Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Doctor Dolittle" (1967)

Scene from Doctor Dolittle (1968)

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.

Ranking the 9 Best Picture Musical Winners

Scene from La La Land

This Sunday marks the event that everyone has been waiting for: Oscar Sunday. While everyone makes their last minute predictions (I will be sharing mine tomorrow), there is one agreed consensus: this is La La Land's year for Best Picture. The musical has received unanimous acclaim for its spectacular craft. Provided nothing changes and it wins, it will join a small list of musicals that have achieved an honor that only 88 movies have achieved so far. What's more surprising is that there's been only nine musicals to have won the category despite being one of Hollywood's most iconic genres. Which is the best of the bunch? Click on to find out, and come back on Monday, provided that it wins, to find out where La La Land falls on the list of the best Oscar-winning Best Picture musicals.

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.

R.I.P. Theodore Bikel (1924-2015)

Theodore Bikel in The Defiant Ones

On Tuesday, July 21, actor and activist Theodore Bikle died at the age of 91 from natural causes. While he may not be a household name, he has had a consistent career both as an actor and a folk singer, releasing albums such as "A Folksinger's Choice." Beyond acting, he was a man whose activism allowed him to play at various important rallies and made him a delegate at the 1968 Democratic Convention. His work on film was also full of memorable roles, including an Oscar nomination for The Defiant Ones. He was claimed to have been able to play diverse cultures. He leaves behind an impressive body of work that you likely will recognize him in, even if you don't know the name.