#naomi mcdaniels

[avidrawsthings]

Wanted to include a photo of the parents alongside the kids, so here's my take on their appearances as of 2008. Knowing me, some stuff might get changed up later on, but for now I'm happy with these results.

The Copper Family

Well before the first Beyond Hogwarts leaks, I've always envisioned Ben becoming an Auror and growing a full-on dad beard once the kids were born. While he's mellowed down considerably from his edgy teen days, he's still more than capable of getting dangerous if he has to.

Ismelda herself would use her Doll Magic and make a business out of selling custom dolls. True to her roots, she'd also use them to scare off any rude kids and annoying neighbors. She especially enjoys messing with the local Karens.

Sometimes people around them are left wondering how the two ever got together given how drastically different they appear to be.

Info on their kids will be here

The Celestia-Winger Family

So fun fact, Talbott's height actually stops at Reina's shoulders, but I made him taller for the pic cuz otherwise it'd look really funny to me.

Sometime after getting married, they considered having no more than two kids to see how things would pan out. The universe had other plans and they instead had their quads lol It was a nice surprise, and they cherish their baby birds.

Reina works at her bakery and after the Battle of Hogwarts, Talbott switched from being an Auror himself to becoming a Healer. Wanting to be there for his family, he wanted to have a career that wouldn't put his life at risk anymore.

Info on their kids will be here

Ricardo De Los Santos and Naomi McDaniels

The two didn't really get the chance to become a family as Naomi had Ascended into an Angel and had to reach the Departure shortly after Rel was born. As it marked the end of her human lifespan, she was essentially dead.

The pair met in Las Vegas in 1993. Ricardo went there to get over Chester dumping him, while Naomi had been there with her group of "friends" that quickly ditched her. Deep down she knew that her time was coming to an end, so she was there to live out her final days as much as possible.

The two enjoyed each other's company and hooked up almost instantly. Thanks to some drunken shenanigans, they find out they were expecting. They decided to confide in each other and told their biggest secrets, with Naomi learning that he was a Wizard, and Ricardo realizing she had Ascended and was on her final days as a human.

Her Departure gets delayed due to her pregnancy, and they're aware she'll pass on once the baby is born. In the year they got to know each other, they grew very close. She got the chance to hold their daughter and gave Ricardo the idea to name her after his late older sister Rel. Ricardo would see her off once the Departure was initiated.

He always remembers her fondly and has a memorial for her at his home. Rel was told about her mom once she was old enough, and loves her all the same.

Info about Rel will be here

[april-is]

April 14, 2024: The Wordsworth Effect, Joyce Sutphen

The Wordsworth Effect Joyce Sutphen

Is when you return to a place and it's not nearly as amazing as you once thought it was,

or when you remember how you felt about something (or someone) but you know you'll never feel that way again.

It's when you notice someone has turned down the volume, and you realize it was you; when you have the

suspicion that you've met the enemy and you are it, or when you get your best ideas from your sister's journal.

Is also-to be fair-the thing that enables you to walk for miles and miles chanting to yourself in iambic pentameter

and to travel through Europe with only a clean shirt, a change of underwear, a notebook and a pen.

And yes: is when you stretch out on your couch and summon up ten thousand daffodils, all dancing in the breeze.

--

Also: Dorothy Wordsworth, Jennifer Chang

Another by Joyce Sutphen: Living in the Body

Today in:

2023: Spring Poem, Colleen O’Connor 2022: Red, Mary Ruefle 2021: Bathing, Allison Seay 2020: A Small Moment, Cornelius Eady 2019: You Meet Someone and Later You Meet Their Dancing and You Have to Start Again, David Welch 2018: Henry Clay’s Mouth, Thomas Lux 2017: When Your Small Form Tumbled into Me, Tracy K. Smith 2016: Eve Recollecting the Garden, Grace Bauer 2015: from I Love A Broad Margin To My Life, Maxine Hong Kingston 2014: Gift, Czeslaw Milosz 2013: This Be The Verse, Philip Larkin 2012: We Did Not Make Ourselves, Michael Dickman 2011: Happiness (3), Jean Valentine 2010: When I Think, Jeanne Marie Beaumont 2009: The Poem, Franz Wright 2008: Morning Poem, Robin Becker 2007: Supple Cord, Naomi Shihab Nye 2006: Wish For a Young Wife, Theodore Roethke 2005: The Benjamin Franklin of Monogamy, Jeffrey McDaniel

[specificpollsaboutbooks]

(Unverified yet) submissions for standalone fiction works :

Martyr! (Kaveh Akbar)

The Traveling Cat Chronicles (Hiro Arikawa)

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

The Last Unicorn (Peter Beagle)

Sin Eaters Confession (Ilsa J. Bick)

Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)

Synners (Pat Cadigan)

El Móvil (Javier Cercas)

To Be Taught If Fortunate (Becky Chambers)

Piranesi (Susanna Clarke)

Graffiti Moon (Cath Crowley)

Babel-17 (Samuel Delany)

Aces Wild: A Heist (Amanda DeWitt)

Children of Red Peak (Craig DiLouie)

Liar, Dreamer, Thief (Maria Dong)

Revolution (Jennifer Donnelly)

The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas)

This Is How You Lose The Time War (Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone)

The Great Gatsby (Francis Scott Fitzgerald)

Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)

A Lesson Before Dying (Ernest J. Gaines)

The Princess Bride (William Goldman)

Perfect on Paper (Sophie Gonzales)

Turtles All the Way Down (John Green)

The Midnight Library (Matt Haig)

Echo Thomas (Olde Heuvelt)

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (Victor Hugo)

The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson)

Monday's Not Coming (Tiffany D. Jackson)

The Spear Cuts Through Water (Simon Jimenez)

The Vanished Birds (Simon Jimenez)

The Romantic Agenda (Claire Kann)

Hell Is A World Without You (Jason Kirk)

The Adventures of Pirate Emma (Kristen Korning)

Thomas the Rhymer (Ellen Kushner)

The Honeys (Ryan La Sala)

When the Angels Left the Old Country (Sacha Lamb)

The Friendship Doll (Kirby Larson)

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)

Horrid (Katrina Leno)

Elatsoe (Darcie Little Badger)

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor (Bianca Marais)

Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

Betty (Tiffany McDaniel)

Circe (Madeline Miller)

Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik)

Loveless (Alice Oseman)

Amity (Micol Ostow)

The Fortunate Fall (Cameron Reed)

Graveyard Shift (M. L. Rio)

The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (V.E. Schwab)

The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly (Luis Sepúlveda)

An Unkindness of Ghost s (Rivers Solomon)

The Scorpio Races (Maggie Stiefvater)

The Secret History (Donna Tartt)

Spiderlight (Adrian Tchaikovsky)

Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)

The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

[hungryfictions]

the concept for this list was: fifty books written by women about women, published within the past five years, (2017-now), that aren’t normal people and whatever else sally rooney just released. i also tried to avoid anything that gave explicitly rooney vibes. (here is why.) i stuck mostly with realism, though some have elements of fantasy or magic or horror. if you have questions about triggers for any particular book feel free to reach out.

Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee

We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi*

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

Sweet Lamb of Heaven by Lydia Millet*

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood*

All’s Well by Mona Awad*

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett*

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson*

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata*

The Push by Audrey Audrain

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

Sad Janet by Lucie Britsch

Weather by Jenny Offill

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

The Comeback by Ella Berman

The Farm by Joanne Ramos

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

Writers & Lovers by Lily King*

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Supper Club by Lara Williams

Vacuum in the Dark by Jen Beagin

In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado*

Severance by Ling Ma

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

Lurkers by Sandi Tan

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Edie Richter is Not Alone by Rebecca Handler

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden

Godshot by Chelsea Bieker

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel*

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Ordinary Girls: A Memoir by Jaquira Díaz

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

Fake Like Me by Barbara Bourland

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

My Life as a Rat by Joyce Carol Oates*

Tell the Machine Goodnight by Katie Williams

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng*

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Penance by Kanae Minato*

Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito

a note: this list is obviously limited to books that i have either personally read or know a lot about.

* means the author has other good books that i know of, i just didn’t want to repeat any authors

[thechanelmuse]

From The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Tally about this “Scarlett ‘N the Hood” photo shoot he created in 1996  as the style editor for Vanity Fair:

“One winter night in Paris, 1996, Karl [Lagerfeld] and I were talking about the current wave of big hoop skirts on the couture runways, which had been started by Galliano but found its roots in the nineteenth century. The inspiration of Scarlett O’Hara was clearly being splayed across the Paris runways. Stories in Vanity Fair were supposed to relate to Hollywood or something iconic in the minds of artists and cultural critics, and I started to think about using Gone with the Wind as a possible reference point. It is an entertaining film but not one of my favorites. For obvious reasons.

“I’ve seen the movie many times and can appreciate the scope and scale of the costumes, the grandeur, the rich, saturated colors. But seriously, can anyone who is black and in their right frame of mind enjoy this film? The answer is no. The one great thing about it is that Hattie McDaniel, in her brilliant supporting role, became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Oscar.

“If I were going to draw inspiration from Gone with the Wind, it would have to be in a way I’d be comfortable with. And then it hit me:

“Let’s do an updated Gone with the Wind and have Naomi as Scarlett. 

‘Scarlett in the Hood!’ 

“Karl loved it, and we immediately began to plan out our shoots, using his appropriately grandiose interior décor. We would cast fashion’s heavyweights to play the servants: [John] Galliano, the star of couture, was cast as a house servant, mopping floors.

“Manolo Blahnik, the Bernini of shoes, as a gardener, and barefoot! Gianfranco Ferré, then running Christian Dior, would be Hattie McDaniel, in white shirt, custom-made piqué apron, and head scarf.

“Naomi Campbell was posed, running up and down staircases, having dinner parties, in haute couture by Dior and Givenchy, an enormous vintage articulated diamond Cartier snake necklace, and the most expensive evening gown Karl Lagerfeld had ever designed for Chanel, costing over $200,000. Naomi played the role with such ease and joy, it almost made you forget the reality. If we were being historically accurate, a black woman would never have been able to play a grandiose grande dame of the nineteenth century. Lost in fantasy, that’s what it’s all about. I wanted people to think: What if?

“Naomi Campbell as Scarlett O’Hara saunters down the grand staircase in strapless haute couture, spring 1996 Givenchy, from John Galliano’s first ever couture collection in Paris. Graydon Carter dared to trust me and let us create the story for Vanity Fair on our own.

“Those images mean something totally different today than they did back in 1996 when they were shot. Fashion shows were exceedingly blond at the time. Designers would say they couldn’t find anyone of color who looked right for their show, which was just hard to believe. Pushing back in such a subversive way felt bold and daring. Again, it was a quiet form of activism. 

“My way of approaching diversity in the world of fashion was to communicate with the power of suggestion. I would not go up to Karl Lagerfeld and say, ‘Where are the black models on your runway?’ Instead, if I didn’t see a moment of diversity, I would sit next to him and recommend girls who were missing. ‘What about Naomi Campbell, wouldn’t she look great in that suit?’ 

“I never demanded representation and diversity of models; I finessed.”

[firstfullmoon]

hi! your blog is absolutely fascinating. thank you for the great work u do ! do you know amy poems about long distance friendship/love? or poems about distance between two people im general?

thank you so much 🥺 here are some poems i love about long distance relationships:

“The Quiet World” by Jeffrey McDaniel

“A Second Train Song for Gary” by Jack Spicer

“Want” by Joan Larkin

“Like an Auto-Tune of Authentic Love” by Carmen Giménez Smith

“Torn Map” by Naomi Shihab Nye

“My Lover Who Lives Far” by Camille T. Dungy

“Morning” by Frank O’Hara

“In Trust” by Thom Gunn

“Dear One Absent This Long While” by Lisa Olstein

[tabloidtoc]

OK, February 17

Cover: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle replaced by sisters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie 

Page 1: Big Pic -- Hannah Brown and Kate Flannery kicked off the Dancing With the Stars: Live! Tour at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall 

Page 2: Contents 

Page 3: Contents

Page 4: Kelly Ripa is ready to dish on her career, marriage and more in a juicy memoir 

Page 6: Joanna Gaines -- how I do it all 

Page 7: Ozzy Osbourne admitted that his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis has been terribly challenging for himself and his loved ones and his kids Kelly and Jack are doing their best to help him and their mom Sharon in every way they can, Renee Zellweger’s nitpicking has prevented her from finding romance and she sabotages things by getting clingy, Naomi Watts is desperate to reconnect with Nicole Kidman after falling out of touch wither her former BFF -- Naomi distanced herself from Nicole to concentrate on raising her two sons but they’re entering their teen years and Naomi is crawling back to Nicole and asked Nicole to put in a good word with her A-list connections 

Page 8: Now that her son son Maddox is at college Angelina Jolie is contemplating adopting another child which she would have done years ago but Brad Pitt thought their brood of six was enough, Vanessa Bryant is heartbroken over the death of husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna and still has moments of disbelief that this is even happening, after two decades in showbiz Aaron Paul is ready to press pause on his career to be a more present father to his and wife Lauren’s daughter Story 

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- Grammy Awards -- Gwen Stefani, Grace Elizabeth 

Page 11: Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa 

Page 12: Keltie Knight vs. Jeannie Mai, Kirsten Dunst vs. Elizabeth Chambers, Gigi Hadid and Khloe Kardashian 

Page 14: News in Photos -- Caitlyn Jenner gave British comedic duo Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly at the 25th National Television Awards 

Page 16: Sundance Film Festival -- Ethan Hawke and Kyle MacLachlan, director Liz Garbus and Lost Girls stars Oona Lawrence and Miriam Show and Amy Ryan and Lolo Kirke 

Page 17: Eva Longoria and Lin-Manuel Miranda and his dad Luis and America Ferrera, David Arquette 

Page 18: Charlize Theron and Renee Zellweger at the Academy Awards nominees luncheon, Justin and Hailey Bieber at the premiere of his documentary, Dove Cameron participating in the beach salon and cleanup 

Page 20: Grammy Awards -- Lizzo, Lil Nas X and Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler with Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels and Joseph Simmons 

Page 21: Demi Lovato, Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas 

Page 22: Mark Wahlberg at the gym, Ellen guest host Jennifer Aniston asked Will Ferrell some burning questions, Ellie Kemper at a Tropicana pop-up 

Page 24: Robert Downey Jr.’s expansive estate in Malibu 

Page 26: After dating on and off with Shayna Taylor for six years Ryan Seacrest is ready to propose 

Page 27: Kourtney Kardashian’s desire for another baby has intensified since she reconciled with Younes Bendjima, Love Bites -- Machine Gun Kelly and Noah Cyrus dating, Chris Sullivan and wife Rachel are expecting their first baby, Brandon Jenner and Cayley Stoker wed 

Page 28: Just one week after it was revealed that Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler has ended their nearly nine-year romance she was seen dining with 24-year-old Lakers player Kyle Kuzma, Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik are giving things another go but this time she’s confident they’re playing for keeps because she’s impressed with how much he’s matured and she’s always wanted to marry young, as a bi-coastal couple NYC-based Ashley Graham and husband Justin Ervin made a rule to never go longer than 2 weeks without seeing each other but now that they’re parents they’ve agreed that being apart for ant amount of time isn’t an option so Ashley and the baby will live in LA with Justin 

Page 30: Cover Story -- Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie seize the royal spotlight after they’re named Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s replacements

Page 32: Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard get real about their marriage and life with their kids and more 

Page 36: Dating Disasters 

Page 40: Forget the jade eggs -- some of Gwyneth Paltrow’s best wellness advice is surprisingly sensible 

Page 44: Style Week -- Ashley Graham recently collaborated with Pronovias on a bridal line designed with all sizes of women in mind

Page 48: Valentine’s -- Sara Sampaio 

Page 50: Beauty -- Petra Nemcova 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Q&A -- Sean Evans, host of Hot Ones: The Game Show

Page 58: Buzz -- Blake Lively’s red carpet return 

Page 60: Hollywood Heath Meter -- Zac Efron is dating Halston Sage, Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge leaving RHOOC, Nikki and Brie Bella are both expecting, Andy Samberg’s film Palm Springs has become the most expensive Sundance acquisition, Brad Pitt hired Jennifer Aniston’s stylists Nina and Clare Hallworth, Sound Bites -- Ellen DeGeneres, Kumail Nanjiani, Jodie Turner-Smith, Will Ferrell 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Aquarius Chloe Grace Moretz 

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Sarah Hyland

[201840775caic1920]

Exclusion within Hollywood: why are minorities overshadowed?

With next year’s Oscars approaching, its time to consider at why in the 21st Century at why minorities are still non-existent throughout award ceremonies.

Throughout the history of the Oscar’s, it has always been dominated by white actors and actresses, however, as we are now nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, why are minorities still being overshadowed? It came to public attention in 2015 with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, which started to trend on Martin Luther King day,  the only film within this particular Oscar year was Selma for best picture. This momentum continued in 2016, when Will Smith was overshadowed again and boycotted the Oscars in protest and the hashtag trended again on Twitter. His wife also joined in with the boycott. “This year’s list of Oscar nominees passes over popular, well-reviewed performances in the movies Creed and Straight Outta Compton’” The President of the Academy and Cheryl Boone Isaacs who represents the board behind the Oscars have said “I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion” and “we have implemented changed to diversify our membership in the last four years… we need to do more. And better and more quickly”

This topic has always been a conversation focus as many films have white lead characters, people of colour has been tried to be cast within major roles but there are changes still being need to be made due to there being a fear of films not being as successful at the box office if a person of colour was cast rather than a white person, this almost passive racism is unfair as here have been major films with black leads which have been a box office hit. Within The Hollywood Jim Crow “Hollywood decision makers view movies with black casts as being economically risky… and for that reason they restrict them to small budgets.”

UCLA has published a report looking at diversity within Hollywood and the results are shocking, in 2016 only 13.9 percent of lead actors within the top films were of minority’s and only 1.4 out of 10 lead actors within the film industry are people of colour. This is quite a shocking statistic when compared with the 86.1 percent of lead actors were white in 2016. Some examples of films which were released with African Americans as the lead characters are Central Intelligence with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, Hidden Figures with Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae and Moonlight starring Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert.

Hollywood is a symbol of American motion picture, but it is also seen as the worlds as well. Movies produced by Hollywood influences moral, cultural and political issues within society but an issue is some of the impacts can give narrow mindfulness as well. Many viewers think Hollywood spreads a negative message of themselves due to the racial discrimination some movies portray. The roles of minorities are slowly improving, Asians, Latinos and Native Americans are still under represented, together they make up 9.3 percent of roles shared, and Native Americans are the lowest within the underrepresentation with them making up 0.5 percent in total.

In a recent book published titled The Hollywood Jim Crow: The Racial Politics of the Movie Industry, it offers a provocative lens of understanding how the industry’s racial imbalances are and the lack of people of colour in the top studio roles. This book questions the extent in which Jim Crow exists within the entertainment sector today. The Hollywood hierarchy isn’t identical to the legal segregation which existed but there is still many principles which remain the same, “that Jim Crow was a legally enforced [system] that affected everyone – their mobility, their bodies, their ability to find work”

As racism was law, cinemagoers would typically see African Americans depicted in cruel stereotypical movie roles: servants, rapists, and unintelligent slaves. It wasn’t until the 1930s when black actors were able to find work onscreen within Hollywood, however, when they did it was mostly song and dance genre. Hattie McDaniel in 1940 was awarded an Academy Award and was the first African American actor who received one for her role as Mammy in Gone With The Wind. However, she did have to sit at a separate table compared with her white co-stars because the venue didn’t allow blacks within the building.

 Within early Hollywood, they would use black characters to represent different stereotypes and have limited screen time and these stereotypes persisted throughout the twentieth century when attitudes to minorities were rife throughout Hollywood and society in general. Blaxploitation is a subgenre of the exploitation film which emerged in the US in the early 1970s. The films were popular, but received backlash because of the disproportionate numbers of the stereotypical film characters which showed questionable motives which included criminals, but it is the first genre in which black characters are seen as the hero rather than the sidekick. An example of a film within this genre is Shaft where the lead character has to go and save a Harlem mobster’s daughter from Italian Mobsters who kidnapped her.

Other examples of stereotypes are; Asians are usually portrayed as nerdy and Latinos as fiery. Within early Hollywood, Black and Asian people were targeted the most, Nancy Wang Yuen who is a sociologist wrote “racism, in the form of job exclusion and racially stereotyped roles, has defined Hollywood film industry since its birth in the 1900s”. Disney has even had examples of racial stereotypes, with Aladdin the Arab protagonists are poor and dumb, in The Lion King the hyenas speak with an African American dialect. This proves there is racial discrimination in movies for all ages and another problem with characters of ethnicity is their characters seem to the ones who die first and their narrative ends abruptly.

The production teams of Hollywood hasn’t shy away from the fact they know they are reluctant to hire minority actors but instead of using an all-white cast. This is an issue which is ongoing and spoken about almost daily, the directors and the production teams need to start to change the racial barriers and start including more diverse cast members. There are many branches within the Hollywood media; television, music, news and most important of all the film industry where the social inequality is evident and it needs to start changing as there is a need for more minorities to be cast in major film roles.

There is a slow change within Hollywood, about how people of colour are portrayed, and the numbers matters. There are other aspects within Hollywood which are evolving as there are more women, people of colour and LGBTQ behind the camera as directors, writers and producers. This is arguably the most invisible aspect of the industry and the less likely to receive any attention when it is awards season. Spike Lee has earned himself his first best director nomination with BlacKKKlansman, there are critics which see this shift as a result of having more women and people of colour within their voting pool. With other films as Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians 2018 could have been seen as a year of diversity within the cinema industry.

The Oscars are important to people and the event where the first-time indigenous actress from Mexico and a veteran African American director is praise-worthy. “everyone has their own way of coping with the idea that the society is not racially inclusive”  

[kevindayhoff]

McDaniel hosts Black History Month Convocation Feb. 16 featuring Rev. Tutu

McDaniel hosts Black History Month Convocation Feb. 16 featuring Rev. Tutu

The Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu is the featured speaker for McDaniel’s inaugural Black History Month Convocation at Wed., Feb. 16, 2022 at 6 p.m. in WMC Alumni Hall. The event is free and open to the public. This inaugural Black History Month Convocation was founded by McDaniel College President Julia Jasken as a new signature event to be held annually at McDaniel in recognition of Black History…

[insidethemood]

FROM A MOVIE: Vivien Leigh and Hattie McDaniel “Gone with the wind”, 1939 || Naomi Campbell and Gianfranco Ferré photographed by Karl Lagerfeld and styled by Andre Leon Talley “Scarlett ‘n the hood”, Vanity Fair 1996 ___ Hattie MCDonald was the first afroamerican to win an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for his role in this movie___May edition of Vanity Fair has given a "White Man's Burden" treatment to one of the most racially loaded films of all time, "Gone With the Wind." The magazine layout, carrying the headline "Scarlett 'n the Hood," is the highly personal creation of Andre Leon Talley, who knows whereof he satirizes. Mr. Talley has long been the lone black star among fashion editors. He appropriately cast as Scarlett Naomi Campbell, who was one of a few black supermodels. #gonewiththewind #scarlett #naomi #gianfrancoferre #vanityfair #karllagerfeld #andreleontalley #hattiemcdaniel #movieinspiration #insidethemood https://www.instagram.com/p/CA7xJRHIGzc/?igshid=mhtfn29t6tj6

[april-is]

April 14, 2023: Spring Poem, Colleen O’Connor

Spring Poem Colleen O’Connor

It’s April again. Which means I’ve lost interest

in months and days and sons. Which isn’t fair. Sons

are born but they are made men, made tangible

by their makers, by their makings. It isn’t their faults.

What is it then that I’ve lost? My interests, flitting from me

in the dark, obnoxious wisps. Which isn’t fair. I’ve lost

interest in days and now the nights are all flitting wisps, bright

as daylight and just as thin, my interest in them waning like some

bored, listless moon. It’s April again. I want to leave it all.

Which isn’t fair. Neither am I. I abandon

my wisps. I leave them to their mothers.

--

Today in:

2022: Red, Mary Ruefle 2021: Bathing, Allison Seay 2020: A Small Moment, Cornelius Eady 2019: You Meet Someone and Later You Meet Their Dancing and You Have to Start Again, David Welch 2018: Henry Clay’s Mouth, Thomas Lux 2017: When Your Small Form Tumbled into Me, Tracy K. Smith 2016: Eve Recollecting the Garden, Grace Bauer 2015: from I Love A Broad Margin To My Life, Maxine Hong Kingston 2014: Gift, Czeslaw Milosz 2013: This Be The Verse, Philip Larkin 2012: We Did Not Make Ourselves, Michael Dickman 2011: Happiness (3), Jean Valentine 2010: When I Think, Jeanne Marie Beaumont 2009: The Poem, Franz Wright 2008: Morning Poem, Robin Becker 2007: Supple Cord, Naomi Shihab Nye 2006: Wish For a Young Wife, Theodore Roethke 2005: The Benjamin Franklin of Monogamy, Jeffrey McDaniel

[nyslovesfilm]

New York Films Head to Park City for Sundance Film Festival

Nineteen films and two pilots that participated in the New York State Film Tax Credit Program will be screened next month at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Since 1985, hundreds of films launched at Sundance—one of the world’s largest film festivals—have gained critical recognition, received commercial distribution and reached global audiences eager for fresh perspectives and new voices.   Films that shoot or do post-production work in New York have traditionally been well-represented at Sundance, set for Jan. 18-28 in Park City, Utah. In addition to their Sundance recognition, this year’s crop of New York films also had an impressive economic impact while they were in production and post production, spending an estimated $38 million in New York and creating an estimated 2,448 hires.

New York’s incentive program, designed to strengthen the state’s film production and post-production industries, is one of the main reasons filmmakers choose to film here.   Houston King, producer of Hearts Beat Loud, which will premiere at Sundance, offered an example. "From the inception of Hearts Beat Loud, we wanted to highlight one of our favorite NYC neighborhoods - Red Hook, Brooklyn.  Without New York State’s incentive we very likely would have been forced to shoot the film in another state and changed the location of our story,” King said. “The incentive was key to giving our investors comfort that shooting in NYC was the right thing for their investment and the film."

The following projects, screening at Sundance, shot in New York State and participated in the New York State Film Production Tax Credit program: Franchesca Director: Kaitlin Fontana; Executive Producers: Topic Studios, Franchesca Ramsey, Kara Welker Cast: Franchesca Ramsey Hearts Beat Loud Director: Brett Haley; Screenwriters: Brett Haley, Marc Basch; Producers: Houston King, Sam Bisbee, Sam Slater Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Sasha Lane, Blythe Danner, Toni Collette I Think We’re Alone Now Director: Reed Morano; Screenwriter: Mike Makowsky; Producers: Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fernando Loureiro, Roberto Vasconcellos, Peter Dinklage, Mike Makowsky Cast: Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning A Kid Like Jake Director: Silas Howard; Screenwriter: Daniel Pearle; Producers: Jim Parsons, Todd Spiewak, Eric Norsoph, Paul Bernon, Rachel Song Cast: Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Ann Dowd, Amy Landecker The Kindergarten Teacher Director and screenwriter: Sara Colangelo; Producers: Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman-Keren, Talia Kleinhendler Cast: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Parker Sevak, Rosa Salazar, Anna Barynishikov, Michael Chernus, Gael Garcia Bernal The Miseducation of Cameron Post Director: Desiree Akhavan; Screenwriters: Desiree Akhavan, Cecilia Frugiuele; Producers: Cecilia Frugiuele, Jonathan Montepare, Michael B. Clark, Alex Turtletaub Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, John Gallagher Jr., Jennifer Ehle Monster Director: Anthony Mandler; Screenwriters: Radha Blank, Cole Wiley, Janece Shaffer; Producers: Tonya Lewis Lee, Nikki Silver, Aaron L. Gilbert, Mike Jackson, Edward Tyler Nahem Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Hudson, Rakim Mayers, Jennifer Ehle, Tim Blake Nelson Nancy Director and screenwriter: Christina Choe;  Producers: Amy Lo, Michelle Cameron, Andrea Riseborough Cast: Andrea Riseborough, J. Smith-Cameron, Steve Buscemi, Ann Dowd, John Leguizamo Night Comes On  Director: Jordana Spiro; Screenwriters: Jordana Spiro, Angelica Nwandu; Producers: Jonathan Montepare, Alvaro R. Valente, Danielle Renfrew Behrens Cast: Dominique Fishback, Tatum Hall, John Earl Jelks, Max Casella, James McDaniel Paint Creator and director: Michael Walker Cast: Joshua Caras, Olivia Luccardi, Paul Cooper, Amy Hargreaves, David Patrick Kelley Piercing Director and screenwriter: Nicolas Pesce; Producers: Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Schuyler Weiss, Jake Wasserman Cast: Christopher Abbott, Mia Wasikowska, Laia Costa, Marin Ireland, Maria Dizzia, Wendell Pierce Puzzle Director: Marc Turtletaub; Screenwriter: Oren Moverman; Producers: Peter Saraf, Wren Arthur, Guy Stodel Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Irrfan Khan, David Denman, Bubba Weiler, Austin Abrams, Liv Hewson We The Animals  Director: Jeremiah Zagar; Screenwriters: Daniel Kitrosser, Jeremiah Zagar; Producers: Jeremy Yaches, Christina D. King, Andrew Goldman, Paul Mezey Cast: Raul Castillo, Sheila Vand, Evan Rosado, Isaiah Kristian, Josiah Santiago The following films shot outside New York State but came here to do their post-production and take advantage of New York State’s Post-Production Tax Credit program: Beirut Director: Brad Anderson; Screenwriter: Tony Gilroy Cast: Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Shea Whigham, Dean Norris Come Sunday Director: Joshua Marston; Screenwriter: Marcus Hinchey; Producers: Ira Glass, Alissa Shipp, Julie Goldstein, James Stern, Lucas Smith, Cindy Kirven Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Condola Rashad, Jason Segel, Lakeith Stanfield, Martin Sheen Dead Pigs Director and screenwriter: Cathy Yan; Producers: Clarissa Zhang, Jane Zheng, Zhangke Jia, Mick Aniceto, Amy Aniceto Cast: Vivian Wu, Haoyu Yang, Mason Lee, Meng Li, David Rysdahl Juliet, Naked Director: Jesse Peretz; Screenwriters: Tamara Jenkins, Jim Taylor, Phil Alden Robinson, Evgenia Peretz; Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa Cast: Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Chris O’Dowd Lizzie Director: Craig William Macneill; Screenwriter: Bryce Kass; Producers: Naomi Despres, Liz Destro Cast: Chloë Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, Jamey Sheridan, Fiona Shaw, Kim Dickens, Denis O’Hare Pass Over Director: Spike Lee; Playwright/Screenwriter: Antoinette Nwandu Cast: Jon Michael Hill, Julian Parker, Ryan Hallahan, Blake Delong Untitled Debra Granik Project Director: Debra Granik; Screenwriters: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini; Producers: Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini Cast: Ben Foster, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Jeff Korber, Dale Dickey

Wildlife Director: Paul Dano; Screenwriters: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan; Producers: Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Oren Moverman, Ann Ruark, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker Cast: Carey Mulligan, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp, Jake Gyllenhaal

[chaos-and-recover]

For the bookish asks… 13, 14, 17, 24, 27, 35, 36, 39, 40

Yay! I’m full of turkey and wine-drunk because it’s Thanksgiving here so this is a great time to talk about books, I’m very wordy today.

13: Name a book with a really bad movie/tv adaption

It’s kind of a bad book anyway but I remember watching the first Twilight movie and thinking “man if I cared about these books I would be so pissed that that’s the movie I got out of the first one.” Like I get the source material is weak anyway but the movie is... it’s not well-made. Also, the movie version of Naomi & Ely’s No-Kiss List is... well it’s cute as hell and I like it but they butchered one of my very favourite scenes from the book and frankly I haven’t forgiven them yet. I love that book so much. Also, Under The Dome by Stephen King. Love the book. The show... turned into a bit of a disaster. Why did season two even exist. Why can’t we just have television events that end in one season. Why do yo hate viewers so much.

14: Name a book where the movie/tv adaption actually was better than the original

Look I’ll be honest, I like Stephen King A LOT and The Shining is a great book but the film is just... so much more streamlined. Like you wanna gloss over the hundreds of pages before they even get to the hotel? FUCKING THANK YOU. You wanna throw in a baffling but very cinematic ending that is different from the novel? YES BECAUSE YOU UNDERSTAND HOW FILM WORKS. I’LL ALLOW IT.

17: If you owned a bookshop what would you call it?

I would probably call it like, the Book Fair and set it up like the Scholastic Book Fair from elementary school. Recreate that experience in a shop. Tell me that wouldn’t be amazing.

24: Do you prefer to buy books online or in a bookshop?

I like going into bookstores but there’s not that many near me and the one closest to me never has what I want, so lately I have been buying online. But when possible I do it from the same company as the store nearest me anyway.

27: If you could change one thing about mainstream literature what would you change? (i.e. more diversity, better writing, better plot etc.)

This might be a bit of a vague answer but like... the propensity for “trends” in popular fiction, which I guess is true of all kinds of media, but like, when one book gets inordinately popular and suddenly every mediocre ripoff of the same plot/themes gets published. Like... you can’t tell me The Mortal Instruments would’ve been published or as popular if it weren’t for Twilight’s success (and I have issues with Cassandra Clare so uh. Yeah. Not a fan of that being a thing). 

35: Name a book you consider to be terribly underrated

Literally anything by my dude Mark Z. Danielewski. His novel House of Leaves (my favourite book) has a cult following and is fairly well known but his current series, The Familiar, is like... PLEASE LIKE THESE BOOKS. I mean they’re a bit difficult to parse, there’s a LOT happening (9 different narrators, he’s about to publish the 5th of a planned 27 books so it’s... A LOT) but they’re so good and so intriguing. 

36: Name a book you consider to be terribly overrated

Fuckin’.... most classic literature to be honest. I don’t care about anything a Bronte wrote. Jane Austen can bite me. And it’s more modern but y’know what, fuck Catcher in the Rye.

39: Name one of your favorite childhood books

As a kid I was OBSESSED with The Boxcar Children series. I probably still have the blurb from the back of them memorized. I read every single one. That shit was my jam.

40: Name one of your favorite books from your teenage years

I was kind of a morbid teenager and loved these books by Lurlene McDaniel, which were all about terminally ill teenagers. I think those books are why I cannot be fucked with John Green novels because I have DONE THIS all and I CANNOT go back there and frankly Lurlene did it better lmao but yeah, I liked those books.

[princessnijireiki]

…okay, oscar nom thoughts:

best picture: I’m gonna shit myself if they try to give this to “hell or high water,” though tbh it vibes like a gesture that the academy is ready for chris pine to make Real Movies again instead of genre films. I haven’t heard shit about “lion” or “manchester by the sea,” but it won’t go to “arrival” or “hacksaw ridge” guaranteed. “hidden figures” has made enough money that it ought to win, but I’m not holding my breath… so long as it’s not “la la land.”

lead actor: I’ve literally never heard of “captain fantastic,” what the fuck, viggo. they’ll only give this to denzel if they KNOW they aren’t doing a damn thing for black women this year, but we making too much money for that, so it’s gonna be casey affleck.

lead actress: this just depends on how “play-nice” academy voters wanna be, politically. nobody’s gonna give ruth negga her shine (though I’d love to be wrong), but it’ll be isabelle huppert or ms. streep if you’re nasty.

supporting actor: michael shannon is guaranteed to show up drunk or high off his face & talk mad shit about trump, so he’s not gonna be given a platform for anything. they won’t give it to dev patel unless “lion” was like totally weird or sth without me noticing, likewise jeff bridges unless they think he’s, like, gonna die soon or sth. we all know it oughta be mahershala ali, and if they give best actor to affleck, they won’t give best supporting to lucas hedges… I wanna keep hope alive.

supporting actress: if they don’t give this to viola they’re top shelf fuckfaces. I heard naomie hit it out of the park with moonlight, though. no one’s gonna give octavia spencer shit until she does a hattie mcdaniels biopic or sth, unfortunately.

best director: either damien chazelle for “la la land” or barry jenkins for “moonlight,” especially since there’s gonna be a LOT of people uncomfortable with mel gibson even being on the shortlist, let alone in the running. gibson, ofc, stands a snowball’s chance in hell, and I’d put money down that it’s not villeneuve… but if it goes to kenneth lonergan for “manchester by the sea,” the academy’s decided to go extra white again this year, so, like… hang on.

animated feature: I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t go to “zootopia.” I don’t think the oscars crowd is particularly hype about lin manuel miranda the way the tonys are, and “moana” doesn’t offer liberal cred the same way, plus it’s easier for adults to superficially engage with rather than, “well, my kid liked it.” also, moana’s got songs in… foreign. yeesh. with all the disney/pixar/mcu/sw cash coming in, plus the fact that the oscars may have to snub “batb” next year, this remains a guaranteed disney category.

animated short: (I haven’t seen any of these)

adapted screenplay: “fences” or “hidden figures,” unless they fuck over mahershala ali for “moonlight” or “lion” is like… that good or weird?? you never know.

original screenplay: either “la la land” or “manchester by the sea,” even though I like saying “tha lobstah.”

cinematography: (I haven’t seen any of these)

documentary feature: (I haven’t seen any of these, either, but I feel like a lot of academy voters cringed at their options here, which will be hilarious until the exact moment I have to hear a white presenter say “I am not your negro” out loud while the cameras pan to shots of unimpressed looking black actors.)

documentary short, live action short, foreign language film: (haven’t seen these)

film editing: this will either be a consolation prize for someone, or either “moonlight” or “la la land” making damn near a clean sweep, which is depressing, bc I don’t have that much hope for “moonlight.”

sound editing, sound mixing: I don’t know the difference between these two things, I gotta admit. this might be the one category they acknowledge “hacksaw ridge,” for some inexplicable reason; it looks mediocre to the extreme, but hollywood didn’t wanna give up on andrew garfield & apparently wanna start forgiving mel gibson. that’s show biz!

production design: I’m gonna say either “fantastic beasts” or “hail, caesar!” just as a wildcard here— “caesar”’s no “the artist,” but hollywood people love old hollywood shit, and even though it has channing tatum in it, it also has clooney. “fbawtft” seems like it’s gotta get some kind of acknowledgement, though, and it won’t win for vfx or costumes.

original score: …y'all know it’s going to “la la land”’s ass.

original song: no offense, but I hope this goes to “moana,” because that timberlake song is awful & I resent “la la land” ferociously. I also think it’ll go to “moana” especially if “zootopia” takes best animated.

makeup & hair: …"star trek"? I mean, the academy hates scifi, but not as much as I’m certain they hate “sui squad,” and afaik “ove” didn’t actually do much hair/makeup wise? unless there’s some old age makeup going on, they fucking love that.

costume design: I didn’t realize “jackie” was a thing, but it’s natalie portman in period dress as jacqueline onassis kennedy; so if this doesn’t end up a consolation prize for “la la land,” it’ll be “jackie” or “florence foster jenkins” (no way the academy picks marion cotillard & brad pitt over hollywood-family legacy angelina jolie; sorry, joanna johnston).

vfx: this one’s gonna go to “the jungle book,” or at least it damn well ought to; no one else pushed the vfx envelope except this & “kubo,” and we all know damn well the academy’s giving laika bupkis over disney.

[dailychapel]

Lord, we know that your word reminds us over and over that we do not have to fear. We know that you are with us and your protection and Presence and powerful. We ask for that you would cover us and remind us that you have stationed your angels around us to guard us in all our ways. Thank you that you never sleep or slumber, you are constantly watching over us, constantly aware, so we can get some sleep. We choose faith over fear right now and ask that you would surround us with your peace. ~ Debbie McDaniel

[Pro 17:15-22 ESV] 15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD. 16 Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense? 17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor. 19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction. 20 A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity. 21 He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy. 22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

[Rth 4:1-22 ESV] 1 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, "Turn aside, friend; sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, 'Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you." And he said, "I will redeem it." 5 Then Boaz said, "The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance." 6 Then the redeemer said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it." 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself," he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day." 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman." 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him." 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

[Mar 3:13-19 ESV] 13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

[jeffosta]

The Oscars Need to Take a Stand: No More Category Fraud

I’ve been a longtime fan of the Oscars, I usually defend it and I actually do think it historically represents the year. What, you think we were so great in April of 1969 that 2001: A Space Odyssey or Midnight Cowboy had a chance at Best Picture? During Vietnam and Nixon? No, OLIVER! was going to win because we were delusional, escapist, loved singing the whites of songs, and the only thing we knew about the future was short form writing would include excessive use of exclamation points.

This year’s list of nominees has received lots of attention for pointing out two recurring flaws in the Academy: sexism and racism. Those are heavy burdens for the Academy to apparently not bear at all. For more on those, scroll to the bottom of this post or go on Twitter.

Let me look at a different flaw, one that is now systemic through all of awards season and needs to be stopped: Category Fraud.

Category Fraud is the gerrymandering of awards season. Voters don’t choose you, you choose voters. Well, at least producers can choose the competition for their stars. Most category fraud in the Emmys deals with Drama vs Comedy and Limited Series vs. recurring. With the Oscars, it has been happening in the supporting actor/actress categories. Studios decide they want their second stars to compete in a category where they trounce actual supporting roles in screen time and star power. I mean, who are you going to vote for, some shlub who nailed a few scenes, or rising A-List star Alicia Vikander who had 59 1/2 MINUTES OF SCREEN TIME in The Danish Girl? She’s in half the movie. That’s about how long the Little Mermaid is on screen in the goddamn Little Mermaid. Also, Alicia was so good that year, she should have been up for supporting for Ex Machina and lead for The Danish Girl, and fuck it, maybe she deserved two Oscar wins in the same year she was so good.

Anyway, the most obvious example of category fraud this year is in best supporting actor, a category featuring 5 Oscar Winners (Pitt’s for producing) that looks like a movies hall of fame ballot. Most egregious is Anthony Hopkins in The Two Popes. The movie is about two Popes. The Netflix description under the title is as follows: “They disagree on almost everything. But to forge a new future for their church, these holy men must face their past.” That’s what the movie is about. It’s about two popes. The lead story is about the meeting of the two popes. The story is about the two of them, their differences, and their inevitable intersection. They share so many scenes together, we’re always aware of where the other character is and what they’re up to... how is one a lead and one piece of supportive encouragement? It’s bullshit.

The second most obvious case of fraud is going to be the category’s winner: Brad Pitt in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, A Night in Ukraine (that’s a theater joke). The movie is about an actor and his stunt double. The actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, is obviously a lead, and in theory the stunt double, Pitt, has the primary function of supporting the actor for whom he doubles. Historically, Tarantino’s films have been able to fudge the lead vs. supporting line- Christoph Waltz has two Oscar wins for movies in which he likely has the most screen time of anyone. However, in ...Hollywood, Brad Pitt has a 30-minute section of the film to himself, plus he orchestrates the entire final act while Leo chills in the pool. He’s a co-lead. Al Pacino should be winning a second Oscar this year because his character supports the lead story line. The main reason the Irishman is so long is because they have to set up how a delivery guy from PA runs into the great Jimmy Hoffa, rises to his become his protege, then... you know. It’s Frank’s (DeNiro’s) story, but how he deals with Hoffa’s input is the movie. Pacino was incredible. That’s an incredible supporting performance.

The Academy won’t complain, however, because they love it. It favors stars. Why have Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio fight for recognition when you can assuredly guarantee them both some much-needed attention. Just look at this category: Hanks, Pacino, Hopkins, Pitt, Pesci. Why wouldn’t the Academy love that? Stars can get a favorability push to win Oscars (Frank Sinatra has an acting Oscar?), but now they’re winning this category in cases when they should be winning in the leading contests. The year after Alicia Vikander’s win, Fences bet that shifting Viola Davis’ star power to the supporting category guaranteed her an Oscar. They were right, and leading actress winner Emma Stone was probably pretty happy about that. This may be too hot of a take, but against La La Land Viola would have taken that category. Also, in Fences, Denzel dies and the movie continues, so his story line can’t be the only essential story line. That isn’t an epilogue that follows his death. It’s a continuation of her story line, which is central to the film’s plot, making her a lead.

What’s especially disappointing is what the supporting category can mean for actors. ‘Above the Title’ stars don’t need an Oscar nom to stay above the title. Think, however, about what a nomination means for rising star Florence Pugh who, fair or not, to some critics and consumers alike has had her rise to fame undeniably legitimized with a nomination. Think about the excitement level of then-up-and-comers like Edward Norton in Primal Fear, Julia Roberts in Steel Mags, Amy Adams in Junebug, Jeff Bridges in The Last Picture Show, Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights, Lucas Hedges, Jonah Hill, Tim Roth, Kate Hudson, Haley Joel Osment, Barkhad Abdi, and how about Viola Davis for Doubt. She went from playing “CIA Chairwoman (uncredited)” in 2005 to Oscar nominee in 2009. What about acting work horses who finally received their first nod after years of good work such as Hal Holbrook, June Squibb, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chazz Palminteri, Naomi Harris, Sally Hawkins, Pete Postlethwaite, and Jackie Earl Haley, a former child star who triumphantly returned to film after decades-long break. These story lines are exciting. Allowing stars to nudge their way into this category risks nudging out the workhorses, the up and comers, the best supporting performances of the year. It’s misleading, disingenuous, and it’s furthering the ongoing, self-inflicted de-legitimization of the sexist and racist Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Sexism- Male directors deliver achievements whereas women directors merely offer a female’s perspective (Joker over Little Women? Get tf out of here).

Racism- Focusing on acting categories, a person of color seemingly can only be nominated if they play a slave, someone who's poor, or work with drugs. There are exception, obviously, but come one. Look at some (most) winners: Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave (but certainly not Us), Octavia Spencer for The Help, Monique for Precious, Halle Berre was poor in Monster’s Ball, Denzel for Training Day and Glory, Sidney Poitier was a poor traveling handyman in Lilies of the Field, Viola Davis was poor in Fences, Mahershala Ali in Moonlight, Regina King in Beale Street, Javier Bardem (drugs), Benicio Del Toro (a cop who stops drugs), Hattie McDaniel, etc.