This week in history: 8th March – 14th March

An image of Jon Hamm at the Oscars in a suit and tie.

 

An image of Jon Hamm at the Oscars in a suit and tie.

Image via IMDB

Fargo was released written, edited and directed by Joel and Ethen Coen.  The American crime/black-comedy went on to gain seven Academy awards nominations including two wins for best screenplay Joel and Ethen Coen and Best Actress in a Leading Role (Francis McDormand.

Actor Jon Hamm was born on March 10th star of Mad Men and the upcoming Disney film, Million Dollar Arm.

March 13 2005, Disney announces Robert Iger as the new chief executive. He oversaw Disney’s acquisition of Pixar Studios in 2006, Marvel Studios in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012 which lead to the reinvigoration of the Star Wars franchise

The words 'Star Wars' with a gold outline on a black background

Image via screenrant.com

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This week in history: 20th – 26th January

A whole six years ago on January 22nd 2008 Heath Ledger died from an accidental overdose of prescription pills. When he passed away, the 28 year-old actor was in the prime of his career. He was in the middle of filming The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus. After some clever re-writing, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell were cast to complete Ledger’s role as a man who changed his appearance as he travelled between imaginary worlds. Depp, Law and Farrell all gave their earnings from the film to Ledger’s daughter Matilda.

The last film that Heath Ledger completed was Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight in which Ledger played Batman’s nemesis The Joker. His incredibly performance won him over thirty posthumous awards including an Oscar for best supporting actor.

On this day in 1961, Disney’s 101 Dalmatians was released. The film was a bit of a risk for the studio, their previous animated feature, Sleeping Beauty, failed to make even half of the $6 million production costs.

In light of this loss the animation team was reduced fivefold and xerography, a new, cheaper form of animation was introduced. 101 Dalmatians was the first feature film to use this technique. Xerography was a new photocopying technology which resulted in hard black outlines on the animations, a contrast to Disney’s previous soft feel. However, Disney needn’t have worried; 101 Dalmatians became the highest grossing film of 1961.

The original novel was written by Dodie Smith. Bill Peet, the writer, kept in close contact with her while screenwriting and he made a fair few changes. The Dalmatian protagonists were originally Pongo and Missus Pongo, Perdita was a stray, taken in to help wet nurse the puppies. The owners, Mr and Mrs Dearly, were originally named Roger and Anita Radcliffe. Although in the 1996 Disney live action version they are again named Roger and Anita. The changes were welcomed by Smith who felt that the Disney studios were improving on her story.

29 years on in 1990, Ava Gardner died aged 67. The pin-up actress’ biggest films included The Killers (1946) a crime drama where Gardner played Kitty Collins and On the Beach (1959) a Sci-Fi drama also starring Gregory Peck. Gardner once met J.R.R Tolkien at Oxford University in 1964, but neither knew that the other was famous.

Image via imovies-guide.com

Image via imovies-guide.com

Do you have any interesting facts or trivia that you want to share with us? If so, tweet us @Inside_Film!

This week in history: 30th December – 5th January

A large blue magaicians hat at the entrance of Disney's Hollywood Studios.
A large blue magaicians hat at the entrance of Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Taking inspiration from Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ the hat represents the new age of Disney Hollywood Studios

On January 5th, Bradley Cooper and January Jones were born in 1975 and 1978 respectively. For those who are slow on the maths side of things that makes Cooper, star of Silver Linings Playbook and the highly anticipated American Hustle, 39 years old tomorrow. And January Jones, star of the hit show, Mad Men will turn 36.

In 2010, the box office flop Did You Here About The Morgans? starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant hit UK cinemas. Grossing only £50 million worldwide, this movie definitely didn’t kick 2010 cinema off to a good start.

American Psycho starring our beloved Batman, Christian Bale, premiered in 2000 at the annual Sundance Film Festival.

The eighth most-popular theme park in the world changed its name on January 5th 2008 to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. For almost 15 years, the theme park was known as Disney-MGM Studios. The theme park takes inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. The name change was done to reflect ‘how the park has gone from representing the golden age of movies to a celebration of the new entertainment that today’s Hollywood has to offer’.

Do you have any interesting facts or trivia that you want to share with us? If so, tweet us @Inside_Film!

This week in history: 2nd – 8th December

Walt Disney looking sketching characters
Olaf the snowman looking at a flower growing out of the snow

Image via: ksl.com

On the 5th of December, 1901, Walt Disney was born in Hermosa, Chicago. As we all know, he would grow up to be one of the most successful animated film figures of all time, with a multi-billion dollar media corporation carrying his name.

The Walt Disney Company now owns five holiday resorts, eleven theme parks, thirty nine hotels, two water parks, eight motion picture studios, six record labels, eleven cable television networks and one terrestrial television network. In 2007, the company had an annual revenue of over U.S. $35 billion. Talk about a legacy. This year, the Disney Film Frozen won an Oscar for Best Animated Film. The legacy of Walt Disney clearly lives on.

Skip forward to 1957. On the 5th of December a film named Sayonara was released. This film dealt with issues of racism and prejudice towards Asian-American women, a large problem at the time.

It received widespread critical acclaim at the time, particularly for its writing and cinematography, in addition to the acting ability of its cast. It won four Academy Awards; Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Red Buttons), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Miyoshi Umeki), Best Art Direction/Set Direction (Ted Haworth and Robert Priestley) and Best Sound (George Groves).

Events, offers & releases 02/12/13

Elsa, a yong blonde princess sparks ice from her hand

First up, this week there are some notable film releases this Friday.

Frozen, Disney’s newest venture, is an animated musical comedy loosely based on The Snow Queen. Voiced by Kirsten Bell, Idina Menzel and Jonathan Groff, Frozen promises a charming tale, full of laughter and perfect for a family night out.

If you’re a little older, take a look at Homefront. Starring Jason Statham and James Franco, this Crime Thriller will keep you at the edge of your seat.

For something lighter, consider seeing A Long Way From Home. A romance about two couples from different generations colliding in the south of France.

If there is a Cineworld near you, why not treat yourself to two Oxford notebooks, (A4/A3 refil pads or Wiro notebooks) and get a cinema ticket for free. A4 refil pads are just £2.40 so you could go to the cinema for under £5.