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Gridlock'd
''Gridlock'd'' is a 1997 American black comedy crime film written and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall and starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, Lucy Liu, and Thandiwe Newton. It was the directorial debut of Curtis-Hall, who also has a small role in the film. The film's opening was relatively low, despite critical acclaim; its opening weekend netted only $2,678,372 and it finished with a little over $5.5 million. The film paid tribute to star Tupac Shakur, who was murdered four months prior to the film's release. Plot Set in Detroit, ''Gridlock'd'' centers around heroin addicts Spoon (Tupac Shakur), Stretch ( Tim Roth) and Cookie (Thandiwe Newton). They are in a band – in the spoken word genre – called Eight Mile Road, with Cookie on vocals, Spoon on bass guitar (plus secondary vocals) and Stretch on piano. Spoon and Stretch decide to kick their habit after Cookie overdoses on her first hit. Throughout a disastrous day, the two addicts dodge police and local criminals while stru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vondie Curtis-Hall
Vondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor, screenwriter, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama ''Chicago Hope'' created by David E. Kelley and as Ben Urich in the Netflix TV series ''Marvel's Daredevil''. He wrote, directed and starred in the cult film ''Gridlock'd''. Early life Curtis-Hall was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Angeline, a nurse, and Curtis Hall, a construction company owner. Designer Kevan Hall is the brother of Vondie. They also have a sister, Sherrie. All of them attended Presentation Our Lady of Victory grade school in Detroit where they were taught by the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the only all black order of nuns in the United States. Career Initially a stage actor, Curtis-Hall was a member of the original cast of the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls''. He originated the role of Marty, James "Thunder" Early's original manager. Curtis-Hall has appeared in numerous films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Much of Shakur's music has been noted for addressing contemporary social issues that plagued inner cities, and he is considered a symbol of activism against inequality. Shakur was born in New York City to parents who were both political activists and Black Panther Party members. Raised by his mother, Afeni Shakur, he relocated to Baltimore in 1984 and to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. With the release of his debut album ''2Pacalypse Now'' in 1991, he became a central figure in West Coast hip hop for his conscious rap lyrics. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his follow-up albums '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' (1993) and '' Me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interscope Communications
Interscope Communications (also known as Interscope Pictures) was a motion picture production company founded in 1982 by Ted Field. It soon became a division of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. History Interscope Communications was founded in 1982 by media mogul Ted Field, who aimed to create films with mass appeal. Field acted as a producer or executive producer on a number of films in Interscope's filmography. The company's first film, '' Revenge of the Nerds'', was released in 1984 and was a box office success. That same year, Robert W. Cort, a former executive of 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures, joined Interscope and became the president of the company. Cort also co-produced a number of films. On November 13, 1984, the company received an agreement with The Walt Disney Studios for a two-year term, to become the company's first independent supplier within the studio, after several years working with an agreement at 20th Century-Fox in order that Interscope would fina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eight Mile Road
M-102 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan that runs along the northern boundary of Detroit following 8 Mile Road. The highway follows the Michigan Baseline, a part of the land survey of the state, and the roadway is also called Base Line Road in places. As a county road or city street, 8 Mile Road extends both east and west of the M-102 designation, which leaves 8 Mile on the eastern end to follow Vernier Road. The western terminus of M-102 is at the junction of 8 Mile Road and M-5 (Grand River Avenue) and the opposite end is at Vernier Road and Interstate 94 (I-94). The 8 Mile Road name extends west to Pontiac Trail near South Lyon with a discontinuous segment located west of US Highway 23 (US 23). The eastern end of 8 Mile Road is in Grosse Pointe Woods, near I-94, with a short, discontinuous segment east of Mack Avenue. The highway was first designated in the late 1920s, connecting US ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Roth
Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut in ''Made in Britain'' (1982), and theatrical film debut in '' The Hit'' (1984), for which he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Since then, he gained more attention for his roles in films, including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'', (1989), ''Vincent & Theo'' (1990), and ''Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead'' (1990). Roth collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on several films, such as ''Reservoir Dogs'' (1992), ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), ''Four Rooms'' (1995), and '' The Hateful Eight'' (2015). For his performance in '' Rob Roy'' (1995), Roth won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and the Academy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thandiwe Newton
Melanie Thandiwe Newton ( ; born 6 November 1972), formerly credited as Thandie Newton, is a British actress. Newton has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for two Golden Globe Awards. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to film and charity. Newton is known for starring roles such as the title character in ''Beloved'' (1998), Nyah Nordoff-Hall in '' Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000), Tiffany in '' Shade'' (2003), Dame Vaako in '' The Chronicles of Riddick'' (2004), Christine in ''Crash'' (2004), for which she received a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Linda in '' The Pursuit of Happyness'' (2006), Libby in '' Run Fatboy Run'' (2007), Stella in '' RockNRolla'' (2008), Condoleezza Rice in '' W.'' (2008), Laura Wilson in ''2012'' (2009), Tangie Adrose in '' For Colored Girls'' (2010), and Val in '' Solo: A Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damian Jones (producer)
Damian Jones (born 30 September 1964) is a British independent film producer. His career spans almost 50 feature films that include collaborating with top directing and acting talent to critical and commercial success. Films include the Academy Award-winning ''The Iron Lady'', '' The Lady in the Van'', ''The History Boys'', ''Belle'', ''Welcome to Sarajevo'', '' Millions'' , ''Goodbye Christopher Robin'', ''Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll'', ''Dad's Army'', '' Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie'' and the crime drama trilogy '' Kidulthood'', ''Adulthood'' and '' Brotherhood''. Jones' most recent projects have included Michael Winterbottom's ''Greed'' for Sony Pictures International Productions and Film4, Rapman's ''Blue Story'', Argyris Papadimitropoulos's ''Monday'', Romola Garai’s ''Amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has starred as Ling Woo in the television series '' Ally McBeal'' (1998–2002), Alex Munday in two ''Charlie's Angels'' films (2000 and 2003) and Joan Watson in the crime-drama series '' Elementary'' (2012–2019). Her film work includes starring in '' Payback'' (1999), '' Shanghai Noon'' (2000), ''Chicago'' (2002), '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' (2003), ''Lucky Number Slevin'' (2006), '' Watching the Detectives'' (2007), '' The Man with the Iron Fists'' (2012), and '' Set It Up'' (2018). Liu provided voice acting for Master Viper in the '' Kung Fu Panda'' franchise (2008–2016) and Silvermist in the '' Tinker Bell'' series (2008–2014). Her other voice credits include '' Maya & Miguel'' (2004–2007), '' Mulan II'' (2004), as well as the English a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gramercy Pictures
Gramercy Pictures was an American film production label. It was founded on May 20, 1992 as a joint venture between PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Gramercy was the distributor of PolyGram films in the United States and Canada and also served as Universal's art-house division. After Seagram's buyout of PolyGram, Gramercy along with October Films were merged by Barry Diller to form USA Films in 1999. On May 20, 2015, Focus Features (the current art-house division for Universal) revived the name as a label for action, horror and sci-fi genre films; the label was shut down after the release of '' Ratchet & Clank'' on April 29, 2016. History Gramercy Pictures was formed on May 20, 1992 as a joint venture between PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Gramercy Pictures released its first film, the Mario Van Peebles western ''Posse'', on May 14, 1993. On January 11, 1996, PolyGram brought the 50% stake owned by Universal thus assuming full contr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Webster (producer)
Paul Webster (born 19 September 1952) is a British film producer. Life and career Webster has worked both as an independent, and with several production companies. He worked with Working Title Films for five years, setting up their Los Angeles office. Between 1995 and 1997 he was Head of Production for Miramax Films. In 1998 he joined Channel 4 to create Film Four. In 2004 he joined Kudos Film and Television, heading their film unit, Kudos Pictures. Webster was executive producer, along with Robert Redford and Rebecca Yeldham, of the 2004 film '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', directed by Walter Salles, based on Che Guevara's book '' The Motorcycle Diaries''. Webster was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture for the 2007 film ''Atonement'', for which he was also nominated for a BAFTA in the category of "Best British Film" and won a BAFTA for "Best Film". He has previously been nominated for a BAFTA and a Genie Award for Best Motion Picture for his work on the 2007 film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (formerly known as PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures or simply PFE) was a British film studio founded in 1979 which became a European competitor to Hollywood, but was eventually sold to Seagram Company Ltd. in 1998 and was folded in 1999. Among its most successful and well known films were '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981), ''Flashdance'' (1983), ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994), '' Dead Man Walking'' (1995), ''The Big Lebowski'' (1998), '' Fargo'' (1996), ''The Usual Suspects'' (1995), '' The Game'' (1997) and ''Notting Hill'' (1999). In 1979, PolyGram created PolyGram Pictures in a partnership with Peter Guber. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, PolyGram continued to invest in a diversified film unit with the purchases of individual production companies. In 1995, PolyGram purchased ITC Entertainment for $156 million. In May 1998, PolyGram was sold to Seagram, which owned Universal Pictures and Universal Music Group, for $1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Pope
Bill Pope, A.S.C. (born June 19, 1952) is an American cinematographer and filmmaker known for his collaborations with directors Sam Raimi, The Wachowskis and Edgar Wright. He has also photographed and directed numerous music videos for artists like Chris Isaak, Metallica and Drake, and eight episodes of the documentary series '' Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey''. Early life Pope was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He attended College High School and New York University, where he received his master's degree in Fine Arts. Prior to graduation, Pope worked as the cinematographer on a student film entitled ''The Sixth Week'' which won an Oscar for Achievement in Documentary at the 5th Annual Student Academy Awards on May 21, 1978. Filmography Film Video games Television Music videos * 1983 – "Hold Back the Night" by Aldo Nova * 1984 – "Bitchen Party" by Lopez Beatles * 1986 – " Nasty" by Janet Jackson * 1986 – "Mercy Street" by Peter Gabriel * 1986 – " Red Rain" by Peter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
