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I bought this book for my 12 year old grandson for Christmas. He is a movie buff and had enjoyed another book about the greatest movies ever made co-authored by Jim Piazza. He wrote to me, "I was very happy with the book you got me on all the Academy Awards. I used it to make a long list of all the awards."
In reality Penn said this at the Indie Spirit awards.Sometimes you get as much as 5, 6 mistakes per year, which is a lot considering each year has about 2, 3 pages.At times they'll say "he's been nominated 5 times" counting every single nomination until the book was edited, even if you're still in 1950. it's a nice book to have but Inside Oscar is sooo much better (specially Inside Oscar 2), so is Tom O Neill's Movie Awards which has a lot of inside info, not like Inside Oscar, but at least you get a look at every other awards show.The problem with this book is that all you get are trivia facts from just the winners, and only for the four acting winners, director and picture, plus an hororary or a Thalberg, at best you'll get a small paragraph of the whole evening but it isn't enough. At least you have a book that's nice to look at the has a lot of correct facts.WRONG. Same goes with Dustin Hoffman, they tell you "for more on Hoffman go to 1979".problem is.you're already on 1979.They say Robert DeNiro has been in 3 Oscar winning movies.I asume they mean Best Pictures.DeNiro's only been in The Godfather II and Deer Hunter.what's the third one.The say Sean Penn won a Globe for Dead Man Walking and he said "you tolerate me, you really tolerate me" like Sally Field in 84. And they didn't count his 7th in 97 for Wag the Dog.Jodie Foster "earning 3 Oscar nods with 1 win".She has 4 nods. It has an incredible amount of mistakes.
They couldn't even make a decision on that.You want more mistakes. And as a person who owns Inside Oscar and has read ONeill's book a thousand times, you can tell that many of the comentaries are borrowed from those books as the phrases, sentences, words are the same.But who cares right. Then they'll do it the other way, they'll say how many nominations somebody has up util that certain year you're reading, even if they got 2, 3 more nods along the way. Everytime you get to a year were the current winner has won something before they tell you, for example, "for more on Beatty go to 1981" meaning Beatty who got a Thalberg or an Honorary in 99 also won in 81 and there's more info there. But the book actually tells when you're on Beatty and his special award from 1999 to go to 1961 something when he wasn't even nominated and there's nothing on him. Here you go.In 1979 they say "Hoffman nominated 5 times with two wins" meaning they're already counting all the way through 88 when he won number 2 including that nod, which was his 6th not his 5th.
If they're gonna count until 2005 for some people, they should do it for everybody.Meryl Stree in 79: "winning Academy Awards and ten nominations".they don't say how many she won.and by 2005 she had 13 nominations, not 10.And this is all from the newest edition.some of the mistakes must've been there in past editions, they didn't even go back and read it all again to correct mistakes.
There are so many mistakes in here.read the reviews for a highlight reel. I'll point out another one not listed: at the end of each year, there are lists of the nominees with the winner highlighted in yellow. Michael Caine nomination for 'Alfie' in highlighted depite the fact he lost.
Did these writers even bother to see "A Passage to India". This book is not only poorly edited and proofread, as a previous reviewer said, it is INCREDIBLY poorly edited and proofread. You wouldn't know it from their discussion of Peggy Ashcroft's best supporting actress win. Also, it is not well written. Some entries are very sparase--it seems that the writers know nothing of the movie being honored, or the actor or actress winning the trophy, or the role for which they are winning. They wonder at Dianne Wiest forgetting to thank Woody Allen when she won her first Oscar for "Hannah and Her Sisters" remarking that Wiest was a frequent star of Allen's movies--but "Hannah" was her first movie with Allen. A lot of similar nonsense throughout the book, but it seems to get worse as we get closer to the present, and the carelessness becomes more and more enfuritating.
There is something about Oscar night, and all the glamour that goes with it, that keeps me glued to the set every year; first to hear the nominations, then the big ceremomy to announce the winners. I guess I'll always love movies, and the allure of Hollywood, having lived in L.A. Since my Junior High School years, I've been an avid fan of Oscar night, and the whole history of the Academy Awards and its winners. And this book is up-to-date; from the very first winners of 1927, to 2005 and the surprise of "Crash" taking Best Picture honors (my personal favorite). all my life, and being an aspiring actor in my younger years. In High School as a hobby, I and my best friend and fellow drama student, use to bet who could pick the most winners from each category every year. If you enjoy films, and specificly The Academy Awards as much as I do, then you'll love this book.I relate each years winners and nominees, to historic events and lifestyles of the times. Sort of an insight into what was going on then.
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