1.
Tribeca Film Festival
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The mission of the festival is to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience. The Tribeca Film Festival was founded to celebrate New York City as a filmmaking center. In 2006 and 2007, the Festival received over 8600 film submissions, the Festivals program line-up includes a variety of independent films including documentaries, narrative features and shorts, as well as a program of family-friendly films. The Festival also features panel discussions with personalities in the entertainment world, past artists of the Artists Awards program have included Chuck Close, Alex Katz, and Julian Schnabel. The festival now draws an estimated three million people—including often-elusive celebrities from the worlds of art, film, and music—and generates $600 million annually, the inaugural festival launched after 120 days of planning with the help of more than 1,300 volunteers. It was attended by more than 150,000 people and featured several up-and-coming filmmakers, the 2003 festival brought more than 300,000 people. It became one of the venues of the festival, in an effort to serve its mission of bringing independent film to the widest possible audience, in 2006, the Festival expanded its reach in New York City and internationally. In New York City, Tribeca hosted screenings throughout Manhattan as the Festivals 1, internationally, the Festival brought films to the Rome Film Fest. As part of the celebrations in Rome, Tribeca was awarded the first ever Steps and Stars award, presented on the Spanish Steps. A total of 169 feature films and 99 shorts were selected from 4,100 film submissions, the festival featured 90 world premieres, nine international premieres,31 North American premieres,6 U. S. premieres, and 28 New York City premieres. In 2009, Rosenthal, Hatkoff and De Niro were named number 14 on Barrons list of the worlds top 25 philanthropists for their role in regenerating TriBeCas economy after September 11, as of 2010, the festival is run as a business by Tribeca Enterprises. Andrew Essex has been the CEO of Tribeca Enterprises since January,2016, in 2011, L. A. Noire became the first video game to be recognized by the Tribeca Film Festival. com,02.23.2013
Tribeca Film Festival
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New York Governor
David Paterson opens the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
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Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
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Festival founders
Jane Rosenthal and
Robert De Niro.
Tribeca Film Festival
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The marquee of Tribeca Cinemas
2.
Brooklyn
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Brooklyn is the most populous borough of New York City, with a Census-estimated 2,636,735 residents in 2015. It borders the borough of Queens at the end of Long Island. Today, if New York City dissolved, Brooklyn would rank as the third-most populous city in the U. S. behind Los Angeles, the borough continues, however, to maintain a distinct culture. Many Brooklyn neighborhoods are ethnic enclaves, Brooklyns official motto, displayed on the Borough seal and flag, is Eendraght Maeckt Maght which translates from early modern Dutch as Unity makes strength. Since 2010, Brooklyn has evolved into a hub of entrepreneurship and high technology startup firms. The history of European settlement in Brooklyn spans more than 350 years, the neighborhood of Marine Park was home to North Americas first tidal mill. It was built by the Dutch, and the foundation can be seen today, however, the area was not formally settled as a town. Many incidents and documents relating to this period are in Gabriel Furmans early compilation, what is today Brooklyn left Dutch hands after the final English conquest of New Netherland in 1664, a prelude to the Second Anglo–Dutch War. The English reorganized the six old Dutch towns on southwestern Long Island as Kings County on November 1,1683 and this tract of land was recognized as a political entity for the first time, and the municipal groundwork was laid for a later expansive idea of Brooklyn identity. On August 27,1776 was fought the Battle of Long Island, the first major engagement fought in the American Revolutionary War after independence was declared, and the largest of the entire conflict. British troops forced Continental Army troops under George Washington off the heights near the sites of Green-Wood Cemetery, Prospect Park. The fortified American positions at Brooklyn Heights consequently became untenable and were evacuated a few days later, One result of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 was the evacuation of the British from New York City, celebrated by residents into the 20th century. The New York Navy Yard operated in Wallabout Bay for the entire 19th century, the first center of urbanization sprang up in the Town of Brooklyn, directly across from Lower Manhattan, which saw the incorporation of the Village of Brooklyn in 1817. Reliable steam ferry service across the East River to Fulton Landing converted Brooklyn Heights into a town for Wall Street. Ferry Road to Jamaica Pass became Fulton Street to East New York, Town and Village were combined to form the first, kernel incarnation of the City of Brooklyn in 1834. Industrial deconcentration in mid-century was bringing shipbuilding and other manufacturing to the part of the county. Each of the two cities and six towns in Kings County remained independent municipalities, and purposely created non-aligning street grids with different naming systems and it later became the most popular and highest circulation afternoon paper in America. The publisher changed to L. Van Anden on April 19,1842, on May 14,1849 the name was shortened to The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, on September 5,1938 it was further shortened to Brooklyn Eagle
Brooklyn
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Clockwise from top left:
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn brownstones,
Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch,
Brooklyn Borough Hall,
Coney Island
Brooklyn
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Currier and Ives print of Brooklyn, 1886.
Brooklyn
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Brooklyn Museum - Hooker's Map of the Village of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
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A typical dining table in the Dutch village of Brooklyn, c. 1664, from
The Brooklyn Museum.
3.
New York City, New York
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
New York City, New York
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Clockwise, from top:
Midtown Manhattan,
Times Square, the
Unisphere in
Queens, the
Brooklyn Bridge,
Lower Manhattan with
One World Trade Center,
Central Park, the
headquarters of the United Nations, and the
Statue of Liberty
New York City, New York
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New Amsterdam, centered in the eventual
Lower Manhattan, in 1664, the year
England took control and renamed it "New York".
New York City, New York
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The
Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the
American Revolution, took place in
Brooklyn in 1776.
New York City, New York
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Broadway follows the Native American Wickquasgeck Trail through Manhattan.
4.
Daphna Kastner
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Daphna Kastner is a Canadian film and television actress, screenwriter and film director. She has been married to actor Harvey Keitel since 2001 and she and Keitel secretly married in Jerusalem, while attending the Haifa International Film Festival. In October 2001 they had their official ceremony at the Manhattan home of Harvey Keitels friend Robert De Niro
Daphna Kastner
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Kastner at the 2009 premiere of
Whatever Works
5.
Lorraine Bracco
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Lorraine Bracco is an American actress. She also appeared as Angela Rizzoli on the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles, Bracco was born in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge. She is the daughter of Eileen and Salvatore Bracco, Sr and she has a sister, Elizabeth Bracco, and brother, Salvatore Jr. Her mother was from England and met her father during World War II, Eileen came with Salvatore to the United States as a War bride. Bracco grew up in Westbury, on Maxwell Drive on Long Island and she graduated from Hicksville High School in 1972. Her father was of Italian descent, while her mother was born in England to French parents, Bracco is fluent in English, French and Italian. In 1974, Bracco moved to France, where she became a model for Jean-Paul Gaultier. While there, she was introduced to the director and novelist Lina Wertmüller, in the early 1970s, Wertmüller recruited Bracco in a new film production titled Camorra. She dressed me up like an Italian woman of no means, a street woman clad in disheveled clothes, hair unkempt and all that, and threw me on the set. I mean, Lina accentuated my eyes with dark make-up, the way Sophia Loren used to appear in those roles in the 60s. And yes, I learned a lot from her, shes a master of her profession, and Ive been blessed not only with her, but also with so many masters, recounted Bracco to Daniel Simone during a 2007 interview. Bracco acted in several French-language films and she also once worked as a disc jockey for Radio Luxembourg. She appeared as Paul Guilfoyles hostage in the first season Crime Story episode, Hide and her sister Elizabeth played a hostage in the series pilot. Her other films include Someone to Watch Over Me, Riding in Cars with Boys, The Basketball Diaries, Medicine Man, Radio Flyer and she won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress. Bracco is the owner of Bracco Wines, with association of Straight-Up Brands LLC and her line of wines was featured on the Season 1 finale of Bravos show Top Chef in 2006. She appeared as a guest judge for the two-episode finale and she also appeared as a special judge on Top Chef, All Stars in the episode titled An Offer They Cant Refuse, which featured Italian cuisine. Bracco appeared on a season 6 episode of Throwdown, with Bobby Flay as a guest judge for the ravioli throwdown. During the audition process for The Sopranos, David Chase wanted her to read for the female role of Carmela Soprano
Lorraine Bracco
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Lorraine Bracco, 2007
Lorraine Bracco
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Bracco as a senior in high school, 1972.
6.
Academy Awards
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The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname Oscar. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by AMPAS, the awards ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and televised for the first time in 1953. It is now live in more than 200 countries and can be streamed live online. The Academy Awards ceremony is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony and its equivalents – the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music and recording – are modeled after the Academy Awards. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2016, were held on February 26,2017, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, the ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and was broadcast on ABC. A total of 3,048 Oscars have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 88th, the first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16,1929, at a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel, the cost of guest tickets for that nights ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other participants in the industry of the time. The ceremony ran for 15 minutes, winners were announced to media three months earlier, however, that was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. Since then, for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11,00 pm on the night of the awards. The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier, this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. With the fourth ceremony, however, the system changed, for the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. At the 29th ceremony, held on March 27,1957, until then, foreign-language films had been honored with the Special Achievement Award. The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies always end with the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Academy also awards Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, see also § Awards of Merit categories The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. The five spokes represent the branches of the Academy, Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers. The model for the statuette is said to be Mexican actor Emilio El Indio Fernández, sculptor George Stanley sculpted Cedric Gibbons design. The statuettes presented at the ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze
Academy Awards
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Academy Awards
Academy Awards
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31st Academy Awards Presentations,
Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, 1959
Academy Awards
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81st Academy Awards Presentations,
Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, 2009
Academy Awards
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Pantages Theatre, 2008
7.
Golden Globe Award
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Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign. The annual ceremony at which the awards are presented is a part of the film industrys awards season. The 74th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film, the 1st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best achievements in 1943 filmmaking, was held in January 1944, at the 20th Century-Fox studios. Subsequent ceremonies were held at venues throughout the next decade, including the Beverly Hills Hotel. In 1950, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the decision to establish an honorary award to recognize outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Recognizing its subject as a figure within the entertainment industry. The official name of the award became the Cecil B. In 1963, the Miss Golden Globe concept was introduced, in its inaugural year, two Miss Golden Globes were named, one for film and one for television. The two Miss Golden Globes named that year were Eva Six and Donna Douglas, respectively, in 2009, the Golden Globe statuette was redesigned. It was unveiled at a conference at the Beverly Hilton prior to the show. The broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards, telecast to 167 countries worldwide, generally ranks as the third most-watched awards show each year, behind only the Oscars, gervais returned to host the 68th and 69th Golden Globe Awards the next two years. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the 70th, 71st and 72nd Golden Globe Awards in 2015, the Golden Globe Awards theme song, which debuted in 2012, was written by Japanese musician and songwriter Yoshiki Hayashi. On January 7,2008, it was announced due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The ceremony was faced with a threat by striking writers to picket the event, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was forced to adopt another approach for the broadcast. In acting categories, Meryl Streep holds the record for the most competitive Golden Globe wins with eight, however, including honorary awards, such as the Henrietta Award, World Film Favorite Actor/Actress Award, or Cecil B. DeMille Award, Barbra Streisand leads with nine, additionally, Streisand won for composing the song Evergreen, producing the Best Picture, and directing Yentl in 1984. Jack Nicholson, Angela Lansbury, Alan Alda and Shirley MacLaine have six awards each, behind them are Rosalind Russell and Jessica Lange with five wins. Meryl Streep also holds the record for most nominations with thirty, at the 46th Golden Globe Awards an anomaly occurred, a three way-tie for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Golden Globe Award
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The Golden Globe statuette
8.
Theo Angelopoulos
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Theodoros Theo Angelopoulos was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. An acclaimed and multi-awarded film director who dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and he started making films in 1967. In the 1970s he made a series of films about modern Greece. In 2000 he was the President of the Jury at the 22nd Moscow International Film Festival, the life of Theo Angelopoulos, his work, and his passion were the subject of a documentary directed in 2008 by Elodie Lelu. Theodoros Angelopoulos was born in Athens on 27 April 1935 and he studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, but after his military service went to Paris to attend the Sorbonne. He soon dropped out to film at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques before returning to Greece. There, he worked as a journalist and film critic, Angelopoulos began making films after the 1967 coup that began the Greek military dictatorship known as the Regime of the Colonels. He made his first short film in 1968 and in the 1970s he began making a series of feature films about modern Greece, Days of 36, The Travelling Players. In 1978, he was a member of the jury at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival and he quickly established a characteristic style, marked by slow, episodic and ambiguous narrative structures as well as long takes. These takes often include meticulously choreographed and complicated scenes involving many actors, the sad state of contemporary Greece is built against Angelopoulos’ poignant poetry of images. In Landscape in the Mist the social-realist air merges into surrealism as the director takes his audience once again through misty towns and his lifelong tendency to amalgamate Greek myths and history into current political events was revealed once again in his oedipal drama Trilogy, The Weeping Meadow. His regular collaborators include the cinematographer Giorgos Arvanitis, the screenwriter Tonino Guerra, one of the recurring themes of his work is immigration, the flight from homeland and the return, as well as the history of 20th century Greece. Angelopoulos was considered by British film critics Derek Malcolm and David Thomson as one of the worlds greatest directors, Angelopoulos died late on Tuesday,24 January 2012, several hours after being involved in an accident while shooting his latest film, The Other Sea in Athens. The filmmaker had been with his crew in the area of Drapetsona, near Piraeus when he was hit by a motorcycle driven by an off-duty police officer, the accident occurred when Angelopoulos,76, attempted to cross a busy road. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated in an intensive care unit, before expiring, Angelopoulos suffered at least one heart attack. Angelopoulos won numerous awards, including the Palme dOr at the 51st edition of the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 for Eternity and his films have been shown at the most important film festivals around the world. Theodoros Angelopoulos was also the recipient of awards for his long standing career. Books Journals, magazines, and web Official website Acquarello, Theo Angelopoulos at the Internet Movie Database Theo Angelopoulos in musicolog
Theo Angelopoulos
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Angelopoulos presenting his film The Dust of Time in 2009 in Athens, Greece
9.
Martin Scorsese
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Martin Charles Scorsese is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and film historian, whose career spans more than 50 years. Scorseses body of work addresses such themes as Sicilian-American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, faith, machismo, modern crime, many of his films are also known for their depiction of violence and liberal use of profanity. Part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking, he is regarded as one of the most significant. In 1990, he founded The Film Foundation, an organization dedicated to film preservation. Their third film together, The Departed, won Scorsese the Academy Award for Best Director in addition to the winning the award for Best Picture. Their collaborations have resulted in numerous Academy Award nominations for both as well as winning several other prestigious awards. His work in television includes the episode of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire and Vinyl. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the crime drama The Departed, with eight Best Director nominations, he is the most nominated living director and is tied with Billy Wilder for the second most nominations overall. Scorsese was born in Queens, New York and his family moved to Little Italy, Manhattan before he started school. His father, Charles Scorsese, and mother, Catherine Scorsese and his father was a clothes presser and an actor, and his mother was a seamstress and an actress. His fathers parents emigrated from Polizzi Generosa, in the province of Palermo, Sicily, Scorsese was raised in a devoutly Catholic environment. As a teenager in the Bronx, Scorsese frequently rented Powell, Scorsese was one of only two people who regularly rented that reel. The other was future Night Of The Living Dead director George A. Romero, Scorsese has cited Sabu and Victor Mature as his favorite actors during his youth. He has also spoken of the influence of the 1947 Powell and Pressburger film Black Narcissus, whose innovative techniques later impacted his filmmaking. Enamored of historical epics in his adolescence, at least two films of the genre, Land of the Pharaohs and El Cid, appear to have had a deep, Scorsese also developed an admiration for neorealist cinema at this time. He acknowledges owing a debt to the French New Wave and has stated that the French New Wave has influenced all filmmakers who have worked since. He has also cited filmmakers including Satyajit Ray, Ingmar Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni and he went on to earn his M. F. A. from NYUs School of the Arts in 1966, a year after the school was founded. Scorsese attended New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts making the short films Whats a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This. and Its Not Just You, Murray
Martin Scorsese
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Scorsese at the 2010
Cannes Film Festival
Martin Scorsese
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From left:
Salvo Cuccia, Martin Scorsese and
Vittorio De Seta at the
2005 Tribeca Film Festival
Martin Scorsese
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Scorsese at the
Gangs of New York screening at the
Cannes Film Festival with
Leonardo DiCaprio and
Cameron Diaz
Martin Scorsese
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Martin Scorsese at the 65th Annual Peabody Awards
10.
Mean Streets
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Mean Streets is a 1973 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and co-written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro and it was released by Warner Bros. on October 2,1973. De Niro won the National Society of Film Critics award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as John Johnny Boy Civello. In 1997, Mean Streets was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, Charlie works for his uncle Giovanni, the local caporegime, mostly collecting debts. He is also having an affair with Johnny Boys cousin Teresa. Charlies uncle, a man who takes his role as caporegime seriously, also wants Charlie not to be such close friends with Johnny. Charlie is torn between his devout Catholicism and his Mafia ambitions, as the film progresses, Johnny becomes increasingly self-destructive and disrespectful of his creditors. Failing to receive redemption in the church, Charlie seeks it through sacrificing himself on Johnnys behalf, at a bar, a local loan shark named Michael comes looking for Johnny to pay up, but to his surprise, Johnny insults him. Michael lunges at Johnny, who retaliates by pulling a gun on him, after a tense standoff, Michael walks away, and Charlie convinces Johnny that they should leave town for a brief period. Teresa insists on coming with them, Charlie borrows a car and they drive off, escaping the neighborhood without incident. But then a car that had been following them suddenly pulls up alongside, Michael at the wheel and his henchman, Jimmy Shorts, Jimmy fires several shots at Charlies car, hitting Johnny in the neck and Charlie in the hand, causing Charlie to crash the car. The film ends with an ambulance and police arriving at the scene, director John Cassavetes told him after he completed Boxcar Bertha, You’ve just spent a year of your life making a piece of shit. This inspired Scorsese to make a film about his own experiences, the screenplay for the movie initially began as a continuation of the characters in Whos That Knocking. Scorsese sent the script to Corman, who agreed to back the film if all the characters were black, taplin liked the script and was willing to raise the $300,000 budget that Scorsese wanted if Corman promised, in writing, to distribute the film. The blaxploitation suggestion was to come to nothing when funding from Warner Bros. allowed him to make the film as he intended with Italian-American characters, the film was well received by most critics, some even hailed it as one of the most original American films of all time. Pauline Kael was among the most enthusiastic critics, calling it an original. Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader said that the acting and editing have such original, time Out magazine called it one of the best American films of the decade. In 2013, the staff of Entertainment Weekly voted the film the seventh greatest of all time, in 2015, it was ranked 93rd on BBCs The 100 greatest American films list
Mean Streets
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Theatrical release poster
11.
Taxi Driver
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Taxi Driver is a 1976 American vigilante film with neo-noir and psychological thriller elements, directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in New York City following the Vietnam War, the film stars Robert De Niro, and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, Cybill Shepherd, Peter Boyle, and Albert Brooks. Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Taxi Driver won the Palme dOr at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival and it is regularly cited by critics, film directors, and audiences alike as one of the greatest films of all time. In 2012, Sight & Sound named it the 31st-best film ever in its critics poll, ranked with The Godfather Part II. The film was considered culturally, historically or aesthetically significant by the US Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1994. Travis Bickle, a 26-year-old honorably discharged U. S. Marine, is a lonely and he becomes a taxi driver to cope with his chronic insomnia, driving passengers every night around the citys boroughs. He also spends time in seedy porn theaters and keeps a diary, Travis becomes infatuated with Betsy, a campaign volunteer for Senator and presidential candidate Charles Palantine. After watching her interact with fellow worker Tom through her window, Travis enters to volunteer as a pretext to talk to her, on a later date, he takes her to see a Swedish sex education film, which offends her, and she goes home alone. His attempts at reconciliation by sending flowers are rebuffed, so he berates her at the campaign office, before being kicked out by Tom. Travis confides in fellow taxi driver Wizard about his thoughts, which are beginning to turn violent, a fellow taxi driver refers Travis to illegal gun dealer Easy Andy, from whom he buys a number of handguns. At home, Travis practices drawing his weapons and constructs a sleeve gun to hide, one night, Travis enters a convenience store moments before an attempted armed robbery and he shoots and kills the robber. The shop owner takes responsibility for the shooting, taking Travis handgun, earlier, child prostitute Iris had entered Traviss cab, attempting to escape her pimp Matthew Sport Higgins. Sport dragged Iris from the cab and threw Travis a crumpled twenty-dollar bill, which reminds him of her. Some time later, Travis hires Iris, but instead of having sex with her and he fails to completely turn her from her course, but she does agree to meet with him for breakfast the next day. Travis leaves a letter to Iris at his apartment saying he will soon be dead, with money for her to return home. After shaving his head into a mohawk, Travis attends a rally, where he plans to assassinate Senator Palantine. He flees and later goes to the East Village to invade Sports brothel, a violent gunfight ensues and Travis kills Sport, a bouncer, and a mafioso. Travis is severely injured with gunshot wounds
Taxi Driver
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Theatrical release poster
Taxi Driver
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Taxi Driver: Original Soundtrack Recording
12.
The Last Temptation of Christ (film)
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The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 American epic drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. Written by Paul Schrader with uncredited rewrites from Scorsese and Jay Cocks, the film, starring Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Andre Gregory, Harry Dean Stanton and David Bowie, was shot entirely in Morocco. Like the novel, the film depicts the life of Jesus Christ and his struggle with various forms of temptation including fear, doubt, depression, reluctance and lust. This results in the book and film depicting Christ being tempted by imagining himself engaged in sexual activities, the film includes a disclaimer explaining that it departs from the commonly accepted biblical portrayal of Jesus life and is not based on the Gospels. The film received polarized reviews from critics on its release but Scorsese received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, hersheys performance as Mary Magdalene earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Peter Gabriels music score also received acclaim, including a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, Jesus of Nazareth is a carpenter in Roman-occupied Judea, torn between his own desires and his knowledge that God has a plan for him. His conflict results in self-loathing, and he collaborates with the Romans to crucify Jewish rebels, Judas Iscariot, a friend of Jesus originally sent to kill him for collaboration, instead suspects that Jesus is the Messiah and asks him to lead a liberation war against the Romans. Jesus replies that his message is love of mankind, whereupon Judas joins Jesus in his ministry, Jesus also has an undisclosed prior relationship with Mary Magdalene, a Jewish prostitute. After saving Mary Magdalene from a mob gathered to stone her for prostitution and working on the sabbath and he acquires disciples, but remains uncertain of his role. He visits John the Baptist, who baptizes him, and the two discuss theology and politics, johns primary goal is to gain freedom from the Romans, while Jesus maintains people should tend to matters of the spirit. Jesus returns from the desert to the home of Martha and Mary of Bethany, who restore him to health and attempt to persuade him that the way to please God is to have a home, a marriage, and children. Jesus then appears to his disciples to tear out his own heart. With newfound confidence he performs miracles and raises Lazarus from the dead. Eventually his ministry reaches Jerusalem, where Jesus performs the Cleansing of the Temple and leads an army to capture the temple by force. He begins bleeding from his hands, which he recognizes as a sign that he must die on the cross to bring salvation to mankind, confiding in Judas, he persuades the latter to give him to the Romans, despite Judas inclination otherwise. Jesus convenes his disciples for Passover seder, whereupon Judas leads a contingent of soldiers to arrest Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, Pontius Pilate confronts Jesus and tells him that he must be put to death because he represents a threat to the Roman Empire. Jesus is flogged, a crown of thorns is placed on his head, while on the cross, Jesus converses with a young lady who claims to be his guardian angel. She tells him that although he is the Son of God, he is not the Messiah, and that God is pleased with him and she brings him down off the cross and, invisible to others, takes him to Mary Magdalene, whom he marries
The Last Temptation of Christ (film)
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Theatrical release poster
13.
Ridley Scott
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Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. Scott is known for his atmospheric, highly concentrated visual style and his films are also known for their strong female characters. Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing, in 1995, both Ridley and his brother Tony received the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema. In 2003, Scott was knighted for his services to the British film industry, in a 2004 BBC poll Scott was named the tenth most influential person in British culture. In 2015 he received a doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London. Scott was born in South Shields, County Durham, North East England, to Elizabeth and he was brought up in an army family, so for most of his early life, his father – an officer in the Royal Engineers – was absent. His elder brother, Frank, joined the British Merchant Navy when he was still young, during this time the family moved around, living in Cumberland in North West England, Wales and Germany. He had a brother, Tony, who also became a film director. He studied at Grangefield Grammar School and West Hartlepool College of Art from 1954 to 1958, Scott went on to study at the Royal College of Art in London, contributing to college magazine ARK and helping to establish the college film department. For his final show, he made a black and white film, Boy and Bicycle. In February 1963 Scott was named in title credits as Designer for the BBC television programme Tonight, about the severe winter of 1963. After graduation in 1963, he secured a job as a set designer with the BBC, leading to work on the popular television police series Z-Cars. He was originally assigned to design the second Doctor Who serial, The Daleks, however, shortly before Scott was due to start work, a schedule conflict meant he was replaced by Raymond Cusick. In 1965, he began directing episodes of series for the BBC, only one of which. In 1968, Ridley and Tony Scott founded Ridley Scott Associates, a nostalgia themed television advertisement that captured the public imagination, it was voted the UKs all-time favourite commercial in a 2006 poll. In the 1970s the Chanel No.5 brand needed revitalisation having run the risk of being labelled as mass market, five members of the Scott family are directors, and all have worked for RSA. His brother Tony was a film director whose career spanned more than two decades, his sons Jake and Luke are both acclaimed directors of commercials, as is his daughter, Jordan Scott. Jake and Jordan both work from Los Angeles, Luke is based in London, in 1995, Shepperton Studios was purchased by a consortium headed by Ridley and Tony Scott, which extensively renovated the studios while also expanding and improving its grounds
Ridley Scott
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Ridley Scott in 2012.
14.
The Duellists
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The Duellists is a 1977 historical drama film and the directorial debut of Ridley Scott. It won the Best Debut Film award at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, the basis of the screenplay is the Joseph Conrad short story The Duel published in A Set of Six. In Strasbourg in 1800, fervent Bonapartist and obsessive duellist Lieutenant Gabriel Feraud of the French 7th Hussars, under pressure from the mayor, Brigadier-General Treillard sends a member of his staff, Lieutenant Armand dHubert of the 3rd Hussars, to put Feraud under house arrest. As the arrest takes place in the house of Madame de Lionne, matters are made worse when Feraud asks dHubert if he would let them spit on Napoleon and dHubert doesnt immediately reply. Upon reaching his quarters, Feraud challenges dHubert to a duel, the duel is inconclusive, dHubert slashes Ferauds forearm but is unable to finish him off, because he is attacked by Ferauds mistress. As a result of his part in the duel, dHubert is dismissed from the Generals staff, the war interrupts the mens quarrel and they do not meet again until six months later in Augsburg in 1801. Feraud immediately challenges dHubert to another duel and seriously wounds him, recovering, dHubert takes lessons from a fencing master and in the next duel, the two men fight each other to a bloody standstill. Soon afterwards, dHubert is relieved to learn he has promoted to captain. Military discipline forbids officers of different ranks from duelling, the action moves to 1806 when dHubert is serving in Lübeck. He is shocked to hear that the 7th Hussars have arrived in the city, aware that in two weeks time he is to be promoted to major, dHubert attempts to slip away but is spotted by Ferauds perpetual second. Feraud challenges him to duel, which is to be fought on horseback with sabres. DHubert slashes his opponent across the forehead, Feraud, blinded because the cut bleeds heavily into his eyes, dHubert considers himself the victor and leaves the field ebullient. Soon afterwards, Ferauds regiment is posted to Spain, the pair chance upon each other, during the French Armys disastrous retreat from Moscow in 1812. Before they can resume the duel, Cossacks attack forcing dHubert, two years later, after Napoleons exile to Elba, dHubert is a brigadier-general recovering from a leg wound, at the home of his sister Leonie in Tours. She introduces him to Adele, niece of her neighbour, the couple fall in love and are married. A Bonapartist agent attempts to recruit dHubert, as rumours of Napoleons imminent return from exile abound, dHubert refuses to command a brigade if the Emperor returns from Elba. When Feraud, also a brigadier-general and a leading Bonapartist, hears this he declares dHubert is a traitor to the Emperor and he claims that he always suspected dHuberts loyalty, which is why he challenged him to a duel in the first place. After Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo, dHubert joins the army of Louis XVIII, Feraud is arrested and is expected to be executed for his part in the Hundred Days
The Duellists
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Theatrical release poster
The Duellists
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François Fournier-Sarlovèze, the basis for Feraud
15.
Quentin Tarantino
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Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American director, writer, and actor. His career began in the late 1980s, when he wrote and directed My Best Friends Birthday and its popularity was boosted by his second film, Pulp Fiction, a black comedy crime film that was a major success both among critics and audiences. Judged the greatest film from 1983–2008 by Entertainment Weekly, many critics, for his next effort, Tarantino paid homage to the blaxploitation films of the 1970s with Jackie Brown, an adaptation of the novel Rum Punch. Tarantino directed Death Proof as part of a feature with friend Robert Rodriguez. His long-postponed Inglourious Basterds, which tells the fictional alternate history story of two plots to assassinate Nazi Germanys political leadership, was released in 2009 to positive reviews, after that came 2012s critically acclaimed Django Unchained, a Western film set in the antebellum era of the Deep South. It became the film of his career so far, making over $425 million at the box office. Tarantinos films have garnered critical and commercial success. He has received industry awards, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and the Palme dOr, and has been nominated for an Emmy and a Grammy. He was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time in 2005, Filmmaker and historian Peter Bogdanovich has called him the single most influential director of his generation. In December 2015, Tarantino received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry, Tarantino was born on March 27,1963 in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Connie McHugh and Tony Tarantino. His father is of Italian descent, and his mother has English and Irish ancestry, Quentin was named after Quint Asper, Burt Reynolds character in the CBS series Gunsmoke. Quentins mother met his father during a trip to Los Angeles and she married him soon after, to gain independence from her parents, but the marriage did not last. Connie Tarantino left Los Angeles, and moved to Knoxville, where her parents lived, in 1966, Tarantinos mother, after finishing her nursing studies, moved back to Los Angeles with her then three-year-old son. They lived in the South Bay, in the part of the city. Tarantinos mother married musician Curtis Zastoupil soon after coming to Los Angeles, and the moved to Torrance. Zastoupil encouraged his love of movies, and accompanied him to film screenings. Tarantinos mother allowed him to see movies with adult content, such as Carnal Knowledge, after his mother divorced Zastoupil in 1973, and received a misdiagnosis of Hodgkins lymphoma, Tarantino was sent to live with his grandparents in Tennessee. He remained there for six months to a year, before returning to California
Quentin Tarantino
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Quentin Tarantino at the 2015
San Diego Comic-Con International.
Quentin Tarantino
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Tarantino has had a number of collaborations with director
Robert Rodriguez.
Quentin Tarantino
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Tarantino in 2009
Quentin Tarantino
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Tarantino in Paris in January 2013, at the French premiere of
Django Unchained.
16.
Reservoir Dogs
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Reservoir Dogs is a 1992 American crime thriller film that depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist. The film was the debut of writer and director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino and criminal-turned-author Edward Bunker have minor roles and it incorporates many themes that have become Tarantinos hallmarks, violent crime, pop culture references, profanity, and nonlinear storytelling. The film has become regarded as a classic of independent film and it was named Greatest Independent Film of all Time by Empire. Reservoir Dogs was generally received, and the cast was praised by many critics. Although it was not given much promotion upon release, the became a modest success in the United States after grossing $2.8 million against its $1.2 million budget. The film was successful in the United Kingdom, grossing nearly £6.5 million. A soundtrack was released featuring songs used in the film, which are mostly from the 1970s, eight men eat breakfast at a Los Angeles diner before carrying out a diamond heist. Six of them use aliases, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, the others are mob boss Joe Cabot and his son and underboss Nice Guy Eddie Cabot, who are responsible for planning the job. After the heist, White flees the scene with Orange. At one of Joes warehouses, White and Orange rendezvous with Pink, who believes that the job was a setup and that the police were waiting for them. White informs him that Brown is dead, Blue and Blonde are missing, Pink has hidden the diamonds nearby, he argues with White over whether or not they should get medical attention for Orange. Blonde arrives with a policeman, Marvin Nash. Some time earlier, Blonde meets with the Cabots, Blonde has completed a four-year jail sentence. To reward him for not having given Joes name to the authorities for a lighter sentence, in the present, White and Pink beat Nash for information. Eddie arrives and orders them to retrieve the diamonds and ditch the getaway vehicles, leaving Blonde in charge of Nash, Nash denies knowledge, but Blonde ignores him and resumes the torture, cutting off his ear with a straight razor. He is about to set Nash on fire, but is dead by Orange. Orange explains to Nash that he is a police officer
Reservoir Dogs
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Theatrical release poster.
Reservoir Dogs
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The film's opening sequence, a slow-motion scene playing "
Little Green Bag " by the
George Baker Selection.
17.
Pulp Fiction
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Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American black comedy neo-noir crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, from a story by Tarantino and Roger Avary. Directed in a stylized manner, Pulp Fiction connects the intersecting storylines of Los Angeles mobsters, fringe players, small-time criminals. The films title refers to the magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence. The screenplay of Pulp Fiction was written in 1992 and 1993 and its plot, as in many of Tarantinos other works, is presented out of chronological order. The film is also self-referential from its opening moments, beginning with a card that gives two dictionary definitions of pulp. Its script was turned down by Columbia TriStar as too demented. Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein was instantly enthralled with it, however, Pulp Fiction won the Palme dOr at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, and was a major critical and commercial success upon its U. S. release. It revitalized the careers of John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and it was also nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Tarantino and Avary won for Best Original Screenplay. The nature of its development, marketing, and distribution –, since its release, Pulp Fiction has been widely regarded as Tarantinos masterpiece, with particular praise singled out for its screenwriting. The films self-reflexivity, unconventional structure, and extensive use of homage and it is often considered a cultural watershed, with a strong influence felt not only in later movies that adopted various elements of its style, but in several other media as well. A2008 Entertainment Weekly poll named it the best film since 1983, in 2013, Pulp Fiction was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. The stories intersect in various ways, the film begins with a diner hold-up staged by a couple, then picks up the stories of Vincent, Jules, and Butch. It finally returns to where it began, in the diner, sequences 1 and 7 partially overlap and are presented from different points of view, as do sequences 2 and 6. Other analysts describe the structure as a circular narrative, hitmen Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega arrive at the apartment of Brett to retrieve a briefcase for their boss, gangster Marsellus Wallace. After Vincent checks the contents of the briefcase, Jules shoots one of Bretts associates, then declaims a passage from the Bible before he, some time later, champion boxer Butch Coolidge accepts a large sum from Marsellus to take a dive in his upcoming match. Vincent and Jules deliver the briefcase, the next day, Vincent purchases heroin from his drug dealer Lance. He shoots up to pass the day, then drives to meet Marselluss wife Mia and they head to a 1950s-themed restaurant and participate in a twist contest, then return to the Wallace house with the trophy. While Vincent is in the bathroom, Mia finds his heroin, mistakes it for cocaine, snorts it, Vincent rushes her to Lances house, where they revive her with an adrenaline shot to her heart
Pulp Fiction
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Theatrical release poster
Pulp Fiction
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The "famous dance scene": Vincent Vega (
John Travolta) and Mia Wallace (
Uma Thurman) do the twist at Jack Rabbit Slim's.
Pulp Fiction
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Willis evoked one 1950s actor in particular for Tarantino: "
Aldo Ray in
Jacques Tourneur 's
Nightfall [1956].... I said let's go for that whole look." His boxing robe, designed by
Betsy Heimann, exemplifies Tarantino's notion of costume as symbolic armor.
Pulp Fiction
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John Travolta,
Uma Thurman and
Quentin Tarantino at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival, for the film's 20th anniversary tribute.
18.
Jane Campion
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Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion DNZM is a New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director. Campion was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the daughter of Edith, an actress, writer, and heiress, and Richard M. Campion. Her maternal great-grandfather was Robert Hannah, the manufacturer of Antrim House. Her father was from a family of Exclusive Brethren, with her older sister, Anna, born a year and half before her, and brother, Michael, born seven years after, Campion grew up in the world of New Zealand theatre. Her parents founded the New Zealand Players theatre group, while initially rejecting the idea of a career in theatre or acting, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington in 1975. In 1976 Campion attended Chelsea Art School in London and travelled throughout Europe and she graduated with a Graduate Diploma in Visual Arts from the Sydney College of the Arts at the University of Sydney in 1981. Based on her education at art school, Campion cites surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, dissatisfied with the limits of painting as a medium, Campion turned to film and created her first short film, Tissues in 1980. In 1981 she began studying at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, where she made several short films. Her first short film, Peel, won the Short Film Palme dOr at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, and other awards followed for the shorts Passionless Moments, A Girls Own Story and After Hours. Having left the Australian Film and Television School she directed an episode for ABCs light entertainment series Dancing Daze, sweetie was her feature debut, and won international awards. Further recognition followed with An Angel at My Table, a biographical and psychological portrayal of the New Zealand writer Janet Frame, at the 66th Academy Awards, she was the second woman ever to be nominated for Best Director. Campions work since that time has tended to polarize opinion, the Portrait of a Lady, based on the Henry James novel, featured Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, Barbara Hershey and Martin Donovan. Teamed Campion again with Harvey Keitel, this time with Kate Winslet as the female lead, in the Cut, an erotic thriller based on Susanna Moores bestseller, provided Meg Ryan an opportunity to depart from her more familiar onscreen persona. Her 2009 film Bright Star, a drama about poet John Keats. Campion was a producer for the 2006 documentary Abduction, The Megumi Yokota Story and has worked on the serial Top of the Lake. Campion herself was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries and she was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and Short Film sections at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. And the head of the jury for the competition section for the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Campion responded by rising from her seat to give him a hug, in 2014 it was announced that Campion was nearing a deal to direct an adaptation of Rachel Kushners novel The Flamethrowers
Jane Campion
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Campion in
Kraków, Poland, April 2010
19.
The Piano
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The Piano is a 1993 New Zealand drama film about a mute piano player and her daughter. The Piano was written and directed by Jane Campion, and stars Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, the films score for the piano by Michael Nyman became a best-selling soundtrack album, and Hunter played her own piano pieces for the film. She also served as language teacher for Paquin, earning three screen credits. The film is an international co-production by Australian producer Jan Chapman with the French company Ciby 2000, the Piano was a success both critically and commercially, grossing US$140 million worldwide against its US$7 million budget. Hunter and Paquin both received praise for their respective roles as Ada McGrath and Flora McGrath. In 1993 the film won the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival, subsequently, in March 1994, The Piano won 3 Academy Awards out of 8 total nominations, Best Actress for Hunter, Best Supporting Actress for Paquin, and Best Original Screenplay for Campion. A mute Scotswoman named Ada McGrath is sold by her father into marriage to a New Zealand frontiersman named Alisdair Stewart, the voice that the audience hears in the opening narration is not her speaking voice, but her minds voice. Ada has not spoken a word since she was six years old and no one, including herself and she expresses herself through her piano playing and through sign language, for which her daughter has served as the interpreter. Flora later dramatically tells two women in New Zealand that her mother has not spoken since the death of her husband who died as a result of being struck by lightning, Ada cares little for the mundane world, occupying herself for hours every day with the piano. Ada, Flora, and their belongings, including a hand crafted piano, are deposited on a New Zealand beach by a ships crew, as there is no one there to meet them, they spend the night alone on the beach amongst their crated belongings. Alisdair proves to be a shy and diffident man, who is called old dry balls by his Māori neighbours. He tells Ada that there is no room in his house for the piano. Ada, in turn, is cold to him and is determined to be reunited with her piano, unable to communicate with Alisdair, Ada and Flora visit Baines with a note asking to be taken to the piano. He explains that he cannot read, when Flora translates her mothers wishes, he initially refuses, but the three ultimately spend the day on the beach with Ada playing music. Baines, whose wife is far away in England living a life, is taken by the transformation in Ada when she plays her piano. Baines soon suggests that Alisdair trade the instrument to him for some land, Alisdair consents, and agrees to his further request to receive lessons from Ada, oblivious to his attraction to her. Alisdair shouts the finality of his decision and demands that she fulfill the contract of providing lessons, on the day she arrives at his hut, she attempts to make an excuse that she cannot play the piano because it is out of tune. She is stunned to find that Baines has had the piano put into perfect tune and she begins by asking him to play anything he knows, but he asks to simply listen rather than learn to play himself
The Piano
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US theatrical release poster
20.
Abel Ferrara
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Abel Ferrara is an American filmmaker, known for the provocative and often controversial content in his films, his use of neo-noir imagery and gritty urban settings. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best known films include Ms.45, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent. He was raised Catholic, which had an effect on much of his work. At 15 he moved to Peekskill in Westchester, New York and he attended the film conservatory at SUNY Purchase, where he directed several short films, most of which are all available on The Short Films of Abel Ferrara collection. Soon finding himself out of work, he directed a film titled 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy in 1976. Ferrara first drew an audience with his grindhouse movie The Driller Killer. He followed it with Ms.45, a revenge film starring Zoë Tamerlis. Ferrara was next hired to direct Fear City, starring Tom Berenger, Melanie Griffith, Billy Dee Williams, Rae Dawn Chong, true to form, it depicted a seedy Times Square strip club, where a kung fu slasher stalks and murders the girls after work. Berenger portrayed a boxer who has to use his fighting skills to defeat the killer. The cast included Wesley Snipes and David Caruso, as with most of Ferraras films, the screenplay was written by Nicholas St. John. Ferrara next directed Harvey Keitel in a performance as the titular Bad Lieutenant. Keitel plays a foul-mouthed, sex-addicted drug-using cop who wrestles with guilt, the script was co-written by Ms.45 star Zoë Tamerlis. Both Ferrara and Keitel were nominated for Spirit Awards and, despite its controversial content, director Martin Scorsese also named it one of his top 10 films of the 1990s. In the mid-1990s Ferrara returned to independent filmmaking, directing two well-received movies, The Addiction and The Funeral, the film also features Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Paul Calderon, Kathryn Erbe and Michael Imperioli. It was also co-produced by Russell Simmons, the Funeral starred Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Isabella Rossellini, Benicio del Toro, Vincent Gallo and others. In 1996 he directed a video for French singer Mylène Farmers song California. After making The Blackout with Matthew Modine and Dennis Hopper, he contributed to the omnibus HBO–television movie Subway Stories, Ferrara then made New Rose Hotel, which reunited him with Christopher Walken. Ferrara returned three years later with R Xmas, which starred Drea de Matteo and Ice-T, the multi-plot film concerns an actress who stars in a Passion of the Christ-like movie about Jesus, where she plays Mary Magdalene, with whom she subsequently becomes obsessed
Abel Ferrara
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Abel Ferrara at the
2008 Cannes Film Festival
Abel Ferrara
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Ferrara in 2008.
21.
Bad Lieutenant
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Bad Lieutenant is a 1992 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by Abel Ferrara. The film stars Harvey Keitel as the bad lieutenant. The screenplay was co-written by Ferrara with actor-writer Paul Calderón and actress-model Zoë Lund, the film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. After dropping off his two sons at Catholic school, an NYPD Lieutenant takes a few bumps of cocaine. At an apartment, the Lieutenant gets drunk and engages in a threesome with two women, meanwhile, a nun is raped inside a church by two young hoodlums. The next morning, the Lieutenant learns that he has lost a bet on a National League Championship Series game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers and he tries to win back his money by doubling his wager on the Dodgers in the next game. At another crime scene, the Lieutenant rifles through the car, however, he is too impaired to secure the drugs, and they fall out onto the street in front of his colleagues. The Lieutenant tries to play it off by instructing them to enter the drugs into evidence, at the hospital, the Lieutenant spies on the nuns examination, and learns that she was penetrated with a crucifix. Later that evening, he pulls over two teenage girls who are using their fathers car without his knowledge to go to a club. As they have no driving license, the Lieutenant tells one of the girls to bend over and pull up her skirt, the following day, he listens in on the nuns deposition, where she says she knows who assaulted her but will not identify them. While drinking in his car, the Lieutenant listens to the moments of the Dodgers game. Despite being unable to pay the $30,000 wager, he doubles his bet for the next game, the Lieutenant drinks in a bar when the Dodgers lose again. After scoring cocaine in a nightclub, he tries to double his bet yet again and his friend refuses to make the wager, insisting that the bookie would kill him. Continuing his drug use, the Lieutenant picks up his $30,000 share from the drug dealer and he then visits a woman and does heroin with her. At the church, he tells the nun that he kill her attackers. In the resulting emotional breakdown, the Lieutenant sees the crucified Christ and tearfully curses him before begging forgiveness for his crimes and sins. The figure is revealed to be a holding a gold chalice. The Lieutenant tracks down the two rapists with the help of the woman, to a nearby crack den in Spanish Harlem and he holds them at gunpoint and smokes crack with them as the Mets win the pennant
Bad Lieutenant
–
Theatrical release poster
22.
Robert Rodriguez
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Robert Anthony Rodriguez is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in Mexico and his home state, Rodriguez directed the 1992 action film El Mariachi, which was a commercial success after grossing $2 million against a budget of $7,000. The film spawned two sequels known collectively as the Mexico Trilogy, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico and he directed From Dusk till Dawn in 1996 and developed its television adaptation series. Rodriguez co-directed the 2005 neo-noir crime thriller anthology Sin City and the 2014 sequel, Sin City, Rodriguez also directed the Spy Kids films, The Faculty, as well as The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, Planet Terror, and Machete. He is a friend and frequent collaborator of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who founded the production company A Band Apart, in December 2013, Rodriguez launched his own cable television channel, El Rey. Rodríguez was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Mexican-American parents Rebecca, a nurse, and Cecilio G. Rodríguez and he began his interest in film at age eleven, when his father bought one of the first VCRs, which came with a camera. While attending St. Anthony High School Seminary in San Antonio, in high school, he met Carlos Gallardo, they both shot films on video throughout high school and college. Rodriguez went to the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, not having grades high enough to be accepted into the schools film program, he created a daily comic strip entitled Los Hooligans. Many of the characters were based on his siblings – in particular, one of his sisters, the comic ran for three years in the student newspaper The Daily Texan, while Rodríguez continued to make short films. Rodríguez shot action and horror films on video and edited on two VCRs. In late 1990, his entry in a film contest earned him a spot in the universitys film program. There he made the award-winning 16 mm short Bedhead, the film chronicles the amusing misadventures of a young girl whose older brother sports an incredibly tangled mess of hair which she detests. Even at this stage, Rodríguezs trademark style began to emerge, quick cuts, intense zooms. Bedhead was recognized for excellence in the Black Maria Film Festival and it was selected by Film/Video Curator Sally Berger, for the Black Maria 20th-anniversary retrospective at MoMA in 2006. The short film Bedhead attracted enough attention to him to seriously attempt a career as a filmmaker. Rodriquez won the Audience Award for this film at the Sundance Film Festival in 1993 and its promotion still advertised it as the movie made for $7,000. Rodríguez described his experiences making the film in his book Rebel Without a Crew, Desperado, was a sequel to El Mariachi that starred Antonio Banderas and introduced Salma Hayek to American audiences. Rodriguez has also worked with Kevin Williamson, on the horror film The Faculty, in 2001, Rodríguez enjoyed his first Hollywood hit with Spy Kids, which went on to become a movie franchise
Robert Rodriguez
–
Rodriguez at the 2014
San Diego Comic-Con, July 2014
Robert Rodriguez
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Rodríguez at the premiere of
Grindhouse, Austin, Texas, 2007
23.
From Dusk till Dawn
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From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 American action horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. It stars George Clooney, Tarantino, Harvey Keitel and Juliette Lewis, after enjoying modest success at the box office, it has since become a cult film. The film was conceived by Robert Kurtzman who hired Tarantino to write the script as his first paid writing assignment, fugitive bank robbers and brothers Seth and Richie Gecko are fleeing the F. B. I. and Texas police. They hold up and destroy a liquor store, killing the clerk, two witnesses they held hostage in the store escape during the shooting. They still hold a bank clerk hostage in the trunk of their car, the Fuller family—Jacob, the father and a pastor who is experiencing a crisis of faith, his son Scott, and daughter Kate—are on a vacation in their RV. They stop at a motel and are kidnapped by the Geckos. Seth and Jacob make a truce, if the Geckos can make it past the border, Jacob. They arrive at the Titty Twister, a club in the middle of a desolate part of Mexico. The Geckos demand that the Fullers have a drink with them before leaving, soon after entering the club, chaos ensues as the employees and strippers are all revealed to be vampires. Most of the patrons are quickly killed, and Richie is bitten by the star stripper, Santanico Pandemonium, only Seth, Jacob, Kate, Scott, a biker named Sex Machine, and Frost—a Vietnam War veteran—survive the attack. The slain patrons, including Richie, then back to life as vampires. During this second struggle, one of the vampires bites Sex Machine in the arm, subsequently, Sex Machine changes into a vampire and bites Frost and Jacob before Frost throws Sex Machine through the door, which allows an army of vampires to enter as bats from the outside. Jacob, knowing he will turn into a vampire, makes a reluctant Scott. The four make their assault on the undead. Jacob changes, but Scott hesitates to dispatch his father, allowing Jacob to bite Scott, Scott hits Jacob with holy water and shoots him. Scott is captured by vampires who begin to devour him. Begging for death, Scott is shot by Kate, only Seth and Kate survive, surrounded by vampires. Just as they contemplate suicide, streams of sunlight shine through new holes in the walls, Dawn has come, and Carlos is trying to shoot his way in
From Dusk till Dawn
–
Theatrical release poster
24.
James Mangold
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James Mangold is an American film and television director, screenwriter and producer. Films he has directed include Walk the Line, which he also co-wrote, The Wolverine, Logan, Cop Land, Girl, Interrupted, Knight and Day, and he also produced and directed pilots for the television series Men in Trees NYC22 and Vegas. Mangold was born in New York City, and is the son of artists Robert Mangold and he was raised in New York States Hudson River Valley. After graduating from Washingtonville High School, Mangold was accepted into, while there, he mentored under Alexander Mackendrick. During his third year, Mackendrick suggested that Mangold should study at CalArts School of Theater as an actor alongside his regular film studies, in 1985 Mangold secured a writer/director deal at Disney. He wrote a movie and co-wrote the animated feature Oliver. A few years later, Mangold moved to New York and applied to Columbia Universitys film school, while there, he studied under Miloš Forman and developed both Heavy and Cop Land. He has worked as a writer and director since 1995, when his first feature. In 2005, he co-wrote and directed Walk the Line, a film about the life of singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. It stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon and was released on November 18,2005 and he also served as producer under his production banner, Tree Line Film. It was nominated for five Oscars and Witherspoon won Best Actress for her performance as June Carter Cash, Mangold also appeared as an actor in The Sweetest Thing as a doctor and love interest to Christina Applegate as well as in his own Kate & Leopold playing a movie director. In June 2011, Mangold was hired, initially just to direct the X-Men movie The Wolverine and he completed photography in November of the same year. On release, it was a box office success, ending up with a gross of $414,828,246 with a budget of $120 million. Following the box office success and moderate critical response to the film, Mangold signed on to direct the sequel, the film marked Mangold and Jackmans third collaboration together. Scott Frank was hired to return as co-screenwriter, alongside Michael Green, Jackman took to his Twitter account to ask fans what they want to see happen in the movie the most. The development of the film was lengthy, with Jackman citing his, the film incorporated elements from Mark Millars Old Man Logan run on the comics. Mangold has stated that the plot focuses on character development. In February 2016, James signed on to direct Walt Disney Pictures’ Captain Nemo, in March 2017, James is in negotiations with Fox to develop and direct an adaptation of Don Winslow’s upcoming novel “The Force” about corrupt NYPD officers
James Mangold
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Mangold in December 2007
25.
Cop Land
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Cop Land is a 1997 American crime drama film written and directed by James Mangold, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, and Robert De Niro. The supporting cast features Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Cathy Moriarty, Arthur Nascarella, the story follows a sheriff in a small New Jersey town inhabited and dominated by corrupt New York City cops. Their corruption grows until he can no longer allow himself to stand by, the fictional town of Garrison, New Jersey, located across the Hudson River from New York City, is home to several NYPD officers, led by Lt. Ray Donlan. Local Sheriff Freddy Heflin usually turns a deaf ear - figuratively as well as literally - to their corrupt dealings, internal Affairs investigator Lt. Moe Tilden approaches Heflin for information on the corrupt cops, but Heflin is intimidated and reluctant to betray them. One night, Donlans nephew, Officer Murray Superboy Babitch is driving across the George Washington Bridge when his car is side-swiped by a couple of African-American teens, the passenger points at what looks like a weapon just before Babitchs tire blows out. Believing they have fired at him, Babitch shoots back, and in an ensuing crash, Officer Jack Rucker removes the steering-wheel lock that Babitch mistook for a weapon from the hands of the dead teens and is caught trying to plant a real gun in the car. Worried about the repercussions to his own career, Donlan persuades Babitch to fake his own suicide, Babitch initially lives as a fugitive at Donlans home, but then Patrolmens Defense Association President Vincent Lassaro tells Donlan that without a body, the case will not stay cold. Donlan reluctantly realizes they have to drown Babitch, Babitch is tipped off by his aunt Rose and he escapes. He goes to Heflins house for help, but flees when he sees Heflins friend, the same evening, at a police stand-off, Donlan allows Officer Joey Randone to fall off a rooftop, in revenge for Randones affair with Donlans wife. Heflin realizes the deaths are orchestrated, and he visits Tilden, on his way out, Heflin steals case files on the Garrison cops. He studies the files and realizes the extent of his residents corruption, Heflin returns home to find Figgsy packing to leave. Heflin discovers that Figgsy burned down his own house for the insurance money, Heflin convinces Rose to reveal Babitchs hide-out, and takes him into custody. Donlans team ambush them and fire a gun at Heflins good ear, deafening and disabling him, on foot and almost totally deaf, Heflin follows them to Donlans house, where a shootout commences. Donlans team dead, Heflin and Figgsy take Babitch to New York City, refusing to allow any cops to intervene, sam Carson Frank Vincent as PDA President Vincent Lassaro John Spencer as Det. The movie is based on Mangolds hometown of Washingtonville, New York, Mangold grew up in a development called Worley Heights, where many of the residents were current and former NYPD police officers. Principal photography began on July 11,1996, the principal shooting location for the film was Edgewater, New Jersey. Filming lasted until October 7,1996, All of the actors in the film worked for scale due to the films modest budget. Stallone gained forty pounds to portray the beaten-down sheriff of Garrison, There are no municipal sheriff departments in New Jersey
Cop Land
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Cop Land promotional poster
26.
Wes Anderson
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Wesley Wales Wes Anderson is an American film director, film producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films are known for their visual and narrative style. He received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Director and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014 and he also received the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2015. His films are produced under his American Empirical Pictures banner, Anderson is regarded by many as a modern-day example of the auteur. Wesley Wales Anderson was born on May 1,1969, in Houston, Texas, the son of Texas Ann, a realtor and archaeologist, and Melver Leonard Anderson and he is the second of three boys, his parents divorced when he was eight. His elder brother, Mel, is a physician, and his brother, Eric Chase Anderson, is a writer and artist whose paintings. Anderson is of Swedish and Norwegian ancestry and he graduated from St. Johns School in Houston in 1987, which he later used as a prominent location throughout Rushmore. As a child, Anderson made silent films on his fathers Super 8 camera, starring his brothers and friends, Anderson attended college while working part-time as a cinema projectionist. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in philosophy in 1990, Andersons first film was Bottle Rocket, based on a short film that he made with Luke and Owen Wilson. It was a crime caper about a group of young Texans aspiring to achieve major heists and it was well reviewed but performed poorly at the box office. Andersons next film was Rushmore, a comedy about a high school students crush on an elementary school teacher starring Bill Murray. Murray has since appeared in every Anderson film to date, in 2000, filmmaker Martin Scorsese praised Bottle Rocket and Rushmore. The Royal Tenenbaums was Andersons next comedy-drama film, about a successful artistic New York City family and it represented his greatest success until Moonrise Kingdom in 2012, earning more than $50 million in domestic box office receipts. The Royal Tenenbaums was nominated for an Academy Award and ranked by an Empire poll as the 159th greatest film ever made, Andersons next feature was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou about a Jacques Cousteau-esque documentary filmmaker played by Bill Murray. It serves as a example of Andersons style, but its critical reception was less favorable than his previous films. They offered Anderson their soundtrack services for his The Darjeeling Limited, the Darjeeling Limited was about three emotionally distant brothers traveling together on a train in India. It reflected the dramatic tone of The Royal Tenenbaums but faced criticisms similar to The Life Aquatic. Anderson has acknowledged that he went to India to film the 2007 movie, the film starred Anderson staples Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson in addition to Adrien Brody, and the script was co-written by Anderson, Schwartzman, and Roman Coppola
Wes Anderson
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Anderson in 2012
27.
Moonrise Kingdom
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Moonrise Kingdom is a 2012 American coming-of-age film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, and described as an eccentric, pubescent love story. It features newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward in the main roles, filming took place in Rhode Island from April to June 2011. Worldwide rights to the independently produced film were acquired by Focus Features, while preparing the script for Moonrise Kingdom, director Wes Anderson viewed films about young love for inspiration, such as Black Jack, Small Change, A Little Romance, and Melody. The film received acclaim, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In September 1965, on the New England island called New Penzance, 12-year-old orphan Sam Shakusky is attending Camp Ivanhoe, a Khaki Scout summer camp led by Scoutmaster Randy Ward. Suzy Bishop, also 12, lives on the island with her parents, Walt and Laura, both attorneys, and her three younger brothers in a house called Summers End. Sam and Suzy, both introverted, intelligent and mature for their age, met in the summer of 1964 during a performance of Noyes Fludde and have been pen pals since then. Their relationship having become romantic over the course of their correspondence, they have made a pact to reunite. Sam brings camping equipment, and Suzy brings her binoculars, six books, her kitten and they hike, camp, and fish together in the wilderness with the goal of reaching a secluded cove on the island. Meanwhile, the Khaki Scouts have become aware of Sams absence, Scoutmaster Ward tells the Khaki Scouts to use their skills to create a search party and find Sam. The Scouts flee and Sam and Suzy hike to the cove which they name Moonrise Kingdom and they set up camp and go swimming. Later, while drying off, they begin dancing to Françoise Hardy in their underwear, as the romantic tension between them grows, they kiss repeatedly. Suzys parents, Scoutmaster Ward, the Scouts from Camp Ivanhoe, Suzys parents take her home and when Sharp contacts the foster parents he is told that they no longer wish to house Sam. The Camp Ivanhoe Scouts have a change of heart and decide to help the couple, together, they paddle to a neighboring St. Jack Wood Island to seek out the help of Cousin Ben, an older relative of one of the Scouts. Ben works at Fort Lebanon, a larger Khaki Scout summer camp located on St. Jack Wood Island and run by Commander Pierce, who is Wards boss. Sam and Suzy never make it onto the boat, and instead are pursued by Suzys parents, Captain Sharp, Social Services. The steeple is destroyed by lightning, but everyone survives, during the storm, Sharp decides to become Sams legal guardian, thus saving Sam from the orphanage, as well as allowing him to remain on New Penzance Island and maintain contact with Suzy. At Summers End, Sam is painting a landscape of Moonrise Kingdom, Suzy and her brothers are called to dinner
Moonrise Kingdom
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Theatrical release poster
Moonrise Kingdom
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Director and stars at the
2012 Cannes Film Festival.
28.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
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The Grand Budapest Hotel is an 2014 comedy film written and directed by Wes Anderson, from a story by Anderson and Hugo Guinness, inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig. Featuring an ensemble cast, it stars Ralph Fiennes as a concierge who teams up with one of his employees to prove his innocence after he is framed for murder, the film is an American-German-British co-production that was financed by German financial companies and film-funding organizations. The Grand Budapest Hotel was released to acclaim from film critics. The film led the BAFTA nominations, with its 11 nominations including Best Film and Best Director for Anderson, the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and garnered three more Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Director for Anderson. It also garnered nine Academy Award nominations, joining Birdman with the most for the ceremony, including Best Picture and it won the Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design and Best Original Score. The narrative takes the form of a story within a story within a story, the Author begins narrating the tale from his desk in 1985 to a TV film crew about a trip he made to the Grand Budapest Hotel in 1968. Many of its lustrous facilities are now in a state of repair. The Author encounters the hotels concierge, Monsieur Jean, and elderly owner, Zero Moustafa, one afternoon, and they agree to meet later that evening. Over dinner in the enormous dining room, Mr. Moustafa tells him the tale of how he took ownership of the hotel. Part 1 – M. Gustave The story begins in 1932 during the glory days when the young Zero was a lobby boy, freshly arrived in Zubrowka after his hometown was razed. Zero befriends and eventually proposes to Agatha, who is a pastry chef. Zubrowka being on the verge of war is of concern to Monsieur Gustave H. the Grand Budapests devoted concierge. The owner of the hotel is unknown and only relays important messages through the lawyer Deputy Kovacs. When he is not attending to the needs of the wealthy clientele or managing its staff. One of the ladies is Madame Céline Villeneuve Desgoffe und Taxis, one month later, Gustave is informed that Madame D has died. This enrages her family, all of whom hoped to inherit it and her son, Dmitri Desgoffe und Taxis, lashes out at Gustave. With the help of Zero, Gustave steals the painting and returns to the Grand Budapest, during the journey, Gustave makes a pact with Zero, in return for the latters help, he makes Zero his heir. Shortly thereafter, Gustave is arrested and imprisoned for the murder of Madame D after forced testimony by Serge X, Madame Ds butler, Gustave tells Zero he has an alibi for the night Madame D was killed but could never cite his aristocratic lady bedmistress in court
The Grand Budapest Hotel
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Theatrical release poster
The Grand Budapest Hotel
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Palace Bristol Hotel in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
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Jelení skok (stag jump) near Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), with the Hotel Imperial in the background
29.
Paolo Sorrentino
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Paolo Sorrentino is an Italian film director and screenwriter. His first film as screenwriter, The Dust of Naples, was released in 1998 and he also began directing short movies, including Lamore non ha confini in 1998 and La notte lunga in 2001. His feature-length debut was One Man Up, for which he was awarded the Nastro DArgento prize and he achieved international recognition in 2004 for his thriller, The Consequences of Love. The film, which explores the mindset of a businessman being used as a pawn by the Mafia. Sorrentinos next feature, The Family Friend, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May and it tells the story of a malicious septuagenarian loan shark who develops a fixation with the beautiful daughter of one of his customers. Sorrentino made his debut with a cameo appearance in Nanni Morettis film The Caiman. Sorrentinos following film, Il Divo, is a biopic of Giulio Andreotti. The feature, which won the Prix du Jury at Cannes Film Festival, sees Sorrentino reunited with The Consequences of Love star Toni Servillo, in 2009, Sorrentino wrote the screenplay for a film version of Niccolò Ammanitis Ti prendo e ti porto via. This Must Be the Place marked the English-language feature debut of the Italian filmmaker, the film was co-written by Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello, and premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. His 2013 film The Great Beauty won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in the 2014 Academy Awards and it won the BAFTA award for Best Film Not in the English Language in the 67th British Academy Film Awards. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for the Palme dOr at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, the film also received several accolades at the 2013 European Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Sorrentino. Youth is Sorrentinos second English-language film, and features Michael Caine as an orchestra conductor. It competed for the Palme dOr at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Sorrentino likes to work with the same team of filmmakers, often engaging cast and crew from his previous films. Lino Fiorito, who was the set designer for all Sorrentinos feature-length films until Il Divo
Paolo Sorrentino
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Sorrentino in 2008
30.
Youth (2015 film)
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Youth is a 2015 Italian comedy-drama film written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino. It is the directors second English language film, and stars Michael Caine and it is a story of the eternal struggle between age and youth, the past and the future, life and death, commitment and betrayal. The cast also includes Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, and Jane Fonda, the film premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme dOr and had a positive critical response. At the 28th European Film Awards, Youth won Best Film, Best Director for Sorrentino and it received one Academy Award nomination, Best Original Song, for David Langs composition of Simple Song #3. At the Golden Globe Awards, Lang was also nominated along with Jane Fonda for Best Supporting Actress, septuagenarian best friends Fred Ballinger and Mick Boyle are on vacation in the Swiss Alps, staying at a luxury resort. Fred turns down the offer, claiming he is not interested in performing any more – although he still composes pieces in his head when alone. Mick is a filmmaker, and is working with a group of writers to develop the screenplay for his latest film, also with them is actor Jimmy Tree, who is researching for an upcoming role and frustrated that he is only remembered for his role as a robot. The hotel is inhabited by other individuals, including a young masseuse, an overweight Diego Maradona. Fred and Mick reflect on their lives, admitting that their memories are fading, freds daughter and assistant, Lena, is married to Micks son, but the latter leaves her for pop star Paloma Faith. Lena stays at the resort and vents her anger at her father, the emissary returns, and Lena cries as Fred explains that he wont perform Simple Songs because the soprano part belongs only to his wife and she can no longer sing. Mick completes his screenplay and is satisfied with it, the main role is written for aging diva Brenda Morel, who has starred in eleven of his previous films. Brenda surprises Mick by arriving at the resort, and telling him that she is taking a television role instead, cinema is the past, she says, disheartened, Mick jumps off a balcony in front of Fred. Fred decides to visit his wife for the first time in years and she is senile, and living at a care home in Venice. He then returns to the UK to conduct Simple Songs in front of the Queen, Youth is Sorrentinos second English-language film and the follow-up to his Academy Award-winning film The Great Beauty. Principal photography began in Flims, Switzerland in May 2014, the primary location was the Waldhaus Flims, a 5-star hotel built in the nineteenth century, where the cast and crew all stayed while filming. Other scenes were filmed in Davos, Switzerland, particularly in the Hotel Schatzalp, some filming was also done in Rome and Venice. Sorrentinos regular cinematographer Luca Bigazzi returned to photograph the film, american composer David Lang wrote the music, including the piece Simple Song #3 that is fictionally performed for Queen Elizabeth at the end. The scene was shot with soprano Sumi Jo, violinist Viktoria Mullova, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Youth premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme dOr, and was simultaneously released in Italy
Youth (2015 film)
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Teaser poster
Youth (2015 film)
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Director and stars at the
2015 Cannes Film Festival.
