Tag Archives: award

2022 Emmy Nomination Thoughts

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Emmy nominations were announced this morning.  As usual, I agree with a few of the nominations and disagreed with the majority of them.  I was happy to see Abbott Elementary nominated for Best Comedy.  I was happy that Barry got a lot of love.  You can see all the nominees over at Emmys.com.

For the most part, I think my personal nominations were better.

For Best Comedy Series, I was happy to see Abbott Elementary, Barry, Only Murders In The Building, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and What We Do In The Shadows nominated.  I was not happy to see that Cobra Kai, Ghosts, and The Flight Attendant were pretty much shut out of the major categories, with the exception of Kaley Cuoco’s nomination for Best Actress.  Though I’m not a huge fan of Ted Lasso, I realize that others are and I don’t think it’s bad show as much as it’s just not for me.  Hacks, I am going to guess, was nominated because it was about show business.  Curb Your Enthusiasm was nominated out-of-habit, as this latest season was pretty much unwatchable.  I’m disappointed Atlanta wasn’t nominated but, to be honest, I kind of suspected that this season would be too surreal for the voters.  Donald Glover was nominated for Best Actor but how did Atlanta not land even a single writing nomination?

For Drama Series, I actually agree with 6 of the 8 nominees, Better Call Saul, Euphoria, Severance, Squid Game, and Yellowjackets.  I will be rooting for Yellowjackets, though we all know that Succession is going to win again.  Succession pretty much dominated the acting nominations as well.  I’ll be cheering for Severance’s Adam Scott and Christopher Walken and Yellowjackets’s Melanie Lynesky and Christina Ricci.  That said, I’m fully expecting Succession to sweep.  Maybe Bob Odenkirk will finally get some Emmy love and spare us from a self-congratulatory Brian Cox acceptance speech.  That would be nice.

Best Limited Series, I don’t even want to talk about.  I agree with one nominee, The Dropout.  My other favorite miniseries — shows like Maid, Pistol, Candy, The Offer, Angelyne, 1883, Dr. Death — were shut out for stuff like Inventing Anna and Pam & Tommy.  I imagine that Dopesick will sweep this category, despite not being that interesting of a show.  Narratively, Dopesick was a mess but it had four good performances (Michael Keaton, Kaitlyn Dever, Peter Sarsgaard, and Will Poulter) and a villain that was easy to dislike.

As far as Best TV Movie goes, I imagine that The Survivor will win and I’m happy with that.  I would have liked to have seen a nomination or two for I Want You Back and The House but The Survivor is an important film and, at a time when anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial is being normalized, it’s a film that deserves more attention.  With a growing number of celebrities and influencers recently displaying their ignorance of what happened in Nazi Germany and often being openly anti-Semitic without any apparent consequences, it’s easy to see why it’s important to honor films like The Survivor.

The Amazing Race was nominated for Best Competition Show.  I was happy about that.

When I started off this post, I was upset about the Emmys snubbing some of my favorite shows but, as I’ve sat here typing, I’ve calmed down.  It’s just the Emmys and don’t know anyone who really takes them seriously.  The winners will be announced on September 12th.

What If Lisa Marie Had All The Power: 2022 Emmy Nominations Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Emmy Nominations are due to be announced tomorrow so it’s time for the Shattered Lens to play a game that should be familiar to our longtime readers, What If Lisa Marie Had All The Power.

Below, you’ll find my personal Emmy nominations.  Keep in mind, these are not necessarily the shows and performers who I think will be nominated, though a few definitely will be.  Instead, these are my personal picks.  This is what would be nominated if I had all the power.

Now, there’s a lot of Emmy categories.  I went through the Emmy submissions and I picked nominees for every single category.  However, in the interest of space, I can’t list all of them in this post.  Instead, below, you’ll find my picks for the major categories.  If you want to see the complete list of my nominees, you can see it by clicking here!

Another thing you’ll probably notice while looking over my nominations is that I really, really liked The Amazing Race, Survivor (both the movie and the unrelated reality show), I Want You Back, The Voyeurs, The House, Barry, Atlanta, Cobra Kai, Abbott Elementary, Only Murders In The Building, Maid, Pistol, The Dropout, Candy, The Offer, Euphoria, Dexter: New Blood, The Gilded Age, Severance, Yellowstone, and Yellowjackets.  I also made an effort to make sure that each of the primetime networks got a little bit of love when it came to nominating the best shows of the year.  Fantasy Island and Dynasty may not be remembered by the Emmys but I enjoy both of them and I’m going to remember them!

Here are my nominees!  The winners are in bold.

Programming

Outstanding Comedy Series

Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Atlanta (FX)

Barry (HBO)

Brooklyn Nine Nine (NBC)

Cobra Kai (Netflix)

The Flight Attendant (HBOMax)

Ghosts (CBS)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime)

Murderville (Netflix)

Only Murders In The Building (Hulu)

Saved By The Bell (Peacock)

What We Do In The Shadows (FX)

Outstanding Drama Series

Better Call Saul (AMC)

Dexter: New Blood (Showtime)

Dynasty (The CW)

Euphoria (HBO)

Fantasy Island (Fox)

The Gilded Age (HBO)

Severance (Apple TV+)

Squid Game (Netflix)

Stranger Things (Netflix)

The Walking Dead (AMC)

Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Yellowstone (Paramount)

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

Angelyne (Peacock)

Candy (Hulu)

Dr. Death (Peacock)

The Dropout (Hulu)

1883 (Paramount Plus)

The Essex Serpent (Apple TV+)

Maid (Netflix)

The Offer (Paramount Plus)

Pistol (Hulu)

Slasher: Flesh & Blood (Shudder)

A Very British Scandal (Amazon Prime)

The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window (Netflix)

Outstanding TV Movie

Birds of Paradise (Amazon Prime)

Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers (Disney Plus)

The House (Netflix)

I Want You Back (Amazon Prime)

List of a Lifetime (Lifetime)

The Manor (Amazon Prime)

Psych 3: This is Gus (Peacock)

The Survivor (HBO)

The Valet (Hulu)

The Voyeurs (Amazon Prime)

Outstanding Variety Talk Show

Conan (TBS)

Friday Night Vibes (TBS)

Half in the Bag (YouTube)

Hart to Heart (Peacock)

E! Nightly Pop (E!)

Tha God’s Honest Truth With Charlemagne Tha God (Comedy Central)

Outstanding Variety Sketch Show

The Truth With Ed and Randall (Peacock)

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (The CW)

Outstanding Variety Special (Live)

Annie Live! (NBC)

The Oscars (ABC)

The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show (NBC)

The 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (TBS)

Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)

Merry Wives (Great Performances) (PBS)

Norm McDonald: Nothing Special (Netflix)

Rita Ora at the Eiffel Tower (Streaming)

Step Into The Movies …. With Derek and Julianne Hough (ABC)

Taylor Tomlinson: Look At You (Netflix)

2022 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards (Shudder)

Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama, or Variety Series

I Think You Should Leave …. With Tim Robinson (Netflix)

State of the Union (Sundance TV)

Outstanding Short Form Non-Fiction or Reality Series

Beyond The Headlines (Lifetime)

Let’s Unpack That (People TV)

True Dating Stories (Fuse)

What Happens in Hollywood (Roku)

Outstanding Hosted Non-Fiction Series or Special

Gordon Ramsay’s Uncharted (Disney Plus)

History’s Greatest Mysteries (History)

The Last Drive-In (Shudder)

Painting With John (HBO)

Sketchbook (Disney Plus)

Talking Dead (AMC)

Outstanding Structured Reality Program

Antiques Roadshow (PBS)

Collector’s Call (MeTV)

Impractical Jokers (TruTV)

Love is Blind (Netflix)

Storage Wars (A&E)

Temptation Island (USA)

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program

Bachelor in Paradise (ABC)

Bar Rescue (Paramount)

Cheer (Netflix)

Intervention (A&E)

Married At First Sight (Lifetime)

Selling Sunset (Netflix)

Outstanding Competition Program

The Amazing Race (CBS)

American Idol (ABC)

The Bachelor (ABC)

The Bachelorette (ABC)

Dancing With The Stars (ABC)

Hell’s Kitchen (Fox)

Making The Cut (Amazon Prime)

Survivor (CBS)

Tough as Nails (CBS)

The Ultimate Surfer (ABC)

Performers

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

Will Arnett in Murderville (Netflix)

Will Forte in MacGruber (Peacock)

Donald Glover in Atlanta (FX)

Bill Hader in Barry (HBO)

Ralph Macchio in Cobra Kai (Netflix)

Steve Martin in Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Andy Samberg in Brooklyn Nine Nine (NBC)

Martin Short in Only Murders In The Building (Hulu)

Jason Sudeikis in Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

William Zabka in Cobra Kai (Netflix)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman in Ozark (Netflix)

Kevin Costner in Yellowstone (Paramount)

Michael C. Hall in Dexter: New Blood (Showtime)

Tom Hiddleston in Loki (Disney Plus)

Lee Jung-jae in Squid Game (Netflix)

Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul (AMC)

Norman Reedus in The Walking Dead (AMC)

Adam Scott in Severance (Apple TV+)

Morgan Spector in The Gilded Age (HBO)

Billy Bob Thornton in Goliath (Amazon Prime)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series

Jon Bernthal in We Own This City (HBO)

Anson Boon in Pistol (Hulu)

David Cronenberg in Slasher: Flesh & Blood (Shudder)

Sam Elliott in 1883 (Paramount Plus)

Tom Hiddleston in The Essex Serpent (Apple TV+)

Oscar Isaac in Moon Knight (Disney Plus)

Joshua Jackson in Dr. Death (Peacock)

Samuel L. Jackson in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV+)

Michael Keaton in Dopesick (Hulu)

Toby Wallace in Pistol (Hulu)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a TV Movie

Charlie Day in I Want You Back (Amazon Prime)

Eugenio Derbez in The Valet (Hulu)

Ben Foster in The Survivor (HBO)

Dule Hill in Psych 3: This is Gus (Peacock)

James Roday Rodriguez in Psych 3: This is Gus (Peacock)

Troye Sivan in Three Months (Paramount Plus)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in A Comedy Series

Andre Braugher in Brooklyn Nine Nine (NBC)

Anthony  Carrigan in Barry (HBO)

Thomas Ian Griffith in Cobra Kai (Netflix)

Brian Tyree Henry in Atlanta (FX)

Martin Kove in Cobra Kai (Netflix)

Mario Lopez in Saved By The Bell (Peacock)

Richie Moriarty in Ghosts (CBS)

Chris Perfiti in Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Stephen Root in Barry (HBO)

Henry Winkler in Barry (HBO)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Clancy Brown in Dexter: New Blood (Showtime)

Patrick Fabian in Better Call Saul (AMC)

Josh Hamilton in The Walking Dead (AMC)

Cole Hauser in Yellowstone (Paramount)

Ray Liotta in Hanna (Amazon Prime)

John Turturro in Severance (Apple TV+)

Christopher Walken in Severance (Apple TV+)

Sam Waterston in Law & Order (NBC)

Owen Wilson in Loki (Disney Plus)

O Yeong-su in Squid Game (Netflix)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series

Naveen Andrews in The Dropout (Hulu)

Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Pistol (Hulu)

Stephen Fry in The Dropout (Hulu)

Matthew Goode in The Offer (Paramount Plus)

William H. Macy in The Dropout (Hulu)

Dylan Minnette in The Dropout (Hulu)

Nick Robinson in Maid (Netflix)

Alan Ruck in The Dropout (Hulu)

Christian Slater in Dr. Death (Peacock)

Sam Waterston in The Dropout (Hulu)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a TV Movie

Corbin Bernsen in Psych 3: This is Gus (Peacock)

Bruce Davison in The Manor (Amazon Prime)

Scott Eastwood in I Want You Back (Amazon Prime)

Ben Hardy in The Voyeurs (Amazon Prime)

Billy Magnussen in The Survivor (HBO)

Peter Sarsgaard in The Survivor (HBO)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Pamela Adlon in Better Things (FX)

Rachel Brosnahan in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime)

Quinta Brunson in Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Miranda Cosgrove in iCarly (Peacock)

Kaley Cuoco in The Flight Attendant (HBOMax)

Natasia Demetriou in What We Do In The Shadows (FX)

Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Rose McIver in Ghosts (CBS)

Sandra Oh in The Chair (Netflix)

Jean Smart in Hacks (HBOMax)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Carrie Coon in The Gilded Age (HBO)

Elizabeth Gillies in Dynasty (The CW)

Nicole Kidman in Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu)

Juliette Lewis in Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Melanie Lynesky in Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Anna Paquin in Flack (Amazon Prime)

Kelly Reilly in Yellowstone (Paramount)

Winona Ryder in Stranger Things (Netflix)

Roselyn Sanchez in Fantasy Island (Fox)

Zendaya in Euphoria (HBO)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series

Kristen Bell in The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window (Netflix)

Jessica Biel in Candy (Hulu)

Lily Collins in Pam & Tommy (Hulu)

Claire Danes in The Essex Serpent (Apple TV+)

Elle Fanning in The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

Claire Foy in A Very British Scandal (Amazon Prime)

Isabel May in 1883 (Paramount Plus)

Margaret Qualley in Maid (Netflix)

Emmy Rossum in Angelyne (Peacock)

Amanda Seyfried in The Dropout (Hulu)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a TV Movie

Kristine Foseth in Birds of Paradise (Amazon Prime)

Barbara Hershey in The Manor (Amazon Prime)

Kelly Hu in List of a Lifetime (Lifetime)

Diana Silvers in Birds of Paradise (Amazon Prime)

Jenny Slate in I Want You Back (Amazon Prime)

Sydney Sweeney in The Voyeurs (Amazon Prime)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Zazie Beetz in Atlanta (FX)

Hannah Einbinder in Hacks (HBOMax)

Melissa Famero in Brooklyn Nine Nine (NBC)

Sarah Goldberg in Barry (HBO)

Janelle James in Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Elizabeth Berkley Lauren in Saved By The Bell (Peacock)

Peyton List in Cobra Kai (Netflix)

Sheryl Lee Ralph in Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Kristen Schaal in What We Do In The Shadows (FX)

Rebecca Wisocky in Ghosts (CBS)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama

Patricia Arquette in Severance (Apple TV+)

Christine Baranski in The Gilded Age (HBO)

Jennifer Carpenter in Dexter: New Blood (Showtime)

Julia Garner in Ozark (Netflix)

Jung Ho-yeon in Squid Game (Netflix)

Cynthia Nixon in The Gilded Age (HBO)

Christina Ricci in Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Rhea Seehorn in Better Call Saul (AMC)

Sydney Sweeney in Euphoria (HBO)

Sophie Thatcher in Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series

Anne Archer in The Dropout (Hulu)

Kate Burton in The Dropout (Hulu)

Sydney Chandler in Pistol (Hulu)

Kaitlyn Dever in Dopesick (Hulu)

Molly Ephraim in Angelyne (Hulu)

Faith Hill in 1883 (Paramount Plus)

Camryn Mi-young Kim in The Dropout (Hulu)

Melanie Lynesky in Candy (Hulu)

Laurie Metcalf in The Dropout (Hulu)

Michaela Watkins in The Dropout (Hulu)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a TV Movie

Jacqueline Bisset in Birds of Paradise (Amazon Prime)

Natasha Liu Bordizzo in The Voyeurs (Amazon Prime)

Vicky Krieps in The Survivor (HBO)

Sylvia Kwan in List of a Lifetime (Lifetime)

Gina Rodriguez in I Want You Back (Amazon Prime)

Maddie Ziegler in The Fallout (HBOMax)

Outstanding Guest Actor On A Comedy Series

James Caverly in Only Murders in the Building “The boy From 6B” (Hulu)

David Duchovny in The Chair “Last Bus In Town” (Netflix)

Paul Walter Hauser in Cobra Kai “Party Time” (Netflix)

Nathan Lane in Only Murder In The Building “The Boy From 6B” (Hulu)

Joe Mantegna in Barry “crazytimeshitshow” (HBO)

Liam Neeson in Atlanta “New Jazz” (FX)

Craig Robinson in Brooklyn Nine Nine “PB&J” (NBC)

Miguel Sandoval in Barry “all the sauces” (HBO)

Sting in Only Murders in the Building “The Sting” (Hulu)

Matt Walsh in Ghosts “The Vault” (CBS)

Outstanding Guest Actor on Drama Series

Michael Biehn in The Walking Dead “Warlords” (AMC)

Colman Domingo in Euphoria “Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys” (HBO)

Robert Englund in Stranger Things “Chapter Four: Dear Billy” (Netflix)

Michael Gill in The Gilded Age “Face The Music” (HBO)

Richard E. Grant in Loki “Journey Into Mystery” (Disney Plus)

William Hurt in Goliath “Spilt Milk” (Amazon Prime)

Sam Neill in Invasion “The Last Day” (Apple TV+)

Tom Pelphrey in Ozark “You’re The Boss” (Netflix)

John Douglas Thompson in The Gilded Age “Let The Tournament Begin” (HBO)

Yul Vasquez in Severance “In Perpetuity” (Apple TV+)

Outstanding Guest Actress On A Comedy Series

Odessa A’zion in Ghosts “Attic Girl” (CBS)

Vanessa Bayer in Barry “710N” (HBO)

Kelly Bishop in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel “Maisel vs. Lemon: The Cut Contest” (Amazon Prime)

Tina Fey in Only Murders in The Building “The Sting” (Hulu)

Ava Grey in Atlanta “New Jazz” (FX)

Oona O’Brien in Cobra Kai “Minefields” (Netflix)

Elizabeth Perkins in Barry “crazytimeshitshow” (HBO)

Laura San Giacomo in Barry “crazytimeshitshow” (HBO)

Sharon Stone in The Flight Attendant “Brothers & Sisters” (HBOMax)

Alanna Urbach in The Flight Attendant “Drowning Woman” (HBOMax)

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Karen Aldridge in Severance “Defiant Jazz” (Apple TV+)

Ashlie Atkinson in The Gilded Age “Tucked Up In Newport” (HBO)

Linda Emond in The Gilded Age “Charity Has Two Functions” (HBO)

Jeannine Kasper in Law & Order “The Right Thing” (NBC)

Martha Kelly in Euphoria “Stand Still Like The Hummingbird” (HBO)

Amybeth McNulty in Stranger Things “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club” (Netflix)

Gabriella Pizzolo in Stranger Things “Chapter Six: The Dive” (Netflix)

Christen Sharice in Law & Order “Fault Lines” (NBC)

Jackie Weaver in Yellowstone “Winning or Learing” (Paramount)

Lee You-mi in Squid Game “Gganbu” (Netflix)

Outstanding Actor In A Short Form Comedy or Drama Series

Brendan Gleeson in State of the Union (Sundance TV)

Sean Kanan in Studio City (Amazon Prime)

Tim Robinson in I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (Netflix)

Nick Stahl in Fear The Walking Dead: Dead in the Water (AMC+)

Outstanding Actress In A Short From Comedy or Drama Series

Natalie Burn in Studio City (Amazon Prime)

Patricia Clarkson in State of the Union (Sundance TV)

Carolyn Hennesy in Studio City (Amazon Prime)

Juliet Vega in Studio City (Amazon Prime)

The nominations will be announced tomorrow!  Good luck to all the contenders!

Lisa Marie’s Early Oscar Predictions for June

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s the time of the month again!  It’s time for me to share my brave attempts to randomly guess at what will be nominated for the Oscars next year!  I do this on a monthly basis.  For the first six or seven months of the year, it’s a bit of a fool’s errand.  Usually, it’s not until late September and October that the Oscar race really starts to become a bit clearer and, even then, there’s always a few surprises and late additions.  So, in other words, take the predictions below with a grain of salt.  Actually, take them with several grains of salt.  A few of these films and performers will definitely be nominated.  Several probably won’t but these are the best guesses that I can currently make based on the rumors and speculation that I’ve seen online.

Probably the biggest Oscar news this month was that Top Gun: Maverick is still dominating the box office.  That’s good new for Maverick, both because it reminds the Academy of how much people love the film and it will also help to keep the movie fresh on everyone’s mind as the rest of the year unfolds.  To those who say that Top Gun: Maverick isn’t a traditional Oscar movie, I would say that 1) they have a point and 2) the same could have been and was said about Mad Max: Fury Road, Get Out, Joker, Black Panther, Dune, and several other recent nominees that both did well at the box office and scored several Oscar nominations.  It’s probably time for us to stop thinking about whether or not a movie is a “traditional” nominee because it’s been a while since that’s really been a deciding factor.  The times are changing.

Anyway, below you’ll find my nominees for the month of June!  If you want to see how my thinking has progressed, be sure to check out my predictions for February, March, April, and May!  They’re good for a laugh if nothing else.

Finally, if I had to predict a winner for Best Picture, I would probably go with The Fabelmans.  I think Steven Spielberg making a film about his childhood will be hard to resist and I think there are some people who feel that Spielberg didn’t quite get the amount of Oscar love that he deserved for West Side Story.

Best Picture

Babylon

Empire of Light

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Fabelmans

Killers of the Flower Moon

My Policeman

Rustin

She Said

Top Gun: Maverick

Women Talking

Best Director

Damien Chazelle for Babylon

Joseph Kosinski for Top Gun: Maverick

Maria Schafer for She Said

Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon

Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans

Best Actor

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick

Colman Domingo in Rustin

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto

Brad Pitt in Babylon

Best Actress

Naomi Ackie in I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Cate Blanchett in Tar

Ana de Armas in Blonde

Margot Robbie in Babylon

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actor

Paul Dano in The Fabelmans

Tom Hanks in Elvis

Anthony Hopkins in Armageddon Time

Tobey Maguire in Babylon

Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actress

Jessie Buckley in Women Talking

Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All At Once

Sally Field in Spoiler Alert

Li Jun Li in Babylon

Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans

Lisa Marie’s Way Too Early Oscar Predictions for May

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s that time of the month again!

It’s time for me to once again try to predict what will be nominated for the Oscars.  If you had to told me, at this time last year, that Top Gun: Maverick would emerge as an Oscar contender, I would have said that you were crazy but here we are.  Admittedly, it is early in the year and I think there’s always going to be some ambivalence towards honoring Tom Cruise.  (You just know that someone is having nightmares about him thanking David Miscavige in his Oscar speech.)  But with the reviews and the box office success that Top Gun: Maverick is getting, it would be a mistake to dismiss it.  After all, Mad Max: Fury Road came out around this same time of year in 2015.  As well, one can be sure that A24 will be giving Everything Everywhere All At Once a heavy awards push as well.  This could very well be the year of the genre blockbuster as far as the Oscars are concerned.

As for Cannes, it’s come and gone.  George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing got some good reviews, even if those reviews didn’t translate into awards at the end of the Festival.  David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future sounds like it’s going to be too divisive for the Academy and really, the thought of Cronenberg winning an Oscar has always been a bit implausible, regardless of how much he may or may not deserve one.  As for James Gray’s Armageddon Time, Gray has always been more popular with critics than with audiences or Academy voters.  If Gray couldn’t break through with something like The Lost City of Z, I doubt he’s going to do so with an autobiographical film about his life in private school.  Steven Spielberg already has the autobiography slot wrapped up with The Fabelmans. 

Of course, there’s still many films left to see and many more film festivals to be held.  Let us not forget that Martin Scorsese is bringing us Killers of the Flower Moon.  Personally, I’m looking forward to Damien Chazelle’s Babylon.  In short, nothing has been settled yet.  For all the acclaim that Top Gun and Everything are getting, who knows how the race is going to look at the start of the Fall season?

Anyway, here are my predictions for May.  Be sure to check out my predictions for February and March and April as well!

Best Picture

Amsterdam

Babylon

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Fabelmans

I Want To Dance With Somebody

Killers of the Flower Moon

Next Goal Wins

Rustin

She Said

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Director

Damien Chazelle for Babylon

Kasi Lemmons for I Want To Dance With Somebody

Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon

Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans

Taika Waititi for Next Goal Wins

Best Actor

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick

Colman Domingo in Rustin

Idris Elba in Three Thousand Years of Longing

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

Brad Pitt in Babylon

Best Actress

Naomi Ackie in I Want To Dance With Somebody

Cate Blanchett in Tar

Margot Robie in Babylon

Tilda Swinton in Three Thousand Years of Longing

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actor

John Boyega in The Woman King

Leonardo DiCaprio in Flowers of the Killer Moon

Tom Hanks in Elvis

David Lynch in The Fabelmans

Tobey Maguire in Babylon

Best Supporting Actress

Jessie Buckley in Women Talking

Tantoo Cardinal in Flowers of the Killer Moon

Li Jun Li in Babylon

Samantha Morton in She Said

Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans

Here Are The Winners of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2022 Cannes Film Festival has come to a close! 

To be honest, I didn’t hear much about Cannes this year.  Maybe it was because I’ve been on a mini-vacation for the past two and a half weeks but it seems as if the Cannes coverage was a bit more lowkey than usual.  There weren’t any big controversies, perhaps reflecting the fact that everyone is kind of unified in hating Putin right now.  It seems like the biggest event was the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick and Tom Cruise receiving a special prize for being one of the last of the old school movie stars.

Well, regardless, the winners have been announced!  Looking over this list, I don’t see any films that really jump out as probable Oscar nominee so, if you’re looking for another Parasite to come out of this festival, you’re probably out of luck.  Here are the winners:

Palme d’Or: “Triangle of Sadness” by Ruben Östlund

Grand Prix: “Close” by Lukas Dhont and “Stars at Noon” by Claire Denis

Special Prize for Cannes’ 75th anniversary: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes, “Tori and Lokita”

Jury Prize: “Eo” and “Le Otto Montagne”

Best Actress: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, “Holy Spider”

Best Actor: Song Kang Ho, “Broker”

Best Director: Park Chan-wook, “Decision to Leave”

Best Screenplay: “Boy from Heaven”

Camera d’Or: “War Pony,” directed by Gina Gammell and Riley Keough

Short Film Palme d’Or: “The Water Murmurs”

Lisa Marie’s Way Too Early Oscar Predictions for April

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s that time of the month again!

At this point, the big news about the Oscar race is that there are a lot of contenders and there’s probably even more on the way.  We’re still far away from being able to make any definite predictions, though Scorsese and Spielberg always seem like good bets.  Everything Everywhere All At Once is also emerging as a possibility, despite it’s early release date.  Could it be another Mad Max: Fury Road?  It all probably depends on whether or not the precursors are willing to do their part.

Anyway, here are my predictions for April.  Be sure to check out my predictions for February and March as well!

Best Picture

Babylon

Empire of Light

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Fabelmans

I Want To Dance With Somebody

Killers of the Flower Moon

Next Goal Wins

Rustin

She Said

Till

Best Director

Damien Chazelle for Babylon

Chinoyne Chukwa for Till

Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon

Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans

Taika Watitti for Next Goal Wins

Best Actor

Colman Domingo in Rustin

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto

Joaquin Phoenix in Disappointment Blvd.

Brad Pitt in Babylon

Best Actress

Naomi Ackie in I Want To Dance With Somebody

Cate Blanchett in Tarr

Danielle Deadwyler in Till

Margot Robie in Babylon

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actor

John Boyega in The Woman King

Leonardo DiCaprio in Flowers of the Killer Moon

Tom Hanks in Elvis

David Lynch in The Fabelmans

Tobey Maguire in Babylon

Best Supporting Actress

Jessie Buckley in Women Talking

Tantoo Cardinal in Flowers of the Killer Moon

Li Jun Li in Babylon

Samantha Morton in She Said

Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans

Lisa Marie’s Way Too Early Oscar Predictions For March

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Now that the awards for last year’s films have been given out and everyone has already started to forget who won, we can start to concentrate on the next batch of Oscar contenders….

Oh, stop yelling.  It’s not that early!

Well, actually, it is way too early.  I mean, we’re still not really sure what is even going to be released this year.  Due to all the COVID delays, we went into 2021 knowing which films we could look forward to, mostly because all of those films were originally supposed to be released in 2020.  Compared to 2021, we’re going into 2022 blind.  The majority of the films that we do know about don’t really sound like Oscar contenders, either.

So, really, the only solution to how to predict the Oscar nominees when you know nothing is to guess.  The films and actors listed below are not there because I have any inside information.  Instead, they are there as a result of some wishful thinking and some educated guesses.  Killers of the Flower Moon was directed by Martin Scorsese, so of course it’s there.  The Fabelmans is there because a lot of people feel that the Academy didn’t show Spielberg and West Side Story enough love this year and I think the fact that the film is autobiographical will make it irresistible to same voters who nominated Belfast.  Napoleon is there because there might be some lingering guilt over how both Ridley Scott and The Last Duel were utterly ignored this year.  Rustin is there because it’s an Obama production and Hollywood loves the Obamas.  Chris Rock is listed as a supporting actor nominee because it would be the perfect conclusion to the saga of the Oscar Slap.  David Lynch is listed because …. well, I like David Lynch.  Personally, it’s doubtful that Tom Hanks will be able to pull off two nominations in one year but if anyone could do it, it’s Tom!

In other words, don’t take any of these predictions too seriously.  As of now, there are no definite contenders.  These are just some guesses.

Be sure to check out my even more random predictions for February as well!

Best Picture

Babylon

The Fabelmans

Killers of the Flower Moon

Napoleon

Rustin

She Said

TAR

Thirteen Lives

Till

The Woman King

Best Director

Damien Chazelle for Babylon

Chinonye Chukwu for Till

Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon

Ridley Scott for Napoleon

Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans

Best Actor

Colman Domingo in Rustin

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto

Joaquin Phoenix in The Whale

Brad Pitt in Babylon

Best Actress

Naomi Ackie for I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Cate Blanchett in TAR

Viola Davis in The Woman King

Danielle Deadwyler in Till

Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans

Best Supporting Actor

John Boyega in The Woman King

Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon

Tom Hanks in Elvis

David Lynch in The Fabelmans

Chris Rock in Rustin

Best Supporting Actress

Laura Dern in The Son

Sally Field in Spoiler Alert

Greta Gerwig in White Noise

Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon

Li Jun Li in Babylon

A Few Random Thoughts On The Oscars

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Let’s just be honest about this.

No matter what else you or I might have to say about the Academy Awards, the only thing that anyone is going to remember about this year’s ceremony is Will Smith walking up on stage and slapping Chris Rock.  That’s it.  That’s what these awards are going to be known for.  Whenever this ceremony is written about in the future, the accompanying picture won’t be of the cast and crew of CODA.  Instead, it’ll be Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.

The Slap, itself, was unpleasant to watch.  Will Smith sitting back down in his chair and continuing to shout at Chris Rock was unpleasant to watch.  It left me feeling awkward and uncomfortable and I was just watching it on TV.  I can only guess what it was like the celebrities sitting in the auditorium.  You know that they were probably terrified that something unexpected would happen with the vote for Best Actor.  At that moment, there was probably a lot of worry about what would happen if Andrew Garfield pulled off an upset.

Will Smith, however, did win Best Actor.  After making a few “fierce protector” excuses, he did, eventually, get around to apologizing to the Academy and “my fellow nominees.”  He also did a lot of God talk and I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to mention God twenty minutes after slapping someone on national TV.  He mentioned that Denzel Washington had apparently taken him aside and warned him that the Devil would come for him at the height of his success.  Which …. I mean, okay.  The thing is, Will Smith is 53 years old and he’s been a star longer than I’ve been alive.  By this point, the Devil should have moved on to someone else.

A few notes on the rest of the show:

It was good to see the show taking place in a theater, as opposed to a train station.  Just by using an actual theater, this year’s Oscar ceremony was a significant improvement over the previous year’s.

The hosts were pretty boring.  There was nothing gained by having three of them.  Amy Schumer needs to fire whoever picked out her first outfit.  If Schumer picked it out herself, she needs to hire someone to pick out her outfits.  Regina Hall looked lost.  Wanda Sykes was okay but that museum segment bogged down the whole show.

CODA is a likable film and it’s obvious that the audience appreciated its heartwarming approach more than the emotionally detached style of The Power of the Dog.  The fact that this tiny little indie film managed to defeat the expensive Netflix slate was gratifying in a David vs. Goliath sort of way.  CODA, if we’re going to be honest, really does feel more like a made-for-TV movie than a feature film but I think that, emotionally and mentally, people were just ready for a positive movie that wouldn’t leave them feeling disturbed or depressed.  After two years straight of pandemic panic, voters were perhaps not inclined to honor a film that ends with its main character dying on anthrax poisoning.

Dune swept the technical awards and ended the night with the most Oscars.  Dune II is probably going to win Best Picture.

Troy Kostur’s acceptance speech was definitely the most moving part of the night.  It’s a bit of a shame that it’s going to be forever overshadowed by The Slap.

Politically, it was pretty much a typical Oscar ceremony.  At this point, I think anyone who cares enough to be offended by Hollywood’s liberalism has probably already stopped watching the Oscars.

As the Academy promised, the cut categories (i.e., the Oscars there were awarded before the start of the live show) were edited into and shown during the show.  They were awkwardly inserted, so that we would see the people in the auditorium reacting to a speech that was given two hours earlier.  It just came across as weird and fake and, whenever the hosts did anything, I found myself thinking, “They cut categories for this.”  Even a brilliant hosting trio would have suffered as a result.  In this case, you had Amy Schumer dressed like Spider-Man on live TV while the winner for Best Film Editing had to make due with edited highlights of his speech.

What’s hilarious is that, even with all of ABC’s new measures, this year’s Oscar run longer than the previous two years.  The total show clocked in at nearly 220 minutes.  For comparison, that’s 20 minutes longer than The Godfather, Part II.  Will Smith’s acceptance speech alone ran for seven minutes.  Of course, would you want to be the person tasked to tell Will Smith to wrap it up?

It was hard to tell but I guess Army of the Dead won the Twitter Poll and Zack Snyder’s Justice League won the Oscar Cheer Moment thing.  Even from just watching on TV, it was obvious how annoyed everyone in the auditorium was with them.  Personally, I have to respect the ability of the Snyder fandom to game the system.

The interpretive dance that went along with the In Memoriam segment was distracting and annoying.  If I’m ever included in a memoriam segment, I’m hoping there will be no gospel music and no interpretive dancing.

The Godfather tribute was nice but I wish they had gotten Sofia Coppola to do the introduction instead of Sean “Whatever” Combs.

In the end, the Oscars weren’t as much of a train wreck as I thought they would be but it was still a fairly unfortunate ceremony.  The category cutting didn’t sit well and I doubt I’ll ever be comfortable with that.  (It’s something that I hope will be abandoned in the future.)  This ceremony will always be known for The Slap and probably not much else.  I would say that I would hope the Academy and ABC would learn from this but the only thing they care about is ratings.  If the ratings are good, ABC will take the credit.  If the rating are bad, the Academy will get the blame.  Who knows what next year will bring?

Speaking of next year, that’s what I am now concentrating on!  There’s a lot of good movies coming out over the next few months and a whole new Oscar race to prepare for!  Let’s get to it!

Here Are The Oscar Winners

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Best Picture — CODA

Best Director — Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

Best Actor — Will Smith, King Richard

Best Actress — Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Best Supporting Actor — Troy Kostur, CODA

Best Supporting Actress — Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

Best Adapted Screenplay — CODA

Best Original Screenplay — Belfast

Best International Film — Drive My Car

Best Documentary Feature — Summer of Soul

Best Animated Film — Encanto

Best Cinematography — Dune

Best Costume Design — Cruella

Best Film Editing — Dune

Best Makeup and Hairstyling — Eyes of Tammy Faye

Best Production Design — Dune

Best Sound — Dune

Best Visual Effects — Dune

Best Original Score — Dune

Best Original Song — No Time To Die

Best Animated Short Film — The Windshield Wiper

Best Live Action Short Film — The Long Goodbye

Best Documentary Short Film — The Queen of Basketball

6 Directors Who I Hope Win An Oscar In The Next Ten Years: 2022 Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

David Cronenberg

The master of the Canadian independent film, David Cronenberg, has never been nominated for an Oscar.  He’s been honored by the Canadian equivalent of the Oscars but the Academy itself has never seen fit to nominate him.

Some of that is because Cronenberg’s early films were all of the horror genre and that’s usually the kiss of death when it comes to the Oscars.  (Though that has started  to change in recent years….)  But, even as Cronenberg moved more into the “mainstream,” the Academy still seemed hesitant to embrace him.  After Map of the Stars, it was rumored that Cronenberg had retired from filmmaking and it seemed like the Academy’s only hope would be to eventually give him an honorary award, as they did for David Lynch last year.

Well, it turns out that the rumors of Cronenberg’s retirement were premature.  He’s got a film coming out later this year.  Now, I realize that David Cronenberg is about 80 years old and, in another ten years, he’ll be at an age when most people are very much retired.  That said, I hope he does have a few more films in him and I would love to see David Cronenberg win his first Oscar between now and 2032!  Seriously, I think his acceptance speech would be killer.  If nothing else, he deserves it for being such a good spot about appearing in Jason X.

Here are five other directors that I would like to see win their first Oscar within the next ten years:

2. Wes Anderson

He was previously nominated for Grand Budapest Hotel.  That this year’s French Dispatch was both praised and criticized as being “the most Wes Anderson film that Wes Anderson has ever made” is a sign of why he sometimes struggles with the Academy.  Anderson is one of those directors who people either love or hate.  You either respond to his trademark quirkiness or you sit there with a permanent frown on your face.  My hope is that enough people will love him that he’ll pick up his first directing Oscar in the next ten years.

3. Fran Kranz

Mass was one of the best and, in its low-key way, bravest films of 2021 and I can’t wait to see what Kranz is going to do next.  Somehow, it seems appropriate that the stoner from The Cabin In The Woods just might be our next great director.

4. Emma Seligman

Shiva Baby was one of the best films of 2021, with director Emma Seligman deftly mixing comedy, horror, drama, and even a little romance with the surest of hands.  Much as with Fran Kranz, I can’t wait to see what she does next.

5. David Lowery

Like Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater, David Lowery is a Texas filmmaker who has emerged as one of the best independent voices working today.  A Ghost Story and The Green Knight both deserved a bit more Oscar consideration than they were given.

6. Sofia Coppola

Get with it, Academy!