Thursday, March 6, 2014 at 10:00AM
James Stewart and Norma Shearer in 1937. Unspecified location, but I bet it isn't even a big deal event. Probs just wore tuxes and capes all the time. You know how they do.
Saturday, August 10, 2013 at 8:37AM It's Norma Shearer's birthday today. Make an old movie wish!
Here's mine: I wish all movies were available in all formats for very reasonable prices. (Like, come on, I wanna see The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934, Best Actress/Best Picture nominee) but I'm not paying $20 for a used VHS copy!) It's the least Hollywood could do with their billions.
Birthday, DVD, Norma Shearer Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 7:00PM Remember when... Okay, scratch the "remember when?" question this time. Unless there are some really really ancient AMPAS members reading. The Oscars weren't televised yet so nobody could remember this one unless they were there.
What was Judy Garland so happy about at the 1939 Oscars? (circa February 1940)
I mean besides sitting with 'The First Lady of MGM' Norma Shearer which would obviously make anyone euphoric.
Judy G was having a good night because The Wizard of Oz was up for six Oscars including Best Picture. It won two music prizes (Best Score and Best Original Song to the very nearly cut "Over the Rainbow"). Judy also won a special juvenile Oscar, presented to her by her frequent co-star Mickey Rooney who had won the year before.
One wonders why they don't still award those. They weren't annual so it took a special performances for the Academy to go there. They only did so 11 times in their first 33 years ending with Hayley Mills for Polyanna (1960)
I can think of several people through the years who would have been relieved if they passed those out instead of letting the kids compete with the grownups. Every time a child is nominated an adult gets bumped out of the shortlist. I mean would Winona Ryder be an Oscar winner today if Anna Paquin had been given a miniature Oscar instead? Would Madeline Kahn have been an Oscar winner for Paper Moon (1973) if Tatum O'Neal hadn't committed category fraud and won doing so for the same film?
Do you think child acting should be judged separately?
If they were still handing them out do you think Thomas Horn would've been the recipient this year since they obviously liked Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close more than critics did?
Perhaps I should have a child acting category at the Film Bitch Awards. I never know who to nominate at the BFCA "Critics Choice" award in their "young actor" category because I always forget to think about child performances.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 6:41PM FourFour on Andrew Haigh's Weekend, one of this year's must-sees. I'll have an interview about this one up tomorrow. It opens in extremely limited release (for now) on Friday.
Gold Derby wonders if Brad Pitt has two Oscar nominations in him this year.
Moving Image Archive Someone stole Norma Shearer's jewels! OMG there are a ton of 30s stars in this short film: Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Irene Dunne, Loretta Young, Laurel and Hardy and the list goes on and on.... Fun! with terrible jokes !!
The First Lady of MGM in "The Stolen Jools" (1931)
Nicks Flick Picks chooses his favorite Best Actors and Actresses thus far this year. Strong choices but even stronger twitter length writeups; I don't know how he does it.
The Self Styled Siren has some words on NYFF films and a few interesting one in extremely measured defense of I Don't Know How She Does It? but I love this prickly bit on the casting...
...offers nothing to much to look at except Christina Hendricks and Pierce Brosnan (who are wasted with prodigal carelessness)
Just Jared first pics from the set of Steven Soderbergh / Channing Tatum stripper drama Magic Mike. For some reason I never believed this movie would actually happen (just like I didn't believe The Avengers would happen) but they're both always snapped on set now so... what do I know?
Monkey See on why you should all be watching the sitcom Raising Hope
L Magazine Dan Callahan (always worth a read) on the worlds of Vincente Minnelli, one of TFE's favorite directors!
Mission Hot Mama uses Michelle Pfeiffer to illustrate makeup tips to help you look younger. (Another thing that helps people look younger is using photos from a few years ago like that one. I kid. I kid. She's amazing at 53. Now, if only she'd get out more.)
Awards Daily You may have been surprised as I was to learn last year that the majority of visual effects artists in Hollywood aren't unionized like so many other craftsmen. They don't have great working conditions and things have been getting worse. Even though most of the top grossing films are visual effects driven they aren't paid all that highly (relatively speaking) either. Here's the press release of a Bill of Rights from the Visual Effects Society.
Friday, May 6, 2011 at 2:30PM may flowers bloom each afternoon
I don't understand this photo at all. Is The First Lady of MGM about to eat a big plate full of Magnolia?
.... bon appetit?
Be careful of that froggy aftertaste.
My film brain works funny. Do you ever watch old movie stars and wonder which kind of pictures they would have thrived in today? Or whether they would have thrived at all if they were working in the now? Which old timey Hollywood giants would work inside a P.T. Anderson picture for example: Barbara Stanwyck and Fredric March maybe?
May Flowers, Norma Shearer, yummy 