Middleburg Sneak: "Stan & Ollie"s gentle charms

Stan & Ollie had its world premiere in London today and we caught a sneak peek at the Middleburg Festival...

by Nathaniel R

The original odd couple of screen comedy, Laurel & Hardy, had several familiar gestures that delighted audiences in the 1930s. Thin Brit Stan Laurel's main move was to scratch his head comically from the top, his hand like a curious clawed hat. Rotund American Oliver Hardy's sometimes did a fey little wave, hand tight against the body, the fingers doing all the wiggling work. Why these were funny to audiences at the time will possibly be a mystery to contemporary audiences.

Stan & Ollie, starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly, is a brisk well-paced movie about the legendary early-cinema comedy act in their waning days. It doesn't attempt to explain their appeal to us in 2018 but merely exists in the space between then and now...

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All Four Oscar Acting Charts Updated

Heads up. We've begun the mid October overhaul of the charts. All four acting charts are updated with the biggest shakeups coming to Best Actor with Christian Bale and Clint Eastwood suddenly both roaring buzz-wise. Please take a look and comment. BEST ACTOR (Christian Bale & Clint Eastwood on the rise) | BEST ACTRESS (Davis and Aparicio on the rise) | SUPPORTING ACTOR (Robert Forster and Sam Elliott on the rise) | SUPPORTING ACTRESS (with Colman gone it's anyone's game)

Thoughts? Do share. 

AND THIS JUST IN 10/15: Olivia Colman will be campaigning as lead for The Favourite with Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz officially "supporting" for the tragicomic triangular relationship. The charts have been updated to reflect the switch in presumed campaigns. Mostly this means Supporting Actress has no frontrunner... which is exciting. 

Review: A Star is (re) Born

This piece was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad. The movie was first screened at TIFF but he hopes to see it many times. 

Overnight success is a myth. Great artistic success in show business generally comes from working hard and learning the craft, often for years, so that you're ready should a big break ever come. 'Overnight'  is only just that moment when the world suddenly notices your long-standing gifts. A Star is Born as a franchise always synthesizes this myth and this truth for something like a fairy/cautionary tale; just as quickly as a star rises, a star can fall. Talent is never the question, but the starting point; whether the world notices and for how long, is out of your hands. The screenplay for the latest telling of A Star is Born, emphasizes this last point, as Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) urges Ally (Lady Gaga) to give it her all because the world might not always be listening. 

For those who've been living under a cultural rock the story of A Star is Born is ancient and simple: One already established successful showbiz man 'discovers' an absurdly gifted but basically unknown female performer and takes her under his wing. They fall in love but as her fame rises, his falls, plagued as he is by personal demons in liquid form. The story never has a happy ending so if you need a good cry, queue up...

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Yes No Maybe So: Christian Bale is "Vice"

by Nathaniel R

click to embiggenThe major Oscar hopeful that's played things closest to the vest this season is Vice. The trailer and poster (to your left) have both finally dropped today and other Oscar campaigns are probably shivering a bit. The film, from writer/director Adam McKay of The Big Short fame, is a comedy telling the true story of how Dick Cheney came to rule the world (albeit behind the curtain as the Vice President) and set the US on a sorry new course.

It's an all-star affair with Oscar winners Christian Bale (Dick Cheney) and Sam Rockwell (George W Bush), Oscar darling Amy Adams (Lynne Cheney), and Oscar nominee Steve Carell (Donald Rumsfeld) in political drag as figures we know and love hate. Alison Pill and Tyler Perry are also in the film (though they aren't featured in the trailer) as Mary Cheney and Colin Powell respectively.

After the jump the trailer and our Yes No Maybe So breakdown...

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Best Lead Actor - New Oscar Chart

by Nathaniel R

If current predictions hold we're looking at quite an exciting Best Actor shortlist: Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, Ryan Gosling, Ethan Hawke, and Viggo Mortensen. They've all been nominated multiple times for their acting but have yet to win. Since they're all hugely talented, it's basically a win-win scenario on Oscar night no matter who wins, really!  At least that's how it feels at this current moment looking at the grid.

Of course it's only September and things could definitely change. Things could definitely change in the name of Christian Bale as Vice Dick Cheney. Check out the revised chart with new photos, new ranking, new text. Thoughts?