Arial Adams is an old pal of mine. Arial Adams and Benjamin Clymer from Hodinkee and I all started our watch blogs within several months of each other, almost ten years ago—man how time flies!?!! The three of us, along with James Dowling from Timezone.com were the first journalists to be invited to tour all four Rolex manufacturing facilities in Switzerland—back in 2013.
Jake Ehrlich, James Dowling, Benjamin Clymer, and Ariel Adams on November 18, 2013
(RolexMagazine.com, Timezone.com, Hodinkee.com, and ABlogToWatch.com)
I can only speak for myself, but visiting Rolex as like a child visiting Disneyland for the first time, or as I mentioned in my "INSIDE ROLEX: Exploring What Makes Rolex Tick" story, I felt like Charlie having won the Golden Ticket to tour Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory. It was crazy cool!!! All of us even got to work on putting together part of a new Rolex. Specifically, each of us installed a set of hands on different Rolex Submariner models. It is funny to think their are Rolex Submariner models on people's wrists somewhere on planet earth that had their hands installed either by Benjamin Clymer, James Dowling, Ariel Adams, or by your truly :-)
Benjamin Clymer, James Dowling, Ariel Adams, and Jake Ehrlich on November 19, 2013
(Hodinkee.com, Timezone.com, ABlogToWatch.com, and RolexMagazine.com)
Robert De Niro has stared in many famous movies and some of my personal favorites include:
The Godfather Part 2 (1974)
Taxi Driver (1976)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Raging Bull (1980)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Brazil (1985)
The Mission (1986)
Angel Heart (1987)
The Untouchables (1987)
Good Fellas (1990)
Cape Fear (1991)
A Bronx Tale (1993)
Casino (1995)
Wag The Dog (1997)
Jackie Brown (1997)
Analyze This (1999)
Meet the Parents (2000)
American Hustle (2013)
Robert De Niro is pictured below at age 7 in a photo the looks like it could have been taken yesterday. It is amazing if you think about it, to think this little boy would go on to become one of the most talented and celebrated actors of his time.
The Deer Hunter
1978
Robert De Niro wore a Stainless Steel Rolex Submariner in the Deer Hunter, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1978...
The original Deer Hunter trailer is below, and at 2:50 into the trailer Robert De Niro's Rolex Submariner is visible.
Robert De Niro
1981 Academy Award Winner for Best Actor
15 Minutes
2001
It has been said Robert De Niro wore a Rolex Daytona in the 2001 movie named "15 Minutes.", but after careful evaluation I don't think it is a Rolex. It sure looks like a vintage Daytona, but I don't think it is. If you look closely, you can see the watch is lacking chronograph pusher buttons. Usually, I wouldn't include a photo like this in a Rolex story, but I also specialize in busting all false Rolex myths, so I thought I would separate the fact from the fiction on this one.
Showtime
2002
Robert De Niro costared in the movie Showtime with Eddie Murphy, and in the photos below we see him wearing what appears to be a vintage stainless Rolex Oyster in this movie.
Robert De Niro is pictured below with William Shatner
Eddie Murphy on the left with Rene Russo in the background with Robert De Niro on the right
I could not help but notice that Eddie and Robert are kind of pointing at each other like in the photo below the movie poster.
Killer Elite
2011
As we saw in the first photos of Robert de Diro in this story, he wore a Rolex Submariner 41 years ago in 1976, in the movie named The Deer Hunter. In the 2011 movie named Killer Elite, Robert de Niro also wore a vintage stainless steel Rolex Submariner (no date) as seen below. Ironically, this appears to be the same model he wore in The Deer Hunter. I doubt its the same watch, but definitely worth noting is looks like the same Rolex Submariner Reference 5512 or 5513.
What is my favorite current Rolex model? Probably the 42MM Orange Hand Explorer with the Polar What dial as seen in the three photos below.
In particular, I really like the super fat hands, and Maxi-Markers, as well as the fat lugs, and of course, the 42mm size seems just right. Also, the orange hand with the polar white dial is so cool looking!!!
"Bill and I started together on low-budget Roger Corman films, and came up together, through the 80’s and 90’s, working together as actor and director. He ultimately acted in over 60 films, including Twister, Aliens, Apollo 13, True Lies, Titanic and Edge of Tomorrow, as well as many TV films and series, including his critically acclaimed Big Love. For 36 years he was one of my closest friends, a friendship that went far beyond our work together.
Of course even now, after his long and celebrated career, one of his most memorable characters remains one of his earliest: Private Hudson in Aliens. His wail, “It’s game over man!,” is as funny today as it was 31 years ago. It was the voice of the everyman, a quintessentially human response to fear and hopelessness.
The night before his heart surgery, which was ironically on Valentine’s Day, we had what was to be our last conversation. He was upbeat, even joking about being scared, saying “I feel like Hudson.” We both had a laugh riffing on “It’s game over man!” But tragically, for Bill, it was game over.
He will be greatly missed by all who knew and worked with him. He was always bursting with enthusiasm and ideas. I never met an actor or filmmaker who didn’t say he was one of the most likeable people they’d ever worked with. Of course, this business is not about being liked, but to stay sane and decent while doing some of the best work out there was Bill’s unique gift.
Bill Paxton was an actor in James Cameron's epic movie, Titanic, where he played a treasure hunter, and in the photo below we see Paxton famously wearing his yellow gold Rolex Submariner in the movie.
I remember noticing Bill Paxton's Rolex when I saw Titanic in theaters, and thinking it was so apropos and cool...His performance was extremely passionate, highly believable, and overall superb!
You can watch the Official Titanic Trailer below. Titanic was so much more than a movie, it was an experience...
Rolex created a special nostalgic Rolex TV commercial for the 2017 Academy Awards titled, "Celebrating Cinema". The commercial aired twice on ABC during the Oscar ceremony. Bill Paxton passed away the day before the Academy Awards aired, but many people were disappointed to discover The Academy Awards did not have any kind of tribute to Bill Paxton's amazing career achievements, but in a serendipitous twist of fate, Rolex did!!!
Bill Paxton's role in the Titanic was covered in the movie collage seen above, which was perhaps the most moving and heartwarming and touching element of the 2017 Academy Awards ceremony. Arguably, The Bill Paxton's Titanic touchstone footage made the Rolex TV commercial a thousand times more emotionally engaging and moving. The Rolex "Celebrating Cinema" Oscar TV commercial also featured a Rolex scene from the movie, Apollo 13, which Bill Paxton also starred in, that came just before the Bill Paxton Titanic scenes. It is also worth noting that Jennifer Aniston got all choked-up when she mentioned Bill Paxton during the 2017 Academy Awards.
Ryan Gosling is pictured below next to his gorgeous older sister, Mandi, at the 89th Academy Awards.
Ryan Gosling co-starred with Emma Stone in the 2017 Blockbuster hit titled, "La La Land", which was nominated for 14 Oscars. La La Land was expected by many to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Ryan Gosling seemed like he was a likely candidate to win for Best Actor, which he did not, despite the fact that Emma Stone his co-star in La La Land won the Oscar for Best Actress.
In La La Land
Despite having decorated the Green Room @ last years 2016 Academy Awards, as well as this year, this was Rolex's first year as an official sponsor of the Oscar's. The last Oscar award of the 2017 Academy Awards was for Best Picture, and there was a mistake that said La La Land won for Best Picture. About a minute later, after the La La Land crew were on stage giving their acceptance speeches, they were told there was an error and that they did not win!?!! The photo below was taken at that moment Ryan Gosling realized what was going on, and that Moonlight had won the Oscar for Best Picture...which explains his look of almost disbelief on his face.
Image of Ryan Gosling appears courtesy of Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
It's interesting because the Rolex Academy Awards "Celebrating Cinema" TV commercial seen in the story before this one, concludes by saying, "IT DOESN'T JUST TELL TIME. IT TELLS HISTORY." This slogan seems perfectly on-point when you look at the photo above of Ryan Gosling wearing his vintage Rolex Air-King, standing on the stage of the 2017 Academy Awards for the Best Picture, witnessing the absolute most fascinatingly bizarre/shocking/blunderous/cringe-inducing/non-sensical/memorable moment in La La Land Oscar History.
Image of Ryan Gosling appears courtesy of Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
In case you missed the pandemonium that revolved around the Academy Award for Best Picture, you can watch it in the video below. I watched this live, and was stunned, as was everybody else :-0
The Los Angeles Times published the fascinating photo below that shows the Academy Award audience in a state of shock, as the confusion ensued during the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Update: February 28, 2017: Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) missed this statement today which explains what happened:
Price Waterhouse Coopers
"We sincerely apologize to "Moonlight," "La La Land," Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture. The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. "We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation." —PwC
Update: February 28, 2017: The Academy Awards also issued the following statement:
The Academy Awards
"We deeply regret the mistakes that were made during the presentation of the Best Picture category during last night’s Oscar ceremony. We apologize to the entire cast and crew of ' La La Land' and 'Moonlight' whose experience was profoundly altered by this error. We salute the tremendous grace they displayed under the circumstances. To all involved — including our presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the filmmakers, and our fans watching worldwide — we apologize. "For the last 83 years, the Academy has entrusted PwC to handle the critical tabulation process, including the accurate delivery of results. PwC has taken full responsibility for the breaches of established protocols that took place during the ceremony. We have spent last night and today investigating the circumstances, and will determine what actions are appropriate going forward. We are unwaveringly committed to upholding the integrity of the Oscars and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences."
Rolex On The Red Carpet
In the photo below we see Michael Strahan On The Red Carpet wearing a Rolex DEEP-SEA while interviewing John Legend.
In the photo below we get a side profile of Michael Strahan's Rolex DEEP-SEA Special as he interviews Halle Berry.
The image below from GQ shows Ryan Gosling at an Academy Awards pre-event wearing his vintage stainless steel Rolex Air-King.
Kenneth Lonegran
Best Original Screenplay Oscar
for
Manchester By The Sea
Next up we see Kenneth Lonergran who was nominated for two Academy Awards in 2017, for his film titled, "Manchester By The Sea." Kenneth won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Director. He was also nominated in 2001 for Best Screenplay for, "You Can Count On Me", and in 2003 for "Gangs Of New York."
Kenneth Lonergran is pictured above with Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon after just having won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Ben Affleck's younger brother, Casey Affleck is pictured below with Kenneth Lonegran on the set of "Manchester By The Sea." Casey Affleck won the 2017 Academy Award for Best Actor.
In the photo above and below you can see Kenneth Lonergran wearing his stainless steel Rolex Submariner.
Manchester By The Sea was also nominated for Best Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards, but lost out to Moonlight. All together, Manchester By The Sea was nominated for 6 Academy Awards.
Casey Affleck
Best Actor Oscar
for
Manchester By The Sea
Below we see Casey Affleck holding his Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Manchester By The Sea, which was produced by Amazon Studios.
In the photo below we see Casey Affleck on stage at the Rolex Awards for Enterprise 40th Anniversary celebration where he made an award presentation. Casey is not only an actor, but also a director. He has starred in many movies including Ocean's Eleven, Twelve & Thirteen, as well as Good Will Hunting.
Ryan Seacrest
Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona
Ryan Seacrest is pictured below at the 2017 Oscars wearing his vintage stainless steel Rolex Daytona.
Jason Bateman
Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona
Jason Bateman was a presenter at the 2017 Academy Awards, and he was wearing his vintage Rolex Daytona as seen below.
Justin Theroux
Yellow Gold Rolex Submariner
Justin Theroux is pictured below wearing his vintage yellow gold Rolex Submariner with his beautiful wife, Jennifer Aniston at the 2017 Academy Awards.
Jennifer Aniston is a well known Rolex fanatic as she wears many, many different Rolex models. We see the couple backstage at the 89th Oscars in this photo which appears courtesy of The Los Angeles Times.
Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.
In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.
This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.
