On this day in 2006, the animated feature film “Cars,” produced by Pixar Animation Studios, roars into theaters across the United States. For “Cars,” which won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Pixar’s animators created an alternate America inhabited by vehicles instead of humans. The film’s hero is Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen […]
Hollywood Power Couple Welcomes Child
On this day in 2006, in Swakopmund, Namibia, the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt welcome the arrival of their first biological child, a daughter named Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. Talented and famous, Jolie and Pitt were both fixtures on Hollywood’s A-list by the time they starred together as married assassins in the action film Mr. […]
The Da Vinci Code Opens
Amid a firestorm of publicity and controversy, the director Ron Howard’s big-screen adaptation of Dan Brown’s mega-bestselling thriller The Da Vinci Code debuts in theaters on this day in 2006. Howard directed the $125 million film from a script by Akiva Goldsman; the pair had previously won Oscars for their collaboration on 2001’s A Beautiful […]
“World’s Fastest Indian” Makes U.S. Debut
On February 3, 2006, “The World’s Fastest Indian,” a movie based on the true story of motorcycle racer and land-speed record holder Burt Munro, opens in U.S. theaters. The film starred Anthony Hopkins as Munro, the sexagenarian who in the 1960s set several land-speed records on his modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle at the Bonneville […]
Clint Eastwood Honored By Directors Guild Of America
On this day in 2006, Clint Eastwood becomes only the 31st filmmaker in 70 years of Directors Guild of America (DGA) history to be given the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Eastwood accepted his award from DGA President Michael Apted at the 58th Annual DGA Awards ceremony, held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los […]
Oprah Winfrey Takes James Frey To Task For Lying
On this day in 2006, during a live broadcast of her daytime TV talk show, Oprah Winfrey confronts author James Frey about fabrications in “A Million Little Pieces,” his memoir about addiction and recovery, which she chose as an Oprah’s Book Club selection in September 2005. “A Million Little Pieces,” published in 2003, was James […]
Walt Disney Announces $7.4 Billion Purchase Of Pixar
By the end of 2005, Pixar had become a giant in the world of movie animation, and on this day in 2006, the company that brought the world the blockbuster hits Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003) and The Incredibles (2004) was sold to the Walt Disney Company, […]
“Who Killed The Electric Car?” Debuts
On this day in 2006, “Who Killed the Electric Car?,” a documentary about the aborted attempt by the auto industry to create an electric vehicle, debuts at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The movie posited that there was a conspiracy between oil companies, automakers and the government to kill the electric car. The film […]