"Emily" and the mastery of Michael O'Connor

by Cláudio Alves

Frances O'Connor's directorial debut is available on PVOD starting today. Emily is a modern twist on the biography of Emily Brontë, regarding the Wuthering Heights author through a fictionalized prism. There are many reasons to watch the film, from Emma Mackey's performance in the titular role to Abel Korzeniowski's bewitching score. For costume aficionados, however, it's all about the Michael O'Connor-designed fits. As ever, the Oscar-winner blesses the project with a commitment to period veracity, capturing the detail and idiosyncrasy of the past even when it looks silly, fussy, or unattractive to contemporary eyes. He even pays the same attention to main actors and background players, upper-class characters and the poorer circles of society. The result is dramatic immersion, a sort of realism supported by on-screen materiality that's rare even in the most lavish of period pieces...

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BAFTA has a funny definition of "Rising Star"

by Cláudio Alves

"Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical" | © Netflix

The EE Rising Star Award is the only BAFTA category where the final vote doesn't belong to the British Academy but to the public. Over the years, many performers won the award on their way to the top, getting this honor before they were considered household names. Last year's victor, Lashana Lynch, quickly proved a worthy winner, showcasing her range in two shockingly different roles. First, she was a charisma bomb in The Woman King, electrifying the screen with good humor and action star chops. Next, Lynch gave life to Miss Honey in the Matilda musical, singing her way through a gentle, motherly figure who slowly learns how to make herself heard.

Most of this year's nominees don't have anything left to prove, nor do they need help getting recognition. This puts into question the award's purpose. Should previous BAFTA winners be eligible for this honor? Shouldn't the category be reserved for up-and-coming names who could benefit from a career boost at the start of their artistic journey? It seems not, judging by the nominees. They are…

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TIFF: Emma Mackey is ‘Emily’

By Abe Friedtanzer

Fans of Netflix’s beloved series Sex Education will surely be excited to learn that star Emma Mackey is playing the famed poet and "Wuthering Heights" author Emily Brontë, who died at age thirty after publishing an incredible work. Emily also marks the directorial debut of a terrific actress who does not appear in the film, Frances O’Connor (A.I., Mansfield Park). She has a fantastic TV series of her own worth checking out, The End, which is streaming on Showtime in the United States. It turns out that O’Connor has been a lifelong devotee of Brontë, and her passion for the subject shows in this finished product…

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Which of these '96 babies will be Oscar-nominated first? (or again)

by Nathaniel R

Since it's 25 days till Oscar, we thought we'd talk about Hollywood's brightests stars hitting their quarter century mark in 2021. The year 1996 has been a surprising "early bird" year with the Academy since not many 1990s vintages have produced Oscar nominees yet. People born in 1996 are turning 25 this year but already this vintage has somehow produced FIVE Oscar nominees: Maria Bakalova (nominated this year for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea), Florence Pugh (Little Women), and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit). Do you think any of them will snag nomination #2 soon?

After the jump we've chosen the six actors "most likely to" follow them to Oscar glory. That said we know that Hollywood is always on the lookout for fresh faces and the next Oscar nominee born in 1996 could well be some unknown who hasn't even landed their first role yet. Who would you bank on from this list or the "alternates"? And what kind of a situation or role do you think it will take? 

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