Ask Nathaniel About...
Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 7:26AM 
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) was the first movie to get a Happy Meal tie-inFollowing this week's pure emotion and best (second) actress... it's time for more reader questions. Before you happily type away, do remember: the more cumbersome and enormous your Q, the least likely it gets an A. Not every question is answered but every one is absorbed and sometimes they inspire later posts.
Questions involving 1979 (our year of the month) or summer movie season in general are especially welcome this week (though you can ask other questions too). Did you know that two hugely destructive forces that caused miners to starve and children to become obese, respectively, came to power in the summer of that year: Margaret Thatcher and Happy Meals!
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Reader Comments (40)
1. What do you think the next craze is going to be for blockbuster budgeted movies?
2. Jem and the Holograms trailer.
1979's Original Song lineup (with "The Rose" absent) is one of the oddest in history and is the only time from 1976-87 where a Top 10 hit didn't end up winning the Oscar (again, had "The Rose" been eligible, it surely would have won). Who do you think should have won, and why did they go with the forgettable ballad from Norma Rae?
Ok then: What is your favorite performance(s) by an Actress(es) in 1979?
what is your favorite brazilian movie? (and how many films from brazil have you seen? - an estimate, of course)
and on topic: "kramer vs. kramer" or "apocalypse now"? (your personal taste, disregarding 'legacy' and whatnot)
What are your 5 favourite novels of all time? If they have been translated for the big screen, how would you rank the films?
What are your thoughts on Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs Kramer and in general? Does he rank amongst your favorite actors?
Rose Byrne, Claire Danes, Rosario Dawson and Rosamund Pike were all born in 1979. They're all beautiful and talented but their careers are uneven to say the least. How do you rate their talent and future Oscar chances? What advice would you give them?
It just occurred to me that Claire is the only one without some variant of "Rose" going on.
I can't remember if you've ever addressed this but: What is your LEAST favorite Best Actress win?
John T, sorry to hijack your question, but I think the reason The Rose wasn't nominated was because it didn't become a hit until after the Oscars. That's how I remember it anyway. Also, I think the theme from Ice Castles shoulda had this one in the bag! Melissa Manchester sings the hell out of that one.
Nathaniel, what are your thoughts on the Best Actress lineup of 1979? Who are deserving and who would you replace and with who?
Which 1979 Performance of Film deemed awful at any sex or genre would you like to see re reviewed
1979's Best Picture winner, Kramer vs Kramer, grossed about $350 million domestically when adjusted for inflation. Do you think a non-franchise drama could ever do that kind of box office again, and if so, what would it take? Or has the cinematic landscape changed too much for that to ever happen again?
The Deer Hunter won the Oscar in 1979 (for a 1978 film) and Kramer vs. Kramer won for the 1979 films, so of course I thought of Meryl Streep who had a baby in 1979, which made me wonder, what spawn of famous actor(s) are the mostly likely to win Oscars in the next 10 years? Or maybe what spawn of "filmmakers" are the mostly likely to win for any of the film-making categories?
A few have already done so (e.g., Fonda, Douglas (K nom/honorary, M win) or gotten close (e.g.,Voight win, Jolie nom).
The Rose (1979), Bette Midler's first film, earned her an Oscar nomination, two Globes wins AND a Grammy. What are your favorite Midler films over the years?
What are your top 5 favorite performances in a Summer Blockbuster?
1979's Hair is one of my favorite movies for a lot of reasons, including my enjoyment of the young Treat Williams, John Savage, Beverly D'Angelo and Annie Golden. If you're not planning a big post on Hair, any thoughts on this gem (IMO) from the Dark Ages of Movie Musicals (from Dr. Dolittle to Beauty and the Beast, roughly)?
List of the Academy's "most hated" (overlooked) performers. E.g. Jean-Louis Trintignant, twice overlooked when costar, director, movie (twice best FF, one BP nom) were acknowledged. Can a list be made?
With the amazing reviews for Charlize Theron's performance in the new Mad Max movie, with some comparisons to Sigourney Weaver in the Alien films, do you think it's possible for an actor or actress to get nominated for an action flick again? Obviously there was Heath Ledger, but that was a unique set of circumstances.
Pam,
Jolie won SAs for '99's «Girl, Interrupted.»
Top 5 sports movies NOT about the big 4 American ones (baseball, football, hockey, basketball), e.g. 1979's Breaking Away?
I know you're a purveyor of spread-out Oscar years. Has there ever been a year where you think a movie should have swept all the acting awards?
"The Dukes of Hazzard" debuted January 26, 1979, So pick a team: #TeamBo or #TeamLuke, or was it someone else? #TeamBossHogg #TeamRoscoePColtraine, #TeamEnnis? #TeamJethro? #TeamUncleJesse?
...#TeamDaisy?
Capita--Doh! Of course she did. How could I forget the brother kiss?
Thoughts on the new Nicole Kidman / John Cameron Mitchell project? (Sorry if you've already addressed elsewhere)
Turns out "The Facts of Life" debuted in 1979 too, on August 24, so if we want to keep it actress-centric and not hot redneck - centric, you could answer which one of those girls was your favorite?
Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse, Now was released in 1979. Coppola arguably made his best films in the 1970s. Question No. 1: What do you consider his ten best films? Question No. 2: What performances do you consider the best in his films? And I apologize for asking questions that require long, thought-out answers. I can't help it - sorry - but I at least hope they are an inspiration for future articles.
Which movie came in sixth place for a Best Picture Oscar Nomination in 1979? If the voting was today it would be Manhattan I think. Was it the same back then?
And tell the truth, Dennis Quaid or Hart Bochner? :-)
Dave: 6-10 in 1979, based on nominations? La Cage Aux Folles, The China Syndrome, The Rose, The Black Stallion, and Being There.
Let's start with La Cage: Only three nominations, but since one of those is Best Director, it's pretty much locked for one of those 6-10 slots.
The China Syndrome: Four nominations, including screenplay and MULTIPLE acting nods.
The Rose: Four nominations, including two acting nods and EDITING.
The Black Stallion: Those first three were easy, but about here's where it gets dicey in terms of who gets nominated because there's a lot of two nod movies. This one, though, with the editing nom is highly likely.
Being There: Two male acting noms, one of them WINNING. Yeah, it's a clear tenth placer that probably wouldn't manage it in the variant system, but make no mistake, this would be a Best Picture nominee in the rigid ten system of 2009&2010.
Do you think we'll ever see another surprise acting win? If not, is it because the performances that win are just too big / buzzy? Or is it because of precursor groupthink?
'I'll See You in My Dreams' seems like one of those movies that could have gotten Blythe Danner nominated in the late '90s / early '00s (think 'Tumbleweeds,' 'Afterglow,' etc.). Are those kinds of moments a thing of the past? I would love to see Blythe get an Oscar nomination one day.
Do you have a favorite film setting? For me, for example, anything that takes place in Victorian London automatically piques my interest.
which TV actor would you like to see transition to the big screen a la Clooney? Conversely, which primarily film actor would you like to see on once a week on TV?
Rosario Dawson is SO underrated it hurts!!! ;(
If Meryl Streep had been nominated as lead actress in 1979 for Kramer vs Kramer, who would have won supporting actress? Who would have won lead actress? Streep is borderline lead or supporting. Because she was still somewhat unknown, I assume that's why she was supporting. No home internet back then and we didn't have 3 million people telling us where placements should be.
What storyline/plot would you want to make if you have a cast consist of: Naomi Watts, Jennifer Lawrence, Choi Min-sik (the guy from OldBoy), Taylor Lautner (haha) and... John Malkovich?
Totally random: what are some of your favorite movie scenes set in an elevator?
This might be too late--but I'd love to hear you discuss the recent post-Holocaust pictures Ida and Phoenix together. They share a lot of similarities--a heroine's devotion to something/someone she doesn't fully know, an ambiguous ending, and SPOILER ***the suicide of the strong woman/guide in her life*** ///END SPOILER.
I thought both movies were absolutely breathtaking in their own ways but the thematic similarities make me wonder if there's something bigger going on in how WWII remembrance and women's identities are represented in Central European film...
Something else than occurred to me:
Rosamund Pike's in a very interesting point of her career following her breakout and nomination. But now she needs to get rid of the cold/scary image (I'm terrified lol). The only upcoming project that we've seen anything for is Return to Sender , which looks like a trashy revenge thriller in which she plays a victim of an assault, but the trailer plays it to suggest her character also turns to the cut-throat strategy. What sort of project you think she needs to broaden her perception in the industry?
Do you think that Diane Keaton will get her fifth Oscar nomination for this decade? Will it be in Best Actress category as usual?
She always gets one every decade ever since she won in 1977
Also consider that we're already halfway through this one, and she rarely makes movies nowadays.
And also a request!
Could you do a retrospective on Julie Christie's carreer?
Since this year is the 50th anniversary of the year of Julie Christie, 1965, when she starred in two of the most acclaimed movies of that year and eventually won the Oscar for Best Actress.