Veteran stage and film actor Ben Gazzara died over the weekend. He was 81. Best known for his role in the classic film Anatomy of a Murder with James Stewart, he appeared in several notable films throughout his long career, including Husbands and The killing of a Chinese bookie with director John Cassavetes. He is also remembered for his starring role in the 1960s television series Run for Your Life in which he played a lawyer with a terminal illness determined to make the most of his remaining time.

Nominations for the 84th annual Academy Awards were announced January 24. Several of the nominated films and performances are already available in the Library's collection. Among the nominees for Best Picture ready to check out are:

The Help [videodisc]

Midnight in Paris [videodisc]

Moneyball [videodisc]

The tree of life [videodisc]

The Black Swan [videodisc]

Catfish [videodisc]

The company men [videodisc]

Conviction [videodisc]

Fair game [videodisc]

The fighter [videodisc]

The Help [videodisc]

The upcoming weeks will see several new films released that are based on, or inspired by popular books. Here are some of the most anticipated:

The adventures of Tintin: the chapter book by adapted by Stephanie Peters — Directed by Stephen Spielberg

Extremely loud & incredibly close by Jonathan Safran Foer — Starring Tom Hanks & Sandra Bullock

Unfortunately, fans of this popular new DVD will have to wait an extra 28 days to check out a copy from the Library due to a new policy recently instituted by Warner Home Video:

Warner Home Video will no longer distribute theatrical releases to libraries or home video rental stores until 28 days after they release the movies for sale at retailers. This Warner Home Video policy applies to all public libraries and video rental outlets such as Redbox, Netflix, and Blockbuster. In addition to being released 28 days after the retail version, Warner's rental version DVDs will not contain bonus features or extras. Please note that Warner’s new policy will only impact titles that have a theatrical release, perhaps amounting to about 12 titles per year. Non-theatrical Warner releases will not be affected by this policy.

The first three Warner theatrical titles affected by this new policy are Crazy, Stupid Love, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pt.2, and The Hangover, pt.2. If you would like to express your opinions to Warner Home Video you can call toll-free at 1-866-373-4389 or by email.

Actor Peter Falk, best known for his role as the rumpled cop on the television series Columbo, died Thursday in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 83. He was a five-time Emmy winner for the career-defining role as an absent-minded detective who always got his man. In addition to television, Falk appeared in numerous films and received successive Academy Award nominations for Murder, Inc. and Pocketful of Miracles. He also appeared in the critically acclaimed A Woman Under the Influence and the family favorite The Princess Bride.

Wednesday, June 22 is the opening night for the 2011 Detroit Windsor International Film Festival, which will take place on Wayne State University's campus. Running through Sunday, the 26th, the festival will screen a variety of short films, documentaries, and music videos. Now in its fourth year, the festival includes several films with local interest. "Cornertore" — about life in a party store on Six Mile Road — and "Fordson: Faith - Fasting - Football" — about an Arab-American high school football team from Dearborn — are just two of the entries with Detroit area ties. A Tech Fair for aspiring filmmakers will also be held on June 25 from 11:30AM to 4:00PM. Tickets for the festival are $5. For more information call (313) 222-8879.

The National Film Registry of The Library of Congress recently announced its list of inductees for 2010. Among the titles is George Lucas' 1967 short film which inspired the movie THX 1138. Established in 1989, the films are selected for their enduring importance to United States culture. Also included among the list of 2010 entries are:

• Airplane! (1980)
• All the President's Men (1976)
• Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• The Front Page (1931)
• Grey Gardens (1976)
• It's a Gift (1934)
• Malcolm X (1992)
• McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
• Newark Athlete (1891)
• The Pink Panther (1964)
• Saturday Night Fever (1977)
• Star Wars. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

The complete list can be found here.

Adam — A romantic character study examining the obstacles to intimacy and the compromises we make in the name of love, Adam stars Hugh Dancy as a man living with Asperger's syndrome who does his best to reach out to his pretty new upstairs neighbor.

Avatar — Jake Sully is a former Marine who uses a wheelchair. But despite his broken body, Jake is still a warrior at heart. He is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost on Pandora, where a corporate consortium is mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving Earth's energy crisis.

The blind side — Taken in by a well-to-do family and offered a second chance at life, a homeless teen grows to become the star athlete projected to be the first pick at the NFL draft in this sports-themed comedy drama.

Last night's premiere of the new ABC drama Detroit 1-8-7 was just the latest sign of the success of the burgeoning film industry in the state of Michigan. Although parts of the pilot episode were filmed in Atlanta, future episodes will be shot entirely on location in the Detroit area. The gritty police drama — which stars Michael Imperioli and James McDaniel — joins the HBO comedy-drama Hung — which although not filmed entirely in the area, is set here — in using the Detroit metropolitan area as a backdrop for interesting storytelling. These two programs join a growing list of films that were shot in Michigan over the last couple of years — several of which have already been released.

The 2010 Spirit Awards will be presented Saturday, March 6 In Los Angeles. You can watch the program live on the Independent Film Channel at 8:00 p.m. Given out annually by Film Independent, this year's nominees include Amreeka, Sin Nombre, (500) Days of Summer for Best Film, and Helen Mirren, Gabourey Sidibe, Samantha Morton, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Colin Firth among the actors nominated in both lead and supporting roles.

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature, The Cove documents the abuse of dolphins by fishermen in Taiji, a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan. Animal rights activist and filmmaker Richard O'Barry - a former animal trainer who once captured the dolphins used on the television series Flipper - has four decades later renounced his previous profession. Instead he has captured on film shocking images of how the dolphins' habitat has been poisoned by the fishermen and their marine ecology endangered. The film received its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has bestowed its Best Film award on The Hurt Locker - the Iraq War film which has also been nominated for an Oscar in the same category. Kathryn Bigelow also won as Best Director, with the film winning in six categories over all. The ceremonies were held yesterday In London where Prince William - the new BAFTA president - was in attendance.

The Academy Awards are the highest honors accorded by the U.S. film industry to the motion pictures, performers, directors and many others whose work we view on the Silver Screen. When the first Oscars were handed out in May, 1929, movies had just begun to "talk," and the Oscar wasn't yet called by that name. Dig into some movie history, whether you explore the resources in this collection year-round, or just during the weeks prior to each year's Oscar ceremonies.

Nominated for three Oscars ( Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay), An Education - based on the memoir by Lynn Barber - is set in 1961 London where suburban 16-year old Jenny is eager to start her adult life. Jenny gets the chance to shake things up when she comes under the spell of David - an older, urbane newcomer who introduces her to art auctions, classical concerts, and crowded pubs. The film stars Best Actress nominee Carey Mulligan as Jenny and Peter Sarsgaard as David.

Nominated for six Oscars (including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay), Up in the Air is an adaptation of Walter Kirn's novel about a human resources administrator (George Clooney) who flies around the country firing people for bosses who don't have the stomach for it. Director Jason Reitman's cast also includes Jason Bateman and fellow nominees for Best Supporting Actress Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. Some scenes were filmed last year in Detroit Metro Airport!

Nominations for the 2010 Academy Awards have been announced, and many of the nominated films are already here at the Library. This year there are ten films nominated for Best Picture - the first time in over 60 years that this has been done (in the eight years from 1936 to 1943 there were also 10 best picture nominees).

The National Film Registry of The Library of Congress recently announced its list of inductees for 2009. Among the titles is Michael Jackson's 1983 video Thriller, which is the first music video to be named to the Registry. Established in 1989, it now contains 525 films selected for their enduring importance to United States culture. Also included among the list of 2009 entries are

• Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
• Jezebel (1938)
• Mrs. Miniver (1942)
• The Muppet Movie (1979)
• Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
• Pillow Talk (1959)
• The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)

The complete list can be found here.

Bolt (voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus) Super-dog Bolt is the star of a hit TV show whose life is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue. When he is accidentally shipped to New York City and separated from Penney, his beloved co-star and owner, Bolt immediately springs into action to save her from the forces of evil.

Coraline (voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher) A young girl walks through a secret door that she has found in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman.

According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, Hollywood is coming to the aid of the McGregor Library in Highland Park, Michigan. The library was forced to close in 2002 because the city couldn't afford to keep it open. Actor Danny Glover will reportedly star in a film - titled Highland Park - which will tell the story of the struggle to reopen the library. Significant restoration will be done on the building as part of the film project, and it is hoped that this will eventually lead to the library reopening.