Free Willy is a 1993 American family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures under their Family Entertainment imprint. The film stars Jason James Richter in his film debut, Lori Petty, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, and Michael Madsen with the eponymous character, Willy, played by Keiko. The story is about an orphaned boy who befriends a captive orca, Willy, at an ailing amusement park. When he discovers that the park owners plan to dispose of Willy, he hatches a scheme to break him out of captivity.
Bad Boys is a 1995 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Michael Bay in his feature directorial debut, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as two Miami narcotics detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but was commercially successful and spawned two sequels: Bad Boys II (2003), Bad Boys for Life (2020). A currently untitled fourth film is set for a release in 2024.
Jason James Richter is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role in the Free Willy film series as Jesse, the boy who befriends Willy the orca.
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home is a 1995 American family adventure drama film directed by Dwight Little from a screenplay by Karen Janszen, Corey Blechman and John Mattson. It is the sequel to the 1993 film Free Willy and second installment in the Free Willy film series distributed by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. Jason James Richter, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, Michael Madsen and Mykelti Williamson reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members include Jon Tenney and Elizabeth Peña. Unlike the previous film where Keiko played Willy, a robotic double created by Edge Innovations was used to play the eponymous whale while the Free Willy Keiko Foundation devised a plan to bring Keiko to the Oregon Coast Aquarium where he would be rehabilitated from poor health. However, Keiko did make an uncredited appearance, reprising his role as Willy through an archival clip shown in the movie. The plot, taking place two years after Jesse freed his orca friend Willy whose now reunited with his family which includes sister Luna, brother Littlespot and mother Catspaw, follows Jesse in a race against time after an oil spill separated Willy and his siblings from their mother and it's up to him to get them back home before the oil traps them in the cove for good.
Little Nicky is a 2000 American fantasy comedy film directed by Steven Brill, written by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler, and Brill, and starring Sandler in the title role, Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Rhys Ifans, Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr., and Rodney Dangerfield with supporting roles by Allen Covert, Kevin Nealon, Jon Lovitz, Michael McKean, and Quentin Tarantino. The film depicts the son of Satan and an angel who is tasked with returning his two brothers to Hell and preventing them from destroying the boundary between good and evil on Earth.
Noah Baumbach is an American film director and screenwriter. He is known for making comedies set in New York City and his works are inspired by writer-directors such as Woody Allen and Whit Stillman. His frequent collaborators include Wes Anderson, Adam Driver, and his wife, Greta Gerwig.
Blade: Trinity is a 2004 American superhero film written and directed by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the screenplays to Blade and Blade II. It stars Wesley Snipes as Blade, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, who also produced with Goyer, Peter Frankfurt and Lynn Harris, with a supporting cast of Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel, Kris Kristofferson, Dominic Purcell, Parker Posey and Triple H in his acting debut.
Longtime Companion is a 1989 American romantic drama film directed by Norman René and starring Bruce Davison, Campbell Scott, Patrick Cassidy, and Mary-Louise Parker. The first wide-release theatrical film to deal with the subject of AIDS, the film takes its title from the euphemism The New York Times used during the 1980s to describe the surviving same-sex partner of someone who had died of AIDS.
Max is a 2002 drama film, that depicts a fictional friendship between a Jewish art dealer, Max Rothman, and a young Austrian painter, Adolf Hitler. The film explores Hitler's views which began to take shape as the Nazi ideology; while also studying the artistic and design implications of the Third Reich and how their visual appeal helped hypnotize the German people. The film goes on to study the question of what could have been had Hitler been accepted as an artist. The film was the directorial debut of Menno Meyjes, who also wrote the film.
The Squid and the Whale is a 2005 American independent comedy-drama film written and directed by Noah Baumbach and produced by Wes Anderson. It tells the semi-autobiographical story of two boys in Brooklyn dealing with their parents' divorce in 1986. The film is named after the giant squid and sperm whale diorama housed at the American Museum of Natural History, which is seen in the film. The film was shot on Super 16 mm, mostly using a handheld camera.
Racing with the Moon is a 1984 American drama film directed by Richard Benjamin, written by Steve Kloves, and starring Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern and Nicolas Cage. The original music score was composed by Dave Grusin.
August Werner Schellenberg was a Canadian actor. He played Randolph in the first three installments of the Free Willy film series (1993–1997) as well as characters in Black Robe (1991), The New World (2005), and dozens of other films and television shows.
American Outlaws is a 2001 American Western action film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, and Ali Larter.
Free Willy is an animated television series, inspired by the 1993 film of the same name. This television show was produced by Warner Bros. Television, Regency Enterprises, and the Canadian company Nelvana for Warner Bros. Studios.
When the Whales Came is a 1989 British drama film directed by Clive Rees and starring Helen Mirren, Paul Scofield, David Suchet, Barbara Jefford, David Threlfall, John Hallam, Barbara Ewing, and Jeremy Kemp. It is based on the 1985 children's book Why the Whales Came written by Michael Morpurgo. The film is, like the book, set on Bryher, one of the Isles of Scilly.
Tap is a 1989 American dance drama film written and directed by Nick Castle and starring Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr.
Born to Be Wild is a 1995 American family comedy film released by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label.
Free Willy is a media franchise from Warner Bros. that started with the 1993 film Free Willy that went on to become a sleeper hit at the box office. The original series primarily follows a street kid named Jesse who befriends an orca named Willy and eventually develops a strong connection. While trying to juggle his newly found life, he and Willy are challenged with overcoming or defeating various hazards to the ocean or Willy himself including corporate greed, hunters, poachers, and oil disasters.
The Sitter is a 2011 American black comedy film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka. The film follows a slacker college student who, after being suspended, is forced by his mother to fill in for a babysitter that called in sick. During this time, he takes his charges along for his extensive criminal escapades.
Big Miracle, originally Everybody Loves Whales, is a 2012 drama film directed by Ken Kwapis. It stars Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski. The film is based on Tom Rose's 1989 book Freeing the Whales, which covers Operation Breakthrough, the 1988 international effort to rescue gray whales trapped in ice near Point Barrow, Alaska.
