A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
CNN FILMS PRIME MINISTER WINS TWO EMMY® AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST DOCUMENTARY
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CNN’s recognition extended to the Documentary Emmy® Awards on Thursday night, where CNN Films’ Prime Minister won Best Documentary and Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary. The acclaimed film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, earning the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary before being acquired by HBO and CNN Films. Released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures, Prime Minister is available to stream now at CNN.com/Watch, on the CNN app, and on HBO Max.
Dame Jacinda Ardern posted a thank you speech to her Instagram.
Tonight the incredible team who made the documentary simply titled “Prime Minister” won the Emmy for best documentary. From the sidelines I saw these talented directors, editors, and producers all come together to create a film (which I have still only watched it in its entirety once..) that feels like the most accurate portrayal of what it’s like to lead with your heart on your sleeve. My huge congratulations to them all, especially Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz who co-directed it. But here, I want to make a special mention of Clarke, the first person who picked up a camera. I wasn’t the easiest person to film, and nor through the years of being PM was I the easiest partner. But that never changed the amount of support he gave in return. Our loved ones don’t choose politics, but they are still on the front line alongside us every day, cheering us on, keeping life at home going, reminding us why we’re there. So thank you, Clarke. Now it’s my turn to cheer you on xx
Clarke spoke at the awards tonight, and he saved his final words, rightly so, to thank New Zealand. Our home. We will both forever be grateful for the privilege of a lifetime.
Congratulations to Dame Jacinda, the documentarians, CNN, and HBO!
Since it's Throwback Thursday and the subject is politics, follow over the jump for the top serious political posts written during the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
I decided I had enough in me to continue my series on the nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards today, so I'm going right after the category with the most nominated documentary.
Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary
Antidote FRONTLINE FEATURES | PBS [Passion Pictures | Bellingcat | Impact Partners | Channel 4 | M4 Studios] Life After Independent Lens
Multitude Films | PBS [ITVS | Straw House Production] Lost in the Jungle Little Monster Films [National Geographic] 2000 Meters to Andriivka FRONTLINE FEATURES | PBS [Associated Press] Thoughts & Prayers HBO Documentary Films [Tony Tina]
2000 Meters to Andriivka leads all documentaries with six nominations, including Best Documentary. Life After follows with four, also including Best Documentary. Antidote, Lost in the Jungle, and Thoughts & Prayers tie at two to round out the category. I think this is the first category where every nominee has at least one other nomination — such quality! Not even Best Documentary can claim that distinction for its nominees. This will mean 2000 Meters to Andriivka winning, which I expect, will mean that much more.
From the Oscar®-winning team behind 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA documents the toll of the Russia-Ukraine war from a personal and devastating vantage point.
Following his historic account of the civilian toll in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov turns his lens towards Ukrainian soldiers — who they are, where they came from, and the impossible decisions they face in the trenches as they fight for every inch of their land.
Amid a failing counteroffensive in 2023, Chernov and his AP colleague Alex Babenko follow a Ukrainian brigade battling through approximately one mile of a heavily fortified forest on their mission to liberate the Russian-occupied village of Andriivka. Weaving together original footage, intensive Ukrainian Army bodycam video and powerful moments of reflection, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA reveals with haunting intimacy, the farther the soldiers advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that, for them, this war may never end.
That's every bit as gripping as I thought it would be.
LIFE AFTER is a gripping investigative documentary that exposes the tangled web of moral dilemmas and profit motives surrounding assisted dying. Disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport uncovers shocking abuses of power while amplifying the voices of the disability community fighting for justice and dignity in an unfolding matter of life and death.
I still expect 2000 Meters to Andriivka will win, but I would not be surprised if this upsets it. If so, it might upset 2000 Meters to Andriivka in every category in which it's nominated, because it's competing against my pick to win in all four. Otherwise, it will likely come home empty-handed, because I expect 2000 Meters to Andriivka to sweep.
What is the cost of speaking truth to power? In Putin’s Russia, it could mean your life. An immersive and chilling documentary, Antidote follows in real time a whistleblower, Vladimir Kara-Murza, from inside Russia's poison program as he attempts to escape. He is a prominent political activist who is poisoned twice and now stands trial for treason. Also profiled is his wife Evgenia and Christo Grozev, the journalist exposing Putin's murder machine. He too is under threat and is forced to flee.
Antidote's other nomination is for Outstanding Graphic Design: Documentary, and it shows in the trailer.
After a deadly plane crash strands four young siblings deep within the Colombian rainforest, a dramatic rescue mission unfolds, uniting Indigenous trackers and the military in a race against time. For the first time ever, LOST IN THE JUNGLE offers the exclusive account of this incredible true story directly from the children themselves and the rescuers who scoured the Amazon rainforest for a grueling 40 days and nights to find them. From National Geographic Documentary Films and Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, along with Emmy® Award-winning director Juan Camilo Cruz, LOST IN THE JUNGLE is a gripping tale of survival, courage and hope.
Lost in the Jungle's second nomination is for Outstanding Sound: Documentary and I can hear it in the trailer.
I'm not going to recycle all the other categories in which these documentaries earned nominations; my readers can go through the posts below and read my opinions, which haven't changed. In the meantime, stay tuned for the nominees for Best Documentary whose trailers I haven't yet embedded tomorrow.
Previous posts about the 57th News & Doc Emmy Awards
Paramount Skydance is preparing to make a bid for Warner Brothers Discovery. NBC News' Tom Llamas talks to media and sports reporter Alex Sherman about what this potential merger could mean for film and television.
This could have major effects on entertainment production and consumption, although the resulting company would still not be as big as Amazon and Apple, which are primarily technology companies, or Disney, which definitely is still a media company. CNBC Television was thinking of a different media company when it uploaded Combining Paramount and Warner Bros. could create real competition to Netflix: Puck's Matt Belloni.
Matt Belloni, Puck founding partner, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss reports of Paramount Skydance preparing an all-cash takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, impact on the media industry, and more.
I was wondering if/when Joe Kernan would say something that would annoy me and he lived down to my expectations by speculating on what this merger would do to CNN's personnel. CBS News and CNN merging would likely result in a more conservative news outlet, which would make Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump get out of the deal's way. It's a legitimate topic that I'm concerned about, but Kernan's attitude rubbed me the wrong way. Good thing Andrew Ross Sorkin stepped in to change the tone.
Rich Greenfield, LightShed Partners co-founder, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss reports of Paramount Skydance preparing an all-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, impact on the rest of the media industry, prospect of Comcast making a competing bid, and more.
When I first heard about a potential buyer for Warner Bros., it was NBCUniversal, which would make sense for Universal Studios theme parks; Harry Potter's movie and theme park IP would under the same umbrella instead of being split. That was under the Biden Administration. As Greenfield pointed out, this won't happen with Hoover Cleveland in charge. Besides, the Ellisons can outbid NBCUniversal, so it won't happen from a business perspective, either.
There was a lot of talk about a potential purchase of TikTok, but I'm going to save that for a future post. Speaking of which, stay tuned for a post about tonight's Emmy winners tomorrow.
It's Sunday, so it's time for an entertainment feature. I know I wrote that I would stay away from topical posts for the rest of January, but seeing "Defund PBS" trend on X reminded me that HBO has decided not to renew its deal with Sesame Workshop, formerly Children's Television Workshop, to fund new episodes of Sesame Street and show them first on HBO and now Max before moving to PBS. Take it away CNBC!
HBO ends deal with Sesame Street: Here's why
I embedded that because it's CNBC and has an informative preview image, but it didn't have an informative description. For that, I'm turning to USA Today reporting HBO says goodbye to 'Sesame Street'.
Sesame Workshop, the non-profit behind "Sesame Street," is looking for a new distributor after HBO decided against renewing the series.
CNBC's video wasn't as informative, as it was mostly anchor banter that devolved into Joe Kernan sniping at Becky Quick's husband, making me wonder if he is a bit jealous/envious of him. I don't have to wonder if he's a bit of a jerk; he is. Add this to his views having annoyed me twicebefore and that's three strikes against him.
However, this isn't the immediate end of Sesame Street. Collider reported that "Max's license for episodes continues through 2027, and this month you can still see new episodes from Season 55 on Max." There is still hope beyond then, as Collider also reported "it is expected that major streamers like Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV+ will all want it." I'll do my best to follow through on the eventual distributor.
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Murray Bartlett – The Last of Us: "Long, Long Time" as Frank (HBO)
James Cromwell – Succession: "Church and State" as Ewan Roy (HBO)
Lamar Johnson – The Last of Us: "Endure and Survive" as Henry (HBO)
Arian Moayed – Succession: "Honeymoon States" as Stewy Hosseini (HBO)
Nick Offerman – The Last of Us: "Long, Long Time" as Bill (HBO)
Keivonn Montreal Woodard – The Last of Us: "Endure and Survive" as Sam (HBO)
Four nominees from The Last of Us and two from Succession — no matter who wins, HBO does as well, which makes it an even more extreme case of HBO dramas and 'SNL' split the nominees for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series at the 2023 Emmy Awards, where only one nominee isn't from an HBO show. Despite the advent of streaming, the guest acting drama nominees reflect the pre-Netflix reality from 1996 to 2009, when "It's Not TV, It's HBO" was the slogan of the cable channel and people accepted it. Some things haven't changed, at least at the Television Academy. That won't be the case for comedy, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
I voted for Nick Offerman at the Saturn Awards because he's the professional choice among the nominees, as he was the only one with an Emmy nomination. That made the choice easy. Even in a field with nothing but nominees from The Last of Us, he would still have had my vote. It helps that both the editors and experts at Gold Derby think he's the likely winner with ten of the former and all seven of the latter picking him to win on Saturday. Only one editor dissented, choosing James Cromwell from Succession to walk off with the Emmy.
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Hiam Abbass – Succession: "Honeymoon States" as Marcia (HBO)
Cherry Jones – Succession: "The Munsters" as Nan Pierce (HBO)
Melanie Lynskey – The Last of Us: "Endure and Survive" as Kathleen (HBO)
Storm Reid – The Last of Us: "Left Behind" as Riley Abel (HBO)
Anna Torv – The Last of Us: "Infected" as Theresa "Tess" Servopoulos (HBO)
Harriet Walter – Succession: "Church and State" as Lady Caroline Collingwood (HBO)
They've been snubbing great performances, especially by women, for as long as I've been voting for the awards. I whined for years about how they would not nominate any of the Emmy-winning actresses in The Handmaid's Tale even though they nominated the show, while nominating the actresses in CW superhero shows.
That written, my second reaction is that I would still have voted for Nick Offerman; he was that good.
Both the editors and experts at Gold Derby think Harriet Walter will win for Succession with nine of eleven editors picking her and five of seven experts ranking her first. One editor each chose Melanie Lynskey and Storm Reid from The Last of Us, while one expert each picked Melanie Lynskey and Hiam Abbass from Succession. Previous winner Cherry Jones received no first place votes. On that note, I'm sharing Gold Derby interviewing Dame Harriet Walter ('Ted Lasso' and 'Succession'): 'I don’t want to play the same character twice'.
Dame Harriet Walter ('Ted Lasso' and 'Succession'): 'I don’t want to play the same character twice.' For Apple, she played Deborah Welton, the mother of Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham). For HBO, she played the mother of the three Roy siblings. Gold Derby editor Matt Noble hosts this webchat.
Dame Harriet also has another Emmy nomination, so follow over the jump for the comedy categories I examined in Pete Davidson hosts as 'Saturday Night Live' returns plus a bonus performing category I hadn't examined yet.
As I've writtentwice, "Based on total nominations, I'd say The Janes is Good Night Oppy's stiffest competition" for Best Documentary at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards. It's time to examine this film and its nominations, beginning with The Janes | Official Trailer | HBO.
["]We had to go underground."
#TheJanesHBO tells the revelatory story of a group of unlikely outlaws. Defying the state legislature that outlawed abortion, the Catholic Church that condemned it, and the Chicago Mob that was profiting from it, the members of “Jane” risked their personal and professional lives to support women with unwanted pregnancies in the pre-Roe v. Wade era. Premieres June 8 on HBO Max.
The timing of the premiere was uncanny, as it happened the same month that the SupremeCourtoverturned Roe v. Wade. America needed a look at the pre-Roe situation in order to understand what a post-Roe America could look like. That alone makes The Janes a valuable and moving documentary and a worthy competitor to Good Night Oppy.
Follow over the jump for the nominees against which The Janes is competing in four categories.
Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary
Eat The Rich: The GameStop Netflix Icahn: The Restless Billionaire HBO Max Independent Lens TikTok, Boom. PBS POV The Last Out PBS Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons Hulu
This is the only nomination for each of these documentaries, so I can't handicap their odds on that basis. Instead, I'm embedding their trailers. Maybe then I can make a guess.
This humorous documentary series follows a group of millennial misfits who banded together online to rescue their beloved GameStop from the clutches of Wall Street bigwigs, in a viral David vs. Goliath story for the 21st century.
Ah, yes, GameStop, a tale of the stock market and Retail Apocalypse. This looks like the most fun documentary of the field. It's also the one I'm most connected to, as my wife got involved with Wall Street Bets and Robin Hood. That made investing fun, even if it may not have been as profitable as she and I might have liked.
The HBO original documentary #IcahnHBO offers unprecedented access to the the provocative, straight-talking billionaire financier, Carl Icahn.
Icahn the icon — I feel like I've been hearing about him most of my adult life. While the GameStop documentary looks like fun, Icahn's story is probably more important in the grand scheme of things. That written, I've only mentioned the man once before, and that was in passing. It's about time he got more scrutiny here.
I'm mixing and matching for the next nominee. First, TIKTOK, BOOM (Trailer) from ZFF Zurich Film Festival.
What does it mean to be a digital native?
TikTok, Boom. dissects the platform along myriad cross-sections—algorithmic, socio-political, economic, and cultural—to explore the impact of the history-making app. Balancing a genuine interest in the community and its innovative mechanics with a healthy skepticism, delve into the security issues, global political challenges, and racial biases behind the platform. Featuring Gen Z influencers like Feroza Aziz, Spencer X, Deja Foxx, and Merrick Hanna.
Three Cuban baseball players leave their families and risk exile to train in Central America and chase their dreams of playing in the United States. At the shadowy nexus of the migrant trail and pro sports, The Last Out chronicles their difficult journey, from multi-step immigration obstacles and learning English to the broken promises and dubious motives of agents. Official selection, 2020 Tribeca Film Festival (premiered in 2021). A co-presentation with Latino Public Broadcasting.
The Last Out made its national broadcast and streaming debut on the PBS documentary series POV and pbs.org/pov on Monday, October 3, 2022 on PBS!
On the one hand, this is probably the most moving human story of the lot, which should work in its favor. On the other, this is, by far, the least viewed trailer of any of the nominees. I'm the 168th person to watch it. It's hard for a nominee to earn votes if no one is watching it.
The story behind the brand that dominated the malls of America. Uncover Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons on July 14.
As I exclaimed the one and only time I mentioned Victoria's Secret before, oh my. I had no idea Jeffrey Epstein was involved with this business, too. No wonder the trailer has so many views; it's a business story about using sex to sell its product that includes a sex scandal. Whether those trailer and presumably program views result in the producers bringing home a trophy is another matter — remember, electorates matter — but at least the voters will have watched the show. That makes this the nominee I expect to win, even though it's not my personal favorite.
I will continue my awards show coverage, but I might revisit the SAG-AFTRA strike tomorrow first. Stay tuned.
Previous posts about the 2023 News & Documentary Emmy Awards
Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series House of the Dragon: Inside the Episode (HBO) The Last of Us: Inside the Episode (HBO) Saturday Night Live Presents: Behind the Sketch (NBC) Succession: Controlling the Narrative (HBO) The White Lotus: Unpacking the Episode (HBO)
This does double duty. First, it gives fans (and Emmy voters) a look into the work behind the scene, making them appreciate it more. Second, it very gently parodies HBO's Behind the Scenes segments, which do the same thing.
That serves as a set-up for the other four nominees, which are all Inside the Episodes or the equivalent of HBO shows. I'm embedding the ones for the first episodes of the current seasons, beginning with House of the Dragon | S1 EP1: Inside the Episode (HBO).
Ryan Condal, Miguel Sapochnik, and more discuss why they opened the episode with the Great Council, the juxtaposition between the tournament and Queen Aemma's birthing sequence, and the motivation behind Viserys choosing Rhaenyra as heir.
This is the one nominated series I haven't seen, as my wife found the violence in Game of Thrones excessive and gratuitous, so we stopped watching it after the first season. Still, I found this clip interesting and informative. It's also the most watched of the four.
Series stars Pedro Pascal (Joel) and Bella Ramsey (Ellie), executive producers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, and more detail the emotionally charged beginnings of the end of modern civilization in The Last of Us.
I watched this clip right after watching the series premiere and it packed just as big a punch the second time around.
In this companion series, the cast of Succession and creator Jesse Armstrong delve into pivotal scenes from each episode. This week, they discuss the new power dynamics following the Season 3 finale, with the three Roy children now working towards a common goal, while Logan and Tom suffer the consequences of their betrayal.
I found this clip to be much flatter than the first two, so while I think Succession is the favorite to win Outstanding Drama Series, it's not my favorite to win this category.
Jennifer Coolidge & Haley Lu Richardson discuss their characters Tanya and Portia’s motivations in the season 2 premiere — and answer our Vacay Q&A.
Like last season, Season 2 of The White Lotus has a crime at the heart of its farce, but that doesn't show up in this clip. That's what happens when I pick the first episode to minimize spoilers.
Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series Awkwafina is Hangin' with Grandma (Comedy Central) Better Call Saul: Filmmaker Training (AMC) Carpool Karaoke: The Series (Apple TV+) I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (Netflix) Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question (Hulu)
Hop in and ride along for eight brand new episodes of Carpool Karaoke: The Series streaming on Apple TV+ this Friday.
Once again, I'm calling this award for Carpool Karaoke: The Series. The only other nominee that has a chance is I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, which has a second nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for its star. I'm writing about him below.
Before I move on to the next category, I'm going to whine about two of my favorite previous nominees being snubbed this year, The Randy Rainbow Show and Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News. I finally get on board the Randy Rainbow train and it's not going to the Emmys. Poop. Not having both means that laughing at politics and government has diminished to almost nothing in the short form categories. Remember that I justify my coverage of the Emmy nominees through using television as a window to examine politics and government. The closest the nominees in these categories get to that are Better Call Saul: Filmmaker Training and Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question, both of which examine crime and punishment from the perspective of private actors, pun intended, in a law enforcement setting. That's better than nothing, but not by much.
Follow over the jump for the short form acting nominations and the Outstanding Short Documentary nominees at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary Earthstorm Netflix Good Night Oppy Amazon Prime How To Survive A Pandemic HBO Max NOVA Augmented PBS NOVA Ultimate Space Telescope PBS
Good Night Oppy leads with six nominations at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards and one at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for a total of seven nominations at two ceremonies. Only the Nova episode "Augmented" among its competition has another nomination for Outstanding Promotional Announcement. The rest only have this one nomination. I'd say Good Night Oppy is the favorite to win.
After watching this, I remember why I used a different version of the trailer; that one had a good video description. This one is just advertising for (Amazon) Prime Video, so I'm not quoting it. Instead, I'm quoting myself.
Fifteen years is the lifespan of a dog. I can understand why Opportunity's ground crew would get attached and people would mourn its shutdown, which would feel like a pet passing.
The dramatic orchestral arrangement of David Bowie's "Life on Mars" made the trailer even more emotional.
Follow the dramatic personal journey of Hugh Herr, a biophysicist working to create brain-controlled robotic limbs. At age 17, Herr’s legs were amputated after a climbing accident. Frustrated by the crude prosthetic limbs he was given, Herr set out to remedy their design, leading him to a career as an inventor who is helping to test a new approach to bionics.
I can see why this trailer earned a nomination. It's inspiring and makes me want to watch the show.
Storm chasers, survivors and first responders recount their harrowing experiences with volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes.
This looks like another good show to recommend to my students, especially since I just told my earthquake stories to my geology students last Thursday. These are much more graphic than my experiences!
Good Night Oppy is also competing for Best Documentary.
Best Documentary CNN Films Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain CNN Escape From Kabul HBO Max FRONTLINE, The Associated Press Putin’s Attack on Ukraine: Documenting War Crimes PBS Good Night Oppy Amazon Prime The Janes HBO Max
While Good Night Oppy is the most nominated entry at this ceremony competing for this award, I don't know enough about its competition yet to pick a winner. The Janes has four nominations, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain has three nominations, and Escape From Kabul and the FRONTLINE episode "Putin’s Attack on Ukraine: Documenting War Crimes" have two each. Based on total nominations, I'd say The Janes is Good Night Oppy's stiffest competition, but I wouldn't be surprised if Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain pulls an upset. I'll get back to this category when I examine the rest of the nominees.
Follow over the jump for the rest of Good Night Oppy's nominations.
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special (Area) Being Mary Tyler Moore (HBO) Judy Blume Forever (Prime Video) My Transparent Life (Prime Video) Pamela, A Love Story (Netflix) Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)
First, the theme: All of these are biographies, even My Transparent Life, the only one that is not about a public figure. The rest are about people important in pop culture and three of them tell the stories of television stars. If the Television Academy had nominated Moonage Daydream instead of My Transparent Life, then the entertainment biography motif would have been complete. Next, the numbers: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie leads this field with seven nominations, followed by Pamela, A Love Story and Judy Blume Forever with two each, and Being Mary Tyler Moore and My Transparent Life with one each. I'm embedding the trailers for the nominees in that order, beginning with STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie — Official Trailer | Apple TV+.
Michael J. Fox is going back to his past and rewriting his future. Still is now streaming on Apple TV+
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The film, which will incorporate documentary, archival and scripted elements, will recount Fox’s extraordinary story in his own words — the improbable tale of an undersized kid from a Canadian army base who rose to the heights of stardom in 1980s Hollywood. The account of Fox’s public life, full of nostalgic thrills and cinematic gloss, will unspool alongside his never-before-seen private journey, including the years that followed his diagnosis, at 29, with Parkinson’s disease. Intimate and honest, and produced with unprecedented access to Fox and his family, the film will chronicle Fox’s personal and professional triumphs and travails and will explore what happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease. With a mix of adventure and romance, comedy and drama, watching the film will feel like … well, like a Michael J. Fox movie.
Song: "More Than a Feeling" by Boston
"The sad sack story is Micheal J. Fox gets this debilitating disease and it crushes him." "Yeah, that's boring." Well, this trailer was anything but boring and if it's an accurate depiction of the show, then it won't be boring, either.
Pamela Anderson defined a decade. Now she will define herself.
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In her own words, through personal video and diaries, Pamela Anderson shares the story of her rise to fame, rocky romances and infamous sex tape scandal.
This documentary is very much a reaction to Pam & Tommy. I hope it works for Anderson.
The radical honesty of the books by trailblazing author Judy Blume changed the way millions of adolescent readers understood themselves, their sexuality, and what it meant to grow up, but also led to critical battles against book banning and censorship.
With humor, sensitivity, and a healthy dose of adolescent cringe, JUDY BLUME FOREVER tells the story of the woman whose trail-blazing books changed the way millions of readers understand themselves, their sexuality, and what it means to grow up.
This clip shows how influential Judy Blume is and why she's an important subject of a documentary. I wouldn't be surprised if she earns Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary at this fall's Critics Choice Documentary Awards. While most people think of Blume as an author, she has an IMDB page, so she fits in with Michael J. Fox, Pamela Anderson, and Mary Tyler Moore, the subject of Being Mary Tyler Moore | Official Trailer | HBO.
Being Mary Tyler Moore, an HBO Original documentary, examines the extraordinary life, career, and legacy of the actress and activist. Directed by James Adolphus with Lena Waithe and Debra Martin Chase as producers, Being Mary Tyler Moore premieres May 26 on HBO and Max.
I have one word for David Susskind after watching that clip of him interviewing Moore — oink! I'm glad Moore handled him as well as she did.
I couldn't find a trailer on YouTube for My Transparent Life, but I did find My Transparent Life Premiere from The Hollywood Gazette.
The Hollywood Gazette interviews the cast and crew of My Transparent Life at the premiere in Westwood, CA on October 4th 2022.
On the one hand, I find it a bit odd that Prime Video doesn't have a trailer for this show. That bodes poorly for its awards prospects. On the other, if The Hollywood Gazette ever uploaded more videos, I might just subscribe to the channel.
Both the number of nominations and the experts at Gold Derby agree; Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is the favorite. Every expert is picking it to win and so am I.
Follow over the jump for the rest of the categories that include documentary or nonfiction special nominees.
I'm returning to the Primetime and CreativeArtsEmmyAwards to examine the last categories with nominated wildlife documentaries for World Conservation Day as I suggested yesterday. Here are the nominees competing against "Secrets of the Elephants" for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series (Area) Dear Mama (FX) 100 Foot Wave (HBO) Secrets of the Elephants (Nat Geo) The 1619 Project (Hulu) The U.S. and the Holocaust (PBS)
100 Foot Wave has the most nominations with six, followed by The U.S. and the Holocaust with three at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and one at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards for a total of four, The 1619 Project with three, and Dear Mama and Secrets of the Elephants with two each. Before I handicap the nominees with the help of the experts at Gold Derby, I'm sharing their trailers from the most nominated to the least, beginning with 100 Foot Wave Season 2 | Official Trailer | HBO.
The U.S. and the Holocaust, a new documentary by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, examines the rise of Hitler and Nazism in Germany in the context of global antisemitism and racism, immigration and eugenics in the United States, and race laws in the American south. Premieres September 18.
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More about the production:
THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST is a three-part, six hour series directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, that examines America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. Americans consider themselves a “nation of immigrants,” but as the catastrophe of the Holocaust unfolded in Europe, the United States proved unwilling to open its doors to more than a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of desperate people seeking refuge. Through riveting firsthand testimony of witnesses and survivors who as children endured persecution, violence and flight as their families tried to escape Hitler, this series delves deeply into the tragic human consequences of public indifference, bureaucratic red tape and restrictive quota laws in America. Did the nation fail to live up to its ideals? This is a history to be reckoned with.
The series is narrated by Peter Coyote; Voice Actors Include Liam Neeson, Matthew Rhys, Paul Giamatti, Meryl Streep, Werner Herzog, Joe Morton, Hope Davis, Bradley Whitford and Helena Zengel.
The subject of this series hits me personally. I grew up in a Reform Jewish neighborhood and the mother of my high school crush was a concentration camp survivor, so I know people who have experienced this story. Watching the trailer while thinking about the resurrection of Fascism made me wonder what are we doing now and if we would avoid repeating the mistakes of 80 years ago.
From Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones comes the greatest story never told. The 1619 Project premieres January 26th only on Hulu. #1619hulu
The 1619 Project is a Lionsgate Production in association with One Story Up Productions, Harpo Films and The New York Times. It was executive produced by Nikole Hannah-Jones; Academy Award®-winning director Roger Ross Williams; Caitlin Roper, an editor of “The 1619 Project” and The New York Times’ executive producer for film and television; Kathleen Lingo, The New York Times’ editorial director for film and television; and Oprah Winfrey. Peabody Award-winning executive producer Shoshana Guy served as the showrunner. Watch The 1619 Project on Hulu!
ABOUT THE 1619 PROJECT
Hulu’s six-part 1619 Docuseries is an expansion of “The 1619 Project” created by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times Magazine. The series seeks to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.
This is probably the most controversial nominee. For starters, I follow Nikole Hannah-Jones on Twitter and have read lots of negative replies to her tweets about the New York Times series. Even John Michael Greer has made several snideasidesaboutit. Greer famously does not watch television, so he hasn't commented on the TV series, but I'm sure he'd be just as dismissive of the series if he did.
Check out the new Dear Mama Documentary Series Trailer!
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Synopsis: Afeni had a revolutionary story, Tupac helped her tell it to the world.
From award-winning director Allen Hughes (The Defiant Ones) comes FX’s Dear Mama, a deeply personal five-part series that defies the conventions of traditional documentary storytelling to share an illuminating saga of mother and son, Afeni and Tupac Shakur. Their story chronicles the possibilities and contradictions of the U.S. from a time of revolutionary fervor to Hip Hop culture’s most ostentatious decade.
Finding out that Tupac was connected to the Black Panthers made me take him and his music more seriously.
“Secrets of the Elephants" Executive produced by James Cameron and narrated by Natalie Portman, the four-part series premieres Friday, April 21 on National Geographic.
This trailer wasted no time in pointing out it was a sequel of sorts to Secrets of the Whales, which won this award two years ago. It also touted that it was produced by James Cameron and narrated by Natalie Portman, two Oscar winners, although it neglected to mention Portman's Oscar. That's a missed opportunity in self-promotion. On the other hand, this series is the reason I'm examining this category today, as it fits the theme of World Conservation Day. It's also one I have recommended to my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.
Based on the total number of nominations as well as being a previous Emmy winner for its cinematography, I'd rank 100 Foot Wave as a favorite. Based on Secrets of the Elephants being a sequel to previous winner Secrets of the Whales, I would consider Secrets of the Elephants to be a favorite, too. The experts at Gold Derby disagree, thinking these two have the weakest chances. Instead, they are split between The U.S. and the Holocaust and The 1619 Project, at three experts each. The odds currently favor The U.S. and the Holocaust, but The 1619 Project had the better chance through yesterday. I wonder if the News & Documentary Emmy nomination for The U.S. and the Holocaust tipped the odds toward it or the controversy around The 1619 Project finally caught up to it. Either way, this will be an interesting category to watch.
Follow over the jump for the rest of the nominations for these nominees.
The other three Documentary Feature nominees at the Academy Awards are political and social issue documentaries and I plan on getting to them in a future installment. That's when I'll finish my handicapping of the nominees and maybe even make a prediction. Stay tuned.
In reverse alphabetical order, the three nominees are "Navalny," "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed," and "A House Made of Splinters." This also happens to be order of their likelihood of winning, so I begin with CNN telling its viewers to Watch the trailer for award-winning film ‘Navalny”.
The fly-on-the-wall documentary follows Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, through his political rise, attempted assassination and search to uncover the truth.
This is longest and most complete trailer I found on YouTube. That it's by CNN and promoting an HBO Documentary is not an accident. To paraphrase what I wrote in CNN defends Big Bird after Ted Cruz calls one of the character's tweets 'Propaganda,' a pandemic update, CNN is promoting one of the parent company's productions. Doing so is in its interest, which, in this case, helps the public interest by supporting democracy (and opposing Putin). Still, my readers should keep that relationship in mind when watching the clip above. It's not just news value that's driving it.
Daniel Roher ('Navalny' director): 'The way that this film came together was such a fever dream.' The Russian opposition leader Alexei recovered from an assassination attempt and was arrested upon returning to Moscow. Gold Derby's Tony Ruiz hosts this webchat.
Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is an epic, emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.
I wrote the following footnote to the previous entry about the Documentary Feature nominees about this film.
Oscar nominee "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" is about the Sackler family, who are at the center of the opioid crisis, and might just be worth mentioning to my Human Structure and Function class. That way, all my students this semester will have recommended films to watch for extra credit.
Anti-Putin and pro-Ukraine sentiment also helped "A House Made of Splinters." Watch its official trailer.
A sobering window into the little lives and high hopes of three children seeking refuge at a temporary shelter in eastern Ukraine.
That's a moving story, but "Navalny" makes a more direct point against Putin. "Navalny" is also more recognized, so I think it's favored.
To determine how favored, I'm turning to Gold Derby, where nine experts, including my two favorites Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen, have it winning. Eight experts currently have "Fire of Love," six have picked "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed," and one lone expert thinks the Oscar will go to "All That Breathes." Looks like it will be close among the top three choices.
I have been recommending two documentaries to my students since the Academy Awards nominations came out, "Fire of Love" and "All That Breathes," the first to my geology classes and the second to my environmental science classes.* That's a good enough reason to share my thoughts about them for today's Sunday entertainment feature. I begin with National Geographic's Fire of Love Trailer.
From National Geographic Documentary Films comes the extraordinary love story of intrepid French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who died just as explosively as they lived — capturing the most spectacular imagery ever recorded of their greatest passion: volcanoes.
I'm a paleontologist, not a volcanologist, but I'm still a geologist, so I'm thrilled to see an award-winning documentary about geology being recognized at the Academy Awards and happy to recommend my students watch a tragic love story about scientists and their subject. It helps that the documentary is streaming on Disney+, so they don't even have to leave home or spend extra money on to see it.
As legions of birds fall from New Delhi’s darkening skies, and the city smoulders with social unrest, two brothers race to save a casualty of the turbulent times: the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to their city's ecosystem.
As the first video description notes, my students can stream this film at home on HBO Max, although I think fewer of them have the Warner Brothers-Discovery streaming service than Disney's. It still looks like a documentary they will find both enjoyable and educational.
Before I move on, the trailer's claim that this is "the most awarded documentary of the year" may or may not have been true at the time of the trailer's release, but it certainly isn't true now. IMDB lists 19 wins and 39 nominations for "All That Breathes" but 27 wins and 65 nominations for "Fire of Love." One of those is the DGA Awards, where "Fire of Love" won Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary, beating "All That Breathes," two other Oscar nominees, "Navalny" and "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed," and "Retrograde," which substitutes for the Oscar-nominated "A House Made of Splinters." According to IMDB, "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" ties "Fire of Love" with 27 wins but lags behind with 47 nominations, while "Navalny" has 11 wins and 28 nominations and "A House Made of Splinters" has 8 wins and 14 nominations. All that places "All That Breathes" in third, not first.
Follow over the jump for Gold Derby's interviews of the directors for both "Fire of Love" and "All That Breathes."
Top Ten Movies of 2022 today! Beyond The Trailer's best movies from Hollywood! How do full movies rank like Top Gun Maverick, Avatar 2?
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Top Ten Best Movies of 2022 today! Beyond The Trailer host Grace Randolph gives a review of her Top Ten Movies of 2022 including a breakdown as to why each one made the cut! Find out where The Woman King, Puss in Boots 2 The Last Wish, Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery, Nope, She Said, Black Panther Wakanda Forever, Top Gun Maverick, The Batman, The Black Phone and Avatar 2 The Way of Water land on this list!
Not a bad top ten. Now, how many of them are on WatchMojo's Top 10 Best Movies of 2022 and which movies make its list that didn't make Grace's?
2022 was an incredible year for film! For this list, we’ll be looking at feature films that captured the zeitgeist in 2022, standing out as the year’s best examples of pure cinema. Our countdown includes “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, “Avatar: The Way of Water”, “Top Gun: Maverick”, and more!
I'm not surprised that "Banshees of Inisherin" "The Fablemans," "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," "RRR," and "Everything EverywhereAllatOnce" beat out "She Said," "Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish," "The Black Phone," "Nope," and "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery." WatchMojo gave "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" an honorable mention, while Grace justified her decision in a pinned comment to the video: "While I certainly respect Everything Everywhere All At Once, I didn't love it myself. So while I voted for it for Best Picture for Critics Choice, it's not on my list here." Fair enough.
Follow over the jump for Grace's and WatchMojo's picks for the year's top TV shows.
The unique new comedy is loosely based on the true adventures of 18th century would-be pirate, Stede Bonnet, played by Rhys Darby. After trading in his comfortable life for one of a buccaneer, Stede becomes captain of a pirate ship, but struggles to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew. Stede’s fortunes change after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard, played by Taika Waititi.
Stede Bonnet sounds like Stephen Bonnet, a pirate villain in Outlander. This is not a coincidence: "While Stephen Bonnet of the Outlander series is fictional, Diana Gabaldon has said that it is possible he is illegitimately descended from the real historical figure, Stede Bonnet." I'll add the fictional Bonnet and Blackbeard to Anne Bonny as future subjects of Talk Like A Pirate Day.
I conclude with a meme.
It helps that today actually is Monday.
That's it for today's look at pirates, both real and fictionalized. I plan on having more awards show coverage tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Outstanding Television Movie Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (Disney+) Ray Donovan: The Movie (Showtime) Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon (Paramount+) The Survivor (HBO/HBO Max) Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas (The Roku Channel)
The nominees are a mixture of serious and silly. Normally, I'd say the serious movies such as "The Survivor" and "Ray Donovan: The Movie" would have the advantage, but I expected the serious "Oslo" would win last year yet "Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square" won instead. Based on that, I shouldn't count out "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas."
Based on the Hollywood Critics Association Television Awards, the contest is between the serious "The Survivor," which won Best Broadcast Network or Cable Live-Action TV Movie over "Ray Donovan: The Movie," and "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers," which won Best Streaming Movie over "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas" ("Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon" was not nominated). Between the two of them, I'll pick "The Survivor." Watch The Survivor | Official Trailer | HBO.
Barry Levinson’s biographical drama stars Ben Foster as boxer Harry Haft, who looks to carry on after fighting to survive in the Holocaust.
When the Nazis invade Poland, Harry Haft is sent to the Auschwitz extermination camp. He is a powerfully built man, so a charming but sadistic Nazi officer offers him an impossible deal: fight fellow prisoners in the boxing ring for the amusement of his captors, or die. The winner of the bout survives to fight again. The loser is shot or sent to the gas chamber. How far will Harry’s will to live take him? What will he do to escape the death all around him?
If the Emmy voters want to recognize a serious work of art, this looks like it.
Director Barry Levinson explains why Ben Foster was the only choice for 'The Survivor.' The Oscar winner for 'Rain Man' discusses the HBO film about Harry Haft, who survived the Holocaust by fighting prisoners to the death. Gold Derby editor Christopher Rosen hosts this webchat.
That helped me understand the movie and its significance.
Gold Derby interviewed one of the creators of "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas" as well. I'm sharing it over the jump, but first here are the promotional images from Twitter for the other three nominees.
Follow over the jump to read about the second nomination for "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas."
