1999 with Nick: Best Cinematography Falls on "Cedars"

This week, in advance of the Oscars, Nick Davis is looking back at the Academy races of 20 years ago, spotlighting movies he’d never seen and what they teach us about those categories, then and now...

Spotlight Movie: Snow Falling on Cedars

Today's case study from the 72nd Academy Awards is a less auspicious instance than yesterday's of a movie sneaking onto Oscar's ballot with just one nomination. I'd also call it an example of good filmmaking that, in context, arguably constitutes bad filmmaking, or at least disappointing and misguided filmmaking. Cinematographer Robert Richardson is not the exclusive or even the primary defendant in the case I’m going to make. He was probably executing to the best of his ability the mandates of a director and a producing team intent on the picturesque. Still, I’m not sure we needed to reward him for following such dubious orders. And now, as so often in this movie, we flash back...

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5 Days till Oscar

For a bit of 'number of the day' silliness, let's talk about the #5 in relation to Oscar. Obviously the best correlation is that the traditional Oscar category is 5 nominees wide and has been for most of Oscar's history once they settled into their routines with various exceptions of categories which resisted being that large for reasons both understandable and nonsensical. Best Makeup FINALLY became a five wide category this very season (long overdue). Of this year's five-wide categories only one is made up entirely of first time nominees: Best Animated Short!  Other five related nonsense after the jump...

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Familiar Faces: Bong Joon Ho Edition

by Nathaniel R 

South Korean auteur Bong Joon Ho has justly received a lot of attention for the brilliant Parasite. But the instant classic wouldn't have caught the fascination of audiences worldwide and the Academy here in the US without that finely honed ensemble navigating its tricky tone and endless talking points. So let's talk Bong Joon Ho's great taste in actors. Were you wondering where you'd seen some of these expressive faces before? Possibly in other films by Bong Joon Ho! Like most of the best auteurs, he likes to reuse actors as if he's running a theater troupe whilst building a great filmography. 

Herewith the 18 actors he's used the most often in his 7 films to date and where else you might have seen them if you're curious...

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The Curious Case of the Double Nominee

by Cláudio Alves

To get an Oscar nomination is a wonderful stroke of luck, to get two is even luckier. To get two in the same year is the equivalent of finding a four-leaf clover in a sprawling field. If you're an actor this is particularly true since the Academy's rules make it impossible for the same performer to get two nominations in the same category simultaneously. That's why, for instance, Margot Robbie could only score a single nomination this season. Both her contending performances were supporting roles so, even if she won enough votes for a double nomination -- which she might have if BAFTA is indication -- the performance with fewer votes would have been locked out. 

For Scarlett Johansson that wasn't a problem. Lead or Marriage Story and Supporting for Jojo Rabbit. She thus became the 12th actor to achieve this rare honor, the 9th woman, and if she wins either award, she'll be the 8th performer to do so. Statistically speaking, there's around 64% probability of victory for a double nominated actor. Let's celebrate the 12 double-nominated actors in the history of the Academy Awards after the jump…

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Interview: Rodrigo Prieto on working with great auteurs and "The Irishman"

Rodrigo Prieto has long been one of the most versatile cinematographers in the world. He first came to international fame with the gritty Oscar nominated Mexican drama Amores Perros (2000) though filmmakers in Hollywood, we learned in our interview, had noticed his skill even earlier than that. Since then he's worked all over the world and in an impressive array of genres and styles.

We gave you a teaser of our long sit down with this great visual stylist a couple of months ago (we had to grill him about Brokeback Mountain first) but we were meeting to discuss The Irishman. Martin Scorsese's latest Best Picture nominee had yet to open when we spoke but it was a critical darling immediately and Prieto secured his third Oscar nomination for his contributions to the mournful epic. We spoke to him about his visual choices, what he loves about his job, and working with auteurs like Martin Scorsese and Ang Lee. How do they differ on set and which of Prieto's films had they seen to convince them to begin their long collaborations?

[This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity]

NATHANIEL: Your first several movies were in Mexico. It was Amores Perros (2000), wasn’t it, when Hollywood came calling? Could you feel your career exploding? 

RODRIGO PRIETO: It was actually a little bit before. My fourth movie All of Them Witches got international recognition. That's what got me my agents. I did another movie called  Un embrujo (1998)  that Carlos Carrera directed that got an award in San Sebastian  for cinematography. It put me on the “10 to watch list” in Variety. That's the one that made me think, you know, people might have started hearing my name a little bit...

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