Troy McClure is a fictional character in the American animated series The Simpsons. He was originally voiced by Phil Hartman and first appeared in the second season episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment." McClure is an actor who is usually shown doing low-level work, most notably hosting manipulative infomercials and pointless, often questionable educational films. He appears as the main character in "A Fish Called Selma," in which he marries Selma Bouvier to aid his failing career and quash rumors about his personal life. McClure also "hosts" "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" and "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase."
Selma Blair Beitner is an American actress and author. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film Brown's Requiem (1998). Her breakthrough came when she starred as Zoe Bean on the WB sitcom Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane (1999–2000), and as Cecile Caldwell in the cult film Cruel Intentions (1999). She continued to find success with the comedies Legally Blonde (2001) and The Sweetest Thing (2002), and achieved international fame with her portrayal of Liz Sherman in the big-budget fantasy films Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008).
Stephen John Coogan is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which he developed while working with Armando Iannucci on On the Hour and The Day Today. Partridge has featured in several television series and the 2013 film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. In 1999, he co-founded the production company Baby Cow Productions with Henry Normal.
Jerry O'Connell is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series Sliders, Andrew Clements in My Secret Identity, Vern Tessio in the film Stand by Me (1986), Joe in Joe's Apartment (1996), Frank Cushman in Jerry Maguire (1996), Derek in Scream 2 (1997), Michael in Tomcats (2001), Charlie Carbone in Kangaroo Jack (2003), and Detective Woody Hoyt on the drama Crossing Jordan. He starred as Pete Kaczmarek in the single 2010–2011 season of The Defenders. He also had a starring role in the comedy horror film Piranha 3D (2010). Currently, he voices Commander Jack Ransom on the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, is co-host of The Talk, and hosts a version of Pictionary syndicated on Fox stations.
The Beat Generation is a 1959 American crime film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Steve Cochran and Mamie Van Doren, with Ray Danton, Fay Spain, Maggie Hayes, Jackie Coogan, Louis Armstrong, James Mitchum, Vampira, and Ray Anthony. It is a sensationalistic interpretation of the beatnik counterculture of the "Beat Generation" The movie was also shown under the title This Rebel Age. The movie is about a "beatnik" who is a serial rapist, who is pursued by a police detective. The director was Charles F. Haas. Richard Matheson and Lewis Meltzer are credited with the screenplay.
Marion and Geoff is a BBC television mockumentary in video-diary format, produced by Baby Cow Productions and screened on BBC Two in 2000, with a second series following in 2003. The series starred Rob Brydon as Keith Barret, a naïve taxi driver going through a messy divorce from his wife, Marion, who, though he fails to realise it, has had a long-standing affair with her colleague, Geoff. Each episode is presented as a monologue, filmed by a fixed camera in the confines of his car.
Rollerball is a 2002 American science fiction sports film directed by John McTiernan. A remake of the 1975 film of the same name, based on William Harrison's short story Roller Ball Murder, the film stars Chris Klein, Jean Reno, LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn and Naveen Andrews. Unlike the previous film, it has a much greater focus on action, with more muted social and political overtones than the original, and takes place in the present rather than in a future dystopian society.
The 2000 MTV Movie Awards were hosted by Sarah Jessica Parker. In conjunction with the success of Sex and the City, the awards show presented a parody of Sex and the City and The Matrix during the program's opening. It featured the SATC cast as they listened intently as Carrie Bradshaw describes getting caught in the Matrix, which is shown in flashbacks and in the narration style heard usually on the TV series. Laurence Fishburne appeared in the spoof in a creative superimposition from the film, as well as Vince Vaughn and Jimmy Fallon, who played Keanu Reeves's character, Neo, from the film. Also, it noted Parker's status as a fashion icon by appearing in no less than 15 different costumes during the duration of the awards ceremonies, even appearing in nothing but a bath towel.
A Cock and Bull Story is a 2005 British comedy film directed by Michael Winterbottom. It is a film-within-a-film, featuring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing themselves as egotistical actors during the making of a screen adaptation of Laurence Sterne's 18th-century metafictional novel Tristram Shandy. Gillian Anderson and Keeley Hawes also play themselves in addition to their Tristram Shandy roles. Since the book is about a man attempting but failing to write his autobiography, the film takes the form of being about failing to make the film.
Coogan's Bluff is a 1968 American crime thriller film directed and produced by Don Siegel. It stars Clint Eastwood, Susan Clark, Don Stroud, Tisha Sterling, Betty Field and Lee J. Cobb. The film marks the first of five collaborations between Siegel and Eastwood, which continued with Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), The Beguiled (1971), Dirty Harry (1971) and Escape from Alcatraz (1979).
Man About Town is a 2006 comedy-drama film produced by Sunlight Productions and independently presented by Media 8 Entertainment. It was written and directed by Mike Binder and stars Ben Affleck, Rebecca Romijn, John Cleese, Bai Ling, and Jerry O'Connell in the Los Angeles area where the film was set.
Jonathan Frederick Tenney is an American actor. He played Special Agent Fritz Howard in TNT's The Closer and continued in its spinoff Major Crimes.
Saxondale is a British sitcom television series, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive producers. The show is set in Stevenage and depicts middle-class suburban life.
The Deal is a 2005 political thriller film directed by Harvey Kahn, starring Christian Slater, Selma Blair, Robert Loggia and Colm Feore. The movie was filmed in 2004 and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The film was released only in limited cinemas of USA and United Arab Emirates.
Prancer is a 1989 Christmas fantasy drama film directed by John Hancock, written by Greg Taylor, and starring Rebecca Harrell, Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman, Abe Vigoda, Michael Constantine, Rutanya Alda, John Joseph Duda, and Ariana Richards. It is set in Three Oaks, Michigan, where town exteriors were filmed. Filming also occurred at the Old Republic House in New Carlisle, Indiana, La Porte, Indiana, and at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois.
The first season of the American dramedy television series Ugly Betty began airing on September 28, 2006 and concluded on May 17, 2007.
Nothing but the Truth is a 1941 American comedy film starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, their third movie together in three years. The movie was directed by Elliott Nugent.
X-Men is a 2000 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by David Hayter and a story by Singer and Tom DeSanto, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ray Park, and Anna Paquin. The film depicts a world where an unknown proportion of people are mutants, whose possession of superhuman powers makes them distrusted by normal humans. It focuses on mutants Wolverine and Rogue as they are brought into a conflict between two groups that have radically different approaches to bringing about the acceptance of mutant-kind: Charles Xavier's X-Men, and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto.
Violent City is a 1970 crime thriller film directed by Sergio Sollima from a screenplay co-written with Lina Wertmüller, starring Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, and Telly Savalas. Bronson plays a former hitman framed by a former boss and left for dead. He seeks revenge, but realizes his real enemy may be closer than he thinks. The Italian-French co-production was filmed in New Orleans, the U.S Virgin Islands, and Cinecittà Studios in Rome.
Midnight Alibi is a 1934 American pre-Code crime comedy drama film directed by Alan Crosland, produced by First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. and starring Richard Barthelmess. Midnight Alibi is an adaptation of Damon Runyon's 1933 short story The Old Doll's House. This was Barthelmess' last film for First National after a 15-year run at the studio. Jack Warner was anxious to get rid of him because the grosses of his films no longer justified his $250,000 salary.
