Hello, Gorgeous: Best Actress of 2019

A new series by Juan Carlos Ojano

The Best Actress shortlist in this particular year is noteworthy in that all of them appear at the very beginning of their films.  Three of the five are in the very first shot of their films. One is the first person we see in the film. Meanwhile, another film begins with a different actress (a younger version of the character), but is still the character of the nominated performer.

While not always indicative of how centered they are in the respective narrative of their films, it is nevertheless a striking gesture that informs how we were supposed to enter their stories. Even in two instances where there are other leads aside from the Best Actress nominee, the five films featuring these actresses position them as navigators of their own stories.

Are you ready? The year is 2019...

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One For Them, One For Me: Noah Baumbach's "Madagascar 3" and "Frances Ha"

A new series by Christopher James

Noah Baumbach at a screening of Frances Ha

Do one for them; do one for you. If you can still do projects for yourself, you can keep your soul.

— Martin Scorsese: A Journey

Many creatives have pointedly or inadvertently taken Martin Scorsese’s career advice. One has to hit it big in order to have clout in Hollywood. Often, it takes clout to make passion projects. In this column, we want to look at the times wherein a filmmaker or actor’s career triumphs have come at a time where they’ve also had to make compromises. In some cases, people have taken the easy cash grab in order to sustain more creative endeavors. Other times, the populist “one for them” ends up being a creative triumph, loosening the talent up.

The first entry in this series belongs to Noah Baumbach, for his wonderfully chaotic 2012. In the same year he begins his partnership behind the camera with Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha (released in 2013), he secretly writes Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. Do these movies share any DNA, or is it a textbook case of “one for them (I need money), one for me (I’m an artist)”?

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Tweetweek Quickie

I would see this movie so many times and nominate it for ALL the Film Bitch Awards.

Marriage Story but it’s Kermit and Miss Piggy

— Ray Lewis (@RayLewis1997) May 5, 2020

Co-sign.

Films with credits at the beginning >>> Films with credits at the end.

— David Jenkins (@daveyjenkins) May 6, 2020

 After the jump: Glenn Close, The Never Ending Story goofing, Interview with the Vampire, Bruce Campbell's new look, Logan Lerman in the pool, and more...

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Third Annual 'Ranking the Acting Clips' Post

by Ben Miller

For the third year, Nathaniel has been nice enough to let me rank the Oscar clips.  I was so excited to write this heading into Oscar night, until I saw the first clip package.  The Academy decided to shake things up and present a montage of clips for the group of nominees, so we have to work with what they gave us.  Presenting, the 2019 Oscar clips (sort of), ranked by quality.

That’s…a choice

Don't you EVER talk to your mother like that!

If something were to happen to my boss's car, well then I'd get in trouble."

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Actors Playing Actors at the Oscars

by Cláudio Alves

To watch an actor play another performer is a pleasure. There's wonderment to be found in these Matryoshkas of acting within acting, be it the porn inexpressiveness of Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights or the desperate showboating of Judy Garland in A Star Is Born. Not surprisingly, if we peruse the history of the Academy Awards, we'll find numerous instances of thespians nominated for giving life to fictional actors or real-life stars of the past. Perhaps no other profession is so generously dramatized in the annals of acting awards.

This season, Renée Zellweger won the Best Actress trophy for resurrecting the ghost of Garland for one final performance. There were two other actors-as-actors performances nominated. While we don't see much of Scarlett Johansson's Nicole onstage, her profession as an actress is a central part of the characterization in Marriage Story. On the other hand we see Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton at work, and layers of performance unraveling in glorious Panavision. 

After the jump a quick trip through Oscar history of actors who won gold playing other actors…

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