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,