1.
Sandra Bullock
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Sandra Annette Bullock is a German-American actress, producer, and philanthropist. Her breakthrough role was in the film Demolition Man and she subsequently starred in several successful films including Speed, While You Were Sleeping, The Net, A Time to Kill, Hope Floats, and Practical Magic. Bullock achieved further success in the decades in Miss Congeniality, Two Weeks Notice, Crash, The Proposal. Bullocks greatest commercial success is the comedy film Minions, which grossed over US$1 billion at the box office. In 2007, she was one of Hollywoods highest-paid actresses and she was also named Most Beautiful Woman by People magazine in 2015. In addition to her career, Bullock is the founder of the production company Fortis Films. She has produced some of the films in which she starred, including Two Weeks Notice, Miss Congeniality 2, Armed and Fabulous and she was an executive producer of the ABC sitcom, George Lopez, and made several appearances during its run. Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia and her father, John W. Bullock, was a U. S. Army employee and part-time voice coach, her mother, Helga Mathilde Meyer, was an opera singer and voice teacher. Helga was German, while John is from Birmingham, Alabama and has English, French, German, Bullocks maternal grandfather was a German rocket scientist from Nuremberg. John, who was in charge of the U. S. Armys Military Postal Service in Europe, was stationed in Nuremberg when he met Helga. They married in Germany and moved to Arlington, where John worked with the Army Materiel Command before becoming a contractor for The Pentagon, Bullock has a younger sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, who went on to serve as vice president of Bullocks production company Fortis Films. Until the age of 18, Bullock held American-German dual citizenship and she then held only American citizenship until 2009, when she reapplied for German citizenship. Bullock was raised in Germany for 12 years, and grew up speaking German and she attended the humanistic Waldorf School in Nuremberg. As a child, while her mother went on European opera tours, Bullock usually stayed with her aunt Christl and cousin Susanne, Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child and frequently accompanied her mother, taking small parts in her opera productions. She sang in the childrens choir at the Staatstheater Nürnberg. Bullock has a scar above her eye, caused by falling into a creek when she was a child. She attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was a cheerleader, after graduating in 1982, she attended East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, where she received a BFA in Drama in 1987. While at ECU, she performed in theater productions, including Peter Pan
2.
Hugh Grant
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Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. Grant has received a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César for his work and his films have earned more than US$2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant used this role as a frequent cinematic persona during the 1990s, delivering comic performances in films such as Mickey Blue Eyes. By the turn of the 21st century, Grant had established himself as a leading man, Grant has expanded his oeuvre with critically acclaimed turns as a cad in Bridget Joness Diary, About a Boy, and American Dreamz. Grant later played against type with multiple roles in the epic sci-fi drama film. Hes also known for appearing in period pieces such as The Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility, within the film industry, Grant is cited as an anti-star who approaches his roles like a character actor, and attempts to make his acting appear spontaneous. Hallmarks of his skills include a nonchalant touch of irony/sarcasm and studied physical mannerisms, as well as his precisely-timed dialogue delivery. The entertainment medias coverage of Grants life off the big screen has often overshadowed his work as an actor, Grant has been outspoken about his antipathy towards the profession of acting, and in his disdain towards the culture of celebrity and hostility towards the media. In a career spanning 30 years, Grant has repeatedly claimed that acting was not his true calling, Grant was born at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, London, the second son of Fynvola Susan MacLean and Captain James Murray Grant. Grants grandfather, Colonel James Murray Grant, DSO was decorated for bravery, genealogist Antony Adolph has described Grants family history as a colourful Anglo-Scottish tapestry of warriors, empire-builders and aristocracy. Grants father was trained at Sandhurst and served with the Seaforth Highlanders for eight years in Malaya, Germany and Scotland. He ran a firm, pursued hobbies such as golf and painting watercolours, and raised his family in Chiswick, west London. In September 2006, a collection of Capt, Grants paintings was hosted by the John Martin Gallery in a charity exhibition, organised by his famous son, called James Grant,30 Years of Watercolours. His mother worked as a schoolteacher and taught Latin, French and she died at the age of 65,18 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Grants accent is an inheritance from his mother, and, on Inside the Actors Studio in 2002, both his parents were children of military families, but, despite his parents backgrounds, Grant has stated that his family was not always affluent while he was growing up. Grant spent his childhood summers shooting and hunting with his grandfather in Scotland, Grant has an older brother, James, living in Portugal. Grant started his education at Hogarth Primary School in Chiswick but then moved to St Peters Primary School in Hammersmith, from 1969 to 1978, he attended the independent Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith on a scholarship and played 1st XV rugby, cricket and football for the school. He also represented Latymer on the quiz show, Top of the Form
3.
Alicia Witt
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Alicia Roanne Witt is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and pianist. Witt first came to fame as an actress after being discovered by David Lynch. Witt later had an acclaimed role as a disturbed teenager in Fun, and appeared as a music student in Mr. Hollands Opus. She then appeared in Cameron Crowes Vanilla Sky, Last Holiday, Witt has made television appearances in The Walking Dead, Nashville, Two And A Half Men, Friday Night Lights, Law & Order, Criminal Intent, Cybill and Justified. In addition to acting, Witt has been described as a prodigy, as an accomplished pianist, singer. She released her debut album in 2009. Alicia Roanne Witt was born on August 21,1975, in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Diane, a high school reading teacher, and Robert Witt. Talking by age two and reading by the age of four, Witt has been described as a child prodigy and her acting talent was recognized by director David Lynch in 1980, when he heard her recite Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet on the television show Thats Incredible. He would begin working with her in film and television even before Witt earned her high school equivalency credential and she did undergraduate work in piano at Boston University and competed nationally. Witts discovery by Lynch led to his casting of the child in the movie Dune as Paul Atreidess sister Alia. She worked with Lynch again when she appeared in an episode of Twin Peaks, in 1994, Witt landed her first lead role in a film, playing a disturbed, murderous teenager in Fun, and receiving the Special Jury Recognition Award at the Sundance Festival. Witt was then cast in the desultory Four Rooms, as Madonnas lover in the episode, Witt was introduced to a larger audience in the role of Cybill Shepherds daughter, Zoey Woodbine, in the sitcom Cybill. She then went on to a part in Cameron Crowes Vanilla Sky. Witt also appeared in Marc Lawrences romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice, starring Hugh Grant, in 2003–04, she took up residence in the United Kingdom, though she portrayed Joan Allens daughter in the US-based comic drama The Upside of Anger. Witt filmed the Last Holiday and the thriller 88 Minutes, and joined the cast of Law & Order, in the latter she played Detective Nola Falacci, a character temporarily replacing Megan Wheeler as Chris Noths partner, and was a recurring character in the 2007-2008 season. Witt appeared in the role of Amy in the film Peep World and her dramatic performance in this film was critically acclaimed, with New York Magazines David Edelstein proclaiming her turn one of the top performances of 2013. Also in 2014, Witt appeared in a major guest starring role on the DirecTV series Kingdom, Witt was a regular part of the cast of Justified in Season 5, which began airing in January 2014. Witt filmed a major guest starring role on Season 12 of Supernatural as Lily Sunder, Witt made her stage debut in 2001, at Los Angeles historic Tiffany Theater, in Robbie Foxs musical The Gift, in which she played a high-priced, though diseased, stripper
4.
Robert Klein
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Robert Klein is an American stand-up comedian, singer and actor. Klein was born in the Bronx, the son of Frieda and Benjamin Klein, in a piece he wrote for the improvisational troupes book, Klein recalled sitting in a room full of other hopefuls, including Fred Willard. Kleins audition consisted of a set with Willard about two guys in a nightclub, which was successful enough to get Klein and Willard hired by Second City. In the spring of 1965, Klein was chosen as a member of Second City, when he returned to New York City a year later, he was cast by Mike Nichols in the Broadway musical The Apple Tree. His extensive routines about the Watergate scandal made him popular in the 1970s. In 1974, he appeared in an episode of Paul Sand in Friends, in 1979, Klein was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in Theyre Playing Our Song. In 1985, he starred in the Wordplay episode of The New Twilight Zone, in 1986, Klein had his own late-night talk show, Robert Klein Time, which ran on the USA Network until 1988. Klein hosted Monty Python Live at Aspen, a reunion and tribute show for the five surviving members of the British comedy troupe, Klein has made several albums, the most successful being his first two. Averell Harriman, meeting Yankee stars, the Yankees losing the World Series and he also goes into other things that he has observed in his life, such as substitute teaching, 1970s FM radio disc jockeys, late-night delis, and annoying commercials. He also performed two songs that he himself, Fabulous 50s and Middle Class, Educated Blues. His next album, Mind Over Matter, included discussion of the Watergate scandal. He had a role in the TV drama series Sisters. In the 1970s, he hosted Saturday Night Live twice and he also appeared as a guest star in the animated series Duckman and on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens. In 2014 he played the Canadian Ambassador on Madam Secretary, Klein is the author of The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue, A Child of the Fifties Looks Back, an autobiography published in 2006. Klein starred in The Mysteries of Laura, a crime dramedy on NBC starring Debra Messing, in this series he played the father of the shows main character, Laura. He played the Mayor of New York City in two of the Sharknado films, Klein is divorced from opera singer Brenda Boozer. They have a son, Alexander Stuart Klein, who goes by Allie Klein, following his divorce, he was involved with the fashion model Debbie Dickinson, who appeared on the cover of Kleins comedy album Lets Not Make Love. Both implied that they were influenced by the Child of the 50s recording, Robert Klein at the Internet Movie Database Robert Klein at the Internet Broadway Database Robert Klein Biography from aish. com
5.
Donald Trump
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Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States. Prior to entering politics he was a businessman and television personality, Trump was born and raised in Queens, New York City, and earned an economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He then took charge of The Trump Organization, the estate and construction firm founded by his paternal grandmother, which he ran for four. During his real career, Trump has built, renovated, and managed numerous office towers, hotels, casinos. Besides real estate, he started several ventures and has lent the use of his name for the branding of various products. He owned the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1996 to 2015, and he hosted The Apprentice, as of 2017, Forbes listed him as the 544th wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $3.5 billion. Trump first publicly expressed interest in running for office in 1987. He won two Reform Party presidential primaries in 2000, but withdrew his candidacy early on, in June 2015, he launched his campaign for the 2016 presidential election and quickly emerged as the front-runner among 17 candidates in the Republican primaries. His final opponents suspended their campaigns in May 2016, and in July he was nominated at the Republican National Convention along with Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate. His campaign received unprecedented media coverage and international attention, many of the statements he made at rallies, in interviews, or on social media were controversial or false. Trump won the election on November 8,2016, in a surprise victory against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. His political positions have been described by scholars and commentators as populist, protectionist, Trump was born on June 14,1946 at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Queens, New York City. He was the fourth of five born to Frederick Christ Fred Trump. His siblings are Maryanne, Fred Jr. Elizabeth, and Robert, Trumps ancestors originated from the village of Kallstadt, Palatinate, Germany on his fathers side, and from the Outer Hebrides isles of Scotland on his mothers side. All his grandparents, and his mother, were born in Europe and his mothers grandfather was also christened Donald. On a visit to his village, he met Elisabeth Christ. He died from the flu pandemic of 1918 and Elizabeth incorporated the family real estate business, Elizabeth Trump and Son, which would later become The Trump Organization. Trumps father Fred was born in the Bronx, and worked with his mother since he was 15 as a real estate developer, primarily in the New York boroughs of Queens and he eventually built and sold thousands of houses, barracks and apartments
6.
Castle Rock Entertainment
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Castle Rock Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a subsidiary of Time Warners Warner Bros, Reiner and Scheinman already had a production company. They were friends with Shafer, who worked with Horn at 20th Century Fox at the time, Horn was disappointed at Fox and agreed to join the trio at forming the company. Horn brought along Padnick, who was an executive at Embassy Television, in Castle Rock, Horn became the CEO, Shafer ran the film division, Padnick ran TV, and Reiner & Scheinman became involved in the development of productions. The company was backed by The Coca-Cola Company, the then-parent company of Columbia Pictures. Coke and the companys founders jointly owned a stake in the company, months after the deal, Coke exited the entertainment business, succeeded by Columbia Pictures Entertainment. In 1989, Castle Rock was supported by another backer, Group W, some of Nelsons holdings were later acquired by New Line Cinema, which took over Nelsons duty. Columbia, shortly after the formation, thereafter had to re-invest with a substantial change in terms when accumulated losses exhausted its initial funding. Reiner has stated that Castle Rocks purpose was to allow freedom to individuals. Castle Rock was to make films of the highest quality, whether they made or lost money, Castle Rock has also produced several television shows, such as the successful sitcom Seinfeld and the animated sitcom Mission Hill. In August 1993, Turner Broadcasting System agreed to acquire Castle Rock, the sale was completed on December 22,1993. The motivation behind the purchase to allow a company to handle the overhead. Turner Broadcasting eventually merged with Time Warner in 1996, Castle Rock Entertainment then became a division of Warner Bros. MGM owns the rights to the pre-1994 Castle Rock Entertainment films because of the acquisition of the pre-1996 PolyGram library where Nelson Entertainment was in it. Warner Bros. through Castle Rock, owns its post-1994 library and the TV rights to the pre-1994 library with the exception of Seinfeld and Thea
7.
Village Roadshow Pictures
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Village Roadshow Entertainment Group is an independent global film entertainment company. Village Roadshow Entertainment Group consists principally of Village Roadshow Pictures, Village Roadshow Productions, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group s largest owner is Village Roadshow Limited, which owns 47. 6% of the company. The other shareholders are Crescent Entertainment, Tailwind Capital, Falcon Investment Advisors and Trinity Opportunities Limited
8.
Warner Bros.
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Entertainment Inc. – colloquially known as Warner Bros. or Warner Bros. It is one of the Big Six major American film studios, Warner Bros. is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America. The companys name originated from the four founding Warner brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, Jack, the youngest, was born in London, Ontario. The three elder brothers began in the theater business, having acquired a movie projector with which they showed films in the mining towns of Pennsylvania. In the beginning, Sam and Albert Warner invested $150 to present Life of an American Fireman and they opened their first theater, the Cascade, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1903. When the original building was in danger of being demolished, the modern Warner Bros. called the current building owners, the owners noted people across the country had asked them to protect it for its historical significance. In 1904, the Warners founded the Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Amusement & Supply Company, in 1912, Harry Warner hired an auditor named Paul Ashley Chase. By the time of World War I they had begun producing films, in 1918 they opened the first Warner Bros. studio on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Sam and Jack produced the pictures, while Harry and Albert, along with their auditor and now controller Chase, handled finance and distribution in New York City. During World War I their first nationally syndicated film, My Four Years in Germany, on April 4,1923, with help from money loaned to Harry by his banker Motley Flint, they formally incorporated as Warner Brothers Pictures, Incorporated. The first important deal was the acquisition of the rights to Avery Hopwoods 1919 Broadway play, The Gold Diggers, however, Rin Tin Tin, a dog brought from France after World War I by an American soldier, established their reputation. Rin Tin Tin debuted in the feature Where the North Begins, the movie was so successful that Jack signed the dog to star in more films for $1,000 per week. Rin Tin Tin became the top star. Jack nicknamed him The Mortgage Lifter and the success boosted Darryl F. Zanucks career, Zanuck eventually became a top producer and between 1928 and 1933 served as Jacks right-hand man and executive producer, with responsibilities including day-to-day film production. More success came after Ernst Lubitsch was hired as head director, lubitschs film The Marriage Circle was the studios most successful film of 1924, and was on The New York Times best list for that year. Despite the success of Rin Tin Tin and Lubitsch, Warners remained a lesser studio, Sam and Jack decided to offer Broadway actor John Barrymore the lead role in Beau Brummel. The film was so successful that Harry signed Barrymore to a contract, like The Marriage Circle. By the end of 1924, Warner Bros. was arguably Hollywoods most successful independent studio, as the studio prospered, it gained backing from Wall Street, and in 1924 Goldman Sachs arranged a major loan
9.
Romantic comedy film
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Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is a movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily. Another definition states that its primary distinguishing feature is a plot in which two sympathetic and well-matched lovers are united or reconciled. Romantic comedy films are a genre of comedy films as well as of romance films. However a romantic comedy is classified as a film with two genres not a new genre. Some television series can also be classified as romantic comedies, a wedding-bells, fairy-tale-style happy ending is practically mandatory. The basic plot of a comedy is that two characters meet, part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately reunite. Sometimes the two meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes they are hesitant to become involved because they believe that they do not like each other, because one of them already has a partner. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are, in fact, attracted to each other, the protagonists often separate or seek time apart to sort out their feelings or deal with the external obstacles to their being together. While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them realizes that they are ideal for each other, or that they are in love with each other. Then, after one of the two makes some effort to find the other person and declare their love, or through an astonishing coincidental encounter. Then, perhaps with some comic friction or awkwardness, they declare their love for each other, the couple does not, however, have to marry, or live together happily ever after. The ending of a comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in its protagonists lives. There are many variations on this basic plotline, sometimes, instead of the two lead characters ending up in each others arms, another love match will be made between one of the principal characters and a secondary character. Alternatively, the film may be a rumination on the impossibility of love, the basic format of a romantic comedy film can be found in much earlier sources, such as Shakespeare plays like Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Nights Dream. Some comedy films, such as Knocked Up, combine themes of romantic comedies and stoner comedies, often known as bromance, such films usually use sexual elements which bring the two characters together. Films in this genre include American Pie 2 and even Wedding Crashers, romantic comedies have begun to spread out of their conventional and traditional structure into other territory
10.
Miss Congeniality (film)
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In 1982, young Gracie Hart steps into playground fight to beat up a bully threatening a boy she likes. She goes to help her friend, but he feels humiliated being rescued by a girl, years later, Gracie is now a Special Agent for FBI. During a sting operation against Russian mobsters, she disobeys her superiors orders to save the mob boss from choking, causing one of the agents to be shot. She is demoted to a job as punishment. Some time later, the agency learns of a threat at the upcoming 75th annual Miss United States beauty pageant in San Antonio. One of Gracies suggestions is to plant an agent undercover at the event, Eric determines that most of the other male agents on his team would be too immature and chauvinistic, and suggests Gracie take on that role. Beauty pageant coach Victor Melling, whose reputation was ruined after his last contestant criticized his methods, teaches the tomboyish Gracie how to dress, walk, though initially appalled by the antifeminist pageant, she comes to appreciate Victors methods. Gracie is entered as Gracie Lou Freebush, representing her state of New Jersey. Though she is scorned by most of the contestants, Gracie becomes friends with Miss Rhode Island. As the competition begins, Gracie impresses the judges with her glass harp skills, Gracie comes to believe Kathy is The Citizen. Gracie convinces Eric that she suspects something is wrong. In the final round, Gracie is stunned when she is awarded the 1st Runner Up prize. Cheryl is named Miss United States, but as she goes to accept the tiara, Gracie recognizes that Frank, suspecting foul play, she stops the crowning ceremony in time, as the tiara contained an explosive. As Kathy and Frank are arrested, Gracie determines that the two wanted to kill the pageant winner on stage as revenge for Kathys termination from the competition. As the event closes down and Gracie and Eric prepare to return to headquarters with a newfound interest in each other, the other contestants name Gracie as Miss Congeniality. Scenes showing the exterior of the St. Regis Hotel, and a few scenes, were shot on location in New York. However, most of the movie was shot in Austin, Texas. The film has a 42% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a metascore of 43 at Metacritic, the New York Times described it as a standard-issue fish-out-of-water comedy which seems happily, deliberately second-rate, as if its ideal audience consisted of weary airline passengers
11.
Forces of Nature
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Forces of Nature is a 1999 romantic comedy film, directed by Bronwen Hughes, and starring Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock. Ben Holmes is a blurb writer responsible for writing the short introductions on the sleeves of hardcover books, on his way from his home in New York City to Savannah, Georgia for his wedding to Bridget, hes already anxious about flying. His nerves are worsened when hes seated next to Sarah, a drifter who begins to talk to Ben immediately. On takeoff, a bird flies into one of the engines, now completely afraid to fly, Ben reluctantly agrees to travel with Sarah, who also needs to get to Savannah within a few days. During the course of their trip, luck seems to want to prevent them getting to their destination — from being on the wrong car of a train to getting caught in various thunderstorms. However, Ben is impressed by Sarahs fun-loving personality, and starts to form a bond with her. Upon arrival, Ben and Bridget still agree to get married since they realize even after everything that has happened, Sarah witnesses the reconciliation and sneaks away to go find her son and move on with her life. Forces of Nature at the Internet Movie Database Forces of Nature at AllMovie Forces of Nature at Rotten Tomatoes Forces of Nature at Box Office Mojo
12.
Modern liberalism in the United States
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Modern American liberalism is the dominant version of liberalism in the United States. It is characterized by social liberalism, and combines ideas of liberty and equality with support for social justice. The term modern liberalism in this article refers only to the United States, in a global context, this philosophy is usually referred to as social liberalism. The American modern liberal philosophy strongly endorses public spending on such as education, health care. Important social issues today include addressing inequality, voting rights for minorities, affirmative action, reproductive and other rights, support for LGBT rights. American liberals oppose conservatives on most issues, but not all, Modern liberalism is historically related to social liberalism and progressivism, though the current relationship between liberal and progressive viewpoints is debated. John F. Kennedy defined a liberal as follows, keynesian economic theory has played an important role in the economic philosophy of modern American liberals. Modern American liberals generally believe that national prosperity requires government management of the macroeconomy, in order to keep unemployment low, inflation in check and they also value institutions that defend against economic inequality. In The Conscience of a Liberal Paul Krugman writes, I believe in an equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law and that makes me a liberal, and Im proud of it. Liberals often point to the prosperity enjoyed under a mixed economy in the years since World War II. They believe liberty exists when access to necessities like health care and economic opportunity are available to all, Modern American liberalism is typically associated with the Democratic Party, as modern American conservatism is typically associated with the Republican Party. Today the word liberalism is used differently in different countries, one of the greatest contrasts is between the usage in the United States and usage in Europe. According to Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Liberalism in the American usage has little in common with the word as used in the politics of any European country, save possibly Britain. In Europe, liberalism, usually means what is called classical liberalism, a commitment to limited government, laissez-faire economics. This classical liberalism sometimes more closely corresponds to the American definition of libertarianism, in the United States, the general term liberalism will almost always refer to modern liberalism, a more social variant of classical liberalism. A2015 Gallup poll found that liberal views have consistently been on the rise in America since 1999. As of 2015, there is an equal number of socially liberal Americans and socially conservative Americans
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Lawyer
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A lawyer is a person who practices law, as an advocate, barrister, attorney, counselor or solicitor or chartered legal executive. The role of the lawyer varies greatly across legal jurisdictions, in practice, legal jurisdictions exercise their right to determine who is recognized as being a lawyer. As a result, the meaning of the lawyer may vary from place to place. In Australia, the lawyer is used to refer to both barristers and solicitors. In Canada, the word lawyer refers to individuals who have been called to the bar or. Common law lawyers in Canada are formally and properly called barristers and solicitors, however, in Quebec, civil law advocates often call themselves attorney and sometimes barrister and solicitor in English. The Legal Services Act 2007 defines the activities that may only be performed by a person who is entitled to do so pursuant to the Act. Lawyer is not a protected title, in India, the term lawyer is often colloquially used, but the official term is advocate as prescribed under the Advocates Act,1961. In Scotland, the word refers to a more specific group of legally trained people. It specifically includes advocates and solicitors, in a generic sense, it may also include judges and law-trained support staff. In the United States, the term refers to attorneys who may practice law. It is never used to refer to patent agents or paralegals, in fact, there are regulatory restrictions on non-lawyers like paralegals practicing law. Other nations tend to have terms for the analogous concept. In most countries, particularly civil law countries, there has been a tradition of giving many legal tasks to a variety of civil law notaries, clerks, and scriveners. Several countries that originally had two or more legal professions have since fused or united their professions into a type of lawyer. Most countries in this category are common law countries, though France, in countries with fused professions, a lawyer is usually permitted to carry out all or nearly all the responsibilities listed below. Arguing a clients case before a judge or jury in a court of law is the province of the barrister in England. However, the boundary between barristers and solicitors has evolved, in England today, the barrister monopoly covers only appellate courts, and barristers must compete directly with solicitors in many trial courts
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New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
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Real estate
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Also, the business of real estate, the profession of buying, selling, or renting land, buildings or housing. It is a term used in jurisdictions whose legal system is derived from English common law, such as India, the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Pakistan, Australia. Residential real estate may contain either a family or multifamily structure. Residences can be classified by, if, and how they are connected to neighbouring residences, different types of housing tenure can be used for the same physical type. For example, connected residents might be owned by an entity and leased out. Major categories in North America and Europe Attached / multi-unit dwellings Apartment or Flat – An individual unit in a multi-unit building, the boundaries of the apartment are generally defined by a perimeter of locked or lockable doors. Often seen in apartment buildings. Multi-family house – Often seen in multi-story detached buildings, where each floor is an apartment or unit. Terraced house – A number of single or multi-unit buildings in a row with shared walls. Condominium – Building or complex, similar to apartments, owned by individuals, common grounds and common areas within the complex are owned and shared jointly. There are townhouse or rowhouse style condominiums as well, semi-detached dwellings Duplex – Two units with one shared wall. Single-family detached house Portable dwellings Mobile homes – Potentially a full-time residence which can be movable on wheels, houseboats – A floating home Tents – Usually very temporary, with roof and walls consisting only of fabric-like material. The size of an apartment or house can be described in square feet or meters, in the United States, this includes the area of living space, excluding the garage and other non-living spaces. It can be described roughly by the number of rooms. A studio apartment has a bedroom with no living room. A one-bedroom apartment has a living or dining room separate from the bedroom, Two bedroom, three bedroom, and larger units are common. Major categories in India and the Asian Subcontinent Co-operative Housing Societies Condominiums Chawls Villas Havelis The size is measured in Gaz, Quila, Marla, Beegha, and acre. See List of house types for a listing of housing types and layouts, real estate trends for shifts in the market
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Coney Island
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The site was formerly an outer barrier island but became partially connected to the rest of Long Island by land fill. Coney Island is well known as the site of amusement parks, the attractions reached a historical peak during the first half of the 20th century, declining in popularity after World War II and years of neglect. Coney Island is the westernmost part of the islands of Long Island. At its highest it is 7 feet above sea level, the perimeter of Coney Island features man made structures designed to maintain its current shape. The beaches are not a natural feature with replenishing sand being cut off by the jetty at Breezy Point. Sand has been redeposited on the beaches via beach nourishment since 1922-1923, the first such project ever, Sheepshead Bay on the east side is, for the most part, enclosed in bulkheads. The original Native American inhabitants of the region, the Lenape and this name has been attributed the meaning of land without shadows or always in light describing how its south facing beaches always remained in sunlight. A second meaning attributed to Narrioch is point or corner of land, the Dutch established the colony of Nieuw Amsterdam in that area in the early 17th century. The western most island was Coney Island, a 1.25 mile shifting sandspit with an island at its western end extending into Lower New York Bay. East of Coney was originally a peninsula called Coney Hook but in 1750 a canal was dug through the Coney Hook salt-marsh from Brown’s creek east to Hubbard’s creek. This connection to the waterways behind the islands allowed shipping traffic to travel from Jamaica Bay to New York Harbor without having to venture out into the ocean, the canal turned Coney Hook into a detached half mile long island called Pine Island, due to the woods on it. East of Pine was the largest section of island called Gysberts or Guisberts Island, containing most of the land and extending east through todays Brighton Beach. Each island was separated by an inlet that could only be crossed at low tide, Development of the island was slow over the period of the Dutch occupation up through the early 1800s due to land disputes and the intervening Revolutionary War and War of 1812. By the early 1800s there were only a handful of farms across the entire island. There is no historical consensus on how the island got the name Coney Island, a name, in the form of Conyne Eylandt. Development on Coney Island has always been controversial, when the first structures were built around the 1830s, there was an outcry to prevent any development on the island and preserve it as a natural park. Starting in the early 1900s, the City of New York made efforts to all buildings. It was an effort to reclaim the beach which by then had almost completely built over with bath houses, clam bars, amusements
17.
Community centre
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Community centres or community centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the community or for a specialized group within the greater community. Examples of community centres for groups include, Christian community centres, Islamic community centres, Jewish community centres. Community centres generally perform many the following functions in its community, as the place for all-community celebrations at various occasions and traditions. As the place for meetings of the citizens on various issues. As the place where politicians or other official leaders come to meet the citizens and ask for their opinions, as a place where community members meet each other socially. As a place housing local clubs and volunteer activities, as a place that community members, can rent cheaply when a private family function or party is too big for their own home. For instance the non-church parts of weddings, funerals etc, as a place that passes on and retells local history. As a place where local non-government activities are organized, as a place where indoor circuses can entertain the paying public. Around the world appear to be four common ways in which the operation of the kind of community centre are owned and organized. Kominkan Sponsored, A rich citizen or commercial corporation owns the place, commercial, The community centre is a purely commercial entity which profit from renting its facilities to various community groups on terms suitable for such use. Each individual community centre typically has its own peculiar origin and history, buildings have been erected specifically to function as community centres at least as far back as the 1880, perhaps even earlier. When an official government building is no longer needed for its purpose, it is sometimes offered to the community as gift. When a commercial building of local importance is no longer used. Building that served many of the community centre purposes in addition to a different primary use, early forms of community centres in the United States were based in schools providing facilities to inner city communities out of school hours. An early celebrated example of this is to be found in Rochester, edward J. Ward, a Presbyterian minister, joined the Extension Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, organizing the Wisconsin Bureau of Civic and Social Development. By 1911 they organized a conference on schools as social centres. Despite concerns expressed by politicians and public officials that they provide a focus for alternative political and social activity
18.
Harvard University
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Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, james Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College, Harvards $34.5 billion financial endowment is the largest of any academic institution. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university, the nominal cost of attendance is high, but the Universitys large endowment allows it to offer generous financial aid packages. Harvards alumni include eight U. S. presidents, several heads of state,62 living billionaires,359 Rhodes Scholars. To date, some 130 Nobel laureates,18 Fields Medalists, Harvard was formed in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1638, it obtained British North Americas first known printing press, in 1639 it was named Harvard College after deceased clergyman John Harvard an alumnus of the University of Cambridge who had left the school £779 and his scholars library of some 400 volumes. The charter creating the Harvard Corporation was granted in 1650 and it offered a classic curriculum on the English university model—many leaders in the colony had attended the University of Cambridge—but conformed to the tenets of Puritanism. It was never affiliated with any denomination, but many of its earliest graduates went on to become clergymen in Congregational. The leading Boston divine Increase Mather served as president from 1685 to 1701, in 1708, John Leverett became the first president who was not also a clergyman, which marked a turning of the college toward intellectual independence from Puritanism. When the Hollis Professor of Divinity David Tappan died in 1803 and the president of Harvard Joseph Willard died a year later, in 1804, in 1846, the natural history lectures of Louis Agassiz were acclaimed both in New York and on the campus at Harvard College. Agassizs approach was distinctly idealist and posited Americans participation in the Divine Nature, agassizs perspective on science combined observation with intuition and the assumption that a person can grasp the divine plan in all phenomena. When it came to explaining life-forms, Agassiz resorted to matters of shape based on an archetype for his evidence. Charles W. Eliot, president 1869–1909, eliminated the position of Christianity from the curriculum while opening it to student self-direction. While Eliot was the most crucial figure in the secularization of American higher education, he was motivated not by a desire to secularize education, during the 20th century, Harvards international reputation grew as a burgeoning endowment and prominent professors expanded the universitys scope. Rapid enrollment growth continued as new schools were begun and the undergraduate College expanded. Radcliffe College, established in 1879 as sister school of Harvard College, Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. In the early 20th century, the student body was predominately old-stock, high-status Protestants, especially Episcopalians, Congregationalists, by the 1970s it was much more diversified
19.
Resignation
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A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting ones office or position. A resignation can occur when a holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down. When an employee chooses to leave a position, it is considered a resignation, as opposed to involuntary termination, abdication is the equivalent of resignation of a reigning monarch or pope, or other holder of a non-political, hereditary or similar position. A resignation is a decision to exit a position, though outside pressure exists in many cases. Arroyos predecessor, Joseph Estrada, was forced out of office during the EDSA Revolution of 2001 as he faced the first impeachment trial held in the countrys history. Having resigned, he again and was re-elected. He continued to serve as minister until he was defeated in 1997 elections. Although government officials may tender their resignations, they are not always accepted, in academia, a university president or the editor of a scientific journal may also resign, particularly in cases where an idea which runs counter to the mainstream is being promoted. In a club, society, or other voluntary association, a member may resign from a position in that organization or even from the organization itself. In Roberts Rules of Order, this is called a request to be excused from a duty, a resignation may also be withdrawn. Lists of resignations Resignation from the United States Senate Request to be excused from a duty
20.
Katheryn Winnick
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Katheryn Winnick is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles in Amusement, Bones, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Vikings, Winnick was born in Etobicoke, Ontario and is of Ukrainian descent. She spoke Ukrainian as her first language and did not begin speaking English until she was eight years old and she began training in martial arts at age seven, and obtained her first black belt at 13. By age 21, she had started three martial arts schools, Winnick has appeared in many films, including Stand Up Guys, Failure to Launch, Love and Other Drugs, and Killers. In her role on Bones, she portrays Hannah Burley, a war correspondent who had posted to cover the war in Afghanistan. Winnick starred in the comedy-drama film Cold Souls, which had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2009. In 2011, Winnick was cast in a guest role on The CWs spy drama Nikita, in 2013, she starred in A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III and appeared in the comedy The Art of the Steal. She also joined History Channels Vikings, starring in the role of Lagertha, katheryn Winnick at the Internet Movie Database
21.
Norah Jones
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Norah Jones is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Throughout her career, Jones has won awards and has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. Billboard named her the top jazz artist of the 2000–2009 decade and she has won nine Grammy Awards and was 60th on Billboard magazines artists of the 2000–2009 decade chart. In 2002, Jones launched her music career with the release of Come Away with Me. It was certified diamond, selling over 26 million copies, the record earned Jones five Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist. They were also well received by critics. Jones fifth studio album, Little Broken Hearts, was released on April 27,2012, Jones is the daughter of Indian sitar player and composer Ravi Shankar, and half-sister of fellow musician Anoushka Shankar. Jones was born Geetali Norah Shankar on March 30,1979 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, to American concert producer Sue Jones, after her parents separated in 1986, Shankar lived with her mother, growing up in Grapevine, Texas. She attended Colleyville Middle School and Grapevine High School before transferring to Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing, while in high school, she sang in the school choir, participated in band, and played the alto saxophone. At the age of sixteen, with parents consent, she officially changed her name to Norah Jones. Jones always had an affinity for the music of Bill Evans and Billie Holiday and she once said, My mom had this eight-album Billie Holiday set, I picked out one disc that I liked and played that over and over again. As a child, Jones began singing in church and also took piano and she considers herself spiritual and appreciates the rituals of her church but does not consider herself deeply religious. She attended Interlochen Center for the Arts during the summers, while at high school, she won the Down Beat Student Music Awards for Best Jazz Vocalist and Best Original Composition. Jones attended the University of North Texas, where she majored in jazz piano, during this time, she had a chance meeting with future collaborator Jesse Harris. She gave a ride to a band playing at the university whose members happened to be friends of Harris and he was on a cross-country road-trip with friend and future Little Willies member Richard Julian, and stopped to see the band play. After meeting Jones, Harris started sending her lead sheets of his songs, in 1999, Jones left Texas for New York City. Less than a later, she started a band with Harris. As artist Peter Malick states in the notes, I started looking for a singer who could record for me
22.
Mike Piazza
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Michael Joseph Piazza /piːˈɑːtsə/ is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1992–2007. Piazza was drafted by the Dodgers in the 1988 MLB draft as a favor from Tommy Lasorda to Piazzas father, initially a first baseman, Piazza converted to catcher in the minor leagues at Lasordas suggestion to improve his chances of being promoted. He made his league debut in 1992 and the following year was named the National League Rookie of the Year and was an All-Star for the first of 10 consecutive seasons. Piazza immediately impressed with his ability to hit for power and average. His best year as a Dodger came in 1997 when he batted.362, hit 40 home runs, in 1998, he was traded to the Marlins and then a week later to the Mets, with whom he spent most of the remainder of his career. He helped the Mets reach the 2000 World Series, the only World Series appearance of his career, after the 2005 season, Piazza left the Mets to play one season each for the Padres and Athletics before retiring after the 2007 season. Piazza is regarded as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball history and he had at least one RBI in 15 consecutive games for the Mets in 2000, the second-longest RBI streak ever. In 2013, the Mets inducted Piazza into the New York Mets Hall of Fame, in 2016, Piazza was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Met, receiving 83% of the vote. Mike Piazza is owner of the Italian soccer team A. C. Reggiana 1919, Piazza was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and attended Phoenixville High School. He is of Italian and Slovak ancestry, and is the second-oldest son of Vince and Veronica, with brothers Vince Jr. Danny, Tony, Mike grew up a Philadelphia Phillies fan, and admiring Hall of Fame Third baseman Mike Schmidt. Vince Piazza earned a fortune of more than $100 million in used cars and real estate, Vince Piazzas own hopes of playing baseball had ended at the age of 16 when he left school to support his family. He saw that Mike Piazza had potential in the sport, when he was 12, Piazza received personal instruction in his backyard batting cage from Ted Williams. The Hall of Famer praised his talent, advised him not to let anyone change his swing and he attended Phoenixville Area High School and graduated in 1986. Piazza became an excellent hitter, especially for a catcher and his MLB debut came with the Dodgers on September 1,1992, against the Chicago Cubs. He drew a walk in his first plate appearance and then doubled to center field in his first official at-bat. He hit his first home run on September 12,1992 and he only appeared in 21 games that season, hitting.232. He won the NL MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1993 after appearing in 149 games, hitting.318, slugging 35 home runs and he was also selected to the 1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his first of 10 consecutive All-Star appearances. Until Joc Pederson passed him in 2015, Piazzas 18 home runs before the All Star break was a Dodgers rookie record, in 1996, Piazza hit.336 with 36 home runs and 105 RBIs, finishing second in MVP voting, behind Ken Caminiti
23.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
24.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
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The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers is a 2002 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson and based on the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkiens novel The Lord of the Rings. It is the installment in The Lord of the Rings film series. Continuing the plot of The Fellowship of the Ring, the film intercuts three storylines, Frodo and Sam continue their journey towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring, meeting and joined by Gollum, the rings former owner. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli come to the nation of Rohan and are reunited with the resurrected Gandalf. Merry and Pippin escape capture, meet Treebeard the Ent, meeting high critical acclaim, the film was an enormous box-office success, earning over $926 million worldwide and is currently the 39th highest-grossing film of all time. The film won accolades and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee continue their journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring by throwing it into Mount Doom and they are attacked in the night by Gollum, former owner of the Ring, but they capture him. Sympathising with Gollum for their shared burden, Frodo asks Gollum to lead them safely to Mordor, meanwhile, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue the Uruk-hai who kidnapped their friends Merry and Pippin. The Uruk-hai are slaughtered by the Rohirrim army of Rohan, Aragorn’s group later meet the Rohirrim who have been banished by their king Théoden, who is manipulated by Saruman’s servant Grima Wormtongue. Tracking the Hobbits in Fangorn, Aragorn’s group encounter a resurrected Gandalf who perished in Moria, Gollum leads Frodo and Sam through the Dead Marshes while evading the Nazgûl. They reach the Black Gate to Mordor but Gollum stops them, saying its too risky, the trio later are captured by the Rangers of Ithilien, led by Faramir, brother of the late Boromir. When Faramir discovers Frodo has the Ring, he intends on taking him to Gondor, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli travel to Rohan’s capital Edoras where Gandalf releases Théoden from Saruman’s power and Wormtongue is banished. Aragorn strikes up a friendship with Théoden’s niece Éowyn who quickly falls in love with him, during a Warg attack, Aragorn falls off a cliff into a river, but is found by his horse and taken to Helm’s Deep. In Fangorn, Merry and Pippin attend an Ent council but learn Treebeard and they convince them otherwise when they show the destruction Saruman has unleashed on the forests around Isengard. The Ents storm Isengard, and release the dam placed upon the nearby river, the Uruk-hai army arrive at Helm’s Deep, finding a makeshift army of civilians and Elves from Rivendell waiting for them. A great battle follows with Théoden losing hope until Aragorn convinces him to ride out, Gandalf and the Rohirrim arrive, turning the tide of the battle and destroying the Uruk-hai. Frodo, Sam, and Gollum are taken to the fallen Gondor city Osgiliath but they are attacked by the Nazgûl, Sam informs Faramir of how the Ring nearly drove Boromir mad, stunning Faramir. Frodo is nearly captured by the Nazgûl but Sam tackles him down a flight of stairs, after the attack ends, Faramir frees the trio and sends them on their way
25.
Box Office Mojo
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Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way, founded in 1999. In 2008, Box Office Mojo was bought by the Internet Movie Database, the website is widely used within the film industry as a source of data. From 2002–11, Box Office Mojo had forums popular with film fans, on October 10,2014, the websites URL was redirected to Amazons IMDB. com website for one day, but the website returned the following day without explanation. Brandon Gray began the site in 1999, in 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury and grew the site to nearly two million readers. In July 2008, the company was purchased by Amazon. com through its subsidiary, Box Office Mojo had forums with more than 16,500 registered users. On November 2,2011 the forums were closed along with any user accounts. Tracking is still very closely to the day by day, actual tabulation of distributors. The site also creates an overall chart, combining all box office returns from around the world, excluding the United States. The overall weekend chart currently tracks the Top 40 films as well as approximately fifty additional films with no ranking, the site additionally has yearly and all time features for its various territories. Box Office Mojo was as of June 2009 reporting limited data from overseas and is work on improvements, most of the international charts have not been updated since November 2014. On October 10,2014, all traffic to Box Office Mojo was redirected to IMDbs box office page, queries about the closure to IMDb and Amazon representatives were met with no response. Neither Brandon Gray, who founded the website but left several years ago after its sale to Amazon, nor Ray Subers, on Ray Subers Twitter account, he revealed the websites return, but also stated he would not answer any questions pertaining to closure. Subers subsequently left the website seven months later
26.
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
27.
Turner Classic Movies
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Turner Classic Movies is an American movie-oriented basic cable and satellite television network owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner. TCM is headquartered at the Techwood Campus in Atlanta, Georgias Midtown business district, historically, the channels programming consisted mainly of featured classic theatrically released feature films from the Turner Entertainment film library – which comprises films from Warner Bros. However, TCM now has licensing deals with other Hollywood film studios as well as its Time Warner sister company, Warner Bros. and occasionally shows more recent films. The channel is available in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, France, Spain, Nordic countries, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. In 1986, eight years before the launch of Turner Classic Movies, concerns over Turner Entertainments corporate debt load resulted in Turner selling the studio that October back to Kirk Kerkorian, from whom Turner had purchased the studio less than a year before. As part of the deal, Turner Entertainment retained ownership of MGMs library of films released up to May 9,1986, Turner Broadcasting System was split into two companies, Turner Broadcasting System and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and reincorporated as MGM/UA Communications Co. The film library of Turner Entertainment would serve as the form of programming for TCM upon the networks launch. After the library was acquired, MGM/UA signed a deal with Turner to continue distributing the pre-May 1986 MGM and to begin distributing the pre-1950 Warner Bros. film libraries for video release. Turner Classic Movies debuted on April 14,1994, at 6,00 p. m. Eastern Time, the date and time were chosen for their historical significance as the exact centennial anniversary of the first public movie showing in New York City. The first movie broadcast on TCM was the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, at the time of its launch, TCM was available to approximately one million cable television subscribers. AMC had broadened its content to feature colorized and more recent films by 2002. In the early 90s AMC abandoned its format, leaving TCM as the only movie-oriented cable channel to devote its programming entirely to classic films without commercial interruption. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner, which besides placing Turner Classic Movies, in March 1999, MGM paid Warner Bros. and gave up the home video rights to the MGM/UA films owned by Turner to Warner Home Video. In 2008, TCM won a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting, in April 2010, Turner Classic Movies held the first TCM Classic Film Festival, an event – now held annually – at the Graumans Chinese Theater and the Graumans Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. In 2007, some of the films featured on TCM were made available for streaming on TCMs website. The networks programming season runs from February until the following March of each year when a retrospective of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated movies is shown, called 31 Days of Oscar. Turner Classic Movies presents many of its features in their original aspect ratio whenever possible – widescreen films broadcast on TCM are letterboxed on the standard definition feed. TCM also regularly presents widescreen presentations of films not available in the format on any video release
28.
AllMovie
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AllMovie is an online guide service website with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. As of 2013, AllMovie. com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by All Media Network, AllMovie was founded by popular-culture archivist Michael Erlewine, who also founded AllMusic and AllGame. The AllMovie database was licensed to tens of thousands of distributors and retailers for point-of-sale systems, websites, the AllMovie database is comprehensive, including basic product information, cast and production credits, plot synopsis, professional reviews, biographies, relational links and more. AllMovie data was accessed on the web at the AllMovie. com website and it was also available via the AMG LASSO media recognition service, which can automatically recognize DVDs. In late 2007, Macrovision acquired AMG for a reported $72 million, the AMG consumer facing web properties AllMusic. com, AllMovie. com and AllGame. com were sold by Rovi in August 2013 to All Media Network, LLC. The buyers also include the founders of SideReel and Ackrell Capital investor Mike Ackrell. All Media Network offices are located in San Francisco, California, AllMusic AllGame SideReel All Media Network Official website
29.
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
30.
Music and Lyrics
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Music and Lyrics is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence. It focuses on the relationship that evolves between a pop music idol and an aspiring writer as they struggle to compose a song for a reigning pop diva. During an unsuccessful attempt to come up with words for the song, he discovers that the woman who is temporarily watering his plants, Sophie Fisher, has a gift for writing lyrics. Sophie, a creative writing student reeling from a disastrous romance with her former English professor Sloan Cates who forgot to mention he had a fiancée. Alex cajoles her into helping him by using a few quickly-chosen phrases she has him as the basis for a song. Over the next few days, they grow closer while writing the words and music together, much to the delight of Sophies older sister Rhonda and she confronts him but finds herself tongue-tied in his presence, and Alexs own attempts to defend her result in a scuffle. Nursing their wounds back at Alexs apartment, Alex and Sophie fall into a romantic encounter. Sophie is later horrified when she finds Cora plans to record a sexy interpretation of Way Back into Love and she is determined to convince Cora to abandon the arrangement, but Alex vetoes her efforts for fear he will lose Coras goodwill. In the ensuing argument, he admits Coras version is awful, upset by Alexs willingness to demean his talent and extremely hurt by his argument that Sloan Cates was right about her personality, Sophie leaves him. Sophie, intending to start a new life in Florida, reluctantly attends the opening of Coras new tour at Madison Square Garden, at which Alex and Cora will debut Way Back Into Love. Touched, Sophie finds Alex backstage, and he confesses he convinced Cora to drop the risqué version of Way Back into Love in an attempt to win Sophie back. He and Cora perform the tune as he and Sophie intended it to be sung, leading to the two of them kissing. The end of the reveals that the song becomes a hit for Cora and Alex. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 62%, based on 172 reviews, the sites critical consensus reads, Music & Lyrics is a light and pleasant romantic comedy that succeeds because of the considerable charm of its co-stars. The music segments featuring Hugh Grant are worth the price of admission, on Metacritic the film has score of 59 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. Scott of The New York Times called the film the type of modern Hollywood production that aspires to nothing more than the competent dispensing of mild amusement, the writer and director, Marc Lawrence. Shows some imagination as he parodies the music-video styles of various eras, mr. Grant is at his best when he allows a hard glint of caddish narcissism to peek through his easy flirtatiousness, something he did in About a Boy and American Dreamz. There is not quite enough of that here, nor enough of the anarchic loopiness that Ms. Barrymore brought to roles opposite Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates, moreover, Music and Lyrics has virtues its predecessors lack
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Did You Hear About the Morgans?
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Did You Hear About the Morgans. is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed and written by Marc Lawrence. They are forced to enter into temporary witness protection, given new identities, supporting roles are played by Sam Elliott, Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen, Elisabeth Moss, and Wilford Brimley. It is the collaboration of Grant and Parker, following the 1996 film Extreme Measures. The film premiered in New York on December 14,2009 and it was released to the United States on December 18 and to most of Europe in January 2010. It received mostly negative reviews from critics, compiled ratings from the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an average rating of 3.5 out of 10. The film grossed $6,616,571 in its opening weekend, did You Hear About the Morgans. was the 70th most successful film worldwide for 2009. A successful Manhattan couple, lawyer Paul Michael Morgan and estate agent Meryl Judith Morgan, are separated due to Pauls infidelity, after dinner one night, Meryl and Paul witness the murder of one of Meryls real estate clients. As a result, they become targets of contract killer Vincent, Paul and Meryl are relocated to the small town of Ray, Wyoming and placed temporarily under the protection of husband and wife/sheriff and deputy, Clay and Emma Wheeler. For their own safety, they are permitted no outside contact via telephone or e-mail, meanwhile, neither of their assistants back in New York know their whereabouts. Vincent plants a bug at Meryls office and in her assistant Jackies purse, hoping to gain information, jackie attempts to call Meryl but Pauls assistant Adam stops her by kissing her, which she responds to by tasering him. Paul and Meryl go on a date in town and begin to reconcile, the next day, with Vincent in town unbeknownst to them, the Morgans anticipate leaving Ray for a permanent hiding place. The Wheelers invite them to a rodeo, but the Morgans are at loggerheads, leaving the Morgans without any form of security, the Wheelers leave for the rodeo. Vincent tries to attack the house but is accosted by a bear and they flee on horseback to the rodeo to seek help. Vincent follows them to the rodeo, they spot him and hide in a bull suit, however, they end up in the ring with a bull, which then charges them, injuring Meryl. Meryl, unable to walk, stays hidden from Vincent while Paul impulsively confronts him with a canister of bear repellent spray, Paul accidentally sprays himself in the face, alerting Vincent who then holds Paul at gun-point. The Morgans are rescued by the Wheelers and their new friends from the town, six months later, Paul and Meryl have repaired their marriage. They have a baby girl from China, named Rae in honor of the Wyoming town. The film was shot in New York City, Santa Fe, New Mexico, the film has received generally negative reviews
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The Rewrite
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The Rewrite is a 2014 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence. It stars Hugh Grant as a screenwriter who begins teaching at a state university. It began development at Castle Rock Entertainment in October 2012, the Rewrite premiered at a gala screening at the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 15,2014. The theatrical release in the United States was on February 13,2015, keith Michaels is a washed-up British screenwriter who won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay in 1998. Since then, he has divorced and, after a few unsuccessful films and he begins teaching a screenwriting course at Binghamton University in upstate New York and goes on a date with a student. Though, at first, he had no intention of actually teaching, the date ends badly and he almost loses the job that he realizes he likes, meanwhile, he finds he is in love with a single mother with whom he has been friendly. The project began development at Castle Rock Entertainment, in October 2012, actor Hugh Grant was cast in the films starring role. His casting marked the fourth collaboration between Lawrence, Castle Rock, and Grant and their previous films were Two Weeks Notice, Music and Lyrics, and Did You Hear About the Morgans. I love Marcs stuff, and made me laugh, he said, in the sort of marketed, Hallmark, Valentines Day sense — I find that repugnant. Here, the comedy part of it is only a small part. In November 2012, actor Marisa Tomei entered negotiations to star opposite Grant, in the following March, Bella Heathcote joined the cast. Variety reported, This film would give Heathcote some lighter material after breaking out in serious projects, referring to In Time, later in the month, Allison Janney, J. K. Simmons, and Chris Elliott joined the cast. Filming began in New York in April 2013, filmNation Entertainment handled sales of The Rewrites distribution in territories outside the United States. The film premiered at a screening at the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 15,2014. Distributor Lionsgate scheduled the film to be released in theaters in the United Kingdom on October 8,2014, on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 64%, based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. On Metacritic, which assigns a rating, the film has a score 51 out of 100, based on 17 critics. The Hollywood Reporters Elizabeth Kerr said The Rewrite was not groundbreaking as a romantic comedy, the film critic found that Grant embraces his maturity as an older version of his typical character but that Tomeis character was painfully underwritten. Kerr said the characters would be forgettable if the actors cast were not so strong
