"Don't Look Up" takes top honor at Writers Guild Awards

Adam McKay scored his third WGA win after being honored with the top prize yesterday for his original screenplay for Don't Look Up. The film was up against King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Being the Ricardos, and The French Dispatch. David Sirota shared the awards with his co-screenwriter credit on the film. CODA won for Best Adapted Screenplay. 

Don't Look Up is up for Best Original Screenplay (as well as Best Picture) at the Oscars next Sunday. Would be a great win for the pic that has been so divisive among critics and fans. 

"Don't Look Up" receives four Academy Award nominations

The nominees for the 94th Academy Awards were announced this morning, and Don't Look Up came away with four: 

Best Picture

Best Original Screenplay

Best Score

Best Film Editing

With this slate of nominations, it makes it three out of the last five years that Meryl has been in a Best Picture nominee, following 2017's The Post (for which she also received a Best Actress nomination) and 2019's Little Women. It also unfortunately ties her longest streak without being nominated for an acting award. The last time she went four consecutive years without getting a nod was 1991-1994. Unless she somehow has a film released this year and gets nominated (which I maintain is not an impossibility if Places, Please (or something else) is filmed this spring and is released fourth quarter), she will break that streak. 

I was hoping Leonardo DiCaprio would sneak in to the top five in Best Actor, but I think Javier Bardem snatched that last spot, deservedly. I also thought the "Just Look Up" might get a nod for Best Original Song, but it also failed to crack the list. 

The most-nominated films were The Power of the Dog (12 nominations), Dune (10), and both Belfast and West Side Story (7 apiece). 

Biggest surprises to me:

-Judi Dench over Caitriona Balfe for Actress in a Supporting Role (both in Belfast)

-No Ruth Negga in Supporting Actress (Passing)

-Jessie Buckley in Supporting Actress (The Lost Daughter)

-No Lady Gaga in Actress (The House of Gucci)

-J.K. Simmons in Supporting Actor (Being the Ricardos)

The Oscars ceremony will be held Sunday, March 27 in Los Angeles. 

"Don't Look Up" poised to be most-watched Netflix film of all-time

Don't Look Up broke a Netflix record last week with the highest number of viewing hours in a single week. After another 28 million this week, its total hovers around 250 million hours. Red Notice (with Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson) currently holds the record for most view hours in its first 28 days, with 364.4 million. If Don't Look Up can sneak out another 15 million view hours by Friday, it will break the record, which seems pretty likely at this point.  

Great milestone for this picture! Even though Meryl's not getting much, if any, individual attention for her role, I enjoy seeing the film doing well with audiences. BAFTA nominations will be announced two weeks from tomorrow and Oscar noms only five days after that!

"Don't Look Up" tops streaming lists

Two days after its release to Netflix, Don't Look Up is the most-streamed movie in the world, according to Flix Patrol.  

It's great to see the film hitting the ground running. After so many tepid reviews from critics, the buzz seemed to take a pretty big hit. Now, it seems to be everywhere you look on social media. My husband and I watched it together last night. He doesn't really like most movies, but he was laughing regularly and thought it was "good."  Trust me, he wouldn't spare my feelings just because Meryl's in it. 

The positive audience reactions make me think this will do much better with televised awards bodies than it did with critics. I still don't think Meryl's going to make the cut for Supporting Actress, but Picture seems very realistic. I really hope the film snags that top nod, as it would make it three of the last five years that Meryl has been in a film nominated for Best Picture. 

We'll get more definitive numbers on the movies streaming performance in a couple days. Hope everyone had a good Christmas!

"Don't Look Up" nabs nominations for Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards. No Meryl.

The newly "revamped" Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced its nominations for the Golden Globe Awards this morning. While Meryl was left off the list, it was nice to see that Don't Look Up managed to snag four nods:

Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy

Best Screenplay

Best Actress-Musical or Comedy (Jennifer Lawrence)

Best Actor-Musical or Comedy (Leonardo DiCaprio)

The Critics Choice Awards sort of feels like it wants to take the Globes' place, and even though the Globes won't have their show televised this year, they still feel more important. Regardless, Don't Look Up is up for six there:

Best Picture

Best Acting Ensemble (so Meryl's kind of nominated here ha)

Best Original Screenplay

Best Comedy

Best Song

Best Score

I was surprised to see DiCaprio not make it for Actor with Critics Choice, considering they have six nominees. Nicholas Cage was a surprise there for Pig. They're going to hold their ceremony on January 9, the same day the Globes will announce their winners. There is no confirmation yet on exactly how the Hollywood Foreign Press plans to do that. 

Despite the mixed reviews, it's nice to see that the film looks like it'll be a contender at the Oscars for some of the major categories, particularly Best Picture, Original Screenplay, and Original Song. SAG nominations don't come out for another month (January 12), and Oscar nominations will be announced February 8. 

The full list of Globe nominees can be seen here, with Critics Choice here. 

First reviews in for "Don't Look Up"

Welp, this isn't exactly what I expected. Following a handful of screenings and Q&As with the cast over the past couple of weeks, first reactions seemed to be pretty positive for Don't Look Up. I came home from work last night excited to check out the first reviews. Not great. As this goes to post, the film sits at a dismal 51 on Metacritic (22 reviews) and 60% on Rotten Tomatoes (55 reviews). It's possible that the Rotten Tomatoes score will creep up closer to 70% when all is said and done, but either way, these critical reactions don't bode well for it's reward prospects.  

I'd been hoping that Meryl might sneak into the top five of Best Supporting Actress. Now I really don't seen that happening. Even Leonardo DiCaprio is going to struggle to crack the Best Actor race, and what had felt like a foregone conclusion in Best Picture, is now very much in question. Not that it can't still get handful of noms. Director Adam McKay has never been a critical darling, yet has enjoyed great success with Academy voters (see Vice). 

We'll have to wait a while to see how this all pans out. It's a bit of a bummer to say the least. But that's certainly not going to stop me from seeing in the theater Friday!  

New "Don't Look Up" feature

CBS Sunday Morning released a feature on the upcoming Don't Look Up. Meryl and Leonardo DiCaprio, and separately director Adam McKay, sat down to share some thoughts on the film and its focus on our looming climate crisis. 

Couple of new snippets that I think we haven't seen yet. Meryl's doing a fair amount of campaigning press for this. I think she's doing another Q&A after the film's premiere in New York City today. Love when she's out their promoting her films. And I happened to realize last night, that assuming this film cracks the top ten for a Best Picture Oscar nomination, this will be the third film in the last five years to have done that with Meryl in the cast (after The Post and Little Women). That's a pretty big deal for an actor, regardless of one's age or résumé. 

I believe the review embargo lifts on Tuesday. 

Poll #12: What Oscar nominations will "Don't Look Up" receive?

We're going to start getting some official reviews of Don't Look Up the first week of December. Early notices look positive, and momentum seems to be building that this could be a serious contender at the Academy Awards. I realize this may be a little early, as most, if not all of us have not yet seen the movie. But part of the fun of awards season is speculation! With that in mind, I'm curious to see where people think this has the best chance for nominations. Early buzz indicates Picture, Director and Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio) are good bets, with Meryl in Supporting Actress, Mark Rylance or Jonah Hill in Supporting Actor, and Original Song as possibilities as well. 

Would love to see Meryl get nominated in another film that's nominated for Best Picture. Christmas can't come soon enough!

Positive early reactions to "Don't Look Up"

After a pair of screenings in Los Angeles just before the weekend, we've gotten the first "social media sentiments" about Don't Look Up. There are a lot of tweets I could post, and I don't want to be biased, so I'll just toss out a few that I feel generally represent the reactions from film pundits:

Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up is a dead serious and hilarious end of the world comedy, a Melancholia meets Dr. Strangelove —with a top ensemble in fine form, led by DiCaprio, Lawrence, and Streep. DiCaprio had been seeking a film to address the climate crisis in just the right way.

— Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck) November 19, 2021

Don’t Look Up is really REALLY good. It’s sporadically silly as well as serious, and while it can be little on the nose the big laughs, emotion and humanity blend together to keep it fresh. The whole cast completely crushes too. Without a doubt one of the best films of the year. pic.twitter.com/BhUndsU22n

— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) November 19, 2021

We’ve seen how the U.S. reacts to an impending apocalyptic disaster in other movies, but how would we REALLY react? #DontLookUp is a hilarious & horrifying satire about how painstakingly hard it is for us to actually save the day. It’s what you expect, but it’s super entertaining pic.twitter.com/MmjDztw5nX

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) November 19, 2021

Streep is excellent and has a great scene partner in Jonah Hill while Cate Blanchett gets to cut loose as a gossip reporter paired with the wonderful Tyler Perry. Jennifer Lawrence absolutely nails a woman screaming truth into the abyss to a world that shrugs.

— Jenelle Riley (@jenelleriley) November 19, 2021

Don’t Look Up has some smart ideas and some obvious ones, but despite its length and meandering nature it’s certainly compelling? Not sure it’s as funny as it wants to be. The drama is much more interesting. Doesn’t balance the tones well. Ariana Grande has a fun song in it.

— Gregory Ellwood - The Playlist 🎬 (@TheGregoryE) November 19, 2021

DON’T LOOK UP has some sharp capitalist and political satire if inconsistent humor. Leonardo DiCaprio is incredibly great here and gets an explosive Peter Finch in Network moment. Streep, Lawrence and Rylance are all good. Ariana Grande’s song is fucking hilarious. #DontLookUp pic.twitter.com/7VIhj0NAwV

— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) November 19, 2021

Of course there are a few out there that basically insist that the film is complete trash, but like I said, I think the above handful of reactions is a fair representation of what's out there. Leonardo DiCaprio has the greatest praise as far as the cast. He'll likely be a strong (if somewhat unexpected) contender in Best Actor race. Jennifer Lawrence doesn't get as many positive mentions, but nothing bad. Meryl is getting generally good notices, but nothing earth-shattering. She's got a "decent" chance in this I think for an Oscar nomination. She's certainly going to be in the conversation, especially if once full reviews come out the film is lauded and her performance gets some more specific praise.

I can picture the film landing somewhere in the low 80s on Rotten Tomatoes and low to mid 70s on Metacritic, which should indicate generally positive reviews. If memory serves, the embargo ends on December 7. 

The state of the race: Supporting Actress

We're heading into November. That means prime Oscar buzz season. All the films have release dates, some are already in theaters (remember those?), and most have had either a full trailer or even clips and reviews released. We're still waiting for a full trailer for Don't Look Up, but considering it's set for a limited theater release in early December prior to its Netflix release on Christmas Eve, I expect it could any time now. 

Which leads me to sizing up Meryl's chances at awards recognition this year. She's almost always in the conversation regardless of the film she's in, but this film has a stellar cast with a director whom the Academy has generally seemed to enjoy. There's been some buzz recently that recent screenings resulted in very positive reactions from critics, but considering no one will be allowed to write official reviews for several weeks, it's hard to know what's true and what's not. 

I tend to think that Don't Look Up could really end up on either end of the spectrum, as far as critical response. If the film is received very well, it could reasonably contend for a Best Picture nomination. I could also see screenplay, as well well as Lead Actor and Actress. Some are saying Jonah Hill and Mark Rylance might challenge for Supporting Actor. One can't help but wonder or even expect that if all goes well, Meryl might enter the top five for Supporting Actress. We haven't seen a lot of the role, but it seems a foregone conclusion at this point that her character of President Orlean is going to channel Donald Trump in some way. This might be a harmful thing for her chances, or potentially her best way forward for a nomination. There are also going to be a ton of other worthy contenders. 

Awards Worthy currently has the following top five in its predictions:

1. Caitriona Balfe (Belfast)

2. Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog)

3. Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

4. Ruth Negga (Passing)

5. Judi Dench (Belfast)

While the "experts" at Gold Derby include these:

1. Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog)

2. Ann Dowd (Mass)

3. Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

4. Caitriona Balfe (Belfast)

5. Marlee Matlin (CODA)

It's natural to think that Meryl has little to no chance, seeing how she's not even cracking the top five in these rankings. But there's some pretty glaring disparity here, and it's worth noting that she's standing at sixth over at Awards Worthy, and all it's going to take is a handful of stellar reviews to solidly skyrocket her into the top five. People love it when someone swoops in to shake up the race. This year, it might as well be our girl. 

Streep trending top three for Best Supporting Actress

Adam McKay's upcoming film Don't Look Up has apparently already had a test screening, with very positive reviews. Meryl of course plays the President of the United States in the movie, and is said to be a standout for possible awards recognition. That's all fine and well, but whenever I like to get the pulse of the race, I find that the monthly polls over at Awards Watch tend to be the most accurate assessment of who's got the best chances. 

Streep is currently polling in third place, behind Cate Blanchett for Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley and Ruth Negga in Passing. Fun fact, it's now rumored that Blanchett may be pushed in the lead category by Searchlight. If that's the case, it removes a very big hurdle to Streep's chances in this category. Blanchett of course is in the running for the Don't Look Up as well, but by most accounts, Streep has the meatier role with greater screen time. 

Interesting that the run time for Don't Look Up is listed as 2 hours and 25 minutes. That's seems pretty long for a comedy/satire. But having read the script, it's not the kind of story that can unfold particularly quickly, so I'm glad they're not cutting it down much. Hoping for some production stills soon. Netflix still has no release date listed, but November or December are likely. 

The state of the race: 2021

Happy New Year!  I'm guessing few of us have been more excited to say goodbye to year than we are with 2020. Normally by January 1, we already have Golden Globe and SAG nominations a few weeks in the bag. Not in the year of Covid, however. Due to the pandemic, the film awards timeline if of course pushed back significantly. We won't see Globe and SAG noms until the week of February, and the Oscar ceremony isn't going to be until the last Sunday in April! That's going to seem so weird. 

So while we have a ways to go, I thought it a good time to do a little "lay of the land" in regard to the Best Actress race. I should start by stating I think Meryl is barely in the conversation this year. But the fact that she's likely to get a Golden Globe nod for her performance in The Prom, and that she is after all, herself, we can never really count her out. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that she'd get double-nommed in Comedy at the Globes (The Prom and Let Them All Talk), but there doesn't seem to be much buzz around the latter film, nor Meryl's performance--despite it having great reviews. 

The Oscars is where the real fun is though for following the race. The two main sources I use to follow current predictions are from Awards Worthy forums and Gold Derby. As this goes to post, the current top ten for both are as follows:

Awards Worthy: 

1. Frances McDormand (Nomadland)

2. Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) 

3. Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) 

4. Andra Day (The United States vs Billie Holiday) 

5. Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman) 

6. Sophia Loren (The Life Ahead) 

7. Kate Winslet (Ammonite)

8. Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always) 

9. Meryl Streep (The Prom) 

10. Zendaya (Malcolm and Marie)

Gold Derby:

1. Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) 

2. Frances McDormand (Nomadland) 

3. Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman) 

4. Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) 

5. Andra Day (The United States vs Billie Holiday) 

6. Sophia Loren (The Life Ahead) 

7. Kate Winslet (Ammonite) 

8. Meryl Streep (The Prom)  

9. Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always) 

10. Zendaya (Malcom and Marie)

Exact same top ten, exact same top five (although in slightly different orders). I've listed the one's I've seen up to this point in bold. With how similar these two lists are, I'm confident in saying this is the working group from which we can expect names to show up nomination morning. 

Although I'd most certainly prefer that going out to theaters were as safe as in previous years, I've been thankful that so many great films are available from home on streaming platforms. I'm most looking forward to seeing Nomadland. It's got overwhelmingly positive reviews and is a strong contender for Best Picture and Best Director (Chloé Zhao). 

Some people are suggesting that Viola Davis's role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom isn't big enough to be considered lead. I think that's silly, because 1) I've seen the film, and 2) that's never stopped a multitude of other actors in borderline roles from getting nominated, or even winning. It's a great performance by Davis in a baity role. I think the biggest advantage she has this year is that she's never won in lead, while McDormand has won twice, and recently. I'm picking Davis as of right now. 

Both Sophia Loren and Kate Winslet do lovely jobs in their films, but I definitely think Sophia Loren has a better chance. Her movie, while not in the English language, is very well-received by critics. She's also Hollywood royalty who hasn't been in consideration for a nomination in decades. Ammonite wasn't bad, but I think it needed to be amazing for Winslet to be a real contender here. I also felt that it was too close in tone to director Francis Lee's other recent queer drama, God's Own Country (one of my all-time favs) to feel fresh. 

Carey Mulligan is getting raves. Fun development as well: she's going Drama at the Globes. This greatly opens up chances for a Meryl win there, but I'm still skeptical. Maria Bakalova will probably win if she's put in lead for Borat Subequent Moviefilm. And deservedly. 

My guess is Sidney Flannigan's movie is too small for her to break through with the Academy. But I thought her performance was touching and wonderful. No one's seen Andra Day yet, and being that it's a Lee Daniels movie and Day's debut role, it really could go either way. If the film is great and Day is good to great, it's also a baity role. The Academy has gone bonkers for singer biopics as of late. Another reason Davis is in a good position here (even though Ma Rainey is actually an adaptation of an August Wilson play, not a traditional biopic). 

I'll be able to watch Vanessa Kirby's performance next week. She's sort of been trending down in recent weeks, but I loved her in the first two seasons of The Crown and would be tickled if she managed to squeeze in.

My prediction, ultimately, for the top five most likely to be nominated for an Oscar are, in descending order of likelihood of winning, are:

1. Viola Davis 

2. Frances McDormand

3. Carey Mulligan

4. Sophia Loren

5. Andra Day

Happy watching!

Film review: "The Prom" (2020)

Two lead Meryl roles in two days! After yet another long day of work behind a mask and face shield, I was able to plop in front of the tube with my husband and a glass of wine to enjoy the fun of The Prom. 

Director Ryan Murphy's Netflix adaptation of the Broadway musical stayed very true to its theater roots. There was a song about every two minutes. Not that I necessarily mind--musicals are one of my favorite genres. I was a little worried I would think it was too cheesy and exceedingly low brow. Turns out it was cheesy and low brow. But I had no need to worry, as I really enjoyed it nonetheless. 

The film starts off with Indiana teenager, Emma (Jo Ellen Pellman in her film debut), faced with being unable to bring her girlfriend to her high school prom. Enter fading Broadway stars Dee Dee Allen (Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden), who bemoan the awful reviews of their new musical, "Eleanor." It was already here where I felt the story jumped ahead faster than I would expect, with Dee Dee and Barry teaming up with fellow actors Tom and Angie (Andrew Rannells and Nicole Kidman, respectively) to find a cause célèbre to bring publicity to their careers. They of course choose Emma and her Twitter-trending plight of homophobia. 

The New Yorkers who descend on Indiana to "help" Emma, are met with some hostility from the PTA, as well as from students who are pissed their prom has to be cancelled because of her. Keegan-Michael Key does a really nice job as the school's principle. He just happens to be a big fan of Dee Dee Allen as well, and the two spark a tentative romance. Meryl's scenes with Key are some of may favorite. They had really sweet chemistry and Meryl's "The Lady's Improving" number is one of the highlights for me. But the real showstopper is without a doubt "It's Not About Me," performed fairly early in the film, where Meryl belts out a hilarious, if insincere, tango-like call to action on Emma's behalf. 

I have to admit I laughed out loud when she calls the townspeople "bigoted monsters."  I don't think Meryl has ever sounded better, and she looks beautiful and like she having a blast. 

The film did feel like it dragged a bit at times. And with all the musical numbers and focus on the Broadway characters, both Joe and I agreed that we tended to forget a bit about Emma. She's really supposed to be the main event here, but she's so easily overshadowed by the larger-than-life older characters. Not that I minded. I honestly found Jo Ellen Pellman uncompelling in the role. I was far more interested when Ariana DeBose, her onscreen girlfriend, was in scenes with her. 

There's been a lot of chatter in the Twitterverse about James Corden and what some are calling a bad example of "gay face." While I'm not an advocate of perpetuating stereotypes, I was not bothered at all by his characterization. His performance is nothing particularly special, but I think the outrage over his casting is hyperbolic, and frankly smacks a bit of gay self-loathing and anti-effeminacy. 

I hope I'm not rambling too much in this post. Writing a film review is probably my least favorite thing to do on this blog. I feel like I just end up writing a brief synopsis followed by more of a reaction without really reviewing the film for what it is as complete work. I'm so bad at that. I'm not good at being objective about filmmaking when I'm so interested in the characters and how I generally feel when I'm watching it. Maybe I should wait to write reviews after I can watch the film a few times or after several weeks have passed. 

What I can say is that I had a good time watching this movie. Joe and I were humming and singing the tunes before it even ended, and have watched clips and played songs from the soundtrack already today. The cinematography is gorgeous and, as is Ryan Murphy's wont, extremely colorful. How are my eyes not sick of pink and purple by this point?

Is the film a masterpiece? Far from it. It's not a brainy musical like something you'd get from Sondheim. It's not as bad as the worst of Glee (a show I've seen every episode of btw), but it definitely had that EVERYBODY IS REPRESENTED VERY ON PURPOSE kind of feel. That's a good thing, I suppose, even if it's a bit heavy handed. 

Meryl's a shoe-in for a Golden Globe nod for Musical or Comedy. It seems a role tailor-made for a win, but I truly truly believe that awards bodies are very averse to giving her the top prize these days. It's too eyebrow-raising to snub her for something like this, but I'm more expecting Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman or Michelle Pfeiffer in French Exit. If Meryl happens to win the Globe or snag a SAG nom, there's a small window for an Oscar nomination. I never would've guessed a few months ago. I assumed and continue to assume it won't go much beyond the Globes, but it'll be a fun awards season regardless, as we watch and wait to see what happens with both this movie, and Let Them All Talk.  

Interview on "Let Them All Talk"

Streep was joined by co-stars Dianne Wiest and Candice Bergen for a virtual CBS Sunday Morning interview on their upcoming film, Let Them All Talk.

It's the most info we've gotten on the plot and the characters' histories and motivations. I'm actually looking more forward to this film than The Prom, if I'm being honest. 

There's been so much confusion and misinformation on whether this picture is going to compete in the TV movie or feature film categories for awards. Sources at Awards Worthy seem to have info which suggests it is going to be campaigned in the film category. Gold Derby now also has it listed in its odds list for film nomination and wins. If it indeed will be considered a feature film, I think it bodes well for Meryl's nomination chances. The TV Movie/Limited Series category is always so packed for Lead Actress. With both The Prom and Let Them All Talk, Meryl has a realistic chance of getting double Golden Globe nominations in the same category (a feat she previously accomplished in 2010 for Julie & Julia and It's Complicated, winning for the former). 

Let Them All Talk will stream on HBO Max on December 10. 

Netflix sets premiere date for "The Prom"

Netflix has announced that Ryan Murphy's upcoming adaptation of the Broadway musical, The Prom, will be available to stream on December 11. 

Top billing of course for Meryl. It's prime awards placement for release as well. I think a Golden Globe nod is on the horizon, and who knows...maybe more?

"Little Women" nominated for six Academy Awards

The nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced this morning. Little Women came away with six:

Best Picture - Amy Pascal (producer)
Adapted Screenplay - Greta Gerwig
Actress in a Leading Role - Saoirse Ronan
Actress in a Supporting Role - Florence Pugh
Original Score - Alexandre Desplat
Costume Design - Jacqueline Durran

This is the second time in three years that Meryl has been in a film nominated for Best Picture (The Post). Super happy for Florence and Saoirse, as neither of their nominations seemed like sure things as of yesterday. The rest were pretty expected.

Some surprises: the biggest of course has to be the J Lo snub. She was trending top two or three in predictions for her supporting role in Hustlers. Gotta think Kathy Bates snuck in over her. Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce both made it in for Best Actor as well. I was a little surprised at Cynthia Erivo cracking the top five in Best Actress for Harriet, but thank god they got at least one person of color in the acting categories. I wished we could've seen Awkwafina make it in...I really liked The Farewell. 

The Oscar ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 9.

Streep receives record 32nd Golden Globe nomination

The Hollywood Press Association announced their nominations for film and television this morning. Meryl was among the lucky nominees, breaking her own previously-held record with her 32nd nomination for her supporting work in Big Little Lies. The show also received nominations for Best Drama Series, and for Nicole Kidman's lead performance. I was surprised not to see any of the the other ladies from the show nominated, particularly Laura Dern. But the show was very heavily rewarded after the first season two years ago, and it's a crowded field.

Little Women didn't fare as well as I'm sure many hoped. No nomination for Drama Film or Director, Greta Gerwig. The only nominations it received were for Lead Actress in a Drama (Saoirse Ronan) and Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat). Again, it's a crowded field this year, so I'm not sure what I was necessarily expecting. Maybe at least a supporting nom for Florence Pugh?

There's always the SAG noms Wed morning.

Congrats, Meryl!

Streep nominated for Critics' Choice Award

Let the season begin...

Nominations have been announced by the Critics' Choice Association for achievement in film and television. Streep has been recognized for her work in HBO's Big Little Lies, with a nomination in the Supporting Actress category. Meryl is joined by her co-star Laura Dern, while Nicole Kidman was nominated in the Lead Actress category.

On the film side, Greta Gerwig's Little Women adaptation came up pretty big as well, with nominations for Best Picture, Director (Gerwig), Lead Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Supporting Actress (Florence Pugh), Adapted Screenplay (Gerwig), Production Design (Jess Gonchor), Costume Design (Jacqueline Durran), Best Score (Alexandre Desplat), and Best Acting Ensemble, for a whopping total of nine nominations!

After the sort of quick fall The Laundromat took in regard to award recognition, it's nice to see Meryl involved in two projects that are getting some attention this awards season. The next few days will be even more telling for both Big Little Lies and Little Women, as Golden Globe nomination will be revealed tomorrow morning, with the Screen Actors Guild noms two days later on Wednesday morning. Fingers crossed for Meryl's chances!

The full list of Critics' Choice Award nominees can be seen here.

Positive first reactions to "Little Women"

There was a screening of the final cut of Greta Gerwig's Little Women in Los Angeles last night. Social media "impressions" were allowed as of midnight today, and the responses on Twitter have been overwhelmingly positive. Just a few:

Based on additional discussions with screening attendees, #LittleWomen sounds like a strong #Oscars Best Adapted Screenplay contender, many telling me Gerwig was faithful to source material but added her own unique twist on things, also Pugh & @RealChalamet praised for supporting pic.twitter.com/Qt9n8j1Dvu

— 𝔼𝕎 AWARDS ACE (@ErickWeber) October 23, 2019

#LittleWomen is just a.... lovely tone poem of emotion and heart and why didn’t I bring tissues? pic.twitter.com/z328GTlKWl

— Alex Warheit (@RegardingAlex) October 23, 2019

Went to a screening of #LittleWomen...
#1 - it was phenomenally heartwarming and somehow nostalgic and heartbreaking all at the same time.
#2 - Greta Gerwig went to sit in her chair and fell over. And she is everything pure in this world.

— Tepper (@KristenTepper) October 23, 2019

General consensus seems to be that Gerwig's direction is masterful, Saoirse Ronan as Jo is wonderful, and Florence Pugh as Amy is a major scene-stealer. Oscar buzz for all, including best picture, adapted screenplay and production design.  Word is Meryl's role is small, but provides some comedic relief.

Little Women will be released in theaters on Christmas Day.  

Film review: "The Laundromat" (2019)

Netflix released The Laundromat to streaming yesterday, and I got the chance to watch it last night. There's been a bit of controversy around it, and as recently as a couple days ago, the two men on whom much of the film is based, filed a lawsuit to prevent Netflix from releasing the it. After its Venice premiere in late August, dozens of reviews have trickled in. I can't avoid taking notice of course, and it's difficult not to get a biased view of what to expect, considering it hasn't exactly received universal acclaim. In fact, it's been fairly poorly reviewed. I tried to put that aside and watch the movie with an open mind.

It's a pretty fast run, at only 96 minutes. The film opens with Ellen Martin (Meryl) on a trip with her husband in New York, where their boat capsizes, killing her husband and many others. The attempt to secure an insurance settlement leaves Ellen out of luck, as she learns that the company that was supposed to handle the restitution has essentially been able to weasel out of it...through convoluted, but not necessarily illegal, channels.

Ellen tries to track down the company, leading her as far as the Caribbean, but to no avail. Along the way, we're treated to behind the scenes explanations from Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas, who portray the real-life lawyers Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca (of the infamous Panama Papers law firm Mossack Fonseca), describing step by step how the rich are basically screwing the little guy and getting away with it.

The film jumps around a lot, including side stories of wealthy African and Chinese families, conveying the nature of the often cruel and even murderous lengths individuals went to protect their astronomical assets. I tend to agree with many of the reviews that suggest that the film might not always know where it's going, or that it simply would be better to more closely follow Ellen's story. I realize I'm biased toward Meryl, but Ellen is really the one person we're meant to care about in the film, and I believe the film would be stronger with a little more length to follow Ellen's story a bit more closely.



Now to the controversy. There are a handful of viewers who accuse Streep of engaging in "brownface," in the film, in that she is attempting to portray a woman of color. Meryl plays a dual role, the second being a Panamanian office worker. On paper it totally sounds like "what the f*ck are you thinking?" but in the context of the film, there really isn't anything overtly offensive about it. I'm not going to get into a long-winded narrative about what constitutes blatant disregard for racial inequality, or insensitive depictions of minorities on screen. Suffice it to say, I, like the vast majority of folks who have posted online reviews, find little to no real issue with it.

Steven Soderbergh addressed the concern, which he anticipated, in a recent interview. I'm satisified with his explanation. I just wish I were a little more satisfied with the film. Since it's on Netflix, we're not concerned about box office, but I think if we're going to hope for any awards attention this upcoming season, it'll definitely be for Big Little Lies.