Word of Mouth is putting on the glam, rolling out the red carpet, and practicing our best paparazzi poses for the Academy Awards this Sunday. (Isn't everyone?) But first we're preparing with some film history – smear campaigns, artistic title sequences, and controversial kisses in films have been wowing fans and critics for decades. This Sunday marks the 86th Academy Awards, but not all movies are Oscar-worthy. Hence The RAZZIES, whose goal it is to recognize the worst of the worst. So whether you're preparing for the red carpet or a drive to the office, we've got a star-studded show worth that extra time in the makeup chair or pickup truck.
Listen to the full show and click Read more for individual segments.
Oscar Smear Campaigns
- Enraged by his ostensible likeness to the title character or Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst reportedly did everything in his power to destroy the film. Although he couldn’t prevent its release, he was able to squash its success at the box office, and foil its chances for best picture. Hearst’s attack was the first and perhaps most aggressive smear campaign in the Academy Awards’ eighty-six year history – but there have been plenty more since. Marlow Stern, entertainment editor at The Daily Beast, wrote about the worst and joined us to talk about them. How do you like them apples?
The Art of Title Sequences
- From Woody Allen’s consistent Windsor font on black screen to Hitchcock’s use of designer Saul Bass, the title sequences of certain films open up our minds and burn into our memories. Roman Mars of 99 Percent Invisible brings usthis story of thecareful art of title sequences
- Also check outthese awesome title sequences we collected, including Vertigo, The Pink Panther, and The Shining.
The RAZZIES
- Unlike The Oscars, The RAZZIESwill be celebrating the year’s worst films, most pathetic performances, and cringe-worthy screenplays this Saturday night. John Wilson is creator and head RAZZberry.
Dana Gould on The Omega Man
- In addition to being a standup comedian and television actor Dana Gould was also a longtime writer and producer on The Simpsons where his love of b-films and science-fiction often crept into his writing. Here he shares a story from his podcast The Dana Gould Hour, about a science fiction film from 1971 that broke ground, not for its special effects, but for featuring one of the first interracial kisses in celluloid history.
If you're talking about surviving the apocalypse, or anything apocalypse adjacent, you have to talk about The Omega Man.