John M. Stephens
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John M. Stephens
John Morley Stephens (born November 17, 1932 Valparaiso, Indiana died Huntington Beach, California June 18, 2015) was an American cinematographer. He was noted for his innovative work on the 1966 film '' Grand Prix'', for which he pioneered the use of a number of camera mounts and developed the first remotely operated pan-and-tilt-head camera. For this latter invention, he received a Technical Achievement Award from the Society of Operating Cameramen in 1994. Biography Stephens learned how to use a camera when he served in the United States Navy in the 1950s. Working as a photographer in Sun Valley, Idaho, he entered film work as an assistant cameraman and stills photographer on '' Bus Stop'' (1956) and '' South Pacific'' (1958). As a cinematographer, Stephens was known for his work on such films as ''Billy Jack'', ''Blacula'', Martin Scorsese's ''Boxcar Bertha'', and William Friedkin's '' Sorcerer''. He also shot the memorable bicycle chase for Steven Spielberg's '' E.T. ...
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ...
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Boxcar Bertha
''Boxcar Bertha'' is a 1972 American romantic crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Roger Corman, from a screenplay by Joyce H. Corrington and John William Corrington, Made on a low budget, the film is loose adaptation of ''Sister of the Road'', a pseudo-autobiographical account of the fictional character Bertha Thompson. It was Scorsese's second feature film. Plot Boxcar Bertha Thompson, a poor southern girl, is orphaned when her father's crop dusting airplane crashes. The Great Depression hits, and she soon takes to freighthopping. A few years later, she meets Big Bill Shelly, a union organizer, and they become lovers. Together with Rake Brown, a gambler, and Von Morton, who worked for Bertha's father, they start train and bank robbery by accident, and eventually face up to the railway boss H. Buckram Sartoris in the American South. The group become notorious fugitives of the law and are hunted down by the railway company. In the process, Rake is gunned ...
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Ski Party
''Ski Party'' is a 1965 American musical-comedy film directed by Alan Rafkin and starring Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman. It was released by American International Pictures (AIP). ''Ski Party'' is considered as a beach party film spin-off, with a change of setting from the beach to the ski slopes – although the final scene places everyone back at the beach. Plot Todd Armstrong (Avalon) and Craig Gamble (Hickman) are college undergraduates from California who unsuccessfully date co-eds Linda Hughes (Deborah Walley) and Barbara Norris (Yvonne Craig). Arrogant, handsome, athletic classmate Freddie (Aron Kincaid) has no such problems and chooses not to resist all the women chasing after him. As president of the Ski Club, Freddie organizes a midterm vacation trip to ski country (in Sawtooth National Forest) in Idaho. Although they know nothing about skiing, Todd and Craig follow Linda and Barbara on this bus trip to try to learn "the secret of Freddie's technique". Once at t ...
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Titanic (1997 Film)
''Titanic'' is a 1997 American epic film, epic romance film, romance and disaster film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. Incorporating both historical and fictionalized aspects, it is based on accounts of the Sinking of the RMS Titanic, sinking of the Titanic, RMS ''Titanic'' and stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage. Also starring are Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, and Bill Paxton. Cameron's inspiration for the film came from his fascination with shipwrecks; he felt a love story interspersed with the human loss would be essential to convey the emotional impact of the disaster. Production began on September 1, 1995, when Cameron shot footage of the actual Wreck of the Titanic, ''Titanic'' wreck. The modern scenes on the research vessel'' ''were shot on board the ''Akademik Ms ...
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James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability with his use of novel technologies. He first gained recognition for writing and directing '' The Terminator'' (1984) and found further success with ''Aliens'' (1986), ''The Abyss'' (1989), '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), and the action comedy ''True Lies'' (1994). He wrote and directed ''Titanic'' (1997) and ''Avatar'' (2009), with ''Titanic'' earning him Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. A recipient of various other industry accolades, two of his films have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Cameron co-founded the production companies Lightstorm Entertainment, Digital Domain, and Earthship Productions. In addition to filmmaking, he is a Na ...
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Midnight Run
''Midnight Run'' is a 1988 American road action comedy film directed by Martin Brest and starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, and Philip Baker Hall play supporting roles. At the 46th Golden Globe Awards, the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor for De Niro. A critical and commercial success, the film was followed by ''The Midnight Run Action Pack'' in 1994, three made for television sequels which did not feature any of the principal actors, although a few characters are carried over from the first film. Plot Jack Walsh, a bounty hunter, is enlisted by bail bondsman Eddie Moscone to bring accountant Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas back to Los Angeles. The accountant had embezzled $15 million from Chicago mob boss Jimmy Serrano before skipping on the $450,000 bail Moscone had posted for him. Walsh must bring Mardukas back within 5 days or Moscone defaults. Moscone says the j ...
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Martin Brest
Martin Brest (born August 8, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Education Brest was born in the Bronx, New York, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1969, from New York University's School of the Arts in 1973 and from the AFI Conservatory with an M.F.A. degree in 1977. Career His major studio debut was ''Going in Style'' (1979), which starred George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg. Brest was then hired to direct ''WarGames'' (1983), which starred Matthew Broderick, but he was fired during production and replaced with John Badham. Brest then directed ''Beverly Hills Cop'' (1984), starring Eddie Murphy. The film grossed over $300 million worldwide and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Brest was involved in the development stages of ''Rain Man'' (1988), casting Tom Cruise in the role opposite Dustin Hoffman, befo ...
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Field Of Dreams
''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel '' Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends, including Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) and the Chicago Black Sox. Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, and Burt Lancaster (in his final film role) also star. It was theatrically released on May 5, 1989. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2017, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot Ray Kinsella lives with his wife, Annie, and daughter, Karin, on their Dyersville, Iowa, corn farm. Troubled by his brok ...
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Phil Alden Robinson
Phil Alden Robinson (born March 1, 1950) is an American film director and screenwriter whose films include ''Field of Dreams'', ''Sneakers (1992 film), Sneakers'', and ''The Sum of All Fears (film), The Sum of All Fears''. Early life and education Robinson was born in Long Beach, New York, the son of Jessie Frances and S. Jesse Robinson, who was a drama critic for the ''New York Journal American'' and a media coordinator for the liquor division of the National Distillers & Chemical Corp. in New York. Robinson graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and received an Honorary degree, Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Union College in 1996. Career Robinson directed the baseball film ''Field of Dreams'' (1989). It earned Robinson nominations for the Directors Guild of America Award, the Writers Guild of America Award, and an Oscar for Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, Best Screenplay Adaptation (the film was ...
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Three Amigos
''Three Amigos'' (stylized as ''¡Three Amigos!'') is a 1986 American Western comedy film directed by John Landis, written by Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, and Randy Newman (who also wrote the film's songs), and starring Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Alfonso Arau, Tony Plana, and Patrice Martinez. It is the story of three silent film stars who are mistaken for real heroes by the suffering people of a small Mexican village. The actors must find a way to live up to their reputation and stop a malevolent bandit. Plot In 1916, the bandit El Guapo and his gang collect protection money from the Mexican village of Santo Poco. Carmen, daughter of the village leader, searches for someone who can rescue her townspeople. Visiting a village church, she sees a silent film featuring The Three Amigos, a trio of gunfighters who protect the vulnerable from villains. Believing them to be real heroes, Carmen sends a telegram asking them to come and stop El Guapo. Lucky Day, Dusty Botto ...
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John Landis
John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978), The Blues Brothers (film), ''The Blues Brothers'' (1980), ''An American Werewolf in London'' (1981), ''Trading Places'' (1983), ''Three Amigos'' (1986), ''Coming to America'' (1988) and ''Beverly Hills Cop III'' (1994), for directing Michael Jackson's Michael Jackson videography, music videos for Michael Jackson's Thriller (music video), "Thriller" (1983) and "Black or White" (1991). Early life Landis was born into a American Jews, Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Shirley Levine (''née'' Magaziner) and Marshall Landis, an interior designer and decorator. Landis and his parents relocated to Los Angeles when he was four months old. Though spending his childhood in California, Landis still refers to Chicago as ...
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Second Unit
Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stage of production to be completed faster. Function The functions of the second unit vary, but typically the first unit films the key face-to-face drama between the principal actors. Two frequent ways a second unit is used are: * Action sequences: Action sequences are often filmed in discrete locations, using stunt performers, rather than the principal cast, and requiring significantly different filming arrangements than for ordinary scenes. Therefore, they are an opportunity for second unit shooting. * "Pick-ups": After the main unit has finished on a set or location, there may be shots that require some or all of this setting as background but that do not require the principal actors. These shots may include things such as close-ups, ...
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