MGM celebrated its centennial on April 17th. Marcus Lowe established the studio by merging Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures. Boasting it had “more stars than there are in heaven,” MGM may have been the biggest studio during the Golden Age of Hollywood, it has gone through many owners and regimes over the years but seems to on terra firma since Amazon acquired MGM in 2021. In fact, Amazon MGM Studios won best screenplay Oscar for “American Fiction.” And speaking of Academy Awards, MGM has earned numerous statuettes over the years. Here’s a look at five Best Picture winners produced between 1929-1958.
“The Broadway Melody”
The 1929 musical made Oscar history by being the first talkie to win the top prize. Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed wrote the songs which include “The Broadway Melody,” “You Were Meant for Me” and “The Wedding of the Painted Doll” but...
“The Broadway Melody”
The 1929 musical made Oscar history by being the first talkie to win the top prize. Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed wrote the songs which include “The Broadway Melody,” “You Were Meant for Me” and “The Wedding of the Painted Doll” but...
- 4/22/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The preview opening of the new exhibit Meet the Stars: 100 Years of MGM Studios and the Golden Age of Hollywood on Thursday night was a crowded, buzzing affair. Held at the Hollywood Heritage Museum in the historic Lasky DeMille Barn across from the Hollywood Bowl, the event showcased the items of over 20 movie collectors. Memorabilia hunters, dressed in fedoras and flirty ’40s dresses, gabbed about their latest finds with others who have a similar passion.
The highlight of the night was when the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to former MGM child star Cora Sue Collins (who played a little Greta Garbo in 1933’s Queen Christina), the last surviving MGM contract player from the 1930s. Sitting at a tableau that recreated a party thrown for her by MGM in 1935, Collins elegantly thanked everyone for their well wishes. Actor George Chakiris was also in attendance, and he posed next to a costume...
The highlight of the night was when the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to former MGM child star Cora Sue Collins (who played a little Greta Garbo in 1933’s Queen Christina), the last surviving MGM contract player from the 1930s. Sitting at a tableau that recreated a party thrown for her by MGM in 1935, Collins elegantly thanked everyone for their well wishes. Actor George Chakiris was also in attendance, and he posed next to a costume...
- 4/5/2024
- by Hadley Meares
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Since the inception of the Academy Awards, the U.S.-based organization behind them has always strived to honor worldwide film achievements. Their extensive roster of competitive acting winners alone consists of artists from 30 unique countries, three of which first gained representation during the 2020s. The last full decade’s worth of triumphant performers hail from eight countries, while 42.1% of the individual actors nominated during that time originate from outside of America.
The academy’s history of recognizing acting talent on a global scale dates all the way back to the inaugural Oscars ceremony in 1929, when Swiss-born Emil Jannings (who was of German and American parentage) won Best Actor for his work in both “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh.” Over the next three years, the Best Actress prize was exclusively awarded to Canadians: Mary Pickford (“Coquette”), Norma Shearer (“The Divorcee”), and Marie Dressler (“Min and Bill...
The academy’s history of recognizing acting talent on a global scale dates all the way back to the inaugural Oscars ceremony in 1929, when Swiss-born Emil Jannings (who was of German and American parentage) won Best Actor for his work in both “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh.” Over the next three years, the Best Actress prize was exclusively awarded to Canadians: Mary Pickford (“Coquette”), Norma Shearer (“The Divorcee”), and Marie Dressler (“Min and Bill...
- 3/18/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Pageantry. Screw ups. Touching tributes. Private beefs made public. There are plenty of reasons to watch the Oscars. But they all amount to partaking in, witnessing, movie history in its many forms — the high art, the gossip, the record-breaking moments when an arthouse director becomes a household name.
However, there are a lot of ways to set a record. There are big moments like Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King tying the record with 11 trophies or Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite becoming the first film not in English (or silent) to win Best Picture. And then, beyond those sit the oddities and records that are nearly impossible to break. Give me records like Walter Brennan winning three Best Supporting Actor awards because, as a former extra, he was popular with the Union of Film Extras, who were allowed to vote. At least, the story goes, they were allowed...
However, there are a lot of ways to set a record. There are big moments like Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King tying the record with 11 trophies or Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite becoming the first film not in English (or silent) to win Best Picture. And then, beyond those sit the oddities and records that are nearly impossible to break. Give me records like Walter Brennan winning three Best Supporting Actor awards because, as a former extra, he was popular with the Union of Film Extras, who were allowed to vote. At least, the story goes, they were allowed...
- 3/10/2024
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
Just 30 minutes after final voting for the Screen Actors Guild Awards wrapped up, I made a last-minute switch in my best actress prediction — from Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon” to Emma Stone in “Poor Things.” Let this be a lesson: Second-guessing yourself is seldom a good idea.
Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American and Indigenous person to clinch an individual SAG Award for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman, in Martin Scorsese’s gripping crime saga. With a lead actress (drama) Golden Globe and a SAG Award now under her belt, Gladstone’s award-season momentum continues to be formidable. Historically, only seven performers have failed to win the Oscar after winning the unique combination of Globe and SAG:
1995: Lauren Bacall (“The Mirror Has Two Faces”) lost to Juliette Binoche 2001: Russell Crowe (“A Beautiful Mind”) lost to Denzel Washington (“Training Day...
Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American and Indigenous person to clinch an individual SAG Award for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman, in Martin Scorsese’s gripping crime saga. With a lead actress (drama) Golden Globe and a SAG Award now under her belt, Gladstone’s award-season momentum continues to be formidable. Historically, only seven performers have failed to win the Oscar after winning the unique combination of Globe and SAG:
1995: Lauren Bacall (“The Mirror Has Two Faces”) lost to Juliette Binoche 2001: Russell Crowe (“A Beautiful Mind”) lost to Denzel Washington (“Training Day...
- 2/25/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
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
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
The Academy Awards grew up at the 16th annual ceremony March 2, 1944. Since the first Oscar ceremony at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Blossom Room in 1929, the Academy Awards were small banquet ceremonies for La La Land movers and shakers. But that all changed 80 years ago. World War II was in its third year and movies meant more than ever to war-weary audiences.
So, the Oscars moved to the then-Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and bleachers were introduced giving fans a chance to see their favorites walk the red carpet. And instead of a select industry audience, attendees included members of all branches of the armed services many of whom sat in bleachers on the stage at the Chinese. The ceremony was heard locally on Kfwb; Jack Benny hosted the international broadcast for the troops on CBS Radio via shortwave. And for the first time, supporting performers finally received a full-size Academy Award.
So, the Oscars moved to the then-Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and bleachers were introduced giving fans a chance to see their favorites walk the red carpet. And instead of a select industry audience, attendees included members of all branches of the armed services many of whom sat in bleachers on the stage at the Chinese. The ceremony was heard locally on Kfwb; Jack Benny hosted the international broadcast for the troops on CBS Radio via shortwave. And for the first time, supporting performers finally received a full-size Academy Award.
- 1/23/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
In the 95-year history of the Academy Awards, 88 films have each received nominations for both Best Actor and Best Actress. Although there have been 19 cases of two or more movies doing so in a single year, there hasn’t been such an occurrence since 1996, when both lead lineups included performers from “Dead Man Walking” and “Leaving Las Vegas.” However, according to Gold Derby’s late-stage 2024 Oscar nominations predictions, that nearly three-decade gap is set to soon be closed by costar pairs from “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Maestro.”
The vast majority of the Oscars prognosticators who’ve been shaping our odds all season agree that Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) and Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”) will all clinch academy mentions for their lead performances. The last such quartet consisted of eventual winners Nicolas Cage (“Leaving Las Vegas”) and Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”) and their respective costars,...
The vast majority of the Oscars prognosticators who’ve been shaping our odds all season agree that Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) and Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”) will all clinch academy mentions for their lead performances. The last such quartet consisted of eventual winners Nicolas Cage (“Leaving Las Vegas”) and Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”) and their respective costars,...
- 1/21/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Courtesy of Kino Lorber
by Chad Kennerk
Set in the 1920s, Has Anybody Seen My Gal? gets its name from the once-popular jazz song recorded by the California Ramblers in 1925. Loosely based upon the Eleanor Porter novel Oh Money! Money! (she was also the author behind Pollyanna), the 1952 jukebox musical comedy was given the full Technicolor treatment – a visual bee’s knees in Kino Lorber’s sterling release.
The Universal Pictures title makes good use of Twenties tunes such as ‘Tiger Rag,’ ‘When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along,’ ‘It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More,’ ‘Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?’ - and of course, ‘Has Anybody Seen My Gal?’. It was directed by studio regular Douglas Sirk, who would go on to make his name with lush, slyly ironic melodramas such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind (all with Rock Hudson), There's Always Tomorrow,...
by Chad Kennerk
Set in the 1920s, Has Anybody Seen My Gal? gets its name from the once-popular jazz song recorded by the California Ramblers in 1925. Loosely based upon the Eleanor Porter novel Oh Money! Money! (she was also the author behind Pollyanna), the 1952 jukebox musical comedy was given the full Technicolor treatment – a visual bee’s knees in Kino Lorber’s sterling release.
The Universal Pictures title makes good use of Twenties tunes such as ‘Tiger Rag,’ ‘When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along,’ ‘It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More,’ ‘Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?’ - and of course, ‘Has Anybody Seen My Gal?’. It was directed by studio regular Douglas Sirk, who would go on to make his name with lush, slyly ironic melodramas such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind (all with Rock Hudson), There's Always Tomorrow,...
- 1/15/2024
- by Chad Kennerk
- Film Review Daily
Noreen Nash, a starlet of the 1940s and ’50s who appeared in such notable films as The Southerner, Giant and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold, has died. She was 99.
Nash died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Beverly Hills, her oldest son, Lee Siegel Jr., told The Hollywood Reporter.
Nash worked on about two dozen features during her two-decade career, including several “B” pictures like Phantom From Space (1953), where she portrayed an abducted scientist in a movie shot at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The blue-eyed, dark-haired Nash also starred as the wife of an owner of a Palm Springs tennis club on the CBS summer replacement series The Charles Farrell Show — it stood in for I Love Lucy in 1956 — and appeared on episodes of Hopalong Cassidy, The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Dragnet and 77 Sunset Strip.
Nash played the...
Nash died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Beverly Hills, her oldest son, Lee Siegel Jr., told The Hollywood Reporter.
Nash worked on about two dozen features during her two-decade career, including several “B” pictures like Phantom From Space (1953), where she portrayed an abducted scientist in a movie shot at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The blue-eyed, dark-haired Nash also starred as the wife of an owner of a Palm Springs tennis club on the CBS summer replacement series The Charles Farrell Show — it stood in for I Love Lucy in 1956 — and appeared on episodes of Hopalong Cassidy, The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Dragnet and 77 Sunset Strip.
Nash played the...
- 6/8/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Danette Herman was one of the key staff members of the Academy Awards ceremonies from the 1970s into the 2010s, beginning as a production assistant and rising through the ranks to become the show’s executive in charge of talent and coordinating producer. One of the few women to serve in key positions at the Oscars, she was with the show during the years of its highest ratings and largest cultural impact.
As the Academy prepares for the 95th Oscars ceremony, Herman asked TheWrap if she could share some memories of past shows, from an encounter with Katharine Hepburn in 1974 to a pair of anniversary shows in which she assembled historic groups of past winners. —Steve Pond
Congratulations to the Academy on 95 years of the Academy Awards. Almost 40 of those years are my history, also.
It began in April 1968 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The 40th Academy Awards were hosted by Bob Hope,...
As the Academy prepares for the 95th Oscars ceremony, Herman asked TheWrap if she could share some memories of past shows, from an encounter with Katharine Hepburn in 1974 to a pair of anniversary shows in which she assembled historic groups of past winners. —Steve Pond
Congratulations to the Academy on 95 years of the Academy Awards. Almost 40 of those years are my history, also.
It began in April 1968 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The 40th Academy Awards were hosted by Bob Hope,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Danette Herman
- The Wrap
As we approach O-Day and the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, it’s always fun to go back and look at the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories and revel in some of the trivia and shockers that have gone down on the awards season’s biggest stage. This is the rare year when Meryl Streep isn’t in the running, as her 21 overall nominations in the acting categories are nearly double the number of her closest female pursuer, Katherine Hepburn, who has 12. However, Hepburn still holds the all-time Oscar record with four acting wins. Streep has a mere three.
Here are some other actress category factoids to chew on:
Should Cate Blanchett win Best Actress this year for her role in “Tar,” she would tie Streep, Ingrid Bergman and Frances McDormand for second place behind Hepburn among actresses with three triumphs apiece. All four of Hepburn’s wins...
Here are some other actress category factoids to chew on:
Should Cate Blanchett win Best Actress this year for her role in “Tar,” she would tie Streep, Ingrid Bergman and Frances McDormand for second place behind Hepburn among actresses with three triumphs apiece. All four of Hepburn’s wins...
- 2/28/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
On 4 March 1943, Greer Garson stepped behind a lectern at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub inside the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Garson, 38, was accepting the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work inMrs Miniver, a romantic war drama directed by William Wyle. She was only the 15th actor in the history of Hollywood to take home the trophy. That was an achievement in itself, but Garson made history in another, more unexpected way that night.
Her acceptance speech remains, to this day, the longest in the history of the Academy Awards. While today’s winners are asked to keep to 45 seconds, Garson spoke for a comparatively generous seven minutes.
The speech, sadly, wasn’t preserved in full. Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which organises the Oscars each year, says it has newsreel footage of “only portions” of Garson’s address – for a total of three minutes and 56 seconds.
Her acceptance speech remains, to this day, the longest in the history of the Academy Awards. While today’s winners are asked to keep to 45 seconds, Garson spoke for a comparatively generous seven minutes.
The speech, sadly, wasn’t preserved in full. Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which organises the Oscars each year, says it has newsreel footage of “only portions” of Garson’s address – for a total of three minutes and 56 seconds.
- 2/14/2023
- by Clémence Michallon
- The Independent - Film
On 4 March 1943, Greer Garson stepped behind a lectern at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub inside the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Garson, 38, was accepting the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work inMrs Miniver, a romantic war drama directed by William Wyle. She was only the 15th actor in the history of Hollywood to take home the trophy. That was an achievement in itself, but Garson made history in another, more unexpected way that night.
Her acceptance speech remains, to this day, the longest in the history of the Academy Awards. While today’s winners are asked to keep to 45 seconds, Garson spoke for a comparatively generous seven minutes.
The speech, sadly, wasn’t preserved in full. Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which organises the Oscars each year, says it has newsreel footage of “only portions” of Garson’s address – for a total of three minutes and 56 seconds.
Her acceptance speech remains, to this day, the longest in the history of the Academy Awards. While today’s winners are asked to keep to 45 seconds, Garson spoke for a comparatively generous seven minutes.
The speech, sadly, wasn’t preserved in full. Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which organises the Oscars each year, says it has newsreel footage of “only portions” of Garson’s address – for a total of three minutes and 56 seconds.
- 2/14/2023
- by Clémence Michallon
- The Independent - Film
Robert Donat snagged an Oscar for this sentimental crowdpleaser, a Best Picture nominee in Hollywood’s ‘Golden Year’ of 1939. The genteel chemistry between Donat’s shy schoolteacher and the charming personality Greer Garson broke hearts, and made Ms. Garson one of MGM’s top names for the next decade. It’s one of the studio’s English productions, filmed in the shadow of the coming war. A glowing new digital restoration redeems 70 years of not-so-good TV prints.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1939 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date January 24, 2023 / Available at Amazon.com/ 21.99
Starring: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Paul Henreid, Judith Furse.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Art Director: Alfred Junge
Film Editor: Charles Frend
Original Music: Richard Addinsell
Written by R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz from the novel by James Hilton
Produced by Victor Saville
Directed by Sam Wood
No, it’s not about the terrible Chips Ahoy!
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1939 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date January 24, 2023 / Available at Amazon.com/ 21.99
Starring: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Paul Henreid, Judith Furse.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Art Director: Alfred Junge
Film Editor: Charles Frend
Original Music: Richard Addinsell
Written by R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz from the novel by James Hilton
Produced by Victor Saville
Directed by Sam Wood
No, it’s not about the terrible Chips Ahoy!
- 2/11/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The United States had been at war a little over a year when the 15th Academy Awards were presented on March 4, 1943. It was the last year that the awards were celebrated at a lavish banquet; they would be moved to a theater setting in the ensuing years. The impact of World War II can be seen in the films honored, as well as the ceremony itself.
Popular musical star Jeannette MacDonald sang the National Anthem, and newly enlisted military privates Tyrone Power and Alan Ladd unfurled a flag that listed over 25,000 film industry members who had joined the armed forces. Bob Hope hosted the event, which saw one big winner, numerous patriotic choices and the first win for one of the industry’s biggest record-makers. Let’s flashback 80 years to the Oscars ceremony of 1943.
SEEOscar hosts: Performers who have hosted the Academy Awards
Ten movies made the cut for a Best Picture nomination.
Popular musical star Jeannette MacDonald sang the National Anthem, and newly enlisted military privates Tyrone Power and Alan Ladd unfurled a flag that listed over 25,000 film industry members who had joined the armed forces. Bob Hope hosted the event, which saw one big winner, numerous patriotic choices and the first win for one of the industry’s biggest record-makers. Let’s flashback 80 years to the Oscars ceremony of 1943.
SEEOscar hosts: Performers who have hosted the Academy Awards
Ten movies made the cut for a Best Picture nomination.
- 2/6/2023
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
In a missive sent around to 2022’s Oscar nominees, stars were told to “read the room” when delivering speeches at the Academy Awards this month. Translation: Get off the stage before the orchestra is forced to awkwardly play you out.
In 1943, Greer Garson set a Guinness World Record for Longest Oscars Acceptance Speech, with her address upon accepting her Best Actress award forMrs Miniver clocking in at five and a half minutes.
Garson isn’t the only winner guilty of indulgence though. Hilary Swank, Adrien Brody and Al Pacino have all ignored the 45-second limit and consequently found themselves at the receiving end of a passive aggressive “Will you wrap this up?” stare.
Some actors, however, know that not every story needs to be so long and that brevity is an undervalued quality. Franklin D Roosevelt’s adage – “Be sincere, be brief, be seated” – could very well be the tagline for this year’s ceremony.
In 1943, Greer Garson set a Guinness World Record for Longest Oscars Acceptance Speech, with her address upon accepting her Best Actress award forMrs Miniver clocking in at five and a half minutes.
Garson isn’t the only winner guilty of indulgence though. Hilary Swank, Adrien Brody and Al Pacino have all ignored the 45-second limit and consequently found themselves at the receiving end of a passive aggressive “Will you wrap this up?” stare.
Some actors, however, know that not every story needs to be so long and that brevity is an undervalued quality. Franklin D Roosevelt’s adage – “Be sincere, be brief, be seated” – could very well be the tagline for this year’s ceremony.
- 1/30/2023
- by Annabel Nugent
- The Independent - Film
In a missive sent around to 2022’s Oscar nominees, stars were told to “read the room” when delivering speeches at the Academy Awards this month. Translation: Get off the stage before the orchestra is forced to awkwardly play you out.
In 1943, Greer Garson set a Guinness World Record for Longest Oscars Acceptance Speech, with her address upon accepting her Best Actress award forMrs Miniver clocking in at five and a half minutes.
Garson isn’t the only winner guilty of indulgence though. Hilary Swank, Adrien Brody and Al Pacino have all ignored the 45-second limit and consequently found themselves at the receiving end of a passive aggressive “Will you wrap this up?” stare.
Some actors, however, know that not every story needs to be so long and that brevity is an undervalued quality. Franklin D Roosevelt’s adage – “Be sincere, be brief, be seated” – could very well be the tagline for this year’s ceremony.
In 1943, Greer Garson set a Guinness World Record for Longest Oscars Acceptance Speech, with her address upon accepting her Best Actress award forMrs Miniver clocking in at five and a half minutes.
Garson isn’t the only winner guilty of indulgence though. Hilary Swank, Adrien Brody and Al Pacino have all ignored the 45-second limit and consequently found themselves at the receiving end of a passive aggressive “Will you wrap this up?” stare.
Some actors, however, know that not every story needs to be so long and that brevity is an undervalued quality. Franklin D Roosevelt’s adage – “Be sincere, be brief, be seated” – could very well be the tagline for this year’s ceremony.
- 1/29/2023
- by Annabel Nugent
- The Independent - Film
In a missive sent around to last year’s Oscar nominees, stars were told to “read the room” when delivering speeches at the Academy Awards this month. Translation: Get off the stage before the orchestra is forced to awkwardly play you out.
In 1943, Greer Garson set a Guinness World Record for Longest Oscars Acceptance Speech, with her address upon accepting her Best Actress award forMrs Miniver clocking in at five and a half minutes.
Garson isn’t the only winner guilty of indulgence though. Hilary Swank, Adrien Brody and Al Pacino have all ignored the 45-second limit and consequently found themselves at the receiving end of a passive aggressive “Will you wrap this up?” stare.
Some actors, however, know that not every story needs to be so long and that brevity is an undervalued quality. Franklin D Roosevelt’s adage – “Be sincere, be brief, be seated” – could very well be...
In 1943, Greer Garson set a Guinness World Record for Longest Oscars Acceptance Speech, with her address upon accepting her Best Actress award forMrs Miniver clocking in at five and a half minutes.
Garson isn’t the only winner guilty of indulgence though. Hilary Swank, Adrien Brody and Al Pacino have all ignored the 45-second limit and consequently found themselves at the receiving end of a passive aggressive “Will you wrap this up?” stare.
Some actors, however, know that not every story needs to be so long and that brevity is an undervalued quality. Franklin D Roosevelt’s adage – “Be sincere, be brief, be seated” – could very well be...
- 1/29/2023
- by Annabel Nugent
- The Independent - Film
In a missive sent around to this last year’s Oscar nominees, stars were told to “read the room” when delivering speeches at the Academy Awards this month. Translation: Get off the stage before the orchestra is forced to awkwardly play you out.
In 1943, Greer Garson set a Guinness World Record for Longest Oscars Acceptance Speech, with her address upon accepting her Best Actress award forMrs Miniver clocking in at five and a half minutes.
Garson isn’t the only winner guilty of indulgence though. Hilary Swank, Adrien Brody and Al Pacino have all ignored the 45-second limit and consequently found themselves at the receiving end of a passive aggressive “Will you wrap this up?” stare.
Some actors, however, know that not every story needs to be so long and that brevity is an undervalued quality. Franklin D Roosevelt’s adage – “Be sincere, be brief, be seated” – could very well...
In 1943, Greer Garson set a Guinness World Record for Longest Oscars Acceptance Speech, with her address upon accepting her Best Actress award forMrs Miniver clocking in at five and a half minutes.
Garson isn’t the only winner guilty of indulgence though. Hilary Swank, Adrien Brody and Al Pacino have all ignored the 45-second limit and consequently found themselves at the receiving end of a passive aggressive “Will you wrap this up?” stare.
Some actors, however, know that not every story needs to be so long and that brevity is an undervalued quality. Franklin D Roosevelt’s adage – “Be sincere, be brief, be seated” – could very well...
- 1/29/2023
- by Annabel Nugent
- The Independent - Film
This year’s documentary nominees explore diverse subject matter as saving birds (“All that Breathes”) and an exploration of the life and career of photographer and activist Nan Goldin (“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”). But the documentary nominees, which took place at the 15th annual Oscars on March 4, 1943 at the Cocoanut Grove, primarly revolved around World War II.
There were 25 nominees — shorts and features competed against each other — and four winners. The US Navy was the producer of winner “The Battle of Midway,” directed by John Ford. The 18-minute film featured footage from the Battle of Midway which was a crucial victory in the Pacific in 1942. The film featured narration by Ford favorites Henry Fonda, Donald Crisp and Jane Darwell.
The Australian News and Information Bureau produced the full-length documentary winner “Kokoda Front Line!,” which was also the first film from Down Under to win an Oscar. The film...
There were 25 nominees — shorts and features competed against each other — and four winners. The US Navy was the producer of winner “The Battle of Midway,” directed by John Ford. The 18-minute film featured footage from the Battle of Midway which was a crucial victory in the Pacific in 1942. The film featured narration by Ford favorites Henry Fonda, Donald Crisp and Jane Darwell.
The Australian News and Information Bureau produced the full-length documentary winner “Kokoda Front Line!,” which was also the first film from Down Under to win an Oscar. The film...
- 1/25/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The Oscar front-runner for Best Picture, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” got a massive boost on nominations morning when it reaped a leading 11 bids. Among those many citations was one for lead actress contender Michelle Yeoh, her first ever after working in the business for decades. Should “Everything Everywhere” go on to win Best Picture and Best Actress, it would become the 13th film in Oscar history to achieve such a feat.
Yeoh takes on the role of laundromat owner Evelyn Quan Wang in the multi-dimensional adventure flick directed by The Daniels (aka Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert). Her competitors in the Best Actress category are Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”) and Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”). So far this awards season, Yeoh has claimed the Comedy Golden Globe while Blanchett has taken home the Drama Golden Globe and the Critics Choice Award. Next up...
Yeoh takes on the role of laundromat owner Evelyn Quan Wang in the multi-dimensional adventure flick directed by The Daniels (aka Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert). Her competitors in the Best Actress category are Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”) and Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”). So far this awards season, Yeoh has claimed the Comedy Golden Globe while Blanchett has taken home the Drama Golden Globe and the Critics Choice Award. Next up...
- 1/25/2023
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
The Academy Awards are a lot of things. A celebration of cinema? Check. A surprisingly effective way to bust unions? Double check, sadly.
But one thing they also are, and it's hard to dispute this, is an opportunity for the people in the motion picture industry to pat themselves on the back. For nearly 100 years, the Academy Awards have given out little statues, usually gold (in World War II they were plaster), to artists working in a variety of fields. Actors, sound designers, writers, visual effects artists, editors, cinematographers, directors, and many more get to declare who in their industry didn't just do a good job this year, but who also deserves a little trophy for their efforts.
Making movies is a hard job, and nobody's saying the members of the Academy shouldn't get to honor the work of their peers. But there's only one time in history when the...
But one thing they also are, and it's hard to dispute this, is an opportunity for the people in the motion picture industry to pat themselves on the back. For nearly 100 years, the Academy Awards have given out little statues, usually gold (in World War II they were plaster), to artists working in a variety of fields. Actors, sound designers, writers, visual effects artists, editors, cinematographers, directors, and many more get to declare who in their industry didn't just do a good job this year, but who also deserves a little trophy for their efforts.
Making movies is a hard job, and nobody's saying the members of the Academy shouldn't get to honor the work of their peers. But there's only one time in history when the...
- 11/30/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
The world was at war 80 years ago. The United States was grieving over the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 by the Japanese military and the defeat of our forces that month at Wake Island. And then the beloved Carole Lombard, her mother, servicemen and the crew perished in a plane crash west of Las Vegas on January 16, 1942. She was returning to Hollywood after raising 2 million in a war bond drive in Indianapolis.
How would Hollywood and audiences respond to World War II? They certainly didn’t shy away from the war. If you look at the top 10 films of the year, there are some escapist films but also movies dealing with the global conflict.
In fact, the No. 1 film of the year William Wyler’s “Mrs. Miniver” broke records at Radio City Music Hall in New York playing 10 weeks. Production began on the stirring, sentimental drama about a British...
How would Hollywood and audiences respond to World War II? They certainly didn’t shy away from the war. If you look at the top 10 films of the year, there are some escapist films but also movies dealing with the global conflict.
In fact, the No. 1 film of the year William Wyler’s “Mrs. Miniver” broke records at Radio City Music Hall in New York playing 10 weeks. Production began on the stirring, sentimental drama about a British...
- 9/18/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
William Wyler was a three-time Oscar winner who crafted several classics during Hollywood’s Golden Age, adapting his style to a wide variety of genres. Let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1902 in Germany, Wyler immigrated to the U.S. when his cousin, Universal Studios chief Carl Laemmle, hired him as an errand boy. He quickly moved up the ranks, directing shorts during the silent era before transitioning into features. It was with the advent of sound that he hit his stride, displaying an ear for dialogue that would serve him well in lofty literary adaptations produced by his longtime partner, independent mogul Samuel Goldwyn.
Wyler quickly became an Oscar mainstay, earning a record-breaking 12 nominations for Best Director: “Dodsworth” (1936), “Wuthering Heights” (1939), “The Letter” (1940), “The Little Foxes” (1941), “Mrs. Miniver” (1942), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), “The Heiress” (1949), “Detective Story” (1951), “Roman Holiday...
Born in 1902 in Germany, Wyler immigrated to the U.S. when his cousin, Universal Studios chief Carl Laemmle, hired him as an errand boy. He quickly moved up the ranks, directing shorts during the silent era before transitioning into features. It was with the advent of sound that he hit his stride, displaying an ear for dialogue that would serve him well in lofty literary adaptations produced by his longtime partner, independent mogul Samuel Goldwyn.
Wyler quickly became an Oscar mainstay, earning a record-breaking 12 nominations for Best Director: “Dodsworth” (1936), “Wuthering Heights” (1939), “The Letter” (1940), “The Little Foxes” (1941), “Mrs. Miniver” (1942), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), “The Heiress” (1949), “Detective Story” (1951), “Roman Holiday...
- 6/29/2022
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
“An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins. And I will never see you again if you do.”
Nothing’s more fun than The Wildey’s Tuesday Night Film Series..Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier in Pride And Prejudice (1940) will be on the big screen when it plays at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, Il at 7:00pm Tuesday April 5th. Tickets are only 3 Tickets available starting at 3pm day of movie at Wildey Theatre ticket office. Cash or check only. Lobby opens at 6pm.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five unmarried daughters, and Mrs. Bennet is especially eager to find suitable husbands for them. When the rich single gentlemen Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy come to live nearby, the Bennets have high hopes. But pride, prejudice, and misunderstandings all combine to complicate their relationships and to...
Nothing’s more fun than The Wildey’s Tuesday Night Film Series..Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier in Pride And Prejudice (1940) will be on the big screen when it plays at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, Il at 7:00pm Tuesday April 5th. Tickets are only 3 Tickets available starting at 3pm day of movie at Wildey Theatre ticket office. Cash or check only. Lobby opens at 6pm.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five unmarried daughters, and Mrs. Bennet is especially eager to find suitable husbands for them. When the rich single gentlemen Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy come to live nearby, the Bennets have high hopes. But pride, prejudice, and misunderstandings all combine to complicate their relationships and to...
- 3/30/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Happy Mother’s Day! What better way to spend time with your mom than a fantastic movie with an Oscar-winning performance. Tour our photo gallery above of the 18 greatest of these films, ranked worst to best. All of them feature winning roles by actresses who play mothers that were pivotal to the plot.
Though there are thousands of these types of films, these performances show a wide array of what it means to be a mother. There’s the courageous mother, the inspirational mom, the loving mother and even the monstrous mother. Lead and supporting actresses include Brie Larson, Shirley MacLaine, Frances McDormand, Brie Larson, Allison Janney, Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts, Joan Crawford and more.
SEEOscar Best Supporting Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
18. The Fighter (2010)
On her second Oscar nomination, Melissa Leo took home the Best Supporting Actress prize for her portrayal of the real-life Alice Eklund-Ward,...
Though there are thousands of these types of films, these performances show a wide array of what it means to be a mother. There’s the courageous mother, the inspirational mom, the loving mother and even the monstrous mother. Lead and supporting actresses include Brie Larson, Shirley MacLaine, Frances McDormand, Brie Larson, Allison Janney, Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts, Joan Crawford and more.
SEEOscar Best Supporting Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
18. The Fighter (2010)
On her second Oscar nomination, Melissa Leo took home the Best Supporting Actress prize for her portrayal of the real-life Alice Eklund-Ward,...
- 5/12/2019
- by Chris Beachum and Tom O'Brien
- Gold Derby
Two films in contention at this year’s Oscars earned nominations for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress: “The Favourite” (twice) and “Roma.” How likely is it that both women from the same film will win Academy Awards on Feb. 24? In the 82 years since the supporting awards were introduced at the 9th Oscars, 10 films could boast victories in both these races.
Fay Bainter and Bette Davis for “Jezebel” – 1939
Hattie McDaniel and Vivien Leigh for “Gone With the Wind” – 1940
Teresa Wright and Greer Garson for “Mrs. Miniver” – 1942
Kim Hunter and Vivien Leigh for “A Streetcar Named Desire” – 1952
Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft for “The Miracle Worker” – 1963
Sandy Dennis and Elizabeth Taylor for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” – 1967
Beatrice Straight and Faye Dunaway for “Network” – 1977
Olympia Dukakis and Cher for “Moonstruck” – 1988
Anna Paquin and Holly Hunter for “The Piano” in 1994
Judi Dench and Gwyneth Paltrow for “Shakespeare in Love” – 1999
While...
Fay Bainter and Bette Davis for “Jezebel” – 1939
Hattie McDaniel and Vivien Leigh for “Gone With the Wind” – 1940
Teresa Wright and Greer Garson for “Mrs. Miniver” – 1942
Kim Hunter and Vivien Leigh for “A Streetcar Named Desire” – 1952
Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft for “The Miracle Worker” – 1963
Sandy Dennis and Elizabeth Taylor for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” – 1967
Beatrice Straight and Faye Dunaway for “Network” – 1977
Olympia Dukakis and Cher for “Moonstruck” – 1988
Anna Paquin and Holly Hunter for “The Piano” in 1994
Judi Dench and Gwyneth Paltrow for “Shakespeare in Love” – 1999
While...
- 2/22/2019
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
This article marks Part 2 of 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 11 films that scored a single prize among the top races.
More than eight decades prior to Bradley Cooper’s take on the timeless tale, the first “A Star Is Born” (1937), headlined by Fredric March and Janet Gaynor, became the third motion picture, following “Cimarron” (1931) and “It Happened One Night” (1934), to earn nominations in the Big Five Oscar categories.
At the 10th Academy Awards ceremony, however, neither March nor Gaynor emerged triumphant, losing in their...
More than eight decades prior to Bradley Cooper’s take on the timeless tale, the first “A Star Is Born” (1937), headlined by Fredric March and Janet Gaynor, became the third motion picture, following “Cimarron” (1931) and “It Happened One Night” (1934), to earn nominations in the Big Five Oscar categories.
At the 10th Academy Awards ceremony, however, neither March nor Gaynor emerged triumphant, losing in their...
- 10/7/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
Deborah Kerr would’ve celebrated her 97th birthday on September 30, 2018. With six Oscar bids to her name, the Scottish-born thespian is one of the most celebrated performers of all time. However, she never actually won one of those little gold statuettes, giving her the dubious distinction of tying Thelma Ritter and Glenn Close as the most nominated actress without a victory. Still, she must’ve done something right to rack up all that Academy recognition. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1921, Kerr got her start on the London stage before appearing in her first film when she was just 20-years-old: “Major Barbara” (1941). She had her big break two years later in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger‘s epic “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943). Kerr reunited with the filmmaking duo for “Black Narcissus...
Born in 1921, Kerr got her start on the London stage before appearing in her first film when she was just 20-years-old: “Major Barbara” (1941). She had her big break two years later in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger‘s epic “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943). Kerr reunited with the filmmaking duo for “Black Narcissus...
- 9/30/2018
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Since the introduction of the supporting categories at the 9th Oscar ceremony, 11 performers have contended in both acting categories in the same year, with seven of them prevailing in one of their races. At the 2019 Academy Awards, Oscar winner Nicole Kidman and Oscar nominee Steve Carell are hoping to make history and join this exclusive roster of double nominees.
Kidman has earned rave reviews for her turns in “Destroyer” and “Boy Erased.” The former finds her portraying a troubled Los Angeles detective, determined to bring down an old nemesis, while the latter has Kidman in a supporting turn, portraying the mother of a young man (Lucas Hedges) who is pressured into enrolling in a gay conversion therapy program. Kidman has previous Oscar nominations for “Moulin Rouge!” (2001); “The Hours” (2002); “Rabbit Hole” (2010); and “Lion” (2016), winning for “The Hours.”
Also coming on strong this Oscar season is Carell, whose lone nomination to date came for “Foxcatcher” (2014). This year,...
Kidman has earned rave reviews for her turns in “Destroyer” and “Boy Erased.” The former finds her portraying a troubled Los Angeles detective, determined to bring down an old nemesis, while the latter has Kidman in a supporting turn, portraying the mother of a young man (Lucas Hedges) who is pressured into enrolling in a gay conversion therapy program. Kidman has previous Oscar nominations for “Moulin Rouge!” (2001); “The Hours” (2002); “Rabbit Hole” (2010); and “Lion” (2016), winning for “The Hours.”
Also coming on strong this Oscar season is Carell, whose lone nomination to date came for “Foxcatcher” (2014). This year,...
- 9/21/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
Martin Scorsese commands the screen without a single profane word or gunshot to the head. His adaptation of Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel is a marvel for its year, a highly entertaining, dramatically involving epic that takes us to a world lost to time, the high-toned society of New York in the 1870s. For adult viewers, Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder form a stunning romantic triangle.
The Age of Innocence
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 913
1993 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 138 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 13, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, Richard E. Grant, Alec McCowen, Geraldine Chaplin, Mary Beth Hurt, Stuart Wilson, Miriam Margolyes, Siàn Phillips, Carolyn Farina, Michael Gough, Alexis Smith, Norman Lloyd, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Sean Leonard, Joanne Woodward.
Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Film Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Original Music: Elmer Bernstein
Written by Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese
from the book by: Edith Wharton
Produced by...
The Age of Innocence
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 913
1993 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 138 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 13, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, Richard E. Grant, Alec McCowen, Geraldine Chaplin, Mary Beth Hurt, Stuart Wilson, Miriam Margolyes, Siàn Phillips, Carolyn Farina, Michael Gough, Alexis Smith, Norman Lloyd, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Sean Leonard, Joanne Woodward.
Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Film Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Original Music: Elmer Bernstein
Written by Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese
from the book by: Edith Wharton
Produced by...
- 4/3/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
If our combined Oscar odds are correct, the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories will be dominated by the stars of three films: Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf of “Lady Bird”; Margot Robbie and Allison Janney of “I, Tonya”; and Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer of “The Shape of Water.” And if one pair of co-stars wins, it’d be the 11th time both actress awards went to the same film.
The best chance of this happening is with Ronan and Metcalf. The former sits in second place in lead, behind “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing Missouri” star Frances McDormand, with 7/2 odds, while her onscreen mother is the favorite in supporting with 11/5 odds.
But after defeating Metcalf at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice, Janney is watching her stock rise quickly. She stands at 5/2 odds, while her onscreen daughter, Robbie, is in fifth in lead with 8/1 odds.
See Will ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,...
The best chance of this happening is with Ronan and Metcalf. The former sits in second place in lead, behind “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing Missouri” star Frances McDormand, with 7/2 odds, while her onscreen mother is the favorite in supporting with 11/5 odds.
But after defeating Metcalf at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice, Janney is watching her stock rise quickly. She stands at 5/2 odds, while her onscreen daughter, Robbie, is in fifth in lead with 8/1 odds.
See Will ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,...
- 1/20/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
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
This season's Oscar ceremony, the Academy's 90th annual shindig, is on March 4th, 2018. Did you know that only two Oscar ceremonies have ever happened on a March 4th? Late February, Late March, and early April have been the most frequent time frames over the decades.
the acting winners of '42: Van Heflin, Greer Garson, James Cagney, and Teresa Wright
Both of the March 4th ceremonies were very early in Oscar history:The 1936 Oscars honoring The Great Ziegfeld (March 4th, 1937 at the Biltmore Hotel) and the 1942 Oscars honoring Mrs Miniver (March 4th, 1943 at the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel). I was delighted to realize that we've written about a few of the winners from those years in the past: the dance direction in The Great Ziegfeld, My Gal Sal's Art Direction, Mrs Miniver as Best Picture, The Great Ziegfeld as Best Picture, and Black Swan's Cinematography. ...
the acting winners of '42: Van Heflin, Greer Garson, James Cagney, and Teresa Wright
Both of the March 4th ceremonies were very early in Oscar history:The 1936 Oscars honoring The Great Ziegfeld (March 4th, 1937 at the Biltmore Hotel) and the 1942 Oscars honoring Mrs Miniver (March 4th, 1943 at the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel). I was delighted to realize that we've written about a few of the winners from those years in the past: the dance direction in The Great Ziegfeld, My Gal Sal's Art Direction, Mrs Miniver as Best Picture, The Great Ziegfeld as Best Picture, and Black Swan's Cinematography. ...
- 11/10/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
From its opening aerial shots, to the stylized font used to announce its title, it’s pretty clear that Andy Serkis’ Breathe is a throwback to a kind of movie Hollywood specialized in a very long time ago: the inspirational melodrama based on a true story that once would’ve starred Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Breathe stars Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy as Robin and Diana Cavendish, respectively, the married couple who revolutionized the way in which the world saw people with disabilities. When we first meet them in the late 1950s, Robin is a bright eyed young man ready to conquer the world. He sets his eye on the beautiful Diana at a cricket game, and despite his friends suggesting she would never go for a guy like him, within the first ten minutes of the film they get married, she’s expecting a child, and he’s...
- 10/13/2017
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
Stanley Kubrick’s contribution to great cinema of the 1970s offers his vision of what an epic should be. Transported by images that recall great paintings of the period, and Kubrick’s new approaches to low-light cinematography, we witness a rogue’s progress through troubled times. And even Ryan O’Neal is good!
Barry Lyndon
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 897
1975 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 185 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 17, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger, Steven Berkoff, Gay Hamilton, Marie Kean, Diana Körner, Murray Melvin, Frank Middlemass, André Morell, Arthur O’Sullivan, Godfrey Quigley, Leonard Rossiter, Philip Stone, Leon Vitali Leon Vitali, Wolf Kahler, Ferdy Mayne, George Sewell, Michael Hordern (narrator).
Cinematography: John Alcott
Editor: Tony Lawson
Production design: Ken Adam
Conductor & Musical Adaptor: Leonard Rosenman
Written by Stanley Kubrick from the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray
Produced and Directed by Stanley Kubrick
The...
Barry Lyndon
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 897
1975 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 185 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 17, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger, Steven Berkoff, Gay Hamilton, Marie Kean, Diana Körner, Murray Melvin, Frank Middlemass, André Morell, Arthur O’Sullivan, Godfrey Quigley, Leonard Rossiter, Philip Stone, Leon Vitali Leon Vitali, Wolf Kahler, Ferdy Mayne, George Sewell, Michael Hordern (narrator).
Cinematography: John Alcott
Editor: Tony Lawson
Production design: Ken Adam
Conductor & Musical Adaptor: Leonard Rosenman
Written by Stanley Kubrick from the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray
Produced and Directed by Stanley Kubrick
The...
- 10/3/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Breathe, a film that once upon a time would have been called "a four-hanky picture" and starred Walter Pidgeon and Greer Garson, could return Andrew Garfield to the Oscars as a best actor nominee — just a year after he landed his first Oscar nomination, in that category, for Hacksaw Ridge — for playing another real-life hero. And it might bring The Crown's Claire Foy along for the ride, too, in the best actress or, more likely, best supporting actress category.
Andy Serkis' feature directorial debut, which chronicles the life of Robin Cavendish (Garfield) — a British man who was...
Andy Serkis' feature directorial debut, which chronicles the life of Robin Cavendish (Garfield) — a British man who was...
- 9/13/2017
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Updated: Following a couple of Julie London Westerns*, Turner Classic Movies will return to its July 2017 Star of the Month presentations. On July 27, Ronald Colman can be seen in five films from his later years: A Double Life, Random Harvest (1942), The Talk of the Town (1942), The Late George Apley (1947), and The Story of Mankind (1957). The first three titles are among the most important in Colman's long film career. George Cukor's A Double Life earned him his one and only Best Actor Oscar; Mervyn LeRoy's Random Harvest earned him his second Best Actor Oscar nomination; George Stevens' The Talk of the Town was shortlisted for seven Oscars, including Best Picture. All three feature Ronald Colman at his very best. The early 21st century motto of international trendsetters, from Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and Turkey's Recep Erdogan to Russia's Vladimir Putin and the United States' Donald Trump, seems to be, The world is reality TV and reality TV...
- 7/28/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ronald Colman: Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month in two major 1930s classics Updated: Turner Classic Movies' July 2017 Star of the Month is Ronald Colman, one of the finest performers of the studio era. On Thursday night, TCM presented five Colman star vehicles that should be popping up again in the not-too-distant future: A Tale of Two Cities, The Prisoner of Zenda, Kismet, Lucky Partners, and My Life with Caroline. The first two movies are among not only Colman's best, but also among Hollywood's best during its so-called Golden Age. Based on Charles Dickens' classic novel, Jack Conway's Academy Award-nominated A Tale of Two Cities (1936) is a rare Hollywood production indeed: it manages to effectively condense its sprawling source, it boasts first-rate production values, and it features a phenomenal central performance. Ah, it also shows its star without his trademark mustache – about as famous at the time as Clark Gable's. Perhaps...
- 7/21/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
On this day in showbiz history
The Story of Miss Lonelyheart from Péter Lichter on Vimeo.
1913/1914 Did you know that Detective Doyle (Wendell Corey) and Miss Lonelyhearts (Judith Evelyn) from Rear Window shared a birthday? Now you do! (Uff, I love Rear Window so much)
1942 Rings on Her Finger, a screwball comedy starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney opens in theaters
1948 Gentleman's Agreement wins Best Picture at the 1947 Oscars but the enduring statues from that year are surely Edmund Gwenn's Supporting Actor win as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street and the Cinematography and Art Direction wins for the astounding Black Narcissus. What a picture!
1952 Vivien Leigh wins her second Best Actress prize at the 1951 Oscars for A Streetcar Named Desire. Absent from the ceremony, Greer Garson accepts for Vivien...
The Story of Miss Lonelyheart from Péter Lichter on Vimeo.
1913/1914 Did you know that Detective Doyle (Wendell Corey) and Miss Lonelyhearts (Judith Evelyn) from Rear Window shared a birthday? Now you do! (Uff, I love Rear Window so much)
1942 Rings on Her Finger, a screwball comedy starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney opens in theaters
1948 Gentleman's Agreement wins Best Picture at the 1947 Oscars but the enduring statues from that year are surely Edmund Gwenn's Supporting Actor win as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street and the Cinematography and Art Direction wins for the astounding Black Narcissus. What a picture!
1952 Vivien Leigh wins her second Best Actress prize at the 1951 Oscars for A Streetcar Named Desire. Absent from the ceremony, Greer Garson accepts for Vivien...
- 3/20/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
We in the world of motion pictures have lost a very dear friend. Through Turner Classic Movies, Robert Osborne brought to the attention of a vast audience the work of hundreds of actors and actresses who otherwise would never have been seen in their signature roles. I count myself among them.
I first knew Robert when he was a handsome young actor in the '50s. I was awed by his friendships at that time with the most glamorous of the great female stars of the day, including Joan Crawford, Greer Garson and Bette Davis. There was something about Robert that...
I first knew Robert when he was a handsome young actor in the '50s. I was awed by his friendships at that time with the most glamorous of the great female stars of the day, including Joan Crawford, Greer Garson and Bette Davis. There was something about Robert that...
- 3/7/2017
- by Angela Lansbury, as told to Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nicole Kidman in ‘Lion’ (Courtesy: Mark Rogers/Long Way Productions)
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
Nothing is ever certain when it comes to predicting how the Oscars will shape up, but it seems as though Nicole Kidman is a slam dunk in this year’s race. The Lion star has already been nominated three times in the past — even snagging one win in the process — across categories and it seems as though a fourth is on the way. How often does this happen in the best actress and best supporting actress categories?
The reason a fourth nomination for Kidman seems inevitable is because the 49-year-old Australian-American has been nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award and a Satellite Award (losing both) as well as a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award (awaiting results). With those in the bag, an Oscar nomination is right around the corner — and this site’s namesake,...
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
Nothing is ever certain when it comes to predicting how the Oscars will shape up, but it seems as though Nicole Kidman is a slam dunk in this year’s race. The Lion star has already been nominated three times in the past — even snagging one win in the process — across categories and it seems as though a fourth is on the way. How often does this happen in the best actress and best supporting actress categories?
The reason a fourth nomination for Kidman seems inevitable is because the 49-year-old Australian-American has been nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award and a Satellite Award (losing both) as well as a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award (awaiting results). With those in the bag, an Oscar nomination is right around the corner — and this site’s namesake,...
- 12/29/2016
- by Carson Blackwelder
- Scott Feinberg
‘Arrival’ (Courtesy: Jan Thijs/Paramount Pictures)
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
You might be surprised that one of today’s biggest actresses, Amy Adams, has never won an Oscar. Despite being nominated five times in the timespan of a decade, the 42-year-old has been denied in both the best actress and best supporting actress categories — but is she alone among her peers when looking at history?
The talented redhead was nominated for best supporting actress four times — for Junebug (2005), Doubt (2008), The Fighter (2010), and The Master (2013) — before snagging a best actress nomination for American Hustle (2014). This year, Adams is considered by Scott Feinberg to be a major threat for the best actress category this year thanks to her work in Arrival (though Nocturnal Animals could garner attention, too).
Over the course of Oscar history, there have been exactly a dozen other actresses who — between the best actress and best supporting actress...
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
You might be surprised that one of today’s biggest actresses, Amy Adams, has never won an Oscar. Despite being nominated five times in the timespan of a decade, the 42-year-old has been denied in both the best actress and best supporting actress categories — but is she alone among her peers when looking at history?
The talented redhead was nominated for best supporting actress four times — for Junebug (2005), Doubt (2008), The Fighter (2010), and The Master (2013) — before snagging a best actress nomination for American Hustle (2014). This year, Adams is considered by Scott Feinberg to be a major threat for the best actress category this year thanks to her work in Arrival (though Nocturnal Animals could garner attention, too).
Over the course of Oscar history, there have been exactly a dozen other actresses who — between the best actress and best supporting actress...
- 11/14/2016
- by Carson Blackwelder
- Scott Feinberg
On this day in showbiz history...
15 Agrippina the Younger, the sister of the infamous Caligula and wife of Claudius is born. She's been played in movies for film and television by actresses like Barbara Young (I Claudius), Lori Wagner (Caligula), and Ava Gardner (A.D.) among others
1867 Pioneering physicist Marie Curie is born in Poland. 76 years later her biopic Madame Curie is nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actress (Greer Garson). It's worth noting that there's a new Polish biopic about her life opening next month in Europe starring Karolina Gruszka
1874 Political cartoonist Thomas Nast first uses the elephant to symbolize the Republican party in an illustration...
15 Agrippina the Younger, the sister of the infamous Caligula and wife of Claudius is born. She's been played in movies for film and television by actresses like Barbara Young (I Claudius), Lori Wagner (Caligula), and Ava Gardner (A.D.) among others
1867 Pioneering physicist Marie Curie is born in Poland. 76 years later her biopic Madame Curie is nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actress (Greer Garson). It's worth noting that there's a new Polish biopic about her life opening next month in Europe starring Karolina Gruszka
1874 Political cartoonist Thomas Nast first uses the elephant to symbolize the Republican party in an illustration...
- 11/7/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
1916 Happy Centennial to Best Actor winner Peter Finch (Network), one of only two posthumous acting winners in Oscar history. The other is Heath Ledger. (Curiously they were both Australian)
1924 Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita, 8½) is born in Italy. Becomes one of the all time great movie stars by his mid 30s. His career spans over 50 years of cinema.
1933 Greer Garson weds Edward Snelson, first of three husbands, though the cohabitation is brief. Ten years later she famously marries her screen son in Mrs Miniver.
1934 ...And God Created Brigitte Bardot in Paris
1945 Mildred Pierce opens. Joan Crawford will win Best Actress for this fabulous noir melodrama
1949 Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis first film together My Friend Irma
1950 American indie icon John Sayles is born in New York. Among his most famous films: Return of the Secaucus 7, Passion Fish, and Lone Star
1951 Franchot Tone marries Barbara Payton, his third wife, a disastrous marriage for both.
1924 Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita, 8½) is born in Italy. Becomes one of the all time great movie stars by his mid 30s. His career spans over 50 years of cinema.
1933 Greer Garson weds Edward Snelson, first of three husbands, though the cohabitation is brief. Ten years later she famously marries her screen son in Mrs Miniver.
1934 ...And God Created Brigitte Bardot in Paris
1945 Mildred Pierce opens. Joan Crawford will win Best Actress for this fabulous noir melodrama
1949 Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis first film together My Friend Irma
1950 American indie icon John Sayles is born in New York. Among his most famous films: Return of the Secaucus 7, Passion Fish, and Lone Star
1951 Franchot Tone marries Barbara Payton, his third wife, a disastrous marriage for both.
- 9/28/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Anne Marie is tracking Judy Garland's career through musical numbers...
Our time travelling comes to an end this week with a movie that was filmed before The Harvey Girls but, due to expensive reshoots, wasn't released until months later. Ziegfeld Follies (not to be confused with Ziegfeld Girl) is a plotless series of excuses for MGM to throw its considerable stable of talent into a series of comic and musical sketches tailor made to show off the stars - and the studio - at their finest.
The Movie: Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
The Songwriters: Kay Thompson (lyrics), Roger Edens (music)
The Players: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, William Powell, Esther Williams, directed by Vincente Minnelli
The Story: According to rumor, originally this enjoyable little slip of a number was designed for Greer Garson. However, when Garson backed out, it became a number about Garson, lampooning her accent, image, and Oscar-bait dramatic roles.
Our time travelling comes to an end this week with a movie that was filmed before The Harvey Girls but, due to expensive reshoots, wasn't released until months later. Ziegfeld Follies (not to be confused with Ziegfeld Girl) is a plotless series of excuses for MGM to throw its considerable stable of talent into a series of comic and musical sketches tailor made to show off the stars - and the studio - at their finest.
The Movie: Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
The Songwriters: Kay Thompson (lyrics), Roger Edens (music)
The Players: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, William Powell, Esther Williams, directed by Vincente Minnelli
The Story: According to rumor, originally this enjoyable little slip of a number was designed for Greer Garson. However, when Garson backed out, it became a number about Garson, lampooning her accent, image, and Oscar-bait dramatic roles.
- 6/8/2016
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
It's almost here -- the 88th Academy Awards finally airs this Sunday, and we're counting down the minutes.
We've already given you our Oscar predictions, and now we're bringing you some of the best (and, um, craziest) facts about Hollywood's biggest awards show. From the first Best Actor winner, to the "one dollar" Oscar rule, here are 25 things you (probably) don't know about the Oscars.
1. The youngest Oscar winner was Tatum O'Neal (above), who won Best Supporting Actress for "Paper Moon" (1973) when she was only 10 years old. Shirley Temple won the short-lived Juvenile Award at 6 years old.
2. After winning Best Actress for "Cabaret" (1972), Liza Minnelli became (and still is) the only Oscar winner whose parents both earned Oscars. Her mother, Judy Garland, received an honorary award in 1939 and her father, Vincente Minnelli, won Best Director for "Gigi" (1958).
3. Nameplates for all potential winners are prepared ahead of time; in 2014, the Academy made 215 of them!
We've already given you our Oscar predictions, and now we're bringing you some of the best (and, um, craziest) facts about Hollywood's biggest awards show. From the first Best Actor winner, to the "one dollar" Oscar rule, here are 25 things you (probably) don't know about the Oscars.
1. The youngest Oscar winner was Tatum O'Neal (above), who won Best Supporting Actress for "Paper Moon" (1973) when she was only 10 years old. Shirley Temple won the short-lived Juvenile Award at 6 years old.
2. After winning Best Actress for "Cabaret" (1972), Liza Minnelli became (and still is) the only Oscar winner whose parents both earned Oscars. Her mother, Judy Garland, received an honorary award in 1939 and her father, Vincente Minnelli, won Best Director for "Gigi" (1958).
3. Nameplates for all potential winners are prepared ahead of time; in 2014, the Academy made 215 of them!
- 2/26/2016
- by Phil Pirrello
- Moviefone
Oscar nominations spawned new records for some of Hollywood’s most decorated actors. Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet both received their seventh nominations, joining an exclusive club that includes Ingrid Bergman, Richard Burton, Judi Dench, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Jane Fonda, Greer Garson, and Dustin Hoffman; every actor except Burton is an Oscar winner. Sylvester Stallone’s nomination for his performance as Rocky Balboa in “Creed” comes 39 years after originating the role in “Rocky.” This breaks Paul Newman’s 25-year record set for his portrayal of “Fast Eddie” Felson in 1961’s “The Hustler” and then again in 1986’s “The Color of Money.” The latter performance landed the actor an Oscar. Meanwhile, at 25, Jennifer Lawrence becomes the youngest person to receive four acting nominations. The following 12 actors are currently Oscar’s record-holders for receiving the most nominations. Meryl Streep (19 Nominations)Streep has an unprecedented run with the Oscars. Her 19 nominations...
- 2/17/2016
- backstage.com
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