Nicholas Sparks drew inspiration for his novel The Notebook from the grandparents of his wife at the time. After 60 years of marriage, their affection reminded him of his own first day as a newlywed.

Joel McHale played this confrontation as a man taking credit for Carmy’s success. He told GQ he disagreed with the chef’s belief that the results justified the treatment: “Do the ends justify the means? No, they don’t.”

Six Oscar nominations came and went before Al Pacino played Frank Slade. At the 1993 Academy Awards, Pacino was nominated twice, for Glengarry Glen Ross and Scent of a Woman. He finally won Best Actor for Slade, while Bo Goldman’s screenplay received an Adapted Screenplay nomination of its own. One of those speeches that only gets better with time.

There Will Be Blood (2007), dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

At 80, Akira Kurosawa turned his own dreams and Japanese folklore into some of the most painterly images of his career. While shooting Dreams (1990), cinematographer Shoji Ueda worked from hundreds of Kurosawa’s original drawings. They became references for the colors of the costumes, sets and photography, carrying Kurosawa’s paintings directly into the finished film.

Before Sunset (2004), dir. Richard Linklater

Past Lives (2023), dir. Celine Song

Moonlight (2016), dir. Barry Jenkins

Decision to Leave (2022), dir. Park Chan-wook

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), dir. Céline Sciamma

Lost in Translation (2003), dir. Sofia Coppola

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), dir. Wes Anderson

In the Mood for Love (2000), dir. Wong Kar-wai

Blade Runner 2049 (2017), dir. Denis Villeneuve

Drive (2011), dir. Nicolas Winding Refn

Drive (2011), dir. Nicolas Winding Refn Pulp Fiction (1994), dir. Quentin Tarantino Taxi Driver (1976), dir. Martin Scorsese Weathering with You (2019), dir. Makoto Shinkai

The best scene from The Bodyguard.

Jovan Adepo was the new Cory after Chris Chalk aged out of the Broadway part. Washington and Davis had already played these spouses through 88 performances and 13 previews at the Cort. Denzel taped that backyard onto a church floor in Pittsburgh so Adepo could catch up, then they shot the Hill District yard in sequence. He said 24,900 of the screenplay’s 25,000 words are August Wilson.

Four Oscar nominations across nearly 30 years. Edward Norton went from the altar boy who stole Primal Fear to the masked king he refused credit for in Kingdom of Heaven, the narrator who learned boxing and grappling for Fight Club, the volatile actor in Birdman, and Pete Seeger in A Complete Unknown. The range still feels impossible.