1.
Grosvenor House Hotel
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Grosvenor House is a hotel in the Mayfair area of London. The hotel is owned by Sahara India Pariwar, an Indian conglomerate, the hotel is managed by JW Marriott Hotels, which is a brand of Marriott International. Grosvenor House was the first hotel in London at that time to have a bathroom and entrance lobby for each bedroom. When the hotel first opened it was also the headquarters of the International Sportsmen’s Club and its facilities included Turkish baths, a swimming pool, squash courts and a gymnasium. The hotel has an entrance on Park Lane in Mayfair. The official address of the hotel is 86-90 Park Lane and it is an outpost of Londons largest cluster of luxury hotels, which is centred on Hyde Park Corner. The Great Room at the Grosvenor House is the venue of many prominent awards evenings, charity balls, although now not used as such, the Great Room was originally built as an ice-rink and much of the machinery lies dormant under the current flooring. In 1933, Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II, sonja Henie, Cecilia Colledge, and other famous skaters frequently displayed their skill. Anticipating competition from other ice rinks, in 1935 the rink was converted into a hall measuring 1,902 square metres. It has hosted parties, galas, awards ceremonies, dinners and balls to mark most significant national events and celebrations. The Grosvenor House Hotel was built in the 1920s and opened in 1929 on the site of Grosvenor House, the hotel owed its existence to Albert Octavius Edwards who conceived and built it, then presided over it as chairman for 10 years. Key to the story of the hotel was A. H. Jones, in January 1929, six months after the completion of the first block of apartments, and six months before completion of the hotel, Edwards brought Jones to Grosvenor House as accountant. In 1936, at the age of 29, Jones became general manager of Grosvenor House, apart from the war years, when he served with the Royal Artillery and later in the NAAFI, Jones held this position until he retired in 1965. The hotel was not finally completed until the 1950s because Baron Bruno Schröder, Schröder remained in the house until his death in 1943, and permission to demolish the house was finally given in 1956. The house was replaced with a 92-bedroom extension which was opened in 1957 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Peter Thorneycroft. Grosvenor House managed to have a ‘good’ World War II, ten thousand sandbags and five miles of blackout material protected the building, and its entertaining space was used in the war effort. The Great Room initially became home to the Officers’ Sunday Club and then, in 1943, generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton were regular visitors. It underwent a renovation and restoration costing £142 million
2.
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
3.
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
4.
Lauren Laverne
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Lauren Cecilia Fisher, known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, television presenter, author, singer and comedian. Laverne has written a novel entitled Candypop, Candy and the Broken Biscuits. Laverne was born and brought up in Sunderland in a large family, One grandfather had been a shipbuilder, another a coalminer. Her father was a lecturer at Newcastle University, Dr Lesley Gofton. She first attended St. Marys R. C, primary School in 1982, where she befriended Marie Nixon, later to become a fellow Kenickie guitarist, and then St. Anthonys Girls School between 1989 and 1994, where she and Nixon met Emma Jackson. Laverne went on to study at City of Sunderland College from 1994 to 1996, in all, Kenickie achieved four top 40 hits and a top ten album. She was also working on an album at this time. She subsequently provided guest vocals on the Divine Comedys 2004 single Come Home Billy Bird, Lavernes first television presenting job was Play UKs series The Alphabet Show, with Chris Addison, made while Kenickie were still together. She also presented a documentary for Sky One on the rise of popularity of the US hit TV Show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, called Buffy and this was done when the show was returning for its sixth season in 2001. In 2003 Lauren was a team captain, along with Jason Byrne. In 2004 she was a regular guest on the quiz show HeadJam, the show finished in April 2006. in April 2006, she appeared as guest host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. In August, Laverne presented Channel 4s coverage of the V Festival, in March 2007, she presented the NME Awards live from the Hammersmith Palais. In July 2007, Laverne appeared on the comedy show Mock the Week. She appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 10 January 2008, in September 2008, Laverne appeared again on Mock the Week. In March 2008, Laverne appeared on the Lily Allen and Friends show with fellow Sunderland musicians the Futureheads, from 2006 to 2010, she was a regular presenter with the weekly BBC arts magazine programme The Culture Show, alongside Mark Kermode. She also presented the series of the late-night Channel 4 music show Transmission with T-Mobile opposite Steve Jones. Laverne replaced radio DJ Jo Whiley on the talent show Orange Mobile Act Unsigned, Laverne became a regular presenter in the new magazine format third series of Its Not Easy Being Green, first broadcast on BBC Two in January 2009. She also narrated Tough Guy or Chicken, on BBC Three in August 2009
5.
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
6.
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
7.
18th Empire Awards
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The 18th Empire Awards ceremony, presented by the British film magazine Empire, honored the best films of 2012 and took place on 24 March 2013 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England. During the ceremony, Empire presented Empire Awards in 13 categories as well as four honorary awards, the honorary Outstanding Contribution to British Film Award was renamed Outstanding Contribution. The Art of 3D Award as well as the honorary Empire Legend Award, the ceremony was televised in the United Kingdom by Sky Movies on March 30. Irish comedian Ed Byrne hosted the show for the first time, the awards were sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey for the fifth consecutive year. In related events, Empire and Jameson Irish Whiskey held the 4th Done In 60 Seconds Competition Global Final on March 22,2013 at the Google Campus, London, skyfall won two awards including Best Film and Best Director for Sam Mendes. Philip Askins from the United Kingdom won the Done In 60 Seconds Award for his 60-second film version of Blade Runner, winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface
8.
Empire (film magazine)
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Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media of Hamburg based Bauer Media Group. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney, Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling magazine in the United Kingdom and is also published in the United States, Australia, Turkey, Russia, Italy. Empire organises the annual Empire Awards which were sponsored by Sony Ericsson, the awards are voted for by readers of the magazine. Empire is populist in both approach and coverage and it reviews both mainstream films and art films, but feature articles concentrate on the former. As well as news, previews, and reviews, Empire has some other regular features. Each issue features a Classic Scene, a transcript from a film scene. The first such classic scene to be featured was the I could have been a scene from On the Waterfront. The regular Top 10 feature lists Empires choice of the top ten examples of something film-related, for example,10 Best Chase Scenes or 10 Best Movie Gags in The Simpsons. The Re. View section covers Blu-ray and DVD news and releases, Kim Newmans Movie Dungeon is a regular feature in the Re. View section, in which critic Kim Newman reviews the most obscure releases, mostly low budget horror movies. How much Is Pint of Milk presents celebrities answers to silly or unusual questions and this is intended as a guide to the chosen celebritys contact with reality, and as such can be more informative than a direct interview by reporting some surprising responses. Each magazine includes a Spine Quote, in which a relatively challenging quote is printed on the spine of the magazine, there are usually some obvious and obscure links from the quote to the main features of that months edition. Readers are invited to identify the source and the links to win a prize. Celebrity Mastermind is another regular in which a celebrity is given questions about the films they were in or they directed, celebrities range from Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Lee to John Carpenter and Michael Keaton. A regular feature since issue 167, the feature is a two-page essay on a film selected by Empire in the Re. View section. The selection of the films seem to be random and follow no specific pattern. Only a few issues since the first masterpiece feature have not featured one –169,179,196,197,198 and 246, Issue 240 had director Frank Darabont select 223 masterpieces. L. A. Confidential was featured twice, once in issue 191 and this list is as follows, Alien – Dinner chestburster The Omen – Glass decapitation An American Werewolf in London – Wolf transformation The Exorcist – Crucifix abuse Risky Business – Ready Ralph
9.
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
10.
London Film Museum
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The London Film Museum, founded and created by Jonathan Sands in February 2008, is a museum dedicated to the British film industry. It was previously known as The Movieum of London and was situated in County Hall. It exhibits original props, costumes and sets from feature films, there is also a section on how films are made, including information on all the major studios. There is also a corridor explaining how films are made with the chance to talk to those involved, two previous special exhibitions have been, Ray Harryhausen - Myths & Legends. This 2010 exhibition featured original creatures from Ray Harryhausens films including Pegasus, Medusa, charlie Chaplin - The Great Londoner. This covered his life in Lambeth, and features Chaplins original bowler hat. Since March 2014) the Museum has been dedicated to the Bond in Motion - The Largest Official Collection of James Bond Vehicles exhibition and this features cars, other vehicles and original props from the film series
11.
Sky Cinema
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Sky Cinema is the collective name for the premium subscription television film channels operated in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland by Sky plc. The UK and Ireland channels have over 5 million subscribers, via satellite, cable, in addition to the television channels, it has an interactive red button service, a website and in 2005 launched a 3G mobile service via Vodafone. Sky Movies was originally a film channel offered as part of Skys original 4-channel package on the Astra 1A satellite on 5 February 1989. The first film shown on the channel was Dirty Dancing, prior to its launch, Sky Movies signed first-run deals with 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Domestic Pay TV, Cable and Network Features, Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Orion Pictures, when Sky merged with rival British Satellite Broadcasting it acquired BSBs The Movie Channel. With the launch of the second Astra satellite in 1991 The Movie Channel become part of the Sky package, the first film shown was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Similarly, Sky Movies was made available to viewers on BSBs old satellite on 8 April 1991, from the re-launch of the channel under BSkyB, The Movie Channels ident was made by PDI, and heavily based on NBCs film opening used from 1987 to 1993. During 1991, Sky Movies started broadcasting for 24 hours per day, for a while in the early 1990s, the channel carried various non-films premium content such as live boxing, music concerts and WWF wrestling. This was because at this time all of Skys other channels, including Sky Sports, were shown free-to-air, when Sky Sports first became a pay channel on 1 September 1992, Sky Movies stopped showing non-films related programming. On 1 October 1992, The Comedy Channel was replaced with Sky Movies Gold and it was added as a 3-channel Sky Movies package. Rocky was the first film shown on the network, the two main channels were rebranded under a common brand on 1 November 1997. Sky Movies became Sky Movies Screen 1 and the Movie Channel became Sky Movies Screen 2, after a rebrand on 10 September 1998, Sky Movies Screen 1 became Sky Moviemax, Sky Movies Screen 2 became Sky Premier, and Sky Movies Gold was renamed Sky Cinema. The launch of Sky Digital from the new Astra 28. 2°E satellite position in October 1998 was accompanied by an expansion of channels. 1 July 2002 saw yet another re-branding exercise, the Sky Premier channels were renamed Sky Movies Premier, the Sky Moviemax channels became Sky Movies Max and the Sky Cinema channels became Sky Movies Cinema. Eventually in June 2003, Sky listened to demands for more widescreen films, the Sky Movies Premier Widescreen channel was closed and the majority of films on the remaining channels were shown in widescreen. On 1 November 2003, the Sky Movies Premier and Sky Movies Max channels were all brought under one banner as Sky Movies 1 through 9, at the same time, Sky Movies Cinema 1 and 2 became Sky Cinema 1 and 2. From 30 January 2006, Sky Movies 9 and the new Sky Movies 10 started broadcasting from 5 pm to 3 am and they were PIN-protected, meaning that for the first time 15 rated films were able to be shown as early as 5 pm. With the launch of Sky HD, the two channels were available in a high definition format
12.
Alex Zane
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Alex Zane is an English television presenter and DJ. Zane began his career at the age of 18 when he became a finalist on a competition called So You Think Youre Funny. He moved to London to concentrate on his career, and before leaving medical school and he also presented on Wired FM, which led to his own show on London alternative/Indie station Xfm. His radio show was heard by MTV producers, who signed him up to present shows such as Screenplay. From April 2007 to April 2009 he presented the weekday breakfast show on Xfm, Zane and his team were suspended from the show in August 2008 after he broadcast a self-created song about rape, deemed to be offensive by the station. All three returned a week later, with Zane accusing Xfm of over-reacting in the extreme and claiming that his song had been misinterpreted, Zane left Xfm in April 2009, with the station stating that his sudden departure was by mutual agreement. In April 2010 it was announced Alex would jointly present a Friday evening radio show on NME Radio with the creator of the club night Propaganda. The Show launched 30 April and has a 6pm-8pm time slot, the show is presented live and blends Alex and DJ Dans taste in music with the NME Radio playlist. In 2010 Alex performed at the Edinburgh Festival with his stand-up show Just One More Thing, in 2006 Zane was signed by Channel 4 under an exclusive contract. He co-presented Popworld and the accompanying Popworld Radio podcast with Alexa Chung until the programme ended in July 2007. He has narrated an E4 television show, Princess Nikki, and made appearances on Channel 4 entertainment programmes such as The Law of the Playground,8 out of 10 cats and Balls of Steel. He presented E4s coverage of Channel 4s hoax reality show Space Cadets, as well as Death Wish Live, the BT Digital Music Awards in 2005 and 2006 and Carling Live 24. He has also presented coverage of several large scale music events, including the V Festival. He presented Celebrity Scissorhands first on BBC Three, then on BBC One and he has presented Channel 4s variety show based on YouTube videos, Rude Tube, four times. Music awards 2008 with Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and he has done promotional presenting work with BBC Blast including a piece on what creativity means. Between 2008 and 2011 Zane also hosted a show, Alex Zanes Guest List. In early 2010 he appeared with Bill Bailey as a captain on birdwatching show Bill Baileys Birdwatching Bonanza for Sky 1. Additionally, he also does the voice-over for Channel 4 TV show Ultimate Traveller, a Best of Rube Tube DVD, presented by Alex Zane, was released on 21 November 2011
13.
Chris O'Dowd
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Christopher Chris ODowd is an Irish actor, best known for comedic roles such as Roy Trenneman in the Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd. ODowd created and starred in the Sky 1 television series Moone Boy and he had a recurring role on the drama series Girls and starred in the television series Family Tree. ODowd is also known for his roles, most notably Bridesmaids, This Is 40, The Sapphires, Thor, The Dark World, Calvary. He made his Broadway debut in the adaptation of Of Mice and Men in 2014. ODowd was born and raised in Boyle, County Roscommon and his father, Seán, is a graphic designer, and his mother, Denise, is a counsellor and psychotherapist. He is the youngest of five siblings and he represented Roscommon in Gaelic football at under-16, minor and under-21 level, the highlight being his performance as a goalkeeper in the 1997 Connacht Minor final against Mayo. This was highlighted by his guest appearance on the Sunday Game and he studied politics and sociology at University College Dublin, and subsequently attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. ODowd did not obtain a degree from UCD, telling the UCD student newspaper the College Tribune, the politics part of it was fine, but I was doing sociology as well and I could never bring myself to find an interest in it. He contributed to The University Observer, Ógra Fianna Fáil and was active in UCD Dramsoc, the slogan was a huge success thanks to ODowds improvisation with classmate Ronan Kirbys hurley. ODowd revealed to The College Tribunehe was personally thanked by De Valeras ghost in a dream, ODowd has starred in the United Kingdom in Channel 4s comedy The IT Crowd, BBC Twos Romans Empire, Red Cap and the award-winning documentary-drama The Year London Blew Up. He has also appeared on Irish television, having starred in the RTÉ One drama The Clinic, ODowd has appeared in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People in a minor role. ODowd appears in Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel, a comedy film with Marc Wootton, Dean Lennox Kelly. He played Liam in the 2007 German film Hotel Very Welcome and he starred in the 2009 film The Boat That Rocked, released in Canada and the U. S. as Pirate Radio. The film was inspired by the story of pirate broadcasters Radio Caroline. ODowd plays Simon, the stations breakfast DJ. The breakfast jock on Radio Caroline at the time was Tony Blackburn, so theres definitely an element of him in it, says ODowd of his character. And then I called in different Irish DJs that would have been contemporaries of Tony Blackburn at the time, a guy called Larry Gogan, ODowd starred opposite Sienna Miller in the film Hippie Hippie Shake, which is about the groundbreaking 60s magazine, Oz. The publication was the precursor to a generation of lad mags. ODowd plays Felix Dennis, who would become the publisher of Maxim
14.
Gareth Edwards (director)
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Gareth James Edwards is an English film director, film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, production designer, and visual effects artist. He first gained recognition for Monsters, an independent film in which he served as writer, director, cinematographer. He subsequently directed the 2014 reboot of Godzilla, and the space opera film Rogue One, A Star Wars Story. Edwards was born on 1 June 1975 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, since childhood, he wanted to direct his own films, stating that Star Wars is definitely the reason that I wanted to become a filmmaker. Edwards studied BA Film & Video at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham, formerly the Surrey Institute of Art & Design, in 2012, he received an honorary Master of Arts from UCA. In 2008 he entered the Sci-Fi-London 48-hour film challenge, where a movie had to be created start-to-finish in just two days, within certain criteria, Edwards won the contest and went on to write and direct Monsters, his first feature. Edwards personally created the effects for Monsters using off-the-shelf equipment. Besides the two actors, the crew consisted of just five people. The success of Monsters brought enough awareness in Hollywood to land Edwards a few major projects, after the films release, he did interviews in Hollywood with several studios, including Legendary Pictures. In January 2011, Edwards landed his first major Hollywood feature, as the director of the 2014 Godzilla reboot from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Edwards directed Rogue One, the first Star Wars stand-alone film, written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, starring Felicity Jones, three of his influences for filmmaking are George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. In May 2016, Edwards exited Godzilla, King of the Monsters in a split with the studio to work on smaller scale projects. Gareth Edwards at the Internet Movie Database Factory Farmed, winner of the Sci-Fi-London 2008 film festival 48 Hour Film Challenge, Gareth Edwards, Indie Filmmaker, See how Gareth created his independent film with pro-sumer equipment
15.
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
16.
Kill List
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Kill List is a 2011 British crime drama psychological horror film directed by Ben Wheatley, co-written and co-edited with Amy Jump, and starring Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring and Michael Smiley. When a British soldier returns home from Kiev, he joins an old friend as contract killers and his disturbed past surfaces as he spins out of control during jobs and ominous employers raise the stakes. It was filmed in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in England, Jay and Gal are former soldiers who have become hitmen since they left the military. While Gal is laid back, Jay is still suffering from a disastrous mission in Kiev. Despite the urging of his wife Shel, he has not worked since, Shel organises a dinner party to which she invites Gal and his latest girlfriend, Fiona, a human resources manager. During the evening, Gal reveals he has a new job for them, meanwhile, Fiona goes to the toilet, carves a symbol on the back of the bathroom mirror, and takes a tissue that Jay had used to mop up his blood after a shaving accident. Jay accepts the job, and the two meet the client, who has a list of three people he wants killed. The employer unexpectedly cuts Jays hand and his own, so that the contract is signed in blood. Their first target, a priest, appears to recognise Jay, the second name on the list is an archivist who keeps a collection of horrific, sickening videos of an undisclosed nature. He also thanks Jay, who, out of disgust for the videos, tortures, Jay insists on chasing down and killing the archivists associates, and as Gal looks into their files, he finds a folder on himself and Jay, including details of their Kiev mission. Although they do not recognise it, the file includes the symbol that Fiona carved in Jays mirror, Gal informs Jay that while raiding the safe in the home of the second target, he took enough money to cover the total sum they would receive for the contract. The pair decide to abandon the contract and return home, when his cut hand becomes infected, Jay visits his doctor, only to find that his regular doctor has been replaced by another man who will only give him cryptic advice. Jay and Gal return to their client and offer to find replacements to kill the last name on the list, the client refuses and says that both hitmen and their families will be killed if they do not complete the contract. Shel takes their son Sam to the cottage for safekeeping while Jay. Their final mark is a Member of Parliament who lives in a mansion, while observing the house, the pair witness a strange ceremony in the woods that culminates in human sacrifice. Jay opens fire with a rifle, and the leader of the ceremony presents himself for Jay to execute. The remaining masked cultists chase the hitmen into an underground complex, emerging from the tunnels, Jay flees to the family cottage and meets with Shel. When he goes outside, he sees that their cars tires have been slashed, Jay attempts to locate their attackers, but he is knocked unconscious
17.
Like Crazy
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Like Crazy is a 2011 American romantic drama film directed by Drake Doremus and starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence. Doremus based the storyline of the film partly on his own relationship with a woman living in London while he lived in Los Angeles. Rather than writing a screenplay, he and Ben York Jones compiled a 50-page outline of the film from which the actors improvised almost all of the dialogue. Filming took place four weeks in Los Angeles and London with a budget of $250,000. Like Crazy premiered on January 22,2011 at the Sundance Film Festival and it was released in theaters on October 28,2011 and grossed over $3.7 million at the box office. Most reviews of the film were positive, with reviewers giving particular praise to the performances of Yelchin and Jones, although found the plot unrealistic. Anna Gardner, a British exchange student attending college in Los Angeles, meets and falls in love with Jacob Helm, an American student who returns her affections. After returning to London for an engagement, Anna flies back to Los Angeles, where she is detained, denied entry. The couples love for each other grows strained by their separation, despite her efforts at appealing the immigration decision, Anna is told she is banned from entering the United States. Meanwhile, Jacob leaves behind his design business and visits Anna in London for a few weeks. There, he learns that Annas parents, Bernard and Jackie, have hired a lawyer to try to get the ban lifted. Bernard suggests that marrying may help their efforts, Jacob is uncomfortable with the suggestion, and the couple struggle with their feelings. After Jacob returns to the United States, he and Anna grow apart, Anna also tries to find a new life for herself, beginning work as a secretary for a magazine, but she is unable to abandon her feelings for Jacob. She eventually phones him from London and says that they never find in others what they found in each other. With a tearful parting, Jacob returns to his business in Los Angeles while the couple wait six months before they appeal the ban on Annas visa, six months later, Jacob flies back to the United Kingdom for the appeal, but it is rejected. With their relationship compromised and no hope of resolving the issue, Anna and Jacob begin to fight with each other out of jealousy. Jacob goes back to the US, and Samantha, Anna eventually gets promoted at work to the position of editor—something she wanted very much. Her love life, however, is not as positive or fulfilling—her new boyfriend Simon does not evoke the feelings in her as Jacob
18.
The Adventures of Tintin (film)
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The cast includes Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. Spielberg acquired rights to produce a film based on The Adventures of Tintin series following Hergés death in 1983, Sony chose to co-produce the film. The delay resulted in Thomas Sangster, who had originally cast as Tintin. Producer Peter Jackson, whose company Weta Digital provided the computer animation, Spielberg and Jackson also hope to co-direct a third film. The world première took place on 22 October 2011 in Brussels, the film was released in the UK and other European countries on 26 October 2011, and in the USA on 21 December 2011, in Digital 3D and IMAX. The Adventures of Tintin grossed over $373 million, and received reviews from critics. It was the first non-Pixar animated film to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. It was nominated for six Saturn Awards, including Best Animated Film, Best Director for Spielberg, in 1955, 17-year-old journalist Tintin and his dog Snowy are browsing in an outdoor market in Brussels, Belgium. Tintin takes the ship home, but it is broken in an incident with Snowy. A parchment scroll slips out, and rolls under the furniture, meanwhile, bumbling police detectives Thomson and Thompson are on the trail of a pickpocket, Aristides Silk. After a visit to Maritime Library to search for clues, Tintin returns to find that the Unicorn has been stolen and he visits Sakharine in Marlinspike Hall and accuses him of the theft. When he sees a model of the Unicorn, he notices that Sakharines model is not broken. Returning home once again, Snowy shows him the scroll, after reading an old message written on it, they are interrupted by the arrival of Barnaby, who is then assassinated while attempting to recover the Unicorn one last time. Tintin places the scroll in his wallet, but it is stolen by Silk the next morning, later, Tintin is abducted by accomplices of Sakharine, and imprisoned on the SS Karaboudjan. He learns that Sakharine formed an alliance with the ships staff, on board, Tintin meets Captain Haddock, the ships captain. Haddock is permanently drunk and thus unaware of the happenings on board his ship, Tintin, Haddock, and Snowy eventually outrun the crew, and escape from the Karaboudjan in a lifeboat. The ship fails to ram their boat, because they instead rammed an empty lifeboat the captain accidentally released during his escape, presuming them to have survived by the number of lifeboats, Sakharine sends a seaplane to find and capture them. The trio seize the plane, and use it to fly towards the fictitious Moroccan port of Bagghar, however, the seaplane crashes in the desert due to low fuel
19.
The Inbetweeners Movie
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The Inbetweeners Movie is a 2011 British coming-of-age comedy film based on the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners, written by series creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris and directed by Ben Palmer. The film follows the misadventures of a group of friends on holiday in Malia after the end of their final year at school together. It stars Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, James Buckley and Blake Harrison and it was a commercial success, setting the record for the biggest opening weekend for a comedy film in the UK. A sequel, The Inbetweeners 2, was released on 6 August 2014, within their final week of school, Jays grandfather dies, Simon is dumped by his girlfriend Carli DAmato, and Wills estranged father tells him that he has married his much younger mistress. The boys decide to go on together and Neil books them a holiday to Malia. At a quiet, unpopular bar, they meet four girls, Alison, Lucy, Lisa and their initial meeting does not go smoothly, but the girls arrange to meet the boys at their hotel the next day. Outside the bar, Simon sees Carli across the street and talks awkwardly with her before being knocked down by a quad-bike driven by James and she reveals that she is going to an all-day boat party later in the week, and Simon promises to meet her there. The next day, Jay and Simon get into an argument over Simons continuing obsession with Carli and Jays continual false bravado and they brawl in the street until Will and Neil separate the pair. Meanwhile, Jay angrily tears up two of the four boat party tickets that he bought for all of them the previous night as a surprise. Later that evening, the four boys meet back at the empty bar, the girls then turn up and suggest that they all go skinny dipping at the local beach. Jane attempts to kiss Jay, but when two men poke fun at him over her weight and Jay pulls away, she leaves him behind. Will has better luck with Alison until she spots her boyfriend, Nicos, having sex with another woman, and she leaves distraught by what shes witnessed. In the sea, Lucy and Simon appear to be growing closer, and are about to kiss, the next day, they meet the girls again at the beach. Alison gives Will Nicos ticket, while Simon apologises to Lucy, on board, Simon witnesses an argument between Carli and James. Carli then kisses Simon passionately, and he is elated, until he realises that she is just using him to make James jealous, finally seeing Carli for her true colours, he ditches her. Meanwhile, Jay apologises to Jane and they start a relationship as do Will and Alison, later Jay and Jane encounter James who mocks Janes weight and demands a €20 note from Jay so that he can snort cocaine. Jay gets revenge on him by taking a note that was concealed in his anus. James then snorts cocaine unknowingly walking around with faeces sticking out of his causing the girls whom he flirts with to walk away from him in disgust
20.
Tyrannosaur (film)
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Tyrannosaur is a 2011 British drama film written and directed by Paddy Considine in his directorial debut. The film stars Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan, Paul Popplewell, One night, unemployed widower Joseph drunkenly kicks his dog Bluey to death. He buries the dog and goes to the post office, where he mocks some Asian workers then throws a brick through the window when they tell him to leave, at the pub, Joseph attacks two young men playing pool one of whom threatened and mocked him. He then hides in a shop, where stringently-religious employee Hannah offers to pray for him. That night, Joseph goes to his home and meets up with his 6-year-old neighbor Samuel, the boyfriend teases and berates Samuel and threatens to let loose his vicious dog on the young boy. After Samuel is allowed back in the house, Joseph is attacked by the men from the post office, the next morning, Joseph wakes up and goes to the shop, where Hannah looks after him. He begins to berate and insult her, before leaving, Hannah returns home and falls asleep drunk, where her abusive husband James urinates on her. The next morning at the shop, Joseph apologises and slowly befriends Hannah. One day, she comes to the shop with a black eye and he asks her to come with him and pray for his best friend Jack, who is dying of cancer. A few days later, Jack dies, a few days later, Joseph returns to the shop. James finds Hannah tying Josephs tie as he tries on a suit for the funeral, James silently threatens Hannah and Joseph. Joseph realises that James is beating Hannah and confronts her about the beatings, One night, Hannah gets drunk and James comes to take her home. He hits her and she begins to mock him and she tries to compose herself in the bedroom, when James arrives, beats and rapes her. Hannah tells Joseph that she is leaving James and asks to stay with him and he hesitatingly agrees, and in the course of her settling in, Joseph reveals that his heavy set wife has been dead for 5 years, due to complications from her diabetes. He also tells Hannah that he regrets using the nickname Tyrannosaur for his wife, after a few days, Joseph tells her that she is not safe with him and suggests she leave. Joseph escorts Hannah back to her house to some items. Hannah then goes with Joseph to Jacks wake where they sing and dance and tell tales in remembrance of Josephs old friend. While Hannah is sleeping in the room, Joseph decides to confront James, takes her keys and goes to her house
21.
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
22.
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
23.
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
24.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
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Written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, it is 20th Century Foxs reboot of the Planet of the Apes series, intended to act as an origin story for a new series of films. Its premise is similar to the film in the original series, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released on August 5,2011, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Serkis performance as Caesar was widely acclaimed, earning him many nominations from many associations which do not usually recognize performance capture as traditional acting. A sequel to the film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, was released on July 11,2014, will Rodman, a scientist at the San Francisco biotech company Gen-Sys, is testing the viral-based drug ALZ-112 on chimpanzees to find a cure for Alzheimers disease. ALZ-112 is given to a chimp named Bright Eyes, greatly increasing her intelligence, however, during Wills presentation for the drug, Bright Eyes is forced from her cage, goes on a rampage, and is killed. Wills boss Steven Jacobs terminates the project and orders the chimps euthanized, however, Wills assistant Robert Franklin discovers that the reason for Bright Eyes rampage was that she had recently given birth to an infant chimp. Will agrees to take in the chimp, who is named Caesar, will learns that Caesar has inherited his mothers intelligence and decides to raise him. Three years later, Will introduces Caesar to the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument, meanwhile, Will treats his dementia-suffering father Charles with ALZ-112, which seems to restore his cognitive ability. Five years later, when Caesar reaches adolescence and sees a dog on a leash like his own, he questions his identity, meanwhile, Charless condition returns as his Alzheimers becomes resistant to ALZ-112. Caesar injures a neighbor, Douglas Hunsiker, while defending a confused Charles, as a result, he is placed in a primate shelter where he is treated cruelly by the other chimps and the chief guard, Dodge Landon. Caesar learns how to unlock his cage, gaining access to the common area. With the assistance of a gorilla named Buck, he confronts the sanctuarys alpha chimp named Rocket, meanwhile, Jacobs clears development of a more powerful, gaseous version of the drug – ALZ-113 – when Will tells him it can not only heal brain diseases but also improve intelligence. Will takes the drug home to try to save his father, after attempting to test the drug on a scarred bonobo test subject named Koba, Franklin becomes exposed to ALZ-113 and becomes ill. Attempting to warn Will at his home, he sneezes blood onto Hunsiker, will attempts to reclaim Caesar, but the chimp refuses to go home with him. Instead, he escapes from the facility and returns to Wills house, upon returning, Caesar releases the gas and allows it to enhance the intelligence of the other apes. When Dodge attempts to get him back into his cage, Caesar shocks him by speaking for the first time, yelling No. the apes flee the facility, release the remaining chimps from Gen-Sys, and free more apes from the San Francisco Zoo. A battle ensues as the ape army fights their way past a blockade on the Golden Gate Bridge to escape into the redwood forest
25.
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
26.
Attack the Block
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Attack the Block is a 2011 British science fiction horror comedy film written and directed by Joe Cornish and starring Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Nick Frost and Luke Treadaway. It is notable for being the debut for both Cornish, Boyega, and future Academy Award-winning composer Steven Price. The film centres on a street gang who have to defend themselves from predatory alien invaders on a council estate in South London on Guy Fawkes Night. Released on 11 May 2011, it achieved significant popularity, favourable critical reviews, Attack The Block has been listed as a cult film in the making by a significant number of websites. The attack is interrupted when a meteorite falls from the sky into a nearby car, as Moses searches the wreck of the car for valuables, his face is scratched by a pale, hairless, eyeless dog-sized creature, the object which fell from the sky was its cocoon. The creature runs away, but the chase and kill it. Hoping to gain fame and fortune, they take the corpse to their acquaintance, cannabis dealer Ron and he lives at the top of their tower block, Wyndham Tower. Moses asks Ron and his boss, Hi-Hatz, to keep the creature in their fortified weed room while he decides how to proceed, more objects fall from the sky. Eager to fight the creatures, the gang arm themselves and go to the nearest crash site, however, they find these aliens are much larger, gorilla-sized, with spiky fur which is so black it reflects no light, huge claws and rows of glowing fangs. Fleeing the aliens, the gang are intercepted by two policemen and Moses is arrested, identified as a mugger by Samantha, the aliens, following Moses, maul the police to death and attack their van, leaving Samantha and Moses trapped inside. Dennis reaches the vehicle and drives the van away, only to crash into Hi-Hatzs car, Samantha runs away while the rest of Mosess gang catch up and confront Hi-Hatz. Enraged by the damage to his car, Hi-Hatz threatens them with a gun, refusing to believe their story of aliens, until his henchman is attacked by one, allowing the gang to escape. The gang try to flee to Wyndham Tower but are followed and attacked en route by the aliens. They find that Samantha lives in their building, force their way into her flat, an alien bursts in and Moses kills it with a samurai sword through the head. Understanding that the group was not lying about the creatures being extraterrestrial, Samantha reasons that it is safer to stay with the gang than on her own and joins them. The gang moves upstairs to the flat owned by Tia, Dimples, Dionna, the aliens instead attack from outside, climbing up the side of the tower block and smashing through the windows, one of whom decapitates Dennis. After Samantha saves Moses life from one of the aliens, the girls believe them to be the focus of the creatures, in the hall, the gang is attacked by Hi-Hatz and more henchmen. The gang escapes while an alien chases Hi-Hatz and his henchmen into a lift, Hi-Hatz kills the alien, though his henchmen perish, and continues his search for Moses
27.
Submarine (2010 film)
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Submarine is a 2010 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne. The film was written and directed by Richard Ayoade, and starred Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, Oliver Tate is a 15-year-old from Swansea, infatuated with Jordana. When Jordana invites Oliver to meet secretly after school, she takes pictures of them kissing, hoping to make her ex-boyfriend jealous, the plan backfires, but Jordana soon becomes his girlfriend. At home, Oliver becomes concerned about his parents, new-age guru Graham, an ex-boyfriend of his mother, Jill, has moved in next door, and his flirtations rouse Olivers suspicions. Olivers relationship with Jordana grows, but he learns that her mother has a fatal brain tumour. At an early Christmas dinner at Jordanas house, he witnesses her father break down, unsettled, he decides that the Jordana he loves is at risk because the emotional events surrounding her will make her gooey in the middle. He cuts off contact with her, thinking that his mother and Graham are having an affair, Oliver attempts to repair his parents relationship. While searching for his mother on the beach, he sees Jordana with another boy, heartbroken he heads home, but, on the way, he sees his mother with Graham and assumes the worst. Enraged, he breaks into Grahams house, gets drunk, when Graham comes home, he finds Oliver but returns him home with minimal fuss. The next morning, Oliver awakes to see both his parents arent angry with him and are reconciling. Oliver remains distraught about losing Jordana, he is downhearted for weeks, running towards her, he explains his actions and learns that Jordana has either broken up with her new boyfriend or never had one. Together, they walk into the sea smiling, the film is left on an ambiguous note. Principal photography began on 26 October 2009 and filming finished in December 2009, Andrew Hewitt composed the score and musician Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys contributed six songs. Around 100 actors submitted video auditions for the roles of Oliver, Jordana, michael Sheen and X Factor contestant Lucie Jones were originally cast in the film but dropped out due to other commitments. The film premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010, following a generally positive reception it was picked up by The Weinstein Company for a North American release. The film also played at the 54th London Film Festival in October 2010 and was played out of competition at the 27th Sundance Film Festival in January 2011 and it was also screened along with 400 other films at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival the next month. Submarine received positive reviews from critics, critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars saying Submarine isnt an insipid teen sex comedy. It flaunts some stylistic devices, such as titles and sections and self-aware narration, the film grossed $467,602 in the USA, plus $3,407,282 outside the USA, for a combined gross of $3,874,884
28.
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
29.
Nicolas Winding Refn
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Nicolas Winding Refn is a Danish film director, screenwriter and producer. In 2008, Refn co-founded the Copenhagen-based production company Space Rocket Nation, Nicolas Winding Refn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and raised partly in New York, United States. His parents are Danish film director and editor Anders Refn and cinematographer Vibeke Winding and his half-brother is Danish singer Kasper Winding. Refn has cited viewing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as inspiration for his filmmaking career and my parents were brought up on the French New Wave. That was God to them, but to me it was the antichrist, and how better to rebel against your parents than by watching something your mother is going to hate, I want to be all of them at once. And that film proved that you can do it because that movie is not a normal movie and he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts but was expelled for throwing a table into a wall. Refn made his debut with the Danish crime drama film Pusher. The original film garnered a Best Supporting Actor Award for Zlatko Burić at the 1997 Bodil Awards, in 1999, Refn directed the crime-drama-thriller Bleeder, which featured much of the same cast from the Pusher Trilogy, including actors such as Kim Bodnia and Mads Mikkelsen. In 2003, Refn directed and wrote his first English-language film, Fear X, Refn later made two sequels to Pusher, Pusher II and Pusher 3. For Pusher II, lead actor Mads Mikkelsen won a Best Actor award at the 2005 Bodil Awards, Best Actor at the 2005 Robert Festival and Best Actor at the 2005 Zulu Awards. The film was remade into a British version in 2012, Pusher, directed by Luis Prieto, the film won Best Film at the 2009 Sydney Film Festival, and was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Hardy also won a Best Actor award at the 2009 British Independent Film Awards for his portrayal of Charles Bronson, Hardy was also nominated for Best Actor from the Evening Standard British Film Awards and the London Critics Circle Film Awards. In 2009, Refn teamed up again with frequent collaborator Mads Mikkelsen to write and direct Valhalla Rising, the film also won a Best Make-Up award at the 2011 Robert Festival. In 2011, Refn directed the American neo-noir crime drama Drive and it premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where he received the Best Director Award. The film earned Refn a BAFTA nomination for directing, the Bangkok-set crime thriller Only God Forgives, starring Ryan Gosling and Kristin Scott Thomas, premiered in competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The film was awarded the Sydney Film Prize at the 2013 Sydney Film Festival, Liv Corfixen, Refns wife, directed the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn centered on the life and work of Refn. The documentary film premiered on July 17,2014 in Denmark, in September 2011, Refn stated his next film after Only God Forgives will be I Walk with the Dead, with Drive co-star Carey Mulligan slated to play the lead. According to Winding Refn, it will be a horror-movie sex thriller that may be set in Tokyo or Los Angeles, in 2013, Nicolas Winding Refn confirmed I Walk with the Dead as his next project
30.
Steven Spielberg
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Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE, OMRI is an American director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the pioneers of the New Hollywood era. He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks Studios, in a career spanning more than four decades, Spielbergs films have spanned many themes and genres. His other films include Jurassic Park, A. I, artificial Intelligence, and War of the Worlds. Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindlers List and Saving Private Ryan, three of Spielbergs films—Jaws, E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park—achieved box office records, originated and came to epitomize the blockbuster film. The unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $9 billion worldwide and his personal net worth is estimated to be more than $3 billion. Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to an Orthodox Jewish family and his mother, Leah Posner, was a restaurateur and concert pianist, and his father, Arnold Spielberg, was an electrical engineer involved in the development of computers. His paternal grandparents were immigrants from Ukraine who settled in Cincinnati in the first decade of the 1900s, in 1950, his family moved to Haddon Township, New Jersey when his father took a job with RCA. Three years later, the moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Spielberg attended Hebrew school from 1953 to 1957, in classes taught by Rabbi Albert L. Lewis, as a child, Spielberg faced difficulty reconciling being an Orthodox Jew with the perception of him by other children he played with. It isnt something I enjoy admitting, he said, but when I was seven, eight, nine years old, God forgive me. I was embarrassed by the perception of my parents Jewish practices. I was never really ashamed to be Jewish, but I was uneasy at times, Spielberg also said he suffered from acts of anti-Semitic prejudice and bullying, In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. His first home movie was of a wreck involving his toy Lionel trains. Throughout his early teens, and after entering school, Spielberg continued to make amateur 8 mm adventure films. In 1958, he became a Boy Scout and fulfilled a requirement for the merit badge by making a nine-minute 8 mm film entitled The Last Gunfight. Years later, Spielberg recalled to an interviewer, My dads still-camera was broken. He said yes, and I got an idea to do a Western, I made it and got my merit badge
31.
War Horse (film)
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The films cast includes Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Marsan, Niels Arestrup, Toby Kebbell, David Kross and Peter Mullan. DreamWorks Pictures acquired the rights to the novel in December 2009. Having directed many films set during the Second World War, it was his first film to tackle the events of World War I, produced by DreamWorks Pictures and released by Touchstone Pictures, War Horse became a box-office success and was met with positive reviews. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, in 1914, a teenage boy named Albert Narracott from Devon, England, witnesses the birth of a Bay Thoroughbred foal and subsequently watches with admiration the growth of the young horse. Much to the dismay of his mother Rose, his father Ted buys the colt at auction, outbidding their landlord Lyons, despite their needing a more suitable plough horse for the farm work. Alberts best friend, Andrew Easton, watches as Albert teaches his colt many things, Ted carries a war injury that causes him ongoing physical and mental pain. While he cannot speak of his time in the Cavalry, Rose shows Albert his fathers medals from the Second Boer War that he earned for bravery under fire, Albert does not understand why Ted would be ashamed of having fought in a war. Against all odds and Lyons hopes, Albert manages to train Joey and have him plough a rocky field, however, a heavy downpour in 1914 destroys the turnip crop, so Ted is compelled to sell the horse to the army in order to pay his rent. Albert begs his father to return the money, Captain James Nicholls sees the boys attachment and promises to look after the steed. Albert tries to enlist in the army but is too young, Joey is trained for military operations and becomes attached to Topthorn, a black horse with whom he is trained for his military role. Nicholls is killed along with almost all his fellow cavalrymen, the Germans capture the horses, a young German soldier called Gunther is assigned to the care of Joey and Topthorn, who are used to draw an ambulance wagon. When his 14-year-old brother Michael is sent to the front line, Gunther takes the horses, however, the boys are soon discovered and executed by firing squad. An orphaned French girl named Emilie, who lives at the farm with her grandfather, German soldiers arrive and confiscate supplies from the property, even the jam that Emilies grandfather makes, but Emilie hides the horses in her bedroom. Emilie suffers from a disease that makes her bones fragile and is not allowed to ride the horses for fear of falling, nonetheless, Emilies Grandfather, for her birthday, allows her to ride Joey. She gallops the horse up the hill and runs into the Germans who then take the horses, by 1918, Albert has enlisted and is fighting alongside Andrew in the Second Battle of the Somme, under the command of Lyonss son David. After a British charge into no-mans land, Albert and Andrew miraculously make it across into a deserted German trench, where a gas bomb explodes, filling the trench with poison gas. Joey and Topthorn are used by the Germans to haul artillery up a muddy hill, under the command of Private Friedrich Henglemann. Topthorn eventually succumbs to exhaustion and dies, Friedrich is dragged away by other German soldiers, leaving Joey to face an oncoming Mark IV tank
