Sheila Benson, who was chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times from 1981-1991, died February 23 in Seattle. She was 91.
A gregarious enthusiast who always hoped for the best when the lights went down, Benson came from a family with strong ties to the film industry. She was born in New York City, where her father, Dwight Franklin, created dioramas for the American Museum of Natural History before heading for Hollywood in the mid-1920s to work on the Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckler The Black Pirate. For the next 25 years, Franklin worked in various capacities on many films, notably handling costumes on several major Cecil B. DeMille productions.
Benson’s mother, Mary C. McCall Jr., studied at Vassar and Trinity College in Dublin, and in 1932 published her first novel, The Goldfish Bowl. The book was bought by Warner Bros and that same year was made into a film called It’s...
A gregarious enthusiast who always hoped for the best when the lights went down, Benson came from a family with strong ties to the film industry. She was born in New York City, where her father, Dwight Franklin, created dioramas for the American Museum of Natural History before heading for Hollywood in the mid-1920s to work on the Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckler The Black Pirate. For the next 25 years, Franklin worked in various capacities on many films, notably handling costumes on several major Cecil B. DeMille productions.
Benson’s mother, Mary C. McCall Jr., studied at Vassar and Trinity College in Dublin, and in 1932 published her first novel, The Goldfish Bowl. The book was bought by Warner Bros and that same year was made into a film called It’s...
- 3/3/2022
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Authors and university professors Samantha N. Sheppard and J.E. Smyth on Monday were named 2021 Academy Film Scholars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The grant, presented annually by the organization, is given to established scholars whose projects are focused on an aspect of filmmaking and the film industry.
The Academy’s Educational Grants Committee will award Sheppard and Smyth $25,000 apiece for their proposals: Sheppard will write A Black W/hole: Phantom Cinemas and the Reimagining of Black Women’s Media Histories, while Smythe will write Maisie: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Most Powerful Woman, the latter a biography of the first female Screen Writers Guild president Mary C. McCall Jr.
They join 14 other Academy Film Scholars who are currently working on projects and 21 other scholars whose works have been published.
“For the third year in a row, we are delighted to support the brilliant research of two women scholars,...
The Academy’s Educational Grants Committee will award Sheppard and Smyth $25,000 apiece for their proposals: Sheppard will write A Black W/hole: Phantom Cinemas and the Reimagining of Black Women’s Media Histories, while Smythe will write Maisie: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Most Powerful Woman, the latter a biography of the first female Screen Writers Guild president Mary C. McCall Jr.
They join 14 other Academy Film Scholars who are currently working on projects and 21 other scholars whose works have been published.
“For the third year in a row, we are delighted to support the brilliant research of two women scholars,...
- 7/19/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named Samantha N. Sheppard and J.E. Smyth as the 2021 Academy Film Scholars on Monday.
The annual grant is given to established scholars whose projects are focused on some aspect of filmmaking and the film industry. The Academy’s Educational Grants Committee will award Sheppard and Smyth each $25,000 on the basis of their proposals.
Sheppard is an associate professor at Cornell University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and a B.A. in Film and Television Studies and Women and Gender Studies from Dartmouth College. Her book project, “A Black W/hole: Phantom Cinemas and the Reimagining of Black Women’s Media Histories,” will address the voids in cinema and media scholarship relating to Black women’s creative practices, histories, traditions, and discourses. Through a series of case studies,...
The annual grant is given to established scholars whose projects are focused on some aspect of filmmaking and the film industry. The Academy’s Educational Grants Committee will award Sheppard and Smyth each $25,000 on the basis of their proposals.
Sheppard is an associate professor at Cornell University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and a B.A. in Film and Television Studies and Women and Gender Studies from Dartmouth College. Her book project, “A Black W/hole: Phantom Cinemas and the Reimagining of Black Women’s Media Histories,” will address the voids in cinema and media scholarship relating to Black women’s creative practices, histories, traditions, and discourses. Through a series of case studies,...
- 7/19/2021
- by Lawrence Yee
- The Wrap
Veterans Day movies on TCM: From 'The Sullivans' to 'Patton' (photo: George C. Scott in 'Patton') This evening, Turner Classic Movies is presenting five war or war-related films in celebration of Veterans Day. For those outside the United States, Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day, which takes place in late May. (Scroll down to check out TCM's Veterans Day movie schedule.) It's good to be aware that in the last century alone, the U.S. has been involved in more than a dozen armed conflicts, from World War I to the invasion of Iraq, not including direct or indirect military interventions in countries as disparate as Iran, Guatemala, and Chile. As to be expected in a society that reveres people in uniform, American war movies have almost invariably glorified American soldiers even in those rare instances when they have dared to criticize the military establishment.
- 11/12/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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