Thankful for... Christopher James

This year for our "thankful for" column we're interviewing our contributors so you can get to know them better. Yes, Thanksgiving is technically over but we're still grateful. Here's one more for you. A big hug and thank you to CHRISTOPHER JAMES!

Chris has been with for TFE for just over a year but we've known him much longer online, first meeting him in the flesh on a trip to Los Angeles. In the short time he's been with us he's completed the popular "Gay Best Friend" series (one more wrap-up episode is coming!) and is about to launch a new series. He also kept things lively with fun personal anecdotes and important questions, and has been a powerhouse when it comes to our Emmy coverage. 

Our short interview follows...

When did you first fall in love with the movies?

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1999 with Nick: "Stuart Little" and Visual (and Animated) Effects

This week, in advance of the Oscars, Nick Davis is looking back at the Academy races of 20 years ago, spotlighting movies he’d never seen and what they teach us about those categories, then and now.

This year, The Lion King joins Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) as only the third fully animated feature to be nominated for the Best Visual Effects Oscar. I’ve read that tidbit in several places and assume that it must be true, according to people who know better than I do. I wasn’t sure why the movie that defeated Kubo, the 2016 remake of The Jungle Book, did not belong on this list, until I remembered that Mowgli was played by a living, breathing actor, Neel Sethi. Actually, what I mean is that I remembered Mowgli was in the movie, period. And I actually didn’t remember, I had to look it up. The Jungle Book, like an incredible number of films nominated for Best Visual Effects since the category got expanded to a five-wide field in 2010, made almost zero lasting impression on me. Like Best Original Song, it’s a division where I gladly release myself from seeing all the nominees. So, sorry, Lion King. Sorry, Endgame. Don’t get smug, Rise of Skywalker, you weren’t much better. And, until I proposed this series to Nathaniel, which partly exists to fill my own viewing gaps, sorry to Stuart Little, a movie that really tested my sense of the line between animation and visual effects, especially in the context of 1999. That line only gets blurrier as time goes on, so I thought I’d dig in a little...

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Welcome to the one-nomination club

by Cláudio Alves

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the injustice of Oscar snubs, the general lack of diversity and other matters that forever plague the Academy Awards. One must remember, however, that, in the middle of this week's justifiable discontent, there are silver linings to consider. While the 92nd round of Oscar nominations are exhaustively dominated by Best Picture contenders (the most films ever with double digit nomination tallies), a few films managed to squeeze into the mix with just one nomination. In the past, many a great film ended the season with just a sole Oscar nod for its trouble.

Looking back at the last few years, we have such gems as First Reformed, Border, 20th Century Women, The Lobster, Elle, Silence, 45 Years and Gone Girl among many other notable movies. These films' nominations are little morsels of hope that remind us that the Academy isn't completely wrong, not always. So, let's celebrate those films that might not have conquered handfuls of nominations, but are still in the Oscar conversation…

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Never bet against Disney

by Cláudio Alves

While not all of Disney’s movies get Oscar gold, it’s never a good idea to bet against the studio. This year, Captain Marvel, Dumbo and Aladdin failed to conquer any nomination, but many other Disney properties got in the race, even in categories people weren’t expecting them to. Think of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’s makeup nod, for instance. It’s true most of those movies don’t seem like frontrunners, but if we trust in the patterns of Oscar history, then we can be assured the House of Mouse will earn a couple of statues come Hollywood’s biggest night. 

To prove this point, let's peruse the last decade of the Academy Awards and explore Disney’s many nods and victories. Notice there’s at least a win per year…

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Chatting with Disney's vfx contenders

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

When the Oscar shortlists were announced in nine different categories a few weeks ago, the remaining films up for Best Visual Effects were halved from twenty to ten. It turns out that five of those films left are Disney productions, and so we had the chance to sit down with the team from each to learn a bit more about what went into creating everything you see on screen.

Team Endgame
Avengers: Endgame
Each member of this specific team was beyond excited to have worked on the epic blockbuster conclusion, which, to each of them, was a scope that they had never experienced before. They code-named their work “Mary Lou,” after the famous gymnast, to reference a need to “stick the landing”...

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