The Academy's Gold--THE 2012 NOMINEES

Congratulations to ALL the newly anointed Oscar nominees!

[Especially those I know who worked on The Descendants.]

Many of the other choices were those I'd expect, but I certainly didn't see 11 nominations for Scorsese's Hugo. I haven't gotten around to seeing it. Shameful, I admit, but 3D makes me sick.

I do have love for Clooney, but for Best Actor, Jean Dujardin from The Artist will give him a run for the money. (I'd be willing to run after either one of them, by the way.) But speaking of money...

Congrats to Moneyball for making appearances with Brad Pitt (Best Actor nom) and Jonah Hill (Best Supporting Actor nom) Since so many heavy-hitter Oscar contenders have been released since Moneyball, it could have easily been forgotten. Having just seen Beginners, I'm also happy to see Christopher Plummer on the list for Best Supporting Actor. He belongs there. And the film? Even better than I anticipated.

I was somewhat surprised to see French actress Bérénice Bejo on the list for Best Supporting Actress for The Artist and not in the leading role category. It seemed odd. She carries so much of the weight of The Artist. Despite this (luckily) actresses from The Help and Bridesmaids' Melissa McCarthy still made the cut.

Art direction looks to be a solid category. Any one of these films could walk away on top here. I really have no idea. Costume design? Sandy Powell (Hugo) could be hard to beat. She's won 3 Oscars already and she's been nominated multiple times. (She won in 2010 for The Young Victoria and she was also nominated last year.) She's really just asking for someone to swipe the statuette from her this year.

No surprises on the writing front either. Although, I had to look up Margin Call (Original Screenplay, J.C. Chandor) Both Adapted and Original Screenplay fields are flooded with tough talent. The girls of Bridesmaids are no doubt tossing champagne corks celebrating their nomination. At midnight, they'll probably find themselves in a Woody Allen screenplay.

Directing is a wide open field. No one's a surprise nominee here and all are especially deserving. It depends on what wins Best Picture. I believe this year will be a year of Academy voters split on their favorites. You can't blame them-- It's been a year relatively rich in well-told stories and excellent cinema. A throwback in many respects.

STAY TUNED!
The Oscars will be broadcast on Sunday February 26

© 2012 by KLiedle

"May I Put My Hand In Your Pocket?..."

I must've been five years old the first time I saw Gone With The Wind. On TV. Even on the small screen I was swept off my feet by the epic story, the cinematography, and the spirited charms of both Scarlett O'Hara (Viven Leigh) and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable.)

Since then, I've seen the film countless times. I have an original paperback copy of the novel from 1939, sealed in a plastic bag. I've unconsciously memorized entire passages from the film--purely from seeing it so, so many times over the years.

But it was only three days ago, seventy years after its release, that I finally had the opportunity to see the film in its full glory-- in 35mm, on the big screen, with a sold-out audience. I saw the film Monday night in the William Goldwyn Theatre at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, CA.

The evening began with newsreels from the year 1939 and a Buck Rogers serial. Following that, the audience was given a rare opportunity to hear anecdotes from several of the remaining cast members, including Cammie King (Bonnie Blue Butler), Ann Rutherford (Carreen O'Hara), and Mickey Kuhn (Beau Wilkes). Even a firefighter who had been on-set during the historic "burning of Atlanta" sequence was in the audience. Moments before the curtains parted, Olivia de Havilland (Melanie Hamilton) offered a greeting recorded earlier in the day from her home in Paris. Then, we were off... to the the land of Tara...

On the big screen, bookmarked by large Oscar statuettes, Scarlett's world was an altogether new place. It was as fresh as the first time I'd ever seen it, yet more true, more real, more vibrant. On the big screen, I noticed things I'd never seen before... like parrots. I in two different scenes that I never recall seeing before. At the Atlanta bazaar, I was able to read a sign in the background: "Buy a hanky. Beat a Yankee." In the jailhouse scene, I could see the callouses on Scarlett's hands at the same time Rhett notices them. So much of the GWTW experience and so many details had escaped me by seeing the film on TV and VHS-- the only way I'd been able to see it up until now. I relished sharing the film with fellow audience members and cast members in attendance who were watching along with us.

During intermission, I had the opportunity to meet Ann Rutherford (Carreen O'Hara,) seated two rows behind me. I never thought I'd ever be in the position to meet anyone directly involved in the film, yet here I was, in Beverly Hills CA (at the Academy, no less) meeting Ms. Rutherford herself-- seventy years after her appearance in one of my favorite films. Ms. Rutherford is delightful-- one of the most spirited women I've ever met. I looked into her face and saw the glow that she still has after all these years. As I grow older, I want to keep ahold of that spirit within myself. So many of us lose it, over time. Ms. Rutherford says Gone With The Wind was one of the best things that ever happened to her-- as it's made her "golden years... platinum."
It's also one of the best things that's happened to me and to many people around the world.

It's a testament to the film's power that so many of us in the U.S. and around the world can become connected by our mutual affinity for such a classic film. Although many of the original cast members are no longer with us, in Gone With The Wind they vibrantly live on. For those cast members left, their GWTW experience seventy years ago is now 'no more than a dream remembered...' but oh what a glorious dream it must've been!

**I'd like to thank the Academy for offering this superb event-- especially for younger generations like me, who have very little opportunity to see classics like this on the big screen-- as they were intended to be seen.**

1939-- GONE WITH THE WIND ~ CELEBRATING 70 YEARS.

Copyright 2009 by KLiedle

Dreaming and Awakening

Too many times, my day off evaporates like a droplet of oil on a hot griddle. I know I should've planned something, but before I know it, time's up. Likewise, time was almost up for other things, too...

It was closing this week... last chance to get my butt into gear to see The Academy's landmark Fellini exhibit, Fellini: Book Of Dreams. A showcase of Federico Fellini's massive dream notebooks, this is the exhibit's first appearance in the United States. With the cooperation of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Fondazione Federico Fellini and the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, it is available for viewing and astonishingly enough-- free. Two days before the close of the exhibit, I finally made it!

Well worth the wait (and the drive) the Fellini exhibit was more expansive than I'd imagined. Fellini kept records-- sketchbooks, really-- of his dreams for the better part of thirty years (1960-1990.) He not only wrote out the details as he remembered them, but he illustrated his dreams whenever possible. His illustrations are vivid, fantastical, colorful, imaginative, and often circus-like. Many of Fellini's illustrated dreams seem familiar-- as a number of the images and/or themes later appeared in some of his films.

Fellini's actual "dream notebooks" are housed in a glass display, meaning the general public (for obvious reasons) cannot flip through them. Alternatively though, there is a computer touch screen that allows you to scroll through as many as 250 pages of Fellini dreams. The sheer volume is daunting, but extraordinarily intoxicating.

After viewing many of the articles on display, I scrolled through a handful of the digital notebook pages as well. Fellini's dreams ran the gamut from men on stilts to elephants, big-busted women, and firebursts of exploding blimps. I laughed aloud after reading Fellini's expressions of an erotic and wildly humorous, imagined romp with Sophia Loren. Men will be men... On the other side of the spectrum, I snickered at an illustration of a rather mundane dream: a horribly plugged toilet. There stands Fellini in front of the constipated throne-- overflowing with toilet paper and feces and "even a little Fiat!," as Fellini proclaims. Indeed, a little car is zooming its way out.

For Fellini, this expansive Book Of Dreams brought about a better understanding of his own subconscious as well as ideas for his films. For us today, it's also an incredible and inspiring look into the intimate workings of a vastly creative mind.

GO >> Fellini's Book Of Dreams-- through April 19, 2009 in the Academy's Grand Lobby Gallery: 8949 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills CA 90211

*Also through April 19 in the Academy's 4th floor Gallery:
GO >> Douglas Fairbanks: The First King Of Hollywood exhibit displays rare costumes, props, articles, and correspondence from the actor's career-- including his commemorative Oscar and a telegram from Charlie Chaplin.

Copyright 2009 by KLiedle

Oscar News

63 Countries Seeking
Foreign Language Film Oscar®

Beverly Hills, CA — A record 63 countries, including new entrants Azerbaijan and Ireland, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 80th Academy Awards®, Academy President Sid Ganis announced today.

Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 22, and the Oscars will be handed out Feb. 24

Last year's FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM NOMINEES

~2006~
After The Wedding - Denmark
Days Of Glory (Indigenes) - Algeria
The Lives Of Others - Germany (* winner)
Pan's Labyrinth - Mexico
Water - Canada

Official Site Of The 80th Academy Awards:
Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences