Showbiz History: Golden Globes, Final Films, and Iconic Diane Keaton
Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at 8:00AM 6 random things that happened on this day, January 5th, in history
1933 Construction work begins on the historic Golden Gate Bridge. It will become a popular visual in films. Lately filmmakers love to destroy it with visual effects (see Terminator Genisys, San Andreas, Godzilla, among many others) but we always think of Kim Novak...
...and her petal picking / suicidal impulse in Vertigo. There's actually a documentary about suicides and that iconic landmark called The Bridge (2004).
1960 Mikio Naruse's acclaimed feminist drama When a Woman Ascends the Stairs opens in Japan. It's currently streaming on Criterion.
1966 Seven Women starts its limited release. The period drama about missionary women in danger from a Mongolian warlord had a prestige cast: Oscar winner Anne Bancroft, Globe winner Sue Lyon, and Oscar nominees Margaret Leighton, Flora Robson, Mildred Dunnock, and Eddie Albert. It was the final film directed by the legendary John Ford. He died 7 years later at the age of 79.
1967 A Countess from Hong Kong, a romantic comedy starring Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando premieres in London. It was the final film directed by Charlie Chaplin. The worldwide icon died 10 years later at the age of 88.
1973 Lurid B movie Sweet Kill is released. 50s hearththrob Tab Hunter plays a serial killer of women but the film is notable because it's the directorial debut of future Oscar winner Curtis Hanson who would go on to much greater heights: LA Confidential, Wonder Boys, and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle and among them.
2020 The 77th Golden Globes Awards were held, the earliest the Globes have ever been held in a year. 1917 (Drama) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Comedy) won for film with Succession (Drama) and Fleabag (Comedy) winning for TV. Remember when the wins for 1917 made everyone assume it was the Oscar frontrunner -- well almost everyone -- including Sam Mendes on Oscar night. It certainly made Parasite's historic Oscar wins more exciting. Marriage Story, which went into the night with the most nominations (6) managed only one win (Supporting Actress, Laura Dern). It had the exact same six nominations at the Globes with the same result.
Today's Birthday Suit:
Happy 75th today to one of the greatest movie stars of all time, Diane Keaton.
She's marvelous in so many movies. Here are the performances of hers that most excited awards-giving entities. Would these make your top ten?
- Annie Hall (Oscar, Globe, NBR, NSFC, NYFCC, and BAFTA wins)
- Reds (Oscar, Globe, BAFTA, nominations plus a "foreign actress" win at Italy's Oscars and a runner up citation at LAFCA and NSFC)
- Something's Gotta Give (Oscar Globe, Critics Choice, and SAG nominations plus an NBR win)
- Marvin's Room (Oscar, Critics Choice, and SAG nominations)
- Amelia Earhart: First Flight (Emmy, Globe, and SAG nominations
- Manhattan (BAFTA nomination, and NSFC citation)
- Shoot the Moon (Globe nomination, and NSFC and NYFCC citations)
- Looking for Mr Goodbar (Globe nomination and NYFCC citation)
- Baby Boom (Globe nomination and NSFC citation)
- [TIE] Mrs Soffel and Manhattan Murder Mystery (Globe nominations only)
Other showbiz people celebrating birthdays today: Animation titan Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke), Oscar winner Jane Wyman (Johnny Belinda, Magnificent Obsession), Oscar winner Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies, Apocalypse Now), January Jones (Mad Men, X-Men First Class), Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born), Clancy Brown (Starship Troopers, Shawshank Redemption), Shea Wigham (American Hustle, Perry Mason), Maxim Baldry (Years and Years), Vinnie Jones (Snatch), China's Jiang Wen (Rogue One, Gone with the Bullets), Bollywood's Deepika Padukone, Suzie Amis (Titanic), Pamela Sue Martin (Dynasty, The Poseidon Adventure), Katie Parker (Haunting of Hill House, Halt and Catch Fire), George Reeves (The Adventures of Superman), beefcake director David DeCoteau (Puppet Master II, The Brotherhood), Ted Lange (The Love Boat), Jean-Pierre Aumont (Lili, Day for Night), Franz Drameh (Legends of Tomorrow, Edge of Tomorrow), Denmark's Henning Jensen (Flickering Lights, After the Wedding) and rock star Marilyn Manson,
Reader Comments (20)
I'm disappointed in Diane for playing the same riffs for the last 15 or so years when she's clearly fantastic in Dramas.
The Diane performances I'd add to the above list are her performances in the Godfather trilogy and her performances in the other films she made with Woody Allen. In particular, she is a delight in Sleeper, a total match for Woody in Love and Death, and reunited with him superbly as the middle-aged, long-married couple in Manhattan Murder Mystery.
Once again, I'll just say everyone needs to see Diane Keaton in SHOOT THE MOON. She should have gotten an Oscar nomination, and really should have won #2 for it.
Diane Keaton is a comedy goddess... the Golden Gate Bridge is a classic location but you forgot to mention "It Came From Beneath the Sea" in which Ray Harryhausen's stop motion giant octopus brings it down.
Naruse became one of my favorite directors in the past year, but I'm saving When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. The best film I saw in 2020 was his film Flowing, which is about the last days of the Geisha house and includes one of the greatest casts ever assembled... if you love mid-century Japanese actresses.
Patricia Neal was the original star of 7 Women. During the first week of filming she had her major stroke. Anne Bancroft replaced her.
I thought Keaton did her best work in awhile on The Young Pope -- only time I've seen her challenge herself in years and she's still got it
The Bridge documentary is as fascinating as it is sad and distressing.
7 Women is an okay film but hardly one of Ford's classics. It has a hell of a good cast but a rough production history. Patricia Neal was originally cast in the lead but suffered her devastating series of strokes a few days into shooting and Anne Bancroft stepped in but she and Ford clashed on her interpretation. Ford ended up dubbing her "The Mistress of Monotone". Then there was editing trouble so the release was delayed almost a year.
Speaking of less than stellar swan songs A Countess from Hong Kong while not a total misfire is definitely off day Chaplin.
LOVE Diane Keaton! I think Shoot the Moon is her best performance but my favorite of her films is Baby Boom. Sorry to say since it seems to be so beloved but I hate Annie Hall.
I love Diane Keaton in Reds. This extraordinary two minute speech at the AFI gives us a glimpse of Keaton as an actress and a woman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_RSlmLWI_g
I adore Diane but I came for Bradley Cooper birthday's suit
Top 10 Keaton (not necessarily in this order):
Interiors
Annie Hall
Marvin's Room
The Godfather series
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Play It Again, Sam
Shoot the Moon
Manhattan
Mrs. Soffel
Sleeper
Criterion needs to release Looking For Mr. Goodbar ASAP.
GG Bridge also in the climax to film "A View To A Kill", Tanya Roberts as the statuesque "Bond Girl." Death reported pre-maturely 24 hours ago, but now for real. RIP my favorite Charlie's Angel (other Bond titles include "You Only Live Twice" and "Die Another Day").
"A Countess from Hong Kong" was not liked when it was released- I guess audiences and critics expected too much from that cast and director
Diane Keaton is a legend. She was my first obsession among contemporary actresses. She deserved nominations for Shoot the Moon and Baby Boom. I think she was very close for The Good Mother and The Little Drummer Girl. Her performance in The Godfather films is very underrated and lovely. She adds so much to the stories without any effort.
I'm waiting for Diane Keaton to do drama as I think she's getting lazy in her work in comedy as it's just the same old shit. Still, she looks great for her age.
I found an excerpt of a Diane Keaton participation on the classic TV series Mannix on Instagram. She wasn't yet a star, but already the Diane Keaton we know and appreciate.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJqtj9XgI5T/?igshid=1pfsdw83lhx9v
Love love love Diane Keaton in Manhattan Murder Mystery. Just such a great film all around.. an underrated Woody classic. Hilarious.
I'm from the Bay Area and went to that exact same Kim Novak spot and took an identical picture 50 years later. Still looks the same.
Win: Shoot the Moon
Place: Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Show: Reds
Honorable Mention: Baby Boom
Please do one of these for January 21!