Give Christopher Lee the award! Now!!!

[tessiegirl]

How long is the academy going to wait before they honor Mr. Lee with a Lifetime Acheivement Award? Mr. Lee is in his eighties, and while we all hope that he will be around for a very long time, the sad fact remains that he isn't going to be around forever. It is bad enough to have ROTK win Best Picture without Mr. Lee, especially when he contributed as much, if not more, to the success of the film as the other cast members, but Mr. Lee is most certainly one of the world's most talented actors, and it is a travesty in my opinion, for the Academy to not give him the acknowledgement that he very much deserves.

Here is why I think that Mr. Lee is so deserving of a Lifetime Acheivement Award:

1. How many films has Christopher Lee been in? Something like 200. If being in that many films alone isn't grounds for an award, than I don't know what is.

2. Mr. Lee was, without a doubt, the best Dracula. He was the person--at least to me--that made vampires sensual and erotic. Nearly every Dracula film that has come out since the Hammer Dracula films has paled in comparision. Nobody can be Dracula like Christopher Lee!

3. Three words: The Wicker Man. The best horror film to come out of Britian. And of course, the film that made every pagan want to move to Summerisle immediatly ;-)

4. The Man with the Golden Gun--Scaramanga is everybody's favorite villian. Even non-horror fans love Mr. Lee in this one. I have heard Mr. Lee described more than once as "the guy from The Man with the Golden Gun"

5. Saruman!!! He's just how I imagined he would be.

6. I'm not a Star Wars fan, but I have to say that Mr. Lee's portrayal of Count Dooku is terrific. Every time I watch that Lightsaber Battle at the end, I feel sorry for Hayden Christensen. Why? Because he has none of the stage presence that Christopher Lee has--and it is obvious.

7. Just the fact that in general Christopher Lee has defined the role of villian.
I used to watch several scenes from The Two Towers over and over again just because Christopher Lee knows how to personify evil.

8. How about recording a heavy metal song at age eighty? And actually managing to sound good!! I'm pretty sure that most people couldn't accomplish that!

9. Not that the Academy would consider such things anyway, but how about the fact that this guy has managed to do so much, and still stay married for like forty years?? I have been married for five years and I can only hope that my marriage will last as long as Mr. and Mrs. Lee's!

10. He has talent that many actors could only dream of having!

Is that enough reasons? :-)

Tessie

[sallyb]

I agree:) though with all the honors he has already been accorded, it would not eclipse the OBE he has from the Queen, anyway;)
I will never understand why they clipped his dramatic scene from the ROTK, it was just magnificent acting---what presence, what power and sheer force of personality. No one else could have been Saruman! That scene was very important and it had a lot of weight just in carrying the story, let alone the need for it as a wonderful dramatic scene that should have been kept in. I am grateful it is on the extended version, but everyone should have seen it in all versions, just extremely powerful from beginning to end. It is the most memorable scene of the movie for me, a real turning point in the story where Saruman might have redeemed himself, but turned aside from the chance...
My heartfelt applause to you, Mr. Lee!
SallyB
on the off chance he reads this, I liked looking at your school reports and memorabilia, your family photos, etc. thanks for sharing:) My son who is 16 is a big fan and says you are awesome:) He found your site and we both undefined enjoy it.

[Purple_Pen]

Anyone who wants to have a go at getting their voice heard on this issue should visit this site:

http://www.oscarworld.net/awardlobby...sp?LobbyId=818

Penny

[Andrés Verdú]

Originally Posted by tessiegirl

1. How many films has Christopher Lee been in? Something like 200. If being in that many films alone isn't grounds for an award, than I don't know what is.

Just a note here, tessiegirl: the number of "screen appearances" (this would include not only films, but also various television series, dramas, documentaries, etc.) by Mr Lee is in actual fact closer to 300 (if it does not indeed surpass this figure as well) Glancing at the International Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000489/?...c=1;ft=44;fm=1 I count 58 under Notable TV Guest Appearances, 2 under Archive Footage, 53 appearances as "Himself" under Himself - Filmography, and 224 under Actor - Filmography (although some four of these are listed as either "pre-production" or "announced" or "filming"). That brings the tally up to roughly 337 (give or take - allowing for a few repeated titles, alternate titles for the same film, omissions and/or mistakes). This is to say nothing of his "voice" work (he has taped several audio books, including works by Edgar Allan Poe and Sherlock Holmes stories).

A Further quote from the dustjacket backflap of Mr Lee's autobiography Lord of Misrule indicates that "Christopher Lee is listed in the Guinness Book of Movie Facts and Feats as the international star with the most screen credits[.]"

Originally Posted by tessiegirl

3. Three words: The Wicker Man. The best horror film to come out of Britian. And of course, the film that made every pagan want to move to Summerisle immediatly ;-)

I suspect that whenever Mr Lee hears The Wicker Man described as a "horror film" he cringes. During the "Celebration in Film" Heathrow Event, he said of The Wicker Man that "It's now become one of the great cult films of all times, although I don't think the phrase, which has been used, 'the Citizen Kane of horror films' is a very good example because it's not horror. It's horrifying! And the ending, which is... absolutely terrifying and inevitable. The only possible ending. The only logical ending." [The phrase 'Citizen Kane of horror films' was originally coined, as far as I know, in Volume 6 Number 3 (1977), of the movie journal Cinefastastique, in a review by David Bartholomew].

In his autobiography, Mr Lee states "The Wicker Man was in the end horrifying, but not what I would call a horror film. It was about growth, not decay." (Lee, Christopher, Lord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee, (London, England: Orion Books Ltd., 2003), p307).

I think I would agree with Mr Lee in the sense that "horror" is a limiting lable (as he also argues in the older version of his autobiography, Tall, Dark and Gruesome). To me, the term "horror" fails to do justice to all the different acts, themes, and philosophies which are explored and developed in the film. If anything, it is a definite break away from the horror genre, an intriguing attempt to escape into more sophisticated, cerebral territory. It seems to defy classification altogether. In my opinion, it is quite unique in cinema history. I have never seen anything quite like it before or since - at least nothing that achieves the same kind of impact and lasting effect.

Now, turning to the subject of the Academy "Lifetime Achievement Award," I agree that it would be a fitting tribute to an actor with such a long and distinguished career as Mr Lee has. All the more so, since he has proved beyond all doubt that he is as active in the film industry now, in his eighties, as he ever was, starring in two major Hollywood "blockbusters" (Lord of the Rings and Star Wars) as well as a number of other films (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Corpse Bride, Crimson Rivers 2...). And he shows no signs of retiring either. On the contrary, Mr Lee always seems to have new projects to look forward to. I think it is remarkable, and, yes, an Academy Award would be a truly wonderful tribute.

Originally Posted by sallyb

I agree:) though with all the honors he has already been accorded, it would not eclipse the OBE he has from the Queen, anyway;)

In actual fact, Mr Lee was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), and NOT the OBE (the late Peter Cushing was awarded the OBE, though). In my view, he ought to have been given a knighthood: not only is he one of Britain's finest actors (the finest I would say), he also served in WWII, for which he was awarded decorations and medals from England, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Poland. And he continued to serve his country after the war for about a year and a half, while he was involved in war crimes investigations.

When I think of some of the other people who have been awarded a knighthood (Sir Elton John, Sir Ian McKellan, Sir Michael Caine, Sir Roger Moore) I cannot understand why Mr Lee has not. In my opinion, Mr Lee, as far as his acting abilities go, outclasses the last three from that list easily.

Well, I think that more or less covers my thoughts on the topic. Whether Mr Lee is given any more awards or not, I am sure that he will continue to delight people all around the world, and, as always, I wish him every success with whatever new endeavours he decides to undertake. God bless, now and always:

poeraven :)

[Emilie]

I agree with you tessie, Mr. Lee has accomplished so much, and I would love to see him recieve such an honorable award. He desreves it.


Emilie

[tessiegirl]

Dear Poeraven,

The genre or films that The Wicker Man actually belongs to is Drama / Suspense. However,the DVD box to the Wicker Man has the words "the best horror film to come out of Britian," on it, which is why I wrote that. That's what most Wicker Man fans say about the film.

Personally, I don't consider the film to be horror either. It's the most beautiful film that I have ever seen. Even hough pagans aren't cast in a very good light, it is still the only film that ever got the concept of paganism right, or described pagans as who we really are.

Tess

[julie]

These are the awards Mr. Lee has been given, as showed in Mr. Lee's Biography on this site.



"Christopher Lee is listed in the Guinness Book of Movie Facts and Feats as being the international star with the most screen credits. He is also credited with the world record for the most swordfights on screen. He was awarded the London Film Critics Dilys Powell '94 award for his work as an actor and services to the film industry. He has recently been awarded Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's Birthday's Honours list. In 2002 at the height of his career, he was awarded the prestigious Lifetime World Actor Award in Vienna from the hands of Mikhail Gorbachev. He was named by the French Government Officer of Arts and Letters."

rats

[Juan Aneiros]

When I think of some of the other people who have been awarded a knighthood (Sir Elton John, Sir Ian McKellan, Sir Michael Caine, Sir Roger Moore) I cannot understand why Mr Lee has not. In my opinion, Mr Lee, as far as his acting abilities go, outclasses the last three from that list easily.

Because for an Englisman, his home is his castle but for an Italian, a castle is a castle. (See attachment)

[Seth de Graaf]

Tessiegirl I'm with you all the way!
Mr Lee is one of the Hollywood's living legends, and a very very very (this can go on for a very very very long time ;) ) good actor.
The Award is almost made for him!

TC

[littleb]

Juan, that is one great attachment. Is it from a poster or what?

[Juan Aneiros]

Is it from a poster or what?

It is the front cover of a tourist information booklet.

[Andrés Verdú]

Originally Posted by Admin

Because for an Englisman, his home is his castle but for an Italian, a castle is a castle. (See attachment)

Hello everybody,

I would like to ask Juan a question based on the following link which I discovered while searching online for information relating to Mr Lee as "Signore di Sarzano" (Lord of Sarzano): http://www.fantasymagazine.it/notizie/1640/&e=9901
[size=2]I know next to nothing of Italian, and this link is written in Italian, but between the translation offered by a search engine and my own limited knowledge, I have been able to work out that (roughly):


Mr Lee was named honorary citizen of the comune di Casina. He was given a ring in commemoration of the honour. In Italy, from the 20th-22nd of July, Christopher Lee, Saruman from The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Let alone Dracula various years ago) has found a home in Casina, and the powerful wizard will pardon us the play on words. [apparently the phrase "casa a Casina" must be a pun when read in Italian, lost in (my) translation]. The grandfathers of the eighty two year old actor, the Carandini counts, were in fact of Sarzano.


The regional city council member for Culture, Marco Barbieri, at the (Contessa Matilde) castle at Sarzano where the ceremony took place, has declared that the citizenship is honoured to have him as host. "An actor whose face is indelibly impressed in the history of the cinema, through a fascinating and rare style on the big screen, above all nowadays. His films are legacies in an essential way a fantasy that is more authentic, free and indomitable."


In the comune de Casina, for the occasion, a series of cultural exhibitions dedicated to the actor will be organised.


[color=royalblue]"I accept this honour - said Christopher Lee showing the ring of his great-grandfather - in my family

[Juan Aneiros]

Your translation is very acurate. There is nothing else that I can add, because that is exactly what I have been told.

[Purple_Pen]

Many thanks for that translation, poeraven! It makes it a lot clearer to me what Juan meant when he posted his attachment previously: I knew nothing about this before then.

[Andrés Verdú]

Not at all, Purple Pen. Glad to be of service (even if I know next to nothing of Italian).

I was curious after I saw that fabulous photo that Juan posted and so I ran a search on "Lord of Sarzano" and "Signore di Sarzano," and that was one of the most relevant articles that turned up. I must admit I had to ask some Italian speakers about one or two of the terms in the original text, as they had me (and the search engine translator) baffled, but, with a lot of assistance, I managed to work it all out eventually.

It sounds like it was a fascinating event, though. I wish it had received more publicity (from the British press, for example) so that fans of Mr Lee could have perhaps seen the ceremony or clips from it. I'm sure Mr Lee would have been most proud on that occasion, and, to reiterate, it is wonderful to see that he has been fully recognised and appreciated by his ancestral homeland. As always, God bless, now and always:

Kindest regards,

poeraven :)