Academy celebrates Giant

Aug 08, 2005 by Ian Evans

Giant, the 1956 Best Picture nominee, will be screened as the next installment of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ series “Great To Be Nominated, Part Two” on Monday, August 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Actors Jane Withers and Earl Holliman, who played Vashti Snythe and Bob Dace, respectively, will be present for a brief question and answer session before the film at 7 p.m.

Giant, which follows a Texas family over the decades, stars Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean, in his Academy Award®-nominated final role as Jett Rink. George Stevens won his second Oscar® for Directing for the film, which earned a total of 10 Academy Award nominations. In addition to Dean’s nomination and Stevens’ win, Giant also was nominated for Best Picture, Actor (Hudson), Actress in a Supporting Role (Mercedes McCambridge), Art Direction – Color (Art Direction: Boris Leven; Set Decoration: Ralph S. Hurst), Costume Design – Color (Moss Mabry, Marjorie Best), Film Editing (William Hornbeck, Philip W. Anderson, Fred Bohanan), Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Dimitri Tiomkin) and Writing Adapted Screenplay (Fred Guiol, Ivan Moffat).

The 1956 Oscar-nominated cartoon short subject Gerald McBoing-Boing on Planet Moo will be screened prior to the films.

The evening’s commemorative program will feature black-and-white photos from Giant on the cover.

Tickets for the screening may be purchased for $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid identification. Tickets may be purchased by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, pending availability, the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. but the pre-show elements will begin at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3000, ext. 111.