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Oscar Nominee of All Time Tournament: Round 1, Group A
(info about nominees under the poll)
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CELIA JOHNSON (1908-1982)
NOMINATIONS:
Lead- 1946 for Brief Encounter
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GEORGE CLOONEY (1961-)
NOMINATIONS:
Lead- 2007 for Michael Clayton, 2009 for Up in the Air, 2011 for The Descendants
WINS:
Supporting- 2005 for Syriana
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George Clooney, 2005 Best Supporting Actor for the film, "Syriana."
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mummer · 18 days
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which matt damon movie should i watch tonight
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mythriftedfinds · 1 month
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Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: 2005 Syriana Movie DVD.
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visions-of-music · 5 months
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Syriana Theme (2005)
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newsource21 · 6 months
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Watch "Syriana (2005) Official Trailer - George Clooney, Matt Damon Movie HD" on YouTube
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famouscenes7 · 11 months
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Watch "Syriana (2005) Official Trailer - George Clooney, Matt Damon Movie HD" on YouTube
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carljparker · 11 months
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Dressing to leave the house
I definitely received some feedback on last week's post about trans issues. The discussion brought to mind one of the opening scenes from the movie Syriana (2005). (See this week's visual.)
In the scene, we see a woman preparing to leave a party at a house in the city of Tehran, Iran. She is wearing a stylish dress, but over that she is putting on a more conservative set of clothes--that will be more acceptable to the prevailing culture in Iran.
The presumption, I think, is that if the woman wore her party dress outside on the street, she would be exposed to disapprobation and perhaps violence. It seems to me that trans people face an analogous problem: If they dress--out in the world--in a way that is congruent with how they experience themselves, they could also be subject to disapprobation--and potentially violence.
Published: Fri 02 Jun 2023
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shortfeedshq · 1 year
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From ER to Hollywood: The Rise of George Clooney - A Closer Look at His Life, Career, and Humanitarian Causes
George Clooney is an award-winning American actor, filmmaker, and activist. Born on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky, he has become one of Hollywood's most recognizable and influential figures. Clooney's career spans over four decades, during which he has starred in numerous critically acclaimed films and TV shows, directed several award-winning movies, and used his platform to advocate for various causes. In this SEO-friendly autobiography, we'll explore Clooney's life, career, and achievements in detail. Table of Contents: - Early Life and Career - Breakthrough Roles - Hollywood Success - Directing and Producing - Activism and Philanthropy - Personal Life - FAQs Early Life and Career: George Timothy Clooney was born on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky, to Nina and Nick Clooney. His father was a journalist, anchorman, and game show host, and his mother was a beauty queen and city councilwoman. Clooney's parents were well-known in their community, and he grew up surrounded by politics, entertainment, and media. Clooney started his acting career in the late 1970s, appearing in small TV roles and commercials. He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980s to pursue his acting career and landed his first major role in the TV show "ER" in 1994. Before that, he appeared in several TV shows, including "The Facts of Life," "Roseanne," and "Sisters." He also starred in the TV series "The Return of the Killer Tomatoes" and the films "Return of the Killer Tomatoes" and "Combat Academy." Breakthrough Roles: Clooney's breakthrough role came in 1996, when he played Dr. Doug Ross on the hit TV show "ER." The show was a massive success and made Clooney a household name. During his time on "ER," he also appeared in several films, including "One Fine Day" and "Batman & Robin." In 1998, he starred in the critically acclaimed movie "Out of Sight," which cemented his status as a leading man in Hollywood. Hollywood Success: Clooney's Hollywood success continued throughout the 2000s, with roles in movies such as "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," "Ocean's Eleven," and "Good Night, and Good Luck." He received numerous award nominations and won several, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Syriana" in 2005. Clooney also continued his TV work, executive producing and starring in the political drama "The Ides of March" in 2011. Directing and Producing: Clooney's success as an actor paved the way for his career as a director and producer. He directed his first film, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," in 2002, followed by "Good Night, and Good Luck" in 2005, and "The Ides of March" in 2011. He also produced several successful movies, including "Argo," "August: Osage County," and "Gravity." Activism and Philanthropy: Clooney has been an active advocate for various causes throughout his career. He is a supporter of human rights and has been involved in several humanitarian efforts, including the Not on Our Watch Project, which raises awareness about human rights abuses in Sudan. He has also been involved in raising awareness about the Darfur conflict and the refugee crisis. Clooney co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which aims to advance justice in courtrooms, communities, and classrooms around the world. Personal Life: In addition to his successful career, George Clooney is also known for his high-profile personal life. He has been married to international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney since 2014, and the couple has two children together. Prior to his marriage, Clooney was known for his bachelor lifestyle and high-profile relationships, including with actress Talia Balsam and model Lisa Snowdon. FAQs: Q: What are some of George Clooney's most famous movies? A: Some of George Clooney's most famous movies include "Ocean's Eleven," "Up in the Air," "Good Night, and Good Luck," and "The Descendants." Q: Has George Clooney won any awards? A: Yes, George Clooney has won numerous awards throughout his career, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a BAFTA Award. Q: What is George Clooney's net worth? A: As of 2023, George Clooney's net worth is estimated to be around $500 million. Q: What causes is George Clooney involved in? A: George Clooney is involved in various humanitarian causes, including human rights, justice, and refugee issues. He is also an advocate for environmental conservation and has been involved in several campaigns to combat climate change. Q: What is the Clooney Foundation for Justice? A: The Clooney Foundation for Justice is a non-profit organization co-founded by George and Amal Clooney. The foundation aims to promote justice in areas such as human rights, education, and advocacy. Read the full article
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selimamir98 · 1 year
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Matthew Paige Damon (October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among Forbes' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North American box office, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received various awards and nominations, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.
Damon began his acting career in the film Mystic Pizza (1988). He continued acting in Courage Under Fire (1996) and The Rainmaker (1997). He gained prominence in 1997 when he and Ben Affleck wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting, which won them the Academy and Golden Globe awards for Best Screenplay. He established himself as a leading man by starring as Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Jason Bourne in the Bourne franchise (2002–2007; 2016), and con man Linus Caldwell in the Ocean's trilogy (2001–2007). Damon's other notable performances were in Saving Private Ryan (1998), Syriana (2005), The Departed (2006), The Informant! (2009), Invictus (2009), True Grit (2010), Contagion (2011), Ford v Ferrari (2019), Stillwater (2021), and The Last Duel (2021). He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for playing an astronaut stranded on Mars in The Martian (2015).
He is also known for his performances in television, including his portrayal as Scott Thorson in the HBO biopic Behind the Candelabra (2013) for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. He has guest-starred on 30 Rock in 2011 and Saturday Night Live in 2019. He also produced the reality series Project Greenlight (2001–2015) as well as the film Manchester by the Sea (2016).
Damon has performed voice-over work in both animated and documentary films, and has established two production companies with Affleck. He has been involved in charitable work with organizations including the ONE Campaign, H2O Africa Foundation, Feeding America, and Water.org.
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brookston · 1 year
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Holidays 12.9
Holidays
Anna's Day (Finland, Sweden)
Armed Forces Day (Peru)
Ball-Bearing Roller Skates Day
Christmas Card Day
Christmas Gift Memory Day
Fatherland’s Heroes Day (Russia)
Fiesta of the Mother of Health (Mexico)
Heroes Day (Antigua and Barbuda)
Homemade Gift Day
International Anti-Corruption Day (UN)
International Day of Veterinary Medicine
International Jewish Book Day [5th Day of Tevet]
Mail Your Cards Day
National Heroes Day (Antigua & Barbuda)
National Llama Day
Navy Day (Sri Lanka)
Petrified Forest Day
V.C. Bird Day (Antigua & Barbuda)
Weary Willie Day
World Genocide Commemoration Day (UN)
World Patient Safety Day
World Techno Day
Yuri's Day in the Autumn (Russia)
Food & Drink Celebrations
National Opal Apples Day
National Pastry Day
Search High and Low For Your Gingerbread Recipe Day
2nd Friday in December
National Salesperson's Day [2nd Friday]
Official Lost and Found Day [2nd Friday]
Independence Days
Tanzania (f.k.a. Tanganyika; from UK, 1961)
Feast Days
Feast of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos by St. Anne (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Galileo (Positivist; Saint)
Juan Diego (Christian; Saint)
Leocadia (Christian; Saint)
The Martyrdom of St. Kenny (Church of the SubGenius)
Nectarius of Auvergne (Christian; Saint)
Noodle Ring Day (Pastafarian)
Peter Fourier (Christian; Saint)
Remembrance for Egill Skallagrimsson (Troth/Asatru/Norse Pagan)
The Seven Martyrs at Samosata (Christian; Martyrs)
This Day Deliberately Left Blank (Pastafarian)
Tropical Grossbill (Muppetism)
Wulfhilde (Christian; Saint)
Lucky & Unlucky Days
Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]
Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [58 of 60]
Premieres
Brokeback Mountain (Film; 2005)
Charge of the Light Brigade (Poem; 1854)
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Animated TV Special; 1965)
Christine (Film; 1983)
Coronation Street (UK Soap Opera; 1960)
Dark Horse, by George Harrison (Album; 1974)
Disclosure (Film; 1994)
Fresh Cream, by Cream (Album; 1966)
Hot August Nights, by Neil Diamond (Live Album; 1972)
Little Saint Nick, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1963)
A Love Supreme, recorded by the John Coltrane Quartet (Album; 1964)
Memories of a Geisha (Film; 2005)
Office Christmas Party (Film; 2016)
Richard II, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1595)
Salome, by Richard Strauss (Opera; 1905)
Scarface (Film; 1983)
Soul Man, by The Blues Brothers (Song; 1978)
Syriana (Film; 2005)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Film; 2011)
Twins (Film; 1988)
The Whale (Film; 2022)
Young at Heart, recorded by Frank Sinatra (Song; 1953)
Today’s Name Days
Liborius, Reinmar, Valerie (Austria)
Ana, Anna, Anushka, Nusha (Bulgaria)
Ciprijan, Diego, Liberan, Zdravka (Croatia)
Vratislav (Czech Republic)
Rudolph (Denmark)
Raid, Raido, Raidu, Raigo, Raigo, Raik, Raiko, Rait (Estonia)
Anna, Anne, Anneli, Anni, Annika, Annikki, Annu, Annukka, Anu (Finland)
Pierre (France)
Liborius, Reinmar, Valerie (Germany)
Ann, Anna (Greece)
Natália (Hungary)
Siro (Italy)
Joachims, Jukums, Sarmīte, Tabita (Latvia)
Gedenė, Leokadija, Vakaris, Valerija (Lithuania)
Annette, Anniken (Norway)
Delfina, Joachim, Joachima, Leokadia, Loda, Waleria, Wielisława, Wiesław (Poland)
Izabela (Slovakia)
Diego, Juan, Leocadia (Spain)
Anna (Sweden)
Ambrose (Ukraine)
Delfina, Delfino, Delphina, Kirby, Kirk, Kirkwood (USA)
Today is Also…
Day of Year: Day 343 of 2022; 22 days remaining in the year
ISO: Day 5 of week 49 of 2022
Celtic Tree Calendar: Ruis (Elder) [Day 14 of 28]
Chinese: Month 11 (Dōngyuè), Day 16 (Bing-Shen)
Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)
Hebrew: 15 Kislev 5783
Islamic: 15 Jumada I 1444
J Cal: 13 Zima; Fiveday [13 of 30]
Julian: 26 November 2022
Moon: 97%: Waning Gibbous
Positivist: 7 Bichat (12th Month) [Galileo]
Runic Half Month: Is (Stasis) [Day 15 of 15]
Season: Autumn (Day 78 of 90)
Zodiac: Sagittarius (Day 17 of 30)
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brookstonalmanac · 1 year
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Holidays 12.9
Holidays
Anna's Day (Finland, Sweden)
Armed Forces Day (Peru)
Ball-Bearing Roller Skates Day
Christmas Card Day
Christmas Gift Memory Day
Fatherland’s Heroes Day (Russia)
Fiesta of the Mother of Health (Mexico)
Heroes Day (Antigua and Barbuda)
Homemade Gift Day
International Anti-Corruption Day (UN)
International Day of Veterinary Medicine
International Jewish Book Day [5th Day of Tevet]
Mail Your Cards Day
National Heroes Day (Antigua & Barbuda)
National Llama Day
Navy Day (Sri Lanka)
Petrified Forest Day
V.C. Bird Day (Antigua & Barbuda)
Weary Willie Day
World Genocide Commemoration Day (UN)
World Patient Safety Day
World Techno Day
Yuri's Day in the Autumn (Russia)
Food & Drink Celebrations
National Opal Apples Day
National Pastry Day
Search High and Low For Your Gingerbread Recipe Day
2nd Friday in December
National Salesperson's Day [2nd Friday]
Official Lost and Found Day [2nd Friday]
Independence Days
Tanzania (f.k.a. Tanganyika; from UK, 1961)
Feast Days
Feast of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos by St. Anne (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Galileo (Positivist; Saint)
Juan Diego (Christian; Saint)
Leocadia (Christian; Saint)
The Martyrdom of St. Kenny (Church of the SubGenius)
Nectarius of Auvergne (Christian; Saint)
Noodle Ring Day (Pastafarian)
Peter Fourier (Christian; Saint)
Remembrance for Egill Skallagrimsson (Troth/Asatru/Norse Pagan)
The Seven Martyrs at Samosata (Christian; Martyrs)
This Day Deliberately Left Blank (Pastafarian)
Tropical Grossbill (Muppetism)
Wulfhilde (Christian; Saint)
Lucky & Unlucky Days
Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]
Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [58 of 60]
Premieres
Brokeback Mountain (Film; 2005)
Charge of the Light Brigade (Poem; 1854)
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Animated TV Special; 1965)
Christine (Film; 1983)
Coronation Street (UK Soap Opera; 1960)
Dark Horse, by George Harrison (Album; 1974)
Disclosure (Film; 1994)
Fresh Cream, by Cream (Album; 1966)
Hot August Nights, by Neil Diamond (Live Album; 1972)
Little Saint Nick, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1963)
A Love Supreme, recorded by the John Coltrane Quartet (Album; 1964)
Memories of a Geisha (Film; 2005)
Office Christmas Party (Film; 2016)
Richard II, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1595)
Salome, by Richard Strauss (Opera; 1905)
Scarface (Film; 1983)
Soul Man, by The Blues Brothers (Song; 1978)
Syriana (Film; 2005)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Film; 2011)
Twins (Film; 1988)
The Whale (Film; 2022)
Young at Heart, recorded by Frank Sinatra (Song; 1953)
Today’s Name Days
Liborius, Reinmar, Valerie (Austria)
Ana, Anna, Anushka, Nusha (Bulgaria)
Ciprijan, Diego, Liberan, Zdravka (Croatia)
Vratislav (Czech Republic)
Rudolph (Denmark)
Raid, Raido, Raidu, Raigo, Raigo, Raik, Raiko, Rait (Estonia)
Anna, Anne, Anneli, Anni, Annika, Annikki, Annu, Annukka, Anu (Finland)
Pierre (France)
Liborius, Reinmar, Valerie (Germany)
Ann, Anna (Greece)
Natália (Hungary)
Siro (Italy)
Joachims, Jukums, Sarmīte, Tabita (Latvia)
Gedenė, Leokadija, Vakaris, Valerija (Lithuania)
Annette, Anniken (Norway)
Delfina, Joachim, Joachima, Leokadia, Loda, Waleria, Wielisława, Wiesław (Poland)
Izabela (Slovakia)
Diego, Juan, Leocadia (Spain)
Anna (Sweden)
Ambrose (Ukraine)
Delfina, Delfino, Delphina, Kirby, Kirk, Kirkwood (USA)
Today is Also…
Day of Year: Day 343 of 2022; 22 days remaining in the year
ISO: Day 5 of week 49 of 2022
Celtic Tree Calendar: Ruis (Elder) [Day 14 of 28]
Chinese: Month 11 (Dōngyuè), Day 16 (Bing-Shen)
Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)
Hebrew: 15 Kislev 5783
Islamic: 15 Jumada I 1444
J Cal: 13 Zima; Fiveday [13 of 30]
Julian: 26 November 2022
Moon: 97%: Waning Gibbous
Positivist: 7 Bichat (12th Month) [Galileo]
Runic Half Month: Is (Stasis) [Day 15 of 15]
Season: Autumn (Day 78 of 90)
Zodiac: Sagittarius (Day 17 of 30)
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viralnews-1 · 1 year
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10 Best George Clooney Movies, According to Rotten Tomatoes
10 Best George Clooney Movies, According to Rotten Tomatoes
George Clooney is a beloved leading man in Hollywood, getting his start on the hit TV drama ER, before his first major Hollywood role in From Dusk till Dawn (1996). Clooney would go on to be nominated for several Best Actor Oscars at the Academy Awards, and would win one for Best Supporting Actor in Syriana (2005), which is coincidentally not on this list. RELATED:‘Ticket to Paradise’ Cast and…
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bloglopesca · 2 years
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CINEMA: Syriana Syriana Realizador: Stephen Gaghan Actores:Jeffrey Wright, George Clooney, Christopher Plummer, Chris Cooper, Matt Damon Ano: 2005 Idade: M/12 Duração: 126 minutos Género: Drama / Thriller Distribuidora: Columbia País de Origem: EUA SINOPSE A intriga decorre num país do Golfo produtor de petróleo onde o jovem e carismático Príncipe Nasir procura mudar o há muito estabelecido relacionamento com os interesses económicos americanos ao conceder os direitos de prospecção à oferta mais alta, neste caso feita por chineses. Bob Barnes é um agente veterano da CIA prestes a terminar a carreira e o seu último trabalho será o assassinato do Príncipe Nasir. IMDB / Syriana - Wikipédia / Crítica / Syriana – A Indústria do Petróleo OPINIÃO 2007-02-18 Achei a história muito confusa, passei grande parte do filme sem perceber NADA, perto do fim é há mais alguma acção e uma pequena explicação. Excelente elenco, cheio de personagens; grande história, com excesso de informação e nenhuma explicação. Acaba por ser enfadonho e no fim, a mensagem política foi "as grandes potências sempre vencem". http://lopesca.blogspot.com/2007/02/cinema-syriana.html ►Like/Gosta◄ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=443106974494671&set=a.143408627797842&type=3
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spockvarietyhour · 6 years
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Alexander Siddig
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nickjunesource · 3 years
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Full article below.
Max Minghella is sitting in his backyard in the LA sunshine, his t-shirt an homage to the French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve, his adopted shepherd mix, Rhye, excited by the approach of a package courier.
“You okay, sweetheart?” he asks — the dog, not me — tenderly.
Minghella, who at 35 has dozens of screen credits to his name, is best known as The Handmaid’s Tale’s cunning chauffeur Nick Blaine, a character who it’s difficult to imagine saying sweetheart. In airless Gilead, of course, a cautious hand graze with Elisabeth Moss’ June can pass for a big romantic gesture. In a Season 1 episode featuring child separation and hospital infant abduction, Nick’s major contribution is to trade stolen glances with a sex slave while “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” pumps discordantly along. I ask Minghella about playing the series’ closest approximation to a dreamy male lead against the show’s dark narrative of female subjugation.
“I know this is not the answer you want to hear,” Minghella says with none of Nick’s hesitation. “But I like that stuff, right? In the pilot, I think Nick only had a handful of lines. It wasn't clear that this is what the character would turn into. And it's quite fortunate for me personally, because I'm not a massively sort of intellectual person in my real life. I love Fifty Shades of Grey. That's like my Star Wars. It suits me to play a character like him.”
Minghella surmises that this enduring romanticism is an outcome of nurture. His father, the late British director Anthony Minghella, made grand romantic dramas like Cold Mountain and The English Patient. And there was the young, cinema-mad Max sitting on the living room sofa, absorbing everything. “It’s taken me a long time to understand this,” he says of his prolonged childhood exposure to love stories. “My dad made The English Patient when I was 10. So it was two years of watching the dailies to that movie and then watching 50 cuts of it. And then [The Talented Mr.] Ripley he made when I was 13, and it was the same thing.” These were an adolescent Max Minghella’s alternative to reruns. “I think they did shape my perspective on the world in a lot of ways, specifically The English Patient. That was a complicated love story, and I wonder sometimes how much it's affected my psychology.”
Some sons rebel; others resemble. Minghella’s co-star O-T Fagbenle, who plays June’s other lover from before the time of Gilead, got his first job acting in Anthony Minghella’s romantic crime film Breaking and Entering. “Anthony is one the kindest, most beautiful men that I've ever had the privilege of working with before,” Fagbenle says. “And Max has his gorgeous, sensitive, open-minded soul.”
Though Minghella spent his childhood on the set of The Talented Mr. Ripley, playing an uncredited Confederate soldier role in Cold Mountain, and tooling around with a Super-8 camera Matt Damon gave him, he insists his upbringing was normal. He grew up in South Hill Park overlooking Hampstead Heath in London with his father and mother, the choreographer Carolyn Choa. (Minghella also has a half-sister, Hannah Minghella, who is now a film executive.) Yes, technically, it was London, but that’s not how it seemed. “I feel like I grew up in a very small town. Every school I went to was in Hampstead. I was born in Hampstead,” Minghella says of the small map dot of his life before university. “When I went to New York, I felt I was going to the big city.”
Despite his illustrious surname, movie-watching was far from restricted to the classics. “Beverly Hills Cop is definitely the movie I remember having an unhealthy obsession with. I think I saw it when I was 5 for the first time, and I'd watch it just two or three times a day for years. I'm just obsessed with it.”
Plenty of actors can trace their love of movies back to a love of stories, but for Minghella the relationship seems to flow in reverse. When he left for Columbia University, Minghella opted to study history for its connection, through storytelling, to film. It was during the summers between his years of college that he started taking acting more seriously. Before his graduation, he’d already appeared in Syriana, starring Damon and George Clooney. Soon, he’d make a splash as Divya Narendra in The Social Network in 2010 and be cast in Clooney’s Ides of March. As all young actors eventually must, Minghella moved to Los Angeles.
It’s been over a decade since he last lived on the Heath, but, perhaps unusually for a person who’s chosen his profession, Minghella is adamantly not a “shapeshifter,” in his words. Home for Christmas this year, he started sifting through old journals stored at his mother’s house, “just like scraps of writing from when I was extremely young up through my teenage years,” before coming to America. “It was hilarious to me,” Minghella says of staring at his childhood reflection. “My review of a movie at 7 years old is pretty much what my review of a movie at 35 will be. My taste hasn't changed much. And when I sort of love something, I do tend to continue to love it.”
Which brings us back to his enduring love of romance, born of his bloodline, which is all over Minghella’s own 2018 directorial debut. Teen Spirit is a hazily lit film about a teenage girl from the Isle of Wight — the remote British island where Max’s father Anthony was born — who enters a local X-Factor-style singing competition. (It stars Minghella’s rumored girlfriend of several years, Elle Fanning.) The story is small, but its crescendos are epic.
Minghella calls the movie — an ode to the power of the pop anthem — “embarrassingly Max.” Max loves a good music-driven movie trailer — he’s watched the one for Top Gun: Maverick “many” times. And Max loves the rhythmic beats of sports movies like Friday Night Lights. Max loves movies with excesses of female energy, like Spring Breakers. He likens Teen Spirit to an experiment, his answer to the question, “Can I take all these things that I love and find a structure that can hold them?” The result is a touching “hodgepodge” of Minghella’s fascinations, inspired by the songs from another thing he loves: Robyn’s 2010 album Body Talk (itself a dance-pop meditation on love).
Minghella hasn’t directed any films since, but he sees now how making movies fits his personality — organized, impatient — more organically than starring in them does. Directing also helped him to appreciate that acting is “much harder than I was giving it credit for,” which, in turn, has made him like it more. Besides The Handmaid’s Tale currently airing on Hulu, Minghella appears in Spiral, the ninth installment in the Saw horror franchise and, from where I’m sitting, at least, a departure.
“I do like horror movies, but the thing that was really kind of magical is that I was feeling so nostalgic, right? We talked about Beverly Hills Cop earlier. I was just missing a certain kind of movie,” Minghella explains of his new role as Chris Rock’s detective partner. He was yearning for simple story-telling, like in the buddy cop movies of his youth, especially 48 Hours. It almost goes without saying that a buddy cop movie is another kind of love story. “And then I read the script and it was very much in that vein.” He clarifies: “I mean, it's also extremely Saw. It's very much a horror movie.”
His renewed excitement for acting translated onto The Handmaid’s Tale set, too. Veteran Hollywood producer Warren Littlefield describes casting Minghella in the role of Nick as an effortless choice: “Sometimes you agonize over things. [Casting Minghella] was instantly clear to me, and everyone agreed.” Now in its fourth season, the tone of the Hulu hit is graver than ever. Gilead is more desperate to maintain its rule, and so more audacious in its violence. Perhaps it’s fitting that the show’s romantic gestures finally match that scale.
In one particularly soaring moment, Elisabeth Moss’ June and Minghella’s Nick meet at the center of a bridge and crush into a long kiss. It’s been two seasons since they held their newborn daughter together, and it’s hard to see how this isn’t their last goodbye. Littlefield, like Minghella, is here for the romance among the rubble. “It's spectacular when they come together. In the middle of all of the trauma is this epic love story,” he says. “Max is just magnificent in the role.”
For Minghella, the satisfaction is more personal. He works with good people, he likes his scenes, and he thinks Nick is a complex character. Minghella read The Handmaid’s Tale for the first time in college in 2005. Like all the things Minghella has ever liked, he still likes it. He’s as proud of this most recent season as he is the show’s first. And he watched Nick and June race recklessly back to each other across the expanse of the screen exactly how you might expect. “I watched it like a fan girl.”
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