1.
The Artist (film)
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The Artist received highly positive reviews from critics and won many accolades. Dujardin won the Best Actor Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and it was also the first French film to win Best Picture, and the first mainly silent film to win since 1927s Wings won at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929. It was also the first film presented in the 4,3 aspect ratio to win since 1953s From Here to Eternity, in France it was nominated for ten César Awards, winning six, including Best Film, Best Director for Hazanavicius and Best Actress for Bejo. The Artist has received more awards than any other French film, in 1927, silent film star George Valentin is posing for pictures outside the premiere of his latest hit film when a young woman, Peppy Miller, accidentally bumps into him. Valentin reacts with humor to the accident and shows off with Peppy for the cameras, the next day, Peppy finds herself on the front page of Variety with the headline Whos That Girl. Later, Peppy auditions as a dancer and is spotted by Valentin, while performing a scene in which they dance together, Valentin and Peppy show great chemistry, despite her being merely an extra. With a little guidance from Valentin, Peppy slowly rises through the industry, two years later, Zimmer announces the end of production of silent films at Kinograph Studios, but Valentin is dismissive, insisting that sound is just a fad. In a dream, Valentin begins hearing sounds from his environment and he decides to produce and direct his own silent film, financing it himself. The film opens on the day as Peppys new sound film as well as the 1929 Stock Market Crash. Now Valentins only chance of avoiding bankruptcy is for his film to be a hit, unfortunately audiences flock to Peppys film instead and Valentin is ruined. His wife, Doris, kicks him out, and he moves into an apartment with his valet/chauffeur, Clifton, Peppy goes on to become a major Hollywood star. Depressed and drunk, Valentin angrily sets a match to his collection of his earlier films. As the nitrate film quickly blazes out of control he is overwhelmed by the smoke and passes out inside the burning house, however, Valentins dog attracts the help of a nearby policeman, and after being rescued Valentin is hospitalized for injuries suffered in the fire. Peppy visits the hospital and discovers that the film he rescued is the one with them dancing together and she asks for him to be moved to her house to recuperate. Valentin awakens in a bed at her house, to find that Clifton is now working for Peppy, Valentin seems to remain dismissive of Peppy having taken him in, prompting Clifton to sternly remind Valentin of his changing luck. Peppy insists to Zimmer that Valentin co-star in her next film, after Valentin learns to his dismay that it had been Peppy who had purchased all his auctioned effects, he returns in despair to his burnt-out apartment. Peppy arrives, panicked, and finds that Valentin is about to attempt suicide with a handgun, Peppy tells him she only wanted to help him. They embrace and Valentin tells her its no use, no one wants to him speak
2.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
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The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered a performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry. At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Gale Sondergaard was the first winner of award for her role in Anthony Adverse. Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded instead of statuettes. Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, however, winners received full-sized statuettes, currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS, winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy. Since its inception, the award has given to 78 actresses. Dianne Wiest and Shelley Winters have received the most awards in this category with two awards each, despite winning no awards, Thelma Ritter was nominated on six occasions, more than any other actress. As of the 2017 ceremony, Viola Davis is the most recent winner in category for her role as Rose Maxson in Fences. In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of release in Los Angeles County. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, University of Toronto Press, inside Oscar, The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards. New York, United States, Ballantine Books, oscars. org Oscar. com The Academy Awards Database
3.
Heath Ledger
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Heathcliff Andrew Heath Ledger was an Australian actor and director. After performing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s and he also produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director. In the film, Ledger portrayed an actor named Robbie Clark, one of six characters embodying aspects of Dylans life. Ledger died on 22 January 2008 from an accidental intoxication from prescription drugs, a few months before his death, Ledger had finished filming his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight. His death occurred during editing of The Dark Knight and in the midst of filming his last role as Tony in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and his untimely death cast a shadow over the subsequent promotion of the $185 million Batman production. The Sir Frank Ledger Charitable Trust is named after his great-grandfather and he had English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. Ledger attended Marys Mount Primary School in Gooseberry Hill, and later Guildford Grammar School and his parents separated when he was 10 and divorced when he was 11. After sitting for early graduation exams at age 17, Ledger left school to pursue an acting career, in 1999, he starred in the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You and in the acclaimed Australian crime film Two Hands, directed by Gregor Jordan. In 2001, he won a ShoWest Award as Male Star of Tomorrow, in The New York Times review of the film, critic Stephen Holden writes, Both Mr. Ledger and Mr. Gyllenhaal make this anguished love story physically palpable. Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean and it is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn. In a review in Rolling Stone, Peter Travers states, Ledgers magnificent performance is an acting miracle and he seems to tear it from his insides. Ledger doesnt just know how Ennis moves, speaks and listens, to see him inhale the scent of a shirt hanging in Jacks closet is to take measure of the pain of love lost. Shortly after the release of Candy, Ledger was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, posthumously, on 23 February 2008, he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the films ensemble cast, its director, and its casting director. In his penultimate film performance, Ledger played the Joker in Christopher Nolans 2008 film The Dark Knight, released nearly six months after his death. At the time of his death on 22 January 2008, Ledger had completed half of the work for his final film performance as Tony in Terry Gilliams The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. In 2006, Ledger directed music videos for the track on Australian hip hop artist Nfas CD debut solo album Cause An Effect. Later that year, Ledger inaugurated a new label, Masses Music, with singer Ben Harper. After Ledgers death, his video for Black Eyed Dog was shown on the Internet
4.
Romy Schneider
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Romy Schneider was a film actress born in Vienna who held German and French citizenship. She started her career in the German Heimatfilm genre in the early 1950s when she was 15, from 1955 to 1957, she played the central character of Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the Austrian Sissi trilogy. Schneider moved to France where she made successful and critically acclaimed films with some of the most notable directors of that era. After her parents divorce in 1945, Magda took charge of Romy and her brother Wolfi, eventually supervising the young girls career and her career was also overseen by her stepfather, Hans Herbert Blatzheim, a noted restaurateur who Schneider indicated had an unhealthy interest in her. Romy Schneiders first film, made when she was 15, was Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht in 1953, in 1954, Schneider for the first time portrayed a royal, playing a young Queen Victoria in the Austrian film Mädchenjahre einer Königin. Less stereotypical films during this period include The Girl and the Legend, working with a young Horst Buchholz. Schneider soon starred in Christine, a remake of Max Ophülss 1933 film Liebelei and it was during the filming of Christine that Schneider fell in love with French actor Alain Delon, who co-starred in the movie. She left Germany to join him in Paris and they announced their engagement in 1959, under Viscontis direction, she gave performances in the Théâtre Moderne as Annabella in John Fords stage play Tis Pity Shes a Whore and in the film Boccaccio 70. In 1962 Schneider played Anna in Sacha Pitoëffs production of Chekhovs play The Seagull, a brief stint in Hollywood included a starring role in Good Neighbor Sam a comedy with Jack Lemmon, while Whats New Pussycat. Although American financed, was shot in and around Paris, Schneider co-starred with Peter OToole, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen, the film was made from his first screenplay. Schneider and Delon decided to split up in 1963 although they remained lifelong friends. They continued to work together in films as La Piscine, which revitalized her career. Schneider continued to work in France during the 1970s, most notably with director Claude Sautet on five films and their first collaboration, The Things of Life with Michel Piccoli, was a great success and made Schneider an icon in France. The three colleagues teamed up again for the noir thriller Max et les ferrailleurs, and she appeared with Yves Montand in Sautets César et Rosalie, Schneider portrayed Elisabeth of Austria again in Ludwig, Viscontis film about the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. This time she played the Empress as a more complex, mature. Sissi sticks to me just like oatmeal, Schneider once said, other successes from this period included Le Train, where she played a German-Jewish refugee in World War 2, Claude Chabrols thriller Innocents with Dirty Hands with Rod Steiger, and Le vieux fusil. The gritty That Most Important Thing, Love garnered her first César Award, on 30 October 1974, Schneider created one of the most memorable moments on German television. She also acted in Le Trio infernal with Michel Piccoli, and in Garde à vue with Michel Serrault, an unpleasant incident occurred during this period with leading German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder who wanted her to play the lead in his film The Marriage of Maria Braun
5.
2012 Cannes Film Festival
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The 65th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition, french actress Bérénice Bejo hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The festival opened with the US film Moonrise Kingdom, directed by Wes Anderson, the main announcement of the line-up took place on 19 April. The official poster of the festival features Marilyn Monroe, to mark the 50th anniversary of her death, the Palme dOr was awarded to Austrian director Michael Haneke for his film Amour. Haneke previously won the Palme dOr in 2009 for The White Ribbon, the jury gave the Grand Prize to Matteo Garrones Reality, while Ken Loachs The Angels Share was awarded the Jury Prize. The official selection was announced on 19 April at Grand Hôtel in Paris, the festivals artistic leader Thierry Frémaux responded that people should not focus only on the competition films, The selection is an ensemble, you have to consider the whole package. The following entries were selected, out of more than 1,700 submissions from 320 different schools, the following films were selected, Feature films Short films The line-up for the International Critics’ Week was announced on 23 April at the sections website. The following films were selected, Feature films Short and medium length films Special Screenings The following films were screened in the Cannes Classics section. The Hungarian montage film Final Cut, Ladies and Gentlemen, directed by György Pálfi, was selected as the film for the Cannes Classics section. Haneke previously won the award for The White Ribbon in 2009, Love tells the story of an elderly couple preparing for death. During his acceptance speech, the director said A very, very big thanks to my actors who have made this film and they are the essence of this film. Moretti said that none of the winners had been selected unanimously and he revealed that Holy Motors, Paradise, Love and Post Tenebras Lux were the entries that most had divided the jury
6.
Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The city is located on the shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata. The city of Buenos Aires is neither part of Buenos Aires Province nor the Provinces capital, rather, in 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores, the 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Its citizens first elected a chief of government in 1996, previously, Buenos Aires is considered an alpha city by the study GaWC5. Buenos Aires quality of life was ranked 81st in the world and one of the best in Latin America in 2012 and it is the most visited city in South America, and the second-most visited city of Latin America. Buenos Aires is a top tourist destination, and is known for its preserved Spanish/European-style architecture, Buenos Aires held the 1st Pan American Games in 1951 as well as hosting two venues in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Buenos Aires will host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2018 G20 summit, Buenos Aires is a multicultural city, being home to multiple ethnic and religious groups. Several languages are spoken in the city in addition to Spanish, contributing to its culture, the hill was known to them as Buen Ayre, as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city, which is adjacent to swampland. During the siege of Cagliari, the Aragonese built a sanctuary to the Virgin Mary on top of the hill, in 1335, King Alfonso the Gentle donated the church to the Mercedarians, who built an abbey that stands to this day. In the years after that, a story circulated, claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary was retrieved from the sea after it miraculously helped to calm a storm in the Mediterranean Sea, the statue was placed in the abbey. Spanish sailors, especially Andalusians, venerated this image and frequently invoked the Fair Winds to aid them in their navigation, a sanctuary to the Virgin of Buen Ayre would be later erected in Seville. Pedro de Mendoza called the city Holy Mary of the Fair Winds, mendoza’s settlement soon came under attack by indigenous people, and was abandoned in 1541. For many years, the name was attributed to a Sancho del Campo, a second settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción. Garay preserved the name chosen by Mendoza, calling the city Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire. The short form Buenos Aires became the common usage during the 17th century, the usual abbreviation for Buenos Aires in Spanish is Bs. As. It is common as well to refer to it as B. A. or BA /ˌbiːˈeɪ/ bee-AY), while BA is used more by expats residing in the city, the locals more often use the abbreviation Baires, in one word. Seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata in 1516 and his expedition was cut short when he was killed during an attack by the native Charrúa tribe in what is now Uruguay
7.
Lady-in-waiting
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A lady-in-waiting or Court Lady is a female personal assistant at a court, royal or feudal, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family in good society, although she may or may not have received compensation for the service she rendered, a lady-in-waiting was considered more of a companion to her mistress than a servant. In courts where polygamy was practiced, a lady was formally available to the monarch for sexual services. Lady-in-waiting or court lady is often a term for women whose relative rank, title. The development of the office of lady-in-waiting in Europe is connected to that of the development of a royal court, in the late 12th-century, the queens of France are confirmed to have had their own household, and noblewomen are mentioned as ladies-in-waiting. A number of tribes and cultural areas in the African continent, within certain traditional states of the Bini and Yoruba peoples in Nigeria, the queen mothers and high priestesses were considered ritually male due to their social eminence. Due to this fact, they were often attended on by women who belonged to their harems in much the way as their actually male counterparts were served by women who belonged to theirs. This resulted in a mix of Burgundian and Spanish customs when the Austrian court model was created, the first rank of the female courtiers was the Obersthofmeisterin, who was second in rank after the empress herself, and responsible for all the female courtiers. Second rank belonged to the ayas, essentially governesses of the imperial children, the rest of the female noble courtiers consisted of the Hoffräulein, unmarried females from the nobility who normally served temporarily until marriage. The Hoffräulein could sometimes be promoted to Kammerfräulein, the Austrian court model was the role model for the princely courts in Germany. The German court model in turn became the model of the early modern Scandinavian courts of Denmark. The Kingdom of Belgium was founded in 1830, after which a court was founded. The ladies-in waiting have historically been chosen by the Queen herself from among the Catholic noble houses of Belgium, the chief functions at court were undertaken by members of the higher nobility, involving much contact with the royal ladies. Belgian princesses were assigned a lady upon their 18th birthday, princess Clementine was given a Dame by her father, a symbolic act of adulthood. When the Queen entertains, the ladies welcome guests and assist the hostess in sustaining conversation and this system has formally remained roughly the same. However, in practice, many offices have since then left vacant. For example, in recent times, Maids of Honour have only appointed for coronations. The duties of ladies-in-waiting at the Tudor court were to act as royal companions, Tudor queens often had wide personal latitude in selection of their ladies-in-waiting
8.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures. The Academys corporate management and general policies are overseen by a Board of Governors, the roster of the Academys approximately 6,000 motion picture professionals is a closely guarded secret. While the great majority of its members are based in the United States, the Academy is known around the world for its annual Academy Awards, now officially known as The Oscars. The Academy plans to open the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles in 2017, the notion of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences began with Louis B. He said he wanted to create an organization that would mediate labor disputes without unions and he met with actor Conrad Nagel, director Fred Niblo, and the head of the Association of Motion Picture Producers, Fred Beetsonto to discuss these matters. The idea of this elite club having a banquet was discussed. They also established that membership into the organization would only be open to people involved in one of the five branches of the industry, actors, directors, writers, technicians, and producers. That evening Mayer presented to those guests what he called the International Academy of Motion Picture Arts, everyone in the room that evening became a founder of the Academy. Several organizational meetings were held prior to the first official meeting held on May 6,1927 and their first organizational meeting was held on May 11. At that meeting Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was elected as the first president of the Academy, while Fred Niblo was the first vice-president and that night, the Academy also bestowed its first honorary membership, to Thomas Edison. Initially, the Academy was broken down into five groups, or branches. The original five were, Producers, Actors, Directors, Writers, the initial concerns of the group had to do with labor. However, as went on, the organization moved further away from involvement in labor-management arbitrations and negotiations. By July 1928 the board of directors had approved a list of 12 awards to be presented, during July the voting system for the Awards was established, and the nomination and selection process began. This award of merit for distinctive achievement is what we know now as the Academy Award, the initial location of the organization was 6912 Hollywood Boulevard. In May 1928, the Academy authorized the construction of a state of the art screening room, the screening room was not completed until April 1929. With the publication of Report on Incandescent Illumination in 1928, the Academy began a history of publishing books to assist its members. Another early initiative concerned training Army Signal Corps officers, in 1929 Academy members in a joint venture with the University of Southern California created Americas first film school to further the art and science of moving pictures
9.
Henri-Georges Clouzot
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Henri-Georges Clouzot was a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his work in the film genre, having directed The Wages of Fear and Les Diaboliques. Clouzot also directed films, including The Mystery of Picasso. Clouzot was an fan of the cinema and, desiring a career as a writer. He was later hired by producer Adolphe Osso to work in Berlin, after being fired from German studios due to his friendship with Jewish producers, Clouzot returned to France, where he spent years bedridden after contracting tuberculosis. Upon recovering, Clouzot found work in Nazi occupied France as a screenwriter for the German-owned company Continental Films, at Continental, Clouzot wrote and directed films that were very popular in France. His second film Le Corbeau drew controversy over its harsh look at provincial France, as a result of his association with Continental, Clouzot was barred by the French government from filmmaking until 1947. After the ban was lifted, Clouzot reestablished his reputation and popularity in France during the late 1940s with successful films including Quai des Orfèvres. After the release of his comedy film Miquette et sa mère, Clouzot married Véra Gibson-Amado, in the early and mid-1950s, Clouzot drew acclaim from international critics and audiences for The Wages of Fear and Les Diaboliques. Both films would serve as material for remakes decades later. After the release of La Vérité, Clouzots wife Véra died of an attack and Clouzots career suffered due to depression, illness. Clouzots career became less active in years, limited to a few television documentaries. Clouzot wrote several unused scripts in the 1970s and died in Paris in 1977, Henri-Georges Clouzot was born in Niort, France, to mother Suzanne Clouzot and father Georges Clouzout, a book store owner. He was the first of three children in a middle-class family, Clouzot showed talent by writing plays and playing piano recitals. In 1922, Clouzots fathers bookstore went bankrupt and his moved to Brest, France. In Brest, Henri-Georges Clouzot went to Naval School, but was unable to become a Naval Cadet due to his myopia, at the age of 18, Clouzot left for Paris to study political science. While living in Paris, he became friends with several magazine editors and his writing talents led him to theater and cinema as a playwright, lyricist and adaptor-screenwriter. The quality of his work led producer Adolphe Osso to hire him and send him to Germany to work in Studio Babelsberg in Berlin, throughout the 1930s, Clouzot worked by writing and translating scripts, dialogue and occasionally lyrics for over twenty films
10.
Brave (2012 film)
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Brave is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman and co-directed by Steve Purcell, the story is by Chapman, with the screenplay by Andrews, Purcell, Chapman and Irene Mecchi. The film was produced by Katherine Sarafian, with John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, the films voice cast features Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, and Craig Ferguson. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the tells the story of a princess named Merida who defies an age-old custom. Chapman drew inspiration for the story from her relationship with her own daughter. Co-directing with Mark Andrews, Chapman became Pixar’s first female director of a feature-length film, to create the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years. Brave is the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format, Brave premiered on June 10,2012, at the Seattle International Film Festival, and was released in North America on June 22,2012, to both positive reviews and box office success. The film won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, preceding the feature theatrically was a short film entitled La Luna, directed by Enrico Casarosa. In Medieval Scotland, Merida, a princess of the clan Dunbroch, is given a bow and arrow by her father, King Fergus. While venturing into the woods to fetch a stray arrow, Merida encounters a will-o-the-wisp, soon afterward, Mordu, a huge demon bear, attacks the family. Merida flees on horseback with Elinor, while Fergus fends off Mordu, now a teenager, Merida discovers that to her dismay, she is to be betrothed to the son of one of her fathers allies. Elinor reminds Merida of a legend of a prince whose pride and refusal to follow his fathers wishes destroyed his kingdom, the allied clan chieftains and their first-born sons arrive to compete in the Highland games for Meridas hand in marriage. Merida twists the rules, announcing that as her own clans firstborn she is eligible to compete for her own hand and she easily bests her suitors in an archery contest, shaming the other clans. Elinor, furious, reprimands Merida, and in an argument, Merida rips her mothers tapestry of the family. Merida storms out and rides into the forest, where she follows the wisps to the hut of an elderly witch, Merida bargains with the witch for a spell to change her fate. When Merida gives the spell, in the form of a cake, to Elinor, it causes Elinor to transform into a bear, Merida and Elinor are led by the wisps to ancient ruins, where they encounter Mordu. Realizing that Mordu was the prince in the legend, Merida vows that she will not let the same thing happen to her mother and they return to the castle to find the clans on the verge of war. The clans agree, breaking tradition but renewing and strengthening their alliance, Merida sneaks into the tapestry room with Elinor
