The Oscar doesn't always go to...

It's the night in Hollywood, at least it is for some people. I think everyone has heard about the blatant lack of nominations for African Americans. This is nothing new, but it bites a bit more considering Selma is one of the Best Picture nominees. The discrepancy is nothing new and it is egregious some years more than others. Unfortunately, Hollywood is white. They're not proud of that, but they are very white. And the award circuit, for the most part, is a political being. I can't comment on any performances this year because, as usual, I've only seen a few of the movies. But I believe too much focus is placed on an award system that has never been truly reflective of the talent that exists in the industry, regardless of race.
I thought I would share some interesting trivia about the Academy Awards. It is not my intent to belittle anyone's grievances, more to show that many have felt slighted and they all are in good company.

Let's start with 'the most':
Walt Disney was nominated 59 times, 22 of those were consecutive, and won 26 statuettes. All three of those records will never be broken. Ironically, he was only ever nominated for Best Picture once, Mary Poppins, but didn't win.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King holds the record for winning the most awards it was nominated for by taking the statuette for all 11 nominations.
Both Bette Davis and Greer Garson were each nominated a record 5 consecutive years. And Barry Fitzgerald is the only actor to ever be nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for the same role. The rules don't allow for this to happen anymore.

I could continue with 'the most', but I found 'the least' to be far more fascinating.
So here are 'the least':
Though I don't know if this is a record, I thought it was incredible that Anthony Hopkins was on screen for only 16 minutes in his Best Actor winning role as Hannibal in The Silence of the Lambs!
Federico Fellini was nominated 12 times and Ingmar Bergman 9 times and neither won one, though they both did earn honorary Oscars. And Alfred Hitchcock not only never won at the Academy, he was spurned at the Golden Globes, Cannes, the BAFTA's, and Director's Guild. Stunning!
Both Mary Poppins and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won the fewest (only 5) of their nominations (13). Both Johnny Belinda and Becket only managed to win one of their 12 nominations! And The Turning Point and The Color Purple didn't win in a single one of their 11 nominated categories. Steven Spielberg wasn't even nominated for Best Director for the latter.
But the biggest slight by the Academy is this, neither Richard Burton nor Peter O'Toole ever won an Oscar, despite being nominated 7 and 8 times respectively. Both were nominated for Becket! O'Toole was given a Lifetime Achievement Award, the Academy's mea culpa.
In conclusion, it is shameful how much the Academy overlooks performances in all minorities. And perhaps they will change their ways. In the end, there will always be plenty of hurt feelings. What is most important is these talented people continue to produce quality films because there are plenty of us out there that appreciate them, whether they hold that little gold man or not.

And the Oscar went to...

This time of year always makes me miss my mom. We have watched so many movies together and many of them have been Oscar winners. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite moments, lines, and other trivia from some Oscar winning films.

Oscar winner 1951

 

 

Won Oscars for Sound, Costume Design, Screenplay, Director (Joseph L Mankiewicz), Supporting Actor (George Sanders), and Best Picture. Neither Bette Davis nor Anne Baxter won for Best Actress. Amazingly enough, Judy Holliday won for Born Yesterday, also beating out Gloria Swanson, nominated for Sunset Blvd.
Davis had no idea how true this line would be on that night: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!"




 

Oscar winner 1963

Won Oscars for Score, Film Editing, Art Direction, Sound, Cinematography, Director (David Lean), and Best Picture. 
Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif became fast friends during this film. O'Toole swore 'Omar' was not his real name and called him Freddy for the rest of his life. I don't know why I chose that tidbit. I just thought it was great.
One of the best moments ever caught on film is the scene where Lawrence (O'Toole) meets Ali (Sharif). In a wide shot, we watch with Lawrence in anticipation as a black dot on the horizon gets closer and closer, finally revealing itself as a lone rider. Everything about this scene is perfect and is best seen on the big screen.

Oscar winner 1969

Won Oscars for Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actress (Katherine Hepburn). She shared the win with Barbara Streisand for Funny Girl. I've seen both performances and they were both fantastic, but no one is better than glorious Kate. She delivers one of my most favorite movie lines of all time, "I'd hang you from the nipples, but you'd shock the children." In fact, every word of this screenplay is poetry and delivered perfectly by the entire cast.
I never tire of watching this stupendous film. The chemistry between Hepburn and O'Toole is genuine. She affectionately called him 'pig' onset and they sat together every day at five, winding down with a glass of white wine. Now that's a 'tea time' I would have loved to take.

Oscar winner 1983

 Won Oscars for Film Editing, Costume Design, Art Direction, Cinematography, Original Screenplay, Director (Richard Attenborough), Best Actor (Ben Kingsley), and Best Picture. Kingsley so resembled Gandhi that many natives believed he was Gandhi's ghost. Oddly enough, Kingsley's parents were from the same state in India as Gandhi. Perhaps he was truly meant for the role. Either way, his performance is outstanding.
I knew next to nothing about Gandhi before I saw this movie and learned so much about the strength of nonviolence and power of conviction. It's a lesson that should be embraced by everyone, everywhere.




There they are, some of my favorite Oscar winners. I love them all because, in some way, they all remind me of my mom. She is the best movie buddy in the world. I love you Mom, every single day!

J is for killer, pregnant, rock opera!

 J was hard! I had to struggle to find enough movies to review. And I tried hard to find another movie to start with, but when it comes right down to it, this is truly a great movie. The first ever 'summer blockbuster', this movie may have lost it's place at #1 for highest grossing film a long time ago, but it will always be the movie that kept more people out of the ocean than any other film. I was too young to see it in the theater when it came out, but I still remember my older sister's reaction. Not only did she swear never to go into the ocean, but I don't think she's gone in since. That's a testament to how powerful this film is. But this wasn't an easy film to make. The failure of 'Bruce', the mechanical shark, to work underwater necessitated using the camera as the shark, thus creating some incredible pov shots that heightened the suspense. The animosity between Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw translated well to the mutual disdain of their characters onscreen. And the boat built to be sunk at the end of the movie was much more seaworthy than the one used in the rest of the movie. With all this adversity, you'd think we would have never heard from director again. Fortunately, Steven Speilberg doesn't scare as easily as the audience.

Juno is such a fun film...about teen pregnancy, no less! Poor Juno. Her very first sexual experience was a complete disappointment AND she's pregnant. Fortunately, she is much more adept at handling the situation then most of the adults around her. It's her sharp wit and tenacity that create this wonderful story. This film earned a well-deserved Oscar for screenplay for Diablo Cody. Add incredible performances from Ellen Page, Michael Cera, and Jason Bateman, great direction from Jason Reitman and this is a fantastic film. Yet more proof that you don't need a big budget, star power, or special effects to not only make a great film, but also make some money, too

I don't remember if I saw this in the theater. In fact, I can't remember the last time I actually watched the entire film. But I had to include it in this list. It's not because of the incredible cinematography, it was filmed on location in Israel. It isn't the beautiful costuming. It's the music. I grew up singing this rock opera. Not the British stage version, either. This one. Because, in my opinion, no one evokes the helplessness of Jesus in "Gethsemane" better than Ted Neeley. No one shows the forsaken devotion of Judas in "Heaven on their Minds" more poignantly than Carl Anderson. I have been singing "What's the Buzz" since I was a little girl, dancing in my living room. Along with Hair (the original Broadway recording, not the horrible movie), JCS got me across the United States when I moved to California. There is so much history in these songs, they are so woven into my life, that I can't possible separate them. As I write this review, the verses are echoing in my skull. "I only want to say, if there is a way, take this cup away from me, for I don't want to taste its poison."