Ron Howard's 1995 Best Picture nominee Apollo 13 will be the next film in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' ongoing "Great To Be Nominated" series. The sentimentalized tale of the failed 1970 lunar landing mission will screen on Monday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Following the screening, best supporting actress nominee Kathleen Quinlan (Marilyn Lovell), actor Loren Dean (EECOM Arthur), film editor Dan Hanley, production designer Michael Corenblith, sound rerecording mixers Scott Millan and Steve Pederson, visual effects supervisor Robert Legato, special effects coordinator Matt Sweeney, and executive producer/second unit director Todd Hallowell will participate in a panel discussion about the film.
Starring Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton (top photo), Apollo 13 is an overlong, by-the-book, flag-waving adventure tale whose mission to entertain is not fully aborted merely because of the efforts of some of the talent involved. For whereas director Howard and screenwriters William Broyles, Jr. and Al Reinert hit on every drippy, sentimental note available, Hanks managed to create an honest, well-rounded character (astronaut Jim Lovell) while the special effects and production design teams performed an admirable job.
The winner that year, by the way, was Mel Gibson's Braveheart, in my view the very worst Best Picture Oscar winner ever.
Apollo 13 received a total of nine Academy Award nominations, winning Oscars for Film Editing (Mike Hill, Hanley) and Sound (Rick Dior, Pederson, Millan, David MacMillan, right photo).
The nominations were for Best Picture (Brian Grazer, producer), Actor in a Supporting Role (Ed Harris, below right), Actress in a Supporting Role (Quinlan), Art Direction (Corenblith; Set Decoration: Merideth Boswell), Music — Original Dramatic Score (James Horner), Visual Effects (Legato, Michael Kanfer, Leslie Ekker, Sweeney), and Writing — Screenplay based on material previously produced or published (Broyles Jr., Reinert). Director Ron Howard was left out.
Chris Bailey's Oscar-nominated Mickey Mouse short Runaway Brain will be screened prior to the feature.
Passes for part five of "Great To Be Nominated" are $30 for the general public and $25 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Including Apollo 13, there are 15 films remaining in the series. A $5 discount is available for those who wish to renew their passes from parts one, two, three or four of the series. Individual tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Passes and tickets may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, by mail, in
person at the Academy during regular business hours or, depending on availability, on the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Curtain time for all features is 7:30 p.m., and pre-show elements will begin at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.
Photos: Courtesy AMPAS
Click on the photos to enlarge them.
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It wasn't as good as it should have been, but it was't as bad as that either.
Definitely better than "Braveheart." Not as good as "Il Postino" or "Babe" or "Sense and Sensibility."