Now that the summer blockbuster season has officially drawn to a close, the industrys attention has turned towards the films most likely to vie for contention at the 87th Academy Awards on February 22 next year. The Oscars ceremony is notoriously hit and miss (emphasis on the latter) and typically laid low by uneven hosts, a stuffy atmosphere, the interminable running time and an overbearing sense of self-importance. That being said, the one part almost immune to criticism is the In Memoriam segment paying tribute to the stars and starlets who are no longer with us. Its easy to grow unfeasibly attached to the actors we welcome into our living rooms on a regular basis, and sadly the people responsible for next years segment have their hands full as the likes of Lauren Bacall, Robin Williams and Bob Hoskins have recently passed on. Given the sheer amount of product churned out by Hollywood, it is somewhat inevitable that instances of life imitating art pop up occasionally. Numerous films and television shows featured plot points and elements that appeared to foreshadow 9/11 none more so than the X-Files spin-off The Lone Gunmen, in which the pilot episodes storyline concerned a plot to fly a commercial aircraft into high-rise buildings. Such instances are surely coincidence and nothing more, but every now and then and in particular where our favourite actors are concerned its enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. To paraphrase Game of Thrones, all actors must die, but sometimes the manner in which this comes to pass means that the work they leave behind takes on a decidedly eerie quality.
I watch movies and I watch sport. I also watch movies about sport, and if there were a sport about movies I'd watch that too. The internet was the closest thing I could find.
