Tom Jankiewicz
Thomas Anthony Jankiewicz (September 8, 1963 – January 23, 2013) was an American screenwriter. Jankiewicz was best known for penning the 1997 film ''Grosse Pointe Blank'', starring John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin, and Dan Aykroyd. ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' tells the story of an assassin, played by John Cusack, who returns to his hometown for his 10-year high school reunion. Biography Early life Jankiewicz's mother, Marilyn, was a nurse, while his father, Anthony, was an engineer with Chrysler. He was born in Detroit, Michigan and lived in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with his parents and four siblings. Jankiewicz graduated from Bishop Foley Catholic High School in Madison Heights, Michigan, in 1981. He then moved to Southern California after high school when his father took a new job with General Dynamics in Pomona, California. Tom Jankiewicz also worked as an advertising copywriter. ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' Jankiewicz wrote the initial script for ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. Terminology In the silent era, writers now considered screenwriters were denoted by terms such as photoplaywright, photoplay writer, photoplay dramatist and screen playwright.Steven Maras. ''Screenwriting: History, Theory and Practice.'' Wallflower Press, 2009. pp. 82–85. Screenwriting historian Steven Maras notes that these early writers were often understood as being the authors of the films as shown and argues that they cannot be precisely equated with present-day screenwriters because they were responsible for a technical product, a brief "scenario", "treatment", or "synopsis" that is a written synopsis of what is to be filmed. Profession Screenwriting is a freelance profession. No education is required to be a professional scree ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Upland High School
Upland High School is a four-year public high school located in the city of Upland, California. The school was established in 1955 as part of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, and since 1988 it has been a member of the Upland Unified School District. It currently serves students from Upland and the northern portions of Ontario and Montclair that are above the San Bernardino Freeway. History Just prior to the City of Upland's growth spurt in the 1960s, Upland High School was established in 1955. By the 1980s this population growth had the side-effect of overcrowding, which in turn caused students to transfer to other high schools in the Chaffey Joint Union High School District. The affected families then began a movement towards unifying Upland High School with the existing elementary and middle schools of the Upland School District. Superintendent George Renworth promoted this movement and the Upland Unified School District was established in 1986. Upland High Schoo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pleasantville (film)
''Pleasantville'' is a 1998 American teen fantasy comedy-drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Gary Ross. It stars Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, J. T. Walsh, and Reese Witherspoon, with Don Knotts, Paul Walker, Marley Shelton and Jane Kaczmarek in supporting roles. The story centers on two siblings who wind up trapped in a 1950s TV show, set in a small Midwest town, where residents are seemingly perfect. The film was one of J. T. Walsh's final performances and was dedicated to his memory. Plot High-schoolers David and his sister Jennifer lead very different lives: Jennifer is shallow while David spends most of his time watching ''Pleasantville'', a black-and-white 1950s sitcom about the idyllic Parker family. One evening while their mother is away, David and Jennifer fight over the television, breaking the remote control. A mysterious TV repairman arrives and, impressed by David's knowledge of ''Pleasantville'', gives him a strange remote ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Enter The Dragon
''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death on 20 July 1973 at the age of 32. An American and Hong Kong co-production, it premiered in Los Angeles on 19 August 1973, one month after Lee's death. The film is estimated to have grossed over worldwide (estimated to be the equivalent of over adjusted for inflation ), against a budget of $850,000. Having earned more than 400 times its budget, it is one of the most profitable films of all time as well as the most successful martial arts film. ''Enter the Dragon'' is widely regarded as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time. In 2004, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Among the first films to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a specific good or service, but there are wide range of uses, the most common being the commercial advertisement. Commercial advertisements often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through "branding", which associates a product name or image with certain qualities in the minds of consumers. On the other hand, ads that intend to elicit an immediate sale are known as direct-response advertising. Non-commercial entities that advertise more than consumer products or services include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Non-profit organizations may use free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement. Advertising may also help to reassure employees ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Monrovia, California
Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and commercials. History Monrovia is the fourth-oldest general-law city in Los Angeles County and the L.A. Basin (after Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Pasadena, all now charter cities). Incorporated in 1887, it has grown from a sparse community of orange ranches to a residential community of over 37,000. Around 500 BC, the Tongva, a band of Shoshonean-speaking Indians, established settlements in what is now the San Gabriel Valley. They were called the Gabrieliño Indians by early Spanish missionaries, a tribe of Mission Indians. The Tongva were not farmers; they gathered wild seeds, berries, and plants along rivers and in marshlands. Abundant oaks in the Valley, such as Coast live oak, Coast Live Oak and Interior live oak, Interior Live Oak ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steve Pink
Steve Pink (born February 3, 1966) is an American actor, director and writer. He is the director of the comedy films ''Accepted'' and ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', and the co-writer of the films ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' and '' High Fidelity''. Life and career He is an alumnus of Evanston Township High School, Columbia College Chicago, and University of California-Berkeley (graduating in 1989 with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies), and a contemporary of John Cusack, Jeremy Piven, and D.V. DeVincentis. Together, Pink, Cusack and DeVincentis formed a production company, New Crime Productions, which produced both ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' and '' High Fidelity''. In 2010, he directed ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', and its sequel ''Hot Tub Time Machine 2'' in 2015. He was also a producer on the 20th Century Fox release ''Knight and Day'', starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joan Cusack
Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama ''Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997). Her other starring roles include those in ''Addams Family Values'' (1993), '' Runaway Bride'' (1999), '' School of Rock'' (2003), and '' Confessions of a Shopaholic'' (2009). She has also provided the voice of Jessie in the ''Toy Story'' franchise (1999–present) and Abby Mallard in ''Chicken Little'' (2005). Cusack was a cast member on the comedy sketch show ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1986. She starred on the Showtime hit drama/comedy series '' Shameless'' (2011–2021) as Sheila Jackson, a role for which she received five consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning for the first time in 2015. She is the sister of actress Ann Cusack and actor John Cusack. Early life Cusack was born on October 11, 1962, in New Yo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hit Man
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be a person, group, or organization. Contract killing has been associated with organized crime, government conspiracies, dictatorships, and vendettas. For example, in the United States, the Jewish-American organized crime gang Murder, Inc. committed hundreds of murders on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate during the 1930s and '40s. Contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to carry out the actual killing, making it more difficult for law enforcement to connect the hirer with the murder. The likelihood that authorities will establish that party's guilt for the committed crime, especially due to lack of forensic evidence linked to the contracting party, makes the case more difficult to attribute to the hi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Urban Legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family member, often with horrifying, humorous, or cautionary elements. These legends can be entertaining but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects or entities. Urban legends may confirm moral standards, reflect prejudices, or be a way to make sense of societal anxieties. Urban legends in the past were most often circulated orally, but now can also be spread by any media. This includes newspapers, mobile news apps, e-mail, and most often, social media. Some urban legends have passed through the years/decades with only minor changes, in where the time period takes place. Generic urban legends are often altered to suit regional variations, but the lesson or moral remains majorly the same. Or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series ''Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the British period drama '' Mr Selfridge'', which tells the story of the man who created the English department store Selfridges, and portrayed Spence Kovak on Ellen DeGeneres's sitcom ''Ellen''. Early years Piven was born in Manhattan and raised in a Reconstructionist Jewish family of Ukrainian Jewish descent. His parents are Byrne Piven (1929–2002) and Joyce Hiller Piven (née Goldstein), both of whom were actors and drama teachers. His elder sister is director Shira Piven, whom he has described as one of his first acting teachers; his brother-in-law is director Adam McKay. He grew up in Evanston, Illinois, and graduated from Evanston Township High School. As a teenager, he attended Harand Theater Camp in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, wher ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Upland, California
Upland is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States on the border with neighboring Los Angeles County. The municipality is located at an elevation of 1,242 feet (379 m). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 79,040, up from 73,732 at the 2010 census and 68,393 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated on May 15, 1906, after previously being named ''North Ontario.'' Upland is located at the foot of the highest part of the San Gabriel Mountains. The suburb is part of the Inland Empire, a metropolitan area situated directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. History Early history Upland is located at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains on an east–west trail that was used by the Native Americans and Spanish missionaries, part of what is now known as the Old Spanish Trail. To the west, the trail led to the San Gabriel Mission, which Spanish Missionaries built in 1771. In 1774, Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza established an overland ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |