50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars & Filmmakers on Their Career-Defining Wins

by Dave Karger Narrated by Not Yet Available

Overview

An exclusive look behind the scenes of the Academy Awards as top stars and filmmakers discuss their Oscar wins and tell never-before-told tales of Hollywood's biggest night, in a collection of original interviews with Turner Classic Movies host and entertainment media journalist Dave Karger.

For almost a century, movie fans have been riveted by the Academy Awards and the stars who have won Oscars. 50 Oscar Nights takes readers behind the scenes of Hollywood's most storied awards show through new and exclusive interviews with dozens of A-list actors, filmmakers, and craftspeople spanning sixty years of the Oscars. Here these artists reflect on their winning work and recount all the details of how they got ready, how they felt when they heard their name and got up on stage to accept their award, what they wore, how the entire experience impacted their life, and more.

Some interviews bring to light fun stories like why Hilary Swank decided to celebrate her Academy Award at the Astro Burger in West Hollywood, or insight into the work as Elton John explains why he was convinced he won his Best Original Song award for the wrong tune. Other interviews illuminate why for some honorees, such as Julia Roberts, John Legend, and Octavia Spencer, the day remains a life highlight to be treasured, while for Marlee Matlin, Mira Sorvino, and Barry Jenkins, complex emotions cloud what most think would be a purely celebratory moment.
Filled with more than 150 photos of red-carpet moments, emotional acceptances, and after-party play, 50 Oscar Nights is both a stunning record of cinema glamour and a must-read for any movie lover.
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Full list of interviewees: Nicole Kidman, Elton John, Jennifer Hudson, Steven Spielberg, Jane Fonda, Barry Jenkins, Halle Berry, J. K. Simmons, Julia Roberts, John Legend, Rita Moreno, Martin Scorsese, Marlee Matlin, Dustin Hoffman, Hannah Beachler, Cameron Crowe, Mira Sorvino, Kevin O'Connell, Sally Field, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, Eddie Redmayne, Lee Grant, Louis Gossett Jr., Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Jessica Yu, Michael Douglas, Catherine Martin, Francis Ford Coppola, Allison Janney, Mel Brooks, Emma Thompson, Peter Jackson, Marcia Gay Harden, Mark Bridges, Sofia Coppola, Joel Grey, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, Olivia Colman, Rob Epstein, Whoopi Goldberg, Alan Menken, Melissa Etheridge, Sissy Spacek, Keith Carradine, Estelle Parsons, Geoffrey Fletcher, Octavia Spencer, Aaron Sorkin, Meryl Streep

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

10/30/2023

This glitzy debut from Turner Classic Movies host Karger compiles actors’, directors’, and musicians’ recollections of what it was like to win an Academy Award. Many recount feeling shocked and humbled, as when Jennifer Hudson recalls hardly believing she had been awarded the trophy for best supporting actress for her role in Dreamgirls: “I looked up and everybody is looking at me, and I’m like, Oh, they called me for real? Oh, wow.” Offstage drama spices up some of the accounts. Marlee Matlin, for instance, remembers how after winning best actress for her part in Children of a Lesser God, William Hurt, her partner at the time, who had been nominated for his role in the film but didn’t win, treated her with scorn, asking her “What makes you think you deserve it?” Elsewhere, Clint Eastwood, Barry Jenkins, Rita Moreno, and Octavia Spencer reflect on their speeches, the after-parties, and where they keep their Oscars (Louis Gossett Jr., best supporting actor winner for An Officer and a Gentleman, is keeping his in storage until he can “be free of it”). Hearing the winners’ memories in their own words is a delight, and the bountiful photos of the stars are an added treat. It’s a glamorous coffee-table book for movie buffs. Photos. (Jan.)

Library Journal

★ 12/01/2023

Turner Classic Movies host Karger compiles fascinating interviews with 50 Oscar winners, who discuss their films, nominations, fashion choices, winners' speeches, and the after-parties that followed. Speaking with actors, directors, screenwriters, songwriters, costume and production designers, and sound mixers, Karger finds that most awardees cherish the Oscars, didn't expect to win, and stress the importance of collaboration in film. Several non-white winners—John Legend (Selma), Halle Berry (Monster's Ball), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Louis Gossett Jr. (An Officer and a Gentleman)—consider the award a particularly meaningful recognition. Others, such as Emma Thompson (Howards End and Sense and Sensibility), believe it signified the long-overdue appreciation of women in film. And a few felt that the Oscar highlighted such social issues as climate change (Melissa Etheridge, An Inconvenient Truth), the battle against genocide (Steven Spielberg, Schindler's List), and LGBTQIA+ rights (Rob Epstein, The Times of Harvey Milk). VERDICT In only four pages of text for each award winner, the book captures the strong feelings of camaraderie among the tight-knit film community, the tension-filled waiting period, the elation of victory, and the after-party giddiness or loneliness that the interviewees experienced. Highly recommended.—Dr. Dave Szatmary

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192019658
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	02/04/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged