lzcutter

Mongo, I agree that Lily and Meryl were great. Also really liked Will Smith and George Clooney as presenters. Wish they would host. I think the idea of going with comedians is getting old. It's hard to be funny for three hours +. Most of the montages were annoying because of the music cues. I think it might be time to retire Chuck Workman and bring in some new blood. Loved the idea of the epic films montage and the idea that they should be seen in theatres and there we are watching the clips on television. The In Memoriam tribute was great. Reese Witherspoon and Phillip S. Hoffman gave great speeches. Which young thing did Marc Anthony seem to be eyeing while he was holding J Lo's hand? Wish the majority of winners would speak from their hearts and thank their attorneys and agents less.

She was walking very stiffly. My first thought was that she usually uses a cane and left it back stage when it came time to walk out. Also, the teleprompter appeared not to be working properly but it also looked like Bacall winced a few times as if in pain from standing. Thought she was great though.

Mongo, I know that David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) is the son of cinematographer Floyd Crosby. Is William Daniels (best known for his role in "The Graduate" and on the TV show "St Elsewhere) the son of of cinematographer William H. Daniels?

BEST PICTURE: "Capote" "Brokeback" was beautifully filmed and very well acted but the movie kept us at arms length the whole time and we could not get caught up in the story. BEST ACTOR: PHIILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN in "Capote"- Unless it was David Straithern, anyone else winning this award would be a crime. BEST ACTRESS: REESE WITHERSPOON in "Walk the Line"- Wish it would go to Felicity Huffman but Reese is the favorite to win. SUPPORTING ACTOR-(toughest race to call): George Clooney would be my pick but it's likely to be Giamatti. SUPPORTING ACTRESS: RACHEL WEISZ, "The Constant Gardener" BEST DIRECTOR-(%99 lock): ANG LEE for "Brokeback Mtn- Most likely to win though Bennet Miller would be a good upset as would Clooney for "Good Night". ADAPTED-SCREENPLAY:-(TRIVIA: n AMPAS History, about %80 to %85 of BP winners have been from adapted works. ): "BROKEBACK MTN" & BEST ORIGINAL-SCREENPLAY: Anything but "Crash". Capote or Good Night are my two faves. Dan Futterman and George Clooney are both from the largest voting bloc, actors, who are also screenwriters, so it is possible that one of them may score here. Many here in Los Angeles are less than thrilled at the very one dimensional view that Haggis presents of living in LA. My own favorite motion pictures of 2005: "Good Night and Good Luck" and "Capote"

Have watched every Oscarcast since 1968 and so I will be watching again this year. Am hoping for an upset for "Best Picture" so that will keep my tuned in.

Sweetbaby, Radio Keith Orpheum aka RKO! From wikipedia: Radio-Keith-Orpheum was formed in 1928 as a combination of the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chains, Joe Kennedy's Film Booking Office of America (FBO) studio, the American Path? film studio, and the Radio Corporation of America's Photophone division. Kennedy had bought FBO in 1925, and taken control of KAO and its subsidiary, American Pathe, in 1927. RCA, hoping to join in the sound-film boom, approached Kennedy about using Photophone for FBO pictures; from this came further talks, and the creation of the Radio-Keith-Orpheum holding company, announced in October, 1928. Hope this helps!

"100 Years of Film" was commissioned and the work was done by Chuck Workman, that uses different music cues from soundtracks. I think the cue you are referring to is the "Rosebud" theme from "Citizen Kane".

There's a good history of RKO called "The RKO Story" by Richard Jewell. It can be found on ebay and, likely, at your public library. It's been out of print for awhile. Rick Jewell was one of my professors a long time ago and his love for RKO films led him to write the book.

"The Parade's Gone By" by Kevin Brownlow "The Men Who Made the Movies" by Richard Schickel "Mr Griffith, the Movies and Me" by Lillian Gish Ron Haver's book on the reconstruction and restoration of "Star is Born" "Be Happy" by Gerald Clarke

Why in the world would Sharon "exert undue influence" on Blossom for information about Jeanette and Nelson when Sharon didn't even know who they were till Blossom told her? Blossom obvously wanted to tell her all she knew. To even suggest this may have happened is absurd. Anyone who knows or has met Sharon would know what I mean. >> But the problem for the majority of us non-McDonald/Eddy fans is that we have not met Sharon Rich or Prof. Turk so we keep asking for more information regarding reviews, interviews and analysis of the books so that we might have a better understanding of the issues. So far, the majority of posters here who have read both books have only been able to provide their feelings about the books and their feelings about the controversy. Meanwhile, the rest of us are still hoping that someone will be able to provide the information we seek.

The early Patti Page show tapes have since vanished. It makes one wonder what else has vanished. >> It's very likely that the reason that they vanished is that if they were on videotape, they were erased long ago and the stock was reused. Happened to a number of shows (including the Tonight Show with Steve Allen and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson). Early episodes have been lost to history and the bulk eraser. If they were kinoscopes, they were likely trashed because they needed the room for storage.

Sandy, Many directors would storyboard the scenes and pick which angles to shoot. It was common practise to a shoot wide shot, then a closer shot for cutting purposes. When shooting dialogue it was common practise to shoot it wide, shoot it medium, then get close ups of each main actor and then do over the shoulder shots if the scene called for it so that the editor would have different angles to choose from when editing. Directors like Ford and Hitch would storyboard the scenes and then only shoot the scenes the way they were storyboarded giving the editors fewer choices in the editing room. Also, while many directors would shoot a close up of an actor and let them do all the scene's dialogue in close up as well as wide, Ford, Hitch and others only shot the dialogue in close up that they wanted to be used thus forcing the editor to cut away to another shot. Ford liked to say he knew what he wanted and he saw no reason to waste film shooting what he didn't consider necessary to tell the story.

Fred, In the early days of silents, the editing process was very much like what CineSage described, cut by hand, measured by hand, hot spliced by hand, all done on the original camera negative and ready to ship within days of filming completion. You had to be sure of every cut before you made it because when hot splicing, you had to cut the previous frame on the incoming and outgoing shot and once the splice was made, those frames were rendered next to useless. As filmmaking grew into storytelling and became more complex directors began to rely on editors to cut the film together. Many directors such as Ford and Hitchcock learned early on that one way to have control over the final edit was to shoot the scenes in a way there was only one way to edit them together, the director's way. It may have been with the advent of sound (it may have been earlier or later) that workprints replaced editing the original camera negative. Editors could make changes without damaging the original camera negative. When the film was finally 'locked" and mixed, then the workprint and all the camera negative would be sent to the Negative Cutter. The negative cutter would then conform the camera negative to the workprint by reading the edge code numbers. Once the negative was conformed it was sent to the lab for processing and color timing. The workprint method worked in Hollywood until the advent of digital editing. Many directors worked with the same staff over the years and developed good working relationships with their editors. As today, there were directors who sat and watched editors make every cut and had an opinion on every cut that didn't adhere to the director's vision. There were directors who gave their editors a freer rein and more creativity. Then there was Ford and Hitch who shot the film so there was only one way to cut it together, their way. And like today, there were times when the studios stepped in (Greed,Magnificent Ambersons, Lost Horizon, Star is Born, etc) and demanded cuts after either preview audiences or general release audiences responded less than enthusiastically. And yeah, you've been arguing with a woman. . Hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

Yes, CineSage the upright didn't come along until the 1930s. Before that it was cut by hand and then with a small viewer and glue. Editing was one of the few jobs women could be hired for. I have a very old set of rewinds and viewer from back in the 1920s. Got it as a gift from an old editor who used to work with Alan Dwan. I learned to cut on an upright and the old fashioned way of measuring takes by hand, then progressed to the flatbed and now the NLE systems. Still have my guillotin splicer and my rivas splicer from the pre-NLE days. While I like some aspects of the NLE systems, I miss cutting the old fashioned way.

Sorry, but this is just plain wrong. Ethan doesn't hate Indians. In fact, he respects and even admires them (there's a reason why he knows what the Comanches will do and why they do it at every turn). He's more Indian than any other White Man in the story, and one begins to wonder whether Ethan even is 100% white.>> Ethan has the same blue eyes as Marty and Scar. I always took that to mean that Ethan was Scar's half brother and Marty possibly Scar's son.

You can check with Company Info. at IMDB to make sure the films are MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer(Lowes Corp.), RKO. or Warner. >> That info is available in the movie database right here at TCM, too.

Is "The Searchers" an original screenplay or is it based on a book or short story (as "Brokeback Mountain" is)? Even though "The Searchers" is my second favorite movie of all time, I don't know the answer to this. Pkease don't tell me it's based on a Louis Lamour novel!>> Ralph, It was adapted by Frank Nugent (frequent writer of John Ford screenplays) from a book by Alan LeMay. My favorite scene: when Martha is taking care of Ethan's Confederate coat. Without a single word in just the way she handles the coat you know that she and Ethan were once involved and that she still loves him. And Ethan, he's still in love with her. She's the reason he visits the homestead.

I gotta go with filmlover on this one. It sounds like a line from "Save the Tiger".

I bet, 1910 to 1930 was the best time to be in the movie biz.>> If I could go back in time it would be to that era of filmmaking in Los Angeles. What fun it must have been. And I could still be an editor because most editors were women. Why? Because it was thought that operating the early editing machines was like operating a sewing machine. The other thing I would do? Buy some land in the Valley or downtown Los Angeles and will it my family. If you can find them to rent, I recommend "Hearts of the West" a film from 1975 with Jeff Bridges and Blythe Danner about making westerns back then. Though its from the 1970s (I say that knowing there are folks here who don't like films from that decade), it's a very sweet film. Co-stars Andy Griffith as a larger than life Western hero and Alan Arkin as an ego manical director. Peter Bogdanovich's "Nickelodeon" (1976) with Burt Reynolds, Ryan O'Neal and Brian Keith about the early days of filmmaking. Bogdanovich used many of the stories that directors and stars from that era told him when he first came to Hollywood. "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself". This is a recent HBO movie with Antonio Banderas and Alan Arkin. It is loosely based on what happened to Raoul Walsh when he went down to film Villa and the Revolution for one of the silent film companies. Kevin Brownlow is a consultant on the film. The story is recounted by Walsh in Brownlow's book "The Parade's Gone By". And of course, Brownlow's masterpiece "Hollywood: A Celebration of American Silent Film" his thirteen piece documentary series on silent filmmaking in America. After finally getting the rights issues worked out, it is supposed to be released on DVD later this year. Brownlow interviewed many of the behind and in front of the camera talent from that era and lets them tell the story. James Mason is the narrator and a great score by Carl Davis.

CineSage, Are you sure it was a preview print for "The King and I" that was found? Fox spent quite alot of money for the restoration of the film in 2004. As I understand it, elements were found of the original Cinema 55 negative. Original release prints of "The King and I" were made from a 35mm reduction print as were all subsequent prints. The 2004 restoration of "The King and I" is the first time the film has been shown in its proper aspect ratio. The original stereo soundtrack was faithfully recreated in 4 track Dolby Digital Stereo for the restoration. For the record, Carousel was the other film shot in Cinema 55. Message was edited by: lzcutter

James Cromwell is the son of director John Cromwell David Crosby, the singer, is the son of esteemed cinematographer, Floyd Crosby Is William Daniels of St Elsewhere fame the son of cinematographer William H Daniels?

Using 1905 to 1939 two ends of a 'yardstick', American cinema progressed from 'set pieces' to Technicolor masterpieces. Consider. What was in theaters about the same number of years in the past? Oh, thirty to forty years? Let's see...2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)...that would be thirty-eight years ago. Hollywood has not progressed the 'art' of cinema much in (almost) forty years.>> Rusty, But part of that difference in progress is that from 1905 -1939, the art of moviemaking was still be written. Masters of light such as Greg Toland, James Wong Howe, William Daniels and others still had a few rabbits up their sleeve, so to speak, and were still developing them. Directors such as Ford, Vidor, Hawks and others were still learning and maturing their craft. So, it is only natural that we see more technical and creative advances made back then. From 1968 to the 1990s, you see fewer changes in the art of filmmaking and the physical making of films because with the exceptions of technical innovations such as zoom lenses, faster film stocks and flatbed Editing machines, there weren't alot of changes in the way films were made. Films prior to the 1990s still were done using matte paintings and backgrounds, the same as in the early days of filmmaking. What has changed in the last sixteen years is the computer age of filmmaking. Films are rarely cut on flatbeds by hand anymore. There are a few working editors who have the clout to cut that way, but by and large it is all non-linear editing these days on Avids and overseas, on Lightworks NLE systems. Matte paintings have been replaced, for better or worse, by CGI. Computer graphics have completely replaced the old way of doing special effects. There may come a time (though I hope not in my lifetime) when film is replaced by video and digital projection replaces film projection in all theatres. I would hate to never be able to see a film on the big screen (especially a beautiful black and white print) properly formatted and properly screened. There is something about film and film projection (done properly) that is magical. I had the opportunity a few years back to see the restored "Grapes of Wrath" on the big screen at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Seeing it that way is a completely different experience from watching it on DVD. The magic of black and white, the lighting, the actors, everything about it. Unlike George Lucas, I don't think the picture quality you get with video is on par with film but costs and the bottom line and technology today dictates that it is only matter of time. Message was edited by: lzcutter

Count me in.

I am interested to know what you may know regarding the "Edison" library? For instance, are some of these films restored and, if so, by whom--Library of Congress...Smithsonian?>> Rusty, The Edison Manufacturing Company (headed by old Tom) got into the business of manufacturing the projecting kinetoscope (sp???) under the name Vitascope. The Edison company produced about 1500 films with the idea that they would provide product to be shown on the Vitascope. These films were basically what was once called actuality films, that is, films of everyday people doing everyday things as well as famous people and events. I believe the films are stored at the Library of Congress. I do not know if all 1500 still exist, I would imagine there are probably fewer than 1500 but do not know the exact number. The LOC has a film restoration program but I don't know how many of these films have been restored. There was a TV special hosted by EG Marshall back in the early 1980s about life in the Early 20th Century and I believe it featured a great deal of footage derived from these actuality films. Hope that helps!

But doesn't AFI have restoration projects going on at all times? Don't they use the money raised from different venues (i.e., AFI Salute on TV, charity dinners, etc.) for restoration money? Otherwise, where else would anyone get the money for restoration? The National Endowment for the Arts? Do the studios donate money? Isn't USC involved somehow?>> Ralph, Yes, the AFI is involved in film preservation and restoration. I think it is one of their original mandates when the organization was formed back in the early 1970s. There's also the National Film Foundation, the Library of Congress, the National Film Preservation Board among others who help fund and preserve films. UCLA Film and Television Archives is one of the big players here in California. Money comes from many sources. Hugh Hefner has helped to restore many pre-codes for example. Studios will also work with UCLA to restore films, "Vertigo" was one such collaboration. George Feltenstein and the crew at Warner Brothers oversee the preservation and restoration of films in the Warner Brothers Library (which includes the Turner library, RKO and the pre-1986 MGM movies) for DVD release. Warner Brothers provides the funding, though some of them are collaborations no doubt. Feltenstein worked as an editor on the "That's Entertainment" films and has long been a preservation advocate. He and his crew are known to scour archives and track down leads looking for lost footage. He prefers to hold off releasing a film on DVD until it has been restored. They spent five years working on the restoration of "Kong". They have found the original prologue to "City of Destiny" and are holding off on releasing "Sea Wolf" until they can find all the elements to restore it to its original length. So, hats off to Warner Brothers!