52-474: Holly Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as mute Scottish woman in the 1993 drama film The Piano . She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for Broadcast News (1987), The Firm (1993), and Thirteen (2003). She also won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for
104-444: A frequent collaborator following his performance as Gale Snoats. The script took three and a half months to write. A send-up of the screwball comedy , the film was influenced by the works of director Preston Sturges and writers such as William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor (who was known for her Southern literature ; "She also has a great sense of eccentric character," Ethan Coen told one interviewer). Joel and Ethan showed
156-515: A coherent story." Writing for The New York Times , Vincent Canby wrote, "Like Blood Simple , it's full of technical expertise but has no life of its own ... The direction is without decisive style." Julie Salamon of the Wall Street Journal wrote that the Coen Brothers "have a lot of imagination and sense of fun—and, most of all, a terrific sense of how to manipulate imagery," but "by
208-455: A convenience store while buying diapers, leading to a chase with police and a pack of dogs that he manages to outrun. As Ed and Nathan Jr. sleep, Hi decides to leave his family to join Gale and Evelle in a bank robbery. The next morning, Smalls approaches Nathan Sr. and reveals himself as a bounty hunter . When Nathan Sr. rejects Smalls' offer to bring back Nathan Jr. for $ 50,000, Smalls decides to do
260-475: A convenience store, then forget him again during the bank robbery. A dye pack explodes in their stolen money sack, covering them and the getaway car interior with blue dye. The distraction allows Smalls to capture the baby before Hi and Ed arrive. In the ensuing struggle, Ed grabs Nathan Jr. while Smalls severely beats Hi. Hi pulls the pin from one of the hand grenades clipped to Smalls' vest, causing them all to explode and kill Smalls. Hi and Ed sneak back into
312-428: A desert mobile home , and Hi works in a machine shop. They want children, but Ed is infertile and they cannot adopt due to Hi's criminal record. Hi and Ed learn of the quintuplet sons born to regional furniture magnate Nathan Arizona. They kidnap one of the babies, whom they believe to be Nathan Jr., intending to start a family. Soon afterward, Hi's former cellmates Gale and Evelle Snoats escape from prison and visit
364-423: A fifth-grade play. She is unable to hear with her left ear due to a childhood case of the mumps . The condition sometimes leads to complications at work, and some movie scenes have to be altered from the script for her to use her right ear. She is irreligious . She began acting at Rockdale County High School in the early 1970s, performing in local productions of Oklahoma! , Man of La Mancha , and Fiddler on
416-529: A force of nature ... I don't know if I'd rush headlong into employing him for a future film." Raising Arizona was initially released in the US, three dates; A New York City premiere on March 6, 1987, a limited release on March 13, 1987 and a nationwide release on April 17, 1987. The film was also released in Argentina on March 25, 1987 before it was screened out of competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival . Despite
468-893: A mute Scottish woman entangled in an adulterous affair with Harvey Keitel in Jane Campion 's The Piano won her the Best Actress award. Hunter went on to star in the comedy-drama Home for the Holidays and the thriller Copycat , both in 1995. Hunter appeared in David Cronenberg 's Crash and as a sardonic angel in A Life Less Ordinary . The following year, Hunter played a recently divorced New Yorker in Richard LaGravenese 's Living Out Loud ; starring alongside Danny DeVito , Queen Latifah , and Martin Donovan . Hunter rounded out
520-533: A nice conversation. It was just the two of us." Hunter made her film debut in the 1981 slasher movie The Burning . After moving to Los Angeles in 1982, Hunter appeared in TV movies before being cast in a supporting role in 1984's Swing Shift . That year, she had her first collaboration with the writing-directing-producing team of brothers Ethan Coen and Joel Coen , in Blood Simple , making an uncredited appearance as
572-681: A relationship with British actor Gordon MacDonald since 2001. The couple met in San Jose Repertory Theatre 's production of playwright Marina Carr 's By the Bog of Cats , in which she played a woman abandoned by her lover of 14 years, played by MacDonald. In January 2006, Hunter gave birth to the couple's twin sons Claude and Press. In 1999, Hunter received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . In 2016, Hunter
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#1732898045858624-566: A rival media conglomerate. Hunter subsequently starred opposite Ted Danson in the 2021 NBC comedy Mr. Mayor . In 2023, Hunter was cast in Hurricanna alongside Sylvia Hoeks . It is a dramatization of the final days of Playboy model and reality TV actress Anna Nicole Smith . Hunter portrays Smith's therapist. Production took place in late 2023. Hunter was married to Janusz Kamiński , cinematographer of Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan from 1995 until 2001. She has been in
676-492: A role in When Billie Beat Bobby , playing tennis pro Billie Jean King in the fact-based story of King's exhibition match with Bobby Riggs ; and as narrator of Eco Challenge New Zealand before returning to film work with a minor role in the 2002 drama Moonlight Mile . The following year found Hunter in the redemption drama Levity . In 2003, Hunter had the role of a mother named Melanie Freeland, whose daughter
728-618: A romantic drama with Richard Dreyfuss ; and the made-for-TV 1989 docudrama Roe vs. Wade about the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade . Following her second collaboration with Dreyfuss, in Once Around , Hunter garnered critical attention for her work in two 1993 films, resulting in her being nominated for two Academy Awards the same year : Hunter's performance in The Firm won her a nomination as Best Supporting Actress, while her portrayal of
780-462: A rude yet affectionate mode of comedy". Richard Corliss of Time referred to the film as "exuberantly original". Rita Kempley of The Washington Post gave a positive review, stating that it was "the best kidnapping comedy since last summer's Ruthless People ". On the film review television show Siskel & Ebert & the Movies , critic Gene Siskel said the film was as "good looking as it
832-506: A voice on an answering-machine recording. More film and television work followed until 1987, when she earned a starring role in the Coens' Raising Arizona and was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Broadcast News , after which Hunter became a critically acclaimed star. Hunter went on to the screen adaptation of Henley's Miss Firecracker ; Steven Spielberg's Always ,
884-581: Is arrested by a Polish-American police officer who is unamused by the ethnic jokes he tells; and Nathan Jr. becomes a high school football star with Hi and Ed anonymously watching and encouraging him. Later he dreams of an elderly couple with a large, wholesome family, and wonders whether this was a vision of him and Ed, or of Utah. The Coen Brothers started working on Raising Arizona with the idea to make it as different as possible from their previous film, Blood Simple , by having it be far more optimistic and upbeat. The starting point of scriptwriting came from
936-454: Is four, held by Katharine Hepburn . Frances McDormand has won thrice, while thirteen other actresses have won the award twice. Meryl Streep has received the most nominations in this category—seventeen—and has won twice. Deborah Kerr holds the record in this category for most nominations (six) without a win —albeit in 1993, she was an Honorary Oscar recipient . At the 41st Academy Awards , Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn received
988-436: Is funny" and that "despite some slow patches" he recommended the film, giving it a "thumbs up". Writing for The New Yorker , Pauline Kael wrote that " Raising Arizona is no big deal, but it has a rambunctious charm". Negative reviews focused on a "style over substance" view of the film. Variety wrote, "While [ Raising Arizona ] is filled with many splendid touches and plenty of yocks, it often doesn't hold together as
1040-466: Is nominated for a specific performance in a single film, was introduced for the 4th Academy Awards . Starting with the 9th Academy Awards , held in 1937, the category was limited to a maximum five nominations per year. In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in Los Angeles County ; the ceremonies are always held
1092-547: Is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actor winner. The Best Actress award has been presented 97 times, to 79 actresses. The first winner was Janet Gaynor for her roles in 7th Heaven , Street Angel , and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans . The most recent winner is Emma Stone for her role in Poor Things (2023); she had previously won the award for her role in La La Land (2016). The record for most wins
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#17328980458581144-430: Is troubled and going through the perils of being a teenager in the film Thirteen . The film was critically acclaimed along with Hunter and her co-stars and earned her nominations for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2004, Hunter starred alongside Brittany Murphy in the romantic satire Little Black Book , and provided the voice for Helen Parr (also known as Elastigirl ) in
1196-529: Is written by Carter Burwell , the second of his collaborations with the Coen brothers . The sounds are a mix of organ , massed choir, banjo , whistling , and yodeling . Themes are borrowed from the "Goofing Off Suite" , originally recorded by Pete Seeger in 1955, which includes an excerpt from the Chorale movement of Ludwig van Beethoven 's Symphony No. 9 and "Russian Folk Themes and Yodel". Credited musicians for
1248-696: The Hollywood Walk of Fame . In 2009, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award . In 2016, Hunter played Senator Finch in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . Hunter's likeness was used to portray Senator Finch in the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice tie-in prequel comics released by Dr. Pepper on February 3, 2016. In 2019, she took on a recurring role in the HBO series Succession as CEO Rhea Jarrell, leader of
1300-550: The TNT drama series Saving Grace (2007–2010). Hunter was born in Conyers, Georgia , the daughter of Marguerite "Dee Dee" ( née Catledge), a homemaker, and Charles Edwin Hunter, a part-time sporting goods company representative and farmer with a 250-acre farm. She is the youngest of six children. Her parents encouraged her talent at an early age, and her first acting part was as Helen Keller in
1352-446: The black comedy -drama The Big White . Hunter became an executive producer, and helped develop a starring vehicle for herself with the TNT cable-network drama Saving Grace , which premiered in July 2007. For her acting, she received a Golden Globe Award nomination, two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and an Emmy Award nomination. On May 30, 2008, Hunter received a star on
1404-518: The 1990s with a minor role in the independent drama Jesus' Son and as a housekeeper torn between a grieving widower and his son in Kiefer Sutherland 's drama Woman Wanted . Following a supporting role in the Coens' O Brother, Where Art Thou? , Hunter took top billing in the same year's television movie Harlan County War , an account of labor struggles among Kentucky coal-mine workers . Hunter would continue her small screen streak with
1456-543: The Academy. In the first three years of the awards, actors and actresses were nominated as the best individuals in their categories. At that time, all of their work during the qualifying period (as many as three films, in some cases) was listed after the award. Despite this, at the 3rd Academy Awards , held in 1930, only one film was cited in each winner's award regardless of how many they were eligible to be considered for during that span. The current system, in which an actress
1508-473: The Arizona home to return Nathan Jr. but Nathan Sr. catches them. Nathan Sr. sympathizes with their motives and decides not to report them to the authorities. Learning that Hi and Ed are considering a divorce, he suggests that they think about it first. While sleeping beside Ed that night, Hi has a series of prophetic dreams. Gale and Evelle return to prison, having realized that they are not ready for society; Glen
1560-493: The Coens was respectful, but turbulent. When he arrived on-set, and at various other points during production, Cage offered suggestions to the Coen brothers, which they ignored. Cage said that "Joel and Ethan have a very strong vision and I've learned how difficult it is to accept another artist's vision. They have an autocratic nature." Randall "Tex" Cobb also gave the Coens difficulty on set, with Joel noting that "he's less an actor than
1612-474: The Coens' most disciplined movie, but it's one of their most purely entertaining." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 69 based on 23 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. David Denby of New York wrote that the film was a "deranged fable of the New West" which turned "sarcasm into
Holly Hunter - Misplaced Pages Continue
1664-673: The Roof . Hunter earned a degree in drama from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and for a while performed in local theater , playing ingenue roles at City Theater , then named the City Players. Hunter moved to New York City and roomed with fellow actress Frances McDormand , living in the Bronx "at the end of the D (subway) train, just off 205th Street, on Bainbridge Avenue and Hull Avenue". A chance encounter with playwright Beth Henley , when
1716-517: The animated superhero film , The Incredibles . She reprised the role in the Disney Infinity video game series , and in the film's long-awaited sequel Incredibles 2 in 2018. She also voiced Chicken Little during the early production of the 2005 film Chicken Little until the character's gender was changed and was replaced by Zach Braff . In 2005, Hunter starred alongside Robin Williams in
1768-457: The bank robbery scene from the 1995 thriller Heat . Actor Simon Pegg described the film as "a living, breathing Looney Tunes cartoon" during a BFI screening. Pegg's friend and frequent collaborator Edgar Wright has stated that Raising Arizona is his favorite film of all time. Likewise, Spike Lee put Raising Arizona on his "Essential Films" list. The film is recognized by American Film Institute : The score to Raising Arizona
1820-494: The basic idea of the movie is a good one and there are talented people in the cast, what we have here is a film shot down by its own forced and mannered style." Later writings about the film have been generally positive. Both the British film magazine Empire and film database Allmovie gave the film five stars, their highest ratings. Allmovie's Lucia Bozzola wrote, "Complete with carefully modulated over-the-top performances from
1872-505: The cast include Trey Wilson , William Forsythe , John Goodman , Frances McDormand , Sam McMurray , and Randall "Tex" Cobb . The Coen brothers set out to work on the film with the intention of making a film as different from their previous film, the dark thriller Blood Simple , as possible, with a lighter sense of humor and a faster pace. Raising Arizona received mixed reviews at the time of its release. Some criticized it as too self-conscious, manneristic, and unclear as to whether it
1924-477: The character Ed for Holly Hunter. The character of Leonard Smalls was created when the Coen Brothers tried to envision an "evil character" not from their imagination, but one that the character would have thought up. His name is widely thought to be a reference to the character of Lennie Small, from John Steinbeck 's novella Of Mice and Men . John Goodman was drawn to characters of "great feeling, [guys] who could explode or start weeping at any moment" and became
1976-745: The completed script to Circle Films, their American distributor for Blood Simple . Circle Films agreed to finance the movie. The Coens came to the set with a complete script and storyboard. With a budget of just over five million dollars, Joel Coen noted that "to obtain maximum from that money, the movie has to be meticulously prepared". Raising Arizona was shot in ten weeks. Many crew members who had worked with Joel and Ethan on Blood Simple returned for Raising Arizona , including cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld , co-producer Mark Silverman, production designer Jane Musky, associate producer and assistant director Deborah Reinisch, and film composer Carter Burwell . The relationship between actor Nicolas Cage and
2028-435: The couple. They persuade Hi to shelter them and tempt him to return to his former criminal life. That night, Hi has a nightmare of monstrous biker Leonard Smalls. Hi's foreman Glen visits with his large and unruly family the next day. Glen and wife Dot offer parenting advice amid their children's misbehavior, but when Glen suggests that he and Hi exchange wives , Hi punches Glen in the face. That night, Hi succumbs to robbing
2080-457: The cult following of their later films, such as The Big Lebowski , in 2000 Ethan Coen described their second feature as "the last movie [we] made that made any significant amount of money". On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 63 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A terrifically original, eccentric screwball comedy, Raising Arizona may not be
2132-487: The end, the fun feels a little forced." Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "the overlooked form peels away from the slight, frail content, and the film starts to look like an episode of Hee Haw directed by an amphetamine-crazed Orson Welles ". Roger Ebert wrote a negative review, stating the film "stretches out every moment for more than it's worth, until even the moments of inspiration seem forced. Since
Holly Hunter - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-593: The entire cast, Raising Arizona confirmed the Coens' place among the most distinctive filmmakers to emerge from the 1980s independent cinema", while Caroline Westbrook of Empire declared it a "hilarious, madcap comedy from the Coen brothers that demonstrates just why they are the kings of quirk". Bilge Ebiri considers Raising Arizona to be "the Coens' masterpiece — their funniest movie, and quite possibly their most poignant as well". The Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland placed its bank robbery scene second on their list of "the 5 best bank robberies in film history", behind
2236-518: The film include Ben Freed (banjo), Mieczyslaw Litwinski ( Jew's harp and guitar ), and John R. Crowder (yodeling). Holly Hunter sings a traditional murder ballad , " Down in the Willow Garden ", as an incongruous "lullaby" during the film. Selections from Burwell's score to Raising Arizona were released on an album in 1987, along with selections from the Coens' sole previous feature film, Blood Simple . The tracks from Raising Arizona constitute
2288-594: The following year. For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months, from August 1 to July 31. For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933. Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31. The following individuals received two or more Best Actress awards: The following individuals received three or more Best Actress nominations: Winners are in bold . The following were nominated for their portrayals of
2340-509: The idea of the character of Hi, who has the desire to live a regular life within the boundaries of the law. To create their characters' dialect, Joel and Ethan created a hybrid of local dialect and the assumed reading material of the characters, namely, magazines and the Bible . In contrast to Blood Simple , the characters in Raising Arizona were written to be very sympathetic. The Coens wrote
2392-441: The job anyway and threatens to sell the baby on the black market . Glen returns to fire Hi, revealing his inference that Hi and Ed kidnapped Nathan Jr. Glen threatens to turn them in unless they agree to give the baby to him and Dot. Overhearing this, Gale and Evelle overpower Hi and kidnap Nathan Jr. themselves. Hi and Ed resolve to rescue him. Gale and Evelle grow attached to Nathan Jr. The two nearly leave him behind while robbing
2444-411: The same fictional or non-fictional character in separate films (including variations of the original). Raising Arizona Raising Arizona is a 1987 American crime comedy film written, directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen . It stars Nicolas Cage as H.I. "Hi" McDunnough, an ex-convict, and Holly Hunter as Edwina "Ed" McDunnough, a former police officer and his wife. Other members of
2496-472: The same number of votes and thus tied for Best Actress (the only time this has occurred). Italian actress Sophia Loren became the first actor, in any category, to win for a foreign language performance in Two Women (1960). Nominees are currently determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of
2548-578: The television films Roe vs. Wade (1989) and The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993). Hunter's other film roles include Raising Arizona (1987), Always (1989), Home for the Holidays (1995), Copycat (1995), Crash (1996), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), The Incredibles (2004) and its sequel Incredibles 2 (2018), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and The Big Sick (2017). She also starred in
2600-531: The two were trapped alone in an elevator, led to Hunter's being cast in Henley's plays Crimes of the Heart (succeeding Mary Beth Hurt on Broadway ), and Off-Broadway 's The Miss Firecracker Contest . "It was like the beginning of 1982. It was on 49th Street between Broadway and Eighth [Avenue] ... on the south side of the street," Hunter recalled in an interview. "[We were trapped] 10 minutes; not long. We actually had
2652-481: Was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree by her alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University . Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The award
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#17328980458582704-740: Was fantasy or realism. Other critics praised the film for its originality. The film ranks 31st on the American Film Institute 's 100 Years...100 Laughs list, and 45th on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies" list. Raising Arizona was released in the United States on March 13, 1987. Convenience store robber Herbert ("H.I." or "Hi") McDunnough meets police officer Edwina ("Ed") when she takes his mugshot after each of several arrests in Tempe, Arizona . He learns that Ed's fiancé has left her and proposes after release from prison. They marry and move into
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