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Jason from MNPP here to goose our mid-afternoons real quick with that there brand new Entertainment Weekly cover image of Lady Bird's superstar trifecta of Oscar nominees Laurie Metcalf, Saoirse Ronan, and the Creator herself, Greta Gerwig. Love the silver, love the talent, love love love. What do you guys think - can Lady Bird win Best Picture? Better question - can Lady Bird win anything?
This year's 70th annual DGA Awards will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 3rd a month before the Oscars. The winner for Directing in Theatrical Features usually goes on to win the Oscar though historically there's about one exception a decade (Ben Affleck for Argo, Rob Marshall for Chicago, Ron Howard for Apollo 13, etcetera-- basically don't have the "oh" sound in your movie title!-- did not repeat their wins at the Oscars and some of them weren't even nominated for the Academy Award).
This year's lucky five nominees -- statistically you can expect four of them to pop up again with Oscar -- are:
Before she was rushed off the stage by the ticking clock, Greta Gerwig still managed to be profound and touching when accepting the award for Best Film Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes. That she managed to do that with just a few words is even more impressive.
I want to say thank you to my mom and dad and the people of Sacramento who gave me roots and wings and helped me get where I am today.
Early on in Lady Bird there’s a scene where Marion (Laurie Metcalf) drives around Sacramento with a peaceful smile on her face. Later on in the film Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) talks about driving for the first time herself, and the connection between the mother and daughter and their love for each other and for the place they live in is revealed to us. I was reminded of that moment and how much it moved me while listening to Gerwig’s speech.
The places we come from give us our stories. Those are more poignant if while young we longed to leave those places, only later to discover how much they meant to us. Sometimes out of nowhere, we remember with a jolt of heartache. For me, it’s sleeping outside under a blanket of stars, in the warm clear nights of my hometown Khartoum. For Marion and Lady Bird it’s driving along the familiar streets of their hometown. We are where we come from, and where we come from is what gives us our unique stories. Gerwig lovingly captured that feeling in her film, and paid tribute to it with her speech. As Sister Sarah (Lois Smith) tells Lady Bird sometimes love is paying attention to the details that make up a story.
Don’t you think maybe they are the same thing? Love and attention?
It's like Christmas is here once again! Finish your predictions, enjoy the festivities, and celebrate your favorites. We hope you all love tonight as profoundly as Laurie Metcalf and Saorise Ronan love each other.
Thursday, January 25, 2018 at 2:34PM 
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