While press screenings and junkets have kept me busy, it’s been a very depressing week otherwise.

I was going to try and send something out going into the Oscars but it didn’t happen—especially with losing Chaim Topol last week. I didn’t make any predictions this year because my mood was soured going into the weekend. Twitter may be beneficial for networking but it can be very cynical at times. It’s the cynicism and year-long Oscar races that are starting to ruin awards season for me. What happened to starting the conversation during Venice? That’s the other thing—the awards conversation in general is pushed by the same people every year to the point in which it’s just so hard to really break through the system.

I used to be a big politico back in the day, having run one of the prominent Kentucky political blogs. Those days are very much over because writing about politics led to burn out. I’ve been following Courier-Journal reporters daily in their coverage of this year’s Kentucky legislative session. Like other states, Kentucky Republicans have been attacking transgender rights. I just didn’t expect that a few elected Democrats would join them in their bigotry. I expect that State Senator Robin Webb will have a primary opponent after voting for bigotry today.