Check Out This Year's Honorary Oscar Winners

Jackie Chan

Every year, there's something just as exciting as the Oscar season itself: the Honorary Oscar winners. While held separately from the actual ceremony, the choice to highlight artists who have made cinema a far more interesting place is itself an event worth checking out. For the Class of 2016, the line-up definitely reflects President Cheryl Boone Isaacs' desire to branch out to have a more diverse representation both in terms of female and nonwhite members. In what is probably the most shocking and exciting name on the list is actor, singer, and stunt performer Jackie Chan - whose impressive career continues to serve as the inspiration for actors who want to make action movies while doing their own stunts. The other names are just as exciting, but Chan's placement on the list definitely reflects a positive change.

R.I.P. Haskell Wexler (1922-2015)

Haskell Wexler

On December 27, 2015, cinematographer Haskell Wexler died in his sleep at his home in Santa Monica, California at the age of 93. Over his long and storied career, he became one of the most influential cinematographers in American film, having revolutionized techniques that were featured in films such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?, In the Heat of the Night, and even as director with Medium Cool. He was a gifted creator who claimed to make time stand still with striking images in films that are still revered to this day. His legacy lives on in his work, and the generation of film makers that he inspired as a result. There isn't likely to be another cinematographer like him, as he changed the world for the better.

Nothing But the Best: "In the Heat of the Night" (1967)

Left to right: Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger

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.