Interview: Edu Grau on "Passing", queer cinema, and first time filmmakers

by Nathaniel R

Black and white photography has been the hot trend this past year. Despite that, the incredibly specific and resonant visuals of Passing have been underdiscussed.  Some of that we attribute to the quiet nature of the film itself; the watchful, perpetually anxious drama focuses on Irene (a splendid Tessa Thomson) a woman in 1920s Harlem who is shocked to discover that her childhood friend Clare (brilliant Ruth Negga) is living as a white woman, and not just "passing" but boastful about her subterfuge and marriage to a proud racist (Alexander Skarsgård).

We were thrilled to meet with the cinematographer Edu Grau to discuss his fascinating movie. We broke the ice talking about his changing name in film credits. With a self-deprecating laugh he explained that he went by Eduardo at the beginnign of his career because it sounded more serious but changed his mind. "Only the police use Eduardo," he says laughing "Everyone calls me Edu". There are a lot of Edwards and Eduardos in America, he adds, reasoning "Edu is more special!" The Film Experience agrees and suggests that people should commit the name to memory...

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USC Scripter Awards honor "Dopesick", Dune", "Passing" and more...

by Nathaniel R

The USC Scripter Awards are an annual event that is a gala fundraiser for the USC Libraries. The nominations are chosen by committee. They specifically honor the adaptations of printed works as well as the original authors. As such it's usually novels and plays that are honored. We're thrilled that Rebecca Hall's smart adaptation of Passing finally got some love. We don't know if West Side Story was ineligible but given that it's primarily canon due to its incredible musical score, it might not have felt literary enough in its original form to qualify? The nominations for film and television are after the jump...

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FYC: Ruth Negga in "Passing"

by Cláudio Alves

Earlier in the awards season, I became discouraged at the thought that the year's best performance was doomed. Critics didn't rally behind Ruth Negga as I had hoped, and her film, no matter how spellbinding, looked likely to be ignored. Despite such worries the arrival of prominent Oscar precursors and industry awards has revitalized hope. After Globe and SAG nominations, Negga is poised to earn a second Academy Award nomination for her supporting turn as Clare Bellew in Rebecca Hall's cinematic adaptation of Nella Larsen's novel Passing. But of course, even when a nod feels secure, it's never a bad idea to gild the lily and remind folks of an actress's genius…

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Surprise Podcast! Nick & Nathaniel reunite to talk Campion, Zola, and *much* more

Since several of you have asked over the past couple of years, Nick Davis, who was once a weekly regular on both our podcast and his own site (haha) is fine! We spontaneously jumped on the phone to talk last month and recorded it. Apologies for waiting so long to share but you know how December is. So "Happy New Year!"

94 minutes
00:01 Reunited and it feels so good
01:40 Jane Campion's return with The Power of the Dog
13:35 The brilliance of Rebecca Hall's Passing which Nick has taught in book form for years
23:00 C'mon C'mon 
29:30 Quick feelings on King Richard, Dune, and  Licorice Pizza
40:12 Titane's anger and the atmosphere of The Humans
53:15 We split on The Worst Person in the World 
1:08:00 Quick feelings on tick tick BOOM!, Belfast, Prayers for the Stolen, and The Velvet Underground
1:14:00 Hating on Spencer together. We really dislike it, okay?
1:24:45 Loving on Zola together. Get into it, bitch!
1:31:30 "Deleted Scene" House of Gucci

You can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify or right here, attached...

Power of the Zola

Year in Review: Best Onscreen Chemistry of 2021

by Team Experience

Screen chemistry is the great intangible of movies. It can happen behind the camera among teams on the same or complimentary wavelengths. Director/Muse relationships often become the stuff of legend. But the most commonly celebrated electricity is the spark between actors that you can see onscreen. Sensational chemistry between them can elevate any genre, even the ones that aren't intrinsically built on interpersonal dynamics. A thrilling duet, romantic or otherwise, can rescue a film from mediocrity and elevate a very good picture to a beloved one. Old Hollywood understood this, reteaming co-stars that clicked over and over again. Modern Hollywood has a much rougher go of this kind of repetition (given that everyone is a freelancer) so we treasure great chemistry whenever it crops up in its too fleeting way.

We polled the team on 2021's greatest examples of screen chemistry and here were their top 16 choices...

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