Q&A: Iconic Couples, Vote Counts, Favorite Kurosawas
Monday, February 22, 2016 at 6:00PM There were so many good questions this week for the Q&A that we had to do this twice. Here are more questions asked of your host Nathaniel, and now answered. Thanks for being engaged readers!
Nicole & Ewan at MTV Movie Awards 2002Since there's been talk of how sweet it would be to see Leo and Kate both win Oscars this year, I've been thinking about recent screen couples that have captured audiences' imaginations in that way, that people would love to see win Oscars at the same time and I couldn't think of any quite on that level. Are there any post-Titanic screen couples you think of as legendary pop culture pairings? -EDWIN
Had Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor ever reteamed post Moulin Rouge! I think they might have become a screen couple like that. The fact that they haven't is a tragedy since we will love them until their dying day. You could argue that Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) qualify. I think if Heath Ledger were still alive this might have happened with him and Jake Gyllenhaal since they're both such tremendous actors and liked each other quite a lot. It would have been fascinating to see them co-star in a second film in a totally different genre.
The Film Experience is 1000% behind today's Hollywood realizing that reteaming stars who had insane chemistry is one of the best traditions of Old Hollywood. It's not only fun for fans, it's also marketable! Wouldn't you be so excited if Kate & Leo made a comedy together in 2018?
What's your favorite performance given by an animal actor? -TYLER
Asta as "Mr Smith" from The Awful Truth (1937) which is my first or second or third* favorite screwball comedy of all time. (It's hard to decide because they're so many great ones)
If it was up to you to decide, would you release the official vote counts from old Oscar ceremonies? Or would that take away the fun of endless speculating? is there a particular race you would want to know the official tally? - MARCELO
The answer and more after the jump...
Don't you love the way Nicole says "Oscah"? (Watching old Oscar clips is so otherworldy sometimes; see Heath Ledger clapping with date Naomi Watts, who starts the standing ovation (!); Julianne looks 12 years younger (um...); Alec Baldwin brought his brother Stephen!
In truth it's only emotionally right and culturally just that they don't release them. Ever. Otherwise it turns a rare honor into a potentially shaming thing -- imagine someone or something awesome getting only a few votes from thousands?!? Or imagine the agony of knowing someone who should have won lost by only a razor thin margin? BUT OF COURSE I WANT TO KNOW. I'm most curious about the numbers in presumably tight races like Best Picture '13 & '72, Best Actress of '50, '88, and '07, Supporting Actress '07 & '88, Supporting Actor '12, and both the Sean Penn years '03 & '08 in Best Actor since he had once-in-a-lifetime performances as rivals.
Given the landscape of the cinema world of 2015, who do YOU think would best personify the year, and therefore present the award for Best Motion Picture in two weeks? - DAN
I'm not sure I can jibe with this question since that's not how I would determine who gave the Best Picture award each year. The awards themselves personify the year in question so the rest of the ceremony should connect the current year of cinema to its past and future (which is why they should look at ascending stars more often than presenter mainstays like, I dunno, Cameron Diaz or Salma Hayek... for the regular awards).
I would determine who presented Best Picture in one of two ways and both involve achieving legend status. It should be an older woman for the next several years to counteract the many years of the Jack Nicholsons and such. Some perfect choices: Meryl Streep, Catherine Deneuve, Shirley Maclaine, Dames Judi & Maggie. I could go on. Or since they moved the Honorary Oscar off the air, they could just have one of those recipients present Best Picture each year. I mean why not give the honor to Spike Lee & Gena Rowlands, you know? People always argue you need a household name... but why are we catering to people who aren't into the mystique and legend of the movies? Serve your loyal audience!
Or, here's a perfect solution: Give the honor to Carrie Fisher, General Leia herself in the year's biggest behemoth Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and her mother Debbie Reynolds who just won an Honorary; that'd serve both your suggestion and the history of cinema function that we believe in here for Best Picture.
If the Oscars for a given year were decided ten years after the fact, do you think Brokeback Mountain would be nearing its Oscar win or would Crash still get the gold? (Is there any film from the 2005 lineup that you think wouldn't have be nominated?) -EVAN
Brokeback Mountain would obviously win the prize and Memoirs of a Geisha wouldn't be stealing its tech prizes, either. In most years the prize winner and some of the nominees would be different if they had ten years to consider it. That said 2005 wasn't a particularly strong year so the Best Picture field might not change all that much. I'd like to think that The New World, Pride & Prejudice, and A History of Violence would fair better now that a decade has passed but people don't seem to talk about any of them that much so maybe not? I still think they're all better than that entire Best Picture field save Brokeback.
What do you think of The Grifters (1990)? I just recently saw it and think it's glorious for its greek tragedy meets pulp fiction style. Hands on Anjelica Huston's second best work (after Morticia of course) and The Bening is such a hoot! - FADHIL
I love The Grifters like crazy (we write about it sometimes) and think it's Anjelica's best onscreen work, period. She would be my Best Actress winner that year with Meryl Streep a close second. Back in 1990 before I was writing about the movies it was in my Best Picture ballot (I started making those as soon as I understood what the Oscars were). People don't realize this but if you look at the navigation bar of this site there's a pull down for "top tens" and you can see different years there.
I recently went through a lot of Kurosawa's filmography and realized I've never heard you discuss him. What do you think of him as a writer/director? Favourites of his work? - MDA
The first one I ever saw was Yojimbo but I remember almost nothing about it. That's true for a few others too which I saw in my first flush of cinephilia. My favorite is currently Ran (1985) but I have to admit that I've never been as gaga as you're supposed to be for either Rashomon (1950) or Seven Samurai (1954). I have a soft spot for Dreams (1990) if only because I first saw it in Japanese with Norwegian subtitles and that was OK since Kurosawa is such a visual god. I'm considering doing either Throne of Blood (1957) or Kagemusha (1980) for Hit Me With Your Best Shot this year since we haven't done a Kurosawa and those are the two I feel worst about not having seen yet.
Since it's an election year I was wondering what is your favorite political film? - TYSON
I am cuckoo crazy for Nashville (1975). I like to steal Nick Davis's quote on that one whenever people bring it up "I want to rub that movie all over me". In some ways the politics are background atmosphere in that movie so if you don't accept that answer I'll take either Reds (1981) for my epic drama or Election (1999) which rules the satiric subgenre.
Is it just me or do this decade's Best Picture winners feel more forgettable than usual? If The Revenant wins this year, could we be in for the worst streak of winners since ... the '80s? -ANDY
As someone who unashamedly loved The Artist (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013) AND Birdman (2014), naturally I don't feel this way. But I understand the frustration as I've had runs like that with Oscar myself. I have given up hope on Spotlight winning this year because I respect it and the other two frontrunners I don't like and it hasn't happened in quite a while that I've disliked a Best Picture winner (Slumdog Millionaire I guess) so it's past time and the winner will be The Big Short or The Revenant.
We know you read other film/tv sites and link to interesting stuff weekly, but do you listen to other performing arts-related podcasts, and if so, what are your favorites? -Pam
I don't so much read other film sites faithfully as "keep an eye on them" though I like certain writers here and there a lot. As for the second half of the question I don't actually listen to podcasts. I know that's weird. I blame this on my lack of a commute because I work from home and I absolutely cannot listen to people talking while doing anything else -- not a multi-tasker in that way. But every once in a while I am reminded they exist and listen to "You Must Remember This" because it's really good.
READERS - YOUR TURN. We' d love to hear
a) which podcasts you consider essential
b) which Oscar contests you'd like to see a vote count on
c) what your favorite political films are (it's a subgenre I haven't really spent a lot of time with)
d) which screen couples post-Titanic you'd argue for as iconic or "could get there with a re-team"
Reader Comments (42)
I can't think of onscreen couples, but I would love to see Damon, Paltrow, Law, and Blanchett re-team and do a "Closer" type of movie.
Also, I'm more curious to find out by how much the dreadful sixth placers missed the shortlist. Take 2005, for example: by how much did Joan Allen miss that Best Actress shortlist?
Please, Throne of Blood! Color Kurosawa woukd be too obvious. And Throne of Blood is astonishing!
And Advise & Consent is my favorite political ever. Love late Preminger (see also Bunny Lake is Missing).
Ditto on Throne of Blood! His greatest, I think, even though I haven't even come close to seeing his entire oeuvre.
...but like you, I also have a soft spot for "Dreams"
Man, 1990 best actress is tooooough, because those are four iconic roles and one Joanne Woodward, and they're all excellent in them. I'd bounce between Huston and Bates any given day, and write a thank-you note to Roberts or Streep any time I catch Postcards or Pretty Woman on the boob tube.
I'd love for you to do a Kurosawa for Hit Me. He's on my list of shameful filmography holes.
a) Yours above all;
b) Best Actor 1974; Best Actress 1950; Best Supporting Actor 1989; Best Supporting Actress 1976; Best Directing 1972; Best Picture 1941. But I agree: they should never release them. (But I want to know too!)
c) General Idi Amin Dada, All the President's Men, JFK.
d) I would be up for that Leo & Kate comedy. How about also Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara in a caper movie, Michael Douglas and Glenn Close as Ellen Page and Jesse Eisenberg's parents in a family drama, and, always, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in a new Woody classic (well, it would be a classic simply by dint of their being in it!).
I would like to see the votes for supporting actress 2000. I am glad Harden won but that was a shock.
This is my first time watching that clip on Sean Penn winning his Oscar...the thing that strikes me most is how Bill Murray looked so disgruntled:)
I'm bummed you didn't get to my question. Alas, maybe next week.
In the meantime:
1. Yours-I never miss it. I don't do a lot of other ones, honestly-I'm more apt to catch a TCM documentary of some sort instead.
2. 1950 Best Actress, hands down. I want to know between Swanson and Davis who got the bronze.
3. Nashville and Julia both come to mind.
4. Ryan Gosling & Michelle Williams, Clive Owen & Julianne Moore, Tom Cullen & Chris New, and Rachel Weisz & Tom Hiddleston I want to see together again.
As far as presenting Best Picture, that's a good way to do it. (The best choices would be someone tied to, but not actually in, one of the highest grossers of the year. If there's no one even half-way appropriate who's alive, go with someone in them.) Here's how I'd apportion the last 10 ceremonies:
2005: Actual presenter: Jack Nicholson. My choice: Adam West. (Batman.)
2006: Actual presenters: Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. My choice: Ursula Andress, Diana Rigg, Jane Seymour, Maryam d'Abo, Izabella Scorupco and Eva Green. (The first primary Bond Girls for all the Bonds. Yes, it's an unusual amount, but it's the kind of legacy exalting moment that the Academy should do more often.)
2007: Actual presenter: Denzel Washington. No change. (Nothing promising.)
2008: Actual presenter: Steven Spielberg. No change. (Give him one, at least.)
2009: Actual presenter: Tom Hanks. My choice: Nichelle Nichols. (Star Trek.)
2010: Actual presenter: Steven Spielberg. My choice: Hasselhoff. (Iron Man 2, by way of having been Nick Fury.)
2011: Actual presenter: Tom Cruise. My choice: Barbara Bain. (Mission: Impossible TV show.)
2012: Actual presenters: Jack Nicholson and Michelle Obama. My choice: Switch Jack out for Kirsten Dunst.
2013: Actual presenter: Will Smith. My choice: Lawrence Fishburne.
2014: Actual presenter: Sean Penn. My choice: Harrison Ford. (One of the top movies was, ultimately, about a group of Han Solo types. Yes, it's loose.)
This year? Diana Rigg (Lazenby had only one film, so his first primary is also his last primary), Jill St. John, Tanya Roberts, Carey Lowell, Halle Berry and Lea Seydoux. (Hey, Craig clearly wants out and has pretty much said that in interviews. This would be a great symbolic gesture from Hollywood.)
Agree on Throne of Blood! I believe that this is the best Macbeth adaption on the screen. I am a theatre nerd and I just adore this movie!
Small town politics: "A Man To Remember" (1938)
Directorial debut of Garson Kanin, written by Dalton Trumbo.
One of the NYT's Best Films of 1938.
Considered a "lost film", a nitrate print of this with Dutch subtitles was found in the Netherlands. It was restored, and TCM showed it.
I found it heartbreaking. Those old time movie makers really went for the jugular in terms of emotion.
reteam ruffy and the lovely laura linney [but never as lovers; that'd be wrong]
Big yes to Carrie Fisher handing out best picture! But like every year!
b) Best Actor '95, the *other* Sean Penn year. I still can't with the winner that year, consensus be damned.
d) Jakey and Annie. Once yes, twice no (except for the skin), I'm game for round three.
@ John T: You do not want to find out that Anne Baxter was the silver medalist...
a) which podcasts you consider essential
Bret Easton Ellis. He reveres movies. No matter his interviewee he'll wedge movies into the conversation.
b) which Oscar contests you'd like to see a vote count on
All actress acting categories.
c) what your favorite political films are (it's a subgenre I haven't really spent a lot of time with)
Shampoo.
d) which screen couples post-Titanic you'd argue for as iconic or "could get there with a re-team"
Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring.
If Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds gave out Best Picture, I think my heart would burst. Aren't these shows run by the gays? Those presenters are the best they could come up with?
The craft in Memoirs of a Geisha was fantastic.
1. Podcast - BBC Mark Kermode & Simon Mayo Film Review - enjoyable " Wittertainment", they do great interviews, rants, and reviews. Hello to Jason Isaacs.
2. Couldn't bear to see a vote, either I'm too happy, or need to forgive.
3. Nashville is the best - but Wag the Dog, and In the Loop are favourites as well.
4. I'm still hoping for Keira Knightley & James McAvoy, also Kristen Scott Thomas & Ralph Fiennes.
I liked the ending of Begin Again but I would be up for more Mark Ruffalo & Keira - preferably in a fun little comedy. Stanley Tucci & Meryl Streep - a third time perhaps?
O yes Throne of Blood!! Yamada Isuzu is sooooo deliciously diabolical as Lady Macbeth!!
Rashomon is my fav Kurosawa...its theme that all men for himself is soooo devastating when I first saw it.
Ran was also v good w its richly colored costumes (won an Oscar) and gorgeous cinematography.Mieko Harada also made an excellent Lady Macbeth type of character. I'm quite surprise it nabbed a few tech nom and a best director nod, but was snubbed in the foreign pic category??
a) Yours and You Must Remember This are the only ones I listen to with regularity.
b) I prefer not to be saddened even further by the Academy's poor choices. The only voting data I'd like to have any knowledge of would be the results for the best picture nominations, thus clarifying which films would have been nominated if the expanded field had been used years ago.
c) The Gospel According to St. Matthew, The Battle of Algiers, Viridiana and the recent Arabian Nights trilogy are some of my favourites.
d) While I don't particularly like them together, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper are getting there with their multiple collaborations and general movie star charisma. Also Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke.
First and foremost, as an all-out Crash lover I must say "Mwahwahwahwahwa, whine away Brokwback widows!!!!". If the vote was held today, Crash would win again as it won back in the day: in a landslide! The movie remains intensely popular with the silent majority (we still love the movie, we just don't argue with you anymore, it's been a decade, gurls, move on!). I must note though that ragging on the Memoirs of a Geisha tech wins is a whole level of BBM whining. As dull as the story is, that movie truly is a technical marvel.
Also the Crash upset remains the gold standard for interwebz Oscar-related meltdowns, which only deepens my love for it. Meryl taking down Viola runs a distant second. If only we had forum boards back in 1954 when Grace Kelly knocked out Judy Garland...
As to the questions:
a) The /Filmcast is the best podcast out there for movie reviews. Hosted by Dave Chen, who is adorably humble, with Davindra Hardawar from InGadget.com and Jeff Cannata from We Have Concerns as co-hosts. Fun, insightful, enthusiastic chat between movie-lovers, for other movie lovers. Plus, they have both spoiler-free and spoiler-full sections in their reviews, so if you're sensitive about that, it is still a good listen.
b) I have no interest in vote tallies, but if I had to choose any, I would ask the Academy to confirm that Marisa Tomei won Supporting Actress and kill that anecdote that Jack Palance read her name just to troll people and she actually did not win.
c) I am a hardcore Lincoln fan, and I love that, of all aspects of his life and career, the political maneuvers to get the 13th Ammendment through Congress should be the focal point of the movie. Tony Kushner's screenplay is genius!
d) I am actually on the opposite camp on this one, as I like to have that ONE movie that captured insane chemistry (romantic or otherwise) as lightning in a bottle, rather than multiple projects with the same pair. I much prefer one Fatal Attraction, one Silence of the Lambs, one Thelma & Louise than several outings with Close & Douglas, Foster & Hopkins, Davis & Sarandon, etc. I will always be grateful to Jodie Foster for passing on the other Hannibal movies for this exact reason.
I probably have one big exception to this rule, the Before trilogy. I could watch Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke reteam over and over again, but only to play Jesse and Celine. I wouldn't be particularly interested in a match up outside of this specific Linklater universe.
Volvagia, no offence but some of your suggestions for BP presenters are kinda nuts. Yes, having Nicholson over and over is boring... but you want them to invite old Bond girls (many of whom haven't really been in much else of relevance) and stars from decades-old genre TV shows? Don't hold your breath for those! Haha
One of my favorite BP presenters in recent years was when the Douglases did it together. They should have more dynasties! Reason why Nathaniel's suggestion of Fisher and Reynolds is so great! Although I assume Reynolds may not be in great health, since she missed the governor's awards. They should have Hawn and Hudson or Voigt and Jolie. Although I can totally see them going for Sydney Poitier (he just turned 89!) this year if he's up for it. That'd check all kinds of boxes.
a) which podcasts you consider essential: You Must Remember This - I feel a tug in my heart every time an episode ends.
b) which Oscar contests you'd like to see a vote count on: Best Actress 1950, imagine if Bette Davis was told! And every Oscar race Katharine Hepburn won since she was never the front runner when she did win.
c) what your favorite political films are: Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Blazing Saddles (think about it) and The Manchurian Candidate
d) which screen couples post-Titanic you'd argue for as iconic or "could get there with a re-team": Keira + James
RE-TEAM - Reese & Joaquin in a romantic comedy written and directed by either Paul Thomas Anderson or Woody Allen.
I hope someone re-teams Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton or Matthias Schoenaerts and Marion Cottillard. Or Ralph and Matthias, or Tilda & Matthais.... Basically more Matthais.
Believe it or not, there are only three or four entertainment podcasts I listen to with frequency and yours is one of them! I also really enjoy the /filmcast, The Q&A and WTF. There is just something about those conversations that make long drives and workouts more enjoyable.
I'd love to see an Oscar vote breakdown for Best Picture and Director 2010, if only to see just how beloved movies like The Social Network, The Fighter and True Grit really were going against The King's Speech
.
All The President's Men is a fantastic political film, though it's also about journalism. JFK was the last truly great political piece by Oliver Stone and a masterclass of filmmaking. If forced to choose, and maybe this is a cheat since there are plenty of theatrical releases to choose from, I'm tempted to say last year's Show Me A Hero was the best political drama I've seen in years. It's certainly the best and most humanistic work Paul Haggis has ever done. David Simon's writing is sublime, and Oscar Isaac makes the case for being not only the best actor of his generation, but perhaps one of our best leading men.
Affleck and Damon really should get their Baseball drama The Trade made, I think it would be a perfect iconic screen-couple showcase for these best friends. I think it would be great to see Ralph Feinnes and Kristin Scott Thomas together again as well, what a beautiful screen team. Lastly, here I am fudging rules around again, I'd adore seeing the cast of Devil Wears Prada (Streep, Tucci, Blunt and Hathaway) working together again.
I absolutely have to agree by the way about Best Picture presenters needing to be a lengend-level statesman/woman of Hollywood. Meryl Streep is the ideal candidate, but just off the top of my head these names make sense as a show-closing presenter: Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Steven Spielberg, Johnny Depp, Diane Keaton, Tom Hanks, and Morgan Freeman.
My favorite podcast other than yours is Fighting in the War Room. I started listening to it because I became a fan of Katey Rich through this website. I also like the Vulture TV Podcast because I enjoy hearing Matt Zoller Seitz's insights. But You Must Remember This is great, too.
Lyndee, I like the idea of Reese and Joaquin re-teaming. I also wish Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes would re-team. And they just worked together, but it would be fun to see Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain couple in another film. Do Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench count as an on-screen couple? Because I'd like to see them work together again, too.
a) which podcasts you consider essential
I love Tapley and Anne Thompson, but I haven't seen one since he moved to Variety, or maybe I haven't noticed.
b) which Oscar contests you'd like to see a vote count on
Clearly the big 8, but I think the public should have to wait at least a decade to get the data.
c) what your favorite political films are (it's a subgenre I haven't really spent a lot of time with)
Some great choices here - the aforementioned Nashville and Election, Dr. Strangelove, Milk... but if I have to pick the one I enjoy watching most it's The Contender. I can't imagine anyone else but Joan Allen in that role. She is phenomenal.
d) which screen couples post-Titanic you'd argue for as iconic or "could get there with a re-team"
Kenneth and Emma forever.
Stray Dog is the best Kurosawa, in my opinion, and also a good choice for "best shot" as so much of its meaning come out through its mise-en-scene. Very beautiful black-and-white (more so than Throne of Blood, in my opinion). And earns its running time a bit more than Kagemusha, although that's pretty beautiful too.
Thanks for answering my question!
a) Filmspotting, esp when they're doing marathons (like their recent one on Satjajit Ray's movies) and The Treatment with Elvis Mitchell. Even though his is a one-guest per show format, Elvis' questions are brilliant, and the guest always seems pleased to be there and chat.
b) Not really, though it might be fun to see who/what was the runner-up
c) Wag the Dog, All the President's Men, The Manchurian Candidate (both versions), and of course, Nashville
d) @Sawyer--omg, I loved them so much as an onscreen couple. Also, wouldn't mind seeing another pairing of Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, who are both still pretty sexy at age 63 and 62. However, not sure lightning in a bottle can always be captured a second or third time. (although I'm still on board with Mulder and Scully).
The notion of Cate and Judi is VERY interesting. And having just rewatched Brokeback--my god--Heath and Jake were definitely lightning.
Marcia Gay Harden vs Kate Hudson & Francis McDormand in 2000. That was my first Oscar race and she came out of nowhere.
Moreso, I'd want to see the nominating ballots. How did Demien Birchir, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Michael Shannon or Catalina Sandina Moreno make it into the field in such competitive years? Even William Hurt of History of Violence blind-sided me.
I also agree, 2005 was a weird year. Capote and Good Night and Good Luck have aged horribly. New World, Pride and Prejudice, Syriana, Constant Gardener, History of Violence were all better.
a) which podcasts you consider essential
Idk
b) which Oscar contests you'd like to see a vote count on
Winner results? None tbh. I do NOT want to know how many times one of my favorite actresses have lost to someone I don't like. I really don't need that.
c) what your favorite political films are (it's a subgenre I haven't really spent a lot of time with)
JFK, The Manchurian Candidate (the remake-yes I stand to that. Sorry, not sorry), All Quiet on the Western Front and Lion for Lambs (it's flawed, but it's political core hits me always in a way to rethink: what do YOU actually do for politics? Do you even really care?)
d) which screen couples post-Titanic you'd argue for as iconic or "could get there with a re-team"
Iconic screen couples post Titanic? I don't have one, but Stanely Tucci was really great along with Meryl in TDWP and J&J, so I hope they get back together again.
I missed the post-Titanic part. Then I say Gosling and Williams.
a) which podcasts you consider essential
Yours, Anne Thompson & Eric Kohn, and though he frustrates, confounds me at times, Bret Easton Ellis
b) which Oscar contests you'd like to see a vote count on
1999: Best Actor when Roberto Benigni beat out four absolutely stellar performances which included Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan), Nick Nolte (Affliction), Edward Norton (American History X), and especially Ian McKellan (Gods and Monsters) who should have that Oscar above his fire place, NOW!
c) what your favorite political films are (it's a subgenre I haven't really spent a lot of time with)
Out of all of Frank Capra's political films, my favorite is most definitely, Meet John Doe, which unabashedly promotes FDR's New Deal and the need to be vigilant against the constant threat of fascism. Come to think of it, Meet John Doe is must viewing for supporters of Bernie Sanders.
Hal Ashby will always be one of my most cherished directors and his masterpiece, Being There, is the film of his that I watch over and over again. Peter Sellers has never been better (he would have won the Oscar that year over Dustin Hoffman (if I had my way). That aside, the Republican candidates for President, for the most part (minus Rand Paul), remind me of Chance Gardener, in one way explicitly. He is a dunce, albeit a gentle one, not like the current crop of military-industrial complex shills, filled with bile and antipathy. And like Mr. Gardener, they are so disconnected from reality that they may be able to walk on water, too.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention The Year of Living Dangerously, The Official Story and All the President's Men.
d) which screen couples post-Titanic you'd argue for as iconic or "could get there with a re-team"
If they were younger it would be fantastic seeing Streep, Kidman and Moore in an adaptation of George Elliot's, Middlemarch. The book is a treasure trove of interesting roles, where everyone woman has a great moment, or two, to shine: Dorthea Brooke, Celia Brooke, Harriet Bulstrode and Elinor Cadwallader). And I would cast all of them against type. Perhaps, in future, this may be possible; in fact, anyone who has seen the fantastic, under-seen Robin Wright film, The Congress, will know what I mean.
Thanks for answering my question.
I'll agree with a few commenters here that you should defintely do Throne of Blood for Hit Me With your Best Shot; by far the best Shakespeare adaptation I've ever seen.
Since people are suggesting a film to watch of Kurosawa's, I suggest that you may like one of his non-historical, Shakespeare inspired, samurai pictures, and try out High and Low, a contemporary police procedural that if made today would still be shocking. Chock-full of profanity (considering the year made), extortion, child killers and heroin addicts, this is a must see police procedural that is as intense as it is existential.
I think that it would be a horrible idea to release official vote counts for Categories. With the current witch-hunt against Academy members not voting for certain people - who really wants to have final tallies scrutinized as more evidence of indifference. Let's say that Will Smith had been nominated for Concussion and the final results revealed that he placed in the #5 slot of votes.
Must we again endure a witchhunt of 'who voted for him' and 'who didn't!'
which Oscar contests you'd like to see a vote count on
"1999: Best Actor when Roberto Benigni beat out four absolutely stellar performances which included Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan), Nick Nolte (Affliction), Edward Norton (American History X), and especially Ian McKellan (Gods and Monsters) who should have that Oscar above his fire place, NOW!"
I was thinking of the nominating process in 1998, I have yet to see AHX or Affliction, but I think that Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Jim Carrey in Truman Show, Jason Schwartzman in Rushmore, and Warren Beatty in Bullworth are all comparable to the three performances I did see. There's also Ian McKellen in The Apt Pupil (probably a better performance), Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare in Love (had to have been a front-runner of some sort) and John Travolta in Primary Colors (wasn't following entertainment news back then so I'm not sure what the media thought of that performance)
Did no one mention Joaquin and Reese reteaming in Inherent vice?
I would love to see the results from the 2002 Best Actor race, preferably with individual ballots included, so we can know once and for all if vote-splitting occurs. (I personally don't believe that you can split votes in a non-ideological contest like the Oscars though that one race--with two previous Oscar winners competing against a newbie-- gives me pause.)
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