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iamaverysadbanana · 11 months ago

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Oscars 2024 Nominations Thoughts (Part Two)

The Color Purple: Best Supporting Actress (Danielle Brooks)

Personally, I would have nominated Taraji P. Henson as Shug, but Danielle Brooks is a good choice. As for the film itself, I give it a solid 8/10. Also, I really need to watch the 1985 movie. (As for author Alice Walker's bigotry, we'll put a pin in that).

The Boy and the Heron: Best Animated Feature (Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki)

Finally, some quality traditional animation! Please let this one win the Oscar. We need more 2-D animated films! I need to see this movie again so badly!

Nimona: Best Animated Feature (Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan, and Julie Zackary)

Disney tried to kill Nimona and failed so spectacularly that the internet is rightfully clowning on them for it. I personally think Boy and the Heron should be the winner, but I will not be mad if Nimona gets it. (Side Note: A movie about Flamin' Hot Cheetos got a nomination for Best Original Song, and Disney Animation's 100th anniversary project got stiffed. That's fucking hilarious).

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: Best Animated Feature (Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal)

Quick, who is the best Spider and why is it Hobie Brown? All kidding (and Spider-Punk worship) aside, this would have been my pick had it not been for Boy and the Heron's unexpected smash hit at the box office and my heart. Again, won't be mad if this one wins either.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: Best Live Action Short Film (Wes Anderson and Steven Rales)

Never has there been a more perfect pairing than Wes Anderson's directing style and Roald Dahl's witty prose. Case in point- Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of the best animated films of all time. I admit I haven't seen the other nominations in this category, so maybe take what I have to say about this particular film with a grain of salt. Still, I'll check out the other shorts on Netflix.

As for movies that got stiffed by the Oscars this year:

I am honestly so surprised that Saltburn got nothing this year. It didn't even get acting nominations! At the very least, I would have acknowledged Barry Keoghan for his brilliant performance as Oliver Quick. On the other hand, I understand why the Academy may not have wanted to touch this one with a ten-foot pole. There were times in the theater where I actually started laughing out of pure discomfort. Still, I wish Barry (and heck, Emerald Fennell for Best Director) got seats at the adult's table.

In any other year, Once Upon a Studio would have been nominated for Best Animated Short Film. Hell, it might have even won! But alas, this was Disney's annus horribilis, and the company had nobody to blame but itself. It's hubris was it's downfall in the eyes of the all-powerful Academy.

And that's all they wrote! See you at the movies!

#movies #the color purple #danielle brooks #studio ghibli #the boy and the heron #hayao miyazaki #nimona #across the spiderverse #wes anderson #saltburn #barry keoghan #emerald fennell #disney #once upon a studio #deep thoughts with the sad banana #oscars #academy awards

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mattnben-bennmatt · 5 months ago

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Matt Damon's interview w/ Film Scouts (November/December 1997)

Matt Damon on "Good Will Hunting"

By Henri Béhar

There's a unique freshness to Matt Damon. Fresh face, fresh voice. Strong impact. Made you lurch for the Courage Under Fire press kit to find out who this guy was who stole every scene he was in from Denzel Washington. One should have known when Francis Coppola gave the lead part in John Grisham's the Rainmaker to Matt who? Think of the Godfather, think of the Outsiders and Rumble Fish; if anything, Coppola has the keenest eye in the business for budding talent.

With best pal Ben Affleck, Boston-born-and-bred Matt Damon, 23, comes to Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting as a double-threat: lead actor AND scriptwriter. Having just wrapped Steven Spielberg's Private Ryan, he recently took some time off from his preparation for John Dahl's Parameters, which co-stars Edward Norton, Martin Landau and possibly John Turturro, to sit down and chat with us. Excerpts.

On Fame. I like it. I don't think I'm addicted to what is involved with it. I really could take it or leave it. So far, I'd have to say I don't quite know what you're talking about. Honestly. I haven't met a single person, I have not walked down the street where somebody stopped me and said, "Oh, you're Matt Damon." Not for a movie, not for a magazine cover, not for nothing. Which is normal since not that many people know my work, and which works fine for me: I want to be in a position where I can go wherever the character I'm researching is supposed to be from. That's what I'm doing in New York right now. The nice thing is I'm in a position now where they're actually paying for me to do it. I mean, they're putting me during the time when I research, which I used to have to go out of pocket. Courage Under Fire I did and The Rainmaker I did.

What was great about The Rainmaker was when I was bartending, people didn't know who I was. It would have gotten in the way if they knew who I was. So yes, in that sense, if both movies do well — that's a lot of if's — my job might get hindered. But I hope I can find a way, 'cause that's what's most important.

But it also affords you a lot of opportunities. When we did Courage Under Fire, Denzel Washington was allowed to lead tank battles. They really gave him command of these mock tank exercises and strategy lessons. I don't think he would have gotten that if he wasn't who he was. So there's a trade-off. But worse things can happen, you know, there are worse injustices in the world than my not being able to research anonymously.

On getting almost emaciated for Courage Under Fire It evolved essentially because there was a light at the end of the tunnel. There was a time limit. Given that, the person that outlined the diet for me didn't think I was going to be able to stick to it: it was too difficult. When I stuck to it, people got worried. "You have to eat, you have to be fit, you really have to be prepared." And I refused to do so. "Why eat? I've come this far, I'm not going to stop now."

At the end of movie I started eating chocolate cake. That's how I got sick. Literally, the day after I shot the scene with Denzel Washington walking on the lake, I started eating four or five chocolate cakes, twelve beers, four steaks, tons of pasta. And my stomach expanded... I had to go on medication, for dizziness, lightheadedness, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder... I've been off the medication for a couple of weeks now - after two years! That taught me a lot about what I can and can't do, what I should and shouldn't do. But I liked the role and I worked for the role. It cost a lot to get there and I'm glad that I stuck with it.

On his performances. I'm always pleased with my performances because I know that I couldn't do it any better. I always try my hardest, give it all I've got. If people don't like it, then they don't like it, that's totally up to them. But I'll never have a regret about it. And Good Will Hunting is a lot about that, about not having regrets in life. If it's putting on a lot of weight, if it's going to bar-tend or.., whatever it is, fine if you don't like it. You just do whatever it takes to get to the truth of the character. I don't think there's any length that you should not go to do that. That's what we do for a living.

On being best friends with, but also in constant competition with fellow actor-writer Ben Affleck. Well, we've had rises and falls that weren't necessarily meteoric but the word was "Us". If one of us was working and we had enough for both of us to go through life, great. The money was basically there to be shared. Ben would be in a series, like eight episodes, he made a little money, great. I did something, I made a little money, great. We're always looking out for each other. We go out for the same parts all the time but it's never really come down to a director saying, "It's either you or Ben." It would be more like, " It's Brad Pitt or you." But you always root for your own guy. I hung out with a bunch of actors and I always felt that if I don't get it, I hope someone in the group does, because I thought they were the best guys around and they deserved it.

On co-writing, part one. There are a bunch of different ways to do it. We really didn't have a formula. There were a lot of times when Ben and I just improv'd. We'd take a tape-recorder, put it down and just start improvising. Eventually we might come up with for a half-hour improv out of which we might have fifteen seconds that were good. And we'd be looking through the tape and "Yeah yeah yeah! That's it! That one! Write that down." And maybe a scene would start from that line.

It also depended upon our work schedules. At one point, I ran out of money and I took a job that ended up being a wonderful job, a TNT movie called The Good Old Boys that Tommy Lee Jones directed. The bad part was I was stuck in Alpine, Texas. There was one fax machine in the entire town run by this Iranian guy named Rajou. I used to go and he would send my fax away for me. He drove a Lexus and it was the only Lexus in West Texas. And his license plate read "Rajou". Anyway, Rajou was our middle man for our script for a few months there.

So Ben would fax me scenes, I'd look at them and I'd make notes. It would give me ideas, I'd send that back to Ben, Ben would read it... You know what I mean? And then we'd call each other on the phone and say, "Okay, that worked, this didn't work. — All right, now I see from this scene we needed this other scene... — Okay, I'll work on that. I'll take a shot on the set tomorrow, they're shooting a scene I'm not in, I'll have a couple of hours to do just that and I'll fax it to you at the end of the day." That's basically how it went.

On co-writing as opposed to going it alone. Well, two things: In the first place, writing came out of frustration, 'cause I didn't get a job. Two: co-writing was the only option. I had written forty pages for a class and I didn't know what to do with them. Didn't know where to go, didn't have the discipline to sit in front of the computer and wait for something to happen.

I showed it to Ben who, I think, is one of the brightest guys that I know, we have similar sensibilities — and he had the same reaction: He liked it but didn't know where to go with it. We sat on it for a year. And then it started coming. And it was through conversation that the movie kind of came out. Had I written it alone, it would have never gone beyond the forty pages.

On Gus Van Sant. Oh, man. Just that edge that we see in his films! All actors want to work with him because of the moment-to-moment honesty that he gets out of interaction with people. Whatever they are, he always has a great idea as to where to put the camera, and he gets good performances out of the actors because he shoots around them. He rehearses them, then very calmly decides where to put the camera, in a very unobtrusive place. It's just amazing. I felt like my acting process — whatever you want to call it — was nurtured by him. I would very much like to work with him again.

The fact that Ben and I had written the script didn't interfere at all. As a matter of fact, when it all started, there was almost a ceremonial handoff of the project. We said, "Look man, you are the director. This was our baby, it's yours now, go and do whatever it is you have to do." Despite the fact that Gus is a very communal director in that he wants everyone's opinions, which makes you feel you're part of the team, there can only be one chef in the kitchen when it comes to making a movie. Movies are the last great dictatorship. They need that. They need a strong voice, and a decisive voice, and the director is that voice. It has to be. Ben and I were very conscious about our place. As actors. When it started.

Before that was something else entirely [he laughs]. Gus and Ben came down to Memphis while I was shooting The Rainmaker. As we were working on the script, Gus said, "I want Chuckie (the Ben Affleck character) to get flattened on a construction site. — What do you mean? — Killed. Crushed like a bug. I want somebody to say, 'Chuckie was killed, he was crushed like a bug.'" Ben and I said, "That's a terrible idea! You can't kill him! — No, man. It'll be cool. It'll be the Act II climax. — That's a terrible Act II climax."

Anyway, we wrote a draft where Chuckie got crushed like a bug. When Gus read it, he said, "It's a terrible idea", so we threw it out. We probably have it on our hard drive somewhere. We also have Will getting killed on our hard drive somewhere. That was an original ending: Carmine came back with his boys and a baseball bat to kill Will Hunting, who deep down actually wanted to be killed. It was his way of getting out. You can kind of sense the movie is going that way. You know: "Will drives off into the sunset to find the girl he lost — except for that 18-wheeler that he didn't see." [laughs]

What will happen when - if - Will gets to California? You have to ask Minnie Driver... I think Skylar, her character, will whip his ass. That's it: Good Will Hunting the sequel, scene one: " Will gets whipped." But I don't really know where we would go from there.

#matt damon #ben affleck #robin williams #good will hunting #courage under fire #the rainmaker #on fame #on writing together #on acting #on mental health #on friendship #on living together #interview #1997 #originals

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deldeldel90 · 10 months ago

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do perchance have any fun silly book recs for me... =]

ooh silly book recs.......

mouse divided by Jeff Ryan (he's a very silly narrator, let me tell you this man has JOKES. he's soooo 2014)

ever after high: storybook of legends (A CLASSIC. so good!!!! Milton Grimm in this book :)) )

deep dish by Mary Kay Andrews (she's a splendid narrator and I could ramble on about this side couple that absolutely captured my heart- Zeke my beloved- and overall, the characters have so much charm and the narration is perfect)

cupcakes & kisses by heldi and Billie (OKAY. this is completely self indulgent. And this book reads like a Wattpad story from the 2010s and it's so cliche BUT!!!!!!! I love my stories like that. everything is so chaotic. the pov changes every three seconds. I love it so dearly)

and Matilda by Roald Dahl,, it's just a really good book that I found really comforting to read :))

#silly book recs

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moonchild-in-blue · 1 year ago

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4, 7, and 22 for the EOY asks? ^_^

Hehehe hii~ 🦎

4 - Movie of the year?

Uhhhh *googles 2023 releases*

I- I don't think I've watched a single new movie this year 🙃 I just rewatch Pride and Prejudice over and over and over lmao. There's many that are on my tbw list (Spiderverse / the new Roahl Dahl ones from Netflix / BARBIE (omg) /etc). I'm terrible with new releases, sorry 😬

Does The Witcher s3 counts? Or that last Sex Education season? Or does Alice in Borderland count? I've started last month and I'm almost done. It's new to me!

7 - Favourite actor of the year?

Me. Because I act like i'm so cool and well-adjusted, and people seem to believe it 💅🏼✨ (kidding! my nerd lame ass can't fool no one haha)

Hummmm even though I haven't watched either of them, can I say the Barbieheimmer cast? Margot and Ryan were SERVING during promos (mother 💖), and Cillian is AMAZING and I'm glad he's getting all the praise.

22 - Favourite place you visited this year?

London! I haven't traveled much this year (i have been ✨sad✨), but i went to London a few times earlier in the year to see my sister. We didn't go to anywhere special, as I'm well acquainted with the city, but just being with her is everything to me so. Yeah. My sister's place 💖🥺

#sorry im very boring when it comes to new media. I'm always late to the party 😬😬#darya answers #ask game

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jonquilisms · 8 months ago

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15, 17, 20, 31, 32, & 43 for the book worm ask!!! (from a fellow book worm w strong opinions 😂)

15. Which genre(s) are your favorite?

Speculative fiction with an extra-special place for fantasy in my heart. If (?) poetry and plays count as genres, then those too!

17. Favorite finished book series.

....................impossible question but I'll go with The Chronicles of Prydain, which is gorgeous nostalgia (this article owns my heart).

20. Where and how do you find new books to read?

I refresh my Overdrive library a ton to browse new additions + like to go to bookstores for fun, but the real answer is that my to-read list is 1000+ books long. I don't know how this happened. Please help me.

31. Do you mostly read through e-reader; reading app on phone; on your laptop; a physical copy; or by audiobook?

Reading app hooked to my local library! I prefer physical copies, but it's much easier to read via app on the train.

32. Name your favorite authors.

behold some unhinged lists in no particular order

Authors: Lloyd Alexander, Roald Dahl, C. S. Lewis, Catherynne M. Valente, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Shannon Hale, Gail Carson Levine, James Baldwin, Gabriel García Márquez, Markus Zusak

Playwrights: Shakespeare, Chekhov, Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, August Wilson, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Taylor Mac, Katori Hall

Poets: e. e. cummings, Rilke, Seamus Heaney, Czeslaw Miłosz, W. S. Merwin, Lucille Clifton, Jane Hirshfield, Osip Mandelstam, Zbigniew Herbert, Mary Oliver, Kay Ryan, Carl Sandburg, Pablo Neruda

43. Title of a book you own that's in the worst physical condition you have. Explain what happened to it. Post a picture if you want.

Most of the books I own aren't in my current apartment, but, based on the frantic mental inventory I just did, I think my copy of The Last Battle? I read it so many times in direct sunlight one summer that the glue holding the spine together melted. I turned the page and the entire cover fell off in my lap.

Thank you for the ask! This completely made my day 💛💛💛

#isms #file under: i will talk to you about books for one million years if you let me

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petitemarianna · 2 years ago

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Quite some time since I’ve posted anything here really (quite some time is an understatement). (I mostly use my second account wanderingthroughturtlewoods which contains posts of things that I like or inspire me). I was tagged though by @freenarnian 🌷📖 and one does not pass on the opportunity to babble about books that easily :P A book I want to reread: I’m easily bewitched by the siren call of new books so rereading is not something I usually do (although I would like to). There are actually though quite a few books that I’d like to reread, most old favorites such as: -Crime and Punishment and Demons by Dostoyevsky -The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Both books –nonfiction and a fictional alike- awakened my interest in ww2 history many years ago and I would like to revisit them at some point. -Annihilation is short of a recent favorite; first read was a very strange and fascinating experience and I want to see how I would react to the story and themes now. Any books you reread every two to five years: The Tintin series and some other childhood faves such as Harry Potter, Matilda by Roald Dahl, The Fellowship of the Ring and Le Petit Nichola by Rene Goscinny are books that I have read frequently throughout the years. There are some comics/graphic novels that I flip through regularly as well. Any books you reread once a year: There are films or tv series that I tend to rewatch annually (The Secret Garden, You’ve got mail, Ever After, Chocolat and Emma 2009 are some of them) but I don’t really do that with books. So many new stories out there and so little time! 😩 The book you reread within the shortest turnaround time: I’ve done so with some of Anton Chekhov’s short stories, maybe with Crime and Punishment (?); I remember rereading it a year after I first read it which is quite a short period for me. I usually do this with picture books/comics/graphic novels where I want to observe the artwork more closely: -The Golden Age by Cyril Pedrosa is one recent instance, the artwork is simply phenomenal! -Blacksad by Guarnido and Juan Diaz Canales, -Petit by Hubert and Gatignol and This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews I have also reread shortly after I finished them. The book you've reread the most times: Quite possibly the Harry Potter series -I reread them regularly as a kid and I’ve read them a few times as an adult as well. Lord of the flies possibly falls into this category -it’s one of my favorite classics and I’d done a project on it years back, so I revisited the story multiple times at the time. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa, Tintin and the Asterix series I’ve also read countless times in my life! Thank you so much @freenarnian for tagging me! 😊 I tag @annaholak but anyone really is welcome to it! Have fun everyone!

#books #literature #reading #tag

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annegirl13 · 2 years ago

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I went back to work yesterday and finished four books! (I’m a fast reader and they were middle grade books and a picture book, so not too hard to get through.) I’m going to put most of this under a cut, as it’s quite long.

In short, I gave Out of the Dust 3 stars, Sisters 5 stars, Matilda 5 stars, and Diary of a Wombat 5 stars.

There’s an example. It’s very interesting, and the story was definitely one that could spark discussion in a class.

The problem—and it’s a problem you run into with a lot of stories about that period—is that it is depressing! It is a very sad story about people struggling, both because of the situation they’re living in and because of their relationships with each other.

Honestly, if I had a choice to teach this book or another, I’d choose another. (If you’re looking for a good one, I suggest Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan.)

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Sisters by Raina Telgemeier is a graphic novel I’ve seen kids reading for years now. It’s autobiographical and is about Raina and her younger sister growing up and going on a road trip with their mom and their little brother. It was really cute, well told, and well drawn. There were a lot of parts that reminded me of myself and my siblings. I understand why it appeals to so many kids. I finished it wondering…is there a sequel? (I’ll have to find out!)

Here’s a couple of examples of pages from the book. It’s so cute! If you’ve ever been a big sister or a little sister, you’ll enjoy it.

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Matilda by Roald Dahl is a reread for me, but it’s been years since I read it. It was fun to read it during class (I picked it up while the kids were having independent reading; got to set a good example, you know) because several of the girls had seen Matilda the Musical on Netflix over winter break. One of them was also reading the book! We had a good time talking about the differences between the book and the movie. I had fun reading the book and seeing how much both the old Matilda movie and the new musical took directly from the book.

The only issue I had (and it was a small and insignificant one) was a small section where Matilda said that “Mister C.S. Lewis and Mister Tolkien didn’t put any funny parts in their books.” I’ll admit, it’s been a few years since I last read Tolkien, but I think there are some funny bits in LOTR and The Hobbit, and in Narnia. I think Matilda was smart enough to read those books but maybe needed somebody to read aloud to her to help her understand. I’m sure Miss Honey read to her once she adopted her, though.

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Diary of a Wombat was a last minute addition to my reading day. I picked it up out of a pile of picture books and read it in about five minutes. It is really cute. It’s about a wombat who gets new human “neighbors” and the chaos that ensues. It would be really fun to read when talking about point of view and I could see using it as part of a “personal narrative” unit. I could also see reading it to younger students when doing a unit on Australia or Australian animals, or just animals in general. You could even pair it with a nonfiction text about wombats and their behavior. The pictures are cute and, well, I admit that some of it made me want to be a wombat. (“Morning: slept. Afternoon: slept . Evening: demanded carrots. Slept.”. What a good life.)

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Have you guys read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Also, I’ve started thinking about this today—do you prefer physical books, audiobooks, or ebooks?

#book review #matilda #sisters #out of the dust #miss anne reads #diary of a wombat

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