Great Director #45: Mike Nichols

Mike Nichols

• Born:  1931
• Rank:  45
• Score:  584.25
• Awards:  Oscar / DGA / BAFTA / Golden Globe / NYFC
• Nominations:  4 Oscars / 3 DGA / BAFTA / 5 Golden Globes
• Feature Films:  18
• Best:  Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
• Worst:  What Planet Are You From

Top 5 Feature Films:

1. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf – 1966
2. The Graduate – 1967
3. Closer – 2004
4. Charlie Wilson’s War – 2007
5. Primary Colors – 1998

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1966 – 1st – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
• 1967 – 3rd – The Graduate
• 1983 – 7th – Silkwood
• 2004 – 7th – Closer

 

Great Director #46: Fred Zinnemann

Fred Zinnemann

Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity (1953)

• Born: 1907
• Died: 1997
• Rank: 46
• Score: 581.30
• Awards: 2 Oscars / 2 DGA / 2 Golden Globes / 4 NYFC / 2 NBR
• Nominations: 7 Oscars / 8 DGA / 2 BAFTA’s / 7 Golden Globes
• Feature Films: 21
• Best: From Here to Eternity
• Worst: The Nun’s Story

Top 5 Feature Films:

1. From Here to Eternity – 1953
2. A Man for all Seasons – 1966
3. High Noon – 1952
4. Day of the Jackal – 1973
5. A Hatful of Rain – 1957

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1948 – 7th – The Search
• 1952 – 2nd – High Noon
• 1953 – 1st – From Here to Eternity
• 1966 – 3rd – A Man for all Seasons
• 1973 – 1oth – Day of the Jackal
• 1977 – 9th – Julia

 

Great Director #47: Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges

Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)

• Born:  1898
• Died:  1959
• Rank:  47
• Score:  580.20
• Awards:  Oscar (for Screenplay)
• Nominations:  3 Oscars (for Screenplay)
• Feature Films:  12
• Best:  Sullivan’s Travels
• Worst:  The Great Moment

Top 5 Feature Films:

1. Sullivan’s Travels – 1941
2. The Lady Eve – 1941
3. The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek – 1944
4. Hail the Conquering Hero – 1944
5. The Great McGinty - 1940

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1940 – 8th – The Great McGinty
• 1941 – 3rd – The Lady Eve
• 1942 – 1st – Sullivan’s Travels
• 1942 – 6th – The Palm Beach Story
• 1944 – 3rd – Hail the Conquering Hero
• 1944 – 5th – The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

 

Summer may finally be here

Or at least we finally had two consecutive days of sunshine. Yesterday was very pleasant. We didn’t do anything in particular for th 4th, but we did go to a nearby park for a bit. Thomas had a great time on the playground and Erik took advantage of the basketball court being largely deserted and shot a few hoops. We watched the D.C, New York and Boston fireworks on TV (loved the Sesame Street characters in D.C. and thought the NY fireworks were the best).

Today Erik is at work, and Thomas and I went to a birthday party for one of his classmates. Thomas did pretty well although his tendency to take off his shoes was much more pronounced today then it has been since the end of the school year. That is making me think that it is anxiety related. These kinds of gatherings are hard for me as well since a lot of the other moms stay at home, or at the very least are the primary caregivers. Since that role falls to Erik, I feel a little out of place with them. The summer session starts tomorrow morning. It’s four days a week, 9am to noon.

Other than that, Thomas has his six month dental check-up on Tuesday and his annual doctor’s appointment on Thursday. We are likely getting a different car on Wednesday. The Massachusetts car inspection law changed last October, and our beat-up bumper no longer passes inspection. We have found a car that is two years newer, with about 25,000 fewer miles for only $500 more than what we would have to pay for the repairs to our current car. The major issue is that the air conditioning doesn’t work, and given our upcoming cross-country trip (in August) that is a pretty big deal. Erik is going to check out a few things with our insurance company on Monday, and we’ll see how things go on Wednesday.

 

Great Director #48: Milos Forman

Milos Forman

Tom Hulce as the world's greatest composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus (1984)

• Born:  1932
• Rank:  48
• Score:  579.30
• Awards:  2 Oscars / 2 DGA / 3 Golden Globes / BAFTA / LAFC
• Nominations:  3 Oscars / 2 DGA / 4 Golden Globes / 2 BAFTA’s
• Feature Films:  13
• Best:  Amadeus
• Worst:  Taking Off

Top 5 Feature Films:

1. Amadeus – 1984
2. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest – 1975
3. Ragtime – 1981
4. Man on the Moon – 1999
5. The Fireman’s Ball – 1968

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1966 – 1oth – Loves of a Blonde
• 1975 – 5th – One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• 1981 – 7th – Ragtime
• 1984 – 1st – Amadeus

 

Great Director #49: Terrence Malick

Terrence Malick

Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek in Badlands (1973)

• Born: 1943
• Rank: 49
• Score: 574.45
• Awards: 2 NYFC / NSFC / CFC
• Nominations: Oscar / DGA / Golden Globe
• Feature Films: 4
• Best: Badlands
• Worst: A New World

Feature Films (ranked):

1. Badlands – 1973
2. The Thin Red Line - 1998
3. Days of Heaven – 1978
4. A New World - 2005

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1974 – 4th – Badlands
• 1978 – 8th – Days of Heaven
• 1998 – 3rd – The Thin Red Line

 

The History of the Academy Awards: A Guess at Best Picture 6-10

Almost Famous (2000)

With the recent change in the Academy Awards, upping the number of Best Picture nominees from 5 to 10, it calls for a look at Academy history. The first thing to remember is that the number of nominees fluctuated in the early years. It started with 3 (plus 3 for Best Production), then went up to 5 the next year, changed to 8 in 1931-32, went up to 10 the next year, up to 12 the year after that, stayed 12 in 1935, then went back down to 10 where it stayed until 1943. In 1944, it went back down to 5 and has stayed like that ever since.

Of course, the number of Best Director nominees will be staying at 5, so there will be guesses as to what “the real 5 are,” but for now, we are back to 10.

So what about the years between? If it had been 10 this whole time, what would the other nominees have been? I have taken my best stab at this for all the years in between and I tried to keep it as objective as possible. So, I set a few rules.

 

Great Director #50: Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou

Zhang Ziyi bathing in House of Flying Daggers (2004)

• Born:  1951
• Rank:  50
• Score:  573.45
• Awards:  BSFC / NSFC
• Feature Films:  14
• Best:  House of Flying Daggers
• Worst:  Not One Less

Top 5 Films:

1. House of Flying Daggers – 2004
2. Hero – 2002
3. Raise the Red Lantern – 1991
4. Shanghai Triad – 1995
5. Ju Dou – 1990

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1992 – 4th – Raise the Red Lantern
• 2004 – 3rd – House of Flying Daggers
• 2004 – 6th – Hero

 

Great Director #51: George Lucas

George Lucas

The Star Wars universe

• Born: 1944
• Rank: 51
• Score: 572.10
• Awards: NYFC / NSFC (both for Screenplay)
• Nominations: 2 Oscars / 2 DGA / 2 GG
• Feature Films: 6
• Best: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
• Worst: THX-1138

Feature Films (ranked):

1. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
2. American Graffiti
3. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
4. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
5. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
6. THX-1138

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1973 – 6th – American Graffiti
• 1977 – 1st – Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

 

Great Director #52: Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam

Benicio Del Toro and Johnny Depp embodying Dr. Gonzo and Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

• Born:  1940
• Rank:  52
• Score:  571.20
• Awards:  LAFC
• Nominations:  Golden Globe
• Feature Films:  11
• Best:  The Fisher King
• Worst:  Tideland

Top 5 Films:

1. The Fisher King – 1991
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail – 1975
3. Brazil – 1985
4. 12 Monkeys – 1995
5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – 1998

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1985 – 3rd – Brazil
• 1991 – 3rd – The Fisher King
• 1995 – 3rd – 12 Monkeys
• 1998 – 10th – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas