Elizabeth is a 1998 British biographical period drama film directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Michael Hirst. It stars Cate Blanchett in the title role of Elizabeth I of England, with Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, John Gielgud, and Richard Attenborough in supporting roles. The film is based on the early years of Elizabeth's reign, where she is elevated to the throne after the death of her half-sister Mary I, who had imprisoned her. As she establishes herself on the throne, she faces plots and threats to take her down.
Catherine Élise Blanchett is an Australian actor and film producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognized for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. Blanchett has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award.
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the Equator 900 km (560 mi) west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of slightly over 33,000 (2020). The province is divided into the cantons of San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela, the three most populated islands in the chain. The Galápagos are famous for their large number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin in the 1830s and inspired his theory of evolution by means of natural selection. All of these islands are protected as part of Ecuador's Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve.
Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård is a Swedish actor. Born in Stockholm, son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, he began acting at age seven but quit at 13. After serving in the Swedish Navy, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained his first role in the US comedy film Zoolander (2001). He played Brad Colbert in the miniseries Generation Kill (2008), and had his breakthrough for portraying vampire Eric Northman in the television series True Blood (2008–2014).
European exploration and settlement of Oceania began in the 16th century, starting with the Spanish (Castilian) landings and shipwrecks in the Mariana Islands, east of the Philippines. This was followed by the Portuguese landing and settling temporarily in some of the Caroline Islands and Papua New Guinea. Several Spanish landings in the Caroline Islands and New Guinea came after. Subsequent rivalry between European colonial powers, trade opportunities and Christian missions drove further European exploration and eventual settlement. After the 17th century Dutch landings in New Zealand and Australia, with no settlement in these lands, the British became the dominant colonial power in the region, establishing settler colonies in what would become Australia and New Zealand, both of which now have majority European-descended populations. States including New Caledonia (Caldoche), Hawaii, French Polynesia, and Norfolk Island also have considerable European populations. Europeans remain a primary ethnic group in much of Oceania, both numerically and economically.
Floreana Island is a southern island in Ecuador's Galápagos Archipelago. The island has an area of 173 km2 (67 sq mi). It was formed by volcanic eruption. The island's highest point is Cerro Pajas at 640 m (2,100 ft), which is also the highest point of the volcano like most of the smaller islands of Galápagos. The island has a population of about 100.
I'm Not There is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Todd Haynes, and co-written by Haynes and Oren Moverman. An experimental biographical film, it is inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, with six actors depicting different facets of Dylan's public personas: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw. A caption at the start of the film declares it to be "inspired by the music and the many lives of Bob Dylan"; this is the only mention of Dylan in the film apart from song credits, and his only appearance in it is concert footage from 1966 shown during the film's final moments.
Sebastian Koch is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film The Lives of Others, in Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, and as Otto Düring in the fifth season of the Showtime series Homeland.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American romantic fantasy drama film directed by David Fincher. The storyline by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages in reverse and Cate Blanchett as the love interest throughout his life. The film also stars Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas, and Tilda Swinton.
The Monuments Men is a 2014 war film directed by George Clooney and written and produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov. The film stars an ensemble cast including Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville and Cate Blanchett.
Song to Song is a 2017 American experimental romantic drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring an ensemble cast including Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, Natalie Portman, and Cate Blanchett.
Carol is a 2015 historical drama romance film directed by Todd Haynes. The screenplay by Phyllis Nagy is based on the 1952 romance novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, and Kyle Chandler. Set in 1950s New York City, the story is about a forbidden affair between an aspiring female photographer and an older woman going through a difficult divorce.
Cinderella is a 2015 romantic fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Chris Weitz. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Allison Shearmur Productions, Beagle Pug Films, and Kinberg Genre, the film is based on Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale "Cinderella" and also serves as a live-action adaptation of Walt Disney's 1950 animated film. Lily James stars as the title character, with Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, and Helena Bonham Carter in supporting roles.
Documentary Now! is an American mockumentary television series created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas, and premiered on August 20, 2015, on IFC. Armisen and Hader star in many episodes, and Thomas and Alex Buono co-direct most episodes. Hosted by Helen Mirren, the series spoofs celebrated documentary films by parodying the style of each documentary with a similar, but fictitious, subject. The third season premiered on February 20, 2019. On April 8, 2019, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on October 19, 2022 and was also released on AMC+.
The Empress of Floreana is a 1934 silent adventure short film made on Floreana Island by a millionaire captain who originally came with a crew to visit the Galápagos Islands for purposes of zoology. The crew chose to visit Floreana because of the rumors that surrounded the island's only two inhabitants, a German diaspora couple Dr. Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch, who immediately befriended them to the point where the crew wanted to return every few months with gifts of provisions for their hosts. Upon their second visit, they learned that two more groups joined the island: a family of three with another on the way; and Eloise von Wagner Bosquet, an imperious, self-described baroness who was accompanied by two younger gigolos, Robert and Rudolf, whom she introduced as the architect and engineer of a grand hotel she hoped to build on the island against her fellow islanders' wishes. Von Wagner's charm proved to be so promising, that Captain George Allan Hancock would write a film about her and film it upon their third visit. On January 21, 1934, the crew returned with film equipment to capture the planned production, with many of the ship's members standing in as cast and film crew.
The Dinner is a 2017 American drama film directed and written by Oren Moverman, and based on the Dutch novel of the same name by Herman Koch. It is the third film adaptation of the novel, following the 2013 original Dutch version Het Diner by Menno Meyjes and the 2014 Italian film I nostri ragazzi by Ivano De Matteo. The film stars Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall, Chloë Sevigny, Charlie Plummer, Miles J. Harvey, and Adepero Oduye.
Cate Blanchett is an Australian actress who has worked extensively on screen and on stage. She made her stage debut in 1992 as Electra in the National Institute of Dramatic Art production of the play of the same name, and followed in 1993 with performances in Timothy Daly's Kafka Dances, for which she won the Sydney Theatre Critics Award for Best Newcomer, and the Sydney Theatre Company stage production of Oleanna, winning Best Actress. She is the first actor to win both awards at once. She went on to perform several other roles on stage, notably Susan Traherne in Plenty (1999), Hedda Gabler in Hedda Gabler (2004), Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (2009), Yelena in Uncle Vanya (2011), and Claire in The Maids (2013).
Margret Wittmer (1904-2000) was one of the original settlers of Floreana Island.
Nightmare Alley is a 2021 neo-noir psychological thriller film co-written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, and based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham. It is the second feature film adaptation of Gresham's novel, following the 1947 film. A co-production between Searchlight Pictures, TSG Entertainment, and Double Dare You Productions, the film stars Bradley Cooper as a charming and ambitious carnival worker with a mysterious past who takes big risks to boost his career. Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, and David Strathairn also star.
Eden is a 2024 American survival thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Noah Pink from a story by Pink and Howard. It stars Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Jude Law, Daniel Brühl, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace and Richard Roxburgh. The movie is based on the true story of a few European settlers coming to Floreana island.
