|
The Polar Express (film)
''The Polar Express'' is a 2004 American animated Christmas by medium#Films, Christmas fantasy adventure film directed by Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote the screenplay with William Broyles Jr., based on the 1985 children's book The Polar Express, of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. It stars Tom Hanks (in multiple roles), Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, and Eddie Deezen. The film depicts human characters using live action and motion capture computer animation, with production sequences for the latter taking place from June 2003 to May 2004. Set on Christmas Eve, it tells the story of a young boy who sees a mysterious train bound for the North Pole stop outside his window and is invited aboard by its conductor. He joins other children as they embark on a journey to visit Santa Claus, who is preparing for Christmas. ''The Polar Express'' premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 13, 2004, and was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influential movies, often blending cutting-edge visual effects with storytelling. He has received several accolades including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for five British Academy Film Awards and a Daytime Emmy Award. Zemeckis started his career directing the comedy films ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand (film), I Wanna Hold Your Hand'' (1978), ''Used Cars'' (1980), and ''Romancing the Stone'' (1984). He gained prominence directing the science-fiction comedy ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' trilogy (1985–1990), the fantasy comedy ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988), and the comedy-drama ''Forrest Gump'' (1994), the latter of which won Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture and Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director. He has also directed the satirical black comedy ''Death B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adventure Film
The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in that the genre required a setting that was both remote in time and space to the film audience and that it contained a positive hero who tries to make right in their world. Some critics such as Taves limit the genre to naturalistic settings, while Yvonne Tasker found that would limit films such as '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981) from the genre. Tasker found that most films in the genre featured narratives located within a fantasy world of exoticized setting, which are often driven by quests for characters seeking mythical objects or treasure hunting. The genre is closely associated with the action film, and is sometimes used interchangeably or in tandem with that genre. The setting and visuals are key elements of adventure films. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emergency Brake (train)
On trains, the expression emergency brake has several meanings: * The ''maximum'' brake force available to the engine driver from the conventional braking system, usually operated by taking the brake handle to its furthest position, through a gate mechanism, or by pushing a separate plunger in the cab. * A completely separate mechanism from the conventional braking system, designed to stop the train as quickly as possible. * A handle or plunger which may be applied by a passenger in an emergency, either stopping the train directly or sending an alarm to the driver so that they can stop the train. Industry vernacular for when the emergency brake is applied is go into emergency, as in phrases like "the train may fail to go into emergency" or "the ability of the train to go into emergency is paramount". The emergency brake applies considerably more braking force than the standard full-service brake. The engine driver or motorman will only use the emergency brake as a last resort, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities in Michigan, second-most populous city in Michigan. The Grand Rapids metropolitan area has a population of 1.16 million and a combined statistical area population of 1.5 million. Grand Rapids is situated along the Grand River (Michigan), Grand River approximately east of Lake Michigan and is the economic and cultural hub of West Michigan. A historic furniture manufacturing center, Grand Rapids is home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies and is nicknamed "Furniture City". As a result of the numerous micro and craft breweries, many with notable reputations nationally such as Founders and New Holland which are known globally, Grand Rapids is also known as "Beer City USA". Due to the prominence of the Grand River, many l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter (; August 26, 1952 – March 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his career on stage and screen, Jeter played diverse characters. He won a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. He portrayed Herman Stiles on the sitcom '' Evening Shade'' from 1990 until 1994. Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. He studied at Memphis State University and later pursued a career in acting. He made his Broadway debut acting in the musical '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1979), followed by '' G. R. Point''. For his role as Otto Kringelein in the musical '' Grand Hotel'' (1989) he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Jeter also portrayed Giuseppe Zangara in the musical '' Assassins'' (1989). Jeter gained fame for his roles in ''The Fisher King'' (1991) and '' The Green Mile'' (1999). His other notable film roles include in ''Zelig'' (1983), '' Miller's Crossing'' (1990), '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' (1993), '' Air Bud'' (1997), ''Mouse Hunt'' (1997), '' Pat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. Sir Hugh Beaver created the concept, and twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter co-founded the book in London in August 1955. The first edition topped the bestseller list in the United Kingdom by Christmas 1955. The following year the book was launched internationally, and as of the 2025 edition, it is now in its 70th year of publication, published in 100 countries and 40 languages, and maintains over 53,000 records in its database. The international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. The popularity of the franchise has resulted in ''Guinness World Records'' becoming the primary international source for cata ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Claus
Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. Christmas elves are said to make the gifts in Santa's workshop, while flying reindeer pull his sleigh through the air. The popular conception of Santa Claus originates from folklore traditions surrounding the 4th-century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas became renowned for his reported generosity and secret gift-giving. The image of Santa Claus shares similarities with the English figure of Father Christmas, and they are both now popularly regarded as the same person. Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white- bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, a red hat trimmed with white fur, a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the North magnetic pole, Magnetic North Pole. The North Pole is by definition the northernmost point on the Earth, lying antipode (geography), antipodally to the South Pole. It defines geodetic latitude 90° North, as well as the direction of true north. At the North Pole all directions point south; all lines of longitude converge there, so its longitude can be defined as any degree value. No time zone has been assigned to the North Pole, so any time can be used as the local time. Along tight latitude circles, counterclockwise is east and clockwise is west. The North Pole is at the center of the Northern Hemisphere. The nearest land is usually said to be Kaffeklubben Island, off the northern coast of Greenland about away, though ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western world, Western society. Christmas celebrations in the Christian denomination, denominations of Western Christianity have long begun on Christmas Eve, due in part to the Christian liturgical day starting at sunset, a practice inherited from Jewish tradition, and based on the Genesis creation narrative, story of Creation in the Book of Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day." Many churches still ring their church bells and hold Christian prayer, prayers in the evening; for example, the Nordic Lutheran churches. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motion Capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robots. In films, television shows and video games, motion capture refers to recording actions of Motion-capture acting, human actors and using that information to animate Character animation, digital character models in 2D or 3D computer animation. When it includes face and fingers or captures subtle expressions, it is often referred to as performance capture. In many fields, motion capture is sometimes called motion tracking, but in filmmaking and games, motion tracking usually refers more to match moving. In motion capture sessions, movements of one or more actors are sampled many times per second. Whereas early techniques used 3D reconstruction from multiple images, ima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live Action
Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or similar visual media. Photorealistic animation, particularly modern computer animation, is sometimes erroneously described as "live action", as in the case of some media reports about Disney's remake of the traditionally animated '' The Lion King'' from 1994. According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, live action involves "real people or animals, not models, or images that are drawn, or produced by computer". Overview As the normal process of making visual media involves live action, the term itself is usually superfluous. However, it makes an important distinction in situations in which one might normally expect animation, such as when the work is adapted from a video game, or from an animated cartoon. The phrase "live action ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Deezen
Edward Deezen (born March 6, 1957) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his roles as " nerd" characters in films including '' Grease'', ''Grease 2'', '' Midnight Madness'', ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand'', ''1941'', '' Million Dollar Mystery'' and '' WarGames''. He has had larger starring roles in independent films such as '' Surf II'', '' Mob Boss'', '' Beverly Hills Vamp'', and '' Teenage Exorcist''. Deezen is also a prolific voice actor, whose more notable characters include Mandark in the Cartoon Network series '' Dexter's Laboratory'', Snipes the Magpie in '' Rock-a-Doodle'', Ned in ''Kim Possible'', and the Know-It-All Kid in '' The Polar Express''. Early life Deezen was born to Jewish parents Irma (née Calet) and Robert Dezen in Cumberland, Maryland. His parents owned a jewelry store. A class clown in his youth, Deezen aspired to become a stand-up comedian. Deezen graduated from Allegany High School in 1975. Days after his matriculation Deezen moved to Los Ange ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
