The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that Robert Altman has been voted an Honorary Award by the Board of Governors of the Academy. An Oscar® statuette will be awarded Altman at the 78th Academy Awards® on March 5, 2006. Altman has never taken home an Oscar, despite receiving five Academy Award nominations for directing (M*A*S*H, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts and Gosford Park) and two nominations as a producer (Nashville and Gosford Park). Mr. Altman’s current film, “A Prairie Home Companion” is in post-production and has a planned release date of June 2006, according to it’s North American distributor Picturehouse Films.
At a press conference at the Berlinale, Robert Altman was asked whether he had felt snubbed in the past by the Academy. Altman joked: “Let’s get on their case. What’s the reason for it? I’ve always handed my name into the contest.” He then added: “I’m very happy, very proud about that. I can’t think of a better award. To me, it’s better to be recognized for all my work than just for a couple of things.” Photo of Robert Altman with Meryl Streep at the “A Prairie Home Companion” press conference in Berlin.
Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop’s blog about Robert Altman’s “A Prairie Home Companion” screening at the Berlin International Film Festival was one of the first to suggest that Altman’s radio drama is the frontrunner of the 2006 Berlinale. The Aussie’s report also has interesting tidbits from the press conference with Robert Altman, Meryl Streep and Lindsay Lohan. We’ll have to wait and see what Charlotte Rampling and jury decide is the best film of the festival, but Rubinsztein-Dunlop is giving Altman’s movie his vote: “Judging from the critical response, this is my pick so far for the Golden Bear.” It appears that The Guardian agrees saying that “critics left its screening in raptures.” Geoff Andrew of the Time Out Movie Blog reports that he “arrived too late in Berlin to attend the press screening, and there were no tickets left for the official premiere screening, but I did manage to get into the first screening attended by the public, who responded to the movie with huge enthusiasm, much laughter, and very lengthy applause.” So, it appears that Altman’s “A Prairie Home Companion” may be both a critical and commercial success if the rest of the world goes the way of Berlin.
Robert Altman’s film adaptation of Garrison Keillor’s popular radio program “A Prairie Home Companion,” is one of twenty-three entries in the official program of the Berlin International Film Festival. The 56th Berlinale, the first major European film festival of 2006, runs February 9-19. The February 12 screening of “A Prairie Home Companion” will be the first public screening of Altman’s most recent film and one of nineteen world premieres to be held at the festival. “A Prairie Home Companion” has a stellar ensemble cast that includes Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Maya Rudolph, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly and Garrison Keillor, who plays himself. Tim Russell and Sue Scott, known for their work as voice-over talent and radio actors on “A Prairie Home Companion,” are also featured in Altman’s film adaptation. The eight-member international jury that will award the festival’s top Golden Bear prize is led by Charlotte Rampling.
Tim Russell and Sue Scott are setting sail again with Garrison Keillor and the rest of the PHC crew on Prairie Home Cruise II. The cruise launches July 14, from Seattle for a week of sailing along the coast of British Columbia and Alaska, returning to Seattle on July 21, where “A Prairie Home Companion” will be taped for broadcast on July 22, from the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery. Joining Garrison Keillor on board will be The Royal Academy of Radio Actors (a.k.a. Tim Russell and Sue Scott), the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band and Robin and Linda Williams, in addition to musicians and “expert naturalists” from the Pacific Northwest. Cruise registration begins on January 31. Book your berths on the Prairie Home Cruise II soon as the 2005 PHC cruise from Boston sold out in a jiffy.
Twin Cities voice actors, Sue Scott and Tim Russell are featured on “Dusty and Lefty: The Lives of the Cowboys,” a new audio CD available online at Pretty Good Goods. In six complete sketches drawn from live broadcasts, A Prairie Home Companion’s beloved cowpokes, Dusty (Tim Russell) and Lefty (Garrison Keillor) cope with issues that only these crusty saddle bums can face out on the range. Listen as Dusty and Lefty grapple with hangovers and citrusy aftershave, drive a herd of 10,000 free range chickens and tangle with Big Messer (Tom Keith), a rival cowpuncher. Includes Dusty (Tim Russell) crooning on a few songs, too.
Voice-over talent and regular PHC cast members, Sue Scott and Tim Russell are featured along with Garrison Keillor and the rest of the “A Prairie Home Companion” gang on the latest PHC recording release, “A Prairie Home Companion: It’s Only a Show.” The two-hour 2 CD collection of songs, sketches, commercials and “News from Lake Wobegon” monologues – spanning 31 years of live radio broadcasts – is available online at Pretty Good Goods.
“The Adventures of Guy Noir” has been nominated for a 2005 Grammy in the category of Best Spoken Word Album. This collection of Guy Noir episodes follows the radio private eye (Garrison Keillor) as he solves cases that other St. Paul gumshoes won’t touch. Featuring Garrison Keillor and The Royal Academy of Radio Acting (aka: Tim Russell and Sue Scott) of A Prairie Home Companion.
