John Lee Mahin (August 23, 1902, Evanston, Illinois – April 18, 1984, Los Angeles) was an American screenwriter and producer of films who was active in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was known as the favorite writer of Clark Gable and Victor Fleming . In the words of one profile, he had "a flair for rousing adventure material, and at the same time he wrote some of the raciest and most sophisticated sexual comedies of that period."
70-614: Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for An American in Paris and in 1958 for Gigi . Both films were musicals, and both were directed by Vincente Minnelli . In addition, he produced the film Singin' in the Rain , the soundtrack for which primarily consisted of songs he co-wrote earlier in his career. Freed
140-545: A Best Picture nomination were during the early years of the awards: Lewis Milestone for Two Arabian Knights (1927/28), and Frank Lloyd for The Divine Lady (1928/29). On June 24, 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced that the number of films to be nominated in the Best Picture award category would increase from 5 to 10, starting with the 82nd Academy Awards (2009). Although
210-451: A Classic American Musical , Mahin retained most of the basic structure of the storyline, but little of Oscar Hammerstein II 's stage dialogue, preferring to create his own. According to Kreuger, Mahin and producer Arthur Freed introduced the plot device of keeping the lovers Magnolia Hawks and Gaylord Ravenal young to the end, rather than having a passage that showed them forty years older, as in
280-485: A PG rating: the first was Patton (1970) and the most recent was Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Eleven more films have won with a PG-13 rating (which was introduced in 1984): the first was The Last Emperor (1987) and the most recent was CODA (2021). Three animated films have been nominated for Best Picture: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Up (2009) and Toy Story 3 (2010). The latter two were nominated after
350-606: A continuation of the events that occurred in Captain America: Civil War and the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Along similar lines to sequels, there have been few nominees and winners that are either remakes or adaptations of the same source materials or subjects. Ben-Hur , which won Best Picture of 1959, is a remake of the 1925 silent film with a similar title and both were adapted from Lew Wallace 's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of
420-400: A direct sequel, only that it reunited the same creative team. Clint Eastwood 's Letters from Iwo Jima was a companion piece to his film Flags of Our Fathers that was released earlier the same year. These two films depict the same battle from the different viewpoints of Japanese and United States military forces; the two films were shot back-to-back. In addition, Black Panther is
490-689: A few months after The Wizard of Oz . It starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland , and it was so successful that it ushered in a long series of "let's put on a show" "backyard" musicals, all starring Rooney and Garland. Freed brought talent from the Broadway theaters to the MGM soundstages including Vincente Minnelli , Betty Comden , Adolph Green , Roger Edens , Kay Thompson , Zero Mostel , June Allyson , Nancy Walker , Charles Walters , orchestrators Conrad Salinger , Johnny Green , Lennie Hayton , and others including Shirley Temple . He also helped shape
560-628: A form altered from their original, award-winning release form. This has usually been due to editing for reissue (and subsequently partly restored by archivists). Other winners and nominees, such as Tom Jones (prior to its 2018 reissues by The Criterion Collection and the British Film Institute ) and Star Wars , are widely available only in subsequently altered versions. The Broadway Melody originally had some sequences photographed in two-color Technicolor . This footage survives only in black and white. The 1928 film The Patriot
630-596: A fresh script.) Mahin did do some uncredited work on the Cinerama film, South Seas Adventure (1958). Mahin got to know Martin Rackin when they worked on a script of Pearl Buck 's Letter from Peking , that was never filmed. They decided to form a production company. Together they wrote and produced The Horse Soldiers (1959), Revak the Rebel (1959) and North to Alaska (1960). The association ended when Rackin
700-788: A given year, we shouldn't feel an obligation to round out the number." This system lasted until 2021, when the Academy reverted back to a set number of ten nominees from the 94th Academy Awards onward. Seventeen non- English language films have been nominated in the category: La Grande Illusion (French, 1938); Z (French, 1969); The Emigrants (Swedish, 1972); Cries and Whispers (Swedish, 1973); The Postman (Il Postino) (Italian/Spanish, 1995); Life Is Beautiful (Italian, 1998); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ( Mandarin Chinese , 2000); Letters from Iwo Jima (Japanese, 2006, but ineligible for Best Foreign Language Film because it
770-531: A set of "representation and inclusion standards", called Academy Aperture 2025, which a film will be required to satisfy in order to compete in the Best Picture category, starting with the 96th Academy Awards for films released in 2023. There are four general standards, of which a film must satisfy two to be considered for Best Picture: (a) on-screen representation, themes and narratives; (b) creative leadership and project team; (c) industry access and opportunities; and (d) audience development. As explained by Vox ,
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#1732772186325840-473: A steady stream of popular, critically acclaimed musicals until the late 1950s. He allowed his directors and choreographers free rein, something unheard of in those days of committee-produced film musicals, and is credited for furthering the boundaries of film musicals by allowing such moments in films as the fifteen-minute ballet at the end of An American in Paris (1951), after which the film concludes moments later with no more dialogue or songs, and he allowed
910-539: A week on Gone with the Wind (1939). Mahin did another for Gable, Boom Town (1940) and was reunited with Fleming on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941). In July 1940 it was reported MGM had paid him $ 80,833 for the previous year. He did a gangster film for Mervyn LeRoy , Johnny Eager (1941) and some uncredited work on the ending of Woman of the Year (1942). Mahin adapted Tortilla Flat (1943) and worked on
980-558: Is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize," AMPAS President Sid Ganis said in a press conference. "I can't wait to see what that list of 10 looks like when the nominees are announced in February." At the same time, the voting system was switched from first-past-the-post to instant runoff voting (also known as preferential voting). In 2011,
1050-533: Is the only Best Picture nominee that is lost (about one-third is extant). The Racket , also from 1928, was believed lost for many years until a print was found in Howard Hughes ' archives. It has since been restored and shown on Turner Classic Movies . The only surviving complete prints of 1931's East Lynne and 1934's The White Parade exist within the UCLA film archive. The Academy has established
1120-463: The 1933 film of the same name with both being adaptations of the 1868 novel . True Grit , which was nominated for Best Picture of 2010, is the second adaptation of Charles Portis 's 1968 novel following the 1969 film of the same name . Four of the nominees for the 94th ceremony were based on source material previously made into films: CODA , Dune , Nightmare Alley , and West Side Story . The 2021 version of West Side Story became
1190-480: The 89th Academy Awards on February 26, 2017, presenter Faye Dunaway read La La Land as the winner of the award. However, she and Warren Beatty had mistakenly been given the duplicate envelope for the " Best Actress in a Leading Role " award, which Emma Stone had won for her role in La La Land . While accepting the award, La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz , who was given the correct envelope, realized
1260-414: The Academy Award for Best Picture for Paris , was the first year that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated producers by name rather than by studio. He was the only person nominated for An American in Paris , thus being the first person in the history of the award to win by name rather than by studio. Singin' in the Rain (1952), now his most highly regarded film, won no Oscars. He
1330-440: The autism spectrum ), or who are deaf or hard of hearing . For the 94th and 95th Academy Awards (films released in 2021 and 2022), filmmakers were required to submit a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form to be considered for Best Picture but were not required to fulfill the standards. These standards will only apply to the Best Picture category and do not affect a film's eligibility in other Oscar categories. At
1400-464: The second film winning the award for 1974. Another nominee, Broadway Melody of 1936 , was a follow-up of sorts to previous winner The Broadway Melody , but beyond the title and some music, the two films have mutually independent stories. The Silence of the Lambs was adapted from the sequel novel to Red Dragon . The latter had been adapted for film as Manhunter by a different studio, and
1470-559: The 96 films that have won Best Picture, 69 have also been awarded Best Director. Only six films have been awarded Best Picture without receiving a Best Director nomination: Wings directed by William A. Wellman (1927/28), Grand Hotel directed by Edmund Goulding (1931/32), Driving Miss Daisy directed by Bruce Beresford (1989), Argo directed by Ben Affleck (2012), Green Book directed by Peter Farrelly (2018), and CODA directed by Sian Heder (2021). The only two Best Director winners to win for films that did not receive
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#17327721863251540-510: The Academy Awards ceremonies have been held since 2002, showcase every film that has won the Best Picture title since the award's inception. There have been 601 films nominated for Best Picture and 96 winners. At the 1st Academy Awards ceremony held in 1929 (for films made in 1927 and 1928), there were two categories of awards that were each considered the top award of the night: "Outstanding Picture" and "Unique and Artistic Picture",
1610-845: The Academy expanded the number of nominees, but none have won. No comic book film has won, although three have been nominated: Skippy (1931), Black Panther (2018), and Joker (2019). Two fantasy films have won: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and The Shape of Water (2017), although more have been nominated. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is the only horror film to win Best Picture. Five others have been nominated for Best Picture: The Exorcist (1973), Jaws (1975), The Sixth Sense (1999), Black Swan (2010), and Get Out (2017). Several science-fiction films have been nominated for Best Picture, though Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
1680-469: The Academy never officially said so, many commenters noted the expansion was likely in part a response to public criticism of The Dark Knight and WALL-E (both 2008) (and, in previous years, other blockbusters and popular films) not being nominated for Best Picture. Officially, the Academy said the rule change was a throwback to the Academy's early years in the 1930s and 1940s, when 8 to 12 films were nominated each year. "Having 10 Best Picture nominees
1750-447: The Academy revised the rule again so that the number of films nominated was between 5 and 10; nominated films must earn either 5% of first-place rankings or 5% after an abbreviated variation of the single transferable vote nominating process. Bruce Davis, the Academy executive director at the time, said, "A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit. If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in
1820-799: The Boston American at $ 30 a week. Mahin worked as a journalist for two years in New York, at the Sun , the Post and the City News . He then tried to make a living as an actor, starting as a chorus boy in a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience at the Province Playhouse. He eventually moved into advertising in New York but wrote fiction on the side. Mahin became friendly with Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur , who he would meet on
1890-591: The British film The Adventures of Tartu (1943). While serving during World War II, Mahin wrote Combat America (1943), narrated by Gable. After the war, Mahin did uncredited work on Adventure (1945) for Gable and Fleming, The Yearling (1946) and The Beginning or the End (1947). He wrote The Risen Soldier , a biopic of Cardinal Spellman to star Van Johnson that was not used. Over at 20th Century Fox he did That Wonderful Urge (1948), Down to
1960-482: The Christ . The Departed , which won Best Picture of 2006, is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs and is the first remake of a non-English language or international film to win. Other nominees include 1963's Cleopatra about the titular last queen of Egypt following the 1934 version , 2018's A Star is Born following the 1937 film of the same name , and 2019's Little Women following
2030-706: The Sea in Ships (1949), Love That Brute (1950) and Panic in the Streets (1950). When Louis B. Mayer left MGM, Mahin went with him. Mayer put Mahin under personal contract, and would loan him out to studios, including MGM. Mahin wrote the screenplay for Show Boat (1951), the Technicolor remake of the noted 1927 stage musical , which had previously been filmed in 1936 . According to musical theatre historian Miles Kreuger in his book, Show Boat: The History of
2100-550: The Wind , The Bridge on the River Kwai , Ben-Hur , Lawrence of Arabia , Patton , The Godfather , The Godfather Part II , The Last Emperor , Dances with Wolves , Schindler's List , Forrest Gump , Braveheart , The English Patient , Titanic , Gladiator , The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , and Oppenheimer . Nine films that were presented as direct sequels have been nominated for Best Picture: The Bells of St. Mary's (1945;
2170-411: The act and the final three scenes of the musical. He felt that it made for a lack of drama in the story, and with screenwriter John Lee Mahin , Freed hit upon the idea of having the gambler Gaylord Ravenal leave his wife Magnolia while both are still young and Magnolia is expecting a baby, and then having Julie, the half-black actress who is forced to leave the boat because of her mixed-race background, be
Arthur Freed - Misplaced Pages Continue
2240-545: The award. As of 2020 , the "Special Rules for the Best Picture of the Year Award" limit recipients to those who meet two main requirements: The rules allow a bona fide team of not more than two people to be considered a single "producer" if the two individuals have had an established producing partnership as determined by the Producers Guild of America Producing Partnership Panel. Final determination of
2310-413: The award. For the following three years, five films were nominated for the award. This was expanded to eight in 1933, to ten in 1934, and to twelve in 1935, before being dropped back to ten in 1937. In 1945, it was further reduced to five. This number remained until 2009, when the limit was raised to ten; it was adjusted from 2011 to 2020 to vary between five and ten, but has been a full ten since 2022. For
2380-539: The awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot. The Best Picture category is traditionally the final award of the night and is widely considered the most prestigious honor of the ceremony. The Grand Staircase columns at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood , where
2450-482: The careers of stars including Gene Kelly , Frank Sinatra , Red Skelton , Lena Horne , Jane Powell , Esther Williams , Kathryn Grayson , Howard Keel , Cyd Charisse , Ann Miller , Vera-Ellen , and others. He brought Fred Astaire to MGM after Astaire's tenure at RKO and coaxed him out of semi-retirement to star with Garland in Easter Parade . His team of writers, directors, composers and stars produced
2520-562: The director Howard Hawks ( W. R. Burnett had done an earlier draft). Mahin served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces with Clark Gable . It took a while for Scarface to be released but advance word was strong and MGM offered Mahin a long-term contract at $ 200 a week. They assigned him to a gangster film, Beast of the City (1932) which starred Jean Harlow . While working on Howard Hawks asked him to do some uncredited work on Tiger Shark (1932) at Warner Bros; Mahin did it in
2590-598: The end date was extended to February 28, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2021, which was correspondingly limited to March 1 to December 31. John Lee Mahin Mahin was born in Winnetka, Illinois in 1902, the son of John Lee Mahin, Sr. (1869–1930), a Chicago newspaper and advertising man, and Julia Graham Snitzler. Mahin attended Harvard University ; while there he reviewed movies and plays for
2660-581: The evenings. Mahin wrote The Wet Parade (1932) his first movie with director Victor Fleming . The two men had a huge hit with Red Dust (1932), which helped make a star out of Clark Gable . Mahin did some work on Rasputin and the Empress (1933), then Hell Below (1933) (in which he also appeared as an actor), Bombshell (1933) for Fleming, The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) and Eskimo (1933); Mahin claims to have done some directing on
2730-481: The ferry while commuting to work in New York. Hecht read Mahin's stories and encouraged him to move to Hollywood. Hecht and MacArthur were working on The Unholy Garden (1931) for Sam Goldwyn and brought in Mahin to help at $ 200 a week. They liked his work and when Hecht went on to the gangster movie Scarface (1932), he took Mahin with him. Mahin wrote the script in collaboration with Hecht, Seton I. Miller and
2800-452: The film an honorary award instead. The following year, the Academy dropped the Unique and Artistic Picture award, deciding retroactively that the award won by Wings was the highest honor that could be awarded, and allowed synchronized sound films to compete for the award. Although the award kept the title Outstanding Picture for the next ceremony, the name underwent several changes over
2870-446: The film-festival premiere is considered, Crash and The Hurt Locker ). This is also the year before the ceremony at which the award is given; for example, a film exhibited theatrically during 2005 was eligible for consideration for the 2005 Best Picture Oscar , awarded in 2006. The number of the ceremony (1st, 2nd, etc.) appears in parentheses after the awards year, linked to the article on that ceremony. Each individual entry shows
Arthur Freed - Misplaced Pages Continue
2940-425: The first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. For example, the 2nd Academy Awards presented on April 3, 1930, recognized films that were released between August 1, 1928, and July 31, 1929. Starting with the 7th Academy Awards, held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31. This has been the rule every year since except 2020, when
3010-416: The former being won by the war epic Wings , and the latter by the art film Sunrise . Each award was intended to honor different and equally important aspects of superior filmmaking. In particular, The Jazz Singer was disqualified from both awards, since its use of synchronized sound made the film a sui generis item that would have unfairly competed against either category, and the Academy granted
3080-777: The latter. Other credits included Laughing Boy (1934), Treasure Island (1934) for Fleming, and Chained (1934). He adapted the operetta Naughty Marietta (1935) and did uncredited work on China Seas (1935). Mahin then wrote Riffraff (1936), Wife vs. Secretary (1936), Small Town Girl (1936), The Devil Is a Sissy (1936), and Love on the Run (1936). He was Oscar nominated for his work on Captains Courageous (1937) for Fleming. Mahin wrote The Last Gangster (1937), then did two Gable films, Test Pilot (1938), and Too Hot to Handle (1938). In 1937 MGM paid him $ 56,000. With Fleming, Mahin did uncredited work on The Wizard of Oz (1939) and worked for about
3150-526: The mistake and announced that Moonlight had won the award. In the list below, winners are listed first in the gold row, followed by the other nominees. Except for the early years (when the Academy used a non-calendar year), the year shown is the one in which the film first premiered in Los Angeles County, California ; normally this is also the year of first release; however, it may be the year after first release (as with Casablanca and, if
3220-429: The musical team of Lerner and Loewe complete control in their writing of Gigi (1958). According to Hugh Fordin's book The World of Entertainment , Freed did have a hand in the stage-to-screen adaptation of the 1951 Technicolor remake of Kern and Hammerstein's stage classic, Show Boat . It was Freed who disagreed with the original structure of the show's second act, in which more than 20 years pass between most of
3290-414: The only sequels to be nominated without any predecessors being nominated. The Godfather Part II and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King are the only sequels to have won the award, and their respective trilogies are the only series to have three films nominated. The Godfather series is the only film series with multiple Best Picture winners, with the first film winning the award for 1972 and
3360-716: The original stage musical. He wrote Quo Vadis (1951) for MGM and My Son John (1952) for Leo McCarey . He redid his Red Dust script as Mogambo (1953) for Gable and John Ford, and worked on another melodrama in the tropics, Elephant Walk (1954). In 1955 a play he wrote with Patsy Ruth Miller, Don Ella , played at UCLA. Mahin wrote Lucy Gallant (1955), The Bad Seed (1956) for LeRoy, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) for John Huston, and No Time for Sergeants (1958) for LeRoy. Heaven Knows, Mr Allison earned him another Oscar nomination. Mahin adapted Paint Your Wagon for Mayer but plans to film it were dropped when Mayer died. (It would be filmed in 1969 with
3430-461: The person who brings Ravenal and Magnolia back together again after a separation of only a few years rather than twenty. Also, Freed cast Ava Gardner in the role of Julie. Two of his films won the Academy Award for Best Picture : An American in Paris and Gigi . On the night that An American in Paris won Best Picture, Freed received an Honorary Oscar, and his version of Show Boat was up for two Oscars that year. The year 1951, in which Freed won
3500-659: The qualifying producer nominees for each nominated picture will be made by the Producers Branch Executive Committee, including the right to name any additional qualified producer as a nominee. The Academy can make exceptions to the limit, as when Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack were posthumously included among the four producers nominated for The Reader . As of 2014 the Producers Branch Executive Committee determines such exceptions, noting they take place only in "rare and extraordinary circumstance[s]." Steven Spielberg currently holds
3570-515: The reasons she left MGM after only one film and returned to Fox. Freed left MGM in 1961. He served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences until leaving in 1966. He died of a heart attack on April 3, 1973. Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since
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#17327721863253640-527: The record for most nominations at thirteen, winning one, while Kathleen Kennedy holds the record for most nominations without a win at eight. Sam Spiegel and Saul Zaentz tie for the most wins with three each. As for the time when the Oscar was given to production companies instead, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer holds the record with five wins and 40 nominations. The Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director have been closely linked throughout their history. Of
3710-538: The second adaptation of the same source material for a previous Best Picture winner to be nominated for the same award after 1962's Mutiny on the Bounty . For that same ceremony, CODA became the second remake of a non-English-language or international film to win. The 2022 German-language All Quiet on the Western Front is the second adaptation of the 1929 novel after the 1930 English-language film , and
3780-490: The sequel to the 1944 winner, Going My Way ), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Godfather Part III (1990), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Toy Story 3 (2010), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) , Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022). Toy Story 3 , Mad Max: Fury Road and Top Gun: Maverick are
3850-534: The standards "basically break down into two big buckets: standards promoting more inclusive representation and standards promoting more inclusive employment". The standards are intended to provide greater opportunities for employment, in cast, crew, studio apprenticeships and internships, and development, marketing, publicity, and distribution executives, among underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, LGBTQ+ people, and persons with cognitive or physical disabilities (not counting developmental disabilities like
3920-436: The third adaptation of the same source material of a previous Best Picture winner. At the 1st Academy Awards , the Best Picture award (then named "Academy Award for Outstanding Picture") was presented to the 1927 silent film Wings . The Artist (2011) was the first essentially silent (with the exception of a single scene of dialogue, and a dream sequence with sound effects) film since Wings to win Best Picture. It
3990-451: The title followed by nominee. Until 1950, the Best Picture award was given to the production company; from 1951 on, it has gone to the producer or producers. The Academy used the producer credits of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) until 1998, when all five producers of Shakespeare in Love made speeches after its win. A three-producer limit has been applied some years since. There
4060-544: The two films have different casts and creative teams and were not presented as a series. The Lion in Winter features Peter O'Toole as King Henry II , a role he had played previously in the film Becket , but The Lion in Winter is not a sequel to Becket . Similarly, The Queen features Michael Sheen as Tony Blair , a role he had played previously in the television film The Deal . Christine Langan , producer of both productions, described The Queen as not being
4130-428: The years, as seen below. Since 1962, the award has been simply called Best Picture . Until 1950, this award was presented to a representative of the production company. That year the protocol was changed so that the award was presented to all credited producers. This rule was modified in 1999 to apply a maximum limit of three producers receiving the award, after the five producers of Shakespeare in Love had received
4200-760: Was an American production), and The Zone of Interest (German/Polish/Yiddish, 2023). Parasite became the first film not in English to win Best Picture. Ten films wholly financed outside the United States have won Best Picture, eight of which were financed, in part or in whole, by the United Kingdom: Hamlet (1948), Tom Jones (1963), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Chariots of Fire (1981), Gandhi (1982), The Last Emperor (1987), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), and The King's Speech (2010). The ninth film, The Artist (2011),
4270-601: Was an American production); Amour (French, 2012); Roma (Spanish/Mixtec, 2018); Parasite (Korean, 2019); Minari (Korean, 2020, but ineligible for Best International Feature Film because it was an American production); Drive My Car (Japanese/Korean/Mandarin Chinese/German/ Korean Sign Language , 2021), All Quiet on the Western Front (German, 2022), Anatomy of a Fall (French, 2023), Past Lives (Korean, 2023, but ineligible for Best International Feature Film because it
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#17327721863254340-623: Was appointed head of Paramount. Mahin's later credits included The Spiral Road (1962) and Moment to Moment (1966) for LeRoy. He also wrote episodes of The Jimmy Stewart Show (1971–72). Mahin was a founder of the Screen Writers Guild in 1933. In the late 1930s, he became president of a rival organization, the Screen Playwrights Guild . He rejoined the Guild in 1948 and became its president. He won
4410-591: Was born to a Jewish family in Charleston, South Carolina, and wrote poetry while a high schooler at Phillips Exeter Academy. After graduating in 1914, he began his career as a song-plugger and pianist in Chicago. After meeting Minnie Marx , he sang as part of the act of her sons, the Marx Brothers , on the vaudeville circuit, and also wrote material for the brothers. He soon began to write songs, and he
4480-439: Was controversy over the exclusion of some PGA-credited producers of Crash and Little Miss Sunshine . The Academy can make exceptions to the limit, as when Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack were posthumously among the four nominated for The Reader . However, now any number of producers on a film can be nominated for Best Picture, should they be deemed eligible. For the first ceremony, three films were nominated for
4550-687: Was financed in France, and the tenth film, Parasite (2019), was financed in South Korea. Since 1968, most Best Picture winners have been rated R under the Motion Picture Association 's rating system . Oliver! is the only G-rated film and Midnight Cowboy is the only X-rated film (what is categorized as an NC-17 film today), so far, to win Best Picture; they won in back-to-back years, 1968 and 1969. The latter has since been changed to an R rating. Eleven films have won with
4620-600: Was hired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . For years, he wrote lyrics for numerous films, many set to music by Nacio Herb Brown . In 1939, after working (uncredited) in the role of associate producer on The Wizard of Oz , he was promoted to being the head of his own unit within MGM, and helped elevate the studio to the leading creator of film musicals. His first solo credit as producer was the film version of Rodgers and Hart 's smash Broadway musical Babes in Arms (also 1939), released only
4690-716: Was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. Shirley Temple wrote in her 1988 autobiography that when aged 12 she was interviewed by Freed with a view to transferring her career to MGM. She wrote that during the interview, Freed unzipped his trousers and exposed himself to her. "Being innocent of male anatomy, she responded by giggling, and he threw her out of his office", said the actress's obituary. She also reported this claim on Larry King Live when interviewed on October 25, 1988, further alleging that Louis B. Mayer sexually propositioned her mother in an adjacent room during this incident. Temple stated these are
4760-408: Was introduced in 1941. Several musical adaptations based on material previously filmed in non-musical form have won Best Picture, including Gigi , West Side Story , My Fair Lady , The Sound of Music , Oliver! , and Chicago . Several epics or historical epic films have won Best Picture, including the first recipient Wings . Others include Cimarron , Cavalcade , Gone with
4830-495: Was the first one to win. Titanic (1997) is the only disaster film to win Best Picture, though other such films have been nominated, including Airport (1970) and The Towering Inferno (1974). No documentary feature has been nominated for Best Picture, although Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness was nominated in the Unique and Artistic Picture category at the 1927/28 awards. A Best Documentary Feature category
4900-422: Was the first silent nominee since 1928's The Patriot . It was the first Best Picture winner to be produced entirely in black-and-white since 1960's The Apartment . ( Schindler's List , the 1993 winner, was predominantly black-and-white but contains some color sequences.) No Best Picture winner has been lost , though a few such as All Quiet on the Western Front and Lawrence of Arabia exist only in
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