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Bicentennial Man (film)
''Bicentennial Man'' is a 1999 American science fiction comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams, Sam Neill, Embeth Davidtz (in a dual role), Wendy Crewson and Oliver Platt. Based on the 1992 novel '' The Positronic Man'' by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg (which is based on Asimov's original 1976 novelette "The Bicentennial Man"), the plot explores issues of humanity, slavery, prejudice, maturity, intellectual freedom, conformity, sex, love, mortality and immortality. The film, a co-production by Touchstone Pictures and Columbia Pictures, was directed by Chris Columbus. The title derives from the main character existing to the age of two hundred years. ''Bicentennial Man'' was released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution in the United States and internationally by Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International on December 17, 1999, and received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. It was a box office bomb, grossing $87.4 million against a $90–100 million budge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Columbus (filmmaker)
Christopher Joseph Columbus (born September 10, 1958) is an American filmmaker. Born in Spangler, Pennsylvania, Columbus studied film at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. After writing screenplays for several Teen film, teen comedies in the mid-1980s, including ''Gremlins'', ''The Goonies'', and ''Young Sherlock Holmes'', he made his List of directorial debuts, directorial debut with a teen adventure, ''Adventures in Babysitting'' (1987). Columbus gained recognition soon after with the highly successful Christmas comedy ''Home Alone'' (1990) and ''Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992). The comedy ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993), starring Robin Williams, was another box office success for Columbus. He went on to direct several other films throughout the 1990s, which were mostly met with lukewarm reception. However, he found commercial success again for directing the film adaptations of J. K. Rowling's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neil Travis
Herbert Neil Travis (October 12, 1936 – March 28, 2012) was an American film and television editor with about 28 feature film credits from 1970–2007. He is likely best known for editing the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977) and the feature film '' Dances with Wolves'' (1990). Travis was born in Los Angeles, California, and received a bachelor's degree in film and theater arts from the University of California, Los Angeles. Travis won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Film Editing In A Drama Series for the first part of the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), and he and James Heckert were nominated for the award for the second part as well. Travis won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing and the American Cinema Editors Eddie for the film '' Dances with Wolves'' (directed by Kevin Costner-1990). Travis had been selected as a member of the American Cinema Editors, and received the Career Achievement Award in 2010. In 2010, Travis was interviewed about ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intellectual Freedom
Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas without restriction. Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual's right to access, explore, consider, and express ideas and information as the basis for a self-governing, well-informed citizenry. Intellectual freedom comprises the bedrock for freedoms of expression, speech, and the press and relates to freedoms of information and the right to privacy. The United Nations upholds intellectual freedom as a basic human right through Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which asserts: The institution of libraries in particular values intellectual freedom as part of their mission to provide and protect access to information and ideas. The American Library Association (ALA) defines intellectual freedom as "the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maturity (psychological)
In psychology, maturity can be operationally defined as the level of psychological functioning (measured through standards like the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) one can attain, after which the level of psychological functioning no longer increases much with age. However, beyond this, integration is also an aspect of maturation, such as the integration of personality, where the behavioral patterns, motives and other traits of a person are gradually brought together, to work together effectively with little to no conflict between them, as an organized whole, e.g., bringing a person's various motives together into a purpose in life. Case in point: adult development and maturity theories include the purpose in life concept, in which maturity emphasizes a clear comprehension of life's purpose, directedness, and intentionality, which contributes to the feeling that life is meaningful. The status of maturity is distinguished by the shift away from reliance on guardianship a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Condition
The human condition can be defined as the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, reason, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed from many perspectives, including those of art, biology, literature, philosophy, psychology, and religion. As a literary term, "human condition" is typically used in the context of ambiguous subjects, such as the meaning of life or moral concerns. Some perspectives Each major religion has definitive beliefs regarding the human condition. For example, Buddhism teaches that existence is a perpetual cycle of suffering, death, and rebirth from which humans can be liberated via the Noble Eightfold Path. Meanwhile, many Christians believe that humans are born in a sinful condition and are doomed in the afterlife unless they receive salvation through Jesus Christ. Philosophers have provided many perspectives. An influenti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novelette (literature)
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most Novelette (literature), novelettes and Short story, short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts. Definition The Italian term is a feminine of ''novello'', which means ''new'', similarly to the English word ''news''. Merriam-Webster defines a novella as "a work of fiction intermediate in length and complexity between a short story and a novel". There is disagreement regarding the number of pages or words necessary for a story to be considered a novella, a short story or a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association defines a novella's word count to be between 17,500 and 40,000 words; at 250 words per page, this equates to 70 to 160 pages. #Word counts, See below for definitions used by other organisations. History The novella as a literary genre began developing in the Italian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dual Role
A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during production, often due to a low budget. In film and television, dual roles are often used for comic effect, or to depict identical twins or relatives. In a theatrical production where more than one actor plays multiple characters, it is sometimes referred to as an "Ironman" cast. Theatre In theatre, the use of multiple roles may be budget-related, may be intended to give an accomplished actor more stage time or a greater challenge, or may be of thematic significance to the story. The combination of factors leading to such a decision may often remain unknown. For example, debate exists over the significance of William Shakespeare's use of dual roles, with a notable example being whether the characters of Cordelia and the Fool in ''King Lear'' were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy-drama
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc.) are handled with realism and subtlety, while preserving a humorous tenor. The term "dramedy" began to be used in the television industry in the 1980s. Modern television comedy dramas tend to have more humour integrated into the story than the comic relief common in drama series, but usually contain a lower joke rate than sitcom, sitcoms. History In Theatre of ancient Greece, Greek theatre, plays were considered comedies or tragedies (i.e. drama): the former being light stories with a happy ending, and the latter serious stories with a sad ending. This concept even influenced Theatre of ancient Rome, Roman theatre and theatre of the Hellenistic period. Theatre of that era is thought to have long-lasting infl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Film
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestrial lifeforms, List of fictional spacecraft, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, Mutants in fiction, mutants, interstellar travel, time travel, or other technologies. Science fiction films have often been used to focus on politics, political or social issues, and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition. The genre has existed since the early years of silent cinema, when Georges Méliès' ''A Trip to the Moon'' (1902) employed Special effect, trick photography effects. The next major example (first in feature-length in the genre) was the film ''Metropolis (1927 film), Metropolis'' (1927). From the 1930s to the 1950s, the genre consisted mainly of low-budget B movies. After Stanley Kubrick's landmark ''2001: A Space Odyssey (film), 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Numbers (website)
The Numbers is a film industry data website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way, a publication of Nash Information Services LLC. The company also conducts research services and forecasts incomes of film projects. History The site was launched in 1997 by Bruce Nash. On March 21, 2020, the Numbers released a statement that because of movie theater closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, "We don't expect much box office reporting in the short term" and did not report the usual daily box office estimates due to lack of box office data from film studios. See also * Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray ... * Lumiere References External links * ''The Numbers'' Bankability Index 1997 establishments in California Comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International
Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment to manage its motion picture operations. It was launched in 1998 by integrating the businesses of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. and TriStar Pictures, Inc. History The Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group was founded in 1998 as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, as a current division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, owned by Sony. It has many of Sony Pictures' current motion picture divisions as part of it. Its divisions at that time were Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Triumph Films, Sony Pictures Classics, and Sony Pictures Releasing. On December 8, 1998, SPE resurrected its former animation and television division Screen Gems as a film division of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its pare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and released by the Walt Disney Studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, and Searchlight Pictures, though it operates its own autonomous theatrical distribution and marketing unit in the United States. The company was originally established by Walt Disney in 1953 as Buena Vista Film Distribution Company Inc. (later renamed Buena Vista Distribution Inc. and Buena Vista Pictures Distribution Inc.). It took on its current name in late 2007. History Before in 1953, Disney's productions were previously distributed by: * M.J. Winkler Pictures (1924–1926), * Film Booking Offices of America (1926–1927), * Universal Pictures (1927–1928), * Celebrity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
