The old saying goes is that if you want to win an Academy Award then the best way is to undertake playing a disabled part or portraying a famous personality in a biopic. In some cases, actors have accomplished both themes and reached their Oscar-attaining goals (see Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker or Daniel-Day Lewis …
Joe Versus the Volcano Written and directed by John Patrick Shanley USA, 1990 Once upon a time, Tom Hanks was a comedic actor. From the early 1980s until about the early 1990s, Hanks made a name for himself as a goofy, fun-loving everyman. This streak continued until about 1993 when he won his first Academy Award …
Making Love Directed by Arthur Hiller Written by Barry Sandler 1982, USA Making Love is often cited as the first mainstream American movie to deal realistically with gay characters and themes. Because it was both unprofitable and unloved by critics, it would be a full decade before Hollywood tried again, with Philadelphia, to convince straight filmgoers …
The answer ranges from “not a lot” to “not the right things,” depending on how closely you observe. In the generation (30 years) since HIV/AIDS became a maligned social epidemic, only two American studio films, Philadelphia and now Dallas Buyers Club, have addressed the disease forthrightly. Other films have touched on it, of course. Larry Clark’s Kids and …