By John H. Foote I have been told by actors themselves – Robert Duvall, Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen and Holly Hunter – that an opinion such as mine, coming from a man who has acted, who has studied acting, and who has directed a substantial number of plays matters a great deal to them. “Well,…
By John H. Foote “The Golden Globes are fun; the Oscars are about money”. So spoke Warren Beatty about 40 years ago when the Globes came under fire, and not for the first or last time. Did anyone really think it would come to this? Last night the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a dubious group…
By John H. Foote Groundbreaking Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier passed away this week, his life dedicated to breaking ground in film for African Americans. Actor, director, writer, Civil Rights spokesman, Poitier was a mountain of dignity during some of the most turbulent times in America history, always carrying himself with confidence and humility as…
By John H. Foote West Side Story, Steven Spielberg’s breathtaking remake of the classic musical is failing to bring in audiences, the film is faltering at the box office. The first weekend was a dismal failure and already harbingers of doom are attacking the film. It failed to make money. So? No a bigger SO…
By John H. Foote The first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Director has passed. Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmuller died yesterday at the age of 93, after living a full life and having an extraordinary career. Her most exceptional period was in the seventies, during which she made history becoming the…
By John H. Foote With Steven Spielberg’s remake of the Academy Award winning musical West Side Story, several other major remakes have been put into pre-production. Bear in mind the long-awaited remake of Dune, directed by the gifted Denis Villeneuve, delayed in 2020 arrives this fall. Cannot wait for both. The King and I, which won…
By John H. Foote Once called “the conscience of American film” by George C. Scott, who accepted their award for his performance in Patton (1970) but refused to accept the Oscar, the New York Film Critics Circle announced their winners for the very bizarre movie year that has been 2020. Just one year ago the…
By John H. Foote Quentin Tarantino, ego firmly present, once remarked “film directing is definitely a young man’s job.” What a stupid statement from a man who should, WHO SHOULD, know better! His composer for The Hateful Eight (2015) was nearly 90 when he won an Oscar for his score on that film. Or are…
By John H. Foote In 1937, when 10 films were being nominated for Best Picture, MGM had five films nominated for Best Picture, winning with The Great Ziegfeld. It was a banner year, and in 83 years no one has tied that record. Now in fairness the number of nominees was dropped to five in…
By John H. Foote The answer is absolutely. The late actor, who passed away August 28 after a quiet, dignified battle with cancer, could very well be a double nominee this year, earning nominations for Best Actor in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and for Best Supporting Actor for his superb, haunting performance in Da Five…