Saturday, November 14

• Roger Corman to Receive Honorary Oscar

  Even Roger Corman admits that his name was unlikely to be associated with an Academy Award. Yet the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to give Corman an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar, nonetheless. Corman told The Associated Press that he was surprised by the announcement.

  I predicted that I would not win because I make low-budget films, and I felt the Academy would not give an award to someone who made low-budget films. I was truly surprised when I got the call.

  Corman began his career producing and directing low-budget fare like 1955's Swamp Women and Monsters from the Ocean Floor, Corman quickly found that what he did best was provide opportunities to young director and actors like Martin Scorsese (1972's Boxcar Bertha), Jack Nicholson (1960's Little Shop of Horrors), Robert De Niro (1970's Bloody Mama), Francis Ford Coppola (Dementia 13), and Ron Howard (1977's Grand Theft Auto). Sylvester Stallone starred in two Corman movies, 1975's Death Race 2000 and Capone, and told Entertainment Weekly that he owes his career to Corman.

  If I hadn't done those parts I probably wouldn't be here today. He provided a forum for a lot of us to grow. We were the seeds and he owned the farm. If you look at those early movies with Jack Nicholson, you can see it — that he was building his rhythm back then. You can see that he had it. He would allow out-of-the-box people like Scorsese and De Niro to flourish. He didn't go with the status quo. He was a master at spotting talent.

  It was his eye for finding talent that Corman is the most proud of.

  I know that they all would have achieved the same level if they had never met me, but I think what I was able to do was to give them a start and help them a little bit in their careers, and I take great pride in that.

  Corman receives his Honorary Oscar at a ceremony today.

  
  
  

  Death Race 2000 - Trailer

  Posted 11/14/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Jack Nicholson | Martin Scorsese | Roger Corman | Ron Howard | Sylvester Stallone | Robert DeNiro | Francis Ford Coppola

Thursday, October 29

• 5 Balloon Mishaps Worthy of the Attention

  With "balloon boy" costumes "practically flying off the shelves" this Halloween — and April Fools' Day less than six months away (OK, it's a bit of a stretch) — we thought we'd offer some alternative balloon viewing.

  Here are five balloon mishaps from movies that are guaranteed to elicit a variety of emotional reactions, with one notable exception: Disgust.

  
  

  Posted 10/29/2009 by reelz

  Related: Jack Nicholson | Richard Pryor | Batman | The Muppet Movie | The Wizard of Oz | Up | The Hindenburg | Casablanca

Wednesday, June 3

• Jack Nicholson May Star in James L. Brooks Comedy

  Variety reports that Jack Nicholson is close to a deal for a starring role in the next project from writer-director James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets).

  The untitled romantic comedy would see Nicholson starring opposite Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Owen Wilson. Bill Murray was in talks for the part, but production begins in two weeks and Murray has reportedly lost interest in the project and dropped out of contact with the studio. If cast, Nicholson would play the father of Rudd's character, an executive trying to win Witherspoon's heart. Wilson plays a professional baseball pitcher who's also, of course, Witherspoon's other love interest

  Brooks is producing the picture, along with Paula Weinstein, Laurence Mark, and Julie Ansell, and it's scheduled for a December 2009 release.

  
  

  Posted 06/03/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Bill Murray | Jack Nicholson | Owen Wilson | Paul Rudd | Reese Witherspoon | Julie Ansell | Paula Weinstein | James L. Brooks | Laurence Mark

Friday, October 5

• The Top 20 Movie Nutjobs

  UK-based website TheShiznit.co.uk has a pretty amusing list they put together on the "Top Twenty Crazy Bastards" from movies. It features YouTube footage from the movies in each case (probably copyright infringement, but hey, we didn't do it) to make the proper case in point.

  Ranking at the top is Jack Nicholson (who shows up a few times) as Jack Torrance in The Shining. I'd have to agree there, although the fact that DeNiro's Travis Bickel from Taxi Driver doesn't show up on the list has to raise a few eyebrows.

  
  

  Posted 10/05/2007 by reelz

  Related: Jack Nicholson | The Shining | Taxi Driver

Monday, June 4

• And the Golden Popcorn goes to...

  The 2007 MTV Movie Awards went off without a hitch last night, as the music network celebrated the edgier side of Hollywood by doling out its irreverent Golden Popcorn honors to the movie industry.

  Emcee Sarah Silverman wasn't as dirty as she can sometimes be, but she did make some nice cracks about heiress-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-law Paris Hilton--who was in the audience at the time. Uncomfortable!

  The big winners of the night were Johnny Depp with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - it won Best Movie and he won Best Performance - and Sacha Baron Cohen, who won Best Comedic Performance for Borat and Best Kiss (along with Will Ferrell) for Talladega Nights. The two men celebrated their win by rolling around on stage and making out.

  Other winners include: Jack Nicholson for Best Villain in The Departed, Jaden Smith for Breakthrough Performance with The Pursuit of Happyness, Gerard Butler for Best Fight in 300, Transformers for Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet, Josh Greenbaum for mtvU Best Filmmaker on Campus with Featured Film: Border Patrol, United 300 for Best Movie Spoof, and Mike Myers for the MTV Generation Award.

  
  

  Posted 06/04/2007 by reelz

  Related: Jack Nicholson | Johnny Depp | Mike Myers | Sacha Baron Cohen | Sarah Silverman | Will Ferrell | Jaden Smith | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan | Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby | The Departed | The Pursuit of Happyness | 300 | Transformers