1.
John Turturro
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He has appeared in over sixty films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, Adam Sandler and Spike Lee. An Emmy Award winner, Turturro has also nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards. Turturros mother was Sicilian and his father immigrated from Giovinazzo, Bari, Turturro was raised a Roman Catholic and moved to the Rosedale section of Queens, New York with his family when he was six. He majored in Theatre Arts at the State University of New York at New Paltz, Turturros first film appearance was a non-speaking extra role in Martin Scorseses critically acclaimed Raging Bull. He created the role of John Patrick Shanleys Danny and the Deep Blue Sea at the Playwrights Conference at the Eugene ONeill Theatre Center in 1983. He repeated it the following year Off-Broadway and won an Obie Award, Spike Lee liked Turturros performance in Five Corners so much that he cast him in Do the Right Thing. He has also appeared in several of Adam Sandlers movies, such as Mr. Deeds and he played a severely disturbed patient of Jack Nicholsons character in the comedy Anger Management and played Johnny Depps characters antagonist in Secret Window. He won an Emmy award for his portrayal of Adrian Monks brother Ambrose in the USA Network series Monk and he has also been nominated and won many awards from film organizations such as Screen Actors Guild, Cannes Film Festival, Golden Globes and others. Turturro produced and directed, as well as acted in, the film Illuminata and he wrote and directed the film Romance and Cigarettes. In 2006 he appeared in Robert De Niros The Good Shepherd, in 2010 he directed Passione, which chronicles the rich musical heritage of Naples, Italy. The cast included Julie Kavner, Marlo Thomas, Mark Linn-Baker, Turturros fifth directorial film Fading Gigolo premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in mid-September 2013. Turturro also acts in the film alongside Woody Allen, who played a novice pimp overseeing the sex work of Turturros character. In March 2014, Turturro received the Career Achievement tribute and award at the 31st Edition of the Miami International Film Festival at the Olympia Theater in Downtown Miami, Turturros brother is actor Nicholas Turturro. Artist Ralph Turturro, composer and film director Richard Termini and actress Aida Turturro are his cousins and he has two sons, Amedeo and Diego, with his wife, actress Katherine Borowitz. Turturro participates as a member of the Jury for the NYICFF, in January 2011, Turturro received his Italian passport, and holds dual Italian and U. S. citizenship
2.
James Gandolfini
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James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. was an American actor and producer. He was best known for his role as Tony Soprano, an Italian-American crime boss and he garnered enormous praise for his performance, winning three Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and one Golden Globe Award. His other notable roles included mob henchman Virgil in True Romance, enforcer and stuntman Bear in Get Shorty, after finishing The Sopranos, Gandolfini produced the documentary Alive Day Memories, Home from Iraq, in which he interviewed injured Iraq War veterans. His second documentary, Wartorn, 1861–2010, analyzed the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder on soldiers, Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey. His mother, Santa, was a school lunch lady of Italian ancestry who was born in the United States. His father, James Joseph Gandolfini Sr. was a native of Borgo Val di Taro who worked as a bricklayer and cement mason, James Sr. earned a Purple Heart in World War II. Gandolfinis parents were devout Roman Catholics and spoke Italian at home, due to the influence of his parents, he developed a strong sense of Italian American identity and visited Italy regularly. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in studies from Rutgers University in 1982. He also worked as a bartender and club manager in Manhattan prior to his acting career, Gandolfini performed in a 1992 Broadway production of On the Waterfront for six weeks. In the film Terminal Velocity, Gandolfini played Ben Pinkwater, a seemingly mild-mannered insurance man who turns out to be a violent Russian mobster, in 1995 he was in the box office hit Crimson Tide. In that same year in Get Shorty, he appeared as a bearded ex-stuntman with a Southern accent, the show debuted in 1999 and was broadcast until 2007. For his depiction of Soprano, Gandolfini won three Emmys for Best Actor in a Drama and Entertainment Weekly listed him as the 42nd Greatest TV Icon of All Time. In addition to the awards that he won, Gandolfini received numerous nominations, in 2007 Gandolfini produced a documentary with HBO focused on injured Iraq War veterans and their devotion to America while surveying the physical and emotional costs of war. Gandolfini interviewed ten surviving soldiers, who revealed their thoughts about the challenges they face reintegrating into society and they also reflected on their memories of the day when they narrowly escaped death and what life may have been like in other circumstances. He returned to the stage in 2009, appearing in Broadways God of Carnage with Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis, and Jeff Daniels. He received a Tony Award nomination in the category of Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his role in the play but lost to Geoffrey Rush from the play and he played the Mayor of New York in the 2009 remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. In 2010 Gandolfini produced another documentary with HBO, which analyzed the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder throughout American history and it featured interviews with American military officials on their views of PTSD and how they are trying to help soldiers affected by it. Letters from soldiers of the American Civil War and World War I who were affected by PTSD are examined, along with interviews with soldiers affected by PTSD, Gandolfini was executive producer of the HBO film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with Martha Gellhorn, titled Hemingway & Gellhorn
3.
Susan Sarandon
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Susan Abigail Sarandon is an American actress and activist. She is an Academy Award and BAFTA Award winner who is known for her social and political activism for a variety of causes. She was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1999 and received the Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award in 2006, Sarandon began her career in the 1970 film Joe, before appearing in the soap opera A World Apart. In 1975, she starred in the classic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Atlantic City, Thelma & Louise, Lorenzos Oil, and The Client, before winning for Dead Man Walking. She has also won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Client, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress for Dead Man Walking. Her other films include, Pretty Baby, The Hunger, The Witches of Eastwick, Bull Durham, White Palace, Little Women, Stepmom, Igby Goes Down, Enchanted, The Lovely Bones, Tammy and she returned to Broadway in the 2009 revival of Exit the King. On television, she is a five-time Emmy Award nominee, including for her guest roles on the sitcoms Friends and Malcolm in the Middle, in March 2017, Sarandon began portraying Bette Davis in the first season of FXs anthology series Feud. Sarandon was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City and she is the eldest of nine children born to Lenora Marie and Phillip Leslie Tomalin, an advertising executive, television producer, and one-time nightclub singer. She has four brothers, Philip Jr. Terry, Tim and OBrian and four sisters, Meredith, Bonnie, Amanda and her father was of English, Irish, and Welsh ancestry, his English ancestors being from Hackney in London and his Welsh ancestors being from Bridgend. On her mothers side, she is of Italian descent, with ancestors from the regions of Tuscany, Sarandon was raised Roman Catholic and attended Roman Catholic schools. She grew up in Edison, New Jersey, where she graduated from Edison High School in 1964. She then attended The Catholic University of America, from 1964 to 1968, in 1969, Sarandon went to a casting call for the motion-picture Joe with her then-husband Chris Sarandon. Although he did not get a part, she was cast in a role of a disaffected teen who disappears into the seedy underworld. Between 1970 and 1972, she appeared on the soap operas A World Apart and Search for Tomorrow, playing Patrice Kahlman and Sarah Fairbanks, in 1975, she appeared in the cult favorite The Rocky Horror Picture Show. That same year, she played the female lead in The Great Waldo Pepper. She was twice directed by Louis Malle, in Pretty Baby, the latter earned Sarandon her first Academy Award nomination. Her most controversial appearance was in Tony Scotts The Hunger in 1983
4.
Kate Winslet
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Kate Elizabeth Winslet, CBE, is an English actress and singer. Winslet is the recipient of an Academy Award, an AACTA Award, three BAFTA Awards, a BIFA Award, four Golden Globe Awards, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is the youngest person to receive six Academy Award nominations, with seven nominations in total, in addition, she has won awards from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and European Film Academy, among others, and the Honorary César Award in 2012. Brought up in Berkshire, Winslet studied drama from childhood and began her career in British television in 1991 and she made her film debut in Heavenly Creatures, for which she received praise. She garnered recognition for her role in Sense and Sensibility before achieving global stardom with the epic romance Titanic. Winslets performances in Iris, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, Little Children, Revolutionary Road, The Dressmaker, in 2008, film critic David Edelstein described her as the best English-speaking film actress of her generation. Winslets greatest commercial successes since Titanic include the romantic comedy The Holiday, the animated film Flushed Away, in addition to acting, Winslet has narrated documentaries and childrens books. She was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children in 2000 for narrating Listen to the Storyteller and she has also provided her vocals to soundtracks of her films, including the single What If from Christmas Carol, The Movie. Divorced from two directors, Jim Threapleton and Sam Mendes, Winslet is currently married to businessman Ned Rocknroll. Kate Elizabeth Winslet was born in Reading, Berkshire, England to Sally Anne, a barmaid, and Roger John Winslet and she has two sisters, Beth and Anna, and one brother, Joss Winslet. Winslet began studying drama at the age of 11 at the Redroofs Theatre School, a independent school in Maidenhead, Berkshire. At the age of 12, Winslet appeared in an advertisement directed by filmmaker Tim Pope for Sugar Puffs cereal. Pope said her naturalism was there from the start, Winslet made her television debut with a co-starring role in the BBC childrens science fiction serial Dark Season. This role was followed by appearances in the made-for-TV film Anglo-Saxon Attitudes in 1992, the sitcom Get Back, in 1992, Winslet attended a casting call for Peter Jacksons Heavenly Creatures in London. Winslet auditioned for the role of Juliet Hulme, a teenager who assists in the murder of the mother of her best friend, Pauline Parker. The film included Winslets singing debut, and her a version of Sono Andati. The film was released to reviews in 1994 and won Jackson. Winslet was awarded the Empire Award and London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year for her performance, the Washington Post writer Desson Thomson commented, As Juliet, Winslet is a bright-eyed ball of fire, lighting up every scene she’s in
5.
Icon Productions
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Icon Productions is an American-Australian independent production company founded in August 1989 by actor/director Mel Gibson and Australian producing partner Bruce Davey. Icon started when Gibson was having trouble in financing the 1990 film Hamlet, according to Davey, Mel wanted to make Hamlet and the agent he had who was helping him with it lasted about five minutes. Its pretty hard to get someone to give you money to make Hamlet. I told him if he wanted to make this happen, someone had to roll up their sleeves and find the and he asked me if I wanted to have a crack at it. Unlike most other independents, Icon internally funds most of its development and packaging costs, mainly by Gibson, felicias Journey director Atom Egoyan has praised the companys creative independence and risk-taking, Mels dream was to create an alternative to the studio system and make films free of interference. Hes been able to use his celebrity status to set up a viable company. Icon is able to take risks that studios wont broach, furthermore, it owns a library of over 250 film titles. In 2008, Icon entered the business for the first time by purchasing Dendy Cinemas, Australias largest independent film distributor. Icon Productions has also launched the label Con Artists Productions, in the UK and Australia, its DVDs are usually distributed by Warner Home Video, though some of their UK DVDs have been released by MGM Home Entertainment. Icon films are distributed in DVD, Blu-ray and HD VMD. After the financial success of The Passion of the Christ, there was frequent mention of the ability of Icon to function as a mini-studio, however, Bruce Davey has downplayed those expectations, saying, The last thing we want is to become a studio. We dont want to become top heavy. We want to be independent and passionate and we dont want to lose the magic. Gibson has explained that the name was chosen because icon means image in Greek. The logos artwork features a small crop of the left eye from the Theotokos of Vladimir icon. The main executives at Icon were Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey, Mark Gooder, Vicki Christianson, Simon Crowe David Miercourt, producer Stephen McEveety has also worked many years at Icon. In September 2008, Davey and Gibson sold the Icon international sales, neither Icon Productions nor the Dendy cinemas were part of the acquisition deal. Tills new company will continue to use the Icon name and will have a three-year first-look deal with Icon Productions to handle the rights to its productions
6.
Sony Pictures Classics
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Sony Pictures Classics is a film production and distribution studio division of Sony Pictures founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produces and acquires specialty films such as documentaries, independent and art films in the United States, as of 2015, Barker and Bernard are co-presidents of the division. Sony Pictures Classics was founded on January 1,1992, by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, the model of the company is to produce, acquire and/or distribute independent films from the United States and internationally. Sony Pictures Classics has a history of making investments for small films. It has a history of not overspending and its largest commercial success of the 2010s is Woody Allens Midnight in Paris, which grossed over $56 million in the U. S. becoming Allens highest-grossing film ever in the United States. Leviathan Love Is Strange The Lunchbox Magic in the Moonlight Mr
7.
Venice Film Festival
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The film festival is part of the Venice Biennale, which was founded by the Venetian City Council in 1895. The film festival has taken place in late August or early September on the island of the Lido, Venice. Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi, since its inception the Venice Film Festival has grown into one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The 74th Venice International Film Festival is scheduled to be held from 30 August to 9 September 2017, the first edition of the Venice Film Festival was carried out from the 6 to the 21 of August in 1932. The festival began with an idea of the president of the Venice Biennale Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata and Luciano De Feo, with good reason, the festival was considered the first international event of its type, receiving strong support from authorities. This first edition was held on the terrace of the Hotel Excelsior on the Venice Lido, and at that stage it was not a competitive event. The very first film to be shown in the history of the Festival was Rouben Mamoulians Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the second edition was held two years later, from 1 to 20 of August in 1934. For the first time it included a competition, at least 19 countries took part with over 300 accredited journalists. The Mussolini Cup was introduced for best foreign film and best Italian film, other awards were the Great Gold Medals of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment to best actor and actress. The prize for best foreign film went to Robert J. Flahertys Man of Aran and was a confirmation of the taste of the time for auteur documentaries, starting in 1935, the Festival became a yearly event under the direction of Ottavio Croze. The actors award was renamed Volpi Cup, in 1936 an international jury was nominated for the first time and in 1937 the new Cinema Palace, designed by the architect Luigi Quagliata, was inaugurated. The 1940s represent one of the most difficult moments for the review, the conclusion of the Second World War divides the decade in two. Before 1938 political pressures distorted and ruined the festival, in addition, few countries participated and there was an absolute monopoly of institutions and directors that were members of the Rome-Berlin Axis. The festival resumed full speed in 1946, after the war, with the return of normalcy, Venice once again became a great icon of the film world. In 1947 the festival was held at the Doges Palace, a most magnificent backdrop for hosting a record 90 thousand participants, surely it can be considered one of the greatest editions in the history of the festival. For the next twenty years the festival continued its development and expansion in accordance with the plan set in motion after the war. In 1963 the winds of change blow strongly during Luigi Chiarini’s directorship of the festival, during the years of his presidency, Chiarini aspired to renew the spirit and the structures of the festival, pushing for a total reorganization of the entire system. The social and political unrest of 1968 had strong repercussions on the Venice Bienniale, from 1969 to 1979 no prizes were awarded and the festival returned to the non-competitiveness of the first edition
8.
Musical film
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The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline. The musical film was a development of the stage musical after the emergence of sound film technology. Typically, the biggest difference between film and stage musicals is the use of background scenery and locations that would be impractical in a theater. Musical films characteristically contain elements reminiscent of theater, performers often treat their song, in a sense, the viewer becomes the diegetic audience, as the performer looks directly into the camera and performs to it. The 1930s through the early 1950s are considered to be the age of the musical film. Musical short films were made by Lee de Forest in 1923–24, beginning in 1926, thousands of Vitaphone shorts were made, many featuring bands, vocalists and dancers. The Jazz Singer, released in 1927 by Warner Brothers, was the first to include a track including non-diegetic music and diegetic music. This feature-length film was also a musical, featuring Al Jolson singing Dirty Hands, Dirty Face, Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Blue Skies and My Mammy. Historian Scott Eyman wrote, As the film ended and applause grew with the houselights and she saw terror in all their faces, she said, as if they knew that the game they had been playing for years was finally over. Still, only isolated sequences featured live sound, most of the film had only a musical score. In 1928, Warner Brothers followed this up with another Jolson part-talkie, The Singing Fool, theaters scrambled to install the new sound equipment and to hire Broadway composers to write musicals for the screen. The first all-talking feature, Lights of New York, included a sequence in a night club. The enthusiasm of audiences was so great that in less than an all the major studios were making sound pictures exclusively. The Broadway Melody had a plot about two sisters competing for a charming song-and-dance man. Advertised by MGM as the first All-Talking, All-Singing, All-Dancing feature film, it was a hit, there was a rush by the studios to hire talent from the stage to star in lavishly filmed versions of Broadway hits. The Love Parade starred Maurice Chevalier and newcomer Jeanette MacDonald, written by Broadway veteran Guy Bolton, Warner Brothers produced the first screen operetta, The Desert Song in 1929. They spared no expense and photographed a large percentage of the film in Technicolor and this was followed by the first all-color, all-talking musical feature which was entitled On with the Show
9.
Romantic comedy film
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Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is a movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily. Another definition states that its primary distinguishing feature is a plot in which two sympathetic and well-matched lovers are united or reconciled. Romantic comedy films are a genre of comedy films as well as of romance films. However a romantic comedy is classified as a film with two genres not a new genre. Some television series can also be classified as romantic comedies, a wedding-bells, fairy-tale-style happy ending is practically mandatory. The basic plot of a comedy is that two characters meet, part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately reunite. Sometimes the two meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes they are hesitant to become involved because they believe that they do not like each other, because one of them already has a partner. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are, in fact, attracted to each other, the protagonists often separate or seek time apart to sort out their feelings or deal with the external obstacles to their being together. While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them realizes that they are ideal for each other, or that they are in love with each other. Then, after one of the two makes some effort to find the other person and declare their love, or through an astonishing coincidental encounter. Then, perhaps with some comic friction or awkwardness, they declare their love for each other, the couple does not, however, have to marry, or live together happily ever after. The ending of a comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in its protagonists lives. There are many variations on this basic plotline, sometimes, instead of the two lead characters ending up in each others arms, another love match will be made between one of the principal characters and a secondary character. Alternatively, the film may be a rumination on the impossibility of love, the basic format of a romantic comedy film can be found in much earlier sources, such as Shakespeare plays like Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Nights Dream. Some comedy films, such as Knocked Up, combine themes of romantic comedies and stoner comedies, often known as bromance, such films usually use sexual elements which bring the two characters together. Films in this genre include American Pie 2 and even Wedding Crashers, romantic comedies have begun to spread out of their conventional and traditional structure into other territory
10.
Steve Buscemi
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Steven Vincent Steve Buscemi is an American actor and film director. He is also known for his appearances in films by the Coen brothers, Millers Crossing, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo. Buscemi provides the voice of Randall Boggs in the Monsters, Inc. franchise and he made his directorial debut in 1996, with Trees Lounge, in which he also starred. Other works include Animal Factory, Lonesome Jim and Interview and he has also directed numerous episodes of TV shows, including Homicide, Life on the Street, The Sopranos, Oz,30 Rock, and Nurse Jackie. He currently hosts the Emmy Award-winning AOL On comedy talk-show Park Bench, Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran, and Dorothy, who worked as a host at Howard Johnsons. Buscemis father was of Italian descent, his ancestors were from the town of Menfi in Sicily, Buscemis mother was of Irish, English, and Dutch ancestry. He has three brothers, Jon, Ken, and Michael and he graduated in 1975 from Valley Stream Central High School in Nassau County, New York, a school which he attended with actress Patricia Charbonneau. In high school, Buscemi wrestled for the varsity squad and participated in the drama troupe, Buscemis 1996 film Trees Lounge, in which he starred and served as screenwriter and director, is set in and was largely shot in his childhood village of Valley Stream. Buscemi briefly attended Nassau Community College before moving to Manhattan to enroll in the Lee Strasberg Institute, in 1980, Buscemi became a firefighter in New York City, after taking a civil service test in 1976 when he was 18. For four years, Buscemi served on FDNYs Engine Co.55 in Manhattans Little Italy, after 9/11, Buscemi returned to Engine 55 and for several days worked 12-hour shifts alongside other firefighters to sift through the rubble from the World Trade Center. In 2003, he gave a speech supporting higher wages for firefighters at a union rally, in 2014, he was appointed as an Honorary Battalion Chief of the FDNY. His film debut was the 1985 No Wave Cinema film The Way it Is, other early films include Parting Glances in 1986, Slaves of New York in 1988, and Tales from the Darkside, a 1990 film with three segments. Buscemi starred in the first segment, playing Bellingham, a student who orders a mummy and unleashes it on fellow college students played by Christian Slater. In 1990, Buscemi had a couple of additional crime roles and he played the henchman of Laurence Fishburne named Test Tube in Abel Ferraras King of New York. He also played Mink in the Coen Brothers Millers Crossing, although he had to audition twice for this role, it marked the first of five of the Coen Brothers films in which Buscemi appeared. In 1991, he played the bellboy, Chet, in the Coen Brothers film and his first lead role was in 1992, when he played Adolpho Rollo in Alexandre Rockwells In the Soup. Then he came to attention for playing Mr. Pink in Quentin Tarantinos 1992 film, Reservoir Dogs. He also appeared in Tarantinos next film, Pulp Fiction, in which he acts as a waiter at the 1950s themed restaurant which Mrs. Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega attend
11.
Bobby Cannavale
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Robert Bobby Cannavale is an American actor known for his leading role as Bobby Caffey in the first two seasons of the crime drama series Third Watch. In 2016, he starred in the HBO drama series Vinyl, produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger. For his roles in Mauritius and The Motherfucker with the Hat, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, Cannavale has appeared in The Station Agent, Shall We Dance. Snakes on a Plane, The Other Guys, Woody Allens Blue Jasmine, Chef, the remake of Annie, Paul Feigs Spy, Cannavale was born and raised in Union City, New Jersey, the son of Isabel and Sal Cannavale. His father is of Italian descent, while his mother is Cuban and he was raised Catholic and attended St. Michaels Catholic School, where he participated in a number of extracurricular activities, including being an altar boy and member of the chorus. Cannavales parents divorced when he was 13 and his mother moved the family to Puerto Rico, after two years in the American territory, they settled in Margate, Florida. Cannavale returned to New Jersey after barely eking out a school diploma in the late 1980s from Coconut Creek High School, in order to be closer to New York. Following this, in 2001, he starred with Alan Arkin in 100 Centre Street – which was written and directed by Sidney Lumet, in 2002, he joined the cast of Ally McBeal for the last five episodes, but the show was then cancelled. Following this, he starred with Yancey Arias and Sheryl Lee in the miniseries Kingpin, in 2003, Cannavale briefly appeared on the last two episodes of Oz. He also appeared in the film The Station Agent as a man who befriends a little removed from society. From 2004 to 2006, he had a recurring guest role on Will & Grace as Vince DAngelo, for this role, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005. He appeared in The Take alongside John Leguizamo and Tyrese Gibson, as Agent Steve Perelli. Cannavale serves as the voice of Corado R. Ciarlo, known as Babe, in the Ken Burns PBS film series The War from the perspective of the men who fought in combat and their loved ones at home. He also read the audiobook versions of Richard Prices 2008 novel Lush Life, on August 25,2008, ABC ordered his pilot Cupid, a remake of the 1998 program which had starred Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, to series. In the new version of the series, Cannavale starred opposite Sarah Paulson with script development overseen by original series creator Rob Thomas, ABC debuted Cupid on March 31,2009, but it was cancelled on May 19,2009. In 2008, he received a Tony Award nomination for his role as Dennis in the Broadway play, in 2009, CBS announced Cannavale would reprise his role of Det. Eddie Saccardo on the show, Cold Case, for three episodes, starting with the third episode of Season 7. Cannavale was also in the film Win Win in 2011, as Terry Delfino and he later starred in the Broadway play The Motherfucker With the Hat alongside Chris Rock and Annabella Sciorra
12.
Mandy Moore
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Amanda Leigh Mandy Moore is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. Moore first came to prominence with her 1999 debut single, Candy, after signing with Epic Records, she released her first album, So Real, in 1999. It went on to receive a Platinum certification from the RIAA and her 2000 single, I Wanna Be with You, became her first Top 30 song in the US, peaking at number 24 on the Hot 100 chart. As of 2009, Moore has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide, in 2012, Moore was ranked #96 on VH1s list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, as well as #63 on their Sexiest Artists of All Time List. Outside of her career, Moore has also branched out into acting. She made her debut in the 2001 comedy film Dr. Dolittle 2. Later that year, she appeared as Lana Thomas in the comedy film The Princess Diaries and she had her first starring role as Jamie Sullivan in the 2002 romantic drama film A Walk to Remember, which was based on Nicholas Sparks novel. Moore later voiced Rapunzel in the 2010 animated feature Tangled, in 2016, she began starring as Rebecca Pearson in the NBC family comedy-drama series This Is Us for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination. Amanda Leigh Moore was born on April 10,1984 in Nashua and her mother, Stacy, is a former news reporter who once worked for the Orlando Sentinel, and her father, Donald Moore, is a pilot for American Airlines. Moore was raised Catholic, but has developed a hodgepodge of things that she believes. Moores ancestry is Russian Jewish, English, and Irish and she is the second among the three children with an older brother, Scott, and a younger brother, Kyle. When she was two old, Moore and her family moved to Longwood, Seminole County, Florida, outside of Orlando. She attended Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando, Florida from 1998 to 2002, Moore became interested in acting and singing at a young age, and cited her British grandmother, Eileen Friedman, a professional ballerina in London, as one of her inspirations. Moore stated My parents thought It was just a phase Id grow out of, but I stuck to it and begged them for acting lessons, for voice lessons. Moore began starring in numerous productions, as well as performing the National Anthem at numerous Orlando based events. She was only twelve years old when she attended the Stagedoor Manor theater camp, production director Konnie Kittrell said of Moore She was a quiet, sweet girl, and stated that even though she earned numerous solos She wasnt a spotlight seeker. When Moore was thirteen, she working on music by herself. One day, while working in an Orlando studio, she was overheard by a FedEx delivery man, the delivery man, named Victor, later sent this friend a copy of Moores unfinished demo, and Moore went on to sign with the label
13.
Mary-Louise Parker
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Mary-Louise Parker is an American actress and author. Parker is also the recipient of the 2001 Tony Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Broadway play Proof and she also starred in When We Rise. Parker was born in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, the youngest of four children, she is the daughter of Caroline Louise and John Morgan Parker, a judge who served in the U. S. Army. Her ancestry includes Swedish, English, Scottish, Scots-Irish, German, because of her fathers career, Parker spent parts of her childhood in Tennessee and Texas, as well as in Thailand, Germany, and France. She described her childhood as unhappy, further noting that, My parents did everything they could, I had books, clothes, a home and a warm bed. She graduated from Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, Arizona, Parker majored in drama at the North Carolina School of the Arts and graduated in 1986. Parker got her start in acting with a role on the soap opera Ryans Hope, in the late 1980s, Parker moved to New York. After a few roles, she made her Broadway debut in a 1990 production of Craig Lucas Prelude to a Kiss. She moved with the production when it transferred from its origin Off-Broadway, Parker won the Clarence Derwent Award for her performance and was nominated for a Tony Award. In addition, she appeared alongside Matthew Modine in Tim Hunters The Maker, Parkers theater career continued when she appeared in Paula Vogels 1997 critical smash How I Learned to Drive, with David Morse. In the late 1990s, she appeared in independent films, including Let the Devil Wear Black. She starred alongside Sidney Poitier in the 1999 movie The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn, on December 7,2003, HBO aired a six-and-a-half-hour adaptation of Tony Kushners acclaimed Broadway play Angels in America, directed by Mike Nichols. Parker played Harper Pitt, the Mormon Valium-addicted wife of a closeted lawyer, for her performance, Parker received Golden Globe and Emmy awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries. Parker took the role that had been Mia Farrows on screen. The production, directed by Mark Brokaw, earned Parker another nomination for a Tony Award for Best Actress in 2005, in November 2005, Parker was the subject of a career exhibition at Boston University, where memorabilia from her career were donated to the Universitys library. In that category, she defeated the four leads of Desperate Housewives and she dedicated the award to the late John Spencer, known for his work as Leo McGarry on The West Wing. After receiving the award, Parker stated, Im really in favor of legalizing marijuana, I dont think its that controversial. In March 2007, Parker played the role in the television film The Robber Bride
14.
Aida Turturro
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Aida Turturro is an American actress best known for playing Janice Soprano, sister of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Aida Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York, daughter of a Sicilian mother, Dorothy, a homemaker, and an Italian-American father, Domenick Turturro, actors John Turturro, Nicholas Turturro, and Natalie Turturro are her cousins. Turturro has worked to raise awareness of rheumatoid arthritis. Turturro appeared in her first film in 1989 and she has also acted in films such as True Love, What About Bob. Turturro also had parts in Sleepers and Deep Blue Sea. She appears also in the 2005 movie Romance & Cigarettes, directed by her cousin John, Turturro played Janice Soprano in The Sopranos. She appeared in 49 episodes from 2000-2007, earning two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2001 and 2007. In 2009, Turturro appeared in Bite Me, a season episode of the CBS series, Medium. Turturro appeared in the season episode Car Periscope of Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2012, Turturro appeared in Day of the Iguana, an episode of Nurse Jackie and she played Laura Vargas, the titular characters lawyer. In 2013, Turturro appeared in the season episode Drawing Dead of Blue Bloods. In 2017, Turturro appeared in Ill Mostro in the season of Criminal Minds
15.
Christopher Walken
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He was nominated for the same award and won BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards for his performance as Frank Abagnale Sr. in Catch Me If You Can. Walkens films have grossed more than $1 billion in the United States and he has also played the lead in the Shakespeare plays Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Coriolanus. He is a popular guest-host of Saturday Night Live, having hosted seven times as of April 2008, Walken debuted as a film director and scriptwriter with the short film Popcorn Shrimp in 2001. He also wrote and acted the role in a play about his idol Elvis Presley, titled Him. Named after actor Ronald Colman, Walken was born Ronald Walken on March 31,1943 in Astoria, Queens, New York City. He is the son of Rosalie, a British emigrant from Glasgow, Scotland, and Paul Wälken and his father owned and operated Walkens Bakery in Astoria. Influenced by their mothers own dreams of stardom, he and his brothers, Kenneth, at age 15, when a girlfriend showed him a magazine photo of Elvis, Walken said, This guy looked like a Greek god. Then I saw him on television and he changed his hairstyle to imitate Elvis and hasnt changed it since. As a teenager, he worked as a lion tamer in a circus, Walken initially trained as a dancer in music theatre at the Washington Dance Studio before moving on to dramatic roles in theatre and then film. As a child, Walken appeared on screen as an extra in numerous anthology series, after appearing in a sketch with Martin and Lewis on The Colgate Comedy Hour, Walken decided to become an actor. He landed a role in the 1953 television show The Wonderful John Acton as the shows narrator. During this time, he was credited as Ronnie Walken, over the next two years, he appeared frequently on television and had a thriving career in theatre. From 1954 to 1956, Walken and his brother Glenn originated the role of Michael Bauer on the soap opera The Guiding Light, in 1963, he appeared as a character named Chris in an episode of Naked City, starring Paul Burke. In 1966, Walken played the role of King Philip of France in the Broadway premiere of The Lion in Winter, in 1969, Walken guest-starred in Hawaii Five-O as Navy SP Walt Kramer. He prefers to be known informally as Chris instead of Christopher, Walken made his feature film debut with a small role opposite Sean Connery in Sidney Lumets The Anderson Tapes. In 1972s The Mind Snatchers a. k. a, the Happiness Cage, Walken played his first starring role. In this science fiction film, which deals with control and normalization. Paul Mazurskys 1976 film Next Stop, Greenwich Village had Walken, under the name Chris Walken, playing fictional poet, in Woody Allens 1977 film Annie Hall, Walken played the homicidal and borderline crazy brother of Annie Hall
16.
Barbara Sukowa
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Barbara Sukowa is a German theatre and film actress. She is known for her work with directors Rainer Werner Fassbinder and she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for the 1986 film Rosa Luxemburg. Her other film appearances include Lola, Europa, M. Butterfly, sukowas stage debut was in Berlin in 1971, in a production of Peter Handkes Der Ritt über den Bodensee. Günter Beelitz invited her to join the ensemble of the Darmstädter National Theatre in the same year. She also worked in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, in collaboration with such as Luc Bondy and her roles included Marion in Büchners Dantons Death. Other Shakespeare roles in Europe were Rosalind in As You Like It and she performed in Ibsens The Master Builder. In English, she has worked in a production of The Cherry Orchard, in addition to her stage work, Sukowa is associated with the New German Cinema. She portrayed Mieze in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, which earned her the German best young actress award, in 1985 she appeared in the mini-series Space based on James A. Micheners novel. She received the best actress award at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival for her work in Von Trottas film Rosa Luxemburg, Sukowa has developed a parallel career as a classical music narrator and speaker. She has performed the Speakers role in Arnold Schönberg’s Pierrot lunaire, other performances have been with ensembles in Paris, London, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Madrid, Rome, Tokyo, Salzburg, Los Angeles, and New York City. She narrated Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf both in concert and on record, as well as on a recording of Mendelssohn’s music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and she has performed in Arthur Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher and Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera. She performed speaking and singing role in Reinbert de Leeuws Im wunderschönen Monat Mai in 2004. She performed the role in the US premiere of Michael Jarrells Cassandre in March 2006. In 2004 she was a member of the jury at the 26th Moscow International Film Festival, on 19 December 2011, it was announced she would be on the jury for the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, scheduled to be held in February 2012. In 2014, she starred as Jones in Syfys thriller series 12 Monkeys, Sukowa was born in Bremen, Germany. She is married to the artist and director Robert Longo, with whom she has performed as a singer and she has three sons, one from her earlier marriage to Hans-Michael Rehberg, one from her relationship with Daniel Olbrychski, and one from her marriage to Robert Longo
17.
Elaine Stritch
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Elaine Stritch was an American actress and singer, known for her work on Broadway. She made her stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films. She was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995 and her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty, won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. Stritch relocated to London in the 1970s and starred in several West End productions, including Tennessee Williams Small Craft Warnings and she also starred with Donald Sinden in the ITV sitcom Twos Company, which earned her a 1979 BAFTA TV Award nomination. She won an Emmy Award in 1993 for her guest role on Law & Order and another for the 2004 television documentary of her one-woman show. From 2007 to 2012, she had a role as Colleen Donaghy on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. Stritch was born on February 2,1925, in Detroit, Michigan, the youngest daughter of Mildred, a homemaker, and George Joseph Stritch and her Roman Catholic family was well-off. Her father was of Irish descent, while her mother had Welsh ancestry, samuel Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago from 1940 to 1958, was one of her uncles. She trained at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York City under Erwin Piscator, alongside Marlon Brando, Stritch made her stage debut in 1944. Stritch understudied Ethel Merman for Call Me Madam, and, at the time, appeared in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey. Stritch later starred in the tour of Call Me Madam. She was the lead in the musical Goldilocks and she starred in Noël Cowards Sail Away on Broadway in 1961. During out-of-town tryouts in Boston, Coward was unsure about the talents of one of the leads. Joe Layton suggested What would happen if. we just eliminated role, the show was very old-fashioned, and the thing that was working was Elaine Stritch. Every time she went on stage was a sensation. The reconstructed Sail Away opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on October 3,1961, with Stritch giving what Howard Taubman of The New York Times said “must be the performance of her career. ”In 1966, she played Ruth Sherwood in the musical Wonderful Town at New Yorks City Center, and appeared in an Off Broadway revival of Private Lives in 1968. Stritch became known as a singer with a brassy, powerful voice and she was the original performer cast in the role of Joanne in Stephen Sondheims Company on Broadway. After over a decade of successful runs in shows in New York, Stritch moved in 1972 to London, where she starred in the West End production of Company
18.
Eddie Izzard
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Edward John Eddie Izzard is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer and political activist. His comedic style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and he has also worked as a voice actor in The Wild, Igor, The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian, and Cars 2. Izzard has cited his main role model as Monty Python. In 2009, he completed 43 marathons in 51 days for Sport Relief despite having no history of long-distance running. He has won awards including a Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for his comedy special Dress to Kill. Izzards website won the Yahoo Peoples Choice Award and earned the Webby Award, Izzard was born on 7 February 1962, in the Colony of Aden, the younger son of English parents. His mother, Dorothy Ella, was a midwife and nurse, his father, a year after Izzards birth, the family moved to Bangor, County Down, and lived there until he was five. The family then moved to Skewen, West Glamorgan, where his mother died of cancer when Izzard was six and his brother, Izzard and his brother built a model railway to occupy their time while their mother was ill, it was donated to the Bexhill Museum in 2016. The Izzard family name is of French Huguenot descent, following his mothers death, Izzard attended boarding schools such as St Johns School in Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan, as well as St Bedes Prep School and Eastbourne College in East Sussex. He said that he knew he was a person at the age of four, after watching another boy being forced to wear a dress by his sisters. Izzard began to toy with comedy at the University of Sheffield, after leaving his accountancy degree course, he and Ballard took their act to the streets, often in Covent Garden. After his split with Ballard, Izzard spent a deal of the early 1980s working as a street performer in Europe. He then moved his act into the stand-up comedy venues of Britain and his first gig was at the Banana Cabaret in Balham, London. In 1987, he made his first stage appearance at the Comedy Store in London and he refined his material throughout the 1980s, and in the early 1990s he finally began earning some measure of recognition through his improvisation, in part at his own club Raging Bull in Soho. Izzard has performed stand-up in French, as well as German, Spanish, Russian and Arabic, in 1994, Izzard made his West End drama debut as the lead in the world premiere of David Mamets The Cryptogram with Lindsay Duncan, in the production at Londons Comedy Theatre. The success of that led to his second starring role in David Beairds black comedy 900 Oneonta. In 1995, he portrayed the character in Christopher Marlowes Edward II. In 1998 Izzard appeared briefly on stage with the Monty Python team in The American Film Institutes Tribute to Monty Python
19.
Amy Sedaris
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Amy Louise Sedaris is an American actress, voice actress, singer, author, screenwriter and comedian. She is known for playing Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy and she regularly collaborates with her older brother David, a humorist and author. Since 2014, Sedaris has voiced the character Princess Carolyn in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman and her father is of Greek descent and her mother was Anglo-American. Her father is Greek Orthodox, and her mother was a Protestant and she was raised in her fathers Greek Orthodox faith. At age 16, Sedaris worked at her local Winn-Dixie supermarket and she would make fake announcements over the loudspeaker, prompting the head cashier to confiscate the microphone. After work, she egged the cashiers car in protest, later, as a cocktail waitress at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago, Illinois, she was fired for being five minutes late. She took her revenge on her boss, I took his keys, I heard he found them in the spring. The show ran for three seasons, beginning in 1999, Sedaris portrayed Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central series Strangers with Candy. The show, which she co-wrote with Dinello and Colbert, was based on Sedariss impression of 1970s-era motivational speaker Florrie Fisher, the show ran for three seasons and would later inspire a full-length movie. Sedaris has made numerous guest appearances on a number of different TV programs, including Rescue Me, Monk, Wonder Showzen, Just Shoot Me. Sex and the City, My Name Is Earl, The Closer, The Middle, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Raising Hope, Sedaris also hosted the series Film Fanatic on Trio. Sedaris has appeared on talk shows, including the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan OBrien. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, in 2007, Sedaris was featured in Dolly Partons first mainstream country music video in 14 years, Better Get to Livin. It was announced in October 2008 that Sedaris would be getting her own sitcom, produced by 20th Century Fox, also in late 2008, Sedaris did voiceovers in several commercials for the discount hair salon SuperCuts. In January 2009, Sedaris narrated the PBS special Make Em Laugh, The Funny Business of America, in early 2010, she appeared as a supporting character in the Canadian comedy series The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour. In December 2010, Sedaris was seen with Paul Dinello in the Mummified Hand episode of the Discovery/Science Channel show Oddities, in 2011, she appeared in a series of commercials for Downy Unstopables, a fabric softener product. The ad was designed by Grey with the aim of kicking the old mom image with spots featuring laundry expert Amy Sedaris, in 2013, she played the sex-crazed sister Hershe Heartshe, in the Adult Swim surreal comedy horror show The Heart, She Holler. In 2013, Sedaris appeared in eight episodes of Amazons Alpha House, Sedaris played Louise Laffer, the Mormon wife of Utah Senator Louis Laffer, who lives with three other Republican senators in a town house on Capitol Hill
20.
Golden Lion
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The Golden Lion is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the committee and is now regarded as one of the film industrys most distinguished prizes. In 1970, a second Golden Lion was introduced, this is an award for people who have made an important contribution to cinema. The prize was introduced in 1949 as the Golden Lion of Saint Mark, previously, the equivalent prize was the Gran Premio Internazionale di Venezia, awarded in 1947 and 1948. Before that, from 1934 until 1942, the highest awards were the Coppa Mussolini for Best Italian Film, no Golden Lions were awarded between 1969 and 1979. Sixty-eight produced a dramatic fracture with the past,14 French films have been awarded the Golden Lion, more than that of any other nation. However, there is considerable diversity in the winners. Five American filmmakers have won the Golden Lion, with awards for John Cassavetes and Robert Altman, as well as Ang Lee, Darren Aronofsky and Sofia Coppola. The Golden Lion, by contrast, has awarded to ten Asians during the same time period. Ang Lee won the Golden Lion twice within three years during the 2000s, once for an American film and once for a Chinese-language film, zhang Yimou has also won twice. Other Asians to win the Golden Lion since 1980 include Jia Zhangke, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Tsai Ming-liang, Trần Anh Hùng, Takeshi Kitano, Kim Ki-duk, Jafar Panahi, Mira Nair, and Lav Diaz. Russian filmmakers have won the Golden Lion several times, including since the end of the USSR. Still, to date 33 of the 54 winners were European men, since 1949 only four women have ever won the Golden Lion for directing, Mira Nair, Sofia Coppola, German Margarethe von Trotta and Belgiums Agnès Varda. In comparison to the other major Western European festivals, the Berlinales Golden Bear has also awarded to four women. In the history of Cannes, only one woman filmmaker has been awarded the Palme dOr
21.
Kumar Pallana
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Kumar Valavhadas Pallana was an Indian character actor and vaudevillian. He performed on the Mickey Mouse Club as a spinner and juggler. Pallana owned an Indian restaurant, Cosmic Cup in Dallas, Texas which Wes Anderson, Anderson cast Pallana in Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Darjeeling Limited. He has also worked in the 2010 Bollywood movie Anjaana Anjaani, a short documentary named KUMAR, MKE, which focused on his connection to the Milwaukee film scene, was released in 2015. He died on 10 October 2013 at his home in California, pallanas daughter Sandhya Pallana worked with him on The Terminal and other productions. His son Dipak Pallana is also an actor, who has appeared in films as Bottle Rocket, Rushmore. Kumar Pallana at the Internet Movie Database Kumar Pallana interview
22.
United Artists
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United Artists is an American film and television entertainment studio. The studio was bought, sold and restructured over the ensuing century. On December 14 of the year, however, MGM acquired the 48% stake of UAMG it did not own. UA was incorporated as a joint venture on February 5,1919, by Pickford, Chaplin, Fairbanks, each held a 20% stake, with the remaining 20% held by lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo. The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford, already Hollywood veterans, the four stars talked of forming their own company to better control their own work. They were spurred on by established Hollywood producers and distributors who were tightening their control over salaries and creative decisions. With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out before anything was formalized, when he heard about their scheme, Richard A. Rowland, head of Metro Pictures, is said to have observed, The inmates are taking over the asylum. The four partners, with advice from McAdoo, formed their distribution company and its headquarters was established at 729 Seventh Avenue in New York City. The original terms called for each of the stars to produce five pictures each year, UAs first film was a success. Without selling stock to the public, following the other studios, as a result, production was slow and the company distributed an annual average of five films during its first five years. By 1924 Griffith had dropped out and the company was facing a crisis, veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired as president. He had been producing pictures for a decade, and he brought commitments for films starring his wife, Norma Talmadge, his sister-in-law, Constance Talmadge, contracts were signed with independent producers, most notably Samuel Goldwyn, and Howard Hughes. In 1933, Schenck organized a new company with Darryl F. Zanuck, called Twentieth Century Pictures, Schenck formed a separate partnership with Pickford and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United Artists name. They began international operations, first in Canada and then in Mexico, by the end of the 1930s, United Artists was represented in over 40 countries. When he was denied a share in 1935, Schenck resigned. He set up 20th Century Pictures merger with Fox Film Corporation to form 20th Century Fox, al Lichtman succeeded Schenck as company president. Other independent producers distributed through United Artists in the 1930s including, Walt Disney Productions, Alexander Korda, Hal Roach, David O. Selznick, as the years passed, and the dynamics of the business changed, these producing partners drifted away. Samuel Goldwyn Productions and Disney went to RKO, and Wanger to Universal Pictures, in the late 1930s, UA turned a profit
23.
Coen brothers
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Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen, collectively referred to as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody and their best-reviewed works include Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, True Grit, and Inside Llewyn Davis. The brothers write, direct, and produce their films jointly, although until The Ladykillers, Joel received sole credit for directing and they often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing film credits for editor under the alias Roderick Jaynes. The duo also won the Palme dOr for Barton Fink, and were nominated for Fargo, the Coen brothers have written a number of films that neither of the two directed. Ethan is also a writer of stories, theater. Their films No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, Joel and Ethan Coen were born and raised in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Their mother, Rena, was an art historian at St. Cloud State University, when they were children, Joel saved money from mowing lawns to buy a Vivitar Super 8 camera. Together, the brothers remade movies they saw on television, with a kid, Mark Zimering. Their first attempt was a romp entitled Henry Kissinger, Man on the Go, cornel Wildes The Naked Prey became their Zeimers in Zambia, which also featured Ethan as a native with a spear. Joel Coen has said, in regards to whether our background influences our film making, theres no doubt that our Jewish heritage affects how we see things. Joel and Ethan graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1973 and 1976 and they both also graduated from Bard College at Simons Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Joel then spent four years in the film program at New York University. Ethan went on to Princeton University and earned a degree in philosophy in 1979. His senior thesis was a 41-page essay, Two Views of Wittgensteins Later Philosophy, Joel has been married to actress Frances McDormand since 1984. They adopted a son from Paraguay, named Pedro McDormand Coen and she also did a voice-over in Barton Fink. Ethan married film editor Tricia Cooke in 1990 and they have two children, daughter Dusty and son Buster Jacob, who goes to Vassar College. Both couples live in New York, after graduating from New York University, Joel worked as a production assistant on a variety of industrial films and music videos. He developed a talent for film editing and met Sam Raimi while assisting Enda Ruth Paul in editing Raimis first feature film, in 1984, the brothers wrote and directed Blood Simple, their first commercial film together
24.
Mel Gibson
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Mel Colmcille Gerard Gibson AO is an American actor and filmmaker. He was born in Peekskill, New York, and moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia and he studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art. During the 1980s, he founded Icon Entertainment, a company which independent film director Atom Egoyan has called. Director Peter Weir cast him as one of the leads in the critically acclaimed World War I drama Gallipoli, the film also helped to earn Gibson the reputation of a serious, versatile actor. He later directed and produced the successful and controversial, biblical drama film The Passion of the Christ. He received further critical notice for his work of the action-adventure film Apocalypto. Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of eleven children, and the son of Hutton Gibson, a writer. One of Gibsons younger brothers, Donal, is also an actor, because of his mother, Gibson retains dual Irish and American citizenship. Mel was twelve years old at the time, Gibson was educated by members of the Congregation of Christian Brothers at St Leos Catholic College in Wahroonga, New South Wales, during his high school years. Gibson gained very favorable notices from critics when he first entered the cinematic scene. In 1982, Vincent Canby wrote that Mr. Gibson recalls the young Steve McQueen, I cant define star quality, but whatever it is, Mr. Gibson has it. Gibson has also likened to a combination Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart. Gibsons roles in the Mad Max series of films, Peter Weirs Gallipoli, later, Gibson expanded into a variety of acting projects including human dramas such as Hamlet, and comedic roles such as those in Maverick and What Women Want. He expanded beyond acting into directing and producing, with, The Man Without a Face, in 1993, Braveheart, in 1995, The Passion of the Christ, in 2004, jess Cagle of Time compared Gibson with Cary Grant, Sean Connery, and Robert Redford. Connery once suggested Gibson should play the next James Bond to Connerys M. Gibson turned down the role, Gibson studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. The students at NIDA were classically trained in the British-theater tradition rather than in preparation for screen acting. As students, Gibson and actress Judy Davis played the leads in Romeo and Juliet, and Gibson played the role of Queen Titania in an experimental production of A Midsummer Nights Dream. After graduation in 1977, Gibson immediately began work on the filming of Mad Max, but continued to work as a stage actor, and joined the State Theatre Company of South Australia in Adelaide
25.
Toronto International Film Festival
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The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Year-round, TIFF Bell Lightbox offers screenings, lectures, discussions, festivals, workshops, industry support, TIFF Bell Lightbox is located on the north west corner of King Street and John Street in downtown Toronto. In 2015,397 films from 71 countries were screened at 28 screens in downtown Toronto venues, welcoming an estimated 480,000 attendees, TIFF starts the Thursday night after Labour Day and lasts for eleven days. Founded in 1976, TIFF is now one of the most prestigious events of its kind in the world, in 1998, Variety magazine acknowledged that TIFF is second only to Cannes in terms of high-profile pics, stars and market activity. In 2007, TIME noted that TIFF had grown from its place as the most influential film festival to the most influential film festival. This is partially the result of TIFFs ability and reputation for generating Oscar buzz, the Toronto International Festival’s Grolsch People’s Choice Award — which is based on popular vote by Festival filmgoers — has emerged as a beacon of awards-season success. Founded by Bill Marshall, Dusty Cohl and Henk Van der Kolk and that first year,35,000 filmgoers watched 127 films from 30 countries presented in ten programmes. Piers Handling has been the director and CEO since 1994. TIFF was once centred on the Yorkville neighbourhood, but the Toronto Entertainment District later gained a level of prominence. TIFF is known for the celebrity buzz it brings to the area with international media setting up near its restaurants and stores for photos and interviews with the stars. In 2010, TIFF opened its permanent headquarters, TIFF Bell Lightbox, TIFF has grown, steadily adding initiatives throughout the years. TIFF Cinematheque and the Film Reference Library opened in 1990, the TIFF Kids International Film Festival launched in 1998. Film Circuit began exhibiting independent and Canadian films in under-serviced cities across Canada in 1994, the festival was founded in 1976 at the Windsor Arms Hotel by Bill Marshall, Henk Van der Kolk and Dusty Cohl. Beginning as a collection of the films from film festivals around the world. Ironically, however, Hollywood studios withdrew their submissions from TIFF due to concerns that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their products, in 1994, the decision was made to replace the name Festival of Festivals with Toronto International Film Festival. From 1994 to 2009, the organization running TIFF was named Toronto International Film Festival Group. In 2009, the umbrella organization TIFFG was renamed to TIFF, in 2001, Perspective Canada, the programme that had focused on Canadian films since 1984, was replaced by two programmes, Canada First. A forum for Canadian filmmakers presenting their first feature-length work, featuring eight to 15 films, and Short Cuts Canada, in 2004, TIFF was featured as the site of murder mystery in the film Jiminy Glick in Lalawood, a comedy film starring Martin Short
26.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
27.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
28.
Rotten Tomatoes
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Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by Senh Duong and since January 2010 has been owned by Flixster, in February 2016, Rotten Tomatoes and its parent site Flixster were sold to Comcasts Fandango. Warner Bros. retained a minority stake in the merged entities, since 2007, the websites editor-in-chief has been Matt Atchity. The name, Rotten Tomatoes, derives from the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes when disapproving of a stage performance. From early 2008 to September 2010, Current Television aired the weekly The Rotten Tomatoes Show, featuring hosts, a shorter segment was incorporated into the weekly show, InfoMania, which ended in 2011. In September 2013, the website introduced TV Zone, a section for reviewing scripted TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes was launched on August 12,1998, as a spare-time project by Senh Duong. His goal in creating Rotten Tomatoes was to create a site where people can get access to reviews from a variety of critics in the U. S. As a fan of Jackie Chans, Duong was inspired to create the website after collecting all the reviews of Chans movies as they were being published in the United States, the first movie whose reviews were featured on Rotten Tomatoes was Your Friends & Neighbors. The website was an success, receiving mentions by Netscape, Yahoo. and USA Today within the first week of its launch. They officially launched it on April 1,2000, in June 2004, IGN Entertainment acquired rottentomatoes. com for an undisclosed sum. In September 2005, IGN was bought by News Corps Fox Interactive Media, in January 2010, IGN sold the website to Flixster. The combined reach of both companies is 30 million unique visitors a month across all different platforms, according to the companies, in May 2011, Flixster was acquired by Warner Bros. In early 2009, Current Television launched the version of the web review site. It was hosted by Brett Erlich and Ellen Fox and written by Mark Ganek, the show aired every Thursday at 10,30 EST on the Current TV network. The last episode aired on September 16,2010 and it returned as a much shorter segment of InfoMania, a satirical news show that ended in 2011. By late 2009, the website was designed to enable Rotten Tomatoes users to create, one group, The Golden Oyster Awards, accepted votes of members for different awards, as if in parallel to the better-known Oscars or Golden Globes. When Flixster bought the company, they disbanded the groups, announcing, in the meantime, please use the Forums to continue your conversations about your favorite movie topics. As of February 2011, new community features have been added, for example, users can no longer sort films by fresh ratings from rotten ratings, and vice versa
29.
Ebertfest: Roger Ebert's Film Festival
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Roger Ebert, the TV and Chicago Sun-Times film critic, was a native of the adjoining town of Urbana, Illinois and is an alumnus of the University. Founded in 1999, this event is the only long-running film festival created by a critic, despite Ebert’s death in 2013, the festival continues to operate based on Ebert’s notes and vision for the kinds of films he championed. The film was to be shown as part of Cyberfest, Roger Ebert had agreed to host and it was suggested that the film should ideally be shown as it was originally, in 70 mm format. Someone suggested looking at the Virginia Theatre, as 70 mm films had been there in the past. At this point the theatre was in the hands of a live theatre group and had not run films since sold by a theatre chain. All concerned were pleasantly surprised to learn the chain had left not only what is reputed to be the finest 35/70 mm projector made but also the screen. The rest of the equipment was brought in for the special showing which went perfectly, since its inception in 1999, Ebertfest has been held at the Virginia Theatre, an old-time movie palace in Champaign built in 1921 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The theatre is now owned by the Champaign Park District, Ebert spoke of having attended films at the Virginia while growing up in Champaign-Urbana and attending the University. It was Eberts intention that all festival attendees see all of the films in a theatre in order to create a sense of community among film lovers. In 2014, a statue of Roger Ebert was unveiled outside of the Virginia Theatre as tribute to both Ebert and Ebertfest. Through donations, the Virginia has been able to equip its projection and sound system with a second projector. Instrumental in these upgrades has been notable Chicago-based projection expert James Bond who doubles as one of the projectionists during the festival, since 2013, the Virginia Theatre has a seating capacity of 1,463. The theatre was closed from 2012 until April 2013 for renovations that included replacing all of the seats, capacity dropped from about 1,550 to 1,463 but the new seats are more comfortable and the theatre offers wheelchair and companion access. In April 2007 it was announced that beginning in 2008 with the tenth festival Overlooked would be dropped from the name and they had sometimes been jokingly referred to as pre-overlooked. Unlike typical film festivals, Ebertfest does not accept submissions, Roger Ebert selected films for the festival which in his opinion are excellent, but have been overlooked by the public or by film distribution companies. All films were selected from those that Ebert saw in the course of his normal reviewing work, after Eberts death, all films are selected by the Festival Committee. The original purpose of the Overlooked Film Festival, as reflected in the name, was to showcase films that had not been given attention by the public, film critics. The selection philosophy is expected to continue, but with the change there will no longer be a need to come up with a pretext for including any film
30.
Champaign, Illinois
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Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The city is 135 miles south of Chicago,124 miles west of Indianapolis, Indiana, the United States Census Bureau estimates the city was home to 84,513 people as of July 1,2014. Champaign is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois, and the states fourth-most populous city outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign with its sister city of Urbana. Champaign is also the home of Parkland College which serves about 18,000 students during the academic year. Due to the university and a number of well known technology startup companies, it is referred to as the hub, or a significant landmark. Champaign houses offices for Abbott, Archer Daniels Midland, Caterpillar, Deere & Company, Dow Chemical Company, IBM, State Farm, and Intel all of which are Fortune 500 companies, and for Sony. Champaign was founded in 1855, when the Illinois Central Railroad laid its rail track two miles west of downtown Urbana, originally called West Urbana, it was renamed Champaign when it acquired a city charter in 1860. Both the city and county name were derived from Champaign County, during February 1969, Carl Perkins joined with Bob Dylan to write the song Champaign, Illinois, which Perkins released on his album On Top. The two Champaign, Illinois songs are not similar to other, except that Bob Dylan was involved in both of them. On September 22,1985, Champaign hosted the first Farm Aid concert at the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium, the concert drew a crowd of 80,000 people and raised over $7 million for American family farmers. In 2005, Champaign-Urbana was the location of the National Science Olympiad Tournament, the city also hosts the state Science Olympiad competition every year. The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign once again hosted the National competition on May 20–22,2010, in 2013, Champaign was rated fifth best place in the United States for a healthy work-life balance. According to the 2010 census, Champaign has an area of 22.457 square miles. Champaign is located on high ground, providing sources to the Kaskaskia River to the west. Downtown Champaign drains into Boneyard Creek, which feeds the Saline Branch of the Salt Fork Vermilion River, Champaign shares a border with the neighboring city of Urbana, together they are home to the University of Illinois. Champaign, Urbana, and the village of Savoy form the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area also known as Champaign-Urbana. It may also be known as the Twin Cities or Chambana. The following diagram represents localities within a 35 miles radius of Champaign, the city has a humid continental climate, typical of the Midwestern United States, with hot summers and cold, moderately snowy winters
31.
Roger Ebert
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Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic and historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, the two verbally sparred and traded humorous barbs while discussing films. They created and trademarked the phrase Two Thumbs Up, used when both hosts gave the film a positive review. After Siskel died in 1999, Ebert continued hosting the show with various co-hosts and then, starting in 2000, Ebert lived with cancer of the thyroid and salivary glands from 2002. This required treatments necessitating the removal of his jaw, which cost him the ability to speak or eat normally. His ability to write remained unimpaired, however, and he continued to publish frequently both online and in print until his death on April 4,2013. Roger Joseph Ebert was born in Urbana, Illinois, the child of Annabel, a bookkeeper, and Walter Harry Ebert. He was raised Roman Catholic, attending St. Marys elementary school and his paternal grandparents were German immigrants and his maternal ancestry was Irish and Dutch. In his senior year, he was president and editor-in-chief of his high school newspaper. In 1958, he won the Illinois High School Association state speech championship in radio speaking, regarding his early influences in film criticism, Ebert wrote in the 1998 parody collection Mad About the Movies, I learned to be a movie critic by reading Mad magazine. Mads parodies made me aware of the machine inside the skin – of the way a movie might look original on the outside, I did not read the magazine, I plundered it for clues to the universe. Pauline Kael lost it at the movies, I lost it at Mad magazine, Ebert began taking classes at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an early-entrance student, completing his high-school courses while also taking his first university class. After graduating from Urbana High School in 1960, Ebert then attended and received his degree in 1964. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, One of the first movie reviews he ever wrote was a review of La Dolce Vita, published in The Daily Illini in October 1961. Ebert spent a semester as a student in the department of English there before attending the University of Cape Town on a Rotary fellowship for a year. He returned from Cape Town to his studies at Illinois for two more semesters and then, after being accepted as a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago. Instead Kogan referred Ebert to the city editor at the Chicago Sun-Times, Jim Hoge and he attended doctoral classes at the University of Chicago while working as a general reporter at the Sun-Times for a year
32.
Film festival
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A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors, films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festivals focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific film-maker or genre or subject matter, a number of film festivals specialise in short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are annual events. Some film historians do not consider Film Festivals as official releases of film, the Venice Film Festival is the oldest major festival. The Melbourne International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Southern Hemisphere, the San Sebastián International Film Festival is one of the most important and oldest film festivals in Europe. It was at this festival where the worldwide first release of North by Northwest was showed, Raindance Film Festival is the UKs largest celebration of independent film-making, and takes place in London in October. Australias first and longest running festival is the Melbourne International Film Festival. Edinburgh International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Great Britain, North Americas first and longest running short film festival is the Yorkton Film Festival, established in 1947. The first film festival in the United States was the Columbus International Film & Video Festival, also known as The Chris Awards and it was followed four years later by the San Francisco International Film Festival, held in March 1957, which emphasized feature-length dramatic films. The festival played a role in introducing foreign films to American audiences. Films in the first year included Akira Kurosawas Throne of Blood, Film festival dedicated to honoring music in film. Digital feature film began in 2005, along with the worlds first online film festival. Unlike other arts nonprofits, film festivals typically receive few donations from the public and are occasionally organized as nonprofit business associations instead of public charities. Film industry members often have significant curatorial input, and corporate sponsors are given opportunities to promote their brand to festival audiences in exchange for cash contributions, private parties, often to raise investments for film projects, constitute significant fringe events. Larger festivals maintain year-round staffs often engaging in community and charitable projects outside festival season, on the other hand, some festivals—usually those accepting fewer films, and perhaps not attracting as many big names in their audiences as do Sundance and Telluride—require no entry fee. Rotterdam Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival, and many film festivals in the United States, are examples. The Portland International Film Festival charges a fee, but waives it for filmmakers from the Northwestern United States
33.
Urbana, Illinois
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Urbana /ɜːrˈbænə/ is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 41,250 at the 2010 census, Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area. Most of the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Urbana, the Urbana area was first settled in 1822, when it was called Big Grove. The creation of the new town was celebrated for the first time in July 4,1833, the first mills were founded c. 1838-50, and stores began opening beginning in 1834. The towns first church was built c.1840, with the Baptist Church following in 1855, the Presbyterian Church was founded in 1856. The citys first school was built in 1854, Urbana suffered a setback when the Chicago branch of the Illinois Central Railroad, which had been expected to pass through town, was instead laid down two miles west, where the land was flatter. The town of West Urbana grew up around the depot built there in 1854. Champaign-Urbana was selected as the site for a new agricultural school. Illinois Industrial University, which would evolve into the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a number of efforts to merge Urbana and Champaign have failed at the polls. On October 9,1871 a fire burned much of downtown Urbana, children playing with matches started the fire. Downtown Urbana is located southwest of the intersection of its two busiest streets, U. S.150 and U. S.45, most of Urbana lies south of I-74. There are three exits, Lincoln, Cunningham and University, the Lincoln exit is closest to the University of Illinois, while the Cunningham exit goes to downtown Urbana. The University exit goes to downtown Urbana as well as Illinois Route 130 to Philo, the Norfolk Southern operates an east to west line through Urbana. The NS line connects industries in eastern Urbana to the Norfolk Southern main line at Mansfield, Illinois, construction of the line was begun by the Danville, Urbana, Bloomington and Pekin Railroad. This short-lived entity became part of the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Railway before the railroad was completed, as of the census of 2000, there were 36,395 people,14,327 households, and 6,217 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,468.3 people per square mile, there were 15,311 housing units at an average density of 1,459. 1/sq mi. The racial makeup of the city was 67. 01% White,14. 34% African American,0. 18% Native American,14. 24% Asian,0. 04% Pacific Islander,1. 76% from other races, and 2. 45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 54% of the population,36. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8. 1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older
34.
Tom Jones (singer)
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Sir Thomas John Woodward OBE is a Welsh singer known by his stage name Tom Jones. Joness powerful voice has been described as a full-throated, robust baritone and his performing range has included pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, soul and gospel. In 2008, the New York Times called Jones a musical shape shifter, who could slide from soulful rasp to pop croon, with a voice as husky as it was pretty. Jones received a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1966, an MTV Video Music Award in 1989, Jones was awarded an OBE in 1999 and in 2006 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music. Jones was born Thomas John Woodward, at 57 Kingsland Terrace, Treforest, Pontypridd, in Glamorgan and his parents were Thomas Woodward, a coal miner, and Freda Jones. His maternal grandfather, Albert Jones, was Welsh, and his grandmother, Ada Jones, was born in Pontypridd, to parents from Somerset. Jones attended Wood Road Infants School, Wood Road Junior School and he began singing at an early age, He would regularly sing at family gatherings, weddings and in his school choir. Jones did not like school or sports, but gained confidence through his singing talent, at 12 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Many years later he said, I spent two years in bed recovering and it was the worst time of my life. During convalescence he could do little else but listen to music, Joness bluesy singing style developed out of the sound of American soul music. His early influences included blues and R&B singers Little Richard, Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson and Brook Benton, as well as Elvis Presley, in March 1957 Jones married his high school girlfriend, Linda Trenchard when they were expecting a child together, both aged 16. The couples son, Mark, was born in the month following their wedding, to support his young family Jones took a job working in a glove factory and was later employed in construction. Joness voice has been described as a full-throated, robust baritone and he became the frontman in 1963 for Tommy Scott and the Senators, a Welsh beat group. They soon gained a following and reputation in South Wales. In 1964, the group recorded several tracks with producer Joe Meek, who took them to various labels. Later that year, Decca producer Peter Sullivan saw Tommy Scott and the Senators performing in a club and directed them to manager Phil Solomon, the group continued to play gigs at dance halls and working mens clubs in South Wales. One night at the Top Hat in Cwmtillery, Wales, Jones was spotted by Gordon Mills, Mills became Joness manager and took the young singer to London, and also renamed him Tom Jones, to exploit the popularity of the Academy Award-winning 1963 film. Eventually, Mills got Jones a recording contract with Decca and his first single, Chills and Fever, was released in late 1964
35.
Quando m'innamoro
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With English lyrics by Barry Mason, the song was recorded as A Man Without Love by Engelbert Humperdinck, who had a UK hit with it, and by Sergio Franchi, among others. Humperdincks version was used in the 2005 film Romance & Cigarettes, in Spanish the song was sung as Cuando me enamoro in Japanese as Ai no hana saku toki, and in French as Comment te dire. The song has been covered by artists including Ray Conniff, Julio Iglesias, Lionel Hampton, Emilio Pericoli, Gigliola Cinquetti and Andrea Bocelli. In Swedish, the song has been sung as Före min tid by Knut Agnred as a part of the comedy musical Lyckad nedfrysning av herr Moro, performed 1994-95 by Galenskaparna, also released 2005 from Patrizio Buanne in Italian and English on his Album The Italian. In Estonian, the song has performed by Uno Loop with lyrics by Kustas Kikerpuu. In Finnish, the song was first recorded by Fredi with lyrics by Juha Vainio, later versions have been performed by Kari Tapio and Jamppa Tuominen
36.
Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)
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Engelbert Humperdinck is an English pop singer. Humperdinck has been described as one of the finest middle-of-the-road balladeers around and his singles Release Me and The Last Waltz both topped the UK music charts in 1967, and sold more than a million copies each. In North America, he also had success with his 1976 single After the Lovin. He has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, arnold George Dorsey was born in Madras, British India in 1936, one of ten children to British Army NCO Mervyn Dorsey, who was of Welsh descent, and his wife Olive, who was of German descent. His family moved to Leicester, England, when he was ten and he soon showed an interest in music and began learning the saxophone. By the early 1950s, he was playing saxophone in nightclubs, but he is believed not to have tried singing until he was seventeen and his impression of Jerry Lewis prompted friends to begin calling him Gerry Dorsey, a name that he worked under for almost a decade. Dorseys music career was interrupted by his service in the British Army Royal Corps of Signals during the mid-1950s. He got his first chance to record in 1958 with Decca Records after his discharge and his first single Ill Never Fall in Love Again was not a hit, but Dorsey recorded for the same company almost a decade later with very different results. He continued working the nightclubs until 1961, when he was stricken with tuberculosis and he regained his health and returned to nightclub work, but with little success. Dorsey spent the early 1960s living in a house with Johnny Sambuca Todd in Jersey where he honed his talent. In 1965, Dorsey teamed up with Gordon Mills, his roommate in the Bayswater area of London, who had become a music impresario. Dorsey adopted the name professionally but not legally, Mills arranged a new deal for him with Decca Records, and Dorsey has been performing under this name ever since. Humperdinck enjoyed his first real success during July 1966 in Belgium, Three months later in October 1966, he was on stage in Mechelen. He made a mark on the Belgian charts with Dommage, Dommage, and he returned to England where he recorded all three songs. Another groundbreaking video showed Engelbert tied up with a lasso, Release Me spent 56 weeks in the Top 50 in a single chart run. Release Me was believed to have sold 85,000 copies a day at the height of its popularity, Humperdincks easygoing style and good looks earned him a large following, particularly among women. His hardcore female fans called themselves Humperdinckers, Release Me was succeeded by two more hit ballads, There Goes My Everything and The Last Waltz, earning him a reputation as a crooner, a description which he disputed. If you are not a crooner, he told The Hollywood Reporter writer Rick Sherwood, no crooner has the range I have
37.
Piece of My Heart
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Piece of My Heart is a romantic love song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns and originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. The song came to mainstream attention when Big Brother and the Holding Company covered the song in 1968 and had a much bigger hit with it. The song has since been remade by several singers, including Dusty Springfield on her 1968 album Dusty, definitely, with hit versions by Faith Hill in 1994 and by Melissa Etheridge in 2005. In 2004 the Big Brother and the Holding Company version of song was ranked Number 353 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song is included among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs that Shaped Rock. The original version of Piece of My Heart was recorded by Aretha Franklins older sister Erma in 1967 for producer Bert Berns Shout label, the song reached number 10 on the R&B charts in the U. S. and also peaked at number sixty-two on the U. S. In the UK, the single was re-released in 1992, due to a successful Levis jeans commercial, the song became a bigger pop hit when recorded by Big Brother and the Holding Company in 1968, with lead singer Janis Joplin. The song was taken from the groups album Cheap Thrills, recorded in 1968 and this rendition made it to number twelve on the U. S. pop chart. The songs instrumentation was arranged by Sam Andrew, who performed three distorted, loud guitar solos giving the song a psychedelic touch. Franklin said in an interview that when she first heard Joplins version on the radio, she didnt recognize it because of the vocal arrangement. Noted cultural writer Ellen Willis wrote of the difference, When Franklin sings it, it is a challenge, no matter what you do to me, I will not let you destroy my ability to be human, to love. Joplin seems rather to be saying, surely if I keep taking this, if I keep setting an example of love and forgiveness, surely he has to understand, change, give me back what I have given. In such a way, Joplin used blues conventions not to transcend pain, country artist Faith Hill included the song on her debut album, Take Me as I Am. It was a one hit for her in 1994. Hills version took on a more passive tone coupled with traditional country instrumentation, prior to recording the track, Hill had never heard Janis Joplins rendition. Hills producers refused to allow her to listen to the Joplin version until she had completed her own recording, Hill re-recorded the track for the soundtrack to the TV series King of the Hill, released in 1998. This edgier version can also be found on the 1998 international pressing of her third album and her original version was included in her 2007 greatest hits album The Hits. The lively event reached number thirty-two on the Billboard Hot 100, the performance also signaled Etheridges first public return from her battle with breast cancer, appearing with her head bald from the effects of chemotherapy
38.
Dusty Springfield
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Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette OBrien, OBE, better known as Dusty Springfield, was an English pop singer and record producer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s. She is a member of the US Rock and Roll and UK Music Halls of Fame, international polls have named Springfield among the best female rock artists of all time. Her image, supported by a peroxide blonde bouffant hairstyle, evening gowns, born in West Hampstead to a family that enjoyed music, Springfield learned to sing at home. In 1958 she joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters and her solo career began in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit, I Only Want to Be with You. Among the hits that followed were Wishin and Hopin , I Just Dont Know What to Do with Myself, You Dont Have to Say You Love Me, and Son of a Preacher Man. Although she was never considered a Northern Soul artist in her own right and she was the first UK singer to top the New Musical Express readers poll for Female Singer. To boost her credibility as a soul artist, Springfield went to Memphis, Tennessee, to record Dusty in Memphis, an album of pop and soul music with the Atlantic Records main production team. Released in 1969, it has ranked among the greatest albums of all time by the US magazine Rolling Stone and in polls by VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers. The album was awarded a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Despite its current recognition, the album did not sell well and after its release, however, in collaboration with Pet Shop Boys, she returned to the Top 10 of the UK and US charts in 1987 with What Have I Done to Deserve This. Two years later, she had two other UK hits on her own with Nothing Has Been Proved and In Private, subsequently, in the mid-1990s, owing to the inclusion of Son of a Preacher Man on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, interest in her early output was revived. Springfield was born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette OBrien on 16 April 1939 in West Hampstead and her older brother, Dionysius P. A. OBrien, was later known as Tom Springfield. Springfields father, who had raised in British India, worked as a tax accountant and consultant. Her mother came from an Irish family, originally from Tralee, County Kerry, Springfield was brought up in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire until the early 1950s, and later lived in Ealing. She attended St Annes Convent School, Northfields, a traditional all-girl school, Springfield and her brother were both prone to food-throwing as adults. She was given the nickname Dusty for playing football with boys in the street, Springfield was raised in a music-loving family. Her father would tap out rhythms on the back of her hand and she listened to a wide range of music, including George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Glenn Miller. A fan of American jazz and the vocalists Peggy Lee and Jo Stafford, at the age of twelve, she made a recording of herself performing the Irving Berlin song When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam at a local record shop in Ealing
39.
Bruce Springsteen
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Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his work with the E Street Band, Springsteens recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful albums, Born to Run and Born in the U. S. A. find pleasures in the struggles of daily American life. He has sold more 120 million records worldwide and more than 64 million records in the United States, in 2009, Springsteen was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient, in 2013 was named MusiCares person of the year and in 2016 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He married Patti Scialfa in 1991, and the couple have had three children – Evan James, Jessica Rae and Sam Ryan, Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born on September 23,1949, at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey. He was brought home from the hospital to Freehold Borough where he spent his childhood and he lived on South Street and attended Freehold Borough High School. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, was of Dutch and Irish ancestry, Springsteen said his mother, Adele Ann, a legal secretary and of Italian ancestry, was the main breadwinner. His maternal grandfather was born in Vico Equense, a town near Naples and he has two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. Pamela had a film career, but left acting to pursue still photography full-time, she took photos for his Human Touch, Lucky Town. The Springsteens are among the early Dutch families who settled in the colony of New Netherland in the 1600s, raised a Roman Catholic, Springsteen attended the St. In a 2012 interview, he explained that it was his Catholic upbringing rather than political ideology that most influenced his music and he noted in the interview that his faith had given him a very active spiritual life, although he joked that this made it very difficult sexually. He added, Once a Catholic, always a Catholic, in the ninth grade, Springsteen transferred to the public Freehold High School, but did not fit in there either. Former teachers have said he was a loner, who wanted nothing more than to play his guitar and he completed high school, but felt so uncomfortable that he skipped his own graduation ceremony. He briefly attended Ocean County College, but dropped out, Springsteen grew up hearing fellow New Jersey singer Frank Sinatra on the radio. He became interested in being involved in music himself when, in 1956 at the age of seven, in 1964, Springsteens mother bought him his first guitar for $18. 1964 was also an important year for Springsteen, having seen The Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, thereafter he started playing for audiences with a band called the Rogues at local venues such as the Elks Lodge in Freehold. In 1965, Springsteens mother took out a loan to buy her 16-year-old son a $60 Kent guitar, in the same year, he went to the house of Tex and Marion Vinyard, who sponsored young bands in town. They helped him become the lead guitarist and subsequently one of the singers of the Castiles
40.
Connie Francis
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Connie Francis is an American pop singer and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the half of the 1960s. Despite several severe interruptions in her career, she is active as a recording and performing artist. Marks Avenue before the family moved to New Jersey, growing up in an Italian-Jewish neighborhood, Francis became fluent in Yiddish, which would lead her to later record songs in Yiddish and Hebrew. In her autobiography Whos Sorry Now, Francis attended Newark Arts High School in 1951 and 1952. She and her family moved to Belleville, New Jersey, where Francis graduated as salutatorian from Belleville High School Class of 1955, during this time, Francis continued to perform at neighborhood festivities and talent shows, appearing alternately as Concetta Franconero and Connie Franconero. Under the latter name, she appeared on NBCs variety show Startime Kids between 1953 and 1955. During the rehearsals for her appearance on Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts, Godfrey also told her to drop the accordion – advice she gladly followed, as she had begun to hate the large and heavy instrument. In 1955, Startime Kids went off the air, hence, Freddy was released as Francis first single, which turned out to be a commercial failure, just as her following eight solo singles were. Eventually, the single sold one million copies. However, her chart success came too late – Francis recording contract consisted of ten solo singles. Though success had finally seemed to come with The Majesty of Love, Francis considered a career in medicine and was about to accept a four-year scholarship offered at New York University. At what was to have been her final recording session for MGM on October 2,1957, written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Her father insisted, though, and when the recording Whos Sorry Now. was finished, the single seemed to go unnoticed like all previous releases – just as Francis had predicted, but on January 1,1958, the song debuted on Dick Clarks American Bandstand. By mid-year, over a million copies had sold. In April 1958, Whos Sorry Now reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, for the next four years, Francis was voted the Best Female Vocalist by American Bandstand viewers. As Connie Francis explains at each of her concerts, she began searching for a new hit immediately after the success of Whos Sorry Now, since MGM Records had renewed her contract. After the relative failure of the follow-up singles Im Sorry I Made You Cry and Heartaches, Francis met Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, after a few hours, Francis began writing in her diary while the songwriters played the last of their ballads
41.
Hot Pants (James Brown song)
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Hot Pants is a song by James Brown. Brown recorded the song in 1971 and released it that year as a single on his People Records label. It was a number-one R&B hit and reached number fifteen on the pop chart in the U. S, Hot Pants was Browns final release under Kings purview before he moved to Polydor Records. The songs lyrics are an ode to the power of the title garment. Like much of Browns funk repertoire, Hot Pants has been sampled in hip hop productions. & Rakim on the track of Paid in Full. James Brown - lead vocal with the J. B. s, Fred Wesley - trombone Jimmy Parker - alto saxophone St. The 8,42 long album version, which was never released as a single, was recorded on July 12,1971, at Rodel Studios, Washington and it was included on the 1986 compilation album In the Jungle Groove. Several of Browns associates also recorded hot pants-themed songs, bobby Byrd recorded Hot Pants - Im Coming, Im Coming, Im Coming, released on Brownstone Records in 1972. This version of the song was frequently sampled for its drum loop. Notable sampling songs include Fools Gold by The Stone Roses, Papua New Guinea by Future Sound of London and Good Vibrations by Marky Mark, the song was featured on the Grand Theft Auto, San Andreas soundtrack on the Master Sounds 98.3 station. Byrds wife Vicki Anderson also recorded a song, Im Too Tough For Mr. Big Stuff. The J. B. s recorded the instrumental Hot Pants Road as the B-side of their 1971 hit Pass the Peas. Billboard Hot 100, Reached #15 Cashbox,69,36,26,16,14,10,17,24,36,57 Song Review at Allmusic List of songs that sample Hot Pants
