Who could surprise *without* SAG/Globe precursors on Tuesday?

The following article is reprinted from The Many Rantings of John with his permission. We have attempted to lure him to joining The Film Experience but we had to share this wonderful stat-fascinating piece! You should also follow him on Letterboxd. (Consider this piece a companion of sorts to Chris's piece on statistically who might still be vulnerable despite love from the precursors)

Sipping Oscar tea

by John T.

Every year since 2006 at least one nominee for the Oscars was not highlighted by either the HFPA (the Golden Globes) or SAG-AFTRA, and becomes the "shock" of the morning.  At this point in the season, predicting the Oscars is something of a slog because so much is "decided" so trying to guess who will be this nominee becomes quite fun.  

Here are the people from the past ten years who fit this bill:

2021: Penelope Cruz, Jesse Plemons, JK Simmons, Judi Dench, & Jessie Buckley
2020: Paul Raci & LaKeith Stanfield
2019: Florence Pugh
2018: Marina de Tavira & Yalitza Aparicio
2017: Lesley Manville
2016: Michael Shannon
2015: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Hardy, & Mark Ruffalo
2014: Bradley Cooper, Marion Cotillard, & Laura Dern
2013: Jonah Hill
2012: Quvenzhane Wallis, Emmanuelle Riva, & Jacki Weaver

Usually the types of nominees that get in under this designation fall into one of two categories...

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What did you see over the holiday weekend?

by Nathaniel R

The long holiday weekend proved to be an old school "movie star" weekend. Tom Cruise managed his best opening weekend ever (not adjusted for inflation) as Top Gun Maverick finally opened after a long long COVID delay. Mysteriously, Sandra Bullock's 10 week old adventure romcom The Lost City was up 29% despite losing theaters as if everyone suddenly remembered that they'd meant to see it all along...

Memorial Day Weekend Box Office May 27th-30th 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended links if we've written about it
WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS)	PLATFORM RELEASES
TOP GUN MAVERICK	THE ROUNDUP

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Cannes Diary #2: Sweet cruel nature and Hollywood's top gun

by Elisa Giudici

Did Tom Cruise save Cannes Film Festival on the very first day? Well, he surely helped the 75th edition with old school star power. Thierry Frémaux welcomed Tom Cruise as a king, a savior, or maybe just a big Hollywood player willing to lend all of his charismatic  in order to give a sense of a grandiose overture.

Considering how good reviews are for Top Gun: Maverick, Cannes needed Cruise more than Cruise needed Cannes. Nevertheless, the actor presented himself as an ally of festivals and theatres, a strong advocate of in-person cinematic experiences. In the dedicated Q&A, Cruise said that during the pandemic he reassured even the popcorn guy at his local cinema, who had phoned him to know if Top Gun Maverick could end up on a streaming platform as an exclusive. 'No way!' Wait, the popcorn guy at Cruise’s nearest cinema has his phone number? was my first reaction. Well, Cruise is for sure #TeamGoingToTheTheatre. He claims he goes regularly himself, wearing a cap so he's not recognized...

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Would you rather?

We haven't played our celebrity fantasy game in months. So would you rather...?

• play with Pedro Pascal (he brings the He-Man toys)?
• worship Jamie Lee Curtis with Glenn Powell?
• stroll on the beach with Janelle Monae?
• share pasta with Mira Sorvino?
• read about the cinema with Liv Ullmann?
• eat pancakes with Oliver Jackson-Cohen?
• have brunch with Kim Cattrall and fashion icon Patricia Field?
• leap over Keegan Michael Key with ever hyper Tom Cruise?
• feed Ukranian refugees in Poland with Liev Schreiber? 

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide. Click on the image to go to the instagram source page...

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Vintage '86

The Smackdown of '86 (with special guests) arrives in just 9 days. Before we get to the main event let's talk about what people were talking about that year in film, television, stage, music, and books... 

Great Big Box Office Hits: Movie stars rather than IP still ruled so the top ten made room for Tom Cruise, Eddie Murphy, and Bette Midler vehicles along with just 3 sequels (can you imagine a top ten box office of the year with just 3 sequels nowadays? It's hard to do). Military men and women were also the rage with the marines of Aliens, the airforce bros of Top Gun, and the traumatized foot soldiers of Platoon all extremely popular with moviegoers.

1. Top Gun (military drama)
2. Crocodile Dundee (comedy)
3. Platoon (military drama)
4. Karate Kid Part II (sequel)
5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (sci-fi sequel)...

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