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Closer (2004 Film)
''Closer'' is a 2004 American-British romantic drama film directed and produced by Mike Nichols and written by Patrick Marber, based on the award-winning 1997 play of the same name. It stars Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen. The film, like the play on which it is based, has been seen by some as a modern and tragic version of Mozart's opera ''Così fan tutte'', with references to the opera in both the plot and the soundtrack. Owen starred in the play as Dan, the role played by Law in the film. The film received positive reviews and grossed $115 million at the box office. It was recognized with a number of awards and nominations, including Oscar nominations and Golden Globe wins for both Portman and Owen for their performances in supporting roles. Plot During a busy morning in London, writer Dan Woolf meets a beautiful American woman after she is hit by a car, not used to the direction of traffic in England. On their walk back from the hospital, they stop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of their experience. He is one of 17 people to have won all four of the major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). His other honors included three BAFTA Awards, the Lincoln Center Gala Tribute in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2010. His films received a total of 42 Academy Award nominations, and 7 wins. Nichols began his career in the 1950s with the comedy improvisational troupe The Compass Players, predecessor of The Second City, in Chicago. He then teamed up with his improv partner, Elaine May, to form the comedy duo Nichols and May. Their live improv act was a hit on Broadwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry worldwide. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette as a trophy, officially called the "Academy Award of Merit", although more commonly referred to by its nickname, the "Oscar". The statuette, depicting a knight rendered in the Art Deco style, was originally sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley from a design sketch by art director Cedric Gibbons. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929 at a private dinner hosted by Douglas Fairbanks in The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Academy Awards cerem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bebel Gilberto
Isabel Buarque de Hollanda Gilberto de Oliveira (born May 12, 1966), known as Bebel Gilberto, is an American-born Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle is singer/composer Chico Buarque. Early life Gilberto was born in New York City to Brazilian parents, bossa nova pioneer João Gilberto and singer Miúcha, who were briefly living in the city at the time of her birth. She often traveled with her father when he recorded albums in different countries; she lived in Mexico at age three and moved to Rio de Janeiro at age five. Gilberto's parents separated when she was seven, and she spent her time between Rio de Janeiro with her mother and New York with her father. Gilberto has been performing since her youth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gilberto recalls that her childhood was "music nonstop"; when reflecting on her father's influence, Gilberto states, "He taught me to be a perfectionist. But my m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisa Hannigan
Lisa Margaret Hannigan (born 12 February 1981) is an Irish musician, singer, composer, and voice actress. She began her musical career as a member of Damien Rice's band. Since beginning her solo career in 2007 she has released three albums: ''Sea Sew'' (2008), ''Passenger'' (2011), and ''At Swim'' (2016). Hannigan's music has received award nominations both in Ireland and the United States. Hannigan also received attention in North America for her role as Blue Diamond in ''Steven Universe'', an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar. Early life and education Hannigan was born in Dublin but grew up in Kilcloon, County Meath, Ireland. She attended primary school at Scoil Oilibhéir Naofa in Kilcloon and enrolled at Trinity College Dublin to study French and art history. Career While still in college, Hannigan met Damien Rice at a concert in Dublin in early 2001. Rice enlisted Hannigan to sing on his 2002 album '' O'' and his later album " 9", featured in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damien Rice
Damien George Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success in Ireland with two released singles, "The World is Dead" and "Weatherman". After leaving the band in 1998, Rice worked as a farmer in Tuscany and busked throughout Europe before returning to Ireland in 2001 and beginning a solo career. The rest of Juniper went on to perform under the name Bell X1. In 2002, Rice released his debut album, '' O''. It reached No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart, won the Shortlist Music Prize, and generated three top 30 singles in the UK. He released his second album, '' 9'', in 2006. After eight years of various collaborations, Rice released his third studio album, '' My Favourite Faded Fantasy'', in 2014. He has contributed music to charitable projects such as Songs for Tibet, the Enough Project, and the Freedom Cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)
Elstree Studios on Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire is a British film and television production centre operated by Elstree Film Studios Limited. One of several facilities historically referred to as Elstree Studios, the Shenley Road studios originally opened in 1925. The studio complex has passed through many owners during its lifetime, and is now owned by Hertsmere Borough Council. Known as the studios used for filming Alfred Hitchcock's '' Blackmail'' (1929)—the first British talkie, ''Star Wars'' (1977), ''The'' ''Shining'' (1980) and ''Indiana Jones'' (its largest stage is known as the George Lucas Soundstage), the studios are used both for film and television productions. With the BBC Elstree Centre nearby, a number of the stages are leased to BBC Studioworks, and are used for recording television productions such as '' Strictly Come Dancing''. History British International and Associated British British National Pictures Ltd purchased of land on the south ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Stinton
Colin Stinton (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian actor. Early life Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1947, Stinton moved to the United States as a child in 1952. He lived in a trailer with his family—traveling throughout the U.S. and finally settling in the Chicago area. There he attended Northern Illinois University, acting in several campus productions and joining an alumni group that performed in Chicago as the Dinglefest Theatre Company, which later established The Theatre Building. He spent several years as part of the Chicago theatre scene where he met and worked frequently with playwright-director David Mamet. Career Stinton lived in New York, 1978–1985, during which he created the title role in Mamet's '' Edmond'', and received a Theatre World Award for his role in Mamet's ''The Water Engine'', on Broadway. He moved to London in 1985, where he spent several years at the National Theatre in addition to work in the West End and in film, television and radio. He retur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memorial To Heroic Self-Sacrifice
The Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice is a public monument in Postman's Park in the City of London, commemorating ordinary people who died saving the lives of others and who might otherwise have been forgotten. It was first proposed by painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts in 1887, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The scheme was not accepted at that time, and in 1898 Watts was approached by Henry Gamble, vicar of St Botolph's Aldersgate church. Postman's Park was built on the church's former churchyard, and the church was at that time trying to raise funds to secure its future; Gamble felt that Watts's proposed memorial would raise the profile of the park. The memorial was unveiled in an unfinished state in 1900, consisting of a wooden loggia designed by Ernest George, sheltering a wall with space for 120 ceramic memorial tiles to be designed and made by William De Morgan. At the time of opening, only four of the memorial tiles were in place. Watts died i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alice Ayres
Alice Ayres (12 September 1859 – 1885) was an English nursemaid honoured for her bravery in rescuing the children in her care from a house fire. Ayres was a household assistant and nursemaid to the family of her brother-in-law and sister, Henry and Mary Ann Chandler. The Chandlers owned an oil and paint shop in Union Street, Southwark, then just south of London, and Ayres lived with the family above the shop. In 1885 fire broke out in the shop, and Ayres rescued three of her nieces from the burning building, before falling from a window and suffering fatal injury. Britain, in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, experienced a period of great social change in which the rapidly growing news media paid increasing attention to the activities of the poorer classes. The manner of Ayres's death caused great public interest, with large numbers of people attending her funeral and contributing to the funding of a memorial. Shortly after her death, she underwent what has been desc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
