SANDY KOZEL

Premiered on this day in New York in 1946.

Although it was nominated for five Academy Awards, including
Best Picture, It’s a Wonderful Life initially received mixed
reviews and was unsuccessful at the box office.

It’s a Wonderful Life is now considered to be one of the greatest
films of all time and among the best Christmas films. It was one
of Stewart’s favorite films.  

        
        
        
        
       

Death of a Salesman is a 1949 stage play written by the
American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered
on Broadway in February 10, 1949, running for 742
performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s
Brooklyn told through a montage of memories, dreams,
and arguments of the protagonist Willy Loman, a travelling
salesman who is despondent with his life and appears to
be slipping into senility. The play addresses a variety of
themes, such as the American Dream, the anatomy of truth,
and infidelity. It won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and
Tony Award for Best Play. It is considered by some critics
to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.

Arthur Asher Miller
(October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005)

Lee J. Cobb and Mildred Dunnock in the 1949
Tony Award-winning production of "Death of
a Salesman."

December 16, 2009 saw the premiere of the James Cameron 
blockbuster science fiction film Avatar. One of the most
expensive films ever made, it was also one of the most
successful, holding the title of highest-grossing film of all
time for nearly a decade.

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, 
                Michelle Rodriquez, and Sigourney Weaver
              
              

Director James Cameron (69)

Casablanca is a romantic drama film directed by Michael
Curtiz and starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman,
and Paul Henreid.

On November 4, 1990, Dances with Wolves, a film about an
American Civil War–era soldier and a group of Sioux Native
Americans that stars Kevin Costner and also marked his
directorial debut, premiered in Los Angeles. The film, which
opened across the United States on November 21, 1990,
was a surprise box-office success and earned 12 Academy
Award nominations, including Best Actor for Costner.