Results tagged “howardhughes”

Married four times, detested by Aleister Crowley but friends with Howard Hughes, Preston Sturges should not be begrudged his mastery of the screwball comedy. He had a lot of material to work with. But his genius was to craft dialogue and pace his actors with such naturalism as to make the ridiculous seem inevitable. This genius is on display today at the Brattle Theatre, which is screening The Palm Beach Story (1942). Its reported... more ›

The Hoax could have been a terrific movie. Whether or not you know anything about Howard "The Aviator" Hughes or Clifford Irving, the man who tried to pass off a fake autobiography of Hughes, the plot is riveting and familiar. In the light of recent publishing and journalism faux-pas, ranging from Jayson Blair to the sudden squelching of OJ Simpson's "confession," Clifford Irving's desperate drive for fame makes sense. Richard Gere stars as Clifford Irving,... more ›

In case you blocked out the hoopla known as the Oscars, the 77th Academy Awards aired last night for a short three hours and two minutes long. Held at L.A.'s Kodak Theater, the awards show went off without a hitch or much sparkle, creating a predictable show with few surprises. Chris Rock, who was being built up to perform some of his outrageous stand-up, was pretty calm, but did start the show by telling his... more ›