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Toys (film)
''Toys'' is a 1992 American surrealist comedy film directed by Barry Levinson, cowritten by Levinson and Valerie Curtin, and starring Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Joan Cusack, Robin Wright, LL Cool J, Arthur Malet, Donald O'Connor, Jack Warden, and Jamie Foxx in his feature film debut. Released in December 1992, the film was produced by Levinson's production company, Baltimore Pictures, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was a box-office failure at the time of its release. Critical reception was generally negative, with Levinson nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Director. The film did, however, receive Oscar nominations for Art Direction (losing to '' Howards End'') and Costume Design (losing to '' Bram Stoker's Dracula''). It was also entered into the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. Plot Kenneth Zevo, the eccentric owner of Zevo Toys in Moscow, Idaho, faces terminal illness. Defying expectations, he bypasses his son, Leslie—a whimsic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Levinson
Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Levinson won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Rain Man'' (1988). His other best-known works are ''Diner'' (1982), '' The Natural'' (1984), '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987), '' Bugsy'' (1991), and '' Wag the Dog'' (1997). In 2021, he co-executive produced the Hulu miniseries '' Dopesick'' and directed the first two episodes. Early life Levinson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Violet "Vi" (née Krichinsky) and Irvin Levinson, who worked in the furniture and appliance business. He is of Russian-Jewish descent. After growing up in Forest Park, Baltimore and graduating from Forest Park Senior High School in 1960, Levinson studied broadcast journalism at Baltimore Junior College and American University in Washington, D.C. He later moved to Los Angeles to work as an actor and writer and performed comedy routines. Levinson at one time shared an apartment with wou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred, in succession, with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. O'Connor was born into a vaudeville family, where he learned to dance, sing, play comedy, and perform slapstick. The most distinctive characteristic of his dancing style was its athleticism, for which he had few rivals. Yet it was his boyish charm that audiences found most engaging, and which remained an appealing aspect of his personality throughout his career. In his Universal musicals of the early 1940s, O'Connor was a wisecracking, fast-talking teenager, much like Mickey Rooney of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. But by 1952 and ''Singin' in the Rain'', MGM had cultivated a much more sympathetic sidekick persona for him, and that remained O'Connor's signature image. His best-known work was his "Make 'Em Laugh" dance routine in ''Singin' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moscow, Idaho
Moscow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Latah County, Idaho. Located in the North Central Idaho, North Central region of the state along the border with Washington (state), Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 United States census. Moscow is the home of the University of Idaho, the state's land-grant institution and primary research university. It is the principal city in the Moscow, Idaho United States micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Latah County. The city contains over 60% of the county's population, and whilst the university is Moscow's dominant employer, the city also serves as an agriculture, agricultural and commercial hub for the Palouse region. Along with the rest of the Idaho Panhandle, Moscow is in the Pacific Time Zone. The elevation of its city center is above sea level. Two major highways serve the city, passing through the city center: U.S. Route 95 in Idaho, US-95 (north-south) and Idaho State Highway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
43rd Berlin International Film Festival
The 43rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 February 1993. The Golden Bear was jointly awarded to American-Taiwanese film '' The Wedding Banquet'' directed by Ang Lee and Chinese film '' Woman Sesame Oil Maker'' directed by Xie Fei. The retrospective dedicated to CinemaScope was shown at the festival. Juries The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival: Main Competition * Frank Beyer, German filmmaker - Jury President * Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish filmmaker * Michel Boujut, French writer, producer and film critic * François Duplat, French producer * Katinka Faragó, Swedish producer * Krystyna Janda, Polish actress * Naum Kleiman, Russian historian and film critic * Brock Peters, American actor * Susan Strasberg, American actress * Johanna ter Steege, Dutch actress * Zhang Yimou, Chinese filmmaker Official Selection Main Competition The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear and Silver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 Film)
''Bram Stoker's Dracula'' is a 1992 American Gothic horror film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by James V. Hart, based on the eponymous 1897 novel ''Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. The film features an ensemble cast led by Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves. Set in 19th-century England and Romania, it follows Count Dracula (Oldman), a vampire who falls in love with Mina Murray (Ryder), the fiancée of his solicitor Jonathan Harker (Reeves). When Dracula begins terrorizing Mina's friends, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Hopkins), an expert in vampirism, is summoned to bring an end to his reign of terror. Its closing credits theme " Love Song for a Vampire" was written and performed by Annie Lennox. ''Bram Stoker's Dracula'' was theatrically released in the United States on November 13, 1992. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Coppola's direction, the production values, and Oldman's performance, although R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Costume Design
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design. The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 1948. Initially, separate award categories were established for black-and-white films and color films. Since the merger of the two categories in 1967, the Academy has traditionally avoided giving out the award to films with a contemporary setting. Award The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is given out annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for the best achievement of film costume design of the previous year. Films that are eligible for the award must meet a series of criteria, including the requirement that the costumes must have been "conceived" by a costume designer. For this particular criteria, each submission is reviewed by the costume designer members of the Art Directors Branch prior to the ballot process. Fur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howards End (film)
''Howards End'' is a 1992 historical romantic drama film directed by James Ivory, from a screenplay written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the 1910 novel by E. M. Forster. Marking Merchant Ivory Productions' third adaptation of a Forster novel (following 1985's '' A Room with a View'', and 1987's '' Maurice''), it was the first film to be released by Sony Pictures Classics. The film's narrative explores class relations in turn-of-the-20th-century Britain, through events in the lives of the Schlegel sisters. The film stars Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter and Vanessa Redgrave, with James Wilby, Samuel West, Jemma Redgrave and Prunella Scales in supporting roles. The film was theatrically released on 13 March 1992 to critical acclaim and commercial success, grossing over $32 million on an $8 million budget. It was in competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival and won the 45th Anniversary Award. At the 65th Academy Awards, the film received a lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Production Design
The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted from the Art Directors' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) being renamed the Designers' branch. Since 1947, the award is shared with the set decorators. It is awarded to the best interior design in a film. The films below are listed with their production year (for example, the 2000 Academy Award for Best Art Direction is given to a film from 1999). In the lists below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees in alphabetical order. Superlatives Winners and nominees 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Notes Shortlisted finalists Finalists for Best Production Design were selected by branch members, who voted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry. The major award categories, known as the Academy Awards of Merit, are presented during a live-televised Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood ceremony in February or March. It is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929. The 2nd Academy Awards, second ceremony, in 1930, was the first one broadcast by radio. The 25th Academy Awards, 1953 ceremony was the first one televised. It is the oldest of the EGOT, four major annual American entertainment awards. Its counterparts—the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Raspberry Award For Worst Director
The Razzie Award for Worst Director is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst director of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film(s) for which they were nominated. Winners and nominees 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Age superlatives Multiple wins 2 wins * Michael Bay * John Derek * M. Night Shyamalan Multiple nominations 6 nominations * Michael Bay * Renny Harlin 5 nominations * Brian De Palma 4 nominations *Dennis Dugan * M. Night Shyamalan 3 nominations * John G. Avildsen *Uwe Boll * John Derek * James Foley * John Landis * Hal Needham * Tyler Perry 2 nominations * Steven Brill * Michael Cimino * Bob Clark *Bill Condon *Kevin Costner *Jan de Bont *Blake Edwards * Roland Emmerich * Jason Friedberg * Ron Howard *Roland Joffé * George Lucas *Prince * Aaron Seltzer *Sylvester Stallone *Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Razzie Award
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzie Awards' satirical annual ceremony is predated by its progenitor, the Academy Awards, by five decades. The term ''raspberry'' is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry". The statuette is a golf ball-sized raspberry atop a Super 8mm film reel atop a 35-millimeter film core with brown wood shelf paper glued and wrapped around it—sitting atop a jar lid spray-painted gold. The Golden Raspberry Foundation has claimed that the award "encourages well-known filmmakers and top-notch performers to own their bad." The first Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held on March 31, 1981, in John J. B. Wilson's living-room alcove in Hollywood, to honor the perceived worst films of the 1980 film season. Sylvester Stallone has the mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Box-office Failure
A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has technically "bombed", the term is more frequently used for major studio releases that were highly anticipated, extensively marketed, and expensive to produce, but nevertheless failed commercially. Originally, a "bomb" had the opposite meaning, referring instead to a successful film that "exploded" at the box office. The term continued to be used this way in the United Kingdom into the 1970s. Causes Negative word of mouth With the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the 2000s, word of mouth regarding new films is easily spread and has had a marked effect on box office performance. A film's ability or failure to attract positive or negative commentary can strongly impact its performance at the box office, espec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
