Grammy Winners List. Is Anyone Closer to an EGOT?

by Nathaniel R

Lady Gaga won 3 more Grammys tonight (her total is now 9), one of which was shared by Bradley Cooper

In answer to the title question, well yes, technically. After all, any first time Grammy winner is closer to the EGOT now. But let's look at the more visible people in the mix... did anyone take a step closer than they already were? Actor/rapper/writer Donald Glover, BlacKkKlansman composer Terence Blanchard, and actress/singer Lady Gaga all won Grammys tonight but none are closer to the EGOT since they have previous Grammys at home. Glover has two Emmys (for Atlanta) and multiple Grammys (for "This is America" and the previous statue for "Redbone") but he was already halfway to the EGOT before tonight. Blanchard, nominated at the Oscars this year for the first time, now has six Grammys. Lady Gaga now has nine Grammys, but that's the only one of the four major showbiz prizes she's won. We suspect she'll get the Oscar part of the equation in just two weeks time, though.  Gaga's singing and co-starring partner in crime Bradley Cooper also picked up a Grammy, sharing the Pop/Duo prize. Yes, absurdly, he got the Grammy before the Tony (where he's been nominated once) or the Oscar (where he's been nominated 7 times across multiple categories) even though he's an A list actor and only a novice singer but showbiz can be so strange like that. One imagines he'll pick up an Emmy with ease should he ever deign to do TV again but he's steered mostly clear since Nip/Tuck. Once movie stardom hit, he was big-screen only apart from that Wet Hot American Summer sequel series.

But there are four people who did take an actual step closer to EGOT, since they added a Grammy to take another step closer...

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Soundtracking: 2018's Original Song nominees

by Chris Feil

Best Original Song always gets its fair share of side-eye among Oscar snobs and agnostics alike. Granted, some recent nominees have made a decent enough case for their argument - Alone Yet Not Alone, you are lost but not forgotten (or... alone in terms of being a bad nomination). But does this year's crop of tracks continue the category's uptrending in quality? I would argue it does and then some.

While our most expected nominee ("Shallow" obviously) provides the lineup a genuine hit song, we also have idiosyncratic picks as well as musicals and major artists nominated. This leaves the telecast with no rational choice but to allow all numbers to perform on the show, as they have been hesitant to do with lesser known nominees. So in addition to ranking the nominees, I have some suggestions on how to present all of them...

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Podcast Special: Lots and Lots of Reader Questions Answered

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl answer your questions this week

On this special edition of the podcast we ONLY answer reader questions. As many as we could get to in an hour. We had soooo much fun doing this one so we hope you enjoy, and thank you for the diversion.

Index (60 minutes)
00:01 Who will win SAG's Supporting Actress + fixing category fraud?
06:50 Original screenplay nominations + buying DVDs
12:00 Characters wardrobe, female directors, and films that define 2018
22:30 "Shallow" + "If you saw this... than why?" + replacing Oscar lists
31:35 Nominee presentations + Oscar Hosting 
35:45 Ben is Back and Roma questions
41:40 Nomination balloting procedures + Fav scenes of the year
52:00 Mandatory Best Actress diversion
57:00 Changing opinions on previous top 10 lists?

Further Reading / References
• Nadine Labaki (Capernaum) interview
• Smackdown of 1943
• Oscar Charts
• Kyle Buchanan on the hostless Oscars article

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Special Episode: Reader Questions!

Critics Choice Movie Awards Live Blog

by Nathaniel R

7:30 It took me 15 minutes to find a live stream but I unfortunately found it just in time to see a frankly hideous video mix which used this strange early photoshop spotlight effect on movie clips so the actors were lit up and everything else was blacked out. Taye Diggs was introduced as a 'chocolatey heartthrob'. He launched into a musical performance which was........ ........   ........... ........ .........Yes, Taye Diggs is very handsome!

7:32 Lady Gaga wins Best Song for "Shallow". Who knew Peter Farrelly was such a fan, giving her a standing ovation. She thanks Bradley Cooper profusely and smartly talks about his transformation into Jackson Maine (we need people to talk about this amazing performance.  "I was mesmerized both for myself and my character" Wait, they're different people? Kidding.

7:38 Best Young Actor or Actress goes to Elsie Fisher with reaction shots from Thomasin McKenzie and Amandla Stenberg, who both seem unfussed about losing, already pros they are.

As someone who has anxiety, it's exciting to be on this stage right now.

Tee hee. Sadly, though Elsie throws up a peace hand sign, she doesn't say "Gucci" but 'Peace and love, y'all'...

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Globe Fashion Pt 1: Superhumans and a Sorcerer's Apprentice

NATHANIEL:  Welcome to the return of Red Carpet Lineup where we'll be chatting up our favourite fashions during awards seasons. To talk the Globe red carpet, I'm joined by Ginny O'Keefe an actress and movie buff and Murtada, who you know as our podcast co-host.

Olivia, Julia, Melissa, and Rosamund

Notice I said "favourite" fashions with a "u" because OLIVIA COLMAN. I so dug the delicate chain-mail like top. Ginny, let's kick it off with you. Is this something you'd wear?

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