The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
We claim no expertise on the British Independent Film Awards but this year's slate seems especially teeny-tiny. Not in the size of the films, mind you -- some are quite supersized... at least with their length -- but in the small handful that received nominations. Most of the titles were nominated in five or six categories including the UK's Oscar submission Under the Shadow, though Ken Loach's Palme D'Or winner I Daniel Blake just barely leads with seven citations...
Keyframe an interview with Oscar winner Dorothy Malone (OMG) who is now 92. Mambo! Pajiba adorable family Force Awakens cosplay from Utah ENO Glenn Close is starring in the revival of Sunset Blvd through May 7th. If you're in London, please go and tell us how it is! The Movie Scene Criterion's blindspot for female filmmakers. (I know it's uncool to be critical of Criterion excpet in these rare cases of agreed upon issues -- but they have other blindspots too, like the musical genre) DListed Ginger Feud: Susan Sarandon and Debra Messing having words over Sanders/Clinton. (Everyone is fired up of late.)
Comics Alliance argues that the bland costumes in X-Men: Apocalypse are a key problem with that franchise -- it's true you could mistake it for a Hunger Games poster. BuzzFeed "The Unbearable Sadness of Ben Affleck" a good long read by Anne Helen Petersen who also did that recent history of Jennifer Garner
Everything is Gay Vulture Why Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some is inadvertently gay New York Post Smithers finally comes out tonight on The Simpsons in its 28th season (yeesh. it's already the longest running sitcom and scripted prime time series of all time on US television) MNPP [nsfw] Jason remembers Exit to Eden (1994) -- Dana Delany wasn't the only one obsessed with Paul Mercurio's butt
Signs of the Apocalypse Vulture an engineer built a life-size replica of Scarlett Johansson. Don't look directly into its dead eyes! Tom & Lorenzo Jessica Chastain posing with a terrifying baby kangaroo. RIP Jess i-d interviews the gender neutral artist illma gore who broke the internet with a painting of nude Donald Trump. Unfortunately this means they extended the conversation about his junk. (sigh. this world)
TODAY'S WATCH The Olivier Awards (essentially the Tony Awards of the UK) stream at 12 PM EST. Familiar Oscar nominated darlings who are up for West End acting awards this year include Nicole Kidman (in Photograph 51, which she hopes to bring to the screen), Mark Rylance, Benedict Cumberbatch, Imelda Staunton (she'll perform and Gypsy,which we reviewed, has a ton of nominations), Judi Dench and Janet McTeer. Cyndi Lauper will also perform since Kinky Boots is up for New Musical. Because the timetables are different with UK and US theater, Kinky Boots (Tony Winner 2013) is up against Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights (Tony Winner Best Musical 2008) at the Olivier Awards 2016. Strange that Kinky Boots hit the US first since it's adapted from a British film.
TODAY'S WATCH #2 Speaking of Theater. Benjamin Walker -- who is great on stage but has yet to successfully make his mark on the big screen despite a few tries -- is doing Patrick Bateman on stage. Who knows if he'll be Tony Nominated but here he is performing "Selling Out" on the Colbert Show
We really need to see some current Broadway shows before the Tony nominations hit!
The London Film Critics Circle Awards were held last night across the Atlantic as something of a calmer arthouse alternative to the multiplex-lusting Critics Choice Awards here in the States, though they did share one winner: George Miller took Best Director for Mad Max Fury Road. We're trying not to think of him as the frontrunner here at TFE because it would be the most anomalous Best Director win of our lifetimes and too satisfying. Could it actually happen?
Judging on photos of the event, Kate Winslet was the main attraction of the night.
The Winners
FILM: Mad Max: Fury Road
BRITISH/IRISH FILM: 45 Years
DIRECTOR: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
ACTRESS: Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
ACTOR: Tom Courtenay, 45 Years
BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER: Maisie Williams, The Falling (supposedly this girls boarding school drama headlined by the Game of Thrones star will be released in the USA by Cinedigm)
BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR: Tom Hardy (for multiple roles: Legend, London Road, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Revenant)
SCREENWRITER: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT: Ed Lachman, for the Cinematography of Carol
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER (The Philip French Award): John Maclean, Slow West
A Fun Titanic Takeaway Kate Winslet, who can add the London prize to her Golden Globe this year, doesn't seem to be thinking about her own Oscar run for Steve Jobs. Perhaps she doesn't care about a second statue (and Alicia Vikander could be tough to beat -- the advantage of being a leading lady in a supporting category... *sigh*).
With the cameras shoved in her face (seriously back off reporters) Kate is just loving on Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant (it's clear where her Oscar vote is going). There are also props to her current co-star Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs as well.
Imelda Staunton. Photographed by David Rose. [Source]Here's Murtada on his favorite subject; British ladies of a certain age who delight on screen and stage.
Happy New Year! Some Brits usher in the new year celebrating their newly bestowed knighthoods. This year Queen Elizabeth II honors, among others, Idris Elba and David Oyelowo. There are different designations to the honor. For example Imelda Staunton became a CBE i.e. not yet a Dame but well on her way. It’s obvious The Queen hasn’t ventured out to the theater in 2015 or Staunton would be Dame Squared for her triumphant Mama Rose alone.
This year’s newly minted Dames are British TV stalwart Barbara Windsor (EastEnders, the Carry On movies) and Welsh stage veteran Sian Phillips (Daniel Day Lewis’ mother in The Age of Innocence), who was once Mrs. Peter O’Toole.
But when we talk dames we mostly talk about the holy trinity who still have vibrant movie careers: Judi, Maggie and Helen. No last names necessary if you say Dame first. Oscars and other awards, big successes on the boards on both sides of the Atlantic and long thriving careers for all three.
But who is your favorite? To help you decide let’s dig a bit deeper. [More...]
Wednesday, November 2, 2016 at 12:31PM 
