My #ChangeTheChannel Response and Apology

This image came from a video by SwizzlyBubbles

I've been a fan of the website Channel Awesome (formerly known as That Guy With the Glasses) almost since its beginning. I routinely watch videos created by current and former content creators. I was a massive fan of the site and its main talent the Nostalgia Critic (Doug Walker).

Many of the contributors of the site helped me appreciate and get into things that I'm now a fan of.

In a way, the site and its producers motivated me to start this blog and think about look into possibly doing video reviews. There was even a hope that I'd get to be a content creator of the site.

But my feelings towards the site have changed.

Recently, many former contributors released a 65 page Google document called, "Not So Awesome". In it, they talk about the terrible treatment they and others had received during their time with the website. The allegations include mismanagement, poor communications with producers, sexism and just all around horrible treatment.

Link to the complete document: Not So Awesome Google doc - condensed version 

This horrified me. A site that I had followed almost since its beginning was treating its contributors as almost nothing. It even enraged me.

Eventually, I calmed down and said to myself, "Okay, let's see what Channel Awesome does next." Because I believe in giving people a chance to share their side of the story. The higher-ups at the site eventually responded and it was one of the most non-apologies ever. I basically gave up after reading the line, "we sincerely regret you felt that way".

Now, I'm not saying an apology would've fixed every problem. Chances are there are several bridges are thoroughly burned. But an apology would've been something. Something to at least acknowledge that you messed up in the past and show that you're trying to make things better.

This is part of a larger thread.

But instead, you gave us this.

Dan Olson, a former contributor, says it best.

According to Tony Goldmark (Some Jerk With a Camera), one of the current contributors, he basically warned them to make sure their apology is sincere because if it isn't it'll blow up in their face. And it appears that he was right. Apparently, he's now debating whether or not he should stick around.

Part of a larger thread

Now there are two reasons why I wanted to write this. First, because I wanted to express my thoughts and feelings about this whole thing, especially since this involves a site I've liked for a long time. Second, because I knew about some of these things and I felt guilty for basically ignoring it.

I didn't know about everything that's talked about in the document, but I knew of a few of them. But, I guess my reason for ignoring it is because I thought it was just between those few people and nothing else. But still, that's not an excuse. I should've said/done something.

So, I'm going to do something that is apparently tough for the top dogs of Channel Awesome.

To all those who have been bullied, harassed, mistreated and everything else during their time on Channel Awesome and afterward, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry that I blatantly ignored the problems I knew of and didn't do anything about it. I know I'm just an amateur schmuck blogger with no big connections but at the very least I could've shown more support towards you guys. I'm sorry you all experienced these horrible conditions and treatment.

I hope to help future endeavors by contributing to individuals Patreons and subscribing to individual content channels and such.

Also, in regards to those still producing for the site, I'd like to quote Lewis Lovhaug (Linkara of Atop the Fourth Wall) from his "I Have Left Channel Awesome" post:

"... please do not take my and others’ departures as a sign that you should harass or question those who do remain. Others may not be as fortunate and rely upon the views they get from the site or they may just have their own reasons for staying that they do not wish to share. It is their prerogative. All I will say is that you should support the content you love."

As for Channel Awesome, I don't know what the next step is for you guys. Especially after that non-apology of yours. But right now, I can't in good conscious support the site.

Overall, I just hope things get better for those who were hurt and the management gets better at the site.

90TH ACADEMY AWARD PREDICTIONS

Short and sweet. Here are my picks for who I think will win at the 90th Acadamy Awards. I may make changes on my predictions before the ceremony but for now, this is where it stands.

I'm also ranking who I think will win. The first one is my predicted winner, the bottom pick I'm not holding my breath on winning.

Updated a few categories since my originally publishing.

PICTURE:
1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Get Out
3. Lady Bird
4. The Shape of Water
5. Dunkirk
6. Call Me By Your Name
7. The Post
8. Darkest Hour
9. Phantom Thread

DIRECTOR:
1. Guillermo del Toro - The Shape of Water
2. Jordan Peele - Get Out
3. Christopher Nolan - Dunkirk
4. Greta Gerwig - Lady Bird
5. Paul Thomas Anderson - Phantom Thread

LEAD ACTOR:
1. Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour
2. Timothee Chalamat - Call Me By Your Name
3. Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
4. Daniel Day-Lewis - Phantom Thread
5. Denzel Washington - Roman J. Israel, Esq. 

LEAD ACTRESS:
1. Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water 
3. Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird
4. Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
5. Meryl Streep - The Post

Truth be told, Lead Actress is basically a four-way tie between the top four. I won't be surprised if any of those wins tonight.

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
1. Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Willem Dafoe - The Florida Project
3. Richard Jenkins - The Shape of Water
4. Woody Harrelson - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
5. Christopher Plummer - All the Money in the World

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1. Allison Janney - I, Tonya
2. Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird
3. Mary J. Blige - Mudbound
4. Octavia Spencer - The Shape of Water
5. Lesley Manville - Phantom Thread

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
1. Get Out
2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
3. Lady Bird
4. The Shape of Water
5. The Big Sick

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Call Me By Your Name
2. Molly's Game
3. The Disaster Artist
4. Mudbound
5. Logan

ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN:
1. The Shape of Water
2. Dunkirk
3. Blade Runner 2049
4. Beauty and the Beast
5. Darkest Hour

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
1. Blade Runner 2049
2. Dunkirk
3. The Shape of Water
4. Mudbound 
5. Darkest Hour

Just give Roger Deakins an Oscar already! Please

COSTUME DESIGN:
1. Phantom Thread
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. The Shape of Water
4. Darkest Hour
5. Victoria & Abdul

FILM EDITING:
1. Baby Driver
2. Dunkirk
3. The Shape of Water
4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
5. I, Tonya

HAIR/MAKEUP:
1. Darkest Hour
2. Wonder
3. Victoria & Abdul

SOUND EDITING:
1. Dunkirk
2. The Shape of Water
3. Blade Runner 2049
4. Baby Driver
5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

SOUND MIXING:
1. Dunkirk
2. The Shape of Water
3. Blade Runner 2049
4. Baby Driver
5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

VISUAL EFFECTS:
1. Blade Runner 2049
2. War for the Planet of the Apes
3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
5. Kong: Skull Island

ORIGINAL SCORE:
1. The Shape of Water
2. Dunkirk
3. Phantom Thread
4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

ORIGINAL SONG:
1. "Remember Me" - Coco
2. "Stand Up for Something" - Marshall
3. "This Is Me" - The Greatest Showman
4.  "Mighty River" - Mudbound
5.  "Mystery of Love" - Call Me By Your Name

The top three songs are basically in a three-way tie.

ANIMATED FILM:
1. Coco
2. Loving Vincent
3. The Breadwinner
4. The Boss Baby
5. Ferdinand

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
1. The Square
2. A Fantastic Woman
3. Loveless
4. On Body and Soul
5. The Insult

DOCUMENTARY:
1. Faces Places
2. Icarus
3. Last Men in Aleppo
4. Strong Island
5. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail

I feel so guilty not getting around to watching any of these docs even though some of them are on Netflix.

As for the short films:
Animated: Dear Basketball
Documentary: Edith+Eddie 
Live Action: Dekalb Elementary

I don't have much of a system for predicting shorts so I'm basically making the same predictions as Awardscircuit.com. It's a great website about movie news and Oscar buzz. Check them out.

What are your predictions? Share them in the comments.

Little Moment, Big Meaning: The Chef Special from Moonlight

One of my favorite channels on Youtube is Binging with Babish. It's creator, Andrew Rea, re-creates and sometimes improves upon dishes seen in movies and tv shows. I was hooked on this series instantly. He has cooked up dishes seen in Creed (2015), Big Night (1996), Elf (2003) and even tackled stuff from Game of Thrones. This is series where any chance I get I'll tell you about it.

One such instant happened a few months ago when I was chatting with a friend of mine. I mentioned to her that there was an episode on how to make the Chef Special in Moonlight (2016). She then told me that scene actually made her cry. At first, I thought that it was a bit weird because while it was a well-made scene I didn't think it was that emotional. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that it was a truly impactful scene.

How so? Think about it. The character of Chiron seemed to get the short end of the stick at every point in his life. His biological father is out of the picture entirely, his mother grows more distant from him as her drug addiction becomes worse, he's bullied at school, betrayed by his only friend, and his loving surrogate father turned out to be supplying his mom the drugs.

During his adult years, Chiron (Trevante Rhodes in this segment) lives in Atlanta and basically became like Juan, his surrogate father (Mahershala Ali). He gets a call from both his mother (Naomi Harris) and his estranged friend, Kevin (Andre Holland) who he hasn't spoken to since high school. He goes down makes somewhat amends with his mother and sees Kevin at a restaurant he works at. Kevin then whips up the Chef Special for him.

The dish itself is grilled chicken, beans and rice. Nothing really that special, right? But think about it, this meal that was made for Chiron. There's no catches or tricks. Nothing bad came about because of this meal. It was a nice meal made by a friend because it was a nice thing to do. This was is a rare thing for Chiron.

It brings to mind this Aesop quote, "no act of kindness, no matter how small, is wasted."

Kevin probably knows a little bit of Chiron's troubled life - mainly the stuff from high school - but he probably has no idea what his psyche is like. It has damaged him to the point to where he's blocked off any and all emotions outside of a tough guy persona.

This meal may lead to Chiron opening up more to Kevin, to others and will probably lead to a healing journey for him.

If you haven't watched Moonlight please check it out and watch a great film that features this magnificent scene.

Also, check out Binging with Babish: https://www.bingingwithbabish.com/

FINAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS!

Another short and simple one. Before the nominations are announced on Tuesday, here are my final Oscar predictions. * = Predicted winner as of now. 

Picture:
The Big Sick
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
The Florida Project
Get Out
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*

Director:
Guillermo del Toro - The Shape of Water*
Greta Gerwig - Lady Bird
Martin McDonagh - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Nolan - Dunkirk
Jordan Peele - Get Out

Lead Actor:
Timothy Chalamat - Call Me By Your Name
James Franco - The Disaster Artist
Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour*
Robert Pattinson - Good Time

Lead Actress:
Jessica Chastain  - Molly’s Game
Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*
Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird

Sup. Actor:
Willem Dafoe - The Florida Project
Armie Hammer - Call Me By Your Name
Richard Jenkins - The Shape of Water
Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*
Michael Stuhlbarg - Call Me By Your Name

Sup. Actress:
Mary J. Blige - Mudbound
Hong Chau - Downsizing
Holly Hunter - The Big Sick
Allison Janney - I, Tonya*
Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird

Original Screenplay:
The Big Sick
Get Out*
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Adapted Screenplay:
The Beguiled
Call Me By Your Name*
The Disaster Artist
Molly’s Game
Mudbound

Production Design:
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water*

Cinematography:
Blade Runner 2049*
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape of Water

Costume Design:
Beauty and the Beast
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread*
The Shape of Water
Wonder Woman

Film Editing:
Baby Driver*
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Hair/Makeup:
Darkest Hour*
I, Tonya
Wonder

Sound Editing:
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Logan
The Shape of Water*

Sound Mixing
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Logan
The Shape of Water*

Visual Effects:
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the Apes*

Original Score:
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water*

Original Song:
Coco - “Remember Me”*
Cries from Syria - “Prayers for This World”
The Greatest Showman - “This Is Me”
Marshall - “Stand Up for Something”
Mudbound - “Mighty River”

Animated Film:
The Breadwinner
Coco*
Despicable Me 3
The LEGO Batman Movie
Loving Vincent

Foreign Language:
A Fantastic Woman
Foxtrot
In the Fade
Loveless
The Square*

Documentary:
Chasing Coral
City of Ghosts
Ex Libris
Faces Places
Jane*

Oscar Predictions Round Two

Keeping this one simple. * = predicted winner

Picture:
The Big Sick
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
The Florida Project
Get Out*
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Director:
Guillermo del Toro - The Shape of Water*
Greta Gerwig - Lady Bird
Martin McDonagh - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Nolan - Dunkirk
Jordan Peele - Get Out

Lead Actor:
Timothy Chalamat - Call My By Your Name
James Franco - The Disaster Artist
Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour*
Robert Pattinson - Good Time

Lead Actress:
Jessica Chastain  - Molly’s Game
Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*
Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird

Sup. Actor:
Willem Dafoe - The Florida Project
Armie Hammer - Call Me By Your Name
Richard Jenkins - The Shape of Water
Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*
Michael Stuhlbarg - Call Me By Your Name

Sup. Actress:
Mary J. Blige - Mudbound
Hong Chau - Downsizing
Holly Hunter - The Big Sick
Allison Janney - I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird*

Original Screenplay:
The Big Sick
Get Out*
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Adapted Screenplay:
The Beguiled
Call Me By Your Name*
The Disaster Artist
Molly’s Game
Mudbound

Production Design:
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water*

Cinematography:
Blade Runner 2049*
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape of Water

Costume Design:
Beauty and the Beast
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread*
The Shape of Water
Wonder Woman

Film Editing:
Baby Driver*
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Hair/Makeup:
Darkest Hour*
I, Tonya
Wonder

Sound Editing:
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Logan
The Shape of Water*

Sound Mixing
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Logan
The Shape of Water*

Visual Effects:
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the Apes*


Original Score:
Blader Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water*

Original Song:
Coco - “Remember Me”*
Cries from Syria - “Prayers for This World”
The Greatest Showman - “This Is Me”
Marshall - “Stand Up for Something”
Mudbound - “Mighty River”

Animated Film:
The Breadwinner
Coco*
Despicable Me 3
The LEGO Batman Movie
Loving Vincent

Foreign Language:
A Fantastic Woman
Foxtrot
In the Fade
Loveless
The Square*

Documentary:
Chasing Coral
City of Ghosts
Ex Libris
Faces Places
Jane*

Oscar Predictions: Round One

Happy New Year! To celebrate 2017 coming to an end, here's the first round of my Oscar predictions. * = Predicted winner.

Picture:

The Big Sick
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
The Florida Project
Get Out*
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Director:

Sean Baker - The Florida Project
Guillermo del Toro - The Shape of Water
Greta Gerwig - Lady Bird
Christopher Nolan - Dunkirk*
Jordan Peele - Get Out

Lead Actor:

Timothy Chalamat - Call Me By Your Name
James Franco - The Disaster Artist*
Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour
Robert Pattinson - Good Time

Lead Actress:

Jessica Chastain - Molly’s Game
Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird*

Sup. Actor:

Willem Dafoe - The Florida Project
Armie Hammer - Call Me By Your Name
Richard Jenkins - The Shape of Water
Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*
Michael Stuhlbarg - Call Me By Your Name

Sup. Actress:

Mary J. Blige - Mundbound
Hong Chau - Downsizing
Holly Hunter - The Big Sick
Allison Janney - I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird*

Original Screenplay:

The Big Sick
Get Out*
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Adapted Screenplay:

The Beguiled
Call Me By Your Name*
The Disaster Artist
Molly’s Game
Mudbound

Production Design:

Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Get Out
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water*

Cinematography:

Blade Runner 2049*
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape of Water

Costume Design:

Beauty and the Beast
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread*
The Shape of Water
Wonder Woman

Film Editing:

Baby Driver
Dunkirk*
Good Time
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water

Hair/Makeup:

Darkest Hour
I, Tonya*
Wonder

Sound Editing:

Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk*
Logan
War for the Planet of the Apes

Sound Mixing:
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk*
Logan
War for the Planet of the Apes

Visual Effects:

Alien: Covenant
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water*
War for the Planet of the Apes

Original Score:

Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water*
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Original Song:

Coco - “Remember Me”*
Cries from Syria - “Prayers for This World”
The Greatest Showman - “This Is Me”
Marshall - “Stand Up for Something”
Mudbound - “Mighty River”

Animated Film:

The Breadwinner
Cars 3
Coco*
The LEGO Batman Movie
Loving Vincent

Foreign Language:

A Fantastic Woman
Foxtrot
In the Fade
Loveless
The Square*

Documentary:

Chasing Coral
Ex Libris
Faces Places
Jane*
Last Men in Aleppo

December 2017 Releases I Hope to See

Happy Holidays, readers! As we go into this festive time of year, let's take a look at a few films that have my interest or have some sort of awards potential. * = Awards potentials.

The Shape of Water - dir. Guillermo Del Toro*

Whether you like Del Toro's work or not, no one can deny that he always has interesting films. At the very least, we can admire his use for practical effects. This film also has a spectacular cast. 

The Disaster Artist - dir. James Franco*

Of course, I'm going to see this! Why wouldn't I? What do you think I am, a little chicken? Cheep cheep cheep cheeeeeep. But seriously, I love The Room, I love The Disaster Artist book by Greg Sestero (oh hai, Mark), so you can bet I'm excited to see this.

Wonder Wheel - dir. Woody Allen*

I'll be honest, the only reason I'm including this is that Allen is a guy that draws buzz around award season. Though chances are I'm going to skip it. Allen just creeps me out. Seriously, who marries their ex's daughter? Let's not even go into other controversial aspects of him.

Just Getting Started - dir. Ron Shelton

It could be good. I mean, I had fun with the other Morgan Freeman comedy this year Going in Style so... this could be good... I guess.

I, Tonya - dir. Craig Gillespie*

An interesting topic for a biopic and I'm always up for Margot Robbie. I've heard nothing but great things about this movie so far.

Quest - dir. Jonathan Olshefski*

A really interesting looking documentary.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - dir. Rian Johnson*

Star WAAAAAAAAAAARS, nothin' but Star WAAAAAAAAARS... and yes I preordered my ticket.

Gotti - dir. Kevin Connolly

This is pretty much here because it was filmed in Cincinnati. It's always cool to see my hometown be used as a filming location. And Stacy Keach is in it, that's always a plus. 

The Ballad of Lefty Brown  - dir. Jared Moshe*

It's a Western. I love Westerns. It's a Western from A24. I'm sold.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - dir. Jake Kasdan*

It looks like a fun action/adventure film. It's also from the director of Walk Hard so I'm certain it's going to be funny. 

The Greatest Showman - dir. Michael Gracey*

This seems like a poorly timed release given that Ringley Bros. Circus just closed down. But Jackman is charming, so maybe he can make this an okay film to watch. But this looks like an Oscar bate movie. I hate to use that term but it's how I feel. 

Downsizing - dir. Alexander Payne*

Alexander Payne is one of my favorite directors working today. Nebraska (2013) is one of my favorites of the decade and Sideways (2004) is one of my favorite films of all time. Though I'm not too sure how I feel about this movie based on the trailer.

All the Money in the World - dir. Ridley Scott*

I am so happy about the reshoots with Christopher Plummer. First reason, because the multiple allegations against Kevin Spacey couldn't be ignored. Second, Plummer doesn't need any silly makeup.

The Post - dir. Steven Spielberg*

I love Spotlight so I'm more than certain I'm going to love this.

Hostiles - dir. Scott Cooper*

The cast looks great, I like the director, and as I said earlier I love Westerns.

Happy End - dir. Michael Haneke*

I'm mainly including this because of the buzz it's getting for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.

Molly's Game - dir. Aaron Sorkin*

I'm always up for a Jessica Chastain film. Add in Idris Elba and I'm sold.

Phantom Thread - dir. Paul Thomas Anderson*

I haven't watched all of Anderson's films and the ones I've haven't thrilled me as much. But this is Daniel Day-Lewis's last film so it should be watched for that.

In the Fade - dir. Fatih Akin*

Another movie that's got Best Foreign Language Film Oscar buzz.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool - dir. Paul McGuigan*

Annette Bening and Jamie Bell. Sounds good to me.