#5 Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Louise Fletcher accepted the casting call for the role of Nurse Ratched only a week before filming began. This role was her film debut, and a debut it was. Nurse Ratched role was turned down by the likes of Anne Bancroft, Colleen Dehurst, Geraldine Page, Ellen Burstyn and Angela Landsbury. Louise played the part of the domineering and sexually depressed Ratched with pure excellence. She is a tyrant that has controlled her patients with an iron hand. To her, correct behavior from her patients means they are sane; any other kind of behavior deems them insane. When McMurphy enters the ward, a battle begins between the patient and the Ward Nurse.
She knows she has the power and wields it like a magic wand and she begins her battle with this enemy knowing that she will do what she must to ensure he will not defeat her. Fletcher came onto the screen in a role of a lifetime and proved to Hollywood that she was an actress to be reckoned with, and history has proven she has what it takes. She walked away with an Academy Award for Best Actress that year and continued a long and lucrative career.

 

#6 Ingrid Bergman in Murder on the Orient Express

Her role as shy, nervous, repressed Swedish missionary Greta Ohlsson awarded Ingrid Bergman her third Oscar win in a career that spanned six decades. Some say this was not her best role, and not even an award winning performance; that she won the Oscar due to her long career. Apparently those have never seen her performance.

She enlivened the screen with her appearance, and her introverted Greta was one of the best performances in this star studded ensemble. Many of the other roles were over acted, almost to the point of comedic, but not Bergman. She delivered a true and heartfelt performance and worthy of her Oscar.

 

#7 Liza Minnelli in Cabaret

Liza Minnelli, the daughter of actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli had already made a name for herself in 1965 for being the youngest actress to have ever won a Tony Award in the show, Flora, the Red Menace.

When coming to the big screen critics were ready to pounce, but Liza suprised them all. Her role as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, as an American singer in 1930s Berlin. She falls in love with a bi-sexual man and the story goes on. (Sounds very famillar to her life story)

Liza wooed audiences and critics alike with her raw performance, dance and song. She also went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress that year.

 

#8 Linda Blair in The Exorcist

Even today thirty three years later, Linda Blair is recognized as the blasphemous, vomit-spewing little girl from in the William Friedkin horror movie, The Exorcist.

“The Exorcist” was the zenith of Blair’s Hollywood career: She was nominated for an Oscar, and won a best supporting actress Golden Globe award for the role of Regan.

Even though her portrayl of the possessed little girl was phenomenal, her career since then has languished. It was downhill from there. Blair went on to star in such B flicks as “Roller Boogie” (1979) “Red Heat” (1985), “Repossessed” (1990) and “Bedroom Eyes II” (1990).

 

#9 Talia Shire – Rocky & Godfather

Coming into the eye of Hollywood in 1972 with her role of Connie Corleone, Talia Shire was destined for greatness. Sister of Director Francis Ford Coppola, she shined in The Godfather as the sister of the Corleone brothers and the abused wife of her husband Carlo.

Then in 1976 she reappeared as the reserved and quiet Adrianna “Adrian” Pennino who fell for Rocky. Her intense passion for him is seen in the first moments they finally go on thier date and continues throughout the film to the final scene as Rocky cries out her name. She was nominated for an Oscar for that role as a supporting actress.

These were to become two of her greatest roles. She would play Connie in the next two Godfather movies, and her legacy lives on today in her children, Jason & Robert Schwartzman.

 

#10 Lily Tomlin – Nashville

There were not as many juicy roles in the 70’s for the women as there were for the men in Hollywood. But however there were some fantastic performances by the up and coming female stars in that decade that was dubbed the “New Hollywood”. One of those new names and rising stars is my pick to start off my top 10 Actresses of the 1970’s;

Lily Tomlin in Nashville (1975)
Out of all the actresses that had a role in that motion picture only Lily and Ronee Blakely were nominated for an Academy Awards for acting. After playing Ernestine (the telephone operator) on TV’s Laugh In, Lily got her break in pictures with Robert Altman’s classic and from there as they say, the rest is history. Linnea Reese, her character was a gospel singer in a black choir, and also a mother of two deaf children.

Her presence is felt throughout the movie and the last scene as her husband (played by Ned Beatty) pulls her from the stage to take her home you know a star is born.

 

Whatever Happened To?…

Linda Blair

Born in St. Louis on January 22, 1959

As a young child, Linda Blair began her career by modeling, then later started acting in commercials, including one for Gulden’s Mustard that ran for years. Blair had originally planned to become a doctor, but instead accepted a role in The Exorcist because money she would earn would allow her to pursue her interest in horesemanship, particularly show jumping. She was chosen over the very similar-looking Pamelyn Ferdin since the director wanted an unknown.

At the age of 15, Blair dated, then lived with pop singer Rick Springfield, despite the ten year difference in their ages and, more importantly, the fact that she was legally a minor.
Following the success of The Exorcist, Ms. Blair appeared in numerous controversial television films, including Born Innocent and Sarah T…Portrait Of A Teenage Alcoholic. She was featured in Airport 75 and also in Exorcist II: The Heretic, the failed sequel to the successful original film that made her a household name, nearly cost her her career.

Adding to her troubles, in December of 1977, Ms Blair was arrested for conspiring to buy and distribute cocaine and for possessing amphetamines, eventually pleading guilty to possession charges and fined. She was also sentenced to three years probation, instructed to appear in several anti-drug commercials, and ordered to enter a nine month drug rehabilitation program.

Throughout the 1980s, Ms. Blair’s career fell into decline, and she appeared in many minor films, often with a horror or slapstick comedy theme. Meanwhile, Linda returned to her first love of riding and showing horses, where she competed under pseudonyms in showjumping events and won numerous equestrian events.
During the early 1980s Ms Blair had a passionate relationship with singer Rick James, but left him when she could no longer handle his drug addiction. In 1978, as part of a plea bargain to avoid jail time, she was ordered to stay away from drugs after the December 1977 arrest.
In 1990, she reprised her Exorcist character in the spoof film Repossessed, in addition to reducing her appearances in lower budget movies and concentrating on TV work, including a guest spot on the 1992/1993 season opener of the FOX series Married… with Children, making it the highest watched episode of that series.

In 1996 Blair had a brief uncredited cameo appearance in the box office smash Scream, in addition to winning wide acclaim for her performance in the 1997 stage revival of Grease.

In 2000, she appeared in the British teen show LA 7 featuring the popular pop group S Club 7, while starring in several independent movies. She also hosted Fox Family’s series Scariest Places on Earth. She is currently working on the film, All is Normal.
Linda Blair has long been active in charities involving prevention of cruelty to animals with her own Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation

 

Classic Women in Cinema; Scream Queens

Janet Leigh 1927-2004 &
Jamie Lee Curtis 1958

 

Oscar Switcheroo

One of the issues with predicting Oscar nominations early, is that until the studios start their “push” we really do not know who is in the top spots or who is in the supporting ones. It seems that some of the “pushing” has begun and unfortunately this means a big change in my predictions…and here is the why.

Paramount Vantage is not pushing for Brad Pitt in the lead category, but in the supporting for his role in “Babel”. Now before we all get angry about this unfortunate studio oversight just think about it for a moment. Forest Whitaker is already being tooted as a sure fire winner in the lead category for his work in “Last King of Scotland”. Hell he has already been on Oprah! Peter O’Toole is a grand gentleman of cinema so why put your man up against these two performances? Make sense? Who knows, but what I do know is the after all the hoopla in Venice, Brad will definitely be up against Ben Affleck, as his is being pushed big time in the supporting category as George Reeves in Hollywoodland.

The actors categories are not the only ones that are a bit confused this year, but Meryl will be in contention this year with her role in The Devil Wears Prada, along with Helen Mirren and Annette Bening and Dame Judi Dench. Who does that leave us with? Penelope Cruz of course.

So with that said here are my updated predictions ( a few days early) for the month of October; (changes or new predictions are in yellow)

BEST PICTURE:
Babel
Bobby
Flags of Our Fathers
Last King of Scotland
The Good German

BEST DIRECTOR:
Iñárritu for Babel
Eastwood for Flags of Our Fathers
Estevez for Bobby
Condon for Dreamgirls
Scorcessee for The Departed

BEST ACTOR:
Forest Whitaker; Last King of Scotland
Leonardo DeCaprio; The Departed
Peter O’Toole; Venus
Ryan Gosling; Half Nelson
Will Smith; Pursuit of Happyness

BEST ACTRESS:
Helen Mirren; Queen
Judi Dench’ Notes on a Scandel
Meryl Streep; The Devil Wears Prada
Penelope Cruz; Volver
Annette Bening; Running With Scissors

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Jack Nicholson; The Departed
Ben Affleck; Hollywoodland
Brad Pitt; Babel
Michael Caine; Children of Men
Eddie Murphy; Dreamgirls

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Jill Clayburgh; Running With Scissors
Angelina Jolie; The Good German
Abagail Breslin; Little Miss Sunshine
Shakeera Epps; Half Nelson
Jennifer Hudson; Dreamgirls

I removed Cate Blanchett all together as I think that the studio will not want to push for Judi and Cate in “Notes” as Judi’s role is much heavier and bigger. I added Shakeera Epps as she is getting a lot of play time and talk for her role in Half Nelson, and if this movie gains an audience and crtics, both her and Ryan Gosling will be nominated. If you also notice I removed “All the Kings Men” and Sean Penn from the list. One of the reasons is the poor reviews, but also most of the time, remakes never quite get it. Sean Penn is a tremendous actor, but Huey Long was done already by Broderick Crawford. I also removed Maggie Gylenhaal from the running, but chances are I will put her back in depending on the whole “Volver” thing. I know I put Leonardo in the running for his role in “Departed” instead of Damon, but if Damon gets nominated it will be for “Good Shepherd”.

So there they are, and I am sure they will change again, so keep checking us out!

 

Best Actress Updates

Update for Best Actress Predictions;
Nicole Kidman; Fur
Annette Bening; Running With Scissors
Maggie Gylenhaal; Sherrybaby
Judi Dench; Notes on a Scandel
Helen Mirren; Queen