First Images: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"

by Nathaniel R

Look, it's the first images from Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, based on the August Wilson play of the same name. It's part of his Pittsburgh Cycle of 10 plays documenting the African American experience (with each of the ten plays set in different decades). Denzel Washington is planning to produce all 10 (2 down, 8 to go... how many more will Viola get to star in?). Ma Rainey's... is set in the 1920s and stars Viola Davis as the singer Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman as her trumpeter Levee (the two 'star' roles in the show) and involves a very heated recording session and fights therein. The costumes you see here are by the indefatigable four-time Oscar nominee Ann Roth, who is still doing great work regularly at 88 years of age...

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Emmy Review: Contemporary Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

The Creative Arts Emmys are upon us but, before their double ceremony, there's still time to look at the last Costume category for narrative programs. This particular awards race is focused on contemporary-set narratives, a sort of design challenge seldomly celebrated by other organizations like the Oscars. Due to some new rules, this lineup of seven contenders is also the biggest one in any costume category throughout Emmy history. Let's see who wins out of this supersized selection…

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Costume Design in 1938. A Discussion with Nathaniel and Cláudio

by Nathaniel R and Cláudio Alves

Holiday, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Great Waltz

For the first time ever as a Smackdown supplement -- the 1938 event arrives tomorrow night -- we're giving you two entire additional categories: we discussed Best Picture and now we bring you Best Costume Design. 'But wait,' the Oscar experts amongst you instantly protest. 'Best Costume Design didn't exist yet in 1938. The category wasn't created until 1948!.' This is true so Cláudio and I, who are both obsessed with this particular craft, thought we'd just create it early. Which films should have been nominated for this prize back in 1938 since the category should have existed from the very first ceremony. (You can't make movies without costumes. At least not ones that hope to find MPAA favor or, in '38, approval from the Hayes Code.)

At the end of this discussion we'll each present our two ballots for "should haves" and "would haves" to reflect our own preferences and how we think The Academy might have voted...

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Emmy Review: Period Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

In the past three seasons, The Crown and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel have won the Best Period Costumes Emmy. This year, they are again competing for the prize. If history repeats itself, Netflix's royalty porn will triumph over Maisel's midcentury stylings, but we never know. After all, two new contenders are joining the race in the form of two Emmy-loved limited series Hollywood and Mrs. America. Pose  is also there, but the FX show seems to bound to go the Mad Men route, always a worthy nominee, never a winner…

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Emmy Review: Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

Compared to other Emmy awards, the Best Costumes tryptic of Contemporary, Period, and Fantasy/Sci-Fi represents a fairly recent addition. For decades, there was no distinction between genres. Contemporary, period and fantasy competed together, to the obvious disadvantage of the more modern-set series. Later on, fantasy and period designs were joined in a single award, leaving space for contemporary fashions to win. As of 2018, all three got their own category.

We'll be starting our analysis of the Best Costumes contenders with the Fantasy/Sci-Fi race which has been dominated by Game of Thrones in previous years. As that series' reign has ended, a new champion will emerge…

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