for Grammys this year...

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"The Mauritanian" for the Oscar Race?

by Eric Blume

Yesterday, Variety leaked word that STX will provide a late-entry film into the Oscar race.  The Mauritanian, which was formerly titled Prisoner 760 (going from one bad title to another), is The Last King of Scotland director Kevin Macdonald's latest film.  It stars A Prophet's leading man Tahir Rahim as a tortured captive in Guatanamo Bay and Jodie Foster as his lawyer. Variety critic Clayton Davis claims that Rahim and Foster deliver electrifying performances, and that they could find themselves in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress races, respectively.

Macdonald has had a bit of an erratic career since he directed Forest Whittaker to an Oscar back in 2006.  His last film, the documentary Whitney, profiled the singer with limited depth but curiosity and sympathy.  It'll be good to see him return to the arena of global politics, which seems to be his strength...

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Lynn Gives Thanks, 2020

Team Experience is giving thanks. Here's Lynn Lee...

Between the scourge of COVID-19 and the utterly dysfunctional American response, 2020 is looking more and more like a lost year for public health, good governance, and the arts and entertainment industry in this country.  Still, as tantalizing hopes of a return to normalcy glimmer on the horizon (three potential vaccines! A responsible, expertise-driven presidential administration!), Thanksgiving provides a much-needed reminder to appreciate the things that helped get us through the past several months.  Here are some of the movie and TV-related moments and discoveries that brought me joy this year:

• Parasite making history as the first Korean movie to win the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Foreign Film.

• The huge, unblinking gimlet eyes of Anya Taylor-Joy (which bring to mind a cross between Emma Stone and Alita): sometimes challenging, sometimes disquieting, always riveting.

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Italy chooses "Notturno" (Plus Italy's robust Oscar history)

by Nathaniel R

Italy has chosen Gianfranco Rosi's highly acclaimed documentary Notturno (which we reviewed at the AFI fest) to represent them at the Oscars from 25 Italian films that were submitted for consideration. Italy previously submitted his 2016 documentary Fire at Sea (which was not nominated for International Film but did score in Documentary Feature). Perhaps emboldened by Honeyland's double nomination last season for Best Documentary and Best International Film, more countries than usual have submitted documentaries this year hoping to repeat that historic double. That said, only three docs have ever been nominated in this particular category: Waltz with Bashir, The Missing Picture, and Honeyland.

As we've seen in past Oscar seasons, Italy skipping over The Life Ahead for their submission entry is not at all a deterrent for Sophia Loren's Best Actress campaign. Movie stars and world famous directors operate by different rules, if you know what we mean...

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