And Now The News: Update for September 1999
- George C. Scott dead at 71
George Campbell Scott's 50-year reign as one of the emperors of acting ended September 22 at his home in Westlake Village, CA.
Born October 18, 1927, in Wise, VA, Scott grew up in Detroit. After a four-year stint in the Marine Corps, he decided on a career in journalism. Fortunately, he changed his mind and switched to acting. After four years working with stock companies in the US and Canada, he debuted in New York in 1957 as Jacques in As You Like It. His performance was the first of many to earn him an award. Some he agreed to accept. Others, like his 1970 Oscar for Patton, he turned down.
His most memorable brush with science fiction cinema was, of course, as General Bud Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's classic war-is-ridiculous classic Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Despite playing the part with tongue so far in cheek is was practically sticking out his ear, he never once fell into caricature. It was that ability to push the edge of his characters without ever demeaning them, infusing them with passions that always seemed on the verge of taking over and never did, that made him the peerless performer he was.
Despite failing health in the last few years, Scott never stopped working. He won an Emmy for his part in HBO's remake of the classic 12 Angry Men in 1998 and appeared in the channel's new version of Inherit the Wind in May of this year. His final big-screen moments are in Sidney Lumet's Gloria.
- Jackson completes main LOTR casting
With shooting due to begin in New Zealand next month, director Peter Jackson has filled in the last few blanks in The Fellowship of the Ring.
With Ian Holm set to play Bilbo Baggins and Elijah Wood cast as Frodo, speculation has been lunatic as to who would fill out the remainder of the slots in the Ringbearer's party. Most fans are still waiting to see whether Stuart Townshend will be the consummate Aragorn or just another pretty face to draw the teeny-boppers, but few are concerned that Ian McKellen won't be able to handle Gandalf.
It was McKellen who resolved most of the mystery when he added a LOTR journal to his official website. He promises to provide regular essays on the filming and has already posted an official credit list.
Veteran actor John Rhys-Davies will play Gimli the Dwarf, while relative unknowns Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd will portray Frodo's young companions Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took respectively. Actors with roles of short stature will have their images enhanced to reduce their height, according to Jackson.
The copyright of the article And Now The News: Update for September 1999 in Science Fiction Films is owned by Elizabeth Burton. Permission to republish And Now The News: Update for September 1999 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.Articles in this Topic Discussions in this Topic
Latest Articles