Gotham Awards 2023: De Niro Censored and Gladstone Crowned

by Cláudio Alves

With the Gotham Awards ceremony, the season is officially underway. It was a night marked by studio intrusions into a space heretofore reserved for indie filmmaking, a "spread the wealth" attitude, and one controversy. When introducing a prize to Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro found his speech censored – presumably by Apple – but that didn't stop him from saying everything he had in mind. As soon as the video package wrapped, De Niro made sure to read his original text, complete with anti-Trump sentiment and John Wayne shade.

Some surprising results included a victory for A.V. Rockwell's A Thousand and One over Past Lives in the Breakthrough Director category, though the Celine Song film still took home the night's biggest prize. On the acting front, Charles Melton won Outstanding Supporting Performance for May December and charmed the whole room, while Lily Gladstone took the Lead Performance prize for The Unknown Country. Even when she's not representing Martin Scorsese's latest, voters are eager to recognize the actress…

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Yes No Maybe So: "Mary & George"

by Nick Taylor

Hello you disgusting Royalists. As the final season of The Crown makes its way onto Netflix at a dignified pace, I can guess what some of you will be thinking as you watch it. “God, I hate having to look between the TV for  highly pedigreed British drama and my phone for high-quality artworks of men having sex. Who will finally, FINALLY give me both options at the same time!?!?” 

Worry not, dear reader, for a happy medium has slotted itself between these two pillars of your psychologically wrought Eiffel Tower. Mary & George, a miniseries based on the true story of Countess Mary Villiers molding her son George to suck and fuck his way to the graces of King James I of England, comes to Starz sometime in 2024. Created by playwright D.C. Moore and directed by Oliver Hermanus, the first trailer dropped earlier today, and we here at The Film Experience decided to give it the proper once-over it clearly deserves...

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Gotham Awards Nominations: "Killers" Unsubmitted but Gladstone still IN

by Cláudio Alves

Though the Gotham Awards rarely correlate with the Academy, their nominations announcement often feels like the beginning of the awards season proper. That is especially true in a year like this, when the erstwhile champions of independent cinema have foregone budget caps, meaning studio productions are allowed into consideration. Still, some big Oscar contenders chose not to submit themselves for the Gothams, giving space for smaller pictures to thrive. Such was the case for Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon. Nevertheless, even with these limitations, the selection committee managed to honor Lily Gladstone…

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Emmy Analysis: Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

Lukita Maxwell and Jason Segel in "Shrinking," now streaming on Apple TV+.

Isn’t this supposed to be a comedy category? Yes, two of the shows with a questionable genre distinction -- Barry and The Bear – are represented here, but all five men chose relatively serious fare as their episode submissions. Before we dig in, let’s start with a mention of the three eligible nominees from last year who didn’t make the cut this time around. Donald Glover, a past winner of this category, had his last shot for Atlanta, and Steve Martin missed out on a repeat bid for season two of Only Murders in the Building. Most lamentably, Nicholas Hoult was somehow not selected for The Great. How that’s possible is beyond me, but fortunately the five men who did make the cut are all worthwhile…

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Emmy Analysis: Drama Supporting Categories

By Abe Friedtanzer

Aubrey Plaza and Theo James in The White Lotus. Photograph by Fabio Lovino/HBO

Sixteen nominees for supporting actor and supporting actress are drawn from a mere four drama series, and two of them netted just a single mention apiece. That’s fourteen bids for two juggernauts from HBO, The White Lotus and Succession. The former is up one nomination from last year while the latter breaks even in these races, but two of its supporting contenders from last year, Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook, got promoted to the lead race (and may be able to win there). Despite heavy internal competition, I think last year’s winners have a good shot at repeating, but let’s look closely at all the nominees and the episodes they’ve submitted for consideration…

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