April Foolish Pt 5: Best Supporting Actress Possibilities

One thing years of doing the Supporting Actress Smackdown has reminded us of is that though the Academy is sometimes more adventurous with supporting nominations as opposed to leads (in that they'll consider eccentric performances or comic ones slightly more often) they still don't veer too far from their comfort zones of drama, prestige adaptations, heavy tears and the like. But how cool would it be if the Academy really let loose, did something atypical and catapulted themselves into the multiverse ala Everything Everywhere All At Once and found a universe where they would awards stuff like Jamie Lee Curtis's very game, vanity-free, and quite hilarious performance as a IRS auditor. In this same alternate universe they might be more drawn to Nicole Kidman's wilder artistic impulses which are reportedly on display in the backhalf of The Northman, but which they've ignored at the Academy since forever. In the same category of potentially provocative characters, we're on pins and needles wondering what Greta Gerwig will do with her "Babette" role in White Noise.

We're also hoping Whoopi Goldberg (Till), Audra McDonald (Rustin), and Hong Chau (The Whale) have great roles though obviously their parts in these projects could be more tiny and decorative, too. It's all blindfolded conjecture at this point though Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans) and Samantha Morton (She Said) feel like solid bets this far out. CHECK OUT THE NEW CHART FOR THE APRIL FOOLISH PREDICTIONS IN THIS CATEGORY

Oscar Charts ALL NEW 
Prediction Index | Supporting Actress | Supporting Actor | Screenplays | Visual Charts | Music Charts | Animated Feature Chart 

The Emmas of Yore: ITV's "Emma"

by Cláudio Alves

The character of Emma Woodhouse is a tricky one to play. At least, if the actress is trying to reproduce the personality Jane Austen wrote in her famous novel. She's a daughter of privilege who has grown to believe she's much cleverer than what is true. A matchmaker by vocation, Emma is a busybody who's always interfering in other people's lives, presumptuous and terminally judgmental of all that surrounds her. She can also be a bit of a mean girl when indulged. Still, these character flaws are nothing but the folly of youth and the consequence of a provincial upbringing. Emma Woodhouse is naïve to a fault and desperately romantic. More importantly, she's not intentionally cruel or callous, just foolish.

This mix of a meddler's instinct and a daydreamer's heart is a difficult one to represent without skewing the balance of the characterization. In that regard, Kate Beckinsale might be the best Emma of them all…

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Watch at Home: Killing Sacred Deers in Moonlit Hidden Worlds

The heads up on what's newly available right now to screen at home.

New on DVD/Blu-Ray
• How to Train Your Dragon The Hidden World - do we think this has a shot at the Oscar or was the conversation too muted? The series hasn't yet won the gold.
• Isn't It Romantic  If you can't get enough Rebel Wilson in movie theaters with The Hustle, you can try her romantic comedy from earlier in the year. We haven't actually caught this yet. If you have do let us know what you thought in the comments as we're curious about it.
• The Upside Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart led this unexpected hit based on the French blockbuster The Intouchables.

New to streaming titles and iTunes deals on the ultra cheap are after the jump...

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Links

• IndieWire a brief interview with Steven Yeun about life after The Walking Dead -- strangely there are no questions about his new Korean movie Burning despite the fact that he's amazing in it
• THR Bradley Cooper getting an award from PETA for casting his own dog Charlie in A Star is Born. I mean.... the dog is perfection, so why not?
• Vanity Fair Fan Bingbing has broken her silence after disappearing. She is said to owe more than $100 million in backtaxes to the Chinese government

• /Film Trailer for The Conners series, essentially Roseanne without Roseanne
• The Guardian a wonderful interview with Samantha Morton about choices she made in her career, her new part on The Walking Dead, and why she was dubbed "difficult" in her early years of stardom.
• Playbill Emmy & Oscar winner Christine Lahti now starring in a play Off-Broadway about Gloria Steinem called Gloria: A Life. Steinem is quite the hot topic at the moment since there's also a biopic in the works
• Pajiba on the Bullseye rumors around Daredevil season 3
• Decider a Jeopardy moment that will go viral involving drag superstar Alyssa Edwards
• /Film Netflix will be releasing Paul Greengrass 22 July in 100 theaters (they're also rumored to be trying to buy movie theaters, which is odd considering how much they've worked to diminish the moviegoing habit)
• MNPP Luke Benward nine times
• Daily Beast and director Catherine Hardwicke reflect back on Twilight's success and the sexist aftermath

This Week's Must Read (s)
Wesley Morris has an amazing challenging essay about the new ways we discuss art and how they've come to center more on the artist and that person's perceived moral or representational correctness then the quality of the art.  I loved reading this because so much of what he's saying I've seen happening and whenever I tried to put my finger on why it was frustrating me, I couldn't quite locate the target. 

The essay also prompted this interesting discussion at Vulture among a panel of mostly female critics. I love the point raised that there's a way to discuss art in this new way while also balancing aesthetic discussion but a lot of younger critics haven't been trained in that way or encouraged to learn that skill in the charged political time we're living in.

Is this the end for "Harlots"?

by Nathaniel R

There wasn't enough interest to continue our lengthy "Harlots" write-ups but dayumn, y'all are missing out if you're still now watching. The show is absolutely a smorgasbord of actressing. Season 2 initially felt like the Lesley Manville show after Season 1's Samantha Morton flavor but everyone in the cast is vying for queen of this deliciously talented pool of fascinating women in season 2. Tomorrow night is the season finale.

I do wonder sometimes if the writers are writing this show into a corner, though. How can it continue for a third season  -- if renewed *bites nails* --  given what's happened to the characters? With hangings, stabbings, whippings, betrayals, and general abundance of emotional scarring it feels like there will soon be no one left intact? Or is the nihilism the end game and this is a series finale tomorrow? Season 2 isn't as much "fun" as Season 1, and given what's transpired the show has probably left "fun" behind for good, but it's still dynamite drama. Watch it. And bless Morton, Manville, Liv Tyler, Jessica Brown Findlay, and the rest of the cast for investigating the psyches of these bruised angry witty sexual women.