There has always been an understated rivalry between the mediums of movies and television. Many years ago it was even thought as being somewhat of a drastic career letdown if actors/actresses from film decided to depart for the landscape of television. The truth is that for some performers that had stalled or uneventful momentum in motion pictures that the concept of “slumming it” in television actually saved their show business profession. Hence, the boob tube made them relevant whereas the big screen had unceremoniously passed them by.
However, there is also a mutual respect that cinema and television share that go hand in hand when shaping our appreciation for entertainment on both the big and small screen. When movies depict the aspects of the TV world giving a sociological, psychological or emotional perspective then it is not so uncool to be a proud couch potato after all, right? Let...
However, there is also a mutual respect that cinema and television share that go hand in hand when shaping our appreciation for entertainment on both the big and small screen. When movies depict the aspects of the TV world giving a sociological, psychological or emotional perspective then it is not so uncool to be a proud couch potato after all, right? Let...
- 7/13/2014
- by Frank Ochieng
- SoundOnSight
We’re less than two weeks away from the Oscars, and that means it’s once again time for my favorite activity: griping about the past!
One of my biggest Oscar pet peeves is when actors who portray real-life roles garner more attention — for no good reason — than actors who portray fictional characters. The Academy has long been too pleased with big-named thespians who prove they can imitate recognizable figures. Sometimes the attention is justified (Sean Penn in Milk and Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose come to mind), but often real-life roles become filler nominees in the supporting categories. Here are nine examples of Oscar-nominated performances that caught fire with the academy simply for being based on a known personality.
1. Jason Robards as Howard Hughes in Melvin and Howard
Melvin and Howard is a movie that teaches you to appreciate its examination of a Utah man’s humdrum lower-middle-class existence,...
One of my biggest Oscar pet peeves is when actors who portray real-life roles garner more attention — for no good reason — than actors who portray fictional characters. The Academy has long been too pleased with big-named thespians who prove they can imitate recognizable figures. Sometimes the attention is justified (Sean Penn in Milk and Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose come to mind), but often real-life roles become filler nominees in the supporting categories. Here are nine examples of Oscar-nominated performances that caught fire with the academy simply for being based on a known personality.
1. Jason Robards as Howard Hughes in Melvin and Howard
Melvin and Howard is a movie that teaches you to appreciate its examination of a Utah man’s humdrum lower-middle-class existence,...
- 2/17/2014
- by Louis Virtel
- The Backlot
A modern-day take on the famous rigging of 50s game show Twenty-One scores big on historical accuracy
Director: Robert Redford
Entertainment grade: A
History grade: B
In 1958, there was a national scandal when the American television quiz show Twenty-One was revealed to have been rigged.
People
The star of NBC's hit game show Twenty-One is Herbert Stempel (John Turturro). His general knowledge is fantastic, and he appeals to the producers as an archetypal underdog. In this context, that means he's Jewish, working-class, and kind of dorky. His winning streak on the show has made him famous. Not everyone gets him, though. "That Stempel is giving me a headache," grumbles Martin Scorsese. You do not want to give Martin Scorsese a headache. Admittedly, the great director is not playing himself: he's supposed to be a pharmaceutical executive who sponsors Twenty-One. The producers tell Stempel to give the wrong answer to an...
Director: Robert Redford
Entertainment grade: A
History grade: B
In 1958, there was a national scandal when the American television quiz show Twenty-One was revealed to have been rigged.
People
The star of NBC's hit game show Twenty-One is Herbert Stempel (John Turturro). His general knowledge is fantastic, and he appeals to the producers as an archetypal underdog. In this context, that means he's Jewish, working-class, and kind of dorky. His winning streak on the show has made him famous. Not everyone gets him, though. "That Stempel is giving me a headache," grumbles Martin Scorsese. You do not want to give Martin Scorsese a headache. Admittedly, the great director is not playing himself: he's supposed to be a pharmaceutical executive who sponsors Twenty-One. The producers tell Stempel to give the wrong answer to an...
- 12/14/2012
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
It's time for November sweeps, which means one thing: Television execs want to make money off your time! Hooray! And what better way to celebrate the money-grubbing, callous-as-hell world of television than with one of the most damning films about the industry, Quiz Show? This week's Best Movie Ever? selection has everything: Mean TV execs, hot TV stars, annoying TV stars, Rob Morrow's mushmouthed New England accent, Martin Scorsese in an acting role, and enough '50s-style morals to drive the Drapers crazy. I also happen to love it, which means it qualifies to be Best Movie Ever. So there.
Quiz Show, the 1994 Best Picture nominee by director Robert Redford (who also helmed our beloved Ordinary People), takes a close look at the game show scandals of the 1950s when contestants like Herb Stempel (John Turturro) and Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) answered trivia questions for extraordinary sums of money.
Quiz Show, the 1994 Best Picture nominee by director Robert Redford (who also helmed our beloved Ordinary People), takes a close look at the game show scandals of the 1950s when contestants like Herb Stempel (John Turturro) and Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) answered trivia questions for extraordinary sums of money.
- 11/12/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
The brainy English teacher who became the central figure in the quiz-show scandals of the late 1950s has broken his silence.
Charles Van Doren, 82, is finally telling his side of the story in a first-person account published in this week's New Yorker magazine, which came out yesterday.
Van Doren - who lives in Connecticut with his wife of 50 years and still teaches college-level English (most recently at the University of Connecticut in Torrington) - said he decided to go public with his version of the "Twenty-One" quiz-show story for the sake of his grandchildren.
Charles Van Doren, 82, is finally telling his side of the story in a first-person account published in this week's New Yorker magazine, which came out yesterday.
Van Doren - who lives in Connecticut with his wife of 50 years and still teaches college-level English (most recently at the University of Connecticut in Torrington) - said he decided to go public with his version of the "Twenty-One" quiz-show story for the sake of his grandchildren.
- 7/22/2008
- by By ADAM BUCKMAN
- NYPost.com
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