Almost There: Björk in "Dancer in the Dark"

by Cláudio Alves

Premiering at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival, Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark became one of the most discussed films of 2000. At the end of the festivities, von Trier would walk away with the Palme D'Or while his leading lady, Icelandic music artist Björk, won the Best Actress prize. It's unusual for any Cannes competition title to win more than one award from the main jury, but sometimes it's impossible to deny a performance's magnificence. Such was the case in 2000. As the musical hit theaters critics worldwide began to chime in and the praise for Björk's achievement became more mountainous. Even some who objected to von Trier's experiment had words of adoration for its star.

It's fair to say that Björk's performance in Dancer in the Dark was one of the most acclaimed acting achievements of 2000. Nonetheless, when Oscar nomination morning arrived, she wasn't among the Best Actress nominees…

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Sophia Loren crowned again in Italy. And other Italian movie awards news.

by Nathaniel R

Sophia Loren just won her 7th Best Actress statue at home in Italy

Strangely we never saw any of the trades print a full list of Italy's David Di Donatello nominations this year, always just linking to the Italian site which does not have the list displayed in a way where you can copy and paste it easily. Alas. Hidden Away, a biopic of an obscure artist, led the nominations and came out the big winner too. Bad Tales was not far behind in the nomination count but won only one prize. Netflix's Italian original Rose Island had the third most nominations.

The awards were held a few days ago (oops) so it's past time to share the winners. Sophia Loren's Oscar hopes may not have panned out stateside but she won yet again in Italy for The Life Ahead. A few notes after the jump...

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My complicated feelings toward Frances McDormand's third win

please welcome new contributor Timothy Lyons

she likes to work

Frances McDormand’s performance in Nomadland was my favourite of the year. Full stop. Both the film itself and McDormand’s work as Fern blew me away with their deceptive simplicity quietly revealing hidden depths of feeling. Why oh why then did I feel such a crushing sense of disappointment when McDormand took her third Best Actress trophy at this year’s Oscars?

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3 days til Oscar. Who is the best three time winner?

Best Actress predictions change daily but where are we in regards to Frances McDormand's third Best Actress Oscars? Happening or not? I'm tentatively saying it will. That's where my brain is today at least. Frances would be only the seventh actor to manage three Oscars for acting in the 93 years of Academy history and become only the second woman to win three leading Oscars (after Katharine Hepburn).

The others who've won three acting statues:

Fargo (96), Three Billboards (17), Nomadland (20)

1. Walter Brennan -Come and Get It (36), Kentucky (38), The Westerner (40) - all in supporting
2. Ingrid Bergman -Gaslight (44), Anastasia (56), Murder on the Orient Express (74)
3. Katharine Hepburn - Morning Glory (34), Guess Who... (67), Lion in Winter (68), On Golden Pond (81) - all in leading 
4. Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (75), Terms of Endearment (83), As Good As It Gets (97)
5. Meryl Streep - Kramer vs Kramer (79), Sophie's Choice (82), The Iron Lady (11)
6. Daniel Day Lewis - My Left Foot (89), There Will Be Blood (07), Lincoln (12) - all in leading 

COMMENT PARTY QUESTION: Removing all other performances and movies from your brain (I know it's difficult) how would you rank these six packages of performances? 

COMMENT PARTY QUESTION 2: Are there any two-time winners not in the race this year that you could see winning a third?

93rd Academy Awards: The Women of Best Actress

By Abe Friedtanzer

When I requested to cover this category just one week after Oscar nominations were announced, I didn’t realize quite how competitive it was going to be, putting us in a scenario where anyone could win. Day won the Golden Globe, Mulligan scored with the Critics Choice Association, Davis won the SAG, and McDormand won the BAFTA! Fortunately, this is a truly fantastic slate, and as a result, I’m not going to rank them in any order of quality. Let’s dive into a remarkable list of some of this year’s best female performances…

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