Ask 411 Movies for 02.06.12: Send Questions Before I Go Stir Crazy!

Posted by Leonard Hayhurst on 02.06.2012

Will No Country For Old Men be considered a classic in 15 years? Is Marilyn Monroe the most iconic actress to never get an Oscar nomination? Should Quentin Tarantino remake Peeping Tom? All this and more covered this week in Ask 411 Movies!

YouTube Clip of the Week
Several readers in the comments last week were thrilled over me throwing in a video of the old HBO movie intro. So for February, we'll look at some blasts from the past in our clip of the week. This week, the ABC Sunday Night Movie intro circa 1982 for Diamonds are Forever.



Leonard's Favorite Episode of Columbo
Every week I profile my favorite episode of a popular television series. Columbo was not a traditional whodunit, but a howshegonnacatchem. The show pretty much depended on putting Peter Falk's Lt. Columbo up against the right type of villain. Robert Culp, Robert Vaughn, Patrick McGoohan and Jack Cassidy were some of the best who were used multiple times. My favorite episode is "Now You See Him" from the fifth season featuring Cassidy as a stage magician. What better person for Columbo to butt intellects with than someone whose stock in trade is to deceive and misdirect? The real trick is Columbo trying to figure out how Cassidy's Great Santini killed his boss while he was on stage submerged in a tank of water.



Mystery Actor/Actress of the Week
Every week I'll give clues to a mystery actor or actress. If you think you know who it is, post in the comments. You win nothing but a tip of the top hat from me, but isn't that enough?

Last week: Last week's mystery actress, Barbara Rush, is mentioned in one of my movies as my character brags about doing her hair. That character was as promiscuous on screen as I was rumored to be in real life, having been linked to many celebrities over the years. However, I've finally settled down and have four children with my Oscar nominated wife. I have one honorary Oscar and one competitive Oscar, but not for acting. It runs in the family as my sister is an Oscar winner too. We went to the same high school as another Oscar winner. I'm the godfather of another Oscar nominated actress' son and actually turned down a role in The Godfather. Who am I?

The answer is Warren Beatty. Beatty's hairdresser character in Shampoo bragged about doing Barbara Rush's hair. After being linked to many famous women over the years, he finally married Annette Bening in 1992. Bening has been nominated for four Oscars, best supporting actress for The Grifters and best actress for American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right. Beatty's sister is Shirley MacLaine, who won the Oscar for best actress for Terms of Endearment on her sixth nomination. They went to Washington-Lee High School in Virginia, also the alma mater of Sandra Bullock, Oscar winner for The Blind Side. Beatty is the godfather of Melanie Griffith's son Alexander. She received an Oscar nod for Working Girl. Beatty was said to have been up for Michael in The Godfather along with being offered directing and producing duties on the film. Information from IMDB.

This week: Like last week's mystery actor, Warren Beatty, I was up to play Michael in The Godfather as well. I later earned an Oscar nomination for another mafia based film. I won best actor at the Cannes Film Festival twice, but both times shared the honor with two-costars. I also received four Emmy and four Golden Globe nominations in a row for my best known television series. My character on that program was known for a trademark cigar, which I had added to the character so I could get free stogies. To tie into this week's favorite episode, I appeared twice on Columbo, once as a victim and once as a framed murder suspect. Who am I?

Actor Robert Hegyes, 60, died of a heart attack Jan. 26. He's best remembered as Epstein on Welcome Back, Kotter. Actor James Farentino, 73, died of an undisclosed illness on Jan. 24. He had recurring or starring roles on such television series as The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Cool Million, Dynasty, Blue Thunder, Julie, Mary, Melrose Place and ER where he played the father of George Clooney's Doug Ross. Actor Ben Gazzara, 81, died Feb. 3 of pancreatic cancer. His works included Anatomy of a Murder, Road House, Buffalo '66, The Thomas Crown Affair, Summer of Sam, The Big Lebowski and the television series Run For Your Life.

Q: Hey Mr. H,
I was watching Stir Crazy and damn that movie is still funny. How did Gene Wilder & Richard Pryor wind up as a team that made a few movies ending w/ See no Evil, Hear No Evil (which is still funny and Joan Severance is still hot in it)?
-Paul

A: Actually the last movie they made together was Another You in 1991. It marks Wilder's last feature film to date and Pryor's last starring role.



Their other films were Silver Streak in 1976, Stir Crazy in 1980 and See No Evil, Hear No Evil in 1989. They were also both involved with 1974's Blazing Saddles. Pryor was a co-writer on the script and Mel Brooks wanted him to play Bart. However, Warner Bros. balked at the controversial Pryor who also had little acting experience. Gig Young was to play the Waco Kid, but he showed up to the set on the first day drunk and passed out. Brooks then called his old buddy Gene Wilder to fill in.

Pryor and Wilder first met through Brooks. When Wilder was offered Silver Streak a few years later, he suggested Pryor to play Grover, because he thought Pryor could get the racial material over and make it acceptable to black and white audiences. Pryor was against the scene where Grover puts shoe polish on George so they can sneak on the train. Pryor thought the scene would be funnier if a black guy walked in and wasn't fooled by Wilder at all. Director Arthur Hiller didn't want to reshoot the scene, so Pryor stormed off the set. Hiller later changed his mind and reshot the scene per Pryor's suggestion.



Q: Who is the most iconic actor/actress not to be nominated for an academy award?
-Green Man

A: Never winning an Oscar is one thing, but never even being nominated is something else entirely. The most iconic person to never receive an Oscar nomination is probably Marilyn Monroe, ironic because Michelle Williams is nominated for playing Monroe in My Week with Marilyn this year. Monroe was nominated for two Golden Globes and won best actress in a comedy or musical for Some Like It Hot in 1960. She also won the Henrietta Award at the Golden Globes in 1962 and 1954 as the world film favorite.



My male pick would probably go to Vincent Price. The mater of the macabre had a career that spanned more than 50 years and nearly 200 movie and television appearances. His contemporary Boris Karloff also never received an Oscar nomination either.



As far as iconic actors go, it's interesting to mention Bob Hope. Hope received five honorary Oscars, including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and hosted the ceremony more than anyone at 19 times. However, he never received a competitive nomination.



Q: Hi Leonard,

What movies in the last 10-15 years will be looked back upon in the near future as "classics" from this time?

Also, what movies do you think that are deemed "great" now, will not age well in the next 10 years or so. I always thought Forest Gump was one of those that was a good movie the first time I saw it but every time I have seen it since, it gets worse and worse.

Thanks!
-Jason

A: I figured the best place to start was looking at the past 15 years of Oscar best picture winners dating back to 1997.

Titanic is getting a 3-D rerelease this year, as mentioned last week. While some make fun of it, I think it's the type of grandiose, epic filmmaking that will still resonate in years to come. It also helped to launch the careers of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio while solidifying James Cameron as a top director and producer. So while some might find it dated and cheesy in 50 years, like Gone With the Wind, I believe it will carry a classic label. No Country for Old Men and Million Dollar Baby I think will also be movies that could be potential Essentials on Turner Classic Movies in the future, hopefully when I replace Robert Osborne as a channel host.



Oddly, many of the best picture winners in that period I already don't think have aged too well, particularly American Beauty. What was a slice of the distorted American dream in the suburbs at the turn of the 21st century already seems dated and hokey. Much like with Forrest Gump which I agree with you on, I really liked American Beauty when I first saw it, but less so on future viewings. I think it tries too hard by cramming too much symbolism and deep thought into the story and visuals that ultimately just make it feel bloated and too self important.

Slumdog Millionaire will be an interesting curiosity, but I doubt anyone 50 years from now who didn't know it won best picture in 2009 would guess that it did. The Who Wants to Be a Millionare? setting will also be super dated in the near future. It would be like watching a movie today that revolved around the set of the Joker's Wild.



Q: Is there one horror movie out there still that hasn't been remade yet, but you think would be better off being updated in order to introduce more people to the original? I always thought after seeing The Crazies / Codename: Trixie that it should be remade on a larger budget, which it was, and was good.
-Mario

A: You peg one of the good things about any remake. They at least give some notice to the original film, often leading to a DVD release or television airings. I was going to say 1962's Carnival of Souls, but I found out there was a loose remake released in 1998. So, let's go with the influential Peeping Tom from 1960. Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) is a focus puller at a British film studio and also does some cheesecake photography and filmmaking on the side. As a child, his father performed experiments on him to record the effects of terror on people. Mark is obsessed with recording such looks on film and kills several women to do so. I know Quentin Tarantino loves the movie, so let him remake it with Christoph Waltz in the lead.



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