Paul Hackett

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Budd Schulberg died Wednesday at the age of 95.

As a screenwriter he is best known for On The Waterfront (1954) and A Face in the Crowd(1957).  He is also the author of two of my favorite Hollywood books. One is the memoirs of his childhood growing up in Hollywood: Moving Pictures: Memories of a Hollywood Prince. He also wrote the popular 1941 novel What Makes Sammy Run? Both present candid views of life inside America’s dream factory.

Budd Schulberg lived an  interesting life. The Washington Post has a good Budd Schulberg obituary.

Screen legend and cool guy Paul Newman has died. He was 83.

In a career spanning 50 years Newman acted in over 65 movies. His New York Times obituary describes him as “one of the last of the great 20th-century movie stars.” For more on the life of this Hollywood titan, check out his Washington Post obituary: Forget Cool: Paul Newman Knew How to Play It Smart.

Oscar winning director Sydney Pollack died of cancer on Monday. He was 73.

One of the things I admire most about Sydney’s work is that he is a real storyteller. While the movie landscape changed so much over his long career, he always made movies that were story centered. He may be known to many as an actor’s director, but to me, he is a wonderful storyteller.

If you’re interested in reading more about this great American director, The New York Times obituary is here: Sydney Pollack, Film Director, Is Dead at 73.

Vanity Fair has published a revealing and moving piece on one of Arthur Miller’s darkest secrets. The article is about his rarely mentioned fourth child Daniel, a boy with Down-syndrome that was sent off to an institution and never publicly acknowledged by the famous playwright. Do yourself a favor and read Arthur Miller’s Missing Act.

While reading this captivating piece the question that immediately came to my mind was: when is someone going to turn this into a movie? Biopics of the recently deceased are always touchy subjects, but taking an unusual vantage point, like the point of view of the son who knew who his father was but never knew him, has real dramatic potential.

Dramatizing the obvious gap between what a person says and what he does always makes interesting viewing. This real life story even makes room for the possibility of a happy ending, with the elder Miller receiving some kind of redemption by a final noble deed prior to his death. But the article hits the mark when it suggests: “The important part of the story is that Danny transcended his father’s failures.” Could there be a better theme for a story than that?

Only a day after writing about the death of Ingmar Bergman, Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni has also died. He was 94.

The legendary Italian director is another cornerstone of the art film world. Two of his most memorable films from his six decade career include “Blow-Up” and “L’Avventura.”

Once again, The Washington Post has an obituary in their online entertainment section.

Academy Award-winning Swedish writer-director Ingmar Bergman has died at his home at the age of 89. Bergman really defines the whole oeuvre of art film. His dark and often psychological stories include Persona, The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries.

The Washington Post has a well written obituary: Swedish Film Director Ingmar Bergman Dies at 89