spence

i& at least I'm not writing about the asinine & absurd awards they now also give-(all lesson importance of the *Academy) The worst being "People's Choice Awards" "Golen Globe Awards-(which used to be important & the 2nd finest barometer of what the *AMPAS may do, not within the last 20yrs or more though & I'm certain all will typically for this era get "political" & of course-(don't like to talk politico jazz on here though) but like the Globes & especially that recent debacle EMMYS, the entire telecast is vs. Trump? I'm not really a fan, but enough already. During Hollywoods Golden Age-(1925-1960) the stars did not really do this nonsense, except for the despicable HUAC hearings. Although most of the legendary "movie-moguls" were very outspkoen politically. Matter of fact L.B. Mayer originally started the Academy to compete with labor unions & new laws (TRIVIA: In one of his final; & great interviews on TV's Dick Cavett-(l935-) they were talking about *Irving G. Thalberg-(l899-l936) & Groucho touched on the fact that *Thalberg was always a democrat, until he got $rich$) He simply told Cavett, you notice whenever someone gets rich they become a republican. It's truer now then ever Notice the performers that don't wear their politics on the sleeve (*Hanks & more, last the longest) (P.S. I also always try & outguess what the *Oscars will do-*number of reasons) so that people on here may also want to go & see a new release,, or not)

& in the past decades many have given own views on what or what may not be the current *Oscars. This year also has a bit more importance do to the films likely being somewhat weaker, but the fact that & this made *Oscar history They have never had almost(3,000) new members join up in such a short time You also appear to pick at other posts' I write, please explain yourself?

To ericJ, how long have you been on these posts by the way & why the picking in the first place? I also bet your not even 40 as yet, right? I've been on here almost 17 years & try & write about everything film, current, but mostly classic WHATAS YOU PROBLEM & DO YOU HAVE ANY INPUT?

Never really gave it much thought, but back during the late '80'sd "Premiere magazine" head an article on "Being Gay, Hollywoods Most 0penm secret" & *Spacey was among them, this before his 2*Academy Awards too. John Gielgud & I 4-get the handful of others & believe it or not ever since the tremendous 1986 *"platoon" (Dafoe has had many ru,mors too) Well J. Edgar Hoover himself was actually well known to wear a dress around his house! Raymond Burr-(broke NATALIE'S heart!) Clifton Webb Roddy McDowell Many still insist Valentino was a bisexual. Matter of fact a newspaperman said so in the press & Rudolph challenged him to a boxing match, but Rudy won after all Of course Rock Hudson, Tony Randall & Anthony Perkins-(who lead a huge double life in sneaking out every night), Some rumors for decades have even said this of *Laurence 0lkivier?

Yes,. below list is by no means my final annual predictions of the nominations for THE 90th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS-(AMPAS) I am only submitting it this early for you fellow fans, pundits & the rest that especially may have questions? (subject to change until my deadline of 7 days/a week prior to announcement of the official nominees on January 23rd, 2018) (top 6-8 major categories only forecasted for now) & marks my 36th year at *Oscar oddsmaking Highnote yrs 2002 when I won title of Variety's *"OSCAR-ORACLE!"-(hitting 17 for 24) But, I've done better in for 2014 I scored (20 for 24 correct) Unfortunately Variety stopped it's annual contest though & the year of *"Titanic" (l997) I did better on everything! Sometimes I like predicting the nominations over actual winners)>(Sources: goldderby.com/ awardsdaily.com/ indiewire.com/ imdb.com./ ew.com & magazine/ rottentomatoes & awardscircuit.com) PLUS, JUST PLANE OL' ME AGAIN I started doing this many yrs before the net. All we had back then were some magazine's & newspapers to go by & handicap-(l982-) (SAVE & COMPARE, OR DON'T?) (*-denotes possible early frontrunner for the win) WHO & WHAT MAY BE IN "THE GOLDEN RACE??? 2017 OSCARS BEST PICTURE-(there may once again be 8-10 BP nominees, it would mark the 9th consecutive year)???: "CALL ME BY YOUR NAME" (Sony Classics) "THE DARKEST HOUR" (Focus.) *"DUNKIRK" (WB's)-(NOTE: May lead the field w/most nods (8 to 10) "GET OUT" "LADYBIRD" (A 24) "MUDBOUND" (Netflix) "THE PHANTOM THREAD" (Focus.) "THE POST" (DreamWorks) *"THE SHAPE OF WATER" (Fox Searchlight)-(P.S. It's between this & "Dunkirk" for most noms. 10 to 11 forecasted) & "THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURIO" (Fox Searchlight) BEST ACTOR???: TIMOTHY CHAMALET in "Call Me By Your Name" DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, "Phantom Thread" JAKE GYLLENHAAL, "Stronger" TOM HANKS, "The Post" & *GARY OLDMAN, "The Darkest Hour" (A BLOW-OUT!) BEST ACTRESS???: JUDI DENCH in "Victoria & Abdul" *SALLY HAWKINS, "Shape of Water" *FRANCES McDORMAND, "Three Billboards 0utside Ebbing Missouri" SAOIRSE RONAN, "LadyBird" & MERYL STREEP in "The Post"-(TRIVIA: & would mark her already record 21st nomination!) SUPPORTING ACTOR???: *WILLEM DAFOE in "The Florida Project" RICHARD JENKINS, "Shape of Water" *SAM ROCKWELL, "Three Billboards 0utside Ebbing Missouri" MARK RYLANCE, "Dunkirk" & MICHAEL STUHLBARG, "Call Me By Your Name" SUPPORTING ACTRESS???: MARY J. BLIGH in "mudbound" HOLLY HUNTER, "The Big Sick" *ALLISON JANNEY, "I. Tonya" *LAURIE METCALF, "LadyBird" & OCTAVIA SPENCER, "Shape of Water" BEST DIORECTOR???: *GUILLERMO DEL TORO for "The Shape of Water" MARTIN McDONAGH, "Three Billboards 0utside Ebbing Missouri" *CHRISTOPHER NOLAN for "Dunkirk" STEVEN SPIELBERG, 'The Post" & JOE WRIGHT for "Dunkirk" & JUST FOP FUN & AMONG MY FAV. CINEMA ASPECTS/GENRE'S> BEST ORIGINAL-SCORE???: "THE DARKEST HOUR" (Dario Martinelli) *"DUNKIRK" (Hans Zimmer) "THE POST" (John Williams & would cite his already record for a living person (36th) nod). *"THE SHAPE OF WATER" (Alexander Desaplat) & *"WONDERSTRUCK" (Carter Burwell) & Highest Grossing Film of 2017 top date: "Beauty and the Beast" (Walt Disney) ($505 million domestically) THANK YOU & PLEASE SUBMIT ANY/ALL COMMENTS (P.S. welp, so far not a fellow TCM0-ITE even had a comment. Can you please explain how, nod or not please???)

But Kay Francis personally always bored me buddy SORRY!

Never even heard of Scott's suicide attempt either. it's a good (***) but not a graat special if you have DEMAND on your cable, think you can easily locate it Bascally it says all this off-the-wall behavior started mum & there long before-(according to this docu & other items too) with the way his mother treated him as a child & not enough clips either DOES ANYONE REMBER WHO THE OTHE HOLLYWOOD GIANT DURING THAT ERA THAT TOOK LSD???

Think it was either cinemax or showtime that had a recent docu on him though it virtually skipped over his relationship with Scott?

ep, it still very rarely finds it's way

Given *"THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOASRD" is my other Idol, along w/*"THE GREAT; TRACY"-(the 3rd & last is the real "Mr. Television" Jackie (Ralph Kramden) Gleason! All covering film, tv & music. I saw "Meet Danny Wilson" (l951) way back on tv in the early '80's & it's barely worth a look (**1/2) It was his down era of course. Raymond burr played the heavy in the somewhat B-picture. One I'd like TCM to play more of his (58) though is "Johnny Concho" That & mainly his 1948 "The Kissing Bandit" (**) became laughing stocks within the industry. Though we film were speaking of, after "Danny Wilson" "KB" has some incredible costumes I believe it was up that & Art-direction by the way -(now titled productionesign iunstead)

An only fair (**1/2) at best mystery w/*Dunaway though (P.S. Don't see her much thesedays?)

To Hibi, wrote you a rather lengthy post last evening about Clifton Webb. thinking he was your "AVATAR" But, looking ahead think I was incorrect. POLEASE KET ME KNOW EITHER WAY? Is it Brian Ahern?

1st for her superbly comedic role in Hawks 1941 "Ball of Fire" (RKO) (as Sugar Puss 0'Shea) (Hollywood/AMPAS voted for *Joan Fontaine in "Suspicion" instead that year. Matter of fact some more fun facts & trivia, that's thee 1 & only per. Hitch helmed to win an *Oscar by the way!?) I kinda liked *Joan, but she couldn't hold a candle to her wonderful older sister. & Stanwyck deserved what shoulda' been her 2nd Best Actress victory for 1944's superb classic "D. Indemnity" (Paramount)_(& where she got the nickname of film noir's "Black Widow") For the stats keepers, *I. Bergman in "Gaslight" M-G-M) won instead for 1955. & who recalls the epic 1983 tv mini-series with her "The Thorn Birds?" (think she won an EMMY for her supporting turn?)

To TpBilled, not a big follower of her, but what was her last film? I still will always list 1948's (***1/2) "I Remember Mama": (Fox) as among thee top "Mother's Day Films!" DID YOU SEE THE TRUE ITEM ABOUT HER & *TRACY & "NEEDLE NOSE??? He could be mean-(like *Sinatra) whom also hated locations & rehearsing,etc (P.S. I forget, where do you live buddy?) & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

After all, don't thinkl that is CLIFTON WEBB> But, who is it?

I personally found it asinine that the *Academy gave Spike Lee-(l957-) a special "statuette" last year. He's never even been up for BD either? I thought his 1989 "Do the Right Thing" ($26m.,) was & is a great film, but what else is even close in his career? (PERSONAL NOTE AGAIN:" Though surprisingly to many, he did though briefly work w/my "Queen" Madonna, in the mediocre 1996 "Girl 6" ($6m.) (**) she virtually had a cameo though) (TRIVIA FUN/FAX: Speaking of her (Louise) when *"The Woodman"-Woody Allen was filming a very weak (**) 1992 film of his "Shadows & Fog" he had no idea who she was, but cast her anyway?) It just lowers it's standards when the do this jazz!?

BP nominees for that year 1981 were: *"Chariots of Fire" "Atlantic City"-(my vote!) "0n Golden Pond" "Raiders of the Lost Ark" & "Reds"

He & *Jack are still great pals! Matter of fact *Beatty used to-(or still does) live as well on Mulholland,. but further down & off limits to the public. Think that's where he shot some of his wonderful 1978 "Heaven Can Wait" Think the sequences where he's riding his bike were around there. Personally I love his version of "Heaven Can Wait" & again, though I was yet an *Oscar pundit,etc I'll always remember the media (Rona Barrett, Rex Reed) forecasting him & that fantasy to sweep the '78 *Oscars. Mostly because the Globes oddsmaker then. were the biggest Eventually it only won for Best Art-Direction though. That was the Vietnam vets year w/the *Academy *"Deer Hunter" & "Coming Home" & I split, thinking "Dick Tracy" was very good (3 & 1/2) ($104m) but not great. I';m also prejudiced because MADONNA was on hand-(it won *Oscars for one of her songs ("Sooner or Later") Art-Direction & Make-Up though. Propblem may have been in pt iot was released only 6 months after Tim Burtons' "Batman" ($251m.) WHO SAW "BULWORTH" OR LAST YRS H. HUGHES FLICK "RULES DON'T APPLY?"

Since I first went to it for Christmas of 1981, I've always found *Beatty's epic/bio tremendous on every level!!! Unfairly many compared it to "Doctor Zhivago" but I rate things in own right & "reds" is tremendous fimmaking-(NOTE: Ever see the real Jack reed though?) He's sole American buried in the Kremlin Last yrs *Oscars were arguably thee single biggest upset for BP yet-=(*"Moonlight" upsetting "La La Land?") But back for 1981 *"Chariots of Fire" was considered an upset defeating "reds" & "0n Golden Pond" I met *Maureen Stapleton on the set of 1985's terrific "Cocoon" by the way, got her autograph & spoke of "Reds" though very briefly it did eventually take home "statuettes' for *Beatty as BD, *Stapleton & Best Cinematography & grossed $41m. Never 4-get, media complaining because everytime it won something they played the Russian anthem?

Flynn, often vastly underrated as an actor, really deserved a s. actor shot as Mike in Hemingway's 1957 "Sun Also Rises" (***) By the way AVA was Hemingway's favorite lady!!!

*Chaplin by far ranks among my all-time "SINS OF OMISSION" in regard to *Oscar. He was at first officially nominated for Best Actor in "The Circus" (l927-28) But, Mayer not only lo0atrhed him, but movie comics in general & had his name withdrawn & they only gave him an honorary statue that first year instead, therefore the very first Best Actor winner went to Germany's *Emil Jannings in both "The Last Command" & "The Way of All Flesh" instead. *Jannings accepted his statue & then immediately ran back to Germany & was an early member of the Nazi party! He never returned to America either. A tremendous actor though! & then *Charlie did 1 one competitive *Oscar, but 20yrs after it was made. For 1952's beautiful scoring of "Limelight"-(I'll Remember You Eternally")

On my "Walls-of-Fame" I have an enlarged & lamented photo of all pasty winners & sadly, circle each winner when they go. It's from THE 70th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS-(*even Leonard Maltin got into the shot)

Andy Serkis would be my A No. 1 vote, either for this or an actual acting nomination He's simply astonishing!

"To Sir With Love" (l967) was another good one around then

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