1.
Wheaton, Illinois
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Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is located approximately 30 miles west of Chicago which abuts the shore of Lake Michigan, as of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated to have increased to 53,469 by July 2012. The city dates its founding to the period between 1831 and 1837, following the Indian Removal Act, when Alex Tomasik laid claim to 790 acres of land near present-day Warrenville. The Wheaton brothers arrived from Connecticut, and in 1837, Warren L. Wheaton laid claim to 640 acres of land in the center of town, Jesse Wheaton later made claim to 300 acres of land just west of Warrens. It was not long before settlers from New England joined them in the community. In 1848, they gave the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad three miles of right-of-way, upon which railroad officials named the depot Wheaton, in 1850, ten blocks of land were platted and anyone who was willing to build immediately was granted free land. In 1853, the lots were surveyed and a plat for the community was filed with the county. The community was incorporated as a village on February 24,1859. The village was incorporated as a city on April 24,1890. Naperville won the election by a vote of 1,542 to 762, hostility between the two towns continued for the next decade and another election was held in 1867, in which Wheaton narrowly won by a vote of 1,686 to 1,635. At a cost of $20,000, the City of Wheaton quickly built a courthouse to house a courtroom, county offices, the building was dedicated on July 4,1868. During this time, Naperville was mounting a lawsuit against Wheaton accusing election judges of leaving their posts for lunch during the vote when duplicate ballot stuffing allegedly occurred. As the courts deliberated the fate of the county seat, the records were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, shortly thereafter, Wheaton was officially proclaimed the county seat. As demand for space increased, the courthouse was rebuilt in 1887 at a cost of $69,390 and this structure was used for the next 94 years until the countys rapid growth prompted the building of a brand new complex. The old courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and it is currently being developed into luxury condominiums. On November 2,1990, the moved to a building about two miles west in a new 57-acre complex at the corner of County Farm Road and Manchester Road. It was built at a cost of $52,500,000 and includes a 300, in 1992, the county sued the architect and contractor for $4 million after several employees became ill from the ventilation system. Wheaton has rapidly expanded since the 1950s, although growth has slowed since the early 1990s
2.
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
3.
University of California, Los Angeles
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The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California, United States. It became the Southern Branch of the University of California in 1919 and it offers 337 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. UCLA enrolls about 31,000 undergraduate and 13,000 graduate students, and had 119,000 applicants for Fall 2016, including transfer applicants, the university is organized into six undergraduate colleges, seven professional schools, and four professional health science schools. Fourteen Nobel laureates, three Fields Medalists, two Chief Scientists of the U. S. Air Force and three Turing Award winners have been faculty, researchers, or alumni, the university was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1974. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2015–2016 ranked UCLA 16th in the world for academics, in 2015-2016, UCLA ranked 12th in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities and 31st in the 2016/17 QS World University Rankings. UCLA student-athletes compete as the Bruins in the Pac-12 Conference, the Bruins won 126 national championships, including 113 NCAA team championships, more than any other university. UCLA student-athletes, coaches and staff won 251 Olympic medals,126 gold,65 silver and 60 bronze, UCLA student-athletes competed in every Olympics since 1920 with one exception, and won a gold medal in every Olympics that the United States participated in since 1932. The State Normal School at Los Angeles opened on August 29,1882, the facility included an elementary school where teachers-in-training could practice their technique with children. That elementary school is related to the present day version, UCLA Lab School, in 1887, the school became known as the Los Angeles State Normal School. In 1914, the moved to a new campus on Vermont Avenue in East Hollywood. However, David Prescott Barrows, the new President of the University of California, the same legislation added its general undergraduate program, the College of Letters and Science. After the athletic teams entered the Pacific Coast conference in 1926, the Southern Branch student council adopted the nickname Bruins, in 1927, the Regents renamed the Southern Branch the University of California at Los Angeles. In the same year, the state broke ground in Westwood on land sold for $1 million, less than one-third its value, by real estate developers Edwin and Harold Janss, the campus in Westwood opened to students in 1929. The original four buildings were the College Library, Royce Hall, the Physics-Biology Building, the first undergraduate classes on the new campus were held in 1929 with 5,500 students. A timeline of the history can be found on its website, during its first 32 years, UCLA was treated as an off-site department of UC. As such, its presiding officer was called a provost, in 1951, UCLA was formally elevated to co-equal status with UC Berkeley, and its presiding officer Raymond B. Allen was the first chief executive to be granted the title of chancellor. The appointment of Franklin David Murphy to the position of Chancellor in 1960 helped spark an era of growth of facilities. By the end of the decade, UCLA had achieved distinction in a range of subjects
4.
9 (2009 animated film)
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The film stars the voice talents of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, the film is based on Ackers Academy Award-nominated 2005 short film of the same name. Focus Features released it theatrically on September 9,2009 and it received generally mixed reviews from critics and earned $48.4 million on a $30 million budget. It also received an Annie Award nomination for Best Animated Effects in a Feature Production, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 29,2009. In the 1930s, a Scientist is ordered by his dictator to create a robot in the apparent name of progress, the Scientist uses his own intellect to create the B. R. A. I. N. A robot with a soulless ability, however, the dictator quickly seizes it and integrates it into the Fabrication Machine, an armature that can construct an army of war machines to destroy the dictators enemies. Lacking a soul, the Fabrication Machine becomes so corrupted, sadistic, the Fabrication Machine reprograms the other war machines to attack humanity, wiping out all plant, animal and microbial life with toxic gas and chemical weapons. On the verge of destruction, the Scientist who created B. R. A. I. N, uses alchemy to create nine homunculus-like rag dolls known as Stitchpunks, giving them portions of his own soul via a talisman he created. He dies as soon as the one is ready. Sometime later, that final doll,9, all of a sudden awakens in the Scientists workshop. Taking the talisman with him,9 ventures into the city and meets 2. The last active machine, the Cat-Beast, attacks the pair and takes 2,1 immediately declares 2 as dead, but 9, having seen the condemned factory where the Cat-Beast has taken 2, decides to rescue him. 9 and 5 venture to the factory where they find 2, meanwhile,7, the only female of the Stitchpunks, arrives and slays the Cat-Beast. 7 takes 9 and 5 to a local library, where the silent scholar twins,3 and 4. 5 realizes the talismans symbols match the clairvoyant drawings of 6,9 and 5 return to Sanctuary to investigate, but 1 decides to intervene by confronting and reprimanding them. The Fabrication Machine starts constructing new machines, one of them,7 joins the fight, but is injured. 5,6, and 8 soon murder the Winged Beast,7, shocked by this, loses her temper by lashing out at 1 before running off when 9 prevents her from attempting to murder 1. Meanwhile, the Fabrication Machine retrieves 2s corpse and uses it as a lure for another one of its machines
5.
Academy Awards
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The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname Oscar. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by AMPAS, the awards ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and televised for the first time in 1953. It is now live in more than 200 countries and can be streamed live online. The Academy Awards ceremony is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony and its equivalents – the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music and recording – are modeled after the Academy Awards. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2016, were held on February 26,2017, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, the ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and was broadcast on ABC. A total of 3,048 Oscars have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 88th, the first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16,1929, at a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel, the cost of guest tickets for that nights ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other participants in the industry of the time. The ceremony ran for 15 minutes, winners were announced to media three months earlier, however, that was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. Since then, for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11,00 pm on the night of the awards. The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier, this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. With the fourth ceremony, however, the system changed, for the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. At the 29th ceremony, held on March 27,1957, until then, foreign-language films had been honored with the Special Achievement Award. The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies always end with the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Academy also awards Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, see also § Awards of Merit categories The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. The five spokes represent the branches of the Academy, Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers. The model for the statuette is said to be Mexican actor Emilio El Indio Fernández, sculptor George Stanley sculpted Cedric Gibbons design. The statuettes presented at the ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze
6.
9 (2005 film)
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9 is a 2005 computer animated short film created by Shane Acker as a student project at the UCLA Animation Workshop. Tim Burton saw the film and was so impressed by its artistic vision that he went on to produce a feature-length adaptation also titled 9, directed by Acker, the film was presented at the Indianapolis International Film Festival. It was nominated for an Academy Award for best animated film, but lost to The Moon. 9 is a sentient rag doll who appears to be the last of his kind, living in the ruins of a decaying, hunting 9 relentlessly is the Cat Beast, a mechanical monster wearing a cats skull for a head. It appears to be guided by a small glowing talisman which it holds in its claws, sitting quietly,9 stares into the mirrored surface of his own strange talisman and has a flashback. In the flashback,9 searches the ruins with his mentor 5 and they gather useful bits and pieces and store them in the cloth linings of their own skin. With 9s help,5 is able to salvage a light bulb,5 gives the functional bulb to 9 for safe-keeping. Almost immediately after,5 draws the mirrored talisman from inside his chest and it glows green, warning of danger. 5 gives the talisman to 9 then pushes him into cover, extending a homemade folding spear,5 steps out to confront the threat. But the Cat Beast circles behind him and snatches him up with a metal pincer, though he struggles,5 can not break free, and the Cat Beast sucks 5s soul out through his mouth using its talisman leaving 5 lifeless. Horrified,9 escapes in panic, almost giving away his location to the Cat Beast by scraping the light bulb against a rock,9 is woken from the memory by the warning green glow of the mirrored talisman. Taking the light bulb, which he has attached to the end of a staff,9 flees into a ruined house, the Cat Beast follows and we see that it has not just taken the other rag dolls souls, it also wears their numbered skins like a garment. The number 5 shows prominently on its back, the Beast pounces on what it thinks is 9, but which turns out to be a marionette – the dummy created by 9 at the beginning of the film. The Beasts claws stick in the tar and 9 is able to hop onto its back,9 leads the Beast on a panicked chase through the house and finally runs out onto the end of a broken plank, which extends over a several-story drop. Thinking it has 9 cornered, the Beast walks out onto the plank, but it has fallen into 9s trap. Nearby is the armature, and the upright book. 9 leaps off the plank onto the armature, which swings him around to the book and he kicks it and it falls into the pit. The string, tied at one end to the book, has its other end tied to the plank, the weight of the falling book drags the plank into the pit, and the Beast with it
7.
University of Florida
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The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university on a 2, 000-acre campus in Gainesville, Florida. It is a member of the State University System of Florida and traces its origins to 1853. The University is classified as a Research University with Very High Research by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, for 2017, U. S. News & World Report ranked Florida as the fourteenth best public university in the United States. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and it is the third largest Florida university by student population, and is the eighth largest single-campus university in the United States with 49,913 students enrolled for the fall 2012 semester. The University of Florida is home to sixteen colleges and more than 150 research centers. The University of Florida traces its origins to 1853, when the East Florida Seminary, on January 6,1853, Governor Thomas Brown signed a bill that provided public support for higher education in Florida. Gilbert Kingsbury was the first person to take advantage of the legislation, and established the East Florida Seminary, the East Florida Seminary was Floridas first state-supported institution of higher learning. James Henry Roper, an educator from North Carolina and a senator from Alachua County, had opened a school in Gainesville. In 1866, Roper offered his land and school to the State of Florida in exchange for the relocation of the East Florida Seminary to Gainesville, the second major precursor to the University of Florida was the Florida Agricultural College, established at Lake City by Jordan Probst in 1884. Florida Agricultural College became the states first land-grant college under the Morrill Act, in 1905, the Florida Legislature passed the Buckman Act, which consolidated the states publicly supported higher education institutions. The member of the legislature who wrote the act, Henry Holland Buckman, later became the namesake of Buckman Hall, the Buckman Act organized the State University System of Florida and created the Florida Board of Control to govern the system. The City of Gainesville, led by its Mayor William Reuben Thomas, on July 6,1905, the Board of Control selected Gainesville for the new university campus. Andrew Sledd, president of the pre-existing University of Florida at Lake City, was selected to be the first president of the new University of the State of Florida, architect William A. Edwards designed the first official campus buildings in the Collegiate Gothic style. Classes began on the new Gainesville campus on September 26,1906, in 1909, the schools name was simplified from the University of the State of Florida to the University of Florida. The alligator was incidentally chosen as the mascot in 1911, after a local vendor ordered. Murphree is the only University of Florida president honored with a statue on the campus, before this, only the summer semester was coeducational, to accommodate women teachers who wanted to further their education during the summer break. Lassie Goodbread-Black from Lake City became the first woman to enroll at the University of Florida, john J. Tigert became the third university president in 1928. By the end of the 1946–47 school year,954 men were enrolled at the Tallahassee Branch, the following semester, the Florida Legislature returned the Florida State College for Women to coeducational status and renamed it Florida State University
8.
UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
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The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture is a professional school at the University of California, Los Angeles. Through the six degree-granting departments, it provides a range of course offerings, additionally, there are five centers located within the school. In 1919, UCLAs leadership demonstrated a commitment to offer students opportunities to explore the arts by the establishment of an art gallery. Following academic restructuring in the late 1980s, the UC Regents formally approved the establishment of two schools, the School of the Arts and the School of Theater, Film and Television. In 1994 architecture and urban design joined the School of the Arts, christopher Waterman was appointed dean of the School of the Arts and Architecture in 2003. These institutions offer access to leading anthropological, historical and contemporary visual arts exhibitions and collections, hammer Museum Fowler Museum at UCLA UCLA Live
9.
Weta Digital
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Weta Digital is a digital visual effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993 to produce the special effects for Heavenly Creatures. In 2007, Weta Digital’s Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Joe Letteri, was appointed as a Director of the company. Weta Digital has won several Academy Awards and BAFTAs, Weta Digital is part of a number of Peter Jackson co-owned companies in Wellington which includes Weta Workshop, Weta Productions, Weta Collectibles and Park Road Post Production. The company is named after the New Zealand weta, one of the worlds largest insects, Weta Digital has developed several proprietary software packages to achieve groundbreaking visual effects. To recreate 1933 New York for King Kong, Weta created CityBot, kong’s fur also required the development of new simulation and modeling software. A set of tools that combined procedural and interactive techniques added wind to the 460 billion individual strands of fur, New shaders were written that accounted for the scattering of light from within each hair that added to the volumetric quality of the fur. Large chunks of fur were ripped out and filled in with scars, blood, each frame of fur took 2 gigabytes of data
10.
NCsoft
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NCsoft, stylized as NCSOFT, is a South Korean video game developer. The company has produced Lineage, City of Heroes, WildStar, Guild Wars, Aion, Blade & Soul, NCsoft was founded in March 1997 by T. J. In September 1998, NCsoft launched its first game Lineage, in April 2001 the company created a US subsidiary under the name NC Interactive after acquiring Destination Games, headed by Richard Garriott and Robert Garriott. In 2004, NCsoft launched two MMORPGs, Lineage II and City of Heroes, the company formed NCsoft Europe in July 2004 as a wholly owned subsidiary with its main office in Brighton, England. They brought City of Heroes to several European countries on February 4,2005, on April 26,2005, the company launched Guild Wars, a MMORPG with no subscription model. Expansions followed, Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall and Guild Wars Eye of the North, on April 24,2009, NCsoft announced that Guild Wars had sold more than six million units. On August 28,2012, NCSOFT launched Guild Wars 2, on July 8,2011, NCsoft started talks with SK Telecom to acquire Ntreev Soft Co. Ltd. The talks were expected to last less than a month, but it took seven for NCsoft to complete the acquisition, in 2011, NCsoft purchased Hotdog Studio, a mobile game studio based in Seoul that produces phone and smartphone titles such as Dark Shrine. On June,2012, NCsoft launched Blade & Soul, the next MMORPG after Aion, NCsoft has shown the next MMORPG before two weeks in Project name and released Blade & Soul in NCsoft Media Day in Korea. In 2012 Nexon acquired a 14.7 percent interest in NCsoft for $688 million, Nexon sold all of its shares in NCsoft in October 2015. for NCsofts integration of RightNows customer support software. NCsoft founded NCsoft Cultural Foundation in 2012, which develops software for the handicapped and my First AAC, Developed Korean Augmentative and Alternative Communication app and distributed free of charge for children with language disorders. Special school programs for healthy and fun learning environment, Provides cultural and sports activities for students with cognition, storyhelper, Developed Koreas first storytelling SW that supports writers contents creation in collaboration with Digital Storytelling Laboratory of Ewha Womans University. Free rice, In collaboration with UN WFP, it is both PC and mobile English quiz game that donates 10 grains of rice for every correct answers. On April 27,2007, Seoul Metropolitan Police said that seven former employees of NCsoft are suspected of selling the Lineage III source code to a major Japanese game company, according to NCsoft, the potential damages may exceed US$1 billion. On April 23,2010, the Worlds. com case settled, on July 22,2010, Worlds. com requested the case be reopened. Richard Garriott, lead developer of Tabula Rasa, sued NCsoft for US$24 million in damages concerning his termination from the company. Garriott asserted in his suit that he was forced out of the company and was made to sell his 400,000 shares in NCsofts stock, in addition, he claimed that the company was guilty of fraud by forging his resignation announcement. On July 30,2010, a jury in a Texas federal court awarded him US$28 million in damages, Garriott again prevailed on appeal and NCsoft was required to pay an additional US$4 million, bringing the total damages awarded to Garriott to US$32 million
11.
SIGGRAPH
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SIGGRAPH is the name of the annual conference on computer graphics convened by the ACM SIGGRAPH organization. The first SIGGRAPH conference was in 1974, the conference is attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals. Past SIGGRAPH conferences have been held in Los Angeles, Dallas, New Orleans, Boston, Vancouver, some highlights of the conference are its Animation Theater and Electronic Theater presentations, where recently created CG films are played. There is a large floor, where several hundred companies set up elaborate booths and compete for attention. Most of the companies are in the engineering, graphics, motion picture, there are also many booths for schools which specialize in computer graphics or interactivity. Dozens of research papers are presented each year, and SIGGRAPH is widely considered the most prestigious forum for the publication of computer graphics research, the recent paper acceptance rate for SIGGRAPH has been less than 26%. The submitted papers are peer-reviewed in a single-blind process, there has been some criticism about the preference of SIGGRAPH paper reviewers for novel results rather than useful incremental progress. The papers accepted for presentation at SIGGRAPH are printed since 2003 in an issue of the ACM Transactions on Graphics journal. Prior to 1992, SIGGRAPH papers were printed as part of the Computer Graphics publication, in addition to the papers, there are numerous panels of industry experts set up to discuss a wide variety of topics, from computer graphics to machine interactivity to education. SIGGRAPH also offers many full- and half-day courses in computer graphics topics, as well as shorter sketch presentations where artists. In 1984, under LucasFilm Computer Group, John Lasseters first computer animated short, pixars first computer animated short, Luxo, Jr. debuted in 1986. Pixar has debuted numerous shorts at the conference since, SIGGRAPH has several awards programs to recognize outstanding contributions to computer graphics. The most prestigious is the Steven Anson Coons Award for Outstanding Creative Contributions to Computer Graphics and it has been awarded every two years since 1983 to recognize an individuals lifetime achievement in computer graphics. The following conference areas are the areas scheduled for SIGGRAPH2012, courses, attendees learn from the experts in the field and gain inside knowledge that is critical to career advancement. Exhibition, presents the newest hardware systems, software tools, posters, presenting student, in-progress, and late-breaking work. Showcase for the latest trends and techniques for pushing the boundaries of interactive visuals, sandbox, provides an opportunity to get hands-on with the latest, most innovative real-time projects produced over the last 12 months. SIGkids, engages local youngsters with outreach and on-site programs to excite and cultivate the next-next-generation, SIGGRAPH Business Symposium SIGGRAPH Dailies, Each presenter has one minute to present an animation and describe the work. Studio, a place for making and creating at SIGGRAPH, talks, presentations on recent achievements in all areas of computer graphics and interactive techniques, including art, design, animation, visual effects, interactivity, research, and engineering
12.
Tim Burton
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Timothy Walter Tim Burton is an American film director, producer, artist, writer and animator. Burton has worked repeatedly with Johnny Depp, who has become a friend of Burton since their first film together. He has also worked with musician Danny Elfman, who has composed scores for all, actress Helena Bonham Carter, Burtons former domestic partner, has appeared in many of his films. Both compilations were published by Steeles Publishing, as a preteen, Burton would make short films in his backyard on Evergreen Street using crude stop motion animation techniques or shoot them on 8 mm film without sound. Burton studied at Burbank High School, but he was not a good student. He was a very introspective person, and found his pleasure in painting, drawing and watching films and his future work would be heavily influenced by the works of such childhood heroes as Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl. After graduating from Burbank High School with Jeff Riekenberg, Burton attended the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California, as a student at CalArts, Burton made the shorts Stalk of the Celery Monster and King and Octopus. Stalk of the Celery Monster attracted the attention of Walt Disney Productions animation division and he worked as an animator, storyboard artist and concept artist on films such as The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron and Tron. His concept art never made it into the finished films, the film was produced by Rick Heinrichs, whom Burton had befriended while working in the concept art department at Disney. The film was shown at the Chicago Film Festival and released, alongside the teen drama Tex, for two weeks in one Los Angeles cinema. Having aired once in 1983 at 10,30 pm on Halloween and promptly shelved, prints of the film are difficult to locate. The short would finally go on display in 2009 at the Museum of Modern Art. It was again shown at the Seoul Museum of Art in 2012, Burtons next live-action short, Frankenweenie, was released in 1984. It tells the story of a boy who tries to revive his dog after it is run over by a car. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Barret Oliver, Shelley Duvall, after Frankenweenie was completed, Disney fired Burton, under the pretext of him spending the companys resources on doing a film that would be too dark and scary for children to see. Pursuing then an opportunity to make a film, he was approached by Griffin Dunne to direct the black comedy film After Hours. However, after Martin Scorseses project The Last Temptation of Christ was cancelled, not long after, actor Paul Reubens saw Vincent and chose Burton to direct the cinematic spin-off of his popular character Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee Herman gained mainstream popularity with a stage show at The Groundlings
13.
Beetlejuice
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Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy-fantasy film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros. After the success of Pee-wees Big Adventure, Burton was sent several scripts and became disheartened by their lack of imagination, when he was sent Michael McDowells original script for Beetlejuice, Burton agreed to direct, although Larry Wilson and later Warren Skaaren were hired to rewrite it. Beetlejuice was a critical and commercial success, grossing $73.7 million from a budget of $15 million. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards, Best Horror Film, Best Makeup and Best Supporting Actress for Sylvia Sidney, the film spawned an animated television series that Burton produced and a planned unproduced sequel, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. In 2012, new development on a sequel was announced, Barbara and Adam Maitland decide to spend their vacation decorating their idyllic Connecticut country home. As the two are driving home from a trip to town, Barbara swerves to avoid a dog, after they return home, she and Adam notice that they now lack reflections and they discover a Handbook for the Recently Deceased. The house is sold and the new owners, the Deetz family, Charles Deetz is a former real estate developer, his second wife Delia is a self-proclaimed sculptor, and his goth daughter Lydia, from his first marriage, is an aspiring photographer. Under the guidance of interior designer Otho, the Deetzes transform the house into tasteless pastel-toned modern art, the Maitlands own caseworker, Juno, informs them that they must remain in the house for 125 years, on pain of a dire fate. If they want the Deetzes out of the house, it is up to them to scare them away, barbaras and Adams attempts at scaring the family prove ineffective, despite their ability to shape-shift into monsters. Although Adam and Barbara remain invisible to Charles and Delia, teenage Lydia can see the ghost couple, against Junos advice, the Maitlands contact the miscreant Betelgeuse, Junos former assistant and now freelance bio-exorcist ghost, to scare away the Deetzes. At first, they are unaware that Betelgeuse is pronounced Beetlejuice, however, Betelgeuse quickly offends the Maitlands with his crude and morbid demeanor, and they reconsider hiring him, though too late to stop him from wreaking havoc on the Deetzes. The small towns charm and the supernatural events inspire Charles to pitch his boss Maxie Dean on transforming the town into a tourist hot spot, but Maxie wants proof of the ghosts. Horrified, Lydia summons Betelgeuse for help, but he agrees to help her only on the condition that she marry him, Betelgeuse saves the Maitlands and disposes of Maxie, his wife, and Otho, then prepares a wedding before a ghastly minister. The Maitlands intervene before the ceremony is completed, with Barbara riding a sandworm through the house to devour Betelgeuse, finally, the Deetzes and Maitlands agree to live in harmony within the house. Betelgeuse is stuck in the waiting room, there he attempts to cut in front of a witch doctor. Being Betelgeuse, however, he remains upbeat, This could be a look for me. Meanwhile, Adam, Barbara and Lydia are seen in the front room of the dancing to Harry Belafontes Jump In The Line to celebrate Lydia getting an A on her math test at school. The financial success of Pee-wees Big Adventure meant that Burton was considered a bankable director, while Warner Bros. was willing to pay for the scripts development, they were less willing to green-light Batman
14.
Batman (1989 film)
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Batman is a 1989 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and produced by Jon Peters, based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It is the first installment of Warner Bros. initial Batman film series, the film stars Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, alongside Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough and Jack Palance. In the film, Batman is widely believed to be an urban legend until he goes to war with a rising criminal mastermind known as the Joker. After Burton was hired as director in 1986, Steve Englehart, Batman was not greenlit until after the success of Burtons Beetlejuice. Numerous A-list actors were considered for the role of Batman before Keaton was cast, Keatons casting caused a controversy since, by 1988, he had become typecast as a comedic actor and many observers doubted he could portray a serious role. Nicholson accepted the role of the Joker under strict conditions dictated a high salary. The tone and themes of the film were influenced in part by Alan Moore and Brian Bollands The Killing Joke, filming took place at Pinewood Studios from October 1988 to January 1989. The budget escalated from $30 million to $48 million, while the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike forced Hamm to drop out, uncredited rewrites were performed by Warren Skaaren, Charles McKeown and Jonathan Gems. Batman was a critical and financial success, earning over $400 million in box office totals and it was the fifth-highest-grossing film in history at the time of its release. The film received several Saturn Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination, as Gotham City approaches its bicentennial, Mayor Borg orders district attorney Harvey Dent and police commissioner James Gordon to make the city safer. Meanwhile, reporter Alexander Knox and photojournalist Vicki Vale begin to investigate rumors of a vigilante nicknamed Batman who is targeting the citys criminals, Batmans alter-ego is Bruce Wayne, a billionaire industrialist who, as a child, witnessed his parents murder at the hands of a psychotic robber. At a fundraiser for the bicentennial in Wayne Manor, Bruce meets and falls for Vale, however, the evening is cut short as Bruce is alerted to Commissioner Gordons sudden departure due to police business and leaves to investigate as Batman. Mob boss Carl Grissom, who has already been targeted by Dent, with the help of corrupt police lieutenant Max Eckhardt, Grissom sets Napier up to be killed in a raid at Axis Chemicals. However, Grissoms plan is foiled with the arrival of Commissioner Gordon, in the ensuing shootout, Napier kills Eckhardt, but Batman suddenly appears and, in a struggle, Napier is knocked into a vat of chemicals. Batman escapes and Napier is presumed dead, as Batman returns to his life as Bruce Wayne, Napier is revealed to have survived the accident, but left horribly disfigured with chalk white skin, emerald green hair, and a ruby red grin. Driven insane, Napier calls himself the Joker, killing Grissom, the Joker begins to terrorize Gotham City by lacing hygiene products with Smilex, a deadly chemical which causes victims to die laughing with the same maniacal grin as the Joker. Whilst searching for information on Batman, the Joker also falls for Vale and he lures her to the Gotham Museum of Art, but Batman arrives and rescues her. They escape in the Batmobile, but are pursued by the Jokers men, Batman takes Vicki to the Batcave, where he gives her information from his research on Smilex that will allow the citys residents to protect themselves from the toxin
15.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
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Danny Elfman wrote the songs and score, and provided the singing voice of Jack. The principal voice cast also includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine OHara, William Hickey, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, the Nightmare Before Christmas originated in a poem written by Tim Burton in 1982, while he was working as an animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation. With the success of Vincent in the year, Walt Disney Studios began to consider developing The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short film or 30-minute television special. Over the years, Burtons thoughts regularly returned to the project, production started in July 1991 in San Francisco. Disney released the film through the Touchstone Pictures banner because the studio believed the film would be too dark, the film was met with both critical and financial success, grossing over $76 million during its initial run. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Halloween Town is a fantasy world filled with citizens such as deformed monsters, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, zombies, mummies, vampires, werewolves and witches. Jack Skellington, a skeleton with the title of Pumpkin King, however, Jack reveals he has grown weary of the same routine year after year, and wants something new. Wandering dejectedly in the woods, he stumbles across seven trees containing doors leading to towns representing various holidays, impressed by the bright and cheery feeling and style of Christmas, Jack presents his findings and his understanding of Christmas, to the Halloween Town residents. However, they fail to grasp his meaning and compare everything to their ideas of Halloween, Jack is dismayed that no one understands the feeling of Christmas, and obsessively studies the holiday but fails to find any further explanation of it. He ultimately decides that its unfair for Christmas Town alone to enjoy the feeling and announces that he, Jacks obsession with Christmas leads him to usurp the role of Sandy Claws. Every resident is assigned a task, while Sally, a rag doll woman. However, after a vision of a burning Christmas tree, she realizes that his plans to run Christmas will become disastrous. Jack assigns Lock, Shock and Barrel, a trio of mischievous trick-or-treating children, to abduct Santa, against Jacks wishes and largely for their amusement, the trio delivers Santa to Oogie Boogie, a gambling-addict bogeyman, who plots to play a game with Santas life at stake. Christmas Eve arrives and after Sallys attempts to stop Jack fail, Jack departs in a sleigh pulled by skeletal reindeer. Jack begins to deliver presents to children around the world, after the residents complain to the police about his presents, Jack is eventually shot down by the military and crash-lands in a cemetery unharmed. Although he is depressed by the failure of his plan, he regains his old spirit. Meanwhile, Sally attempts to free Santa, but is captured by Oogie, Jack slips into the lair, frees them, and confronts Oogie. Jack apologizes to Santa for his actions, and Santa assures Jack that he can fix things, the townspeople of Halloween Town celebrate Jacks return, and snow falls over Halloween Town, a sign of reconciliation between Santa and Jack
16.
Timur Bekmambetov
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Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov is a Kazakh director, producer and screenwriter who has worked on films, music videos and commercials. He is best known for the film Night Watch and its sequel Day Watch, Bekmambetov was born on 25 June 1961, in the city of Atyrau. It was during this period that Bekmambetov served in the Soviet Army, between 1992 to 1997, Bekmambetov was one of the directors of Bank Imperials award-winning popular World History commercials. In 1994, he founded Bazelevs Group, an advertising and films production, distribution, bekmambetovs first feature, Peshavar Waltz, was a violent and realistic look at the war between the USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Afghanistan. The film was dubbed in English as Escape from Afghanistan and released direct-to-video by Roger Corman in 2002, Bekmambetov next produced and directed an eight-parts miniseries for television entitled Our 90s. Bekmambetov then returned to directing features, with Roger Corman produced The Arena, the film was a remake of The Arena as the same name. In 2001, Bekmambetov directed and co-produced the film GAZ-Russian Cars, in 2004, Bekmambetov wrote and directed Night Watch, a popular Russian fantasy film based on the book by Sergey Lukyanenko. The sequel to Night Watch, Day Watch, was likewise written, the two films attracted the attention of Fox Searchlight Pictures, which paid $4 million to acquired worldwide distribution rights. Bekmambetov followed up Day Watch with The Irony of Fate 2 and this sequel to the famous Soviets film The Irony of Fate is the one of the most successful in Russian history, second to Avatar in total box office receipts. Bekmambetov has also produced a number of films in the U. S.9, the story of a rag doll in a post-apocalyptic world, was directed by Shane Acker and produced by Bekmambetov, Tim Burton and Jim Lemley. Bekmambetov also produced the action movie Black Lightning, the first Russian-language superhero film, in 2010, Bekmambetov produced and was one of the directors of Yolki a. k. a. The Six Degrees to Celebration which became the second highest-grossing Russian movie in Russian box office history, in February 2011 Bazelevs released the Bekmambetov-produced Vykrutasy. In 2012, Bekmambetov directed and produced the live action adaption of the Seth Grahame-Smith novel Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, also produced by Tim Burton and he was awarded the International Filmmaker of the Year award in 2012 by the National Association of Theatre Owners. In 2013, Variety named Bekmambetov one of the most commercially successful Russian directors of the decade and he was placed on top of the list with Feiodor Bondarchuk, Sarik Andreasyan, Pyotr Buslov and Marius Weisberg. International Astana Action Film Festival Yulia Chicherina – Tu-lu-la Yulia Chicherina – Zhara Linkin Park – Powerless Portrait of Timur Bekmambetov Timur Bekmambetov at the Internet Movie Database
17.
Wanted (2008 film)
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Wanted is a 2008 American-German action thriller film loosely based on the comic book miniseries of the same name by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. The film, written by Chris Morgan, Michael Brandt, and Derek Haas and directed by Timur Bekmambetov stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Production began in April 2007, with filming in the Czech Republic, Budapest, and the storys main setting, Chicago. Wanted was released in June 2008 to both critical and commercial success, with box office earnings of $341 million worldwide and reviews praising the fast pacing, a sequel was planned the same year as the films release, but ultimately stalled in the development phase. One night at the pharmacy, Wesley is told by a woman named Fox that his murdered father was an assassin, and the killer. Cross and Fox engage in a shoot-out with hi-tech guns, Wesley panics and runs into the parking lot followed by Cross who steals a truck and attempts to run Wesley down. Fox flips Wesley into her car and then executes a spectacular escape. Wesley awakens in a mysterious factory surrounded by Fox and other fellow assassins, the groups leader, Sloan, forces Wesley at gunpoint to shoot the wings off of several flies buzzing around a trash can, which he does, much to Wesleys shock. He reveals that Wesleys father, as well as Cross, were members of the Fraternity, Sloan wants to teach him to become an assassin so that he may help them kill Cross. Wesley awakens the morning in his apartment, quickly stashing the gun Sloan gave him in his toilet. He then discovers that his bank account now contains several million dollars, filled with new confidence, Wesley snaps in a public outburst against his boss before picking up his keyboard and hitting Barry in the face with it as he leaves. Fox arrives while Wesley is outside looking at newspaper headlines that he is wanted by police over the previous nights shooting, Wesley begins training as an assassin under Foxs tutelage, studying under different specialized assassins. Frustrated by his lack of progress and the brutality of the training, Wesley insists to Sloan he is ready, Fox, overhearing Wesley complaining, beats him until he admits he does not know who he is. Sloan tells Wesley about his father, and how he was betrayed by Cross, reinvigorated with new purpose, Wesley begins to take his training to heart and starts to excel. Sloan then shows him the Loom of Fate, which gives the names of targets through errors in the fabric. Those whom the Loom identifies will apparently create evil and chaos in the future, after his first assassination, Wesley tells Fox that he is questioning whether the Fraternity is right. Fox tells him about how her father was burned alive by a killer who had been targeted by the Loom weeks beforehand. After several missions, Wesley returns to his old apartment to retrieve his fathers gun and he soon has a shootout with Cross, wherein Wesley accidentally kills the Exterminator, a Fraternity member he had befriended. Cross shoots Wesley in the shoulder, Sloan grants Wesleys wish to avenge his father and sends him after Cross—but then secretly gives Fox a mission to kill Wesley, saying that his name had come up in the Loom, as well
18.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
19.
Arc Productions
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Jam Filled Toronto is a Canadian animation and visual effects studio based in Toronto, Ontario. It was majority owned by a Canadian investor group, with former owner Starz Inc. as a minority stakeholder, as of 2016, Jam Filled Toronto serves as a subsidiary of Jam Filled Entertainment, a division of Boat Rocker Media. In 2004, U. S. animation producer IDT Corp. purchased the studio from the founders of DKP Studios, IDT had already acquired in 2003 controlling interest of Film Roman and Anchor Bay Entertainment Group. On May 26,2006, Starz Medias parent company Liberty Media bought IDT Entertainment from IDT, including Anchor Bay Entertainment, under its new management in 2007, the studio began a Starz Shortz program which has produced Bundle of Joy, Enter the Sandbox, Ormie and Lovebirds. In 2007, Starz Animation took over animating Shane Ackers feature 9 from Attitude Studio, in April 2011, the Starz Animation was sold to a Canadian consortium, and renamed itself to Arc Productions. Under the new owner, the studio was planning to do more proprietary production, on August 10,2016, following Arcs closure, Jam Filled Entertainment has entered an agreement to acquire Arc Productions assets in which they call “substantially all of the business”. Jam Filled Entertainment also acquired 248 of Arcs former employees, later on August 22,2016, Arc Productions ) reopened and reentered business
20.
Toronto
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Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war
21.
Loyola Marymount University
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Loyola Marymount University is a private, co-educational university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in the Westchester neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The university is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, Loyola Marymount, which sits atop the bluffs overlooking Marina Del Rey and Playa Del Rey is the parent school to Loyola Law School located in downtown Los Angeles. As of 2010, Loyola Marymount is one of the largest Roman Catholic universities on the West Coast with just over 9,000 undergraduate, graduate, the names Loyola and Marymount have long been associated with Catholic higher education in countries around the globe. Saint Ignatius Loyola, founder of The Society of Jesus, sanctioned the foundation of his orders first school in 1548, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary have conducted educational institutions since their establishment in France in 1849 by Father Jean Gailhac. These two traditions of education have come together in Los Angeles as Loyola Marymount University, the present university is the successor to the pioneer Catholic college and first institution of higher learning in Southern California. In 1865, the Vincentian Fathers were commissioned by Bishop Thaddeus Amat y Brusi to found St. Vincents College for boys in Los Angeles, Father John Asmuth, C. M. served as the first President Rector. The college was located in the Lugo Adobe House at the southeast corner of Alameda. The building was one of few two-story complexes in the city at time and had been donated by Vincente Lugo. Although the building no longer stands, its site is across Alameda Street from the current Union Station, on the Plaza near the southeast end of the citys historic Olvera Street. After two years, the school moved several blocks over, the campus was surrounded by Broadway, 6th Street, Hill Street, and 7th Street. Today, the site is in the heart of Los Angeless Jewellery District and is known as St. Vincent Court. A decade later, the moved to a location at Grand Avenue. When the Vincentians pulled out of educational ministry in Los Angeles in 1911, Bishop Thomas Conaty asked the Jesuits to come to Los Angeles, not wishing to assume any of the colleges debt, the Jesuits, instead, founded Los Angeles College in 1911. Father Richard A. Gleeson, S. J. served as the first Jesuit President, rapid growth prompted the Jesuits to seek a new campus on Venice Boulevard in 1917, with this move, the name of the school was changed back to St. Vincents College. However, in 1918 the name was again changed to Loyola College of Los Angeles. Graduate instruction began in 1920 with the foundation of a law school. The law school was the second in Los Angeles to admit Jewish students, Loyola Law School did not move with the rest of the university, but moved later to another location just west of downtown Los Angeles. World War II had a significant impact on Loyola University, as enrollment began to plummet, Father Edward Whelan, S. J. then president, brokered a deal with the US Army to form an officer training program for both Army and Navy officers
22.
Gnomon School of Visual Effects
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Gnomon is a for-profit college that offers artistic and technical training for careers in the visual effects and games industries. Founded in 1997 by Alex Alvarez, Gnomon is based in Hollywood, in March 2011, Fast Company Magazine included Gnomon in its list of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in Film. Gnomon is approved as a vocational institution from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. The school is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education, an accrediting agency, whose mission is to “assure quality and integrity in career. Beyond providing an art education, Gnomon focuses on job placement for graduates by placing emphasis on community networking and exposure to professionals. Gnomon graduates have gone on to work at film and game such as Digital Domain, EA, Weta Digital, Double Negative, Zoic Studios, Sony Interactive, Rhythm & Hues. Gnomon has been referred to as the MIT of visual effects. In March 2009, Director J. J. Abrams was quoted as saying, “I only wish that Gnomon had existed when I was a kid. ”, going on to say, Their professors – and founders – are people who truly inspire. They don’t just teach the ‘how to’ – they give you context, understanding, Gnomon Studios began working on Academy Award-nominated Director Shane Acker’s short film, “Plus Minus. ”Official Website Interview with Alex Alvarez by joystiq. com Interview with Alex Alvarez by 3dtotal. com Wired Article
23.
Aristomenis Tsirbas
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Aristomenis Tsirbas is a Greek-Canadian film director, producer, writer, animator and visual effects animator. He directed the short films The Freak and Terra which was adapted into the 2007 feature film of the same name produced by MeniThings Productions. He is currently in development on his feature film. Aristomenis Tsirbas has been directing film and TV for over 15 years and he also has 20 years experience as a visual effects supervisor and digital artist. Meni was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and majored in film production at Concordia University, in 1996 he moved to Los Angeles to work on James Cameron’s Titanic and national advertising spots for Nike, 7UP and Coca-Cola. As a visual effects supervisor Meni worked on Miramax’sA Wrinkle in Time, Disneys’ My Favorite Martian and Paramount’s Star Trek, Deep Space Nine. In 2004 Tsirbas worked on two music videos including Tears For Fears’ Closest Thing To Heaven before setting off to direct his first feature film. Meni is currently working on his feature film. Menis films have received over two dozen awards from film festivals such as Sundance, Hollywood and Palm Springs. com
24.
Thomas & Friends
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Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends is a British childrens television series. It had its first broadcast on the ITV network in Great Britain from 1984 to 1992 and it is based on The Railway Series of books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. These books follow the adventures of a group of anthropomorphised locomotives, the books were based on stories Wilbert told to entertain his son, Christopher, during his recovery from measles. Many of the stories from the first four series are based on events from Awdrys personal experience, before the airing of the first episode of Thomas & Friends in 1984, previous attempts had been made to adapt Awdrys stories for television, but not all attempts were successful. The engines were portrayed by 00 gauge Hornby Dublo models and driven on authentic sets in the style of the original illustrations, the first episode, based on The Sad Story of Henry, was broadcast live on the evening of Sunday 14 June 1953 from Lime Grove Studios. The live broadcast did not fare well, models moved jerkily, and all effects and music had to be superimposed. By 23 June, news of the broadcast hit the front pages of the Daily Telegraph, Awdry himself branded the episode as unprofessional, and the point-switching debacle as an elementary mistake. As a result, the episode scheduled for 28 June 1953 was put on hold. Nearly twenty years later, the BBC incorporated Awdrys stories once again, I saw a strong emotional content that would carry with little childrens experiences with life. Allcroft worked to convince Awdry that she could, with funding and her efforts were successful, and she purchased the television rights from the publishers of The Railway Series at a cost of what was then £50,000. Allcroft still had to work to raise the money to finance production and, despite showing a keen interest, in the end, after several years of searching and having to place a second mortgage on her home, Allcroft raised sufficient funding from her local bank manager. The series started production in 1984 by Allcrofts production company, The Britt Allcroft Company, Clearwater Features Ltd. the series was originally shot and produced with live action models at the Clearwater in house studio in Battersea, a suburb of London, for Series 1. It later relocated to Shepperton Studios, Middlesex, southwest of London for subsequent series, the use of moving models was seen at the time of the series conception as an effective method of animating the stories. Locomotives and other vehicles were operated by radio, while humans, stop-motion was occasionally employed for instances in which a human or animal character would move. Hand-drawn animation was used in Series 3 to create bees, the first series used stories from the first eight books, along with one specially written by the Rev. W. Awdry, Thomass Christmas Party. The second series used stories from Book 9 to Book 30 and this book was unusual, as it was written specifically by Christopher Awdry to be adapted by the show. At that time, it was an obligation that the series could only adapt stories that appeared in print. The series also used a story from a Thomas Annual, Thomas and Trevor, and a specially written story, Thomas
25.
Weta Workshop
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Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film. A digital division, Weta Digital, was formed in 1993, Weta Workshops output came to worldwide prominence with director Peter Jacksons film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, producing sets, costumes, armour, weapons, creatures and miniatures. It supported the creation of Reclaiming the Blade, a film on stage combat. The company name comes from the weta, New Zealands coolest little monster, for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy realistic looking PVC chainmail was made, not just for the lead actors, but also for the hundreds of extras that appeared throughout the films. PVC pipe was cut into rings, assembled by hand into armor, a total of 12.5 million links were manufactured from 7 miles of PVC pipe. The term Bigature is Weta Workshops nickname for a large miniature model. They are used in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, extensive computer graphics techniques and computer-controlled cameras were used to seamlessly mesh the Bigature photography with live actors and scenes. Weta also used Bigatures in Peter Jacksons King Kong, Bigatures used in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy include, The Hornburg – The mountain fortress of the Rohirrim. The Grey Havens – The Elven harbour, Minas Tirith – The White City of Gondor. Minas Morgul – Saurons Dead City, the Black Gate – The gate guarding the gap between the Ered Lithui and the Ephel Dúath. Grond – The battering ram that smashed down the gates of Minas Tirith, mûmakil – Large war elephants used by the Harad armies. The name Weta Legs is Weta Workshops name for a low profile, professional grade reverse leg stilt developed by Kim Graham and Weta technicians and manufactured by Performing Legs Ltd. Originally reserved for commercial film and television projects, Weta brought them to market – in relatively limited quantities – for online purchase by members of the public in 2010. Citing low pre-order numbers, Weta unceremoniously canceled the production of Weta Legs by informing those who did pre-order by email. The Weta Legs page has since removed from Wetas website. The workshop now has a division, Weta Tenzan Chain Maille, PVC injection was used for the armor in Kingdom of Heaven, giving better results than the process for Lord of the Rings. Versions electroplated with a layer of metal have the same look as real chain mail, move like metal at one third the weight. Aluminium or steel mail for high-impact stuntwork is also produced
26.
Brown Bag Films
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Brown Bag Films, or Brown Bag, is an Irish computer animation studio, based in Dublin, Ireland with a 2D facility based in Manchester, UK. Best known for its character CGI-animated television series and short films, including the Oscar nominated Give Up Yer Aul Sins and they have also produced additional animation in the shorts in the 2015 Bob the Builder series while Rainmaker Entertainment is the main animation studio for the series. Brown Bag Films also have a slate of original projects in development and are engaged in international co-productions. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of 9 Story Media Group since 2015, Brown Bag Films was established in 1994 by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh OConnell, producing their first series Peig for RTÉ using hand-painted acetate cels shot on 35mm film. In 1995, the moved to an old Georgian house off Gardiner Street, producing a few commercials. Wolves, Witches & Giants was created in 1996 for ITV Studios, the studio moved to a new premises in Dublin city centre in 1997, establishing Irelands first digital ink-and-paint workstation. They worked on the Warner Bros feature film The King & I, barstool and Taxi were produced for RTÉ and they began to grow their commercials service. In 1998, Brown Bag Films produced the series Why. for RTÉ which sold in over 100 countries worldwide, in 1999, Brown Bag Films released their short film The Last Elk, directed by Alan Shannon. The film went on to win international awards. In 2002, Brown Bag Films was nominated for its first Oscar, Give Up Yer Aul Sins, directed by Gaffney and produced by OConnell and the company grew to a staff of 22. In July 2007, Brown Bag Films moved to a new studio in Smithfield Square, Dublin, designed by Douglas Wallace Architects, in the same year development began on Noddy in Toyland. In 2008, the studio working on Granny OGrimms Sleeping Beauty, directed by Nicky Phelan. In 2009, Brown Bag Films delivered 20 hours of animation to international broadcasters and was awarded European Producer of the Year at Cartoon Tributes, the studio has grown to more than 160 people and is equipped with a high-definition picture and 5,1 audio post production facility. In July 2010, the established a office in Los Angeles to produce animated feature films. In March 2012, Doc McStuffins premiered on Disney Junior, breaking rating records for the most watched preschool première ever, in 2011, they premièred Darragh OConnells short film,23 Degrees,5 Minutes, voiced by John Hurt. They began production on Doc McStuffins – the first show commissioned by newly rebranded Disney Junior US, the Octonauts was nominated for a Bafta. Brown Bag Films began production on their own series, Henry Hugglemonster, based on a book by Niamh Sharkey. In March 2012, Doc McStuffins premieres on Disney Junior and breaks rating records for the most watched pre-school première ever and it immediately becomes the No 1 pre-school show in the U. S. A
27.
Valve Corporation
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Valve Corporation is an American video game developer and digital distribution company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. The company is known for the Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Portal, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead, and Dota 2 games, Valve was founded in 1996 as a limited liability company by former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington. Their debut product, the PC first-person shooter Half-Life, was released in 1998 to critical acclaim and commercial success, in 2004, Valve launched Steam alongside the critically acclaimed Half-Life 2. By 2011, over half of digital PC game sales were through Steam, in 2015, Valve entered the game hardware market with the Steam Machine, a line of prebuilt gaming computers running SteamOS, a Valve-developed fork of the Debian operating system. Valve was founded by former longtime Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington on August 24,1996, as Valve L. L. C. based in Kirkland, Harrington left the company in 2000. After incorporation in April 2003, it moved from its location to Bellevue, Washington. In 2010, the office was moved again to a location in Bellevue. In 2016, Valve signed a lease in the Lincoln Square complex in downtown Bellevue. After securing a license to the Quake engine through the help of friend Michael Abrash of id Software in late 1996, Newell, originally planned for release in late 1997, Half-Life launched on November 19,1998. Valve acquired TF Software Pty. Ltd. the makers of the Team Fortress mod for Quake, the Team Fortress Classic mod, essentially a port of the original Team Fortress mod for Quake, was released for Half-Life in 1999. Gearbox contributed much after the release of Half-Life, after the success of Half-Life, the team worked on mods, spin-offs, and sequels, including Half-Life 2. All current Valve games are built on its Source engine, the company has developed six game series, Half-Life, Team Fortress, Portal, Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead and Day of Defeat. Valve is noted for its support of its games modding community, most prominently, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Valve has branched out with this tradition to continue developing Dota 2 as the standalone sequel to the Warcraft III mod. Each of these began as a third-party mod that Valve purchased and developed into a full game. They also distribute community mods on Steam, Valve announced the Source 2 engine in March 2015, later porting the entirety of Dota 2 to the engine in September of that year. Valve has grown both in scope and commercial value, on January 10,2008, Valve announced the acquisition of Turtle Rock Studios. On April 8,2010, Valve won The Escapist Magazines March Mayhem tournament for the best developer of 2010, beating out Zynga in the semi-finals, in 2012, the company acquired Star Filled Studios, a two-man gaming company to open a San Francisco office. In August 2013, however, Valve ended the operation when it was decided there was little benefit coming from the arrangement
28.
Brothers Quay
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Stephen and Timothy Quay are American identical twin brothers better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They are also the recipients of the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for their work on the play The Chairs, in England they made their first short films, which no longer exist after the only print was irreparably damaged. They spent some time in the Netherlands in the 1970s and then returned to England where they teamed up with another Royal College student, Keith Griffiths, in 1980 the trio formed Koninck Studios, which is currently based in Southwark, south London. Most of their films feature puppets made of doll parts and other organic and inorganic materials, often partially disassembled, in a dark. Perhaps their best known work is Street of Crocodiles, based on the novel of the same name by the Polish author. They also directed a sequence in the film Frida. Accordingly, their films are highly reliant on their music scores, in 2000, they contributed a short film to the BBCs Sound On Film series in which they visualised a 20-minute piece by the avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. They have created videos for His Name Is Alive, Michael Penn and 16 Horsepower. Before turning to film, the Quays worked as professional illustrators, the first edition of Anthony Burgess novel The Clockwork Testament, or Enderbys End, included their drawings before the start of each chapter. Nearly three decades before directly collaborating with Stockhausen, they designed the cover of the book Stockhausen, titles, intertitles and credits appear in a variety of handwritten styles. In an interview with Robert K, the Quays are best known for their puppet and feature-length films. Their set design for a revival of Ionescos The Chairs was nominated for a Tony Award in 1998, the Quays produced a new film entitled Through the Weeping Glass, On the Consolations of Life Everlasting. It was reviewed in both Sight & Sound and Film Comment magazines, the 35mm negative and print were selected for inclusion in the film collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The Quay Brothers were commissioned by Leeds Canvas, a group of eight organisations in Leeds, UK, to create in May 2012 a major city-wide art installation. The commission was one of twelve Artists Taking the Lead projects around the UK, organized by Ron Magliozzi, Associate Curator of MoMAs Film Department, the exhibition ran from August 12,2012 through January 7,2013 and included a full coinciding film program. In 2013, the Quays were recipients of a residency program award at the Wexner Center of the Arts, Columbus, as of January 2014, the brothers have been in production with The Digital Toy Company on a joint film/video-game project entitled Asleep, I Hear My Name. The Quays work was exhibited in two major international exhibitions in 2013/2014. The first, The Quay Brothers Universum was the Quays first solo exhibition in Europe and took place at the EYE Film Institute Netherlands, Amsterdam from December 15,2013 - March 9,2014
29.
Don Hertzfeldt
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Don Hertzfeldt is a two-time Academy Award-nominated animator, artist, writer, and independent filmmaker. He is the creator of animated films, including Its Such a Beautiful Day, World of Tomorrow, The Meaning of Life. His films have received over 250 awards and have presented around the world. Seven of his films have competed at the Sundance Film Festival and he is also the only filmmaker to have won the Sundance Film Festivals Grand Jury Prize for Short Film twice. Hertzfeldts short films have been described as some of the most influential animation ever created, and some of the most vital and expressive animation of the millennium. In 2012, Hertzfeldt combined his short film trilogy about a man named Bill, into a new feature film, Its Such a Beautiful Day. The L. A. Film Critics Association named it runner-up for Best Animated Feature Film of 2012, club film critics ranked Its Such a Beautiful Day #8 on their list of the Best Films of 2012. After a limited UK release the year, the film was ranked #3 on Time Out Londons list of the 10 Best Films of 2013. In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked World of Tomorrow #10 on its list of the Greatest Animated Movies Ever, Hertzfeldt primarily supports his work through self-distribution, such as ticket sales from theatrical tours, DVDs, and television broadcasts. He has refused all advertising work and he spent many years in Santa Barbara, California after attending college there. He has kept a blog on his website since 1999. Hertzfeldt was born on August 1,1976 in Alameda County, California, the son of an airline pilot, some publications have his place of birth as Fremont, California while others name the smaller Castro Valley, California. He is of half Swedish descent, Hertzfeldt attended Mission San Jose High School in Fremont. In his childhood, Hertzfeldt drew homemade comic books and at the age of 15, two of Hertzfeldts teenage VHS cartoons can be seen on the Bitter Films, Volume 1 DVD collection. While at film school, Hertzfeldt was drawn to animation as it was an expensive form to work in. He could not afford to buy the numerous rolls of 16 mm film required to live action. He has stated, I think Ive always approached animation from a strange angle, editing, writing, sound—those are the things that usually come first in my head. Animation is often just the busy work I need to get through to connect the dots, Hertzfeldt has never held a job other than creating his animated films
30.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
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It is the third and final installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, preceding The Hobbit film trilogy. Released on 17 December 2003, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King received rave reviews and universal acclaim, the film was the highest-grossing film of 2003 and, by the end of its theatrical run, the second highest-grossing film in history. As of January 2017, it is the fourteenth highest-grossing film of all time, at the 76th Academy Awards, it won all 11 Academy Awards for which it was nominated, therefore holding the record for highest Oscar sweep. The wins included the awards for Best Picture, the first and only time a film has done so, it was also the second sequel to win a Best Picture Oscar. The film jointly holds the record for the largest number of Academy Awards won with Ben-Hur, the film has been re-released twice, in 2011 and 2017. Gandalf leads Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and King Théoden to Isengard where they reunite with Merry, with Saruman defeated, Gandalf retrieves Sarumans palantír. Pippin later steals a glance into the seeing-stone, and suffers an attack from Sauron himself. Gandalf deduces that Sauron will attack Gondors capital Minas Tirith and he rides there to warn them, taking Pippin with him because Sauron believes Pippin is the ring bearer. The hobbits begin climbing a precarious stair carved in the face that will take them into Mordor via a secret way. But having overheard Gollums plot to regain the Ring, Sam keeps an eye on him. Saurons army strikes and overwhelms the city of Osgiliath, forcing Faramir, while helping Théoden gather his forces, Aragorn is approached by Elrond who informs him Arwen is dying. Following a vision of her son, she refused to leave Middle Earth, Elrond gives Aragorn the sword Andúril, Isildurs sword Narsil reforged, so he can reclaim his birthright while gaining reinforcements from the Dead Men of Dunharrow. Joined by Legolas and Gimli, Aragorn travels to the Paths of the Dead, Faramir is gravely wounded after a futile effort to retake Osgiliath, and believing his son to be dead, Denethor falls into madness. Gandalf is left to command the city defences against the Orc army led by Gothmog, but as Gothmogs forces eventually force their way into the city, Denethor attempts to kill himself and Faramir on a pyre. Pippin alerts Gandalf and they save Faramir, but Denethor leaps to his death from the top of Minas Tirith just before Théoden and the Rohirrim arrive. Initially, the Rohirrim have the advantage at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, though Théodens niece Éowyn, having posed as a male soldier, battles and slays the Witch-King with Merrys help, Théoden dies of his wounds. Aragorn arrives with the Army of the Dead, they overcome the Orcs, Aragorn and the other captains of Men decide to lead all who can march upon the Black Gate as a distraction, so Frodo and Sam can get to Mount Doom. Gollum disposes of the last of the food, blaming Sam
31.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
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Journey 2, The Mysterious Island is a 2012 American science fiction adventure film directed by Brad Peyton and produced by Beau Flynn, Tripp Vinson and Charlotte Huggins. It is the sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth, following the first film, the sequel is based on another Jules Verne novel, this time The Mysterious Island. The film stars Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán, the story was written by Richard Outten, Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn, and the screenplay by Brian and Mark Gunn. Journey 2, The Mysterious Island was released in cinemas on February 10,2012 by Warner Bros, pictures, New Line Cinema and Walden Media to mixed reviews, but became a box office success with a worldwide gross of nearly $335 million, surpassing its predecessor. Journey 2, The Mysterious Island was released on DVD/Blu-ray on June 5,2012 and it has been four years since the events of the first movie. Seventeen-year-old Sean Anderson is caught by the police after a chase on his dirtbike which ended with him driving into a swimming pool while trying to evade them. Hank takes Sean home where his mother Elizabeth is not pleased with his actions and/or the fact that he and Hank dont get along well. Using the books individual island maps, Hank suspects they are books of the same island, Hank manages to convince Liz to let both of them go in search of the island, in slight hopes of proving Sean wrong, that there is no so-called mysterious island there. They arrive in Palau where they need transportation to travel to this part of the ocean. Crossing into the island, they one of the laws of the Mysterious Island is that. The crew discover tiny elephants and giant butterflies, which are the first creatures they come across on the island, the group decides to explore further into the island. He has a radio, but due to the positioning of the communications satellite it would be two weeks before they could call for help. The next morning, Alexander leads the group to the lost city of Atlantis which is submerged in the ocean. However, the sea water appearing from the ground is the evidence that Alexanders calculations are wrong, and their only means of salvation seems to be the legendary Nautilus, hidden somewhere on the island. Kailani enters Nemos crypt and finds his journal, which has the whereabouts of the ship in a cave at Poseidons Cliffs and they decide to go to that cave through the heart of the island. They mount giant bees in order to fly over a ridge and make up time. After saving Kailanis life, Sean crashes and dislocates his ankle, Hank and Alexander later patch up Seans ankle the best way they can. Afterward, they have a moment when Hank sings his rendition of What a Wonderful World to ease Seans pain
32.
Total Recall (2012 film)
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Total Recall is a 2012 American science fiction action film directed by Len Wiseman. The screenplay by Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback was based on the 1990 film of the same name, the film stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Bokeem Woodbine, John Cho, and Bill Nighy. Unlike the first film and the story, the plot takes place on Earth not a trip to Mars and has more political overtones. The film blends American and Asian influences, notably in the settings, the film was first announced in 2009 and was released in North America on August 3,2012, grossing over $198 million worldwide. The film received mixed reviews from critics. It received praise for its action sequences and acting but the lack of humor, emotional subtlety. At the end of the 21st century, Earth is devastated by chemical warfare, what little habitable land remains is divided into two territories, the United Federation of Britain and the Colony. Many residents of the Colony travel to the UFB to work in factories via “The Fall, a Resistance operating in the UFB, which the UFB views as a terrorist movement, seeks to improve life in the Colony. Colony citizen Douglas Quaid has been having dreams of being a secret agent, tired of his factory job building police robots with friend Harry, he visits Rekall, a virtual entertainment company that implants artificial memories. Among the choices Rekall salesman Bob McClane offers Quaid are the memories of a secret agent, an emblem of Rekall is stamped onto his arm. Just as Quaid is starting to be implanted, McClane discovers that he already has real memories of being a covert operative, as McClane starts to question Quaid about the memories, UFB police officers burst in, killing the Rekall crew and attempting to arrest Quaid. Quaid instinctively reacts and kills the officers before escaping, after Quaid escapes, Charles Hammond, a “friend” Quaid does not recognize, contacts him and directs him to a safe-deposit box numbered 10549 at First Bank. Quaid finds a message from his former self with the address of a UFB apartment. While being pursued by Lori and other human and robot police, Quaid meets Melina, at the apartment Quaid finds another recording, revealing that his name is actually Carl Hauser, an agent working for UFB Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen. After defecting to the Resistance, Hauser was captured by the UFB, the recording reveals that Cohaagen will use robots to invade the Colony so the UFB will have more living space. Hauser, however, has seen a “kill code” that would disable the robots, the code can be recovered from his memory by Resistance leader Matthias. The police surround the apartment building and Harry appears and he tries to convince Quaid that he is still in a Rekall-induced dream and that killing Melina is the only way out. Quaid is conflicted, but notices a tear on Melina’s cheek, Lori pursues the pair inside the buildings elevators, but fails to capture them
33.
Oz the Great and Powerful
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Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi and produced by Joe Roth, from a screenplay written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner. The film stars James Franco as the character, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams with Zach Braff, Bill Cobbs, Joey King. Based on L. Frank Baums Oz novels and set 20 years before the events of the novel, Oz the Great and Powerful is a spiritual prequel to the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film. The film tells the story of Oscar Diggs, a magician who arrives in the Land of Oz. Oscar is then enlisted to restore order in Oz, while struggling to resolve conflicts with the witches, Kapner began developing an origin story for the Wizard of Oz after a lifelong interest of wanting to create one for the character. Walt Disney Pictures commissioned the production in 2009, with Joe Roth as producer and Grant Curtis, Joshua Donen, Philip Steuer. Raimi was hired to direct the following year, after Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp declined the titular role, Franco was cast in February 2011, with principal photography commencing five months later. Danny Elfman composed the films score and it grossed over $493 million worldwide against a $200 million budget and is the thirteenth highest-grossing film of 2013. The film won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Live Action Family Film, Kunis, for her portrayal as the Wicked Witch of the West, won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. In 1905 Kansas, Oscar Oz Diggs works as a magician in a traveling circus, after his friend Annie tells him that John Gale has asked her to marry him, the circus strongman finds out that Oscar flirted with his wife, and threatens him. Oscar escapes in a hot air balloon, but is sucked into a tornado that takes him to the Land of Oz, there, he encounters a beautiful but naïve witch, Theodora. En route to the Emerald City, Theodora falls in love with Oscar and they encounter the flying monkey in a blue uniform, Finley, who pledges a life debt to Oscar when he saves him from a lion. Oscar reveals his deception to Finley along the way, forcing him to maintain the lie that he is a Wizard. At the Emerald City, Oscar meets Theodoras beautiful older sister, Evanora, Oscar fixes the China Girls broken legs with glue. Then, Oz orders China Girl to go to the Emerald City, when Oz refuses, China Girl throws a massive temper tantrum which forces Oz to accept her idea. Evanora sees this with her ball and tricks the naïve Theodora into thinking Oscar is trying to court all three witches. Glinda brings Oscar and his group to her kingdom in the south of Oz to escape Evanoras army of Winkies and she confides to Oscar that she knows that hes not really a wizard, but still believes he can help stop Evanora. As he reluctantly takes charge of an army of Quadlings, Tinkers and she threatens to kill him and his allies with the Emerald Citys well-prepared army
34.
47 Ronin (2013 film)
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Produced by Universal Studios, the film was directed by Carl Rinsch and stars Keanu Reeves and Hiroyuki Sanada. The film received negative reviews from critics, but some reviewers bestowed praise for the action. Adjusted for inflation, it lost an estimated $152 million, Variety magazine listed 47 Ronin as one of Hollywoods biggest box office bombs of 2013. In late medieval Japan, Kai is a half-Japanese, half-English outcast who lives in the Akō Domain, when Kai was young, Asano found him lost in the forest and accepted him into his household. Kai and Asanos daughter, Mika, eventually fall in love despite Kai being scorned by her fathers samurai due to his lowborn status and mixed ancestry. Before a planned visit from Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Asano is visited by the Shoguns master of ceremonies, Lord Kira, Kira enlists the help of a shapeshifting Kitsune named Witch who sends a Kirin to kill Asano in the forest of Ako. Asanos samurai struggle in their battle with the monster so Kai joins in riding an abandoned horse, as the monster charges him, Kai recovers a lost sword that he uses to slay it. Shortly thereafter he spots a white fox with different coloured eyes watching from the underbrush—Witch in her fox form. Later during the Shoguns visit, Kai sees that one of the Shoguns concubines has the same multi-colored eyes and he tries to warn Asanos principal counselor and samurai, Oishi, that she is a witch but Oishi doesnt believe him. Later, Kira arranges a duel for the entertainment of the Shogun, Kiras best warrior, however, before the duel begins, Witch uses her magic to incapacitate Asanos combatant. Kai secretly dons his armor and fights in his stead, but his disguise is revealed, later that night, Witch uses her magic to make Asano believe that Kira is raping Mika, causing him to attack an unarmed Kira in his delirium. Asano is sentenced to death for attacking a Shogunate official, though the Shogun allows him to die with honor through seppuku, the Shogun then gives Kira both the Akō domain and Mika, although he grants Mika one year to mourn the death of her father before marrying Kira. The Shogun also brands Oishi and his men ronin and forbids them from seeking vengeance for Asanos death, to ensure that the ronin do not interfere with his takeover plans, Kira imprisons Oishi in an outdoor pit to break his spirit. Nearly a year later, Oishi is released by Kiras men and he now knows that Kira is guilty of treachery for using Witchs sorcery to cause Asanos downfall. Oishi reunites with his family and asks his son Chikara to aid him in reuniting the scattered ronin and they learn that Kai has been sold into slavery and Oishi rescues him from the fighting pits of the Dutch colony of Dejima. Kai leads them to the Tengu Forest, a place he escaped from as a child. Kai instructs Oishi to never draw his sword while in the Tengu temple and continues alone to another room to face the Tengu Master, who once trained Kai in their fighting ways. While Kai confronts the Tengu Master in a battle of wills, Oishi watches an illusion of his men being slaughtered by the Tengu, with Kai and Oishi both successful in their Tengu challenges, the ronin are given Tengu swords
35.
Beasts of Burden
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Beasts of Burden is a comic book series created by writer Evan Dorkin and artist Jill Thompson, and published by American company Dark Horse Comics. The title centers on a team of intelligent animals that investigate different paranormal events that occur in their small neighborhood of Burden Hill. The group consists of five dogs named Ace, Rex, Jack, Whitey, and Pugsley, the group is often seen consulting with Wise Dogs, local shaman-like elders of their community. The characters made their first appearance in a story titled Stray in The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings and they made subsequent appearances in The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft, The Dark Horse Book of The Dead, and The Dark Horse Book of Monsters. Dorkin stated that he came up with the concept after being asked by Dark Horse editor Scott Allie to write a story for the horror anthology The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings, I wanted to write a haunted-house story, but not along traditional lines. After a few false starts I hit on the idea of a haunted doghouse, Scott liked it and wanted me to draw it. I draw animals about as well as I breakdance, but Scott believed in me, luckily for us all, I convinced him to approach Jill Thompson instead. In 2009 the characters appeared in their own 4-issue mini-series, in 2010 the characters appeared alongside Hellboy in a one-shot issue titled Hellboy/Beasts of Burden, Sacrifice. A CG-animated film adaptation was announced via Reel FX Creative Studios with filmmaker Andrew Adamson scheduled to produce, on February 20,2013, it was announced that Shane Acker will direct the film, with Mike Richardson and Aron Warner joining Adamson as producers
36.
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
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Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 British-American fantasy adventure film by Britt Allcroft, its director, producer and writer. It was co-produced by Gullane Pictures/The Britt Allcroft Company and the Isle of Man Film Commission, the film was distributed by Destination Films in the United States, Icon Film Distribution in the United Kingdom and ABC Films in Australia. To ameliorate these problems, Lily and Mr. Conductor enlist the help of Thomas the Tank Engine, who confronts the ruthless Diesel 10 along the way. When Thomas and the Magic Railroad was first released in the U. K. where critics were unfamiliar with the characters from Shining Time Station, the film was accused of Americanizing Thomas. Critical reception in the U. S. was somewhat better, but still mostly negative, in stark contrast to the given to the original Shining Time Station. General criticism of the film has been directed towards its plot, characterization, acting, the films critical and commercial failure led Allcroft to resign from her company, Gullane Entertainment in September 2000. Two years later, Gullane was acquired by HiT Entertainment, which the rights to Thomas were passed onto. To date, this is Wilsons final appearance on film, Sir Topham Hatt is on holiday, leaving Mr. Conductor in charge. Meanwhile, while talking at Killaban, Thomas and Gordon encounter Diesel 10, meanwhile, in Shining Time, Mr. Conductor has his own problems as his supply of gold dust is running low and not enough to allow him to travel back from Sodor. Later that day, while Thomas and James are at Tidmouth Sheds, Diesel 10 arrives and announces his plan to get rid of the steam engines on Sodor. The lost engine, named Lady, is hidden in a workshop on Muffle Mountain, Burnett Stone has kept her hidden after Diesel 10s last attempt to destroy her. Despite having rebuilt Lady, Burnett is unable to steam her despite using different types of coal. At night, Diesel 10 attacks the shed where the engines are sleeping. While talking at Knapford, Percy and Thomas conclude that there is a railway between Sodor and Shining Time. Diesel 10 overhears them and goes to the Sodor Ironworks to tell Splatter and Dodge of his plans to destroy the lost engine, toby rings his bell to distract him, causing Diesel 10 to knock the roof of the shed. Later, Henry has a bad cold, so Thomas collects six special coal trucks for him, Lily Stone is being sent from a big city to visit Burnett on Muffle Mountain. While at the station, she meets Mutt, who puts her on the Rainbow Sun instead of the right train. On arriving at Shining Time, she meets Junior and Stacy Jones, the next day, Lily meets Patch, who takes her on a horse ride to Shining Time where she meets Junior again
37.
Guild Wars (video game)
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Guild Wars, renamed later to Guild Wars Prophecies, is a massively multiplayer online action role-playing game, developed by ArenaNet, a subsidiary of South Korean game publisher NCSOFT. Prophecies introduced players to the world of Guild Wars, known as Tyria, Guild Wars contains a co-operative role-playing portion and a competitive Player versus Player portion. Co-operative characters may be used in the competitive portion, or new PvP-specific characters may be created at maximum level, players use a 3D avatar to interact with the world around them. The game predominantly features a third person perspective but also has the option of first person and these characters are able to walk/run and interact with other characters through chat. They can also perform such as fighting and picking up objects. Players can choose from a range of up to ten different professions, when creating a character, players can select their hair style, face, skin tone, height and avatar name—the selection depending upon that profession chosen. As the player progresses through the game, they can unlock different armor and they can also decide whether they want their avatar to start in a Player vs. Environment world, or get right into the competitive Player vs. Player and fight live against other players in the game, the maximum level for character development is capped at 20 - by this point, the character will also have reached 170 attribute points. Players may also choose to do quests to gain another 30 attribute points. Experience can still be gained and is used to more skills or buy consumable items throughout the game. A profession is a type of class, central to the gameplay in Guild Wars, each profession has an array of attributes and skills that help narrow a classs proficiency in order to perform a customized role that is determined by the player. Elementalists, on the hand, wear less protective armor. Guild Wars also introduces the ability to choose a profession, expanding the selection of attributes. A character does not, however, have access to the attribute of its secondary profession. Many, but not all, skills become more powerful with more points in a primary attribute. A Warrior/Elementalist, therefore, is a warrior who may use spells in combat and this is increased by the fact that runes, which among other things increase attribute levels, can only increase the attribute levels associated with a players primary profession. There are over a thousand skills in the game that can be acquired by the character over time and this introduces levels of strategy, in which one must have a careful selection of skills that work well with one another and with teammates in order to survive. The core professions are Warrior, Monk, Elementalist, Ranger, Necromancer and Mesmer, the Assassin and Ritualist professions are exclusive to Guild Wars, Factions, which can be played along with the aforementioned core professions
38.
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
39.
IMDb
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In 1998 it became a subsidiary of Amazon Inc, who were then able to use it as an advertising resource for selling DVDs and videotapes. As of January 2017, IMDb has approximately 4.1 million titles and 7.7 million personalities in its database, the site enables registered users to submit new material and edits to existing entries. Although all data is checked before going live, the system has open to abuse. The site also featured message boards which stimulate regular debates and dialogue among authenticated users, IMDb shutdown the message boards permanently on February 20,2017. Anyone with a connection can read the movie and talent pages of IMDb. A registration process is however, to contribute info to the site. A registered user chooses a name for themselves, and is given a profile page. These badges range from total contributions made, to independent categories such as photos, trivia, bios, if a registered user or visitor happens to be in the entertainment industry, and has an IMDb page, that user/visitor can add photos to that page by enrolling in IMDbPRO. Actors, crew, and industry executives can post their own resume and this fee enrolls them in a membership called IMDbPro. PRO can be accessed by anyone willing to pay the fee, which is $19.99 USD per month, or if paid annually, $149.99, which comes to approximately $12.50 per month USD. Membership enables a user to access the rank order of each industry personality, as well as agent contact information for any actor, producer, director etc. that has an IMDb page. Enrolling in PRO for industry personnel, enables those members the ability to upload a head shot to open their page, as well as the ability to upload hundreds of photos to accompany their page. Anyone can register as a user, and contribute to the site as well as enjoy its content, however those users enrolled in PRO have greater access and privileges. IMDb originated with a Usenet posting by British film fan and computer programmer Col Needham entitled Those Eyes, others with similar interests soon responded with additions or different lists of their own. Needham subsequently started an Actors List, while Dave Knight began a Directors List, and Andy Krieg took over THE LIST from Hank Driskill, which would later be renamed the Actress List. Both lists had been restricted to people who were alive and working, the goal of the participants now was to make the lists as inclusive as possible. By late 1990, the lists included almost 10,000 movies and television series correlated with actors and actresses appearing therein. On October 17,1990, Needham developed and posted a collection of Unix shell scripts which could be used to search the four lists, at the time, it was known as the rec. arts. movies movie database
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Metacritic
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Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of media products, music albums, games, movies, TV shows, DVDs, and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged, Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts. The site provides an excerpt from each review and hyperlinks to its source, a color of Green, Yellow or Red summarizes the critics recommendations and therefore the general appeal of the product to reviewers and, to a lesser extent, the public. It is regarded as the game industrys foremost review aggregator. Metacritics scoring converts each review into a percentage, either mathematically from the mark given, before being averaged, the scores are weighted according to the critics fame, stature, and volume of reviews. Metacritic was launched in July 1999 by Marc Doyle, his sister Julie Doyle Roberts, rotten Tomatoes was already compiling movie reviews, but Doyle, Roberts, and Dietz saw an opportunity to cover a broader range of media. They sold Metacritic to CNET in 2005, CNET and Metacritic are now owned by the CBS Corporation. Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal wrote in September 2004, Mr. Doyle,36, is now a product manager at CNET. Speaking of video games, Doyle said, A site like ours helps people cut through. unobjective promotional language and he added that the review process was not taken as seriously when unconnected magazines and websites provided reviews in isolation. In August 2010, the appearance was revamped, reaction from users was overwhelmingly negative. Certain publications are given more significance because of their stature, games Editor Marc Doyle was interviewed by Keith Stuart of The Guardian to get a look behind the metascoring process. Stuart wrote, the phenomenon, namely Metacritic and GameRankings, have become an enormously important element of online games journalism over the past few years. The ranging of metascores is, Metacritic is regarded as the foremost online review site for the video game industry. Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal has written that Metacritic influence the sales of games and he explains its influence as coming from the higher cost of buying video games than music or movie tickets. Many executives say that low scores can hurt the sales potential. He claimed that a number of businesses and financial analysts use Metacritic as an early indicator of a games potential sales and, by extension. In 2004, Jason Hall of Warner Bros. began including quality metrics in contracts with partners licensing its movies for games, if a product does not at least achieve a specific score, some deals require the publisher to pay higher royalties. In 2008, Microsoft began using Metacritic averages to de-list underperforming Xbox Live Arcade games and these are the top 10 individual games with the highest scores on the site as of 2 April 2017
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Annecy International Animated Film Festival
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The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the became an annual event in 1998. It is one of the four animated film festivals sponsored by the Association Internationale du Film dAnimation. According to the topic of the festival, classic or recent films are projected upon the giant screen, on Saturday evening, all the award winners are presented. The winner/s is/are marked in bold, in the 2000 edition the prize was declared void. This prize was originally named Grand prix, in 1987 it was renamed Grand prix du court métrage to differentiate it from the feature films prize. In 2003 it took its current name, Le Cristal dAnnecy, ASIFA official web site Annecy International Animation Festival
