7 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history...
1890: Agatha Christie born in Devon, England. She would become one of the world's most famous writers of all time. Over 70 (!!!) adaptations of her work have hit film and television over the years from as early as 1928 (a silent film called The Passing of Mr Quinn) to the forthcoming Death on the Nile in 2020. Only one of the adaptations was ever nominated for Best Picture though: Billy Wilder's take on Witness for the Prosecution (1957)...
Tommy Lee Jones in 1979
Oliver Stone in 1979
1946 Two future Oscar favourites are born on the same day, thousands of miles apart in Texas and New York. They were actor Tommy Lee Jones and director Oliver Stone, respectively and the former could theoretically pull off playing the other in a biopic, don'cha think? They both start making Hollywood waves in the late 1970s. Happy 74th birthday x two!
1949 "Hiyo Silver!" The Lone Ranger premieres on TV. It will run for five seasons and many decades later Hollywood will incorrectly think we want a franchise and cast Johnny Depp as Tonto.
1962 The day after her divorce from fellow movie star Tony Curtis is finalized, Janet Leigh marries stockbroker Robert Jay Brandt who she'll be with until her death. Her daughter Jamie Lee, future icon herself, was just 3 at the time.
1995 The Usual Suspects went wide in US theaters, a month after its limited debut and introduced the myth/menace of Keyser Soze to the general public. Back then it was easier to keep a secret (no social media!) so "twist" films maintained their allure for much longer. That same weekend drag comedy To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar maintained its #1 spot at the box office.
2010 Sci-fi tinged drama Never Let Me Go opens in limited release in US theaters after its festival bow. The film adaptation of the best-seller didn't catch the fancy of moviegoers and its Oscar buzz swiftly died out.
2017 Darren Aronofsky's Mother! opens wide in movie theaters. We loved it but many moviegoers h-a-t-e-d its narrative WTFery and allegorical bold strokes. But bless Paramount for backing it. It's not every day a major studio has the guts for that sort of thing.
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 43rd today to Tom Hardy, he of the considerable screen charisma and voluptuous lips that filmmakers and the man himself weirdly keep trying to hide from us with masks and moustaches and beards and cigars and deglam makeup.
Remember when Hardy was constantly getting naked in Bronson (2008)? It proved to be his breakout picture. That insane performance was so bold but unfortunately we think it taught him some incorrect lessons about the value of going BIG onscreen, both in muscle size and in acting scale. We prefer him when he's scaled back a bit (see Inception, Tinker Tailor, Locke, and Mad Max) though he's uh, welcome to take the clothes off again whenever he'd like.
Other Actors born today: Fady Elsayed (27), Ben Schwartz (39), Dave Annable (41), Josh Charles (49), Deidre Goodwin (51), Danny Nucci (52), Barry Shabaka Henley (66), Carmen Maura (75); Other Showbiz Peeps: Screenwriter and Mrs Daniel Day Lewis Rebecca Miller (58), Writer/Director/Foreign-Language Oscar Champ Pawel Pawlikowski (63), Bull Durham screenwriter Ron Shelton (75), Oscar winning Cinematographer Chris Menges (80); Gone But Not Forgotten: Auteur Jean Renoir (Grand Illusion, Rules of the Game) born on this day in 1894, Beauty that killed the beast Fay Wray (King Kong) born on this day in 1907, British star Margaret Lockwood (The Lady Vanishes, Cast a Dark Shadow) born on this day in 1916, and the youngest Best Actor nominee of all time Jackie Cooper (The Champ) born on this day in 1922.