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...

It's been a busy few weeks as Kat and I have been getting all the pieces together for the inaugural production of our theatre company, Australian Made Entertainment . In September, we will be presenting Cosi , a classic Aussie comedy about a bunch of mental patients who cobble together a performance of Mozart's opera, Cosi fan tutte. If you can't make it to New York in September, you could always check out the film version , which I believe is also available on Netflix. In any case, be sure to 'like' us on Facebook to keep up to date with our progress. After a hectic week, I managed to squeeze in a viewing of another Best Picture nominee from 1971's contest... A Clockwork Orange Director : Stanley Kubrick Screenplay : Stanley Kubrick (based on the novel by Anthony Burgess) Starring : Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, Miriam Karlin, Godfrey Quigley, Anthony Sharp, Warren Clarke, Aubrey Morris, Michael Bates Academy Awards : 4 nomin...

As New York suffers through its current heat wave, being inside a theatre is a pleasantly cool place to be. On July 4th, Kat and I, along with a few friends visiting from out of town, took in a show, and what better show for Independence Day than Gore Vidal's The Best Man . The play itself was a little long and static (they still found time for two intermissions) but the star-studded cast made it all worth it. At 81 and 86 respectively, James Earl Jones and Angela Lansbury are as captivating as ever. And they share the stage with a veritable who's who of the sitcom universe - Will & Grace's Eric McCormack, Night Court's John Larroquette and Murphy Brown's Candice Bergen. Meanwhile, in an air-conditioned apartment, I take a look at 1971's next contender for Best Picture... Fiddler on the Roof Director : Norman Jewison Screenplay : Joseph Stein (adapted from his book of the Broadway musical, which was based on stories by Sholem Aleichem) Starring ...

After several months of planning, my talented wife Kat and I have finally launched our theatre company. Australian Made Entertainment will concentrate on producing Australian plays in New York City (and, considering my love of film, we will inevitably branch into movie-making as well). We have a theatre booked for our first show later this year, so stay tuned for more details. This blog will undoubtedly feature more announcements on behalf of the company but, in the meantime, visit our website , like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter . Kicking off our look at the Oscar nominees for the Best Picture of 1971 is... Nicholas and Alexandra Director : Franklin J. Schaffner Screenplay : James Goldman (based on the book by Robert K. Massie) Starring : Michael Jayston, Janet Suzman,  Harry Andrews, Tom Baker, Michael Bryant, Maurice Denham, Jack Hawkins, Ian Holm, Curd Jürgens, John McEnery,  Roderic Noble,  Eric Porter, Michael Redgrave, Alan Webb, Irene Wort...

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 ...