George Eastman House applauds Jeff Bridges on the awards he has received for his role as Bad Blake in Crazy Heart. On March 7^th, we will be waiting on the edge of our Dryden Theatre seats— along with 600 of our closest friends— at the Eastman House annual party to see if he takes home his first Oscar® as Actor in a Lead Role for the film.

Jeff Bridges earned a Golden Globe® Award in January for his role in CRAZY HEART, for which he has been nominated for an Oscar®.

During his 2004 visit to Eastman House to celebrate his exhibition Jeff Bridges —Pictures and a Dryden Theatre film series dedicated to his film career, Bridges also received the award of George Eastman Honorary Scholar for his work in motion pictures and photography. The exhibit was the first museum exhibition of his work and one of the most popular in the Museum’s history. And Bridges? Well, ‘the Dude’ was one of the most gracious, modest, and approachable artists we’ve ever hosted.

 “It is such an honor to have a photography exhibition at George Eastman House,” Bridges told the sold-out audience. “To be recognized by this incredible museum for my photography, and as a George Eastman Honorary Scholar, is one of the proudest moments of my career.”

Jeff Bridges signs a copy of his book at George Eastman House in July 2004, while talking with Eastman House Trustee Chris Pulleyn.

Past recipients of the award include actors Tony Curtis, Dennis Hopper, and Richard Widmark; filmmakers John Frankenheimer, Norman Jewison, Ken Burns, Philip Kaufman, and John Landis; cinematographer Haskell Wexler; film critic Roger Ebert; and animation artist Ray Harryhausen.

 Bridges has appeared in more than 60 motion pictures and began taking photographs as a teenager. Jeff Bridges —Pictures featured an intimate collection of images he captured of cast and crew on his movie sets (including the Coen Brothers 1998 classic, The Big Lebowski). His black-and-white pictures were shot with a Widelux F8 camera (a wedding gift from his wife, Sue) that pans nearly 180 degrees.

 “One of the things I love about the wide-format camera is that when you take the picture, many people aren’t aware that they’re in the photos,” Bridges said. “Viewers can really look around in each photograph and see many little worlds and scenes going on. I think that is more how we experience life.”

The Eastman House exhibit was based of Bridges' book PICTURES. All proceeds from the book went to charity.

We conduct regular inspections of our nitrate motion picture collections. This week the list included a wonderful 10-part silent serial preserved in 2001 by the Eastman House, titled THE CHINATOWN MYSTERY. 

What is a serial film?  Basically it is a series of films telling a continuing story where the audience needs to return to the cinema week after week in order to see the entire plot.  In order for this to work, producers of these films knew they had to create enough suspense and drama in their plots to keep the public interested. If someone in the audience missed a week, a foreword was usually added to remind the audience of the previous action.  In modern terms, think of such television shows as Lost or Flash Forward. Both shows start each episode with a summary of the show plot, and ends with a twist, making the public demand more and more from the creators, and extending from season to season. 

But what makes a successful serial?  According to In the Nick of Time: Motion Picture Sound Serials by William C. Cline, “The basic ingredients of a good serial-already clearly ordained in the silent form-consisted of a Hero, a Heroine, a Villain, his Henchmen, a Prize, and the Perils. ….Optional additives were to make the Hero or the Villain-or both-a mystery figure whose identity was revealed only in the final episode, to give the Hero an able and compatible Assistant, to place in jeopardy a likable Pawn, and to surround the protagonists with a substantial cast of believable solid characters.”  

What makes THE CHINATOWN MYSTERY a good serial is that it has all these characteristics.  A strong Hero (played by Joe Bonomo) who finds himself in the center of the action: 

A lovely heroine (played by Ruth Hyatt [sp]) whom is vulnerable, but anxious and willing to help our hero: 

Our Villain (Francis Ford) who is attempting to make a formula to create diamonds: 

And our case of believe side characters to help move the story along:

What will happen next?  Will our Hero save the Day?  What, or who is the Mysterious Figure in the Chinatown Mystery?  I won’t give it away, but I will mention that in its heyday, audiences were definitely in for an on-the-edge-of-your seat ‘to be continued…’ thrill ride. See you next week!

Last fall, we blogged about planting the bulbs to get them ready for February (Tulips and Hyacinths and Daffodils, Oh My!, Oct. 19, 2009). Now in just over a week, spring comes early to the Eastman House when over 2,000 tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, freesias, and amaryllis will be on display for the annual Dutch Connection exhibit. It’s a welcome escape from the Rochester snow each year (especially now that Punxsutawney Phil has predicted 6 MORE weeks of winter).

For those of you in the deep freeze like us in Western NY, we invite you to enjoy this moment of spring color:

a glimpse at last year's display

The 2010 arrangement is based on George Eastman’s own selection from 100 years ago.  He ordered the bulbs from a Dutch company a year early in 1909 and grew them to maturity in his greenhouses.  Once they were organized, he would invite his friends and family to his home to enjoy the colorful display. 

The bulbs will be here February 12-28. A small exhibit will also be presented on the second floor of the house showing Mr. Eastman’s activities throughout 2010.

For  more info,visit http://www.eastmanhouse.org/Main/exhibitions/detail.php?title=dutch-connection-2010