2011 Leonard Maltin Guide: Actors and Directors Index Adds

With the new Maltin Guide comes the addition of new names to the star/director index (and axing of others). Last year 21 people were cut and 12 added.  Oddly, this year, no one was cut and there were but 3 additions (all new Oscar nominees)!  I have no idea what this means.  It sounds as if the editors have just thrown in the towel on the index though, knowing the power of such searches online— at this point between smart phones and WiFi I guess the theory is: who really looks at the index.  But in a way it starts to relegate the book itself to a shelf ornament.  This was the first time that I really started to think that the print Maltin may be heading the way of the dodo bird.  Cutting them some slack though— maybe, just maybe, they didn't need to do much in the way of changes because of the wholesale work done last year.  Here are the few "graduates" of the class of 2009/10.

New "Faces" added to the Leonard Maltin Guide 2011 Index:

STARS—

Colin Firth

Woody Harrelson

DIRECTORS—

Kathryn Bigelow

2011 Leonard Maltin Guide Is Out!

Every year I greatly anticipate Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide. His capsule reviews and ratings set the standard for how a film will be seen by future generations.   As I've reported each year, the last several Maltin Guides have been VERY sparing in giving out the **** rating— practically unattainable for new releases, last year I noticed but three films were **** rated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, and Slumdog Millionaire; this year I didn't spot ANY **** additions!



Here's how my top ten 2009 stacked up against the Maltin Guide's ratings:

Inglourious Basterds (d. Quentin Tarantino) (** 1/2) [my #1, rest alpha]
Capitalism: A Love Story (d. Michael Moore) (***)
District 9 (d. Neill Blomkamp) (*** 1/2)
The Hurt Locker (d. Kathryn Bigelow) (*** 1/2)
I Love You, Man (d. John Hamburg) (** 1/2)
Julie & Julia (d. Nora Ephron) (***)
Nine (d. Rob Marshall) (***)
Paranormal Activity (d. Oren Peli) (***)
Up (d. Pete Docter, Bob Peterson) (*** 1/2)
World’s Greatest Dad (d. Bobcat Golthwait) (***)

Best of the Year So Far: Midyear 2010

Several years back I realized that I had trouble diferentiating between the movies I liked and the movies I loved from the early part of the year. Roger Ebert has always suggested that this was true of the Academy and why the Oscars have such "short attention span." He recommended a midyear ballot to go along with the end-of-the-year ballot combining both to create the nominations list.

For me, I decided a top 5 usually works. I wait until July 15, since the first few weeks of January are generally a wash for new releases, and so 7/15 is a little closer to the mid-point. This year, although I had many "nominees" for the top 5, I found it very easy to pick the top 5.

I have thirteen "nominees" for my top 5 this year— just two at the top, i.e. "must see" (Exit and Youth). This years nominees (films I'd seen by 7/15 that made my "must see" and "recommended" categories) include: Alice in Wonderland, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Get Him to the Greek, The Ghost Writer, How to Train Your Dragon, Iron Man 2, Kick-Ass, MacGruber, A Prophet, The Runaways, Toy Story 3, Valentine's Day, and Youth in Revolt.

My top 5 2010 so far (listed alphabetically):
Exit Through the Gift Shop
The Ghost Writer
The Runaways
Kick-Ass
Youth in Revolt

Connery Returns to the Big Screen in Animated Feature

Nice to see Sean Connery in his first feature film in seven years— the animated feature Sir Billi.  Although the comments posted by fans on You Tube (on the trailer clip) are a little harsh, I can see it being at least modestly successful.  My only issue is that Connery, just shy of 80, may not be in another movie.  This has always annoyed me about major stars... like when James Stewart chose to end his career with An American Tail 2 and Paul Newman's swan song turned out to be Cars.  Although in both of these cases (as well as the Connery movie) they were all spins on these actors personas, I think any legendary personality should at least chose some high profile supporting part to retire on.  Below, an embed of the Sir Billi trailer and Connery being interviewed about taking the part.

Woody Allen's Next Film "Midnight in Paris" (2011)

I just read on CNN's website that Woody Allen has become unprecedentedly talkative about his newest film, which is now in pre-production (looks like EW broke it yesterday).  I don't think I've ever heard the title to one of his films before production, which he's notorious to keep undisclosed until the last minute.  Hopefully this is a sign of a new Woody for the '10s.  His You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (which makes Midnight in Paris sound like the best movie title ever conceived!) starring Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, and Freida Pinto will play at Cannes and then get released in the US on September 23rd.

Living Munchkins of Oz

With the recent death of Meinhardt Raabe, who played the 'Coroner' of Munchkinland in The Wizard of Oz, there are but five "little people" alive who played Munchkins. What's often overlooked is the fact that about nine children (all girls) were hired for "fill" in the background in Munchkinland as well, most of whom are living. Photo right shows the Munchkins [Jerry Maren holds up lollipop] at the unveiling of their "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.


Stephen Cox's terrific book The Munchkins of Oz, profiles the little people who played Munchkins [and chronicles the 122 verified players in a handy appendix], and also notes three of the child actresses who appeared. Wikipedia (believe it or not) has a fuller list of the child actors.









Here's the current list of living Munchkins:

Little people (5):
Ruth (Robinson) Duccini (b. 1918)
Jerry Maren (b. 1920)
Olga C. Nardone (b. 1919)
Margaret (Williams) Pellegrini (b. 1923)
Karl (Kosiczky) Strover (b. 1918)

Child actors (8):
Betty Ann (Bruno) Cain (born c. 1931) [profiled in the Cox book]
Ardith Dondanville (born c. 1930)
Joan (Bernhoft) Kenmore [profiled in the Cox book]
Shirley Ann Kennedy
Eva Lee Kuney (b. 1934)
Patsy May (b. 1934)
Priscilla Montgomery (born c. 1929)
Valerie Shepard (child actress)

As far as I know, the only one of the child actresses who has passed is Viola (Banks) White [profiled in the Cox book, where her death date is listed as 1/8/00]

83rd Annual Academy Awards: Key Dates Announced

The "key dates" for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards have been announced (they were announced last week, I'm a bit behind this year!). And, thankfully, we're back to the nominations in January, Awards in February schedule (following the move up this past year to compensate for the Olympics).

My annual gripe: They are still not early enough. I hope one day that the dates get pushed up even further with the nominations in early January and the show early February. Awards season is just too drawn out. The studios would make sure their movies got released in November-early December. As far as I'm concerned, the last "wide" releases should be on Christmas Day-- not January 31st. Can't Anytown, U.S.A. get their Crazy Heart in 2009, you know, the year it was actually released, and not January-February 2010?

The nominations will be on January 25, 2011; the 83rd Annual Oscars will be on February 27.

Link to full list of key dates.