1.
San Diego Comic-Con
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San Diego Comic-Con International is a multi-genre entertainment and comic convention held annually in San Diego, California. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International, San Diego and it is a four-day event held during the summer at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. On the Wednesday evening prior to the opening of the event, there is a preview for professionals, exhibitors. Comic-Con International also produces two other conventions, WonderCon, held in Los Angeles, and the Alternative Press Expo and it is also the home of the Will Eisner Awards. In 2010, it filled the San Diego Convention Center to capacity with more than 130,000 attendees, the convention was founded in 1970 by Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Krueger, Mike Towry, Barry Alfonso, Bob Sourk, and Greg Bear. Detroit, Michigan-born, comics fan Shel Dorf, had, in the mid-1960s, mounted the Detroit Triple-Fan Fairs, one of the first commercial comics-fan conventions. When he moved to San Diego, California, in 1970, he organized a convention on March 21,1970. Dorf went on to be associated with the convention as president or manager, variously, Alf co-chaired the first convention with Krueger and became chairman in 1971. Following the initial gathering, Dorfs first three-day San Diego comics convention, other locations in the conventions early years included the El Cortez Hotel, the University of California, San Diego, and Golden Hall, before being moved to the San Diego Convention Center in 1991. I was quietly walking the floor stunned and in awe of just how much bigger it really was, the convention is organized by a panel of 13 board members,16 to 20 full-time and part-time workers, and 80 volunteers who assist via committees. Comic Con International is an organization, and proceeds of the event go to funding it, as well as the Alternative Press Expo. The convention logo was designed by Richard Bruning and Josh Beatman in 1995, in September 2010, the convention announced that it would stay in San Diego through 2015. In 2015, working with Lionsgate, a channel was created to host Comic-Con related content. According to the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, the convention has a regional economic impact of $162.8 million. Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming feature films, like most comic-book conventions, Comic-Con features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include media companies such as studios and TV networks, as well as comic-book dealers. And like most comics conventions, Comic-Con includes an area, as well as the Artists Alley where comics artists can sign autographs. Despite the name, artists alleys can include writers and even models, academics and comic industry professionals annually hold the Comics Arts Conference at Comic-Con, presenting scholarly studies on comics as a medium
2.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
3.
New York (state)
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New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year
4.
Signs (film)
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Signs is a 2002 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Executive producers for the film comprised Shyamalan, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, a joint collective effort to commit to the films production was made by Blinding Edge Pictures and The Kennedy/Marshall Company. It was commercially distributed by Touchstone Pictures theatrically, and by Touchstone Home Entertainment in home media format, the story focuses on a former Episcopal priest named Graham Hess, played by Mel Gibson, who discovers a series of crop circles in his cornfield. Hess slowly discovers that the phenomena are a result of extraterrestrial life and it also stars Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin. Signs explores faith, kinship, and extraterrestrials, following its premiere in theatres nationwide on August 2,2002, the film grossed $227,966,634 in domestic ticket receipts screening at 3,453 theatres during its widest release. It earned an additional $180,281,283 in business through international release, the film was nominated for multiple awards, including those from the Online Film Critics Society and the Empire Awards. The film also won an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the high-definition Blu-ray Disc edition of the film featuring the directors audio commentary, the making of the film, and deleted scenes was released in the United States on June 3,2008. The original motion picture soundtrack, which was composed by James Newton Howard, was released on the day by the Hollywood Records label. Hess has lost his faith and gave up his priesthood after his wife, Colleen, died in an accident caused by a town local. One morning, Graham discovers a crop circle in his field, while investigating the crop circle with the local law enforcement, Graham learns of animals becoming violent across town. Morgan is forced to kill one of the dogs when it turns violent against Bo. They hear reports of crop circles appearing around the globe, later, Graham and Merrill find the farm is being watched by a tall dark figure which disappears into the fields when they give chase. The next day, they hear strange noises over a baby monitor, Graham approaches the crop circle but on seeing a green leg sticking out of the cornrows, flees back to the house. After opening up to Merrill about the death of his wife, noting that her last words were tell Merrill to swing away, Graham goes to visit Ray, the first time since the incident. When Graham is gone, Merrill and the watch a news report about footage taken of an alien creature in Brazil. Merrill joins the children in wearing tin foil hats, believing the aliens can read their minds, at Rays, Graham finds Ray is bleeding from an injury but otherwise apologetic for the accident. After Graham accepts his apology, Ray departs for a nearby lake, after an emotionally charged dinner, they hear the same noises on the baby monitor before their television signal drops out, and place the final barricades and defenses before they gather together. As the aliens attempt to gain entry into the house, the family discovers they have left the attic door unguarded, the aliens assault the basement door and in the subsequent chaos the light goes out as Graham and Merrill prevent their entry
5.
Raising Helen
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Raising Helen is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. It stars Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack, Hayden Panettiere, siblings Spencer and Abigail Breslin and it grossed $37,486,138 at the U. S. box office. Helen Harris and Lindsay were raised by their oldest sister, Jenny, but Helens world suddenly changes when Lindsay and brother-in-law Paul die in a car accident, leaving behind three children, turning everyones life upside down. Helen and Jenny are in shock when they hear Lindsay and Paul left Helen in charge of their three kids, 15-year-old Audrey, 10-year-old Henry, and five-year-old Sarah. Nobody expected Helen to be named guardian of the children especially since Jenny was already a super mom with two children and a third on the way, but a letter left to Helen by Lindsay convinces her that she can take care of the children. And Helen decides to do it on her own terms, which means raising the children, but as work and children begin to interfere, Helen quickly finds herself burnt out and disheartened by her responsibilities and Jennys lack of faith in her parenting. Busy trying to appease the children and adjust to suddenly being a mom, Helens concentration on her job begins to slip, stuck between a rock and a hard place, she is forced to become a receptionist at a car dealership. Things begin to look better for her as she bonds with the children and their sexy principal, but Audrey, struggling to come to terms with her parents death, begins to fall in with the wrong crowd and date the wrong kind of guy. When she disappears from the prom with her new boyfriend BZ to go find a motel. Unable to confront Audrey and risk the girls hatred, once they track her down and this makes Helen realize that she isnt cut out to be a parent and so she turns the children over into Jennys custody. Helen returns to her wild lifestyle full of partying and booze and she begins to find herself dissatisfied and depressed and so returns to Jennys house to beg her to let her take the children back home. She eventually convinces Jenny that shes ready to be a parent when she puts her foot down. Jenny, who was listening to Helen talking to the children, Helen leaves, and sits alone on a bench near a swing set. There, she is visited again by Jenny, who gives her the letter that Lindsay had written for Jenny. While watching out her window, Helen turns around with joy when the kids arrive, the film ends with Helen, Dan and the kids walking along a pier, and Sarah sits on a bench and ties her shoes all by herself. It was theatrically released on May 28,2004, before the film started, there was an animated short from Walt Disney Feature Animation titled Lorenzo, about a cat who gets his tail jinxed and comes to life. The film left theaters on September 9,2004, the film opened at the number 4 on opening weekend, making $10.9 million. In North America, the film made $37,486,512 overall, in foreign countries, it made $12,232,099
6.
Little Miss Sunshine
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Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American comedy-drama road film and the directorial debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt, the film stars Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin, and was produced by Big Beach Films on a budget of US$8 million. Filming began on June 6,2005 and took place over 30 days in Arizona, the film had a limited release in the United States on July 26,2006, and later expanded to a wider release starting on August 18. Little Miss Sunshine had a box office gross of $100.5 million. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and it also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature and received numerous other accolades. Sheryl Hoover is a mother of two living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her brother, Frank, who is gay and a scholar of Proust, is living at home with the family after having attempted suicide. Sheryls husband Richard is a Type A personality striving to build a career as a motivational speaker, Dwayne, Sheryls son from a previous marriage, is a Nietzsche-reading teenager who has taken a vow of silence until he can accomplish his dream of becoming a test pilot. Richards foulmouthed father, Edwin, recently evicted from a retirement home for snorting heroin, Olive, the daughter of Richard and Sheryl and the youngest of the Hoover family, is an aspiring beauty queen who is coached by Edwin. Olive learns she has qualified for the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant that is being held in Redondo Beach and her parents and Edwin, who has been coaching her, want to support her, and Frank and Dwayne cannot be left alone, so the whole family goes. Because they have money, they go on an 800-mile road trip in their yellow Volkswagen Type 2. Family tensions play out on the highway and at stops along the way, later on, the vans horn starts honking unceasingly by itself. Throughout the road trip, the family suffers numerous personal setbacks, Richard loses an important contract that would have jump-started his motivational business. Frank encounters the ex-boyfriend who, in leaving him for a rival, had prompted his suicide attempt. Edwin dies from an overdose, resulting in the family smuggling the body out of a hospital. The climax takes place at the beauty pageant, after a frantic race against the clock the family arrives at the hotel, and are curtly told by a pageant organizer that they are a couple minutes past the deadline. A sympathetic hired hand instead offers to register Olive on his own time, as Olive prepares for the pageant, the family sees Olives competition, slim, hypersexualized pre-teen girls with teased hair and capped teeth. They wear lip gloss, adult-like swimsuits, and glamorous evening wear while performing highly elaborate dance numbers with great panache and it quickly becomes apparent that Olive is a mere amateur by comparison
7.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
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The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered a performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry. At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Gale Sondergaard was the first winner of award for her role in Anthony Adverse. Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded instead of statuettes. Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, however, winners received full-sized statuettes, currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS, winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy. Since its inception, the award has given to 78 actresses. Dianne Wiest and Shelley Winters have received the most awards in this category with two awards each, despite winning no awards, Thelma Ritter was nominated on six occasions, more than any other actress. As of the 2017 ceremony, Viola Davis is the most recent winner in category for her role as Rose Maxson in Fences. In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of release in Los Angeles County. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, University of Toronto Press, inside Oscar, The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards. New York, United States, Ballantine Books, oscars. org Oscar. com The Academy Awards Database
8.
No Reservations (film)
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No Reservations is a 2007 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Scott Hicks. Patricia Clarkson, Bob Balaban and Jenny Wade co-star, with Brían F. OByrne, Lily Rabe, the film received a mixed reception by critics, who found it “predictable and too melancholy for the genre”, resulting in a 41% overall approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Breslin was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance, Kate Armstrong is the head chef at the trendy 22 Bleecker Street Restaurant in Manhattan, New York. She runs her kitchen at a pace as she coordinates the making and preparation of all the fantastic meals. She intimidates everyone around her, including her boss Paula, who sends her to therapy. Kate hates to leave the kitchen when a customer wants to compliment her on one of her dishes, however. When Kates sister Christine is killed in a car accident, her niece, Zoe. Nick, however, wants to work under Kate, the atmosphere in the kitchen is somewhat chaotic as Kate feels increasingly threatened by Nick as time goes on due to his style of running her kitchen. Nick loves to listen to opera while he cooks and he loves to make the staff laugh, and Kate finds herself strangely attracted to Nick, whose uplifting personality has not only affected her staff but Zoe as well, who has been coming to work with Kate. With all that is happening in Kates life, the last thing she would want is to fall in love with this man, nevertheless, there is some kind of chemistry between the two of them that only flourishes with their passion for cooking. Yet life hits her hard when Paula decides to offer Nick the job of head chef, Nick also develops a special bond with Zoe. In the end, Kate allows herself to become vulnerable and tear down the walls she has built throughout her life so that she, the movie concludes with Zoe, Nick, and Kate having opened their own bistro. Make no mistake, No Reservations is a romantic comedy. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated, The movie is focused on two kinds of chemistry, of the kitchen, and of the heart, the kitchen works better, with shots of luscious-looking food, arranged like organic still lifes. Everything in it is designed to make you better, so why does it feel artificial. Without question, Ratatouille deals more profoundly with the personality makeup, No Reservations was released in 2,425 theaters in the US on July 27,2007 and earned $11,704,357 and ranked fifth on its opening weekend. The film eventually grossed $43,107,979 in the US, abigail Breslin was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Young Actress for her performance as Zoe
9.
Nim's Island
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Nims Island is a 2008 American-Australian adventure film directed by written and directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin. It stars Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, and Gerard Butler, the story is based on the childrens story of the same name by Wendy Orr. A young girl, Nim, seeks help from the author of her favorite adventure series when her scientist father goes missing, Nim, though, lives on an island in the South Pacific. The author, Alexandra Rover, is agoraphobic and lives in San Francisco, while Rover attempts to overcome her agoraphobia in order to set out in search of her, Nim tries to overcome her fear of losing her father. In the meantime, a cruise ship company attempts to invade Nims island with uncouth Australian tourists, Nims Island was released on 4 April 2008 by 20th Century Fox. The film received mixed reviews critics and earned $100,076,342 on a $37 million budget. Nim is an 11-year-old girl whose mother, Emily, has died, Nims father, Jack Rusoe, a marine biologist, has told her that Emily was swallowed by a blue whale after it was scared by a ship called The Buccaneer. Nim lives with her father on a South Pacific island and has several animals for company, Selkie the sea lion, Fred the bearded dragon, Chica the sea turtle. Nim, who is fond of Alex Rover adventure books written by Alexandra Rover, the sender, Alex Rover, seems to be the explorer, but is actually Alexandra, a neurotic San Franciscan who constantly imagines that she is speaking to her fictional character Alex Rover. She goes to the island with the volcano, but is injured, Jack suffers a shipwreck in a hurricane, making it impossible for him to communicate with Nim, and does not return as planned. Galileo brings Jack things he needs to fix his ship, Nim explains the situation to Alex, but Alexandra suffers from agoraphobia and never leaves the house or even opens the door. The island is visited by tourists from Brisbane, Australia, whom Nim believes to be pirates, as the tourists approach the island, Nim makes it seem uninhabitable by catapulting lizards to shore. She also makes a fire in the crater of the volcano, by rolling down boulders to simulate an avalanche, she inadvertently triggers an actual eruption. Without revealing herself, she out of the crater just in time as a plume of ash bursts out. Down at the beach the tourists scramble to the boats, one of them, a boy, Edmund, sees and catches up with Nim. He is confused by her presence and she tells him she lives on the island and he tells the others, but they do not believe him. Meanwhile, Alexandra travels to the island to rescue Nim, but she, expecting Alex, Nim later relents and they share a meal. The next day, Nim starts to cry, reasoning that her father would be back by then if he were still alive
10.
Definitely, Maybe
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Definitely, Maybe is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam Brooks, and starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Abigail Breslin, and Kevin Kline. The film grossed $55 million worldwide, 38-year-old father Will Hayes is in the midst of a divorce. After her first sex-ed class, his 10-year-old daughter Maya insists on hearing the story of how her parents met, the story he tells Maya is depicted in flashbacks. From time to time the film back to the present. The story begins in 1992 when Will, a political operative, moves away from Wisconsin and his college sweetheart, Emily, to New York City. Over the years, Will becomes involved with three women who enter his life, including Summer Hartley, an aspiring journalist, and April the copy girl for the campaign. Will and April have a meeting outside work, where Will reveals he is going to propose to Emily. When Will practices his proposal to Emily on April, she is taken aback by Wills wholehearted words, and replies, Definitely, maybe. She has spent years looking through copies of Jane Eyre at secondhand stores hoping to find the copy her father gave her and they kiss, but Will abruptly stops and leaves. Emily comes back to New York where she confesses, just after Will proposes and she did it on purpose to break up with Will, saying that she is letting him go because she does not share his passionate ambitions. After Clinton is elected, Will opens a business with most of his work colleagues. Before Will left Wisconsin, Emily asked Will to deliver a package to her roommate, Summer Hartley. Will first meets Summer when he gives her the package, a diary that she wrote when she was a teenager and he finds she is going out with a famous writer who is old enough to be her father. The writer breaks up with Summer, and Will starts a relationship with her, April quits her job and leaves to travel around the world. When she returns, she plans to tell Will that she loves him, Summer writes an offensive article about one of Wills clients. Will cannot forgive this conflict of interest, and he ends his relationship with Summer, as a result of the article, Will loses his business and his dream of a political career ends, with all of his friends abandoning him. April calls after an absence and finds that Will has a new job. She throws a party for him, reuniting him with his old colleagues
11.
My Sister's Keeper (film)
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My Sisterss Keeper is a 2009 American drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Sofia Vassilieva, and Alec Baldwin. Based on Jodi Picoults novel of the name, On June 26,2009 the film was released to cinemas in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Mexico. Conceived by means of in vitro fertilization, Anna Fitzgerald was brought into the world as a sister at the informal suggestion of Kates doctor. She is a match to her older sister, Kate, who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia, and Anna can therefore donate compatible organs, blood. Her family members are introduced one by one, and each tells about how Kates illness has affected them personally, when Kate turns 15, she goes into renal failure and 11-year old Anna knows that she will be forced by her parents to donate one of her kidneys. She also realizes that she may not be able to live the life she will want to lead – she wont be able play any sports, drink alcohol, or be a mother in the future. Anna tells her parents that she not want to be a donor and proceeds to sue them for medical emancipation. Attorney Campbell Alexander agrees to work for Anna as her guardian ad litem, both Sara and Alexander tell their side of the story to the judge, who had recently lost her young daughter, something Sara inadvertently mentions. To Saras dismay, the judge decides against summary dismissal, the film is interlaced with flashbacks that detail Kate and Annas close relationship, as well as how Kates illness has affected her siblings lives and their relationships. In a flashback, Kate also meets a cancer patient, Taylor Ambrose. After a date, they kiss outside Kates house, with Sara, after this, he becomes her boyfriend in and out of hospital and supports her as she undergoes treatment. He then asks her to the prom for teen patients, there, they slow-dance. A few days later, Kate begins to worry as she has not seen Taylor since the dance, in anger, she reveals to Sara that they did stuff together. Kate subsequently learns that Taylor has died and later attempts suicide by overdosing on painkillers, Kate later expresses hope that after she dies, she will see Taylor wherever she ends up. Kate makes a request to go to the one last time. Brian obtains permission and compassionate encouragement, from Dr. Chance, Brian discharges her from the hospital for the day and takes her and the kids to the beach. When Brian arrives home to pick everyone up, Sara overreacts and demands that Kate be returned to the hospital immediately, Brian angrily refuses and drives off, threatening Sara with a divorce if she does not join them. Sara shows up at the beach, where they enjoy one final family outing and it also emerges that Anna had wanted to give Kate her kidney of her own accord, and had been terribly upset at Kates decision
12.
Zombieland
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Zombieland is a 2009 American comedy horror film directed by Ruben Fleischer and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, the film premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 25,2009 and was theatrically released on October 2,2009 in the United States by Columbia Pictures. Unaffected college student Columbus is making his way from his college dorm in Austin, Texas, to Columbus, Ohio and he encounters Tallahassee, another survivor, who is particularly violent in killing zombies. Though he doesnt appear to be sociable, Tallahassee reluctantly allows Columbus to travel with him, Tallahassee mentions he misses his puppy that was killed by zombies, as well as his affinity for Twinkies, which he actively tries to find. The pair meet Wichita and her younger sister Little Rock in a grocery store, the sisters are con artists, and trick Tallahassee and Columbus into handing over their weapons by pretending that Little Rock was infected by the disease, then steal their Escalade. The two men find a yellow Hummer H2 loaded with weapons and go after the sisters, however, the girls spring another trap for them and take them hostage. Tallahassee steals his gun back and has a stand-off with Wichita, until Columbus lashes out in anger that they have problems to worry about. The sisters reveal that they are going to the Pacific Playland amusement park in Los Angeles, after learning his home town has been destroyed, and his parents likely killed, Columbus decides to accompany the others to California. Along the trip, Columbus persists in trying to impress and woo Wichita, when the group reaches Hollywood, Tallahassee directs them to Bill Murrays mansion. Tallahassee and Wichita meet Murray himself, uninfected but disguised as a zombie so he can walk safely around town, Murray is killed when Columbus shoots him, mistaking him for a real zombie during a practical joke while watching Ghostbusters with Little Rock. Columbus realizes during a game of Monopoly that Tallahassee has not been grieving for his puppy, Wichita becomes increasingly attracted to Columbus, and Tallahassee bonds with Little Rock, with whom he was previously at odds. Despite Wichitas attraction to Columbus, she fears attachment and leaves with Little Rock for Pacific Playland the next morning, Columbus decides to go after Wichita, and convinces Tallahassee to join him. At Pacific Playland, the sisters activate all the rides and lights and begin to enjoy the park, a chase ensues, and just as the sisters are trapped on a drop tower ride called Blast Off, Tallahassee and Columbus arrive. Tallahassee lures the zombies away from the tower, creating a distraction for Columbus to get to the tower ride, Tallahassee eventually locks himself in a game booth, shooting zombies as they arrive. In thanks, Wichita kisses Columbus and reveals her real name, Tallahassee raids a deep fried Twinkies stand in search of his snack. During this, Columbus is startled by the noises of a rat and accidentally shoots at the last remaining box of Twinkies in the pantry, destroying all the cakes, luckily, Little Rock has gotten a Twinkie beforehand and gives it to Tallahassee. The movie ends with the group leaving Pacific Playland as Columbus realizes without relating to people, that you might as well be a zombie, and that he now has what hes always wanted. By the end of the film, his list has thirty-three rules, a series of promotional videos starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg expanded on the list presented in the film
13.
Rango (2011 film)
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Rango is a 2011 American computer-animated Western action comedy film directed by Gore Verbinski, written by John Logan, and produced by Verbinski, Graham King and John B. Rango was a critical and commercial success, and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, in the film, Rango, a chameleon, accidentally ends up in the town of Dirt, an outpost that is in desperate need of a new sheriff. It features the voices of actors Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Bill Nighy, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone, Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Root and Ned Beatty. The film premiered at Westwood on February 14,2011 and was released in the United States on March 4,2011 by Paramount Pictures, the film earned $245.7 million on a $135 million budget. A pet chameleon becomes stranded in the Mojave Desert after his terrarium falls from his owners car by accident and he meets an armadillo named Roadkill who is seeking the mystical Spirit of the West and directs the parched chameleon to find water at a town called Dirt. Using bravado and improvisation to fit in, the chameleon presents himself to the townsfolk as a drifter named Rango. He quickly runs afoul of outlaw Gila monster Bad Bill, Rango is chased by the hawk until he accidentally knocks down an empty water tower which crushes the predator. In response, the mayor, an elderly tortoise named Tortoise John. Meanwhile, the worry that with the hawk dead, the gunslinger Rattlesnake Jake. After discovering Dirts water reserves — stored in the town bank inside a water cooler bottle — to be near empty and that night, however, Rango inadvertently assists a trio of bank robbers, led by a mole named Balthazar, mistaking them for prospectors. The townsfolk find their water bottle stolen the day, so Rango organizes a posse. They discover bank manager Merrimack dead in the desert having somehow drowned despite the lack of water. They fight the clan over the stolen water bottle in a chase through a canyon before discovering the bottle to be empty. Despite the robbers professing they had found it empty, the posse brings them to town for trial, Rango confronts the mayor about his buying of the land around Dirt, who denies any wrongdoing and shows Rango that he is building a modern city with the purchased land. The mayor summons Rattlesnake Jake, who runs Rango out of town after humiliating him, Rango wanders away ashamed and confused about his identity. Finally, he meets the Spirit of the West, whom Rango identifies as the Man with No Name, the Spirit inspires Rango, telling him, No man can walk out on his own story. The mayor, however, forces Rango to surrender by threatening Beans life and he then tries to shoot Jake with Rangos gun, believing that Jake is still part of the Old West that the mayor wants to destroy along with the rest of the town. Impressed, Jake tips his hat to Rango as thanks for saving his life, the citizens of Dirt celebrate the return of the water and recognize Rango as their hero
14.
August: Osage County (film)
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August, Osage County is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written by Tracy Letts and based on his Pulitzer Prize–winning play of the same name, and directed by John Wells. It is produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Jean Doumanian, a modest commercial success, August, Osage County received mixed to positive reviews from critics. While much praise was given to the cast, the screenplay was praised by some and seen by others as too dark, for their performances in the film, Streep and Roberts received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. The title designates time and location, an unusually hot August in an area outside Pawhuska. Shortly after this, he disappears from the house, and Violet calls her sister and her sister Mattie Fae arrives with husband Charles Aiken. Barbara and Bill are separated, but they put up a front for Violet. After five days, the sheriff arrives with the news that Beverly took his out on the lake and has drowned. Youngest daughter Karen arrives with the latest in a string of boyfriends, Steve Huberbrecht, Mattie Fae and Charless shy, awkward son Little Charles misses the funeral because he overslept and is met at the bus station by his father. Charles loves his son, whereas Mattie constantly belittles him, Ivy confides to Barbara that she is in love with her cousin, Little Charles, who plans to move to New York, and she cannot have children because she had a hysterectomy. She feels this is her chance to finally marry. The family sits down to dinner after the funeral, fueled by Violets brutal truth telling and she decides she has had enough of her mothers drug addiction and confiscates all her several kinds of pills. As Little Charles sings Ivy a song he has written for her, Mattie Fae walks in and this exhausts Charless patience with his wifes lack of love and compassion for her son, and he threatens to leave her if she keeps it up. That evening, Steve and Jean are playfully sharing a joint of marijuana, Johnna sees this and, sensing that he intends on molesting her, goes after him with a shovel. Barbara confronts Jean and slaps her and this impels Bill to take Jean back to Colorado, leaving Barbara. Later, Ivy tries to tell her mother about her love for Little Charles, Barbara tries to deflect the admission. Violet tells Ivy Charles is actually her brother, something she knew all along, Ivy leaves and promises to never come back. By this time he had already drowned and this revelation leads Barbara to depart, realizing that her mother has slipped beyond help. Violet is left with only Johnna, Barbara is driving through the plains, stops, gets out of the car, cries then gets back in the car and follows signage showing highways and number of miles to Wichita, Salina and Denver
15.
Comedy horror
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Comedy horror is a literary and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types, black comedy, parody and spoof, the genre almost inevitably crosses over with the black comedy genre. Comedy horror will often use satire on horror cliches as its source of humour or take a story in a different perspective, such as The Cabin in the Woods. Author Bruce G. Hallenbeck cites the short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving as the first great comedy horror story, the story made readers laugh one moment and scream the next, and its premise was based on mischief typically found during the holiday Halloween. Horror and comedy have been associated with each other since the days of horror novels. Shortly after the publication of Frankenstein, comedic parodies appeared, edgar Allan Poe put humor and horror on the same continuum, and many nineteenth century authors used black humor in their horror stories. Contemporary author Robert Bloch called them opposite sides of the same coin, in comedy horror film, gallows humor is a common element. In the era of silent film, the material for early comedy horror films came from stage performances instead of literature. One example, The Ghost Breaker, was based on a 1909 play, in the United States following the trauma of World War I, film audiences sought to see horror on screen but tempered with humor. The pioneering comedy horror film was One Exciting Night, written, directed, and produced by D. W. Griffith, while the film included blackface performances, Griffith also included footage of a hurricane for a climactic storm. As an early experiment, the genres were not well-balanced with horror and comedy. Charles Bramesco of Vulture. com identifies Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein as the first commercially successful horror film. Its success legitimized the genre and established it as commercially viable, List of comedy-horror films List of genres Zombie comedy – a subgenre involving zombies Hallenbeck, Bruce G. Comedy-Horror Films, A Chronological History, 1914–2008. Jefferson, NC, McFarland & Company, Inc, transnational Horror Across Visual Media, Fragmented Bodies. Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies
16.
Scream Queens (2015 TV series)
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Scream Queens is an American comedy horror television series created for Fox by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan and produced by Murphy, Falchuk, Brennan, and Alexis Martin Woodall. The series premiered on September 22,2015, the series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Ryan Murphy Productions, Brad Falchuck Teley-vision, and Prospect Films. The first season takes place at the fictional Wallace University, being produced in New Orleans, one of the sororities, Kappa Kappa Tau, becomes plagued by a serial killer, who uses the universitys Red Devil mascot as a disguise. On January 15,2016, Fox renewed the series for a second season, the first season focuses on the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority at Wallace University, led by Chanel Oberlin and her fellow Chanels #3 and #5, that is threatened by Dean Cathy Munsch. Events reignite a 20-year-old murder mystery, with the reemergence of the killer dressed as the Red Devil mascot. The second season shows Cathy Munsch having started a hospital after leaving the university business and she has taken an acquitted Chanel, Libby, and Sadie under her wing after the real Red Devil killer came clean. While handling different medical cases, Cathy and the Chanels end up encountering a new killer called the Green Meanie. The series will be produced by Murphy, Falchuk, Brennan. The series premiered in September 2015, Murphy has stated that every episode a cast member will be killed off, saying, Its very much like Ten Little Indians. Theres a real tune-in factor because its like, Whos going to be picked off this week, and also who is the killer. Every episode, you get clues as to who the killer is going to be, unlike American Horror Story, which completely reboots, this has some of the continuity in that some of the characters and some of the relationships continue into a new world. The first seasons killer will not be revealed until the final episode, Murphy has announced that the second season will feature three Halloween episodes. Falchuk shared insight on the making of who the killer would be, saying. We talked through what is it — Who is the killer, — so we would always know going forward. In that process, weve had moments where were like, What if instead of this person, then we talk it through, and weve always come back to our original plan. The answer always has to be no, because we know how fans are and they make big charts about who the killer is, and then someone figures it out. I think theres great fun in the whodunnit, but its also, by the end of episode one, somebodys going to figure it out, because thats what people do. I dont think itll take anything away from anything, Falchuk talked at length about the decision making processes as to who will die in each episode, Its harder casting and directing actors you know youre going to have to kill off
17.
Fox Broadcasting Company
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The Fox Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. It is the third largest major network in the world based on total revenues, assets. Launched on October 9,1986 as a competitor to the Big Three television networks, Fox and its affiliated companies operate many entertainment channels in international markets, although these do not necessarily air the same programming as the U. S. network. Most viewers in Canada have access to at least one U. S, the network is named after sister company 20th Century Fox, and indirectly for producer William Fox, who founded one of the movie studios predecessors, Fox Film. Fox is a member of the North American Broadcasters Association and the National Association of Broadcasters, 20th Century Fox had been involved in television production as early as the 1950s, producing several syndicated programs. Following the demise of the DuMont Television Network in August of that year after it became mired in financial problems. 20th Century Fox would also produce original content for the NTA network, KTTV in Los Angeles, KRIV in Houston, WFLD-TV in Chicago, and KRLD-TV in Dallas. In October 1985, 20th Century Fox announced its intentions to form a television network that would compete with ABC, CBS. The plans were to use the combination of the Fox studios, organizational plans for the network were held off until the Metromedia acquisitions cleared regulatory hurdles. Then, in December 1985, Rupert Murdoch agreed to pay $325 million to acquire the remaining equity in TCF Holdings from his original partner, Marvin Davis. These first six stations, then broadcasting to a reach of 22% of the nations households. Except for KDAF, all of the original owned-and-operated stations are part of the Fox network today. Like the core O&O group, Foxs affiliate body consisted of independent stations. The Fox Broadcasting Company launched at 11,00 p. m. Eastern and its inaugural program was a late-night talk show, The Late Show, which was hosted by comedian Joan Rivers. By early 1987, Rivers quit The Late Show after disagreements with the network over the creative direction. The network expanded its programming into prime time on April 5,1987, with Children and the sketch comedy series The Tracey Ullman Show. Fox added one new show per week over the several weeks, with the drama 21 Jump Street. On July 11, the network rolled out its Saturday night schedule with the premiere of the drama series Werewolf
18.
Given name
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A given name is a part of a persons personal name. It identifies a person, and differentiates that person from other members of a group, such as a family or clan. The term given name refers to the fact that the name usually is bestowed upon a person and this contrasts with a surname, which is normally inherited, and shared with other members of the childs immediate family. Given names are used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal situations. In more formal situations the surname is commonly used, unless it is necessary to distinguish between people with the same surname. The idioms on a basis and being on first-name terms allude to the familiarity of addressing another by a given name. The order given name – family name, commonly known as the Western order, is used throughout most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by Western Europe. The order family name – given name, commonly known as the Eastern order, is used in East Asia, as well as in Southern and North-Eastern parts of India. The order given name - fathers family name - mothers family name is used in Spanish-speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. Today the order can also be changed legally in Spain using given name - mothers family name - fathers family name, under the common Western naming convention, people may have one or more forenames. If more than one, there is usually a main forename for everyday use, sometimes however two or more forenames may carry equal weight. There is no particular ordering rule for forenames – often the main forename is at the beginning, a childs given name or names are usually chosen by the parents soon after birth. If a name is not assigned at birth, one may be given at a ceremony, with family. In most jurisdictions, a name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on a birth certificate. In western cultures, people normally retain the same name throughout their lives. However, in some cases names may be changed by petitioning a court of law. People may also change their names when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions, in France, the agency can refer the case to a local judge. Some jurisdictions, like in Sweden, restrict the spelling of names, parents may choose a name because of its meaning
19.
Jews
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The Jews, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites, or Hebrews, of the Ancient Near East. Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, the Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as Hebrews. The worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million prior to World War II, but approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has risen again, and as of 2015 was estimated at 14.3 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank. According to the report, about 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and these numbers include all those who self-identified as Jews in a socio-demographic study or were identified as such by a respondent in the same household. The exact world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure, Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. The modern State of Israel was established as a Jewish state and defines itself as such in its Declaration of Independence and its Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to any Jew who requests it. The English word Jew continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe, according to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe and kingdom derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The Hebrew word for Jew, יְהוּדִי ISO 259-3 Yhudi, is pronounced, with the stress on the syllable, in Israeli Hebrew. The Ladino name is ג׳ודיו, Djudio, ג׳ודיוס, Djudios, Yiddish, ייִד Yid, ייִדן, Yidn. The etymological equivalent is in use in languages, e. g. but derivations of the word Hebrew are also in use to describe a Jew, e. g. in Italian. The German word Jude is pronounced, the corresponding adjective jüdisch is the origin of the word Yiddish, in such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a factual reconstruction for the origin of the Jews is a difficult and complex endeavor. It requires examining at least 3,000 years of ancient human history using documents in vast quantities, as archaeological discovery relies upon researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, the goal is to interpret all of the factual data, focusing on the most consistent theory. In this case, it is complicated by long standing politics and religious, Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacobs son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses, traditionally dated to the 13th century BCE, Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the Patriarchs and of the Exodus story, with it being reframed as constituting the Israelites inspiring national myth narrative. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group
20.
Abigail Adams
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Abigail Adams was the closest advisor and wife of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. John frequently sought the advice of Abigail on many matters, and their letters are filled with discussions on government. Her letters also serve as eyewitness accounts of the American Revolutionary War home front, Abigail Adams was born at the North Parish Congregational Church in Weymouth, Massachusetts, to William Smith and Elizabeth Smith. On her mothers side she was descended from the Quincy family, through her mother she was a cousin of Dorothy Quincy, wife of John Hancock. Adams was also the great-granddaughter of John Norton, founding pastor of Old Ship Church in Hingham, Massachusetts, the only remaining 17th-century Puritan meetinghouse in Massachusetts. Smith married Elizabeth Quincy in 1742, and together they had four children and their only son, born in 1746, died of alcoholism in 1787. As with several of her ancestors, Adamss father was a liberal Congregationalist minister, Smith did not focus his preaching on predestination or original sin, instead he emphasized the importance of reason and morality. In July 1775 his wife Elizabeth, with whom he had married for 33 years. In 1784, at age 77, Smith died, Abigail did not receive formal schooling, she was frequently sick as child, which may have been a factor which prevented her from receiving an education. Later in life, Adams would also consider that she was deprived an education because females were given such an opportunity. Her grandmother, Elizabeth Quincy, also contributed to Adams education, as she grew up, Adams read with friends in an effort to further her learning. As an intellectually open-minded woman for her day, Adams ideas on womens rights and government would play a major role, albeit indirectly. She became one of the most erudite women ever to serve as First Lady, as third cousins, Abigail and John had known each other since they were children. In 1762, John accompanied his friend Richard Cranch to the Smith household, Cranch was engaged to Adams older sister, Mary, and they would be the parents of federal judge William Cranch. John was quickly attracted to the petite, shy, 17-year-old brunette who was bent over some book. He was surprised to learn she knew so much poetry, philosophy. Smith, Abigails father, presided over the marriage of John Adams, after the reception, the couple mounted a single horse and rode off to their new home, the small cottage and farm John had inherited from his father in Braintree, Massachusetts. Later they moved to Boston, where his law practice expanded, the couple welcomed their first child nine months into their marriage
21.
First Lady of the United States
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First Lady of the United States is the informal but accepted title held by the wife of the President of the United States, concurrent with the presidents term of office. Although the first lady’s role has never been codified or officially defined, melania Trump is the current First Lady. While the title was not in use until much later, Martha Washington, the wife of George Washington. During her lifetime she was referred to as Lady Washington. Since the 1790s the role of first lady has changed considerably and it has come to include involvement in political campaigns, management of the White House, championship of social causes, and representation of the president at official and ceremonial occasions. Additionally, over the individual first ladies have held influence in a range of sectors. Historically, should a president be unmarried, or a widower, the use of the title First Lady to describe the spouse or hostess of an executive began in the United States. In the early days of the republic, there was not a generally accepted title for the wife of the president. Indulging in no indolence, she left the pillow at dawn, sometime after 1849, the title began being used in Washington, D. C. social circles. The title first gained recognition in 1877, when newspaper journalist Mary C. Ames referred to Lucy Webb Hayes as the First Lady of the Land while reporting on the inauguration of Rutherford B, the frequent reporting on Lucy Hayes activities helped spread use of the title outside Washington. A popular 1911 comedic play about Dolley Madison by playwright Charles Nirdlinger, titled The First Lady in the Land, by the 1930s, it was in wide use. Use of the later spread from the United States to other nations. The wife of the Vice President of the United States is sometimes referred to as the Second Lady of the United States, the position of the First Lady is not an elected one and carries only ceremonial duties. Nonetheless, first ladies have held a highly visible position in American society, the role of the First Lady has evolved over the centuries. She is, first and foremost, the hostess of the White House and she organizes and attends official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the president. Lisa Burns identifies four main themes of the first ladyship, as public woman, as political celebrity, as political activist. Martha Washington created the role and hosted many affairs of state at the national capital and this socializing became known as the Republican Court and provided elite women with an opportunity to play backstage political role
22.
Toys "R" Us
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Toys R Us, Inc. is an American toy and juvenile-products retailer founded in 1948 and headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, in the New York City metropolitan area. The companys brands include Toys R Us, and Babies R Us and it also operates e-commerce sites including ToysRUs. com and BabiesRUs. com. Charles P. Lazarus founded Childrens Supermart in Washington, D. C. during the baby boom era in 1948 as a baby-furniture retailer. Its first location was at 2461 18th St. NW, where the nightclub Madams Organ Blues Bar is located, Lazarus began receiving requests from customers for baby toys. After adding baby toys, he got requests for toys for older children, the focus of the store changed in 1957, and Toys R Us was born in Rockville, Maryland. The original Toys R Us store design from 1969 to 1989 consisted of vertical rainbow stripes and a brown roof with a front entrance and side exit. Since the rise of mass merchants like Walmart, Target and Amazon, however, Toys R Us has lost much of its share of the toy market, to improve the company, the board of directors installed John Eyler. Eyler launched an unsuccessful, expensive plan to remodel and re-launch the chain, blaming market pressures, Toys R Us considered splitting its toy and baby businesses. On July 21,2005, a consortium of Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Vornado Realty Trust invested $1.3 billion to complete a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout of the company. Public stock closed for the last time at $26. 74—pennies from the 68-week high, Toys R Us is now a privately owned entity. However, the company still files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, formerly known as Dr. G. Raffe, the companys mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe made his debut during 1957 in print advertisements for Childrens Bargain Town. During 1969, when Childrens Bargain Town became Toys R Us, Dr. G. Raffe was renamed Geoffrey, kids R Us was a childrens clothing retailer. Their first locations opened in 1983 in Paramus, New Jersey and Brooklyn, Babies R Us operates as a specialty baby products retailer and has grown to approximately 260 locations in the United States. The stores offers an assortment of products for newborns, infants, the company continues to grow internationally, and made its most recent entry into a new market in October 2011 when it opened its first licensed location in Poland. In 2006, Toys R Us purchased remaining shares of Toys R Us, Japan from McDonalds Holdings Co. increasing its ownership from approximately 62% to slightly over 90%. In May 2006, Toys R Us, Inc. acquired toy retailer FAO Schwarz including the flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, as well as its e-commerce site. Toys R Us closed the FAO Schwarz flagship store in New York on July 15,2015 citing rising rental costs, for the 2009 holiday-shopping season, Toys R Us tried a smaller-store concept to attract customers and 90 Holiday Express stores across the United States and Canada were opened. Most of these 90 stores were opened in shopping-center and mall spaces that had been vacated by store chains closing their doors during the recession and these stores are known as Toys R Us Express
23.
M. Night Shyamalan
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Manoj M. Night Shyamalan is an Indian-American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots and surprise endings. His other films include The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender and he is also known for producing Devil, as well as being instrumental in the creation of the Fox science fiction series Wayward Pines. Shyamalan is also known for filming and setting his films in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was raised, most of his commercially successful films were co-produced and released by the Walt Disney Studios Touchstone and Hollywood film imprints. In 2008, Shyamalan was awarded the Padma Shri by the government of India, Shyamalan was born in Mahé, a town in the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. The son of Indian parents, his father, Nelliate C, Shyamalan, is a Malayali from Mahé and graduated with a medical degree from JIPMER, while his mother, Jayalakshmi, is a Tamil Indian who is an obstetrician and gynecologist by profession. Shyamalan spent his first six weeks in Puducherry, and then was raised in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania and he attended the private Roman Catholic grammar school Waldron Mercy Academy, followed by the Episcopal Academy, a private Episcopal high school located at the time in Merion, Pennsylvania. Shyamalan earned the New York University Merit Scholarship in 1988, Shyamalan is an alumnus of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, in Manhattan, graduating in 1992. It was while studying there that he adopted Night as his second name, Shyamalan had an early desire to be a filmmaker when he was given a Super 8 camera at a young age. Though his father wanted him to follow in the practice of medicine. By the time he was seventeen, the Steven Spielberg fan had made forty-five home movies, on each DVD release of his films, he has included a scene from one of these childhood movies, which he feels represents his first attempt at the same kind of film. Shyamalan made his first film, the semi-autobiographical drama Praying with Anger, while still a student at NYU, using money borrowed from family and he wrote and directed his second movie, Wide Awake. His parents were the associate producers. The drama dealt with a ten-year-old Catholic schoolboy who, after the death of his grandfather, the films supporting cast included Dana Delany and Denis Leary as the boys parents, as well as Rosie ODonnell, Julia Stiles, and Camryn Manheim. Wide Awake was filmed in a school Shyamalan attended as a child and earned 1999 Young Artist Award nominations for Best Drama, only in limited release, the film grossed $305,704 in theaters, against a $6 million budget. That same year Shyamalan co-wrote the screenplay for Stuart Little with Greg Brooker, in 2013, he revealed he was the ghostwriter for the 1999 film Shes All That, a teen comedy starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachel Leigh Cook. However, this statement has come into question as the screenwriter for the film. In July 2000, on The Howard Stern Show, Shyamalan said he had met with Steven Spielberg and was in talks to write the script for the fourth Indiana Jones film. This would have given Shyamalan a chance to work with his longtime idol, after the film fell through, Shyamalan later said it was too tricky to arrange and not the right thing for him to do
24.
Mel Gibson
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Mel Colmcille Gerard Gibson AO is an American actor and filmmaker. He was born in Peekskill, New York, and moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia and he studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art. During the 1980s, he founded Icon Entertainment, a company which independent film director Atom Egoyan has called. Director Peter Weir cast him as one of the leads in the critically acclaimed World War I drama Gallipoli, the film also helped to earn Gibson the reputation of a serious, versatile actor. He later directed and produced the successful and controversial, biblical drama film The Passion of the Christ. He received further critical notice for his work of the action-adventure film Apocalypto. Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of eleven children, and the son of Hutton Gibson, a writer. One of Gibsons younger brothers, Donal, is also an actor, because of his mother, Gibson retains dual Irish and American citizenship. Mel was twelve years old at the time, Gibson was educated by members of the Congregation of Christian Brothers at St Leos Catholic College in Wahroonga, New South Wales, during his high school years. Gibson gained very favorable notices from critics when he first entered the cinematic scene. In 1982, Vincent Canby wrote that Mr. Gibson recalls the young Steve McQueen, I cant define star quality, but whatever it is, Mr. Gibson has it. Gibson has also likened to a combination Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart. Gibsons roles in the Mad Max series of films, Peter Weirs Gallipoli, later, Gibson expanded into a variety of acting projects including human dramas such as Hamlet, and comedic roles such as those in Maverick and What Women Want. He expanded beyond acting into directing and producing, with, The Man Without a Face, in 1993, Braveheart, in 1995, The Passion of the Christ, in 2004, jess Cagle of Time compared Gibson with Cary Grant, Sean Connery, and Robert Redford. Connery once suggested Gibson should play the next James Bond to Connerys M. Gibson turned down the role, Gibson studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. The students at NIDA were classically trained in the British-theater tradition rather than in preparation for screen acting. As students, Gibson and actress Judy Davis played the leads in Romeo and Juliet, and Gibson played the role of Queen Titania in an experimental production of A Midsummer Nights Dream. After graduation in 1977, Gibson immediately began work on the filming of Mad Max, but continued to work as a stage actor, and joined the State Theatre Company of South Australia in Adelaide
25.
Newsweek
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Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine founded in 1933. It was published in four English language editions and 12 global editions written in the language of the circulation region, between 2008 and 2012, Newsweek underwent internal and external contractions designed to shift the magazines focus and audience while improving its finances. Instead, losses accelerated, revenue dropped 38 percent from 2007 to 2009, in November 2010, Newsweek merged with the news and opinion website The Daily Beast, forming The Newsweek Daily Beast Company, after negotiations between the owners of the two publications. Tina Brown, The Daily Beasts editor-in-chief, served as the editor of both publications, Newsweek was jointly owned by the estate of the late Harman and the diversified American media and Internet company IAC. Newsweek ceased print publication with the December 31,2012, issue and transitioned to an all-digital format, IBT Media relaunched a print edition of Newsweek on March 7,2014. In 2003, worldwide circulation was more than 4 million, including 2.7 million in the U. S, Newsweek publishes editions in Japanese, Korean, Polish, Spanish, Rioplatense Spanish, Arabic, and Turkish, as well as an English language Newsweek International. Russian Newsweek, published since 2004, was shut in October 2010, the Bulletin incorporated an international news section from Newsweek. Based in New York City, the magazine claimed 22 bureaus in 2011, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago/Detroit, Dallas, Miami, Washington, D. C. Boston and San Francisco, and others overseas in London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, South Asia, Cape Town, Mexico City and Buenos Aires. News-Week was launched in 1933 by Thomas J. C. Martyn and he obtained financial backing from a group of U. S. stockholders which included Ward Cheney, of the Cheney silk family, John Hay Whitney, and Paul Mellon, son of Andrew W. Mellon. Paul Mellons ownership in Newsweek apparently represented the first attempt of the Mellon family to function journalistically on a national scale, the group of original owners invested around $2.5 million. Other large stockholders prior to 1946 were public utilities investment banker Stanley Childs, journalist Samuel T. Williamson served as the first editor-in-chief of Newsweek. The first issue of the magazine was dated 17 February 1933, seven photographs from the weeks news were printed on the first issues cover. In 1937 News-Week merged with the weekly journal Today, which had founded in 1932 by future New York Governor and diplomat W. Averell Harriman. In 1937 Malcolm Muir took over as president and editor-in-chief and he changed the name to Newsweek, emphasized interpretive stories, introduced signed columns, and launched international editions. Over time the magazine developed a spectrum of material, from breaking stories and analysis to reviews. The magazine was purchased by The Washington Post Company in 1961, osborn Elliott was named editor of Newsweek in 1961 and became the editor in chief in 1969. The women won, and Newsweek agreed to allow women to be reporters, edward Kosner became editor from 1975 to 1979 after directing the magazine’s extensive coverage of the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974
26.
Rory Culkin
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Rory Hugh Culkin is an American actor who is known for his roles in Scream 4, You Can Count on Me and M. Night Shyamalans Signs and is the younger brother of actors Macaulay Culkin and Kieran Culkin. Culkin was born in New York City, the son of Patricia Brentrup and Christopher Kit Culkin, Culkin is the youngest of seven children, he has four brothers, Shane, Macaulay, Kieran, and Christian, and two sisters, Dakota and Quinn. Culkin is the nephew of actress Bonnie Bedelia, who is his fathers sister, Culkin began acting by playing alongside his elder brothers, among them Macaulay and Kieran, often as the younger versions of their characters. He first appeared in a photograph as a baby in The Good Son, then as Young Richie in Ri¢hie Ri¢h, culkins breakthrough role was in You Can Count On Me, opposite Laura Linney, a role for which he received much praise and a Young Artist Award. Since then, Culkin has appeared in films, Signs being the most famous, in which he starred alongside Mel Gibson. As a teenager, Rory started moving into more independent films, such as The Chumscrubber, Hick and he took a leading role in Mean Creek, a 2004 independent film about a group of teenagers that plan to get revenge on a bully. The entire youth cast won an Independent Spirit Award for this film, since his Young Artist Award win for You Can Count on Me, Culkin has received three more nominations. He also had a guest role in the Law & Order, Special Victims Unit episode Manic, in May 2010, Culkin was cast for the slasher film Scream 4, which was released on April 15,2011. 2016 Sneaky Pete Rory Culkin at the Internet Movie Database
27.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
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The Princess Diaries 2, Royal Engagement is a 2004 American romantic comedy film and the sequel to 2001s The Princess Diaries. Unlike the first film, this film is not based on any of the books, most of the cast returned from the first film, including Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Héctor Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, and Larry Miller. Garry Marshall returned to direct and Debra Martin Chase to produce, new characters include Viscount Mabrey, Lord Nicholas Devereaux, and Andrew Jacoby. Despite generally negative reviews critics, the film had a worldwide box office of $122 million. There, she will await her reign once her grandmother, Queen Clarisse, during Mias 21st birthday party, she dances with all the eligible bachelors in hope of finding a husband. She becomes attracted to a gentleman named Nicholas. During the course of the night, Mias tiara falls off and is caught by a Member of Parliament, Viscount Mabrey who secretly plans to steal Mias crown. While the Parliament is in-session the next morning, Mia stumbles upon a room that allows her to secretly listen in. Viscount Mabrey reveals his nephew, Lord Devereaux, is heir to the Genovian throne. Despite Queen Clarisses objection, the only way Mia can assume her duties as Queen is if she marries within the month, Clarisse invites Lord Devereaux to stay at the palace, while Mia is shocked to discover Lord Devereaux is Nicholas. Mias best friend Lilly Moscovitz surprises her by visiting, together, they pick through potential husbands. Mia eventually chooses Andrew Jacoby, Duke of Kenilworth and days later they are engaged, Mabrey plans to have Nicholas woo Mia and dissolve the engagement. For a ceremony, Mia is to ride sidesaddle but does not know how, Queen Clarisse provides an ancestral wooden leg decoy to make it look like shes riding sidesaddle. Mabrey spooks Mias horse with a snake and Joe rushes to Mias aide. Humiliated, Mia flees to the stables, where Nicholas fails to comfort her, at a garden party, Mia and Nicholas quarrel about Mias relationship with Andrew, Nicholas tricks Mia into admitting she doesnt love him. Angered, she argues but instead gets bombarded by a kiss, at first, she kisses him back but then backs away. Nicholas pursues her even more, which both of them to fall into a fountain. Queen Clarisse finally tells Mia that her behavior with Nicholas needs to stop, during the Genovian Independence Day parade, Mia sees some boys picking on a little girl, and abruptly halts the parade to comfort the girl
28.
Keane (film)
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Keane is a 2004 American drama film written and directed by Lodge Kerrigan. After spending the night wandering the streets and sleeping along the side of the highway, he returns to the hotel where he is living. The desk clerk tells him his payment is in arrears, and he goes to a nightclub and snorts coke with a woman named Michelle, then has sex in a bathroom stall with her. Back at his motel, Keane meets Lynn Bedik and her daughter Kira, Lynn clearly is having financial difficulties, and he insists she take the $100 he offers her. She asks Keane to watch Kira for a few hours, then calls the motel, Keane reassures a despondent Kira, who fears Lynn has abandoned her, that her mother loves her and will be back. The following day, Keane takes Kira to an indoor skating rink. While they are playing skee ball in the adjacent arcade, Keane believes he is being watched by another patron, Kira manages to calm him and they return to the motel. When Lynn arrives later, she explains she was with Kiras father Eric, who has arranged for them to move to Albany, New York, there he sends her to buy candies, as his daughter had done several months earlier, just minutes before she was abducted. He cries for his losses and decides to really get her to her mother, Kira tells him she loves him and he says he loves her too. I realized, how in just four minutes, four minutes and your life could be changed forever and there would be no way to recover from it. I knew that kind of visceral feeling would be a starting point. The result was In Gods Hands, produced by Steven Soderbergh and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, the film never was released due to irreversible negative damage. With nothing left of his film to salvage, Kerrigan began researching and writing a new project that became Keane and it was exhilarating, working with that kind of energy. I also wrote a lot of the film there as well, I would go and play out a scene and try to act it out. To some degree try to find the emotions, by recreating, beat by beat, his mindset and it all goes back to location. When you are working in the area, you can answer all of the questions that would arise with much more immediacy. The film was shot with a camera with single takes lasting up to four minutes with no cutaways. It contains long periods of little or no dialogue and has no musical score
29.
Damian Lewis
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Damian Watcyn Lewis, OBE is an English actor and producer. His performance as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall earned him his third Primetime Emmy nomination, Lewis was born in St Johns Wood, London, the elder son of Charlotte Mary and John Watcyn Lewis, a City insurance broker with Lloyds. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Sir Ian Bowater and his maternal grandmothers ancestors include Lord Dawson of Penn and he has stated that he went to English boarding schools and grew up around people very much like Soames and in a milieu very much like the Forsytes. As a child, Lewis made several visits to the U. S. to visit relatives during his summers and he first decided to become an actor at age 16. He was educated at the independent Ashdown House School in Forest Row, East Sussex and he graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993, after which he served as a stage actor for the Royal Shakespeare Company. During his time with the RSC, he played Borgheim in Adrian Nobles production of Henrik Ibsens Little Eyolf and he also starred in another of Ibsens plays, as Karsten Bernick in Pillars of the Community at the National Theatre in November 2005. Lewis once worked as a telemarketer selling car alarms, a job he detested and he appeared in Robinson Crusoe as Patrick Conner. He appeared in Jonathan Kents production of Hamlet, playing Laertes and this production was seen by Steven Spielberg, who later cast Lewis as Richard Winters in Band of Brothers, the first role of several that required him to have a credible American accent. Subsequently, Lewis portrayed Soames Forsyte in the ITV series The Forsyte Saga and he returned to the US to star in Dreamcatcher, a Stephen King film about a man who becomes possessed by an evil alien. The character is American but when possessed he takes on a British accent, on the heels of this role, he starred in Keane as a Manhattanite with a fragile mental state who is searching for his missing daughter. Despite the films poor performance, the role won Lewis rave reviews. He played Jeffrey Archer in the TV special Jeffrey Archer, The Truth, since 2004, he has appeared in a number of films, as well as the 2005 BBC TV adaptation of Shakespeares comedy Much Ado About Nothing, as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told season. Lewis played the role of Yassen Gregorovich in the film Stormbreaker, in 2006, he appeared in Stephen Poliakoffs BBC drama Friends and Crocodiles. He has appeared on BBCs Have I Got News for You as guest host several times, in 2008, Lewis starred as the main character Charlie Crews in the US television series Life on NBC. The show premiered in the U. S. on 26 September 2007 and was affected by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, only half of the first seasons shows were produced. Regardless, the show won a 2008 AFI Award for best television series, Lewis appeared, the following year, in the lead role in The Baker, a film directed by his brother, Gareth. Damian took a role of Rizza in The Escapist, which he also helped produce. He led the cast in Martin Crimps version of Molières comedy, The Misanthrope, other cast members included Tara Fitzgerald, Keira Knightley and Dominic Rowan
30.
The New York Sun
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The New York Sun was a politically conservative weekday daily newspaper published in Manhattan from 2002 to 2008. Since 2009 The Sun has operated as a publisher of political and economic opinion pieces. The Sun was founded by a group of investors including publishing magnate Conrad Black, the goal was to provide an alternative to The New York Times, featuring front page news about local and state events, in contrast to the emphasis on national and international news by the Times. The Sun began business operations, prior to first publication, in October 2001, the newspapers president and editor-in-chief was Seth Lipsky, former editor of The Jewish Daily Forward. Managing editor Ira Stoll also served as company vice-president, Stoll had been a longtime critic of the Times in his media watchdog blog smartertimes. com. When smartertimes. com became defunct, its Web traffic was redirected to The Sun web site, published from the Cary Building in Lower Manhattan, it ceased print publication on September 30,2008. Its web site resumed activity on April 28,2009, but only contains a subset of the original content of the paper. The papers motto, which it shared with its predecessor and namesake, was It Shines For All, editor-in-chief Lipsky said that the papers prominent op-ed page would champion limited government, individual liberty, constitutional fundamentals, equality under the law, economic growth. Standards in literature and culture, education, another goal, said Lipsky, was to seize the local beat from which The New York Times was retreating as it sought to become a national newspaper. Stoll characterized The Suns political orientation as right-of-center, and an associate of Conrad Black predicted in 2002 that the paper would be neoconservative in its outlook. The Suns columnists included prominent conservative and neoconservative pundits, including William F. Buckley, Jr. Michael Barone, Daniel Pipes, the Sun supported President George W. Bush and his decision to launch the Iraq War in 2003. The Sun established a niche for itself foremost in New York. The paper also scored more scoops than would be expected for its size, shepard, dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, said that its effective coverage of local news earned it a place in the New York media world. Accordingly, it was known as a place for young, ambitious. In the same article, Mark Malloch Brown, Kofi Annans chief of staff at the United Nations, according to Sherman, Brown accepts that the papers obsession with the UN translates into influence. He admitted the Sun does punch way above its circulation number and he goes on to say, Clearly amongst its minuscule circulation were a significant number of diplomats. And so it did at times act as some kind of rebel house paper inside the UN and it fed the gossip mills and what was said in the cafeterias. Browns insult was in the context of the Suns reporting of the UNs central role in the Saddam Hussein Oil-for-Food scandal
31.
Greg Kinnear
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Gregory Buck Greg Kinnear is an American actor and television personality. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets, Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, to Suzanne, a homemaker, and Edward Kinnear, a career diplomat who worked for the US State Department. He has two brothers, James and Steven and he grew up a Foreign Service brat, having moved around frequently, from Beirut to Athens. While a student at the American Community Schools in Athens, Kinnear first ventured into the role of talk show host with his radio show School Daze With Greg Kinnear. Returning to the United States for an education, he attended the University of Arizona. While there, he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Kinnear hosted a short-lived game show, College Mad House, which was spun off from the kids show Fun House. He became the creator, co-executive producer and host of Best of the Worst, the show was canceled thanks to Rooster Teeths Burnie Burns. In 1991, Kinnear became the first host of Talk Soup, which he hosted until 1995, after his film debut, Blankman, Kinnear won the part of David Larrabee in Sydney Pollacks 1995 remake of Billy Wilders 1954 classic Sabrina. He played the role in the 1996 comedy Dear God. In 1997, he was cast in James L. Brooks comedy-drama, As Good as It Gets and he also starred in, A Smile Like Yours with Lauren Holly, as part of a couple trying to have a baby. His next film was the popular Youve Got Mail, as Kathleens significant other, other films are Mystery Men, Nurse Betty, Loser, The Gift and Someone Like You. Kinnear starred in Auto Focus about the life and murder of actor Bob Crane in 2002, in 2005, he starred in the black comedy The Matador with Pierce Brosnan and voiced Phineas T. Ratchet in the computer-animated film Robots. He also appeared in Fast Food Nation, playing a fast food executive who discovers secrets about his company, in 2008, he starred in Flash of Genius, a docudrama about Robert Kearns who invented the intermittent windshield wiper. His portrayal of then-Major Bruce P. Crandall in 2002s We Were Soldiers brought public attention to Crandalls heroism during the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang, in Baby Mama Kinnear played Rob, a local smoothie shop owner and the romantic interest of Kate. In 2010, he starred as the father of Miley Cyrus character in The Last Song. In 2011, Kinnear starred in the miniseries The Kennedys playing the role as John F. Kennedy. It was originally planned to air on the History Channel, however and it was subsequently picked up by ReelzChannel and then first aired on April 3,2011. Kinnear played a famous novelist in the Josh Boones directorial debut film, Stuck in Love, Kinnear married British glamour model Helen Labdon on May 1,1999
32.
Alan Arkin
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Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician, and singer. He has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor twice for his performances in The Russians Are Coming and he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine and received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in Argo. Arkin was born Alan Wolf Arkin in Brooklyn, New York City] on March 26,1934, Arkin, a painter and writer, and his wife, Beatrice, a teacher. He was raised in a Jewish family with no emphasis on religion and his grandparents were immigrants from Ukraine, Russia, and Germany. His parents moved to Los Angeles when Alan was 11, during the 1950s Red Scare, Arkins parents were accused of being Communists, and his father was fired when he refused to answer questions about his political ideology. David Arkin challenged the dismissal, but he was vindicated only after his death, Arkin attended Los Angeles City College from 1951 to 1953. With two friends, he formed the music group The Tarriers, in which Arkin sang. It reached #4 on the Billboard magazine chart the year as Harry Belafontes better-known hit version. The group appeared in the 1957 Calypso-exploitation film Calypso Heat Wave, singing Banana Boat Song, from 1958 to 1968, Arkin performed and recorded with the childrens folk group, The Baby Sitters. He also performed the role of Dr. Pangloss in a staging of Leonard Bernsteins operetta Candide, alongside Madeline Kahns Cunegonde. Arkin was an member of the Second City comedy troupe in the 1960s. Arkin is one of six actors to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his first screen appearance. Two years later, he was nominated, for The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. In 1968, he appeared in the role of Inspector Clouseau after Peter Sellers disassociated himself from the role. His portrayal of Dr. Oatman, a scared and emotionally conflicted psychiatrist treating John Cusacks hit man character Martin Q, Blank in Grosse Point Blank was also well received. At 72 years old, Arkin was the sixth oldest winner of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, on Broadway, Arkin starred in Enter Laughing and Luv. He also directed The Sunshine Boys, among others, in 1969, Arkins directorial debut was a 12-minute childrens film titled People Soup, starring his sons Adam and Matthew Arkin. His most acclaimed directorial effort is Little Murders, released in 1971, the film opened to a lukewarm review by Roger Greenspan, and a more positive one by Vincent Canby in the New York Times
33.
USA Today
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USA Today is an internationally distributed American daily middle-market newspaper that serves as the flagship publication of its owner, the Gannett Company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15,1982, it operates from Gannetts corporate headquarters on Jones Branch Drive in McLean, Virginia and it is printed at 37 sites across the United States and at five additional sites internationally. USA Today is distributed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, with an international edition distributed in Canada, Asia and the Pacific Islands, Gannett formally announced the launch of the paper on April 20,1982. USA Today began publishing on September 15,1982, initially launching in the Baltimore and Washington, on July 2,1984, the newspaper switched from a largely black-and-white to a color publication, featuring full color photography and graphics in all four sections. On April 8,1985, the paper published its first special bonus section, a 12-page section called Baseball 85, on May 6,1986, USA Today began printing production of its international edition in Switzerland. On April 15, USA Today launched an international printing site. On August 28,1995, an international publishing site was launched in Frankfurt, Germany, to print. On October 4,1999, USA Today began running advertisements on its front page for the first time. The paper launched a sixth printing site for its international edition on May 15,2000, in Milan, Italy, followed on July 10 by the launch of a printing facility in Charleroi. That November, USA Today migrated its operations from Gannetts previous corporate headquarters in Arlington, in 2010, USA Today launched the USA Today API for sharing data with partners of all types. On August 27,2010, USA Today announced that it would undergo a reorganization of its newsroom and it also announced that the paper would shift its focus away from print and place more emphasis on its digital platforms and launch of a new publication called USA Today Sports. On September 14,2012, USA Today underwent the first major redesign in its history, to accomplish this goal, Gannett migrated its newspaper and television station websites to the Presto platform and the USA Today site design throughout 2013 and 2014. On January 4,2014, USA Today acquired the book and film review website, on September 3,2014, USA Today announced that it would lay off roughly 70 employees in a restructuring of its newsroom and business operations. In October 2014, USA Today and OpenWager Inc. entered into a partnership to release a Bingo app called USA TODAY Bingo Cruise, USA Today is known for synthesizing news down to easy-to-read-and-comprehend stories. In the main edition circulated in the United States and some Canadian cities, each consists of four sections, News, Money, Sports. The international edition of the paper features two sections, News and Money in one, with Sports and Life in the other, atypical of most daily newspapers, the paper does not print on Saturdays and Sundays, the Friday edition serves as the weekend edition. USA Today prints each complete story on the front page of the section with the exception of the cover story. The cover story is a story that requires a jump
34.
Screen Actors Guild Award
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The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called The Actor. It is 16 inches tall, weighs over 12 pounds, is cast in solid bronze, SAG Awards have been one of the major awards events in Hollywood since 1995. It is considered an indicator of success at the Academy Awards, the awards have been telecast since 1998 on TNT, and since 2007 have been simulcast on TBS. The inaugural SAG Awards aired live on February 25,1995 from Universal Studios Stage 12, the second SAG awards aired live from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, while subsequent awards have been held at the Shrine Exposition Center
35.
Jennifer Hudson
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Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American singer, actress and spokesperson. She rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the season of American Idol. She has also appeared in films as Sex and the City, The Secret Life of Bees. She has made television appearances, including guest roles on Smash, Empire. In 2015 she made her Broadway debut in the role of Shug Avery in the 2015 revival of The Color Purple, as a singer, Hudson has released three studio albums. Her debut album Jennifer Hudson, released in 2008, debuted at two on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA, with sales exceeding a million copies worldwide. The record was nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning the 2009 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album and her second album I Remember Me, released in 2011, also debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA. Her third and most recent album JHUD peaked in the top ten, in October 2008, after Hudsons mother, brother and nephew were killed in a shooting, Hudson stepped out of the public eye for three months. Hudson resumed her appearances in 2009, with high-profile performances at Super Bowl XLIII, the Grammy Awards, American Idol. Hudson has been described as a friend of former President Barack Obama and she also performed at the White House at the Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement event. In 2013, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in 2016, Hudson was announced as a coach on the 2017 Series of The Voice UK. Hudson was born on September 12,1981, in Chicago and she is the third and youngest child of Darnell Donnerson and Samuel Simpson. She was raised as a Baptist in Englewood and attended Dunbar Vocational High School and she cites Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Patti LaBelle as her overall biggest influences and inspiration. At the age of 7, she got her start in performing by singing with the choir and doing community theater with the help of her late maternal grandmother. She enrolled at Langston University but she left after a due to homesickness and unhappiness with the weather. In January 2002, Hudson signed her first recording contract with Righteous Records and she was released from her five-year contract with Righteous Records so that she could appear on American Idol in 2004. The bottom three consisting of three African-American females led to controversy, in May 2009, MTV listed Hudson as the sixth greatest American Idol and noted her exit was the most shocking of all time. In one of her first appearances on a record, Hudson is featured in a duet, The Future Aint What It Used to Be, on Meat Loafs Bat Out of Hell III, The Monster Is Loose
36.
Jaden Smith
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Jaden Christopher Syre Smith is an American actor and rapper. He is the son of Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, Jaden Smiths first movie role was with his father in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness. He also acted in the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still and he was also in the 2013 film After Earth with his father. Smith was born July 8,1998 in Malibu, California and he has an older half-brother, Trey Smith, and a younger sister, Willow Smith. Smith and his siblings are youth ambassadors for Project Zambi, which assistance in conjunction with Hasbro for Zambian children orphaned by AIDS. Smith made his role debut in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness as Christopher. For his role, Smith won the award for Breakthrough Performance at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, Smith next appeared as Jacob in the 2008 Scott Derrickson science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, a remake of the 1951 classic of the same name. In 2010, along with Jackie Chan, Smith starred in The Karate Kid, in May 2013, Will Smith and Jaden starred together, playing father and son, in After Earth. In 2014, it was announced that Smith will return for the sequel Karate Kid 2 with Jackie Chan, the movie will be directed by Breck Eisner, produced by James Lassiter and Will Smith and written by Zak Penn. Smith rapped alongside Canadian singer Justin Bieber in the song Never Say Never, on October 1,2012, Jaden released his first mixtape, The Cool Cafe. Smith started his own brand called MSFTSrep. The clothes range from hoodies and T-shirts to trousers and vests, in May 2013 Smith collaborated with a Korean designer, Choi Bum Suk, to create a pop-up store in which customers can buy clothes with their collaborated logos. In April 2014, Smith was cast in the film The Good Lord Bird, Smith plays Henry Shackleford, a young slave living in Kansas Territory in 1857 who encounters abolitionist John Brown. Smith was in a relationship with Stella Hudgens, the sister of actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens. Smiths father, Will, revealed that his son sought a ruling, with the consent of his parents. From the time Jaden was five or six we would sit him down, however, Smith and his father appeared together on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 15,2013, and Smith said, The thing that people dont get is everything at his house is free. So I can get anything and everything at his house, so Im going to be there for 20,30 more years and he says that as soon as I have a movie thats bigger than one of his movies I can get my own house. A November 2013 media report indicated that Smith was dating reality television personality, Jenner wrote in social media in July 2013, Although we cant remember exactly when we met, I couldnt be more grateful that we did
37.
79th Academy Awards
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During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Laura Ziskin, Actress Ellen DeGeneres hosted for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California held on February 10, the Departed won four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Martin Scorsese. The telecast garnered nearly 40 million viewers in the United States, dreamgirls received the most nominations with eight, and Babel came in second with seven. This marked the first and only occurrence that the film with the most nominations was not a Best Picture nominee, the winners were announced during the awards ceremony on February 25,2007. With his latest unsuccessful nomination for Best Actor, Peter OToole became the most nominated performer without a competitive win, Best Supporting Actress winner Jennifer Hudson was the fifteenth Oscar acting winner to win for a debut film performance. I Need to Wake Up from An Inconvenient Truth became the first song from a film to win Best Original Song. Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger, ennio Morricone — In recognition of his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music. Sherry Lansing The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers, because of the declining viewership of recent Academy Awards ceremonies, producer Gil Cates declined to helm the upcoming festivities. The Academy sought ideas to revamp the show while renewing interest with the nominated films, in September 2006, the Academy selected producer Laura Ziskin to oversee production of the telecast for a second time. Nearly three months later, actress and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who had previously emceed three Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies between 2001 and 2005, was chosen as host of the 2007 ceremony. In an article published in the Los Angeles Times, Ziskin explained the decision to hire DeGeneres saying Certainly, shes popular with a very wide audience. She is not a niche performer and she touches a lot of demographics. AMPAS christened this years telecast with a theme celebrating movie quotes, in tandem with the theme, advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day designed the official ceremony poster featuring 75 quotes from several Oscar-nominated or winning films. To stir interest surrounding the awards, filmmaker Spike Lee released a trailer featuring everyday people around New York City reciting famous film lines, during the ceremony, a montage produced by director Nancy Meyers saluted the work of screenwriters and their contributions to film. Several other people participated in the production of the ceremony, william Ross served as musical director for the ceremony. J. Michael Riva designed a new set and stage design for the ceremony, voice actor Don LaFontaine was hired with Gina Tuttle as announcers for the telecast. Actor Greg Vaughan and Lucky columnist Allyson Waterman co-hosted Road to the Oscars, members of the dance troupe and contortionist group Pilobolus performed interpretive shadow figures representing scenes and logos from the nominated films
38.
Annie Leibovitz
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Anna-Lou Annie Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer. She photographed John Lennon on the day he was assassinated, and she is the first woman to have held an exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery. Leibovitz is much influenced by Richard Avedon, and his personal reportage, Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on October 2,1949, Anna-Lou Leibovitz is the third of six children of Marilyn Edith and Samuel Leibovitz. She is a third-generation American, her fathers parents were Romanian-Jews and her mother was a modern dance instructor of Estonian-Jewish heritage. Her father was a lieutenant colonel in the U. S. Air Force, the family moved frequently with her fathers duty assignments, and she took her first pictures when he was stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. At Northwood High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, she became interested in artistic endeavors and began to write. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where she studied painting, for several years, she continued to develop her photography skills while holding various jobs, including a stint on a kibbutz in Amir, Israel, for several months in 1969. When Leibovitz returned to the United States in 1970, she started her career as staff photographer, in 1973, publisher Jann Wenner named Leibovitz chief photographer of Rolling Stone, a job she would hold for 10 years. Leibovitz worked for the magazine until 1983, and her photographs of celebrities helped define the Rolling Stone look. While working for Rolling Stone, Leibovitz became more aware of the magazines and learned that she could work for magazines and still create personal work. She sought intimate moments with her subjects, who open their hearts and souls and she was awarded The Royal Photographic Societys Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship in recognition of a sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography in 2009. Photographers such as Robert Frank and Henri Cartier-Bresson influenced her during her time at the San Francisco Art Institute and their style of personal reportage—taken in a graphic way—was what we were taught to emulate. Leibovitz has also cited Richard Avedons portraits as an important and powerful example in her life, Leibovitz photographed the Rolling Stones in San Francisco in 1971 and 1972, and served as the concert-tour photographer for the Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas 75. Her favorite photo from the tour was a photo of Mick Jagger in an elevator, in 1978 Leibovitz became the first woman to photograph Joan Armatrading for an album. She did the photography for Armatradings fifth studio album To the Limit, Leibovitz also did the photography for Armatradings live album, Steppin Out. On December 8,1980, Leibovitz had a shoot with John Lennon for Rolling Stone. She had initially tried to get a picture with just Lennon alone, as Rolling Stone wanted, Leibovitz recalls, What is interesting is she said shed take her top off and I said, Leave everything on—not really preconceiving the picture at all. Then he curled up next to her and it was very, very strong and you couldnt help but feel that he was cold and he looked like he was clinging on to her
39.
Disney Fairies
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Disney Fairies is a Disney franchise created in 2005. The franchise is built around the character of Tinker Bell from Walt Disneys 1953 animated film Peter Pan, the characters are referred to within stories as Neverland fairies. That was the beginning of fairies, the fairies generally reside in the Home Tree, a towering, massive tree located in the very heart of Pixie Hollow in Neverland. Various groups of work and live nearby as well. Most of the characters are young and female, but older, taller. The males are referred to as sparrow men, though the term fairies is used to refer to both female and male fairy characters. Blaze is a baby firefly that joins Tinker Bell on her quest to find the mystical Mirror of Incanta that grants only one of three wishes, bobble is a tinker-talent sparrowman and Clanks best friend. He is small, very slender, and hand-sized with red hair, bright eyes, pointy ears, fair skin and wears water drop goggles, a leafy sleeveless top. His real name is Phineas T. Kettletree, Esquire and he has a Scottish accent, bolt is one of the dust-talent sparrow men. Buck is a new animal sparrow man of Welsh descent and he is small, slender, and hand-sized with brown hair, green eyes, fair skin, and pointy ears and wears an orange sports shirt. Chloe is a new garden fairy of Thai descent and she is small, slender, and hand-sized with brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and pointy ears. She wears a pink dress and leggings. Clank is a tinker-talent sparrow man and he has black hair and dark brown eyes, fair skin, pointy ears and wears a leafy sleeveless top and shorts. He speaks with a Cockney accent, dewey is the Keeper of all fairy knowledge. He is small, portly, and hand-sized with white hair and mustache, aqua eyes, fair skin, and pointy ears and wears a coat, spectacles. Dr. Martin Griffiths is a British insect scientist and Lizzys father and he is slender with fair skin, brown hair and eyes. He wears a green vest, a shirt, and a black bowtie. He is the main antagonist of the third film, elizabeth “Lizzy” Griffiths is a pretty 9-year-old British girl and the scientists daughter
40.
Julie Andrews
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Dame Julia Elizabeth Julie Andrews, DBE is an English actress, singer, author, theatre director and dancer. Andrews, an actress and singer, appeared on the West End in 1948. She rose to prominence starring in Broadway musicals such as My Fair Lady, playing Eliza Doolittle, in 1957, Andrews starred in the premiere of Rodgers and Hammersteins written-for-television musical Cinderella, a live network broadcast seen by over 100 million viewers. Andrews made her film debut in Mary Poppins, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the title role. She starred in The Sound of Music, playing Maria, between 1964 and 1986, she starred in The Americanization of Emily, Hawaii, Torn Curtain, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Star. The Tamarind Seed,10, Victor/Victoria, Thats Life. in 2000, Andrews was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the performing arts. In 2002, she was ranked #59 in the BBCs poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, in 2003, she revisited her first Broadway success, this time as a stage director, with a revival of The Boy Friend. From 2001 to 2004, Andrews starred in The Princess Diaries, The Princess Diaries 2, from 2004 to 2010, she lent her voice to the Shrek animated films, and Despicable Me. She is an author of books and has published her autobiography, Home. Julia Elizabeth Wells was born on 1 October 1935 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey and her mother, Barbara Ward Wells was born in Chertsey and married Edward Charles Ted Wells, a teacher of metalwork and woodwork in 1932. However, Andrews was conceived as a result of an affair her mother had with a family friend. Andrews discovered her true parentage from her mother in 1950, although it was not publicly disclosed until her 2008 autobiography, with the outbreak of World War II, Barbara and Ted Wells went their separate ways and were soon divorced. Ted Wells assisted with evacuating children to Surrey during the Blitz, Andrews lived briefly with Ted Wells and her brother John in Surrey. In 1940, Ted Wells sent young Julia to live with her mother and stepfather, who, the Andrews family was very poor and we lived in a bad slum area of London, Andrews recalled, adding, That was a very black period in my life. According to Andrews, her stepfather was violent and an alcoholic, Ted Andrews twice, while drunk, tried to get into bed with his stepdaughter, resulting in Andrews fitting a lock on her door. The Andrews family took up residence at the Old Meuse, in West Grove, Hersham and she had an enormous influence on me, Andrews said of Stiles-Allen, adding, She was my third mother – Ive got more mothers and fathers than anyone in the world. In her memoir Julie Andrews – My Star Pupil, Stiles-Allen records, The range, accuracy and she had possessed the rare gift of absolute pitch. According to Andrews, Madame was sure that I could do Mozart and Rossini, of her own voice, she says I had a very pure, white, thin voice, a four-octave range – dogs would come for miles around
41.
Pinocchio (1940 film)
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Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the Italian childrens novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It was the animated feature film produced by Disney, made after the success of Snow White. The plot of the film involves an old wood-carver named Geppetto who carves a puppet named Pinocchio. The puppet is brought to life by a fairy, who informs him that he can become a real boy if he proves himself to be brave, truthful. Pinocchios efforts to become a real boy involve encounters with a host of unsavory characters, the film was adapted by Aurelius Battaglia, William Cottrell, Otto Englander, Erdman Penner, Joseph Sabo, Ted Sears, and Webb Smith from Collodis book. The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, and the sequences were directed by Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney. Pinocchio was an achievement in the area of effects animation, giving realistic movement to vehicles, machinery and natural elements such as rain, lightning, smoke, shadows. The film was released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures on February 7,1940, critical analysis of Pinocchio identifies it as a simple morality tale that teaches children of the benefits of hard work and middle-class values. It eventually made a profit in its 1945 reissue, and is considered one of the greatest animated films ever made, the film and characters are still prevalent in popular culture, featuring at various Disney parks and in other forms of entertainment. In 1994, Pinocchio was added to the United States National Film Registry for being deemed culturally, historically, Jiminy Cricket explains that he is going to tell a story of a wish coming true. His story begins in the workshop of a woodworker named Geppetto, Jiminy watches as Geppetto finishes work on a wooden marionette whom he names Pinocchio. Before falling asleep, Geppetto makes a wish on a star that Pinocchio be a real boy, during the night, a Blue Fairy visits the workshop and brings Pinocchio to life, although he still remains a puppet. She informs him if he proves himself brave, truthful, and unselfish, he will become a real boy. Geppetto discovers that his wish has come true, and is filled with joy. However, on his way to school, Pinocchio is led astray by Honest John the Fox and his companion, Gideon the Cat, Pinocchio becomes Strombolis star attraction as a marionette who can sing and dance without strings. However, when Pinocchio wants to go home for the night, Jiminy arrives to see Pinocchio, and is unable to free him. The Blue Fairy appears, and asks Pinocchio why he was not at school, Jiminy urges Pinocchio to tell the truth, but instead he starts telling lies, which causes his nose to grow longer and longer. Pinocchio vows to be good from now on, and the Blue Fairy returns his nose to its form and sets him free
42.
Cate Blanchett
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Catherine Elise Cate Blanchett is an Australian actress and theatre director. She has received acclaim and many accolades, including six AACTA Awards. In 2013, she starred as Jasmine Francis in Woody Allens Blue Jasmine, Blanchett is one of only six actors, and the only actress, to receive Academy Award nominations for portraying the same role in two films, accomplished in her case by portraying Queen Elizabeth I. She is additionally the only Australian to win two acting Oscars, a seven-time Oscar nominee, she has also received nominations for Notes on a Scandal, Elizabeth, The Golden Age, Im Not There and Carol. Blanchett has also had a career on stage and is a four-time Helpmann Award winner for Best Female Actor in a Play. From 2008 to 2013, she and her husband Andrew Upton were co-CEOs, Blanchett has been awarded the Centenary Medal for Service to Australian Society by the Australian government. She was appointed Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 2012, in 2015, she was honoured by the Museum of Modern Art and received the British Film Institute Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the industry. Blanchett was born on 14 May 1969 in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe and she is the middle of three children, her older brother is a computer systems engineer, and her younger sister is a theatrical designer. The two met when Blanchetts fathers ship broke down in Melbourne, when Blanchett was 10, her father died of a heart attack, leaving her mother to raise the family on her own. Blanchetts ancestry includes English, some Scottish, and remote French roots, Blanchett has described herself as being part extrovert, part wallflower during childhood. She had a penchant for dressing in traditionally masculine clothing, and went through goth and punk phases during her teenage years and she studied economics and fine arts at the University of Melbourne but dropped out after one year to travel overseas. While in Egypt, Blanchett was asked to play an American cheerleader, as an extra in the Egyptian boxing movie, Kaboria, in need of money, she accepted. Upon her return to Australia, she moved to Sydney and enrolled in the National Institute of Dramatic Art to pursue an acting career and she graduated from NIDA in 1992. Blanchetts first major role was opposite Geoffrey Rush, in the 1992 David Mamet play Oleanna for the Sydney Theatre Company. That year, she was also cast as Clytemnestra in a production of Sophocles’ Electra, a couple of weeks after rehearsals, the actress playing the title role pulled out, and director Lindy Davies cast Blanchett in the role. Her performance as Electra became one of her most acclaimed at NIDA, Blanchett played the role of Ophelia in an acclaimed 1994–95 Company B production of Hamlet directed by Neil Armfield, starring Rush and Richard Roxburgh, and was nominated for a Green Room Award. She appeared in the 1994 TV miniseries Heartland opposite Ernie Dingo, the miniseries Bordertown with Hugo Weaving and she also appeared in the 50-minute drama short Parklands, which received an Australian Film Institute nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Her first leading role was as Lucinda Leplastrier in Gillian Armstrongs romantic drama Oscar and Lucinda, Blanchett received wide acclaim for her performance, and earned her first AFI Award nomination as Best Leading Actress, she lost to Deborah Mailman in Radiance
43.
Dianne Wiest
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Dianne Evelyn Wiest is an American actress. Wiest has won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress twice, for Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets over Broadway and she appeared in three other of Allens films, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Radio Days and September. She also starred in Ron Howards Parenthood, for which she received her second Oscar nomination, Wiest also received two Screen Actors Guild Awards and one BAFTA Award nomination. For her work on television, she has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, Wiest was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Her mother, Anne Stewart, was a nurse and her father, Bernard John Wiest, was a college dean and former psychiatric social worker for the U. S. Army. Her mother was Scottish, while her father was an American of Croatian and German descent, Wiest has two brothers named Greg and Don. Her original ambition was to be a ballerina, but switched her goal to theatre in her year at Nurnberg American High School. Wiest graduated from the University of Maryland in 1969 with a degree in Arts, Wiest studied theatre at the University of Maryland, leaving after her third term to tour with a Shakespearean troupe. Later, she had a role in a New York Shakespeare Festival production of Ashes. She also acted at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, CT and she was an understudy both off-Broadway and on Broadway, in Kurt Vonneguts Happy Birthday, Wanda June in 1970. She made her Broadway debut in Robert Andersons Solitaire/Double Solitaire, taking over in the role of the daughter in 1971 and she toured the USSR with the Arena Stage. In 1976, Wiest attended the Eugene ONeill National Playwrights Conference and starred in leading roles in Amlin Grays Pirates, at Joe Papps Public Theater she took over the lead in Ashes, and played Cassandra in Agamemnon, directed by Andrei Şerban. In 1979, she originated the role of Agnes in Agnes of God in its first production in Waterford and she appeared in two plays by Tina Howe, Museum and The Art of Dining. (She played opposite Lithgow again in the Herbert Ross film Footloose, as Wiest became established as a film actress through her work in Woody Allens films, she was less frequently available for stage roles. However, she did appear onstage during the 1990s, in In the Summer House, Square One, Cynthia Ozicks The Shawl, in 2003, she appeared with Al Pacino and Marisa Tomei in Oscar Wildes Salome. In 2005, she starred in Kathleen Tolans Memory House and she also starred in a production of Wendy Wassersteins final play Third at Lincoln Center. Her early screen roles include roles in Its My Turn and Im Dancing as Fast as I Can. In 1984, she starred in Footloose, as the reverends wife, under Woody Allens direction, Wiest won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Hannah and Her Sisters in 1987 and Bullets over Broadway in 1995
44.
Natalie Portman
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Natalie Portman is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was in the 1994 action thriller Léon, The Professional and she was later cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Born in Jerusalem to an Israeli father and American mother, Portman grew up in the eastern United States from the age of three. She studied dancing and acting in New York, and starred in Star Wars, in 1999, Portman enrolled at Harvard University to study psychology, alongside her work as an actress, she completed a bachelors degree in 2003. During her studies she starred in a second Star Wars film and she played leading roles in the historical dramas Goyas Ghosts and The Other Boleyn Girl, and also appeared in Thor and its 2013 sequel. In 2010, Portman starred in the thriller film Black Swan. Her performance received critical acclaim and she earned her first Academy Award for Best Actress, her second Golden Globe Award, the SAG Award, the BAFTA Award. In 2016, she portrayed First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the biographical drama Jackie and she was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and won the BFCA for Best Actress. In May 2008, Portman served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury, the same year she directed a segment of the collective film New York, I Love You. Her first feature film as a director, A Tale of Love, Portman was born on June 9,1981 in Jerusalem. Her original given name was Neta-Lee, a Hebrew name and she is the only child of Shelley, an American homemaker who works as Portmans agent, and Avner Hershlag, an Israeli fertility specialist and gynecologist. Her maternal grandparents, Bernice and Arthur Stevens, were from Jewish families who moved to the United States from Austria and Russia, Natalies paternal grandparents, Mania and Zvi Yehuda Hershlag, were Jewish immigrants to Israel. Zvi, born in Poland in 1914, moved to what was then Mandatory Palestine in 1938 and eventually became an economics professor, One of Natalies paternal great-grandmothers was born in Romania and was a spy for British Intelligence during World War II. Portmans parents met at a Jewish student center at Ohio State University and they corresponded after her father returned to Israel and were married when her mother visited a few years later. In 1984, when Portman was three years old, the moved to the United States, where her father received his medical training. Portman, a citizen of the United States and Israel, has said that although she really love the States. Thats where I feel at home, Portman and her family first lived in Washington, D. C. but relocated to Connecticut in 1988 and then moved to Jericho, New York, on Long Island, in 1990. While living in the Washington, D. C. area, Portman attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland
45.
Peter Sarsgaard
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John Peter Sarsgaard is an American actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995 and he then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a role in The Man in the Iron Mask, playing Raoul. Sarsgaard later achieved recognition when he was cast in Boys Dont Cry as John Lotter. He landed his first leading role in the 2001 film The Center of the World, the following year, he played supporting roles in Empire, The Salton Sea, and K-19, The Widowmaker. Sarsgaard has also appeared in Off-Broadway productions including Kingdom of Earth, Laura Dennis, in September 2008, he made his Broadway debut as Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin in The Seagull. Sarsgaard appeared in the production of Uncle Vanya in January 2009. Sarsgaard is married to actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sarsgaard was born at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, the son of Judy Lea and John Dale Sarsgard. His father was an Air Force engineer and later worked for Monsanto and his surname originates in Denmark, where two of his paternal great-great-grandparents were born. Sarsgaard was raised a Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy and his family moved more than 12 times during his childhood, following his fathers job. At the age of 7, Sarsgaard originally wanted to become a soccer player, after suffering several bad concussions while playing soccer, he gave up the sport and became interested in writing and theater. Sarsgaard attended Fairfield College Preparatory School, a private Jesuit boys school in Connecticut, while at WUSTL, Sarsgaard began performing in plays in an offshoot of New Yorks Actors Studio, His first role was as the servant Laurent in Molières Tartuffe. In 1993, he graduated with a degree in history and moved to New York and he appeared in his first film role in Dead Man Walking, where he was cast as a murdered teenager, killed by Sean Penns character. He received his role in the 1998 film The Man in the Iron Mask, where he played Raoul. The film uses characters from Alexandre Dumas dArtagnan Romances, and is loosely adapted from some plot elements of The Vicomte de Bragelonne. The film received ambivalent reviews, but was a success at the box office, in 1999, Sarsgaard earned critical recognition in Kimberly Peirces Boys Dont Cry, where he was cast as notorious killer John Lotter. The film is based on the story of Brandon Teena. Boys Don’t Cry received overwhelmingly positive acclaim from critics, and his performance was well received
46.
Forbes
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Forbes is an American business magazine. Published bi-weekly, it features articles on finance, industry, investing. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics and its headquarters is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Primary competitors in the business magazine category include Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek. The magazine is known for its lists and rankings, including its lists of the richest Americans. Another well-known list by the magazine is The Worlds Billionaires list, the motto of Forbes magazine is The Capitalist Tool. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes, and its CEO is Mike Perlis, Forbes, a financial columnist for the Hearst papers, and his partner Walter Drey, the general manager of the Magazine of Wall Street, founded Forbes magazine on September 15,1917. Forbes provided the money and the name and Drey provided the publishing expertise, the original name of the magazine was Forbes, Devoted to Doers and Doings. Drey became vice-president of the B. C. Forbes Publishing Company, while B. C. Forbes became editor-in-chief, B. C. Forbes was assisted in his later years by his two eldest sons, Bruce Charles Forbes and Malcolm Stevenson Forbes. Bruce Forbes took over on his fathers death, and his strengths lay in streamlining operations, during his tenure, 1954–1964, the magazines circulation nearly doubled. On Malcolms death, his eldest son Malcolm Stevenson Steve Forbes Jr. became President and Chief Executive of Forbes, between 1961 and 1999 the magazine was edited by James Michaels. In 1993, under Michaels, Forbes was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. com, a 2009 New York Times report said,40 percent of the enterprise was sold. For a reported $300 million, setting the value of the enterprise at $750 million, according to Mark M. Edmiston of AdMedia Partners, Its probably not worth half of that now. The companys headquarters moved to the Newport section of downtown Jersey City. In November 2013, Forbes Media, which publishes Forbes magazine, was put up for sale and this was encouraged by Elevation Partners, of whom were minority shareholders. Sales documents prepared by Deutsche Bank revealed that the publishers 2012 EBITDA was $15 million, Forbes reportedly sought a price of $400 million. In July 2014, Forbes sold a majority of itself to Integrated Whale Media Investments, Steve Forbes and his magazines writers offer investment advice on the weekly Fox TV show Forbes on Fox and on Forbes On Radio. Other company groups include Forbes Conference Group, Forbes Investment Advisory Group, from the 2009 Times report, Steve Forbes recently returned from opening up a Forbes magazine in India, bringing the number of foreign editions to 10
47.
Chef
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A chef is a highly trained and skilled professional cook who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation of a particular cuisine. The word chef is derived from the chef de cuisine. Chefs can receive both formal training from an institution, as well as through apprenticeship with an experienced chef, the Brigade system is a system of hierarchy found in restaurants and hotels employing extensive staff, many of which use the word chef in their titles. Underneath the chefs are the kitchen assistants, a chefs standard uniform includes a hat called a toque, necktie, double-breasted jacket, apron and shoes with steel or plastic toe-caps. The word chef is derived from the chef de cuisine. In English, the chef in the culinary profession originated in the haute cuisine of the 19th century. The culinary arts, among other aspects of the French language introduced French loan-words into the English language, various titles, detailed below, are given to those working in a professional kitchen and each can be considered a title for a type of chef. Many of the titles are based on the brigade de cuisine documented by Auguste Escoffier, other names include executive chef, chef manager, head chef, and master chef. Chef de cuisine is the traditional French term from which the English word chef is derived and this is often the case for executive chefs with multiple restaurants. Involved in checking the sensory evaluation of dishes after preparation and they are aware of each sensory property of those specific dishes. The Sous-Chef de Cuisine is the second-in-command and direct assistant of the Chef de Cuisine and this person may be responsible for scheduling the kitchen staff, or substituting when the head chef is off-duty. Also, he or she will fill in for or assist the Chef de Partie when needed and this person is accountable for the kitchens inventory, cleanliness, organization, and the continuing training of its entire staff. A sous-chefs duties can also include carrying out the head chefs directives, conducting line checks, smaller operations may not have a sous-chef, while larger operations may have more than one. The sous chef is also responsible when the Executive Chef is absent, a chef de partie, also known as a station chef or line cook, is in charge of a particular area of production. In large kitchens, each chef de partie might have several cooks or assistants, in most kitchens, however, the chef de partie is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with first cook, then second cook, kitchen-hands assist with basic food preparation tasks under the chefs direction. They carry out relatively unskilled tasks such as peeling potatoes and washing salad, stewards/ kitchen porters are involved in the scullery, washing up and general cleaning duties. In a smaller kitchen, these duties may be incorporated, a communard is in charge of preparing the meal for the staff during a shift
48.
Catherine Zeta-Jones
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Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE is a Welsh actress. Born and raised in Swansea, Zeta-Jones aspired to be an actress from a young age, in her early teens, she played roles in the West End productions of the musicals Annie and Bugsy Malone. She studied musical theatre at the Arts Educational Schools, London and her screen debut came in the unsuccessful French-Italian film 1001 Nights, and she went on to find greater success as a regular in the British television series The Darling Buds of May. Dismayed at being typecast as the pretty girl in British films. Zeta-Jones initially established herself in Hollywood with roles that highlighted her sex appeal such as in the action film The Mask of Zorro, critics praised her portrayal of a vengeful pregnant woman in Traffic and a murderous singer in the musical Chicago. The latter won her Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Supporting Actress, parts in smaller-scale features were followed by a decrease in workload, during which she returned to stage and portrayed an ageing actress in A Little Night Music, winning a Tony Award. Zeta-Jones continued to work intermittently in the 2010s, starring in the psychological thriller Side Effects and she supports various charities and causes, and is a prominent celebrity endorser of brands. Her struggle with depression and bipolar II disorder has been well-documented by the media and she is married to the actor Michael Douglas with whom she has two children. Zeta-Jones was born in Swansea, Wales, on 25 September 1969 to David Jones, the owner of a factory, and his wife Patricia. Her father is Welsh and her mother is of Irish Catholic descent and she was named after her grandmothers, Zeta Jones and Catherine Fair. She has a brother, David, and a younger brother, Lyndon. Zeta-Jones was raised in the area of Mumbles. Because Zeta-Jones was a child, her mother sent her to the Hazel Johnson School of Dance when she was four years old. She was educated at the Dumbarton House School, a school in Swansea. The family came from a modest background, but their fortunes improved when they won £100,000 in a competition, allowing them to pay for Zeta-Jones dance. Zeta-Jones participated in stage shows from a young age and gained local media attention when her rendition of a Shirley Bassey song won a Junior Star Trail talent competition. As part of a troupe, she routinely took trips to London. At the age of nine, she was selected to one of the orphan girls in a West End production of the musical Annie
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