Oscar Volley: "Naatu Naatu" vs Pop Divas for Best Original Song

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category in the lead up to the ceremony. Here's Baby Clyde and Chris James to talk Costume Design.

CHRIS: A round of APPLAUSE for my volley co-host, Baby Clyde. Now, let's Tell It Like A Pundit - what is going on with the Original Song race? On the surface, it seems like "Naatu Naatu" has this category in the bag after winning this prize at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. RRR's grand dance number is one of the most memorable scenes of the year and would make for a worthy winner. However, one can't forget that it is against some heavy hitters, such as Rihanna and Lady Gaga, both for films that made over a billion dollars at the box office. Are we underestimating them?

And do you have any favourites that weren't nominated?...

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Oscar Volleys: How Many Pop Hits in Best Original Song?

Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Eurocheese and Baby Clyde...  

"Ciao Papa" in GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO

EUROCHEESE: Well Baby, It's Cold Outside and you know what that means - we're Falling Slowly into awards season, and it's time to name the songs seeking Glory in the City of Stars. There are a few big hits that Take My Breath Away: Rihanna's "Lift Me Up," which seems to be everywhere at the moment; Lady Gaga's "Hold My Hand" in the year's biggest hit that just won't slow down; and the standout song from Del Toro's Pinocchio, "Ciao Papa," which I expect will make the cut. Do you agree these three are solid initial nominees, or do you have High Hopes that rest elsewhere? Any Secret Love that you see near the top of your list?

BABY CLYDE: Hey Mr Cheese, I Just Called To Say I Love You. The Academy must be salivating at the prospect of this year’s nominees. Am I correct in thinking that Rihanna, Gaga, Taylor and Billie Eilish are all legit contenders in this category...

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Cláudio's Best Shot Pick: 'True Blood' & 'Paparazzi'

The next episode of our series, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot,' arrives tomorrow. It's focused on Alexander Skarsgård's Hollywood breakthrough. Specifically, we're looking at his first True Blood episode in 2008 and the following year's Lady Gaga music video Paparazzi. Here's Cláudio's entry.

Prince Amleth of Hrafnsey is far from the first Northman in Alexander Skarsgård's resume. From 2008 to 2014, the Swedish actor played another heir to a 10th-century Viking King in the HBO hit series True Blood. But of course, Eric Northman has long left his motherland when we meet him in the show's fourth episode, "Escape from Dragon House." Deep in the Louisiana backwoods, the former prince turned vampire has found himself playing the part of Sheriff in the region's undead community. Instead of an ancient castle, his domain's a seedy nightclub that goes by the name Fangtasia. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, from noble northern warrior to lowly vice peddler…

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Which Movie and TV people won Grammys?

by Nathaniel R

Ben Platt, Rachel Zegler, Cynthia Erivo, and Leslie Odom Jr sing "Somewhere" from West Side Story at the Grammys

The Grammys have almost 90 categories so it can get very difficult to track them all. "Complete lists of winners" around the web are usually missing several if not 2/3rds of the actual winners. The list which follows in this post is also probably not complete though we tried by pooling from different sources. We only care about the Grammys very selectively since we're focused on the actors mediums (film, tv, stage) so the "Triple Crown" has always been cooler to us than the EGOT. Neverthless, there are some venn diagram overlaps between our concerns and the Grammys since at least a few actors are nominated each year for something or another. What's more, despite the remake of West Side Story being up for several Oscars, it essentially got a better tribute at the Grammys. That came by way of a truly stirring "In Memoriam" presentation which ended, reverently, with the late great Stephen Sondheim.

So who got closer to an EGOT last night, even if they're still very far away? Find out after the jump...

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An appeal to the Academy (and the wonder of Lady Gaga)

by Cláudio Alves

The 94th Academy Awards were marked by a scene that will surely live in infamy, one of those immortal Oscar moments destined to overshadow everything else about the ceremony, its winners, and the overall season. Whatever one might think about it, AMPAS wasn't to blame for it. However, there's no way to deny their responsibility for the night's other failings. Indeed, The Slap wasn't the reason I'd call the 94th Academy Awards the worst ceremony of my lifetime. That would be its overall contempt for the art of the movies. This came through in the ceremony in ways that Nathaniel and Eric have already written about.

And yet, hope is everlasting.  The 94th Academy Awards ended on a positive note that might point us towards a better future, a return to form...

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