Go Thelma

It was noted in a previous post that two of this year's Oscar nominees were past guests of the Wexner Center: Martin Scorsese and My Country, My Country director Laura Poitras. A terrible oversight on our part. How could we forget Thelma Schoonmaker (pictured above backstage after winning her Oscar Sunday night), who walked off the stage last night with the Best Editing Oscar for her work on The Departed? Schoonmaker visited the Wexner Center in June 2000 to introduce a restored print of her late husband Michael Powell's film The Edge of the World (1937). Some may not realize that Schoonmaker was married to the legendary British director (A Matter of Life and Death, The Red Shoes, Peeping Tom) for the better part of the 1980s until Powell's death in 1990. Schoonmaker was one of the most engaging filmmakers we've ever hosted at the Wexner Center. She was quite generous with tales about Powell's life before they met and anecdotes about her work with Scorsese and by the end of her visit her deep feelings for both men were evident. Last night's Oscar was Schoonmaker's third, following awards for Raging Bull and The Aviator. Congratulations, Thelma! -- Dave Filipi