Showbiz History: Stewart enlists, Blade returns, and Streisand's legend begins

7 random things that happened on this day, March 22nd, in showbiz history

1941 James Stewart joins the Air Corps, three weeks after winning the Oscar. He was the first American movie star to join the military for  World War II

1957 The Elvis Presley single "All Shook Up" is released, soon hitting the top of the charts and becoming one of his signature songs...

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Will Regina King be nominated for Best Director? It'd be a first in more than one way.

by Eurocheese

All Oscar season, I’ve heard a comment that didn’t sit quite right with me. When discussing Regina King’s Oscar chances for a Best Director nomination, the belief was that because she is a well-known actress, her nomination was more likely. Is that true, when we look at previous Best Director nominees? My knee jerk reaction has been 'tell that to Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper', two of the most surprising Oscar snubs in the category over the last decade. Does Best Director typically resist award winning actors? And would King be an unusual choice for a nominee? My answer to both questions is yes, and before you object, I brought receipts.

There have certainly been acclaimed actors (mostly white males, of course) that have crossed from the acting world to become acclaimed directors. Examples typically fall into a few specific categories...

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Showbiz History: Babs hits #1 and RuPaul's Drag Race debuts

5 random things that happened on this day, February 2nd, in showbiz history...

1970 The 27th Golden Globes honoring 1969 cinema were held with Anne of the Thousand Days (drama) and something called The Secret of Santa Vittoria (comedy) winning Best Picture. We've literally never heard of the latter until this very moment which is rare for us when it comes to films named "Best Picture" at any award show. Most of the actors who won (barring comedy categories of course) repeated their wins on Oscar night except Best Actress Genevieve Bujold (Anne of th Thousand Days)... 

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Showbiz History: Streisand makes history and Elijah Wood turns 40

6 random things that happened on this day, January 28th, in showbiz history...

1973 The 30th Golden Globes with The Godfather and Cabaret both winning Best Picture setting up their nail-biting historic Oscar night. Also on this night Diana Ross won the "New Star of the Year" award for playing Billie Holliday in Lady Sings the Blues for which she'd also be Oscar-nominated. Will Andra Day be as awards-lucky in the forthcoming United States vs. Billie Holliday?

1978 The 35th Golden Globes with The Turning Point and The Goodbye Girl winning the Best Picture prizes...

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Showbiz History: CinemaScope, Recycled Comedy, and Jennifer Tilly

9 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history...

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1936: Henry Fonda (then 31 years old and a fresh new face at the movies) marries his second wife, socialite Francis Ford Seymour (then 28). Their marriage will be unhappy and end tragically in 1950 (with her suicide), but their union will produce one of the great inventions of the 20th century: Jane Fonda. 

1953: Biblical epic The Robe starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons, world premieres in New York. It's the first movie shot in CinemaScope, "the new dimensional photographic marvel you can see without glasses"...

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