Oscar Revisionism: 1961

Before I go on with this series, I'd like to have a refresher and review what we've learned about the Field of Ten(-ish) in the last four years.  First off, though it's too early to judge, it seems like nine nominees may become a standard.  We've had a year that some have considered the strongest in a while (2012), where our cinematic cup had runneth over commercially and critically.  I don't agree, but I can't deny that there was a strong collective appreciation in the Best Picture lineup of 2012 that didn't exist in 2011.  Both years produced nine nominees, under the new rules.  Ten may well be an impossible, perhaps rare, number to achieve.  Less than nine is a possibility, but, again, there was such a disparity in perceived quality in the mainstream and critical circles between 2011 and 2012, that it seems pretty safe to go with a prediction of nine for 2013, even now.  But, of course, it's obnoxiously too early for that nonsense.

So, what do we know from the separate categories, like directing for instance?  It's an excellent indicator, but possibly not full-proof as the last four years haven't presented a film yet like Mulholland Dr. as a test case.  But, for the most part, it's pretty reliable, with The Tree of Life serving as a strong example.  Only slightly less so is editing, which produced winner The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a film that did well with audiences and critics, but it may always be unknown whether the sexy, edgy action film could have made it in under the 2009/2010 rules.  The bipolar screenplay categories can go from 5/9 (2011) to 9/10 (2010), although the adapted category has an edge over original.  And the acting counts are equal in their mixed reliability.  Anyhow, year by year, going backwards:

2012
Of the nine BP nominees, they all received four or more nominations.  Many believe that under the 2009/2010 system, Skyfall with five nominations including cinematography and a win for song (as well as a sound category), may have gotten in at the 10th position.  Also doing well with nominations was the little seen Anna Karenina.  The Hobbit Part I managed three nods, as did The Master, which scored in all but one of the acting categories and was directed by Paul T. Anderson.  Director: 100%.  Editing: 100%.  Acting: 70%.  Screenplay: 80%.  Flight landed in both lead actor and the weaker original screenplay category, as well as Moonrise Kingdom; both films knocked out The Master.  Either film probably could have also gotten into a Field of Ten over the Anderson film.  If I made a bet, I'd go with Skyfall, with Moonrise in second.  Only Les Misérables didn't make it in the screenplay categories, but made up for that with a high nomination count and wins.

2011
Seven films with four nominations or higher, except for the sexy action drama The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo got in, which won for Editing, of all awards.  The other two got in with director/cinematography (The Tree of Life) and one minor acting nod (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close).  Life featured the signature style of Terrence Malick, the other a sappy drama.  One of the only three films to win multiple awards (the lukewarm received The Iron Lady) for Best Actress and makeup, probably didn't get close to the Best Picture field.  Director: 100% accuracy.  Editing: 80%. Acting: 45%.  Screenplay: 50% of the nominees scored in the BP field.  Of those that didn't, Bridesmaids was a successful gross-out comedy that did well critically and commercially and also got an acting nod.  A Separation also did well overall and won Foreign Language picture.  The spy drama Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy didn't do too badly itself and covered broad categories with acting and score nods.  The Wall Street drama Margin Call and the looks-good-on-paper The Ides of March both earned their sole nod in the screenplay categories.  It's highly debatable which film would have made it in the 10th slot under 2009/2010 rules, but candidates probably vary from Bridesmaids, to Dragon Tattoo, Ides, A Separation, and Tinker.  I'd put my money on Tattoo.  Out of the BP nominees which didn't get screenplay nods, War Horse and The Help both had decent nomination totals.  The Tree of Life managed the director's category.  But, in a year of only five nominations, were we were trying to ascertain a Field of Ten, Extremely Loud would have been the most challenging, with only an actor's nod.  The Oscar-baity project being released in December would have been the best indicators.

2010
This year was pretty cut and dried with the nomination count.  Of the ten films that scored four nominations, all ten got into the BP race.  The conventional wisdom is that the 11th place finisher was The Town, which scored a sole acting nod for Jeremy Renner, but that's, of course, mostly from being around when the race was actually happening.  Thrice-nominated (with two wins) Alice in Wonderland would have loved to have inserted itself into the BP race.  Other than that, all the other multiple winners were in the BP field.  Director: 100%.  Editing: 100%.  Acting: 75%.  Screenplay: 95%.  Mike Leigh got the only nomination for Another Year and eclipsed Black Swan from the screenplay category, which still garnered a good nomination total.

2009
Seven of the BP nominees managed four nominations or more.  Two films, which hovered right outside the race were Nine (poorly received on all accounts, the film still managed broad support with acting, song, costume design, and art direction mentions) and Star Trek (it won for makeup, but also landed in the visual effects and two sound categories), the science fiction film which probably had genre competition with the successful non-franchise District 9.  Coming of age British drama An Education received nods for its lead actress and screenplay, each category also had the sole nods for box-office bonanza actor vehicle The Blind Side (starring Best Actress winner Sandra Bullock) and a movie from Academy darlings the Coen brothers, A Serious Man.  Director: 100%.  Editing: 100%.  Acting: 45%.  Screenplay: 80%.  Both The Messenger and In the Loop were small dramas, the former of which also scored an acting nod.  The BP nominees that didn't score with screenplay were high-nomination count frontrunner Avatar (James Cameron is like anathema to the writing branch of the AMPAS) and Best Actress titan The Blind Side.  Out of films with multiple wins, only Crazy Heart, the actor showcase about a musician, wasn't part of the Best Picture race.  If this had been a five horse race that we were using to figure out a Field of Ten, The Blind Side, A Serious Man, and District 9 would have been the hardest calls, with Crazy Heart and The Messenger muddying the waters, along with Invictus, Nine, and Star Trek.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

In 1961, it was one of the most popular musicals of all time, a musical stripped of its songs, two dramas and a western that captured the attention of the AMPAS and the full-color monumental production of West Side Story would be the film to take the highest mantel.  But, what if the field had been extended to ten nominees total?  What else would have made it in?   It's important to note that, around this time, unlike the Best Picture field, because of the transition between black & white and color, there were ten nominated films for each of the cinematography, art direction, and costume design categories.  As well, the score category was broken up into two, delineating between the musical and comedy/drama genres.  Unlike today, there was no makeup category and only one sound distinction.

The Winner:

West Side Story

Total Wins/Nominations: 10 wins (Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Musical Score, Sound, Color Cinematography, AD, Costumes), 1 nomination (Adapted Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA winner, NBR, Laurel Awards (Musical) winner, NYFCC winner, Golden Globe (Musical) winner, BAFTA, WGA winner

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 18. October

Domestic Box Office: $44M (IMDb)

Budget: $6M (IMDb)

Current RT: 93%

Current IMDb: 7.7

The Nominees:

Judgment at Nuremberg

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 wins (Actor, Adapted Screenplay), 9 nominations (Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, B&W Cinematography, AD, Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, Laurel Awards (Drama), Golden Globe (Drama), BAFTA

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 19. December

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: $3M (IMDb)

Current RT: 89%

Current IMDb: 8.3

The Hustler

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 wins (B&W Cinematography, AD), 7 nominations (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actor)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, Laurel Awards (Drama) 2^ndPlace, BAFTA winner, WGA winner

Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Release Date: 25. September

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: $2M (IMDb)

Current RT: 97%

Current IMDb: 8.1

The Guns of Navarone

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Special Effects), 6 nominations (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Sound, Score)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Drama) winner, Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Release Date: 22. June

Domestic Box Office:

Budget: $6M (IMDb)

Current RT: 95%

Current IMDb: 7.6

Fanny

Total Wins/Nominations: 5 nominations (Picture, Actor, Film Editing, Score, Color Cinematography)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, Laurel Awards (Drama) 4^thPlace, Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 28. June

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 6.9

The Competition:

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 wins (Song, Score), 3 nominations (Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Color AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Comedy) 3^rd Place, Golden Globe (Comedy), WGA winner

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Release Date: 6. October

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: $2M (IMDb)

Current RT: 88%

Current IMDb: 7.8

La dolce vita

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (B&W Costumes), 3 nominations (Director, Original Screenplay, B&W AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA, Cannes winner.

Distributor: Astor Pictures Corporation

Release Date: 19. April

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: 98%

Current IMDb: 8.1

Splendor in the Grass

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Original Screenplay), 1 nomination (Best Actress)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 10. October

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: 85%

Current IMDb: 7.7

Summer and Smoke
Total Wins/Nominations: 4 nominations (Actress, Supporting Actress, Score, Color AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Release Date: 16. November

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: N/A

Current IMDb: 7.7

The Children’s Hour

Total Wins/Nominations: 5 nominations (Supporting Actress, Sound, B&W Cinematography, AD, Costume Design)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 19. December

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: $3.6M

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 7.7

El Cid

Total Wins/Nominations: 3 nominations (Score, Song, Color AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Action-Drama) winner, Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: Allied Artists Pictures

Release Date: 14. December 1961

Domestic Box Office: Gangbusters

Budget: $6.3M (IMDb)

Current RT: 92%

Current IMDb: 7.2

Flower Drum Song   

Total Wins/Nominations: 5 nominations (Musical Score, Sound, Color Cinematography, AD, Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Musical), Golden Globe (Musical), WGA

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Release Date: 9. November 1961

Current IMDb: 6.8

Såsom I en Spegel (Through a Glass Darkly)

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Foreign Language Film), 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA, Berlin

Distributor: Janus Films

Release Date: 13. March

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 8.0

The Parent Trap

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 nominations (Sound, Film Editing)

Other Awards/Nominations: Golden Globe (Comedy), WGA

Distributor: Walt Disney

Release Date: 21. June

Domestic Box Office: It was a hit

Current RT: 85%

Current IMDb: 6.9

Lover Come Back

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Comedy) winner

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Release Date: 20. December 1961

Current RT: 88%

Current IMDb: 7.2

Pocketful of Miracles

Total Wins/Nominations: 3 nominations (Supporting Actor, Song, Color Costume Design)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe (Comedy)

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 19. December

Domestic Box Office: $2.5M

Budget: $2.9M

Current RT: 63%

Current IMDb: 7.2

Il Generale della Rovere

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: Venice winner

Distributor: Continental Distributing

Release Date: 21. November 1960

Current IMDb: 7.9

Ballada o soldate (Ballad of a Soldier)

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA winner, Cannes

Distributor: Union Film Distribution Inc.

Release Date: 26. December 1960

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 8.2

The Innocents

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, BAFTA, Cannes, WGA

Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Release Date: 25. December

Current RT: 96%

Current IMDb: 7.9

A Majority of One

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Color cinematography)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe (Comedy) winner, WGA

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Release Date: 27. December

Current IMDb: 6.2

  

La Ciociara (Two Women)

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Best Actress)

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Drama)

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 7.7

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Movie Spoiler: Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Opening credits play over Danny Elfman’s marvelously memorably driving, yet tinkling score.  The first visual is of the Eiffel Tower, except it’s an illustration on a diorama-styled billboard advertising the Tour de France, filmed in King Gillette Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park along Mulholland Highway in Calabasas, CA.  Bikers pass by and Pee Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) appears to take the lead releasing little bursts of his trademark giggle.  He crosses the finish line and the onlookers celebrate his victory in what can only be described as a pretty budget-looking Tour de France.  Just as a beauty queen is about to place a bejeweled crown on the giddy Herman, his alarm rings off-screen, everyone scatters, and Pee Wee wakes up to face the day. 

He pulls the alarm clock towards him, which is attached to a string connected to the record player.  An old-timie song starts, Herman jumps out of bed and puts on his bunny slippers which he manipulates to sniff a stuffed carrot doll.  He does a short workout and plays with his toys, before sliding down his fireball into the dining area, magically transforming from PJ’s to the grey suit we’ve all come to recognize and love.  He wakes his dog Speck.  And he lights a candle, setting it under a rope holding up an anvil, which produces a domino effect creating his breakfast for that morning, set to Elfman’s “Breakfast Machine,” complete with a dinosaur motif.  There’s a fish aquarium outside his window.  He brushes his teeth with an oversized brush and barks at himself.  While Speck eats, he wraps Scotch tape across his face giving himself a pig-nose.  He weighs a ridiculous 98 lbs, like he’s eleven years old or something.  He has a fortune vending machine which warns him to not “leave the house today.”  Breakfast is ready and he sits at a diner booth, buttering his toast.  He pretends his meal greets him, and he responds, “Good morning, Mr. Breakfast.”  As he pours Mr. T cereal on top of his pancakes, eggs, and bacon, he mimics the 1980s TV icon, saying, “I pity the fool who don’t eat my cereal,” and laughs.  He eats maybe a spoonful, before he’s done and leaves a gratuitous amount of food behind.  He kisses Speck goodbye and goes outside.

There’s a full shot of his bright red house with a yard that is stuffed full of lawn statues and ornaments which thematically cover Christmas, outer space, and American Indians, among others (the house is located at 1846 Oxley St., South Pasadena).  He warns his neighbor Mr. Krabtree that he’s going to water his lawn with a kid’s sprinkler (one can only imagine how on earth he cuts the grass with all of that clutter; but, then, again, it's probably astroturf).  Out back, he types in a code and pulls a tree branch like a lever, which opens the garage that secures his cherished bicycle.  After a few closeup shots set to Elfman’s trumpeting theme, Pee Wee greets his bike, “Good morning, ... I’m here.” 

After a quick polish, he walks down the driveway and bumps into his arch nemesis, the spoiled brat Francis Buxton (Mark Holton).  “Today’s my birthday and my father said I can have anything I want,” he explains.  “Good for you and your father,” Pee Wee responds.  Francis asks him to guess what it is he wants and Pee Wee’s response is, “A new brain.”  When Francis informs him that he has his eyes on Pee Wee’s bike, he falls to the ground laughing.  He refuses to sell his bike for any amount of money.  When Francis keeps calling him names, Pee Wee repeatedly answers, “I know you are, but what am I?”  Francis joins in the expression and Pee Wee pulls a fast one by saying, “Infinite.”  “No, I’m not, you are,” Francis answers.  Pee Wee starts stepping on Francis’ words by repeating them as they come out of his mouth.  Francis asks him to stop and Pee Wee responds, “Why don’t you make me?”  “Why don’t YOU make ME.”  “Because, I don’t make monkeys, I just train them.”  Francis pleads, “Pee Wee, listen to reason.”  He keeps going and Pee shushes him, with one hand to his ear, looking around, “I’m listening to reason.”  “PEE WEE!”  “That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”  Francis makes a bid for sympathy, informing him of his history of coveting the bike, but Pee Wee laughs in his face and prepares to leave the conversation, “I love that story.”  The real Francis comes out as Pee Wee takes off with a monstrous, “YOU’LL BE SORRY, PEE WEE HERMAN.” 

Pee Wee rides through (Griffith?) Park and sings to himself (you can see shots of traffic of the I5 in various moments if it is Griffith).  He tries to copy some kids performing stunts on their bikes.  His skills equal the level where mine are at (not that high).  He continues his ride through Pasadena, towards Milan Avenue, catching the attention of some other kids and then crashing while showing off.  He dives into a somersault and seamlessly stands up, “I meant to do that,” he huffs and takes off. 

He arrives at the Third Street Promenade (which is miles and miles away from where he was just at, technically) where there is a long row of bikes chained up.  He removes an extensive chain and straps his bike to a creepy, mechanical clown statue.  He visits Mario’s curio shop for some new supplies, having an irreverent ball while he’s at it.  He harmlessly, briefly flirts with a skeptical young woman in a corner, by putting on some xray glasses and then nodding in approval in her direction.  Mario (Monte Landis) presents some new items for Pee Wee’s consideration, but he’s not impressed and doesn’t bite until he’s offered some trick gum, headlight glasses, and a (red) boomerang bowtie. 

He checks in with his trusted mode of transportation, before stopping by Chuck’s Bike-O-Rama.  He runs into some kids he knows who belong to a biking league.  As they leave, they give him a hard time when Dottie (Elizabeth Daily) emerges from behind the counter.  It’s clear there is a disparity of affection between the two.  He’s there to pick up his renovated horn, but she first tries to get him to go on a date.  He tries to slide out of the situation by being mysterious: “There’s a lot of things about me you don’t know anything about, Dottie.  Things you wouldn’t understand.  Things you couldn’t understand.  Things you shouldn’t understand.”  Dottie: “I don’t understand.”  He grabs his horn after explaining she couldn’t handle his lifestyle, and walks off with a puckered look on his face.  His laughter is interrupted when he’s shocked to find that his bicycle has been stolen.  He walks back to Chuck’s Bike-O-Rama in a daze, cries out for Dottie, honks his new and improved horn, and collapses, knocking over a whole row of bikes.  The ambulance and police arrive, but a cop delivers him the unfortunate news, while he’s laid up on a gurney, that he’s on his own as far as locating his bicycle.  He aimlessly wanders around the Third Street Promenade, noticing other people’s red bikes, but not his own. 

He files a missing bike report with Sargent Hunter (Starletta DuPois) at his local precinct.  She’s limited to how she can help him, but she does ask him questions prompting him to recall his interaction with Francis from earlier that day.  He races over to Ahmanson Mansion on 401 South Hudson Place in Hancock Park, LA, and bangs on the door.  The butler (Professor Toru Tanaka) answers and informs Pee Wee that Francis is busy with his bath.  “Oh, really, where are they hosing him down?”  He manages to sneak in using a fake-knocker.  He locates Francis in his swimming pool, locks them both in, and they begin to wrestle in the water.  Francis’ father (Ed Herlihy) intervenes and Pee Wee ends up apologizing, but manages to get the last laugh by feeding them both the trick gum, which unknowingly oozes out black from the sides of their mouths.  He elicits Dottie’s help to put up reward signs, before he goes on the air.  Francis hears the broadcast and pays the thief who stole the bike, asking him dispose of it.  That night, Pee Wee holds a long and extensive meeting with all of his friends detailing all of the evidence involved with the bike’s disappearance, as well as plenty of superfluous items.  After three hours, most everyone leaves as Pee Wee’s obsessiveness has gotten the best of him.

In a dark and rainy alley, Pee Wee visits a charlatan fortune teller Madam Ruby (Erica Yohn).  She feeds him a bunch of cock and bull while peering into her magic ball and sifting through his wallet.  She sees some signs across the street, which inspire her to tell him the bike is "in the basement" of the Alamo.  So, he hitchhikes to Texas, which is slow-going at first.  Finally, an escaped convict Mickey (Judd Omen) picks him up; he has a broken handcuff attached to his wrists.  He reveals that his crime was cutting off a mattress tag.  Pee Wee’s weird personality kind of freaks Mickey out, but they get along just fine.  Unbeknownst to Pee Wee, a truck carrying his bike passes them.  He tells him his story before they’re pulled over by some cops.  They quickly disguise themselves and pretend to be a married couple.  The officer (Bill W. Richmond) asks Pee Wee, who is in makeshift drag, to get out of the car so he can admire “the cute little outfit” he has on.  Pee Wee uses his wiles to charm the man and the couple are sent on their way.  Mickey steals a lascivious gander at Pee Wee that’s kind of hot.  That night, while Pee Wee drives, he asks Mickey about penitentiary life.  He accidentally drives them off a cliff, but manages to parachute down by employing the convertible’s canvass hatch.  Mickey kicks him out of the car and leaves him in the middle of nowhere, claiming that he’s a bad influence on Pee Wee. 

There’s a cartoon segment involving eyes in the pitch dark. He uses his fancy new flashlight goggles and finds himself surrounded by a cornucopia of animals.  He’s picked up by a trucker, Large Marge (Alice Nunn).  She’s a bit of a spook and launches into her famous monologue, ominously delivered, “On this very night, ten years ago, on the same stretch of road, in a dense fog just like this, I saw the worst accident I’d ever seen.  There was this sound, like a garbage truck, dropped off the Empire State Building.  And when they finally pulled the driver’s body from the twisted, burning, wreck, it looked like this: [Marge’s face bursts into a spooky look with her eyes popping out care of claymation].  Yes sir, that was the worst accident I’d ever seen.”  Pee Wee is creeped out and asks to be let off.  Her parting words: “Be sure and tell them Large Marge sent you,” cackling afterwards, before taking off. 

Pee Wee walks over to the Wheel Inn Restaurant (in Cabazon, CA) and freaks everyone out by following Large Marge’s directions.  A man gets up and delivers Marge’s monologue and indicates a shrine commemorating Marge’s death.  Pee Wee has a meal and the waitress Simone (Diane Salinger) befriends him.  He realizes the fortune teller took his wallet and has to pay for his meal by dishwashing.  Before he leaves, he agrees to watch the sunrise with Simone.  Her jealous boyfriend Andy (Jon Harris) watches them find their place inside of a large dinosaur, as they talk about future dreams. Hers is to live in Paris.  She tries to explain why she can’t, but Pee Wee tries to be proactive, “But, what? Everyone I know has a big but.  Come on, Simone, let’s talk about your big but.”  Andy eavesdrops and thinks there is something going on between them.  He uses a giant fake dinosaur bone to attack Pee Wee, who manages to escape on a passing train.  He falls asleep and has a claymation dream of a dinosaur eating his bike.  On the train, he meets Hobo Jack (Carmen Filpi) and they engage in a medley of songs.  Jack’s voice isn’t the most pleasant and Pee Wee soon tires, not being able to take it anymore and throwing himself off the train in agony.  He realizes he has landed in San Antonio near The Alamo.  Guide Tina (the always outstanding Jan Hooks) is there holding a tour.  Pee Wee endures the entire tour only to learn that “there is no basement at the Alamo.”  Everyone laughs at Pee Wee and he runs off in shame and frustration. 

At a bus stop, Pee Wee bumps into Simone, who broke up with Andy and is heading for Paris.  She catches her bus and he calls Dottie.  He proves his location to her by getting passerbys to sing the refrain from “Deep in the Heart of Texas.”  He apologizes to Dottie and she puts Speck on the phone.  After conversing with his pooch, he asks Dottie to wire him a bus ticket.  She tries to use her leverage to squeeze a date out of the situation.  He runs into Andy, who chases him across town.  Pee Wee evades the situation by dressing up as a cowboy and finds himself riding a bull.  Andy recognizes him as he remains on the bull and the crowd cheers.  The bull ends up chasing Andy and some rodeohands pull an exhausted Pee Wee aside. 

At a private leather Apache Bar for Satan’s Helpers (Halfway House Café in Santa Clarita), he places a call.  He asks the noisy revelers to quiet down, “I’m trying to use the phone,” which they don’t take so well.  They ask him to leave and on his way out he deliberately knocks over a bike, which happens to bring down a line of motorcycles in a domino effect, like earlier at the bike shop.  They pull Pee Wee back into the club and discuss how they are going to kill him.  Another busts in and wants at him.  Pee Wee is obliged a last request and does his notorious dance on the bar in a cook’s white platform shoes to "Tequila" on the jukebox.  He throws bottles and continues to dance, much to the biker’s enjoyment.  They loan him a motorbike and he takes off, hilariously crashing through a sign off in the distance.  He’s rushed to the hospital and has another nightmare involving clowns operating on the broken parts of his cycle.  Francis also makes an appearance as a devil who summons the bike to be dropped in a huge boiling cauldron. 

He wakes up to a special on the TV showing that a child, Kevin Morton (Jason Hervey, who would soon star in The Wonder Years as Kevin's older brother), is being presented a special gift, which happens to be Pee Wee’s bicycle.  Pee Wee travels to the Warner Bros. back lot, where he tries to blend in with Milton Berle’s entourage.  Nothing and nobody are as they seem, as Pee Wee asks for directions.  During the filming of a scene, director Jerry (Zach Hoffman) tries to juggle everyone’s egos on set, including actress Mary (Lynne Maria Stewart) who plays Mother Superior and Kevin, who isn’t so sweet and kind when the cameras aren’t rolling.  Meanwhile, Pee Wee has disguised himself as one of the nuns in the scene.  One of Mary’s lines is telling Kevin’s character Rusty that he’s an inspiration.  Pee Wee throws in a little improv, “I’ll say, I’m going to start a paper route right now.”  He strips off his costume and takes off on his bike, with security in tow.

During the chase, he uses extra exhaust to create a distraction.  He encounters colored elephants, utilizes facades on the lot to fool his pursuers, and rides through scenes including beach blanket bingo, North pole elves, Godzilla, war, and a Twisted Sister video of “You’re Going to Burn in Hell.”  He employs a water slick, before swinging across on a vine in a Tarzan scene and then falls out of the Warner's lot into a neighborhood.  He comes across a pet shop on fire and rescues various animals, even those he doesn’t want to rescue, like snakes.  Later, he’s shown the footage captured of him destroying the Warner lot.  Terry Hawthorne (Tony Bill) makes him an offer to turn his life into a movie.  Dottie arrives with his bike and he shakes hands with Mr. Hawthorne.

He finally takes Dottie to the Drive-In where they’re showing Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.  All of his friends are there, including old and those he met on his journey.  When the movie starts, James Brolin plays Pee Wee, Morgan Fairchild is Dottie, and he rides around on his X1 motorbike.  There’s sexual content, ninjas.  Nothing like the real story.  So Hollywood.  

The actual Pee Wee brings refreshments to the Hobos, Mickey. Simone is there with her new boyfriend Pierre (Gilles Savard), as are Satan’s Helpers. 

Pee Wee has a cameo in the movie.  “No, nothing right now Mr. Herman,” he tells Brolin in a dubbed voice.  “Paging Mr. Herman.  Mr. Herman, you have a telephone call at the front desk.”  Brolin decides he must find the bike on his own, but Fairchild convinces him otherwise and says, “You are such a pushover.”  His response: “I know you are, but what am I?”

At the drive-in, Phil Hartman is there interviewing Francis, who feigns being friends with Pee Wee.  He insists on sitting on Pee Wee's bike.  Pee Wee uses the ejectible seat to get rid of Francis.  Dottie wants to stay for the rest of movie, but Pee Wee insists they leave.  “I don’t have to see it, Dottie.  I lived it.”  They ride off.  

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Nicole Kidman: Before I Go to Sleep (spoilers)

Last weekend, I finished my first novel (Before I Go to Sleep) in probably (gulp) years (?).  Anyway, I'm using the term "finished' rather liberally.  I didn't actually read the whole thing word for word (or sentence for sentence, for that matter).  I gave each page a chance, but, after a while, took what information I needed and moved on.  That isn't to say it wasn't a good read or you wouldn't enjoy; I just didn't have the patience for it.  Or, perhaps (hey) I need to ease myself back into reading.  Anyhow, there's a "big reveal" I knew was coming, and the idea of discovering what the secret was became more of my focus than actually soaking in S.J. Watson's prose.  Afterwards, I checked the Amazon reviews and, though the majority of the critiques were glowing, I did find at least one other person who found many portions of the book to be repetitive, as did I.  (I also noted that the book jacket sports accolades written only by authors.)

The whole impetus for reading Sleep was Nicole Kidman.  She's currently filming the movie version with Colin Firth and Mark Strong.  Rowan Joffe (son of Roland) is directing his own adaptation as a followup to his feature debut Brighton Rock, a poorly received dramatic thriller starring Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren, John Hurt, and Sam Riley.  Joffe is working with a decent pool of talent in front of and behind camera, so, on paper, there's reason to think this may end up to be good (it should have no problem surpassing Joel Schumacher's recent Kidman-vehicle Trespass in quality).  It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out, though, regardless.  Sleep concerns Christine Lucas, a wife who suffers from an incredibly rare case of amnesia, where each day she wakes to a clean-slate and she can remember virtually nothing of the last twenty years of her life.  [There are no major spoilers here, but I do share a bit about how the story moves along.]  When we first meet her, she rises from bed to discover a man who is a stranger to her, until he finally convinces her he is her husband.  The comparisons to Memento and 50 First Dates will be endless.  Strictly a mystery thriller, Lucas must slowly piece together her life with the help of an ambitious and invested young doctor.  The mid portion of the novel is somewhat epistolary in that we have Lucas begin journaling each subsequent day in order to retain whatever memory she can (which she also utilizes to remind herself of what she already knows with each new day).

via Just Jared

A bit of artistic license must be given to the author, as these "recollections" and the logistics behind Sleep, become absurdly long, busy, and detailed, complete with extended quoted conversations.  Basically, they defy the ability to recall, even for a person so desperate to remember.  While this was forgivable, more trying was the repetition of not necessarily events, but Lucas' feelings and conjectures about the people around her.  Those around her must earn her trust (with good reason).  Some of the mental motions Lucas goes through are shrewd and believable, but become quite taxing after a while.  I actually was pretty devoted the first one hundred or so pages, but had to put the book down out of boredom.  When I finally returned to it with the intent of completion, I had to rifle through and adopt a faux-"Evelyn Wood" method of reading (or what I imagine it might be, but actually isn't).  And, while I wish I could have enjoyed the novel more, this expedited approach was the only way I was ever going to finish.  Was the climax satisfying?  Not really.  It was clever, I suppose, but plagued with implausibilities, and didn't come together in a way that was exciting and jaw-dropping.   I was pretty disappointed.  There are bits of information the author drops to keep us interested as we make our way to Lucas' redemption, but they're sparse and difficult to make an emotional connection.  Hopefully, Joffe will bring something to the film's style that will make the journey intoxicating and edgy like its progenitor Memento, as well as encourage more investment in the characters.  But, this will be a challenge for a story centered around a protagonist who doesn't even know the first things about herself.

What I found most striking, however (and this is in the context of the lead actress), was that Lucas is a 47-year-old woman who has basically lost the last two decades of her life and has a scene mourning the loss of her youth.  Kidman is an enigmatic actress who is obviously talented and towers above most of her peers.  She chooses complex roles and tends to work with an assortment of intriguing directors.  What makes her persona both frustrating and even more confounding, however, is her choice to indulge in plastic surgery in her personal life to the point where it becomes distracting (and unnerving in that she is in such denial about the extent in which she partakes in) in her professional work.  Aging, as with most, is a huge issue for her, being constantly in the spotlight and striving to remain relevant in her chosen industry.  However, she has basically gone on record recently acknowledging that her leading lady days are over and she now considers herself a "character" actress.  Interesting admission that may be opening up a new chapter of her life.  She has put Grace of Monaco to bed (and criticism of the mid-40s actress portraying Grace Kelly in her early 30s will surely resurface come Oscar time in early January when the film begins its wide expansion) and is now, with her Christine Lucas, playing a character, who, at least in the novel version, is a woman who must literally confront the reality of her age in a mirror when she was convinced she was two decades younger than she actually was  (this could also be the first character Kidman has played in the last ten years that is technically older than her--though only by two years).  I imagine it won't be the most involving element of the production, but perhaps it will solidify a turning point in her career where she embraces growing old gracefully.  Who knows.  They say once you start messing with your face, you can't put that genie back in the bottle (and, as I'm willing to guess, that particular wish-granter has been freely milling about for over a good ten years) ...

Sleep is scheduled to open probably sometime in the first quarter of 2014.  If it indeed turns out to be a winner and her Grace Oscar campaign takes flight, we'll probably be seeing it sooner rather than later.

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Oscar Revisionism: 1962

Okay, so this series is limping passed the halfway mark, so bare with.  Last time we checked in, it was 1963.  In 1962, David Lean's epic Lawrence of Arabia swept the Oscars.  In its wake was high seas adventure Mutiny on the Bounty, race-relations classic To Kill a Mockingbird, musical The Music Man, and war drama The Longest Day.  Already filled with variety, how much more would a Field of Ten have added?

The Winner:

Lawrence of Arabia

Total Wins/Nominations: 7 wins (Picture, Director, Film Editing, Score, Sound, Color Cinematography, AD), 3 nominations (Actor, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA winner, NBR, BAFTA winner, Golden Globe (Drama) winner

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Release Date: 16. December

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: $15M (IMDb)

Current RT: 98%

Current IMDb: 8.5

The Nominees:

Mutiny on the Bounty 

Total Wins/Nominations: 7 nominations (Picture, Film Editing, Score, Song, Special Effects, Color Cinematography, AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Drama), Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: MGM

Release Date: 8. November

Domestic Box Office: $14M (IMDb)

Budget: $19M (IMDb)

Current RT: 71%

Current IMDb: 7.1

To Kill a Mockingbird

Total Wins/Nominations: 3 wins (Actor, Adapted Screenplay, B&W AD), 5 nominations (Picture, Director, Actress, Score, B&W Cinematography)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe (Drama), BAFTA, Cannes, WGA winner

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Release Date: 25. December

Domestic Box Office: $13M (IMDb)

Budget: $2M (IMDb)

Current RT: 93%

Current IMDb: 8.5

The Music Man 

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Adapted Screenplay), 5 nominations (Picture, Film Editing, Sound, Color AD, Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Musical) winner, Golden Globe (Musical) winner, WGA winner

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 19. June

Domestic Box Office: $15M (IMDb)

Budget: N/A

Current RT: 94%

Current IMDb: 7.6

The Longest Day

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 wins (Special Effects, B&W Cinematography), 3 nominations (Picture, Film Editing, B&W AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR winner, Laurel Awards (Action-Drama) winner, Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: TWFCC

Release Date: 4. October

Domestic Box Office: $39M (IMDb)

Budget: $10M (IMDb)

Current RT: 92%

Current IMDb: 7.8

The Rest of the Competition:

The Miracle Worker

The Helen Keller story.

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 wins (Actress, Supporting Actress), 3 nominations (Director, Adapted Screenplay, Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, Laurel Awards (Drama) 2^ndPlace, Golden Globe (Drama), BAFTA, WGA

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 23. May

Budget: $0.5M

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 8.0

David and Lisa

Romance drama about two people dealing with mental illness. 

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 nominations (Director, Adapted Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA

Distributor: Continental Distributing

Release Date: 26. December

Box Office: $2.3M

Budget: $0.2M

Current RT: 80%

Current IMDb: 7.3

Divorzio all’Italiana (Divorce, Italian Style)

Comedy about a man who will do whatever it takes to get out of his marriage to be with his lover.

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Original Screenplay), 2 nominations (Director, Actor)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, BAFTA, Cannes

Distributor: Embassy Pictures Corporation

Release Date: 17. September

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 8.2

Days of Wine and Roses

Blake Edwards directed one of the first popular films to confront alcoholism.

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Song), 4 nominations (Actress, Actor, B&W AD, Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Drama) winner, Golden Globe (Drama), BAFTA

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 26. December

Box Office: $8.1M

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 7.9

The Manchurian Candidate

Political thriller about the son of a well-connected family who is turned into an assassin.  While it was infamously pulled from distribution, it still managed to get two key Oscar nominations.  

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 nominations (Supporting Actress, Film Editing)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Action-Drama) 3^rdPlace, BAFTA

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 24. October

Budget: $2.2M (IMDb)

Current RT: 98%

Current IMDb: 8.2

Birdman of Alcatraz

Burt Lancaster starred as a prisoner who was also an avian aficionado, based on a true story.

Total Wins/Nominations: 4 nominations (Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, B&W Cinematography)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, Laurel Awards (Drama) 3^rd Place, Venice, WGA

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 3. July

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: 82%

Current IMDb: 7.8

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Infamous film starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as two battling actress sisters. Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte would do quite well with the AMPAS a few years later ...

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (B&W Costumes), 4 nominations (Actress, Actor, Sound, B&W Cinematography)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 26. October

Box Office: $9M

Budget: $1M (IMDb)

Current RT: 89%

Current IMDb: 8.0

Sweet Bird of Youth

A young actor is assisted by a faded movie star to get his old life back in this Tennessee Williams adaptation. 

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Supporting Actor), 2 nominations (Actress, Supporting Actress)

Other Awards/Nominations: N/A

Distributor: MGM

Release Date: 21. March

Current RT: 75%

Current IMDb: 7.4

Lolita

Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Nabokov’s tale of forbidden fruit.  Not yet an awards fixture, Kubrick's film may have been too risque for the AMPAS.  

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Adapted Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe love

Distributor: MGM

Release Date: 12. June

Box Office: $9.3M

Budget: $2.1M (IMDb)

Current RT: 97%

Current IMDb: 7.7

Freud

John Huston biography about the famous psychoanalyst starring Montgomery Clift.  Yet, Clift failed to get recognized.  

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 nominations (Original Screenplay, Original Score)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe (Drama), Berlin, WGA

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Release Date: 12. December

Budget: $4M (IMDb)

Current RT: N/A

Current IMDb: 6.9

Billy Budd

Naval drama has a crewman criticizing everything around him that doesn’t come without ramifications.  

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Supporting Actor)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, BAFTA, WGA

Distributor: Allied Artists Pictures

Release Date: 12. November

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 7.8

L‘année dernière à Marienbad (Last Year at Marienbad)

Influential, cryptic French drama from Alain Resnais.

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA

Distributor: Astor Pictures Corporation

Release Date: 7. March

Current RT: 95%

Current IMDb: 7.8

That Touch of Mink   

Rom-com starring Cary Grant and Doris Day.

Total Wins/Nominations: 3 nominations (Original Screenplay, Color AD, Sound)

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Comedy) winner, Golden Globe (Comedy) winner

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Release Date: 14. June

Box Office: $14.6M (IMDb)

Current RT: 67%

Current IMDb: 6.6

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Sydney Lumet’s adaptation of the Eugene O’Neill play about addicts starring Katharine Hepburn.

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Actress)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR

Distributor: Embassy Pictures Corporation

Release Date: 9. October

Budget: $0.5M (IMDb)

Current RT: 93%

Current IMDb: 7.8

Requiem for a Heavyweight

Drama about a boxer at the crossroads stuck in debt. 

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Release Date: 16. October

Current RT: 88%

Current IMDb: 7.7

A Taste of Honey

British domestic drama directed by Tony Richardson.

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, BAFTA

Distributor: Continental Distributing

Release Date: 30. April

Budget: ca $0.1M

Current RT: 80%

Current IMDb: 7.6

Jules et Jim

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA

Distributor: Janus Films

Release Date: 23. April

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: 97%

Current IMDb: 7.9

War Hunt

War drama starring Robert Redford. 

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: NBR

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: May

Budget: $0.3M (IMDb)

Current RT: N/A

Current IMDb: 6.3

Whistle Down the Wind

Drama about a group of children who help harbor a murderer, because they believe he’s Jesus. 

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: NBR

Distributor: Pathé-America Distributing Company

Release Date: 21. April

Box Office: It did well.

Budget: ca. $0.1M

Current RT: 100%

Current IMDb: 7.7

Hatari!

Wildlife adventure directed by Howard Hawkes set in East Africa. 

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Color Cinematography)

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Action-Drama) 2^nd Place

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Release Date: 19. June

Domestic Box Office: $14M (IMDb)

Current RT: 68%

Current IMDb: 7.2

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Color Costumes), 3 nominations (Adapted Score, Color Cinematography, AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: Golden Globe (Musical)

Distributor: MGM

Release Date: 7. August

Domestic Box Office: $6.5M

Current RT: N/A

Current IMDb: 6.3

Gypsy

Total Wins/Nominations: 3 nominations (Adapted Score, Color Cinematography, Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Musical) 2^nd Place, Golden Globe (Musical), WGA

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 1. November

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: $4M (IMDb)

Current RT: 67%

Current IMDb: 7.1

Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Release Date: 18. July

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: N/A

Current IMDb: 6.2

Lisa (The Inspector)

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Company

Release Date: 24. May

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT:

Current IMDb: 6.3

The Chapman Report

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 5. October

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: N/A

Current IMDb: 6.0

Period of Adjustment

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (B&W AD)

Other Awards/Nominations:  Golden Globes (Comedy), WGA

Distributor: MGM

Release Date: 31. October

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: N/A

Current IMDb: 6.2

Bon Voyage!

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 nominations (Sound, Color Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: N/A

Distributor: Buena Vista Distribution Company

Release Date: 17. May

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: 76%

Current IMDb: 5.5

The Interns

Melodrama set in a hospital. 

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Drama) 5^th Place

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Release Date: 8. August

Box Office: $5M

Current IMDb: 6.6

Une aussi longue absence (The Long Absence)

Total Wins/Nominations: 0

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA

Distributor: Commercial Pictures

Release Date: 15. November

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: N/A

Current IMDb: 7.6

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