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Leonard L. Thomas
Leonard Lee Thomas (born August 31, 1961) is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Big Brother ADP General Patton in Spike Lee's film '' School Daze''. Early life Thomas was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Howard University in 1983. Career Since the beginning of his acting career beginning with '' School Daze'', Thomas has appeared in over twenty movies, often in a minor role alongside Samuel L. Jackson, and is frequently credited as his assistant. In particular, his most notable film roles are in Spike Lee movies including '' School Daze'', ''Do the Right Thing'', '' Mo' Better Blues'', and ''Malcolm X''. He also starred other movies such as ''Bad Lieutenant'' and '' Black Snake Moan'' and TV shows like ''Gemini Division ''Gemini Division'' is an American science fiction series of five- to seven-minute long episodes created by Electric Farm Entertainment which went into production in Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease from 39,223 in 2010. History French fur traders were believed to have established a temporary village near the future Muskogee in 1806, but the first permanent European-American settlement was established in 1817 on the south bank of the Verdigris River, north of present-day Muskogee. After the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 under President Andrew Jackson, the Muscogee Creek Indians were one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" forced out of the American Southeast to Indian Territory. They were accompanied by their slaves. The Indian Agency, a two-story stone building, was built here in Muskogee. It was a site for meetings among the leaders of the Five Civilized Tribes. Today it serves as a museum. At the top of what is known as A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Of New York
''King of New York'' is a 1990 neo-noir gangster film directed by Abel Ferrara and written by Nicholas St. John. It stars Christopher Walken as a New York City drug kingpin rebuilding his criminal empire after his release from prison, while also attempting to go legitimate. Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Victor Argo and Wesley Snipes co-star, with supporting roles played by Giancarlo Esposito, Steve Buscemi, Paul Calderón, Janet Julian and Theresa Randle. It was released by Carolco Pictures (through New Line Cinema) on September 22, 1990, to generally positive reviews. Plot Frank White, a drug lord, is riding into New York City in a limousine after being released from Sing Sing prison. Emilio El Zapa, a Colombian drug dealer, is shot dead and the killers leave a newspaper headline announcing Frank's release. Zapa's partner, King Tito, is in a hotel room with Jimmy Jump, who is Frank's trigger happy right-hand man and his crew, who are negotiating the purchase of cocaine. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Changing Lanes
''Changing Lanes'' is a 2002 American drama thriller film directed by Roger Michell and starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson. The film follows a successful, young Wall Street lawyer (Affleck) who accidentally crashes his car into a vehicle driven by a middle-aged, recovering alcoholic insurance salesman (Jackson). After the lawyer leaves the scene of the accident, the two men try to get back at each other, engaging in a variety of immoral and illegal actions that end up having a major impact on each man's life. The film was released on April 12, 2002 in North America by Paramount Pictures. The film was favorably reviewed by critics and it was a box office success, earning almost $95 million against a $45 million budget. Writers Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin were nominated for the WAFCA Award for Best Original Screenplay for their work. Plot In New York City, two men are rushing to court. One, a middle-aged, black insurance salesman named Doyle Gipson, a recovering alcohol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Caveman's Valentine
''The Caveman's Valentine'' is a 2001 American mystery-drama film directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Samuel L. Jackson based on George Dawes Green's 1994 novel of the same name. The film was released by Universal Focus, a subsidiary of Universal Studios, which would later become Focus Features. Plot A former family man and pianist studying at Juilliard music school, Romulus Ledbetter, now suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and lives in a cave in Inwood Park, New York. He believes that a man named Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant is controlling the world with rays from the top of the Chrysler Building, and that his mind is inhabited by moth-like seraphs. On Valentine’s Day, he discovers the frozen body of a young man, Scotty Gates, left in a tree outside his cave. The police, including Romulus's daughter Lulu, dismiss the man's death as an accident. However, a homeless ex-lover of Scotty tells Romulus that he was murdered by the famous photographer David Leppenraub. Determined to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Negotiator
''The Negotiator'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by F. Gary Gray. It stars Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey as two expert hostage negotiators and Chicago police lieutenants. The film was released in the United States on July 29, 1998, receiving generally positive reviews from critics and grossing $88 million worldwide. Plot Lieutenant Danny Roman, a top hostage negotiator for the Chicago Police Department's east precinct, is told by his partner, Nate Roenick, that according to an informant whom he refuses to name, members of their own unit are embezzling large amounts of money from the department's disability fund, for which Roman is a board member. Nate tells Roman that his informant hasn't told Internal Affairs because he thinks they might be involved as well. Roman goes to meet Nate, but finds him dead in his car with a bullet wound in his head and his car window shattered by gunfire before he can talk to him, and a squad car arrives on the scene within se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eve's Bayou
''Eve's Bayou'' is a 1997 American Southern Gothic drama film written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, who made her directorial debut with this film. Samuel L. Jackson served as a producer, and starred in the film with Lisa Nicole Carson, Jurnee Smollett, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Meagan Good and Diahann Carroll. The film premiered at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theaters on November 7, 1997. The film grossed $14 million domestically on a budget of $4 million, making it the most commercially successful independent film of 1997. In 2018, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film was made a part of The Criterion Collection on October 25, 2022. Plot Eve Batiste, a 10-year-old girl, lives in a prosperous Creole-American community in Louisiana with her younger brother Poe and her older sister Cisely in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Eight Seven
''One Eight Seven'' (also known as ''187'') is a 1997 American crime thriller film directed by Kevin Reynolds. It was the first top-billed starring role for Samuel L. Jackson, who plays a Los Angeles teacher caught with gang trouble in an urban high school. The film's name comes from the California Penal Code Section 187, which defines murder. The original screenplay was written in 1995 by Scott Yagemann, a Los Angeles area high school substitute teacher for seven years. He wrote the screenplay after an incident when a violent transfer student had threatened to kill him and his family. Yagemann reported the threat to the authorities and the student was arrested. About a week later, he was called by the district attorney to testify against the student in a court of law, where the student was being prosecuted for stabbing a teacher's aide a year before. This annoyed Yagemann, who had not been told about it beforehand, and led to him writing the screenplay. He claimed that 90% of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Time To Kill (1996 Film)
''A Time to Kill'' is a 1996 American legal drama film. It is based on John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name. Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, and Kevin Spacey star with Donald and Kiefer Sutherland appearing in supporting roles. The film received mixed to positive reviews and was a commercial success, making $152 million at the worldwide box office. It is the second of two films based on Grisham's novels directed by Joel Schumacher, with the other being ''The Client'' released two years prior. Plot In Canton, Mississippi, ten-year-old African American girl Tonya Hailey is abducted, raped, and beaten by two local white men, Billy Ray Cobb and James Willard, while on her way home getting groceries. The duo dump her in a nearby river after a failed attempt to hang her. Tonya survives, and the two men are arrested by Sheriff Ozzie Walls. Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey, contacts Jake Brigance, a white lawyer who previously defended his brother Lester. Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Girl 6
''Girl 6'' is a 1996 American black comedy film produced and directed by Spike Lee. The film stars Theresa Randle, Isaiah Washington, and Lee. Suzan-Lori Parks wrote the screenplay, making it the first film directed by Lee in which he did not write for it. Directors Quentin Tarantino and Ron Silver make cameo appearances as film directors at a pair of interesting auditions. The accompanying soundtrack is composed entirely of songs written by Prince. The film was screened in the ''Un Certain Regard'' section of the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Judy, a young and timid African American aspiring actress living in New York, attends an audition with Quentin Tarantino for, as he describes, "the greatest romantic, African-American film ever made". Initially doing quite well, Judy becomes very apprehensive and defiant when asked to undress herself. Eventually, she reluctantly complies, revealing her breasts. However, becoming quickly overwhelmed with guilt, she storms out. After dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clockers (film)
''Clockers'' is a 1995 American crime drama film directed by Spike Lee. It is an adaptation of the 1992 novel of the same name by Richard Price, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Lee. The film stars Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, and Mekhi Phifer in his debut film role. Set in New York City, ''Clockers'' tells the story of Strike (Phifer), a street-level drug dealer who becomes entangled in a murder investigation. The film originally entered production with Martin Scorsese attached to direct; he had previously collaborated with Price on his 1986 film ''The Color of Money''. Scorsese eventually dropped out of production to focus on his passion project ''Casino'', at which point Lee stepped in to direct and rewrite the script, Scorsese remained a co-producer alongside Lee. ''Clockers'' received generally positive reviews from film critics, but was a box office failure, grossing only around $13 million on a $25 million budget. Plot In a Brooklyn housing project, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major Payne
''Major Payne'' is a 1995 American military comedy film directed by Nick Castle and starring Damon Wayans, who wrote with Dean Lorey and Gary Rosen. The film co-stars Karyn Parsons, Steven Martini and Michael Ironside. It is a loose remake of the 1955 film ''The Private War of Major Benson'', starring Charlton Heston. ''Major Payne'' was released in the United States on March 24 and grossed $30 million. Wayans plays a military officer who, after being discharged, attempts to lead a dysfunctional group of youth cadets to victory in a competition. Plot Major Benson Winifred Payne, a battle hardened Marine, returns from a successful drug raid in South America to find out that he has been passed over for promotion. Payne receives an honorable discharge and tries to adjust to civilian life but ends up being arrested. His former commander gets him out of jail and secures him a position back in the military. Payne is sent to Madison Preparatory School in Virginia and is given comman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drop Squad
''Drop Squad'' (sometimes spelled as ''DROP Squad'' or ''D.R.O.P. Squad'') is a 1994 American drama film directed by David C. Johnson and executive produced by Spike Lee via his production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. The plot depicts a team of African Americans who kidnap fellow black people who they feel have betrayed their community and seek to " deprogram" them so that they will change their ways. The acronym DROP stands for "Deprogramming and Restoration of Pride". The film has been described as " rt thriller, part social satire". The film was based in part on ''The Session'', a 45-minute film Johnson produced in 1988 on a $20,000 budget, and ultimately derived from a short story by David C. Taylor titled "The Deprogrammer". Johnson described the differences between the two films as follows: "The short film was basically satire, an absurdist piece .... ''D.R.O.P. Squad'', on the other hand, is realism. The characters have more at stake." Plot The film portrays an adv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
