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URGENT: Prepare for Biden’s Digital Dollar NOW

The FEDNOW Biden Dollar ends cash in a matter of WEEKS Stumbling Biden's next phase of the dollar begins in 2024. This guide shows you what to do next. In a cashless society, Biden forces you to use the government's new "digital dollar"... Giving them a stranglehold on everything you love and believe in. They can and WILL track everything you buy, monitor your accounts, freeze your money for weeks at a time, and even confiscate your retirement funds. This isn't a conspiracy theory -- it has already started to happen! Soon, the vast majority of Americans will enter the "digital dollar" trap… And once they do they'll never be able to escape. But there's a way for you to legally opt out of the digital dollar before it's too late. CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR >>> GUIDE NOW <<< PS: We will never stop believing in the American Dream, and we will fight every single attempt to thwart hard-working citizens from achieving it. That's why we wrote this special report. Inside, you'll find the little known loophole that can free you from the grip of the government so you can achieve YOUR American Dream.

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Cyprus’ top diplomat on the maritime corridor

From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy.

Mar 08, 2024 View in browser   By Alexander Ward and Matt Berg “There are many things we cannot control,” Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said. | Petros Karadjias/AP With help from Joe Gould, Eric Bazail-Eimil and Mia McCarthy Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt Cargo for the first aid shipment from Cyprus to Gaza was getting loaded just as NatSec Daily spoke with Cypriot Foreign Minister CONSTANTINOS KOMBOS. That process would be done in just a few hours, he said in an interview Friday morning. The vessel was scheduled to set sail some time this weekend. Before it does, many things still need to happen, including finishing the ship’s inspection and ensuring the landing site in Gaza is secure. “We're waiting for clarity on certain of those elements to begin,” Kombos told NatSec Daily, noting that his nation’s official responsibility ends once the ship leaves Cyprus’ territorial waters. The tiny Mediterranean nation developed the idea for a maritime corridor last year, working with Israel, the U.S. and European partners to make it a reality. Last week’s tragedy, which saw more than 100 people killed in search of goods from an aid convoy, moved the delivery of assistance by sea from proposal to policy. This morning, Cyprus and its partners and other countries announced the corridor was officially in operation. “The delivery of humanitarian assistance directly to Gaza by sea will be complex, and our nations will continue to assess and adjust our efforts to ensure we deliver aid as effectively as possible,” they said in a joint statement. Kombos acknowledged that there are challenges ahead. Ships will still deliver aid to Gaza even if the temporary port the U.S. military plans to build can’t be completed, but having that pier would certainly make things easier, he said. And Gaza remains an active war zone, complicating the dissemination of offloaded packages — presuming they are properly safeguarded on the beachhead by Israeli forces. “There are many things we cannot control,” he said. Still, the maritime corridor crew is preparing for everything to be a success. If the first delivery, carrying aid from the United Arab Emirates departs as planned this weekend, the second vessel won’t be far behind. “There’s going to be a follow up as soon as possible,” Kombos said. “This is not going to be doing one run and then going around trying to find where the next shipment is coming from. There is already a concentration of cargo of aid here.” An additional vessel with bigger capacity will likely be used for the next shipments, the foreign minister said. President JOE BIDEN has a lot riding on this. He used his State of the Union address Thursday night to empathize with suffering Palestinians and pressure Israel into improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Biden last week authorized airdrops of aid after failing to convince Israeli leaders to open up more land crossing into Gaza. One drop went tragically today, as parachutes failed to open above some of the packages, leading to five dead and several wounded, per Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health. It’s still unclear if the assistance came from an American aircraft. Some lawmakers are concerned the corridor won’t address the distribution problem inside Gaza and distract the administration from other pressing matters. “It is unclear how this operation will address the six remaining U.S. citizens among the more than 134 hostages still in the hands of Hamas,” Rep. MIKE WALTZ (R-Fla.), a veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote to Biden today in a letter obtained by NatSec Daily. “If any other U.S.-designated terrorist group was holding U.S. hostages, the administration — any administration — would not be spending its resources to provide aid to that group.” But the hope, from Biden and his Cypriot partners, is that the sea operation will more safely get more aid into Gaza for those in need. “The situation is tragic, and it’s getting worse every day,” said Kombos. “We believe we’re offering something that is complementary that can improve the situation.” A message from Lockheed Martin: Make Any Point your Center of Command Lockheed Martin, guided by our 21st Century Security vision, is driving innovation to connect data points across domains to elevate the capabilities of crucial platforms, empowering customers to stay ahead of evolving threats. Learn more.   The Inbox BOOTS ON THE WATER: The U.S. will use the Army’s Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability to make the temporary port in Gaza, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. PAT RYDER said Friday. JLOTS, as the capability is known, allows the U.S. military to make a port in places that don’t have existing infrastructure to allow landings. Ryder said elements of the 7th transportation brigade expeditionary out of Joint Base Langley Eustis, in Virginia, have been tasked to help build the “expeditionary floating pier.” Navy logistics support vessels will transport aid from the pier to a “floating causeway” approximately 1800 feet long, Ryder said. The causeway will need to be anchored to the shore, but that work won’t be done by US forces. Ryder said DOD expects it will require about 1,000 U.S. forces and take up to 60 days to complete. ‘COME TO JESUS’: Biden revealed a tough message he’d given to Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU via hot mic shortly after his SOTU address. "I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting," Biden said in conversation with Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, Sen. MICHAEL BENNET (D-Colo.) and Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG. Biden then realized the cameras caught the video and audio. “I’m on a hot mic here. Good. That’s good,” he said. Biden has been at this game for decades, so it’s wholly possible he knew what he said would be picked up and eventually shown to Netanyahu. And even if he didn’t, the real mystery is what he meant by his remark? We asked the NSC but didn’t hear back, so we’re left to speculate a bit. Analysts we spoke to said it was either Biden would threaten something big, like conditions on military aid, or just have a frank discussion about the state of the war. The first is unlikely, though, as Biden doesn’t want to further rupture U.S.-Israel relations. And the second, while potentially satisfying in the moment, is unlikely to change the conflict’s trajectory. At a minimum, though, it showed Biden further embracing public broadsides against Bibi. MORE SETTLEMENTS: The United Nations said Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories have expanded by a record amount, threatening a potential two-state solution, Reuters’ EMMA FARGE reports. "Settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian State," U.N. rights chief VOLKER TURK said in a statement. His comment will accompany a U.N. report, which will be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in late March, according to the outlet. The report found 24,300 new Israeli housing units in the occupied West Bank in a one year period ending in October, the highest since tracking began seven years ago. In response, an Israeli spokesperson told Reuters that the U.N. routinely ignores Israeli human rights. Turk argued that the growth of settlements amounts to Israel transferring its own population, which he emphasized was a war crime. Last month, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN called Israeli settlements “inconsistent” with international law. FORCED INTO WAR: India said it uncovered a “major human trafficking ring” that has tricked young men into heading to Russia in pursuit of jobs — only to be forced to fight against Ukraine in the war, Reuters’ SAKSHI DAYAL and KRISHN KAUSHIK report. Indian authorities said about 35 men have been sent to Russia as part of the scheme, and at least two of the men have died in fighting, according to the families. The Indian embassy in Russia confirmed one of those deaths to the outlet. The traffickers used local agents and social media to lure the men into the plot, sometimes offering them admission to "dubious private universities" in Russia and "free discounted visa extensions,” Reuters reported. OUT OF THIS WORLD: The Pentagon has disclosed that the government once considered a program to recover and reverse-engineer any captured alien spacecraft, an effort that never came to fruition but fueled conspiracy theories about a cover-up, our own LARA SELIGMAN and LEE HUDSON report. The Defense Department today released a public version of a congressionally ordered comprehensive review of classified U.S. government programs since 1945 that debunked decades of speculation about UFOs, saying it found no evidence of extraterrestrial activity or efforts to withhold information from Congress. However, DOD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office did discover a proposal to DHS in the 2010s for a program, code-named “Kona Blue,” to reverse-engineer any recovered extraterrestrial craft. The effort was eventually rejected by DHS leaders “for lacking merit,” and never actually recovered any other-worldly craft, according to the report. DRINKS WITH NATSEC DAILY: Today is a special edition of this feature, because we’re toasting Alex on his last day in charge of NatSec Daily. Alex has been the anchor of this newsletter since July 2021, covering everything from the fall of Afghanistan to the defense of Ukraine to Chinese spy balloons. With drink in hand — water during work hours, of course — he aimed to help readers understand what was happening inside the nerve centers of Washington and world capitals. “I did my best,” said a (very) tired Alex. “I learned a lot, and always looked forward to Fridays when we could reveal some of the, umm, let’s say ‘interesting’ drink choices of D.C.’s power players.” Which came to mind? “Off the top of my head, Sen. CHRIS MURPHY enjoying Red Bull vodkas in his front yard. Not the vibe I expected!” Alex also mentioned that NED PRICE was the first person (read: victim) to agree to this feature. We’ll always be thankful he played along. Alex now looks forward to handing the reins over to Matt, who he hastened to note is “the best, most talented and dependable partner a guy could ask for.” (If you laughed at anything in NatSec Daily, it’s likely that Matt wrote it and Alex took credit for it.) ERIC BAZAIL-EIMIL will join Matt to fill out the rest of the newsletter and serve as an equally trusted co-writer. Alex is turning into a new-ish role covering how national security really gets done in Washington, so you’ll see him floating around the White House, Congress — and probably a bar or two. “NatSec Daily is in new and, let’s face it, probably better hands now,” Alex said, “I wish you all well.” What’s the first thing he’s going to do now that his watch has ended? “I need a drink,” he said. “Join me?” We can’t — we have a newsletter to run. Cheers, Alex! IT’S FRIDAY. WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on X at @alexbward and @mattberg33. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @reporterjoe, and @JGedeon1.   YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics.      ELECTION 2024 TRUMP GETS IT ORBÁN: Hungarian Prime Minister VIKTOR ORBÁN will meet with DONALD TRUMP in Florida today to strengthen ties with the former president and “renew connections with American conservatives.” That's what GLADDEN PAPPIN — president of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, the Hungary government’s foreign policy think tank — told NatSec Daily. Orbán wants Trump to win to restore the U.S.-Hungary relationship. Biden’s relationship with Hungary feels unsalvageable, Pappin argued. “It would be hard for the treatment of Hungary to get worse” than it is now, Pappin said. Trump and the prime minister share a strong connection: Trump recently praised Orbán as “one of the strongest leaders anywhere” and hosted him at the White House in 2019. In turn, Orbán was the first European leader to endorse Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and urged him to “keep fighting” after the former president was hit with a criminal indictment. The prime minister also met with conservatives at the Heritage Foundation on Thursday, where they had a “very good discussion” about how to unite conservatives in the U.S. and Europe, Pappin said. Keystrokes DOD’S AI PUSH: The Pentagon has set an ambitious goal to speed up decision-making time on the battlefield by linking artificial intelligence with weapons — and do it all by 2027 in order to deter China, Lee reports (for Pros!). Deputy Defense Secretary KATHLEEN HICKS is the driving force behind this sprawling effort to connect sensors with shooters across not only the services but with allies, known as Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or CJADC2. “We were very clear in our strategy that China's the pacing challenge, we've been clear that the United States needs to be ready today, [in] 2027, tomorrow into the future,” Hicks told Lee. The 2027 goal has not been previously reported. Military officials have said that China could invade Taiwan by 2027, although opinions vary. To that end, it’ll be important for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to have a way for battlefield leaders to make sense of vast amounts of data and send information to shooters, and Hicks said the Defense Department is helping by delivering this new technology. The Complex ALL CLEAR: The DOD’s Osprey aircraft has been approved to return to flight after a crash killed eight service members in Japan in November, Naval Air Systems Command announced today. Ospreys were grounded in December after a military investigation found an equipment failure in the aircraft. That gave time for maintenance and procedural changes which address the failure, allowing for the aircraft to safely return to flights, the military said. LOWER EXPECTATIONS: The Czech Republic has raised enough money to buy only 300,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine — not 800,000 as previously suggested by the country's president, our own LAURA KAYALI reports. "We have managed to raise enough money to buy the first batch of 300,000 artillery shells. However, our goal is to deliver much more!" Czech Prime Minister PETR FIALA posted on X, contradicting an earlier statement by President PETR PAVEL. On Thursday, Pavel told journalists that his country secured enough money to buy 800,000 artillery shells outside the EU for ammunition-starved Ukraine.     On the Hill ‘THERE’S A LOT OF COMPLICATIONS’: The construction of a temporary port for Gaza is a great idea, Senate Foreign Relations Chair BEN CARDIN (D-Md.) told reporters last night, but there are still many kinks left to work out. "We have to work with the Israelis because they're gonna have to clear the security issues there and there's gonna be safety. So there's a lot of complications to getting this done,” Cardin said, per our own JOE GOULD. Officials from the U.S. and other countries say Israel is responsible for the dearth of aid entering Gaza. But Cardin believes Israel will cooperate to ensure the maritime corridor alleviates humanitarian suffering. "I think when the United States is developing a plan, taking responsibility and putting together the humanitarian aid, we'll have a lot more confidence from the Israelis there's not a security risk, and we'll cut the red tape down substantially," he said. "You won't have to load and unload again. You don't have to transport because the port is right in Gaza." Cardin said Israeli forces will have to provide security for the aid in Gaza, but he wasn't aware whether they had agreed to do so. Still, he was part of some preliminary discussions of the plan and was certain U.S. troops would not be needed inside Gaza for the transportation of temporary piers. Broadsides CUBA TRIP FALLOUT CONTINUES: Tensions between progressive lawmakers and Cuban American lawmakers have not abated in the wake of a quiet trip to Havana by Reps. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.) and ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.), Eric and MIA McCARTHY write in. At a press conference on Capitol Hill today, the House’s four Cuban American Republican members, joined by Cuban dissident ROSA MARÍA PAYÁ, reiterated their call for Cuba to not be removed from the U.S. government’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. They also re-upped their criticism of the progressives’ February trip. “Why are we offended by members of the socialist squad, who are clear communist sympathizers for making a trip to Cuba, not to meet with the people but to actually meet with the communist regime that destroyed our families?” Rep. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-N.Y.) said at the House Triangle Friday. “Because they harbor terrorists.” Florida Republicans MARIO DÍAZ-BALART and CARLOS GIMENEZ also referenced the role of Cuban mercenaries in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Gimenez said that Cuban soldiers “are fighting for the Russians in their invasion of Ukraine, trying to deny the freedom to Ukrainians that Cubans are also denied.” As Matt and Eric reported last week, the two progressives have defended their visit to the island, which featured meetings with Cuban leader MIGUEL DÍAZ-CANEL and the families of dissidents, as “productive.” They also rejected criticism of the trip from Cuban American lawmakers as “hyperbolic and meritless.” Progressives have long supported removing Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terror, which includes U.S. adversaries like Iran, Syria and North Korea, arguing that accompanying restrictions on access to the global financial system hurt the Cuban people.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     What to Read — Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY appointed former military chief Gen. VALERY ZALUZHNY to become Ukraine's ambassador to the U.K. Transitions — NAHAL TOOSI, POLITICO: Biden’s speech thrills Ukraine watchers. Others, not so much. — DARA MASSICOT, Foreign Affairs: Time is running out in Ukraine — FAREED ZAKARIA, The Washington Post: Amid the horror in Gaza, it’s easy to miss that the Middle East has changed Monday Today — Senate Intelligence Committee, 2:30 p.m.: Annual worldwide threats assessment — Center for Strategic and International Studies, 4 p.m.: The Australia-UK-U.S. Army chiefs on land power's contribution to AUKUS Pillar 2 Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who can’t control anything. We also thank our producer, Raymond Rapada, who has his hands on all the levers, dials and knobs. A message from Lockheed Martin: Make Any Point your Center of Command Lockheed Martin, guided by our 21st Century Security vision, is driving innovation to connect data points across domains to elevate the capabilities of crucial platforms, empowering customers to stay ahead of evolving threats. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Alex Ward @alexbward Matt Berg @mattberg33   Follow us

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FREE REPORT: 20 stocks to sell now

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‘Cruel Intentions’—and Cinema’s Most Important Butt—Turn 25

Everything we can't stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture.

Manage newsletters View in browser Everything we can't stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture. with Kevin Fallon Everything we can't stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture. with Kevin Fallon This Week That movie (and that butt) is how old??? My totally accurate Oscar predictions. The movie I can't wait for. My favorite performance on TV right now. My single Traitors finale take. A Perfect Movie for a Perfect Generation  Even the Marcia fucking Brady of the Upper East Side gets gray hair.    At least that's what I'm saying to comfort myself upon learning that Cruel Intentions, one of the rare instances of an absolutely perfect film—keep your rosebud, Orson Welles—turned 25 this week. Celebrating this quarter-century milestone might be an occasion to feel unfathomably old—unless of course, like me, you weren't even born yet when the film originally came out. Ha! I'm so young! Definitely wasn't of a formative age such that this movie, its performances, delectable dialogue, and one monumental set of butt cheeks imprinted on me forever! Nope, no sir!   Does it help matters that the beholder of that aforementioned luscius rump that shaped the libidos (and, for a certain subset—hi!) sexualities of a generation still looks like this at age 49? Well, it's at the very least inspiring. After seeing those photos, I may take the weekend to refurbish the clothing rack in my bedroom back into its intended form as an exercise bike.  Anniversaries of beloved films breed a kaleidoscope of emotions, a blurred collage of nostalgia, wistfulness, joy, and some notes of bitterness; it's a cruel world in which a piece of art attached to such vibrant, fond memories has aged to the point it reminds us of how old we've gotten. That's certainly the case with Cruel Intentions. It can't be possible that Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair opened that film 25 years ago. But the occasion of its birthday—congrats on being able to rent a car!—is apt for exploring what it was about the campy teen psychosexual drama that pierced the zeitgeist like a lightning bolt in 1999, with a jolt that's kept its fans charged for the two-and-a-half decades since. Cruel Intentions was a reimagining of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' 1782 novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, set at a fancy high school where Manhattan's richest and most privileged attend—a concept so bizarre that it was either a stroke of a genius or an indication that a development exec was having a stroke. (Obviously, the creative gamble paid off.)   Sarah Michelle Gellar was Kathryn, the school's social chess master who used everyone in her orbit as pawns in devious schemes that were often meant to hurt, and typically for no reason other than her own amusement. Ryan Phillippe was her stepbrother Sebastian, a dreamboat who earned his reputation as a cad, and whose desire to bang the "only person he can't have"—his stepsister—is the catalyst for Kathryn's tangled web of plotting.   Kathryn wants Sebastian to seduce cartoonishly naive incoming freshman Cecile (Selma Blair), a deflowering that would appall Cecile's mother (Christine Baranski, a key casting in elevating Cruel Intentions to gay iconography) and exact revenge on Kathryn's ex, Court (Charlie O'Connell), who is now dating Cecile. Sebastian is on his own sex-motivated mission, though: The school's new headmaster's daughter, Annette (Reese Witherspoon), published an essay in Seventeen about the virtue of teens saving themselves for marriage, and he wants to rebut her piousness by getting her to sleep with him. Save for his stepsister, it's the ultimate conquest.   For the younger set, the film's acid-tongued, frank talk about sex and relationships presented a danger-tinged fantasy version of what being a grown-up—i.e. a high schooler who looks a twenty-something Hollywood celebrity—might be like: a little scary, but an edgy thrill. For the target set the same age or slightly older than the characters, the film had a hilarious, smutty filter that exaggerated what were otherwise relatable concerns about social politics, self-consciousness, betrayal, and different, warring moral compasses that are a very real part of the high school experience. And for everyone else, including the audience that aged with the film—now sharing a demographic with the characters' parents—the film was and is alternately shocking, salacious, ridiculous, and just plain fun.   The film only works because of its perfect cast, one of the finest examples in modern movie history where a roster of "It" actors assembled at the exact time their Hollywood quotient was skyrocketing. Writer-director Richard Kumble's dialogue drips with Shakespearean snark that's only as delicious as it is because the cast played the humor with surprising humanity. Each character is a familiar high-school archetype—the mean girl, the dreamy player, the goody two-shoes—but the central trio of Gellar, Phillippe, and Witherspoon mine impressive, riveting depth from them, to the point that the movie almost graduates from being utterly silly to serious.   Also, they're all so hot.   So, let's talk about the butt, because you can't talk about Cruel Intentions without talking about the quick flash of Ryan Phillippe's butt in the pool scene. I feel sheepish being so crass and objectifying, but this isn't just a butt. Twenty-five years later, it is pop-culture canon, woven into the fabric of our very culture. It is such an important butt.     The scene is both entirely gratuitous and the single most necessary and consequential frame in cinematic history. Watching it is akin to seeing color for the first time, discovering what it means to feel, or learning how to breathe. Gay men of a certain (my) age talk with each other and post on social media constantly about how the scene was an a-ha moment in their sexual awakenings, and have for 25 years. Do you know how perfect an ass has to be for that to be the case?  But the bum is just one ingredient in creating Cruel Intentions' indelible legacy. There's the performances, the soapiness, the devastating use of The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony," the spitty same-sex French kiss, the unapologetic acknowledgement that teens have sex and do drugs, and the whole weird sort-of incest vibes.    I'd rather roll naked down a hill littered with pinecones and poison ivy than reignite the Saltburn discourse, but there was something to the film's blackmailing and erstwhile naughtiness that managed to be both winking and sophisticated, which I think audiences missed in Saltburn. It understands the trauma of growing up, and how we manipulate how others see us because we're so afraid of how we see ourselves. It has the romance of young love and young sex—both the optimism of it and the doomed nature of it—all while being absolutely outrageous.   The film has lasted for all of those reasons. And also Ryan Phillippe's butt. Advertisement Fill Out Your Scorecards  This is a rare year for the Oscars. Not only are the nominees—this never happens—actually good, but every detail we've heard about the show makes me excited. (Former winners as presenters! Ryan Gosling performing!)  We're so conditioned to complain about the Academy Awards telecast. This year, it might actually be fun! I'm an awards gay, which means that I track all this silliness way more seriously than anyone should. So I thought I'd offer my take on what will win this year, and also what I think should win. There are obviously a lot of projects and actors that I wish were in the conversation instead, but these are what I make of the actual nominees (so that I don't write a 400th post advocating for All of Us Strangers).     Best Picture Will Win: Oppenheimer Should Win: The Holdovers; A perfect movie about imperfect people.    Best Director Will Win: Christopher Nolan - Oppenheimer Should Win: Christopher Nolan - Oppenheimer; That bomb going "boom" was legitimately thrilling, and I used to want to press charges on directors of movies over two-and-a-half hours.   Best Actor Will Win: Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer Should Win: Paul Giamatti - The Holdovers; A treasured actor gets his perfect role, and we might get to see his statue at a fast food restaurant as a bonus.   Best Actress Will win: Lily Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon Should win: Sandra Hüller - Anatomy of a Fall; This is the only race that's not pre-ordained, and I think Emma Stone could take it for Poor Things. But when I think of this last year in acting, Sandra is what I keep going back to.    Best Supporting Actor Will win: Robert Downey Jr. - Oppenheimer Should win: Ryan Gosling - Barbie; Every time I've rewatched this movie, I'm more impressed by the huge swings he took with this role. And "I'm Just Ken" will live forever in movie history.   Best Supporting Actress Will win: Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers Should win: Danielle Brooks - The Color Purple; There is no category more sewn up than this, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph is brilliant in The Holdovers. But the turbulent journey from joy to trauma and back again that Danielle Brooks takes in The Color Purple is my favorite performance of the year. Anne Hathaway Never Misses  I don't normally let trailers make me more excited than I should be for a movie, but I can't wait for The Idea of You.   The trailer shows a mom, played by Anne Hathaway, who accidentally meets a major pop star at Coachella, and the two start a romance despite their age difference and her skepticism. The movie is based on the book, which is essentially Harry Styles fanfiction.  I haven't been this giddy about a movie in a long time. It might be brilliant; it might be terrible. I have no idea. But Anne Hathaway doing reverse Julia Roberts in Notting Hill? That is pop-culture porn to me. I also am obsessed with Nicholas Galitzine after Red, White & Royal Blue, because I am nothing if not basic. But the fact that they're doing actual fake pop songs for his One Direction-inspired band, and that Hathaway is fully committed to this in the trailer (I got weepy at one point), sells this for me.    Watch it here. Give Her an Emmy  As a noted grouch, cynic, and generally annoying person, I've always found Curb Your Enthusiasm to be an inspiring television program. I feel seen. This season has been uneven, but the standout by far has been Tracey Ullman, who plays a woman we're supposed to think is so off-putting that Larry (or any human) would never want to be with her. And yet, after each of her episodes, I think, "I get her." So line right up to date me, but also give Ullman her accolades for an award-worthy performance. The Traitors Finale Was Brilliant  I don't want to fully spoil—only lightly spoil—The Traitors finale, but justice is owed to Shereé Whitfield on behalf of all of us who don't listen when someone reads the rules of the game and plans to just vibe while everyone else plays.  More From The Daily Beast's Obsessed  Whatever you think of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, we can all celebrate how great Naomi Watts is in it. Read more.    We're helping you fill out your Oscars Bingo card with deep dives into the bathroom-break categories. First up: Documentary short. Read more.   A very gay insight into Dune: Part Two. Read more.   Supersex: But, like, watch it for the dialogue scenes. (Now on Netflix) The Oscars: I really think it's going to be a fun show this year. (Sun. on ABC) Girls5eva: The 30 Rock successor we all need. (Thurs. on Netflix) Ricky Stanicky: Bring back dumb comedies that are actually funny. (Now on Prime Video) Damsel: You could probably predict every beat of this movie by its plot description. (Now on Netflix) Imaginary: I'm sorry, but a killer teddy bear/imaginary friend should be more fun. (now in theaters) Like our take on what to watch? Check out our See Skip newsletter! Sign up for free     TV     Movies Reviews Previews     TV     Reviews Movies Previews Advertisement Was this email forwarded to you? 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