Matt vs. the Academy

It's hard to believe that it's already tech week for The Taming of the Shrew  and that we open in three days. If you're in the New York area in the next three weeks, be sure to pop along and say hi. We now take a look at another Best Picture contender from 1959... The Nun's Story Director : Fred Zinneman Screenplay : Robert Anderson (based on the novel by Kathryn Hulme) Starring : Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Edith Evans, Peggy Ashcroft, Dean Jagger, Mildred Dunnock, Beatrice Straight Academy Awards : 8 nominations 0 wins The Nun's Story, as its title suggests, is the story of a nun. Gabrielle (Hepburn) is a stubborn young woman who, for some reason, chooses to enter a Belgian convent with hopes of serving as a nurse in the Congo. She endures the brutal identity-stripping training, struggling to keep up with what is expected of her, but thrives during science class as she learns all about tropical diseases. Despite topping the class, Sister Luke, ...

Last week, I began rehearsals for Titan Theatre Company 's production of The Taming of the Shrew, opening at the end of this month. In an unexpectedly exciting twist, the first read through was held at the historic club known as The Players . Over 120 years old, the club was the brainchild of famed 19th century American actor Edwin Booth, whose bedroom still exists on the upper floors of the club, reportedly untouched since his death in 1893. Quite a step back in time, let me tell you. Along with its incredible roster of famous past members, The Players is also noted for being the location at which Actor's Equity was covertly formed. We turn now to another of the Academy's picks from 1959 for Best Picture... The Diary of Anne Frank Director : George Stevens Screenplay : Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (based on their play, which was based on "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank) Starring : Millie Perkins, Joseph Schildkraut, Shelley Winters,...

There is one major pitfall of the infrequency with which I've been updating this blog as of late. Too many newsworthy events occur in between posts for me to devote the appropriate amount of space to informing you about each of them. So, here's a brief summary of my news for the past couple of weeks: Fresh off the New York City premiere of my short film Clicked, of which I wrote about last time, the film has now been selected for the Hoboken International Film Festival, screening in the first week of June. On top of that, I'll be beginning rehearsals later this week for a local production of The Taming of the Shrew, in which I will play Grumio. If I manage to decrease the delay between each post in the coming weeks, I'll give more details for those events, but in the meantime, the next Best Picture nominee from the 1959 Oscars is... Room at the Top Director : Jack Clayton Screenplay : Neil Paterson (based on the novel by John Braine) Starring : Simone Si...