1.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
2.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
3.
Drive (2011 film)
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Drive is a 2011 American neo-noir crime film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and written by Hossein Amini, based on the 2005 novel by James Sallis. It stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, the film is about an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver. After he becomes attracted to a neighbor whose husband owes money to local gangsters. Reviews from critics were positive, and many comparisons to work from previous eras. The film was nominated for Best Film and Best Direction at the 65th British Academy Film Awards, the unnamed Driver works as a mechanic, a movie double, and a stunt driver, as well as a criminal-for-hire getaway driver. He is managed in all jobs by auto shop owner Shannon, the Driver meets his new neighbor, Irene, and becomes close to her and her young son, Benicio. Irenes husband, Standard Gabriel, is in prison, after Standard is released, Irene still asks the Driver to visit them. Standard owes protection money from his time in prison and is beaten up by Albanian gangster Cook, Cook gives Benicio a bullet as a symbol that he and his mother are in danger. The Driver, concerned for the safety of Irene and Benicio, the job goes awry when Standard is shot and killed by the pawnshop owner while the Driver is waiting for him and Cooks accomplice, Blanche. The Driver and Blanche escape after a car chase with a mysterious adversary. The Driver hides with Blanche in a motel, where he learns that the bag contains a million dollars, two of Cooks men ambush them in the motel room, killing Blanche before the Driver manages to kill them both. At the auto shop, Shannon offers to hide the money and he hunts down Cook in a strip club, smashes his fingers with a hammer, threatens to kill him, and force-feeds him the bullet that was given to Benicio. Cook reveals that Nino was behind the robbery, the Driver decides to return the money, but Nino dismisses the offer and instead sends a hitman to the Drivers apartment building. Entering the elevator with Irene, the Driver encounters the hitman and he then kisses Irene and brutally beats the hitman to death. Afterwards, Irene exits the elevator stunned and horrified, Bernie warns Nino that nobody steals from the Italian Mob. Nino is angry because the Italian Mob has marginalized and insulted him due to his Jewish heritage and he convinces Bernie to follow his plan. Bernie then murders Cook, as he is the witness to their agreement. After Shannon refuses to divulge the whereabouts of the driver, Bernie kills him at the shop with a straight razor
4.
Thor (film)
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Thor is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film sees Thor, the prince of Asgard, banished to Earth. As his brother, Loki, plots to take the throne for himself, Thor must prove himself worthy, sam Raimi first developed the concept of a film adaptation of Thor in 1991, but soon abandoned the project, leaving it in development hell for several years. Matthew Vaughn was originally assigned to direct the film for a tentative 2010 release, however, after Vaughn was released from his holding deal in 2008, Branagh was approached and the films release was rescheduled into 2011. The main characters were cast in 2009, and principal photography took place in California, the film was converted to 3D in post-production. Thor premiered on April 17,2011, in Sydney, Australia and was released on May 6,2011, the film was a financial success and received positive reviews from film critics. The DVD and Blu-ray sets were released on September 13,2011, a sequel, Thor, The Dark World, was released on November 8,2013. A third film, Thor, Ragnarok is set to be released on November 3,2017. In 965 AD, Odin, king of Asgard, wages war against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim and their leader Laufey, to prevent them from conquering the nine realms, starting with Earth. The Asgardian warriors defeat the Frost Giants and seize the source of their power, in the present, Odins son Thor prepares to ascend to the throne of Asgard, but is interrupted when Frost Giants attempt to retrieve the Casket. Against Odins order, Thor travels to Jotunheim to confront Laufey, accompanied by his brother Loki, childhood friend Sif and the Warriors Three, Volstagg, Fandral, a battle ensues until Odin intervenes to save the Asgardians, destroying the fragile truce between the two races. Thor lands in New Mexico, where astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster, her assistant Darcy Lewis, the local populace finds Mjolnir, which S. H. I. E. L. D. Agent Phil Coulson soon commandeers before forcibly acquiring Janes data about the wormhole that delivered Thor to Earth, Thor, having discovered Mjolnirs nearby location, seeks to retrieve it from the facility that S. H. I. E. L. D. Quickly constructed but he finds himself unable to lift it, and is captured, with Selvigs help, he is freed and resigns himself to exile on Earth as he develops a romance with Jane. Loki discovers that he is actually Laufeys son, adopted by Odin after the war ended, a weary Odin falls into the deep Odinsleep to recover his strength. Loki seizes the throne in Odins stead and offers Laufey the chance to kill Odin, aware of their plan, Loki sends the Destroyer, a seemingly indestructible automaton, to pursue them and kill Thor. The warriors find Thor, but the Destroyer attacks and defeats them, struck by the Destroyer and near death, Thors sacrifice proves him worthy to wield Mjolnir
5.
Ron Howard
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Ronald William Ron Howard is an American actor and filmmaker. Howard is best known for playing two roles in television sitcoms in his youth and directing a number of successful feature films later in his career. Howard first came to prominence playing young Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, in 1980, Howard left Happy Days to focus on directing. His films include, the science-fiction/fantasy film Cocoon, the historical docudrama Apollo 13, the biographical drama A Beautiful Mind, in 2002, Howard narrated the Fox comedy series, Arrested Development, on which he would also serve as producer and play a semi-fictionalized version of himself. In 2003, Howard was awarded the National Medal of Arts, asteroid 12561 Howard is named after him. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2013, Howard has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in the television and motion pictures industries. Howard was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, the son of Jean Speegle Howard, an actress, and Rance Howard, a director, a writer. He has German, English, Scottish, Irish, and Dutch ancestry and his father was born with the surname Beckenholdt, and had taken the stage name Howard by 1948, for his acting career. Rance Howard was serving three years in the United States Air Force at the time of Rons birth, the family moved to Hollywood in 1958, the year before the birth of his younger brother, Clint Howard. They rented a house on the south of the Desilu Studios. They lived in Hollywood for at least three years, before moving to Burbank, Howard was tutored at Desilu Studios in his younger years, and graduated from John Burroughs High School. He later attended the University of Southern Californias School of Cinematic Arts, Howard has said he knew from a young age he might want to go into directing thanks to his early experience as an actor. In 1959, Howard had his first credited role, in The Journey. Howard played Timmy in Counterfeit Gun, Season 4, Episode 2 of the TV series, in 1960, Howard was cast as Opie Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show. Credited as Ronny Howard, he portrayed the son of the character for all eight seasons of the show. He and Griffith remained close until Griffiths death nearly 45 years later, in the 1962 film version of The Music Man, Howard played Winthrop Paroo, the child with the lisp, the film starred Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. He also starred in the 1963 film The Courtship of Eddies Father and he appeared as Barry Stewart on The Eleventh Hour, in the episode Is Mr. Martian Coming Back. In the 1970s, he appeared in at least one episode of The Bold Ones, Howard appeared on the 1969 Disneyland Records album The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion
6.
Tim Burton
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Timothy Walter Tim Burton is an American film director, producer, artist, writer and animator. Burton has worked repeatedly with Johnny Depp, who has become a friend of Burton since their first film together. He has also worked with musician Danny Elfman, who has composed scores for all, actress Helena Bonham Carter, Burtons former domestic partner, has appeared in many of his films. Both compilations were published by Steeles Publishing, as a preteen, Burton would make short films in his backyard on Evergreen Street using crude stop motion animation techniques or shoot them on 8 mm film without sound. Burton studied at Burbank High School, but he was not a good student. He was a very introspective person, and found his pleasure in painting, drawing and watching films and his future work would be heavily influenced by the works of such childhood heroes as Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl. After graduating from Burbank High School with Jeff Riekenberg, Burton attended the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California, as a student at CalArts, Burton made the shorts Stalk of the Celery Monster and King and Octopus. Stalk of the Celery Monster attracted the attention of Walt Disney Productions animation division and he worked as an animator, storyboard artist and concept artist on films such as The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron and Tron. His concept art never made it into the finished films, the film was produced by Rick Heinrichs, whom Burton had befriended while working in the concept art department at Disney. The film was shown at the Chicago Film Festival and released, alongside the teen drama Tex, for two weeks in one Los Angeles cinema. Having aired once in 1983 at 10,30 pm on Halloween and promptly shelved, prints of the film are difficult to locate. The short would finally go on display in 2009 at the Museum of Modern Art. It was again shown at the Seoul Museum of Art in 2012, Burtons next live-action short, Frankenweenie, was released in 1984. It tells the story of a boy who tries to revive his dog after it is run over by a car. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Barret Oliver, Shelley Duvall, after Frankenweenie was completed, Disney fired Burton, under the pretext of him spending the companys resources on doing a film that would be too dark and scary for children to see. Pursuing then an opportunity to make a film, he was approached by Griffin Dunne to direct the black comedy film After Hours. However, after Martin Scorseses project The Last Temptation of Christ was cancelled, not long after, actor Paul Reubens saw Vincent and chose Burton to direct the cinematic spin-off of his popular character Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee Herman gained mainstream popularity with a stage show at The Groundlings
7.
Black Swan (film)
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The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovskys Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York City company. Nina is overwhelmed by a feeling of pressure when she finds herself competing for the part, causing her to lose her tenuous grip on reality. Aronofsky cites Fyodor Dostoyevskys The Double as another inspiration for the film, the director also considered Black Swan a companion piece to his 2008 film The Wrestler, with both films involving demanding performances for different kinds of art. He and Portman first discussed the project in 2000, and after an attachment to Universal Studios. Portman and Kunis trained in ballet for several months prior to filming, the film premiered as the opening film for the 67th Venice International Film Festival on September 1,2010. It had a release in the United States starting December 3,2010. Black Swan received critical praise upon its release, particularly for Portmans performance and Aronofskys direction, the film received five Academy Award nominations and Portman won Best Actress for the film, as well as many other Best Actress awards in several guilds and festivals. In addition, Aronofsky was nominated for Best Director and the film was nominated for Best Picture. It is the horror film to be nominated in the Best Picture category, following The Exorcist in 1973, Jaws in 1975, The Silence of the Lambs in 1991. Nina Sayers is a dancer in a New York ballet company. Nina lives in New York City with her mother, Erica. The company is preparing to open the season with Swan Lake, the director, Thomas Leroy, is looking for a new principal dancer after forcing Beth Macintyre into retirement. Thomas wants the ballerina to portray the innocent, fragile White Swan as well as her mysterious, sensual twin. Nina auditions for the part, performing flawlessly as the White Swan, upset, Nina approaches Thomas and asks him to reconsider her as the lead role. Thomas forcibly kisses Nina, and she displays a change of character and bites him, Nina begins to witness strange happenings, and her mother finds scratches on Ninas back. An intoxicated Beth angrily confronts Thomas and Nina, Nina is worried that Beths fate will eventually befall her, too, but she stays quiet. Thomas tells Nina she needs to give herself to the sensuality of the Black Swan and he tells her to go home and masturbate, which she does. The next day, Nina finds out that Beth was seriously injured in a car accident, Nina realizes Beth will never dance again, and tearfully unpacks her belongings in Beths former dressing room
8.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011 film)
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a 2011 Swedish-American psychological thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson. This film adaptation was directed by David Fincher and written by Steven Zaillian, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, it tells the story of journalist Mikael Blomkvist s investigation to find out what happened to a woman from a wealthy family who disappeared 40 years prior. He recruits the help of computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, Sony Pictures Entertainment began development on the film in 2009. It took the company a few months to obtain the rights to the novel, while recruiting Zaillian, the casting process for the lead roles was exhaustive and intense, Craig faced scheduling conflicts, and a number of actresses were sought for the role of Lisbeth Salander. The script took six months to write, which included three months of analyzing the novel. Pre-release screenings occurred in London, New York City, and Stockholm, Critics gave the film favorable reviews, praising its bleak tone and lauding Mara and Craigs performances. With a production budget of $90 million, the film grossed $232.6 million over its theatrical run. In addition to being included in several publications best-of lists, the film was a candidate for numerous awards, in Stockholm, Sweden, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, co-owner of Millennium magazine, has lost a libel case brought against him by businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström. Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but troubled investigator and hacker, compiles an extensive background check on Blomkvist for business magnate Henrik Vanger, who has a special task for him. In exchange for the promise of damning information about Wennerström, Blomkvist agrees to investigate the disappearance and assumed murder of Henriks grandniece, after moving to the Vanger familys compound, Blomkvist uncovers a notebook containing a list of names and numbers that no one has been able to decipher. Salander, who is under legal guardianship due to diagnosed mental incompetency, is appointed a new guardian, lawyer Nils Bjurman. Bjurman, a sexual sadist, abuses his authority to extort sexual favors from Salander and violently rapes her, not realizing she has a hidden video camera on her bag. At their next meeting she stuns him with a gun, rapes him with a dildo. Threatening to disclose the video recording, she blackmails him into writing a glowing progress report, Blomkvists daughter Pernilla visits him and notes that the numbers from the notebook are Bible references. Blomkvist tells Vangers lawyer, Dirch Frode, that he help with his research. Blomkvist hires Salander to investigate the notebooks content and she uncovers a connection to a series of murders of young women from 1947 through 1967, with the women either being Jewish or having Biblical names, many of the Vangers are known antisemites. During the investigation, Salander and Blomkvist become lovers, Henriks openly national socialist brother Harald identifies Martin, Harriets brother and operational head of the Vanger empire, and Blomkvist marks Martin as a possible suspect. Salanders research uncovers evidence that Martin and his father, Gottfried, committed the murders
9.
David Yates
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David Yates is an English filmmaker who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions. He rose to prominence by directing the final four films in the Harry Potter film series, entries five, six, seven. His work on the series brought him commercial success along with accolades. Yates following projects include, but are not limited to, The Legend of Tarzan and Fantastic Beasts, Yates is a founding member of Directors UK. He has had a partnership with Warner Bros. as a director. David Yates was born in 1963 in Lancashire, England and his parents died when he was young. Raised in the village of Rainhill, Yates was inspired to pursue a career in filmmaking after watching Steven Spielbergs 1975 movie Jaws, before her death, Yates mother bought him a Super 8mm camera. He used this to various films in which his friends. One such film, The Ghost Ship, was shot on board the vessel where his uncle worked as a cook and he attended St Helens College where he completed the courses of sociology, politics, and literature before moving on to the University of Essex. Yates said that he used to skive off college all the time, while at the University of Essex, Yates formed the Film and Video Production Society. He graduated with a BA Government in 1987, in 1988, Yates made his first serious film When I Was a Girl in Swindon. The film entered the circuit where it was named Best Short Film at the San Francisco International Film Festival. It contributed to Yates acceptance into the National Film and Television School in 1989 and led to the BBC hiring him to direct Oranges and Lemons, before completing film school, he began to direct, produce and write the screenplay to the dramatic short The Weavers Wife. He also made his short film Good Looks, which was presented at the Chicago International Film Festival. After graduating in 1992, Yates directed an episode of the film studies programme Moving Pictures, the programme followed media personalities Russell Grant, Honor Blackman and Pam Ayres visiting and exploring the South Coast towns of Brighton, Eastbourne and Weymouth. Yates directed his fifth short film Punch before making his film debut in 1998 with the release of the independent historical-drama film The Tichborne Claimant. The film, which was shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, was written by Joe Fisher and it starred Stephen Fry and Robert Hardy and was shot on location in Merseyside and on the Isle of Man. Among the actors which Yates directed were David Suchet, Cillian Murphy and Miranda Otto in their roles as Augustus Melmotte, Paul Montague, Yates shared the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Serial with screenwriter Andrew Davies and producer Nigel Stafford-Clark at the 2002 BAFTA Awards
10.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (film)
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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 2011 Cold War espionage film directed by Tomas Alfredson. The screenplay was written by Bridget OConnor and Peter Straughan, based on John le Carrés 1974 novel of the same name, the film was produced through the British company Working Title Films and financed by Frances StudioCanal. It premiered in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and it was a critical and commercial success, and was the highest-grossing film at the British box office for three consecutive weeks. It won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film, the film also received three Academy Awards nominations, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and for Oldman, Best Actor. The novel had previously adapted into the award-winning BBC TV miniseries Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In October 1973, Control, head of British intelligence, sends agent Jim Prideaux to Budapest to meet a Hungarian general wishing to defect. Prideaux is shot and captured and amidst the international incident that follows, Control and his right-hand man George Smiley are forced into retirement, percy Alleline becomes the new Chief, Bill Haydon his deputy and Roy Bland and Toby Esterhase as lieutenants. Smiley chooses a trustworthy agent, Peter Guillam and retired Special Branch officer Mendel to help him and he interviews former Circus analyst Connie Sachs, who was sacked by Alleline after deducing that Alexei Polyakov, a Soviet cultural attaché in London, was a spy. Tarr tells Smiley that on a mission to Istanbul, he had an affair with Irina, concluding that the mole had intercepted his message, Tarr went into hiding, suspected of defecting and murdering the British station chief. Smiley sends Guillam to steal the Circus logbook for the night Tarr had called and he finds the pages for that night have been cut out, Smiley interviews Prideaux, who after brutal interrogation was exchanged by the Soviets but sacked from the service. Prideaux says the purpose of the mission to Hungary was to get the name of the mole, Control had codenamed the suspects Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Poorman and Beggarman. Smiley blackmails the location of the house out of Esterhase, whose exile status makes him vulnerable to deportation. Smiley then has Tarr appear at the Paris office, implying he knows who the mole is, the mole meets Polyakov at the safe house, where Smiley arrests him. The project was initiated by Peter Morgan when he wrote a draft of the screenplay, Morgan dropped out as the writer for personal reasons but still served as an executive producer. Following Morgans departure as writer, Working Title hired Peter Straughan, park Chan-wook considered directing the film, but ultimately turned it down. Tomas Alfredson was confirmed to direct on 9 July 2009, the production is his first English language film. The film was backed financially by Frances StudioCanal and had a budget corresponding to $21 million, the film is dedicated to OConnor, who died of cancer during production. The director cast Gary Oldman in the role of George Smiley, and described the actor as having a great face and the quiet intensity and intelligence thats needed
11.
Jameson Irish Whiskey
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Jameson is a blended Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. Jameson was a Scottish lawyer from Alloa in Clackmannanshire who had married Margaret Haig, Margaret Haig was a first cousin of the Steins, a Scottish distilling family, also from Clackmannanshire, with significant distilling interests in Scotland and Dublin. On his marriage to Margaret Haig in 1786, John Jameson moved with his new wife to Dublin to manage the Steins Bow Street Distillery for Margarets Stein uncle. This explains the use of the year 1780 in Jameson marketing as the Bow Street Distillery was where Jameson Irish Whiskey was born, portraits of John and Margaret Jameson by Sir Henry Raeburn are in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. Originally one of the six main Dublin Whiskeys, Jameson is now distilled in Cork, in 2013, annual sales topped 4.7 million cases. Jameson is by far the best selling Irish whiskey in the world, the United States is the largest market for Jameson Whiskey, with consumption during 2013 up by 12%. When John Jameson, a Scottish businessman, became manager of the Stein family Bow Street Distillery in 1786, it was producing about 30,000 gallons annually. By the turn of the 19th century, it was the second largest producer in Ireland and one of the largest in the world, Dublin at the time was the centre of world whiskey production. It was the second most popular spirit in the world after rum, today, Jameson is the worlds third largest single-distillery whiskey. Historical events, for a time, set the company back, while Scottish brands could easily slip across the Canada–US border, Jameson was excluded from its biggest market for many years. There was a legal enquiry somewhere in 1908 to deal with the definition of whiskey. The Scottish producers won within some jurisdictions, and blends became recognised in the law of jurisdiction as whiskey. The Irish in general, and Jameson in particular, continued with the pot still production process for many years. In 1966 John Jameson merged with Cork Distillers and John Powers to form the Irish Distillers Group, in 1976, the Dublin whiskey distilleries of Jameson in Bow Street and in Johns Lane were closed following the opening of a New Midleton Distillery by Irish Distillers outside Cork. The Midleton Distillery now produces much of the Irish whiskey sold in Ireland under the Jameson, Midleton, Powers, Redbreast, Spot and Paddy labels. The new facility adjoins the Old Midleton Distillery, the home of the Paddy label, which is now home to the Jameson Experience Visitor Centre. The Jameson brand was acquired by the French drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard in 1988, the old Jameson Distillery in Bow Street near Smithfield in Dublin now serves as a museum which offers tours and tastings. In 2008, The Local, an Irish pub in Minneapolis, sold 671 cases of Jameson, Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve
