Highlights From Our Feb. 19 Issue

We’re successful thing for illustration grant play nary man’s onshore correct now: nan whirlwind of nan Oscar nominees luncheon is down us, but astir of nan awesome precursors person yet to beryllium handed out. Which leaves little for the pundits to chew on, perhaps, though it besides intends there’s yet immoderate spare clip to drawback up connected your reading.

I’m Matt Brennan, editor successful main of The Envelope. Let maine beryllium of immoderate assistance.

Cover story: ‘Sentimental Value’

(Christina House / For The Times)

After an full grant season’s worthy of conversations astir 1 of nan apical contenders, it’s uncommon to perceive a caller 1 this precocious successful nan game. But erstwhile I ran successful “Sentimental Value” head Joachim Trier past week, he happily shared his constituent of position connected an anecdote his editor, Olivier Bugge Coutté, recently shared pinch The Envelope astir sidesplitting 1 of Trier’s darlings. “He was right,” Trier admitted pinch a half-rueful smile, aft describing nan elaborate aerial changeable complete a theatre assemblage pinch which he primitively intended to unfastened nan film.

Such candor is besides a people of contributor Bob Strauss’ interview pinch Trier and prima Stellan Skarsgård astir making nan year’s most-nominated world feature, from their chat of nan changeable that permanently altered nan actor’s process to note mots astir nan film’s depiction of Netflix, demanding board and more. I was astir tickled by Skarsgård’s, um, unvarnished explanation of nan mini screen: “The communicative shape of tv is based connected you not watching,” he tells Strauss. “It explains everything done speech truthful you tin make pancakes astatine nan aforesaid time.”

Digital cover: Kate Hudson

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

When contributor Amy Amatangelo sent maine her transportation for a communicative connected “Song Sung Blue,” it swiftly answered nan mobility I want each transportation to answer: Why are you nan correct personification to constitute this story?

“I americium a lifelong Neil Diamond fan,” she wrote. “My dada loved him. I saw him successful performance arsenic a child. My dada and I danced to ‘Beautiful Noise’ astatine my wedding.”

So it was a no-brainer to group her up pinch this week’s integer screen star, nominated for playing 1 half of nan film’s Neil Diamond tribute band. “Although she’s had a slew of successes successful nan interim,” Amatangelo writes of nan 25 years since “Almost Famous,” “it tin sometimes look that we’ve underappreciated, and possibly underestimated, Kate Hudson.”

‘Train Dreams’’ not-so-secret weapon

(Lauren Fleishman/For The Times)

Speaking of pitches, nan astir often suggested taxable for sum since nan Oscar nominations (not-named-Chalamet-or-DiCaprio division) whitethorn beryllium “Train Dreams” cinematographer Adolpho Veloso. Which already made nan Brazilian’s wizardry 1 of nan industry’s worst-kept secrets. Count contributor Emily Zemler’s floor plan among nan last nails successful nan coffin.

“Capturing nan tremendous trees that would person existed successful nan early 20th period was a challenge,” she writes of nan film, which spans nan life of an itinerant logger successful nan Pacific Northwest. “The accumulation went to protected parks, wherever they had to beryllium cautious astir not affecting nan environment. ‘How do you sprout a movie wherever they’re expected to beryllium cutting those trees, but they cannot moreover get adjacent to those trees?’ Veloso says. ‘It was almost for illustration shooting stunts.’”

More stories from our Feb. 19 issue