The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
I haven't done a Q&A in so long. And since I must hunker down and transcribe a bajillion interviews for y'all, I turn it over to you to inspire me with questions to answer inbetween the interviews so that we don't have to change the title of the blog to The Interview Experience. You know I strive for variety.
I apologize for my molasses pace this December. 2012 has long since turned into a personal nightmare cinematic experiment in recreating Steven Soderbergh's Contagion over and over again. This morning I had to turn down a breakfast with Ben Affleck so as to rescue him from my flu germs. Congratulate me on my altruism!
Okay... time for your questions. Ready. Set. Go...
Geraldine Page in "Interiors"Years ago I took a weekend writing retreat to visit my great friend Nick (who you know and love as the man behind Nick's Flick Picks) and while discussing Julianne Moore in Safe and that weirdly specific mini Jodie Foster genre of Women Trapped in Small Spaces (planes, panic rooms... closets) we agreed that our mutual favorite kind of movie was not Dramas, Comedies, Musicals, or Horror but the rarely discussed Women Who Lie To Themselves™ subgenre -- we had to name it but it is so a genre!
You've seen multiple movies from this collection even if you didn't know it existed. In these awesome films, the female protagonist spends more time conversing with her own self delusion than with any actual co-star. The musical anthem of this celluloid sisterhood is Sally Bowles "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret (1972) and the patron saint is surely Eve from Woody Allen's Interiors (1978) who spends the entire film telling herself and everyone who will listen that her husband who left decades ago still loves her and is coming right back. Geraldine Page is absolutely brilliant in the role and if you haven't seen it you're only lying to yourself about your life being complete.
Recently on twitter Yaseen asked Nick and I for a "Women Who Lie To Themselves Box Set" which Nick than promptly retitled because Nick is brilliant.
The box set will include:
Birth (2004)
Far From Heaven (2002)
Three Women (1977)
Safe (1995)
Black Swan (2010)
Cries and Whispers (1972)
Notes on a Scandal (2006)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)
The Story of Adele H (1975)
The Earrings of Madame de... (1953)
audio commentary on every film by Rosanna Arquette and the cast of Searching For Debra Winger (2002)
...and seven copies of Interiors (1978), one for each lie you regularly tell yourself.
NEW PODCAST Just before the first wave of real precursors (NYFCC & NBR) the gang got together with conflicted feelings over a number of topics. Including but not limited to:
Matthew McConaughey's selfsploitation
Life of Pi's visual splendor and mundane framing device
Silver Linings Playbook's odd Oscar trajectories
A Q & A with Barbra Streisand for The Guilt Trip
Mixed podcast response to Anna Karenina
Supporting Actor Locks and speculation
Optimism and Pessimism in Punditry
Supporting Actress longshots
Thank you once again to Nathaniel's frequent podcast guests: Katey (Cinema Blend), Nick (Nick's Flick Picks) and Joe (Film.com). You can download the podcast on iTunes or listen right here at the bottom of the post. But, as always, the podcast isn't complete without your feelings. Join in the discussion in the comments.
Jose here. When the New York Film Critics began announcing their awards yesterday the biggest shock, for me, came early on as they decided to award Greig Fraser with Best Cinematography for Zero Dark Thirty. Don't get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against Mr. Fraser and up to that moment I hadn't even seen the movie (I did later and ZOMG!). Anyway, what surprised me the most is that a contemporary movie had been recognized for an award that usually goes to period or fantasy movies. It's as if awards bodies don't feel that modern life is "pretty" enough to give it a photographic award.
Yet the fact that people assume that "best" cinematography instantly means "prettiest" cinematography might be the greatest mistake in a category whose winners sometimes defy all logic...
I have been remiss at sharing good stories and posts from around the web so I hereby return to it.
Pop Matters Jose takes another look at Marion Cotillard's work in Rust & Bone and contemplates Oscar Pop Elegantarium Alexa loves the screwball comedy of David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook Sam HitiOnce Upon a Time in the West fans should check out this artists tumblr The Hot Blog David Poland on the NYFCC winners Cinema Blend two Woody Allen classics coming to Blu-Ray this January
EW top ten lists from popular critics Owen (Lincoln @ #1) & Lisa (Zero Dark Thirty @ #1). They both choose one Oscar hopeful among their "5 worst of the year" lists, too. E! Online Rose McGowan is the latest actress trying to achieve Michelle Pfeiffer's now immortal Scarface look Antagony & Ecstasy wonderful piece on Life of Pi by one of the web's best critics The Carpet Bagger talks to the editor of Flight about the plane crash scene My New Plaid Pants who wore it best: animated decapitation In Contention I totally forgot to mention the Golden Satellite nominations. Lots of love for Les Miz but also weird nominations for films that never opened in the States like Kim Ki-Duk's Piéta so I'm not sure what their criteria is for eligibility anymore
Coming Soon Anne Hathaway recently burst into tears when asked about doing a Catwoman spinoff, adding
...assuming there was enough Kleenex in the world, I would love to do a spin-off
Vulture Speaking of Anne Hathaway. Sort of. a screening of Les Misérables that I would've killed to be it for Academy and Globe members. Hugh Jackman sang and lap danced for birthday girl Amanda Seyfried Gawker on the 13 most powerful images of naked celebrities for 2012 In Contention Pedro Almodóvar, as you know my favorite living filmmaker, will be getting an Academy tribute in London. I'm so jealous of Guy Lodge right now who gets to attend these London events Stale Popcorn Glenn on Australia's film award nominations (formerly AFI and now called AACTA) . The musical The Sapphires leads. Cinema Blend Casey Affleck stayin' creepy. He aims to play the Boston Strangler in a new film
Finally, Grease superstars of yore, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John made a new video together for their Christmas album.
No comment. My inner child loves Livvy & Grease too much to comment. (Other than that John Travolta who not so unrecently commanded $20 million a movie maybe could have spared two hundred thousand dollar bills so this didn't look like it was made for two!)
Friday, December 7, 2012 at 1:36PM 
I haven't done a Q&A in so long. And since I must hunker down and transcribe a bajillion interviews for y'all, I turn it over to you to inspire me with questions to answer inbetween the interviews so that we don't have to change the title of the blog to The Interview Experience. You know I strive for variety.
