Highlights From Our Feb. 12 Issue

With yesterday’s Oscar nominees luncheon successful nan books, nan marathon that is awards play is now entering nan location stretch. But that doesn’t mean there’s nary grist near for nan mill, particularly erstwhile it comes to those — for illustration this week’s screen subject, 73-year-old first-time nominee Delroy Lindo — whose names weren’t needfully connected pundits’ nominations predictions lists.

Through Feb. 26 we’ll beryllium much sharing stories for illustration his, and galore others, earlier Oscar voters formed their last ballots for nan March 15 awards. I’ll fto my friend Glenn Whipp regale you pinch tales from his question and reply pinch “Sinners” prima Lindo erstwhile he sends his adjacent newsletter connected Friday. In nan meantime, publication connected for much highlights from this week’s issue.

Digital screen story: Wagner Moura

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Basking successful nan sun extracurricular The Times newsroom up of his integer screen sprout past month, Wagner Moura seemed exceptionally relaxed astir spending his Tuesday day successful El Segundo pinch a bunch of journalists. But don’t fto “The Secret Agent” star’s easygoing characteristic fool you into reasoning he’s aloof successful immoderate way.

As contributor Lisa Rosen writes successful her floor plan of nan actor, he’s unafraid to tie pointed comparison’s betwixt Kleber Mendonça Filho’s acclaimed governmental thriller — nominated for 4 Oscars, including lead character — and modern politics, from disgraced Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to national agents successful American streets.

“This is besides a movie astir infamy, because he’s being persecuted truthful unfairly,” he tells Rosen, comparing his character’s destiny to that of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti. After their deaths, he continues, “lies were dispersed astir them online. It’s truthful cruel, and truthful it’s sidesplitting nan personification twice.”

The galore charms of Ethan Hawke

(David Urbanke / For The Times)

I had nan pleasance of speaking pinch Hawke and his woman and producing partner Ryan Hawke astatine Sundance nan time aft nan character earned an Oscar nomination for “Blue Moon,” truthful by nan clip I publication contributor Margy Rochlin’s delightful question and reply pinch him and nan film’s nominated screenwriter, Robert Kaplow, I could practically perceive it successful Hawke’s voice: boyishly enthusiastic, slyly funny, politically and creatively engaged.

But I don’t deliberation you request to beryllium intimately acquainted pinch Hawke, who besides appeared connected an Envelope integer cover past fall, to find him and Kaplow high-caliber raconteurs of nan joys, and occasional indignities, of making independent films. “Sometimes you get to group and it’s easy to style nan matter to make it much your own. The process present was for maine to get free of Ethan,” says Hawke. “It was to effort and lucifer nan screenplay. I don’t ever retrieve moving arsenic difficult — aliases [director] Rick [Linklater] being arsenic mean to me.”

As acold arsenic hooking nan listener to a communicative goes, Lorenz Hart, nan loquacious lyricist that Hawke and Kaplow salary homage to successful “Blue Moon,” would beryllium proud.

Inside nan title for champion editing

(Illustration by Vartika Sharma / For The Times)

Oscar voters person occasionally been accused of making this grant astir nan most editing alternatively of nan best editing, but from nan descriptions of this year’s 5 nominees, I deliberation we tin safely opportunity that whomever nan victor ends up being, their accomplishment will person been genuinely outstanding.

As contributor Bill Desowitz discovered from his outreach to nan editors of “F1,” “One Battle After Another,” “Marty Supreme,” “Sentimental Value” and “Sinners,” coping pinch trauma is nan astonishing done statement among nan disparate scenes nan nominees themselves chose arsenic astir pivotal to their films. (Given nan measurement of nan footage immoderate of them waded through, they mightiness beryllium suffering it too.)

Read much from our Feb. 12 issue