My Big Break
''My Big Break'' is a 2009 documentary film directed by Tony Zierra starring Wes Bentley, Brad Rowe, Chad Lindberg, Greg Fawcett and Zierra himeself. The film was produced by MBB Group, Elizabeth Yoffe and Zierra. It mostly consists of footage taken by Zierra in 1999, when he and the other four were aspiring actors and roommates living in Los Angeles; the film shows some of them (most notably Bentley) enjoying career successes, while others (notably Fawcett) struggle with rejection. Much of the footage had already been included in Zierra's 2001 documentary ''Carving Out Our Name'', which played only once, at the Toronto International Film Festival. ''My Big Break'' shows the footage in re-edited form, and includes newer footage of Lindberg, Rowe and Fawcett, discussing their lives in the intervening years. Synopsis Filmed over ten years, this controversial documentary follows five roommates trying to make it in Hollywood who face the unexpected consequences of fame. Tony Zi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony Zierra
Tony Zierra is an American director and producer. He is best known for the documentaries: ''My Big Break'' (2009), in which he also appeared, and '' Filmworker'' (2017). From an early age Zierra's goal was to become a filmmaker. He attended film studies classes at NYU, Texas A&M and UCLA. His first documentary, ''Carving Out Our Name'', premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to much acclaim. Shortly after, Zierra went on the road to capture America's reaction to the September 11 attacks. The film that emerged,''USA The Movie'', explores the cyclical nature of violence and retaliation. The film was the subject of an in-depth analysis from a Deleuzian perspective by scholar and commentator Dion Dennis. Zierra's award-winning documentary, ''My Big Break'', is a cautionary tale about the darker side of celebrity and the consequences of fame that also includes his struggle to make his first film. ''My Big Break'' has received consistently strong reviews and has been r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Schaller
Mark Schaller is a psychological scientist who has made many contributions to the study of human psychology, particularly in areas of social cognition, stereotyping, evolutionary psychology, and cultural psychology. He is a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. Schaller was born on November 27, 1962, in Palo Alto, California. His father is the zoologist and animal conservationist George Schaller. During his childhood he lived in India, Pakistan, and Tanzania, as well as in the United States. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1984 and obtained a PhD in psychology at Arizona State University in 1989, mentored by Robert Cialdini. Early in his academic career he held faculty positions at the University of Texas at Arlington and at the University of Montana. In 1996 he moved to his current position at the University of British Columbia. Research Much of Schaller's psychological research has examined the subtle cognitive processes that contr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Morris Agency
The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent agency in show business". In April 2009, WMA announced it would merge with the Endeavor Talent Agency to form William Morris Endeavor. William Morris Endeavor was renamed Endeavor in October 2017. History Early history In 1898, William Morris (born Zelman Moses), a German-Jewish immigrant to the US, posted a cross-hatch trademark above an office door in New York City four "X's", representing a W superimposed on an M and went into business as William Morris, Vaudeville Agent. By the time WMA formally incorporated in New York State on January 31, 1918, Morris' son William Morris Jr. and his assistant Abraham Lastfogel, who started out as an office boy and after becoming a talent agent in his own right, entered into a business partners ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Beauty (1999 Film)
''American Beauty'' is a 1999 American satirical black comedy-drama film written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes in his directorial debut. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, an advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, played by Mena Suvari. Annette Bening stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney co-star. Academics have described the film as satirizing how beauty and personal satisfaction are perceived by the American middle class; further analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption. After being filmed in California from December 1998 to February 1999, ''American Beauty'' was released in North America on September 17, 1999, receiving widespread critical and popular acclaim. It was the second-best-review ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who investigate X-files unit, X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. The original television series aired from September 1993 to May 2002, on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The program spanned List of The X-Files episodes, nine seasons, with 202 episodes. A short The X-Files (season 10), tenth season consisting of six episodes ran from January to February 2016. Following the ratings success of this revival (television), revival, ''The X-Files'' returned for an The X-Files (season 11), eleventh season of ten episodes, which ran from January to March 2018. In addition to the television series, two feature films have been release ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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ER (TV Series)
''ER'' is an American medical drama television series created by novelist and physician Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994, to April 2, 2009, with a total of 331 episodes spanning 15 seasons. It was produced by Constant C Productions and Amblin Television, in association with Warner Bros. Television. ''ER'' follows the inner life of the emergency room (ER) of Cook County General Hospital (a fictionalized version of the real Cook County Hospital) in Chicago, Illinois, and various critical issues faced by the department's physicians and staff. The show is the second longest-running primetime medical drama in American television history behind ''Grey's Anatomy'', and the sixth longest medical drama across the globe (behind the United Kingdom's ''Casualty'' and '' Holby City,'' ''Grey's Anatomy'', Germany's ''In aller Freundschaft'', and Poland's ''Na dobre i na złe''). It won 23 Primetime Emmy Awards, including the 1996 Outstanding Drama Series award ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Buffy The Vampire Slayer (TV Series)
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although the events of the film are not considered Canon (fiction), canon to the series. Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner under his production tag Mutant Enemy Productions. The series premiered on March 10, 1997, on The WB and concluded on May 20, 2003, on UPN. The series narrative follows Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar), the latest in a line of young women known as "Vampire Slayers", or simply "Slayer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Slayers". In the story, Slayers, or the "Chosen Ones", are chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons and other forces of darkness. Buffy wants to live a normal life, but as the series progresses, she learns to embrace her destiny. Like previous Slayers, Buffy is aid ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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October Sky
''October Sky'' is a 1999 American biographical drama film directed by Joe Johnston and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Chris Owen, and Laura Dern. The screenplay by Lewis Colick, based on the memoir of the same name, tells the true story of Homer H. Hickam Jr., a coal miner's son who was inspired by the launch of '' Sputnik 1'' in 1957 to take up rocketry against his father's wishes and eventually became a NASA engineer. ''October Sky'' is based on the lives of four young men who grew up in Coalwood, West Virginia. Principal photography took place in rural East Tennessee, including Oliver Springs, Harriman and Kingston in Morgan and Roane counties. The film was a moderate box office success and received very positive critical reception; it continues to be celebrated in the regions of its setting and filming. Title ''October Sky'' is an anagram of '' Rocket Boys'', the title of the 1998 memoir upon which the film is based. It is also used in a period radio b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Will & Grace
''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), a straight interior designer. The show was broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998, to May 18, 2006, for a total of eight seasons, and returned to NBC on September 28, 2017, and ended on April 23, 2020. ''Will & Grace'' has been one of the most successful television series with gay principal characters. Despite initial criticism for its stereotypical portrayal of gay characters, it went on to become a staple of NBC's Must See TV Thursday night lineup and was met with continued critical acclaim. It was ensconced in the Nielsen top 20 for half of its 1998–2006 network run. The show was the highest-rated sitcom among adults 18–49 from 2001 to 2005. ''Will & Grace'' earned 18 Primetime Emmy Awards and 83 nominations. Each main actor rec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland is a fictional character on the American television sitcom ''Will & Grace'', played by Sean Hayes. Character overview Jack is Will Truman's (Eric McCormack) best friend in the American television sitcom Will & Grace. In the show, Jack is considered a "camp" gay man. He is very mercurial and changes careers rapidly from cater waiter, Banana Republic and Barneys New York sales clerk, to acting teacher, to student nurse, to surfer, to back-up dancer for Jennifer Lopez and Janet Jackson. Although he considers all his relationships serious, only one lasted longer than a few weeks (with Stuart, a client of Will's played by Dave Foley), and even that one ended with Jack's cheating. Jack's character is unashamedly vain and self-absorbed, and adores all gay icons, particularly Cher, of whom he has a rare doll. According to Will, he has the best gaydar in the tristate area. He is a fan of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', particularly lesbian character Willo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sean Hayes (actor)
Sean Patrick Hayes (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He is best known for playing Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'', for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, and one American Comedy Award, and earned six Golden Globe nominations. He also runs a television production company called Hazy Mills Productions, which produces shows such as ''Grimm'', ''Hot in Cleveland'', ''The Soul Man'', and ''Hollywood Game Night''. Since July 2020, he has co-hosted the comedy podcast ''SmartLess''. He is known for his appearances in films such as '' Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss'', ''Cats & Dogs'', '' Pieces of April'', ''The Cat in the Hat'', ''Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!'', ''The Bucket List'', & ''The Three Stooges''. He is also known for his work on Broadway such as ''An Act of God'' and '' Promises, Promises'', where he played Chuck Baxter and received a nomination for Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Mus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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US Magazine
''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc. in 2017. Shortly afterward, former editor James Heidenry stepped down, and was replaced by Jennifer Peros. The chief content officer of American Media, Dylan Howard, oversees the publication. ''Us Weekly'' covers topics ranging from celebrity relationships to the latest trends in fashion, beauty, and entertainment. As of 2017, its paid circulation averaged to more than 1.95 million copies weekly and total readership of more than 50 million consumers. The magazine currently features a sharply different style from its original 1977–2000 format. Originally a monthly industry news and review magazine along the lines of ''Premiere'' or ''Entertainment Weekly'', it switched format in 2000 to its current themes of celebrity news and style. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |