1.
The Departed
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The Departed is a 2006 American crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, with Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson and Alec Baldwin in supporting roles. The film takes place in Boston, simultaneously, the police assign undercover state trooper William Billy Costigan to infiltrate Costellos crew. When both sides realize the situation, Sullivan and Costigan both attempt to discover the identity before their covers are blown. The film was a critical and commercial success and won awards, including four Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay. Wahlberg was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, as a child, Colin Sullivan had been introduced to organized crime by Irish-American mobster Frank Costello in the Irish neighborhood of South Boston. Over the years, Costello grooms him to become a mole inside the Massachusetts State Police, until Sullivan is accepted into the Special Investigations Unit and he drops out of the academy and does time in prison on a fake assault charge to increase his credibility. Each man infiltrates his respective organization, and Sullivan begins a romance with police psychiatrist Madolyn Madden, Costigan is seeing her under the terms of his probation, and they begin a relationship, too. After Costello escapes a sting operation, each mole becomes aware of the others existence, Sullivan is told to find the rat and asks Costello for information to identify the informer. Costigan follows Costello into a theater, where Costello gives Sullivan an envelope containing personal information on his crew members. When it is over, neither man knows the others identity, Sullivan has Queenan tailed to a meeting with Costigan on the roof of a building. Queenan orders Costigan to flee while he confronts Costellos men alone, the men then throw Queenan off the building to his death. When they exit, Costigan pretends he has come to join them, television news reveals that crew member Delahunt has been an undercover cop, working for the Boston Police Department. Dignam resigns rather than work with Sullivan, who he suspects is the mole after he is asked why he had Queenan followed, using Queenans phone, Sullivan reaches Costigan, who refuses to abort his mission. Sullivan learns from Queenans diary of Costellos role as an informant for the FBI, with Costigans help, Costello is traced to a cocaine drop-off, where a gunfight erupts between Costellos crew and the police, which results in most of the crew being killed. Costello, confronted by Sullivan, admits he is an FBI informant, Costello tries to shoot Sullivan, but Sullivan shoots him multiple times. With Costello dead, Sullivan is applauded the next day by everyone on the force, fearing retaliation, Sullivan erases Costigans records from the police computer system. Sullivan is unaware that Madolyn had an affair with Costigan when she tells Sullivan that she is pregnant, later, Sullivan finds her listening to a CD from Costigan containing incriminating recorded conversations between Costello and Sullivan
2.
Dreamgirls (film)
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Dreamgirls is a 2006 American musical drama film, directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. The film debuted in three special road show engagements starting in December 15,2006 before its release on December 25,2006. The film was released in the United States on December 25,2006, the film adaptation of Dreamgirls stars Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson, and also features Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose and Keith Robinson. Produced by Laurence Mark, the screenplay was adapted by director Condon from the original Broadway book by Tom Eyen. In addition to the original Kreiger Eyen compositions, four new songs, Dreamgirls features the acting debut of Hudson, a former American Idol contestant and singer. With a production cost of $80 million, Dreamgirls is the most expensive film to feature an all African-American starring cast in American cinema history, upon its release, the film garnered positive reviews from critics, and earned $154 million at the international box office. Curtis presents himself as The Dreamettes new manager and arranges for the girls to become singers for popular R&B singer Jimmy Thunder Early. Curtis soon starts his own label, Rainbow Records, out of his Detroit car dealership. When their first single fails after another pop group releases a cover version, Curtis, C. C, offstage, Effie becomes infatuated with Curtis, while the married Jimmy begins an affair with Lorrell. However, Jimmys manager Marty grows weary of Curtis plans to make his client more pop-friendly, when Jimmy bombs in front of a white Miami Beach audience, Curtis sends Jimmy out on the road alone, keeping The Dreamettes behind to headline in his place. Feeling that Effies curvy figure and distinctive voice will not attract audiences, Curtis appoints the slimmer and higher-voiced Deena lead singer. With the aid of new songs and a new more glamorous image, Curtis, however, Effie begins acting out, particularly when Curtis affections also turn towards Deena. Curtis eventually drops Effie from the group, hiring Michelle Morris, his secretary, despite Effies defiance and desperate appeal to Curtis, he, C. C. and The Dreams leave her behind and forge ahead to stardom. By 1975, Effie has become an impoverished welfare mother, living in inner-city Detroit with her daughter, struggling to restart her career in music, Effie goes to Marty Madison for management. Meanwhile, Deena Jones & the Dreams have become superstars, with Rainbow the biggest pop business in the country, Curtis is now attempting to produce a film about Cleopatra starring an unwilling Deena, who is now his wife. Meanwhile, Jimmy Early has descended into drug addiction, his career neglected due to Curtis preoccupation with Deena, when Jimmy has a breakdown onstage at Rainbows tenth anniversary TV special the following year, Curtis drops him from the label, and Lorrell ends their long affair. A short time later, C. C. quits after a fight with Curtis and their fight is interrupted by the breaking news that Jimmy has been found dead in a hotel room from a heroin overdose. Disillusioned by Jimmys death and Curtis cold reaction to the news, the two siblings reconcile and C. C. writes and produces Effies comeback single, One Night Only
3.
Clint Eastwood
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Clinton Clint Eastwood Jr. is an American actor, filmmaker, musician, and political figure. These roles, among others, have made Eastwood an enduring icon of masculinity. For his work in the Western film Unforgiven and the sports drama Million Dollar Baby, Eastwood won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture, as well as receiving nominations for Best Actor. Eastwoods greatest commercial successes have been the adventure comedy Every Which Way But Loose and its sequel, the war drama biopic American Sniper set box office records for the largest January release ever and was also the largest opening ever for an Eastwood film. Eastwood received considerable praise in France for several films, including some that were not well received in the United States. Eastwood has been awarded two of Frances highest honors, in 1994 he became a recipient of the Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, in 2000, Eastwood was awarded the Italian Venice Film Festival Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. Since 1967, Eastwood has run his own company, Malpaso. Starting in 1986, Eastwood served for two years as Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, a non-partisan office, Eastwood was born Clinton Eastwood Jr. May 31,1930, in San Francisco, California, the son of Clinton Eastwood Sr. and he has one younger sister, Jeanne Bernhardt. Eastwood is of English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry and he is descended from Mayflower passenger William Bradford, and through this line is the 12th generation of his family born in North America and the 13th generation to live in North America. His family moved often as his father worked at jobs along the West Coast, settled in Piedmont, California, the Eastwoods lived in a very wealthy part of town, had a swimming pool, belonged to the country club, and each parent drove their own car. Clint attended Piedmont Junior High School, shortly before he was to enter Piedmont High School, he rode his bike on the schools sports field and tore up the wet turf, this resulted in his being asked not to enroll. Clint graduated from the airplane shop, I think that was his major, joked classmate Don Kincaid. Another high school friend, Don Loomis, echoed I dont think he was spending much time at school because he was having a pretty good time elsewhere. I think what happened is he just went off and started having a good time, I just dont think he finished high school, explained Fritz Manes, a boyhood friend two years younger than Eastwood, who remained associated with him until their falling out in the mid-1980s. Biographer Patrick McGilligan notes that high school records are a matter of strict legal confidentiality. Eastwood worked at a number of jobs, including lifeguard, paper carrier, grocery clerk, forest firefighter, Eastwood has said that he tried to enroll at Seattle University but was then drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War. He always dropped the Korean War reference, hoping everyone would conclude that he was in combat, actually, hed been a lifeguard at Fort Ord in northern California for his entire stint in the military, commented Eastwoods former longtime companion, Sondra Locke
4.
Flags of Our Fathers (film)
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Flags of Our Fathers is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. The film is taken from the American viewpoint of the Battle for Iwo Jima, while its companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima, which Eastwood also directed, is from the Japanese viewpoint of the battle. Letters from Iwo Jima was released in Japan on December 9,2006 and in the United States on December 20,2006, two months after the release of Flags of Our Fathers on October 20,2006. After training at Camp Tarawa in Hawaii, the 28th Marine Regiment 5th Marine Division sails to the island of Iwo Jima as part of an invading armada. Tough Japanese resistance is expected, and the Navy bombards suspected Japanese positions for three days, Sergeant Mike Strank is put in charge of Second Platoon. The next day, February 19,1945, the Marines land in Higgins boats, casualties are heavy but the beaches are secured. Two days later the Marines attack Mount Suribachi under a rain of Japanese artillery and machine gun fire, Doc saves the lives of several Marines under fire, which later earns him the Navy Cross. On February 23, the platoon under command of Sergeant Hank Hansen is ordered to climb Mount Suribachi and they reach the top and hoist the United States flag atop the mountain to cheers from the beaches and the ships. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, who witnesses the flag raising as he lands on the beach, colonel Chandler Johnson decides his 2nd Battalion deserves the flag more. Rene is sent up with Second Platoon to replace the first flag with a one for Forrestal to take. Mike, Doc, Ira, Rene and two other marines are photographed by Joe Rosenthal as they raise the second flag, on March 1, Second Platoon are ambushed from a Japanese machine gun nest. During the fight over the nest Mike is hit by a U. S. Navy shell, later that day Hank is shot in the chest and dies almost instantly, and Harlon is killed by machine gun fire. Two nights later, while Doc is helping a wounded Marine, Iggy is abducted by Japanese troops, Doc finds his viciously mangled body a few days later. On March 21 Franklin is killed by gun fire and dies in Iras arms. Of the eight men in the only three are left, Doc, Ira and Rene. A few days after Franklins death, Doc is wounded by fire while trying to save a fellow corpsman. He survives and is sent back home, on March 26, the battle ends and the U. S. After the battle, the press gets hold of Rosenthals photograph and it is a huge morale booster, and newspapers all over the country ask for prints
5.
Ugly Betty
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Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC between 2006 and 2010. It revolves around the character Betty Suarez who, despite her lack of style, the series is based on Fernando Gaitáns Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, which has had many other international adaptations. It was produced by Silent H, Ventanarosa, and Reveille Productions partnered with ABC Studios and executive produced by Salma Hayek, Silvio Horta, Ben Silverman, Jose Tamez, and Joel Fields. The pilot was filmed in New York, seasons one and two were filmed in Los Angeles and seasons three and four in New York City, during its first three seasons, it aired on Thursday nights, where it was mostly successful. However, viewership dropped significantly in the third season, particularly in the important 18–49 age group. In October 2009, the series was moved to Fridays, where it had trouble finding an audience, since the shows cancellation, it has gained a cult following. With the end of the series, there was talk of a push by Ana Ortiz and America Ferrera for an Ugly Betty movie. Two years later, on May 16,2006, ABC announced that Ugly Betty would be part of the 2006–2007 North American season lineup as a weekly hour-long series, the initial order was for 13 episodes. ABC also allowed its affiliates to show free off-air screenings to the public at various events ahead of the shows debut, in addition the network screened the debut episode on the web and made the episodes available for download on iTunes after their initial airings on January 5,2007. The encore episodes also have run on ABC Family and SOAPnet, on October 13,2006, ABC ordered a full season pick-up for the series, beyond the original 13 ordered at the May Upfronts due to its premiere ratings. ABC originally announced 22 episodes for the season 1, but increased the number of episodes by one to 23, the season finale is the episode called East Side Story. On March 21,2007, ABC renewed the series for a second season, although he joined NBC as their new entertainment head, Ben Silverman remained co-executive producer on the show, but in a limited role. In November 2007, the cast of the series made headlines when they threw their support behind the 2007 Writers Strike by joining them on the line in solidarity. On February 11,2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008–09 television season, unfortunately on the day the renewal was announced, two of the shows executive producers, Marco Pennette and James Hayman, were let go. The departure of Pennette and Hayman added to the constant off-camera turnovers on the series, including the exiting or firing of five writers. In a Q&A from TV Guide, Michael Ausiello criticized the decision, saying that someone saw fit to fix what wasnt broken and praised the two men for writing several of the shows best episodes. As a result of the strike, creator Silvio Horta delayed plans for a musical episode, Four days later on February 16,2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008–09 television season. On March 12,2008, Horta inked a two-year, seven-figure deal with ABC Studios, on April 17,2008, the shows podcast, which was usually presented in audio and hosted by stars Urie and Newton, became available on video for the first time
6.
Robert Altman
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Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is consistently ranked as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in American cinema and his style of filmmaking was unique among directors, in that his subjects covered most genres, but with a subversive twist that typically relies on satire and humor to express his personal vision. Altman developed a reputation for being anti-Hollywood and non-conformist in both his themes and directing style, however, actors especially enjoyed working under his direction because he encouraged them to improvise, thereby inspiring their own creativity. He preferred large ensemble casts for his films, and developed a recording technique which produced overlapping dialogue from multiple actors. This produced a natural, more dynamic, and more complex experience for the viewer. He also used highly mobile camera work and zoom lenses to enhance the activity taking place on the screen, critic Pauline Kael, writing about his directing style, said that Altman could make film fireworks out of next to nothing. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized Altmans body of work with an Academy Honorary Award and he never won a competitive Oscar despite five nominations. His films MASH, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and Nashville have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Altman is one of the few filmmakers whose films have won the Golden Bear at Berlin, the Golden Lion at Venice, and the Golden Palm at Cannes. Altmans ancestry was German, English and Irish, his grandfather, Frank Altman. Altman had a Catholic upbringing, but he did not continue to follow or practice the religion as an adult, although he has referred to as a sort of Catholic. He was educated at Jesuit schools, including Rockhurst High School and he graduated from Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri in 1943. In 1943 Altman joined the United States Army Air Forces at the age of 18, during World War II, Altman flew more than 50 bombing missions as a crewman on a B-24 Liberator with the 307th Bomb Group in Borneo and the Dutch East Indies. Upon his discharge in 1946, Altman moved to California and he worked in publicity for a company that had invented a tattooing machine to identify dogs. He entered filmmaking on a whim, selling a script to RKO for the 1948 picture Bodyguard, Altmans immediate success encouraged him to move to New York City, where he attempted to forge a career as a writer. Having enjoyed little success, in 1949 he returned to Kansas City, in February 2012, an early Calvin film directed by Altman, Modern Football, was found by filmmaker Gary Huggins. Altman directed some 65 industrial films and documentaries before being hired by a businessman in 1956 to write. The film, titled The Delinquents, made for $60,000, was purchased by United Artists for $150,000, while primitive, this teen exploitation film contained the foundations of Altmans later work in its use of casual, naturalistic dialogue
7.
Martin Landau
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Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. His career started in the 1950s, with film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcocks North by Northwest. He played regular roles in the television series Mission, Impossible and his performance in the supporting role of Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood earned him an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award. He continues to perform in film and TV and heads the Hollywood branch of the Actors Studio, Landau was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 20,1928, the son of Selma and Morris Landau. His family was Jewish, his father, an Austrian-born machinist and he attended James Madison High School and the Pratt Institute before finding full-time work as a cartoonist. At 22, he quit the Daily News to concentrate on theater acting, influenced by Charlie Chaplin and the escapism of the cinema, Landau pursued an acting career. He attended the Actors Studio, becoming friends with James Dean. In 1957, he made his Broadway debut in Middle of the Night, in 1959, Landau made his first major film appearance, as Leonard, right-hand man of a criminal mastermind, in Alfred Hitchcocks North by Northwest. He had featured roles in two 1960s epics, Cleopatra and The Greatest Story Ever Told, and played a killer in the 1965 western Nevada Smith. Landau played the role of master of disguise Rollin Hand in the US television series Mission, Impossible, according to The Complete Mission, Impossible Dossier by Patrick J. He became a full-time cast member in the season, although the studio agreed to contract him only on a year-by-year basis rather than the then-standard five years. Landau co-starred in the series with his then-wife, Barbara Bain, in the mid-1970s, Landau and Bain returned to TV in the British science-fiction series Space,1999. Although the series remains a classic for its high production values, critical response to Space,1999 was unenthusiastic during its original run. Landau himself was critical of the scripts and storylines, especially during the second season. He later wrote forewords to Space,1999 co-star Barry Morses theatrical memoir Remember With Advantages, following Space,1999, Landau appeared in supporting roles in a number of films and TV series, including the TV film The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligans Island, which again co-starred Bain. In the late 1980s, Landau made a comeback, earning an Academy Award nomination for his role in Tucker, The Man. This was followed by a nomination, for 1989s Crimes and Misdemeanors. Landau also received a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe Award, when Landau won the Academy Award, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times announced, the award goes to Martin Landau, its shadow goes to Bela Lugosi
8.
Superman (1978 film)
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Superman is a 1978 superhero film directed by Richard Donner and based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The film is a British, Swiss, Panamanian and American joint venture, Film Export A. G. Dovemead Limited and International Film Productions. Superman stars Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Trevor Howard, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, Valerie Perrine, and Ned Beatty. The film depicts Supermans origin, including his infancy as Kal-El of Krypton, Disguised as reporter Clark Kent, he adopts a mild-mannered disposition in Metropolis and develops a romance with Lois Lane, while battling the villainous Lex Luthor. Several directors, most notably Guy Hamilton, and screenwriters, were associated with the project before Richard Donner was hired to direct, Tom Mankiewicz was drafted in to rewrite the script and was given a creative consultant credit. It was decided to film both Superman and its sequel Superman II simultaneously, with principal photography beginning in March 1977 and ending in October 1978. Tensions arose between Donner and the producers, and a decision was made to stop filming the sequel, of which 75 percent had already been completed, and finish the first film. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Film Editing, Best Music, and Best Sound Mixing, groundbreaking in its use of special effects and science fiction/fantasy storytelling, the films legacy presaged the mainstream popularity of Hollywoods superhero film franchises. On the planet Krypton, using evidence provided by scientist Jor-El, the Council sentences attempted insurrectionists General Zod, Ursa, for this, Zod swears revenge on Jor-El and his family. Jor-El, despite his eminence, is unable to convince the Council that Krypton will soon be destroyed when its red supergiant sun goes supernova. To save his infant son, Kal-El, Jor-El launches a spacecraft containing him toward Earth, shortly after the launch, Kryptons sun explodes, destroying the planet. The ship crash lands on Earth near Smallville, Kansas, Kal-El, who is now three years old, is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who are astonished when he is able to lift their truck. They take him to their farm and raise him as their own, at 18, soon after Jonathans death due to a heart attack, Clark hears a psychic call and discovers a glowing crystal in the remains of his spacecraft. It compels him to travel to the Arctic, where the crystal builds the Fortress of Solitude, inside, a holographic vision of Jor-El appears and explains Clarks origins, educating him on his powers and responsibilities. He meets and develops a romantic attraction to co-worker Lois Lane. Clark also rescues Air Force One after a strike destroys the port outboard engine. He visits Lois at her home the night and takes her for a flight over the city. Meanwhile, criminal genius Lex Luthor has developed a plan to make a fortune in real estate by buying large amounts of barren desert land, after learning that the U. S Army and U. S
9.
Richard Donner
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Richard Donner is an American film director and producer. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for directing the first modern film, Superman. Donner later went on to such films such as The Goonies and Scrooged, while reinvigorating the buddy film genre with Lethal Weapon. He and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner, own the production company The Donners Company, in 2000, he received the Presidents Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Film historian Michael Barson writes that Donner is one of Hollywoods most reliable makers of action blockbusters, Donner was born Richard Donald Schwartzberg in the Bronx, to Jewish parents, Hattie and Fred Schwartzberg. His father owned a furniture manufacturing business. Donner started his career with hopes of acting but quickly moved into directing commercials and he moved into television in the late 1950s, directing some episodes of the Steve McQueen western serial Wanted, Dead or Alive and the Chuck Connors western The Rifleman. In his early career as a director he worked on TV commercials and over twenty-five television series including Have Gun Will Travel, The Fugitive, get Smart, The Man from U. N. C. L. E. The Wild Wild West, Gilligans Island, Kojak, Tales from the Crypt and The Twilight Zone, Donner directed his first feature film in 1961, X-15, which starred Charles Bronson and Mary Tyler Moore. It was not until seven years later, however, that he directed his film, Salt and Pepper, with Sammy Davis Jr. His break-through film was The Omen, a supernatural thriller made in the wake of the success obtained by The Exorcist, the film stars Gregory Peck, David Warner and Lee Remick. It became the fifth highest-grossing movie of 1976, in 1978, Donner directed Superman, The Movie, starring Christopher Reeve in the title role. The film became a hit worldwide, projecting both Reeve and Donner to international fame, co-stars included Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Marlon Brando as Jor-El and Gene Hackman as archvillain Lex Luthor. It succeeded at the box office, grossing $134 million domestically, principal photography of Superman included filming of its first sequel, Superman II. Donner filmed most of Superman II with the expectation he would complete the sequel after the release of Superman, despite the first films success, Donner was fired from Superman II. Throughout the filming of Superman and Superman II, Donner had a relationship with executive producers Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind. Following Donners dismissal, Marlon Brandos scenes were removed from Superman II, Gene Hackman refused to return for re-shoots, consequently, all the Lex Luthor scenes that appear in Superman II were filmed by Donner, although Donner received no onscreen credit for directing. Rotten Tomatoes summary states that Superman II meets, if not exceeds, Donner continued to promote the view his contribution was superior to rest of the series
10.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
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Law & Order, Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural, legal, crime drama television series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced. In the style of the original Law & Order, episodes are often ripped from the headlines or loosely based on crimes that have received media attention. Created and produced by Dick Wolf, the series premiered on NBC on September 20,1999, the show began its 18th season on September 21,2016, and has aired 404 original episodes as of April 5,2017. As the series progressed, additional supporting characters were added as allies of the detectives in the New York County Manhattan District Attorneys office, certain episodes will go into detail about detectives personal lives and how they may or may not tie into the crimes dealt with during the show. Typical episodes follow the detectives and their colleagues as they investigate and prosecute sexually based offenses, on February 1,2016, the series was renewed for an eighteenth season. The season premiered on Wednesday, September 21,2016 at 9 p. m. on NBC, the crime inspired Dick Wolf to write the story for the season one episode of Law & Order titled Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die. Even after writing the episode, however, the continued to haunt Wolf. The original title of the show was Sex Crimes, reflecting the nature of the crimes depicted on the show. Initially there was concern among the producers that, should Sex Crimes fail, additionally, Ted Kotcheff wanted to create a new series that was not dependent upon the original series for success. Wolf felt, however, that it was important and commercially desirable to have Law & Order in the title, the first episode, Payback, premiered on NBC on September 20,1999. Executive producer Neal Baer left Law & Order, SVU as show-runner at the end of twelve, after eleven years on the show. Baer was replaced by former Law & Order, Criminal Intent executive producer/showrunner Warren Leight, in March 2015 it was announced that Warren Leight signed a three-year deal with Sony Pictures Television, that will allow him to work on SVU one more season, its seventeenth. Leight joined the show in season thirteen and it was announced on March 10,2016 that original Law & Order veteran producer Rick Eid would take Leights place as showrunner/executive producer starting in season 18. Creator Dick Wolf commented to The Hollywood Reporter, Im extremely pleased that Rick had decided to rejoin the family and hope that he will be here for years to come. Many exterior scenes of Law & Order, Special Victims Unit are filmed on location in New York City, Wolfs home town, as the NYPD encounters varied law enforcement challenges on a daily basis, the backdrop provides the writers a supply of ideal locations from which to choose. When searching for a place to film the interiors of the show, the show moved into the studio space at Chelsea Piers that had been occupied by the original Law & Order series until its cancellation in May 2010. Fort Lee, New Jersey served as the location for Detective Elliot Stablers residence in Queens. The show originally aired on Monday nights at 9,00 p. m. ET for the first nine episodes, from September 20 through November 29,1999
11.
Jerry Lewis
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Jerry Lewis AM is an American actor, comedian, singer, film producer, film director, screenwriter and humanitarian. He is known for his humor in film, television, stage. He and Dean Martin were partners as the hit popular comedy duo of Martin, following that success, he was a solo star in motion pictures, nightclubs, television shows, concerts, album recordings, and musicals. Lewis served as chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and hosted the live Labor Day broadcast of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon for 44 years. Lewis was born on March 16,1926 in Newark, New Jersey to Russian Jewish parents and his father, Daniel Levitch, was a master of ceremonies and vaudeville entertainer who used the professional name Danny Lewis. His mother, Rachel Levitch, was a player for a radio station. Lewis started performing at age five and would perform alongside his parents in the Catskill Mountains in New York State. By 15, he had developed his Record Act in which he exaggeratedly mimed the lyrics to songs on a phonograph and he used the professional name Joey Lewis but soon changed it to Jerry Lewis to avoid confusion with comedian Joe E. Lewis and heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis. Lewis then dropped out of Irvington High School in the tenth grade and he was a character even in his teenage years pulling pranks in his neighborhood including sneaking into kitchens to steal fried chicken and pies. During World War II, he was rejected for service because of a heart murmur. Lewis initially gained attention as part of an act with singer Dean Martin. The performers were different from most other acts of the time because they relied on their interaction instead of planned skits. They quickly rose to prominence, first with their popular nightclub act. The two men made many appearances on live television, their first on the June 20,1948. This was followed on October 3,1948, by an appearance on the NBC series Welcome Aboard, the duo began their Paramount film careers as ensemble players in My Friend Irma, based on the popular radio series of the same name. This was followed by a sequel My Friend Irma Goes West, All sixteen movies were produced by Hal B. Attesting the comedy teams popularity, DC Comics published the best-selling The Adventures of Dean Martin, in 1954, the boys appeared on episode 191 of Whats My Line. as mystery guests. As Martins roles in their films became less important over time the partnership came under strain, Martins participation became an embarrassment in 1954 when Look magazine used a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover but cropped Martin out of the photo
12.
Forest Whitaker
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Forest Steven Whitaker III is an American actor, producer, and director. According to DNA tests, his father was of Igbo descent, when Whitaker was four, his family moved to Carson, California. Whitaker has two brothers, Kenn Whitaker, an actor, and Damon, and an older sister. Whitakers first role as an actor was the lead in Dylan Thomas play Under Milk Wood, Whitaker attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona on a football scholarship, but a back injury made him change his major to music. He toured England with the Cal Poly Chamber Singers in 1980, while still at Cal Poly, he briefly changed his major to drama. He was accepted to the Music Conservatory at the University of Southern California to study opera as a tenor and he graduated from USC in 1982. He also earned a scholarship to the Berkeley, California branch of the Drama Studio London, Whitaker was pursuing a degree in The Core of Conflict, Studies in Peace and Reconciliation at New York Universitys Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2004. In 1986, he appeared in Martin Scorseses The Color of Money, the following year, he co-starred in the comedy Good Morning, Vietnam. In 1988, Whitaker appeared in the film Bloodsport and had his first lead role starring as musician Charlie Bird Parker in Clint Eastwoods Bird. To prepare himself for the part, he sequestered himself in a loft with only a bed, couch and his performance, which has been called transcendent, earned him the Best Actor award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Globe nomination. Whitaker continued to work with a number of directors throughout the 1990s. He starred in the 1990 film Downtown and was cast in the role of Jody. Todd McCarthy of Variety described Whitakers performance as big-hearted, hugely emotional, in 1994, he was a member of the cast that won the first ever National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble for Robert Altmans film, Prêt-à-Porter. He gave an emotional performance in Wayne Wang and Paul Austers 1995 film. Whitaker played a serene, pigeon-raising, bushido-following, mob hit man in Ghost Dog, The Way of the Samurai, many consider this to have been a definitive role for Whitaker. In a manner similar to his preparation for Bird, he immersed himself in his characters world—he studied Eastern philosophy. Whitaker next appeared in what has called one of the worst films ever made. The film was criticized as a notorious commercial and critical disaster
13.
Helen Mirren
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Dame Helen Lydia Mirren DBE is an English actor. The Audience was written by Peter Morgan, who also wrote The Queen, Tingle, Gosford Park, Calendar Girls, The Last Station, Hitchcock, and The Hundred-Foot Journey. She played Victoria Winslow in the action-comedy films Red and Red 2, in 2003, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for Services to the Performing Arts. In 2013, Mirren was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and she was born Helen Lydia Mironoff at Queen Charlottes and Chelsea Hospital in Hammersmith, west London, the daughter of Kathleen Kitty Alexandrina Eva Matilda and Vasily Petrovich Mironoff. Her mother was English and her father was Russian, originally from Kuryanovo, Mirrens paternal grandfather, Colonel Pyotr Vasilievich Mironov, was in the Imperial Russian Army and fought in the 1904 Russo-Japanese War. He later became a diplomat, and was negotiating a deal in Britain when he. The former diplomat became a London cab driver to support his family and his son, Helen Mirrens father, anglicised the family name to Mirren in the 1950s and changed his name to Basil Mirren. He played the viola with the London Philharmonic before World War II, Mirrens mother was a working-class Londoner from West Ham, East London, and was the 13th of 14 children born to a butcher whose own father had been the butcher to Queen Victoria. Mirren considers her upbringing to have been very anti-monarchist, Mirren was the second of three children, she was born three years after her older sister, Katherine, and also had a younger brother, Peter Basil. Mirren was brought up in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, aged eighteen, she auditioned for the National Youth Theatre and was accepted. By the time she was 20, she was playing Cleopatra in the NYT production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Old Vic, as a result of her work for the National Youth Theatre, Mirren was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She also appeared in four productions, directed by Braham Murray for Century Theatre at the University Theatre in Manchester, in 1970, the director/producer John Goldschmidt made a documentary film, Doing Her Own Thing, about Mirren during her time with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The film was made for ATV and shown on the ITV Network in the UK and she then rejoined the RSC, playing Lady Macbeth at Stratford in 1974 and at the Aldwych Theatre in 1975. According to Beauman, there were no repercussions for this rebuke of the RSC. Her performance earned her the London critics Plays & Players Best Actress award, beginning in November 1975, Mirren played in West End repertory with the Lyric Theatre Company as Nina in The Seagull and Ella in Ben Travers new farce The Bed Before Yesterday. In 1981, she returned to the Royal Court for the London premiere of Brian Friels Faith Healer, – Michael Coveney, Financial Times, April 1983. On 15 February 2013, at the West Ends Gielgud Theatre she began a turn as Elizabeth II in the World Premiere of Peter Morgans The Audience, the show was directed by Stephen Daldry. In April she was named best actress at the Olivier Awards for her role, a further stage breakthrough came in 1994, in an Yvonne Arnaud Theatre production bound for the West End, when Bill Bryden cast her as Natalya Petrovna in Ivan Turgenevs A Month in the Country
14.
Meryl Streep
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Mary Louise Meryl Streep is an American actress and philanthropist. Nominated for 20 Academy Awards, Streep has more nominations than any actor or actress. Streep has also received 30 Golden Globe nominations, winning eight—more nominations, Streep made her professional stage debut in Trelawny of the Wells in 1975, and in 1976 received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for 27 Wagons Full of Cotton. She made her debut in the 1977 television film The Deadliest Season. In 1978, she won an Emmy Award for her role in the miniseries Holocaust and she went on to win Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer, and Best Actress for Sophies Choice and The Iron Lady. President Barack Obama awarded her the 2010 National Medal of Arts, in 2003, the government of France made her a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters. In 2017, Streep was awarded the Golden Globe Cecil B. Mary Louise Streep was born on June 22,1949, in Summit, New Jersey, the daughter of Mary Wolf Wilkinson, a commercial artist and art editor, the eldest child, she has two younger brothers, Dana David and Harry William III. Streeps father Harry was of German and Swiss ancestry and her fathers lineage traces back to Loffenau, Germany, from where her second great-grandfather, Gottfried Streeb, immigrated to the United States, and where one of her ancestors served as mayor. Another line of her fathers family was from Giswil, Switzerland and her mother had English, German, and Irish ancestry. Some of Streeps maternal ancestors lived in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island and were descended from 17th-century immigrants from England and her eighth great-grandfather, Lawrence Wilkinson, was one of the first Europeans to settle in Rhode Island. Streep is also a distant relative of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, Streeps maternal great-great-grandparents, Manus McFadden and Grace Strain, the namesake of Streeps second daughter, were natives of the Horn Head district of Dunfanaghy, Ireland. Streeps mother, whom she has compared in both appearance and manner to Dame Judi Dench, strongly encouraged her daughter and instilled confidence in her from a young age. Streep has said, She was a mentor because she said to me, Meryl and she was saying, You can do whatever you put your mind to. If youre lazy, youre not going to get it done, but if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. Although Streep was naturally more introverted than her mother, at times when she later needed an injection of confidence in adulthood, she would consult her mother, asking her for advice. Streep was raised as a Presbyterian in Basking Ridge, New Jersey and attended Cedar Hill Elementary School and the Oak Street School, in her Junior High debut, she starred as Lousie Heller in the play The Family Upstairs. In 1963 the family moved to Bernardsville, New Jersey, where she attended Bernards High School
15.
Leonardo DiCaprio
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Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He began his career by starring as Josh in Critters 3. He starred in the adaptation of the memoir This Boys Life. Since 2000, DiCaprio has received acclaim for his work in a wide range of film genres. Edgar, the western Django Unchained, and the period drama The Great Gatsby and he also won his first Academy Award and BAFTA Award for his performance in The Revenant. DiCaprio is the founder of his own company, Appian Way Productions. Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born on November 11,1974 in Los Angeles and he is the only child of Irmelin, a legal secretary, and George DiCaprio, an underground comics artist and producer/distributor of comic books. DiCaprios father is of Italian and German descent, DiCaprios maternal grandfather, Wilhelm Indenbirken, was German. His maternal grandmother, Helene Indenbirken, was a Russian-born German citizen, in an interview in Russia, DiCaprio referred to himself as half-Russian and said that two of his grandparents were Russian. DiCaprios parents met while attending college and subsequently moved to Los Angeles, DiCaprio was named Leonardo because his pregnant mother was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in a museum in Italy when he first kicked. His parents separated when he was an old, and he lived mostly with his mother. The two lived in several Los Angeles neighborhoods, such as Echo Park and Los Feliz, while his mother worked several jobs, DiCaprio attended Seeds Elementary School and John Marshall High School a few blocks away, after attending the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies for four years. However, he dropped out of school following his third year. DiCaprio spent part of his childhood in Germany with his grandparents, Wilhelm. He is conversant in German and Italian, DiCaprios career began with his appearance in several commercials and educational films. In 1990, he got his break on television when he was cast in the series based on the movie Parenthood. After Parenthood, DiCaprio had bit parts on several shows, including The New Lassie and Roseanne, as well as a stint on the soap opera Santa Barbara. His involvement in Parenthood and the daily soap earned him a nomination for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor each, released in 1991, the movie went direct-to-video
16.
Jennifer Hudson
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Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American singer, actress and spokesperson. She rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the season of American Idol. She has also appeared in films as Sex and the City, The Secret Life of Bees. She has made television appearances, including guest roles on Smash, Empire. In 2015 she made her Broadway debut in the role of Shug Avery in the 2015 revival of The Color Purple, as a singer, Hudson has released three studio albums. Her debut album Jennifer Hudson, released in 2008, debuted at two on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA, with sales exceeding a million copies worldwide. The record was nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning the 2009 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album and her second album I Remember Me, released in 2011, also debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA. Her third and most recent album JHUD peaked in the top ten, in October 2008, after Hudsons mother, brother and nephew were killed in a shooting, Hudson stepped out of the public eye for three months. Hudson resumed her appearances in 2009, with high-profile performances at Super Bowl XLIII, the Grammy Awards, American Idol. Hudson has been described as a friend of former President Barack Obama and she also performed at the White House at the Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement event. In 2013, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in 2016, Hudson was announced as a coach on the 2017 Series of The Voice UK. Hudson was born on September 12,1981, in Chicago and she is the third and youngest child of Darnell Donnerson and Samuel Simpson. She was raised as a Baptist in Englewood and attended Dunbar Vocational High School and she cites Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Patti LaBelle as her overall biggest influences and inspiration. At the age of 7, she got her start in performing by singing with the choir and doing community theater with the help of her late maternal grandmother. She enrolled at Langston University but she left after a due to homesickness and unhappiness with the weather. In January 2002, Hudson signed her first recording contract with Righteous Records and she was released from her five-year contract with Righteous Records so that she could appear on American Idol in 2004. The bottom three consisting of three African-American females led to controversy, in May 2009, MTV listed Hudson as the sixth greatest American Idol and noted her exit was the most shocking of all time. In one of her first appearances on a record, Hudson is featured in a duet, The Future Aint What It Used to Be, on Meat Loafs Bat Out of Hell III, The Monster Is Loose
17.
William Monahan
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William J. Monahan is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay was The Departed, a film that earned him a Writers Guild of America Award, Monahan was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied Elizabethan and Jacobean drama and he moved to New York City and contributed to the alternative weekly newspaper New York Press and the magazines Talk, Maxim, and Spy. In 1997 Monahan won a Pushcart Prize for his short story A Relation of Various Accidents Observable in Some Animals Included in Vacuo. Monahan was an editor at Spy during the final years. Monahan wrote a novel titled Light House, A Trifle, in 1999 Talk magazine debuted, and Monahan contributed a travelogue on Gloucester, Massachusetts, to the first issue. In the second half of 2001 Monahan wrote a column at the New York Press under the pseudonym of Claude La Badarian. Warner Bros. optioned the rights to the novel Light House. The screenplay adaptation has not been produced, Light House was released in 2000. A few years later, he back the rights and took the novel off the market. The script was given to Ridley Scott to direct, Monahan met with Scott to discuss Tripoli, and Scott mentioned his desire to direct a film about knights. Monahan suggested the Crusades as a setting, reasoning that youve got every conceivable plot imaginable there, Scott was captivated by Monahans pitch and hired him to write the screenplay for Kingdom of Heaven. Tripoli was eventually shelved, but Monahan retained ownership of the screenplay, Monahan steadily secured work in the film industry throughout the 2000s. Brad Pitts production company, Plan B, hired Monahan to write an adaptation of Hong Kong director Andrew Laus gangster film Infernal Affairs, Monahans work on the film would later earn him two Best Adapted Screenplay awards, from the Writers Guild of America and the Academy Awards. Kingdom of Heaven was the first of Monahans screenplays to be produced into a film, Monahan had negotiated a production write-through contract for Kingdom of Heaven, which allowed him to be present on the movie sets to make modifications to the shooting script during production. It was poorly received by critics when it was released in theaters in 2005, Kingdom was critically reappraised when it was released on DVD in the form of a directors cut that contained an additional 45 minutes of footage previously shot from Monahans shooting script. Some critics were pleased with the version of the film. Monahans second produced screenplay was The Departed, an adaptation of the Hong Kong action film Infernal Affairs, jack Nicholson, one of the leads in the film, influenced the screenplay
18.
Peter Morgan
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Peter Julian Robin Morgan CBE is a British film writer and playwright. Morgan is best known for writing the films and plays The Queen, Frost/Nixon, The Damned United. He is the creator of Netflixs drama series The Crown, in 2008, Morgan was ranked number 28 in The Telegraphs list of The 100 most powerful people in British culture. In February 2017, he was awarded a British Film Institute Fellowship, Morgan was born in Wimbledon, London. His mother, Inga, was a Catholic Pole who fled the Soviets and his father died when Morgan was nine years old. Morgan attended boarding school at Downside School, Somerset, and gained a degree in Fine Art from the University of Leeds, Morgan wrote television scripts during the 1990s, including an episode of Rik Mayall Presents. and the Comedy Premiere The Chest. He wrote the screenplay to the romantic comedy Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel, in 2003, Morgan broke through with The Deal, a television drama about the power-sharing deal between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown that was struck in the Granita restaurant in London in 1994. In 2006, Morgan received his Academy Award-nomination for The Deals follow-up, The Queen, that showed how the death of Princess Diana impacted Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Royal Family. His work on the film eventually awarded him a Golden Globe from the Hollywood Foreign Press,2006 also saw the release of The Last King of Scotland, the screenplay of which Morgan adapted with Jeremy Brock. In 2007 they jointly won a BAFTA Film Award for their work on the film, also in 2006, Morgans first play, Frost/Nixon, was staged at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London. Starring Michael Sheen as David Frost and Frank Langella as Richard Nixon and these ended with his tacit admission of guilt regarding his role in the Watergate scandal. The play was directed by Michael Grandage and opened to enthusiastic reviews, in May 2007, the 50th San Francisco International Film Festival honoured Morgan with the years Kanbar Award for Excellence in Screenwriting. In July 2009, filming began on The Special Relationship, the film of Morgans Blair trilogy. The film focuses on Blairs relationship with US president Bill Clinton between 1997 and 2000, Morgan was originally scheduled to direct the film but pulled out a month before filming began. He was replaced by Richard Loncraine, Morgan was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the film. In 2008 Morgan adapted John le Carrés Tinker, Tailor, Soldier and he has since finished the script for Hereafter, a supernatural thriller in the vein of The Sixth Sense. DreamWorks bought the screenplay on spec in March 2008, the development was later transferred to Warner Bros. and filming began in October 2009 under the direction of Clint Eastwood. In 2008 the film Frost/Nixon, with Sheen and Langella playing the parts they had on stage, opened in the UK, Morgan was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on the film
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
20.
Chris Cornell
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He has released four solo studio albums, Euphoria Morning, Carry On, Scream, Higher Truth and live album Songbook. Cornell was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, and attended Christ the King Catholic elementary school and his parents are Ed Boyle and Karen Cornell. He has five siblings, older brothers Peter and Patrick, and younger sisters Katy, Suzy, Peter, Katy and Suzy all performed in the band Inflatable Soule in the 1990s. Peter was the frontman for the New York-based rock band Black Market Radio and released a new album, Champion. Katy performs as lead vocalist for the Seattle band Into the Cold, Cornell was a loner, however, he was able to deal with his anxiety around other people through rock music. During his teenage years, Chris spiralled in to depression, dropped out of school. Before becoming a musician, he worked at a seafood wholesaler and was a sous-chef at a restaurant named Rays Boathouse. In the early 1980s, Cornell was a member of a band called The Shemps that performed around Seattle. The Shemps also featured bassist Hiro Yamamoto, following Yamamotos departure from The Shemps, the band recruited guitarist Kim Thayil as its new guitarist. Cornell and Yamamoto stayed in contact, and after The Shemps broke up, Cornell and Yamamoto started jamming together, Soundgarden was formed in 1984 by Cornell, Thayil and Yamamoto with Cornell originally on drums and vocals. In 1985, the band enlisted Scott Sundquist as the drummer to allow Cornell to concentrate on vocals, the bands first recordings were three songs that appeared on a compilation for C/Z Records called Deep Six. In 1986, Sundquist, who by that point had a wife and he was replaced by Matt Cameron, the drummer for Skin Yard, who became Soundgardens permanent drummer. Soundgarden signed to Sub Pop, releasing the Screaming Life EP in 1987, the band subsequently signed with A&M Records, becoming the first grunge band to sign to a major label. In 1989, the released their second effort, and their first for a major label. Following the release of Louder Than Love, Yamamoto left the band to finish his masters degree in chemistry at Western Washington University. He was replaced by former Nirvana guitarist Jason Everman, Everman was fired following Soundgardens tour supporting Louder Than Love. In 1990, the band was joined by a new bassist, along with Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden became one of the most successful bands from Seattles emerging grunge scene in the early 1990s. With Shepherd, the new line-up recorded Badmotorfinger in 1991, the album brought the band to a new level of commercial success, and Soundgarden found itself amidst the sudden popularity and attention given to the Seattle music scene
21.
The Last King of Scotland (film)
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The film was a co-production between companies from the United Kingdom and the United States, including Fox Searchlight Pictures and Film4, and was a financial success. The film tells the story of Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scottish doctor who travels to Uganda. The film received critical acclaim. Particular focus went to Whitaker, who received outstanding critical acclaim for his portrayal of Amin and he won Best Actor at the Academy Awards, among others. In 1970, Nicholas Garrigan graduates from school at the University of Edinburgh. With dull prospects at home, he decides to seek adventure abroad by working at a Ugandan missionary clinic run by Dr. David Merrit and Merrits wife, Garrigan becomes attracted to Sarah, who enjoys the attention, but refuses to engage in an extramarital affair. Meanwhile, General Idi Amin overthrows incumbent president Milton Obote in a coup détat, Garrigan sincerely believes Amin will help the country, while Sarah warns him of presidents who have taken over before. Garrigan is called to a car accident where he treats Amins hand. During the incident, Garrigan takes a gun and shoots a mortally wounded cow because no one else has the presence of mind to put it out of its misery, Amin is impressed by his quick action and initiative. Later, Amin invites Garrigan to become his physician and take charge of modernising the countrys health care system. Garrigan soon becomes Amins trusted confidant and is relied on for more than medical care. Although Garrigan is aware of violence around Kampala, he accepts Amins explanation that cracking down on the opposition will bring lasting peace to the country. Garrigan discovers that the leader has ostracised the youngest of his three wives, Kay, because she has given birth to an epileptic son, Mackenzie. When treating Mackenzie, Garrigan and Kay form a relationship and sleep with each other, eventually, Garrigan begins to lose faith in Amin as he witnesses the increasing paranoia, murders, and xenophobia in expelling South Asians from the country. Amin replaces Garrigans British passport with a Ugandan one to prevent him escaping, which leads Garrigan to frantically seek help from Stone. Garrigan is told the British will help him leave Uganda if he uses his position to assassinate Amin, Kay informs Garrigan that she has become pregnant with his child. Aware that Amin will murder her for infidelity if he discovers this, delayed by Amins command that he attend a press conference with Western journalists, Garrigan fails to meet Kay at the appointed time. She concludes she has abandoned and seeks out a primitive abortion in a nearby village
22.
Ryan Gosling
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Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He began his career as a star on the Disney Channels Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programs including Are You Afraid of the Dark. Gosling came to the attention of an audience in 2004 with a leading role in the commercially successful romantic drama The Notebook. After a three-year acting hiatus, Gosling starred in the marital drama Blue Valentine, Goslings directorial debut Lost River was released in 2014 to poor reviews. Greater success came to Gosling when he starred in two critically acclaimed films—the financial comedy-drama The Big Short and the musical La La Land, for the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award and received a second Oscar nomination. Goslings band, Dead Mans Bones, released their debut album. He is a co-owner of Tagine, a Moroccan restaurant in Beverly Hills and he is a supporter of PETA, Invisible Children and the Enough Project and has traveled to Chad, Uganda and eastern Congo to raise awareness about conflicts in the regions. Ryan Thomas Gosling was born in London, Ontario, the son of Thomas Ray Gosling, a salesman for a paper mill, and Donna. His father is of English, Scottish, and French Canadian descent, Ryans great-great-grandfather, George Edward Gosling, was born in Paddington, London, Goslings parents were Mormons, and Gosling has said that the religion influenced every aspect of their lives. However, he said he never really could identify with, because of his fathers work, they moved around a lot and Gosling lived in both Cornwall, Ontario, and Burlington, Ontario. His parents divorced when he was 13, and he and his older sister Mandi lived with their mother, Gosling was educated at Gladstone Public School, Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School and Lester B. Pearson High School. As a child, he watched Dick Tracy and was inspired to become an actor and he hated being a child, was bullied in elementary school and had no friends until he was 14 or 15. In grade one, having heavily influenced by the action film First Blood, he took steak knives to school. This incident led to a suspension and he was unable to read and was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, prescribed Ritalin, and placed in a class for special-needs students. Consequently, his mother quit her job and homeschooled him for a year, Gosling has said that homeschooling gave him a sense of autonomy that Ive never really lost. Gosling performed in front of audiences from an age, encouraged by his sister being a performer. He and his sister sang together at weddings, he performed with Elvis Perry, his uncles Elvis Presley tribute act, performing boosted his self-confidence as it was the only thing he received praise for. He developed an idiosyncratic accent because, as a child, he thought having a Canadian accent did not sound tough and he began to model his accent on that of Marlon Brando
23.
Half Nelson (film)
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Half Nelson is a 2006 American drama film directed by Ryan Fleck, written by Fleck and Anna Boden. The film stars Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie and it was scored by Juno Award-winning Canadian band Broken Social Scene. Gosling was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, the story concerns an inner city middle-school teacher who forms a friendship with one of his students after she discovers that he has a drug habit. The film is based on a 19-minute film made by Boden and Fleck in 2004, titled Gowanus and it premiered in competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. It was released theatrically on August 11,2006, Dan Dunne is a young middle-school history teacher at a Brooklyn school, with a teaching style that rejects the standard curriculum in favor of an approach based upon dialectics. Though he seems to have it all together in the classroom, after a basketball game, Dans ex-girlfriend, Rachel turns up, evoking emotions that he cannot handle. A short while later, one of his students, Drey, meanwhile, Drey has to deal with a single-mother who is always at work, a brother, Mike, who is in prison for selling drugs for neighborhood dealer, Frank and an absent father. Dreys lack of supervision makes her a target for Franks operation, as Dan and Drey begin to get a better understanding of each other as friends, they both know what the other one should stay away from and what they need, but is struggling to get by themselves. Dan perceives that Frank is a bad influence on Drey and tries to intercede on numerous occasions, and Drey tries to get Dan to open up about his drug habit to no avail as he feels uncomfortable talking with a student about it. After a tense conversation with Frank about Drey, Dan goes to Isabels house, another teacher at the school, with whom he had one previous date. He forces himself on her, trying to right his apparent disinterest in her on their last date, the following day, he further takes his stress out on Drey, telling her to talk to friends her own age when she finds him, hoping to hang out. Drey, an upset at this, is pushed further into the company of Frank. Dan goes to his parents house for dinner, where his brother, Jeff and he says little, and does not enjoy himself much, but a joke of Jeffs that Cindy tells him makes him laugh. The same night, Drey is out with Frank, dealing, in the films pinnacle scene, Drey arrives at a place to deliver some drugs and walks in to a room of stoned drug users. The person revealed to be the buyer is Dan as he out of the back room. There is only a slight shameful nod from him as he holds out the money to hand to her for the drugs. This exchange is the culmination of each was trying to get the other to stay away from. The next day, Dan is not at school, and his students are told that he is being replaced by a Mr. Light and this changes something within Drey as she refuses a lift home from Frank, choosing to turn from that path
24.
Joshua Jackson
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Joshua Browning Carter Jackson is a Canadian-American actor. He has appeared in television and in over 30 film roles. His well-known roles include Pacey Witter in Dawsons Creek, Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Peter Bishop in Fringe, Jackson won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the Canadian independent film One Week. Jackson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to John Carter Jackson and his wife and his mother is a casting director. Jacksons father is from Texas, and his mother is a native of Ballyfermot, Dublin, Ireland and he has a younger sister, Aisleagh. Jackson grew up in California until the age of 8 and he moved to Vancouver with his mother and younger sister. He attended Ideal Mini School and later switched to Kitsilano Secondary School, so Id just take the first couple of classes off, cause I wanted to be fresh when I got there. He claims that the first time was because of attitude problems, Jackson started acting in a small role in the film Crooked Hearts in 1991. The next year, he played the role of Charlie in a version of Willie Wonka. At this point, with the help of the casting director Laura Kennedy. Soon after, he landed the role of Charlie in The Mighty Ducks series, Joshua Jackson went on to appear as Pacey Witter on Dawsons Creek, which ran on the WB network from 1998–2003, and also starred James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams and Katie Holmes. In 2000, he also guest-starred in Season 12 of The Simpsons, voicing the character of Jesse Grass, shortly after Dawsons Creek ended in 2003, Jackson played the lead role in films alongside Dennis Hopper, Harvey Keitel, and Donald Sutherland. In 2005, Jackson moved to the UK and made his debut on the London West End with Patrick Stewart in David Mamets two-man play. The play was a critical and popular success, and ran from February to April of that year, Jackson said that he would consider returning to the stage, to try his hand on Broadway. His next film role was in Bobby, directed by Emilio Estevez and he played a lead role in Shutter, a US remake of a Thai horror film of the same name. He starred and acted as producer in the Canadian independent film One Week. Jackson played Peter Bishop in the science-fiction series Fringe, created by JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci, the series appears on the Fox TV network and was the second-highest rated new show of the 2008–09 season after CBSs The Mentalist. BuddyTV ranked him #9 on its TVs 100 Sexiest Men of 2010 list, #19 in 2011, Jackson was nominated for Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for the film One Week
25.
Aurora Borealis (film)
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Aurora Borealis is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by James C. E. Burke and starring Joshua Jackson, Donald Sutherland, Juliette Lewis, and Louise Fletcher. The film was produced between November 3-December 19,2003, Duncan is an unemployed youth, trying to cope with the death of his father ten years ago. The film is set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, duncans grandparents, Ronald and Ruth move into an apartment with a very nice view. Ron claims that he has seen the Northern Lights aka Aurora Borealis from the balcony, Ron is fast deteriorating with Alzheimers disease. Kate is the assistant of Ron and Ruth. In order to be close to his grandparents, Duncan finds a job as a handyman at the building where they are staying, there he meets Kate and the two quickly fall in love. Meanwhile, Duncan takes care of Ron and helps out Ron in coping with his condition, Duncan does not want to leave the town he grew up in. He is not able to free himself from his fears of the past, Ron nudges him to do something with his life. He tells Kate that Duncan needs someone who can push him to action, Kate too suggests that Duncan move on with his life. Kate announces that she has chosen to move to San Diego and this hurts Duncan, but he is still not ready to leave. Ron wants to end his life and misery and he asks Duncan to buy him some shells for his shotgun. In a moment of despair, Duncan loads the shotgun and gives it to Ron, the gun goes off and Duncan runs inside. Ron follows but has an attack and dies. Kate leaves for San Diego and Duncan says his goodbyes, on reaching her new place, she sees Duncan at the doorstep, ready to give his life a fresh start. Aurora Borealis at the Internet Movie Database Aurora Borealis at the DVD Release Site
26.
Catch a Fire (film)
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Catch a Fire is a 2006 biographical thriller film about activists against apartheid in South Africa. The film was directed by Phillip Noyce, from a written by Shawn Slovo. Catch a Fire was shot on location in South Africa, Swaziland, the film begins in Northern Coalfields, South Africa,1980. It revolves around Patrick Chamusso, a young, apolitical man who is accused of carrying out an attack against the government, and an Afrikaner police officer, Nic Vos, played by Tim Robbins. Vos is in charge of locating the perpetrators of a recent bomb attack against the Secunda CTL synthetic fuel refinery, Patrick is unwillingly swept into Voss investigation due to his inability to provide a satisfactory explanation for his whereabouts at the time of the bombing. Eventually Patrick, his wife, Precious, and his family are tortured and savagely abused by Vos, desperate, Patrick says that he is willing to confess to a crime he did not commit to protect his family from torture. At last, Vos finally concludes that Patrick is innocent, and this decision was an act of revenge against the government for killing his friend and tormenting not only himself but his wife as well. This would allow the workforce to flee between the two explosions, and not be harmed. Also, the damage of the first bomb would reduce the possibility of successfully extinguishing the fire caused by the second, Patrick succeeds in the first part, but the second bomb is discovered by Vos and deactivated. Through her unjust jealousy she sells him out and he is released early due to the abolition of apartheid. Precious, who has remarried, is waiting for him and apologizes, some time later, he has been trying to adjust to normal life but the pain he felt wouldnt leave him. One day, he sees Vos sitting out near a body of water opposite to the side he. He left Vos alone, and went on to remarry and take in over 80 orphaned children in South Africa to provide a home for kids who lost their families during the anti-apartheid struggle. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 75% out of 141 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6. Catch a Fire at the Internet Movie Database Catch a Fire at AllMovie Catch a Fire at Box Office Mojo Catch a Fire Reviews at Metacritic. com Film web page with trailer, audio interview with director, Phillip Noyce, on the Afrikaans in Sydney podcast
27.
Patrick Wilson (American actor)
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Patrick Joseph Wilson is an American actor and singer. He spent his career starring in Broadway musicals, beginning in 1995. He is a two-time Tony Award nominee for his roles in The Full Monty and Oklahoma. On television, he starred in the CBS drama series A Gifted Man and he has been cast as Orm Marius / Ocean Master in the DC Extended Universe superhero film Aquaman. Wilsons oldest brother, Paul, works as an advertising executive, Wilson grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida and attended Shorecrest Preparatory School. In 1995, Wilson graduated with a B. F. A. in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University, shortly after, in 1995, Wilson made his acting debut as an understudy in the role of Chris Scott in the national touring production of Miss Saigon. The following year, he portrayed Billy Bigelow in the tour of Carousel. In 1999, he starred as Jamie Conway in the Off-Broadway production of Bright Lights, Big City, for his performance in the role, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. Circa 2000, Wilson completed work on the film My Sisters Wedding and he sang On the Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady for Julie Andrews awards ceremony when she received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2001. In 2002, his performance as Curly McLain in the Broadway production of Oklahoma, received critical acclaim, with Wilson being nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for the second time each. In 2004, Wilson made his first film appearance in The Alamo and that same year, he co-starred in the musical film The Phantom of the Opera as Viscount Raoul de Chagny. The following year, he starred alongside Ellen Page in the thriller film Hard Candy. In 2006, he starred as Brad Adamson in Todd Fields Little Children, also in 2006, he appeared in the Golden Globe Award-nominated Running With Scissors as Michael Shephard, which was directed by Ryan Murphy and produced by Brad Pitt. In 2007, he starred as Brian Callahan in the independent film Purple Violets, in 2008, he starred in Neil LaButes Lakeview Terrace. Wilson played Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II in Zack Snyders 2009 film adaptation of the graphic novel Watchmen and this film reunited Wilson with his Little Children co-star, Jackie Earle Haley. On November 20,2010, in Yankee Stadium, he sang the United States National Anthem before the first football game in the new stadium, Wilson played the primary antagonist Lynch in 2010s The A-Team, and co-starred with Rose Byrne in James Wans horror film Insidious. He returned for the films sequel, Insidious, Chapter 2. In 2013, Wilson portrayed the famous paranormal investigator Ed Warren, alongside Vera Farmiga starring as his wife Lorraine, the film was critically acclaimed, becoming one of the highest grossing horror films of all time
28.
Little Children (film)
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Little Children is a 2006 American drama film directed by Todd Field. It is based on the novel of the name by Tom Perrotta. It stars Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Noah Emmerich, Gregg Edelman, Phyllis Somerville, the original music score is composed by Thomas Newman. The film screened at the 44th New York Film Festival organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and it earned 3 nominations at the 79th Academy Awards, Best Actress for Winslet, Best Supporting Actor for Haley, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Field and Perrotta. Sarah Pierce is a hapless, stay-at-home mother in a suburb of Boston. She had been working on a doctorate in English, but set aside her work to marry Richard and raise their 3-year-old daughter and her marriage falls apart when she discovers that Richard is addicted to online pornography. She meets Brad Adamson, a law student who brings his 4-year-old son, Aaron, although Brads marriage to Katherine is loving and amicable, it has been lacking intimacy. Brad and Sarah become friendly and, on a dare, kiss in the park and they are instantly attracted to each other, but resolve to keep their relationship platonic. One day, several parents panic when they see Ronnie McGorvey, after Ronnie is escorted away by the police, it begins to rain. Sarah and Brad take Lucy and Aaron back to her house, Brad looks at one of Sarahs books and finds a photo of him in it. While Sarah is drying towels in her basement, Brad kisses her, Brads friend Larry is a former police officer who was forced to retire when he accidentally shot a teenager at a local mall. Now he is estranged from his wife and spends much of his time harassing Ronnie, Ronnie lives with his mother, May, who believes that meeting a woman his own age would cure him of his pedophilia. Ronnie knows this is futile, but agrees to go on a date May has arranged for him with a woman named Sheila, during dinner, Ronnie tells Sheila about his criminal record, and Sheila in return tells him that she has had a series of nervous breakdowns. They seem to get on well, but the date ends badly when he has her drive by a school playground so he can masturbate next to her in the car. When Brad skips taking the bar again, Kathy grows suspicious and tells Brad to invite Sarah, Richard. The intimacy evident between Brad and Sarah confirms her suspicions, and Kathy arranges for her mother to come for an extended visit so Brad, when Brads football team plays its final game, Sarah attends and cheers as Brad scores the winning touchdown. Afterwards, while Larry waits for Brad at a bar to celebrate their victory, Brad. He admits that this is the happiest moment of his life, Larry goes to Ronnies house and uses a bullhorn to taunt him
29.
Running with Scissors (film)
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The film is a semi-autobiographical account of Augusten Burroughs childhood. His mother, Deirdre, who wishes to become a poet, suffers from severe mood swings. Augustens alcoholic father, Norman, proves to be of no help, by the time he is a teenager, Augusten no longer feels safe in his own house because of his parents. Deirdre claims that Norman is the reason for her unhappiness, Augusten finds it hard to adjust to living with the doctor’s family, and is subject to irregular weekend visits by his increasingly unsound mother. After confessing to Natalie that he is gay, Augusten befriends Neil Bookman, the two begin an erratic sexual relationship quickly after meeting, but Augusten finds it difficult to cope with their age difference. Finch manipulates Deirdre into signing over her money to him, Deirdre finds temporary stability with her living companion Dorothy Ambrose, but Augusten feels like his mother no longer wants him, and deals with the negative effects of Neils schizophrenia. At the end of the movie, Augusten leaves for New York to become a writer and he says goodbye to his mother and goes to the bus station. Agnes, with whom he has developed a relationship, arrives and gives him some money she has saved up. Annette Bening as Deirdre Burroughs Brian Cox as Dr, on Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 31% approval rating, based on 130 reviews, with an average score of 5/10. The sites consensus states, Despite a few performances, the film lacks the sincerity. The soundtrack for the film was released on September 26,2006, the song playing in the Stew scene is d-moll by the duo Tosca off of their album Delhi 9, this theme is repeated through the film
30.
Sacha Baron Cohen
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Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. A graduate of Christs College, Cambridge, Baron Cohen is most widely known for creating and portraying four fictional characters, Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, like his idol Peter Sellers, he uses a variety of accents and guises for his characters. In most of his routines, Baron Cohens characters interact with unsuspecting people who do not realise they are being set up for comic situations and self-revealing ridicule. His other work includes voicing King Julien XIII in the Madagascar film series and appearing in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Hugo and he made a cameo as a BBC News Anchor in Anchorman 2, The Legend Continues. In 2016, he played an English football hooligan brother of an MI6 spy in the comedy film Grimsby, at the 2012 British Comedy Awards, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award, accepting the award while reprising his Ali G character. In 2013, he received the BAFTA Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy, Baron Cohen was born in Hammersmith, west London. His mother, Daniella Naomi, who worked as a movement instructor, was born in Israel and his father, Gerald Baron Cohen, a clothing store owner, was born in London and raised in Wales. He is fluent in both Hebrew and English, Baron Cohens fathers family were Eastern European Jews who moved to Pontypridd, Wales and London, England, and his mothers family are related to Welsh, Iranian and German Jews. His paternal grandfather, Morris Cohen, had added Baron to his surname and his maternal grandmother, who lived in Haifa, Israel, trained as a ballet dancer in Germany. Baron Cohen has two brothers, Erran and Amnon. Erran is a composer and has worked on several of Sachas films, Baron Cohens cousin, Simon, is an internationally renowned autism researcher. Baron Cohen was educated at The Haberdashers Askes Boys School, an independent school in Elstree, Hertfordshire, Baron Cohen went on to the University of Cambridge, entering Christs College, Cambridge, where he read history, graduating in 1993 with upper-second-class honours. While attending the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, Baron Cohen acted in the plays Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano de Bergerac, after leaving university, Baron Cohen worked for a time as a fashion model, appearing in many fashion magazines. By the early 1990s, he was hosting a programme on Windsor cable televisions local broadcasts with Carol Kirkwood. In 1995, Channel 4 was planning a replacement for its series The Word, Baron Cohen sent in a tape of himself in the character of Kristo, an Albanian fictional television reporter, which caught the attention of a producer. Baron Cohen hosted Pump TV from 1995 to 1996, Peter Sellers, known for portraying a wide range of comic characters using different accents and guises, was referred to by Baron Cohen as the most seminal force in shaping early ideas on comedy. He took clown training in Paris, at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier, of his former pupil, Gaulier says, He was a good clown, full of spirit. In the late 1990s, Baron Cohen made his first feature appearance in the British comedy The Jolly Boys Last Stand
31.
Borat
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Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is a 2006 British-American mockumentary comedy film. The film was directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox, much of the film features unscripted vignettes of Borat interviewing and interacting with Americans, who believe he is a foreigner with little or no understanding of American customs. The film is produced by Baron Cohens production company, Four By Two Productions. Baron Cohen won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, as Borat, Borat was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 79th Academy Awards. Controversy surrounded the film two years prior to its release, and after the films release, some cast members spoke against. It was banned in all Arab countries except Lebanon and heavily censored in United Arab Emirates, and it was released on DVD5 March 2007. At the behest of the Kazakh Ministry of Information, reporter Borat Sagdiyev leaves Kazakhstan for the Greatest Country in the World and his companions are his producer Azamat Bagatov and a pet hen. In New York, Borat sees an episode of Baywatch on TV and immediately falls in love with Pamela Andersons character, while interviewing and mocking a panel of feminists, he learns of the actress name and her residence in California. Borat is then informed by telegram that Oksana has been killed by a bear, delighted, he secretly resolves to travel to California and make Anderson his new wife. He makes excuses to convince Azamat to travel to California with him, Azamat is afraid of flying because of the September 11,2001, attacks, which he believes were the work of Jews. Borat, therefore, takes driving lessons and buys a dilapidated Gaz ice-cream truck for the journey, during the trip, Borat acquires a Baywatch booklet at a yard sale and continues gathering footage for his documentary. He meets gay pride parade participants, politicians Alan Keyes and Bob Barr, Borat is also interviewed on live television and disrupts the weather report. Staying at a bed-and-breakfast, Borat and Azamat are stunned to learn their hosts are Jewish, fearful at the hands of their hosts, the two escape after throwing money at two woodlice, believing they are their Jewish hosts transformed. Borat attempts to buy a handgun to defend himself, but is turned away because he is not an American citizen, Borat purchases a bear for protection. Borat seeks advice from a coach who suggests Borat attend a private dinner at an eating club in the South. During the dinner, he insults or otherwise offends the other guests, when he lets Luenell, an African-American prostitute, into the house and shows her to the table, they both get kicked out. Borat befriends Luenell, and she invites him into a relationship with her, Borat then visits an antique shop with a display of Confederate heritage items, and clumsily breaks various items. At a hotel, Borat, just out of the bath, an angry Borat accidentally reveals his real motive for traveling to California
32.
Aaron Eckhart
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Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in Cupertino, California, he moved to the UK at age 13, several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia for his high school senior year. He left high school without graduating, but earned a diploma through an education course. For much of the mid-1990s, he lived in New York City as a struggling, as an undergraduate at BYU, Eckhart met director and writer Neil LaBute, who cast him in several of his own original plays. Five years later Eckhart made a debut as an unctuous, sociopathic ladies man in LaButes black comedy film In the Company of Men, under LaButes guidance he worked in the directors films Your Friends & Neighbors, Nurse Betty, and Possession. Another mainstream breakout occurred in 2008 when he starred in the blockbuster Batman film The Dark Knight as District Attorney Harvey Dent. Other key roles include The Pledge, The Core, Rabbit Hole Battle, Los Angeles, Olympus Has Fallen, Olympus sequel, London Has Fallen and Sully. Eckhart was born on March 12,1968 in Cupertino, California, the son of Mary Martha Eckhart, a writer, artist, and poet, and James Conrad Eckhart and he is the youngest of three brothers. His father is of German descent, while his mother is of English, Scottish, German and he was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served a two-year LDS mission in France and Switzerland. Eckharts family relocated to England in 1981, following his fathers job in information technology, the family resided in Ripley, Surrey, then moved onto Walton-on-Thames, later moving to Cobham. While living in England, Eckhart attended American Community School, known as ACS International Schools, in the autumn of his senior year Eckhart left school to take a job working at the Warringah Mall movie theater. He eventually earned his diploma through an education course. This also allowed Eckhart time to enjoy a year of surfing in Hawaii, in 1988, Eckhart returned to the United States and enrolled as a film major at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, but later transferred to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, while at Brigham Young University, Eckhart appeared in the Mormon-themed film Godly Sorrow, and the role marked Eckharts professional debut. At this time he met director/writer Neil LaBute, who cast him in several of his own original plays, after graduating from BYU, Eckhart moved to New York City, acquired an agent, and took various occasional jobs, including bartending, bus driving, and construction work. His first television roles were in commercials, in 1994 he appeared as an extra on the television drama series Beverly Hills,90210. Eckhart followed this part with roles in documentary re-enactments, made-for-television movies. In 1997 Eckhart was approached by Neil LaBute to star in an adaptation of LaButes stage play In the Company of Men
33.
Thank You for Smoking
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Thank You for Smoking is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by Jason Reitman and starring Aaron Eckhart, based on the 1994 satirical novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley. It follows the efforts of Big Tobaccos chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, maria Bello, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J. K. Simmons, and Robert Duvall appear in supporting roles. The film was released in a run on March 17,2006. As of 2007, the film has grossed a total of more than $39 million worldwide, the film was released on DVD in the US on October 3,2006, and in the UK on January 8,2007. They claim that their research—funded primarily by tobacco companies—has found no evidence of any linkage. Naylor and his friends, firearm lobbyist Bobby Jay Bliss and alcohol lobbyist Polly Bailey, meet every week, as anti-tobacco campaigns mount and numbers of young smokers decline, Naylor suggests that product placement of cigarettes could once again boost cigarette sales. Naylors boss, BR, sends Naylor to Los Angeles to bargain for cigarette placement in upcoming movies, Naylor takes along his young son Joey in hopes of bonding with him. The next day, Naylor is sent to meet with Lorne Lutch, as his son watches, Naylor successfully offers Lutch a suitcase of money for his silence. During the drive back, Nick and Joey discuss the beauty of argument, Senator Finistirre, one of Naylors most vehement critics, is the promoter of a bill to add a skull and crossbones POISON warning to cigarette packaging. During a televised debate with Finistirre, Naylor receives a threat from a caller. Despite the threat, Naylor still plans to appear before a U. S. Senate committee to fight Finistirres bill, Naylor is then kidnapped and covered in nicotine patches. Meanwhile, Naylor has been seduced by a reporter named Heather Holloway. During their steamy fling, the besotted Naylor tells Holloway all about his life and her article relentlessly bashes Naylor and his work, exposing Lutchs bribe, the product-placement scheme, and the MOD squad. It accuses Naylor of training his son Joey to follow his amoral example, all public sympathy due to Naylors kidnapping evaporates, and Naylor is fired by BR. Naylor falls into depression until Joey helps him recall the integrity in his job of defending corporations that almost no one feels deserve a defense, rejuvenated, Naylor tells the press about his affair with Holloway and promises to clear the names of everyone mentioned in her article. He also declares that he will appear before the Senate committee. At the hearing, Naylor admits to the dangers of smoking, BR congratulates Naylor on the speech and offers him his old job but Naylor has a change of heart. Seeing Big Tobacco settling claims of liability, Naylor remarks that he has left just in time and he also mentions Heather was humiliated upon being terminated by the paper for her article and is working as a weather reporter on a local news station
34.
Will Ferrell
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John William Will Ferrell is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. The two also founded the comedy website Funny or Die in 2007, Other films roles include Elf, Old School, Blades of Glory, and the animated films Megamind and The Lego Movie. He received an Emmy Award nomination for his work on Saturday Night Live and he was also named the best comedian of 2015 in the British GQ Men of the Year awards. Ferrell received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 26,2015. Ferrell was born in Irvine, California, to Betty Kay, a teacher who taught at Old Mill School elementary school and Santa Ana College and his parents were both natives of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and moved to California in 1964. Ferrells ancestry includes English, German, and Irish and he has a younger brother named Patrick. When he was eight years old, his parents divorced, Ferrell said of the divorce, I was the type of kid who would say, Hey, look at the bright side. The divorce was amicable and both parents were committed to their children, the biggest problem was his fathers line of work. As a person in business, his paychecks were never steady. Growing up in this environment made Ferrell not want to go into show business, will first attended school at Turtle Rock Elementary and later attended Rancho San Joaquin Middle School, both in Irvine. He attended University High School in Irvine, and was a kicker for the varsity football team. He was also on the team and captain of the basketball team. Ferrell called third grade a pivotal year and he realized he could make his classmates laugh if he pretended to smash his head against the wall, or if he tripped and fell on purpose, and said it was a great way to make friends. He said the dullness of Irvine contributed to the growth of his humor, Growing up in suburbia, in safe, master-planned Irvine and my main form of entertainment was cracking my friends up and exploring new ways of being funny. I didnt have to have the survival mode instinct like other comics, for me, I grew up in Mayberry, and the humor broke the boredom. And there was a lot to make fun of, in his senior year of high school, Ferrell and a friend would perform comedy skits over the schools intercom system, with cooperation from the principal, the two had to write their own material. Ferrell also performed comedic skits in the talent shows. He won the Best Personality superlative voted by his classmates and he enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he studied Sports Broadcasting and joined the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity
35.
Stranger than Fiction (2006 film)
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Stranger than Fiction is a 2006 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Marc Forster, produced by Lindsay Doran, and written by Zach Helm. The film stars Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, the film was shot on location in Chicago, and has been praised for its innovative, intelligent story and fine performances. Ferrell, who came to prominence playing brash comedic parts, garnered attention for offering a restrained performance in his first starring dramatic role. Harold Crick, an agent for the Internal Revenue Service, lives his life by his wristwatch and he is assigned to audit an intentionally tax-delinquent baker, Ana Pascal, to whom he is attracted. On the same day, he begins hearing the voice of a woman omnisciently narrating his life but is unable to communicate with it. Harolds watch stops working and he resets it using the time given by a bystander, worried by this prediction, Harold consults a psychiatrist who attributes the voice to schizophrenia, though they consider that if there really is a narrator, he should visit an expert in literature. Crick visits Jules Hilbert, a professor, and relates his story. When Jules recognizes aspects of a work in Harolds story, he encourages Harold to identify the author. Jules believes that since Harold cannot control the plot, he should accept his impending death, Harold takes a vacation from work, develops his friendship with his co-worker Dave, fulfills his dream of learning to play the guitar, and dates Ana. Harold reassesses his story as a comedy, when he returns to Jules with this revelation, Harold inadvertently identifies the voice in his head from a television interview as author Karen Eiffel. Jules, an admirer of Karens work, reveals all of her books feature the main characters tragic death. Karen struggles from writers block and researches ways to kill the character Harold to complete her next book and her publisher sends an assistant, Penny Escher, to ensure the book is completed. Harold finds Karen through her tax records, when Karen learns that Harold experiences everything she writes, she is horrified by the thought that her books may have killed real people. She tells Harold she wrote a draft of his death, but has not typed it up yet, Penny suggests Harold read the drafted ending to get his opinion. Harold cannot bring himself to read it and gives the manuscript to Jules to review, Jules confirms its excellence, labeling it as Karens masterpiece, Harolds death is integral to its genius. Though Harold is distressed over his fate, Jules comforts him by stating the inevitability of death, Harold reads the manuscript, then returns it to Karen, telling her the death she has written for him is beautiful and she should keep it intact. He spends one last night with Ana, the next day, Harold prepares to return to work, despite Karens voice narrating as she types up her ending. Because Harolds watch is three minutes fast owing to the time given to him days ago, he reaches the bus stop early
36.
Peter O'Toole
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Peter Seamus OToole was a British-Irish stage and film actor. He achieved international recognition playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia for which he received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor, in 2002, OToole was awarded the Academy Honorary Award for his career achievements. He was additionally the recipient of four Golden Globe Awards, one British Academy Film Award, some sources give his birthplace as Connemara, County Galway, Ireland, while others cite St James University Hospital, Leeds, England. Peter had a sister, Patricia. He grew up in the Hunslet, south Leeds, son of Constance Jane Eliot, a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph Spats OToole, when OToole was one year old, his family began a five-year tour of major racecourse towns in Northern England. He was brought up as a Catholic, I used to be scared stiff of the nuns, their whole denial of womanhood – the black dresses and the shaving of the hair – was so horrible, so terrifying. Of course, thats all been stopped, theyre sipping gin and tonic in the Dublin pubs now, and a couple of them flashed their pretty ankles at me just the other day, he said. Upon leaving school OToole obtained employment as a trainee journalist and photographer on the Yorkshire Evening Post, as reported in a radio interview in 2006 on NPR, he was asked by an officer whether he had something he had always wanted to do. His reply was that he had wanted to try being either a poet or an actor. At RADA, he was in the class as Albert Finney, Alan Bates. OToole described this as the most remarkable class the academy ever had, OToole began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company, before making his television debut in 1954. He first appeared on film in 1959 in a role in The Day They Robbed the Bank of England. OTooles major break came when he was chosen to play T. E. Lawrence in Sir David Leans Lawrence of Arabia, after Marlon Brando proved unavailable and his performance was ranked number one in Premiere magazines list of the 100 Greatest Performances of All Time. The role introduced him to US audiences and earned him the first of his eight nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, T. E. Lawrence, portrayed by OToole, was selected in 2003 as the tenth-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute. OToole was one of several actors to be Oscar-nominated for playing the role in two different films, he played King Henry II in both Becket and The Lion in Winter. OToole played Hamlet under Laurence Oliviers direction in the production of the Royal National Theatre in 1963. He demonstrated his comedic abilities alongside Peter Sellers in the Woody Allen-scripted comedy Whats New Pussycat and he appeared in Seán OCaseys Juno and the Paycock at Dublins Gaiety Theatre. In 1969, he played the role in the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips
37.
Venus (film)
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Venus is a 2006 British comedy-drama film starring Peter OToole, Leslie Phillips, Vanessa Redgrave and Jodie Whittaker. It is directed by Roger Michell and written by Hanif Kureishi, the film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was put on limited release in the United States on 21 December 2006. Maurices friend describes the grand-niece as a maker and a nuisance. He takes her to the National Gallery in London to view his favourite painting, Jessie had expressed interest in modelling and Maurice arranges for Jessie to model nude for an art class. As a result of Jessie posing for the art class, and inspired by his favourite painting, Maurice and Jessie develop a passive/aggressive relationship over the course of the film. The plot of the film revolves around the friendship or relationship between the two characters. For Maurice, this appears to be the last attempt at something approaching a love life, for Jessie, it is less clear what she sees in Maurice. During the course of the film we see her do everything from exploiting him, taking care of him, flirting with him, the plot comes to a head when Jessie becomes involved with a boy. The two young lovers convince Maurice to take a walk so that they can have sex, Maurice initially obliges, but returns to kick them out of his flat. A scuffle ensues and the boy knocks down Maurice, injuring him, Jessie leaves with the boy but she later returns to check on Maurice. When the paramedics arrive, Maurice claims he cannot remember who attacked him, then Maurice calls for Venus to take care of him. Jessie, remorseful, agrees to look after Maurice, some time later, after Maurice has at least partly recovered, he takes Jessie to the seaside at Whitstable in Kent. As they sit down by the water Maurice says to Jessie Now, we can really talk, at the memorial services, Jessie meets Maurices ex-wife Valerie, who could not find satisfaction in Maurices love life either. The last scene shows Jessie and others posing as models for the Venus character, OToole fell and broke his hip on Boxing Day 2005, which meant filming did not begin again until the end of January 2006. Venus received positive reviews critics and has a certified fresh score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 149 reviews with an average rating of 7.3 out of 10. The film also has a score of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 32 critics indicating Universal acclaim. It was nominated for five British Independent Film Awards and earned Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Broadcast Film Critics Association, Leslie Phillips also received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor. OTooles Oscar nomination marked his eighth and final Best Actor nomination over a span of forty-five years, on 25 February 2007, at the 79th Academy Awards, he was beaten by Forest Whitaker, making OTooles eight nominations without victory a record
38.
Volver
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Volver is a 2006 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Headed by actress Penélope Cruz, the features an ensemble cast also starring Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo. To top off the family crisis, her mother Irene comes back from the dead to tie up loose ends, set in the La Mancha region, Almodovars place of birth, the filmmaker cited his upbringing as a major influence on many aspects of the plot and the characters. Volver was one of the films competing for the Palme dOr at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and it eventually won two awards, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. The films premiere was held on March 10,2006, in Puertollano, Spain, Penélope Cruz was nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first Spanish woman ever to be nominated in that category. Raimunda and Soledad are sisters who grew up in Alcanfor de las Infantas, a village in La Mancha. Their parents died in a fire three years prior to the beginning of the film. Sole returns to the village for the funeral of her elderly, Aunt Paulas neighbour Agustina confesses to Sole that she has heard Paula talking to the ghost of Soles mother Irene. Sole encounters the ghost herself, and when she returns to Madrid, Sole tries to determine why her mothers ghost has returned to Earth, asking her if she left anything undone in her life. Irene says that she does have issues to resolve, relating to the questions of why Raimunda hates her, meanwhile Raimunda and her daughter Paula have a different death to cope with. Paulas father Paco attempts to rape her, claiming that he is not really her father, Raimunda quickly hides the corpse in the deep-freezer of a nearby restaurant with an absent owner. The restaurant owner, Emilio, is out of town and entrusted Raimunda with the keys so that she can show it to prospective tenants. When members of a film crew happen upon the restaurant, Raimunda strikes a deal to cater for them, Raimunda reveals to Paula that Paco was not, in fact, her biological father, and promises to tell her the whole story at a later time. Agustina is diagnosed with cancer and must go to Madrid for medical treatment. Raimunda visits her in the hospital, Agustina asks Raimunda if she has seen her mothers ghost. Agustina hopes that the ghost will be able to tell her about the fate of her own mother, who disappeared three years ago without a trace. Raimunda undertakes the task of disposing of Pacos remains, she leaves Paula with Sole, rents a van, while staying in Soles apartment, Paula meets her grandmothers ghost and grows close to her. The next night, Agustina comes to the restaurant to renew her request to Raimunda to ask her mothers ghost about her own mothers whereabouts
39.
Judi Dench
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Dame Judith Olivia Dench CH DBE FRSA, known as Judi Dench, is an English actress and author. Dench made her debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she performed in several of Shakespeares plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. Although most of her work during this period was in theatre, she branched into film work. She drew strong reviews for her role in the musical Cabaret in 1968. Over the next two decades, Dench established herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She achieved success in television during this period, in the series A Fine Romance from 1981 until 1984 and she has also received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Special Olivier Award. In June 2011, she received a fellowship from the British Film Institute, Dench is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Dench was born in Heworth, North Riding of Yorkshire and her mother, Eleanora Olive, was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor, was born in Dorset, England, and later moved to Dublin and he met Denchs mother while he was studying medicine at Trinity College, Dublin. Dench attended The Mount School, a Quaker independent secondary school in York and her brothers, one of whom was actor Jeffery Dench, were born in Tyldesley, Lancashire. Her niece, Emma Dench, is a Roman historian and professor previously at Birkbeck, University of London, and currently at Harvard University. In Britain, Dench has developed a reputation as one of the greatest actresses of the period, primarily through her work in theatre. She has more than once been named one in polls for Britains best actor. Through her parents, Dench had regular contact with the theatre and her father, a physician, was also the GP for the York theatre, and her mother was its wardrobe mistress. Actors often stayed in the Dench household, during these years, Judi Dench was involved on a non-professional basis in the first three productions of the modern revival of the York Mystery Plays in the 1950s. In 1957, in one of the last productions in which she appeared during this period, she played the role of the Virgin Mary, performed on a fixed stage in the Museum Gardens. Though she initially trained as a set designer, she became interested in school as her brother Jeff attended the Central School of Speech
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