This Day in Pop Culture for December 15

1939: ‘Gone with the Wind’ Opens in Theaters

Directed by Victor Fleming, Gone with the Wind deals with the strong-willed southern belle Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), her secret crush Ashley (Leslie Howard), good friend Melanie (Olivia de Havilland) and the arrogant Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) during the American Civil War.

About 1,400 women auditioned for the role of Scarlett. Filming of the picture was delayed by two years as producer David O. Selznick wanted to secure Gable for the role. At 221 minutes in length, some reviewers felt that the movie was overly long, but that was actually shorter than the original script length.

The film received 13 Academy Award nominations and won ten Oscars including Outstanding Production (Best Picture), Best Director (Victor Fleming), Actress (Leigh), Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel), Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography and Film Editing.

McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award. (Image: MGM)

1978: The LaserDisc Begins to Shine

The LaserDisc, also known as DiscoVision, came to the United States on this day in 1978. It came two years after the VHS VCR and four years before the CD and was often referred to as “video long play.” The very first film to be marketed on the new format was Jaws. Japan continued printing new movies until 2001 (the last film was Bringing Out the Dead) but even so, LaserDisc players continued in production there until January 2009.

1989: When Miss Daisy Went for a Drive

The story of Driving Miss Daisy spans over 25 years of an employer/employee relationship. Taking place in 1948, Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy) is a white, retired schoolteacher who lives alone with the exception of Idella, her black housekeeper. After she has an auto accident, the 72-old widow finds that she is no longer fit to drive. Her son, Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) ends up buying her a Hudson Commodore along with a chauffeur to go with it. The only problem is, Hoke Colburn, the chauffeur is black. Colburn (Morgan Freeman) is told by Boolie that she cannot fire him for any reason, because he will be Colburn’s employer.

It’s a rough relationship at the start, and Daisy does indeed try to get her son to fire Hoke, but eventually, she comes around and the two ultimately become great friends. The heartwarming story shows the progression of Daisy’s reluctance to accept Hoke and how she changes her racism toward her driver.

Directed by Bruce Beresford, the movie was written by Alfred Uhry and was based on his Off-Broadway play of the same name. It also starred Patti LuPone and Esther Rolle. The movie went on to earn nine Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars for Best Picture, Actress, Adapted Screenplay and Makeup.

2004: Eastwood’s ‘Million Dollar Baby‘

After premiering in New York, the sports movie drama, Million Dollar Baby opened wide on this day in 2004. The movie was directed, co-produced, scored by and starred Clint Eastwood opposite Hilary Swank. The movie was based on Jerry Boyd’s collection of stories called Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner. (Boyd was a former fight manager. He used “F.X. Toole” as his pen name.)

Eastwood played Frankie Dunn, an underappreciated boxing trainer who helps Mary Margaret “Maggie” Fitzgerald (Swank) to become a professional boxer. The movie also starred Morgan Freeman.

Million Dollar Baby was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actress and Supporting Actor.

2017: The Last Jedi of Star Wars

The Last Jedi, the eighth movie in the Star Wars franchise debuted in theaters with Rey (Daisy Ridley) seeking out Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) asking him to end his exile to help in the fight against Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). The film also featured characters from the past (General Leia Organa, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO and even Yoda, albeit as a ghostly spirit) and new characters (Maz Kanata, Finn, Poe Dameron, Rose Tico, Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo among others).

Directed by Rian Johnson, the movie did well with critics as it did with ticket sales. However, hardcore fans were less than amused, upset that George Lucas wasn’t involved in the making of the movie. Lucas however, stated that the movie was “beautifully made.”

1993: ‘Schindler’s List’ Ticket Sales Proved Spielberg Wrong

Directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, Schlindler’s List was based on Thomas Keneally novel, Schindler’s Ark. Both are based on real events that involved Oskar Schindler who helped saved over a thousand refugees from the Holocaust during World War II. He did this by hiring people to work in his factories. In addition to Liam Neeson, who played Schindler, the movie also starred Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, and Caroline Goodall.

Although Spielberg had an interest in making Schindler’s List after reading the novel, he initially wasn’t so sure if he was the right man to make this movie. However, he eventually accepted the challenge wanting to make a difference. He refused to get paid for the work.

Wanting the movie to have the look and feel as a documentary, Spielberg chose to film the movie in black and white. He said that he felt more like a reporter than a filmmaker. The movie had a budget of $22 million, and Spielberg was convinced that the movie would not do well in theaters. It ended up making over $300 million over the budget at the box office.

Schindler’s List was nominated for a dozen Academy Awards and won seven for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score (John Williams), Film Editing, Cinematography and Art Direction.