From Cannes to Cardboard: The Circulation and Promotion of Visages Villages and the Auteur on Instagram

This article explores the Instagram activities of Agnès Varda and her Visages Villages (Faces Places, France, 2017) codirector JR to consider the role of social media in the film's theatrical release and awards campaign, which led to the film's nomination for Best Documentary Feature—Varda's first and only Academy Award nomination. Through analysis of Varda's posts and her appearances on JR's Instagram, the author argues that social media complemented the film's conventional promotion while extending Varda's aesthetic practices and interests, offering one of the final examples of her consistent, enthusiastic experiments with new forms of media. On Instagram, Varda recycled and recontextualized the strategies of self-presentation and formal play seen in her documentaries for a different format, as she posted images and videos involving premieres, special events, and press coverage from her perspective. Throughout the film's release and awards campaign, social media began to function as an atypical way to draw attention to the film and its directors, especially for a low-budget documentary. The Visages Villages team merged traditional methods of achieving visibility with an unusual and intentional online presence, culminating in substantial coverage from new types of outlets when JR traveled to the Academy Awards luncheon with cardboard cutouts of Varda.

Chapter 19

By 1943, Cary Grant was eager to escape from the contract he had signed six years earlier with Columbia Pictures. It was a non-exclusive contract, but studio boss Harry Cohn exercised an options clause that prolonged Grant’s obligations to the studio. Cohn was incensed when Grant delayed returning to Columbia in favour of working at Warner Brothers, where he was cast in the patriotic war drama Destination Tokyo (1943). Grant’s performance as an upstanding yet gentle submarine captain was one of the most earnest and restrained of his career. He returned to Columbia to make Once Upon a Time (1943), one of the slightest films of his career. When Jack Warner offered to buy out the remainder of his Columbia contract, Grant jumped at the offer. Meanwhile, he was making None but the Lonely Heart (1944), a gritty melodrama about working class life in the backstreets of London, written and directed by the left-wing dramatist Clifford Odets. Grant’s personal connection to the films tough working class environment was signalled by placing a picture of his own father on the wall of the tiny house his character shares with his dying mother. The film was not a hit but it earned Grant his second Academy Award nomination. Ironically, at the time he was reliving his humble origins on screen, he was married to the extraordinarily wealthy Barbara Hutton. Her insistence on living lavishly and entertaining frequently made him realise what a poor match they were. She, in turn, complained that he cared about nothing other than his career. They divorced in 1945.

An Examination of Bibliometrics in Calls for Major Canadian Research Awards

This study aimed to determine if bibliometrics are being sought as part of research award competitions, through an examination of calls for fifteen major Canadian research awards. This study further aimed to determine if there were indications that including bibliometrics in the award application process could be helpful towards a nominee’s success. In so doing, this paper contributes a Canadian perspective to a growing body of related research which has sought to address the lack of clarity in funding application assessment criteria and the role bibliometrics can play in addressing this issue.The study revealed no explicit requests for bibliometric indicators in the calls for nominations for the major research awards examined. Nevertheless, requests for nominees’ CVs and/or publication histories, which can serve as one basis for the bibliometric evaluation of performance, were regularly observed, as were mentions of interest in internationality, which can in turn be illustrated with the use of bibliometrics. Additionally, a prevalence of multidisciplinary review panels was observed, pointing to potential utility of normalized bibliometric indicators in the award nomination process. These findings suggest that there are aspects of award calls that correspond to existing bibliometric indicators, and so their use may be warranted eventhough, so far, they have not been asked for by name.

Cassavetes, John (1929--1989)

John Nicholas Cassavetes (1929--1989) was born to Greek parents in New York. He originally trained in the theater. His acting in commercial Hollywood films such as The Dirty Dozen (1967) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, gave him some mainstream popularity and the means to finance his own independent projects. These were characterized by a realistic, pseudo-documentary style, loose storylines centered on quirky characters, and a strong reliance on actors’ performances. He is considered one of the pioneers of American independent cinema.

Goldwyn

There are many disagreements with costar Edward G. Robinson on the set of Barbary Coast, her first picture for Sam Goldwyn. Hopkins makes These Three, the first of four films with the director William Wyler, and it is a critical success. She receives a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for Becky Sharp but is beaten out by Bette Davis. Hopkins sails to Europe, where she witnesses the militarization of the Continent, while making a film in England for producer, Alexander Korda.