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Find Star Wars in Copyright | Copyright: Creativity at Work | Library of Congress

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May 4, 2022 by Alison Hall

One of many Star Wars registration cards.

If you’ve ever watched The Big Bang Theory, you know that the guys are obsessed with Star Wars.

In one episode, Leonard suggests a Star Wars marathon weekend to Sheldon, who replies with “Movies or video games? Or board games? Or trading card games? Or Legos? Or dress up? Or comic books? Or dramatic readings of novelizations? Yes to all!”

They settle on the online game. The scene just scratches the surface of all the Star Wars derivative works, many of which I owned “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . ” (or, more accurately, forty-some years ago in Pittsburgh).

So, just how many hits do you think searching “Star Wars” gets in the Copyright Public Records System? On this Star Wars Day, I got more than 8,400.

Searching “Star Wars” in the Copyright Public Records System found more than 8,400 results.

Now, not all of them are related to the first Star Wars movie, registered by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1977—for example, some are about the star wars defense system from the 1980s.

But most are on topic, and several can be seen in the Find Yourself in Copyright exhibit.

How do I find myself in Star Wars? I’m an old-school fan—the original trilogy was a huge part of my childhood. I know I’m not alone, given that all three original movies have been added to the National Film Registry. I remember seeing the films in the theater, and I remember how big of a deal it was when Star Wars was on TV for the first time. But even greater are my memories of the creative works that came from the movies.

Source: Find Star Wars in Copyright | Copyright: Creativity at Work

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Explained: What is Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer Based on? | Movieweb

Here’s a deep dive into the complexities of the father of the atomic bomb, Nolan’s subject in his upcoming film Oppenheimer.

By Andrew Sidhom, Published 3 days ago, March 4, 2022

From article…

Christopher Nolan will finally make his biopic. The famous director had a stunted attempt to mount one two decades ago when he penned a screenplay about aviator Howard Hughes, which he later described as the best screenplay he’s ever written. The project died when Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator went into production first. Now, Nolan is working on a film about the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer.

However, Oppenheimer may very well break conventional biopic expectations. Nolan took his script to Universal after a rift with longtime collaborators Warner Bros. regarding the studio’s new policies of distribution via streaming, and Universal is describing the film as an epic thriller about an enigmatic man.

Cast in the lead role, Cillian Murphy has stated that “the story is there, everybody knows what happened, but Chris is telling it in a different way, as with Chris you would expect. That’s all I can say.”

The picture has amassed a formidable cast and crew. The script is by Nolan, adapted from the Pultizer-winning book American Prometheus. Ludwig Goransson will write the music, Hoyte Van Hoytema will work as the film’s cinematographer, Emily Blunt will play Oppenheimer’s wife, Matt Damon will be the director of the Manhattan Project, which was responsible for the bomb’s development, and Robert Downey Jr. will be the chairman of a commission that questioned Oppenheimer’s loyalty to the United States.

In further casting news, Florence Pugh was announced as a Communist Party member who had an affair with Oppenheimer that alarmed U.S. officials, Benny Safdie was cast as Edward Teller who worked with Oppenheimer and was later the father of the hydrogen bomb, Rami Malek joined in an unknown scientist role, and Kenneth Branagh and Dane DeHaan were recently added to the star-studded list.

Source: Explained: What is Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer Based on?

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National Film Registry: Celebrating “Casablanca” (1942) | Now See Hear! | Library of Congress

March 2, 2022 by Stacie Seifrit-Griffin

It almost seems hard to believe that it was 80 years ago in 1942 that “Casablanca” was first released, and the world fell in love with its tale of courage, sacrifice and redemption.

On March 2, 1944 at the 16th Academy Awards, “Casablanca” took home the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Curtiz) and Best Screenplay (Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch).

In total, the film was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Humphrey Bogart); Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Claude Rains); Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Film Editing; and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

From article…

As time goes by (I couldn’t resist), the film’s memorable lines still make “Casablanca” one of Hollywood’s most quoted and beloved films of all time.

“Casablanca” was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1989, one of the first 25 films added in the Registry’s inaugural year.

Today, we look back at “Casablanca” with a thought-provoking essay from Jay Carr given to the Library of Congress from “The A List: The National Society of Film Critics’ 100 Essential Films, 2002.” He touches on the film’s backstory, the cast, those famous lines, and why we still watch it every time it’s on.

Here’s looking at you, kid…

Casablanca
By Jay Carr

It’s still the same old story. Maybe more so. “Casablanca” was never a great film, never a profound film.

It’s merely the most beloved movie of all time. In its (now 80 year) history, it has resisted the transmogrification of its rich, reverberant icons into camp. It’s not about the demimondaines washing through Rick’s Café Americain – at the edge of the world, at the edge of hope – in 1941.

Ultimately, it’s not even about Bogey and Ingrid Bergman sacrificing love for nobility. It’s about the hold movies have on us. That’s what makes it so powerful, so enduring. It is film’s analogue to Noel Coward’s famous line about the amazing potency of cheap music. Like few films before or since, it sums up Hollywood’s genius for recasting archetypes in big, bold, universally accessible strokes, for turning myth into pop culture.

Source: National Film Registry: Celebrating “Casablanca” (1942) | Now See Hear!

Arts & Humanities, Film & Movies, Memories & History, Pleasures

‘The Godfather’ Turns 50; Original Cast Hits Red Carpet To Celebrate Anniverary – YouTube

Via YouTube…