Showbiz History: CinemaScope, Recycled Comedy, and Jennifer Tilly
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at 12:00PM 9 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history...
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1936: Henry Fonda (then 31 years old and a fresh new face at the movies) marries his second wife, socialite Francis Ford Seymour (then 28). Their marriage will be unhappy and end tragically in 1950 (with her suicide), but their union will produce one of the great inventions of the 20th century: Jane Fonda.
1953: Biblical epic The Robe starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons, world premieres in New York. It's the first movie shot in CinemaScope, "the new dimensional photographic marvel you can see without glasses"...
CinemaScope (and many technological cinematic innovations for that matter) were created to lure the public away from television. The ads are pretty funny in their retro excitement (see above, and thanks to Films, etc for this great find). The movie secures 5 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture) and 2 wins (Art Direction / Costumes)
1960 "BING goes to college with a BANG!" High Time, a now forgotten comedy featuring 51 year old Bing Crosby going to college, is released. Isn't it funny how some comedy plots are recycled like once a decade or so in new drag. Back to School in the 1980s, Billy Madison and Never Been Kissed in the 1990s, 21 Jump Street in the 2010s are other examples of this age gap humor.
1978: "Always look on the bright side of life!" Filming begins on Monty Python's biblical comedy The Life of Brian
1984 Miami Vice premieres on TV. It will be an instant hit and later cultural shorthand for 80s television for its fashion, music and MTV-like vibe. The freshman series will receive 15 Emmy nominations including Drama Series and Lead Actor for Don Johnson, though Emmy will immediately lose interest thereafter. But it burned bright, awards wise, until halfway through its second season at the 1986 Golden Globes when Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas were both nominatd for Lead Actor at the Globes and Johnson won.
1989 Roger & Me, Michael Moore's breakout hit documentary debut about economic troubles in Flint Michigan after mass General Motors layoffs, wins People's Choice at the Toronto International Film Festival starting a great awards run. It later takes the NBR for Best Documentary and the holy trinity of film critics prizes (NYFCC, LAFCA, NSFC) but Oscar turns up its nose as they often did back then, before branch reforms, when it came to super popular documentaries.
2011 Nicolas Winding Refn's stylish critical hit Drive opens in theaters elevating Ryan Gosling's career. Michael recently discussed its "New Classics" glory right here.
2014 Barbra Streisand's "Partners" album, featuring duets with other celebrities (including her son Jason Gould), is released. It hits #1 giving Babs the distinction of being the only recording artist with #1 albums in six consecutive decades. Can she make it a seventh sometime in the 2020s?
2016 Green Book wins People's Choice at TIFF starting its impressive but hotly controversial awards trajectory that ends with a Best Picture win at the Oscars.
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 62nd birthday to the frequently underappreciated Jennifer Tilly
She's always a treat to see onscreen -- it's not just her justly Oscar-nominated hilarity in Bullets Over Broadway (1994). My personal favourite of her performances is Bound (1996). Despite a very stacked Best Actress competition that year she'd have made a grand if atypical inclusion in the lineup.
Other actors born on this day: Bailey De Young (31), Max Minghella (35), Madeline Zima (35), Tanner Beard (36), Fan Bingbing (39), Alexis Bledel (39), Philip Ng (43), Amy Poehler (49), Rossy De Palma (56), Molly Shannon (56), James Moses Black (58), Assumpta Serna (63), Mickey Rourke (68), Ed Begley Jr (71), George Chakiris (86) and Janis Paige (98) who is one of the ten oldest living screen stars; Other Showbiz People: Singer Nick Jonas (28), Oscar nominated sound designer Erik Aadahl (44), Host Tamron Hall (50), Singer Marc Anthony (52), Comic book giant Mike Mignola (60); Gone but not forgotten: Director/Producer Alexander Korda (born on this day in 1893), Lauren Bacall (born on this day in 1924), Peter Falk (born on this day in 1927), and Anne Francis (born on this day in 1930)
Reader Comments (12)
I know Madonna and Angela Bassett share a birthday and birth year but Jennifer Tilly being just as old as them is incredibly strange to me.
Yeah, count me as someone who loves Jennifer Tilly. As for where her second nomination should have been? 1996 is a bit too strong to boot anyone, but 1998 is kind of a weak year. I've seen three of the nominees, and I know my taste ENOUGH to know that I'm probably not going to love Streep's work that year. Paltrow definitely does and Montenegro MIGHT make my top 5. But the other three? A mix of Franka Potente's Lola, JLo's Karen Sisco and Jennifer Tilly's Tiffany Valentine is called for, stat.
The Robe is beautifully appointed and I adore Jean Simmons but you feel every second that it runs. Probably the clunkiness of the new technology that restricted movement but it's a thundering bore.
I LOVE High Time!! It's fluffy and harmless but sunny, shiny and bright too. Bing is charming (and he sings a couple of times) and the supporting cast full of either present stars of the moment (Fabian-cute and appealing), rising stars (Tuesday Weld) or future stars (Richard Beymer & Yvonne Craig). And yes that returning to college plot is certainly durable.
Gracie (Madeline Zima) from The Nanny is 35!! My bones ache.
I’d switch out Keaton and Scott Thomas in a heartbeat (maybe the “overdue” status would have helped one of her later campaigns eventually) for Jean-Baptiste and Tilly.
My Top 10 -
1) Brenda Blethyn - Secrets & Lies
2) Emily Watson - Breaking The Waves
3) Marianne Jean-Baptiste - Secrets & Lies
4) Jennifer Tilly - Bound
5) Courtney Love - The People Vs Larry Flint
6) Frances McDormand - Fargo
7) Tea Leoni - Flirting With Disaster
8) Fairuza Balk - The Craft
9) Heather Matarazzo - Welcome To The Dollhouse
10) Gina Gershon - Bound
Patricia Arquette and Renee Zellweger would be easy nominees in a different year...
My daughter just watched Monsters Inc. this week, and Jennifer Tilly's voice was perfect for sexy/scary monster Celia. Pixar knows how to expertly choose voice actors.
More recently, Life of the Party with Melissa McCarthy (return to college movie).
Jennifer Tilly nabbed her Oscar nod on her own. I saw her speak on that recently and I was like okaaay miss ma'am, good for you.
What about Peter Fonda? He's cool.
Jennifer Tilly is awesome and one hell of a poker player.
i'm pretty sure i'll still need my glasses, cinemascope - you're not my optometrist
i love how the tilly sisters each nabbed an oscar nom even though meg's career was brief and jennifer's not taken that seriously
I hardly wish you'd do a showbiz history on me birthday, november 14th. Just saying 😁
Par wins the comments section today for that first sentence.
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