Kim Stanley @ 100: "Séance on a Wet Afternoon"

by Cláudio Alves

From the late 1940s to the mid-60s, Kim Stanley was one of the most important actresses in American theater. Her career is the stuff of legend, going through Tony nominations and the Actors Studio at the height of its influence, culminating in a disastrous performance of Chekhov's Three Sisters on the other side of the pond. Forever volatile and insecure, perchance suffering from mental illness or the fragilities of a great diva, Stanley swore never to act on stage again, depriving theatergoers of a goddess whose glory was as bright as it was short-lived. One would think Stanley's departure from theater could have meant more big screen gigs, but she kept herself away from such fare. TV appearances were more to her liking, and she got two Emmy wins for her trouble, including for the ultimate Big Momma in the 1984 TV movie version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 

She'd only count five credits in the movies, one of them voice-only. And still, two of those turns resulted in Oscar nominations, reflecting her talent and reputation among thespians. She was an actors' actor, alright. Today, on her centennial, I invite you to join me on a trip to the past, to Kim Stanley's second and last lead role in a film for which AMPAS nominated her. It's time to remember, mayhap summon, the hauntings of Séance on a Wet Afternoon…

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Drag Race RuCap: “Let’s Get Sea Sickening Ball”

This week, the role of Dakota Schiffer will be played by Hunter Schafer.

NICK TAYLOR: We’ve arrived at one of Drag Race’s mainstay challenges: The Ball. Do you think production expected there to be fewer girls by the time we reached this episode? Arrietty’s certainly lucky to be here, after being saved from going home by the second lever of the Badonkadunk Tank, but I think the show (and the audience) are even luckier for her to be here and give us such a complete package. Other queens delivered on drama and entertainment, and the judge’s panel delivered some of their most astute critiques of the season, even if I wasn’t expecting them to pick the tops and bottoms they did. But as a culmination of a six-episode arc for one queen, and the first challenge without a safety net, it’s a damn good episode of television. Were you as taken with this as I was?

CLÁUDIO ALVES: I loved this episode, from challenge performances to werk room drama, from guest judges to mini-challenge tomfoolery. Mama Ru is coming off that Emmy loss full of piss and vinegar, ready to prove Drag Race naysayers wrong. I know we’ve been saying this a lot, but season 17 feels like the old days of the show returned, with all the marvelous messiness that entails…

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Almost There: Margaret Qualley in "The Substance"

by Cláudio Alves

In an awards season full of co-leads pretending to be supporting players, nepo babies, and festival hits, it's a wonder Margaret Qualley didn't get a nomination for her work in The Substance. Coralie Fargeat's film is up for five Oscars, being the current frontrunner in Actress and Makeup, a major triumph for a picture such as this, where body horror elements are remixed and reimagined for a made-in-France Hollywood satire. It's gross, like few star vehicles in the Academy's history, so outré as to be off-putting and bold as all hell. In that regard, its closest Oscar relative is Black Swan, whose Mila Kunis, like Qualley, got major precursor and critical support but failed to secure the AMPAS' seal of approval…

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The Count vs the Cartel Boss: The César nominations are here.

by Nathaniel R

Pierre Niney as "The Count of Monte Cristo" © Pathe

Since we've always loved French cinema, we follow along with the César Awards each year. Historical adventure The Count of Monte Cristo leads the pack with an astounding 14 nominations. Curiously the second most nominated film, Beating Hearts (13 nods) a romantic drama spanning 20 years, is NOT up for Best Film. It premiered at Cannes to some negative reviews before an October theatrical release. Among the nomination leaders the Oscar-bound trans cartel musical Emilia Pérez (12 nominations) came in third.

Let's look at the fields and discuss and jot down which films we'll have to watch out for in 2025 as they make their way across the ocean...

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Split Decision: “Nosferatu”

Split Decision returns to TFE. In this series two of our writers face off on a movie one loves and the other doesn't. - Editor

NICK TAYLOR: Alright gayboy. Enough sucking dicks we gotta suck some BLOOD!

CLÁUDIO ALVES: Why not both? Eggers' Orlok switched from neck to tiddies, so we might as well take things further south. Let's suck dick and blood at the same time, get really kinky with it. Sure, this new Nosferatu is more carnal than its previous iterations, but its sexual neurosis is fittingly contained within a historical context and its particular hang-ups. Queerness is only suggested in sublimated terms. A bit like Bram Stoker's original work and Murnau's copyright-evading spin on it. Though this bat man's origins are rooted in the imaginations of queer men, that dimension seldom comes to the surface, remaining subtext at best. I guess it's appropriate, then, for this latest film to be discussed by two members of the alphabet mafia, such as ourselves...

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