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Ishtar
(May, 1987)
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (OOP)
(Ross, 1976)
The Devils
(Russell, 1974)
The Pirates of Penzance
(Papp/Leach, 1983)
The Fortune
(Nichols, 1975)
-30-
(Webb, 1959)
Betrayal
(Jones, 1983)
Play It As It Lays
(Perry, 1972)
The Outfit
(Flynn, 1973)
Alex in Wonderland
(Mazursky, 1969)
The Legend of Lylah Clare
(Aldrich, 1968)
In The Cool of the Day
(Stevens, 1963)
That Cold Day in the Park
(Altman, 1969)
Thumb Trippin'
(Masters, 1972)
Midas Run
(Kjellin, 1969)
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1973)
Brewster McCloud
(Altman, 1972)
Outcast of the Islands
(Reed, 1951)

Reader Submissions
1930's-1950's
The Moon's Our Home
(Seiter, 1936)
Sh! The Octopus
(McGann, 1937)
The Mating Season
(Leisen, 1951)
Bad for Each Other
(Rapper, 1953)
The Phenix City Story
(Karlson, 1955)
Run of the Arrow
(Fuller, 1956)
House of Secrets
(Green, 1956)
Saint Joan
(Preminger, 1957)
Macabre
(Castle, 1958)
The Fiend Who Walked the West
(G. Douglas, 1958
Five Gates to Hell
(Clavell, 1959)
1960's
Key Witness
(Karlson, 1960)
Summer and Smoke
(Glenville, 1961)
The Chapman Report
(Cukor,1962)
Bachelor Flat
(Tashlin, 1962) [on Hulu]
The L Shaped Room
(Forbes, 1963)
The Chalk Garden
(Neame, 1964)
A Thousand Clowns
(Coe, 1965)
You're a Big Boy Now
(Coppola, 1966)
The Whisperers
(Forbes, 1967)
Dark of the Sun
(Cardiff, 1968)
Skidoo
(Preminger, 1968)
Last Summer
(Perry, 1969)
The Comic
(C. Reiner, 1969)
1970-1974
The Revolutionary
(Williams, 1970)
The Landlord
(Ashby, 1970)
Diary of a Mad Housewife
(Perry, 1970)
Tropic of Cancer
(Strick, 1970)
I Never Sang for My Father
(Cates, 1970)
Sometimes a Great Notion
(Newman, 1971)
Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
(Turman, 1971)
The Music Lovers
(Russell, 1971)
Drive, He Said
(Nicholson, 1971)
The Steagle
(Sylbert, 1971)
The Last Movie
(Hopper, 1971)
Made For Each Other
(Bean, 1971)
The Day the Clown Cried
(Lewis, 1972)
Hickey & Boggs (OOP)
(Culp, 1972)
The Carey Treatment
(Edwards, 1972)
Pete 'n' Tillie
(Ritt, 1972)
Slither
(Zieff, 1973)
Man on a Swing
(Perry, 1974)
Open Season
(Collinson, 1974)
The Tamarind Seed
(Edwards, 1974)
Law and Disorder
(Passer, 1974)
Homebodies
(Yust, 1974)
Stardust
(Apted, 1974)
Celine and Julie Go Boating
(Rivette, 1974)
1975-1979
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
(Richards, 1975
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1975)
Hearts of the West
(Zieff, 1975)
Welcome to L.A.
(Rudolph, 1976)
W.C. Fields and Me
(Hiller, 1976)
Citizens Band
(Demme, 1977)
Twilight's Last Gleaming
(Aldrich, 1977)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
(Brooks, 1977)
Girlfriends
(Weill, 1978)
Movie Movie
(Donen, 1978)
The Medusa Touch
(Gold, 1978)
American Hot Wax
(Mutrux, 1978)
Hot Stuff
(DeLuise, 1979)
Scavenger Hunt
(Schultz , 1979)
Players
(Harvey, 1979)
Rich Kids
(Young, 1979)
Nightwing
(Hiller, 1979)
Screams of a Winter's Night
(Wilson, 1979
When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?
(Katselas, 1979
1980's
Resurrection
(Petrie, 1980)
The Awakening
(Newell, 1980)
Simon
(Brickman, 1980)
God's Angry Man
(Herzog, 1980)
Fast-Walking
(Harris, 1982)
Twice Upon a Time
(Korty & Swenson, 1983)
Trouble in Mind
(Rudolph, 1985)
When the Wind Blows
(Murikami, 1986)
Housekeeping
(Forsyth, 1987)
The Glass Menagerie
(Newman, 1987)
Patty Hearst
(Schrader, 1988)
Drowning by Numbers
(Greenaway, 1988)
Haunted Summer
(Passer, 1988)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
(Spheeris, 1988)
1990's
Old Times
(Curtis, 1991)
Prospero's Books
(Greenaway, 1991)
City of Hope
(Sayles, 1991)
The Baby of Macon
(Greenaway, 1993)
King of the Hill
(Soderbergh, 1993)
Dadetown
(Hexter, 1995)
SubUrbia
(Linklater, 1997)

Upcoming

January 8

Bitch Slap

Waiting for Armageddon

Wonderful World

Youth in Revolt

January 15

January 22

Drool

Extraordinary Measures

The Girl on the Train

No Offense

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I read with interest Tom O'Neil's salute to Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, the new Oscar show producers whom I know personally and like enormously. Excellent fellows, touch of class, taste buds, cool tuxedos, etc.

Do I agree with O'Neil's suggestion that Will Smith would be a great choice to host the Oscars? Uhhm...sorry but no. No offense, but to me Smith is Mr. Easy, Mr. Bucks-Up Hah-Hah. He doesn't exude anything except exuberance, perfect teeth and postivism. He lacks discrimination and is accomodating to a fault -- he'll throw his head back and laugh at anything, radiate positive energy about anything and everything except Saudi terrorists, smile until he dies from old age. He's the 21st Century Sammy Davis, Jr. All he wants to do is entertain and be loved...zzzzzzzz.

"My Understanding Is..."<< previous | next >>Yesterday

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 25, 2008 at 12:10 AM

comment #1

NDH says ...

Looks like Ricky Gervais might land the hosting gig.

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/09/ricky-gervais.html

Posted by NDH at September 25, 2008 2:12 AM

comment #2

MartinBlank says ...

Er..."white teeth"?

I'm aware you don't mean that to be racist, but Google "racist imagery" and "white teeth" and you see why that particular phrase applied to a black man gives me pause.

Posted by MartinBlank at September 25, 2008 4:44 AM

comment #3

shawn says ...

Sammy Davis Jr. had more talent in his pinky ring than Will Smith has in his entire body. Really, Jeff, that's a disappointing comparison.

Posted by shawn at September 25, 2008 6:23 AM

comment #4

btwnproductions says ...

Leave Sammy alone. He would've brought Frank and Dino and the rest of the Pack o the ceremony for a ring-a-ding night.

Posted by btwnproductions at September 25, 2008 6:26 AM

comment #5

Howlingman says ...

Nobody watches the Oscars anymore anyway. They can re-arrange deck chairs all they want; the ship's still sinking.

Hey -- I just described the economy!

Posted by Howlingman at September 25, 2008 6:38 AM

comment #6

MDOC says ...

Hosting the Oscars, while prestigious, always results in several cringe inducing moments. Smith doesn't need that, he's too cool.

Posted by MDOC at September 25, 2008 6:55 AM

comment #7

D.Z. says ...

http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2008/STUVWXYZ/W/trailer.php

Posted by D.Z. at September 25, 2008 7:29 AM

comment #8

raygo says ...

"He lacks discrimination and is accomodating to a fault -- he'll throw his head back and laugh at anything, radiate positive energy about anything and everything except Saudi terrorists, smile until he dies from old age."

He's the white Tom Cruise. Those Scientologists must have very rigid red carpet behavior training.

Posted by raygo at September 25, 2008 7:37 AM

comment #9

MickTravis says ...

Gosh, you should post that same old picture from the "I Am Legend" press conference that you always bring out when you've made this case about Smith those other times.

He's laid back, he's amiable, he plays the movie star game with great success, you don't like him, we got it.

Posted by MickTravis at September 25, 2008 7:43 AM

comment #10

Ms. M says ...

I'm not sure how your descripton of Smith would make him a poor choice to host. Generating positivity and a broad sense of humor is similar to the qualities that people like Bob Hope and Billy Crystal brought to the Oscars.

Actually, I'm not sure why the Oscar producers don't go with several hosts. It could lessen the pressure and add some energy to the long and boring ceremony.

Posted by Ms. M at September 25, 2008 7:56 AM

comment #11

SandyMcTire says ...

He's charming and he's the biggest star in the world, but you really do need a comedian to host the preceedings.

You also need to move the telecast back to a Monday night in March, but that's a different pet peeve.

Posted by SandyMcTire at September 25, 2008 8:18 AM

comment #12

T. S. Idiot says ...

George "Fuck You" Clooney would be perfect: smart, sense of humor, actually won an Oscar, and I hear the ladies like him.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at September 25, 2008 8:26 AM

comment #13

gruver1 says ...

Wells to T.S. Idiot: Good God, but yes, of course! Clooney would be dead perfect. His attitude is just right, he'd know which writers to hre, his delivery would be spot-on, he'd have the political undercurrent top draw upon. Excellent idea. Obvious ratings booster.

I'd be fine with Ricky Gervais as well.

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/09/ricky-gervais.html

Posted by gruver1 at September 25, 2008 9:15 AM

comment #14

BurmaShave says ...

Steve Martin. How soon we forget.

Posted by BurmaShave at September 25, 2008 9:29 AM

comment #15

lazarus says ...

Clooney wouldn't touch that shit in a million years. Although him, Pitt, and Damon hosting together would be a jackpot.

I say bring back Chevy Chase.

Posted by lazarus at September 25, 2008 10:16 AM

comment #16

rr3333 says ...

How bout the ladies from 'The View'?

Err .... How about not!

I was just dreaming of the wonderful & talented Whoopi Goldberg, and how she almost single-handedly turned the Oscars into a 'Bravo TV' presentation.

Ricky Gervais? No way. Too cynical. Oscar Producers & Middle America wouldnt go for that at all.

I think Will Smith would be a great choice. If he puts as much work into hosting as he does prepping for his films, the show would be terrific. Seriously!

Posted by rr3333 at September 25, 2008 11:04 AM

comment #17

Marcello says ...

Stephen Colbert is the man for the job. Jon Stewart wasn't right, because he's not naturally sunny enough (for the same reason, Gervais would be a mistake, a one-off novelty). But Colbert -- sans persona -- would be perfect, warm, witty, not desperate, smiley without being cloying. Will Smith would of course be a train wreck. Clooney, eh.

Posted by Marcello at September 25, 2008 11:29 AM

comment #18

Cadavra says ...

I'd get Nathan Lane. He's hosted the Tonys a few times and knows exactly how to work both the audience in the theatre and the ones at home.

Posted by Cadavra at September 25, 2008 11:32 AM

comment #19

deadre says ...

Ricky Gervais is a great idea, maybe with some help help from a few of his friends. Will's need to be loved is positively cringeworthy, his lack of irony, constant gaffaws and mugging are a separate show in itself.

Laid back he is not, needy he radiates....

Posted by deadre at September 25, 2008 12:24 PM

comment #20