Cineliteracy: What You Need to Know about 1994 as Movie Year
My Oscar Book:
Top-Grossing Films of 1994
Rank Title Distributor Worldwide gross
1 The Lion King Buena Vista $763,455,56
2 Forrest Gump Paramount $677,945,399
3 True Lies 20th Century Fox / Universal $378,882,411
4 The Mask, New Line $351,583,407
5 Speed, 20th Century Fox $350,448,145
6 The Flintstones, Universal $341,631,208
7 Dumb and Dumber New Line $247,275,374
8 Four Weddings and a Funeral Gramercy $245,700,832
9 Interview with the Vampire Warner, $223,664,608
10 Clear and Present Danger, Paramount, $215,887,717
Events
February 15 –
Viacom acquired 50.1% of Paramount for $9.75 billion, after five-month battle with QVC.
March 4 –
Actor John Candy dies of a heart attack at 43 while on location in Durango, Mexico for the film Wagons East.
March 21 -Spielberg wins his first Best Director Oscar for Schindler’s List.
April 14 – Gone with the Wind becomes the firs picture ever to be broadcast on cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM)
June 7 –
Pierce Brosnan is the fifth actor to play James Bond.
June 10 –
Speed is released, one of year’s top-grossing films, launching Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock into superstardom.
June 24 –
The Lion King becomes Buena Vista’s highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing animated film.
July 1 –
Val Kilmer is the next actor to play Batman after abrupt departure of Michael Keaton.
July 6 –
Forrest Gump becomes Paramount’s highest-grossing film of all-time.
July 15 – 20th Century Fox unveils new on-screen logo and fanfare composed by Bruce Broughton, which debuts True Lies.
October 12 – DreamWorks is founded by Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen.
December 29 –
Buena Vista Pictures becomes the first distributor to have grosses in the US to exceed $1 billion.
Awards
67th Academy (Oscars) Awards, March 27, 1995
Best Film: Forrest Gump
Best Director Robert Zemeckis, Forrest Gump
Best Actor: Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump Hugh Grant
Best Actress: Jessica Lange, Blue Sky
Best Supporting Actor: Martin Landau, Ed Wood
Best Supporting Actress: Dianne Wiest, Bullets over Broadway
Best Screenplay, Adapted, Eric Roth, Forrest Gump
Best Screenplay, Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction
Best Original Score The Lion King
Hans Zimmer N/A The Lion King
Best Original Song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”
The Lion King N/A “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”
The Lion King N/A
Best Foreign Language Film: Burnt by the Sun To Live
Deaths
Month Date Name Age Country Profession Notable films
January
Jan 1 Cesar Romero 86 US Actor, Batman, Ocean’s 11
3 Heather Sears 58 UK Actress, The Story of Esther Costello, Phantom of the Opera
7 Vittorio Mezzogiorno 52 Italy Actor
Three BrothersScream of Stone
7 Llewellyn Rees 92 UK Actor
A Fish Called WandaWithnail and I
8 Pat Buttram 78 US Actor
Back to the Future Part IIIRobin Hood
9 Madge Ryan 75 Australia Actress
A Clockwork OrangeFrenzy
12 Samuel Bronston 85 Moldova Producer
El CidKing of Kings
14 Esther Ralston 91 US Actress
To the Last ManTin Pan Alley
19 Kenneth Utt 72 US Producer, Production Manager
The Silence of the LambsPhiladelphia
22 Jean-Louis Barrault 83 France Actor
Children of ParadiseThe Longest Day
22 Frances Gifford 73 US Actress
Our Vines Have Tender GrapesShe Went to the Races
22 Telly Savalas 72 US Actor
On Her Majesty’s Secret ServiceCape Fear
23 Oliver Smith 75 US Production Designer
Guys and DollsOklahoma!
27 Claude Akins 67 US Actor
Rio BravoBattle for the Planet of the Apes
28 Hal Smith 77 US Actor, Voice Actor
Beauty and the BeastAn American Tail
February
Feb 6 Harold Schneider 55 US Producer, Days of Heaven, WarGames
Feb 6
Joseph Cotten 88 US Actor, Citizen Kane, The Third Man
9 Jarmila Novotna 86 Czech Republic Singer, Actress
The Great CarusoThe Search
11 Sorrell Booke 64 US Actor
What’s Up, Doc?Fail Safe
11 William Conrad 73 US Actor, Producer
The Killers, The Naked Jungle
15 Tiger Haynes 86 US Actor
AwakeningsMoscow on the Hudson
19 Derek Jarman 52 UK Director, Screenwriter
Edward IIBlue
24 Dinah Shore 76 US Singer, Actress
Up in ArmsTill the Clouds Roll By
28 Enrico Maria Salerno 67 Italy Actor
Casanova 70The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
March
March 2 Anita Morris 50 US Actress, Ruthless People, Hotel New Hampshire
4 John Candy 43 Canada Actor
Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck
6 Melina Mercouri 73 Greece Actress
Never on Sunday, Topkapi
8 John Ewart 66 Australia Actor
Hurricane SmithFrog Dreaming
9 Fernando Rey 76 Spain Actor
The French ConnectionThat Obscure Object of Desire
17 Mai Zetterling 68 Sweden Actress
The WitchesHidden Agenda
21 Macdonald Carey 81 US Actor, Shadow of a Doubt, The Great Gatsby
21 Lili Damita 89 France Actress
This Is the Night, Brewster’s Millions
21 Dack Rambo 52 US Actor
Which Way to the Front?Ultra Warrior
22 Walter Lantz 94 US Animator
Woody WoodpeckerAndy Panda
23 Giulietta Masina 73 Italy Actress
La StradaJuliet of the Spirits
23 Paula Trueman 93 US Actress
The Outlaw Josey WalesDirty Dancing
29 Bill Travers 72 UK Actor
GeordieBorn Free
April
April 2 Betty Furness 78 US Actress, Magnificent Obsession, Swing Time
3 Frank Wells 62 US Studio Executive
4 Ginny Simms 80 US Singer, Actress
Broadway RhythmHit the Ice
12 Frank V. Phillips 82 US Cinematographer
The Black HoleEscape to Witch Mountain
16 John McLiam 76 Canada Actor
Cool Hand LukeThe Missouri Breaks
16 Ron Vawter 45 US Actor
PhiladelphiaThe Silence of the Lambs
20 Dennis Cleveland Stewart 46 US Actor
GreaseSgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
27 Lynne Frederick 39 UK Actress
Voyage of the DamnedPhase IV
30 Chris Butler 41 US Set Decorator
ChaplinBill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
30 Ferdinando Scarfiotti 53 Italy Production Designer
The Last EmperorScarface
May
May 6 Fred Sadoff 67 US Actor
The Poseidon AdventurePapillon
7 Ray Elton 80 UK Cinematographer
Last HolidayThe Blind Goddess
8 George Peppard 65 US Actor
Breakfast at Tiffany’sHow the West Was Won
8 Murray Spivack 90 US Sound Engineer
King KongHello, Dolly!
11 Timothy Carey 65 US Actor
Paths of GloryOne-Eyed Jacks
15 Royal Dano 71 US Actor
The Outlaw Josey WalesMan of the West
15 Gilbert Roland 88 Mexico Actor
The Bad and the BeautifulThunder Bay
16 Alain Cuny 85 France Actor
Les Visiteurs du soirLes Amants
19 Henry Morgan 79 US Actor
So This Is New YorkMurder, Inc.
24 Oscar Saul 81 US Screenwriter
A Streetcar Named DesireMajor Dundee
29 Joseph Janni 78 Italy Producer
Darling, Modesty Blaise
31 Sidney Gilliat 86 UK Director, Screenwriter
The Rake’s ProgressThe Lady Vanishes
June
June 2 Philip Dunne 84 US Screenwriter, Director, Wild in the Country, Ten North Frederick
4 Stephen McNally 80 US Actor
Johnny BelindaWinchester ’73
June 4
Massimo Troisi 41 Italy Actor, Director, Screenwriter, The Postman, Nothing Left to Do But Cry
6 Johnny Downs 80 US Actor
Pigskin ParadeWhat a Man!
6 Barry Sullivan 81 US Actor
The Bad and the Beautiful, Jeopardy
7 Dennis Potter 59 UK Screenwriter
Gorky ParkPennies from Heaven
11 Herbert Anderson 77 US Actor
The Benny Goodman StoryHold On
12 Chris Latta 44 US Actor
The Transformers: The MovieStop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
13 Nadia Gray 70 Romania Actress
The Captain’s TableNight Without Stars
13 K. T. Stevens 74 US Actress
Harriet CraigAddress Unknown
14 Henry Mancini 70 US Composer
The Pink PantherBreakfast at Tiffany’s
16 Eileen Way 82 UK Actress
The VikingsQueen of Hearts
20 Robin Raymond 77 US Actress
The Glass WallThe Candidate
21 Winston Miller 83 US Screenwriter
Lucy GallantApril Love
22 Jack Davies 80 UK Screenwriter
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying MachinesGambit
July
July 1 Dominic Lucero 26 US Dancer, Actor
NewsiesStand and Deliver
6 Cameron Mitchell 75 US Actor
CarouselMy Favorite Year
8 Robert B. Hauser 75 US Cinematographer
The Odd CoupleLe Mans
8 Dick Sargent 64 US Actor
Operation PetticoatThat Touch of Mink
14 Eric Linden 84 US Actor
Gone with the WindA Family Affair
14 Alberto Lionello 64 Italy Actor
The Birds, the Bees and the ItaliansPigsty
19 Gottfried Reinhardt 83 Germany Director
BetrayedTown Without Pity
20 Gregg Fonseca 41 US Production Designer
A Nightmare on Elm StreetWayne’s World
23 Mario Brega 71 Italy Actor
The Good, the Bad and the UglyTalcum Powder
23 Hans J. Salter 98 Austria Composer
Creature from the Black LagoonThe Wolf Man
30 Janis Carter 80 US Actress
I Love TroubleFlying Leathernecks
August
Aug 2 Bert Freed 74 US Actor, Detective Story, Paths of Glory
3 John Zenda 50 US Actor
Halloween IIBad Boys
7 Robert Hutton 74 US Actor
They Came from Beyond SpaceCinderfella
11 Peter Cushing 81 UK Actor
Star WarsThe Curse of Frankenstein
11 Red Mitchell 33 US Actor
8 SecondsJFK
14 Joan Harrison 87 UK Screenwriter, Producer, Rebecca, Foreign Correspondent (Hitchcock)
16 John Doucette 73 US Actor
PattonTrue Grit
21 Danitra Vance 40 US Actress
Sticky FingersJumpin’ at the Boneyard
26 Norman Warwick 74 UK Cinematographer
The Abominable Dr. PhibesTales from the Crypt
26 Tariq Yunus 47-54 India Actor
Who Dares WinsThe Fourth Protocol
30 Lindsay Anderson 71 UK Director, This Sporting Life, If….
September
Sep 6 James Clavell 72 Australia Screenwriter, Director
To Sir, with Love, The Great Escape
6 Duccio Tessari 67 Italian Director, Screenwriter
A Pistol for RingoKiss Kiss…Bang Bang
7 Dennis Morgan 85 US Actor
Christmas in ConnecticutGod Is My Co-Pilot
7 Godfrey Quigley 71 Israel Actor
A Clockwork OrangeBarry Lyndon
7 Terence Young 79 China Director
Dr. NoThunderball
9 Douglas Morrow 80 US Screenwriter
The Stratton StoryBeyond a Reasonable Doubt
9 Patrick O’Neal 66 US Actor
Under SiegeThe Way We Were
10 Charles Drake 76 US Actor
Winchester ’73No Name on the Bullet
11 Jessica Tandy 85 UK Actress
Driving Miss DaisyCocoon
12 Tom Ewell 85 US Actor
Adam’s RibThe Seven Year Itch
15 Mark Stevens 77 US Actor
The Dark CornerThe Street with No Name
16 Jack Dodson 63 US Actor
Thunderbolt and LightfootThe Getaway
17 Iris Adrian 82 US Actress
Lady of BurlesqueThe Paleface
18 Wayne Finkelman 47 US Costume Designer
OverboardThe Golden Child
20 Jule Styne 88 UK Songwriter, Composer
Funny GirlThree Coins in the Fountain
21 Arthur B. Krim 84 US Studio Executive
23 Robert Bloch 77 US Screenwriter
Strait-JacketAsylum
28 Harry Saltzman 78 Canada Producer
James BondBattle of Britain
30 Lina Basquette 87 US Actress
The Godless GirlThe Younger Generation
30 Sydney Walker 73 US Actress
Mrs. DoubtfireLove Story
October
Oct 1 Marjorie Weaver 81 US Actress
Second Honeymoon, Young Mr. Lincoln
2 Harriet Nelson 85 US Actress
Follow the FleetThe Falcon Strikes Back
3 Virginia Dale 77 US Actress
Holiday InnDragnet
3 Dub Taylor 87 US Actor
Bonnie & ClydeThe Getaway
7 James Hill 75 UK Director
Born FreeBlack Beauty
8 Diana Churchill 81 UK Actress
Jane Steps OutYes, Madam?
16 Peter Bromilow 61 UK Actor
Wild at HeartHighlander II: The Quickening
17 Monja Danischewsky 83 Russia Screenwriter, Producer
The Battle of the SexesTopkapi
17 Martha Raye 78 US Actress
Billy Rose’s JumboMonsieur Verdoux
20 Burt Lancaster 80 US Actor
From Here to EternityJudgment at Nuremberg
23 Robert Lansing 66 US Actor
Empire of the AntsNamu, the Killer Whale
24 Raul Julia 54 Puerto Rico Actor
The Addams FamilyKiss of the Spider Woman
25 Mildred Natwick 89 US Actress
Dangerous LiaisonsThe Trouble with Harry
26 Tutta Rolf 87 Norway Actress
Dressed to ThrillDollar
November
Nov 1 Noah Beery Jr. 81 US Actor, Red River,mThe Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
7 Carleton Young 89 US Actor, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
8 Michael O’Donoghue 54 US Screenwriter, Actor
ScroogedWall Street
9 Ralph Michael 87 UK Actor
A Night to RememberThe Assassination Bureau
9 Richard Rust 54 US Actor
Walk on the Wild SideHomicidal
11 Ernest Clark 82 UK Actor
GandhiMemed, My Hawk
14 Tom Villard 40 US Actor
My GirlHeartbreak Ridge
18 Cab Calloway 86 US Actor, Singer
The Blues BrothersSt. Louis Blues
24 Irwin Kostal 83 US Orchestrator
Mary PoppinsWest Side Story
27 Rufina Nifontova 63 Russia Actress
Do Not Part with Your BelovedTime and the Conways
30 Lionel Stander 86 US Actor
Once Upon a Time in the West, New York, New York
December
Dec 5 Alan Splet 54 US Sound Engineer, Eraserhead, Blue Velvet (Lynch)
5 Harry Horner 84 Czech Production Designer, Director The Hustler, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
5 Günter Meisner 68 Germany Actor
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryThe Boys from Brazil
6 Gian Maria Volonté 61 Italy Actor
A Fistful of DollarsFor a Few Dollars More
11 Yuli Raizman 90 Russia Director, Screenwriter
MashenkaPrivate Life
18 Lilia Skala 98 Hungary Actress, Lilies of the Field, Flashdance
23 Nora Dunfee 78 US Dialogue Coach, Actress
WitnessForrest Gump
23 Sebastian Shaw 89 UK Actor
Return of the JediHigh Season
Dec 24
Rossano Brazzi 78 Italy Actor, South Pacific, The Barefoot Contessa
24 Julie Haydon 84 US Actress
The Scoundrel The Age of Innocence
24 John Osborne 65 UK Actor, Screenwriter
Tom JonesGet Carter
26 Robert Emhardt 81 US Actor
3:10 to YumaKid Galahad
26 Sylva Koscina 61 Yugoslavia Actress
HerculesA Lovely Way to Die
27 Steve Plytas 81 UK Actor
The Spy Who Came In from the ColdBatman
29 Frank Thring 68 Australia Actor
Ben-HurMad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Dec 31
Woody Strode 80 US Actor, Spartacus, The Professionals (Black)
Film Debuts
Jessica Alba – Camp Nowhere
Moritz Bleibtreu – Simply Love
Hugh Bonneville – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Danny Boyle (director) – Shallow Grave
Richard Brake – Death Machine
Marylouise Burke – Angie
Rose Byrne – Dallas Doll
Margaret Cho – Angie
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – Nightwatch
Marion Cotillard – The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed
Tony Curran – Being Human
Claire Danes – Little Women
Thomas Dekker – Star Trek Generations
Cameron Diaz – The Mask
John DiMaggio – Pom Poko
Jennifer Ehle – Backbeat
Eduard Fernández − Souvenir
William Fichtner – Quiz Show
Nathan Fillion – Strange and Rich
Jason Flemyng – The Jungle Book
Carla Gallo – Spanking the Monkey
Rachel Griffiths – Muriel’s Wedding
Wood Harris – Above the Rim
John Benjamin Hickey – The Ref
Siobhan Fallon Hogan – Greedy
Ralph Ineson – Shopping
Peter Jacobson – It Could Happen to You
Scarlett Johansson – North
Greg Kinnear – Blankman
Phil LaMarr – Pulp Fiction
Jude Law – Shopping
Melanie Lynskey – Heavenly Creatures
James Marsden – No Dessert, Dad, till You Mow the Lawn
Catherine McCormack – Loaded
Mary McCormack – Miracle on 34th Street
Helen McCrory – Interview with the Vampire
Ewan McGregor – Being Human
Christopher Meloni – Clean Slate
Jonathan Rhys Meyers – A Man of No Importance
Dash Mihok – Black Is White
Jennifer Morrison – Intersection
Carrie-Anne Moss – The Soft Kill
Pepón Nieto – Running Out of Time
Sandra Oh – Double Happiness
Zak Orth – Spanking the Monkey
Haley Joel Osment – Forrest Gump
Candela Peña – Running Out of Time
Michael Peña – Running Free
Natalie Portman – Léon: The Professional
Mark Ruffalo – There Goes My Baby
Colin Salmon – Captives
Horatio Sanz – Miracle on 34th Street
Will Sasso – Ski School 2
Liev Schreiber – Mixed Nuts
Mathilde Seigner – Le sourire
Andy Serkis – Prince of Jutland
Ben Shenkman – Quiz Show
J. K. Simmons – The Ref
Sebastian Stan – 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance
French Stewart – Stargate
Lew Temple – Angels in the Outfield
Kenan Thompson – D2: The Mighty Ducks
Ulrich Thomsen – Nightwatch
Antonio de la Torre − The Worst Years of Our Lives
Gregg Turkington − Terminal USA
Guinevere Turner – Go Fish
Liv Tyler – Silent Fall
Alexa Vega – Little Giants
Mark Wahlberg – Renaissance Man
Rachel Weisz – Death Machine
Mae Whitman – When a Man Loves a Woman
Harland Williams – Dumb and Dumber
Michelle Williams – Lassie
Debra Wilson – Cracking Up
Kate Winslet – Heavenly Creatures
Robert Wisdom – Clean Slate
