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Leonard Maltin
Lunching With Oscar’s Finest
- By Leonard Maltin
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- February 7, 2012
What a treat, and an honor, to be invited to attend the Oscar Nominees Lunch once again. This unique gathering of over 100 nominees brings together stars, directors, animators, sound men, documentarians, screenwriters, makeup artists, and other collaborators—and treats them all the same. It’s a rare opportunity to commune with leading talents from every aspect of the movie world…but of course, stars get the lion’s share of attention. I told Meryl Streep, “I hope you know you are loved,” and she said she did at that moment, even though “I thought my career was washed up twenty years ago.”
Quality Time With Martin Scorsese
- By Leonard Maltin
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- February 1, 2012
Imagine spending two and a half hours talking to Martin Scorsese! The Santa Barbara International Film Festival gave me that gift on Monday night, and the evening-long tribute at the historic Arlington Theatre was everything I hoped it would be. My only frustration was not having even more time so we could cover all of Scorsese’s films and go off on as many tangents as we pleased.
Alexander Payne, Silent Film Aficionado
- By Leonard Maltin
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- January 30, 2012
Alexander Payne is once again an Oscar-nominated director, for his wonderful film 'The Descendants' (still my favorite picture of 2011), but you may not be aware that his love of cinema runs deep. When he agreed to introduce Lon Chaney in 'He Who Gets Slapped' at last year’s San Francisco Silent Film Festival, he talked about his lifelong passion, and his love of silent film, with such eloquence that I later asked if he would allow me to reprint his speech. This seems as good a time as any.
Oscar Welcomes Newcomers
- By Leonard Maltin
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- January 24, 2012
Oscar voters always have some surprises up their collective sleeve, and today was no exception. The actors’ branch is especially welcoming to new talent, as witness the nominations of first-timers Demián Bichir, Rooney Mara, Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, and Melissa McCarthy. That such relative newcomers are standing toe to toe with the likes of George Clooney and Meryl Streep is a tremendous achievement—and honor.
Classic Comedy Toppers
- By Leonard Maltin
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- January 18, 2012
Some years ago I found a genuine vintage Sons of the Desert fez in the archives of the venerable Western Costume Company, which you can see up top. The newly-produced model from Fez-o-Rama is different, but has the approval of the international Laurel and Hardy appreciation society, also called Sons of the Desert. Although changes were made, they were done by Fez-o-Rama’s designer (and founder) Jason Rodgers after much careful thought.
Seein' Stars
- By Leonard Maltin
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- January 16, 2012
This year’s “it” girls pose together at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards dinner: Elizabeth Olsen and Jessica Chastain.
Happiness is...
- By Leonard Maltin
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- January 11, 2012
Ask my wife or daughter and they’ll tell you: it doesn’t take a lot to make me happy. It could be something as simple as a matchbook tie-in for David O. Selznick’s 'Duel in the Sun' (although I don’t think I’ll be saving the peel-off stickers I noticed on my bananas advertising the new 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' movie.) I cackled like a child when I recently opened the package containing my latest “find”—a 12-inch wooden ruler advertising the 1943 movie 'The Song of Bernadette'. The fact that I paid five bucks for it made the acquisition all the sweeter.
Frazetta On Film
- By Leonard Maltin
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- January 10, 2012
Frank Frazetta is revered as one of the great illustrators of the 20th century; his comics, magazine and paperback covers, especially in the realm of science-fiction and fantasy, are highly collectible. But fewer people seem to know about his mostly-anonymous freelance assignments creating artwork for movie posters in the 1960s and 70s like 'What’s New Pussycat?', 'After the Fox', and' The Night They Raided Minsky’s'.
Two Unforgettable Figures
- By Leonard Maltin
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- January 9, 2012
Hal Kanter, who lived to be 92, was one of the deans of comedy writers in Hollywood, a man with a résumé as long as it was diverse. He devised scripts for Crosby and Hope and Martin and Lewis.
Orson Welles—Heard, Not Seen
- By Leonard Maltin
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- January 4, 2012
Many people are familiar with Orson Welles’ notorious radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ 'War of the Worlds', which aired on Halloween eve, 1938, and caused a nationwide panic. It made the “boy wonder” of Broadway a household name, and led to offers from Hollywood that culminated in the production of his masterpiece, 'Citizen Kane', in 1941. He brought along many of his radio colleagues, from actors like Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, and Everett Sloane to...
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