5 random things that happened on this day, March 21st, in Oscar history only:
1941 The Sea Wolf starring Edward G Robinson and Ida Lupino is released. Director Michael Curtiz is warming up for his rather incredible peak decade (Yankee Doodle Dandy, Casablanca, Mildred Pierce are next) but this one only snags one Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects
1956 The 28th annual Academy Awards are held honoring the films of 1955...
Marty becomes both the shortest film to ever win Best Picture and the first indie to do so. Anna Magnani wins Best Actress for Tennesee Williams' The Rose Tattoo. What would you have voted for that year?
- Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
- Marty
- Mister Roberts
- Picnic
- The Rose Tattoo
I dont have strong feelings about this lineup. Do you?
1967 Wacky musical comedy Thoroughly Modern Millieis released. The 20s spoof was another big hit for Julie Andrews, queen of the 1960s. Oscar voters also loved it nominating it for a pretty impressive 7 Oscars (it won Best Original Score). We've written piece on two of its key nominations: Daniel's piece on its Production Design and Cláudio's piece on Carol Channing's one of a kind Supporting Actress honor.
The 1993 quartet
1994 The 66th annual Academy Awards are held honoring the films of 1993... a very good film year. Schindler's List (7 wins) takes Best Picture and The Piano (3 wins), and Jurassic Park (3 wins) were the other big winners that night.
The 1998 quartet
1999 The 71st Academy Awards are held with Shakespeare in Love (7 wins) and Saving Private Ryan (5 wins) fighting it out all night for best of 1998 honors. Harrison Ford finally announced that Shakespeare has prevailed. People still like to bitch about this (another reminder that comedy and female-focused films are rarely properly respected) but Shakespeare in Love is a wonderful movie.
Today's Birthdays, Oscars Only Edition
Happy 49th to Kirsten Anderson-Lopez who won Best Original Song twice, composing with her husband Robert Lopez for Frozen's "Let it Go" and Coco's "Remember Me". They lost their third nomination though for "Into the Unknown" from Frozen II. We interviewed them for that one!
Jaye Davidson, then and now...
Happy 53rd birthday to model turned actor turned fashion stylist Jaye Davidson who provided his own spoiler for The Crying Game (1992) when he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for playing the transgender Dil in the Best Picture nominated noir. He cashed out of Hollywood after a million dollar paycheck for Stargate (1994). He's never made a movie since.
Happy 63rd birthday to Gary Oldman, nominated for Best Actor for a third time this year for Mank.
Happy 77th to Parisian Best Supporting Actress nominee Marie-Christine Barrault of Cousin Cousine (1975) fame. Other famous films include My Night at Mauds, Stardust Memories, and Swann in Love
On this day 91 years ago comic actor James Coco was born. He's the only man to ever be nominated for both a Razzie and an Oscar for the same role. It was for the dramedy Only When I Laugh (1981) with Marsha Mason in which he played her Gay Best Friend (calling Christopher's fine series!)
On this day 115 years ago Screenwriter Helen Deutsch was born. She was Oscar nominated for writing Lili (1953) but other classics include Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), King Solomon's Mines (1950), and The Glass Slipper (1955). Her last screenplay was Valley of the Dolls (1967)
On this day 117 years ago Cinematographer Edward Cronjager was born. He was nominated for 7 Oscars but never won. His best known fimls were Cimarron (1931) and Heaven Can Wait (1943).
On this day 128 years ago Oscar nominated director Sidney Franklin was born. He started in silent films and though his career didn't extend much beyond the 1930s he directed a handful of women to Oscar nominations including Luise Rainer (The Good Earth), Lynn Fontanne (The Guardsman), Norma Shearer (Barrets of Wimpole Street) and Merle Obron (The Dark Angel).
On this day 132 years ago Director W.S. Van Dyke was born. He directed the Norma Shearer costume drama Marie Antoinette (1938), and the smash hit franchise launcher Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) among many others but he's surely best known today for directing the boozy comedy mystery The Thin Man (1934) for which he received one of his two Best Director Oscar nomination. The other was for the Clark Gable picture San Francisco (1936)
On this day 154 years ago theatrical impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr was born. He was a titanically influential figure on early 20th century entertainment and musical theater via the revolutionary Show Boat. He became the subject of the Oscar winning biopic The Great Ziegfeld (1936) as well as a key character in the Oscar winning star-is-born musical Funny Girl (1968). He was also married to an Oscar nominee, Billie Burke (who we recently discussed on the Smackdown).