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Dig A Hole: “The English Patient” director Anthony Minghella

March 18th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Jude Law and Anthony Minghella on the set of “Cold Mountain”

This has not been a good year for Mirage Enterprises. First Sydney Pollack is diagnosed with inoperable cancer and now Oscar winning director Anthony Minghella, Mr. Pollack’s partner in the production company, has died suddenly after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

According to his agent Judy Daish, Mr. Mingella died of a hemorrhage after checking into London’s Charing Cross Hospital Tuesday morning for a routine neck operation. He was 54.

After attending the University of Hull (North Yorkshire/Humberside, England), he briefly worked as a university professor where he started writing music and plays. He won the London Theater Critics Award in 1984 for Most Promising Playwright and in 1986 for Best Play with Made In Bangkok.

In 1990, after writing for several episodic television series in England, Minghella landed his first directing job on the romantic fantasy Truly, Madly Deeply.

Three years later he directed Mr. Wonderful, a delightful romantic comedy about a divorcee eager for his ex to remarry so that he can stop paying alimony. It was the only one of his six completed features that Mr. Minghella didn’t write the screenplay for, and oddly enough it remains my favorite of his films.

His biggest hit was the overstuffed romantic WW II drama The English Patient which took home nine Academy Awards, including best director for Minghella, best picture and best supporting actress for Juliette Binoche.

From here on in, every film that followed was pure Oscar bait. His adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley amounted to little more than a well upholstered-travelogue. Only seven minutes shorter than The English Patient, Minghella’s Civil War drama Cold Mountain seemed to drag on for weeks.

His last completed feature was Breaking and Entering, a story about an architect and his interactions with a teenage burglar and his mother. The film starred two of Minghella’s pet actors, Jude Law and Juliette Binoche. Minghella was an actor’s director; in only six films, he directed five actors to Oscar nominations: Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Renée Zellweger, Juliette Binoche and Kristin Scott Thomas. Binoche and Zellwegger won for their supporting turns in The English Patient and Cold Mountain, respectively.

Most recently Minghella was in Botswana filming an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith’s novel The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency which is set to air on British television this week. He was also going to be one of the numerous directors to film a segment for New York, I Love You the upcoming sequel to Paris, Je T’aime.

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Oscar Show rundown, complete and timed to the second!

February 24th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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I don’t know when or how, but some time during tonight’s
broadcast, there will be Hope!

Want to know the perfect time to throw a bag of corn in the microwave or pay a visit to the commode during Hollywood’s yearly reenactment of the Bataan death march? Here’s your blow-by-blow breakdown of tonight’s festivities.

Looks like there will be no Irving Thalberg award (never liked him anyway after what he did to the Marx Bros.) or a Jean Hersholt giveaway for that matter. There is buzz about Nicole Kidman paying tribute to either Sydney Pollack and/or Heath Ledger, but nothing is confirmed. The only honorary award will go to production designer par excellence Robert Boyle.

The show starts at 5:30 (PT). The picture runs three hours and twenty-nine minutes (giver or take a commandment); there will be many intermissions.

I want to thank all of you who read Emulsion Compulsion on a daily basis. I love everybody! Gotta’ go…the red light is blinking. (Blows kisses to audience.)

OPENING MONOLOGUE: 6 minutes

AWARD #1: COSTUME DESIGN
Jennifer Garner: 5:50 PM (PT)

AWARD #2: ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway

AWARD #3: MAKEUP
Katherine Heigl: 5:57

BATHROOM BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #1 :6:03:09
“Happy Working Song” 2:07
Amy Adams-vocs, orchestra

AWARD #4: VISUAL EFFECTS
Dwayne Johnson: 6:09

AWARD #5: ART DIRECTION
Cate Blanchett: 6:13

Laughter ensues when Jon Stewart jokes about Blanchett’s double nomination as Queen Elizabeth and Bob Dylan.

AWARD #6: ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Hudson: 6:18

PRESENTER INTRO PERFORMANCE
Keri Russell: 6:27

POPCORN BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #2: 6:27
“Raise It Up”
Jamia Simone Nash, Impact Repertory Theatre of Harlem, Total Praise Community Choir, Orchestra

AWARD #7: LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Owen Wilson: 6:30

AWARD #8: ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Barry B. Benson: 6:36

AWARD #9: ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Arkin: 6:39

SCI-TECH AWARDS RECAP
Jessica Alba: 6:49:20

AWARD #10: ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
James McAvoy, Josh Brolin: 6:50

PRESENTER INTRO PERFORMANCE
Future Oscar winner Miley Cyrus: 6:57:38

PHONE BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #3: 7:00
“That’s How You Know”
Kristin Chenoweth-vocals, Dancers, Marlon Saunders-singer, Steel Drummer, Kids, Tuba Players, Chorus

AWARD #11: SOUND EDITING
For you youngsters in the audience, Jonah Hill & Seth Rogen: 7:06

AWARD #12: SOUND MIXING
More with Jonah Hill & Seth Rogen: 7:09

AWARD #13: ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Forest Whitaker: 7:15

SMOKE BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #4: 7:27:43
“Falling Slowly”
Glen Hansard-vocals, guitar, Marketa Irglova-vocals, piano

Jack Nicholson to present a montage of Best Picture winners over the last 80 years.

AWARD #14: FILM EDITING
Renée Zellweger: 7:33

HONORARY OSCAR TO ROBERT BOYLE
Nicole Kidman, Randy Thomas, Robert Boyle: 7:38

AWARD #15: FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Penélope Cruz: 7:47

PRESENTER INTRO PERFORMANCE (Patrick Dempsey)

OXYGEN BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #5: 7:54:46
“So Close”
Jon McLaughlin-vocals, Featured Dancers, Ballroom Dancers , Band Member Extras, Bill Conti

AWARD #16: ORIGINAL SONG
John Travolta, Ballroom Dancer-Valentina: 7:55

AWARD #17: CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cameron Diaz: 8:04

IN MEMORIAM TRIBUTE (3:00)
Hilary Swank: 8:11

AWARD #18: ORIGINAL SCORE
Amy Adams: 8:15

AWARD #19: DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Tom Hanks and Special Guests: 8:19

AWARD #20: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Tom Hanks: 8:22

AWARD #21: ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Harrison Fordz-z-z-z-z-z: 8:30

AWARD #22: ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Helen Mirren: 8:37

AWARD #23: DIRECTING
Martin Scorsese!: 8:47

AWARD #24: BEST MOTION PICTURE
Denzel Washington: 8:49

GOODNIGHTS 8:53:49 (Jon Stewart)

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