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First Artists
First Artists was a production company which operated from 1969 to 1980. It made films for stars such as Barbra Streisand, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen, who agreed to take lesser fees in exchange for greater creative control and a share of the profits. Movies made by the company include '' The Getaway'' and its most successful financial success, Streisand's '' A Star Is Born''. History Beginnings The company was formed in 1969 and was the idea of agent Freddie Fields of Creative Management with assistance from David Begelman. Inspired by the formation of United Artists, it was to give stars more creative control over their productions in exchange for being paid lower salaries and a percentage of the gross. The initial stars who formed the company were Paul Newman, Barbra Streisand, and Sidney Poitier. Each star promised to make three productions for the company, which would also be involved in television production, music publishing and recording. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List of people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards, awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Streisand began her career by performing in nightclubs and Broadway theaters in the early 1960s. Following her guest appearances on various television shows, she signed to Columbia Records, insisting that she retain full artistic control, and accepting lower pay in exchange, an arrangement that continued throughout her career, and released her debut ''The Barbra Streisand Album'' (1963), which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Throughout her recording career, Streisand has topped the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 11 albums—a record for a woman—including ''People (Barbra Streisand album), People'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Warm December
''A Warm December'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sidney Poitier and starring him in the lead role as Dr. Matt Younger. It also stars Jamaican actress Esther Anderson as Catherine, Matt's love interest. Anderson's performance as an African princess won her a NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in 1973. The film is also notable for an appearance of Letta Mbulu singing, with an African choir, "Nonqonqo" by Miriam Makeba. Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson wrote and conducted the score. The story was influenced by ''Roman Holiday'' and ''Love Story''. It was shot at Pinewood Studios. Plot Dr. Matt Younger is a recently widowed American who takes his daughter Stefanie on a month-long vacation in London. While there, he meets Catherine, the niece of African Ambassador George Oswandu. Catherine is involved in negotiations with the Soviet Union to build a vital hydroelectric project in her country. As the pair begin to develop feelings for one another, Dr. Younger learns t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stevie (1978 Film)
''Stevie'' is a 1978 British biographical film directed by Robert Enders, and starring Glenda Jackson, Trevor Howard, Mona Washbourne, and Alec McCowen. It was based on the play '' Stevie'' by Hugh Whitemore. Plot The film is about the life of the British poet Stevie Smith (played by Glenda Jackson), and centres on Smith's relationship with her aunt (Mona Washbourne), with whom she lived for many years in a house in Palmers Green, London. Cast * Glenda Jackson as Stevie * Trevor Howard as The Man * Mona Washbourne as Aunt * Alec McCowen as Freddy * Emma Louise Fox as Stevie as child Release and reception Studios that distributed the film included The Samuel Goldwyn Company in the U.S., Hoyts in Australia, and Universal Pictures internationally. Film critic Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speedtrap (film)
Speedtrap is 1977 police chase action film starring Joe Don Baker and Tyne Daly. Plot After a wave of unsolved car thefts, an insurance company calls in private investigator Pete Novick (Joe Don Baker) to solve the case. While the chief of police isn't thrilled about having an outsider come and show up his men, one of the officers is a former girlfriend of Novick's who's more than willing to help him out in any way she can. After a long and convoluted investigation with false leads, psychics and the mafia, Novick at last unravels the identity of the thief. Cast * Joe Don Baker as Pete Novick * Tyne Daly as Nifty Nolan * Richard Jaeckel as Billy * Robert Loggia as Spillano * Lana Wood as Blossom * Morgan Woodward as Hogan * Timothy Carey as Loomis External links "Speedtrap" at IMDB 1977 films 1970s action thriller films 1970s road movies American action thriller films American road movies 1970s chase films Films directed by Earl Bellamy American chase films Films about autom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Horn (film)
''Tom Horn'' is a 1980 American Western film directed by William Wiard and starring Steve McQueen as the legendary lawman, outlaw, and gunfighter Tom Horn. It was based on Horn's own writings. Plot Tom Horn, a legendary frontier scout and tracker who helped capture Geronimo, drifts around the quickly disappearing western frontier. The story begins as he rides into a small town and provokes prizefighter Jim Corbett, ending up in a livery stable, unconscious and badly bruised. Cattle company owner John Coble finds Horn in the livery, and offers him the use of his ranch to recuperate. He also offers him work investigating and deterring cattle rustlers who steal from the grazing association to which Coble belongs. He implies that the association will support Horn in implementing vigilante justice. Horn accepts the offer, and receives the approval of U.S. marshal Joe Belle at an association picnic, where he also catches the eye of Glendolene, the local schoolteacher. Calling himself ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Main Event (1979 Film)
''The Main Event'' is a 1979 American sports romantic comedy film starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal, written by Gail Parent, directed by Howard Zieff, and produced by Renée Missel and Howard Rosenman. The film received negative reviews from critics, but was among the top 20 highest grossing films of the year at the box office. It was also the impetus for Streisand's first foray into disco singing the Golden Globe-nominated theme song written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts. Plot Perfume magnate Hillary Kramer (Streisand) loses her company and is financially ruined when her accountant embezzles from her and flees to South America. Among her few remaining assets, she finds a management contract with an inactive boxer, purchased as a tax write-off. She decides to force Eddie "Kid Natural" Scanlon (Ryan O'Neal), who is now a driving instructor, back into the ring to recover her losses. Eddie thinks this will only get him killed, so he resists but relents. As Eddie's unc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agatha (film)
''Agatha'' is a 1979 British drama (film and television), drama thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Michael Apted and starring Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman, and Timothy Dalton. It was written by Kathleen Tynan. The film focuses on renowned crime writer Agatha Christie's famous Agatha Christie#Disappearance: 1926, 11-day disappearance in 1926. The film was released on 9 February 1979, receiving generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the production values and performances. Plot The film opens as Agatha Christie (Vanessa Redgrave) gets a silver cup engraved for her husband Archie (Timothy Dalton), who receives the gift with utter disdain. The couple walk to a publicity event for Agatha's new novel ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''. They are tailed into the venue by American reporter Wally Stanton (Dustin Hoffman). The next morning, Archie demands a divorce, saying he loves his secretary Nancy Neele (Celia Gregory). That night, Agatha drives from the house ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
An Enemy Of The People (1978 Film)
''An Enemy of the People'' is a 1978 American drama film directed by George Schaefer based on Arthur Miller's 1950 adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play. The film stars Steve McQueen in the lead role of scientist Thomas Stockmann, Charles Durning as his brother Peter, and Bibi Andersson as his wife Catherine. Plot synopsis Thomas Stockmann (Steve McQueen) is a doctor and amateur scientist in a small, unnamed Norwegian town. The town is expecting a major boost in tourism due to the therapeutic powers of nearby springs, but Stockmann has discovered they are being polluted by waste from the town's tannery. He writes an article exposing the contamination for the local newspaper, the ''Messenger'', but the staff is intimidated by Stockmann's brother Peter, the town mayor. Peter offers to use the springs' revenue to implement the changes his brother wants if Thomas will keep quiet, but the doctor remains uncompromising. Thomas calls a town meeting to spread the news, but his brother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Straight Time
''Straight Time'' is a 1978 American crime drama neo-noir film directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh, and Kathy Bates. Its plot follows a lifelong thief in Los Angeles who struggles to assimilate in society after serving a six-year prison sentence. The film is based on the novel ''No Beast So Fierce'' by Edward Bunker, who also acts in the film. Plot Max Dembo (Hoffman), a lifelong thief in Los Angeles, is released from a six-year stint in prison and forced to report to a boorish and condescending parole officer, Earl Frank (Walsh). One of the conditions of parole is that Max find a job. At the employment agency, he meets young Jenny Mercer (Russell), a newly-hired secretary who helps him land scale-wage work at a can factory. Jenny accepts Max's invitation to dinner, clearly smitten by his worldly and seemingly gentle demeanor. Earl pays a surprise visit to Max's room, finding a book of matches that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Piece Of The Action (film)
''A Piece of the Action'' is a 1977 American crime comedy film directed by and starring Sidney Poitier and co-starring Bill Cosby. It was the third film pairing of Poitier and Cosby, following ''Uptown Saturday Night'' (1974) and '' Let's Do It Again'' (1975). The films are considered a trilogy, even though the actors play characters with different names in each film. It was also Poitier's last acting role for more than a decade, as he focused his attentions on directing. Plot Dave Anderson (Bill Cosby) and Manny Durrell (Sidney Poitier) are two high-class sneak thieves who have never been caught. Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) is a retired detective who has enough evidence on the both of them to put them behind bars. Instead, he offers to maintain his silence if the crooks will go straight and do work at a youth center for delinquents. At first, the crooks are reluctant and unwilling (and so are the kids). As time goes by they gain the trust and admiration of the kids and they s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Deerfield
''Bobby Deerfield'' is a 1977 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Al Pacino and Marthe Keller. Based on Erich Maria Remarque's 1961 novel '' Heaven Has No Favorites'', it is about a famous American race car driver on the European circuit who falls in love with an enigmatic Swiss woman who is terminally ill. Pacino was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. The movie uses clips from the 1976 Formula One season. Premise Formula One auto racer Bobby Deerfield is a calculating, control-obsessed loner who has become used to winning the checkered flag on the track. But when he witnesses a fiery crash that kills a teammate and seriously wounds a competitor, he becomes unsettled by the spectre of death. During a visit to the survivor, Deerfield's world is further set askew when he meets Lillian Morelli (Marthe Keller), a quirky, impulsive woman racing against time. Cast * Al Pacino as Bobby Deerfield * Marthe Keller ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gumball Rally
''The Gumball Rally'' is a 1976 American comedy film directed and co-written by Charles Bail, a former stunt coordinator also known as Chuck Bail, about an illicit coast-to-coast road race. It was inspired by the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash run by Brock Yates, which inspired several other films, including ''Cannonball'' (1976), '' Cannonball Run'' (1981), and ''Speed Zone'' (1989), as well as an actual event, the American Gumball Rally and Gumball 3000 international race. Plot Michael Bannon (Michael Sarrazin), a wealthy but bored businessman and candymaker, issues the code word "Gumball" to his fellow automobile enthusiasts, who gather in a garage in New York City to embark on a coast-to-coast race "with no catalytic converter and no 55-mile-per-hour speed limit" in the shortest amount of time. There is only one rule: "There ''are'' no rules". Their longtime nemesis, Los Angeles Police Department Lieutenant Roscoe (Normann Burton), who has been tryin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
