TMI (1-17-12)

January 17, 2012

TMI (Today’s Movie Info)

 QUENTIN TARANTINO has four Academy Award nominations: writer and director for Inglourious Basterds (2009), and writer (won) and director for Pulp Fiction (1994)
 
His first feature film, Reservoir Dogs (1992), received immediate critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, and he was hailed as the next great auteur in Hollywood.
 
His films frequently feature some or all: briefcases, suitcases, “car trunk shots”, close-ups of a woman’s bare feet, tributes to under-appreciated TV series, B movies and underground music. He is also a master of the long take … a single take of several minutes that follows one or more characters without a break.
 
Known for writing rapid-fire dialogue scenes … and that’s how he speaks in real life.
 
Reportedly has an IQ of 160 and an encyclopedic mind for music, movies and TV history
 
My own tip of the cap to him for reviving the careers of Michael Parks, Michael Madsen, Pam Grier and David Carradine (prior to his passing)
 
His next film is Django Unchained and it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Kurt Russell, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Samuel L Jackson, Kerry Washington, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christoph Waltz, and Don Johnson.  Expected release date is Christmas Day, 2012

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Posted by David Ferguson

TMI (1-16-12)

January 16, 2012

TMI (Today’s Movie Info)

 PAUL NEWMAN was an actor, director, racer and philanthropist.  He was nominated for 10 Academy Award, and won for The Verdict (1982)
 
At the time of his death in 2008, he had been married to actess Joanne Woodward for 50 years (pictured together in 1960)
 
He is one of only five performers to be nominated for an Oscar twice for playing the same role in two separate films. He played as Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986), Peter O’Toole as Henry II in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968), Al Pacino as Michael Corleone for The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974), Bing Crosby as Father O’Malley in Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945) and Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).
 
Is one of only five actors to be nominated for acting honors by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences over five decades (1950s, 1960s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s).  The others are: Laurence Olivier (1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s), Katherine Hepburn (1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1980s), Jack Nicholson (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s) and Michael Caine (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s).
 
Since Robert Shaw is so terrific in the role, it’s difficult to believe that Newman turned down the role of Quint in Jaws (1975)
 
Cars, his final movie, was the highest grossing film of his career.  He voiced “Doc Hudson”
 
An avid racer, he finished second in the 1979 24 Hours at Le Mans race
 
His company, Newman’s Own (salad dressings, spaghetti sauces) has donated every dollar of profit to charity (more than $100 million)

In 1988, he founded The Hole in the Wall Gang, a charity for sick children.  The foundation now serves more than 20,000 children and families each year.

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Posted by David Ferguson

TMI (1-15-12)

January 15, 2012

TMI (Today’s Movie Info)

OKLAHOMA! (1955) was adapted for the screen by Rodgers and Hammerstein from the original Broadway production of “Oklahoma!”, which opened at the St. James Theater in New York City on May 31, 1943 and ran for 2,212 performances, setting a record (at the time) for a musical.  Oklahoma! was the first of five extremely successful R&H film musicals: Carousel, (1956) South Pacific (1958), The King and I (1956), The Sound of Music (1965)
 
Most of it was filmed in Arizona for a more traditional rural look
 
This was the screen debut for Shirley Jones (age 20 while filming).  She would later go on to lay the foundation for high culture in America by taking the lead (along with her real life step-son David Cassidy) in “The Partridge Family”  (1970-74).  Yes, I am kidding about the high culture part.  Ms. Jones was in fact a very talented singer and actress, which she showed in this and other films such as Carousel (1956) and The Music Man (1962).
 
Rod Steiger (Jud Fry) couldn’t dance and Gloria Grahame (Ado Annie) couldn’t sing.  Mr. Steiger worked long hours with the choreographer and Ms. Grahame’s vocals were pieced together electronically from hours of recordings.
 
In addition to the title track, a couple of other songs were quite popular and worked their way into the musical fabric of the country:  “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'” and “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top”
 
The film’s director Fred Zinneman was also responsible for some other classic films: High Noon (1952), From Here to Eternity (1953), A Man for All Seasons (1966), The Day of the Jackal (1973)

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Posted by David Ferguson

TMI (1-14-12)

January 14, 2012

TMI (Today’s Movie Info)

 NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) was the fourth and final movie director Alfred Hitchcock made with Cary Grant.  The other three were: Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955).
 
This film contains two iconic Hollywood scenes: the chase across Mount Rushmore, and the Crop Duster (“where there ain’t no crops”) buzzing Grant.
 
Jimmy Stewart really wanted the role, but Hitchcock preferred Grant for this one.  
 
Sophia Loren was the first choice for the Eva Marie Saint role, but studio contractual obligations required her to turn it down
 
The film contains one of Hitchcock’s most memorable cameos: (during the opening credits) he arrives at a bus stop, but gets there just as the door is closed in his face.
 
Hitchcock couldn’t get permission to film inside the United Nations building or on the face of Mount Rushmore, so sets were built.
 
Ernest Lehman – wrote this script and also some of Hollywood’s most successful screenplays: The Sound of Music (1965), West Side Story (1961), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)

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Posted by David Ferguson

TMI (1-13-12)

January 13, 2012

TMI (Today’s Movie Info)

 MERYL STREEP has been nominated for a record 16 Academy  Awards for acting.  She has two wins: Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Best Actress for Sophie’s Choice (1982).  Katherine Hepburn, who was not a fan of Meryl, had 12 nominations (4 wins) and Bette Davis, who was a huge fan of Meryl, had 10 nominations.
 
Ms. Streep graduated from Vassar and studied at Yale School of Drama.  She is now 62 years old and has been married to sculptor Don Gummer for 33 years.  Three of their four kids are actors.
 
Streep’s first feature film role was with Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave in Julia (1977) and her first Oscar nomination came the following year for The Deer Hunter (1978).
 
She often plays real life characters such as: Julia Child, Ethel Rosenberg, Karen Silkwood, Karen Blixen, Roberta Guasppari, Lindy Chamberlain and Susan Orlean.  Once again, she is one of the leading contenders this year for another Oscar nomination for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2011)
 
Streep studied opera as a teenager and is a very talented singer
 
Her next film is Great Hope Springs, a ComDram where she and Tommy Lee Jones co-star as a married couple in counseling.  Their counselor?  Steve Carell.  The expected release date: December 12, 2012
 
And yes, I’m a proud “Streeper”!

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Posted by David Ferguson

TMI (1-12-11)

January 12, 2012

TMI (Today’s Movie Info)

“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”

(Clemenza to Rocco who has just killed Paulie)

 from The Godfather (1972)
 
 
Here is the link to my recap of 2011 movies:
 
https://moviereviewsfromthedark.wordpress.com/annual-bests-2/best-of-2011/
 

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Posted by David Ferguson

TMI (1-11-12)

January 11, 2012

TMI (Today’s Movie Info)

Kevin Costner —  has perhaps the most famous character to be left on the cutting room floor.  Costner’s Alex commits suicide before The Big Chill (1983) begins, but was supposed to appear in a series of flashbacks throughout the film after his friends from college reunite for his funeral. All of those scenes were cut from the final version, though that is actually Costner in the opening scenes being dressed for the funeral. Director  Lawrence Kasdan was very adamant about not including those “deleted scenes” for the 1998 video release by Columbia.  Director Kasdan and actor Costner would go on to collaborate in Silverado (1985) and Wyatt Earp (1995)

Costner has turned down two roles in Quentin Tarantino films … Bill in Kill Bill (2003) and Ace in Django Unchained (2012).  These roles subsequently went to David Carradine and Kurt Russell, respectively.  Costner upcoming projects are this year’s TV series “Hatfields and McCoys” where he will play the head of the Hatfield family in their feud against Bill Paxton‘s McCoys; and, next year he will play Superman’s earth dad in Man of Steel (2013)

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Posted by David Ferguson

TMI (1-10-12)

January 10, 2012

TMI (Today’s Movie Info)

 JOHN RATZENBERGER is the only person to voice a character in all of Pixar Animation’s feature films: as Hamm in Toy Story (1995); PT Flea in A Bug’s Life (1998); Hamm again in Toy Story 2 (1999); the Abominable Snowman in Monsters, Inc. (2001); Fish School in Finding Nemo (2003); Underminer in The Incredibles (2004); Mack in Cars (2006), Mustafa in Ratatouille (2007), John in WALL-E (2008), Construction Foreman Tom Up (2009), Hamm in Toy Story 3 (2010) and Mack in Cars 2 (2011).
 
He is best known for his role as Cliff Clavin on the long running TV series “Cheers” (1982-93)  
Clavin was a mailman and frequently entertained the bar patrons with his Little Known Facts.  The classic episode where Cliff appears on his favorite show “Jeopardy” has him with a huge lead heading into Final Jeopardy.  He wagers his entire $22,000 and is stumped by the clue of “Archibald Leach, Bernard Schwartz and Lucille LeSueru”. Cliff’s response of “Who are three people who’ve never been in my kitchen?” is deemed humorous, but incorrect. (The correct response was “What were the real names of Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan Crawford?”)
 
Ratzenberger helped build the stage for Woodstock Festival in 1969 (he was 22 years old)
 
My “Best of 2011” is posted at:
https://moviereviewsfromthedark.wordpress.com/annual-bests-2/best-of-2011/

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Posted by David Ferguson

TMI (1-9-12)

January 9, 2012

TMI (Today’s Movie Info)

 “I SPY” was a TV series that ran from 1965-68, and was the first tv series that featured a black actor (Bill Cosby) in a lead role.  Cosby and Robert Culp starred as American agent partners.  When it first aired, many southern network affiliates would not show the series since it portrayed a black man and white man on equal level.  The 2002 movie I Spy starred Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson in the Cosby and Culp roles … as you might imagine, it was blasted by the critics and bombed at the box office.

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Posted by David Ferguson

TMI (1-8-12)

January 8, 2012
TMI (Today’s Movie Info)
 
HANSEL AND GRETEL is a popular (and quite creepy) 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale with multiple versions for TV and film … both animated and live action.  There was even a popular opera in 1893 written by Englebert Humperdinck (the German composer, not the British Pop Singer).
 
In 2012, there will be not one, but two film versions released (I know you must be excited!). 
 
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as grown up Hansel and Gretel who track and kill witches all over the world. Famke Janssen plays the head witch. Janssen and Arterton are both former “Bond girls”.  Expected release date March 2, 2012
 
Black Forest: Hansel and Gretel & the 420 Witch.  A more modern take on the legend with Lara Flynn Boyle starring as a Suburban witch.  Expected release date April 20, 2012
 
Below is a link to my “Best of 2011“
https://moviereviewsfromthedark.wordpress.com/annual-bests-2/best-of-2011/
 

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Posted by David Ferguson

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