Some thoughts on the Oscars, and a preorder sale
And once again, I talk about Dakota Johnson too much
It’s finally my favorite time of the year…Oscar season. The nominations were announced on Tuesday, and I rushed home from dropping my kid off at school to watch the recorded, not-live version. Could I have simply googled the nominations? Sure, but then I wouldn’t have experienced the pure excitement of seeing Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams announce them in front of a small crowd at 5:30 am PT. Related: how do they choose who announces the nominations? Remember the year it was Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra? Baffling!
I haven’t been to a movie theatre since before the pandemic, so I haven’t seen many of the nominees yet. But I still found the nominations thrilling! It seems like movies were better this year than in the past couple of years. There were big blockbusters, artsy movies, a film from Stephen Spielberg…there’s something for everyone. Not to quote Harry Styles, but they feel like movies, like go to the theatre film movies.
Here’s what I’ve seen so far:
-30 minutes of Elvis when I was very sick earlier this month. I do intend to finish this movie, but at the time I had a severe stomach ache and so don’t think I was giving the film a fair shot. I will say, though, that as much as I hate to besmirch the good name of Tom Hanks, the man who to whom I owe much of my career…what was going on. Just because you can cast Tom Hanks, doesn’t mean you should. Also, I find prosthetics in general VERY distracting in movies. Just cast someone else!
-Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. We watched this for family movie night and honestly, it was a little bit too slow for my son. He still laughed a lot but I guess we can’t expect six year olds to enjoy a quiet meditation on death and loneliness, or to pay attention when Isabella Rossellini is reading a Philip Larkin poem. But those are some of my favorite things, so I loved it! They could’ve made a very basic family movie and instead they made something weird and sad, and I admire that.
-The Banshees of Inisherin. I loved this movie! I went in knowing nothing and I was repeatedly surprised. I didn’t expect it to be so funny (I mean, there are other things going on than being funny, so be prepared). Looked great, was interesting, amazing performances. I don’t know what else you could want in a movie.
I plan on watching just about all of the nominated movies that are available at home. I would love to see Women Talking in a theatre but the logistics of getting to a theatre to see a grown up movie are kind of difficult at this stage of my life. My main takeaway from the nominations, though, is this: I’m so glad Cha Cha Real Smooth wasn’t nominated. Remember how there was “buzz” around it when it came out, and people online got so mad? I mean…should it be nominated for an Oscar? I don’t really think so. But I do know that getting an Oscar nomination is usually bad for fun, pleasant movies. See: CODA. I truly think that winning an Oscar is the worst thing that could’ve happened to that movie, because it made a lot of people unable to see it for what it is: a nice movie! People get mad when something that’s not a certain kind of film (dark, serious, etc.) wins an Oscar, and I find that so perplexing. The Oscars are kind of made up, you know? I love reading the coverage on Variety leading up to the Oscars, where they frequently update their list of predicted nominees, moving films up and down the list based on how they’ve performed at the box office, with critics, and at other awards shows. It’s all so mercurial and honestly just kind of bullshit, but I love it. The Oscars are supposed to represent the best of what film has to offer this year, and it would be nice if they did, but mostly they just represent the interests of a relatively small group of people who all work in the industry. And, again, I still love them and always will.
While Cha Cha Real Smooth was not and should not be nominated for an Oscar, I remain steadfast in my belief that perfect angel Dakota Johnson is only biding her time. She’ll have a nomination in 3-5 years, mark my words. She just needs the right project.
Speaking of Dakota, I recently saw that she’s in a film with Sean Penn. I had to laugh because that woman cannot stop working with problematic men! People have criticized her for making weird comments about cancel culture, and while I’m not here to defend her (retweets [of a Dakota Johnson stan account] do not equal endorsements, etc.), I will say that I do not expect her to “make sense” or “say the right thing” in real life. Not to get into the discourse, but when someone grows up rich and famous and then becomes rich and famous themselves, I don’t expect them to be rational. Of course she thinks it’s bad to “cancel” male celebrities who’ve done bad things…that’s, like, all the men she knows! She’s worked with Shia LeBeouf, Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, and now Sean Penn. If she announced today that she’s working on a new Louis C.K. or Woody Allen film, I’d be like, “Sure, checks out.” I love her performances (and also her hair), but I don’t harbor any delusions that we would be friends.
What I’m saying is…I don’t think this is gonna be her Oscar nomination.
Two bits of promotional news!
First, Barnes and Noble is currently running a deal where you get 25% off of preorders by entering the code PREORDER25. Guess who has a book coming out this year that you can preorder? That’s right, me. FAKING CHRISTMAS, my new ultra-festive, ultra-cozy rom-com, comes out on September 26th. The cover should be ready to share with you soon (I love it), but until then, here’s the description:
Laurel Grant is playing house for the holidays—complete with a fake husband and kids—in this delightful, cozy rom-com by Kerry Winfrey.
Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She is most definitely not an owner of a farm…but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly’s farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she’s happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired.
And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm’s big holiday dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm’s Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she’s basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process.
Laurel and Holly come up with a plan—all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But when Laurel shows up at the farm, an unwelcome guest is there: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly’s wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel’s husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages…
I love this book, and I think it will be the perfect fun, fast book to get you into the holiday spirit later this year. If you want to preorder it at a discount, act fast, because this is the last day of the deal. Otherwise, you can preorder it anywhere you buy books. Maybe you’ve heard this spiel before, but preorders are very important for authors, especially for midlist (i.e., not Stephen King) authors like me. It shows enthusiasm to publishers, can influence how many copies they print, can influence whether or not I get another book deal, etc. Not to be too dramatic about it!!! Whether you preorder it or not, I hope you’ll consider picking it up when it’s for sale in…eight months. Yes, we’re really planning ahead here.
One last thing! I haven’t done an event in a minute, so I’m thrilled that I’ll be at Paragraphs Bookstore in Mount Vernon, OH on February 11th.
I love this bookstore so much. It’s in the cutest downtown area, they have a great kids’ section, and the booksellers are amazing. It’s just a wonderful place, and I hope to see you there if you’re in the area. It also happens during the Sweetheart Shopping Trail, where you can get stamps from participating businesses and then enter to win prizes. I can’t wait!
That’s all for now. I plan on watching at least one Oscar nominated film this weekend, and I’m excited. See you next week!
I'm really REALLY excited about Faking Christmas (more than I am about the Oscars) but last time I pre-ordered something this early, I forgot and pre-ordered it again. And then did it a THIRD time. So I had two books and one ebook on publishing day and I was very confused. I mean, they were books, so of course they all found good and loving homes, because I have good friends, but it's not the best for my financial health. ANYWAY, I pre-ordered it, we have 8 months to go to see how many more I get because I forgot I already did. lol
I feel like a monster and a traitor because I love Jenny Slate but I didn't care for the Marcel movie. It didn't need to exist! Or if it did, it certainly did not need to be a feature film. I fell asleep in the theater during the movie. An expensive nap!