TIFF 51: “The Debut” Explodes off the screen and into the Oscar race!

by Eurocheese

In Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut, heltered housewife Mona Friedman (Julianne Moore) is the only person who applies for a small role in her local community theater musical other than perennial starlet Serena Cherry (a lovely cameo from Bernadette Peters). When the diva drops out for a better part in Annie Get Your Gun, the grouchy director, Jerry (Paul Giamatti), is forced to cast Mona, much to his chagrin. The film’s trailer suggests a straightforward premise, and the audience assumes we know where it is headed. When Jerry decides to push Mona to test her limits to draw a better performance out of her, though, he breaks something in her. And then, the film is off to the races...

Click to read more ...

Beauty Break: Tony Awards Best Dressed

by Nathaniel R

BERNADETTE PETERS, LESLIE ODOM JR, JEREMY POPE

The following stars are presented In no particular order, just the looks we loved the most on Tony night. Turtlenecks are definitely back for men as is lots of color (which has been decades in coming and for which we could not be more grateful) and as with the Emmys, basic black for women is gaining renewed force. 

Fashion is of course highly subjective and what looks great on one person could well look hideous on other but that's why it's fun to gawk at and think about. Which were your favourite looks from the big night?

Click to read more ...

Category Analysis: Will sketch comedy prevail in Outstanding Guest Actress?

Team Experience will be taking a regular look at the episode submissions for major Emmy categories from now until the big night. 

Former "Saturday Night Live" cast members Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig face off against each other in Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

by Christopher James

Sketch comedy thrives in the guest acting categories. While Saturday Night Live hosts have long been a staple of this category, HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show has recently had success here, too. Those two shows take up four of the six guest acting slots in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category. The other two nominees are a famous actress in an underappreciated show (Bernadette Peters - Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) and an underappreciated actress in an Emmy favorite (Jane Adams - Hacks).

In short, there are many ways the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category could go this year. With the Emmys, it’s always best to expect the unexpected. So who is most likely to win? Let’s dig into the nominees and their episode submissions...

Click to read more ...

Tweetweek in the Park with George

We haven't done a tweet round up in so long! So here you go. Some showbiz-related tweets this month that amused us or made us think or were just too special in some way not to share. 

Damn I hope Kevin Bacon doesn't get Covid. That contact tracing would be insane..

— Stevie- the F and U are silent . (@StevieOakley) October 11, 2020

this is such a serve pic.twitter.com/pLWVl8dDTy

— Dan (@kingdeficit) October 14, 2020

Click to read more ...

Vintage '81

We're having a little 1981 party for the first week of May so let's give the year some overall context before the Supporting Actress Smackdown hits on the weekend of May 8th. 

The year's two biggest blockbusters competed for Best Picture

Great Big Box Office Hits:
Raiders of the Lost Ark was the year's true behemoth, grossing twice as much as its nearest rival On Golden Pond. The Best Picture winner Chariots of Fire was a sleeper hit and that year's James Bond picture  For Your Eyes Only was also hugely popular (though that's no surprise with 007). But otherwise audiences were mostly drawn to comedies in 1981: Arthur (with Dudley Moore), Stripes (with Bill Murray) The Four Seasons (with Carol Burnett) and Cannonball Run (with Burt Reynolds) were all the rage.

Oscar favourites / theories and other cultural touchstones of 1981 after the jump...

Click to read more ...