Andrew G. Vajna
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Andrew G. Vajna
Andrew G. Vajna (born András György Vajna; 1 August 1944 – 20 January 2019) was a Hungarian film producer whose films include the first three entries in the ''Rambo'' series, '' Total Recall'', '' Tombstone'', ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'', ''Evita'', and ''Terminator 3''. He founded the now-defunct production companies Carolco Pictures, Cinergi Pictures, and C2 Pictures, frequently in collaboration with Mario Kassar. Biography Early life and first business successes Andrew G. Vajna was born in Budapest to György Vajna, a merchant of Jewish descent (born Weidmann), and his wife, Klára. In 1956 at the age of 12, he fled from Hungary and with the support of Red Cross he made his way alone to Canada. He arrived having no friends and speaking no English. Later on he reunited with his parents in Los Angeles, USA, who fled Hungary separately. He studied cinematography at University of California, Los Angeles and then joined the university's Educational Motion Picture Departme ...
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Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of 1,752,286 over a land area of about . Budapest, which is both a city and county, forms the centre of the Budapest metropolitan area, which has an area of and a population of 3,303,786; it is a primate city, constituting 33% of the population of Hungary. The history of Budapest began when an early Celtic settlement transformed into the Roman town of Aquincum, the capital of Lower Pannonia. The Hungarians arrived in the territory in the late 9th century, but the area was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241–42. Re-established Buda became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culture by the 15th century. The Battle of Mohács, in 1526, was followed by nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule. After the reconquest of Buda in 1686, the ...
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Hungarian People's Republic
The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949 to 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet Union.Rao, B. V. (2006), ''History of Modern Europe A.D. 1789–2002'', Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Pursuant to the 1944 Moscow Conference, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin had agreed that after the war Hungary was to be included in the Soviet sphere of influence. The HPR remained in existence until 1989, when opposition forces brought the end of communism in Hungary. The state considered itself the heir to the Republic of Councils in Hungary, which was formed in 1919 as the first communist state created after the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR). It was designated a " people's democratic republic" by the Soviet Union in the 1940s. Geographically, it bordered Romania and the Soviet Union (via the Ukrainian S ...
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Music Box (film)
''Music Box'' is a 1989 American crime drama film that tells the story of a Hungarian-American immigrant who is accused of having been a war criminal. The plot revolves around his daughter, an attorney, who defends him, and her struggle to uncover the truth. The film was written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Costa-Gavras. It stars Jessica Lange, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Frederic Forrest, Donald Moffat and Lukas Haas. The film won the Golden Bear at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival. It is loosely based on the real life case of John Demjanjuk and also on Joe Eszterhas' own life. Eszterhas learned at age 45 that his father, Count István Esterházy, had concealed his wartime involvement in Hungary's Fascist and militantly racist Arrow Cross Party. According to Eszterhas, his father "organized book burnings and had cranked out the vilest anti-Semitic propaganda imaginable." After this discovery, he severed all contact with his father, never reconciling before István's ...
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Rambo III
''Rambo III'' is a 1988 American action film directed by Peter MacDonald and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel to '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985), it is the third installment in the ''Rambo'' franchise. The film depicts fictional events during the Soviet–Afghan War. In the film, Rambo sets out on a dangerous journey to Afghanistan in order to rescue his former commander and his longtime best friend, Col. Sam Trautman, from the hands of an extremely powerful and ruthless Soviet Army colonel who is bent on killing both Trautman and Rambo, while helping a local band of Afghan rebels fight against Soviet forces threatening to destroy their village. ''Rambo III'' was released worldwide on May 25, 1988. At the time of its release, ''Rambo III'' was the most expensive film ever made with a production budget between $58 and $63 million. The film was not well received by critics and grossed less than its ...
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Angel Heart
''Angel Heart'' is a 1987 American neo-noir psychological horror film, an adaptation of William Hjortsberg's 1978 novel ''Falling Angel''. The film was written and directed by Alan Parker, and stars Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, and Charlotte Rampling. Harry Angel (Rourke), a New York City private investigator, is hired to solve the disappearance of a man known as Johnny Favorite. His investigation takes him to New Orleans, where he becomes embroiled in a series of brutal murders. Following publication of the novel, Hjortsberg began developing the screenplay for a film adaptation, but found that no major studio was willing to produce his script. The project resurfaced in 1985, when producer Elliott Kastner brought the book to Parker's attention. Parker began work on a new script and in doing so made several changes from Hjortsberg's novel. He also met with Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna, who agreed to finance the $18 million production through their independent f ...
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Alan Parker
Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts, many of which won awards for creativity, he began screenwriting and directing films. Parker was known for using a wide range of filmmaking styles and working in differing genres. He directed musicals, including ''Bugsy Malone'' (1976), '' Fame'' (1980), ''Pink Floyd – The Wall'' (1982), '' The Commitments'' (1991) and ''Evita'' (1996); true-story dramas, including '' Midnight Express'' (1978), '' Mississippi Burning'' (1988), '' Come See the Paradise'' (1990) and ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999); family dramas, including ''Shoot the Moon'' (1982), and horrors and thrillers including ''Angel Heart'' (1987) and ''The Life of David Gale'' (2003). His films won nineteen BAFTA awards, ten Golden Globes and six Academy Awards. His film '' Birdy'' ...
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First Blood Part II
''Rambo: First Blood Part II'' is a 1985 American action film directed by George P. Cosmatos and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel to ''First Blood'' (1982), it is the second installment in the ''Rambo'' franchise, followed by ''Rambo III''. It co-stars Richard Crenna, who reprises his role as Colonel Sam Trautman, along with Charles Napier, Julia Nickson, and Steven Berkoff. The film's plot is inspired by the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. In the movie, Rambo gets released from prison in a deal with the United States government to document the possible existence of missing POWs in Vietnam, but is given strict orders not to rescue any. When Rambo defies his orders, he is abandoned and forced once again to rely on his own brutal combat skills to save the POWs. Despite mixed reviews, ''Rambo: First Blood Part II'' was a major worldwide box office blockbuster, with an estimated 42 million tickets sold in the Uni ...
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Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, he won his first critical acclaim as an actor for his co-starring role as Stanley Rosiello in ''The Lords of Flatbush''. Stallone subsequently found gradual work as an extra or side character in films with a sizable budget until he achieved his greatest critical and commercial success as an actor and screenwriter, starting in 1976 with his role as boxer Rocky Balboa, in the first film of the successful ''Rocky'' series (1976–present), for which he also wrote the screenplays. In the films, Rocky is portrayed as an underdog boxer who fights numerous brutal opponents, and wins the world heavyweight championship twice. In 1977, Stallone was the third actor in cinema to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and B ...
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First Blood
''First Blood'' (also known as ''Rambo: First Blood'') is a 1982 American action film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also stars as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's mentor Sam Trautman and Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle. It is the first installment in the ''Rambo'' franchise, followed by '' Rambo: First Blood Part II''. The film is based on the 1972 novel ''First Blood'' by David Morrell, which many directors and studios had unsuccessfully attempted to adapt in the 1970s. In the film, Rambo is a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam veteran who must rely on his combat and survival skills when a series of brutal events results in him having to survive a massive manhunt by police and government troops near the small town of Hope, Washington. ''First Blood'' was released in the United States on October 22, 1982. Initial reviews were mixed, but the film was a box office success, grossing $156 million at th ...
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Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue is a shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles that starts at Santa Monica Boulevard, at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. It ends at Lucile Avenue in Silver Lake. Melrose runs north of Beverly Boulevard and south of Santa Monica Boulevard. Paved in 1909, Melrose Avenue's namesake comes from the Massachusetts town of the same name. Its most famous section, known as the ''Melrose District'', is the West End through West Hollywood and Hollywood. At the corner of Fairfax and Melrose is Fairfax High School, which marks the start of the Fairfax District. One of the most famous landmarks located on Melrose Avenue is Paramount Pictures. Metro Local line 10 operates on Melrose Avenue. Melrose District The eastern end of the district, which runs from Fairfax to Highland Avenue, became a popular underground and new wave shopping area in the early 1980s and a centerpoint for the new wave and punk subcultures. The avenue ...
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1975 Cannes Film Festival
The 28th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 23 May 1975. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Chronique des Années de Braise'' by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina. In 1975, a new section, "Les Yeux fertiles", which was non-competitive, was introduced. This section, along with sections "L'Air du temps" and "Le Passé composé" of the next two years, were integrated into Un Certain Regard in 1978. The festival opened with '' A Happy Divorce'' (''Un Divorce heureux''), directed by Henning Carlsen and closed with ''Tommy'', directed by Ken Russell. Jury The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1975 feature film competition: Feature films *Jeanne Moreau (actress) Jury President *André Delvaux (director) *Anthony Burgess (writer) *Fernando Rey (actor) *George Roy Hill (director) *Gérard Ducaux-Rupp (producer) *Léa Massari (actress) *Pierre Mazars (journalist) *Pierre Salinger (writer) *Youlia Solntzeva (actress) Official selection In competition - Feature film The following f ...
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Orange Sky Golden Harvest
Orange Sky Golden Harvest (OSGH) () , previously known as Golden Harvest () from 1970 to 2009, is a film production, distribution, and exhibition company based in Hong Kong. It dominated Hong Kong cinema box office sales from the 1970s to the 1980s,Chu, Yingchi. 003(2003). Hong Kong Cinema: Coloniser, Motherland and Self. Routledge. and played a major role in introducing Hong Kong action films to the world, especially those by Bruce Lee (Concord Production Inc.), Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung. History Notable names in the company include its founders, the veteran film producers Raymond Chow () and Leonard Ho (). Chow and Ho were executives with Hong Kong's top studio Shaw Brothers but left in 1970 to form their own studio. They succeeded by taking a different approach from the highly centralised Shaw model. Golden Harvest contracted with independent producers and gave talent more generous pay and greater creative freedom. Some filmmakers and actors from Shaw Brothers defect ...
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