I have to give my sincerest congratulations to Bo Burnham (“Eighth Grade”) for winning the WGA’s Original Screenplay award, which goes against the entire narrative the academy tried to write for this years awards season. “To the other nominees in the category, have fun at the Oscars, losers!’” Burnham said at the podium. As you can imagine, Burnham wasn’t nominated for an Oscar, but who cares, right?
Read more2019 Independent Spirit Awards; ‘Eighth Grade’ & ‘First Reformed’ Lead Nominees List
The Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced and the biggest shocker is the total snub of Melissa McCarthy‘s immaculate performance as Lee Israel in "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" Does this spell trouble for Oscar? Doubt it, the performance is too irresistible to ignore and McCarthy is, at this point, industry royalty.
Read more'Green Book' will most likely be your Best Picture front-runner
Awards Watch writer Erik Anderson, who I finally had the pleasure of meeting at TIFF this year, knows his stuff and his list of the ten films most likely to be rewarded with a Best Picture nomination, is, more or less, what we'll likely be greeted with come nominations day January 24th. Although, I would replace the impenetrable "If Beale Street Could Talk" with "Eighth Grade." Also, if "Vice," the Dick Cheney movie, fails critically and/or commercially, I can see "The Hate U Give," which is going to get a huge push with reviews and box-office intake, sneak into the Best Picture race.
Read more‘Eighth Grade’: Bo Burnham On This Generation’s More Affectionate Version Of ‘Welcome To The Dollhouse’ [Interview]
With his raw, tender and heartfelt “Eighth Grade,” comedian-turned-filmmaker Bo Burnham has made one of the very best films of the year. Burnham‘s miracle of a movie is made all the more impressive by the fact this is the feature-length debut for the 27 year-old YouTube comedian known for small parts in movies from Judd Apatow and most recently, “The Big Sick.”
The film follows Kayla (Elsie Fisher), whose constant self-reflectiveness is familiar enough to make you cringe at every stutter. Kayla’s dad (Josh Hamilton) is as good a single dad as you can be, given the fact that he has to contend with his teenage girl entering the most awkward and uncomfortable phase of her life.
READ MORE: Bo Burnham’s ‘Eighth Grade’ Is A Millennial ‘Welcome To The Dollhouse’ [Review]
The anxiety Kayla has within her, always in a state of questioning, makes the case for a kind of early-adolescent humanism we haven’t seen depicted on-screen so acutely. In “Eighth Grade” Burnham offers a snapshot of history in the making depicting a millennial generation as a zombie-like student body in are slaves to technology, social media, and their phones.
I spoke to the director about the film, his own personal identifying with Kayla and his transition from YouTube video-maker to, now, one of the most celebrated debut filmmakers of the year.
Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade” is one of the very best movies so far this year [Trailer]
Taken from my review for The Playlist:
["It speaks to the agonizing pain of growing up that all survivors of adolescence can recognize." Peter Travers]
Eighth grade can really suck. You know that pubescent, odorful, pimpled, anxious and, self-reflective middle ground between grade school and high school? Horrific experiences have happened to many during this very sensitive time in a young boy or girl’s life. Sometimes you carry these experiences, or scars, with you the rest of your days.
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