1.
San Diego Comic-Con International
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San Diego Comic-Con International is a multi-genre entertainment and comic convention held annually in San Diego, California. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International, San Diego and it is a four-day event held during the summer at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. On the Wednesday evening prior to the opening of the event, there is a preview for professionals, exhibitors. Comic-Con International also produces two other conventions, WonderCon, held in Los Angeles, and the Alternative Press Expo and it is also the home of the Will Eisner Awards. In 2010, it filled the San Diego Convention Center to capacity with more than 130,000 attendees, the convention was founded in 1970 by Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Krueger, Mike Towry, Barry Alfonso, Bob Sourk, and Greg Bear. Detroit, Michigan-born, comics fan Shel Dorf, had, in the mid-1960s, mounted the Detroit Triple-Fan Fairs, one of the first commercial comics-fan conventions. When he moved to San Diego, California, in 1970, he organized a convention on March 21,1970. Dorf went on to be associated with the convention as president or manager, variously, Alf co-chaired the first convention with Krueger and became chairman in 1971. Following the initial gathering, Dorfs first three-day San Diego comics convention, other locations in the conventions early years included the El Cortez Hotel, the University of California, San Diego, and Golden Hall, before being moved to the San Diego Convention Center in 1991. I was quietly walking the floor stunned and in awe of just how much bigger it really was, the convention is organized by a panel of 13 board members,16 to 20 full-time and part-time workers, and 80 volunteers who assist via committees. Comic Con International is an organization, and proceeds of the event go to funding it, as well as the Alternative Press Expo. The convention logo was designed by Richard Bruning and Josh Beatman in 1995, in September 2010, the convention announced that it would stay in San Diego through 2015. In 2015, working with Lionsgate, a channel was created to host Comic-Con related content. According to the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, the convention has a regional economic impact of $162.8 million. Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming feature films, like most comic-book conventions, Comic-Con features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include media companies such as studios and TV networks, as well as comic-book dealers. And like most comics conventions, Comic-Con includes an area, as well as the Artists Alley where comics artists can sign autographs. Despite the name, artists alleys can include writers and even models, academics and comic industry professionals annually hold the Comics Arts Conference at Comic-Con, presenting scholarly studies on comics as a medium
2.
Santa Ana, California
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Santa Ana /ˌsæntə ˈænə/ is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California. The United States Census Bureau estimated its 2011 population at 329,427, Santa Ana is located in Southern California, adjacent to the Santa Ana River, about 10 miles away from the California coast. Founded in 1869, the city is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area, Santa Ana is a very densely populated city, ranking fourth nationally in that regard among cities of over 300,000 residents. In 2011 Forbes ranked Santa Ana the fourth-safest city of over 250,000 residents in the United States, Santa Ana lends its name to the Santa Ana Freeway, which runs through the city. It also shares its name with the nearby Santa Ana Mountains, and the Santa Ana winds, the current Office of Management and Budget metropolitan designation for the Orange County Area is Santa Ana–Anaheim–Irvine, California. Members of the Tongva and Juaneño/Luiseño are indigenous to the area, the Tongva called the Santa Ana area Hotuuk. After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolá out of Mexico City, then capitol of New Spain, on November 1,1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano was established within this valley. This Santa Ana Valley comprised most of what is now called Orange County, in 1810, year of the commencement of the war of Mexican Independence, Jose Antonio Yorba, a sergeant of the Spanish army, was granted land that he called Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. Yorbas rancho included the lands where the cities of Olive, Orange, Irvine, Yorba Linda, Villa Park, Santa Ana, Tustin, Costa Mesa and unincorporated El Modena and this rancho was the only land grant in Orange County granted under Spanish Rule. Surrounding land grants in Orange County were granted after Mexican Independence by the new government, after the Mexican-American war ended in 1848, Alta California became part of the United States and American settlers arrived in this area. Claimed in 1869 by Kentuckian William H, by 1905 the Los Angeles Interurban Railway, a predecessor to the Pacific Electric Railway, extended from Los Angeles to Santa Ana, running along Fourth Street downtown. Firestone Boulevard, the first direct route between Los Angeles and Santa Ana, opened in 1935, it was enlarged into the Santa Ana Freeway in 1953. Santa Ana was the home of the original Glenn L. Martin aviation company, during World War II, the Santa Ana Army Air Base was built as a training center for the United States Army Air Forces. The base was responsible for continued growth in Santa Ana. In 1958, Fashion Square Mall was built, adjoining the existing Bullocks Department Store building that was built in 1954 and it opened north of downtown and became a major retail center for the area. In 1987, the mall was renovated and became MainPlace Mall. The current mayor of Santa Ana is Miguel A. Pulido, the first mayor of Latino descent in the citys history, since the 1980s, Santa Ana has been characterized by an effort to revitalize the downtown area which had declined in influence. The Santa Ana Artists Village was created around Cal State Fullertons Grand Central Art Center to attract artists and young professionals to live-work lofts, the process has continued into 2009 with the reopening of the historic Yost Theater
3.
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
4.
The Wire
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The Wire is an American crime drama television series set and produced in Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the Wire premiered on June 2,2002, and ended on March 9,2008, comprising 60 episodes over five seasons. Each season of The Wire introduces a different institution in the city of Baltimore and its relationship to law enforcement, while retaining characters and advancing storylines from previous seasons. In chronological order these are, the drug trade, the seaport system, the city government and bureaucracy, the school system. The large cast consists mainly of actors who are known for their other roles, as well as numerous real-life Baltimore and Maryland figures in guest. Simon has said that despite its framing as a drama, the show is really about the American city. Its about how institutions have an effect on individuals, whether one is a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge or a lawyer, all are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution to which they are committed. The Wire is lauded for its themes, its uncommonly acute exploration of society and politics. Simon has stated that he set out to create a police drama loosely based on the experiences of his writing partner Ed Burns. Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore because of his familiarity with the city, Simon wanted to avoid a repeat of these conflicts and chose to take The Wire to HBO, because of their working relationship from the miniseries The Corner. HBO was initially doubtful about including a drama in its lineup. Simon approached the mayor of Baltimore, telling him that he wanted to give a bleak portrayal of aspects of the city. He hoped the show would change the opinions of some viewers, the casting of the show has been praised for avoiding big-name stars and using character actors who appear natural in their roles. The looks of the cast as a whole have been described as defying TV expectations by presenting a range of humanity on screen. Most of the cast is African-American, consistent with the demographics of Baltimore, the initial cast was assembled through a process of auditions and readings. Lance Reddick received the role of Cedric Daniels after auditioning for other parts. Michael K. Williams got the part of Omar Little after only a single audition, Jay Landsman, a longtime police officer who inspired the character of the same name, played Lieutenant Dennis Mello. Baltimore police commander Gary DAddario served as the technical advisor for the first two seasons and has a recurring role as prosecutor Gary DiPasquale
5.
ABC Studios
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Touchstone Television Productions, LLC, is the television production unit of ABC Entertainment Group, part of Disney–ABC Television Group. ABC Studios was established as Touchstone Films TV banner in 1984, Touchstone Films banner was used for TV by then new Disney CEO Michael Eisner in the 1984–85 television season with the short lived western, Wildside. Touchstone was a banner of Disney Pictures which included at the television production. The next TV season, Disney Pictures TV production unit produced a hit with The Golden Girls using the Touchstone Films brand, Walt Disney Television and Touchstone Television were grouped together under Garth Ancier as president of network television for Walt Disney Studios on April 18,1989. By March 1998, David Neuman assumed the presidency of Touchstone TV, in March 1998, Touchstone was placed under Buena Vista Television Productions, a newly formed group under chairman Lloyd Braun, along with Walt Disney Network Television. In 2000, Touchstone created two departments with comedy in September, and a department in December. In February 2007, Touchstone Television was renamed ABC Television Studio as part of Disneys push to drop secondary brands like Buena Vista for Disney, ABC, in January 2010, Disney–ABC Television Group announced it was cutting 5% of its workforce. In October 2012, ABC Studios formed its Signature division to sell to outside networks, ABC Signature Studios, Inc. is the boutique production subsidiary of ABC Studios designated to sell to outside buyers for emerging and cable platforms with low cost and off-cycle programming. The division will develop year round, ABC Studios was moving to sell to outside networks. As the studios had placed the former ABC comedy Cougar Town at TBS, Signature developed Mistresses which was included in ABCs summer schedule and was renewed for another season. Signature was incorporated on September 23,2013, in October 2013, the division placed its first outside project, Benched, for USA with a pilot order which finished shooting by December. Other projects were in the works with A&E, WE tv, in the works with ABC, Signature has a possible straight-to-series Stephen King story adaptation, Grand Central based on The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates. Corporate sibling Freeform picked up Rated P For Parenthood for development as its first from Signature in June 2014, mcGs Wonderland Sound & Vision signed a two-year over all production agreement with ABC Signature, Freeform and ABC Studios in October 2015. This follows two productions from McG on Freeform/ABC Family, in April 2016, Freeform greenlit Marvels Cloak & Dagger with a straight-to-series order as Marvel Televisions first co-production with Signature. The series, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is scheduled to premiere in 2018, another co-production with Marvel Television was greenlit in August 2016, with Marvels Runaways confirmed for the Hulu streaming service
6.
Soap opera
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A soap opera, soap, or soapie, is a serial drama on television or radio that examines the lives of many characters, usually focusing on emotional relationships to the point of melodrama. The term soap opera originated from such dramas being typically sponsored by soap manufacturers in the past, the first serial considered to be a soap opera was Painted Dreams, which debuted on October 20,1930 on Chicago radio station WGN. The first nationally broadcast radio soap opera was Clara, Lu, and Em, a crucial element that defines the soap opera is the open-ended serial nature of the narrative, with stories spanning several episodes. One of the features that makes a television program a soap opera. While Spanish language telenovelas are sometimes called soap operas, telenovelas have conflicts that get resolved, but with soap operas each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode. You spend more time even with the characters, the apparent villains grow less apparently villainous. Soap opera storylines run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments, each episode may feature some of the shows current storylines, but not always all of them. Soap operas rarely bring all the current storylines to a conclusion at the same time, when one storyline ends, there are several other story threads at differing stages of development. Soap opera episodes typically end on some sort of cliffhanger, evening soap operas and those that air at a rate of one episode per week are more likely to feature the entire cast in each episode, and to represent all current storylines in each episode. Evening soap operas and serials that run for only part of the year tend to bring things to a dramatic end-of-season cliffhanger, the article explained that at that time, many prime time series lost money, while daytime serials earned profits several times more than their production costs. Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in a particular place, the storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. These elements may be found across the gamut of soap operas, Due to the prominence of English-language television, most soap-operas are completely English. In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the US, Soap operas from the United Kingdom and Australia tend to focus on more everyday characters and situations, and are frequently set in working class environments. Many of the soaps produced in two countries explore social realist storylines such as family discord, marriage breakdown or financial problems. This diverges from US soap operas where such comedy is rare, UK soap operas frequently make a claim to presenting reality or purport to have a realistic style. Romance, secret relationships, extramarital affairs, and genuine hate have been the basis for many soap opera storylines, in US daytime serials, the most popular soap opera characters, and the most popular storylines, often involved a romance of the sort presented in paperback romance novels. Crimes such as kidnapping, rape, and even murder may go unpunished if the perpetrator is to be retained in the ongoing story, Australian and UK soap operas also feature a significant proportion of romance storylines. In Russia, most popular serials explore the romantic quality of criminal and/or oligarch life, in soap opera storylines, previously unknown children, siblings and twins of established characters often emerge to upset and reinvigorate the set of relationships examined by the series
7.
All My Children
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Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictional suburb of Philadelphia, which is modeled on the actual Philadelphia suburb of Rosemont. The original series featured Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytimes most popular characters, the title of the series refers to the bonds of humanity. All My Children was the first new network daytime drama to debut in the 1970s, originally owned by Creative Horizons, Inc. the company created by Nixon and her husband, Bob, the show was sold to ABC in January 1975. The series started at a half-hour in per-installment length, then was expanded to an hour on April 25,1977. Earlier, the show had experimented with the format for one week starting on June 30,1975. From 1970 to 1990, All My Children was recorded at ABCs TV18 at 101 West 67th St, from March 1990 to December 2009, it was taped at ABCs Studio TV23 at 320 West 66th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. In December 2009, the locale for taping the series moved from Manhattan to less costly Los Angeles, California. The show was produced in Stages 1 and 2 at the Andrita Studios in Los Angeles, California from 2010 to 2011. All My Children started taping in high definition on January 4,2010, All My Children became the third soap opera to be produced and broadcast in high definition. At one point, the programs popularity positioned it as the most widely recorded television show in the United States, also, in a departure from societal norms at the time, All My Children, in the mid-1970s, had an audience that was estimated to be 30% male. The show ranked No.1 in the daytime Nielsen ratings in the 1978–79 season, throughout most of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, All My Children was the No.2 daytime soap opera on the air. However, like the rest of the operas in the United States. By the 2010s, it had one of the least watched soap operas in daytime television. On April 14,2011, it was announced that ABC canceled All My Children after 41 years on the air due to low ratings. On July 7,2011, ABC sold the rights of All My Children to third-party production company Prospect Park with the show set to continue on the internet as a series of webisodes. The show taped its final scenes for ABC on August 30,2011, on September 26,2011, the following Monday, ABC replaced All My Children with a newly debuted talk show The Chew. Prospect Park had suspended its plan to revive the series on November 23,2011, due to lack of funding and unsuccessful negotiation with the organizations representing the actors. On January 7,2013, Prospect Park officially brought back its project to restore All My Children as a web series
8.
NBC
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The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is the flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is part of the Big Three television networks, founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America, NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. Following the acquisition by GE, Bob Wright served as executive officer of NBC, remaining in that position until his retirement in 2007. In 2003, French media company Vivendi merged its entertainment assets with GE, Comcast purchased a controlling interest in the company in 2011, and acquired General Electrics remaining stake in 2013. Following the Comcast merger, Zucker left NBC Universal and was replaced as CEO by Comcast executive Steve Burke, during a period of early broadcast business consolidation, radio manufacturer Radio Corporation of America acquired New York City radio station WEAF from American Telephone & Telegraph. Westinghouse, a shareholder in RCA, had an outlet in Newark, New Jersey pioneer station WJZ. This station was transferred from Westinghouse to RCA in 1923, WEAF acted as a laboratory for AT&Ts manufacturing and supply outlet Western Electric, whose products included transmitters and antennas. The Bell System, AT&Ts telephone utility, was developing technologies to transmit voice- and music-grade audio over short and long distances, the 1922 creation of WEAF offered a research-and-development center for those activities. WEAF maintained a schedule of radio programs, including some of the first commercially sponsored programs. In an early example of chain or networking broadcasting, the station linked with Outlet Company-owned WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, AT&T refused outside companies access to its high-quality phone lines. The early effort fared poorly, since the telegraph lines were susceptible to atmospheric. In 1925, AT&T decided that WEAF and its network were incompatible with the companys primary goal of providing a telephone service. AT&T offered to sell the station to RCA in a deal that included the right to lease AT&Ts phone lines for network transmission, the divisions ownership was split among RCA, its founding corporate parent General Electric and Westinghouse. NBC officially started broadcasting on November 15,1926, WEAF and WJZ, the flagships of the two earlier networks, were operated side-by-side for about a year as part of the new NBC. On April 5,1927, NBC expanded to the West Coast with the launch of the NBC Orange Network and this was followed by the debut of the NBC Gold Network, also known as the Pacific Gold Network, on October 18,1931. The Orange Network carried Red Network programming, and the Gold Network carried programming from the Blue Network, initially, the Orange Network recreated Eastern Red Network programming for West Coast stations at KPO in San Francisco. The Orange Network name was removed from use in 1936, at the same time, the Gold Network became part of the Blue Network. In the 1930s, NBC also developed a network for shortwave radio stations, in 1927, NBC moved its operations to 711 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, occupying the upper floors of a building designed by architect Floyd Brown
9.
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
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Friday Night Lights is an American drama television series about a high school football team in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas. The series primary setting, Dillon, is a small, close-knit community in rural Texas, Team coach Eric Taylor and his family, Tami, Julie and Grace, are featured. Produced by NBCUniversal, Friday Night Lights premiered on October 3,2006, although the show had garnered critical acclaim and passionate fans, the series suffered low ratings and was in danger of cancellation after the second season. To save the series, NBC struck a deal with DirecTV to co-produce three more seasons, each subsequent season premiered on DirecTVs 101 Network, with NBC rebroadcasts a few months later. The series ended its run on The 101 Network on February 9,2011, though Friday Night Lights never garnered a sizable audience, it was a critical success, lauded for its realistic portrayal of Middle America and deep exploration of its central characters. The show appeared on a number of best lists and was awarded a Peabody Award, a Humanitas Prize, at the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, the show was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton also scored multiple nominations for the Outstanding Lead Actor, executive producer Jason Katims was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Chandler and Katims each won the Emmy in 2011, Friday Night Lights was inspired by H. G. Buzz Bissingers non-fiction book Friday Night Lights, A Town, a Team, and a Dream, the book, which explores the 1988 season of the Permian Panthers, a high school football team in Odessa, Texas, was a factual work of documentary journalism. The people featured were not renamed in the book, the Universal Pictures film, which stars Billy Bob Thornton and was directed by Peter Berg, Bissingers second cousin, based its characters on the residents of Odessa c. Once filming on the movie was completed, Berg began to explore adapting the story for television, Berg later said he had regretted having to jettison many of the interpersonal topics from the book because of the time constraints of a feature film. Creating a TV series, particularly one based on fictional characters and he decided to set the series in a fictional town of Dillon, Texas, with some characteristics of Odessa. The football team was given the Panthers name, Berg deliberately carried elements from the film to the series, particularly for the pilot, which was closely related to the film. He cast Connie Britton as the wife of head coach Eric Taylor, and Brad Leland as Buddy Garrity, filming for the shows pilot began in February 2006 in Austin, Texas. Berg said he required filming the pilot and eventually the show in Texas as a breaker in order to agree to participate weekly in the project. The show features homages to its Texas heritage, in the pilot, Berg featured Texas Longhorns football coach Mack Brown as a Dillon booster and had a caller to the fictional Panther Radio compare Panthers coach Eric Taylor to Brown. The pilot referred to much of the area in its scenes. Football scenes were filmed at Pflugerville High Schools Kuempel Stadium and at the RRISD Complex, the Dillon Panther football team and coaches uniforms were based on the uniforms of the Pflugerville Panthers
10.
BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant
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Oscar Grant III was a young African-American man who was fatally shot in the early morning hours of New Years Day 2009 by BART Police officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California, United States. Officer Johannes Mehserle and another officer had restrained Grant, forcing him to lie face down, Mehserle was unable to remove Grants right arm from under his body in order to handcuff him. Mehserle drew his pistol and shot Grant once in the back and he later claimed that he had intended to use a Taser on him. He was pronounced dead the morning at Highland Hospital in Oakland. The events were captured on multiple official and private digital video, owners disseminated their footage to media outlets and to various websites, where it was watched millions of times. Both peaceful and violent protests took place in the days following, the shooting has been variously classified as an involuntary manslaughter and a summary execution. On January 30,2010, Alameda County prosecutors charged Mehserle with murder for the shooting and he resigned his position, and pleaded not guilty. The trial began on June 10,2010, on July 8,2010, Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. Though initial protests that day against the ruling were peacefully organized, after there were incidents of looting, arson, destruction of property. Nearly 80 people were eventually arrested, on July 9,2010, the U. S. Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation against Mehserle. The federal government can prosecute independently for the act under the separate sovereigns exception to double jeopardy. No charges have been filed to date, on November 5,2010, Mehserle was sentenced to two years, minus time served. He served his time in the Los Angeles County Jail protective custody, on June 13,2011, Mehserle was released under parole after serving 11 months. Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART on behalf of Grants family, BART settled with Grants daughter and mother for a total of $2.8 million in 2011. The cases of Grants father and friends were denied, Oscar Grant had been celebrating with his friends at the Embarcadero in San Francisco on New Years Eve. He and about eight friends returned to East Bay in the car of a BART train bound for Fruitvale. BART offered extended service and a special Flash Pass for the New Years Eve holiday, BART Officers Tony Pirone and Marysol Domenici were the first officers to arrive at the scene. The officers removed Grant and several men suspected of fighting from the train
11.
Fruitvale Station
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Fruitvale Station is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. The film stars Michael B. Jordan as Oscar Grant, Forest Whitaker is one of the films producers. Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray play the two BART police officers involved in Grants death, the names of the officers were changed for the film. Fruitvale Station debuted at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and it was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival where it won the award for Best First Film. The film was released in theaters July 12,2013 and it received critical acclaim upon its release and earned other awards. The film shows scenes of him and his girlfriend arguing about Grants recent infidelity and it later shows Grant unsuccessfully attempting to get his job back at the grocery store. He briefly considers selling some marijuana but in the end decides to dump the stash, Grant later attends a birthday party for his mother and tells her afterward that he will take the BART train to see fireworks and other New Years festivities in San Francisco. On the return train, Katie, a customer at the store where Grant used to work, recognizes Grant. A former inmate, from when Grant was in prison, then recognizes Grant and attempts to assault him, amid the chaos, Grants girlfriend calls and asks where he is, he assures her he is fine. In the end, after Grant is restrained on the station platform, Grant is rushed to a hospital but later dies. There is also footage of a gathering of people celebrating Grants life on New Years Day 2013 with the real-life, when you know somebody as a human being, you know that life means something. He was able to meet John Burris, the attorney for the Grant family, through a mutual friend and he also worked closely with the Grant family, after gaining their trust. In January 2011, Forest Whitakers production company was looking for new filmmakers to mentor. Coogler met Head of Production, Nina Yang Bongiovi, and showed her his projects, shortly after, he had a meeting with Whitaker, who decided to support Fruitvale. Coogler met with advisers of Sundance Screenwriters Lab and he developed the script with the help of Creative Advisors Tyger Williams, Jessie Nelson and Zach Sklar. The film received funding from the Feature Film Program and the San Francisco Film Society, Coogler had Michael B. Jordan in mind to play the role of Grant before writing the script. In April 2012, Jordan and Octavia Spencer joined the cast, Spencer also received a co-executive producer credit as she directly participated in funding the film and contacted investors when a deal was lost during the filming. Notable investors included Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, a bestselling novel adapted as a successful film, in April 2012, Hannah Beachler signed on to serve as the films production designer
12.
Human Torch
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The Human Torch is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a member of the Fantastic Four. Like the rest of the Fantastic Four, Jonathan Johnny Storm gained his powers on a spacecraft bombarded by cosmic rays and he can engulf his entire body in flames, fly, absorb fire harmlessly into his own body, and control any nearby fire by sheer force of will. Which the Torch customarily shouts when activating his full-body flame effect, has become his catchphrase, in the early 1960s, he starred in a series of solo adventures, published in Strange Tales. Human Torch is also a friend and frequent ally of the superhero Spider-Man, Jordan portrayed him in the 2015 film Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, Johnny Storm is a renovation of Carl Burgoss original character, Storm first appeared in The Fantastic Four #1, establishing him as a member of the titular superhero team. He co-starred in two comics, Spider-Man & the Human Torch in. Harris, scriptwriter and artist Kesel, and breakdown artist Steve Ditko, growing up in Glenville, New York, a fictional Long Island suburban town, Johnny Storm lost his mother due to a car accident from which his father, surgeon Franklin Storm, escaped unharmed. Franklin Storm spiraled into alcoholism and financial ruin, and was imprisoned after killing a shark in self-defense. Johnny Storm was then raised by his sister, Sue Storm. Storm, with the ability to become a human with the power of flight. Though a member of a team, Storm still lived primarily in Glenville. Here he thought he maintained an identity, although his fellow townsfolk were well aware of his being a member of the Fantastic Four. This series introduced what would become recurring the Fantastic Four foes the Wizard and Paste-Pot Pete, in Storms home life, Mike Snow, a member of the high-school wrestling squad, bullied Storm until an accidental flare-up of the Torchs powers scarred Snows face. Storm dated fellow student Dorrie Evans, although she grew tired of his constant disappearances. After graduating high school, Storm enrolled at New York Citys Metro College, there he befriended his roommate Wyatt Wingfoot. He also met the original Human Torch of the 1930s and 1940s, around this time, Storm met and fell in love with Crystal, a member of the superpowered race the Inhumans. Storm dropped out college but remained friends with Wingfoot, who participated in the Fantastic Fours adventures
13.
Fantastic Four (2015 film)
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Fantastic Four is a 2015 American teen superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the third theatrical Fantastic Four film to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, directed by Josh Trank, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jeremy Slater and Simon Kinberg, the film stars Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell, in Fantastic Four, the team must learn to harness their superhuman abilities gained from an alternate universe to save Earth from a friend turned enemy. Development of the began in 2009 after Fox announced plans to reboot the franchise. Trank was hired to direct in July 2012 and the characters were cast in January 2014. Principal photography began in May 2014 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, dissatisfied with the production, Fox executives mandated reshoots, which took place in January 2015. Fantastic Four premiered at Williamsburg Cinemas in New York City on August 4,2015, the film was a major critical and commercial failure, grossing $168 million worldwide against a production budget of $120 million. The experiment is successful, and the supervisor, Dr. Allen. Victor attempts to touch the green-lava like substance, causing the surface they are on to collapse, Reed, Johnny, and Ben return to their shuttle just as Sue brings them back to Earth. Victor is seemingly killed after he falls into the collapsing landscape and they are then placed in government custody and confinement to be studied and have their conditions and abilities tested. Blaming himself for the accident, Reed escapes from the facility, one year later, Reed is now a fugitive and has built a suit that is able to adapt to his bodys plasticity and help him control his ability. Hiding in Central America, he is found by the United States military with Sues help and captured by Ben. Johnny and Sue have been outfitted with specialized suits designed to help them stabilize, Reed is brought to Area 57, where Dr. Allen conscripts him to open another portal to Planet Zero in exchange for giving Reed the necessary resources to find a cure. Arriving in Planet Zero, Dr. Allens explorers find Victor, who has fused to his spacesuit and can now control the elements, as well as having telekinetic abilities. He is confronted by the four and, after a battle, Ben punches Doom into the portals energy beam. They decide to use their powers to people and adopt the mantle of the Fantastic Four. Miles Teller as Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic, Richards has been exploring the universe in his garage after school, after being transformed by one of his experiments, he gains the ability to stretch his body into different forms and lengths. Teller said of the role, When I read the script, I didnt feel like I was reading this larger-than-life and these are all very human people that end up having to become, I guess, what is known as the Fantastic Four
14.
Rocky (film series)
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Rocky is a series of boxing films based on the eponymous, fictional character Rocky Balboa, played in each film by Sylvester Stallone. The films by order of date are, Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V, Rocky Balboa. The film series has grossed more than US$1 billion at the box office. All of the films were written by Stallone except for Creed, the original film and the fifth installment were directed by John G. Avildsen, Creed was directed by Coogler, and Stallone directed the others. At the same time, Rocky successfully courts Adrian Pennino, a shy woman with an alcoholic brother. But when heavyweight champion of the world Apollo Creed chooses Rocky at random as his opponent in a title fight, with Adrians support and Mickey becoming his trainer and manager, Rocky fights for his self-respect. Soon after proving himself, even with a decision loss to Apollo Creed. He marries Adrian and begins spending the money he earned from the match, but after he fails at both endorsements and a series of low-wage jobs, Rocky realizes the only way he can survive is to begin boxing again. Creed on the hand, faces criticism from fans to overcome the fight. As a result, he taunts Rocky publicly into a rematch, in the fifteenth round, Rocky knocks Creed to the ground, falling to the canvas himself in the process. Both fighters struggle to get to their feet, but only Rocky is successful, for the first time, Rocky is declared the World Heavyweight Champion. After winning the title, Rocky takes advantage of his newfound wealth and fame, appearing in multiple advertisements and television programs. After defending the title multiple times, he is prepared to retire, Rocky, after dealing with Mickeys heart attack before the fight, is overpowered by the stronger, hungrier Lang and is knocked out in the second round. Mickey passes away after the fight, and former rival Apollo Creed steps in, training Rocky to fight more in Creeds old style and use more guile, in the rematch, Rocky outboxes Lang, tiring the stronger fighter out and eventually knocking him out in the third round. After the fight, Apollo calls in his favor for training Rocky, the film ends as they each throw their first punch. After winning back the title from Clubber Lang, Rocky decides to spend time with his family. However, destiny has other plans for him which doesnt allow him to leave the ring, a new fighter from the USSR, Ivan Drago, has emerged and challenges Rocky to an exhibition match. Apollo fights instead, and the beating he takes from Drago ends with Apollo dying in Rockys arms in the ring as Drago coldly watches, to avenge Apollo, Rocky challenges Drago to a match, which is to be held on Christmas Day in Moscow
15.
Creed (film)
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Creed is a 2015 American sports drama film, directed by Ryan Coogler and written by Coogler and Aaron Covington. A spin-off and sequel to the Rocky film series, the film stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson Creed, Apollo Creeds son and it also features Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashād, Tony Bellew and Graham McTavish. The film reunites Jordan with Fruitvale Station writer/director Coogler, as well as Wood Harris, filming began on January 19,2015 in Liverpool, and later also took place in Philadelphia, Rockys hometown. Creed was released in the United States on November 25,2015, the seventh installment of the series and sequel to 2006s Rocky Balboa, the film received acclaim from critics, who called it the best Rocky film in many years. For his performance, Stallone was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, seventeen years later, Donnie walks away from his job at a securities firm to pursue his dream of becoming a professional boxer. Mary Anne vehemently opposes this, remembering how her husband was killed in the thirty years earlier against Ivan Drago. He tries to get a slot at Los Angeless elite Delphi Boxing Academy, managed by Creeds legitimate son and Johnsons half-brother, undaunted, Donnie travels to Philadelphia in hopes of getting in touch with his fathers old friend and rival, former heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa. Donnie tracks down Rocky at Rockys Italian restaurant, Adrians, named in honor of his deceased wife, Rocky is reluctant to get back into boxing, having already made a one-off comeback at a very advanced age despite having suffered brain trauma during his career as a fighter. Donnie asks him about the third fight between him and Apollo just after Apollo helped Rocky regain the heavyweight title, and Rocky reveals that Apollo won. Donnie trains at the Front Street Gym, with several of Rockys longtime friends as cornermen and he also finds a love interest in Bianca, an up-and-coming singer and songwriter. Donnie, now known as Hollywood Donnie, defeats a local fighter, Rocky gets a call from the handlers of world light heavyweight champion Pretty Ricky Conlan, who is due to be forced into retirement by an impending prison term. He offers to make Donnie his final challenger—provided that he change his name to Adonis Creed, Donnie balks at first, wanting to forge his own legacy. While helping Donnie train, Rocky learns he has non-Hodgkins lymphoma and he is unwilling to undergo chemotherapy, remembering that it was not enough to save Adrian when she had ovarian cancer. Seeing Rocky shaken, Donnie urges him to seek treatment, Donnie fights Conlan at Goodison Park in Conlans hometown of Liverpool, and many parallels emerge between the bout that ensues and Apollo and Rockys first fight 40 years earlier. First, before going into the ring, Donnie receives a present from Mary Anne — new American flag trunks similar to the ones Apollo, additionally, to the surprise of nearly everyone, Donnie gives Conlan all he can handle. Conlan knocks Donnie down, but Donnie recovers to knock Conlan down for the first time in his career, Donnie goes the distance, but loses to Conlan wins on a split decision. However, Donnie has won the respect of Conlan and the crowd, as Max Kellerman puts it while calling the fight for HBO, Conlan won the fight, Conlan tells Donnie that he is the future of the light heavyweight division. The film ends with Donnie and a frail but improving Rocky climbing the Rocky Steps at the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
16.
Red Tails
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Red Tails is a 2012 American war film directed by Anthony Hemingway in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. The film is about the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American United States Army Air Forces servicemen during World War II, the characters in the film are fictional, although based on real individuals. The film was produced by Lucasfilm and released by 20th Century Fox, John Ridley wrote the screenplay, based on a story created by him in collaboration with George Lucas. Additional material was shot the year with executive producer George Lucas as director. It was filmed in March and July 2009, Red Tails was a personal project for Lucas, one that he had originally conceived in 1988. It is the first Lucasfilm production since the 1994 film Radioland Murders that is not associated with the Indiana Jones or Star Wars franchises, although flying worn-out Curtiss P-40 Warhawk aircraft and chafing at their ground attack missions, the Tuskegee Airmen recognize they may never fight the Luftwaffe. Bullard, face a white military bureaucracy still resistant to accepting black flyers as equals, strife develops between friends Easy and Lightning, each of whom battle their own inner demons, Lightning is a hotheaded and reckless pilot, while Easy is an alcoholic prone to self-doubt. After returning to base, Lightning becomes infatuated with Sofia, an Italian girl, when Lightning punches a white man who uses a racial slur at a whites only officers club, he is sent to the brig and reprimanded by Colonel Bullard. Meanwhile, Bullard secures a chance to light up the board when the Tuskegee Airmen are chosen to support the Allied landings at Anzio, Italy known as Operation Shingle. There, they battle Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters led by a German ace pilot they nickname Pretty Boy, Pretty Boy is stunned to see the pilots who damaged his plane and razed his base were African-Americans. During their first victory, Ray Gun is injured by anti-aircraft fire, Easy reluctantly allows Ray Gun to continue flying. Bullard accepts on the condition his unit be supplied with the new North American P-51 Mustang, the tails of the aircraft are painted bright red and become the unofficial name of the outfit. Noting the reckless aggression of previous fights, Bullard orders his pilots to stay with the bombers at all costs. Their first escort mission is a success, and the 332nd downs multiple Luftwaffe aircraft without the loss of a single bomber, Lightning even takes his chances to attack a Kriegsmarine destroyer before returning to base. However, Ray Gun is shot down and captured by a Wehrmacht patrol, while Deke crash lands and nearly dies, as a result of his injuries, Deke is discharged, and Ray Gun is taken to Stalag 18, a German POW camp. A group of POWs recruit him, as they believe he could not be a German spy, Easy blames himself for Ray Guns death and spirals deeper into alcoholism. Worried, Lightning makes a deal with Easy, he will fly less recklessly as long as Easy remains sober, meanwhile, attitudes against the Tuskegee Airmen begin to change as they earn the bomber crews respect. Lightning proposes to Sofia, who accepts as long as he stays in Italy, Ray Gun and his group of POWs escape, but German guards spot several POWs, Ray Gun draws the Germans attention while the others escape
17.
Chronicle (film)
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Chronicle is a 2012 American found footage science fiction superhero film directed by Josh Trank and written by Max Landis based on a story by both. It follows three Seattle high school seniors, bullied Andrew, his cousin Matt and more popular Steve and they first use their abilities for mischief and personal gain until Andrew turns to darker purposes. Chronicle premiered at the Gérardmer Film Festival on January 28,2012 and it was then released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on February 1,2012, and in the United States on February 3,2012. The film grossed $126.6 million at the box office. The film has an 85% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, a 69/100 rating at Metacritic, at school, Andrew is frequently bullied. Andrews cousin Matt Garetty invites him to a party to help him meet people and he is persuaded by popular student Steve Montgomery to record something strange that he and Matt have found in the woods. The trio enter a hole in the ground, where they hear a strange noise and discover a large glowing blue crystalline object which turns red. As the crystalline object begins to react violently, the camera cuts out, weeks later, Andrew, Matt, and Steve record themselves as they display telekinetic abilities, but begin bleeding from their noses when they overexert themselves. When they discover flight abilities, they agree to fly around the world together after graduation, Andrew wants to visit Tibet because of its peaceful nature. Steve encourages him to enter the talent show to gain popularity. Andrew amazes his fellow students by disguising his powers as a magic act. After the show, Andrew, Matt and Steve celebrate at a party where Andrew becomes the center of attention. After drinking with his classmate Monica, she and Andrew go upstairs to have sex, Andrew becomes increasingly withdrawn and aggressive, culminating when his father, Richard, attacks him and Andrew uses his powers to overwhelm him. His outburst is so extreme that it inflicts psychically connected nosebleeds on Steve, while Matt ignores the nosebleed, Steve flies up to Andrew in the middle of a storm and tries to console him. However, Andrew grows increasingly frustrated, and Steve is suddenly struck by a lightning bolt, at Steves funeral, Matt confronts Andrew about the suspicious circumstances of Steves death. Andrew denies responsibility to Matt, but he begs for forgiveness at Steves grave. Andrew grows distant from Matt and again finds himself ostracized at school, after being bullied, he uses his powers to rip a few teeth out of a bullys mouth. Andrew begins to identify himself as a predator, rationalizing that he should not feel guilt for using his powers to hurt those weaker than himself
18.
That Awkward Moment
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That Awkward Moment is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Gormican in his directorial debut. The film stars Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B, Jordan, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, and Jessica Lucas. The film had its Los Angeles premiere on January 27,2014, Jason is sitting on a bench in New York City waiting for someone to arrive. A voiceover explains that he has been waiting for a long time, Jason begins by telling the audience that every relationship reaches the So. Moment, where someone in the relationship will want to take the relationship to a more serious place, at that point, Jason knows the relationship is over, as he is not ready to start dating. Jason is currently working with his best friend Daniel at a publishing house designing book covers and their friend Mikey, a young doctor who has been married to Vera since the end of college, comes to them after Vera requests a divorce. The three decide to go out to a bar and celebrate being single, the group meets up with Daniels female wingman, Chelsea, as they try to get Mikeys mind off of his wife. Mikey meets a girl with glasses, while Jason meets Ellie, Mikey gets the girls number, but decides not to call, resolving to work it out with his wife. Jason sleeps with Ellie, but escapes her apartment when he discovers evidence that she may be a prostitute. The next day, Jason and Daniel make a book cover pitch to a new author, Jason is able to explain himself and the two begin seeing each other on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Daniel begins to fall for Chelsea, and the two begin seeing one another, all three friends attempt to keep their relationships a secret, due to their earlier agreement that they would stay single. The relationships all come to a head during Thanksgiving, a time that the three friends usually spend together, but varying circumstances keep them apart, Jason ultimately decides not to attend the funeral, not ready to fully commit to Ellie, and their relationship falls apart. Mikey has a conversation with his wife during their dinner. Jason and Mikey head to the dinner where they discover Daniels relationship with Chelsea, although the three fight about keeping their relationships secret, they repair their friendship and try to recover their relationships. Mikey calls the girl from the bar, setting up a date. However, two later, Jason has still not reconciled with Ellie, despite still being in love with her. Mikey and Daniel help Jason by encouraging him to tell her of his love at her weekly book readings, however, upon their arrival, the reading is full and Jason is unable to figure out a way to talk with her. He decides to make a scene by improvising a book reading, referencing their first meeting and requesting that they start over by meeting in Gramercy Park, returning to the beginning, Jason is waiting for Ellie in Gramercy Park
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Superhero film
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Most superhero movies are based on superhero comics. Almost immediately after superheroes rose to prominence in comic books, they were adapted into Saturday film serials aimed at children, serials such as Adventures of Captain Marvel, Batman, The Phantom, Captain America, and Superman followed. Another early superhero film was Ōgon Bat, a Japanese film starring Sonny Chiba based on the 1930 Kamishibai superhero Ōgon Bat, other successful entries emerged throughout the 1980s, from Richard Lesters Superman II and Paul Verhoevens Robocop to Tim Burtons Batman. Marvel Comics Captain America did not have a release and Roger Cormans The Fantastic Four was released neither theatrically nor on home video. Alex Proyas The Crow became the first independent comics superhero film that established a franchise, the success of The Crow catalyzed the release of a film version of Spawn, Image Comics leading character. The success of the darker Image Comics characters shifted the direction of comic book movies, Marvel soon released their films to become franchises, Men in Black and Blade. After Marvel bought Malibu Comics, Marvel and Columbia Pictures released the Men in Black film, the film became the first Marvel property to win an Oscar and the then highest-grossing comic book adaptation until the release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002. Blade was also a mix of a traditional action film as well as darker superhero film with the title character having superpowers as well as carrying an arsenal of weaponry. The success of Blade began Marvels film success, and set the stage for further comic film adaptations. The success of the X-Men TV series had made 20th Century Fox license the rights in 1994. After the success of Men in Black in 1997, Columbia Pictures licensed the rights of Spider-Man in 1999. 20th Century Foxs X-Men became a franchise by its surprise hit. Later, one of the largest blockbusters of all time was released with Sam Raimis Spider-Man. One, Krrish 3, several non-action film oriented superhero films were released in the 2000s with varying ranges of success. Brad Birds The Incredibles for Pixar was a critically acclaimed digitally-animated family oriented superhero film, other hybrids include Sky High and Zoom which were fusions of the superhero and family film genres, My Super Ex-Girlfriend a combination of superhero film and a romantic comedy. Some series from the current and previous decades were also re-released, such as Superman II, bryan Singers Superman Returns is unique due to the fact that it is a sequel to the first two Superman films, yet also a reboot to the third and fourth films. The 2010s has generally continued the success of superhero films seen in the previous decade. In 2010, Matthew Vaughns adaption of Kick-Ass was released, followed by Iron Man 2 a month later,2011 releases included The Green Hornet, Green Lantern, and X-Men, First Class. Following references to the Avengers Initiative in the Iron Man films and The Incredible Hulk, Marvel released Thor on May 6,2011, followed by Captain America, the Avengers broke the box office record as the highest-grossing superhero film of all time
20.
Black Panther (film)
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Black Panther is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the film is directed by Ryan Coogler from a screenplay by himself and Joe Robert Cole, and stars Chadwick Boseman as TChalla / Black Panther, alongside Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyongo, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, in Black Panther, TChalla returns home as king of Wakanda but finds his sovereignty challenged by a long-time adversary in a conflict that has global consequences. Wesley Snipes first mentioned his intention to work on a Black Panther film in 1992, with that going through multiple iterations over the next decade. Black Panther was officially announced in October 2014, with Boseman appearing first in Captain America, by the end of 2015, Cole and Coogler had both joined the film, and additional cast members came on board beginning in May 2016. Black Panther is set to be released in the United States on February 16,2018, Chadwick Boseman as TChalla / Black Panther, The king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Producer Kevin Feige described the character as a bit of a prince, he may become a bit of a king. Boseman, who called TChalla an anti-hero, said that he is very aware of the responsibility and how important his role. He worked with the dialect coach he had during Message from the King for the film. Boseman signed a contract with Marvel. Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, A Wakandan exile who seeks to overthrow TChalla, corey Calliet once again served as Jordans trainer on the film, after doing so on Creed. Lupita Nyongo as Nakia, TChallas love interest and member of the Dora Milaje, Danai Gurira as Okoye, The head of the Dora Milaje. Gurira said that the skills she learned playing Michonne complemented the skills of Okoye. Okoye is a whole nother thing, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, A member of the Joint Counter Terrorism Center. Daniel Kaluuya as WKabi, A confidant to TChalla, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, TChallas mother. Calliet also served as Bassetts trainer, working with her before she began filming and while she was on set, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, An elder statesman in Wakanda. Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, A black-market arms dealer, smuggler and gangster working out of South Africa, additionally, Florence Kasumba and John Kani reprise their roles as Ayo and TChaka respectively from Captain America, Civil War. Winston Duke is cast as MBaku / Man-Ape, the leader of a rival Wakandan tribe, while Sterling K. Brown is cast as NJobu, a figure from TChallas past, Phylicia Rashad and Atandwa Kani have been cast in undisclosed roles
21.
Ryan Coogler
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Ryan Kyle Coogler is an American film director and screenwriter. His first feature film, Fruitvale Station, won the Grand Jury Prize and he also wrote and directed the seventh film in the Rocky film saga, Creed. Coogler was born on May 23,1986 in Oakland, California and his mother, Joselyn, is a community organizer, and his father, Ira Coogler, is a juvenile hall probation counselor. Both parents graduated from California State University, Hayward and he has two brothers, Noah and Keenan. His uncle, Clarence Thomas, is a third-generation Oakland longshoreman, Coogler lived in Oakland, California until age eight, when he moved to Richmond, California. During his youth, he ran track and played football and he went to Saint Marys College High School, a private Catholic school in Berkeley, California, and was good at math and science. He started his journey at Saint Marys College of California on a football scholarship as a redshirt wide receiver his freshman semester intending to study chemistry. While he was there, his English professor Rosemary Graham encouraged him to pursue a career in screenwriting, at Sacramento he majored in finance and took as many film classes as he could fit in with the rigors of college football. He then attended USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he made a series of short films, the film was developed and produced by Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker. Ive worked with a number of truly unique voices, true auteurs, Whitaker said of Coogler, the film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival where it won the award for Best First Film. Time named him with Michael B. Jordan one of 30 people under 30 who are changing the world, Fruitvale Station grossed over $17 million worldwide after its theatrical run, and earned a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. In July 2013, it was reported that MGM had offered Coogler to direct Creed, a spin-off-sequel of the Rocky films and this film, which was released on November 25,2015 in the United States, reunited Coogler with Michael B. Jordan, who played Apollo Creeds son Adonis, the film was praised across the board by critics. For the film, Coogler won the New Generation Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, in January 2013, Coogler said he was working on a graphic novel and a young adult novel about undisclosed subject matter. Coogler will also work with frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan for a time in the upcoming film Wrong Answer. Coogler has worked since age 21 as a counselor with incarcerated youth at San Franciscos Juvenile Hall, following in the footsteps of his father and he is married to Zinzi Evans. Fruitvale Station Creed Black Panther Locks Fig Gap The Sculptor Ryan Coogler at the Internet Movie Database
22.
Howard University
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Howard University is a federally chartered, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university in Washington, D. C. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a university with high research activity and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. From its outset it has been nonsectarian and open to people of both genders and all races, Howard is classified as a Tier 1 national university and ranks second among HBCUs by U. S. News & World Report. Howard is the only HBCU ranked in the top 75 on the 2015 Bloomberg Businessweek college rankings, the Princeton Review ranked the school of business #1 in opportunities for minority students and in the top five for most competitive students. The National Law Journal ranked the law school among the top 25 in the nation for placing graduates at the best law firms, Howard has produced four Rhodes Scholars between 1986 and 2017. Between 1998 and 2009, Howard University produced a Marshall Scholar, in 2011, the Huffington Post named Howard the second best-dressed college in the nation. Howard is the most comprehensive HBCU in the nation and produces the most black doctorate recipients of any university, within a few weeks, the project expanded to include a provision for establishing a university. Within two years, the University consisted of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Medicine, the new institution was named for General Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War hero, who was both the founder of the University and, at the time, Commissioner of the Freedmens Bureau. Howard later served as President of the university from 1869–74, U. S. Congress chartered Howard on March 2,1867, and much of its early funding came from endowment, private benefaction, and tuition. An annual congressional appropriation administered by the U. S. Department of Education funds Howard University, many improvements were made on campus. Howard Hall was renovated and made a dormitory for women, J. Stanley Durkee, Howards last white president, was appointed in 1918. The Great Depression years of the 1930s brought hardship to campus, despite appeals from Eleanor Roosevelt, Howard saw its budget cut below Hoover administration levels during the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Howard University has played an important role in American history and the Civil Rights Movement on a number of occasions, alain Locke, Chair of the Department of Philosophy and first African American Rhodes Scholar, authored The New Negro, which helped to usher in the Harlem Renaissance. Ralph Bunche, the first Nobel Peace Prize winner of African descent, beginning in 1942, Howard University students pioneered the stool-sitting technique, which was to play a prominent role in the later civil rights movement. By January,1943, students had begun to organize regular sit-ins and pickets at cigar stores and cafeterias around Washington and these protests continued until the administration asked the students to stop in the Fall of 1944. Historian Rayford Logan served as chair of the Department of History, E. Franklin Frazier served as chair of the Department of Sociology. Sterling Allen Brown served as chair of the Department of English, at the time, the Voting Rights bill was still pending in the House of Representatives. In 1975 the historic Freedmans Hospital closed after 112 years of use as Howard University College of Medicines primary teaching hospital, Howard University Hospital opened that same year and continues to be used as Howard University College of Medicines primary teaching hospital with service to the surrounding community
23.
Newark, New Jersey
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Newark is the most populous city in the U. S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County. For 2015, the Census Bureaus Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 281,944, Newark is the second largest city in the New York metropolitan area, located approximately 8 miles west of lower Manhattan. Settled in 1666 by Puritans from New Haven Colony, Newark is one of the oldest European cities in the United States and its location at the mouth of the Passaic River, has made the citys waterfront an integral part of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Today, Port Newark-Elizabeth is the container shipping terminal of the busiest seaport on the American East Coast. In addition, Newark Liberty International Airport was the first municipal airport in the United States. Several leading companies have their headquarters in Newark, including Prudential, PSEG, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Audible. com, IDT Corporation, the U. S. District Court for the District of New Jersey sits in the city as well. Local cultural venues include the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark Symphony Hall, The Prudential Center and the Newark Museum. Newark is divided into five wards, the East, West, South, North and Central wards. Newarks Branch Brook Park is the oldest county park in the United States and is home to the nations largest collection of cherry blossom trees, Newark was settled in 1666 by Connecticut Puritans led by Robert Treat from the New Haven Colony. It was conceived as an assembly of the faithful, though this did not last for long as new settlers came with different ideas. On October 31,1693 it was organized as a New Jersey township based on the Newark Tract, Newark was granted a Royal charter on April 27,1713. It was incorporated on February 21,1798 by the New Jersey Legislatures Township Act of 1798, during its time as a township, portions were taken to form Springfield Township, Caldwell Township, Orange Township, Bloomfield Township and Clinton Township. Newark was reincorporated as a city on April 11,1836, replacing Newark Township, the previously independent Vailsburg borough was annexed by Newark on January 1,1905. In 1926, South Orange Township changed its name to Maplewood, as a result of this, a portion of Maplewood known as Ivy Hill was re-annexed to Newarks Vailsburg. During the American Revolutionary War British troops made several raids into the town, the city has experienced revitalization since the 1990s. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had an area of 26.107 square miles. It has the third-smallest land area among the 100 most populous cities in the U. S. behind neighboring Jersey City and Hialeah, the citys altitude ranges from 0 in the east to approximately 230 feet above sea level in the western section of the city. Newark is essentially a large basin sloping towards the Passaic River, historically, Newarks high places have been its wealthier neighborhoods
24.
Swahili language
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Swahili, also known as Kiswahili, is a Bantu language and the first language of the Swahili people. The closely related Comorian language, spoken in the Comoros Islands, is considered a dialect. Estimates of the number of Swahili speakers vary widely, from 50 million to over 100 million. Swahili serves as a language of three nations, Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Shikomor, the language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte, is related to Swahili. Swahili is also one of the languages of the African Union. A significant fraction of Swahili vocabulary is derived from Arabic through contact with Arabic-speaking Muslim inhabitants of the Swahili Coast, Swahili is traditionally regarded as being the language of coastal areas of Tanzania and Kenya. It was formalised after independence by presidents of the African Great Lakes region and it spread as a fishermans language to the various islands surrounding the Swahili Coast. Traders from these islands had extensive contact with the peoples from at least the 2nd century A. D. There is also evidence of early Zaramo people settlement on Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam in present-day Tanzania. Clove farmers from Oman and the Persian Gulf farmed the Zanzibar Archipelago, the earliest known documents written in Swahili are letters written in Kilwa in 1711 A. D. in the Arabic script that were sent to the Portuguese of Mozambique and their local allies. The original letters are now preserved in the Historical Archives of Goa, the British did not do so in neighbouring Kenya even though they made moves in that direction. Swahili was the only candidate in the two colonies. In the aftermath of Germanys defeat in the First World War, Swahili was to be subordinate to English, university education, much secondary education and governance at the highest levels would be conducted in English. One key step in spreading Swahili was to create a written language. In June 1928, a conference took place at Mombasa, at which the Zanzibar dialect. Swahili has become a language spoken by tens of millions in three African Great Lakes countries where it is an official or national language. In 2016 it was made a subject in all Kenyan schools
25.
Modell's
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Modells is a sporting goods retailer with locations in the Northeastern United States. Modells carries both sporting goods and related apparel, Modells currently has more than 140 retail locations in ten states and the District of Columbia as of 2008. Modell, a Jewish immigrant from Hungary, opened the first location on Cortlandt Street in Lower Manhattan, through the years, it has remained a family owned business, passing through four generations of the Modell family. Today, Modells operates 152 stores mainly in New York, New Jersey, in recent years, the chain has begun to expand to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia as well as Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Their flagship store is at 234 West 42nd Street near Times Square, Mitchell Modell, CEO, was featured on an episode of Undercover Boss, which aired November 2,2012. In 2014 a lawsuit was started by Modell rival Dicks Sporting Goods accusing the Modell CEO of going undercover into their stores to gain access to their retail secrets, New reports have found that Mitchell Modell is worth over 300 million dollars. His company has a new revenue of almost 875 million dollars a year, Modells #1 mission statement is Listen, Respect, and Respond to the needs of their customers, associates, and vendors
26.
Toys "R" Us
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Toys R Us, Inc. is an American toy and juvenile-products retailer founded in 1948 and headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, in the New York City metropolitan area. The companys brands include Toys R Us, and Babies R Us and it also operates e-commerce sites including ToysRUs. com and BabiesRUs. com. Charles P. Lazarus founded Childrens Supermart in Washington, D. C. during the baby boom era in 1948 as a baby-furniture retailer. Its first location was at 2461 18th St. NW, where the nightclub Madams Organ Blues Bar is located, Lazarus began receiving requests from customers for baby toys. After adding baby toys, he got requests for toys for older children, the focus of the store changed in 1957, and Toys R Us was born in Rockville, Maryland. The original Toys R Us store design from 1969 to 1989 consisted of vertical rainbow stripes and a brown roof with a front entrance and side exit. Since the rise of mass merchants like Walmart, Target and Amazon, however, Toys R Us has lost much of its share of the toy market, to improve the company, the board of directors installed John Eyler. Eyler launched an unsuccessful, expensive plan to remodel and re-launch the chain, blaming market pressures, Toys R Us considered splitting its toy and baby businesses. On July 21,2005, a consortium of Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Vornado Realty Trust invested $1.3 billion to complete a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout of the company. Public stock closed for the last time at $26. 74—pennies from the 68-week high, Toys R Us is now a privately owned entity. However, the company still files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, formerly known as Dr. G. Raffe, the companys mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe made his debut during 1957 in print advertisements for Childrens Bargain Town. During 1969, when Childrens Bargain Town became Toys R Us, Dr. G. Raffe was renamed Geoffrey, kids R Us was a childrens clothing retailer. Their first locations opened in 1983 in Paramus, New Jersey and Brooklyn, Babies R Us operates as a specialty baby products retailer and has grown to approximately 260 locations in the United States. The stores offers an assortment of products for newborns, infants, the company continues to grow internationally, and made its most recent entry into a new market in October 2011 when it opened its first licensed location in Poland. In 2006, Toys R Us purchased remaining shares of Toys R Us, Japan from McDonalds Holdings Co. increasing its ownership from approximately 62% to slightly over 90%. In May 2006, Toys R Us, Inc. acquired toy retailer FAO Schwarz including the flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, as well as its e-commerce site. Toys R Us closed the FAO Schwarz flagship store in New York on July 15,2015 citing rising rental costs, for the 2009 holiday-shopping season, Toys R Us tried a smaller-store concept to attract customers and 90 Holiday Express stores across the United States and Canada were opened. Most of these 90 stores were opened in shopping-center and mall spaces that had been vacated by store chains closing their doors during the recession and these stores are known as Toys R Us Express
27.
Cosby
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Cosby is an American sitcom television series broadcast on CBS from September 16,1996, to April 28,2000, loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The program starred Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad, who had worked together in the 1984–1992 NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighbor, Pauline, until her death in 1999, Cosby portrayed grumpy Hilton Lucas, a New York City man forced into early retirement from his job as an airline customer service agent. His wife Ruth was played by Phylicia Rashad, initially, Telma Hopkins was cast as Ruth Lucas, however, she was recast after she didnt react well to Cosbys tendency to ad lib. The couple had one daughter, Erica Lucas, initially portrayed by Audra McDonald, Doug E. Doug played Griffin Vesey, a foster son the Lucas family took in when he was younger. Griffin occasionally tried to win Ericas affections, but they decided just to remain friends when in the fourth and final season, Darien Sills-Evans portrayed Darien Evans, Jurnee Smollett also joined the cast as 11-year-old Jurnee, whom Hilton adored. The show was based on the concept from the BBC series One Foot in the Grave, starring Richard Wilson, david Renwick, the creator and writer of One Foot in the Grave, was listed as a consultant of Cosby. One Foot in the Grave was notable for containing dark humor for a mainstream sitcom, the tone was significantly lightened for Cosby, although certain controversial scenes, such as a scene in which the lead character incinerates a live tortoise, albeit by accident, were recreated. A notable later episode was the premiere, My Spy. Cosby premiered to an audience of more than 24.7 million viewers, the moves led to a drop in ratings and, frustrated by declining ratings and the move, Cosby and CBS executive Leslie Moonves mutually decided to end the series. The last episode, The Song Remains the Same, aired on April 28,2000, and was the 95th episode to be produced and broadcast, drawing just over 7 million viewers. Bill Cosby – Hilton Lucas Phylicia Rashad – Ruth Lucas Madeline Kahn – Pauline Fox TKeyah Crystal Keymáh – Erica Lucas Doug E. TBS shortly thereafter ran reruns of the series for two years. In March 2010, gmc began airing the show, but as a network with religious ownership, removed some episodes. It began to air on Bounce TV in January 2015, but was removed from air on July 7,2015, official website Cosby at the Internet Movie Database Cosby at TV. com
28.
The Sopranos
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The Sopranos is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around the character, New Jersey-based Italian American mobster Tony Soprano. The series portrays the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the requirements of his home life. These are often highlighted during his sessions with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The series features Tonys family members, mafia colleagues and rivals, in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and protégé Christopher Moltisanti. After the pilot was ordered in 1997, the show premiered on the cable network HBO in the United States on January 10,1999. The series then went through syndication and has been broadcast on A&E in the United States, the Sopranos was produced by HBO, Chase Films, and Brad Grey Television. It was primarily filmed at Silvercup Studios, New York City, the executive producers throughout the shows run were David Chase, Brad Grey, Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess, Ilene S. Landress, Terence Winter, and Matthew Weiner. The Sopranos is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time, the series also won a multitude of awards, including Peabody Awards for its first two seasons,21 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. A staple of 2000s American popular culture, the series has been the subject of analysis, controversy. It has spawned books, a game, high-charting soundtrack albums. Several members of the shows cast and crew who were largely unknown to the public have had successful careers after The Sopranos. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named The Sopranos the best-written TV series of all time, before creating The Sopranos, David Chase had worked as a television producer for more than 20 years. He had been employed as a staff writer/producer for several series and had co-created one short-lived original series, Almost Grown. He made his directorial debut in 1986 with the Enough Rope for Two episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents revival. He also directed episodes of Almost Grown and Ill Fly Away in 1988 and 1992, in 1996, he wrote and directed the television film The Rockford Files, Punishment and Crime. He served as showrunner for Ill Fly Away and Northern Exposure in the 1990s, Chase won his first Emmy Award in 1978 for his work on The Rockford Files and his second for writing the 1980 television film Off the Minnesota Strip. By 1996, he was a coveted showrunner, the story of The Sopranos was initially conceived as a feature film about a mobster in therapy having problems with his mother
29.
Hardball (film)
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Hardball is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Brian Robbins. It stars Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane and D. B, the screenplay by John Gatins is based on the book Hardball, A Season in the Projects by Daniel Coyle. The original music score is composed by Mark Isham, Conor ONeill is a gambler who secretly bets $6,000 on his fathers account and is now severely in debt with two bookies. The kids tell Conor it is because their teacher, Elizabeth Sister Wilkes, is making several boys finish a book report, Conor visits the teacher, but his life is threatened repeatedly by his bookies for not paying his gambling debts. He is visited by the mother of three boys that are allowed to play in exchange for his tutoring them. Conor works to get the team to each other and stop trash-talking each others bad plays, but the team nevertheless, loses its first game 16–1. Conor brings them together by buying them pizza and leads the team to win their second game 9–3, the team starts to come together as Conor tries to kindle a romance with Wilkes. Conor risks everything and makes a $12,000 bet with a new bookie to cover the $12,000 debt he owes to the other bookies. His stress, already high from his debts, runs higher at the baseball field because one of his players is pulled from playing after a competing coach questions the boys age. Conor takes offense to the league presidents threat to be removed, in protest, he announces it was his last game which draws dissension and resentment from his players. Conor barely wins his $12,000 bet, pays off all his debts, Conor connects with the kids and finds it harder to leave than he thought it would. He surprises them with second row seats to a league game. He stops gambling, his relationship with Wilkes grows, he gets new uniforms for the players, after an emotional funeral service, the team rallies together to win the championship game in the name of their fallen teammate. Keanu Reeves as Conor ONeill Diane Lane as Elizabeth Wilkes D. B, sweeney as Matt Hyland John Hawkes as Ticky Tobin DeWayne Warren as Jarius G-Baby Evans Bryan C. Keanu Reevess performance in Hardball earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor, a soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on September 11,2001 by Columbia Records. It peaked at #55 on the Billboard 200 and #34 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, white savior narrative in film Hardball at the Internet Movie Database Hardball at AllMovie Hardball at Box Office Mojo Hardball at Rotten Tomatoes
30.
Keanu Reeves
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Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor, producer, and musician. Reeves is best known for his career, beginning in 1985. He has also appeared in films such as Dangerous Liaisons, My Own Private Idaho. Since becoming active in the industry, Reeves abilities have earned critical acclaim. One New York Times critic praised Reeves versatility, saying that he displays considerable discipline and he moves easily between the buttoned-down demeanor that suits a police procedural story and the loose-jointed manner of his comic roles. However, Reeves has spent much of his career being typecast. A recurring character arc in many roles he has portrayed is one of saving the world, as can be seen in the characters of Ted Logan, Buddha, Neo, Johnny Mnemonic, John Constantine, and Klaatu. His acting has garnered awards including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During his film career, Reeves has engaged in several forms of artistic expression, active as a musician for a decade, he played bass guitar for the bands Dogstar and Becky. Acting onstage, he performed as Prince Hamlet for the Manitoba Theatre Centres production of Hamlet and he wrote the text for a picture book, Ode to Happiness, illustrated by Alexandra Grant. He has also produced a documentary, Side by Side, Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon, the son of Patricia Bond, a costume designer/performer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr. His mother is English, from Essex, England and his father, an American from Hawaii, has Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, and English ancestry. Reeves has said, My grandmother is Chinese and Hawaiian, so I was around Chinese art, furniture, Reevess mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Reevess father earned his GED while imprisoned in Hawaii for selling heroin at Hilo International Airport and he abandoned his wife and family when Reeves was three years old, but Reeves knew him until he was six. They last met on the island of Kauai when Reeves was 13, Reeves moved around the world frequently as a child, and lived with various stepfathers. The couple moved to Toronto and divorced in 1971, when Reeves was 15, he worked as a production assistant on Aarons films. Reevess mother married Robert Miller, a promoter, in 1976. She subsequently married her husband, a hairdresser named Jack Bond
31.
Wallace (The Wire)
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Wallace is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Michael B. Wallace is a 16-year-old drug dealer for the Barksdale Organization, who works in the low-rise projects crew known as The Pit with his friends and fellow dealers Bodie and Poot. When information he provides leads to the death of Brandon Wright. He informs on the Barksdale Organization to the police, and as a result is killed by Bodie, Wallace is a 16-year-old drug dealer in the Barksdale crews low rise projects organization. He serves with Poot and Bodie Broadus under DAngelo Barksdale through the entirety of season one and he shows the signs of a half-finished education — he can identify famous people on currency better than the rest of his crew, but sometimes struggles with the math involved with drug dealing. He also takes responsibility for younger kids in the projects, housing them in a squatters apartment, packing their lunches, seeing them off to school. He betrays his age when he is playing with toys while supposed to be on lookout duty. After Omar Little robs the pit crews stash of drugs, Wallace spots his accomplice Brandon playing pinball, Stringer Bell grabs Brandon and tortures him to death. His body is left on display, coincidentally outside of Wallaces home, Wallace receives a quarter of the $2000 bounty on Brandons head, but is so sickened by the event that he decides he wants out of the game. He approaches DAngelo and tells him he wants to go back to school, DAngelo gives him his blessing and some cash. Poot discovers that Wallace has spent the money on drugs and is spending most of his time at home getting high, Wallace is picked up by the police and agrees to cooperate with the Barksdale detail, revealing Stringers involvement in the killing of Omars boyfriend Brandon. In order to keep him safe until the trial, Wallace is sent to live with his grandmother in rural Cambridge, after detective Kima Greggs is shot in an undercover operation, the detail becomes so preoccupied with her condition that Wallace is temporarily forgotten. Bored with life away from Baltimore, he returns to the low-rise projects, Stringer Bell becomes suspicious of Wallaces return. DAngelo tries to reassure Stringer of Wallaces loyalty, but Stringer is not convinced, cornered at gunpoint by Poot and Bodie, Wallace begs for mercy, reminding Bodie of their friendship. Bodie first taunts, then hesitates, unable to bring himself to pull the trigger, Poot urges him on and Bodie finally shoots Wallace, only to leave him severely wounded and slowly dying. Poot takes the gun and finishes him off, DAngelo is outraged when he learns of Wallaces death. It is one of the factors that leads DAngelo to want to leave the game himself. In season three McNulty finds the crime scene photo from Wallaces murder and he and Roland Pryzbylewski share a look, Michael B. Jordan auditioned before The Wire casting director Alexa Fogel in New York City for the role of Bodie
32.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
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CSI, Crime Scene Investigation is a procedural forensics crime drama television series that premiered on CBS October 6,2000. The series, starring William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Laurence Fishburne, Ted Danson, the series concluded on September 27,2015, after 15 seasons, with a feature-length finale titled Immortality. The team is led by Gil Grissom, a socially-awkward forensic entomologist. Grissoms second-in-command, Catherine Willows, is a mother with a cops instinct. Born and raised in Vegas, Catherine was a stripper before being recruited into law enforcement, following Grissoms departure during the ninth season of the series, Catherine is promoted to Supervisor. After overseeing the training of new investigator Raymond Langston, Willows is replaced by D. B, Russell, and recruited to the FBI shortly thereafter. Russell is a man, a keen forensic botanist and a veteran of the Seattle Crime Lab. In the series season, Russell is reunited with his former partner Julie Finlay. During the 1990s, Anthony Zuiker caught producer Jerry Bruckheimers attention after writing his first movie script, Zuiker was convinced that there was a series in the concept, Bruckheimer agreed and arranged a meeting with the head of Touchstone Pictures. The studios head at the time liked the script and presented it to ABC, NBC and Fox executives. The head of development at CBS saw potential in the script, and the network had a pay-or-play contract with actor William Petersen. The networks executives liked the pilot so much that they decided to include it in their 2000 schedule immediately, airing on Fridays after The Fugitive. Initially it was thought that CSI would benefit from The Fugitive, which was expected to be a hit, formerly a co-production with the now-defunct Alliance Atlantis Communications, that companys interest was later bought by the investment firm GS Capital Partners, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs. CBS acquired AACs international distribution rights to the program, though the non-US DVD distribution rights did not change, the series is currently in syndication, and reruns are broadcast in the U. S. on the Spike and TV Land cable networks. The show has aired in reruns on the USA Network since January 14,2011, the CSI catalog has been exclusive to the whole NBC Universal portfolio since September 2014. Occasionally, the cast would still shoot on location in Las Vegas, other California locations include Verdugo Hills High School, UCLAs Royce Hall, Pasadena City Hall, and California State University, Los Angeles. While shooting took place primarily at Universal Studios in Universal City, California, CSIs theme song was, since season one, Who Are You, written by Pete Townshend with vocals by lead singer Roger Daltrey of The Who. In certain countries, to music licensing fees, a unique theme was used instead
33.
Without a Trace
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Without a Trace is an American police procedural television drama series that originally aired on CBS from September 26,2002, to May 19,2009. The series follows the cases of a Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City, on May 19,2009, CBS announced the cancellation of the series after seven seasons. Each episode followed the search for one individual under tight time constraints, the stories also focused on the personal lives of the team members and illustrated how their experiences gave them insight into cases. The team consisted of Jack Malone, Samantha Spade, Vivian Johnson, Danny Taylor, Martin Fitzgerald, and Elena Delgado, the real FBI does investigate missing persons, specifically, they have the authority to help in any mysterious disappearances of children abducted by nonfamily members. The groups that investigate these crimes are called Child Abduction Rapid Deployment teams and they get involved in other missing persons cases as needed but do not have a dedicated unit. One element that set the series apart from other TV police dramas was the display of information about missing persons at the end of most episodes. This resulted in a kidnapped brother and sister being found on July 25,2005, at least five people have been found as a result of those announcements. Occasionally, such information was replaced with other public-service announcements, such as an episode about a suicide which presented information on a suicide help line. Without a Trace took place within Jerry Bruckheimers CSI, Crime Scene Investigation universe, a crossover episode featured characters Gil Grissom from CSI and Jack Malone from Without a Trace working together to solve the same case. Without a Trace debuted as part of the CBS fall line-up in 2002, created by Hank Steinberg and it was the first show to achieve strong ratings opposite longtime NBC hit medical drama ER—which, like Without a Trace, is produced by Warner Bros. The first two showrunners were Steinberg and Ed Redlich, between seasons two and three, Redlich moved away from active participation in the series, with staff writers Jan Nash and Greg Walker taking over. In the middle of four, Steinberg left to produce the series The Nine. The show is the only primetime U. S. drama to feature two Australians and a Brit playing Americans in the regular cast, in 2003, the TNT Network acquired syndication rights to the series for US$1.4 million per episode. Without a Trace ran on Thursdays at 10 pm until September 2006, in the 2007–2008 season, it swapped timeslots with Shark, returning it to its old timeslot on Thursdays. However, this lasted only until the 2008–2009 season, when it moved to Tuesdays at 10 pm, on May 19,2009, it was reported that the series would not be returning for an eighth season, the morning before the series finale aired. In the first season, the team is introduced to the viewers, as the team continues to track down missing people, Jack and his wife slide towards divorce, while Jack must also care for his father who has Alzheimers disease. The team members life histories are revealed, including the fact that Martin was practically raised by his aunt and uncle, Martin fatally shoots a child sex trafficker, and both Vivian and he must keep quiet to keep their jobs. CBS argued that the featured a important and socially relevant storyline warning parents to exercise greater supervision of their teenaged children
34.
Cold Case (TV series)
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Cold Case is an American police procedural television series which ran on CBS from September 28,2003 to May 2,2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in investigating cold cases, on May 18,2010, CBS announced that the series had been canceled. The series aired in syndication, and also on Ion Television in the U. S. sleuth also aired the series occasionally. In 2011, the show aired on MyNetworkTV, rush was initially partnered with Detective Chris Lassing in the first five episodes and then with Detective Scotty Valens for the remainder of the series. They work under Lieutenant John Stillman and are assisted by other detectives from their squad—Nick Vera, Will Jeffries, usually, each episode would focus on a single investigation. All cases involved murders committed in Philadelphia, although investigations occasionally required travel outside the city, cases were also spread out over much of the previous century, with some as recent as a year or two old and others dating back to the 1910s. Generally, an investigation would begin when the received a new lead. In some cases, the lack of a body meant that it was unclear if a crime had even occurred. Over the course of the episode, the detectives would interview witnesses associated with the crime and these interviews were accompanied by flashback sequences to the time of the murder which dramatized the testimony. Witness testimony, even people who would later be revealed as the killer, was almost never false. At most the guilty party would lie by omission, leaving out critical details, the witness testimony was also generally presented in chronological order so that it formed a cohesive linear story for the audience. This was done with different actors as children or much younger selves especially if the year in question was well in the past. If it was judged that the character was not likely to have altered in appearance significantly except for weight and gray hair and this was not just with the guest actors themselves but sometimes with the detectives as well if they had any involvement in the original investigation. Detective Jeffries for example had flashbacks to himself as a child in two episodes and a detective in another. The scene would show the details with exceptions having to do with the utter heinousness of the motive of the crime such as rape or sexual assault. The police would be shown arresting the killer and walking them into custody, the killer and other characters in the story would be seen as flashing back to their younger selves and as now. The spirit of the victim would be either by Lilly. This would be accompanied by the playing of a song meant to symbolize the period in which the killing took place, through the flashbacks, the show examined many issues related to 20th century history, including, racism, homophobia, sexism, abortion, and police brutality
35.
The Assistants
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The Assistants is a Canadian sitcom that aired from 10 July to 11 September 2009. The series is the original comedy to air on the The N after the series About a Girl. Gillian, an actress, has become an assistant to film producer Zak Del Toro in the hopes of jump starting her filmmaking career. She with Zaks other assistants, Danny, Rigby and Nate, fulfill Zaks tasks at Kinky Bunny Picture, the show was produced and filmed at Tom Lynch Company Studios with funding from The N Original Productions. The series consisted of 13 22-minute episodes, britt Irvin as Gillian Hughes – The newest assistant of Kinky Bunny Pictures. She aspires to be a director and directs movies on the side, Gillian is new and naive, coming to Kinky Bunny without knowing about the outrageous and eccentric tasks that Zak has his workers fulfill. She is the kind and generous one out of the group but has proved that she can bite back, meaghan Rath as Rigby Hastings – A manipulative and often difficult person to get along with. She is usually seen giving back handed and insulting comments or exploiting situations, Rigby was the only girl who worked at Kinky Bunny until Gillian arrived-which sparked a competitive jealousy. Despite her tough personality, her no-joke manner does get things done and like the other assistants, brendan Penny as Danny Newell – The assistant most like a regular guy and the most absent-minded, he often fumbles his duties. He is later chosen as the star of Gillians independent film and he has a crush on Gillian. Michael B. Jordan as Nate Warren – The assistant who gets stuck with Zaks oddest. He puts a lot of effort into doing his tasks and also trying to impress Gillians best friend, Zak Santiago as Zak Del Toro – The head of Kinky Bunny Pictures. He often gives his assistants ridiculous duties to do. com
36.
The-N
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TeenNick is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that is owned by Nickelodeon Group, a unit of the Viacom Media Networks division of Viacom. The channel features a mix of programming, Nickelodeon-produced series. The channel was known as TEENick from March 4,2001 to February 1,2009. TeenNicks name was taken from the former TEENick program block, which aired on parent channel Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2009, as of February 2015, TeenNick is available to approximately 72.3 million pay television households in the United States. TeenNick originally debuted on April 1,2002 as a programming block on Noggin called The N. This was acknowledged in The Ns daily sign-off message, which explained that The N would resume its programming at 6,00 p. m. ET later that day, MTV Networks started developing the concept of The N in 2002. From its launch, The N targeted an audience than Noggin and was more entertainment-based in nature compared to Noggins educational format. In October 2006, Viacom bought the quiz website Quizilla, Noggins final sign on was a sudden cut-in to the intro of the British series 64 Zoo Lane replacing the song. Dish Network began to carry The N and Noggin as separate channels on May 6,2009, on February 24,2009, Nickelodeon announced that The N was to be rebranded as TeenNick to bring the channel in line with the Nickelodeon brand identity. The channel relaunched as TeenNick on September 28,2009, at 6 a. m, ET, accompanied by the debut of the new logo, former parent network Noggin was relaunched as Nick Jr. on that same date. Nick Cannon, who starred in the Nickelodeon series All That and The Nick Cannon Show, had a presence on the channel. Nearly all of The Ns existing program inventory was carried over to the relaunched channel, however, most of the channels original series were not carried over to TeenNick. m. to 3 p. m. ET. Despite the rebranding, some electronic program guide providers identify TeenNick as The N, in July 2011, TeenNick began carrying programs originally filmed for high definition broadcast in a letterboxed format, due to the absence of an HD simulcast feed of the channel. The channel currently airs from 6,00 AM to 10,00 PM, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a longtime mainstay of The N, moved to TBS and Freeform in September 2009 upon the expiration of Viacoms rights to the series. On April 20,2011, TeenNick announced that it had acquired the rights to air Buffy the Vampire Slayer starting that May, the majority of TeenNicks weekday and weekend daytime schedule consists of reruns of current and former Nickelodeon series. Some defunct Nickelodeon series also air regularly during the day, such as Neds Declassified School Survival Guide, iCarly, originally airing on weeknights only until October 8,2011, the block aired nightly from midnight to 2,00 a. m. E. T. with an encore from 2-4AM ET, the block also featured holiday-themed programming during holiday periods such as The 90s Are All That Holidaze during the holiday season in 2014. In 2015, The 90s Are All That was rebranded as The Splat to include programming from the 1980s and early-mid 2000s, in addition, The Splat also features themed weeks, live stunts, retro recreations, and its own dedicated website
37.
Did You Wrong
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Did You Wrong is a song by American R&B singer Pleasure P. It is his single from his first studio album The Introduction of Marcus Cooper. It is his first solo release after his departure from Pretty Ricky, the song was produced by R. Zamor and was released in June 2008. Did You Wrong Did You Wrong Noble Prince Hart, Worldwide Royalty Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Noble Prince Hart, Worldwide Royalty
38.
Pleasure P
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His debut album The Introduction of Marcus Cooper was released on June 2009. On October,2014, Pleasure P and the rest of Pretty Ricky officialized on Instagam a reunion tour with a Bluestars 2 album for 2015 and his first reunion single with Pretty Ricky is called Puddles and has been released during Valentines Day 2015. It was the most requested song on South Floridas 99 Jamz radio station in the days following its release, after leaving the group Pretty Ricky. Pleasure P began working on his career, he released his solo debut single Did You Wrong on July 22,2008. The single debuted at #90 on the Billboard 100 Hot charts, Pleasure P also released a 2008 EP entitled Boyfriend #2, including Did You Wrong and a promo single Boyfriend #2, released digitally and as an LP disc. Videos for Did You Wrong and Boyfriend #2 were released digitally, later on in 2009 he also released the song Under from the album. His solo debut album, The Introduction of Marcus Cooper was released on June 9,2009, the album was originally to be released in January, but was finally released after several delays. Pleasure Ps career received a boost by being featured in the single from Flo Ridas album R. O. O. T. S. Gaining publicity from his presence on its guest list, on June 21,2012, Pleasure P. released the first single off his upcoming sophomore effort titled I Love Girls featuring Young Money artist Tyga. His upcoming album is entitled King of Romance and is due out later this year and this will be the first album off of his new record deal with E1 Music. Pleasure P is working on his single called I Really Need to Know. On September 16,2013 Pleasure P came out with a new single called Kiss Me, in 2014, Pleasure P and the original members of his former group Pretty Ricky to announce an official reunion. The reunion aims an international tour and a new album with all the original members. The first commercial single of the group is called Puddles has been released during Valentines Day 2015, the Introduction of Marcus Cooper 2009, Americas Most Wanted Tour 2009, Summer Jam XXIII In Fayetteville, NC Grammy Award Official Website Pleasure P at the Internet Movie Database
39.
Burn Notice
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Burn Notice is an American television series created by Matt Nix which originally aired on the USA Network from June 28,2007 to September 12,2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Sharon Gless, the title of the series refers to the burn notices issued by intelligence agencies to discredit or announce the dismissal of agents or sources who are considered to have become unreliable. When spies are burned, their connection to an organization is terminated. According to the narration during the credits, the burned spy has no prior work history, no money, no support network – in essence. The television series uses second-person narrative and frequent voice-overs providing exposition from the viewpoint of covert-operations agent Michael Westen, the voice-over commentary is in the form of tips for fledgling agents as if for a training or orientation film. After fleeing a blown operation in Nigeria and being kidnapped and beaten, Westen finds himself in his hometown of Miami, Florida. He is tended to by his ex-girlfriend, Fiona Glenanne, extraordinary efforts to reach his U. S. government handler eventually yield only a grudging admission that someone powerful wants him on ice in Miami. If he leaves there, he will be hunted down and taken into custody, if he stays, he can remain relatively free. Westen invites his old friend Sam Axe to assist him, while Fiona invites herself to join them, at the same time, Michael must follow the trail that leads him to the people responsible for his being burned, and later finding out why. The series juggles these two narratives, the series dealing with why Michael was burned, and individual episodes focusing on the cases he works for clients. Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, former US Army Special Forces soldier, with his assets frozen, he is forced to live off his wits and any small investigative jobs he can find while he searches for answers about who has burned him and why. He has two black belts or, as he puts it in one episode, thirty years of karate and is rated with anything that fires a bullet or holds an edge. He has an ability to assume cover identities, working in numerous regional dialects and international accents, however. He believes that his childhood, largely at the hands of an abusive father, has helped to make him into a natural covert operative while also making close relationships difficult for him. He has a brother, Nate, who appeared in several episodes before being killed by a sniper in Season 6. Michael presents himself as a cynic hardened by experience but occasionally reveals a soft and his favorite food is yogurt, which is featured or eaten by at least one of the characters in each episode. He has a relationship with Fiona. In the series finale he and Fiona are living in Ireland raising Charlie as their son, Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne, A former IRA operative and Westens ex-girlfriend
40.
Burn Notice (season 2)
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Burn Notice is an American television action-drama series created by Matt Nix and starring Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, and Sharon Gless. The second season premiered July 10,2008, the season was split into two parts, with episodes 1–9 airing in the summer of 2008 and episodes 10–16 being broadcast in early 2009. A burn notice is a document issued by agencies to discredit or announce the dismissal of agents or sources who are considered to have become unreliable. The television series is a narrative from the viewpoint of covert-operations agent Michael Westen. Michael Westen often delivers tips on unrelated matters, such as on burglar-proofing houses or getting promoted during commercial breaks. The second season of Burn Notice continues the plot lines of the first season, Michael Westen had struggled to find out why he had been burned and by whom. Westen battles and outwits an array of mobsters, con artists, contract killers, professional thieves, drug traffickers, Season 2 introduces a mysterious woman named Carla, an agent of the organization behind Michaels burn notice who is now trying to get him to work for that organization. Although he resists, she assigns him various tasks, while he attempts to find out who she is. She often coerces him into working for her by threatening the people he cares about with violence, midway through the season, Michael is almost assassinated by an unknown group. Carla gets the assignment to discover who placed the hit, while Michael digs around for the mastermind to find what could be either an ally or a dangerous new enemy. Carlas operation is sabotaged by an agent in her organization. At the end of Season 2, he has an encounter with Carlas superior, putting the pieces together, Michael realizes that Management falsified records to paint him as both corrupt and unreliable, forcing the government to burn him. When Michael demands Management leave him alone, Management complies, Jeffrey Donovan returned as the still-burned spy Michael Westen. Gabrielle Anwar reprised her role as ex-IRA operative Fiona Glenanne, Sharon Gless also returned, as Madeline Westen, Michaels mother. The second season saw even more recurring guests than the first, the most prominent of these was Tricia Helfer, who appeared in many episodes as Michaels handler, Carla. Paul Tei also made several appearances returning as money-launderer Barry Burkowski, seth Peterson returned as Michaels brother, Nate Westen. Michael Shanks was introduced as wrangler Victor Stecker-Epps, silas Weir Mitchell made two appearances as the quirky arms dealer Seymour. Marc Macaulay and Brandon Morris returned for one episode as Agents Harris and Lane, agent Jason Bly, another FBI agent, also returned for one episode, portrayed by Alex Carter
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Law & Order: Criminal Intent
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Law & Order, Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30,2001, Criminal Intent focuses on the investigations of the Major Case Squad in a fictionalized version of the New York City Police Department set in New York Citys One Police Plaza. In the style of the original Law & Order, episodes are often ripped from the headlines or loosely based on a crime that received media attention. The series aired on NBC for the first six seasons but was moved to the NBCUniversal-owned USA Network starting with the season to share costs. During its NBC run, each episode aired on USA the week after its original NBC airing, the series ended on June 26,2011, after 10 seasons comprising 195 episodes. The Major Case Squad investigates high-profile cases such as those involving VIPs, local government officials and employees, the industry. The series pays attention to the actions and motives of the criminals, rather than focusing exclusively on the police and prosecutions. A feature of each Criminal Intent episode is that the cold open always involves a series of cut-scenes that show events from the suspects and victims lives, clues to the crimes eventual solution can often be found in this teaser sequence. Unlike other Law & Order series, most Criminal Intent episodes end in confessions rather than continuing to the trial phase, seasons 1-4 and 10 focus on Detectives Robert Bobby Goren and Alexandra Eames as the primary detectives in every episode. After season 7, Mike Logan retired from the NYPD and was replaced with Detective Zack Nichols until season 10, the UK-aired version of Law & Order, Criminal Intent features the song Theres Only Me by Rob Dougan in the opening credits. Another Rob Dougan track, Im Not Driving Anymore, is used as the theme for Law & Order and Law & Order, from season 6 the UK-aired version theme is Urban Warfare by Paul Dinletir. Law & Order, Criminal Intent was created in 2001 by René Balcer, Balcer served as the shows executive producer, showrunner, and head writer for its first five seasons. The show dominated its time slot on Sundays at 9,00 p. m. for its first three seasons, and was often the highest-rated show of the night, with an average audience of 15.5 million viewers. The show aired Sundays on NBC, with each episode being repeated on USA Network the following Saturday. Beginning in Season 4, it faced new competition from ABCs night-time soap opera Desperate Housewives. Balcer left the show at the end of Season 5, and the show was handed off to Warren Leight, under Leights leadership, the show acquired a new, more melodramatic tone. The mystery aspect of the show was simplified in favor of personal stories involving the detectives. For example, Goren endured his mothers battle with cancer
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Michael Vick
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Michael Dwayne Vick is a former American football quarterback who played 13 seasons in the National Football League, primarily with the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Virginia Tech and was selected by the Falcons as the first overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. During his six years with the Falcons, Vick was regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his abilities and was named to three Pro Bowls. He holds the record for the most career rushing yards by a quarterback, Vicks NFL career came to a halt in 2007 after he plead guilty for his involvement in a dog fighting ring and spent 21 months in federal prison. His arrest and subsequent conviction garnered Vick notoriety with the general public and he was released by the Falcons shortly before leaving prison. After serving his sentence, Vick signed with the Eagles in 2009, in his final two seasons, Vick played for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers for one year each, primarily as a backup. He officially retired in 2017 after spending the entirety of the 2016 season in free agency, Vick was born in Newport News, Virginia as the second of four children to Brenda Vick and Michael Boddie, then unmarried teenagers. His mother worked two jobs, obtained financial assistance and had help from her parents, while his father worked long hours in the shipyards as a sandblaster and spray-painter. They were married when Michael was about five years old, the family lived in the Ridley Circle Homes, a public housing project in a financially depressed and crime-ridden neighborhood located in the East End section of the port city. Local residents interviewed in a 2007 newspaper article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch noted that not much changed nearly a decade after Vick left. One resident said that there was drug dealing, drive-by shootings, and other killings in the neighborhood, and suggested that sports were a way out, boddies employment required much travel, but he taught football skills to his two sons at an early age. Vick was only three years old when his father, nicknamed Bullet for his speed during his own playing days, Michael subsequently taught his younger brother Marcus Vick. As he grew up, Vick, went by the nickname Ookie, and learned football from Aaron Brooks. Vick and Brooks spent a lot of time at the local Boys, Sports kept me off the streets, Vick told Sporting News magazine in an interview published April 9,2001. It kept me from getting into what was going on, the bad stuff, lots of guys I knew have had bad problems. Vick first came to prominence while at Homer L. Ferguson High School in Newport News, as a freshman, he impressed many with his athletic ability, he threw for over 400 yards in a game that year. Ferguson High School was closed in 1996 as part of a Newport News Public Schools building modernization program, Vick, as a sophomore, and coach Tommy Reamon both moved to Warwick High School. Vick was a starter for the Warwick Raiders
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Dog fighting in the United States
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Dog fighting in the United States is an activity in which fights between two game dogs are staged as a form of entertainment and gambling. Such activity has existed since the early 19th century in the United States and was promoted in all states. It continues as an activity in both rural and urban locations. Department of Agriculture in ongoing investigations around the country, in April 2007 the illegal activity received widespread attention after evidence surfaced suggesting professional football player Michael Vick had a dog fighting ring operating on his property. The case resulted in guilty pleas by several individuals and to a felony count for Vick. The early 19th century saw the development in England of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, organized dog fighting became a part of American culture, and was promoted by the United Kennel Club. As the activity grew in popularity, so too did opposition to it, by the early 20th century the United Kennel Club dropped its support and by the 1960s most states had made it illegal. It was not until 1976 that it was outlawed in all states and even then, despite legality issues, dogs are still commonly used for fighting purposes all across the continent. The American Pit Bull Terrier is the most popular breed used for fighting, but foreign breeds, such as the Dogo Argentino, and to a lesser extent, the Presa Canario are also gaining popularity. The Dogo Argentino is now seen in dog fight circuits in areas of the United States where the American Pit Bull Terrier has been banned. In the 21st century, dog fighting has become an objectionable and unlawful activity in most places broad categories, and each have motivated constituencies in many areas. At least one major study alleges that the mind set among dog fighters is that, the more the dog suffers, the tougher he will become. This position and the treatment afforded the dogs stand in stark contrast with prevailing public values regarding the treatment of dogs in many civilized societies. In addition to the treatment a dog receives when he has potential as a fighter. With the use of Adoption Wanted or Good Home Needed posters to track their bait which is used in the training for these fighters, the bait is mauled or killed in the process. According to news reports compiled by the National Humane Society, the snouts of bait dogs are wrapped with tape to prevent them from injuring dogs being trained for fighting. Some bait animals have been recovered with their teeth ground down to the gums to render them helpless against fighting dogs, other animals, such as cats and rabbits are also reported to be used as bait for fighting dogs. Experts have said small dogs, kittens, and rabbits are more at risk of being stolen for bait than larger animals, National Geographic noted that there are no statistics on how many pets are taken and used as bait by dog fighting rings each year
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Austin
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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
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