Results: Robert Altman * American Director of Film & TV, Producer, & Screenwriter

A down on his luck gambler (George Segal as Bill) links up with free spirit Elliot Gould (Elliott Gould as Charlie) at first to have some fun, but then gets into debt when Gould takes an unscheduled trip to Tijuana. As a final act of desperation, he pawns most of his possessions and goes to Reno for the poker game of a lifetime. A film set mainly in casinos and races, as the two win and lose (but mainly win), get robbed, and get blind drunk. Gambling is all about losing, feeling sad, and loneliness. And it's the same if you win or if you lose, no difference. Other films usually show winners, when they solve their common life problems through gambling, or losers, when they ruin their own common life through gambling. "California Split" shows that, if you are a gambler, there's no space for anything else, life, love, or hope, with both winners and losers. Have you seen "California Split"?

Two convicts break out of Mississippi State Penitentiary in 1936 to join a third on a long spree of bank robbing, their special talent and claim to fame. The youngest of the three falls in love along the way with a girl met at their hideout, the older man is a happy professional criminal with a romance of his own, the third is a fast lover and hard drinker fond of his work. The young lovers begin to move out of the sphere in which they have met, a last robbery in Yazoo City goes badly and puts paid to the gang once and for all as a profitable venture, but isn't the end of the story quite yet, as all three are wanted and notorious men with altogether different points of view on the situation they are faced with. The 1974 Winner NBR Award, of Top Ten Films. Have you seen "Thieves like Us"?

"Ready to Wear"A fashion show in Paris draws the usual bunch of people; designers, reporters, models, magazine editors, photographers. Lots of unconnected stories which all revolve around this show, and a murder with an all-star cast. Robert Altman filmed extensively during the real Parisian fashion catwalks, capturing the real spring collections of that year and a host of real-life celebrities. Altman and his writer Barbara Shulgasser then integrated several different storylines into the footage that they had acquired. Winner of 3 Awards, have you seen "Ready to Wear"?

Cookie's Fortune unfolds over an eventful Easter weekend in the small town of Holly Springs, Mississippi. The town residents are peaceful, kind folk -- with the exception of Camille Dixon -- a pushy theatre director with an incredibly shy younger sister, Cora, whose estranged daughter Emma has just returned to town. On the heels of her latest play, Camille is shocked to discover that her Aunt Jewel Mae "Cookie" Orcutt has committed suicide. Terrified at the thought of how this will tarnish the family name, she eats the suicide note to make it look like a burglary. This set-up leads the police to one main suspect, Willis Richland, who also happens to be Cookie's best friend. Although the rest of the town is convinced Willis didn't commit the crime, an outside investigator isn't so sure. As Easter Sunday and opening night of the play arrive, the truth comes out, revealing more secrets than anyone could have possibly imagined. Winner of 3 Awards, have you seen, "Cookie's Fortune"?

Muffin's wedding to Dino Corelli is to be a big affair. Except the aging priest isn't too sure of the ceremony, only the families actually turn up as the Corelli Italian connection is suspect, security guards watch the gifts rather over-zealously, and Dino's grandma dies in bed just as the reception starts. Could be quite an occasion. 1978 Winner Prize San Sebastián, Best Actress Carol Burnett, have you seen "A Wedding"?