Aldis Hodge
Aldis Alexander Basil Hodge is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Alec Hardison on the TNT series Leverage, MC Ren in the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton, Levi Jackson in the 2016 film Hidden Figures, as Noah in the WGN America series Underground. Hodge was born on September 1986, in Onslow County, North Carolina. Both of his parents, Aldis Basil Hodge and Yolette Evangeline Richardson, served in the U. S. Marine Corps. Hodge's mother is from Florida, while his father is from Dominica. Aldis is the younger brother of actor Edwin Hodge. Hodge played both the clarinet and the violin as a child, but as an adult, his focus is on the violin. In addition to acting, Hodge designs watches and paints. In 2007, Hodge was awarded the role of Alec Hardison on the day of his 21st birthday. In 2010, he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Television for this role on Leverage, he is one of two actors to portray two different roles in two different Die Hard films, the other being Anthony Peck.
Official website Aldis Hodge on IMDb
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision; the director has a key role in choosing the cast members, production design, the creative aspects of filmmaking. Under European Union law, the director is viewed as the author of the film; the film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film becomes realized, or noticed. Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions and stay within the boundaries of the film's budget. There are many pathways to becoming a film director; some film directors started as screenwriters, producers, film editors or actors. Other film directors have attended a film school. Directors use different approaches; some outline a general plotline and let the actors improvise dialogue, while others control every aspect, demand that the actors and crew follow instructions precisely.
Some directors write their own screenplays or collaborate on screenplays with long-standing writing partners. Some directors appear in their films, or compose the music score for their films. A film director's task is to envisage a way to translate a screenplay into a formed film, to realize this vision. To do this, they oversee the technical elements of film production; this entails organizing the film crew in such a way to achieve their vision of the film. This requires skills of group leadership, as well as the ability to maintain a singular focus in the stressful, fast-paced environment of a film set. Moreover, it is necessary to have an artistic eye to frame shots and to give precise feedback to cast and crew, excellent communication skills are a must. Since the film director depends on the successful cooperation of many different creative individuals with strongly contradicting artistic ideals and visions, he or she needs to possess conflict resolution skills in order to mediate whenever necessary.
Thus the director ensures that all individuals involved in the film production are working towards an identical vision for the completed film. The set of varying challenges he or she has to tackle has been described as "a multi-dimensional jigsaw puzzle with egos and weather thrown in for good measure", it adds to the pressure that the success of a film can influence when and how they will work again, if at all. The sole superiors of the director are the producer and the studio, financing the film, although sometimes the director can be a producer of the same film; the role of a director differs from producers in that producers manage the logistics and business operations of the production, whereas the director is tasked with making creative decisions. The director must work within the restrictions of the film's budget and the demands of the producer and studio. Directors play an important role in post-production. While the film is still in production, the director sends "dailies" to the film editor and explains his or her overall vision for the film, allowing the editor to assemble an editor's cut.
In post-production, the director works with the editor to edit the material into the director's cut. Well-established directors have the "final cut privilege", meaning that they have the final say on which edit of the film is released. For other directors, the studio can order further edits without the director's permission; the director is one of the few positions that requires intimate involvement during every stage of film production. Thus, the position of film director is considered to be a stressful and demanding one, it has been said that "20-hour days are not unusual". Some directors take on additional roles, such as producing, writing or editing. Under European Union law, the film director is considered the "author" or one of the authors of a film as a result of the influence of auteur theory. Auteur theory is a film criticism concept that holds that a film director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary "auteur". In spite of—and sometimes because of—the production of the film as part of an industrial process, the auteur's creative voice is distinct enough to shine through studio interference and the collective process.
Some film directors started as screenwriters, film producers or actors. Several American cinematographers have become directors, including Barry Sonnenfeld the Coen brothers' DP. Other film directors have attended a film school to get a bachelors degree studying cinema. Film students study the basic skills used in making a film; this includes, for example, shot lists and storyboards, protocols of dealing with professional actors, reading scripts. Some film schools are equipped with post-production facilities. Besides basic technical and logistical skills, students receive education on the nature of professional relationships that occur during film production. A full degree course can be designed for up to five years of studying. Future directors complete short films during their enrollment; the National Film School of Denmark has the student's final projects presented on national TV. Some film schools retain the rights for their students' works. Many directors prepared for making feature films by working in television.
The German Film and Television Academy Berlin cooperate
Writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in various styles and techniques to communicate their ideas. Writers produce various forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, plays and essays as well as various reports and news articles that may be of interest to the public. Writers' texts are published across a range of media. Skilled writers who are able to use language to express ideas well contribute to the cultural content of a society; the term "writer" is used elsewhere in the arts – such as songwriter – but as a standalone "writer" refers to the creation of written language. Some writers work from an oral tradition. Writers can produce material across a number of genres, non-fictional. Other writers use multiple media – for example, graphics or illustration – to enhance the communication of their ideas. Another recent demand has been created by civil and government readers for the work of non-fictional technical writers, whose skills create understandable, interpretive documents of a practical or scientific nature.
Some writers may use multimedia to augment their writing. In rare instances, creative writers are able to communicate their ideas via music as well as words; as well as producing their own written works, writers write on how they write. Writers work professionally or non-professionally, that is, for payment or without payment and may be paid either in advance, or only after their work is published. Payment is only one of the motivations of writers and many are never paid for their work; the term writer is used as a synonym of author, although the latter term has a somewhat broader meaning and is used to convey legal responsibility for a piece of writing if its composition is anonymous, unknown or collaborative. Writers choose from a range of literary genres to express their ideas. Most writing can be adapted for use in another medium. For example, a writer's work may be read or recited or performed in a play or film. Satire for example, may be written as a poem, an essay, a film, a comic play, or a piece of journalism.
The writer of a letter may include elements of biography, or journalism. Many writers work across genres; the genre sets the parameters but all kinds of creative adaptation have been attempted: novel to film. Writers may change to another. For example, historian William Dalrymple began in the genre of travel literature and writes as a journalist. Many writers have produced both fiction and non-fiction works and others write in a genre that crosses the two. For example, writers of historical romances, such as Georgette Heyer, invent characters and stories set in historical periods. In this genre, the accuracy of the history and the level of factual detail in the work both tend to be debated; some writers write both creative fiction and serious analysis, sometimes using different names to separate their work. Dorothy Sayers, for example, wrote crime fiction but was a playwright, essayist and critic. Poets make maximum use of the language to achieve an emotional and sensory effect as well as a cognitive one.
To create these effects, they use rhyme and rhythm and they exploit the properties of words with a range of other techniques such as alliteration and assonance. A common theme is its vicissitudes. Shakespeare's famous love story Romeo and Juliet, for example, written in a variety of poetic forms, has been performed in innumerable theatres and made into at least eight cinematic versions. John Donne is another poet renowned for his love poetry. Novelists write novels -- stories, they situate invented characters and plots in a narrative designed to be both credible and entertaining. Every novel worthy of the name is like another planet, whether large or small, which has its own laws just as it has its own flora and fauna. Thus, Faulkner's technique is the best one with which to paint Faulkner's world, Kafka's nightmare has produced its own myths that make it communicable. Benjamin Constant, Eugène Fromentin, Jacques Rivière, all used different techniques, took different liberties, set themselves different tasks.
François Mauriac, novelist A satirist uses wit to ridicule the shortcomings of society or individuals, with the intent of exposing stupidity. The subject of the satire is a contemporary issue such as ineffective political decisions or politicians, although human vices such as greed are a common and universal subject. Philosopher Voltaire wrote a satire about optimism called Candide, subsequently turned into an opera, many well known lyricists wrote for it. There are elements of Absurdism in Candide, just as there are in the work of contemporary satirist Barry Humphries, who writes comic satire for his character Dame Edna Everage to perform on stage. Satirists use various techniques such as irony and hyperbole to make their point and they choose from the full range of genres – the satire may be in the form of prose or poetry or dialogue in a film, for example. One of the most famous satirists is Jonathan Swift who wrote the four-volume work Gulliver's Travels and many other satires, including A Modest Proposal and The Battle of the Books.
It is amazing to me that... our age is wholly illiterate and has hardly produced one writer upon any subject. Jonathan Swift, satirist A short story writer is a writer of short stories, works of fiction that can be read in a single sitting. Libretti (the p
Chuck (film)
Chuck is a 2016 American biographical sports drama film directed by Philippe Falardeau and written by Jeff Feuerzeig, Jerry Stahl, Michael Cristofer and Liev Schreiber, who stars in the title role. The cast includes Elisabeth Moss, Ron Perlman, Naomi Watts, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Rapaport, Pooch Hall, Morgan Spector, Jason Jones; the film depicts the life of heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner and his 1975 title fight with the heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, which inspired Sylvester Stallone's character and screenplay for the 1976 film Rocky. Principal photography began on October 2015 in Suffern, New York. Chuck received its world premiere at the 2016 Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2016, it was released May 2017, by IFC Films. In 1975, heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner challenges the heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, for the world title. Liev Schreiber as Chuck Wepner, a heavyweight boxer. Angel Kolev as Young Chuck Wepner 18 years old Naomi Watts as Linda, Wepner's third wife. Elisabeth Moss as Phyllis, Wepner's second wife.
Jim Gaffigan as John Stoehr, Wepner's best friend. Michael Rapaport as Don Wepner, Wepner's estranged brother. Boyan Bankov as Young Don 18 years old Pooch Hall as Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight champion whose 1975 fight earned a sudden fame for Wepner. Morgan Spector as Sylvester Stallone, the actor-screenwriter who wrote Rocky right after the 1975 fight. Ron Perlman as Al Braverman, Wepner's manager and trainer who guided him to the fight with Ali. Kelvin Hale as Charlie Polite, Wepner's training partner for the Ali fight. Jason Jones as Arty William Hill as Paddy Flood Wass Stevens as Johnny Dicesare Sadie Sink as Kimberley Meld Ludwig as Young Kimberley 18 years old Marissa Rose Gordon as Penelope On May 10, 2011, it was announced that Jeff Feuerzeig would direct the boxing drama The Bleeder based on the script he co-wrote with Jerry Stahl, about a true story of the heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner. Michael Tollin and Carl Hampe were attached as producers, while Linda Zander's Maxar Pictures was attached to finance the film.
Christina Hendricks was cast in the film to play one of the lead roles. In October 2015, Liev Schreiber was confirmed to play Wepner, who always wanted to portray the role, had been attached with the project for the last five years, Naomi Watts was cast to play his third wife Linda Wepner. Schreiber would produce the film along with Tollin, Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman, with banners Mandalay Sports Media and Campbell-Grobman Films. On October 22, 2015, Elisabeth Moss was cast in the film to play his second wife, Phyllis Wepner, with him when Wepner fought Muhammad Ali. On October 30, 2015, additional cast was announced, including Jim Gaffigan as John Stoehr, Wepner's loyal friend. Wepner claimed he had inspired that film's title character Rocky Balboa but Stallone has never confirmed it. On November 11, 2015, Ron Perlman signed on to play Al Braverman, Wepner's manager and trainer who guided him to the title fight with Ali. On November 11, 2015, Remstar Films acquired the Canadian distribution rights to the film.
Principal photography on the film began on October 26, 2015 in Suffern, New York, where some scenes were shot at the Lafayette Theatre. Filming ended on December 4, 2015; the film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2016. It went onto screen at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2016. In September 2016, IFC Films and Showtime Networks acquired U. S distribution rights to the film, it will screen at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2017. It was released on May 5, 2017. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79%, based on 70 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. On Metacritic the film has a score of 71 out of 100 score, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Glenn Kenny of the NY Times found the performances favorable writing, "Liev Schreiber has no physical resemblance to the boxer Chuck Wepner, but he is a terrific actor who pulls off that portrayal through understatement."
Chuck on IMDb
Shane West
Shannon Bruce Snaith, better known as Shane West, is an American actor, punk rock musician, songwriter. West is known for his portrayal of Eli Sammler in the ABC family drama Once and Again, Landon Carter in A Walk to Remember, Darby Crash in What We Do Is Secret, Dr. Ray Barnett in the NBC medical drama ER, Michael Bishop in The CW spy drama Nikita and Bane in the Fox superhero drama Gotham, he starred in the WGN fantasy/adventure/historical drama Salem as John Alden. As well as acting, West has performed with punk rock band the Germs and Jonny Was, Twilight Creeps. West was born in Baton Rouge, the son of Leah Catherine, a lawyer, Don Snaith, a drugstore owner. Both his parents had their own punk bands, his mother is of Cajun French descent and his father was born in Jamaica, of British and Portuguese origin. He is the eldest of three children with a half-sister Marli Ann, his parents divorced in 1982. Influenced by his parents, he grew up listening to The Clash, The Jam, Elvis Costello, The Kinks.
He said: "I always thought I would be doing music rather than acting."At the age of ten and his sister Simone moved to Compton, California with their mother because she was looking for a better job. They moved to Norwalk, California; when he was fifteen or sixteen, West moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He struggled for two years and lived at his manager's house, before making his acting debut in 1995, appearing in the CBS drama Picket Fences in the season 4, episode 6 "Heart of Saturday Night", where he played Dave Lattimore. In 1998, West guest-starred in several television series including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played Mark Tapper in the stage production of The Cider House Rules, he landed his first major role in 1999 in the ABC family drama Once and Again, playing Eli Sammler for three seasons. West's feature film debut was in Liberty Heights, a film about a Jewish family in Baltimore, directed by Barry Levinson, he co-starred in teen comedies Whatever It Takes and Get Over It.
West was cast as Landon Carter opposite singer and actress Mandy Moore in 2002's adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel A Walk to Remember, a modest box office success, grossing over $41 million in the United States. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times found him "quietly convincing", his performance in the film earned him a Teen Choice Award for Choice Chemistry with Moore. He appeared in the Mandy Moore music video "Cry"; that year, West won the Young Hollywood Award Male Superstar of Tomorrow. In 2003, West starred as an adult version of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen alongside Sean Connery; the film was a commercial success, earning over $179 million worldwide from a production budget of $78 million. A year he joined the cast of the NBC medical drama, ER in the eleventh-season premiere, playing resident Ray Barnett. In May 2007, West left ER at the end of the thirteenth season after winning a role in Supreme Courtships, but the series was not picked up by the Fox Network.
In October 2008, West returned to ER for three episodes during final season. During hiatus between seasons of ER, West worked on shooting What We Do Is Secret, an independent film, which premiered at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival after much delay. West helped to finance it. In the film, he portrays a member of the 1970s punk band the Germs. Members of the band were so impressed by West's performance that they re-formed the band with West taking the deceased Crash's place. West received positive reviews for his portrayal in the movie; the Seattle Times wrote that his impersonation was "worth saluting" while TV Guide called it "pretty impressive". In 2008, he received the Rising Star Award in Philadelphia Film Festival for his work in What We Do is Secret. West starred as Michael Bishop in The CW spy drama Nikita from 2010 to 2013. In 2014, he began starring in the WGN adventure/historical/fantasy drama Salem as John Alden. In 2018, West was cast as Eduardo Dorrance set to recur in the upcoming fifth and final season of Gotham.
In November 2018, it was revealed that West will portray the role of Billy Millikin in upcoming feature film Gossamer Folds. West was the lead singer of punk rock band Jonny Was for "seven or eight years"; the band was known as Average Joe but had to change its name for legal reasons. The band contributed to the A Walk to Remember soundtrack, appearing under the names "West and Fitzgerald" because they had not yet decided on a new name. West described their style as "a pop-punk type band, more Green Day-ish". In November 2005, while What We Do Is Secret was still in production, it was announced that West would be fronting the Germs on tour, he performed with the band for nearly five years, doing a European Tour. He described the experience as "more exciting" than acting. However, after booking a leading role in Nikita, West had less time to play with the band, his last performance was in December 2009. In 2015, West reunited with some of his old bandmates from Jonny Was to form a new band called the Twilight Creeps.
In October 2016, they released their debut album. In January 2019, they announced they are releasing their second album on February 1st. Shane West on Twitter Shane West on IMDb
New York City
The City of New York called either New York City or New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2017 population of 8,622,698 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles, New York is the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass and one of the world's most populous megacities, with an estimated 20,320,876 people in its 2017 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 23,876,155 residents in its Combined Statistical Area. A global power city, New York City has been described as the cultural and media capital of the world, exerts a significant impact upon commerce, research, education, tourism, art and sports; the city's fast pace has inspired the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.
Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, each of, a separate county of the State of New York. The five boroughs – Brooklyn, Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898; the city and its metropolitan area constitute the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. New York City is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United States, the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world. In 2017, the New York metropolitan area produced a gross metropolitan product of US$1.73 trillion. If greater New York City were a sovereign state, it would have the 12th highest GDP in the world. New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world. New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded by colonists from the Dutch Republic in 1624 on Lower Manhattan.
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, the Duke of York. New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, it has been the country's largest city since 1790. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the U. S. by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is an international symbol of the U. S. and its ideals of liberty and peace. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance, environmental sustainability, as a symbol of freedom and cultural diversity. Many districts and landmarks in New York City are well known, with the city having three of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013 and receiving a record 62.8 million tourists in 2017. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world. Times Square, iconic as the world's "heart" and its "Crossroads", is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, a major center of the world's entertainment industry.
The names of many of the city's landmarks and parks are known around the world. Manhattan's real estate market is among the most expensive in the world. New York is home to the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is the largest single-operator rapid transit system worldwide, with 472 rail stations. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, which have been ranked among the top universities in the world. Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world, the city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. In 1664, the city was named in honor of the Duke of York.
James's older brother, King Charles II, had appointed the Duke proprietor of the former territory of New Netherland, including the city of New Amsterdam, which England had seized from the Dutch. During the Wisconsinan glaciation, 75,000 to 11,000 years ago, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth; the erosive forward movement of the ice contributed to the separation of what is now Long Island and Staten Island. That action left bedrock at a shallow depth, providing a solid foundation for most of Manhattan's skyscrapers. In the precolonial era, the area of present-day New York City was inhabited by Algonquian Native Americans, including the Lenape, whose homeland, known as Lenapehoking, included Staten Island; the first documented visit into New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown. He named it Nouvelle Angoulême. A Spanish expedition led by captain Estêvão Gomes, a Portuguese sailing for Emperor Charles V, arrived in New York Harbor in January 1525 and charted the mouth of the Hudson River, which he named Río de San Antonio.
The Padrón Rea
Warlock: The Armageddon
Warlock: The Armageddon is a 1993 American horror film directed by Anthony Hickox and produced by Peter Abrams. It is a sequel in title only to the 1989 film Warlock and stars Julian Sands, who returns in the title role as a warlock who attempts to free Satan from Hell. In the distant past, Druids have stopped the rise of Satan's son using six magical rune stones that create light to vanquish the darkness. While the Druids perform a ritual upon a woman Satan has selected, they are attacked by Christians who feel their work is Satanic. Most of the Druids die and the rune stones are scattered. In the present, a young man and woman are having relationship issues, their parents are Druids. Elsewhere, a young woman has possession of one of the rune stones due to it being passed down through her family, she wears the stone to impress her date, but, as she looks out her kitchen window at the lunar eclipse, she becomes pregnant and gives birth to the Warlock, Satan's son. After he is reborn, he kills the woman.
The Warlock communicates with his father, who speaks to him using the dead woman as a conduit, telling his son to find the other five rune stones. These have the power to summon him to Earth, but he has six days to do this; the Warlock peels the flesh from his deceased mother's stomach and makes it into a map, enabling him to track the other runes. The young man, destined to be a Druid warrior, learns how to use his powers, it is not long before his girlfriend joins him, they are protected by the girl's father, the priest. Meanwhile the warlock gains the other rune stones to raise his father Satan from his prison to rule the world, murdering various people along the way; the last rune stone is worn by the Druid warrior. As Satan rises, the Druid boy and his girlfriend use their powers to turn on the lights of a nearby truck. Julian Sands as the Warlock Chris Young as Kenny Travis Paula Marshall as Samantha Ellison Joanna Pacula as Paula Dare Steve Kahan as Will Travis R. G. Armstrong as Franks Charles Hallahan as Ethan Larson Bruce Glover as Ted Ellison Davis Gaines as Nathan Sinclair Zach Galligan as Douglas The soundtrack was composed and conducted by Mark McKenzie.
The track was released on September 1993, via Intrada Records label. Leonard Klady of Variety wrote that the film, though not narratively connected to Warlock, will satisfy fans of that film. Compared to Sands, Klady called the rest of the cast bland. Of Sands, he wrote, "Chewing up the landscape with great relish, Sands erases all thought of his colorless adversaries." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "too dreary to play as camp". Warlock: The Armageddon on IMDb Warlock: The Armageddon at AllMovie Warlock: The Armageddon at Rotten Tomatoes Warlock: The Armageddon at Box Office Mojo
