Emmys Wemmys! (2017 Primetime Emmys)

Yo, halla! What's up, what's up?! I'm FINALLY back online: I've sprung out the hole that is pending assessments, tears and pain, and exhaustion to come back and resurrect this beast from the graaavvveee! And just in the nick of time because tomorrow (for Australia) the Primetime Emmys will appear on our FB feeds, TVs and in random conversations. In general, it's quite a strong and fierce competition - with most categories having at least two front runners - so there's definitely room for surprise.

I'm going to lay out my predictions on who's going to win: it's definitely not going to be too accurate, as I haven't watched all shows (oops!) nor can I read minds, but with my fantabulous detective skills (cough, Wikipedia!) and personal opinions, I'll navigate through who I think might win at this year's Emmys.

Comedy: 

Comedy has had an excellent year, with lots of crazy ideas, witty humour and intriguing premises,
and the Emmys nominees somewhat show this. Whereas most nominees for Outstanding Comedy Series are already established and acclaimed, the one newcomer - and potential shake up - is "Atlanta." With a cleverly written script, random scenarios and heartwarming characters, this could beat "Veep's" two win streak: Donald Glover ("Atlanta") can easily snatch Outstanding Lead Actor, although there is fierce competition from Anthony Anderson ("Black-ish") and two-time winner Jeffrey Tambor ("Transparent"). Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("Veep") is a shoe-in for Outstanding Lead Actress (if she wins, this will be her sixth consecutive win in this category :O), but her main competition could come from Alison Janney ("Mom"), who won in 2015 for the same role as a supporting actress.

Shifting to supporting performances, Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon will most likely win for their performances on "Saturday Night Live," both providing political commentary and gifted comedic performances. I'm hesitant to say that "S.N.L." will win Outstanding Variety Sketch Series - probably because of personal bias towards "Billy on the Street" - but "S.N.L." has had a strong social media presence and the political influence to win. "S.N.L." and "Atlanta" could both be big winners in the directing and writing categories, although "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" could have its second win in Outstanding Writing for a Variety Sketch over "S.N.L." Going on with John Oliver, it should and most likely will win Outstanding Variety Talk Series, gaining its second consecutive win because John Oliver's wit + Trump = utter, pristine gold.

Drama: 

With the omission of "Game of Thrones" (because the new season came out too late to be eligible), Outstanding Drama Series could really go to anyone at this stage. Bias may be playing out, but "Stranger Things" is a remarkable show, and coming off a Golden Globe win, I think that it's poised to win this category. "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Westworld" are both prominent, thought-provoking shows that can easily win this award, so this should be an interesting watch.

Outstanding Lead Actress could be Elisabeth Moss ("The Handmaid's Tale") or Claire Foy's ("The Crown"), with the former being an award show favourite and the latter winning the respective Golden Globe. Similarly with Outstanding Lead Actor, either Sterling K. Brown and Milo Ventimiglia could bring home "This Is Us's" only Emmys.

Millie Bobby Brown, if the Greek gods will be it so, should absolutely win Outstanding Supporting Actress, but there's fierce competition from every nominee in this category. John Lithgow could win for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in "The Crown," but yet again, the other nominees are equally as deserving. Overall, "Westworld" could potentially win their only awards in these categories, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

"Stranger Things" Duffer Brothers' could come on top from the Upside Down (had to!) with both Outstanding Directing and Writing awards, although, as I've said previously, the nominated dramas this year will prove a challenge. I believe that "Stranger Things" has managed to create an incredibly rich world and engaging plot that I do hope is acknowledged.

Other Categories: 

"Feud" has the most nominations, and could easily take several awards in the Limited Series categories, but there's strong competition from "Big Little Lies" and "The Night Of;" the former a front runner for Outstanding Limited Series. "The Night Of" could win for Outstanding Directing - it won Outstanding Cinematography in the Creative Emmys - and Outstanding Lead Actor for Riz Ahmed; here's hoping! "Big Little Lies" could take Outstanding Writing, Lead Actress and Supporting Actress; we'll have to wait and see.

This is the first time that "RuPaul's Drag Race" has been nominated in Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, and it better shantay, you stay! Otherwise, previous winners "The Voice" or "The Amazing Race" could snatch it up because apparently "The Voice U.S." is pretty impressive, which I can't say the same for "The Voice Australia."

Award season has officially started, and I never think of it as a winner v.s. loser situation, but instead as an opportunity to watch tons of new shows. Stephen Colbert's hosting, so expect political commentary galore and some witty observations. If you're not going to tune in, be sure to check out the nominated shows: there's some incredible shows out there!

This Was Bound to Come...

http://theodysseyonline.com/winthrop/oscarsaresowhite/279392

I've definitely been thinking about what to write about the Oscars since the nominations arised last month, and I think that I've figured it all out.

I definitely agree with the general public: it is unfortunate that in this day and age, there aren't a substantial amount of black actors and actresses nominated in the 20 acting categories, but at the same time, I agree with Viola Davis. You can't put all the blame on the Oscars; it is the industry itself. An industry where African-American, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian and other minority actors aren't given enough prominent, influential and significant roles in films and television; roles that don't specifically relate to slavery, domestic violence or other stereotyped roles. 

There needs to be diversity, not only in the casting of actors and actresses, but as well amongst directors, producers, management, and the creative team. Films are meant to be representative of the world around us, but watching a film with majority Caucasian actors and just maybe one token black, Hispanic or Asian actor isn't at all representative of what I see every day when I leave home. Not only in relation to ethnicity, but also regarding gender and sexual orientation - which is another post for another day - but these are issues that should have already addressed. 

Being a black Australian, this issue is somehow worse in the Australian film industry, where the industry seems to neglect even having diversity with Indigenous Australians, yet applauding the multicultural environment that we have. 

I agree that you can't just nominate someone based on their skin colour and ethnic background just to seem multicultural and accepting; that is offensive. What I do agree with is the Academy's decision to actively recruit more women and non-white members by 2020 and remove current members' their lifelong membership.

We need to stop stereotyping ethnicities, and instead embrace cultural differences and showcase the ethnically diverse societies that we live in. We don't need to actively have an all-black movie just to prove a point, but we should instead aim to replicate television shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Community, How to Get Away with Murder and Orange is the New Black that represent a realistic society, not exactly stereotyping the roles that the actors are portraying.

It might seem like an 'unrealistic' checklist for Hollywood to fulfill, but that's hardly an excuse! I'm sure that from a world population of 7 billion people, there are suitable actors or actresses to cast in a film that aren't all Caucasian.

Overall, we need to depict the ethnically diverse societies that we live in. This year's Oscar nominations, regardless of the race debate, are indeed ground-breaking, remarkable films with stellar acting performances and impeccable behind the scenes work; definitely warranting a nomination. Although, regarding what Kenyan Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o said about this issue, we should be a "diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today," and I don't see that in our entertainment industry today.

Soz for the unintentional hiatus; I'll be trying to write much more often! PEACE OUT!

What's Up With This Year's Grammy Nominations?

Before I start, thanks for the 106 page views! <3 If you like what you read, please follow this blog! :)

Yay, my first post, and it's on something that occupies my mind every year from December until February: the Grammys! And this year, the nominees for all categories have already undergone loads of criticism. Now, don't get me wrong, I do appreciate Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd; they are remarkable artists in their fields of music...but where was everyone else?

The Grammys have been on a downwards spiral with their nominees for previous years, but this year they seem to have disregarded prominent singles and artists who have made some of their greatest albums to date. I'm a Foo Fighter fan, and I screeched like a banshee seeing that they only had one nomination for "Best Rock Song - Something from Nothing;" not even getting a nod for "Best Rock Album" or "Album of the Year." Their recent album, Sonic Highways, was exceptional in its sound engineering, production, lyrics and vocals, and instrumental layout, and it only received one nomination? But hey, I'm a just crazy Foo Fighters fan; I adore anything that they create. 

The Grammys always seem to play it safe and keep in their comfort zone, and I believe that's what makes the majority of nominations seem generic and unsurprising, particularly in the Big Four categories - Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. They only ever seem to nominate artists who have been significantly publicised on the radio or social media outlets regarding their singles and/or album; which is ridiculous considering that there is an immense amount of talent from other artists who aren't in the Top 40 Countdown. 

Again, I'm not criticising pop artists - I'm merely saying that the Academy should be opening up to other genres in their major categories. Although, the surprising and fascinating fact about the nominees this year was, as in previous years, its inclusion of up-and-coming artists, such as James Bay and Tori Kelly, and artists that only a few people have heard of. 

Of course, some exceptional songs and artists were nominated: I would have figuratively kill someone if "Uptown Funk" or J. Cole weren't nominated for anything, but then again, there are people who would disagree with me; which is what makes award season so insightful! The opinions and voices of music, film and television fans come to light, and you read such diverse and interesting perspectives on a variety of topics. It's such a great time to read other articles, and I recommend just searching anything Grammy-related on the internet for completely different and unique opinions. :)

The fact of the matter is that even if a certain band, group, artist or song isn't nominated, fans will still listen to and respect their music; after all, it's just a Grammy. A Grammy, as with any award, really only puts an artist onto a larger platform than they were already on, but it doesn't stop them from being incredible at what they do. It mainly just infuriates a tonne of fans. ;)

Regarding this year's nominees, the Grammys have highlighted that the music world should be more open to artists other than the most popular and common ones, and as listeners, we'll start to appreciate the myriad of unique artists and songs in this world today. One of the highlights of the Grammys for me is discovering new artists and songs that I've never heard of, and even becoming lifelong fans of their work. 

Awards season is upon us, and even if Lana Del Rey or the Foo Fighters weren't nominated for as many awards as I would have hoped, I'll still keep an eye out for the winners in February! Congrats to the nominees and more of my posts coming this week - watch this space! Ta!

GIF Reference http://media.photobucket.com/user/Bigsteve87/media/Gifs/tumblr_lbj668mzhy1qat7rw.gif.html?filters[term]=shocked%20face&filters[primary]=images&filters[secondary]=videos&sort=1&o=22

My Name Is, and This Is What I'm All About

I have waited such a long time to start writing this blog, and I'm super pumped about it! :D So...here goes! I'm Annabelle and if you don't get the impression when you meet me, I am a super enthusiastic person...over anything! If I hear the mention of "Harry" - and it doesn't even have to be followed by "Potter" - I'm immediately starting intently at the person hoping that they say "Potter" and not "Styles." I also love thinking and pondering about unique and random perspectives on various issues and topics, and finally discussing them with others because that's how new perspectives are brought up; new ways that you never thought about something before.

That's where I got this idea about starting a blog: combining my exuberant love for film, music, television and books and trying to interest and bring about potential discussion surrounding the world of entertainment. My posts will include critics and reviews on newly released entertainment items, my perspective on the current debates and discussions circulating the entertainment world, and of course just fun banter and random pop culture discussions! :D I'll be providing my perspective on such topics and hopefully stimulating conversations for you to start with friends when you've run out of things to talk about. I would also love to hear whether you disagree with something I have written or have something to add on; please write it in the comments! I am curious and open to debates and discussions! In short, I love entertainment and the easiest way for me to express that love is by writing endlessly about it. 

Thank you, and I do hope that the following posts are intriguing and highly entertaining! I will try and post at least once a week, and expect lame puns and jokes to follow! Ta!