A Hollywood Mt. Rushmore

“You have been hired to create a Hollywood Mount Rushmore to replace the classic Hollywood sign. You will need to choose four faces that will represent the film industry forever.  You can choose either actors or directors for the purpose of this assignment.”

This was the final essay prompt for my Film as Literature class, and I’m not going to lie, it was pretty cool. The fact that I was able to write ten pages plus create a digital cover, all just in a little over three hours, is very telling of how submerged I was in the topic. 

I would definitely call myself a film fanatic.

My childhood was filled with watching movies with my dad – snippets of iconic and memorable scenes circulate through my mind from John Wayne riding through Monument Valley to Han Solo stirring up trouble at the Cantina.

I grew up marveling over actors like Debbie Reynolds and Gregory Peck, and now my admiration continues with incredible artists like Timothee Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan.

There were so many influential figures that I could choose from to put on my Hollywood Mt. Rushmore. 

But, with a prompt that holds so much weight like this one, I knew that the four people that I chose HAD to the best of the best of their time. After a lot of procrastinating and some research, I finally had my four stars: Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, Francis Ford Coppola, and Leonardo DiCaprio. In my opinion, these people have had the most impact on film in their time, and I believe their influence will stand against the test of time. 

Let me go into why I chose these four. 

Okay, if you don’t know who Judy Garland is, think Dorothy Gale.

Ring a bell now? Garland played the iconic, sweet Midwestern gal, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She did just about everything in that film. She acted, she sang (never forget “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”), and she danced all the way down the yellow brick road. 

*Fun fact: the Wizard of Oz was the first movie to be in Technicolor! 

Judy Garland was such a treasure – her talent was untouchable. However, that isn’t the only reason why I think she is so influential. Garland was one of the most tormented stars of Hollywood, yet she continually bounced back. Her career was rocky as ever, to say the least, but she dazzled on the screen.  I remember reading this article that said that she was overworked and given amphetamines to stay awake as a child. Although she was loved by the public for her ‘girl-next-door’ looks, producers and directors still criticized her body. People of power took advantage of her. Her world spiraled into one of drugs and depression. She had unhealthy eating habits and smoked packs of cigarettes a day. Garland soon became unreliable as a professional. But, honestly, Garland was the product of a really corrupt Hollywood.

Despite her struggle, however, she was still able to come out with blockbuster films such as Meet Me in St. Louis and A Star is Born. With these movies, Garland reminded the industry and world that she was a force to be reckoned with. Time after time, she always rose from the bottom after being constantly pushed down by those who she should have been able to trust. 

This is why Judy Garland deserves a spot on this Hollywood Mt. Rushmore. There is no one more inspiring than her. I only wish that we could go back in time and take some of her pain away. 

Audrey Hepburn.

Glamorous Hollywood star, pop culture icon, and EGOT receiver. But more importantly; Dutch Resistance member, UNICEF Ambassador, and humanitarian. 

In my opinion, what makes a movie star so impactful is not just what they do on the screen, but also how they use their platform to do good off the screen. 

A lot of people know Audrey Hepburn for playing the lovely roles in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Roman Holiday (my personal favorite), but I feel like not many know what her actual life was like. 

She and her mother moved to Holland, a neutral country at the time of WWII to avoid the Nazis, but they invaded anyway. As a Hollywood star, she was envied for her slender figure, which was literally a result of her being starved as a child because her food supplieswould be cut off. Hepburn’s likes for performing started when she was a child, as legend says that she would secretly perform ballet to small audiences and donate the money she’d earn to the Resistance. 

Oh yea, not to mention, her parents were Nazi sympathizers, and she totally criticized their flawed ideology later on in life, instead of trying to defend them. Which I think is really rad.

Hepburn stands out to me because, during a time where actresses seemingly only played a damsel-in-distress (there is nothing wrong with this kind of role), she took on a more diverse variety of characters. She could play a New York socialite who actually has more depth than expected, a spunky Roman princess in disguise who just wants to let loose, or a willful and outspoken nun! Without a doubt, Hepburn’s talent was wide-ranging, but what remained a constant was her charisma she would ooze on and off the screen. The world loved her.  I love her lol. She was elegant, beautiful, and sophisticated. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress in her film A Roman Holiday and was nominated for four others. She has an impressive list of Golden Globe nominations and wins. But Hepburn has also received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

In her later life, Hepburn spent her time working to provide medical and food relief for children as a UNICEF Ambassador.

I’ll always admire her roles as Holly and Princess Ann, but she will forever be just Audrey to me, an unstoppable woman whose impact transcended the screens and into the lives of real people. She most definitely earns a spot on my Hollywood Mt. Rushmore.

 

 

 

 

Alright, now we are getting more into the modern era. For the last two people, I won’t go into too much detail just because their careers and influences have not ended yet!

Next up is director, Francis Ford Coppola.

If you don’t know who Coppola is, he is the mastermind behind The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, Lost in Translation, and a whole lot more.

The Godfather is often regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, and The Godfather II is considered the greatest sequel of all time. I feel like Coppola doesn’t actually have a distinct style in directing, which allows him to be more fluid in his films and create a more diverse set of movies. In the span of his very fruitful career, Coppola has won 23 Academy Awards and has been nominated for about four times that amount. He has won 17 Golden Globe awards and has been nominated over 50 times. With all his accolades, it is no wonder why he is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of New Hollywood.

Coppola is more than qualified to be on my list for my Hollywood Mt. Rushmore. He has loads of talent, he makes big bank, AND he has an incredible amount of awards. In time, Francis Ford Coppola will go down as one of the most prominent filmmakers of the century. For now, I am just waiting for his next movie to come out.

And finally, I have Leonardo DiCaprio as my last star. 

Ahhhh, Leo – everyone’s favorite teenage 90s heartthrob turned one of the greatest actors of all time. 

The number of different types of roles that DiCaprio has taken on his seriously insane. I literally feel like, in every movie, he transforms into the person that he is playing. It’s crazy, his talent is unfathomable. When you think of DiCaprio, you don’t just think Jack Dawson from the Titanic, you also think Arnie Grape from What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, and Jordan Belfort from The Wolf of Wallstreet, and Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, and you think Hugh Glass from The Revenant. He’s not like other actors where you only associate one or two of their characters with them, with Leo, you think of ALL of them. 

I find it insane that he’s only won one Academy Award. In my opinion, he should’ve gotten one for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape way back in 1993. Period. And I know that receiving an Oscar doesn’t determine the value or talent of an actor, but I mean, come on, Leo’s enduring career deserves SO much more. 

But, his charisma and suave on and off the screen have continued to amaze movie lovers through the decades. Leonardo DiCaprio would definitely be on my Hollywood Mt. Rushmore because he can play any role he sets is mind to, and his craft will forever be regarded as the highest level of its kind. 

 

I had a really fun time writing this final essay, which was way more formal than this blog, included critic reviews, and film terms. I got a 94% on it and I’m satisfied with that. 

Films have always played such a huge role in my life. There are so many amazing upcoming actors and directors with unbelievable talent, and I’m excited to see where the future of cinema goes. 

I urge more people, especially my generation and younger, to watch more movies. No, not just the movies that Netflix comes out with, those are cool, but I mean actually go to the theaters or find an old DVD to play. These are the films that keep the past alive and the future looking bright. 

***Currently, I’m patiently waiting for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to be released in theaters next week! I’m siked!