1.
Berlin International Film Festival
–
The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the worlds leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held annually in Berlin, Germany, founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With around 300,000 tickets sold and 500,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly attended film festival based on actual attendance rates. Up to 400 films are shown in sections, representing a comprehensive array of the cinematic world. Around twenty films compete for the called the Golden and Silver Bears. Since 2001 the director of the festival has been Dieter Kosslick, the European Film Market, a film trade fair held simultaneously to the Berlinale, is a major industry meeting for the international film circuit. The trade fair serves distributors, film buyers, producers, financiers, the Berlinale Talent Campus, a week-long series of lectures and workshops, gathers young filmmakers from around the globe. It partners with the festival itself and is considered to be a forum for upcoming artists, the festival, the EFM and other satellite events are attended by around 20,000 professionals from over 130 countries. More than 4200 journalists are responsible for the exposure in over 110 countries. At high-profile feature film premieres, movie stars and celebrities are present at the red carpet, the Berlinale has established a cosmopolitan character integrating art, glamour, commerce and a global media attention. The Berlin International Film Festival was founded in West Berlin in 1951, alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca opened the first Berlinale. Although the film had premiered in 1940, many Germans had been unable to watch it until after the war ended, since 1978 the festival has been celebrated annually in February. The next-to-most recent festival, the 66th Berlinale, was held from 11 February to 21 February 2016, meryl Streep presided over the international jury. Joel and Ethan Coens film Hail, Caesar. was selected to open the festival, the Golden Bear was awarded to the Italian documentary Fire at Sea, directed by Gianfranco Rosi. The 67th Berlin International Film Festival was held February 9 to February 19,2017, the festival is composed of seven different film sections. Films are chosen in each category by a director with the advice of a committee of film experts. Categories include, Competition, comprises feature-length films yet to be released outside their country of origin, films in the Competition section compete for several prizes, including the top Golden Bear for the best film and a series of Silver Bears for acting, writing and production. Panorama, comprises new independent and arthouse films that deal with controversial subjects or unconventional aesthetic styles, films in the category are intended to provoke discussion, and have historically involved themes such as LGBT issues
2.
New Orleans
–
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
3.
Louisiana
–
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the state in the U. S. with political subdivisions termed parishes. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Much of the lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh. These contain a rich southern biota, typical examples include birds such as ibis, there are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a process in the landscape. These support a large number of plant species, including many species of orchids. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the current Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a period, a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century, many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. The suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to information relating to an individual, subject. Thus, roughly, Louis + ana carries the idea of related to Louis, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea. As Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened, Louisiana slowly developed, over millions of years, from water into land, and from north to south. The oldest rocks are exposed in the north, in such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Tertiary Era, some 60 million years ago, the history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearings Roadside Geology of Louisiana. The sediments were carried north to south by the Mississippi River
4.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
5.
Fordham University
–
Fordham University is a private, independent research university in New York City, founded by the Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841. It is the oldest Catholic institution of education in the northeastern United States. The colleges first president, John McCloskey, was also the first Catholic cardinal in the United States, after merging with Thomas More College in 1974, Fordham became a coeducational institution. Fordhams Bronx campus features some of the earliest examples of gothic architecture in North America. In addition to masters and doctoral degrees, Fordham awards the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science. In addition to locations, the university maintains a study abroad center in the United Kingdom and field offices in Spain. Fordhams notable alumni and faculty include numerous U. S, vice Chief of Staff of the Army, a U. S. Postmaster General, a U. S. Attorney General, a U. S, vice Presidential candidate, and a President of the United States. Fordham University has produced at least 119 Fulbright Scholars since 2003, Fordham was founded as St. Johns College in 1841 by the Irish-born coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of New York, the Most Reverend John J. Hughes. The college was the first Catholic institution of education in the northeastern United States. Rose Hill was the originally given to the site in 1787 by its owner, Robert Watts. The seminary was paired with St. Johns College, which opened at Rose Hill with a student body of six on June 21,1841, the Reverend John McCloskey was the schools first president, and the faculty were secular priests and lay instructors. In 1845, the church, Our Lady of Mercy, was built. The same year, Bishop Hughes convinced several Jesuit priests from the St. Marys Colleges in Maryland, in 1846, the college received its charter from the New York State Legislature, and roughly three months later, the first Jesuits began to arrive. Bishop Hughes deeded the college over but retained title to the seminary property, in 1847, Fordhams first school in Manhattan opened. The school became the independently chartered College of St. Francis Xavier in 1861 and it was also in 1847 that the American poet Edgar Allan Poe arrived in the village of Fordham and began a friendship with the college Jesuits that would last throughout his life. In 1849, he published his famed work The Bells, some traditions credit the colleges church bells as the inspiration for this poem. Poe also spent considerable time in the Fordham Library, and even stayed overnight
6.
Bachelor of Arts
–
A Bachelor of Arts is a bachelors degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both. Bachelor of Arts degree programs take three to four years depending on the country, academic institution, and specific specializations, majors or minors. The word baccalaureus or baccalarium should not be confused with baccalaureatus, degree diplomas generally are printed on high-quality paper or parchment, individual institutions set the preferred abbreviation for their degrees. In Pakistan, the Bachelor of Arts degree can also be attained within two years as an external degree, in colleges and universities in Australia, New Zealand, Nepal and South Africa, the BA degree can be taken over three years of full-time study. Unlike in other countries, students do not receive a grade for their Bachelor of Arts degree with varying levels of honours. Qualified students may be admitted, after they have achieved their Bachelors program with an overall grade point average. Thus, to achieve a Bachelor Honours degree, a postgraduate year. A student who holds a Honours degree is eligible for entry to either a Doctorate or a very high research Master´s degree program. Education in Canada is controlled by the Provinces and can be different depending on the province in Canada. Canadian universities typically offer a 3-year Bachelor of Arts degrees, in many universities and colleges, Bachelor of Arts degrees are differentiated either as Bachelors of Arts or as honours Bachelor of Arts degree. The honours degrees are designated with the abbreviation in brackets of. It should not be confused with the consecutive Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours, Latin Baccalaureatus in Artibus Cum Honore, BA hon. de jure without brackets and with a dot. It is a degree, which is considered to be the equivalent of a corresponding maîtrise degree under the French influenced system. Going back in history, a three-year Bachelor of Arts degree was called a pass degree or general degree. Students may be required to undertake a long high-quality research empirical thesis combined with a selection of courses from the relevant field of studies. The consecutive B. cum Honore degree is essential if students ultimate goal is to study towards a two- or three-year very high research masters´ degree qualification. A student holding a Baccalaureatus Cum Honore degree also may choose to complete a Doctor of Philosophy program without the requirement to first complete a masters degree, over the years, in some universities certain Baccalaureatus cum Honore programs have been changed to corresponding master´s degrees. In general, in all four countries, the B. A. degree is the standard required for entry into a masters programme, in science, a BA hons degree is generally a prerequisite for entrance to a Ph. D program or a very-high-research-activity master´s programme
7.
Yale University
–
Yale University is an American private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1701 in Saybrook Colony to train Congregationalist ministers, it is the third-oldest institution of education in the United States. The Collegiate School moved to New Haven in 1716, and shortly after was renamed Yale College in recognition of a gift from British East India Company governor Elihu Yale. Originally restricted to theology and sacred languages, the curriculum began to incorporate humanities and sciences by the time of the American Revolution. In the 19th century the school introduced graduate and professional instruction, awarding the first Ph. D. in the United States in 1861 and organizing as a university in 1887. Yale is organized into fourteen constituent schools, the undergraduate college, the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. While the university is governed by the Yale Corporation, each schools faculty oversees its curriculum, the universitys assets include an endowment valued at $25.4 billion as of June 2016, the second largest of any U. S. educational institution. The Yale University Library, serving all constituent schools, holds more than 15 million volumes and is the third-largest academic library in the United States, Yale College undergraduates follow a liberal arts curriculum with departmental majors and are organized into a social system of residential colleges. Almost all faculty teach courses, more than 2,000 of which are offered annually. Students compete intercollegiately as the Yale Bulldogs in the NCAA Division I – Ivy League, Yale has graduated many notable alumni, including five U. S. Presidents,19 U. S. Supreme Court Justices,20 living billionaires, and many heads of state. In addition, Yale has graduated hundreds of members of Congress,57 Nobel laureates,5 Fields Medalists,247 Rhodes Scholars, and 119 Marshall Scholars have been affiliated with the University. Yale traces its beginnings to An Act for Liberty to Erect a Collegiate School, passed by the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut on October 9,1701, the Act was an effort to create an institution to train ministers and lay leadership for Connecticut. Soon thereafter, a group of ten Congregationalist ministers, Samuel Andrew, Thomas Buckingham, Israel Chauncy, Samuel Mather, the group, led by James Pierpont, is now known as The Founders. Originally known as the Collegiate School, the institution opened in the home of its first rector, Abraham Pierson, the school moved to Saybrook, and then Wethersfield. In 1716 the college moved to New Haven, Connecticut, the feud caused the Mathers to champion the success of the Collegiate School in the hope that it would maintain the Puritan religious orthodoxy in a way that Harvard had not. Cotton Mather suggested that the school change its name to Yale College, meanwhile, a Harvard graduate working in England convinced some 180 prominent intellectuals that they should donate books to Yale. The 1714 shipment of 500 books represented the best of modern English literature, science, philosophy and it had a profound effect on intellectuals at Yale. Undergraduate Jonathan Edwards discovered John Lockes works and developed his original theology known as the new divinity
8.
Jackie Clarkson
–
Jacquelyn Brechtel Jackie Clarkson is a former president of the New Orleans City Council and a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. She is also the mother of actress Patricia Clarkson, Clarkson is the daughter of Sophie, and Johnny Brechtel, a football coach. She is married to Arthur Clarkson and they have five daughters, before entering politics she was in real estate and president of the Louisiana Realtor Association. She represented District C on the New Orleans City Council from 1990 to 1994 and from 2002 to 2006, the boundaries of District 102 are roughly the same as the Algiers neighborhood in New Orleans. Those of District C include Algiers, as well as the Vieux Carré or French Quarter neighborhood, a number of her constituents were enthusiastic about her efforts, whereas others, especially street performers and tarot readers, were rather apprehensive. Others were alarmed by her proposal to public space in the name of safety. Mayor Ray Nagin won re-election only after facing a much tougher challenge than expected before the hurricane, the resignation of Councilmember at Large Oliver Thomas in 2007 over bribery charges enabled Clarkson to return on New Orleans City Council. She was elected to her first term as Councilmember-at-Large in an election in November 2007. Clarkson in 2008 and 2009 became particularly outspoken in defending likeminded councilwoman Stacy Head in a feud with city sanitation director Veronica White, Clarkson called for Whites dismissal, but Nagin defended White. Clarkson was re-elected as Councilmember at Large in February 2010, and was named president of the council in May 2011, although a lifelong Democrat, Clarkson has been able to boast support from Republican organizations including the Parish Executive Committee of the Orleans Parish Republican Party. Likeminded fellow Democratic Councilwoman Stacy Head found herself facing an recall petition. Clarkson, however, was not subjected to an effort, as councilwoman-at-large she represents a broader constituency. Just let us do it responsibly so private information about our constituents doesnt get out there
9.
The Station Agent
–
The Station Agent is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom McCarthy. It stars Peter Dinklage as a man who seeks solitude in a train station in the Newfoundland section of West Milford. It also stars Patricia Clarkson and Bobby Cannavale, for his writing achievement, McCarthy won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. Finbar McBride, a quiet, withdrawn, unmarried man with dwarfism, has a love of railroads. He works in a Hoboken model train hobby shop owned by his elderly and similarly taciturn friend Henry Styles, because he feels ostracized by a public that tends to view him as peculiar due to his size, Fin keeps to himself. When Henry dies unexpectedly, Fin is told that the shop is to be closed. However, he learns that Henrys will left him a piece of rural property with an abandoned train depot on it. He moves in to the old building hoping for a life of solitude, cleo is a young girl who shares Fins interest in trains and wants him to lecture her class about them. Emily is the librarian, a young woman dismayed to discover she is pregnant by her neer-do-well boyfriend. Joe, relentlessly upbeat and overly talkative, soon cracks through Fins reserve, the two begin to take daily walks along the tracks, and after Olivia gives Fin a movie camera, Joe drives alongside a passing train so that Fin can film it. Joe and Fin sleep over at Olivias house after watching the footage, the three forge a tentative friendship that is threatened when Olivia descends into a deep depression, disappearing from the town. Meanwhile, Emily seeks solace in Fin, who slowly is realizing interaction with humans may not be as unpleasant as he thought. Fin tries to protect Emily from her boyfriend at a bar, Emily later comes to apologize, and after she and Fin share a kiss, she spends the night with Fin. Cleo asks Fin if Olivia is coming back, to which he replies that he doesnt know. He decides to keep an eye on Olivias house, but when he spots her fighting on the phone with David and he goes up on the porch, Olivia angrily tells him to leave. Fin spends the night drinking and, collapsing on the track, is passed over by a train, undamaged, as if feeling blessed by his gift of life, Fin walks up to Olivias home only to find she has attempted suicide. Olivia reveals that David is having another baby with a different woman, Fin takes care of Olivias home while she recuperates in the hospital. Fin picks up the courage to talk to school kids about trains, Olivia, Joe, and Fin share a meal at Olivias house, their conversation filled with some small talk and reconciliation
10.
The Pledge (film)
–
The Pledge is a 2001 American mystery drama film directed by Sean Penn. The film features an ensemble cast, starring Jack Nicholson, Aaron Eckhart, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Vanessa Redgrave, Sam Shepard, Mickey Rourke and it is based on Friedrich Dürrenmatts 1958 novella The Pledge, Requiem for the Detective Novel. Dürrenmatt wrote The Pledge to refine the theme he developed in the screenplay for the 1958 German film It Happened in Broad Daylight with Heinz Rühmann. Retired police detective Jerry Black is seen mumbling to himself, apparently drunk, the scene then shifts to events in the recent past. The Department has thrown him a retirement party, and the captain gives Jerry a fishing trip in Mexico as a gift. The party is interrupted by the discovery of a murdered child, Jerry decides to go with another detective, Stan Krolak, to the scene of the crime. Jerry delivers the bad news to the parents, and the mother makes Jerry swear on a cross that he will find the killer. A suspect is found the next day, Stan goes in to interview the suspect, Toby Jay Wadenah, a Native American man with mental retardation. During the interview, the man eventually confesses but steals a gun one of the deputies. To the other detectives, the case is over, but Jerry does not think that Wadenah was the killer, Jerry is adamant about his pledge to find the killer, and does not go on the fishing trip. Instead, he visits the victims grandmother, who tells him of the stories that Ginny told. A later visit to one of her friends reveals that Ginny had a friend she called The Giant, Jerry sees a picture Ginny drew of The Giant, but it does not resemble Wadenah, and includes a black station wagon. He takes the drawing with him, Jerry goes to Stan and asks him to reopen the case. Stan refuses but gets Jerry more information about cases in the area. Jerrys investigations reveal three unsolved and similar cases that Wadenah could not have committed, Jerry presents his research and Ginnys drawing to Captain Pollack and Stan, who are doubtful. While fishing, Jerry notices a gas station that is located near the center of the similar cases, after buying the gas station, Jerry moves into the house behind it, meets local bartender Lori, and slowly becomes a father figure to her daughter Chrissy. Soon, Chrissy becomes friends with a pastor, Gary Jackson. Jerry is uncomfortable about this and begins to think Jackson is the killer, Chrissy is shown meeting a man driving a black car with a toy hedgehog hanging on the rear mirror, hedgehogs being another aspect of Ginnys drawing that Jerry believes to be a clue
11.
The Green Mile (film)
–
The Green Mile is a 1999 American fantasy crime drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and adapted from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name. The film is told in a format and stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb and Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey with supporting roles by David Morse, Bonnie Hunt. The film also features Dabbs Greer, in his final film, the film tells the story of Pauls life as a death row corrections officer during the Great Depression in the United States, and the supernatural events he witnessed. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clarke Duncan, Best Sound, in a Louisiana assisted-living home in 1999, Paul Edgecomb begins to cry while watching the film Top Hat. In 1935, Paul supervises officers Brutus Howell, Dean Stanton, Harry Terwilliger, Paul is suffering from a severe bladder infection and receives John Coffey, a physically imposing but mentally challenged black man, into his custody. John had been sentenced to death after being convicted of raping and murdering two white girls, one of the other inmates is a Native-American named Arlen Bitterbuck, who is charged with murder and is the first to be executed. Percy demonstrates a severe sadistic streak but, as the nephew of Louisianas First Lady, is beyond reproach and this last affliction he releases into Percy, who under its influence shoots another prisoner, mass murderer William Wharton, dead. John then reveals the story psychically to Paul, but when doing so releases his energy into Paul. Meanwhile, Percy is committed to the insane asylum, distraught over the notion of executing an innocent man, John tells Paul that he does in fact wish to die as he views the world as a cruel place. Mentioning that he had never seen a movie before, John watches Top Hat with the guards as a last request. John is executed that night but refuses the customary hood as he is afraid of the dark, Paul concludes his story by telling Elaine that Johns was the last execution that he and Brutus supervised, following Coffeys execution they both took jobs in the juvenile system. Elaine realizes that, since he had a son in 1935. Paul reveals that he is in fact 108 years of age, not only is he still alive, so is Dels mouse, Mr. Jingles. Paul then muses that if Johns power could make a live for as long as Mr. Jingles has. Hanks and Darabont met at an Academy Award luncheon in 1994, Stephen King stated he envisioned Hanks in the role and was happy when Darabont mentioned his name. Morse had not heard about the script until he was offered the role and he stated he was in tears by the end of it. Darabont wanted Cromwell from the start, and after he read the script, Duncan credited his casting to Bruce Willis, with whom he had worked on the film Armageddon one year earlier. According to Duncan, Willis introduced him to Darabont after hearing of the call for John Coffey
12.
Far from Heaven
–
Far from Heaven is a 2002 American drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, and Patricia Clarkson. The film tells the story of Cathy Whitaker, a 1950s housewife and it is done in the style of a Douglas Sirk film, dealing with complex contemporary issues such as race, gender roles, sexual orientation and class. In 1957 suburban Connecticut, Cathy Whitaker appears to be the wife, mother. Cathy is married to Frank, an executive at Magnatech. One evening Cathy receives a call from the local police who are holding her husband. He says its all a mix up but they wont let him leave alone, Frank has in fact been exploring the underground world of gay bars in Hartford, Connecticut. One day, Cathy spies a black man walking through her yard. He turns out to be Raymond Deagan, the son of Cathys late gardener, Frank often finds himself forced to stay late at the office, swamped with work. One night when Frank is working late, Cathy decides to bring his dinner to him at the office and she walks in on him passionately kissing another man. Frank confesses having had problems as a man, and agrees to sign up for conversion therapy. However, his relationship with Cathy is irreparably strained, and he turns to alcohol, Cathy runs into Raymond at a local art show, and initiates a discussion with him about modern painting, to the consternation of a few onlookers. One night, after a party, Frank attempts to love to Cathy. He is unable to become aroused and strikes Cathy when she tries to console him, Cathy decides to spend a day with Raymond. They go to a bar in the neighborhood in which she is the only white person present. Raymond toasts her with a drink saying Heres to being the only one and they are seen together by one of Cathys neighbors, who immediately tells everyone. The town is soon ablaze with gossip about the two of them and this becomes evident when Cathy attends a ballet performance by her young daughter and the mothers of the other girls prevent them from socializing with Cathys daughter. Cathy goes to find Raymond to tell them that their friendship isnt plausible, over the Christmas and New Years holidays, Cathy goes on a vacation with her husband to Miami to take their minds off of things. At the hotel, Frank has another encounter with a young man
13.
High Art
–
High Art is a 1998 Canadian-American independent film directed by Lisa Cholodenko and starring Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell. Sydney, age 24, is a woman who has her whole life mapped out in front of her, living with longtime boyfriend James, and working her way up at the respected high-art photography magazine Frame, Syd has desires and frustrations that seem typical and manageable. But when a crack in her ceiling springs a leak and Syd finds herself knocking on the door of her upstairs neighbor, opening the door to an uncharted world for Syd is Lucy Berliner, a renowned photographer, enchanting, elusive, and curiously retired. Now 40, Lucy lives with her glamorous, heroin-addicted German girlfriend Greta. Syd is fascinated by Lucy and becomes drawn into the center of Lucys strangely alluring life upstairs, Syd mentions Lucy to her bosses but they remain uninterested until they realise exactly who Lucy is. At a lunch, Lucy agrees to work for the magazine as long as Syd is her editor, soon a working relationship develops between the two and a project is underway which promises a second chance for Lucys career. But as Syd and Lucys collaboration draws them together, their working relationship turns sexual. As Syd slowly discovers the darker truths of Lucys life on the edge, she is forced to confront her own hunger for recognition, the photographs themselves were made by Jojo Whilden. Official Site High Art at the Internet Movie Database High Art at Rotten Tomatoes High Art at Box Office Mojo Movie reviews, The New York Times Roger Ebert CNN
14.
Dogville
–
Although she has no power in herself, her stay there ultimately changes the lives of the local people and the town in many ways. The film is the first in von Triers projected USA – Land of Opportunities trilogy, the film was in competition for the Palme dOr at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival but Gus Van Sants Elephant won the award. It was screened at film festivals before receiving a limited release in the US on March 26,2004. Dogville opened to polarized reviews from critics, some considered it to be pretentious or exasperating, it was viewed by others as a masterpiece, and has grown in stature since its initial release. The story of Dogville is told in nine chapters and a prologue, with a description of each chapter given in the film. Dogville is a very small American town by a silver mine in the Rocky Mountains, with a road leading up to it and nowhere else to go. The film begins with a prologue in which a dozen or so of the fifteen citizens are introduced and they are portrayed as lovable, good people with small flaws which are easy to forgive. The town is seen from the point of view of Tom Edison Jr. an aspiring writer who procrastinates by trying to get his fellow citizens together for meetings on the subject of moral rearmament. It is clear that Tom wants to succeed his aging father, in which Tom hears gunfire and meets Grace It is Tom who first meets Grace Mulligan, who is on the run from gangsters who presumably shot at her. Grace, a beautiful but modest woman, wishes to keep running, as they talk, the gangsters approach the town, and Tom quickly hides Grace in the nearby mine. One of the gangsters asks Tom if he has seen the woman, the gangster then offers him a reward and hands him a card with a phone number to call in case Grace shows up. They remain skeptical, so Tom proposes that Grace should be given a chance to prove that she is a good person, Grace is accepted for two weeks in which, as Tom explains to her after the meeting, she must gain the friendship and trust of the townspeople. After some initial reluctance, the people accept her help in doing those chores that nobody really needs, as a result, she becomes an accepted part of the community. In which Grace indulges in a piece of provocation. Grace begins to make friends, including Jack, who pretends that he is not blind and she earns his respect upon tricking him into admitting that he is blind. Once the two weeks are over, everyone votes at the meeting that Grace should be allowed to stay. Happy times in Dogville Things go well in Dogville until the police arrive to place a Missing poster featuring Graces picture, with the townspeople divided as to whether they should cooperate with the police, the mood of the community darkens somewhat. Fourth of July after all Still, things continue as usual until the 4th of July celebrations, Grace is now wanted for participation in a bank robbery
15.
Good Night, and Good Luck
–
Good Night, and Good Luck is a 2005 historical drama film directed by George Clooney and starring David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert Downey, Jr. Patricia Clarkson and Jeff Daniels. The movie was written by Clooney and Grant Heslov and portrays the conflict between radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U. S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, especially relating to the anti-Communist Senators actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The movie, although released in black and white, was filmed on color film stock but on a greyscale set and it focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what occurs when the media offer a voice of dissent from government policy. The movie takes its title from the line with which Murrow routinely signed off his broadcasts, the film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Clooney and Best Actor for David Strathairn. Set in 1953, during the days of television broadcast journalism. Edward R. Murrow first defends Milo Radulovich, who is facing separation from the U. S. Air Force because of his sisters political leanings, Murrow makes a show on McCarthy attacking him. A very public feud develops when McCarthy responds by accusing Murrow of being a communist, Murrow is accused of having been a member of the leftist union Industrial Workers of the World, which Murrow claimed was false. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity ultimately strikes a historic blow against McCarthy. David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow, journalist and host of the CBS television program See It Now George Clooney as Fred W. Friendly, coproducer with Murrow of See It Now Robert Downey, having majored in journalism in college, Clooney was well-versed in the subject matter. His father, Nick Clooney, was a television journalist for many years, appearing as an anchorman in Cincinnati, Ohio, Salt Lake City, Utah, Los Angeles, California, the elder Clooney also ran for Congress in 2004. George Clooney was paid $1 each for writing, directing, and acting in Good Night, due to an injury he received on the set of Syriana a few months earlier, Clooney couldnt pass the tests to be insured. He then mortgaged his own house in Los Angeles in order to make the film, dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former eBay president Jeff Skoll invested money in the project as executive producers. The film ultimately grossed more than $54m worldwide, the CBS offices and studios seen in the movie were all sets on a soundstage. To accomplish a pair of scenes showing characters going up an elevator, the elevator was actually built on a large turntable at the intersection of the two floor sets, and rotated once the doors were closed. When the doors reopened, the actors appeared to be in a different location, in doing so, the movie exercised a bit of dramatic license—the CBS executive offices at the time were located at 485 Madison Avenue. CBS News was located in a building just north of Grand Central Terminal. For dramatic effect, all three areas were depicted as being in the same building, Clooney and producer Grant Heslov decided to use only archival footage of Joseph McCarthy in his depiction
16.
Easy A
–
Easy A is a 2010 American teen comedy film directed by Will Gluck, written by Bert V. Royal and starring Emma Stone, Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thomas Haden Church, Dan Byrd, Amanda Bynes, Penn Badgley, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, the screenplay was partially inspired by the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Shot at Screen Gems studios and in Ojai, California, the film was released on September 17,2010, received positive reviews and grossed $75 million worldwide. Olive Penderghast, a 17-year-old girl living in Ojai, California, instead, she hangs around the house all weekend listening to Natasha Bedingfields Pocketful of Sunshine, which is played by a greeting card she was sent. The following Monday, pressed by Rhiannon, Olive lies about losing her virginity to a college guy, Marianne Bryant, a prissy and strictly religious Christian at their school, overhears her telling the lie and soon it spreads like wildfire. The schools conservative church group run by Marianne decides Olive will be their next project, Olive confides the truth to her friend Brandon, and he explains how others bully him because of his homosexuality. He later asks Olive to pretend to sleep with him so that he will be accepted by everyone as a straight stud, Brandon convinces Olive to help him and they pretend to have sex at a party. After having a fight with Rhiannon over Olives new identity as a dirty skank and she begins to wear more provocative clothing and stitches a red A to everything she wears. Things get worse when Micah, Mariannes 20-year-old boyfriend, contracts chlamydia from sleeping with Mrs. Griffith, the school guidance counsellor, Olive agrees to lie to cover up the affair so that the marriage of her favorite teacher, Mr. Griffith, would be spared. Mariannes religious clique, which now includes Rhiannon, begins harassing Olive in order to get her to leave school, Todd then tells her that he does not believe the rumors because he remembers when she lied for him when he was not ready for his first kiss years ago. Mrs. Griffith also refuses to tell the truth and when Olive threatens to expose her, Mrs. Griffith rebuffs her, out of spite, Olive then immediately tells Mr. Griffith, who believes her and separates from Mrs. Griffith. After a friendly talk with her open-minded mother Rosemary, Olive comes up with a plan to get everything out in the open. She then does a song and dance number at a pep rally to get peoples attention to watch her via web cam. The various boys whose reputations Olive helped improve are also shown watching, later, Olive texts Rhiannon, apologizing for lying to her. When she is finishing up her web cast, Todd comes by riding a lawnmower and she signs off by saying she may lose her virginity to Todd, and proudly declares its nobodys goddamn business. She goes outside to meet him, they kiss and the two are shown riding off on the lawnmower, Royal claims to have written the entire screenplay, except for the last ten pages, in five days. Royals plan was to adapt three classic works into films and to set them at the high school, so that some characters would appear in multiple films. Besides The Scarlet Letter, which was the material for Easy A, Royal wanted to adapt Cyrano de Bergerac
17.
Cairo Time
–
Cairo Time is a 2009 film by Canadian director Ruba Nadda. It is a drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard. The movie won the Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival 2009, Juliette is a Canadian magazine editor who arrives in Cairo for a vacation with husband Mark, a UN official working at refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. Their children have grown and Juliette is looking forward to spending time with Mark. Delayed, Mark asks his friend—a handsome Egyptian named Tareq—to watch over Juliette, Tareq is a regular companion during Juliettes extended time waiting for Mark, leading to a very close relationship between the two. While their relationship platonic, it is steadily headed to a stronger connection. After travelling to Alexandria with him to attend the wedding of the daughter of a girlfriend from his university days, the two visit the Great Pyramids—something Mark had inisisted should be just for us on his sporadic calls to Juliette at her hotel room. Whatever change this may signify in Tareq and Juliettes growing relationship, Mark is happy to see Juliette, while she and Tareq adequately hide their sorrow over the end of their Cairo Time. When Ruba Nadda finished writing the script for Cairo Time she showed it to producer Daniel Iron of Foundry Films, Daniel, remembering Rubas previous feature Sabah, loved the script and decided to work with her. Atom Egoyan gave the screenplay for Cairo Time to Christine Vachon, Vachon saw there was a lot of potential in the script and decided to meet Nadda with Pugliese. After meeting Nadda they wanted to get involved in the project, because Canada did not have co-production treaties with Egypt they needed to find a way to shoot in Egypt anyhow. Iron was introduced to David Collins of Samson Films in Ireland by Ruba Nadda, Collins met Nadda at a film festival in Mannheim and in Rotterdam and was familiar with her work. Samson decided to join the project, making it a Canada-Ireland co-production, hanan Rotten Tomatoes certified the movie fresh with 82 as of August 2010. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called Cairo Time a fragile romance and said about Nadda, Just when you think you know whats coming, Nadda lets the sensuous tempos of Cairo life seep into Juliettes system, and ours. Its a haunting and hypnotic film, and Clarksons sublimely nuanced performance is in every way transporting. At the end of 2010, Cairo Time was named Best-reviewed romance of the year by Rotten Tomatoes, the movie was released in Canadian theaters on 9 October 2009. Cairo Time won the Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival 2009, Cairo Time grossed $66,245 in the opening weekend, ranking at #38. The film sold out all shows in the weekend in New York and Los Angeles, with a revenue of $12,450
18.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
–
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered a performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry. At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Gale Sondergaard was the first winner of award for her role in Anthony Adverse. Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded instead of statuettes. Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, however, winners received full-sized statuettes, currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS, winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy. Since its inception, the award has given to 78 actresses. Dianne Wiest and Shelley Winters have received the most awards in this category with two awards each, despite winning no awards, Thelma Ritter was nominated on six occasions, more than any other actress. As of the 2017 ceremony, Viola Davis is the most recent winner in category for her role as Rose Maxson in Fences. In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of release in Los Angeles County. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, University of Toronto Press, inside Oscar, The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards. New York, United States, Ballantine Books, oscars. org Oscar. com The Academy Awards Database
19.
Pieces of April
–
Pieces of April is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, the name is taken from a 1972 hit song by Three Dog Night, which reached No.19 on the Billboard Hot 100. April Burns, the eldest daughter in a dysfunctional family. Although estranged from her family, she opts to invite them for Thanksgiving dinner, probably the last for her mother Joy, who has breast cancer. With the help of neighbors, she manages to assemble dinner, while learning to appreciate the importance of family. Derek Luke as Bobby, Aprils sweet boyfriend, who is much in love with her. Oliver Platt as Jim Burns, Aprils father, who has real hope that April and the rest of the family can have a nice Thanksgiving dinner together. Patricia Clarkson as Joy Burns, Aprils mom, who is sick with breast cancer. Alison Pill as Beth Burns, Aprils younger sister, who feels the family should not even try to have dinner with April, john Gallagher, Jr. as Timmy Burns, Aprils younger brother, who loves to take pictures of everything going on in his family. Alice Drummond as Grandma Dottie, Aprils grandmother and Joys mom, sean Hayes as Wayne, Aprils very strange upstairs neighbor who agrees to let her use his oven after her own oven stops working. Isiah Whitlock, Jr. However, the oven in the apartment did not work so they had to go door to door in the building, trying to find an oven in which to cook their turkey, shot in just 16 days on a budget of $100,000. Costs were kept low by the film company InDigEnt cutting a deal with the unions. This meant that Peter Hedges was paid $10 to direct the film, all the actors worked for $248 a day. The film-review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 84% based on reviews from 146 critics, elvis Mitchell of The New York Times, called the film an intelligent and touching farce and added, Mr. Hedges dances from one vignette to another with a mouthwatering finesse. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine, described it as a playful comedy laced with heartbreak, adding, nails every laugh without missing the dramatic nuances. She makes April and her movie well worth knowing, carla Meyer of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film both heartfelt and tough-minded. Avoids sentimentality at every turn and truly earns both its laughs and its tears, owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, rated the film C, calling it a glib comedy and adding, Hedges shoves his characters into sitcom slots and seals them there. The film earned a total of approximately $3.2 million worldwide
20.
Six Feet Under (TV series)
–
Six Feet Under is an American drama television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It premiered on the cable network HBO in the United States on June 3,2001 and ended on August 21,2005. The show depicts members of the Fisher family, who run a home in Los Angeles. The series traces these characters lives over the course of five years, the ensemble drama stars Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodriguez, Mathew St. Patrick, the series was produced by Actual Size Films and The Greenblatt/Janollari Studio, and was shot on location in Los Angeles and in Hollywood studios. Six Feet Under received widespread acclaim, particularly for its writing and acting. Regarded by many as one of the greatest TV dramas of all time, it has since included on TIME magazines All-TIME100 TV Shows. It has also described as having one of the finest series finales in the history of television. It won numerous awards, including nine Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Peabody Award. The show stars Peter Krause as Nathaniel Samuel Nate Fisher, Jr. whose funeral director father dies and bequeaths to him and his brother, David, the Fisher clan also includes widow, Ruth, and daughter, Claire. Other regulars include mortician and family friend, Federico Diaz, Nates on-again/off-again girlfriend, Brenda Chenowith, on one level, the show is a conventional family drama, dealing with such issues as interpersonal relationships, infidelity, and religion. At the same time, the show is distinguished by its focus on the topic of death. The show also utilises dark humor and surrealism running throughout, sometimes, the characters converse with other, recurring deceased characters, most notably Nathaniel Fisher, Sr. The shows creator, Alan Ball, avers that this represents the characters internal dialogues expressed in the form of external conversations. Although overall plots and characters were created by Alan Ball, there are conflicting reports on how the series was conceived, in one instance, Ball stated that he came up with the premise of the show after the deaths of his sister and father. However, in an interview, he intimates that HBO entertainment president Carolyn Strauss proposed the idea to him. Ball stated in an interview, The show focuses on human mortality, the nature of life and death feeding off of each other. Throughout its five-season, 63-episode run, major characters experience crises which are in relation to their environment
21.
Yale School of Drama
–
The school traces its roots to the Yale Dramatic Association, the second-oldest college theatre association in the country, founded in 1900. George Pierce Baker, a teacher of playwriting, was the first chairman of the department, the first Master of Fine Arts in drama was granted in 1931. In 1955, the department was organized as a professional school. In 1966, under Dean Robert Brustein, the Yale Repertory Theatre was formed to further ties between the professional and academic communities. Lloyd Richards, dean and artistic director from 1979 to 1991, increased the emphasis on new plays, premiering works by Athol Fugard, Lee Blessing. Today, Yale Drama students work on School of Drama productions, at the Yale Repertory Theatre, School of Drama students spend the morning in class, with the exact number of hours varying by their year in school and their department. After 2 p. m. all classes are over, and rehearsals for Yale Repertory Theatre, rehearsals can last up to eight hours. Students also participate in clubs, like soccer and volleyball. Students must hold a degree and complete their program of study with distinction. A Certificate in Drama is available to students who do not hold an undergraduate degree from an accredited college. The school also offers a Doctor of Fine Arts to students who hold an M. F. A. degree in Dramaturgy, committee, and a Technical Internship Certificate to students who complete a one-year internship program of the Technical Design and Production department. Founded in 1968, the Yale Cabaret provides an outlet for Yale School of Drama students. Students regularly work outside their disciplines in the 18 productions presented for a public audience. Official website History of the Yale Dramatic Association
22.
The Untouchables (film)
–
The Untouchables is a 1987 American gangster film directed by Brian De Palma, produced by Art Linson, written by David Mamet, and based on the book The Untouchables. The film stars Kevin Costner, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Robert De Niro, Ness forms the Untouchables team to bring Capone to justice during Prohibition. The Grammy Award-winning score was composed by Ennio Morricone and features some music by Duke Ellington. The Untouchables premiered on June 2,1987 in New York City, the film grossed $106.2 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a prequel, The Untouchables, Capone Rising, starring Gerard Butler, was in development before being shelved. During Prohibition in 1930, Al Capone has nearly the whole city of Chicago under his control, bureau of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness is assigned to stop Capone, but his first attempt at a liquor raid fails due to corrupt policemen tipping Capone off. They recruit Italian-American trainee George Stone for his marksmanship and intelligence. Capone later kills the henchman in charge of the cache as a warning to his other men, an alderman offers Ness a bribe to drop his investigation, but Ness angrily refuses it and throws him out of the office. When Capone gunman Frank Nitti threatens Ness family, Ness has his wife, Malone then shoots a gangster through the mouth to scare George into agreeing to testify against Capone. Wallace prepares to escort George from the Chicago police station to a house, but they are shot and killed by Nitti. Ness confronts Capone and his men over the deaths, but Malone intervenes to save him from being killed, realizing that police chief Mike Dorsett sold out Wallace and George, Malone forces him to reveal the whereabouts of Walter Payne, Capones chief bookkeeper. That night, a knife-wielding thug sneaks into Malones apartment, Malone chases him out with a shotgun, Ness and Stone arrive at the apartment, before dying, Malone tells them which train Payne will take out of town. At Union Station, Ness and Stone find Payne guarded by several gangsters, a gunfight breaks out on the lobby steps, resulting in all the gangsters being killed and Payne being taken alive. As Payne testifies at Capones trial, explaining the untaxed cash flows throughout the syndicate, Ness notices that Capone seems unusually relaxed and also spots Nitti carrying a gun under his jacket. Ness has the bailiff remove Nitti and searches him outside the courtroom, Nitti shoots the bailiff and flees to the courthouse roof. Ness has the opportunity to kill Nitti at one point but chooses not to, Stone gives Ness a list, taken from Nittis jacket, that shows bribes paid to the jurors. When the judge refuses to consider it as evidence of jury tampering, the judge subsequently orders that the jury be switched with one in another courtroom, prompting Capones lawyer to enter a guilty plea on his behalf. Capone is later sentenced to 11 years in prison, Ness closes up his office and gives Malones St. Jude medallion and callbox key to Stone as a farewell gift
23.
Kevin Costner
–
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, director, producer, and musician. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and one Emmy Award, Costner has played Eliot Ness in The Untouchables, Crash Davis in Bull Durham, Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams, Lt. John J. He directed, produced, and starred in The Postman, Costner was born January 18,1955 in Lynwood, California. He grew up in Compton, California and he is the youngest of three boys, the middle of whom died at birth. His mother, Sharon Rae, was a worker, and his father, William Costner, was an electrician. His fathers heritage originates with German immigrants to North Carolina in the 1700s and Costner also has English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and he instead enjoyed sports, took piano lessons, wrote poetry, and sang in the First Baptist Choir. He has stated that a viewing of the 1962 film How the West Was Won at the age of seven had formed his childhood. Spending his teenage years in parts of California as his fathers career progressed, Costner has described this as a period when he lost a lot of confidence. Costner lived in Ventura, then in Visalia, he attended Mt. Whitney High School and then moved to Orange County and he went on to earn a BA in marketing and finance from California State University, Fullerton in 1978. While at CSUF, he was a fraternity brother in Delta Chi. Costner became interested in acting while in his last year of college, Burton agreed to speak to Costner after he finished reading his book. Costner, who had been taking acting classes but had not told his wife about his desire to be an actor, watched Burton closely and approached when Burton gestured. Costner told Burton that he would prefer to avoid the drama that followed Burton, Burton replied, You have green eyes. After landing, Burtons limousine pulled up to the curb where Costner, Burton wished Costner luck, and the two would never meet again. Still, Costner credits Burton with partially contributing to his career, having agreed to undertake a job as a marketing executive, Costner began taking acting lessons five nights a week, with the support of his wife. His marketing job lasted 30 days, Costner allegedly made his film debut in the film Sizzle Beach, U. S. A. Although a biography claims it was filmed in the winter of 1978–79. Costner made a brief appearance in the Ron Howard film Night Shift. He is listed in the credits as Frat Boy No.1 and appears at the climax of a frat-style, blow-out party in the New York City morgue, Costner can be seen holding a beer and looking surprised at the sudden halt of celebration
24.
The Dead Pool
–
The Dead Pool is a 1988 American action film directed by Buddy Van Horn, written by Steve Sharon, and starring Clint Eastwood as Inspector Dirty Harry Callahan. It is the fifth and final film in the Dirty Harry film series, set in San Francisco, the story concerns the manipulation of a dead pool game by a serial killer, whose efforts are confronted by the hardened detective Callahan. It co-stars Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson and Jim Carrey, each of whom went on to greater film fame. It is the film in the series to not feature Albert Popwell. At 91 minutes, it is the shortest of the five Dirty Harry film series, like those films, The Dead Pool is notable for coining catchphrases uttered by Clint Eastwoods gun-wielding character, one of which is, Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one. Fame finally catches up with Harry Callahan and his testimony against crime kingpin Lou Janero puts the mobster in prison and Callahan on the cover of San Francisco Magazine as the citys ace crime fighter. Callahan is attacked by Janeros men at a turnoff near the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge while driving and he knocks down one with his car and shoots the remaining men dead. Callahan discovers he has been assigned a partner, Asian American, unimpressed, he advises Quan to get a bulletproof vest, as his partners often get killed. Later, Dean Madison, Swans executive producer, is shot, Harry and Quan see the holdup and rush to stop it. Harry manages to gun down four of the robbers inside the restaurant, the one who manages to escape out the front door is subdued by Quan, Harry wryly compliments Quans skill, accepting him as his partner in fact. When they examine the dead producers belongings, they discover a list in his pocket with Harrys, in a turn of events, another celebrity on Swans list, movie critic Molly Fisher, is stabbed and killed in her condominium by an intruder claiming to be Swan. Callahan is asked to cooperate with the media, particularly reporter Samantha Walker, however, Callahan wants to simply perform his job and stay out of the limelight. Days later, Callahan apologizes for his exit at their first dinner. Afterwards, they narrowly escape being killed by Janeros men, leading the reporter to reconsider the plight of police officers versus the right to know. Callahan drives to San Quentin, where Janero is serving his sentence and this results in Janero calling off his men, and assigning a couple as Callahans personal bodyguards to keep any other hoods from killing him. Ultimately, it out that Wheeler is just an attention-seeker desperate to appear on camera. He accidentally sets himself on fire, but Harry saves him, Samantha is praised by Harry for showing professionalism and not allowing the attention-seeker to have his suicide filmed. Harry and Quan later interview Swan and get the name of another suspect, Harlan Rook, Swan had obtained a restraining order against Rook about a year before
25.
Everybody's All-American (film)
–
Everybodys All-American is a 1988 American sports drama film directed by Taylor Hackford and based on the novel Everybodys All-American by longtime Sports Illustrated contributor Frank Deford. The film covers 25 years in the life of a football hero. It stars Dennis Quaid, Jessica Lange, Timothy Hutton and John Goodman, Gavin Grey is a 1950s star athlete known by the moniker The Grey Ghost, who plays football at a Louisiana university. His campus girlfriend Babs Rogers, nephew Donnie who also goes by the nickname Cake, as his college days come to an end, Gavin ends up marrying Babs, starts a family, and gets drafted by a professional football team. Lawrence opens a sports bar in Baton Rouge. Everyone is pleased for Gavin, including his friendly rival Narvel Blue, reality quickly sets in for Gavin as life in the NFL is difficult, competition fierce, and the schedule grueling. Gavin is a running back for the Washington Redskins. Concurrently, Lawrence has accrued a number of gambling debts and he is later murdered amid an episode of organized crime, creating more debts for Gavin and Babs, who had invested in Lawrences business. Babs does her best to keep up with her husbands career and mood swings, a sympathetic Donnie finds her frustrated and lonely, as his lifetime attraction to her brings them together for a brief extramarital affair. Gavins financial setbacks encourage Babs to seek a job from Narvel to manage his restaurant, age and injuries result in Gavin being traded, benched, then forced into retirement. He enters a business relationship with entrepreneur Bolling Kiely, whom he despises. Donnie moves on with his life, becoming an author and getting engaged to a woman named Leslie Stone, while supporting Gavin. A despaired figure in the end, Gavin mends his relationship with Babs as he spends his withdrawal from professional sports reminiscing about his athletic youth. Filming was stopped for weeks when Dennis Quaid had his collarbone broken by former New England Patriots cornerback Tim Fox during filming, footage of Quaid rolling in pain on the sidelines of the snow game appears in the finished film. A key scene featuring a candlelight parade involving large numbers of extras was filmed, on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol, the game scenes were shot in LSUs Tiger Stadium during the halftimes of actual LSU games. The goalposts were altered to resemble the vintage H posts as needed during filming, vertical posts were moved in place for the bottom portion of the H, and a multi-colored fabric covering was used to conceal the center upright. Upon completion of filming, the posts and fabric were retracted so as not to interfere with the LSU games. In late 1993, LSU installed a model of the vintage posts permanently in the stadium
26.
Alex Haley's Queen
–
Alex Haleys Queen is a 1993 American television miniseries that aired in three installments on February 14,16, and 18 on CBS. The miniseries is an adaptation of the novel Queen, The Story of an American Family, by Alex Haley, the novel is based on the life of Queen Jackson Haley, Haleys paternal grandmother. Alex Haley died in February 1992 before completing the novel and it was later finished by David Stevens and published in 1993. Stevens also wrote the screenplay for the miniseries, Alex Haleys Queen was directed by John Erman, and stars Halle Berry in the title role. It tells the story of a young woman and it shows the problems which biracial slaves. Throughout her life, Queen struggles to fit into the two cultures of her heritage, and at each side shuns her. James and Easter have grown up together, and gradually their feelings for each other have developed into romance. Easter is the daughter of an African-American house slave, Captain Jack, and his love, Annie, another slave, who is part-Cherokee. James Jackson Sr. an Irish immigrant who has accumulated wealth, becomes ill. Minutes after the death James Jr. retreats to the comfort of the house, where Easter was born. James and Easter make love, then, several months later, while they are alone, Easter reveals to him that she is pregnant with his child. Meanwhile, Sally Jackson, the new widow, encourages her son, James Jr. to marry the respectable, socially equal and wealthy heiress, Elizabeth Lizzie Perkins, on April 8,1841, Easter gives birth to a healthy girl. That displeases Lizzie, who is present for the dinner, Lizzie, having concluded that the new baby is Jamess child, excuses herself from the table and throws a fit. Moments later she vows to her mother that shell never marry him, Captain Jack begins to refer to the baby as Princess, but, when James enters the birth in the record book, he writes the name Queen. He also leaves blank the section for the name of the father, James proposes marriage to Lizzie the next evening, Lizzie accepts, and the wedding takes place at the home sometime later. James continues to visit Easter at night, sometimes every night, although James is Lizzies husband, he is still in love with Easter. Later Lizzie learns that she has become pregnant and she and James welcome a daughter, Jane, whom Queen attends and serves. Although Jane and Queen are half-sisters, the family does not acknowledge that relationship, James later persuades Easter to let Queen live in the main house, where she can receive training as a ladys maid
27.
Lars and the Real Girl
–
Lars and the Real Girl is a 2007 comedy-drama film written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie. It stars Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, the film follows Lars, a sweet but socially inept young man who develops a romantic yet non-sexual relationship with an anatomically correct sex doll, a RealDoll named Bianca. Lars Lindstrom lives a life in a small Wisconsin town. It is gradually revealed that his mother died when he was born, causing his father to be a distant parent to Lars and his older brother. Gus left town as soon as he could support himself, returning only to inherit his half of the household when the father died, the inheritance has been divided between the brothers, Lars lives in the converted garage, Gus and his wife Karin live in the house proper. Karins attempts to invite Lars into the house for a meal are usually unsuccessful. He avoids social contact, finding it difficult to interact with his family, co-workers, a co-worker, Margo, is interested in him, but he avoids anything more than brief encounters. One day a large package arrives, that evening Lars tells Gus and Karin that he has a visitor whom he met via the Internet and they discover that Bianca is a lifelike doll which Lars apparently ordered from an adult website. Concerned about his health, they convince Lars to take Bianca for a checkup to the family doctor, Dagmar. Dagmar diagnoses Bianca with low pressure and advises Lars to bring her in for weekly treatments. Her aim is to have contact with Lars, hoping to get to the root of his behavior. She explains to Gus and Karin that his delusion is a manifestation of a problem that needs to be addressed. She urges them to assist with his therapy by treating Bianca as a real person, Lars begins to introduce Bianca as his girlfriend to the townspeople. Due to their concern for Lars, everyone treats Bianca as a real person, Lars soon finds himself interacting more with people. During this time, Margo has begun to date another co-worker, Lars asks his brother when he knew he had become a man and what being a man means. Gus says when he began doing the things for the right reasons. Gus gives several examples, including their father keeping them, and taking care of them, Gus says that he never should have left Lars alone with their father, and he apologizes for being selfish. Their conversation seems to reach Lars and his dependence on Bianca immediately seems to shift, when a co-worker with whom Margo has been playing pranks goes a bit too far, Lars comforts her
28.
Tribeca Film Festival
–
The mission of the festival is to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience. The Tribeca Film Festival was founded to celebrate New York City as a filmmaking center. In 2006 and 2007, the Festival received over 8600 film submissions, the Festivals program line-up includes a variety of independent films including documentaries, narrative features and shorts, as well as a program of family-friendly films. The Festival also features panel discussions with personalities in the entertainment world, past artists of the Artists Awards program have included Chuck Close, Alex Katz, and Julian Schnabel. The festival now draws an estimated three million people—including often-elusive celebrities from the worlds of art, film, and music—and generates $600 million annually, the inaugural festival launched after 120 days of planning with the help of more than 1,300 volunteers. It was attended by more than 150,000 people and featured several up-and-coming filmmakers, the 2003 festival brought more than 300,000 people. It became one of the venues of the festival, in an effort to serve its mission of bringing independent film to the widest possible audience, in 2006, the Festival expanded its reach in New York City and internationally. In New York City, Tribeca hosted screenings throughout Manhattan as the Festivals 1, internationally, the Festival brought films to the Rome Film Fest. As part of the celebrations in Rome, Tribeca was awarded the first ever Steps and Stars award, presented on the Spanish Steps. A total of 169 feature films and 99 shorts were selected from 4,100 film submissions, the festival featured 90 world premieres, nine international premieres,31 North American premieres,6 U. S. premieres, and 28 New York City premieres. In 2009, Rosenthal, Hatkoff and De Niro were named number 14 on Barrons list of the worlds top 25 philanthropists for their role in regenerating TriBeCas economy after September 11, as of 2010, the festival is run as a business by Tribeca Enterprises. Andrew Essex has been the CEO of Tribeca Enterprises since January,2016, in 2011, L. A. Noire became the first video game to be recognized by the Tribeca Film Festival. com,02.23.2013
29.
Whatever Works
–
Whatever Works is a 2009 American comedy film directed and written by Woody Allen, starring Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley, Jr. Michael McKean, and Henry Cavill. Boris Yelnikoff is a chess teacher and former Columbia professor in quantum mechanics. Divorced, he avoids human contact except for his friends and students and he spends much of the film washing his hands, all the while singing the Happy Birthday song—an attempt to gauge the proper length of time for the process. Boris comes home one night to find Melody, a simpleminded 21-year-old and he reluctantly lets her in for a meal and soon she tells him her story. She turns out to be of a southern background, having been born to fundamentalist parents in Mississippi. She asks if she can stay the night, which Boris eventually allows, Melody develops a crush on Boris despite their age difference and their varying cultures and intelligence. Melody finds a job as a dog walker while still living with Boris, out on the job, she meets Perry Singleton and they arrange a date. When she comes home, she explains to Boris that she didnt like Perry because he loved everything in the world too much. Boris realizes that he loves her and they get married, after a year passes, her mother Marietta finds Melody, explaining that she and her husband John thought Melody had been kidnapped. She goes on to tell her that John left her and sold their house after John lost money in the stock market and she meets Boris and is disappointed with him, so she tries to convince Melody to end her marriage. The three go for lunch at a restaurant and meet Boris friend, Leo, as Marietta goes to use the restroom, Randy Lee James inquires about Melody. Marietta slyly decides to recruit him to end Melodys marriage, later that evening, Leo, who had taken an interest in Marietta, asks her over for dinner. They spend the evening together, and they discover that she is a talented photographer and he even makes plans to contract her professionally. Marietta still hates Boris and continues to arrange for Melody to marry Randy and she takes her to an outdoor craft market and accidentally runs into Randy, who questions her about her marriage. Melody initially sees past Mariettas attempt and tells him that her marriage is fine and she warns her mother to stop her attempt at once, but Marietta keeps trying. Later shopping for clothes, Melodie meets Randy in another planned encounter with her and he invites her to the boat he lives on, and the two end up kissing and beginning an affair. John arrives at Boris and Melodys home full of regret and hopes to get the family back together and they all go to Mariettas photography exhibit opening together, and he sees how his ex-wife has changed since she moved to New York. Distraught, he retreats to a bar, drinking away his misery, while there, he meets a recently divorced gay man named Howard, and admits something that he has known most his adult life, that he is also gay
30.
HBO
–
Home Box Office is an American premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by Time Warner through its respective flagship company Home Box Office, Inc. HBO is the oldest and longest continuously operating pay television service in the United States, in 2014, HBO had an adjusted operating income of US$1.79 billion, compared to the US$1.68 billion it accrued in 2013. HBO has 49 million subscribers in the United States and 130 million worldwide as of 2016, the network provides seven 24-hour multiplex channels, including HBO Comedy, HBO Latino, HBO Signature and HBO Family. It launched the streaming service HBO Now in April 2015, and has over 2 million subscribers in the United States as of February 2017. In addition to its U. S. subscriber base, HBO distributes content in at least 151 countries, HBO subscribers generally pay for an extra tier of service that includes other cable- and satellite-exclusive channels even before paying for the channel itself. Cable providers can require the use of a converter box – usually digital – in order to receive HBO, many HBO programs have been syndicated to other networks and broadcast television stations, and a number of HBO-produced series and films have been released on DVD. The new system, which Dolan named Sterling Information Services, became the first urban underground cable system in the United States. In that same year, Time-Life, Inc. purchased a 20% stake in Dolans company, in the summer of 1971, while on a family vacation in France, Charles Dolan began to think of ideas to make Sterling Manhattan profitable. He came up with the concept for a television service. Dolan later presented his idea to Time-Life management, though satellite distribution seemed only a distant possibility at the time, he persuaded Time-Life to back him on the project. To gauge whether consumers would be interested in subscribing to a pay television service, in a meeting of Dolan and some Time-Life executives who were working on the project, various other names were discussed for the new service. Home Box Office launched on November 8,1972, however, HBOs launch came without fanfare in the press, as it was not covered by any local or national media outlets. Home Box Office distributed its first sports event immediately after the film, Four months later in February 1973, Home Box Office aired its first television special, the Pennsylvania Polka Festival. Home Box Office would use a network of relay towers to distribute its programming to cable systems throughout its service area. Sterling Manhattan Cable continued to lose money because the company had only a small base of 20,000 customers in Manhattan. Time-Life dropped the Sterling name and the company was renamed Manhattan Cable Television under Time-Lifes control in March 1973, Gerald Levin, who had been with Home Box Office since it began operations as its vice president of programming, replaced Dolan as the companys president and chief executive officer. In September 1973, Time-Life, Inc. completed its acquisition of the pay service. HBO would eventually increase its fortunes within two years, by April 1975, the service had around 100,000 subscribers in Pennsylvania and New York state, in 1974, they settled on using a geostationary communications satellite to transmit HBO to cable providers throughout the United States
31.
Sundance Film Festival
–
The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the Sundance Institute, is an American film festival that takes place annually in Park City, Utah. With 46,660 attendees in 2016, it is the largest independent film festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29,2017. Sundance began in Salt Lake City in August 1978, as the Utah/US Film Festival in an effort to more filmmakers to Utah. It was founded by Sterling Van Wagenen, John Earle, the 1978 festival featured films such as Deliverance, A Streetcar Named Desire, Midnight Cowboy, Mean Streets, and The Sweet Smell of Success. The festival also highlighted the work of filmmakers who worked outside the Hollywood system. The jury of the 1978 festival was headed by Gary Allison, and included Verna Fields, Linwood G. Dunn, Katharine Ross, Charles E. Sellier Jr. Mark Rydell, and Anthea Sylbert. More than 60 films were screened at the festival that year, also that year, the first Frank Capra Award went to Jimmy Stewart. The festival also made a profit for the first time, in 1980, Catania left the festival to pursue a production career in Hollywood. Several factors helped propel the growth of Utah/US Film Festival, first was the involvement of actor and Utah resident Robert Redford, who became the festivals inaugural chairman. By having Redfords name associated with the festival, it received great attention, secondly, the country was hungry for more venues that would celebrate American-made films as the only other festival doing so at the time was the USA Film Festival in Dallas. Response in Hollywood was unprecedented as major studios did all they could to contribute their resources, in 1981, the festival moved to Park City, Utah, and changed the dates from September to January. It was called the US Film and Video Festival, in 1984, the now well-established Sundance Institute, headed by Sterling Van Wagenen, took over management of the US Film Festival. The branding and marketing transition from the US Film Festival to the Sundance Film Festival was managed under the direction of Colleen Allen, Allen Advertising Inc. by appointment of Robert Redford. In 1991 the festival was renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redfords character The Sundance Kid from the film Butch Cassidy. The majority of the screenings, including the festivals premieres. The 2013 Sundance London Festival was held April 25–28,2013, Sundance London 2014 took place on April 25–27,2014 at the O2 arena. The Sundance London 2015 Festival was cancelled in an announcement on January 16,2015, Sundance London will return to London in 2016 from June 10–12 at Picturehouse Cinema in Londons West End
32.
All the Real Girls
–
It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19,2003. While the film fared poorly at the box office, it was well received by critics and was nominated for several awards when it was shown at film festivals. It stars Paul Schneider, Zooey Deschanel, Shea Whigham and Patricia Clarkson, Paul is a womanizer in his early twenties who lives in a small Southern town, where he earns a living fixing cars for his uncle. Paul still lives with his mother, Elvira, who works as a clown cheering up children at the local hospital and he spends most of his time hanging out with his best friend and self-proclaimed partner-in-crime, Tip, and their friends Bo and Bust-Ass. Noel is more thoughtful and mature than the girls Paul is used to, the film got mostly positive reviews when it was initially released in 2003, it currently holds a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 71 out of 100 metascore on Metacritic. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times said “Green is 27, old enough to be jaded, but he has the soul of a romantic poet. Wordsworth, after all, was 36 when he published, ‘The Rainbow comes and goes, All the Real Girls was a financial failure at the box office. The film was released on February 14,2003 and played in six theaters, by the time it ended its theatrical run on July 10,2003 it had made back $549,666 of its $2,500,000 budget. The film was nominated for awards at different film festivals globally. Green was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize but won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival along with Clarkson for her role in the film. Deschanel was nominated for Best Female Lead at the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards, All the Real Girls All the Real Girls at AllMovie All the Real Girls at the Internet Movie Database
33.
All the King's Men (2006 film)
–
All the Kings Men is a 2006 film adaptation of the 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren. It was directed by Steven Zaillian, who produced and scripted. The story is about the life of Willie Stark, a character resembling Louisiana governor Huey Long. He was elected as a US Senator and assassinated in 1935, the film co-stars Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley. All the Kings Men had previously adapted into a Best Picture-winning film by writer-director Robert Rossen in 1949. Louisiana newspaper reporter Jack Burden takes a personal interest in Willie Stark, circumstances develop that result in Starks being urged to run for governor by a local political leader, Tiny Duffy. Jack has been raised around politics and he is the former lover of Anne Stanton, whose father was once governor. Jack was raised by his godfather Judge Irwin, an honorable man, in time, Jack and political strategist Sadie Burke reveal to Stark that he is a dupe in the governors race, expected to split the vote, spout the party line and lose. Stark vows not to be fooled again and he defies Duffy publicly and begins to give speeches with straightforward talk that the public appreciates. He becomes governor in the election, using any means necessary. Duffy now works for him as lieutenant governor and he also has a silent, menacing driver and bodyguard called Sugar Boy. Finally, he recruits Jack to work for him as an adviser, Judge Irwin disapproves, seeing Stark as an opportunist. Anne Stanton seems to agree and so does her brother, Dr. Adam Stanton, Willie Stark is a persuasive man and knows how to get his way. He intends to build a new hospital and convinces Dr. Stanton. He also begins an affair with Anne Stanton, provoking Sadies jealousy, criticized publicly by Judge Irwin and embroiled in increasing political controversy, Stark demands that Jack dig up dirt on the judge to be used against him. Jack insists that no such dirt exists, but he uncovers evidence that, many years ago, following this revelation, the judge commits suicide, and Jack suffers great guilt, added to by discovering that Judge Irwin was actually his biological father. Stark embraces various corruption necessary to consolidate his power, using patronage, told that the hospital is a fraudulent front project to enable the governor to rob the state and frame him, Dr. Stanton becomes incensed when he learns of Starks relationship with his sister. He waits at the capitol and assassinates Stark, and is shot
34.
Elegy (film)
–
Elegy is a 2008 drama film directed by Spanish director Isabel Coixet and adapted by Nicholas Meyer from the Philip Roth novel, The Dying Animal. The film stars Penélope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, and Dennis Hopper, the film was set in New York City but filmed in Vancouver. David Kepesh is a critic and professor, in a state of emancipated manhood, His relationships with women are usually casual, brief. Previously married, he has a son who has never forgiven him for leaving his mother and his friend, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet George OHearn, suggests that he bifurcate his life, have conversations and enjoy art with a wife, and keep the sex just for sex. David is also in a casual 20-year relationship with Caroline, another former student and he encounters Consuela Castillo, a beautiful and confident student who attends one of his lectures. She captures his attention like no woman, and they begin a serious relationship. George advises him to leave her before she leaves him, and they are a couple for a year and a half, during which he continues to sleep with Caroline, neither woman knows of the others existence. Over dinner, Consuela invites David to her graduation party, after some hesitation, he agrees to attend. On the day of the event, David phones Consuela and claims he is stuck in traffic, in reality, he is sitting in his car, anxious about meeting Consuelas family. Heartbroken, Consuela hangs up, and they end their relationship, shortly afterward, George suffers a stroke during a poetry conference after David introduces him, and later dies. David realizes too late that he genuinely loved Consuela, and ends his relationship with Caroline and he somewhat mends his relationship with his son, Kenny, when the latter reveals that he is having an affair and indirectly asks David for advice. Two years pass before Consuela and David come into contact again, on New Years Eve, David arrives home to find a message from Consuela. She mentions that she needs to tell him something before he finds out someone else. At his apartment, Consuela announces that she has found a lump in her breast, grief-stricken, David cries and asks her why she didnt tell him sooner. Consuela then asks David to take photos of her breasts, before the doctors ruin them, in the final scene, David visits Consuela at the hospital where she is recovering from a mastectomy. Consuela says, I will miss you, David responds, I am here as he climbs into the hospital bed and gently kisses her face. In a fantasy scene, the film back to David. But maybe its a future scene after Consuela left the hospital, the film also holds a rating of 66/100 based on thirty-two reviews on Metacritic, indicating generally favorable reviews
35.
Woody Allen
–
Heywood Woody Allen is an American actor, writer, director, comedian, playwright, and musician whose career spans more than six decades. He worked as a writer in the 1950s, writing jokes and scripts for television. In the early 1960s, Allen began performing as a stand-up comedian, as a comedian, he developed the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish, which he maintains is quite different from his real-life personality. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Allen in fourth place on a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians and he is often identified as part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmakers of the mid-1960s to late 1970s. Allen often stars in his films, typically in the persona he developed as a standup, some of the best-known of his over 40 films are Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah and Her Sisters. In 2007 he said Stardust Memories, The Purple Rose of Cairo, critic Roger Ebert described Allen as a treasure of the cinema. Allen won four Academy Awards, three for Best Original Screenplay and one for Best Director and he also won nine British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards. His screenplay for Annie Hall was named the funniest screenplay by the Writers Guild of America in its list of the 101 Funniest Screenplays, in 2011, PBS televised the film biography Woody Allen, A Documentary on the American Masters TV series. Allen was born Allan Stewart Konigsberg in Brooklyn, New York and he and his sister, Letty, were raised in Midwood, Brooklyn. He is the son of Nettie, a bookkeeper at her familys delicatessen, and Martin Konigsberg and his family was Jewish, his grandparents immigrated from Russia and Austria, and spoke Yiddish, Hebrew, and German. His parents were born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His childhood was not particularly happy, his parents did not get along, Allen spoke German quite a bit in his early years. He would later joke that when he was young he was sent to inter-faith summer camps. While attending Hebrew school for eight years, he went to Public School 99 and to Midwood High School, at that time, he lived in an apartment at 968 East 14th Street. Unlike his comic persona, he was interested in baseball than school. He impressed students with his talent at card and magic tricks. To raise money, he wrote jokes for agent David O. Alber, at the age of 17, he legally changed his name to Heywood Allen and later began to call himself Woody Allen. According to Allen, his first published joke read, Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O. P. S and he was then earning more than both parents combined
36.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
–
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film was shot in Spain in Barcelona, Avilés and Oviedo, Cruz won both the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Altogether, the film won 25 out of 56 nominations, Vicky and Cristina visit Barcelona for the summer, staying with Vickys distant relative Judy and her husband Mark. At an art exhibition, Cristina is intrigued by artist Juan Antonio, Cristina is won over by the offer almost at once, but Vicky is unimpressed and reluctant, she however eventually decides to accompany her friend anyway, mainly to watch over her. At the end of their first day, Vicky refuses to join Juan Antonio in his room, citing her fidelity to Doug. Before the love-making starts, Cristina suddenly falls ill with digestive complaints, Vicky and Juan Antonio proceed to spend the weekend together alone while they wait for Cristina to recuperate. Vicky gradually changes her opinion of Juan Antonio as he tells her about his tumultuous relationship with his former wife, Vicky accompanies him to visit his father, an old poet, and then becomes deeply moved by a Spanish guitar performance later that evening. She finally succumbs to Juan Antonios advances as they walk through a grove of trees in the dark, the next day, with Cristina recovered, the three of them fly back to Barcelona. Feeling guilty, Vicky does not mention the incident to Cristina, Vicky starts throwing herself into her studies while Cristina and Juan Antonio take up a relationship. Cristina then moves in with Juan Antonio and begins to more about his past. After learning that María Elena attempted to kill herself, Juan Antonio brings her to his home, after some defiance, the two women grow fond of each other. Cristina realizes that the ex-spouses are still in love, and María Elena suggests that Cristina may be the element that can give balance, all three become romantically involved with one another. In the meantime, Vicky is joined in Spain by an enthusiastic Doug, learning that Judy is similarly unhappy in her marriage, she confides to her, and Judy, who sees her younger self in Vicky, decides to bring Juan Antonio and Vicky together. Meanwhile, Cristina becomes restless and at some point decides to leave Juan Antonio and María Elena, without her, as the summer winds to a close, Judy arranges for Juan Antonio and Vicky to meet at a party. Juan Antonio begs Vicky to meet him again privately before leaving Spain, at his home, Juan Antonio seduces and wins Vicky over again, but they are interrupted by María Elena who bursts in with a gun, firing wildly as Juan Antonio tries to calm her. Vicky gets shot in the hand in the process, and leaves, shouting they are insane and she confesses the entire story to Cristina, who never realized how Vicky felt about Juan Antonio, and wishes she could have helped her. This was the third time Johansson and Allen worked together, following Match Point and this film also marked the second time Johansson and Hall worked together, the first time being in The Prestige. The movie featured several paintings by the Catalan artist Agustí Puig, as of July 2009, the film grossed $96 million worldwide, in relation to its $15 million budget, it is one of Allens most profitable films
