title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Around this time, Poe attempted to secure a position within the administration of President John Tyler, claiming that he was a member of the Whig Party. He hoped to be appointed to the United States Custom House in Philadelphia with help from President Tyler's son Robert, an acquaintance of Poe's friend Frederick Thomas. Poe failed to show up for a meeting with Thomas to discuss the appointment in mid-September 1842, claiming to have been sick, though Thomas believed that he had been drunk. Poe was promised an appointment, but all positions were filled by others.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: One evening in January 1842, Virginia showed the first signs of consumption, or tuberculosis, while singing and playing the piano, which Poe described as breaking a blood vessel in her throat. She only partially recovered, and Poe began to drink more heavily under the stress of her illness. He left "Graham's" and attempted to find a new position, for a time angling for a government post. He returned to New York where he worked briefly at the "Evening Mirror" before becoming editor of the "Broadway Journal", and later its owner. There Poe alienated himself from other writers by publicly accusing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow of plagiarism, though Longfellow never responded. On January 29, 1845, his poem "The Raven" appeared in the "Evening Mirror" and became a popular sensation. It made Poe a household name almost instantly, though he was paid only $9 for its publication. It was concurrently published in "" under the pseudonym "Quarles".


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: The "Broadway Journal" failed in 1846, and Poe moved to a cottage in Fordham, New York, in the Bronx. That home is known as the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, relocated to a park near the southeast corner of the Grand Concourse and Kingsbridge Road. Nearby, Poe befriended the Jesuits at St. John's College, now Fordham University. Virginia died at the cottage on January 30, 1847. Biographers and critics often suggest that Poe's frequent theme of the "death of a beautiful woman" stems from the repeated loss of women throughout his life, including his wife.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe was increasingly unstable after his wife's death. He attempted to court poet Sarah Helen Whitman who lived in Providence, Rhode Island. Their engagement failed, purportedly because of Poe's drinking and erratic behavior. There is also strong evidence that Whitman's mother intervened and did much to derail their relationship. Poe then returned to Richmond and resumed a relationship with his childhood sweetheart Sarah Elmira Royster.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: On October 3, 1849, Poe was found semiconscious in Baltimore, "in great distress, and... in need of immediate assistance", according to Joseph W. Walker, who found him. He was taken to the Washington Medical College, where he died on Sunday, October 7, 1849, at 5:00 in the morning. Poe was not coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in his dire condition and why he was wearing clothes that were not his own. He is said to have repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before his death, though it is unclear to whom he was referring. His attending physician said that Poe's final words were, "Lord help my poor soul". All of the relevant medical records have been lost, including Poe's death certificate.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Newspapers at the time reported Poe's death as "congestion of the brain" or "cerebral inflammation", common euphemisms for death from disreputable causes such as alcoholism. The actual cause of death remains a mystery. Speculation has included "delirium tremens", heart disease, epilepsy, syphilis, meningeal inflammation, cholera, carbon monoxide poisoning, and rabies. One theory dating from 1872 suggests that Poe's death resulted from cooping, a form of electoral fraud in which citizens were forced to vote for a particular candidate, sometimes leading to violence and even murder.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Immediately after Poe's death, his literary rival Rufus Wilmot Griswold wrote a slanted high-profile obituary under a pseudonym, filled with falsehoods that cast Poe as a lunatic, and which described him as a person who "walked the streets, in madness or melancholy, with lips moving in indistinct curses, or with eyes upturned in passionate prayers, (never for himself, for he felt, or professed to feel, that he was already damned)".


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: The long obituary appeared in the "New York Tribune" signed "Ludwig" on the day that Poe was buried. It was soon further published throughout the country. The piece began, "Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved by it." "Ludwig" was soon identified as Griswold, an editor, critic, and anthologist who had borne a grudge against Poe since 1842. Griswold somehow became Poe's literary executor and attempted to destroy his enemy's reputation after his death.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Griswold wrote a biographical article of Poe called "Memoir of the Author", which he included in an 1850 volume of the collected works. There he depicted Poe as a depraved, drunken, drug-addled madman and included Poe's letters as evidence. Many of his claims were either lies or distortions; for example, it is seriously disputed that Poe was a drug addict. Griswold's book was denounced by those who knew Poe well, including John Neal, who published an article defending Poe and attacking Griswold as a "Rhadamanthus, who is not to be bilked of his fee, a thimble-full of newspaper notoriety". Griswold's book nevertheless became a popularly accepted biographical source. This was in part because it was the only full biography available and was widely reprinted, and in part because readers thrilled at the thought of reading works by an "evil" man. Letters that Griswold presented as proof were later revealed as forgeries.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe's best known fiction works are Gothic horror, adhering to the genre's conventions to appeal to the public taste. His most recurring themes deal with questions of death, including its physical signs, the effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning. Many of his works are generally considered part of the dark romanticism genre, a literary reaction to transcendentalism which Poe strongly disliked. He referred to followers of the transcendental movement as "Frog-Pondians", after the pond on Boston Common, and ridiculed their writings as "metaphor—run mad," lapsing into "obscurity for obscurity's sake" or "mysticism for mysticism's sake". Poe once wrote in a letter to Thomas Holley Chivers that he did not dislike transcendentalists, "only the pretenders and sophists among them".


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Beyond horror, Poe also wrote satires, humor tales, and hoaxes. For comic effect, he used irony and ludicrous extravagance, often in an attempt to liberate the reader from cultural conformity. "Metzengerstein" is the first story that Poe is known to have published and his first foray into horror, but it was originally intended as a burlesque satirizing the popular genre. Poe also reinvented science fiction, responding in his writing to emerging technologies such as hot air balloons in "The Balloon-Hoax".


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe wrote much of his work using themes aimed specifically at mass-market tastes. To that end, his fiction often included elements of popular pseudosciences, such as phrenology and physiognomy.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe's writing reflects his literary theories, which he presented in his criticism and also in essays such as "The Poetic Principle". He disliked didacticism and allegory, though he believed that meaning in literature should be an undercurrent just beneath the surface. Works with obvious meanings, he wrote, cease to be art. He believed that work of quality should be brief and focus on a specific single effect. To that end, he believed that the writer should carefully calculate every sentiment and idea.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe describes his method in writing "The Raven" in the essay "The Philosophy of Composition", and he claims to have strictly followed this method. It has been questioned whether he really followed this system, however. T. S. Eliot said: "It is difficult for us to read that essay without reflecting that if Poe plotted out his poem with such calculation, he might have taken a little more pains over it: the result hardly does credit to the method." Biographer Joseph Wood Krutch described the essay as "a rather highly ingenious exercise in the art of rationalization".


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: During his lifetime, Poe was mostly recognized as a literary critic. Fellow critic James Russell Lowell called him "the most discriminating, philosophical, and fearless critic upon imaginative works who has written in America", suggesting—rhetorically—that he occasionally used prussic acid instead of ink. Poe's caustic reviews earned him the reputation of being a "tomahawk man". A favorite target of Poe's criticism was Boston's acclaimed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was often defended by his literary friends in what was later called "The Longfellow War". Poe accused Longfellow of "the heresy of the didactic", writing poetry that was preachy, derivative, and thematically plagiarized. Poe correctly predicted that Longfellow's reputation and style of poetry would decline, concluding, "We grant him high qualities, but deny him the Future".


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe was also known as a writer of fiction and became one of the first American authors of the 19th century to become more popular in Europe than in the United States. Poe is particularly respected in France, in part due to early translations by Charles Baudelaire. Baudelaire's translations became definitive renditions of Poe's work in Continental Europe.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe's early detective fiction tales featuring C. Auguste Dupin laid the groundwork for future detectives in literature. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, "Each [of Poe's detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed... Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?" The Mystery Writers of America have named their awards for excellence in the genre the "Edgars". Poe's work also influenced science fiction, notably Jules Verne, who wrote a sequel to Poe's novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" called "An Antarctic Mystery", also known as "The Sphinx of the Ice Fields". Science fiction author H. G. Wells noted, ""Pym" tells what a very intelligent mind could imagine about the south polar region a century ago". In 2013, "The Guardian" cited "Pym" as one of the greatest novels ever written in the English language, and noted its influence on later authors such as Doyle, Henry James, B. Traven, and David Morrell.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Horror author and historian H. P. Lovecraft was heavily influenced by Poe's horror tales, dedicating an entire section of his long essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature", to his influence on the genre. In his letters, Lovecraft described Poe as his "God of Fiction". Lovecraft's earlier stories express a significant influence from Poe. A later work, "At the Mountains of Madness", quotes him and was influenced by "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket". Lovecraft also made extensive use of Poe's unity of effect in his fiction. Alfred Hitchcock once said, "It's because I liked Edgar Allan Poe's stories so much that I began to make suspense films". Many references to Poe's works are present in Vladimir Nabokov's novels.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Like many famous artists, Poe's works have spawned imitators. One trend among imitators of Poe has been claims by clairvoyants or psychics to be "channeling" poems from Poe's spirit. One of the most notable of these was Lizzie Doten, who published "Poems from the Inner Life" in 1863, in which she claimed to have "received" new compositions by Poe's spirit. The compositions were re-workings of famous Poe poems such as "The Bells", but which reflected a new, positive outlook.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Even so, Poe has also received criticism. This is partly because of the negative perception of his personal character and its influence upon his reputation. William Butler Yeats was occasionally critical of Poe and once called him "vulgar". Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson reacted to "The Raven" by saying, "I see nothing in it", and derisively referred to Poe as "the jingle man". Aldous Huxley wrote that Poe's writing "falls into vulgarity" by being "too poetical"—the equivalent of wearing a diamond ring on every finger.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: It is believed that only twelve copies have survived of Poe's first book "Tamerlane and Other Poems". In December 2009, one copy sold at Christie's auctioneers in New York City for $662,500, a record price paid for a work of American literature.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: "", an essay written in 1848, included a cosmological theory that presaged the Big Bang theory by 80 years, as well as the first plausible solution to Olbers' paradox.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe eschewed the scientific method in "Eureka" and instead wrote from pure intuition. For this reason, he considered it a work of art, not science, but insisted that it was still true and considered it to be his career masterpiece. Even so, "Eureka" is full of scientific errors. In particular, Poe's suggestions ignored Newtonian principles regarding the density and rotation of planets.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe had a keen interest in cryptography. He had placed a notice of his abilities in the Philadelphia paper "Alexander's Weekly (Express) Messenger", inviting submissions of ciphers which he proceeded to solve. In July 1841, Poe had published an essay called "A Few Words on Secret Writing" in "Graham's Magazine". Capitalizing on public interest in the topic, he wrote "The Gold-Bug" incorporating ciphers as an essential part of the story. Poe's success with cryptography relied not so much on his deep knowledge of that field (his method was limited to the simple substitution cryptogram) as on his knowledge of the magazine and newspaper culture. His keen analytical abilities, which were so evident in his detective stories, allowed him to see that the general public was largely ignorant of the methods by which a simple substitution cryptogram can be solved, and he used this to his advantage. The sensation that Poe created with his cryptography stunts played a major role in popularizing cryptograms in newspapers and magazines.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Two ciphers he published in 1841 under the name "W. B. Tyler" were not solved until 1992 and 2000 respectively. One was a quote from Joseph Addison's play "Cato"; the other is probably based on a poem by Hester Thrale.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Poe had an influence on cryptography beyond increasing public interest during his lifetime. William Friedman, America's foremost cryptologist, was heavily influenced by Poe. Friedman's initial interest in cryptography came from reading "The Gold-Bug" as a child, an interest that he later put to use in deciphering Japan's PURPLE code during World War II.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: The historical Edgar Allan Poe has appeared as a fictionalized character, often representing the "mad genius" or "tormented artist" and exploiting his personal struggles. Many such depictions also blend in with characters from his stories, suggesting that Poe and his characters share identities. Often, fictional depictions of Poe use his mystery-solving skills in such novels as "The Poe Shadow" by Matthew Pearl.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: No childhood home of Poe is still standing, including the Allan family's Moldavia estate. The oldest standing home in Richmond, the Old Stone House, is in use as the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, though Poe never lived there. The collection includes many items that Poe used during his time with the Allan family, and also features several rare first printings of Poe works. 13 West Range is the dorm room that Poe is believed to have used while studying at the University of Virginia in 1826; it is preserved and available for visits. Its upkeep is overseen by a group of students and staff known as the Raven Society.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: The earliest surviving home in which Poe lived is in Baltimore, preserved as the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum. Poe is believed to have lived in the home at the age of 23 when he first lived with Maria Clemm and Virginia (as well as his grandmother and possibly his brother William Henry Leonard Poe). It is open to the public and is also the home of the Edgar Allan Poe Society. Of the several homes that Poe, his wife Virginia, and his mother-in-law Maria rented in Philadelphia, only the last house has survived. The Spring Garden home, where the author lived in 1843–1844, is today preserved by the National Park Service as the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site. Poe's final home is preserved as the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage in the Bronx.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: In Boston, a commemorative plaque on Boylston Street is several blocks away from the actual location of Poe's birth. The house which was his birthplace at 62 Carver Street no longer exists; also, the street has since been renamed "Charles Street South". A "square" at the intersection of Broadway, Fayette, and Carver Streets had once been named in his honor, but it disappeared when the streets were rearranged. In 2009, the intersection of Charles and Boylston Streets (two blocks north of his birthplace) was designated "Edgar Allan Poe Square".


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: In March 2014, fundraising was completed for construction of a permanent memorial sculpture, known as "Poe Returning to Boston", at this location. The winning design by Stefanie Rocknak depicts a life-sized Poe striding against the wind, accompanied by a flying raven; his suitcase lid has fallen open, leaving a "paper trail" of literary works embedded in the sidewalk behind him. The public unveiling on October 5, 2014, was attended by former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Other Poe landmarks include a building on the Upper West Side where Poe temporarily lived when he first moved to New York. A plaque suggests that Poe wrote "The Raven" here. On Sullivan's Island in Charleston, South Carolina, the setting of Poe's tale "The Gold-Bug" and where Poe served in the Army in 1827 at Fort Moultrie, there is a restaurant called Poe's Tavern. In Fell's Point, Baltimore, a bar still stands where legend says that Poe was last seen drinking before his death. Known as "The Horse You Came in On", local lore insists that a ghost whom they call "Edgar" haunts the rooms above.


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Early daguerreotypes of Poe continue to arouse great interest among literary historians. Notable among them are:


title: Edgar Allan Poe

text: Between 1949 and 2009, a bottle of cognac and three roses were left at Poe's original grave marker every January 19 by an unknown visitor affectionately referred to as the "Poe Toaster". Sam Porpora was a historian at the Westminster Church in Baltimore where Poe is buried, and he claimed on August 15, 2007, that he had started the tradition in 1949. Porpora said that the tradition began in order to raise money and enhance the profile of the church. His story has not been confirmed, and some details which he gave to the press are factually inaccurate. The Poe Toaster's last appearance was on January 19, 2009, the day of Poe's bicentennial.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Penélope Cruz Sánchez (; ; born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Known for her roles in films of several genres, particularly those in the Spanish language, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is the first and only Spanish actress to be nominated for and to win an Academy Award, as well as the first to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Signed by an agent at the age of 15, Cruz made her acting debut at 16 on television, and her feature film debut the following year in "Jamón Jamón" (1992). Her subsequent roles included "Belle Époque" (1992), "Open Your Eyes" (1997), "Don Juan" (1998), "The Hi-Lo Country" (1999), "The Girl of Your Dreams" (2000), and "Woman on Top" (2000). She is also known for her frequent collaborations with Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar in "Live Flesh" (1997), "All About My Mother" (1999), "Volver" (2006), "Broken Embraces" (2009), "I'm So Excited!" (2013), "Pain and Glory" (2019), and "Parallel Mothers" (2021), as well as for her work with director Woody Allen in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008) and "To Rome with Love" (2012).


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz achieved international recognition for her lead roles in the films "All the Pretty Horses" (2000), "Vanilla Sky" (2001), "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" (2001), and "Blow" (2001). She has since appeared in a variety of films from a wide range of genres, including the comedy "Waking Up in Reno" (2002), the thriller "Gothika" (2003), the Christmas film "Noel" (2004), the romantic drama "Elegy" (2008), the action-adventure films "Sahara" (2005) and "" (2011), the crime drama "The Counselor" (2013), and the mystery film "Murder on the Orient Express" (2017). She received critical acclaim for her roles in "Volver" (2006) and "Nine" (2009), earning Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for each. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2008 for her performance in Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". In 2018, Cruz made her American television debut as Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace in the FX series "", for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz has been married to actor Javier Bardem since 2010. She has modeled for Mango, Ralph Lauren, and L'Oréal, and along with her younger sister Mónica Cruz, also designed clothing for Mango. She has been a house ambassador for Chanel since 2018. She's volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent one week working with Mother Teresa; she donated her salary from "The Hi-Lo Country" to help fund the late nun's mission.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz was born on 28 April 1974 in the town of Alcobendas, province of Madrid, Spain, to Encarna Sánchez, an Andalusian hairdresser and personal manager, and Eduardo Cruz, an Extremaduran retailer and car mechanic. She has two siblings, Mónica, also an actress, and Eduardo, a singer. She also has a paternal half-sister, Salma. She was raised as a Roman Catholic. Cruz grew up in Alcobendas, and spent long hours at her grandmother's apartment. She said she had a happy childhood. Cruz remembers "playing with some friends and being aware that I was acting as I was playing with them. I would think of a character and pretend to be someone else."


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Initially, Cruz focused on dance, studying classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory. She took three years of Spanish ballet training and four years of theatre at Cristina Rota's school. She said that ballet instilled in her discipline that would be important in her future acting career. When she became a cinephile at 10 or 11, her father bought a Betamax machine, which was then a very rare thing to own in her neighborhood.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: As a teenager, Cruz became interested in acting after seeing the film "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" (1990) by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. She did casting calls for an agent but was rejected multiple times because the agent felt that she was too young. Cruz commented on the experience, "I was very extroverted as a kid... I was studying when I was in high school at night, I was in ballet and I was doing castings. I looked for an agent and she sent me away three times because I was a little girl but I kept coming back. I'm still with her after all these years." In 1989, at the age of 15, Cruz won an audition at a talent agency over more than 300 other girls. In 1999, Katrina Bayonas, Cruz's agent, commented, "She was absolutely magic [at the audition]. It was obvious there was something very impressive about this kid... She was very green, but there was a presence. There was just something coming from within."


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 1989, 15-year-old Cruz made her acting debut in a music video for the Spanish pop group Mecano's song "La Fuerza del Destino". Between 1990 and 1991, she hosted the Spanish TV channel Telecinco's talk show "La Quinta Marcha", a programme that was hosted by teenagers, aimed at a teenage audience. She also played in the ""Elle et lui"" episode of an erotic French TV series called "Série rose" in 1991, where she appeared nude. In 1991, Cruz made her feature film debut as the lead female role in the comedy drama art house film "Jamón, jamón". In the film, she portrayed Silvia, a young woman who is expecting her first child with a man whose mother does not approve of the relationship and attempts to sabotage it by paying Javier Bardem's character to seduce her. "People" magazine noted that after Cruz appeared topless in the film, she became "a major sex symbol". In an interview with the "Los Angeles Daily News" in 1999, Cruz commented that "it was a great part, but...I wasn't really ready for the nudity. [...] But I have no regrets because I wanted to start working and it changed my life." Charlie Rose of "60 Minutes" noted that Cruz "became an overnight sensation as much for her nude scenes as for her talent". When Rose asked Cruz if she was concerned about how she would be perceived after her role in the film, Cruz replied, "I just knew I had to do the complete opposite." "Jamón, jamón" received favorable reviews, with Chris Hicks of the "Deseret News" describing Cruz's portrayal of Silvia as "enchanting". Writing for the "Chicago Sun-Times", film critic Roger Ebert wrote "it stars actors of considerable physical appeal, most particularly Penélope Cruz as Silvia". For her performance, Cruz was nominated for a Spanish Actors Union Newcomer Award and a Goya Award for Best Actress. The same year she appeared in the Academy Award-winning "Belle Époque" as the virginal Luz. "People" magazine noted that Cruz's role as Luz showed that she was versatile.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: From 1993 to 1996, Cruz appeared in ten Spanish and Italian films. At 20, she went to live in New York for two years at Christopher and Greenwich to study ballet and English between films. She recalls learning English "kind of late", previously knowing only the dialogue she had learned for the casting and the phrases "How are you?" and "Thank you".


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 1997, Cruz appeared in the Spanish comedy film "Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health". She portrays Diana, a fan of the Beatles band member John Lennon; she tries unsuccessfully to meet him. Years later, after many failed relationships, Diana re-unites with an acquaintance under unusual circumstances. That same year, she appeared in the opening scene of Pedro Almodóvar's "Live Flesh" as a prostitute who gives birth on a bus and in "Et hjørne af paradis" (A Corner of Paradise) as Doña Helena. Cruz's final appearance in 1997 was the Amenabar-directed Spanish sci-fi drama, "Abre Los Ojos"/ "Open Your Eyes". She plays Sofia, the love interest of Eduardo Noriega's lead character. "Open Your Eyes" received positive reviews, and was later remade by U.S. director Cameron Crowe as "Vanilla Sky" (who cast Cruz in the same role and Tom Cruise in Noriega's role), but "Open Your Eyes" was not commercially successful. Kevin N. Laforest of the Montreal Film Journal commented in his September 2002 review that Cruz "has been getting some really bad reviews for her recent American work, but I personally think that she's a more than decent actress, especially here, where she's charming, moving and always believable. [...] There's one shot in particular, where Cruz enters a room in a greenish glow, which is right out of Hitchcock's picture ["Vertigo"]."


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 1998, Cruz appeared in her first American film as Billy Crudup's consolation-prize Mexican girlfriend in Stephen Frears' western film "The Hi-Lo Country". Cruz stated that she had difficulties understanding people speaking English while she was filming "The Hi-Lo Country". The film was critically and commercially unsuccessful. Kevin Lally of the "Film Journal International" commented in his review for the film that "in an ironic casting twist, the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz [...] is much more appealing as Josepha [than in her previous roles]". For her performance in the film, she was nominated for an ALMA Award for Best Actress.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Also in 1998, Cruz appeared in "Don Juan" and the Spanish period drama "The Girl of Your Dreams". In "The Girl of Your Dreams" (La niña de tus ojos), Cruz portrayed Macarena Granada, a singer who is in an on-and-off relationship with Antonio Resines's character Blas. They are part of a Francoist film troupe that travels from Spain during the Spanish Civil War to Nazi Germany for a joint production with UFA. Cruz's performance in the film was praised by film critics, with Jonathan Holloland of "Variety" magazine writing "if confirmation is still needed that Cruz is an actress first and a pretty face second, then here it is". A writer for "Film4" commented that "Cruz herself is the inevitable focus of the film" but noted that overall the film "looks great". Cruz's role as Macarena has been viewed as her "largest role to date". For her performance, Cruz received a Goya Award and Spanish Actors' Union Award, and was nominated for a European Film Award. In 1999, Cruz worked with Almodóvar again in "All About My Mother", playing Sister María Rosa Sanz, a pregnant nun with AIDS. The film received favorable reviews, and was commercially successful, grossing over $67 million worldwide, although it performed better at the box office internationally than domestically.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2000, she appeared in "Woman on Top" in the lead female role as Isabelle, a world-class chef who suffered from motion sickness since birth, her first American lead role. Lisa Nesselson of "Variety" magazine praised the performances of both Cruz and her co-star, Harold Perrineau, saying they "burst off the screen", and added that Cruz has a charming accent. BBC News film critic Jane Crowther said that "Cruz is wonderfully ditzy as the innocent abroad" but remarked that "it's Harold Perrineau Jr as Monica who pockets the movie". Annlee Ellingson of "Box Office" magazine wrote "Cruz is stunning in the role—innocent and vulnerable yet possessing a mature grace and determined strength, all while sizzling with unchecked sensuality." Also in 2000, she played Alejandra Villarreal, who is Matt Damon's love interest in Billy Bob Thornton's film adaptation of the western bestselling novel "All the Pretty Horses". Susan Stark of "The Detroit News" commented that in the film Thornton was able to guide Damon, Henry Thomas and Cruz to "their most impressive performances in a major movie yet". However, Bob Longigo of "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution " was less enthusiastic about Cruz's and Damon's performance, saying that their "resulting onscreen chemistry would hardly warm a can of beans".


title: Penélope Cruz

text: 2001 marked a turning point year when Cruz starred in the feature films "Vanilla Sky" and "Blow". In "Vanilla Sky", Cameron Crowe's interpretation of "Open Your Eyes", she played Sofia Serrano, the love interest of Tom Cruise's character. The film received mixed reviews, but made $200 million worldwide. Her performance was well received by critics, with BBC film critic Brandon Graydon saying that Cruz "is an enchanting screen presence", and Ethan Alter of the "Film Journal International" noting that Cruz and her co-star Cruise were "able to generate some actual chemistry". Her next film was "Blow", adapted from Bruce Porter's 1993 book "Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 million with the Medellín Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All". She had a supporting role as Mirtha Jung, the wife of Johnny Depp's character. The film received mixed reviews, but made $80 million worldwide. Nina Willdorf of the "Boston Phoenix" described Cruz as "multi-talented" and Mark Salvo of "The Austin Chronicle" wrote "I may be one of the last male holdouts to join the Cruz-Rules camp, but her tour de force performance here sucks you right in."


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2001, she also appeared in "Don't Tempt Me", playing Carmen Ramos. The film received negative reviews. Jeff Vice of the "Deseret News" commented that "unfortunately, casting Cruz as a tough girl is a hilariously bad [idea]" and Michael Miller of the "Village Voice" writing that "as Satan's helper Carmen, Penélope Cruz doesn't hold a candle to her cocaine-huffing enabler in "Blow"". Cruz's last film in 2001 was "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", film adaption of the novel of the same name. She played Pelagia, who falls in love with another man while her fiancé is in battle during the Second World War. "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" was not well received by critics, but made $62 million worldwide. In 2002, she had a minor role in "Waking Up in Reno". It had negative reviews and was a box office failure, making $267,000 worldwide. The following year, Cruz had a supporting role in the horror film "Gothika" as Chloe Sava, a patient at a mental hospital. David Rooney of "Variety" wrote that Cruz "adds a serviceably malevolent edge to Chloe's apparent madness". Cruz's performance in "Fanfan la Tulipe", also in 2003, was not well received, Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" commenting that Cruz "deserves a special Cannes Razzie for a performance of purest teak".


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2004, Cruz appeared in the Christmas film "Noel" as Nina, the girlfriend of Paul Walker's character and as Mia in the romantic drama "Head in the Clouds", set in the 1930s. "Head in the Clouds" performed poorly at the box office. For "Head in the Clouds", Bruce Birkland of "Jam! Canoe" said, "The story feels forced and the performances dreary, with the notable exception of Cruz, who seems to be in a different film from the rest of the cast." Desson Thompson of "The Washington Post" was more critical; his comment about the character's "pronounced limp" was that "Cruz (hardly the world's greatest actress) can't even perform without looking fake". She also starred in Sergio Castellitto's melodrama "Don't Move". Cruz, who learned Italian for the role, won the David di Donatello for her performance. She also won the European Film Award for Best Actress for the film in 2004.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2005, Cruz appeared as Dr. Eva Rojas in the action adventure "Sahara". She earned $1.6 million for her supporting role. The film grossed $110 million worldwide but did not recoup its $160 million budget. Moviefone dubbed the film "one of the most famous flops in history" and in 2007, listed it at 24 on its list of "Biggest Box-Office Turkeys of All Time". Lori Hoffman of the "Atlantic City Weekly" felt Cruz put her "considerable [acting] skills on cruise control as Dr Eva Rojas" and James Berardnelli of ReelViews described Cruz's performance as a "black hole", that she "lacks screen presence". Also in 2005, Cruz appeared in "Chromophobia", screened at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and released the following year. Mathew Turner of "View London" said Cruz's character Gloria, a cancer-riddled prostitute, is "actually more interesting than the main storyline" while Time Evan's of "Sky Movies" wrote, "The Cruz/Ifans storyline—featuring the only two remotely sympathetic characters—never really fuses with the main plot." Her final 2005 film was "Don't Move" playing Italia. Eric Harrison of the "Houston Chronicle" noted that Cruz "goes all out" with her appearance and Patrick Peters of "Empire" magazine commented that the film's director, who also appears in the film, was able to draw a "sensitive performance" from Cruz.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz appeared alongside her good friend Salma Hayek in the 2006 Western comedy film "Bandidas". Randy Cordova of "The Arizona Republic" said the film "sports" Cruz and her co-star Salma Hayek as the "lusty dream team" and that they were the "marketing fantasy" for the film. Also in 2006, Cruz received favourable reviews for her performance as Raimunda, a working-class woman forced to go to great lengths to protect her 14-year-old daughter Paula, in Pedro Almodóvar's "Volver". A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" remarked, "With this role Ms. Cruz inscribes her name near the top of any credible list of present-day flesh-and-blood screen goddesses, in no small part because she manages to be earthy, unpretentious and a little vulgar without shedding an ounce of her natural glamour." Likewise, Carina Chocano of "The Los Angeles Times" wrote, "Cruz, who has remarked that in Hollywood she's rarely allowed to be anything more than pretty, instills her with an awesome resoluteness and strength of character." She shared a Best Actress award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival with five of her co-stars, as well as receiving a Goya Award and European Film Award, and was nominated for the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role. She became the first and only Spanish actress ever nominated for an Academy Award.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2007, Cruz appeared in the lead female role in "Manolete", a biopic of bullfighter Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, playing Antoñita "Lupe" Sino. The film was critically panned, and "Variety" felt that Cruz has "clearly been cast to play the kind of red-hot drama queen she's pulled off infinitely better in the films of Pedro Almodovar." After being shelved since 2007, "Manolete" (originally shot in 2005) released on demand via cable, satellite, telco and online on 7 June 2011 under the title "A Matador's Mistress". She also appeared in "The Good Night", playing two characters, Anna and Melody. TV Guide film critic Maitland McDonagh noted that in the film Cruz "expertly mines the contrast between chic, compliant, white-clad Anna and funky, street-wise Melody, who treats [Martin Freeman's character] Gary like the world-class drag he is".


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2008, Cruz starred alongside Ben Kingsley in Isabel Coixet's film "Elegy", which was based on the Philip Roth story "The Dying Animal", as the lead female role, Consuela Castillo. Ray Bennett of "The Hollywood Reporter" described Cruz's performance as being "outstanding in an otherwise lame male fantasy [film]." That same year, Cruz appeared in Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" as María Elena, a mentally unstable woman, which was received with critical acclaim. Writing for the "San Francisco Chronicle", Mick LaSalle noted, "But the revelation is Penélope Cruz, who has never been better in an American film. Suddenly, and for the first time, her stardom makes sense. As Maria Elena, José Antonio's gifted and neurotic ex-wife, Cruz is on fire – hysterically funny, abandoned, passionate, poignant, with a performance full of shading and wide in range. She's as fun and as powerful as Anna Magnani, and beautiful besides. Cruz just needed somebody to turn her loose." Likewise, Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" singled her out for praise, writing: "Cruz, playing Maria Elena, the passionate and crazy ex-wife of a moody Picasso-ish artist, looks as if she has wandered in from a more hefty film entirely; everything she does and says seems to mean more, count for more. This isn't to say that she gets bigger laughs, or perhaps any laughs, but she certainly walks off with the film". Cruz received a Goya Award and her first Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received a Golden Globe and SAG nomination. Cruz became the only Spanish actress ever to be awarded an Academy Award and the sixth Hispanic person to ever receive the award.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz's next film was the kid-friendly "G-Force", voicing a guinea pig spy named Juarez. "G-Force" was a commercial success, making over $290 million worldwide. Also in 2009, she appeared in the film "Broken Embraces" as Lena. Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com noted in her review for the film that Cruz "doesn't coast on her beauty in "Broken Embraces", and she has the kind of role that can be difficult to flesh out". Cruz received nominations from the Satellite Awards and European Film Awards for her performance in "Broken Embraces". Cruz's final 2009 film was the film version of the musical "Nine", playing the character Carla Albanese, the lead character's mistress. "Variety" reported that Cruz originally auditioned for the role of the film within a film's star, Claudia, which eventually went to Nicole Kidman. Cruz said that she trained for three months for the dance routine in the film. Claudia Puig of "USA Today" commented that while Cruz "does a steamy song and dance", her "acting is strangely caricatured". Cruz's performance as Carla was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz's only film in 2010 was "Sex and the City 2", the sequel to the 2008 film, in which she appeared as a banker in a cameo role. A commercial success, the comedy film was largely panned by critics. Cruz appeared in her biggest Hollywood turn to date in Rob Marshall's "", the fourth installment of the film series, opposite Johnny Depp. In the film, Cruz portrayed Angelica, a former love interest of Jack Sparrow, who blames him for her corruption. Cruz was the only actress considered for the role, as she fit Marshall's description. He invited her for the role as they wrapped the production of "Nine". The actress spent two months working out and learning fencing for the role. During filming, Cruz discovered she was pregnant, leading the costume department to redesign her wardrobe to be more elastic, and the producers to hire her sister Mónica Cruz to double for Penélope in risky scenes. "On Stranger Tides" ranks among the highest-grossing films of all time, grossing more than $1.046 billion in box-office receipts worldwide. On 1 April 2011, prior to the film's release, Cruz received the 2,436th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the El Capitan Theatre. She became the first Spanish actress to receive a Star.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2012, Cruz appeared in the first ever Nintendo commercial to promote "New Super Mario Bros. 2" and the Nintendo 3DS XL in which she played the role of Mario in the ad. She spoke Italian again, this time in Woody Allen's romantic ensemble comedy film "To Rome with Love", in which she portrayed a street-smart prostitute who agrees to pretend to be the wife of a newlywed. Fond to work with her again, Allen compared Cruz's play in the film with that of Italian icons Anna Magnani and Sophia Loren. While the film received mixed reviews, Cruz was reviewed favourably for her "exuberantly, cartoonishly sexy" performance, which "The Week" cited as a stand out. The same year, Cruz also reunited with Italian director Sergio Castellitto in his war tale "Twice Born" about an infertile Italian woman who returns to relive her past in Sarajevo. An adaptation of Castellitto's wife Margaret Mazzantini's same-titled bestseller, Cruz portrayed the transitional character at different phases in her life, ranging from her early twenties to her late forties. Despite receiving little praise from critics, Cruz's performance opposite Emile Hirsch earned positive reviews.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2013, Cruz appeared in Ridley Scott's "The Counselor", featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, and husband Javier Bardem. The crime thriller follows a lawyer who, tempted by the lure of quick money, finds himself involved in drug dealing with ruthless Mexican cartels. Cruz plays his girlfriend, Laura, the only innocent character in the story. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and became a moderate commercial success at the international box offices. The same year, Cruz, along with Antonio Banderas, made a cameo appearance in Pedro Almodóvar's farcical comedy "I'm So Excited", which marked a return to the director's light, campy comedies of the 1980s and 1990s. The film received mixed reviews, but earned a worldwide gross of more than US$11 million.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2015, Cruz co-produced and starred in the Spanish drama film "Ma Ma", directed by Julio Medem. In it, she plays Magda, a gutsy mother and unemployed teacher, who is diagnosed with breast cancer, a role which Cruz later cited as "one of the most complex, beautiful characters I've ever been offered, the most difficult." The melodrama was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received generally negative reviews for its weepie story line. However, Cruz was praised for her "aces performance," which earned her an eighth Goya nomination at the 30th awards ceremony.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz's first film of 2016 was the American comedy "Zoolander 2", co-starring and directed by Ben Stiller. In the sequel film, Cruz portrayed a secret Interpol agent who enlists models Derek Zoolander (Stiller) and Hansel McDonald, played by Owen Wilson, to help find out who is killing the world's most beautiful people. Specifically written for her persona, Cruz, a fan of the original 2001 film, was one of the first actors to be cast in their parts. Upon its release, the film received generally negative reviews from critics, who felt that it had "more celebrity cameos than laughs."


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz's other film that year was Louis Leterrier's British spy comedy "Grimsby", in which she played a powerful philanthropist, opposite Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong. Cruz was reportedly offered $400,000 for her appearance in the film, which was released to generally mixed reviews from critics, who felt that the actress was highly underused and "looking even less invested here than she did in "Zoolander 2"."


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Also in 2016, Cruz reteamed with Fernando Trueba on his Spanish-language period pic "The Queen of Spain", a sequel to Trueba's 1998 drama "The Girl of Your Dreams". Set in the 1950s, twenty years after the events of the original film, Cruz reprised the role of an actress who became a Hollywood star and returns to Spain to film a blockbuster about Queen Isabella I of Castile. Selected to be shown in the Berlinale Special section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, the Spanish comedy drama was screened to lukewarm reviews, but received five nominations at the 31st Goya Awards, earning Cruz her ninth nomination.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: "Loving Pablo", a Spanish drama film directed by Fernando León de Aranoa was released in 2017, starring Cruz in the role of Virginia Vallejo, and her husband, Javier Bardem, in the role of Pablo Escobar. Based on Vallejo's bestselling memoir "Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar", the film was launched to mixed reviews during the 74th Venice International Film Festival. In order to play the role of the Colombian journalist, Cruz studied hundreds of interviews of Vallejo. Cruz had a supporting role in Kenneth Branagh's "Murder on the Orient Express" (2017), the fourth adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1934 novel of the same name. The mystery–drama ensemble film follows world-renowned detective Hercule Poirot, who seeks to solve a murder on the famous European train in the 1930s. Cruz plays missionary and passenger Pilar Estravados, a Hispanic version of the novel's Swedish Greta Ohlsson. The film has grossed $306 million worldwide and received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with praise for the cast's performances, but criticism for not adding anything new to previous adaptations.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2018, Cruz made her television debut by co-starring in the role of Donatella Versace in the second season of the FX anthology series "American Crime Story" entitled "". Her performance was highly praised by critics and she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. In addition, Cruz reteamed with Bardem on the Spanish-language psychological thriller film "Everybody Knows", directed by Asghar Farhadi.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2021, Cruz starred alongside Antonio Banderas in Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn's film "Official Competition" and reunited with Almodóvar for the film "Parallel Mothers", in which she played Janis, a professional photographer entangled in a relationship with a married man, leading to an affair and resulting in her pregnancy. Both films premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where the latter received rave reviews. "Parallel Mothers" also screened at the 59th New York Film Festival, where it was received positively. Her performance in the film was lauded, winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actress and receiving her second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, her fourth nomination overall. Stephanie Zacharek from "Time" stated that "Cruz is astonishing here, in what may be the best performance of her career so far. Janis' fragility and her fortitude are two sides of one coin, and Cruz can shift from one to the other in the merest breath." Owen Gleiberman of "Variety" mentioned that "Cruz acts this part with a mood-shifting immediacy that leaves you breathless", with David Rooney of "The Hollywood Reporter" describing her performance as "one of the best roles of her career" and "her most outstanding work since Volver." Following the release of these films, she was honoured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for her career and achievements in film. Luxury fashion house Chanel returned as the presenting sponsor making for an in-sync affair, as Cruz has served as ambassador for the brand since 2018. The following year, she appeared in the female-led spy action film "The 355", directed by Simon Kinberg and starring alongside Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyongo, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Sebastian Stan, and Édgar Ramírez. The film was released by Universal Pictures on January 7, 2022.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz is set to appear and serve as producer in the thriller film "On the Fringe", the directorial feature debut of Juan Diego Botto. She is also attached to star alongside Adam Driver and Shailene Woodley in the biopic "Ferrari", directed by Michael Mann. The film will chronicle the life of Enzo Ferrari, founder of the Ferrari brand. Cruz is set to portray Ferrari's wife, Laura.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2006, Cruz became a spokesmodel for French cosmetics company L'Oréal to promote products such as the L'Oréal Paris hair dye Natural Match and L'Oreal mascara products. She receives $2 million a year for her work for the company. Cruz has appeared in print ads for Mango and had a contract with Ralph Lauren in 2001. Cruz and her sister designed their second collection for Mango in 2007. It was inspired by Brigitte Bardot and summers in St Tropez.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz ranked as No. 58 in "Maxim" "Hot 100" of 2007 list, and was chosen by "Empire" magazine as being one of the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in the world. Cruz was also ranked on Askmen.com's Most Desirable Women of 2008 at No. 26, in 2009 at No. 25, and in 2010 at No. 7. In April 2010, she replaced Kate Winslet as the new face and ambassador of Lancôme's Trésor fragrance. Lancôme signed Cruz as their third superstar spokesmodel, along with Julia Roberts and Winslet. The campaign was shot by Mario Testino at Paris's Hotel de Crillon and debuted in the autumn of 2010.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2010, Cruz was a guest editor for the French "Vogue" magazine, focusing on larger-size models in a provocative photo shoot. Almodóvar described her as his muse. On the cover of Spanish "Vogue"s December 2010 issue, she agreed to be photographed by fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh only if her pregnancy was not shown. In 2011, "The Telegraph" reported the most sought after body parts of the rich and famous revealed by two Hollywood plastic surgeons who carried out a survey among their patients to build up the picture of the perfect woman. Under the category of the most sought after body shape, Cruz, known for her voluptuous figure, was voted as having the top body. "Men's Health" ranked her at No. 32. on their "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" list. "Esquire" named her the Sexiest Woman Alive in 2014.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz has donated money and time to charity. In addition to work in Nepal, she has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent a week working with Mother Teresa that included assisting in a leprosy clinic. That trip inspired Cruz to help start a foundation to support homeless girls in India, where she sponsors two young women. She donated her salary from her first Hollywood film, "The Hi-Lo Country", to Mother Teresa's mission. In the early 2000s, she spent time in Nepal photographing Tibetan children for an exhibition attended by the Dalai Lama. She also photographed residents at the Pacific Lodge Boys' Home, most of whom are former gang members and recovering substance abusers. She said: "These kids break my heart. I have to control myself not to cry. Not out of pity, but seeing how tricky life is and how hard it is to make the right choices." A pregnant Cruz showed her support for the battle against AIDS by lighting up the Empire State Building with red lights in New York City on 1 December 2010 on International AIDS Day, as part of (RED)'s new awareness campaign, 'An AIDS Free Generation is Due in 2015,' which aims to eradicate the HIV virus from pregnant mothers to their babies. In 2012 and 2018, she posed for ads supporting PETA's anti-fur campaign.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz is married to Spanish actor Javier Bardem. Bardem was her co-star in her breakthrough role as Silvia in "Jamón, Jamón" (1992), as well as starring alongside her in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008). They were also both in the 2013 film "The Counselor", as well as in "Everybody Knows" in 2018. Cruz began dating Bardem in 2007 and they married in early July 2010 in a private ceremony at a friend's home in the Bahamas. They have a son named Leo Encinas Cruz who was born in January 2011 in Los Angeles, and a daughter named Luna Encinas Cruz who was born in July 2013 in Madrid. She became an advocate of breastfeeding in public following the birth of her children.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz had a three-year relationship with Tom Cruise after they appeared together in "Vanilla Sky" (2001). The relationship ended in January 2004. In June 2003, Cruz settled a defamation lawsuit against Australian magazine "New Idea" over an article it published about her relationship with Cruise; the publication had to apologize, pay her legal costs, and donate AU$5,000 (US$3,200) to her nominated charity.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: She is known to friends as "Pe". Cruz owns a clothing store in Madrid, and designed jewelry and handbags with her younger sister for a company in Japan.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: In 2009, Cruz signed a petition in support of director Roman Polanski, who had been detained while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges, which the petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects."


title: Penélope Cruz

text: She is known for her frequent collaborations with Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar starting with "Live Flesh" in 1997 and in six more films: "All About My Mother" (1999), "Volver" (2006), "Broken Embraces" (2009), "I'm So Excited!" (2013), "Pain and Glory" (2019), and "Parallel Mothers" (2021). She also starred in a variety films often crossing genres in both independent films and Hollywood movies such as Ted Demme's "Blow", Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky" (both 2001), Isabel Coixet's romantic drama "Elegy" (2008), Rob Marshall's musical "Nine" (2009), and the adventure film "" (2011), Kenneth Branagh's mystery "Murder on the Orient Express" (2017), Asghar Farhadi's drama "Everybody Knows" (2018).


title: Penélope Cruz

text: She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008). She worked with Allen again in "To Rome with Love" (2012) She is the first and only Spanish actress to both win and be nominated for an Academy Award.


title: Penélope Cruz

text: Cruz has been recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the following performances:


title: Penélope Cruz

text: She has also received two British Academy Film Award nominations, four Golden Globe Award nominations, a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, five Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, and fourteen Goya Award nominations. In 2006 she received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for "Volver", and in 2021 the Venice International Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actress for "Parallel Mothers". For her performance in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" she received the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, and Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: X-Men is an American superhero film series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. 20th Century Fox obtained the film rights to the team and other related characters in 1994 for $2,600,000. After numerous drafts, Bryan Singer was hired to direct the first film, released in 2000, and its sequel, "X2" (2003), while the third installment of the original trilogy, "" (2006), was directed by Brett Ratner.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: After each film outgrossed its predecessor, several spin-off films were released, including three "Wolverine" films (2009–2017), four "X-Men" prequel films (2011–2019), two "Deadpool" films (2016–2018), and two television series"Legion" (2017–2019) and "The Gifted" (2017–2019)with the stand-alone "The New Mutants" concluding the series in 2020 after a 20-year-long run.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: With thirteen films released, the "X-Men" film series is the ninth-highest-grossing film series, having grossed over $6billion worldwide.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In March 2019, Marvel Studios regained the film rights to the X-Men, along with the Fantastic Four and Deadpool, after Disney acquired Fox for $71.3 billion; they are planned to be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In October 2020, the films in the "X-Men" series, along with the "Fantastic Four" films, were rebranded as Marvel Legacy films on Disney+. Patrick Stewart later reprised his role as Charles Xavier / Professor X from the series in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (2022). "Deadpool 3" (2024), a sequel to the "X-Men" film "Deadpool 2" (2018), will integrate the series' iterations of Wade Wilson / Deadpool and Wolverine into the continuity of the MCU, respectively reprised by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: The film introduces Logan and Rogue into the conflict between Professor Xavier's X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto. Magneto intends to mutate world leaders at a United Nations summit with a machine he has built to bring about acceptance of mutantkind, but he was not aware that this forced mutation will result only in their deaths.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In 1994, 20th Century Fox and producer Lauren Shuler Donner bought the film rights to the X-Men. Andrew Kevin Walker was hired to write, and James Cameron expressed interest in producing. Eventually, Bryan Singer signed on to direct in July 1996. Although he was not a comic book fan, Singer was fascinated by the analogies of prejudice and discrimination that "X-Men" offered. John Logan, Joss Whedon, Ed Solomon, Christopher McQuarrie, and David Hayter wrote the script, with Hayter receiving sole credit. Principal photography began in September 1999 in Toronto, Canada, and ended in March 2000. The film was released on July 14, 2000.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Colonel William Stryker brainwashes and questions the imprisoned Magneto about Professor Xavier's mutant-locating machine, Cerebro. Stryker attacks the X-Mansion and brainwashes Xavier into locating every mutant on the planet to kill them. The X-Men must team up with the Brotherhood to prevent Stryker's worldwide genocide.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Hayter and Zak Penn were hired to write their own scripts for the sequel, which Singer would pick, with an aim to release the film in December 2002. Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris were hired to re-write the script in February 2002, writing around 26 drafts and 150 on set. Principal photography began in June 2002 in Vancouver, Canada, and ended in November 2002. The film was released on May 2, 2003.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: A pharmaceutical company has developed a "cure" that suppresses the mutant gene, provoking controversy in the mutant community. Magneto declares war on the humans and retrieves his own weapon: Phoenix, the resurrected former X-Men member Jean Grey. A final battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood ensues, and Wolverine must accept that in order to stop Grey, he will have to kill her.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Joss Whedon's "Astonishing X-Men" story "Gifted", featuring a mutant cure, was suggested for the primary story. Matthew Vaughn came on board as director in February 2005 but left due to the rushed production schedule. Brett Ratner was later hired as director in June. Principal photography began in August 2005 in Vancouver, Canada, and ended in January 2006. The film was released on May 26, 2006.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: A prequel and a spin-off focusing on the character Wolverine and his relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed, as well as his time with Stryker's Team X, before, and shortly after his skeleton was bonded with the indestructible metal, adamantium.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: David Benioff was hired to write the screenplay for the spin-off film "Wolverine" in October 2004. Hugh Jackman became producer as well as star and worked with Benioff on the script. There were negotiations with the studio for Ratner to take the helm of the film after directing "X-Men: The Last Stand", but no agreement was made. In July 2007, Gavin Hood was hired as director. Principal photography began in January 2008 in Queenstown, New Zealand, and ended in May. The film was released on May 1, 2009.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Set after the events of "X-Men: The Last Stand", the film features Wolverine heading to Japan for a reunion with a soldier named Ichiro Yashida whose life he saved years before. Wolverine must defend the man's granddaughter Mariko Yashida from all manner of ninja and Yakuza assassins.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Christopher McQuarrie, who went uncredited for his work on "X-Men", was hired to write the screenplay in August 2009. Darren Aronofsky was chosen to direct the film but bowed out, stating the project would keep him out of the country for too long. James Mangold was later hired to direct the film. Mark Bomback was then hired to rewrite McQuarrie's script. Principal photography began in August 2012 in Sydney, Australia, and ended in November. The film was released on July 26, 2013.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In 2029, Logan and Charles Xavier meet a young girl named Laura, a test-tube daughter of Wolverine, who is being hunted by the Reavers led by Donald Pierce.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: By November 2013, 20th Century Fox had begun negotiations for the treatment for a third Wolverine solo film with director James Mangold and Donner attached to produce. Mangold said that it would be inspired by other Wolverine stories from the comic books and it would be made after "X-Men: Apocalypse". In March 2014, David James Kelly was hired to write the script. In April 2015, Michael Green was hired to work on the film's script. Principal photography commenced in May 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and concluded in August 2016. The film was released on March 3, 2017, and marked both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart's final run as Wolverine and Xavier, respectively.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Set primarily in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the film focuses on the origins of, and relationship between Charles Xavier / Professor X and Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto and their respective teams of mutants, the X-Men and the Brotherhood.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Producer Lauren Shuler Donner first thought of a prequel based on the young X-Men during the production of "X2", and later producer Kinberg suggested to 20th Century Fox an adaptation of the comic-book series "". Singer signed on to direct the film in December 2009; however, in March 2010 it was announced that Singer would only be producing. Vaughn, who was previously attached to direct "X-Men: The Last Stand", became the director and co-wrote the final script with his writing partner, Jane Goldman. The film superseded a planned "X-Men Origins: Magneto" film, and the Writers Guild of America arbitration credited "Magneto" writer Sheldon Turner for the film's story. Principal photography began in August 2010 in London, England, and ended in December. The film was released on June 3, 2011.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Set years after the events of "The Wolverine", the film features the cast of the original "X-Men" trilogy and "X-Men: First Class". The story, inspired by Chris Claremont and John Byrne's "The Uncanny X-Men" comic book storyline "Days of Future Past", features Wolverine going back in time to 1973 to prevent an assassination that, if carried out, will lead to the creation of a new weapons system called the Sentinels that threatens the existence of mutants—and, potentially, all of humanity.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Matthew Vaughn was attached to direct the film but left in October 2012 to focus on the film "". Singer, who directed the first two "X-Men" films and produced "X-Men: First Class", became the director of the film. The screenplay was written by Kinberg. Principal photography began in April 2013 in Montreal, Canada, and ended in August. Additional filming took place in Montreal in November 2013 and February 2014. The film was released on May 23, 2014.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Set a decade after "X-Men: Days of Future Past", En Sabah Nur, the first mutant, awakens after thousands of years. Disillusioned with the world as he finds it, he recruits a team of mutants to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. Raven, with the help of Professor X, must lead the X-Men to stop En Sabah Nur and save mankind from destruction.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In December 2013, Singer announced the upcoming "X-Men" film, titled "X-Men: Apocalypse", a sequel to "X-Men: Days of Future Past". Directed by Singer from a script by Simon Kinberg, Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty, the film was said to focus on the origin of the mutants. Kinberg said that it would take place in 1983 and complete a trilogy that began with "X-Men: First Class". Principal photography began in April 2015 in Montreal, Canada, and ended in August. Additional filming took place in January 2016. The film was released on May 27, 2016, in North America.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Set nine years after the events of "X-Men: Apocalypse", the X-Men are superheroes going on increasingly risky missions. When a solar flare hits Jean Grey during a rescue mission in space, she loses control of her abilities and unleashes the Phoenix.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: The film was announced in February 2017, with Kinberg confirmed to write and direct in June of the same year. Principal photography commenced in June 2017 in Montreal, Canada and ended in October of the same year. Additional filming occurred in August and September 2018. The film was released on June 7, 2019.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Mercenary and former Special Forces operative Wade Wilson is subjected to an experiment that leaves him with new abilities. He adopts the alter ego Deadpool to hunt down the man who nearly destroyed his life.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In May 2000, Marvel Studios attempted to produce a Deadpool film as part of a distribution deal with Artisan Entertainment. However, by 2004, Marvel was developing the film with New Line Cinema. David S. Goyer was set to write and direct and courted actor Ryan Reynolds for the lead role, but lost interest within months in favor of other projects. 20th Century Fox acquired "Deadpool" the following year after New Line Cinema placed it in turnaround and was considering the spin-off in the development of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", with Reynolds being cast for the role. After the opening weekend success of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in May 2009, Fox lent "Deadpool" out to writers with Donner acting as a producer. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were hired to write the script in January 2010. Robert Rodriguez was sent a draft of the screenplay the following June but did not pursue it, and Adam Berg emerged as a top contender to direct. In April 2011, visual effects specialist Tim Miller was hired to direct. Principal photography began in March 2015 in Vancouver, Canada, and ended in May. The film was released on February 12, 2016.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: After a personal tragedy, Deadpool creates the X-Force to save a young mutant from the time-traveling soldier Cable.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In September 2015, Kinberg said that a sequel for "Deadpool" was in development. By the release of "Deadpool", 20th Century Fox greenlit the film, with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick returning to write, and Miller being looked at to return as director, as he was working on the script at the time. However, in October 2016, Miller left the film due to creative differences with Reynolds and was replaced by David Leitch in November as the director. In February 2017, Drew Goddard had joined as a creative consultant to work on the script with Reynolds, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Filming commenced in June 2017 in Vancouver, Canada and concluded in October. The film was released on May 18, 2018.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Five mutants are discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will. They will fight to escape their past sins to save themselves.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In May 2015, Josh Boone was hired to direct and write a film adaptation of "The New Mutants" comic-book series. Acting as a spin-off to the "X-Men" films, it is co-written by Knate Gwaltney, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber with Donner and Kinberg producing. Filming commenced in July 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. The film was released on August 28, 2020, after facing several delays.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: After completing work on the first season of "Fargo" at FX in 2014, Noah Hawley was presented with the opportunity to develop the first live-action television series based on the X-Men comics, of which he was a fan when growing up. Hawley was initially pitched two different ideas for the potential series, including an adaptation of the comics' Hellfire Club, but the ideas did not interest Hawley. Instead, he worked with "X-Men" film series writer and producer Simon Kinberg to reverse-engineer an idea for the series, set in alternate continuity to that of the film series. After discussing an "interesting show in this genre ... that isn't being done", the two settled on the character of David Haller / Legion. Hawley found the character interesting because of his mental illness, and for the potential of the series to depict his unique mindset. He pitched the series as "a deconstruction of a villain ... and a love story".


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In October 2015, FX ordered a pilot for "Legion", with Marvel Television and FX Productions producing; FX Productions would handle the physical production. Hawley was set to write the pilot, and executive produce the series alongside "X-Men" film producers Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, and Kinberg, Marvel Television executives Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory, and Hawley's "Fargo" collaborator John Cameron. Steve Blackman, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Joe Quesada, and Karim Zreik also executive produce. Hawley's initial script for the series was described as "less fractured", "cohesive [and] much more regular." However, he quickly reconceived the series "and decided more "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", Terrence Malick, more whimsy, more impressionistic and went in that direction." By January 2016, FX President John Landgraf was confident that the series would be picked up by the network, saying that "the vast majority of things that we pilot do go forward to series" and "the scripts [for "Legion"] are extraordinary." That May, FX ordered an eight-episode first season of "Legion", starring Dan Stevens as the title character, alongside Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Katie Aselton, Bill Irwin, Jemaine Clement, and Hamish Linklater, with Navid Negahban and Lauren Tsai respectively joining the cast in the second and third seasons.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In January 2016, Landgraf stated that the series would be set in a universe parallel to the "X-Men" films where "the US government is in the early days of being aware that something called mutants exist but the public is not". He felt it was unlikely that characters would cross over between the show and films, but noted that this could change between then and the premiere of the series. In August, Singer confirmed that "Legion" had actually been designed to fit into the "X-Men" film series universe, but also to stand alone, so "you wouldn't have to label" the relationship between the series and the films. He teased plans to have the series "relate to future "X-Men" movies". At New York Comic-Con 2016, Donner said that the series is "far from the "X-Men" movies, but still "lives in that universe." The only way for "X-Men" to keep moving forward is to be original and to surprise. And this is a surprise. It is very, very different." Hawley explained that because the series is depicting the title character's "subjective reality", it would not have to address any connections to the films straight away, noting that "Fargo", which is connected to the 1996 film of the same name, at first "had to stand on its own feet" before exploring its explicit continuity connections more; "We have to earn the right to be part of this universe. My hope is we create something so strong that the people in the movie studio call and say they would be foolish enough not to connect these things." He did state that "you can't tell this story without" acknowledging that Legion is the son of the same incarnation of Charles Xavier who appears in the films (portrayed by Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy).


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Donner stated in January 2017 that having Hawley focus on Haller's perspective of reality rather than connections to the "X-Men" films allowed the series to avoid the convoluted continuity of the films, "because we play with so many different timelines, and we rebooted and not really rebooted and all that" throughout the films. Therefore, "the cinematic universe will not worry about "Legion"." For the onscreen confirmation that Xavier is Haller's father in "Chapter 7", with Xavier's signature wheelchair shown in a brief flashback, the series' production was able to choose from any of the variant wheelchairs used throughout the film series. They settled on the version from "", with the prop used in that film being brought out of storage for the show. In March 2017, Patrick Stewart was approached about reprising his role as Xavier from the film series in the series' third season, saying he was "Absolutely 100%" willing to reprise the role; while having Stewart return as a present-day Xavier had been "seriously considered" by showrunner Noah Hawley, he elected the older character's presence to be unnecessary upon deciding to have the season revolve around time travel, and, after finding James McAvoy to be unavailable for filming, cast Harry Lloyd as a young Xavier.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In July 2016, after a series based on the Hellfire Club, an "X-Men" comic property, did not move forward at Fox, the network made a put pilot commitment for a different "X-Men" based series. The new pilot, written by Matt Nix, was for an action-adventure series based on ordinary parents discovering their children's mutant abilities. Fox Entertainment President David Madden said that "developing a Marvel property has been a top priority for the network—and we are so pleased with how Matt Nix has led us into this thrilling universe." The series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Marvel Television, with 20th handling the physical production of the series, and Nix executive producing alongside "X-Men" film series producers Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Simon Kinberg, and Marvel Television executives Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory. Nix pitched the series to executives as ""Running on Empty" with mutants". He created an elaborate presentation using Prezi which included photos of preferred actors that he had altered to look like mutants, and graphics to explain how the series would fit in with the continuity of the "X-Men" films. On May 9, Fox ordered the show to series as "The Gifted". The pilot had been called "one of the hottest pilots of the [2017] broadcast development season" by commentators. The first season consists of 13 episodes. In August, Len Wiseman joined as a director and executive producer for the season. That October, Nix said that he had planned "a couple of seasons, in broad strokes", and stated that he wanted "to be doing this show for a long time." Noting a growing trend in shorter, self-contained television seasons, Nix said that he wanted the show to feel more like a traditional, long-running story and so have each season end in a satisfying way that does not feel "close-ended".


title: X-Men (film series)

text: On January 4, 2018, the series was renewed for a 16-episode second season. Described as being designed for "limited runs", Fox had not been in a hurry to give the series an early renewal before then. On April 17, 2019, it was announced that the series had been cancelled by Fox. In February 2017, Jamie Chung was cast as a younger incarnation of Clarice Fong, an original Asian incarnation of the Marvel Comics character Blink previously introduced in the 2014 "X-Men" film "", portrayed by Fan Bingbing. Chung was then joined by Stephen Moyer, Sean Teale, Natalie Alyn Lind, Amy Acker, Percy Hynes White, Coby Bell, and Emma Dumont as Lorna Dane / Polaris, the daughter of the incarnation of Magneto portrayed by Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: The events of the films are separated into two "timelines"; the original timeline and the new timeline. The setting of "Logan" was initially implied by Hugh Jackman to be set in an alternate timeline and not following the prequel films, before director James Mangold stated that it was related;


title: X-Men (film series)

text: The first three "X-Men" films and "Deadpool" set opening records in North America: "X-Men" had the highest July opening yet, while "X2" and "X-Men: The Last Stand" earned the fourth-highest opening weekends yet and "Deadpool" got the largest opening weekend in February. The records for the first three films have since been surpassed. The next three "X-Men" films after "X-Men: The Last Stand" opened lower than their predecessor and didn't set opening records. In North America, "Deadpool" is the highest-grossing film in the series, and it also has the highest opening weekend. Outside North America, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" has the highest opening weekend and is the highest-grossing film in the series. Worldwide, "Deadpool" was the highest-grossing film in the series and the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, before being surpassed on both records by its sequel.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: The "X-Men" film series is the second highest-grossing film series based on Marvel Comics characters after the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In North America, it is the fifth-highest-grossing film series, having earned over $2.4billion. Worldwide, it is the ninth-highest-grossing film series of all time, having grossed over $6billion.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Wesley Morris of "The Boston Globe" praised the first three "X-Men" films as "more than a cash-guzzling wham-bang Hollywood franchise... these three movies sport philosophy, ideas, a telethon-load of causes, and a highly elastic us-versus-them allegory". Morris praised "X-Men: The Last Stand" for "put[ting] the heroes of a mighty summer blockbuster in a rare mortal position. Realism at this time of year? How unorthodox!" Roger Ebert gave the films mostly positive reviews but criticized them for the amount of mutants, stating "their powers are so various and ill-matched that it's hard to keep them all on the same canvas".


title: X-Men (film series)

text: The first two films were highly praised due to their cerebral tone. However, when director Bryan Singer left the series, many criticized his successor, Brett Ratner. Colin Colvert of the "Star Tribune" felt "Singer's sensitivity to [the discrimination themes] made the first two "X-Men" films surprisingly resonant and soulful for comic-based summer extravaganzas... Singer is adept at juggling large casts of three-dimensional characters, Ratner makes shallow, unimaginative bang-ups." James Berardinelli felt, ""X-Men: The Last Stand" isn't as taut or satisfying as "X-Men 2", but it's better constructed and better paced than the original "X-Men". The differences in quality between the three are minor, however; despite the change in directors, there seems to be a single vision." David Denby of "The New Yorker" praised "the liquid beauty and the poetic fantasy of Singer's work", but called Ratner's film "a crude synthesizer of comedy and action tropes". Singer's third film in the series, "X-Men: Days of Future Past", was also well received. Alonso Duralde of "The Wrap" felt that "Singer keeps things moving along briskly enough that you can just go along with the ride of Superhero Stuff without getting bogged down". "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi said he was a fan of the series, particularly Singer's films. Film historian Kim Newman also tonally compared "Batman Begins" to Singer's films. "Logan" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: There was criticism of the large casts and the limited screen time available for all of them. Richard George of IGN reacted well to the depictions of Wolverine, Professor X, Magneto, Jean Grey, Storm, William Stryker, Mystique, Beast and Nightcrawler; however, George thought many of the younger X-Men characters, such as Rogue, Iceman, Pyro, Angel and Kitty Pryde were "adjectiveless teenagers", and was disappointed by Cyclops' characterization. He observed the filmmakers were "big fans of silent henchmen", due to the small roles of the various villainous mutants; such as Lady Deathstrike and Psylocke. Jesse Schedeen of IGN stated that the continuity of the films does not make sense with dead characters returning with zero or little explanation, different versions of the same character appearing across multiple films, and plot points that are conveniently ignored in later films. He also criticized 20th Century Fox for not mapping out the series from the beginning. In his review of "Dark Phoenix", Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" characterized the entire "X-Men" film series as being a "notoriously erratic franchise".


title: X-Men (film series)

text: Richard George of IGN stated that the success of the first "X-Men" film paved the way for comic-book film adaptations such as the "Spider-Man" series, "Fantastic Four" (2005), "V for Vendetta" and Singer's "Superman Returns". Chris Hewitt of "Empire" magazine called the first "X-Men" film as the "catalyst" for films based on Marvel Comics characters, stating "Singer's 2000 film is the catalyst for everything that's come since, good and bad. Without it, there's no Marvel Studios." Comic-book writer Mark Millar said that Singer's "X-Men" "revolutionized" superhero films. Rebecca Rubin of "Variety" magazine stated that the X-Men franchise has proven there is an audience for a hardline superhero film, while Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations said that with films like the "Deadpool" films and "Logan", the studios can do more with an R-rated film and give the audience something new. However, Tim Grierson and Will Leitch of "New York" magazine's "Vulture" criticized the series, noting that the best films of the series failed to capture the zeitgeist the way Marvel Cinematic Universe films did.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: As of May 2014, the DVD and Blu-ray sales of the first six films in the United States earned more than $620million.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: On April 26, 2021, Disney released a 10-movie collection titled "X-Men: 10 Movie Collection", was released by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment.


title: X-Men (film series)

text: In March 2019, The Walt Disney Company acquired the film and television rights for the X-Men after the acquisition deal of 21st Century Fox was completed. The films in development under 20th Century Fox were placed "on hold" and eventually canceled by Disney. Any future "X-Men" projects will be produced by Marvel Studios, and the characters will be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Future films based on the X-Men franchise planned by Fox before the acquisition included:


title: Jodie Comer

text: Jodie Marie Comer ( ; born 11 March 1993) is an English actress. She has received various accolades including two British Academy Television Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics Choice Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award.


title: Jodie Comer

text: Born and raised in Liverpool, Comer began her career in an episode of "The Royal Today" in 2008. Following appearances in several television series, she landed the roles of Chloe Gemell in the E4 comedy-drama series "My Mad Fat Diary" (2013–2015) and Kate Parks in the BBC One drama series "Doctor Foster" (2015–2017). In between the series, Comer received critical acclaim for her portrayal as Ivy Moxam in the BBC Three drama miniseries "Thirteen". Her other major television roles include Elizabeth of York in the Starz historical miniseries "The White Princess" (2017), and Sarah in the Channel 4 television film "Help" (2021).


title: Jodie Comer

text: Comer rose to global prominence for her role as Oksana Astankova / Villanelle in the BBC America spy thriller "Killing Eve" (2018–2022) for which she received critical acclaim and won a British Academy Television Award for Best Actress and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Her major film roles include Millie Rusk / Molotov Girl in "Free Guy" (2021), and Marguerite de Carrouges in "The Last Duel" (2021). Comer made her West End debut in Suzie Miller's play "Prima Facie" at the Harold Pinter Theatre in 2022.


title: Jodie Comer

text: Jodie Marie Comer was born in Liverpool on 11 March 1993, the daughter of Merseyrail employee Donna Comer and Everton FC physiotherapist James Comer. She grew up in Liverpool's Childwall suburb. She has a younger brother named Charlie (born in 1995). She attended St Julie's Catholic High School in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton, where she became close friends with future Olympic athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson. She started acting at a local weekend drama school called CALS in the Belle Vale area of Liverpool when she was 11 years old, and it was through this school that she entered the Liverpool Performing Arts Festival in 2006 at St George's Hall and came first in her category after performing a monologue about the Hillsborough Disaster.


title: Jodie Comer

text: After being expelled from a dance group by her friends in high school because she was unable to attend rehearsals for the school talent show due to being on holiday with her family, Comer decided to perform her monologue for the show; this brought her to the attention of her drama teacher, who sent her to audition for a BBC Radio 4 play, which became her first acting job. Her co-stars in the play told her that she could make a career out of acting and advised her to get an agent.


title: Jodie Comer

text: Comer's career began in 2008 with a guest role on an episode of "The Royal Today", a spin-off series of the medical drama series "The Royal". She then made appearances in series such as "Waterloo Road", "Holby City", "Doctors", "Silent Witness", "Casualty", "", "Vera", and "Inspector George Gently". She was cast in leading roles in the five-episode drama series "Justice", the supernatural miniseries "Remember Me", and as Chloe Gemell in the E4 comedy-drama series "My Mad Fat Diary". Comer appeared in the 2015 adaptation of "Lady Chatterley's Lover", a television film broadcast on BBC One. In the same year, Comer appeared as Kate Parks in the BBC One drama series "Doctor Foster".


title: Jodie Comer

text: Comer was cast in her first starring role as Ivy Moxam in the BBC Three miniseries "Thirteen", which premiered in February 2016 and earned her a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. In December 2016, she appeared in the BBC miniseries "Rillington Place" as Beryl Evans, one of serial killer John Christie’s victims. In 2016, Comer was listed as one of Screen International's "Stars of Tomorrow" in association with the BFI London Film Festival. In 2017, she starred as a young Elizabeth of York in "The White Princess" on Starz, a sequel to the BBC miniseries "The White Queen". In 2017, she also made her feature film debut, as Christine in the Morrissey biopic "England Is Mine".


title: Jodie Comer

text: In April 2018, Comer began starring in the BBC spy thriller series "Killing Eve" as Villanelle, a psychopathic Russian assassin who develops a mutual obsession with Eve Polastri (played by Sandra Oh), the MI6 agent tasked with pursuing her. Comer garnered critical acclaim for her performance on the series, with Jia Tolentino of "The New Yorker" stating that, in the context of the show's "constant reversals in tone and rhythm", the "ambiguity—and impossibility—of Villanelle's character has worked (through the first season) thanks to Comer's mercurial, unassailable charisma". Due to her character swapping between multiple accents from around the world as part of her various disguises, much attention has been given to Comer's native Scouse accent and the surprise of viewers who hear it for the first time. For her portrayal of Villanelle, Comer has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and three British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress, with her winning both in 2019.


title: Jodie Comer

text: In June 2018, Comer was one of the actresses in a series of BBC Four monologues called "Snatches: Moments From Women's Lives", inspired by events that took place in the century since women first won the vote. Comer appeared in the episode "Bovril Pam", where she portrayed a secretary in 1960s Liverpool exploring her sexuality. Comer was ranked No. 94 on the "Radio Times" "TV 100" list for 2018. In November 2018, "The Hollywood Reporter" included her in their "Next Gen Talent 2018: Hollywood's Rising Young Stars" list. In April 2019, Comer was asked about upcoming work during her "Happy Sad Confused" podcast interview and revealed that she had been forced to drop out of Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile" due to scheduling conflicts.


title: Jodie Comer

text: In June 2020, Comer played the lead role of Lesley in a BBC iPlayer reboot of the "Talking Heads" episode "Her Big Chance". The episode, directed by Josie Rourke, was filmed in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Jodie Comer

text: In December 2018, it was announced Comer had been cast in the action comedy film "Free Guy", which began filming in May 2019. Comer is the female lead alongside Ryan Reynolds. She played two roles in the film: Millie, a games developer, and Molotov Girl, Millie's in-game avatar. The film was released on 13 August 2021. It later debuted on Disney Plus for home viewers on 23 February 2022. A cover version of Mariah Carey song "Fantasy" sung by Comer was used in the film. For this role, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.


title: Jodie Comer

text: Later in 2021, Comer teamed with writer Jack Thorne and actor Stephen Graham to star in the Channel 4 drama "Help", in which she played a young care home worker struggling during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. She also acted as an executive producer. The role earned her a fifth British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress nomination which she ultimately won. Comer portrayed Marguerite de Carrouges in Ridley Scott's "The Last Duel" alongside Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck. The film was released worldwide on 15 October 2021.


title: Jodie Comer

text: Comer made her West End debut in Suzie Miller's play "Prima Facie" at the Harold Pinter Theatre which started in April 2022 and concluded in June 2022. For the role, Comer received significant critical acclaim. Comer will make her Broadway debut with "Prima Facie" when the production transfers from the West End, in spring 2023. Starting 21 July 2022, a filmed performance of the play at the Harold Pinter Theatre was shown at cinemas around the world by NT Live.


title: Jodie Comer

text: In March 2022, it was announced that Comer will star in and produce a limited series adaptation of Jen Beagin’s novel "Big Swiss" for HBO. The project will be produced by A24 and Adam McKay's Hyperobject Industries. She is also committed to star in and produce the environmental thriller "The End We Start From", an adaptation of Megan Hunter's debut novel directed by Mahalia Belo. Benedict Cumberbatch's SunnyMarch and Liza Marshall's Hera Pictures will produce the project, and started filming in August 2022. In the same month, it was announced that Comer will star alongside Austin Butler and Tom Hardy in Jeff Nichols' "The Bikeriders", which is a fictional story inspired by the photography of Danny Lyon and his 1967 book of the same name. The film will be released by New Regency and shall commence filming in October 2022.


title: Jodie Comer

text: In December 2018, British "Vogue" included Comer in their list of "The Most Influential Girls of 2018", and in February 2019 "Forbes" included her in their annual "30 Under 30" list for being in the top 30 most influential people in the entertainment industry in Europe under the age of 30.


title: Jodie Comer

text: In September 2019, a few days after her Emmy win, it was announced that Comer would be the face of the Loewe spring/summer 2020 fashion campaign, which saw her star in a short film for the brand that consisted of her repeating the brand's name with different emotions. On 31 March 2020, Comer was announced as the brand ambassador for skin-care brand Noble Panacea.


title: Jodie Comer

text: In 2020, Comer discussed the class discrimination she experienced during her career as someone from a working-class city.


title: AK-47

text: The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, it is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov (or "AK") family of rifles. After more than seven decades since its creation, the AK-47 model and its variants remain one of the most popular and widely used firearms in the world.


title: AK-47

text: The number "47" refers to the year the rifle was finished. Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. It was presented for official military trials in 1947, and, in 1948, the fixed-stock version was introduced into active service for selected units of the Soviet Army. In early 1949, the AK was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact.


title: AK-47

text: The model and its variants owe their global popularity to their reliability under harsh conditions, low production cost (compared to contemporary weapons), availability in virtually every geographic region, and ease of use. The AK has been manufactured in many countries, and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces and insurgencies throughout the world. , "of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s". The model is the basis for the development of many other types of individual, crew-served and specialised firearms.


title: AK-47

text: During World War II, the Sturmgewehr 44 rifle used by German forces made a deep impression on their Soviet counterparts. The select-fire rifle was chambered for a new intermediate cartridge, the 7.92×33mm Kurz, and combined the firepower of a submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle. On 15 July 1943, an earlier model of the Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR. The Soviets were impressed with the weapon and immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber fully automatic rifle of their own, to replace the PPSh-41 submachine guns and outdated Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifles that armed most of the Soviet Army.