Triple Crown of Acting: Who's Next?

by Eric Blume

Kieran Culkin will have to wait a bit longer before he can add a Tony to his SUCCESSION Emmy and A REAL PAIN Oscar. | © Searchlight Pictures

Back in 2016, I wrote an article here when one of my favorite actresses, Jessica Lange, won a Tony for Long Day’s Journey into Night, thereby joining the club of elite actors who had achieved the Triple Crown of Acting (competitive Oscar, Emmy, and Tony). Only 24 actors have ever achieved this, and since Lange eight years ago, only two people have joined that list (Viola Davis in 2017 with her Emmy; Glenda Jackson in 2018 with her Tony).

I thought it would be fun to take a look at who is a realistic possibility to join that club.  I’m reminded of it because, until just a few days ago, there was a chance that person was going to be Kieran Culkin!  Culkin had been largely predicted to be nominated for a Tony Award (and possibly win!) for his performance in the revival of Glengarry Glen Ross.  Alas, Culkin was shut out of the nominations on May 1.  Had he won, he would be the first person to win all three awards in such tight timing (he just won his Emmy for Succession and Oscar for A Real Pain within the last three  years).   It took Jessica 33 years and Glenda 47 years!

So since it's not going to be Kieran Culkin, let’s take a look at who might be next.  I’m working on probability here, not possibility:  meaning that I’m not counting likelihood for actors who rarely or never work in that given medium.  Here are some thoughts…

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Chris Diary 2 - AFI Film Festival - Four Daughters, The End We Start From, The Summer With Carmen

by Chris James

The rest of the AFI Film Festival had plenty more highs and lows in store. Movies from many different countries and genres were well represented in the remainder of the slate. Of the potential Oscar contenders, I was able to catch Tunisia’s Oscar submission this year - Four Daughters. The documentary film is helmed by Kaouther Ben Hania, who previously earned an Oscar nomination in 2020 for The Man Who Sold His Skin. The other jaunt abroad I took could not have been more different. The queer Greek comedy The Summer With Carmen served a fun comedy set in large part on a nude beach. This provoked a good bit of emotional whiplash as I saw it right after the climate change disaster drama, The End We Start From.

What did we think of this trio of films? Find out after the jump.

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Chris AFI Film Festival Diary #1 - Quiz Lady, Terrestrial Verses, The Bikeriders

By Chris James

Jodie Comer and Austin Butler star in Jeff Nichols' "The Bikeriders," which screened at the AFI Film Festival.

The Film Experience is back at the Hollywood and Highland complex for another film festival. The AFI Film Festival is back for another year. Throughout the weekend, the team is going to be sharing their reviews of some of the latest films to hit the festival circuit. The AFI Film Festival is often times the first time many Oscar hopefuls touch down on Los Angeles, in the same building that the Oscars are held no less. The festival also boasts an impressive number of international features, including 18 submissions for Best International Feature.

For this first dispatch, I've reviewed Jeff Nichols' The Bikeriders, the LA premiere of Quiz Lady and the Iranian film Terrestrial Verses. Read after the jump to find which films triumphed and which fumbled...

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TIFF '23: Jodie Comer astounds in "The End We Start From"

by Matt St Clair

The first glance of the title The End We Start From, immediately brough the past few years to mind. Once the COVID pandemic turned the world upside down, we all lived in physical and mental isolation, fearing what the coming days would bring. While the virus hasn’t disappeared, we have found ways to move forward and start anew during uncertain times. This film's nameless protagonist (a sublime Jodie Comer) experiences a cataclysmic crisis and does the same thing.

Just as the heroine has given birth to a newborn, a catastrophic flood strikes England...

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Chastain or Comer -- Who will inch closer to the Triple Crown?

by Matt St Clair

When looking at the recently announced Tony nominations, you might have noticed that the Best Actress in a Play lineup has only four nominees. That's because there were fewer than nine leading actresses from the 23 eligible plays during the 2022-23 Broadway season. Due to Tony rules and regulations, only four women were able to nab a spot. As a refresher, those four women are Jessica Chastain for A Doll’s House, Jodie Comer for Prima Facie, Jessica Hecht for Summer, 1976, and Audra McDonald for Ohio State Murders. Given that Hecht and McDonald are the only nominees for their respective plays, the potential winner is surely a contest between Jessica Chastain and Jodie Comer...

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