The Five: 12.17.24 Edition

Perhaps I found a new name for Links, Ponders, & Wonders?

some things we can never get enough of, right?

First, just want to call your attention to the nice review THE BLACK SEA just got in the LA Times. Yup, I got to help out as one of the Executive Producers.

Read the who review here: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-12-13/the-black-sea-review-crystal-moselle-bulgaria-metrograph

And check it out: co-director and star, Derrick B. Harden was on The Don Lemon Show:

And if you want to read more about the film, check these out:

• https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/how-crystal-moselle-and-derrick-b-harden-created-the-most-punk-movie-of-the-year

• https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/movies/the-black-sea-review.html

• https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-12-13/the-black-sea-review-crystal-moselle-bulgaria-metrograph

• https://www.vulture.com/article/the-black-sea-review-an-american-pursues-bulgarian-dreams.html

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Is AMPAS a level playing field for documentaries?

There’s an unintended experiment afoot this morning. If you qualify, it doesn’t cost anything to place your doc on the AMPAS Doc Screening room. But it does cost to put it up in the general section. Rather significantly. Nonetheless about twenty docs forked up the cash. Will it pay off? Will some of these films be among the 15 that make the Doc Shortlist when they are announced today? Will it be because they got to be seen by the general AMPAS membership and not just the Doc Branch? Anyone want to make any bets?

1. Zurawski v Texas

2. Will & Harper

3. Sugarcane

4. Separated

5. The Remarkable Life of Iberlin

6. Porcelain War

7. Mountain Queen

8. Martha

9. Lover Of Men, The Untold Story Of Abraham Lincoln

10. I Am Celine Dion

11. Frida

12. Flipside

13. Elton John: Never Too Late

14. Daughters

15. Dahomey

16. Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid

17. The Bibi Files

18. Americans With No Address

19. Am I Racist?

Last year, all five doc nominees were international films. Some people thought this was evidence that the doc branch was deliberately avoiding films from the Global Streaming Platforms. It could have been thought that the five nominated films had received double exposure though, as they were also on the international side of the portal. Thoughts?

I guess I will have to provide an update to the post when the news breaks.

12.17.24 12N MT: The Shortlist came out. I’ve put the 8 that made it on the short list in bold. It basically means that over half the short list paid the extra money to be on AMPAS general portal. But what does that mean?

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New Rules For Media