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FX Feeney
Francis Xavier Feeney, known as F. X. Feeney (September 1, 1953 – February 5, 2020), was an American writer and filmmaker. Education and early career After graduating from the California Institute of the Arts in 1976, Feeney worked for several years as an inker and painter at Hanna-Barbera Studios. By 1980 he became a film and book critic for ''LA Weekly''. Jerry Harvey, chief programmer for the pay TV service Z Channel, noticed a tribute to Warren Oates that Feeney wrote after the actor's sudden death in 1982. Harvey had been the last person to speak to Oates. This led to Feeney serving as a resident film critic and creative consultant to Z Channel between 1983 and 1989, directing dozens of commercials for the service. The ads promoted a number of premieres of director's cuts and "lost films" that were the trademark of Z Channel, most notably Sergio Leone's ''Once Upon a Time in America'', John Ford's ''Up the River'', Karel Reisz's '' The Loves of Isadora'', and Sam Pecki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California Institute Of The Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual art, visual and performing arts. It offers Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. The school was first envisioned by many benefactors in the early 1960s including Nelbert Chouinard, Walt Disney, Lulu Von Hagen, and Thornton Ladd. History CalArts was originally formed in 1961, as a merger of the Chouinard Art Institute (founded 1921) and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music (founded 1883). Both of the formerly existing institutions were going through financial difficulties, and the founder of the Art Institute, Nelbert Chouinard, was terminally ill. Walt Disney was longtime friends with both Chouinard and Lulu May Von Hagen, the chair of the Conservatory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety (magazine)
''Variety'' is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in Los Angeles, to cover the film industry, motion-picture industry. ''Variety'' website features entertainment news, reviews, box office results, plus a credits database, production charts and film calendar. History Founding ''Variety'' has been published since December 16, 1905, when it was launched by Sime Silverman as a weekly periodical covering theater and vaudeville, with its headquarters in New York City. Silverman had been fired by ''The Morning Telegraph'' in 1905 for panning an act which had taken out an advert for $50. He subsequently decided to start his own publication that, he said, would "not be influenced by advertising." With a loan of $1,500 from his father-in-law, he launched ''Variety'' as publisher and editor. In additi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for occasional pseudonyms during the mid-1960s. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss was a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society. He was co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group with Harry Harrison (writer), Harry Harrison. Aldiss was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, Science Fiction Writers of America in 1999 and inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2004. He received two Hugo Awards, one Nebula Award and one John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He wrote the short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" (1969), the basis for the Stanley Kubrick-developed Steven Spielberg film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankenstein Unbound
''Frankenstein Unbound'' is a 1990 science fiction horror film based on Brian Aldiss's 1973 novel of the same name, starring John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda, Jason Patric, and Nick Brimble. The film is co-written and directed by Roger Corman, returning to the director's chair after a hiatus of almost fifteen years. This is his final film as a director before his death in 2024. He was paid $1 million to direct. Released by 20th Century Fox domestically and Warner Bros. Internationally. Plot In 2031, Dr. Buchanan and his team work to develop the ultimate weapon, an energy beam that will completely remove whatever it is aimed at. Buchanan hopes he can create a weapon so powerful that it will end all war and have the added benefit of having no impact on the environment. Unfortunately, the prototype has unpredictable side effects, creating erratic global weather patterns and rifts in space and time that have caused some people to vanish. As he drives home from the testing fac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Hickenlooper
George Loening Hickenlooper III (May 25, 1963 – October 29, 2010) was an American narrative and documentary filmmaker. Early life Hickenlooper was born in St. Louis, the son of Barbara Jo Wenger, a social worker and stage actress, and George Loening Hickenlooper Jr., a teacher and playwright. He was also the grand nephew of British-born conductor Leopold Stokowski through marriage to his great-aunt, pianist Olga Samaroff (whose birth name was Lucy Mary Agnes Hickenlooper). He attended high school at St. Louis University High, where he was part of a group of teenage filmmakers he informally called the "Splicers," whose members included James Gunn ''(Guardians of the Galaxy)''. After graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in History and Film Studies in 1986, Hickenlooper interned for the producer Roger Corman, and launched his directing career with ''Art, Acting, and the Suicide Chair: Dennis Hopper'' in 1988. Career His first feature-length documentary, '' Hearts of Da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Aged 21, Welles directed high-profile stage productions for the Federal Theatre Project in New York City—starting with a celebrated Voodoo Macbeth, 1936 adaptation of ''Macbeth'' with an African-American cast, and ending with the political musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'' in 1937. He and John Houseman founded the Mercury Theatre, an independent repertory theatre company that presented productions on Broadway through 1941, including a modern, politically charged ''Caesar (Mercury Theatre), Caesar'' (1937). In 1938, his radio anthology series ''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' gave Welles the platform to find international fame as the director and narrator of The War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama), a radio adaptation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Big Brass Ring
''The Big Brass Ring'' is a 1999 drama film, starring William Hurt, Nigel Hawthorne, Irene Jacob, Jefferson Mays and Miranda Richardson (who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance). The film's script was heavily rewritten by George Hickenlooper and F. X. Feeney from a previous screenplay written by Orson Welles and Oja Kodar in the early 1980s; Hickenlooper also directed the film. Plot The story concerns the darker side of a political campaign trail in Missouri. A gubernatorial candidate, Blake Pellarin, is making a campaign stop in St. Louis when his old mentor, Kim Minnaker, resurfaces. Minnaker left the country after a scandal, but now is working on a memoir and evidently possesses compromising photos of Pellarin that could end his hopes of becoming governor and, beyond that, President of the United States. Pellarin is already juggling the pressures of a political race with a frayed relationship with his wife Dinah, a wealthy woman with a drinking proble ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Magnificent Obsession
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version is often written in one of two forms: the double-storey and single-storey . The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English, '' a'' is the indefinite article, with the alternative form ''an''. Name In English, the name of the letter is the ''long A'' sound, pronounced . Its name in most other languages matches the letter's pronunciation in open syllables. History The earliest known ancestor of A is ''aleph''—the first letter of the Phoenician ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. He was honored with the Kennedy Center Honor in 2008, an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2011, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2012, and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2018. In a 2022 readers' poll by ''Empire'', he was voted one of the 50 greatest actors of all time. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Freeman was raised in Mississippi, where he began acting in school plays. He studied theater arts in Los Angeles and appeared in stage productions in his early career. He rose to fame in the 1970s for his role in the children's television series '' The Electric Company.'' Freeman then appeared in the Shakespearean plays '' Coriolanus'' and ''Julius Caesar'', the former of which earned him an Obie Award. In 1978, he was nomina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ClickStar
ClickStar was a broadband movie distribution company founded by actor Morgan Freeman and film producer Lori McCreary of Revelations Entertainment. ClickStar launched on December 15, 2006 under the leadership of interim CEO James J. Ackerman and Chairman/Co-Founder Lori McCreary. The company is no longer in operation. In 2006 ClickStar became the first company in motion picture history to offer a legitimate motion picture download, '' 10 Items or Less'', while the film was still playing in theaters. ClickStar was highlighted by the American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ... in their AFI Awards 2006 "Moments of Significance" for this achievement. References External linksIntel Press Release [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Mann (director)
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. His most acclaimed works include the films '' Thief'' (1981), '' Manhunter'' (1986), ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1992), ''Heat'' (1995), '' The Insider'' (1999), '' Ali'' (2001), '' Collateral'' (2004), '' Public Enemies'' (2009), and ''Ferrari'' (2023). He was executive producer on the popular TV series ''Miami Vice'' (1984–90), which he adapted into a 2006 feature film. Early life and education Mann was born February 5, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois. He is Jewish and the son of Esther and Jack Mann. His grandfather left the Russian Empire in 1912, and brought his wife and Mann's father over in 1922. Mann graduated from Amundsen High School, also the alma mater of Bob Fosse. He then studied ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three British Academy Film Awards, ten César Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Golden Bear and a Palme d'Or. In 1977, Polanski was arrested for Roman Polanski sexual abuse case, drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of Statutory rape, unlawful sex with a minor in exchange for a probation-only sentence. The night before his sentencing hearing in 1978, he learned that the judge would likely reject the proffered plea bargain, so he fled the U.S. to Europe, where he continued his career. He remains a fugitive from the U.S. justice system. Further allegations of abuse have been made by other women. Polanski's parents moved the family from his birthplace in Paris back to Kraków in 1937.Paul Werner, ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
