Luise Rainer: I'm 102, I won 2 Academy Awards and I'm holding the Oscar for 74 years

Born January 12, 1910, she is almost 103 years old and she is a record woman talking about Oscars!!! Mrs Rainer was born in Germany, and she was discovered by Max Reinhardt, one of the most famous and influent Austrian Directors. While acting in Austria and Germany with Reinhard, sha had been noticed by MGM talent scouts, in 1934/35 she moved to US and she signed a contract with MGM for several years. 

L.B. Mayer chose Luise Rainer to replace actress Myrna Loy for her first American role in "Escapade", starring Academy Award nominated actor William Powell.

The next year Rainer acted in the MGM musical "the Great Ziegfeld".

Rainer played the role of Anna Held, Ziegfeld forst wife, she acted again with William Powell (Florenz Ziegfeld) and also Myrna Loy (Billie Burke, Ziegfeld second wife). The movie had a great success and it was the first musical for which one of its cast members won an Academy Award. 

The movie was nominated in seven categories (Art Direction, Directing, Film Editing and Original Screenplay), like Cimarron in 1931, and won 3 Oscars: Academy Award for Best Picture (MGM Hunt Stromberg), Best Actress Luise Rainer and the Academy Award for Best Dance Direction (Seymour Felix "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody").

The Great Ziegfeld

After the famous telephone scene in The Great Ziegfel, Reiner's nickname  has been “The Viennese Teardrop”.

 1937 Oscars: Rainer between Paul Muni (The Story of Louis Pasteur) and Frank Capra ( Mr. Deeds Goes to Town)

One of the most famous quotes of Mrs Rainer after winning two Oscars was :"No one in Europe had never heard of it. I didn`t know what it was, it didn`t mean anything to me."   

The next year Rainer was nominated again and won another Academy Award for her role in "The Good Earth" co-starred with Academy Award winner (in the same year) Paul Muni. Having worked so hard, Rainer succeeded in expressing more than anybody else the poor Chinese girl, and despite few words to say she has been able to transfer a deep realism on the screen.

After acting in few movies more she left Hollywood to go back to Europe in the 40's. She celebrate her Centenary in London in 2010 and  she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6300, Hollywood Boulevard.

In few months she'll be 103.

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The 4th Academy Award: 1931 a year of records

The 4th Academy Award: 1931 a year of records

 Director Norman Taurog with his nephew Jackie Cooper, both nominated in 1931.

I'd like to start by describing why it has been defined "a year of records"... well let me tell you that it was pretty easier to reach a record since the Oscars were established only three years before... 

That year "Cimarron" was the first Western movie to ever win Best Picture (the second will be "Dances with Wolves" in 1990, directed by Kevin Costner), and also the first movie reaching the highest number of nominations, with a total of 7, winning 3 Awards for Outstanding Production (RKO), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Art Director.  

 From "Cimarron" (Richard Dix and Irene Dunne)

Furthermore in 1931 actor Jackie Cooper, that fell asleep during the ceremony, born in 1922, at the age of 9, was the youngest actor receiving a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for the movie "Skippy". It was only in 1979 when Justin Henry was nominated for "Kramer vs. Kramer", at the age of 8, that Cooped was surpassed, even if Henry was nominated in another category, Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Jackie Cooper was the nephew of Director Norman Taurog, who won the Academy Award for Best Director for "Skippy", becoming the youngest person to win the Award. Both Taurog and Cooper have a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, respectively Vine Street 1600 and 1507. 

 Marie Dressler ("Min and Bill") and Lionel Barrymore ("A Free Soul") with their Statuette

In 1931 John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore, both members of the Barrymore Family (grandfather and grand-uncle of Drew Barrymore) starred in two Nominated Movies, respectively "Svengali" and "A free soul", and Lionel won the Oscar for Best Actor that year.

The award for Best Actress in a Leading Role went to Marie Dressler for "Min and Bill", co-star with Wallace Beery, one of the highest paid actors before Clark Gable. From 1900 Dressler has been one of the most influent actresses; she worked with Chaplin, Mabel Normand and Irving Thalberg.

Dressler was honoured in 1960 with a Star at 1731, Vine Street for her contribution to the motion picture industry. Talking about records, "Cimarron" and "A Free Soul" were the first two movies to receive multiple acting nominations.

"The Dawn patrol", directed by the amazing Howard Hawks and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. won the Academy Award for Best Story (future Original Screenplay award). "Tabu, a Story of the South Seas", directed by Academy Award winning Murnau (Sunrise) won the Award for Best Cinematography, thanks to the great job of Floyd Crosby (Cinematography for "High Noon", 1952). Unfortunately Murnau died one week after the premiere of "Tabu" on March 18, 1931.

Morocco, a movie  by Josef von Sternberg, starring Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich and Adolph Menjou (nominated for Best Actor the same year for "The Front Page") was nominated for four Academy Awards, but didn't succeed despite great actors and the great and future director of "Der Blaue Engel", also starring Marlene Dietrich.

That year the Ceremony was held at the Biltmore hotel, and hosted by Lawrence Grant, and for that occasion President Herbert Hoover sent Vice President Charles Curtis to attend the ceremony (Source: Oscars.org).

The 4th Academy Awards banquet held at the Sala D’Oro in the Biltmore Hotel 

(Source: Oscars.org)

That year were celebrated also for the first time the Scientific and Technical Award, during a dinner ceremony separated from the annual telecast. Those were Special Award for scientific or technical achievements and conferred by vote of the Academy Board of Governors.

The Biltmore Hotel in the 30's 

 And today... still a milestone 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey




Hey Mr. Bilbo where are you off to? 
I'm going on an adventure...

 Watch the trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViUNm30ADEA

 Watch the trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViUNm30ADEA

Academy Awards through the years: The Location

The Location: Academy Awards through the years 

STEP 1

May 16, 1929... the Oscars had just begun...

The Location was the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and for the occasion, a huge banquet was set up for an audience of about 270 people, and a guest ticket of 5$.

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel 1929

 From that day on the Ceremony has changed ten Locations, choosing Theatres instead of Hotels.

STEP 2
From 1930 to 1943 the Oscars locations have been the Ambassador Hotel and the Biltmore Hotel.

 Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador

The Ambassador Hotel was famous for the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, unfortunately demolished in 2005. 

STEP 3

 Biltmore Hotel

Biltmore Bowl

"Legend has it that MGM art director Cedric Gibbons, who was in attendance, immediately grabbed a linen Biltmore napkin and sketched the design for the Oscar statue on it. Eight Oscar ceremonies were held in the Biltmore Bowl during the Academy's early years of 1931, 1935–39, and 1941-42. In 1977 Bob Hope hosted the Academy's 50th Anniversary banquet in the same room." (Source: Wikipedia)

STEP 4 & 5

The Grauman's Chinese Theatre

 
From 1944 to 1946 Oscars' new home was Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood Blvd. and afterfrom 1947 to 1948 it has been the Shrine Auditorium.

 Shrine Auditorium

In 1949, and just for that year, the Oscars found a new home which was The Academy Award Theater (the future Kodak theatre).

The Academy award Theatre in 1949, Best Movie Hamlet

STEP 6
The Pantages Theatre:1950–1960

 The Pantages Theatre

STEP 7 & 8

From 1961 to 1968 they moved to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and from 1969 to 1987 to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles Music Center.

 Santa Monica Civic Auditorium 

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

From 1988 to 2001the Oscars Alternated again between the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Shrine Auditorium.

STEP 9
And at the end from 2002 to 2012 at the Dolby Theatre,(the Kodak Theatre) in 2012 the Kodak changed again name in Hollywood and Highland Center (2012).

 The Kodak Theatre, today's Hollywood and Highland Center

Check out from Google Maps all the Academy Awards Venues

A: The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
B: The Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador
C: The Biltmore Hotel
D: The Grauman's Chinese Theatre
E: The Shrine Auditorium
F: The Pantages Theatre
G:The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
H:The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 
I: The Kodak Theatre 
 
For more infos:

http://timelines.latimes.com/academy-awards/

Dear Ennio... Happy Birthday

Dear Ennio... Happy Birthday



Happy birthday... I'm thinking about a little surprise for u... 

 Ennio Morricone receiving hos Honorary Oscar from old friend Clint Eastwood

 

 My ticket!!!