They are the people who put the emotions, tone and color into a motion picture. Whether it’s a historical epic, a Sci-Fi saga, or a tender love story, the composers are the artists who paint the musical portrait up on the big screen. What would E.T.’s and Elliott’s bicycle ride be without the string section in John Williams’ score for E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL or the Colonial Marines big battles scenes with the creatures be without the brass section in James Horner’s thrilling score to ALIENS or the fight in the arena of GLADIATOR without the percussion filled, waltz-like score by Hans Zimmer.
At the 7th Academy Awards in 1934, AMPAS presented the first Best Score Oscar to One Night of Love — Columbia Studio Music Department, Louis Silvers, head of department (Thematic Music by Victor Schertzinger and Gus Kahn).
In the Academy’s newest edition of “Academy Originals,” composer Christopher Young (“Spider-Man 3”, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”, “Drag Me To Hell”) takes viewers inside his creative process in an exploration of where ideas come from.
For the past few years, The Academy has been releasing online new episodes of their series, Academy Originals. The documentary-style series examines everything from the creative process, to the moments that changed the course of filmmaking, to the artists who are charting its future.
Their latest Monday episode features Bryce Dallas Howard (JURASSIC WORLD) and her father Ron Howard (APOLLO 13, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA). Just last week, the Oscar-winning director received his second star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame.
In “Family Film School: The Howards,” watch as the father/daughter duo discuss their careers in Hollywood, what they’ve learned from each other and some of their favorite film moments.
In addition to IN THE HEART OF THE SEA, Howard’s recent films include the critically acclaimed drama RUSH, staring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl, written by Peter Morgan; and “Made In America,” a music documentary he directed for Showtime, starring Jay Z. He recently completed filming on the upcoming INFERNO, his third film based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novels, with Tom Hanks reprising the role of Robert Langdon.
Bryce Dallas Howard has previously starred in THE HELP, THE LADY IN THE WATER, THE VILLAGE, SPIDER-MAN 3 and this summer’s JURASSIC WORLD. She can next be seen in Stephen Gaghan’s GOLD alongside Matthew McConaughey and Edgar Ramirez and Disney’s PETE’S DRAGON with Wes Bentley, Karl Urban and Robert Redford (Aug. 12, 2016).
For artists working in the film industry, what they contribute to motion pictures is not just a job – it’s a way of life.
Beginning more than 90 years ago as the Motion Picture Relief Fund has, today, flourished into MPTF, the Motion Picture & Television Fund, a comprehensive service organization that remains at the core of the entertainment industry.
The MPTF was created in 1921 by Hollywood’s earliest entertainment luminaries such as Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith, who realized the need for reaching out to those in the entertainment industry who fell upon hard times. It began with a simple coin box in Hollywood where entertainment industry workers would deposit spare change for fellow colleagues.
The Academy has released a new “Academy Originals” featuring Channel 22, MPTF’s Wasserman Campus-based television station – a hallmark of creative expression. Founded with the support and vision of Mel Shavelson, and support from NBCUniversal, industry retirees come together with current industry talent to create original programming for residents of the retirement community at MPTF to enjoy.
Having visited the MPTF’s beautiful campus, I discovered the lovely Roddy McDowall Rose Garden as well as a plaza dedicated to costume designer Edith Head.
What impressed me most during my visit was the program whereby artisans share their vast knowledge with high school students eager to become filmmakers.
Channel 22 is comprised of staff, campus residents, and volunteers of all ages who create programming of all types: celebrations of the Hollywood legacy, documentaries, original musicals and comedies, content showcasing MPTF services, events, and people, and more.
Channel 22 provides unique opportunities for retirees who have devoted their careers to the entertainment industry.
“It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot. King of the Britons, defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of all England!”
Calling all King of the Britons. Grab up your shrubberies because October 14 is “Holy Grail Day”!
Get your costumes and singing voices ready for an epic sing-a-long. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL there are screenings being held around the world.
For information on these screenings in the U.S. visit here.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences takes a look back at the 1975 film in the newest Academy Originals episode this week called “The Moments That Changed The Movies: Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
It tells the story of how the game-changing British historical farce came to be made, as well as the comedy and comedians it influenced in the decades since its release – including Ed Helms and Hank Azaria (who are featured in the episode).
With their second feature film, the Pythons not only redefined the limits of narrative structure (basically by ignoring them), but also took innovative and unconventional styles of filming and applied them to comedy.
The movie sends up costume picture clichés, mythic heroism, educational films, and even subtitles – nonsense rendered with a Swedish accent (“Mynd you, møøse bites kan be pretti nasti.”)
The screenplay was a joyous romp through set pieces that sent up the serious, mythic characters at its center. As King Arthur (Graham Chapman) rounds up the gallant Knights of the Round Table to ride to Camelot, he must contend with subjects who are politically unfazed by his divinely-dispensed authority. He must also wield his sword against the Black Knight (John Cleese), a fearsome opponent whose gradual dismemberment fails to quell his desire to fight.
After turning away from Camelot (“It is a silly place,” he says despairingly), Arthur sees a miraculous vision of God in the clouds above, who sets forth a task for his knights: find the Holy Grail. (“Good idea, O Lord.” ” ‘COURSE it’s a good idea!”)
After a disastrous rout at a castle full of taunting French knights, Arthur’s band separates in pursuit of the Grail. Sir Lancelot (Cleese) slays a good-sized portion of a wedding party, thinking he is rescuing a damsel in distress; Sir Robin (Eric Idle) escapes an argumentative three-headed knight; Sir Galahad (Michael Palin) is “rescued” from certain temptation at the hands of eight-score blondes between the ages of 16 and 19½. Arthur and Sir Bedevere (Terry Jones), meanwhile, are confronted by the diabolical leader of the Knights Who Say ‘Ni’ (Palin), who threatens their lives unless they acquire shrubbery.
After regrouping, the knights encounter Tim the Enchanter (Cleese), who tells them the last known location of the Grail may be revealed only once they have battled a terrifying killer rabbit (puppet). The film’s climactic battle scene, shot against the beautifully austere backdrop of Castle Stalker, ends – for Arthur – on an unregal, embarrassing note.
Read more about the making of the film over at MontyPython.com.
In May, The Academy began the video series “Academy Originals” focusing on the behind the scenes artists and the various creative processes that get a film from page to screen.
Since the launch, AMPAS has released 16 episodes that have covered everything from how Jurassic Park changed the VFX world to an episode about everyday people toiling away at screenplays in coffee shops.
With Oscar emcee Ellen DeGeneres and the re-election of AMPAS President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the Academy’s diversity abounds.
The videos below highlight women filmmakers and how their considerable contributions inspire young girls to become filmmakers.
“Movie watching is people watching.” Director Ava DuVernay, from the upcoming SELMA, relates how she writes and helms her films.
The independent artist finds that making a low-budget movie like MIDDLE OF NOWHERE comes from “being out in the world. It comes from observing people, asking questions – people want to talk.”
Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter
LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER and SELMA costume designer Ruth E. Carter relates how she is inspired by a film’s director. The two time Oscar nominee for MALCOLM X and AMISTAD says she, “tells the story through color.”
Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna relates her step-by-step process of writing and how the word game Scrabble helps with her own procrastination.
Screenwriter and Director Tina Gordon Chism
DRUMLINE’s Screenwriter and Director Tina Gordon Chism says the stories she wants to tell are of real people characters and how their language can only be told when “experiencing it yourself, you add a layer of realness to the world that people respond to.”
Screenwriters Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith
Writers Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, LEGALLY BLONDE) show how they plot a scene and where watching movies is inspirational.
Costume Designer Betsy Heimann
“As filmmakers, we’re all there to tell a story, ” says PULP FICTION Costume Designer Betsy Heimann. In her research, Heimann relates how she is grabbed with the character’s voices by throwing herself into their world.
On a related note, if you’re in the Southern California area, The Academy will be presenting the multimedia exhibition Hollywood Costume, October 2, 2014 through March 2, 2015. The exhibition will bring together the world’s most iconic costumes from the Golden Age of cinema to the present. DetailsHERE.
Academy Originals are drawn on the expertise of the organization’s more than 6,000 members, its vast collection of archival material and its position within film conversation.
