Podcast: Instant Reactions. Oscar Nom' Morning

Oscar Nomination Morning has always been like Christmas day to me. I sleep restlessly. I wake early. I tear open my presents. When I first met Nick Davis ten years ago, we knew we were kindred spirits since it's also like that for him. In some ways it can be even more exciting than Oscar Night. More to celebrate / complain about. We lean celebratory as best we can here. Congratulations to you and you and you and you... and okay, you too.

You can download the podcast on iTunes or listen right here at the bottom of the post. If you haven't yet seen the nominations, we have a full chart.

podcast topics include but are not limited to... 

• Oscar as Christmas. Troubled sleep.
• "Man or Muppet?", Bret McKenzie and Original Song
• Blockbusters and how they performed in their categories.
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and War Horse overperformed while The Help underperformed
• Echo chambers and their limitations ... especially in the various craft categories. 

• Tilda Swinton's Oscar trajectories
• NINE BEST PICTURES? Spreading the wealth.
• Iron Lady's makeup and Harry Potter's nominations.
• Brad Pitt happiness.
• Congratulations to all the nominees... except you.
• Actually we breeze through everything! 

Here's our instant reaction to the nominations!
I did no editing on this one so when you hear only silence that is Nick and I both furiously reading names on a screen rather than paying homage to The Artist.

Other New Oscar Posts
Here's an FYC for next year ;)  | Virgin Oscar Nominees | What would you say if you got an Oscar nom? |  Prediction Stats

Instant Reactions

Producers Guild Wins for Spielberg and Actors Behind the Cameras

Another day, another awards ceremony. Who can keep up?!?

Last night The Producers Guild of America gave their big prize, a transparent glassy gargantuan paperweight, to the man who helped The Artist come into being, Thomas Langmann. One thing that's not being much noted -- since behind the screen forces rarely get attention -- is that Langmann was once a regular presence in front of the camera in France and he's actually the son of director Claude Berri (of Jean de Florette/Manon of the Springs fame!). Of course right at the moment he's best known Stateside as 'that guy who was trying to tell his heartfelt story at the Golden Globes while Uggie was doing his tricks' and distracting the television cameras... as discussed on the most recent podcast. Another actor turned producer, Michael Rapaport was also honored (along with his co-producers) for the documentary Beats, Rhymes and Life.

Finally, Steven Spielberg was honored twice. He got a career-tribute and also won for The Adventures of Tin Tin because in Hollywood they like to re-reward the already abundantly successful people. (Notice how honorary Oscars often go to people who've already won Oscars instead of people who never won! Such a strange impulse. Perhaps it's a bit like paying tithing or making sacrifices to your gods?)

Winners List
Motion Picture The Artist
Motion Picture, Animated The Adventures of Tintin
Motion Picture, Documentary Beats, Rhymes and Life

Brangelina at the PGA. Sans cane!

TV, Long Form Downton Abbey
TV, Drama Boardwalk Empire
TV, Comedy Modern Family
TV, Competition Amazing Race 
(speaking of rewarding the same things over and over again...) 

TV, Non Fiction American Masters
TV, Live Entertainment/Talk The Colbert Report

Tobey and The Bening were among the many big names presenting

Vanguard Award Stan Lee (the award was presented by Spider-Man himself Tobey Maguire)
David O Selznick Award Steven Spielberg 
Stanley Kramer Award Angelina Jolie for In the Land of Blood and Honey.
(For young Oscar obsessives in training out there Stanley Kramer was famous for "message movie" staples like Inherit the Wind, Judgement at Nuremberg, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, and the like)
Milestone Award CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves 

Podcast: One Last Golden Globe Gala!

You thought the Golden Globe festivities were over didn't you? Nope. There's one more left. It's time for the Film Experience Golden Globe Podcast. Katey, Nick, Joe and Nathaniel all met up for one last pre-Oscar nomination chat. We still don't agree on the movies but we all love the Globes unironically. It's always such a party for people who love celebrities and movies. We're sad it's over!

You can download the podcast on iTunes or listen right here at the bottom of the post.

Topics include...

• Crowd shots and nominee closeups.
• Introducing... Katharine McPhee!
• The unintentional eroticism of the DeMille Award
• Leonardo DiCaprio's tipping point.
• Johnny Depp, Original Song and other Unnecessaries
• Seating charts, surprise marriages
• Calista and Harrison... and Harrison's earrings. 
• No sloppy Globe seconds for Oscar.
• Uggie up to his old tricks
• What will happen with The Help at SAG?
• Viola Davis vs. Meryl Streep, the problematic narrative
• Octavia Spencer and David Fincher
• Brad vs. George and Mr CrankyPants Joe Reid
• Goodbyes

We'd love to hear your takes on any of the issues discussed in the comments.
We do a lot of theorizing and questioning!

Giddy for the Globes

Red Carpet Globes Pt 2: Ursula's Daughter & Brad's Show Cane

In Part 1, Kurt and I discussed the Best Actress fashions Tilda's alien goddess versatility, Steven Sodebergh and Paula Patton's obsession with yellow, Rooney Mara's lack of humor, and more. Read it. Vote on the polls! Now we move on to a Supportizzzzzzzzzzzz

PART 2

Nathaniel: Sorry. Sorry Propping eyes open! The Globes were mostly an all the colors of the rainbow affair which is just how we like our red carpets. "On trend" is a death rattle for awards show excitement. The Supporting Actress lineup was definitely on trend, what with all those faint blush colors.‪ I had to include Evan Rachel Wood, so as to add the drama.‬

...With Evan there's always drama.

Evan, Chastain (one of them at least), Janet, Shai, Octavia

Kurt: Is she not the scariest thing? i'm getting such a fletsom and jetsom ‬‪vibe here. Come pick up your daughter, Ursula‬
Nathaniel: Ha. I kind of love it. It's so fecund. She's some sort of sea creature all right. The thing that would have really made this look work for me is more drama in her hair. I want the wildness to continue up top. This might have been the most supernatural horrifying and therefore the very best if, say, Jessica Lange's lions mane were up top or a weave for slickness and length. 
Kurt:  ‪Oh, jessica lange. No, Evan looks good, and it's a very cool dress. i just think she's terrifying.‬
Nathaniel: In general? Evan?

Kurt:  ‪LOL. Pretty much, yeah. She'll eat your first born.‬

Nathaniel: And not put on a single pound!

Kurt:  ‪Truth.‬

Nathaniel: ‪I don't really want to discuss this lineup. Why did I spend the time photoshopping? Harvey may be the Punisher but I'm all about self-abuse. I really want to rearrange the dresses at least.

Kurt: Well someone's gotta put something else on dear Jessica Chastain. That poor woman.
Nathaniel: Or maybe put all of them in Evan's dress!‬

Nathaniel: Ahhhhh. Anyway... Janet McTeer is a very handsome woman with an amazing rack.
Kurt: Don't we know it.
Nathaniel: She's also the very best thing about Albert Nobbs and also: her man is hot. Just had to put that out there. 

Speaking of amazing racks, MADONNA!

SMG, Macdonald, Garai, Madonna & Muse

MORE INCLUDING THE MEN!

Click to read more ...

Best Supporting Actor - Nathaniel's Ballot

Few things gave me more joy at the cinema this year than listening to Christopher Plummer discovering house music. Few things were more moving than watching Brad Pitt dig deep into a wounded father who loved but couldn't help but wound his own sons. Here are my choices for Best Supporting Actor a ballot composed of three father figures and two hedonists, one swaggeringly confident and the other self-protective but both fond of their booze.

Share your personal ballots in the comments!
and I no, I don't expect mine to line up so well with Oscar's...
BRAD PITT, PATTON OSWALT, CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, COREY STOLL, VIGGO MORTENSEN