Irrfan Khan (1967-2020)

by Nathaniel R

The very last screen shot of Irrfan Khan in the cinema. From the film Angrezi Medium (2020). (Hat tip)

In truly terrible news the great Indian actor Irrfan Khan has died of cancer at just 53 years of age. His passing came just four days after his own mother passed away... though he was well enough a month ago to be tweeting and supporting what would become his last picture Angrezi Medium.

The international star had recently headlined the popularPuzzle (2018) co-starring Kelly Macdonald but he was diagnosed with cancer that year and hadn't been working much since. The beloved Bollywood star actually began his big screen career in an Oscar nominated film. It was Mira Nair's breakthrough Salaam Bombay (1988) which became India's first Oscar nominee in the Foreign-Language Film category. A success in Bollywood in the 1990s, Irrfan crossed over into international stardom in the mid Aughts with a series of fine performances in well received English language films...

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50th Anniversary: The strange case of Gig Young's Oscar

As a sequel to our recent look-back at the 42nd Oscars , please welcome guest contributor Orrin Konheim...

Fifty years ago, the Academy Awards marked an odd milestone when they awarded a Best Supporting Actor Oscar to Gig Young for They Shoot Horses Don’t They (1969) although they didn’t know history was being made at the time. Eight years later, Gig Young would shoot his wife of three weeks (and then himself) in the only known instance of an Oscar-winning actor committing murder.

His tale is a disturbing one with few answers...

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To Uma on her 50th Birthday

Happy 50th Uma!by Mark Brinkerhoff 

There is the world before Uma Thurman, and the world after Uma Thurman—or at the very least for the world of actressexuals (unite!). A movie star like no other, her origins are almost as mythical as her stature. The daughter of an erstwhile Buddhist monk and a former high-fashion model—I kid you not—Uma, as mononymous as any great, was born on this date in 1970 and lived mainly in the rural environs of interior New England and upstate New York (Woodstock, to be exact).

 

A self-described awkward, introverted child, she nonetheless cut an arresting figure, catching the acting bug early. She followed in her mother’s footsteps as a professional model starting at the tender age of 15. 

 

Uma's early Vogue cover. Shot by Patrick "We have Patrick" de Marchelier

 

Soon enough she landed in magazines and on the cover—twice—of British Vogue, where her Amazonian proportions and striking visage were put to effective, glam ‘80s use...

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New Rules for the Next Oscar Race!

by Nathaniel R

Is the Academy being proactive or panicky? That's up for debate but they've made a big announcement. Though the Oscar ceremony is almost exactly 10 month away (February 28th, 2021) -- practically a full year -- AMPAS is planning for the worst with the coronavirus pandemic and adjusting accordingly. The biggest news might well be a 'letting the genie out of the bottle' rule change. They will now allow streaming films without theatrical releases to compete for Oscars.

From their own mouths:

“The Academy firmly believes there is no greater way to experience the magic of movies than to see them in a theater. Our commitment to that is unchanged and unwavering. Nonetheless, the historically tragic COVID-19 pandemic necessitates this temporary exception to our awards eligibility rules. The Academy supports our members and colleagues during this time of uncertainty. We recognize the importance of their work being seen and also celebrated, especially now, when audiences appreciate movies more than ever.” 

We've assumed this was going to happen eventually though the notion frightens us for what it portends, not for its arguable necessity at the moment. This change makes a lot of sense in this extremely unprecedented situation BUT, and here's the nuanced bit of our feelings that's hard to sell in easy sound bites....

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Review: Extraction

by Tony Ruggio

Chris Hemsworth, good actor and better action hero that he is, has had a helluva time finding material worth his salt outside of Marvel. Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Sam Hargrove and produced by the Russo brothers, it’s a rough-and-tumble action film set mostly in the slums of Bangladesh. His name is Tyler Rake and he’s a mercenary with a troubled past, hired to whisk and wend his way out of dangerous slums with a drug lord’s kidnapped son intact. Where have we seen this before?

Well, never mind the plot, silly and often pedestrian, and focus instead on the action. It's visceral and often well-choreographed... 

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