“Academy Spotlight” Archive
Irv Slifkin | Academy Spotlight
Wherever Oscar goes, controversy follows.
In the past, Movie FanFare has looked at the films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture that probably shouldn’t have taken home the big prize. Now we’re going to put our magnifying glass on some of the miscues that may have made in the Best Actor category. (We’ll follow this soon regarding the Best Actress category, as well.)
1940
After losing to Robert Donat (Goodbye, Mr. Chips) the year before, James Stewart won his only gold statue for his turn as the reporter covering a wacky Main Line marriage in the classic romantic farce The Philadelphia Story. Stewart was perfect as the newshound, trading quick-paced dialogue with Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Ruth Hussey, but his previous year’s turn as the wholesome Boy Ranger leader tackling politicians in Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a downright tour-de-force that went unrewarded. In 1940, facing off against Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator, Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath, Raymond Massey in Abe Lincoln in Illinois and Laurence Olivier in Rebecca, this seems almost like a makeup Oscar.
Read More »
Irv Slifkin | Academy Spotlight
While many of the Academy Award shows tend to fade into one another, there is one that remains memorable to many.
It was for the Oscar’s 51st Anniversary, the presentation for the 1978 Academy Awards, which took place on April 9, 1979 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
It was an unforgettable night at the movies because the Oscar nominees and the show itself represented a collision course of sorts between Old Hollywood and New Hollywood, and of political beliefs on different ends of the spectrum. But at the same time, the show was packed with sentiment the likes of which are rarely seen these days at the Oscars. And all of it was set against the backdrop of a disco buzz.
Johnny Carson was the host and, in his inimitable style, the “King of Late Night” had a grand time ribbing the plastic surgery of the folks at the Dorothy Chandler and the inevitable elephantine running time of the show.
Read More »
George D. Allen and Irv Slifkin | Academy Spotlight
What's that everybody always says about the Oscars being predictable? Well, maybe we're just blowing that up this year. Who could have guessed that producer Brett Ratner (he of the Rush Hour films and the less-than-revered third X-Men movie) would step down after shooting his mouth off in a most un-P.C. manner? Will Eddie Murphy be gone too by the time you read this? (Oh, my. Yes, he already is, exiting mere hours after I first prepared this text) Wow. You may or may not recall that I thought he would do a darn good job in what may be an interesting year. Billy Crystal fans may now safely rejoice.
Anyway, it's November 2011, so you know what that means: Oscar prognosticating is well underway! Movie Irv is back, well-rested from making his stellar first round of predictions from 2010 (which you can revisit here if you want to take a stroll down memory lane) to give you some insights and opinion about what to expect when the nominations are announced:
George D. Allen | Academy Spotlight
By the time you read this, Billy Crystal fans everywhere (and I count myself among them) will have had a chance to decompress and begin re-inflating their hopes that one year in the future his price will finally be met and he will agree to return to the stage of the Academy Awards. In the meantime, it’s not too early to start thinking and talking Oscar—or, at least, Oscar hosts—now that Eddie Murphy has been officially tagged as the man in charge of the merriment in 2012.
Is Murphy getting the gig a great idea? A terrible idea? Evidence the Mayans were right about 2012? A piece of news you couldn’t care about in the least because you believe the Oscars are absurd and you turn up your nose at the very idea of watching the telecast?
As always, the announcement of the Oscar host brings about a great deal of second-guessing and chatter. It’s not always immediately clear, pre-show, whether or not a chosen performer will do well navigating the vague expectations of Oscar night, which, if nothing else, should tell us that it has less to do with innate talent than a wide variety of other unpredictable factors. However, I’m going to steam ahead and make something of a predictive evaluation of my own about Murphy’s take on the Big Night:
Read More »
Brian Sieck | Academy Spotlight, Staff Notes
Just thought I would check in real quick before the big (albeit overindulgent and garrulous) ceremony on the 27th to do a rudimentary survey of good old Oscar’s nominations for the best of 2010. Yes, we here at MovieFanFare do a yearly Oscar office pool, and I’ve never won, so I’m hoping for a miracle this year. Most of the time when this little contest rolls around, I have not yet seen most of the nominees due to studios holding their big guns for release late in the year to be at the forefront of voters’ minds come awards time. Now, with the “illustrious” Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences venturing to bestow ten films a year with Best Picture nominations, the challenge to see everything is even greater. However, having said that, I’m proud to state that I’ve been able to catch most of the honored nominees this year, at least in the major categories, and have even seen nine of the ten Best Picture hopefuls.
Read More »
Gary Cahall | Academy Spotlight, Staff Notes
"It's an honor just to be nominated." This is the sort of modest, self-effacing statement that Academy Award nominees will often make to assure the public, the media and perhaps even themselves that they're not desperately, fervently hoping to take home one of the little golden men. In point of fact, one could almost make the case that it's an honor never to be nominated, particularly when you consider the legendary actors and actresses, past and present, who fit that description. After all, what can you say about a movie acting award where Carol Channing has more nominations than John Barrymore, Steve Buscemi, Mia Farrow, Errol Flynn, Richard Gere, Jean Harlow, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Myrna Loy, Marilyn Monroe, Kim Novak, Maureen O'Hara, Gary Oldman, Tyrone Power, Dennis Quaid, Edward G. Robinson, and Donald Sutherland...COMBINED?
Read More »
George D. Allen and Irv Slifkin | Academy Spotlight
The time has arrived! Grab your Oscar ballots and listen to the insights Movie Irv and his two expert guests bring to the table. Will The King's Speech manage a royal sweep? Will enough "friends" declare their "like" of The Social Network? What's in store for Hailee Steinfeld and the redux of True Grit? What Oscar contest from the past does this one most resemble? How would the members of our roundtable change future Oscar ceremonies for the better? And, perhaps more importantly...has anyone out there seen any of the nominated foreign films (besides Biutiful)?
And now, I suppose it must be said--for entertainment purposes only--here's Irv, Brian, and Mark with their great Academy Awards night predictions:
Gary Cahall | Academy Spotlight, Staff Notes
There's about a fortnight or so to go until the pinnacle of Hollywood's seemingly unending self-congratulatory season, the Academy Awards, takes place. And, according to many film critics and Las Vegas odds makers who actually do take bets on this sort of thing, the quest for the Best Picture statue would appear to be a two-movie toss-down between The King's Speech and The Social Network, with Black Swan, Inception and True Grit further behind. Everyone trying to handicap the Oscar races has their own thoughts as to why one movie may win out over another: artistic aspirations, social significance, "feel good" themes, the size of the buffet table at studio screenings, and so forth. Well, I'm no different, and I'd like to present my own very simple theory on the subject; Simply put, The King's Speech will take top honors due to its English setting.
Read More »
George D. Allen and Irv Slifkin | Academy Spotlight, Movie Buzz, Movie Buzz Podcast
How did you fare with your first round of Academy Awards predictions? If you check out 2011 Oscars! Academy Awards Predictions by Movie Irv, you'll see our resident cinema guru did pretty well. Now, let's check in with Irv as he surveys the recent carnage, offering up his picks for Most Snubbed and Most Surprising:
Gary Cahall | Academy Spotlight, Staff Notes
Over the last six weeks or so MovieFanFare ran a trio of Academy Award-related polls--on non award-winning foreign films, films that failed to receive a Best Picture nomination, and Best Picture losers that may have deserved the award over the eventual winners--that elicited a number of comments from movie buffs who were, shall we say, less than happy with some...okay, a lot of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' selections over the years. With last week's upset (to some) win of Kathryn Bigelow's acclaimed but little-seen The Hurt Locker over James Cameron's latest box-office champion, Avatar, for Hollywood's highest honor still fresh in people's minds, it seems like a good time to talk about what it takes to get a Best Picture nomination, why certain films and genres seem to get no respect, and to review some of the most contentious contests in Oscar history.
Read More »
Brian Sieck | Academy Spotlight, Staff Notes
Ah yes, the Academy Awards. Never before has such a noble institution been so incredibly off-base. One can’t help but wonder what amazing film or performance won’t get the recognition it deserves in any of the upcoming ceremonies. After all, throughout Oscar history, it has happened many times. Too often, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has bestowed their golden trophy upon someone who perhaps did not quite deserve the honor over one of their fellow nominees. A few such examples will be illustrated here. Now, in the interest of narrowing down many of the illustrious Academy’s various snubs over the years, I will concentrate solely on acting categories. Additionally, only roles that were actually nominated for the award will have a case made for them. We could be here for days if I were to discuss all the numerous incredible performances throughout the history of filmmaking that weren’t lucky enough to garner an Oscar nomination (John Goodman in The Big Lebowski and R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket are a couple just off the top of my head). Granted, the movie-viewing experience is a subjective one and the majority of Academy voters surely had valid reasons for casting their ballot the way they did. However, I stand by the conviction that these arguments are compelling.
Read More »
George D. Allen | Academy Spotlight, Movie Buzz, Movie Buzz Podcast
...with the help of MovieFanFare's own "Movie Irv" Slifkin, who, as the announcement of the 2010 Academy Award nominees grows near (Tuesday, February 2), has prepared his own set of predictions about both the nominees and the eventual winners. See if you agree:
51 Comments »
