This Month in Filmmaking History - April 2022

Nickelodeon, which was one of the first cable channels for children, launched on this day in history in 1979. Many of its animated TV shows and scripted series have become pop culture icons, including "SpongeBob SquarePants," created by the late Stephen Hillenburg, and "All That," which helped launch the careers of Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. The name, Nickelodeon, comes from the first five-cent movie theaters, called nickelodeons.

Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick wrote the screenplay for "2001: A Space Odyssey," which debuted on this day in 1968 at the Uptown Theater in Washington, DC Critics were split on the film, with some calling it unforgettable, and others walking out of the theater. Clarke and Kubrick intended to write the science fiction piece as a novel first but ended up writing a screenplay and novel simultaneously. The pair wrote many drafts, and early versions even had a prologue that included interviews with scientists about extraterrestrials. Once shooting started, Kubrick had removed most of the dialogue and narration from the script. The movie went on to win a number of awards and is now considered Kubrick's masterpiece. 

Cahiers du Cinema Magazine was founded in April 1951 as an iteration of a previous magazine called Revue du Cinema. It is the oldest French film magazine still around today, although its future is now uncertain following a buyout in February 2020. On a single day that month, the magazine's entire editorial staff resigned over the new ownership, which includes eight producers. The team felt like the producers created a conflict of interest when it came to the content of the magazine. While the future is unknown, Cahiers du Cinema will go down in history as the magazine that brought the French New Wave to the forefront, introduced the world to the word "auteur," and launched the careers of many well-known filmmakers and critics.

"All the President's Men," written by William Goldman, debuted on this day in history in 1976. The political thriller is based on the Watergate scandal – specifically, the non-fiction book by the same name – written by the two journalists at the center of it all, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Robert Redford bought rights to the book and hired Goldman to write the screenplay. But neither author nor Robert Redford was happy with Goldman's first draft. So, Woodward and his then-girlfriend Nora Ephron wrote a draft of their own, and one of their scenes actually made it into the film, despite it not being true to real events. In the end, Goldman is the only one credited with writing the screenplay.

Buster Keaton's action-comedy "Steamboat Bill, Jr." premiered on this day in history in 1928 in Santa Maria, California. It was the last movie he made for United Artists and the second to last film he'd ever make in his signature style. Carl Harbaugh wrote the film's story, which follows the son of a riverboat captain who joins his father's crew and falls in love with the competition. The movie features one of Keaton's most famous stunts, where the façade of a house falls on him, but he narrowly escapes by fitting through the window and remains standing. The stunt has been recreated many times over the years, and the film's title inspired Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie," which is considered Mickey Mouse's debut.

While James Creelman and Ruth Rose were ultimately credited with the screenplay for "King Kong," British mystery author Edgar Wallace wrote the initial version. Directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack planned to leverage Wallace's fame to promote the film, but before Wallace could begin revising his first draft called "The Beast," he passed away. Cooper brought in Creelman but felt his draft was too slow-paced. He later hired Ruth Rose, a writer who had no screenplay experience, to tighten the script. Rose also happened to be married to Schoedsack.

Perhaps one of the earliest precursors to the modern slasher film, "Peeping Tom," premiered on this day in history in 1960. The British horror-thriller tells the story of a voyeur serial killer who films his victims' expressions as they die. Critics tore the film apart for its extremely dark subject matter, but it has since become a cult classic and is considered one of the best British films of all time. Leo Marks, a former WWII cryptographer-turned-screenwriter, wrote the screenplay based on the people he met while growing up around his father's book store in London. Marks has said he was inspired to write a horror film after reading stories from Edgar Allen Poe.

Named the second-best courtroom drama film ever by the American Film Institute ("To Kill a Mockingbird" is #1), "12 Angry Men" debuted on this day in history in 1957. Reginald Rose initially wrote the screenplay for TV, and after its success on CBS, it was adapted for film. The black and white film didn't perform well at the box office, though, which some attributed to new widescreen formats and color film. The story follows 12 jurors deliberating whether to convict an 18-year-old defendant. The film is preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

"Singin' in the Rain" is one of the most beloved musicals, and its story is rooted in its songs. The film premiered on this day in history in 1952. Betty Comden and Adolph Green were hired to write the script based on a backlog of songs written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, who were responsible for many of MGM studios' fancy musicals at the time. Comden and Green tied the songs together through a romantic comedy about three performers transitioning from silent films to talkies. The musical wasn't an immediate success but has since become known as one of the best films of all time. Comden and Green won the Writers Guild of America award for their screenplay.

Happy Birthday, Walter Salles! Salles is a Brazilian director, producer, and writer, best known for his movies "Central Station," "The Motorcycle Diaries," and "Foreign Land." Salles has been nominated for a number of awards, including two Golden Globe nominations and one win for Best Foreign Language Film for "Central Station." "The Motorcycle Diaries" won the award for Best Film Not in the English Language at the BAFTAs in 2005.

Robert Riskin wrote the screenplay for "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," which debuted on this day in history in 1936. The film stars Gary Cooper as a man who has just inherited his rich uncle's estate and follows the story of the greedy people who try to get a piece of the pie. The movie landed Frank Capra the Best Director Oscar that year. It also put the Vermont Town of Mandrake Falls on the map, from which the lead character hails, as the quintessential example of small-town America. And another fun fact: the word "doodle," at least as we define it today, also came from the final scene in this movie, where the lead character explains a doodler to the judge as someone who draws foolish designs on paper. Before then, the definition meant fooling around. We're so happy Riskin coined this term; otherwise, SoCreate's Noodle the Doodle may have never come to be!

"The Cabin in the Woods" premiered at South by Southwest in early March 2012 and was widely released on this day in history in 2012. The horror comedy was written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard in just three days, and Goddard directed the movie as well. The writers, who had previously worked together on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," said they wanted the film to revitalize the horror genre – both what we love and hate about it. The movie won or was nominated for at least six best screenplay honors at various awards ceremonies.

Happy Birthday, Fruit Chan! Chan is a screenwriter, filmmaker, and producer from Hong Kong. His most well-known film is "Made in Hong Kong," which won the Best Picture Award at the 1998 Hong Kong Film Awards, as well as several other awards and nominations. The movie is made from leftover film reels from other productions and has been praised as a realistic depiction of life in Hong Kong.

Actor, filmmaker, and composer Charlie Chaplin's career spanned more than 75 years. He was born on this day in history in 1889. He brought laughter to millions of people through his screen persona, "The Tramp," and went down in history as one of the world's most iconic figures in the film industry. He would have been 131 years old today.

Brian Robbins and Michael Tollin originated the idea for Nickelodeon's sketch comedy series, "All That," which debuted on this day in 1994 and ran for a decade. However, Dan Schneider was the head writer and showrunner on the show, and he went on to have a successful career in writing children's television for Nickelodeon. The show's cast launched the careers of several child and teen actors as well. In 2019, two of those stars, Kenan Thomspon and Kel Mitchell, became executive producers on a revival of the series.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are credited for the bulk of the work on the "Game of Thrones" scripts, but there were actually seven writers on the show over six seasons. The first season debuted on this day in 2011. Benioff and Weiss reportedly assigned certain characters to other writers, who'd then go off and write in-depth character outlines and arcs. Later, Benioff would write one half of the script and Weiss the other. All of the episodes are based on George R.R. Martin's fantasy novel series, "A Song of Ice and Fire." The show set many records, including a record of 58 Primetime Emmy Awards and 161 Emmy Awards nominations.

The first feature-length German talkie, "The Blue Angel," premiered on this day in Hungary in 1930. Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller, and Robert Liebmann wrote the screenplay, based on Heinrich Mann's novel, "Professor Filth." The story follows a professor who goes mad with jealousy over a cabaret performer, ultimately becoming a humiliated cabaret clown. The film was shot in German and English simultaneously, hoping that the dual-language feature would maximize box office profits. Still, actors struggled with pronouncing the English words, so the German film is considered superior.

Though the film's political context is controversial, Leni Riefenstahl's "Olympia Part One: Festival of Nations" will go down in history as a groundbreaking example of advanced film techniques for its time. The Nazi German propaganda film, which debuted on this day in Berlin in 1938, covers the 1936 Summer Olympics with an impressive array of camera placements, including underwater, bleachers, and even balloons with cameras attached that had instructions to return the film to Riefenstahl. The film is known for its use of smash cuts, extreme closeups, and other new camera angles.

On this day in history in 1928, "The Passion of Joan of Arc" debuted with one of the greatest performances in cinematic history by actor Renee Jeanne Falconetti. This silent, black and white film continues to rank in the top 10 international films of all time by Sight and Sound Magazine. It was written by Joseph Delteil and Carl Theodor Dreyer.

"The Public Enemy," one of the earlier subgenre gangster films, premiered in New York City on this day in 1931. The story centers on one criminal's life of crime in prohibition-era America. Harvey F. Thew wrote the screenplay based on a book called "Beer and Blood," written by two journalists who had followed Al Capone's gang rivalries In Chicago. The film is still praised for its acting and story, which was nominated for Best Story at the 4th Academy Awards.

"Avengers: Infinity War" is one of the most expensive films ever made. It debuted on this day in history in 2018. Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus wrote the screenplay based on Jim Starlin's 1991 comic book "The Infinity Gauntlet" and Jonathan Hickman's "Infinity." The movie broke many records as the highest-grossing superhero film, the highest-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe film, and the fourth highest-grossing film of all time with $2.048 billion at the box office. 

"The Handmaid's Tale" TV series debuted on Hulu on this day in history in 2017. The series was created by Bruce Miller, based on Margaret Atwood's novel by the same name. The story follows the handmaids, who live in a totalitarian society where they've been subjected to child-bearing slavery. In its first season, "The Handmaid's Tale" won eight Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes for Best Actress (Elisabeth Moss) and Best Drama Television Series.

The four-hour-long "Dr. Mabuse The Gambler" premiered on this day in history in 1922. It was only part one of the three-part German silent film series directed by filmmaker Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou. The story takes place in an almost-dystopian post-WWI Germany and features heavy themes of German society's collapse, the power of evil, and surveillance. When it was finally released as a heavily edited two-hour version in the USA in 1927, critics still complained of its length. The full-length version wouldn't premier in the USA until the 70s, where it would later be praised for being the hit of the New York Film Festival. After its 1922 release, critics said people would watch the film 50 to 100 years from now and have an "idea of an age they could hardly comprehend without such a document." 

The comedy feature "Bridesmaids" premiered on this day in history in Westwood, California, in 2011, putting a spotlight on female-driven comedies. Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, who first met each other in an improv comedy troupe in Los Angeles, hashed out the screenplay together while Wiig worked on "Saturday Night Live" in New York and Mumolo worked from LA. They hadn't planned to write a screenplay together until director Judd Apatow - who was working with Wiig on the film "Knocked Up" at the time - asked Wiig if she ever had any ideas for a script herself. Similarly, Apatow asked Steve Carell this same question, which is what inspired him to write "40-Year-Old Virgin."

Viña Delmar wrote the screenplay for "Make Way For Tomorrow," an American drama that had a limited release on this day in history in 1937. The depression-era film is about an elderly couple who must separate after losing their home, and none of their children will take both of them in. Some critics felt the story was overly depressing. Still, in more recent times, they have come to consider the story an "unsung Hollywood masterpiece" for its honest portrayal of family and aging. Director Leo McCarey thought it was his best film, and while accepting an Oscar for Best Director for another film released that same year, told the audience that he'd be given the award for the wrong picture.