Oscar bait success of summer blockbusters like "Jaws" and "Star Wars" (both of which had also been nominated for Best Picture), independent filmmakers refined Carr's methods of exploiting the Oscars. Merchant Ivory, who produced lavish costume dramas, often based on novels by Henry James or E. M. Forster, began to time their releases to align with the awards season. Their 1985 adaptation of Forster's "A Room with a View" won three of the eight Oscars it was nominated for. By 1991 the modern film-release calendar, in which studios released the movies they had the highest Oscar hopes for in autumn and December,
Oscar Branch Colquitt ran for governor, but, in part due to his opposition to Prohibition, he failed to win the Democratic nomination. He ran again in 1910, still opposing Prohibition, with the slogan "Political Peace and Legislative Rest." Although his opponents referred to him as "Little Oscar" for his diminutive stature, Colquitt won both the primary and the general election. He was not present for the Democratic convention which nominated him for the position, as his youngest son, Oscar B. III age 4, died in Austin at roughly the same time. After taking office, Colquitt resigned his position on the railroad commission and