'Anora' season is upon us

Oct. 18, 2024 6 AM PT

It seems like a lot of La Jolla residents feel like they have a nice little beach town and aim to keep it nice and quiet. Their message: Stay out of La Jolla, sea lions! Keep your cuddly, blubbery, smelly selves out of our beach community!

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope’s Friday newsletter. I’m writing this before Game 4. Am I going to have to do a wellness check on Plaschke again?

Awards season, a.k.a. ‘Anora’ season, has arrived

“Anora” begins much the same way that so many fairy tales have over the years: A downtrodden young woman, disregarded in her daily life but worthy of so much more, meets a handsome benefactor and is swept off her feet into the realm of Happily Ever After.

“You’re like Cinderella,” a friend gushes early in the movie. “Yes, Cinderella,” our heroine affirms.

In the case of the freewheeling “Anora,” written and directed by Sean Baker, who with such movies as “The Florida Project” and “Tangerine” has shown an acute understanding of what it means to be down and out, our Cinderella happens to be a stripper living in Brooklyn, and her Prince Charming is the privileged son of a Russian oligarch, a young man possessing wealth and expert knowledge as to where to score the best ketamine in Las Vegas.

With this telling, it’s out with the glass slipper, in with the glass bong.

And, as you might infer, ending this story with a promise of perpetual happiness may be a bit complicated, and it’s in those entanglements where the delights of this lively, generous screwball adventure can be found. If you belong to a certain generation, you might even call the movie “madcap.” But its strength lies in the thorough control Baker retains over the story. “Anora,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year, stands as the best movie of his career.

I reviewed the film and Times contributor Tim Grierson spent some time with Baker recently at one of the filmmaker’s favorite local movie theaters, Gardena Cinema, a place I’m resolving to visit before the year’s end. Baker talked with Tim about his love for independently owned, single-screen theaters like the Vista or the Gardena, as well as the filmmaking journey that led to “Anora,” currently playing in a few theaters around Los Angeles before expanding wider next month.

“I got rejected from McDonald’s and Burger King,” Baker told Tim, laughing in a sweetly nerdy way, remembering applying for summer jobs in New Jersey as a teen. Finally, he got hired at a flailing single-screen theater in Manville. “It was a mom-and-pop. It was a smaller theater [than Gardena Cinema], but not that much smaller. Within a week, they were like, ‘OK, we’re going to train you to be a projectionist.’ Within three weeks, I was manager. I was managing a theater at 17 years old and being the projectionist at the same time, which was insane. It was such a weird, motley crew of people — Jersey Shore-type guys.”

Sean Baker takes in the projection room at the Gardena Cinema.

Jane Fonda tabbed for another career honor, this time from SAG Awards

Over her career, Jane Fonda has collected honorary awards from the Cannes and Venice film festivals, the American Film Institute, the Producers Guild of America and, just three years ago, the Golden Globes.

Come February, she’ll pick up yet another honor, becoming the 60th recipient of SAG-AFTRA’s highest tribute, the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievements and humanitarian accomplishments.

Fonda, 87, will receive the award at the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards on Feb. 23 in a ceremony that will stream live on Netflix.

Selecting these honorees is a balancing act, with awards shows looking for people who are deserving, yes, but also carry some name-brand recognition that will attract a wider audience. Fonda satisfies on both counts, though given the number of times she has been feted, I think there might be some more inspired choices out there. Sigourney Weaver finally picked up her first career honor this year at Venice. She has been spectacular for decades and somehow feels under-appreciated. Keep her in mind for next year, SAG-AFTRA.