The Academy Awards grew up at the 16th annual ceremony March 2, 1944. Since the first Oscar ceremony at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Blossom Room in 1929, the Academy Awards were small banquet ceremonies for La La Land movers and shakers. But that all changed 80 years ago. World War II was in its third year and movies meant more than ever to war-weary audiences.
So, the Oscars moved to the then-Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and bleachers were introduced giving fans a chance to see their favorites walk the red carpet. And instead of a select industry audience, attendees included members of all branches of the armed services many of whom sat in bleachers on the stage at the Chinese. The ceremony was heard locally on Kfwb; Jack Benny hosted the international broadcast for the troops on CBS Radio via shortwave. And for the first time, supporting performers finally received a full-size Academy Award.
So, the Oscars moved to the then-Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and bleachers were introduced giving fans a chance to see their favorites walk the red carpet. And instead of a select industry audience, attendees included members of all branches of the armed services many of whom sat in bleachers on the stage at the Chinese. The ceremony was heard locally on Kfwb; Jack Benny hosted the international broadcast for the troops on CBS Radio via shortwave. And for the first time, supporting performers finally received a full-size Academy Award.
- 1/23/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
March is Women’s History Month which commemorates and encourages the “study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.” And who better to study, observe and celebrate than Mae West and her place in movie history.
Talk about pushing the envelope. West wrote plays-usually revolving around sex-which landed her in jail. She never met an innuendo she didn’t like. West film comedies were popular and controversial. She was banned from NBC Radio-her name couldn’t even be mentioned-for over a decade. West even guest starred on a 1964 episode of CBS’ “Mr. Ed.” West has inspired several female performers over the decades including Madonna and remained true to herself up until her death in 1980 at the age of 87.
West didn’t look at any other actress of the day. Sources say she was 5’ to 5’ 2” (rumor is that she wore eight-inch platform heels on stage...
Talk about pushing the envelope. West wrote plays-usually revolving around sex-which landed her in jail. She never met an innuendo she didn’t like. West film comedies were popular and controversial. She was banned from NBC Radio-her name couldn’t even be mentioned-for over a decade. West even guest starred on a 1964 episode of CBS’ “Mr. Ed.” West has inspired several female performers over the decades including Madonna and remained true to herself up until her death in 1980 at the age of 87.
West didn’t look at any other actress of the day. Sources say she was 5’ to 5’ 2” (rumor is that she wore eight-inch platform heels on stage...
- 3/29/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
After firmly establishing themselves as filmmakers to watch with the expected success of Saw in 2004, director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell reunited for Dead Silence. It would be the first of two Wan films to underperform in 2007, followed by Death Sentence. While he would go on to prove himself as a true master of horror, even a “lesser” Wan effort has plenty of merit.
Hints of his future brilliance are all over Dead Silence, with a rich, neo-gothic atmosphere, well-executed horror set pieces, inventive visual storytelling, and a bonkers twist. In many ways, Dead Silence feels like a transitional point between Saw‘s grit and the expertly crafted scares of Insidious and The Conjuring, although its overall tone is perhaps closest to Malignant.
With viewers feverishly embracing Wan’s latest effort, Dead Silence is ripe for reappraisal — and there’s no better way to do so than via Scream Factory...
Hints of his future brilliance are all over Dead Silence, with a rich, neo-gothic atmosphere, well-executed horror set pieces, inventive visual storytelling, and a bonkers twist. In many ways, Dead Silence feels like a transitional point between Saw‘s grit and the expertly crafted scares of Insidious and The Conjuring, although its overall tone is perhaps closest to Malignant.
With viewers feverishly embracing Wan’s latest effort, Dead Silence is ripe for reappraisal — and there’s no better way to do so than via Scream Factory...
- 3/28/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Right off the bat in his monologue Monday, Stephen Colbert addressed the weird news from last week about several people working for his show who were for some reason arrested while filming a comedy bit in Washington, D.C. last Thursday.
Of course, Colbert picked apart bad faith attempts to paint the thing as somehow analogous to the Jan. 6 riot. But taking his mockery of those critics further, Colbert also ran down a list of horrific crimes he joked have been committed by puppets over the years. Pretty fun stuff, and you can watch it above now.
Surely you of course know what we’re talking about, but just in case, on Friday it came out that seven people associated with “The Late Show” were arrested and briefly detained last week in Washington, D.C> by capitol police. That story, reported by Fox News first (of course), made the whole...
Of course, Colbert picked apart bad faith attempts to paint the thing as somehow analogous to the Jan. 6 riot. But taking his mockery of those critics further, Colbert also ran down a list of horrific crimes he joked have been committed by puppets over the years. Pretty fun stuff, and you can watch it above now.
Surely you of course know what we’re talking about, but just in case, on Friday it came out that seven people associated with “The Late Show” were arrested and briefly detained last week in Washington, D.C> by capitol police. That story, reported by Fox News first (of course), made the whole...
- 6/21/2022
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
This week we're taking the plunge as Guljit Kambo front crawls through the principal piscines in film history
In the Us, the swimming pool is the ultimate materialist dream. Got your own pool? You've made it. Here in the UK, the private pool is entirely exotic, a fantasy belonging to rock stars and retired cockney gangsters on the Costa del Sol. Personally speaking, I can't swim, and the sickly smell of chlorine still haunts me from childhood. But who can resist the exotic allure of the movie swimming pool? Witness the under-lit dreams of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and Showgirls (complete with thrashing frolics).
There's more to the screen pool, however, than being a symbol of status and success. It can signify something far beyond the banal – after all, what is a swimming pool but mere water? In a great film, the pool is a theatre for...
In the Us, the swimming pool is the ultimate materialist dream. Got your own pool? You've made it. Here in the UK, the private pool is entirely exotic, a fantasy belonging to rock stars and retired cockney gangsters on the Costa del Sol. Personally speaking, I can't swim, and the sickly smell of chlorine still haunts me from childhood. But who can resist the exotic allure of the movie swimming pool? Witness the under-lit dreams of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and Showgirls (complete with thrashing frolics).
There's more to the screen pool, however, than being a symbol of status and success. It can signify something far beyond the banal – after all, what is a swimming pool but mere water? In a great film, the pool is a theatre for...
- 9/9/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
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