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Mark L. Lester
Mark L. Lester (born November 26, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known as a prolific director of cult films, including the disco musical ''Roller Boogie'' (1979), the vigilante thriller film ''Class of 1984'' (1982), the Stephen King adaptation ''Firestarter'' (1984), the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film ''Commando'' (1985), the action-comedy ''Armed and Dangerous'' (1986), starring John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Meg Ryan and the buddy movie ''Showdown in Little Tokyo'', starring Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee. Career After his debut in 1970 with the documentary film ''Twilight of the Mayas'', Lester quickly became a prolific B-movie director/producer/writer, initially making his mark with a trio of road movies designed for the drive-in market: '' Steel Arena'' (1973), ''Truck Stop Women'' (1974), and '' Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw'' (1976). In 1977, he directed the high-concept thriller ''Stunts'', an early outing for New Line Cinema, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. maritime border with Canada, northeast of Cincinnati, northeast of Columbus, and approximately west of Pennsylvania. The largest city on Lake Erie and one of the major cities of the Great Lakes region, Cleveland ranks as the 54th-largest city in the U.S. with a 2020 population of 372,624. The city anchors both the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton combined statistical area (CSA). The CSA is the most populous in Ohio and the 17th largest in the country, with a population of 3.63 million in 2020, while the MSA ranks as 34th largest at 2.09 million. Cleveland was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River by General Moses Cleaveland, after whom the city was named ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high standing in pop culture, his books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published 64 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections.Jackson, Dan (February 18, 2016)"A Beginner's Guide to Stephen King Books". Thrillist. Retrieved February 5, 2019. King has received Bram Stoker Awards, World Fantasy Awards, and British Fantasy Society Awards. In 2003, the National Book Foundation awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He has also received awards for his cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stunts (film)
''Stunts'', also released as ''The Deadly Game'', is a 1977 American film drama film, drama thriller film, thriller adventure film, adventure directed by Mark L. Lester and starring Robert Forster. it was the first film produced by New Line Cinema. Premise The film opens on an unseen figure tampering with a helicopter harness. The next morning, stuntman Greg Wilson wakes up in bed next to a blonde woman. He rides his motorcycle to the set, late for a shoot. In the stunt, he is the passenger in a Ski (driving stunt), skiing car. He climbs out the window and grabs onto the skid of a helicopter, which climbs to a great height. During the ascent, Greg tries to attach his harness, but finds that the hook will not close. He loses his grip and falls to his death. His brother Glen arrives on the set with reporter B.J. Parswell in tow. She is there to write about the dangers of stunt work. The producer of the film, Alvin Blake, introduces Glen to his wife Judy and asks him to join the pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobbie Jo And The Outlaw
''Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw'' is a 1976 crime drama film directed by Mark L. Lester and starring Marjoe Gortner and Lynda Carter. The film marks the big screen debut of Lynda Carter and was released four months after her first appearance as television's Wonder Woman. Plot A young wannabe country singer named Bobbie Jo Baker (Lynda Carter) takes off from her job as a carhop waitress to join with Lyle Wheeler (Marjoe Gortner), a young modern-day Billy The Kid fan. Along the way they recruit Bobbie Jo's sister Pearl Baker (Merrie Lynn Ross) and her boyfriend "Slick" Callahan (Jesse Vint) to join them in their adventures in armed robbery, homicide and mayhem. Cast * Marjoe Gortner as Lyle Wheeler * Lynda Carter as Bobbie Jo Baker * Jesse Vint as 'Slick' Callahan * Merrie Lynn Ross as Pearl Baker * Gerrit Graham as Ray 'Magic Ray' * Belinda Balaski as Essie Beaumont * Peggy Stewart as Hattie Baker * Gene Drew as Sheriff Hicks * Richard Breeding as Deputy Leroy * John Durren a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Truck Stop Women
''Truck Stop Women'' is a 1974 film, directed by Mark L. Lester and partly financed by Phil Gramm. Plot A mother (Lieux Dressler) runs a brothel for truckers on the New Mexico highways and her stable includes her daughter (Claudia Jennings). The daughter is sick of her mother controlling things and begins working with some men from the "Eastern Mafia" who are attempting to take over their operation. Cast * Claudia Jennings as Rose * Lieux Dressler as Anna * Dennis Fimple Dennis Clarke Fimple (November 11, 1940 – August 23, 2002) was an American actor. Biography Fimple was born in Ventura, California, the son of Dolly and Elmer Fimple. He graduated from Taft Union High School in 1958 and received a teaching c ... as Curly * Gene Drew as Mac * Paul Carr as Seago * Jennifer Burton as Tina * Johnny Martino as Smith References External links * 1974 films Trucker films American sexploitation films Films directed by Mark L. Lester 1970s exploitation films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steel Arena (film)
''Steel Arena'' is a 1973 American sports drama film written and directed by Mark L. Lester, in his feature film directorial debut. A precursor of the Burt Reynolds school of mainstream redneck films such a ''Smokey and the Bandit'', the movie follows the fictionalized career of auto daredevil Dusty Russell as he develops into a world class stunt driver. The fictional Dusty ties and then breaks the world record for the auto "dive bomber," a stunt where a stock car is driven at high speed off a ramp and over a measured space to come crashing down on top of parked junk cars. Russell actually was a world champion auto daredevil who set the dive bomber record while filming ''Steel Arena''. Cast Plot After being dropped off in front of a bar in a town in rural Kentucky, transient Dusty Russell goes into the bar but doesn't have the cash to pay for the drink he orders. The bartender offers him a job for $100 driving a "tanker", a souped up car for running bootleg moonshine. As Dus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drive-in
A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskate out to take orders and return with food, encouraging diners to remain parked while they eat. Drive-in theaters have a large screen and a car parking area for film-goers. It is usually distinguished from a drive-through, in which drivers line up to make an order at a microphone set up at window height, and then drive to a window where they pay and receive their food. The drivers then take their meals elsewhere to eat. Notably however, during peak periods, patrons may be required to park in a designated parking spot and wait for their food to be directly served to them by an attendant walking to their car, resulting in the perceived relationship between the two service-types. In the German-speaking world, the term is now often used instea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Road Movie
A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alienation and examining the tensions and issues of the cultural identity of a nation or historical period; this is all often enmeshed in a mood of actual or potential menace, lawlessness, and violence, a "distinctly existential air"Cohan, Steven and Hark, Ina Rae. "Introduction". ''The Road Movie Book''. Eds. Cohan, Steven and Hark, Ina Rae. Routledge, 2002. p. 1 and 6 and is populated by restless, "frustrated, often desperate characters".Laderman, David. ''Driving Visions: Exploring the Road Movie''. University of Texas Press, 2010. Ch. 1 The setting includes not just the close confines of the car as it moves on highways and roads, but also booths in diners and rooms in roadside motels, all of which helps to create intimacy and tension between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B Movie
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature (akin to B-sides for recorded music). However, the U.S. production of films intended as second features largely ceased by the end of the 1950s. With the emergence of commercial television at that time, film studio B movie production departments changed into television film production divisions. They created much of the same type of content in low budget films and series. The term ''B movie'' continues to be used in its broader sense to this day. In its post-Golden Age usage, B movies can range from lurid exploitation films to independent arthouse films. In either usage, most B movies represent a particular genre—the Western was a Golden Age B movie staple, while low-budget science-fiction and horror films became more popular in the 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brandon Lee
Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor and martial artist. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the dark fantasy film ''The Crow'' (1994). Lee's career, however, was cut short by his accidental death during ''The Crow''s production. Lee was the son of martial artist and film star Bruce Lee, who died when he was eight years old. Lee, who followed in his father's footsteps, trained in martial arts and studied acting at Emerson College and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He started his career with leading roles in the Hong Kong action film ''Legacy of Rage'' (1986) and the straight-to-video ''Laser Mission'' (1989). Lee also appeared in two spin-offs of the 1970s series ''Kung Fu,'' the television film '' Kung Fu: The Movie'' (1986) and the pilot '' Kung Fu: The Next Generation'' (1987). Transitioning to Hollywood productions, Lee first starred i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolph Lundgren
Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lundgren has starred in more than 80 films,all of them in the action genre. Lundgren received a degree in chemical engineering from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in the early 1980s and a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney in 1982. He holds the rank of 4th ''dan'' black belt in Kyokushin karate and was European champion in 1980–81. While in Sydney, he became a bodyguard for Jamaican singer Grace Jones and began a relationship with her. He received a Fulbright scholarship to MIT and moved to Boston. Jones convinced him to leave the university and move to New York City to be with her and begin acting, where, after a short stint as a model and bouncer at the Manhattan nightclub The Limelight, Lundgr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra; November 19, 1961) is an American actress. She began her acting career in 1981 when she made her acting debut in the drama film ''Rich and Famous''. She later joined the cast of the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' in 1982. Subsequently, she began to appear in supporting roles in films during the mid-1980s like box office hit ''Top Gun'', achieving recognition in independent films such as ''Promised Land'' (1987) before her performance in the Rob Reiner-directed romantic comedy '' When Harry Met Sally...'' (1989) brought her widespread attention and her first Golden Globe nomination. Ryan subsequently established herself, both nationally and internationally, as one of the most successful actresses in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly in romantic comedy films such as ''When Harry Met Sally'' (1989), '' Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), ''Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), ''French Kiss'' (1995), ''You've Got Mail'' (1998), an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
