Matt vs. the Academy

The last year of review took me about three and a half months. I've knocked off about a month this time around, so hopefully that's a sign that things will move at a swifter pace from here on in... But don't quote me on that. The nominees for Best Picture of 1959 are: Anatomy of a Murder Ben-Hur The Diary of Anne Frank The Nun's Story Room at the Top Five nominees with vastly disparate subject matters, united by their intensity and thought-provoking themes. Despite this excess of gripping drama, it was the epic that presented itself as the clear front-runner, no doubt due to its legacy. Perhaps not coincidentally, the other four films all offer conclusions that could in some sense be described as unsatisfying - not because of any error in the filmmaking, but rather that they're simply just downers of varying degrees. Each of the lead characters essentially fails to achieve what they really want, or if they do, they then realise it wasn't actua...

On Sunday night, my short film, Clicked , had its screening in competition at the Hoboken International Film Festival , although technically, the cinema at which it screened was actually located in Hoboken-adjacent Jersey City. As could be expected late on a Sunday evening in Jersey City, the turnout was not spectacular, a circumstance accentuated by the large auditorium. Nevertheless, the few movie-goers in attendance seemed to enjoy themselves and, post screening, I was even able to speak to one such attendee, who was modestly complimentary of the film, so I'll take it. A light rail and four trains later, Kat and I made it back to Astoria, stopping in for an early breakfast at our favorite local haunt, Sanford's . Nothing quite like an egg, bacon and cheese sandwich at two in the morning. Now we turn to the final nominee from the race to the 1959 Best Picture Oscar... Anatomy of a Murder Director : Otto Preminger Screenplay : Wendell Mayes (based on the play by ...

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...

On Monday night, my short film Clicked , which I wrote, directed and starred in, had its New York City premiere as part of the NewFilmmakers Spring Festival Series . A proud moment, indeed. It was quite a thrill to see it up there on the big screen along with a real audience that wasn't just the cast and crew. And there is nothing quite so satisfying to hear a room full of people laugh at something I wrote on a page four years ago. Yes, it took that long to finish the damn thing. Somehow, it took longer to complete my short film than it did to complete what is perhaps the most well-known epic film of all time, the film to which all other epic films are compared and the first 1959 Best Picture Oscar nominee for us to discuss... Ben-Hur Director : William Wyler Screenplay : Karl Tunberg (based on the novel "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" by Lew Wallace) Starring : Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O...