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Leonard Schrader
Leonard Schrader (November 30, 1943 – November 2, 2006) was an American screenwriter and director, most notable for his ability to write Japanese-language films and for his many collaborations with his brother, Paul Schrader. He earned an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay he wrote for the film '' Kiss of the Spider Woman''. Early life and college Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Schrader was brought up in a strict Dutch Calvinist family and did not see his first film until he was an adult. In 1968, he finished his MFA at the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop, where he studied with Nelson Algren, Kurt Vonnegut, Jorge Luis Borges, Richard Yates, Robert Coover and José Donoso. Japan After graduating, Schrader left Grand Rapids in the Midwest and escaped the draft by moving to Japan to teach. (According to Peter Biskind, in his book '' Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'', Schrader left the U.S. when he received a draft induction notice and didn't return until he wa ... [...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] |
Yamaguchi-gumi
is Japan's largest ''yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for longshoreman, dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest organized crime, criminal organizations in the world. According to the National Police Agency (Japan), National Police Agency, it had 3,300 active members at the end of 2024. The Yamaguchi-gumi are among the world's wealthiest gangsters, bringing in billions of dollars a year from extortion, gambling, prostitution in Japan, prostitution, arms trafficking, drug trafficking, mortgage fraud, real estate and bid rigging, construction kickback schemes. They are also involved in securities fraud, stock market manipulation and Internet pornography. The Yamaguchi-gumi has its headquarters in Kobe, but it operates all across Japan and has overseas operations. Its current ''kumichō'' (Boss), Kenichi Shinoda, Shinobu Tsukasa, has declared an expansionist polic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaphet Kotto
Yaphet Frederick Kotto (November 15, 1939 – March 15, 2021) was an American actor for film and television. His films include the science-fiction horror film '' Alien'' (1979), the neo-noir action thriller '' Across 110th Street'' (1972), the science-fiction action film '' The Running Man'' (1987), the James Bond film '' Live and Let Die'' (1973) in which he portrayed the main villain Dr. Kananga, and the action comedy '' Midnight Run'' (1988). He also starred in the NBC television series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) as Lieutenant Al Giardello. Early life Kotto was born in New York City. His mother, Gladys Marie, was an American nurse and U.S. Army officer of Panamanian and West Indian descent. His father, Avraham Kotto (who was, according to his son, originally named Njoki Manga Bell), was a businessman from Cameroon who emigrated to the United States in the 1920s. Kotto's father was raised Jewish and his mother converted to Judaism. The couple separate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time. Pryor won a Primetime Emmy Award and five Grammy Awards. He received the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998. He won the Writers Guild of America Award in 1974. He was listed at number one on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians. In 2017, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.The 50 Best Stand-up Comics of All Time . Rollingstone.com. Retrieved February 15, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Collar (film)
''Blue Collar'' is a 1978 American crime drama film directed by Paul Schrader in his directorial debut. Written by Schrader and his brother Leonard, the film stars Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto. The film is both a critique of union practices and an examination of life in a working-class Rust Belt enclave. Schrader, who wrote the script for ''Taxi Driver'' (1976), recalls the shooting as being very difficult because of the artistic and personal tensions he had with the actors (including the stars themselves). Schrader has also stated that while making the film, he suffered an on-set mental breakdown, which made him seriously reconsider his career.''The Back Row''Robin's Underrated Gems: Blue Collar (1978)/ref> The film was shot in Detroit and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Plot A trio of Wayne County, Michigan auto workers, two black — 32-year-old Ezekiel "Zeke" Brown from Detroit, Michigan, and two-time ex-convict, 35-year-old Sam "Smokey" James from Mississippi, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Pollack is known for directing commercially and critically acclaimed studio films. Over his forty year career he received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and six BAFTA Awards. Pollack won the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture for '' Out of Africa'' (1985). He was also nominated for Best Director Oscars for '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1969), and ''Tootsie'' (1982). Pollack's other notable films include '' Jeremiah Johnson'' (1972), '' The Way We Were'' (1973), '' The Yakuza'' (1974), '' Three Days of the Condor'' (1975), '' Absence of Malice'' (1981), '' The Firm'' (1993), and '' Sabrina'' (1995). Pollack produced and acted in '' Michael Clayton'' (2007), and produced numerous films such as ''The Fabulous Baker Boys'' (1989), ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984 and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1992. Mitchum is rated number 23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male stars of classic American cinema. Mitchum rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for '' The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945). His best-known films include ''Out of the Past'' (1947), '' Angel Face'' (1953), '' River of No Return'' (1954), '' The Night of the Hunter'' (1955),'' Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison'' (1957), '' Thunder Road'' (1958), '' The Sundowners'' (1960), '' Cape Fear'' (1962), '' El Dorado'' (1966), '' Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), '' The Friends of Eddie Coyle'' (1973), and '' Farewell, My Lovely'' (1975). He is also known for h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Yakuza
is a 1974 neo-noir crime drama film directed and produced by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura and Brian Keith. The screenplay by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne is from a story by Schrader's brother, Leonard Schrader. The film is about a retired American detective (Mitchum) who returns to Japan after decades away in order to rescue his friend's daughter, kidnapped by the eponymous crime syndicate. The film was a co-production between Warner Bros. and Japan’s Toei Company, and was filmed principally on-location in Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. It premiered in Japan on December 28, 1974, before going into general release in the United States on March 19, 1975. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a commercial disappointment, though in the ensuing decades it has been praised by filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino. Plot Retired detective Harry Kilmer is called upon by an old friend, George Tanner. Tanner has been doing business with a ''yakuza'' gangs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyoto University
, or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen graduate schools, and thirteen research institutes. The university's educational and research activities are centred in its three main campuses in Kyoto: Yoshida, Uji and Katsura. The Kyoto University Library Network, consisting of more than 40 libraries spread across its campuses, has a collection of more than 7.49 million books, making it the second largest university library in the country. In addition to these campuses, the university owns facilities and lands for educational and research purposes around the country. As of 2024, Kyoto University counts List of prime ministers of Japan by education, two prime ministers of Japan amongst its alumni. Additionally, three prime ministers of Japan attended the Third Higher School, a university p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doshisha University
, also referred to as , is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. Established in 1875, it is one of Japan's oldest private institutions of higher learning, and has approximately 30,000 students enrolled on four campuses in Kyoto. It is one of Japan's "Global 30" universities and a member of , a group of four leading private universities in western Japan's Kansai region, along with Kansai University, Kwansei Gakuin University, and Ritsumeikan University. History Doshisha University was founded in 1875 as Doshisha English School by Protestantism, Protestant educator , as a school to advance Christian education in Japan. As a young man, Niijima left Edo period, Japan for the United States in 1864, despite Sakoku, the ban on overseas travel then imposed on Japanese nationals. He studied at Phillips Academy and Amherst College, and returned to Japan in 1874. The next year, Niijima established the Doshisha School. Niijima served as president of the university from 1875 to 1890. Other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, which is the List of metropolitan areas in Japan, second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th-List of urban areas by population, largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants. Ōsaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. By the Kofun period (300–538) it had developed into an important regional port, and in the 7th and 8th centuries, it served briefly as the imperial capital. Osaka continued to flourish during the Edo period (1603–1867) and became known as a center of Japanese culture. Following the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it the List of cities in Japan, ninth-most populous city in Japan. More than half (56.8%) of Kyoto Prefecture's population resides in the city. The city is the cultural anchor of the substantially larger Greater Kyoto, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people. It is also part of the even larger Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area, along with Osaka and Kobe. Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by Emperor Kanmu. The original city, named Heian-kyō, was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. The emperors of Japan ruled fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
