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Ashley Boone
Ashley Augustus Boone, Jr. (1938–1994) was an American marketing and distribution executive in the film industry. He was the first black president of a major Hollywood studio, and he played a critical role in the launch of Star Wars, the most successful movie franchise ever. Since 2012, the African American Film Critics Association has awarded the Ashley Boone Award to outstanding African-American entertainment executives. Life In 1960, Boone graduated from Brandeis University, and was later offered a position at United Artists by Brandeis trustee Robert Benjamin. In 1964, Boone began marketing films, through UA's international brand, where he oversaw releases such as '' Lilies of the Field'' (1963), ''Tom Jones'' (1963), and multiple James Bond films. Afterwards he had marketing jobs in CBS' film division, Sidney Poitier's production company, and for Motown mogul Berry Gordy, before arriving in 1974 at 20th Century Fox. Boone helped the success of movies such as Best Pict ...
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Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Brandeis was established on the site of the former Middlesex University (Massachusetts), Middlesex University. The university is named after Louis Brandeis, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Brandeis is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. The university has been a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) since 1985. In 2018, it had a total enrollment of 5,820 students on a campus of . The university has a liberal arts focus. List of Brandeis Univ ...
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Sounder (film)
''Sounder'' is a 1972 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt and adapted by Lonne Elder III from the 1969 novel by William H. Armstrong. The story concerns an African-American sharecropper family in Louisiana who struggle with economic and personal hardships during the Great Depression. It stars Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, and Kevin Hooks. Taj Mahal composed the film's blues-inspired soundtrack, and also appears in a supporting role. The film was both a critical and commercial success, and the National Board of Review ranked it as one of the Top 10 best films of 1972. Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield both received Oscar nominations for their performances, and the film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Taj Mahal's score was nominated for a BAFTA and Grammy Award, and 13-year old Hooks earned a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer – Male. In 2006, the American Film Institute ranked the film #61 on their list of the most i ...
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The Right Stuff (film)
''The Right Stuff'' is a 1983 American epic historical drama film written and directed by Philip Kaufman and based on the 1979 book of the same name by Tom Wolfe. The film follows the Navy, Marine, and Air Force test pilots who were involved in aeronautical research at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as well as the Mercury Seven, the seven military pilots who were selected to be the astronauts for Project Mercury, the first human spaceflight by the United States. The film stars Sam Shepard, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Fred Ward, Dennis Quaid, Barbara Hershey and Kim Stanley (in her final film); Levon Helm narrates and plays Air Force test pilot Jack Ridley. ''The Right Stuff'' was a box-office bomb, grossing about $21 million (domestically) against a $27 million budget. However, it received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for eight Oscars at the 56th Academy Awards, four of which it won. The film was a huge success on the home video market. In 2013, it was s ...
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Columbia Studios
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film production and distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures, which is one of the "Big Five" film studios and a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. On June 19, 1918, brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and their business partner Joe Brandt founded the studio as Cohn-Brandt-Cohn (CBC) Film Sales Corporation. It adopted the Columbia Pictures name on January 10, 1924 (operating as Columbia Pictures Corporation until December 23, 1968), went public two years later, and eventually began to use the image of Columbia, the female personification of the United States, as its logo. In its early years, Columbia was a minor player in Hollywood, but began to grow in the late 1920s, spurred by a successful association with director Frank Capra. With Capra and others such as the most suc ...
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Chariots Of Fire
''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Summer Olympics, 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish people, Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice. Ian Charleson and Ben Cross star as Liddell and Abrahams, alongside Nigel Havers, Ian Holm, John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, Cheryl Campbell, Alice Krige, Brad Davis (actor), Brad Davis and Dennis Christopher in supporting roles. Kenneth Branagh and Stephen Fry make their debuts in minor roles. ''Chariots of Fire'' was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four, including Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay and Academy Award for Best Original Score, Best Original Score for Vang ...
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The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas. The sequel to ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'' (1977), it is the second film in the ''Star Wars'' film series and the fifth chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set three years after the events of ''Star Wars'', the film recounts the battle between the malevolent Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Galactic Empire, led by the Palpatine, Emperor, and the Rebel Alliance, led by Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. As the Empire goes on the offensive, Luke trains to master the Force so he can confront the Emperor's powerful disciple, Darth Vader. The ensemble cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker (English actor), Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhe ...
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The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly Wide-format printer, large-format print magazine with a revamped website. As of 2020, the day-to-day operations of the company are handled by Penske Media Corporation through a joint venture with Eldridge Industries. The magazine also sponsors and hosts major industry events. History Foundation and early years ''The Hollywood Reporter'' was founded in 1930 by William R. Wilkerson, William R. "Billy" Wilkerson (1890–1962) as Hollywood's first daily entertainment trade newspaper. The first edition appeared on September 3, 1930, and featured Wilkerson's front-page "Tradeviews" column, which became influential. The newspaper appeared Monday-to-Saturday for the first 10 years, except for a brief period, t ...
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Star Wars (film)
''Star Wars'' (later retitled ''Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope'') is a 1977 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and released by Twentieth Century-Fox. It is the first film in the ''Star Wars'' franchise and the fourth chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set in Universe of Star Wars, a fictional galaxy under the rule of the tyrannical Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Galactic Empire, the film follows a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance, who aim to destroy the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star. When the rebel leader Princess Leia is captured by the Empire, Luke Skywalker acquires stolen architectural plans of the Death Star and sets out to rescue her while learning the ways of a metaphysical power known as "the Force" from the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Bak ...
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Alien (film)
''Alien'' is a 1979 Science fiction film, science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O'Bannon, based on a story by O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett. It follows a spaceship crew who investigate a derelict spaceship and are hunted by a Xenomorph, deadly extraterrestrial creature. The film stars Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto. It was produced by Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill (director), Walter Hill through their company Brandywine Productions and was distributed by 20th Century-Fox. Giler and Hill revised and made additions to the script; Shusett was the executive producer. The alien creatures and environments were designed by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger, while the concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the other sets. ''Alien'' premiered on May 25, 1979, the opening night of the fourth Seattle International Film Festival. It received a wide release ...
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The Omen
''The Omen'' is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Spencer Stephens (in his film debut), Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Troughton, Martin Benson, and Leo McKern. The film's plot follows Damien Thorn, a young child replaced at birth by his father, unbeknownst to his wife, after their biological child dies shortly after birth. As a series of mysterious events and violent deaths occur around the family and Damien enters childhood, they come to learn he is in fact the prophesied Antichrist. Released theatrically by 20th Century-Fox in June 1976, ''The Omen'' received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, grossing over $60 million at the U.S. box office and becoming one of the highest-grossing films of 1976. Retrospective reviews of the film have been more favorable, and the ...
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show
''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien, who also played the supporting role Riff Raff. The film is based on the 1973 musical stage production ''The Rocky Horror Show'', with music, book, and lyrics by O'Brien. The production is a tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s. The film stars Tim Curry in his debut, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick. The film is narrated by Charles Gray, with cast members from the original Royal Court Theatre, Roxy Theatre, and Belasco Theatre productions, including Nell Campbell and Patricia Quinn. The story centres on a young engaged couple whose car breaks down in the rain near a castle, where they search for help. The castle is occupied by strangers in elaborate costumes holding a ...
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Midnight Movie
A midnight movie is a low-budget genre picture or distinctly nonmainstream film programmed for late-night screening or broadcast. The term is rooted in the practice that emerged in the 1950s of local television stations around the United States airing cheap genre films late at night, often with a host delivering ironic asides. As a cinematic phenomenon, the midnight presentation of offbeat movies started toward the end of the following decade in a few urban centers, particularly New York City. The midnight run of '' El Topo'' at New York's Elgin Theater that began in December 1970 sparked a trend that eventually spread across the country. The screening of nonmainstream pictures at midnight was aimed at building a cult film audience, encouraging repeat viewing and social interaction in what was originally a countercultural setting. The national after-hours success of ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' in the late 1970s and the changing economics of the film exhibition indust ...
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