What was Gene Hackman's first film?
French Connection II
French Connection II is a 1975 crime drama film starring Gene Hackman and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is a fictional sequel to the initially true story of the 1971 Academy Award winning picture "The French Connection". The film expands on the central character of Det. Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle who travels to Marseille, France where he is attempting to track down French drug-dealer Alain Charnier, who escaped at the end of the first film. Hackman won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the original "The French Connection" and he and Fernando Rey are the only returning cast members.
Jason Reitman
Before his feature film career began, Jason Reitman wrote and directed six short films. He financed his first short film, "Operation", with money he made by selling ads in desk calendars. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998.
Gene Hackman
In 2011 he appeared on the Fox Sports Radio show "The Loose Cannons", where he discussed his career and novels with Pat O'Brien, Steve Hartman, and Vic "The Brick" Jacobs.
Monte Hellman
Hellman is among a group of directing talent mentored by Roger Corman, who produced several of the director's early films. According to film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon, Hellman began by working on "low budget exploitation films with a personal slant," yet learned from Corman the art of producing commercially viable films on a tight budget while staying true to a personal vision. Hellman's most critically acclaimed film to date has been "Two-Lane Blacktop" (1971), a road movie that was a box office failure at the time of its initial release but has subsequently turned into a perennial cult favorite. Hellman's two acid westerns starring Jack Nicholson, "Ride in the Whirlwind" and "The Shooting", both shot in 1965 and released directly to television in 1968, have also developed cult followings, particularly the latter. Hellman and his stuntman Gary Kent talk about the making of the westerns in the 2018 documentary "Love and Other Stunts". A third western, "China 9, Liberty 37" (1978), was far less successful critically, although it too has its admirers, as do "Cockfighter" (1974) (aka "Born to Kill") and "Iguana" (1988). In 1989, he directed the straight-to-video slasher film ""
Gene Hackman
Hackman lived briefly in Storm Lake, Iowa and spent his sophomore year at Storm Lake High School. He left home at age 16 and lied about his age to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. He served four and a half years as a field radio operator. He was stationed in China (Qingdao and later in Shanghai). When the Communist Revolution conquered the mainland in 1949, Hackman was assigned to Hawaii and Japan. Following his discharge in 1951, he moved to New York and worked in several jobs. His mother died in 1962 as a result of a fire she accidentally set while smoking.
Night Moves (1975 film)
Although "Night Moves" was not considered particularly successful at the time of its release, it has attracted viewers and significant critical attention following its videotape and DVD releases. In 2010, Manohla Dargis described it as "the great, despairing "Night Moves" (1975), with Gene Hackman as a private detective who ends up circling the abyss, a no-exit comment on the post-1968, post-Watergate times."
Gösta Ekman (senior)
Ekman started in films at the dawn of the Swedish film industry and played an important role in its development. One of his first film roles was in Victor Sjöström's experimental film "Trädgårdsmästaren" (1912). Later, he played the lead in the first Swedish talkie, "For Her Sake" (1930). Ekman also acted in two films that would gain international recognition: F. W. Murnau's silent film classic "Faust", where he played the title character, and in the original 1936 version of "Intermezzo", where he played a world-famous violinist opposite Ingrid Bergman in her breakout role. But they had in fact already acted opposite each other in the Swedish 1935 movie "Swedenhielms" where they share a couple of wonderful scenes alone together as their characters have a heart-to-heart conversation on life and love; among the most memorable moments in the film.
Roger Corman
"Angels Die Hard" led to a series of biker films, including "Angels Hard as They Come" (1971), produced by Jonathan Demme with Jack Fisk working as art director."Bury Me an Angel" (1971) was the first biker movie directed by a woman, Barbara Peeters. Corman financed the directorial debuts of Curtis Hanson, "Sweet Kill" (1971), produced by Corman protege Tamara Asseyev.
The Royal Tenenbaums
After debuting at the New York Film Festival, "The Royal Tenenbaums" received positive reviews from critics and was Anderson's most financially successful film until 2014's "The Grand Budapest Hotel". Hackman won a Golden Globe for his performance, and the screenwriters were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2016, it was included in BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century.
Sam Raimi
In the 1990s, Raimi moved into other genres, directing such films as the western "The Quick and the Dead" (starring Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman), the critically acclaimed crime thriller "A Simple Plan" (1998) (starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton), and the romantic drama "For Love of the Game" (1999) (starring Kevin Costner). Prior to directing the "Spider-Man" films, Raimi lobbied to direct "Batman Forever" when Tim Burton was ousted from the director's chair, but was rejected in favor of Joel Schumacher, whose reputation at the time outshone Raimi's.
Damon Packard
Packard first became seriously involved with film at the age of 11. Packard spent his teens and twenties working on experimental shorts while supporting himself variously as a movie theater usher, security specialist and wrist-watch salesman. His early Super 8 efforts included "The Afterlife" and "Amazing Stories" (1982–84), starring his friend/collaborator Paul Trainor, son of producer/casting director Chris Trainor, who was partners with Miles O'Keeffe known for films such as "Ator", "The Blade Master", and "Lone Runner". His first notable effort was "Dawn of an Evil Millennium" (1988) which he partly produced as a 30-minute short for a film class and featured Miles O'Keeffe in small role. This was followed by other shorts such as "Apple" (1992), an elfquest-inspired fantasy film made in Hawaii while living in a tent for two years. In 1999, he made "The Early 70's Horror Trailer", which included an early appearance by independent film actress Rachel Galvin.
Spike Lee filmography
Lee received a Master of Fine Arts from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, which culminated in his thesis film "", the first student film to be showcased in Lincoln Center's New Directors/New Films Festival. Lee's first feature-film "She's Gotta Have It" was released three years later in 1986. Lee directed, produced, wrote, and acted in his first three feature-films: "She's Gotta Have It", "School Daze", and "Do the Right Thing". Lee has starred or acted in many of his own films, including the role of Mars Blackmon, which he reprised for a series of Nike commercials that also starred Michael Jordan.
Jonathan Wacks
Wacks’ first film, Crossroads/South Africa (PBS), won a Student Academy Award in the documentary category. He then produced the acclaimed cult-hit "Repo Man" (Universal), starring Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton, and directed, "Mystery Date" (Orion), starring Ethan Hawke and Teri Polo. As well as "Ed and His Dead Mother", starring Steve Buscemi and Ned Beatty. He also directed an array of TV productions including "21 Jump Street", with Johnny Depp, Sirens and Going To Extremes.
James Franco filmography
James Franco is an American actor who began acting on television, guest-starring in "Pacific Blue" (1997). He landed his breakthrough role in the comedy-drama television series "Freaks and Geeks" (1999–2000). After his film debut in "Never Been Kissed" (1999), Franco won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Film for playing the eponymous actor in the 2001 television biopic "James Dean". He went on to play Harry Osborn in the superhero film "Spider-Man" (2002), and reprised the role in its sequels "Spider-Man 2" (2004) and "Spider-Man 3" (2007). For the last of the three, he garnered a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. His only screen appearance of 2003 was in the ballet film "The Company". Franco directed and starred in the comedy "The Ape" (2005).
Jason Flemyng
His first film appearance was in the 1994 version of "The Jungle Book". His first major cinema role was in Angela Pope's 1996 drama "Hollow Reed", where he played a child abuser, followed by a main role in Guy Ritchie's popular 1998 London gangster film "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Flemyng later claimed to have lost so much money while playing poker with the film's backers in between takes on set that he had to work on the four days of re-shoots the film required for no fee. He went on to appear in films such as "The Red Violin" and "Deep Rising" (1998), "Snatch" (2000), George A. Romero's "Bruiser" (2000) and "Rock Star" (2001). Flemyng also starred in the short film "Feeling Good", written by Dexter Fletcher, whom he met while working on "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels".
Gene Hackman
He played a U.S. president who is responsible for a killing in 1997's " Absolute Power", re-teaming with director-star Clint Eastwood.
Jimmy Kaufman
From 1971 to 1988, Kaufman was a line producer and an assistant director for movies like "The Surrogate" in 1984, "Children of a lesser God" in 1986, and "Gothika" starring Halle Berry, later in 2003.
His first big success was in 1990, when he had the idea for "A Star for Two", a romance movie. He was still the assistant of Elliot Gould, and on his way from New Hampshire to Boston, repatriating a Porsche for the shooting of a movie, he halted in front of a nursing home in order to help an old woman cross the street. As he tried to know more about this woman, the concept of "A Star for Two" started to sprout in his mind. On the other side of the Manche, Christian Bel, an ex-stuntman converted to screen writing was taking a particular interest to the movies accorded to the golden age. When he decided to answer to the tender made from Kaufman, the movie finally took off. The concept for "A Star For Two" was simple: a couple meets again after a forty-year separation. She (Lauren Bacall) manages a nursing home in France, and he (Anthony Quinn) is a gerontologist in the United States. The movie was shot in France, in Montreal and in New-York, and was a success before it was even shot.
Vanishing Point (1971 film)
In 1969, director Richard C. Sarafian turned down an offer to make Robert Redford's "Downhill Racer" in order to direct "Vanishing Point". He was drawn to the counterculture themes in Cain's script. Originally, the director wanted Gene Hackman to play Kowalski, but 20th Century Fox studio executive Richard Zanuck insisted on casting relative unknown actor Barry Newman in the lead role. The film marked the first major screen appearances of Cleavon Little and John Amos.
The Gypsy Moths
"The Gypsy Moths" starred Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. The film also features Gene Hackman, (fresh from his role in "Bonnie and Clyde") (1967). Kerr had worked previously with Lancaster in "From Here to Eternity" (1953) and "Separate Tables" (1958). The film had the only nude love scene in her movie career.
Derek Jarman
Jarman spent seven years making experimental Super 8mm films and attempting to raise money for "Caravaggio" (he later claimed to have rewritten the script seventeen times during this period). Released in 1986, "Caravaggio" attracted a comparatively wide audience; it is still, barring the cult hit "Jubilee", probably Jarman's most widely known work. This is partly due to the involvement, for the first time with a Jarman film, of the British television company Channel 4 in funding and distribution. Funded by the British Film Institute and produced by film theorist Colin MacCabe, "Caravaggio" became Jarman's most famous film to date, and marked the beginning of a new phase in Jarman's filmmaking career: from now on all his films would be partly funded by television companies, often receiving their most prominent exhibition in TV screenings. "Caravaggio" also saw Jarman work with actress Tilda Swinton for the first time. Overt depictions of homosexual love, narrative ambiguity, and the live representations of Caravaggio's most famous paintings are all prominent features in the film.
John Stockwell (actor)
He began his career as international model, spending much of his time in Italy. During his time as a model, John became a friend of Andy Warhol. His first feature film as an actor came with a small role in 1981's "So Fine". His well-known roles came in the 1983 comedy film "Losin' It" as Spider; later that year, he starred in the John Carpenter horror film "Christine" as Dennis Guilder, and the 1985 comedy film, "My Science Project" as Michael Harlan. Also in 1985 he appeared in the poorly received "City Limits"; though unsuccessful at the box office, the film was later riffed in an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". In 1986, he appeared in "Top Gun" as Cougar. He made guest appearances on TV shows including "The Young Riders" and "".
2001 National Society of Film Critics Awards
1. Gene Hackman – "The Royal Tenenbaums"
2. Denzel Washington – "Training Day"
3. Tom Wilkinson – "In the Bedroom"
Hugh Jackman
In a November 2012 release, Jackman voiced the role of E.Aster Bunnymund (the Easter Bunny) in the animated film "Rise of the Guardians". Jackman starred as Jean Valjean in the film "Les Misérables", an adaptation of the musical. The film opened on 25 December 2012. For the role, he lost 15 pounds and later had to regain 30 pounds to mirror his character's newfound success. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in January 2013 for this performance. Jackman appeared alongside Kate Winslet in "Movie 43", an ensemble comedy, in January 2013. Jackman (along with actress Kristen Wiig) was featured on "You've Got the Look", a song by comedy hip hop group The Lonely Island on their third album, "The Wack Album", released in June 2013. Jackman returned to Broadway in the new play, "The River", which ran at the Circle in the Square Theatre from October 2014 to February 2015.
In November and December 2015, Jackman made a national tour of Australia with his show "Broadway to Oz". He performed a range of songs from Broadway musicals, from "Les Misérables" to a Peter Allen tribute (including classics such as "I Still Call Australia Home"), with his 150-piece orchestra, choir, and backup dancers. The show began at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena and proceeded to Qantas Credit Union Arena, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, and the Perth Arena. Jackman portrayed the villain Blackbeard in the film "Pan", which revolved around the backstories of J.M. Barrie's characters Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Jackman played fictional ski coach Bronson Peary in "Eddie the Eagle", which portrayed how Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards became the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping in 1988. He had an uncredited cameo as Wolverine in the 2016 film "". In 2017, he reprised the character in the third Wolverine film, "Logan", and also starred as P. T. Barnum in the musical "The Greatest Showman". He has received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination for the latter film. In 2019, He will go on a world arena tour called, The Man. The Music. The Show., to perform songs from the album, "", and Broadway/Hollywood musical numbers.
Marcel Langenegger
Langenegger read Art and Film at the University of Zurich. He also studied Design and Visual Arts at the Art Center College of Design in Vevey, and was part of a master's degree class at the main campus of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Later he worked freelance as designer and art director back in Zürich before relocating in 1995 to Los Angeles. In 2000 he signed with Propaganda Films but the company collapsed when the owner was diagnosed with cancer. He signed with Warner but his contract was annulled after the merger with AOL. He could only finish his first feature film "Deception" by shooting all scenes with his star Hugh Jackman in a single month to accommodate Jackman's simultaneous involvement in "Australia".
First to Fight (film)
The title of "First to Fight" was derived from the US military practice of sending in United States Marines first in attacks. The film features an early career appearance by future Academy Award winner Gene Hackman as Sgt. Tweed, already having starring in a breakthrough role in "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967).
Doris Wishman
Her first films are called nudist camp films or Nudist romances. In 1957, a New York Appeals court ruling allowed films depicting nudism to be exhibited in movie theaters in New York State. Wishman was familiar of the appeal and potential of nudist camp movies due to her acquaintances with Walter Bibo, whose film "Garden of Eden" gained notoriety due its influence of swaying censorship laws for filming nudity. Inspired by this development, Wishman claimed in several interviews to have borrowed $10,000 from her sister to produce her first film, "Hideout in the Sun", a nudist film, shot in late 1958 and released in early 1960. Her next film, "Nude on the Moon", released in 1961, was a science fiction nudie. The film was banned in New York State after the New York State Censorship Board ruled that films featuring nudity in a nudist colony were legally permissible but nudity in a fantasy film set in a "nudist colony on the Moon" was not. Her fourth nudist film, "Blaze Starr Goes Nudist" (1962), starred legendary burlesque performer Blaze Starr. Wishman produced eight nudist films in total between 1958 and 1964. After the popularity of the genre began to wane, she decided to abandon nudist exploitation films and transition into the new sexploitation genre. Doris Wishman had produced, directed and written more films in the nudist film genre than anyone else at the time, when she decided to switch gears.
Dennis Feldman
Feldman then decided to work on the film industry, first with the help of fellow writer brother Randy, with both doing script doctoring. Feldman's first film credit was "Just One of the Guys" (1985), co-written with Jeff Franklin. Afterwards his screenplay "The Golden Child" attracted a bidding war that was won by Paramount Pictures. Feldman was paid about $330,000 up front for the script and had the option to direct, but eventually the studio picked Michael Ritchie for the task. Originally titled "The Rose of Tibet", it was planned to be "a Raymond Chandler movie with supernatural elements", but the eventual film, released in 1986, became a comedy starring Eddie Murphy. Feldman then had his directing debut adapting his script "Real Men" (1987) and produced "Dead Again" (1991), which he also developed the story with Scott Frank. In 1995 Feldman wrote and co-produced "Species", based on a script idea he had in 1985. He also penned a comic book adaptation of the film by Dark Horse Comics and helped Yvonne Navarro write the film's novelization. His latest screenwriter credit is "Virus" (1999), which Feldman contributed some drafts after the ones made by Chuck Pfarrer, author of the original comic.
Gary Oldman
In 2004, Oldman returned to prominence when he landed a significant role in the "Harry Potter" film series, playing Harry Potter's godfather Sirius Black. The following year, he starred as James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's commercially and critically successful "Batman Begins", a role that he reprised in the even more successful sequel "The Dark Knight" (2008) and once more in the conclusion, "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012). Prominent film critic Mark Kermode, in reviewing "The Dark Knight", downplayed claims that Heath Ledger's Joker was the highlight of the film, saying, "the best performance in the film, "by a mile", is Gary Oldman's ... it would be lovely to see "him" get a nomination because actually, he's the guy who gets kind of overlooked in all of this." Oldman co-starred with Jim Carrey in the 2009 version of "A Christmas Carol" in which Oldman played three roles. He had a starring role in David Goyer's supernatural thriller "The Unborn", released in 2009. In 2010, Oldman co-starred with Denzel Washington in "The Book of Eli". He also played a lead role in Catherine Hardwicke's "Red Riding Hood". Oldman voiced the role of villain Lord Shen and was nominated for an Annie Award for his performance in "Kung Fu Panda 2".
Oldman received strong reviews and earned his first Academy Award nomination and a BAFTA Award nomination for his portrayal of British spy George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (2011), an adaptation of the John le Carré novel, directed by Tomas Alfredson. To prepare for the role of George Smiley, Oldman gained 15 pounds, watched Alec Guinness' performance in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", took accent lessons to improve his British accent, and paid a visit to Smiley's creator John le Carré.
Gene Hackman
He later appeared as one of Teddy Roosevelt's former Rough Riders in the Western horse-race saga "Bite the Bullet" (1975), as well as in that year's sequel "French Connection II". In 1975 he also appeared in "Night Moves", receiving a BAFTA nomination for lead actor. He appeared in the star-studded war film "A Bridge Too Far" (1977), as Polish General Stanisław Sosabowski. Hackman showed a talent for both comedy and the "slow burn" as criminal mastermind Lex Luthor in "Superman: The Movie" (1978), as he would in its 1980 and 1987 sequels.
Paul Newman
Newman's first film for Hollywood was "The Silver Chalice" (1954). The film was a box office failure and the actor would later acknowledge his disdain for it. In 1956, Newman garnered much attention and acclaim for the role of Rocky Graziano in "Somebody Up There Likes Me". In 1958, he starred in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958), opposite Elizabeth Taylor. The film was a box office smash and Newman garnered his first Academy Award nomination. Also in 1958, Newman starred in "The Long, Hot Summer" with Joanne Woodward, with whom he reconnected on the set in 1957 (they had first met in 1953). He won Best Actor at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival for this film.
Lucky Lady
Gene Hackman initially did not want to do the film, but 20th Century Fox kept offering him more and more money. Finally, Fox offered him $1.25 million, and according to talent agent Sue Mengers, "it was almost obscene for him not to do the film." "I was seduced," said Hackman.
Eddie Redmayne
Redmayne was cast in his first feature film "Like Minds" (2006) after being spotted by casting director Lucy Bevan performing in a play called "Goats". Redmayne has appeared in films such as "The Good Shepherd" (2006), "Savage Grace" (2007), "Powder Blue" (2008), "The Other Boleyn Girl" (2008), "Glorious 39" (2009), and "Hick" (2011). He starred as Osmund in Christopher Smith's supernatural gothic chiller film "Black Death" (2010). His 2008 Sundance drama film "The Yellow Handkerchief" was released on 26 February 2010 by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Gary Goldman (screenwriter)
By 2003, Goldman's career had slowed down, and manager Lenny Beckerman suggested that he adapt another Philip K. Dick story. Goldman had a good relationship with the Dick estate and was able to acquire the rights to his 1954 short story, "The Golden Man". The completed script was sold to Nicolas Cage's production company, Saturn Films, and eventually became the 2007 film, "Next", directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Cage, along with Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel. Unfortunately, the film was not a great critical or financial success.
Nydia Caro
In 2000, she made her Hollywood debut, playing "Isabelle" in "Under Suspicion", starring Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman.
Tony Scott
In 1993, Scott directed "True Romance" costing just $13m, from a script by Quentin Tarantino. The cast included Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Tom Sizemore, Chris Penn, Val Kilmer and in bit roles, James Gandolfini and Samuel L. Jackson. Although it received positive reviews from Janet Maslin and other critics, it took less than $13m and was considered a box office failure. Scott's next film, "Crimson Tide" (1995), was a submarine thriller starring Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington.
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor, singer, and producer. Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in a variety of film genres. He is known for his long-running role as Wolverine in the "X-Men" film series, as well as for his lead roles in films such as the romantic-comedy fantasy "Kate & Leopold" (2001), the action-horror film "Van Helsing" (2004), the magic-themed drama "The Prestige" (2006), the epic fantasy drama "The Fountain" (2006), the epic historical romantic drama "Australia" (2008), the film version of "Les Misérables" (2012), the thriller "Prisoners" (2013), and the musical "The Greatest Showman" (2017). His work in "Les Misérables" earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in 2013.
Barry Newman
Director Richard C. Sarafian's original choice for the role of Kowalski was Gene Hackman but the studio, 20th Century Fox, insisted on using Newman. The film was not initially a success in the United States when it first opened in 1971 but received critical acclaim and was a commercial success in Europe.
Gregory Ratoff
He landed his most memorable film, "Intermezzo: A Love Story" (1939), when a harried David Selznick borrowed the prolific Ratoff from Fox to direct his new Swedish protege Ingrid Bergman in her American debut. The original director, William Wyler, had walked out after a quarrel with Selznick, whose hands were full completing his troubled "Gone With The Wind" and making newly arrived Alfred Hitchcock's first American film, "Rebecca". The story was a remake of the Swedish film that had made Bergman a star, a tale of doomed love between a famous but married violin virtuoso (Leslie Howard) and his brilliant young piano accompanist (Bergman). Bergman was none too impressed with Ratoff, particularly since she was still struggling with English herself and found Ratoff difficult to follow. Ratoff, however, soon saw that "she is sensational", as he told "Life Magazine". Leslie Howard had been talked into the part with the promise of a co-producer credit. This would be Ratoff's last Hollywood picture.
Ralph Bellamy
His film career began with "The Secret Six" (1931) starring Wallace Beery and featuring Jean Harlow and Clark Gable. By the end of 1933, he had already appeared in 22 movies, most notably "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1932) and the second lead in the action film "Picture Snatcher" with James Cagney (1933). He played in seven more films in 1934 alone, including "Woman in the Dark", based on a Dashiell Hammett story, in which Bellamy played the lead, second-billed under Fay Wray. Bellamy kept up the pace through the decade, receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "The Awful Truth" (1937) with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, and played a similar part, that of a naive boyfriend competing with the sophisticated Grant character, in "His Girl Friday" (1940). He portrayed detective Ellery Queen in a few films during the 1940s, but as his film career did not progress, he returned to the stage, where he continued to perform throughout the 1950s. Bellamy appeared in other movies during this time, including "Dance, Girl, Dance" (1940) with Maureen O'Hara and Lucille Ball, and the horror classic "The Wolf Man" (1941) with Lon Chaney, Jr. and Evelyn Ankers. He also appeared in "The Ghost of Frankenstein" in 1942 with Chaney and Bela Lugosi.
Eliot Hyman
In 1954, he began syndicating films to television through a.a.p., acquiring the entire library of 750 feature films of Warner Bros. made before 1950, as well as 1,500 short subjects and 337 "Looney Tunes"/"Merrie Melodies" cartoon shorts also from Warner Bros. and the Fleischer Studios/Famous Studios "Popeye" cartoons from Paramount Pictures. He also began investing in films, including two major films of the director John Huston, "Moulin Rouge" (1953) and "Moby Dick" (1956). He helped fund and played an important role in the financing of the first horror film from Hammer Film Productions, "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957).
John Heyman
In the early 1970s, Heyman began to render financial services to major film studios, and is widely credited with creating "structured financing" in the film industry. As a result of his efforts, some $4 billion has been provided to co-finance more than 150 films and television programs, including "Awakenings" (Columbia), "Black Rain" (Paramount), "Chinatown" (Paramount), "Edward Scissorhands" (Fox), "Grease" (Paramount), "" (Warner), "Heaven Can Wait" (Paramount), "Home Alone" (Fox), "Looking For Mr Goodbar" (Paramount), "The Man Who Would Be King" (Allied Artists), "Marathon Man" (Paramount), "The Odessa File" (Columbia), "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (Fox), "Saturday Night Fever" (Paramount), "" (Paramount), "Trail of the Pink Panther" (MGM), and "Victor/Victoria" (MGM).
Henry Jackman
Jackman had various minor roles on film scores since 2006, generally working with mentor Hans Zimmer, including for "The Da Vinci Code" (music programmer), "The Dark Knight" (music arranger) and additional music for "", "", "The Simpsons Movie", "Kung Fu Panda" and "Hancock". In 2009, Jackman, Zimmer and John Powell won the 2008 Annie Award for Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form for their work on DreamWorks Animation's "Secrets of the Furious Five" (a sequel to "Kung Fu Panda"). He has since composed soundtracks for "Monsters vs. Aliens", "Henri IV", "Gulliver's Travels", "", "Winnie the Pooh", "", "Wreck-It Ralph" and "". His first major video game score was "".
Darkman
Unable to secure the rights to either "The Shadow" or "Batman", Raimi decided to create his own superhero and struck a deal with Universal Studios to make his first Hollywood studio film. It was produced by Robert Tapert, and was written by Raimi, his brother Ivan Raimi and Chuck Pfarrer. The design and creation of the makeup effects required to turn Liam Neeson into Darkman were the handiwork of makeup effects artist Tony Gardner, who also cameos in the film as the Lizard Man in the carnival Freak Show sequence.
Herman Makkink
His first solo exhibition, "Gnomes", was mounted at the Courtauld Institute of Art in 1971. Makkink worked with his brother Kees Makkink, at the St Katharine Docks complex in London, a former industrial complex that was converted by the SPACE Foundation as a studio complex. There, in 1969 he was discovered by Stanley Kubrick who used two of his works in his film "A Clockwork Orange" (1971): Rocking Machine and Christ Unlimited. Coincidentally, the Italian filmmaker Tinto Brass also used Rocking Machine in his film "Dropout", starring Vanessa Redgrave.
Makkink's partner was the British author, Julia Blackburn. 
In 1972 Makkink settled in Amsterdam, while making regular visits to Deia, Majorca. His first solo exhibition in the Wetering Gallery in Amsterdam took place in 1982, and the gallery has continued to feature his work ever since. In 1986 he was visiting professor at the ArtEZ Institute of the Arts.
Anthony Harvey
Harvey's first feature film as a director was a monochrome shorter subject, the intense one-hour race relations drama "Dutchman" (1966), which depicts a fateful encounter between a black man and a white woman on the New York subway. Although it did not receive a wide release, it was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Jesse Hartman
As a filmmaker, Hartman has written and directed "Happy Hour" (1993, Best Short Film Award Berlin Intl. Film Festival), made documentaries for MSNBC's "Edgewise" (1997, opening night selection of Rotterdam Intl. Film Festival), co-produced Kelly Reichardt's indie hit feature "River Of Grass", and has co-directed music videos for "Helmet", "Christmas", and his own bands. As an actor, Hartman has been in Larry Fessenden's vampire film "Habit", his brother Phil Hartman's "Eerie" and "No Picnic", and as the protagonist Severin in Joel Schlemowitz's "Venus In Furs". He is now also a consultant and filmmaker for the musician's resource Musician.com.
Gene Hackman
In 1990 the actor underwent an angioplasty, which kept him from work for a while, although he found time for "Narrow Margin"—a remake of "The Narrow Margin" (1952). In 1992 he played the sadistic sheriff "Little" Bill Daggett in the western "Unforgiven" directed by Clint Eastwood and written by David Webb Peoples which earned him a second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor. The film won Best Picture.
In 1993 he appeared in "" as Brigadier General George Crook. He co-starred with Tom Cruise as a corrupt lawyer in "The Firm" (1993) and appeared in a second John Grisham story in 1996, playing a convict on death row in "The Chamber".
Larry Hagman
In 1964, he made his film debut in "Ensign Pulver", which featured a young Jack Nicholson. That same year, he also appeared in "Fail-Safe", with Henry Fonda.
Fake Shemp
In the 1981 film "Superman II", actor Gene Hackman, who had finished the majority of his scenes playing Lex Luthor, left the project following the departure of the film's original director, Richard Donner. After replacement director Richard Lester took over production, a Shemp was used for Hackman to finish his remaining scenes. This was accomplished by an uncredited actor standing in for Hackman, though not ever facing the camera, while also impersonating Hackman's voice.
Gene Hackman
Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, the son of Eugene Ezra Hackman and Anna Lyda Elizabeth (née Gray). He has one brother, Richard. He has Pennsylvania Dutch (German), English, and Scottish ancestry; his mother was born in Lambton, Ontario. His family moved frequently, finally settling in Danville, Illinois, where they lived in the house of his English-born maternal grandmother, Beatrice. Hackman's father operated the printing press for the "Commercial-News", a local paper. His parents divorced in 1943 and his father subsequently left the family. Hackman decided that he wanted to become an actor when he was ten years old.
Ron Haffkine
Haffkine became the musical director for free for the Herb Gardner movie "Who is Harry Kellerman" which Dustin Hoffman, the star of The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy and Little Big Man, played a songwriter. One scene in the Hoffman film required a band on stage, but Ron didn’t like the band, so he recommended a band called Dr. Hook. He had heard them playing in a bar called The Sands, in Union City, New Jersey. The producers, Shel and Dustin said "No". Un-relentless, Ron offered to pay for a showcase of the group on the condition that they all attend. They all attended and they all agreed to use Dr. Hook in the film. With the help of producer Haffkine The group recorded two songs for the film: Locorriere sang the lead on both "The Last Morning," the movie's theme song, later re-recorded for their second album, "Sloppy Seconds," and "Bunky and Lucille," which the band can be seen performing in the film. Haffkine felt that the film would not be a great box office hit but the soundtrack had a lot of momentum so he arranged a meeting with Clive Davis, CBS Records described in Davis's autobiography. Drummer David used a wastepaper basket to keep the beat, and while Sawyer, Locorriere and Cummings played and sang a few songs, Francis hopped up and danced on the mogul's desk. This meeting secured the band their first record contract. The film, released in 1971 by National General Pictures, received mixed critical reviews and did only modestly at the box office, but later became a cult film.
Craig J. Nevius
After "Happy Together", Nevius began working with the noted low-budget producer and director Roger Corman. While working for Corman, Nevius also began a second career as a producer. He wrote and produced in several genres ranging from suspense thriller (Ladykiller (1996) starring Ben Gazzara and "Death's Door" starring David Carradine) to family comedy ("Stepmonster" (1993) starring Alan Thicke and "A Very Unlucky Leprechaun" (1998) starring Warwick Davis) to Gothic horror ("The Marquis De Sade" starring Nick Mancuso and "Hellfire" starring Ben Cross). Most were typical low-budget Corman exploitation films.
His most notable collaboration with Corman was "The Fantastic Four" (1994), the original film version of Marvel Comics' popular comic series of the same name. A longtime fan of superheroes, Nevius seized the chance to work on the film. Unfortunately, none of the production team knew that the film was ordered for legal reasons with no intent to ever distribute it. The owner of the film rights, Constantin Film, was about to lose its option on the property and the only way it could retain the rights was to make the movie—even if it would never be released. The film eventually found an audience as a bootleg, through internet sales and at comic book conventions. Some reviewers, while critical of the modest 1.5 million dollar budget, found it as good or better than the big budget 2005 studio "remake." Clint Morris of "Film Threat" magazine said, "[Y]es it's terribly low-budget and yes it's derisorily campy and feebly performed, but at the same time there's also something inquiringly irresistible about this B comic tale that makes you wonder why it didn't get a release somewhere along the line."
According to a Nevius interview with "The Sequential Tart", "The Fantastic Four" project was important in that it paved the way for "Black Scorpion", a Batman-like character played by Joan Severance. It was produced by Corman and originally aired on Showtime. Its sequel, "Black Scorpion 2: AfterShock" also starred Joan Severance in the title role. Both films were popular with viewers and critics including David Bianculli, television critic of the "New York Daily News", who called it "an imaginative mini-franchise."
Christian Bale filmography
Bale reprised his role as Wayne / Batman in the second part of Nolan's "Batman" film series, the sequel of 2005's "Batman Begins" entitled "The Dark Knight" (2008). After its release, the film received highly positive reviews and is considered one of the best films of the 2000s. It grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. A year later, he starred in the fourth installment of the "Terminator" film series, "Terminator Salvation" (2009) as John Connor. The film was poorly received by most movie critics, however, it was a commercial success. The same year, Bale starred together with Johnny Depp in the critical and commercial success "Public Enemies" as FBI agent Melvin Purvis. He acted alongside Mark Wahlberg in the biographical sports drama "The Fighter" (2010) as Dicky Eklund. The film was critically acclaimed and a commercial success. "The Fighter" earned Bale the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 83rd Academy Awards. In 2012, Bale starred in the third and final installment of Nolan's "Batman" film trilogy entitled "The Dark Knight Rises" as Wayne / Batman. As with its prequels, the film received positive acclaim from movie critics. "The Dark Knight Rises" has earned more than $1 billion worldwide thus becoming the third highest-grossing film of 2012. For his role as Michael Burry in the biographical dramedy "The Big Short", he was nominated for an Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. More recently, he played Dick Cheney in the comedy-drama-horror film "Vice", also directed by McKay, and starring Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, Steve Carrell as Donald Rumsfeld, and Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush. Bale has received universal acclaim for his performance.
Gene Hackman
Hackman competed in Sports Car Club of America races driving an open wheeled Formula Ford in the late seventies. In 1983 he drove a Dan Gurney Team Toyota in the 24 Hours of Daytona Endurance Race. He also won the Long Beach Grand Prix Celebrity Race.
Ann Wedgeworth
Wedgeworth had supporting roles in many movies. She had the female leading role opposite Gene Hackman in the 1973 film "Scarecrow". She later co-starred in "Bang the Drum Slowly", "Law and Disorder", "One Summer Love", and "Thieves". In 1977, she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "Handle with Care".
Gene Hackman
His film roles during the 1990s featured: "Unforgiven" (1992); "The Firm" (1993); "The Quick and the Dead"; "Crimson Tide" (1995); "Get Shorty" (1995); "The Birdcage" (1996); and "Enemy of the State" (1998) Later roles included: "Behind Enemy Lines" (2001); and "The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001). Hackman's final film appearance to date was the romantic comedy film "Welcome to Mooseport" in 2004, co-starring comedian Ray Romano.
Chips Rafferty
Their first movie was "The Phantom Stockman" (1953), directed by Robinson and starring Rafferty, and produced by them both. The film was profitable. It was followed by "King of the Coral Sea", which was even more popular, and introduce Rod Taylor to cinema audiences. Rafferty and Robinson attracted the interest of the French, collaborated with them on the New Guinea adventure tale, "Walk Into Paradise" (1956). This was their most popular movie to date.
Ingmar Bergman
Bergman's film career began in 1941 with his work rewriting scripts, but his first major accomplishment was in 1944 when he wrote the screenplay for "Torment" (a.k.a. "Frenzy") ("Hets"), a film directed by Alf Sjöberg. Along with writing the screenplay, he was also appointed assistant director of the film. In his second autobiographical book, "Images: My Life in Film", Bergman describes the filming of the exteriors as his actual film directorial debut. The film sparked debate on Swedish formal education. When Henning Håkanson (the principal of the high school Bergman had attended) wrote a letter following the film's release, Bergman, according to scholar Frank Gado, disparaged in a response what he viewed as Håkanson's implication that students "who did not fit some arbitrary prescription of worthiness deserved the system's cruel neglect". Bergman also stated in the letter that he "hated school as a principle, as a system and as an institution. And as such I have definitely not wanted to criticize my own school, but all schools." The international success of this film led to Bergman's first opportunity to direct a year later. During the next ten years he wrote and directed more than a dozen films, including "Prison" ("Fängelse") in 1949, as well as "Sawdust and Tinsel" ("Gycklarnas afton") and "Summer with Monika" ("Sommaren med Monika"), both from 1953.
Gene Hackman
In 2003 at the Golden Globes, Hackman was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field."
46th British Academy Film Awards
"Gene Hackman in Unforgiven"
Pork pie hat
The porkpie hat enjoyed a slight resurgence in exposure and popularity after Gene Hackman's character Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle wore one in the 1971 film "The French Connection". Doyle was based on real-life policeman Eddie Egan, who played the captain in the film, and his exploits. Egan was famous all his life for wearing a pork pie hat, and refused to surrender his hat to Gene Hackman to wear in the film. The producers were forced to obtain Hackman's hat elsewhere. At about the same time, Robert De Niro wore a pork pie hat in the 1973 film "Mean Streets" (the same hat he wore when he auditioned for the film).
Wally Pfister
In 1998, Pfister shot "The Hi-Line" in Montana in the dead of winter on a $300,000 budget. It got into the competition at Sundance Film Festival. There, he met Nolan, who had a film at Slamdance. Pfister's first collaboration with Nolan was on the neo-noir thriller "Memento" (2000). The success of this collaboration resulted in Pfister taking over as director of photography for Nolan's subsequent films: "Insomnia" (2002), "Batman Begins" (2005), "The Prestige" (2006), "The Dark Knight" (2008), which he partially shot with IMAX cameras, and "Inception", which was shot partially in 5-perf 65 mm. He is the only cinematographer that has worked with director Christopher Nolan between "Memento" and "Dark Knight Rises", and has served as cinematographer for all of Nolan's films except for "Following" (1998), for which Nolan acted as cinematographer himself, "Interstellar" (2014), and Dunkirk (2017), in both of which he was replaced by Hoyte van Hoytema, after Pfister got the chance to direct his first film, "Transcendence". Pfister has stated that he "turned down many projects (including several "Harry Potter" films), in some cases just to be available for Nolan, or to stay home with my family."
Gene Roddenberry filmography
He wrote pilots for a series of his own, but these were turned down by the studios until he began work on "The Lieutenant". This ran for a single season on NBC on Saturday nights. While involved in that series, he began working on a science fiction premise that became "". He oversaw the production of the series for the first two seasons, but following budget cuts and the move to an unfavorable timeslot for the , he stepped back from working on "Star Trek" but remained credited as an executive producer. Following the cancellation of the series, he wrote and produced his first feature film, "Pretty Maids All in a Row". He also produced several new science fiction pilots; "Genesis II" (also re-worked into a second pilot, called "Planet Earth"), "The Questor Tapes" and "Spectre". Of these, "Questor" was approved to go to a full season, but following disagreements between Roddenberry and the studio over suggested changes, it was canceled.
Angelina Jolie
Jolie began her professional film career in 1993, when she played her first leading role in the straight-to-video science-fiction sequel "Cyborg 2", as a near-human robot designed for corporate espionage and assassination. She was so disappointed with the film that she did not audition again for a year. Following a supporting role in the independent film "Without Evidence" (1995), she starred in her first Hollywood picture, "Hackers" (1995). "The New York Times" critic Janet Maslin wrote, "Kate stands out. That's because she scowls even more sourly than [her co-stars] and is that rare female hacker who sits intently at her keyboard in a see-through top." "Hackers" failed to make a profit at the box office, but developed a cult following after its video release.
Dave McKean
"MirrorMask", McKean's first feature film as director, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2005. The screenplay was written by Neil Gaiman, from a story by Gaiman and McKean. A children's fantasy which combines live action and digital animation, "MirrorMask" was produced by Jim Henson Studios and stars a British cast Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, Rob Brydon, and Gina McKee. Before "MirrorMask", McKean directed a number of television intros and music videos as well as several short films, such as "The Week Before" (1998) and "N[eon]" (2002), which are included in the compilation DVD of McKean's work "Keanoshow" from Allen Spiegel Fine Arts. McKean has directed "The Gospel of Us", a film of the National Theatre Wales's Passion play in Port Talbot which stars Michael Sheen. A new feature film, "Luna", written and directed by McKean and starring Stephanie Leonidas, Ben Daniels, Dervla Kirwan and Michael Maloney debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2014.
Steve McQueen
In late 1955, at the age of 25, McQueen left New York and headed for California, where he moved into a house on Vestal Avenue in the Echo Park area, seeking acting jobs in Hollywood. When McQueen appeared in a two-part television "Westinghouse Studio One" presentation entitled "The Defenders", Hollywood manager Hilly Elkins (who managed McQueen's first wife, Neile) took note of him and decided that B-movies would be a good place for the young actor to make his mark. He landed his first film role in a bit part in "Somebody Up There Likes Me", directed by Robert Wise and starring Paul Newman. McQueen was subsequently hired for the films "Never Love a Stranger", "The Blob" (his first leading role) which depicts a flesh eating amoeba-like space creature, and "The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery".
The Narrow Margin
Film critic Blake Lucas makes the case that "The Narrow Margin" reflects the "noir view" of an unstable and deceiving moral reality.The film was remade as "Narrow Margin" with Anne Archer and Gene Hackman in 1990. It was directed by Peter Hyams. Hackman's performance was praised, but the later version is generally considered a lesser work compared to the original movie.
Roger Corman
In 1995 Corman was executive producer on "Roger Corman Presents", a special series of 13 movies for Showtime with budgets of around $1.5 million each. "I think the Corman name means action, humor and some titillation," says Mike Elliott, the producer of the series. "It's going to deliver the goods - and it will have a little moral statement in there as well." Corman ended up doing a second season of eleven movies. The films were "Bram Stoker's Burial of the Rats", "Hellfire", "Virtual Seduction", "Suspect Device", "Unknown Origin", "Terminal Virus", "Where Evil Lies", "Vampirella", "Shadow of a Scream", "Subliminal Seduction", "House of the Damned" (aka "Spectre"), "The Haunted Sea", "Alien Avengers" (aka "Aliens Among Us")and its sequel, "Inhumanoid", "Sawbones", "Not Like Us", and "Last Exit to Earth". He created his own comic book franchise, "Black Scorpion" which led to a sequel and later a TV series. Corman also executive produced remakes of "The Wasp Woman", "Humanoids from the Deep", "A Bucket of Blood" (aka "The Death Artist"), "Piranha" and "Not of this Earth".
Steve McQueen filmography
McQueen began the 1970s with the sports drama "Le Mans" (1971), a fictional take on the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance races. The film was a critical and commercial disappointment, leaving him almost bankrupt. He followed it by starring in two back-to-back films under Sam Peckinpah: the western "Junior Bonner" (1972), where he featured as the titular character, a rodeo rider, and the action film "The Getaway" (1972), where he appears as an ex-conman who flees to Mexico with his wife after being double-crossed by his partners-in-crime. In the latter, he was paired opposite his second wife, Ali MacGraw. Both films were critically acclaimed. While "Junior Bonner" did not enjoy box office success, "The Getaway" went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year, marking a comeback for McQueen. The following year, he featured alongside Dustin Hoffman in the prison film "Papillon" playing Henri Charrière, a prisoner convicted of murder who makes an escape attempt with fellow convict Louis Dega (Hoffman). McQueen's performance earned him his fourth and final Golden Globe Award nomination in the Best Actor category. He then starred alongside Paul Newman as a SFFD chief in the disaster drama "The Towering Inferno" (1974). McQueen received $12 million for acting in the film, making him the highest-paid actor in the world up to that point. The film was commercially successful, grossing ($ in 2018) against a ($ in 2018) budget. After a four-year hiatus in which he focused on his motorcycle racing career, McQueen returned to acting when he was cast against type as a scientist in "An Enemy of the People". He completed two more films before his death: "Tom Horn" and "The Hunter" (both released in 1980).
Twice in a Lifetime (film)
Twice in a Lifetime is a 1985 film directed by Bud Yorkin and starring Gene Hackman. The plot involves a steelworker and married man going through a mid-life crisis when he finds himself attracted to another woman, played by Ann-Margret. Ellen Burstyn, Amy Madigan, Ally Sheedy and Brian Dennehy co-star.
Chris Quick
Originally starting in theatre, Quick made the move to video editing in 2007 when he studied television production at the Glasgow Metropolitan College (now City of Glasgow College). It is here that he first met Mark D. Ferguson and Andy S. McEwan and formed a close working relationship with the pair. After graduating in 2009, he co-founded Quick Off The Mark Productions with Ferguson and began working in corporate advertising videos. In 2010, the pair were reunited with McEwan when they began development of what would become their first feature film, "In Search of La Che". Starring Duncan Airlie James in his first leading role as an actor, the spoof mockumentary followed John Tavish on his quest to track down fictional rock star Roxy La Che. English actor, Steve Nallon also made a guest appearance in the film as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The film premiered at the Glasgow Film Theatre on 9 November 2011 with the cast and crew in attendance as well as an unexpected appearance form Scottish actor Peter Mullan.
In 2012, Quick made his directorial debut with the short comedy "The Greyness of Autumn" which he co wrote with McEwan. The film, starring Duncan Airlie James again in the starring role, followed the story of Danny McGuire, a depressed ostrich living in Glasgow. The film received good reviews upon its release in both the United Kingdom and abroad. Canadian review site Pretty Clever Films wrote:
Frank Redman
Redman began his career in film as the cinematographer for the 1927 Pathé Exchange serial, "Hawk of the Hills", starring Allene Ray and Walter Miller, and directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet. In 1929, Redman shot another serial western, "A Final Reckoning", directed by Ray Taylor, this time at Universal Pictures. 1929 also saw Redman's first feature length credit, when the ten episode serial, "Hawk of the Hills", was re-edited and re-issued. During his early years, he was sometimes assisted by another pioneering cinematographer, Linwood G. Dunn. In 1931, Redman began a long association with RKO Pictures, working as one of the cameramen under Edward Cronjager, on the Academy Award-winning film, "Cimarron". He spent the next several years working as a cameraman for RKO, working on such films as: "Consolation Marriage", under J. Roy Hunt, which starred Irene Dunne; "Little Orphan Annie", starring Mitzi Green in the title role, with Jack MacKenzie as the director of photography; "Bed of Roses" (1933), directed by Gregory La Cava and starring Constance Bennett; the 1934 comedy mystery "Murder on the Blackboard", directed by George Archainbaud, starring Edna May Oliver and James Gleason, with Nicholas Musuraca in charge of photography; he'd again work with Musuraca on 1935's "Village Tale". Redman was also the cameraman, under director of photography Charles Rosher, for the 1932 classic drama about Hollywood, "What Price Hollywood?", directed by George Cukor and produced by David O. Selznick and Pandro Berman. The film stars Constance Bennett and Lowell Sherman, and would serve as the basis for Selznick's more famous, "A Star is Born"
Darkman
For a long time, Sam Raimi had been interested in adapting a comic book into a film. He had pursued and failed to secure the rights to both "The Shadow" and "Batman" and decided to create his own. The initial idea Raimi had for "Darkman" was of a man who could change his face. He has said that he drew inspiration from those films as well as "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Elephant Man". Raimi was also inspired by the Universal horror films of the 1930s and 1940s because "they made me fear the hideous nature of the hero and at the same time drew me to him. I went back to that idea of the man who is noble and turns into a monster". He originally wrote a 30-page short story, titled "The Darkman", and then developed into a 40-page treatment. At this point, according to Raimi, "it became the story of a man who had lost his face and had to take on other faces, a man who battled criminals using this power". It also became more of a tragic love story in the tradition of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". In 1987, Raimi submitted the treatment to Universal Pictures which they liked, green-lighted a budget in the range of $8–12 million, and suggested that he get a screenwriter to flesh out the story.
Jason Bateman
Bateman earned the status of teen idol in the mid-1980s for his television work, most notably as David Hogan on "The Hogan Family" (originally titled "Valerie" and later, "Valerie's Family", after Valerie Harper left the series). He became the Directors Guild of America's youngest-ever director when, aged 18, he helmed three episodes of "The Hogan Family". After the series ended its run, he gained international recognition in the motion picture sequel "Teen Wolf Too", which was a box office failure. In 1994, he played opposite Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Quinn in the television film "This Can't Be Love". During this period, he had roles on four series — "Simon", "Chicago Sons", "George & Leo", and "Some of My Best Friends"—none of which lasted longer than one season. He also directed an episode of "Two of a Kind" in 1999. In 2002, he played the frisky sibling of Thomas Jane's character in the feature film "The Sweetest Thing".
B movie
In 1954, a young filmmaker named Roger Corman received his first screen credits as writer and associate producer of Allied Artists' "Highway Dragnet". Corman soon independently produced his first movie, "Monster from the Ocean Floor", on a $12,000 budget and a six-day shooting schedule. Among the six films he worked on in 1955, Corman produced and directed the first official ARC release, "Apache Woman", and "Day the World Ended", half of Arkoff and Nicholson's first twin-bill package. Corman would go on to direct over fifty feature films through 1990. As of 2007, he remained active as a producer, with more than 350 movies to his credit. Often referred to as the "King of the Bs", Corman has said that "to my way of thinking, I never made a 'B' movie in my life", as the traditional B movie was dying out when he began making pictures. He prefers to describe his metier as "low-budget exploitation films". In later years Corman, both with AIP and as head of his own companies, would help launch the careers of Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Robert Towne, and Robert De Niro, among many others.
The French Connection (film)
It was the first R-rated movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture since the introduction of the MPAA film rating system in 1968. It also won Academy Awards for Best Actor (Hackman), Best Director (Friedkin), Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Tidyman). It was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Scheider), Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing. Tidyman also received a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Writers Guild of America Award and an Edgar Award for his screenplay. A sequel, "French Connection II", followed in 1975 with Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey reprising their roles.
Joe Spinell
Then came "Eureka", a drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg. It stars Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, Rutger Hauer, Joe Pesci and Mickey Rourke. Spinell had a non-speaking small role as one of several thugs who murder Hackman's character in the middle of the film.
Gene Hackman
By the end of the 1980s, he alternated between leading and supporting roles, earning another Best Actor nomination for "Mississippi Burning". He had a memorable part as a Secretary of Defense trying to cover up a homicide in 1987's "No Way Out" opposite Kevin Costner.
Nanette Newman
Newman made her first screen appearance at age 11 in the 1945 short "Here We Come Gathering: A Story of the Kentish Orchards". Her feature film debut as a teenager was in "Personal Affairs" released in 1953. There followed a number of period roles, including the heroine in "The Wrong Box" (1966); "The Madwoman of Chaillot" (1969); "The Raging Moon" (1971), as a young woman in a wheelchair and "International Velvet" (1978).
Éric Rohmer
His style was famously criticised by Gene Hackman's character in the 1975 film "Night Moves" who describes viewing Rohmer's films as "kind of like watching paint dry".
Independent film
Dennis Hopper, the American actor, made his writing and directing debut with "Easy Rider" (1969). Along with his producer/co-star/co-writer Peter Fonda, Hopper was responsible for one of the first completely independent film of New Hollywood. "Easy Rider" debuted at Cannes and garnered the "First Film Award" () after which it received two Oscar nominations, one for best original screenplay and one for Corman-alum Jack Nicholson's breakthrough performance in the supporting role of George Hanson, an alcoholic lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. Following on the heels of "Easy Rider" shortly afterwards was the revived United Artists' "Midnight Cowboy" (also 1969), which, like "Easy Rider", took numerous cues from Ken Anger and his influences in the French New Wave. It became the first and only X rated film to win the Academy Award for best picture. "Midnight Cowboy" also held the distinction of featuring cameo roles by many of the top Warhol superstars, who had already become symbols of the militantly anti-Hollywood climate of NYC's independent film community.
John G. Thomas
His first feature, "Tin Man" (1983), is the story of a deaf computer genius (Timothy Bottoms) who invents a computer which allows him to speak. The film was received with much enthusiasm and earned the title of Official U.S. entry at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Thomas' next feature, "Banzai Runner" (1987), starring Dean Stockwell, centers around the death of a cop mixed up in a race involving a group of wealthy drivers and custom high-speed cars on a deserted desert highway. "Banzai Runner" went on to become the "…top selling (non-studio) video in the first year of its release." according to "Variety". The next film done by Thomas was "Arizona Heat" (1988), a film crossing cultural boundaries by pairing a tough cop with a lesbian cop in their mutual pursuit of a serial killer. "Arizona Heat" was also greatly successful.
1970s in film
Three "Airport" sequels followed in 1974, 1977, and 1979, each successor making less money than the last. 1972 brought "The Poseidon Adventure", which starred a young Gene Hackman leading an all-star cast to safety in a capsized luxury liner. The film earned an Academy Award for visual effects (and Best Original Song for "The Morning After"), as well as numerous nominations, including one for its notable supporting star, Shelley Winters, but its sequel in 1979 was far less successful. "The Towering Inferno" teamed Steve McQueen and Paul Newman against a fire in a San Francisco skyscraper. The film cost a whopping $14 million to produce (expensive for its time), and won Academy Awards for Cinematography, Film Editing, and Best Original Song. The same year, the epic "Earthquake" featured questionable effects (camera shake and models) to achieve a destructive 9.9 earthquake in Los Angeles. Despite this, the film was one of the most successful of its time, earning $80 million at box office. By the late 1970s, the novelty had worn off and the disasters had become less exciting. 1977 brought a terrorist targeting a "Rollercoaster", 1978 a "Swarm" of bees, and a less-than-threatening "Meteor" in 1979.
Eddie Redmayne
In 2016, Redmayne starred as Newt Scamander in the film adaptation of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", the first of a series within the Wizarding World of the "Harry Potter" film series, with a screenplay by J. K. Rowling. In 2018, Redmayne starred in the stop-motion animated film "Early Man", and reprised his role as Newt Scamander in "".
Jason Statham
While working as a model for French Connection, he was introduced to fledgling British director Guy Ritchie who was developing a film project and needed to fill the role of a street-wise con artist. After learning about Statham's past as a black market salesman, Ritchie cast him to play the role of "Bacon" in his 1998 crime comedy thriller "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". The movie was well received by both critics and audiences, and helped put Statham in the public eye. For his role in the film he was paid £5,000 ($6,937). Statham's second collaboration with Ritchie came in the 2000 film "Snatch", playing the role of "Turkish". Cast alongside popular actors Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina, and Benicio del Toro, and with the movie earning more than $80 million in box-office revenue. For his role in "Snatch", he was paid £15,000 ($20,760), nearly 3 times the amount of his first film. Statham was able to break into Hollywood and appeared in two movies in 2001: the science fiction action horror film "Ghosts of Mars" and the science fiction martial arts action film "The One".
The Hitch-Hiker (radio play)
Immediately after their marriage in October 1939, Lucille Fletcher and Bernard Herrmann left New York for Hollywood, where Herrmann was to begin work on the score of Orson Welles's first feature film, "Citizen Kane". They traveled cross-country several times by air and by train; but their most memorable trip was made in 1940, with Herrmann driving their Packard convertible. Fletcher saw "an odd-looking man, first on the Brooklyn Bridge and then on the Pulaski Skyway. We never saw him again. However, I didn't quite know what to do with the idea until a year later, when … I conceived the idea of doing it as a ghost story."
Gene Hackman
He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in "Bonnie and Clyde", when he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His major subsequent films include: "I Never Sang for My Father" (1970), when he received his second Best Supporting Actor nomination; "The French Connection" (1971) and "French Connection II" (1975), when he played Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle; "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972); "The Conversation" (1974); "Superman: The Movie" (1978), when he played arch-villain Lex Luthor; "Hoosiers" (1986); and "Mississippi Burning" (1988), when he received his second Best Actor nomination.
Malin Åkerman
In 2009, Åkerman starred as Silk Spectre II in the superhero film "Watchmen", an adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel of the same name. Directed by Zack Snyder, the feature film is set in an alternate reality in 1985 where a group of retired vigilantes investigate an apparent conspiracy against them. Snyder favoured Åkerman over other more well-known actresses as he felt that they could not play such a serious part. Åkerman rehearsed with "months of hardcore training" and went on a very strict diet. She wore a brunette wig, high heels and an uncomfortable latex costume, which provided little protection when performing stunts, and she often bruised herself during filming. Åkerman stated that her character carries the emotion of the film as she is the only woman among several men. Premiering in February 2009, the film received generally favourable reviews, and was a commercial success, grossing worldwide. Although Åkerman was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Teen Choice Award for her performance in the film, critics were generally negative towards her acting.
Åkerman appeared in the 2009 romantic comedy film "The Proposal", starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in the lead roles. Åkerman played a supporting role as Gertrude, the ex-girlfriend of Reynolds' character. Although the film received mixed reviews, it went on to gross worldwide. Also in 2009, Åkerman starred in the comedy film "Couples Retreat", opposite Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. The film follows four couples as they travel to a tropical island resort for couples therapy. Åkerman played Ronnie, the wife of Vaughn's character. She enjoyed playing a mother for the first time and tried to make her character as truthful as possible, which included dyeing her hair brown to not look like a "blonde bombshell". The film premiered in theatres in October 2009 and grossed $34 million in its opening weekend in the United States, entering number one at the box office, and totalled worldwide. Reception for the film was mainly negative, although Åkerman's performance was met with more positive reactions.
Tim Kirkman
His feature film debut, "Dear Jesse", was released theatrically by Cowboy Pictures in 1998. A documentary film about the political and personal parallels between the gay filmmaker and the notoriously anti-gay U.S. Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), "Dear Jesse", made its cable television debut on HBO/Cinemax's "Reel Life" series and was nominated for an Emmy Award in the News/Documentary Writing category in 2000. The TV broadcast version of the film featured an interview with Matthew Shepard, a college student whose murder called attention to gay-bashing and hate crimes.
Ericka Beckman
Beckman went to graduate school at CalArts in the late 1970s, and was influenced by the percussionist John Bergamo who taught there, and by Jack Goldstein's film loops. Beckman's early films were handmade and collaborative, integrating choreography, music, and singing, as well as sculptural objects. Her handmade cinematic effects have been compared to Fernand Léger's "Ballet mécanique" (1921) or Hans Richter's "Ghosts Before Breakfast" (1928) and predated the visual technology of MTV and special-effects blockbuster films like "Tron".
Rowan Atkinson
Atkinson's film career began with a supporting part in the "unofficial" James Bond movie "Never Say Never Again" (1983) and a leading role in "Dead on Time" (also 1983) with Nigel Hawthorne. He was in the 1988 Oscar-winning short film "The Appointments of Dennis Jennings". He appeared in Mel Smith's directorial debut "The Tall Guy" (1989) and appeared alongside Anjelica Huston and Mai Zetterling in Roald Dahl's "The Witches" (1990). He played the part of Dexter Hayman in "Hot Shots! Part Deux" (1993), a parody of "Rambo III", starring Charlie Sheen.
Alfred R. Kelman
Kelman's earliest success was in producing and directing "The Face of Genius", a documentary about the life of Nobel Prize–winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, nominated for an Academy Award in 1966. marking the first time that a film originally produced for television was recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science as a nominee for Best Documentary Feature.
Rick Wakeman
Wakeman began his solo career during his first run with Yes. His first album, "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", was recorded across 1972 with an advance of £4,000 from A&M. The album is instrumental with its concept based on Wakeman's interpretations of the musical characteristics of the six wives of Henry VIII. Several musicians from Strawbs and Yes play on the record, which cost around £25,000 to make. On 16 January 1973, the album was previewed with Wakeman performing excerpts on the BBC television show, "The Old Grey Whistle Test". Much of the television audience that night planned to watch "Blue Movie", a controversial film by Andy Warhol, but it was temporarily banned from being broadcast. Wakeman explained: "It seems most of them, rather than watch repeats, switched over to "Whistle Test" and saw my preview of "Henry" ... and suddenly it seemed as if the whole country had discovered my music ... it was a tremendous break." Following its release in January 1973, the album reached No. 7 in the UK and No. 30 in the US. "Time" named the record one of the best albums of the year.
Gene Stratton-Porter
Paramount Pictures produced "Freckles", the first film based on her novels in 1917, but Stratton-Porter was unhappy with the movie because it did not closely follow her novel and decided to make her own. Stratton-Porter's first filmmaking effort was made with Thomas H. Ince on "Michael O'Halloran" (1923). Stratton-Porter supervised the filming and assisted the principal director, James Leo Meehan. Her daughter, Jeannette, wrote the screenplay. 
In 1924 Stratton-Porter was one of the first women to form a movie studio and production company. Gene Stratton-Porter Productions created moving pictures that were closely based on her novels. Before her death in December 1924, Stratton-Porter's production company had produced two films, "Michael O'Halloran" (1923) and "A Girl of the Limberlost" (1924), and she had completed her novel "The Keeper of the Bees" for a third film. Stratton-Porter's studio filmed "The Harvester" (1927) at her Wildflower Woods estate in northeastern Indiana. Film Booking Offices of America released the movies produced by Stratton-Porter's studio. None of these FBO-released films are known to survive.
Gavin Hood
He directed "Rendition" (2007), his first Hollywood feature, for New Line Cinema. He also directed the film "", based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, with Hugh Jackman reprising his role from the "X-Men" films.
Thriller film
One of the first films about a fan's being disturbingly obsessed with their idol was Clint Eastwood's directorial debut, "Play Misty for Me" (1971), about a California disc jockey pursued by a disturbed female listener (Jessica Walter). John Boorman's "Deliverance" (1972) followed the perilous fate of four Southern businessmen during a weekend's trip. In Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" (1974), a bugging-device expert (Gene Hackman) systematically uncovered a covert murder while he himself was being spied upon.
Honor Blackman
Blackman's film debut was a nonspeaking part in "Fame Is the Spur" (1947). Other films include "Quartet" (1948), based on short stories by W. Somerset Maugham; "So Long at the Fair" (1950), in which she appeared with Dirk Bogarde; "A Night to Remember" (1958), an account of the "Titanic" disaster; the comedy "The Square Peg" (1958); "Life at the Top" (1965) with Laurence Harvey; "The Virgin and the Gypsy" (1970), and the Western films "Shalako" (1968) with Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot and "Something Big" (1971) with Dean Martin.
She played Hera in "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963), which is well known for the stop-motion animation and effects of Ray Harryhausen. She had roles in the films "Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001) and "Jack Brown and the Curse of the Crown" (also 2001).
Fist of Fury
"Fist of Fury" was accidentally released in the U.S. under the title "The Chinese Connection". That title was a means of tapping the popularity of another film, "The French Connection" (starring Gene Hackman), released in the U.S. in 1971. That title was intended to be used for the U.S. release of another Bruce Lee film, "The Big Boss", which also involved drug smuggling. However, the U.S. titles for "Fist of Fury" and "The Big Boss" were accidentally switched, resulting in "Fist of Fury" being released in the U.S. under the title "The Chinese Connection" until 2005, while "The Big Boss" was released as "Fists of Fury".
Roger Corman
He helped produce two films for Allied Artists, both from scripts by Leo Gordon: "Hot Car Girl" (1958), directed by Bernard Kowalski and produced by his brother Gene (the first film they made together) from a script by Gordon; and "The Cry Baby Killer" (1958), which gave Jack Nicholson his first starring role.
Morgan Freeman on screen and stage
Freeman played Lucius Fox in a trilogy of Batman films: "Batman Begins" (2005), "The Dark Knight" (2008), and "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012). During that time, Freeman also appeared in "The Bucket List" (2007) opposite Jack Nicholson, "Wanted" (2008) with Angelina Jolie, and "Invictus" (2009) with Matt Damon. In 2011, Freeman received the AFI Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Two years later he starred in action thriller "Olympus Has Fallen" (2013), science fiction film "Oblivion" (2013), caper "Now You See Me" (2013), and comedy "Last Vegas". In 2014, Freeman appeared in the science fiction films "Transcendence" and "Lucy".
List of awards and nominations received by Gene Hackman
The following is a list of awards and nominations received by American actor Gene Hackman. For his role in "The French Connection", he won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe for Best Actor. He won all three awards again for his role in "Unforgiven". In 2003, he won the Cecil B. DeMille Award.