Emmy FYC: Marielle Heller in "The Queen's Gambit"

by Cláudio Alves

As we all found out this past October Marielle Heller is a woman of many, perchance infinite, talents. Since 2015, Heller has been dazzling cinephiles everywhere with her work as a writer/director. The Diary of a Teenage Girl was one of the best American debuts of the decade. If possible, Can You Ever Forgive Me? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood were even better, analyzing complicated real-life personalities with as much humanistic gentility as razor-sharp precision. All that, and we now know that Heller is also an amazing actress. Returning to her first vocation in splendorous fashion, Marielle Heller delivers the best performance in the popular Netflix awards juggernaut The Queen's Gambit…

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Which of these '96 babies will be Oscar-nominated first? (or again)

by Nathaniel R

Since it's 25 days till Oscar, we thought we'd talk about Hollywood's brightests stars hitting their quarter century mark in 2021. The year 1996 has been a surprising "early bird" year with the Academy since not many 1990s vintages have produced Oscar nominees yet. People born in 1996 are turning 25 this year but already this vintage has somehow produced FIVE Oscar nominees: Maria Bakalova (nominated this year for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea), Florence Pugh (Little Women), and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit). Do you think any of them will snag nomination #2 soon?

After the jump we've chosen the six actors "most likely to" follow them to Oscar glory. That said we know that Hollywood is always on the lookout for fresh faces and the next Oscar nominee born in 1996 could well be some unknown who hasn't even landed their first role yet. Who would you bank on from this list or the "alternates"? And what kind of a situation or role do you think it will take? 

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Link Bonanza

• The Guardian interviews Anya Taylor-Joy on her passion for acting, Emma, and The Queens Gambit
• AV Club Oscar Isaac to play Solid Snake in the film adaptation of video game Metal Gear Solid
• Atlantic a wonderful interview with David Fincher about grievances with Hollywood, the death of midbudget movies, and Mank

After the jump our streaming future, Catherine O'Hara, rising Egyptian cinema, MTV Movie Awards, new Christmas albums, and more...

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Nathaniel Gives Thanks, 2020

by Nathaniel R

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, READERS! It occured to me the other day that for as crappy as pandemic shut-in 2020 has been, we should be grateful for it... at least here in the US. Without the pandemic, despite a quarter million lives lost, we would surely have been stuck with the worst and most corrupt government in our history and the end of Democracy as fascists cemented their rule. It's not that the threat is gone exactly. Due to numerous ills embedded in American society, we could still see Democracy vanquished. But we have bought ourselves at least a couple of years reprieve (more if we're lucky and continue getting out the vote). So, I never thought I'd say this but "thank you, COVID" (?)

On a lighter and more movie-site note here are 15 showbiz things that I was personally grateful for this past year...

 • The opportunity to moderate a Beanpole discussion at Film Forum (before movie theaters closed *cries*) for the absurdly talented 28 year-old Russian director Kantemir Balagov. The movie wasn't nominated at the Oscars but at least it made the international finals!

• The sound design of Sound of Metal for putting us inside Riz Ahmed's head. It's the closest we've ever been to his perfect face and we're grateful...

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Lynn Gives Thanks, 2020

Team Experience is giving thanks. Here's Lynn Lee...

Between the scourge of COVID-19 and the utterly dysfunctional American response, 2020 is looking more and more like a lost year for public health, good governance, and the arts and entertainment industry in this country.  Still, as tantalizing hopes of a return to normalcy glimmer on the horizon (three potential vaccines! A responsible, expertise-driven presidential administration!), Thanksgiving provides a much-needed reminder to appreciate the things that helped get us through the past several months.  Here are some of the movie and TV-related moments and discoveries that brought me joy this year:

• Parasite making history as the first Korean movie to win the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Foreign Film.

• The huge, unblinking gimlet eyes of Anya Taylor-Joy (which bring to mind a cross between Emma Stone and Alita): sometimes challenging, sometimes disquieting, always riveting.

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