Every filmmaker and actor, and literally every other person somehow related to the world of cinema is getting extremely nervous when the Oscars season comes around. While there are definitely several movies that are considered to be chosen as best pictures in advance, still the hope is something that can’t be taken away from anybody.
Winning an Academy Award is very prestigious and is literally the highest honor for work done in the movie industry. But can you imagine the happiness and overall excitement that an Oscar sweep can bring to a team?
Winning 5 major nominations is probably every creative team's dream, but there were only three films that managed to make the dream come true. Let's take a look at the movies that took home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay all at once.
It Happened One Night (1934)
Frank Capra's film was the one that,...
Winning an Academy Award is very prestigious and is literally the highest honor for work done in the movie industry. But can you imagine the happiness and overall excitement that an Oscar sweep can bring to a team?
Winning 5 major nominations is probably every creative team's dream, but there were only three films that managed to make the dream come true. Let's take a look at the movies that took home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay all at once.
It Happened One Night (1934)
Frank Capra's film was the one that,...
- 5/6/2024
- by info@startefacts.com (Rachel Bailey)
- STartefacts.com
Oscar-winning screenwriter of films including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Scent of a Woman
In the late 1970s, Bo Goldman was researching a script about Melvin Dummar, the unassuming Utah factory worker, gas station owner and former “Milkman of the Month” who was named as a $156m beneficiary in a will supposedly written by Howard Hughes but later successfully contested in court. Slowly, a realisation dawned on the screenwriter: “This man is a failure just like I am.”
It seemed an unusual conclusion to reach. After all, Goldman had written the book and lyrics for a Broadway musical, First Impressions, based on Pride and Prejudice, before he was 30, and won his first best screenplay Oscar (shared with Lawrence Hauben) for adapting One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Ken Kesey’s novel set in a psychiatric institution, by the time he was 45.
In the late 1970s, Bo Goldman was researching a script about Melvin Dummar, the unassuming Utah factory worker, gas station owner and former “Milkman of the Month” who was named as a $156m beneficiary in a will supposedly written by Howard Hughes but later successfully contested in court. Slowly, a realisation dawned on the screenwriter: “This man is a failure just like I am.”
It seemed an unusual conclusion to reach. After all, Goldman had written the book and lyrics for a Broadway musical, First Impressions, based on Pride and Prejudice, before he was 30, and won his first best screenplay Oscar (shared with Lawrence Hauben) for adapting One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Ken Kesey’s novel set in a psychiatric institution, by the time he was 45.
- 8/6/2023
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Bo Goldman, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter, who co-wrote ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ (1975) and ‘Melvin and Howard’ (1980), died in Helendale, California. He was 90.
Director Todd Field, his son-in-law, confirmed the death, but did not give a cause, reports ‘Deadline’.
Goldman’s career took off when director Milos Forman read his first screenplay and invited him to adapt Ken Kesey’s ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ novel for film.
The resulting script shared screenwriting credit with Lawrence Hauben and won the Oscar for Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material. The film was also named Best Picture, and earned Oscars for Forman, lead actor Jack Nicholson, and Louise Fletcher, who played Nurse Ratched.
As per ‘Deadline’, in 1980, ‘Melvin and Howard’ won Goldman his second Oscar, this time for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Goldman later worked with director Martin Brest on two other acclaimed films, ‘Scent of a Woman’ (1992) and ‘Meet Joe Black...
Director Todd Field, his son-in-law, confirmed the death, but did not give a cause, reports ‘Deadline’.
Goldman’s career took off when director Milos Forman read his first screenplay and invited him to adapt Ken Kesey’s ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ novel for film.
The resulting script shared screenwriting credit with Lawrence Hauben and won the Oscar for Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material. The film was also named Best Picture, and earned Oscars for Forman, lead actor Jack Nicholson, and Louise Fletcher, who played Nurse Ratched.
As per ‘Deadline’, in 1980, ‘Melvin and Howard’ won Goldman his second Oscar, this time for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Goldman later worked with director Martin Brest on two other acclaimed films, ‘Scent of a Woman’ (1992) and ‘Meet Joe Black...
- 7/27/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Bo Goldman, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and Melvin and Howard (1980), died Tuesday in Helendale, CA. He was 90.
Director Todd Field, his son-in-law, confirmed the death, but did not give a cause.
Goldman’s career took off when director Milos Forman read his first screenplay and invited him to adapt Ken Kesey’s “Cuckoo’s Nest” novel for film.
The resulting script shared screenwriting credit with Lawrence Hauben and won the Oscar for Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material. The film was also named Best Picture, and earned Oscars for Forman, lead actor Jack Nicholson, and Louise Fletcher, who played Nurse Ratched.
In 1980, Melvin and Howard won Goldman his second Oscar, this time for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
Goldman later worked with director Martin Brest on two other acclaimed films, Scent of a Woman (1992) and Meet Joe Black (1998).
Born in New York City,...
Director Todd Field, his son-in-law, confirmed the death, but did not give a cause.
Goldman’s career took off when director Milos Forman read his first screenplay and invited him to adapt Ken Kesey’s “Cuckoo’s Nest” novel for film.
The resulting script shared screenwriting credit with Lawrence Hauben and won the Oscar for Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material. The film was also named Best Picture, and earned Oscars for Forman, lead actor Jack Nicholson, and Louise Fletcher, who played Nurse Ratched.
In 1980, Melvin and Howard won Goldman his second Oscar, this time for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
Goldman later worked with director Martin Brest on two other acclaimed films, Scent of a Woman (1992) and Meet Joe Black (1998).
Born in New York City,...
- 7/27/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Veteran screenwriter Bo Goldman, who won Oscars for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and Jonathan Demme’s “Melvin and Howard,” died Tuesday at the age of 90, his son-in-law, director Todd Field told The New York Times on Wednesday.
Goldman landed the job of adapting Ken Kesey’s book (along with Lawrence Hauben) after his script for “Shoot the Moon” impressed “Cuckoo’s Nest” director Miloš Forman.
Danny DeVito, who had a small role in “Cuckoo’s Nest,” told TheWrap, “Working with Bo was a dream. It was an honor knowing him.”
After winning a second Oscar for “Melvin and Howard,” he became one of the few screenwriters — along with Francis Ford Coppola and Billy Wilder — to take home Academy Awards for both original and adapted screenplay. He was nominated a third time for his script for Martin Brest’s “Scent of a Woman.”
During his long career, he also...
Goldman landed the job of adapting Ken Kesey’s book (along with Lawrence Hauben) after his script for “Shoot the Moon” impressed “Cuckoo’s Nest” director Miloš Forman.
Danny DeVito, who had a small role in “Cuckoo’s Nest,” told TheWrap, “Working with Bo was a dream. It was an honor knowing him.”
After winning a second Oscar for “Melvin and Howard,” he became one of the few screenwriters — along with Francis Ford Coppola and Billy Wilder — to take home Academy Awards for both original and adapted screenplay. He was nominated a third time for his script for Martin Brest’s “Scent of a Woman.”
During his long career, he also...
- 7/27/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Screenwriter Bo Goldman, who won Oscars for his scripts to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Melvin and Howard” and was among a select group of film scribes including Robert Towne and William Goldman considered to be among that generation’s best, died Tuesday in Helendale, Calif., his son-in-law, director Todd Field, confirmed to the New York Times. He was 90.
Goldman was also Oscar nominated for 1993’s “Scent of a Woman.”
The 1976 Oscar he shared with Lawrence Hauben for co-adapting Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was a particularly impressive achievement considering that “Cuckoo’s Nest” represented only Goldman’s second screenplay and the first to be produced. The win for adapted screenplay was part of a sweep for the film that also included victories for best picture, director, actor and actress. No movie had won those five awards since 1934’s “It’s a Wonderful...
Goldman was also Oscar nominated for 1993’s “Scent of a Woman.”
The 1976 Oscar he shared with Lawrence Hauben for co-adapting Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was a particularly impressive achievement considering that “Cuckoo’s Nest” represented only Goldman’s second screenplay and the first to be produced. The win for adapted screenplay was part of a sweep for the film that also included victories for best picture, director, actor and actress. No movie had won those five awards since 1934’s “It’s a Wonderful...
- 7/26/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Bo Goldman, the late-blooming guru of screenwriting who received Academy Awards for his work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Melvin and Howard, has died. He was 90.
Goldman died Tuesday in Helendale, California, his son-in-law, director Todd Field, told The New York Times.
Goldman’s first screenplay was, years after he wrote it, directed by Alan Parker for Shoot the Moon (1982), which featured Diane Keaton and Albert Finney in a raw, seriocomic drama about a disintegrating marriage.
He also co-wrote the Mark Rydell-directed rock drama The Rose (1979), starring Bette Midler in an Oscar-nominated turn, and Martin Brest’s Scent of a Woman (1992), which netted him his third Academy Award nom (and Al Pacino the best actor Oscar, too).
Goldman was one of the handful of screenwriters — Paddy Chayefsky, Francis Ford Coppola, Horton Foote, William Goldman, Billy Wilder and Joel and Ethan Coen among them — to win Academy...
Goldman died Tuesday in Helendale, California, his son-in-law, director Todd Field, told The New York Times.
Goldman’s first screenplay was, years after he wrote it, directed by Alan Parker for Shoot the Moon (1982), which featured Diane Keaton and Albert Finney in a raw, seriocomic drama about a disintegrating marriage.
He also co-wrote the Mark Rydell-directed rock drama The Rose (1979), starring Bette Midler in an Oscar-nominated turn, and Martin Brest’s Scent of a Woman (1992), which netted him his third Academy Award nom (and Al Pacino the best actor Oscar, too).
Goldman was one of the handful of screenwriters — Paddy Chayefsky, Francis Ford Coppola, Horton Foote, William Goldman, Billy Wilder and Joel and Ethan Coen among them — to win Academy...
- 7/26/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Louise Fletcher, whose Oscar-winning performance as the sadistic Nurse Ratched in 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest gave Hollywood one of its greatest all-time villains and provided the culture with a portrait of bureaucratic evil so indelible that the character’s last name could carry a TV series 45 years later, died Friday at her home in Montdurausse, France. She was 88.
Her death was announced to Deadline by her family through agent David Shaul. Although no cause was specified, Shaul said she passed away in her sleep at the home she had built from a 300-year-old farmhouse, surrounded by family. Earlier today, she said to her family about her beloved home, “I can’t believe I created something so meaningful to my well-being.”
Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery
Although forever linked with her most famous character, Fletcher enjoyed an acting career that spanned more than 60 years and included...
Her death was announced to Deadline by her family through agent David Shaul. Although no cause was specified, Shaul said she passed away in her sleep at the home she had built from a 300-year-old farmhouse, surrounded by family. Earlier today, she said to her family about her beloved home, “I can’t believe I created something so meaningful to my well-being.”
Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery
Although forever linked with her most famous character, Fletcher enjoyed an acting career that spanned more than 60 years and included...
- 9/24/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
In 1976, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest became only the second movie ever to sweep the top five Academy Awards: Best Picture; Best Director for Miloš Forman; Best Screenplay (adapted) for Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben’s take on Ken Kesey’s novel; and both Best Actor nods, for Jack Nicholson’s rebellious mental patient Randall Patrick McMurphy and Louise Fletcher’s cold and merciless mental ward supervisor Nurse Ratched. Cuckoo’s Nest dominated the Oscars on a night when the competition included many movies destined to become all-time classics, including Nashville,...
- 9/16/2020
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Ratched is coming soon to Netflix, and for those unfamiliar with the 1975 Oscars-dominating classic film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the series has nothing to do with gear-based tools. The eight-episode series will see television titan Ryan Murphy build upon the existing property, with repertory player Sarah Paulson starring as the titular character destined to become an abusive asylum nurse, a role that won Louise Fletcher the Best Lead Actress statue from director Milos Forman’s film.
Murphy is the show’s credited co-creator of alongside Ian Brennan, both of whom also serve as executive producers. They are joined in the latter capacity by star Sarah Paulson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Aleen Keshishian, Jacob Epstein, Jennifer Salt, Margaret Riley, Michael Douglas, Robert Mitas and Tim Minear.
Ratched Trailer
The final Ratched trailer has arrived and it is filled with much more gory detail. For starters: have you ever wanted to see an icepick lobotomy performed?...
Murphy is the show’s credited co-creator of alongside Ian Brennan, both of whom also serve as executive producers. They are joined in the latter capacity by star Sarah Paulson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Aleen Keshishian, Jacob Epstein, Jennifer Salt, Margaret Riley, Michael Douglas, Robert Mitas and Tim Minear.
Ratched Trailer
The final Ratched trailer has arrived and it is filled with much more gory detail. For starters: have you ever wanted to see an icepick lobotomy performed?...
- 9/8/2020
- by Joseph Baxter
- Den of Geek
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
Over the 90-years of Oscar history, seven films have scored wins in both Best Actor and Best Actress on the big night. This year could see, for the first time in more than two decades, an eighth join this exclusive group of Oscar favorites.
“A Star Is Born” proved the toast of the Telluride, Toronto and Venice Film Festivals, earning critical raves that favorably compared it to the three prior eponymous films, from 1937, 1954 and 1976. Stars Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have been lauded for their turns in the film and now lead in Gold Derby’s odds in Best Actor and Best Actress.
With Fredric March and Janet Gaynor earning Oscar nominations for the 1937 original and James Mason and Judy Garland having garnered recognition for the 1954 musical remake, Cooper and Gaga are well-positioned to at least score nominations for the latest version. Should both prevail, “A Star Is Born” will...
“A Star Is Born” proved the toast of the Telluride, Toronto and Venice Film Festivals, earning critical raves that favorably compared it to the three prior eponymous films, from 1937, 1954 and 1976. Stars Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have been lauded for their turns in the film and now lead in Gold Derby’s odds in Best Actor and Best Actress.
With Fredric March and Janet Gaynor earning Oscar nominations for the 1937 original and James Mason and Judy Garland having garnered recognition for the 1954 musical remake, Cooper and Gaga are well-positioned to at least score nominations for the latest version. Should both prevail, “A Star Is Born” will...
- 9/28/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
Milos Forman, who died on April 14 at the age of 86, has left behind some of the most sharply observed portraits of human behavior in cinema.
When I think of Forman’s work, my mind doesn’t necessarily go first to his two Oscar-winning juggernauts — “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) or “Amadeus” (1984) — or the Czech films that garnered him worldwide acclaim in the 1960s, such as “Loves of a Blonde” (1965) or “The Firemen’s Ball” (1967). Rather, I think of the opening scene from his lesser-known comedy, “Taking Off” (1971): a series of static shots of young women, one after the other, performing songs for an off-screen producer.
Most of the women are earnest and serious; some seem awkward or shy, dressed in contemporary hippy-ish clothes; their hair is often long and frizzy. Some of these audition singers include Carly Simon, Kathy Bates (credited as Bobo Bates) and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-her Jessica Harper. What is remarkable about these relatively straightforward snippets is that Forman isn’t nudging the audience for what to make of these young people, or their songs. He’s not telling the audience how to react; he’s simply presenting these young people as they are.
Also Read: Milos Forman, 'Amadeus' and 'Cuckoo's Nest' Director, Dies at 86
The first 5-10 minutes of this film paints a picture of these flower children of the Woodstock era that feels authentic, admiring and compassionate. And kind. It’s a quality in Forman’s cinema I can see throughout his career.
Forman sprang forth from the extraordinary group of filmmakers known as the Czech New Wave, most of whom were trained at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (including Věra Chytilová, Jaromil Jireš, Ján Kadár, Jan Němec and Ivan Passer), and, like his cinematic compatriots, Forman’s early films are often political in nature, portraying figures of authority as inept and corrupt. In “The Firemen’s Ball,” the volunteer fire department in a small town decides to organize a ball in honor of their recently retired chairman.
Also Read: Milos Forman Hailed as 'Champion of Artists' Rights' by Directors Guild of America
At the event, the firefighters’ committee decide to host a beauty contest and proceed to procure some of the unsuspecting young women to pose for them. The women appear hesitant, guarded, and a few are even somewhat amused by the ramshackle way they are being put on display by these old men. (Most of the actors were local to the area of Vrchlabí, where it was filmed.) The spunkiest of the young women seems to have an awareness of how ridiculous and sexist this is. She laughs and then runs off halfway through her walk for the judges, triggering a mass exodus by the other contestants, and the scene ends in comedic chaos.
Clearly, the characters who buck the system, like the young woman in “The Firemen’s Ball,” are what hold director’s greatest interest. Forman is fixed on the idea of the outsider as being the true hero of his work: Jack Nicholson’s R.P. McMurphy, Treat Williams’ George Berger, Howard E. Rollins’ Coalhouse Walker Jr., Tom Hulce’s Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Woody Harrelson’s Larry Flynt and Jim Carrey’s Andy Kaufman are all individuals that won’t fit into society’s prescribed mold for them.
Also Read: Milos Forman Remembered by Larry Flynt, Judd Apatow and More: 'Genius of Cinematography'
Forman’s rebels, though clearly stemming from his Czech roots, found fertile ground in America. His two most critically and financially successful films, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (adapted by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman from Ken Kesey’s novel) and “Amadeus” (Peter Shaffer adapting his own stage play), both impeccably produced by Saul Zaentz, together garnered 13 Oscars total, including two for Forman for directing.
At his best, Forman’s greatest work (I would include the woefully underrated musical adaptation of “Hair”) shows both compassion for his characters and wry humor in the predicaments in which these characters find themselves. His work with actors is exemplary, and his filmography is flooded with memorable performances and ensemble work: from Nicholson and Louise Fletcher in “Cuckoo’s Nest” to Rollins, Elizabeth McGovern and James Cagney in “Ragtime” (1981), F. Murray Abraham and Hulce in “Amadeus,” Harrelson and Courtney Love in “The People vs. Larry Flynt” (1996), and back to Hana Brejchová in “Loves of a Blonde” and Lynn Carlin, Buck Henry, Georgia Engel and Audra Lindley in “Taking Off,” to name a few.
Cinematically, I’m just so impressed with the way he and his cinematographers captured these actors’ faces and performances. This is filmmaking that is not trying to impress you with flashy editing and swirling cameras (though the camerawork in the opening “Aquarius” number in “Hair,” accompanied by Twyla Tharp’s wonderful choreography, is a wonderful exception), it’s focused on its characters and story.
Possibly because of his lack of flash and cutting-edge technique, there is a danger that Forman’s work may not be immediately appreciated by younger filmmakers — though in this current era where young people are rising up to stand for their beliefs to their schools, their City Halls, and the world at large, Forman’s filmography is ripe for rediscovery by a new generation of rebels.
Read original story Milos Forman Remembered: A Rebel in His Time, and for the Future At TheWrap...
When I think of Forman’s work, my mind doesn’t necessarily go first to his two Oscar-winning juggernauts — “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) or “Amadeus” (1984) — or the Czech films that garnered him worldwide acclaim in the 1960s, such as “Loves of a Blonde” (1965) or “The Firemen’s Ball” (1967). Rather, I think of the opening scene from his lesser-known comedy, “Taking Off” (1971): a series of static shots of young women, one after the other, performing songs for an off-screen producer.
Most of the women are earnest and serious; some seem awkward or shy, dressed in contemporary hippy-ish clothes; their hair is often long and frizzy. Some of these audition singers include Carly Simon, Kathy Bates (credited as Bobo Bates) and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-her Jessica Harper. What is remarkable about these relatively straightforward snippets is that Forman isn’t nudging the audience for what to make of these young people, or their songs. He’s not telling the audience how to react; he’s simply presenting these young people as they are.
Also Read: Milos Forman, 'Amadeus' and 'Cuckoo's Nest' Director, Dies at 86
The first 5-10 minutes of this film paints a picture of these flower children of the Woodstock era that feels authentic, admiring and compassionate. And kind. It’s a quality in Forman’s cinema I can see throughout his career.
Forman sprang forth from the extraordinary group of filmmakers known as the Czech New Wave, most of whom were trained at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (including Věra Chytilová, Jaromil Jireš, Ján Kadár, Jan Němec and Ivan Passer), and, like his cinematic compatriots, Forman’s early films are often political in nature, portraying figures of authority as inept and corrupt. In “The Firemen’s Ball,” the volunteer fire department in a small town decides to organize a ball in honor of their recently retired chairman.
Also Read: Milos Forman Hailed as 'Champion of Artists' Rights' by Directors Guild of America
At the event, the firefighters’ committee decide to host a beauty contest and proceed to procure some of the unsuspecting young women to pose for them. The women appear hesitant, guarded, and a few are even somewhat amused by the ramshackle way they are being put on display by these old men. (Most of the actors were local to the area of Vrchlabí, where it was filmed.) The spunkiest of the young women seems to have an awareness of how ridiculous and sexist this is. She laughs and then runs off halfway through her walk for the judges, triggering a mass exodus by the other contestants, and the scene ends in comedic chaos.
Clearly, the characters who buck the system, like the young woman in “The Firemen’s Ball,” are what hold director’s greatest interest. Forman is fixed on the idea of the outsider as being the true hero of his work: Jack Nicholson’s R.P. McMurphy, Treat Williams’ George Berger, Howard E. Rollins’ Coalhouse Walker Jr., Tom Hulce’s Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Woody Harrelson’s Larry Flynt and Jim Carrey’s Andy Kaufman are all individuals that won’t fit into society’s prescribed mold for them.
Also Read: Milos Forman Remembered by Larry Flynt, Judd Apatow and More: 'Genius of Cinematography'
Forman’s rebels, though clearly stemming from his Czech roots, found fertile ground in America. His two most critically and financially successful films, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (adapted by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman from Ken Kesey’s novel) and “Amadeus” (Peter Shaffer adapting his own stage play), both impeccably produced by Saul Zaentz, together garnered 13 Oscars total, including two for Forman for directing.
At his best, Forman’s greatest work (I would include the woefully underrated musical adaptation of “Hair”) shows both compassion for his characters and wry humor in the predicaments in which these characters find themselves. His work with actors is exemplary, and his filmography is flooded with memorable performances and ensemble work: from Nicholson and Louise Fletcher in “Cuckoo’s Nest” to Rollins, Elizabeth McGovern and James Cagney in “Ragtime” (1981), F. Murray Abraham and Hulce in “Amadeus,” Harrelson and Courtney Love in “The People vs. Larry Flynt” (1996), and back to Hana Brejchová in “Loves of a Blonde” and Lynn Carlin, Buck Henry, Georgia Engel and Audra Lindley in “Taking Off,” to name a few.
Cinematically, I’m just so impressed with the way he and his cinematographers captured these actors’ faces and performances. This is filmmaking that is not trying to impress you with flashy editing and swirling cameras (though the camerawork in the opening “Aquarius” number in “Hair,” accompanied by Twyla Tharp’s wonderful choreography, is a wonderful exception), it’s focused on its characters and story.
Possibly because of his lack of flash and cutting-edge technique, there is a danger that Forman’s work may not be immediately appreciated by younger filmmakers — though in this current era where young people are rising up to stand for their beliefs to their schools, their City Halls, and the world at large, Forman’s filmography is ripe for rediscovery by a new generation of rebels.
Read original story Milos Forman Remembered: A Rebel in His Time, and for the Future At TheWrap...
- 4/16/2018
- by Matt Severson
- The Wrap
This past weekend, Hollywood celebrated the 7th annual Turner Classic Movie Film Festival, and this year’s slate of films did not disappoint.
Shown over 4 days and in multiple theaters along Hollywood Boulevard, the festival continues to draw bigger and bigger crowds each year.
This year’s festival treated classic film fans to over 70 movies and special guests, including Angela Lansbury, Faye Dunaway, Rita Moreno, Francis Ford Coppola, and Carl Reiner – just to name a few.
With so many films showing, its hard to choose what to see, but Wamg attended a few of the classics, along with some special presentations.
Field Of Dreams (1989)
The story goes that while Kevin Costner was filming Bull Durham (1988) he came across the script for Field of Dreams. Producers weren’t holding out for him because they assumed he wouldn’t want to do 2 “baseball movies” in a row. And thank god they were wrong.
Shown over 4 days and in multiple theaters along Hollywood Boulevard, the festival continues to draw bigger and bigger crowds each year.
This year’s festival treated classic film fans to over 70 movies and special guests, including Angela Lansbury, Faye Dunaway, Rita Moreno, Francis Ford Coppola, and Carl Reiner – just to name a few.
With so many films showing, its hard to choose what to see, but Wamg attended a few of the classics, along with some special presentations.
Field Of Dreams (1989)
The story goes that while Kevin Costner was filming Bull Durham (1988) he came across the script for Field of Dreams. Producers weren’t holding out for him because they assumed he wouldn’t want to do 2 “baseball movies” in a row. And thank god they were wrong.
- 5/3/2016
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
James Franco tattoos and gold teeth: Los Angeles Film Critics 2013 Awards’ surprise winners (photo: James Franco in ‘Spring Breakers’) The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (Lafca), which has been around since the mid-’70s, announced earlier today, December 8, 2013, their list of winners and runners-up. As usual, there were a number of surprises, including James Franco, tying in the Best Supporting Actor category, and Shane Carruth’s sci-fi indie drama Upstream Color, selected as the runner-up for Best Editing. (Check out the full list of 2013 Los Angeles Film Critics winners. See also: Boston Society of Film Critics 2013 winners, announced earlier today.) But really, the biggest surprise of the day was the fact that the Los Angeles Film Critics came up with no less than three ties, including Best Picture: Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and Spike Jonze’s Her. That’s the Lafca’s first Best Picture tie since its first awards year,...
- 12/9/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Books and films have been joined at the hip ever since the earliest days of cinema, and adaptations of novels have regularly provided audiences with the classier end of the film spectrum. Here, the Guardian and Observer's critics pick the 10 best
• Top 10 family movies
• Top 10 war movies
• Top 10 teen movies
• Top 10 superhero movies
• Top 10 westerns
• Top 10 documentaries
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. Planet of the Apes
Although the source novel, La Planète des Singes, was written by Frenchman Pierre Boule and originally reached its futureshock climax in Paris, this enduring sci-fi fantasy is profoundly American, putting Charlton Heston's steel-jawed patriotism to incredible use. It also holds up surprisingly well as a jarring allegory for the population's fears over escalating cold war tensions.
Beginning with a spaceship crash-landing on an unknown planet after years of cryogenic sleep, Franklin J Schaffner's film soon gets into gear as Heston's upstanding...
• Top 10 family movies
• Top 10 war movies
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10. Planet of the Apes
Although the source novel, La Planète des Singes, was written by Frenchman Pierre Boule and originally reached its futureshock climax in Paris, this enduring sci-fi fantasy is profoundly American, putting Charlton Heston's steel-jawed patriotism to incredible use. It also holds up surprisingly well as a jarring allegory for the population's fears over escalating cold war tensions.
Beginning with a spaceship crash-landing on an unknown planet after years of cryogenic sleep, Franklin J Schaffner's film soon gets into gear as Heston's upstanding...
- 11/15/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
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