I'll Link to That

• Vulture "Do they really have enough champagne in Death on the Nile to fill the Nile?" funny must-read!
• IndieWire Hilarious marrieds Megan Mullaly & Nick Offerman will be hosting Spirit Awards
• MNPP a preview of NYC's annual "Rendezvous with French Cinema"
• Forbes Highest Paid Entertainers - annual list topped by Peter Jackson who sold part of his vfx firm WETA. He's now the third director to become a billionaire (after Spielberg and George Lucas)

Rumors about Blonde, Lady Gaga's congratulations, Flee's record-breaking Oscar triple, Dolly Parton's generosity, and more after the jump...

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César Nominations: 'Lost Illusions' and 'Annette' score but 'Titane' struggles

by Nathaniel R

France's own Oscar-like ceremony the Césars will take place this year on February 25th and they've just released their list of nominations. In a mild surprise this past summer's Palme d'Or winner Titane did not do well in the nominations scoring in only 4 categories (Director, Female Newcomer, Cinematography, and Visual Effects). Instead the nominations were led by the costume drama Lost Illusions (15 nominations) which premiered at Venice. Other quick items of note: Canadian writer/director/actor Xavier Dolan, a perennial favourite at Cannes, picked up his first César nomination (Best Supporting Actor). Adam Driver also received an acting nomination for the musical Annette (it's very rare for US stars to be nominated there). Cate Blanchett will be receiving the Honorary César this year. 

The nominations and a few comments are after the jump. If we've written about the film, it's linked up, and since we love French cinema we've covered quite a few of these...

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TIFF Review: Céline Sciamma’s ‘Petite Maman’

Abe is covering a few selections from the Toronto International Film Festival remotely.  

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Expectations play a big part in the experience of watching any movie. One of the major factors I consider when selecting what I’m going to see at a film festival is whether I’ve seen (and liked) the director’s previous work. I was fully intrigued by the concept of revisiting the mind of Céline Sciamma, whose last feature was Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which I think may be one of the few films that everyone at Team Experience can agree that we loved. Well, let’s start by clarifying that her follow-up, Petite Maman, couldn’t be any more different…

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Nathaniel in Venice: "L'Evenement" and "Mother Lode" are gems.

Nathaniel reporting from Venice

This is my final review batch post from Venice. This weekend we'll talk Cambodia's Oscar submission (decided it deserved its own post!), and I'll sound off on "jury of one" stuff after the official winners have sunk in to underline my own 'best' of; You know how we love a list here at TFE and the neat thing about festivals is that everyone designs or ends up with their own program within the larger programs! And yes after all that (aka Monday) we'll be updating each Oscar chart. I am now safely ensconced back in NYC and thanks to Chris for holding down the fort on my travel day. As you read this I am undoubtedly snuggling with the boyfriend’s cat who is very clingy and filled with “missed you” purrs -- heaven! This post will probably contain no movies you’ve yet heard of but don’t run away! Festivals are also about discovering films from all over the world.

Here are the last four films I screened at Venice in ascending order of pleasure...

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Venice Diary #05 - Bad Journalists, bad-ass lapdancer and a french pearl

by Elisa Giudici

"Ridacece i soldi" (give us our money back) is a bizarre event that takes place every year at Venice Film Festival. It's a sort of award for the festivalgoers. In this picture, you can see the wooden prize awarded to the author of the funniest joke about a movie seen during the festival or a joke about a stereotypical situation that can be experienced only during Mostra. Everyone can write (or draw) an entry on a simple white piece of paper. There is a big wooden board in front of the official cafeteria. If you are early for the next screening, you can stop by and read some entries. The kind of humor most appreciated in this peculiar competition is the dry kind: you have to be biting wit to have a chance of winning.

Okay let's talk about three of the main Competition films: Lost Illusions, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, and L'Evenement...

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