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Iain Softley
Iain Declan Softley (born 28 October 1956) is an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films include ''Backbeat,'' ''Hackers, The Wings of the Dove'', ''K-PAX'', ''The Skeleton Key'', ''Inkheart'' and the BBC adaptation of Sadie Jones's novel ''The Outcast''. Career Softley was educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing, London, and Queens' College, Cambridge University, where he directed a number of highly-praised theatrical productions. He worked for Granada TV and the BBC in the 1980s before moving on to music videos and film. Softley's first film, the Stuart Sutcliffe biopic, ''Backbeat'', which he wrote and directed, was released in 1994. It opened the Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive a BAFTA Award nomination for Best British Film. For his work on the film, Softley received Best Newcomer Awards from The London Film Critics Circle and Empire Magazine. Following Backbeat, Softley directed the cyber thriller ''Hackers'', starring Angelina Jolie ...
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Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Fuller's Brewery, London's largest and oldest brewery. In a meander of the River Thames used for competitive and recreational rowing, with several rowing clubs on the river bank, the finishing post for the Boat Race is just downstream of Chiswick Bridge. Old Chiswick was an St Nicholas Church, Chiswick, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with an agrarian and fishing economy beside the river; from the Early Modern period, the wealthy built imposing riverside houses on Chiswick Mall. Having good communications with London, Chiswick became a popular country retreat and part of the suburban growth of London in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was made the Municipal Borough of Brentford and Chiswick in 1932 and part of Greater Lon ...
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Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James. He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between ''émigré ''Americans, English people, and continental Europeans. Examples of such novels include '' The Portrait of a Lady'', ''The Ambassadors'', and ''The Wings of the Dove''. His later works were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his ...
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Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. She received an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in ''The Queen'', a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award for the same role in '' The Audience'', three British Academy Television Awards for her performance as DCI Jane Tennison in ''Prime Suspect'', four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Children's and Family Emmy Award. Mirren's stage performance as Cleopatra in '' Antony and Cleopatra'' at the National Youth Theatre in 1965 provided her an opportunity to join the Royal Shakespeare Company, before making her West End stage debut in 1975. She subsequently went on to achieve success in film and television, appearing in films such as ''The Madness of King George'' (1994), ''Gosford Park ...
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Cornelia Funke
Cornelia Maria Funke () (born 10 December 1958) is a German author of children's fiction. Born in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she began her career as a social worker before becoming a book illustrator. She began writing novels in the late 1980s and focused primarily on fantasy-oriented stories that depict the lives of children faced with adversity. Funke has since become Germany's "best-selling author for children". Her work has been translated into several languages and, as of 2012, Funke has sold over 20 million copies of her books worldwide. Funke achieved acclaim as the author of the children's novels ''The Thief Lord'' (2002) and '' Dragon Rider'' (2004), which were translated and released in English after originally being published in Germany. She subsequently achieved wider recognition with the ''Inkheart'' series of novels, which include ''Inkheart'' (2003), ''Inkspell'' (2005), and ''Inkdeath'' (2007). ''The Thief Lord'', ''Dragon Rider'', and ''Inkheart'' have all ...
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John Hurt
Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in the world". He possessed what was described as the "most distinctive voice in Britain". He's received numerous accolades and honours including the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award in 2012 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 for his services to drama. He came to prominence playing Richard Rich in the film '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966) and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for '' The Naked Civil Servant'' (1975). He played Caligula in the BBC TV series ''I, Claudius'' (1976). Hurt earned Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and Best Actor for ''The Elephant Man'' (1980). Other films include ''Alien'' (1979), '' Heaven's Gate'' (1 ...
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Gena Rowlands
Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations with her late actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, including ''A Woman Under the Influence'' (1974) and '' Gloria'' (1980), which earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won the Silver Bear for Best Actress for '' Opening Night'' (1977). She is also known for her performances in Woody Allen's '' Another Woman'' (1988), and her son, Nick Cassavetes's film, ''The Notebook'' (2004). In 2021, Richard Brody of ''The New Yorker'' said, “The most important and original movie actor of the past half century-plus is Gena Rowlands.” In November 2015, Rowlands received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her unique screen performances. Early years Rowlands was born on June 19, 1930, in Ca ...
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Kate Hudson
Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and businesswoman. She has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Satellite Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Hudson made her film debut in the 1998 drama ''Desert Blue'', which was followed by supporting roles in '' 200 Cigarettes'' (1999), '' Dr. T & the Women'', and ''Gossip'' (both 2000). She rose to international prominence with her portrayal of Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe's ''Almost Famous'' (2000), for which she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and received an Oscar nomination in the same category. Throughout the 2000s, Hudson starred in a succession of romantic comedies, such as ''Alex & Emma'', ''How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days'' (both 2003), ''You, Me and Dupree'' (2006), ''Fool's Gold'', '' My Best Friend's Girl'' (both 2008), and ''Bride Wars'' (2009) ...
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Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent acting family and appeared on the television series ''Sea Hunt'' (1958–1960) alongside his father, Lloyd Bridges, and brother, Beau Bridges. He received the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as an alcoholic singer in the 2009 film ''Crazy Heart''. Other Oscar-nominated roles include ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), ''Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'' (1974), ''Starman'' (1984), '' The Contender'' (2000), ''True Grit'' (2010), and '' Hell or High Water'' (2016). Bridges has also starred in other roles such as ''The Fabulous Baker Boys'' (1989), ''The Fisher King'' (1991), ''The Big Lebowski'' (1998) and ''Bad Times at the El Royale'' (2018), along with the commercially successful films ''King Kong'' (1976), ''Tron'' (1982), '' I ...
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Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades for his performances on stage and screen including two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, two Laurence Olivier Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He received nominations for a Grammy Award as well as twelve Primetime Emmy Awards. Spacey received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999, and was named an honorary Commander and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2010 and 2015, respectively. His first film roles were Mike Nichols's ''Heartburn'' (1986) and ''Working Girl'' (1988). He continued to act in independent films such as '' Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1992) and ''Swimming with Sharks'' (1994). Spacey gained prominence for his villainous roles in 1995 crime thriller films ''Seven'' and ''The Usual Suspects'' ...
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Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Comcast through the NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment division of NBCUniversal. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States; the world's fifth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus, and Nordisk Film; and the oldest member of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios in terms of the overall film market. Its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. In 1962, the studio was acquired by MCA, which was re-launched as NBCUniversal in 2004. ...
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British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The ceremonies were initially held at the flagship Odeon cinema in Leicester Square in London, before being held at the Royal Opera House from 2007 to 2016. Since 2017, the ceremony has been held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The statue awarded to recipients depicts a theatrical mask. The first BAFTA Awards ceremony was held in 1949, and the ceremony was first broadcast on the BBC in 1956 with Vivien Leigh as the host. The ceremony was initially held in April or May; since 2001, it typically takes place in February. History The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) was founded in 1947 as The British Film Academy, by David Lean, Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, Charles Laughton, Roger Manvell, Laurence Olivier, Emeric Pres ...
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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 ...
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