There was a time when Matt Damon was so renowned, his very name would give away the ending of a movie.
14 Gary Oldman
Oldman had on so much makeup in 2001’s Hannibal that he requested to “do it anonymously” for the theatrical release. But one Nathan Murray was credited as “Mr. Oldman's assistant,” which kind of gave away the game.
13 Matt Damon
Christopher Nolan thought having Damon’s name attached to 2014’s Interstellar would give away much of the story, because people would have a built-in expectation of him being a “good guy.”
12 Gene Hackman
Hackman had a big part in 1993’s The Firm, but Tom Cruise was given humongous billing that made his name the same size as the movie title in some instances. Upon learning that, Hackman was basically like: Screw it, don’t even credit me.
11 David Hyde Pierce
Pierce provided the voice for the character Abe Sapien in Hellboy,...
14 Gary Oldman
Oldman had on so much makeup in 2001’s Hannibal that he requested to “do it anonymously” for the theatrical release. But one Nathan Murray was credited as “Mr. Oldman's assistant,” which kind of gave away the game.
13 Matt Damon
Christopher Nolan thought having Damon’s name attached to 2014’s Interstellar would give away much of the story, because people would have a built-in expectation of him being a “good guy.”
12 Gene Hackman
Hackman had a big part in 1993’s The Firm, but Tom Cruise was given humongous billing that made his name the same size as the movie title in some instances. Upon learning that, Hackman was basically like: Screw it, don’t even credit me.
11 David Hyde Pierce
Pierce provided the voice for the character Abe Sapien in Hellboy,...
- 9/5/2024
- Cracked
One of cinema’s earliest pioneers, Oscar winner Cecil B. DeMille helmed 70 films throughout the silent and sound era. He made his mark in a number of genres, but was most famous for his spectacularly mounted biblical epics. Let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest movies, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1881, DeMille made his directorial debut with “The Squaw Man” (1914), a story he remade in 1918 and 1931. He made dozens of silent films, including the ambitious biblical stories “The Ten Commandments” (1923) and “The King of Kings” (1927). He entered into the sound era with ease, earning his first Oscar nomination in Best Picture for the Claudette Colbert-headlined version of “Cleopatra” (1934).
After a series of box office smashes, he took home the Best Picture prize for his big top melodrama “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952), which also brought him his only nomination in Best Director. Even at the time,...
Born in 1881, DeMille made his directorial debut with “The Squaw Man” (1914), a story he remade in 1918 and 1931. He made dozens of silent films, including the ambitious biblical stories “The Ten Commandments” (1923) and “The King of Kings” (1927). He entered into the sound era with ease, earning his first Oscar nomination in Best Picture for the Claudette Colbert-headlined version of “Cleopatra” (1934).
After a series of box office smashes, he took home the Best Picture prize for his big top melodrama “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952), which also brought him his only nomination in Best Director. Even at the time,...
- 8/10/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Longlegs, from writer-director Osgood Perkins and son of Psycho star Anthony, tells a story that gives us clues to its maker’s unusual upbringing
Minor spoilers ahead
In the first scene of Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical drama The Fabelmans, the director’s junior stand-in Sammy is traumatized by a train crash – not a real one, though the footage from The Greatest Show on Earth that he watches through the wide eyes of a child feels just as vivid and affective. The vision of high-speed destruction haunts little Sammy in his nightmares, until he realizes he can tame the memory by rendering it for the camera. Upon restaging the spectacle with his own model train set and miniature figurines, all the hyperkinetic death turns into a game of make-believe played with innocent toys. With this overture, Spielberg lays out his method for the film to come as he dramatizes the metaphorical...
Minor spoilers ahead
In the first scene of Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical drama The Fabelmans, the director’s junior stand-in Sammy is traumatized by a train crash – not a real one, though the footage from The Greatest Show on Earth that he watches through the wide eyes of a child feels just as vivid and affective. The vision of high-speed destruction haunts little Sammy in his nightmares, until he realizes he can tame the memory by rendering it for the camera. Upon restaging the spectacle with his own model train set and miniature figurines, all the hyperkinetic death turns into a game of make-believe played with innocent toys. With this overture, Spielberg lays out his method for the film to come as he dramatizes the metaphorical...
- 7/13/2024
- by Charles Bramesco
- The Guardian - Film News
From his crowd-pleasing blockbusters like Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones to critically acclaimed projects like Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg has delivered a few of the most popular movies of all time. Turning into a beloved American filmmaker, with three Oscars to his name, Spielberg listed his endless source of inspiration.
Steven Spielberg in an interview with BBC
Speaking with different outlets, Steven Spielberg has noted being influenced by other people’s work and deriving his inspiration from them. Handing down a properly skimmed list of his favorite movies, Spielberg claimed that his filmography is a treasure trove of tributes to those great directors of the past and their works.
1. Dune: Part Two
Among several cult classic movies that influenced Steven Spielberg over the years, the director found his recent favorite in Denis Villeneuve’s magnum opus Dune: Part Two. During an episode of the DGA’s Director’s Cut podcast via Variety,...
Steven Spielberg in an interview with BBC
Speaking with different outlets, Steven Spielberg has noted being influenced by other people’s work and deriving his inspiration from them. Handing down a properly skimmed list of his favorite movies, Spielberg claimed that his filmography is a treasure trove of tributes to those great directors of the past and their works.
1. Dune: Part Two
Among several cult classic movies that influenced Steven Spielberg over the years, the director found his recent favorite in Denis Villeneuve’s magnum opus Dune: Part Two. During an episode of the DGA’s Director’s Cut podcast via Variety,...
- 3/28/2024
- by Krittika Mukherjee
- FandomWire
It’s a rare type of cinephile who wasn’t introduced to the idea of film as more than just idle entertainment by the ritual of the Academy Awards. And it’s an even rarer type of cinephile who didn’t soon thereafter vehemently reject the Oscar as the ultimate barometer of a film’s artistic worth. Those of us who started off with The Godfather, Schindler’s List, All About Eve, or Casablanca all eventually got around to Out of Africa, Around the World in 80 Days, The Greatest Show on Earth, Cimarron, and Cavalcade. First loves being first loves, we still find ourselves regressing if for only one night a year, succumbing to the allure of instant canonization even as it comes in the form of repeated slap-in-the-face reminders of Oscar’s bracing wrongness: Gladiator, Braveheart, Chicago, Crash. In that sense, consider this project part cathartic exorcism and part...
- 3/17/2024
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Movies and television have been competing for the same audience's time and money since TV was invented, but they've also formed a strange symbiosis. There have been a heck of a lot of movies based on TV shows, and a heck of a lot of TV shows based on movies.
Some of those shows based on movies have been major pop culture milestones, like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Karate Kid," and "Friday Night Lights." And of course a whole lot of been almost completely forgotten, like the sitcoms based on "Dirty Dancing," "Working Girl," and "Animal House."
But one thing these TV shows usually have in common is that they're almost always based on a hit movie. It's not surprising when a blockbuster like "M*A*S*H" or "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" gets turned into a television series. It's even common for smaller, but critically acclaimed films...
Some of those shows based on movies have been major pop culture milestones, like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Karate Kid," and "Friday Night Lights." And of course a whole lot of been almost completely forgotten, like the sitcoms based on "Dirty Dancing," "Working Girl," and "Animal House."
But one thing these TV shows usually have in common is that they're almost always based on a hit movie. It's not surprising when a blockbuster like "M*A*S*H" or "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" gets turned into a television series. It's even common for smaller, but critically acclaimed films...
- 12/18/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Quentin Tarantino is an expert on what’s cool, and he thought one of Elvis Presley’s movies was incredibly cool. Notably, two iconic movie stars appeared onscreen with Elvis in the film. The tune also features the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s cover of a hit song.
Quentin Tarantino felt 1 Elvis Presley movie inspired the ’68 Comeback Special’
In his 2022 book Cinema Speculation, Tarantino discussed his love of films about carnivals. “While movies have had no problem depicting life with a traveling circus, carnival stories have been further and farther between,” he said.
“Growing up, my favorite carnival film was Elvis’ superior vehicle, Roustabout,” Tarantino continued. “In that era of ‘Elvis Presley movies’ it was a pretty entertaining little picture chock-full of cool elements, Elvis entering the movie on a motorcycle — dressed head to toe in black leather (in what looks like the same outfit he’ll later make...
Quentin Tarantino felt 1 Elvis Presley movie inspired the ’68 Comeback Special’
In his 2022 book Cinema Speculation, Tarantino discussed his love of films about carnivals. “While movies have had no problem depicting life with a traveling circus, carnival stories have been further and farther between,” he said.
“Growing up, my favorite carnival film was Elvis’ superior vehicle, Roustabout,” Tarantino continued. “In that era of ‘Elvis Presley movies’ it was a pretty entertaining little picture chock-full of cool elements, Elvis entering the movie on a motorcycle — dressed head to toe in black leather (in what looks like the same outfit he’ll later make...
- 12/16/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Since 2012, revered filmmaker Martin Scorsese has belonged to a select group of three-time Best Director Golden Globe winners that grew to include six members when Steven Spielberg took last year’s prize for “The Fabelmans.” Over a decade later, the ever-active octogenarian has a strong chance at rising above his fellow triple champs by achieving another directing victory for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” thus following Elia Kazan as the second quadruple honoree in this category’s 81-year history. Since this would be his 10th time competing here, he would also join Spielberg in the rare distinction of having double-digit directing mentions.
Scorsese earned his first Golden Globe Award in 2003 for “Gangs of New York” (on his sixth bid) and was then further lauded for “The Departed” (2007) and “Hugo” (2012). His remaining half dozen directing notices came for his work on “Raging Bull” (1981), “Goodfellas” (1991), “The Age of Innocence” (1994), “Casino” (1996), “The Aviator...
Scorsese earned his first Golden Globe Award in 2003 for “Gangs of New York” (on his sixth bid) and was then further lauded for “The Departed” (2007) and “Hugo” (2012). His remaining half dozen directing notices came for his work on “Raging Bull” (1981), “Goodfellas” (1991), “The Age of Innocence” (1994), “Casino” (1996), “The Aviator...
- 12/7/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Heading into the 81st Golden Globe Awards, legendary performer Harrison Ford is eligible for two different small screen prizes – Best TV Drama Actor and Best TV Supporting Actor – thanks to his respective turns on the inaugural seasons of “1923” and “Shrinking.” These possible dual bids would come 22 years after he was named the 48th recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille career achievement award and make him a proper Golden Globe competitor for the first time since 1996. Given the fact that 33 other DeMille awardees will have preceded him in subsequently landing regular nominations, it only makes sense to analyze those instances to determine just how great his chances of victory at the 2024 ceremony really are.
Until “1923” premiered on Paramount Plus last December, the 81-year-old Ford had never appeared in a regular capacity on a TV program of any kind. Within six weeks, however, he was officially a multi-series star showcasing...
Until “1923” premiered on Paramount Plus last December, the 81-year-old Ford had never appeared in a regular capacity on a TV program of any kind. Within six weeks, however, he was officially a multi-series star showcasing...
- 11/6/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Judy Nugent, who portrayed one of the twins on the early TV sitcom The Ruggles and a girl who flies around the world in the arms of the Man of Steel on a heartwarming Adventures of Superman episode, has died. She was 83.
Nugent died on Oct. 26 “surrounded by family at her Montana ranch after a short battle with cancer,” according to a family statement shared by her daughter-in-law and Battlestar Galactica and Chicago Fire actress Anne Lockhart (the older daughter of Lassie and Lost in Space star June Lockhart).
The younger daughter of a prop man at MGM, Nugent also appeared in two films directed by Douglas Sirk: as a wise-cracking tomboy who tries to get a blinded widow (Jane Wyman) to snap out of it in Magnificent Obsession (1954), and as one of the daughters of Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett’s characters in There’s Always Tomorrow (1956).
Nugent also...
Nugent died on Oct. 26 “surrounded by family at her Montana ranch after a short battle with cancer,” according to a family statement shared by her daughter-in-law and Battlestar Galactica and Chicago Fire actress Anne Lockhart (the older daughter of Lassie and Lost in Space star June Lockhart).
The younger daughter of a prop man at MGM, Nugent also appeared in two films directed by Douglas Sirk: as a wise-cracking tomboy who tries to get a blinded widow (Jane Wyman) to snap out of it in Magnificent Obsession (1954), and as one of the daughters of Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett’s characters in There’s Always Tomorrow (1956).
Nugent also...
- 10/31/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Charlton Heston became a household name with leading roles in action adventures and biblical epics, but his credits extended past those two well-worn genres. Let’s take a look back at 12 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
After serving in the United States Army Air Force during WWII, Heston made his professional movie acting debut with the film noir “Dark City” (1950). His big breakthrough came just two years later with Cecil B. DeMille‘s big top soap opera “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952), in which he played the circus manager. Though an audience favorite in its time, the film often ranks among the all-time worst Oscar winners for Best Picture.
Heston later reunited with DeMille to play the Old Testament prophet Moses in “The Ten Commandments” (1956), which brought him a Golden Globe nomination. A holy hit at the box office, the role undoubtedly inspired William Wyler to cast...
After serving in the United States Army Air Force during WWII, Heston made his professional movie acting debut with the film noir “Dark City” (1950). His big breakthrough came just two years later with Cecil B. DeMille‘s big top soap opera “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952), in which he played the circus manager. Though an audience favorite in its time, the film often ranks among the all-time worst Oscar winners for Best Picture.
Heston later reunited with DeMille to play the Old Testament prophet Moses in “The Ten Commandments” (1956), which brought him a Golden Globe nomination. A holy hit at the box office, the role undoubtedly inspired William Wyler to cast...
- 9/30/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Any belief that the Oscars award the right films, directors and performances has faded over the years.
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
The Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2023 ceremony taking place in March, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win was a coup for DreamWorks – the film...
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
The Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2023 ceremony taking place in March, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win was a coup for DreamWorks – the film...
- 3/12/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Any belief that the Oscars award the right films, directors and performances has faded over the years.
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
The Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2023 ceremony taking place in March, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win was a coup for DreamWorks – the film...
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
The Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2023 ceremony taking place in March, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win was a coup for DreamWorks – the film...
- 3/11/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Any belief that the Oscars award the right films, directors and performances has faded over the years.
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
The Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2023 ceremony taking place in March, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win was a coup for DreamWorks – the film...
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
The Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2023 ceremony taking place in March, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win was a coup for DreamWorks – the film...
- 3/4/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Few directors have reached the upper echelon in which names like Steven Spielberg reside, and “The Fabelmans” gives viewers insight into how the great movie-making mind came to be. Spielberg’s origin story springs off the page from a script co-written by the director and Tony Kushner, the “Angels in America” playwright and a frequent collaborator of Spielberg’s. Indeed, “The Fabelmans” is inspired by Spielberg’s own childhood and a secret he’s kept since he was a teenager, and its critical acclaim bodes well for its chances this awards season.
Fans and devotees of Steven Spielberg, Michelle Williams and or Paul Dano may be wondering how to watch “The Fabelmans.” We’ve got all your questions answered below.
Also Read:
‘The Fabelmans’ Earns Solid $40,000 Average at Specialty Box Office Is “The Fabelmans” Streaming?
“The Fabelmans” was released exclusively in theaters on Nov. 11, 2022, and while it’s not on a major streaming service yet,...
Fans and devotees of Steven Spielberg, Michelle Williams and or Paul Dano may be wondering how to watch “The Fabelmans.” We’ve got all your questions answered below.
Also Read:
‘The Fabelmans’ Earns Solid $40,000 Average at Specialty Box Office Is “The Fabelmans” Streaming?
“The Fabelmans” was released exclusively in theaters on Nov. 11, 2022, and while it’s not on a major streaming service yet,...
- 3/3/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
The term “passion project” is thrown around a lot in Hollywood; usually as a reference to a personal story that means a ton to its writer, director or star.
But what kind of pressure does that put on the rest of the cast and crew?
This Oscar season, there are a lot of so-called passion projects that have received accolades. Among them: “The Fabelmans,” a family story that was inspired by director and co-writer Steven Spielberg’s own parents; “The Banshees of Inisherin,” a script that writer-director Martin McDonagh spent years perfecting set in an era in Irish history that few outsiders might know about; and the Marvel movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” for which director and co-writer Ryan Coogler had to follow the success of the film’s predecessor, 2018’s “Black Panther” while doing justice to its late star, Chadwick Boseman.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” from the writing-directing...
But what kind of pressure does that put on the rest of the cast and crew?
This Oscar season, there are a lot of so-called passion projects that have received accolades. Among them: “The Fabelmans,” a family story that was inspired by director and co-writer Steven Spielberg’s own parents; “The Banshees of Inisherin,” a script that writer-director Martin McDonagh spent years perfecting set in an era in Irish history that few outsiders might know about; and the Marvel movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” for which director and co-writer Ryan Coogler had to follow the success of the film’s predecessor, 2018’s “Black Panther” while doing justice to its late star, Chadwick Boseman.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” from the writing-directing...
- 3/1/2023
- by Whitney Friedlander
- Variety Film + TV
According to director of photography Janusz Kaminski, Steven Spielberg’s earliest home movies still exist, and were consulted for the scene in “The Fabelmans” in which young Sammy Fabelman recreates a train crash scene from Cecil B. DeMille’s 1952 film “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
“We’ve watched them before, but they are a little too primitive for our purposes,” says Kaminski, veteran of 19 films with the director. “They’re clever, but it was harder back then for a kid. We needed something a bit more slick that would work within our overall film.”
Kaminski shot the majority of the film on 35mm film emulsion, as he usually does with Spielberg. Extensive testing revealed that actual 8mm wasn’t practical in part because striking a print was inconvenient. Kaminski shot the boy’s first attempt, done before he acquires a camera, in 35 mm format, with the sequence ending on a...
“We’ve watched them before, but they are a little too primitive for our purposes,” says Kaminski, veteran of 19 films with the director. “They’re clever, but it was harder back then for a kid. We needed something a bit more slick that would work within our overall film.”
Kaminski shot the majority of the film on 35mm film emulsion, as he usually does with Spielberg. Extensive testing revealed that actual 8mm wasn’t practical in part because striking a print was inconvenient. Kaminski shot the boy’s first attempt, done before he acquires a camera, in 35 mm format, with the sequence ending on a...
- 2/28/2023
- by David Heuring
- Variety Film + TV
Commissions
The BBC Studios Natural History Unit has commissioned three series for BBC One, BBC Two and iPlayer. “Mammals” (6 x 60’), coproduced by France Televisions, Zdf and BBC America, offers insights into the most widespread animal group in the world.
“Big Little Journeys” (3 x 60’), coproduced by PBS, follows the real-life adventures of six tiny animals as they voyage into the unknown. “Wild Scandinavia” (3 x 60’), coproduced by PBS and Sveriges Television, and narrated by actor Rebecca Ferguson (“Dune”), celebrates the wildlife, landscapes and culture of the furthest northern reaches of Europe.
BBC Studios is handling international distribution and will present the series to international customers at BBC Studios Showcase taking place on Feb. 27 and 28.
Meanwhile, the BBC has also commissioned two one-off entertainment shows to celebrate the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. “The Greatest Show on Earth” (working title), produced by Little Gem, will celebrate 25 years since the U.K. last hosted the contest,...
The BBC Studios Natural History Unit has commissioned three series for BBC One, BBC Two and iPlayer. “Mammals” (6 x 60’), coproduced by France Televisions, Zdf and BBC America, offers insights into the most widespread animal group in the world.
“Big Little Journeys” (3 x 60’), coproduced by PBS, follows the real-life adventures of six tiny animals as they voyage into the unknown. “Wild Scandinavia” (3 x 60’), coproduced by PBS and Sveriges Television, and narrated by actor Rebecca Ferguson (“Dune”), celebrates the wildlife, landscapes and culture of the furthest northern reaches of Europe.
BBC Studios is handling international distribution and will present the series to international customers at BBC Studios Showcase taking place on Feb. 27 and 28.
Meanwhile, the BBC has also commissioned two one-off entertainment shows to celebrate the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. “The Greatest Show on Earth” (working title), produced by Little Gem, will celebrate 25 years since the U.K. last hosted the contest,...
- 2/21/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Any belief that the Oscars award the right films, directors and performances has faded over the years.
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
The Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2023 ceremony taking place in March, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win was a coup for DreamWorks – the film...
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
The Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2023 ceremony taking place in March, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win was a coup for DreamWorks – the film...
- 2/19/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Watching The Fabelmans takes you back to India’s official entry to Oscars – Pan Nalin’s ‘Chhello Show’, which is alleged to be similar to ‘Cinema Paradiso’. Chhello Show tells the story of a 9-year-old kid Samay. His parents take him for his maiden movie experience that gets him absolutely mesmerized by films and filmmaking, to the point that he decides to become a filmmaker, unaware of the heart-breaking times that await him. Samay leaves his parents and moves with his uncle to pursue his passion for films like Samuel Fabelman whose parents separate, his heart is broken but life goes on.
The Fabelmans is a coming-of-age family drama directed by Steven Spielberg, who co-wrote it with Tony Kushner. The film is a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on Spielberg’s adolescence and formative years as a filmmaker, told through an original story of the fictional Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel Labelle), a...
The Fabelmans is a coming-of-age family drama directed by Steven Spielberg, who co-wrote it with Tony Kushner. The film is a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on Spielberg’s adolescence and formative years as a filmmaker, told through an original story of the fictional Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel Labelle), a...
- 2/8/2023
- by Nitin Jain
- GlamSham
Just when you think you’re out, the Oscars inevitably pull you back in.
This year’s biggest night in movies is set for March 12 at 8 p.m. Et, and will be televised on ABC per tradition (and a lucrative broadcast deal for the Academy). Cinema’s highest accolades have been broadcast for at-home viewers since 1953, when Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Greatest Show on Earth” took home Best Picture.
The 95th Academy Awards ceremony has as many analysts focused on the success of the show itself as the winners in each category. With Hollywood vying for audience attention, exactly which people tune into the Oscars — and the more opaque question of why — stands to cast a shadow over not just the future of how we honor film artistry, but the brass tax of business at the box office.
“Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” stand out...
This year’s biggest night in movies is set for March 12 at 8 p.m. Et, and will be televised on ABC per tradition (and a lucrative broadcast deal for the Academy). Cinema’s highest accolades have been broadcast for at-home viewers since 1953, when Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Greatest Show on Earth” took home Best Picture.
The 95th Academy Awards ceremony has as many analysts focused on the success of the show itself as the winners in each category. With Hollywood vying for audience attention, exactly which people tune into the Oscars — and the more opaque question of why — stands to cast a shadow over not just the future of how we honor film artistry, but the brass tax of business at the box office.
“Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” stand out...
- 2/7/2023
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
The most fun moments of watching the Oscars are always the surprises.
The unexpected wins from dark horses are always so much more thrilling than predictable outcomes.
It's not that the winners were undeserving -- it's often that their wins seemed to come out of nowhere.
With prognosticators having Oscar predictions down to a science, anything remotely surprising is a rare treat.
Here are some of the most shocking wins that left us with our jaws on the floor!
Adrien Brody (Best Actor In A Leading Role) in The Pianist
Brody was the only Oscar-less member of his cohort when he won for his role as Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman.
Up against Jack Nicholson, Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, and Daniel Day-Lewis, Brody's win made him the youngest Best Actor in the history of the Oscars, at age 29.
Unfortunately, his behavior is what most people remember about his win -- when...
The unexpected wins from dark horses are always so much more thrilling than predictable outcomes.
It's not that the winners were undeserving -- it's often that their wins seemed to come out of nowhere.
With prognosticators having Oscar predictions down to a science, anything remotely surprising is a rare treat.
Here are some of the most shocking wins that left us with our jaws on the floor!
Adrien Brody (Best Actor In A Leading Role) in The Pianist
Brody was the only Oscar-less member of his cohort when he won for his role as Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman.
Up against Jack Nicholson, Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, and Daniel Day-Lewis, Brody's win made him the youngest Best Actor in the history of the Oscars, at age 29.
Unfortunately, his behavior is what most people remember about his win -- when...
- 1/30/2023
- by Mary Littlejohn
- TVfanatic
Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences attempts to award Oscars to the “best” film or artist in each category that year, and each year it fails at least a few times.
There is always room for disagreement on what constitutes “best”: how can we possibly compare Toy Story 3, Inception and The King’s Speech? And yet voters did just that in 2010.
It is similarly impossible to nail down all the egregious choices in academy history, but here are a few of the most glaring errors. Starting with the granddaddy of them all...
How Green Was My Valley
Beat: Citizen Kane to Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography in 1941
It takes a bit of searching these days to find someone who has a) seen John Ford’s Welsh melodrama How Green Was My Valley and b) did not do so out of a morbid curiosity...
There is always room for disagreement on what constitutes “best”: how can we possibly compare Toy Story 3, Inception and The King’s Speech? And yet voters did just that in 2010.
It is similarly impossible to nail down all the egregious choices in academy history, but here are a few of the most glaring errors. Starting with the granddaddy of them all...
How Green Was My Valley
Beat: Citizen Kane to Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography in 1941
It takes a bit of searching these days to find someone who has a) seen John Ford’s Welsh melodrama How Green Was My Valley and b) did not do so out of a morbid curiosity...
- 1/30/2023
- by Helen O'Hara
- The Independent - Film
The year 1953 surely left even the most devoted Oscar fans scratching their heads. One of the biggest upsets ever for Best Picture, some shocking snubs and all major awards going to different films led to some baffling anomalies at the 25th Academy Awards ceremony on March 19, 1953. This was also the year that the film industry finally capitulated to its rival source of entertainment, television, and for the first time broadcast the lavish ceremony live for viewers at home – so perhaps they wanted to dazzle and stun. Let’s flashback to the Oscars from 70 years ago.
With the cameras switching back and forth between Bob Hope hosting in Los Angeles and Conrad Nagel hosting in New York, the event attracted the largest single television audience to date in that medium’s young history. Five films were nominated for Best Picture, including the expected winner “High Noon,” plus “The Quiet Man,” “Moulin Rouge” and “Ivanhoe.
With the cameras switching back and forth between Bob Hope hosting in Los Angeles and Conrad Nagel hosting in New York, the event attracted the largest single television audience to date in that medium’s young history. Five films were nominated for Best Picture, including the expected winner “High Noon,” plus “The Quiet Man,” “Moulin Rouge” and “Ivanhoe.
- 1/26/2023
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
The director’s 1950s-set semi-memoir brilliantly examines how we edit our own life stories, and the repercussions
Steven Spielberg’s utterly beguiling fictionalised movie-memoir is his new adventure in Panglossian optimism, and offers us a stunning critical insight into his own work and how and why artists cauterise childhood pain and rewrite their youth. Movies are not exactly a matter of “escapism” – a lazy and misleading word – but all about intervening in real life, reordering the landscape, addressing frailty and vulnerability candidly, but from a position of strength.
Young Spielberg is reborn as Sammy Fabelman, a little kid in 1950s New Jersey who is hit by cinema as by a bolt of lightning when he sees Cecil B DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth; he is stunned by the train crash scene, which he obsessively re-stages at home with a toy train set and an 8mm camera. Like most of the movie,...
Steven Spielberg’s utterly beguiling fictionalised movie-memoir is his new adventure in Panglossian optimism, and offers us a stunning critical insight into his own work and how and why artists cauterise childhood pain and rewrite their youth. Movies are not exactly a matter of “escapism” – a lazy and misleading word – but all about intervening in real life, reordering the landscape, addressing frailty and vulnerability candidly, but from a position of strength.
Young Spielberg is reborn as Sammy Fabelman, a little kid in 1950s New Jersey who is hit by cinema as by a bolt of lightning when he sees Cecil B DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth; he is stunned by the train crash scene, which he obsessively re-stages at home with a toy train set and an 8mm camera. Like most of the movie,...
- 1/25/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Gabriel Labelle as Sammy Fabelman in The Fabelmans, co-written, produced, and directed by Steven Spielberg Photo: © Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC. All Rights Reserved Because it’s directly inspired by the events of his adolescence, The Fabelmans is indisputably the most personal film of Steven Spielberg’s career—but only by a matter of degrees.
- 11/10/2022
- by Todd Gilchrist
- avclub.com
The little boy is scared. There’s such a large crowd outside the theater. He has no idea what will happen when he walks through the doors and into the room filled with dozens of seats, all facing a large blank square. Plus it’s in the dark. He’s been told him that there are giants in there, though his dad gently corrects him; the people are normal-sized, they’re just on a big screen. It’s 1952, Sammy Fabelman in six years old, his parents have taken him to...
- 9/11/2022
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Has any divorce had a more profound impact on the American imagination than the one between Steven Spielberg’s parents? It was the breakup that launched a million blockbusters. That made daddy issues into a spectacle all their own. That led directly to “E.T.,” “Catch Me if You Can,” and the last scene of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” while also paving the way toward any number of iconic films about the meltdown of the nuclear family — which any multiplex would tell you was the middle class’ defining crisis of the 20th century.
And so it stands to reason that “The Fabelmans,” in which Spielberg finally addresses his parents’ divorce head-on — and in exacting autobiographical detail, every shot a memory — would feel like our story as much as it does his own. I’d say this was trying to split the difference between memoir and crowdpleaser, but it seems...
And so it stands to reason that “The Fabelmans,” in which Spielberg finally addresses his parents’ divorce head-on — and in exacting autobiographical detail, every shot a memory — would feel like our story as much as it does his own. I’d say this was trying to split the difference between memoir and crowdpleaser, but it seems...
- 9/11/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
While streaming services take their place in the realm of the movie viewing experience, a new Steven Spielberg film is still an event picture worth going to the cinema for. Today, we have our first look at the trailer for Steven Spielberg’s latest, The Fabelmans, a semi-autobiographical tale that is positioned to be a favorite at the Academy Awards.
“Movies are a dream that you never forget,” The Fabelmans’ trailer opens. From there, we see a young boy named Sammy creating a film clip at home of a toy train crash. Next, Sammy and his family go to the movies to see The Greatest Show on Earth, which has its own spectacular train crash and is often cited as the first film Spielberg ever saw. Various moments depict family struggles and the distinction between passion and hobby, with Judd Hirsch’s character declaring, “Family, art, life–it’ll tear you in two.
“Movies are a dream that you never forget,” The Fabelmans’ trailer opens. From there, we see a young boy named Sammy creating a film clip at home of a toy train crash. Next, Sammy and his family go to the movies to see The Greatest Show on Earth, which has its own spectacular train crash and is often cited as the first film Spielberg ever saw. Various moments depict family struggles and the distinction between passion and hobby, with Judd Hirsch’s character declaring, “Family, art, life–it’ll tear you in two.
- 9/11/2022
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Click here to read the full article.
Immediately joining the first ranks of artists’ memoirs, Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans is both a vivid capturing of the auteur’s earliest flashes of filmmaking insight and a portrait, full of love yet unclouded by nostalgia, of the family that made him.
Brought to life by heart-grabbing performances from Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and relative newcomer Gabriel Labelle, it brims with compassion and understanding for both of his parents, whose divorce split their tight-knit family when he was a teen.
It begins with little Sammy Fabelman (Mateo Zoryan Francis-DeFord), about to see his first movie, standing apprehensively outside the cinema. He’s scared to go inside, where he’s heard the stories are told by giant people, and his parents (Mitzi and Burt, played by Williams and Dano) try to assuage his fears. Amid their soothing assurances, Burt crouches down and tries...
Immediately joining the first ranks of artists’ memoirs, Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans is both a vivid capturing of the auteur’s earliest flashes of filmmaking insight and a portrait, full of love yet unclouded by nostalgia, of the family that made him.
Brought to life by heart-grabbing performances from Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and relative newcomer Gabriel Labelle, it brims with compassion and understanding for both of his parents, whose divorce split their tight-knit family when he was a teen.
It begins with little Sammy Fabelman (Mateo Zoryan Francis-DeFord), about to see his first movie, standing apprehensively outside the cinema. He’s scared to go inside, where he’s heard the stories are told by giant people, and his parents (Mitzi and Burt, played by Williams and Dano) try to assuage his fears. Amid their soothing assurances, Burt crouches down and tries...
- 9/11/2022
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hours after the film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival to largely positive reviews, Steven Spielberg has just revealed the first trailer for “The Fabelmans,” a film about his own childhood, his parents and learning to love the movies.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday night, where Spielberg said that you shouldn’t believe the rumors that this movie marks his swan song or his retirement.
“The Fabelmans” stars Gabriel Labelle as 16-year-old aspiring filmmaker by the name Sammy Fabelman alongside his mother played by Michelle Williams and his father played by Paul Dano. While the film takes some creative liberties, Spielberg based the film quite closely on his parents and his childhood, even co-writing the screenplay with playwright and “West Side Story” screenwriter Tony Kushner.
Also Read:
‘The Fabelmans’ Film Review: Steven Spielberg’s Sweet Memory Piece Picks Up Steam...
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday night, where Spielberg said that you shouldn’t believe the rumors that this movie marks his swan song or his retirement.
“The Fabelmans” stars Gabriel Labelle as 16-year-old aspiring filmmaker by the name Sammy Fabelman alongside his mother played by Michelle Williams and his father played by Paul Dano. While the film takes some creative liberties, Spielberg based the film quite closely on his parents and his childhood, even co-writing the screenplay with playwright and “West Side Story” screenwriter Tony Kushner.
Also Read:
‘The Fabelmans’ Film Review: Steven Spielberg’s Sweet Memory Piece Picks Up Steam...
- 9/11/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
If any movie deserved its hyperbolic standing ovation on the festival circuit this year, Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” was it. When the director took the stage of the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, he received the thunderous response to more than 50 years of filmmaking, not just the passion project that recounts the beginning of that journey.
Many prominent directors have made personal projects about their youth in recent times, from Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” to James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” and Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light,” but only Spielberg could have made a movie with such an explicit relationship to his own celebrated filmography, and the warm reception is likely to follow him through awards season.
Spielberg’s career has gone through many phases, but “The Fabelmans” stands out his most contained and intimate movie, a semi-autobiographical drama about ambitious teen Sammy Fabelman (newcomer Gabriel Labelle) as he discovers...
Many prominent directors have made personal projects about their youth in recent times, from Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” to James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” and Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light,” but only Spielberg could have made a movie with such an explicit relationship to his own celebrated filmography, and the warm reception is likely to follow him through awards season.
Spielberg’s career has gone through many phases, but “The Fabelmans” stands out his most contained and intimate movie, a semi-autobiographical drama about ambitious teen Sammy Fabelman (newcomer Gabriel Labelle) as he discovers...
- 9/11/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
No director has done more to deconstruct the myth of the suburban American family than Steven Spielberg. Dissertations have been written and documentaries made on the subject. And now, at the spry young age of 75, Spielberg himself weighs in on where his preoccupations come from in “The Fabelmans,” a personal account of his upbringing that feels like listening to two and a half hours’ worth of well-polished cocktail-party anecdotes, only better, since he’s gone to the trouble of staging them all for our benefit. Spielberg’s a born storyteller, and these are arguably his most precious stories.
From the first movie he saw (“The Greatest Show on Earth”) to memories of meeting filmmaker John Ford on the Paramount lot, this endearing, broadly appealing account of how Spielberg was smitten by the medium — and why the prodigy nearly abandoned picture-making before his career even started — holds the keys to so...
From the first movie he saw (“The Greatest Show on Earth”) to memories of meeting filmmaker John Ford on the Paramount lot, this endearing, broadly appealing account of how Spielberg was smitten by the medium — and why the prodigy nearly abandoned picture-making before his career even started — holds the keys to so...
- 9/11/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
There is definitely a trend of late for film directors to take a look, in thinly disguised cinematic memoirs, at their early influences that shaped the artist and person they have become. Kenneth Branagh with Belfast and Paolo Sorrentino with The Hand of God did it last year. Of course there is Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, and others over the years. Sam Mendes, while not drawing a portrait of his younger self, revisits the movie palaces of his youth in another 2022 offering, Empire of Light, which premiered last weekend at Telluride and will also hit the Toronto Film Festival.
TIFF is also where the man I recently described as the Goat, Steven Spielberg, has chosen to debut his own story where the names have been changed but the tale is clearly his. The Fabelmans, basically chronicling his early Jewish family life and infatuation with making movies, had its world premiere Saturday night,...
TIFF is also where the man I recently described as the Goat, Steven Spielberg, has chosen to debut his own story where the names have been changed but the tale is clearly his. The Fabelmans, basically chronicling his early Jewish family life and infatuation with making movies, had its world premiere Saturday night,...
- 9/11/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Every director, it seems, has a deeply personal coming-of-age story to tell, from Francois Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” to Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari” to Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma.” And lately, every Toronto International Film Festival has made one of those films a centerpiece of its lineup. Last year, it was Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” which won TIFF’s audience award and went on to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture; this year, it’s Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” which had its world premiere on Saturday night in the Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre.
Based on Spielberg’s childhood in New Jersey (briefly), Phoenix (longer) and Northern California (for a stormy stretch in high school), “The Fabelmans” is a sweet look back at a boy who was transfixed by the movies from the moment he saw “The Greatest Show on Earth” in 1952, and...
Based on Spielberg’s childhood in New Jersey (briefly), Phoenix (longer) and Northern California (for a stormy stretch in high school), “The Fabelmans” is a sweet look back at a boy who was transfixed by the movies from the moment he saw “The Greatest Show on Earth” in 1952, and...
- 9/11/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
There's a scene in Steven Spielberg's "The Fabelmans" that hit me like a ton of bricks. Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel Labelle), a kid who dreams of making movies, has just met his Great Uncle Boris (Judd Hirsch). In his youth, Boris worked in the circus — and in the movies. He's an artist, and he recognizes that Sammy is an artist, too. And as Boris matter-of-factly points out, Sammy may love his family — but he loves making movies just a little bit more. It was one of those "ah-ha" moments I've longed to hear spoken aloud. The idea that you can love those near and dear to you, but you can also love movies — and making art — just a little bit more.
"The Fabelmans" is the movie Spielberg has been working towards for his entire life. I'm not saying it's his masterpiece — it's not. I'm saying that this is Spielberg's own personal story rendered in slick,...
"The Fabelmans" is the movie Spielberg has been working towards for his entire life. I'm not saying it's his masterpiece — it's not. I'm saying that this is Spielberg's own personal story rendered in slick,...
- 9/11/2022
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Before the academy expanded the Best Picture race in 2010, the winner of that award almost always picked up the Best Director prize as well. But since then, these two awards have aligned at only seven of the dozen ceremonies. We thought that we’d see another case of double-dipping this year with Jane Campion winning for both directing and producing “The Power of the Dog.” But now it looks like “Coda” will claim the top prize of Best Picture, with Campion consoling herself with being the third woman to win Best Director.
Why the change?
When the decision was made to increase the number of nominees for Best Picture, it was also decided to bring back the preferential ballot that had been used by the academy until the mid 1940s. The rationale was that by ranking the nominees, the winner would be the film that had the broadest level of support.
Why the change?
When the decision was made to increase the number of nominees for Best Picture, it was also decided to bring back the preferential ballot that had been used by the academy until the mid 1940s. The rationale was that by ranking the nominees, the winner would be the film that had the broadest level of support.
- 3/27/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
In the postwar turf fight between the motion picture industry and the television networks, the first telecast of an Academy Awards ceremony by NBC on March 19, 1953 marked the beginning of grudging truce: The movies would use TV to lure audiences back into theaters and TV would use the movies to sell television.
As usual, a lot of the action took place off (either) screen. In addition to the film-v.-TV storyline and the backstage machinations to win the gold-plated statue (by now universally known as Oscar, though still a name that required quotation marks, at least according to the grammar police at the New York Times), a political undercurrent rumbled beneath the hooray-for-Hollywood festivities. The showdown was not just, or maybe mostly, between calibrations of film artistry but, in the case of two of the five best picture nominees, between gradations of ideological correctness.
Three of the candidates bore no...
As usual, a lot of the action took place off (either) screen. In addition to the film-v.-TV storyline and the backstage machinations to win the gold-plated statue (by now universally known as Oscar, though still a name that required quotation marks, at least according to the grammar police at the New York Times), a political undercurrent rumbled beneath the hooray-for-Hollywood festivities. The showdown was not just, or maybe mostly, between calibrations of film artistry but, in the case of two of the five best picture nominees, between gradations of ideological correctness.
Three of the candidates bore no...
- 3/26/2022
- by Thomas Doherty
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Any belief that the Oscars award the right films, directors and performances has faded over the years.
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
Despite the recent victories of Parasite and Nomadland, the Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2022 ceremony arriving this weekend, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win...
While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions – trophies handed to the right people for the right films – more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients.
Despite the recent victories of Parasite and Nomadland, the Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.
With the 2022 ceremony arriving this weekend, we have highlighted 17 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is one of the mustier Best Pictures winners of the century so far. While its win...
- 3/24/2022
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
First 4K Ultra HD in the Paramount Presents Line Debuts May 17, 2022
with New and Legacy Bonus Content
One of the greatest Westerns in cinematic history arrives for the first time ever on 4K Ultra HD with High Dynamic Range (Hdr) as part of the Paramount Presents line when The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance debuts May 17, 2022 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Four-time Academy Award®-winning* director John Ford brought together an all-star cast for what is considered by many critics to be a quintessential—and yet pioneering—Western late in his storied career. Starring James Stewart and John Wayne (together for the first time), alongside Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, John Carradine and Lee Van Cleef, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance tells the engrossing story of a senator (Stewart), his old friend (Wayne), and a despicable outlaw called Liberty Valance (Marvin).
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance...
First 4K Ultra HD in the Paramount Presents Line Debuts May 17, 2022
with New and Legacy Bonus Content
One of the greatest Westerns in cinematic history arrives for the first time ever on 4K Ultra HD with High Dynamic Range (Hdr) as part of the Paramount Presents line when The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance debuts May 17, 2022 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Four-time Academy Award®-winning* director John Ford brought together an all-star cast for what is considered by many critics to be a quintessential—and yet pioneering—Western late in his storied career. Starring James Stewart and John Wayne (together for the first time), alongside Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, John Carradine and Lee Van Cleef, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance tells the engrossing story of a senator (Stewart), his old friend (Wayne), and a despicable outlaw called Liberty Valance (Marvin).
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance...
- 3/22/2022
- by [email protected] (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Netflix has the right to flex after this weekend’s trio of big wins from the Directors Guild of America (DGA), BAFTA and Critics Choice Awards, where it won the top prizes with Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.” With its mighty 12 nomination haul, and the criticism from Oscar-nominee Sam Elliott over the movie’s homosexual themes, arguably helping it along, the film could be headed for B-e-s-t-p-i-c-t-u-r-e (so to speak). However, with two 50/50 screenplay categories up for grabs — “Belfast” and “Licorice Pizza” battling for original, and “Coda” and “The Power of the Dog” angling for adapted — the answer to which film wins the Academy’s top prize is within those races.
Walking into a ceremony with the most nominations is not always a given for Oscar success, shown by our last three tally leaders: “Mank” (2020), “Joker” (2019), “The Favourite” and “Roma” (2018). Campion’s methodical drama has brought Netflix...
Walking into a ceremony with the most nominations is not always a given for Oscar success, shown by our last three tally leaders: “Mank” (2020), “Joker” (2019), “The Favourite” and “Roma” (2018). Campion’s methodical drama has brought Netflix...
- 3/14/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences attempts to award Oscars to the “best” film or artist in each category that year, and each year it fails at least a few times.
There is always room for disagreement on what constitutes “best”: how can we possibly compare Toy Story 3, Inception and The King’s Speech? And yet voters did just that in 2010.
It is similarly impossible to nail down all the egregious choices in academy history, but here are a few of the most glaring errors. Starting with the granddaddy of them all...
How Green Was My Valley
Beat:Citizen Kane to Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography in 1941
It takes a bit of searching these days to find someone who has a) seen John Ford’s Welsh melodrama How Green Was My Valley and b) did not do so out of a morbid curiosity...
There is always room for disagreement on what constitutes “best”: how can we possibly compare Toy Story 3, Inception and The King’s Speech? And yet voters did just that in 2010.
It is similarly impossible to nail down all the egregious choices in academy history, but here are a few of the most glaring errors. Starting with the granddaddy of them all...
How Green Was My Valley
Beat:Citizen Kane to Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography in 1941
It takes a bit of searching these days to find someone who has a) seen John Ford’s Welsh melodrama How Green Was My Valley and b) did not do so out of a morbid curiosity...
- 3/12/2022
- by Helen O'Hara
- The Independent - Film
You can find strange similarities between almost any two years for Oscar prognosticating. Just days away from the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards and three weeks out from BAFTA and Critics Choice ceremonies, there are odd correlations between this year’s crop of nominees and the ceremony that rewarded the 1952 cinematic year.
Denis Villeneuve’s omission from best director for the sci-fi drama “Dune” was the most shocking when Oscar nominations were announced. Nevertheless, the film landed 10 nominations, including best picture, adapted screenplay and every technical category, the sixth film in history to achieve this feat.
In the current Oscar projections, the Warner Bros. adaptation of the famous series is projected to win anywhere between three and eight statuettes. However, if it manages to pick up more than five, it will surpass “The Bad and the Beautiful” (1952) as the most awarded film that was not nominated for best director.
Read...
Denis Villeneuve’s omission from best director for the sci-fi drama “Dune” was the most shocking when Oscar nominations were announced. Nevertheless, the film landed 10 nominations, including best picture, adapted screenplay and every technical category, the sixth film in history to achieve this feat.
In the current Oscar projections, the Warner Bros. adaptation of the famous series is projected to win anywhere between three and eight statuettes. However, if it manages to pick up more than five, it will surpass “The Bad and the Beautiful” (1952) as the most awarded film that was not nominated for best director.
Read...
- 2/22/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The best picture prize is what every studio and filmmaker covets, whether they publicly admit it or not. But, of course, it would help if you had the star power to make it happen. Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett both have proven that they have said star power with the amount of best picture nominees (and winners) they’ve appeared in over their careers. With DiCaprio starring in “Don’t Look Up” alongside Blanchett, who is co-starring in another awards vehicle, “Nightmare Alley,” both stand a solid chance of getting close to — or possibly breaking — a record.
This year, Blanchett’s double feature outings could have her breaking a significant record for female actors. The two-time Oscar-winning actress currently has had a role in seven former Academy nominees: “Elizabeth” (1998), “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Aviator” (2004), “Babel” (2006) and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008). She’s currently tied...
This year, Blanchett’s double feature outings could have her breaking a significant record for female actors. The two-time Oscar-winning actress currently has had a role in seven former Academy nominees: “Elizabeth” (1998), “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Aviator” (2004), “Babel” (2006) and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008). She’s currently tied...
- 1/27/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
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Originally released in 1921 at the height of the nation’s appetite for motion pictures, the epic romantic drama The Sheik became a massive sensation, breaking box office records and earning over $1 million during its first year of release. 100 years later, Paramount Pictures celebrates this towering classic of the silent film era with a brand-new Blu-ray release, arriving as part of the Paramount Presents line on October 19, 2021.
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, The Sheik was directed by George Melford and stars the legendary Rudolph Valentino as the title character. The role helped propel Valentino into stardom and sealed his status as a Hollywood heartthrob—and the original “Latin Lover”—at the age of 26.
The Sheik restoration employed modern technology so viewers can experience the original beauty of this monumental silent film. Since...
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Originally released in 1921 at the height of the nation’s appetite for motion pictures, the epic romantic drama The Sheik became a massive sensation, breaking box office records and earning over $1 million during its first year of release. 100 years later, Paramount Pictures celebrates this towering classic of the silent film era with a brand-new Blu-ray release, arriving as part of the Paramount Presents line on October 19, 2021.
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, The Sheik was directed by George Melford and stars the legendary Rudolph Valentino as the title character. The role helped propel Valentino into stardom and sealed his status as a Hollywood heartthrob—and the original “Latin Lover”—at the age of 26.
The Sheik restoration employed modern technology so viewers can experience the original beauty of this monumental silent film. Since...
- 8/19/2021
- by [email protected] (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
No rest for the weary, especially when it comes to Oscar campaigning. Focus Features has set up the first Oscars FYC special screening and conversation of the awards season for Tom McCarthy’s “Stillwater” with star Matt Damon and the writer and director scheduled to attend in-person at the 350-seat Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles.
AMPAS members received an invitation on Wednesday for the special screening and conversation that will take place on Sunday, Aug. 1, with an option to bring a guest. The invite included an asterisk at the bottom of the email stating, “masks must be worn inside the theater.” No other additional information was included in the email regarding theater capacity, vaccinations or any social distancing requirements or protocols.
“It says masks must be worn, but I don’t know if that’s going to be a packed theater or not,” an active voting member of the...
AMPAS members received an invitation on Wednesday for the special screening and conversation that will take place on Sunday, Aug. 1, with an option to bring a guest. The invite included an asterisk at the bottom of the email stating, “masks must be worn inside the theater.” No other additional information was included in the email regarding theater capacity, vaccinations or any social distancing requirements or protocols.
“It says masks must be worn, but I don’t know if that’s going to be a packed theater or not,” an active voting member of the...
- 7/28/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
After its first ever virtual Showcase earlier this year, the 2022 BBC Studios Showcase will also be fully digital, the outfit revealed on Tuesday.
The producer-distributor will hold a three-day program of virtual events running from Feb. 28-March 2, rather than host global buyers in person at its usual Liverpool extravaganza. While the event is still at least six months out, sources tell Variety the company needed to let its suppliers know well in advance.
“We’re proud that BBC Studios Showcase has made the U.K. a key destination for the world’s content buyers but the pandemic has accelerated changes in the way we can help them discover our shows,” said Paul Dempsey, president of global distribution for BBC Studios.
“Their terrific response to our virtual Showcase earlier this year, coupled with continued uncertainty around international travel means that we will once again bring our content to customers digitally next February.
The producer-distributor will hold a three-day program of virtual events running from Feb. 28-March 2, rather than host global buyers in person at its usual Liverpool extravaganza. While the event is still at least six months out, sources tell Variety the company needed to let its suppliers know well in advance.
“We’re proud that BBC Studios Showcase has made the U.K. a key destination for the world’s content buyers but the pandemic has accelerated changes in the way we can help them discover our shows,” said Paul Dempsey, president of global distribution for BBC Studios.
“Their terrific response to our virtual Showcase earlier this year, coupled with continued uncertainty around international travel means that we will once again bring our content to customers digitally next February.
- 7/13/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran and Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
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Latest Addition to the Paramount Presents Line Debuts June 1, 2021 with New Special Features
The endlessly quotable and unforgettable drama Mommie Dearest celebrates its 40th anniversary with a brand-new Blu-ray in the Paramount Presents line, debuting June 1, 2021 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Newly restored from a 4K film transfer, Mommie Dearest is presented in a limited-edition Blu-ray Disc™ with collectible packaging featuring a foldout image of the film’s theatrical poster and an interior spread with key movie moments. The Blu-ray includes a new Filmmaker Focus with biographer Justin Bozung on the film and its director Frank Perry, a new audio commentary with American drag queen Hedda Lettuce, access to a Digital copy of the film, as well as previously released bonus content. Special features are detailed below:
· Commentary by American drag queen Hedda Lettuce –New!
· Filmmaker...
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Latest Addition to the Paramount Presents Line Debuts June 1, 2021 with New Special Features
The endlessly quotable and unforgettable drama Mommie Dearest celebrates its 40th anniversary with a brand-new Blu-ray in the Paramount Presents line, debuting June 1, 2021 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Newly restored from a 4K film transfer, Mommie Dearest is presented in a limited-edition Blu-ray Disc™ with collectible packaging featuring a foldout image of the film’s theatrical poster and an interior spread with key movie moments. The Blu-ray includes a new Filmmaker Focus with biographer Justin Bozung on the film and its director Frank Perry, a new audio commentary with American drag queen Hedda Lettuce, access to a Digital copy of the film, as well as previously released bonus content. Special features are detailed below:
· Commentary by American drag queen Hedda Lettuce –New!
· Filmmaker...
- 4/23/2021
- by [email protected] (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Lee Aaker, best known for starring as Corporal Rusty of “B-Company” on the 1950s western series “The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin,” died on April 1. He was 77.
Paul Petersen, another former child actor, confirmed the news to Variety and posted a tribute on his Facebook page, along with a signed photo of a young Aaker with Rin Tin Tin, his onscreen canine pal.
“Saying Goodbye to Lee Aaker,” Peterson said. “You have to be a certain age to remember Rin Tin Tin. Lee Aaker passed away in Arizona on April 1st, alone and unclaimed…listed as an ‘indigent decedent.’ As an Air Force veteran Lee is entitled to burial benefits. I am working on that. God knows when a sparrow falls.”
Aaker was born on September 25, 1943. His mother, Myles Wilbour, was the owner of a dancing school in Los Angeles. He was singing and dancing at local clubs by the age of 4. At 8-years old,...
Paul Petersen, another former child actor, confirmed the news to Variety and posted a tribute on his Facebook page, along with a signed photo of a young Aaker with Rin Tin Tin, his onscreen canine pal.
“Saying Goodbye to Lee Aaker,” Peterson said. “You have to be a certain age to remember Rin Tin Tin. Lee Aaker passed away in Arizona on April 1st, alone and unclaimed…listed as an ‘indigent decedent.’ As an Air Force veteran Lee is entitled to burial benefits. I am working on that. God knows when a sparrow falls.”
Aaker was born on September 25, 1943. His mother, Myles Wilbour, was the owner of a dancing school in Los Angeles. He was singing and dancing at local clubs by the age of 4. At 8-years old,...
- 4/14/2021
- by Antonio Ferme
- Variety Film + TV
Lee Aaker, best known as the 1950s child star of The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin, has died at 77. The news comes via a social media post by former child actor and activist Paul Petersen. Petersen said Aaker “passed away in Arizona on April 1st, alone & unclaimed, listed as an ‘indigent decedent.'”
Aaker was 11 when The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin first appeared on ABC. The western’s original run on Friday evenings lasted from October 1954 to May 1959. Aaker played Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian raid being raised at Fort Apache. He starred opposite James E. Brown’s Lieutenant Ripley “Rip” Masters and, of course, a number of German shepherds who portrayed the titular canine.
Aaker’s career began propitiously. Even before Rin Tin Tin, at the age of 8 he had uncredited appearances in films such as The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and High Noon (1952). Aaker then appeared opposite Barbara Stanwyck...
Aaker was 11 when The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin first appeared on ABC. The western’s original run on Friday evenings lasted from October 1954 to May 1959. Aaker played Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian raid being raised at Fort Apache. He starred opposite James E. Brown’s Lieutenant Ripley “Rip” Masters and, of course, a number of German shepherds who portrayed the titular canine.
Aaker’s career began propitiously. Even before Rin Tin Tin, at the age of 8 he had uncredited appearances in films such as The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and High Noon (1952). Aaker then appeared opposite Barbara Stanwyck...
- 4/14/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
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