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    ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Iron Man’ Join National Film Registry

    Those movies, along with ‘Hairspray’ and ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ are among 25 selected by the Librarian of Congress.Ariel is officially part of the human world.“The Little Mermaid,” the 1989 Disney animated movie that revolves around a rebellious teenage mermaid fascinated by life on land, is among the motion pictures that have been selected for preservation this year on the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. Also being added are “Iron Man” (2008), the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and “When Harry Met Sally,” the beloved 1989 romantic comedy that begins with a pair of college graduates embarking on a cross-country drive from Chicago to New York.On Wednesday, the library plans to announce that a total of 25 more films, dating from 1898 to 2011, will be honored for their historical and cultural significance and added to the registry, helping to preserve them for future generations.The library also allows the public to nominate movies at its website, and other titles that were among the most submitted were Brian De Palma’s 1976 horror classic “Carrie,” an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same title; and “Betty Tells Her Story” (1972), the Liane Brandon film that was the first independent documentary of the women’s movement to explore issues of body image, self-worth and appearance in American culture.A group of notable comedies were also among the selections: “Hairspray,” John Waters’s 1988 musical about a bubbly, overweight Baltimore teenager and her friends who integrate a local TV dance show in the early 1960s; “Cyrano de Bergerac,” Michael Gordon’s 1950 adventure comedy adaptation that made José Ferrer the first Hispanic performer to win an Oscar for best actor; and “House Party,” Reginald Hudlin’s 1990 film about a high school student who sneaks out, a comedy that introduced hip-hop music and new jack swing to mainstream America.Two significant genre films were also included: “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” (1982), the Robert M. Young western that was part of the 1980s Chicano film movement and starred Edward James Olmos; and “Super Fly” (1972), Gordon Parks Jr.’s searing commentary on the American dream that is considered a classic of the Blaxploitation genre.The Projectionist Chronicles a New Awards SeasonThe Oscars aren’t until March, but the campaigns have begun. Kyle Buchanan is covering the films, personalities and events along the way.Golden Globe Nominations: Here are some of the most eyebrow-raising snubs and surprises from this year’s list of nominees.Gotham Awards: At the first official show of the season, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won big.Governors Awards: Stars like Jamie Lee Curtis and Brendan Fraser worked a room full of academy voters at the event, which is considered a barometer of film industry enthusiasm.Rian Johnson:  The “Glass Onion” director explains the streaming plan for his “Knives Out” franchise.Four films that broke ground in depicting LGBTQ+ issues onscreen were also selected: “Behind Every Good Man” (1967), Nikolai Ursin’s student short that offered an early look at Black gender fluidity in Los Angeles; “Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives” (1977), which was created by six queer filmmakers collectively known as the Mariposa Film Group and which featured a diverse group of gay men and lesbians discussing their lives at a time when such onscreen depictions were rare; “Tongues Untied” (1989), a video essay by Marlon Riggs about Black men loving Black men; and the most recent film to join the registry, Dee Rees’s “Pariah” (2011), about a Black teenager in Brooklyn as she comes to terms with her identity.The lineup also honors nine documentaries, including the oldest film in this year’s class, “Mardi Gras Carnival” (1898), the earliest known surviving footage of the New Orleans festival. It was long thought to be lost before being recently discovered at a museum in the Netherlands. Other nonfiction films being added include “Titicut Follies” (1967), Frederick Wiseman’s classic look inside the Bridgewater State Prison for the Criminally Insane in Massachusetts that exposed the abuse of patients; and “Union Maids” (1976), a portrait of three female labor activists involved in workers’ movements from the early 1930s to the present. That film was directed by Julia Reichert, who died last week, James Klein and Miles Mogulescu.The Library of Congress said in a statement that these additions bring the total number of titles on the registry to 850, chosen for “their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage.” Movies must be at least 10 years old to be eligible, and are chosen by Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, after consulting with members of the National Film Preservation Board and other specialists. More than 6,800 films were nominated by the public this year.A television special, featuring several of these titles and a conversation between Hayden and the film historian Jacqueline Stewart, will be shown Dec. 27 on TCM.Here is the complete list of the 25 movies being added to the National Film Registry:1. “Mardi Gras Carnival” (1898)2. “Cab Calloway Home Movies” (1948-51)3. “Cyrano de Bergerac” (1950)4. “Charade” (1963)5. “Scorpio Rising” (1963)6. “Behind Every Good Man” (1967)7. “Titicut Follies” (1967)8. “Mingus” (1968)9. “Manzanar” (1971)10. “Super Fly” (1972)11. “Betty Tells Her Story” (1972)12. “Attica” (1974)13. “Carrie” (1976)14. “Union Maids” (1976)15. “Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives” (1977)16. “Bush Mama” (1979)17. “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” (1982)18. “Itam Hakim, Hopiit” (1984)19. “Hairspray” (1988)20. “The Little Mermaid” (1989)21. “Tongues Untied” (1989)22. “When Harry Met Sally” (1989)23. “House Party” (1990)24. “Iron Man” (2008)25. “Pariah” (2011) More

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    National Film Registry Adds 25 New Films, Including 'Return of the Jedi'

    Those movies, along with “Selena,” “Wall-E” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” are among 25 selected by the Librarian of Congress.It’s not just Gollum who thinks a certain ring is precious.The first in Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), is among the motion pictures that have been chosen for preservation this year on the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. Also being added are the final installment in another beloved trilogy, “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi,” and the disarmingly sweet Pixar comedy “Wall-E.”On Tuesday, the library plans to make its annual announcement that 25 more films, dating from 1902 to 2008, will be honored for their historical and cultural significance and added to the registry, helping to preserve them for future generations.The selection of “Return of the Jedi” (1983) is the culmination of a yearslong campaign by “Star Wars” fans to add the film to the registry. Hispanic lawmakers and experts earlier this year had also pushed for the inclusion of “Selena,” Gregory Nava’s 1997 biopic of the Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez that starred Jennifer Lopez in her first major film role. Supporters hoped that choosing it could serve as an example that would help open more doors for Latinos in movies and television.A group of notable films are also among the selections: “Sounder,” Martin Ritt’s 1972 drama about a family of Black sharecroppers in 1930s Louisiana that earned Cicely Tyson an Oscar nomination for best actress; “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” Wes Craven’s 1984 horror classic that starred Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger; and “Wall-E,” Andrew Stanton’s 2008 Pixar sci-fi film about the last robot left on Earth, which won an Oscar for best animated feature.This year’s class also includes a pair of cult favorites: “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,” Robert Aldrich’s 1962 thriller about an aging child star (Bette Davis) left to care for her sister (Joan Crawford), and “Pink Flamingos,” John Waters’s 1972 underground comedy starring Divine.The library noted that the lineup includes a number of films by influential directors of color, among them “The Watermelon Woman” (1996), the first feature by Cheryl Dunye, who also starred as a young Black lesbian struggling to make a documentary about a beautiful actress; “Cooley High” (1975), Michael Schultz’s comedy about Black high school seniors in 1960s Chicago; and “Chicana” (1979), Sylvia Morales’s 22-minute documentary tracing the history of Chicana and Mexican women.Three documentaries that address racially motivated violence against people of color have also been selected: “The Murder of Fred Hampton” (1971), Howard Alk and Mike Gray’s look at the leader of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party (Hampton was also the subject of a studio drama this year, “Judas and the Black Messiah”); “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” (1987), Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña’s examination of the fatal beating of a young Chinese American engineer by two white men in Detroit; and “Requiem-29” (1970), David Garcia’s chronicle of a brutal police attack on Chicano protesters in Los Angeles in 1970 that left the journalist Ruben Salazar dead.The lineup also honors several silent films that challenged stereotypes, including the oldest film in this year’s class, “Ringling Brothers Parade Film” (1902), a three-minute recording of a circus parade in Indianapolis that also shows a prosperous northern Black community. “The Flying Ace” (1926) is an aviation romance with an all-Black cast, and “Hellbound Train” (1930), made by the Black evangelical couple James and Eloyce Gist, was played in churches to scare sinners straight.The Library of Congress said in a statement that these additions bring the total number of titles on its registry to 825, chosen “because of their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage.” Movies must be at least 10 years old to be eligible, and are picked by Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, after consulting with members of the National Film Preservation Board and other specialists. The library also allows the public to submit nominations at its website. More than 6,100 films were nominated this year, with the highest number of votes going to “Return of the Jedi.”A television special, featuring several of these films and a conversation between Hayden and the film historian Jacqueline Stewart, will be shown Friday on TCM.Here is the complete list of the 25 movies chosen for the National Film Registry:1. “Ringling Brothers Parade Film” (1902)2. “Jubilo” (1919)3. “The Flying Ace” (1926)4. “Hellbound Train” (1930)5. “Flowers and Trees” (1932)6. “Strangers on a Train” (1951)7. “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962)8. “Evergreen” (1965)9. “Requiem-29” (1970)10. “The Murder of Fred Hampton” (1971)11. “Pink Flamingos” (1972)12. “Sounder” (1972)13. “The Long Goodbye” (1973)14. “Cooley High” (1975)15. “Richard Pryor: Live in Concert” (1979)16. “Chicana” (1979)17. “The Wobblies” (1979)18. “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi” (1983)19. “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)20. “Stop Making Sense” (1984)21. “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” (1987)22. “The Watermelon Woman” (1996)23. “Selena” (1997)24. “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)25. “Wall-E” (2008) More

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    U.S. Lawmakers Suggest 25 Movies About Latinos to the Film Registry

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyU.S. Lawmakers Suggest 25 Movies About Latinos to the Film RegistryBy diversifying the films added to the national registry, members of Congress hope that more opportunities will open up for Latinos in Hollywood.Salma Hayek during the shooting of “Frida“ (2002), which is on the list of the caucus’s nominees.Credit…Miramax FilmsMarch 8, 2021The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is continuing work it started in January, when it nominated the movie “Selena” for the National Film Registry, with a list of 25 more films it would like to see the registry add.The movies nominated by the caucus last week are from as early as 1982, and they also include films like “Spy Kids” (2001), a comedy featuring a Latino family, and “Frida” (2002), an Oscar-winning movie about the artist Frida Kahlo. The registry typically adds new movies in December.“It is essential that the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry reflect the true diversity of American culture,” the chairman of the caucus, Representative Raul Ruiz, a Democrat from California, said in a statement. “Including more Latino films in the National Film Registry will help elevate Latino stories, promote an inclusive media landscape, and empower Latino filmmakers and storytellers.”Established by Congress in 1988, the registry preserves films that it deems “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” Each year, a committee selects 25 films to add.“The Library of Congress is grateful for the nominations from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and for their interest in the National Film Registry,” Brett Zongker, a spokesman for the Library of Congress, said in a statement, adding, “The registry seeks to ensure the preservation of films that showcase the range and diversity” of America’s film heritage.Latinos make up the largest minority group in the United States, at 18.5 percent of the population. But they continue to be underrepresented in films and on television. A 2019 study from the University of Southern California’s School for Communication and Journalism found that only 4.5 percent of all speaking characters across 1,200 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2018 were Latino.Of the nearly 800 films in the registry, at least 17 are examples of Latino stories. The number of Latino directors in the registry is tiny: There are 11. Of them, nine are men and two are women.Representative Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, led the move for nominations. Latino creators and their stories are often pushed away by gatekeepers of American culture, like Hollywood and the national registry, Castro has said. He added that Latinos are often portrayed negatively in all media — as gang members, drug dealers or hypersexualized women.In a letter to the Librarian of Congress, Castro and Ruiz wrote that such misconceptions and stereotyping in media are significant factors “motivating ongoing anti-Latino sentiment in American society,” affecting areas “from immigration law to the education system to the current public health crisis.”The caucus’s list was developed through feedback from constituents, and movies were also identified by, among others, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, the National Hispanic Foundation of the Arts, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and the Latinx House (which uses a gender-neutral term for Latinos).“Our stories have often been missing from American film, and even less often been recognized as important cultural pieces in American history,” Castro said in a phone interview. “This is an effort to change that.”The 25 films the caucus chose reflect stories from a variety of nationalities, including Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Colombian, Argentine, Salvadoran and Nicaraguan.The list speaks to many parts of the Latino experience, including people who are native to the United States and its territories and those who migrated to the country because of its politics and interventions in Latin America, Theresa Delgadillo, a Chicana and Latina studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an interview.“It is an important way to influence that diversity effort in an industry,” Delgadillo said about the caucus’s effort.She and other professors, though excited about the effort, were also critical of the list, because, they say, there were few stories about Latinas and L.G.B.T.Q. people. AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Blues Brothers’ Join National Film Registry

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Blues Brothers’ Join National Film RegistryThe movies, along with “A Clockwork Orange” and “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” are among 25 selected by the Library of Congress.John Belushi, left, Aretha Franklin and Dan Aykroyd from “The Blues Brothers,” a new addition to the  National Film Registry.Credit…NBC/UniversalDec. 14, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ETAs the oft-quoted line from “The Dark Knight” goes, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Now a more respectable immortality awaits this 2008 Christopher Nolan superhero blockbuster, which earned Heath Ledger a posthumous Academy Award for his performance as the Joker: it is among the memorable motion pictures, along with “Shrek,” “A Clockwork Orange” and “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” that have been chosen for preservation this year on the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry.On Monday, the library plans to make its annual announcement that it has selected a new roster of 25 films, from 1913 to 2010, that will be honored for their historical and cultural significance and added to this registry, helping to preserve them for future generations.Those selections include milestone films like “Lilies of the Field,” the 1963 drama for which Sidney Poitier became the first Black man to win best actor at the Oscars; and “The Hurt Locker,” Kathryn Bigelow’s 2008 war drama for which she became the first woman to win the best director Oscar.This year’s list also includes “Kid Auto Races at Venice,” the 1914 Keystone Studios comedy that was the first released film to feature Charlie Chaplin playing the character of the Little Tramp.Commercial hits like the animated “Shrek” (2001); the musical “Grease” (1978); and “The Blues Brothers” (1980), the comedy based on John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s recurring “Saturday Night Live” characters, have been chosen as well.The library noted that this year it had added nine films directed or co-directed by women. They include “Outrage” (1950), a drama from Ida Lupino and starring Mala Powers as a rape victim recovering from her trauma; “Suspense” (1913), a silent thriller written by, starring and co-directed by Lois Weber; and Kathleen Collins’s “Losing Ground” (1982), one of the few features of its time to be written and directed by a Black woman.All told, seven films from people of color were selected this year, the library said. They also include Melvin Van Peebles’s blaxploitation thriller “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” (1971); and “Freedom Riders” (2010), Stanley Nelson’s documentary about 1960s civil-rights activism in segregated America.Additional films include Otto Preminger’s drug-addiction drama “The Man With the Golden Arm” (1955), which starred Frank Sinatra; “A Clockwork Orange” (1971), Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the dystopian Anthony Burgess novel; Wayne Wang’s “The Joy Luck Club” (1993), adapted from the Amy Tan novel; the concert film “Wattstax” (1973); and Wim Wenders’s musical documentary “Buena Vista Social Club” (1999).The Library of Congress said in a statement that these additions bring the total number of titles on its preservation registry to 800. Films must be at least 10 years old and “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” to be considered. Nominations can be made by the public at loc.gov/film and selections are made by Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. A television special, featuring several of these films and discussions between Hayden and the film historian Jacqueline Stewart, will be shown Tuesday evening on TCM.Here is the complete list of the 25 movies chosen for the National Film Registry:1. “Suspense” (1913)2. “Kid Auto Races at Venice” (1914)3. “Bread” (1918)4. “The Battle of the Century” (1927)5. “With Car and Camera Around the World” (1929)6. “Cabin in the Sky” (1943)7. “Outrage” (1950)8. “The Man With the Golden Arm” (1955)9. “Lilies of the Field” (1963)10. “A Clockwork Orange” (1971)11. “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” (1971)12. “Wattstax” (1973)13. “Grease” (1978)14. “The Blues Brothers” (1980)15. “Losing Ground” (1982)16. “Illusions” (1982)17. “The Joy Luck Club” (1993)18. “The Devil Never Sleeps” (1994)19. “Buena Vista Social Club” (1999)20. “The Ground” (1993-2001)21. “Shrek” (2001)22. “Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege” (2006)23. “The Hurt Locker” (2008)24. “The Dark Knight” (2008)25. “Freedom Riders” (2010)AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More