by Chad Kennerk
K.J. Relth-Miller, Director of Film Programs.
All images courtesy the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The Academy’s annual ceremony is just one aspect of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ overall examination and recognition of film. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the art, science, and artists behind the magic of the movies. Through exhibitions, curated film series and extensive programming, the Academy Museum celebrates and captures the stories behind the art of moviemaking. The museum’s David Geffen and Ted Mann theatres present a year-round robust calendar of screenings, film series, member programs, panel discussions, and more. Through retrospectives and thematic film series, the artistic and cultural contributions of those in front of and behind the camera are illuminated and explored.
One of the great actors of the 20th century, Marlon Brando studied...
K.J. Relth-Miller, Director of Film Programs.
All images courtesy the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The Academy’s annual ceremony is just one aspect of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ overall examination and recognition of film. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the art, science, and artists behind the magic of the movies. Through exhibitions, curated film series and extensive programming, the Academy Museum celebrates and captures the stories behind the art of moviemaking. The museum’s David Geffen and Ted Mann theatres present a year-round robust calendar of screenings, film series, member programs, panel discussions, and more. Through retrospectives and thematic film series, the artistic and cultural contributions of those in front of and behind the camera are illuminated and explored.
One of the great actors of the 20th century, Marlon Brando studied...
- 4/26/2024
- by Chad Kennerk
- Film Review Daily
Cult wines are a very American and, more specifically, Californian phenomenon. Akin to another industry-beloved status symbol, the Hermès Birkin bag, they are meticulously crafted, sought-after commodities that are exceedingly scarce and difficult to procure. The term rose in popularity in Napa Valley in the 1990s to describe flashy cabernet sauvignon blends with perfect scores by top wine critics, outrageous prices and insatiable demand.
Master sommelier Vincent Morrow
“Most of these wines were simply well-made, small-production wines and the owners had no intention of multiyear wait lists,” says master sommelier Vincent Morrow, wine director of Michelin-starred Press Restaurant in Napa’s St. Helena.
“Given that a vineyard will take at least six to seven years before it’s producing optimum fruit, and it only bears fruit once a year, the economic nature of these small vineyards was that production could not scale at the pace of any rapid increase in demand.
Master sommelier Vincent Morrow
“Most of these wines were simply well-made, small-production wines and the owners had no intention of multiyear wait lists,” says master sommelier Vincent Morrow, wine director of Michelin-starred Press Restaurant in Napa’s St. Helena.
“Given that a vineyard will take at least six to seven years before it’s producing optimum fruit, and it only bears fruit once a year, the economic nature of these small vineyards was that production could not scale at the pace of any rapid increase in demand.
- 4/18/2024
- by Elycia Rubin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Everyone remembers their first time. That is the first time they saw Marlon Brando.
For the late Mike Nichols, seeing Brando on Broadway in 1947 in his seminal turn as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams‘ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” was the catalyst that lead to his career in the arts which saw him become a rare Egot winner. The teenage Nichols and his then girlfriend’s mother were given tickets for the second night of the Elia Kazan-directed production. “There had never been anything like it, I know that by now,” Nichols recalled in a 2010 L.A. Times interview. It was, to this day, the only thing onstage that I had ever seen that was 100% real and 100% poetic. Lucy and I weren’t exactly theater buffs, but we couldn’t get up at the intermission. We were just so stunned. Your heart was pounding. It was a major experience.”
Susan L.
For the late Mike Nichols, seeing Brando on Broadway in 1947 in his seminal turn as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams‘ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” was the catalyst that lead to his career in the arts which saw him become a rare Egot winner. The teenage Nichols and his then girlfriend’s mother were given tickets for the second night of the Elia Kazan-directed production. “There had never been anything like it, I know that by now,” Nichols recalled in a 2010 L.A. Times interview. It was, to this day, the only thing onstage that I had ever seen that was 100% real and 100% poetic. Lucy and I weren’t exactly theater buffs, but we couldn’t get up at the intermission. We were just so stunned. Your heart was pounding. It was a major experience.”
Susan L.
- 4/2/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Clark Gable is the Oscar-winning matinee idol who starred in dozens of films before his untimely death in 1960, but how many of those titles are classics? Let’s take a look back at 12 of Gable’s greatest movies, ranked worst to best.
After appearing in bit parts in a number of films, Gable shot to stardom with his performance in “A Free Soul” (1931) as a gangster who bewitches a young woman (Norma Shearer) whose attorney father (Lionel Barrymore) helped him beat a murder rap. From there forward, the actor’s persona as a raffish leading man who’s every guy’s best friend and every gal’s dream became cemented in a number of subsequent roles.
He won an Oscar just three years later for Frank Capra‘s screwball classic “It Happened One Night” (1934), in which he played a newspaper reporter traveling with a spoiled socialite (Claudette Colbert). The film...
After appearing in bit parts in a number of films, Gable shot to stardom with his performance in “A Free Soul” (1931) as a gangster who bewitches a young woman (Norma Shearer) whose attorney father (Lionel Barrymore) helped him beat a murder rap. From there forward, the actor’s persona as a raffish leading man who’s every guy’s best friend and every gal’s dream became cemented in a number of subsequent roles.
He won an Oscar just three years later for Frank Capra‘s screwball classic “It Happened One Night” (1934), in which he played a newspaper reporter traveling with a spoiled socialite (Claudette Colbert). The film...
- 1/26/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
If Hollywood truly suffers from a leadership malaise, as some charge, would the return of Monroe Stahr resuscitate the system? Filmmakers respect his judgment, stars his panache and investors his discipline, so Stahr’s return may ignite a new Irving Thalberg-like era.
Whoops — he’s not available.
The manic and manipulative hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon ruled MGM in its ‘30s heyday, but Stahr’s fictional reign was short-lived. So was Fitzgerald’s brilliant but never completed 1939 novel, which modeled Stahr after Thalberg.
Having achieved literary stardom with The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s decision to write a Hollywood novel, while simultaneously working as a script doctor, plunged the novelist into alcoholic paralysis. He never managed to finish his book and even his screenplays were unrealized.
The Last Tycoon briefly flickered back to life as a movie thanks to the great Elia Kazan, who cast Robert De Niro,...
Whoops — he’s not available.
The manic and manipulative hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon ruled MGM in its ‘30s heyday, but Stahr’s fictional reign was short-lived. So was Fitzgerald’s brilliant but never completed 1939 novel, which modeled Stahr after Thalberg.
Having achieved literary stardom with The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s decision to write a Hollywood novel, while simultaneously working as a script doctor, plunged the novelist into alcoholic paralysis. He never managed to finish his book and even his screenplays were unrealized.
The Last Tycoon briefly flickered back to life as a movie thanks to the great Elia Kazan, who cast Robert De Niro,...
- 1/4/2024
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
What a thrill it must be as an actor to be in a film that becomes a contender for the Academy Award for Best Picture. A few even develop such an impressive resume that they have seven, eight, nine, or more of these credits to their names. Who are the actors who have starred in the most number of Best Picture nominees?
Many of the performers on this list are not a surprise, with multi-Oscar-winners such as Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Cate Blanchett and Bette Davis making the cut. But there are also some fine character actors who appeared in hundreds of films over careers that spanned decades, including Henry Travers (Clarence the angel from “It’s a Wonderful Life) and Thomas Mitchell (Scarlett O’Hara’s dad from “Gone with the Wind”). Mitchell was such a sought-after actor, he appeared in five of the Best Picture nominees in 1940 and 1941. Two...
Many of the performers on this list are not a surprise, with multi-Oscar-winners such as Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Cate Blanchett and Bette Davis making the cut. But there are also some fine character actors who appeared in hundreds of films over careers that spanned decades, including Henry Travers (Clarence the angel from “It’s a Wonderful Life) and Thomas Mitchell (Scarlett O’Hara’s dad from “Gone with the Wind”). Mitchell was such a sought-after actor, he appeared in five of the Best Picture nominees in 1940 and 1941. Two...
- 9/19/2023
- by Susan Pennington and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
What a thrill it must be as an actor to be in a film that becomes a contender for the Academy Award for Best Picture. A few even develop such an impressive resume that they have seven, eight, nine, or more of these credits to their names. Who are the actors who have starred in the most number of Best Picture nominees?
Many of the performers on this list are not a surprise, with multi-Oscar-winners such as Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Cate Blanchett and Bette Davis making the cut. But there are also some fine character actors who appeared in hundreds of films over careers that spanned decades, including Henry Travers (Clarence the angel from “It’s a Wonderful Life) and Thomas Mitchell (Scarlett O’Hara’s dad from “Gone with the Wind”). Mitchell was such a sought-after actor, he appeared in five of the Best Picture nominees in 1940 and 1941. Two...
Many of the performers on this list are not a surprise, with multi-Oscar-winners such as Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Cate Blanchett and Bette Davis making the cut. But there are also some fine character actors who appeared in hundreds of films over careers that spanned decades, including Henry Travers (Clarence the angel from “It’s a Wonderful Life) and Thomas Mitchell (Scarlett O’Hara’s dad from “Gone with the Wind”). Mitchell was such a sought-after actor, he appeared in five of the Best Picture nominees in 1940 and 1941. Two...
- 9/18/2023
- by Misty Holland, Susan Pennington and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” has a terrible title, but in theory the film sounds intriguing. It wants to be an old-fashioned monster movie, the kind they used to produce back when horror films were actual movies, made with the stodgy well-carpentered rhythm that any movie was made with. “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is set in 1897, and for most of it we’re aboard a large wooden merchant ship with multiple sails — the Demeter, a handsome relic, since this is already the era when metal ships were coming in — that’s sailing from Bulgaria to London. The film moves slowly and deliberately, and it’s been shot like some studio sea-voyage period drama from 1966. Much of it is incredibly, knowingly square, with each crew member defined by one or two traits. But this is not just any ship, or any monster.
The film was adapted from the...
The film was adapted from the...
- 8/10/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we look at an Oscars category from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winner stands the test of time.)
We are in somewhat of a transitional period with how we think about the acting categories for entertainment awards. This, primarily, has to do with gender. We have had separate categories for female and male performers for decades upon decades, but if you really stop to think about it, there is no difference in what a female actor does compared to a male one. Why shouldn't Colin Farrell in "The Banshees of Inisherin" compete against Cate Blanchett in "TÁR"? Of course, the worry is that in our patriarchal society, men will come to dominate that category and fewer women will be nominated and win. Then you have the added issue of non-binary performers being forced to slot themselves in a particular...
We are in somewhat of a transitional period with how we think about the acting categories for entertainment awards. This, primarily, has to do with gender. We have had separate categories for female and male performers for decades upon decades, but if you really stop to think about it, there is no difference in what a female actor does compared to a male one. Why shouldn't Colin Farrell in "The Banshees of Inisherin" compete against Cate Blanchett in "TÁR"? Of course, the worry is that in our patriarchal society, men will come to dominate that category and fewer women will be nominated and win. Then you have the added issue of non-binary performers being forced to slot themselves in a particular...
- 8/6/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we take a look at an Oscars category from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winner stands the test of time.)
Let's go back a few years to the 88th Academy Awards in 2016. Todd McCarthy's investigative journalist drama "Spotlight" took home Best Picture, but it was by no means a dominant force that evening. "Mad Max: Fury Road" walked away with the most awards that night with six, and "The Revenant" took home three, including Best Director and Best Actor. The only other award "Spotlight" won was for Best Original Screenplay. In the last ten years, it's the only film to win Best Picture with that low of an awards total.
Only three movies have won Best Picture without winning anything else, and they all came in the 1930s. It first happened at the 2nd Academy Awards with "The Broadway Melody...
Let's go back a few years to the 88th Academy Awards in 2016. Todd McCarthy's investigative journalist drama "Spotlight" took home Best Picture, but it was by no means a dominant force that evening. "Mad Max: Fury Road" walked away with the most awards that night with six, and "The Revenant" took home three, including Best Director and Best Actor. The only other award "Spotlight" won was for Best Original Screenplay. In the last ten years, it's the only film to win Best Picture with that low of an awards total.
Only three movies have won Best Picture without winning anything else, and they all came in the 1930s. It first happened at the 2nd Academy Awards with "The Broadway Melody...
- 4/29/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
Over 100 popular films are leaving HBO Max at the end of the month, but luckily you have the whole month to stream them.
They include cinema classics like “Ben Hur,” the winningest film in Oscars history
Leaving April 5
The Inside Story, 1948
Reminiscence, 2021 (HBO)
Leaving April 11
Adult Swim Yule Log (aka The Fireplace)
Leaving April 12
About Face: Supermodels Then and Now, 2012 (HBO)
Leaving April 13
The Last Duel, 2021
Game Theory With Bomani Jones, Season 1
Leaving April 18
The Lego Batman Movie, 2017
Leaving April 24
Tom and Jerry Cowboy Up!, 2022
Leaving April 27
Malignant, 2021 (HBO)
Leaving April 30
47 Ronin, 2013 (HBO)
3 Godfathers, 1948
Accepted, 2006 (HBO)
The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938
A Private War, 2018 (HBO)
An American in Paris, 1951
The American President, 1995
Any Given Sunday, 1999
Australia, 2008 (HBO)
Before I Fall, 2017 (HBO)
Ben-Hur, 1959
Black Legion, 1937
Blade, 1998
Blood Diamond, 2006
Blow Out, 1981 (HBO)
The Bodyguard, 1992
Boogie Nights, 1997
The Book of Eli, 2010
The Bourne Identity, 2002 (HBO)
The Bourne Supremacy, 2004 (HBO)
Bringing up Baby,...
They include cinema classics like “Ben Hur,” the winningest film in Oscars history
Leaving April 5
The Inside Story, 1948
Reminiscence, 2021 (HBO)
Leaving April 11
Adult Swim Yule Log (aka The Fireplace)
Leaving April 12
About Face: Supermodels Then and Now, 2012 (HBO)
Leaving April 13
The Last Duel, 2021
Game Theory With Bomani Jones, Season 1
Leaving April 18
The Lego Batman Movie, 2017
Leaving April 24
Tom and Jerry Cowboy Up!, 2022
Leaving April 27
Malignant, 2021 (HBO)
Leaving April 30
47 Ronin, 2013 (HBO)
3 Godfathers, 1948
Accepted, 2006 (HBO)
The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938
A Private War, 2018 (HBO)
An American in Paris, 1951
The American President, 1995
Any Given Sunday, 1999
Australia, 2008 (HBO)
Before I Fall, 2017 (HBO)
Ben-Hur, 1959
Black Legion, 1937
Blade, 1998
Blood Diamond, 2006
Blow Out, 1981 (HBO)
The Bodyguard, 1992
Boogie Nights, 1997
The Book of Eli, 2010
The Bourne Identity, 2002 (HBO)
The Bourne Supremacy, 2004 (HBO)
Bringing up Baby,...
- 4/4/2023
- by Lawrence Yee
- The Wrap
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) offers a wide assortment of movies from the past that strikes nostalgia. However, there are also plenty of gems that allow audiences to discover other oldies to fill in their cinematic blindspots. Looking for something to watch this weekend between March 24-26? Here’s a look at the upcoming programming.
Friday, March 24 Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel | John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Starting just after midnight Eastern Standard Time, the TCM movies officially kick off the ending of the week in a big way. Ranging from the Oscar-nominated Mutiny on the Bounty from 1962 to the four-time Oscar-winning Network, there’s a little something for all viewers.
The notable standouts here are The 400 Blows, Diner, Dr. Strangelove, and Network.
The 400 Blows (1959) – 12:30 a.m. Est Diner (1982) – 2:30 a.m. Est Metropolitan (1990) – 4:30 a.m. Est The Sea Wolf (1941) – 6:15 a.m.
Friday, March 24 Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel | John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Starting just after midnight Eastern Standard Time, the TCM movies officially kick off the ending of the week in a big way. Ranging from the Oscar-nominated Mutiny on the Bounty from 1962 to the four-time Oscar-winning Network, there’s a little something for all viewers.
The notable standouts here are The 400 Blows, Diner, Dr. Strangelove, and Network.
The 400 Blows (1959) – 12:30 a.m. Est Diner (1982) – 2:30 a.m. Est Metropolitan (1990) – 4:30 a.m. Est The Sea Wolf (1941) – 6:15 a.m.
- 3/23/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Cary Grant was a one-of-a-kind movie star. Sure, there have been others who have reached his level of fame, acclaim, and stature, but in terms of what made Grant a movie star, there has been no one like him before or since. His ability to seamlessly shift between a Hitchcock noir like "Notorious" to a total goofball comedy like "Monkey Business" remains unparalleled. Add to that his dashing good lucks, tall, athletic frame, and signature mid-Atlantic accent, and you have one of the greatest Hollywood icons of all time, if not the greatest.
For someone with such a distinctly defined movie star persona, his malleability as a performer was rather unusual. In the classic Hollywood era, the major studios were the ones molding stars. They had performers under long-term contracts, allowing them to basically plug in anyone they wished into certain projects. Actors would be paid like regular salaried employees...
For someone with such a distinctly defined movie star persona, his malleability as a performer was rather unusual. In the classic Hollywood era, the major studios were the ones molding stars. They had performers under long-term contracts, allowing them to basically plug in anyone they wished into certain projects. Actors would be paid like regular salaried employees...
- 3/4/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
For nearly 100 years, pundits have predicted the outcome of Oscar voting. Sometimes it’s an educated guess, but it’s a guess nevertheless, since a minimal number of PricewaterhouseCoopers execs know the actual tallies and they never talk. So pundits often look to Oscar history to back up their theories, like tribal natives trying to predict their future by watching smoke from a volcano.
Too often, people talk about voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as if they work as a unit: “They will never vote for this” or “they always love such-and-such.” One of the fun aspects of predictions is that Academy history is like Scripture: You can always find something to back up your claims.
This year, voters nominated 10 very different films for best picture. Each has inspired predictions about why it couldn’t win because “they” won’t go for it. But actually,...
Too often, people talk about voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as if they work as a unit: “They will never vote for this” or “they always love such-and-such.” One of the fun aspects of predictions is that Academy history is like Scripture: You can always find something to back up your claims.
This year, voters nominated 10 very different films for best picture. Each has inspired predictions about why it couldn’t win because “they” won’t go for it. But actually,...
- 3/1/2023
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-winning actor Clark Gable earned the name of “The King of Hollywood” thanks to his expansive career that spanned more than three decades and several genres. He wasn’t shy when it came to winning an award, but he also had a refreshingly unique take on the meaning behind such an accomplishment. Gable gave away the only Oscar he ever won to a child to teach them a lesson.
Clark Gable won an Oscar for ‘It Happened One Night’ Clark Gable | Getty Images
Gable won his first, and only, Oscar for the romantic comedy called It Happened One Night. The Frank Capra-directed film hit theaters in 1934, which was written by Robert Riskin based on Samuel Hopkins Adams’ short story.
The story follows a spoiled young woman named Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert), who suddenly marries a sketchy King Westley. In response, her father (Walter Connolly) sends her away on his yacht,...
Clark Gable won an Oscar for ‘It Happened One Night’ Clark Gable | Getty Images
Gable won his first, and only, Oscar for the romantic comedy called It Happened One Night. The Frank Capra-directed film hit theaters in 1934, which was written by Robert Riskin based on Samuel Hopkins Adams’ short story.
The story follows a spoiled young woman named Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert), who suddenly marries a sketchy King Westley. In response, her father (Walter Connolly) sends her away on his yacht,...
- 2/27/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In his bold 1990 interpretation of Luigi Pirandello’s “Henry IV,” the late and legendary Irish stage, screen and music star Richard Harris utters the immortal lines, “Woe to him who doesn’t know how to wear his mask.”
Even before his breathtaking big-screen triumph 60 years ago as the rugby ruffian Frank Machin in Lindsay Anderson’s film directing debut, “This Sporting Life,” Harris proved adept at juggling personal and professional personas. He swaggered with macho gusto and great thesping chops through the London stage scene and quickly found key roles in action epics such as “Guns of Navarone” and “Mutiny on the Bounty.”
Then his stunning 1963 breakthrough in “Life” made the showbiz side of the equation easy.
A Cannes lead actor award, an Oscar nomination and reams of reviews such as Variety’s quickly put Harris at the top tier of international leading men. Variety’s London critic at the...
Even before his breathtaking big-screen triumph 60 years ago as the rugby ruffian Frank Machin in Lindsay Anderson’s film directing debut, “This Sporting Life,” Harris proved adept at juggling personal and professional personas. He swaggered with macho gusto and great thesping chops through the London stage scene and quickly found key roles in action epics such as “Guns of Navarone” and “Mutiny on the Bounty.”
Then his stunning 1963 breakthrough in “Life” made the showbiz side of the equation easy.
A Cannes lead actor award, an Oscar nomination and reams of reviews such as Variety’s quickly put Harris at the top tier of international leading men. Variety’s London critic at the...
- 2/27/2023
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
It was an epic night for the Academy, with now-classic films and performances in competition, an anomaly between Best Picture and Best Director nominations, a young actress redefining the acting categories and the culmination of a decades-long feud. Let’s flashback to when first-time host Frank Sinatra guided the 35th Academy Awards ceremony on April 8, 1963.
In the years of the Best Picture category being limited to five films, the Best Director category typically fell in line with those productions, with maybe one variation. In 1963, only two directors from Best Picture nominees received bids; unsurprisingly, those two films also had the most nominations and the most wins. David Lean‘s sprawling epic biopic “Lawrence of Arabia” led the pack, coming into the night with ten bids and leaving with seven statues, including Best Picture and Lean’s second career win for Best Director. It has the unusual distinction of being the...
In the years of the Best Picture category being limited to five films, the Best Director category typically fell in line with those productions, with maybe one variation. In 1963, only two directors from Best Picture nominees received bids; unsurprisingly, those two films also had the most nominations and the most wins. David Lean‘s sprawling epic biopic “Lawrence of Arabia” led the pack, coming into the night with ten bids and leaving with seven statues, including Best Picture and Lean’s second career win for Best Director. It has the unusual distinction of being the...
- 2/21/2023
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
It’s a nearly perfect tale of identity swaps and royal intrigues: Ronald Colman’s voice is velvet smooth as the poet-rogue François Villon, who uses his wits when dealing with Basil Rathbone’s (very strangely played) Louis XI. The real charm comes with lady-in-waiting Frances Dee (swoon) and the peasant firebrand Ellen Drew (double swoon). And don’t forget the sophisticated, semi-satirical screenplay by Preston Sturges. The refreshing Blu-ray discovery comes with a commentary by Julie Kirgo.
If I Were King
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1938 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 101 min. / Street Date February 7, 2023 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, Frances Dee, Ellen Drew, C.V. France, Henry Wilcoxon, Heather Thatcher, Stanley Ridges, Alma Lloyd, Sidney Toler, John Miljan, Montagu Love, May Beatty, Henry Brandon, Darryl Hickman.
Cinematography: Theodore Sparkuhl
Costumer: Edith Head
Art Directors: Hans Drier, John Goodman
Film Editor: Hugh Bennett
Visual Effects: Gordon Jennings
Original Music:...
If I Were King
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1938 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 101 min. / Street Date February 7, 2023 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, Frances Dee, Ellen Drew, C.V. France, Henry Wilcoxon, Heather Thatcher, Stanley Ridges, Alma Lloyd, Sidney Toler, John Miljan, Montagu Love, May Beatty, Henry Brandon, Darryl Hickman.
Cinematography: Theodore Sparkuhl
Costumer: Edith Head
Art Directors: Hans Drier, John Goodman
Film Editor: Hugh Bennett
Visual Effects: Gordon Jennings
Original Music:...
- 2/18/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
What do “The Broadway Melody” (1929), “Grand Hotel” (1932) and “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1935) all have in common? In Oscar history, they are the only films to have won the Academy’s most coveted award — and nothing else. Could Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” join that select group this year, despite being the second-most-nominated movie of the lot?
Of the dark comedy’s nine noms, only three have a viable path to glory: Colin Farrell for actor, McDonagh for original screenplay and best picture. The other mentions — director, supporting actress and the double-dipping (and vote-splitting) supporting actors among them — face hurdles too high to clear.
Farrell is walking steadily with a Golden Globe for lead actor (comedy), but the film was shut out at the Critics Choice Awards. With Austin Butler (“Elvis”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) equally building on their movies’ buzz, all eyes are on BAFTA and SAG...
Of the dark comedy’s nine noms, only three have a viable path to glory: Colin Farrell for actor, McDonagh for original screenplay and best picture. The other mentions — director, supporting actress and the double-dipping (and vote-splitting) supporting actors among them — face hurdles too high to clear.
Farrell is walking steadily with a Golden Globe for lead actor (comedy), but the film was shut out at the Critics Choice Awards. With Austin Butler (“Elvis”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) equally building on their movies’ buzz, all eyes are on BAFTA and SAG...
- 2/9/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
One of the many, many, many problems with the Academy Awards is that with only five nominees in each category — and even with 10 nominees for Best Picture — there's always at least one worthy artist or movie that doesn't get recognized.
In the industry we call these "snubs," and it's a somewhat loaded term that suggests the Oscar voters are deciding, intentionally, not to honor certain filmmakers and their films. While that's certainly a possibility, and there's no denying that the Academy members are human beings full of conscious and unconscious biases, it's also true that in a year full of great artistry in a variety of cinematic fields, at least one person who did amazing work was destined to get left off the ballot, and it's always a real downer for the artist and their fans.
But what if being left off the ballot wasn't the end of their story?...
In the industry we call these "snubs," and it's a somewhat loaded term that suggests the Oscar voters are deciding, intentionally, not to honor certain filmmakers and their films. While that's certainly a possibility, and there's no denying that the Academy members are human beings full of conscious and unconscious biases, it's also true that in a year full of great artistry in a variety of cinematic fields, at least one person who did amazing work was destined to get left off the ballot, and it's always a real downer for the artist and their fans.
But what if being left off the ballot wasn't the end of their story?...
- 2/7/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Tuesday’s Oscar nominations brought the jaw-droppers many expected. Some met with joy, and others with heartbreak.
Social media and awards pundit circles have been touting Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as an undisputed front-runner for most of the awards season. With a leading 11 nominations, it’s in an excellent position to win the best picture statuette for distributor A24, the same studio that pulled off the memorable “Moonlight” upset over “La La Land” at the 2017 show. A24 led the day for studios with a resounding 18 nominations, with Netflix in second with 16.
The multiverse flick landed expected noms for acting — Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu — but flexed in the artisan races like costume design, original score and original song. However, holding the title of the “one to beat” can bring the claws out of other studios and strategists...
Social media and awards pundit circles have been touting Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as an undisputed front-runner for most of the awards season. With a leading 11 nominations, it’s in an excellent position to win the best picture statuette for distributor A24, the same studio that pulled off the memorable “Moonlight” upset over “La La Land” at the 2017 show. A24 led the day for studios with a resounding 18 nominations, with Netflix in second with 16.
The multiverse flick landed expected noms for acting — Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu — but flexed in the artisan races like costume design, original score and original song. However, holding the title of the “one to beat” can bring the claws out of other studios and strategists...
- 1/24/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
David Zaslav is a busy man, but I think he would benefit from a meeting with Alfred Hitchcock. They had this in common: Facing cycles of disruption, each decided to call a “time out” to gain perspective and design new strategies.
And both likely would have enjoyed their interaction. As CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, Zaslav is the center of the storm as he comes to terms with what he views as “the new reality.” Confronted by stalemate on many fronts, Hitchcock, too, took his pause to restore order.
“I was prepping Psycho in 1960 when it hit me that the game had changed but no one had set forth the new rules,” Hitchcock once told me. “The whole industry seemed to come to a halt. After a long layoff I decided to radically cut costs, shoot my movie in black and white with a small TV crew and shift to entirely new locations.
And both likely would have enjoyed their interaction. As CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, Zaslav is the center of the storm as he comes to terms with what he views as “the new reality.” Confronted by stalemate on many fronts, Hitchcock, too, took his pause to restore order.
“I was prepping Psycho in 1960 when it hit me that the game had changed but no one had set forth the new rules,” Hitchcock once told me. “The whole industry seemed to come to a halt. After a long layoff I decided to radically cut costs, shoot my movie in black and white with a small TV crew and shift to entirely new locations.
- 8/11/2022
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Haven’t yet seen all the best old-school vintage naval combat epics? This color & ‘scope thriller has a terrific cast of Brit stars and up-n-comers, can boast excellent visuals and is historically accurate. Alec Guinness captains a ship during the Napoleonic Wars, and finds his duty complicated by a psychopathic top officer (Dirk Bogarde) who usurps authority and sees the crew as fresh meat for his sadistic ideas about discipline. All the tech and art credits are top-tier, plus we get nice supporting perfs from the likes of Anthony Quayle, Nigel Stock, Maurice Denham, Victor Maddern, Tom Bell, and Murray Melvin.
Damn the Defiant!
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 136
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date June 29, 2022 / H.M.S. Defiant / Available from Viavision / Australian 34.95 / and Amazon US / 34.95
Starring: Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde, Maurice Denham, Nigel Stock, Richard Carpenter, Peter Gill, David Robinson, Robin Stewart, Ray Brooks, Peter Greenspan, Anthony Quayle, Tom Bell,...
Damn the Defiant!
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 136
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date June 29, 2022 / H.M.S. Defiant / Available from Viavision / Australian 34.95 / and Amazon US / 34.95
Starring: Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde, Maurice Denham, Nigel Stock, Richard Carpenter, Peter Gill, David Robinson, Robin Stewart, Ray Brooks, Peter Greenspan, Anthony Quayle, Tom Bell,...
- 7/26/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Oddsmakers studying generational trends in Oscar voting may likely bet that Marriage Story stands a better chance than The Irishman to win Best Picture. Or that Parasite will earn more kudos overall than Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It comes down to scope: The prototypical winners of the past decade are Moonlight and Spotlight. Smaller is better.
The Academy likes to remind us that one third of its voters are new, but newcomers still remember the not-so-distant past when contenders carried a different message, heralding their extravagant showmanship: The Greatest Show on Earth, Around the World in 80 Days, Ben-Hur and An American in Paris. In 1962, voters got to choose between Lawrence of Arabia, The Longest Day, The Music Man, Mutiny on the Bounty and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Given the brave new world of streaming services, will the Oscar contenders of the future continue to reflect the “smaller is better” mandate?...
The Academy likes to remind us that one third of its voters are new, but newcomers still remember the not-so-distant past when contenders carried a different message, heralding their extravagant showmanship: The Greatest Show on Earth, Around the World in 80 Days, Ben-Hur and An American in Paris. In 1962, voters got to choose between Lawrence of Arabia, The Longest Day, The Music Man, Mutiny on the Bounty and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Given the brave new world of streaming services, will the Oscar contenders of the future continue to reflect the “smaller is better” mandate?...
- 12/30/2019
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Irishman” is dancing a jig over its awards competition so far this season. The three-hour-plus film is also a much-discussed topic on social media lately, thanks to its arrival on Netflix the day before Thanksgiving. Now that Martin Scorsese‘s decades-spanning organized-crime epic earned the Best Picture blessing of both the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review, it has been widening its lead in our Gold Derby Oscar odds during the first week of December, with 13.13% backing it.
Thanks to that attention, the truth-based story of hitman Frank Sheeran’s ties to mob kingpins and labor leader Jimmy Hoffa that stars such Marty regulars as Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel as well as Scorsese first-timer Al Pacino is ahead of the pack. Let’s see what happens this Sunday, December 8, when the Los Angeles Film Critics Association chimes in with their award picks.
Thanks to that attention, the truth-based story of hitman Frank Sheeran’s ties to mob kingpins and labor leader Jimmy Hoffa that stars such Marty regulars as Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel as well as Scorsese first-timer Al Pacino is ahead of the pack. Let’s see what happens this Sunday, December 8, when the Los Angeles Film Critics Association chimes in with their award picks.
- 12/6/2019
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
IndieWire reached out to the cinematographers whose films are in awards contention and among the most critically acclaimed films of the year to find out which cameras and lenses they used and, more importantly, why these were the right tools to create the visual language of their respective films.
(Films are alphabetical order by title.)
“1917”
Dir: Sam Mendes, DoP: Roger Deakins
Format: Arriraw 4.5K
Camera: Arri Alexa Mini Lf
Lens: Signature Primes 40mm
Deakins: We wanted the “look” of the Alexa Lf with the shallow depth of field the larger sensor brings to the image as well as its higher resolution. We needed the camera to be very small and lightweight so that we could use it on the stabilizing systems necessary for us to make the long and complex camera moves the story demanded. For that reason, the Mini version of the Alexa Lf was key to shooting this project.
(Films are alphabetical order by title.)
“1917”
Dir: Sam Mendes, DoP: Roger Deakins
Format: Arriraw 4.5K
Camera: Arri Alexa Mini Lf
Lens: Signature Primes 40mm
Deakins: We wanted the “look” of the Alexa Lf with the shallow depth of field the larger sensor brings to the image as well as its higher resolution. We needed the camera to be very small and lightweight so that we could use it on the stabilizing systems necessary for us to make the long and complex camera moves the story demanded. For that reason, the Mini version of the Alexa Lf was key to shooting this project.
- 11/20/2019
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
One of the big questions about the 2020 Oscars is whether or not there will be a split between the winners of Best Picture and Best Director, as we’ve seen in three of the last four years. Before the academy reintroduced the preferential ballot for Best Picture in 2010, such divides were fairly rare. Now, they are the rule rather than the exception at the Academy Awards. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2020 Oscars predictions for Best Director.)
Why is this?
Unlike every other Oscar category, which are decided by a popular vote, the winner of the Best Picture award is determined by a weighted ballot. Voters rank their choices from first to last. If one nominee garners more than 50% of the first place vote, it automatically wins. If, however, no nominee can meet that threshold, the film with the fewest first place votes gets eliminated, with its ballot getting reapportioned to the second place choice.
Why is this?
Unlike every other Oscar category, which are decided by a popular vote, the winner of the Best Picture award is determined by a weighted ballot. Voters rank their choices from first to last. If one nominee garners more than 50% of the first place vote, it automatically wins. If, however, no nominee can meet that threshold, the film with the fewest first place votes gets eliminated, with its ballot getting reapportioned to the second place choice.
- 10/7/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
It’s the formidable Bette Davis once again, in yet another superior William Wyler picture. The Somerset Maugham play is a classy vehicle for a star performance — the nagging legal ‘difficulty’ of plantation wife Leslie Crosbie is intertwined with colonial politics but remains entirely personal. Leslie isn’t exactly a poster girl for the feminist movement. Is she the victim of social pressures or just a petty, selfish monster? Screenwriter Howard Koch had to invent a twisted new ‘yellow peril’ finish to appease the Production Code … you know, the Code that some people say made Hollywood movies better.
The Letter
Blu-ray
The Warner Archive Collection
1940 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard.
Cinematography: Tony Gaudio
Art Direction: Carl Jules Weyl
Film Editor: George Amy, Warren Low
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by Howard...
The Letter
Blu-ray
The Warner Archive Collection
1940 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard.
Cinematography: Tony Gaudio
Art Direction: Carl Jules Weyl
Film Editor: George Amy, Warren Low
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by Howard...
- 10/5/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
To both lead or to have only one lead, that is the big Oscar question for one pair of male co-stars, still firmly perched at the top of their games, as Gold Derby launches its Academy Award prediction site today. The ultimate answer is below — but first some background.
Once upon a time in Hollywood, male co-leads in a film were allowed to go mano-to-mano and duke it out in the same Oscar category. The first instance of this situation was when cast mates Clark Gable, Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone went up against each other in 1935’s “Mutiny on the Bounty.” In that case, there was no other choice since supporting acting categories weren’t added to the ballot until 1937. Alas, all three stars were bested by Victor McLaglen in “The Informer.”
SEEPaul Revere and the Raiders singer Mark Lindsay think ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ is a good thing
Since then,...
Once upon a time in Hollywood, male co-leads in a film were allowed to go mano-to-mano and duke it out in the same Oscar category. The first instance of this situation was when cast mates Clark Gable, Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone went up against each other in 1935’s “Mutiny on the Bounty.” In that case, there was no other choice since supporting acting categories weren’t added to the ballot until 1937. Alas, all three stars were bested by Victor McLaglen in “The Informer.”
SEEPaul Revere and the Raiders singer Mark Lindsay think ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ is a good thing
Since then,...
- 8/7/2019
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
It’s been 84 years since The New Mutants was supposed to hit theaters. I still remember when the trailer played before showings of Mutiny on the Bounty. Those were simpler times. In all seriousness, the movie was originally slated to be released in April 0f 2018. But it’s been pushed back little by little since […]
The post ‘New Mutants’ Will Complete Reshoots This Year, Might As Well Be ‘Old Mutants’ appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘New Mutants’ Will Complete Reshoots This Year, Might As Well Be ‘Old Mutants’ appeared first on /Film.
- 5/30/2019
- by Ethan Anderton
- Slash Film
Quentin Tarantino‘s highly anticipated “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, debuted to raves at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, which is not really that shocking. What might have been less expected, though, were all the notices — stellar ones, to be clear — for Pitt as a lead. So now the question is: Could this film try to and actually get two Best Actor Oscar nominations, ending a 35-year dry spell?
All this time we’ve been operating on the assumption that DiCaprio was the “obvious” lead of the film, which covers three days in Los Angeles in 1969, the last of which is the night of the Manson Family murders. DiCaprio, who is first-billed, plays Rick Dalton — excuse us, Rick F—in’ Dalton — a TV star struggling to break into films in a changing Hollywood, while Pitt plays his stunt double and Bff Cliff Booth.
All this time we’ve been operating on the assumption that DiCaprio was the “obvious” lead of the film, which covers three days in Los Angeles in 1969, the last of which is the night of the Manson Family murders. DiCaprio, who is first-billed, plays Rick Dalton — excuse us, Rick F—in’ Dalton — a TV star struggling to break into films in a changing Hollywood, while Pitt plays his stunt double and Bff Cliff Booth.
- 5/23/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
David Lean would’ve celebrated his 111th birthday on March 25, 2019. The Oscar-winning director became famous for a series of visual striking, technically ambitious epics, but how many of those titles remain classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at all 16 of his films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1908, Lean cut his teeth as a film editor, cutting a number of prominent movies including “49th Parallel” (1941) and “One of Our Aircraft Is Missing” (1942) for his contemporary, Michael Powell. He transitioned into directing, working alongside acclaimed playwright Noel Coward with “In Which We Serve” (1942). The WWII Naval epic was a joint venture for the two, with Coward (who also wrote and starred) handling the acting scenes and Lean tackling the action sequences.
SEEOscar Best Director Gallery: Every Winner In Academy Award History
He earned his first Oscar nominations for writing and directing “Brief Encounter” (1945), a big...
Born in 1908, Lean cut his teeth as a film editor, cutting a number of prominent movies including “49th Parallel” (1941) and “One of Our Aircraft Is Missing” (1942) for his contemporary, Michael Powell. He transitioned into directing, working alongside acclaimed playwright Noel Coward with “In Which We Serve” (1942). The WWII Naval epic was a joint venture for the two, with Coward (who also wrote and starred) handling the acting scenes and Lean tackling the action sequences.
SEEOscar Best Director Gallery: Every Winner In Academy Award History
He earned his first Oscar nominations for writing and directing “Brief Encounter” (1945), a big...
- 3/25/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Submarine movies are not usually a dime a dozen, probably because they cost more than a dime to make. But the past few years have seen a handful of submersible flicks hitting screens both big and small, including the flag-waving Gerard Butler starrer Hunter Killer and Thomas Vinterberg’s Kursk (both out in 2018), the submarine-as-pirate ship saga Black Sea, and the Shawn Ryan series Last Resort, which was a sort of Mutiny on the Bounty centered on a sub carrying ballistic warheads.
The French now enter the game with The Wolf’s Call (Le Chant du loup), tackling the genre from the highly specific angle ...
The French now enter the game with The Wolf’s Call (Le Chant du loup), tackling the genre from the highly specific angle ...
- 3/12/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Submarine movies are not usually a dime a dozen, probably because they cost more than a dime to make. But the past few years have seen a handful of submersible flicks hitting screens both big and small, including the flag-waving Gerard Butler starrer Hunter Killer and Thomas Vinterberg’s Kursk (both out in 2018), the submarine-as-pirate ship saga Black Sea, and the Shawn Ryan series Last Resort, which was a sort of Mutiny on the Bounty centered on a sub carrying ballistic warheads.
The French now enter the game with The Wolf’s Call (Le Chant du loup), tackling the genre from the highly specific angle ...
The French now enter the game with The Wolf’s Call (Le Chant du loup), tackling the genre from the highly specific angle ...
- 3/12/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Clark Gable’s grandson, Clark Gable III, died on Friday morning at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Variety confirmed with the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office. He was 30.
“It’s is with an extremely heavy heart we say goodbye to my beautiful son Clark,” his mother wrote on Instagram. “He passed this morning. I will always be next to you my beautiful son. Mom.”
His sister Kayley Gable also posted about the death on Facebook, writing, “My brother was found unresponsive this morning by his fiancé and didn’t wake up .. I Love You Clarkie I’m so sorry we couldn’t save you my heart is broken and shattered Rip.”
Gable was an aspiring actor who previously hosted several seasons of the reality show “Cheaters.” “Cheaters” is a hidden-camera unscripted series about people suspected of committing adultery, which began airing in 2000 and has since filmed 17 seasons. As host,...
“It’s is with an extremely heavy heart we say goodbye to my beautiful son Clark,” his mother wrote on Instagram. “He passed this morning. I will always be next to you my beautiful son. Mom.”
His sister Kayley Gable also posted about the death on Facebook, writing, “My brother was found unresponsive this morning by his fiancé and didn’t wake up .. I Love You Clarkie I’m so sorry we couldn’t save you my heart is broken and shattered Rip.”
Gable was an aspiring actor who previously hosted several seasons of the reality show “Cheaters.” “Cheaters” is a hidden-camera unscripted series about people suspected of committing adultery, which began airing in 2000 and has since filmed 17 seasons. As host,...
- 2/22/2019
- by Nate Nickolai
- Variety Film + TV
Great news for fans of vintage Film Noir! Robert Siodmak’s Phantom Lady (1944) will be available on Blu-ray March 12th From Arrow Academy.
From one of the masters of the film noir, Robert Siodmak, comes the consummate crime classic, Phantom Lady.
After a fight with his wife, Scott Henderson heads to a bar to drown his sorrows. There he strikes up a conversation with a mysterious, despondent lady who agrees to accompany him to a show uptown but withholds her name. Arriving home, Scott is met by grimly countenanced cops – his wife has been strangled with one of his neckties and he is the prime suspect. He has a solid alibi but his theatre companion is nowhere to be found and no one remembers seeing them together. When Scott is charged with murdering his wife, it falls to his devoted secretary Kansas to find the phantom lady and save Scott from the electric chair…...
From one of the masters of the film noir, Robert Siodmak, comes the consummate crime classic, Phantom Lady.
After a fight with his wife, Scott Henderson heads to a bar to drown his sorrows. There he strikes up a conversation with a mysterious, despondent lady who agrees to accompany him to a show uptown but withholds her name. Arriving home, Scott is met by grimly countenanced cops – his wife has been strangled with one of his neckties and he is the prime suspect. He has a solid alibi but his theatre companion is nowhere to be found and no one remembers seeing them together. When Scott is charged with murdering his wife, it falls to his devoted secretary Kansas to find the phantom lady and save Scott from the electric chair…...
- 2/22/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Clark Gable would’ve celebrated his 118th birthday on February 1, 2019. The Oscar-winning matinee idol starred in dozens of films before his untimely death in 1960, but how many of those titles are classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 12 of Gable’s greatest movies, ranked worst to best.
After appearing in bit parts in a number of films, Gable shot to stardom with his performance in “A Free Soul” (1931) as a gangster who bewitches a young woman (Norma Shearer) whose attorney father (Lionel Barrymore) helped him beat a murder rap. From there forward, the actor’s persona as a raffish leading man who’s every guy’s best friend and every gal’s dream became cemented in a number of subsequent roles.
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
He won an Oscar just three years later for Frank Capra‘s screwball...
After appearing in bit parts in a number of films, Gable shot to stardom with his performance in “A Free Soul” (1931) as a gangster who bewitches a young woman (Norma Shearer) whose attorney father (Lionel Barrymore) helped him beat a murder rap. From there forward, the actor’s persona as a raffish leading man who’s every guy’s best friend and every gal’s dream became cemented in a number of subsequent roles.
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
He won an Oscar just three years later for Frank Capra‘s screwball...
- 2/1/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The ‘other’ Hollywood studio version of the Alamo story is quite good, with strong production values, exciting stunt battle action and something Republic Pictures didn’t manage very often, a solid screenplay. Sterling Hayden is Jim Bowie, this version’s central hero, with great backup from Anna Maria Alberghetti, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, and Ben Cooper. But best of all is that old hay-shaker Arthur Hunnicutt, as the movies’ best and most natural Davy Crockett.
The Last Command
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1955 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date December 11, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper, John Russell, Virginia Grey, Jim Davis, Eduard Franz, Otto Kruger, Russell Simpson, Roy Roberts, Slim Pickens, Hugh Sanders, Morris Ankrum, Argentina Brunetti, Robert Burton.
Cinematography: Jack A. Marta
Film Editor: Tony Martinelli
Original Music: Max Steiner
Special Effects: Howard...
The Last Command
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1955 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date December 11, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper, John Russell, Virginia Grey, Jim Davis, Eduard Franz, Otto Kruger, Russell Simpson, Roy Roberts, Slim Pickens, Hugh Sanders, Morris Ankrum, Argentina Brunetti, Robert Burton.
Cinematography: Jack A. Marta
Film Editor: Tony Martinelli
Original Music: Max Steiner
Special Effects: Howard...
- 1/15/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A rare auction of Oscar statues has resulted in the sale of the 1947 Best Picture award for $492,000. Gentleman’s Agreement, which examined anti-Semitism and starred Gregory Peck, was sold by auction house Profiles in History.
The auction house also sold a Best Picture statue for 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty, which brought in $240,000.
Other notable sales at the auction included an archive of papers on the origin and development of The Wizard of Oz, which sold for $1.2 million; a Tie fighter helmet from the original Star Wars that sold for $240,000; a Phaser pistol from the original Star Trek TV series that went for $192,000; a hover board Marty McFly rode in Back to the Future II that sold for $102,000; and a golden ticket from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory that sold for $48,000.
The total auction raked in more than $8 million. The buyers of the Oscars and Wizard of Oz materials declined to reveal their identities.
The auction house also sold a Best Picture statue for 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty, which brought in $240,000.
Other notable sales at the auction included an archive of papers on the origin and development of The Wizard of Oz, which sold for $1.2 million; a Tie fighter helmet from the original Star Wars that sold for $240,000; a Phaser pistol from the original Star Trek TV series that went for $192,000; a hover board Marty McFly rode in Back to the Future II that sold for $102,000; and a golden ticket from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory that sold for $48,000.
The total auction raked in more than $8 million. The buyers of the Oscars and Wizard of Oz materials declined to reveal their identities.
- 12/15/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
As most of you probably know by now, Dwayne Johnson is developing a new Big Trouble in Little China film that will continue the story of John Carpenter’s 1986 classic. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Carpenter will be a part of it.
There’s a chance for Kurt Russell to reprise his role as ol’ Jack Burton, but it’s too early to tell if he will be involved or not. I’ll just say it would be stupid if they didn’t use him, and there’s really no point in making the film if he isn’t included in the story.
In a recent interview with USA Today, Russell said that he “probably won’t be” in the upcoming sequel, but he enjoyed working with Johnson in the Fast and Furious franchise, which means if they did ask him he’d probably do it:
“He's just a really good guy.
There’s a chance for Kurt Russell to reprise his role as ol’ Jack Burton, but it’s too early to tell if he will be involved or not. I’ll just say it would be stupid if they didn’t use him, and there’s really no point in making the film if he isn’t included in the story.
In a recent interview with USA Today, Russell said that he “probably won’t be” in the upcoming sequel, but he enjoyed working with Johnson in the Fast and Furious franchise, which means if they did ask him he’d probably do it:
“He's just a really good guy.
- 11/23/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
This article marks Part 6, the final entry in the Gold Derby series reflecting on films that contended for the Big Five Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted). With “A Star Is Born” this year on the cusp of joining this exclusive group of Oscar favorites, join us as we look back at the 43 extraordinary pictures that earned Academy Awards nominations in each of the Big Five categories, including the following three films that swept all of the top races.
At the 7th Academy Awards ceremony, Frank Capra’s romantic comedy “It Happened One Night” (1934) made Oscar history as the first film to triumph in all of the Big Five categories – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Clark Gable), Best Actress (Claudette Colbert) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Robert Riskin). For each of these talents, it would hardly be their lone Oscar appearance.
At the 7th Academy Awards ceremony, Frank Capra’s romantic comedy “It Happened One Night” (1934) made Oscar history as the first film to triumph in all of the Big Five categories – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Clark Gable), Best Actress (Claudette Colbert) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Robert Riskin). For each of these talents, it would hardly be their lone Oscar appearance.
- 10/30/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
Now Shipping Worldwide!
Cinema Retro proudly announces its annual Movie Classics special edition for 2018: Roadshow Epics of the '60s! This is an 80-page special that provides in-depth coverage of the making of five memorable epic films:
Mutiny on the Bounty
Lawrence of Arabia
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Khartoum
The behind-the-scenes struggles to bring these monumental productions to the screen often equaled the events depicted in the screenplays. Indeed, all but Lawrence of Arabia proved to be boxoffice failures (or disasters). However, Cinema Retro provides compelling evidence that all of them were superbly filmed and provided many grand, memorable moments. This special edition provides fascinating insights into the often seemingly insurmountable challenges directors, writers, producers and actors had to overcome in order to bring the films to completion. These are the kind of movies we think of when we hear it said...
Cinema Retro proudly announces its annual Movie Classics special edition for 2018: Roadshow Epics of the '60s! This is an 80-page special that provides in-depth coverage of the making of five memorable epic films:
Mutiny on the Bounty
Lawrence of Arabia
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Khartoum
The behind-the-scenes struggles to bring these monumental productions to the screen often equaled the events depicted in the screenplays. Indeed, all but Lawrence of Arabia proved to be boxoffice failures (or disasters). However, Cinema Retro provides compelling evidence that all of them were superbly filmed and provided many grand, memorable moments. This special edition provides fascinating insights into the often seemingly insurmountable challenges directors, writers, producers and actors had to overcome in order to bring the films to completion. These are the kind of movies we think of when we hear it said...
- 9/7/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Now Shipping Worldwide!
Cinema Retro proudly announces its annual Movie Classics special edition for 2018: Roadshow Epics of the '60s! This is an 80-page special that provides in-depth coverage of the making of five memorable epic films:
Mutiny on the Bounty
Lawrence of Arabia
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Khartoum
The behind-the-scenes struggles to bring these monumental productions to the screen often equaled the events depicted in the screenplays. Indeed, all but Lawrence of Arabia proved to be boxoffice failures (or disasters). However, Cinema Retro provides compelling evidence that all of them were superbly filmed and provided many grand, memorable moments. This special edition provides fascinating insights into the often seemingly insurmountable challenges directors, writers, producers and actors had to overcome in order to bring the films to completion. These are the kind of movies we think of when we hear it said...
Cinema Retro proudly announces its annual Movie Classics special edition for 2018: Roadshow Epics of the '60s! This is an 80-page special that provides in-depth coverage of the making of five memorable epic films:
Mutiny on the Bounty
Lawrence of Arabia
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Khartoum
The behind-the-scenes struggles to bring these monumental productions to the screen often equaled the events depicted in the screenplays. Indeed, all but Lawrence of Arabia proved to be boxoffice failures (or disasters). However, Cinema Retro provides compelling evidence that all of them were superbly filmed and provided many grand, memorable moments. This special edition provides fascinating insights into the often seemingly insurmountable challenges directors, writers, producers and actors had to overcome in order to bring the films to completion. These are the kind of movies we think of when we hear it said...
- 7/5/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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Cinema Retro proudly announces its annual Movie Classics special edition for 2018: Roadshow Epics of the '60s! This is an 80-page special that provides in-depth coverage of the making of five memorable epic films:
Mutiny on the Bounty
Lawrence of Arabia
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Khartoum
The behind-the-scenes struggles to bring these monumental productions to the screen often equaled the events depicted in the screenplays. Indeed, all but Lawrence of Arabia proved to be boxoffice failures (or disasters). However, Cinema Retro provides compelling evidence that all of them were superbly filmed and provided many grand, memorable moments. This special edition provides fascinating insights into the often seemingly insurmountable challenges directors, writers, producers and actors had to overcome in order to bring the films to completion. These are the kind of movies we think of when we hear it said...
Cinema Retro proudly announces its annual Movie Classics special edition for 2018: Roadshow Epics of the '60s! This is an 80-page special that provides in-depth coverage of the making of five memorable epic films:
Mutiny on the Bounty
Lawrence of Arabia
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Khartoum
The behind-the-scenes struggles to bring these monumental productions to the screen often equaled the events depicted in the screenplays. Indeed, all but Lawrence of Arabia proved to be boxoffice failures (or disasters). However, Cinema Retro provides compelling evidence that all of them were superbly filmed and provided many grand, memorable moments. This special edition provides fascinating insights into the often seemingly insurmountable challenges directors, writers, producers and actors had to overcome in order to bring the films to completion. These are the kind of movies we think of when we hear it said...
- 5/21/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
“The Shape of Water” is one of two Best Picture Oscar nominees with three acting nominations — the other being “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” — but star Sally Hawkins and supporting players Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins are not predicted to win any of them. If they indeed go 0-3 on Sunday and “The Shape of Water” takes the top prize, the fantasy drama will join eight other Best Picture champs that did not convert any of its three-plus acting nominations into wins.
“Birdman” (2014) was the most recent Best Picture winner not to carry an acting award from at least three nominations, as Michael Keaton, Emma Stone and Edward Norton fell to Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”), Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”) and J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”), respectively. Arquette and Simmons were the supporting frontrunners all season, but Keaton was locked in a tight Best Actor race with Redmayne until the SAG Awards...
“Birdman” (2014) was the most recent Best Picture winner not to carry an acting award from at least three nominations, as Michael Keaton, Emma Stone and Edward Norton fell to Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”), Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”) and J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”), respectively. Arquette and Simmons were the supporting frontrunners all season, but Keaton was locked in a tight Best Actor race with Redmayne until the SAG Awards...
- 3/3/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
In 2009 — when the Academy Awards went to 10 Best Picture nominees for the first time since 1943 — the preferential system of voting, which had been used from 1934 to 1945, was reintroduced. The academy did so as it believed this “best allows the collective judgment of all voting members to be most accurately represented.”
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
- 2/28/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
“The Shape of Water” numbers three acting bids among its leading 13 Academy Awards nominations for lead Sally Hawkins and supporting players Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer. According to our exclusive Oscar odds none of them is predicted to win on March 4. Should that scenario play out, does that mean that their film won’t win Best Picture?
Not so fast.
While 53 of the 89 Best Picture champs to date include an Oscar-winning performance, 36 of them (40%) did not win any acting awards. And among those three dozen winners are four of the eight films — “The Hurt Locker” (2009), “Argo” (2012), “Birdman” (2015) and “Spotlight” (2016) — decided by preferential ballot under the newly expanded slate of Best Picture nominees.
Surprisingly, an even dozen of the Best Picture winners did not even reap any acting nominations. That is welcome news for “Arrival,” which does not number an acting bid among its eight nominations. However, four of those films...
Not so fast.
While 53 of the 89 Best Picture champs to date include an Oscar-winning performance, 36 of them (40%) did not win any acting awards. And among those three dozen winners are four of the eight films — “The Hurt Locker” (2009), “Argo” (2012), “Birdman” (2015) and “Spotlight” (2016) — decided by preferential ballot under the newly expanded slate of Best Picture nominees.
Surprisingly, an even dozen of the Best Picture winners did not even reap any acting nominations. That is welcome news for “Arrival,” which does not number an acting bid among its eight nominations. However, four of those films...
- 2/13/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
It used to be pretty much an Academy Awards norm that the film that won Best Picture also took home the Oscar for Best Director. In recent years that has changed, largely due to the preferential ballot that has been implemented for Best Picture voting. These two categories have split in four of the past five years, with “Birdman” (2014) and its director Alejandro G. Inarritu being the last time they lined up. Currently “The Shape of Water” is in first place to win both categories on Gold Derby’s Oscar charts, so might things get back on track this year?
See 2018 Oscar nominations: Full list of Academy Awards nominees in all 24 categories
A year ago Damien Chazelle won Best Director for “La La Land” while “Moonlight” took Best Picture, becoming the fourth time this decade that the Oscar split occurred. In 2015 Inarritu won Best Director for “The Revenent” (his second...
See 2018 Oscar nominations: Full list of Academy Awards nominees in all 24 categories
A year ago Damien Chazelle won Best Director for “La La Land” while “Moonlight” took Best Picture, becoming the fourth time this decade that the Oscar split occurred. In 2015 Inarritu won Best Director for “The Revenent” (his second...
- 2/8/2018
- by Robert Pius
- Gold Derby
Martin McDonagh’s omission from the Best Director final five was a big blow to “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” as it now tries to become just the fifth film to win the Best Picture Oscar without a directing nomination. But that may not be the only stat it has to defy: “Three Billboards” could also be the first film in 15 years to snag the main award without a directing or screenplay win.
Only 10 other films have done this. They are:
1. “Wings” (1927/28)
2. “The Broadway Melody” (1928/29)
3. “Grand Hotel” (1931/32)
4. “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1935)
5. “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936)
6. “Rebecca” (1940)
7. “Hamlet” (1948)
8. “All the King’s Men” (1949)
9. “Gladiator” (2000)
10. “Chicago” (2002)
(1952 Best Picture champ “The Greatest Show on Earth” could also be included in this list — it won the now-defunct Oscar for Best Story, which didn’t award the actual script and co-existed with Best Original Screenplay until it was dissolved after the 1956 season.)
Directing and screenplay understandably...
Only 10 other films have done this. They are:
1. “Wings” (1927/28)
2. “The Broadway Melody” (1928/29)
3. “Grand Hotel” (1931/32)
4. “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1935)
5. “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936)
6. “Rebecca” (1940)
7. “Hamlet” (1948)
8. “All the King’s Men” (1949)
9. “Gladiator” (2000)
10. “Chicago” (2002)
(1952 Best Picture champ “The Greatest Show on Earth” could also be included in this list — it won the now-defunct Oscar for Best Story, which didn’t award the actual script and co-existed with Best Original Screenplay until it was dissolved after the 1956 season.)
Directing and screenplay understandably...
- 1/30/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Michael Stuhlbarg may not have received an Oscar nomination Tuesday, but he did join a very exclusive club: He’s the sixth performer to appear in three Best Picture nominees in the same year and the first to do so in 15 years.
Stuhlbarg had supporting roles in “Call Me by Your Name,” “The Post” and “The Shape of Water” — a third of the nine-nominee Best Picture lineup. The last person to accomplish this feat was John C. Reilly for his 2002 slate of “Chicago,” “Gangs of New York” and “The Hours.” Before Reilly, you have to go all the way back to the ‘30s for the first four instances. They are:
1934: Claudette Colbert, “It Happened One Night,” “Cleopatra” and “Imitation of Life”
1935: Charles Laughton, “Mutiny on the Bounty,” “Les Miserables” and “Ruggles of Red Gap”
1937: Adolphe Menjou, “One Hundred Men and a Girl,” “Stage Door” and “A Star Is Born”
1939: Thomas Mitchell,...
Stuhlbarg had supporting roles in “Call Me by Your Name,” “The Post” and “The Shape of Water” — a third of the nine-nominee Best Picture lineup. The last person to accomplish this feat was John C. Reilly for his 2002 slate of “Chicago,” “Gangs of New York” and “The Hours.” Before Reilly, you have to go all the way back to the ‘30s for the first four instances. They are:
1934: Claudette Colbert, “It Happened One Night,” “Cleopatra” and “Imitation of Life”
1935: Charles Laughton, “Mutiny on the Bounty,” “Les Miserables” and “Ruggles of Red Gap”
1937: Adolphe Menjou, “One Hundred Men and a Girl,” “Stage Door” and “A Star Is Born”
1939: Thomas Mitchell,...
- 1/23/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
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