I'm having trouble leaving 1938 behind. You?

Have you listened to the 1938 Smackdown yet? Such a lively conversation about very memorable movies, for better and worse. We've embedded it again below but some of my personal favourite bits are Steven Weber's Jimmy Stewart impression, Joanna Robinson's reaction to the "twist" in Of Human Hearts, GLOW's Britney Young talking about having a very expressive face and directors asking you to tone it down, and Claudio's deep hatred of opera voices of the 1930s via The Great Waltz. 

AS A SPECIAL BONUS TREAT
I was the guest star on "And the Runner Up" Podcast this week discussing 1938 as well though our focus on that podcast was the Best Picture battle between Boys Town and You Can't Take It With You. You can listen to that here. Kevin is such a great guy and will be one of our panelists for the 1965 Smackdown in October.

1938 Articles

• The Smackdown
• Getting to Know the Five Nominees
• Best Costume Design - a Discussion
• Best Picture - a Ranking
• Adventures of Robin Hood - Production Design
• Bringing Up Baby
• Doris Nolan, Holiday
• Jean Gabin, French Superstar
• Judy Garland, Love Finds Andy Hardy
• Mary Astor, Listen Up Darling
• Myrna Loy in Test Pilot
• Norma Shearer, First Lady of MGM

We intended to do even more 1938 celebrations -- I can't stop watching movies from this year! -- but we'll have to move on to 1965 (not to mention 2020 as the film year is finally revving up). The clock keeps turning!

1938 SMACKDOWN

YNMS: The Glorias

From guest contributor Matt St Clair...

Oscar Winner Julianne Moore stars in the latest entry of what’s suddenly become the Gloria Cinematic Universe. Mrs America starring Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem is still fresh in the memory (and competing at the Emmys on Sunday). And after playing the titular heroine in Gloria Bell, Moore now plays the iconic Gloria Steinem in the upcoming biopic The Glorias, which once again has Moore playing a Gloria in glasses, and has a “glorious” new trailer. Let’s give this preview the Yes No Maybe So treatment and see whether you think it’s bound for “glory.” (Sorry)

The official IMDB synopsis:

The story of feminist icon Gloria Steinem's itinerant childhood's influence on her life as a writer, activist and organizer for women's rights worldwide.”

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The Handmaid's Tale in the time of COVID-19

by Juan Carlos Ojano

Perfect gloomy day to film red coats #handmaidstale @WhatsFilmingON pic.twitter.com/6GMfXxDCz5

— michelle dimech (@elladime) September 9, 2020

 Blessed be the fruit.

The hit Hulu series The Handmaid’s Tale resumed production last week, becoming one of the earliest major productions to return to filming in Canada after filming was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During an interview for TV Line, Emmy winner Bradley Whitford said that the production underwent two weeks of “hardcore quarantine” before they could even pick up where they left off last march.

Emmy history, Season 3 recap, and personal resonances follow after the jump...

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Showbiz History: Addams Family, Husbands and Wives, James Marsden

9 random things that happened on this day, September 18th, in showbiz history...

1951 The film adaptation of the Broadway smash A Streetcar Named Desire opens in movie theaters, with all but one of its principal cast intact... the leading role which went to Viven Leigh instead of stage star Jessica Tandy. Leigh would soon win her second Oscar for it. 

1964 Goldfinger (one of the very best Bond movies) opens in movie theaters in the UK (though it wouldn't make it to US screens until Christmas time)...

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Doc Corner: 'In My Blood It Runs'

By Glenn Dunks

It can be so good to see a filmmaker take a significant leap in their talents. Such a thrilling moment to realize that a director isn’t just capable of making good films, but great ones. I must say, I didn’t expect a film like In My Blood It Runs from Maya Newell. The Japanese-Australian filmmaker had previously made the cutely affecting Gayby Baby about the children of same-sex parents (Newell herself is a ‘gayby baby’), but nothing there would suggest a film of such cultural specificity as this.

It’s the sort of film that makes me so glad I watch Australian cinema more regularly than most (including my fellow nationals). I feel like I can easily say it’s one of the best documentaries this country has produced in recent years. A work of emphatic poignancy that speaks so much to this country’s institutionalized racism and its assimilationist ideals to the societal and cultural issues facing Australia’s indigenous populations.

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