1.
Blackley
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Blackley /ˈbleɪkli/ is an area of the city of Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is 3 miles north of Manchester city centre and it is crossed by a main arterial road from the city centre, Rochdale Road, to Middleton. The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Domesday Book, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon Blæclēah = dark wood or dark clearing. In the 13th and 14th centuries Blackley was referred to as Blakeley or Blakelegh, by the Middle Ages, Blackley had become a park belonging to the lords of Manchester. Its value in 1282 was recorded as £6 13s 4d, a sum approximately equivalent in buying power to £3,500 today, the lords of Manchester leased the land from time to time. In 1473 John Byron held the leases on Blackley village, Blackley field, the Byron family continued to hold the land until the beginning of the 17th century when Blackley was sold in parcels to a number of landowners. By the middle of the 17th century, Blackley was a village of just 107 inhabitants, Blackley today is hardly recognisable as the same rural area, that it had been at the start of the 19th century. Now only local place names like Meadows School, Plant Hill or French Barn Lane hint at its rural past. The first industrial enterprise in the area was the Borelle Dyeworks, established in 1785, by an emigrant French industrialist Louis Borelle, who gave his name in corrupted form to Barrel Brow. A contemporary and compatriot of his was Angel Raphael Louis Delaunay, whose Delaunay Dyeworks, after Delaunays death in 1865, the noted chemist Ivan Levinstein bought the dyeworks. The facility expanded, under Imperial Chemical Industries ownership, to employ a large number and it was in the ICI laboratories that not only dyestuffs but also medical breakthroughs, such as the anti malarial drug Paludrine, and Antrycide to combat African sleeping sickness were discovered. In recent years, the facility has contracted, and the level is now less than 100 in a descendant company, Avecia. Adjacent to this facility, and formerly an early 19th century logwood mill, there was plant, Connollys Ltd. later BICC. Blackley is a part of the constituency of Blackley and Broughton. The current Member of Parliament is Graham Stringer, UKIP came second in the constituency in May 2015, in the months general election. During the 1930s, substantial residential development took place in Blackley to provide housing for Manchesters growing population. This is an area with a mixture of housing which is privately owned homes, owner occupied. Blackley is well served in terms of space and parks, with significant open spaces at Tweedale Common, Irk Valley
2.
Manchester
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Manchester is a major city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 514,414 as of 2013. It lies within the United Kingdoms second-most populous urban area, with a population of 2.55 million, Manchester is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester City Council and it was historically a part of Lancashire, although areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated during the 20th century. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a township but began to expand at an astonishing rate around the turn of the 19th century. Manchesters unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and its fortunes declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation. The city centre was devastated in a bombing in 1996, but it led to extensive investment, in 2014, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked Manchester as a beta world city, the highest-ranked British city apart from London. Manchester is the third-most visited city in the UK and it is notable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station was the worlds first inter-city passenger railway station and in the city scientists first split the atom, the name Manchester originates from the Latin name Mamucium or its variant Mancunium and the citizens are still referred to as Mancunians. These are generally thought to represent a Latinisation of an original Brittonic name, both meanings are preserved in languages derived from Common Brittonic, mam meaning breast in Irish and mother in Welsh. The suffix -chester is a survival of Old English ceaster and their territory extended across the fertile lowland of what is now Salford and Stretford. Central Manchester has been settled since this time. A stabilised fragment of foundations of the version of the Roman fort is visible in Castlefield. After the Roman withdrawal and Saxon conquest, the focus of settlement shifted to the confluence of the Irwell, much of the wider area was laid waste in the subsequent Harrying of the North. Thomas de la Warre, lord of the manor, founded and constructed a church for the parish in 1421. The church is now Manchester Cathedral, the premises of the college house Chethams School of Music. The library, which opened in 1653 and is open to the public today, is the oldest free public reference library in the United Kingdom. Manchester is mentioned as having a market in 1282, around the 14th century, Manchester received an influx of Flemish weavers, sometimes credited as the foundation of the regions textile industry
3.
Xaverian College
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Xaverian College is a Roman Catholic college in Manchester, England, founded by the Xaverian Brothers in 1862. In the inner city suburb of Rusholme, close to Wilmslow Road and Oxford Road, many of the students originate from ethnic minorities. Admissions consist of three hierarchal priorities,1, pupils studying at one of the seven associated Roman Catholic High Schools and Trinity Church of England High School are guaranteed a place at Xaverian if they wish to take it. Next priority is given to students in Roman Catholic schools who are in partnership with Xaverian, priority then falls to Roman Catholic pupils at non-Roman Catholic schools who meet entry requirements. There is a NHS Cadets vocational programme which has entry criteria that are not based on a religion or beliefs. Xaverian College also accommodates a group of approximately fifty Manchester University students undertaking foundation degrees in dentistry, medicine and pharmacy. The Xaverian Brothers, or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier, are a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839, the order is dedicated to Roman Catholic education in the United Kingdom, the United States and many other countries. The College was founded by the Xaverian Brothers in 1862 and until 1903 was housed in a four building on Oxford Road. On the move to the then gated Victoria Park, it was housed in a building known as Firwood, but over time, through new building projects and acquisition. Firwood was home to the Brothers until 1993 when the last of them left, another former house which has now become part of the college, Ward Hall, was used as a camp for American servicemen in the Second World War. Mancunian Films, a motion picture company, used the exterior of the College in several of their films, including Its A Grand Life, starring Frank Randle. The film company sold their Dickenson Road Studios to the BBC in 1954, when the BBC left in 1974 to move to Oxford Road, Xaverian inherited their lighting rigs, now used in the drama studio. From 1946-77, the school was a direct grant grammar school, the College was a Roman Catholic grammar school for boys until 1977, when it became a mixed sixth-form college. Although focus on religion has been relaxed since the transition. The colleges Ofsted report in March 2008 rated it as outstanding, grade 1, the college has a very strong academic reputation in Manchester, with many subjects having 100% pass rates and 80% of students progressing to university. The college consists of eight buildings on two sides of Lower Park Road, Ward Hall, Birtles, Marylands, Firwood, Xavier, Sunbury, Ryken and Mayfield, built from 1840 onwards. Additions and renovations have been a feature of the campuss development. The Ryken and Mayfield buildings, added at the start of the 21st century, the Ryken building was named after one of the founders of the Xaverian order, Theodore James Ryken
4.
Manchester School of Theatre
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The Manchester School of Theatre is a drama school, situated in the city of Manchester, UK. According to The Complete University Guide, the school has a ratio of over 50,1 applicants for each place on the BA Acting course, the September 2012 intake of twenty-eight students were chosen from over seventeen hundred people who auditioned for a place on the course. It is part of The Manchester Metropolitan University, the school trains students to become professional actors in the stage, television and radio industry. The course offered is BA Acting, which three years. Students who complete the three year BA are eligible for Equity status, third year productions are open to the public, tickets can be booked through the Capitol Theatre website. All third year take part in an annual showcase which takes place both at Capitol Theatre, and the Soho Theatre in London in the spring term. Notable graduates from the school of theatre include, Capitol Theatre website Official website
5.
Boys from the Blackstuff
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Boys from the Blackstuff is a British television drama series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2. The serial was written by Liverpudlian playwright Alan Bleasdale, as a sequel to a television play, the British Film Institute described it as a seminal drama series. A warm, humorous but ultimately tragic look at the way economics affect ordinary people, tVs most complete dramatic response to the Thatcher era and as a lament to the end of a male, working class British culture. The television play The Black Stuff was originally written by Bleasdale for BBC1s Play for Today anthology series in 1978, after filming however, the play was not transmitted until 2 January 1980. It concerned a group of Liverpudlian tarmac layers on a job near Middlesbrough, the acclaim that The Black Stuff received on its eventual transmission led to the commissioning of the sequel serial, of which Bleasdale had already written a considerable amount. The series Boys from the Blackstuff follows the stories of the five now-unemployed men who lost their jobs following the events of the original play The Black Stuff. Set in Bleasdales home city of Liverpool, and reflecting many of his own experiences of life in the city, the series was highly acclaimed for its powerful and emotional depiction of the desperation wrought by high unemployment and a subsequent lack of social support. By early 1982, unemployment had reached 3,000,000 people as a result of economic recession, the character of Yosser Hughes was widely discussed. Became part of the consciousness of the Eighties, summing up the mood of many who sought desperately for work during the era. Hughes was played by Bernard Hill, who uses his Mancunian accent, the serial also helped to establish the career of Julie Walters, who played the most prominent female role as Angie, the wife of Chrissie, played by Michael Angelis. The serial was made by the English Regions Drama department based at BBC Birmingham and was shot on location in Liverpool, the writer Alan Bleasdale went on to write the scripts for The Monocled Mutineer and G. B. H. The series was so successful upon its original broadcast that only nine weeks after it had finished transmission and it was also transmitted again on BBC2 as part of that stations twenty-fifth anniversary season in 1989. It was also named as one of the forty greatest television shows in a 2003 list compiled by the Radio Times magazines chief television writer Alison Graham. In March 2007, Channel 4 broadcast a Top 50 Dramas programme, based on input from industry rather than the public. It follows the group as they set off from Liverpool to undertake a casual tarmac laying job on a new housing development in Middlesbrough, the episode was produced in 1978 but was not broadcast until 1980. Along the way at a service station, the group encounter a female student who hitch-hikes a lift to Leeds. Part of the group mocks her, but Yossers insecurity and unwillingness to be dominated by women is especially manifested after she taunts him when she is dropped off. In Middlesbrough, the group are approached by two Irish gypsies, Brendan and Dominic, who offer them the chance of a side job, the group manager, McKenna, later discovers this and fires them all
6.
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
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Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk KG PC was a prominent Tudor politician. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, namely Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, after falling from favour in 1546 he was stripped of the dukedom and imprisoned in the Tower, avoiding execution when Henry VIII died a year later. He was the eldest son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk by his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney and he was descended in the female line from Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, the sixth son of King Edward I. Due to their alliegance to the side, the Howard familys titles became forfeit. Howard was a soldier, and was often employed in military operations. In 1497 he served in a campaign against the Scots under the command of his father and he was made a Knight of the Garter after the accession of King Henry VIII, and became the Kings close companion, with lodgings at court. On 4 May 1513 he was appointed Lord Admiral and on 9 September helped to defeat the Scots at the Battle of Flodden. Anne of York died in 1511, and early in 1513 he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, and Eleanor Percy, the daughter of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland. On 1 February 1514 Howards father, then Earl of Surrey, was created Duke of Norfolk, over the next few years he served the King in a variety of ways. In September 1514 he escorted the Kings sister Princess Mary to France for her forthcoming marriage, in 1517 he quelled a May day riot in London with the use of soldiers. On 10 March 1520, Surrey was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland, by July 1520 Surrey entered upon the thankless task of endeavouring to keep Ireland in order. His letters contain accounts of attempts to pacify the rival factions of Kildare and Ormonde, at the end of 1521 Surrey was recalled from Ireland to take command of the English fleet in naval operations against France. His ships were ill-provisioned, and his warfare consisted of a series of raids upon the French coast for the purpose of inflicting all the damage possible. In July 1522 he burned Morlaix, in September laid waste the country round Boulogne, on 4 December 1522 Surrey was made Lord Treasurer upon his fathers resignation of the office, and on 21 May 1524 he succeeded his father as 3rd Duke of Norfolk. His liking for war brought him conflict with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Finding himself pushed aside, Norfolk spent considerable time away from court in 1525–7 and 1528, by 1529 matters of state were being increasingly handled by Norfolk, Suffolk and the Boleyns, who pressed the King to remove Wolsey. In October the King sent Norfolk and Suffolk to obtain the seal from the Cardinal. In November Wolsey was arrested on a charge of treason, Norfolk benefited from Wolseys fall, becoming the Kings leading councillor and applying himself energetically in the Kings efforts to find a way out of his marriage to Queen Katherine
7.
Wolf Hall (miniseries)
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Wolf Hall is a British television serial first broadcast on BBC Two in January 2015. Wolf Hall was first broadcast in April 2015 in the United States on PBS, according to The Guardian £7 million was to be spent on the adaptation. BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow said it was fortunate to have the rights to the two novels and called Wolf Hall a great contemporary novel. Peter Kosminsky, the director of the series, said, This is a first for me, but it is an intensely political piece. It is about the politics of despotism, and how you function around an absolute ruler, I have a sense that Hilary Mantel wanted that immediacy. When I saw Peter Straughans script, only a first draft and it was the best draft I had ever seen. He had managed to distil 1,000 pages of the novels into six hours, hes a theatre writer by trade. The drama series features 102 characters and Kosminsky began casting the other parts in October 2013, the series was filmed in May to July 2014. The series, which was made in association with Masterpiece Entertainment and Playground Entertainment, Mantel called Straughans scripts a miracle of elegant compression and I believe with such a strong team the original material can only be enhanced. Kosminskys decision to film many of the scenes by candlelight led to the actors bumping into things. The Long Gallery doubled as Anne Boleyns chamber, callender said that lead performers Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis were eager to return. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the show a 100% rating based on 29 reviews with a rating of 8. 6/10. The critical consensus reads, Beautifully filmed and brilliantly acted, Wolf Hall masterfully brings Hilary Mantels award-winning novels to life, sam Wollaston in The Guardian called it sumptuous, intelligent, event television. Will Dean, writing for The Independent, gave it four out of five stars and he did not believe it compared favourably with the stage adaptation of the book, yet predicted it would secure a devoted following. James Walton in The Daily Telegraph gave the first episode five out of five, commenting. Audience figures did not reflect this, however, with a substantial fall between the first and second episode and complaints about the slow pacing, among Catholics, George Weigel has referred to the series as Upmarket Anti-Catholicism. Several American Catholic bishops have been similarly critical, elsewhere, several historians have expressed concerns about historical inaccuracy in the series. Constitutional historian David Starkey has said, To reach such a conclusion about More and Cromwell from the very difficult, both men believed in the idea of enforcing ideas on others by persecution and execution
8.
Wolf Hall
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Wolf Hall is an historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family seat of Wolfhall or Wulfhall in Wiltshire. The novel won both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, in 2012, The Observer named it as one of The 10 best historical novels. The book is the first in a trilogy, the sequel Bring Up the Bodies was published in 2012, the last book in the trilogy will be called The Mirror and the Light and is expected to cover the last four years of Cromwells life. Born to a family of no position or name, Cromwell rose to become the right-hand man of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. He survived Wolseys fall from grace to eventually take his place as the most powerful of Henrys ministers, Mantel spent five years researching and writing the book, the trickiest part, she said in an interview, was trying to match her version of events to the historical record. You really need to know, where is the Duke of Suffolk at the moment and you cant have him in London if hes supposed to be somewhere else, she explained. In an interview with The Guardian, Mantel stated her aim to place the reader in that time, the essence of the thing is not to judge with hindsight, not to pass judgment from the lofty perch of the 21st century when we know what happened. Wolf Hall includes a large cast of fictionalised historical persons, Wolf Hall succeeds on its own terms and then some, both as a non-frothy historical novel and as a display of Mantels extraordinary talent. Lyrically yet cleanly and tightly written, solidly imagined yet filled with spooky resonances, a sequel is apparently in the works, and its not the least of Mantels achievements that the reader finishes this 650-page book wanting more. dreadfully badly written. Mantel just wrote and wrote and wrote, I have yet to meet anyone outside the Booker panel who managed to get to the end of this tedious tome. God forbid there might be a sequel, which I fear is on the horizon, over two decades, she has gained a reputation as an elegant anatomiser of malevolence and cruelty. It is that movement between laughter and horror that makes this rich pageant of Tudor life her most humane and bewitching novel. As soon as I opened the book I was gripped, when I did have to put it down, I was full of regret the story was over, a regret I still feel. Winner –2009 Man Booker Prize, james Naughtie, the chairman of the Booker prize judges, said the decision to give Wolf Hall the award was based on the sheer bigness of the book. Winner –2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, winner –2010 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. Winner –2010 The Morning News Tournament of Books, stage In January 2013 the RSC announced that it would stage adaptations by Mike Poulton of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies in its Winter season. The production transferred to Londons Aldwych Theatre in May 2014 for a run until October. The double-bill has been re-titled Wolf Hall, Parts 1 and 2 for American audiences, the play was nominated for 8 Tony Awards, including Best Play
9.
Edward Smith (sea captain)
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Edward John Smith, RD was a British Merchant Navy officer. He served as master of numerous White Star Line vessels and he is best known as the captain of the RMS Titanic, perishing when the ship sank on its maiden voyage. Raised in an environment, he left school early to join the Merchant Navy. After earning his masters ticket, he entered the service of the White Star Line and he quickly rose through the ranks and graduated in 1887. His first command was the SS Celtic and he served as commanding officer of numerous White Star Line vessels, including the Majestic and attracted a strong and loyal following amongst passengers. In 1904, Smith became the commodore of the White Star Line and he successfully commanded the Baltic, Adriatic and the Olympic. In 1912, he was the captain of the voyage of the RMS Titanic. For his stoicism and fortitude in the face of adversity, Smith became an icon of British stiff upper lip spirit and his parents later owned a shop. Smith attended the Etruria British School until the age of 13, in 1867, aged 17 he went to Liverpool in the footsteps of his half-brother Joseph Hancock, a captain on a sailing ship. He began his apprenticeship on Senator Weber, owned by A Gibson & Co. of Liverpool, on 13 January 1887, Smith married Sarah Eleanor Pennington at St Oswalds Church, Winwick, Cheshire. Their daughter, Helen Melville Smith, was born in Waterloo, the family lived in an imposing red brick, twin-gabled house, named Woodhead, on Winn Road, Highfield, Southampton, Hampshire. Edward Smith joined the White Star Line in March 1880 as the Fourth Officer of SS Celtic and he served aboard the companys liners to Australia and to New York City, where he quickly rose in status. In 1887, he received his first White Star command, the Republic, in 1888, Smith earned his Extra Masters Certificate and joined the Royal Naval Reserve, receiving a commission as a Lieutenant, which entitled him to add the letters RNR after his name. This meant that in a time of war he could be called upon to serve in the Royal Navy, Smith was Majestics captain for nine years commencing in 1895. When the Boer War started in 1899, Majestic was called upon to transport troops to Cape Colony. Smith made two trips to South Africa, both without incident, and in 1903, for his service, King Edward VII awarded him the Transport Medal, Smith was regarded as a safe captain. As he rose in seniority, he gained a following amongst passengers with only sailing the Atlantic on a ship he captained. Smith even became known as the Millionaires Captain, from 1904 on, Smith commanded the White Star Lines newest ships on their maiden voyages
10.
Titanic (1997 film)
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Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance-disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. Camerons inspiration for the film came from his fascination with shipwrecks, production began in 1995, when Cameron shot footage of the actual Titanic wreck. The modern scenes on the vessel were shot on board the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh. Scale models, computer-generated imagery, and a reconstruction of the Titanic built at Playas de Rosarito in Baja California were used to re-create the sinking, the film was partially funded by Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. It was the most expensive film made at time, with an estimated budget of $200 million. Upon its release on December 19,1997, Titanic achieved critical and commercial success, with an initial worldwide gross of over $1.84 billion, Titanic was the first film to reach the billion-dollar mark. It remained the highest-grossing film of all time until Camerons 2009 film Avatar surpassed it in 2010. A 3D version of Titanic, released on April 4,2012 to commemorate the centennial of the sinking, earned it an additional $343.6 million worldwide and it became the second film to gross more than $2 billion worldwide. In 2015, Titanic Live, an orchestra version of the film. In 1996, treasure hunter Brock Lovett and his team aboard the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh search the wreck of RMS Titanic for a necklace with a rare diamond, the Heart of the Ocean. They recover a safe containing a drawing of a woman wearing only the necklace dated April 14,1912. Rose Dawson Calvert, the woman in the drawing, is brought aboard Keldysh, in 1912 Southampton, 17-year-old first-class passenger Rose DeWitt Bukater, her fiancé Cal Hockley, and her mother Ruth board the luxurious Titanic. Ruth emphasizes that Roses marriage will resolve their familys financial problems, distraught over the engagement, Rose considers suicide by jumping from the stern, Jack Dawson, a penniless artist, intervenes and discourages her. Discovered with Jack, Rose tells a concerned Cal that she was peering over the edge, when Cal becomes indifferent, she suggests to him that Jack deserves a reward. He invites Jack to dine with them in first class the following night, Jack and Rose develop a tentative friendship, despite Cal and Ruth being wary of him. Following dinner, Rose secretly joins Jack at a party in third class, aware of Cal and Ruths disapproval, Rose rebuffs Jacks advances, but realizes she prefers him over Cal. After rendezvousing on the bow at sunset, Rose takes Jack to her room, at her request, Jack sketches Rose posing nude wearing Cals engagement present. They evade Cals bodyguard and have sex in an automobile inside the cargo hold, on the forward deck, they witness a collision with an iceberg and overhear the officers and designer discussing its seriousness
11.
The Lord of the Rings (film series)
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The Lord of the Rings is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, the films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. They were distributed by New Line Cinema, each film in the series also had special extended editions released on DVD a year after their respective theatrical releases. While the films follow the general storyline, they do omit some of the novels plot elements and include some additions to. The Fellowship eventually splits up and Frodo continues the quest together with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin, the series was a major financial success, with the films collectively being among the highest-grossing film series of all time. The films were acclaimed and heavily awarded, winning 17 out of 30 total Academy Award nominations. The series received praise for its innovative special and visual effects. Director Peter Jackson first came into contact with The Lord of the Rings when he saw Ralph Bakshis 1978 animated film The Lord of the Rings, Jackson enjoyed the film and wanted to know more. Afterwards, he read an edition of the book during a twelve-hour train journey from Wellington to Auckland when he was seventeen. In 1995, Jackson was finishing The Frighteners and considered The Lord of the Rings as a new project, with the new developments in computer-generated imagery following Jurassic Park, Jackson set about planning a fantasy film that would be relatively serious and feel real. Negotiations then stalled when Universal Studios offered Jackson a remake of King Kong, Weinstein was furious, and further problems arose when it turned out Zaentz did not have distribution rights to The Hobbit, United Artists, which was in the market, did. By April 1996, the question was still not resolved. It was also revealed that Jackson originally wanted to finish King Kong before The Lord of the Rings began, but due to location problems, he decided to start with The Lord of the Rings franchise instead. When Universal cancelled King Kong in 1997, Jackson and Walsh immediately received support from Weinstein, Jackson and Walsh asked Costa Botes to write a synopsis of the book and they began to re-read the book. Two to three months later, they had written their treatment, Bilbo attends the Council of Elrond, Sam looks into Galadriels mirror, Saruman is redeemed before he dies and the Nazgûl just make it into Mount Doom before they fall. They presented their treatment to Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the latter of whom they focused on impressing with their screenwriting as he had not read the book and they agreed upon two films and a total budget of $75 million. During mid-1997, Jackson and Walsh began writing with Stephen Sinclair, sinclairs partner, Philippa Boyens, was a major fan of the book and joined the writing team after reading their treatment
12.
San Quentin Prison
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San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated town of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in California, the states only death row for male inmates, the largest in the United States, is located at the prison. It has a gas chamber, but since 1996, executions at the prison have been carried out by lethal injection. The prison has been featured on film, video, and television, is the subject of books, has hosted concerts. The correctional complex sits on Point San Quentin, which comprises 432 acres on the side of San Francisco Bay. The prison complex itself occupies 275 acres, valued in a 2001 study at between $129 million and $664 million, the prison complex has its own ZIP code for mail sent to inmates,94974, the ZIP code of the adjacent community of Point San Quentin Village is 94964. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay to the south and west and by Interstate 580 to the north and east, near the northern terminus of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. As of October 30,2013 the prison had a capacity of 3,082 but a total institution population of 4,223. It has Level I housing, Level II housing, a Reception Center which provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates, as of Fiscal Year 2006/2007, the prison had 1,718 staff and an annual budget of $210 million. It is one of the largest prisons in the United States with a population of 4,223 inmates as of October 30,2013, by December 2016, the population had declined to 3,774 inmates. Men condemned to death in California must be held at San Quentin, as of December 2015, San Quentin held almost 700 male inmates in its Condemned Unit, or death row. As of 2001, San Quentins death row was described as the largest in the Western Hemisphere, as of 2005, the states of Florida and Texas had fewer death row inmates in 2008 than San Quentin. Most of the death row inmates reside in the East Block. The fourth floor of the North Block was the prisons first death row facility, the adjustment center received solid doors, preventing gunning-down or attacking persons with bodily waste. As of 2016 it housed 81 death row inmates and four non-death row inmates, a dedicated psychiatric facility serves the prisoners. A converted shower bay in the East Block hosts religious services, many prison programs available for most inmates are unavailable for death row inmates. Although $395 million was allocated in the 2008–2009 state budget for new death row facilities at San Quentin, in December 2008 two legislators introduced bills to eliminate the funding. The state had planned to build a new death row facility, in 2015 Brown asked the Legislature for funds for a new death row as the current death row facilities were becoming filled
13.
Clint Eastwood
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Clinton Clint Eastwood Jr. is an American actor, filmmaker, musician, and political figure. These roles, among others, have made Eastwood an enduring icon of masculinity. For his work in the Western film Unforgiven and the sports drama Million Dollar Baby, Eastwood won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture, as well as receiving nominations for Best Actor. Eastwoods greatest commercial successes have been the adventure comedy Every Which Way But Loose and its sequel, the war drama biopic American Sniper set box office records for the largest January release ever and was also the largest opening ever for an Eastwood film. Eastwood received considerable praise in France for several films, including some that were not well received in the United States. Eastwood has been awarded two of Frances highest honors, in 1994 he became a recipient of the Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, in 2000, Eastwood was awarded the Italian Venice Film Festival Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. Since 1967, Eastwood has run his own company, Malpaso. Starting in 1986, Eastwood served for two years as Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, a non-partisan office, Eastwood was born Clinton Eastwood Jr. May 31,1930, in San Francisco, California, the son of Clinton Eastwood Sr. and he has one younger sister, Jeanne Bernhardt. Eastwood is of English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry and he is descended from Mayflower passenger William Bradford, and through this line is the 12th generation of his family born in North America and the 13th generation to live in North America. His family moved often as his father worked at jobs along the West Coast, settled in Piedmont, California, the Eastwoods lived in a very wealthy part of town, had a swimming pool, belonged to the country club, and each parent drove their own car. Clint attended Piedmont Junior High School, shortly before he was to enter Piedmont High School, he rode his bike on the schools sports field and tore up the wet turf, this resulted in his being asked not to enroll. Clint graduated from the airplane shop, I think that was his major, joked classmate Don Kincaid. Another high school friend, Don Loomis, echoed I dont think he was spending much time at school because he was having a pretty good time elsewhere. I think what happened is he just went off and started having a good time, I just dont think he finished high school, explained Fritz Manes, a boyhood friend two years younger than Eastwood, who remained associated with him until their falling out in the mid-1980s. Biographer Patrick McGilligan notes that high school records are a matter of strict legal confidentiality. Eastwood worked at a number of jobs, including lifeguard, paper carrier, grocery clerk, forest firefighter, Eastwood has said that he tried to enroll at Seattle University but was then drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War. He always dropped the Korean War reference, hoping everyone would conclude that he was in combat, actually, hed been a lifeguard at Fort Ord in northern California for his entire stint in the military, commented Eastwoods former longtime companion, Sondra Locke
14.
True Crime (1999 film)
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True Crime is a 1999 American mystery drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and based on Andrew Klavans 1995 novel of the same name. Eastwood also stars in the film as a journalist covering the execution of a death row inmate, only to discover that the convict may actually be innocent. He gets permission from his editors boss to investigate, and is told that the top editor would call the Governor, and he thus has a little over 12 hours to confirm his hunch and save Beechum. Everett interviews a prosecution witness, Dale Porterhouse, who saw Beechum at the store where the took place. Everett confronts D. A. Cecelia Nussbaum for putting an innocent man on death row. She reveals that a person was interviewed after the crime, a young man, Warren. Everett decides that Warren, never called as a witness, is probably the real killer and he breaks into the deceased reporters house, suspecting that she had been onto something and finds her file on Warren. Meanwhile, Warden Luther Plunkett also starts to have doubts about Beechums guilt, Everett falls out with his bosses and is fired on the spot, but he points out that his contract entitles him to adequate notice. They ask him how much notice he requires, and, looking at his watch, while working his notice he tracks down Angela Russel, Warrens grandmother. The prison chaplain misrepresents an exchange with Beechum as a confession to the crime. Everett hears about this on the radio and loses heart, on top of this, his wife Barbara has found out about his affair with his editors wife and has turned him out of the house. He is about to start drinking again when he sees a piece on TV that shows a photograph of Amy wearing a locket, Everett drives back to Angelas house. When he tells her about the locket she realizes the truth, Everett now has to get Angela to the Governors house in order to persuade him to order a stay of execution, but it might be too late. The execution uses 3 drugs, a sleep inducer called thiopental, a drug that paralyzes muscles. As they approach the Governors mansion, the first drug has already been injected into Franks bloodstream, the Governor calls, and the doctors try to revive him, while his wife Bonnie bangs on the window calling out for her husband to wake up. Six months later, a week before Christmas, Everett is out buying a stuffed hippo for his daughter, and he catches sight of Frank and his family doing their Christmas shopping. Steve and Frank acknowledge each other, but Franks daughter shouts for him to come on and it received mixed reactions from critics, with a score of 55% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 40 reviews
15.
Richard Griffiths
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Richard Thomas Griffiths, OBE was an English actor of film, television, and stage. For the 2006 film adaptation, Griffiths was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, earlier in his career, he had a prominent supporting role as British journalist Collins in Richard Attenboroughs Academy Award-winning film Gandhi. Griffiths was born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Jane and his father was a steelworker who also fought in pubs for money, while his mothers occupation was described as bagger. He and his brother John were raised in the Roman Catholic faith and his parents were both deaf, and he learned sign language at an early age in order to communicate with them. During his childhood he attempted to run away from many times. He dropped out of Our Lady & St Bede School in Stockton-On-Tees at age 15 and worked as a porter for Littlewoods for a while and he decided to attend a drama class at Stockton & Billingham College. He continued his education in drama at Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama, after graduating, Griffiths earned a spot on BBC Radio. He also worked in theatres, sometimes acting and sometimes managing. He eventually settled in Manchester and began to get roles in plays. From there, he began to appear on television and then got his big break in film in It Shouldnt Happen to a Vet, by the early 1980s, he was selected for the lead role in Bird of Prey, an early computer-conspiracy thriller. His character Henry Jay was reprised in Bird of Prey 2, in 1981, he also gave a memorable performance as Chilean secret police victim William Beausire in an edition of the BBC Prisoners of Conscience series. Griffiths went on to supporting roles in a number of films, including The French Lieutenants Woman, Chariots of Fire. On stage, in 1985–86, he performed the role of Verdi in Julian Mitchells After Aida, in Wales and he appeared in The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends. Griffiths film roles were in contemporary and period pieces, such as Gorky Park, Withnail and I, King Ralph, The Naked Gun 2½, The Smell of Fear, Guarding Tess. He appeared as Inspector Henry Crabbe, disillusioned policeman and pie chef extraordinaire, in Pie in the Sky and he also made an extended appearance in the 2005 version of Charles Dickens Bleak House. In 2004, he originated the role of Hector in Alan Bennetts play The History Boys, directed by Nicholas Hytner, during the plays subsequent United States run, he added a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Tony Award. He reprised his role in the version, which was released in October 2006. Later, in 2009, he replaced Michael Gambon as W. H. Auden prior to the premiere of The Habit of Art at the National Theatre, once again directed by Hytner
16.
Yosser Hughes
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Jimmy Yosser Hughes is a fictional character from Alan Bleasdales 1982 television series Boys from the Blackstuff, set in Liverpool, portrayed by Bernard Hill. Yosser appears as a man in his mid-thirties who wears predominantly black clothes and has a distinctive bushy moustache. He always appears unkempt and unshaven and he had a wife called Maureen, an aggressive, unloving harridan who frequently berates him and had an affair with another man, the likely father of their three children. The pilot of Blackstuff implies that Hughes worked in the Middle East at some time during the 1970s, in the original pilot episode, he appeared comparatively sane, but displayed macho insecurities that would make his redundancy especially hard to take. When Molloy took him to task over a wall, Hughes headbutted him and kicked down the wall. Yosser eventually ends up courting arrest by smashing a storefront window, Bleasdales use of black humour is also apparent in a scene in which a distraught Yosser and his three children enter a confessional where a priest named Fr. Daniel Thomas is listening, and telling him Im desperate, Father, when the priest tries to calm him and sympathetically urges Yosser to call him Dan, Yosser blurts out the words, Im desperate, Dan. A play on the character, Desperate Dan. Bleasdale admitted on 2 September 2011 on Radio 4s programme Reunion that he had been saving that joke for years and he has been taken in by his mother and there seems little chance that he will see his children again. Yosser attends Georges funeral and loudly sniggers at the priests banal eulogy, in the pub afterwards, he raises a cheer when he headbutts a vicious former bouncer into unconsciousness. The series tackled the subject of unemployment, Yosser became an icon of Thatcherite Britain in the 1980s with his catchphrase of Gizza job
17.
Liverpool
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Liverpool is a major city and metropolitan borough in North West England.24 million people in 2011. Liverpool historically lay within the ancient hundred of West Derby in the south west of the county of Lancashire and it became a borough from 1207 and a city from 1880. In 1889 it became a county borough independent of Lancashire, Liverpool sits on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary and its growth as a major port is paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with general cargo, freight, raw materials such as coal and cotton, the city was also directly involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Liverpool was home to both the Cunard and White Star Line, and was the port of registry of the ocean liner RMS Titanic and others such as the RMS Lusitania, Queen Mary, and Olympic. The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007, and it held the European Capital of Culture title together with Stavanger, Norway, several areas of Liverpool city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 2004. The Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City includes the Pier Head, Albert Dock, tourism forms a significant part of the citys economy. Liverpool is also the home of two Premier League football clubs, Liverpool and Everton, matches between the two being known as the Merseyside derby, the world-famous Grand National horse race takes place annually at Aintree Racecourse on the outskirts of the city. The city is home to the oldest Black African community in the country. Natives of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians and colloquially as Scousers, a reference to scouse, the word Scouse has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect. Pool is a place name element in England from the Brythonic word for a pond, inlet, or pit, cognate with the modern Welsh. The derivation of the first element remains uncertain, with the Welsh word Llif as the most plausible relative and this etymology is supported by its similarity to that of the archaic Welsh name for Liverpool Llynlleifiad. Other origins of the name have suggested, including elverpool. The name appeared in 1190 as Liuerpul, and it may be that the place appearing as Leyrpole, in a record of 1418. King Johns letters patent of 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, the original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by King John near the same time it was granted a royal charter, making it a borough. The original seven streets were laid out in an H shape, Bank Street, Castle Street, Chapel Street, Dale Street, Juggler Street, Moor Street, in the 17th century there was slow progress in trade and population growth. Battles for the town were waged during the English Civil War, in 1699 Liverpool was made a parish by Act of Parliament, that same year its first slave ship, Liverpool Merchant, set sail for Africa. Since Roman times, the city of Chester on the River Dee had been the regions principal port on the Irish Sea
18.
BBC
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, the BBC is the worlds oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total,16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting, the total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed contract staff are included. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs radio, TV, britains first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford took place in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mails Lord Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, the Melba broadcast caught the peoples imagination and marked a turning point in the British publics attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office, was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved manufacturers, to this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to inform, educate and entertain. The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate, set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between the GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster-General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee and this was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee with no royalty once the wireless manufactures protection expired. The BBCs broadcasting monopoly was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, the BBC was also banned from presenting news bulletins before 19.00, and required to source all news from external wire services. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee, by now the BBC under Reiths leadership had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit the loss making consortium with Reith keen that the BBC be seen as a service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production and with restrictions on news bulletins waived the BBC suddenly became the source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position, the Government was divided on how to handle the BBC but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PMs own
19.
Play for Today
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Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration, a handful of these plays, including Rumpole of the Bailey and The Blackstuff, subsequently became television series in their own right. The strand was a successor to The Wednesday Play, the 1960s anthology series, popular works screened in anthology series on BBC2, like Willy Russells Our Day Out, were repeated on BBC1 in the series. The producers of The Wednesday Play, Graeme MacDonald and Irene Shubik, Shubik continued with the series until 1973 while MacDonald remained with the series until 1977 when he was promoted. Later producers included Margaret Matheson and Richard Eyre, in its time, Play for Today featured contemporary social realist dramas, historical pieces, fantasies, biopics and occasionally science-fiction. Most pieces were written directly for television, but there were also occasional adaptations from other forms, such as novels. Several prominent directors also featured, including Stephen Frears, Alan Clarke, Michael Apted, Mike Newell, Roland Joffe, Ken Loach, Lindsay Anderson, and Mike Leigh. Some of the best remembered plays broadcast in the strand include Edna, certain other well known plays, including Pendas Fen, Nuts in May, were commissioned by David Rose of the BBCs English Regions Drama department based in Birmingham. Some installments in the series were spun off into full-blown series, other offshoots were Gangsters, and a single series of science fiction-based plays styled as Play for Tomorrow. Towards the end of the run, three set in Northern Ireland were written by Graham Reid. Known as the Billy Plays, they starred Kenneth Branagh as Billy Martin in his first acting role following his graduation from RADA, scum and Brimstone and Treacle were eventually transmitted, although in the meantime both had circumvented their withdrawal by being re-made as cinema films. The series as a whole was viewed with suspicion by rightwing commentators, of particular note was the criticism of the public expenditure on the Queens Silver Jubilee in the plays The Price of Coal and The Spongers. The programme officially ended in 1984, although there was one further series not broadcast in its name but in its replacement name Screen One. The general trend in 1980s television production was away from one-off plays and towards a concentration on series. A new programme publicised as a return of Play for Today, but under the title of The Evening Play, was announced at the beginning of March 2006. Jan Moir in The Daily Telegraph wrote in support of Spacey, saying the British loved Play for Today once, a good piece of drama looks at the human condition, and tells us something we should know about ourselves. Armchair Theatre ITV Playhouse Play for Tomorrow Theatre 625 The Wednesday Play Evans, oxford University Press / British Film Institute
20.
Margaret Thatcher
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She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century, and the first woman to have held the office. A Soviet journalist dubbed her The Iron Lady, a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics, as Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism. A research chemist before becoming a barrister, Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959, Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his 1970 government. In 1975, Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition and she became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation, flexible labour markets, the privatisation of state-owned companies and she narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in 1984. Thatcher was re-elected for a term in 1987. During this period her support for a Community Charge was widely unpopular and she resigned as Prime Minister and party leader in November 1990, after Michael Heseltine launched a challenge to her leadership. After retiring from the Commons in 1992, she was given a peerage as Baroness Thatcher which entitled her to sit in the House of Lords. After a series of strokes in 2002, she was advised to withdraw from public speaking. Despite this, she managed to pre-record a eulogy to Ronald Reagan prior to his death, in 2013, she died of another stroke in London, at the age of 87. Always a controversial figure, she has described as one of the greatest and most influential politicians in British history. Thatcher was born Margaret Hilda Roberts on 13 October 1925, in Grantham and her father was Alfred Roberts, originally from Northamptonshire, and her mother was Beatrice Ethel from Lincolnshire. She spent her childhood in Grantham, where her father owned two grocery shops, Prior to the Second World War, in 1938 the Roberts family gave sanctuary to a teenage Jewish girl escaping Nazi Germany. Thatcher was to describe this in her memoirs as among the significant events of her formative years, Alfred Roberts was an alderman and a Methodist local preacher, and brought up his daughter as a strict Wesleyan Methodist attending the Finkin Street Methodist Church. He came from a Liberal family but stood as an Independent and he was Mayor of Grantham in 1945–46 and lost his position as alderman in 1952 after the Labour Party won its first majority on Grantham Council in 1950. Margaret Roberts attended Huntingtower Road Primary School and won a scholarship to Kesteven and her school reports showed hard work and continual improvement, her extracurricular activities included the piano, field hockey, poetry recitals, swimming and walking. She was head girl in 1942–43, in her upper sixth year she applied for a scholarship to study chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, but she was initially rejected and was offered a place only after another candidate withdrew. Her dissertation was on the structure of the antibiotic gramicidin, even while working on chemistry, she was already thinking towards law and politics
21.
Gandhi (film)
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Gandhi was written by John Briley and produced and directed by Richard Attenborough. It stars Ben Kingsley in the title role, although a practising Hindu, Gandhis embracing of other faiths, particularly Christianity and Islam, is also depicted. Gandhi was released in India on 30 November 1982, in the United Kingdom on 3 December and it was nominated for Academy Awards in eleven categories, winning eight, including Best Picture. Richard Attenborough won for Best Director, and Ben Kingsley won for Best Actor, the screenplay of Gandhi is available as a published book. The film opens with a statement from the filmmakers explaining their approach to the problem of filming Gandhis complex life story, There is no way to give each year its allotted weight, to include each event, each person who helped to shape a lifetime. What can be done is to be faithful in spirit to the record, the film begins on the day of Gandhis assassination on 30 January 1948. After an evening prayer, an elderly Gandhi is helped out for his walk to meet a large number of greeters and admirers. One of these visitors, Nathuram Godse, shoots him point blank in the chest, the film then cuts to a huge procession at his funeral, which is attended by dignitaries from around the world. The early life of Gandhi is not depicted in the film, realising the laws are biased against Indians, he then decides to start a nonviolent protest campaign for the rights of all Indians in South Africa. After numerous arrests and unwelcome international attention, the government finally relents by recognising some rights for Indians, after this victory, Gandhi is invited back to India, where he is now considered something of a national hero. He is urged to take up the fight for Indias independence, Gandhi agrees, and mounts a nonviolent non-cooperation campaign of unprecedented scale, coordinating millions of Indians nationwide. There are some setbacks, such as violence against the protesters, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre is also depicted in the film. Nevertheless, the campaign generates great attention, and Britain faces intense public pressure, after World War II, Britain finally grants Indian independence. Indians celebrate this victory, but their troubles are far from over, the country is subsequently divided by religion. It is decided that the northwest area and the part of India. It is hoped that by encouraging the Muslims to live in a separate country, Gandhi is opposed to the idea, and is even willing to allow Muhammad Ali Jinnah to become the first prime minister of India, but the Partition of India is carried out nevertheless. Religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims erupt into nationwide violence, horrified, Gandhi declares a hunger strike, saying he will not eat until the fighting stops. Gandhi spends his last days trying to bring peace between both nations
22.
Richard Attenborough
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Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, Kt, CBE was an English actor, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and politician. He was the President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, as a film director and producer, Attenborough won two Academy Awards for Gandhi in 1983. He also won four BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, as an actor, he is perhaps best known for his roles in Brighton Rock, The Great Escape,10 Rillington Place, Miracle on 34th Street and Jurassic Park. He was the brother of David Attenborough, a naturalist and broadcaster, and John Attenborough. He was married to actress Sheila Sim from 1945 until his death, Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester and studied at RADA. The sisters moved to the United States in the 1950s and lived with an uncle, during the Second World War, Attenborough served in the Royal Air Force. After initial pilot training he was seconded to the newly formed R. A. F, Film Unit at Pinewood Studios, under the command of Flight Lieutenant John Boulting where he appeared with Edward G. Robinson in the propaganda film Journey Together. Attenboroughs acting career started on stage and he appeared in shows at Leicesters Little Theatre, Dover Street, prior to his going to RADA, in 1949, exhibitors voted him the sixth most popular British actor at the box office. Early in his career, Attenborough starred in the West End production of Agatha Christies The Mousetrap. Both he and his wife were among the original cast members of the production and it was his first appearance in a major Hollywood film blockbuster and his most successful film thus far. His portrayal of the serial killer John Christie in 10 Rillington Place garnered excellent reviews, in 1977, he played the ruthless General Outram, again to great acclaim, in the Indian director Satyajit Rays period piece The Chess Players. He starred in the remake of Miracle on 34th Street as Kris Kringle and he made his only appearance in a film adaptation of Shakespeare when he played the English ambassador who announces that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead at the end of Kenneth Branaghs Hamlet. His performance in The Angry Silence earned him his first nomination for a BAFTA, seance On A Wet Afternoon won him his first BAFTA award. His feature film debut was the all-star screen version of the hit musical Oh. What a Lovely War, after which his acting appearances became sporadic as he concentrated more on directing and producing. He later directed two epic films, Young Winston, based on the early life of Winston Churchill, and A Bridge Too Far. He had been attempting to get the project made for 18 years and he directed the screen version of the musical A Chorus Line and the anti-apartheid drama Cry Freedom. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for both films and his later films as director and producer include Chaplin starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Charlie Chaplin and Shadowlands, based on the relationship between C. S. Lewis and Joy Gresham
23.
The Bounty (1984 film)
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The Bounty is a 1984 British historical drama film directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins, and produced by Bernard Williams with Dino De Laurentiis as executive producer. It is the film version of the story of the mutiny on the Bounty. The screenplay was by Robert Bolt and it was based on the book Captain Bligh and it was made by Dino De Laurentiis Productions and distributed by Orion Pictures Corporation and Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment. The music score was composed by Vangelis and the cinematography was by Arthur Ibbetson, the attempt to round Cape Horn fails due to harsh weather, and the ship is obliged to take the longer eastern route. During their stay in Tahiti, ship discipline becomes problematic, many of the develop a taste for the easy pleasures that island life offers. Bligh, at the time, subjects the crew to pressure. When the ship leaves Tahiti, Fletcher is forced to leave his wife, Mauatua. The resumption of naval discipline on the return voyage turns Bligh into a tyrant not willing to tolerate any disobedience whatsoever, creating an atmosphere of tension, Bligh insists that the ship is dirty and orders the crew to clean up several times a day. Many of the men, including Christian, are singled out for tongue-lashings by Bligh, playing on Christians resentment against Blighs treatment of both him and the men, the more militant members of the crew finally persuade Christian to take control of the ship. Bligh is roused from his bed and arrested, along with those loyal to him, and they are forced into a ships boat, minimally supplied. One man, however, is killed by natives as the stop for supplies on a hostile island. The mutineers sail back to Tahiti to collect their wives, girlfriends, King Tynah, however, is concerned that their presence on the island could incite King George to declare war against Tahiti and his people. Realising the folly of staying, they gather supplies and sail away to try to find a safe refuge, Christian pleads with Tynah to allow Mauatua to decide her own destiny. Tynah concedes, and Mauatua chooses the uncertainty of a life with Christian over remaining with her father, the search for a safe haven is long and seemingly impossible, as they realise that any pursuing Royal Navy vessels will search all known islands and coastlines to find them. At this point, those who remained on board the Bounty are so frustrated that they are ready to rebel against Christian to turn the back towards Tahiti. After Christian forces the crew to continue on, they eventually find Pitcairn Island, meanwhile, Fletcher Christian and his men realise that they will never go back home to Britain. Melvyn Bragg ended up writing a considerable portion of the script, Anthony Hopkins was one of two actors considered for the role of Captain Bligh by David Lean. Christopher Reeve, Sting and David Essex were considered for the role of Fletcher Christian, the role of Peter Heywood was originally intended to be played by Hugh Grant
24.
HMS Bounty
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HMS Bounty, also known as HM Armed Vessel Bounty, was a small merchant vessel purchased by the Royal Navy for a botanical mission. The ship was sent to the Pacific Ocean under the command of William Bligh to acquire breadfruit plants and that mission was never completed due to a mutiny led by Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian. This incident is now known as the Mutiny on the Bounty. The ship was burned on Pitcairn Island by the mutineers. The remains of the Bounty were re-discovered in 1957 by an American adventurer, Bounty was originally known as collier Bethia, built in 1784 at the Blaydes shipyard in Kingston upon Hull, East Yorkshire, England. The vessel was purchased by the Royal Navy for £1,950 on 23 May 1787, refit, the ship was relatively small at 215 tons, but had three masts and was full-rigged. After conversion for the expedition, she was equipped with four 4-pounder cannon. The experiment was proposed by Sir Joseph Banks, who recommended William Bligh as commander, in June 1787, Bounty was refitted at Deptford. The great cabin was converted to house the potted breadfruit plants, the ships complement was 46 men, a single commissioned officer,43 other Royal Navy personnel, and two civilian botanists. On 23 December 1787, Bounty sailed from Spithead for Tahiti, for a full month, the crew attempted to take the ship around Cape Horn, but adverse weather prevented this. Bligh then proceeded east, rounding the tip of Africa. During the outward voyage, Bligh demoted Sailing Master John Fryer and this act seriously damaged the relationship between Bligh and Fryer, and Fryer later claimed that Blighs act was entirely personal. Bligh is commonly portrayed as the epitome of abusive sailing captains, caroline Alexander points out in her 2003 book The Bounty that Bligh was relatively lenient compared with other British naval officers. Bligh enjoyed the patronage of Sir Joseph Banks, a wealthy botanist and that, together with his experience sailing with Cook, familiarity with navigation in the area, and local customs were probably important factors in his appointment. Bounty reached Tahiti on 26 October 1788, after ten months at sea, Bligh and his crew spent five months in Tahiti, then called Otaheite, collecting and preparing 1,015 breadfruit plants to be transported. Bligh allowed the crew to live ashore and care for the breadfruit plants. Many of the seamen and some of the gentlemen had themselves tattooed in native fashion. Masters Mate and Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian married Maimiti, a Tahitian woman, other of Bountys warrant officers and seamen were also said to have formed connections with native women
25.
I, Claudius (TV series)
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I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Among many other productions and adaptations, Gravess Claudius novels have also adapted for BBC Radio 4 broadcast. I, Claudius follows the history of the early Roman Empire, narrated by the elderly Emperor Claudius, from the year 24 BC to his death in AD54. The series opens with Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, attempting to find an heir, an expert poisoner, Livia uses the covert assassination and betrayal of all rivals to achieve her aims, beginning with the death in 22 BC of Marcellus. Claudius enlightened reign is marred by the betrayals of his adulterous wife Messalina, the series was produced by Joan Sullivan and Martin Lisemore, and directed by Herbert Wise in the studios at BBC Television Centre. Production was delayed because of negotiations between the BBC and the copyright holders of Alexander Kordas aborted 1937 film version. This did, however, give the scriptwriter Jack Pulman more time to fine-tune his script, filming was studio based, for artistic rather than budgetary reasons. I, Claudius was made at a low cost of £60,000 for an hour of broadcast material. Considering pound sterling inflation, the show would have cost £3,960,000 in 2013. As discussed in the 2002 documentary I, Claudius, A Television Epic, the deleted shot was only shown twice in 1976 and is now lost since the BBC no longer has a copy of it. Jacobi explained that he secured the role after another prominent British actor who had taken the part proved to be unsuitable. Brian Blessed originally auditioned for the role of Tiberius, but was persuaded to play Augustus instead. He recounted some of director Herbert Wises key pieces of advice on how to play Augustus - Wise told Blessed that he should. Be as you are - full of flannel. and that he should always play Augustus as an ordinary person, john Hurt revealed that he declined the role of Caligula when it was first offered to him. Wilfred Josephs wrote the title music, david Wulstan and the Clerkes of Oxenford ensemble provided the music for most episodes. During its original airing in 1976, the BBC estimated that I, Claudius had an audience of 2,500,000 viewers per episode. Among other awards, the series won three BAFTAs in 1977, director Herbert Wise won Outstanding Contribution Award at BAFTAs in 1978. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, I, the series was subsequently broadcast in the United States as part of PBSs Masterpiece Theatre series, where it received critical acclaim
26.
Gratus
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For the saint, see Gratus of Aosta. Gratus was a Roman soldier and member of the Praetorian Guard who played a part in the accession of Claudius to the imperial throne. In the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Caligula in AD41, Claudius fled, anthony Barrett suggests that this may have been the Aula Isiaca, a room in the east wing of the palace decorated with Egyptian motifs. So he said to his followers, This is a Germanicus, come on, in hailing him as Germanicus, Gratus was evoking the memory of Claudius older brother, who was still popular among the troops. Though initially apprehensive about his safety, Claudius accompanied Gratus and his guards to the Praetorian camp. Barbara Levick suggests that, rather than stumbling upon him accidentally, Gratus appears as a minor character in Robert Graves novel I, Claudius. In the BBC TV adaptation he was portrayed by Bernard Hill
27.
Caligula
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Caligula, properly Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was Roman emperor from AD 37–41. Born Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, Caligula was a member of the house of rulers known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligulas biological father was Germanicus, and he was the great-nephew, the young Gaius earned the nickname Caligula from his fathers soldiers while accompanying him during his campaigns in Germania. When Germanicus died at Antioch in AD19, his wife Agrippina the Elder returned with her six children to Rome, the conflict eventually led to the destruction of her family, with Caligula as the sole male survivor. Untouched by the intrigues, Caligula accepted the invitation to join the Emperor in AD31 on the island of Capri. With the death of Tiberius in AD37, Caligula succeeded his grand uncle, there are few surviving sources about the reign of Emperor Caligula, although he is described as a noble and moderate ruler during the first six months of his reign. After this, the focus upon his cruelty, sadism, extravagance. He directed much of his attention to construction projects and luxurious dwellings for himself. During his reign, the empire annexed the Kingdom of Mauretania as a province, in early AD41, Caligula was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy by officers of the Praetorian Guard, senators, and courtiers. Gaius Julius Caesar was born in Antium on 31 August 12 AD, Gaius had two older brothers, Nero and Drusus, as well as three younger sisters, Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla. He was also a nephew of Claudius, Germanicus younger brother, Agrippina the Elder was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. She was a granddaughter of Augustus and Scribonia on her mothers side, through Agrippina, Augustus was the maternal great-grandfather of Gaius. As a boy of just two or three, Gaius accompanied his father, Germanicus, on campaigns in the north of Germania, the soldiers were amused that Gaius was dressed in a miniature soldiers outfit, including boots and armour. He was soon given his nickname Caligula, meaning little boot in Latin, Gaius, though, reportedly grew to dislike this nickname. Suetonius claims that Germanicus was poisoned in Syria by an agent of Tiberius, after the death of his father, Caligula lived with his mother until her relations with Tiberius deteriorated. Tiberius would not allow Agrippina to remarry for fear her husband would be a rival, Agrippina and Caligulas brother, Nero, were banished in 29 AD on charges of treason. The adolescent Caligula was then sent to live with his great-grandmother Livia, after her death, he was sent to live with his grandmother Antonia. In 30 AD, his brother, Drusus Caesar, was imprisoned on charges of treason, Suetonius writes that after the banishment of his mother and brothers, Caligula and his sisters were nothing more than prisoners of Tiberius under the close watch of soldiers
28.
Roman Empire
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Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
29.
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York
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Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York KG, was a leading English magnate, a great-grandson of King Edward III through his father, and a great-great-great-grandson of the same king through his mother. He inherited vast estates and served in offices of state in Ireland, France, and England. Richard eventually attempted to take the throne, but was dissuaded, but within a few weeks of securing this agreement, he died in battle. Although Richard never became king himself, he was the father of King Edward IV, Anne Mortimer was the great-granddaughter of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, the second surviving son of King Edward III. On his fathers side, Richard had a claim to the throne in a male line of descent from his grandfather Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York. Although the Earls title was forfeited, he was not attainted, Richard had an only sister, Isabel of Cambridge, who became Countess of Essex upon her second marriage in 1426. Within a few months of his fathers death, Richards childless uncle, Edward of Norwich, after some hesitation, King Henry V allowed Richard to inherit his uncles title and the lands of the Duchy of York. The lesser title but greater estates of the Earldom of March also descended to him on the death of his maternal uncle Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, however, during his lifetime, Mortimer remained a faithful supporter of the House of Lancaster. The Valor Ecclesiasticus shows that Yorks net income from Mortimer lands alone was £3,430 in the year 1443–44, as he was an orphan, Richards income became the property of, and was managed by, the crown. Ralph Neville had fathered an enormous family and had many daughters needing husbands, as was his right, in 1424 he betrothed the 13-year-old Richard to his daughter Cecily Neville, then aged 9. In October 1425, when Ralph Neville died, he bequeathed the wardship of York to his widow, by now the wardship was even more valuable, as Richard had inherited the Mortimer estates on the death of the Earl of March. These manors were concentrated in Wales, and in the Welsh Borders around Ludlow, little is recorded of Richards early life. On 19 May 1426 he was knighted at Leicester by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, in October 1429 his marriage to Cecily Neville took place. On 6 November he was present at the coronation of King Henry VI in Westminster Abbey. He then followed Henry to France, being present at his coronation as king of France in Notre Dame on 16 December 1431, finally, on 12 May 1432, he came into his inheritance and was granted full control of his estates. In May 1436, a few months after Bedfords death, York was appointed to succeed him as Lieutenant in France. Yorks appointment was one of a number of stop-gap measures after the death of Bedford to try to retain French possessions until the young King Henry VI could assume personal rule, the fall of Paris led to his army being redirected to Normandy. Working with Bedfords captains, York had some success, recapturing Fecamp and holding on to the Pays de Caux, while establishing good order and justice in the Duchy of Normandy
30.
BBC Television Shakespeare
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The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, development began in 1975 when Messina saw that the grounds of Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeares As You Like It for the Play of the Month series. Upon returning to London, however, he had come to envision an entire series devoted exclusively to the works of Shakespeare. Experiencing financial, logistical and creative problems in the days of production. By the end of its run, the series had proved both a ratings and a financial success, several episodes are now held in high esteem, particularly some of the traditionally lesser known and less frequently staged plays. The complete set is a collection, and several episodes represent the only non-theatrical production of the particular play currently available on DVD. M. Barries The Little Minister for the BBCs Play of the Month series, during his time on set, Messina realised that the castle grounds would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeares As You Like It. Almost immediately upon pitching the idea to his colleagues, however and he had anticipated that everyone in the BBC would be excited about the concept, but this did not prove so. In particular, the Drama/Plays division felt the series could not possibly be a success without international sales. Writing several months into production, journalist Henry Fenwick wrote the project was gloriously British, however, despite this level of experience, they had never produced anything on the scale of the Shakespeare Series. Later that evening, the scene from Henry V was broadcast, directed by George More OFerrall. 1937 also saw the broadcast of the scene from Richard III, directed by Stephen Thomas. The following year saw the first feature length made-for-TV production, The Tempest, also directed by Bower, the vast majority of these transmissions were broadcast live, and they came to an end with the onset of war in 1939. After the war, Shakespearean adaptations were screened much less frequently, in 1947, for example, OFerrall directed a two-part adaptation of Hamlet, starring John Byron as Hamlet, Sebastian Shaw as Claudius and Margaret Rawlings as Gertrude. There were also four multi-part made-for-TV Shakespearean adaptations shown during the 1950s and 1960s, the first was The Life and Death of Sir John Falstaff. Produced and directed by Ronald Eyre, and starring Roger Livesey as Falstaff, the second was An Age of Kings. Produced by Peter Dews and directed by Michael Hayes, the show comprised fifteen episodes between sixty and eighty minutes each, which adapted all eight of Shakespeares sequential history plays, the third was The Spread of the Eagle, directed and produced by Dews. Featuring nine sixty-minute episodes, the series adapted the Roman plays, in order of the real life events depicted, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony
31.
John Lennon
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John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beatles, the most commercially successful and musically influential band in the history of popular music. He and fellow member Paul McCartney formed a songwriting partnership. Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the craze as a teenager, his first band, the Quarrymen, first became the Silver Beatles. After his marriage to Yoko Ono in 1969, he added Ono as one of his middle names, Lennon disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to raise his infant son Sean, but re-emerged with Ono in 1980 with the new album Double Fantasy. He was murdered three weeks after its release, Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing, drawings, on film and in interviews. By 2012, Lennons solo album sales in the United States exceeded 14 million and, as writer, co-writer, or performer, he is responsible for 25 number-one singles on the US Hot 100 chart. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth and, in 2008, Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth-greatest singer of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, in 1988 as a member of the Beatles and in 1994 as a solo artist. Lennon was born in war-time England, on 9 October 1940 at Liverpool Maternity Hospital, to Julia and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman of Irish descent and his parents named him John Winston Lennon after his paternal grandfather, John Jack Lennon, and then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill. When he eventually came home six months later, he offered to look after the family, after her sister, Mimi Smith, twice complained to Liverpools Social Services, Julia handed the care of Lennon over to her. In July 1946 Lennons father visited Smith and took his son to Blackpool, Julia followed them—with her partner at the time, Bobby Dykins—and after a heated argument his father forced the five-year-old to choose between them. Lennon twice chose his father, but as his mother walked away, he began to cry and followed her, according to author Mark Lewisohn, Lennons parents agreed that Julia should take him and give him a home as Alf left again. A witness who was there that day, Billy Hall, has said the scene often portrayed with a young John Lennon having to make a decision between his parents never happened. It would be 20 years before he had contact with his father again, Throughout the rest of his childhood and adolescence he lived at Mendips,251 Menlove Avenue, Woolton with his aunt and uncle, Mimi and George Smith, who had no children of their own. His aunt purchased volumes of stories for him, and his uncle. In September 1980, Lennon commented about his family and his rebellious nature, Part of me would like to be accepted by all facets of society, but I cannot be what I am not. I was the one who all the other boys parents—including Pauls father—would say, the parents instinctively recognised I was a troublemaker, meaning I did not conform and I would influence their children, which I did. I did my best to disrupt every friends home, partly out of envy that I didnt have this so-called home
32.
The Cherry Orchard
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The Cherry Orchard is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It opened at the Moscow Art Theatre on 17 January 1904 in a directed by Konstantin Stanislavski. Chekhov described the play as a comedy, with elements of farce. Since its first production, directors have contended with its dual nature and it is often identified as one of the three or four outstanding plays by Chekhov, along with The Seagull, Three Sisters, and Uncle Vanya. The play concerns an aristocratic Russian landowner who returns to her family estate just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. Unresponsive to offers to save the estate, she allows its sale to the son of a former serf, the story presents themes of cultural futility – both the futile attempts of the aristocracy to maintain its status and of the bourgeoisie to find meaning in its newfound materialism. Widely regarded as a classic of 20th-century theatre, the play has been translated and adapted into many languages, major theatre directors have staged it, including Charles Laughton, Peter Brook, Andrei Șerban, Jean-Louis Barrault, Tyrone Guthrie, Katie Mitchell, Mehmet Ergen and Giorgio Strehler. It has influenced other playwrights, including Eugene ONeill, George Bernard Shaw, David Mamet. The spelling of character names depends on the transliteration used, Madame Lyubov Andreievna Ranevskaya – a landowner. Ranyevskaya is the linchpin around which the other characters revolve, a commanding and popular figure, she represents the pride of the old aristocracy, now fallen on hard times. Her confused feelings of love for her old home and sorrow at the scene of her sons death, most of her humor comes from her inability to understand financial or business matters. Peter Trofimov – a student and Anyas love interest, Trofimov is depicted as an eternal student. An impassioned left-wing political commentator, he represents the rising tide of reformist political opinion in Russia, Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik – a landowner and another old aristocrat whose estate has hit hard times. He is constantly discussing new business ventures that may save him and his character embodies the irony of the aristocracys position, despite his financial peril, he spends the play relaxing and socializing with the Gayevs. Anya – Lyubovs daughter, aged 17 and she journeys to Paris to rescue her mother from her desperate situation. She is a virtuous and strong young woman and she is in love with Trofimov and listens to his revolutionary ideas, although she may or may not be taking them in. Varya – Lyubovs adopted daughter, aged 24, Varya is the one who manages the estate and keeps everything in order. She is the rock holds the family together
33.
Macbeth
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Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, it is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I and it was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is his shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland, consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness, the events of the tragedy are usually associated with the execution of Henry Garnet for complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed, over the course of many centuries, the play has attracted some of the most renowned actors to the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comics, the play opens amidst thunder and lightning, and the Three Witches decide that their next meeting shall be with Macbeth. Macbeth, the Kings kinsman, is praised for his bravery, in the following scene, Macbeth and Banquo discuss the weather and their victory. As they wander onto a heath, the Three Witches enter, though Banquo challenges them first, they address Macbeth, hailing him as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and that he shall be King hereafter. Macbeth appears to be stunned to silence, when Banquo asks of his own fortunes, the witches respond paradoxically, saying that he will be less than Macbeth, yet happier, less successful, yet more. He will father a line of kings though he himself will not be one, while the two men wonder at these pronouncements, the witches vanish, and another thane, Ross, arrives and informs Macbeth of his newly bestowed title, Thane of Cawdor. The first prophecy is fulfilled, and Macbeth, previously skeptical. King Duncan welcomes and praises Macbeth and Banquo, and declares that he spend the night at Macbeths castle at Inverness. Macbeth sends a message ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husbands uncertainty and wishes him to murder Duncan in order to obtain kingship. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husbands objections by challenging his manhood and he and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncans two chamberlains drunk so that they will black out, the next morning they will blame the chamberlains for the murder. They will be defenseless as they remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and he is so shaken that Lady Macbeth has to take charge
34.
A View from the Bridge
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A View from the Bridge is written by American playwright Arthur Miller, first staged on September 29,1955, as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play was unsuccessful and Miller subsequently revised the play to two acts, this version is the one with which audiences are most familiar today. The two-act version premiered in the New Watergate theatre club in Londons West End under the direction of Peter Brook on October 11,1956, the play is set in 1950s America, in an Italian American neighborhood near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It employs a chorus and narrator in the character of Alfieri, Eddie, the tragic protagonist, has an improper love of, and almost obsession with, Catherine, his wife Beatrices orphaned niece, so he does not approve of her courtship of Beatrices cousin Rodolfo. Kazan later directed On the Waterfront, which dealt with the same subject, Miller said that he heard the basic account that developed into the plot of A View from the Bridge from a lawyer who worked with longshoremen, who related it to him as a true story. The action is narrated by Alfieri who, being raised in 1900s Italy but now working as an American lawyer, represents the Bridge between the two cultures. But there are exceptions, and he begins to narrate the story of Eddie Carbone. Eddie is a man who, although ostensibly protective and fatherly towards Catherine. We learn that he has not had sex with his wife for three months. Beatrice is more supportive of Catherines ventures and persuades Eddie to let her take the job, Eddie returns home one afternoon with the news that Beatrices two cousins, brothers Marco and Rodolpho, have safely arrived in New York as illegal immigrants. He has agreed to them saying that he is honoured to be able to help family. Marco is quiet and thoughtful, possessing a remarkable strength, whereas Rodolpho is more unconventional, Marco has a family starving in Italy and plans to return after working illegally for several years, whereas Rodolpho intends to stay. Although Eddie, Beatrice, and Catherine are at first excellent hosts, cracks appear when Rodolpho, Eddie convinces himself that Rodolpho is homosexual and is only expressing interest in Catherine so he can marry her and gain status as a legal citizen. He confronts Catherine with his beliefs and she turns to Beatrice for advice, Beatrice, starting to realize Eddies true feelings, tells her that she should marry Rodolpho and move out. In the meantime, Eddie turns to Alfieri, hoping for help from the law, however, Alfieri tells him that the only recourse he has is to report Rodolpho and Marco as undocumented. Seeing no solution to his problem, Eddie becomes increasingly desperate and takes his anger out on Rodolpho and, in teaching him to box, Marco reacts by quietly threatening Eddie, showing his strength by holding a heavy chair above Eddies head with one hand. Act 2 – A few months have passed and Eddie reaches a point when he discovers that Catherine. Drunk, he kisses Catherine and then attempts to prove that Rodolpho is gay by suddenly and passionately kissing him also, after a violent confrontation, Eddie orders Rodolpho to leave the apartment
35.
Shirley Valentine (film)
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Shirley Valentine is an award-winning 1989 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert. When her flamboyant friend Jane wins a trip for two to Greece, Shirley uncharacteristically puts herself first and accepts her invitation, upon arrival Jane immediately abandons her for a holiday romance with a fellow passenger from their flight, leaving Shirley to set out on her own. She begins to see her fellow holidaymakers through new eyes, as she genuinely enjoys Greece while they want English food, Costas promises not to try to seduce her, while nonetheless bolstering her self-confidence in her own attractiveness. Enjoying the day out, Shirley decides to swim in the sea and she realizes that she doesnt want Costas to keep his promise. They kiss and later on the boat have very intense sex, on her return, Jane believes that Shirley has fallen in love with Costas, but Shirley reveals to the camera that shes fallen in love with the idea of living. She spends more time with Costas, and at the turns back. Costas is shocked to see Shirley after her departure, but she says she wants a job and is not upset at catching him in the act, shirleys husband, who was angry and confused at her departure, waits for her return with a large armful of flowers. Shirley becomes more content with her new life and she also becomes a great success with narrow-minded holiday makers who want the same food as in Britain. Finally their son tells Joe to go and get her instead of just phoning, receiving a telegram about Joes arrival, Costas makes excuses and leaves for the day, while Shirley is unperturbed. Shirley, wearing sunglasses and now feeling like a different person, is sipping wine by the sea in the sunset, Joe doesnt recognise her and walks past until she calls him back. The film ends with the two drinking wine by the sea, leaving open the question of how the matter resolved, pancras Station in London, and on the island of Mykonos in Greece. The films theme song, The Girl Who Used to Be Me, was written by Marvin Hamlisch, Alan Bergman, and Marilyn Bergman and performed by Patti Austin. In various versions of the film, as modified for distribution, child viewing, and television, jow Brown of the Washington Post called the film an uncommonly warm, relaxed little movie. He continued, The storys a bit of whimsy, but it affords a great many comfortable and comforting laughs. Variety called the film uneven but generally delightful and Pauline Collins irresistible, radio Times rated the film four out of five stars and added, Lewis Gilbert manages to retain the best of Willy Russells theatrical devices. While opening out the action to embrace a big-screen atmosphere, the supporting cast, particularly Bernard Hill as Collinss Neanderthal husband, is equally convincing, with only the hammy Conti striking a momentary false note. Russells script as surely as if a magicians clumsy assistant had pointed a finger at a secret trapdoor. Ms. Collins brings as much energy and warmth to the role as ever, roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times likewise rated the film one star, calling it a realistic drama of appalling banality
36.
Pauline Collins
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Pauline Collins, OBE is an English actress of stage, television, and film, who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs and its spin-off, Thomas & Sarah. In 1992, she released her autobiography, titled Letter to Louise, Collins played the title role in the play Shirley Valentine, for which she won an Olivier Award in 1988, and Drama Desk and Tony Awards in 1989. She reprised the role in the 1989 film adaptation, winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and receiving Golden Globe and she also starred in the television dramas Forever Green and The Ambassador. Her other film appearances include City of Joy, Paradise Road, Albert Nobbs, Quartet, Collins was born in Exmouth, Devon, the daughter of Mary Honora, a schoolteacher, and William Henry Collins, a school headmaster. She is of Irish extraction, and was brought up as a Roman Catholic in Wallasey near Liverpool and her great-uncle was Irish poet Jeremiah Joseph Callanan. Collins was educated at Sacred Heart High School, and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Before turning to acting, she worked as a teacher until 1962 and she made her stage debut at Windsor in A Gazelle in Park Lane in 1962 and her West End debut in Passion Flower Hotel in 1965. During the plays run, she made her first film, Secrets of a Windmill Girl, released in 1966. Collins played Samantha Briggs in the 1967 Doctor Who serial The Faceless Ones and was offered the chance to continue in the series as a new companion for the Doctor, but declined the invitation. Other early TV credits include the UKs first medical soap Emergency - Ward 10, Collins first became well known for her role as the maid Sarah in the 1970s ITV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs. She co-narrated the animated British childrens TV series Little Miss with husband John Alderton in 1983, in connection with her Upstairs, Downstairs role, Collins recorded a 1973 single for Decca, What Are We Going to Do with Uncle Arthur. She was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in April 1972 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews, in 1988, Collins starred in the one-woman play Shirley Valentine in London, reprising the role on Broadway in 1989 and in the 1989 film version. The film won a number of awards and nominations and she was voted sexiest woman in Britain in 1990. It ran from 1989 to 1992 over 18 episodes, Collins film credits include 1992s City of Joy, 1995s My Mothers Courage, 1997s Paradise Road, and 2002s Mrs Caldicots Cabbage War, which also featured Alderton. In 1999 and 2000, Collins starred as Harriet Smith in the BBC television drama Ambassador, other television credits include The Saint, The Wednesday Play, Armchair Theatre, Play for Today, Tales of the Unexpected, Country Matters and The Black Tower. In 2002, she guest starred in Man and Boy, the dramatisation of Tony Parsons best-seller, in 2005 she appeared as Miss Flite in the BBC production of Charles Dickens Bleak House. In 2006, she became only the actor to have been in both the original and new series of Doctor Who, appearing in the episode Tooth and Claw as Queen Victoria. Later in 2006, she appeared in Extinct, a programme where eight celebrities campaigned on behalf of an animal to save it from extinction, Collins campaigned to save the Bengal tiger and won the public vote
37.
Mountains of the Moon (film)
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The expedition led to a bitter rivalry between the two men. The film stars Patrick Bergin as Burton and Iain Glen as Speke, delroy Lindo made an early film appearance as an African native the adventurers meet. The film was directed by Bob Rafelson, for whom this was something of a dream project and it was based on the novel Burton and Speke by William Harrison. The narrative concentrates on the relationship between the two different men. A first-time epic for Rafelson, it opened to positive reviews, exploratory adventures of 1857, Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, try to discover the true source of the Nile river. Patrick Bergin as Richard Francis Burton Iain Glen as John Hanning Speke Richard E, the soundtrack album was released on Polydor Records, but is long out of print. There are two themes, one for Burton and the other for Africa. There is also a theme for Burtons relationship to his wife Isabel Burton. The film was released in a pan and scan VHS edition from a laserdisc and is currently available as both a pan and scan and widescreen DVD. Rafelsons fondness for breathtaking vistas sometimes slows the pacing to Masterpiece Theatre speed, using adjectives such as fascinating, magnificent, refreshing, Siskel & Ebert gave the film two thumbs up. Later, in the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebert wrote, Mountains of the Moon is completely absorbing and it tells its story soberly and intelligently, and with quiet style. It doesnt manufacture false thrills or phony excitement and its the kind of movie that sends you away from the screen filled with curiosity to know more about this man Burton. In Newsweek, critic Jack Kroll wrote, The exploits of Sir Richard Francis Burton make Lawrence of Arabia look like a tourist, the film depicts Isabel Arundell coming across a lewdly illustrated copy of Burtons translation of The Perfumed Garden in the mid-1850s, before they married. This work, however, was first published over 30 years later in 1886, at a dinner party, Burton tells his future in-laws that he speaks 23 languages. At that point in his life, however, the number would have much smaller. He states that he has read Confucius, the Koran and the Kabbalah in their original manuscripts, but he never mastered a Chinese language and did not learn Hebrew until much later in life
38.
Skallagrigg
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Skallagrigg is a 1987 novel written by William Horwood and influenced by Horwoods relationship with his own daughter Rachel, who has cerebral palsy. It is notable in that it foresaw the importance of computer technology in the lives of future generations of disabled people. Arthur Lane is a boy with profound cerebral palsy, who is unable to walk, talk, feed himself. He is abandoned in a hospital in the north of England in 1921. His family believe they are sending him to a facility for the good of all. In reality he is subject to extreme cruelty and neglect, half a century later comes Esther – a keenly intelligent teenager who also has cerebral palsy, but whose talents are recognised in a more enlightened aged. Her mother died at her due to a fatal car accident. At the age of eleven, Esther takes up residence with her father and she is subsequently sent off to Netherton - an adapted school for highly gifted disabled students. Having squandered her first term, the death of Peter Rowne from pneumonia, and her recently reconnected Grandmothers firm words, inspire a reformation in her, and she does exceptionally well. There she ponders the life questions every teenager does - love, marriage, sex, friendships, jobs, future living and she also learns about the terrible conditions disabled people have had to endure, both in the past and in her lifetime. Through all of this she grows up with the myth of the Skallagrigg, and she eventually realises that these stories are real, told by a real person and describing a real place. Following this, Esther becomes interested in writing computer games, and carries on written conversation with Daniel, together they develop first a friendship, then, when he comes to England, a relationship which develops into a marriage. Skallagrigg was shown on BBC2s Screen Two in 1994 with screenplay by Nigel Williams and it starred John McArdle, Richard Briers, Nick Brimble, Kerry Noble and Ian Dury. Its screenplay and plot are an abridged version of the original book. A teenage Esther has been living in the Dale Centre where Tom and her estranged father has been failing to sell sports equipment overseas. Esther, meanwhile, has been trying to discover the identity of Arthur and the Skallagrigg, and enlists her fathers help. At first her father is clueless as to how to cope with her disability. However, as their search takes them across the country, their bond grows and they become closer, the story ends with him carrying her upstairs to bed, whereas he had left her to crawl up on her own at the start
39.
Madagascar Skin
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Madagascar Skin is a 1995 British film starring Bernard Hill and John Hannah. Hannah plays Harry, a shy young gay man who has a birthmark in the shape of Madagascar across much of the left-hand side of his face. On fleeing the city and the gay scene, Harry ends up at a rugged stretch of coastline where he meets Flint. Flint is very heterosexual and the two are wary of each other to begin with, the film focuses on how their relationship is transformed from distrust, through respect, and ultimately to attraction. Madagascar Skin at the Internet Movie Database
40.
The Ghost and the Darkness
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The Ghost and the Darkness is a 1996 American historical adventure film directed by Stephen Hopkins and starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. The screenplay was written by William Goldman, the story is a fictionalized account of the Tsavo Man-Eaters, two lions that attacked and killed workers at Tsavo, Kenya, during the building of the Uganda-Mombasa Railway in East Africa in 1898. The film received a critical response upon release, and later won an Academy Award for Sound Editing. In 1898, Sir Robert Beaumont, the financier of a railroad project in Tsavo. He seeks out the expertise of Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson, Patterson travels from England to Tsavo, telling his wife, Helena, he will complete the project and be back in London for the birth of their son. He meets British supervisor Angus Starling, African foreman Samuel, Hawthorne tells Patterson of a recent lion attack that has affected the project. That night, Patterson kills a lion with one shot, earning the respect of the workmen. However, not long afterwards, Mahina, the foreman, is dragged from his tent in the middle of the night. His half-eaten body is found the next morning, Patterson then attempts a second night-time lion hunt, but the following morning, another worker is found dead at the opposite end of the camp from Pattersons position. Pattersons only comfort now is the letters he receives from his wife, soon, while the workers are gathering wood and building fire pits around the tents, a lion attacks the camp in the middle of the day, killing an other worker. Despite the latters efforts to kill them, both lions escape, Samuel states that there has never been a pair of man-eaters, they have always been solitary hunters. The men, led by Abdullah, begin to turn on Patterson, work on the bridge comes to a halt. Patterson requests soldiers from England to protect the workers, but is denied, Remington arrives with skilled Maasai warriors to help kill the lions. They dub the lions the Ghost and the Darkness because of their notorious methods of attack, the initial attempt fails when Pattersons borrowed gun misfires. The warriors decide to leave, but Remington stays behind and he constructs a new hospital for sick and injured workers and tempts the lions to the abandoned building with animal parts and blood. When the lions fall for the trap, Remington and Patterson shoot at them, they flee and attack the new hospital, killing many patients, Abdullah and the construction men leave, and only Patterson, Remington, and Samuel remain behind to face the marauders. Patterson and Remington locate the lair, discovering the bones of dozens of the lions victims. That night, Remington kills one of the pair by using Patterson, the men celebrate, though later Patterson dreams about his wife and infant son visiting him in Tsavo, only for them to be killed by the remaining lion before he can get to them
41.
Val Kilmer
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Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, then the cult classic Real Genius, as well as the military action film Top Gun and the fantasy film Willow. Kilmer was born December 31,1959, in Los Angeles, the son of Gladys Swanette and Eugene Dorris Kilmer and his parents divorced in 1968 when he was 8 years old. In 1977 Kilmers younger brother Wesley drowned in a pool at age 15. Kilmers grandfather was a miner in New Mexico, near the border with Arizona. His mother was of Swedish descent and his fathers ancestry included English, Scots-Irish, French and German. Kilmer attended Berkeley Hall School, a Christian Science school in Los Angeles and he attended Chatsworth High School with Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham, and also attended the Hollywood Professional School. He became the youngest person at the time to be accepted into the Juilliard Schools Drama Division, on May 5,2012, Kilmer was awarded an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from William Woods University. In 1981, while at Juilliard, Kilmer co-authored and starred in the play How It All Began, Kilmer turned down a role in Francis Ford Coppolas 1983 film The Outsiders, as he had prior theatre commitments. In 1983 he appeared off Broadway in The Slab Boys with Kevin Bacon, also in 1983, Kilmer self-published a collection of his own poetry entitled My Edens After Burns, that included poems inspired by his time with Pfeiffer. The book of poems is difficult to obtain, and expensive, even second-hand copies fetch $300 and his big break came when he received top billing in the comedy spoof of spy movies Top Secret. Where he played an American rock and roll star, Kilmer sang all the songs in the film and released an album under the film characters name, Nick Rivers. While garnering more substantial roles and prestige, he gained a reputation as a ladies man, dating numerous women, some many years older, including Cher. During a brief hiatus, he backpacked throughout Europe before going on to play the character in the 1985 comedy Real Genius. He turned down a role in David Lynchs Blue Velvet before being cast as naval aviator Iceman in the action film Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise, Top Gun grossed a total of $344,700,000 worldwide and made Kilmer a major star. Kilmer starred in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival production of Hamlet]] in 1988, in 1989, Kilmer played the lead in both Kill Me Again, again opposite Whalley, and in TNTs Billy the Kid. After several delays, director Oliver Stone finally started production on the film The Doors, Kilmer spoke with Oliver Stone early on, concerned about what he might want to do with the story because Kilmer didnt believe in or want to promote substance abuse. Kilmer saw Morrison as having picked the wrong heroes, who had different issues, Kilmer saw Morrisons story as one that could be told a thousand different ways and didnt want to tell it by playing the role in the style of drugs, with which Oliver Stone agreed
42.
Michael Douglas
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Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer. Douglass career includes a range of films in independent and blockbuster genres, for which he has received a number of accolades. These awards include the Golden Globe Cecil B. Douglas is the son of Kirk Douglas. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of California and his early acting roles included film, stage, and television productions. Douglas first achieved prominence for his performance in the ABC police procedural television series The Streets of San Francisco, in 1975 Douglas produced One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, having acquired the rights to the Ken Kesey novel from his father. The film received critical and popular acclaim, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, after leaving The Streets of San Francisco in 1976, Douglas went on to produce films including The China Syndrome and Romancing the Stone. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Romancing the Stone, in which he also starred and he reprised the role in the sequel Wall Street, Money Never Sleeps. Douglass subsequent film roles included, Black Rain, The War of the Roses, Basic Instinct, The American President, The Game, Traffic and Wonder Boys, Solitary Man, and Ant-Man. Douglas was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the first child of actors Kirk Douglas and his parents met at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Chavusy, and his father was born Issur Danielovitch and his mother was from Devonshire Parish, Bermuda, and had English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French, Belgian, and Dutch ancestry. Douglas has a brother, Joel Douglas, and two paternal half-brothers, Peter Douglas and Eric Douglas, from stepmother Anne Buydens. Douglas attended The Allen-Stevenson School in New York City, Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts and he received his B. A. in drama from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1968, where he was also the Honorary President of the UCSB Alumni Association. He studied acting with Wynn Handman at The American Place Theatre in New York City and his first TV breakthrough role came with a 1969 CBS-TV Playhouse special, The Experiment—and it was the only time he was billed as M. K. Douglas. Michael Douglas started his career in the late 1960s and early 1970s, appearing in little known films such as Hail. Adam at 6 A. M. and Summertree, earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer. His first significant role came in the TV series The Streets of San Francisco from 1972 to 1976, Douglas later said that Malden became a mentor and someone he admired and loved deeply. After Douglas left the show, he had an association with his mentor until Maldens death on July 1,2009. In 2004, Douglas presented Malden with the Monte Cristo Award of the Eugene ONeill Theater Center in Waterford, in 1975, Douglas received from his father, Kirk Douglas, the rights to the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
43.
James Cameron
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James Francis Jim Cameron is a Canadian filmmaker, director, producer, screenwriter, inventor, engineer, philanthropist, and deep-sea explorer. He first found success with the science fiction action film The Terminator. He then became a popular Hollywood director and was hired to write and direct Aliens and he found further critical acclaim for his use of special effects in Terminator 2, Judgment Day. After his film True Lies Cameron took on his biggest film at the time, Titanic, despite Avatar being his only movie made to date in 3D, Cameron is the most successful 3D film-maker in terms of box-office revenue. In the time between making Titanic and Avatar, Cameron spent several years creating many documentary films and co-developed the digital 3D Fusion Camera System, described by a biographer as part scientist and part artist, Cameron has also contributed to underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies. On March 26,2012, Cameron reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench and he is the first person to do this in a solo descent, and is only the third person to do so ever. In total, Camerons directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$2 billion in North America, not adjusted for inflation, Camerons Titanic and Avatar are the two highest-grossing films of all time at $2.19 billion and $2.78 billion respectively. Cameron also holds the achievement of having directed two of the three films in history to gross over $2 billion worldwide, in March 2011, he was named Hollywoods top earner by Vanity Fair, with estimated 2010 earnings of $257 million. Cameron was born in 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, the son of Shirley, an artist and nurse, and Phillip Cameron and his paternal great-great-great-grandfather emigrated from Balquhidder, Scotland, in 1825. Cameron grew up in Chippawa, Ontario, and attended Stamford Collegiate School in Niagara Falls and his family moved to Brea, California in 1971, when Cameron was 17 years old. He dropped out of Sonora High School, then attended Brea Olinda High School to further his secondary education, Cameron enrolled at Fullerton College, a two-year community college, in 1973 to study physics. He switched to English, then dropped out before the start of the fall 1974 semester, next, he worked several jobs, including as a truck driver, writing when he had time. That way I could sit down and read it, and if theyd let me photocopy it, Cameron quit his job as a truck driver to enter the film industry after seeing Star Wars in 1977. When Cameron read Syd Fields book Screenplay, it occurred to him that science and art was possible. They raised money, rented camera, lenses, film stock and they dismantled the camera to understand how to operate it and spent the first half-day of the shoot trying to figure out how to get it running. He was the director, writer, producer, and production designer for Xenogenesis and he then became a production assistant on a film called Rock and Roll High School, though uncredited, in 1979. While continuing to educate himself in film-making techniques, Cameron started working as a miniature-model maker at Roger Corman Studios, making rapidly produced, low-budget productions taught Cameron to work efficiently and effectively. He soon found employment as an art director in the sci-fi movie Battle Beyond the Stars and he did special effects work design and direction on John Carpenters Escape from New York, acted as production designer on Galaxy of Terror, and consulted on the design of Android
44.
The Scorpion King
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The Scorpion King is a 2002 American period action-war film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov, and Michael Clarke Duncan. It is a spin-off to The Mummy Returns and follows the story of Mathayus, the events of The Scorpion King take place 5,000 years before those in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, and reveal Mathayus origins and his rise to power as the Scorpion King. The name is a reference to a king of the Protodynastic Period of Egypt. Before the time of the pyramids, a horde from the East invades the ancient world, led by the ruthless Memnon and his many victories come from the help of a sorcerer who predicts the outcomes of battles, leaving only a few free tribes to oppose him. The Akkadians manage to sneak into Memnons camp, but are ambushed by Memnons guards, having been tipped off by Takmet who killed his own father and defected to Memnons side. Jesup and Rama are hit by arrows, but Mathayus manages to sneak into the sorcerers tent, Mathayus is ambushed and meets Memnon himself, who brutally executes Jesup in front of him, and is about to kill Mathayus too. Cassandra, however, tells Memnon that the gods wish Mathayus to survive the night, Memnon has Mathayus buried to his neck in the desert to be devoured by fire ants at dawn, but he manages to escape with help from a horse thief, Arpid. Deciding to finish his mission and avenge his brother, Mathayus sneaks into Memnons stronghold, Gomorrah and he briefly meets Memnons court magician, Philos, who hides him and then directs him to the courtyard where Memnon is training. Mathayus only barely manages to escape Gomorrah, abducting Cassandra along the way, Cassandra tries to escape from Mathayus and even tells him that she has been Memnons prisoner since she was a child. Sympathetic, Mathayus allows her the choice of leaving, but warns her of worse dangers, with his dying breaths, Thorak manages to stab Mathayus in the leg with a scorpion blood-laced arrow. Cassandra, however, uses her magic to save Mathayus life, as an insult and a warning, Mathayus sends Thoraks blood-stained pendant to Memnon. Mathayus, Arpid and Cassandra then run into Philos, who had managed to flee from Memnons palace and has perfected an explosive powder he was working on. However, they are ambushed by the rebels, now under the rule of Balthazar, though Mathayus defeats Balthazar in a fight and earns his grudging respect and sanctuary, Cassandra has a vision of Memnon and his army slaughtering the entire rebel camp. Furthermore, she informs Mathayus that if he faces Memnon, he will most likely die from being shot, the next morning, however, Cassandra returns to Memnon in order to stall him and possibly kill him. The battle rages on until Mathayus is shot by a guard as in Cassandras vision, Memnon is consumed by the flames as he falls to his death. With the battle over, the remnants of Memnons army bow before Mathayus, who by their law is their new king, in the aftermath, Mathayus and Balthazar share a good-natured farewell as the latter returns to his own kingdom. Cassandra tells Mathayus that she sees a period of peace and prosperity coming, undeterred, Mathayus decides that they will make their own destiny. Metacritic gave the film an average score of 45 based on 30 reviews
45.
Dwayne Johnson
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Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor, producer, singer, and professional wrestler. He holds American and Canadian citizenships and he later played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League and was cut two months into the 1995 season. This led him to become a professional wrestler like his grandfather, Peter Maivia and he returned to wrestling part-time for WWE from 2011 to 2013 and continues to make sporadic non-wrestling appearances for the company. Johnson has 17 championship reigns in WWE, including 10 as a champion, winning the WWF/WWE Championship eight times. He won the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and the WWF Tag Team Championship five times, Johnson is the sixth Triple Crown Champion in WWE history and won the 2000 Royal Rumble. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, co-written with Joe Layden, was published in 2000. It debuted at No.1 on The New York Times Best Seller list, spent 20 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, Johnsons first leading film role was in The Scorpion King in 2002. For this role, he was paid US $5.5 million and he has since appeared in various films, and become known for his ability to reinvigorate film franchises. Perhaps his greatest success in his career can be sourced to his role as Luke Hobbs in The Fast. Forbes listed Johnson No.25 in the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities in 2013 and he is the worlds highest-paid actor of 2016. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, in 2015, Muscle & Fitness named Johnson their Man of the Century. Johnson was born in Hayward, California, the son of Ata Johnson and professional wrestler Wayde Douglas Bowles and his maternal grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, was also a wrestler. His maternal grandmother, Lia Maivia, was one of few female promoters, taking over Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling after her husbands death in 1982. His cousin, Savelina Fanene, is also a wrestler working for WWE. His father is a Black Nova Scotian, and his mother is of Samoan heritage and his father was part of the first black tag team to win the World Tag Team Championship in the World Wrestling Federation. Through his mother, he is considered a relative of the Anoai wrestling family. Johnson briefly lived in the suburb of Grey Lynn in Auckland and he attended Richmond Road Primary School, before returning to the United States with his parents. Johnson spent 10th grade at President William McKinley High School in Honolulu, as he entered 11th grade, his fathers job required his relocation to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
46.
Michael Clarke Duncan
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He also appeared in motion pictures such as Armageddon, The Whole Nine Yards, The Scorpion King, Daredevil and Talladega Nights, The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. His voice can be heard in such as Brother Bear, Kung Fu Panda. Duncan was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in a single-parent household with his sister, Judy and he always wanted to act, but had to drop out of the Communications program at Alcorn State University to support his family when his mother became ill. Duncans large frame—6 feet 5 inches and 315 pounds —helped him in his jobs digging ditches for the Peoples Gas Company, Duncan also played basketball at Kankakee Community College and for one season at Alcorn State. In 1979, he participated in the Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, during the ensuing riot his silver belt buckle was stolen while he was stealing a baseball bat from the dugout. Duncan took other security jobs while in Los Angeles while trying to get acting work in commercials. During this time, he worked as a bodyguard for celebrities like Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, when rapper Notorious B. I. G. was killed in 1997, Duncan quit the personal-protection business. When Duncan was cast as the Kingpin in 2002, he faced the challenge of portraying a typically white character. In July 2006, Duncan showed interest in returning for the role of the Kingpin, in 2009, he stopped eating meat and later appeared in a PETA ad campaign, touting the health benefits and his increased strength from a vegetarian diet. In 2005, Duncan appeared in two prominent action films, The Island and Sin City where he played Manute, a powerful mobster. Critic Roger Ebert singled out Duncan for praise for his role in The Island and his other voice acting roles include TV series such as Loonatics Unleased and Operation, Z. E. R. O. He additionally reprised his role as the Kingpin in Spider-Man, The New Animated Series, in addition to his film roles, Duncan also guest starred in numerous television shows. Among these, he appeared in an episode of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and a first-season episode of CSI, NY. In 2008, he appeared as Mr. Colt in the premiere of Chuck, Chuck Versus the First Date. The Bones Season 8 episode The Partners in the Divorce, which aired three weeks after his death, was dedicated to him. During the week of May 14,2012, Duncan appeared as a guest on the night talk show The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson when the show was taping for a week in Scotland. Duncan was one of the shows most frequent guests, appearing a total of 18 times, and, at the time of his death, Duncan was engaged to reality television personality Omarosa Manigault. In episode 2 of the season, Manigault won $40,000 for the charity, on July 13,2012, Duncan was taken to Cedars Sinai Medical Center after suffering a heart attack
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