Support Me In the Love of All Things Supporting!

by Nathaniel R

Elle Fanning, Conan O'Brien, Youn Yu Jung, and Delroy Lindo did NOT make the nominee list but I loved all four performances just the same.

Dearest readers, I apologize at how long it takes me to do all this but now is the time to finish the Film Bitch Awards. Should be done in the next couple of days!  That's probably more exciting for me than for you but what of it?!?  Be my Supporting friends and DISCUSS. Before we get to the nominations a quick look at the dozen performances I cherished most in Supporting from men and women...

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Oscar Volley: “Best Supporting Actor” is one wild ride!

The Oscar Volleys continue. Today, NATHANIEL R and CLÁUDIO ALVES discuss the volatile Oscar race for Best Supporting Actor. 

Andrew Scott in BLUE MOON | © Sony Pictures Classics

NATHANIEL: So Cláudio, it falls to you and me to discuss Best Supporting Actor, and I will try reeaaaaaaaaly hard not to bring up my broken-record pet peeve about this category because I know readers have heard it a million times.  I don't want to talk about it anymore, so for the duration of this conversation, I'm going to pretend that all the actors are in roles perfectly sized for this particular category. And so we're here to discuss everything else... but not that!

Performance quality-wise, I think this is a good quintet - even if I'm still seriously angry that people wouldn't give Andrew Scott the time of day for Blue Moon since his performance is stronger than Hawke's AND he is giving you so much backstory and giving it so economically and with laser minimalist precision. Such a generous actor - he doesn't steal scenes so much as immerse you in them and what's going on between these characters. Anyway, I just love him, and I had to get that off my chest first. It's been a struggle.

So my opening question to you is struggle-themed. I'm curious who you think had the most difficult role to play here and why...

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All Four Acting Categories -- Some Fun Through Lines & Connections

by Nathaniel R

Elle Fanning made her acting debut opposite Sean Penn in I AM SAM (2001) - both are up for Supporting Oscars in March 2026

When we're looking at Oscar trivia we're often focused on individuals. Once that's done it's fun to widen the view a little and think about the year's twenty nominated thespians as a unit. So here are some connections and percentages of note...

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Gotham Awards Revue: "Pillion"

by Cláudio Alves

Harry Lighton's Pillion has just opened in UK and Irish cinemas, ahead of a stateside February release by A24. This free adaptation of Adam Mars-Jones' Box Hill novella premiered at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section, where it won the Best Screenplay prize. Still at the Croisette, Rosie, one of its canine stars, was also laurelled with a special Palm Dog – Mutt Moment Award. Sadly, other voting bodies don't have categories for the likes of Rosie, though Pillion has already scored eight BIFA nominations (the main ceremony is tonight!) and two wins for its costumes, hair and makeup. At the Gotham Awards, which will be handed out tomorrow, the film is up for two prizes – Best Adapted Screenplay and Outstanding Supporting Performance for Alexander Skarsgård. 

All this talk of awards may obfuscate what a fascinating piece of work Pillion turns out to be. Sensual like the kiss of leather straps on hard muscle, as tender as a fresh purpling bruise, Lighton's feature directorial debut is unlike most visions of queer love that get welcomed into the picture house…

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Amy Madigan and Oscar Horrors Past

by Cláudio Alves

Weapons is the talk of the town and people can't stop obsessing over the movie's villainess supreme, the wicked witch of the suburbs, the pied piper of Pennsylvania – Aunt Gladys. Some have even started dreaming about Amy Madigan's potential as a Best Supporting Actress contender, a Ruth Gordon in Rosemary's Baby for the new millennium. While such speculation seems a bit too hopeful for this horror-loving skeptic, it did remind me that Madigan is already an Oscar nominee. Indeed, she was one of the acting honorees I had yet to see before biting the bullet on Twice in a Lifetime earlier this week.

So, as part of my journey to watch all Oscar-nominated performances, here are my thoughts on Madigan. And, since horror is on the mind, let me mention a couple of the worst films ever graced with an acting Academy Award nomination, too. You better believe that there are things scarier than witches out there…

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