FB Awards Flashback 2002 ~ Viola Davis Wins "Breakthrough"

I was looking up old Film Bitch Awards the other day, to verify that I had awarded Viola Davis a prize once before, because when she took home the SAG prize I felt like shouting "I SAW HER FIRST!". Turns out I gave her two gold medals the first year I "met" her. For kicks, and because I haven't finished the First Ten Years book for purchase, here is a little flashback for you exactly as they appeared (typos and all)! Viola won the following two prizes "Best Actress in a Cameo or Limited Role" and "Breakthrough"... I had totally forgotten most of these details.

CAMEO OR LIMITED ROLE, 2002

Viola only had one scene in Antwone Fisher so I guess I never found a photo of her. LOL. I remember a teensy bit of Viola and Mary Lynn Rajskub's performances. Toni Collette's cameo on the other hand is super vivid  as most things The Hours are, nine years on.  Tilda Swinton and Geraldine Chaplin's roles are much fuzzier memories. In fact, I didn't remember until looking at this that Tilda was even in Adaptation (the bulk of my memories from that one are Streep's -- particularly the famous dial tone sequence -- with a little side dish of Chris Cooper). 

BREAKTHROUGH AWARD, 2002
[Note: The year before I had given the medals to Naomi Watts, Gael García Bernal and Kerry Washington]

Remember when Maggie Gyllenhaal was Jessica Chastain?

I'm lol'ing at my "Give her a lead role instantly" command about Viola Davis. Meryl Streep would issue the same command at the SAG Awards several years later. It only took Hollywood nine years to get back to me on that with The Help. The other thing that's amusing to me about this flashback is Jesse Eisenberg as a semi-finalist. I didn't seem to have much faith that micro-budgeted indie Roger Dodger would lead anywhere for him but I thought he was great in it. 

Does this bring back any memories of 2002 movies for you?

I know I've been slow going on finishing the Film Bitch Awards this year, and even slower to bring you all the promised book of "The First Ten Years". When I finally finish it I hope you'll all purchase to support the site's continued life. [In the meantime a "subscription" on the right hand sidebar -- That's like 8 cents a day -- is a great way to make sure we keep typing at you for yet another year].

Who will win breakthrough and cameo prizes this year? And will we laugh about who was highlighted and who wasn't nine years later? The answer to the first question is coming soon but obviously there's a long wait before we can answer the second.

DiLinkrio

© Phil NotoKeyframe a look back at the multiple Tilda Swintons of Teknolust
The Siren and Sunset Gun on Gene Tierney in Leave Her To Heaven 
World of Wonder gossiping about Will Smith and Jada Pinkett's breakup which they're denying (for now)
IndieWire has a chart of the top ten lesbian-centric box office hits: The Hours and Heavenly Creatures -- two films we like to talk about! -- bookend the chart. It's a remarkably high quality top ten all told. 

⬅ Your Nice New Outfit This is wonderful. The artist Phil Noto imagines society page coverage of superhero parties involving The Avengers and X-Men and the like allegedly shot by Ant-Man himself, Hank Pym. [P.S. If you're wondering why I always try to mention names of artists and such it's because I hate it when people don't get credit for their work. I wish the internet would respect province more... I just found out that my "Dead Wives Club" poster mockup which was satirizing Leonardo DiCaprio's career has finally taken off on tumblr and yet I wasn't credited for creating the joke or for making the poster. Sad face me.]

Zimbio Thelma & Louise has a 20th anniversary Academy screening in LA. Sadly Susan Sarandon didn't show. So it was basically Thelma & Nope, Just Thelma. This is even worse than last week when Pfeiffer wasn't at the Scarface thing.
Just Jared Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio in training on the set of The Great Gatsby.

Frankly My Dear... Speaking of Leo. He's lined up his 5th collaboration with Martin Scorsese. They'll remake The Gambler (1974) together. If you're keeping track DeNiro and Scorsese made 8 films together. DiCaprio seems determined to overthrow him in the Scorsese History. 

Q&A: British Ladies, Weary Superheroes, & "The Hours" for Men

I thought we'd experiment with a Q&A column so over the weekend I asked you to ask questions. Despite this summer's attempt to rebrand myself as a mutant telepath to rival Professor X, I can't actually read minds (unless I'm sitting across from you or holding something that belongs to you), so you had to type them.

So here we go. I'm answering half of them chosen somewhat randomly.

Robert: Do you think mainstream audiences will ever tire of superhero flicks? If so, which film will be the straw that breaks the camel's back?
Professor R: Yes, all things being cyclical. I predict it will happen with the Spider-Man reboot after the Spider-Man reboot... in 2019. (The window keeps shrinking, see.) Either that or the Wonder Twins: The Movie in 2016.

eurocheese: We've heard who'll be producing the Oscars (Brett Ratner and Don Mischer). Any guesses on a host?
Professor R:  It would be unfair for me to guess since I can see into the future. But I will tell you it's a solo act this year after last year's debacle and it's unfortunately not Andy Serkis covered in motion capture gear backstage and then projected onto the stage by WETA in a variety of famous beastly character guises from cinematic history: King Kong, Mickey Mouse, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Charlotte on a web, Jabba the Hut. (Damnit. That would have been so great. Why don't they let ME produce the Oscars? Fuck Brett Ratner!)

Mark: Is Michelle Williams becoming the next Renée Zellweger? She is showing up in 4 or 5 movies a year and seems desperate to win the Oscar.
Professor R: I don't understand the question. That's like comparing apples to oranges lemons. I don't think Williams is desperate to win an Oscar. She wouldn't be making Meek's Cutoff if she was. If she's desperate to win an Oscar she's doing a terrible job of showing it; quiet and serene on the campaign trail is generally not a winning strategy. 

/3rtfull: You're having tea with three famous women. Who are they?

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Reader Spotlight: Sergio

Oopsie. We missed a week of our series of mini reader profiles. We're getting to know other members of The Film Experience community.

Today we're talking to Sergio from Guatemala who has been a very welcome consistent contributor to our HMWYBS party on his tumblr "Awww, The Movies ♥". Check that out.

Nathaniel:  Do you remember your first movie or first movie obsession?
SERGIO: The first time I went to the movies, it was with my father and sister. It was a strange/random act from my father, because we were going somewhere else, I was 10 years old and I had never been to the movies! The movie? Nothing relevant, but I was captivated by the experience. Two years later I started to skip events at school to go to the movies by myself.

Uh-oh. Okay, when did you start reading the film experience?
It was around 2004/2005. I even have an e-mail that I sent to myself (lame, I know!) in which I copied the site's address, like a prehistoric bookmark, although in those years I just read the Oscar Predictions. Later, I discovered the blog and I blame Nicole Kidman and my Moulin Rouge's obsession, they were the reason why I came back and found myself immersed.

First question Part 2: Yes, Moulin Rouge! was my first movie obsession.

Nicole & Baz are Moulin Rouge! WinnersWhat is your favorite film genre and why?
I know technically it’s not a genre, but my favorite movies are from Auteur, some people consider the Auteurism like the anti-genre, but that is irrelevant in this question. I just want to say I love to watch a true original director making magic, knowing what he is doing, trusting more in his instincts than in a studio or external influences. The artists, the pioneers, the virtuosos, they are the ones who make me buy the ticket.

Your 3 favorite actresses. Go.
To make my answer easy and shorter, I'm limiting it to modern actresses. This is going to sound like a complete cliché, but I can answer the question with two words: The Hours. The cast is so amazing, a total turn-on for me. If only these three could be in the same scene. La Streep + Nicole Kidman + Julianne Moore = Heaven! They are my trinity, if they demand, I obey.

Take away one oscar and give it to someone else. Who when why?
Can I do this every year? I could easily take Forest Whitaker’s Oscar and give it to Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson; take Jim Broadbent’s for Iris and then give it to him back again for Moulin Rouge! Brokeback Mountain over Crash, duh! That was a no brainer. In my perfect dreamy world Julianne Moore would have won for “Far from Heaven” and I would agree with Nicole’s loss, because Nicole Kidman would have won the year before for MR! Meryl would have won her third Oscar for ‘Doubt’, but Kate Winslet would have won for ‘Eternal Sunshine…’ and my re-history also has a happy ending, no second Oscar to Hillary Swank.

Umm, I can't believe Glenn Close doesn’t have an Oscar yet, so I would take Jodie Foster's first Oscar and I would give it to her for Dangerous Liaisons (1988).

One does not applaud the tenor for clearing his throat.

Close wasn't only clearing her throat, she was singing opera.

Previous Reader Spotlights
the lovely ladies: Ester, Leehee, Jamie and Dominique  and the gents  Borja, John, Chris, Peter, Ziyad, Andrew, Yonatan, Keir, Kyle, Vinci, Victor, Bill, Hayden, Murtada, Cory, Walter, Paolo, and BBats