Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Citizen Kane" (1941)

Scene from Citizen Kane

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

R.I.P. Marni Nixon (1930-2016)

Marni Nixon

On January 24, 2016, singer and actress Marni Nixon died in Manhattan, New York at the age of 86 from breast cancer. It is likely that you don't know her face or name that well, but you'll likely recognize her voice. Dubbed by Time Magazine as "The Ghostess with the Mostest," she largely made her career in film working behind the scenes as a singer dubbing for actresses ranging from Deborah Kerr to Natalie Wood to Audrey Hepburn in films like The King and I, West Side Story, and My Fair Lady. She was also proficient on stage as a singer and sometimes toured with performers like Liberace and Victor Borge. She enjoyed a Hollywood career without the tassels of fame, serving as the underrated talent that made some of cinema's greatest musicals work so well. Her name may not be familiar, but her work will live on forever in Oscar history thanks to her tireless work to make lesser singers shine.

Nothing But the Best: "The Sound of Music" (1965)

Scene from The Sound of Music

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

Nothing But the Best: "West Side Story" (1961)

Scene from West Side Story

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.