Fran Magazine: Issue #10

A note on the Oscars, Dark Souls corner, and the work of Les Blank

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What the issue is not about

A few people told me to write about the Oscars this week, even though, as paid subscribers know well, the even-numbered issues of Fran Magazine are not about the zeitgeist. I reject the zeitgeist for $40 a year—a steal! Unfortunately, however, I have almost nothing to say about the Oscars this year, as I feel ambivalent about most movies in the running. Fran Magazine readers know how I feel about Drive My Car, and perhaps they also know that I love The Power of the Dog—a movie about how I behave in my own apartment. Know that I am reading every single Oscars-related tweet everyone writes and muttering “moron” or “idiot” when it is appropriate to do so. I will, however, use Fran Magazine (paid subscribe edition) to say that I think Olivia Colman will win Best Actress. I don’t believe the Chastain hype—I don’t think the expanded academy cares about Tammy Faye, or Lucille Ball, for that matter, but watch me be wrong—and I think the biggest challenger is Penélope Cruz. Both those winners are fine with me. They are in real movies. Spencer is a real movie too, but the Academy is not brave enough to give an Oscar to Kristen Stewart for chomping down on some pearls. One day, maybe.