Oskar Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Alex's Asteroid Astrology

March 15th, 2024 at 09:17am by Alex Miller

96th Academy Awards Recap

The 96^th annual Academy Awards kicked off an hour earlier than usual this year, at 4 PM PDT in Los Angeles, California, with asteroid Oskar 750, for the nickname of the gold statuette given to winners, at 11 Sagittarius widely squared the Sun at 20 Pisces (which, aptly, conjoined Neptune, ruling film, at 27 Pisces). Oskar is also more closely trine the 14 Leo Ascendant of the event, its public face and the name commonly used to refer to the ceremony. Asteroid Academia 829 (for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which sponsors the awards) at 27 Aquarius conjoins Venus at 28 Aquarius, outing the Awards as the popularity contest they truly are.

January 25th, 2024 at 09:56am by Alex Miller

She’s Got Bette Davis Skies: An Asteroid Bio of Bette Davis

When it comes to Old Hollywood glamor, style and chic, nobody does it like Bette Davis. Which is ironic, because, unlike most actresses of her era, Bette never shied away from unglamorous parts, unlikeable characters, and unflattering makeup, even agreeing to aging techniques that had her convincingly playing a 60-year-old Virgin Queen when she was barely 30 herself.

January 19th, 2024 at 08:56am by Alex Miller

The Marvelous Ms. Meryl: An Asteroid Bio of Meryl Streep

What can be said of Meryl Streep? One of the most talented and versatile actresses of our day, Streep leads the pack in the race for the little gold statuette, with twenty-one Academy Award nominations and three wins. Only Kate Hepburn has more Oscars, with four victories, but considerably less nominations (just twelve). Streep is a skilled character actress, able to don a new guise in every film; a gifted mimic, assuming accents and dialects with ease; noted for dramatic work but able to turn out a good comedic performance when called for. Streep’s honors peak with her Oscar wins, but don’t stop there. Nominated collectively for more than 400 awards, when Emmys, Golden Globes, Grammys, Tonys and SAG awards are factored in, she has won over 200, about as good a batting average as anyone in the business.

January 9th, 2024 at 09:24am by Alex Miller

Grace Notes: An Asteroid Bio of Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly has always been one of my favorite actresses, despite a thin body of work, with just ten films to her credit over her truncated, five-year career. But what credits! “High Noon” with Gary Cooper; “Mogambo” with Clark Gable; “The Country Girl” with Bing Crosby and William Holden (which garnered her an Oscar); and three Hitchcock classics: “Dial M for Murder” with Ray Milland; “To Catch a Thief” with Cary Grant; and “Rear Window” with Jimmy Stewart. Kelly abruptly left show business at the peak of her career for a higher calling: to become a princess as the wife of Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The connection to royalty didn’t hurt one bit in my admiration of her.

March 14th, 2023 at 08:24am by Alex Miller

The 95th Academy Awards

The 95^th Academy Awards are now history, and it was a night of firsts and record-setting nominations. Angela Bassett was the first actor to be nominated for work in a film from the Marvel Comics franchise (for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), and sixteen of the twenty nominees in the acting awards were up for the accolade for the first time. Michelle Yeoh became the first performer of Asian descent to win Best Actress, Ke Huy Quan became the second to win Best Supporting Actor, after a gap of nearly forty years, and Daniel Kwan won for Best Director (all for “Everything Everywhere All At Once”). Composer and conductor John Williams became the oldest Oscar nominee ever, at age 91, though he failed to take home the gold statuette.

November 21st, 2022 at 08:47am by Alex Miller

“Casablanca” Turns 80: Here’s Looking at You, Kid!

When “Casablanca” was released in 1942, no one expected it would stand out among the hundreds of films churned out by Hollywood yearly, let alone achieve the iconic status it has. The film did reasonably well at the box office, but it wasn’t until it won the Academy Award for Best Picture that people began to take it seriously. Over the decades, “Casablanca” has earned an enduring place in movie-lovers’ hearts, with its star-studded leading players, supporting cast of popular ‘40s character actors, memorable dialogue, and iconic theme song, “As Time Goes By.” “Casablanca” regularly makes it to the top of the lists of the most popular movies of all time, and was one of the first films nominated by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry. It remains a personal favorite, and I never miss an opportunity to watch.