#Molly Thomas and the Rare Birds

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

The Boatman • I Wanna Live • Tumbleweed • Laura • I'll Meet You Anywhere • Calling My Name • Sharona • Tear it Down • All Used Up • Thank You • Stay Stay • The Ocean

Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ YouTube

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I'm bored, so...downsides of my ocs' peculiarities

Julietta, ymbryne: Her clothes aren't affected when she transforms into a bird, so she requires some degree of privacy when transforming back.

Casper, invisible: He has to cover every inch of his body because he needs his glasses to see. He got them when his head was still visible, and he can't exactly let people see glasses floating around.

Thomas, diviner: Unfortunately, it's rather difficult to locate his own kids using his peculiarity, since it isn't very specific.

Izzy, mind reader: Their peculiarity only works if they look people straight in the eye. They tend to avoid eye contact, since reading people's thoughts can get overwhelming and they're like eight years old (if I remember correctly).

Evelyn, gradual floater: She gets lighter as time goes on. Weighing her down physically is a skill that they all (but especially Julietta and Thomas) need to get better at over time. It also means letting other people babysit her is risky.

Nessie, slightly radioactive: They're still doing tests to make sure the amount won't increase over time like Evelyn's peculiarity. A tiny bit of radiation isn't too big of a deal, but it also means that one person can't be touching him too often. Luckily, he has a big family.

Silvia, diviner of precious metals: She's the only one of the kids that needed a backpack leash, on account of her tendency to wander off because she sensed a precious metal.

Kit, prophetic dreams: His prophetic dreams are rarely happy. Sometimes they're boring, or even vaguely weird, but nightmares outweigh the pleasant dreams by a rather large margin. After the worst ones he tends to find Julietta and curl up next to her to get back to sleep again.

Emerie, seedsprout: She has to really focus to not leave plants behind her when she walks, especially in places where they'd be obvious. This makes her a terrible navigator, since she can't focus on where she's going and not growing plants at the same time.

Abby, storm (clouds): When she gets angry or upset, a personal little storm cloud forms above her head. Because of this, she has to control her emotions in public and in front of people who don't know they're all peculiar. One of the younger kids' tiny hands in hers usually calms her down.

Molly, water manipulation: She's found that she gets dehydrated easier than other people. She doesn't need to produce water to use her ability, but it's harder if she doesn't drink enough water.

Doug, storm (lightning): He likes the ol "shock handshake" prank, but the truth is that that just...happens. Like Emerie, he has to really focus to not shock people when he touches them. Only Abby is unaffected by it, since they share a powerset.

I might make another post of just things they like about their peculiarities, but even though there aren't really "side effects" of peculiarities, there are some downsides.

[mce-photography]

Rick Hirsch of Molly Thomas and The Rare Birds 2.24.19 Frog Pond Sunday Social - Silverhill, AL 

[whitedeergirl]

Molly Leigh - Blackbird Witch.

Molly Leigh’s cottage. Demolished some time in the 1880s.

Burslem in Stoke-on-trent is not an enchanted place. It is, I think it’s fair to say, thoroughly disenchanting. The industrial revolution arrived with its china clay and its firing kilns and its rows of narrow, overcrowded terraces, and sooted up the magic, leaving it buried under ash, potsherds and urban sprawl. But once upon a time Burslem marked the threshold between the forest and the moors, a place of fertile farms on rich creamy clay and plentiful springs. And witches.

Molly Leigh, North Staffordshire’s most famous witch, lived in a cottage in a forest on the edge of Burslem, which is a pretty perfect start to a folktale.  Born around 1685, she started to establish her witchy credentials very early by virtue of being able to eat ‘hard crusts’ at only a few hours old, and her preference for suckling animals instead of her own mother’s milk - which to be fair, would cause a stir.

She went on to further disrupt the 17th Century idea of normal by remaining unmarried, being extremely ugly, refusing to go to church, and indulging in, what seems to be, some classic trolling of the local vicar, Rev. Thomas Spencer (a notorious drunk, with no sense of humour). Oh, and she had a pet blackbird, who she conversed with regularly and was considered her closest associate. All of which makes me want to friend her on Facebook immediately.

The Reverend, however, probably wouldn’t have sent that friend request, as he was her chief accuser of witchcraft; although the whole blackbird familiar wouldn’t have helped. Ms. Molly Leigh responded to this accusation by sending her blackbird to sit on the sign of his favourite pub, The Turk’s Head, which, according to the Rev. made the beer instantly sour and caused the angry inebriate to take to his bed with dreadful and prolonged stomach cramps*. In a fit of revenge, not only did he try to shoot the poor bird, but he also accused Molly of causing him to be drunk for three weeks straight. Yes, it was definitely the witchcraft and definitely not the alcoholism. Case closed.

Despite the bloodshot rantings of the gun toting pastor, Molly Leigh lived a long(ish) life and died of natural causes around 1746. She was buried in St John’s churchyard in Burslem. Her blackbird outlived her, staying close to her cottage and clearly irking the neighbours. Enter the unsteady Reverend once more, bearing a grudge and not completely sober, he decided to break into Molly’s cottage and catch that darn bird, only to witness the ultimate beyond-the-grave trolling move: Molly Leigh sitting in her rocking chair by the hearth, chilling with her blackbird. The Rev. and his band of doughty men fled in terror.

And now I want to follow her on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.

Molly’s tomb in St John’s churchyard.

The Reverend, now convinced he was being haunted by the Witch, brought in three vicars from the surrounding areas to help him subdue her feisty spirit. Four Revs to deal with one Molly Leigh. They caught her blackbird, opened her tomb, some say drove a stake through her heart, and then interred the poor bird with her dead mistress. They also moved her tomb so it lay in a north-south alignment and not a christianly east-west. The witch now subdued, the Rev. went on a huge bender and had blackbird nightmares for the rest of his short angry life.  (Not a part of the original story, but my personal addition to the canon).

However, what makes Molly Leigh’s story particularly compelling is the fascinating mixture of classic folklore embroidery and hard documentary evidence. She existed. We have a photograph of her home, which was still standing in the late 19th century, and we have the paperwork: her Will has recently entered the public domain, and tells a story tantalisingly close to the folk tale.

Molly Leigh was single, had a blackbird/ black bird familiar, lived on her own and was hounded by the local vicar for her refusal to attend church, but what the folk tale doesn’t reveal is that Mistress Leigh was a single and successful business woman and landowner. She sold milk and dairy products, was a hay and straw trader, and even, according to some accounts, ran a sort of village savings bank. She owned not only her house, but houses and land in Staffordshire and Cheshire. She was a working class, powerful, single woman whom the church could not touch; a rare find for those times. Cue the impotent rage of the local clergy.

North Staffordshire moorlands. Photo by Baldhiker.

Her legendary status of solitary witch, although necessary for the purpose of storytelling, was it seems, untrue. She may have lived alone and in a fairly isolated cottage but her Will illuminates her worldly connections, and they are all women. She’d previously provided her best friend Alice Beech (perfect name), with a house and land, and not only was this left to Alice in the Will, but a stipend provided to secure Alice’s future and the future of her descendants. She did the same for her mother, aunt and cousins, but excluded, in the strongest possible terms, her step-father (although he is called father-in-law in the will), Joseph Booth:

“I do hereby expressly order and declare that Mr Joseph Booth, my father-in-law, shall have nothing to do with the rents and profits of the said lands but is hearby utterly excluded and debarred,”

Um, not a fan then.

She also ensured that the money she left to her cousin Ann was protected from Ann’s husband. A bold and progressive move at a time when men automatically controlled their wives’ finances.

She also left money enough for Alice Beech to buy forty six-penny loaves each year to feed the “poor inhabitants and widows of Sneyd and Burslem”. Her work for the good women of Burslem did not end there. On the death of her mother, aunt and cousins, she instructed her solicitor to sell her remaining estate and build a hospital for the “reception and habitation of the poor women of Burslem” and to provide them with food and clothes.

Yes. An 18th century witch built, what was probably, North Staffordshire’s first women’s shelter.

And Molly Leigh’s legend lives on. In recent times, 1979, 1987 and 1989, there have been various schemes to renovate the 16th century churchyard of St John, and even remove the churchyard for the expansion of the main road. One hundred and seventeen headstones were eventually moved and the remains re-interred elsewhere, but Molly’s tomb was left undisturbed. Her legend remaining so strong that many of the men selected for the job declined to undertake the work.

Even today, the story of Molly Leigh is passed down to the next generation, and in a truly classic homage to this iconic local witch, she even has her own spooky rhyme, to be said three times as you circumambulate her uncanny tomb:

“Molly Leigh, Molly Leigh, chase me round the apple tree,

Molly Leigh, Molly Leigh, you can’t catch me,

Molly Leigh, Molly leigh, chase me down all the holes I can see.”**

So here’s to Molly Leigh: business woman, philanthropist, feminist icon and blackbird witch.

Blackbird Art.

*That is a very useful blackbird. I need one.

** Um, I know. If I had a rhyme named after me that was so off the beat, I’d jump out of my grave and cause trouble, too.

[makingascenedotorg]

Molly Thomas and The Rare Birds Honey’s Fury

Molly Thomas and The Rare Birds Honey’s Fury

Molly Thomas and The Rare Birds

Honey’s Fury

Kaigler’s Bottom Records

From the first drop of the needle, Honey’s Fury is evident. There is an urgency to these songs. They enlighten, and empower. These are honest songs that capture the exact moment one decides the moment has come. A band that prides itself on authenticity, Molly Thomas and the Rare Birds have raised the bar a bit.…

[therandombanjo]

Songs From 2019 (one per artist)

Another mixed bag of stuff i either enjoyed a lot, thought was excellent or interesting (regardless of taste… sort of), emerging artists to maybe look out for, and generally music that for whatever reason connected with me in some way, including the odd earworm i just couldn’t shake. Some artists are left off just to vary a little more from some other popular lists. Hope you enjoy some of this too and find something new to be taken by. Please do buy their music if you can and hopefully from a local independent record store if possible to support their work. There’s a spotify playlist (below) for easier listening but I’ve also posted a few links to extra things on some of them if you want to check them out.  Spotify:

(As ever…. as i don’t tumblr or blog or anything (besides this list), this won’t be seen by many (if any?) people so if you like it or think it’s of any worth in any way, please do share this along)

In Alphabetical order:

A.A. Bondy - Killers 3 Abdallah Oumbadougou - Thingalene Alasdair Roberts - Common Clay Alex Rex - Latest Regret Andy Shauf - Try Again Angel Bat Dawid - We Are Starzz Angel Olsen - All Mirrors        bonus. her collab with Mark Ronson “True Blue” Anne Müller - Solo? Repeat! Antoinette Konan - Kokoloko Tani Arthur Russell - Words Of Love Asmâa Hamzaoui and Bnat Timbouktou - Sandia Baby Rose - All To Myself BCI - Grateful Bedouine - When You’re Gone Benny The Butcher - Crowns For Kings      ft. Black Thought Ben Walker - Afon Better Oblivion Community Center - Chesapeake Beverly Glenn-Copeland - A Little Talk     (from a reissue of her 2004 record Primal Prayer) Bibio - Curls The Big Moon - It’s Easy Then Big Thief - a. Not    b. Cattails    (from 2 excellent albums released in the same year: “U.F.O.F” and “Two Hands”) Bill Callahan - a. What Comes After Certainty    b. The Ballad Of The Hulk Bill Fay - Filled With Wonder Once Again Bill Orcutt - Odds Against Tomorrow billy woods - a. Spongebob w/ Kenny Segal     b. Western Education Is Forbidden    ft. Fielded        (From 2 excellent records this year: “Hiding Places” with Kenny Segal, and “Terror Management”) Black Country, New Road - Sunglasses Blu & Oh No - The Lost Angels Anthem    ft. Kezia Bon Iver - Hey, Ma Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Beast For Thee Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman      (”supergroup” of the great Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D Johnson & Josh Kaufman) Brent Cobb & Jade Bird - Feet Off The Ground Brighde Chaimbeul -  O Chiadain an Lo Brigyn - Oer Brittany Howard - Stay High    (the video for this, with Terry Crews, is a delight) Bruce Hornsby - Voyager One    ft. yMusic Burd Ellen - Sweet Lemany Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Thomas Bartlett - Kestrel Caribou - You and I Caroline Polachek - Door Cate Le Bon - Daylight Matters Caterina Barbieri - Arrows Of Time Clairo - Bags Cochemea - Mitote comfort - Not Passing The Cool Greenhouse - Cardboard Man    (a pretty hilarious song about David Cameron) CRAC - You Can’t Turn Your Back On Me    (Unreleased old track from ‘76) Cross Record - PYSOL My Castle CZ Wang and Neo Image - Just Off Wave Damon Locks / Black Monument Ensemble - a. Rebuild a Nation   b. Power Daniel Norgren - The Flow Danny Brown - Dirty Laundry Daphni - Sizzling    ft. Paradise Daughter Of Swords - Fellows      (Mountain Man member Alexandra Sauser-Monnig’s 1st solo record) Dave - Psycho David Kilgour - Smoke You Right Out Of Here David Thomas Broughton - Ambiguity     (from the 15th anniversary reissue of his remarkable debut album, The Complete Guide To Insufficiency) Denzel Curry - RICKY Destroyer - Crimson Tide Dry Cleaning - Dog Proposal Dubi Dolczek - Do The Gloop Durand Jones & The Indications - Long Way Home Ela Orleans - The Season      (From 2012 but on a career retrospective, Movies For Ears, put out this year) Elkhorn - Song Of The Son Emile Mosseri - a. The Last Black Man In San Francisco b. San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)    ft. Mike Marshall         (both from the wonderful score for the wonderful film The Last Black Man In San Francisco, the latter a cover of an old song sung here by the guy who sang “I Got 5 On It”!!) Erland Cooper - Haar Ernest Hood - Saturday Morning Doze        (from a re-issue of his “self-released proto-ambient masterpiece” in ‘75) Fat White Family - Feet Faye Webster - Room Temperature Fennesz - In My Room Fernando Falcão -  As 7 Filhas Da Rainha Sumaia     (reissue from ‘87) FKA twigs - cellophane Florist - Shadow Bloom Flowdan - Welcome To London Fontaines D.C. - Roy’s Tune Four Tet / KH - Only Human French Vanilla - All The Time Gang Starr - Family and Loyalty   ft. J. Cole Georgia - About Work The Dancefloor Girl Band - Shoulderblades The Good Ones - Will You Be My Protector?   (of Rwanda) Grand Veymont - Les Rapides Bleus       (of France) Gyedu-Blay Ambolley - Sunkwa     (of Ghana) Hailaker - Not Much HAIM - Summer GIrl Hana Vu - Actress Hand Habits - placeholder Hannah Cohen - Get In Line The Harlem Gospel Travellers - If You Can’t Make It Through A Storm Hayden Thorpe - Diviner     (Former Wild Beasts frontman’s debut solo record) Helado Negro - Running The Highwomen - Redesigning Women Hiss Golden Messenger - I Need A Teacher Holly Herndon - Frontier Homeboy Sandman - Far Out Hoops - They Say Hotel Neon & Blurstem - Language Of Loss House and Land - Rainbow ‘Mid Life’s Willows Ibibio Sound Machine - Wanna Come Down IDER - Saddest Generation The Innocence Mission - On Your Side International Teachers Of Pop - I Stole Yer Plimsoles    ft. Jason Williamson (of Sleaford Mods) Jacken Elswyth - The Banks Of Green Williow Jaimie Branch - nuevo roquero estéreo Jake Xerxes Fussell - The River St. Johns Jamila Woods - ZORA Jayda G - Leave Room 2 Breathe Jenny Hval - Ashes To Ashes       Jenny Lewis - Red Bull and Hennessy Jesca Hoop - Outside of Eden     ft. Kate Stables (of This Is The Kit) and Jesca’s 12 year-old nephew Justis. This live performance is so sweet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUPmE_hU7Ss Jessica Pratt - As The World Turns Joanna Sternberg - This Is Not Who I Want To Be Joan Shelley - Cycle John Blek - North Star Lady Jordan Rakei - Say Something        bonus. under his DJ pseudonym: Dan Kye - Focus Jo Schornikow - Incomplete Joseph Shabason - West of Heaven Julianna Barwick - evening Junius Paul - Baker’s Dozen Kali Malone - Spectacle Of Ritual Kate Teague - Sweetheart Kate Tempest - a. Firesmoke    b. People’s Faces Kelly Moran - Halogen (Una Corda)       (from a record full of all the bare piano parts she played for her prior record before all the editing and processing) Kim Gordon - Air BnB Kindness - Hard To Believe     ft. Jazmine Sullivan KOKOKO! - Buka Dansa     (Congolese collective upcycling discarded materials to make their instruments) Konradsen - Baby Hallelujah     (of Norway) Lambchop - Everything For You Laura Cannell - a. Sing As The Crow Flies     b. Flaxen Fields Laura Stevenson - Lay Back, Arms Out Le Groupe Obscur -  Planète Ténèbres Leonard Cohen - Happens To The Heart Leo Svirsky - River Without Banks Little Simz - 101 FM Lizzo - Tempo   ft. Missy Elliot Loren Conors & Daniel Carter - Departing Lou Roy - Bite Low Chord - Walkk Lower Dens - Galapagos Mahalia - What You Did    ft. Ella Mai Majja - Black James Dean Maria Somerville - This Way Maria Usbeck - Amor Anciano Mary Halvorson & John Dieterich - Vega’s Array      (Mary the recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Grant this year, because she is) Mary Lattimore & Mac McCaughan - IV Matana Roberts - As Far As The Eye Can See Meitei - Ike Melanie Charles - Trill Suite, No. 1 (Daydreaming/Skylark) The Menzingers - Anna Messiahs Of Glory - No Other Love      (from a collection of rare black gospel from the Midwest between ‘65-’78 put out on Tompkins Square) Mica Levi - a. Hosting     b. Lobo y Lady (from the excellent Colombian film Monos) Michael Abels - a. I Got 5 On It (Tethered Mix)    b. Pas De Deux (both from the terrific score to the excellent Jordan Peele film, Us) Michael Kiwanuka - Living In Denial Michael Nau - Poor Condition Mike Adams At His Honest Weight - Wonderful To Love Minor Pieces - Rothko      (duo of Ian William Craig & newcomer Missy Donaldson) Modern Nature - Footsteps Molly Sarlé - Twisted      (Mountain Man member’s 1st solo record) Moodymann - I’ll Provide Moon Duo - Stars Are The Light Moor Mother - After Images Moses Boyd - Stranger Than Fiction Moses Sumney - Polly Mount Eerie & Julie Doiron - Love Without Possession MSYLMA - Inqirad (Rihab-U Dhakir)     (Saudi Arabia) The Murder Capital - Don’t Cling To Life Nardeydey - Freefalling The National - Rylan   ft. Kate Stables (of This Is The Kit) The New Pornographers - Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - a. Waiting For You   b. Bright Horses   c. Night Raid Nivhek - After Its Own Death: Side A    (Liz Harris of Grouper) Noname - Song 32 Octo Octa - Move Your Body ODD OKODDO - Auma      (Kenyan/German duo) Øyvind Torvund - Starry Night      (Norwegian composer) Pet Shop Boys - Burning The Heather Petter Eldh - Fanfarum for Komarum II Porridge Radio - Give/Take PREGOBLIN - Combustion Purple Mountains - a. Snow Is Falling In Manhattan    b. All My Happiness Is Gone   c. That’s Just The Way That I Feel Quelle Chris - Obamacare Quinie - Whas At The Windy Rapsody - Ibtihaj   ft. D’Angelo & GZA Reb Fountain - Faster Rian Treanor - ATAXIA_A1 Richard Dawson - Two Halves Robert Stillman - All Are Welcome Róisín Murphy - Incapable Rosalía - Milionària Rosenau & Sanborn - Saturday Rozi Plain - Symmetrical Ruth Garbus - Strash Sam Lee - The Moon Shines Bright   ft. Elizabeth Fraser (of Cocteau Twins) Sam Wilkes - Run Sandro Perri - Soft Landing SAULT - Smile and Go Seabuckthorn - To Which The Rest Were Dreamt serpentwithfeet - Receipts    ft. Ty Dolla $ign Sessa - Flor do Real         (of Brazil) Sheer Mag - Hardly To Blame Shit and Shine - No No No No Sinead O Brien - A Thing You Call Joy Siobhan Wilson - Plastic Grave Six Organs Of Admittance - Two Forms Moving Sleaford Mods - Kebab Spider Slow Meadow - Artificial Algorithm Snowy - EFFED    ft. Jason Williamson (of Sleaford Mods) SOAK - Knock Me Off My Feet Solange - Binz Sophie Crawford - A Miner’s Life Squid - Houseplants         bonus. Their cover of Robert Wyatt’s  “PIgs..... In There at End of the Road Festival) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DktZtQbo-YU Stella Donnelly - Old Man SUSS - Ursa Major Swamp Dogg - Sleeping Without You Is A Dragg   ft. Justin Vernon & Jenny Lewis Tami T - Birthday  Tenesha The Wordsmith - Why White Folks Can’t Call Me Nigga Theon Cross - Activate     ft. Moses Boyd & Nubya Garcia Thom Yorke - Dawn Chorus Tierra Whack - Wasteland Tim Hecker - That World Tiny Leaves - Respair Toya Delazy - Funani         (of South Africa) Twain - Death (Or S.F.?) Twin Peaks - Dance Through It Tyler Childers - All Your’n Vagabon - Water Me Down Vampire Weekend - This Life Vanishing Twin - Magicians Success Velvet Negroni - Confetti Vendredi Sur Mer - Chewing-Gum      (of France) Victoria Monét - Ass Like That Vieo Abiungo - Cobble Together Visible Cloaks - Stratum      ft. Yoshio Ojima & Satsuki Shibano Warmduscher - Midnight Dipper Weyes Blood - Andromeda Wilco - Love Is Everywhere (Beware) William Tyler - Our Lady Of The Desert Willie Scott & The Birmingham Spirituals - Keep Your Faith To The Sky     (from a collection of obscure 70′s era gospel on Luaka Bop, “The Time For Peace Is Now - Gospel Music About Us”) Xylouris White - Tree Song Ye Vagabonds - The Foggy Dew Zsela - Noise

[filmgamer]

Although actual nominations won’t be in until Tuesday I added a mix of predicted favourites and personal choices of mine for wishful thinking purposes. Read to get some sort of context and personal filter on what to expect and hope for come January 23rd for the 90th Annual Academy Awards.

Best Picture

Blade Runner 2049 * – Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Bud Yorkin

Call Me By Your Name – Emilie Georges, Luca Guadagnino, James Ivory, Marco Morabito, Howard Rosenman, Peter Spears

Dunkirk – Emma Thomas

The Florida Project – Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching Tsou

Get Out – Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Sean McKittrick, Jordan Peele

Lady Bird – Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill, Scott Rudin

Mudbound – Carl Effenson, Sally Jo Effenson, Cassian Elwes, Charles D. King, Christopher Lemole, Kim Roth, Tim Zajaros

The Shape of Water – J. Miles Dale, Guillermo del Toro

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri – Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, Martin McDonagh

Wonder Woman – Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Richard Suckle

Blade Runner 2049

Call Me By Your Name

Dunkirk

The Florida Project

Get Out

Lady Bird

Mudbound

The Shape of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Wonder Woman

Blade Runner 2049 was my favourite movie of the year, Three Billboards was my second favourite, Lady Bird and Get Out were good too. I found Dunkirk to be overrated, confusing and far from Nolan’s best. I am the only person besides my mom that didn’t like Wonder Woman. Mudbound was very boring to me. I like the idea of The Florida Project which has landed on several best of lists winning because of its underclass nature & humble beginnings, a true underdog. I have not seen The Shape of Water but its awards attention has caught my interest and Call Me By Your Name has as much chance of winning as it does being interest to me.

Actress In A Leading Role

Jessica Chastain – Molly’s Game

Gal Gadot – Wonder Woman

Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water

Frances McDormand* – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird

Jessica Chastain

Gal Gadot

Sally Hawkins

Frances McDormand

Saoirse Ronan

This is a runaway for Frances McDormand who gives her best performance since Fargo. Gal Gadot is good but her nomination would be the story here. Sally Hawkins gives an impressive performance as a deaf-mute. I think Saoirse only gets acclaim because she has a flawless american accent. Jessica Chastain does good character work and deserved the Oscar for Zero Dark Thirty which Jennifer Lawrence won for Silver Linings Playbook (which I love but is not Best Actress worthy).

Actress in A Supporting Role

Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water

Holly Hunter – The Big Sick

Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird

Hong Chau – Downsizing

Allison Janney – I, Tonya

Octavia Spencer (Right)

Holly Hunter (Right)

Laurie Metcalf

Hong Chau

Allison Janney

Allison Janney all the way here. Holly Hunter is good in The Big Sick and Octavia Spencer always knows what she’s doing (still haven’t seen Shape of Water or it would fill up the supporting actor category). Hong Chau got raves out of Downsizing, additionally annoying and unfair because the Oscars have become so politicized in recent years this would be seen as a win for diversity after the 87th & 88th #OscarsSoWhite controversies. It’s ironic that her possible nomination would come from writer/director Alexander Payne indulging in his stereotypical racist tendencies. I guess Hollywood takes diversity where they can get it.

Actor In A Leading Role

Hugh Jackman * – Logan

Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out

James McAvoy – Split

Gary Oldman – The Darkest Hour

Denzel Washington – Roman J. Israel Esq.

Hugh Jackman

Daniel Kaluuya

James McAvoy

Gary Oldman

Denzel Washington

This race is Gary Oldman’s to lose. He has turned in a career full of good performances and this is icing on the cake. If anything would hamper him from winning it’d be that the choice is too obvious playing historical figure Winston Churchill. Denzel always makes a great oscar campaign push and he has been hungry for a third win despite being the weakest reviewed movie of the bunch. I didn’t include Timothy Chalamet from ‘Call Me’ because I think his praise is due to the fact that reviewers aren’t aware he’s playing himself in role better written than he is like all first time actor nominees. Hugh Jackman deserves it for Logan even though I’m not a huge fan of that movie he deserves recognition for what he brought to the character. Daniel Kaluuya gives a subtle understated performance that rewards repeat viewings. And James McAvoy has been close to forgotten for his memorable turn in Split as someone with multiple personality disorder I’d like him to get recognized.

Actor In A Supporting Role

Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project

Jamie Foxx – Baby Driver

Christopher Plummer – All the Money In the World

Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Patrick Stewart * – Logan

Willem Dafoe

Jamie Foxx (saying “that’s Oscar worthy”)

Christopher Plummer

Sam Rockwell

Patrick Stewart

At the beginning of the campaign I would have said this was an easy win for Willem Dafoe’s warm performance in The Florida Project but another career character actor Sam Rockwell has upstaged him for Three Billboards. Christopher Plummer is good I imagine many people are still amazed he’s in themovie after the Kevin Spacey debacle. I thought Jamie Foxx gave one of his best performances in Baby Driver, he even makes an Oscar reference. Patrick Stewart was so good in Logan that it’s impressive he makes you believe his senile swearing version of Professor X is the same person.

Directing

Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Jordan Peele – Get Out

M. Night Shyamalan – Split

Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water

Denis Villeneuve – Blade Runner 2049

Jordan Peele, Get Out

M. Night Shyamalan, Split

Martin McDonaugh, Three Billboards

Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049

Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

Denis Villeneuve made a sequel to a classic that was better than the original while making it his own thing. He received a BAFTA (British Oscars) nomination for this and might repeat all the categories for last year’s Arrival. Jordan Peele, Guilllermo del Toro, and Martin McDonaugh are shoe-ins for the nomination and Greta Gerwig is likely to actually be nominated for Lady Bird, a movie I liked a lot but has modest aims. I threw in a Shyamalan twist because not only has he been nominated for but Split is a legitimately good movie that is unique enough I feel another director couldn’t replicate, and being the best means you’re special.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Hampton Fancher and Michael Green – Blade Runner 2049

James Ivory – Call Me By Your Name

Aaron Sorkin – Molly’s Game

Stephen Chbosky and Steve Conrad and Jack Thorne – Wonder

Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber – The Disaster Artist

I think side by side with Three Billboards, Blade Runner is the best script this year and they happen to qualify for two different categories so yay! The Disaster Artist, Molly’s Game and Call Me are all favourites because it’s a weak year for this category which is why there will likely be a few surprises. I threw in Wonder because it’s high on the betting pool, commercially and critically successful, and it’s the movie every book lover expected to love and every movie lover expected to hate (but surprisingly didn’t) and The Perks of Being A Wallflower was pretty decent. Mudbound could score a nomination here to but I didn’t put it personally because its incremental pacing felt like a slog for me that just didn’t flow.

Adapted – Michael Green (who also wrote Alien Covenant, Logan, and Murder On The Orient Express all this year) rewrote Hampton Fancher’s screenplay (right)

Original – Greta Gerwig Writer/ Director of Lady Bird

Original – Martin McDonagh Writer/ Director of 3 Billboards

Original – Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon wrote The Big Sick together. In writing credits the use of an ‘&’ denotes simultaneous collaboration while the use of ‘and’ indicates someone rewrote someone else’s screenplay

Original – Vanessa Taylor (co-writer of The Shape of Water with Del Toro)

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird

Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani – The Big Sick

Jordan Peele – Get Out

Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor – The Shape of Water

If Lady Bird doesn’t end up getting completely shut out come Oscar night for being good enough to get noticed but not enough to take home (typical Lady Bird amirite?) it’ll win here as Get Out and Shape muscle in on their visual splendor. Of course I don’t think any movie this year takes as many risks as the unpredictable 3 Billboards does in its screenplay so it should win. The Big Sick was in my top list for this year but original? C’mon its based pretty much on the real life story of its writers, it should be adapted if anything however rules are rules.

Best Cinematography

Roger Deakins – Blade Runner 2049

The 68 year old is the closest thing to a sure thing this year and has been nominated 13 times before without winning and this is his best work which everyone has said from the beginning. Some of his previous nominations include: The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, A Beautiful Mind, No Country For Old Men, Skyfall & Sicario. He absolutely deserves this one.

Best Original Score

Hanz Zimmer – Dunkirk

I didn’t like this movie but I listened to the score countless times while putting together my harsh review of it. The rarely idle Hans does the devil’s work here. And his Inception score was much better than Trent Reznor’s The Social Network which won that year. #robbed

Best Visual Effects

War for the Planet of the Apes

Another much hyped movie on my website I was let down by. I have never seen a director so obviously confident behind the camera its annoying that this series now so well realized spends its last chapter doing a prison break riff. Good Visual Effects are all about enhancing the story and I’ve never seen effects pushed so hard in that regard. Surprisingly, this rebooted series with state of the art effects that take YEARS to render has yet to win but unless members of the academy decide to feel sorry for Blade Runner or reward the epic looking latest Transformers: The Last Knight this should be a steal.

A Perfect and Backlash-Free Choice Oscar Nomination List Although actual nominations won’t be in until Tuesday I added a mix of predicted favourites and personal choices of mine for wishful thinking purposes.

[americanahighways]

REVIEW: Molly Thomas and the Rare Birds’ “Honey’s Fury” is Rock n Roll Aflame @mollythomas #honeysfury @thinkpresspr #rarebirds Southern Alabama’s Molly Thomas & the Rare Birds’ Honey’s Fury is an album 4-years’ in the making -- & features 12 diversified swamp pop songs.

[audiofuzz]

Alabama Kick Ass: Molly Thomas and the Rare Birds – “Calling My Name” Molly Thomas and the Rare Birds "Calling My Name" Honey's Fury WOW!!!!!!  That's all I can say. 

[metawitches]

  And Maybe a Few Predictions…

Okay, after watching as many movies as I can cram into my brain in a relatively short period of time (actually, The Florida Project is still playing), I’m ready to make some choices here. I don’t want to name any names, but I was slowed down in my viewing by a certain usual movie-going companion who informed me at the last minute that he was abandoning me for the Winter Olympics, and would not only be watching every Men’s Hockey game this year, but the Women’s Hockey as well. How could I, as a feminist complain about that? Yay, for women’s sports equality! Boo for it interfering with Oscar movie viewing season, and viewing partners who don’t schedule their time wisely!

Anyway, I eventually gave up on him and mostly went on alone, and the US Women took Gold in Hockey. 🎉 They were able to do because people have made equality in  girl’s and women’s sports a big deal and fought hard for decades, and the federal government has required public schools to provide girls with equal opportunities since the seventies. Sports are viewed as important to male development in many ways, so it’s obvious to argue that access is an important aspect of female equality.

Now it’s time to find out how many women will get the gold in their chosen artistic fields in the film industry. After last year’s ceremony, I was struck by the lack of women at the podium who weren’t presenters or accepting as actors. No one was talking about it then and that post received VERY few hits. Thankfully, it only took a few months for brave women in the industry to start speaking up, and we’re in a different place today.

But the arts in general don’t get the societal support that sports do, and the federal government doesn’t require arts education, so there’s no requirement for equal opportunity. The arts community has remained stuck in a different era, with the casting couch of the early twentieth century intact, men exclusively at the top of every field and women doing the grunt work when they’re allowed in, and men needing to be reminded, over and over, that women aren’t there to be playthings.

The gender bias is obvious if you actually look with an objective eye, starting with who gets taken seriously in childhood, continuing with who gets favored in film and art school, and culminating in extreme bias in hiring and employment practices. Given the male cronyism that women have faced since the film industry began, I’m not going to feel bad about favoring female nominees where I can. Token nominations, then being told to shut up and go sit quietly in corner until next year aren’t enough. Especially when the awards are given to men who only pretend to make feminist films, or to films that would like to forget women even exist. If people of color and trans people need to be allowed to speak for themselves, so do women, thanks.

Now that my female rage has been expressed, let’s get on with what we’re here for.

Best Picture

It’s a tough choice between The Shape of Water and Lady Bird for me. Like Birdman and Whiplash a few years ago, they are both very, very well done, but at opposite ends of the spectrum as far as moviemaking goes. I picked Whiplash that year, but I’m going with The Shape of Water this time, because of its overall artistry and message.

I think the Academy is choosing between the Shape of Water, Three Billboards, and Get Out, with Lady Bird as a dark horse potential surprise winner. The Shape of Water is my prediction, because Three Billboard’s controversial flaws have been exposed as the film has played to American audiences. With so many other choices, there’s no reason to go with a potentially offensive choice this year. Guillermo del Toro is loved, and The Shape of Water hits a lot of buttons. Get Out made white people the enemy (the Academy is overwhelmingly old and white), and follows Moonlight winning last year, while Lady Bird is probably perceived as too inconsequential. Get Out and Lady Bird are the best written and constructed films of the nominees, so they could pull out the shocking win.

Call Me By Your Name Darkest Hour Dunkirk Get Out Lady Bird Phantom Thread The Post The Shape of Water Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Actor The hands down, no point in discussing it, favorite to win is Gary Oldman, but I’m going to be a heretic and choose someone else! Gary Oldman was amazing, but I always knew he was Acting, and probably choosing which Shakespearean character he was emulating, throughout the entire thing. Timothée Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name is my choice. That movie lived and died based on his performance as a 17 year old boy going through a romantic and sexual awakening, first love, and the loss of first love. He played the role with a dignity and subtlety that’s rarely seen when teenage boys and sex are shown on film. Chalamet’s performance was open, brave and vulnerable, raw and passionate in a way that Gary Oldman’s wasn’t.

Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread) Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.)

Best Actress These performances were all amazing, and they all deserve to win in some ways. Frances McDormand has swept the preseason awards and is the favorite here, but my choice is Sally Hawkins. While McDormand’s performance is all sound and fury that in the end signifies nothing, Sally Hawkins owns her film without ever saying a word. She’s the heart and soul of the story, and we can’t take our eyes off of her. Her performance is both open and mysterious, expressive but secretive, mischievous but fierce. She turns a woman who’s been overlooked by everyone into a heroine who can outwit the US government’s finest, and we wholeheartedly believe she’s capable and cheer her on. It’s hard to imagine anyone else accomplishing what Hawkins did with the role.

Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) Margot Robbie (I, Tonya) Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) Meryl Streep (The Post)

Best Supporting Actor

pending!

Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water) Christopher Plummer (All the Money In the World) Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actress

Alison Janney is the favorite to win, and has won, over and over as the other awards have been given out. I think Laurie Metcalf deserves the Oscar, for her tense, bitter, hardened, restrained, but loving performance. Allison Janney was incredible, but she was able to let loose with her vitriol and become a monster, while Metcalf had to walk a very fine line and accomplished it.

Mary J. Blige (Mudbound) Allison Janney (I, Tonya) Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird) Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water)

Best Directing

I gave Best Picture to The Shape of Water, so I’m going to split the difference and give Greta Gerwig Best Director. There’s just nothing wrong with Lady Bird, and that’s down to Gerwig’s vision, artistry, and direction of the people she worked with. She brought out the best in her cast and crew, which is an achievement that deserves to be recognized.

Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) Jordan Peele (Get Out) Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread) Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)

Best Adapted Screenplay

I loved Mudbound. Really, really loved it, and think it was snubbed for Best Picture and Director. It’s a no brainer to give it Best Adapted Screenplay. I have no idea what the Academy will pick.

Call Me By Your Name The Disaster Artist Logan Molly’s Game Mudbound

Best Original Screenplay

I’ll give this one to Get Out, which was very original, had a great script, and deserves some Oscars. I’d be fine with any of the nominees winning, except Three Billboards. I don’t think that The Big Sick paid enough attention to the wife’s journey, but it was a good film (would have rated it 3.5, had I gotten around to writing the review). The Academy will give it to either The Shape of Water or Three Billboards.

The Big Sick Get Out Lady Bird The Shape of Water Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Animated Film

Didn’t see any. 😦

The Boss Baby The Breadwinner Coco Ferdinand Loving Vincent

Best Cinematography

Oh my gosh, this is the toughest call of all! Can I declare a three way tie between Blade Runner, Shape of Water and Mudbound? Of course I can, it’s my website! LOL. Or give it to Altered Carbon? No? Okay, if I have to choose, it goes to Shape of Water, with Mudbound as my sentimental favorite. The Academy will choose between Shape of Water and Dunkirk, and who wins will depend on whether the old white guys or the artsy youngsters prevail. That’s basically my prediction for most of the technical awards.

Blade Runner 2049 Darkest Hour Dunkirk Mudbound The Shape of Water

Best Costume Design

The Academy will give it to Phantom Thread, because they love couture and appearing classy. I’m giving it to Shape of Water, because those costumes were so perfectly and precisely tied in with the artistic vision of the film, managed to flatter the actors’ bodies, and were still appropriate to the period.

Beauty and the Beast Darkest Hour Phantom Thread The Shape of Water Victoria & Abdul

Best Documentary Feature

Didn’t see.

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail Faces Places Icarus Last Men in Aleppo Strong Island

Best Documentary Short Subject Didn’t see.

Edith+Eddie Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 Heroin(e) Knife Skills Traffic Stop

Best Film Editing

I,Tonya, with Dunkirk as a runner up. I, Tonya switched between mediums, and Dunkirk switched between air, sea, and land, and both did it with great timing. The Academy will choose Dunkirk.

Baby Driver Dunkirk I, Tonya The Shape of Water Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Foreign-Language Film

Didn’t see.

A Fantastic Woman The Insult Loveless On Body and Soul The Square

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The Shape of Water. I don’t understand these nominations and refuse to acknowledge them in my own choices. Darkest Hour will win.

Darkest Hour Victoria & Abdul Wonder

Best Original Score

The Shape of Water, absolutely no contest. The score was as essential to that film as it is to a silent movie or a musical, and as effective. No clue what the Academy will choose.

Dunkirk Phantom Thread The Shape of Water Star Wars: The Last Jedi Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Original Song

Mystery of Love. The music was part of the sweetness of the love story in Call Me by Your Name, and Sufjan Stevens’ songs blended seamlessly with the atmosphere of the film. The Academy likes to go big, and will choose Mighty River or This Is Me.

“Mighty River” (Mudbound) “Mystery of Love” (Call Me By Your Name) “Remember Me” (Coco) “Stand Up For Something” (Marshall) “This Is Me” (The Greatest Showman)

Best Production Design

The Shape of Water. That movie was a visual feast of care and incredible detail, without hitting the viewer over the head with its stuffy Artistry, like some of the other nominees. No idea what the Academy will choose.

Beauty and the Beast Blade Runner 2049 Darkest Hour Dunkirk The Shape of Water

Best Animated Short Film Didn’t See.

Dear Basketball Garden Party Lou Negative Space Revolting Rhymes

Best Live-Action Short Film Didn’t see. The Silent Child is a sentimental favorite.

DeKalb Elementary The Eleven O’Clock My Nephew Emmett The Silent Child Watu Wote/All of Us

Best Sound Editing Blade Runner had so much subtlety in the sound, and it was so important to the film.

Baby Driver Blade Runner 2049 Dunkirk The Shape of Water Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Sound Mixing

See above.

Baby Driver Blade Runner 2049 Dunkirk The Shape of Water Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Visual Effects

Guardians of the Galaxy. Gotta get in one Marvel pick. 😉

Blade Runner 2049 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Kong: Skull Island Star Wars: The Last Jedi War for the Planet of the Apes

Metawitches 2018 Oscar Picks And Maybe a Few Predictions... Okay, after watching as many movies as I can cram into my brain in a relatively short period of time (actually, The Florida Project is still playing), I'm ready to make some choices here.

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/shape-water-dunkirk-three-billboards-sweep-oscar-nominations/

'Shape of Water,' 'Dunkirk' and 'Three Billboards' sweep Oscar nominations

Tuesday was the 2018 Academy Award nomination day and saw an interesting variety of films like Guillermo del Toro's "The Shape of Water" take 13 nominations continuing its award season winning streak. Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" followed with 8 and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" with 7. Paul Thomas Anderson saw his Daniel Day-Lewis starrer "Phantom Thread" get some Academy love with 6 nominations including best picture. Many insiders expected the actor to land a nom in what he claims will be his final screen performance, but after a rather chilled reception from the guilds and critics awards, many thought it might wind up DOA. A shortened campaigning season also made it a harder push, but rave reviews have given Anderson's exquisitely crafted, psychologically intense period romance quite the boost. Steven Spielberg's well-received "The Post" didn't fare so well with only two nominations. Word of mouth is still proving to award season fodder. Many academy voters aren't as quick to view screeners that haven't had much word of mouth, but these kinds of reviews lead to them to pop them in much faster. "Phantom Thread" is now being declared a dark horse against some major films, and like with many awards seasons, the underdog can wind up sweeping up the Oscars. Jimmy Kimmel will be hosting the Academy Awards for a second time on March 4 on ABC. The full list of Oscar nominations is below after the biggest snubs and surprises which most people want to check out first.

Biggest Academy Award Nomination Snubs and Surprises:

  SNUB: James Franco, “The Disaster Artist” Franco was thought to be a lock for his gonzo performance as cult film director Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist.” However, a report published by the Los Angeles Times near the end of Oscars voting, detailing inappropriate sexual conduct by the actor, could have derailed his chances. After years of nominating men like Woody Allen and Roman Polanski, who were both accused of sexual abuse, the Academy has drawn a line in the sand. #TimesUp. SNUB: Armie Hammer, “Call Me by Your Name” Although he campaigned hard, Hammer wasn’t included in this year’s best supporting actor race for his performance in “Call Me by Your Name.” It might be that his substantial screen time as an American in Italy made voters feel like he was one of the film’s leads and he split his vote with Michael Stuhlbarg, who delivers a tour-de-force monologue at the end of the film. SNUB: “Wonder Woman” gets shut out Despite celebrating strong female leads in “Lady Bird” and “Three Billboards,” the Academy didn’t embrace the DC Comics box office juggernaut. “Wonder Woman” couldn’t muster a single Oscar nomination. Not for best picture or director Patty Jenkins, and it even missed out in the technical categories. SNUB: “Mudbound” for best picture Netflix was hoping that Dee Ree’s critically acclaimed drama, set in the 1950s Mississippi Delta, would be the streaming service’s first best picture nominee at the Oscars. But the movie missed out of the top contest. However, it did pick up four nods, including best supporting actress Mary J. Blige (the first time an actor from a Netflix movie received Oscars recognition) and best cinematography (making Rachel Morrison the first woman ever nominated in the category). SNUB: “The Big Sick” for best picture Amazon also didn’t crack the best picture category in 2018, with its hit box office comedy starring Kumail Nanjiani. It was, however, nominated for original screenplay. That means the only streaming movie to ever be nominated for best picture is last year’s “Manchester by the Sea,” which Amazon released. SNUB: Hong Chau, “Downsizing” After receiving a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nomination, Chau missed out in the best supporting actress race for playing a Vietnamese refugee in Alexander Payne’s drama. The film’s lukewarm reception made her lose out to Blige, Allison Janney (“I, Tonya”), Lesley Manville (“Phantom Thread”), Laurie Metcalf (“Lady Bird”), and Octavia Spencer (“The Shape of Water”). SNUB: Tiffany Haddish, “Girls Trip”  Haddish was a good sport to wake up at the crack of dawn to announce this year’s Oscar contenders. After picking up an award from the New York Film Critics Circle, she should have been nominated for her star-is-born supporting turn in “Girls Trip.” SNUB: Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick” The Academy loves Hunter, who has been nominated for four Oscars and won for 1994’s “The Piano.” But her nuanced portrait of a mom dealing with her daughter’s mysterious illness wasn’t among the nominees for best supporting actress. SNUB: Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” The Fox Searchlight dark comedy got a big boost over the weekend, winning best ensemble, best actress (Frances McDormand), and best supporting actor (Sam Rockwell) at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Many thought that McDonagh, who picked up a Director Guild of America nod, would land in this year’s best director race. It’s rare for a movie to win best picture without a directing nod, although “Argo” pulled off that feat in 2013. SNUB: Steven Spielberg, “The Post”  The drama about the Washington Post publishing the Pentagon Papers wasn’t the Oscars heavyweight many thought it would be. It only earned two nominations: for best picture and best actress Meryl Streep, who plays famed publisher Katharine Graham. SURPRISE: “Phantom Thread” surges The Focus Features release about a demanding 1950s fashion designer opened late in the Oscar season. But never underestimate director Paul Thomas Anderson, who is an Academy darling. The movie picked up a surprising six nominations, including best picture, best director, best actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), and best supporting actress (Lesley Manville). SURPRISE: Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq” Another Academy favorite, Denzel Washington, landed his eighth acting nomination. Although “Roman J. Israel, Esq” received mixed reviews, Washington got in the best actor race over Franco, Tom Hanks (“The Post”), and Jake Gyllenhaal (“Stronger”).

2018 Academy Award Nomination Totals By Film and Studio:

Nominations by film: “The Shape of Water”  13 “Dunkirk” 8 “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” 7 “Darkest Hour” 6 “Phantom Thread” 6 “Blade Runner 2049” 5 “Lady Bird” 5 “Call Me by Your Name” 4 “Get Out” 4 “Mudbound” 4 “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” 4 “Baby Driver” 3 “I, Tonya” 3 “Beauty and the Beast” 2 “Coco” 2 “The Post” 2 “Victoria & Abdul” 2 “The Florida Project” 1 “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” 1 “Molly’s Game” 1 “Logan” 1 “Disaster Artist” 1 “Kong: Skull Island” 1 “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” 1 “War for the Planet of the Apes” 1 “Wonder” 1 “The Big Sick” 1 “All the Money in the World” 1 Nominations by distribution company: Fox Searchlight 20 Focus Features 14 Warner Bros. 14 Walt Disney 10 20th Century Fox 7 Netflix 7 A24 7 Sony Pictures Releasing 5 Sony Pictures Classics 6 Universal 4 Neon/30 West 3 Amazon 1 Lionsgate 1 Gkids 1 Grasshopper Films 1 Good Deed 1 Magnolia Pictures 1 Open Road/Global Road 1 PBS 1 STX Entertainment 1

Full List of 2018 Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: “Call Me by Your Name” “Darkest Hour” “Dunkirk” “Get Out” “Lady Bird” “Phantom Thread” “The Post” “The Shape of Water” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Lead Actor: Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name” Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread” Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out” Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour” Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” Lead Actress: Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water” Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya” Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird” Meryl Streep, “The Post” Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project” Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water” Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World” Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Supporting Actress: Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound” Allison Janney, “I, Tonya” Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread” Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird” Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water” Director: “Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan “Get Out,” Jordan Peele “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig “Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro Animated Feature: “The Boss Baby,” Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito “The Breadwinner,” Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo “Coco,” Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson “Ferdinand,” Carlos Saldanha “Loving Vincent,” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman Animated Short: “Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant “Garden Party,” Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon “Lou,” Dave Mullins, Dana Murray “Negative Space,” Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata “Revolting Rhymes,” Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer Adapted Screenplay: “Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory “The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber “Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green “Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin “Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees Original Screenplay: “The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani “Get Out,” Jordan Peele “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh Cinematography: “Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins “Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel “Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema “Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison “The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen Best Documentary Feature: “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” Steve James, Mark Mitten, Julie Goldman “Faces Places,” JR, Agnès Varda, Rosalie Varda “Icarus,” Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan “Last Men in Aleppo,” Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Soren Steen Jepersen “Strong Island,” Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes Best Documentary Short Subject: “Edith+Eddie,” Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright “Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405,” Frank Stiefel “Heroin(e),” Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Kerrin Sheldon “Knife Skills,” Thomas Lennon “Traffic Stop,” Kate Davis, David Heilbroner Best Live Action Short Film: “DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk “The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, Josh Lawson “My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson, Jr. “The Silent Child,” Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton “Watu Wote/All of Us,” Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen Best Foreign Language Film: “A Fantastic Woman” (Chile) “The Insult” (Lebanon) “Loveless” (Russia) “On Body and Soul (Hungary) “The Square” (Sweden) Film Editing: “Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss “Dunkirk,” Lee Smith “I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel “The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory Sound Editing: “Baby Driver,” Julian Slater “Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green “Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King “The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood Sound Mixing: “Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin “Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill “Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo “The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick Production Design: “Beauty and the Beast,” Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer “Blade Runner 2049,” Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola “Darkest Hour,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer “Dunkirk,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis “The Shape of Water,” Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau Original Score: “Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer “Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood “The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell Original Song: “Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens “Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul Makeup and Hair: “Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick “Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard “Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten Costume Design: “Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran “Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran “Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges “The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira “Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle Visual Effects: “Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick “Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,”  Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan “War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

[kevinpolowy]

Our fearless picks for the 2018 Oscar nominations

Sam Rockwell and Frances McDormand in ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ (Fox Searchlight)

The nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced, per usual, at an ungodly early hour Tuesday (seriously, why?), and there’s plenty of suspense heading into the proceedings. Will The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri continue to surge? Which actresses will crack the ballot in the most competitive races we’ve seen in eons? Will James Franco still make the cut despite allegations of sexual misconduct? Will Christopher Plummer be rewarded for taking over the role of the disgraced Kevin Spacey? And does the delightful and hilarious Tiffany Haddish stand a chance for the decidedly un-Oscar-y comedy Girls Trip? Read on for our fearless picks in the top 11 categories.

BEST PICTURE

The first piece of the Best Picture puzzle is figuring out how many nominees there will be. In the six years since the Academy rejiggered its rules to allow between five and 10 nominees, the final tally has ranged between eight (twice) and nine (four times).

The sure things are Fox Searchlight’s dynamic duo of The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Get Out, Lady Bird, and Call Me by Your Name have passionate support behind them (their diversity doesn’t hurt, either). Dunkirk and The Post haven’t been the awards behemoths they were predicted to be, but they should be safely in the mix, too.

That leaves seven films (The Big Sick; Darkest Hour; The Florida Project; I, Tonya; Molly’s Game; Mudbound; and Wonder Woman) jockeying for the final one to three slots. I see Florida getting some shine for the eighth spot. Although Molly, Tonya, and Wonder Woman all earned Producers Guild Award noms, and Tonya would probably be the favorite, I see the Academy embracing a streaming service and selecting The Big Sick (Amazon) and/or Mudbound (Netflix). For the fun of it let’s say there will be 10.

Predictions: The Big Sick Call Me by Your Name Dunkirk The Florida Project Get Out Lady Bird Mudbound The Post The Shape of Water Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Other contenders: Darkest Hour I, Tonya Molly’s Game Wonder Woman

Longshots: Blade Runner 2049 Coco The Disaster Artist Logan Phantom Thread War for the Planet of the Apes

BEST DIRECTOR

If there’s a big surprise brewing here, it could be The Florida Project helmer Sean Baker pulling “a Lenny Abramson” (no one saw the Room director making the cut in 2016). There’s a lot of goodwill out there for Baker between Florida and his 2015 indie darling Tangerine. I also could see one big snub in the form Steven Spielberg, the eight-time directing nominee who fast-tracked The Post into production as a clear rebuttal to President Trump’s war against the media. My best guess is that the Academy ultimately aligns with the Director’s Guild Award nominations.

Predictions: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk Jordan Peele, Get Out

Other contenders: Sean Baker, The Florida Project Luca Guadagino, Call Me by Your Name Dee Rees, Mudbound Steven Spielberg, The Post Joe Wright, Darkest Hour

Longshots: Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread Sofia Coppola, The Beguiled Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman Ridley Scott, All the Money in the World Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049

BEST ACTRESS

It was one of the strongest years for lead female performances in ages, a refreshing change of pace that potentially signals a shift in the industry. There seem to be four locks here: Sally Hawkins, who would earn her second nom for The Shape of Water; Frances McDormand, who would earn her fifth nom for Three Billboards (she won once); Saoirse Ronan, who would earn her third nom for Lady Bird; and Meryl Streep, who would her 21st (!!!) Oscar nom for The Post (she has won three).

The nail-biting comes with slot No. 5, where it looks like a head-to-head match between Margot Robbie’s twist on Tonya Harding  in I, Tonya and Jessica Chastain’s commanding “poker princess” in Molly’s Game. Emma Stone coulda also been a contenda here, had more people actually seen her winning portrayal of Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes.

Predictions: Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Margot Robbie, I, Tonya Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird Meryl Streep, The Post

Other contenders: Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game Judi Dench, Victoria and Abdul Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes Michelle Williams, All the Money in the World

Longshots: Annette Bening, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman Salma Hayek, Beatriz at Dinner Diane Kruger, In the Fade Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project Daniela Vega, A Fantastic Woman

BEST ACTOR

Reel talk: This might be the easiest major award pool to predict. Gary Oldman won the Oscar back in September the minute critics first feasted their eyes on his scene-chewing, liquor-swigging Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. Call Me by Your Name breakout Timothée Chalamet is a chic pick to pull an upset, and Get Out breakout Daniel Kaluuya’s awards stock has been rising by the week. You also have two of the best in the biz, Tom Hanks and Daniel Day-Lewis, at the top of their games in The Post and Phantom Thread, respectively. The wild card here is James Franco (The Disaster Artist), who faced sexual misconduct allegations the very week Oscar voting closed. While that may have affected late ballots, there’s a good chance many votes had already been cast.

Predictions: Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread Tom Hanks, The Post Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Other contenders: James Franco, The Disaster Artist Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Longshots: Chadwick Boseman, Marshall Steve Carell, Battle of the Sexes Jake Gyllenhaal, Stronger

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Given how things have shaken out in the awards season so far, we already know the race will come down to either Allison Janney (I, Tonya) or Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird), so they’re in. Despite their film’s shaky chances of competing for Best Picture, Mudbound‘s Mary J. Blige and The Big Sick‘s Holly Hunter can pick out their dresses, too. That leaves The Shape of Water‘s Octavia Spencer and Downsizing‘s Hong Chau vying for the final position, though given how divisive the latter’s film has proven, odds favor the former. But don’t count out people’s (and some critics’ circles) champion Tiffany Haddish (Girl Trip), who could follow in the steps of Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) and score a rare nomination for acting in a broad comedy.

Predictions: Mary J. Blige, Mudbound Holly Hunter, The Big Sick Allison Janney, I, Tonya Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

Other contenders: Hong Chau, Downsizing Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread

Longshots: Kirsten Dunst, The Beguiled Melissa Leo, Novitiate Michelle Pfeiffer, mother!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Given how things have shaken out in the awards season so far, we already know the race will come down to either Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) or Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), so they’re in. Rockwell could very well cancel out his esteemed costar Woody Harrelson. It’s also unlikely we see more than one supporting actor from Call Me by Your Name, and as powerful as Michael Stuhlbarg’s speech is in the closing minutes of the film, I think it’s Armie Hammer time. If Harrelson and Stuhlbarg do get overshadowed by the cast mates, then I see the final nod going to Christopher Plummer, whose nomination for his 11th hour reshoots of All the Money in the World would be both a tribute to the beloved 88-year-old pro and a slap to Kevin Spacey, whom Plummer replaced.

Predictions: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project Armie Hammer, Call Me by Your Name Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Other contenders: Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Jason Mitchell, Mudbound Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me by Your Name

Longshots: Ben Mendelsohn, Darkest Hour Ray Romano, The Big Sick

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

It was a great year for writer-directors, and there could very well be four people up for both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (del Toro for Shape of Water, Gerwig for Lady Bird, McDonagh for Three Billboards, and Peele for Get Out). It would be highly surprising (and highly disappointing) not to see the fifth spot go to the husband-and-wife writing team Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon for their deeply personal (and deeply hilarious) script for The Big Sick.

Predictions: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Jordan Peele, Get Out

Other contenders: Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread Steven Rogers, I, Tonya Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, The Post

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

It was also a great year for female writers. If my predictions hold true, five of the 10 films nominated for their screenplays would have been written or co-written by women (that includes directors Sofia Coppola and Dee Rees getting in here for The Beguiled and Mudbound, respectively). That’s the most since… ever? (We’ll report back.)

Predictions: Sofia Coppola, The Beguiled James Ivory, Call Me by Your Name Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, The Disaster Artist Aaron Sorkin, Molly’s Game Dee Rees and Virgil Williams, Mudbound

Other contenders: David Scarpa and John Pearson, All the Money in the World Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Michael Green, Logan Stephen Chbosky, Steve Conrad, and Jack Thorne, Wonder

BEST ANIMATED FILM

It’ll be an honor just to get nominated in this category for anything not called Coco. But in a down year for major studio animation, expect a heavy dosage of lesser-known, arthouse, and foreign titles like The Breadwinner, Loving Vincent, and Mary and the Witch’s Flower.

Predictions: The Breadwinner Coco The Lego Batman Movie Loving Vincent Mary and the Witch’s Flower

Other contenders: The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales Despicable Me 3 Ferdinand In This Corner of the World

Longshots: The Boss Baby (hey, it got a Golden Globe nomination) Captain Underpants

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Expect two highly respected women from two very different walks of life to square off here: Jane Goodall, the primatologist and subject of Nat Geo’s acclaimed doc Jane, and Agnès Varda, the beloved French filmmaker whose latest, Faces Places, could earn her a second Oscar this year (she earned a lifetime achievement statue from the Academy at November’s Governors Awards).

Predictions: Chasing Corral City of Ghosts Faces Places Jane Last Men in Aleppo

Other contenders: Human Flow Icarus An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power Strong Island

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

Angelina Jolie’s Cambodian genocide drama First They Killed My Father didn’t make the short list, but there’s still plenty of star power here, with likely nominees including Sweden’s The Square (featuring Elizabeth Moss in an English-speaking supporting role), Germany’s In the Fade (with a killer performance from Diane Kruger), and Chile’s A Fantastic Woman (lead by a breakout performance from transgender actress Daniela Vega).

Predictions: A Fantastic Woman Foxtrot In the Fade Loveless The Square

Other contenders: The Insult The Wound

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

How ‘Three Billboards,’ ‘Shape of Water’ have suddenly become the Oscar favorites

Aaron Sorkin on how ‘Molly’s Game’ presents ‘a real-life movie heroine’ in the #TimesUp era

The 5 biggest movie upsets at the 2018 Golden Globes

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Molly Thomas & The Rare Birds 8.25.16 - Laurel, MS - Slowboat Brewing Co 

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John Keuler of Molly Thomas & The Rare Birds 2.24.19 Frog Pond Sunday Social - Silverhill, AL 

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Video Premiere: Molly Thomas and the Rare Birds' "Calling My Name" @mollythomas #honesyfury @thinkpresspr Americana Highways brings you this video premiere of Molly Thomas and the Rare Birds' "Calling My Name," a song from their recent release 

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Molly Thomas & The Rare Birds 5.17.18 - Thirsty Hippo - Hattiesburg, MS