Isle of Dogs and Japanese culture: Riff, love letter, or appropriation?

by Lynn Lee

A friend on Facebook recently asked me, after I posted a positive response to Isle of Dogs, what I thought about the controversy over Wes Anderson’s alleged cultural appropriation of Japan.  My initial answer was that it bothered me a little bit, but not enough to mar my enjoyment of the movie.  Later I realized that I’d just implicitly accepted the charge that there was cultural appropriation and, as an Asian American, felt mildly guilty that it didn’t bother me.  But on further reflection, I’m not sure either of those knee-jerk reactions was warranted.  It’s more complicated than that.

The question of cultural appropriation can be broken down a few different ways...

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Red Carpet Lineup Finale: 41 more looks from the 90th Oscars !

by Nathaniel R

Best Dressed

Who were your best dressed on Oscar night? If I had to do a top 10 it'd be these 4 pictured above -- Greta Gerwig, Zendaya, Daniela Vega, and Betty Gabriel -- plus Nicole Kidman, Viola Davis, supporting actress nominees Janney & Manville, and Taraji P Henson who's never looked sexier. 

37 more looks coming at'cha after the jump starting with Best Dressed Men...

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Same, Greta

I love him.

Should Greta eventually win an Oscar in the future, 'twould only be fair to cut to Guillermo, cluthching his heart and professing his earnest reciprocated love for Greta. Guillermo was the night's biggest winner, but Greta's affection may have been the biggest prize of all.

Blueprints: "Lady Bird"

Jorge's screenplay column hits its last Oscar mark for the season.

Lady Bird is less of a through-line narrative, as it is a collection of moments; a montage through the senior year of Christine “Lady bird” McPherson, and the small days and in-betweens that made it memorable. Through this collage, we are able to grasp at thematic links that run in her life, at the emotional truths she has to learn, and at the pain of watching her leave the nest.

No thread runs harder through the film than Lady Bird’s contentious relationship with her mother Marion. It’s no coincidence that the very first sequence of the film revolves around their dynamic. So let’s see how Greta Gerwig managed to infuse the emotional thesis of her film, as well as display years’ worth of a relationship in barely the first three pages of the script...

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Interview: Greta Gerwig on what kind of filmmaker she's going to be

by Nathaniel R 

Greta Gerwig directing the prom scene in Lady Bird. Look, she's even dressed for the occasion!The first time we spoke to Greta Gerwig in 2013 for Frances Ha it was over the phone. Her voice was so animated it felt like an in person interview. She was learning the accordion because of that seismically magical moment in the French film Holy Motors and revealing to me that she didn't think being an "actor-for-hire" in other people's work would be her path. Little did I know -- though perhaps she did -- that the exquisite Lady Bird was coming. In between she wrote and starred in Mistress America (2015) and gave what is arguably her best performance in Mike Mills 20th Century Women (2016). The rest is of course current celebration and future history: Lady Bird proved a mainstream breakthrough as a writer/director. It's up for five Oscars including two for Greta Gerwig herself as a writer and as a director.

This time, speaking in person, that familiar voice is just as lively but her laughter even more infectious. She radiates as much joy from talking art in real life as she often has creating it onscreen as a performer.

When I ask her her how the accordion is coming, she admits she's "rusty" and that it hasn't been a movie that inspired her lately but 'certain books' though she leaves them unnamed. Whatever feeds your soul as an artist, that's where you go.

on set directing Timothée and Saoire in Lady Bird (2017)

I reminder her about that comment about acting for others not being her path and she says "I know..." in a goofily apologetic way, like she always knew where she was heading but just hadn't told us.  Our interview is after the jump...

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