Showbiz History: Ghost in the Shell, Brian Tyree Henry, and the 1980 Oscars
Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 8:00AM 6 random things that happened on this day, March 31st, in showbiz history
1930 The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America agree to accept the "Motion Picture Production Code" a self-censorship guide for Hollywood films. Still, the industry waited another four years to begin enforcing this code which is why early sound cinema is referred to as "Pre-Code" (even though the Code was actually in place already). It's agonizing to look back and wonder how progressive Hollywood might have become had they not begun to enforce the code in the mid 30s since it delayed mature conversations about sexuality and gender roles and marriage (separate beds!), psychology and reality (bad behavior must always be punished!), delayed reckoning with abusive or oppressive religious organizations (no critiques of the clergy!), and forbade sympathetic depictions of homosexuality and interracial romance...
Hilariously the Code also cautioned against the use of firearms onscreen but back then, just as decades later with the MPAA, the censors basically didn't care about excessive violence and were mostly focused on being utter puritans about sex.
1939 The Hound of the Baskervilles opens in US movie theaters with London following two weeks later. Though it was not the first Sherlock Holmes movie it was so successful that 13 more films followed with Basil Rathbone as the great detective and Nigel Bruce as his sidekick.
1981 The 53rd annual Academy Awards are held honoring the best of 1980. It was a very good Best Picture race with the following films all formidable: Coal Miner's Daughter, Elephant Man, Ordinary People, Raging Bull, and Tess. Who would you have voted for that year? In an expanded Best Picture slate you would surely have seen Melvin & Howard, Fame, and The Stunt Man joining them given their nominations. (The very first Golden Rasberries were also held on this day with the award going to the awesome camp spectacle of Can't Stop the Music.)
1993 Rising actor Brandon Lee (Showdown in Little Tokyo, Rapid Fire) tragically dies during an on-set gun accident while shooting The Crow (1994). He was just 28. His father, the legendary Bruce Lee, had died at just 32.
1999 Teen romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, is released
2017 Ghost in the Shell, Boss Baby, and The Zookeeper's Wife, face off on opening day in movie theaters. Boss Baby proves especially formidable knocking Disney's Beauty and the Beast remake off of its #1 perch. It goes on to an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. Ghost in the Shell is not so lucky, opening with a disappointing $17 million and failing to recoup its gargantuan budget. It's one of the first instances we can recall when social media killed a movie before it opened, with frequent complaints about the white-washing of the leading role with Scarlett Johansson taking over the formerly Japanese role. The bad buzz (or maybe it was just the bad box office?) even killed its Oscar chances in Best Visual Effects. The last part was a shame (it didn't even make it past the top 20 - they used to do two rounds of cuts) since the VFX team did very impressive work; that geisha robot was so scary/freaky.
Today's Birthday Suit
How long until Brian Tyree Henry is Oscar nominated do you think? Or, rather, how long until he triple-crowns? He's already been Tony-nominated for Lobby Hero (2018), Emmy-nominated for both Atlanta (2018) and This Is Us (2017) and showed us his Oscar potential in his incredible monologue scene in If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). He's currently on screens in Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and has completed work on not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE more (mostly high profile) movies: Marvel's The Eternals, the Amy Adams vehicle Woman in the Window (2021), the PTSD drama Red White and Water (2021), Joe Wright's take on Cyrano (2022) with Peter Dinklage, and the Brad Pitt led all-star action thriller Bullet Train (2022) from David Leitch the director of Atomic Blonde and Hobbs & Shaw. You can follow him on Instagram.
Bonus Birthday Suit
Happy 29th to model/actor Daniel Malik. We thought we'd shout him out just because he's beautiful and this is interesting 'you know him but you don't know him' case. See, he was the human form and very memorable voice of "Black Philip" in The Witch (and you know how we love the Witch) asking us all if we'd like to live deliciously. He was credited in the film as "Wahab Choudry". He was one of the first South Asian models to make waves in the Toronto fashion scene right around that same time. As far as we can tell his full name is Daniel Wahab Choudry but at some point in the intervening years he's decided to take his mother's maiden name, Malik. Anyway we hope to see and hear him again at the movies. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
Other Showbiz Birthdays today
Our beloved Ewan McGregor (but more on him later today), this year's quadruple-Oscar-nominee Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, The Rider), Oscar winning makeup artists Mark Coulier (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Iron Lady and nominated again this year for Pinocchio) Oscar winner Shirley Jones (Elmer Gantry, The Music Man), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can), Caitlyn Carver (I Tonya, Paper Towns), Oscar winning songwriter Ryan Bingham (Crazy Heart), Tony Cox (Bad Santa, Me Myself and Irene), Richard Chamberlain (The Thorn Birds, Towering Inferno), Director Alejandro Amenábar (The Others, The Sea Inside), Emmy winner Rhea Perlman (Cheers, Matilda), Paul Mercurio (Strictly Ballroom, Neighbours), Oscar nominated cinematographer Edward Lachmann (Carol, Far From Heaven), Daniel Mays (Vera Drake, Atonement), Jacqueline Kim (Charlotte Sometimes, Xena Warrior Princess), Emmy winner William Daniels (St Elsewhere, 1776), Canada's actor/model Daniel Malik (the voice of the devil in The Witch where he was credited as "Wahab Chaudhry"), Finnish director Klaus Härö (Letters to Father Jacob, Mother of Mine), Swedish director Roy Andersson (A Pigeon Sat on a Branch..., About Endlessness), and Oscar nominated screenwriter Valerie Curtin (And Justice for All, Toys)
and late showbiz types like...
Oscar nominated director Robert Stevenson (Mary Poppins, King Solomon's Mines), Director Robert Hamer (Dead of Night, Kind Hearts and Coronets), Director Gary Winick (Tadpole, 13 Going on 30), Director Ted Post (Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Magnum Force), Tony winner and screen actor Richard Kiley (Patch Adams, Thorn Birds), Patrick McGee (Zulu, Barry Lyndon), Emmy winning composer Arthur B Rubinstein (Scarecrow and Mrs King, WarGames)
Reader Comments (26)
ORDINARY PEOPLE all the way
I love pre-code films but I love films made during the Code as well. The restrictions forced the writers to be so creative in the way they wrote dialogue to suggest what couldn't be frankly stated. Many of the films come across as incredibly naive but there is a certain charm to that as well.
The Academy chose correctly in '80 with Ordinary People and Robert Redford was the right winner in director. It remains timely today. The Elephant Man would be my runner-up.
But that's where my agreement ends.
John Hurt would be Best Actor.
Ellen Burstyn would be my Best Actress for Resurrection, though it was an extraordinarily strong line-up and I would have been fine with any of the ladies winning. I would have rather seen Goldie Hawn competing for Seems Like Old Times however.
Timothy Hutton gave an award level performance but he's the lead in Ordinary People. It should have been Donald Sutherland competing and winning supporting actor.
I'm glad Mary Steenburgen has an Oscar but I would have chosen Eva Le Galliene's beautiful work over hers for supporting actress.
Atlantic (2018)? What kind of white nonsense...
I love the geisha robot from Ghost in the Shell. It is actually the sole good thing I can remember from it. Very gay, very stylish, very cinematographic!
1980 is odd... fixed in my Best Picture quintet would be Airplane!, Cruising and The Shinning
Sissy Spacek's Best Actress Oscar for Coal Miner's Daughter is one of my favorite wins in the history of the category. Not only was she superb at portraying Loretta Lynn at many different ages and stages of life, she got to utilize her considerable musical talent as well.
Plus, she won in a super cool jumpsuit that she bought off the rack. She is awesome.
My wife and I have slowly been watching all the Best Pic nominees in a given year going backwards in time. We finished 1981 right before the current Oscar season, so took a pause to catch up on all this year's contenders. We'll be starting up again with 1980 in May. But among the movies I'd seen previously:
* Ordinary People: Remember thinking it had strong acting but Serious with a capital S on its Big Themes. Sutherland should've been nominated; can't say yet whether I would've preferred Moore or Spacek in Best Actress.
* Elephant Man: Somewhat fascinating but slow; you can seen tiny slivers of the future Lynch we'd all come to know and love.
Have yet to see Coal Miner's Daughter, Tess, Raging Bull (I know, blasphemy). Can't wait.
OK My 1980 two cents
Film: Coal Miner's Daughter
Actor: Robert Duvall
Actress: Sissy Spacek
S. Actor: Jason Robards
S. Actress: Mary Steenburgen
Director: Richard Rush
Screenplay: Melvin and Howard/The Stunt Man
Foreign Film: Kagemusha
Coal Miner's Daughter is one of my favorite films of all time. I know that the other 4 have strong partisans, which puts me in a small minority, but for me it's no contest at all. Giving the Best Foreign Film to Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears is one of the most outrageous botches in Oscar history, which is full of them. Jason Robards is better here than he was in either of his two Oscar-winning roles just 3 and 4 years earlier. 3 Oscars in 5 years? Who does he think he is, Walter Brennan? I'd've voted for Michael O'Keefe instead.
I wish Brian Tyree Henry to triple crown someday.
I'd vote for Ordinary People for Best Picture. Since I haven't seen some of the other contenders, I'll just pretend I'm an Academy member who has shirked. The thing I love about OP is that it was a lovely and gripping and honest book, and Director Robert Redford managed to get that same seamless quality into the movie. All of the actors were great. I agree with what someone said about Donald Sutherland. He was really the heart of the film. Of course, bonus points for allowing MTM to take on a totally groundbreaking role for her, being cold, bitter and totally out of her element.
Was Nastassia Kinski nominated for Best Actress? I sort of think not, which would be bizarre to have such a big lead role and billing and get something nominated for Best Picture but not for her.
(Same goes for Beverly d'Angelo in Coal Miner's Daughter in Supporting).
Tom is lovely.
1980 for me is all about the utter brilliance of Mary Tyler Moore in OP I love SIssy but MTM is truly sensational as are all the cast.
Raging bull was robbed .
Ordinary people is not bad, but only Mary Tyler Moore deserved to win.
The elephant man and Tess were good options too.
Coal miner's daughter is just an average biopic with strong performances.
1981 Natalie Wood drowns.
Nathaniel, thank you for crediting The Towering Inferno in recognizing Richard Chamberlain's birthday. I feel that film is unfairly forgotten. It's such a shining example of old-fashioned Hollywood showmanship and craft. The glamour of that movie still resonates. Happy Wednesday.
Raging Bull and Ordinary People are both masterpieces. But, I'd give BP to Ordinary People. It lands every emotional beat expertly, and while it's easy to see the film as baity, it earns every single moment. I would have given Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch the wins.
For 1980, I think I'd go with Raging Bull for Best Picture. For Directing, I'd go with Richard Rush. The Stunt Man is very exciting and Rush deserves an Oscar for the action and humour he brought to it. But the Directing category that year is strong across the board.
My favorite for 1980 is "Ordinary People." The worst was "Can't Stop the Music." What an awful film; Bruce Jenner paired with The Village People? Hmmm.
Raging Bull would've been my pick though I have no issue with Ordinary People.
Can't Stop the Music, the first Bruce Jenner would embarrass himself in front of the world and then he married the fucking Kartrashians, became an even bigger joke, killed someone in vehicular manslaughter, and became a chick to avoid going to jail. Still a major embarrassment and a disgrace to humanity.
Ghost in the Shell wasn't that bad but it's not a great movie at all. I will always prefer the 1995 animated film.
In an expanded field, my top ranked choice in Best Picture would've been Fame. And how could voters marvel at Sissy's career-best work in Coal Miner's Daughter and not recognize the brilliance of Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo and Levon Helm? All three deserved nominations.
But I agree with 5 of their top 6 winners (my supporting actress champ would be Brennan).
@Reebic
Correction:
Bruce Jenner >> in hot pant jeans shorts and crop top << paired with The Village People. 😂😂😂
Susanita: I like that.
1980
Picture: Ordinary People
Actor: De Niro I guess. Vaguely remember Hurt and Hutton rules the year. Sutherland should have been nominated and won, especially with Hutton pished down and out of the way.
Actress: Mary Tyler Moore
Sup. Actor: Timothy Hutton (My win in lead. Robards does his best nominated work this year and would have been a deserving winner and my vote if ignoring category fraud and the showy macho overdue DeNiro would have blocked a more deserving Hutton in Lead)
Sup. Actress: Diana Scarwid (Such heart and naturalism that doesn't read as actorly or manned on screen. One of my favourites of all time and from reading online is up there for most underrated acting nomination ever)
Easily, Ordinary People. I also would have given Oscar to Mary Tyler Moore. Entire cast was terrific.
I watched the 1980 nominated films a long time ago when I was in completist mode so I remember what I felt then rather than specific details. To me The Elephant Man aged well -- so dark, so bizarre, so not-going-to-win-the-Oscar and I appreciate that it got there anyway. But I like the other films as well especially Timothy Hutton and Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People. Sissy Spacek is wonderful but prefer Gena Rowlands in Gloria (Spacek is mesmerising in 'night Mother but I digress).
For actor, I gravitate towards John Hurt but fine with the De Niro win. Eva Le Gallienne for supporting actress. I, too, thought Hutton is best actor material though I'd still go with John Hurt.
For me "Ordinary People" is the best winner of Best Picture in 1980s. Perfect movie.