James LeGros – This Had Oscar Buzz

As we begin to get hyped for a new Kelly Reichardt film on the horizon with The Mastermind, The Atlantic staff writer Shirley Li joins us to discuss her 2016 triptych Certain Women. The film adapts three Maile Meloy stories into one film, with each following a different woman whose voice is stifled in their Montana circumstances. With several stars populating the ensemble including Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, and Kristen Stewart, its biggest awards success was with its breakthrough star, Lily Gladstone.

This episode, we talk about our love for Reichardt’s filmography and Gladstone’s silent long take powerhouse moment in the film. We also talk about Williams as the definitive Reichardt actor, Dern’s comic subtlety in the film, and parallel universes for the Oscar ceremony envelope snafu.

Topics also include Lucy, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Reichardt as a purveyor of care.

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We are returning to the work of Jennifer Jason Leigh this week, and Jourdain Searles is joining us once again with an underrated and underseen gem. Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle takes on the life of indelible writer Dorothy Parker, capturing her days with the insular Algonquin Circle and her later dissolution with the group, all with Jennifer Jason Leigh as the noted wit. Launched at Cannes, the film was celebrated for her performance even with a limited audience, including Golden Globe and Independent Spirit nominations for Best Actress. But even in a famously uncompetitive Best Actress lineup, Leigh was left out.

This episode, we talk about Leigh’s several close calls for a nomination in the 1990s and our feelings about the nomination that she eventually received for The Hateful Eight. We also talk about Pulp Fiction‘s domination on the independent film scene, the Cannes Film Festival, and the influence of producer Robert Altman.

Topics also include writer/director Alan Rudolph’s filmography, the film’s massive (and nepotism baby-inflected) ensemble, and the person-not-company Condé Nast.

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Tag: James LeGros

336 – Certain Women (with Shirley Li!)

248 – Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (with Jourdain Searles!)