Who should present Glenn Close the Oscar?

by Cláudio Alves

Glenn Close and Deborah Kerr at the 66th Academy Awards. | © AMPAS

By this point, everyone and their mother has heard about the Honorary Oscar recipients for 2026. It’s been decided by the Academy to bestow these honors on Ridley Scott, Glenn Close, and pioneering Black American animator Floyd Norman. Producers Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon will also receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, with nobody getting a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for the first time since 2020. Much will be written about these artists, here and elsewhere, with plenty of time still to go until the 17th annual Governors Awards are held on November 15. However, to start things off, why not dispel some of the seriousness that comes as a package deal with such honorifics and enjoy a bit of silly speculation. Specifically, who should present Glenn Close with her long-awaited Oscar? 

Back in 1994, at the 66th Academy Awards, then five-time nominee Glenn Close had the privilege to deliver six-time nominee Deborah Kerr with the trophy she had earned since her Powell & Pressburger days. In actressexual and Oscar obsessive circles, this momentous occasion is seen with some irony, as it almost feels as if one perpetual Oscar loser passed her legacy to the next generation. Or should we call it a curse? If that’s the case, should Close keep with tradition and doom another thespian to a life without a competitive Oscar win? If that’s the case, the choice of presenter is clear…

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Best Actress Volley: It's On!

Nick, Nathaniel, and Eric engage in a discussion about everybody's favorite Oscar category:  Best Actress. For the record this conversation started the day of the Globes nominations so watch things narrow down as we speak! 

 

Will a surprise SAG nomination rescue any underperformers?

ERIC:  Nick and Nathaniel, I'm really excited about this volley because the Best Actress category is as always stacked, this year featuring at least a dozen ladies who stand a fairly legitimate shot at a nomination at this point.  I thought it might be fun, before we get to the current leading contenders, to take a look at that back half of the possibilities to gauge your thoughts.  Of the actresses that seem slightly less likely to nab a nomination this year...Kate Winslet, Pamela Anderson, Amy Adams, Tilda Swinton, Saoirse Ronan...do you see the winds changing in the weeks to come where any of them could gather enough momentum to move to the front of the pack?

I'm considering Jolie, Madison, Gascon, Moore, Kidman, Erivo, Torres, and Jean-Baptiste more ahead at this point, but comment as you may.

NATHANIEL:  It does feel like quite a crowded, anything-could-happen* year. Take for example one from your column B: Saoirse Ronan and one from your column A: Angelina Jolie...

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Hello, Gorgeous: Best Actress of 2013

A series by Juan Carlos Ojano

Deception, isolation, and desperation are just some of the common threads that connect the characters of this year's Best Actress nominees and the narratives in which they are situated. The curious element of the lineup is that, aside from one (Gravity), all of the nominees are featured in films from the comedic genre, whether it be a crime comedy (American Hustle), a cynically humorous character study (Blue Jasmine), a heartwarming dramedy (Philomena), or an acerbic, tragicomic family portrait (August: Osage County). That must be a rarity in any acting category, right?

Are you ready? The year is 2013...

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Who's the Diane Warren of Every Category?

by Cláudio Alves

Another year, another Diane Warren campaign to finally get herself that Oscar. She's already got an Honorary Award, but the competitive prize eludes her. This year, the songwriter's best bets are Flamin' Hot and 80 for Brady, though Warren also penned an original tune for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. After she got a in for the virtually unreleased Tell It Like a Woman, anything's possible.

This got me thinking about the other people the Academy nominated constantly without ever giving them the win. Who's the Diane Warren in the categories beyond Best Original Song? Trying to answer that question, I dove deep into Oscar history, counting who's the most honored person who never won their respective race for gold. I focused on feature films and living artists, those who still have a chance to win or increase their record. Like Warren, some names are back in contention this season. From Picture to Documentary, here they are...

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Quickies to Catch Up (pt 2): Female led thrillers and CG beasts in battle

by Nathaniel R

In an attempt to clear our cache of notes and fill out that review page for 2021, we're addressing movies we didn't get around to discussing in full for your commenting pleasure. Better late than never! As we were typing these Luca emerged but it's so good it deserves one big post or several little ones before the Oscars so more on that soon. If you missed part one of this review catch-up, that's here. After the jump brief thoughts on four films: Godzilla vs Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, and The Woman in the Window...

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