Who was best dressed? Supporting Actress Edition

Our Best Supporting Actress obsesssion manifests itself in our longest running series, the Smackdown. But we've already covered this season's battle. Kirsten Dunst won the Smackdown but it was Ariana DeBose who took the Oscar as expected? (Wasn't her speech beautiful?) Now who gets your vote for Best Supporting Actress Best Dressed? You know you want to vote! Comments welcome, too. Why'd you choose which gown? 

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Smackdown '21: Ariana, Aunjanue, Jessie, Judi, and Kirsten

Welcome back to the Supporting Actress Smackdown. Each month we pick an Oscar vintage to explore through the lens of actressing at the edges. This episode, kicking off a new season takes us back to... well, not back at all but to the current Oscar race which will be decided, officially, on March 27th. 

THE NOMINEES  Dame Judi Dench returns for an incredible 8th nomination while the rest of the field are first timers whether they're near the beginning of their film career (triple threat Ariana DeBose and dramatic powerhouse Jessie Buckley), deep inside it (character actress extraordinare Aunjanue Ellis) or, long past overdue for their first "shrimp" (movie star Kirsten Dunst).

THE PANELISTS: Here to talk about these five performances are (in alpha order) critics Rebecca Alter (Vulture), Cláudio Alves (The Film Experience) Sophia Ciminello (Oscar Wild), Ryan McQuade (Awards Watch / In Session Film),  and your host Nathaniel R.

 SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN + PODCAST  

LET'S BEGIN...

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Fantasy Cast: Which Former Acting Winners Should Present For Each Oscar Nominee?

By: Christopher James

Screw the MCU, this is the greatest crossover event in history.

In a quest to get to three hours, the Academy has attempted to shave off so many things that make the Oscars great, including eight categories. As Nathaniel eloquently noted, the Oscars are best when they embrace the excess, full of clips, montages and moments to celebrate the nominees and the art of moviemaking in general. One of the best examples of this came during the 2008 Oscars, hosted by Hugh Jackman. Yes, Jackman was a great host with multiple fantastic dance numbers, including a bit about how “he didn’t see The Reader” and declaring the musical is back. There was one other major thing that was incredible about that particular Oscar ceremony: the presentation of the acting awards. Murtada also looked back on this wonderful moment a couple years back as well. These Oscars were not afraid of taking their time. In addition to clips, a different winner from a previous year introduced each acting nominee. The producers for that year didn’t just pick former winner names out of a hat, they found some thematic connection between the nominee and the former winner, as if to say that everyone has a chance. It was an exciting way to accentuate the legacy of the Oscars, honor each nominee and make the event even more star studded than normal. 

Let's fantasize about that happening again...

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Oscar History: The Evolution of Acceptance of Openly Queer Actors

by Eurocheese

Stewart and DeBose at the world premieres of their movies in 2021

This year, we saw two openly queer women receive first time nominations in the Academy’s acting categories. Famously, the Academy rarely nominates openly LGBTQ performers while often honoring straight actors for playing queer roles, something that was considered “brave” until shockingly recently. But how have out queer performers fared in the past?

Let’s take a look at the previous nominees… 

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Best Supporting Actress - 'How'd she get nominated?'

The Best Supporting Actress Oscar Chart is fully updated with stats, trivia, a reader's poll, and "how'd they get nominated"? theorizing, so check it out.