The Big Screen

The Big Screen: Oscar Predictions

Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony is shaping up to be one of the most dramatic in years with tight races in many of the major categories. This week, we conclude our Oscars preview series by picking some winners and thinking through how the show will work without a host.

The Big Screen: 'Bohemian Rhapsody'

“Bohemian Rhapsody” has earned more than $800 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing rock biopic of all time. And along the way, it’s racked up five Academy Award nominations, including best picture. This week, we continue our Oscars preview series by talking with a rock critic about how the film captures the essence of Queen.

The Big Screen: The Story Behind 'Green Book'

The movie “Green Book [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6966692/?ref_=nv_sr_1]” is nominated for five Oscars, including best picture, best actor (Viggo Mortensen) and best supporting actor (Mahershala Ali). This week, we talk about the film and the green book from which the movie gets its name with the curator of the Dallas Civil Rights Museum [https://dallasmlkcenter.com/dcrm/] (who also happens to have once lived in a house listed in the book).

The Big Screen: 'The Favorite' Vs. History

In “The Favourite [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5083738/?ref_=nv_sr_1],” a pair of attendants in the Court of Queen Anne battle it out for the monarch’s attention. The film is nominated for 10 Academy Awards, and this week we continue our Oscars preview series by looking at how it depicts life in 18th Century England. Our guest is Kathleen Wellman [https://www.smu.edu/Dedman/Academics/Departments/History/People/FacultyStaff/KathleenWellman], Dedman Family Distinguished Professor of History at SMU.

The Big Screen: A Baldwin Expert Breaks Down 'Beale Street'

“If Beale Street Could Talk” earned three Oscar nominations earlier this week. Barry Jenkins was one of the honorees for his adaptation of James Baldwin's novel, and this week, we launch our annual Academy Awards preview series by talking about the story from book to screen with Baldwin expert Kenton Rambsy, assistant professor of African American Literature & Digital Humanities at the University of Texas at Arlington.