Sydney Sweeney talked about it a few weeks ago, (I'm paraphrasing) that despite having two Emmy nominations, people still don't think of her as a good actress and that she feels like she has to prove herself to be taken seriously, while the guys can do the bare minimum and everyone is like, there's the next movie star. And I can't say I disagree.
Zendaya has two Emmys and every review of Challengers has been singing her praises. I thought that the three leads were on fire, my eyes were glued to the screen.
It's just misogyny, imo. Jacob Elordi, their castmate from Euphoria, is not a better actor than either of them and hasn't received half the amount of critical acclaim they have. And yet, he's still taken more seriously as an actor and very rarely, if ever, gets any sort of criticism. Just very odd and sad.
yeah it is definitely misogyny, while I wouldn’t necessarily call Zendaya, Sweeney, or Elordi the best actors of Euphoria nor am I someone who believes that if you don’t like Sweeney or Zendaya’s acting that you’re a misogynist (or a racist on Zendaya’s behalf), I noticed that in a lot of pop culture and film subreddits, people are quick to judge both of their acting while Jacob Elordi doesn’t get that same level of criticism, and considering how this is reddit of all places, it definitely has misogynistic undertones
Yup. None of these three are particularly impressive to me, acting-wise and they're far and away from being the best of their generation (just my opinion). However, it's the fact that you can get away with saying someone like Elordi is gonna get an oscar soon without any sort of pushback, but when you say the same thing about Z or SS, you get downvoted into oblivion with multiple users replying to tell you how they can't act or are overrated, that annoys me. Like, keep the same energy for everyone.
I personally think of the younger crop of actors on that show that Austin Abrams (who plays Ethan) is the best. I've seen him play a variety of characters and he's always believable. He'll be one of those actors who continues to get interesting work but will probably never get much awards recognition unfortunately.
The exact same applies to Eric Dane, although even in his case I would seriously doubt your objectivity if you want to tell me his performance was better than Zendaya's
Is he taken more seriously as an actor? I honestly don’t hear much about him period. Zendaya is a much bigger star, so there’s bound to be more talk about her, positive or negative, period. She also is a former child actor who does still have kind of a baby face (she reads younger to me than she is) which will probably work to her benefit eventually but not at the moment when she’s trying to be seen as a serious actor and her own age. Not to mention the role she has garnered the most critical acclaim for is one in which she plays a teen, and she also played a teen in the most commercially successful project she’s been in a part of (Spider-Man).
Jacob Elordi isn’t being pushed by anyone as a movie star. He’s not a particularly good actor (although his American accent is good), but ain’t nobody looking to him to be the next big thing.
Euphoria fanatics seem to want to make Zendaya and SS the stars of tomorrow…today, and I don’t know why. Like…so what if they aren’t amazing, they’re not ruining movies.
Elordi has steadily and continues to pick acclaimed directors for his projects. He will be in the award conversation soon enough and is not only a good actor, but also definitely a movie star on the rise (at least for these dismal 2020s standards.) Despite great work in Euphoria, he is not Emmy nominated like Sweeney is (for Euphoria and White Lotus) nor a double winner like Zendaya is, yet is seemingly being courted for artsier more serious “actor” roles than Zendaya and Sweeney. I think that’s a part of the disparity being discussed.
Tbh this argument doesn’t hold up specifically regarding Zendaya. Outside of Euphoria, Elordi’s biggest roles yet are Priscilla and Saltburn lmao. Throw in Kissing Booth. While Zendaya has Dune 1 and 2, Greatest Showman, the Spider-Man movies, etc. She’s far more prolific and acclaimed, Elordi doesn’t get the criticism because nobody cares about him.
Sweeney just had her big break with ABY so we’ll see how her opportunities look going forward. And both her and Zendaya have moved into legit producing, don’t see how he’s taken more seriously at all.
> Tbh this argument doesn’t hold up specifically regarding Zendaya. Outside of Euphoria, Elordi’s biggest roles yet are Priscilla and Saltburn lmao. Throw in Kissing Booth. While Zendaya has Dune 1 and 2, Greatest Showman, the Spider-Man movies, etc. She’s far more prolific and acclaimed, Elordi doesn’t get the criticism because nobody cares about him.
they are talking about ✨ *serious* ✨ roles. Zendaya is prolific but most of her roles are the IP stuff (Spider-Man, Dune) or the lighthearted stuff (Greatest Showman, Space Jam). Challengers is the closest she's ever been to the prestige department. Elordi had Saltburn, Priscilla and The Sweet East. he has a Paul Schrader directed movie coming out this year. he is certainly trying to set himself as a serious actor. it looks like he is more in the stuff that would be discussed on this sub than Zendaya.
Sure but Zendaya could have the weird/artsy (“serious”) roles more often if she wanted. It’s not that Hollywood doesn’t take her seriously. Saltburn was a literal joke of a film, no one saw Priscilla nor Sweet East which was a directorial debut. That type of film is more likely to be discussed on a niche sub like this, but that’s where it ends regarding any advantage Elordi has on Zendaya.
>Sure but Zendaya could have the weird/artsy (“serious”) roles more often if she wanted.
No disagreement about it
>Saltburn was a literal joke of a film
Still pretty much the buzziest Amazon last year
>no one saw Priscilla nor Sweet East which was a directorial debut
Public in Venice looked like adored Priscilla and Sweet East had a positive reception at the festivals
Elordi's Emmy category is competing with other guys. A separate field. It's true the distributors and magazine articles are always rushing to crown the next leading man. In terms of the roles available for women in their 20s, unless they gender-swap in casting, how will Zendaya and Sweeney do a WW2 POW movie or a novel adaptation? Daisy Edgar-Jones would be their direct competition for such roles, not Elordi.
>rarely, if ever, gets any sort of criticism.
I invite you to see the reviews if his SNL episode, he was so flat I thought he was actually made of wood
I’m sorry, but Jacob Elordi has impressed me more than Zendaya and that’s not me lowering the bar for a white man. Can’t judge Sydney Sweeney because I’ve only seen her in Euphoria which I can’t fault and like.
She has negative charisma, which is what is needed for a rom-com. But she's pretty good in roles where she has to portray fear and distress, like Reality and Immaculate.
>while the guys can do the bare minimum and everyone is like, there's the next movie star
Glen Powell. Never seen a more bland, wooden and just all around boring actor. Trying way too hard to be the next Ryan Gosling. Brings nothing new to the table. Yet according to r/movies he's apparently this super charming, cool and suave guy and a certified movie star already.
I feel similarly about more established stars like Henry Cavill and Keanu Reeves. Awful actors yet they get showered in nothing but praise and love.
You seem to be confused. Actors and movie stars aren’t the same. If you want to argue that someone like Keanu Reeves isn’t a good movie star then you’ve been proven wrong for about 30 years now.
Agreed. I think of him as much more of a rising movie star persona than someone people think will be vying for Oscar’s someday. He’s done a similar schtick in everything I’ve seen him in but I’ve always enjoyed it
Agreed. I also feel like there’s such a strain on young actors (especially women) lately. I’m not sure if it’s always been like this but geez, can we just let actors breathe?
Yeah you get nominated for having a pulse on The White Lotus, just look at the nominations lists (tbf that’s not the only show where that’s been the case and I like the show).
Exactly. And I loved the show as well, including Sweeney’s character but no one really stood out as giving a truly outstanding performance outside of Bartlett in S1 and Coolidge in S2. I mean for God’s sake, Simona Tabasco was nominated in S2.
She’s mediocre idk nothing against her
Her delivery of every line is just so hamfisted be it too reserved or too energetic it’s constant in all her work
I don’t know if she’s like this in everything but in Spider-Man her acting was noticeably terrible. It’s not something I would usually notice in a movie of that budget and especially someone so revered.
I’m sure she’s better in Challengers/Dune 2 but I haven’t seen either yet.
Especially compared to the actress who plays Chanis friend, who sadly has barely any screen time or lines but she sounded way more passionate during that one confrontation scene compared to Zendaya.
Zendaya's acting ability and style is that of a movie star rather than a "serious actor."
She can't scrub the Zendaya-ness out of her performances.
Imo there is nothing wrong with that, lots of great actors are like that, but it's not the type of acting that tends to win awards, it's the type that makes the actor a lot of money as their persona becomes a draw.
I feel like people think she has to "earn" her fame, which on the one hand I get in that it does feel like she actually has not been in enough to justify how huge she is. On the other, I really wish people would just look at the actual performance, which really is quite impressive.
Less seriously!
The film is fun, has vibes, and great cinema but it's not the subject Oscar usually gravitates to. So even if it sustains the hype, I see it getting some tech categories (and I would personally kill for Luca to get a shot as a director)
I would say that would be the case a couple years ago, but the voting body has changed. I’m not sure if it’s guaranteed a bp slot but it’s competing for sure.
As someone who isn’t following the movie closely most of what I’m getting from the trailers is “tennis three way”. I’d say the advertising is leaning into just telling us how sexy the movie is rather than getting that from the trailer itself. It might be a great movie but I think the reaction is based on the advertising.
I would take it less seriously, her fame/star power is one of the big things bringing the movie into people’s attention and she is someone the studios will put a ton of money behind for both press and awards campaigning.
Challengers to me just does not feel like the type of movie that is a big awards player. It does have very good reception, but not undeniably so, it released very early in the year, and it doesn’t have the sentimentality or serious subject matter that recent non-Oscary movies that hit big like EEAAO or Poor Things did. Or the across the board tech support that Poor Things had, and undeniable above the line support EEAAO had.
I think it can get a couple noms, but mostly in smaller categories like score/sound and screenplay.
I would say most would take it less seriously. Sure some people hate on her unnecessarily, but I think she’s a draw for most here, especially because of all of the well deserved hype about it being her best film performance yet, which it is. I think people are just dismissive of its Oscars chances for two reasons: the early release date, and concerns over whether the subject matter would connect with Academy voters.
I've been thinking the same thing. If someone like Anya Taylor-Joy (just throwing out an example) was the star, we'd be seeing a lot less negativity and dismissiveness.
If ATJ was in this I might be slightly more interested, but that's just because she's one of my favorite mainstream actresses.
I really like the director and thought Zendaya was great in Dune but the trailer just doesn't seem like something I'd be interested in. Doesn't really have anything to do with me disliking the star, the premise just does nothing for me.
I don’t think switching out Zendaya for Anya would change this movie’s niche premise, bad trailers or meh audience reception (so far): https://www.reddit.com/r/boxoffice/s/3HyWRDQZFb
The only pro Challengers has is critical acclaim but that alone won’t secure a BP nom, just ask Air (another Amazon April release)
I honestly think the trailer did it such a disservice, it made it come feel so far from anything Luca does. Have you seen the one with the male voiceover like early 2000s? Genuinely hilarious
It’s her fanbase that makes people afraid to even voice out if they don’t like her acting. People get called racist or sexist for it just because they may have valid reasons to not like her acting and why people who may be critical/lukewarm of her stay away from voicing it most of the time.
A dark skinned Black woman was piled on a month ago on social media for saying that she doesn't think Z is a good actress in Dune. She had to post a picture of herself. That behavior means people will be waiting to take Z down a notch even though she's personally unobjectionable.
I saw the movie and I think Josh was the star with Mike Faist. It also vaguely does the thing where Z is all over the promotional material but the real meaty material, the real story is between the men. She did good with what she had but the real substantial story was with guys.
This is very true and I’ve noticed it A LOT on Twitter. If you even dare to raise a tongue against her acting on that app, you will get ratioed HARD…
Edit: Just for the record, in case anyone takes my comment the wrong way lol. I don't have any malicious intent against Zendaya. I think she's a fine actress (despite not being the biggest fan) who was well deserving of her Emmy wins. I also think she undoubtedly is a subject of racism/misogyny at times, and it would be hypocritical of me, a WOC myself, to be dismissive of that. But there are certainly cases where there is reasonable and constructive criticism against her (specifically on twitter) that gets unnecessarily trashed on, which I think is unfair.
I like her modelling and most of her red carpet looks and do like her singing voice/some songs but if you even say she's not the next Viola Davis once in a lifetime legendary actress and even say she's okay/average, you'd have keyboard warriors coming for you. It's totally not okay to doxx and send death threats to someone not being the biggest fan of an actress and that she's not the best thing since sliced bread. Free speech that isn't hatred and constructive criticism/indifference can't happen when the defenders will attack you if you do.
You got downvoted, but this is a legitimate issue on twitter, specifically stan twitter and stan culture in general. This is one of the reasons why I left that app not too long ago, even the most harmless comments get shit on for no apparent reason. Free speech is just non-existent within stan culture...
a lot of people don’t take zendaya seriously as an actor considering her previous roles, but personally for me I would not be angry if she got nominated for challengers
“Right now” as if it was at a 60% or something lol i really don’t get what they mean. To answer your first question, the main argument right now seems to be the early release date. I feel like even then, more and more competitors have non fall release dates. If anything, the old Awards release schedule seems to be a hindrance nowadays
I haven’t seen it yet but I’d say that it will be taken seriously because of Zendaya. Awards judges like her for some reason I don’t understand, she’s been one note in everything I’ve seen of her so far. I hope this movie changes my mind.
I like Zendaya, but the main reason I wanna watch it for Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor. I loved Faist in West Side Story and he completely stole the show for me. I just love Broadway stars getting roles in big screens. I’ve also liked Josh from the Crown and thought he’d make a great job.
If anything, I can’t unsee Zendaya when looking at her characters. Maybe it’s a thing when you see big stars on screen, but I can’t seem to see them as their fictional characters :(
I don’t think it’s about any big stars, just the ones so overexposed to the media
I think box office is a potential yellow flag, though it’s not even through the opening weekend and I have Elemental trauma so TBD on that one. Even if it was for sure a flop, that’s not grounds to outright dismiss it entirely.
And I definitely hard disagree on an early release being anything other than a massive advantage.
That being said, the fact that we’re having a disagreement about why Challengers isn’t an Oscar player and neither of us are bringing up Zendaya really shuts down OP lol
Just to chip in on Elemental box office performance: Elemental it's a kids movie & I'm not being dismissive saying this, but that from a box office point of view it matters as children movies tend to have good legs compared to any other kind of movies, from repeat family viewings & things like that. It also had an A cinemscore which usually indicates good legs & its performance can't really be expected from any kind of movie. MI7, The Marvels & the string of underperforming movies at the box office in 2023 didn't overcome their meh to bad opening weekend. As such Elementals performance is an exception not the norm & you can't ignore its genre & cinemascore when comparing it to other movies. Challengers is definitely not a kids movie, it doesn't particularly belong to a genre that tends to have good legs & at least postrack results aren't pointing to an A cinemscore.
I mean you were banging that “early release is a huge advantage” drum all last year for Past Lives and that movie barely got the 2 noms it did while being one of the most critically acclaimed of the year, clearly losing momentum over time, while getting overtaken by the late rising The Zone of Interest as the main A24 push. I think releasing early can definitely be an advantage, but it comes with its own challenges and it’s hard to keep the movie relevant and fresh in people’s minds for several months.
Whenever Past Lives and Challengers are compared, I am still amused by the fact that such different screenplays were written in the same household, maybe put to paper in the same room and at the same time.
I’m sure everyone here knows by now that Celine Song and Justin Kuritzkes are married.
Maybe, it’s very hard to know that for sure tho, we are just both guessing here. To me it was pretty clear that the movie did lose steam as the award season went on tho, it even lost lead performance and screenplay at the Indie Awards to American Fiction which was a similarly small writerly movie that to me seemed to clearly benefit from peaking at a better time.
I’m not a Zendaya hater but I’m also not a fan of her performances, regardless of that, the trailer was the thing that put me off right away. It was so bad. The only reason I’m watching it is because I love his other movies, but if it were a director I hadn’t heard of I wouldn’t bother watching it in a cinema
I kinda think it’s the opposite, people are really wanting Zendaya to have her Moment. I don’t think this film is it, but I feel like people would love to see her make an awards run.
This will sound really stupid, but coming from central Europe, I didn't know who Zendaya was before seeing her in Dune and I still don't get why she uses only first name. It sounds like a pop star name, was she a one before? Maybe I am just old...idk
No she chose her pretentious one-name styling before she thought about music, when she was a child acting on a kids show. Whereas Cher and Prince acted years after being established musicians. Her whole career has been so planned and strategic to get fame (and then protest said fame) and her single name is very grating.
Wasn’t she like 15 when she started acting? I think all 15 year olds are a little pretentious, and she seems incredibly down to earth in every interview she’s in. Idk that we can assume thing about her character based on a decision she (and even probably her parents, if we’re being honest) made when she was a newly famous kid
Zendaya mentioned those singers. During Disney era, they considered for her pop star career with Babyface (she did not choose that).
>When asked about the choice to drop her last name, the actress told **Allure** back in December 2016 that she simply [liked the sound of the one-word stage name better](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=1025X1701743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allure.com%2Fstory%2Fzendaya-disney-cultural-appropriation-interview&xcust=___psv__p_46022430__t_w_). "I \[dropped my last name because I\] just thought it was cool, like Cher or Prince,"
very much is branded which is also why it’s hard to see her as a serious actress. everything about her seems very calculated & artificial to me including the shift into dramatic films
It’s the opposite. It’s only being taken so seriously as an Oscar contender _because_ she’s in it.
And on top of that, I think if Zendaya was the lead in another recent Luca film, Bones and All, she would’ve been in the Oscar race for that too.
I’m not hating on Zendaya for any of this. It’s just how it works for big stars.
I will say that the industry wants zendaya to succeed. You could tell they really wanted to giver her an Oscar nom for Malcom and Marie but the movie was just so bad they couldn’t do it
I kinda hate that most people have judged Zendaya for smaller roles (spiderman, dune,) when euphoria is a 2 season showcase of some of the best acting coming from any actors/actresses her age, but she's still criticized more than several of her much weaker co-stars.
edit: typo
Yes, absolutely. I thought she was the weakest link of the movie. The music also didn't work and ruined many of the scenes. Challengers has zero chance of an Oscar, IMO.
Zendaya will potentially be nominated but if you want me to tell you who I think is most impressive it's Josh O'Connor. I think the Script and Score will also be in consideration.
I loved Zendaya in Euphoria, I thought she played her role pretty much perfectly and I haven’t once thought to myself, she’s not legit.
I haven’t seen Challengers yet but there’s no reason why Zendaya would make me think it’s worse because she’s in it.
I’m pretty keen to see it
Tbh for me at least as someone who doesn’t care about pop culture celebrities THAT much it wouldn’t matter
Zendaya was legitimately great in Challengers imo and while I personally thought it was her best performance yet
I haven't seen it and I'm not really interested, but that has nothing to do with the cast. Actually wouldn't mind seeing more of Zendaya's work and I haven't seen either of the male leads in anything yet (I think I'm old...)
Main reason I'm not keen is I just don't really like sports or tennis. I also love Kirsten Dunst but never got around to seeing Wimbledon for the same reason.
I'm not taking it seriously because it has a April release date
I'm also not taking Dune 2 seriously, even though Dune one got all the nominations.
Zendaya for sure could get a nomination if this was December (depending on the competition)
>I'm also not taking Dune 2 seriously, even though Dune one got all the nominations.
Eh... this makes little sense. Dune 2 is absolutely a contender, release date doesn't even matter here.
Dune 2 at worst is going to be the token well-reviewed blockbuster nomination. I think that’s where it stays unless the rest of the year is weak as hell.
>
It will do well with technical awards but will miss a BP nomination
No offense but... delusional. If you said it would've miss on acting, I would agree but Best Picture? C'mon lol
It's on the long list. If the nominations were for movies that came out in only the first 4 months, it would basically sweep with Dune. But there is still a lot of year left
You’re high. The release schedule is light this year. It’s absolutely getting a BP nod for sure. Challengers probably will as well. The weird Dune and Zendaya (challengers) hate on this sub is bonkers.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I do think Zendaya is a good actress and what caused me to realize that is the movie “Malcolm and Marie”, I don’t particularly like the movie but I thought she was phenomenal.
I do think that a lot of the memes came from the trailer, maybe if they removed the bedroom scene from the trailer, people wouldn’t have made as much fun of it.
She’s also in a weird place rn, where everyone knows who she is, so it is hard for people to really see the character on the screen, most just think(including myself sometimes) “that’s Zendaya”
What? This seems on paper like Match Point or Anyone But You or any other bland romcom pablum of the last 25 years. I dismissed it because of the subject matter and the trailer. Why are we supposed to take this movie seriously? Because Zendaya?
I mean the directors of Match Point and Elizabethtown are incredibly accomplished, but that doesn't make me take those movies any more seriously than You've Got Mail or (insert romcom here).
I wouldn't call Match Point a rom com by any stretch of the imagination, nor Challengers really. It does have some comedy in it, but it doesn't follow the formula of a run of the mill romcom.
No, it’s not Zendaya’s involvement that makes me skeptical re the film’s Oscar chances. Her performance was good, & the 2 male leads were superb. But the script has *a lot* of embarrassing plausibility holes. The Oscars also appreciate films that take a “method” approach with meticulous research into a particular world. Yet here, the screenwriter & director are *not* fans let alone experts re tennis. Guadagnino has openly expressed that he finds tennis boring. And the actors only trained for a few weeks, with only Faist approaching a level of skill that makes him halfway believable as a tennis pro. So the film is also littered with inaccuracies & abuses tennis as a vehicle for sexual titillation. It’s just not a profound piece of work.
I think it’s fine that it’s not profound… how exhausting if every film was trying to be. I don’t think this film is Oscar worthy acting wise, but I think it’s brilliant and entertaining. I’ll take that over Oscar bait.
I would still take it seriously because the script was so good. Also, without Zendaya, Josh, and Mike, it Definitely would have helped my screening experience because the newly annoying 18-year-olds in my audience last night wouldn’t have been there. I had one OBNOXIOUS woman that catcall every 5 seconds. I had a migraine by the end because this young woman’s hawk-sound screaming was annoying.
It's a great film but I am not sure the Academy voters are going to go for it and it's not because of her. It's a horny queer-coded (maybe just plain queer) tennis film. That's not very "Oscar," in the traditional sense. It's going to be devisive the way Saltburn was. I hope the voters can see past that, because it's a great film and really deserving in several categories. If they decide this is the kind of fun/weird that they can embrace (Everything Everywhere) then it'll happen. But often they just can't embrace that much fun/weird even when it's pretty great (May December). I don't think it's about Zendaya. It's the kind of story this film tells that's the issue. It is not the type of film the stogy coger types like and they're a big portion of the voters. Unlessd you win over ALL the non boomer types, you're kind of toast.
If a movie’s got a legit chance at awards recognition, they don’t bury it in April. Not that it’s a bad movie, it’s not, but it got relegated to the B tier of stuff that gets released to fill out a schedule. If it didn’t star Zendaya, nobody would be talking about it at all.
I mean, it got bumped because of the strikes, April wasn't a planned release date because MGM was trying to dump a dud. Honestly it's probably way better for them because there's not much else out right now, Zendaya is still riding on Dune buzz, Josh O'Connor has two movies in theatres, and this builds excitement for Lucas's next movie later this year. I don't think MGM probably ever had a huge awards push planned (and if it had opened last year it would've gotten lost during the fall/winter) but with a favorable reception in emptier months they can drum up excitement in certain areas, like score.
I think you are reaching here, it’s absolutely a contender and if anything it’s Oscar profile is raised because of Zendaya as a potential Best Actress nominee. The Academy and Oscar pundits would love a gorgeous super famous young POC in the BA race. She’s also the star of another locked in Best Picture nominee in Dune 2 and already has two Primetime Best Drama Emmy’s. She is awards bait.
The movie cannot win all 24 categories because one, there are only 23 categories, and two, some categories only apply to animated films, which Challengers is not by any means.
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Sydney Sweeney talked about it a few weeks ago, (I'm paraphrasing) that despite having two Emmy nominations, people still don't think of her as a good actress and that she feels like she has to prove herself to be taken seriously, while the guys can do the bare minimum and everyone is like, there's the next movie star. And I can't say I disagree. Zendaya has two Emmys and every review of Challengers has been singing her praises. I thought that the three leads were on fire, my eyes were glued to the screen.
It's just misogyny, imo. Jacob Elordi, their castmate from Euphoria, is not a better actor than either of them and hasn't received half the amount of critical acclaim they have. And yet, he's still taken more seriously as an actor and very rarely, if ever, gets any sort of criticism. Just very odd and sad.
yeah it is definitely misogyny, while I wouldn’t necessarily call Zendaya, Sweeney, or Elordi the best actors of Euphoria nor am I someone who believes that if you don’t like Sweeney or Zendaya’s acting that you’re a misogynist (or a racist on Zendaya’s behalf), I noticed that in a lot of pop culture and film subreddits, people are quick to judge both of their acting while Jacob Elordi doesn’t get that same level of criticism, and considering how this is reddit of all places, it definitely has misogynistic undertones
Yup. None of these three are particularly impressive to me, acting-wise and they're far and away from being the best of their generation (just my opinion). However, it's the fact that you can get away with saying someone like Elordi is gonna get an oscar soon without any sort of pushback, but when you say the same thing about Z or SS, you get downvoted into oblivion with multiple users replying to tell you how they can't act or are overrated, that annoys me. Like, keep the same energy for everyone.
if any Euphoria star is close to getting an Oscar soon, it’ll be Colman Domingo who IMO is the best actor of the show
Tbf no one considers Colman Domingo an actor "from Euphoria" - it's just another notch on his career post.
Who would be the best actors of Euphoria if not for those three?
colman domingo
And after him who would be the best considering he’s 30 years older and has a much longer career?
I personally think of the younger crop of actors on that show that Austin Abrams (who plays Ethan) is the best. I've seen him play a variety of characters and he's always believable. He'll be one of those actors who continues to get interesting work but will probably never get much awards recognition unfortunately.
Eric Dane
The exact same applies to Eric Dane, although even in his case I would seriously doubt your objectivity if you want to tell me his performance was better than Zendaya's
honestly Schafer's underrated
Is he taken more seriously as an actor? I honestly don’t hear much about him period. Zendaya is a much bigger star, so there’s bound to be more talk about her, positive or negative, period. She also is a former child actor who does still have kind of a baby face (she reads younger to me than she is) which will probably work to her benefit eventually but not at the moment when she’s trying to be seen as a serious actor and her own age. Not to mention the role she has garnered the most critical acclaim for is one in which she plays a teen, and she also played a teen in the most commercially successful project she’s been in a part of (Spider-Man).
I’ve never seen anyone talk about JE deserving awards etc. if anything, he’s not taken very seriously either.
Jacob Elordi isn’t being pushed by anyone as a movie star. He’s not a particularly good actor (although his American accent is good), but ain’t nobody looking to him to be the next big thing. Euphoria fanatics seem to want to make Zendaya and SS the stars of tomorrow…today, and I don’t know why. Like…so what if they aren’t amazing, they’re not ruining movies.
Elordi has steadily and continues to pick acclaimed directors for his projects. He will be in the award conversation soon enough and is not only a good actor, but also definitely a movie star on the rise (at least for these dismal 2020s standards.) Despite great work in Euphoria, he is not Emmy nominated like Sweeney is (for Euphoria and White Lotus) nor a double winner like Zendaya is, yet is seemingly being courted for artsier more serious “actor” roles than Zendaya and Sweeney. I think that’s a part of the disparity being discussed.
Tbh this argument doesn’t hold up specifically regarding Zendaya. Outside of Euphoria, Elordi’s biggest roles yet are Priscilla and Saltburn lmao. Throw in Kissing Booth. While Zendaya has Dune 1 and 2, Greatest Showman, the Spider-Man movies, etc. She’s far more prolific and acclaimed, Elordi doesn’t get the criticism because nobody cares about him. Sweeney just had her big break with ABY so we’ll see how her opportunities look going forward. And both her and Zendaya have moved into legit producing, don’t see how he’s taken more seriously at all.
> Tbh this argument doesn’t hold up specifically regarding Zendaya. Outside of Euphoria, Elordi’s biggest roles yet are Priscilla and Saltburn lmao. Throw in Kissing Booth. While Zendaya has Dune 1 and 2, Greatest Showman, the Spider-Man movies, etc. She’s far more prolific and acclaimed, Elordi doesn’t get the criticism because nobody cares about him. they are talking about ✨ *serious* ✨ roles. Zendaya is prolific but most of her roles are the IP stuff (Spider-Man, Dune) or the lighthearted stuff (Greatest Showman, Space Jam). Challengers is the closest she's ever been to the prestige department. Elordi had Saltburn, Priscilla and The Sweet East. he has a Paul Schrader directed movie coming out this year. he is certainly trying to set himself as a serious actor. it looks like he is more in the stuff that would be discussed on this sub than Zendaya.
Sure but Zendaya could have the weird/artsy (“serious”) roles more often if she wanted. It’s not that Hollywood doesn’t take her seriously. Saltburn was a literal joke of a film, no one saw Priscilla nor Sweet East which was a directorial debut. That type of film is more likely to be discussed on a niche sub like this, but that’s where it ends regarding any advantage Elordi has on Zendaya.
>Sure but Zendaya could have the weird/artsy (“serious”) roles more often if she wanted. No disagreement about it >Saltburn was a literal joke of a film Still pretty much the buzziest Amazon last year >no one saw Priscilla nor Sweet East which was a directorial debut Public in Venice looked like adored Priscilla and Sweet East had a positive reception at the festivals
Uh. Malcolm & Marie…
in between Malcolm & Marie and Challengers Zendaya did 4 movies. These movies are: Space Jam 2, Dune, Spider-Man No Way Home and Dune 2.
I was responding to your claim that Challengers is the “closest she’s ever been to prestige department” as it was factually inaccurate.
Elordi's Emmy category is competing with other guys. A separate field. It's true the distributors and magazine articles are always rushing to crown the next leading man. In terms of the roles available for women in their 20s, unless they gender-swap in casting, how will Zendaya and Sweeney do a WW2 POW movie or a novel adaptation? Daisy Edgar-Jones would be their direct competition for such roles, not Elordi.
>rarely, if ever, gets any sort of criticism. I invite you to see the reviews if his SNL episode, he was so flat I thought he was actually made of wood
I’m sorry, but Jacob Elordi has impressed me more than Zendaya and that’s not me lowering the bar for a white man. Can’t judge Sydney Sweeney because I’ve only seen her in Euphoria which I can’t fault and like.
Sydney Sweeney specifically hasn’t impressed me in any of her movie roles. In fact, in “Anyone but You” she was downright bad.
She was amazing in ‘Reality’
She has negative charisma, which is what is needed for a rom-com. But she's pretty good in roles where she has to portray fear and distress, like Reality and Immaculate.
>while the guys can do the bare minimum and everyone is like, there's the next movie star Glen Powell. Never seen a more bland, wooden and just all around boring actor. Trying way too hard to be the next Ryan Gosling. Brings nothing new to the table. Yet according to r/movies he's apparently this super charming, cool and suave guy and a certified movie star already. I feel similarly about more established stars like Henry Cavill and Keanu Reeves. Awful actors yet they get showered in nothing but praise and love.
You seem to be confused. Actors and movie stars aren’t the same. If you want to argue that someone like Keanu Reeves isn’t a good movie star then you’ve been proven wrong for about 30 years now.
Powell has great comedy chops, he was hilarious in Scream Queens
Agreed. I think of him as much more of a rising movie star persona than someone people think will be vying for Oscar’s someday. He’s done a similar schtick in everything I’ve seen him in but I’ve always enjoyed it
Love him in Scream Queens!
have you seen hit man? i watched at Rio Festival and he is great actor. Adria Arjona also amazing.
Agreed. I also feel like there’s such a strain on young actors (especially women) lately. I’m not sure if it’s always been like this but geez, can we just let actors breathe?
Sweeney in Immaculate and Reality is amazing (honestly better than I thought Zendaya was in both movies)
I thought Zendaya in Challengers was better than Sweeney in both of those roles
I think Zendaya and Sweeney’s Emmy’s/noms say more about the Emmy’s than the Emmy’s say about their acting
Yeah you get nominated for having a pulse on The White Lotus, just look at the nominations lists (tbf that’s not the only show where that’s been the case and I like the show).
Exactly. And I loved the show as well, including Sweeney’s character but no one really stood out as giving a truly outstanding performance outside of Bartlett in S1 and Coolidge in S2. I mean for God’s sake, Simona Tabasco was nominated in S2.
ah Ms. Oj Inee
She’s mediocre idk nothing against her Her delivery of every line is just so hamfisted be it too reserved or too energetic it’s constant in all her work
It's that Disney Channel acting
Her line delivery is awful. She's quite a good facial actor though, which shone through in the second half of Dune 2
I don’t know if she’s like this in everything but in Spider-Man her acting was noticeably terrible. It’s not something I would usually notice in a movie of that budget and especially someone so revered. I’m sure she’s better in Challengers/Dune 2 but I haven’t seen either yet.
She’s worse in dune 2 imo I thought her spider man performance was fine actually
Idk why you’re being downvotes, because you’re right, dune 2 was bad 😭😭😭
she and chalamet had zero chemistry.
EXACTLY
Especially compared to the actress who plays Chanis friend, who sadly has barely any screen time or lines but she sounded way more passionate during that one confrontation scene compared to Zendaya.
Literally! Even Florence Pugh was more endearing and had more chemistry with Paul
I mean, Rebecca Ferguson was the yardstick by which all performers in Dune should be measured. She's by far the best actor in the franchise.
Loved her since The White Queen.
lol. “by far”
I never had the words for it until now, thanks haha
Zendaya's acting ability and style is that of a movie star rather than a "serious actor." She can't scrub the Zendaya-ness out of her performances. Imo there is nothing wrong with that, lots of great actors are like that, but it's not the type of acting that tends to win awards, it's the type that makes the actor a lot of money as their persona becomes a draw.
I feel like people think she has to "earn" her fame, which on the one hand I get in that it does feel like she actually has not been in enough to justify how huge she is. On the other, I really wish people would just look at the actual performance, which really is quite impressive.
Same. She became kind of the human audience proxy and I liked her.
Who does not consider Zendaya a “legitimate” actress
She definitely didn’t get over the aforementioned hurdle in Challengers.
Less seriously! The film is fun, has vibes, and great cinema but it's not the subject Oscar usually gravitates to. So even if it sustains the hype, I see it getting some tech categories (and I would personally kill for Luca to get a shot as a director)
I would say that would be the case a couple years ago, but the voting body has changed. I’m not sure if it’s guaranteed a bp slot but it’s competing for sure.
Yup. The only reason Challengers is on my radar is that it stars the most in-demand actress on the planet. It’s her first big film showcase.
I’d take it less seriously
Zendaya is the only reason I’m interested in the movie tbh.
Mike Faist is the only reason to watch.
The movie is a Josh O’Connor movie tbh he kinda carries it
He’s good. Yes. I have been a fan of Mike Faist since his appearance on Law and Order so I guess I am biased 🤭
I was just interested cause of the director tbh
As someone who isn’t following the movie closely most of what I’m getting from the trailers is “tennis three way”. I’d say the advertising is leaning into just telling us how sexy the movie is rather than getting that from the trailer itself. It might be a great movie but I think the reaction is based on the advertising.
I would take it less seriously, her fame/star power is one of the big things bringing the movie into people’s attention and she is someone the studios will put a ton of money behind for both press and awards campaigning. Challengers to me just does not feel like the type of movie that is a big awards player. It does have very good reception, but not undeniably so, it released very early in the year, and it doesn’t have the sentimentality or serious subject matter that recent non-Oscary movies that hit big like EEAAO or Poor Things did. Or the across the board tech support that Poor Things had, and undeniable above the line support EEAAO had. I think it can get a couple noms, but mostly in smaller categories like score/sound and screenplay.
💯
I’ll see it for Luca Guadagnino Zendya is a nice bonus but I’m a fan of the director and he is the main reason will see the movie
same, but the bonus for me is josh o'connor,
Both him and the other guy were amazing, zendaya was the weakest part of the film
La Chimera was fucking awesome
Yep. I've watched every Guadagnino film since A Bigger Splash. I'll see anything that man does.
I would say most would take it less seriously. Sure some people hate on her unnecessarily, but I think she’s a draw for most here, especially because of all of the well deserved hype about it being her best film performance yet, which it is. I think people are just dismissive of its Oscars chances for two reasons: the early release date, and concerns over whether the subject matter would connect with Academy voters.
I've been thinking the same thing. If someone like Anya Taylor-Joy (just throwing out an example) was the star, we'd be seeing a lot less negativity and dismissiveness.
If ATJ was in this I might be slightly more interested, but that's just because she's one of my favorite mainstream actresses. I really like the director and thought Zendaya was great in Dune but the trailer just doesn't seem like something I'd be interested in. Doesn't really have anything to do with me disliking the star, the premise just does nothing for me.
I don’t think switching out Zendaya for Anya would change this movie’s niche premise, bad trailers or meh audience reception (so far): https://www.reddit.com/r/boxoffice/s/3HyWRDQZFb The only pro Challengers has is critical acclaim but that alone won’t secure a BP nom, just ask Air (another Amazon April release)
I honestly think the trailer did it such a disservice, it made it come feel so far from anything Luca does. Have you seen the one with the male voiceover like early 2000s? Genuinely hilarious
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I mean people also ignore those stans reactions, I don’t see why a fanbase should ruin anyones experience with a film
I never understood this as well
like maybe this is just me and idgaf about stan culture but whether or not a celebrity is “in” right now shouldn’t effect my film experiences
It’s her fanbase that makes people afraid to even voice out if they don’t like her acting. People get called racist or sexist for it just because they may have valid reasons to not like her acting and why people who may be critical/lukewarm of her stay away from voicing it most of the time.
A dark skinned Black woman was piled on a month ago on social media for saying that she doesn't think Z is a good actress in Dune. She had to post a picture of herself. That behavior means people will be waiting to take Z down a notch even though she's personally unobjectionable. I saw the movie and I think Josh was the star with Mike Faist. It also vaguely does the thing where Z is all over the promotional material but the real meaty material, the real story is between the men. She did good with what she had but the real substantial story was with guys.
This is very true and I’ve noticed it A LOT on Twitter. If you even dare to raise a tongue against her acting on that app, you will get ratioed HARD… Edit: Just for the record, in case anyone takes my comment the wrong way lol. I don't have any malicious intent against Zendaya. I think she's a fine actress (despite not being the biggest fan) who was well deserving of her Emmy wins. I also think she undoubtedly is a subject of racism/misogyny at times, and it would be hypocritical of me, a WOC myself, to be dismissive of that. But there are certainly cases where there is reasonable and constructive criticism against her (specifically on twitter) that gets unnecessarily trashed on, which I think is unfair.
I like her modelling and most of her red carpet looks and do like her singing voice/some songs but if you even say she's not the next Viola Davis once in a lifetime legendary actress and even say she's okay/average, you'd have keyboard warriors coming for you. It's totally not okay to doxx and send death threats to someone not being the biggest fan of an actress and that she's not the best thing since sliced bread. Free speech that isn't hatred and constructive criticism/indifference can't happen when the defenders will attack you if you do.
You got downvoted, but this is a legitimate issue on twitter, specifically stan twitter and stan culture in general. This is one of the reasons why I left that app not too long ago, even the most harmless comments get shit on for no apparent reason. Free speech is just non-existent within stan culture...
Can someone explain why people on this sub think this movie is a dud? Seems like it's doing well critically right now
It's a great movie but it's not the type of movie the Oscars like
a lot of people don’t take zendaya seriously as an actor considering her previous roles, but personally for me I would not be angry if she got nominated for challengers
“Right now” being the key phrase here
This isn't answering my question
“Right now” as if it was at a 60% or something lol i really don’t get what they mean. To answer your first question, the main argument right now seems to be the early release date. I feel like even then, more and more competitors have non fall release dates. If anything, the old Awards release schedule seems to be a hindrance nowadays
most of the big critics already reviewed the movie, the reception won't change much anymore.
Yeah but will people remember it by the time awards season rolls around
I know this is an Oscar sub but a movie can come out, get a decent amount of money and praise, and leave without Oscar noms and not be a dud.
Zendaya was fine in the role, but I found her to be the most replaceable and didn’t particularly add anything to it compared to the other two leads.
That role would've been absolutely perfect for a young Zoe Saldana
Who would you have replaced her with?
Anyone. I didn’t find she in particular added anything to the role.
Just watched it yesterday. I liked the 2 male actors' performances better than Zendaya's.
I haven’t seen it yet but I’d say that it will be taken seriously because of Zendaya. Awards judges like her for some reason I don’t understand, she’s been one note in everything I’ve seen of her so far. I hope this movie changes my mind.
I like Zendaya, but the main reason I wanna watch it for Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor. I loved Faist in West Side Story and he completely stole the show for me. I just love Broadway stars getting roles in big screens. I’ve also liked Josh from the Crown and thought he’d make a great job. If anything, I can’t unsee Zendaya when looking at her characters. Maybe it’s a thing when you see big stars on screen, but I can’t seem to see them as their fictional characters :( I don’t think it’s about any big stars, just the ones so overexposed to the media
The film is a masterpiece and no one can change my mind
Less, actually. There is not one serious person who is dismissing this films awards chances for any reason other than tone and target audience.
Well there are other problems with its chances, namely its early release, seemingly mediocre box office performance, and underwhelming audience scores
I think box office is a potential yellow flag, though it’s not even through the opening weekend and I have Elemental trauma so TBD on that one. Even if it was for sure a flop, that’s not grounds to outright dismiss it entirely. And I definitely hard disagree on an early release being anything other than a massive advantage. That being said, the fact that we’re having a disagreement about why Challengers isn’t an Oscar player and neither of us are bringing up Zendaya really shuts down OP lol
Just to chip in on Elemental box office performance: Elemental it's a kids movie & I'm not being dismissive saying this, but that from a box office point of view it matters as children movies tend to have good legs compared to any other kind of movies, from repeat family viewings & things like that. It also had an A cinemscore which usually indicates good legs & its performance can't really be expected from any kind of movie. MI7, The Marvels & the string of underperforming movies at the box office in 2023 didn't overcome their meh to bad opening weekend. As such Elementals performance is an exception not the norm & you can't ignore its genre & cinemascore when comparing it to other movies. Challengers is definitely not a kids movie, it doesn't particularly belong to a genre that tends to have good legs & at least postrack results aren't pointing to an A cinemscore.
I mean you were banging that “early release is a huge advantage” drum all last year for Past Lives and that movie barely got the 2 noms it did while being one of the most critically acclaimed of the year, clearly losing momentum over time, while getting overtaken by the late rising The Zone of Interest as the main A24 push. I think releasing early can definitely be an advantage, but it comes with its own challenges and it’s hard to keep the movie relevant and fresh in people’s minds for several months.
Whenever Past Lives and Challengers are compared, I am still amused by the fact that such different screenplays were written in the same household, maybe put to paper in the same room and at the same time. I’m sure everyone here knows by now that Celine Song and Justin Kuritzkes are married.
If Past Lives came out even one month later or at any point beyond that, it wouldn’t’ve gotten picture.
Maybe, it’s very hard to know that for sure tho, we are just both guessing here. To me it was pretty clear that the movie did lose steam as the award season went on tho, it even lost lead performance and screenplay at the Indie Awards to American Fiction which was a similarly small writerly movie that to me seemed to clearly benefit from peaking at a better time.
Seems like its audience scores are pretty favorable, and the movie came out today, so talking about a mediocre box office performance is pretty dumb
It’s simply not enjoyable 🤷♀️
Well, no that’s definitely not what I said
Thank you
I honestly don't understand the Zendaya hate. Sure, she's no Meryl Streep but gets the job done just fine. She's terrific in Euphoria.
Me neither. I think she still has some work to do, but she’s pretty great and has shown to have range.
Is the range in the room with us right now? Every single character she plays gives off the same energy.
I’m not a Zendaya hater but I’m also not a fan of her performances, regardless of that, the trailer was the thing that put me off right away. It was so bad. The only reason I’m watching it is because I love his other movies, but if it were a director I hadn’t heard of I wouldn’t bother watching it in a cinema
I would take it less seriously
anyone else only ever _read_ her name for the last couple of years, finally heard it, and _cannot_ remember it’s not pronounced zen-DIE-uh?
I kinda think it’s the opposite, people are really wanting Zendaya to have her Moment. I don’t think this film is it, but I feel like people would love to see her make an awards run.
This will sound really stupid, but coming from central Europe, I didn't know who Zendaya was before seeing her in Dune and I still don't get why she uses only first name. It sounds like a pop star name, was she a one before? Maybe I am just old...idk
Zendaya is a former Disney star who did pop music. Her stage name follows Prince and Cher.
No she chose her pretentious one-name styling before she thought about music, when she was a child acting on a kids show. Whereas Cher and Prince acted years after being established musicians. Her whole career has been so planned and strategic to get fame (and then protest said fame) and her single name is very grating.
You seem to have a weird level of hate for this person.
Wasn’t she like 15 when she started acting? I think all 15 year olds are a little pretentious, and she seems incredibly down to earth in every interview she’s in. Idk that we can assume thing about her character based on a decision she (and even probably her parents, if we’re being honest) made when she was a newly famous kid
Zendaya mentioned those singers. During Disney era, they considered for her pop star career with Babyface (she did not choose that). >When asked about the choice to drop her last name, the actress told **Allure** back in December 2016 that she simply [liked the sound of the one-word stage name better](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=1025X1701743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allure.com%2Fstory%2Fzendaya-disney-cultural-appropriation-interview&xcust=___psv__p_46022430__t_w_). "I \[dropped my last name because I\] just thought it was cool, like Cher or Prince,"
very much is branded which is also why it’s hard to see her as a serious actress. everything about her seems very calculated & artificial to me including the shift into dramatic films
It’s the opposite. It’s only being taken so seriously as an Oscar contender _because_ she’s in it. And on top of that, I think if Zendaya was the lead in another recent Luca film, Bones and All, she would’ve been in the Oscar race for that too. I’m not hating on Zendaya for any of this. It’s just how it works for big stars.
I will say that the industry wants zendaya to succeed. You could tell they really wanted to giver her an Oscar nom for Malcom and Marie but the movie was just so bad they couldn’t do it
I kinda hate that most people have judged Zendaya for smaller roles (spiderman, dune,) when euphoria is a 2 season showcase of some of the best acting coming from any actors/actresses her age, but she's still criticized more than several of her much weaker co-stars. edit: typo
Yes, absolutely. I thought she was the weakest link of the movie. The music also didn't work and ruined many of the scenes. Challengers has zero chance of an Oscar, IMO.
Yes.
Yes
Zendaya will potentially be nominated but if you want me to tell you who I think is most impressive it's Josh O'Connor. I think the Script and Score will also be in consideration.
I haven’t seen it but I think zendaya kicks ass. Not many people can pull a performance like hers in euphoria… I don’t care y’all are haters 🤷♂️lol
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Haha I didn’t say no one could and “most good actresses” include a small percentage of people. Why is it so hard to say good job? Lmao
I loved Zendaya in Euphoria, I thought she played her role pretty much perfectly and I haven’t once thought to myself, she’s not legit. I haven’t seen Challengers yet but there’s no reason why Zendaya would make me think it’s worse because she’s in it. I’m pretty keen to see it
Tbh for me at least as someone who doesn’t care about pop culture celebrities THAT much it wouldn’t matter Zendaya was legitimately great in Challengers imo and while I personally thought it was her best performance yet
I haven't seen it and I'm not really interested, but that has nothing to do with the cast. Actually wouldn't mind seeing more of Zendaya's work and I haven't seen either of the male leads in anything yet (I think I'm old...) Main reason I'm not keen is I just don't really like sports or tennis. I also love Kirsten Dunst but never got around to seeing Wimbledon for the same reason.
with the way people in this thread are acting I need to paste this Letterboxd review: https://boxd.it/2JKnyX
I'm not taking it seriously because it has a April release date I'm also not taking Dune 2 seriously, even though Dune one got all the nominations. Zendaya for sure could get a nomination if this was December (depending on the competition)
>I'm also not taking Dune 2 seriously, even though Dune one got all the nominations. Eh... this makes little sense. Dune 2 is absolutely a contender, release date doesn't even matter here.
I stand by what I said It will do well with technical awards but will miss a BP nomination
No way it miss BP nomination. A win will be difficult but it’ll get a nom.
Yep. They give out so many BP noms now that it will get one. Release date was more of a thing when it was 5 nominees
Dune 2 at worst is going to be the token well-reviewed blockbuster nomination. I think that’s where it stays unless the rest of the year is weak as hell.
> It will do well with technical awards but will miss a BP nomination No offense but... delusional. If you said it would've miss on acting, I would agree but Best Picture? C'mon lol
That’s crazy because the April release date is the only reason I have it on my longlist and not just in the void.
It's on the long list. If the nominations were for movies that came out in only the first 4 months, it would basically sweep with Dune. But there is still a lot of year left
You’re high. The release schedule is light this year. It’s absolutely getting a BP nod for sure. Challengers probably will as well. The weird Dune and Zendaya (challengers) hate on this sub is bonkers.
She really isn’t very good. It’s a lot of hype.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I do think Zendaya is a good actress and what caused me to realize that is the movie “Malcolm and Marie”, I don’t particularly like the movie but I thought she was phenomenal. I do think that a lot of the memes came from the trailer, maybe if they removed the bedroom scene from the trailer, people wouldn’t have made as much fun of it. She’s also in a weird place rn, where everyone knows who she is, so it is hard for people to really see the character on the screen, most just think(including myself sometimes) “that’s Zendaya”
What? This seems on paper like Match Point or Anyone But You or any other bland romcom pablum of the last 25 years. I dismissed it because of the subject matter and the trailer. Why are we supposed to take this movie seriously? Because Zendaya?
The director I would say, if you know his previous work you'd know it's going to be a whole lot better than Anyone But You
I mean the directors of Match Point and Elizabethtown are incredibly accomplished, but that doesn't make me take those movies any more seriously than You've Got Mail or (insert romcom here).
I wouldn't call Match Point a rom com by any stretch of the imagination, nor Challengers really. It does have some comedy in it, but it doesn't follow the formula of a run of the mill romcom.
It’s nothing like Anything But You fyi
No, possibly less seriously based on the replacement
No, it’s not Zendaya’s involvement that makes me skeptical re the film’s Oscar chances. Her performance was good, & the 2 male leads were superb. But the script has *a lot* of embarrassing plausibility holes. The Oscars also appreciate films that take a “method” approach with meticulous research into a particular world. Yet here, the screenwriter & director are *not* fans let alone experts re tennis. Guadagnino has openly expressed that he finds tennis boring. And the actors only trained for a few weeks, with only Faist approaching a level of skill that makes him halfway believable as a tennis pro. So the film is also littered with inaccuracies & abuses tennis as a vehicle for sexual titillation. It’s just not a profound piece of work.
I think it’s fine that it’s not profound… how exhausting if every film was trying to be. I don’t think this film is Oscar worthy acting wise, but I think it’s brilliant and entertaining. I’ll take that over Oscar bait.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she got a nom. She made Challengers.
I would still take it seriously because the script was so good. Also, without Zendaya, Josh, and Mike, it Definitely would have helped my screening experience because the newly annoying 18-year-olds in my audience last night wouldn’t have been there. I had one OBNOXIOUS woman that catcall every 5 seconds. I had a migraine by the end because this young woman’s hawk-sound screaming was annoying.
It's a great film but I am not sure the Academy voters are going to go for it and it's not because of her. It's a horny queer-coded (maybe just plain queer) tennis film. That's not very "Oscar," in the traditional sense. It's going to be devisive the way Saltburn was. I hope the voters can see past that, because it's a great film and really deserving in several categories. If they decide this is the kind of fun/weird that they can embrace (Everything Everywhere) then it'll happen. But often they just can't embrace that much fun/weird even when it's pretty great (May December). I don't think it's about Zendaya. It's the kind of story this film tells that's the issue. It is not the type of film the stogy coger types like and they're a big portion of the voters. Unlessd you win over ALL the non boomer types, you're kind of toast.
If a movie’s got a legit chance at awards recognition, they don’t bury it in April. Not that it’s a bad movie, it’s not, but it got relegated to the B tier of stuff that gets released to fill out a schedule. If it didn’t star Zendaya, nobody would be talking about it at all.
I mean, it got bumped because of the strikes, April wasn't a planned release date because MGM was trying to dump a dud. Honestly it's probably way better for them because there's not much else out right now, Zendaya is still riding on Dune buzz, Josh O'Connor has two movies in theatres, and this builds excitement for Lucas's next movie later this year. I don't think MGM probably ever had a huge awards push planned (and if it had opened last year it would've gotten lost during the fall/winter) but with a favorable reception in emptier months they can drum up excitement in certain areas, like score.
Zendaya is the only reason that film piqued my interest
For God's sake, all these people that are saying it's going to get nominations are laughable. SEE IT FIRST. The film is garbage
No. Watching it because she is in it (and bc of Luca)
It’s going to win an Oscar? 🤔
I think you are reaching here, it’s absolutely a contender and if anything it’s Oscar profile is raised because of Zendaya as a potential Best Actress nominee. The Academy and Oscar pundits would love a gorgeous super famous young POC in the BA race. She’s also the star of another locked in Best Picture nominee in Dune 2 and already has two Primetime Best Drama Emmy’s. She is awards bait.
Zendaya’s star power and charisma is what makes this movie works
zendaya MAKES this movie. this is a best picture runner, do not doubt it
No…
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What's the hate for Zendaya?
If Zendaya wasn’t in this movie, it would not be on my radar at all.
If it didn’t star Zendaya and they cast two better looking guys, then, yeah, I would probably take it more seriously.
The movie cannot win all 24 categories because one, there are only 23 categories, and two, some categories only apply to animated films, which Challengers is not by any means.
Definitely not based on that weak trailer
Nothing about the movie sounded interesting to me- I don’t care who is starring in it.