Beauty Break: The Celebrity Portraiture of Phil Stern

by Nathaniel R

Happy Phil Stern Centennial! "who?" you say? Phil Stern, you philistines! He's one of the great Hollywood photographers. He lived a very long life, dying just 5 years ago at 95 years young but his work was largely before our time. We grew up with Herb Ritts and Annie Liebovitz as the biggest names in celebrity photoshoots but as long as Movie Stars have existed there have been artists behind the camera helping to mythologize them. Stern was one of those idolmakers taking several amazing photos of James Dean, Charlton Heston, Liz Taylor and many other important celebrities from the 20th century. Though celebrity portraits and candids weren't his only claim to fame having also been a war photographer. 

After the jump 14 other images from Stern's vast portfolio that we adore...

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The Seberg in "Seberg"

by Mark Brinkherhoff

Jean Seberg at only 17 years of age at a screen test for her film debutKristen Stewart as Jean Seberg in SEBERG (2019)

Jean Seberg is a largely under-seen screen star among contemporary moviegoers and even cinéastes. I myself was unfamiliar with her work, save maybe Airport (1970), until a couple of years ago when Katrina Longworth, of the absolutely essential podcast, You Must Remember This, embarked on a nine-part journey that chronicled the parallel rise and, in terms of public favor, fall of Jane Fonda and Jean Seberg, circa the late 1950s into the ‘70s. 

That Jane Fonda of all people purportedly envied Seberg, a friend and fellow American expat in ’60s France, for her edgy, avant-garde segues into French New Wave cinema is itself intriguing. But it’s the eclectic filmography of the beleaguered, ill-fated Seberg, who died tragically (at only 40) in the summer of 1979, that actually warrants our collective fascination, examination and ultimately admiration. So, on the heels of the Venice Film Festival premiere of Benedict Andrews’ Seberg, starring a similarly dismissed, then eventually respected actress, Kristen Stewart, let’s stroll through a handful of Seberg’s more seminal works, all (miraculously) available now on various streaming platforms...

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Va Va Voom in Venice

by Nathaniel R

Timothée Chalamet talking to well-wishers in Venice

Scarlett Johansson at the premiere of "Marriage Story"

Sadly Team Experience is not a big enough team to be everywhere at once and we rarely have someone in Venice. But we can ogle the stars collectively with the rest of the world as they werq the red carpets to make those premieres work for their movies (or their own celebrity if they aren't actually pushing a film).

Any favourite looks? The photos are after the jump...

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European Film Awards - Voting Now Open

by Nathaniel R

The Favourite may have lost most of its Oscar nominations but it can still win some EFAs!

The 32nd annual European Film Awards are happening this December 7th in Berlin. Voting for the People's Choice prize is now open. And -- "gay rights!"-- The Favourite still probably has another award ceremony to get through. Due to the EFA's non-calendar year eligibility as well as the complications of release patterns in multiple countries and the EFA's non-fussiness about dates you'll find that the people's choice options are a very strange mix this year from THREE calendar years worth of movies (2017-2019). 

After the jump, that odd group as well as two longlists (to give you festival prioritizing help) before the nominations are announced in early November...

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Julie fêted in Venice

by Nathaniel R

She's practically perfect in every way. And to her Oscar, BAFTA, two Emmys, two Grammys, and three Golden Globes, you can now add the career Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival. It's not her first lifetime achievement style prize of course. The 83 year-old living legend started receiving lifetime style prizes about 18 years ago, kicked off by the double whammy of The Kennedy Center Honors and the San Sebastian Film Festival. Since then it's been pretty regular fêting but whose complaining? Not us! 

What's your favourite Julie Andrews performance outside of the big Oscar three (Victoria Grant, Mary Poppins, and Maria Von Trapp)?