rating movie clip: AFI

Showing posts with label AFI. Show all posts

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Awards Watch: Emmy Nominations 2008

The 2008 Emmy Award nominations were announced today, which means: time to start complaining. Seriously, Two and a Half Men, one of the least original "comedies" on TV today, instead of the brilliantly creative Pushing Daisies, the revitalized Desperate Housewives and the one and only Ugly Betty? Boston Legal, again? At least Lost returned to the Best Drama line-up.

Nevertheless, some of our favorites did make the cut, including Daisies' Lee Pace and Kristin Chenoweth, Betty's America Ferrera and Vanessa Williams, Housewives' Polly Bergen and Kathryn Joosten, Brothers & Sisters' Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths, Lost's Michael Emerson and Grey's Anatomy's Diahann Carroll, Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson.

Also among the nominees include out actors Neil Patrick Harris and Cynthia Nixon, plus the TV movies Bernard and Doris (along with stars Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon), A Raisin in the Sun (and its stars Phylicia Rashad and Audra McDonald, who both won Tonys for the Broadway production) and High School Musical 2 and the specials Movies Rock, Company, AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition and the 80th Annual Academy Awards.

The Emmys will be presented live on ABC on Sunday September 21.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Cinematic Crush: Warren Beatty

Crush object: Warren Beatty, actor/director/writer/ producer.

- The future auteur started his career on television, most notably as rich kid Milton Armitage on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. After leaving that series, he earned a Tony Award nomination for the Broadway play A Loss of Roses.

- He made his film debut in the classic romantic melodrama Splendor in the Grass, which won him a Golden Globe as "Most Promising Newcomer". He would go on to win three more Globes, including their lifetime achievement honor, the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

- Following the legendary Bonnie and Clyde, the 70's proved to be his decade, with such future classics as McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait, his first success as a multi-hyphenate. As star, co-director, co-writer and co-producer, he became one of the few people to be nominated for four Academy Awards for the same film.

- He would repeat that feat with his epic triumph, Reds, which netted him his own Oscar, as Best Director (in all, he has been nominated for an Oscar fourteen times, and also received the Academy's Irving G. Thalberg Award). From that high to the low of Ishtar, he went on to Dick Tracy, Bugsy and Bulworth.

- The American Film Institute honored him this year with their lifetime achievement award. The USA Network will broadcast the festivities tomorrow night at 9:00 PM EST.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

MD Poll: Fantasy Tops Drama

The American Film Institute chose it as its #1 fantasy film of all time, and you agreed: The Wizard of Oz topped the latest MD Poll, which asked you to pick your favorite of AFI's #1s from their recent 10 Top 10 countdown.

But it wasn't an easy victory, with Dorothy and friends facing some tough competition from the courtroom: To Kill a Mockingbird placed a strong second. Rounding out the top five were the mysterious Vertigo, the gangsta classic The Godfather and sci-fi favorite 2001: A Space Odyssey. See the comments section below for the complete rundown and stats.

Click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

Friday, June 20, 2008

MD Poll: AFI's Best of the Best

Wrapping up our coverage of the American Film Institute salute to their 10 Top 10 (which recently named the ten best films in ten classic genres), this week's MD Poll asks you to pick the best of the best.

Snow White, Dorothy Gale, Vito Corleone, HAL 9000, Ethan Edwards, Jake La Motta, Madeleine Elster (or is it Judy Barton?), the Tramp, Atticus Finch and T.E. Lawrence all want to know: of the AFI's ten #1 movies, which one is your favorite?

Cast your vote in the poll located in the sidebar to your right, and check back here in two weeks for the results.

UPDATE: This poll is now closed. Click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.