Super Delegates: Merkin Muffley in "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964)

Peter Sellers

Welcome to Super Delegates, a bi-monthly column released on Tuesdays and are done in part to recognize politics on film, specifically in regards to Oscar-nominated works. With this being an election year in the United States, it feels like a good time to revisit film history's vast relationship with politicians of any era and determine what makes them interesting while potentially connecting them to the modern era. The series plans to run until the end of this 2016 election cycle, so stay tuned for every installment and feel free to share your thoughts on films worthy of discussion in the comments section.

R.I.P. George Martin (1926-2016)

George Martin

On March 8, 2016, George Martin died in his sleep at the age of 90 in Wiltshire, England. While he had a prolific career working behind the scenes in music, he is easily best remembered for his work with The Beatles - of whom he was a frequent collaborator. At one point he was so popular that he was considered to be "The Fifth Beatle" thanks to his occasional input on how to orchestrate songs, such as adding an orchestra to "Yesterday." Beyond this, he helped to compose music for dozens of performers as well as composed the theme songs for several James Bond films. His work is likely so popular that you have already heard it once today on the radio. His work continues to live on, even if the status of how much involvement he had with crafting the hits seems to be suspected by his collaborators.

Birthday Take: Peter Sellers in "Being There" (1979)

Scene from Being There

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.