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For anyone in or around Montreal, a retrospective of Yves St. Laurent's works is now on at the Montreal Museum Of Fine Arts.

Sydney Pollack had the greatest Best Picture Oscar presenters in the history of the Oscars - Billy Wilder, John Huston and Akira Kurosawa for Out of Africa.

At the time I thought he didn't deserve it (and in the grand scheme of things when you consider the numerous film makers who didn't even get nominated, maybe he didn't) but with the passage of time I'm glad he got it from them over the other best pic winners. He made some good movies and got to act in Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman and Woody Allen movies, as far as I'm concerned he lived a charmed life. RIP, wish you could've made a few more flix.

I just liked his affable personality. He was a gentle speaker, if that makes sense.

tavernier wrote:Bo Diddley.

RIP

fiddlesticks wrote:Dino Risi.

RIP. Il sorpasso is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Young George Bailey has died.

fiddlesticks wrote:Dino Risi.

Sad news. In the Name of Italian People is the must. I didn't see Easy Life though

a.khan wrote:Grim Reaper claims yet another trophy for his 2008 Collection.

The New York Times wrote:Jules Dassin, Filmmaker on Blacklist, Dies at 96

By RICHARD SEVERO

And I couldn't agree with this award more, although the death of Jules Dassin is upsetting. Amazing!!!
crystal awards have become a popular choice for recognition

Jean Desailly

PARIS — French actor Jean Desailly, who worked in film and theatre, has died, officials said Thursday. He was 87.

Desailly died Wednesday at a hospital in the Paris region, according to officials at the Theatre de la Madeleine, which he headed.

Desailly appeared in films including "Maigret tend un piege" (Maigret Lays a Trap), "La Mort de Belle" (The End of Belle) and starred in Francois Truffaut's "La Peau Douce" (The Soft Skin). He also played in supporting roles, becoming a familiar face to a generation of French film lovers.

Besides acting in dozens of plays, he ran the Theatre Hebertot in the 1970s before moving on to the bigger Theatre de la Madeleine. He was awarded the prestigious Moliere acting prize in 2002.

President Nicolas Sarkozy saluted Desailly, whose career he said "spanned the theatrical life of the 20th century in its most prestigious symbols," including the renowned Comedie Francaise. The president's homage noted that Desailly went on to dominate the stage with his wife, Simone Valere.

Valere and Desailly were one of France's most famous acting couples. He is survived by Valere, 84.

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:Jean Desailly

He was the toothpick-chewing flic in Melville's Doulos. One of those interesting character actors who enriched the second roles of French cinema.

Holy smoke, I didn't see that one coming

On the job, too-- collapsed recording voiceovers for this sunday's MTP.

I actually kinda liked the guy as one of the least annoying waxheads in the political arena. I was a MTP junky, so I'll miss him.

HerrSchreck wrote:Tim Russert of NBC. 58 yrs old!

What a shock. In a time when political coverage on television is akin to a carnival that's overstayed its welcome, Russert was the rare voice of sanity.

This is the second-most surprising thing that happened today, behind R Kelly getting acquitted.

domino harvey wrote:This is the second-most surprising thing that happened today, behind R Kelly getting acquitted.

The R. Kelly thing wasn't much of a surprise for me because the alleged victim wouldn't turn state's evidence and because of the jury pool demographics.

And I am a MTP fan. Sad news.

It's surprising, but he was not in good shape at all. He and the cameras did a decent job hiding it, however.

yesterday afternoon, while preparing of his weekly broadcast "meet the press", nbc news washington bureau chief timothy j russert passed away of a heart attack. he was 58.

he was absolutely the top man in his field, exhibiting a generosity even in heated debate that the whole of the journalistic world must always aspire to. in the face of wildly divergent beliefs, he remained unbiased...always keeping his personal politics close to the vest, even as he sought the truth behind the scenes of national politics, on national tv.

what the journalistic community has lost, and the hole is truly gaping, cannot possibly compare to the open wound at the center of his family. tim was a passionate husband, a doting father, and a remarkable son. his book "big russ and me, lessons in life from father to son", did more to mend estrangements between parent and child than any years of therapy could hope to. just last night, through gushing tears, i bought a copy to be sent to my own father...the first gift i've bought for a "hallmark holiday" in nearly half of my time on this earth.

in the immediate aftermath of this tragic event, many i number as family have been giving rememberances on msnbc. it took until 8am today for them to put the news ticker back up...and even now, correspondants, executives, politicians...any and everyone who ever spent a moment is the big man's presence...have been calling or stopping in, telling tales of this blessed man's exceptional life. many of the storys unleash fresh tears even as they pull belly laughs...tim was that kind of guy.

in his beloved home city of buffalo, all flags on public buildings were ordered flown at half mast. he never served in the military, never held office...and he's bestowed this honor.

we always lose the ones we need the most, and right when we need them more than ever. nbc news political director chuck todd (himself only two years into working with tim), barely able to maintain his composure on air as he said this, "we've been incredibly blessed all this time to've had him. i feel especially blessed that he made it through the primary with us. but how in hell are we gonna manage this most significant, most historical of general elections without him? what information will slip through the cracks, and potentially damage our ability to make a clear decision, because tim wasn't there to find out for us? what are we gonna do?"...

everyone looks so sad, so deflated. its a kind of sick twist that if tim were there, he'd tell them all to go home and get some rest...we have more important work to do.
how are we gonna do that work without you, big man? how can we "go get em", when it was you, always, who helped us figure out who we were going for and what we were supposed to get?
how will we keep our egos in check, our personal bias buried, in that way you made appear so natural?

what will we, the people, who have always looked to you our "explainer in chief", look to now?

I just got into Meet The Press two episodes ago after seeing him in Time's 100 most influential list. After the first viewing, I agreed he was great at pressing the interviewee for something more, and almost exceptional at listening. I thought, he's the last person to ever yell "SHUT UP!"

So I only got two in, but I do feel the loss. His unfortunate passing ranks up there with Peter Jennings. There's something so special about these people, and their relationship to us in our homes every night, or every Sunday morning... I just hope there's more men like him out there. Final note, I ordered both his books on amazon, and have to say the Charlie Rose show last night was very moving in its tribute to him. When I find the time, I'll watch every Rose interview with Russert on the website...

By the way, would it be wrong if Washington named an institution after him? Or made a monument in his honor? I'm not joking.

You'll see something in DC, I have no doubt of it.

Not to mention Buffalo.

A park was already named after Russert in Buffalo before he died, among other places.

Please let's not get carried away with memorials in his honor in D.C., however -- he was a journalist, not a statesman.

Woke up late.. can someone tell me what they did on MTP this morning?