Birthday Take: Lars Von Trier in "Dancer in the Dark" (2000)

Bjork in Dancer in the Dark

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (2007)

Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Can Superhero Blockbusters Be Best Picture Nominees?

Scene from The Avengers: Age of Ultron

It is way too easy to lobby complaints at the Academy for being out of touch with popular audiences. In fact, the last major blockbuster film to warrant any major Oscar buzz was director James Cameron's Avatar in 2009. The technical spectacle captivated audiences, broke box office records and convinced the Academy to lavish it with nominations and wins. Yes, there have been other big budgeted films like the introspective Life of Pi or the debauchery-filled The Wolf of Wall Street that have been nominated, but let me ask you something: will we ever see a day when a real superhero blockbuster movie gets recognized with so much as a Best Picture nomination? 

R.I.P. Andrew Lesnie (1956-2015)

Andrew Lesnie

It is hard to underestimate the impact that director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy had on cinema. It created a masterful fantasy epic that was more than spectacle. With an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic work, it brought the story to life and set a high bar that even Jackson wouldn't be able to top a decade later. However, there was one person who was just as skeptical from the beginning: Andrew Lesnie, who passed away today at the age of 59 from a heart attack. While his name may not be immediately clear, he was an integral part to how we viewed cinema, literally.

Birthday Take: Sally Hawkins in "Blue Jasmine" (2013)

Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Best Song: "Sweet Leiulani" (1937)

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Birthday Take: Giorgio Moroder in "Top Gun" (1986)

Tom Cruise in Top Gun

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Al Pacino in "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975)

Al Pacino

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Shirley MacLaine in "The Apartment" (1960)

Left to right: Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

A Look at the Academy Award Nominated Films Involving Shakespeare

Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare in Love

It seems rather amazing that 399 years afters his death, writer William Shakespeare continues to provoke the creative arts. In the 52 years of his life, he produced an astounding amount of plays that would become the textbook for theater for centuries to come and lead the world to acting a specific way. Much like how he updated the themes that came before, cinema has found various ways to make his work more accessible to a modern audience whether through traditional tales or loose basis. The following is a look - by story - of the many, many films that have been based off of Shakespeare's work. From Romeo & Juliet to The Lion King, this is a comprehensive list that proves why he remains influential all these years later.

Birthday Take: Vladimir Nabokov in "Lolita" (1962)

Sue Lyon in Lolita

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975)

Jack Nicholson

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Update: The "Pan" Release Date Gets Moved From Summer to October

Hugh Jackman

The last time that we heard from director Joe Wright's Peter Pan adaptation Pan, it had received a trailer and a promising slot in the middle of summer. However, there has been recent news regarding the film's release date that may either prove to be a bad sign or a great one depending on how you prefer to see things. Instead of coming out at the end of the summer, it is now coming out on October 9. For the optimism that I have previously stated, I am hoping that this is the sign that this big budgeted adventure film is capable of being an Oscar contender. Let's take a look at the facts after the jump.

Nothing But the Best: "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930)

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: "Annie Hall" (1977)

Left to right: Diane Keaton and Woody Allen

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.

A Celebration of Best Picture Films Featuring Drug Use

Scene from Annie Hall

Do you like to party? Do you like prestige movies? Well, this article is the perfect crossroads for you. In honor of 4-20, a holiday based around freebasing, here is a look at the many films that have embraced debauchery and still managed to win the Academy's love. While we won't get into the drinks, we'll take a look at every drug-fueled film that has featured some sort of substance abuse and pay tribute to those Best Picture winners and nominees that made a difference while under the influence. So, I won't harsh your buzz for much longer. Just hit the jump to find get the full experience.

Best Song: "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936)

Left to right: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Swing Time

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Birthday Take: Dudley Moore in Arthur" (1981)

Dudley Moore

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: William Holden in "Sunset Blvd." (1950)

William Holden

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Charles Chaplin in "The Great Dictator" (1940)

Charles Chaplin

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Nothing But the Best: "Cavalcade" (1933)

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.

Watch This: The Famous Hepburn/Streisand Best Actress Tie of 1969

Left to right: Barbra Streisand and Anthony Harvey

There was a lot of reason that the 42nd Academy Awards - held on April 14, 1969 - stood out as something special. For starters, this was the year in which they didn't have any host and it would also be the year in which the Best Picture would go to their first (and so far only) X-rated film Midnight Cowboy. However, these details are overlooked in the history books in favor of something even more peculiar. This was the year in which a newcomer and a veteran performer tied in the Best Actress category. It was a trend that hasn't been seen before or since and introduced the world to the woman who was so thankful for the Academy making her miserable: Barbra Streisand.

Birthday Take: Julie Christie in "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971)

Julie Chritie

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Bill Conti in "Rocky" (1976)

Sylvester Stallone in Rocky

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Best Song: "The Lullaby of Broady" (1935)

Scene from Gold Diggers of 1935

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Nothing But the Best: "Grand Hotel" (1932)

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.

Birthday Take: Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (2007)

Saoirse Ronan

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Nothing But the Best: "Rebecca" (1940)

Left to right: Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier

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.

Review: "While We're Young" Explores Nostalgia and Aging in the Best Ways Possible

Left to right: Ben Stiller and Adam Driver

It is tough to get old. It isn't just the responsibility or the failing body that is tough. It's the notion of relevance that one must accept in the process or deem himself forever foolish. It is a subject that has created a subgenre of film trying to plant adults as relevant members of society. However, the unfortunate truth is that no matter what happens, there will always be the fear of irrelevancy, whether socially or personally. In director Noah Baumbach's latest While We're Young, he tackles the subject not with the typical affirmation, but the humbling humor of realizing just how silly you'd look in a hipster hat and attending strange spiritual rituals. It may not seem like it, but this is the study of aging from infancy to elderly age as best embodied in a bohemian city. It may be funny, but it's also painfully honest.

Nothing But the Best: "Marty" (1955)

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.

Birthday Take: Barkhad Abdi in "Captain Phillips" (2013)

Barkhad Abdi

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

In Defense of Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart

It may seem ridiculous to say, but this is a big week for Kristen Stewart. General audiences are likely confused by these sentiments because honestly, what has she done? There's a popular stipulation that she cannot act due to her momentary time with the Twilight franchise. Yes, those films have become punching bags. However, today marks her 25th birthday and tomorrow is the limited release in America of her latest film The Clouds of Sils Maria. While it may be too late to win back those who consider her nothing but a lip biter, I want to suggest that she isn't the boring actress that you think she is. She is actually secretly interesting.

Birthday Take: Patricia Arquette in "Boyhood" (2014)

Patricia Arquette

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Review: "Lost River" Has a Lot of Scrappy Charm in its Unevenness

There is a legacy to films that were booed at the Cannes Film Festival. Titles like Taxi Driver, The Tree of Life and Inglourious Basterds have all faced the harshest of criticism from the most prestigious of festivals. There is an odd disconnect that comes with the territory that almost builds a film's legacy before it ever reaches the public's consciousness. The most recent entry on this list is director Ryan Gosling's Lost River, which bills itself as a twisted fairy tale. Much like the fellow booed films, it is a distinguished work and one that takes a specific mindset to enjoy. However, it may not nearly be as successful as any of them, despite occasionally showing signs of something far more brilliant than its notorious reputation.

Nothing But the Best: "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936)

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.

Birthday Take: Francis Ford Coppola in "The Godfather Part II" (1974)

Left to right: Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Gregory Peck in "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949)

Gregory Peck

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Best Song: "The Continental" (1934 )

Left to right: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Birthday Take: Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (2008)

Heath Ledger

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Marlon Brando in "The Godfather" (1972)

Marlon Brando

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Michael Fassbender in "12 Years a Slave" (2013)

Michael Fassbender

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

A Few Words on the Return of The Oscar Buzz

Scene from All the King's Men

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to formally announce the return of The Oscar Buzz blog after a one month hiatus. You are likely wondering what has been going on in the time in between the final Oscar recap and now. It has been a personal moment to get my affairs in order and potentially come back ready for an enjoyable summer. While we're still months off, I would like to say that The Oscar Buzz is back... with a soft launch as it were. While it will be awhile until the coverage likely picks up, I do plan to return to delivering a few pieces weekly and hopefully coming up with yet another summer series on par with The Directors Project (though more organize). What will it be? Who knows. However, I do have some announcements to make, which can be read after the jump.