Yes No Maybe So: "Joker: Folie à Deux"

by Nick Taylor

Remember the fucking hubbub around Joker when it premiered at Venice back in 2019? Stephanie Zachareck fearing MRA riots? Lucrecia Martel giving it the Golden Lion? Leading the Oscar nominations with a whopping eleven citations, with Mark Friedberg’s incredible sets somehow left out in the cold? Winning Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir? Wild times!

Although Joker: Folie à Deux was first announced roughly two years ago, it feels as though the spectre of it has been haunting us for so much longer. At long last, the sequel is on its way, in just over two months. The first full-length trailer dropped less than 24 hours ago, and we here at The Film Experience are ready to dig in to whatever the hell is going on...

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Hello, Gorgeous: Best Actress of 2018

A new series by Juan Carlos Ojano

Happy New Year, fellow actressexuals! To start 2024, we return to this series with a banger of a year. 

One thing noticeable in this lineup is that the majority of these actresses are in films with clear auteurial vision. Two of them (Aparicio, Colman) worked with established directors that, by this point, have signature sensibilities and visual choices that are now being associated with them. Two of them (Lady Gaga, McCarthy) are in films directed by (relatively) new filmmakers that are beginning to hone their technical and directorial inclinations by this point. One of them (Close) worked with a director that is well-known and recognized in his home country.

Another thing to note: Lady Gaga marked her feature film debut as a lead actor while Aparicio was nominated for her first acting role ever.

Are you ready? The year is 2018...

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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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