Facing mortality with "Toy Story 3"

by Cláudio Alves

Have you ever thought to yourself "my time has come to an end, I'm going to die"? I have, in at least three instances.

The first was in 2011, in Tokyo when the Tōhoku earthquake happened, making me stare in horror as skyscrapers swiveled around me, looking like they could fall at any moment. The second time was considerably less spectacular, caused by gallbladder stones and some incredible bouts of bad luck. From the most searing pain I've ever felt to internal bleeding after surgery, it all seemed like it was going to end. Thankfully, it didn't. The third moment where I contemplated my death in a very immediate way is, weirdly enough, the one that still scares me the most. It was late at night, I was eating something and a piece of food got stuck in my throat. I couldn't breathe, I was alone and started to lose consciousness from lack of oxygen, gasping for air while the world around me was going dark. I lived, but I'll always remember the feeling of thinking I was going to die, the fear, and the resigned acceptance of it.

Anyway, let's talk about Toy Story 3 on its 10th anniversary…

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Major Emmy Rule Changes

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

It’s been a big week for awards announcements. First the Oscars were postponed to April with an expanded eligibility window, and now the Emmys are making sweeping modifications that will affect every single category.

The deadline for contenders in all categories was June 5th, and while we won’t see ballots until July 2nd, it’s clear that the number of submissions are way up from last year by 15%. What that means is that both Best Drama Series and Best Comedy Series will have eight nominees (up from seven) and all of the series acting categories will be based on the number of contenders on the ballot. It’s a lot to process, but we’ll do our best…

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"And then some!"

Goddess, how fun was that 2002 Smackdown / Podcast? I couldn't even pick a favourite part but some moments of perfection: Joel Kim Booster's anecdote about Family Video, Jazz Tangcay's "peak" Streep obsession, Ben Yahr's nomination strategies, Emily VanDerWerff's tale of weepy double features, and Matt Rogers imitating Nicolas Cage's agent.

If you didn't get a chance to listen to it yet, it's right here at the bottom of the post (again) or at itunes.

64 minutes
00:01 Introductions
03:00 Alexander Payne's About Schmidt and comedy performances as Oscar nominees. Was Kathy Bates the best choice that year?
10:11 Meryl Streep in Adaptation and Nicolas Cage's outre career moves
20:45 Joel's job at Family Video
22:00 Adaptation's Being John Malkovich's moments + Cameron Diaz
25:00 A tribute to Toni Collette, The Hours discussion
35:00 Nomination strategies
36:30 Moulin Rouge! vs Chicago 
37:40 Catherine Zeta-Jones on f***ing fire as Velma Kelly and careers nosediving after Oscar
45:29 Queen Latifah: star or actress? Cameron Diaz and Michelle Pfeiffer had buzz but didn't get nominated
52:00 Chicago has aged really well.
54:00 Recasting the actresses. Our traditional Smackdown game.
59:00 Goodbyes and final 2002 shout-outs: Crossroads, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Signs, About a Boy and more...

Smackdown 2002

Hara by Ozu

by Cláudio Alves

100 years ago in 1920, Setsuko Hara was born in the city of Yokohama, Japan. Thanks to the powers of nepotism and the influence of her brother-in-law, she got a job at the Nikkatsu Studios at the age of 15. In the next few years, she rose to prominence. By the 1940s, Hara became somewhat of a symbol of new Japanese womanhood. Curiously enough, that's not how she's best remembered today, in part thanks to her most famous directors being ones that cast her in roles typifying the conservative values of a traditional Japan. Despite multiple collaborations with such legendary filmmakers as the master of melodrama Mikio Naruse and Japan's superstar director Akira Kurosawa, it's her work in the films of Yasujiro Ozu that now most define her legacy… 

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Links: Spike Lee, Denise Cronenberg, Amanda Seyfried, etc...

Must Read
The Guardian has a really fun Spike Lee interview in which he answers questions from famous actors and directors. Spike always brings joy and we couldn't be more pleased about the career resurgence. People, I personally saw Girl 6 and Bamboozled and Chi-Raq in movie theaters. They all flopped but my ticket $ was in there! So naturally it's been thrilling to watch this recent return to prominence / audience goodwill. Though I admit I was surprised when raves started pouring in for Da 5 Bloods since his last (and only other) war picture (Miracle at St Anna) did not go over well at all.

More links after the jump including a tragic Cronenberg loss, a Bollywood suicide, Dick Tracy budget overrages, Little Women in Japan, and more...

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