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American Gigolo
''American Gigolo'' is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story about a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically involved with a prominent politician's wife (Hutton), while simultaneously becoming the prime suspect in a murder case. The film established Gere as a leading man, and was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to include frontal male nudity from its main star. It is also notable for its Golden Globe Award–nominated musical score, composed by Giorgio Moroder, and number-one single " Call Me" by Blondie. Schrader considers it one of four similar films, which he calls "double bookends": ''Taxi Driver'', bookended by ''Light Sleeper'', and ''American Gigolo'' bookended by '' The Walker''. Plot Julian Kay is a male escort in Los Angeles whose clientele is upper-class women. His job supports and requires an expensive taste in cars and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collaboration with Scorsese, writing or co-writing ''Raging Bull'' (1980), '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988), and ''Bringing Out the Dead'' (1999). Schrader has also directed 24 films, including ''Blue Collar'' (1978), ''Hardcore'' (1979), '' American Gigolo'' (1980), '' Cat People'' (1982), '' Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters'' (1985), ''Light Sleeper'' (1992), ''Affliction'' (1997), and '' First Reformed'' (2017); the latter earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Schrader's work is known for its frequent depiction of alienated men struggling through existential crises, a premise he dubbed "God’s lonely man." Raised in a strict Calvinist family, Schrader attended seminary at Calvin College before electing to pursue film studie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating sinister stories often presented in a shadowy cinematographic style. Neo-noir has a similar style but with updated themes, content, style, and visual elements. Definition The neologism neo-noir, using the Greek prefix for the word ''new'', is defined by Mark Conard as "any film coming after the classic noir period that contains noir themes and noir sensibility". Another definition describes it as later noir that often synthesizes diverse genres while foregrounding the scaffolding of ''film noir''. History " Film noir" was coined by critic Nino Frank in 1946 and popularized by French critics Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton in 1955. The term revived in general use beginning in the 1980s, with a revival of the style. The classic ''fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Economic Materialism
Materialism can be described as either a personal attitude which attaches importance to acquiring and consuming material goods or as a logistical analysis of how physical resources are shaped into consumable products. The use of the term materialistic to describe a person's personality or a society tends to have a negative or critical connotation. Also called acquisitiveness, it is often associated with a value system which regards social status as being determined by affluence (see conspicuous consumption), as well as the belief that possessions can provide happiness. Environmentalism can be considered a competing orientation to materialism. "Success materialism" can be considered a pragmatic form of enlightened self-interest based on a prudent understanding of the character of market-oriented economy and society. The definition of materialism coincides with how and why resources to extract and create the material object are logistically formed. Definition Consumer researc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westwood, Los Angeles
Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south is Westwood Village, a major regional district for shopping, dining, movie theaters, and other entertainment. Wilshire Boulevard through Westwood is a major corridor of condominium towers, on the eastern end and of Class A office towers, on the western end. Westwood also has residential areas of multifamily and single family housing, including exclusive Holmby Hills. The neighborhood was developed starting in 1919, and UCLA opened in 1929, while Westwood Village was built up starting in 1929 through the 1930s. Geography According to the Westwood Neighborhood Council, the Westwood Homeowners Association, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' Mapping L.A. project, Westwood is bounded by:''The Thomas Guide: Los Angeles County,'' 2004, pages 63 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
More4
More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When the channel first launched in 2005, it mostly focused on US dramas and repeats of Channel 4 programmes. Having shown all five weekday editions of ''The Daily Show'' since More4's launch, in January 2011 the channel scaled back its commitment to one episode per week in order to increase investment in its arts programming. On 23 January 2012, More4 re-focused towards more lifestyle-based content. Documentaries which previously aired on the channel moved to Channel 4. More4's schedule runs every day from 08:55 to 04:00. More4 shows programmes from TJC during downtime. Branding 2005–2012 In September 2005, Channel 4 began running teaser trailers for the new station (although the name was neither mentioned nor seen in the adverts). Sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
An Odyssey
An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian anime convention * Ansett Australia, a major Australian airline group that is now defunct (IATA designator AN) * Apalachicola Northern Railroad (reporting mark AN) 1903–2002 ** AN Railway, a successor company, 2002– * Aryan Nations, a white supremacist religious organization * Australian National Railways Commission, an Australian rail operator from 1975 until 1987 * Antonov, a Ukrainian (formerly Soviet) aircraft manufacturing and services company, as a model prefix Entertainment and media * Antv, an Indonesian television network * ''Astronomische Nachrichten'', or ''Astronomical Notes'', an international astronomy journal * ''Avisa Nordland'', a Norwegian newspaper * ''Sweet Bean'' (あん), a 2015 Japanese film also known as ''An'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Walker
''The Walker'' is a 2007 independent crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall, Ned Beatty, Lily Tomlin, Willem Dafoe, Moritz Bleibtreu and Mary Beth Hurt. It is the fourth installment in Schrader's ''night workers'' series of films, starting with ''Taxi Driver'' in 1976, followed by '' American Gigolo'' in 1980 and ''Light Sleeper'' in 1992. Synopsis A middle-aged gay man in Washington, D. C., Carter Page III, is a male escorta "walker"a single man who escorts other men's wives to social events, rather than their husbands. One of the women he escorts, Lynn Lockner, is married to a United States senator and is having an affair with a lobbyist. When the lobbyist is murdered, she embroils Carter in an investigation that leads to the highest levels of the federal government. Cast * Woody Harrelson as Carter Page III * Kristin Scott Thomas as Lynn Lockner * Lauren Bacall as Natalie Van Miter * N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Sleeper
''Light Sleeper'' is a 1992 American crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, and Dana Delany. Set in New York City during a sanitation strike, the gritty neo-noir film stars Dafoe as a high-class drug dealer battling a midlife crisis before becoming embroiled in tragic events following the chance encounter with a former girlfriend. While under-performing at the box office, the film was regarded favorably by critics. Plot John LeTour, a 40-year-old New Yorker, is one of two delivery men for Ann, who supplies an exclusive clientele in the banking and financing sector with drugs. While Ann contemplates switching to the cosmetics business, LeTour, who suffers from insomnia, has lost his perspective in life. One night LeTour meets his ex-wife Marianne, with whom he once shared an intense but destructive relationship due to drug abuse. Although they stopped taking drugs, Marianne refuses his offer for a new start. After spending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and morally bankrupt New York City following the Vietnam War, the film follows Travis Bickle (De Niro), a veteran working as a taxi driver, and his deteriorating mental state as he works nights in the city. With ''The Wrong Man'' (1956) and '' A Bigger Splash'' (1973) as inspiration, Scorsese wanted the film to feel like a dream to audiences. With cinematographer Michael Chapman, filming began in the summer of 1975 in New York City, with actors taking pay cuts to ensure that the project could be completed on a low budget of $1.9 million. Production concluded that same year. Bernard Herrmann composed the film's music in what would be his final score, finished just several hours before his death; the film is dedicated to him. The film was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Call Me (Blondie Song)
"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie and the theme to the 1980 film ''American Gigolo''. Produced and composed by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, with lyrics by Blondie singer Debbie Harry, the song appeared in the film and was released in the United States in early 1980 as a single. "Call Me" was No. 1 for six consecutive weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, where it became the band's biggest single and second No. 1. It also hit No. 1 in the UK and Canada, where it became their fourth and second chart-topper, respectively. In the year-end chart of 1980, it was ''Billboard''s No. 1 single and ''RPM'' magazine's No. 3 in Canada. Composition and recording "Call Me" was composed by Italian disco producer Giorgio Moroder as the main theme song of the 1980 film ''American Gigolo''. It is played in the key of D minor. Moroder originally asked Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac to perform a song for the soundtrack, but she was prevented because of a recently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of the HFPA. The annual ceremony at which the awards are presented is normally held every January and has been a major part of the film industry's awards season, which culminates each year in the Academy Awards, although the Golden Globes' relevance has been declining in recent years. The eligibility period for the Golden Globes corresponds to the calendar year (from January 1 through December 31). History The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was founded in 1943 by Los Angeles-based foreign journalists seeking to develop a better organized process of gathering and distributing cinema news to non-U.S. markets. One of the organization's first major endeavors was to establish a ceremony similar to the Academy Awards to honor film achi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leading Man
A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typically plays such parts or an actor with a respected body of work. Some actors are typecast as leads, but most play the lead in some performances and supporting or character roles in others. Sometimes there is more than one significant leading role in a dramatic piece, and the actors are said to play ''co-leads''; a large supporting role may be considered a ''secondary lead''. Award nominations for acting often reflect such ambiguities. Therefore, sometimes two actors in the same performance piece are nominated for Best Actor or Best Actress—categories traditionally reserved for leads. For example, in 1935 Clark Gable, Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone were each nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for ''Mutiny on the Bounty''. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
