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The Dirty Dozen (filmmaking)
The Dirty Dozen is the nickname for a group of filmmaking students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts within the University of Southern California during the mid-late 1960s. The main group consisted of budding directors, screenwriters, producers, editors, and cinematographers. Through innovative techniques and effects, they ended up achieving great success in the Hollywood film industry. Also known as the "USC Mafia", the group's name was a reference to the 1967 Robert Aldrich-directed war film ''The Dirty Dozen''.Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas, Dale Pollock, pp. 48 The core group * George Lucas - Academy Award-nominated director, screenwriter, producer, creator of the '' Star Wars'' series and co-creator of ''Indiana Jones series'' * John Milius - Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of ''Apocalypse Now'' and director of ''Conan the Barbarian'' * Howard Kazanjian - producer of such films as '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'', ''The Empire Strikes Back'', and ''Ret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, and also from a title (for example, City of Fountains), although there may be overlap in these concepts. Etymology The compound word ''ekename'', literally meaning "additional name", was attested as early as 1303. This word was derived from the Old English phrase ''eac'' "also", related to ''eacian'' "to increase". By the 15th century, the misdivision of the syllables of the phrase "an ekename" led to its rephrasing as "a nekename". Though the spelling has changed, the pronunciation and meaning of the word have remained relatively stable ever since. Conventions in various languages English nicknames are generally represented in quotes between the bearer's first and last names (e.g., '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apocalypse Now
''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conrad, with the setting changed from late 19th-century Congo to the Vietnam War. The film follows a river journey from South Vietnam into Cambodia undertaken by Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), who is on a secret mission to assassinate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a renegade Special Forces officer who is accused of murder and presumed insane. The ensemble cast also features Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne and Dennis Hopper. Milius became interested in adapting ''Heart of Darkness'' for a Vietnam War setting in the late 1960s, and initially began developing the film with Coppola as producer and George Lucas as director. After Lucas became unavailable, Coppola took over directorial control, and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal Barwood
Hal Barwood is an American screenwriter, film producer, film director, game designer, game producer, and novelist. Early life Born in Hanover, New Hampshire, his father ran a local movie theater in the town, this being one of his inspirations to become involved in the film industry. When Barwood was at high school, he saw Ingmar Bergman's ''The Seventh Seal'', another inspiration to become a filmmaker. He studied art at Brown University, Rhode Island; and later attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television, where he met and became friends with George Lucas. Along with other film students such as Walter Murch, John Milius, and Howard Kazanjian, the group, known as The Dirty Dozen, went on to degrees of success in the film industry. Career Film work 1970s In 1970, Barwood directed, wrote and produced the short film ''The Great Walled City of Xan''. His first film work was when he worked as animator in George Lucas' first theatrical feature film, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cold Mountain (film)
''Cold Mountain'' is a 2003 epic period war film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling 1997 novel of the same name by Charles Frazier. It stars Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renée Zellweger with Eileen Atkins, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Jack White, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, and Ray Winstone in supporting roles. The film tells the story of a wounded deserter from the Confederate army close to the end of the American Civil War, who journeys home to reunite with the woman he loves. The film was a co-production of companies in Italy, Romania, and the United States. ''Cold Mountain'' was released theatrically on December 25, 2003 by Miramax Films. It became a critical and commercial success grossing over $173 million and receiving seven nominations at the 76th Academy Awards, with Zellweger winning Best Supporting Actress. Plot When North Carolina secedes from the Union on May 20, 1861, the young ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The English Patient (film)
''The English Patient'' is a 1996 epic romantic war drama film directed by Anthony Minghella from his own script based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Michael Ondaatje and produced by Saul Zaentz. The eponymous protagonist, a man burned beyond recognition who speaks with an English accent, recalls his history in a series of flashbacks, revealing to the audience his true identity and the love affair he was involved in before the war. He does not admit his identity or reveal the entire story to the nurse who cares for him and the man who suspects him until the end of the film. This form of exposition is very different from the book, where, under the influence of morphine, the patient talks about his past. The film ends with a definitive onscreen statement that it is a highly fictionalized account of László Almásy (died 1951) and other historical figures and events. The film received twelve nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, winning nine, including Best Picture, Bes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Godfather Part II
''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' serves as both a sequel and a prequel to the 1972 film ''The Godfather'', presenting parallel dramas: one picks up the 1958 story of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), the new Don of the Corleone family, protecting the family business in the aftermath of an attempt on his life; the prequel covers the journey of his father, Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro), from his Sicilian childhood to the founding of his family enterprise in New York City. The ensemble cast also features Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Morgana King, John Cazale, Mariana Hill, and Lee Strasberg. Following the success of the first film, Paramount Pictures began developing a follow-up, with many of the cast and crew returning. Coppola, who was given more creative control, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Conversation
''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Robert Duvall. The film revolves around a surveillance expert and the moral dilemma he faces when his recordings reveal a potential murder. Coppola cited the Michelangelo Antonioni thriller ''Blowup'' (1966) as a key influence, but since the film was released to theaters just a few months before Richard Nixon resigned as president, he felt that audiences interpreted the film as being a reaction to the Watergate scandal. ''The Conversation'' premiered at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or, the festival's highest prize, and was theatrically released on April 7, 1974 by Paramount Pictures to critical acclaim but box office disappointment, grossing $4.2 million on a $1.6 million budget. The film received three nomination ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sound Editor (filmmaking)
A sound editor is a creative professional responsible for selecting and assembling sound recordings in preparation for the final Audio mixing (film and television), sound mixing or Audio mastering, mastering of a television program, motion picture, video game, or any production involving recorded sound, recorded or sound synthesis, synthetic sound. The sound editor works with the supervising sound editor. The supervising sound editor often assigns scenes and reels the sound editor based on the editor's strengths and area of expertise. Sound editing developed out of the need to fix the incomplete, undramatic, or technically inferior sound recordings of early talkies, and over the decades has become a respected filmmaking craft, with sound editors implementing the aesthetic goals of Sound design#Film, motion picture sound design. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes the artistic contribution of exceptional sound editing with the Academy Award for Best Sound Edi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry worldwide. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette as a trophy, officially called the "Academy Award of Merit", although more commonly referred to by its nickname, the "Oscar". The statuette, depicting a knight rendered in the Art Deco style, was originally sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley from a design sketch by art director Cedric Gibbons. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929 at a private dinner hosted by Douglas Fairbanks in The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Academy Awards cerem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Murch
Walter Scott Murch (born July 12, 1943) is an American film editor, director, writer and sound designer. With a career stretching back to 1969, including work on ''THX 1138'', ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Godfather I'', '' II'', and '' III'', ''American Graffiti'', ''The Conversation'', ''Ghost'' and ''The English Patient'', with three Academy Award wins (from nine nominations: six for picture editing and three for sound mixing), he has been referred to by Roger Ebert as "the most respected film editor and sound designer in the modern cinema." David Thomson, in his '' New Biographical Dictionary of Film'', calls Murch "the scholar, gentleman and superb craftsman of modern film", adding that "in sound and editing, he is now without peer." Early life Murch was born in New York City, New York, the son of Katharine (née Scott) and Canadian-born Walter Tandy Murch (1907–1967), a painter. He is the grandson of Louise Tandy Murch, a music teacher who was the subject of the 1975 docume ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Return Of The Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who was also the executive producer. The sequel to '' Star Wars'' (1977) and ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), it is the third installment in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, the third film to be produced, and the sixth chronological film in the "Skywalker Saga". The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz. Set one year after ''The Empire Strikes Back'', the Galactic Empire is constructing a second Death Star to exterminate the Rebel Alliance. With intel that the Emperor will be onboard, the Rebel fleet launches a full-scale attack on the Death Star in hopes of both destroying it and the Emperor. Meanwhile, Rebel hero Luke Skywalker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas. The sequel to ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'' (1977), it is the second film in the ''Star Wars'' film series and the fifth chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set three years after the events of ''Star Wars'', the film recounts the battle between the malevolent Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Galactic Empire, led by the Palpatine, Emperor, and the Rebel Alliance, led by Princess Leia. Luke Skywalker trains to master the Force so he can confront the powerful Sith lord, Darth Vader. The ensemble cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker (English actor), Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and Frank Oz. Following the success of ''Star Wars' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
