The year 1997 in film involved many significant films, including Titanic, The Full Monty, Gattaca, Donnie Brasco, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential, The Fifth Element, Nil by Mouth, The Spanish Prisoner, and the beginning of the film studio DreamWorks.
Sweet Home Alabama is a 2002 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Andy Tennant. Written by C. Jay Cox, it stars Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey. The supporting cast includes Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Jean Smart, Candice Bergen, Ethan Embry, and Melanie Lynskey. It was released in the United States on September 27, 2002, by Buena Vista Pictures through their Touchstone Pictures banner. The film takes its title from the 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd song of the same name. It received mixed critical reception, but was a success at the box office.
Jason Morgan Ritter is an American actor. The son of John Ritter and Nancy Morgan, he is known for his work in television series such as Joan of Arcadia (2003–2005), Gravity Falls (2012–2016), Another Period (2015–2018), Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (2017–2018), and Raising Dion (2019–2022), and Matlock (2024-). For his portrayal of Mark Cyr on NBC's Parenthood (2010–2014), Ritter was nominated for the 2012 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor.
Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor. He is known for his roles in film and television series in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as Mrs Brown (1997), the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, he starred as Count Dracula in the gothic horror film Dracula 2000. He played Attila the Hun in the miniseries Attila (2001), then appeared in the films Reign of Fire (2002) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003) before starring in the science fiction film Timeline (2003). He played Erik, The Phantom in Joel Schumacher's 2004 musical The Phantom of the Opera.
Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Bill Lester in She Came to the Valley (1979), Pfc Glenn Kelly in Nashville (1975), Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy (1980), astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff (1983), Emmett in Silverado (1985), Captain Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October (1990), Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), John Adcox in Backdraft (1991), Bill Burton in Absolute Power (1997), Roger in Training Day (2001), Ezra Kramer in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), Chris Chenery in Secretariat (2010), Kevin Garvey Sr. in the HBO series The Leftovers (2014–2017), and as Stick in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Daredevil (2015–2016) and The Defenders (2017).
"Mr. Monk and the Candidate" is the two-part pilot episode of the American comedy drama detective television series Monk. It introduces the character of Adrian Monk, a private detective with obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias, and his assistant Sharona Fleming, as well as police officers Leland Stottlemeyer and Randy Disher. In this episode, Monk investigates an assassination attempt on a mayoral candidate.
102 Dalmatians is a 2000 American crime comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Directed by Kevin Lima from a screenplay by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, Bob Tzudiker and Noni White, based on a story by Buckley and Regan, it is the sequel to 101 Dalmatians (1996), which was a live-action remake of the 1961 animated film of the same name. It stars Glenn Close reprising her role as Cruella de Vil as she attempts to steal puppies for her "grandest" fur coat yet, with Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Evans, Tim McInnerny, Ian Richardson, Gérard Depardieu, Ben Crompton, Carol MacReady, Jim Carter, Ron Cook, David Horovitch, Timothy West, and Eric Idle in supporting roles. Close and McInnerny were the only two actors from the 1996 film to return for the sequel, while Adrian Biddle and Anthony Powell reprised their respective duties as cinematographer and costume designer.
Melanie Jayne Lynskey is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American accents, she works predominantly in independent films and television. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including three Critics' Choice Awards and nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Alice Evans is a British-American actress.
Say Uncle is a 2005 independent black comedy film. Written and directed by Peter Paige, it stars Paige, Kathy Najimy, Anthony Clark, Gabrielle Union, Lisa Edelstein, and Melanie Lynskey. It was released theatrically in the United States on June 23, 2006.
Snakeskin is a 2001 New Zealand road thriller film directed by Gillian Ashurst and starring Melanie Lynskey. It was released theatrically in New Zealand on 11 October 2001. Despite not receiving an official release in the United States or the UK, it has played on television in both territories and amassed a cult following.
Hello I Must Be Going is a 2012 American independent romantic dramedy film. Directed by Todd Louiso, it stars Melanie Lynskey, Christopher Abbott, Blythe Danner, and John Rubinstein. The film had its world premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and was released theatrically in the United States on September 7, 2012, receiving positive reviews. The title is a reference to a song from the Marx Brothers' film Animal Crackers.
Happy Christmas is a 2014 American independent dramedy film, written, produced and directed by Joe Swanberg. It stars Swanberg, Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, and Lena Dunham. Like most of Swanberg's previous features, the film's dialogue was entirely improvised.
Ross Fleming Butler is a Singaporean-born American actor. He is best known for his role as Zach Dempsey in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why and as Brett Willis on K.C. Undercover. He was also cast as Reggie Mantle in the Netflix/The CW show Riverdale, but left the role after one season due to filming commitments to 13 Reasons Why. In 2019, he joined the DC Extended Universe as Superhero Eugene Choi in the film Shazam!, and reprised the role in Shazam! Fury of the Gods in 2023.
The Big Ask is a 2013 American independent black comedy-drama film. Directed by Thomas Beatty and Rebecca Fishman, it stars Gillian Jacobs, Zachary Knighton, David Krumholtz, Melanie Lynskey, Ahna O'Reilly, and Jason Ritter. The film was released theatrically in the United States on May 20, 2014.
Liar is a British thriller television series created by Harry and Jack Williams, and co-produced by ITV and SundanceTV. The series stars Joanne Froggatt and Ioan Gruffudd as two people whose initial attraction leads to far-reaching consequences for them and their friends and families. The series premiered on ITV on 11 September 2017, with the first series concluding on 16 October 2017. Upon its debut, it received positive reviews, with many critics praising the performances of Froggatt and Gruffudd. The programme was renewed for a second and final series, which premiered on 2 March 2020, concluding on 6 April 2020.
And Then I Go is a 2017 American independent drama film. Adapted from the 2004 novel Project X by Jim Shepard, it is directed by Vincent Grashaw and stars Melanie Lynskey, Justin Long, Arman Darbo, and Sawyer Barth. It began a limited theatrical release in the United States on April 17, 2018, and was released to DVD and streaming in the UK on March 11, 2019 under the alternative title Triggered. The film was roundly praised by critics, who believed it to be a powerful exploration of bullying and school violence.
Harrow is an Australian television drama series, which ran for three series of ten episodes each. The first series premiered on the ABC on 9 March 2018. The second began on 12 May 2019, while the third started on 7 February 2021. The series was created by Stephen M. Irwin and Leigh McGrath, who are also its scriptwriters, and stars Ioan Gruffudd. Gruffudd made his directorial debut during the third series in February 2021.
Greenland is a 2020 American apocalyptic survival disaster thriller film directed by Ric Roman Waugh and written by Chris Sparling. The film stars Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roger Dale Floyd, Scott Glenn, David Denman, and Hope Davis, and follows a family who must fight for survival as a planet-destroying comet races to Earth.
