Upon securing a spot in the 2024 Best Supporting Actress Oscar lineup, Jodie Foster (“Nyad”) officially shattered the Academy Awards record for longest span between fourth and fifth acting nominations. Following her two Best Actress wins for “The Accused” (1989) and “The Silence of the Lambs” (1992), she had last been recognized in that category for “Nell” (1995), making for a general nomination gap of 29 years. Coincidentally, she took this particular distinction from fellow “Silence of the Lambs” winner Anthony Hopkins, who waited 22 years between his supporting bids for “Amistad” (1998) and “The Two Popes” (2020).
Previously, the female record for longest wait for a fifth nomination was 12 years, as shared by Julianne Moore and Frances McDormand. Considering gaps between any two consecutive acting nominations, Foster ranks well behind overall record holder Judd Hirsch, whose first and second career notices for “Ordinary People” (1981) and “The Fabelmans” (2023) came 42 years apart. His female counterpart is Helen Hayes (39 years...
Previously, the female record for longest wait for a fifth nomination was 12 years, as shared by Julianne Moore and Frances McDormand. Considering gaps between any two consecutive acting nominations, Foster ranks well behind overall record holder Judd Hirsch, whose first and second career notices for “Ordinary People” (1981) and “The Fabelmans” (2023) came 42 years apart. His female counterpart is Helen Hayes (39 years...
- 2/6/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
The dust still hasn’t settled on the 96th annual Academy Award nominations due to the uproar over the “Barbie” snubs for Best Actress for Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig for Best Director. They still earned Oscar nominations for the cultural phenomena that was the No. 1 film of 2023 with an international box office of $1.4 billion. Robbie and Gerwig received noms as producer for the Best Picture nominee and Gerwig also was garnered a nomination for co-writing the adapted screenplay. But the film is about female empowerment, so it’s beyond ironic it was Ken (Ryan Gosling), not Barbie, who received Oscar recognition.
Gosling wasn’t happy: “Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and made history. Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees.”
America Ferrera,...
Gosling wasn’t happy: “Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and made history. Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees.”
America Ferrera,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
For the second time in six years, the Best Actress category looked to be on track to feature nominees from films nominated for Best Picture. But just like six years ago, it came up short — and it once again involved Margot Robbie.
Annette Bening (“Nyad”), Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) made the Best Actress cut on Tuesday. Every film but “Nyad” is nominated for Best Picture. Gladstone, Hüller, Mulligan and Stone were all expected to get in, but Bening was in seventh place in the odds. Now a five-time nominee, she made it in over Robbie, who was in fifth place in the odds and headlines Best Picture nominee “Barbie” (Robbie is nominated as producer).
Six years ago, it was the reverse situation with Robbie. She earned her first career Oscar nomination for her...
Annette Bening (“Nyad”), Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) made the Best Actress cut on Tuesday. Every film but “Nyad” is nominated for Best Picture. Gladstone, Hüller, Mulligan and Stone were all expected to get in, but Bening was in seventh place in the odds. Now a five-time nominee, she made it in over Robbie, who was in fifth place in the odds and headlines Best Picture nominee “Barbie” (Robbie is nominated as producer).
Six years ago, it was the reverse situation with Robbie. She earned her first career Oscar nomination for her...
- 1/24/2024
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Leonard Bernstein — the composer of West Side Story and considered one of the world’s greatest conductors — has lived rent-free in Bradley Cooper’s head since 2018, when Steven Spielberg met with him about what was going to be a straightforward biopic of a musical genius. Somehow, Spielberg knew that Cooper had been obsessed with conducting since he was a child. Not because he was some kind of musical prodigy, but because of an episode of The Bugs Bunny Show in which the hero conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl, arms flailing wildly.
“Growing up, there was always classical music playing in the house,” Cooper recalls. “So, because of the cartoons I was watching, I used to wave my hands about and pretend that I was creating the music that I was hearing. One Christmas I asked Santa, and all of a sudden I had a baton that I was able to wield.
“Growing up, there was always classical music playing in the house,” Cooper recalls. “So, because of the cartoons I was watching, I used to wave my hands about and pretend that I was creating the music that I was hearing. One Christmas I asked Santa, and all of a sudden I had a baton that I was able to wield.
- 12/6/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline 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
by Cláudio Alves
A story of revisits and returns. The Criterion Channel's current Myrna Loy Collection provides us with an ideal opportunty to discuss the the Old Hollywood star. This marks her as the first performer to have three episodes in the Almost There series. So it's time to delve into two of my favorite subjects: The Thin Man franchise and the chaotic Best Actress category of 1934. For the latter, you can check out the analysis of Bette Davis' historical snub in Of Human Bondage. For the former, I once reviewed the first Thin Man movie, describing its star power and alluding to the sequels' decreasing merits, all eminently entertaining despite their drop in quality.
After reading those pieces for some added context, come back to explore the specificities of Myrna Loy's rightfully legendary turn as Nora Charles…...
A story of revisits and returns. The Criterion Channel's current Myrna Loy Collection provides us with an ideal opportunty to discuss the the Old Hollywood star. This marks her as the first performer to have three episodes in the Almost There series. So it's time to delve into two of my favorite subjects: The Thin Man franchise and the chaotic Best Actress category of 1934. For the latter, you can check out the analysis of Bette Davis' historical snub in Of Human Bondage. For the former, I once reviewed the first Thin Man movie, describing its star power and alluding to the sequels' decreasing merits, all eminently entertaining despite their drop in quality.
After reading those pieces for some added context, come back to explore the specificities of Myrna Loy's rightfully legendary turn as Nora Charles…...
- 8/10/2022
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
In film history, the anthology genre is the most challenging. Episodic films often have several directors and screenwriters which gives them an inconsistent tone and quality. But the genre’s pitfalls haven’t stopped such filmmakers including Akira Kurosawa (“Dreams”), the Coens (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”), Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”); Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese (“New York Stories”); and Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller and Steven Spielberg (“Twilight Zone: The Movie”).
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
- 10/30/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Director-producer Richard Donner, best known for helming the “Lethal Weapon” film series, “The Goonies” and the original “Superman” film, died on Monday. He was 91.
Donner’s production company confirmed news of his death to Variety, though the cause was not disclosed.
Though not his first bigscreen effort, his big feature break came with 1976’s “The Omen,” starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. Thereafter, he brought his craftsmanship to the first “Superman.” He also branched out into producing, usually with his wife Lauren Shuler Donner — he executive produced the huge 2000 success “X-Men” and later the prequel “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” But his career was highlighted by the “Lethal Weapon” series, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, which elevated him to the ranks of directors generating more than a billion dollars in box office.
Born Richard Donald Schwartzberg in the Bronx, he attended Parker Junior College and then NYU, where he majored in business and theater.
Donner’s production company confirmed news of his death to Variety, though the cause was not disclosed.
Though not his first bigscreen effort, his big feature break came with 1976’s “The Omen,” starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. Thereafter, he brought his craftsmanship to the first “Superman.” He also branched out into producing, usually with his wife Lauren Shuler Donner — he executive produced the huge 2000 success “X-Men” and later the prequel “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” But his career was highlighted by the “Lethal Weapon” series, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, which elevated him to the ranks of directors generating more than a billion dollars in box office.
Born Richard Donald Schwartzberg in the Bronx, he attended Parker Junior College and then NYU, where he majored in business and theater.
- 7/5/2021
- by Richard Natale
- Variety Film + TV
Composer Max Steiner, whose scores for “King Kong,” “Gone With the Wind” and “Casablanca” placed him in the movie-music pantheon, isn’t much discussed today. He seems to belong to that old-school, pre-synthesizer world of orchestral scoring from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s.
But as author Steven C. Smith points out in his engrossing new biography of the three-time Oscar winner, “Music by Max Steiner” (Oxford University Press), the Austrian wunderkind pioneered the art of film scoring and ranks as “Hollywood’s most influential composer.”
His music essentially saved Rko’s “King Kong,” the 1933 giant-ape-wrecks-Manhattan fantasy, forcefully demonstrating the power of dramatic underscore to create mood, propel the action and provide emotional support (and disproving the widely held studio-executive theory that audiences of the time would “wonder where the music came from”).
Steiner went on to score some 300 films over a 35-year career, mostly for Rko and Warner Bros., although...
But as author Steven C. Smith points out in his engrossing new biography of the three-time Oscar winner, “Music by Max Steiner” (Oxford University Press), the Austrian wunderkind pioneered the art of film scoring and ranks as “Hollywood’s most influential composer.”
His music essentially saved Rko’s “King Kong,” the 1933 giant-ape-wrecks-Manhattan fantasy, forcefully demonstrating the power of dramatic underscore to create mood, propel the action and provide emotional support (and disproving the widely held studio-executive theory that audiences of the time would “wonder where the music came from”).
Steiner went on to score some 300 films over a 35-year career, mostly for Rko and Warner Bros., although...
- 6/5/2020
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
by Cláudio Alves
Nowadays, Oscar snubs generate justifiable fire on social media and occassionally even get primetime attention. However, they're not huge stories that threaten the existence and validity of the Academy itself. It wasn't always like this. Back in the early days of the Oscars, some snubs were so outrageous they made fear blossom in the hearts of Academy members, threatening to invalidate the entire (new) institution in the eyes of the general public. So much so, that new rules were put in place to avoid similar outcomes, write-in votes were allowed and apologies were handed out in the shape of what we now call a career Oscar.
Such was the case in the mid-30s when Bette Davis made Of Human Bondage, defied Hollywood's expectations, became a sudden star and still failed to get the Academy Award nomination most thought she deserved…...
Nowadays, Oscar snubs generate justifiable fire on social media and occassionally even get primetime attention. However, they're not huge stories that threaten the existence and validity of the Academy itself. It wasn't always like this. Back in the early days of the Oscars, some snubs were so outrageous they made fear blossom in the hearts of Academy members, threatening to invalidate the entire (new) institution in the eyes of the general public. So much so, that new rules were put in place to avoid similar outcomes, write-in votes were allowed and apologies were handed out in the shape of what we now call a career Oscar.
Such was the case in the mid-30s when Bette Davis made Of Human Bondage, defied Hollywood's expectations, became a sudden star and still failed to get the Academy Award nomination most thought she deserved…...
- 3/2/2020
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Though it was heavily rumored beforehand, the final reveal that Zendaya’s character Michelle Jones was a revamped version of Mary Jane Watson was one of the coolest moments in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Once you know the twist though, there are a few hidden references to the fact that Mj will go on to be integral to Peter Parker’s life, and one fan has just pointed us in the direction of a pretty neat one.
Reddit user u/MrBubbles9039 shared a screenshot on the Marvel Studios subreddit taken from the scene where Mj is staring up at the Washington Monument, during the section of the film where the Midtown Academic Triathlon team have travelled to D.C. The character is wearing a shirt with a picture of famed poet and writer Sylvia Plath on it. The Redittor notes that Plath once wrote a poem called “The Spider.”
On the one hand,...
Reddit user u/MrBubbles9039 shared a screenshot on the Marvel Studios subreddit taken from the scene where Mj is staring up at the Washington Monument, during the section of the film where the Midtown Academic Triathlon team have travelled to D.C. The character is wearing a shirt with a picture of famed poet and writer Sylvia Plath on it. The Redittor notes that Plath once wrote a poem called “The Spider.”
On the one hand,...
- 1/28/2020
- by Christian Bone
- We Got This Covered
The closeup changes everything. In 1934, Bette Davis became a Star.
A very random question for you Oscar fanatics out there. Do you count Bette Davis as having 10 or 11 nominations? In other words, do you count her write-in nomination for Of Human Bondage (1934), her breakout star-making role which obviously led to her first win for the lesser performance in Dangerous (1935) the very next year, as one of her nods or do you go by the Academy's 'Of Human Bondage is not an official nomination' stance even though it's such an intrinsic part of Oscar lore of the 1930s?...
A very random question for you Oscar fanatics out there. Do you count Bette Davis as having 10 or 11 nominations? In other words, do you count her write-in nomination for Of Human Bondage (1934), her breakout star-making role which obviously led to her first win for the lesser performance in Dangerous (1935) the very next year, as one of her nods or do you go by the Academy's 'Of Human Bondage is not an official nomination' stance even though it's such an intrinsic part of Oscar lore of the 1930s?...
- 2/13/2019
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Brigitte Bardot proved her mettle as a dramatic actress in H.G. Clouzot’s strikingly pro-feminist courtroom epic, that puts the modern age of ‘immoral’ permissiveness on trial. Is Bardot’s selfish, sensation-seeking young lover an oppressed victim? Clouzot makes her the author of her own problems yet doesn’t let her patriarchal inquisitors off the hook.
La vérité
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 960
1960 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 128 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 12, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Brigitte Bardot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel, Sami Frey, Marie-JoséNat, Jean-Loup Reynold, André Oumansky, Claude Berri, Jacques Perrin, Jacques Marin. Fernand Ledoux.
Cinematography: Armand Thirard
Film Editor: Albert Jurgenson
Written by Henri-Georges Clouzot, Simone Drieu, Michèle Perrein, Jérôme Géronimi, Christiane Rochefort, Véra Clouzot
Produced by Raoul Lévy
Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
H.G. Clouzot mesmerized audiences with the political outrage of The Wages of Fear and the riveting horror-suspense of Diabolique, but his intellectual,...
La vérité
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 960
1960 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 128 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 12, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Brigitte Bardot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel, Sami Frey, Marie-JoséNat, Jean-Loup Reynold, André Oumansky, Claude Berri, Jacques Perrin, Jacques Marin. Fernand Ledoux.
Cinematography: Armand Thirard
Film Editor: Albert Jurgenson
Written by Henri-Georges Clouzot, Simone Drieu, Michèle Perrein, Jérôme Géronimi, Christiane Rochefort, Véra Clouzot
Produced by Raoul Lévy
Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
H.G. Clouzot mesmerized audiences with the political outrage of The Wages of Fear and the riveting horror-suspense of Diabolique, but his intellectual,...
- 2/12/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird”), Sally Hawkins (“The Shape of Water”), Meryl Streep (“The Post”) and Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”) have long been our predicted Best Actress Oscar nominees. If they all make the cut, along with their films in Best Picture, they’d join a very exclusive club: It’d be first Best Actress slate in 40 years and just the fifth overall where everyone is in a film nominated for Best Picture.
The only other times this has occurred were for the film years 1934, 1939, 1940 and 1977 — but many of them come with caveats. In 1934, there were still only three acting nominees — winner Claudette Colbert (“It Happened One Night”), Grace Moore (“One Night of Love”) and Norma Shearer (“The Barretts of Wimpole Street”) — and 12 Best Picture nominees, before the academy standardized the categories to five each. This was also the infamous year of the write-in...
The only other times this has occurred were for the film years 1934, 1939, 1940 and 1977 — but many of them come with caveats. In 1934, there were still only three acting nominees — winner Claudette Colbert (“It Happened One Night”), Grace Moore (“One Night of Love”) and Norma Shearer (“The Barretts of Wimpole Street”) — and 12 Best Picture nominees, before the academy standardized the categories to five each. This was also the infamous year of the write-in...
- 1/19/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
on this day in history as it relates to showbiz
30 BC Cleopatra commits suicide, allegedly by purposeful snake bite. I don't remember that scene in Liz Taylor's Cleopatra but it might have been at the four hour mark and t'was possibly asleep
How to honor this day: play with someone's snake. In the absence of a suitable one, wink at someone as saucily as Liz
← 1915 "Of Human Bondage" by W Somerset Maugham published. 19 years later it becomes a movie and marks Bette Davis's ascent to superstar actress
How to honor this day: Let it all out like Bette in that performance that's pure...
30 BC Cleopatra commits suicide, allegedly by purposeful snake bite. I don't remember that scene in Liz Taylor's Cleopatra but it might have been at the four hour mark and t'was possibly asleep
How to honor this day: play with someone's snake. In the absence of a suitable one, wink at someone as saucily as Liz
← 1915 "Of Human Bondage" by W Somerset Maugham published. 19 years later it becomes a movie and marks Bette Davis's ascent to superstar actress
How to honor this day: Let it all out like Bette in that performance that's pure...
- 8/12/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Frances Dee movies: From 'An American Tragedy' to 'Four Faces West' Frances Dee began her film career at the dawn of the sound era, going from extra to leading lady within a matter of months. Her rapid ascencion came about thanks to Maurice Chevalier, who got her as his romantic interested in Ludwig Berger's 1930 romantic comedy Playboy of Paris. Despite her dark(-haired) good looks and pleasant personality, Dee's Hollywood career never quite progressed to major – or even moderate – stardom. But she was to remain a busy leading lady for about 15 years. Tonight, Turner Classic Movies is showing seven Frances Dee films, ranging from heavy dramas to Westerns. Unfortunately missing is one of Dee's most curious efforts, the raunchy pre-Coder Blood Money, which possibly features her most unusual – and most effective – performance. Having said that, William A. Wellman's Love Is a Racket is a worthwhile subsitute, though the...
- 5/18/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
on this day in history as it relates to showbiz...
1882 The titular event in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) happened on this very day in Missouri
1893 Leading man of the 1930s Leslie Howard (Gone With the Wind, Of Human Bondage) born in London
1921 Jan Sterling born in NYC. (We recently discussed her Oscar nominated performance in The High and the Mighty )
1922 After years of "which year is it?" it's finally settled... Doris Day was born on this day 1922. So happy 95th birthday to the icon, still with us, today.
1924 Another cinematic icon, Marlon Brando, born in Omaha...
1882 The titular event in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) happened on this very day in Missouri
1893 Leading man of the 1930s Leslie Howard (Gone With the Wind, Of Human Bondage) born in London
1921 Jan Sterling born in NYC. (We recently discussed her Oscar nominated performance in The High and the Mighty )
1922 After years of "which year is it?" it's finally settled... Doris Day was born on this day 1922. So happy 95th birthday to the icon, still with us, today.
1924 Another cinematic icon, Marlon Brando, born in Omaha...
- 4/3/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Looking for something to celebrate today? On this day in history as it relates to showbiz...
1874 Oscar nominee Henry Travers (Mrs Miniver) was born in England
1908 Future Oscar winner, "Henry Higgins" and "Dr Dolittle" himself Sir Rex Harrison is born
1922 Fw Murnau's silent classic Nosferatu premieres in its home country of Germany. On the same day in Italy the future super controversial auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini (120 Days of Sodom, The Gospel According to St Matthew) is born
1936 Dean Stockwell is born in California. He will go on to have an epically lengthy career starting as a child star in the 40s and still working occasionally today. On the same day the '35 Oscars were held with Mutiny on the Bounty taking Best Picture and Bette Davis winning her first Oscar for Dangerous. Oscar was already doing "sorry about last time" awards as that one was obviously for her far superior work in Of Human Bondage.
1874 Oscar nominee Henry Travers (Mrs Miniver) was born in England
1908 Future Oscar winner, "Henry Higgins" and "Dr Dolittle" himself Sir Rex Harrison is born
1922 Fw Murnau's silent classic Nosferatu premieres in its home country of Germany. On the same day in Italy the future super controversial auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini (120 Days of Sodom, The Gospel According to St Matthew) is born
1936 Dean Stockwell is born in California. He will go on to have an epically lengthy career starting as a child star in the 40s and still working occasionally today. On the same day the '35 Oscars were held with Mutiny on the Bounty taking Best Picture and Bette Davis winning her first Oscar for Dangerous. Oscar was already doing "sorry about last time" awards as that one was obviously for her far superior work in Of Human Bondage.
- 3/5/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Feeling festive today but not quite ready for Christmas? Celebrate one of these anniversaries!
1805 Joseph Smith Jr, founder of the Mormon Church is born in Vermont. Here's a very random piece of trivia: Outside of the very early movie Brigham Young (1940) about his successor with Vincent Price in the Joseph Smith role, the only actually famous actor to ever play him is Dean Cain of Lois & Clark fame in a movie called September Dawn (2007)? It's kind of hard to draw a line connecting Vincent Price and Dean Cain otherwise, right?
1867 Madame Cj Walker, cosmetics mogul and the first black female millionaire in America, is born in Louisiana. Where's her biopic, Hollywood? History has more than just Great White Man stories.
1887 Underappreciated director John Cromwell who guided Bette Davis's breakthrough role in Of Human Bondage , and the all female wonders of Caged was born in Ohio. One more Bette related anniversary after the jump.
1805 Joseph Smith Jr, founder of the Mormon Church is born in Vermont. Here's a very random piece of trivia: Outside of the very early movie Brigham Young (1940) about his successor with Vincent Price in the Joseph Smith role, the only actually famous actor to ever play him is Dean Cain of Lois & Clark fame in a movie called September Dawn (2007)? It's kind of hard to draw a line connecting Vincent Price and Dean Cain otherwise, right?
1867 Madame Cj Walker, cosmetics mogul and the first black female millionaire in America, is born in Louisiana. Where's her biopic, Hollywood? History has more than just Great White Man stories.
1887 Underappreciated director John Cromwell who guided Bette Davis's breakthrough role in Of Human Bondage , and the all female wonders of Caged was born in Ohio. One more Bette related anniversary after the jump.
- 12/23/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Ahead of this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, we look at the most infamous Oscars oversights
Davis’s vicious performance in the pre-code adaptation of W Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage was critically hailed as a landmark – yet Warner Bros studio politics (she broke contract to make the picture) cost her a best actress nomination. The outcry prompted a (since-revoked) rule change: voters could overrule the nominees by writing in an alternative on the ballot paper. Davis’s “write in” hype actually saw her enter the ceremony as the favourite, though she lost to the official nominee, Claudette Colbert, for It Happened One Night; later, voting tallies revealed Davis only placed third. She won the next year for negligible work in the hoary melodrama Dangerous – a transparent makeup award if ever there was one.
Continue reading...
Davis’s vicious performance in the pre-code adaptation of W Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage was critically hailed as a landmark – yet Warner Bros studio politics (she broke contract to make the picture) cost her a best actress nomination. The outcry prompted a (since-revoked) rule change: voters could overrule the nominees by writing in an alternative on the ballot paper. Davis’s “write in” hype actually saw her enter the ceremony as the favourite, though she lost to the official nominee, Claudette Colbert, for It Happened One Night; later, voting tallies revealed Davis only placed third. She won the next year for negligible work in the hoary melodrama Dangerous – a transparent makeup award if ever there was one.
Continue reading...
- 2/26/2016
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
I'm beginning to have butterflies. You? Just for fun some random trivia surrounding the number 11 today. Links go to previous articles here at Tfe on these films or performers
• Pictures with exactly 11 Oscar nominations
Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Rebecca (1940), Sergeant York (1941), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), Sunset Blvd (1950), West Side Story (1961), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Oliver! (1968), The Godfather Pt II (1974), Chinatown (1974), The Turning Point (1977), Gandhi (1982), Terms of Endearment (1983), Amadeus (1984), A Passage to India (1984), Out of Africa (1985), The Color Purple (1985), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), The Aviator (2004), Hugo (2011), and Life of Pi (2012)
• Movies that won exactly 11 Oscars
That's the most any movie has ever won and it's a three way tie: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), The Lord of the Ring: Return of the King (2003). Currently Ben-Hur is being remade and is supposedly opening this very summer... wish them good luck because living up to such a...
• Pictures with exactly 11 Oscar nominations
Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Rebecca (1940), Sergeant York (1941), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), Sunset Blvd (1950), West Side Story (1961), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Oliver! (1968), The Godfather Pt II (1974), Chinatown (1974), The Turning Point (1977), Gandhi (1982), Terms of Endearment (1983), Amadeus (1984), A Passage to India (1984), Out of Africa (1985), The Color Purple (1985), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), The Aviator (2004), Hugo (2011), and Life of Pi (2012)
• Movies that won exactly 11 Oscars
That's the most any movie has ever won and it's a three way tie: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), The Lord of the Ring: Return of the King (2003). Currently Ben-Hur is being remade and is supposedly opening this very summer... wish them good luck because living up to such a...
- 2/17/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Joan Crawford in 'Mildred Pierce.' 'Mildred Pierce' review: Very entertaining soap opera Time has a way of making some films seem grander than they really are. A good example is Mildred Pierce, the 1945 black-and-white melodrama directed by Casablanca's Michael Curtiz, and that won star Joan Crawford a Best Actress Oscar. Mildred Pierce is in no way, shape, or form great art, even though it's certainly not a bad film. In fact, as a soap opera it's quite entertaining – no, make that very entertaining; and entertainment is a quality that can stand on its own. (The problem in recent decades is that cinema has become nothing but entertainment.) In the case of Mildred Pierce, the entertainment is formulaic and rather predictable – but in an enjoyable, campy sort of way. Unbridled Hollywood melodrama Now, what makes Mildred Pierce a melodrama is something known as the Dumbest Possible Action – Dpa for short.
- 12/12/2015
- by Dan Schneider
- Alt Film Guide
At the beginning of (and throughout) every month, Hulu adds new movies and TV shows to its catalogue. Here is a quick list of several that you might be interested in. Some of these may also have previously been on Hulu, only to have been removed and then added back. Feel free to note anything we've left out in the comments below.Of human bondage:Diamonds Are Forever (1971), For Your Eyes Only (1981), From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), License to Kill (1989), Live and Let Die (1973), The Living Daylights (1987), Man With The Golden Gun (1974), Moonraker (1979), Never Say Never Again (1983), Octopussy (1983), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Thunderball (1965), A View to a Kill (1985) Like a demonic supervillain, Hulu has acquired a gigantic catalogue of Bond movies in time for the release of Spectre on November 6. “Do you expect me to stream all of these before then?” you ask.
- 10/30/2015
- by Jackson McHenry
- Vulture
By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
At the 87th Academy Awards earlier this year, Michael Keaton was many prognosticator’s best actor front-runner for his performance in director Alejandro Iñárritu‘s Birdman. The legendary actor had a career resurgence in the role of Riggan Thomson (much needed after nearly a decade between major film roles) and the film’s subject matter of artistry and stage production/film making, both of which have been recipes for Oscar success for past performers. However, the award that night went to 33-year old British actor Eddie Redmayne for his role as physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
This year, Keaton again finds himself in a film surrounded by Oscar buzz, Spotlight, which centers on the investigation by Boston Globe journalists into the Catholic Church child molestation scandal. Keaton’s performance has garnered much positive attention and may likely lead to a second nomination for the 64-year old actor.
Managing Editor
At the 87th Academy Awards earlier this year, Michael Keaton was many prognosticator’s best actor front-runner for his performance in director Alejandro Iñárritu‘s Birdman. The legendary actor had a career resurgence in the role of Riggan Thomson (much needed after nearly a decade between major film roles) and the film’s subject matter of artistry and stage production/film making, both of which have been recipes for Oscar success for past performers. However, the award that night went to 33-year old British actor Eddie Redmayne for his role as physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
This year, Keaton again finds himself in a film surrounded by Oscar buzz, Spotlight, which centers on the investigation by Boston Globe journalists into the Catholic Church child molestation scandal. Keaton’s performance has garnered much positive attention and may likely lead to a second nomination for the 64-year old actor.
- 10/22/2015
- by Patrick Shanley
- Scott Feinberg
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. ca. 1935. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was never as popular as his father, silent film superstar Douglas Fairbanks, who starred in one action-adventure blockbuster after another in the 1920s (The Mark of Zorro, Robin Hood, The Thief of Bagdad) and whose stardom dates back to the mid-1910s, when Fairbanks toplined a series of light, modern-day comedies in which he was cast as the embodiment of the enterprising, 20th century “all-American.” What this particular go-getter got was screen queen Mary Pickford as his wife and United Artists as his studio, which he co-founded with Pickford, D.W. Griffith, and Charles Chaplin. Now, although Jr. never had the following of Sr., he did enjoy a solid two-decade-plus movie career. In fact, he was one of the few children of major film stars – e.g., Jane Fonda, Liza Minnelli, Angelina Jolie, Michael Douglas, Jamie Lee Curtis – who had successful film careers of their own.
- 8/16/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Katharine Hepburn movies. Katharine Hepburn movies: Woman in drag, in love, in danger In case you're suffering from insomnia, you might want to spend your night and early morning watching Turner Classic Movies' "Summer Under the Stars" series. Four-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Katharine Hepburn is TCM's star today, Aug. 7, '15. (See TCM's Katharine Hepburn movie schedule further below.) Whether you find Hepburn's voice as melodious as a singing nightingale or as grating as nails on a chalkboard, you may want to check out the 1933 version of Little Women. Directed by George Cukor, this cozy – and more than a bit schmaltzy – version of Louisa May Alcott's novel was a major box office success, helping to solidify Hepburn's Hollywood stardom the year after her film debut opposite John Barrymore and David Manners in Cukor's A Bill of Divorcement. They don't make 'em like they used to Also, the 1933 Little Women...
- 8/7/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Teresa Wright movies: Actress made Oscar history Teresa Wright, best remembered for her Oscar-winning performance in the World War II melodrama Mrs. Miniver and for her deceptively fragile, small-town heroine in Alfred Hitchcock's mystery-drama Shadow of a Doubt, died at age 86 ten years ago – on March 6, 2005. Throughout her nearly six-decade show business career, Wright was featured in nearly 30 films, dozens of television series and made-for-tv movies, and a whole array of stage productions. On the big screen, she played opposite some of the most important stars of the '40s and '50s. It's a long list, including Bette Davis, Greer Garson, Gary Cooper, Myrna Loy, Ray Milland, Fredric March, Jean Simmons, Marlon Brando, Dana Andrews, Lew Ayres, Cornel Wilde, Robert Mitchum, Spencer Tracy, Joseph Cotten, and David Niven. Also of note, Teresa Wright made Oscar history in the early '40s, when she was nominated for each of her first three movie roles.
- 3/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The Oscars are less than 96 hours away, so you only have a limited amount of time to brag about your insane knowledge of Academy Awards history. Ready for a brutal 21-question foray into Oscar's grisly past? Let's roll. (We give you the questions on the first page. Jot down your responses, then check the answers, along with the accompanying questions, on the next page. The videos embedded here aren't related to the questions. They're just fun!) 1. What ‘90s Best Actor winner gave the shortest onscreen performance ever nominated (and therefore awarded) in that category? This is measured by total minutes and seconds spent onscreen. 2. The first (and so far only) black female nominee in the Best Original Screenplay category was a co-writer of what biopic released in the 1970s? 3. From 1937 to 1945, the Academy guaranteed nominations in one particular category to any studio that submitted a qualifiable entry. What was the category?...
- 2/20/2015
- by Louis Virtel
- Hitfix
While it's not exactly the kind of consolation prize the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Ralph Fiennes, David Oyelowo, Rene Russo, Josh Brolin and Jessica Chastain wanted this morning, they have now entered into a different kind of Oscar history: The long-standing tradition of undeserved acting snubs. It is a club that is just as prestigious -- if not more so -- than the one made up nominees themselves, even if it comes without any sort of official celebration. Read More: The 10 Biggest Surprises of the 2015 Oscar Nominations Consider the company: Bette Davis for "Of Human Bondage" or Dennis Hopper for "Blue Velvet" or Judy Garland for "The Wizard of Oz" or Jimmy Stewart for "Vertigo." Or the following ten folks, who make up our obviously subjective list of the 10 worst acting Oscar snubs of the past 10 years. And we definitely encourage thoughtful use of the comments to offer your own picks for tragic Oscar misses.
- 1/15/2015
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
The American Film Institute is probably best known for those lists of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time (y'know... if it's an American production in some way). Well, every year they hold their own awards, because every group of people has to have awards. They recognize the ten best films (for this year, it's eleven due to a tie) and the ten best television programs of the year. There are not winners in these categories, but each one gets celebrated. On that front, I kind of like the AFI approach to awards. Along with the awards, AFI has put together this four and a half minute montage chronicling the last 120 years of film. Now, it would be ridiculous to cover every single year. Instead, they start with 1894's Strong Man and jump every ten years, showcasing films like Rear Window, The Godfather: Part II, Pulp Fiction, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...
- 1/12/2015
- by Mike Shutt
- Rope of Silicon
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
The Fault in Our Stars features Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus “Gus” Waters, two teens who meet at a cancer-survivor support group. Though Hazel is initially skeptical about getting close to Gus and warns him of her worsening condition, Gus still falls for her. As the two fall in love, Gus relapses, and he dies shortly after they return from their romantic trip to Amsterdam. The adaptation of John Green’s novel of the same name was a box-office smash and has earned Woodley some Oscar buzz. Should Woodley receive a nomination for this role, she would join the list of best actress nominees who have been nominated for their roles in heartbreaking films.
Some of the most well-known tragic love stories didn’t score any leading actress nominations, though. For example, Natalie Wood was not nominated for her...
Managing Editor
The Fault in Our Stars features Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus “Gus” Waters, two teens who meet at a cancer-survivor support group. Though Hazel is initially skeptical about getting close to Gus and warns him of her worsening condition, Gus still falls for her. As the two fall in love, Gus relapses, and he dies shortly after they return from their romantic trip to Amsterdam. The adaptation of John Green’s novel of the same name was a box-office smash and has earned Woodley some Oscar buzz. Should Woodley receive a nomination for this role, she would join the list of best actress nominees who have been nominated for their roles in heartbreaking films.
Some of the most well-known tragic love stories didn’t score any leading actress nominations, though. For example, Natalie Wood was not nominated for her...
- 10/3/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
HBO
The hit television show Game of Thrones has a tendency to use either very well established actors with dozens of high profile credits to their name, or virtual unknowns who barely have their SAG cards. Most of us know Sean Bean from his dozens of other onscreen deaths, and can be counted on to remember Mark Addy from The Full Monty or Lena Headley from 300. But there are still a handful of actors on the show who fall somewhere in the middle: they look familiar, and you know that you’ve probably seen them in something before, but you can’t for the life of you figure out what it was.
Adding to the confusion is Game of Thrones’ penchant for using extensive wigs, makeup, and a healthy layer of dirt that make it even harder to recognize actors that you’ve likely only ever seen in contemporary garb.
The hit television show Game of Thrones has a tendency to use either very well established actors with dozens of high profile credits to their name, or virtual unknowns who barely have their SAG cards. Most of us know Sean Bean from his dozens of other onscreen deaths, and can be counted on to remember Mark Addy from The Full Monty or Lena Headley from 300. But there are still a handful of actors on the show who fall somewhere in the middle: they look familiar, and you know that you’ve probably seen them in something before, but you can’t for the life of you figure out what it was.
Adding to the confusion is Game of Thrones’ penchant for using extensive wigs, makeup, and a healthy layer of dirt that make it even harder to recognize actors that you’ve likely only ever seen in contemporary garb.
- 6/19/2014
- by Audrey Fox
- Obsessed with Film
Seasons of Bette. Episode 2. Nomination #1
As a sidebar to Anne Marie's "A Year With Kate" series (which I hope you're all enjoying as much as I am - see why I comissioned it?), I'm investigating each of Bette Davis's Oscar nominated performances as they appear within the Katharine Hepburn timeline. They're the two titan actresses of Old Hollywood so why not pair them even if indirectly? We previously looked at Of Human Bondage (1934) due to its write-in votes at the Oscars but technically-speaking Nomination #1 arrived the following year in Dangerous (1935).
This second Oscar hopeful is so like the first it's as if someone yelled "Do over! And get the nomination this time."
Again Bette Davis is pursued by a lanky gentleman and failed artist -- 1934's sap was Gone With the Wind's Leslie Howard and 1935 brings us Mutiny on the Bounty's Franchot Tone. They both do it...
As a sidebar to Anne Marie's "A Year With Kate" series (which I hope you're all enjoying as much as I am - see why I comissioned it?), I'm investigating each of Bette Davis's Oscar nominated performances as they appear within the Katharine Hepburn timeline. They're the two titan actresses of Old Hollywood so why not pair them even if indirectly? We previously looked at Of Human Bondage (1934) due to its write-in votes at the Oscars but technically-speaking Nomination #1 arrived the following year in Dangerous (1935).
This second Oscar hopeful is so like the first it's as if someone yelled "Do over! And get the nomination this time."
Again Bette Davis is pursued by a lanky gentleman and failed artist -- 1934's sap was Gone With the Wind's Leslie Howard and 1935 brings us Mutiny on the Bounty's Franchot Tone. They both do it...
- 2/25/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will open the 2014 edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival with the world premiere of a brand new restoration of the beloved Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! (1955). TCM’s own Robert Osborne, who serves as official host for the festival, will introduce Oklahoma!, with the film’s star, Academy Award®-winner Shirley Jones, in attendance. Vanity Fair will also return for the fifth year as a festival partner and co-presenter of the opening night after-party. Marking its fifth year, the TCM Classic Film Festival will take place April 10-13, 2014, in Hollywood. The gathering will coincide withTCM’s 20th anniversary as a leading authority in classic film.
In addition, the festival has added several high-profile guests to this year’s lineup, including Oscar®-winning director William Friedkin, who will attend for the screening of the U.S. premiere restoration of his suspenseful cult classic Sorcerer (1977); Kim Novak, who...
In addition, the festival has added several high-profile guests to this year’s lineup, including Oscar®-winning director William Friedkin, who will attend for the screening of the U.S. premiere restoration of his suspenseful cult classic Sorcerer (1977); Kim Novak, who...
- 2/14/2014
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Icymi - We announced last week that as a sidebar series to Anne Marie's "A Year With Kate", Nathaniel will be discussing each of the Oscar Roles of Bette Davis, 11 in total or 10 if you're a purist, as they appear within Kate's chronology. There will be spoilers.
You should know as we begin this new mini-series that I am not, like Anne Marie with Kate, a Bette historian. My knowledge of Bette Davis is something like the cliff notes version that most people who love movies absorb along the way. The earliest and only pre-Jezebel (1938) Bette Davis performance I had seen before beginning this series was Three on a Match (1932) which didn't, in any way, prepare us for the Bette we know; she's not the Mvp of that racy pre-code girls-gone-bad drama. So I'm happy to report that Of Human Bondage (1934) gives us the Full Bette-of-Legend Arc. She goes...
You should know as we begin this new mini-series that I am not, like Anne Marie with Kate, a Bette historian. My knowledge of Bette Davis is something like the cliff notes version that most people who love movies absorb along the way. The earliest and only pre-Jezebel (1938) Bette Davis performance I had seen before beginning this series was Three on a Match (1932) which didn't, in any way, prepare us for the Bette we know; she's not the Mvp of that racy pre-code girls-gone-bad drama. So I'm happy to report that Of Human Bondage (1934) gives us the Full Bette-of-Legend Arc. She goes...
- 2/11/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Surprise! As a side bar series to Anne Marie's brilliant "A Year With Kate" project, I present to you "Seasons of Bette". Together with Streep, who we talk about a lot, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis form the Holy Trinity of Oscar's Best Actress category, with 41 nominations and 9 statuettes between them. Streep is bound to have another big year in 2014 with The Homesman, The Giver and Into the Woods all arriving but we're finally giving the other two their due.
"Seasons of Bette" won't be a comprehensive film-by-film study like Anne Marie's (Bette made 80+ features and a ton of television so, uh, no.) but I will personally be visiting each of Bette's Oscar nominated star turns, as they come up within Kate's timeline. When Anne Marie pitted them against each other in her last episode, I realized that they'd only squared off four times at the Oscars but that I...
"Seasons of Bette" won't be a comprehensive film-by-film study like Anne Marie's (Bette made 80+ features and a ton of television so, uh, no.) but I will personally be visiting each of Bette's Oscar nominated star turns, as they come up within Kate's timeline. When Anne Marie pitted them against each other in her last episode, I realized that they'd only squared off four times at the Oscars but that I...
- 2/8/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Anne Marie here with some sad news. Hollywood beauty Eleanor Parker passed away early this week at age 91. Though Parker is best known for her iconic turn as the Countess in The Sound Of Music, she actually had a long and diverse career that included war films, B movies, swashbucklers, film noir, and three Best Actress nominations.
Eleanor Parker started as a bit player at Warner Brothers in the 1940s. At first, she bumped around in B movies and film noir, such as Between Two Worlds. But from the start she was willing to take risks. In 1946, she starred in a remake of the infamous Bette Davis vehicle Of Human Bondage opposite Paul Henreid. Both the film and her performance continue to garner mixed reviews, but no one could accuse her of taking the easy road.
The 1950s saw Eleanor Parker's star rise rapidly. In 1952, she starred in the...
Eleanor Parker started as a bit player at Warner Brothers in the 1940s. At first, she bumped around in B movies and film noir, such as Between Two Worlds. But from the start she was willing to take risks. In 1946, she starred in a remake of the infamous Bette Davis vehicle Of Human Bondage opposite Paul Henreid. Both the film and her performance continue to garner mixed reviews, but no one could accuse her of taking the easy road.
The 1950s saw Eleanor Parker's star rise rapidly. In 1952, she starred in the...
- 12/11/2013
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
Versatile actor best known for her roles in The Sound of Music and Of Human Bondage
In the Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s, when typecasting was an essential constituent of stardom, Eleanor Parker, who has died aged 91, never gained the recognition she deserved, because she refused to be pigeonholed. "It means I've been successful in creating the characters that I've portrayed – that I'm not just a personality who is seen in a variety of roles." Dana Andrews, her co-star in Madison Avenue (1962), called her "the least heralded great actress".
The 1957 film Lizzie is almost a reflection of her career. Parker plays three separate and distinct characters harboured inside one woman – the shy, self-effacing Elizabeth; the wanton, raunchy Lizzie; and the "normal" Beth – and switches brilliantly from one to the other. Parker was always able to be convincing in these three sorts of characters. She was naive as the girl...
In the Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s, when typecasting was an essential constituent of stardom, Eleanor Parker, who has died aged 91, never gained the recognition she deserved, because she refused to be pigeonholed. "It means I've been successful in creating the characters that I've portrayed – that I'm not just a personality who is seen in a variety of roles." Dana Andrews, her co-star in Madison Avenue (1962), called her "the least heralded great actress".
The 1957 film Lizzie is almost a reflection of her career. Parker plays three separate and distinct characters harboured inside one woman – the shy, self-effacing Elizabeth; the wanton, raunchy Lizzie; and the "normal" Beth – and switches brilliantly from one to the other. Parker was always able to be convincing in these three sorts of characters. She was naive as the girl...
- 12/11/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Eleanor Parker dead at 91: ‘The Sound of Music’ actress, three-time Best Actress Oscar nominee (photo: Eleanor Parker ca. 1945) Eleanor Parker, one of the best and most beautiful actresses of the studio era, a three-time Best Actress Academy Award nominee, and one of the stars of the 1965 blockbuster and Best Picture Oscar winner The Sound of Music, died today, December 9, 2013, of complications from pneumonia at a medical facility near her home in the Southern Californian desert town of Palm Springs. Eleanor Parker was 91. “I’m primarily a character actress,” Parker told the Toronto Star in 1988. “I’ve portrayed so many diverse individuals on the screen that my own personality never emerged.” At one point, wildly imaginative publicists called her The Woman of a Thousand Faces — an absurd label, when you think of Man of a Thousand Faces Lon Chaney. Eleanor Parker never altered her appearance the way Chaney did — her...
- 12/10/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Jessica Herndon, AP Film Writer
Los Angeles (AP) - Eleanor Parker, who was nominated for Academy Awards three times for her portrayals of strong-willed women and played a scheming baroness in "The Sound of Music," has died at 91.
Family friend Richard Gale said Parker died Monday morning due to complications from pneumonia. "She passed away peacefully, surrounded by her children at a medical facility near her home in Palm Springs," Gale added.
Parker was nominated for Oscars in 1950, 1951 and 1955, but then saw her career begin to wane in the early 1960s. Her last memorable role came in 1965's "The Sound of Music," in which she played the scheming baroness who loses Christopher Plummer to Julie Andrews.
"Eleanor Parker was and is one of the most beautiful ladies I have ever known," said Plummer in a statement. "Both as a person and as a beauty. I hardly believe the sad news...
Los Angeles (AP) - Eleanor Parker, who was nominated for Academy Awards three times for her portrayals of strong-willed women and played a scheming baroness in "The Sound of Music," has died at 91.
Family friend Richard Gale said Parker died Monday morning due to complications from pneumonia. "She passed away peacefully, surrounded by her children at a medical facility near her home in Palm Springs," Gale added.
Parker was nominated for Oscars in 1950, 1951 and 1955, but then saw her career begin to wane in the early 1960s. Her last memorable role came in 1965's "The Sound of Music," in which she played the scheming baroness who loses Christopher Plummer to Julie Andrews.
"Eleanor Parker was and is one of the most beautiful ladies I have ever known," said Plummer in a statement. "Both as a person and as a beauty. I hardly believe the sad news...
- 12/9/2013
- by The Associated Press
- Moviefone
Bette Davis. No doubt the name instantly brings to mind Kim Carnes’ earworm ‘Bette Davis Eyes’, which has been covered by artists ranging from Gwyneth Paltrow to Brandon Flowers and Taylor Swift. Ah yes, those spellbinding, haunting heavy-cast eyes. They bewitched countless men and are part of our cultural zeitgeist. Bette Davis was so much more than the sum of her parts though. Her tenacity, independence, unique idiosyncrasies, and artistic instincts had and have no equal, even today. She has been labeled a diva and an outright bitch, but she is unquestionably a trailblazer and an icon in every sense.
This “Noirvember” Tiff Cinematheque’s senior programmer James Quandt has curated a divine tribute to the classy dame (labeled The Hard Way:The Films of Bette Davis), highlighting fifteen of her most memorable roles.
Some crowning films of the tribute include (In chronological order):
Three on a Match (1932)-Now...
This “Noirvember” Tiff Cinematheque’s senior programmer James Quandt has curated a divine tribute to the classy dame (labeled The Hard Way:The Films of Bette Davis), highlighting fifteen of her most memorable roles.
Some crowning films of the tribute include (In chronological order):
Three on a Match (1932)-Now...
- 11/18/2013
- by Leora Heilbronn
- IONCINEMA.com
At Tiff Bell Lightbox, this fall season of Hollywood classics is dedicated to the only actress to vie with Barbara Stanwyck as the greatest to emerge from the studio system: Bette Davis.
Curated by Tiff Cinematheque Senior Programmer James Quandt and running from November 15 - December 8, this delectable tribute features 15 films that trace Davis' four-decade evolution from glamour girl to grande dame to Gothic gargoyle.
Featuring a new digital restoration of the cult classic "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962), as well as a host of other Davis favourites including the film that shot her to stardom, "Of Human Bondage" (1934), "Dangerous" (1935), which garnered Davis her first Best Actress Oscar win for her turn as a self-destructive, tempestuous Broadway actress, and the endlessly quotable "All About Eve" (1950), an Academy darling, that received a total of six Oscars that year.
Also included in the retrospective are Davis' trilogy of films from her frequent collaborator and favourite director,...
Curated by Tiff Cinematheque Senior Programmer James Quandt and running from November 15 - December 8, this delectable tribute features 15 films that trace Davis' four-decade evolution from glamour girl to grande dame to Gothic gargoyle.
Featuring a new digital restoration of the cult classic "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962), as well as a host of other Davis favourites including the film that shot her to stardom, "Of Human Bondage" (1934), "Dangerous" (1935), which garnered Davis her first Best Actress Oscar win for her turn as a self-destructive, tempestuous Broadway actress, and the endlessly quotable "All About Eve" (1950), an Academy darling, that received a total of six Oscars that year.
Also included in the retrospective are Davis' trilogy of films from her frequent collaborator and favourite director,...
- 11/14/2013
- by Chris Jancelewicz
- Moviefone
Paul Henreid: From Eleanor Parker to ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ (photo: Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker in ‘Between Two Worlds’) Paul Henreid returns this evening, as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. In Of Human Bondage (1946), he stars in the old Leslie Howard role: a clubfooted medical student who falls for a ruthless waitress (Eleanor Parker, in the old Bette Davis role). Next on TCM, Henreid and Eleanor Parker are reunited in Between Two Worlds (1944), in which passengers aboard an ocean liner wonder where they are and where the hell (or heaven or purgatory) they’re going. Hollywood Canteen (1944) is a near-plotless, all-star showcase for Warner Bros.’ talent, a World War II morale-boosting follow-up to that studio’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, released the previous year. Last of the Buccaneers (1950) and Pirates of Tripoli (1955) are B pirate movies. The former is an uninspired affair,...
- 7/24/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week
"Stoker"
What's It About? After India's (Mia Wasikowska) father dies, her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) comes to live with her and her mother (Nicole Kidman), but things turn creepy when she becomes obsessed with him.
Why We're In: It's directed by Korean thrill master Park Chan-wook ("Oldboy") so we know we're in for a mind-boggling ride of crazy twists.
Enter to win Blu-ray Copy of "Stoker" (Click Here)
Watch an exclusive clip from "Stoker"
Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week
"Safety Last!"
What's It About? One of the most famous comedies of the silent film era, "Safety Last!" stars Harold Lloyd, one of the most popular comedians of his time next to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. The famous scene from the movie shows Harold climbing up a skyscraper and dangling from a broken clock above moving traffic.
Why We're In: Lloyd's crazy stunts...
"Stoker"
What's It About? After India's (Mia Wasikowska) father dies, her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) comes to live with her and her mother (Nicole Kidman), but things turn creepy when she becomes obsessed with him.
Why We're In: It's directed by Korean thrill master Park Chan-wook ("Oldboy") so we know we're in for a mind-boggling ride of crazy twists.
Enter to win Blu-ray Copy of "Stoker" (Click Here)
Watch an exclusive clip from "Stoker"
Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week
"Safety Last!"
What's It About? One of the most famous comedies of the silent film era, "Safety Last!" stars Harold Lloyd, one of the most popular comedians of his time next to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. The famous scene from the movie shows Harold climbing up a skyscraper and dangling from a broken clock above moving traffic.
Why We're In: Lloyd's crazy stunts...
- 6/18/2013
- by Erin Whitney
- Moviefone
When you’re looking to put together a movie collection, it doesn’t hurt if you happen to be Warner Brothers. If the collection you’re after is classic gangster movies, you’re really in luck.
For fans of the genre, especially those looking to upgrade titles to Blu-Ray, the new Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics is one you’ve got to get your hands on. Not only do you get some of the films that helped create the genre, and have become the foundation upon which countless movies are built, but the extras are worth the price on their own.
The collection here comes at you like a history lesson, not just of the genre, but of film. Little Caesar, with Edward G. Robinson setting the stage for all future gangsters with “short man syndrome,” but struggling mightily against the production theories of the day, is not only a classic treasure,...
For fans of the genre, especially those looking to upgrade titles to Blu-Ray, the new Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics is one you’ve got to get your hands on. Not only do you get some of the films that helped create the genre, and have become the foundation upon which countless movies are built, but the extras are worth the price on their own.
The collection here comes at you like a history lesson, not just of the genre, but of film. Little Caesar, with Edward G. Robinson setting the stage for all future gangsters with “short man syndrome,” but struggling mightily against the production theories of the day, is not only a classic treasure,...
- 6/7/2013
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Ultimate Gangster Collection — Classics
Little Caesar
The Public Enemy
The Petrified Forest
White Heat
Due Out: May 21, 2013
The “Ultimate Gangster Collection: Classics“ and “Ultimate Gangster Collection: Contemporary” are available on Blu-ray 5/21
Who’S It For?
This collection is for anyone who gets excited for a gangster flick. The look of each film is fantastic, especially considering the age of these movies. Just being able to own (and compare) Little Caesar and The Public Enemy is worth the price alone. Little Caesar has every single cliché that Hollywood is still using for its gangster films. It doesn’t hold up compared to modern movies, but that’s the point of watching it. With Little Caesar these aren’t exactly clichés, but new attempted techniques. The Public Enemy completely holds up. It’s an amazing character study brought to life by the brilliant Cagney. Seeing the intro, explaining that Hollywood is against...
Little Caesar
The Public Enemy
The Petrified Forest
White Heat
Due Out: May 21, 2013
The “Ultimate Gangster Collection: Classics“ and “Ultimate Gangster Collection: Contemporary” are available on Blu-ray 5/21
Who’S It For?
This collection is for anyone who gets excited for a gangster flick. The look of each film is fantastic, especially considering the age of these movies. Just being able to own (and compare) Little Caesar and The Public Enemy is worth the price alone. Little Caesar has every single cliché that Hollywood is still using for its gangster films. It doesn’t hold up compared to modern movies, but that’s the point of watching it. With Little Caesar these aren’t exactly clichés, but new attempted techniques. The Public Enemy completely holds up. It’s an amazing character study brought to life by the brilliant Cagney. Seeing the intro, explaining that Hollywood is against...
- 5/21/2013
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
It's Reader Appreciation Month so I'm playing Santa with gifts.
I'm so sorry I didn't announce this sooner! I do get backed up here. I know those of you who entered the Les Miz contest are dying to just buy the new blu-ray/dvd combo pack if you didn't win. This contest had a great response. I asked interested Red & Black revolutionaries to answer three questions:
• Which kind of bread would you bake Valjean so he doesn't steal another loaf?
• Which movie hooker other than Fantine should've had a death bed song?
• Bring Him Home: Jackman, Redmayne, Tveit or Crowe?
I had much fun reading the often creative answers. But the three winners, chosen randomly, are...
Rob S in Palm Springs who writes:
Bread: Pain de campagne, which I hope Hugh will stick around to enjoy as pain perdu. Hooker: Mildred, from Of Human Bondage....Bette Davis croaking it out as she croaks.
I'm so sorry I didn't announce this sooner! I do get backed up here. I know those of you who entered the Les Miz contest are dying to just buy the new blu-ray/dvd combo pack if you didn't win. This contest had a great response. I asked interested Red & Black revolutionaries to answer three questions:
• Which kind of bread would you bake Valjean so he doesn't steal another loaf?
• Which movie hooker other than Fantine should've had a death bed song?
• Bring Him Home: Jackman, Redmayne, Tveit or Crowe?
I had much fun reading the often creative answers. But the three winners, chosen randomly, are...
Rob S in Palm Springs who writes:
Bread: Pain de campagne, which I hope Hugh will stick around to enjoy as pain perdu. Hooker: Mildred, from Of Human Bondage....Bette Davis croaking it out as she croaks.
- 3/29/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
With Father’s Day coming up, it makes perfect sense for Warner Bros. to look to the past, and release two impressive Blu-ray collections. Ultimate Gangster Collection Classic and Ultimate Gangster Collection Contemporary should make plenty of men happy*.
*Women are also allowed to be happy by this news.
Here is the news release…
Burbank, Calif., March 11, 2013 – As part of the studio’s 90th Anniversary celebration, eight of Warner Bros. Pictures’ greatest gangster films – from Edward G. Robinson’s 1931 classic Little Caesar to Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning masterpiece The Departed– will now be available in two Blu-ray sets May 21. Released to coincide with Father’s Day gift-giving, the WB genre greats, along with one of Paramount’s best gangster films, will be offered in the Ultimate Gangster Collection: Classic and Ultimate Gangster Collection: Contemporary.
The four films in the Classic Collection have been remastered for their Blu-ray debuts. They include...
*Women are also allowed to be happy by this news.
Here is the news release…
Burbank, Calif., March 11, 2013 – As part of the studio’s 90th Anniversary celebration, eight of Warner Bros. Pictures’ greatest gangster films – from Edward G. Robinson’s 1931 classic Little Caesar to Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning masterpiece The Departed– will now be available in two Blu-ray sets May 21. Released to coincide with Father’s Day gift-giving, the WB genre greats, along with one of Paramount’s best gangster films, will be offered in the Ultimate Gangster Collection: Classic and Ultimate Gangster Collection: Contemporary.
The four films in the Classic Collection have been remastered for their Blu-ray debuts. They include...
- 3/11/2013
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
Feature Aliya Whiteley Feb 12, 2013
Aliya celebrates the life and work of a Hollywood great - Leslie Howard, star of Gone With The Wind, Pygmalion and many, many more...
Leslie Howard is best known for playing Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind, noble and yet ineffectual against the machinations of Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett. It was a great role, but not one of his best performances; he could be funny, charming, wise, driven, intense, comedic, tragic – take your pick. He had a pale, thin face with a high forehead and a pointed jaw, giving him an intelligent look over which directors loved to throw shadows.
I always thought he was one of those actors that black and white suited better than colour; he looked more handsome, more interesting that way. I was mesmerised by the old movies of his that appeared on television on a Sunday afternoon, where he would...
Aliya celebrates the life and work of a Hollywood great - Leslie Howard, star of Gone With The Wind, Pygmalion and many, many more...
Leslie Howard is best known for playing Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind, noble and yet ineffectual against the machinations of Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett. It was a great role, but not one of his best performances; he could be funny, charming, wise, driven, intense, comedic, tragic – take your pick. He had a pale, thin face with a high forehead and a pointed jaw, giving him an intelligent look over which directors loved to throw shadows.
I always thought he was one of those actors that black and white suited better than colour; he looked more handsome, more interesting that way. I was mesmerised by the old movies of his that appeared on television on a Sunday afternoon, where he would...
- 2/11/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
The history of write-in votes -- which is to say, votes for a name not on the official list of nominees -- at the Academy Awards is a short but interesting one. In 1934, the fuss over Bette Davis's omission from the Best Actress lineup (for "Of Human Bondage") was enough to land her in third place on write-in votes; the next year, unnominated cinematographer Hal Mohr actually won for "A Midsummer Night's Dream." "Write-in voting has been banned almost ever since," notes Scott Feinberg. "It would require not only a signoff by the Academy’s board of governors, but also a...
- 1/18/2013
- by Guy Lodge
- Hitfix
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.