Bernard Hill (1944-2024)

by Cláudio Alves

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003) Peter Jackson

Today, sad news comes from England. Actor Bernard Hill has passed away at the age of 79, comforted by his family to the end. 

Among Oscar obsessives, Hill is best known for his appearances in Titanic and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. For James Cameron, he played the stalwart captain of the doomed ship, while Peter Jackson saw him embody Théoden, King of Rohan. Both roles share a touch of quiet authority, power laced with the deep sorrow of someone responsible for countless other lives. Hill's very presence seemed to project these qualities, making him a dream character actor, able to shape a movie's tonalities with little more than a glance, a shift of posture, a sigh. To this day, he's the only actor to star in two of the Academy's all-time champions, pictures with eleven Oscars each…

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Weekend Box Office: Magic Mike and James Cameron

By Ben Miller

Super Bowl weekend has never been a hotbed of film dollars, and this weekend was no different.  Magic Mike's Last Dance, the third and final entry in Steven Soderbergh's male stripper series, won the weekend with a sub-$10 million opening.  That doesn't happen very often in the world of big budgets.  In fact, in the 21st century (excluding COVID openings), only Bangkok Dangerous and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star had a worse opening and still managed to top their weekends.  That being said, the film only opened on 1,500 screens, so the per-screen average was pretty solid.  Second and third both belonged to director James Cameron.  Avatar: The Way of Water continues to work its way up all-time charts, but the re-release of Cameron's 1997 Oscar-winner Titanic added a respectable total for a 25-year-old film.

Weekend Box Office (actuals) Feb 10th-12th 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended /  = Oscar Nominated
WIDE (Over 800 Screens)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
MAGIC MIKE'S LAST DANCE	CONSECRATION
1 🔺 MAGIC MIKE'S LAST DANCE $8.3 *NEW* 1,500 screeens	1 PATHAAN $976k (cum. $15.9) 492 screens
2 ★ AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER $7.2 (cum. $647.2) 3,065 screens	2  🔺 CONSECRATION $329k *NEW* 762 screens

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Discussing the 1997 Oscar Race (Again)

Ben & Matt win "Best Original Screenplay" at the Oscars

Remember how much fun the Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1997 was? Well, we had an opportunity to revisit that year much earlier than we were expecting to revisit it via our friends at the Cooler Than Ecto Podcast...

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The Best Costumes of 1997

by Cláudio Alves

Before we say goodbye to 1997 and move on to 1951, let's indulge in what has become a Smackdown tradition. After Nathaniel and his panelist do their Supporting Actress analysis and podcast discussion, it's time for some costume-related musings. Like most of the categories in that year's Oscars, the Best Costume Design race was won by Titanic, which shouldn't be surprising. Not only was the movie a sweeper, but its wardrobe has achieved iconic status in the decades since its original release. Deborah Lynn Scott makes for a just victor, not only because of her work's iconographic power but also because it works within the picture's purview of history and romance…

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ICYMI - 1997 Smackdown Podcast

by Nathaniel R

We'll be releasing as short "outtakes" podcast from the latest Smackdown featuring the films and supporting actresses of 1997. But before we do, listen to the "official" podcast, won'cha? It's one of our best episodes, so we sincerely hope you enjoy. 

1 hour and 24 minutes
00:00 Panel Intros and Titanic's four-quadrant success
08:00 In & Out. Paul Rudnick's jokes, the physical comedy, the Joan Cusack
23:30 L.A. Confidential and Kim Basinger as both actress and celebrity
37:30 Good Will Hunting 'Ben & Matt' mania, and Minnie Driver's focus-pulling charisma
46:50 The brilliance of Boogie Nights and Julianne Moore's career-making genius
1:01:35 Gloria Stuart's 'old Rose' and the winning corniness of Titanic
1:16:00 Awards for everyone plus our re-casting game.
1:19:00 Goodbyes and final movie/performance recommendations for '97