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This essay is excerpted from Hollywood High: a Totally Epic, Way Opinionated History of Teen Movies, by Bruce Handy, out May 20 from Avid Reader Press.

Leap Day, 1940. The city: Los Angeles. The place: the Ambassador Hotel’s Cocoanut Grove nightclub, where Hollywood’s biggest names were gathered for the 12th annual Academy Awards ceremony. Among the stars smiling for the cameras: Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, Bette Davis, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart, Greer Garson, Hedy Lamar, and emcee Bob Hope.

Professional jealousy was not the evening’s theme, not officially. So surely no one resented the fact that by one important measure — the measure — the answer to the question: Who is the biggest star in the room? was . . . .

None of the above.

Just a month earlier, the nation’s theater owners had conducted their annual poll and named not Gable, not Davis, not Stewart, but the young,...

Spencer Tracy was the two-time Oscar winner starred in a variety of classics before his death in 1967, including nine films opposite fellow legend Katharine Hepburn. Let's take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Tracy pulled off the rare hat-trick of winning back-to-back Best Actor Oscars, first for his performance as a Portuguese sailor in "Captains Courageous" (1937), then for playing a dedicated priest helping wayward youths in "Boys Town" (1938). It's a feat that would only be repeated once more in this category by Tom Hanks ("Philadelphia" in 1993 and "Forrest Gump" in 1994).

Tracy would compete seven more times in the category: "San Francisco" (1936), "Father of the Bride" (1950), "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955), "The Old Man and the Sea" (1958), "Inherit the Wind" (1960), "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961), and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" (1967), which was recognized posthumously.

He's perhaps best remembered for starring in nine films with Hepburn, starting...

Earning his second Best Actor Oscar 22 years after his first, Adrien Brody entered the history books as the first leading actor to win two statuettes on his first two attempts on Sunday.

He won for his role as an ingenious, haunted architect in Brady Corbet’s epic, following his win in 2003 for Roman Polanski’s biographical World War II drama “The Pianist.”

And by wining Best Actor on Sunday, Brody not only made history but also preserved his place among Oscar milestones. Had 29-year-old Timothée Chalamet won in the category for “A Complete Unknown,” he would have become the youngest Best Actor victor ever, beating Brody’s own record from 2003.

Brody is the 11th leading actor to win twice in the top category.

“Acting is a very fragile profession,” Brody opened his acceptance speech. “It looks very glamorous, and certain moments it is, but the one thing that I’ve...

Spencer Tracy leads a stellar cast in Bad Day at Black Rock, mixing film noir with western vibes. The all-star ensemble includes multiple Oscar winners and iconic actors like Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin. The film captures post-wwii tensions in an isolated town, combining the mystery of noir with vast western landscapes.

Bad Day at Black Rock is an intriguing blend of film noir and neo-western featuring one of the greatest ensemble casts Ive ever seen led by the great Spencer Tracy. Throughout his storied Hollywood career, Tracy shared the screen with many legendary actors. In his feature film debut, Up the River, he co-starred with Humphrey Bogart. In Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, he co-starred with Sidney Poitier and his real-life spouse Katharine Hepburn. In Judgment at Nuremberg, he co-starred with Burt Lancaster, Maximilian Schell, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, William Shatner, and Montgomery Clift.

Tracy appeared in the all-star ensemble of Its a Mad,...

Tom Hanks is one of the two actors who won the Best Actor award at the Oscars two years in a row. Hanks won his first Oscar for his role in the 1993 film "Philadelphia," which tackles discrimination against AIDS and homosexuality. Spencer Tracy is the other actor to achieve this consecutive Best Actor win, with his Oscars coming from the films "Captains Courageous" and "Boys Town."

Winning an award at the Oscars is a huge honor in the film industry. Whether it's for Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Soundtrack, or any other category, actors and directors alike wait anxiously in their seats to see whose name gets called on to come on stage. To accept that golden, humanoid statue and add it to their collection of awards. While some may disagree with this notion, and find awards ceremonies of poor taste, many actors still have practically set records of how many awards they have won,...

Having already won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in “Elvis,” Austin Butler is on a solid path to triumphing on his first Oscar nomination. His film, which covers the entirety of the titular rock star’s two-decade career, boasts a talented cast that includes past Oscar winner Tom Hanks, who collected back-to-back Best Actor trophies for “Philadelphia” (1994) and “Forrest Gump” (1995). He missed out on a supporting bid for “Elvis,” but if Butler clinches the lead award, Hanks will become the 15th man to have acted in a film that won the same Oscar he previously received.

Hanks has a total of five Best Actor nominations to his name, with the three unsuccessful ones having come for his work in “Big” (1989), “Saving Private Ryan” (1999), and “Cast Away” (2001). Until Butler was recognized for “Elvis,” Hanks had never appeared in a film for which someone...

The French Alps in VistaVision and Technicolor really sell this inspirational thriller. Spencer Tracy stars is the utterly ethical mountaineer, and young Robert Wagner his venal, verminous, just plain no damn good younger brother. Make that Much younger. Edward Dmytryk directs for big dimensions and strong emotions, and Paramount’s remaster makes the special effects of the mountain climb look good again. It’s a morality tale pitched at grade school level, and one of Tracy’s better late-career pictures. With Anna Kashfi as a plane crash victim deserving of rescue, and William Demarest as a French priest with a Preston Sturges accent.

The Mountain

Region Free Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] #198

1956 / Color / 1:78 widescreen (VistaVision) / 105 min. / Street Date February 22, 2023 / Available from [Imprint] / Aud 34.98

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Claire Trevor, William Demarest, Barbara Darrow, Richard Arlen, E.G. Marshall, Anna Kashfi, Richard Garrick, Harry Townes.

Cinematography: Franz Planer

Costume Designer: Edith Head

Art Director: Hal Pereira,...

The Best Actor Oscar has been the pinnacle for leading men since the first Academy Awards in 1929 when the film industry started honoring its best and brightest.

Candidates for 2023 are many, including Hugh Jackman (The Son), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Austin Butler (Elvis) and Christian Bale (Amsterdam), to mention but a few. Only time will tell who gets the next Best Actor Oscar, but time has told who the winners have been throughout history, and we have them all here for you.

The first winner was Emil Jannings, who was recognized for two films The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. The latter film, directed by Victor Fleming, is considered a lost film. Only two fragments survive, both from the end, making Jannings’ Academy Award-winning performance the only one of which there is no complete copy. That first year is also the only time that Oscars were awarded for multiple performances.

Welcome back to Oscars Playback, in which Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng revisit Oscar ceremonies and winners of yesteryear. This week, we look at the 67th Academy Awards in 1995, honoring the films of 1994.

While mama claimed that life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you’re gonna get, everyone knew what they were getting at this ceremony. “Forrest Gump,” a 13-time nominee and the No. 1 domestic box office hit of 1994, was going to win Best Picture, and it did, along with five other awards. It beat out “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Quiz Show” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” four films that you could argue would make for better winners over “Gump,” which has not particularly aged well.

See Oscars Playback: Revisiting the 1999 ceremony when ‘Shakespeare in Love’ won the war over ‘Saving Private Ryan’

One of the film...

In what can be called movie geek comfort food, Battle: Los Angeles and Krull have become cult favorites over the years. Why? You can watch either movie while doing other things keeping an extra eye on the screen, have devout fans who can recite the dialogue verbatim and will defend both movies to the end. Guilty pleasures, yes, cult status, definitely.

Even HBO Max has it listed as such.

The 2011 sci-fi and 1982 fantasy films have come to HBO Max and are available to stream now.

“Marines don’t quit.”

Battle: Los Angeles, starring Aaron Eckhart, and from director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath Of The Titans), is the exciting story of a squad of U.S. Marines who become the last line of defense against a global invasion. It gets the military right than most war movies. Numerous Marine units assisted in filming and the movie contains some awesome scenes with Black Hawks,...

The return of fan-favorite shows, auteurs tackling new original series, new documentaries and more headline what’s new on HBO Max in April 2022.

Top of the list is the HBO Max original series “The Flight Attendant,” which returns for its second season on April 21. Then there’s the long-awaited return of Bill Hader’s “Barry” on April 24 on HBO and HBO Max, as well as Season 3 of “The Black Lady Sketch Show” on April 8.

In terms of new originals, “The Wire” and “The Deuce” creator David Simon is back with the new series “We Own This City” on April 25, which chronicles the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force. Michael Mann executive produces and directs the first episode of the neo-noir “Tokyo Vice,” which premieres on April 7. And Ben Foster stars as Holocaust survivor Harry Haft in the HBO Original Film “The Survivor,” which...

April is about to be a good month for returning HBO and HBO Max properties.

HBO Max’s list of releases for April 2022 features three hotly anticipated seasons of television. The Flight Attendant, which helped launch HBO Max as a viable spot for good dramedy in 2020, premieres its second season on April 21. That will be followed by another go-around for the sci-fi comedy Made for Love on April 28. Of course, the big ticket item this month is something that HBO Max inherited from its cable cousin. Barry season 3 will continue the story of hitman-turned-actor Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) on April 24.

The TV offerings run much deeper than just returning shows this month. April 7 sees the arrival of Tokyo Vice, a sprawling crime drama with some episodes directed by Michael Mann. The series stars Ansel Elgort as an American journalist embedding himself in Tokyo’s criminal underground in the late ’90s.

With nine acting nominations to his name, Denzel Washington ranks as one of the six most-recognized male performers in Oscars history alongside Paul Newman, Al Pacino, and Spencer Tracy and behind Jack Nicholson (12) and Laurence Olivier (10). Having been included in so many lineups, it is only natural that he has faced some opponents multiple times. As the star of “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” he is in contention for the 2022 Best Actor award against two former rivals: Andrew Garfield and Will Smith (“King Richard”). This brings his unique rematch total to five, which makes for a new male record.

All five of Washington’s rematches have been in the lead category. The first two occurred in 2002 when he triumphed for “Training Day” over past challengers Russell Crowe (“A Beautiful Mind”) and Sean Penn (“I Am Sam”). The three of them had all lost to Kevin Spacey (“American Beauty”) two years earlier,...

“Finch,” which debuts on Apple TV+ on November 5, is a cinematic showcase for two-time Oscar champ Tom Hanks. He plays the titular character, who embarks on a perilous journey into the desolate American West following a cataclysmic solar event. Accompanied by his dog Goodyear and a robot named Jeff (Caleb Landry Jones), Finch must navigate the dangers of a new world while convincing his non-human companions to get along. Could “Finch” be Hanks’ vehicle to a seventh Oscar nomination and his first for Best Actor since 2000’s “Cast Away”?

See Miguel Sapochnik (‘Finch’ director) on his ‘partnership’ with Tom Hanks and creating a futuristic American West

Critics are lavishing praise on the Hollywood vet. “You’re probably not coming to Finch for lessons, you’re coming to Finch for Hanks,” writes Lindsey Bahr (Associated Press). “The good news is that he’s not just the reason to show up, he...

In 2001, Will Smith headlined “Ali,” which brought him his first Oscar nomination. He lost the Best Actor prize to Denzel Washington for “Training Day,” but now, 20 years later, Smith can avenge that loss with “King Richard” against Washington’s turn in “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” And if he doesn’t, he would be the latest performer who has lost to the same person twice.

There have been four people with an 0-2 record agains the same actor. They are:

1. Irene Dunne lost Best Actress for “Theodora Goes Wild” (1936) and “The Awful Truth” (1937) to Luise Rainer for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937)

2. Charles Boyer lost Best Actor for “Conquest” (1937) and “Algiers” (1938) to Spencer Tracy for “Captains Courageous” (1937) and “Boys Town” (1938) over

3. Basil Rathbone lost Best Supporting Actor for “Romeo and Juliet” (1936) and “If I Were King” (1938) to Walter Brennan for “Come and Get It” (1936) and “Kentucky” (1938)

4. Annette Bening lost...

The Tribeca Festival screening of “In the Heights” on Wednesday was the first major movie event to take place in New York City since the Covid-19 pandemic.

And what a celebration it was. The festivities took place at the United Palace theater in Washington Heights.

“We deserve to have fun today,” Daphne Rubin-Vega, who plays hair salon owner Daniela in the Warner Bros. adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical of the same name, told Variety on the yellow carpet.

Miranda didn’t have to travel far to get to the screening. “I’ve never been to a premiere so literally close to home,” he said. “It’s thrilling. This movie, this musical is a love letter to this neighborhood. You could hear the Mister Softee truck as we speak. That means the piragua guy is not far behind. I’m just so thrilled that this love letter to this neighborhood is premiering here.

The Academy Awards have been handing out a Best Actor trophy since the very first ceremony in 1928. Emil Jannings for a combo of “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh” was the first recipient for his leading roles. The most recent champ was Joaquin Phoenix for “Joker.”

Since then, only one man has won the category three times: Daniel Day-Lewis for “My Left Foot,” “There Will Be Blood” and “Lincoln.” The only two times with back-to-back victories were for Spencer Tracy (“Captains Courageous” and “Boys Town”) and Tom Hanks (“Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump”).

Beyond those two actors, the ones with two lead wins have included Marlon Brando, Gary Cooper, Dustin Hoffman, Fredric March, Jack Nicholson and Sean Penn. Tracy and Laurence Olivier are the ones with the most nominations at nine.

The oldest winner was Henry Fonda (“On Golden Pond”) at age 76. The oldest nominee was Anthony Hopkins...

Exclusive: CAA has inked screenwriter T.S. Nowlin.

Nowlin, co-wrote and adapted the first Maze Runner from the James Dashner YA novel, and received sole writing credit on sequels Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Maze Runner: The Death Cure. Combined the trilogy grossed close to $950M.

The Florida State University grad is currently writing Netflix’s Bright II for Will Smith, and he co-penned the Legendary/Universal sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising which grossed $290.9M.

He also has an adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling novel Captains Courageous set up at Netflix and several projects in development with director Wes Ball, including Mouse Guard, which Deadline has covered exclusively. Mouse Guard is based on David Petersen’s Eisner-winning comic book series. The story takes place in medieval times and follows a brotherhood of mice sworn to protect the fellow rodents in their midst. Captains Courageous follows the adventures of 15-year old Harvey Cheyne Jr.

From the time of Tom Hanks‘s first Best Actor Oscar nomination in 1989 for “Big” to his fifth in 2001 for “Castaway” was just a dozen years. He then had to wait almost two decades before finally reaping his sixth in 2020 for his supporting role in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” But Hanks could be back at the Oscars again this year for his star turn in the Universal hit “News of the World.”

Hanks made Academy Awards history when he won back-t0-back Oscars for his lead roles in “Philadelphia” (1994) and “Forrest Gump” (1995). That equalled the achievement of Spencer Tracy (“Captains Courageous” and “Boys Town”) in 1938 and 1939. In all Tracy racked up nine Best Actor bids. That streak puts him in third among actors on the all-time Oscars nominations list alongside Paul Newman and Al Pacino, who won for “The Color of Money” (1987) and “Scent of a Woman” (1993) respectively.

What a difference two days makes. Before last Wednesday’s Golden Globe nominations, “Hillbilly Elegy’s” Glenn Close was in sixth place in Gold Derby’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar odds, but after she accrued a bid there and at the Screen Actors Guild Awards the next day, she has rocketed to fourth place. Another post-Globe and -SAG change is Olivia Colman (“The Father”) usurping the SAG-snubbed Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”) for the top spot. You know what that means: if both Close and Colman make the final five, Colman could beat Close again, which would make her the the fifth performer to defeat the same person twice.

The first four were:

1. Luise Rainer won Best Actress for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937) over Irene Dunne for “Theodora Goes Wild” (1936) and “The Awful Truth” (1937)

2. Spencer Tracy won Best Actor for “Captains Courageous” (1937) and “Boys Town” (1938) over Charles Boyer...

Neve Campbell has signed on for a leading role in “The Lincoln Lawyer” series that was recently announced at Netflix.

She joins previously announced series Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, who will star as Mickey Haller, runs his law practice out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car.

Campbell will play Maggie McPherson. Maggie is Mickey’s first ex-wife, a passionately committed Deputy District Attorney known to colleagues as “Maggie McFierce” for her unwavering dedication to her job. Although frequent tensions (both professional and personal) erupt between Mickey and Maggie, underneath it all they still care very deeply for one another. They are also both intensely loyal and loving co-parents to their tween-age daughter, Hayley.

The role brings Campbell back to Netflix after she previously appeared in two seasons of the streamer’s hit show “House of Cards.” Most recently she starred in the Disney Plus film “Clouds” and starred opposite...

Universal Pictures has set the release date for “News of the World” for December 25, officially launching the post-Civil War drama starring Tom Hanks into the Oscar race. (Watch the trailer.) The film reunites Hanks with his “Captain Phillips” director Paul Greengrass and could become the vehicle that brings the two-time Academy Award winner his seventh acting nomination.

Hanks first broke through at the Oscars for playing Josh Baskin in the 1988 film “Big.” The fantasy comedy was directed by Penny Marshall and proved Hanks could be a major box office draw as well as a critical favorite. After losing his first bid to Dustin Hoffman for “Rainman,” Hanks waited five years to return to the Oscars. His portrayal of Andy Beckett in the legal drama “Philadelphia,” opposite Denzel Washington, earned Hanks his first win for Best Actor. The next year Hanks prevailed once more for his iconic role as the title character in “Forrest Gump.

“The Irishman” co-stars Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are up for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars, but this is not the first time the duo has gone head to head. They last clashed 29 years ago in the same category, and one came out on top.

Pesci prevailed for his iconic role as Tommy DeVito in “Goodfellas” (1990), defeating Pacino (“Dick Tracy”), Bruce Davison (“Longtime Companion”), Andy Garcia (“The Godfather Part III”) and Graham Greene (“Dances with Wolves”). And who can forget his equally iconic speech (watch above): “It was my privilege. Thank you.” Brevity is the soul of wit and acceptance speeches (see also: Merritt Wever‘s 2013 Emmy speech).

This was Pesci’s second and most recent nomination until now. Pacino was on his sixth bid and seeking his first win, which would come two years later in the lead category for 1922’s “Scent of a Woman” (he was...

Sure, it’s an honor to be nominated, but let’s be honest: it’s even better to win. So taking a victory lap two or three times has got to be the most amazing feeling on the planet. Since 1927, only 22 men have won more than one Oscar for acting, so it’s a tough club to join. Tour our photo gallery above to see which thespians delighted Academy voters multiple times.

Three performers hold the record for victories amongst men with three prizes each: Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis and Jack Nicholson. (Katherine Hepburn is the all-time champ amongst men and woman with four.) Brennan won all three of his trophies in supporting, while Day-Lewis took home all of his awards in lead. Nicholson won two Oscars in lead (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in 1975 and “As Good as It Gets” in 1997) and one in supporting (“Terms of Endearment...

Spencer Tracy would’ve celebrated his 119th birthday on April 5, 2019. The two-time Oscar winner starred in a variety of classics before his death in 1967, including nine films opposite fellow legend Katharine Hepburn. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Tracy pulled off the rare hat-trick of winning back-to-back Best Actor Oscars, first for his performance as a Portuguese sailor in “Captains Courageous” (1937), then for playing a dedicated priest helping wayward youths in “Boys Town” (1938). It’s a feat that would only be repeated once more in this category by Tom Hanks (“Philadelphia” in 1993 and “Forrest Gump” in 1994).

SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History

Tracy would compete seven more times in the category: “San Francisco” (1936), “Father of the Bride” (1950), “Bad Day at Black Rock” (1955), “The Old Man and the Sea” (1958), “Inherit the Wind” (1960), “Judgment at Nuremberg...

We weren’t surprised that Bradley Cooper‘s remake of “A Star is Born” lost seven of its eight races at the Academy Awards. After all, there is an Oscar curse on this classic tale of Hollywood. The first three versions of “A Star is Born” earned 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 film claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its leading lady, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga became the 11th when she won for “Shallow.”

Let’s take a closer look to see how each of the four films fared at the Oscars.

2018 version

Cooper cast Lady Gaga in her first starring role. Reviews for the film were ecstatic praising the first-time helmer and his leading lady. It was the early frontrunner to sweep the Oscars and earned bids from 12 of...

Rami Malek just won the Oscar as Best Actor for his transformative performance as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” He become the 92nd person in history to clinch that prize, beating out Christian Bale (“Vice”), Bradley Cooper (“A Star is Born”), Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”) and Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”). Tour our photo gallery above of every Academy Award winner for Best Actor, from the most recent winner to the very first one. And find out when there was a tie in the 91-year history of this Oscar.

SEE2019 Oscars: Full list of winners (and losers) at the 91st Academy Awards

Since 1927, only nine actors have won this category more than once. Daniel Day-Lewis holds the record for most victories with three: “My Left Foot” (1989), “There Will Be Blood” (2007), and “Lincoln” (2012). Eight other actors have received two Best Actor trophies:

Marlon Brando: “On the Waterfront” (1954) and “The Godfather...

History repeats itself, and it could happen again in the Best Supporting Actress race. Thirteen years ago, Rachel Weisz (“The Constant Gardener”) won the category over Amy Adams (“Junebug”), and the two are currently in a rematch for “The Favourite” and “Vice,” respectively. If Weisz prevails again, Adams would have the dubious honor of being the fifth actor to lose to the same person twice.

The first four people were:

1. Irene Dunne lost Best Actress for “Theodora Goes Wild” (1936) and “The Awful Truth” (1937) to Luise Rainer for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937)

2. Charles Boyer lost Best Actor for “Conquest” (1937) and “Algiers” (1938) to Spencer Tracy for “Captains Courageous” (1937) and “Boys Town” (1938)

3. Basil Rathbone lost Best Supporting Actor for “Romeo and Juliet” (1936) and “If I Were King” (1938) to Walter Brennan for “Come and Get It” (1936) and “Kentucky” (1938)

4. Annette Bening lost Best Actress for “American Beauty” (1999) and “Being Julia” (2004) to Hilary Swank...

Bradley Cooper‘s remake of “A Star is Born” has reaped bids with 12 of the 13 guilds that hand out awards but has yet to win with any of the six heard from so far. Cooper was widely expected to take home the Best First-Time Director prize at the DGA Awards on Feb. 2 but he lost that race to Bo Burnham (“Eighth Grade”). Is this losing streak a sign of things to come at the Academy Awards where it contends in eight categories?

It could well be. There is an Oscar curse on this classic tale of Hollywood. In all, the first three versions of “A Star is Born” earned 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 film claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its leading lady, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga would be...

This article marks Part 2 of the Gold Derby series reflecting on films that contended for the Big Five Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted). With “A Star Is Born” this year on the cusp of joining this exclusive group of Oscar favorites, join us as we look back at the 43 extraordinary pictures that earned Academy Awards nominations in each of the Big Five categories, including the following 11 films that scored a single prize among the top races.

More than eight decades prior to Bradley Cooper’s take on the timeless tale, the first “A Star Is Born” (1937), headlined by Fredric March and Janet Gaynor, became the third motion picture, following “Cimarron” (1931) and “It Happened One Night” (1934), to earn nominations in the Big Five Oscar categories.

At the 10th Academy Awards ceremony, however, neither March nor Gaynor emerged triumphant, losing in their...

Since 1929, the year of the 2nd Academy Awards, seven performers have earned posthumous Oscar nominations for their work. This year, a legend of the silver screen may join the list of actors recognized for roles following their passing. More than three decades since his death in 1987, John Huston is poised for a posthumous Oscar return with his leading turn in Orson Welles‘ final film, “The Other Side of the Wind.”

This actor, writer, producer and director was no stranger to the Oscars over his illustrious five-decade career in cinema. Between 1940 and 1985, he garnered a total of 15 nominations, including bids in Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay. His pair of victories came in 1948, as he triumphed for his direction and screenwriting on “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.”

In “The Other Side of the Wind,” which premiered to warm notices at this year’s Venice Film Festival,...

Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Joaquim Pinto and Nuno Leonel's Fish Tail (2015) is showing April 16 - May 16, 2018 in the United States as part of the series The Unusual Subjects.When I was a child, my dreams had me follow the mysterious shadows of one Long John Silver. I used to sit in my bed in the south of Germany late at night, hundreds of miles away from any sea or real adventures. However, I was under the spell of Robert Louis Stevenson, his written feelings, and those mysterious figures that came from many dangerous journeys undertaken and many more ahead. Emotions lingered on obscure horizons, emotions that I now find only in a kiss or in filmmakers such as Fritz Lang or Jacques Rivette. Nothing related to these feelings can be called "real," but still there are only a few childhood memories more...

In 2009 — when the Academy Awards went to 10 Best Picture nominees for the first time since 1943 — the preferential system of voting, which had been used from 1934 to 1945, was reintroduced. The academy did so as it believed this “best allows the collective judgment of all voting members to be most accurately represented.”

We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)

See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award

1934

This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: In honor of Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird,” what is the best coming-of-age movie ever made?

Siddhant Adlakha (@SidizenKane), Birth.Movies.Death.

While it may not fit the western paradigm of a traditional coming of age film (neither a high school setting nor teenage angst or confusion find themselves the focus), “Lion” holds the distinction of being a rare modern movie that gets to the root of key questions of dual identity, questions that will only become more prominent in the age of globalism. It’s the most extreme version of having your feet in two cultures; Saroo Brierley (Sunny Pawar, Dev Patel) finds himself...

Composer John Williams set a new Academy Award record when Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday morning. Eddie Redmayne and Cate Blanchett would like to set some records for themselves when statuettes are given out at the ceremony hosted by Chris Rock on February 28. Below, 14 facts, stats and records regarding this year's Oscar nominations. Related: Complete list of 2015 Oscar nominations -Break- 50th Nomination Composer John Williams celebrates his 50th Oscar nomination by revisiting the "Star Wars" universe. He has a bid for Best Original Score of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and now has the second most career nominations, only trailing Walt Disney (59). Back-to-back wins If Eddie Redmayne ("The Danish Girl") prevails this year, he would become only the sixth performer to win back-to-back Oscars. For the Best Actor category, Spencer Tracy ("Captains Courageous," "Boys Town") and Tom Hanks...'...

By Anjelica Oswald

Managing Editor

Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of Navy Seal Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper has been garnering Oscar buzz since the film premiered at AFI Fest. With The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy saying, “nothing the actor has done before suggests the dramatic assuredness he brings to his way of detailing Kyle’s self-control, confidence, coolness, genuine concern for his comrades-in-arms, compulsion to serve his country and ultimate realization that enough is enough, even of the thing he loves most, which is war,” Cooper may earn his third consecutive Oscar nomination this year. This would follow behind his best actor nomination last year for Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and this year’s nomination for his supporting role in American Hustle (2013).

The last male actor to accomplish this feat was Russell Crowe, who scored three nominations from 2000 to 2002. He won in 2001 for his lead role in Gladiator.

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It was another crazy week in the wide world of wrestling. Adam Rose turned his back on a man in a bunny costume, Cesaro was fed to Ryback, and Renee Young decided to dress up as a zombie Native American for Halloween, because being insensitive in WWE is always a good career move! If you don’t believe me, just ask Michael Cole (calling Josh Matthews a gay slur on Twitter), Jbl (once insinuated the former governor of New Jersey who is a homosexual likes little boys) and Michael Hayes (Vince McMahon’s favorite old-school racist). Renee, I thought you were different!

In the most confusing and horribly dated statement of the week, Michael Cole said that The Bunny “Twerking” looked like Charlie Chaplin. How does that make any sense? Do Cole and Jbl have a weekly competition to come up with the more outdated entertainment reference? Hey guys,...

Hedy Lamarr: 'Invention' and inventor on Turner Classic Movies (photo: Hedy Lamarr publicity shot ca. early '40s) Two Hedy Lamarr movies released during her heyday in the early '40s — Victor Fleming's Tortilla Flat (1942), co-starring Spencer Tracy and John Garfield, and King Vidor's H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), co-starring Robert Young and Ruth Hussey — will be broadcast on Turner Classic Movies on Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Pt, respectively. Best known as a glamorous Hollywood star (Ziegfeld Girl, White Cargo, Samson and Delilah), the Viennese-born Lamarr (née Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler), who would have turned 100 on November 9, was also an inventor: she co-developed and patented with composer George Antheil the concept of frequency hopping, currently known as spread-spectrum communications (or "spread-spectrum broadcasting"), which ultimately led to the evolution of wireless technology. (More on the George Antheil and Hedy Lamarr invention further below.) Somewhat ironically,...

Godzilla 1954, Mickey Rooney, Giant Ants, Fascists, and rarely seen ‘Musty Stuffer’: Eclectic Packard Theater movies in May 2014 (photo: ‘Godzilla’) Godzilla 1954, Mickey Rooney, military fascists, deadly giant ants, racing car drivers, and The Mishaps of Musty Suffer, a super-rare slapstick comedy series from the 1910s, are a few of the highlights at the Library of Congress’ Packard Campus Theater in May 2014. Godzilla 1954 and fellow movie monsters Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla 2014, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, and Bryan Cranston, opens on May 16 in much of the world. On May 8 at the Packard Theater, you’ll get the chance to check out Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla 1954 aka Gojira — in the original, Toho-released, Japanese-language version (i.e., without Raymond Burr). As part of its Godzilla double bill, the Packard Theater will also present Motoyoshi Oda’s Gigantis, the Fire Monster aka Godzilla Raids Again (1955). Besides Godzilla, the Packard Theater will...

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will remember Mickey Rooney this Sunday, April 13, with a 24-hour marathon of his classic films beginning at 6am Et. Rooney passed away April 6 at the age of 93. According to TCM, the memorial tribute to Mickey Rooney will include some of his most iconic performances, including Boys Town (1938) and its sequel Men of Boys Town (1941); the first two films in the Andy Hardy series, A Family Affair (1937) and You’re Only Young Once (1938); Babes on Broadway (1941), one of Rooney’s many pairings with Judy Garland; Captains Courageous (1937); and National Velvet … Continue reading →

The post TCM remembers Mickey Rooney with 24-hour film marathon appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

Hollywood – He was the biggest star the world, the box office champion from 1939 to 1941. “Wow, spanning two decades,” Bart Simpson said. Mickey Rooney lived long enough to work on silent films, be the biggest star in the world and do a voiceover on “The Simpsons.” Not bad for one lifetime. Mickey Rooney died of natural causes in his North Hollywood home on April 6th. He was 93.

Rooney was a actor who worked nearly his entire life in film, television and stage. His active career as a performer spanned 92 years, and he was one of the last few in history to have worked in the silent film era. His filmography lists over 200 roles, and he also appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway and several television series. He outlived and outperformed virtually all the classic movie stars from Hollywood’s golden era of the studio system from the 1930s to the 1950s.

The...

Los Angeles (AP) — Mickey Rooney, the pint-size, precocious actor and all-around talent whose more than 80-year career spanned silent comedies, Shakespeare, Judy Garland musicals, Andy Hardy stardom, television and the Broadway theater, died Sunday at age 93. Los Angeles Police Commander Andrew Smith said that Rooney was with his family when he died at his North Hollywood home. Smith said police took a death report but indicated that there was nothing suspicious and it was not a police case. He said he had no additional details on the circumstances of his passing. Rooney started his career in his parents' vaudeville act while still a toddler, and broke into movies before age 10. He was still racking up film and TV credits more than 80 years later — a tenure likely unmatched in the history of show business. "I always say, 'Don't retire — inspire,'" he told The Associated Press in March 2008. "There's a lot to be done.

Anthony McCartney, AP Entertainment Writer

Los Angeles (AP) - Mickey Rooney, the pint-size, precocious actor and all-around talent whose more than 80-year career spanned silent comedies, Shakespeare, Judy Garland musicals, Andy Hardy stardom, television and the Broadway theater, died Sunday at age 93.

Los Angeles Police Commander Andrew Smith said that Rooney was with his family when he died at his North Hollywood home.

Smith said police took a death report but indicated that there was nothing suspicious and he had no additional details on the circumstances of his passing. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said it was not their case because Rooney died a natural death.

There were no further immediate details on the cause of death, but Rooney did attend an Oscar party last month.

Rooney started his career in his parents' vaudeville act while still a toddler, and broke into movies before age 10. He was still racking...

Oscar Predictions 2014 Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence and/or Scarlett Johansson to make Oscar history? (photo: Jennifer Lawrence in ‘American Hustle’) The 2014 Academy Awards’ Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor races seemed quite fuzzy at first. The picture became clearer following the announcement of the SAG Award nominations: now, there are three or four top contenders in each category; these performers will probably — or rather, in a couple of cases, surely — be shortlisted for this year’s Academy Awards. (See also: "Oscar Predictions 2014 Best Actress: Meryl Streep Possibly to Break Another Record," "Oscar Predictions 2014 Best Actor: Robert Redford Possible Near-Record," and "Oscar Predictions 2014: Best Picture, Best Director.") Yet, there’s quite a bit of room for a couple of upsets. In other words, pay close attention to our list of runners-up for Best Supporting Actress. In fact, even one of the "long shot" actresses might manage to squeeze in; admittedly,...

Oscar Predictions 2014: Best Actor (Robert Redford in ‘All Is Lost’) (See also: "Oscar Predictions 2014: Best Picture, Best Director.") The 2014 Academy Awards’ Best Actor field is overflowing with well-received performances by film veterans and super-veterans. No less than ten actors are found on our lists of nominees and immediate runners-up; that means our list of Best Actor "long shots" is all but meaningless, as, barring a miracle, there’s no chance for any of those actors to be shortlisted for an Oscar this year. (See also: “Best Actress 2014 Oscar Predictions: Meryl Streep to Break Another Record?”) Note: Our list of likely Best Actor nominees matches four of the 2014 SAG Awards’ five nominees in that category. Now, it’s good to remember three things regarding the SAG Awards vs. the Academy Awards: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Actors Branch, about 1,100 members, tends to be more "elitist" (or...

A movie is hardly epic, poignant, or heroic if it doesn't star Tom Hanks, an actor we've seen fight in wars, survive on an island, and even journey to space.

This week, in Paul Greengrass's "Captain Phillips," Hanks stars as the eponymous character who gets taken hostage by Somali pirates. The intense drama is based on the real-life hijacking of the Maersk Alabama ship off the coast of Africa in 2002.

While we've seen many sides of the beloved Oscar-winning actor on screen, there are probably a handful of things you didn't know about the man. From his relation to a famous Us president to his favorite collector's item, check out these facts about Tom Hanks that you may not know.

1. Hanks has hosted "Saturday Night Live" eight times, making hims a member of the Five-Timers Club, a term which was coined in a sketch during Hanks' fifth time hosting.

Spencer Tracy Week! continues at Trailers from Hell with screenwriter Larry Karaszewski introducing Victor Fleming's 1937 tearjerker "Captains Courageous," starring Tracy as fisherman Manuel and young Freddie Bartholomew as the spoiled ward aboard a New England cod boat.Rudyard Kipling's 1897 novel gets the MGM treatment and becomes a parable of fatherly responsibility, full of director Victor Fleming's trademark Christian symbolism. Spencer Tracy gets his first solo shot at stardom as Portuguese fisherman Manuel, a minor character in the book. Jack Conway directed two weeks when Fleming fell ill. This is the kiddie matinee reissue trailer from the sixties.

Tommy J. Dose is originally from Buffalo, NY. Credit Include My Fair LadyNational Tour, Hush-The Musical Triad, FringeNYC 2011, Sweeney Todd and Phantom Fulton Theatre, My Fair Lady Lancaster Symphony, Lucifer in In the Beginning Sight amp Sound. Other credits include Lockstock in Urinetown Jcc Rochester, Proprietor in Assassins Dramatis Persone, Baker in Into the Woods, Oklahoma Artpark, Captains Courageous and Bill Sikes in Oliver Cumberland Co. Playhouse. Tommy is currently a Piano Bar Entertainer at Dont Tell Mama here in NYC.

Triassic Parq The Musical, 2010s Best Musical winner at FringeNYC, will end its strictly limited engagement as scheduled this Sunday, August 5th. Written by Marshall Pailet, Bryce Norbitz and Steve Wargo, Triassic Parq is directed by Mr. Pailet, with choreography by Kyle Mullins and musical direction by Zak Sandler. The cast of Triassic Parq features Lindsay Nicole Chambers Hairspray, Lysistrata Jones, Brandon Espinoza Les Miserables, Captains Courageous, Wade McCollum Submissions Only, Claire Neumann Boston Marriage, Lee Seymour title role in Hamlet, Shakespeares Globe, Shelley Thomas Zanna, Dont, and Alex Wyse HBOs Bored to Death.

Drew Barrymore knows what's essential in movie-making as an actress and a producer ... and also as a member of one of Hollywood's most famous families,

The former child star is about to prove it: An admitted Turner Classic Movies devotee, she succeeds Alec Baldwin as co-host of its weekly series "The Essentials" starting Saturday (March 3). She'll join principal channel host Robert Osborne to present and analyze legendary films, beginning with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as musicians running from the mob in director Billy Wilder's 1959 comedy "Some Like It Hot."

"It's as simple as my having been fortunate enough to get the request," Barrymore tells Zap2it of being invited by Osborne himself, "and I just wanted to make it happen. In a crazy life and a crazy schedule, these are the kinds of things you make time for."

Because of her other obligations, Barrymore's "Essentials" segments were done last fall,...