35 days til Oscar nominations. 35 years of Make-up

by Nathaniel R

Since there are 35 days left until Oscar nominations --well perhaps 34 by the time this is published. Damn you, ever ticking clock! -- let's look back back at the 35 films that have won the regular Achievements in Makeup Oscar. We should admit straightaway that that's fudging the number a bit for the sake of a trivia countdown. In truth 37 films have won this prize but two were before the category was an official competitive one. The first two films to be Oscared for their Makeup effects were The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao  (1964)  and the original Planet of the Apes  (1968). Nevertheless it took quite some time for a category to emerge and title changes and such until it became the character we know today (which is also sure to change again!)...

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woof woof. It's your daily Oscar trivia

by Nathaniel R

101 DAYS DALMATIANS until Oscar. For today's Oscar trivia did you know that neither the Disney animated classic of 1961 nor the live action Glenn Close starring remake in 1996 earned Oscar nominations?

Everyone knows that the Academy didn't have a Best Animated Feature category until the 21st century began but prior to that Disney's beloved animated classics were often honored in Original Song. But "Cruella de Vil," the hit single that dog-loving composer Roger writes in the film, the one that earns him enough cash to feed and care for 101 pups in that film's happy ending was not so nominated...

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1963 Convo Pt 1: Liz-Mania and "Tom Jones"

Nathaniel welcomes guests Teo Bugbee, Keiran Scarlett, Séan McGovern, and Brian Mullin. We just wrote about the Supporting Actress nominated performances of 1963 but now it's time to zoom out on the films themselves and the year in question.  

Smackdown '63 Companion Podcast Part 1
(42 minutes)
In which the panel plays "tag yourself" within Best Picture winner Tom Jones while discussing Tony Richardson's cinematic eccentricities in the early '60s, the movie's politics and preference for anarchy and the Academy mindset given the political tragedies of the year. We also discuss Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton mania (Cleopatra + The VIPs). With brief asides to: Maggie Smith, Vanessa Redgrave, Benny Hill, that awkward supporting actress presentation at the Oscars, and more.

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Smackdown 63 Conversation - Part One TOM JONES

Yes No Maybe So: LBJ

 by Seán McGovern

Debuting at TIFF on September 9th and primed for a theatrical release on November 3rd, Rob Reiner's LBJ brings to life the story of the man who immediately succeeded John F. Kennedy, following his assassination.

Lyndon B. Johnson appeared on our screens twice last year, with Bryan Cranston in All The Way and John Carroll Lynch in a supporting role in Jackie. Reiner's film looks set to follow the Vice President as he navigates his way from tragedy to the Oval Office. For this LBJ we get Woody Harrelson at his brusque best, with what looks to me like a... prosthetic chin? And when actors get out the heavy make-up you know they mean busines...

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The Moustaches of 'Maurice'

by Murtada

Do you not  think that Maurice’s moustache would be the making of him?

No. It’s revolting.

This exchange about an hour into Merchant-Ivory’s 1987 classic gem Maurice, made me laugh so hard. There are so many moustaches in Maurice. It must’ve been the fashion in Edwardian England. But Hugh Grant’s Clive Durham is right, Maurice’s is revolting. But then how come later on he grows one even more revolting. In the world of Maurice, moustaches are the ultimate boner killers.

Maurice (James Wilby) and Grant’s Clive meet when they are students at Cambridge in 1909 and fall in love. Their relationship means a bit more to Maurice, he’s so smitten. And who wouldn’t be infatuated with Grant at the height of his floppy haired gorgeousness. Clive though always keeps him at an arm’s length, never succumbing to carnality. And we think that moustache is to blame.

Regrettably since this is about moustaches we can't include Rupert Graves’ Scudder. He's the real dreamboat in Maurice, partly because he keeps his upper lip clean shaven throughout the film. Check him out in the trailer or better, if you are in New York or LA, check out the gorgeous restoration that is currently playing.

How do you feel about moustaches? Has one ever deterred you?