title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: From 1991 to 1992, the situation in the multiethnic Bosnia and Herzegovina grew tense. Its parliament was fragmented on ethnic lines into a plurality Bosniak faction and minority Serb and Croat factions. In 1991, Radovan Karadžić, the leader of the largest Serb faction in the parliament, the Serb Democratic Party, gave a grave and direct warning to the People's Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina should it decide to separate, saying:


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: In the meantime, behind the scenes, negotiations began between Milošević and Tuđman to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina into Serb and Croat administered territories to attempt to avert war between Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs. Bosnian Serbs held a referendum in November 1991 resulting in an overwhelming vote in favor of staying in a common state with Serbia and Montenegro.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: In public, pro-state media in Serbia claimed to Bosnians that Bosnia and Herzegovina could be included a new voluntary union within a new Yugoslavia based on democratic government, but this was not taken seriously by Bosnia and Herzegovina's government.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: On 9 January 1992, the Bosnian Serb assembly proclaimed a separate Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the soon-to-be Republika Srpska), and proceeded to form Serbian autonomous regions (SARs) throughout the state. The Serbian referendum on remaining in Yugoslavia and the creation of SARs were proclaimed unconstitutional by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: A referendum on independence sponsored by the Bosnian government was held on 29 February and 1 March 1992. The referendum was declared contrary to the Bosnian and federal constitution by the federal Constitution Court and the newly established Bosnian Serb government, and it was largely boycotted by the Bosnian Serbs. According to the official results, the turnout was 63.4%, and 99.7% of the voters voted for independence. It was unclear what the two-thirds majority requirement actually meant and whether it was satisfied.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence on 3 March 1992 and received international recognition the following month on 6 April 1992. On the same date, the Serbs responded by declaring the independence of the Republika Srpska and laying siege to Sarajevo, which marked the start of the Bosnian War. The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was subsequently admitted as a member state of the United Nations on 22 May 1992.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: In Bosnia and Herzegovina, NATO airstrikes against Bosnian Serb targets contributed to the signing of the Dayton Agreement and the resolution of the conflict. Around 100,000 people were killed over the course of the war.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: In the Macedonian independence referendum held on 8 September 1991, 95.26% voted for independence, which was declared on 25 September 1991.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: Five hundred US soldiers were then deployed under the UN banner to monitor Macedonia's northern border with Serbia. However, Belgrade's authorities neither intervened to prevent Macedonia's departure, nor protested nor acted against the arrival of the UN troops, indicating that once Belgrade was to form its new country (the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in April 1992), it would recognise the Republic of Macedonia and develop diplomatic relations with it. As a result, Macedonia became the only former republic to gain sovereignty without resistance from the Yugoslav authorities and Army.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: In addition, Macedonia's first president, Kiro Gligorov, did indeed maintain good relations with Belgrade as well as the other former republics. There have been no problems between Macedonian and Serbian border police, even though small pockets of Kosovo and the Preševo valley complete the northern reaches of the historical region known as Macedonia, which would otherwise have created a border dispute (see also IMORO).


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: The Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia, the last major conflict being between Albanian nationalists and the government of Republic of Macedonia, reduced in violence after 2001.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: While France, Britain and most other European Union member nations were still emphasizing the need to preserve the unity of Yugoslavia, the German chancellor Helmut Kohl led the charge to recognize the first two breakaway republics of Slovenia and Croatia. He lobbied both national governments and the EU to be more favourable to his policies, and also went to Belgrade to pressure the federal government not to use military action, threatening sanctions. Days before the end of the year on Christmas Eve, Germany recognized the independence of Slovenia and Croatia, "against the advice of the European Community, the UN, and US President George H W Bush".


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: In November 1991, the Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on Yugoslavia, led by Robert Badinter, concluded at the request of Lord Carrington that the SFR Yugoslavia was in the process of dissolution, that the Serbian population in Croatia and Bosnia did not have a right to self-determination in the form of new states, and that the borders between the republics were to be recognized as international borders. As a result of the conflict, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolution 721 on 27 November 1991, which paved the way to the establishment of peacekeeping operations in Yugoslavia.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: In January 1992, Croatia and Yugoslavia signed an armistice under UN supervision, while negotiations continued between Serb and Croat leaderships over the partitioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: On 15 January 1992, the independence of Croatia and Slovenia was recognized by the international community. Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina would later be admitted as member states of the United Nations on 22 May 1992. Macedonia was admitted as a member state of the United Nations on 8 April 1993; its membership approval took longer than the others due to Greek objections.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: In 1999 Social Democratic Party of Germany leader Oskar Lafontaine criticised the role played by Germany in the break up of Yugoslavia, with its early recognition of the independence of the republics, during his May Day speech.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: Some observers opined that the break up of the Yugoslav state violated the principles of post-Cold War system, enshrined in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE/OSCE) and the Treaty of Paris of 1990. Both stipulated that inter-state borders in Europe should not be changed. Some observers, such as Peter Gowan, assert that the breakup and subsequent conflict could have been prevented if western states were more assertive in enforcing internal arrangements between all parties, but ultimately "were not prepared to enforce such principles in the Yugoslav case because Germany did not want to, and the other states did not have any strategic interest in doing so." Gowan even contends that the break-up "might have been possible without great bloodshed if clear criteria could have been established for providing security for all the main groups of people within the Yugoslav space."


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: In March 1992, during the US-Bosnian independence campaign, the politician and future president of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović reached an EC brokered agreement with Bosnian Croats and Serbs on a three-canton confederal settlement. But, the US government, according to "The New York Times", urged him to opt for a unitary, sovereign, independent state.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: The independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina proved to be the final blow to the pan-Yugoslav Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 28 April 1992, the Serb-dominated Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) was formed as a rump state, consisting only of the former Socialist Republics of Serbia and Montenegro. The FRY was dominated by Slobodan Milošević and his political allies. Its government claimed continuity to the former country, but the international community refused to recognize it as such. The stance of the international community was that Yugoslavia had dissolved into its separate states. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was prevented by a UN resolution on 22 September 1992 from continuing to occupy the United Nations seat as successor state to SFRY.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: The question of succession was important for claims on SFRY's international assets, including embassies in many countries. The FRY did not abandon its claim to continuity from the SFRY until 1996. It took until 2001 for the Agreement on Succession Issues of the Former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to be signed.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: The disintegration and war led to a sanctions regime, causing the economy of Serbia and Montenegro to collapse after five years. The war in the western parts of former Yugoslavia ended in 1995 with US-sponsored peace talks in Dayton, Ohio, which resulted in the Dayton Agreement. The Kosovo War started in 1996 and ended with the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia; Slobodan Milošević was overthrown in 2000.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: The FR Yugoslavia was renamed on 4 February 2003 as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was itself unstable, and finally broke up in 2006 when, in a referendum held on 21 May 2006, Montenegrin independence was backed by 55.5% of voters, and independence was declared on 3 June 2006. Serbia inherited the State Union's UN membership.


title: Breakup of Yugoslavia

text: Kosovo had been administered by the UN since the Kosovo War while nominally remaining part of Serbia. However, on 17 February 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia as the Republic of Kosovo. The United States, the United Kingdom and much of the European Union recognized this as an act of self determination, with the United States sending people to help assist Kosovo. On the other hand, Serbia and some of the international community—most notably Russia, Spain and China—have not recognised Kosovo's declaration of independence.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: Laura Mackenzie Phillips (born November 10, 1959) is an American actress and singer, known for her roles as Carol Morrison in the film "American Graffiti", as teenager Julie Mora Cooper Horvath on the sitcom "One Day at a Time", and as Molly Phillips on the Disney Channel supernatural series "So Weird".


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: Born in Alexandria, Virginia, she is the daughter of John Phillips, singer in The Mamas & the Papas, and his first wife, Susan Stuart Adams. She is the sister of Jeffrey Phillips and a half-sister of Tamerlane Phillips, actress Bijou Phillips, and singer Chynna Phillips.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: Phillips attended Highland Hall Waldorf School in Northridge, California. At age 12, Phillips formed a band with three of her classmates and was spotted by a casting agent during one of their performances. She was given an audition for a role in the 1973 film "American Graffiti", which she won.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: Phillips was 12 years old during the filming of "American Graffiti", and 13 when the movie was released. She was cast as Carol Morrison, a young girl accidentally picked up by hot rodding teenager John Milner (Paul Le Mat). Because of California state law, producer Gary Kurtz became Phillips's legal guardian for the duration of the filming.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: Phillips gained stardom in the 1970s playing teenager Julie Cooper (when the character got married, her married name was Horvath) on the long-running television show "One Day at a Time", for which she earned $50,000 (equal to $ today) a week. During the show's third season in 1977, Phillips was arrested for disorderly conduct. Because of her drug and alcohol abuse, Phillips began arriving late and was even incoherent for rehearsals. The producers ordered her to take a six-week break to overcome her addiction but were ultimately forced to fire her in 1980.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: After two near-fatal overdoses, Phillips entered Fair Oaks Hospital voluntarily for treatment. In 1981, the producers of "One Day at a Time" invited her back to the show. However, in 1982, Phillips relapsed into cocaine use and the following year, she collapsed on the show's set. After refusing to take a drug test, she was fired permanently, and her character was written out of the series. In 1992, Philips entered a drug rehab program for nine months.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: From the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, Phillips performed as a singer and toured with a re-formed version of The Mamas & the Papas, known as The New Mamas and The Papas.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: In 1999, Phillips co-starred with Cara DeLizia in the Disney Channel series "So Weird", playing a fictional rock star named Molly Phillips. She sang original songs written by show producers Jon Cooksey and Ann Marie Montade. In 2002, she appeared in the Disney Channel original movie "Double Teamed". Phillips guest-starred on episodes of "ER", "Without a Trace", "7th Heaven", "Cold Case", and "Beverly Hills, 90210".


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: Phillips won an Honorary Best Actress award on March 20, 2011, at the closing night awards gala of the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for her performance as Sharon in the 2010 independent film "Peach Plum Pear". While in Toronto, she was interviewed on "Canada AM", "ET Canada", and "The Marilyn Denis Show".


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: In 2016, Phillips began working at the Breathe Life Healing Center in West Hollywood, California as a drug rehab counselor.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: In 2017, Phillips appeared in an episode of the rebooted "One Day at a Time" as Pam Valentine. The role was apt, given Phillips's history: she portrayed a counselor. She reprised the role in 2019, in two episodes of the third season.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: In 2018, Phillips appeared as Barbara Denning in multiple episodes of Netflix original "Orange Is the New Black".


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: Phillips has been married three times: first to rock group manager Jeffrey Sessler, son of Freddie Sessler (from 1979 to 1981); then to rock guitarist Shane Fontayne (from 1986 to 2000), and to Keith Levenson in 2005, and later divorced. Levenson remarried in 2007. She has one child, son Shane Barakan (born 1987), a musician. In an interview in March 2022, she stated that she has dated both men and women.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: Phillips has had a lifetime troubled by drug abuse. On August 27, 2008, she was arrested by the Los Angeles Airport Police on charges of possession of cocaine and heroin after she went through airport security screening. On October 31, 2008, she pleaded guilty to one felony count of cocaine possession, and was sentenced to a drug rehabilitation program. Phillips's drug case was dismissed after she successfully completed a drug diversion program.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: She appeared on the third season of "Celebrity Rehab", which aired in January and February 2010. She later discussed her recovery on the March 17, 2010, episode of "The View".


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: In September 2009, Phillips's memoir "High on Arrival" was released, after which she appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" for an hour-long interview. She told Winfrey that she first tried cocaine when she was 11 years old, and that her father had taken drugs with her, and had also injected her with cocaine. During the interview, Phillips read excerpts from her book. She said that at the age of 19, on the night before her first wedding in 1979, "I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father", and that when she confronted her father months later, asking why he had raped her, her father simply replied, "Raped you? Don't you mean we made love?"<ref name="ABC News 9/23/09">ABC News 9/23/09</ref> Phillips told Oprah Winfrey of having a "consensual" sexual relationship with her father, describing her participation as "sort of Stockholm syndrome, where you begin to love your captor." However, she has also described the initial incident as a rape, and has said, "No matter what kind of incest, it is an abuse of power ... a betrayal of trust."


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: The incest ended after Phillips became pregnant and subsequently had an abortion for which her father paid.


title: Mackenzie Phillips

text: Geneviève Waïte, John's third wife, denies the allegations, saying they were inconsistent with his character. Michelle Phillips, John's second wife, also stated that she had "every reason to believe [Mackenzie's account is] untrue." However, Chynna Phillips, Mackenzie's half-sister and Michelle Phillips's daughter, stated that she believed Mackenzie's claims and that Mackenzie first told her about the relationship during a phone conversation in 1997, approximately 11 years after the supposed relationship had ended. Jessica Woods, daughter of Denny Doherty, said that her father had told her that he knew "the awful truth" and that he was "horrified at what John had done."


title: Ben McKenzie

text: Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978) is an American actor and commentator. He is best known for his starring television roles as Ryan Atwood on the teen drama "The O.C." (2003–2007), Ben Sherman on the crime drama "Southland" (2009–2013), and James Gordon on the crime drama "Gotham" (2014–2019). McKenzie made his film debut in the Academy Award-nominated film "Junebug" (2005), before appearing in films including "88 Minutes" (2007), "Goodbye World" (2013), "Some Kind of Beautiful" (2014), and "Line of Duty" (2019). In 2020, he made his Broadway debut in the Bess Wohl play "Grand Horizons".


title: Ben McKenzie

text: Outside of acting, McKenzie is noted for his critical commentary on the cryptocurrency bubble and fraud with journalist Jacob Silverman. Their forthcoming book on the subject, "Easy Money", will be published in 2023.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan was born in Austin, Texas. He is of Dutch-Jewish, Scottish, and English descent. He is one of three sons born to Frances Schenkkan, a poet, and Pete Schenkkan, an attorney. He has two younger brothers, both of whom are former actors. He is the brother-in-law of photojournalist Scout Tufankjian.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: His grandfather, Robert F. Schenkkan was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and worked on passing the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Notably, he is a nephew of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan; McKenzie appeared in his 2019 work "". His middle name, McKenzie, is his paternal grandmother's maiden name; he uses it as part of his stage name to avoid confusion with actor Ben Shenkman.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: For middle school, he attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School, where he was friends and flag football teammates with future Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees. He attended Stephen F. Austin High School, playing wide receiver and defensive back for the school's football team. From 1997 to 2001 he attended the University of Virginia, his father and paternal grandfather's "alma mater", where he majored in foreign affairs and economics.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: After graduating from college in 2001, McKenzie moved to New York City where he worked in part-time jobs and performed in some off-off-Broadway productions. During this period, he also participated in summer stock theater and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: At age twenty-three he moved to Los Angeles where he waited tables and slept on the floor of his friend Ernie Sabella's apartment. He was soon cast as Ryan Atwood in "The O.C." On August 5, 2003, Fox premiered the television series, about affluent teenagers with stormy personal lives in Orange County, California. The show became an overnight success and made McKenzie famous. His performance in "The O.C." earned him "Choice Breakout TV Star – Male" and "Choice TV Chemistry" nominations in the Teen Choice Awards as well as "Choice TV Actor – Drama/Action Adventure" and "Choice TV Actor – Drama" wins. McKenzie reportedly earned between about $15,000 and $25,000 per episode throughout the show's run.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: "The O.C." was the first time McKenzie played what "The New York Times" later described as the "quiet, guarded leading man" role he would repeatedly portray. As a result of the show's success, McKenzie appeared in magazines including "People, In Touch Weekly" and "Us Weekly". He was ranked No. 5 in Independent Online's "100 Sexiest Men Alive" and twice appeared on "Teen People" magazine's annual list of "25 Sexiest Stars under 25". McKenzie was also voted one of "InStyle"'s "10 Hottest Bachelors of Summer" in July 2005. "The O.C." dropped in ratings dramatically during its third and fourth seasons, and ended in early 2007.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: While appearing in "The O.C.", McKenzie made his feature film debut in the Academy Award-nominated film "Junebug" alongside Amy Adams and Embeth Davidtz. The film was nominated for "Best International Film" and "Outstanding Ensemble Acting" in the Amanda Awards and won the Sarasota Film Festival award for "Outstanding Ensemble Acting". It also received high praise at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. According to "Production Weekly", McKenzie was set to star in the thriller "Snakes on a Plane", formerly known as "Pacific Air 121", but later dropped out to film "88 Minutes", which starred Al Pacino.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: In 2008, McKenzie earned critical acclaim for his solo performance in the "live on stage, on film" version of Dalton Trumbo's 1939 novel "Johnny Got His Gun", his first starring role in a film. He stars as Joe Bonham, a role previously played by James Cagney, Jeff Daniels, and Timothy Bottoms. The movie premiered at the Paramount Theater in Austin, McKenzie's hometown, while he was filming the pilot for "Southland". In 2009, he appeared in the short film "The Eight Percent". The movie won the Delta Air Lines Fly-in Movie Contest and entered as an official selection on the Tribeca Film Festival's Short film category.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: McKenzie starred as rookie police officer Ben Sherman on the NBC drama "Southland", which premiered on April 9, 2009. The show was canceled while in production on its second season. TNT bought the rights for the show and showed the seven episodes that had been produced. The show was subsequently renewed and ran for five seasons before being canceled in 2013. From September to October 2010, he starred in an off-Broadway transfer of "The Glass Menagerie" at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: Following the end of "Southland", McKenzie was cast in the CBS drama television pilot "The Advocates", opposite Mandy Moore. The show was not produced. In late 2013, he was cast in the drama film "The Swimmer", a Norwegian production that was not produced. In October 2013, he signed an exclusive talent deal with Warner Bros. Television Studios, the home of "The O.C." and "Southland". A few months later, in February 2014, it was announced that McKenzie was cast in the pilot of "Gotham".


title: Ben McKenzie

text: McKenzie returned to Fox in the Batman prequel television show "Gotham", which premiered on September 22, 2014. In the series, he portrayed James Gordon as a young detective new to Gotham City. After five seasons and 100 episodes, the show concluded in April 2019. In the same series, he made his directorial debut with the season 3 episode "". McKenzie went on to direct "One of My Three Soups" and write "The Demon's Head" from the fourth season.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: In 2017, he appeared in the first season of "The Accidental Wolf", a miniseries series created by Arian Moayed and the theater production company Waterwell. He shot "Line of Duty", a real-time action thriller, in Birmingham, Alabama in early summer 2018; it was released in 2019.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: Following the conclusion of "Gotham" in 2019, McKenzie indicated the end of one chapter in his career, turning to new efforts including writing and directing.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: On June 24, 2019, McKenzie, along with an ensemble cast, presented "", a dramatic reading of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III's Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. McKenzie portrayed President Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, as well as Donald Trump, Jr.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: McKenzie made his Broadway debut on January 23, 2020, in the Second Stage production of "Grand Horizons" at the Hayes Theater. McKenzie starred as Ben, one of two sons struggling with their elderly parents' divorce. A limited-run production, the play began previews on December 23, 2019 and closed on March 1, 2020. In February 2022, it was announced that McKenzie would star in and produce "Bloat", an internationally-produced J-horror film.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: Since 2021, McKenzie has been an outspoken critic of cryptocurrency. He is noted as one of the few celebrity skeptics of the technology. As such, he has been particularly critical of the proliferation of celebrity endorsements of unstable cryptocurrencies, their speculation, and NFTs.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: With journalist Jacob Silverman, he has written a number of critical articles on crypto for publications including "Slate", "The New Republic", "The Washington Post", and "The Intercept". Together, they are writing the book "Easy Money", to be released by Abrams Press in July 2023. They had a featured session on the topic at the 2022 SXSW Festival and McKenzie at WSJ Tech Live 2022 and the 2022 Web Summit. As a pundit, McKenzie has also appeared on CNN Business, CNBC, and CBS News to discuss the topic. He has been a guest on podcasts like "What Next: TBD", "Deconstructed", and "Chapo Trap House", and radio programs "Marketplace Tech" and "Morning Edition".


title: Ben McKenzie

text: McKenzie testified at the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing "Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers” in December 2022.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: McKenzie attributes his initial interest in the subject to his undergraduate degree in economics and friends' interest in cryptocurrency, as well as coursework on the blockchain from MIT professor and SEC chairman Gary Gensler and "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" by economist Thomas Piketty.


title: Ben McKenzie

text: In September 2015, actress Morena Baccarin said in a legal declaration involving her divorce from Austin Chick that she planned to marry her "Gotham" co-star, McKenzie, adding that she was pregnant with their child. Their daughter was born on March 2, 2016. Baccarin and McKenzie announced their engagement in November 2016. They were married on June 2, 2017 (Baccarin's 38th birthday) in Brooklyn, New York. They announced the birth of their son in March 2021. With Baccarin, McKenzie has one step-son.


title: Manute Bol

text: Manute Bol (; October 16, 1962 – June 19, 2010) was a Sudanese-American professional basketball player and political activist. Listed at or tall, Bol was tied with Gheorghe Mureșan as the tallest player in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA).


title: Manute Bol

text: After he played college basketball for the Bridgeport Purple Knights, Bol was selected by the Washington Bullets in the 1985 NBA draft. Bol played for the Bullets and three other teams over the course of his NBA career, which lasted from 1985 to 1995. A center, Bol is considered among the best shot-blockers in the history of the sport and is the only NBA player to retire with more career blocked shots than points scored. , he ranked second in NBA history in blocked shots per game and 16th in total blocked shots.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol was notable for his efforts to promote human rights in his native Sudan and aid for Sudanese refugees.


title: Manute Bol

text: Manute Bol was born to Madute and Okwok Bol in Turalei, Sudan (now South Sudan), and raised near Gogrial. Bol's father, a Dinka tribal elder, gave him the name Manute, which means "special blessing". Bol had no formal record of his birthdate.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol came from a family of extraordinarily tall men and women. He said: "My mother was , my father , and my sister is . And my great-grandfather was even taller—." His ethnic group, the Dinka, and the Nilotic people of which they are a part, are among the tallest populations in the world. Bol's hometown, Turalei, is the origin of other exceptionally tall people, including basketball player Ring Ayuel. "I was born in a village, where you cannot measure yourself," Bol reflected. "I learned I was 7 foot 7 in 1979, when I was grown. I was about 18 or 19."


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol started playing soccer in 1972 but abandoned the game because he was too tall. During his later teens, Bol started playing basketball in Sudan, for several years with teams in Wau and Khartoum, where he experienced prejudice from the northern Sudanese majority.


title: Manute Bol

text: Coach Don Feeley, formerly the basketball coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, traveled to Sudan to coach and held clinics for the Sudanese national team in 1982. Feeley convinced Bol to go to the United States and play basketball.


title: Manute Bol

text: With Feeley's input, Bol first landed in Cleveland. According to Cleveland State University basketball coach Kevin Mackey, Bol could not provide a record of his birth date. Mackey listed it as October 16, 1962, on Cleveland State documents, but believed Bol was actually much older. Bol did not speak or write English at the time of his arrival in Cleveland. He improved his English skills after months of classes at ESL Language Centers at Case Western Reserve University, but not enough to qualify for enrollment at Cleveland State. Bol never played a game for Cleveland State. Five years later, Cleveland State was placed on two years' probation for providing improper financial assistance to Bol and two other African players.


title: Manute Bol

text: Again with Feeley's influence, Bol declared his intention to play professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Los Angeles Clippers drafted him in the 1983 NBA draft as the 97th overall pick. Clippers head coach Jim Lynam received a call about Bol from Feeley, whom he knew from coaching circles. "So, I said, 'Have you told anyone else about this?'" Lynam recalled. "Feeley said the only one in the NBA he had called was Frank Layden at Utah. He said Frank said he couldn't take another big guy like this. He already had Mark Eaton. I was the second guy Feeley had called. I told him he didn't have to call anyone else."


title: Manute Bol

text: After the June 1983 draft, Lynam traveled to Cleveland and watched Bol play pickup games. In speaking with Bol, through a fellow Sudanese player, Lynam learned that he had become hesitant about playing professionally because he did not know the language well enough to understand coaches. Lynam said, "One of the things everyone was looking at was his passport. His passport said he was 19 years old. His passport also said he was five feet two." When Lynam asked Bol about the discrepancy between his real height and his passport height, Bol said he had been sitting down when measured by Sudan officials.


title: Manute Bol

text: Language and passport concerns were set aside when the NBA ruled that Bol had not been eligible for the draft as he had not declared 45 days before the draft as required and declared the pick invalid.


title: Manute Bol

text: With the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) questioning his eligibility for NCAA Division I basketball, Bol enrolled at the University of Bridgeport, an NCAA Division II school with an English program for foreign students. He played for the Purple Knights in the 1984–85 season. His coach was Bruce Webster, a friend of Feeley. Bol averaged 22.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 7.1 blocks per game for the Purple Knights. The team, which previously drew 500–600 spectators, routinely sold out the 1,800-seat gym. With Bol, Bridgeport qualified for the 1985 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol turned professional in May 1985, signing with the Rhode Island Gulls of the spring United States Basketball League. Going into the 1985 NBA draft, scouts believed that Bol needed another year or two of college, but Bol opted for the draft because he felt it was the only way to earn enough money to get his sister out of Sudan, which was in a state of political unrest at the time.


title: Manute Bol

text: The Washington Bullets drafted Bol in the second round as the 31st overall in the draft. Bol's first tenure with the Bullets lasted three seasons, from 1985 to 1988. In his rookie season (1985–1986), he appeared in 80 games and recorded a career-high 5.0 blocks per game. That year, during his first career start on December 12, Bol set a Washington franchise record with 12 blocks and scored a career high 18 points in a 110-108 overtime victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. His total of 397 blocks set the NBA rookie record and remains the second-highest single-season total in league history, behind Mark Eaton's 456 in 1984–85.


title: Manute Bol

text: When he arrived in the United States, Bol weighed and had gained just under by the time he entered the NBA. The Bullets sent Bol to strength training with University of Maryland coach Frank Costello, where he could initially lift only on 10-repetition bench press and on 10-repetition squat (his body mass index was 15.3 and he initially had a 31" (80 cm) waist). In 1987, the Bullets drafted the point guard Muggsy Bogues, pairing the tallest and shortest players in the league on the court for one season.


title: Manute Bol

text: On June 8, 1988, Bol was traded by the Bullets to the Golden State Warriors for Dave Feitl and a 1989 second round draft pick (Doug Roth was later selected).


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol's first tenure with the Warriors lasted two seasons, from 1988 to 1990. In his first season with Golden State, he attempted three-point shots with regularity. In that season he attempted a career-high 91 three-pointers and made 20 of them. During this time, he may have helped to popularize the expression "my bad", although a 2005 suggestion that he coined the phrase has been discounted.


title: Manute Bol

text: On August 1, 1990, Golden State traded Bol to the Philadelphia 76ers for a 1991 first round draft pick (Chris Gatling was later selected).


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol's first tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers lasted three seasons, from 1990 to 1993. He played a career-high 82 games in his first season as a 76er, but his production began to decline afterward (in both games played and per-game statistics). After playing in all 82 games in 1990–91, he played in 71 games the next season, and in 58 (a career low at the time) games the following season. During his last season in Philadelphia, he had a memorable night playing against former teammate Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns, hitting 6 of 12 three-pointers, all in the second half in a losing effort. Fans were known to yell "shoot" as soon as Bol received the ball far from the basket.


title: Manute Bol

text: Released by Philadelphia, Bol played in eight games in the 1993–94 season with the Miami Heat, the only team that did not use him as a starter. He scored only one two-point field goal with the team and blocked six shots in 61 total minutes.


title: Manute Bol

text: Released by Miami, Bol's second stint with the Bullets lasted only two games in 1993–94. After that, he helped develop teammate Gheorghe Mureșan.


title: Manute Bol

text: After his release by Miami, Bol's second stint with the 76ers lasted four games, near the end of the 1993–94 season, helping to mentor teammate Shawn Bradley. In only 49 minutes, he played more aggressively than he did earlier in the season with Miami and Washington. He scored six points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked nine shots.


title: Manute Bol

text: In the 1994–95 NBA season Bol returned to the Warriors. He made the season-opening roster and played his last five NBA games. On a memorable mid-November night Bol finally made his home debut, coming off of the bench to play 29 minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He attempted three three-pointers in the fourth quarter and made them all. Seven nights later in Charlotte, in a game nationally televised by TNT, he was in the starting lineup again. By this time, two weeks into the season, his career seemed rejuvenated under Warrior head coach Don Nelson; he was again a defensive force, making threes and contributing as a starter to create matchup problems. After playing only ten minutes against the Hornets on November 22, 1994, he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Before he left the game, he recorded one block and two points and attempted a three-pointer in ten minutes of play.


title: Manute Bol

text: Overall in his NBA career, Bol averaged 2.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 3.3 blocks per game, playing an average of 18.7 minutes. He finished his career with 1,599 points, 2,647 rebounds, and 2,086 blocks. He appeared in 624 games over 10 seasons.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol played 22 games for the Florida Beach Dogs of the Continental Basketball Association during the 1995–96 season under Coach Eric Musselman. The Beach Dogs' games against the Sioux Falls Skyforce that season were broadcast by ESPN, as the Skyforce also featured a former NBA player, Darryl Dawkins.


title: Manute Bol

text: In 1996, the Portland Mountain Cats of the United States Basketball League announced that Bol would be playing with the team, but he never appeared in uniform.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol played professionally in Italy in 1997 and Qatar in 1998 before rheumatism forced him to retire permanently.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol and Gheorghe Mureșan are the two tallest players in the history of the National Basketball Association. Official NBA publications have listed Bol at either or tall. He was measured by the Guinness Book of World Records at 7 ft 6  in tall. Complementing his great height, Bol had exceptionally long limbs (inseam ) and large hands and feet (size 16 ). His arm span, at , is (as of 2013) the longest in NBA history, and his upward reach was . He was extremely slender, limiting his offensive capability.


title: Manute Bol

text: With his great height and very long limbs, Bol was one of the NBA's most imposing defensive presences. Along with setting the rookie shot-blocking record in 1985–86, Bol later tied the NBA record for most blocked shots in one half (11) and in one quarter (eight, twice). On , in a game against the Orlando Magic, he blocked four consecutive shots in a single possession. On average, he blocked one shot per every 5.6 minutes of playing time.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol's other basketball skills, however, were very limited. His rail-thin physique made it difficult for him to establish position against the league's bulkier centers and power forwards, and he also suffered from a claw hand on his right hand (his natural hand), which severely affected his shooting and ball-handling abilities. To compensate for this inherited deformity on his right hand, Bol learned to dribble, block shots and rebound with his (non-dominant) left hand.


title: Manute Bol

text: Off the court, Bol established a reputation as a practical joker; Charles Barkley, a frequent victim of his pranks, has attested to Bol's sense of humor. Bol's one-time assistant coach Garry St. Jean recounted that Bol was fond of branding his teammates with humorous nicknames, such as "Chalk" for his Warriors teammate Chris Mullin (as a nod to Mullin's pale complexion). Bol developed a close friendship with Mullin and named one of his sons after him.


title: Manute Bol

text: Nevertheless, Bol was reportedly short-tempered and sensitive to the frequent remarks or questions about his extreme height; on one occasion, when an elderly woman in an airport approached the towering Bol and asked "how tall are you?", Bol angrily retorted "I didn't ask "you" how fat you are!"


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol was active in charitable causes during and after his basketball career. He said he spent much of the money he made during his NBA career supporting various causes related to the war-ravaged nation of his birth, Sudan.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol frequently visited Sudanese refugee camps, where he was treated like royalty. In 2001 the Sudanese government offered him the post of minister of sport. Bol, a Christian, refused because one of the conditions was converting to Islam.


title: Manute Bol

text: Later, the Sudanese government hindered Bol from leaving the country, accusing him of supporting the Dinka-led Christian rebels, the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It refused to grant him an exit visa unless he came back with more money. Assistance from supporters in the United States, including Senator Joseph Lieberman, raised money to provide Bol with plane tickets to Cairo, Egypt. After six months of negotiations with U.S. consulate officials regarding refugee status, Bol and his family were finally able to leave Egypt and return to the United States. He was admitted to the United States as a religious refugee in 2002 and settled in West Hartford, Connecticut.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol established the Ring True Foundation to continue fund-raising for Sudanese refugees. He gave most of his earnings (an estimated $3.5 million) to their cause. In 2002 Fox TV agreed to broadcast the foundation's phone number in exchange for Bol's agreement to appear on their "Celebrity Boxing" show. After the referee goaded, "If you guys don't box, you won't get paid", he scored a third-round victory over former football player William "The Refrigerator" Perry.


title: Manute Bol

text: In the fall of 2002, Bol signed a one-day contract with the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League. Though he could not skate, the publicity generated by his single-game appearance helped raise money to assist children in Sudan. Bol once suited up as a horse jockey for similar reasons.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol was involved in the April 2006 Sudan Freedom Walk, a three-week march from the United Nations building in New York City to the United States Capitol in Washington, DC. The event was organized by Simon Deng, a former Sudanese swimming champion who was a longtime friend of Bol's. Deng, who was enslaved from age 9 to 12, is from another tribe in Southern Sudan. His Sudan Freedom Walk focused on finding a solution to the genocide in Darfur (western Sudan) but also sought to raise awareness of the modern-day slavery and human-rights abuses throughout Sudan. Bol spoke in New York City at the start of the walk, and in Philadelphia at a rally organized by former hunger striker Nathan Kleinman.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol was also an advocate for reconciliation efforts, and worked to improve education in South Sudan. A Nicholas Kristof article in "The New York Times" highlighted Bol's work for reconciliation and education with an organization called Sudan Sunrise. Bol first began working with Sudan Sunrise to raise awareness on issues of reconciliation in 2005. This included speaking at the United States Capitol and subsequently partnering with Sudan Sunrise to build schools across South Sudan that, in the spirit of reconciliation, would enroll students regardless of tribe or religion.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol had six children with his first wife, Atong, and four with his second wife, Ajok. Bol's son Madut (born December 19, 1989) played college basketball at Southern University and graduated in 2013. Another son, Bol Bol (born November 16, 1999), played for the Oregon Ducks in 2018–19. Bol Bol was taken 44th overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the Miami Heat and was subsequently traded to the Denver Nuggets. He currently plays for the Orlando Magic.


title: Manute Bol

text: Despite initially knowing little English or Western culture upon arriving in the United States, Bol adjusted and was widely regarded as well-rounded, inquisitive, and well-read. He developed a strong friendship with Charles Barkley, who remarked, "If everyone in the world was a Manute Bol, it's a world I'd want to live in. He's smart. He reads "The New York Times". He knows what's going on in a lot of subjects. He's not one of these just-basketball guys". Bol was a Catholic.


title: Manute Bol

text: During his time in Egypt, Bol ran a basketball school in Cairo. One of his pupils was a fellow Sudanese refugee, former NBA player Luol Deng, the son of a former Sudanese cabinet minister. Deng later moved to the United States to further his basketball career, maintaining a close relationship with Bol.


title: Manute Bol

text: In July 2004, Bol was seriously injured in a car accident in Colchester, Connecticut; he was ejected from a taxi that hit a guardrail and overturned, resulting in a broken neck. The driver was under the influence, with a suspended license. Because his fortunes were mostly donated to Sudan, he was financially ruined because he had no health insurance. When he recovered from his injuries, he moved to Olathe, Kansas.


title: Manute Bol

text: On June 19, 2010, Bol died from acute kidney failure and complications from Stevens–Johnson syndrome at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was 47. He is buried in South Sudan.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol's memorial service was held on June 29, 2010, at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. His body lay in an eight-foot-long, specially-built casket.


title: Manute Bol

text: After his death, tributes to Bol's career and charitable works came from around the United States and the world. His former teams, and the NBA, issued statements in recognition of his impact on the sport of basketball and on Sudan. U.S. Senator Sam Brownback paid tribute to Bol on the floor of the United States Senate.


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol was also given tributes by former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane, Sudan's Ambassador to the United States Akec Khoc Acieu, and vice president of the National Basketball Players Association Rory Sparrow. Sparrow called Bol "a giant off the court" who should be remembered for humanitarian work and his basketball career. Brownback recalled, "He literally gave his life for his people. He went over [to Sudan], he was sick. He stayed longer than he should have. He probably contracted this ailment that took his life while in Sudan, and he didn't have to do that. He was an NBA basketball player. He could have stayed here and had an easy life. I've never seen anybody use his celebrity status more nor give his life more completely to a group of people than Manute Bol did. It makes me look at efforts that I do as not enough."


title: Manute Bol

text: Ambassador Khoc said, "Manute had a very great heart for his country and people. He did everything to support anybody in need of shoes, blankets, health service, food, and people who were struggling. He went to see them and to encourage them to continue their struggle for their rights, for their freedoms. Manute embodied everything we can think of in Sudan. Reconciling warring groups between the north and south, in Darfur he was working for reconciliation between Darfur and the south and between Darfur and the rest of Sudan. So Manute was a voice for hope."


title: Manute Bol

text: Sudan Sunrise founder Tom Prichard said that Bol's work to reconcile former enemies lives on. "Manute's legacy and vision of education and reconciliation, his determination to grow grassroots reconciliation—whether that reconciliation is expressed in a country that divides or holds together, wherever the boundary lines are drawn. Manute stood for grassroots reconciliation." He added, "There's no question Manute gave his life for his country."


title: Manute Bol

text: At the peak of his career, Bol was so widely recognizable in pop culture as to become the object of teasing in a 1993 episode of MTV's "Beavis and Butthead" entitled "True Crime'". While watching a music video of the song "Demolition Man" by Grace Jones, Butthead mistakes the tall, androgynous Jones for Bol and asks, "Is this Manute Bol?" Beavis responds, "Yeah. That dude can slam dunk without even jumping", to which Butthead deadpans, "Yeah. It's too bad he can't sing," as the pair chuckle together. Later, Beavis says, "Maybe this "isn't" Manute Bol", and Butthead opines, "Yeah. Manute Bol can sing better than this. That man has lipstick on."


title: Manute Bol

text: Bol was also referenced in numerous hip hop songs, including Big L's 1995 single "M.V.P.", E-40's 1995 song "Spittin'", and JAY-Z's 1997 song "Where I'm From".


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: Charlie's Angels is a 2019 American action comedy film written and directed by Elizabeth Banks from a story by Evan Spiliotopoulos and David Auburn. It stars Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska as the new generation of Angels who are working for a private detective agency named the Townsend Agency. The film is the third installment in the "Charlie's Angels" film series and serves as a continuation of the story that began with the television series of the same name by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, and the two previous theatrical films, "Charlie's Angels" (2000) and "" (2003).


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: Development of the film began in September 2015 when Sony Pictures opted to reboot the series following the cancellation of the 2011 television reboot and the release of 2003's "Full Throttle". Months later, Banks joined the project as director, producer, and writer. Casting announcements were made throughout 2018, with Banks herself also confirmed to star. Principal photography commenced in September 2018 and took place in Germany and Turkey. The lead single from the film's soundtrack, "Don't Call Me Angel", performed by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Rey, was released in September 2019, followed by the soundtrack and score album's respective releases on November 1 and 8.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: "Charlie's Angels" was theatrically released in the United States on November 15, 2019, by Sony Pictures Releasing to mixed reviews from critics and a poor opening weekend box office performance. It was ranked by both "USA Today" and "Variety" as one of the biggest box-office disappointments of 2019. The film eventually grossed $73.3 million worldwide against an estimated production budget of $48–55 million and an estimated advertising budget of $50 million.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: A team of Angels, led by senior operative John Bosley, capture international embezzler Jonny Smith in Rio de Janeiro and turn him over to American authorities. A year later, the European division of the Townsend Agency is informed that Elena Houghlin, an engineer and programmer employed by entrepreneur Alexander Brok, wants to expose her superiors. She knows that Brok's head of development, Peter Fleming, is covering up a discovery about how an energy conservation device that she helped invent, Calisto, has the potential to trigger fatal seizures when used. She meets with operative Edgar "Bosley" in Hamburg to turn over her findings, but an assassin named Hodak ambushes the meeting and subsequently kills Edgar, leaving Elena to drown. Edgar's protégé, Jane Kano, rescues her and brings her to operative Rebekah "Bosley" with the help of her partner, Sabina Wilson. Meanwhile, John, who has since retired from the agency, discovers that Rebekah has tagged him with the agency's specialized subdermal implant without his knowledge.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: Rebekah tasks Sabina and Jane, joined by Elena, with breaking into Brok's corporate headquarters to steal the remaining Calisto prototypes before they can be duplicated. Elena finds one but is forced to use it to escape, accidentally killing the chief of security, Ralph, in the process. After learning that Fleming took the other prototypes, Rebekah tracks him to Istanbul, where Jane utilizes one of her old intelligence contacts, Fatima, to locate him. They track him to a remote rock quarry, where the supposedly-imprisoned Smith is revealed to be Fleming's intermediary for selling Calisto. Hodak is also present and kills Fleming before the Angels break up the sale. Rebekah suddenly disappears, allowing Smith and Hodak to escape with the prototypes.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: Returning to their safehouse, Sabina shares her growing belief that Rebekah is secretly working against the agency and manipulating them to steal Calisto for her own benefit. While the three ponder Sabina's suspicion, the safehouse is bombed. Rebekah shows up only to be shot by John, who has come to rescue Elena. Sabina and Jane manage to survive and seek medical help from Fatima. Rebekah reappears and explains that John is the real traitor and that he has spent the last few decades secretly building his own network within the agency after he was passed over to succeed the late Charlie Townsend.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: John takes Elena to a party in Chamonix hosted by Brok, who reveals himself as the mastermind behind the attempt to assassinate Elena and, unbeknownst to him, John's plan to weaponize Calisto. Using Elena's colleague Langston as a hostage, John forces her to program a Calisto device to kill both herself and Langston before leaving. The Angels, having deduced his plan due to the information provided by Smith, who is later revealed to have defected to their side, show up and rescue Elena and Langston, Elena having already disabled the Calisto device. Jane exacts revenge by impaling Hodak on a spike, while Rebekah catches up with John and his men. Outnumbered, she has other Angels posing as guests subdue the men, after which Sabina knocks out John with a punch. Brok is arrested for conspiracy, and Jane and Langston start a relationship. Elena is recruited as an Angel by the Townsend Agency after passing a series of rigorous training exercises.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: In a mid-credits scene, Elena receives an official Angels tattoo and congratulations from former Angel Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith), who has become the new "Charlie".


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: Making cameo appearances in the film are Hailee Steinfeld, Lili Reinhart, Aly Raisman, Huda Kattan, and Chloe Kim as newly recruited Angels; Ronda Rousey, Danica Patrick, and Laverne Cox as the Angels' instructors; and Michael Strahan as the Townsend Agency's New York branch "Bosley". Jaclyn Smith also makes a cameo appearance as Kelly Garrett, reprising her character from the television series for her second appearance in the film series, after cameoing in . Still photographs of Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Cheryl Ladd, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as their respective characters from the television series and previous installments also appear on a screen in the Townsend Agency's Los Angeles office.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: In September 2015, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that it was rebooting the "Charlie's Angels" franchise, with Elizabeth Banks in talks to direct the film, as well as produce, with her Brownstone Productions partner Max Handelman. Evan Spiliotopoulos was hired to write the script for the reboot film. Banks was officially confirmed as the film's director the following year in April, and rewrote the screenplay, which had previously been rewritten by Jay Basu, along with earlier touch-ups by Craig Mazin and Semi Chellas. Banks received sole screenplay credit, with "story by" billing for Spiliotopoulos and David Auburn.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: In July 2018, it was announced that Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska would play the leading trio of the fighting team and that Banks would also appear as a Bosley, with the film featuring multiple characters by that name. Doug Belgrad also co-produced the film through his 2.0 Entertainment, along with Elizabeth Cantillon, Banks, and Handelman. Patrick Stewart was cast as a second Bosley in September. That same month, Luis Gerardo Méndez and Jonathan Tucker joined the cast of the film, with Djimon Hounsou added as a third Bosley, while Bill Pope was announced as the film's cinematographer. Sam Claflin, Noah Centineo, Chris Pang and Nat Faxon later joined the cast in October 2018.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: Principal photography on the film began on September 24, 2018. Filming took place at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany from October 2–7. Further filming took place at the Spice Bazaar, Veliefendi Race Course, and Sultanahmet, all in Istanbul, Turkey in early December. Filming completed on December 9.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: Initially developed as a reboot of the franchise, the film instead serves as a continuation of the events of the original TV series and the McG-directed films. Drew Barrymore, who had produced and starred in the previous film installments, executive produced the film. Producer of the original series and first two films Leonard Goldberg came on board as an executive producer as well.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: Musician Brian Tyler composed the film's score, while singer Ariana Grande co-executive produced the soundtrack along with music producer Savan Kotecha and record executive Scooter Braun. Grande collaborated with fellow singers Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey on a song titled "Don't Call Me Angel", which was released as the lead single from the soundtrack on September 13, 2019. A promotional single, "How It's Done", by Kash Doll, Kim Petras, Alma, and Stefflon Don, was released on October 11. A second promotional single, "Pantera", by Brazilian singer Anitta, was released on October 23. The soundtrack and score albums were released on November 1 and 8, respectively.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: "Charlie's Angels" was released on November 15, 2019, by Columbia Pictures. Prior to this, Sony Pictures Releasing announced that the film would also be released in IMAX format in select theaters. The film was originally set for November 1 date, but was pushed back to avoid competition with "".


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: The first theatrical trailer for the film was released on June 27, followed by the second trailer on October 11. While Sony had originally intended to spend $100 million to promote the film, the company reduced the overall promotional cost to approximately $50 million in light of the film's underperformance during its opening weekend.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: "Charlie's Angels" grossed $17.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $55.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $73.3 million.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside "Ford v Ferrari" and "The Good Liar", and was projected to gross $10–12 million from 3,452 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $3.1 million on its first day (including $900,000 from Thursday night previews), it went on to debut to just $8.4 million, finishing in third place. Following the film's poor opening weekend, "Deadline Hollywood" cited the film's mixed critical response and a lack of public interest in the franchise as reasons for the underperformance. "The Hollywood Reporter" also observed that the film specifically "failed to attract moviegoers over the age of 35", as well as "younger females—its target audience—in enough numbers". In response to the film's opening weekend underperformance, Banks stated that she was proud of the film regardless. The film fell 61% to $3.2 million in its second weekend, finishing in eighth. "USA Today" and "Variety" ranked the film as one of the biggest box office failures of 2019.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of with an average score of , based on reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "Earnest and energetic, if a bit uneven, Elizabeth Banks's pulpy "Charlie's Angels" adds new flair to the franchise with fun performances from its three leads". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 69% (including an average 3 out of 5 stars), with 46% saying they would definitely recommend it.


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: Beandrea July of "The Hollywood Reporter" commended how the film "honors its precursors while elevating itself beyond them", while Sandra Hall of "The Sydney Morning Herald" opined that the film exudes a "jaunty feel" as well as incorporates "a few well-placed plot twists, lots of good-humored banter and the usual fun to be had from the Angels' fondness for disguise." Owen Gleiberman of "Variety" praised Elizabeth Banks' direction as a source of the film's strength, stating that she "proves herself to be a filmmaker who can stage fireworks with extreme flair." Writing for "The Boston Globe", Tom Russo favorably regarded Kristen Stewart's performance as "a completely unexpected, who-knew mash-up of sexy and offbeat". Likewise, Mark Lieberman of "The Washington Post" wrote that Stewart "upstages everyone, from the opening close-up on her gleeful grin to her array of colorful costumes, riotous non sequiturs and unconventional posture choices".


title: Charlie's Angels (2019 film)

text: In a mixed review, Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" was critical of the film's pacing and comedic dialogue, but highlighted Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska as "the angels you need when a movie needs rescuing." Similarly, Michael Phillips of the "Chicago Tribune" commented that the film's characters "have their fun, and we have a reasonable percentage of theirs," while the "New York Post"s Johnny Oleksinski noted conversely that the three actresses "click as a unit, but lack much of the exuberance and distinctiveness of their predecessors." Stephanie Zacharek of "Time" negatively regarded the film as "a shaggy, listless action movie that's too messy to be fun," the "Los Angeles Times" Kenneth Turan deemed the plot "overly complicated", "The Detroit News"s Adam Graham criticized the film as "out-of-style," and in an even more scathing review, BBC Online columnist Nicholas Barber called it "grimly unimaginative" and "tediously formulaic."


title: Troy Baker

text: Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in "The Last of Us" (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in "BioShock Infinite" (2013), Samuel "Sam" Drake in "" (2016) and "" (2017), Rhys in "Tales from the Borderlands (2014)," Delsin Rowe in "Infamous Second Son" (2014), Snow Villiers in "Final Fantasy XIII" (2010), Kanji Tatsumi in "Persona 4" (2008), Higgs Monaghan in "Death Stranding" (2019), and Talion in "" (2014) and "" (2017). Baker currently holds the record for the most acting nominations at the BAFTA Games Awards, with five between 2013 and 2021.


title: Troy Baker

text: Baker has also voiced Batman, Joker, Hawkeye, and Loki in various media, and has provided voices for a number of English dubs of anime, including "Bleach", "", "", "Code Geass", and "Soul Eater". He was previously the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the alternative rock band Tripp Fontaine, with whom he released an album titled "Random Thoughts on a Paper Napkin" (2004). He then released the solo album "Sitting in the Fire" (2014) before he and his backing band changed their name to Window to the Abbey and released the album "Moving Around Bias" (2017).


title: Troy Baker

text: Baker began his voice acting career doing radio commercials in Dallas. He was recruited by Christopher Sabat to do voice-over work at Funimation for the English adaptation of the anime "Case Closed". He went on to work in dubbing anime such as "Bleach", "Dragon Ball Z", "Fullmetal Alchemist", "", "Naruto", "Naruto: Shippuden", and the Funimation dub of "One Piece". He then moved to Los Angeles and began working on Marvel-based animated series, providing the voice of various characters in "", as well as Hawkeye and Loki in "Ultimate Spider-Man" and "Avengers Assemble".


title: Troy Baker

text: Baker's career in the video game industry began when he voiced Matt Baker in the tactical shooter series "Brothers in Arms". In an interview with "The Griff", he said, "It was starting to become necessary for actors to become involved [in gaming], so I got into that and it was literally stumbling from one job into the next. That was kind of my first snowball effect." His most notable roles came in 2013, when he provided the voice of Booker DeWitt in "BioShock Infinite" and the voice and motion capture of Joel in "The Last of Us". Both games earned critical acclaim, gaining scores over 90% on GameRankings and Metacritic, and widespread commercial success. He was nominated for both of these roles at VGX 2013, winning for "The Last of Us". He then worked on "", playing Nathan Drake's older brother Sam. He reprised the role in "".


title: Troy Baker

text: In 2011, Baker became the voice of Siris, the hero of Chair Entertainment's blockbuster mobile game series "Infinity Blade", and in 2014 he was the voice of Talion, the protagonist of "", which earned a rating of 9.3 on IGN. He also voiced Ace (Experiment 262) in the English dub of the anime "Stitch!" He was listed on "Entertainment Weekly" in their best of 2013 issue for best breakout actor in the video game industry for his performances in "The Last of Us", "BioShock Infinite", and as the Joker in "". He is one of the few actors to have portrayed Batman ("", "", "Lego Dimensions", "" and ""), the Joker ("Batman: Arkham Origins"), and the three major iterations of Robin (Tim Drake in "", Dick Grayson (as Nightwing) in "" and Jason Todd (as Red Hood and the main antagonist) in "".


title: Troy Baker

text: In May 2018, Baker and voice actor Nolan North began hosting the weekly YouTube series "Retro Replay". In April 2020, due to an apparent disagreement on the future direction of the show, Baker left to start his own series.


title: Troy Baker

text: On January 14, 2022, it was discovered that Voiceverse NFT, a company that Baker announced his partnership with, had stolen voice lines generated from 15.ai as part of their marketing campaign without permission. Log files showed that Voiceverse had generated audio of Twilight Sparkle and from the show "" using 15.ai, pitched them up to make them sound unrecognizable from the original voices, and appropriated them without proper credit to falsely market their own platform—a violation of 15.ai's terms of service.


title: Troy Baker

text: The initial partnership between Baker and Voiceverse was met with severe backlash and universally negative reception. Critics highlighted the environmental impact of and potential for exit scams associated with NFT sales. Commentators also pointed out the irony in Baker's initial tweet announcing the partnership, which ended: "You can hate. Or you can create. What'll it be?" This was hours before the public revelation that the company in question had resorted to theft instead of creating their own product. Baker responded that he appreciated people sharing their thoughts and their responses were "giving [him] a lot to think about". He also acknowledged that the "hate/create" part in his initial tweet might have been "a bit antagonistic", and asked fans on social media to forgive him.


title: Troy Baker

text: Two weeks later, on January 31, Baker announced that he would discontinue his partnership with Voiceverse.


title: Troy Baker

text: Before pursuing acting, Baker was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the alternative rock band Tripp Fontaine, which released the radio single "Burning Out" from their debut album "Random Thoughts on a Paper Napkin" in 2004.


title: Troy Baker

text: Baker's first solo album, "Sitting in the Fire", was released on October 14, 2014. On October 6, 2017, Baker and his backing band, also called Sitting in the Fire, released his second album "Moving Around Bias" under the new name of Window to the Abbey.


title: Troy Baker

text: Troy Baker was born in Dallas, Texas, on April 1, 1976. In 2012, Baker married photographer Pamela Walworth, also from Dallas. They reside in Los Angeles. Their son, Traveller Hyde Baker, was born on May 3, 2018.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Spiral (also known as Spiral: From the Book of Saw) is a 2021 American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger. It is the ninth installment and standalone sequel of the "Saw" film series. The film stars Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and Samuel L. Jackson, and follows police efforts to stop a Jigsaw copycat killer. The original creators of the series, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, as well as Rock and series veteran Kevin Greutert, serve as executive producers.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Talks of another "Saw" installment began after the release of "Jigsaw" in 2017, with Chris Rock wanting to branch out into the horror genre. The project was officially announced in May 2019, with Rock polishing a script by Stolberg and Goldfinger. The rest of the cast joined in July, with filming taking place in Toronto through that month and August.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Originally scheduled to be released in May 2020, "Spiral" was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 14, 2021, by Lionsgate Films. The film grossed a total of $40.6 million and received mixed reviews from critics.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: During a Fourth of July parade, off-duty Detective Marv Bozwick chases a thief down a sewer drain pipe. Attacked from behind by a figure wearing a pig mask, Bozwick awakens to find himself suspended by his tongue in an active subway tunnel and is given a choice via recorded message: tear out his tongue and live, or remain until the next train arrives, killing him. Unable to escape the trap in time, Bozwick is hit by the train and killed. The next day, police Captain Angie Garza assigns Detective Zeke Banks a new partner, idealistic rookie William Schenk. Banks and Schenk investigate Bozwick's death and Banks recognizes the elaborate trap as the modus operandi of the now deceased Jigsaw Killer.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Meanwhile, homicide detective Fitch – who several years prior had ignored a backup call from Banks, resulting in Banks nearly getting killed – is abducted and placed in a trap where he must allow a device to rip his fingers off to avoid electrocution in a filling water basin; he also fails to escape and dies. Some officers begin to suspect that Banks may be responsible, due to his history with Fitch. A box then arrives at the station, containing a pig puppet and a piece of Schenk's tattooed skin inside. A small vial inside the box directs the police to a butcher shop, which was previously a hobby shop that Banks and his father, retired chief Marcus Banks, used to visit. Upon arriving, the team discovers a tape recorder and a skinned corpse, identified as Schenk. Deciding to track down the killer himself, Marcus travels to a warehouse, where he is abducted. Shortly afterwards, Garza is kidnapped, and placed in a trap in the precinct's cold storage where she has to sever her spinal cord on a blade to stop boiling wax flowing from a pipe onto her face. She fails to do so and dies from her injuries. Moments later, Banks discovers her body.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: While chasing a lead, Banks is captured and wakes up at the warehouse, handcuffed to a pipe with a hacksaw nearby. He considers sawing off his arm, but successfully escapes using a loose bobby pin. He then discovers his former partner Peter Dunleavy, who was imprisoned when Banks exposed a murder he committed, chained in place. In front of him is a large glass-crushing machine, which has been modified to hurl shrapnel at him. A tape recorder explains that Banks can choose to either free him or leave him to die. Although Banks attempts to save Dunleavy, he cannot get the key in time. Moving to another room, Banks then finds Schenk, who is revealed to have faked his own death by using the skinned corpse of the thief who lured Bozwick into the tunnels, and has been the copycat all along. He explains that his last name is actually Emmerson, the son of Charlie Emmerson, who was the man Dunleavy killed because he had agreed to testify against a dirty cop. He also reveals that Marcus, during his time as chief, deliberately protected corrupt officers to "clean" the streets of crime more efficiently under Article 8.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Believing that Banks can be an ally, Emmerson presents him with a final test, revealing Marcus suspended above the floor and slowly being drained of blood. Emmerson calls 9-1-1 and claims that he is a civilian being pursued by a shooter, resulting in the dispatch of a SWAT team. He hands Banks a revolver with one cartridge, and offers him the choice to either shoot a target that will save Marcus but allow Emmerson to escape, or to kill Emmerson and let Marcus bleed to death. Banks shoots the target to save his father, causing his restraints to loosen and lowering him to the ground, and then begins to fight Emmerson. The SWAT team arrives and inadvertently triggers a tripwire, causing Marcus' restraints to yank him upward again. The movement reveals a gun affixed to Marcus' arm, leading the SWAT team to mistake him for the shooter and kill him. Banks screams in despair as Emmerson escapes.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: According to Chris Rock, the origins of "Spiral" came from a chance meeting with the vice chairman of Lionsgate, Michael Burns, at a friend's wedding in Brazil, and he felt doing something in the horror genre would be a new avenue to take in his career, though he planned to include some comedic elements in the film. Rock approached Lionsgate with his ideas of extending the franchise, who became very interested in the concept. Lionsgate's CEO Joe Drake said that Rock's idea was "completely reverential to the legacy of the material while reinvigorating the brand with his wit, creative vision and passion for this classic horror franchise". In April 2018, Twisted Pictures was beginning development of a sequel with "Jigsaw" writers Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Following the release of "Jigsaw", Stolberg and Goldfinger had been pitching a new "Saw" film focused solely on John Kramer / Jigsaw rather than on any of his established apprentices to series veterans Mark Burg and Oren Koules, but then Burg and Koules called the duo to inform them about Rock's ideas for a new film, with Rock contacting them shortly afterwards to discuss his concept. Prior to that, other writers had pitched their ideas for the next "Saw" film to Lionsgate, but none of them had succeeded, while Stolberg and Goldfinger had come up with eight different versions for the film before Rock arrived and merged his idea with that of the duo. Burg and Koules instructed the duo to come up with a pitch for Rock. Stolberg and Goldfinger did so, and their pitch was approved by both Lionsgate and Rock, leading them to write their first draft, which was greenlit a week after being turned in. Rock aided Stolberg and Goldfinger during the writing process, rewriting the story when necessary.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: An early iteration of the script had Rock's character related to Danny Glover's David Tapp from the first film. Stolberg and Goldfinger opted not to go in this direction as it "didn't pass the smell test".


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Tobin Bell, who played John Kramer / Jigsaw in all previous "Saw" films, did not return in the film, making "Spiral" the first film in the franchise which does not physically feature Bell or feature the Jigsaw character onscreen beyond photographs. Bousman explained that the film's killer is a "Jigsaw copycat", not the original Jigsaw, stating his intention to not recast Bell in the iconic role. Bell had expressed interest in returning as Jigsaw if the story delved into the origins of Billy the Puppet. Having Bell appear as Jigsaw in the film was widely discussed by Bousman and the crew until the last day of filming, but they felt that by bringing Bell back, the film would feel like the ninth installment of the "Saw" franchise rather than a separate film like it was intended to be. As the Jigsaw character was killed off in the third film, Bousman felt that previous films did a disservice by using flashbacks to bring Jigsaw into the story and he did not want to repeat the same mistake in "Spiral" nor to disrespect Bell's iconic performance. Bousman considered having Bell sing a Johnny Cash cover during the ending sequence. Bell recorded the cover, but Bousman dropped the idea as too gimmicky.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Although discussions took place after the first test screening and through post-production, Stolberg stated in an interview with Bloody Disgusting that Jigsaw was never included in any draft for the screenplay of "Spiral", as the filmmakers felt that including the would alter the "DNA" of the story they were trying to achieve and their desire to take the franchise in a new direction. Stolberg also felt that due to the franchise's timeline, any possible connection between John Kramer and William Schenk/the Spiral Killer would have been when the latter was still a child. Stolberg and Goldfinger proposed a post-credits scene in which Kramer bonds with a young Schenk after the murder of the latter's father, possibly giving him the puppet he later uses as the Spiral Killer. While this would create a relationship like those depicted in the first seven films, it was ultimately decided to abandon the idea.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: In a further effort to differentiate between the two storylines, Bousman decided to replace Billy the Puppet with a new puppet, Mr. Snuggles. Deeming Bell's voice as too iconic, filmmakers feared that reusing it for Mr. Snuggles could have raised questions about the relationship between the killers; an early draft actually featured Jigsaw's voice, which would then be revealed as a digitally altered version. The story originally had all the speeches taken from past recordings of Jigsaw's voice using words in a different order. The filmmakers struggled to find a new voice for the killer to replace Bell's, testing numerous voices of women, children, and men. They finally settled on the computer-generated voice heard in the final film only two days before finishing the sound mix.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: On May 16, 2019, the film entered pre-production. Former series director Darren Lynn Bousman returned to helm the film, along with Burg and Koules as producers. Rock was involved as an executive producer, in addition to writing the story treatment. The original "Saw" creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell, along with Daniel Heffner, joined Rock as executive producers. Stolberg and Goldfinger were confirmed as scriptwriters. With the announcement, Rock stated, "I've been a fan of "Saw" since the first film in 2004. I am excited by the opportunity to take this to a really intense and twisted new place". Bousman, who refused to direct another entry after "Saw IV", turned down the chance to direct a Broadway show in New York City after Rock insisted he direct the film. Burg and Koules said that Rock's treatment of "Saw" was comparable to what Eddie Murphy had done for buddy cop films in "48 Hrs.", giving the "Saw" series a "completely fresh perspective". Likewise, Bousman stated that in comparison to previous entries, "Spiral" included less violence and gore, expressing the conviction that the gore and violence were the gimmick for him back when he started working in the "Saw" films, but that both elements now serve the story, which focuses more on character, tension and fear. Stolberg also confirmed that the ninth installment would exist in the same canon as the previous eight films, and would not be a reboot or a direct sequel to "Jigsaw".


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Rock starred as Detective Zeke Banks. The character was conceived by Rock, Stolberg, and Goldfinger from the conversations they had before writing the screenplay, with Rock musing about what he would do if he were the original "Saw" protagonist Dr. Lawrence Gordon and be forced to cut off his own foot, until they decided that it would be interesting if Rock played a cop ostracized by his colleagues.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Samuel L. Jackson agreed to play Chief Marcus Banks out of interest in performing a situation he had never done before, like the climactic scene where his character is hanged up like a marionette. Marisol Nichols was cast as Captain Angie Garza; the role was originally written for a male actor, but the producers ultimately gave Nichols the role, who despite being a "Saw" fan, chose to not see the previous films but David Fincher's "Seven" in preparation for the role. In an attempt to pursue an acting career on film and television after years acting on stage, coming across with the film, Patrick McManus first auditioned for the role of Detective Marv Bozwick, but was called back to play Peter Dunleavy while Dan Petronijevic was cast as Bozwick.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: A fan of both horror and buddy-cop films, Max Minghella took on the role of William Schenk as he yearned of starring in a movie with simple story-telling like the buddy cops of his youth like "48 Hrs.", and when he read the script, he felt it was that along with a "Saw" film.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: On a production budget of $20 million, principal photography began on July 8, 2019, in Toronto, Ontario. Rock, Jackson, Minghella, and Nichols were announced to be starring in the film. Rock had provided rewrites on set, and completely overhauled the introduction scene for his character. According to Bousman, a scene featuring a trap had to be cut from the film due to it being "too gnarly". On August 28, 2019, filming officially wrapped up. During post-production, editing was completed by Dev Singh.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: "Spiral" was originally scheduled to be released by Lionsgate Films on October 23, 2020. In July 2019, it was moved up to May 15, 2020. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film's release was delayed to May 21, 2021, taking the spot previously scheduled for "". It was later moved up a week, to May 14, 2021, as theaters began reopening. According to Bousman, the film was given an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association 11 times before finally cutting enough scenes to get an R rating.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: "Spiral" was released on PVOD on June 1, 2021 in the United States and Canada. The film streamed on Starz beginning October 8, 2021, in the United States. On July 13, 2021, the 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD were released.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: The soundtrack EP of the film was created by rapper 21 Savage. It was released on May 14, 2021. It features guest appearances from 21 Savage's cousin, Young Nudy, Real Recognize Rio, 21 Lil Harold, SG Tip, Millie Go Lightly, Gunna, and Young Thug. It was produced by Kid Hazel, OZ, Turbo, and Taurus. The opening and title track of the EP was released as the lead single alongside its official music video on April 30, 2021. 21 Savage was also the executive producer of the film's soundtrack.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: In the United States and Canada, "Spiral" was released against "Those Who Wish Me Dead", "Profile", and "Finding You", and was projected to gross $10–15 million from 2,811 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $3.7 million on its first day (including $750,000 from Thursday night previews), lowering projections to $9 million. It went on to debut to $8.8 million, topping the box office (the sixth time for the series) but marking the lowest opening weekend of the franchise. Audiences reported on were 56% male and 75% under the age of 35, with a positive response appearing more frequently along the East Coast of the United States. It remained in first place the following weekend, dropping 48% to $4.6 million.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: "Spiral" grossed $23.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $17.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $40.6 million.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 37% based on 226 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads, ""Spiral: From the Book of Saw" suggests an interesting new direction for the "Saw" franchise, even if the gory sum is rather less than its parts." Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 40 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 63% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 43% saying they would definitely recommend it.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: In his review for "Variety", Owen Gleiberman wrote that the film "takes an unexpected twist or two but considering that [...] it's a thriller pegged to the issue of police immorality, the film confronts that theme in a weirdly untopical, almost garishly generic way." William Bibbiani of the "TheWrap" wrote: "The screenplay captures the grizzled-cop-movie tone and draws some memorable characters, but the storyline is rote, the mystery is frustratingly predictable, and the imaginative deaths are less imaginative than ever. "Spiral" sacrifices entertainment value for respectability and in the process doesn't quite achieve either."


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: From "The Hollywood Reporter", Lovia Gyarkye found "Spiral" to be "a legitimately frightening, if unevenly paced, detective thriller" while also criticizing its screenplay for failing to convey the "potential tensions" between the father-and-son relationship of its main characters. The "San Francisco Chronicle"s Mick LaSalle gave praise to the acting and "Spiral" "straightforward but compelling premise," but commented that the voice of the mysterious killer sounded like Kermit the Frog."


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Benjamin Lee of "The Guardian" gave the film one star out of five and criticized its ending, writing that he felt it was "rushed and half-assed" and "stupidly written and worst of all increasingly dull", ending his review by saying "Game over." Brian Tallerico, in his one-and-a-half-star review for "RogerEbert.com", praised the cast but gave the film negative marks for its tone and Darren Lynn Bousman's direction, calling it "downright illegible" for its lack of tension, story, and progression in the plot. Lena Wilson, of "The New York Times", praised the opening scene but found it to be the only good part of the film, concluding "the premise is disingenuous at best and [...] fearmongering at worst. Like Jigsaw offering one of his facile riddles, this film is not as clever as it thinks it is."


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Siddhant Adlakha of "IGN" gave the film a 3 out of 10 rating, stating that "A sequel that hopes to court "Saw" fans and mainstream audiences alike, "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" is likely to alienate them both. It's a hollow imitation of the series, unable to meet its most basic visual and narrative expectations. It's also a bad film in general, which tries to tell a socially relevant story that it can't seem to handle." He also criticized the film for its lack of connection to the "Saw" franchise, stating that ""Spiral: From the Book of Saw" is barely a "Saw" film, delivering only briefly on the visceral thrill of mutilation, and on none of the series' other tenets. It's also the most artless, tactless version of what it plays like instead: a rejected pilot episode for a rote police procedural."


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Katie Rife of "The A.V. Club" said that "It's not a waste of a concept, exactly. But it's not the reinvention that the franchise needs, either. Rock's involvement brings some new blood to "Spiral", but after a promising start, the film just becomes a pretty okay "Saw" movie with some bigger names than usual—one whose jaundiced lighting and procedural storytelling recall David Fincher's "Se7en" more than anything. If the game was to see if a fresh take on a long-running franchise could survive being sliced and diced by the sequel machine, consider it lost."


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: Chris Evangelista of "/Film" gave the film a negative review, stating that ""Spiral" blunders through its central mystery without grace or style, or even much thought. Even the death traps are weirdly uninspired." He acknowledged the film had potential, saying that "The most frustrating thing about "Spiral" is that there is a better, smarter movie lurking beneath all the nonsense here; all the quick cuts and speed ramping scenes; all the terrible dialogue that's shouted at full volume. "Spiral" is ultimately a film about corrupt, and even murderous cops suddenly facing a reckoning, and that sort of material has the potential to be both subversive – for a Hollywood movie, at least – and timely" but said that ""Spiral" is almost maddening in how little it seems to care about any of this. It simply wants to shed a lot of blood – and it does."


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: In April 2021, a sequel film, titled "Saw X", was confirmed to be in development with Twisted Pictures. However, Bousman stated that it was a premature announcement that surprised him and the film's producers. He said, "Just because we made "Spiral" doesn't mean "Saw" ceases to exist. Just because "Spiral" is here, that doesn't mean there won't be a "Saw IX". This is not the ninth film in the "Saw" franchise. There easily could be a "Saw IX" that follows "Jigsaw". I think they're waiting to see how "Spiral" goes and how audiences respond to determine what happens next." Josh Stolberg confirmed the script was finished in December of that same year. On August 15, 2022, "Bloody Disgusting" confirmed that a tenth "Saw" film would be released on October 27, 2023, with Kevin Greutert to direct. In October 2022, Tobin Bell was set to reprise the role of John Kramer / Jigsaw for the film.


title: Spiral (2021 film)

text: In an April 2021 interview with "Deadline Hollywood", Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs announced that Lionsgate TV is in early talks to develop a television series based on "Spiral", alongside Mark Burg and Oren Koules' Twisted Television productions.


title: Faust

text: Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).


title: Faust

text: The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. The Faust legend has been the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical works that have reinterpreted it through the ages. "Faust" and the adjective "Faustian" imply sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain.


title: Faust

text: The Faust of early books—as well as the ballads, dramas, movies, and puppet-plays which grew out of them—is irrevocably damned because he prefers human knowledge over divine knowledge: "he laid the Holy Scriptures behind the door and under the bench, refused to be called doctor of theology, but preferred to be styled doctor of medicine". Plays and comic puppet theatre loosely based on this legend were popular throughout Germany in the 16th century, often reducing Faust and Mephistopheles to figures of vulgar fun. The story was popularised in England by Christopher Marlowe, who gave it a classic treatment in his play "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" (c. 1587). In Goethe's reworking of the story over two hundred years later, Faust becomes a dissatisfied intellectual who yearns for "more than earthly meat and drink" in his life.


title: Faust

text: Faust is unsatisfied with his life as a scholar and becomes depressed. After an attempt to take his own life, he calls on the Devil for further knowledge and magic powers with which to indulge all the pleasure and knowledge of the world. In response, the Devil's representative, Mephistopheles, appears. He makes a bargain with Faust: Mephistopheles will serve Faust with his magic powers for a set number of years, but at the end of the term, the Devil will claim Faust's soul, and Faust will be eternally enslaved.


title: Faust

text: During the term of the bargain, Faust makes use of Mephistopheles in various ways. In Goethe's drama, and many subsequent versions of the story, Mephistopheles helps Faust seduce a beautiful and innocent girl, usually named Gretchen, whose life is ultimately destroyed when she gives birth to Faust's bastard son. Realizing this unholy act, she drowns the child and is held for murder. However, Gretchen's innocence saves her in the end, and she enters Heaven after execution. In Goethe's rendition, Faust is saved by God via his constant striving—in combination with Gretchen's pleadings with God in the form of the eternal feminine. However, in the early tales, Faust is irrevocably corrupted and believes his sins cannot be forgiven; when the term ends, the Devil carries him off to Hell.


title: Faust

text: The tale of Faust bears many similarities to the Theophilus legend recorded in the 13th century, writer Gautier de Coincy's "Les Miracles de la Sainte Vierge". Here, a saintly figure makes a bargain with the keeper of the infernal world but is rescued from paying his debt to society through the mercy of the Blessed Virgin. A depiction of the scene in which he subordinates himself to the Devil appears on the north tympanum of the Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris.


title: Faust

text: The origin of Faust's name and persona remains unclear. In the "Historia Brittonum", Faustus is the offspring of an incestuous marriage between king Vortigern and Vortigern's own daughter.


title: Faust

text: The character is ostensibly based on Johann Georg Faust (c. 1480–1540), a magician and alchemist probably from Knittlingen, Württemberg, who obtained a degree in divinity from Heidelberg University in 1509, but the legendary Faust has also been connected with Johann Fust (c. 1400–1466), Johann Gutenberg's business partner, which suggests that Fust is one of the multiple origins to the Faust story.


title: Faust

text: The character in Polish folklore named Pan Twardowski presents similarities with Faust. The Polish story seems to have originated at roughly the same time as its German counterpart, yet it is unclear whether the two tales have a common origin or influenced each other. The historical Johann Georg Faust had studied in Kraków for a time and may have served as the inspiration for the character in the Polish legend.


title: Faust

text: The first known printed source of the legend of Faust is a small chapbook bearing the title "Historia von D. Johann Fausten", published in 1587. The book was re-edited and borrowed from throughout the 16th century. Other similar books of that period include:


title: Faust

text: Related tales about a pact between man and the Devil include the plays "Mariken van Nieumeghen" (Dutch, early 16th century, author unknown), "Cenodoxus" (German, early 17th century, by Jacob Bidermann) and The Countess Cathleen (Irish legend of unknown origin believed by some to be taken from the French play "Les marchands d'âmes").


title: Faust

text: Staufen, a town in the extreme southwest of Germany, claims to be where Faust died (c. 1540); depictions appear on buildings, etc. The only historical source for this tradition is a passage in the "Chronik der Grafen von Zimmern", which was written around 1565, 25 years after Faust's presumed death. These chronicles are generally considered reliable, and in the 16th century there were still family ties between the lords of Staufen and the counts of Zimmern in nearby Donaueschingen.


title: Faust

text: In Christopher Marlowe's original telling of the tale, Wittenburg where Faust studied was also written as Wertenberge. This has led to a measure of speculation as to where precisely his story is set. Some scholars have suggested the Duchy of Württemberg; others have suggested an allusion to Marlowe's own Cambridge (Gill, 2008, p. 5)


title: Faust

text: The early Faust chapbook, while in circulation in northern Germany, found its way to England, where in 1592 an English translation was published, "The Historie of the Damnable Life, and Deserved Death of Doctor Iohn Faustus" credited to a certain "P. F., Gent[leman]". Christopher Marlowe used this work as the basis for his more ambitious play, "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" (published c. 1604). Marlowe also borrowed from John Foxe's "Book of Martyrs", on the exchanges between Pope Adrian VI and a rival pope.


title: Faust

text: Another important version of the legend is the play "Faust," written by the German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The first part, which is the one more closely connected to the earlier legend, was published in 1808, the second posthumously in 1832.


title: Faust

text: Goethe's "Faust" complicates the simple Christian moral of the original legend. A hybrid between a play and an extended poem, Goethe's two-part "closet drama" is epic in scope. It gathers together references from Christian, medieval, Roman, eastern, and Hellenic poetry, philosophy, and literature.


title: Faust

text: The composition and refinement of Goethe's own version of the legend occupied him, off and on, for over sixty years. The final version, published after his death, is recognized as a great work of German literature.