4 random things that happened on this day, January 20th, in showbiz history
1933 The infamous erotic drama Extase (Ecstacy) starring Hedy Lamarr, and filmed simultaneously in three languages (German, Czech, French) premieres in Czechoslovakia. It would take years to travel the Globe since it kept running into trouble with censors due to Hedy's nude scenes and being one of the very first movies to depict a female orgasm (Hedy's perfect face in close-up). Famously brainy Lamarr helped translate the original Czech screenplay into German and French for filming...
1966 The Don Knotts comedy The Ghost and Mr Chicken and the Sophia Loren Nazi-revenge drama Judith open in movie theaters.
2001 The very disturbing L.I.E. premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on this day. The dark film about two teen hustlers (Paul Dano and Billy Kay) entangled with a pedophile (Brian Cox) was a critical darling in its year scoring various critics prizes or nominations for Cox, an NBR award, and 7 Independent Spirit nominations, with Paul Dano winning for "Best Debut Performance".
2017 Split starring James McAvoy as a multiple-identity killer and Anya Taylor-Joy as his prey opens in theaters becoming a surprise hit.
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 43rd birthday to César winning actor Omar Sy of The Intouchables and Chocolat fame. We either had never seen this Vogue photoshoot from 2012 featuring Jessica Chastain or we'd forgotten about it but wanted to share. Next up for Omar is the franchise return Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
Other showbiz birthdays today: Auteur David Lynch (more on him later today), Auteur Federico Fellini (about whom we wrote a bunch last year for his centennial), Spanish director José Luis Garci (The Grandfather), Oscar winner Patricia Neal (Hud, Face in the Crowd), Evan Peters (American Horror Story), Rainn Wilson (Juno, The Office), Oscar nominee Margaret Avery (The Color Purple), Michael Nardone (The Night Manager, Child 44), Skeet Ulrich (The Craft, Scream), Colin Clive (Christopher Strong, The Bride of Frankenstein), Lorenzo Lamas (Grease, Falcon Crest), problematic Stacey Dash (Dionne in Clueless), Tom Baker (Doctor Who, Nicholas and Alexandra), Huntley Ritter (Bring it On), DeForest Kelley (Star Trek), George Burns (Oh God!), Daniel Cudmore (Collossus in X2), Mary Louise Burke (Series 7 The Contenders, Sideways), talking heads Melissa River and Bill Maher, musicians Questlove, Will Young, and Paul Stanley, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin who turns 91 today. He has been played onscreen by numerous actors including Cliff Robertson, Bryan Cranston, James Marsters, and Corey Stoll.