Matt vs. the Academy

Rehearsals are well under way for Cosi , the first production of Australian Made Entertainment , the theatre (and eventually, film) company that Kat and I recently formed. We begin performances on September 7 in New York City, only three and a half weeks away, so if you're going to be in the area, get your tickets now . We now turn our attention to the final nominee from the Best Picture race of 1971... The Last Picture Show Director : Peter Bogdanovich Screenplay : Larry McMurtry and Peter Bogdanovich (based on the novel by Larry McMurtry) Starring : Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Eileen Brennan, Clu Gulager, Sam Bottoms, Sharon Taggart, Randy Quaid, Joe Heathcock Academy Awards : 8 nominations 2 wins, for Best Supporting Actor (Johnson) and Best Supporting Actress (Leachman) Contrary to my usual rule, my viewing of The Last Picture Show was of the director's cut, not of the original version that ...

It's not often the timing works out that one of the nominees from a year I'm currently reviewing happens to be scheduled for a retrospective screening in New York City during that time. Such was the case with the next subject of review, which had a one-day only engagement at BAM Rose Cinemas , which, if memory serves, is a Matt vs. the Academy first. Of course, had I been speedier with my look at the rest of the nominees, I would have been entirely finished with the current year of review and missed the opportunity all together. In any case, it certainly was a thrill to see this picture up on the big screen. In fact, I worry that it may give this film an unfair advantage in my final verdict, since the experience of watching a movie in a darkened cinema is far more all-engrossing than watching on a smaller screen at home, susceptible to all sorts of distractions. Advantage or not, here are my musings on this nominee from the 1971 Best Picture race... The French...