The Last Outlaw (1993 film)
The Last Outlaw is a western starring Mickey Rourke, Dermot Mulroney, Ted Levine, Daniel Quinn, Gavan O'Herlihy, Keith David, John C. McGinley, Steve Buscemi, along with a variety of other known actors, which has since become a cult classic among western genre fans, it was written by Eric Red. It was broadcast on HBO on October 30, 1993; the story follows a band of former Confederate soldiers who were part of a cavalry unit that had fought during the American Civil War, with few surviving to its end. Their commander, Graff had once been a heroic and staunch supporter of the southern cause, but after losing his family he became cold hearted and ruthless, his second in command is Eustis, whom Graff has trained since 1861 on the strategies of leadership and combat command, right down to knowing how many rounds of ammunition each of his soldiers has. The film centers around the relationship between Graff and Eustis, the irony of Eustis turning on Graff due to Graff making a decision that Eustis disagrees with, which mirrors a decision Eustis is forced to make himself as a commander later.
When the war ends, the cavalry unit commanded by Graff makes the decision to stay together, turn outlaw. They begin committing bank robberies, are successful due to their experience and tactics. Local citizens and lawmen are no match for them. However, when a robbery goes horribly wrong, resulting in the unit being shot up badly, with Loomis badly wounded, they find themselves pursued by Marshal Sharp, capable and respected. Graff makes the command decision to kill the injured Loomis. Eustis objects, when Graff strikes Eustis moves to shoot Loomis, Eustis instead shoots Graff. Graff rolls down a hillside. Marshal Sharp and the posse come upon the wounded Graff, take him prisoner. With Graff in chains, they continue their chase. Eustis sets up an ambush and several posse members are killed. During the chaos Graff kills Marshal Sharp. Now leaderless, the remaining men decide to return home. Banker McClintock reminds them. Graff suggests. McClintock reluctantly says yes. With Graff now their leader, they set up an ambush.
Graff kills Philo. A member of the posse tries to cut off Philo's trigger finger for a trophy. Graff puts his gun to the man's lips and tells him that because Philo was one of his men, everyone will show the proper respect. Wills grabs the stolen money off Eustis' horse and rides back to leave it for the posse, believing this gesture will end the chase; when McClintock rides up to the spot on the hill where Wills leaves the money, Graff follows and throws both the money and the banker off the cliff. He fires his guns to make it seem like there has been a shootout with the outlaws, he tells the posse the situation had been a trap. Graff stands by. While Potts is giving Wills a beating for his action concerning the money, it becomes clear that the deed did not'save their skins', as Lovecraft spots Graff and his remaining riders coming toward them. Eustace and Graff meet in an isolated saloon. Graff says that Eustace owes him'everything.' Potts challenges Eustis' ability as a commander. As the outlaws continue trekking to Mexico, Graff shoots Loomis from a hilltop.
The others take cover behind rocks. Eustace is forced to put Loomis out of his misery; the remaining outlaws encounter Graff as if he is a ghost, keeping them off-balance and nervous. During one of these encounters, Graff shoots Wills' horse. Wills rides with Lovecraft. Eustis decides. Wills waits for the posse and stands his ground as long as he can, killing a couple of them before he is killed; the three left split up to investigate the whereabouts of Graff and his gang. Lovecraft chances upon Graff, who gives him extra ammunition, telling him he will be spared if he kills Eustis; when they reunite and Eustis gives Lovecraft ammunition to load his pistol, he finds that Lovecraft has a full chamber. Eustis, knowing that Lovecraft did not have a full six rounds left, realizes that Lovecraft has betrayed him. However, when Eustis presses for Lovecraft to do what Graff sent him to do, Lovecraft is overwhelmed with fear and guilt, commits suicide. Eustis and Potts make for the Rio Grande, but as they are about to cross, Graff shoots Potts through the gut.
Eustis makes a final stand against the posse. He kills all of them except Graff; the two draw, Eustis is faster, but his gun is empty. As Graff approaches, Eustis shoots him with a pocket derringer. Eustis crosses into the last outlaw; the Last Outlaw, Internet Movie database
August: Osage County (film)
August: Osage County is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written by Tracy Letts and based on his Pulitzer Prize–winning play of the same name, directed by John Wells. It is produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler; the film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson as a dysfunctional family that reunites into the familial house when their patriarch disappears. August: Osage County premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2013, was released in the United States on December 27, 2013. A modest commercial success, the film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. While much praise was given to the cast, the screenplay was praised by some and seen by others as too dark and lacking in humor. For their performances in the film and Roberts received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.
The title designates time and location: an unusually hot August in a rural area outside Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Beverly Weston, an alcoholic, once-noted poet and hires a young Cheyenne woman Johnna as a live-in cook and caregiver for his strong-willed and contentious wife Violet, suffering from oral cancer and addiction to narcotics. Shortly after this, he disappears from the house, Violet calls her sister and daughters for support, her sister Mattie Fae arrives with husband Charles Aiken. Violet's middle daughter Ivy is single and the only one living locally. Barbara and Bill are separated. After five days, the sheriff arrives with the news that Beverly took his boat out on the lake and has drowned. Youngest daughter Karen arrives with the latest in a string of boyfriends, Steve Huberbrecht, a sleazy Florida businessman whom she introduces as her fiancé. Mattie Fae and Charles's shy, awkward son "Little Charles" misses the funeral because he overslept and is met at the bus station by his father. Charles loves his son, whereas Mattie belittles him.
Ivy confides to Barbara that she is in love with her cousin, "Little Charles", who plans to move to New York, she cannot have children because she had a hysterectomy. She feels this is her only chance to marry; the family sits down to dinner after the funeral, fueled by Violet's brutal "truth telling", which results in Barbara pouncing on her mother. She decides she has had enough of her mother's drug addiction and confiscates all her several kinds of pills. After Violet has had a chance to sober up, she has a tender moment with her daughters and shares a story that demonstrates how cruel her own mother was when she longed for a new pair of cowgirl boots when she was in her early teens; as "Little Charles" sings Ivy a song he has written for her, Mattie Fae berates him. This exhausts Charles's patience with his wife's lack of love and compassion for her son, he threatens to leave her if she keeps it up. Mattie subsequently reveals to Barbara, who unintentionally listened in, that she had a long-ago affair with Beverly, Charles is in fact their younger half-brother and, the true reason why Ivy and "Little Charles" cannot be together.
That evening and Jean are playfully sharing a joint of marijuana. Johnna sees this and, goes after him with a shovel. Barbara slaps her; this compels Bill to take Jean back to Colorado. Karen leaves with Steve. Ivy tries to tell her mother about her love for "Little Charles". Barbara tries to deflect the admission. Violet tells Ivy that Charles is her brother, something Violet knew all along. Ivy promises to never come back. In the last confrontation between Violet and Barbara, Violet admits she was contacted by Beverly from his motel the week after he had left home, but did nothing to help him until after she removed money from the couple's joint safe deposit box. By this time he had drowned; this revelation leads Barbara to depart. Violet is left with only Johnna. Barbara is driving through the plains, gets out of the car, cries gets back in the car and follows signage showing highways and number of miles to Wichita and Denver.. John Wells directed, while George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler produced the film.
Renée Zellweger and Andrea Riseborough were considered for a role. Riseborough dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Juliette Lewis replaced her. Chloë Grace Moretz auditioned for the role of Jean Fordham. Principal photography took place between October 16 and December 8, 2012, in Bartlesville and Pawhuska and Los Angeles, California. August: Osage County premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2013, before its release in select cities on December 27, 2013, followed by a wide release on January 10, 2014, in the United States, it was released on January 1, 2014, in Australia. In its limited box-office debut, the film grossed $179,475 from five theaters, a $35,895 per-screen average. August: Osage County received mixed-to-positive reviews with the entire cast being praised for their performances Streep and Roberts. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes sampled 189
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 139,966, in 2016, the population was estimated to be 155,810. Located along the western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is 7 miles south of downtown Washington, D. C. Like the rest of Northern Virginia, as well as Central Maryland, modern Alexandria has been influenced by its proximity to the U. S. capital. It is populated by professionals working in the federal civil service, in the U. S. military, or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to the federal government. One of Alexandria's largest employers is the U. S. Department of Defense. Another is the Institute for Defense Analyses. In 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office moved to Alexandria, in 2017, so did the headquarters of the National Science Foundation; the historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town. With its concentration of boutiques, antique shops and theaters, it is a major draw for all who live in Alexandria as well for visitors.
Like Old Town, many Alexandria neighborhoods are walkable. It is the 7th largest and highest-income independent city in Virginia. A large portion of adjacent Fairfax County south but west of the city, is named "Alexandria," but it is under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County and separate from the city. In 1920, Virginia's General Assembly voted to incorporate what had been Alexandria County as Arlington County to minimize confusion. On October 21, 1669 a patent granted 6,000 acres to Robert Howsing for transporting 120 people to the Colony of Virginia; that tract would become the City of Alexandria. Virginia's comprehensive Tobacco Inspection Law of 1730 mandated that all tobacco grown in the colony must be brought to locally designated public warehouses for inspection before sale. One of the sites designated for a warehouse on the upper Potomac River was at the mouth of Hunting Creek. However, the ground proved to be unsuitable, the warehouse was built half a mile up-river, where the water was deep near the shore.
Following the 1745 settlement of the Virginia's 10 year dispute with Lord Fairfax over the western boundary of the Northern Neck Proprietary, when the Privy Council in London found in favor of Lord Fairfax's expanded claim, some of the Fairfax County gentry formed the Ohio Company of Virginia. They intended to conduct trade into the interior of America, they required a trading center near the head of navigation on the Potomac; the best location was Hunting Creek tobacco warehouse, since the deep water could accommodate sailing ships. Many local tobacco planters, wanted a new town further up Hunting Creek, away from nonproductive fields along the river. Around 1746, Captain Philip Alexander II moved to what is south of present Duke Street in Alexandria, his estate, which consisted of 500 acres, was bounded by Hunting Creek, Hooff's Run, the Potomac River, the line which would become Cameron Street. At the opening of Virginia's 1748–49 legislative session, there was a petition submitted in the House of Burgesses on November 1, 1748, that the "inhabitants of Fairfax praying that a town may be established at Hunting Creek Warehouse on Potowmack River," as Hugh West was the owner of the warehouse.
The petition was introduced by Lawrence Washington, the representative for Fairfax County and, more the son-in-law of William Fairfax and a founding member of the Ohio Company. To support the company's push for a town on the river, Lawrence's younger brother George Washington, an aspiring surveyor, made a sketch of the shoreline touting the advantages of the tobacco warehouse site. Since the river site was amidst his estate, Philip opposed the idea and favored a site at the head of Hunting Creek, it has been said that in order to avoid a predicament the petitioners offered to name the new town Alexandria, in honor of Philip's family. As a result and his cousin Captain John Alexander gave land to assist in the development of Alexandria, are thus listed as the founders; this John was the son of Robert Alexander II. On May 2, 1749, the House of Burgesses approved the river location and ordered "Mr. Washington do go up with a Message to the Council and acquaint them that this House have agreed to the Amendments titled An Act for erecting a Town at Hunting Creek Warehouse, in the County of Fairfax."
A "Public Vendue" was advertised for July, the county surveyor laid out street lanes and town lots. The auction was conducted on July 13–14, 1749. Upon establishment, the town founders called the new town "Belhaven", believed to be in honor of a Scottish patriot, John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton, the Northern Neck tobacco trade being dominated by Scots; the name Belhaven was used in official lotteries to raise money for a Church and Market House, but it was never approved by the legislature and fell out of favor in the mid-1750s. The town of Alexandria did not become incorporated until 1779. In 1755, General Edward Braddock organized his fatal expedition against Fort Duquesne at Carlyle House in Alexandria. In April 1755, the governors of Virginia, the provinces of Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York met to determine upon concerted action against the French in America. In March 1785, commissioners from Virginia and Maryland met in Alexandria to discuss the commercial relations of the two states, finishing their business at Mount Vernon.
The Mount Vernon Conference concluded o
Angels in the Outfield (1994 film)
Angels in the Outfield is a 1994 American family sports fantasy comedy-drama film, a remake of the 1951 film of the same name. The film stars Danny Glover, Tony Danza and Christopher Lloyd, features several future stars, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adrien Brody, Matthew McConaughey, Neal McDonough, it spawned Angels in the Endzone and Angels in the Infield. The film was released less than a month before the 1994 MLB Baseball Players Strike, which forced the league to cancel the playoffs and the World Series. Young foster child Roger and his friend J. P. love to sneak into baseball games of the hopelessly dreadful California Angels. Still in limited contact with his widower father, Roger asks, his father replies sarcastically, "I'd say when the Angels win the pennant." Taking his father's words Roger prays for God to help the Angels win. After he prays, a star, unseen by Roger, twinkles in the sky. In a game against the Oakland Athletics which Roger and J. P. attend, he sees a group of angels led by Al helping the team.
Although Roger can see them quite everyone else can only explain the impossible acts as freak occurrences. Roger's unique ability to see which players are receiving help from angels leads their skeptical manager, George Knox to keep him around as a good luck charm and consultant, including ending the use of profanity as a nod to the original film. Due to the much needed help, the Angels start to win games and make a surprising second-half surge to the top of their division. Meanwhile, Roger's father permanently gives up custody of his son, believing it's in Roger's best interest; as Roger laments his loss, J. P. accidentally reveals to antagonistic sports broadcaster Ranch Wilder that Roger has the ability to see angels, that George has been winning through the advice Roger's given him. Hoping to destroy George due to a longtime rivalry between the two, Ranch informs the press of this and their owner Hank Murphy threatens to relieve George of his management responsibilities. Roger comes clean to his caretaker Maggie Nelson about his special ability and at a press conference they and the entire team defend George in front of the press.
Moved by their faith, Murphy allows George to remain as manager of the Angels. During the championship game none of the angels show up to help the team. On, Al explains that championships must be played without help from the angels and that he was there just checking on pitcher Mel Clark who will be one of them soon as he has been a chain smoker. Mel starts struggling, is getting tired after throwing 159 pitches; when George goes out to the mound, everyone thinks he's going in to take Mel out, but instead, George gives him some motivation, with encouragement from Roger, the team, the entire stadium audience as well as owner Murphy and the broadcasters. The Angels win the final game of the regular season without the help of the angels and clinch the division pennant over the rival Chicago White Sox, thanks to Mel. Murphy dismisses Ranch because of his denigration of the team; the film ends with George adopting both Roger and J. P. as he wants to try be a father. J. P. sees Al at the window and says "I knew it could happen."
Al circles around the house and says "We're always watching" and flying off into the stars, which re-enact a baseball game. The film has a rating of 35% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. Unlike the original film, which focused on the Pittsburgh Pirates as the team in heavenly need, the 1994 remake focuses on the California Angels, who did not exist when the original film was released in 1951; some scenes in the original film were shot at Wrigley Field, home of the original Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. The Walt Disney Company, which distributed it, was a minority owner of the Angels at the time; the film did, premiere at the Pirates' home stadium at the time, Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The premiere would be the only reference to the Pirates, due to the two teams playing in separate leagues and the film being released three years before the start of interleague play; the two teams would meet head-to-head for the first time in 2002 in Anaheim.
The film opened at #4 at the North American box office, making $8,916,463 USD in its opening weekend. It went on to gross $50.2 million at the box office domestically. Angels in the Outfield on IMDb Angels in the Outfield at Rotten Tomatoes Angels in the Outfield at Box Office Mojo
Young Guns (film)
Young Guns is a 1988 American western film directed by Christopher Cain and written by John Fusco. The film is the first to be produced by Morgan Creek Productions; the film stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko, Terence Stamp, Terry O'Quinn, Brian Keith, Jack Palance. Young Guns is a retelling of the adventures of Billy the Kid during the Lincoln County War, which took place in New Mexico during 1877–78, it was filmed around New Mexico. Historian Dr. Paul Hutton called Young Guns the most accurate of all prior Billy the Kid films, it opened no. 1 at the box office earning $45 million from a moderate $11 million budget. A sequel, Young Guns II, was released in 1990. John Tunstall, an educated Englishman and cattle rancher in Lincoln County, New Mexico, hires wayward young gunmen to live and work on his ranch. Tunstall is in heavy competition with a well-connected Irishman named Lawrence Murphy, who owns a large ranch. Tunstall recruits Billy and advises him to renounce violence saying that "He who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind."
Tensions escalate between the two camps. Billy, Doc Scurlock, Jose Chavez y Chavez, Richard M. "Dick" Brewer, "Dirty" Steve Stephens, Charlie Bowdre, consult their lawyer friend Alexander McSween, who manages to get them deputized and given warrants for the arrest of Murphy's murderous henchmen. Billy challenges Dick's authority as leader, vowing revenge against Murphy and the men responsible for killing Tunstall; the men dub themselves The Regulators and arrest some of the murderers, but hot-headed Billy is unable to wait for justice. He guns down unarmed men and goes on to kill one of his fellow Regulators in the paranoid belief that he was still in league with Murphy; the men learn from a newspaper. That same paper confuses Dick for Billy, showing a picture of Dick labeled Billy the Kid, a nickname to which Billy takes an immediate liking. While the local authorities begin their hunt for Billy and the boys, the Regulators argue about continuing with their warrants or to go on the run. One of the men on their list of warrants, Buckshot Roberts, tracks them down, barricades himself in an outhouse, Dick dies in an intense shootout.
Billy appoints himself as the new leader, the gang becomes famous and the U. S. Army is charged with bringing them to justice under Murphy's corrupt political influence; the gang eludes attention for some time, Charlie gets married in Mexico. While attending the wedding, Billy meets Pat Garrett, not yet a sheriff, but warns Billy of an attempt on Alex's life by Murphy's men that will happen the next day, thus the gang packs up and heads off to save Alex. Back in Lincoln, Murphy's men, led by George W. Peppin, surround Alex's house, trapping the Regulators, a shootout begins. A ceasefire is called for the night. In the morning, accompanied by Murphy, the army comes in and torches the house, but Chavez escapes out the back. While the house is burning, the men come up with an escape plan, they begin throwing Alex's possessions out the windows of the second floor. Billy places himself inside of a large trunk, when it lands in front of the house, he leaps out and begins to open fire. Meanwhile, Doc bursts out of the side stairway, followed by Steve.
Everyone makes it to the lawn. Charlie challenges the bounty hunter John Kinney. Chavez comes from behind the army on horseback, jumps the barricade to get extra horses to the Regulators. Billy jumps on one horse. Doc still manages to pick up his girlfriend Yen Sun, Murphy's Chinese sex-slave, they ride off. Chavez tries to get Steve on a horse, but falls to the ground. Steve is left alone and unarmed; the Army and Murphy's men kill Steve. Alex cheers on the boys as they ride away; the army opens fire on him with a Gatling gun and he is killed. As the remaining men ride away, Murphy hurls threats and curses after them, but is stunned when Billy turns back and shoots Murphy right between the eyes, killing him; the final scene is a voice-over of Doc explaining what happened afterwards: Alex's widow caused a congressional investigation into the Lincoln County War. Chavez took work at a farm in California. Doc married Yen Sun, whom he had saved from Murphy. Billy shot dead by Pat Garrett. Billy was buried next to Charlie Bowdre at Fort Sumner.
A stranger made a carving in the headstone. The epitaph read only one word: "PALS". Emilio Estevez as William H. "Billy the Kid" Bonney Kiefer Sutherland as Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock Lou Diamond Phillips as Jose Chavez y Chavez Charlie Sheen as Richard "Dick" Brewer Dermot Mulroney as "Dirty Steve" Stephens Casey Siemaszko as Charlie Bowdre Terence Stamp as John Tunstall Jack Palance as Lawrence Murphy Terry O'Quinn as Alexander McSween Sharon Thomas as Susan McSween Alice Carter as Yen Sun Geoffrey Blake as J. McCloskey Brian Keith as Buckshot Roberts Patrick Wayne as Pat Garrett The movie received mixed reviews from critics, it holds a 41% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10 with the consensus: "Young Guns rounds up a posse of attract
Hollywood
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, notable as the home of the U. S. film industry, including several of its historic studios. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the people associated with it. Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality in 1903, it was consolidated with the city of Los Angeles in 1910 and soon thereafter, a prominent film industry emerged becoming the most recognizable film industry in the world. In 1853, one adobe hut stood in Nopalera, named for the Mexican Nopal cactus indigenous to the area. By 1870, an agricultural community flourished; the area was known as the Cahuenga Valley, after the pass in the Santa Monica Mountains to the north. According to the diary of H. J. Whitley known as the "Father of Hollywood", on his honeymoon in 1886 he stood at the top of the hill looking out over the valley. Along came a Chinese man in a wagon carrying wood; the man bowed. The Chinese man was asked what he was doing and replied, "I holly-wood," meaning'hauling wood.'
H. J. Whitley decided to name his new town Hollywood. "Holly" would represent England and "wood" would represent his Scottish heritage. Whitley had started over 100 towns across the western United States. Whitley arranged to buy the 480 acres E. C. Hurd ranch, they shook hands on the deal. Whitley shared his plans for the new town with General Harrison Gray Otis, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, Ivar Weid, a prominent businessman in the area. Daeida Wilcox learned of the name Hollywood from Ivar Weid, her neighbor in Holly Canyon and a prominent investor and friend of Whitley's, she recommended the same name to Harvey. H. Wilcox, who had purchased 120 acres on February 1, 1887, it wasn't until August 1887 Wilcox decided to use that name and filed with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office on a deed and parcel map of the property. The early real-estate boom busted at the end of that year. By 1900, the region had a post office, newspaper and two markets. Los Angeles, with a population of 102,479 lay 10 miles east through the vineyards, barley fields, citrus groves.
A single-track streetcar line ran down the middle of Prospect Avenue from it, but service was infrequent and the trip took two hours. The old citrus fruit-packing house was converted into a livery stable, improving transportation for the inhabitants of Hollywood; the Hollywood Hotel was opened in 1902 by H. J. Whitley, a president of the Los Pacific Boulevard and Development Company. Having acquired the Hurd ranch and subdivided it, Whitley built the hotel to attract land buyers. Flanking the west side of Highland Avenue, the structure fronted on Prospect Avenue, still a dusty, unpaved road, was graded and graveled; the hotel was to become internationally known and was the center of the civic and social life and home of the stars for many years. Whitley's company sold one of the early residential areas, the Ocean View Tract. Whitley did much to promote the area, he paid thousands of dollars for electric lighting, including bringing electricity and building a bank, as well as a road into the Cahuenga Pass.
The lighting ran for several blocks down Prospect Avenue. Whitley's land was centered on Highland Avenue, his 1918 development, Whitley Heights, was named for him. Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality on November 14, 1903, by a vote of 88 for and 77 against. On January 30, 1904, the voters in Hollywood decided, by a vote of 113 to 96, for the banishment of liquor in the city, except when it was being sold for medicinal purposes. Neither hotels nor restaurants were allowed to serve liquor before or after meals. In 1910, the city voted for merger with Los Angeles in order to secure an adequate water supply and to gain access to the L. A. sewer system. With annexation, the name of Prospect Avenue changed to Hollywood Boulevard and all the street numbers were changed. By 1912, major motion-picture companies had set up production in Los Angeles. In the early 1900s, most motion picture patents were held by Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company in New Jersey, filmmakers were sued to stop their productions.
To escape this, filmmakers began moving out west to Los Angeles, where attempts to enforce Edison's patents were easier to evade. The weather was ideal and there was quick access to various settings. Los Angeles became the capital of the film industry in the United States; the mountains and low land prices made Hollywood a good place to establish film studios. Director D. W. Griffith was the first to make a motion picture in Hollywood, his 17-minute short film In Old California was filmed for the Biograph Company. Although Hollywood banned movie theaters—of which it had none—before annexation that year, Los Angeles had no such restriction; the first film by a Hollywood studio, Nestor Motion Picture Company, was shot on October 26, 1911. The H. J. Whitley home was used as its set, the unnamed movie was filmed in the middle of their groves at the corner of Whitley Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard; the first studio in Hollywood, the Nestor Company, was established by the New Jersey–based Centaur Company in a roadhouse at 6121 Sunset Boulevard, in October 1911.
Four major film companies – Paramount, Warner Bros. RKO, Columbia – had studios in Hollywood, as did several minor companies and rental studios. In the 1920s, Hollywood was the fifth-largest industry in the nation. By the 1930s, Hollywood studios became vertically integrated, as production and exhibition was controlled by these companies, enabling Hollywood to produce 600 films per year. H
William Morris Agency
The William Morris Agency was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th century entertainers in film and music. During its 109 year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent agency in show business". In April 2009, WMA announced it would merge with the Endeavor Talent Agency to form William Morris Endeavor which owns Miss Universe. In 1898, William Morris, a German Jewish immigrant to the US, posted a cross-hatch trademark above an office door in New York City – four "X's", representing a W superimposed on an M – and went into business as William Morris, Vaudeville Agent. By the time WMA formally incorporated in New York State on January 31, 1918, Morris' son William Morris Jr. and an office boy named Abraham Lastfogel, after becoming a talent agent in his own right, entered into a business partnership with Morris Sr. As silent film grew into viewed entertainment, Morris encouraged his clients to experiment in the new medium. Stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Al Jolson, the Marx Brothers, Mae West were all represented by the company.
By 1930, Morris had turned over leadership of the agency to Lastfogel. In 1932, five years after his retirement, William Morris, Sr. died from heart failure. By that time, the Agency had begun the process of relocating from Hollywood and Vine to Canon Drive in Beverly Hills; the William Morris Agency attained further industry dominance with the December 1949 acquisition of the Berg-Allenberg Agency. The senior agent in the motion picture department during the 1950s was Mike Zimring. By 1965, WMA's Music Department had emerged as an industry powerhouse, among others, the Rolling Stones, Sonny & Cher, the Beach Boys, the Byrds. Less than 10 years in 1973, the Agency's newly established Nashville office provided another significant boost to the operations of William Morris, extending the Agency's reach into country music and beyond. In the early 1980s, WMA built the William Morris Plaza located at 150 El Camino Drive, directly across the street from its main building at 151 El Camino. In 1989, WMA acquired the Jim Halsey Company.
In the early 1990s, WMA's Literary Department announced the largest book-to-screen deal inked when it sold the television rights for Scarlett, the sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. In 2000, WMA acquired The Writers Shop, owned by Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. WMA's Miami Beach office opened in 2003, WMA's Shanghai office opened in 2004. In 2007, the Agency expanded its London music operation, underscoring WMA's continued commitment to the international marketplace. Along with the addition of new personnel, the London office moved into the iconic Centre Point Tower. In 2003, a seismic shift occurred in the agency landscape when WMA's SVP and Theatre topper, George Lane, fellow agent in charge of foreign rights, Michael Cardonick, left WMA to open Creative Artists Agency's New York City office and Theatrical Department. On April 27, 2009, WMA and the Endeavor Talent Agency announced that they were merging to form William Morris Endeavor. Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell were recognized as the architects of the deal and took the roles of WME Co-CEOs.
Following the official announcement of the merger, nearly 100 WMA employees and former board members were let go. One of those leaving was Jim Wiatt, who came to WMA in 1999 from International Creative Management, where he was Vice-Chairman, in 1999, he had joined WMA as President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, had risen to Board Chairman. After the merger, WMA permanently relocated its offices to the Endeavor building at 9601 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California; the WMA Agent Training Program referred to as the "mailroom", was established in the 1940s and is well known for its roster of successful alumni. Since the 1970s the program has been replicated at other talent agencies and studios, many of which were headed by former mailroom trainees. Once accepted, trainees rotate through different departments, starting with the mailroom, before becoming a full-time assistant or coordinator. WMA's longtime competitor, Creative Artists Agency, was founded in 1975 by Michael Ovitz, Ronald Meyer, William Haber, Michael S. Rosenfeld, Rowland Perkins, all former WMA agent trainees.
David Geffen once called the WMA Agent Training Program "The Harvard School of Show Business – only better: no grades, no exams, a small stipend and great placement opportunities." Graduates from the Training Program were perceived at a high level of prestige within the entertainment industry, because of the caliber of notable alums that have graduated from the program. Former Chairman Norman Brokaw became the first mailboy in the Beverly Hills Mailroom at age 15; the Agent Training program still exists today at William Morris Endeavor. It was famously documented in David Rensin's 2003 book, The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up. Haskell, Sam. Promises I Made My Mother. ISBN 978-0345506559. Rensin, David; the Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up. ISBN 978-0345442345. Rose, Frank; the Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business. ISBN 978-0887307492. Official website
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