Vote on the new Smackdown. Meet your fellow panelists.

A new season of the Supporting Actress Smackdown is upon us. We'll begin withthe current season, honoring the films of 2021.

• Buckley,The Lost Daughter
• DeBose,West Side Story
• Dench,Belfast
• DunstPower of the Dog
• Ellis,King Richard

Soemail your votesranking each nominated Supporting Actress performance on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (perfection) by this Sunday March 20th. Your votes will count toward the final outcome.Now, let's meet your fellow voters who we'll be chatting with you on the podcast.

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Thankful for... Nick Taylor!

This year for our "thankful for" column we're mixing it up a bit. Instead of asking our contributors to share a brief list of favourite things, I wanted to share with you, dear readers, why I love the team so and then ask them a few key questions so you can get to know them better.NICK TAYLOR.

Nick has been with us for about two years, and we first got to know him because he regularly voted and wrote up beautiful emails forthe Smackdown. Since joining us he's looked at supporting actresses that weren't nominated. Some of our favourites includethe Evil Witch in Snow White,Taraji P Henson inHustle & Flow, andSister Ruth inBlack Narcissus. But he also pops infor contemporary festivals.

Our mini interview follows...

When did you first fall in love with the movies?

I've been into movies my whole life. Lotta Animal Planet docs and Disney movies growing up, but that feels different from the way I love and think about film as an adult...

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Smackdown '37 - The Podcast Companion

by Nathaniel R

150 years ago on this very day the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 began. It raged for three days (October 8th-10th), ravaging most of the city and killing hundreds. In the blockbuster movieIn Old Chicago(1937), which we discuss on this Podcast, the cause of the fire is pinned firmly on careless Mrs O'Leary (Alice Brady) and her cow. A new report from the AP for the fire's anniversary saysthat there's no evidence to suggest they were the culprits; the widely believed and Hollywood-endorsed story may have sprung from the virulent anti-Irish prejudice of the time. That's just a little anecdote to share since we're finally publishing the podcast portion of the1937 Smackdownwhich is now officially the season finale (the other years we had planned to do will have to wait a few months)

Thanks to our guestsChelseawhose letterbox review ofStage Dooris "hot girls unite",Pamelawho has a hot take on the sexworker trope inDead End,Timwho makes his case as the world's biggestStella Dallasfan, andBoydwho shares a possibly apocryphal but amazing stunt double story fromIn Old Chicago.Hope you enjoy the conversation!

SMACKDOWN 1937

Smackdown '37: Bossy Women and Fragile Wrecks

Welcome back to theSupporting Actress Smackdown. Each month we pick an Oscar vintage to explore through the lens of actressing at the edges. This episode takes us back to 1937, which was only the second year of the category.

THE NOMINEESIt was only the second year of the Supporting Actress category yet the tropes and shortlist makeup were already falling into place. Oscar voters went with a mix of industry veterans (Alice Brady the first consecutive nominee in this category), stage stars transferring to film (Dame May Whitty), fresh faces (Anne Shirley), and rising talent (Andrea Leeds, Claire Trevor) to play an array of familiar types: the martyr mom, the tetchy elder, the sad / confused daughter, the insecure actress, and the complicated hooker...

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Introducing the Smackdown Panel for '37

On Sunday the nextSupporting Actress Smackdownand itscompanion podcastarrive, with a discussion of the 1937 Oscars and the Supporting Actress nominees. You know what that means. For maximum enjoyment (re)watch Best Picture nominees the Bogart noirDead End,the actress-stuffed dramedyStage Doorand the epicIn Old Chicagoas well as two films that were both nominated for two acting Oscars, the thrillerNight Must Falland weepie classicStella Dallas(all of which are readily available online)andsend in your votesby Friday October 1st. Let's meet your fellow panelists, shall we?

PLEASE WELCOME...

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