I was fortunate enough to go to the 1991 Oscars and snuck into The Governor’s Ball pretending to be Michelle Pfeiffer’s date and accidentally sat in Barbra Streisand’s chair at dinner. That year, Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven” won Best Picture – I’d recommend seeing the 94-year-old Eastwood’s 2024 film “Juror #2” if you have a chance, although it didn’t receive any Oscar nominations. It carries a very sober, relevant moral message about telling the truth.
Given the political times we’re living through, it’s apt that one of the leading contenders for this year’s Best Picture is called “The Brutalist” and “A Complete Unknown” is a good description for many of the White House’s Cabinet picks as well as being the Bob Dylan film starring the ubiquitous Timothée Chalamet who I’d support for President.
Spoiler Alert if you haven’t seen some of these films nominated for Best Picture: “Anora,” “Conclave,” “Emilia Perez,” “Wicked” and “The Substance.” At a time when America is veering back to traditional values, it’s remarkable that this year’s leading films depict a foul-mouthed sex worker with a clueless, young Russian oligarch (and his mafia), a pope with a uterus and ovaries, a Mexican cartel boss going through gender reassignment, a woke film about witchcraft that “promotes an LGBTQ agenda,” and a horror film that explores our American obsession with youth and beauty. Given that the President’s Cabinet looks like a round-up of the best-looking TV weather people on air, I wonder if any of these folks are using The Substance. Where’s a heartwarming, old school film like “It’s a Wonderful Life” when you need it!
Okay, enough of the snark, Chip, let’s all enjoy this annual parade of Hollywood royalty. For those of you fellow cinephiles, our MEA Film Fest December 15-20 is already nearly half-enrolled and will certainly fill up given the rave reviews from all who attended our inaugural fest/workshop a couple of months ago. It’s such a joy developing this year’s program as we already have a few filmmakers, writers, and actors who’ve told us they’ll join us for the screening of their films. It’s a great way to experience the start of winter in Santa Fe.
-Chip