Matt vs. the Academy

I'm back in Sydney once again, though I'll have another brief getaway next week when I'll be shooting a commercial for a cruise line company. The ad is being shot on an actual cruise ship during a regular four-day sailing, so apart from the approximate half-day that I'll be required to work, I'll have the rest of the time free to enjoy the cruise. Nice work if you can get it ... and I got it. Back to the task at hand. Just before I left Los Angeles, I squeezed in a viewing of another of 1974's Best Picture nominees... The Conversation Director : Francis Ford Coppola Screenplay : Francis Ford Coppola Starring : Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Michael Higgins, Elizabeth MacRae, Teri Garr  Academy Awards : 3 nominations 0 wins Surveillance expert Harry Caul (Hackman) leads a team in secretly recording an intimate outdoor conversation between a couple (Williams and Forrest) who appear to be concer...

As my current LA trip approaches its end, it seems appropriate that we begin our next year of review with a film that features Los Angeles almost as a character of its own. I even had the privilege of taking in this masterpiece on the big screen for the first time, which was definitely a treat. Later, I also watched its sequel, The Two Jakes, which I had never seen before, and was pleasantly surprised, despite years of assuming its mixed reviews meant it was awful. In any case, let's take a look at the first nominee of the 1974 Best Picture contest... Chinatown Director : Roman Polanski Screenplay : Robert Towne Starring : Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman, Perry Lopez, Burt Young, John Huston, Diane Ladd Academy Awards : 11 nominations 1 win, for Best Original Screenplay Los Angeles private investigator J.J. Gittes (Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Ladd) to confirm that her husband, Hollis, is having an affair. Hollis happens to be the chief engineer of th...