Tag Archives: film

Start Your Week With A “Sketchy” Disney•Pixar Contest

Posted on by

Remember last week’s post about the blue-pencil sketches on the back of the Mail a Smile stamp sheet? Well, now’s your chance to show us how well you know the five Disney•Pixar movies featured on the stamps.

Here is the back of the stamp sheet again:

Can you name all the characters shown in the sketches? If so, you could win one set of Mail a Smile postcards, which include the stamp art and five of the sketches.

To enter, send your name and address along with the name of each character and the movie in which he/she/it appears to uspsstamps [at] gmail [dot] com. Three winners will be selected at random from those who answer correctly. You have until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, 9/12 to submit your answers. Good luck!

Disney/Pixar Materials: © Disney•Pixar

Happy Birthday, Bob Fosse!

Posted on by

Today we’re celebrating the birthday of choreographer Bob Fosse. Check out this great performance from Fosse’s second film, Cabaret (1972), which starred Liza Minnelli as an American nightclub performer in Berlin when the Nazis come to power.

Cabaret is regarded as a landmark in the history of Hollywood musicals. Fosse was determined to set the action in the “real world” of Berlin in the 1930s, so he eliminated the stage convention in which characters sing in the course of their daily lives; here, the singing is “realistic” and occurs only in the context of the cabaret or beer garden.

The film won eight Oscars, including one for Fosse as best director, in 1973. That same year, he won two Tony awards as best director and best choreographer for the musical Pippin, as well as three Emmy awards for his direction, choreography, and production of the television special Liza With a Z. No other director has won the “Triple Crown” (Oscar, Tony, and Emmy awards) in the same year.

Bob Fosse will be featured on the Innovative Choreographers stamps, which will be issued July 28 in Los Angeles, California. We can’t wait! For more information about the stamps, visit Beyond the Perf.

Summer Shivers with Director Billy Wilder

Posted on by

It’s Friday. How about some film noir?

This clip is from Double Indemnity (1944), written by director Billy Wilder and author Raymond Chandler. It stars Barbara Stanwyck as a woman who teams up with an insurance agent (played by Fred MacMurray) to murder her husband. The film, considered risky material for its time, set conventions for later noir films and brought Wilder his first Academy Award nomination for best direction.

Billy Wilder, who was born on this day in 1906, is featured on the Great Film Directors stamps, which were issued May 23, 2012, in Silver Spring, MD. For more information about the stamps, visit Beyond the Perf.

Wilder worked successfully in various genres, from the noir of Double Indemnity to the wild farce of Some Like It Hot (1959),and created several of Hollywood’s most unforgettable pictures. Want to see more of his work? You’re in luck because TCM is hosting a birthday tribute tonight! Films include the screwball comedy Ninotchka (1939), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Love in the Afternoon (1957), and The Spirit of St. Louis (1957). Throwing a Billy Wilder theme party? Send us some pictures to uspsstamps [a] gmail [dot] com (they must include the stamp!), and we may feature them here.

Some Like It Hot © 1959 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Our Favorite Extraterrestrial Turns 30

Posted on by

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, one of the most beloved films of all time, turns 30 today. This warm tale of friendship between a lonely boy and a lost extraterrestrial instantly became a universally appealing story line after its release on June 11, 1982, grossing $200 million during its first 66 days alone.

With his four famous syllables—”E.T. phone home”—the wrinkly, Reese’s Piece-loving alien captured our hearts. His wide-eyed innocence and quest to return home made E.T. the perfect hero. The shenanigans that ensue as he and Elliot outrun the authorities to safely return E.T. to his mother ship have made this movie an American classic.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, E.T. won four Academy Awards and held the record as the top-grossing film for 15 years. We can certainly understand why. Just look at that face!

When was the last time you saw “E.T. phone home”?

“E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” is a trademark and copyright of Universal City Studios, Inc. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. All rights reserved.

Experience the Magic of Mail a Smile First Day of Issue Ceremony Again and Again

Posted on by

If you weren’t able to make it to the Mail a Smile (Forever®) First Day of Issue ceremony at Disney World on Friday—or watch it on our live feed—you can catch all the action you missed! Watch the entire dedication and be taken away on a magical journey.

a

You can still purchase Mail a Smile , including a standard cancellation with the date and location of the stamp issuance, and  to add to your collection. They make great gifts, too!