Guess what's the most common age to win Best Actress? 29. Guess who's 29 right now? I'll give you one guess.

If Natalie Portman wins Best Actress in February she'll join the ranks of seven previous movie star beauties who won on the cusp of 30 including the immortal Elizabeth Taylor (who won for BUtterfield 8 at 29, pictured above with Portman's Black Swan turn).

Guess which decade of life has the least amount of best actress winners.

Age ain't nuthin but a number. Except when it comes to the Best Actress category.

Read my latest Oscar article at Tribeca Film

Plentiful Oscar trivia and a case for Academy ageism await you. 

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BUtterfield 8· Liz Taylor· Natalie Portman· Oscars (10)· The Bening· Tribeca Film

Age & (Best) Actressing

Guess what's the most common age to win Best Actress? 29. Guess who's 29 right now? I'll give you one guess.

If Natalie Portman wins Best Actress in February she'll join the ranks of seven previous movie star beauties who won on the cusp of 30 including the immortal Elizabeth Taylor (who won for BUtterfield 8 at 29, pictured above with Portman's Black Swan turn).

Guess which decade of life has the least amount of best actress winners.

Age ain't nuthin but a number. Except when it comes to the Best Actress category.

Read my latest Oscar article at Tribeca Film

Plentiful Oscar trivia and a case for Academy ageism await you. 

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Now that I've had a day to think over the Spirit Awards (nominee discussion) and what they reveal and obscure about the Oscar race, here's a deeper look for my Tribeca Film column.

Eligible "Best Feature" Snubs
Blue Valentine, Get Low, Somewhere, Rabbit Hole
Not eligible for "Best Feature" or Acting Prizes
The King's Speech, I Am Love, Another Year, Animal KingdomNot eligible for anything
Toy Story 3, The Social Network, True Grit, The Town, Etc...

Remember last year when Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire swept the Oscars, becoming the first... oh, no, wait, that didn't happen at all. That was the Film Independent Spirit Awards. They take place the day before the Oscars each year. And they take place in a tent. We don't know the square footage, but it’s safe to say that it’s got nothing on the Kodak Theater. 

Generally speaking, the Spirit Awards are a looser, rowdier event. You can even wear jeans. As a group, they’re much more likely to honor African-American abuse dramas (Precious) or intimate character studies of "broken down pieces of meat" (The Wrestler) or teen pregnancy comedies (Juno) than the mainstream Academy is. In fact, in their entire 25-year shared history with the Oscars, the “Best Feature” and “Best Picture” prizes have only gone to the same film once.

...read the rest in my weekly Tribeca Film column.
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Black Swan· Blue Valentine· Indie Spirits· Oscars (10)· Ryan Gosling· The Kids Are All Right· Tribeca Film· Winter's Bone

Spirit Awards. What They Do and Don't Say About Oscar.

Now that I've had a day to think over the Spirit Awards (nominee discussion) and what they reveal and obscure about the Oscar race, here's a deeper look for my Tribeca Film column.

Eligible "Best Feature" Snubs
Blue Valentine, Get Low, Somewhere, Rabbit Hole
Not eligible for "Best Feature" or Acting Prizes
The King's Speech, I Am Love, Another Year, Animal KingdomNot eligible for anything
Toy Story 3, The Social Network, True Grit, The Town, Etc...

Remember last year when Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire swept the Oscars, becoming the first... oh, no, wait, that didn't happen at all. That was the Film Independent Spirit Awards. They take place the day before the Oscars each year. And they take place in a tent. We don't know the square footage, but it’s safe to say that it’s got nothing on the Kodak Theater. 

Generally speaking, the Spirit Awards are a looser, rowdier event. You can even wear jeans. As a group, they’re much more likely to honor African-American abuse dramas (Precious) or intimate character studies of "broken down pieces of meat" (The Wrestler) or teen pregnancy comedies (Juno) than the mainstream Academy is. In fact, in their entire 25-year shared history with the Oscars, the “Best Feature” and “Best Picture” prizes have only gone to the same film once.

...read the rest in my weekly Tribeca Film column.
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