Meryl Streep, the favorite to play Hillary Clinton
Welcome to the 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll for February. It can be chilly to downright freezing in many parts of the country this month, good weather for watching TV. Two of America's biggest televised events will take place in February. The granddaddy of all broadcasts, the Super Bowl will take place on Sunday, February 3rd. The Baltimore Ravens will be led by Ray Lewis playing in his last game against the San Francisco 49ers who feature a phenomenal young quarterback named Colin Kaepernick. The winning coach will be named Harbaugh as will the losing coach. More than 100 million Americans are expected to be watching the game on CBS that night.
Three weeks later on February 24th, another American pageant takes place, the Academy Awards. The star studded event showcases excellence in American and foreign filmmaking to the world. In honor of the Oscars, this month's poll focuses on the wonderful world of movies. The best of them make us laugh and cry and think. We are enriched by their inventive storytelling and illuminated by their thought provoking dialogue and messages. But most of all we are transported to another place, away from machines and other distractions, and for a couple of hours we can simply be entertained. And now the results...
Only 17 percent of Americans correctly named "On the Waterfront" as the movie where the famous line "I coulda been a contender" appears. The classic movie won eight Oscars in 1954 including Best Picture, Best Director (Elia Kazan), Best Screenplay (Bud Schulberg), Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint in her debut) and by the way, that famous line helped Marlon Brando to win Best Actor. Next up were "The Godfather" 10 percent (Brando won an Oscar for that one too with the line, "we'll make him an offer he can't refuse"), "A Streetcar Named Desire" 10 percent (Brando's line "Hey Stella" lost to Bogie that year), A Wonderful Life six percent and Traffic two percent. Guess it doesn't hurt to have a memorable line when it comes to Oscar voting.
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If they could change one thing about the Academy Awards broadcast, 35 percent of Americans would reduce the number of awards that are given as a way to shorten the notoriously long production. Sixteen percent would can the speeches, 11 percent would unplug the musical numbers and another 11 percent would let the "In Memoriam" montage rest in peace. Like the producers of the show, 27 percent did not know or had no answer for how to shorten the Oscars.
Which is better the movie or the book? Fifty-five percent of Americans say the book is always better than the movie, while 31 percent acknowledged that the movie version can sometimes be better. Either 55 percent of the respondents were devout bibliophiles or they must not have seen too many movies. Although books don't always translate well on to the screen, there are certainly some examples where the movie may have surpassed the book. It's not so much saying the movies are all that great as it is that some books just aren't very good to begin with.
Now this is a leading question. It appears that Americans like their leading men to be the tough, solid American type like Clint Eastwood 28 percent and Denzel Washington 23 percent. Twelve percent like the handsome, charming urbane and funny type like Cary Grant 12 percent and George Clooney nine percent. And then there are the roguish renegades and sometime anti-heroes like Jack Nicholson nine percent, Humphrey Bogart eight percent and Steve McQueen three percent.
Thirty-one percent of Americans want their quintessential leading lady to be a consummate actress that can play a great diversity of roles like Meryl Streep. Twenty-four percent like an attractive and nice girl with a mischievous streak like Julia Roberts. And then there is the woman of exceptional or stunning beauty that can also really act like Elizabeth Taylor 11 percent or Halle Berry nine percent or Sophia Loren seven percent. And then there are the one of a kind actresses like Bette Davis nine percent who had more guts and craft than can be described in words. Lost to the mist of time is the beauty and mystique of Greta Garbo one percent.
Four out of 10 Americans would choose Meryl Streep to play Hillary Clinton in a biopic. The prolific and supremely talented and chameleon-like actress known for inhabiting the people and roles that she plays. The next closest choice was Glenn Close with 18 percent, followed by Susan Sarandon eight percent, Helen Mirren seven percent, Kirsten Dunst six percent and Connie Britton one percent. Now that she'll be looking for work, maybe the former first lady, senator and secretary of state can begin an acting career by playing herself.
According to our respondents, a first date can be awkward enough without complicating it by going to a foreign movie 36 percent, a tearjerker 17 percent or an action movie 16 percent. Less problematic according to those who remember those first dates or at least haven't completely blocked the memory of them out, are romantic comedies 11 percent, thrillers seven percent and dramas four percent. The moral of the story is, the more drama in the movie, the less drama in the date.
Forty-six percent of Americans are least interested in seeing (and hearing) foreign films with subtitles. Twenty-one percent said 3D Movies lacked depth, 17 percent were not singing the praises of musicals and 11 percent weren't very animated when it came to animated movies. Guess they won't be flocking to the 3D animated musical remake of "The Little Prince" in French with subtitles.
Thirty-five percent of Americans think the most difficult job in Hollywood belongs to the assistant. The stereotype of the mercurial star or producer heaping abuse on the lowly assistant runs strong. Next up is the director with 22 percent, half pitied for having to put up with temperamental actors and meddling producers and half admired for taking on the daunting overall responsibility for the movie. Don't forget the beleaguered writer 21 percent who often must endure their share of abuse, crazy hours and numerous rewrites and revisions in service of their art. Actors eight percent and publicists six percent get less sympathy for their job descriptions.
Only one in five Americans correctly identified Harvey Weinstein as an Oscar-winning Hollywood Producer. Ten percent guessed he was Jimmy Stewart's friend "Harvey" in the movie of the same name. Eight percent thought he was the composer of "The Sting", two percent thought it was William Hurt's real name and 59 percent did not know or guess. It goes to show that you can have a lot of power in Hollywood and not be very well-known in the country just as easily as you can be very well-known in the country and be a nobody in Hollywood.
Fifty-four percent of Americans would rather watch a great film while 42 percent would rather watch a powerful documentary. Most Americans enjoy both mediums and there is no shortage of opportunities to see plenty of each. With hundreds of television channels, pay cable, movie theaters and international markets the demand for films of all kinds is high. Filmmaking and Hollywood are two of America's greatest inventions and continue to be a source of enormous creativity and wealth for the country and the world.