Kate Winslet – This Had Oscar Buzz

259 – Ammonite (with Christina Tucker!)

After Francis Lee’s celebrated queer debut God’s Own Country, the director leveled up with another gay romance Ammonite, this time with Oscar-pedigreed stars. Kate Winslet stars as 19th century paleontologist Mary Anning opposite Saoirse Ronan as Charlotte Murchison; the two develop a seaside romance of opposites between the gruff Anning and the unfulfilled Murchison. But Lee’s follow-up, (originally selected for Cannes) had the unlucky fortune to come out in 2020 amidst a climate unfriendly to a romance more reserved and quiet than expected.

This episode, we talk about the film’s unceremonious world premiere at the COVID-impacted Toronto International Film Festival and the film’s theatrical run. We also discuss 2017 comparison’s between God’s Own Country and Call Me By Your Name, Winslet’s performance on Mare of Easttown, and the minor controversy over the real woman’s unknown sexuality.

Topics also include Sam Levinson’s (hypothetical!) dungeon, emotional metaphor animals, and “Harold, they’re lesbians!”

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176 – The Holiday

Just in time for the holidays, we are doing The Holiday. Nancy Meyers followed-up her smash hit Something’s Gotta Give with this story of two women (played by Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet) who swap houses over the Christmas week in order to get away from their romantic disasters. Naturally, new love finds a way and in the form of Jude Law and Jack Black. Any initial Oscar hopes for the film were set by Meyers’ last film returning Diane Keaton to the Oscar fold for her fourth decade in a row, but the film was considered a financial disappointment and received a critical drubbing thanks to its silly premise and oddly paired costars.

This episode, we talk about the career of Nancy Meyers and what makes this film such a delight despite its many frustrations. Jude Law also joins our Six Timers Club, but we’ve also got another game around 2006 Christmas cinema. We also discuss Eli Wallach’s charming supporting turn, Kate Winslet’s enthusiasm when she wins something, and the 2006 Best Actress race that saw Helen Mirren steamroll despite a stellar lineup.

Topics also include Danny DeVito drunk on The View, upper butt cinema, and Diva Muffin Zappa.

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170 – Holy Smoke (with Jourdain Searles)

We have two exciting returns this week! First, entertainment writer and Bad Romance co-host Jourdain Searles is joining us once again. Second, we return to the work of Jane Campion, this time for 1999′s divisive and sexually charged Holy Smoke. The film premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival with a high pedigree: Campion reuniting with her The Piano castmember Harvey Keitel, with Kate Winslet center stage two years after Titanic. But the film was Campion’s most subversive yet, and its sometimes farcical approach to the subject of one woman’s forced deprogramming from getting involved in a cult made for a poor critical reception in the very crowded movie landscape of 1999.

This episode, we talk about our excitement for The Power of the Dog and look back at our favorites in Campion’s filmography. We also discuss Winslet’s post-Titanic career of daring, interesting character roles that led up to an underwhelming Oscar win with The Reader and Pam Grier’s brief performance in the film after her Oscar snub for Jackie Brown.

Topics also include the 1999 Best Actress race, Neil Diamond needle drops, and Harvey Keitel’s butt.

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139 – Carnage

After becoming a Broadway sensation, landing the Tony Award for Best Play and lead acting nominations for each member of its acting quartet (including a win for Marcia Gay Harden), Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage looked primed to become yet another stage-to-screen adaptation with Oscar in its sights. But when the movie version arrived, it eschewed the play’s lauded, starry Broadway cast (not to mention the many famous names that starred in hit productions around the globe) for a miscast foursome: Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz, and Kate Winslet. The film, abreviated to simply Carnage, failed to capture the play’s humor and precise bourgeois target, on top of being directed by Roman Polanski.

This episode, we compare the missteps of the film to the successes of its stage version, including one major mistake that bookends the film. We also discuss Marcia Gay Harden’s Tony speech, map Winslet’s long road to Oscar starting with Sense and Sensibility to the category maneuvering of The Reader, and play another round of Alter Egos.

Topics also include American Express commercials, Broadway bootlegs, and the infamous barf scene.

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138 – All the King’s Men

We’re finally getting around to one of the most notorious of aughts era failed awards plays, Steven Zaillian’s All the King’s Men. A remake of the former Best Picture winner and originally heavily predicted in the 2005 season, the adaptation was unceremoniously punted into the following year. The next September, the film had a disastrous debut at TIFF and was in and out of theatres within a month. Incoherent and uninspired with a barking Sean Penn at the center, the film is a soup of accents and flat convolutions that makes for a flop that is more boring than cringeworthy.

Zaillian has yet to direct a film since, but we look back at his other directorial efforts like Searching for Bobby Fisher, as well as a writing career that’s paired him with a top tier of directors. This week, we look at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival packed with successful Oscar plays and remembered for its thwarted Borat premiere. And we discuss The Departed and Scorsese’s winding road to Best Picture, almost again blocked by a stealth Clint Eastwood. Mark Ruffalo quiz alert!

Topics also include Kate Winslet’s odd lineup of 2006 titles, why Jude Law is better when not playing a traditional leading man, and the traumatic cinema experience that is Jack the Bear.

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