Emmy FYC: Best Actress in a Drama Series

Team Experience is sharing FYCs as the Television Academy votes on Emmy nominations (voting closes on June 24th). Here's J.B...

Last year's winner Claire Foy can't repeat (as Emmy likes to do) because she didn't have a TV show this year.I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Emmy category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.  As someone who worships at the altar of dramatic actresses, it’s my favorite category, and therefore necessarily the one that causes me the greatest anguish. Sometimes, this category shocks and delights (as it did in 2014, when Lizzy Caplan was nominated for her wonderful work on Masters of Sex, or 2016, when Tatianna Maslany took home the trophy for her dynamic performance in Orphan Black). But more often, as of late, anyway, I’ve been left wounded by egregious snubs and unwelcome surprises on nomination morning and Emmy night.

For example, I like Claire Danes, but did she really need a SECOND Emmy for her performance on Homeland, at the expense of Elisabeth Moss, who somehow never won for her iconic role on Mad Men? If Moss had won for Mad Men perhaps voters could have skipped her in turn for Claire Foy in The Crown, thus clearing the way for Keri Russell in 2018, whose turn as Elizabeth Jennings in The Americans is maybe the greatest dramatic performance of the decade. Keri’s loss, in particular, I still haven’t fully recovered from.

So, to any Emmy voters out there who have realized the error of their ways and are looking to make amend: You CAN’T! You’ve made bad choices, the consequences of which we all will have to live with! Know that. BUT, if you are looking to get on the right side of history this year, start by considering the following four names on your ballot for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series...

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Toni Collette is a high-wire artist. Also loves "Roma"

by Nathaniel R

The Film Experience had the pleasure of a lengthy one-on-one chat with the inimitable Toni Collette yesterday after a screening and reception for her new horror classic Hereditary. We'll publish the whole interview in a few days but we thought we'd share a tidbit she thoughtfully e-mailed afterwards. You see during our chat, we had mentioned that they (the proverbial they) always say that actors are an insecure lot but this couldn't possibly be true of her. Wouldn't you have to be supremely confident about your gifts to attack high-wire material like Hereditary or the new miniseries Wanderlust? If you stop to think about it both of those provocative projects, one about multi-generational family trauma and the other about long-term intimacy and sexuality, essentially live or die based on the complexity of the central performance. 

Our conversation took a detour after that so she sent us this note...

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Nathaniel Gives Thanks

Team Experience members were invited to give thanks this week so you'll be hearing from a few of us. Here's your host Nathaniel R... 

2018 was an unusually hard year for your host, given that he was starting over in his offline life after a painful breakup so first things first. I'm so goddamn grateful for The Film Experience. Thank YOU all for reading (especially those who donate to keep us on life support- see sidebar) and for being such a faithful community. This labor of love site is a continual source of pleasure and stability for me personally and I always aim to make it so for you, too. Before I get to the individual entertainment gratitude I also want to thank the Team Experience regulars: Murtada, Chris, Jason, Glenn, Jorge, Lynn, Eric, Dancin' Dan, Spencer, John & Matthew, and those we don't hear from much at the moment (life is so rude like that) but who we're always happy to work with like Nick, Ilich, Salim, Tim, Deborah, Séan, Daniel, Ben, Katey, and Joe. And both warm hugs to those who've moved on and nervous waving at those yet to come; they're out there somewhere and must make themselves known soon!

I will now attempt to give entertainment thanks without completely repeating my esteemed colleagues in their fun posts even though I love several of the movies they already spoke of. Okay in 2018 I was ever so grateful for:

• The continual shapeshifting of A Simple Favor from comedy to noir to mystery to camp spectacle to romcom to satire. It was such a great film to take friends to since it was so funny and surprising and memorable with it genre juggling. And Blake Lively's ultra modern wardrobe paired with Old Hollywood star charisma was something else... 

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