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The Water Engine
''The Water Engine'' is a 1977 play by David Mamet that centers on the violent suppression of a disruptive alternative energy technology. Plot Charles Lang works at a menial job at a factory and lives with his blind sister Rita in an apartment in Chicago during the 1934 Century of Progress world's fair. But he is also an amateur inventor, and the play centers around a machine he designs that can create electricity from distilled water. Seeking to patent his idea, he finds a lawyer, Morton Gross, in the phone book and shows him the machine, but Gross’s motivations seem to differ from Lang’s. Gross recruits another lawyer, Lawrence Oberman, and together they menace Lang and eventually his sister. It is heavily implied that the two of them serve the corporate establishment whose profits Lang’s engine threatens. By the time Lang realizes he is being taken advantage of, the lawyers have him trapped. He attempts to contact a newspaper reporter, but Gross and Oberman hold his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Water Engine (film)
''The Water Engine'' is an American historical drama television film directed by Steven Schachter and written by David Mamet, based on his 1977 play of the same name. The film stars Patti LuPone, William H. Macy, John Mahoney, Joe Mantegna, and Treat Williams. It was released on TNT on August 24, 1992. Plot Charles Lang works at a menial job at a factory and lives with his blind sister Rita in an apartment in Chicago during the 1934 World's Fair. But he is also an amateur inventor, and the play centers around a machine he designs that can create electricity from distilled water. Seeking to patent his idea, he finds a lawyer, Mason Gross, in the phone book and shows him the machine, but Gross’s motivations seem to differ from Lang’s. Gross recruits another lawyer, Lawrence Oberman, and together they menace Lang and eventually his sister. It is heavily implied that the two of them serve the corporate establishment whose profits Lang’s engine threatens. By the time Lang re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions and Steven Spielberg Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1980. Its headquarters are located in Bungalow 477 of the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, California. It distributes all of the films from Amblin Partners under the Amblin Entertainment banner. Overview Amblin is named after Spielberg's first commercially released film, ''Amblin''' (1968), a short independent film about a man and woman hitchhiking through the desert. Costing $15,000 to produce, it was shown for Universal Studios and won Spielberg more directing roles. Although Amblin is an independent production company, Universal distributes many Amblin productions, and Amblin operates out of a building on the Universal lot. Its logo features the silhouette of E.T. riding in Elliott's bicycle basket flying in front of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joanna Miles
Joanna Miles (born March 6, 1940) is an American actress. She received two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Laura Wingfield in the 1973 film production of Tennessee Williams' ''The Glass Menagerie''. Early life and education Miles was born in Nice, France, the daughter of Jeanne Patterson Miles, an American painter, and Johannes Schiefer, a French painter and art curator. She immigrated to the United States, and was naturalized a citizen, in 1941. She graduated from The Putney School, a progressive independent high school in Putney, Vermont, in 1958. She was accepted into the Actors Studio, where she studied alongside Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Dustin Hoffman. Acting career Miles won two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Laura Wingfield in the 1973 film production of Tennessee Williams' ''The Glass Menagerie'': the Super Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in Drama, and Supporting Actress of the Year. She has also played supporting roles in various movies, including ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricky Jay
Richard Jay Potash (June 26, 1946 – November 24, 2018) was an American stage magician, actor and writer. In a profile for ''The New Yorker'', Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive". In addition to sleight of hand, Jay was known for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter. He also wrote extensively on magic and its history. His acting credits included the films ''The Prestige'', ''The Spanish Prisoner'', ''Mystery Men'', '' Heist'', '' Boogie Nights'', ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', ''State and Main'', ''House of Games'' and ''Magnolia'', and the HBO series '' Deadwood.'' In 2015 he was the subject of an episode of PBS's ''American Masters'', the only magician ever profiled in the series. Early life Jay preferred not to discuss the details of his childhood. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Shirley (Katz) and Samuel Potash. A member of a middle-class Jewish family, he grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He rarely spoke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felicity Huffman
Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. Huffman began her acting career in theatre, and in the 1990s also had many supporting roles in film and television. She starred as Dana Whitaker in the comedy-drama '' Sports Night'' from 1998 to 2000, which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. She is best known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012), for which she earned the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the debut season of the series, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three consecutive Golden Globe nominations. Huffman drew critical praise for her performance as a transgender woman in the independent film '' Transamerica'' (2005). The role earned her a Golden Globe Award, Independent Spirit Award, National Board of Review, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Huffman has also starred in such films as '' Reversal of Fortune'' (1990), ''Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rebecca Pidgeon
Rebecca Pidgeon (born October 10, 1965) is an American actress who has appeared on stage and in feature films, and a singer, songwriter and recording artist. She is married to American playwright David Mamet. Early life Pidgeon was born to English parents in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while her father, Carl R. Pidgeon, was a visiting professor at MIT. Her mother, Elaine, is a yoga teacher. Her paternal grandmother, Monica Pidgeon, the editor of ''Architectural Design'', was the sister of artist Olga Lehmann and academic Andrew George Lehmann. Pidgeon moved to Edinburgh, Scotland in 1970 with her parents. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London with classmates Clive Owen and Liza Tarbuck. Career From 1986 to 1990, Pidgeon was the lead singer of the British folk/pop band Ruby Blue. She left the group shortly after they signed to a major record label. She appeared in her first feature film, ''The Dawning,'' in 1988; then starred in David Mamet's plays and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Michael Goetz
Peter Michael Goetz (born December 10, 1941) is an American actor. Early life and education Goetz was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Esther L. and Irving A. Goetz, a construction engineer.Peter Michael Goetz Biography (1941-) at FilmReference.com Goetz studied at the , , and the |
Andrea Marcovicci
Andrea Louisa Marcovicci ( ro, Marcovici; born November 18, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Life and career Marcovicci was born in Manhattan, to Helen Stuart, a singer, and Eugen Marcovicci, a physician and internist of Romanian descent. Her father was 63 when she was born and died when she was 20. In her teens she decided that she wanted to be a singer, but instead majored in drama."What a beautiful thing it is to be alive!" by M.J. Bevans, ''Afternoon TV'', July 1972. Pp. 32-35 & 58. In a 1972 interview, she looked back at this period without enthusiasm: Marcovicci left school and started making her way into show business as a singer, appearing on ''The Mike Douglas Show'' and ''The Merv Griffin Show.'' As an actress, she debuted in commercials and soon became better known as Dr. Betsy Chernak Taylor on the television soap opera ''Love is a Many Splendored Thing (TV series), Love is a Many Splendored Thing'' from 1970 to 1973. She appeared in the second television p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treat Williams
Richard Treat Williams (born December 1, 1951) is an American actor, writer and aviator who has appeared on film, stage and television in over 120 credits. He first became well known for his starring role in the 1979 musical film '' Hair'', and later also starred in the films ''Prince of the City'', ''Once Upon a Time in America'', '' The Late Shift'' and ''127 Hours''. From 2002 to 2006, he was the lead of the television series ''Everwood'' and was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has additionally been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, two Satellite Awards and an Independent Spirit Award. Early life and education Williams was born December 1, 1951 in Rowayton, Connecticut, the son of Marian (née Andrew), an antiques dealer, and Richard Norman Williams, a corporate executive. His maternal great-great-great-grandfather was Senator William Henry Barnum of Connecticut, a third cousin of the showman P. T. Barnum. Williams is a distant relative of Robert Tre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Durning
Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless roles''" The Washington Post, p. B4 Durning's best-known films include ''The Sting'' (1973), ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''The Muppet Movie'' (1979), '' True Confessions'' (1981), ''Tootsie'' (1982), ''Dick Tracy'' (1990), and ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for both ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1982) and ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1983). Prior to his acting career, Durning served in World War II and was decorated for valor in combat. Early life Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York. He was the son of Louise (née Leonard; 1894–1982), a laundress at West Point, and James E. Durning (1883 – c. 1935). His parents were of German, Irish and Englis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Mantegna
Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor. Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 in the Chicago production of the musical ''Hair''. He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jefferson Award for portraying Richard Roma in the first American productions of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize–winning play '' Glengarry Glen Ross'', the first of many collaborations with Mamet. His long-standing association with Mamet includes the premieres of ''A Life in the Theatre'', ''The Disappearance of the Jews'' and ''Speed-the-Plow'' on Broadway. Mantegna also directed a highly lauded production of Mamet's ''Lakeboat'', which enjoyed a successful theatrical run in Los Angeles. He later directed the film version of ''Lakeboat''. In addition to theatrical appearances directed by Mamet, Mantegna appeared in Mamet's films ''House of Games'' (1987), '' Things Change'' (1988), ''Homicide'' (1991), and ''Redbelt'' (2008). In film and on tel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
