1.
Better Off Dead (film)
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Better Off Dead is a 1985 American teen romantic comedy film starring John Cusack and written and directed by Savage Steve Holland. It tells the story of school student Lane Meyer who is suicidal after his girlfriend breaks up with him shortly before Christmas. In the town of Greendale in northern California, high school student Lane Meyers two main interests are skiing and his girlfriend of six months, Beth, but, Beth dumps Lane for the captain of the ski team, Roy Stalin. Roy is handsome, popular, and has skied the dangerous K-12 slope, Beth also criticizes Lanes car, an old station wagon. Although Lane also owns a disabled 1967 Camaro, he has not been able to get it running, furthermore, Johnny claims that the Meyers owe him two dollars for newspapers, and persistently hounds Lane yelling I want my two dollars. Lane also regularly encounters two Japanese drag racers, one of whom learned to speak English by listening to Howard Cosell, Lane cannot get past Beths rejection and decides that death is the only way out of his misery. He makes several half-hearted attempts at suicide, which all comically fail, Lane is further embarrassed when he gets fired from his humiliating fast food job at Pig Burgers in front of Roy and Beth, who are there on a date. As Lane attempts to end his life or win back his ex-girlfriend, he gradually gets to know a new girl, a French foreign-exchange student named Monique. She is staying with Lanes overbearing neighbor Mrs. Smith and her socially backward son Ricky, Monique turns out to be an excellent auto mechanic and skier who helps Lane fix his Camaro and tries to build his confidence. When Roy insults Monique, Lane challenges him to a ski race down the K-12, Monique helps Lane prepare for the race, which he ultimately wins despite losing one ski and being pursued by Johnny. Beth rushes to embrace Lane at the line, but he rejects her and, after besting Ricky in a ski-pole swordfight. Lane and Monique are last seen kissing at home plate at Dodger Stadium, the film received positive reviews from critics with an 82% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 22 reviews. The consensus was that Better Off Dead is a mix of black humor and surreal comedy, anchored by John Cusacks winsome. However, Siskel & Ebert gave the two thumbs down. I will never trust you as a director again, so dont speak to me. Holland claimed that Cusack felt he had made to look foolish. I have nothing against the film, the films soundtrack was produced primarily by Rupert Hine. The opening track, With One Look, was produced by Hine and features Cy Curnin and Jamie West-Oram of The Fixx on lead vocals, Hine had previously worked with Curnin and West-Oram, and also contributed vocals to the song
2.
San Francisco
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San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Animator
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An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, Animation is closely related to filmmaking and like filmmaking is extremely labor-intensive, which means that most significant works require the collaboration of several animators. The methods of creating the images or frames for an animation piece depends on the artistic styles. Other artists who contribute to animated cartoons, but who are not animators, include layout artists, storyboard artists, in hand-drawn Japanese animation productions, such as in Hayao Miyazakis films, the key animator handles both layout and key animation. Some animators in Japan such as Mitsuo Iso take full responsibility for their scenes, one important distinction is between character animators and special effects animators. Usually, a young artist seeking to break into animation is hired for the first time in one of these categories, historically, the creation of animation was a long and arduous process. Each frame of a scene was hand-drawn, then transposed onto celluloid. These finished cels were placed together in sequence over painted backgrounds and filmed. Animation methods have become far more varied in recent years, todays cartoons could be created using any number of interesting methods, mostly using computers to make the animation process cheaper and faster. These more efficient animation procedures have made the job less tedious. Audiences generally find animation to be more interesting with sound. Voice actors and musicians, among other talent, may contribute vocal or music tracks, some early animated films asked the vocal and music talent to synchronize their recordings to already-extant animation. Nowadays, visual development artists will design a character as a 2D drawing or painting, texture artists paint the character with colorful or complex textures, and technical directors set up rigging so that the character can be easily moved and posed. For each scene, layout artists set up cameras and rough blocking. Despite those constraints, the animator is still capable of exercising significant artistic skill, more recently, Chris Buck has remarked that animators have become actors with mice. Some studios bring in acting coaches on feature films to help work through such issues. Each finished film clip is then checked for quality and rushed to a film editor, Animation Computer animation Computer graphics Key frame Sweat box Animation Toolworks Glossary, Who Does What In Animation How An Animated Cartoon Is Made
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Film director
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A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. Generally, a film director controls a films artistic and dramatic aspects, the director has a key role in choosing the cast members, production design, and the creative aspects of filmmaking. Under European Union law, the director is viewed as the author of the film, the film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film eventually becomes realized, or noticed. Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions, there are many pathways to becoming a film director. Some film directors started as screenwriters, cinematographers, film editors or actors, other film directors have attended a film school. Some outline a general plotline and let the actors dialogue, while others control every aspect. Some directors also write their own screenplays or collaborate on screenplays with long-standing writing partners, some directors edit or appear in their films, or compose the music score for their films. Film directors create a vision through which a film eventually becomes realized/noticed. Realizing this vision includes overseeing the artistic and technical elements of production, as well as directing the shooting timetable. This entails organizing the crew in such a way as to achieve their vision of the film. This requires skills of leadership, as well as the ability to maintain a singular focus even in the stressful. Moreover, it is necessary to have an eye to frame shots and to give precise feedback to cast and crew, thus. Thus the director ensures that all involved in the film production are working towards an identical vision for the completed film. The set of varying challenges he or she has to tackle has been described as a jigsaw puzzle with egos. It adds to the pressure that the success of a film can influence when, omnipresent are the boundaries of the films budget. Additionally, the director may also have to ensure an intended age rating, thus, the position of film director is widely considered to be a highly stressful and demanding one. It has been said that 20-hour days are not unusual, under European Union law, the film director is considered the author or one of the authors of a film, largely as a result of the influence of auteur theory. Auteur theory is a film criticism concept that holds that a directors film reflects the directors personal creative vision
6.
Cult film
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A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, a subculture that engage in repeated viewings, quoting dialogue. Inclusive definitions allow for major productions, especially box office bombs, while exclusive definitions focus more on obscure. The difficulty in defining the term and subjectivity of what qualifies as a cult film mirror classificatory disputes about art, Cult films trace their origin back to controversial and suppressed films kept alive by dedicated fans. In some cases, reclaimed or rediscovered films have acquired cult followings decades after their original release, Other cult films have since become well-respected or reassessed as classics, there is debate as to whether these popular and accepted films are still cult films. After failing in the cinema, some films have become regular fixtures on cable television or profitable sellers on home video. Others have inspired their own film festivals, Cult films can both appeal to specific subcultures and form their own subcultures. Other media that reference cult films can easily identify which demographics they desire to attract, Cult films frequently break cultural taboos, and many feature excessive displays of violence, gore, sexuality, profanity, or combinations thereof. This can lead to controversy, censorship, and outright bans, films that fail to attract requisite amounts of controversy may face resistance when labeled as cult films. Fans who like the films for the reasons, such as perceived elements that represent mainstream appeal and marketing. Likewise, fans who stray from accepted subcultural scripts may experience similar rejection, since the late 1970s, cult films have become increasingly popular. Films that once would have limited to obscure cult followings are now capable of breaking into the mainstream. Films are frequently stated to be an instant cult classic now, fickle fans on the Internet have latched on to unreleased films only to abandon them later on release. At the same time, other films have acquired massive, quick cult followings, easy access to cult films via video on demand and peer-to-peer file sharing has led some critics to pronounce the death of cult films. A cult film is any film that has a following, although the term is not easily defined. Cult films are defined by audience reaction as much as they are content and this may take the form of elaborate and ritualized audience participation, film festivals, or cosplay. Over time, the definition has become more vague and inclusive as it drifts away from earlier, stricter views, academic Mark Shiel has criticized the term itself as being a weak concept, reliant on subjectivity, different groups can interpret films in their own terms. Academic Mike Chopra‑Gant says that cult films become decontextualized when studied as a group, in 2008, Cineaste asked a range of academics for their definition of a cult film
7.
One Crazy Summer
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One Crazy Summer is a 1986 romantic comedy film written and directed by Savage Steve Holland, and starring John Cusack, Demi Moore, Bobcat Goldthwait, Curtis Armstrong, and Joel Murray. The original film score was composed by Cory Lerios, Hoops McCann is a recent high school graduate who failed to get a basketball scholarship, disappointing his parents. Hoops hopes to be admitted to the Rhode Island School of Design and he joins his friend George Calamari, and Georges sister Squid, to spend the summer on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. En route, they pick up a rock singer named Cassandra Eldridge. Once on the island, Hoops and George, along with Georges island friends the Stork twins and Ack-Ack Raymond, along the way, Hoops must find a way to write his cartoon love story. With the prize returned and the house spared, Hoops and Cassandra engage in a kiss, the internal scene of the gas station bathroom were shot on a stage built in the MBL Club in Woods Hole. The inside of General Raymonds Army-Navy store is Mass Bay Company, located at 595 Main Street, Hyannis, the Stork brothers gas station is the located at 1098 Main Street in Dennis, MA. Hoops McCann is named after the protagonist in Steely Dans song Glamour Profession from the Gaucho album, nina Darnton of The New York Times wrote, In spite of the directors flair for zany humor, this film is just absurd. The film maintains a 60% score at Rotten Tomatoes, list of American films of 1986 One Crazy Summer at the Internet Movie Database One Crazy Summer at AllMovie One Crazy Summer at Box Office Mojo One Crazy Summer at Rotten Tomatoes
8.
John Cusack
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John Paul Cusack is an American actor, producer and screenwriter. He appeared in teen films in the mid-1980s, most notably Better Off Dead. In 1989, for which he gained teen idol status and he later starred in High Fidelity, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe. Cusack is also known for his performances in the films Grosse Pointe Blank, Being John Malkovich,1408,2012, Hot Tub Time Machine, Cusack was born to a Catholic Irish-American family in Evanston, Illinois. He is the fourth of five children and his mother, Ann Paula Nancy, is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. His father, Richard Cusack, was an actor, as are Cusacks siblings Ann, Joan, Bill and they were from Manhattan, New York and moved to Illinois before his birth. Richard was also a filmmaker who owned a film production company and was a friend of activist Philip Berrigan. Cusack graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1984, where he met Jeremy Piven, Cusack gained fame in the mid-1980s after appearing in teen films, such as Class, Sixteen Candles, Better Off Dead, The Sure Thing, One Crazy Summer and Stand By Me. He made a cameo in the 1988 music video for Trip To The Brain by Suicidal Tendencies, in 1989, he played Lloyd Dobler in Cameron Crowes Say Anything. His roles broadened in the late 1980s and early 1990s with more serious-minded fare such as the politically themed True Colors, after establishing New Crime Productions, Cusack experienced box office success with his roles in the dark comedy Grosse Pointe Blank and the Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster Con Air. Cusack starred in the horror film 1408, based on Stephen Kings short story of the same name and he played a widowed father in the Iraq War-themed drama Grace Is Gone and as assassin Hauser in the dark political satire, War, Inc. His sister Joan Cusack and close friend Jeremy Piven appeared in many of his films, the siblings appeared as two geeks in Sixteen Candles, John as one of Farmer Teds posse and Joan as the geek with the scoliosis brace. They also co-starred in High Fidelity, Cradle Will Rock, Martian Child and War, Piven and Cusack starred in One Crazy Summer and Serendipity. Cusack made a cameo, seen from behind but speaking a line of dialogue, in Broadcast News. In 2009, Cusack played Jackson Curtis, a struggling novelist, Cusack played older Beach Boys founding member Brian Wilson in the biopic, Love and Mercy. Cusack is a fan of both the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox, for which he says he is in trouble in Chicago and he led the crowd in a performance of Take Me Out to the Ball Game at Wrigley Field. He was in attendance, along with fellow Cubs fans Bill Murray, Eddie Vedder and he has also been spotted at multiple Chicago Bears games and attended many Stanley Cup Finals games in support of the Chicago Blackhawks. According to Lisa Hampton from NBC Nightly News, Cusack has a vigorous daily wake-up routine and he told her, Im not lazy
9.
Press Your Luck
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Press Your Luck is an American television daytime game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on CBS on September 19,1983 and ended on September 26,1986, in the show, contestants collected spins by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game board to win cash and prizes. The person who amassed the highest total in cash and prizes kept his/her winnings, Peter Tomarken was the shows host, and Rod Roddy was the primary announcer. John Harlan and Charlie ODonnell filled in as substitute announcers for Roddy on different occasions, Press Your Luck was videotaped before a studio audience at CBS Television City, Studios 33 and 43, in Hollywood, California. The show was a revival of the earlier Carruthers production Second Chance, the show was known for the Whammy, a red cartoon creature with a high-pitched voice. The Whammys were created and animated by Savage Steve Holland and Bill Kopp, approximately 85 different animations were used. Three contestants competed on each episode, usually a returning champion, each game began with a trivia round where the contestants tried to earn spins, which was then used on the shows gameboard, referred to as the Big Board. A question was posed to the contestants, who tried to be the first to buzz in with a correct answer, once a contestant gave an answer, his/her opponents were given a choice of that answer or two additional answers provided by Tomarken and selected one. If the contestant that buzzed in with the answer gave the correct one, a correct multiple choice answer was worth one spin. If none of the three contestants buzzed in with an answer within five seconds, three answers were given to the contestants and they earned one spin each if they chose correctly. If a contestant buzzed in but failed to give an answer, after four questions were asked, play moved to the Big Board. Cash amounts and prize values were added to the contestants score, in the first Big Board round, play started with the contestant with the fewest spins unless there was a tie, in which case the contestant seated furthest left started. For each square the contestant stopped the randomizer light on, the value of that square was added to his/her bank, any passed spins went to the contestants opponent with the higher amount of money. A contestant receiving passed spins had to them and could not pass until all the passed spins had been used. Play continued until the contestants exhausted all of their spins, if at any point in the game a contestant hit four Whammies, he/she was eliminated from the game and any unused spins remaining were lost. Once each contestant had completed his/her turn on the Big Board, a second Big Board round followed, with much higher stakes in play. Any passed spins, as before, went to the opponent with the amount of money. If two or all three contestants finished the match tied, they returned on the next show, the choice was given after each spin the contestant took, and the game continued until he/she ran out of spins, stopped the game, or Whammied out
