#also Ava Marie and Lindsay

[wintrydapples]

Whew, remember skating last night! Two American women on the podium! Ice dance intrigue and upset! Yuma beat Shoma! Pairs… probably happened! I would not have predicted most anything that has gone on this season.

[justbeachybailey]

Where Can I Read More Epistolary Literature?

I’m forever on the hunt for books that are epistolary in nature. I will continue to update this list as I find them.

"Dear Mr. You" by Mary Louise Parker

"Love Letters to the Dead" by Ava Dellaira

“No One Writes Back” by Jang Eun-Jin

“Dracula” by Bram Stoker

“The Incarnations” by Susan Barker

“Letters to Amelia” by Lindsay Zier-Vogel

“If I Disappear” by Eliza Jane Brazier

"What Remains of Edith Finch" - okay this isn't a book, rather a video game, but it is such a wonderful example of what can be accomplished when letters are the storytelling medium. Honestly 10/10

"Gone Home" - this one is also a video game but it also slaps 10/10 emotional rollercoaster

[an-odd-idea]

Aaaaa women’s short program aaaaaa!

Shoutout to this audience for always applauding a spiral, and for several well-deserved standing ovations. Let’s have all the competitions be in Japan and Canada and maaayybe the United States if they promise to be as hype as they were at Skate America from now on

1. Lindsay Thorngren: She was just wonderful. Definitely my favorite from the US right now, and this is a neat program. (Did a spiral on the lyric “spiral”, I am a simple woman) And she did some kind of wild grabby skate thing, idk what that even was, but so cool. And so exciting for her to be in first! The people there loved her, too

2. Nina Pinzarrone: Very nice. I like her skating better this time, maybe she’s grown on me or maybe she was more relaxed or something. Anyway, I’m glad she also did well thus far after doing so well at her last assignment, keep the momentum going

3. Haein Lee: The jumps were better! I’m happy to see her in medal position, even if by the narrowest of margins. Pls be careful on your illusion. I also always support a program about sirens eating people, and I like her dress

4. Mai Mihara: Aaaa, Mai! I love her, the fans love her, it was so wonderful to see her, and she looked so joyful on the ice. She’s only this low because she did a triple-double, but it looked like that was what she intended, so as long as she did it well and she’s happy, I’m happy. What a wonderful step sequence

5. Ava Marie Ziegler: She was so much fun! She really sold the jazzy program from the first moment, and I loved the Ina Bauer, I can already tell she’s one of those fun skaters who thinks about more than the technical. For a second there the little box showed her flying sit spin was invalidated, but no, phew we’re good

6. Seoyeong Wi: Never seen her before in my life, she was nice. Her dress was so pretty

7. Yelim Kim: Argh the jumps. Argh, the Lutz was downgraded. Argh the combination. But she is so lovely, and the Ina Bauer. Please please please come back strong in the free?

8. Yuna Aoki: Low key my favorite in the entire thing. Skated first in front of a home crowd after not competing much at all for a few seasons and absolutely nailed it, so smooth, so fluid, so expressive, made everything look effortless. Also Lutz-loop- go big or go home I guess

9. Lea Serna: Argh the flip. But I love this program. Eivor is always a win, and she skates it with such ferocity. Also makeup on point, I never notice makeup, but hers was really good

10. Anastasiia Gubanova: Argh the combination! I was really hoping she’d come back and do super well and maybe even medal here after her score at her last competition made her so mad. Still possible, I suppose, Amber made a bigger leap last week

11. Wakaba Higuchi: Nooooo! The jumps! The jumps. But that axel was gorgeous, as always. Can she do an Amber Glenn? That would be wild

12. Lindsay van Zundert: Oh dear the fall and the downgrades. But it’s okay! I saw that she has an Olympics tattoo, I guess that really is A Thing and not just something a handful of people do. I only remember ever seeing her at the Olympics, actually, but I liked her. I hope she does well in the free

[macaroni-rascal]

What are you excited about for US Nationals? I loved the rundown you gave for Canadian Nats!

Oh, fun question! And thank you!

Men: Deeply excited for Jason Brown to be back, I have missed his skating a lot and he is always a pleasure to watch. The US has three spots for men, so it is very very possible that he will nab one of those spots. There isn't much depth in US men's right now, it's basically Ilia, a very wide gulf, and them Camden limping behind him. My guess is those three will be the ones assigned to worlds, as long as Camden and Jason skate clean-ish, they can get medals. I don't think any other American man has a shot as medaling unless they skate perfectly, and other make mistakes, however it is men's skating, so that is always a giant possibility. Tomoki will likely have one good program and a splat fest in the other, Jimmy Ma will do that weird bow with his fist over his heart in the k/c after falling three times, and Andrew Torgashev will disappoint me.

Women: A deeper field than the men's, by quite a lot, actually, I am very much looking forward to this. Isabeau Levito is the very likely champion, unless something goes horribly wrong. However the chase for silver and bronze will be interesting. Starr Andrews has had a pretty solid (for her) season, if she goes clean and others falter she can really rise to the occasion, she usually peaks at Nationals; Amber Glenn has also had an alright season, with a medal on the GP, but then a very messy second event, this is her moment to make a definitive stand for herself and her skating, I hope she does well. Gracie Gold will be competing as well, and I will always have a small soft spot for her, Bradie Tennell is back and could throw a wrench in the gears, not to mention, Lindsay Thorngren, Ava Marie Ziegler, and Audrey Shin, all wanting to stake their claim and show their best as the new comers.

Pairs: The field with nearly as little depth as the men's, it is Alexa and Brandon's to lose, the only thing that will keep them off the top of the podium is a complete and utter disaster in both programs. Chan and Howe will want to skate well and nab silver to cement themselves as America's other top team, going to the GPF was huge for them, even if their skates weren't amazing. The bronze is up for grabs, and the other teams will be battling it out to get to worlds.

Ice Dance: Chock and Bates for gold, no question, and then since Hawayek and Baker have withdrawn, silver and bronze will be between Carreira and Ponomarenko, and Green and Parsons. Whoever ends up with silver will be going to worlds, in all likelihood, since Kaitlin and Jean Luc have said they will still make a bid for the worlds spot, which they should undoubtedly get. It will be interesting to see if Wolfkostin and Chen continue to have a giant mistake every program, how Zingas and Kolesnik do in terms of stacking up against other teams such as Pate and Bye, Bratti and Somerville, and the Browns.

The US is the only country with three spots across all disciplines for worlds, so there is a lot at stake and spots for grabs everywhere, so it should be lots of fun.

[jennibeultimate]

Personal recap Skate Canada 2022 - Women SP

I think this SP was much better than that at Skate America, more clean skates! This is quite an open GP on who will win because many skater have good chances. It's still anyone's win here somehow...

I kept the starting order...

Yuhana Yokoi ❤️ is quite a special personality - full of energy and iconically funny (I had seen her react closeup to her fellow skaters a few years ago and she was just as much fun off ice than on ice) I really have no clue what makes her struggle on her jumps so much. It wasn't a particularly bad program for her, but still she used to lack in PCS not TES when she turned senior and now? I really want her to shine!

I missed Rika Kihira's skating so much. Like Brian Orser said after her program: "It's a start" She jumped 3-3 which is already a success on its own considering her injury and how she is still not fully recovered. I love the program and am glad to see it again. ❤️ Let's stick to the positive here! (I hope she can fully recover and return to her old arsenal of jumps without pain!🙏🙏🙏) (why were there 4 coaches listed? One of them still Mie Hamada? So is she still coached also by Hamada? 🤔)

Gabby Daleman - the most pleasant surprise of the day (night for me) So happy for her! Clean program and I have hardly ever seen her so joyous after a program! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Rinka Watanabe did really well! 👏👏👏 I think she lacks a bit of fire for that program (I mean I compare it to Yuna Kim's from 2007 what probably isn't really fair bc she slayed back then) Poor Rinka waited an eternity for her score 😭 Though I think she has some work to do on her components, the score seemed quite low. I mean Rika with two mistakes and easy jump layout got only 3 points less than her, the TES being only 4 points apart. (I haven't seen the protocol but this seems iffy)

Ava Marie Ziegler - clean program, lovely but generic the program but suits her. I liked her hairpiece to the costume.

Eliska Brezinova - quite the opposite of generic program for Eliska and a cartwheel that looked implemented into the program done effortlessly, that's how I like a cartwheel! Love the program for her. Mistakes on the jumps but still I think it's not too bad for her. Good job! 👏

Starr Andrews - love love love that costume on her ❤️🔥 Superb skate for her! 👏👏👏

Lindsay Van Zundert - I like how she skates and performs her programs, but this program is a bit boring. Good SP for her! Yes there was an UR on the combo but she only started doing 3-3 in competition a while ago. It's amazing how far she has come! 👏

Niina Petronkina - it's a program I like, but the custume I don't. I like the concept, the music and the idea of the arm movements. It's standing out. If she now can show a bit more expression that would turn into one of my fav SPs of the season. And finally a clean skate at her 3rd competition of the season. They have been really harsh on her in the scores. I dunno why her TES dropped that much, the jumps looked rotated. She deserved better. 😤

Madeline Schizas - Swan lake is overused but I love the music so I don't mind it that much. Expression on point for the program and cleanly executed too! 👏👏👏

Linsay Thorngren - the pop was very costly especially in a field were most delivered optical clean programs. She is a lovely skater but I kind of have the same problem with the program as with Isabeau Levito's last week, she can't sell such a difficult music yet. The movements fit but the expression doesn't. I mean in her case it's also the mistakes that made her performance fall flat, but I dunno if this is a good choice for such a young girl. She seemed really sad already during the program.

I would have considered Young You the heavy favorite but with a SP like that she couldn't lead like she could have. I like the attitude in her program and the step sequence was really 🔥 🔥 🔥 I would still consider her the one to beat because she has the highest difficulty with Rinka for the free skate, but she can't afford more mistakes like here.

I am really interested in the protocol, I don't understand how some scores were so low with the same jump layout as some who had higher scores. The close standings make it all the more exciting but it doesn't seem that equally fair to everyone tbh.

[sywtwfs]

2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy & JGP Slovenia: Info & Streaming

Subscribe to our calendar to get event times in your own time zone! This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

NEBELHORN TROPHY

Nebelhorn Trophy is the final qualifying event for the 2022 Winter Olympics. For more information on the qualification process for the Winter Olympics, see these posts. The number of Olympic spots available to be earned at Nebelhorn is: 7 men, 6 women, 4 ice dance, 3 pairs. A federation can earn up to one spot in each discipline.

Spots are allocated based on highest placements at the competition for skaters who are competing to earn a spot for their federation. Skaters who are not competing for Olympic spots may also participate in Nebelhorn Trophy. Their placements are disregarded for the purposes of spot allocation. In the entry list, skaters marked with “N” are not competing for Olympic spots.

Results | Schedule | Entries | Website | ISU

Type: Challenger Series When: Sept. 22-25 Where: Oberstdorf, Germany Level & disciplines: senior women, men, ice dance, pairs

Schedule (UTC+2)

9/23: Men’s SP 09:00; Pairs’ SP 14:00; Women’s SP 17:00

9/24: Rhythm Dance 10:30; Men’s FS 14:15; Pairs’ FS 20:00

9/25: Women’s FS 10:10; Free Dance 16:35; Gala 20:30

Notable entries: Brendan Kerry, Vladimir Litvintsev, Roman Sadovsky, Adam Siao Him Fa, Paul Fentz, Sihyeong Lee, Mark Kondratiuk, Vincent Zhou, Kailani Craine, Viktoriia Safonova, Lea Serna, Lara Naki Gutmann, Ekaterina Kurakova, Alexia Paganini, Tzu-Han Ting, Anastasiia Shabotova, Alysa Liu, Yuchen Wang/Yihang Huang, Laura Barquero/Marco Zandron, Karina Safina/Luka Berulava, Tina Garabedian/Simon Proulx-Senecal, Natalie Taschlerova/Filip Taschler, Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis, Sasha Fear/George Waddell, Maria Kazakova/Georgy Reviya, Anna Yanovskaya/Adam Lukacs, Yura Min/Daniel Eaton

How to watch: Free livestreams - Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

===============================================

JGP LJUBLJANA CUP

Results | Schedule | Entries | ISU

Type: Junior Grand Prix When: Sept. 22-25 Where: Ljubljana, Slovenia Level & disciplines: junior women, men, ice dance

Schedule (UTC+2)

9/23: Women’s SP 14:15; Men’s SP 19:15

9/24: Rhythm Dance 15:00; Men’s FS 18:05

9/25: Women’s FS 12:00; Free Dance 17:20

Notable entries: Younghyun Cha, Ilya Yablokov, Minchae Kim, Jia Shin, Sofia Samodelkina, Adeliia Petrosian, Lindsay Thorngren, Ava Marie Ziegler, Natalie D’Alessandro/Bruce Waddell, Vasilisa Kaganovskaia/Valeriy Angelopol, Katarina Wolfkostin/Jeffrey Chen

How to watch: Free livestreams on the ISU JGP Youtube channel

[katieqnmr]

the last landscape was one of my favourite films I’ve ever been a part of! my group was just insanely talented and cool. I suppose this is me reflecting on it. the problem with blogging is that I’m unable to do it at the same time as all the exciting stuff I am doing, so I lose track of what I’ve actually recorded!

director - KATIE COX (that’s me!)

writer/editor - BONNIE SANDERSON

producer - BETH LINDSAY

cinematographer - EVA MAGDIĆ GOVEDARICA

sound - ORLA MURRAY

production design - AIMEE COMBE

I am so proud of our team. the film echoes so much of the love and passion we had for Bonnie’s script. The first time I read The Last Leaf, I cried, and I wanted to create something with that power. I think we succeeded there! (I’m looking at you Bethany!! ;) )

Once Bonnie had written the gorgeous script, Eva got to work storyboarding everything (I don’t think be ever seen such beautiful storyboards haha). I have a lot to learn from someone like Eva, who is really deft at creating a vision extremely accurately. She’s very organised and able to see shots where I don’t really. I envy her talent, and her dedication to the lighting and filters for the cinematography was something that really came through in our film. It is so visually stunning, and I’m so glad we incorporated the ratio change we talked about.

Our shoot days were chaotic and long, and my bedroom was transformed into the set (I wouldn’t reocmmend this as it was a bit intrusive) but we didn’t really have much choice. Thanks Mary and Parsley for letting us run a bit riot in the house….

In the middle of shooting days, some incidents happened which meant we were unable to shoot on one of the days. So we shot this whole thing in two days, which now I think about it, is insane. Some equipment didn’t work (to be expected) but other than that, it was mostly smooth.

Millie and Sam were lovely to work with, and were great at taking on my feedback. they are very talented and the film would not be what it is without them. I was especially impressed at Millie’s ability to nail Joanna’s conflicting character, because she’s strangely jolly but also desperately sad at her illness. She did that effortlessly! Adam (Eva’s boyfriend), was also incredibly helpful and supportive, cheers adam! Ben Mcmorran was the most sturdy AC on the day, I know he was incredibly invested in this project because he wasn’t able to adapt the last leaf himself. I really appreciated his support, and his general cheerful attitude. He’s clearly very experienced at this. Love ya ben!

Beth produced this film, and I am always impressed by how organised she is. She is ON IT! This gal is a natural. She was so helpful during this, organising everything so it all felt really smooth. Aimee had a really hard task in production design, and I hope she didn’t feel to overstepped because we all had to assist a bit, as it was literally a HUGE production in terms of props. There’s no way one person could’ve done it, but what she did do was really beautiful and worked so well in the film, so thank you Aimee!! Orla’s sound design was stunning, she did it so quickly, and consulted bonnie and I for feedback. Her talent is clear, she’s always on it, and she is so sweet and kind to me as well. cheers orla for the moral support! She also achieved history when she allegedly made Ben spit some beans for foley sounds… (almost glad I wasn’t there to see it….) Bonnie’s editing was really stunning. Her pacing was spot on and I really enjoyed seeing the project come together with her edit. Eva did some colour grading (quickly and seemingly effortlessly, still don’t know how) and I came in later to mask the windows and mirrors in DaVinci too.

Thanks also to Ava Brimilcombe-Cowie, my friend and extremely talented artist! I couldn’t resist featuring her work, and I think it really helped the mise-en scene. Peer also, your landscape was both necessary and beautiful so thank you! Lucy Smith also helped us as an art director and she was really helpful! At the beach, we got approached by Arina Brovanova, a composer from London, who wrote a most stunning score for the film! It was so by chance and so gorgeous (and Orla incorporated it beautifully too).

In the screening, I wish the sound could have been louder because I feel that a lot of Orla’s work was lost, but it was there just about! We got both praise and critique for our ambition, and Eva’s ‘natural’ lighting, both in that it was a good attempt but hard to pull off, so didn’t work every time. We got mostly very kind feedback, and all the critiques made sense too.

As a first time director, I feel really proud of this project. I still need to be more confident and assertive. It all comes with experience I realise, and I know I will gain that. I’m not a very dictatorial director (which I suppose is a good thing) because I would always rather compromise and actually find the best action. For a debut ;) I’m super proud! But I would be completely insane to think this wasn’t an entire team effort, and I am so impressed again and again with our group. I absolutely would’ve fallen apart at multiple points if I hadn’t had them. Thank you guys :’) I will not forget this in a hurry.

[tinseltine]

Look Back at the Movies of 2018

Tinsel & Tine's

Look Back at the Movies of 2018

By Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

This year feels like the fastest movie season to date. I still feel like we just stopped talking about the movies up for awards last year, like The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, 3 Billboards, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread etc.. Now we already have 2019 Golden Globe Awards nominations, and Oscar noms just a month away on Jan 22, 2019. This years’ crop of movies being talked about for awards are a bit more main stream than some of those films that I just mentioned from last year, which were not your average movie-goers cup of tea. Whereas this year: A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, Vice, Black Panther, The Favourite, these movies have more universal appeal. They’re important, but contain more humor. Even If Beale Street Could Talk with all its social implications, on the surface is a romance. Then we have a couple of family dramas like Beautiful Boy, Boy Erased & Ben is Back which no one is going to be able to keep straight, as Lucas Hedges is in two of them and two are about drug addiction, but they’re not artsy films. I'd like to thank God and the Universe for continually orchestrating my life so that every year I get to see and enjoy an abundant number of movies. Between film festivals and often going to the theater 3-4x a week. I feel I can formulate a pretty darn good end of the year list. Much of which does coincide with the movies being bandied about as noteworthy, but I threw in a couple of surprises. I’m gonna start with my least favorite movies of 2018, because it's a short list. It's always difficult for me to say I hate a movie because of the work and number of people involved in getting even a short film to the screen. But there's always a few that should have gone through a lot of reworking before being released. Then I move on to my Top 10 Favorites. This was particularly difficult to pair down this year, I had 26 movies that I really, really liked. So I have a Just Missed the Top 10 category and an Honorable Mention category. Note: Links go to my full review of the movie Hope you enjoy and hit me up on Facebook or Twitter to discuss your favorites!

Worst Movies of 2018

In order of most disliked

RED SPARROW (20th Century Fox) dir Francis Lawrence, starring Jennifer Lawrence & Joel Edgerton. Lawrence plays a Russian ex-ballet dancer turned reluctant sex spy in a poorly executed thriller set in Russia. Everything about it felt phony and forced, except for one small scene where Mary Louise Parker steals the show. SECOND ACT (STX Films)– dir Peter Segal, starring Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens, Milo Ventimiglia. A movie about a woman without a college degree lying her way up the corporate latter in a cosmetic company. Parts of it remind me of a cheap imitation of Amy Schumer’s I Feel Pretty, but Shumer had a handle on her plot devices and comedic timing. I think if they kept the main plot of Second Act on the relationship of the mother and daughter discovering each other, that could have helped a lot, but really this movie is short on charm and big on makeup caked on like colorful spackle. A WRINKLE IN TIME (Disney) dir Ava Duvernay, starring Storm Reid, Chris Pine, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon & Mindy Kaling. This much anticipated film based on a beloved children’s novel did not translate well to film - story-wise, visually it had some good moments, but Jennifer Lee, Jeff Stockwell’s screenplay needed punching up and smoothing out all over the place. And I can’t let DuVernay entirely off the hook as the pacing of the film is way off too, but mostly, it was a waste of Oprah. LIFE OF THE PARTY (Warner Bros) dir Ben Falcone, starring Melissa McCarthy, who I love (I’ve become addicted to reruns of Mike & Molly) but this movie about a 40 something year-old woman returning to finish her degree at the same time as her daughter, went nowhere. It wasn’t at all funny, it wasn’t heartfelt, it wasn’t mother/daughter bonding, it wasn’t McCarthy run amok, it was just boring. ADRIFT (STX Films) dir Baltasar Kormákur, starring Shailene Woodley & Sam Claflin. Based on the true story of Tami Oldham’s 42-day ordeal lost at sea, but told through a cheesy story device that’s a cheat for the movie and completely unnecessary to hold the attention of the audience.

My TOP 10 Favorites Movies from 2018

1. BLACK PANTHER (Marvel Studios) dir Ryan Coogler, starring Chadwick Boseman. The movie hit theaters last February and broke all kinds of box office records, heavily featured women (Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright) in key roles. Once and for all it broke down the myth that movies with a black cast don’t make money overseas. But best of all, it’s a good movie. When I saw it a 2nd time I knew it wasn’t just about the social implications. It was about enjoying something that was cinematically pleasing. 2. CRAZY RICH ASIANS (Warner Bros.) dir. Jon M. Chu, starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh. Same goes for this movie, which I also saw in the theater twice. The ensemble works very well together, the movie has great energy, Singapore is gorgeous and it was so nice to bring a quality rom/com back to the screen. 3. GREEN BOOK (Universal Pics) dir Peter Farrelley, starring Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali as Tony Vallelonga an Italian-American bouncer & African-American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley embarking on a road trip down to the segregated south- this is the new odd couple. As much as I love a good romance, I think friendships and bromances are more interesting to watch unfold on screen. Also saw this twice and loved it even more the second go round. 4. PUZZLE (Sony Pictures Classic) dir Marc Turtletaub, starring Kelly Macdonald & Irrfan Khan a remake of an Argentina film (2010). I know most people did not get a chance to see this movie, it played at Ritz 5 for probably only a week, but it’s a quiet gem about a current day housewife living in a New York suburb who discovers she has a knack for quickly putting together jigsaw puzzles and unexpectedly finds more than just a fitting puzzle partner after answering an ad to join a competition. 5. MR SOUL! (BlackStar Film Festival) dir. Sam Pollard and Melissa Haizlip. SOUL! was a nationally televised weekly variety show that aired from 1968-1973 on PBS featuring prominent and emerging Black artists including poets, classical, pop and jazz musicians, dancers and political figures. The documentary is not only an amazing look back on seeing early performances of people who became household names, but it's also an interesting biopic on the creative host and producer Ellis Haizlip, who had his finger on the pulse of an early post-Civil Rights Movement America. 6. A STAR IS BORN (Warner Bros) dir Bradley Cooper made this classic his own and made a fantastic decision to make his partner in this endeavor Lady Gaga. Not only does their chemistry and music make this a more than engaging film. But Cooper captures up-close the backstage feeling of the entertainment industry in so many ways. 7. SORRY TO BOTHER YOU (Annapurna Pictures) dir Boots Riley, starring Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick a lot of buzz was generated for this first time filmmaker and rightly so as Riley's style is to keep dialing up the crazy, notch by notch until you're at a full rolling boil of absurdist, off-beat, comedic Sci-fi soup with a social message. Not easy to do in one movie, but I feel he really pulled it off. 8. HOTEL ARTEMIS (Global Road) writer/dir Drew Pearce, starring Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum, Brian Tyree Henry, Jenny Slate, Dave Bautista, and Zachary Quinto. I know I’m alone having this one on my top 10 list, but I truly enjoyed this strange action thriller. From the production design to the pre-apocalyptic setting, to the idea of taking place inside a secret high-tech hospital and supposed safe space for criminals to get patched up by an agoraphobic nurse. 9. RBG doc (Magnolia Pictures) dirs Betsy West & Julie Cohen. I saw On The Basis of Sex too and Felicity Jones is good casting as a early pioneering Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but the documentary is so much more encompassing of this remarkable woman’s life and journey. Before seeing this doc what I basically knew about this female chief Justice of the Supreme Court, I got from SNL skits and seeing some “The Notorious RBG” T-shirts. So glad to now be aware of her huge contribution to our freedoms and civil liberties. 10. LOVE, SIMON (20th Century Fox) dir Greg Berlanti, starring Nick Robinson, Katherine Langford, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel - In this post "Glee", legalized Gay marriage, "Moonlight" Oscar winning, Caitlyn Jenner accepting society we live in - it's hard to figure that a movie about a young boy feeling extreme anxiety about admitting he's gay would be anything worth discussing. Yet, that's part of the value and charm of this movie along with a likeable young cast.

Just Missed the Top 10

SPIDERMAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (Sony Pictures Releasing) dir Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman. Since Columbia still owns the rights to the Spiderman character, they like to get good mileage out of the web slinger, hence the terrible Andrew Garfield Spiderman reboot thrust on us while we were still in the throes of the Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst upside down kiss. Thankfully, something was worked out between Marvel and Sony so that we have the Tom Holland Spiderman of the MCU. So when I first heard about this animated Spider-verse, I was like, why? Is this necessary? Probably not. But it’s so well done I don’t question it anymore! Love the mixed media graphics and the fantastic sci-fi premise of having multiple spider people from different dimensions come together and initiate a new black/latino Spiderman into the realm. A SIMPLE FAVOR (Lionsgate) dir Paul Feig, starring Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding a good campy script, some excellent costuming and unexpected humor turned this quasi-thriller into an early fall sleeper hit. A QUIET PLACE (Paramount Pictures) dir John Krasinski, starring Krasinski and Emily Blunt. A tight, emotional ride containing horror tropes, yet written for someone like me who likes to be thrilled with fear at the movies, but not up for anything too sinister that stays with me as I try to sleep. WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR (Focus Features) dir Morgan Neville. This doc on Fred Rogers, the well-liked host of the popular children's television program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", is an honest look at this man of principals who truly believed in the transformative power of love - love for others, but most importantly, for yourself. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT (Paramount Pictures) dir Christopher McQuarrie, starring Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg this 6th installment in the Mission: Impossible film series shows there’s still A LOT of juice left in the franchise. So many amazing stunts, fun and thrills.

Honorable Mentions

(alpha order) ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (Marvel) dir Peyton Reed, starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer – kept pace with the original in terms of style and storytelling, while adding in more shrinking, enlarging sight gags in all the right places. BLINDSPOTTING (Lionsgate) dir Carlos López Estrada, starring Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs – A good first effort by these screenwriters/actors, but it’s the final scene which makes the movie above average. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (20th Century Fox) dir Bryan Singer finished by Dexter Fletcher, starring Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello – seemingly Epic music biopic, not truly as good as it seems, but a fun ride. FIRST MAN - (Universal Pictures) dir Damien Chazelle, starring Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll - Not as well loved as La La Land, but as far as commitment to filmmaking and vision this movie is stellar. GRINGO (Amazon Studios) dir Nash Edgerton, starring David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton – Wish this movie had gotten more attention. It takes you on a nutty adventure showcasing Oyelowo's comedic chops. IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (Annapurna Pictures) dir Barry Jenkins, starring KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King – Beautifully directed, strong cast, wonderfully adapted from a James Baldwin novel. Didn’t make my top 10 because sometimes it’s hard to watch movies based on the themes of systemic racism.(click link for Q&A with Barry Jenkins) PETER RABBIT (Sony Pictures Releasing) dir Will Gluck, starring Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson – Not just adorable, but truly entertaining. THE FAVOURITE (Fox Searchlight Pictures) dir Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn - Stylized, female-centric period piece, balancing a delightful tone of zany ridiculousness and historical accuracy. THE HATE U GIVE (20th Century Fox) dir George Tillman Jr., starring Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, KJ Apa, Common, Anthony Mackie – I really fell in love with this family unit and the messages ring clear, but not too loud. TULLY (Focus Features) dir Jason Reitman, starring Charlize Theron & Mackenzie Davis – Oddly, I condemned “Adrift” for using a similar storytelling device as “Tully”, but here it works. Besides, the meat of the story is about roads and paths started down, but not followed and wondering how you ended up being in your current life; which, I truly related too, despite not being a wife or mother. WIDOWS (20th Century) dir Steve McQueen, starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo – After “Hunger” “Shame” and “12 Years A Slave” it was a great idea for McQueen to bring his extraordinary filmmaking skills to a heist film with a touch of Lifetime movie. The climax had our audience talking back to the screen, and the actresses are all on point. I had “Widows” in my Top 10 at first, then relegated it to those that just missed the top 10, and then honorable mention. I think it kept getting pushed down just because I don’t really like the final scene. Share :)

Tinsel & Tine

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[themomsandthecity]

Every Baby Name We Could Possibly Think Of

Naming your baby is a big decision, and with endless options, it can also be a difficult one. Whether you're going the traditional route or want something more unique (if so, read this first!) it's helpful to have a little, or a lot, of inspiration. Ahead, you'll find nearly every baby name we could think of (close to 1,000!). These aren't just random names we found in a book or concocted ourselves - they're almost all monikers we've heard being used, or we actually know someone who goes by the name. If we missed any, tell us in the comments! A Aaliyah Aaron Abbie Abel Abigail Abraham Adalyn Adam Addilyn Addison Adelaide Adeline Adley Adora Agatha Aiden Alan Albert Aleph Alexander Alexis Ali Alma Alton Ama Amanda Amaryllis Amber Ameila Amélie Amy Anders Anderson Andrea Andrew Angie Angela Angelica Anika Anna Annalise Anne Annie Ansel Apple April Arata Archie Aria Ariane Ariel Arlee Arlo Arman Arthur Arun Arwen Arya Asha Asher Aspen Atticus Aton Aubrey Audrey August Augustus Aurora Ava Avery Axel Aziz B Bailey Barack Barbara Barney Barry Beatrice Beau Beckett Beckham Becky Ben Benedict Benjamin Bennett Bentley Bernadette Beth Bette Betty Beverly Bexley Bianca Bill Billie Bingham Bishop Bitsie Blake Blue Bobby Bodhi Bonnie Bowie Brady Braelynn Brandon Brayden Brecken Bree Brent Brenton Brett Brian Briana Briar Bridgette Brienne Brig Brigham Brinley Brio Britta Brock Brody Bronwyn Brooklyn Bruno Bryan Byron C Caden Caitlin Caity Cale Caleb Calla Calvin Camari Cameron Camilla Carena Carina Carl Carmel Carol Carrey Carter Cary Casey Caspian Cat Catherine Celine Chandler Chanel Channing Charise Charlene Charles Charlotte Chase Cher Cheri Cheriann Cheryl Chevy Chip Chloe Chris Chrissy Christian Christopher Claire Clara Clark Clary Claudia Clementine Clifford Clint Clinton Clyde Colin Collins Condoleezza Connor Conrad Constance Coolidge Cooper Cora Corban Courtney Cruz Related: 100 of the Most Beautiful Baby Names D Daisy Dale Dallas Damon Dane Danica Daniel Danielle Daphne Darby Darlene Darrel Daryl Dashiell Dave David Davina Davis Davon Dawn Dean Deanna Declan Dekel Delaney Delilah Delta Dennis Denzel Desmond Dev Devon Dexter Diane Dinah Dixie Dixon Dolores Dominique Donald Doris Dorothea Dorothy Dot Duke Duncan Dwight Dylan E Easton Ed Eden Edith Edmund Edward Effie Eleanor Elena Eli Eliana Elijah Elise Elizabeth Ella Elle Ellen Ellerie Ellie Elliott Ellis Elodie Eloise Elora Elroy Elsa Elsie Embry Emerson Emily Emma Emmett Eric Erica Esme Esmeralda Esther Ethan Ethel Eugene Evan Eve Evelyn Everett Evie Ewan Ezra F Farah Fay Felix Ferris Finn Fiona Fisher Fitz Fleur Flint Florence Floyd Flynn Ford Forrest Foster Fox Frances Frank Franklin Frederick G Gabe Gabriel Gaige Gail Gant Garrett Garth Gavin Gem Gemma Gene Genesis Gertrude George Gianna Gibson Gigi Gina Ginger Gladys Glenn Gloria Gordon Grace Grady Graham Grant Grayson Greer Gregory Griffin Grover Gus Gwen Gwyneth H Hadlee Hailey Hal Halle Hank Hannah Harding Harlow Harlyn Harold Harper Harriet Harrison Harry Hart Hartley Harvey Haven Hawk Hawthorne Hayden Hayes Hays Hazel Hector Heath Heather Helen Henley Henry Hillary Honor Holden Holly Holt Hope Hubert Hudson Hugo Humphrey Hunter Hurley Hutton Related: Based Off Last Year's Trends, These 30 Names Will Be Among the Most Popular of 2017 I Ian Ida Idris Ike Imanuel Imogen India Indy Ingrid Inizio Ireland Iris Irvin Isa Isaac Isabella Isabelle Isaiah Isla Israel Ivana Ivory J Jack Jackie Jackson Jacob Jacqueline Jaden Jaelyn Jagger Jake James Jameson Jamie Jane January Jason Jasper Jaun Jax Jaxon Jayce Jayden Jeannette Jed Jeff Jefferson Jenna Jess Jessica Jessie Jill Jillian Joan Joanna Joaquin Joe John Jones Jordan Joseph Josephine Josh Joshua Joslyn Joss Joy Joyce Judith Judy Jules Julia Julian Julie Juliet Julius June Juno Justin K Kai Kaia Kale Kalinda Kane Karah Katharine Kathryn Kate Kay Kaya Kaylee Keanu Keegan Keira Keith Kellan Kelly Kelsey Kendall Kennedy Kevin Khloe Kiah Kiele Kiera Kim Kima Kimberly Kingston Kinsley Kirk Kit Kitty Knox Krista Kristen Kurtis Kyle Kylie L Laith Lake Lana Landon Lane Larissa Larkin Laszlo Laura Lauren Lawrence Layla Leah Lee Leia Leighton Leilani Lena Lennon Leo Leonard Leslie Levi Lewis Leyona Lia Liam Liana Lida Lilith Lillian Lily Lincoln Lindsay Lionel Lisa Lisette Liz Logan Lois Lola London Loretta Lorraine Louella Louise Lucas Lucian Lucille Lucy Luke Luna Lux Lyle Lyndon Lynne Related: 100 Unusual Boy Names M Mabel Mabrey Mac Macallan Mackenzie Macy Madeleine Madelyn Madison Mae Maeby Maggie Mahershala Maia Makena Malcolm Maleeya Malia Mamie Mandy Marabelle Marcus Maren Margaret Margot Mari Maria Mariah Mariam Marilyn Marin Marion Marisole Marisse Marjorie Mark Marlene Marlon Marlowe Martha Martin Mary Mason Matilda Matthew Maui Mavis Maximus Maxson May Maya McKinley Megan Melissa Meredith Merritt Meryl Meyer Mia Michael Michelle Mika Mike Mila Mildred Miles Millie Milo Moana Molly Monica Monroe Montgomery Morgan Moses Muhammad Murray Myles N Nahall Nahla Nancy Nanette Naomie Nasima Natalie Nate Nathan Naveen Naya Neil Neisa Neo Neoma Newt Newton Niall Nicholas Nick Nico Nicole Nicolette Nigel Nile Nimah Nixon Noah Noel Nolan Nora Norma Norman North Nova O Obama Octavia Olly Olive Oliver Olivia Omar Opal Ophelia Ordell Oriana Orion Orlando Orson Orville Oscar Otis Otto Owen P Paige Paislee Paloma Pandora Paris Parker Patrick Patsy Paul Payton Pearl Peggy Penelope Penn Penny Perry Pete Peyton Phillip Phoebe Phoenix Phyllis Pierce Piper Polly Poppy Porter Posey Preston Primrose Priya Prudence Priscilla Q Quaid Quincy Quentin Quinn Quinten R Rachel Radley Rae Ralph Ramsey Rayna Rayne Reagan Rebecca Reese Reeve Reid Reign Remi Renly Rex Rhea Rhett Rhys Richard Rick Riley Ripley River Rivers Rob Robert Robin Rome Romy Ronald Ronin Rooney Roosevelt Rory Rosalind Rosalynn Rosamund Rose Rosemary Ross Rowan Roy Royce Ruby Rue Ruth Rutherford Ryan Ryder Related: 100 Unique Yet Beautiful Girls' Names S Sacha Sage Sahara Saint Sam Samuel Sandra Sandy Sansa Sarah Saul Savannah Sawyer Scarlett Schuyler Scout Sean Sebastian Selena Sena Seymour Shane Shannon Shea Shelly Sherlock Sherry Shiloh Shirley Sia Sidney Sienna Simon Skyler Sloan Sofia Solo Sonia Sophia Sophie Spencer Stacy Stanley Stella Stephanie Sterling Stetson Stuart Sue Sullivan Summer Suri Susan Sylvia T Tabitha Tad Tamera Tamsyn Tanner Tara Tate Taylor Teagan Teddy Terrance Thea Thelma Theordore Theresa Thomas Tim Tina Tinley Toby Todd Tom Tony Travis Travon Trent Trey Tricia Trinity Tripp Tristan Troy Truman Turner Tyler Tyson V Valentina Valentine Vance Vaughan Vaughn Vera Vern Victor Victoria Viggo Vince Vincent Viola Violet Virgil Vivian W Waldo Walker Wallis Walter Warren Watson Waverly Wells Wes Wesley Westley Whitney Will Willa William Willow Wilson Winter Wolfe Wren Wyatt X Xander Xavier Xeno Y Yanet Yani Yigal York Yuma Yvette Z Zachary Zahir Zander Zane Zaylee Zayn Zion Zoe Zola Zooey Zora Zuma Zuri Related: These Are the Most Popular Baby Names of 2016 http://bit.ly/2kR9iwY

[njawaidofficial]

Oscar Parties 2018: The Complete Events Guide (Updating)

https://styleveryday.com/2018/02/26/oscar-parties-2018-the-complete-events-guide-updating/

Oscar Parties 2018: The Complete Events Guide (Updating)

Check out where nominees like Timothee Chalamet and Mary J. Blige will be partying in the days leading up to the milestone 90th anniversary Oscar telecast.

Navigate your way to behind the velvet ropes at the top entertainment industry events with the Oscar parties 2018 guide.

SATURDAY, FEB. 25 – MARCH 2

Four Seasons Screening Series Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, 300 S. Doheny Dr., Los Angeles, daily The hotel hosts its Oscar Dinner and a Movie series, with Oscar-nominated films in the Screening Room, leading up to Academy Awards.

TUESDAY, FEB. 27

ICON MANN 6th Annual Pre-Oscar Dinner Beverly Wilshire Hotel, 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills Cheryl Boone Isaacs will be honored at this event by ICON MANN, which is also presenting panels and a cocktail event. Schedule: 12 p.m. ‘In Conversation With…” Cheryl Boone Isaacs moderated by filmmaker Reginald Hudlin at SAG/AFTRA headquarters; 1:30 p.m. “The Art of Creation” discussion with filmmakers and cast (TBA) from Black Panther at SAG/AFTRA headquarters; 6 p.m. evening event at Beverly Wilshire hosted by Cedric the Entertainer with Quincy Jones, Halle Berry, Common, Lee Daniels, Hudlin, Franklin Leonard,  nominee Dee Rees, nominee Raphael Saadiq, Charles D. King, nominee Kobe Bryant, Paula Wagner, Terrence Howard, Jay Ellis, French Montana, John Singleton, nominee Yance Ford, Nia Long, Jeremy Kleiner, TV Academy Chairman and CEO Hayma Washington, ABC president Channing Dungey, Ava Duvernay, Jada Pinkett Smith and more. Performance by ELEW.  

Oscar Week: Shorts Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills Hosted by director Taika Waititi, this official Academy event shines a spotlight on animated short film and live action short film categories with complete screenings of all the nominated films as well as onstage panel discussions with the filmmakers (schedules permitting).

EMILY’s List “Resist, Run, Win” Panel and Brunch Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, 300 S. Doheny Dr., Los Angeles, 9-11 a.m. The Washington, D.C.-based political action committee dedicated to electing more pro-choice Democratic women to national, state and local office is presenting this special event featuring Hollywood and political advocates and candidates in a conversation about women in power as well as female political candidates. Host committee and panelists include Chelsea Handler (moderator), Padma Lakshmi, Jaime King, Constance Wu, Kathryn Hahn, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, James L. Brooks, Moby, Lindsay Shookus, Maha Dakhil, Yvette Nicole Brown, Wendy Greuel, Ari Graynor, Danai Gurira, Lea DeLaria, BBC America President Sarah Barnett, UTA’s Rene Jones, ICM Partners’ Hannah Linkenhoker, and CAA’s Maha Dakhil.

An Unforgettable Evening Beverly Wilshire Hotel, 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 6:30 p.m. Jennifer Hudson and Sofia Vergara are poised to have an unforgettable Oscars week. Presented by Saks Fifth Avenue, this James Corden-hosted event benefits the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, a program of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson will receive the Nat King Cole Award, Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara will accept the Courage Award and Grammy winner Pitbull will perform, all in front of a starry crowd that could include honorary chairs Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg, along with WCRF co-founders Anne Douglas, Quinn Ezralow, Marion Laurie, Kelly Chapman Meyer and Jamie Tisch.

Forevermark Forevermark Diamond House, Beverly Hills, through March 3 Exclusive, invite-only home event for private viewing of the 2018 Oscars Red Carpet Collection. 

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 28

Oscar Week: Documentaries Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills Hosted by Academy documentary branch governors Kate Amend and Roger Ross Williams, this evening will shine a spotlight on all the films in the documentary feature and documentary short subject categories. Selections will be presented in an evening of clips and onstage discussions with the filmmakers (schedules permitting).

The Oscar Concert presented with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S Grand Ave., Los Angeles, 8 p.m. With Thomas Wilkins, conductor, Terence Blanchard, trumpet, and other special guests, this special event helps celebrate the Oscars and its 90th birthday. On the program: the LA Phil will present suites from each of this year’s original score Oscar nominees: Dunkirk, by Hans Zimmer; Phantom Thread, by Jonny Greenwood; The Shape of Water, by Alexandre Desplat; Star Wars: The Last Jedi, by John Williams; and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, by Carter Burwell.

Vanity Fair, Barneys New York & Sony Pictures Classics Celebrate Call Me By Your Name  Chateau Marmont, 8221 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles A private cocktail party for cast, filmmakers and friends of the film. 

Global Green’s 15th Annual Pre-Oscar Party Neuehouse Hollywood, 6121 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 6 p.m. Eco-conscious guests will fill this event along with a list of honorees that includes Jaka Bizilj, founder, Cinema for Peace; and Terry Tamminen, founder of Energy Independent Now and CEO of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. Expected: Sophia Bush, Cobie Smulders, Elisabeth Rohm, Ed Begley Jr., Sharon Lawrence, Ed O’Neill, Jason Lewis, among others. 

Oscar’s Sistahs Soiree Beverly Wilshire, 9500 Wilshire Blvd. Alfre Woodard hosts this annual gathering that features her friends, colleagues and peers in the business as they come together to honor women of color. Honorees include Mary J. Blige (Mudbound), Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water) and the cast of Girls Trip, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish.

THURSDAY, MARCH 1

Dorothy Arzner Building Dedication Ceremony Paramount Pictures Studios, 5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, 2:30 p.m. Paramount is hosting a dedication ceremony honoring the trailblazing female director Dorothy Arzner. Special guest Francis Ford Coppola. 

Oscar Week: Animated Features Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 7:30 p.m. Hosted by directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore, and producer Clark Spencer, this event features nominees in the animated feature film category (schedules permitting) who will be on hand to discuss their creative processes and present clips illustrating their techniques.

Kari Feinstein’s Pre-Oscars Style Lounge Andaz West Hollywood, 8401 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, through March 2, 12-6 p.m. daily Sponsors Include Petcube, Maidenform, Votivo, HOKA ONE ONE, Babor, Alina Z, Samba Sol, Honig Wine, Moon Palace Jamaica, Swanky Retreats, Mane & Tail, and Pinkbox Doughnuts.

Netflix Private residence, 6:30 p.m. Ted Sarandos and wife Nicole Avant open their Hancock Park home for a private, invite-only affair to celebrate the streamer’s nominations including nods for Mudbound, Strong Island, On Body and Soul and Heroin(e).

Universal, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation Spago, 176 N. Camden Dr., Beverly Hills, 8:30 p.m. The studio teams come together to toast the Academy’s recognition of such films as Get Out, Phantom Thread, Darkest Hour and Victoria & Abdul.

13th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards Bad Robot, 1221 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, 7:30 p.m. J.J. Abrams emcees this every year on behalf of the U.S. Ireland-Alliance. Set for top honors this year are Mark Hamill, Barry Keoghan, Paula Malcomson and Catherine O’Hara. Colin Farrell will present to Keoghan, Martin Short will hand off to O’Hara. Expected guests: The Academic, Kathy Griffin, Sean Hayes, Luke Hemsworth, Rian Johnson, Maura Tierney, Joe Wright and Ava DuVernay. 

Swarovski London West Hollywood, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Nadja Swarovski hosts this awards season celebration which will showcase a “display of collaborations in stage and screen, Atelier Swarovski, Swarovski Crystal Palace and SS19 innovations and trends,” per the invite. 

Dolby London West Hollywood, Penthouse, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, 7-11 p.m. Dolby toasts Oscar nominees for their achievements in sound mixing, sound editing and cinematography. 

Cadillac Oscar Party Chateau Marmont, 8221 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 8 p.m. The official automotive sponsor of the Oscars hosts this annual pre-awards event, which has gathered the likes of Barry Jenkins, Allison Janney, Julie Goldman, Naomi Watts, Christoph Waltz, Zoe Saldana, Chrissy Metz, Jessica Paré, Michelle Dockery, Matthew Morrison and others. Select guests will be chauffeured to the event in Cadillac vehicles, which will also be transporting nominees and other VIPs to the Academy Awards. Tunes by celeb DJ Michelle Pesce. 

Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards Beverly Wilshire, 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills The 11th annual event honors Lena Waithe, Tessa Thompson, Danai Gurira and Tiffany Haddish. Confirmed to present are Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Janelle Monae and LilRel Howery. 

Gersh Agency Celebrates the 2018 Oscar Nominees Chateau Marmont, Penthouse 64, 8221 Sunset Blvd., 8:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. Guests will enjoy specialty cocktails and a Tequila Don Julio 1942 tasting bar and mix with notable attendees like Oscar nominees Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell and Richard Jenkins.

Kodak Auteur Awards Crossroads Kitchen, 8284 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, 7:30 p.m. Per the invite: “The 2nd annual Kodak Auteur Awards recognize talented motion picture artists who have created critically-acclaimed motion picture art and who are unyielding in their specific artistic processes. Kodak is celebrating all of the movies shot on film in 2017 and especially those who have been recognized during this award season.” 

Verve Paloma, 6327 Hollywood Blvd., 7-10 p.m. “Please join us in celebrating all of our Verve voices,” reads the invite for this awards season party put on by the agency for its nominees and friends. 

Vanity Fair and Lancôme Paris Toast Women in Hollywood Soho House, 9200 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood Hosted by editor Radhika Jones and filmmaker Ava DuVernay, the event celebrates powerful and inspirational women in the entertainment industry. Party with a purpose: A donation will be made to Time’s Up on behalf of all in attendance. 

A24 Sunset Tower, 8358 Sunset Blvd., 9 p.m. The indie distributor hosts a private, invite-only celebration for its breakout nominees Lady Bird, Disaster Artist and The Florida Project heading into an awards weekend that also includes the Spirit Awards. 

Red Carpet Green Dress Pre-Oscars Celebration​ Private residence, 7 p.m. Suzy Amis Cameron will host the 9th annual event, which shines a spotlight on sustainable fashion. This year it’s presented in partnership with Absolut Elyx and TESLA. Funds raised through the campaign benefit MUSE School CA, an environmental non-profit educational organization Amis Cameron founded in Calabasas, Calif., with her sister Rebecca Amis.

Keep It Clean Live Comedy Benefit Avalon Hollywood, 1735 Vine St., cocktails 6 p.m., show 7:30 p.m., after party 9 p.m. Just three days before the Oscars, top comedians in Hollywood will put on a benefit for Waterkeeper Alliance to raise funds for clean water worldwide. Former SNL cast member Taran Killam will serve as master of ceremonies, with appearances by Larry David, Sarah Silverman, Ray Romano, Bill Burr, Rachael Harris, Cheryl Hines, Nick Kroll, Kevin Nealon and Tig Notaro. Artist Shepard Fairey, known for his 2008 Barack Obama “Hope” poster, will guest DJ. John C. Reilly and Harper Simon will also perform a musical number at the historic nightclub. And as president of Waterkeeper Alliance, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will address the crowd as well. Tickets are $125 for the live show, and start at $250 for cocktails, the show and VIP after-party.

FRIDAY, MARCH 2

ICG Publicists Awards Beverly Hilton Hotel, 9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, cocktails 11 a.m. The International Cinematographers Guild Fund hosts the 55th annual ICG Publicists Awards, which will honor Betty White with the lifetime achievement award, plus Andy Serkis and Dan Fogelman.

Belvedere Vodka X Fem The Future Catch L.A., 8715 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, 12-3 p.m. Janelle Monae and Belvedere are hosting an interactive brunch “celebrating #FemtheFuture and voices of the next generation,” says the invite, which includes a panel discussion. Monae is hot off the release of two new tracks and videos from her new album, Dirty Computer.

Film Is Great Private residence, Hancock Park, 5-8 p.m. Honoring the British Oscar nominees, the British Consul General Michael Howells and BAFTA chairman Kieran Breen will kick off Oscar weekend with a soiree in partnership with BAFTA.

Piaget’s celebration of the Film Independent Spirit Awards Chateau Marmont, Penthouse, West Hollywood An evening celebration of independent film and art together with Art of Elysium. Host committee members include Beau Dunn, Laura Dunn, Molly Smith, Kaily Smith, Rachel Smith, Tara Smith, Sasha Spielberg and Mickey Sumner.

11th Annual Women in Film Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party Crustacean Beverly Hills, 9646 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, 6-9 p.m. The roster of 2018 female Oscar nominees will be feted at this annual event which will be co-hosted this year by Cathy Schulman and last year’s best actress winner Emma Stone. Notable news: The event is being held to coincide with the opening night of the iconic and newly-renovated Crustacean restaurant, once a hot spot in the 90210. Presented by Max Mara (for the 11th year) and Lancôme with additional support from Crustacean Beverly Hills, Johnnie Walker, and Stella Artois, the party honors all 51 women who are nominated.

Vanity Fair with Fashion Designers Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez Private residence, Beverly Hills A private, invite-only cocktail celebration and lunch to celebrate the launch of Proenza Schouler’s First Fragrance, Arizona. 

CAA Private location The agency hosts its annual bash for nominated clients, agents and friends of the agency. The former includes Sally Hawkins, Meryl Streep, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Saoirse Ronan, Woody Harrelson, Jordan Peele and Paul Thomas Anderson.

UTA Private location The agency hosts its annual bash for nominated clients, agents and friends of the agency. Expected to be making the rounds: nominees Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet and Rachel Morrison.

WME-IMG Private residence, Beverly Hills The agency hosts its annual bash for nominated clients, agents and friends of the agency. The former includes Denzel Washington, Octavia Spencer, Laurie Metcalf, Guillermo del Toro, Dee Rees, Christopher Nolan, Luca Guadagnino, Hans Zimmer, James Mangold and Michael Green. Music by celeb DJ Michelle Pesce. 

Common’s Toast to the Arts: A Celebration of Fearless Art Private location, 8 p.m. Academy Award-winning musician and actor Common hosts his 4th annual soirée. The event, which will host 200 boldfaced names, will honor Oscar nominees Mary J. Blige and Jordan Peele, Mudbound director Dee Rees, and Mudbound producer Charles King. The garden-set intimate dinner has played host to Oprah Winfrey, Jay Z, Beyoncé, Halle Berry, Gabrielle Union, Shonda Rhimes, Pharrell Williams, Samuel L. Jackson and many others. Last year’s honorees included Barry Jenkins and the cast of Moonlight, Ava DuVernay, Ezra Edelman and Raoul Peck. Expected this year: cast and creatives from Get Out and Mudbound, and the Ayars Agency and MVD Inc. are curating the evening. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 3

Oscar Week: Foreign Language Film Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 10 a.m. Hosted by Academy producers branch Governor Mark Johnson, this event will feature directors of the nominated films in the foreign language film category (schedules permitting) on hand to discuss the challenges of the profession and how they got their stories to the screen. The program will include clips from each of the nominated films.

Film Independent Spirit Awards Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica, 10 a.m. Nick Kroll and John Mulaney are returning to host the big show and will share the stage with presenters including Fred Armisen, Chadwick Boseman, Carrie Brownstein, John Cho, Jason Clarke, Ava DuVernay, Jon Hamm, Ethan Hawke, Salma Hayek Pinault, Scarlett Johansson, Spike Lee, Ben Mendelsohn, Kumail Nanjiani, Margot Robbie, Amanda Seyfried, Tessa Thompson and Lena Waithe. 

Spirit Awards Viewing Party 5670 Wilshire Blvd., 9th Floor, Los Angeles, 1:30 p.m. Guests will get to watch the broadcast live on IFC, as they indulge with signature cocktails and bites and views inside Film Independent’s brand new office.

IFC, Sundance Selects 41 Ocean Club, Santa Monica, after the show, 4 p.m. Details coming…

Sketch to Screen Costume Design Oscar Panel UCLA’s James Bridges Theater, UCLA campus, 2 p.m., reception to follow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and the David C. Copley Center for Costume Design present this 8th annual event which will feature three current Oscar nominees, Mark Bridges (Phantom Thread), Jacqueline Durran (Beauty and the Beast and Darkest Hour) and Luis Sequeira (The Shape of Water) as well as costume designers Nadine Haders (Get Out) and April Napier (Lady Bird). Professor Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Ph.D., founding director of UCLA TFT’s The David C. Copley Center for Costume Design will moderate. UCLA TFT’s The David C. Copley Center for Costume Design has a longstanding partnership with Swarovski to provide annual support to the Sketch to Screen Costume Design Oscar Panel; the Swarovski Designer in Residence master-class program; and the Swarovski Shooting Star Award for Excellence in Costume Design. 

Oscar Week: Makeup and Hairstyling Symposium  Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 3 p.m. Hosted by Academy Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch Governors Lois Burwell, Leonard Engelman and Kathryn L. Blondell, this event — the final entry of Oscar Week’s public events — the nominees in the makeup and hairstyling category (schedules permitting) will reveal secrets behind their on-screen work. Photographs, appliances, molds, wigs and other items will be on display.

Chanel & Charles Finch Madeo Restaurant, 8897 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. The 10th annual pre-Oscars event, it typically features a long list of boldfaced names. This year, expect to see Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, Griffin Dunne, Joe Wright, Haley Bennett, Joel Coen, Frances McDormand, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Martin McDonagh, Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton, Mick Jagger, Oliver Stone, Ridley Scott, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Bret Easton Ellis, Cassian Elwes, Crystal Lourd, Derek Blasberg, Eric and Lisa Eisner, Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos, Kate Young, Kelly Sawyer, LIz Goldwyn, Nathalie Love, Ron and Kelly Meyer and Sue Kroll.

Call Me By Your Name Dinner Nordstrom Local, 8401 Melrose Place, Los Angeles, 7:30-11 p.m. This invite-only seated dinner (at the newly opened retail concept store) will play host to Sony Pictures Classic’s co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, director Luca Guadagnino, Timothee Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, along with the cast, directors and producers behind Loveless and A Fantastic Woman. Food by annual partner STK LA. Joining the dinner will be the winner of the OMAZE fundraiser. Evening benefits the Trevor Project and the Foundations for The AIDS Project.

MPTF’s Annual ‘Night Before’ Party 20th Century Fox Studios, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles This is the 16th annual A-list-packed benefit for the Motion Picture & Television Fund, which, in 2017, raised $5 million, totaling more than $75 million in the event’s history to help the org’s mission of providing social services, financial assistance and many services to the entertainment community. Leonardo DiCaprio, Mary J. Blige, Margot Robbie & Tom Ackerley, and Denzel & Pauletta Washington are among those who have signed on as host committee members. Also listed are Amy Adams & Darren Le Gallo, Tanya Haden Black & Jack Black, Kate Capshaw & Steven Spielberg, Jessica Chastain, Tom Cruise, Gal Gadot & Jaron Varsano, Greta Gerwig, Allison Janney, Sharon & Richard Jenkins, Brie Larson, Sam Rockwell, Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith, Octavia Spencer, Meryl Streep, Rita Wilson & Tom Hanks and Reese Witherspoon & Jim Toth. Music by celeb DJ Michelle Pesce. This year’s presenting sponsors include Delta Air Lines, Ford Motor Company, L’Oréal, Target, The Hollywood Reporter (back for a 5th time as sole media sponsor) and YouTube. Carmelized Productions by Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo will provide specialty foods for the guests, and Lavazza, as the official coffee of the ‘Night Before,’ will provide its signature espresso. 

SUNDAY, MARCH 4

Governors Ball Ray Dolby Ballroom, Hollywood and Highland Center, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., immediately following the 90th Oscars The Ball’s 1,500 invited guests include Oscar winners and nominees, show presenters and other Oscarcast participants. Academy governor Lois Burwell (making her first outing as awards and events committee chair), event producer Cheryl Cecchetto of Sequoia Prods. and celeb chef Wolfgang Puck are teaming up to handle the details this year for the special 90th edition of the Oscarcast. This year marks Cecchetto’s 29th consecutive year producing the event, while Puck and team are back for a 24th time. The Ball will feature an array of original, seminal artifacts; footage and stills from both behind and in front of the camera; curated music from every era of the silver screen; and a historical presentation of Oscar statuettes. On the menu: smoked salmon Oscars; potato with caviar; truffle macaroni and cheese; Miyazaki Wagyu beef tartare on puffed black rice; crab-stuffed hibiscus; taro root tacos with spiced eggplant; edamame and black truffle pot stickers; black bass with salsa verde; made-to-order sushi and raw bar; and ruby chocolate strawberry and cream. 

Vanity Fair Oscar Party Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills The magazine returns to the 90210 but this year, marks the start of a new era for the ever-hot stop on the Oscar night circuit. Legendary editor Graydon Carter stepped down from his post atop the VF masthead and thus, he’ll exit a party that he helped build during his nearly three decades in the job. That means newly-installed editor Radhika Jones will have a lot of handshakes and hugs to dole out to the dozens upon dozens of A-listers who show up to party inside Basil Walters’ custom tented creation on the Wallis Annenberg property. It’s been announced that Catt Sadler will host the exclusive livestream along with digital director Mike Hogan for VF.com and Twitter. More details on the way…

Elton John AIDS Foundation 26th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party West Hollywood Park, 647 N San Vicente Blvd., 4 p.m. The annual event returns during a year featuring headlines about John retiring from touring, so expect many eyeballs to be focused on the stage to see if the legendary host tickles the keyboards. The 25th annual viewing party last year — hosted by Sir Elton and partner David Furnish — raised a record-breaking $7 million for the global effort to end AIDS.

Academy Viewing Parties: New York & London Rainbow Room, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th Floor, New York; Ham Yard Hotel, 1 Ham Yard, Soho, London The Academy hosts live Oscar viewing parties in New York and London for members and invited film industry guests. Oscar Night London returns to Soho’s Ham Yard Hotel to view the 90th Oscars at a two-tier screening venue. Guests will be treated to a midnight feast (thanks, time difference), complete with espresso martinis. The iconic Rainbow Room in New York will host for the only East Coast event hosted by the Academy. From the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, surrounded by stunning views, guests will watch the live Oscars telecast while enjoying a customized menu.

Mercedes Benz Oscars Viewing Party Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, 300 S. Doheny Dr., Los Angeles, 4-9:30 p.m. Preliminary confirmed talent includes: Chrissy Metz, Christoph Waltz, Colman Domingo, Jane Lynch, John Singleton, Melora Hardin, Peyton List, RJ Mitte, Sarunas Jackson, Serayah, Skeet Ulrich, Viola Davis and others.

Byron Allen’s Second Annual Entertainment Studios Oscar Gala Beverly Wilshire Hotel, 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 3:30 p.m. This year’s event — featuring a cocktail soiree, dinner and viewing party — benefits Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and will showcase performances by A-listers Jamie Foxx and Katy Perry. Last year’s gala brought in more than $1 million for CHLA. 

Twentieth Century Fox & Fox Searchlight Pictures TAO, 6421 Selma Ave., Los Angeles, 8 p.m. The distributor dominated Oscar nominations, landing a total of 20 for its breakout films Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. While it is sure to be a busy night on the party circuit, expect to see helmers Guillermo del Toro and Martin McDonagh holding court here with stars including Sally Hawkins, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Octavia Spencer, and others. Party chatter: The slated merger with Disney which could mean this might be the last joint Fox hurrah for these divisions.

3rd Annual Roger Neal Style Hollywood Oscar Viewing Black Tie Dinner Gala & Roger Neal Style Gift Suite The Hollywood Museum 1660 Highland Ave., Hollywood As Night of 100 Stars comes to an end — Norby Walters had elected to step down and retire from his Oscar event hosting duties after 27 years — Edward Lozzi, its co-organizer and PR director has jumped over to join Neal and his Oscar event. The event is not only a black-tie dinner and viewing party, there’s also a celebrity gifting component as well as an awards presentation. Stars also have the option of touring the museum prior to sitting down for dinner. The 3rd Annual RNSH ICON Awards will be presented before the Oscar broadcast to notable names including Renee Taylor, Marion Ross, Burt Ward, Karen Kramer and The Pointer Sisters. Those expected to attend include award winners along with Fran Drescher, Louis Gossett Jr., Billy Bob Thornton, Lily Tomlin, Lainie Kazan, Jon Voight, Lou Ferrigno, Carla Ferrigno, Ruta Lee, Paul Sorvino, Gloria Allred, Gary Busey, Jake Busey, Fred Willard, Michael Jai White, and Diane Ladd. Featured charities include the Thalians and Life & Hope Relief. 

Route 66 Bar + Lounge Oscar Viewing Party 1160 North Vermont Ave., Los Angeles Hollywood Hotel hosts an Academy Awards Viewing Party to introduce its new Route 66 Bar + Lounge to the local community and hotel guests. On the menu: Giveaways, cocktail specials and swag bags. 

Oscars Viewing Party by Tres by Jose Andres SLS Beverly Hills, 465 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. The hotel offers an event designed to make typical guests feel like A-listers. Here, they’ll be able to walk a red carpet and sip Oscars-inspired cocktails and bites by renowned chef José Andrés. Games, a grand raffle and a welcome glass of Cava are also on the menu. 

IMDb LIVE Viewing Party Neuehouse Hollywood, 6121 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 4:30 p.m. IMDb’s second-annual invitation-only event will play host to more than 300 industry insiders who will be treated to food and drinks while watching the Academy Awards. Meanwhile, IMDb’s live companion show, featuring celebrity conversations and a stream of real-time facts, data and social commentary from IMDb and IMDbPro, will stream beginning with a pre-show at 4:30 p.m. It will wrap with a post-show once the Academy Awards broadcast concludes. IMDb’s show includes “Hosted Mode” — live conversation between hosts Dave Karger, Kevin Smith, The IMDb Show co-hosts Tim Kash and Kerri Doherty and celebrity guests including Peter Fonda and Tatum O’Neal – and “Second Screen Mode.”

Golden Soiree: “The After Party” Presented by VoilaVe Warwick, 6507 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, 7 p.m. Expected at this event are Victor Ortiz, Mario Van Peebles, Derek Hough, Robert Ri’chard, Camille Kostek, Sean Faris, Chuck Liddell, Bridget Marquardt, Apollo Ohno, Post Malone, Emily Sears, Amanda Cerny, Terrence Newman, Jessica Ashley, Todd Gurley, Rob Minkoff, Camille Kostek, Casper Smart, Paola Paulin and Sophia Miacova.

Nordstrom Local ​Viewing Party 8401 Melrose Place, Los Angeles, 4-8:30 p.m. Nordstrom Local is hosting an invite-only viewing party for the fashion industry, including top stylists and stars. The private event, produced by A-List Communications, will offer nail services, a mixology bar, plus champagne and gourmet food from the W Hotel’s steakhouse STK LA. Guests can walk the red carpet before enjoying the 4K HD viewing screens and Nordstrom gift card prizes.  

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[writemarcus]

ELEANOR BURGESS  (Special Recognition)     The Niceties

Zoe, a black student at a liberal arts college, is called into her white professor’s office to discuss her paper about slavery’s effect on the American Revolution. What begins as a polite clash between fellow liberals explodes into an urgent debate about race, history, power, and the things we don’t say.    eleanorburgess.com

LINDSAY JOELLE (Special Recognition)     A Small History of Amal by Amal, Age 7

On the day of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, Amal, a seven-year-old boy in a public hospital, lives a smaller history. He meets doctors, patients, and a food service worker with dreams of Bollywood. He writes a letter to the Prime Minister, and falls in love for the first time. But when the hospital struggles beyond capacity to treat the survivors, Amal gets lost in the shuffle. Now, it’ll take an explorer’s heart and a little Bollywood magic to defeat the god of death.    lindsayjoelle.com

AMONTAINE AURORE     Don’t Call it a Riot!It is 1968, and Reed, a member of Seattle’s Black Panther Party must juggle the demands of a new marriage and being six months pregnant, yet still finds time to fight for liberation and dream of creating a better world. When her best friend, Marti, moves in, there is yet one more thing on her plate. Reed has no clue of the forces at work that will eventually destroy the Party, nor the ones that threaten her own happy home. It will take twenty-nine years before she will finally discover the betrayal that was at the root of a dream deferred.  

newplayexchange.org/users/13403/amontaine-aurore

BENJAMIN BENNE     Q u e r e n c i a: an imagined autobiography about forbidden fruits

Milo’s favorite fruit are bananas; also, he just turned 13 and is grappling with his sexual identity. If that weren’t complicated enough, his estranged aunt has just been released from jail and the gym class bully has picked him as the new target. Having never left his neighborhood in L.A., he dreams about what it would be like to escape…but in the mean time, at least he has his neighbor Zoe, who has sworn to be his BFF with a drop of blood. And, in their world, blood is supposed to be the strongest bond.    newplayexchange.org/users/5676/benjamin-benne

KARI BENTLEY-QUINN     The Worst Mother in the World

New mom Nina has a healthy baby boy, a loving husband…and is struggling with terrifying nightmares and anxiety attacks. Her therapist, Bonnie, is trying to help her discover how she can be a better mother to her infant son. In the meantime, Bonnie’s estranged daughter, Mary, arrives home with some life changing news. When Nina and Mary become friends, Bonnie’s professional and personal life gets a lot more complicated.     newplayexchange.org/users/737/kari-bentley-quinn

ANGELICA CHERI     BERTA, BERTA

After committing an unforgivable crime, Leroy retreats to his long lost lover Berta’s house to take refuge and make amends. Their electrifying reunion swells from an agitated argument about the past to an impassioned plot to escape fate and start a new life. The play is inspired by the prison chain gang song “Berta, Berta” that originated on Parchman Farm, Mississippi State Penitentiary. It is an imaginary origin story. angelicacheri.com/berta-berta/.

GINA FEMIA     Annie and the Fat Man

Annie is anorexic and Tiny is obese. They’re best friends, Brooklynites through and through. When they each embark on new romantic relationships, will their relationship break or strengthen?   newplayexchange.org/plays/45949/annie-and-fat-man

WILLIAM GLICK     The Bigot

When Simon Levinson accuses his father of bigotry, he must confront a series of larger challenges, including the polarization of American politics, the rise of a controversial Presidential candidate, and how to make his boyfriend love him. Taking place over the course of the Obama years, the play explores what we gain and lose as society makes progress and asks the question, “Who in this play is actually ‘The Bigot?'”    williamglick.com (E-mail: wglick1@gmail.com)

MARY ELIZABETH HAMILTON     One of the Women

boxkiteinc.wixsite.com/maryhamilton

CANDRICE JONES     Crackbaby

Crackbaby is a satirical critique of the Public Education School System of the United States of America and the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs. Theoretically, the play questions the politics of visibility as well as the danger of accepting a version of a single story narrative (the crackbaby myth). Taking place from the early to late 90’s, Crackbaby follows the journey of Emarytus Brown from kindergarden to eighth grade. The granddaughter of a drug dealer and master of Black Panther rhetoric, with each grade Emarytus learns a new lesson eventually shedding her innocence.   newplayexchange.org/users/8068/candrice-jones

CARSON KREITZER     CAPITAL CRIME!

CAPITAL CRIME! is set in New York in the Gilded Age, the time of highest levels of income inequality in this country… until now. This is a tale of lust, murder, greed, unfettered capitalism, and the consumption of young girls. A play with songs, in Brecht-meets-Riot Grrrl fashion.    newplayexchange.org/users/12896/carson-kreitzer

ERIC REYES LOO     Death and Cockroaches

When Eric moves home to take care of his dying father, he runs from his sadness right into a Wall of Dicks. An irreverently honest story, told from the POV of a playwright in his own play.     newplayexchange.org/plays/74749/death-and-cockroaches

BRIAN DANIEL OGLESBY     Small Steps

When Skip Powers realizes that no one will ever love him, he volunteers to go to Mars — and the Principal of NASA says, “Yeah, sure. You’ll do.” Skip is super gay and isn’t really a participant in the gene pool, so it just makes sense to send him millions of miles on the the spaceship Atlantis on a mission that will, in all likelihood, kill him. And after crappy experiences on gay hookup apps, he’s more than prepared for the training with the Abstinence Coach — but a little less prepared when the Love of His Life tries to keep him on earth. This play about what it means to attempt to live your life in the pursuit of great things spans a million years and fifty-five million miles.     newplayexchange.org/users/2354/briandaniel-oglesby

STACY AMMA OSEI-KUFFOUR     HANG MAN

newplayexchange.org/users/5348/stacy-amma-osei-kuffour

ALICE PENCAVEL     PIE SHOP PLAY

Agnes and Kitty — the pie shop sisters — have big dreams. But when the pipes in their shop burst, leaking toxic unknowns that rob them of coherent speech, they are forced to contend with the bleak reality that their past still haunts them, divides them, and contagiously invokes havoc on any who work in the name of pie.     newplayexchange.org/users/9645/alice-pencavel

GREGORY RAMOS     Cuentos de Josefina (Josephine’s Tales)

A heartfelt memory tale that follows the story of young Josefina and her brother Ignacio’s journey from Mexico to the United States after the Mexican revolution. The play explores what it means to leave one land in search of another, and the value in maintaining ties to our past. Based on true Mexican family tales, Cuentos de Josefina (Josephine’s Tales) weaves together a series of stories that can be told with various theatrical devices, including story theatre, movement, music, shadow and puppetry.    gregoryramos.com/

DENEEN REYNOLDS-KNOTT     BATON

BATON, introduces Ava and Tim, a black couple on a date interrupted by news of unrest in Baltimore after Freddie Gray’s funeral. Ava and Tim grapple with differing feelings about the case. Ava reveals a past engagement to a white cop, detonating a night of accusations, interrogations and confessions.  newplayexchange.org/users/13496/deneen-reynolds-knott

RITI SACHDEVA     The Rug Dealer When Raba Zacharai suddenly passes away, his daughter Shiraz inherits the Persian rug shop he built in New Haven on leaving Iran in 1979. As an unexpected love affair develops with a dangerously beautiful customer and her mother’s secret longing to return to Iran after decades of exile grows more urgent, Shiraz must negotiate the costly business of carpets, family, duty, and love.   newplayexchange.org/users/630/riti-sachdeva

MARCUS SCOTT     Tumbleweed

Tumbleweed is a slice-of-life American comedy-drama following a cosmopolitan interracial family and their pre-teen black sheep Willow, off-putting natural hair combined with both her family’s open acceptance of it and lack of maintenance causes controversy. Tensions stir even more so when they get a visit from the patriarch’s estranged no-nonsense mother, a former affiliate of the Black Panther party. The play explores beauty standards both in and out of the black community, ethnic relations, the mixed race family, coming of age, interracial marriage and parenting, relationships, womanist identity and the visibility of black men in the family dynamic.    writemarcus.tumblr.com

CHERRY LOU SY     paper swag

paper swag is about two teen boys who go to Stuyvesant High School looking for what to write about in their college application essay. As they go through their daily lives, they discover that their mothers’ journeys are a big part of who they are.     howlround.com/authors/cherry-lou-sy

[an-odd-idea]

*crashes through the boards* NHK Trophy women’s free skate and final result, holy-

1. Ava Marie Ziegler: Remember when I said someone else might come out of nowhere and win it all? So that happened. I was only generally aware of Ava’s existence and I’m not sure if I’d seen her skate before, but she really had the skate of her life here. Big congrations to her, and her reaction to her score and the way she ran to hug Lindsay after were so wonderful. She was in 5th after the short, I tell you, this discipline isn’t usually the wildly unpredictable one. The women are menning, as they say: reject gender roles!

2. Lindsay Thorngren: That fall made me so scared for her ankle, but I guess it’s okay. She looked super nervous and unsure, probably from the pressure of being accustomed to being 5th or 6th and suddenly being in 1st and skating last and thinking she can maybe win this and maaaybe make the final, idk. i was really hoping for her to win, but silver here is still big. Hopefully she can keep this momentum up, and hopefully US Figure Skating will stop putting all their eggs in one leaning basket

3. Nina Pinzarrone: I don’t know what I was on a few weeks ago, I enjoy her a lot. I especially love the pivot and toe steps at the beginning. Congrats on making the final! Two Belgians at the final was not on my 2023-24 season bingo card

4. Haein Lee: *sighs in 4th place again* The underrotations are still eating her. It’s ok, hopefully she can get it better as the season goes on. The illusion spin exit went well at least!

5. Yuna Aoki: Oh my gosh I love her. She is so lovely and musical and just everything you picture when you hear “figure skating”. I was so relaxed watching her skate, she just seemed so calm and serene, I never worried before any jump at all. And apparently she choreographed her short program herself? God-tier, please can she compete more often?

6. Anastasiia Gubanova: A really beautiful job in the free skate, a shame that the short kind of took her out of the running. The spins are still not leveling

7. Yelim Kim: “Omg Yelim landing a huge, gorgeous triple-triple like seasons of old???!!!” *crashes into the boards* Luckily she’s okay and there’s no deduction for that since she didn’t fall, and the judges couldn’t give her good GOE but also didn’t give too bad since the combination itself was basically successful. Despite that and a fall, this was a lot better than previously, and hopefully she can get things situated for the rest of the season

8. Mai Mihara: All her jumps looked really, really shaky, but she was so lovely all the same, I was kind of on the verge of tearing up, and that spiral was glorious, I will never forgive the cameraman for choosing the worst angle possible. She brought the sunshine to this event

9. Wakaba Higuchi: I can’t believe she went for the triple axel, like wow, but also please be careful. I was also really feeling this program even though it’s Coldplay, and she was landing everything, and I was just so happy. Then she randomly slipped on the the lunge in the choreographic sequence, but that’s okay, she seemed pretty happy and I’m glad she was able to have such a good performance

10. Seoyeong Wi: No more Exogenesis. Please. I’m so tired of Exogenesis please stop. The skate was rough. The commentator was weirdly harsh about her letting her disappointment show after popping a jump for the second time and not really keeping up the performance, and I kinda feel bad

11. Lea Serna: It was rough. I’ve seen her nail this program and it was really great, but this time the jumps were just not going well

12. Lindsay van Zundert: It was really rough, and so was the short. Just not a good competition for her at all, hopefully she’ll do better elsewhere later on

[sywtwfs]

2021 Summer Competitions

Non-comprehensive list of 2021 summer club competitions. This post will be updated as more information becomes available. The list will focus on competitions with notable skaters. Note: Withdrawals are common for summer club competitions.

See also: Calendar of events

Last updated: Aug 29, 2021

Lake Cup

Time: May 3-4

Place: Otsu City, Japan

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Mana Kawabe. Jr - Ayumi Shibayama. NvA - Mao Shimada

Note: This competition includes free skates only.

La Jolla Open

Time: May 16

Place: La Jolla, CA, USA

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Starr Andrews. Jr - Kanon Smith

Colonial Open

Time: June 3-6

Place: Boxborough, MA, USA

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Lindsay Thorngren, Shan Lin, Gabriella Izzo, Maxim Naumov. Jr - Isabeau Levito

Aqua Cup

Time: June 26-27

Place: Chiba, Japan

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Wakaba Higuchi, Rinka Watanabe. Jr - Rion Sumiyoshi

Broadmoor Open

Time: June 29 - July 2

Place: Colorado Springs, CO, USA

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Vincent Zhou, Camden Pulkinen, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Young You, Karen Chen, Pooja Kalyan, Paige Rydberg. Jr - Isabeau Levito, Mia Kalin, Clare Seo

Nagoya City Skating Competition: Minato Aquls Cup

Time: July 2-4

Place: Nagoya, Japan

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Rino Matsuike, Yura Matsuda, Mana Kawabe, Rin Nitaya, Yuhana Yokoi, Nana Araki, Miyabi Oba, Chisato Uramatsu. Jr - Tatsuya Tsuboi, Hana Yoshida, Kinayu Yokoi

Skate Milwaukee

Time: July 7-11

Place: Milwaukee, WI, USA

Results

Website

Schedule

Streaming

Notable entries: Sr - Maxim Naumov, Ting Cui, Gabriella Izzo, Shan Lin. Jr - Ilia Malinin, Kanon Smith, Lindsay Thorngren, Isabeau Levito, Mia Kalin, Clare Seo

Los Angeles Open

Time: July 9-11

Place: Burbank, CA, USA

Results

Website

Schedule

Streaming

Notable entries: Sr - Starr Andrews, Hanna Harrell, Chelsea Liu/Danny O’Shea

Dallas Cannon Classic

Time: July 9-11

Place: Dallas, TX, USA

Results

Website

Schedule

Notable entries: Jr - Oona Brown/Gage Brown, Katarina Wolfkostin/Jeffrey Chen

Skate Wilmington

Time: July 13-18

Place: Wilmington, DE, USA

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Gracie Gold, Rena Ikenishi, Emmanuel Savary

Peggy Fleming Trophy (Virtual)

Time: Videos available Jul 16

Results

Website

Videos

Notable entries: Starr Andrews, Karen Chen, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Isabeau Levito, Alysa Liu, Camden Pulkinen, Andrew Torgashev

Note: The competition emphasizes artistic expression and does not use the regular IJS scoring system. See website for more details on format.

Skate Canada NextGen Camp

Time: July 19-24

Place: Kingston, ON, Canada

Results/website

Schedule

Streaming

Notable entries: Jr - Natalie D’Alessandro/Bruce Waddell, Miku Makita/Tyler Gunara, Ilia Kovler, Corey Circelli, Aleksa Rakic, Kaiya Ruiter

Skate Detroit

Time: July 21-24

Place: Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Jimmy Ma, Gabriella Izzo, Audrey Lu/Misha Mitrofanov. Jr - Anastasiia Smirnova/Danil Siianytsia

Philadelphia Summer Championships

Time: July 27-31

Place: Aston, PA, USA

Results

Website

Schedule

Notable entries: Sr - Emmanuel Savary, Ting Cui, Lindsay Thorngren, Shan Lin, Gracie Gold

South Korean JGP Selection Competition

Time: July 29-30

Place: Seoul, South Korea

Results (download)

Website

Note: This competition will determine South Korea’s JGP competitors.

Glacier Falls Summer Classic

Time: July 29 - Aug 1

Place: Anaheim, CA, USA

Results

Website

Entries

Paid streaming

Notable entries: Sr - Yaroslav Paniot, Andrew Torgashev, Hanna Harrell, Audrey Shin, Kailani Craine, Tzu-Han Ting, Chelsea Liu/DannyO’Shea, Jessica Calalang/Brian Johnson. Jr - Kate Wang

Russian Junior Test Skates

Time: Aug 3-6, 10-11

Place: Novogorsk, Russia

Schedule

Streaming & videos (singles)

Streaming & videos (ice dance, pairs)

Chesapeake Open

Time: Aug 4-7

Place: Laurel, MD, USA

Results

Website

Streaming

Notable entries: Sr - Molly Cesanek/Yehor Yehorov, Lorraine McNamara/Anton Spiridonov, Eva Pate/Logan Bye, Ting Cui, Ilia Malinin. Jr - Katarina Wolfkostin/Jeffrey Chen, Oona Brown/Gage Brown, Angela Ling/Caleb Wein, Utana Yoshida/Seiji Urano, Elliana Peal/Ethan Peal

Quebec Summer Championships

Time: Aug 5-8

Place: Dorval, QC, Canada

Results

Website

Schedule

Entries

Streaming - Rink 3, Rink 4

Notable entries: Sr - Gabrielle Daleman, Véronik Mallet, Vanessa James/Eric Radford, Lori-Ann Matte/Thierry Ferland, Deanna Stellato/Maxime Deschamps, Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac. Jr - Hannah Lim/Ye Quan

Kinoshita Trophy

Time: Aug 7-8

Place: Kyoto, Japan

Results

Website

Streaming (Japan only)

Notable entries: Sr - Sumitada Moriguchi, Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda, Hana Yoshida, Mana Kawabe. Jr - Azusa Tanaka.

Gensan Summer Cup

Time: Aug 9-12

Place: Shiga, Japan

Results

Website

Paid streaming (Japan only)

Notable entries: Sr - Yuma Kagiyama, Yuto Kishina, Kazuki Tomono, Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda, Sena Miyake, Taichiro Yamakuma, Nana Araki, Chisato Uramatsu, Miyabi Oba, Rino Kasakake, Mana Kawabe, Kaori Sakamoto, Yuna Shiraiwa, Rin Nitaya, Wakaba Higuchi, Rino Matsuike, Yura Matsuda, Mai Mihara, Satoko Miyahara, Mako Yamashita, Yuhana Yokoi, Rinka Watanabe. Jr - Kao Miura, Ami Nakai, Ayumi Shibayama, Mao Shimada, Rion Sumiyoshi, Azusa Tanaka, Kinayu Yokoi

Cranberry Open

Time: Aug 10-14

Place: Norwood, MA, USA

Results

Website

Schedule

Entries

Streaming - Performance Center, West Rink 

Note: This is the club competition held in parallel with the ISU events, Cranberry Cup International and Lake Placid Ice Dance International.

Cranberry Cup International

Time: Aug 12-15

Place: Norwood, MA, USA

Results

Website

Schedule

Entries

Streaming - Performance Center, West Rink

Notable entries: Sr - Mariah Bell, Kailani Craine, Amber Glenn, Gracie Gold, Gabriella Izzo, Shan Lin, Alysa Liu, Paige Rydberg, Madeline Schizas, Audrey Shin, Young You, Alexei Bychenko, Donovan Carrillo, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Jimmy Ma, Maxim Naumov, Yaroslav Paniot, Camden Pulkinen, Daniel Samohin, Vincent Zhou, Jessica Calalang/Brian Johnson, Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier, Chelsea Liu/Danny O’Shea, Audrey Lu/Misha Mitrofanov, Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov. Jr - Elsa Cheng, Jessica Lin, Violeta Ushakova, Ava Ziegler, Joseph Klein, Jacob Sanchez

Note: This is an international ISU competition held in parallel with the Lake Placid Ice Dance International and club competition, Cranberry Open.

Lake Placid Ice Dance International

Time: Aug 12-15

Place: Norwood, MA, USA

Results

Website

Schedule

Entries

Streaming - Performance Center, West Rink

Notable entries: Sr - Molly Cesanek/Yehor Yehorov, Caroline Green/Michael Parsons, Lorraine McNamara/Anton Spiridonov, Yura Min/Daniel Eaton, Eva Pate/Logan Bye. Jr - Isabella Flores/Dimitry Tsarevski, Angela Ling/Caleb Wein, Elliana Peal/Ethan Peal

Note: This is an international ISU competition held in parallel with the Cranberry Cup International and club competition, Cranberry Open.

Tokyo Summer Figure Skating Competition

Time: Aug 21-22

Place: Tokyo, Japan

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Rinka Watanabe, Yuna Aoki, Wakaba Higuchi, Akari Matsubara, Tomoe Kawabata, Ibuki Sato. Jr - Rion Sumiyoshi, Ami Nakai

Note: This competition includes short programs only for senior and junior categories.

Osaka Figure Skating Championships

Time: Aug 21-22

Place: Osaka, Japan

Results

Website

Notable entries: Sr - Kazuki Tomono, Sena Miyake, Riko Takino

Note: This competition includes free skates only.

Kanto Summer Trophy

Time: Aug 28-29

Place: Kofu, Japan

Results

Website

Streaming (Japan only)

Notable entries: Sr - Shun Sato, Kao Miura, Shiika Yoshioka