lzcutter
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Posts posted by lzcutter
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>This year, Eva is sitting down for a chat during the festival, so I am sure her remarks will be replayed either during August or during a month-long tribute to her.
TB,
Eva Marie Saint's *Live From the TCM Film Festival* interview was recorded during the 2013 Film Festival.
The debut of that interview is later this month.
I don't think TCM has announced yet who has been chosen for this year's interview during the FF.
But from the guests announced, it should be someone interesting!
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>Conan O'Brien? Tina Fey?? Jimmy Fallon??
>Does it always have to be a comedian as host??
Tina Fey usually nixes the idea of hosting the Oscars because she and Amy Poehler host the Golden Globes. And while it may not seem like much work, there is a great deal of prep time and rehearsal time that goes into hosting an awards show.
Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel might be interested.
But, I think the one person who should be asked (though his schedule would probably not permit it but we can dream), is Kevin Spacey.
He was so relaxed and so funny last night. He is a great raconteur and seems genuinely to care about the awards.
He would be my call.
And like you, RM, I agree, it shouldn't always be a comedian. I thought Hugh Jackman did a terrific job of hosting a few years ago.
This idea that the host has to be somebody who will keep the crowd laughing isn't what the show needs. It needs someone who can keep the damn thing moving and of interest to the audience.
That's not the same thing as funny.
Think of the time that could have devoted to film history that was lost to some of the unfunny last night.
While I liked some of the funny, I would have preferred the Academy salute their history instead.
And I did think Ellen's jab at Liza Minnelli was really uncalled for.
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The Hollywood Reporter is on record as saying that the modern red carpet (which we will see this afternoon on the pre-show broadcasts and the official pre-show) is now 16,500 square feet of carpet.
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Edgecliff,
I remember my mother saying something similar back in the mid-1970s. She didn't think the majority of movies I was going to see on a weekly basis were worth it.
Movies like *The Godfather*, *American Grafitti*, *Nashville*, *Cabaret*, *The Godfather II*, *Cuckoo' Nest*, *The French Connection*, *The Exorcist* and *The Sting*.
I think now, like then, a number of movies nominated this year and released the last few years will still be well remembered 50 years from now, especially by appreciative film fans.
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Helen,
I hope McConaughey wins and he seems to be the odds on favorite.
But, it could go to Bruce Dern or the star of *12 Years*.
I think it's going to be that kind of evening.
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I think there may be some major upsets on Sunday night. I think the only one who may have a lock on an acting award is probably Jared Leto for *Dallas Buyers Club*.
All the other acting noms as well as Best Picture could be upsets.
It will be interesting to watch.
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>Well TCM showed the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie yesterday and it has a nude scene (one that features a school age teen character), and it was shown on the west coast before 8:00 PM.
James,
It may have been because the original rating for *Jean Brodie* was only an M for Mature audiences.
Almost all R rated films on TCM are shown after prime time hours.
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> "Paper Moon"? "Schindler's List"? "Zelig"?
Not wanted,
Thanks for correcting that. My memory is not always at its best before I have my morning caffeine.
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>Downtown is also home to some of the great old movie theaters of Los Angeles. Most are now closed, but one or two may be open to see inside (we're talking gorgeous, folks, back when the theaters were magnificent pieces of architecture!).
Peter,
On a side note, the Last Remaining Seats schedule has been released (though tix to the public don't go on sale until April 9th.
The Los Angeles Theater, the Orpheum and the UA theater that is now part of the Ace Hotel are all participating!
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MissW,
I think *Nebraska* will be right up my alley. It's the first B&W film nominated for an Oscar since *Last Picture Show*.
I worked many years ago in an editing room with the guy who cuts Payne's films and have always liked his cutting.
And I've been a big fan of Bruce Dern's for many, many, many years.
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MissW,
I'll be watching! Been watching since 1968 and haven't missed a ceremony.
Last year we saw more of the nominated films but this year life got in the way and some films were already out of the theaters by the time we were able to go.
We have seen *Captain Phillips*, *The Dallas Buyers Club*, *Wolf of Wall Street* and *American Hustle*.
As luck would have it, we have the opportunity to see *Nebraska* next Friday.
I think this year is more up in the air and the possibility for upsets more likely than years past when one film dominated the race.
I do hope Matthew McConaughey wins for *Dallas*. It was an amazing performance. When Liza Minnelli hosted the New York branch of the Academy nominees luncheon, she told McConaughey, "Honey, if you don't win the Oscar this year, I'll give you mine."
Not only is he great in *Dallas* but with that and his cameo in *Wolf* and his work with Woody Harrelson in *True Detective*, he has turned his career around and become the actor he always should have been (all those bad rom-coms notwithstanding.).
Anyways, I suspect there will be some surprise moments, some heartfelt ones (Speaking of Liza, her sister Lorna and brother, Joey, are joining her on-stage Sunday night for tribute to *The Wizard of
Oz* ) and some "what the heck were thinking moments.
But that's always been part of the awards ceremony,
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>"Together"? Do they actually sit there together and watch the film along with us?
No, it was meant figuratively. They film the wraparounds the same way they film the Robert O and Ben M intros/outros. Usually across 5 days of filming.
As to your earlier point about supermarkets in the City of Angels, Ralphs was founded in 1873 and became a pioneer in self-service markets and checkout stands in the 1920s and 1930s.
By 1928, there were ten stores around Los Angeles with the most famous one being in Westwood.
In the 1930s, the market included bakeries and creameries and in the 1940s they added delis and other in-store conveniences we still have today.
By the 1950s, there were over 100 Ralph's around the Southland.
Despite the larger supermarkets, small neighborhood markets, like the one Phyllis and Walter met in, were still very popular through the 1960s.
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>But why do they use a carpet outside? Is it to protect & show off the gowns, especially those with trains? Or is it simply a glamorous Hollywood tradition?
Calamity,
While it is a glamorous tradition, it is one that has only been around since about 1961.
But it does add glamour and helps make the event special. At least that was the idea before it became identified with "who are you are wearing".
And, yes, they use it outdoors to help protect the gowns and keep them from the elements and the less than pristine walkway from the limo drop off to the interior of the Hollywood and Highland entry.
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>Also, in the past I could search and find a movie and have TCM send me an email reminder. Is that feature still available? Where do I find?
Becky,
Welcome back! If you go to the TCM Database, (which you can do at the top of the page where there is a search window), you can type in a movie title. It will bring up the title. Be aware, if the film has a remake, the database will bring up the titles for all versions, so you have to be sure to click on the version you want. Click on it and it takes you to the main page for that film.
If the film is coming up on the TCM schedule sometime in the next 90 days, you will be able to click on the word, Reminder, which will be to the right of the screening time and the words Only on TCM.
>Finally I spent 15 minutes trying to find "The Stunt Man" with Steve Railsback in TCMdb. Good movie from 2006 IMHO. Couldn't find's it until I tried just the word "stunt". What's with that? Anyone else frustrated or is it my fat fingers?
It's not your fat fingers, it's the way it was entered into the TCM database. Whoever, on TCM's end, entered the details for the film, entered it as *Stunt Man, The*. Because they put the "The" at the end of the title, if you enter "The Stunt Man", the database isn't able to bring it up.
Hope that helps!
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The TCM Film Tour of the City of the Angels has been announced and free passes are going fast!
A three hour tour that includes stops at Union Station and the Bradbury Building!
Check it out and get your passes soon!
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Both the Academy Awards red carpet as well as the Grammy's red carpet are made from recycled water bottles.
The Red Carpet is not a short piece of carpet but a long 600 ft. walkway that begins at the limo drop off area at the corner of Hollywood and Highland, goes past the bleachers of fans and into the Hollywood and Highland complex, up the big staircase to the Dolby Theater.
It gets walked on not only by the stars attending- their handlers, the press including between 75-100 photographers and almost 400 tv press personnel, the nominees, guest and those who have tickets to sit in the upper echelons of the balcony as well as the various broadcast hosts from a variety of networks that cover the Oscars pre-show event.
The Dolby theater seats 3,300 people and the Oscars play to a full house.
The carpet goes down on Friday and comes up Monday morning. Until Sunday, it is usually sheathed in plastic to avoid damage but work crews prepping for the arrivals walk all over the plastic sheathed carpet. In addition to being 600 feet long, the carpet is 33 feet wide, so it is no small piece of carpeting.
Depending on the weather, the Oscars are not guaranteed a sunny day and in previous years, everyone on the red carpet has had to deal with rain. This year may be no different as a cold storm is expected in the City of Angels over the weekend.
Also, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences does not own the red carpet. They, like other Awards organizations, rent the carpet each year.
From a financial stand point, that makes sense considering they only need that red carpet once a year. They don't have to store it, (imagine the space needed and that space could be used to store artifacts in the Academy's collection), they don't have to have people on staff to deal with it. They call the Red Carpet rental company they do business with, tell them what they want and pay the bill for the work done.
Here's some images to give an idea of the size:
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According to the database, there are no encore performances scheduled in the next three months.
I think this film, like *Heaven Can Wait* (the Tierney version), won't be in major rotation on the schedule the way some studio films are. I think there may be the occasional screening of it in the months ahead but probably not as much as posters here would like.
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>But, I have noticed before a dog bed on the TCM set? Where's the doggie?
The dog bed is on Ben's set. Ben is a dog lover and owner. When they revamped his set about two years ago, they included the dog bed because of that.
The dog that Ben owned back then died the closing night of last year's Film Festival.
From what I understand, Ben has healed from the loss and now has a new dog.
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Filmlover might be able to help you, FredC.
He's a big fan of the film.
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>What do the little circled numbers mean on some of the blogs?
Not sure what you mean...
Are you referring to the TCM blog, Movie Morlocks?
Posts on this message board or just blogs in general?
Any chance you grab a screen cap of what you referring to?
Edited by: lzcutter on Feb 25, 2014 5:22 PM
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Robert Wise began as an editor at RKO.
Mark Robson cut *Cat People* before becoming a director.
Don Siegel began as a montage cutter ( *The Roaring Twenties* ) at Warners before becoming a director.
John Sturges began his career as an editor before moving behind the camera. His credits at IMDB include an uncredited stint on *Gunga Din* though I don't know how factual that is.
Anthony Harvey cut *Dr. Strangelove* before directing *The Lion in Winter*.
Robert Parrish was an assistant editor on *Grapes on Wrath* and cut John Ford's WWII documentaries before directing *Cry Danger*.
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face,
*The Russians are Coming* and *Gaily, Gaily* are films directed by Norman Jewison, not Kazan.
Walter Mirisch and Jewison produced *Russians* and Jewison and Hal Ashby produced *Gaily*.
Not sure how Kazan fits into either of those films.
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>I just saw One Foot in Heaven and woner if the "Elmwood Church" at the movie's end was the Hollywood Methodist Church on Franklin Street that's the first thing you see coming into downtown from the hills by bus?
Wouldbe,
Good eye!
Yes, it was the First United Methodist Church on Franklin at Highland. That church is also in *The War of the Worlds*.
Another church used is the Wilshire United Methodist which is located on Wilshire on the way to downtown LA.
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Barb and Masha,
You are not the only two who covet those rings! They are absolutely beautiful. So simple yet elegant. They don't scream look at me but you can't take your eyes off of them!
I Want One!!!!!! Or Four or Five!!!!!!
"12 Years a Slave" (2013)
in Films and Filmmakers
Posted
*12 Years a Slave* had been championed as a Best Picture candidate from the day the film debuted last year at one of the film festivals, Cannes or Telluride, I can't remember which one.
As the months went by, it became the film to beat for Best Picture because the film offered that now-a-days too rare a combination of good script, good directing, good acting, good film making all coming together to creating a memorable, emotional film experience.
Did the seriousness of the subject matter play a role?
Yeah, it's possible but no one can say with validity how much.
But if someone thinks that the reason the picture won Best Picture is because Hollywood doesn't want to be perceived as racist or Hollywood wanted to be politically correct, they are choosing to overlook all the other factors that played into the film being a top contender from early on: it's a memorable, emotional piece of film making that strikes a deep chord with audiences.