HOME
*





Silkwood
''Silkwood'' is a 1983 American biographical drama film directed by Mike Nichols and starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was adapted from the book ''Who Killed Karen Silkwood?'' by ''Rolling Stone'' writer and activist Howard Kohn which detailed the life of Karen Silkwood. Silkwood was a nuclear whistle-blower and a labor union activist who died in a car collision while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she worked. In real life, her death gave rise to a 1979 lawsuit, ''Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee'', led by attorney Gerry Spence. The jury rendered its verdict of $10 million in damages to be paid to the Silkwood estate (her children), the largest amount in damages ever awarded for that kind of case at the time. The Silkwood estate eventually settled for $1.3 million. ''Silkwood'' was shot largely in New Mexico and Texas on a budget of $10 million. Factual accuracy was maintained throughout ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Karen Silkwood
Karen Gay Silkwood (February 19, 1946 – November 13, 1974) was an American chemical technician and labor union activist known for raising concerns about corporate practices related to health and safety in a nuclear facility. She worked at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site in Oklahoma, making plutonium pellets, and became the first woman on the union's negotiating team. After testifying to the Atomic Energy Commission about her concerns, she was found to have plutonium contamination on her person and in her home. While driving to meet with a ''New York Times'' journalist and an official of her union's national office, she died in a car crash under unclear circumstances. Her family sued Kerr-McGee for the plutonium contamination. The company settled out of court for US $1.38 million, while not admitting liability. Her story was chronicled in Mike Nichols's 1983 Academy Award nominated film '' Silkwood'' in which she was portrayed by Meryl Streep. Fam ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Kerr-McGee
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an American energy company involved in oil exploration, production of crude oil, natural gas, perchlorate and uranium mining and milling in various countries. On June 23, 2006, Anadarko Petroleum acquired Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $16.5 billion plus $2.6 billion in debt and all operations moved from their base in Oklahoma, United States. History The company later known as Kerr-McGee was founded in 1929 as Anderson & Kerr Drilling Company by Oklahoma businessman-politician Robert S. Kerr (1896-1963) and oil driller James L. Anderson. When Dean A. McGee (1904-1989), a former chief geologist for Phillips Petroleum, joined the firm in 1946, it changed its name to Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, Incorporated. The company initially focused mostly on off-shore oil exploration and production, being one of the first companies to use drillships in the Gulf of Mexico, and later one of the first companies to use a Spar type pla ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Gerry Spence
Gerald Leonard Spence (born January 8, 1929) is a semi-retired American trial lawyer. He is a member of the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. Spence has never lost a criminal case before a jury either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney, and has not lost a civil case since 1969. Background Spence graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1949 and from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1952 and was first in his class. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in May 1990. He started his career in Riverton, Wyoming, and later became a successful defense attorney for the insurance industry. Years later, Spence said he "saw the light" and became committed to representing people instead of corporations, insurance companies, banks, or "big business." From 1954 to 1962 he served as prosecuting attorney of Fremont County, Wyoming. Gerry Spence and his second wife, Imaging, share their time between their homes in Dubois, Wyoming, and Santa Barbara, California. Despite ha ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for her romantic comedy films and was nominated three times for the Writers Guild of America Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for ''Silkwood'' (1983), '' When Harry Met Sally...'' (1989), and ''Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993). She won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay for ''When Harry Met Sally...'', which the Writers Guild of America ranked as the 40th greatest screenplay of all time. Ephron's first produced play, '' Imaginary Friends'' (2002), was honored as one of the ten best plays of the 2002–03 New York theatre season. She also co-authored the Drama Desk Award–winning theatrical production ''Love, Loss, and What I Wore''. In 2013, Ephron received a posthumous Tony Award nomination for Best Play for '' Lucky Guy''. Ephron also directed films, usually from her own screenplays, including ''Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993) ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

List Of Nuclear Whistleblowers
There have been a number of nuclear whistleblowers, often nuclear engineers, who have identified safety concerns about nuclear power and nuclear weapons production. List Other nuclear whistleblowers * Chuck Atkinson * Dale G. Bridenbaugh * Joe Carson * Larry Criscione * Mark Gillespie * Lars-Olov Höglund * Carl HocevarFalk, Jim (1982). ''Global Fission:The Battle Over Nuclear Power'', p. 95. * David Hoffman * Avon Hudson * Shafiqul Islam * Carl Patrickson * Richard H. Perkins * Robert Pollard * John P. Shannon * Don Ranft * Zhores Medvedev * Ronald A. Sorri * Grigoris Lambrakis See also * Nuclear accidents in the United States * Nuclear safety * Anti-nuclear movement in the United States References External links * Watching the Watchdogs* ttp://www.whistleblower.org/ Government Accountability Project Whistleblower protection Org.* National Whistleblowers Center - Nuclear Whistleblowers {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuclear whistleblowers *Nuclear, List Nuclear whistleblowers Nu ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

56th Academy Awards
The 56th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1983 and took place on April 9, 1984, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 22 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Jack Haley Jr. and was directed by Marty Pasetta. Comedian and talk show emcee Johnny Carson hosted the show for the fifth time. He first presided over the 51st ceremony held in 1979, and had last hosted the 54th ceremony held in 1982. Nine days earlier, in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on March 31, the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards were presented by hosts Joan Collins and Arnold Schwarzenegger. ''Terms of Endearment'' won five awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included ''Fanny ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Meryl Streep
Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including a record 21 Academy Award nominations, winning three, and a record 32 Golden Globe Award nominations, winning eight. She has also received two British Academy Film Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for a Tony Award and six Grammy Awards. Streep made her stage debut in 1975 '' Trelawny of the Wells'' and received a Tony Award nomination the following year for a double-bill production of '' 27 Wagons Full of Cotton'' and '' A Memory of Two Mondays''. In 1977, she made her film debut in '' Julia''. In 1978, she won her first Primetime Emmy Award for a leading role in the mini-series ''Holocaust'', and received her first Osc ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of their experience. He is one of 17 people to have won all four of the major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). His other honors included three BAFTA Awards, the Lincoln Center Gala Tribute in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2010. His films received a total of 42 Academy Award nominations, and 7 wins. Nichols began his career in the 1950s with the comedy improvisational troupe The Compass Players, predecessor of The Second City, in Chicago. He then teamed up with his improv partner, Elaine May, to form the comedy duo Nichols and May. Their live improv act was a hit on Broadwa ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry. Cher is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice and for having worked in numerous areas of entertainment, as well as adopting a variety of styles and appearances throughout her six-decade-long career. Cher gained popularity in 1965 as one-half of the folk rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher after their song "I Got You Babe" peaked at number one on the US and UK charts. Together they sold 40 million records worldwide. Her solo career was established during the same time, with the top-ten singles "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" and "You Better Sit Down Kids". She became a television personality in the 1970s with her CBS shows; first ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'', watched by over 30&n ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Alice Arlen
Alice Arlen (November 6, 1940 – February 29, 2016) was an American screenwriter, best known for '' Silkwood'' (1983), which she wrote with Nora Ephron. Her other film credits include the scripts of ''Alamo Bay'' (1985), '' Cookie'' (1989), '' The Weight of Water'' (2000) and ''Then She Found Me'' (2007). Early life In 1940, Arlen was born as Alice Reeve. Arlen's father was Jay Frederick Reeve, a lawyer. Arlen's mother was Josephine Medill Patterson, a journalist. After Arlen's mother married Ivan Albright, Arlen and her brother Joseph took the surname of Albright. Education In 1962, Arlene graduated from Radcliffe College of Harvard University. In 1981, Arlene earned an MFA degree from the Columbia University School of the Arts. Career Arlen worked for CBS. Arlen met Nora Ephron, with whom she wrote the screenplay for '' Silkwood'' (1983), for which they were nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Arlen worked with director Louis Malle, writing the script ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the Westerns on television, western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (1963–1964). In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract with The Walt Disney Company, where he starred as Dexter Riley in films, such as ''The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes'' (1969), ''Now You See Him, Now You Don't'' (1972), and ''The Strongest Man in the World'' (1975). According to Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, he became the studio's top star of the 1970s.Introduction by Robert Osborne to the Turner Classic Movies premiere of ''The Barefoot Executive'', April 13, 2007. Russell was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his performance in Mike Nichols' ''Silkwood'' (1983). In the 1980s, he starred in several films directed by John Carpenter, including anti-hero roles such as army ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Academy Award For Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actor winner. The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 with Janet Gaynor receiving the award for her roles in '' 7th Heaven'', '' Street Angel'', and ''Sunrise''. Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy. In the first three years of the awards, actresses were nominated as the best in their categories. At that time, all of their work during the qualifying period (as many as three films, in some cases) was listed after the award. However, during the 3rd ceremony held in 1930, only one of those films was cited in ea ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]