<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $29.1 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Last Picture Show is a 1971 American drama film directed and co-written by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from a semi-autobiographical 1966 novel The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry . </P> <P> Set in a small town in north Texas from November 1951 to October 1952, it is about the coming of age of Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and his friend Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges). The cast also includes Cybill Shepherd (in her film debut), Ben Johnson, Eileen Brennan, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Clu Gulager, Randy Quaid, and John Hillerman . For aesthetic reasons, it was shot in black and white, which was unusual for the time . The film features many songs of Hank Williams Sr. and other recording artists . </P> <P> The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Ben Johnson and Jeff Bridges for Best Supporting Actor, and Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman for Best Supporting Actress, with Johnson and Leachman winning . In 1998 the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . </P>

Why was the last picture show shot in black and white