NYFF: Olivia, Rachel, and Emma in "The Favourite"

Nathaniel reporting from the New York Film Festival

"Bunnies aren't just cute like everyone supposes," the vengeance demon Anya famously sang on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you should know straightaway that she would absolutely recoil at The Favourite, which is filled with bunnies, even as she might well relate to the brutal practicalities of the social maneuvering between the servant Abigail (Emma Stone) and her cousin Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) for the Queen's affections. Yet the two things, bunnies and favouritism, are inextricably linked.

Queen Anne's (Olivia Colman) chambers are filled with bunnies, seventeen to be precise, each named after one of her miscarried or stillborn babies. She would very much like her favourite Lady, whoever it is, to fawn on them...

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'Roma' and 'The Favourite' win Venice

by Murtada Elfadl 

Cuaron with Lion

As expected Roma and The Favourite won the biggest prizes at this year’s Venice Film Festival main competition. The two films screened on the same day and were both raved and loved equally. Roma, a story that Alfonso Cuaron based on his memories growing up in 1970’s Mexico City, has been hailed as both personal and epic which bodes well for its awards success...

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Red Carpet Lineup: 26 Venice Lewks

Having previously covered those pink pink pink first days in Venice, on to some other memorable looks (and a few actresses included just because we like to look at them...)

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Eye Spy With "The Favourite"

Chris here. Oh was white text on a black background not enough to prep us for a Lanthimos costume drama? The NYFF-bound The Favourite inches closer to release and we've now been given a genius poster that takes "closer" to a whole new level of Lanthimosian wrongness. Reader, what are Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz doing to Olivia Colman's face?? We love some Lanthimos body horror humor, but do we need to brace for The Favourite to punish us with... eye stuff? Eek! Or maybe there's some more hidden hints at what the movie has in store for us?

YNMS: The Favourite

Chris here. One of our most conspicuously hidden fall movies has finally teased us with a feisty first look trailer: Yorgos Lanthimos' royal period piece The Favourite. We've suffered months without a glimpse at what a Lanthmos costume drama might look like, with even the first teaser poster being literal white text on a black background. But rest assured that this intriguing setting for the starkly contemporary director does not look to be tamer than his previous films. In fact, it might just be his Lanthimost.

Last year's The Killing of a Sacred Deer had a fairly divisive response, so some of his fans will rejoice to note that this trailer promises something more in line with The Lobster. And it's not just the mischievous, cutting tone that is in line. It looks like we will also be getting another dryly genius performance with supporting player Olivia Colman as Queen Anne. Set during the 18th century during war with France, the film stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz as servants clashing for her favor. Take a look at Lanthimos' take in the trailer, and we'll break down the Yes No Maybe So...

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April Foolish: First Supporting Actress Predictions!

by Nathaniel R

Amy Adams as Second Lady Lynne CheneyPeople keep talking about whether or not Glenn Close can finally win an Oscar with The Wife... but while we're on the topic of perpetual bridesmaids, whither Amy Adams? She stars as Lynne Cheney in the biopic about Dick Cheney which reunites her with her American Hustle costar Christian Bale so perhaps we'll have to do "make up" Oscar wins this year for past slights? That's just one of the questions we have about this year's Best Supporting Actress competition which so far has zero competitors unless you count Rachel McAdams in Disobedience (but that just opened today so let's give everyone a week or to catch up with it - here's Jason's review) or unless you count fan favorites like Jennifer Garner in Love Simon and Lupita Nyong'o or Letitia Wright in Black Panther but all three of those scenarios are more fan-fiction than real possibilities given the type of roles and movies and performances they are. (They serve their movies well, especially Letitia Wright, don't misunderstand.)

The best supporting actress turn I've seen thus far for women in 2018 (and it's obviously super early in the film year) is from Virginia Madsen who does lovely work as a Christian mom realizing her eldest son is gay in the understated AIDS drama 1985. That's a micro-budget black & white indie, though, so we can't expect awards play unless the fates are miraculously kind to it. Still, there are plenty of exciting performances to come so on the new Supporting Actress Chart where we've selected 20 women who look like possible contenders. At least on paper but we have to start somewhere!

SEE THE CHART AND SOUND OFF RIGHT HERE IN THE COMMENTS. 

Previous April Foolish Articles
Costume Design, Cinematography, Original Score, Screenplays, Animated Features, Supporting Actor and the Prediction Charts