The List of the 819 New Academy Members Is Here!

LaKeith Stanfield

It's that time again. Every year The Academy puts in an effort to expand their voting base to include a lot of the best and brightest in the entertainment industry. This includes a goal of expanding diversity to include talents globally. With 819 new members, the list features an exciting new group that will help determine what next year's ceremony will look like. Along with the first time choice to let agents vote, check out the list of new faces, which continues to show how many interesting voices are out there, ready to make a difference. Who are some of your favorites? Feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Roma" (2018)

Scene from Roma (2018)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

AMC and Regal Theaters Refuse to Play "Roma" Amid Several Oscar Nominations

Scene from Roma

If you've read the Oscar nominations that were announced on Tuesday, then there's a good chance that you've had plenty to celebrate. For Netflix in particular, there's plenty to enjoy as they not only get their first Best Picture nominee, but has the most nominees of any film (they also have a sizable total for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs). Considering that Amazon Studios and Hulu also have considerable nominations, it's a sign of the times that The Academy is finally recognizing streaming services as the quality distributor of entertainment that they are. But, there's an issue for anyone who wants to see Roma on the big screen. The nominations may have done plenty to raise its profile, but thanks to the ongoing conflict between Netflix and theatrical distribution, you may have to try extra hard to see it anywhere besides your home.

Review: "Roma" Finds Cuaron Getting Personal in a Beautiful, Nostalgic Way

Scene from Roma

In 2013, director Alfonso Cuaron created what is considered one of the most groundbreaking technical achievements of the decade with the Oscar-winning Gravity. It wasn't just a film, but an experience that needed to be seen on the big screen and, in a very rare instance, warranted a 3D treatment. He is one of the most essential directors of the moment, managing to convey human emotion while testing the limits of what a camera can film. It's why there's something to be said for the power of Roma: a film that is almost entirely antithetical to Gravity from its length (Roma is approximately 45 minutes longer) to its personal portrait of a woman whose life is undervalued by those around her. It's by no means a thrill ride, but instead a meditative journey into Mexico City in the 1970's as Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) goes about her days as a maid and an unexpected mother. It may be among Cuaron's least flashy plots in his entire career, but that only helps the film to be rich with subtle detail, feeling like a personal love letter to his own childhood with a perspective not often caught on film.