Well, Ryan Lattanzio beat Anne Thompson predicting last Sunday’s Oscars. That’s because he went with such international favorites as Animated Feature “Flow” and Documentary Feature “No Other Land.” Anne relied too much on the precursors instead of responding to popular surges.
Why did American Palme d’Or winner “Anora” win five Oscars? It had support from every part of the Academy, judging from the rousing cheers from the Dolby Theatre Sunday night.
Ahead on this week’s episode of “Screen Talk,” Ryan and Anne debate why Mikey Madison won Best Actress. She was young and ingenues are in favor, said Ryan. Older women Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres were close and “Anora” had coattails, said Anne.
We also debate the merits of the show, and both agree that newbie Conan O’Brien was an affably effective host, and that the writing was strong, even if some of the musical tributes were weak. The Oz opening sequence rocked the house, while the Bond and Quincy Jones musical numbers were less effective.
Going forward, the Oscar winners and contenders have some movies in the bag, including for Moore, who has a recurring role in Taylor Sheridan’s Texas oil rig series “Landman,” and has wrapped the new Boots Riley movie, “I Love Boosters.”
Sean Baker is looking for his next location setting, which is the seed for all his movies. Madison hasn’t set anything up, she told IndieWire, as she’s waiting for the right offer to come her way. Adrien Brody plays Emperor Charles V in the sword and sandal epic “Emperor.” And Kieran Culkin is starring in “Glengarry Glen Ross” on Broadway.
We also have two sequels to look forward to: “Wicked: For Good” and “Dune: Messiah.” And Zoe Saldaña returns to James Cameron’s “Avatar” series.
Do Oscar wins have a career impact? Last year’s big winner Chris Nolan can do no wrong, and could land the next James Bond film if MGM gives him final cut, but he was on the A-list before he won the Oscar. Cillian Murphy starred in an amazing Irish indie nobody saw, “Small Things Like These,” and is starring in the “Peaky Blinders” film. He’ll continue to be choosy. Emma Stone is producing movies and series and was thanked at the Indie Spirits by Jesse Eisenberg for backing “A Real Pain.” She can do whatever she wants. Even though she didn’t win, Lily Gladstone is working steadily in film and TV. She has a bigger career now. DaVine Joy Randolph has a recurring role in “Only Murders in the Building” and appears in five upcoming movies from the likes of Joe Carnahan, Simon West, and Michel Gondry.
The answer is that, while some winners have not stoked their careers, most notably Cuba Gooding, Jr. from “Jerry Maguire,” most winners get a short-term career boost.
After “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho got to make Warner Bros.’ “Mickey 17” with a bigger budget. But writer/director Sian Heder has been in classic development hell since “CODA” won Best Picture. She’s supposed to direct “Being Heumann,” a book adaptation for AppleTV+.
Both Anne and Ryan enjoyed “Mickey 17,” which is a sci-fi comedy thriller set in outer space starring Rob Pattinson as an “expendable” who is sent on dangerous missions and is printed out again every time he dies. Mark Ruffalo plays a megalomaniac running the planet who resembles the current U.S. president, but director Bong has denied that he is based on any one politician. In any case, after reshoots and date changes and a recent debut in Berlin, the movie is finally opening and box-office expectations are not running high.
Ryan heads to SXSW this weekend, where he is on the narrative jury and Seth Rogen’s new AppleTV+ half-hour comedy series “The Studio,” an hilarious contemporary homage to Michael Tolkin’s “The Player,” is premiering. Stay tuned to hear Ryan’s coverage of SXSW next week, as well as our takes on Steven Soderbergh’s thriller “Black Bag.”
Listen to the episode below.
Screen Talk is produced by Azwan Badruzaman and available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify, and hosted by Megaphone. Browse previous episodes here, subscribe here, and be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk.
