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The Minus Man
''The Minus Man'' is a 1999 thriller film starring Owen Wilson and Janeane Garofalo. It is based on the novel by Lew McCreary, and directed by Hampton Fancher, who also wrote the screenplay. The film centers on a serial killer whom Fancher describes as "a cross between '' Psycho'''s Norman Bates, Melville's Billy Budd and ''Being Theres Chauncey Gardner". Plot Vann Siegert is a wandering serial killer who poisons his victims; he explains that he feels he is helping them and that they die without pain. After killing a heroin addict named Casper he met at a bar, he makes her death look like an overdose and moves to a new town. The next day, he arrives at the home of Doug and Jane Durwin and rents out the room of their missing daughter. Doug recommends he look for work at the post office, as they are hiring seasonal help for Christmas. Doug takes Vann to a high school football game, where he meets Gene, a star athlete, and his family. A few days later, Vann offers the boy a ride ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hampton Fancher
Hampton Lansden Fancher (born July 18, 1938) is an American actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker, best known for co-writing the 1982 neo-noir science fiction film ''Blade Runner'' and its 2017 sequel '' Blade Runner 2049,'' based on the novel ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' by Philip K. Dick. His 1999 directorial debut, '' The Minus Man,'' won the Special Grand Prize of the Jury at the Montreal World Film Festival. He lives in the Brooklyn Heights district of New York City. Early life Fancher was born to a Mexican-Danish mother and an English-American father, a physician, in East Los Angeles, California. At 15, he ran away to Spain to become a flamenco dancer and renamed himself "Mario Montejo". Following the breakup of his marriage to Joann McNabb, he was married to Sue Lyon from 1963 to 1965. Career In 1959, Fancher appeared in the episode "Misfits" of the ABC western television series '' The Rebel''. Fancher played Deputy Lon Gillis in seven episodes of the AB ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herman Melville
Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and '' Billy Budd, Sailor'', a posthumously published novella. Although his reputation was not high at the time of his death, the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival, and ''Moby-Dick'' grew to be considered one of the great American novels. Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler ''Acushnet'', but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. ''Typee'', his first book, and its sequel, '' Omoo'' (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States. The publication has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes. It is owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by the Times Mirror Company. The newspaper’s coverage emphasizes California and especially Southern California stories. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. In recent decades the paper's readership has declined, and it has been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, and other controversies. In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize and fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychological Thriller
Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and convention, it is a subgenre of the broader ranging thriller narrative structure,Dictionary.com, definitionpsychological thriller (definition) Accessed November 3, 2013, "...a suspenseful movie or book emphasizing the psychology of its characters rather than the plot; this subgenre of thriller movie or book – Example: In a psychological thriller, the characters are exposed to danger on a mental level rather than a physical one....", with similarities to Gothic and detective fiction in the sense of sometimes having a "dissolving sense of reality". It is often told through the viewpoint of psychologically stressed characters, revealing their distorted mental perceptions and focusing on the complex and often tortured relationships between o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenneth Turan of the ''Los Angeles Times'' called him "the best-known film critic in America." Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing voice and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. While a populist, Ebert frequently endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, which often resulted in such fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. Although the name "Rotten Tomatoes" connects to the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes in disapproval of a poor stage performance, the original inspiration comes from a scene featuring tomatoes in the Canadian film ''Léolo'' (1992). Since January 2010, Rotten Tomatoes has been owned by Flixster, which was in turn acquired by Warner Bros in 2011. In February 2016, Rotten Tomatoes and its parent site Flixster were sold to Comcast's Fandango. Warner Bros. retained a minority stake in the merged entities, including Fandango. History Rotten Tomatoes was launched on August 12, 1998, as a spare-time project by Senh Duong. His objective in creating Rotten Tomatoes was "to create a site where people can get access to reviews fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Carroll Lynch
John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom '' The Drew Carey Show'' (1997–2004) as the title character's cross-dressing brother, Steve Carey, as well as on four seasons of '' American Horror Story'' (2014–2019), most notably as breakout character Twisty the Clown. His films include '' Face/Off'' (1997), ''Zodiac'' (2007), '' Gran Torino'' (2008), '' Shutter Island'' (2010), '' Crazy, Stupid, Love'' (2011), '' Ted 2'' (2015), '' The Invitation'' (2015), '' The Founder'' (2016), and '' The Trial of the Chicago 7'' (2020). He made his directorial debut with the 2017 film '' Lucky''. Early life Lynch was born in Boulder, Colorado. He attended Regis Jesuit High School in Denver. He studied theater at The Catholic University of America, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1986. Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Miller (comedian)
Lawrence John Miller (born October 15, 1953) is an American comedian, actor, podcaster, and columnist. He is primarily regarded as a character actor, with '' The A.V. Club'' noting that he "can be counted upon to improve every film or television show he appears in". His better-known roles include Lou Bonaparte in ''Mad About You'' (1993–1998), Pointy-haired Boss in ''Dilbert'' (1999–2000), Edwin Poole in ''Boston Legal'' (2004–2008), Mr. Hollister in ''Pretty Woman'' (1990), Dean Richmond in '' The Nutty Professor'' (1996) and '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' (2000), Walter Stratford in ''10 Things I Hate About You'' (1999) and Paolo Puttanesca in ''The Princess Diaries'' (2001) and '' The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement'' (2004). Miller has also served as one of the regular players in Christopher Guest's mockumentary films. Early life and education Miller was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Valley Stream, New York, on Long Island. He studied music at Amherst Colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Mabius
Eric Harry Timothy Mabius (born April 22, 1971) is an American actor. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, with a degree in cinema studies. After working in theater productions, Mabius made his film debut in the 1995 independent dark comedy '' Welcome to the Dollhouse''. Mabius gained widespread recognition for his role as Daniel Meade on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Ugly Betty''. He also appeared on the Showtime series ''The L Word'' and in the films '' Cruel Intentions'', '' The Crow: Salvation'', and ''Resident Evil''. Life Mabius was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the son of Elizabeth (née Dziczek) and Craig Mabius. His father worked as a historian preserving the Historic Allaire Village. He has a brother, Craig. Mabius is Catholic. After attending Amherst Regional High School in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he was voted "Most Dramatic Girly" as a senior, he enrolled in Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Vargas
John Vargas is an American actor best known for his role in the films ''Primary Colors'' and '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''. "Seduced By Evil" 1994. Early life John Vargas was born in the Bronx and moved to Puerto Rico when his father Juan A. Maldonado was killed in Laos during the Vietnam war Upon finishing high school he was accepted to the Drama Department at Carnegie Mellon University, becoming the first Puerto Rican to graduate from its drama dept. Upon graduating, Vargas moved to Los Angeles. Career John Vargas was cast in Neil Simon's film '' Only When I Laugh'', with Marsha Mason and James Coco. The following year, he featured in the film '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' in the role of Jedda, and then joined the cast of ABC's ''At Ease'', becoming one of the first Latino actors to star in an American television sitcom. Vargas also appeared as Oliviera in '' The Hanoi Hilton''. Vargas joined the ensemble cast of the film ''Primary Colors'', directed by Acade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meg Foster
Margaret Foster is an American film and television actress. Some of her many roles were in the 1979 TV miniseries version of ''The Scarlet Letter'', and the films ''Ticket to Heaven'', ''The Osterman Weekend'', and '' They Live''. Early years Foster was born in Reading, Pennsylvania to David and Nancy (née Adamson) Foster on 10 May 1948, and grew up in Rowayton, Connecticut with four siblings: sisters Gray, Jan, and Nina, and brother Ian. She studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York. Career In 1968, Foster acted in a Cornell Summer Theater production of ''John Brown's Body''. Later in 1968, she was in the off-Broadway production of ''The Empire Builders''. When Loretta Swit was unable to reprise her television-film role of Detective Christine Cagney when the film was adapted into the ''Cagney & Lacey'' TV series, Foster took on the role for the short (six episodes) first season, before she was replaced by Sharon Gless. Entertainment c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect the dead, from interment, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary between cultures and religious groups. Funerals have both normative and legal components. Common secular motivations for funerals include mourning the deceased, celebrating their life, and offering support and sympathy to the bereaved; additionally, funerals may have religious aspects that are intended to help the soul of the deceased reach the afterlife, resurrection or reincarnation. The funeral usually includes a ritual through which the corpse receives a final disposition. Depending on culture and religion, these can involve either the destruction of the body (for example, by cremation or sky burial) or its preservation (for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
