Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated

bbcrock.DeleteThis@gmail.com wrote:

> And you aren't trolling?

No.

> What are the merits of the Truman Show that
> weren't, you know, written all before and
> better in 1973's PBS Series "American Family?"

Who in the PBS series (to give just the most obvious example) gives a
performance as good as those of Jim Carrey and Laura Linney. Lance
Loud?

"The Truman Show" is a rarity in American film -- a mainstream studio
film that grapples with knotty philosophical concepts (such as the
nature of reality and mankind's need for a supreme being) and does so
successfully. And it's funny.

<snip>

Re: "Avalon"

> And the whole thing where we see the fire
> start from the fireworks and the parents
> say that the fire was faulty wiring. That
> point was always muddled to me. Levinson
> tells us explicitly that the kids start the
> fire then drops it.

No he doesn't. Watch the film again. When the son confesses to the
father that he started the fire, the father lies to him about the
origin of the fire. Watch Aidan Quinn's face during that scene and
it's pretty obvious. He makes up a story so that his son won't go
around with a huge burden of guilt for burning down the store.

Tom Moran
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

Feuillade 10/21/05 1:28 PM

> People are feel to agree or disagree. But in my opinion, "Avalon" is a
> film that gets better every time I see it.

You cut the turkey??

JN
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

James Neibaur wrote:

> Feuillade 10/21/05 1:28 PM

>> People are feel to agree or disagree. But
>> in my opinion, "Avalon" is a film that gets
>> better every time I see it.

> You cut the turkey??

Ah, Jim. You disappoint me.

To paraphrase one of your favorite comedians:

"You're a baaaaaaaad boy!"

Tom
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

Feuillade 10/21/05 11:31 PM

>> You cut the turkey??
>
> Ah, Jim. You disappoint me.

What! That was my Lou Jacobi.

> To paraphrase one of your favorite comedians:
>
> "You're a baaaaaaaad boy!"

true

JN
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

FredT wrote:
> I don't remember whether they explained that or not, but what I remember is
> that while watching it (and I didn't know anything about the real guy), I
> kept feeling like it was being sanitized and heavily slanted to make it a
> feel-good film. For example, giving the impression that he overcame his
> mental problems through the love and persistence of his wife. In reality,
> as I found out later, he was constantly in and out of the mental institution
> and his son (or sons) had similar problems too.

I didn't see that at all, but then I knew about John Nash, as he worked
for a time at the same institution where I am employed. In fact, Nash
*did* overcome some very serious problems, not solely due to his wife
but certainly with her help. The fact is, being a schizophrenic and
winning a Nobel Prize is a lot better than being a schizophrenic and
drowning your children. And I thought it did a marvelous job of
illustrating how real a schizophrenic's hallucinations can be, which is
what Ron Howard said he was trying to do.

Frederica
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

> And I thought it did a marvelous job of
> illustrating how real a schizophrenic's hallucinations can be, which is
> what Ron Howard said he was trying to do.
>
> Frederica
>

I would have loved it if when Jennifer Connolly was committing him to the
institution, saying that he has hallucinated his best friend, the Doctor
looked at her and said that she didn't have a husband, that it was all an
hallucination. That would have really been a twist. Has there ever been a
movie where the main character turned out to be a figment of a supporting
character's imagination? (And Harvey doesn't qualify, because he turns out
to be real.)
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

FredT wrote:

> I would have loved it if when Jennifer Connolly
> was committing him to the institution, saying that
> he has hallucinated his best friend, the Doctor
> looked at her and said that she didn't have a
> husband, that it was all an hallucination. That
> would have really been a twist.

There was a TV movie with Jenna Elfman that did roughly the same thing.

> Has there ever been a movie where the main character
> turned out to be a figment of a supporting character's
> imagination? (And Harvey doesn't qualify, because he
> turns out to be real.)

Goddamn it, you just *had* to go ruin it for me! :)

Tom Moran
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

"precode" <michael_schlesinger.RemoveThis@spe.sony.com> wrote in message
news:1129832024.693678.90840@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> Amen on BEAUTIFUL MIND. Ya gotta love a film about a guy who wins a
> Nobel Prize yet they never bother to explain why he won it!

That's not the way I remember it. There is a scene when John Forbes Nash
Jr. (Russell Crowe) is told that he is being considered for the Nobel Prize
and the committee is trying to surmise how Nash would respond. Nash asks
which of his contributions to knowledge it is that he is being considered
for this level of recognition. "Game Theory," comes the response. Nash
then mutters something to the effect of having not foreseen that this theory
rather than his others became the one to intrigue the academic world for so
long after it was introduced.

Some epilogue titles explain that Game Theory has had applications in a
number of (named) disciplines.

--
David Hayes

Remove director name from address when responding privately.
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

> Amen on BEAUTIFUL MIND. Ya gotta love a film about a guy who wins a
> Nobel Prize yet they never bother to explain why he won it!

I don't remember whether they explained that or not, but what I remember is
that while watching it (and I didn't know anything about the real guy), I
kept feeling like it was being sanitized and heavily slanted to make it a
feel-good film. For example, giving the impression that he overcame his
mental problems through the love and persistence of his wife. In reality,
as I found out later, he was constantly in and out of the mental institution
and his son (or sons) had similar problems too.

After watching it I commented to some friends that if you are willing to
leave out certain vital things you could even make a film about Hitler into
the feel-good film of the year-- just show how tough it was for him growing
up and how he overcame incredible odds and poverty, then end with the
triumph of him taking control of Germany. Strangely, about a year later
just such a film was made, in England I believe. (It might have been a TV
movie.)

With A Beautiful Mind, you might say, "who cares if it's not accurate, the
movie on its own is great." Well first of all, I didn't hate the movie, but
the film presents itself as being an faithful representation and tries to
gain mileage from that; the triumph wouldn't feel so uplifting if it was a
fictional movie, because who cares if a fictional person overcomes obstacles
like that.
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

>Has there ever been a movie where the main character turned out to be a figment of a supporting
>character's imagination?

Identity.

Arguably, A History of Violence.

Speaking of A Beautiful Mind, I want to make a movie about the movie
Shine, in which a crazy guy is exploited by his wife, they sell a
completely fictitious version of his family life and pre-craziness
career to Miramax, it gets nominated for a bunch of Oscars, and the guy
gets to go play the piano on the Oscar telecast... at which time it
becomes obvious to half a billion people at once that he's a crazy
person being exploited.
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

i nominate "Miss Fattys Seaside" Luvers for da best komedy short.

Super Stupid
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

>Has there ever been a movie where the main character turned out to be a figment of a >supporting character's imagination?

The Usual Suspects?
Lt. Kije?
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated 

>Has there ever been a movie where the main character turned out to be a figment of a >supporting character's imagination?


The Usual Suspects?
Lt. Kije?

Oh, and Vertigo
 >> Stay informed about: Worst Film That Won and Best Film Never Nominated