Jennifer Jones Centennial: "Indiscretions of an American Wife"

We're celebrating Jennifer Jones's centennial. By your request (you voted on which two movies we'd cover), here's Nathaniel R...

Your viewing assignment should you choose to accept it, and you really should, is Vittorio de Sica's Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953), a floridly emotional 65 minute drama (you read that right) in which a very thirsty Jennifer Jones engages in some illicit behavior because what else can you do when confronted with the beauty of Montgomery Clift in the 1950s?

Though 1953 was arguably Monty's peak (he also starred in Hitchcock's I Confess! and the Best Picture winner From Here to Eternity that year), this melodrama from the Italian master Vittorio de Sica is Jennifer Jones's film from fussy indecisive start to farewell heartbreak finish...

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The Joyous Triumph of "Black Panther"

by Chris Feil

Of all of the great wins of Oscar night, some of the most uplifting belonged to the team from Black Panther. The film ran a gauntlet in the past year - early release, genre bias, institutionalized racism - to defy the odds and rack up three richly deserving wins in Costume Design, Production Design, and Original Score. It was the most popular film of the year and yet these wins still shouldn't be taken for granted, theirs a collective trio representing the world we experienced when we experienced Wakanda.

Adding to the sense of massive victory here are several crucial pieces of contextual trivia...

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Gowns, Prizes, and Glenn Close at the Costume Design Guild Awards

Kate Walsh's dressed in Fatal Attraction drag for the Glenn Close tribute at the CDG Awardsby Nathaniel R

The Costume Design Guild Awards were held in Los Angeles last night with the actress Kate Walsh hosting. Crazy Rich Asians (contemporary), The Favourite (period), and Black Panther (fantasy) took their top prizes. But there's more to the CDG awards than just those three top winners -- perhaps you've noticed we obsess on Costume Design a little bit?

Though the awards aren't televised one of the highlights surely must have been Kate Walsh dressing as Fatal Attraction's iconic villainess Alex Forrest (pictured left) for the Glenn Close portion of the ceremony! A complete list of winners, Oscar correlative statistic notes, favourite gowns from the ceremony, and image galleries for their winners and some personal thoughts on highlights where Glenn Close and Costume Design intersect... 

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PETA's "Oscat" Winners: Bradley Cooper, Black Panther, Annihilation

by Nathaniel R

Here's an award you might not have heard of. PETA, the animal rights organization, gives out "Oscats" each year honoring the most animal friendly films and stars. So, even though Bradley Cooper has PETA's senior vice president says:

PETA is thrilled to recognize the people and projects behind Hollywood’s most significant animal rights advances of the year.”

The winners and why they were chosen after the jump...

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14 days til Oscar - Costume Design Lists!

Photography by Brigitte Lacombe

With 14 days until Oscar we're thinking about Queen Sandy Powell, now with a towering 14 nominations for costume design via her double nod this year for Mary Poppins Returns and The Favourite.  We interviewed her in the year of Carol and Cinderella (2015), also a double nominated year. The only time she's ever won while double nominated was the first time...

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