Oscar Volley: Best Makeup... or is it "Best Prosthetics"?

Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Nathaniel and Elisa to discuss Makeup... 

Colin Farrell and... Colin Farrell?

NATHANIEL: Elisa, let's start with a question: Do you think this category should be split into two: Best Makeup Effects AND Best Makeup and Hairstyling? As it stands now, the latter never gets a fair shake. If you do incredible things with glamour and character design but don't offer anything in the prosthetic department, chances are slim to none that you'll be nominated!

For example I think it's pretty clear that Elvis, The Batman, and The Whale will be competitive primarily because they each bury one key character in prosthetics until they're almost unrecognizable. But why? It always feels a bit like showing off. Why hire a famous actor to play a role if you don't actually want their famous face? This bugs me most in the case of The Batman but it might be because I relish looking at Colin Farrell's face... and if you're going to deny me that, don't promise me Colin 'Feckin' Farrell...

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Oscar Volleys: Best Editing is a Category that Doesn't Know What it Wants to Be

Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precurosrs. Here's Nick Taylor and Ben Miller with the first volley...

the 4 most recent movies to be nominated for editing that WEREN'T nominated for Best Picture.

BEN: Alright Nick, since I'm starting this conversation, I'll get on a soapbox. I hate what this category has turned into. It used to be a really cool category that highlighted the most underrated aspect of the filmmaking process. Instead, it's turned into Best Picture Redux.  In the last ten years, there have been 50 nominees for Best Editing. Only four were not nominated for Best Picture. When did this category get so lazy? Why, of all categories, is this one so linked to Best Picture... 

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The Movie-Related Nominees for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards

by Nathaniel R

Each year when the Grammy nominations are announced we report on nominees of interest to film fans. But before we get to the screen entertainment-adjacent stuff, we must first acknowledge the recording industry's three marquee categories: Album, Record, and Song of the year. We have a repeat of 2017 with Adele & Beyoncé squaring off yet again for the top prize. Beyoncé leads the nominations this year with 9 and as of today is tied with her husband Jay-Z as the most nominated musician of all time at the Grammys since they've each  received 88 nominations over the course of their careers... 

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Who will be nominated for Costume Design?

by Nathaniel R

Shirley Kurata's costumes for "Jobu Tupaki" in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE are great chaotic fun

Let's tackle each Oscar category while there's still wiggle room for all contenders! Last season Best Costume Design was sewn up (sorry!) unusually early in the year when Jenny Beavan's garbage dress unfurled midway through Cruella (2021) in the summer movie season. From then on it was everyone versus Cruella and Beavan came out on top for the third time in her delicious career. The costumes of 2022 haven't really had one showstopping gown to end everyone else's Oscar dreams so it's anyone's guess at this point.

Let's discuss 8 films we think are major threats for those 5 nomination slots and why. It seems natural to start with two films where fashion is a co-lead of sorts...

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The Phantom Link

• The Atlantic "Fear of a Black Hobbit" insightful piece about politics and 'nostalgia' franchises
• Boy Culture the latest updated edition of "Encyclopedia Madonnica" (one of our all time fav showbiz books) is out. Buy one if you haven't yet and love Madonna. It's a treasure trove.
• Vulture looks at Baz's tortured artists from Moulin Rouge! to Elvis

Very significant Broadway news regarding The Phantom of the Opera, A trans riff on Gotham City characters, Superman II cosplay, and more after the jump...

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