This week’s Corpus Playroom show 'Life With Oscar' is a true story of one man’s venture into Hollywood and the film industry, told by the man it happened to. Here is a taste of some of the secrets and mysteries explored in the show.
5. No one is sure where the name ‘Hollywood’ comes from
There are many conflicting theories as to why an area of Los Angeles was named “Hollywood” in the early 20th century as the film industry began to take root there.
Maybe it was a reference to Holly-looking shrubs that surrounded the area. Or maybe it was just that the word “Hollywood” sounded pleasing. Either way, there is something religious-sounding about the name, both since “Holly” is close to “holy” and because it has significance in Druid mythology.
The holy-sounding name feels appropriate for a place that has attracted dreamers, misfits and migrants from across the world. This included the writer and performer of Life With Oscar, Nick Cohen, who moved from the UK to Hollywood in the 2000s to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker.
4. The Oscar statue is modelled after a Mexican immigrant
It is perhaps surprising that the model for the Oscar statue, a symbol for excellence in the American film industry, was a man who wasn’t from the USA.
Emilio Fernandez, otherwise known as ‘Emilio el Indio’, was friends with the wife of the Oscar statuette designer, and ended up posing for them.
So maybe it would be more accurate to not call the statue an Oscar at all, but rather an “Emilio”…
3. The story of Life With Oscar crosses paths with Steven Spielberg, Orson Welles, and many others
Nick’s dalliance with the idea of winning an Oscar begins back when he was a child, when he overheard his father talking to movie producer Alexander Salkind about plans to create the first ever movie about Superman. Nick’s father was among a list of people expressing interest in directing the movie, a list including none other than Steven Spielberg himself.
A range of real people intersect with the story of Life With Oscar, including Orson Welles, Steven Berkoff, Julie Delpy, Sacha Baron Cohen, and more. It’s a one-person show, so the characters are represented in a range of different ways!
2. There are even some real people that cannot be named in the show
There are a couple of famous people, however, whose names have had to be changed to avoid trouble. These include some of the producers, movers and shakers that Nick met in his journey through Hollywood on his quest to win an Oscar. There has been a lot of reckoning in recent years with the dark and sordid underbelly to be found in Hollywood, and Life With Oscar does not shy away from looking at the sleaze that unfortunately has fuelled, and continues to fuel, the film industry.
1. It may be possible to cheat your way to an Oscar
For as long as the Oscars have existed, there have been many stories of producers using dubious means to gain votes, and even win awards, from Harvey Weinstein’s ruthless campaigning that led to Shakespeare in Love winning Best Picture, to more the more recent surprise nomination of Andrea Riseborough as Best Actress, thought to be caused by a belligerent social media campaign.
While these methods for winning Oscars are not illegal, they are thought to bend the rules of playing a “fair game” somewhat, and the story at the heart of Life With Oscar is centred on a specific loophole that a famous director tells Nick might be the way to guarantee an Oscar win…
What is that loophole, you might ask? You’ll need to visit the Corpus Playroom to see Life With Oscar and find out!
Life With Oscar
Written and Performed by Nick Cohen
Thursday 1st - Saturday 3rd May, 7.30PM
Corpus Playroom
Click here to book your tickets!