Times Up at The Oscars

Many celebrities were sporting Time's Up pinsChris here. Last night’s Oscar ceremony was one to rejoice for how it brought the Times Up movement to the forefront of the proceedings. Viewers often forget what a global platform the Oscars are, and it was heartening to see a ceremony that seized the opportunity provided. This Oscar telecast didn’t leave the message for the acceptance speeches and instead integrated Times Up into the show to celebrate the movement alongside the movies themselves.

But it wasn’t merely about acknowledging the shift happening in the entertainment industry (and countless others), the theme was about next steps moving forward. This was best embodied in Frances McDormand’s thrilling and ebullient Best Actress acceptance speech. After having all female nominees across all categories stand for recognition, she ended her speech with “inclusion rider.”

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Oscar Night: Winners List & New Trivia

by Nathaniel R

Warren Beatty presenting to Guillermo del Toro

How'd you do on your Oscar predictions. Your host got 18/24 correct which isn't terrible but isn't great. The Shape of Water emerged as the big winner of the night with 4 Oscars including Picture and Director (no split this year) with Dunkirk on its tail with 3 Oscars. Seven of the nine Best Picture nominees won at least one Oscar with only Lady Bird and The Post suffering the "zip!" fate. We'll have time to discuss the ceremony over the next two days but for now the winners list and trivia made tonight after the jump...

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BAFTA Winners + Precursor Consensus = No Surprises on Oscar Night?

by Nathaniel R

Kaluuya wins "Rising Star"With only 13 days left until Oscar, the race in most of the marquee categories is sadly settled. BAFTA, held today in London, cemented the frontrunners honoring the exact same actors as the Critics Choice Awards, SAG, and Golden Globes. It's Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Janney for the Oscars. Engrave the statues now. That's just too much consensus for Oscar to overthrow though we're personally baffled that none of that quartet's strong (and arguably better) competitors managed to put up a fight. What's more it's the first time in history when there's been no variation whatsoever in the prizes despite none of that foursome winning any of the top critics awards (NYFCC, LAFCA, and NSFC). Usually there's at least one 'we're-doing-our-own-thing' moment within the four categories in the televised precursors. Not this year. What happened to the tough battle we were suppose to have in Best Actress for example with Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, and Sally Hawkins all seeming possible early on as victors. 

The only real question on Oscar night given this lock-step agreement from all of the major precursors is within the rare categories wherein there wasn't total agreement...

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Quick Notes on the SAG Awards

by Nathaniel R

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are so frontloaded, you know. Their famous tradition of beginning the awards show with mini monologues from thespians that always end with "I am _____ and I am an actor" is bliss. But after this hokey and delicious ritual, the awards often feel like something of a chore unless one of the winners gets kooky (remember when Meryl ran through the crowd with her arms up like she was a game show contestant?) because they so often merely rubber-stamp all the other awards shows or themselves. Note Allison Janney's 8 wins here over the years. 

Kristen Bell served as the first ever host and was funny and sparsely deployed (since the show doesn't really need a host since it's all just awards-awards-awards. But bless her for spiking the punch right at the start.

I am Kristen Bell and I am a narcissist. Sorry... I am an actor. And tonight also your host"

After the jump a few notes from the show and the list of winners.

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Tweetweek Turducken

Collected by Nathaniel R because Twitter is so toxic you shouldn't hang out there but you also shouldn't miss the more curated pleasures. Let's begin with a question that's enormously easy to answer:

Has there ever been a movie couple with better collective hair then Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeline Stowe in THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS?

— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl) January 15, 2018

An emphatic chorus of "NO!" because seriously. Never. Never has there ever. After the jump some Star Wars, a little Frances McDormand, a laugh from Sharon Stone, and guest appearances by Ratatouille and The Greatest Showman...

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