"The Client" and Populist Oscar Choices in Acting

by Nathaniel R

Today is the 25th anniversary of the release of The Client which was a big sleeper success in its summer, ending the year as the 13th highest grossing movie of 1994. Only that number wasn't bad luck since Susan Sarandon netted a Best Actress nomination for the legal drama. That nomination kept her momentum as "overdue for a win" going strong until the next year when she won the Oscar for something in Oscar's more typical wheelhouse, Dead Man Walking (1995) an issue drama based on a true story.

So let's discuss something no one talks about much. What are the lead acting nominations that would never have happened without the big hit status for the movies that housed them? This is NOT meant as a critique of the performances. Sometimes Oscar just needs to be convinced by enormous success to look at worthy pieces of acting within genres they take less seriously (their loss) or star vehicles they might not have stopped to mull over without all the general audience enthusiasm forcing the movie to be taken seriously... 

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Beauty vs Beast: Sailors Moon

Jason Adams from MNPP here using this week's "Beauty vs Beast" to memorialize a sad anniversary -- the great German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder died of an overdose on this day in the year 1982. Unsurprising given his extraordinary output over the course of his 37 years on Earth Fassbinder's projects outlived his days, and one finished film came out a few months after he'd passed -- his gorgeously gay and strange Genet adaptation Querelle, starring Brad Davis as a sailor entangled in lusty criminalities in port, and that's where we'll rest our eyes today (since we're also covering LGBT films all June to boot). Much like Lieutenant Seblon (a perfectly mustachioed Franco Nero, awash in long eroticized pauses) can't keep his eyes off his charge, neither can we all these years later...

find bike trails

PREVIOUSLY The first week of Pride Month took us to sweet Translyvania, where Tim Curry's Dr. Frank N Furter easily swanned off with 0ver 80% of your Rocky Horror votes. Said kris01:

"Brad and Janet are cute and everything, but Frank n Furter can create life. Iron Man has a million suits to jerk off too, but can he make people!?"

Beauty vs Beast: Transylvania Time Warped

Hello and Happy Monday, Jason from MNPP here with this week's much antici........pated edition of "Beauty vs Beast" -- since it's Pride Month I'm going to be glancing back at some of my favorite LGBT movies for the next four weeks! How merry and gay it will be. Today we're finding our sexy yet somewhat boring selves stalled on the side of the road on a dark and stormy night with just a strange castle astride a mountaintop ahead seen as refuge, and hey, they seem to be having some sort of a party inside...

survey services

PREVIOUSLY Twas Aladdin's time for the spotlight last go-round, and our animated hero soundly trounced the villanous Jafar (speaking of sneering homosexuals) with a fine upstanding and heterosexual 62% of your vote. Said Ryan T:

"This is TOUGH. Aladdin was like my Disney crush for THE LONGEST TIME but Jafar was like VILLAIN GOALS. In the end I went with Aladdin, because I just can't say no to those big brown eyes."

81 days til Oscar

by Nathaniel R

Diane & Warren / Don & Meryl at the 1981 Oscars

You know what I feel is tragic about online Oscar history, dear readers? It's the lack of abundance of Oscar night photos before, say, 2000. Oh sure you can usually find photos of the winners holding their Oscars but try finding complete gowns of all the Best Actress nominees if you (hypothetically) wanna fantasize about ordering custom doll sets of every vintage. You're out of luck for any year prior to the explosion of 24/7 media coverage and constant Oscar coverage. Take the 1981 Oscars for example...

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Would you rather? (Thanksgiving Weekend Edition)

Time for our silly aspirational Instagram fantasy game. Would you rather...

• prepare a turkey with Diane Kruger?
• snuggle with Gus Kenworthy and Matt Wilkas in the morning?
• live the high life with Constance Wu & Awkwafina?
• reflect in the dressing room with Laura Benanti?
• reminisce about Goodfellas with Debi Mazar?
• bet on a football game with Sam Trammell?
• visit Stonehenge with Susan Sarandon?
• relaxing with Kate Bosworth?
• fly first class with Jeff Goldblum?
• eat leftovers with Buffy?

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide...

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