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Robert Towne (minister)
Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 – July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter and director. He started writing films for Roger Corman, including '' The Tomb of Ligeia'' in 1964, and was later part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. Towne wrote and won the Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's ''Chinatown'' (1974); starring Jack Nicholson, widely considered one of the greatest screenplays ever written, as well as its sequel, '' The Two Jakes'' (1990). For Hal Ashby, he penned the dramedies ''The Last Detail'' (1973) and ''Shampoo'' (1975). He collaborated with Tom Cruise on the films ''Days of Thunder'' (1990), ''The Firm'' (1993) and the first two installments of the '' Mission: Impossible'' franchise (1996, 2000). Towne directed the sports dramas '' Personal Best'' (1982) and ''Without Limits'' (1998), the crime thriller '' Tequila Sunrise'' (1988), and the romantic crime drama '' Ask the Dust'' (2006). Early l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits , Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to it's east. It covers about , and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards. His films have grossed over in North America and over worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing box-office stars of all time. Cruise began acting in the early 1980s and made his breakthrough with leading roles in the comedy film '' Risky Business'' (1983) and action film '' Top Gun'' (1986). Critical acclaim came with his roles in the dramas ''The Color of Money'' (1986), ''Rain Man'' (1988), and ''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989). For his portrayal of Ron Kovic in the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. As a leading Hollywood star in the 1990s, he starred in several commercially successful f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolling Hills, California
Rolling Hills is a city on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Rolling Hills is a gated community with private roads with three entry gates. Homes are single-story 19th century California ranch or Spanish haciendas exemplified by architect Wallace Neff. Incorporated in 1957, Rolling Hills maintains a rural area, rural and equestrianism, equestrian character, with no traffic lights, multi-acre lots with ample space between homes, and wide equestrian paths along streets and property lines. Rolling Hills has the third highest median house value in the United States. Homes are required to have white exterior paint. Homeowners are also required to maintain horse property on their lots, or at minimum keep land where stalls could be built. The community was developed by A. E. Hanson, who also developed Hidden Hills, California, Hidden Hills. Residents work, shop, attend school, and obtain other services in the other towns on the Palos Verdes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Pedro, Los Angeles
San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located within San Pedro. The district has grown from being dominated by the fishing industry, to a working-class community within the city of Los Angeles, to a rapidly gentrifying community. History The peninsula, including all of San Pedro, was the homeland of the Tongva-Gabrieleño Native American people for thousands of years. In other areas of the Los Angeles Basin archeological sites date back 8,000–15,000 years. The Tongva believe they have been here since the beginning of time. Once called the "lords of the ocean", due to their mastery of oceangoing canoes (Ti'ats), many Tongva villages covered the coastline. Their first contact with Europeans was in 1542 with Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the Spanish explorer who also was the first to writ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publisher in the United States, publishing 2,000 titles annually under 35 different imprints. History Early years In 1924, Richard Simon's aunt, a crossword puzzle enthusiast, asked whether there was a book of ''New York World'' crossword puzzles, which were very popular at the time. After discovering that none had been published, Simon and Max Schuster decided to launch a company to exploit the opportunity.Frederick Lewis Allen, ''Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s'', p. 165. . At the time, Simon was a piano salesman and Schuster was editor of an automotive trade magazine. They pooled , equivalent to $ today, to start a company that published crossword puzzles. The new publishing house used "fad" publishing to publish bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood'' is a book by Peter Biskind, published by Simon & Schuster in 1998. ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'' is about the 1960s and 1970s Hollywood, a period of American film known for the production of such films such as ''The Godfather,'' ''The Godfather Part II,'' '' The French Connection,'' ''Chinatown,'' ''Taxi Driver,'' ''Jaws,'' ''Star Wars,'' ''The Exorcist,'' and ''The Last Picture Show''. The title is taken from films which bookend the era: ''Easy Rider'' (1969) and ''Raging Bull'' (1980). The book follows Hollywood on the brink of the Vietnam War, when a group of young Hollywood film directors known as the "movie brats" are making their names. It begins in the 1960s and ends in the 1980s. The book was the basis of a 2003 documentary film of the same name directed by Kenneth Bowser and narrated by actor William H. Macy. It was screened out of competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Rot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind (born 1940) is an American cultural critic, film historian, journalist and former executive editor of ''Premiere'' magazine from 1986 to 1996. Biography He attended Swarthmore College and wrote several books depicting life in Hollywood, including ''Seeing Is Believing,'' ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls,'' ''Down and Dirty Pictures,'' and ''Gods and Monsters,'' some of which were bestsellers. In 2010, he published a biography of director and actor Warren Beatty, entitled ''Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America.'' Biskind is a contributing editor at '' Vanity Fair''. His work has appeared in publications such as ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Washington Post,'' ''Paris Match,'' ''The Nation,'' ''The New York Times,'' ''The Times'' (London), and the ''Los Angeles Times,'' as well as in film journals such as '' Sight and Sound'' and ''Film Quarterly''. He and his wife Elizabeth Hess were both on the editorial staff of '' Seven Days'' magazine in the late 1970s. He served as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territories of the United States by population, most populous U.S. state and the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated Administrative division, subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous Statistical area (United States), urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7million residents and the latter having over 9.6million. Sacramento, California, Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the List of largest California cities by population, most populous city in the state and the List of United States cities by population, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ask The Dust (film)
''Ask the Dust'' is a 2006 romantic drama film based on the 1939 book ''Ask the Dust'' by John Fante. The film was written and directed by Robert Towne. Tom Cruise (with Paula Wagner and Cruise/Wagner Productions) served as one of the film's producers. The film was released on a limited basis on March 17, 2006, and was entered into the 28th Moscow International Film Festival. It was filmed almost entirely in South Africa with the use of stages to portray Los Angeles. Plot The story is set during the Great Depression, specifically around the time of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Camilla (Salma Hayek) is a fiery, beautiful Mexican café waitress who aspires to make something of herself and give her and her future children a place and chance in the world. Arturo (Colin Farrell) is a struggling writer who comes to Bunker Hill, Los Angeles to start his writing career. Though he falls in love with Camilla, he does not marry her. Later, Camilla is infected by tuberculosis and leave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tequila Sunrise (film)
''Tequila Sunrise'' is a 1988 American romantic crime film written and directed by Robert Towne. It stars Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kurt Russell, with Raul Julia, J. T. Walsh, Arliss Howard, and Gabriel Damon in supporting roles. The original music score was composed by Dave Grusin. The film, only the second (after '' Personal Best'') to be both written and directed by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Towne, was commercially successful, grossing over $100 million at the box office worldwide, but critical reception was mixed. One reviewer was of the opinion that, "perhaps because the elements were so irresistible—Robert Towne directing Gibson, Russell and Pfeiffer in a California crime film—an aura of disappointment settled over ''Tequila Sunrise'', no matter how engaging, and profitable, it turned out to be." ''Tequila Sunrise'' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The film's soundtrack spawned the single " Surrender to Me", performed by An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Without Limits
''Without Limits'' is a 1998 American biographical sports film. It is written and directed by Robert Towne and follows the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine and his coach Bill Bowerman, who later co-founded Nike, Inc. Billy Crudup plays Prefontaine and Donald Sutherland plays Bowerman. It also stars Monica Potter, Jeremy Sisto, Judith Ivey, Matthew Lillard and William Mapother. The film was produced by Tom Cruise (Cruise and Mapother are cousins) and Paula Wagner, and released and distributed by Warner Bros. Due to a very low-key promotional campaign, the $25 million film grossed only $777,000 at the box office, although it received good reviews from many major critics. Sutherland received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film. Cast * Billy Crudup as Steve Prefontaine * Donald Sutherland as Bill Bowerman * Monica Potter as Mary Marckx * Jeremy Sisto as Frank Shorter * Judith Ivey as Barbara Bower ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Personal Best (film)
''Personal Best'' is a 1982 American drama film written, produced and directed by Robert Towne. It stars Mariel Hemingway and real-life track star Patrice Donnelly, along with Scott Glenn as the coach. The film is about the lesbian relationship between two track-and-field teammates whose relationship might interfere with their performance. The film was shot in California and Oregon. Several issues arose during production, including a strike by the Screen Actors Guild, a $110 million lawsuit, and the fact that the film was shot in two states. The film received positive reviews after its release. Both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert placed ''Personal Best'' on their lists of the ten best films of 1982. It garnered a 73% approval rating at review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Despite its popularity with film critics, the film did not succeed at the box office. Synopsis Chris Cahill and Tory Skinner are shown as young women who compete in track-and-field. Chris is upset about her difficu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
