News from the Boston Becks

Tim Burton

Johnny Depp as Edward D. Wood, Jr. and Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood (1994)

• Born: 1958
• Rank: 63
• Score: 556.20
• Awards: NBR
• Nominations: BAFTA / Golden Globe / 2 BFCA / also an Oscar for Animated Film
• Feature Films: 13
• Best: Ed Wood
• Worst: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure

Top 5 Feature Films:

1. Ed Wood – 1994
2. Sweeney Todd – 2007
3. The Corpse Bride – 2005
4. Batman – 1989
5. Edward Scissorhands – 1990

(note: he produced and wrote Nightmare Before Christmas but did not actually direct it – otherwise it would have come in 3rd)

Top 10 Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1989 – 7th – Batman
• 1990 – 10th – Edward Scissorhands
• 1994 – 1st – Ed Wood
• 2007 – 7th – Sweeney Todd

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Alan Parker

Angeline Ball and Robert Arkins in The Commitments (1991)

• Born:  1944
• Rank:  64
• Score:  554.40
• Awards:  2 BAFTAs / NBR
• Nominations:  2 Oscars / 2 DGA / 5 BAFTAs / 3 Golden Globes
• Feature Films:  14
• Best:  Midnight Express
• Worst:  The Road to Wellville

Top 5 Films:

1. Midnight Express – 1978
2. The Commitments – 1990
3. Mississippi Burning – 1988
4. Evita – 1996
5. Pink Floyd: The Wall – 1982

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1978 – 2nd – Midnight Express
• 1988 – 3rd – Mississippi Burning
• 1991 – 6th – The Commitments
• 1996 – 8th – Evita

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Since Thomas didn’t have school today, and I had the day off from work, we went in to meet Erik at 1pm when he got done at Borders, and we had a lovely picnic in the Boston Public Gardens. We also finally got to take a ride on the Swan Boats, and Thomas rode the Carousel in Boston Common. And yes, my hair is very red–much redder than I had intended to dye it.

Alfonso Cuaron

Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint in the best of the Harry Potter films - Cuaron's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

• Born: 1961
• Rank: 65
• Score: 549.20
• Nominations: 3 Oscars (two for writing, one for editing)
• Feature Films: 6
• Best: Children of Men
• Worst: Great Expectations

Films (in rank order):

1. Children of Men – 2006
2. Y tu mamá también – 2001
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – 2004
4. Sólo con tu pareja – 1991
5. A Little Princess – 1995
6. Great Expectations – 1998

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 2002 – 7th – Y tu mamá también
• 2004 – 8th – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• 2006 – 2nd – Children of Men

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Alan J. Pakula

Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as Bernstein and Woodward in All the President's Men (1976)

• Born:  1928
• Died:  1998
• Rank:  66
• Score:  548.60
• Awards:  NYFC / NBR
• Nominations:  Oscar / DGA / BAFTA / Golden Globe
• Feature Films:  16
• Best:  All the President’s Men
• Worst:  Rollover

Top 5 Films:

1. All the President’s Men – 1976
2. Sophie’s Choice – 1982
3. Presumed Innocent - 1990
4. The Parallax View – 1974
5. Klute – 1971

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1971 – 8th – Klute
• 1974 – 8th – The Parallax View
• 1976 – 2nd – All the President’s Men
• 1982 – 2nd – Sophie’s Choice
• 1990 – 5th – Presumed Innocent

(more…)

Warren Beatty

Oliver Platt and Warren Beatty in Bulworth (1998)

• Born:  1937
• Rank:  67
• Score:  545.95
• Awards:  Oscar / DGA / Golden Globe / LAFC / NBR
• Nominations:  2 Oscars (for directing – 14 total nominations) / 2 DGA / Golden Globe
• Feature Films:  4
• Best:  Reds
• Worst:  Dick Tracy

Films (in rank order):

1. Reds – 1981
2. Heaven Can Wait – 1978
3. Bulworth – 1998
4. Dick Tracy – 1990

Top 10 Best Director Finishes  (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1978 – 5th – Heaven Can Wait
• 1981 – 3rd – Reds

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Since our move in March, the cord to connect the camera to the computer has been missing. We finally found it this past weekend, so here are some long overdue photos of Thomas.

Asleep with his books.

Easter Basket

Being silly for the camera at the Stone Zoo

In other news, Thomas has been attending gymnastics classes for three weeks now. He goes after school on Mondays, and he is really enjoying it, although sometimes he gets so excited that he doesn’t listen to instructions very well.

Potty training continues to go well. He has decided that he wants to pee standing up now, instead of sitting down which makes the whole process much more perilous. We are still working on bowel movements in the potty, although he does know not to go in his underwear. On Friday he was playing in his room and he took off his underwear, put on a nighttime diaper, pooped, took off the nighttime diaper, and put underwear back on. The mess was horrible, but it’s still progress I guess.

We took a tour of the school he will be going to next year and met with the kindergarten coordinator. It’s a great program, and we continue to be so thankful that we moved to Arlington.

Danny Boyle

Kelly MacDonald and a distinctly nervous Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting (1996)

• Born:  1956
• Rank:  68
• Score:  545.60
• Awards:  Oscar / DGA / BAFTA / Golden Globe / LAFC / CFC / BFCA
• Nominations:  Oscar / DGA / BAFTA / BFCA
• Feature Films:  8
• Best:  Trainspotting
• Worst:  The Beach

Top 5 Films:

1. Trainspotting – 1996
2. Slumdog Millionaire – 2008
3. 28 Days Later – 2003
4. Shallow Grave – 1994
5. A Life Less Ordinary – 1997

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1996 – 3rd – Trainspotting
• 2008 – 1st – Slumdog Millionaire

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Pedro Almodóvar

the opening scene of Talk to Her (2002)

• Born:  1949
• Rank:  69
• Score:  545.40
• Awards:  BAFTA / LAFC / numerous Foreign Film awards (including an Oscar) / won Oscar for screenplay
• Nominations:  Oscar / BAFTA
• Feature Films:  16
• Best:  Talk to Her
• Worst:  Dark Habits

Top 5 Films:

1. Talk to Her – 2002
2. All About My Mother – 1999
3. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – 1988
4. Volver – 2006
5. Bad Education – 2004

Top 10 Best Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

• 1988 – 7th – Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• 1999 – 8th – All About My Mother
• 2002 – 7th – Talk to Her
• 2006 – 10th – Volver

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John Sayles

Elizabeth Pena and Chris Cooper in Lone Star (1996)

• Born:  1950
• Rank:  70
• Score:  542.45
• Awards:  LAFC (for Screenplay)
• Nominations:  2 Oscars / 3 WGA / BAFTA / Golden Globe (all for Screenplay)
• Feature Films:  16
• Best:  Lone Star
• Worst:  Passion Fish

Top 5 Films:

1. Lone Star – 1998
2. Silver City – 2004
3. Matewan – 1987
4. City of Hope – 1991
5. Sunshine State – 2002

Top 10 Best Director Finishes

• 1987 – 10th – Matewan
• 1991 – 10th – City of Hope
• 1996 – 2nd – Lone Star

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