Q & A: Surprising Stars and How to Stop Category Fraud

Thanks to Pedro for suggesting we revive the "Ask Nathaniel - Q & A s". So many questions came in when I feared getting none. Let's start with Pedro since this was his idea.

Q: Of all people involved in moviemaking that you have interviewed or known, who surprised you the most and why? - Pedro

A: I wouldn't say I "know" very many people in the industry. Usually interviews are short and even if you meet the person multiple times it can be years inbetween conversations. So I'm not sure how to answer this one. As for "surprises" I will say that Jessica Chastain shocked me with a steel trap memory. I've met her three times and the third she went into detail about something we discussed the second time which was two years earlier. Mentally I was like "HOW?!?" as she talks to hundreds of journalists all year long...

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1994 Q&A: Frankenstein, Weaver, Past Glories, Future Nominations.

Okay, our last dive into 1994! I recently asked readers to send in their '94 related questions (other questions will still be answered but that's for the next Q&A). So here's our final pontifying for that year. You asked, I answer. 

JAMES: 1994 was the year of Frankenstein, the movie that led to Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh splitting up, due to his affair with HBC. Thoughts on Thompson & Branagh’s (professional) partnership? What projects would they have excelled at if they stayed together?

"IT'S ALIVE!" Or, rather. "IT'S DEAD!" Emma and Kenneth. Kenneth and Emma. Sigh. Insert broken heart emoji. Young Nathaniel was so sad when they split. They were the Definitive Early 90s 'It Couple: UK Edition. That was such an awesome cinematic partnership. I adored their over-the-top genre mashup and reincarnation chutzpah in Dead Again and their luminous Shakespearean comedy in Much Ado About Nothing.

If you think about it Frankenstein, with its pulp grotesqueries, and bodice-ripped lustiness is absolutely the work of the same guy who made Dead Again. I miss that Branagh, still...

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Q&A: Buffyverse Actors, The Isabelles, Actresses We Don't "Get"

by Nathaniel R

This is always so much fun. Why do I go so long inbetween "episodes"? You asked a bunch of questions so here are a bunch more answers. Continue the conversation with your own answers to these questions why don't you? We thrive on community here not just blabbering at you. 

So let's get right to the Reader Qs, shall we?

RYAN T: Just got back from vacation where I visited Italy for the first time. Alas no epic romance Call Me By Your Name style... but it did make me wonder: what are some of your favorite Italian films?

NATHANIEL: I have never been to Italy. AND I have never had an epic vacation romance. I FEEL CHEATED! I could definitely use some boning up on Italian cinema and am happy to take suggestions from all of you.

I'm afraid my answers in this regard are very "basic cinephile" but here are the 8½ I'd probably list as my favorites...

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Q&A: Actors Who Should Be More Famous, Broadway Crossovers, and Animal Horror

Hello everyone!

Nathaniel, eternally cat-sittingWe haven't done a Q & A in so long so let's jump right in. In order to actually do these more often I'll answer just five or six questions at once. Hopefully this will stir up more focused comment parties, too!

PAR: Julianne Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Annette Bening enter the thunderdome. Only one leaves. Who? - par

A: LOL! I hope you aren't being cruel and just making me sacrifice two of my all time favorites at the altar of, well, my Pfavorite. But if we're talking about cage matches in post-apocalypse desert landscapes my answer is The Bening. Moore would break down into crying jags in no time, becoming too vulnerable. Pfeiffer would seem like easy prey put up a very spirited and scary pfight but you know that The Bening is all wile and steel and surprise maneuvers. How else did she conquer Hollywood and Warren Beatty and continue to become even more incredible as an actress the older she got despite being brilliant right out of the gate?

STEVE G: What film out of Cannes 2018, that wasn't previously on your radar, are you most excited to see?

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Q&A: "Strong Female Characters" and Future AFI Honors

Okay last round of reader questions before we have to ask for a new batch. These are culled from the last "Ask Nathaniel" column as well as the open thread. Let's talk Wonder Woman and Oscar, "Strong Roles for Women," and more.

MARIE: Who are the next 3 women that should win the AFI Life Achievement Award?

NATHANIEL: A timely question since Diane Keaton just won hers. But I had to look back at who has previously been nominated to come up with an answer. Living female winners number only five: Diane Keaton (2017), Jane Fonda (2014), Shirley Maclaine (2012), Meryl Streep (2004), and Barbra Streisand (2000) with the other twelve winners in this new century being men (both actors and directors have won). It's actually a tough question because they have to be alive and *really* famous to get this honor and also elderly (though Streep was young for this honor taking it when she was 54ish I think). They also have to be American (for the most part) so I looked only at people who are almost 60 or older and this is what I came up with...

 

I would probably choose from among these five next:

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