1.
Brokeback Mountain
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Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 American neo-western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the name by Annie Proulx. The film received acclaim and commercial success. In 1963, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist are hired by Joe Aguirre to herd his sheep through the summer in the Wyoming mountains, after a night of heavy drinking, Jack makes a pass at Ennis, who is initially hesitant but eventually responds to Jacks advances. Despite Ennis informing Jack that it was an incident, they develop a passionate sexual and emotional relationship. Shortly after discovering their summer together is being cut short, they briefly fight, after Jack and Ennis part ways, Ennis marries his longtime fiancé Alma Beers and has two daughters with her. Jack returns the next summer seeking work, but Aguirre, who observed Jack and Ennis on the mountain, Jack moves to Texas, where he meets, marries, and has a son with rodeo rider Lureen Newsome. After four years, Jack visits Ennis, upon meeting, the two kiss passionately, which Alma observes. Jack broaches the subject of creating a life together on a small ranch and he is also unwilling to abandon his family. Ennis and Jack continue to meet for infrequent fishing trips, the marriages of both men deteriorate. Lureen abandons the rodeo, going into business with her father, Alma and Ennis eventually divorce in 1975. Hearing about Ennis divorce, Jack drives to Wyoming and he suggests again that they should live together, but Ennis refuses to move away from his children. Jack finds solace with male prostitutes in Mexico, Ennis sees his family regularly until Alma finally confronts him about her knowing the true nature of his relationship with Jack. This results in a violent argument, causing Ennis to abandon his connections with Alma, Ennis meets and has a brief romantic relationship with Cassie Cartwright, a waitress. Jack and Lureen meet and befriend another couple, Randall and Lashawn Malone and it is implied that Jack begins an affair with Randall, although he later tells Ennis he had a relationship with a woman, who is assumed to be Lashawn. At the end of a fishing trip with Jack, Ennis tries to delay their next meeting. Jacks frustration erupts into argument, and Ennis blames Jack for being the cause of his own conflicted actions, Jack tries to hold him and there is a brief struggle, but they end up locked in an embrace. Jack watches as Ennis drives away, some time later, Ennis receives a postcard he had sent to Jack, stamped Deceased
2.
Walk the Line
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Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, the film focuses on Cashs early life, his romance with June Carter, and his ascent to the country music scene, as based on his autobiographies. The screenplay was written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, the films production budget is estimated to have been US$28 million. Walk the Line previewed at the Telluride Film Festival on September 4,2005, the film was nominated for five Oscars at the 78th Academy Awards, including Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Costume Design. The film grossed more than $186 million worldwide, in 1968, as an audience of inmates at Folsom State Prison cheer for Johnny Cashs band, he waits backstage near a table saw, reminding him of his early life. In 1944, Johnny, then known as J. R. grows up the son of a sharecropper on a farm in Dyess. He is known for his singing of hymns, while his brother Jack is training himself to become a pastor, while Jack is sawing wood for a neighbor with a table saw, J. R. goes fishing until his brother finishes. But Jack has an accident with the saw and dies of his injuries, Cashs strained relationship with his father Ray becomes much more difficult after Jacks death. In 1950, J. R. enlists in the Air Force as Johnny Cash and he purchases a guitar and in 1952, finds solace in writing songs, one of which he develops as Folsom Prison Blues. After his discharge, Cash returns to the United States and marries his girlfriend Vivian Liberto, the couple moves to Memphis, Tennessee, where Cash works as a door-to-door salesman to support his growing family. He walks past a studio, which inspires him to organize a band to play gospel music. Cashs band auditions for Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records, after they play Folsom Prison Blues, the band receives a contract, and launch to stardom at the beginning of the rock and roll craze. The band begins touring as Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, on tour he meets singer June Carter, with whom he falls in love. Cash begins spending time with June, who divorces her first husband Carl Smith. After his attempt to woo June fails, Cash starts abusing drugs, after his behavior reaches a bottom during a performance with June, they separate. Later, over Vivians objections, Johnny persuades June to come out of semi-retirement, the tour is a success, but backstage, Vivian becomes critical of Junes influence. After one performance in Las Vegas, Johnny and June sleep together, the next morning, she notices Johnny taking pills and doubts her choices. At that evenings concert, Johnny, upset by Junes apparent rejection, June disposes of Johnnys drugs and begins to write Ring of Fire, describing her feelings for him and her pain at watching him descend into addiction
3.
Ang Lee
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Ang Lee OBS is a Taiwanese-born film director, screenwriter and producer. Lees earlier films, such as The Wedding Banquet, Pushing Hands, Lee also deals with repressed, hidden emotions in many of his films, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm, Hulk, and Brokeback Mountain. Lees work is known for its charge, which critics believe is responsible for his success in offsetting cultural barriers. Ang Lee was born in a Waishengren family, in a Military dependents village of the Republic of China Armed Forces located at Chaochou, Pingtung, both of Lees parents moved from Mainland China to Taiwan following the Chinese civil war in 1949. He grew up in a household that put emphasis on education. Lee studied in the Provincial Tainan First Senior High School where his father was the principal and he was expected to pass the annual Joint College/University Entrance Examination, the only route to a university education in Taiwan. But after failing the exam twice, to the disappointment of his father, he entered a college, the National Arts School. His father had wanted him to become a professor, but he had interested in drama. This early frustration set his career on the path of performance art, seeing Ingmar Bergmans film The Virgin Spring was a formative experience for him. Originally, Lee was interested in acting, but his challenges with speaking English made it difficult, at UIUC, Lee met his future wife Jane Lin, also a Taiwanese student, who pursued her Ph. D. degree. Thereupon, he enrolled at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University and he was a classmate of Spike Lee and worked on the crew of his thesis film, Joes Bed-Stuy Barbershop, We Cut Heads. During graduate school, Lee finished a 16mm short film, Shades of the Lake and his own thesis work, a 43-minute drama, Fine Line, won NYUs Wasserman Award for Outstanding Direction and was later selected for the Public Broadcasting Service. Lees NYU thesis drew attention from the William Morris Agency, the famous talent, at first, though, WMA found Lee few opportunities, and Lee remained unemployed for six years. During this time, he was a full-time house-husband, while his wife Jane Lin and this arrangement put enormous pressure on the couple, but with Lins support and understanding, Lee did not abandon his career in film but continued to generate new ideas from movies and performances. He also wrote several screenplays during this time, in 1990, Lee submitted two screenplays, Pushing Hands and The Wedding Banquet, to a competition sponsored by Taiwans Government Information Office, and they came in first and second, respectively. The winning screenplays brought Lee to the attention of Li-Kong Hsu, Hsu, a first-time producer, invited Lee to direct Pushing Hands, a full-length feature that debuted in 1991. The Father Knows Best trilogy Pushing Hands was a success in Taiwan both among critics and at the box office and it received eight nominations in the Golden Horse Film Festival, Taiwans premier film festival. In all, this film collected eleven Taiwanese and international awards and these first two movies were based on stories of Chinese Americans, and both were filmed in the US
4.
The Daily Show
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The Daily Show is an American news satire and late-night talk show television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central, describing itself as a fake news program, The Daily Show draws its comedy and satire from recent news stories, political figures, media organizations, and often uses self-referential humor as well. The half-hour-long show premiered on July 21,1996, and was first hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 17,1998, Stewart was succeeded by Trevor Noah, whose tenure premiered on September 28,2015. Under different hosts, the show has been known as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1999 until 2015. The Daily Show is the program on Comedy Central, and has won 23 Primetime Emmy Awards. Critics chastised Stewart for not conducting sufficiently hard-hitting interviews with his political guests, Stewart and other Daily Show writers responded to such criticism by saying that they do not have any journalistic responsibility and that as comedians their only duty is to provide entertainment. Stewarts appearance on the CNN show Crossfire picked up this debate, each episode begins with announcer Drew Birns announcing the date and the introduction, From Comedy Centrals World News Headquarters in New York, this is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Previously, the introduction was This is The Daily Show, the most important television program, the host then opens the show with a monologue drawing from current news stories and issues. Some episodes will begin with a 1-3 minute intro on a story before fully transitioning into the main story of the night. Their stated areas of expertise vary depending on the story that is being discussed. They typically present absurd or humorously exaggerated takes on current events against the straight man. While correspondents stated to be reporting abroad are usually performing in-studio in front of a background, on rare occasions. For instance, during the week of August 20,2007, in August 2008, Riggle traveled to China for a series of segments titled Rob Riggle, Chasing the Dragon, which focused on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On July 19,2016, Roy Wood Jr. reported live from the Republican National Convention, topics have varied widely, during the early years of the show they tended toward character-driven human interest stories such as Bigfoot enthusiasts. Since Stewart began hosting in 1999, the focus of the show has more political. Under Kilborn and the years of Stewart, most interviewees were either unaware or not entirely aware of the comedic nature of The Daily Show. However, as the show began to gain popularity—particularly following its coverage of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections—most of the subjects now interviewed are aware of the comedic element, some segments have recurred periodically throughout different tenures, such as Back in Black & Your Moment of Zen. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a segment of the show has been dubbed Mess O Potamia, focusing on the United States policies in the Middle East
5.
Good Night, and Good Luck
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Good Night, and Good Luck is a 2005 historical drama film directed by George Clooney and starring David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert Downey, Jr. Patricia Clarkson and Jeff Daniels. The movie was written by Clooney and Grant Heslov and portrays the conflict between radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U. S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, especially relating to the anti-Communist Senators actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The movie, although released in black and white, was filmed on color film stock but on a greyscale set and it focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what occurs when the media offer a voice of dissent from government policy. The movie takes its title from the line with which Murrow routinely signed off his broadcasts, the film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Clooney and Best Actor for David Strathairn. Set in 1953, during the days of television broadcast journalism. Edward R. Murrow first defends Milo Radulovich, who is facing separation from the U. S. Air Force because of his sisters political leanings, Murrow makes a show on McCarthy attacking him. A very public feud develops when McCarthy responds by accusing Murrow of being a communist, Murrow is accused of having been a member of the leftist union Industrial Workers of the World, which Murrow claimed was false. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity ultimately strikes a historic blow against McCarthy. David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow, journalist and host of the CBS television program See It Now George Clooney as Fred W. Friendly, coproducer with Murrow of See It Now Robert Downey, having majored in journalism in college, Clooney was well-versed in the subject matter. His father, Nick Clooney, was a television journalist for many years, appearing as an anchorman in Cincinnati, Ohio, Salt Lake City, Utah, Los Angeles, California, the elder Clooney also ran for Congress in 2004. George Clooney was paid $1 each for writing, directing, and acting in Good Night, due to an injury he received on the set of Syriana a few months earlier, Clooney couldnt pass the tests to be insured. He then mortgaged his own house in Los Angeles in order to make the film, dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former eBay president Jeff Skoll invested money in the project as executive producers. The film ultimately grossed more than $54m worldwide, the CBS offices and studios seen in the movie were all sets on a soundstage. To accomplish a pair of scenes showing characters going up an elevator, the elevator was actually built on a large turntable at the intersection of the two floor sets, and rotated once the doors were closed. When the doors reopened, the actors appeared to be in a different location, in doing so, the movie exercised a bit of dramatic license—the CBS executive offices at the time were located at 485 Madison Avenue. CBS News was located in a building just north of Grand Central Terminal. For dramatic effect, all three areas were depicted as being in the same building, Clooney and producer Grant Heslov decided to use only archival footage of Joseph McCarthy in his depiction
6.
George Clooney
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George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. He has received three Golden Globe Awards for his work as an actor and two Academy Awards, one for acting in Syriana and the other for co-producing Argo, in 1999, he took the lead role in Three Kings, a well-received war satire set during the Gulf War. In 2001, Clooneys fame widened with the release of his biggest commercial success, the heist comedy remake Oceans Eleven, in 2013, he received the Academy Award for Best Picture for producing the political thriller Argo. He is the person who has been nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories. In 2009, Clooney was included in Times annual Time 100 as one of the Most Influential People in the World and he is also noted for his political activism, and has served as one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace since January 31,2008. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Clooney was born in Lexington, Kentucky. His mother, Nina Bruce, was a beauty queen and city councilwoman and his father, Nick Clooney, is a former anchorman and game show host who hosted AMC for five years in the late 1990s. Clooney has Irish, German, and English ancestry and his maternal great-great-great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann Sparrow, was the half-sister of Nancy Lincoln, mother of President Abraham Lincoln. Clooney has a sister named Adelia. His aunt was the cabaret singer and actress Rosemary Clooney. Through Rosemary, his cousins include actors Miguel Ferrer, Rafael Ferrer, and Gabriel Ferrer, Clooney was raised a strict Roman Catholic, but said in 2006 that he does not know if he believes in Heaven, or even God. He has said, Yes, we were Catholic, big time, whole family and he began his education at the Blessed Sacrament School in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. He attended St. Michaels School in Columbus, Ohio, then Western Row Elementary School in Mason, Ohio, from 1968 to 1974, and St. Susanna School in Mason, the Clooneys moved back to Kentucky when George was midway through the seventh grade. In middle school, Clooney developed Bells palsy, a condition that partially paralyzes the face, the malady went away within a year. In an interview with Larry King, he stated that yes and it takes about nine months to go away. It was the first year of school, which was a bad time for having half your face paralyzed. After his parents moved to Augusta, Kentucky, Clooney attended Augusta High School and he has stated that he earned all As and a B in school, and was an enthusiastic baseball and basketball player. He tried out to professional baseball with the Cincinnati Reds in 1977
7.
Gena Rowlands
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Virginia Cathryn Gena Rowlands is an American film, stage, and television actress, whose career in the entertainment industry has spanned over six decades. She also won the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Opening Night, in November 2015, Rowlands received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her unique screen performances. Rowlands was born as Virginia Cathryn Rowlands in Madison, Wisconsin and her mother, Mary Allen, was a housewife who later worked as an actress under the stage name Lady Rowlands. Her father, Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands, was a banker and state legislator and he was a member of the Wisconsin Progressive Party, and was of Welsh descent. She had a brother, David Rowlands and her family moved to Washington, D. C. From 1947–50, she attended the University of Wisconsin, where she was a popular student already renowned for her beauty and she left for New York City to study drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the early 1950s, Rowlands performed with theatre companies. She made her Broadway debut in The Seven Year Itch and toured in a production of the play. In 1956, she starred in Middle of the Night opposite Edward G. Robinson and she appeared alongside husband Cassavetes on an episode of the 1959–60 NBC detective series Johnny Staccato. She also appeared on an episode of the NBC western series, Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin, Rowlands made her film debut in The High Cost of Loving in 1958. In 1961–62, she starred as Teddy Carella, the wife of Robert Lansing. In that same season, she appeared on ABCs Target, The Corruptors and she also guest starred in CBSs The Lloyd Bridges Show and ABCs Breaking Point. In 1963, she guest-starred in an episode on the NBC western series, Bonanza and The Virginian, in 1967, she was cast as socialite Adrienne Van Leyden in the prime time ABC soap opera Peyton Place. According to Boston University film scholar Ray Carney, Rowlands sought to suppress an early version of Cassavetes first film, Shadows, Rowlands also became involved in the screenings of Husbands and Love Streams, according to Carney. At Rowlands request, UCLA created a print with almost ten minutes of content edited out. The alternative print is the one that has been made available for rental. In 1985, Rowlands played the mother in the critically acclaimed made-for-TV movie An Early Frost and she won an Emmy for her portrayal of former First Lady of the United States Betty Ford in the 1987 made-for-TV movie The Betty Ford Story. In 1988, Rowlands starred in Woody Allens dramatic film Another Woman and she played Marion Post, a middle-aged professor who is prompted to a journey of self-discovery when she overhears the therapy sessions of another woman
8.
Stan Winston
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Stanley Stan Winston was an American television and film special make-up effects creator. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series and he won four Academy Awards for his work. Winston, a frequent collaborator with director James Cameron, owned several effects studios, the established areas of expertise for Winston were in makeup, puppets and practical effects, but he had recently expanded his studio to encompass digital effects as well. Winston was born on April 7,1946, in Arlington, Virginia to a Jewish family and he studied painting and sculpture at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville from which he graduated in 1968. In 1969, after attending California State University, Long Beach, struggling to find an acting job, he began a makeup apprenticeship at Walt Disney Studios. In 1972, Winston established his own company, Stan Winston Studio, over the next seven years, Winston continued to receive Emmy Award nominations for work on projects and won another for 1974s The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Winston also created the Wookiee costumes for the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, in 1978 Winston was the Special Make-up Designer for The Wiz. In 1982, Winston received his first Oscar nomination for Heartbeeps, however, it was his ground-breaking work with Rob Bottin on his update of the science fiction horror classic The Thing that year that brought him to prominence in Hollywood. Between then, he contributed some visual effects to Friday the 13th Part III, in 1983, Winston designed the Mr. Roboto facemask for the American rock group Styx. In 1983 he also worked on the television series Manimal, for which he created the panther. Winston reached a new level of fame in 1984 when James Camerons The Terminator premiered, the movie was a surprise hit, and Winstons work in bringing the titular metallic killing machine to life led to many new projects and additional collaborations with Cameron. In fact, Winston won his first Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1986 on James Camerons next movie, in 1988, Winston made his directorial debut with the horror movie Pumpkinhead, and won Best First Time Director at the Paris Film Festival. His next directing project was the child-friendly A Gnome Named Gnorm, James Cameron drafted Winston and his team once again in 1990, this time for Terminator 2, Judgment Day. T2 premiered in the summer of 1991, and Winstons work on box office hit won him two more Oscars for Best Makeup Effects and Best Visual Effects. Winston turned his attention from super villains and cyborgs to dinosaurs when Steven Spielberg enlisted his help to bring Michael Crichtons Jurassic Park to the cinema screen, in 1993, the movie became a blockbuster and Winston won another Oscar for Best Visual Effects. In 1993, Winston, Cameron and ex-ILM General Manager Scott Ross co-founded Digital Domain, in 1998, after the box office success of Titanic, Cameron and Winston severed their working relationship with the company and resigned from its board of directors. Winston and his continued to provide effects work for many more films. One of Winstons most ambitious projects was Steven Spielbergs AI, Artificial Intelligence
9.
Rupert Friend
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Rupert William Anthony Friend is an English actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his roles as Mr and he also starred in the 2015 film Hitman, Agent 47. Friend was born and brought up in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, the son of Caroline, a solicitor, and Nicholas Friend and he attended Marlborough School in Woodstock. He moved to take A-levels at the Cherwell School and dOverbroecks College in Oxford, Friend received his professional acting training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He considered himself a starter, I was about to set off sailing around the world when I heard Id got into drama school. Everyone else there had grown up singing and dancing, whereas I was the opposite, instead, he turned to acting, in which he was also inspired by Harrison Ford, who played Indiana Jones, and Marlon Brando who played Vito Corleone. He made his debut as Billy Downs in the 2004 film The Libertine from The Weinstein Company. In 2005, he had his first starring role as Ludovic Meyer in the adaption of Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont. In the same year, he portrayed Wickham in Joe Wrights version of Pride, in 2008, Friend and Tom Mison wrote and starred in a short film called The Continuing and Lamentable Saga of the Suicide Brothers. He founded his own company called Beat Pictures, and he made his directorial debut with a short film in 2010 called Steve. In addition to directing, he wrote and produced the film and he also starred in the film Chéri and played the titular character. In addition, he joined the cast of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and played Kurt Kotler, in 2010, he played Albert, Prince Consort in Young Victoria. Graham King, producer of Young Victoria, chose Friend to star in the role because he remembered Friends strong performance in Pride. His performance received acclaim, in particular, from historian Alex von Tunzelmann, in 2010, Friend made his stage debut as Mitchell in the UK premiere of The Little Dog Laughed. He stars in the films The Kid, based on the novel by Kevin Lewis, as the film involves boxing, he had to train himself so as to improve his physical and psychological shape. He also starred in a French film called Lullaby for Pi, in 2011, he played Thomas Anders, the protagonist of the film 5 Days of War. In 2014, Friend played Oliver Baumer in Fox Searchlights film Starred Up and his performance was applauded by critics and was nominated for BIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2015, Friend starred as Agent 47 in Hitman, Agent 47, in order to play the role, he had to shave all his hair
10.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
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Philip Seymour Hoffman was an American actor, director, and producer of film and theater. Best known for his supporting and character roles – typically lowlifes, bullies. Drawn to theater as a teenager, Hoffman studied acting at New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts and he began his screen career in a 1991 episode of Law & Order and started to appear in films in 1992. He began to play leading roles, and for his portrayal of the author Truman Capote in Capote. The feature Jack Goes Boating marked his debut as a filmmaker, Hoffman was also an accomplished theater actor and director. He joined the off-Broadway LAByrinth Theater Company in 1995, where he directed, produced and his performances in three Broadway plays – True West, Long Days Journey into Night, and Death of a Salesman – all led to Tony Award nominations. Hoffman struggled with drug addiction as an adult, and relapsed in 2013 after many years of sobriety. Hoffman was born on July 23,1967, in the Rochester suburb of Fairport and his mother, Marilyn OConnor, came from nearby Waterloo and worked as an elementary school teacher before becoming a lawyer and eventually a family court judge. His father, Gordon Stowell Hoffman, was a native of Geneva, New York, along with one brother, Gordy, Hoffman had two sisters, Jill and Emily. Hoffman was baptized a Roman Catholic and attended Mass as a child and his parents divorced when he was nine, leaving the children to be raised primarily by their mother. Hoffmans childhood passion was sports, particularly wrestling and baseball, and he recalled in 2008, I was changed – permanently changed – by that experience. It was like a miracle to me, Hoffman developed a love for the theater, and proceeded to attend regularly with his mother, who was a lifelong enthusiast. He remembered that productions of Quilters and Alms for the Middle Class, at the age of 14, Hoffman suffered a neck injury that ended his sporting activity, and he began to consider acting. Encouraged by his mother, he joined a club. Acting gradually became a passion for Hoffman, I loved the camaraderie of it, the people, and thats when I decided it was what I wanted to do. At the age of 17, he was selected to attend the 1984 New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga Springs, Miller later commented on Hoffmans popularity at the time, We were attracted to the fact that he was genuinely serious about what he was doing. Hoffman applied for several drama degree programs and was accepted to New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts, between starting on the program and graduating from Fairport High School, he continued his training at the Circle in the Square Theatres summer program. Hoffman had positive memories of his time at NYU, where he supported himself by working as an usher, with friends, he co-founded the Bullstoi Ensemble acting troupe
11.
Felicity Huffman
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Felicity Kendall Huffman is an American film, stage, and television actress. Huffman began her career in theatre and in the 1990s also had many supporting roles in film. She starred as executive producer Dana Whitaker in the critically acclaimed ABC comedy-drama Sports Night from 1998 to 2000, Huffman drew critical praise for her performance as a transgender woman in the independent film Transamerica. The role earned her a Golden Globe Award, Independent Spirit Award, National Board of Review, Huffman has also starred in such films as Reversal of Fortune, The Spanish Prisoner, Magnolia, Path to War, Georgia Rule, Phoebe in Wonderland, Rudderless and Cake. Additionally, she has been nominated on three occasions for a Golden Globe Award, and has also won an Obie. Huffman was born in Bedford, New York, into a family, the daughter of Grace Valle and Moore Peters Huffman. Her parents divorced a year after her birth, and she was raised mostly by her mother and she has six sisters, Mariah, Betsy, Grace, Isabel, Jessie, Jane, and a brother, Moore Jr. In the 1970s her mother left New York and bought property in Snowmass, Colorado and her great-grandfather was Gershom Moore Peters, founder of the Peters Cartridge Company and prominent Baptist minister, author of the The Master. Another great-grandfather, Frederick Berthold Ewing, graduated from Yale University and her great-great-grandfather was Joseph Warren King, founder of the King Mills Powder Company. She has German, English, Scots-Irish, Scottish, and French-Canadian ancestry, Huffman attended The Putney School, a private boarding high school in Putney, Vermont and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan in 1981. She attended New York University, Circle in the Square and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Huffman made her debut on stage in 1982 and in the 1980s and 1990s worked as a rule on stage productions. In 1988, she debuted on Broadway in the role as Karen in David Mamets play Speed the Plow, in 1995, Huffman won Obie Award for her performance in the critically successful play The Cryptogram by David Mamet. Huffman debuted on the big screen in 1988 with a role in Mamets film Things Change. Two years later, she appeared as Minnie, a Harvard law school student in the courtroom drama, Huffman starred on the television mini-series Golden Years, based on the novel by Stephen King in 1991. In 1994, she starred in the ABC pilot Thunder Alley as Ed Asners daughter, during the 1990s, she appeared mostly in guest roles on such shows as The X-Files, Early Edition, Chicago Hope and Law & Order. In 1997, she starred in Mamets critically acclaimed film The Spanish Prisoner, after the completion of Sports Night, she gave birth to her first child and soon returned to work. In 2001, she starred on not picked up CBS pilot Heart Department In 2003, in 1999, she appeared in the Paul Thomas Andersons ensemble drama Magnolia and television adaptation of 1938 movie A Slight Case of Murder along with William H. Macy. In 2002 she played Lady Bird Johnson in the HBO award-winning movie Path to War and made a appearance in the Door to Door, which starred
12.
Terrence Howard
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Terrence Dashon Howard is an American actor and singer. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films Dead Presidents and Mr. Hollands Opus, Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Hustle & Flow. Howard has had prominent roles in other movies including Winnie, Ray, Lackawanna Blues, Crash, Four Brothers, Get Rich or Die Tryin, Idlewild, August Rush, The Brave One. Howard played James Rhodes in Iron Man and reprised the role in the game adaptation. However, he was replaced by Don Cheadle for the future films and he currently stars as the lead character Lucious Lyon in the television series Empire. His debut album, Shine Through It, was released in September 2008, Howard was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 11,1969 to Tyrone and Anita Howard. The great-grandson of stage actress Minnie Gentry, he was raised in Cleveland, Ohio by father Tyrone Howard, the killing resulted in Tyrone Howard spending 11 months in jail for manslaughter. Howards parents divorced upon his fathers release, Howard first entered the entertainment world when he portrayed Jackie Jackson in The Jacksons, An American Dream, an ABC miniseries. Three years later, he made his big break in 1995s Mr. Hollands Opus. Howard made an appearance on the TV series Family Matters, Howard has stated that he looks for characters that teach him about himself when choosing his film roles. Howard has also worked as a producer, receiving such a credit for the film Pride. In 2008, Howard hosted the PBS series Independent Lens, Howard was the highest-paid cast member of the 2008 film Iron Man. He did not appear in either of the follow-up sequels because it was reported that he would have had to take a 50 to 80 percent pay cut and was replaced by actor Don Cheadle. Howard released his debut adult alternative album, Shine Through It and he described the album as urban country and either wrote or co-wrote all the tracks on the album. During rehearsals he allegedly attacked and seriously injured musical composer Tex Allen, in October 2008, Allen filed a $5 million lawsuit against Howard. In October 2008, Howard made a guest appearance in the short film For All Mankind directed by Daniel L. Clifton, filmed on location in Conshohocken, in 2009, he starred in the movie Fighting. It was reported on July 30,2010, that Howard had joined the cast of the new Law & Order, Los Angeles installment of the Law & Order franchise and he alternated shows with Alfred Molina, who portrayed Deputy District Attorney Ricardo Morales. The series was cancelled after one season, in 2011, Howard played Nelson Mandela in Winnie Mandela alongside Jennifer Hudson
13.
Reese Witherspoon
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Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon is an American actress, producer, and entrepreneur. Her leading role of Tracy Flick in Election was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, Witherspoons breakthrough role was playing Elle Woods in the 2001 film Legally Blonde, for which she received her second Golden Globe nomination. The following year, she starred in the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama, which emerged as her biggest live-action commercial success. In 2005, she portrayed June Carter in Walk the Line, which earned her the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Critics Choice Award for Best Actress. Other notable films of hers include Legally Blonde 2, Red, White & Blonde, Monsters vs. Aliens, Water for Elephants, in 2017, she produced and starred in the HBO drama series Big Little Lies. Witherspoon owns a company, Pacific Standard, and she is actively involved in childrens and womens advocacy organizations. She serves on the board of the Childrens Defense Fund and was named Global Ambassador of Avon Products in 2007 and she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010. Witherspoon was born on March 22,1976 in Southern Baptist Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, while her father and her father was born in Georgia and served as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve. He was in practice as an otolaryngologist until 2012. In 1988, her mother began nursing babies back to health in the intensive care unit of Vanderbilt University Hospital until she retired. Her parents are legally married, although they separated in 1996, due to her fathers alcoholism, infidelity, overspending. Because Witherspoons father worked for the U. S. military in Wiesbaden, Germany, after returning to the U. S. she spent her childhood in Nashville, Tennessee in the suburb of Belle Meade. She was raised as an Episcopalian and her older brother, John Jr. is a real estate agent. She received high grades in school, loved reading, and considered herself a big dork who read loads of books, on mentioning her love for books, she said, I get crazy in a bookstore. It makes my heart beat hard because I want to buy everything, Witherspoon attended middle school at Harding Academy and graduated from the all-girls Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, during which time she was a cheerleader. She attended Stanford University as an English literature major, after completing one year of studies, she left Stanford to pursue an acting career. Witherspoon is proud of the definitive Southern upbringing which she received, Witherspoon is described as a multi-achiever and was given the nickname Little Type A by her parents. On discussing her early achievements, she told Interview magazine, I just dont see any of it as that remarkable, maybe thats the attitude I choose to have to keep me sane and keep my feet on the ground
14.
Danny Huston
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Daniel Sallis Danny Huston is an American actor, writer and director. Huston got his start directing Mr. North starring Anthony Edwards, Robert Mitchum and his half-sister, later, Huston gave his breakthrough acting performance in the independent film Ivans Xtc and was nominated for Best Male Performance at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2003. Huston’s latest film, The Congress, opened the 45th Director’s Fortnight sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16,2013, Huston co-starred in Tim Burtons film Big Eyes, alongside Christoph Waltz, Amy Adams, Krysten Ritter and Jason Schwartzman. As of 2013, he has appeared in the FX thriller series American Horror Story, portraying The Axeman in American Horror Story, Coven and Massimo Dolcefino in American Horror Story, Huston was born in Rome, Italy. His mother was an actress and author whose ancestry was Indian, Huston was conceived as a result of an affair between his mother and John Huston. His father, John Huston, produced Dannys first feature as a director, Mr. North, in 1995s Leaving Las Vegas, he moved in front of the camera and has since acted in over 20 films. That same year, he directed the film The Maddening and he gave his breakthrough acting performance in the independent film Ivans Xtc. The Bernard Rose feature was nominated for several Independent Spirit Awards in 2003, Huston has worked nonstop as an actor ever since. Soon after Ivans Xtc, he worked on Martin Scorseses The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio and Alec Baldwin, in 2006, Huston received the Golden Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Sandy Woodrow in Fernando Meirelles The Constant Gardener. That year, Huston starred in the critically acclaimed Australian western The Proposition with Guy Pearce, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Huston also starred in the British independent features Alpha Male and Oliver Parker’s Fade to Black, in which he played Orson Welles alongside Christopher Walken and Paz Vega. His other film credits include Birth, Silver City, Marie Antoinette, The Number 23, The Kingdom and he portrayed Samuel Adams in the award-winning HBO miniseries John Adams and also portrayed Colonel William Stryker in X-Men Origins, Wolverine, a prequel for the trilogy. His 2009–10 roles include Boogie Woogie, The Warriors Way, the thriller Edge of Darkness, and he played the famous lawyer Geoffrey Fieger HBOs film You Dont Know Jack. Huston will also feature alongside Nicolas Cage in the Simon West-directed film Medallion, Huston played gangster Ben The Butcher Diamond on Mitch Glazers Magic City on the Starz network from 2012 to 2013. He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 2013, later that year, he portrayed The Axeman in a recurring role on American Horror Story, Coven. His first marriage was in 1989 to Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen and he married his second wife, Katie Jane Evans, in 2001 and they separated in 2006. Evans took her own life in October 2008 before the divorce was finalized and they had one daughter named Stella. He dated Magic City co-star Olga Kurylenko for approximately a year, Danny Huston at the Internet Movie Database
15.
Laura Linney
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Laura Leggett Linney is an American actress. A three-time Academy Award nominee and three-time Tony Award nominee, she won her first Emmy Award in 2002 for Wild Iris, from 2010–13, she starred in the Showtime series The Big C, which won her a fourth Emmy in 2013. She is also a two-time Golden Globe Award winner and she made her screen debut in the 1992 film Lorenzos Oil, and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for You Can Count on Me, Kinsey and The Savages. Her other films include Primal Fear, The Truman Show, Mystic River, Love Actually and The Squid and the Whale. Her mother, Miriam Anderson Ann Perse, was a nurse who worked at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, linneys paternal great-great-grandfather was Republican U. S. Linney grew up in modest circumstances, living with her mother in a small one-bedroom apartment and she has a half-sister, Susan, from her fathers second marriage. She is a 1982 graduate of Northfield Mount Hermon School, a preparatory school in New England. Linney graduated from Brown in 1986 and she went on to study acting at the Juilliard School as a member of Group 19, which also included Jeanne Tripplehorn. Linney later received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Juilliard when she delivered the commencement address in 2009. Linney first appeared in roles in a few early 1990s films, including Lorenzos Oil and Dave. She was then cast in a series of thrillers, including Congo, Primal Fear. She made her Hollywood breakthrough in 1998, playing Jim Carreys on-screen wife in The Truman Show, Linney was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the 2000 film You Can Count on Me. The same year, she appeared in the role of an artists model in the low-budget film Maze with Rob Morrow. In 2003, Linney appeared in notable films, including The Life of David Gale, Love Actually. The latter film earned her a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and her 2004 performance in Kinsey, again as the title characters wife, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2005, Linney starred in the horror film The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the comedy-drama The Squid, for the latter role, she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. In 2006, Linney appeared in the political satire Man of the Year, the comedy Driving Lessons, Jindabyne was based on Raymond Carvers short story So Much Water so Close to Home. She received a third Academy Award nomination for The Savages, this time for Best Actress, in 2008, Linney starred in The Other Man, opposite Liam Neeson, with whom she had starred in Kinsey and Love Actually, and Antonio Banderas
16.
Val Kilmer
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Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, then the cult classic Real Genius, as well as the military action film Top Gun and the fantasy film Willow. Kilmer was born December 31,1959, in Los Angeles, the son of Gladys Swanette and Eugene Dorris Kilmer and his parents divorced in 1968 when he was 8 years old. In 1977 Kilmers younger brother Wesley drowned in a pool at age 15. Kilmers grandfather was a miner in New Mexico, near the border with Arizona. His mother was of Swedish descent and his fathers ancestry included English, Scots-Irish, French and German. Kilmer attended Berkeley Hall School, a Christian Science school in Los Angeles and he attended Chatsworth High School with Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham, and also attended the Hollywood Professional School. He became the youngest person at the time to be accepted into the Juilliard Schools Drama Division, on May 5,2012, Kilmer was awarded an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from William Woods University. In 1981, while at Juilliard, Kilmer co-authored and starred in the play How It All Began, Kilmer turned down a role in Francis Ford Coppolas 1983 film The Outsiders, as he had prior theatre commitments. In 1983 he appeared off Broadway in The Slab Boys with Kevin Bacon, also in 1983, Kilmer self-published a collection of his own poetry entitled My Edens After Burns, that included poems inspired by his time with Pfeiffer. The book of poems is difficult to obtain, and expensive, even second-hand copies fetch $300 and his big break came when he received top billing in the comedy spoof of spy movies Top Secret. Where he played an American rock and roll star, Kilmer sang all the songs in the film and released an album under the film characters name, Nick Rivers. While garnering more substantial roles and prestige, he gained a reputation as a ladies man, dating numerous women, some many years older, including Cher. During a brief hiatus, he backpacked throughout Europe before going on to play the character in the 1985 comedy Real Genius. He turned down a role in David Lynchs Blue Velvet before being cast as naval aviator Iceman in the action film Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise, Top Gun grossed a total of $344,700,000 worldwide and made Kilmer a major star. Kilmer starred in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival production of Hamlet]] in 1988, in 1989, Kilmer played the lead in both Kill Me Again, again opposite Whalley, and in TNTs Billy the Kid. After several delays, director Oliver Stone finally started production on the film The Doors, Kilmer spoke with Oliver Stone early on, concerned about what he might want to do with the story because Kilmer didnt believe in or want to promote substance abuse. Kilmer saw Morrison as having picked the wrong heroes, who had different issues, Kilmer saw Morrisons story as one that could be told a thousand different ways and didnt want to tell it by playing the role in the style of drugs, with which Oliver Stone agreed
17.
Rosario Dawson
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Rosario Isabel Dawson is an American actress. She made her debut in the 1995 teen drama Kids. Dawson currently portrays Claire Temple in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in five of the Marvel Television/Netflix series, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Dawson was born in New York City. Her mother, Isabel Celeste, is a writer and singer of Puerto Rican and Cuban ancestry, Isabel was 16 years old when Rosario was born, she never married Rosarios biological father, Patrick C. When Rosario was an old, her mother married Greg Dawson, a construction worker. Dawson stated, Hes always been my dad, Dawson has a half-brother, Clay, who is four years younger. Isabel and Greg divorced in 2001, Dawson lived in Garland, Texas for a year and went to Garland High School. Dawson has cited this part of her history when explaining how she learned that, If you wanted something better, as a child, Dawson made a brief appearance on Sesame Street. She went on to star in varied roles, ranging from independent films to big budget blockbusters including Rent, He Got Game, in 1999, Dawson teamed up with Prince for the re-release of his 1980s hit 1999. The new remixed version featured the actress in a voice over. The same year, she appeared in The Chemical Brothers video for the song Out of Control from the album Surrender. She is also featured on the track She Lives In My Lap from the disc of the OutKast album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, in which she speaks the intro. In 2001, she appeared in the movie, Josie and the Pussycats, Dawson starred as Naturelle Rivera, the love interest of a convicted drug dealer played by Edward Norton, in the 2002 Spike Lee film drama, 25th Hour. In the 2004 Oliver Stone film Alexander, she played the bride of Alexander the Great, in the autumn of 2005, Dawson appeared on stage as Julia in the Public Theaters Shakespeare in the Park revival of Two Gentlemen of Verona. It was her first appearance on stage, in the film adaptation of the popular musical Rent in 2005, she played the exotic dancer Mimi Marquez, replacing Daphne Rubin-Vega, who was pregnant and unable to play the part. She also appeared in the adaptation of the graphic novel Sin City, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, portraying Gail, also in that year, she appeared in a graphically violent scene in the Rob Zombie film The Devils Rejects. Though the scene was cut from the film, it is available in the deleted scenes on the DVD release. She starred as Becky in 2006s Clerks II, and mentioned in Back to the Well, the making-of documentary, in May of the same year, Dawson, an avid comic book fan, co-created the comic book miniseries Occult Crimes Taskforce
18.
Grant Heslov
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As a co-producer of Argo, he received the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2013. As an actor, he has appeared in films including True Lies, Black Sheep, Enemy of the State and The Scorpion King, Heslov was born in Los Angeles, and was raised in its Palos Verdes area. His father, Arthur, was a dentist and his mother, Kerrie and he has two older brothers, Steven and Michael. In He attended Palos Verdes High School, the University of Southern California along with friend Tate Donovan and he is a member of Phi Kappa Psi. Heslov is married to Lysa Hayland-Heslov, a producer, heslovs acting credits include films like True Lies, Dantes Peak, Enemy of the State, The Scorpion King, Good Night and Good Luck, Congo, Black Sheep, and Catch Me If You Can. He also appeared in such TV series as Happy Days, Family Ties, Mamas Family, L. A. Law, Matlock, Sleeper Cell, in August 2006, Heslov and George Clooney started Smokehouse Pictures and began writing screenplays for production. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and as producer Best Film for Good Night, Heslov also appears in the film as Don Hewitt, the director of the TV series See It Now, around which the movie is centered. He directed an adaptation of The Men Who Stare At Goats, starring Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges. He also worked on 2011s The Ides of March, in June 2012, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Heslov, alongside Clooney and Ben Affleck, won for the Best Picture Oscar for the 2012 film Argo, the three men have also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and other awards. Grant Heslov at the Internet Movie Database Grant Heslov at AllMovie
19.
Gustavo Santaolalla
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Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla is an Argentine musician, film composer and producer. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in two years, for Brokeback Mountain in 2005, and Babel in 2006. Most recently, he composed the score for the video game The Last of Us. Santaolalla was born in El Palomar, Argentina, and grew up during the military junta and his professional music career began in 1967, when he co-founded the group Arco Iris, an Argentine band that pioneered the fusion of rock and Latin American folk as part of rock nacional. The band adopted the lifestyle of a yogic commune guided by former model Danais Winnycka and her partner and he left the group in 1975. A year later, he assembled Soluna, in which he played alongside teenage pianist and singer Alejandro Lerner, together they recorded just one album. Santaolalla left for Los Angeles, where he adopted a rock and roll sound and made the rounds with his band Wet Picnic and he briefly returned to Argentina in 1981, to produce Leon Giecos Pensar en Nada and record his first solo album. As a solo artist, he has recorded three albums and his first self-titled album, Santaolalla, broke new ground by incorporating the eighties sound into rock in Argentina for the first time. He was joined by Lerner and the Willy Iturry-Alfredo Toth rhythm section and his second album, titled Gas, was released in 1995. Santaolalla transferred his efforts to film soundtracks in the late 1990s, producing albums for the films Amores Perros,21 Grams, Santaolalla received the 2006 Academy Award for Original Music Score for Brokeback Mountain. In 2007, he received his second Academy Award for the score to Babel, beating out such composers as Thomas Newman, Alexandre Desplat. Gustavo dedicated the award to his father and to his country Argentina and he has also been part of the resurgent neo-tango movement, as prime mover behind the Bajofondo Tango Club collective. He is also mentioned as the co-producer of Calle 13s song Tango del Pecado, in 2005 he received the Platinum Konex Award as best Argentine artistic producer of the 1995-2005 decade. In 2008, Santaolalla composed the soundtrack for the Louis Vuitton film Where will life take you, directed by Bruno Aveillan, as part of the Journeys Campaign. In 2008, Santaolalla recorded two songs on All You Need Is Me, a single by British singer Morrissey, the tracks, Children In Pieces and My Dearest Love were recorded in Los Angeles with producer Jerry Finn. He directed music for Aamir Khans latest movie Dhobi Ghat, which was released on January 21,2011, Santaolalla has also collaborated with Argentine Composer Osvaldo Golijov on several projects commissioned by soprano Dawn Upshaw. Among his more recent projects are the score for the 2012 film On the Road, produced by Francis Ford Coppola and he composed the score for the 2013 survival adventure video game The Last of Us – Santaolallas first experience in the video game industry. In December 2016, it was announced that Santaolalla was also composing the music for the games sequel, in 2015, Santaolalla was inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame
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