NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN
SIDNEY LUMET'S films have been nominated for over fifty Academy Awards. He has been nominated for four Best Director Oscars and seven Director's Guild Awards for the same honor. In 1957, after years of directing for theater and television, Lumet moved to film and made his directorial debut with "Twelve Angry Men" starring Henry Fonda. The film catapulted him into the spotlight, garnering three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Lumet's theater background enabled him to translate classic plays to the screen, including Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending," which was released as "The Fugitive Kind" with Marlon Brando, Arthur Miller's "A View From The Bridge," and Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into The Night" with Katherine Hepburn, which earned him his second Director's Guild Award nomination.
Lumet's reputation as an actor's director developed over the years working with Henry Fonda in "Fail Safe" and "Stage Struck," Sean Connery in "The Hill," "The Anderson Tapes" and "The Offense," and Rod Steiger in "The Pawnbroker." He also scored box office and critical success in 1976 with "Network," starring William Holden and Faye Dunaway. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won four including Best Actress for Faye Dunaway. "Dog Day Afternoon" starring Al Pacino earned six Oscar nominations as well, including Best Picture and Best Director.
In the '80's, Lumet received a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination for co-writing "Prince of the City" with Jay Presson Allen, and "The Verdict" with Paul Newman which brought him his fourth Academy Award nomination for Best Director. In more recent years, Lumet directed "Running On Empty" with Judd Hirsch, Christine Lahti, and River Phoenix; "The Morning After" with Jane Fonda and Jeff Bridges and "Q&A" with Nick Nolte and Timothy Hutton.
In the spring of 1995, Sidney Lumet wrote a book about the craft of filmmaking, Making Movies, which is already in its seventh printing.
During eight years as Head of Production and President of Universal Pictures, producer THOM MOUNT was responsible for the development and production of over 150 motion pictures. His success with films like "Smokey and The Bandit," "The Deer Hunter," "Animal House," "Coal Miner's Daughter" and "Missing" reflect his commitment to producing movies that are both high-quality and profitable. In 1984, he founded the Mount Company, a small, high-quality organization devoted to film, television, and theater. The Mount Company produced such hits as: "Frantic," "Bull Durham," "Tequila Sunrise" and "Indian Runner." Mount recently executive produced Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers."
© 1997 Paramount Pictures & Five Star Publishing - All Rights Reserved.