Is Anybody There
''Is Anybody There?'' is a 2008 British drama film starring Michael Caine and directed by John Crowley. It was written by Peter Harness and produced by David Heyman, Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf. The film premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival under its original title ''Is There Anybody There?'' It garnered a nomination from the London Film Critics' Circle for Bill Milner as the ''Young British Performer of the Year''. Plot In 1987 Edward ( Bill Milner) is a ten-year-old boy who lives at an old people's home run by his parents (David Morrissey and Anne-Marie Duff). Surrounded by death and dying, he becomes obsessed with finding evidence for the afterlife, often using a tape recorder to capture his "encounters". Edward is helped in his search by Clarence (Michael Caine), an elderly ex-magician in the early stages of dementia who has recently entered the home. They first meet on the road near the home, when he is nearly hit by his camper van. Clarence h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Crowley (director)
John Crowley (born 19 August 1969) is an Irish film and theatre director. He is best known for the films ''Brooklyn'' (2015) and his debut feature, ''Intermission'' (2003), for which he won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Director. He is a brother of the designer Bob Crowley. Education Crowley earned a BA in English and Philosophy (1990) and an MA in Philosophy from University College Cork. Career Crowley became involved in theatre as a student, seeing it as a stepping stone to directing film. He began directing plays in Dublin in the early 1990s, reached London's West End by 1996 and eventually become an associate director at the Donmar Warehouse. In 2000, he directed '' Come and Go'' as part of the Beckett on Film series and made his feature debut ''Intermission'' (2003), a comedy drama set in Dublin, starring Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy and Kelly Macdonald, based on a screenplay by playwright Mark O'Rowe. In May 2005, Crowley, along with Danny Boyle, launc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This 33rd annual festival was from September 4 to September 13, 2008. The opening night gala was the World War I romantic epic '' Passchendaele'' from Canadian director Paul Gross.Brendan Kelly, Variety: "Toronto unveils Canadian selection" (July 15, 2008) Retrieved July 11, 2012 About the 2008 Festival The 2008 festival was heavy on Canadian fare as well as featuring prominent indie films and worldwide as well as North American debuts including: '''' directed by Cana ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Musical Saw
A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is a hand saw used as a musical instrument. Capable of continuous glissando (portamento), the sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin. The musical saw is classified as a plaque friction idiophone with direct friction (132.1) under the Hornbostel-Sachs system of musical instrument classification, and as a metal sheet played by friction (151) under the revision of the Hornbostel-Sachs classification by the MIMO Consortium. Playing The saw is generally played seated with the handle squeezed between the legs, and the far end held with one hand. Some sawists play standing, either with the handle between the knees and the blade sticking out in front of them. The saw is usually played with the serrated edge, or "teeth", facing the body, though some players face them away. Some saw players file down the teeth, which makes no discernable difference to the sound. Manyespecially professionalsaw players use a handle, called a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal resort for most of the 19th and mid-20th centuries. This location has had a settlement since the Mesolithic era. A nunnery was founded by Eanswith, granddaughter of Æthelberht of Kent in the 7th century, who is still commemorated as part of the town's culture. During the 13th century, it developed into a seaport, and the harbour developed during the early 19th century to defend against a French invasion. Folkestone expanded further west after the arrival of the railway in 1843 as an elegant coastal resort, thanks to the investment of the Earl of Radnor under the urban plan of Decimus Burton. In its Edwardian-era heyday, Folkestone was considered the most fashionable resort of the time, visited by royalty — amongst them Queen Victoria and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hythe, Kent
Hythe () is an old market town and civil parish on the edge of Romney Marsh in Kent, England. ''Hythe'' is an Old English word meaning haven or landing place. History The earliest reference to Hythe is in Domesday Book (1086) though there is evidence of the area having been settled since Roman times. The town has mediaeval and Georgian buildings, as well as a Saxon/ Norman church on the hill and a Victorian seafront promenade. Hythe was once defended by castles at Saltwood and Lympne. Hythe Town Hall, a neoclassical style building, was completed in 1794. Hythe's market once took place in Market Square (now Red Lion Square) close to where there is now a farmers' market every second and fourth Saturday of the month. Hythe has gardening, horse riding, bowling, tennis, cricket, football, squash and sailing clubs. Lord Deedes was once patron of Hythe Civic Society. As an important Cinque Port, Hythe once possessed a bustling harbour which, over the course of 300 years ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Folkestone Central Railway Station
Folkestone Central railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, and is the main station serving the town of Folkestone, Kent. It is down the line from London Charing Cross. All trains that call are operated by Southeastern. History The South Eastern Main Line reached Folkestone in 1843, with a station being opened at Folkestone Junction (Folkestone East) on 18 December 1843. Folkestone West was then opened in 1863, with a station named ''Cheriton Arch'' being provided between the two on 1 September 1884. The name ''Radnor Park'' was adopted in 1886, and for a few years with just two platform faces, the station was rebuilt in 1890 to add a bay. The station was renamed ''Folkestone Central'' in 1895. The station was rebuilt at the time of the route's electrification in 1961 with two island platforms, linked by a subway and with ramps leading up from the ticket office and concourse, which is itself above street level (an approach road and accompanying ped ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chalfont St Giles
Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, west-northwest of Charing Cross, central London, and near Seer Green, Jordans, Buckinghamshire, Jordans, Chalfont St Peter, Little Chalfont and Amersham. The cockney rhyming slang term "chalfonts", meaning haemorrhoids (piles), is derived from the name of the village. The village has a duck pond that is fed by the River Misbourne. The village sign was designed and painted by Doreen Wilcockson ARCA in 2001. Chalfont St Giles is famous for the poet John Milton, Milton’s only surviving home. History In the Domesday Book of 1086, Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter were listed as separate Manors with different owners, called 'Celfunte'. They were separate holdings before the Norman Conquest. The Church of England parish church of Saint ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west at Senlac Hill in 1066. It later became one of the medieval Cinque Ports. In the 19th century, it was a popular seaside resort, as the railway allowed tourists and visitors to reach the town. Hastings remains a popular seaside resort and is also a fishing port, with the UK's largest beach-based fishing fleet. The town's estimated population was 91,100 in 2021. History Early history The first mention of Hastings is from the late 8th century in the form ''Hastingas''. This is derived from the Old English tribal name ''Hæstingas'', meaning 'the constituency (followers) of Hæsta'. Symeon of Durham records the victory of Offa in 771 over the ''Hestingorum gens'', that is, "the people of the Hastings tribe." Hastingleigh in Kent ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Elizabeth Spriggs
Elizabeth Jean Spriggs (18 September 1929 – 2 July 2008) was an English actress. Spriggs' roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company included Nurse in ''Romeo and Juliet'', Gertrude in ''Hamlet'', and Beatrice in ''Much Ado About Nothing''. In 1978, she won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for Arnold Wesker's ''Love Letters on Blue Paper''. She received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the 1995 film ''Sense and Sensibility''. Her other films included '' Richard's Things'' (1980), ''Impromptu'' (1991), '' Paradise Road'' (1997), and ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (2001). Early life and career Born in Buxton, Derbyshire, in 1929, Spriggs had an unhappy childhood, later stating that she "grew up entirely without affection". Possessing a mezzo-soprano voice, she studied opera at the Royal College of Music, and taught speech and drama in Coventry. Her first marriage at 21 was a disaster and, in what she called "the most painful deci ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rosemary Harris
Rosemary Ann Harris (born 19 September 1927) is an English actress. She is the recipient of an Primetime Emmy Award, Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and three Laurence Olivier Awards. Harris was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1986, and she won the Special Tony Award, Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre in 2017. Harris began her stage career in 1948, before making her Broadway debut in 1952. For her New York stage work, she is a four-time Drama Desk Award winner and nine-time Tony Award nominee, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in for portraying Eleanor of Aquitaine in ''The Lion in Winter'' (1966). Her other Tony-nominated roles were in ''Old Times'' (1972), ''The Royal Family (play), The Royal Family'' (1976), ''Heartbreak House'' (1984), ''Pack of Lies'' (1985), ''Hay Fever (play), Hay Fever'' (1986), ''A Delicate Balance (play), A Delicate Balance ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thelma Barlow
Thelma Barlow (''née'' Pigott; born 19 June 1929) is an English television actress and writer, known for her roles as Mavis Wilton in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and as Dolly Bellfield in the BBC One sitcom '' dinnerladies''. She is the oldest living (and overall longest lived) female ''Coronation Street'' cast member. Early life Barlow was born in 1929 in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, the younger of two daughters. Her father, Tommy, a cabinet maker, died of pneumonia five weeks before her birth, aged 37, and Barlow was brought up by her mother Margaret. During her childhood the family moved to Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Barlow left school at 15 and went to Huddersfield Technical College to study shorthand and typing. Her first job was as a secretary, which she held for eight years and at the same time belonged to Huddersfield Thespians - an amateur dramatics group. Barlow decided to take up acting professionally and joine ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Vaughan
Peter Ewart Ohm (4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016), known professionally as Peter Vaughan, was an English actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on stage. Vaughan played Grouty in the sitcom ''Porridge'' and its 1979 film adaptation. His other roles included a recurring role alongside Robert Lindsay in the sitcom ''Citizen Smith'', Tom Hedden in '' Straw Dogs'', Winston the Ogre in ''Time Bandits'', Tom Franklin in ''Chancer'', and Mr. Stevens Sr. in '' The Remains of the Day''. His final role was as Maester Aemon in HBO's ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2015). Early life Vaughan was born Peter Ewart Ohm on 4 April 1923 in Wem, Shropshire, the son of a bank clerk, Max Ohm, who was an Austrian immigrant,Peter Vaughan obituary ''The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |