1.
Deauville American Film Festival
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The Deauville American Film Festival is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, taking place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Chouchan, André Halimi, and then Mayor of Deauville Michel dOrnano, although not competitive at its origin, the festival began to award prizes in 1995, for feature films, and 1998 for short films. This award was named Grand Prix spécial Deauville from 1995 to 2007,1989, Torch Song Trilogy by Paul Bogart 1990, Pump Up the Volume by Allan Moyle Tune in Tomorrow by Jon Amiel 1991, Trust by Hal Hartley Hangin with the Homeboys by Joseph B. It carries a grant of 3,000 euros for the awarded director-writer,3,000 euros for the films producer, and 10,000 euros for the French distributor to help promote the film. The award, which is named in honour of the former Mayor of Deauville and co-founder of the festival, thomas for Willy 1er The Revelation Prize is awarded by a Revelation jury composed of up-and-coming actors and filmmakers. 1996, Charlotte Rampling, Sabine Azéma, René Cleitman, Dominique Farrugia, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Chiara Mastroianni, Laura Morante, Ornella Muti, Melvil Poupaud and Alain Rocca. 1997, Sophie Marceau, Élodie Bouchez, Philippe Carcassonne, Étienne Chatiliez, Alain Finkielkraut, John Hurt, Michèle Laroque, Inés Sastre, Nathalie Quintane and Lambert Wilson. 1998, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Michèle Halberstadt, Sandrine Kiberlain, Virginie Ledoyen, Russell Banks, Maurice Bernart, Alessandro Gassman, Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Éric Serra and Christian Vincent. 1999, Régis Wargnier, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Humbert Balsan, Richard Berry, Gabriel Byrne, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Marie Gillain, Michel Houellebecq, Marie-France Pisier and Elsa Zylberstein. 2000, Neil Jordan, Guillaume Canet, Clotilde Courau, Tchéky Karyo, Philippe Labro, Samuel Le Bihan, François Ozon, Vincent Perez, Danièle Thompson and Marie Trintignant. 2001, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Sandrine Bonnaire, Marion Cotillard, Arielle Dombasle, Gérard Darmon, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Darius Khondji, Benoît Poelvoorde and Gabriel Yared. 2002, Pierre Lescure, Chantal Akerman, Richard Anconina, Jean-Marc Barr, Charles Berling, Amira Casar, Julie Gayet, Irène Jacob, Cédric Kahn and Bruno Wolkowitch. 2003, Roman Polanski, Claudia Cardinale, Pawel Edelman, Jacques Fieschi, Ben Kingsley, Anne Parillaud, Zbigniew Preisner, Ludivine Sagnier, Fernando Trueba and Tom Tykwer. 2004, Claude Lelouch, Anouk Aimée, Marie-Josée Croze, Danièle Heymann, Diane Kurys, Jeanne Labrune, Lio, Claudie Ossard, Bettina Rheims and Mathilde Seigner. 2005, Alain Corneau, Enki Bilal, Dominique Blanc, Romane Bohringer, Rachida Brakni, Christophe, Dominik Moll, Melvil Poupaud and Brigitte Roüan. 2006, Nicole Garcia, Maurice Barthélémy, Guillaume Canet, Amira Casar, Emmanuelle Castro, Antoine de Caunes, Julien Clerc, Philippe Djian and Marthe Keller. 2007, André Téchiné, Odile Barski, Xavier Beauvois, Nicolas Cazalé, Charlélie Couture, Émilie Deleuze, Anouk Grinberg,2008, Carole Bouquet, Édouard Baer, Ronit Elkabetz, Diane Fleri, Pierre Jolivet, Cédric Kahn, Cristian Mungiu, Leonor Silveira and Dean Tavoularis. 2009, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Hiam Abbass, Dany Boon, Jean-Loup Dabadie, Émilie Dequenne, Déborah François, Sandrine Kiberlain, Patrice Leconte, Géraldine Pailhas and Bruno Podalydès
2.
Versailles, Yvelines
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According to the 2008 census, the population of the city is 88,641 inhabitants, down from a peak of 94,145 in 1975. A new town, founded by the will of King Louis XIV, it was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789, before becoming the cradle of the French Revolution. After having lost its status of city, it became the préfecture of Seine-et-Oise département in 1790, then of Yvelines in 1968. Versailles is historically known for numerous treaties such as the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War and this word formation is similar to Latin seminare which gave French semailles. From May 1682, when Louis XIV moved the court and government permanently to Versailles, until his death in September 1715, during the various periods when government affairs were conducted from Versailles, Paris remained the official capital of France. Versailles was made the préfecture of the Seine-et-Oise département at its inception in March 1790, Versailles was made the préfecture of the Yvelines département, the largest chunk of the former Seine-et-Oise. At the 2006 census the Yvelines had 1,395,804 inhabitants, Versailles is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese which was created in 1790. The diocese of Versailles is subordinate to the archdiocese of Paris, in 1975, Versailles was made the seat of a Court of Appeal whose jurisdiction covers the western suburbs of Paris. Since 1972, Versailles has been the seat of one of Frances 30 nationwide académies of the Ministry of National Education. Versailles is also an important node for the French army, a tradition going back to the monarchy with, for instance, the palace of Versailles is in the out-skirts of the city. Versailles is located 17.1 km west-southwest from the centre of Paris, the city of Versailles has an area of 26.18 km2, which is a quarter of the area of the city of Paris. In 1989, Versailles had a density of 3, 344/km2, whereas Paris had a density of 20. Born out of the will of a king, the city has a rational and symmetrical grid of streets, by the standards of the 18th century, Versailles was a very modern European city. Versailles was used as a model for the building of Washington, the name of Versailles appears for the first time in a medieval document dated 1038. In the end of the 11th century, the village curled around a medieval castle, the 14th century brought the Black Death and the Hundred Years War, and with it death and destruction. At the end of the Hundred Years War in the 15th century, in 1561, Martial de Loménie, secretary of state for finances under King Charles IX, became lord of Versailles. He obtained permission to four annual fairs and a weekly market on Thursdays. The population of Versailles was 500 inhabitants, Martial de Loménie was murdered during the St. Bartholomews Day massacre
3.
Film director
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A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. Generally, a film director controls a films artistic and dramatic aspects, the director has a key role in choosing the cast members, production design, and the creative aspects of filmmaking. Under European Union law, the director is viewed as the author of the film, the film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film eventually becomes realized, or noticed. Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions, there are many pathways to becoming a film director. Some film directors started as screenwriters, cinematographers, film editors or actors, other film directors have attended a film school. Some outline a general plotline and let the actors dialogue, while others control every aspect. Some directors also write their own screenplays or collaborate on screenplays with long-standing writing partners, some directors edit or appear in their films, or compose the music score for their films. Film directors create a vision through which a film eventually becomes realized/noticed. Realizing this vision includes overseeing the artistic and technical elements of production, as well as directing the shooting timetable. This entails organizing the crew in such a way as to achieve their vision of the film. This requires skills of leadership, as well as the ability to maintain a singular focus even in the stressful. Moreover, it is necessary to have an eye to frame shots and to give precise feedback to cast and crew, thus. Thus the director ensures that all involved in the film production are working towards an identical vision for the completed film. The set of varying challenges he or she has to tackle has been described as a jigsaw puzzle with egos. It adds to the pressure that the success of a film can influence when, omnipresent are the boundaries of the films budget. Additionally, the director may also have to ensure an intended age rating, thus, the position of film director is widely considered to be a highly stressful and demanding one. It has been said that 20-hour days are not unusual, under European Union law, the film director is considered the author or one of the authors of a film, largely as a result of the influence of auteur theory. Auteur theory is a film criticism concept that holds that a directors film reflects the directors personal creative vision
4.
Screenwriter
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One famous screenwriter is Jack Rosenthal, who has written for various TV shows over the years, including Londons Burning and Coronation Street. No education is required to become a screenwriter, just good storytelling abilities. Screenwriters are not hired employees, they are contracted freelancers, most, if not all, screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation, meaning they write without being hired or paid for it. If such a script is sold, it is called a spec script, what separates a professional screenwriter from an amateur screenwriter is that professional screenwriters are usually represented by a talent agency. Also, professional screenwriters do not often work for free, whereas amateur screenwriters will often work for free and are considered writers in training, spec scripts are usually penned by unknown professional screenwriters and amateur screenwriters. There are a legion of would-be screenwriters who attempt to enter the industry but it often takes years of trial-and-error, failure. In Writing Screenplays that Sell, Michael Hague writes Screenplays have become, for the last half of century, closet writers who used to dream of the glory of getting into print now dream of seeing their story on the big or small screen. Every screenplay and teleplay begins with a thought or idea, and screenwriters use those ideas to write scripts, with the intention of selling them and having them produced. In some cases, the script is based on a property, such as a book or persons life story. The majority of the time, a film project gets initiated by a screenwriter and because they initiated the project and these are referred to as exclusive assignments or pitched assignments. Screenwriters who often pitch new projects, whether original or an adaptation, when word is put out about a project a film studio, production company, or producer wants done, these are referred to as open assignments. In situations where screenwriters are competing for an assignment, more established writers will usually win these assignments. A screenwriter can also be approached and personally offered a writing assignment, many screenwriters also work as full or part-time script doctors, attempting to better a script to suit the desires of a director or studio. For instance, studio management may have a complaint that the motivations of the characters are unclear or that the dialogue is weak, script-doctoring can be quite lucrative, especially for the better known writers. David Mamet and John Sayles, for instance, fund the movies they direct themselves, usually from their own screenplays, by writing and doctoring scripts for others. In fact, some writers make very profitable careers out of being the ninth or tenth writer to work on a piece, in many cases, working on projects that never see exposure to an audience of any size. Many up and coming screenwriters also ghost write projects and allow more established screenwriters to take credit for the project to increase the chances of it getting picked up. After a screenwriter finishes a project, he or she pairs with a representative, such as a producer, director, literary agent, entertainment lawyer
5.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic science fiction comedy-drama film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry. It follows a couple who have erased each other from their memories. Pierre Bismuth created the story with Kaufman and Gondry, the ensemble cast includes Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Tom Wilkinson. The title of the film is a quotation from Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope, the film uses elements of the psychological thriller and a nonlinear narrative to explore the nature of memory and romantic love. It opened in North America to wide acclaim on March 19,2004 and it won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and Winslet received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actress. The film developed a following in the years after its release. Shy, soft-spoken Joel Barish and the unrestrained free-spirit Clementine Kruczynski begin a relationship on a Long Island Rail Road train from Montauk and they are almost immediately drawn to each other despite their different personalities, though both had felt the need to travel to Montauk that day. Although they do not realize it at the time, Joel and Clementine are, in fact, former lovers, after a fight, Clementine had hired the New York City firm Lacuna, Inc. to erase all of her memories of their relationship. Upon discovering this from his friends Rob and Carrie, Joel was devastated and decided to undergo the procedure himself, much of the film subsequently takes place in Joels mind, during this memory erasure procedure. As his memories are erased, he tries to evade the erasing effects of the procedure by hiding Clementine in remote parts of his subconscious, Joel finds himself revisiting them in reverse. Upon seeing happier times of love with Clementine from earlier in their relationship, he struggles to preserve at least some memory of her, despite his efforts to either hide the memories or wake up and stop the process, the memories are slowly erased. He comes to the last remaining memory of Clementine, the day he had first met her at a house in Montauk. As this memory disintegrates around them, she tells him, Meet me in Montauk, separate, but related, story arcs, which revolve around the employees of Lacuna, are revealed during Joels memory erasure. Patrick, one of the Lacuna technicians performing the erasure, uses Joels memories, mary, the Lacuna receptionist, is dating the other memory-erasing technician, Stan. On learning this, she asks Stan whether he knew about this, mary then quits her job and steals the companys records, and mails the two former clients their records from Lacuna. The film returns to the present, after Joel and Clementine have met aboard the train, Joel beckons Clementine to start over, Clementine initially resists, pointing out it could go the same way. Joel accepts this, and they decide to attempt a relationship anyway, on Metacritic, the film has a score of 89 out of 100, based on 41 reviews, indicating universal acclaim. Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a four stars, referring to Kaufman as the most gifted screenwriter of the 2000s
6.
The Science of Sleep
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The Science of Sleep is a 2006 surrealistic science fantasy comedy film written and directed by Michel Gondry. The film stars Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Miou-Miou, the film stems from a bed-time story that was written by Sam Mounier, then-10-year-old. Stéphane Miroux is a man whose vivid dreams and imagination often interfere with his ability to interact with reality and he is coaxed back to his childhood home after his divorced father passes away and his mother, Christine, finds him a job in a calendar printing company in France. His mother implies the position is a role, and he prepares colourful drawings, each showing a disaster. However, nobody appreciates his talents and it transpires that his mother had led him on - the real vacancy is for nothing more than mundane typesetting work. While leaving his apartment to go to one day, Stéphane injures his hand helping his new neighbor move a piano into her apartment. The new neighbor, Stéphanie, invites Stéphane into her apartment where her friend Zoé tends to his wound, Stéphane initially forms an attraction to Zoé, though he suspects it is instead Stéphanie who likes him. Stéphane realizes that Stéphanie, like him, is creative and artistic and they plan a project for use in a short animated film. Following the advice of Guy, Stéphanes sex-obsessed co-worker, Stéphane pretends that he isnt Stéphanies neighbor and that night, when he is sleepwalking he writes a confusing note to Stéphanie that asks for Zoés phone number. Stéphane realizes his mistake upon waking and retrieves the letter with a coat hanger, surrealistic and naturalistic elements begin to overlap, and the viewer is often uncertain of which portions constitute reality and which are merely dreams. One such sequence, in which Stéphane dreams his hands become absurdly giant, was inspired by a recurring nightmare director Michel Gondry had as a child, Stéphanes dreams encroach on his waking life as he tries to win Stéphanies heart and misses time at work. He breaks into her apartment, taking her stuffed toy horse, while putting it back into her apartment, Stéphanie arrives and catches him, demanding he leaves and becoming more upset with him. As the months go by, waking and dreaming become even more intermixed, to Stéphanes surprise, the calendar manufacturer accepts his Disastrology idea and it becomes a great success. A party is thrown in his honour, but he becomes depressed, the next day, Stéphane and Stéphanie have a confrontation in their hallway when Stéphane announces that he doesnt want to be Stéphanies friend any longer. Stéphanie becomes very upset, offering Zoés phone number and reciting Stéphanes note, Stéphane, still unaware that Stéphanie has read the note, assumes that they are connected through Parallel Synchronized Randomness, a rare phenomenon he has examined in his dreams. Stéphanie offers that they discuss their issues on a date, but on Stéphanes walk to the café to meet her, he has a vision that she isnt there. He runs back to her apartment and bangs on her door, demanding that she stop torturing him, in actuality, she is indeed waiting for him at the café. Stéphane runs at her door, attempting to break it down, but winds up bashing his head and collapsing in the hall, tired of waiting, Stéphanie returns home while Stéphane, coaxed by his mother and her friend, decides to move back to Mexico
7.
Be Kind Rewind
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Be Kind Rewind is a 2008 comedy-drama film written and directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jack Black, Mos Def, Melonie Diaz, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow and Sigourney Weaver. The film first appeared on January 20,2008 at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and it was later shown at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film opened on February 22,2008 in the United Kingdom, the title is inspired by a phrase that was commonly displayed on VHS rental cassettes in America during the mediums heyday. In Passaic, New Jersey, the declining Be Kind Rewind VHS rental store owned by Mr. Mr, before leaving Mr. Fletcher cautions Mike to keep his paranoid and klutzy friend, Jerry, away from the store. Mike quickly discovers the disaster, and is pressed when Miss Falewicz, Mr. Fletchers friend. They complete the movie just in time when another customer asks for Rush Hour 2, Mike and Jerry repeat their filming, enlisting the help of Alma, a local woman, for some of the parts. Word of mouth spreads through Miss Falewiczs nephew of the hilarious results of Mike and Jerrys filming. Mike, Jerry, and Alma quickly pass off the movies as being sweded, insisting the films came from Sweden and thus able to demand long wait times and higher costs for the rental. Soon, to demand, Mike and Jerry enlist the locals to help out in making the movies. When Mr. Without any money to renovate the building, Mr. Fletcher gives up hope, Mr. Fletcher is given a week to evacuate the building before it will be razed. On the day the building is scheduled for demolition, Mr. Fletcher invites all the locals to watch the final film, as their film ends, Mr. Films that were erased and recreated are referred to as having been sweded. These remakes are unedited with only a single take per scene, the tapes are described as having come from Sweden as an excuse for higher rental fees and longer wait times. Jerry fabricated the word sweded while arguing with Craig and his gang, in light of the theme of sweding, director Michel Gondry sweded a version of the trailer of the film, starring himself. On the official website, users can engage in sweding, which puts their faces on the VHS cover of a movie, the Be Kind Rewind YouTube channel also encourages filmmakers to create sweded versions of popular movies. The theme of sweding also relates to film history, in that the collectively made remakes represent social memories of films, filming of Be Kind Rewind took place over several weeks in autumn of 2006 largely in and around Passaic, New Jersey. The famed former location of the Video Room of the Upper East Side of New York City was used for one of the video stores in the film. The sites critical consensus of the film, Slighter and less disciplined than Gondrys previous mind-benders, metacritic reported the film had an average score of 52 out of 100, based on 35 reviews. Writing in The New York Times, reviewer A. O. Scott called the film inviting, undemanding and altogether wonderful and added that you’ll want to see it again, or at least Swede it yourself
8.
The Green Hornet (2011 film)
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Directed by Michel Gondry and written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the film stars Rogen, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, Edward James Olmos, David Harbour, Tom Wilkinson and Cameron Diaz. The film was released to theaters in North America on January 14,2011 by Columbia Pictures, in versions including RealD Cinema, the film earned $227.8 million on a $120 million budget. The Green Hornet was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on May 3,2011 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Britt Reid is the irresponsible 28-year-old slacker son of widower James Reid, publisher of the Los Angeles Daily Sentinel. Britts attitude changes when James is found dead from a reaction to a bee sting. After the funeral, Britt fires the staff aside from his maid, but later re-hires Kato, Jamess mechanic, Britt and Kato get drunk together and, upon agreeing that they both hated James, visit the graveyard to cut the head off Jamess memorial statue. After they succeed, they rescue a couple being mugged. When police mistake Britt and Kato themselves for criminals, Kato evades them in a car chase as he, Britt convinces Kato they should become crime-fighters who pose as criminals in order to infiltrate real criminals, and to prevent enemies from using innocents against them. Kato develops a car outfitted with gadgets and weapons, which they call the Black Beauty. Britt plans to capture Benjamin Chudnofsky, a Russian mobster uniting the families of Los Angeles under his command. To get Chudnofskys attention, Britt uses the Daily Sentinel as a vehicle to publish articles about a criminal he calls The Green Hornet. Britt hires Lenore Case, who has a degree in journalism and a minor in criminology, as his assistant and researcher, Britt and Kato blow up several of Chudnofskys meth labs, leaving calling cards so Chudnofsky can contact them. Britt asks Lenore out, but she rebuffs him and instead invites Kato to dinner, Kato learns from her that mobsters often offer a peace summit to rivals in order to get close enough to kill them, Britt then tells Kato that Chudnofsky has offered them such a meeting. Kato tries dissuading him, but Britt, feeling overshadowed, follows his instincts and this nearly proves fatal when Chudnofsky tries to kill them. Barely escaping to the mansion, Britt and Kato argue and fight, Kato receives an email from Chudnofsky on the Hornets calling-card email address, offering $1 million and half of Los Angeles to the Hornet if he kills Britt. Meanwhile, Britt discovers that Scanlon is corrupt, and that he tried to bribe James into downplaying the citys crime level to help his career, Scanlon invites Britt to meet in a restaurant, where he reveals he murdered Britts father. Kato arrives, and instead of killing Britt, he attacks Chudnofskys men, allowing him and Britt, at the Daily Sentinel, Britt intends to upload a recording of Scanlons confession onto the Web--which he belatedly discovers he did not manage to record. Chudnofsky and his men, who followed the duo there, engage them in a firefight, Kato ultimately stabs Chudnofsky in the eyes with wood in self-defense and Britt shoots him to death with Chudnofskys gun. A SWAT team appears and fires at the Green Hornet and Kato, the Green Hornet and Kato flee to Lenores house, where she learns both their real names and that she has been the accidental mastermind behind the Green Hornets plots
9.
Mood Indigo (film)
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Mood Indigo is a 2013 French film co-written and directed by Michel Gondry and co-written and produced by Luc Bossi, starring Romain Duris and Audrey Tautou. It is an adaptation of Boris Vians 1947 novel Froth on the Daydream, the film received two nominations at the 4th Magritte Awards. It also received three nominations at the 39th César Awards, winning in one category, Colin has a very pleasant life, he is rich, he loves the food his cook makes, he loves his pianocktail and his friend Chick. One day while having lunch with Chick, Chick tells him that he met a girl named Alise with whom he has a common passion, Colin meets Chloe at a party Chick invited him to. They fall in love, marry, but Chloe becomes ill during their honeymoon, as time passes, Chloes condition deteriorates while the relationship between Chick and Alise turns sour. Colin spends his fortune on treating Chloe, which causes him to fire his cook and sell his pianocktail. Alise tracks down Partre himself and kills him, the aesthetic of the film changes from colorful and whimsical to monochromatic and tragic as the film progresses. These effects are observed most acutely in Colins home, which decays supernaturally, and his mouse, the novel had previously been adapted into a 1968 French film with the English title Spray of the Days, and a 2001 Japanese film with the title Chloe. Mood Indigo was produced by Brio Films, with support from France 2 Cinéma, StudioCanal. It was pre-acquired by Canal+ and Ciné+, and received 650,000 euro from Eurimages, the total budget was 19 million euro. Filming started 10 April 2012 and ended on 23 July, locations were used in Belgium and around Paris. The film premiered in France and Belgium on 24 April 2013, drafthouse Films released the film in the United States in a version cut down to 94 minutes, compared to the full runtime of 125 minutes. The film had 861,627 admissions in France, at AlloCinés review aggregator, it has an average score of 3.0 out of 5 based on 34 French-language reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 62% rating based on ninety-eight reviews, the critical consensus reads as, Mood Indigo is far from Michel Gondrys most compelling work, but it doesnt skimp on the visual whimsy and heartfelt emotion fans have come to expect. It holds a 54/100 on Metacritic, Mood Indigo at the Internet Movie Database
10.
Radiohead
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Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed OBrien, Colin Greenwood and they have worked with producer Nigel Godrich and cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. After signing to EMI in 1991, Radiohead released their debut single Creep in 1992 and it became a worldwide hit after the release of their debut album, Pablo Honey. Their popularity and critical standing rose in the United Kingdom with the release of their second album, despite initially dividing listeners, Kid A was later named the best album of the decade by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and the Times. Radioheads sixth album, Hail to the Thief, mixed rock and electronic music with lyrics inspired by the War on Terror and their subsequent releases have pioneered alternative release platforms such as pay-what-you-want and BitTorrent. Radiohead self-released their seventh album, In Rainbows, as a download for which customers could set their own price, to critical and their eighth album, The King of Limbs, an exploration of rhythm, was developed using extensive looping and sampling. Their ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool, prominently featured Jonny Greenwoods orchestral arrangements, Radiohead have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. Their work places highly in both polls and critics lists of the best music of the 1990s and 2000s. In 2009, Rolling Stone readers voted the group the second-best artist of the 2000s, the members of Radiohead met while attending Abingdon School, an independent school for boys in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. In 1985, they formed On a Friday, the name referring to the usual rehearsal day in the schools music room. At one point, On a Friday featured a saxophone section, the band disliked the schools strict atmosphere—the headmaster once charged the band for using a rehearsal room on a Sunday—and found solace in the schools music department. They credited their music teacher for introducing them to jazz, film scores, postwar avant-garde music, Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley had an active independent music scene in the late 1980s, but it centred on shoegazing bands such as Ride and Slowdive. Although all but Jonny had left Abingdon by 1987 to attend university, On a Friday continued to rehearse on weekends, in 1991, On a Friday regrouped, sharing a house on the corner of Magdalen Road and Ridgefield Road, Oxford. As On a Friday continued to perform in Oxford, including performances at the Jericho Tavern, record labels. Chris Hufford, Slowdives producer and co-owner of Oxfords Courtyard Studios, impressed, he and his partner Bryce Edge produced a demo tape and became On a Fridays managers, they remain Radioheads managers today. At the labels request, the changed their name, Radiohead was taken from the song Radio Head on the Talking Heads album True Stories. Radiohead recorded their debut release, the Drill EP, with Chris Hufford, released in May 1992, its chart performance was poor. The band enlisted Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, who had worked with US indie bands Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. to produce their debut album, Radiohead released their debut album, Pablo Honey, in February 1993
11.
Beck
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Beck Hansen, known mononymously as Beck, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is mostly known for his composition, as well as a palette of sonic genres. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style. Today, he musically encompasses folk, funk, soul, hip hop, alternative rock, country and he has released 12 studio albums, as well as several non-album singles and a book of sheet music. Born in Los Angeles in 1970, Beck grew towards hip-hop and folk in his teens and began to perform locally at coffeehouses and he moved to New York City in 1989 and became involved in the citys small fiery anti-folk movement. Returning to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, he cut his breakthrough single Loser, which became a hit in 1994, and released his first major album, Mellow Gold. Odelay, released in 1996, produced hit singles, topped critic polls and he released the psychedelic Mutations in 1998, and the funk-infused Midnite Vultures in 1999. The soft-acoustic Sea Change in 2002 showcased a more serious Beck and he is reportedly working on a thirteenth studio album, with the singles Dreams and Wow having already been released. Two of Becks most popular and acclaimed recordings are Odelay and Sea Change, the four-time platinum artist has collaborated with several artists and has made several contributions to soundtracks. Beck is married to actress Marissa Ribisi, and is an active Scientologist, Beck was born in Los Angeles, to David Campbell, a Canadian-born musician, and Bibbe Hansen, a visual artist and former Warhol superstar. Bibbes mother was half Jewish, while Bibbes father, Al Hansen, was partly of Norwegian descent, Beck has said that he was raised celebrating Jewish holidays, and that he considers himself Jewish. Becks mother grew up amid New Yorks Andy Warhol Factory art scene of the 1960s, but moved to California at age 17 and his father is a Canadian-born arranger, composer and conductor who worked on hundreds of albums and numerous films. Beck began life in a house near downtown Los Angeles. As a child, he lived in a neighborhood just off Hollywood Boulevard. By the time we left there, they were ripping out miles of houses en masse and building low-rent, giant apartment blocks, the lower-class family struggled financially, moving to Hoover and Ninth Street, a neighborhood populated primarily by Koreans and Salvadorian refugees. He was sent for a time to live with his grandparents in Kansas. Since his paternal grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, Beck grew up influenced by church music, Beck also spent time in Europe with his maternal grandfather, Al Hansen, a visual collage artist and a pioneer in the avant-garde Fluxus movement. Beck obtained his first guitar at 16 and became a street musician, during his teens, Beck discovered the music of Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore and X, but remained uninterested in most music outside folk until many years into his career
12.
The Chemical Brothers
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The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo composed of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, originating in Manchester in 1989. Along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, in the UK, they have had six number one albums and 13 top 20 singles, including two number ones. Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London on 9 June 1970 to a barrister mother, Simons two main interests when he was young were aeroplanes and musicals. Simons attended two South London public schools, Alleyns School and Dulwich College, during his school years, he developed a fondness for rare groove and hip hop music, having frequented a club called The Mud Club from the age of 14. By the time he left school, his two main interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. After finishing school with 11 O levels and three A levels, he continued on to history, especially late medieval history, at the University of Manchester. Tom Rowlands, a classmate of Simons, was born on 11 January 1971 in Kingston upon Thames. When Rowlands was very young, his family relocated to Henley-on-Thames and he later attended Reading Blue Coat School in Berkshire. In his early teens, his interest in music broadened to other genres and he described the first Public Enemy album as the record that probably changed his life, and commented that Miuzi Weighs a Ton was one of the most amazing tracks he had ever heard. Rowlands also started collecting hip hop records by artists like Eric B and Schoolly D. Rowlands left school with similar accomplishments to Simons, achieving nine O levels and three A levels. For university, he followed Simons to Manchester primarily to immerse himself in its music scene in general, Rowlands was also in a band called Ariel prior to meeting up with Simons. Ariel was formed in London by Rowlands and his friends Brendan Melck and their first single was Sea of Beats, which was essentially a white label. Before Philip Brown set up Echo Logik Records, their first promo was Bokadilo, other songs, released on 12, included Mustnt Grumble and their most well-known, Rollercoaster. After a year on Echo Logik they signed to the record label deConstruction and they insisted that they get a female singer and they recruited former Xpansions frontwoman Sally Ann Marsh, and after some disappointing songs like Let It Slide the band fell apart. One of the last things Ariel did was the song T Baby which was remixed by the pair, in regards to the remix, Ed stated that Ariel symbolically ended when Deconstruction asked us for a Dust Brothers remix of an Ariel track. That was the nail in the coffin. Tom would later say in a TV interview from 1995, One of the blokes went a bit mad, but now hes back at college, and the other one drives our van. Rowlands and Simons then started to DJ at a club called Naked Under Leather in the back of a pub in 1992, the pair would play hip hop, techno, and house
13.
The White Stripes
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The White Stripes were an American rock duo formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of Jack White and Meg White, after releasing several singles and three albums within the Detroit music scene, The White Stripes rose to prominence in 2002, as part of the garage rock revival scene. The band recorded two albums, Get Behind Me Satan in 2005 and Icky Thump in 2007. The White Stripes used a low-fidelity approach to writing and recording and their music featured a melding of garage rock and blues influences and a raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance. The bands discography consists of six albums, one live album. Their last three albums each won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, as a senior in high school, Jack Gillis, met Megan White at the Memphis Smoke—the restaurant where she worked and where he would read his poetry at open mic nights. The two became friends, and began to frequent the shops, local music venues. By this time, Gillis was already playing drums with friends, including his upholstery apprenticeship mentor. In 1994, he got his first professional job as the drummer for the Detroit cowpunk band Goober & the Peas, after a courtship, Gillis and White got married on September 21,1996, contrary to convention, he took his wifes surname. Shortly after, Goober and the Peas broke up, but Jack continued to play in bands, such as the garage punk band The Go, The Hentchmen. In 1997—allegedly on Bastille Day—Meg first began to learn to play the drums, in Jacks words, When she started to play drums with me, just on a lark, it felt liberating and refreshing. There was something in it opened me up. The couple then became a band and, while they considered calling themselves Bazooka and Soda Powder, Jack explained the band names origin this way, Meg loves peppermints, and we were going to call ourselves The Peppermints. But since our last name was White, we decided to call it The White Stripes and it revolved around this childish idea, the ideas kids have—because they are so much better than adult ideas, right. White has explained that used these colors to distract from the fact that they were young. They were also noted for their lack of a bass player, the White Stripes had their first live performance on August 14,1997, at the Gold Dollar bar in Detroit. They began their career as part of the Michigan underground garage rock scene, playing with bands such as The Hentchmen, The Dirtbombs, The Gories. In 1998, Dave Buick—owner of an independent, Detroit-based, garage-punk label called Italy Records—approached the band at a bar, Jack initially declined, believing it would be too expensive, but he eventually reconsidered when he realized that Buick was offering to pay for it
14.
Stowaway in the Sky
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Stowaway in the Sky is a 1960 French family adventure film, directed by Albert Lamorisse. Albert Lamorisse used his ten-year-old son Pascal as the character in the film. The film tells the story of Pascal, a child whos fascinated by his grandfathers lighter-than-air balloon. The older man claims hes invented the best mode of transportation, the altitude, direction, and speed of the balloon are all under the direction of the pilot. As the grand-père takes the balloon on a demonstration, Pascal climbs on board, the balloon travels all around France, Brittany, over the ocean, and over Mont Blanc in the Alps. The land-bound adults have conniptions as the balloon wafts by, yet, jack Lemmon, the narrator of the films English version, was so impressed with the film that he bought the American rights. Wins Venice Film Festival, OCIC Award, Le Voyage en ballon,1960, nominations Venice Film Festival, Golden Lion, Le Voyage en ballon,1960. Stowaway in the Sky at the Internet Movie Database, stowaway in the Sky at AllMovie
15.
Music video
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A music video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to more than just a song. Tie ins and merchandising could be used in toys or marketing campaigns for food, although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they came into prominence in the 1980s when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by terms including illustrated song, filmed insert, promotional film, promotional clip, promotional video, song video. Music videos use a range of styles of contemporary videomaking techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation, music, combining these styles and techniques has become more popular because of the variation it presents to the audience. Many music videos interpret images and scenes from the songs lyrics, other music videos may be without a set concept, being merely a filmed version of the songs live performance. Product placement is a technique in music videos, exemplified by the appearance of the Beats Pill in numerous hip hop videos. In 1894, sheet music publishers Edward B, marks and Joe Stern hired electrician George Thomas and various performers to promote sales of their song The Little Lost Child. Using a magic lantern, Thomas projected a series of images on a screen simultaneous to live performances. This would become a form of entertainment known as the illustrated song. In 1926, with the arrival of many musical short films were produced. Vitaphone shorts featured many bands, vocalists and dancers, early 1930s cartoons featured popular musicians performing their hit songs on-camera in live-action segments during the cartoons. The early animated films by Walt Disney, such as the Silly Symphonies shorts and especially Fantasia, the Warner Brothers cartoons, even today billed as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, were initially fashioned around specific songs from upcoming Warner Brothers musical films. Live action musical shorts, featuring such performers as Cab Calloway, were also distributed to theaters. Blues singer Bessie Smith appeared in a short film called St. Louis Blues featuring a dramatized performance of the hit song. Numerous other musicians appeared in short musical subjects during this period, soundies, produced and released from 1940 to 1947, were musical films that often included short dance sequences, similar to later music videos
16.
Human Behaviour
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Human Behaviour is a song by Icelandic recording artist Björk from her album Debut. The song was released in June 1993, the song was produced by Björks longtime collaborator Nellee Hooper. Human Behaviour is an art pop song with lyrics reflecting upon human nature, the song and music video were inspired by British broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough. Critics praised Human Behaviour and deemed it a highlight of the album, the song was an underground smash, which peaked at number two on the dance charts and reached number 36 in the UK Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Michel Gondry and is the first time the two collaborated, the video, as the song, is a story about the relation between humans and animals, from the animal point of view. Human Behaviour was written by Nellee Hooper and Björk, and was produced by Hooper, the song was first written in 1988 when Björk was still the leading singer of The Sugarcubes, but she decided not to release it with the band. The song was inspired by David Attenborough documentaries and by the relation between humans and animals, Björk explained to Rolling Stone, talking about the inspiration for the song, Human Behaviour is an animals point of view on humans. And the animals are definitely supposed to win in the end, the song was also inspired by the riff from Ray Brown Orchestras Go Down Dying. This is the first song on the Isobel song cycle, a cycle in Björks discography which goes from Human Behaviour to Wanderlust. The B-side contained in the edition of the single is the reggae-influenced Atlantic. Its lyrics talks about Björks family, My son has eight grandmothers and eight grandfathers and its about the love, Human Behaviour bears influences from electronica, alternative rock and alternative dance. The melody-line of Human Behaviour was originally called Murder for Two, however, the band didnt know what music to play to the melody-line, so Björk used it for her debut album. The percussion intro is a mix between African and Asian rhythms and contains a sample from Go Down Dying by Brazilian artist Antonio Carlos Jobim, the song opens with sounds of drums and snapping, during the second verse a bass is heard. Björk sings the bridge accompanied by strings, the song continues with a keyboard solo and finishes as Björk sings Theres definitely, definitely, definitely no logic/Human. In the album version, as the song out, the second track Crying begins. The music video was directed by Michel Gondry, and this was the first time he, Björk talked about the video in an interview with Rolling Stone, Human Behaviour is an animals point of view on humans. And the animals are definitely supposed to win in the end, so why, one might ask, is the conquering bear presented as a man-made toy. I guess I just didnt think it would be fair to force an animal to act in a video, I mean, that would be an extension of what Im against
17.
Daft Punk
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Daft Punk are a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. The duo were managed from 1996 to 2008 by Pedro Winter, the duo released their debut studio album Homework through Virgin Records in 1997 to highly positive reviews. The duos next album Discovery was even more successful, driven by the release of the hit singles One More Time, Digital Love, in March 2005, the duo released their third album Human After All to mixed reviews. However, the singles Robot Rock and Technologic achieved considerable success in the United Kingdom, Daft Punk toured throughout 2006 and 2007 and released the live album Alive 2007, which won a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. The duo later composed the score for the Disney film Tron, Legacy in 2010, in January 2013, Daft Punk left Virgin for Columbia Records, and released their next album Random Access Memories in 2013 to worldwide critical acclaim. The albums lead single Get Lucky became a success, peaking on top 10 charts in 32 countries. Random Access Memories won five Grammy Awards in 2014, including Album of the Year, Daft Punk later gained their first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song Starboy, a collaboration with The Weeknd. Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met in 1987 while attending the Lycée Carnot, the two became good friends and later recorded demo tracks with others from the school. This eventually led to the formation of the group called Darlin with Laurent Brancowitz in 1992. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo played bass and guitar, respectively, while Brancowitz performed on drums, the trio had branded themselves after The Beach Boys song of the same name, which they covered along with an original composition. Stereolab released both tracks on a multi-artist Duophonic Records EP and invited the band to open for stage shows in the United Kingdom, Bangalter felt that The rock n roll thing we did was pretty average, I think. It was so brief, maybe six months, four songs, a negative review in Melody Maker by Dave Jennings subsequently dubbed the music a daft punky thrash. Instead of dismissing the review, they found it amusing, as de Homem-Christo stated, We struggled so long to find Darlin, and this happened so quickly. Darlin soon disbanded, leaving Brancowitz to pursue other efforts with Phoenix, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo formed Daft Punk and experimented with drum machines and synthesisers. In September 1993, Daft Punk attended a rave at EuroDisney, the demo tape given to Macmillan at the rave formed the basis for Daft Punks debut single, The New Wave, a limited release in 1994. The single also contained the final mix of The New Wave called Alive, Daft Punk returned to the studio in May 1995 to record Da Funk. It became the duos first commercially successful single the same year, after the success of Da Funk, Daft Punk looked to find a manager. The duo eventually settled on Pedro Winter, who promoted them
18.
The Vines (band)
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The Vines are an Australian rock band formed in 1994 in Sydney. Their sound has been described as a hybrid of 1960s garage rock. The bands current line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Craig Nicholls, bass guitarist Tim John, in 2003, the album went platinum in Australia, and since then the band has released four albums and a best-of compilation from their time at Capitol Records. The Vines have released six albums to date. They were soon joined by Matthews school friend David Olliffe on drums, the name Rishikesh, suggested by Olliffe, refers to the Indian city where the Beatles visited an ashram in 1968. The local newspapers regularly misprinted the name as Rishi Chasms, so Nicholls suggested a new name, the Vines, as an homage to his father, the group started performing Nirvana and You Am I covers at backyard parties while developing their sound on Nicholls four-track recorder. Over the next few years, the Vines gigged infrequently and remained unknown, even in their hometown. On the strength of their demo, Rex Records put out what was to be their first single, Factory, the release became NMEs Single of the Week in November 2001. In July 2001, the band flew to Los Angeles to start recording their album, Highly Evolved. David Olliffe was replaced a few months later as a result of increasing record company interest, and the band hadwith session drummers such as Joey Waronker of R. E. M. Their debut single, Factory was released in November 2001 in the UK and gained a good response in the press, the band then signed to Heavenly Records in the UK in December 2001 and EMI in Australia in April 2002. The single Highly Evolved earned them critical acclaim as NME made it a single of the week in March 2002. The single charted in the UK at number 32 on the singles chart, the band appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in October 2002 with the words Rock is Back, Meet the Vines boldly emblazoned underneath. The release of the album saw more success, with the band appearing on the cover of NME. The album reached number 11 in the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 albums chart, the band played high-profile slots on the Late Show with David Letterman and the MTV Video Music Awards. Several more singles were released from the album, including Get Free, a fourth single, Homesick, was released in Australia only. The band went on to win an ARIA Award, Breakthrough Artist – Single, for Get Free in 2002, and were nominated for Best Group, Best Rock Album, Best Cover Art, and Breakthrough Artist – Album. Highly Evolved sold 1.5 million copies throughout the world with distribution through Capitol Records, by end of 2003, the album went platinum in Australia
19.
Grammy Award
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A Grammy Award, or Grammy, is an honor awarded by The Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of awards that have a more popular interest. It shares recognition of the industry as that of the other performance awards such as the Emmy Awards, the Tony Awards. The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4,1959, to honor, following the 2011 ceremony, The Academy overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. The 59th Grammy Awards, honoring the best achievements from October 2015 to September 2016, was held on February 12,2017, the Grammys had their origin in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. The music executives decided to rectify this by creating a given by their industry similar to the Oscars. This was the beginning of the National Academy of Recording Arts, after it was decided to create such an award, there was still a question of what to call it, one working title was the Eddie, to honor the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison. They finally settled on using the name of the invention of Emile Berliner, the gramophone, for the awards, the number of awards given grew and fluctuated over the years with categories added and removed, at one time reaching over 100. The second Grammy Awards, also held in 1959, was the first ceremony to be televised, the gold-plated trophies, each depicting a gilded gramophone, are made and assembled by hand by Billings Artworks in Ridgway, Colorado. In 1990 the original Grammy design was revamped, changing the traditional soft lead for a stronger alloy less prone to damage, Billings developed a zinc alloy named grammium, which is trademarked. The trophies with the name engraved on them are not available until after the award announcements. By February 2009,7,578 Grammy trophies had been awarded, the General Field are four awards which are not restricted by genre. Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a full album if other than the performer. Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a single song if other than the performer. Song of the Year is awarded to the writer/composer of a single song, Best New Artist is awarded to a promising breakthrough performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording that establishes the public identity of that artist. The only two artists to win all four of these awards are Christopher Cross, who won all four in 1980, and Adele, who won the Best New Artist award in 2009 and the other three in 2012 and 2017. Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other such as artwork. Special awards are given for longer-lasting contributions to the music industry, the many other Grammy trophies are presented in a pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony earlier in the afternoon before the Grammy Awards telecast
20.
Bullet Time
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Bullet time is a visual effect or visual impression of detaching the time and space of a camera from that of its visible subject. It is a depth enhanced simulation of variable-speed action and performance found in films, broadcast advertisements and it is characterized both by its extreme transformation of time and space. Technical and historical variations of this effect have been referred to as time slicing, view morphing, temps mort, the term bullet time is a registered trademark of Warner Bros. formally established in March 2005, in connection with the video game The Matrix Online. The term had first been used within the script of the 1999 film The Matrix. In the years since the introduction of the term during The Matrix films it has become a commonly applied expression in popular culture, the technique of using a group of still cameras to freeze motion occurred before the invention of cinema itself. It dates back to the 19th-century experiments by Eadweard Muybridge, who analyzed the motion of a horse by using a line of cameras to photograph the animal as it ran past. Muybridge later assembled the pictures into an animation, by placing them on a glass disk which he spun in front of a light source. His zoopraxiscope may have been an inspiration for Thomas Edison to explore the idea of motion pictures, the first widely noticed predecessor of bullet time were Leni Riefenstahls famous diving sequences from her documentary Olympia of the Olympic Games in 1936. Riefenstahl used a single camera slow motion tracking shot technique to achieve a similar effect, Muybridge also took photos of actions from many angles at the same instant in time, to study how the human body went up stairs, for example. In effect, however, Muybridge had achieved the aesthetic opposite to modern bullet-time sequences, a debt may also be owed to MIT professor Doc Edgerton, who, in the 1940s, captured now-iconic photos of bullets using xenon strobe lights to freeze motion. The first application of time was depicted in a scene from the 1962 movie Zotz. where Professor Jonathan Jones uses a magical amulet. Bullet-time as a concept was developed in cel animation. In 1980, Tim Macmillan started producing pioneering video work in field while studying for a BA at the Bath Academy of Art using 16mm film arranged in a progressing sequence of pinhole cameras. The first music video to use aspects of bullet-time was Midnight Mover, similar time-slice effects were also featured in commercials for The Gap, and in feature films such as Lost in Space and Buffalo 66. Subsequently, the 1998 film Blade featured a scene that used computer generated bullets, the 1999 film The Matrix combined these elements, popularizing both the effect and the term bullet-time. The Matrixs version of the effect was created by John Gaeta, rigs of still cameras were set up in patterns determined by simulations, and then shot either simultaneously or sequentially. Interpolation effects, digital compositing, and computer generated virtual scenery were used to improve the fluidity of the apparent camera motion, following The Matrix, bullet time and other slow-motion effects were featured as key gameplay mechanics in various video games. Cyclone Studios Requiem, Avenging Angel, released in March 1999, remedy Entertainments 2001 video game Max Payne contains a slow-motion mechanic that allows players to view the paths of bullets, an effect explicitly referred to as Bullet Time
21.
The Matrix
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The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction film written and directed by The Wachowskis, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. Computer programmer Neo learns this truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, the film is an example of the cyberpunk science fiction genre. The Matrix was first released in the United States on March 31,1999 and it was generally well-received by critics, and won four Academy Awards as well as other accolades including BAFTA Awards and Saturn Awards. Reviewers praised The Matrix for its visual effects, cinematography. The films premise was both criticized for being derivative of earlier science fiction works, and praised for being intriguing, the action also polarized critics, some describing it as impressive, but others dismissing it as a trite distraction from an interesting premise. The film has appeared in lists of the greatest science fiction films. The success of the led to the release of two feature film sequels, both written and directed by the Wachowskis, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. The Matrix franchise was expanded through the production of comic books, video games. Trinity, a hacker, is cornered by police in an abandoned hotel. She overpowers them with superhuman abilities, but a group of sinister superhuman black-suited Agents lead the police in a rooftop pursuit and she answers a ringing public telephone and vanishes. Thomas Anderson is a programmer living a double life under the hacker alias Neo. He believes something is wrong with the world and is puzzled by repeated online encounters with the phrase the Matrix. Trinity contacts him, saying that a man named Morpheus can explain its meaning, however, the Agents, led by Agent Smith, apprehend Neo at his office. Undeterred, Neo meets Morpheus, who offers him a choice between a red pill that will allow him to learn the truth about the Matrix, and a blue pill that will return him to his old life. Swallowing the red pill, Neos reality disintegrates and he awakens, naked and weak, in a liquid-filled pod and he is rescued and brought aboard Morpheuss hovercraft, the Nebuchadnezzar. Morpheus explains that, in the 21st century, intelligent machines waged a war against the humans that created them, when humans blocked the machines access to solar energy, the machines began to harvest the humans bioelectricity for power. The Matrix is a simulation of the world as it was in 1999 in which the minds of the harvested humans are trapped and pacified. Morpheus and his crew belong to a group of rebels who hack into the Matrix and unplug enslaved humans, the rebels understanding of the simulated reality allows them to bend its physical laws, granting them superhuman abilities
22.
Smirnoff
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Smirnoff is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov. It is now distributed in 130 countries and it is produced in several countries including India, Ireland, Honduras, Albania, Mongolia, Latvia, the Philippines, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Smirnoff products include vodka, flavoured vodka, and malt beverages, in March 2006, Diageo North America claimed that Smirnoff vodka was the best-selling distilled spirit brand in the world. The vodka is made using a traditional charcoal filtration method developed by P. A SMIRNOFF, recipe NO.21 was created by P. A. s son Vladimir after escaping Russia and the Bolshevik revolution. His brand was reportedly a Tsar favorite, when Pyotr died, he was succeeded by his third son Vladimir Smirnov. The company flourished and produced more than 4 million cases of vodka per year, in 1904, the Tsar nationalized the Russian vodka industry and Vladimir Smirnov was forced to sell his factory and brand. During the October Revolution of 1917, the Smirnov family had to flee the country, Vladimir Smirnov re-established a factory in 1920 in Constantinople. Four years later he moved to Lwów and started to sell the vodka under the contemporary French spelling of the name, the new product sold marginally well but not nearly as it had in Russia prior to 1904. An additional distillery was founded in Paris in 1925, however the company was a shadow of its former self, in the 1930s, Vladimir met Rudolph Kunett, a Russian who had emigrated to America in the 1920s and became a successful businessman in New York City. The Kunett family had been a supplier of grains to Smirnoff in Moscow before the Revolution, in 1933, Vladimir sold Kunett the right to begin producing Smirnoff vodka in North America. He then returned to the United States, quit his sales job, however, the business in America was not as successful as Kunett had hoped. In 1938 Kunett could not afford to pay for the necessary sales licences, Heublein was a company that specialized in the import and export of liquors and foreign foods. Using the $14,000 that the Heublein company made from a new product that ended up saving them from bankruptcy, A1 Steak Sauce and his board thought he was mad. Americans were traditionally whiskey drinkers unfamiliar with vodka and so sales were very slow, in a marketing move they changed the product to use whiskey corks instead and branded it as a white whiskey with no taste, no smell. Sales picked up considerably after that, in 1982, the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company acquired Heublein Inc. for $1.4 billion. RJR Nabisco sold the division to Grand Metropolitan in 1987, ironically, in 1985 Heublein Corporate Audit Manager Hanson J Kan had recommended to Heublein that they buy out the Grand Metropolitan IDV Smirnoff licensee with its global licensee locations. Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness to form Diageo in 1997, suddenly 500,000 Soviet soldiers were paid in hard currency and had almost nothing to do except drink
23.
Vodka
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Vodka is a distilled beverage composed primarily of water and ethanol, sometimes with traces of impurities and flavorings. Traditionally, vodka is made by the distillation of cereal grains or potatoes that have been fermented, though some modern brands use other substances, the European Union has established a minimum of 37. 5% ABV for any European vodka to be named as such. Products sold as vodka in the United States must have an alcohol content of 40%. Even with these restrictions, most vodka sold contains 40% ABV. For homemade vodkas and distilled beverages referred to as moonshine, see moonshine by country, Vodka is traditionally drunk neat, though it is often served chilled in the vodka belt countries. It is also used in cocktails and mixed drinks, such as the vodka martini, Cosmopolitan, vodka tonic, Screwdriver, Greyhound, Black or White Russian, Moscow Mule. The name vodka is a form of the Slavic word voda, interpreted as little water. The word vodka was recorded for the first time in 1405 in Akta Grodzkie, at the time, the word vodka referred to medicines and cosmetic products, while the beverage was called gorzałka, which is also the source of Ukrainian horilka. The word vodka written in Cyrillic appeared first in 1533, in relation to a medicinal drink brought from Poland to Russia by the merchants of Kievan Rus. Although the word vodka could be found in manuscripts and in lubok pictograms. It was attested in Sámuel Gyarmathis Russian-German-Hungarian glossary of 1799, where it is glossed with Latin vinum adustum, in English literature the word vodka was attested already in the late 18th century. In a book of his travels published in English in 1780, william Tooke in 1799 glossed vodka as rectified corn-spirits. In French, Théophile Gautier in 1800 glossed it as a grain liquor served with meals in Poland, in Russian during the 17th and 18th centuries, горящѣе вино or горячее вино was widely used. Others languages include the German Branntwein, Danish brændevin, Dutch, brandewijn, Swedish, brännvin, scholars debate the beginnings of vodka. It is an issue because very little historical material is available. For many centuries, beverages differed significantly compared to the vodka of today, as the spirit at that time had a different flavor, color and smell and it contained little alcohol, an estimated maximum of about 14%, as only this amount can be attained by natural fermentation. The still, allowing for distillation, increased purity, and increased alcohol content, was invented in the 8th century, in Poland, vodka has been produced since the early Middle Ages with local traditions as varied as the production of cognac in France, or Scottish whisky. The word written in Cyrillic appeared first in 1533, in relation to a medicinal drink brought from Poland to Russia by the merchants of Kievan Rus, in these early days, the spirits were used mostly as medicines
24.
Gap Inc.
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The Gap, Inc. commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap, is an American worldwide clothing and accessories retailer. It was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Andreas Antoniou and is headquartered in San Francisco, the company operates five primary divisions, the namesake banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Intermix, and Athleta. Gap Inc. is the largest specialty retailer in the United States, as of September 2008, the company has approximately 135,000 employees and operates 3,727 stores worldwide, of which 2,406 are located in the U. S. The Fisher family remains involved in the company, collectively owning much of its stock. Donald Fisher served as Chairman of the Board until 2004, playing a role in the ouster of then-CEO Millard Drexler in 2002, fishers wife and their son, Robert J. Fisher, also serve on Gaps board of directors. Robert succeeded his father as chairman in 2004 and also served as CEO on an interim basis following the resignation of Paul Pressler in 2007, on February 1,2015, Art Peck took over as CEO. They had raised US$63,000 to open the store, in 1970, Gap opened its second store in San Jose, California, its back room serves as the companys first replenishment warehouse. In 1971, Gap established its headquarters in Burlingame, California with four employees. By 1973, the company had over 25 locations and had expanded into the East Coast market with a store in the Echelon Mall in Voorhees, in 1974, Gap began to sell private-label merchandise. In the 1990s, Gap assumed an upscale identity and revamped its inventory under the direction of Millard Drexler, however, Drexler was removed from his position after 19 years of service in 2002 after over-expansion, a 29-month slump in sales, and tensions with the Fisher family. Drexler refused to sign an agreement and eventually became CEO of J. Crew. One month after his departure, merchandise that he had ordered was responsible for a rebound in sales. Robert J. Fisher recruited Paul Pressler as the new CEO, he was credited with closing under-performing locations, however, his focus groups failed to recover the companys leadership in its market. That January, Pressler resigned after two disappointing holiday sales seasons and was succeeded by Robert J. Fisher on an interim basis. He began working with the company in 1980 and joined the board in 1990, and would later assume several senior positions, including president of Banana Republic. The boards search committee was led by Adrian Bellamy, chairman of The Body Shop International, on February 2, Marka Hansen, the former head of the Banana Republic division, replaced Cynthia Harriss as the leader of the Gap division. The executive president for marketing and merchandising Jack Calhoun became interim president of Banana Republic, in May, Old Navy laid off approximately 300 managers in lower volume locations to help streamline costs. That July, Glenn Murphy, previously CEO of Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada, was announced as the new CEO of Gap, Inc
25.
Spike Jonze
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Spike Jonze is an American director, producer, screenwriter and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television. Jonze is well known for his music video collaborations with Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, Weezer, the Beastie Boys, Björk and he was a co-creator and executive producer of MTVs Jackass. He is currently the director of Vice Media, Inc. He is part owner of skateboard company Girl Skateboards with riders Rick Howard and he co-founded Directors Label, with filmmakers Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry, and the Palm Pictures company. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, Best Director for Being John Malkovich and he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the 2014 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Her. Jonze was born on October 22,1969 in Rockville, Maryland and his father, Arthur H. Spiegel III, was a distant relation of the Spiegel catalog family, and founded APM Management Consultants. His mother, Sandra L. Granzow, is a writer, communications consultant in developing countries and his brother, Sam Squeak E. Clean Spiegel, is a producer and DJ. He also has a sister, Julia and his father was from a German Jewish family, while his mother has German, Scottish, and English ancestry. Jonze attended the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, California, when he was a junior in high school, Jonze spent time at a Bethesda community store, where the former owner Mike Henderson gave him his nickname Spike Jonze in reference to Spike Jones. He fronted Club Homeboy, an international BMX club, with Mark Lew Lewman and Andy Jenkins, the three also created the youth culture magazines Homeboy and Dirt. In 2006, he was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Achievement in Commercials in 2005 and he was nominated for a body of work that included Hello Tomorrow for Adidas, Lamp for IKEA, and Pardon Our Dust for The Gap. He was a producer and co-creator of MTV television series Jackass and Jackass, The Movie, also directing some of the segments. Jonze has acted in videos and films, his most prominent role was in Three Kings as the sweet, dimwitted, casually racist Conrad. Jonze was a co-founder and editor of Dirt magazine along with Mark Lewman and Andy Jenkins, as well as an editor for Grand Royal Magazine and senior photographer for Transworld Skateboarding. In the past, Jonze shot street skateboarding videos, most notably Blinds highly influential Video Days in 1991 and he co-directed the Girl Skateboards film Yeah Right. and the Chocolate Skateboards video Hot Chocolate. In the closing montage of Yeah Right. Spike is shown doing a nollie heelflip in loafers and he is co-owner of Girl Skateboards. Jonze has many alter egos, including Richard Koufey, the leader of the Torrance Community Dance Group, the Koufey persona appeared when Jonze, in character, filmed himself dancing to Fatboy Slims The Rockafeller Skank as it played on a boom box in a public area
26.
David Fincher
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David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American director and producer, notably for films, television series, and music videos. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for the fantasy drama The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. For the latter, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and his films Zodiac and The Social Network are ranked in BBCs 2016 poll of the greatest motion pictures since 2000. Howard died of cancer in April 2003, Fincher knew from a young age he wanted to go into filmmaking. When Fincher was two old, the family moved to San Anselmo, California, where filmmaker George Lucas was one of his neighbors. Fincher moved to Ashland, Oregon in his teens, where he graduated from Ashland High School, inspired by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Fincher began making movies at age eight with an 8mm camera. Fincher was employed at Korty Films as a production assistant and he moved up the ranks and became a visual effects producer, working on the animated Twice Upon a Time. He was hired by Industrial Light & Magic in 1983 as an assistant cameraman and matte photographer, and worked on Return of the Jedi and Indiana Jones, in 1984, he left ILM to direct a commercial for the American Cancer Society that depicted a fetus smoking a cigarette. This quickly brought Fincher to the attention of producers in Los Angeles, though he would continue to direct spots for Levis, Converse, Nike, Pepsi, Revlon, Sony, Coca-Cola, Chanel, and other companies, Fincher began to focus on music videos. Set on a career, Fincher co-founded video-production company Propaganda Films and started off directing music videos. After directing several music videos, Finchers feature debut was Alien 3, while it received an Oscar nomination for visual effects, the film was not well received by critics or moviegoers. Fincher became involved with disputes with 20th Century Fox over script. In Directors Cut, Picturing Hollywood in the 21st Century, he blames the producers for not putting the necessary trust in him. He stated in an interview with The Guardian in 2009, No one hated it more than me, to this day, no one hates it more than me. After this, he retreated back into the world of commercial, the film, based on a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker, told the story of two detectives tracking down a serial killer who bases his killings on the seven deadly sins. The film grossed more than $100 million domestically, after the success of Seven, Fincher went on to film The Game. The story focused on a closed-off San Francisco businessman who receives a gift from his younger brother. The film had middling box-office returns despite being well received by critics, Fight Club is a screen adaptation of Chuck Palahniuks 1996 novel about an insomniac office worker who opens up a club devoted exclusively to bare knuckle fighting for men
27.
Human Nature (film)
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Human Nature is a 2001 American-French comedy-drama film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry in his directorial debut. The film stars Tim Robbins, Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto and it was screened out of competition at the 54th Cannes International Film Festival. Most of the film is told as flashback, Puff testifies to Congress, Lila Jute tells her story to the police, Lila is a woman with a rare hormonal imbalance which causes thick hair to grow all over her body. During her 20s, Lila decides to leave society and live within nature where she feels free to exist comfortably in her natural state and she writes a successful book about her naked, savage, happy, and free life in the woods embracing nature. Then, at age 30, strong sexual desire causes her to return to civilization and have her hair removed in order to find a partner, the partner she finds is Dr. Nathan Bronfman, a psychologist researching the possibility of teaching table manners to mice. Lila and Nathan go hiking in the one day. Lila sights a man in the woods who has believed himself to be an ape his entire life. Lila discards her clothes and chases him until hes cornered on a tree branch, the man falls off the branch and fall unconscious as Nathan comes along. Nathan brings this man to his lab where the man is named Puff and this name is after his French research assistant, Gabrielles childhood dog. We discover later from her call to an unknown person that she is actually an American with a fake French accent. To demonstrate his success, Nathan takes Puff on tour, Puff secretly drinks heavily and patronizes prostitutes. Meanwhile, Nathan and Lilas relationship deteriorates and Nathan has an affair with Gabrielle, eventually Lila decides to take Puff back into the forest to undo his manner training and return him to his natural state. Lila and Puff live naked in the woods together until Nathan finds them one day, Lila turns herself in as the murderer and asks Puff to testify on the waywardness of humanity before he returns to his home in the forest. After the reporters and spectators leave, Puff comes back out of the forest and they both drive off to get food. At the end of the film, there is a passage read while the credits appear. It is an excerpt of William of Ockham from Opera Theologica in which Ockham explains his theory of intuitive cognition. Soderberghs considerations for casting were for David Hyde Pierce in the role of Nathan Bronfman, Chris Kattan in the role of Puff and he was about to go into pre-production when he was offered Out of Sight and after much deliberation he left the project. Human Nature was met with mixed reviews, earning a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator site, roger Ebert, in a three-star review, lauded the films screwball charm
28.
Charlie Kaufman
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Charles Stuart Charlie Kaufman is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and lyricist. He wrote the films Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and he made his directorial debut with Synecdoche, New York, which was also well-received, film critic Roger Ebert named it the best movie of the decade in 2009. He also won two BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplays and one BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, three of Kaufmans scripts appear in the Writers Guild of Americas list of the 101 greatest movie screenplays ever written. Kaufman was born in New York City to a Jewish family on November 19,1958 and he grew up in Massapequa, New York before moving to West Hartford, Connecticut where he graduated high school. While attending high school, Kaufman was part of the drama club, performing in numerous productions before landing the lead role in a production of Play It Again. After high school graduation, Kaufman attended Boston University before transferring to New York University where he studied film, while attending New York University, Kaufman met Paul Proch, with whom he would write many unproduced scripts and plays. Between 1983 and 1984, Kaufman and Proch wrote comedic articles and his work included parodies of Kurt Vonnegut and the X-Men. Kaufman and Proch tried to get their screenplays produced, sending them to people in film industry. The only response the two ever received for their work was a letter from Alan Arkin in regards to their screenplay titled Purely Coincidental. In hope of finding talent agents the two began to write scripts for television series such as Married. In 1991, Kaufman moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in search of job prospects. Kaufman got his start in television by writing two episodes for Chris Elliotts Get a Life during the 1991–1992 season, during the 1993–1994 season, Kaufman worked on Foxs sketch comedy show The Edge. Kaufman wrote some pilot scripts while working as a television writer and he later worked as a writer for Ned and Stacey and The Dana Carvey Show. He first came to notice as the writer of Being John Malkovich, directed by Spike Jonze, earning an Academy Award nomination for his effort. He wrote the script on spec in 1994, sending it to companies and studios. Kaufman and Jonze reunited yet again as the director screenwriter respectively for Adaptation, Adaptation featured a fictionalized version of Kaufman and his fictional brother, Donald, who is credited as writer of the film along with Kaufman. The idea came to Kaufman while attempting to adapt Susan Orleans novel The Orchid Thief into film, struggling with writers block, Kaufman turned the script into an exaggerated account of his struggles with adapting the screenplay. The film focuses on Barriss claim to have been a CIA hit man and it was George Clooneys directorial debut
29.
Pierre Bismuth
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Pierre Bismuth is a French artist and filmmaker based in Brussels. His practice can be placed in the tradition of conceptual art and his work uses a variety of media and materials, including painting, sculpture, collage, video, architecture, performance, music, and film. Bismuth made his debut with the 2016 feature film Where is Rocky II. Pierre Bismuth was originally a visual communication student at les Arts Décoratifs and he met François Miehe there, one of his teachers, with whom he subsequently collaborated on several projects. In the 1980s Pierre Bismuth moved to Berlin where he attended Georg Baselitzs class of the Hochschule der Kunst, when he returned to France, he settled in Paris where he shared a studio with Xavier Veilhan and Pierre Huyghe. At the beginning of the 1990s, he settled in Brussels where he gave the show of Jan Mots new gallery on the rue Dansaert. In 2000, he moved to London, prompted by the Lisson Gallery, since then, his work has continued to be shown all over Europe and America. A striking aspect of Bimuths artistic practice consists in his collaborations with artists from the most various fields. Cosmic Galerie Christine König Galerie, Vienna, Austria Team Gallery
30.
Frame of reference
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In physics, a frame of reference consists of an abstract coordinate system and the set of physical reference points that uniquely fix the coordinate system and standardize measurements. In n dimensions, n+1 reference points are sufficient to define a reference frame. Using rectangular coordinates, a frame may be defined with a reference point at the origin. In Einsteinian relativity, reference frames are used to specify the relationship between an observer and the phenomenon or phenomena under observation. In this context, the phrase often becomes observational frame of reference, a relativistic reference frame includes the coordinate time, which does not correspond across different frames moving relatively to each other. The situation thus differs from Galilean relativity, where all possible coordinate times are essentially equivalent, the need to distinguish between the various meanings of frame of reference has led to a variety of terms. For example, sometimes the type of system is attached as a modifier. Sometimes the state of motion is emphasized, as in rotating frame of reference, sometimes the way it transforms to frames considered as related is emphasized as in Galilean frame of reference. Sometimes frames are distinguished by the scale of their observations, as in macroscopic and microscopic frames of reference, in this sense, an observational frame of reference allows study of the effect of motion upon an entire family of coordinate systems that could be attached to this frame. On the other hand, a system may be employed for many purposes where the state of motion is not the primary concern. For example, a system may be adopted to take advantage of the symmetry of a system. In a still broader perspective, the formulation of many problems in physics employs generalized coordinates, normal modes or eigenvectors and it seems useful to divorce the various aspects of a reference frame for the discussion below. A coordinate system is a concept, amounting to a choice of language used to describe observations. Consequently, an observer in a frame of reference can choose to employ any coordinate system to describe observations made from that frame of reference. A change in the choice of coordinate system does not change an observers state of motion. This viewpoint can be found elsewhere as well, which is not to dispute that some coordinate systems may be a better choice for some observations than are others. Choice of what to measure and with what observational apparatus is a separate from the observers state of motion. D. Norton, The discussion is taken beyond simple space-time coordinate systems by Brading, extension to coordinate systems using generalized coordinates underlies the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formulations of quantum field theory, classical relativistic mechanics, and quantum gravity
31.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
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Dave Chappelles Block Party, also known as Block Party, is a 2005 documentary film hosted and written by comedian Dave Chappelle, and directed by Michel Gondry. Its format is inspired by the documentary Wattstax, the film and its soundtrack are dedicated to the memory of music producer J Dilla who died from lupus one month before the films release. The film was released at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. The film grossed $12.1 million in the box office and debuted at #6 in its opening weekend, the film features nearby sites including the Broken Angel House in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn as well as areas in Fort Greene, Brooklyn and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The film was produced before Chappelles highly publicized decision to walk away from a $50 million deal to continue his hit Chappelles Show, and gained prominence after the announcement. Lauryn Hill was also scheduled to perform at the party, but since Columbia Records refused to release her songs for use in the production, in addition, Chappelle performed comedy monologues and sketches in between the musical acts. A compilation of music from and inspired by the film was released on March 14,2006, the album was released by Geffen Records, and produced by Corey Smyth for Blacksmith Music Corp and Questlove. Dead Prez – Hip Hop Black Star – Definition Jill Scott – Golden Mos Def – Universal Magnetic Talib Kweli feat, erykah Badu – The Blast Common feat. Erykah Badu & Bilal – The Light The Roots feat, big Daddy Kane & Kool G. Rap – Boom. Erykah Badu – Back in the Day Jill Scott – The Way Mos Def – UMI Says The Roots feat, many performances, including The Fugees reunion performance, could not be included due to legal restraints with the groups record labels. Chappelles version of Thelonious Monks Round Midnight was featured in the film, cody chesnuTT was featured in the film with his song ″Parting Ways″ among others, was not released on the compilation but is shown on the end credits. The film grossed $11,718,595 in the United States and an additional $333,329 overseas, giving the film a total gross of $12,051,924, based on a $3 million budget, the film was a moderate success. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 92% of critics gave positive based on 125 reviews with an average score of 7. 7/10. The general consensus is Dave Chappelles Block Party is a return to the spotlight for the comic, buoyed by witty, infectious humor. Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics. The DVD has sold a total of 1,240,405 copies since 2006, grossing a total of $18,776,445
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Dave Chappelle
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David Khari Dave Webber Chappelle is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His first lead role was in the 1998 comedy film Half Baked, Chappelle also starred in the ABC TV series Buddies. In 2003, Chappelle became more known for his sketch comedy television series, Chappelles Show, also co-written with Brennan. The show continues to run in syndication and on television networks around the world. By 2006, Chappelle was called the genius of America by Esquire and, in 2013. Chappelle lives with his family in Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 2009, Comedy Central ranked him No.43 in the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time. Chappelle was born in Washington, D. C. the youngest of three children and his father, William David Chappelle III, worked as a statistician before becoming a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His mother, Yvonne, is biracial, and was a professor at Howard University, Prince Georges Community College, and the University of Maryland, Chappelle also has a stepmother and a stepbrother. His great-grandfather is Bishop William D. Chappelle, a president of Allen University. Chappelle grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and attended Woodlin Elementary School and his parents were politically active, and the family house was visited by notable individuals including Pete Seeger and Johnny Hartman. The latter predicted he would be a comedian and, around this time, Chappelles comic inspiration came from Eddie Murphy, after his parents separated, Chappelle stayed in Washington with his mother while spending summers with his father in Ohio. In 1991, he graduated from Washingtons Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Chappelle moved to New York City to pursue a career as a comedian. He gathered the courage to perform at Harlems famed Apollo Theater in front of the infamous Amateur Night audience, Chappelle described the experience as the moment that gave him the courage to continue his show business aspirations. He quickly made a name for himself on the New York comedy circuit, whoopi Goldberg nicknamed him The Kid. At 19, he made his debut as Ahchoo in Mel Brooks Robin Hood. He also appeared on Star Search three times but lost over competing comedian Lester Barrie, Dave later joked about the irony of him becoming more successful than Barrie. The same year, Chappelle was offered the role of Benjamin Buford Bubba Blue in Forrest Gump, concerned the character was demeaning and the movie would bomb, he turned down the part. He parodied the film in the 1997 short Bowl of Pork, where a black man is responsible for the Rodney King beating
33.
Brooklyn
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Brooklyn is the most populous borough of New York City, with a Census-estimated 2,636,735 residents in 2015. It borders the borough of Queens at the end of Long Island. Today, if New York City dissolved, Brooklyn would rank as the third-most populous city in the U. S. behind Los Angeles, the borough continues, however, to maintain a distinct culture. Many Brooklyn neighborhoods are ethnic enclaves, Brooklyns official motto, displayed on the Borough seal and flag, is Eendraght Maeckt Maght which translates from early modern Dutch as Unity makes strength. Since 2010, Brooklyn has evolved into a hub of entrepreneurship and high technology startup firms. The history of European settlement in Brooklyn spans more than 350 years, the neighborhood of Marine Park was home to North Americas first tidal mill. It was built by the Dutch, and the foundation can be seen today, however, the area was not formally settled as a town. Many incidents and documents relating to this period are in Gabriel Furmans early compilation, what is today Brooklyn left Dutch hands after the final English conquest of New Netherland in 1664, a prelude to the Second Anglo–Dutch War. The English reorganized the six old Dutch towns on southwestern Long Island as Kings County on November 1,1683 and this tract of land was recognized as a political entity for the first time, and the municipal groundwork was laid for a later expansive idea of Brooklyn identity. On August 27,1776 was fought the Battle of Long Island, the first major engagement fought in the American Revolutionary War after independence was declared, and the largest of the entire conflict. British troops forced Continental Army troops under George Washington off the heights near the sites of Green-Wood Cemetery, Prospect Park. The fortified American positions at Brooklyn Heights consequently became untenable and were evacuated a few days later, One result of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 was the evacuation of the British from New York City, celebrated by residents into the 20th century. The New York Navy Yard operated in Wallabout Bay for the entire 19th century, the first center of urbanization sprang up in the Town of Brooklyn, directly across from Lower Manhattan, which saw the incorporation of the Village of Brooklyn in 1817. Reliable steam ferry service across the East River to Fulton Landing converted Brooklyn Heights into a town for Wall Street. Ferry Road to Jamaica Pass became Fulton Street to East New York, Town and Village were combined to form the first, kernel incarnation of the City of Brooklyn in 1834. Industrial deconcentration in mid-century was bringing shipbuilding and other manufacturing to the part of the county. Each of the two cities and six towns in Kings County remained independent municipalities, and purposely created non-aligning street grids with different naming systems and it later became the most popular and highest circulation afternoon paper in America. The publisher changed to L. Van Anden on April 19,1842, on May 14,1849 the name was shortened to The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, on September 5,1938 it was further shortened to Brooklyn Eagle
34.
Guinness World Records
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The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted book of all time. As of the 2017 edition, it is now in its 63rd year of publication, the international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the director of the Guinness Breweries, went on a shooting party in the North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford. After missing a shot at a golden plover, he involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe. That evening at Castlebridge House, he realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europes fastest game bird. Beaver knew that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in pubs throughout Ireland and abroad and he realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove successful. Beavers idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended University friends Norris and Ross McWhirter, the twin brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records in August 1954. A thousand copies were printed and given away, after the founding of The Guinness Book of Records at 107 Fleet Street, the first 198-page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British best seller lists by Christmas. The following year, it launched in the US, and sold 70,000 copies, since then, Guinness World Records has become a household name and the global leader in world records. Because the book became a hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision a year, published in September/October. The McWhirters continued to compile it for many years, Ross McWhirter was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975. Following Ross assassination, the feature in the show where questions about records posed by children were answered was called Norris on the Spot, Guinness Superlatives Limited was formed in 1954 to publish the first book. Sterling Publishing owned the rights to the Guinness book in the US for decades, and, under their management, the group was owned by Guinness PLC and subsequently Diageo until 2001, when it was purchased by Gullane Entertainment. Gullane was itself purchased by HIT Entertainment in 2002, with offices in New York City and Tokyo, Guinness World Records global headquarters remain in London, while its museum attractions are based at Ripley headquarters in Orlando, Florida, US. Recent editions have focused on record feats by person competitors, many records also relate to the youngest person who achieved something, such as the youngest person to visit all nations of the world, being Maurizio Giuliano. Each edition contains a selection of the records from the Guinness database, as well as new records. The majority of records are no longer listed in the book or on the website. For those unable to wait the 4–6 weeks for a reply, the Guinness Book of Records is the worlds most sold copyrighted book, earning it an entry within its own pages
35.
Levi Strauss & Co.
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/ˌliːvaɪ ˈstraʊs/ is a privately owned American clothing company known worldwide for its Levis /ˌliːvaɪz/ brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, the companys corporate headquarters is located in the Levis Plaza in San Francisco. Levi Strauss started the business at the 90 Sacramento Street address in San Francisco and he next moved the location to 62 Sacramento Street then 63 &65 Sacramento Street. Jacob Davis, a Latvian Jewish immigrant, was a Reno, Davis did not have the required money to purchase a patent, so he wrote to Strauss suggesting that they go into business together. After Levi accepted Jacobs offer, on May 20,1873, Patent 139,121 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patented rivet was later incorporated into the companys jean design, contrary to an advertising campaign suggesting that Levi Strauss sold his first jeans to gold miners during the California Gold Rush, the manufacturing of denim overalls only began in the 1870s. The company created their first pair of Levis 501 Jeans in the 1890s, modern jeans began to appear in the 1920s, but sales were largely confined to the working people of the western United States, such as cowboys, lumberjacks, and railroad workers. Levi’s jeans apparently were first introduced to the East during the dude ranch craze of the 1930s, another boost came in World War II, when blue jeans were declared an essential commodity and were sold only to people engaged in defense work. Between the 1950s and 1980s, Levis jeans became popular among a range of youth subcultures, including greasers, mods, rockers. Levis popular shrink-to-fit 501s were sold in a unique sizing arrangement, the indicated size referred to the size of the prior to shrinking. The company still produces these unshrunk, uniquely sized jeans, additionally, the back pocket rivets, which had been covered in denim since 1937, were removed completely in the 1950s due to complaints they scratched furniture. The acquisition led to the introduction of the modern stone washing technique, simpkins is credited with the companys record-paced expansion of its manufacturing capacity from 16 plants to more than 63 plants in the United States from 1964 to 1974 and 23 overseas. As a result, Levis plants were perhaps the highest performing, best organized, the Dockers brand, launched in 1986 and which is sold largely through department store chains, helped the company grow through the mid-1990s, as denim sales began to fade. Dockers were introduced into Europe in 1996 and led by CEO Jorge Bardina, Levi Strauss attempted to sell the Dockers division in 2004 to relieve part of the companys $2.6 billion outstanding debt. As of 2016, most Levis jeans are made outside the US, though a few of the higher-end, labor history, distributing more than $9 million in restitution to some 1,200 employees. Levi Strauss claimed no knowledge of the offenses, then severed ties to the Tan family and instituted labor reforms, during the mid- and late-1990s, Fuerza Unida picketed the Levi Strauss headquarters in San Francisco and staged hunger strikes and sit-ins in protest at the companys labor policies. The company took on debt in February 1996 to help finance a series of leveraged stock buyouts among family members. The corporations bonds are traded publicly, as are shares of the companys Japanese affiliate, Levi Strauss Japan K. K
