Harrison Ford's quick lesson on film editing

by Tim Brayton

When we think of the most memorable moments in Oscar history, we tend to think about winners and their speeches, or maybe particularly impressive (or disastrous) musical or comedy performances during the ceremony itself. We don't, as a rule, tend to think about how the categories get introduced, but I find myself in the position this year of thinking that the very best, or at least the most gratifying moment in Sunday night’s telecast was exactly that. I'm talking about Harrison Ford introducing Best Editing, where we got one of those vanishingly rare moments throughout the years where this annual event designed to promote and celebrate filmmaking actually managed to promote and celebrate filmmaking.

If you've forgotten the moment, it was as unflashy as it gets: Ford, in an apparent state of, ahem "advanced relaxation," read a bunch of bullet points off of a sheet of paper...

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Showbiz History: Taraji P Henson, Blade Runner, Roots and the 1977 Emmys

7 random things that happened on this day in history 

1967 The Carol Burnett Show, which would become a hugely successful influential comedy, premieres on CBS. 

1970 Future Oscar and Emmy nominee Taraji P Henson born in Washington DC. Happy 50th birthday to this fine actress. On this same day the classic Five Easy Pieces which will go on to four Oscar nominations world premieres in NYC...

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Posterized: Harrison Ford

by Nathaniel R

Harrison Ford has been a major star for our whole lives but Call of the Wild (2019), opening today nationwide, is actually the first time in many years that studios have trusted his name alone to sell a picture. Well, that and a CGI dog, but the solo name (no pun intended) above the title is still worth noting. 

Ford, who is now 77, has been a regular on movie screens for over 50 years and his films have amassed over $9 billion dollars globally. But he wasn't always a superstar. In the 1970s he wasn't just acting for filmmakers but also doing carpentry jobs to support his then wife and sons (Francis Ford Coppola famously hired him as a carpenter before casting him in The Conversation and Apocalypse Now). The rest, of course, is showbiz history.

How many of his 49 pictures (excluding uncredited appearances and voice only roles) have you seen? All 49 posters are after the jump as well as a breakdown of his career in chapters...

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Remembering Rutger Hauer (1944-2019)

by Nathaniel R

"All those moments will be lost like tears in the rain."

Thus went the immortal words of Roy Batty, in Blade Runner (1982) as he breathed his last, betrayed by the cruel brevity of life. Rutger Hauer improvised one of cinema's all-time greatest death scenes when he was just 38. The actor, who turned 75 this past January, has now passed on, dying at his home in The Netherlands after a short illness.

Rutger Hauer first came to worldwide fame in 1973 as the star of Paul Verhoeven's Oscar-nominated sexually provocative Turkish Delight (the most successful Dutch film of all time). More buzzy international hits from his home country followed. Hollywood soon came calling as they usually do when someone who can speak English fluently has multiple imported hits...

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Beauty vs Beast: Original Sinners

Jason from MNPP here. It is October when a young man's fancy will turn to cable-knit cardigans and exquisitely plotted murder schemes, but it's more specific this week than the usual - tomorrow night the New York Film Festival is screening the premiere episode of David Fincher's Mindhunter series (which stars Jonathan Groff as an early FBI profiler) and then on Friday The Snowman (Tomas Alfredson's film starring Michael Fassbender as Detective Harry Hole - yes really - on the trail of a Frosty-fixated killer) comes out. And so what better time to transport "Beauty vs Beast" back to the wet streets of an anonymous city on the brink in Fincher's film Se7en...

PREVIOUSLY I assume some of y'all saw Blade Runner 2049 this weekend (fewer than anticipated though!) and have opinions, but last week you shared your opinion on the original film, and while it bounced back and forth over the course of the week it was Daryl Hannah's Pris who finally squeezed the life out of Deckard with those glorious calves once and for all, taking just under 55% of the vote. Said kermit_the_frog:

"Daryl Hannah showed such promise (I'd argue that she has, unfortunately, never bettered this performance - admittedly, a high bar was set)..."