1.
Sir
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Sir is an honorific address used in a number of situations in many anglophone cultures. The term can be used as a prefix, especially in the Commonwealth, for males who have been given certain honours or titles. The term is commonly used as a respectful way to address a man. Equivalent terms of address to females are maam or madam in most cases, or in the case of a woman, girl, or unmarried woman who prefers to be addressed as such. The equivalent term for a woman or baronetess is Dame. Sir derives from the Middle French honorific title sire, sire developed alongside the word seigneur, also used to refer to a feudal lord. Both derived from the Vulgar Latin senior, sire comes from the nominative case declension senior and seigneur, the prefix is used with the holders given name or full name, but never with the surname alone. For example, whilst Sir Alexander and Sir Alexander Fleming would be correct, the equivalent for a female who holds a knighthood or baronetcy in her own right is Dame, and follows the same usage customs as Sir. For example, while Lady Fiennes is correct, Lady Virginia, the widows of knights retain the style of wives of knights, however widows of baronets are either referred to as dowager, or use their forename before their courtesy style. For example, the widow of Sir Thomas Herbert Cochrane Troubridge, 4th Baronet, would either be known as Dowager Lady Troubridge or Laura, Lady Troubridge. Examples include, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Bruce Fraser, GCB, KBE Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey, GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED This is also the case with academic titles, such as professor. For example, Patrick Bateson is both a professor and a bachelor, his correct title would be Professor Sir Patrick Bateson. The title of Doctor, however, is not used in combination with sir, knighted doctors are addressed as knights, though they may still use any post-nominal letters associated with their degrees. Church of England clergy who receive knighthoods do not use the title Sir, for example, the Reverend Dr John Polkinghorne, KBE is never referred to as Sir John Polkinghorne. Clergy of other denominations may use different conventions, peers who have been knighted are not addressed as Sir in the formal sense of the style, as their titles of nobility take precedence. Other male heirs of an earl who lack courtesy titles, and the heirs of a viscount or baron, do however use the style of Sir if knighted. Dual nationals holding a Commonwealth citizenship that recognise the British monarch as head of state are entitled to use the styling, the permissibility of using the style of Sir varies. Regular creation of new knights of the order ended in 1921 upon the formation of the Irish Free State, with the death of the last knight in 1974, the Order became dormant
2.
Order of the Companions of Honour
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The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. Founded on the date as the Order of the British Empire. The order consists of the Sovereign plus no more than 65 members, additionally, foreigners from outside the realms may be added as honorary members. Membership confers no title or precedence, but those inducted into the order are entitled to use the post-nominal letters CH. Appointments can be made on the advice of Commonwealth realm prime ministers, for Canadians, the advice to the Sovereign can come from a variety of officials. The quota numbers were altered in 1970 to 47 for the United Kingdom,7 for Australia,2 for New Zealand, the quota was adjusted again in 1975 by adding 2 places to the New Zealand quota and reducing the 9 for the other countries to 7. While able to nominate candidates to the Order, New Zealand, as of 2016 those countries have nominated only politicians who have served as Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister. Men wear the badge on a ribbon and women on a bow at the left shoulder. Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II List of Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour List of honorary British Knights List of people who have declined a British honour
3.
Order of the British Empire
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There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were at first made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire, nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most members are citizens of the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth realms that use the Imperial system of honours and awards. Honorary knighthoods are appointed to citizens of nations where the Queen is not head of state, occasionally, honorary appointees are, incorrectly, referred to as Sir or Dame – Bill Gates or Bob Geldof, for example. In particular, King George V wished to create an Order to honour many thousands of those who had served in a variety of non-combatant roles during the First World War, when first established, the Order had only one division. However, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was divided into Military. The Orders motto is For God and the Empire, at the foundation of the Order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. In 1922, this was renamed the British Empire Medal, in addition, the BEM is awarded by the Cook Islands and by some other Commonwealth nations. The British monarch is Sovereign of the Order, and appoints all members of the Order. The next most senior member is the Grand Master, of whom there have been three, Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, Queen Mary, and the current Grand Master, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross,845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the number of members of the fourth and fifth classes. Foreign recipients, as members, do not contribute to the numbers restricted to the Order as full members do. Though men can be knighted separately from an order of chivalry, women cannot, and so the rank of Knight/Dame Commander of the Order is the lowest rank of damehood, and second-lowest of knighthood. Because of this, Dame Commander is awarded in circumstances in which a man would be created a Knight Bachelor, for example, by convention, female judges of the High Court of Justice are created Dames Commander after appointment, while male judges become Knights Bachelor. The Order has six officials, the Prelate, the Dean, the Secretary, the Registrar, the King of Arms, the Bishop of London, a senior bishop in the Church of England, serves as the Orders Prelate. The Dean of St Pauls is ex officio the Dean of the Order, the Orders King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, as are many other heraldic officers. From time to time, individuals are appointed to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of the junior post-nominal letters
4.
San Diego Comic-Con
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San Diego Comic-Con International is a multi-genre entertainment and comic convention held annually in San Diego, California. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International, San Diego and it is a four-day event held during the summer at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. On the Wednesday evening prior to the opening of the event, there is a preview for professionals, exhibitors. Comic-Con International also produces two other conventions, WonderCon, held in Los Angeles, and the Alternative Press Expo and it is also the home of the Will Eisner Awards. In 2010, it filled the San Diego Convention Center to capacity with more than 130,000 attendees, the convention was founded in 1970 by Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Krueger, Mike Towry, Barry Alfonso, Bob Sourk, and Greg Bear. Detroit, Michigan-born, comics fan Shel Dorf, had, in the mid-1960s, mounted the Detroit Triple-Fan Fairs, one of the first commercial comics-fan conventions. When he moved to San Diego, California, in 1970, he organized a convention on March 21,1970. Dorf went on to be associated with the convention as president or manager, variously, Alf co-chaired the first convention with Krueger and became chairman in 1971. Following the initial gathering, Dorfs first three-day San Diego comics convention, other locations in the conventions early years included the El Cortez Hotel, the University of California, San Diego, and Golden Hall, before being moved to the San Diego Convention Center in 1991. I was quietly walking the floor stunned and in awe of just how much bigger it really was, the convention is organized by a panel of 13 board members,16 to 20 full-time and part-time workers, and 80 volunteers who assist via committees. Comic Con International is an organization, and proceeds of the event go to funding it, as well as the Alternative Press Expo. The convention logo was designed by Richard Bruning and Josh Beatman in 1995, in September 2010, the convention announced that it would stay in San Diego through 2015. In 2015, working with Lionsgate, a channel was created to host Comic-Con related content. According to the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, the convention has a regional economic impact of $162.8 million. Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming feature films, like most comic-book conventions, Comic-Con features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include media companies such as studios and TV networks, as well as comic-book dealers. And like most comics conventions, Comic-Con includes an area, as well as the Artists Alley where comics artists can sign autographs. Despite the name, artists alleys can include writers and even models, academics and comic industry professionals annually hold the Comics Arts Conference at Comic-Con, presenting scholarly studies on comics as a medium
5.
Burnley
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Burnley is a market town in Lancashire, England, with a population of 73,021. It is 21 miles north of Manchester and 20 miles east of Preston, the town is partially surrounded by countryside to the south and east, with the smaller towns of Padiham and Nelson to the west and north respectively. It has a reputation as a centre of excellence for the manufacturing. The town began to develop in the medieval period as a number of farming hamlets surrounded by manor houses and royal forests. During the Industrial Revolution it became one of Lancashires most prominent mill towns, at its peak it was one of the worlds largest producers of cloth. Burnley has retained a manufacturing sector, and has strong economic links with the cities of Manchester and Leeds. In 2013, in recognition of its success, Burnley received an Enterprising Britain award from the UK Government, the name Burnley is believed to have been derived from Brun Lea, meaning meadow by the River Brun. Limited coin finds indicate a Roman presence, but no evidence of a settlement has been found in the town, gorple Road appears to follow the route of a Roman road that may have crossed the present-day centre of town, on the way to the fort at Ribchester. It has been claimed that the earthworks of Ring Stones Camp, Twist Castle and Beadle Hill are of Roman origin. Following the Roman period, the became part of the kingdom of Rheged. There is no record of a settlement until after the Norman conquest of England. In 1122 a charter granted the church of Burnley to the monks of Pontefract Abbey, in its early days, Burnley was a small farming community, gaining a corn mill in 1290, a market in 1294, and a fulling mill in 1296. At this point, it was within the manor of Ightenhill, one of five that made up the Honor of Clitheroe, then a far more significant settlement, and consisted of no more than 50 families. Little survives of early Burnley apart from the Market Cross, erected in 1295, which now stands in the grounds of the old grammar school, which is now an annexe of Burnley College. Over the next three centuries, Burnley grew in size to about 1200 inhabitants by 1550, still centred around the church, St Peters, prosperous residents built larger houses, including Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham and Towneley Hall. In 1532, St Peters Church was largely rebuilt, Burnleys grammar school was founded in 1559, and moved into its own schoolhouse next to the church in 1602. Burnley began to develop in this period into a market town. It is known that weaving was established in the town by the middle of the 17th century, the town continued to be centred on St Peters Church, until the market was moved to the bottom of what is today Manchester Road, at the end of the 18th century
6.
Lancashire
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Lancashire is a non-metropolitan ceremonial county in north west England. The county town is Lancaster although the administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300, people from Lancashire are known as Lancastrians. The history of Lancashire begins with its founding in the 12th century, in the Domesday Book of 1086, some of its lands were treated as part of Yorkshire. The land that lay between the Ribble and Mersey, Inter Ripam et Mersam, was included in the returns for Cheshire, when its boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire. Lancashire emerged as a commercial and industrial region during the Industrial Revolution. Liverpool and Manchester grew into its largest cities, dominating global trade, the county contained several mill towns and the collieries of the Lancashire Coalfield. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire, Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Manchester, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashires mill towns, the detached northern part of Lancashire in the Lake District, including the Furness Peninsula and Cartmel, was merged with Cumberland and Westmorland to form Cumbria. Lancashire lost 709 square miles of land to other counties, about two fifths of its area, although it did gain some land from the West Riding of Yorkshire. Today the county borders Cumbria to the north, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south and North and West Yorkshire to the east, with a coastline on the Irish Sea to the west. The county palatine boundaries remain the same with the Duke of Lancaster exercising sovereignty rights, including the appointment of lords lieutenant in Greater Manchester, the county was established in 1182, later than many other counties. During Roman times the area was part of the Brigantes tribal area in the zone of Roman Britain. The towns of Manchester, Lancaster, Ribchester, Burrow, Elslack, in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal in 410AD the northern parts of the county probably formed part of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a successor entity to the Brigantes tribe. During the mid-8th century, the area was incorporated into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, in the Domesday Book, land between the Ribble and Mersey were known as Inter Ripam et Mersam and included in the returns for Cheshire. Although some historians consider this to mean south Lancashire was then part of Cheshire and it is also claimed that the territory to the north formed part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It bordered on Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire, the county was divided into hundreds, Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, Lonsdale, Salford and West Derby. Lonsdale was further partitioned into Lonsdale North, the part north of the sands of Morecambe Bay including Furness and Cartmel
7.
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
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St Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860, the college is located in the historic city-centre of Cambridge, and lies just south of Kings College and across the street from Corpus Christi College. The college is notable for its open court that faces towards Trumpington Street, St Catharine’s is unique in being the only Oxbridge college founded by the serving head of another college. The college community is moderately sized, consisting of approximately 70 fellows,150 graduate students, as of 2013, the colleges endowment stood at £48.3 million, placing the college 18th richest of the Universitys colleges. Robert Woodlark, Provost of King’s College, had begun preparations for the founding of a new college as early as 1459 when he bought tenements on which the new college could be built. The preparation cost him a deal of his private fortune. He stipulated that they must study theology and philosophy only, the college was established as Lady Katharine Hall in 1473. The college received its Royal Charter of Incorporation in 1475 from King Edward IV, at any rate, the college was ready for habitation and formally founded on St Catharine’s day 1473. There are six Saints Catharine, but the college was named for Saint Catharine of Alexandria, the initial foundation was not well-provided for. Woodlark was principally interested in the welfare of fellows and the college had no undergraduates at all for many years, by 1550, however, there was an increasing number of junior students and the focus of the college changed to that of teaching undergraduates. As the college entered the 17th century, it was one of the smallest colleges in Cambridge. However, a series of prudent Masters and generous benefactors were to change the fortunes of the college, rapid growth in the fellowship and undergraduate population made it necessary to expand the college, and short-lived additions were made in 1622. By 1630 the college began to demolish its buildings which were decaying. In 1637 the college came into possession of the George Inn on Trumpington Street, proposals for a range of buildings to complete the fourth side of the court have been made on many occasions. The college was granted new statutes in 1860 and adopted its current name, in 1880, a movement to merge the college with King’s College began. The two colleges were adjacent and it seemed a solution to King’s need for more rooms and St Catharine’s need for a substantial financial basis. However, the Master was opposed and St Catharine’s eventually refused, in 1966 a major rebuilding project took place under the Mastership of Professor E. E. Rich. This saw the creation of a new hall, new kitchens
8.
Sean Mathias
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He has also had a notable professional partnership with actor and former partner Sir Ian McKellen since the late 1970s. He was included in the 2006 list of the 101 most influential gay, Mathias is co-owner of The Grapes pub along with business partners Ian McKellen and Evgeny Lebedev, since September 2011. Mathias began his career by appearing on the television screen in a small role on an episode of the cult BBC TV series Survivors. In the same year, he played an Irish Guards lieutenant in the film A Bridge Too Far, in 1978, Mathias appeared in a production at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, during which time he met actor Ian McKellen who subsequently became his lover of about nine years. He made one appearance in the 1988 film White Mischief as Gerald Portman. Another notable TV appearance was on the TV show Minder in 1982, the episode was entitled Broken Arrow and, in it, Mathias played the part of a young darts player named Dafydd. Mathiass play Cowardice was produced at the Ambassadors Theatre in London in 1983, starring Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman and Nigel Davenport and he followed it with Infidelities, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1985 before transferring to Londons Donmar Warehouse. In 1987, A Prayer For Wings, directed by Joan Plowright, was produced in Edinburgh and, after winning a Fringe First awards, later plays include Poor Nanny in 1989, and Swansea Boys in 1990. His writing also includes a novel, Manhattan Mourning, published in 1988, a friend of Ian Charleson, whom he also directed in Bent, Mathias contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, For Ian Charleson, A Tribute. Mathias career as a director began in 1988 with Exceptions. The following year, he directed a revival of Bent, the play by Martin Sherman that had opened on Broadway in 1979 starring McKellen. Performed as a benefit, that performance featured McKellen, Richard E Grant, Ian Charleson, after receiving critical acclaim, Mathias directed a full run in 1990 with McKellen alongside Paul Rhys and Christopher Eccleston, winning the City Limits Award for Revival of the Year. The latter transferred to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway in 1995 as Indiscretions, with Law joined by Kathleen Turner, Eileen Atkins, Roger Rees and it earned nine Tony Award nominations including Best Director of a Play. Mathias directed his first Stephen Sondheim musical, A Little Night Music, at the National Theatre in London in 1995, with Judi Dench and Siân Phillips. He had worked with Phillips before, directing her in another Pam Gems adaptation, Mathias worked with Siân Phillips again in 1997, directing her as Marlene Dietrich in Marlene, which transferred to Broadway two years later and gained two Tony Award nominations. Other London directorial credits include Antony and Cleopatra, starring Alan Rickman and Helen Mirren, in 1998, Mathias career then moved to New York, where, in 2001, he directed McKellen and Helen Mirren in August Strindbergs Dance of Death. He went on to direct this in London and Sydney in 2003, also, in 2001, he directed an off-Broadway production of Servicemen by Evan Smith. He followed this the year with a Broadway revival of The Elephant Man starring Billy Crudup at the Royale Theatre
9.
Tony Award
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The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at a ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre, several discretionary non-competitive awards are also given, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award. The awards are named after Antoinette Tony Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, the rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the official document Rules and Regulations of The American Theatre Wings Tony Awards, which applies for that season only. It also forms the fourth spoke in the EGOT, that is someone who has won all four awards, the Tony Awards are also considered the equivalent of the Laurence Olivier Award in the United Kingdom and the Molière Award of France. From 1997 to 2010, the Tony Awards ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in June and broadcast live on CBS television, except in 1999, in 2011 and 2012, the ceremony was held at the Beacon Theatre. From 2013 to 2015, the 67th, 68th, and 69th ceremonies returned to Radio City Music Hall, the 70th Tony Awards were held on June 12,2016 at the Beacon Theatre. The 71st Tony Awards will be held on June 11,2017, as of 2014, there are 24 categories of awards, plus several special awards. Starting with 11 awards in 1947, the names and number of categories have changed over the years, some examples, the category Best Book of a Musical was originally called Best Author. The category of Best Costume Design was one of the original awards, for two years, in 1960 and 1961, this category was split into Best Costume Designer and Best Costume Designer. It then went to a category, but in 2005 it was divided again. For the category of Best Director of a Play, a category was for directors of plays. A newly established non-competitive award, The Isabelle Stevenson Award, was given for the first time at the ceremony in 2009. The award is for an individual who has made a contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian. The category of Best Special Theatrical Event was retired as of the 2009–2010 season, the categories of Best Sound Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Musical were retired as of the 2014-2015 season. Performance categories Show and technical categories Special awards Retired awards The award was founded in 1947 by a committee of the American Theatre Wing headed by Brock Pemberton. The award is named after Antoinette Perry, nicknamed Tony, an actress, director, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, who died in 1946. As her official biography at the Tony Awards website states, At Jacob Wilks suggestion, proposed an award in her honor for distinguished stage acting, at the initial event in 1947, as he handed out an award, he called it a Tony
10.
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
11.
Screen Actors Guild Award
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The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called The Actor. It is 16 inches tall, weighs over 12 pounds, is cast in solid bronze, SAG Awards have been one of the major awards events in Hollywood since 1995. It is considered an indicator of success at the Academy Awards, the awards have been telecast since 1998 on TNT, and since 2007 have been simulcast on TBS. The inaugural SAG Awards aired live on February 25,1995 from Universal Studios Stage 12, the second SAG awards aired live from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, while subsequent awards have been held at the Shrine Exposition Center
12.
British Independent Film Awards
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The British Independent Film Awards is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent. Nominations for the awards ceremony are announced in early November. Since 2015, BIFA has also hosted UK–wide talent development and film screening programmes with the support of Creative Skillset and the BFI. BIFA founding members include Phillip Alberstat, Chris Auty, André Burgess, Sally Caplan, Pippa Cross, Christopher Fowler, Lora Fox Gamble, Steven Gaydos, Norma Heyman, the first BIFA ceremony took place on the 29th October 1998. Winners included Ken Loach, Shane Meadows and Ray Winstone, the Special Jury Prize was awarded to Nik Powell, and the Best British Independent Film award went to My Name is Joe. The BIFA ceremony takes place in early December every year and is one of the first dates in the awards season. Most of the categories are for British independent feature films only, though there are awards for Best International Independent Film. There are also several awards, such as the Special Jury Prize, the Richard Harris Award. Main categories, Films must be over 70 minutes in length, Films must have had a public screening to a paying audience, either on general release in the UK or at a British film festival or at one of BIFAs recognised international festivals. Must be produced or majority co-produced by a British production company, where there is a major studio substantially funding a film, the total budget must not exceed $20 million. BIFA has a pool of voters that consists of past BIFA winners and nominees, top British film industry professionals. Although the pool is continually growing, fewer than 200 voters vote for the nominations in any one year, all entered films must be seen by a minimum number of voters and discussed at a voter meeting before being marked as having been given fair consideration. In calculating the results, BIFA takes into account the number of voters who have seen each film as well as how many voted for it, the winners in most categories are decided by independent juries, newly–appointed each year. Juries meet to discuss all nominations before voting confidentially for the winner, exceptions include the honorary awards and the award for Best British Independent Film, the winner of which is decided by a confidential vote amongst all BIFA voters. Sessions included The Lobster with production designer Jaqueline Abrahams, The Selfish Giant with casting director Amy Hubbard, BIFA Presents is an ongoing project wherein BIFA supports the theatrical distribution of award-nominated and -winning films with special preview and event screenings. In February 2017, BIFA Presents hosted exclusive previews of the Oscar-winning Moonlight in conjunction with Everyman Cinemas, BIFA Independents is a series of regular screenings of films featuring BIFA-winning and nominated talent. The first BIFA Independents screening was in December 2016, featuring Andrea Arnolds Best British Independent Film-winning American Honey
13.
Drama Desk Award
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Broadway productions were excluded until the 1968–69 award season. The awards are considered a significant American theatre distinction and they debuted the presentations of the Vernon Rice Awards. The name honors the New York Post critic Vernon Rice, who had pioneered Off-Broadway coverage in the New York press, the name was changed for the 1963–1964 awards season to the Drama Desk Awards. In 1974, the Drama Desk became incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, in 1975, the Drama announcement of winners included the nominees as well. The Drama Desk has more than 100 members, including critics, reporters and editors who cover New York theater. Membership consists of two categories, Active membership and Participating Membership, all of the Drama Desk officers and Nominating Committee members perform their various services for the organization on a voluntary basis. The Nominating Committee generally meets twice a month to discuss the many eligible shows members are responsible for seeing and they then nominate the productions on which the entire membership will vote. What sets the organization apart is that the awards are voted on by people only without any vested interests in the results. Previous winners include Bernadette Peters, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, over the last 36 years, the Drama Desk Awards have contributed to the ongoing success of major stars, playwrights and designers, while also identifying newcomers. The Drama Desk was the first New York theater organization to give awards to talents such as Edward Albee, Wendy Wasserstein, plays like Driving Miss Daisy, Other Peoples Money, Steel Magnolias, and The Boys in the Band built momentum with the help of Drama Desk wins. In 2010 William Wolf was announced as the President of Drama Desk, the current managing executive producer of the Drama Desk Awards is Gretchen Shugart, and the president of the Drama Desk is Charles Wright. David Barbour is chairperson of the nominating committee, in keeping with its original mission, the organization sponsors guest panel luncheons with theater professionals. Panels address topics of current interest, covering the season on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway, with the aim of prompting informative and stimulating discussion
14.
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
15.
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image – film, television and game in the United Kingdom. David Lean was the founding Chairman of the Academy, the first Film Awards ceremony took place in May 1949 and honouring the films The Best Years of Our Lives, Odd Man Out and The World Is Rich. In 2005, it placed a cap on worldwide voting membership which now stands at approximately 6,500. BAFTA has offices in Scotland and Wales in the UK, in Los Angeles and New York in the United States and runs events in Hong Kong, amanda Berry OBE has been chief executive of the organisation since December 2000. Many of these events are free to online at BAFTA Guru. BAFTA runs a number of programmes across the UK, US. Launched in 2012, the UK programme enables talented British citizens who are in need of support to take an industry-recognised course in film. Each BAFTA Scholar receives up to £12,000 towards their annual course fees, since 2013, three students every year have received one of the Prince William Scholarships in Film, Television and Games, supported by BAFTA and Warner Bros. These scholarships are awarded in the name of in his role as President of BAFTA, since 2015, BAFTA has been offering scholarships for British citizens to study in China, vice versa. BAFTA presents awards for film, television and games, including entertainment, at a number of annual ceremonies across the UK and in Los Angeles. The BAFTA award trophy is a mask, designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe. Todays BAFTA award – including the mask and marble base – weighs 3.7 kg and measures 27 cm x 14 cm x 8 cm. BAFTAs annual film awards ceremony is known as the British Academy Film Awards, or the BAFTAs, in 1949 the British Film Academy, as it was then known, presented the first awards for films made in 1947 and 1948. Since 2008 the ceremony has held at the Royal Opera House in Londons Covent Garden. It had been held in the Odeon cinema on Leicester Square since 2000, the ceremony had been performed during April or May of each year, but since 2002 it has been held in February to precede the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy Awards, or Oscars. They have been awarded annually since 1954, the first ever ceremony consisted of six categories. Until 1958, they were awarded by the Guild of Television Producers and Directors, from 1968 until 1997, BAFTAs Film and Television Awards were presented together, but from 1998 onwards they were presented at two separate ceremonies. The Television Craft Awards celebrate the talent behind the programmes, such as working in visual effects, production
16.
William Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the worlds pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called Englands national poet, and the Bard of Avon and his extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright, Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children, Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a career in London as an actor, writer. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, at age 49, Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, in his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and it was prefaced with a poem by Ben Jonson, in which Shakespeare is hailed, presciently, as not of an age, but for all time. In the 20th and 21st centuries, his works have been adapted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship. His plays remain highly popular and are studied, performed. William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden and he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26 April 1564. His actual date of birth unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April. This date, which can be traced back to an 18th-century scholars mistake, has proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and he was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, the consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaways neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage, twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596, after the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the bill of a law case before the Queens Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9 October 1589
17.
Fantasy
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Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Most fantasy uses magic or other elements as a main plot element, theme. Magic and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds, in popular culture, the fantasy genre is predominantly of the medievalist form. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy works by many writers, artists, filmmakers. Fantasy is studied in a number of disciplines including English and other studies, cultural studies, comparative literature, history. The identifying trait of fantasy is the reliance on imagination to create narrative elements that do not have to rely on history or nature to be coherent. This differs from realistic fiction in that whereas realistic fiction has to attend to the history and natural laws of reality, an author applies his or her imagination to come up with characters, plots, and settings that are impossible in reality. Fantasy has often compared with science fiction and horror because they are the major categories of speculative fiction. Fantasy is distinguished from science fiction by the plausibility of the narrative elements, a science fiction narrative is unlikely, though seeming possible through logical scientific and/or technological extrapolation, whereas fantasy narratives do not need to be scientifically possible. The imagined elements of fantasy do not need an explanation to be narratively functional. Authors have to rely on the suspension of disbelief, an acceptance of the unbelievable or impossible for the sake of enjoyment. Despite both genres heavy reliance on the supernatural, fantasy and horror are distinguishable, horror primarily evokes fear through the protagonists weaknesses or inability to deal with the antagonists. Beginning perhaps with the earliest written documents, mythic and other elements that would come to define fantasy. MacDonald was an influence on both J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. The other major fantasy author of this era was William Morris, lord Dunsany established the genres popularity in both the novel and the short story form. Many popular mainstream authors also began to write fantasy at this time, including H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Indeed, juvenile fantasy was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults, nathaniel Hawthorne wrote fantasy in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, intended for children, though works for adults only verged on fantasy. Political and social trends can affect a societys reception towards fantasy, in the early 20th century, the New Culture Movements enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantastical shenmo genre of traditional Chinese literature
18.
British culture
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The wider culture of Europe has also influenced British culture, and Humanism, Protestantism and representative democracy developed from broader Western culture. British literature, music, cinema, art, theatre, comedy, media, television, philosophy, architecture, the United Kingdom is also prominent in science and technology, producing world-leading scientists and inventions. Sport is an important part of British culture, numerous sports originated in the country, the UK has been described as a cultural superpower, and London has been described as a world cultural capital. The Industrial Revolution, which started in the UK, had an effect on the socio-economic. These states are collectively known as the Anglosphere, and are among Britains closest allies. In turn the empire also influenced British culture, particularly British cuisine, the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness. First spoken in early medieval England, the English language is the de facto language of the UK. Individual countries within the UK have frameworks for the promotion of their indigenous languages, Irish and Ulster Scots enjoy limited use alongside English in Northern Ireland, mainly in publicly commissioned translations. There is also a campaign under way to recognise Scots as a language in Scotland, the Cornish language enjoys neither official recognition nor promotion by the state in Cornwall. Under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the UK Government has committed to the promotion of linguistic traditions. The United Kingdom has ratified the charter for, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Scots, Cornish, British Sign Language is also a recognised language. Owing to its history, dialects and regional accents vary amongst the four countries of the United Kingdom. Some cities in close proximity have a different dialect and accent, such as Scousers from Liverpool, notable Scouse speakers include John Lennon and Paul McCartney from The Beatles while Mancunians include Liam and Noel Gallagher from Oasis. Received Pronunciation is the accent of standard English in the UK, brummie is the dialect of natives of Birmingham in the west midlands of England – notable Brummies include rock musicians Ozzy Osbourne, Jeff Lynne, and Rob Halford. Geordie is the dialect of people from Tyneside in northeast England – musicians Brian Johnson, Mark Knopfler, notable exponents of the Scottish accent include Sean Connery, comedian Billy Connolly, and The Proclaimers. The West Country accent from southwest England is identified in film as pirate speech – cartoon-like Ooh arr, talk is very similar, while famous pirates hailed from this region, including Blackbeard, West Country native Robert Newtons performance as Long John Silver in films standardised the pirate voice. The Northern Irish accent includes golfer Rory McIlroy and actor Liam Neeson, the early 18th century is known as the Augustan Age of English literature. From the late 18th century, the Romantic period showed a flowering of poetry comparable with the Renaissance 200 years earlier, in Scotland the poetry of Robert Burns revived interest in Scots literature, and the Weaver Poets of Ulster were influenced by literature from Scotland
19.
Belgrade Theatre
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The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue seating 858 and situated in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War in Britain, the building is now a grade II listed building. In 1963 the Belgrade was registered as a charity by the Charity Commission, the Belgrade acquired its name in recognition and thanks for a gift of timber from the Yugoslavian capital city of Belgrade, that was used extensively in the construction of the auditorium. Since opening in 1958, the theatre has established itself as a centre for the new, having pioneered the Theatre-in-Education movement in the 1960s the theatre continues to work with disadvantaged young people and uses drama as a tool to develop personal and social skills. Their most successful programme Acting Out has been commissioned by Coventrys LEA for the last 10 years and has been replicated across the UK, one graduate of the course credits Acting Out with saving her life. The theatre reopened in September 2007 after undergoing a £12 million refurbishment with a 7-storey extension to provide a second auditorium. Prince Edward officially opened the refurbishment of the Belgrades B2 studio on 5 February 2008, Belgrade Theatre official site Historic England
20.
West End theatre
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West End theatre is a common term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of Theatreland in and near the West End of London. Along with New York Citys Broadway theatre, West End theatre is considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London, in 2013, ticket sales reached a record 14.4 million, making West End the largest English speaking audience in the world. Famous screen actors frequently appear on the London stage, helen Mirren received an award for her performance as the Queen on the West End stage, and then stated, theatre is such an important part of British history and British culture. Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation, the first permanent public playhouse, known simply as The Theatre, was constructed in 1576 in Shoreditch by James Burbage. It was soon joined by The Curtain, both are known to have been used by William Shakespeares company. In 1599, the timber from The Theatre was moved to Southwark and these theatres were closed in 1642 due to the Puritans who would later influence the interregnum of 1649. After the Restoration, two companies were licensed to perform, the Dukes Company and the Kings Company, performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisles Tennis Court. The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Bridges Street, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal and it opened on 7 May 1663 and was destroyed by a fire nine years later. It was replaced by a new designed by Christopher Wren and renamed the Theatre Royal. Outside the West End, Sadlers Wells Theatre opened in Islington on 3 June 1683. Taking its name from founder Richard Sadler and monastic springs that were discovered on the property, it operated as a Musick House, with performances of opera, as it was not licensed for plays. In the West End, the Theatre Royal Haymarket opened on 29 December 1720 on a site north of its current location. The Patent theatre companies retained their duopoly on drama well into the 19th century, by the early 19th century, however, music hall entertainments became popular, and presenters found a loophole in the restrictions on non-patent theatres in the genre of melodrama. Melodrama did not break the Patent Acts, as it was accompanied by music, initially, these entertainments were presented in large halls, attached to public houses, but purpose-built theatres began to appear in the East End at Shoreditch and Whitechapel. The West End theatre district became established with the opening of small theatres and halls. South of the River Thames, the Old Vic, Waterloo Road, the next few decades saw the opening of many new theatres in the West End. It abbreviated its name three years later, the theatre building boom continued until about World War I
21.
Prospect Theatre Company
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The Prospect Theatre Company was an English company founded, as Prospect Productions, in 1961. The company became associated with the Edinburgh Festival after its first appearance there in 1967. Eventually the company found a new home at Londons Old Vic in 1977, iain Mackintosh, Richard Cottrell and Elizabeth Sweeting formed Prospect Productions in 1961 to present a summer season of plays at the Oxford Playhouse. A successful first season led to a season in 1962. The following year, when the Playhouse closed for renovations, Prospect became a company associated with the Century Theatre. Toby Robertson directed the last play of the season, Vanbrughs The Provoked Wife, with Eileen Atkins, the production opened the newly restored Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond, North Yorkshire, then transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre, London. The success of the Oxford seasons prompted the idea that Prospect should present productions beyond the season each year. In 1964, with support from the Arts Council of Great Britain, later that year Prospect had its first invitation to the Edinburgh Festival. Prospects first Edinburgh Festival appearance in 1967 was with Chekhovs The Cherry Orchard, the production transferred to London, where Kedrova won the Evening Standard Best Actress of the Year Award. Emphasis was placed instead on quality acting and strikingly designed costumes, complemented by lighting, from 1970 to 1976 four major productions were created each year. As the only major company touring nationally, the choice of repertoire tended to be more from the classics at the expense of new work. Looking for a suitable London base, Robertson believed that the Old Vic would best meet the companys needs, for two years he sustained a campaign for the Old Vic to make Prospect its resident company. In July the Governors of The Old Vic announced a marriage that was all, in September Toby Robertson, director of Prospect, was asked to take artistic control of The Old Vic, and Christopher Richards, general manager of The Old Vic, became general manager of Prospect. Therefore any London-based productions would have to succeed financially without Arts Council support, Prospects first season at the Old Vic recouped its costs but left no surplus to fund future productions. Further stagings by visiting companies were box office failures and stretched the finances to breaking point. Yet Prospect continued to draw audiences to the Old Vic where other companies failed, unfortunately Prospects touring commitments kept the company out of the theatre for the first half of 1979, leaving the theatre to sink further into debt. The company returned in July with Jacobis Hamlet, followed by Romeo and Juliet, Robertson was in effect fired from the post of artistic director in 1980 while he was abroad with the company in China, Timothy West replacing him. On 22 December 1980, four days after the gala performance, in January the company left for its pre-arranged tour of Hong Kong and Australia
22.
Richard II (play)
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King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in approximately 1595. Although the First Folio edition of Shakespeares works lists the play as a history play, the play spans only the last two years of Richards life, from 1398 to 1400. Bolingbrokes father, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, meanwhile, the tournament scene is very formal with a long, ceremonial introduction, but as the combatants are about to fight, Richard interrupts and sentences both to banishment from England. Bolingbroke is originally sentenced to ten years banishment, but Richard changes this to six years, Mowbray predicts that the king will sooner or later fall at the hands of Bolingbroke. John of Gaunt dies and Richard II seizes all of his land and they then help Bolingbroke to return secretly to England, with a plan to overthrow Richard II. There remain, however, subjects who continue faithful to the King, among them Bushy, Bagot, Green, when King Richard leaves England to attend to the war in Ireland, Bolingbroke seizes the opportunity to assemble an army and invades the north coast of England. Executing both Bushy and Green, he wins over the Duke of York, whom Richard has left in charge of his government in his absence, upon Richards return, Bolingbroke not only reclaims his lands but lays claim to the very throne. Crowning himself King Henry IV, he has Richard taken prisoner to the castle of Pomfret, after interpreting King Henrys living fear as a reference to the still-living Richard, an ambitious nobleman goes to the prison and murders him. King Henry repudiates the murderer and vows to journey to Jerusalem to cleanse himself of his part in Richards death, a somewhat more complicated case is presented by the anonymous play sometimes known as The First Part of Richard II. This play, which exists in one manuscript copy is subtitled Thomas of Woodstock. This play treats the leading up to the start of Shakespeares play. The play was entered into the Register of the Stationers Company on 29 August 1597 by the bookseller Andrew Wise, the second and third quartos followed in 1598 – the only time a Shakespearean play was printed in three editions in two years. Q4 followed in 1608, and Q5 in 1615, the play was next published in the First Folio in 1623. Richard II exists in a number of variations, the quartos vary to some degree from one another, and the folio presents further differences. The first three quartos lack the deposition scene, the fourth quarto, published in 1608, includes a version of the deposition scene shorter than the one later printed, presumably from a prompt-book, in the 1623 First Folio. The scant evidence makes explaining these differences largely conjectural, there is no external evidence for this hypothesis, however, and the title page of the 1608 quarto refers to a lately acted deposition scene. The play is divided into five acts and its structure is as formal as its language and it has a double complementary plot describing the fall of Richard II and the rise of Bolingbroke, later known as Henry IV. Critic John R. Elliott Jr. notes that this particular play can be distinguished from the other history plays because it contains an ulterior political purpose
23.
Christopher Marlowe
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Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe was the foremost Elizabethan tragedian of his day and he greatly influenced William Shakespeare, who was born in the same year as Marlowe and who rose to become the pre-eminent Elizabethan playwright after Marlowes mysterious early death. Marlowes plays are known for the use of verse and their overreaching protagonists. A warrant was issued for Marlowes arrest on 18 May 1593, no reason was given for it, though it was thought to be connected to allegations of blasphemy—a manuscript believed to have been written by Marlowe was said to contain vile heretical conceipts. On 20 May, he was brought to the court to attend upon the Privy Council for questioning, there is no record of their having met that day, however, and he was commanded to attend upon them each day thereafter until licensed to the contrary. Ten days later, he was stabbed to death by Ingram Frizer, whether the stabbing was connected to his arrest has never been resolved. Marlowe was born in Canterbury to shoemaker John Marlowe and his wife Catherine and his date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 26 February 1564, and is likely to have been born a few days before. Thus, he was just two months older than his contemporary William Shakespeare, who was baptised on 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. Marlowe attended The Kings School in Canterbury and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, however, his degree was awarded on schedule when the Privy Council intervened on his behalf, commending him for his faithful dealing and good service to the Queen. No direct evidence supports this theory, although the Councils letter is evidence that Marlowe had served the government in some secret capacity, of the dramas attributed to Marlowe, Dido, Queen of Carthage is believed to have been his first. It was performed by the Children of the Chapel, a company of boy actors, the play was first published in 1594, the title page attributes the play to Marlowe and Thomas Nashe. Marlowes first play performed on the stage in London, in 1587, was Tamburlaine the Great, about the conqueror Tamburlaine. It is among the first English plays in verse, and, with Thomas Kyds The Spanish Tragedy. Tamburlaine was a success, and was followed with Tamburlaine the Great, the two parts of Tamburlaine were published in 1590, all Marlowes other works were published posthumously. The sequence of the writing of his four plays is unknown. The Jew of Malta, about a Maltese Jews barbarous revenge against the city authorities, has a prologue delivered by a character representing Machiavelli and it was probably written in 1589 or 1590, and was first performed in 1592. It was a success, and remained popular for the fifty years. The play was entered in the Stationers Register on 17 May 1594, Edward the Second is an English history play about the deposition of King Edward II by his barons and the Queen, who resent the undue influence the kings favourites have in court and state affairs
24.
Royal Shakespeare Company
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The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The companys home is in Stratford-upon-Avon, where it has recently redeveloped its Royal Shakespeare, the theatres re-opened in November 2010, having closed in 2007. The new buildings attracted 18,000 visitors within the first week, performances in Stratford-upon-Avon continued throughout the Transformation project at the temporary Courtyard Theatre. The 2011-season began with performances of Macbeth and a re-imagined lost play The History of Cardenio, the fiftieth birthday season also featured The Merchant of Venice with Sir Patrick Stewart and revivals of some of the RSCs greatest plays, including a new staging of Marat/Sade. For the London 2012 Festival as part of the Cultural Olympiad, in 2013 the company began live screenings of its Shakespeare productions – called Live from Stratford-upon-Avon – which are screened around the world. In 2016, the company collaborated with Intel and The Imaginarium Studios to stage The Tempest, John Wards Birmingham-based company, the Warwickshire Company of Comedians, agreed to perform it. A surviving copy of the records that the company performed Othello. The first building erected to commemorate Shakespeare was David Garricks Jubilee Pavilion in 1769, the first permanent commemorative building to Shakespeares works in the town was a theatre built in 1827, in the gardens of New Place, but has long since been demolished. The RSCs history began with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, which was the brainchild of a local brewer and he donated a two-acre site by the River Avon and in 1875 launched an international campaign to build a theatre in the town of Shakespeares birth. The theatre, a Victorian-Gothic building seating just over 700 people, opened on 23 April 1879, with a performance of Much Ado About Nothing, a title which gave ammunition to several critics. From 1919, under the direction of William Bridges-Adams and after a slow start, the theatre received a Royal Charter of Incorporation in 1925, which gave it status. On the afternoon of 6 March 1926, when a new season was about to commence rehearsals, fire broke out, and the mass of half-timbering chosen to ornament the interior provided dry tinder. By the following morning the theatre was a blackened shell, the company transferred its Shakespeare festivals to a converted local cinema. Fund-raising began for the rebuilding of the theatre, with generous donations arriving from philanthropists in America, george Bernard Shaw commented that her design was the only one that showed any theatre sense. Her modernist plans for an art deco structure came under fire from many directions, later it came under the direction of Sir Barry Jackson in 1945, Anthony Quayle from 1948 to 1956 and Glen Byam Shaw 1957–1959, with an impressive roll-call of actors. Scotts building, with minor adjustments to the stage, remained in constant use until 2007 when it was closed for a major refit of the interior. Timeline,1932 – new Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opens, abutting the remains of the old,1961 – chartered name of the corporation and the Stratford theatre becomes ‘Royal Shakespeare. ’1974 – The Other Place opened, created from a prefabricated former store/rehearsal room in Stratford. 1986 – the Swan Theatre opened, created from the shell of the 1879 Memorial Theatre,1991 – Purpose-built new Other Place, designed by Michael Reardon, opens
25.
Royal National Theatre
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The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdoms three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. Internationally, it is known as the National Theatre of Great Britain, from its foundation in 1963 until 1976, the company was based at the Old Vic theatre in Waterloo. The current building is located next to the Thames in the South Bank area of central London, in addition to performances at the National Theatre building, the National Theatre company tours productions at theatres across the United Kingdom. Since 1988, the theatre has been permitted to call itself the Royal National Theatre, the theatre presents a varied programme, including Shakespeare and other international classic drama, and new plays by contemporary playwrights. Each auditorium in the theatre can run up to three shows in repertoire, thus widening the number of plays which can be put on during any one season. In June 2009, the theatre began National Theatre Live, a programme of simulcasts of live productions to cinemas, first in the United Kingdom, the programme began with a production of Phèdre, starring Helen Mirren, which was screened live in 70 cinemas across the UK. NT Live productions have since been broadcast to over 1,000 venues in 35 countries around the world, the NT had an annual turnover of approximately £87 million in 2012–13, of which earned income made up 80%. Support from Arts Council England provided 20% of income, and the remaining 7% came from a mixture of companies, individuals, trusts, in 1847, a critic using the pseudonym Dramaticus published a pamphlet describing the parlous state of British theatre. Production of serious plays was restricted to the patent theatres, at the same time, there was a burgeoning theatre sector featuring a diet of low melodrama and musical burlesque, but critics described British theatre as driven by commercialism and a star system. There was a demand to commemorate serious theatre, with the Shakespeare Committee purchasing the playwrights birthplace for the nation demonstrating a recognition of the importance of serious drama, the following year saw more pamphlets on a demand for a National Theatre from London publisher Effingham William Wilson. The situation continued, with a renewed call every decade for a National Theatre, attention was aroused in 1879 when the Comédie-Française took a residency at the Gaiety Theatre, described in The Times as representing the highest aristocracy of the theatre. This still left the capital without a national theatre and this work was interrupted by World War I. The play was part of the campaign to build a National Theatre. Still, the Government tried to apply unacceptable conditions to save money, attempting to force the amalgamation of the publicly supported companies. In July 1962, with agreements reached, a board was set up to supervise construction. The National Theatre Company opened on 22 October 1963 with Hamlet, the current building was designed by architects Sir Denys Lasdun and Peter Softley and structural engineers Flint & Neill and contains three stages, which opened individually between 1976 and 1977. The construction work was carried out by Sir Robert McAlpine, the Company was to remain at the Old Vic until 1977, when construction of the Olivier was complete. The National Theatre building houses three separate auditoria, additionally, a temporary structure was added in April 2013 and closed in May 2016
26.
Richard III of England
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Richard III was King of England from 1483 until his death in 1485, at the age of 32, in the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty and his defeat at Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the subject of the historical play Richard III by William Shakespeare, when his brother King Edward IV died in April 1483, Richard was named Lord Protector of the realm for Edwards son and successor, the 12-year-old Edward V. As the young king travelled to London from Ludlow, Richard met and escorted him to lodgings in the Tower of London, on 25 June, an assembly of Lords and commoners endorsed the claims. The following day, Richard III began his reign, and he was crowned on 6 July 1483. The young princes were not seen in public after August, and accusations circulated that the boys had been murdered on Richards orders, there were two major rebellions against Richard. The first, in October 1483, was led by allies of Edward IV and Richards former ally, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. In August 1485, Henry Tudor and his uncle, Jasper Tudor, Henry Tudor landed in southern Wales with a small contingent of French troops and marched through his birthplace, Pembrokeshire, recruiting soldiers. Henrys force engaged Richards army and defeated it at the Battle of Bosworth Field in Leicestershire, Richard was struck down in the conflict, making him the last English king to die in battle on home soil and the first since Harold Godwinson. Henry then ascended the throne as Henry VII, after the battle Richards corpse was taken to Leicester and buried without pomp. His original tomb monument is believed to have been removed during the Reformation, in 2012, an archaeological excavation was commissioned by the Richard III Society on a city council car park on the site once occupied by Greyfriars Priory Church. Richards remains were reburied in Leicester Cathedral on 26 March 2015 and they returned to England following the defeat of the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton and participated in the coronation of Richards eldest brother as King Edward IV in June 1461. At this time Richard was named Duke of Gloucester and made a Knight of the Garter and Knight of the Bath, by the age of seventeen, he had an independent command. With some interruptions, Richard stayed at Middleham either from late 1461 until early 1465, while at Warwicks estate, he probably met Francis Lovell, a strong supporter later in his life, and Warwicks younger daughter, his future wife Anne Neville. As the relationship between the king and Warwick became strained, Edward IV opposed the match, during Warwicks lifetime, George was the only royal brother to marry one of his daughters, the eldest, Isabel, on 12 July 1469, without the kings permission. George joined his father-in-laws revolt against the king, while Richard remained loyal to Edward, in 1468, Richards sister Margaret had married Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, and the brothers could expect a welcome there. Although only eighteen years old, Richard played crucial roles in the battles of Barnet, during his adolescence, Richard developed idiopathic scoliosis. Following a decisive Yorkist victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury, Richard married Anne Neville, by the end of 1470 Anne had previously been wedded to Edward of Westminster, only son of Henry VI, to seal her fathers allegiance to the Lancastrian party
27.
Richard III (1995 film)
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The film sets the play in a fictional fascist version of 1930s Britain. In 1930s England, a civil war ends with the Lancastrian King Henry VI and his son Prince Edward murdered by Richard. Richards elder brother Edward, Duke of York becomes King Edward IV, while the Lancastrian heir, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, is exiled in France. Hungry for power, Richard is determined to make himself King, and pits King Edward against his brother, the Duke of Clarence, meanwhile, Richard deceives and marries Prince Edwards widow Lady Anne Neville. Queen Elizabeth intercedes on Clarences behalf and Edward IV spares his life, Richard informs Edward of Clarences death at a meeting with Prime Minister Lord Hastings, and the King dies from a stroke. As Edwards sons are underage, Richard becomes Regent, taking the title of Lord Protector with the support of the ambitious and corrupt Duke of Buckingham. Reluctant to support Richards claim to the crown, Hastings opposition so enrages Richard that he accuses Hastings of treason, inciting his loyalists to summarily execute him by hanging. Having made an example of his only opponent, Richard persuades the Lord Mayor of London and members of the House of Lords to acknowledge his claim. Following his coronation Richard, now King Richard III, seeks to make his throne secure and he employs Tyrrell to murder the princes, after failing to convince Buckingham to do so. Lady Anne is found dead later from a drug overdose. Impatient for the reward for his loyalty, Buckingham demands the lands of the murdered Lord Rivers. Richard dismisses this in a manner, with the line I am not in a giving vein. Buckingham, also disturbed by the murders of the princes and Hastings, flees to meet Richmond, meanwhile, the Earl of Richmond gathers supporters, among them the Archbishop of Canterbury and Richards mother, the Duchess of York. They are joined by Air Force commander Lord Stanley, the character among Richards confidantes who resists donning the Lord Protectors fascist uniform. Richmond marries Elizabeth and unites both Houses, Richards troops, assembling in a marshalling yard, are attacked from the air, revealing Lord Stanleys involvement in the rebel cause. The two armies meet soon after at a ruined Battersea Power Station, Richard and Richmond seek each other out, but when his vehicle stalls Richard flees into the structure. Pursued by Richmond, Richard is forced to exit on to exposed metal beams, cornered by Richmond and refusing to surrender, Richard falls into the fiery inferno with a triumphant grin. The films concept was based on a production directed by Richard Eyre for the Royal National Theatre
28.
James Whale
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James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his four classic films, Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man. Whale also directed films in genres, including what is considered the definitive film version of the musical Show Boat. He became increasingly disenchanted with his association with horror, but many of his films have fallen into obscurity. Whale was born into a family in Dudley, in the Black Country area of the English West Midlands. He discovered his talent early on and studied art. With the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted in the British Army and he was captured by the Germans and during his time as a prisoner of war he realized he was interested in drama. Following his release at the end of the war he became an actor, set designer and his success directing the 1928 play Journeys End led to his move to the US, first to direct the play on Broadway and then to Hollywood to direct films. He lived in Hollywood for the rest of his life, most of time with his longtime companion. At the height of his career as a director, Whale directed The Road Back, studio interference, possibly spurred by political pressure from Nazi Germany, led to the films being altered from Whales vision and The Road Back was a critical and commercial failure. A run of similar box-office disappointments followed and, while he would make one final film in 1950. He continued to direct for the stage and also rediscovered his love for painting and his investments made him wealthy and he lived a comfortable retirement until suffering strokes in 1956 that robbed him of his vigor and left him in pain. He committed suicide on 29 May 1957 by drowning himself in his swimming pool, Whale was openly gay throughout his career, something that was very unusual in the 1920s and 1930s. However, his associates dismissed the notions that his sexuality informed his work or that it cost him his career, Whale was born in Dudley, England, the sixth of the seven children of William, a blast furnaceman, and Sarah, a nurse. He attended Kates Hill Board School, followed by Bayliss Charity School and his attendance stopped in his teenage years because the cost would have been prohibitive and his labor was needed to help support the family. He discovered he had artistic ability and earned additional money lettering signs. Whale used his income to pay for evening classes at the Dudley School of Arts and Crafts. World War I broke out in 1914, although Whale had little interest in the politics behind the war, he realized that conscription was inevitable so he enlisted in the Army
29.
Gods and Monsters (film)
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Not to be confused with Justice League, Gods and Monsters. Gods and Monsters is a 1998 British-American drama film that recounts the last days of the life of troubled film director James Whale and it stars Ian McKellen as Whale, along with Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich and David Dukes. The film was directed and written by Bill Condon, based on Christopher Brams novel Father of Frankenstein and it won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The film features reconstructions of the filming of Bride of Frankenstein, the title comes from a line in Bride of Frankenstein, in which the character Dr. Pretorius toasts Dr. Frankenstein, To a new world of gods and monsters. The story has also adapted as a play of the same name which premiered in London at the Southwark Playhouse in February 2015. The story opens in the 1950s, after the Korean War, it has more than a decade since James Whale, director of Frankenstein. He lives with his housemaid, Hanna, who loyally cares for him. Whale slips into his past, and indulges in his fantasies, reminiscing about gay pool parties and also sexually teasing an embarrassed, Whale battles depression, at times contemplating suicide, as he realizes his life, his attractiveness, and his health are slipping away. Whale befriends his young, handsome gardener and former Marine, Clayton Boone, the two men bond while discussing their lives and dealing with Whales spells of disorientation and weakness from the strokes. Boone, impressed with Whales fame, watches The Bride of Frankenstein on TV as his friends mock the movie, his friendship with Whale, and Whales intentions. Boone assures Whale that he is straight and receives assurance from Whale that there is no sexual interest, Boone later returns with the agreement that no such locker room discussions occur again. Boone is invited to escort Whale to a party hosted by George Cukor for Princess Margaret, there, a photo op has been arranged for Whale with his Monsters, Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester from ancient movie fame. A sudden rain storm becomes an excuse to leave, back at Whales home, Boone needs a dry change of clothes. Whale can only find a sweater, so Boone wears a towel wrapped around his waist, Whale decides to try to sketch Boone one more time. After some minutes, he shows his sketches to Boone, disclosing that he has lost his ability to draw. After Boone drops his towel to pose nude, Whale makes him wear a World War I gas mask and then uses the opportunity to make an advance on Boone. Boone becomes enraged and attacks Whale, who confesses that this had been his plan, Boone refuses, puts Whale to bed, then sleeps downstairs. The next morning, Hanna is alarmed when she cant find Whale, prompting a search by Boone, Boone finds Whale floating dead in the pool, as a distraught Hanna runs out clutching a suicide note
30.
Magneto (comics)
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Magneto is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appears in The X-Men #1 as the archenemy of the X-Men. The character is a mutant, one of a fictional subspecies of humanity born with superhuman abilities. He is a friend of Professor X, the leader of the X-Men, Magnetos role in comics has varied from supervillain to antihero to superhero, having served as an occasional ally and even a member of the X-Men at times. His characters early history has been compared with the civil rights leader Malcolm X, Magneto resents the pacifist attitude of Professor X and pushes for a more aggressive approach to achieving civil rights. In 2011, IGN ranked Magneto as the greatest comic book villain of all time, sir Ian McKellen portrayed Magneto in four films of the X-Men film series, while Michael Fassbender portrayed a younger version of the character in the 2011 prequel X-Men, First Class. In addition, both actors reprised the role in the film X-Men, Days of Future Past, set in two different eras, Fassbender reprised his role in the 2016 film X-Men, Apocalypse. Magneto first appeared in the issue of X-Men in 1963. In a 2008 interview, Stan Lee said he did not think of Magneto as a bad guy and he just wanted to strike back at the people who were so bigoted and racist. He was trying to defend the mutants, and because society was not treating them fairly he was going to teach society a lesson and he was a danger of course. But I never thought of him as a villain, in the miniseries, Magneto had been de-aged and suffered from amnesia, calling himself Joseph, it was later revealed that Joseph was a younger clone of Magneto. Later, Magneto became ruler of the nation Genosha, later, Magneto appeared in two miniseries, Magneto Rex and Magneto, Dark Seduction. A trade paperback novel detailing Magnetos childhood, X-Men, Magneto Testament was written by Greg Pak, Pak based Magneto Testament on accounts from Holocaust survivors. Before the publication of X-Men, Magneto Testament, Magnetos personal background and he was portrayed as a Jewish Holocaust survivor, while searching for his wife Magda, a Sinti, Magneto maintained a cover identity as a Sinti. This created confusion among readers as to Magnetos heritage, until his Jewish background was confirmed in Magneto. Magneto was born Max Eisenhardt sometime in the late 1920s to a middle-class German-Jewish family, maxs father, Jakob Eisenhardt, was a decorated World War I veteran. Max and his family escaped the ghetto, only to be betrayed and captured again and his mother, father, and sister were executed and buried in a mass grave, but Max survived, possibly due to the manifestation of his mutant powers. Escaping from the grave, he was ultimately captured yet again and sent to Auschwitz
31.
X-Men (film series)
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X-Men is an American media franchise of 21st Century Fox that is centered on a series of superhero films, produced by 20th Century Fox. The franchise is based on the fictional X-Men characters, who appeared in a series of comic books created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. A prequel, X-Men, First Class, was released in 2011, followed by X-Men, Days of Future Past in 2014, Deadpool was also released in 2016 and became the highest-grossing film of the series, as well as the highest-grossing worldwide R-rated film of all time. The film series is the seventh-highest-grossing, having earned over US$4.9 billion worldwide, X-Men, X2, X-Men, First Class, X-Men, Days of Future Past and the spin-offs The Wolverine, Deadpool and Logan were all met with positive reviews. X-Men and X2 were particularly lauded by critics for their dark, realistic tones and subtexts dealing with discrimination, X-Men, The Last Stand and X-Men, Apocalypse were met with mixed reviews, while X-Men Origins, Wolverine received negative reviews from critics. Since 2000, the series has expanded to include comic books, videogames, live action television series. Hugh Jackman has appeared in films in the series than any other actor. The film introduces Wolverine and Rogue into the conflict between Professor Xaviers X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto, in 1994, 20th Century Fox and producer Lauren Shuler Donner bought the film rights to the X-Men. Andrew Kevin Walker was hired to write, and James Cameron expressed interest in producing, eventually, Bryan Singer signed on to direct in July 1996. Although he was not a comic fan, Singer was fascinated by the analogies of prejudice. John Logan, Joss Whedon, Ed Solomon, Christopher McQuarrie, principal photography began in September 1999 in Toronto, Canada, and ended in March 2000. The film was released on July 14,2000, in the film, Colonel William Stryker brainwashes and questions the imprisoned Magneto about Professor Xaviers mutant-locating machine, Cerebro. Stryker attacks the X-Mansion and brainwashes Xavier into locating every mutant on the planet to kill them, the X-Men must team up with the Brotherhood to prevent Strykers worldwide genocide. Hayter and Zak Penn were hired to write their own scripts for the sequel, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris were hired to re-write the script in February 2002, writing around 26 drafts and 150 on set. Principal photography began in June 2002 in Vancouver, Canada, the film was released on May 2,2003. In the film, a company has developed a suppressor of the mutant gene. Magneto declares war on the humans and retrieves his own weapon, Phoenix, a final battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood ensues, and Wolverine must accept that in order to stop Grey, he will have to kill her. Singer initially intended to shoot the film back-to-back with a fourth film, Penn and Simon Kinberg were hired the following month
32.
Gandalf
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Gandalf /ˈɡændɑːlf/ is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in J. R. R. Tolkiens novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He is a wizard, member of the Istari order, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring, in The Lord of the Rings, he is initially known as Gandalf the Grey, but returns from death as Gandalf the White. Tolkien discusses Gandalf in his essay on the Istari, which appears in the work Unfinished Tales. Merry he could be, and kindly to the young and simple, yet quick at times to sharp speech and the rebuking of folly, but he was not proud, and sought neither power nor praise. Mostly he journeyed tirelessly on foot, leaning on a staff, as one of the Maiar, Gandalf would have participated in the Music of the Ainur at the creation of the world. However he does not attain any prominence until the Valar settle in Valinor, in Valinor, Gandalf was known as Olórin. As recounted in the Valaquenta in The Silmarillion, he was one of the Maiar of Valinor, specifically, of the people of the Vala Manwë, and was said to be the wisest of the Maiar. He was also associated with two other Valar, Irmo, in whose gardens he lived, and Nienna, the patron of mercy. When the Valar decided to send the order of the Wizards to Middle-earth in order to counsel and assist all those who opposed Sauron, Olórin was proposed by Manwë. Olórin initially begged to be excused as he feared Sauron and lacked the strength to face him, as one of the Maiar, Gandalf was not a mortal Man but an angelic being who had taken human form. As one of those spirits, Olórin was in service to the Creator, along with the other Maiar who entered into the world as the five Wizards, he took on the specific form of an aged old man as a sign of his humility. Gandalf the Grey was the last of the Istari landing in the Havens of Mithlond. He seemed the oldest and least in stature of them, but Círdan the Shipwright felt that he had the highest inner greatness on their first meeting in the Havens, and gave him Narya, Saruman, the chief Wizard, later learned of the gift and resented it. Gandalf hid the ring well, and it was not widely known until he left with the other ring-bearers at the end of the Third Age that he, Gandalfs relationship with Saruman, the head of their Order, was strained. The Wizards were commanded to aid Men, Elves, and Dwarves, in Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age and The Istari, Tolkien fleshes out the background and the history briefly tabulated by date in Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings. Gandalf suspected early on that the Necromancer of Dol Guldur was not a Nazgûl and he went to Dol Guldur to discover the truth, but the Necromancer withdrew before him. The Necromancer returned to Dol Guldur with greater force in T. A.2460, Galadriel had hoped Gandalf would lead the Council, but Gandalf refused, declining to be bound by any but the Valar who sent him. Saruman was chosen instead, as being most knowledgeable about Saurons work in the Second Age, Gandalf returned to Dol Guldur in T. A.2850 at great peril and learned that the Necromancer was indeed Sauron returned
33.
The Lord of the Rings (film series)
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The Lord of the Rings is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, the films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. They were distributed by New Line Cinema, each film in the series also had special extended editions released on DVD a year after their respective theatrical releases. While the films follow the general storyline, they do omit some of the novels plot elements and include some additions to. The Fellowship eventually splits up and Frodo continues the quest together with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin, the series was a major financial success, with the films collectively being among the highest-grossing film series of all time. The films were acclaimed and heavily awarded, winning 17 out of 30 total Academy Award nominations. The series received praise for its innovative special and visual effects. Director Peter Jackson first came into contact with The Lord of the Rings when he saw Ralph Bakshis 1978 animated film The Lord of the Rings, Jackson enjoyed the film and wanted to know more. Afterwards, he read an edition of the book during a twelve-hour train journey from Wellington to Auckland when he was seventeen. In 1995, Jackson was finishing The Frighteners and considered The Lord of the Rings as a new project, with the new developments in computer-generated imagery following Jurassic Park, Jackson set about planning a fantasy film that would be relatively serious and feel real. Negotiations then stalled when Universal Studios offered Jackson a remake of King Kong, Weinstein was furious, and further problems arose when it turned out Zaentz did not have distribution rights to The Hobbit, United Artists, which was in the market, did. By April 1996, the question was still not resolved. It was also revealed that Jackson originally wanted to finish King Kong before The Lord of the Rings began, but due to location problems, he decided to start with The Lord of the Rings franchise instead. When Universal cancelled King Kong in 1997, Jackson and Walsh immediately received support from Weinstein, Jackson and Walsh asked Costa Botes to write a synopsis of the book and they began to re-read the book. Two to three months later, they had written their treatment, Bilbo attends the Council of Elrond, Sam looks into Galadriels mirror, Saruman is redeemed before he dies and the Nazgûl just make it into Mount Doom before they fall. They presented their treatment to Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the latter of whom they focused on impressing with their screenwriting as he had not read the book and they agreed upon two films and a total budget of $75 million. During mid-1997, Jackson and Walsh began writing with Stephen Sinclair, sinclairs partner, Philippa Boyens, was a major fan of the book and joined the writing team after reading their treatment
34.
The Hobbit (film series)
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The Hobbit is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R, together they act as a prequel to Jacksons The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, the screenplay was written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, who was originally chosen to direct before his departure from the project. The films also feature Manu Bennett, Sylvester McCoy, Stephen Fry, Mikael Persbrandt, Barry Humphries, the first film in the series premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand on 28 November 2012. One hundred thousand people lined the red carpet on Courtenay Place, the second film of the series premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on 2 December 2013. The third and final film premiered at Leicester Square in London on 1 December 2014, the series was a major financial success, with the films classified as one of the highest-grossing film series of all time, going on to outgross The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Although critically considered to be inferior to The Lord of the Rings, it was nominated for awards and won several. Jackson and Walsh originally expressed interest in filming The Hobbit in 1995, frustration arose when Jacksons producer, Harvey Weinstein, discovered that Saul Zaentz had production rights to The Hobbit, but that distribution rights still belonged to United Artists. The United Artists studio and its parent corporation Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was for sale in 2005, Weinstein asked Jackson to press on with adapting The Lord of the Rings. Ultimately, The Lord of the Rings was produced by New Line Cinema, not the Weinsteins, in September 2006, the new ownership and management of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer expressed interest in teaming up with New Line and Jackson to make The Hobbit. In March 2005, Jackson launched a lawsuit against New Line, claiming he had lost revenue from merchandising, video and he did not seek a specific settlement, but requested an audit to see whether New Line had withheld money owed him. Although Jackson wanted it settled before he would make the film, he felt the lawsuit was minor, New Line co-founder Robert Shaye was annoyed with the lawsuit and said in January 2007 that Jackson would never again direct a film for New Line, accusing him of being greedy. MGM boss Harry Sloan halted development, as he wanted Jackson to be involved, by August, after a string of flops, Shaye tried to repair his relationship with the director. He said, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be involved in some way in The Hobbit. The following month, New Line was fined $125,000 for failing to provide requested accounting documents, on 16 December 2007, New Line and MGM announced that Jackson would be executive producer of The Hobbit and its sequel. The two studios would co-finance the film and the studio would distribute the film outside North America—New Lines first ever such deal with another major studio. Each films budget was estimated at US$150 million, which compares to the US$94 million budget for each of the films in Jacksons Lord of the Rings trilogy. After completion of the merger of New Line Cinema with Warner Bros. in February 2008, producer Mark Ordesky, the executive producer of The Lord of the Rings, planned to return to supervise the prequels
35.
Knight Bachelor
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The appointment of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic and lowest rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch, Knights Bachelor are the most ancient sort of British knight, but Knights Bachelor rank below knights of the various orders. There is no counterpart to Knight Bachelor. The lowest knightly honour that can be conferred upon a woman is Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – which, also, foreigners are not created Knights Bachelor, instead they are generally made honorary KBEs. It is generally awarded for service, amongst its recipients are all male judges of Her Majestys High Court of Justice in England. Sir Patrick Stewart, and Sir Tom Jones are Officers of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, like other knights, Knights Bachelor are styled Sir. Since they are not knights of any order of chivalry, there is no post-nominal associated with the award. This style is adopted by Knights Bachelor who are also peers, baronets or knights of the various statutory orders, such as Sir William Boulton, Bt, Kt, or The Lord Olivier. Until 1926 Knights Bachelor had no insignia which they could wear, the Knights Bachelor badge may be worn on all such occasions upon the left side of the coat or outer garment of those upon whom the degree of Knight Bachelor has been conferred. In 1974, Queen Elizabeth II issued a warrant authorising the wearing on appropriate occasions of a neck badge, slightly smaller in size. In 1988 a new certificate of authentication, a knights only personal documentation, was designed by the College of Arms. The Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor was founded for the maintenance and consolidation of the Dignity of Knights Bachelor in 1908, the Society keeps records of all Knights Bachelor, in their interest
36.
Freedom of the City
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The Freedom of the City is an honor bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. The Freedom of the City can also be granted by municipal authorities to military units which have earned the citys trust, in this context and this allows them the freedom to parade through the city, and is an affirmation of the bond between the regiment and the citizenry. The honor was sometimes accompanied by a box, a small gold box inscribed to record the occasion. In some countries, such as the United States, esteemed residents and visitors may instead be presented with the Key to the City, other cities award Honorary Citizenship, with just a certificate. Freedom of the City is an ancient honor granted to martial organisations, allowing them the privilege to march into the city with drums beating, colours flying and this honor dates back to ancient Rome which regarded the pomerium, the boundary of the city, as sacred. Promagistrates and generals were forbidden from entering it, and resigned their imperium immediately upon crossing it, an exception was made for victory celebrations, during which the victorious general would be permitted to enter for one day only. Under the Republic, soldiers also lost their status when entering, becoming citizens, weapons were also banned inside the pomerium for religious and traditional reasons. Similar laws were passed by other European cities throughout the Medieval era, to public security and civic rights. As a result, soldiers would be forced to camp outside the walls of the city during the winter months. The Freedom of the City was an honor granted only to troops which had earned the trust of the local populace, either through some valiant action or simply by being a familiar presence. Today, martial freedom of the city is an entirely ceremonial honor, usually bestowed upon a unit with historic ties to the area, as a token of appreciation for their long, the awarding of the Freedom is often accompanied by a celebratory parade through the city. A slightly more freedom of the city is connected to the medieval concept of free status. As such, freemen actually pre-date boroughs, early freedom of the boroughs ceremonies had great importance in affirming that the recipient enjoyed privileges such as the right to trade and own property, and protection within the town. Before parliamentary reform in 1832, freedom of the city or town conferred the right to vote in the boroughs for the MPs. Until the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 the freemen were the electorate for the boroughs. These two acts together curtailed the power of the freemen and extended the franchise to all householders, the private property belonging to the freemen collectively was retained. The freemen of York, Oxford and Newcastle upon Tyne still own considerable areas within their towns, the Local Government Act 1972 specifically preserved freemens rights. The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 removed any restrictions entitling only men to be freemen, today, the grant of honorary freedom in the United Kingdom is governed by the Local Government Act 1972
37.
Wigan
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Wigan /ˈwɪɡən/ is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas,7.9 miles south-west of Bolton,10 miles north of Warrington and 16 miles west-northwest of Manchester, Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a population of 97,000 in 2011. Historically in Lancashire, Wigan during classical antiquity was in the territory of the Brigantes, the Brigantes were subjugated in the Roman conquest of Britain during the 1st century, and it is asserted that the Roman settlement of Coccium was established where Wigan lies. Wigan is believed to have incorporated as a borough in 1246 following the issue of a charter by King Henry III of England. At the end of the Middle Ages it was one of four boroughs in Lancashire established by Royal charters, the others were Lancaster, Liverpool, during the Industrial Revolution Wigan experienced dramatic economic expansion and a rapid rise in the population. Although porcelain manufacture and clock making had been major industries in the town, Wigan subsequently became known as a mill town. The first coal mine was established at Wigan in 1450 and at its peak there were 1,000 pit shafts within 5 miles of the town centre, mining was so extensive that one town councillor remarked that a coal mine in the backyard was not uncommon in Wigan. Coal mining ceased during the part of the 20th century. Wigan Pier, a wharf on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, was famous by the writer George Orwell. In his book, The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell highlighted the poor working and living conditions of the inhabitants during the 1930s. Following the decline of activities in the region, Wigan Piers collection of warehouses and wharfs became a local heritage centre. On 24th November 2016, on his 80th birthday, a statue of Dave Whelan was unveiled outside the stadium. Wigan had a population of 99,391 in 2011 but its Urban Subdivision had a population of 103,608, the name Wigan has been dated to at least the 7th century and probably originally meant a village or settlement. It has also suggested that the name is Celtic, named after a person called Wigan. This may have linked with Tre to give an original name of Trewigan. The name of the town has been recorded variously as Wigan in 1199, Wygayn in 1240, the first people believed to have settled in the Wigan area were the Brigantes, a Celtic tribe who controlled most of northern Britain. In the 1st century, the area was conquered by the Romans, the late 2nd-century Antonine Itinerary mentions a Roman settlement called Coccium 17 miles from the Roman fort at Manchester and 20 miles from the fort at Ribchester
38.
Bolton
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Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester in North West England. A former mill town, Bolton has been a centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th century, introducing a wool. The urbanisation and development of the town coincided with the introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. The British cotton industry declined sharply after the First World War, close to the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is 10 miles northwest of Manchester. It is surrounded by smaller towns and villages that together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. The town of Bolton has a population of 139,403, historically part of Lancashire, Bolton originated as a small settlement in the moorland known as Bolton le Moors. In the English Civil War, the town was a Parliamentarian outpost in a staunchly Royalist region, in what became known as the Bolton Massacre,1,600 residents were killed and 700 were taken prisoner. Football club Bolton Wanderers play home games at the Macron Stadium, Cultural interests include the Octagon Theatre and the Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, as well as one of the earliest public libraries established after the Public Libraries Act 1850. Bolton is a common Northern English name derived from the Old English bothl-tun, the first recorded use of the name, in the form Boelton, dates from 1185 to describe Bolton le Moors, though this may not be in relation to a dwelling. It was recorded as Bothelton in 1212, Botelton in 1257, Boulton in 1288, later forms of Botheltun were Bodeltown, Botheltun-le-Moors, Bowelton, Boltune, Bolton-super-Moras, Bolton-in-ye-Moors, Bolton-le-Moors. The towns motto of Supera Moras means overcome difficulties, and is a pun on the Bolton-super-Moras version of the meaning literally. A Bronze Age mound was excavated in Victorian times outside Haulgh Hall, the Romans built roads from Manchester to Ribchester to the east and a road along what is now the A6 to the west. It is claimed that Agricola built a fort at Blackrod by clearing land above the forest, evidence of a Saxon settlement exists in the form of religious objects found when the Victorian parish church was built. In 1067 Great Bolton was the property of Roger de Poitou and after 1100 and it became the property of the Pilkingtons who forfeited it in the Civil War and after that the Stanleys who became Earls of Derby. Great Bolton and Little Bolton were part of the Marsey fee, in 1212 Little Bolton was held by Roger de Bolton as plough-land, a charter to hold a market in Churchgate was granted on 14 December 1251 by King Henry III of England. Bolton became a town and borough by a charter from the Earl of Derby, William de Ferrers, on 14 January 1253. Burgage plots were laid out on Churchgate and Deansgate in the centre of the town close to where Ye Olde Man & Scythe public house. In 1337 Flemish weavers settled and introduced the manufacture of woollen cloth, more Flemish weavers, fleeing the Huguenot persecutions, settled here in the 17th century
39.
September 11 attacks
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The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
