1.
Alexandria, Minnesota
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Alexandria is a city and the county seat of Douglas County, Minnesota. First settled in 1858, it was named after brothers Alexander, the form of the name alludes to Alexandria, Egypt, a center of learning and civilization. The village of Alexandria was incorporated February 20,1877 and its city charter was adopted in 1908, and it was incorporated as a city in 1909. W. E. Hicks was pivotal to the development of the town. He purchased the townsite in 1868 and established a mill, hotel, newspaper and he donated property for a courthouse, jail, and two churches, Methodist and Congregational. The population was 11,070 as of the 2010 census, Alexandria is located near Interstate 94, along Minnesota State Highways 27 and 29. Lake Carlos State Park is ten miles north of Alexandria, in 2013, Alexandria was picked as a Top 10 Best Small Town by the Livability website. The city is abbreviated as Alex. The city is known as a center due to its many lakes. Tourism events include a Grape Stomp hosted by the Carlos Creek Winery every September, an Apple Fest in October, the Douglas County Fair every August, and Art in the Park every July. The city has a housing the controversial Kensington Runestone, which is thought by some to indicate that Vikings had visited the area in the 14th century. Outside the museum stands Big Ole, a 25-foot-tall statue of a Viking which was built for the Worlds Fair in New York City in 1964, extensive repairs to Big Ole were completed in 2016. The city hosts the annual Vikingland Band Festival parade marching championship, there are also several independent K–8 Christian schools in the area. Alexandria Technical & Community College offers post-secondary education from certificates on up to 2 year associate degrees, two Minnesota State Highways 27 and 29. Highway 27 connects Alexandria to Nelson, Osakis and to western Minnesota, highway 29 connects Alexandria to Glenwood and Parkers Prairie. Interstate 94 passes through the end of Alexandria, which allows access to Minneapolis/St. Public transportation within town is provided by Rainbow Rider, Alexandria has a public airport named Chandler Field. It is on the southwest edge of town, the following routes are located in the Alexandria area
2.
HBO
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Home Box Office is an American premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by Time Warner through its respective flagship company Home Box Office, Inc. HBO is the oldest and longest continuously operating pay television service in the United States, in 2014, HBO had an adjusted operating income of US$1.79 billion, compared to the US$1.68 billion it accrued in 2013. HBO has 49 million subscribers in the United States and 130 million worldwide as of 2016, the network provides seven 24-hour multiplex channels, including HBO Comedy, HBO Latino, HBO Signature and HBO Family. It launched the streaming service HBO Now in April 2015, and has over 2 million subscribers in the United States as of February 2017. In addition to its U. S. subscriber base, HBO distributes content in at least 151 countries, HBO subscribers generally pay for an extra tier of service that includes other cable- and satellite-exclusive channels even before paying for the channel itself. Cable providers can require the use of a converter box – usually digital – in order to receive HBO, many HBO programs have been syndicated to other networks and broadcast television stations, and a number of HBO-produced series and films have been released on DVD. The new system, which Dolan named Sterling Information Services, became the first urban underground cable system in the United States. In that same year, Time-Life, Inc. purchased a 20% stake in Dolans company, in the summer of 1971, while on a family vacation in France, Charles Dolan began to think of ideas to make Sterling Manhattan profitable. He came up with the concept for a television service. Dolan later presented his idea to Time-Life management, though satellite distribution seemed only a distant possibility at the time, he persuaded Time-Life to back him on the project. To gauge whether consumers would be interested in subscribing to a pay television service, in a meeting of Dolan and some Time-Life executives who were working on the project, various other names were discussed for the new service. Home Box Office launched on November 8,1972, however, HBOs launch came without fanfare in the press, as it was not covered by any local or national media outlets. Home Box Office distributed its first sports event immediately after the film, Four months later in February 1973, Home Box Office aired its first television special, the Pennsylvania Polka Festival. Home Box Office would use a network of relay towers to distribute its programming to cable systems throughout its service area. Sterling Manhattan Cable continued to lose money because the company had only a small base of 20,000 customers in Manhattan. Time-Life dropped the Sterling name and the company was renamed Manhattan Cable Television under Time-Lifes control in March 1973, Gerald Levin, who had been with Home Box Office since it began operations as its vice president of programming, replaced Dolan as the companys president and chief executive officer. In September 1973, Time-Life, Inc. completed its acquisition of the pay service. HBO would eventually increase its fortunes within two years, by April 1975, the service had around 100,000 subscribers in Pennsylvania and New York state, in 1974, they settled on using a geostationary communications satellite to transmit HBO to cable providers throughout the United States
3.
Deadwood (TV series)
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The show features a large ensemble cast, and many historical figures appear as characters, such as Seth Bullock, George Crook, Wyatt Earp, E. B. Farnum, George Hearst, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Jack McCall, Sol Star, Al Swearengen, the plot lines involving these characters include historical truths as well as substantial fictional elements. Milch used actual diaries and newspapers from 1870s Deadwood residents as reference points for characters, events, Some of the characters are fully fictional, although they may have been based on actual persons. Deadwood received wide acclaim, particularly for Milchs writing and Ian McShanes co-lead performance. It also won eight Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe, TV Guide ranked it #8 on their 2013 list of 60 shows that were Cancelled Too Soon. There were initial plans to conclude the series with two TV films, but those plans never came to fruition, in 2015, talks resumed between HBO and Milch, and in January 2016, HBO green-lit a script to be written. The show was produced by Red Board Productions and Roscoe Productions in association with HBO, Garret Dillahunt portrays Jack McCall during season one and Francis Walcott during season two. Milch has pointed out repeatedly in interviews that the intent of the show was to study the way that comes together from chaos by organizing itself around symbols. Initially, he intended to study this within Roman civilization, but HBOs Rome series was already in production, Milch and his colleagues later bought many of Parkers books and papers as references for Deadwood. The first season takes place six months after the founding of the camp, in 1876, Seth Bullock leaves his job as a marshal in Montana to establish a hardware business in the gold-mining camp of Deadwood, along with his friend and business partner, Sol Star. Wild Bill Hickok, the infamous gunslinger of the west, is on a journey to Deadwood, accompanied by Charlie Utter. Al Swearengen is the owner of The Gem, a local saloon, other notable residents include Dr. Amos Cochran, A. W. Merrick, owner and editor of the local newspaper The Pioneer, and E. B. Farnum, proprietor of The Grand Central Hotel, Brom Garret, a wealthy businessman from New York City, lives at The Grand Central Hotel with his wife, Alma, who nurses a secret laudanum habit. Aware that Garret is interested in prospecting, Swearengen and Farnum deceive him into purchasing a gold claim in a confidence game. Newly arrived Cy Tolliver and his purchase an abandoned hotel across from The Gem and begin renovations, then open the Bella Union Saloon. Brom Garret soon learns that his claim is worthless and demands Swearengen reimburse his money. Swearengen orders Dan Dority to kill Garret and make it look like an accident, Dority throws Garret off a cliff, only to discover that the claim is actually a rich one after all. Newly widowed Alma Garret asks Wild Bill Hickok for guidance regarding the gold claim, Hickok asks Bullock to advise Garret, Bullock agrees
4.
Eastbound & Down
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Producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay received an order for six episodes for the first season from HBO. The series was produced by Will Ferrells production company, Gary Sanchez Productions, the show premiered February 15,2009, at 10,30 p. m. Its second season, consisting of seven episodes, began on September 26,2010, on October 27, HBO announced they were renewing the show for a third season. At PaleyFest 2011, it was announced that the third season, however, on July 2,2012, it was announced that HBO had picked up the comedy series for a fourth season, which consisted of eight episodes. On June 6,2013, HBO announced that the season would be the shows last. The fourth season premiered on September 29,2013, and ended its run on November 17,2013, still trying to reclaim his fame he starts on a comeback—righting his previous wrongs along the way—only to unwittingly sabotage his own efforts. While not based on the life of former Major League Baseball relief pitcher John Rocker, former major league pitcher Mitch Wild Thing Williams has often been cited as the inspiration for the Powers character. Ken Marino as Guy Young Tim Heidecker as Gene Jillian Bell as Dixie Jon Reep as Jed Forney Omar Dorsey as Dontel Benjamin Production on the season of the show began in May 2010. The setting moved to Mexico, with shooting actually occurring in Gurabo, the new season brought several changes to the cast, including new faces Michael Peña and Ana de la Reguera, who play the owner of a Mexican baseball team and Kennys new love interest, respectively. Don Johnson appeared in the role of Kennys father, who Kenny, all of the supporting cast from the first season are absent or only make cameo appearances, with the only exception being Steve Little as Stevie Janowski, who follows Kenny to Mexico. Ben Best is not a writer for Season 2 but returns in a role as Clegg. Adam Scott returns in two episodes as the now cocaine-free baseball executive Pat Anderson, actor Deep Roy joined the cast as Aaron, one of Kennys new Mexican sidekicks. The Mexican baseball team owned by Peñas character Sebastian Cisneros, the Charros, is coached by Roger Hernandez, co-director Jody Hill described the season as a cross between the films Amores perros and The Bad News Bears. Hill directed four episodes in two, while David Gordon Green directed three. Season 2 premiered on September 26,2010, vice magazine reported on August 31,2010 that its worthy of the original and is its own different, more somber beast. And then he would have said, ‘I went down to the butthole of the Carolinas. ’ We actually thought about setting the season in Myrtle Beach instead of in Mexico. I gotta say, the Myrtle Beach idea was pretty brilliant and it would have really been something. Maybe he ends up there next season, Season 3 saw Jason Sudeikis join the cast, and the returns of Matthew McConaughey as Texas scout Roy McDaniel, and Will Ferrell who reprised his role as car salesman Ashley Schaeffer
5.
Winter's Bone
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Winters Bone is a 2010 American independent drama film, an adaptation of Daniel Woodrells 2006 novel of the same name. Winters Bone won several awards, including the Grand Jury Prize and it also received four 2011 Academy Award nominations, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor. Seventeen-year-old Ree Dolly looks after her ill mother, her twelve-year-old brother Sonny. Every day, Ree makes sure her siblings eat, while teaching them survival skills like hunting and cooking. Rees father, Jessup, has not been home for a long time and he is out on bail following an arrest for manufacturing crank. Sheriff Baskin tells Ree that if her father does not show up for his court date, Ree sets out to find her father, following his trail into the world where meth use is common, violence is frequent, and people are bound by codes of loyalty and secrecy. She starts with her meth-addicted uncle Teardrop and continues on to distant kin, eventually trying to talk to the local crime boss. Milton refuses to see her, the only information Ree comes up with are warnings to leave the situation alone and stories that Jessup died in a meth lab fire or skipped town to avoid the trial. When Jessup fails to appear for the trial, the bondsman comes looking for him and tells Ree that she will have about a week before the house, Ree tells him that Jessup must be dead, because Dollys dont run. He tells her that she will need to provide proof that her father is dead to avoid the bond being forfeited, Ree tries to go to see Milton again and is severely beaten by the women of his family. Teardrop shows up and rescues Ree, promising her attackers that she will not say anything or cause any more trouble, Teardrop tells Ree that her father was killed because he was going to inform on other meth cookers, but he does not know who killed him. He warns her if she ever finds out who did. A few nights later, the same three Milton women who beat Ree come to her house and they offer to take her to daddys bones. The women place a burlap sack on her head and drive her to a pond, where they get into a rowboat and row to the shallow area where her fathers submerged body lies. They tell Ree to reach into the water and grasp her fathers hands so they can cut them off with a chainsaw. Ree takes the hands to the sheriff, telling him that someone flung them onto the porch of her house, the bondsman comes back to the house and gives Ree the cash portion of the bond, which was put up by an anonymous associate of Jessup. Ree tries to give Jessups banjo to Teardrop, but he tells her to keep it at the house for him, as he is leaving, he tells her that he now knows who killed her father. Ree reassures Sonny and Ashlee that she will not ever leave them, the film has a certified fresh score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 161 reviews with an average score of 8.3 out of 10
6.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
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The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered a performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry. At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Walter Brennan was the first winner of award for his role in Come. Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded instead of statuettes. Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, however, winners received full-sized statuettes, currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS, winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy. Since its inception, the award has given to 72 actors. Brennan has received the most awards in this category with three awards, Brennan, Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall, Arthur Kennedy, Jack Nicholson, and Claude Rains were nominated on four occasions, more than any other actor. As of the 2017 ceremony, Mahershala Ali is the most recent winner in category for his role as Juan in Moonlight. In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of release in Los Angeles County. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, University of Toronto Press, ISBN 978-1-55002-574-3. org The Academy Awards Database Oscar. com Complete Downloadable List of Academy Award Nominees
7.
Golden Globe Award
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Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign. The annual ceremony at which the awards are presented is a part of the film industrys awards season. The 74th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film, the 1st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best achievements in 1943 filmmaking, was held in January 1944, at the 20th Century-Fox studios. Subsequent ceremonies were held at venues throughout the next decade, including the Beverly Hills Hotel. In 1950, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the decision to establish an honorary award to recognize outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Recognizing its subject as a figure within the entertainment industry. The official name of the award became the Cecil B. In 1963, the Miss Golden Globe concept was introduced, in its inaugural year, two Miss Golden Globes were named, one for film and one for television. The two Miss Golden Globes named that year were Eva Six and Donna Douglas, respectively, in 2009, the Golden Globe statuette was redesigned. It was unveiled at a conference at the Beverly Hilton prior to the show. The broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards, telecast to 167 countries worldwide, generally ranks as the third most-watched awards show each year, behind only the Oscars, gervais returned to host the 68th and 69th Golden Globe Awards the next two years. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the 70th, 71st and 72nd Golden Globe Awards in 2015, the Golden Globe Awards theme song, which debuted in 2012, was written by Japanese musician and songwriter Yoshiki Hayashi. On January 7,2008, it was announced due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The ceremony was faced with a threat by striking writers to picket the event, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was forced to adopt another approach for the broadcast. In acting categories, Meryl Streep holds the record for the most competitive Golden Globe wins with eight, however, including honorary awards, such as the Henrietta Award, World Film Favorite Actor/Actress Award, or Cecil B. DeMille Award, Barbra Streisand leads with nine, additionally, Streisand won for composing the song Evergreen, producing the Best Picture, and directing Yentl in 1984. Jack Nicholson, Angela Lansbury, Alan Alda and Shirley MacLaine have six awards each, behind them are Rosalind Russell and Jessica Lange with five wins. Meryl Streep also holds the record for most nominations with thirty, at the 46th Golden Globe Awards an anomaly occurred, a three way-tie for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
8.
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
9.
The Sessions (film)
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The Sessions is a 2012 American independent drama film written and directed by Ben Lewin. It is based on the article On Seeing a Sex Surrogate by Mark OBrien, a poet paralyzed from the neck due to polio. John Hawkes and Helen Hunt star as OBrien and sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene, the film debuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award and a U. S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting, fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the films distribution rights and released the film in October 2012. The Sessions received highly positive reviews critics, in particular lauding the performances of Hawkes. Hunt was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role at the 85th Academy Awards, in Berkeley, California in 1988, Mark OBrien is a poet who is forced to live in an iron lung due to complications from polio. Due to his condition, he has never had sex, after unsuccessfully proposing to his caretaker Amanda, and sensing he may be near death, he decides he wants to lose his virginity. After consulting his priest, Father Brendan, he gets in touch with Cheryl Cohen-Greene and she tells him they will have no more than six sessions together. They begin their sessions, but soon it is clear that they are developing romantic feelings for each other. Cheryls husband, who loves her deeply, fights to suppress his jealousy, at first withholding a love poem that Mark has sent by mail to Cheryl, which she eventually finds. After several attempts, Mark and Cheryl are able to have mutually satisfying sex, one day sometime later, the power goes out in the building in which Mark lives, causing the iron lung to stop functioning and making it necessary for Mark to be rushed to the hospital. However, he survives and meets Susan Fernbach, a woman with whom the audience senses he will finally find happiness. The film then cuts to Marks funeral, held sometime later, Father Brendan gives the homily and Susan reads the poem he had previously sent Cheryl. OBrien breathed with the support of a lung for much of his life. At age 38, he hired sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene to help him lose his virginity, the film is based on an article OBrien published about his experiences with Greene, On Seeing a Sex Surrogate, which appeared in The Sun magazine in 1990. OBriens life was chronicled in the 1996 short documentary Breathing Lessons, The Life and Work of Mark OBrien, directed by Jessica Yu and he died in 1999 at the age of 49. Writer and director Ben Lewin, a survivor himself, first read about OBriens experiences with a sex surrogate from OBriens article On Seeing a Sex Surrogate on the Internet. He stumbled onto the article while researching sex and the disabled for a semi-autobiographical sitcom project, Lewin explained, I felt that if I could do on film what he had done to me with his writing, then I could potentially deliver something powerful
10.
Minnesota
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Minnesota is a state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States. Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U. S. state on May 11,1858, the state has a large number of lakes, and is known by the slogan Land of 10,000 Lakes. Its official motto is LÉtoile du Nord, Minnesota is the 12th largest in area and the 21st most populous of the U. S. Minnesota is known for its progressive political orientation and its high rate of civic participation and voter turnout. Until European settlement, Minnesota was inhabited by the Dakota and Ojibwe/Anishinaabe, in recent decades, immigration from Asia, the Horn of Africa, and Latin America has broadened its historic demographic and cultural composition. Minnesotas standard of living index is among the highest in the United States, Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mnisota. Many places in the state have similar names, such as Minnehaha Falls, Minneiska, Minneota, Minnetonka, Minnetrista, and Minneapolis, a combination of mni and polis, Minnesota is the second northernmost U. S. state. Its isolated Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods county is the part of the 48 contiguous states lying north of the 49th parallel. The state is part of the U. S. region known as the Upper Midwest and it shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan and a land and water border with Wisconsin to the east. Iowa is to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota are to the west, with 86,943 square miles, or approximately 2.25 percent of the United States, Minnesota is the 12th-largest state. Minnesota has some of the Earths oldest rocks, gneisses that are about 3.6 billion years old. About 2.7 billion years ago, basaltic lava poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial ocean, the roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of Precambrian seas formed the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Following a period of volcanism 1, in more recent times, massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the landscape of the state and sculpted its terrain. The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago and these glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the bedrock. This area is known as the Driftless Zone for its absence of glacial drift, much of the remainder of the state outside the northeast has 50 feet or more of glacial till left behind as the last glaciers retreated. Gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago and its bed created the fertile Red River valley, and its outflow, glacial River Warren, carved the valley of the Minnesota River and the Upper Mississippi downstream from Fort Snelling. Minnesota is geologically quiet today, it experiences earthquakes infrequently, the states high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet, which is only 13 miles away from the low of 601 feet at the shore of Lake Superior. Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of the state is a rolling peneplain. Two major drainage divides meet in Minnesotas northeast in rural Hibbing, forming a triple watershed, precipitation can follow the Mississippi River south to the Gulf of Mexico, the Saint Lawrence Seaway east to the Atlantic Ocean, or the Hudson Bay watershed to the Arctic Ocean
11.
Austin, Texas
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Austin is the capital of the U. S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County. It is the 11th-most populous city in the U. S. and it is the fastest growing large city in the United States and the second most populous capital city after Phoenix, Arizona. As of the U. S. Census Bureaus July 1,2015 estimate and it is the cultural and economic center of the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 2,056,405 as of July 1,2016. In the 1830s, pioneers began to settle the area in central Austin along the Colorado River, in 1839, the site was officially chosen to replace Houston as the new capital of the Republic of Texas and was incorporated under the name Waterloo. Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas and the republics first secretary of state. The city subsequently grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas at Austin. After a lull in growth from the Great Depression, Austin resumed its development into a city and, by the 1980s, it emerged as a center for technology. A number of Fortune 500 companies have headquarters or regional offices in Austin, including Amazon. com, cisco, eBay, Google, IBM, Intel, Oracle Corporation, Texas Instruments, 3M, and Whole Foods Market. Dells worldwide headquarters is located in nearby Round Rock, a suburb of Austin, residents of Austin are known as Austinites. They include a mix of government employees, college students, musicians, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers. The city also adopted Silicon Hills as a nickname in the 1990s due to an influx of technology. In the late 1800s, Austin was known as the City of the Violet Crown because of the glow of light across the hills just after sunset. Even today, many Austin businesses use the term Violet Crown in their name, Austin is known as a clean-air city for its stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, including restaurants and bars. The FBI ranked Austin as the second-safest major city in the U. S. for the year 2012, U. S. News & World Report named Austin the best place to live in the U. S. in 2017. Austin, Travis County and Williamson County have been the site of habitation since at least 9200 BC. When settlers arrived from Europe, the Tonkawa tribe inhabited the area, the Comanches and Lipan Apaches were also known to travel through the area. Spanish colonists, including the Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expedition, traveled through the area for centuries, in 1730, three missions from East Texas were combined and reestablished as one mission on the south side of the Colorado River, in what is now Zilker Park, in Austin. The mission was in area for only about seven months
12.
Gretchen Phillips
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Gretchen Phillips is an American singer-songwriter known for her humorous and topical songs. Phillips has been openly gay throughout her life and her lesbianism has inspired much of her material and her parents were musicians, and she played music from childhood. After graduating from the High School for Performing and Visual Arts, Phillips was a member in three influential area bands in the mid-eighties, the punk band Meat Joy, the rock band Girls in the Nose, and the country/disco/rock/folk/pop band Two Nice Girls. Two Nice Girls attracted national attention with Phillips song I Spent My Last $10 which satirized heterosexual relationships, Two Nice Girls won a GLAAD Media Award in 1991. Phillips was inducted into the Austin Chronicle Music Polls Hall of Fame in 2001, Phillips has generally resided in Austin, but has also lived in San Francisco and New York City
13.
Brentley Gore
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Brentley Gore is an American singer/songwriter and actor. He is best known for his role as Matt Garrison on NBC’s California Dreams, king Straggler had many songs featured in film and television including the Jeff Bridges film The Amateurs and Men of a Certain Age. The song Wasted Love was featured in the film.45 starring Milla Jovovich, in 2011, Gore released his first solo album Up Until Now, which premiered at #4 on the Reverb Nation Hot New Artist Chart. Brentley also founded the non-profit Los Angeles Performing Arts Foundation in 2009
14.
Future-Kill
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Future-Kill is a 1985 comedy science fiction-horror film about a group of frat boys who are hunted in a futuristic city by mutants. The film was directed by Ronald W. Moore, and stars Edwin Neal, Marilyn Burns, the poster for the film was designed by renowned artist H. R. Giger. A group of protesters who call themselves mutants have taken over the city streets of a large city. They dress weird to try and show the effects of toxic poisoning, one of the mutants, Splatter, has really been affected. A group of fraternity boys decide to go into the mutant territory and they inadvertently get framed for the murder of the mutant leader and are hunted through the abandoned buildings and dark streets by a crazed Splatter and his gang. Felix Vasquez Jr. from Cinema Crazed gave the film a review calling the film, immensely dated. TV Guide awarded the film 2 /4 stars stating that it no purpose but to sate juvenile blood lust. Future-Kill at the Internet Movie Database Future Kill at AllMovie Future Kill at Rotten Tomatoes
15.
24 (TV series)
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24 is an American crime thriller television series produced for the Fox network, created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, and starring Kiefer Sutherland as counter terrorist agent Jack Bauer. Each season, comprising 24 episodes, covers 24 hours in Bauers life using the real method of narration. Premiering on November 6,2001, the show spanned 192 episodes over eight seasons, in addition, a television film,24, Redemption, was broadcast between seasons six and seven, on November 23,2008. 24 returned as a 12-episode series titled 24, Live Another Day,24, Legacy, a spin-off series featuring new characters, premiered on February 5,2017, after Super Bowl LI. Throughout the series most of the plot elements unfold like a political thriller. At the conclusion of its season,24 became the longest-running U. S. espionage/counterterrorism-themed television drama ever. 24 is a drama that stars Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer. Each episode typically follows Bauer, officials in the U. S. government, the episodes take place over the course of one hour, depicting events as they happen, in real time. Season 1 begins at midnight on the day of the California presidential primary, Season 2, set 18 months later, begins at 8,00 a. m. Season 3, set three years later, begins at 1,00 p. m, Jack must infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel to seize a deadly virus being marketed underground. President Palmer must deal with potential scandal that could cost him his presidency, Season 4, set 18 months later, begins at 7,00 a. m. Jack must save the lives of his new boss, Secretary of Defense James Heller, Season 5, set 18 months after, begins at 7,00 a. m. Jack is believed to be dead by everyone except a few of his closest friends and he is forced to resurface when some of those friends are murdered and he is framed by terrorists with connections to the American government. The acquisition of nerve gas by the terrorists poses a new threat, Season 6, set 20 months later, begins at 6,00 a. m. Jack is released after being detained in a Chinese prison following the events of Season 5, terrorists who hold a vendetta against Jack plot to set off suitcase nuclear devices in America. Later, Jack is forced to choose between those he loves and national security when the Chinese set their sights on sensitive circuitry that could trigger a war between the U. S. and Russia. Redemption, set years later, begins at 3,00 p. m. Jack finds himself caught up in a coup in the fictional African nation of Sangala
16.
Kenny Powers (character)
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Kenny Powers is a fictional main character in the HBO television series Eastbound & Down, played by Danny McBride. He is portrayed as a once dominant baseball pitcher, whose work ethic, ego. In season one, Powers becomes a physical education teacher who is attempting to make a return to Major League Baseball. His name was inspired by a real life American automotive stuntman in the 1970s of the same name, Powers enjoys a spectacular debut, but his abrasive personality leads him to be constantly traded as he wears out his welcome quickly. He tries to make up for this by using steroids but in less than seven years he finds out of Major League Baseball completely. He goes back to his hometown of Shelby, North Carolina, to accept a job as a physical education teacher at his former middle school. After going down to Mexico and playing in an independent league, Kenny gets signed to the Myrtle Beach Mermen, eventually he is called up to pitch in the majors again. But Powers fakes his own death believing it is the way to win his true loves heart. Years after Kenny fakes his death he lives in the suburbia with his wife and two children as an employee of a car rental company. Upon meeting an old colleague, Kenny, who is fed up with his boring life, quits his job. After an embarrassing first appearance, Kenny trains to be better and verbally knocks the current wild card football star of the show until he quits, and Kenny received thunderous applause. HBO introduced officially licensed Eastbound & Down T-shirts featuring quotes from the show as well as based on Kenny Powers Atlanta. In summer 2011 it was announced that an officially licensed Kenny Powers costume would be produced for Halloween, in 2011, K-Swiss began an ad campaign featuring Kenny Powers as the new CEO of K-Swiss. The campaign focuses on the new Tubes line of K-Swiss shoes, Baseball portal Kenny Powers, Career statistics
17.
American Broadcasting Company
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The network is headquartered on Columbus Avenue and West 66th Street in Manhattan, New York City. There are additional offices and production facilities elsewhere in New York City, as well as in Los Angeles and Burbank. Since 2007, when ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Broadcasting, ABC originally launched on October 12,1943, as a radio network, separated from and serving as the successor to the NBC Blue Network, which had been purchased by Edward J. Noble. It extended its operations to television in 1948, following in the footsteps of established broadcast networks CBS, in the mid-1950s, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, a chain of movie theaters that formerly operated as a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. Leonard Goldenson, who had been the head of UPT, made the new television network profitable by helping develop, in 1996, most of Capital Cities/ABCs assets were purchased by The Walt Disney Company. The television network has eight owned-and-operated and over 232 affiliated television stations throughout the United States, most Canadians have access to at least one U. S. ABC News provides news and features content for radio stations owned by Citadel Broadcasting. In the 1930s, radio in the United States was dominated by three companies, the Columbia Broadcasting System, the Mutual Broadcasting System and the National Broadcasting Company. The last was owned by electronics manufacturer Radio Corporation of America, in 1938, the FCC began a series of investigations into the practices of radio networks and published its report on the broadcasting of network radio programs in 1940. The report recommended that RCA give up control of either NBC Red or NBC Blue, at that time, the NBC Red Network was the principal radio network in the United States and, according to the FCC, RCA was using NBC Blue to eliminate any hint of competition. Once Mutuals appeals against the FCC were rejected, RCA decided to sell NBC Blue in 1941, the newly separated NBC Red and NBC Blue divided their respective corporate assets. Investment firm Dillon, Read & Co. offered $7.5 million to purchase the network, Edward John Noble, the owner of Life Savers candy, drugstore chain Rexall and New York City radio station WMCA, purchased the network for $8 million. Due to FCC ownership rules, the transaction, which was to include the purchase of three RCA stations by Noble, would require him to resell his station with the FCCs approval, the Commission authorized the transaction on October 12,1943. Soon afterward, the Blue Network was purchased by the new company Noble founded, Noble subsequently acquired the rights to the American Broadcasting Company name from George B. Meanwhile, in August 1944, the West Coast division of the Blue Network, both stations were then managed by Don Searle, the vice-president of the Blue Networks West Coast division. The ABC Radio Network created its audience slowly, the network also became known for such suspenseful dramas as Sherlock Holmes, Gang Busters and Counterspy, as well as several mid-afternoon youth-oriented programs. S. From Nazi Germany after its conquest, to pre-record its programming, while its radio network was undergoing reconstruction, ABC found it difficult to avoid falling behind on the new medium of television. To ensure a space, in 1947, ABC submitted five applications for television station licenses, the ABC television network made its debut on April 19,1948, with WFIL-TV in Philadelphia becoming its first primary affiliate
18.
Lost (TV series)
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Lost is an American television drama series that originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company from September 22,2004, to May 23,2010, over six seasons, comprising a total of 121 episodes. Lost is a series containing elements of science fiction and the supernatural. It follows the survivors of the crash of a passenger jet. The story is told in a serialized manner. Episodes typically feature a storyline set on the island, augmented by flashback or flashforward sequences which provide additional insight into the involved character. Lost was created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, who share story-writing credits for the pilot episode, which Abrams directed. Throughout the shows run, Lindelof and Carlton Cuse served as showrunners and head writers, working together with a large number of other executive producers and writers. Due to its ensemble cast and the cost of filming primarily on location in Oahu, Hawaii. Having achieved both wide acclaim and commercial success throughout its run, Lost has been consistently ranked by critics as one of the greatest television dramas of all time. The first season garnered an average of 16 million viewers per episode on ABC. During its sixth and final season, the show averaged over 11 million U. S. viewers per episode, users of IMDb. com Pro gave Lost the highest average ranking for any television series during the first ten years of that websites operation. Season 1 begins with the aftermath of a crash, which leaves the surviving passengers of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 on what seems to be an uninhabited tropical island. Jack Shephard, a doctor, becomes their leader and their survival is threatened by a number of mysterious entities, including polar bears, an unseen creature that roams the jungle, and the islands malevolent inhabitants known as The Others. They encounter a French woman named Danielle Rousseau, who was shipwrecked on the island 16 years before the story and is desperate for news of a daughter named Alex. They also find a metal hatch buried in the ground. While two survivors, Locke and Boone, try to force the hatch open, four others, Michael, Jin, Walt, meanwhile, flashbacks centered on individual survivors detail their lives prior to the plane crash. Season 2 follows the conflict between the survivors and the Others and continues the theme of the clash between faith and science, while resolving old mysteries and posing new ones. The four survivors in the raft are ambushed by the Others, the survivors are forced to return to the island, where they find the tail-section survivors
19.
Me and You and Everyone We Know
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The structure of the film consists of several subplots which all revolve around an intertwined cast of characters. The film begins by introducing Richard, a salesman and recently separated father of two. After being thrown out by his wife Pam, he gets an apartment of his own to share with his children, Peter and Robby. He meets Christine, a driver and amateur video artist, while she takes her client to shop for shoes. Robby, six old, and his 14-year-old brother, Peter, have a joint online chat which he later depicts in another chat session as ))<>((. This piques the interest of the woman at the other end, when Robby and the woman meet at a park, she realizes hes a child and kisses him and walks away. Two of Richards teenaged neighbors, Heather and Rebecca, develop a relationship with a much older neighbor Andrew who works in the shoe store with Richard. He does not say much, but he keeps leaving signs on his window about what he would do to each of them. As a result of this relationship, Heather and Rebecca ask Peter if they can practice oral sex on him and he says both were exactly the same. The daughter of a neighbor peeks in the window, sees what is happening, Heather and Rebecca later come to the neighbors house intending to have sex with him as practice, but he appears afraid when he sees them through his window and he pretends not to be home. Meanwhile, Christines work is rejected by an art museum, but then later accepted by the curator. When asked why he is doing it, he stops and turns around, saying just passing the time, when his bus drives away and Robby tries it out himself, the sun heightens with each tap, time literally passing as he does it. The score, composed by Michael Andrews, was performed largely on a modified Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard, on-line chat scenes were filmed with open-source Gaim software, now known as Pidgin. On Metacritic, Me and You holds a 76, indicating Generally favorable reviews, the film won the Caméra dOr at the Cannes Film Festival. Portions of the script were included in the anthology The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 edited by Dave Eggers, roger Ebert cited it as the fifth best film of the decade
20.
The Perfect Storm (film)
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The Perfect Storm is a 2000 American biographical disaster drama film directed by Wolfgang Petersen. The film stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, William Fichtner, reilly, Diane Lane, Karen Allen and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. It was released on June 30,2000, by Warner Bros, in October 1991, the commercial fishing boat Andrea Gail returns to port in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with a poor catch. Desperate for money, Captain Billy Tyne convinces the Andrea Gail crew to him for one more late season fishing expedition. The crew heads out past their usual fishing grounds in the Grand Banks, initially unsuccessful, they head to the Flemish Cap, where their luck greatly improves. At the height of their fishing the ice breaks, the only way to sell their catch before it spoils is to hurry back to shore. After debating whether to sail through the storm or to wait it out. However, between the Andrea Gail and Gloucester is a confluence of two powerful weather fronts and a hurricane, which the Andrea Gail crew underestimates. After repeated warnings from ships, Andrea Gail loses her antenna. A New York Air National Guard HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopter responds, but after failing to perform a midair refueling with an HC-130 Hercules, all but one of the Air National Guard crew members are rescued by a Coast Guard vessel, the USCGC Tamaroa. After Andrea Gail endures various problems, the struggles to sail through pounding waves and shrieking winds, while friends and family worry. The vessel encounters a rogue wave. The boat is overturned, Billy elects to go down with his ship and he surfaces and watches as the Andrea Gail rights itself before sinking stern-first into the Atlantic. The rapidly rising swell carries the man away, there are no survivors and the film ends with Linda reading the eulogy at the memorial service, followed by her remembering Billys voice soliloquising about what it means to be a swordboat captain. George Clooney as Frank William Billy Tyne, Jr. captain of the Andrea Gail, Billy is a divorced father of two daughters, who is determined to undertake one last fishing trip before the end of the season to make up for a recent string of poor catches. Mark Wahlberg as Robert Bobby Shatford, the least experienced of the crew of the Andrea Gail, Bobby is the son of Ethel Shatford, the owner of the Crows Nest, and boyfriend to Chris Cotter. He enjoys commercial fishing, but his relationship with Chris creates conflict within himself. Yet, he is compelled by the potential to more money at sea than he could make with a job on shore to sign on for one last trip
21.
American Gangster (film)
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American Gangster is a 2007 American biographical crime film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by Steven Zaillian. The film stars Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington in their first lead acting roles together since 1995s Virtuosity, the film also co-stars Ted Levine, John Ortiz, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Norman Reedus, Ruby Dee, Lymari Nadal and Cuba Gooding Jr. Development for the film began in 2000, when Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment purchased the rights to a New York magazine story about the rise. Two years later, screenwriter Steven Zaillian introduced a 170-page scriptment to Scott, original production plans were to commence in Toronto for budget purposes, however, production eventually relocated permanently to New York City. Because of the rising budget Universal canceled production in 2004. After negotiations with Terry George, it was revived with Scott at the helm in March 2005. Principal photography commenced over a period of five months from July to December 2006, filming took place throughout New York City, American Gangster premiered in New York on October 20,2007, and was released in the United States and Canada on November 2. The film was received by most film critics, and grossed over US$266.5 million worldwide. In 1968, Frank Lucas is the man of Harlem gangster Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson. When Johnson dies of an attack, Lucas takes control of the Harlem crime scene. After handing in almost $1 million that he found in a mobsters car, after his exiled and addicted partner overdoses on a potent brand of heroin called Blue Magic, Captain Lou Toback puts Roberts in charge of a task force that targets local suppliers. Lucas buys Blue Magic directly from producers in Thailand and smuggles it into the U. S. through returning Vietnam War servicemen and his low overhead allows him to eventually wholesale Blue Magic to most the dealers in the New York area. With this monopoly, Lucas expands his control to nightclubs, casinos and he buys a mansion for his mother and recruits his five brothers, including Huey and Turner, as lieutenants to spread his empire. During his rise to becoming Harlems crime boss, Lucas falls in love with Eva, as Lucas business prospers, he makes a point of operating quietly and dressing with a modest conservatism both as a sign of strength and to avoid attracting police attention. Also, he stays away from the drugs to avoid making decisions under the influence. Lucas must also compete with local crime figure Nicky Barnes, a young gun trying to take over Harlem who has been diluting Lucas Blue Magic, after the Fall of Saigon cuts off Lucas supply, he is forced to rely on the other crime rings. Roberts detectives witness Frank Lucas cousin and driver shoot a woman, the gathered information allows Roberts and his task force to identify and search one of the last planes carrying Lucas stock, discovering Blue Magic in the coffins of dead returning servicemen. With this evidence they obtain a warrant to follow the drugs into Newarks projects, in the ensuing shootout, Steve Lucas, Frank Lucas young nephew who gave up a promising career for the New York Yankees to join Lucas crime family, is killed
22.
Wristcutters: A Love Story
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Wristcutters, A Love Story is a 2006 American black comedy romance road movie written and directed by Goran Dukić, starring Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, and Shannyn Sossamon. Its premise is set in a strange afterlife way-station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide and it is based on Etgar Kerets short story Knellers Happy Campers. A graphic novel version was titled Pizzeria Kamikaze, the film was originally intended to be shot on super-16 color infrared film, which was produced specially by Kodak. The color-shifts inherent in using this kind of film were thought to enhance the world feel to the action. In the end, it proved to be too time-consuming and the film was shot using normal filmstock manipulated in post-processing, the film was produced on an estimated budget of $1 million. Premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, it was distributed in limited release on October 19,2007 and it was released on DVD on March 25,2008, courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The film received reviews and has garnered a cult following. After Zia commits suicide, he himself in an afterlife limbo much the same as life. Here the color is dim, there are no stars, and this strange realm is populated by people who have committed suicide, such as Eugene, a Russian musician who lives with his mother, father, and brother – all suicide victims. Together they waste most of their afterlives in bars, until Zia learns from a friend, Brian and he and Eugene take to the road to find her, in Eugenes rundown car. On their trip, they pick up hitchhiker Mikal, who insists there has been a mistake, after a few adventures across the country, as the trio journey along a desolate highway, Mikal pushes a button, miraculously activating the broken headlights on Eugenes car. Shortly thereafter, they come upon a man lying in the middle of the highway, forcing them to veer off the road in order to avoid hitting him. They discover the man, Kneller, an eccentric commune leader, had fallen asleep while looking for his dog, Kneller invites them back to his camp, where they quickly discover that minor miracles occur, as long as the campers remain apathetic about the result. The group stays with the longer than intended, and Zia begins to obsess over the miracles. When contrasting this to Mikals obsession with the people in charge, Eugene meets a young woman, Nanuk, whom he romances. Just as Mikal and Zia discuss their plans to leave Knellers camp, another camper, Yan, Kneller, Zia, Mikal, and Yan set off in search of King and Knellers dog. The group soon find themselves lost and decide to bed down for the night, unable to sleep, Mikal and Zia discover a nearby ocean shore, where they kiss and spend the night together. In the morning, Kneller discovers them lying among a mass of condoms, the group eventually reach Kings camp, where they discover that King is readying himself for a real miracle – to separate his soul from his body
23.
Martha Marcy May Marlene
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Martha Marcy May Marlene is a 2011 American thriller drama film written and directed by Sean Durkin, and starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, and Hugh Dancy. The plot focuses on a woman suffering from delusions and paranoia after returning to her family from an abusive cult in the Catskill Mountains. The film contains references to the music of Jackson C. Early one morning, Martha flees from a cult on a farm in the Catskill Mountains led by an enigmatic leader, Patrick and his subordinates Watts. After escaping pursuers, Martha is caught at a diner by Watts, who attempts to take her back, Martha worriedly phones her sister Lucy, eventually asking for her help. Lucy picks up Martha at a bus station and takes her to a lake house in Connecticut which Lucy shares with her husband. Martha only tells Lucy that she had been living with her boyfriend in the Catskills, Martha, Lucy, and Ted go boating on the lake where Lucy confesses that she in essence abandoned Martha when she went to college and is attempting to reconnect with her. In a flashback, Martha is seen meeting Patrick for the first time and he declares that she looks like a Marcy May. Franks song Marcys Song in front of the group, and now addresses Martha as Marcy May and it is shown from then on that Martha begins a sexual relationship with Patrick. Martha begins to show signs of paranoia that the cult followed her and is watching her, Martha is also staying awake at night listening for signs of the cult. Martha walks into Lucy and Teds room while they are having sex, a horrified Lucy explains that this is not normal behavior, and Ted is furious about the incident. Martha didnt think she did anything wrong as it was simply a big bed, Ted berates Lucy for enabling Martha and begins to show a lack of patience for Marthas behavior while Lucy informs Ted that she wants to be there for Martha. In another flashback to her time on the farm, at Katies urging Martha handles a new girl, Sarah and she explains that they all help out with Katie and Patricks babies. When Sarah comments that all the infants in the community are boys, Katie helps Martha to prepare Sarah for her special night with Patrick, presumably the same ritual of rape that Martha experienced. The preparation includes drinking a drugged drink, after giving the drink to Sarah and putting Sarah into the same room Martha was raped in, Martha waits outside the room to give the same speech Katie gave Martha when she was first raped. Patrick begins to show interest in Sarah, whom Patrick now calls Sally to Marthas dismay, during another flashback while teaching Martha to shoot, Patrick asks her to kill a sick cat to prove that she is a teacher and a leader, but she refuses. He then asks her to shoot another cult member, she refuses to do this as well, one night, Martha, Watts, and Zoe break into a house and steal valuables to sell to fund the farm. In another scene, Martha and several members have sex in one room while Patrick watches from a stairway
24.
Lincoln (film)
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Lincoln is a 2012 American epic historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as United States President Abraham Lincoln. The film also features Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, the film was produced by Spielberg and frequent collaborator Kathleen Kennedy, through their respective production companies, Amblin Entertainment and the Kennedy/Marshall Company. Filming began October 17,2011, and ended on December 19,2011, Lincoln premiered on October 8,2012 at the New York Film Festival. The film was co-produced by DreamWorks Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Participant Media, the film was distributed by Fox in international territories. Lincoln received widespread acclaim, with major praise directed to the acting, especially Day-Lewis performance. In December 2012, the film was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director for Spielberg and winning Best Actor for Day-Lewis. At the 85th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for twelve Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, it won for Best Production Design, the film was also a commercial success, grossing over $275 million at the box office. In January 1865, President Abraham Lincoln expects the Civil War to end soon – perhaps within a month – with the defeat of the Confederate States. Lincoln feels it is imperative to pass the amendment before that, even if all of them are ultimately brought on board, the amendment will still require the support of several Democratic congressmen if it is to pass. Lincoln, however, remains adamant about having the amendment in place and the issue of slavery settled before the war is concluded, therefore, in return for his support, Blair insists that Lincoln allow him to immediately engage the Confederate government in peace negotiations. Unable to proceed without Blairs support, however, Lincoln reluctantly authorizes Blairs mission, in the meantime, Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward work on the issue of securing the necessary Democratic votes for the amendment. Furthermore, those members will soon be in need of employment, and Lincoln will have many federal jobs to fill as he begins his second term, which he sees as a tool he can use to his advantage. Meanwhile, Confederate envoys are ready to meet with Lincoln to discuss terms for peace, a rumor of their mission circulates, prompting both Democrats and conservative Republicans to advocate postponing the vote on the amendment. But in a carefully worded statement, Lincoln denies that there are envoys in Washington, black visitors to the gallery celebrate, and Stevens returns home to his housekeeper and lover, a mixed-race woman. On April 3, Lincoln visits the battlefield at Petersburg, Virginia, six days later, Grant receives General Robert E. Lees surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. The next morning at the Petersen House, Lincoln dies, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton declares, Lincoln is seen again delivering his second inaugural address. His performance as Abraham Lincoln earned him his third Academy Award for Best Actor, Sally Field as First Lady Mary Todd LincolnField was first announced to join the cast as early as September 2007, but officially joined the cast in April 2011. Field said, To have the opportunity to work with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis and to one of the most complicated
25.
Amazon (company)
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Amazon. com, also called Amazon, is an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company that was founded on July 5,1994, by Jeff Bezos and is based in Seattle, Washington. It is the largest Internet-based retailer in the world by total sales, the company also produces consumer electronics—notably, Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Fire TV, and Echo—and is the worlds largest provider of cloud infrastructure services. Amazon also sells certain low-end products like USB cables under its in-house brand AmazonBasics. Amazon has separate retail websites for the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Japan, China, India, and Mexico. Amazon also offers international shipping to other countries for some of its products. In 2016, Dutch, Polish, and Turkish language versions of the German Amazon website were launched. In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the United States by market capitalization, in 1994, Bezos left his employment as vice-president of D. E. Shaw & Co. a Wall Street firm and moved to Seattle. He began to work on a plan for what would eventually become Amazon. com. Bezos incorporated the company as Cadabra on July 5,1994, Bezos changed the name to Amazon a year later after a lawyer misheard its original name as cadaver. In September 1994, Bezos purchased the URL Relentless. com and briefly considered naming his online store Relentless, the domain is still owned by Bezos and still redirects to the retailer. The company went online as Amazon. com in 1995, Bezos placed a premium on his head start in building a brand, telling a reporter, Theres nothing about our model that cant be copied over time. But you know, McDonalds got copied, and it still built a huge, multibillion-dollar company. A lot of it comes down to the brand name, brand names are more important online than they are in the physical world. Additionally, a beginning with A was preferential due to the probability it would occur at the top of any list that was alphabetized. Since June 19,2000, Amazons logotype has featured a curved arrow leading from A to Z, representing that the company carries every product from A to Z, with the arrow shaped like a smile. After reading a report about the future of the Internet that projected annual Web commerce growth at 2, 300% and he narrowed the list to what he felt were the five most promising products, which included, compact discs, computer hardware, computer software, videos and books. Amazon was founded in the garage of Bezos home in Bellevue, the company began as an online bookstore, an idea spurred off with discussion with John Ingram of Ingram Book, along with Keyur Patel who still holds a stake in Amazon. Amazon was able to access books at wholesale from Ingram, in the first two months of business, Amazon sold to all 50 states and over 45 countries
26.
Ian McShane
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Ian David McShane is an English actor and voice artist. He is known for his roles, particularly the title role in Lovejoy, Al Swearengen in Deadwood, Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides. He is set to portray Mr. Wednesday in the upcoming Starz series American Gods, McShane was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, the son of Irene and Scottish footballer Harry McShane. His father was Scottish and his mother, who was born in England, was of Irish and English descent, McShane grew up in Davyhulme, Manchester, and attended Stretford Grammar School. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was still a student there when he appeared in his first film, 1962s The Wild, McShane was a member of the National Youth Theatre. In the United Kingdom, McShanes best known role may be antiques dealer Lovejoy in the series of the same name and he also enjoyed fame in the United States as British film director Don Lockwood in Dallas and as a British cockfighting aficionado in Roots. He was also nominated for at the 2005 Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Awards, within the science fiction community, McShane is best known for playing the character Dr Robert Bryson in Babylon 5, The River of Souls. In 1985, he appeared as an iconic MC on Grace Jones Slave to the Rhythm, an album which featured his narration interspersed throughout. Other recent roles include Captain Hook in Shrek the Third, Iofur Raknison in The Golden Compass, Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda, in live-action, he has performed in Hot Rod, the action/thriller Death Race, and The Seeker. He has appeared in The West Wing as a Russian diplomat, in 2009, McShane appeared in Kings, which was based on the biblical story of David. His portrayal of King Silas Benjamin, an analogue of King Saul, was praised, with one critic saying, Whenever Kings seems to falter. In 2010, McShane starred in The Pillars of the Earth as Bishop Waleran Bigod, the series was a historical drama set in 12th century England and adapted from Ken Folletts novel of the same name. Also in 2010, the Walt Disney Company confirmed that McShane would portray Blackbeard in the installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. In 2013, McShane played King Brahmwell in Bryan Singers Jack the Giant Slayer, since 2010, McShane has narrated the opening teases for each round of ESPNs coverage of The Open Championship. In 2012, McShane had a guest role for two episodes as Murder Santa, a serial killer in the 1960s in the second season of American Horror Story. In 2016, he joined the cast of Game of Thrones in Season 6 as Ray, McShane will be playing Mr. Wednesday in the upcoming television adaptation of Neil Gaimans American Gods. McShane married and divorced Suzan Farmer in the 1960s, in 1977, he began a relationship with Sylvia Kristel after meeting her on the set of The Fifth Musketeer. The affair ended his marriage to his wife, model Ruth Post
27.
D.O.A. (1988 film)
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D. O. A. is a 1988 American crime-thriller film and a remake of the 1950 film noir of the same name. While it shares the same premise, it has a different story, the film was directed by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, and scripted by Charles Edward Pogue. The writers of the film, Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene. It stars Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, and Charlotte Rampling, the movie was filmed in Austin, Texas and San Marcos, Texas. A man staggers into the station to report a murder. When the desk sergeant asks who was murdered, he answers and that man is Professor Dexter Cornell, who then sits down to video-tape his account. Thirty-six hours previously, Cornell is on campus and he is a college professor, was once a promising writer, made his name and is secure in his tenure, but he has spent the last four years going through the motions and playing it safe. Publish or perish is the rule of university politics and Cornell helps his friend Hal Petersham with his first book. While he is in his office, a student, Nick Lang. This, coupled with the depressing Christmas season, unseasonably hot weather, there he meets admiring student Sydney Fuller and they proceed to get drunk. The next morning, Cornell, feeling his sickness is more than just a hangover, after running some tests, they discover that he has been poisoned and has 36 hours to live. An incredulous Cornell staggers out to try to sense of it all. Aided by Fuller, whom he kidnaps by super-gluing himself to her arm, the list of suspects includes his wife, who is also the victim of a murder, which the police make half-hearted efforts to pin on Cornell. It is learned that Lang was not a suicide but was also murdered, Cornell also suspects Langs mentor Mrs. Fitzwaring, Bernard the Fitzwarings chauffeur and Graham Corey, a jealous co-worker. In the end, at the station, Cornell has solved the crime. His friend Hal had read and was so impressed by Nick Langs manuscript that he decided to kill Nick, however, this involved killing anyone who knew that Nick was the original author, including Dexter. After a scuffle, Dexter shoots Hal who then falls out his office window, Dexter resigns himself to his fate. Dennis Quaid as Professor Dexter Cornell Meg Ryan as Sydney Fuller Daniel Stern as Hal Petersham Charlotte Rampling as Mrs. O. A, opened to mixed reviews and currently has a rating of 61% on Rotten Tomatoes
28.
Johnny Be Good
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Johnny Be Good is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Bud Smith, starring Anthony Michael Hall as the main character, Johnny Walker. The film also features Robert Downey Jr. Paul Gleason, Steve James, Jennifer Tilly, former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon makes a cameo appearance. Judas Priest, Saga and Ted Nugent, among others, contributed to the soundtrack, goode, originally recorded by Chuck Berry, was re-recorded by Judas Priest for their album, Ram It Down. Johnny Walker is the top high school quarterback prospect who is recruited by many schools. His best friend, Leo Wiggins, thinks he should hold out for the best offer and his girlfriend, Georgia, wants him to go to State with her and get a solid education. The colleges offer him everything he could possibly want — girls, cars, cash, free room and board, one school even buys Leo a car, while another offers to provide him with male companions if he isnt interested in women. His coach, Wayne Hisler, who he cant stand. Although he has all the skills a coach would want in a quarterback, he is unsure where he wants to go and is tempted by the offers because of all of the praise and attention. His recruitment is followed closely by an investigator who is trying to make sure everything is on the up and up. The scene near the end of the film in which Anthony Michael Hall runs down a corridor, was filmed at San Antonios St. Marys University, one scene was filmed in New Braunfels, Texas at Kenos Drive Inn grocery and bait store. The film was a failure at the box office and for its star, at review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, as of July 2014, Johnny Be Good had a 0% rating, based on 11 reviews, with an average score of 2. 3/10. Nugents contribution to the soundtrack, Skintight, earned nomination for a 1988 Golden Raspberry Award as Worst Original Song, Johnny Be Good at the Internet Movie Database Johnny Be Good at AllMovie Johnny Be Good at Rotten Tomatoes Johnny Be Good at Box Office Mojo
29.
Heartbreak Hotel (film)
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Heartbreak Hotel is a 1988 American comedy film written and directed by Chris Columbus, and stars David Keith and Tuesday Weld. Set in 1972, the deals with one of the many legends involving Elvis Presley about his fictional kidnapping. The film was shot on location in Austin, Texas at Green Pastures the former residence of John Henry Faulk, the film opens with a single mother and her two children, and a teenage son and nine-year-old daughter, running a boarding house. Elvis awakens, after being drugged by the boy, in the boarding house and he and the boy do not get along at first. The boy disrespects for the 70s Elvis saying that he out to Vegas. However, the boy and Elvis get to each other. Elvis even plays Heartbreak Hotel with the band at a talent show. David Keith as Elvis Presley Tuesday Weld as Marie Wolfe Charlie Schlatter as Johnny Wolfe Angela Goethals as Pam Wolfe The film received mixed reviews and it currently holds a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews. The film was a box office failure, Heartbreak Hotel at the Internet Movie Database
30.
Rosalie Goes Shopping
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Rosalie Goes Shopping is a 1989 English-language German film directed by Percy Adlon and starring Marianne Sägebrecht, Brad Davis, and Judge Reinhold. Rosalie Greenspace is an expatriate German woman living in rural Arkansas with her eccentric American husband Ray, Rosalie loves to shop too much to let a little thing like no money stop her. Schatzi is dating April, a girl from his high school whom he brings over to the one day to meet the family for dinner. April is awkward about the Greenspace familys antics as well as their obsession with watching videotaped TV commercials as their form of entertainment. She soon leaves Schatzi, finding his family too weird, Rosalies parents come for a visit one day from Germany, and Schnucki also arrives for a visit after taking a leave of absence from the military. During the week of the visits, both of Rosalies parents, as well as Schnucki, find her self-indulgent spending of other peoples money illegal, but Rosalie appears oblivious to her own actions. After Rosalies parents leave to return to Germany, and Schnucki returns to the Army, in the meantime, Ray begins having problems with his eyesight and nearly crashes his crop-duster biplane during a routine run which gets him fired from the aviation company he works at. Life now begins looking pretty bleak for Rosalie until Barbara pushes her into buying a gift of a PC. But when youre $1 million in debt, its the banks and she also goes back to her church where she confesses her latest crimes to the bewildered priest and plots to flee the country with her family with her new millions to use abroad. As a farewell gift for the priest, she purchases a large, in the United States, the film grossed USD574,080. The film, which was in competition at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, the Washington Post, on the other hand, regretted the films deficit of dramatic tension and considered Adlons message scatterbrained and thin stuff indeed. Rosalie Goes Shopping at the Internet Movie Database Rosalie Goes Shopping at AllMovie Rosalie Goes Shopping at Rotten Tomatoes
31.
Freaked
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Freaked is a 1993 American science fantasy black comedy film directed by Tom Stern and Alex Winter, and written by Stern, Winter and Tim Burns. All three were involved in the short-lived MTV sketch comedy show The Idiot Box, and Freaked retains the same brand of surrealistic, Skye is interviewing beloved former child star Ricky Coogin. Rather bluntly, Skye asks how Ricky so quickly went from one of Americas sweethearts to a name that makes children scream in terror. It all began when he accepted a job from the slimy mega-corporation E. E. S. to promote Zygrot 24, a controversial and lethal toxic fertilizer, in South America. Although hesitant at first, the greedy, self-centered Coogin caves in after their sleazy chairman offers him $5,000,000, during their flight, the duo have a run-in with Rickys 12-year old number one fan Stuey Gluck. Once Ricky and Ernie arrive in the country of Santa Flan, they cross paths with a group of protesters, specifically the hard-willed, the two con Julie into thinking theyre also environmentalists and she agrees to join them on a trip to an anti-Zygrot 24 protest. However, she finds out their true identities and the three are stuck with each other for the rest of the drive. They decide to take a detour to see Freek Land, a freak show, skuggs and his henchman, the long-tongued Toad. Skuggs introduces them to his Tasty Freekz Machine, a contraption powered by Zygrot 24 that morphs regular people into Hideous Mutant Freekz to become part of his show, Julie and Ernie are merged into a pair of conjoined twins and Ricky is transformed into a hideous half-man, half-monster. At first, Ricky wants nothing to do any of the other freaks. Meanwhile, he discovers that hes developed a bond with Stuey. Stuey manages to sell Rickys story to the Weekly World News, Ricky eventually finds out that Elijahs Zygrot suppliers are none other than E. E. S. who arrive at Freek Land with a shipment of Zygrot and an imprisoned Stuey Gluck. Elijah goes ahead and infects Ricky with his own Zygrot, turning him into an equally grotesque seven-foot monster, as the Ricky Monster and Stuey Monster battle to the death onstage, Elijah catches the E. E. S. executives double-crossing him and stealing his Tasty Freaks Machine. Right before the Ricky Monster is about to destroy the Stuey Monster, however, a wave of compassion comes over him, enraged, Elijah unsuccessfully tries to fight the Ricky Monster, who bashes him in the head, paralyzing him. They are then joined by the still-mutated Ortiz and the Stuey Monster before its revealed that Skye Daley is actually Elijah C, skuggs lunges after Ricky with a machete, only to be gunned down by the now normal Julie. As she embraces Ricky, Skye rises again, this time to be gunned down by Ernie, Alex Winter as Ricky Coogin Michael Stoyanov as Ernie Megan Ward as Julie Randy Quaid as Elijah C. Skuggs Keanu Reeves as Ortiz the Dog Boy Mr. T as The Bearded Lady Bobcat Goldthwait as Sockhead Derek McGrath as Worm Jeff Kahn as Nosey John Hawkes as Cowboy Jon M, the idea was, as Alex Winter put it, Beach Blanket Bingo meets The Evil Dead. The two fished the script around to various studios for years, but to no avail, following the end of production on Stern and Winters MTV sketch comedy show The Idiot Box, staff writer Tim Burns was recruited to join the two in a number of rewrites
32.
Flesh and Bone (film)
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Flesh and Bone is a 1993 neo noir film drama written and directed by Steve Kloves that stars Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid and James Caan. Gwyneth Paltrow is featured in an early role, janet Maslin of The New York Times described Paltrow as a scene-stealer who is Blythe Danners daughter and has her mothers way of making a camera fall in love with her. A family in rural Texas finds a boy, Arlis, who says he is lost and they take him into their home, feed him, and give a place to sleep. But the boy later lets his father, Roy, into the house to commit a robbery, when they are discovered, Roy brutally murders the family, which the boy witnesses. The sole survivor is a baby girl, time passes, and Arlis lives a solitary life in which he drives a truckload of goods and novelties to restock vending machines and arcade games in roadside stores and restaurants. Making a stop at a roadhouse where a party is being held, he spots Kay. Arlis ends up giving her a home, a long drive. Upon coming home, Kay sees that her husband Reese has sold the furniture and she packs up her remaining belongings and leaves with Arlis. They spend more time together and grow close, meanwhile, a young woman named Ginnie now travels with a much older Roy. She is a grifter who will pretend to be a mourner in order to steal the jewelry from a body at a funeral home. Ginnie brings an injured Roy to his son, Arlis. Passing the house where he grew up, Arlis comes to realize that Kay was the infant who survived the long-ago murders, Roy figures this out as well. He begins talking about tying up loose ends and it leads to a confrontation, and Arlis shoots Roy dead. Ginnie goes off on her own, and Kay and Arlis go their separate ways and it was also filmed at the Mustang Mott, owned by Maxine McCoy, in Westhoff, Texas. It was also filmed in Marfa, Texas Producer Mark Rosenberg died of a heart attack suffered on the location in Stanton. As the end credits begin, the film is dedicated to him, Flesh and Bone at the Internet Movie Database Flesh and Bone at AllMovie Flesh and Bone at Rotten Tomatoes
33.
Congo (film)
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Congo is a 1995 action adventure film loosely based on Michael Crichtons novel of the same name. It was directed by Frank Marshall and it stars Laura Linney, Dylan Walsh, Ernie Hudson, Tim Curry, Grant Heslov, and Joe Don Baker. The film was released on June 9,1995, by Paramount Pictures, Congo opened to negative reviews but performed better than Paramount expected. While testing a communications laser in a part of the Congo jungle, TraviCom employees Charles Travis. Travis implores Karen to lead an expedition and she makes Travis swear that he is sending her to look for Charles, not the diamond. Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Elliott, a primatologist at the University of California, Berkeley, with a special backpack and glove, her sign language is translated to a digitized voice. Despite the success, Peter is concerned that Amy is having nightmares and psychological problems, due to several drawings Amy has made of jungles, Peter attempts to gain funding to take Amy to Africa, but the university is reluctant, and Peter begins inquiring elsewhere. Romanian philanthropist Herkermer Homolka offers to fund the expedition, Karen, having learned of the trip, offers to fund it as well and to come along, hoping to discover the fate of her team. In Africa, the group meets their expert guide Captain Munro Kelly but they are captured by the authorities and militia leader named Captain Wanta. As the group boards another plane, Munro reveals that Homolka has led previous safaris in search of the Lost City of Zinj, the group must parachute into the jungle after their plane is shot down by Zairean soldiers. On the ground, they encounter a native Ghost Tribe, the tribe leads them to Bob Driscoll, a member of Charles expedition, who they have been attempting to revive from his catatonic state. On seeing Amy, Bob begins screaming and soon dies and they find the ruined camp and Zinj nearby. While searching the city, Richard is attacked and killed by a killer grey gorilla and they take shelter at the ruined camp, other grey gorillas kept at bay by automated sentry guns set up by Karen. The group suspects that the turned on their masters but still protect the mine now. They find the mine and Homolka starts to collect large diamonds. Munro, Karen, and Peter fight off the gorillas and flee deeper into the mine, as Amy helps to fend off the gorillas, Karen is able to fit the diamond into a portable laser, using it to fire and ward off the gorillas. The volcano begins to erupt, and Munro, Karen, Peter, Karen contacts Travis to report on finding the diamond and confirming Charles death. When she sees Travis is only worried about the diamond, she uses her laser to destroy the TraviCom satellite, in the nearby wreckage of a cargo plane, they find a usable hot-air balloon, and prepare to leave
34.
Night of the Scarecrow
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Night of the Scarecrow is a 1995 American horror film directed by Jeff Burr. In order for a town to prosper and have a successful harvest, a reviewer for DVD Talk did not like the inept circa-1995 CGI. Jeffrey Kaufman of Blu-ray. com compared a violent scene in the film to a scene in horror film with a murderous scarecrow. A review for TV Guide says, A healthy dose of directorial style and energy makes this prosaic low-budget chiller a tense, the original video release was in 1995 on VHS, distributed by Republic Pictures. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Olive Films in 2013, with the special features – an audio commentary with director Jeff Burr, a making of video. The Night of the Scarecrow Dark Night of the Scarecrow Scarecrow Scarecrows Night of the Scarecrow at the Internet Movie Database
35.
From Dusk till Dawn
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From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 American action horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. It stars George Clooney, Tarantino, Harvey Keitel and Juliette Lewis, after enjoying modest success at the box office, it has since become a cult film. The film was conceived by Robert Kurtzman who hired Tarantino to write the script as his first paid writing assignment, fugitive bank robbers and brothers Seth and Richie Gecko are fleeing the F. B. I. and Texas police. They hold up and destroy a liquor store, killing the clerk, two witnesses they held hostage in the store escape during the shooting. They still hold a bank clerk hostage in the trunk of their car, the Fuller family—Jacob, the father and a pastor who is experiencing a crisis of faith, his son Scott, and daughter Kate—are on a vacation in their RV. They stop at a motel and are kidnapped by the Geckos. Seth and Jacob make a truce, if the Geckos can make it past the border, Jacob. They arrive at the Titty Twister, a club in the middle of a desolate part of Mexico. The Geckos demand that the Fullers have a drink with them before leaving, soon after entering the club, chaos ensues as the employees and strippers are all revealed to be vampires. Most of the patrons are quickly killed, and Richie is bitten by the star stripper, Santanico Pandemonium, only Seth, Jacob, Kate, Scott, a biker named Sex Machine, and Frost—a Vietnam War veteran—survive the attack. The slain patrons, including Richie, then back to life as vampires. During this second struggle, one of the vampires bites Sex Machine in the arm, subsequently, Sex Machine changes into a vampire and bites Frost and Jacob before Frost throws Sex Machine through the door, which allows an army of vampires to enter as bats from the outside. Jacob, knowing he will turn into a vampire, makes a reluctant Scott. The four make their assault on the undead. Jacob changes, but Scott hesitates to dispatch his father, allowing Jacob to bite Scott, Scott hits Jacob with holy water and shoots him. Scott is captured by vampires who begin to devour him. Begging for death, Scott is shot by Kate, only Seth and Kate survive, surrounded by vampires. Just as they contemplate suicide, streams of sunlight shine through new holes in the walls, Dawn has come, and Carlos is trying to shoot his way in
36.
'Til There Was You
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Til There Was You is a 1997 American romantic drama film directed by Scott Winant. The film starred Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dylan McDermott, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Aniston. Gwen Moss has spent the part of her life waiting for the man of her dreams. She aspires to have a life like her longtime friend Debbie, Gwen is hired to ghostwrite the autobiography of former child star Francesca Lanfield, whose career virtually ended following her stint on a long-running Partridge Family-Brady Bunch hybrid sitcom. Francesca owns La Fortuna, a vintage apartment complex. Architect Nick Dawkans boss Timo wants to buy and demolish the complex so his firm can construct a condominium development in its place. Francesca agrees to the sale as long as Nick is placed in charge of the project, meanwhile, Gwen is shocked to discover her father Saul never loved her mother Beebee and is devastated when the two decide to divorce. Her parents story of how they met from her childhood turns out to be false, Saul got stood up by his date that night and they only married to avoid an argument, as Saul puts it. Gwen moves into La Fortuna and finds herself surrounded by an assortment of odd, when the tenants are presented with eviction notices, they decide to fight back. Nick is prepared to fight for his firm until he sees La Fortuna and learns its history, though ultimately unsuccessful in preserving La Fortuna, they finally meet at the Nicotine Anonymous meeting, are then happily married, and have a daughter together. The film opened at #10 at the North American box office making $1.3 million USD in its opening weekend, in January 1996, Terence Blanchard and Miles Goodman were hired to compose the music for the film. Director Scott Winant approved the duo, thinking the comical mastery of Goodman, Blanchard was even excited about collaborating with Goodman that he rearranged his summer tour of The Heart Speaks around Goodmans ever-busy scoring schedule. Til There Was You would be the film scored by Goodman, he died a year before the films release. The film is dedicated to his memory, the film garnered mostly negative reviews from critics during its release. It currently holds a 5% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 39 reviews, and at the end of it all, we have the frustration of knowing that 114 minutes of our lives have been wasted, never to be returned. All comes together at the end, landmarks are saved, hearts are mended, long-deferred love is realized, coincidences are explained, the past is healed, the future is assured, the movie is over. I liked the last part the best, ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle observed, Filmmakers should be careful about using snippets from old movies. In Til There Was You, theres a scene from Brief Encounter that says more about fate
37.
Steel (1997 film)
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Steel is a 1997 American superhero action film based on the DC Comics character Steel. The film stars Shaquille ONeal as John Henry Irons and his alter-ego Steel, Annabeth Gish as his wheelchair-using partner Susan Sparks, the plot centers on an accident caused by Burke which leaves Sparks paralyzed. The accident results in Irons quitting his job, Burke begins mass-producing weapons and selling them to criminals. In order to stop Burke, Irons and Sparks create a suit of armor that leads Irons to become the superhero Steel, written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, the film separates itself from the comic book series by using original protagonists and antagonists. On its initial release, Steel was a box office bust and was panned by critics, noting the cheesiness, John Henry Irons is a weapons designer who invents high-tech laser guns, protective armor, and sonic sound cannons for the United States military. One soldier, Nathaniel Burke, decides to show just what Irons weapons can do, however, the weapon backfires and destroys the building the team is situated in. Irons partner, Susan Sparky Sparks, is crushed by a slab of concrete in the ensuing chaos. In court, Irons reveals Burkes role in the incident and Burke is dismissed from the military, because his weapons resulted in Sparks becoming a paraplegic, Irons resigns in disgust. Meanwhile, Burke hatches a plot to sell Irons weapons to criminal gangs, Irons witnesses a bank robbery organized by gang members wielding Burkes modified guns, they escape before he can interrogate them on where they obtained the weapons. The gang does not tell Irons anything when confronted directly in their hideout, Irons visits Sparks in a veterans hospital and takes her to his own assembled laboratory, where he hopes he and Sparks can create weapons needed to combat the criminals. With the help of Uncle Joe, they forge a suit of armor, however, during his crusade against crime, Irons is pursued by the cops and is forced to return to his lair. The next night, the robbers arrange to rob another bank, Irons, as Steel, tries to stop them, but is hindered by the robbers weapons. When Irons returns to his grandmothers house, he is arrested, meanwhile, Burke prepares to auction off all his modified weapons to every criminal organization in the world over the Internet. When Irons is released from jail, Sparky is captured by Burkes thugs, Irons, as Steel, attempts to infiltrate Burkes headquarters, but is captured himself in the process. When Burke continues with the auction, he is tricked by Steel, Burke himself is killed when a laser he fires towards Steel reflects back towards him due to Steels suit. After this, Steel, Sparky, Joe and Martin escape Burkes lair, in the grand opening of her restaurant, Irons grandmother tells him about Steel and then tells Joe that everyone would be proud of his heroism. After Sparky shows the new modifications of her wheelchair that allows her to walk, Irons smiles, both Jones and Salzman were fans of the Steel character, especially Jones, who found personal reasons to support the project. Jones stated that he found childrens perspective on the future has changed for the worse, Steel — and I dont want to use that word superhero, because he doesnt fly or anything like that — represents a role model
