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Mystery Men (film)
''Mystery Men'' is a 1999 American superhero comedy film directed by Kinka Usher (in his feature-length directorial debut) and written by Neil Cuthbert, loosely based on Bob Burden's ''Flaming Carrot Comics'', and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Greg Kinnear, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Reubens, Kel Mitchell, Wes Studi, Geoffrey Rush, Lena Olin, Eddie Izzard, Claire Forlani, and Tom Waits. The film details the story of a team of lesser superheroes with unimpressive powers who are required to save the day. ''Mystery Men'' received generally positive reviews from critics, but was a box-office bomb, only making a little over $33 million worldwide against a $68 million budget. Plot In Champion City, the amateur superhero team of Mr. Furious, the Shoveler and the Blue Raja attempt to make a name for themselves, but their inexperience, infighting, and dubious abilities generally result in defeat and frustration. While trying to stop a robbery in progress, they are u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinka Usher
Kinka Usher is a director of television commercials. He also directed the 1999 feature film ''Mystery Men''. Early life Kinka Usher was born in Nice France, one of five children. His mother, an Italian by birth, owned a ballet production company and his father was a museum exhibit designer. Growing up he spent his time between Europe (primarily the island of Capri, Italy) and the United States (primarily Santa Barbara). During these early years he explored a career in the restaurant business, in the back of the house, and ultimately attaining the status of Sous-chef. Career Entering the film industry at 23, he began as a production assistant at Harmony Pictures in Los Angeles and gradually worked up to camera assistant, Steadicam operator and eventually a director/cameraman. His big break came though when he was hired as a cameraman to director Roger Corman on one of his films. His directorial debut came in 1992 on "Aborigine," a spot for Acura which earned him a Belding Award. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claire Forlani
Claire Antonia Forlani (born 17 December 1971) is an English actress. She became known in the mid-1990s for her leading role in the film ''Mallrats'', and in the Jean-Michel Basquiat 1996 biopic, ''Basquiat''. In 1998, she achieved wide recognition for starring in the fantasy romance film ''Meet Joe Black'' (1998). Other notable films include ''Mystery Men'' (1998), '' Boys and Girls'' (2000), ''Antitrust'' (2001), ''The Medallion'' (2003) and ''In the Name of the King'' (2007). Forlani also has appeared in numerous TV films and series, including a starring role on the historical-fantasy-drama series ''Camelot'', and recurring roles on the CBS action series ''CSI: NY'', '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', and ''Hawaii Five-0''. She played the role of Meredith Newman in the 2019 film ''Five Feet Apart''. Early life Forlani was born in Twickenham, London, the daughter of Barbara, who is English, and Pier Luigi Forlani, a music manager from Ferrara, Italy. At age 11, Forlani entered the Art ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Box-office Bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after release has technically "bombed", the term is more frequently used for major studio releases that were highly anticipated, extensively marketed and expensive to produce that ultimately failed commercially. Causes Negative word of mouth With the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the 2000s, word of mouth regarding new films is easily spread and has had a marked effect on box office performance. A film's ability or failure to attract positive or negative commentary can strongly impact its performance at the box office, especially on the opening weekend. External circumstances Occasionally, films may underperform because of issues largely unrelated to the content of the film, such as the timing of the film's re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime. Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters, especially, since the 1930s, in American comic books (and later in Hollywood films, film serials, television and video games), as well as in Japanese media (including kamishibai, tokusatsu, manga, anime and video games). Superheroes come from a wide array of different backgrounds and origins. Some superheroes (for example, Batman and Iron Man) derive their status from advanced technology they create and use, while others (such as Superman and Spider-Man) possess non-human or superhuman biology or study and practice magic to achieve their abilities (such as Zatanna and Doctor Strange ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the oldest genres in film and it is derived from the classical comedy in theatre. Some of the earliest silent films were comedies, as slapstick comedy often relies on visual depictions, without requiring sound. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1930s, comedy films took another swing, as laughter could result from burlesque situations but also dialogue. Comedy, compared with other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comics transitioning to the film industry due to their popularity. In '' The Screenwriters Taxonomy'' (2017), Eric R. Williams contends that film genres are fundamentally based upon a film's atmosphere, character, and story. Therefore the labels "drama" and "comedy" are t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superhero Film
A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, action, Adventure film, adventure, Fantasy film, fantasy, or science fiction film, science fiction elements. The first film of a particular character often focuses on the hero's Origin story, origin story or the story of how they got their special powers. The first film frequently introduces the hero's nemesis. (See also: supervillain or archnemesis.) Many superhero films are based on superhero comics. By contrast, films such as the ''Ultraman'', ''Kamen Rider'' and ''Super Sentai'' franchises, the ''RoboCop (franchise), RoboCop'' series, ''The Meteor Man (film), The Meteor Man'', the Unbreakable (film series), ''Unbreakable'' film series, ''Hancock (film), Hancock'' and ''They Call Me Jeeg,'' are original for the screen. While ''The Green H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray began the site on August 7, 1998, making forecasts of the top-10 highest-grossing films in the United States for the following weekend. To compare his forecasts to the actual results, he started posting the weekend grosses and wrote a regular column with box-office analysis. In 1999, he started to post the Friday daily box-office grosses, sourced from Exhibitor Relations, so that they were publicly available online on Saturdays and posted the Sunday weekend estimates on Sundays. Along with the weekend grosses, he was publishing the daily grosses, release schedules, and other charts, such as all-time charts, international box-office charts, genre charts, and actor and director charts. The site gradually expanded to include weekend charts going b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Board Of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works (such as television programmes, trailers, adverts, public information/campaigning films, menus, bonus content, etc.) released on physical media within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify all video works released on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray (including 3D and 4K UHD formats), and, to a lesser extent, some video games under the Video Recordings Act 1984. The BBFC was also the designated regulator for the UK age-verification scheme which was abandoned before being implemented. History and overview The BBFC was established in 1912 as the British Board of Film Censors by members of the film industry, who preferred to manage their own censorship than to have national or local gove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United International Pictures
United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and United Artists films when MGM was part of the venture and also distributed Disney films in certain territories until 1987. In 2001, MGM left UIP, and signed a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox's overseas arm. The company formerly distributed DreamWorks Pictures releases internationally as well until 2005. Overview Cinema International Corporation (1970–1981) Paramount's early history with MCA dates back to the 1950s, when part of its talent pool worked for Paramount Pictures; Alfred Hitchcock was among the best known. In 1958, MCA purchased the pre-1950 Paramount sound feature film library. In 1962, MCA purchased Universal Studios. In 1966, Gulf+Western purchased Paramount. In a cost-cutting move, in 1970, as a result of Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Studios
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. U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known as Pegasus Books and founded in 1980. Dark Horse Comics has emerged as the fourth largest comic publishing company in the United States of America. Dividing profits with artists and writers, as well as supporting artistic and creative rights in the comic book industry, Dark Horse Comics has become a strong proponent of publishing licensed material that often does not fit into mainstream media. Several titles include: ''Sin City, Hellboy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 300, and Star Wars.'' In December 2021, Swedish gaming company Embracer Group launched its acquisition of Dark Horse Media, Dark Horse Comics' parent company, and completed the buyout in March 2022. In June 2022, Dark Horse announced a business partnership with Penguin Rando ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conrad Buff IV
Conrad Buff IV (born July 8, 1948) is an American film editor with more than 25 film credits since 1985. Buff is known for winning an Academy Award for Best Film Editing and an ACE Eddie Award for ''Titanic'' (1997); the awards were shared with his co-editors James Cameron and Richard A. Harris. He won the 2000 Satellite Award for Best Editing for '' Thirteen Days''. Life and career Buff was born in Los Angeles, the son of architect Conrad Buff III, and the grandson of children's book creators Mary and Conrad Buff (painter Conrad Buff II). He attended Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles. Pasadena City College for two years before joining the U. S. Navy. Buff learned film editing while working for the Navy's Motion Picture Office in Hollywood. In the first phase of his civilian career Buff was the "visual effects editor" on several successful films, ranging from ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) through ''Ghostbusters'' (1984). Buff was an assistant editor on ''Return of the Je ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
