Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee has won numerous accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Peabody Awards. He has also been honored with an Honorary BAFTA Award in 2002, an Honorary César in 2003, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2015.
Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He was the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing style 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. Ebert endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, championing filmmakers like Werner Herzog, Errol Morris and Spike Lee, as well as Martin Scorsese, whose first published review he wrote. 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." Per The New York Times, "The force and grace of his opinions propelled film criticism into the mainstream of American culture. Not only did he advise moviegoers about what to see, but also how to think about what they saw."
Six Days, Seven Nights is a 1998 American action-adventure comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman, produced by Reitman and Roger Birnbaum, and starring Harrison Ford and Anne Heche. The screenplay was written by Michael Browning. It was filmed on location in Kauai, and released on June 12, 1998. The film received mixed reviews, with praise for the performances and chemistry of Ford and Heche, but criticism of the predictable screenplay. The film was a box-office success, grossing $164.8 million worldwide.
Bedazzled is a 2000 fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley. It is a remake of the 1967 British film of the same name, written by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, which was itself a comic retelling of the Faust legend.
Constantine is a 2005 American superhero horror film directed by Francis Lawrence in his directorial debut. Written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello from a story by Brodbin, it is loosely based on the DC Comics/Vertigo Comics Hellblazer graphic novels. The film stars Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, a cynical exorcist with the ability to perceive and communicate with half-angels and half-demons in their true forms and to travel between Earth and Hell. Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale, and Peter Stormare also feature.
The Stepfather is a 1987 American psychological horror film directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, and Shelley Hack. O'Quinn stars as an identity-assuming serial killer who marries a widow with a teenage daughter. Having killed his previous family and changed his identity, his murderous tendencies continue after his stepdaughter becomes suspicious of him. The film is loosely based on the life of mass murderer John List, although the plot is more commonly associated with slasher films of the era. The film was written by Donald E. Westlake, from a story by Westlake, Carolyn Lefcourt and Brian Garfield, with an uncredited rewrite by David Loughery.
My Family is a 1995 American drama film directed by Gregory Nava, written by Nava and Anna Thomas, and starring Jimmy Smits, Edward James Olmos, and Esai Morales. The film depicts three generations of a Mexican-American family who emigrated from Mexico and settled in East Los Angeles.
Jane Morgan is an American former singer and recording artist of traditional pop. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold records. She was a frequent nightclub and Broadway performer, and also appeared numerous times on American television, both as a singer and as a dramatic performer.
Permanent Midnight is a 1998 independent drama film written and directed by David Veloz. It stars Ben Stiller, Maria Bello, Elizabeth Hurley, Owen Wilson, Cheryl Ladd and Janeane Garofalo. Based on Jerry Stahl's autobiographical book of the same name, it depicts Stahl, a successful TV writer for popular series like thirtysomething, Twin Peaks, and ALF, and his struggles with substance abuse.
Blue Chips is a 1994 American sports drama film, directed by William Friedkin, written by Ron Shelton and starring Nick Nolte as a college basketball coach trying to recruit a winning team. His players were portrayed by actors as well as real-life basketball stars Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway and cameos include noted basketball figures Bob Knight, Rick Pitino, George Raveling, Bob Cousy, Larry Bird, Jerry Tarkanian, Matt Painter, Allan Houston, Dick Vitale, Jim Boeheim, Dan Dakich and Bobby Hurley, as well as actor Louis Gossett Jr. While the film was released to mixed reviews, general assessment of Blue Chips has become more favorable in the decades since and it has been listed as one of the best sports movies of all time by Rolling Stone, Yardbarker and The Athletic.
Oh, God! is a 1977 American comedy film starring George Burns and John Denver. Based on the 1971 novel by Avery Corman, the film was directed by Carl Reiner from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart. The story centers on supermarket manager Jerry Landers (Denver), who is chosen by God (Burns) to spread his message despite skepticism of the media, religious authorities, and his own wife.
Jerome Charles Weintraub was an American film producer, talent manager and actor whose television films won him three Emmys.
Shout at the Devil is a 1976 British war adventure film directed by Peter R. Hunt and starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore. The film, set in Zanzibar and German East Africa in 1913–1914, is based on a novel by Wilbur Smith which is very loosely inspired by real events. The supporting cast features Barbara Parkins and Ian Holm.
Casa de los Babys is a 2003 drama film written, directed, and edited by filmmaker John Sayles. It features an ensemble cast, including Marcia Gay Harden, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Daryl Hannah.
To the Devil a Daughter, sometimes stylised as To the Devil... a Daughter, is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Peter Sykes and starring Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Honor Blackman, Nastassja Kinski, and Denholm Elliott. Based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Dennis Wheatley, it follows an American occult researcher in England who attempts to save a young girl preyed upon by a Satanic cult led by a fallen Catholic priest.
Ironweed is a 1987 American drama film directed by Héctor Babenco. Adapted to the screen by William Kennedy from his similarly named Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, Ironweed stars Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, with Carroll Baker, Michael O'Keefe, Diane Venora, Fred Gwynne, Nathan Lane, and Tom Waits in supporting roles. The story concerns the relationship of a homeless couple—Francis, an alcoholic, and Helen, a terminally ill woman—during the years following the Great Depression. Major portions of the film were shot on location in Albany, New York. The film received mixed reviews and was a box-office bomb, but Nicholson and Streep received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, for their performances.
Oh, God! You Devil is a 1984 American comedy film, directed by Paul Bogart from a script written by Andrew Bergman. The movie is a sequel to Oh, God! Book II (1980) serves as the third and final installment overall in Oh God! film series; starring George Burns, Ted Wass, Ron Silver, and Roxanne Hart. Produced by Robert M. Sherman, the screenplay is by Andrew Bergman. with a premise based on the 1971 novel of the same title by Avery Corman.
Agnes of God is a 1985 American neo-noir mystery film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft and Meg Tilly. It was written by John Pielmeier, based on his 1979 play of the same name. The plot is about a novice nun (Tilly) who gives birth and insists that the dead child was the result of a virginal conception. A psychiatrist (Fonda) and the mother superior (Bancroft) of the convent clash during the resulting investigation.
The House on Carroll Street is a 1988 American neo-noir film directed by Peter Yates, and starring Kelly McGillis, Jeff Daniels, Mandy Patinkin, and Jessica Tandy. Set in 1950s New York City, it follows a photojournalist who, blacklisted after refusing to disclose names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, stumbles upon a plot to smuggle Nazi war criminals into the United States.
Nicolas Cage is an American actor whose career began with a role in the 1981 television pilot The Best of Times. The following year, Cage made his feature film acting debut with a minor role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the second and last time he went by his birth name Nicolas Coppola, which he changed professionally to avoid allegations of nepotism due to his connection to the Coppola family. In 1983, Cage starred in the teen romantic comedy Valley Girl alongside Deborah Foreman and had a supporting role in his uncle Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish.
