Oscars debrief
March 20 — Happy Friday, everyone, and welcome to, for the first time in months, a world without the Oscars looming over us. It’s over! We did it!
Despite lackluster viewership numbers (ratings fell roughly nine percent from last year’s broadcast, the lowest since 2022), I mostly had a great time! I thought the presenters were a little meh – that Robert Downey Jr./Chris Evans banter fell about as flat as flat can get – and I really wish that we spent as much time on politics and the truly fraught state of the world as we did on Timothée Chalamet’s opinions on the ballet (if I never hear about that again, it’ll be too soon).
But! Conan O’Brien never disappoints, the musical moments were actually good this year, and I am … pretty satisfied with the results, ultimately! It’s rare I leave an Oscars ceremony feeling content, so I’m going to treasure that while I can. And I got 19/24 of my predictions right (I’m giving myself the tie!). A good night all around!
Cannes starts in roughly two months (how that’s possible, I don’t know). So, we’ll be back to all this mess sooner than you think! But for now, without further ado … Action!
🎼 The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has released new additions to its Movies in Concert series, including “Hocus Pocus” on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, and “Elf” on Nov. 28 and 29.
🏆 The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival has announced its Audience Award winners: “Once Upon My Mother,” “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” and “Our Neighbour’s Ass.”
✍️ “The Red Man,” a play by JuCoby Johnson, won the 23rd annual Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition.
✊ SAG-AFTRA, the labor union that represents actors among other media professionals, wrapped up a month of negotiations with studios earlier this week without settling on a new contract. Talks are expected to resume in June, and the current contract expires on June 30. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America has started its own bargaining sessions with studios, hoping to reach an agreement before its contract expires on May 1.
🥋 Actor and martial artist Chuck Norris died on March 19, according to a social media post from his family. He was 86 years old.
It’s a stacked one this week! Today’s newsletter includes some amazing filmmaker interviews – one with local filmmaker (and my former podcast cohost) Aaron Strand; one with writer Alex Sarrigeorgiou, whose film “In Transit” played at Out on Film’s Spring Mini Fest this week; and writer/director Akinola Davies Jr., whose new film “My Father’s Shadow” opens up at the Tara today. Plus, we’ve got reviews of the new films “Project Hail Mary” and “Tow,” a new edition of Spotlight, what’s playing at theaters this week, and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
🍃 Join us at Farm Chastain for outdoor wellness programming focused on connecting with nature. From volunteering to hands-on workshops, there is something for all ages. Step outside, breathe deep, and invest in your well-being. Click here to join. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Aaron Strand’s ‘Withdrawal’ and proving there’s a market for indie cinema
🍿 Over the past year, I’ve spoken to numerous filmmakers, locally and nationally, who have started to take distribution of their films into their own hands.
You have the creative team behind the restaurant industry horror film “We’re So Dead” encouraging people to rent the film through their website. Izzy Roland’s film “D(e)ad” had a non-traditional theatrical run without help from film festivals or a traditional distributor. On a slightly larger scale, YouTuber Mark Fischbach (better known by his username, Markiplier) self-financed his adaptation of the video game “Iron Lung” and then encouraged his fanbase to request that the film screen at their local theater.
Independent cinema has always skirted the norm. But rejection of the traditional distribution model – where film distributors buy movies out of film festivals or elsewhere and release them via streaming or theatrical – has become a prevalent option for smaller filmmakers looking to get their work seen. And, in local filmmaker Aaron Strand’s case, to prove there is a market for these types of movies.
📽️ This is the first piece of a hopefully longer series I’ll be doing on Atlanta’s indie film scene and the people who make it work. Check out my conversation with Aaron here.
Don’t miss THE event of the spring – Move For Grady!
SPONSORED BY GRADY HEALTH FOUNDATION
🏃 It’s time to register for Move For Grady on April 25, Atlanta’s best ride/run/walk event supporting Grady! Choose one of three fully supported cycling routes or 5K or 10K run/walk courses that will show you Atlanta from a new point of view. Then stay to celebrate with great food, drinks and music at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.
❤️ Move For Grady raises funds to support Grady’s mission to build a healthier Atlanta. Register today, start training and join the party on April 25!
Writer/actor Alex Sarrigeorgiou talks “In Transit’
🎨 Alex Sarrigeorgiou first had the idea for her film “In Transit” when she was working as an artist model back in 2019. She started considering the very particular experience of having someone study another person intently without really looking at the person themselves. That thought turned into “In Transit,” which played at Out on Film’s annual Spring Mini Fest earlier this week.
“In Transit” stars Sarrigeorgiou as Lucy, a young bartender who lives in a small town in Maine. While dealing with the aftermath of the death of her father, Lucy meets Ilse (Jennifer Ehle), a painter who has just recently moved to town looking for inspiration. When Ilse invites Lucy to come pose for her, a surprise attraction changes both women’s lives.
Ahead of the screening, I spoke with Sarrigeorgiou about crafting “In Transit,” separating her writer-self from her actor-self, and the best and worst parts about posing for an artist. It’s one of my favorite conversations I’ve had in a while!
Akinola Davies Jr. explores fatherhood and political upheaval in ‘My Father’s Shadow’
🇳🇬 Filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. originally broke through with his short film “Lizard,” which became the first Nigerian production to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021. Now, he’s got a feature to follow up.
Written by Davies Jr. and his brother, Wale Davies, “My Father’s Shadow” is inspired by the brothers’ cut-short relationship with their father (he died of epilepsy when they were young) and their childhood in Nigeria. The film follows two boys, Akin and Remi (Godwin Chiemerie Egbo and Chibuike Marvellous Egbo), who spend the day in Lagos with their often-absentee father, Folarin (Sope Dirisu). The day happens to coincide with Nigeria’s 1993 presidential election, during which the military government nullified the democratic victory of Moshood Abiola, the Social Democratic Party candidate.
Ahead of the film’s release in Atlanta this weekend, I spoke with Davies Jr. about the making of the film, his cinematic influences, and creating magic on screen.
👨🍼 Check out our conversation here.
Ryan Gosling delivers star power in ‘Project Hail Mary’
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🚀 An early scene in “Project Hail Mary” features maybe the most unrealistic image in the totality of the film – certified movie star Ryan Gosling playing a middle school teacher.
Gosling is the reluctant hero of our film (adapted from Andy Weir’s 2021 novel), Dr. Ryland Grace. He’s explaining to his students (and the audience) the scientific phenomenon that sets up the film’s plot. To put it simply, an alien organism is causing stars to dim, including our own sun – an event that scientists believe will lead to another Ice Age. The problem is, no one can really figure out why or how to stop it.
The first thing you notice about Dr. Grace is that he seems a little too cool – and also, a little too knowledgeable about what’s going on – to be stuck in a classroom telling students about the end of the world instead of out there trying to save it. While it’s a little hard to believe Gosling as a down-on-his-luck middle school teacher, “Project Hail Mary” is also the type of movie that needs movie star energy to elevate it from good to great, and that’s something Gosling has in spades. With him at the helm, a little Spielbergian sensibility, and stellar visuals, “Project Hail Mary” feels like a triumphant return to classical blockbuster filmmaking.
At the Movies!
If you’re looking for a movie to see in theaters this week, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to!
Movies releasing this weekend:
🪨 “Project Hail Mary”
🚗 “Tow”
🐟 “The Pout-Pout Fish”
👰 “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” (pictured)
🩺 “André is an Idiot”
🧛 “Vampires of the Velvet Lounge”
🇱🇧 “We Are Inside”
🇳🇬 “My Father’s Shadow”
🇵🇸 “Coexistence, My Ass!”
Special Events:
🐴 Joystick: “The Neverending Story” @ The Plaza (Friday)
💥 All-Night Marathon: Vinegar Syndrome’s Action Spectacular @ The Plaza (Saturday)
🚴 “RAD” 40th Anniversary @ The Plaza (Sunday-Tuesday)
🔫 Plazadrome: “At Close Range” with Justin LaLiberty @ The Plaza (Sunday)
🥋 “One Battle After Another” @ The Tara (Friday-Thursday)
🪦 “Beetlejuice” @ The Tara (Saturday-Tuesday)
🍃 Join us at Farm Chastain for outdoor wellness programming focused on connecting with nature. From volunteering to hands-on workshops, there is something for all ages. Step outside, breathe deep, and invest in your well-being. Click here to join. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Spotlight: Kylie Jenner in ‘The Moment’
🎤 Let me start by saying, I’m not a Kardashian person. I’ve never watched the show. The closest I come to that aspect of pop culture is constantly worrying that the Kardashian/Jenner clan have done irreparable damage to the world’s collective body image, as well as a light enjoyment of the memes (“Kim, there’s people that are dying,” is a constant refrain in my head).
But, I must give credit where credit is due: Kylie Jenner might be the best thing in “The Moment.”
“The Moment” – the recent celebrity satire starring pop star Charli XCX as a fictionalized version of herself – has plenty of well-placed cameos (Rachel Sennott is particularly memorable). But Jenner’s time in the spotlight is not only funny, but also communicates some of the film’s biggest ideas.
Charli spends most of the film pushing back against the creative direction of concert filmmaker Johannes Godwin (Alexander Skarsgård). His vision for the Brat concert movie clashes directly with Charli’s – and, what’s more, he asks her to compromise on her artistic integrity. The interesting thing about this tension is that the more Charli pushes back against Johannes and the machine that keeps him running, the more stressed and paranoid she becomes.
Jenner (playing herself) meets Charli in an Ibizan spa, looking unbothered and airbrushed. Meanwhile, Charli – fighting against the commodification of her art while trying desperately to stay relevant – is red and blotchy, and has just been told by an esthetician that she’s too stale on the inside to do any good work on the outside. Jenner might represent commodification at its zenith, but she also represents the allure of giving in – how easy Charli’s life might be if she just stopped caring so much. It’s a remarkably smart bit of casting, and a very self-aware turn from a celebrity who does not often give that impression.
Lights, Camera, Action!
🇦🇺 It’s me, back with another “Blank Check” podcast recommendation! Hosts Griffin and David started their Peter Weir series recently, and have covered both his first film, “The Cars That Ate Paris,” and his breakthrough, “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” with special guest filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun.
🦴 I’m sorry, did I say we were done talking about the Oscars? Well, I lied. For Vulture, Louis Peitzman writes about the Academy’s growing acceptance of the horror genre over the last couple of years, culminating with Amy Madigan’s win this past week for her role as the instantly iconic Aunt Gladys in “Weapons.” I’m already manifesting a Ralph Fiennes nomination for “The Bone Temple.”
📸 If you’ve seen a behind-the-scenes photo of a movie set, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen the work of photographer Atsushi Nishijima – or Jima, as he’s known. Jima has worked as an on-set still photographer for years, including on 2025 movies like “Bugonia” and “Marty Supreme.” Naomi Fry recently talked to the photographer about capturing the essence of a movie set. Check out her piece here.
🖊️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.