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I love making lists of stuff. Films, TV shows, books, songs... anything. So, in anticipation to the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, I thought it would be fun to make a list of my favourite Best Picture winners. I did a similar thing back in 2017, but I've watched a few more winnings films since then, so this is an updated version of my top 20 favourite Best Picture winners. Please bear in mind that I haven't seen every single film that has won the award, so my choices are based on the ones that I have in fact seen so far.   20. Rain Man (1988) Directed by Barry Levinson, Rain Man  is the story of an abrasive and self-centered wheeler-dealer named Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion dollar estate to his other son, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), an autistic savant who lives in a world of his own and of whose existence Charlie was completely unaware. Besides winning for Best Picture, Rain Man also receiv...

In anticipation to the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, which will be held on April 25, I have decided to write a series of articles related to the most prestigious awards in the movie industry. Two weeks ago I talked about the birth of the Academy Awards , and last week I wrote about Wings (1927), the first ever film to win the statuette for Best Picture. For this week, I bring you 10 interesting facts about the Academy Awards, plus some bonus facts. (All of these stand true as of the writing of this post; changes may occur in the future. )   1. The least and most expensive winners Moonlight (2017), directed by Barry Jenkins, stands as the lowest-budgeted film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, with a budget of $1.5 million. In contrast, James Cameron's Titanic (1997) is the most expensive winner, with a budget of $200 million. Bonus fact: Moonlight is also the first film with an all-black cast to win Best Picture.   2. Dual nominations for the same role Barry Fit...

Wings  (1927) was the first ever film to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since then, it has become one of the most acclaimed and influential war dramas, noted for its technical realism and spectacular air-combat sequences. This is the story of how it came to be made.   Part I: A man and his story The concept for Wings originated from a writer trying to sell one of his stories. In September 1924, Byron Morgan approached Jesse L. Lasky, then the vice-president of Famous Players-Lasky, a component of Paramount Pictures, proposing that the studio do an aviation film. Morgan suggested an «incident and plot» focused on the failure of the American aerial effort during World War I, and the effect that the country's «aviation unpreparedness» would have in upcoming conflicts. Lasky liked Morgan's idea, and approved the project under the working title The Menace .   (from left to right) Byron Morgan (1889-1963); Jesse L. Lasky (1880-1958).   During his development...

The Academy Awards, widely known as the «Oscars,» are the most famous and prestigious competitive awards in the entertainment industry. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, they are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements. In anticipation of the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, which will be held three weeks from today, on April 25, here is the story of how it all began.   Part I: Louis B. Mayer and the creation of the Academy In early January 1927, MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer invited a few people to dinner at his home. Later in the evening, while he was playing solitaire, he overheard actor Conrad Nagel and other guests discussing the advisability of creating an organization that would benefit the entire Hollywood movie industry. Mayer, the «filmmaking force of his time,» was interested in the idea and soon arranged a meeting with Nagel, director Fred Niblo and the head of the Association of Motion Picture Producers, Fr...