Welcome back!
Jan. 10 — It’s good to be back! Well … almost!
I’m out of the country this week (hello from India!), but am jumping in to give you all the first Scene of 2025. And we’re starting off with quite the bang. The Golden Globes aired on Sun., Jan. 5, meaning that awards season is in full swing. “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez” were the big winners, taking home three and four awards respectively, including a Best Film win for both. Check out the full list of winners here.
I am under no illusion that awards really mean anything, but I still can’t help but get swept up in the drama and prognosticating of it all, so I will be covering those ups and downs until the Oscars on March 2. Below, you’ll find a short write-up on how much the Globes actually matter.
Speaking of the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced this morning that it would delay the announcement of nominations until Jan. 19 due to the wildfires that have devastated parts of Los Angeles.
On her Instagram account, “Hacks” star Jean Smart asked TV networks and streamers to “seriously consider not televising” forthcoming awards shows, given the circumstances, and donate the revenue they would have garnered to fire victims and firefighters
Without further ado … action!
💔 Jeff Baena, the indie director behind films like “Life After Beth” and “Horse Girl,” passed away last week. He was just 47 years old.
📺 SCAD TVfest returns to Atlanta Feb. 5-7. Passes are available online.
📽️ Soul Cinema Sundays, a community film series from writer and spiritual activist Jeannine Etter, is hosting a screening of “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” at the Plaza on Jan. 19 to kick off MLK weekend. Get your tickets here.
😂 LOCALS ONLY, a recurring screening series for short films, is looking for comedy shorts from local indie filmmakers. The deadline is Jan. 16, so get your submissions in quickly!
🔒 The Regal Hollywood 24 Cinemas in the Chamblee area quietly ceased operations last weekend.
🏞️ The Lookout Wild Film Festival in Chattanooga kicks off next weekend on Jan. 17. The festival celebrates conservation and outdoor adventure films from around the world.
🏳️🌈 Out on Film is hosting a free screening of the new film “Boss Up, The Musical” on Jan. 29 at Midtown Art Cinema. Don’t forget to head to the afterparty following the movie!
This week, we’ve got an interview with a location scout, a review of the new film “Babygirl,” and a deep dive into the start of awards season. Plus, some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
Location scout Trace Taylor talks finding the perfect spot to make movie magic
🔎 Trace Taylor had a little bit of an unconventional path to the film industry.
Taylor fell in love with photography during his high school years in South Alabama, and moved to Atlanta after college to keep pursuing that dream. But when his passion for photography started to dim, he decided to make a bit of a pivot.
He ended up landing a job in the locations department on “Ozark,” the hit Netflix show starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney. Since that fateful transition, his credits include “Boy Erased,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Hillbilly Elegy,” and more.
🎬 I recently spoke with Taylor about his career. You can find that conversation here.
This is your last chance to see Giants.
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🖼️ The clock’s ticking on this acclaimed exhibition showcasing works by art world legends like Gordon Parks, Amy Sherald, Kehinde Wiley, Nick Cave, and Ebony G. Patterson.
This is a must-see showcase of exquisite artwork – and the final days are here. Get your tickets before it leaves town!
In ‘Babygirl,’ the ugly truth will set you free
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🥛 The first thing you see in “Babygirl” is a shot of Romy Mathis’ face during sex.
Writer/director Halina Reijn spends a lot of time on this image. Romy (Nicole Kidman), a high-powered tech CEO, is having sex with her husband, Jacob (Antonio Banderas). The camera stays with Romy, ensuring you get a sense of how she looks, how she sounds, the way her face moves. It’s everything we’ve come to expect from sex in movies, especially when it comes to women – she’s beautiful and girlish, her voice pitched high and breathy. The picture of perfect, pristine pleasure.
But something is missing. When the deed is done, Romy immediately leaves and goes to a separate room to watch some pretty intense, dominant daddy-related porn. She doesn’t totally unleash herself here, stifling her movements and noises to make sure her husband and children don’t hear her. But in later scenes, when she finally lets go, she is loud and guttural – ugly, even – in her passion. The first time you see it, you realize what wasn’t clicking in those opening moments. She was faking it before, but this is real. This is true.
🐶 At its core, “Babygirl” is about truth, and what happens when it’s exposed. Read my full review here.
Awards Watch: What the Golden Globes mean for the Oscars
🌟 Awards season has been rumbling for a while now, but with the Golden Globes last Sunday night things are finally in full swing.
On the movie side of things, “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez” were the big winners of the night. There’s only a short while until Oscar nominations (Jan. 19), but the Oscars themselves aren’t until March 2, and there are a lot of awards to be given out in the meantime.
Until then, I’ll be keeping up with all the different precursors, popping in every once in a while to answer all your burning questions and help all you non-awards aficionados understand what all this means. For example: are the Golden Globes actually all that important in guessing what and who will win big on Oscar night?
🍿 More on what the Golden Globes mean for the Oscars here.
Hey, ATL 🚨 Warm up your week with a hot matchup as Trae and the Hawks take on KD and the Phoenix Suns on Tues., Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Score seats now!
SPONSOR MESSAGE
Lights, Camera, Action!
💄 Since its release, “Anora” has been lauded for its realistic depiction of sex work. And it does get a lot of stuff right! But what does it get wrong? In this edition of The Hollywood Reporter series The Watchers, Steven Zeitchik talks to three sex workers about how “Anora” depicts sex work and the nuances of Ani’s (Mikey Madison) character. Check it out here.
🎧 My favorite movie podcast is back with a new mini-series – and this one’s a doozy. After covering the latter half of Steven Spielberg’s career back in 2017, the Blank Check boys are taking on the early part of the director’s career this year. They’ll be covering such juggernauts as “Jurassic Park,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” but they’re starting off the series with Spielberg’s TV movie “Duel.” Check out that episode here.
🏗️ This profile of Brady Corbet, the director of the “The Brutalist,” was published in the New Yorker in December of last year. But having finally found the time to read it, I couldn’t let the opportunity to recommend it pass. Corbet made strong remarks about the importance of creative control during one of his two speeches at the Golden Globes, and that’s a big theme in this piece by Alexandra Schwartz as well. Check out the full piece here.
