jakeem Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present honorary Oscars for career excellence to director Spike Lee and actress Gena Rowlands. Meanwhile, actress Debbie Reynolds has been named recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her charitable work. The award -- an Oscar statuette -- is dedicated to the memory of the Danish-born actor Hersholt (1886-1956), who was president of the Academy from 1945 to 1949. He also was the longtime president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund, a support group for people in the entertainment industry. The three honorees will be recognized at the Academy's annual Governors Awards in Hollywood on Saturday, November 14, 2015. http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2015/08/27/spike-lee-governors-awards-gena-rowlands/32480973/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikisoo Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Well deserved for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present honorary Oscars for career excellence to director Spike Lee and actress Gena Rowlands. Meanwhile, actress Debbie Reynolds has been named recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her charitable work. The award -- an Oscar statuette -- is dedicated to the memory of the Danish-born actor Hersholt (1886-1956), who was president of the Academy from 1945 to 1949. He also was the longtime president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund, a support group for people in the entertainment industry. The three honorees will be recognized at the Academy's annual Governors Awards in Hollywood on Saturday, November 14, 2015. http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2015/08/27/spike-lee-governors-awards-gena-rowlands/32480973/ I'm a little baffled by the award to Gena Rowlands. She hasn't had that extensive a FILM career, has she? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Wonderful news about Gena Rowlands. She deserves one. Still no Doris Day. Why Liv Ullmann hasn't received one by now is still a mystery......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Wonderful news about Gena Rowlands. She deserves one. Still no Doris Day. Why Liv Ullmann hasn't received one by now is still a mystery......... Tell me WHY she deserves one. Wasn't she primarily a stage actress? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Tell me WHY she deserves one. Wasn't she primarily a stage actress? For all the great performances she gave in John Cassavetes' films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 For all the great performances she gave in John Cassavetes' films. Has Cassavetes been honored? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Has Cassavetes been honored? Sadly, Cassavetes is no longer with us. He died in 1989. Gena Rowlands is above all a film and television actress. She appeared on Broadway only once, in Paddy Chayefsky's Middle of the Night (1957), also with Edward G. Robinson and Martin Balsam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Yes, they don't honor you if you've passed away. (unless you die between the announcement and the ceremony). That opportunity is long gone...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Yes, the don't honor you if you've passed away. (unless you die between the announcement and the ceremony). That opportunity is long gone...... I just saw Cassavetes starring in a "Coumbo" last Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Maybe it's just me but in some of his films I find Spike Lee's depiction of African Americans to be caricatures if not stereotypes. He's gets away with it because he is African American himself. He Got Game (1998) and Miracle at St. Anna (2008) were just dreadful. Malcolm X (1992), Do the Right Thing (1989) and 4 Little Girls (1997) were all very good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 Maybe it's just me but in some of his films I find Spike Lee's depiction of African Americans to be caricatures if not stereotypes. He's gets away with it because he is African American himself. He Got Game (1998) and Miracle at St. Anna (2008) were just dreadful. Malcolm X (1992), Do the Right Thing (1989) and 4 Little Girls (1997) were all very good though. I don't know how Spike himself would react to that, but it's likely a matter of balance. He has more than one black character in his films. So for every "caricature," there are many more African-American characters who aren't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I don't know how Spike himself would react to that, but it's likely a matter of balance. He has more than one black character in his films. So for every "caricature," there are many more African-American characters who aren't. Have you seen He Got Game? I wasn't saying this about all of his films. But in that one ALL of the characters are stereotypes IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 Have you seen He Got Game? I wasn't saying this about all of his films. But in that one ALL of the characters are stereotypes IMHO. At least he didn't appear in drag as a sassy, gun-toting grandmother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Maybe it's just me but in some of his films I find Spike Lee's depiction of African Americans to be caricatures if not stereotypes. He's gets away with it because he is African American himself. He Got Game (1998) and Miracle at St. Anna (2008) were just dreadful. Malcolm X (1992), Do the Right Thing (1989) and 4 Little Girls (1997) were all very good though. Even better than any of those was Jungle Fever (1991), which for whatever reason has never shown up of TCM, whose repertory of African American films is embarrassingly small and overloaded with Jim Crow era stereotypes.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Wonderful news about Gena Rowlands. She deserves one. Still no Doris Day. Why Liv Ullmann hasn't received one by now is still a mystery......... Tell me WHY she deserves one. Wasn't she primarily a stage actress? Are you talking about Gena Rowlands or Liv Ullmann? It's hard to tell for sure from your comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Even better than any of those was Jungle Fever (1991), which for whatever reason has never shown up of TCM, whose repertory of African American films is embarrassingly small and overloaded with Jim Crow era stereotypes.. Also noteworthy is "25th Hour" (2002), a drama fraught with post-September 11th angst -- beginning with the opening titles. The film, starring Edward Norton and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, was based on David Benioff's 2001 novel "The 25th Hour." Benioff, who adapted the movie's screenplay from his book, is now the co-producer of HBO's Emmy Award-winning drama series "Game of Thrones." I also like "Inside Man" (2006), a stylish heist film starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen. I'm still waiting for a sequel to that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 As for Rowlands, her greatest performance may have been her Oscar-nominated turn as a housewife losing her grip in "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974). The drama was written and directed by her husband, the late independent filmmaker John Cassavetes. Her most popular film likely was "The Notebook" (2004), which was directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. Her scenes were with the late James Garner. The movie, based on the 1996 novel by Nicholas Sparks and headlined by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, earned $81 million domestically and $115 million worldwide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NipkowDisc Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 not trying to start anything, but if you ask me spike lee is a token recipient. I bet alotta people wouldn't even know his name if they heard it while Debbie and Gena have name recognition spanning many decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 not trying to start anything, but if you ask me spike lee is a token recipient. I bet alotta people wouldn't even know his name if they heard it while Debbie and Gena have name recognition spanning many decades. Spike Lee is a master craftsman, and he's been doing feature films for about 30 years now. He's had name recognition since the release of his first full-length motion picture -- "She's Gotta Have It" (1986). And let's not forget his popular Nike commercials from the past 25 years or so. It's entirely possible he has a higher name recognition level among younger movie fans than Reynolds or Rowlands. Of course, much of his high profile is due to the fact that's he's opinionated on various subjects, including race in American society and the New York Knicks. If anything, the honor from the Academy is long overdue. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/7-spike-lee-oscar-worthy-films-article-1.2340833 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NipkowDisc Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Spike Lee is a master craftsman, and he's been doing feature films for about 30 years now. He's had name recognition since the release of his first full-length motion picture -- "She's Gotta Have It" (1986). And let's not forget his popular Nike commercials from the past 25 years or so. It's entirely possible he has a higher name recognition level among younger movie fans than Reynolds or Rowlands. Of course, much of his high profile is due to the fact that's he's opinionated on various subjects, including race in American society and the New York Knicks. If anything, the honor from the Academy is long overdue. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/7-spike-lee-oscar-worthy-films-article-1.2340833 it is possible to be just a so-so film director irregardless of race. maybe ampas hopes the statuette will shut him up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 it is possible to be just a so-so film director irregardless of race. maybe ampas hopes the statuette will shut him up. Hey ND! it's either "irrespective" or "regardless", but never a combination of both words. (...oh and btw...it's ALSO "I couldN'T care less, not "I could care less", just in case you couldn't care less about my correction of the above example of your grammar here, dude!) LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Hey ND! it's either "irrespective" or "regardless", but never a combination of both words. (...oh and btw...it's ALSO "I couldN'T care less, not "I could care less", just in case you couldn't care less about my correction of the above example of your grammar here, dude!) LOL Dargo, I hope you have a happy Labour Day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Dargo, I hope you have a happy Labour Day! LOL OH! So those superfluous-u users celebrate this day over there in jolly ole Blighty TOO, do THEY?! (...I didn't know that!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 it is possible to be just a so-so film director irregardless of race. maybe ampas hopes the statuette will shut him up. Well, that won't happen. He was very critical of the Academy's lack of diversity in several categories earlier in the year. I forgot to mention that Lee already has an Oscar. The Academy issues student awards to promising college filmmakers. When he was in film school at New York University, he won the 1983 Dramatic Merit award for his short titled "Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads." His 2006 documentary for HBO -- "When the Levees Broke," about Hurricane Katrina's devastation of the New Orleans area -- won three Primetime Emmy Awards. As I said earlier, the guy is a master craftsman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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