Cinema and Popcorn

I guess I'll be away from Cinema and Popcorn for 7 seven days. It's sunny in Portugal and I think the beach is calling me... I'm writing a couple of posts right now:  ACADEMY AWARDS 2013 BEST DIRECTOR NOMINEES: 2nd ROUND ;  a special Clint Eastwood post, since he reminded me how much I prefer him working than having an unecessary conversation with an invisible Obama; Academy Awards of All Time nominations and winners - I'll turn into the all-mighty AMPAS and make my Best Picture (10 nominees), Best Leading Actor (5), Best Leading Actress (5), Best Supporting Actor (5), Best Supporting Actress (5), Best Director (5), Best Animated Film (5), Best Original Score (5) nominees shortlists; Give me some suggestions if you want to... (specially for the Academy Awards of All Time post, because choosing such a small number of nominees is becoming a cruel proccess). I'm just going to post my "Shot of the Week" and then... golden sand and blue sea! ...

Since my opinion about some of our "young stars" changed, I had to revise this list and, once I was editing it, I decided to have in consideration the actors' and actresses' future projects, which caused some major alterations in the ranking. 1. Ryan Gosling Born: November 12, 1980 (age 31) Breakthrough performance: The Believer (2001) Best performances: Half Nelson (2006); Lars and the Real Girl (2007); Blue Valentine (2010); Drive (2011); Crazy Stupid Love (2011) Oscar recognition: Best Leading Actor for Half Nelson (nom) What's next?  Gosling will have a supporting/co-leading role in Derek Cianfrance's second directorial work (and second reunion with Gosling), The Place Beyond the Pines , to be presented during Toronto International Film Festival and to have a late 2012 US release (maybe in order to get awards' traction). For 2013, he will appear in the delayed Gangster Squad , Nicolas Winding Refn directed Only God Forgive...

Ricky Fitts: It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. Right? And this bag was just dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. That's the day I realized that there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.

I had in my consideration, besides Oscar recognition, the actor's status in today's industry and cinema history, how he's seen by critics and by audiences, career prospects and "body of work vs quality of work" relation 1.  Jack Nicholson Born:  April 22, 1937 - Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Breakthrough Performance: Easy Rider (1969) 5 Best Performances: Chinatown (1974); One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975);  Terms of Endearment (1983); As Good as It Gets (1997); The Departed (2006) Oscar recognition: 12 nominations | 3 wins (Best Leading Actor for  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ; Best Supporting Actor for Terms of Endearment ; Best Leading Actor for As Good as It Gets ) 2. Daniel Day-Lewis Born:  April 29, 1957 - Greenwich, London, England, UK Breakthrough Performance: A Room With a View (1985) 5 Best Performances: My Left Foot (1989); In the Name of the Father (1993); The Boxer (19...