Oscar Volley: Costume Design Needs More Modernity

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Elisa and Cláudio to talk Costume Design...

Will MAESTRO bring Mark Bridges back into the Oscar fold?
CLÁUDIO: To borrow an idea from Nathaniel, let me introduce the conversation with an imaginary outfit. Please think of me in a Priscilla powder blue suit tailored to Ferrari Italian perfection. There's a Wonka scarf in there, too, and Tomas' bearish coat from Passages on top. On my wrist, Felicia's pearls from Maestro, on my feet pink rollerblades from Barbie. For other accessories, I shall pick a revolutionary rosette from Napoleon to pin to my lapel and a pair of Victorian sunglasses from Poor Things. To complete the ensemble, Oppenheimer's hat with a Killers of the Flower Moon beaded band, everything topped by some showgirl-ready plumes straight out of Shug Avery's wardrobe. Do I look even more clownish than Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry at the 91st Academy Awards? But I also look fabulous...maybe…

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Category Confusion: LEAD or SUPPORTING?

by Cláudio Alves

The Gotham nominations caused quite a stir among the Film Experience readership. Going through the comments section, the matter at hand is category fraud: who is and isn't guilty of perpetrating it going into the awards season? For instance, I would have categorized Ryan Gosling as a secondary lead in Barbie, but I've been convinced by the comments that he fits better in supporting. Other cases discussed included Binoche's Gotham-nominated work in Taste of Things, Whishaw in Passages, Hüller in Zone of Interest, and beyond. 

So, why not relocate that discussion here while having fun with polls? You get to vote, deciding on each performer's rightful placement…

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Gotham Awards Nominations: "Killers" Unsubmitted but Gladstone still IN

by Cláudio Alves

Though the Gotham Awards rarely correlate with the Academy, their nominations announcement often feels like the beginning of the awards season proper. That is especially true in a year like this, when the erstwhile champions of independent cinema have foregone budget caps, meaning studio productions are allowed into consideration. Still, some big Oscar contenders chose not to submit themselves for the Gothams, giving space for smaller pictures to thrive. Such was the case for Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon. Nevertheless, even with these limitations, the selection committee managed to honor Lily Gladstone…

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What did you see this past week?

by Nathaniel R

Barbenheimer is still reigning in theaters and by quite a lot both movies still gathering impressive per screen averages in their fourth weeks and enviable global grosses too ($1.1 billion and $648 million respectively). The weekend's new wide releases, the dracula picture The Last Voyage of The Demeter and a sci-fi comedy Jules didn't make much of an initial impression with moviegoers. Meanwhile the bisexual drama Passages starring Ben Whishaw and Franz Rogowski (with a sex scene that will make you believe they were actually f***ing on set) expanded to 41 theaters.

Weekend Box Office Aug 11-13 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (Over 600 Screens)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
BARBIE	PASSAGES
1 ★ BARBIE $33.8 (cum. $526.4) 4,178 screens	1 ★ THEATER CAMP (US, comedy) $274k (cum. $3.1) 410 screens
2  ★ OPPENHEIMER  $18.8 (cum. $264.2) 3761 screens	2 🔺★ PASSAGES (France/Germany, drama) $85k (cum. $172k) 41 screens

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Sundance: An Entertaining Love Triangle in ‘Passages’

By Abe Friedtanzer

What happens when you put Franz Rogowski (Great Freedom), Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Color), and Ben Whishaw together in a film directed by Ira Sachs (Married Life)? The result is Passages, a love triangle drama layered with humor about a filmmaker who finds himself simultaneously drawn to two different people…

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