title: John Madden

text: From 1988 on, Madden lent his name, voice and creative input to the "John Madden Football" series of football video games, later called "Madden NFL", published by EA Sports/Electronic Arts. Entries in the series have consistently been best-sellers, to the extent that they have even spawned TV shows featuring competition between players of the games. Despite Madden's retirement as a broadcaster in 2009, he still continued to lend his name and provide creative input to the series, which were so popular that he became better known as the face of "Madden" to contemporary football fans than as a Super Bowl-winning coach and broadcaster, up until his death in 2021.


title: John Madden

text: Madden viewed the game as an educational tool. During initial planning conversations with Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins in 1984, Madden envisioned the program as a tool for teaching and testing plays. He stated in 2012 that "Madden NFL" was "a way for people to learn the game [of football] and participate in the game at a pretty sophisticated level".


title: John Madden

text: The EA Sports series continued to use his name, iconography and licence following his death, and announced on Madden Day (June 1, 2022) that all editions of "Madden NFL 23" would feature Madden on the cover in tribute of his legacy, with the next gen version cover being a picture of Madden celebrating his victory as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XI and the All Madden Edition cover is based on the cover of the series' 1st installment, "John Madden Football".


title: John Madden

text: Madden met his wife, Virginia Fields, in a bar in Pismo Beach, California, marrying on December 26, 1959. They lived in Pleasanton, California, and had two sons, Joseph and Michael. Joe played football at Brown University and Mike attended Harvard University, where he started as receiver on the football team.


title: John Madden

text: Madden's aversion to flying was well known, although his fear was not realized until many years into his adult life. He had lost people close to him in the October 29, 1960, California Polytechnic State University football team plane crash that claimed the lives of 16 players, the team's student manager, and a football booster. However, it was not until 1979 that he had his first panic attack on a flight originating in Tampa, Florida; he never flew on a plane again. Madden, however, stated once in an interview that his fears were not about turbulence, flying, or heights, but primarily claustrophobia.


title: John Madden

text: During his "Saturday Night Live" hosting appearance in the early 1980s, a short film aired depicting Madden making the journey to New York City to host "SNL" by train. In the mid-1980s, Madden was a frequent rider on Amtrak's "Lake Shore Limited"; Amtrak let the famous customer use the dining car at any time. However, beginning in 1987, Greyhound Lines supplied Madden with a custom bus and drivers in exchange for advertising and speaking events, dubbed the Madden Cruiser. The Madden Cruiser shells are manufactured by Motor Coach Industries. The coach-bus sponsors over the years have included Walker Advantage Muffler and Outback Steakhouse.


title: John Madden

text: Madden never did commentary for the Pro Bowl, which was held in Honolulu during every year of his broadcasting career. Likewise, Madden never called any preseason game held outside of North America, even when his play-by-play partner was on the telecast. Madden found an unexpected use for his bus in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks, when he provided transportation for former ice-skating champion Peggy Fleming, whose flight home to Los Gatos, California, had been grounded. In contrast to Madden's aversion to flying, his widow Virginia took flying lessons.


title: John Madden

text: Madden died of undisclosed causes at his home in Pleasanton, California, on December 28, 2021, at the age of 85. In a press release announcing Madden's death, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that Madden ""was" football", adding, "there will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today."


title: John Madden

text: In addition to hosting an annual bocce tournament which raised money for both the Special Olympics and diabetes research, Madden began funding six scholarships to his alma mater, Cal Poly, for students graduating from various East Bay high schools, starting in September 2021.


title: John Madden

text: In October 2022, Cal Poly and the Madden family announced that Madden had donated a leading contribution toward a total $30-million football facility on the Cal Poly campus. The facility, to be named the John Madden Football Center, would furnish all-new lockers, strength and conditioning facilities, a nutrition center, offices, training rooms and a film-review theater for the team's coaches, players and trainers. The facility will encompass 30,000 square feet and is anticipated to open in 2024, with the entrance adjacent to the university's memorial for the 1960 airline crash victims, many of whom were Madden's friends.


title: John Madden

text: As of June 2016, Madden's bocce tournament, co-hosted with Steve Mariucci, had raised $5 million for Northern California Special Olympics, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Diabetes Youth Foundation.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: X-Men: First Class (stylized on-screen as X: First Class) is a 2011 American superhero film based on the X-Men characters appearing in Marvel Comics. It is the fourth mainline installment in the "X-Men" film series and the fifth installment overall. It was directed by Matthew Vaughn and produced by Bryan Singer, and stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Oliver Platt, and Kevin Bacon. At the time of its release, it was intended to be a franchise reboot and contradicted the events of "" (2009); however, the follow-up film "" (2014) retconned "First Class" into a prequel to "X-Men" (2000). "First Class" is set primarily in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and focuses on the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto, and the origin of their groups—the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, respectively, as they deal with the Hellfire Club led by Sebastian Shaw, a mutant supremacist bent on enacting nuclear war.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Producer Lauren Shuler Donner first thought of a prequel based on the young X-Men during the production of "X2"; producer Simon Kinberg later suggested to 20th Century Fox an adaptation of the comic series "", although the film does not follow the comic closely. Singer, who had directed both "X-Men" and "X2", became involved with the project in 2009, but he could only produce and co-write "First Class" due to his work on other projects. Vaughn, who was previously attached to both "" and "Thor", became the director, and also wrote the final script with his writing partner Jane Goldman. "First Class" replaced a Magneto prequel film that had been in development, but had entered development hell; the Writers Guild of America arbitration gave a story credit to "Magneto" writer Sheldon Turner. Principal photography began in August 2010 and concluded in December, with additional filming completed in April 2011. Locations included Oxford, the Mojave Desert and Georgia, with soundstage work done in both Pinewood Studios and the 20th Century Fox stages in Los Angeles. The depiction of the 1960s drew inspiration from the James Bond films of the period.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: "First Class" premiered on Ziegfeld Theatre on May 25, 2011, and was released in the United States on June 3, 2011. It was a box office success, becoming the seventh highest-grossing in the film series, and received positive reviews from critics and audiences, who praised its acting, screenplay, direction, action sequences, visual effects, and musical score. The film's success re-popularized the "X-Men" film franchise with various installments following, including a number of sequels focusing on younger iterations of the X-Men characters, with "" (2014), "" (2016), and "Dark Phoenix" (2019).


title: X-Men: First Class

text: In 1944, at the Auschwitz concentration camp, Nazi officer Klaus Schmidt witnesses young prisoner Erik Lehnsherr bend a metal gate with his mind upon being separated from his mother. In his office, Schmidt orders Erik to move a coin on his desk, and kills his mother when Erik can't. In grief and anger, Erik's magnetic power manifests, killing two guards and destroying the room. Separately, at a mansion in Westchester County, New York, child telepath Charles Xavier meets young shapeshifter Raven, whose natural form is blue-skinned and scaly. Overjoyed to meet someone "different", like himself, he invites her to live with his family as his foster sister.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: In 1962, Erik is tracking down Schmidt to avenge his mother, while Xavier earns his doctorate from the University of Oxford as Professor of Genetics. In Las Vegas, CIA officer Moira MacTaggert follows U.S. Army Colonel Hendry into the Hellfire Club, where she sees Schmidt (now called Sebastian Shaw) with mutant telepath Emma Frost, cyclone-producing Riptide, and teleporter Azazel. Threatened by Shaw and teleported to the Joint War Room, Hendry advocates deploying nuclear missiles in Turkey. Shaw, an energy-absorbing mutant whose powers have kept him young, later kills Hendry.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Moira, seeking Xavier's advice on mutation, takes him and Raven to the CIA, where they convince Director McCone that mutants exist and Shaw is a threat. Another CIA officer sponsors the mutants and invites them to the secret "Division X" facility. Moira and Xavier find Shaw as Erik is attacking him, and rescue Erik from drowning. Shaw escapes. Xavier brings Erik to Division X, where they meet young scientist Hank McCoy, a mutant with prehensile feet, who believes Raven's DNA may provide a "cure" for their appearance. Xavier uses McCoy's mutant-locating device Cerebro to seek recruits against Shaw. Xavier and Erik recruit stripper Angel Salvadore, cabbie Armando Muñoz, Army prisoner Alex Summers, and drifter Sean Cassidy. They create nicknames, Raven dubbing herself "Mystique".


title: X-Men: First Class

text: When Frost meets with a Soviet general in the USSR, and uses her telepathic powers to manipulate him, Xavier and Erik capture her and discover Shaw intends to start World War III, triggering mutant ascendency. Azazel, Riptide and Shaw attack Division X, killing everyone but the mutants, whom Shaw invites to join him. Salvadore accepts; when Alex and Muñoz retaliate, Shaw kills Muñoz. In Moscow, Shaw compels the general to have the USSR install missiles in Cuba. Wearing a helmet that blocks telepathy, Shaw follows the Soviet fleet in a submarine to ensure the missiles break a U.S. blockade.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: McCoy uses the cure on himself but it backfires, giving him blue fur and leonine aspects. With McCoy piloting, the mutants and Moira take a jet to the blockade line, where Xavier uses his telepathy to influence a Soviet sailor to destroy the ship carrying the missiles, and Erik uses his magnetic power to lift Shaw's submarine from the water and deposit it on land. During the ensuing battle, Erik seizes Shaw's helmet, allowing Xavier to immobilize Shaw. While Shaw is helpless, Erik reveals he shares Shaw's exclusivist view of mutants but, to avenge his mother, uses his power to kill Shaw by slowly pushing a Nazi coin through Shaw's brain, killing him. Unable to risk releasing Shaw, Xavier begs Erik to stop, but is forced to experience the pain of Shaw's death.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Both fleets fire missiles at the mutants, which Erik turns back in mid-flight. Moira tries to stop Erik by shooting him but he deflects the bullets, one of which hits Xavier in the spine. Erik rushes to help Xavier and, distracted, allows the missiles to fall harmlessly into the ocean. Parting with Xavier over their differing views on the relationship between mutants and humans, Erik leaves with Salvadore, Azazel, Riptide and Mystique. Later, a wheelchair-bound Xavier and his mutants are at the mansion, where he intends to open a school. Moira promises Xavier never to reveal his location, but Xavier makes sure of this by wiping her memories. Meanwhile, Erik, along with Mystique and the other Hellfire Club members, frees Frost from confinement and dubs himself "Magneto".


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Other cast members include Caleb Landry Jones as Cassidy / Banshee: a mutant capable of emitting incredibly strong ultrasonic screams, sonic blasts, sonic bursts, and sonic waves used in various ways including as a means of flight. Jones auditioned without knowing what X-Men character he was up for, saying he auditioned because it was a superhero that fit his biotype: "I've got red hair and freckles, I'm not gonna be Batman, Robin or Spider-Man". The actor also stated that the script defined the character more than the comics, as Banshee went through various reinventions in print. Given Banshee gets involved with MacTaggert in the comics, Jones also tried to "look at her just a little bit differently, you know, when I can." As Jones suffers from acrophobia, using the rig that was to depict Banshee's flight required much preparation time with the stunt team. Zoë Kravitz portrays Angel Salvadore: a mutant with dragonfly wings which are tattooed on her body and who possesses acidic saliva. The make-up team took four hours to apply Angel's wing tattoo on Kravitz, and the visual effects team had to erase the tattoo in case the scene required Angel with the computer-generated wings. To depict flight, Kravitz stood on elevated platforms and was dangled on wires, at times from a helicopter to allow for varied camera angles. Álex González portrays Janos Quested / Riptide: a silent mutant member of the Hellfire Club, with the ability to create powerful whirlwinds from his hands and body. "First Class" marks the first English-language film for González, who auditioned while taking English classes in London. He enjoyed playing a villain as most of his film roles in Spain were for "good guys", and compared Riptide's respectable and polite personality, which can suddenly be dropped to perform fierce attacks, to a hurricane; in a translation of a Portuguese-language interview, he is quoted as saying, "When I see a hurricane from far, it is calm. The only thing I can see is a kind of tube. But from inside, up close, it is really dangerous."


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Additionally, co-stars include Glenn Morshower as Colonel Hendry, a US Army officer coerced by the Hellfire Club; Matt Craven as CIA Director McCone; Rade Šerbedžija as Russian General. Annabelle Wallis appears as Amy, a young woman with heterochromia; Don Creech as William Stryker, father of Major William Stryker (a character who appears in "X2", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", "X-Men: Days of Future Past", and "X-Men: Apocalypse"); Michael Ironside; Ray Wise; James Remar; Brendan Fehr; Demetri Goritsas; Ludger Pistor; Aleksander Krupa; and Sasha Pieterse also portrayed small roles in this film. Beth Goddard appears as Mrs. Xavier. Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine in an uncredited cameo in a bar, telling Xavier and Lehnsherr to "go fuck yourself" after they approach him for recruitment. Jackman said he accepted the offer to appear because "it sounded perfect to me", particularly for Wolverine being the only character with a swear word. X-Men creator Stan Lee, who appeared in the first and third movie and regularly cameos in other Marvel-based movies, explained that he was unable to participate in "First Class" because "they shot it too far away".


title: X-Men: First Class

text: During the production of "X2", producer Lauren Shuler Donner had discussed the idea of a film focusing on the young X-Men with the crew, which was met with approval; the concept was revived during the production of "". One of "The Last Stand"s writers, Zak Penn, was hired to write and direct this spin-off, but this idea later fell through. Penn explained in 2007 that "the original idea was to have me do a young X-Men spin-off, a spin-off of the young X-Men characters. But someone came up with a pretty interesting idea ... it was this guy who worked with me named Mike Chamoy, he worked a lot with me on "X3". He came up with how to do a young X-Men movie which is not what you'd expect."


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Around the same time, in December 2004, 20th Century Fox hired screenwriter Sheldon Turner to draft a spin-off "X-Men" film, and he chose to write "Magneto", pitching it as ""The Pianist" meets "X-Men"." According to Turner, the script he penned was set from 1939 to 1955, following Magneto trying to survive in Auschwitz. He meets Xavier, a young soldier, during the liberation of the camp. He hunts down the Nazi war criminals who tortured him, and this lust for vengeance turns him and Xavier into enemies. In April 2007, David S. Goyer was hired to direct. The film would take place mostly in flashbacks with actors in their twenties, with Ian McKellen's older Magneto as a framing device, and some usage of the computer-generated facelift applied to him in the prologue of "", McKellen reiterated his hope to open and close the film. The Magneto film was planned to shoot in Australia for a 2009 release, but factors including the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike caused the producers to cancel plans for the movie.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: As producer Simon Kinberg read the comic series "", he suggested studio 20th Century Fox to adapt it. Kinberg, however, did not want to follow the comic too much, as he felt "it was not fresh enough in terms of storytelling", considering them too similar to "Twilight" and John Hughes movies, and also because the producers wanted an adaptation that would introduce new characters. Both Kinberg and Shuler Donner said that they wanted characters with visuals and powers that had not been seen and that worked well as an ensemble, even if they did not work together in the comics. Shuler Donner later said that the original idea was to green-light "First Class" depending on the success of "X-Men Origins: Magneto". That project was seeking approval to film in Washington, D.C., and by December 2008, Goyer said filming would begin if "" was successful. The story was moved forward to 1962, and involves Xavier and Magneto battling a villain.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: In 2008, Josh Schwartz was hired to write the screenplay, while declining the possibility of directing "X-Men: First Class". Fox later approached Bryan Singer, director of "X-Men" and "X2", in October 2009. Schwartz later said that Singer dismissed his work as "he wanted to make a very different kind of movie", with the director instead writing his own treatment which was then developed into a new script by Jamie Moss.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: In 2009, Ian McKellen confirmed that he would not be reprising his role as Magneto in the "Origins" movie citing his age, and Shuler Donner stated that the movie might never be made, stating it was "at the back of the queue" in the studio's priorities. Both Donner and Bryan Singer have stated that "Magneto" would not be produced as the plot of "X-Men: First Class" "superseded" the story of the planned film. Singer denied using Sheldon Turner's script for "Magneto" as inspiration to write his draft of "First Class", but the Writers Guild of America arbitration still credited Turner for the film's story, while Moss and Schwartz's collaborations ended up uncredited. Singer set the film in a period where Xavier and Magneto were in their twenties, and seeing that it was during the 1960s, added the Cuban Missile Crisis as a backdrop, considering it would be interesting to "discuss this contemporary concept in a historical context". Shuler Donner suggested the Hellfire Club as the villains.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: In addition to Moss, Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz were hired to rewrite the script. Miller compared it tonally to Singer's work on the first two "X-Men" films. The pair centered the film on Xavier and Magneto's relationship, and wrote the other characters and storylines in terms of "how they fit in the tension between Erik and Charles". Singer dropped out of the director's position in March 2010 due to his commitment to a "Jack the Giant Killer" adaptation. He formalized his duties from director to producer.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: The producers listed various possible directors, but at first did not consider Matthew Vaughn because he started working on "The Last Stand" before backing out. After seeing Vaughn's satirical superhero film "Kick-Ass" (2010), Kinberg decided to contact Vaughn to see if he would be interested in "First Class". When Fox offered Vaughn the "chance to reboot X-Men and put your stamp all over it", he first thought the studio was joking, but accepted after discovering that it was to be set in the 1960s. The director stated that "First Class" would become the opportunity to combine many of his dream projects: "I got my cake and ate it, managed to do an "X-Men" movie, and a Bond thing, and a Frankenheimer political thriller at the same time". Vaughn signed on as Singer's replacement in May 2010, and Fox subsequently announced a June 3, 2011 release date. Vaughn also rewrote the script with his screenwriting partner Jane Goldman, adding new characters and changing existing character arcs and dynamics—for instance, the idea of a love triangle between Xavier, Magneto and Moira MacTaggert was cut. The character of Sunspot was also cut, as the director felt that "we didn't have enough time or money" to make the character work. Vaughn and Goldman considered including mentions to the civil rights movement, but ultimately the director felt that "I had enough political subplot in this movie". Vaughn stated that his biggest concern was to both make Erik and Charles' friendship believable given the short timespan of the film, and on how the character of Magneto was built—"Shaw was the villain, but now you're seeing all those elements of Shaw going into Magneto." An action scene that was to have been set in a dream sequence with revolving rooms was scrapped after the release of "Inception" (2010).


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Describing his thought process towards the material, Vaughn said he was motivated by "unfinished business" with Marvel, having been previously involved with the production of both "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "Thor". Vaughn declared that he was more enthusiastic about "First Class" than "The Last Stand" due to not being constrained by the previous installments, and having the opportunity to "start fresh", while "nodding towards" the successful elements from those films. Vaughn compared "First Class" to both "Batman Begins" (2005), which restarted a franchise with an unseen approach, and the 2009 "Star Trek" film, which paid homage to the original source material while taking it in a new direction with a fresh, young cast. Regarding continuity, Vaughn said his intention was "to make as good a film that could stand on its own two feet regardless of all the other films" and also that could "reboot and start a whole new X-Men franchise". Goldman added the film was kind of an "alternate history" for the X-Men, saying that while rebooting, the writers did not want to go fully "against the canon of the "X-Men" trilogy", comparing to the various approaches the comic had in over fifty years of publication.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: The film also resurrects a central concept in the comics, the fact that radiation is one of the causes of genetic mutation in the "X-Men" fictional universe, and incorporates it into the story line. The concept went unused in previous years because writers in the comics more often attributed the phenomenon of mutation mostly to evolution and natural selection.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Principal photography began on August 31, 2010, in Oxford, England, which included St Aldate's street and some of the University of Oxford's buildings, and lasted for two days. Production then moved to Pinewood Studios in Iver, and to Georgia in October, including Tybee Island, Thunderbolt, and Savannah, after sites in Louisiana, North Carolina and West Michigan were considered. Jekyll Island was chosen over Tybee Island after a producer reviewed the locations on Google Earth and thought the water near Jekyll looked more blue. Palm trees were planted into the island's sand so that it would look more like a tropical beach, but the cold weather caused many of the palm trees to become brown or die only days into the shoot, necessitating significant digital color correction from the visual effects team. Additional location shooting took place in Russia. A section of the plot is set in the Argentine coastal city of Villa Gesell, but was filmed in another province of the country with no beach but with mountains instead. Washington, D.C., the Mojave Desert and Fox's soundstages in Los Angeles also served as locations. The Englefield House in Berkshire served as the X-Mansion, and had its interior decoration adapted to resemble the way the mansion looked in the previous films. Both the submarine and the X-Jet were built on hydraulic sets so that they could be rotated for the vehicles' movements.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Principal photography ended in December, although just half of the climax had actually been filmed because producers realized the originally planned one was not going to work. Additional filming, primarily in California at Los Angeles and Long Beach soundstages, continued into April 2011, leaving only three-to-four weeks for post-production before the film's scheduled premiere in June. The tight schedule to meet the release date led Vaughn to declare that he had "never worked under such time pressure". The film cost approximately $160 million to produce without tax breaks, with the eventual cost around $140 million.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: The 1960s setting of "X-Men: First Class", technologically inspired by the "James Bond" films of that era, also added to the international feel of the characters. Kinberg said the series was a major influence for the way they "did a cool job representing the period, in a way it still felt muscular and action-oriented", and Vaughn added that Magneto was his attempt to recreate Sean Connery's Bond in both style and the "badass, charming, ruthless and sweet" personality. The director said his goal was to "feel like a '60s Bond film, but with a little bit of reality it could be grounded in. I wanted there to be just a hint of this world of the mutants coming through. A mutant in this world having powers needed to be the equivalent of you or I sneezing, as normal as possible, at least until the humans start seeing it for the first time." At the same time, Vaughn tried to do the "bloody hard balancing" of modern and antique to recreate the 1960s in way it was "not so alien to the kids that it looked like a period piece." The director also tried to depict the era still in a realistic way, particularly "that '60s misogynist vibe" with women in skimpy suits, and MacTaggert's reliability as a CIA agent being questioned. There is also a nod to the 1950s and 60s in the scenes set in "Oxford University", starting with the "heterochromia scene". These are set in a pub called "the Eagle", next to the famous "Bridge of Sighs" in Oxford, but there is no such pub. This seems to be a reference to the Eagle pub in Cambridge, where Crick and Watson infamously announced their solution to the structure of DNA (in 1953), very relevant to the themes of the film.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Vaughn said he shot the film in a way which resembled the productions of the 1960s, with "very traditional framing, and camera movement when it needs to move, not just throwing it around and whizz-bang", and using the anamorphic format "to create a widescreen experience, which is emblematic of '60s movies, such as the "James Bond" films". The director had to hire five cinematographers – with sole credit being given to John Mathieson, who came halfway through the shoot and did "forty-five percent, fifty-five percent" of the film—and four assistant directors to successfully convey the look he wanted for the film. Visual effects supervisor Matt Johnson added that for the lighting of the digital interior of Cerebro, "keeping with the '60s vibe, we put in some old school elements such as lens flare and chromatic aberration and edge fringing." The aesthetics of the decade were also invoked by designers Simon Clowes and Kyle Cooper of Prologue Films, who were responsible for the end credits and tried to do something that "could be done with traditional optical". The credits animation depicts DNA strands through simple geometric shapes, drawing inspiration from both Saul Bass and Maurice Binder's work in the "Bond" films.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: The origin story made the X-Men costumes resemble the ones in the original comics, while still being functional, with the yellow parts resembling Kevlar and the blue looking like ballistic nylon, and resembling 1962 apparel in both the fabrics and the "Space Age fashion". The costumes tried to convey the character personalities—for instance, Xavier wore loose clothes, and Emma Frost's costumes were white and shimmery. Magneto's costume at the film's ending also closely resembled the original version from the comics, and three versions of his helmet were made, two to fit Fassbender's head and one for Bacon's.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: "First Class" employed 1,150 visual effects shots, which was done by six companies: Rhythm and Hues was responsible for Emma Frost, Mystique and Angel, as well as set extensions; Cinesite handled Azazel, the visuals for Cerebro and environment effects; Luma Pictures did Banshee, Havok and Darwin; Moving Picture Company did Beast, Riptide, and the scene where Shaw's yacht is destroyed and he escapes in a submarine; Digital Domain created Sebastian Shaw's powers, and Weta Digital was responsible for the climactic battle in Cuba. The overall coordination was provided by visual effects designer John Dykstra, who said the biggest difficulty was the tight schedule: "It was slightly less than a year and I've never done anything like that before ("Spider-Man" was frequently two years)." British company 4dMax employed special 3D scanners to digitize data of the sets and actors which would be used by the effects companies. This allowed for computer-generated sets such as the mirrored nuclear reactor where Magneto battles Shaw—for which the effects team used the mirror maze fight in "Enter the Dragon" as a reference—and the domed walls of Cerebro. Digital models of Washington and Moscow were also created based on photographs of the actual cities, with the Russian one in particular having vehicles and military hardware based on videos of a 1962 Red Square, and a digital army doing an actual Soviet-style march. With the exception of scenes featuring the actors on ships (shot on a small bridge set) and the X-Jet (done on a set replicating the front two-thirds of the aircraft, which was mounted atop a roller wheel so it could be spun) the naval battle was entirely digital, featuring a simulated ocean and high resolution 3D models of the X-Jet, Shaw's submarine and 16 warships. The designs were mostly based on real vehicles, with the jet being a modified SR-71 Blackbird, the submarine a combination of various models from the 1940s and 1950s, and replicas of the actual US and USSR fleets in the 1960s—though a few were not in service in 1962. A particular Soviet cruiser was a larger version of the "Kresta I" and "II", leading Weta to dub it the "Kresta III". Practical effects were still used whenever possible, such as having on location most of the objects young Erik throws after his mother's death, actors and stuntmen dangled from wires, and real explosions and light effects as reference for Havok's beams.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: While in the comics Shaw's absorption power was depicted by having him grow up to ten times his original size, "First Class" instead does what company Digital Domain called a "kinetic echo", where a digital Kevin Bacon would be rippled, deformed and at times multiplied in repeated "iterations" that appear in a short period, to "see [Shaw] displace and deform in a kinetic and organic way". According to Dykstra, the biggest problem with Frost's diamond body was depicting it "without looking like she was made of Jell-O or the polygon model of a human being". The morphed Frost, which the visual effects tried to make look more like a faceted crystal than glass, was rotomated into Jones in the live-action plates while still retaining the actress' eyes and lips. As the character kept on going in and out of her diamond form, a motion capture tracking suit could not be employed, so instead the effects team used both gray and chrome balls and a jumpsuit covered in mirrors—which also served as a lighting reference. For Angel's digital wings, the animators studied slow-motion footage of dragonflies to create the wing pattern in a realistic way, and the designers added iridescence to "make the wings prettier". The visual of Banshee's screams was done through a digital ring-like structure based on renderings of sound waves such as Schlieren photography. The visual for Havok's blasts employed similar rings, concentrated in beams or rings of light which were then match moved into Till's mimed throwing. For Banshee's flight, the visual effects team used digital doubles only for distant shots, with closer ones employing Jones shot in a special flight rig. Azazel's teleporting was made to resemble the "inky smoky effects" used with Nightcrawler, who appeared in "X2" and is Azazel's son in the comics. However, while Nightcrawler only left a smoke trail, the visual effects team had Azazel accompanied by digital fire and smoke "because he was more closely aligned with the devil". The fire was also used "as a mask to hide or reveal the body", according to effects supervisor Matt Johnson. Since the visible part of whirlwinds are the dust and dirt sucked up by them, the ones Riptide produces were made to resemble "a tornado of gas, made out of nothingness" by visual effects supervisor Nicolas Aithadi. The final product was mostly a practical effect made with dry ice, which was augmented by computer-generated imagery. The visual effects team portrayed Mystique's abilities slightly differently due to this being a younger version, with "the scales being slightly longer and the transformation being slightly showier than when she became the more mature Rebecca." For Beast, computer graphics depicted his simian-like feet, the transformation sequence, and a few facial replacements for when Beast opened his mouth wider than the mask on Hoult's face allowed.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Henry Jackman, who had previously collaborated with Vaughn in "Kick-Ass" (2010), composed the pop-and-rock infused incidental music for "First Class". He further drew inspiration from John Barry's musical themes, which had a "posh pop" musical style, and also produced a "Superman-style theme" in the final parts of the film. The theme was then stretched half-time and used in the remainder of the film, after Vaughn's directions who felt it as "triumphant" score for a team that is disjointed. Several pop tracks were also integrated in the film. The original score album was released digitally by Sony Classical Records on June 6, 2011 and was followed by a physical release on July 4, 2011.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: The premiere for "X-Men: First Class" took place at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, on May 25, 2011. The promotional campaign aimed for non-traditional partners, with Fox signing deals with Farmers Insurance Group, BlackBerry PlayBook and the U.S. Army. Wrigley Australia issued an X-Men-themed edition of their 5 chewing gum.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: "X-Men: First Class" was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on September 27 and in the UK on October 31, 2011. The home release topped the sales charts in the United States with approximately 385,000 DVDs. Blu-ray accounted for 60 percent of first-week disc sales, amounting to about 575,000 discs. In the UK it sold 150,000 units. The film was later released on 4K UHD Blu-ray on October 4, 2016.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: "X-Men: First Class" went on general release on June 3, 2011. In North America, the film opened on approximately 6,900 screens at 3,641 locations, debuting atop the weekend box office with earnings of $55.1 million across the three days, including $3.4 million in its Friday midnight launch. This opening was much lower than the opening weekends of "X-Men: The Last Stand" ($102.7 million), "X2" ($85.5 million), and "" ($85.0 million), but slightly higher than the original film ($54.5 million). Executives at 20th Century Fox stated they had achieved their goal by opening with about the same numbers as the first "X-Men" film and that it was an excellent start to a new chapter of the franchise.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: "First Class" also opened 8,900 locations in 74 overseas markets, which brought in $61 million during the weekend—standing third in the overseas ranking behind "" and "The Hangover Part II". The film opened atop the box office in twenty countries, with the biggest grosses being in the United Kingdom ($9 million, including previews), France ($7.1 million), Mexico ($5 million), South Korea ($5.4 million) and Australia ($5.1 million). In its second weekend "X-Men: First Class" dropped 56.2 percent, the second-smallest second-weekend drop in the franchise behind "X2: X-Men United" (53.2 percent), and came in with $24.1 million, in second place to "Super 8". Overseas, it rose to number two behind "Kung Fu Panda 2", with $42.2 million. The film grossed $146,408,305 in the United States and Canada and $207,215,819 in foreign markets, bringing its worldwide total to $353,624,124.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes "X-Men: First Class" holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "With a strong script, stylish direction, and powerful performances from its well-rounded cast, "X-Men: First Class" is a welcome return to form for the franchise." On Metacritic, the film received a score of 65 out of 100, based on reviews from 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: X-Men: First Class

text: Among the major trade publications, Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" described the film as "audacious, confident and fueled by youthful energy", and said that "director Vaughn impressively maintains a strong focus dedicated to clarity and dramatic power ... and orchestrates the mayhem with a laudable coherence, a task made easier by a charging, churning score by Henry Jackman ...". Justin Chang of "Variety" said the film "feels swift, sleek and remarkably coherent", and that "the visual effects designed by John Dykstra are smoothly and imaginatively integrated ..." Frank Lovece of "Film Journal International" lauded "a wickedly smart script with a multilayered theme that ... never loses sight of its ultimate story, and makes each emotional motivation interlock, often shockingly playing for keeps with its characters."


title: X-Men: First Class

text: In consumer publications, Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" praised "the kind of youthful, Brit-knockabout pop energy director Matthew Vaughn absorbed from his previous collaborations as producer of director Guy Ritchie's bloke-y larks", and found McAvoy and Fassbender "a casting triumph. These two have, yes, real star magnetism, both individually and together: They're both cool and intense, suave and unaffected, playful and dead serious about their grand comic-book work." Peter Howell of the "Toronto Star" called it "a blockbuster with brains" and said Vaughn "brings similar freshness to this comic creation as he did to "Kick-Ass", and manages to do so while hewing to the saga's serious dramatic intent."


title: X-Men: First Class

text: The film's success led to the continuation of the film series. "", which acts as a sequel to both "First Class" and "The Last Stand", was released on May 23, 2014. A direct sequel, "", was released on May 27, 2016. A third and final sequel, "Dark Phoenix", was released on June 7, 2019.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: Magnum P.I. is an American action drama television series developed by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim. It stars Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator and former Navy SEAL who solves crimes in Hawaii. It is a reboot of the series of the same name created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, which aired from 1980 to 1988. The series co-stars Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: It was ordered to series in May 2018, and premiered on September 24, 2018, on CBS. On October 19, 2018, it was announced that the series had received a full season order from CBS. In April 2021, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on October 1, 2021. In May 2022, the series was canceled after four seasons, following the network's failure to reach a new agreement with rightsholder CBS Studios and Universal Television, despite being a Top 25 show in viewers. On June 30, 2022, the series was picked up by NBC with a two-season, twenty-episode order. The fifth season is set to premiere on February 19, 2023.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: "Magnum P.I." takes place in the same fictional universe as two other series, both also developed by Lenkov and both also reboots of earlier crime shows: "Hawaii Five-0" and "MacGyver". The three shows have been collectively referred to as the "Lenkov-verse". Initially, the series aired on Monday nights at 9:00 p.m., but aired its latter three CBS seasons on Friday nights in the same timeslot, immediately followed by "Blue Bloods" starring Tom Selleck, who portrayed the original series' title character.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: As with the original series, "Magnum P.I." revolves around Thomas Magnum, an ex-United States Navy SEAL who occupies the guest house on Robin's Nest, the Hawaiian Estate owned by famous author Robin Masters. In exchange for allowing Magnum to live in his guest house, Masters writes a fictional book series about a "White knight" centered around Magnum's time in the military. In addition, Magnum works for Masters as a security consultant; despite this, Masters never appears in the series. Also living on the estate are Juliet Higgins, an ex-MI6 Agent who serves as the estate's majordomo, and native Hawaiian Kumu Tuileta, who is the estate's cultural curator. Magnum's living arrangement does not come with a salary, so he solves crimes as a private investigator. His investigations often include Higgins, who officially joins him as his partner in the second season. The two are frequently assisted by ex-United States Marines, Orville "Rick" Wright and Theodore "T.C." Calvin. Rick is now a bar owner, while T.C. is a pilot whose main business is running helicopter tours of the islands. Gordon Katsumoto is a detective for the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) who frequently disagrees with Magnum's investigative methods, but nonetheless respects his crime solving expertise.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: Despite both having serious relationships throughout the first four seasons, Magnum and Higgins often share sexual tension with each other, which is finally addressed in the fourth season finale. Rick also finds himself in a serious relationship in the latter half of the series, leading to his girlfriend giving birth to their child. Meanwhile, the divorced Katsumoto often faces trouble with his son, and T.C. becomes a father figure to a homeless teenager in the fourth season.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: The show shares a direct fictional universe with "Hawaii Five-0". The six main characters of "Magnum P.I". share many allies with the Five-0 Task Force, including further law enforcement professionals, confidential informants, and city employees.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: In October 2017, CBS announced development of a reboot of "Magnum, P.I." from Peter M. Lenkov, who also developed the 2010 reboot of "Hawaii Five-O" and the 2016 reboot of "MacGyver". The network ordered a pilot production commitment for the series with Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim, a "Hawaii Five-0" writer and co-showrunner, as developers. John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment were reported as additional executive producers. CBS Television Studios and Universal Television co-produced the series. Danielle Woodrow was also later announced to be serving as an executive producer. The series was initially picked up by CBS for thirteen episodes, and an additional seven episodes were later ordered. On January 25, 2019, "Magnum P.I." was renewed for a second season along with two other CBS freshman series. Lenkov returned for the second season as an executive producer and co-showrunner after signing a three-year deal with CBS Television Studios in 2018. Guggenheim also returned as executive producer and co-showrunner. It was later revealed that the second season would consist of twenty-episodes.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: On May 6, 2020, CBS renewed the series for a third season, along with eighteen other television shows. In July 2020, it was revealed that Lenkov would not have any involvement in the third season after being fired from CBS over toxic work environment allegations. He was originally expected to continue work on the series throughout the season as part of the previously signed deal. Lucas Till who portrays the title character of Angus MacGyver on "MacGyver" stated that Lenkov made him suicidal and constantly body shamed him. Lenkov's lawyers initially denied all allegations. Lenkov later responded to the situation by stating "It's difficult to hear that the working environment I ran was not the working environment my colleagues deserved, and for that, I am deeply sorry. I accept responsibility for what I am hearing and am committed to doing the work that is required to do better and be better." Lenkov still received writing credits for various episodes throughout the season written prior to his termination. Gene Hong replaced Lenkov as co-showrunner joining Guggenheim who continued working on the series. In October 2020 it was reported that the third season would have a reduced episode order of sixteen episodes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 15, 2021, CBS renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on October 1, 2021.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: On February 20, 2018, it was announced that Jay Hernandez had been cast as Thomas Magnum, who was portrayed by Tom Selleck in the original series. Perdita Weeks was cast as Juliet Higgins on March 2, 2018. The character of Higgins was genderswapped, from their 1980 counterpart Jonathan Higgins. Lenkov sand Guggenheim stated that while they wanted to honour the original show it was important for the reboot to "stand on its own" and genderswapping allowed for differentiation. Zachary Knighton and Stephen Hill were later cast as Orville "Rick" Wright and Theodore "T.C." Calvin, respectively. Tim Kang and Amy Hill were the last two to be cast in the series, as Detective Gordon Katsumoto and Kumu, respectively.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: Kimee Balmilero, Taylor Wily, and Dennis Chun all appeared as their "Hawaii Five-0" characters throughout the first season. Chun guest starred on the original "Magnum, P.I." as various minor characters throughout its run. Domenick Lombardozzi, Ken Jeong, and Christopher Thornton were cast in recurring roles. Former NFL and CFL football player Carl Weathers, MLB baseball player Christian Yelich, and NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney all appeared as guest stars. Roger E. Mosley, who starred as Theodore Calvin in the original "Magnum, P.I.," guest starred in one episode. Betsy Phillips, series star Zachary Knighton's wife, appeared in the first season's final episode. Selleck stated in an interview that he would never appear in the series, even though he was asked, so as not to take away from the original "Magnum, P.I." and due to conflicting filming of "Blue Bloods", which also airs on CBS.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: Thornton continued to recur throughout the second, third, and fourth seasons. Bobby Lee was introduced as a new recurring character in the second season and also returned for guest appearances in the third and fourth. Numerous professional athletes appeared in guest roles throughout the second season, including Deontay Wilder, a World Boxing Council heavyweight champion; Aaron Donald and Andre Reed, National Football League players; Hans Hedemann, a competitive surfer; and Cowboy Cerrone, an Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial artist. Patrick Monahan, Skyler Grey, Jerry Becker, and Luis Carlos Maldonado appeared as themselves in season two and performed as their real world band Train.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: Balmilero, Wily, and Chun also made appearances throughout the second season as their "Hawaii Five-0" characters. Other "Hawaii Five-0" actors new to the second season include series regulars Meaghan Rath, Katrina Law, Beulah Koale, and Ian Anthony Dale, all of whom appeared as their "Hawaii Five-0" characters. In addition, guest stars from "Hawaii Five-0" including Larry Manetti, William Forsythe, Shawn Mokuahi Garnett, and Willie Garson all appeared as the same characters from "Hawaii Five-0" as well. Manetti previously starred on the original "Magnum, P.I." as Rick Wright.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: On October 16, 2020, it was announced that Jay Ali had been cast in a recurring role for the third season as Dr. Ethan Shah. It was later revealed that Lance Lim would also recur in the third season. Mosley again returned as a guest star in the third season. Balmilero, Chun, and Garnett from "Hawaii Five-0" continued appearances in the third season despite "Hawaii Five-0"s cancellation.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: Chantal Thuy joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the fourth season. Thuy portrayed Lia Kaleo, an HPD detective and partner to Katsumoto, as well as a love interest to Magnum. Martin Martinez also joined the recurring cast for the fourth season portraying Cade Jensen, a trouble teenager searching for a job. Chun appeared once more in the fourth season. Ahead of the fifth season Michael Rady was cast in a recurring role to portray Detective Chris Childs.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: The pilot episode filmed in March and April 2018 at Hawaii Film Studio. It was directed by Justin Lin, who also directed other CBS pilots. The rest of the first season began filming on July 23, 2018, with a traditional Hawaiian blessing. Filming for the series takes place in the state of Hawaii on the island of O'ahu at Kalaeloa Studio. The fictional Robin's Nest Estate where Magnum and Higgins lives is located at Kualoa Ranch, a location which "Jurassic World" also used as a filming location. Other filming locations include numerous beaches, such as Maili, Waikiki, and Kapolei. A central theme of the original series was Magnum's constant use of a Ferrari, which has become a cultural icon inextricably linked to the series. Then Magnum almost exclusively favored the Ferrari 308 GTS, such that it was briefly shown in the pilot episode. The production team however, updated his favored vehicle to a Ferrari 488 Spider.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: Filming for the second season also began with a traditional Hawaiian blessing on July 8, 2019. A new filming location in the second season is the La Mariana Restaurant, an operating Tiki Bar in Hawaii. Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, filming for the third season began on September 16, 2020. COVID-19 protocols were required on set including masks, social distancing, COVID testing, and reduced cast and crew on set. Fourth season filming commenced on July 20, 2021, with many COVID-19 precautions still in place. The fourth season also introduced new crew members to production after a number of those who worked on previous seasons transferred to work on "".


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: On May 12, 2022, CBS canceled the series after four seasons. Cancellation of the series had negative effects on Hawaii's film industry, leaving 350–400 people without employment. However, on May 23, 2022, it was reported by "TVLine" that Universal Television was trying to shop the series around. Ten days later, "Deadline Hollywood" reported that talks were underway for the series to potentially be carried by NBC and/or USA. Such a move would require a deal with CBS Studios by June 30, 2022, when the cast members' options on their contracts end. Although not officially renewed, "Production Weekly" reported a fifth season to be in "active development", though with no network attached to the listing. On June 30, 2022, NBC officially picked up the series for 20 episodes, expected to be split over two seasons, with the option for more episodes. At the time, it was reported that all six cast members were expected to return, along with the executive producers, and CBS Studios and Universal TV would continue to co-produce the series. On July 4, 2022, it was reported by "TVLine" that production on the fifth season would begin in late 2022, with the season not likely to premiere until January 2023 at the earliest. Filming for the fifth season began on September 19, 2022. The fifth season is set to premiere on February 19, 2023.


title: Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)

text: "Magnum P.I." has been met with mixed reviews. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 57% with an average rating of 6.35/10, based on 21 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The rebooted "Magnum P.I." may not be quite distinctive enough to hold up to comparisons with its source material, but a charismatic star, slickly staged action, and a handful of modern twists hint at greater potential." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the first season a score of 48 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. The sequel to "" (1999), it is the fifth film in the "Star Wars" film series and second chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Frank Oz.


title: Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

text: The story is set ten years after "The Phantom Menace", as thousands of planetary systems slowly secede from the Galactic Republic and join the newly-formed Confederacy of Independent Systems, led by former Jedi Master Count Dooku. With the galaxy on the brink of civil war, Obi-Wan Kenobi investigates a mysterious assassination attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala, which leads him to uncover a clone army in service of the Republic and the truth behind the Separatist movement. Meanwhile, his apprentice Anakin Skywalker is assigned to protect Amidala and develops a secret relationship with her. Soon, the trio witness the onset of a new threat to the galaxy: the Clone Wars.


text: Development of "Attack of the Clones" began in March 2000, some months after the release of "The Phantom Menace". By June 2000, Lucas and Hales completed a draft of the script, and principal photography took place from June to September 2000. The film crew primarily shot at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, Australia, with additional footage filmed in Tunisia, Spain, and Italy. It was one of the first motion pictures shot completely on a high-definition digital 24-frame system.


text: The film was released in the United States on May 16, 2002. It received mixed reviews, with some critics hailing it as an improvement over its predecessor "The Phantom Menace" and others considering it the worst installment of the franchise. The film was praised for an increased emphasis on action, visual effects, musical score, costume design, and the performances of McGregor, McDiarmid, Lee, and Oz, but criticized for its screenplay, romantic scenes, pacing, long runtime and underdeveloped characters. It performed well at the box office, making over $645 million worldwide; however, it became the first "Star Wars" film to be outgrossed in its year of release, placing third domestically after "Spider-Man" and "" and fourth-highest-grossing worldwide after the latter two films and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". "" (2005) followed "Attack of the Clones", concluding the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy.


text: Ten years after the battle at Naboo, the Galactic Republic is threatened by a Separatist movement organized by former Jedi Master Count Dooku. Senator Padmé Amidala comes to Coruscant to vote on a motion to create an army to assist the Jedi against the threat. Narrowly avoiding an assassination attempt upon her arrival, she is placed under the protection of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker. The pair thwart a second attempt on Padmé's life and subdue the assassin, Zam Wesell, who is killed by her employer, a bounty hunter, before she can reveal his identity. The Jedi Council instructs Obi-Wan to find the bounty hunter, while Anakin is tasked to protect Padmé and escort her back to Naboo, where the two fall in love in spite of the Jedi Code that forbids attachments.


text: Obi-Wan's search leads him to the mysterious ocean planet of Kamino, where he discovers an army of clones being produced for the Republic under the name of Sifo-Dyas, a deceased Jedi Master, with bounty hunter Jango Fett serving as their genetic template. Obi-Wan deduces Jango to be the bounty hunter he is seeking, and after a brief battle, places a homing beacon on Jango's ship, "Slave I". He then follows Jango and his clone son, Boba, to the planet Geonosis. Meanwhile, Anakin is troubled by visions of his mother, Shmi, in pain and decides to return to his homeworld of Tatooine with Padmé to save her. Watto reveals that he sold Shmi to moisture farmer Cliegg Lars, who then freed and married her. Cliegg tells Anakin that she was abducted by Tusken Raiders one month earlier and is likely dead. Determined to find his mother, Anakin ventures out and finds her at the Tusken campsite, barely alive. After she dies in his arms, an enraged Anakin massacres the entire tribe. He later confesses his actions to Padmé and vows that he will find a way to prevent the deaths of those he loves.


text: On Geonosis, Obi-Wan discovers a Separatist gathering led by Count Dooku, who is developing a droid army with Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray and ordered the attempts on Padmé's life. Obi-Wan transmits his findings to the Jedi Council but is captured by Separatist droids. Dooku meets Obi-Wan in his cell and explains his role in the Confederacy of Independent Systems' formation, while implying that the Sith Lord Darth Sidious is in control of a large portion of the Galactic Senate. He then invites Obi-Wan to join him and stop Sidious. When Obi-Wan refuses, Dooku claims that Obi-Wan's late master and Dooku's former apprentice Qui-Gon Jinn would have, had he been alive. Meanwhile, Senate Representative Jar Jar Binks proposes a successful vote to grant emergency powers to Chancellor Palpatine, allowing the clone army to be authorized.


text: Anakin and Padmé head to Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan, but Anakin loses his lightsaber in the Geonosian droid factory before being captured by Jango. In an arena, Dooku sentences the trio to death at the hands of the Reek, the Nexu and the Acklay, but they are saved by a battalion of clone troopers led by Yoda, Mace Windu, and other Jedi; Windu beheads Jango during the ensuing battle. Obi-Wan and Anakin intercept Dooku, and they engage in a lightsaber duel. Dooku injures Obi-Wan and severs Anakin's right arm, but Yoda intercepts and defends them. Dooku uses the Force in an attempt to kill Anakin and Obi-Wan to distract Yoda and escapes to Coruscant, where he delivers the plans of a super-weapon to Sidious. The Council is left disturbed by Dooku's claim of Sidious controlling the Senate. As the Jedi acknowledge the beginning of the Clone Wars, Anakin is fitted with a robotic hand and marries Padmé in a ceremony on Naboo, with C-3PO and R2-D2 as witnesses.


text: Pernilla August, Ahmed Best, Oliver Ford Davies, and Andy Secombe reprise their roles from "The Phantom Menace" as Shmi Skywalker, Jar Jar Binks, Sio Bibble, and Watto, respectively. Silas Carson also reprises his role from that film as both Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation; and Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Cerean Jedi Master sitting on the Jedi Council. Jimmy Smits portrays Bail Organa, a senator from Alderaan. Temuera Morrison portrays Jango Fett, a bounty hunter who gave his DNA for use by the cloning facilities on Kamino for the creation of the clone army. Daniel Logan portrays a young Boba Fett, Jango Fett's clone and adopted son.


text: After the mixed critical response to "The Phantom Menace", Lucas was hesitant to return to the writing desk. In March 2000, just three months before the start of principal photography, Lucas finally completed his rough draft for "Episode II". Lucas continued to iterate on his rough draft, producing a proper first and second draft. For help with the third draft, which would later become the shooting script, Lucas brought on Jonathan Hales, who had written several episodes of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" for him, but had limited experience writing theatrical films. The final script was completed just one week before the start of principal photography.


text: As an in-joke, the film's working title was "Jar Jar's Great Adventure", a sarcastic reference to the negative fan response to the "" character.


text: In writing "The Empire Strikes Back", Lucas initially decided that Lando Calrissian was a clone and came from a planet of clones which caused the "Clone Wars" mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi in "A New Hope"; he later came up with an alternate concept of an army of clone shocktroopers from a remote planet which were used by the Republic as an army in the war that followed.


text: Principal photography occurred between June 26, 2000 and September 20, 2000 at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney. Location shooting took place in the Tunisian desert, at the Plaza de España in Seville, London, China, Vancouver, San Diego, and Italy (Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como, and in the former royal Palace of Caserta). At his own personal request, Samuel L. Jackson's character Mace Windu received a lightsaber that emits a purple glow, as opposed to traditional blue and green for "good guys" and red for "bad guys." Reshoots were performed in March 2001. During this time, a new action sequence was developed featuring the droid factory after Lucas had decided that the film lacked a quick enough pace in the corresponding time-frame. The sequence's previsualization was rushed, and the live-action footage was shot within four and a half hours. Because of Lucas' method of creating shots through various departments and sources that are sometimes miles and years apart from each other, "Attack of the Clones" became the first film ever to be produced through what Rick McCallum called "virtual filmmaking." Back at Fox Studios, the stages from McGregor's other film "Moulin Rouge!" were reused during filming.


text: Like "The Phantom Menace", "Attack of the Clones" furthered technological development, effectively moving Hollywood into the "digital age" with the use of the HDW-F900, developed by Sony and Panavision, a digital camera using an HD digital 24-frame system. This spawned controversy over the benefits and disadvantages of digital cinematography that continues as more filmmakers "convert" to digital filmmaking while many filmmakers oppose it. In contrast to previous installments, for which scenes were shot in the Tunisian desert in temperatures up to 125 °F (51 °C), the camera would still run without complications. Lucas had stated that he wished to film "The Phantom Menace" on this format but Sony was unable to build the cameras quickly enough. In 2002, "Attack of the Clones" became the third film to be released that was shot entirely on a 24p digital camera (preceded by 2001's "Jackpot" and "Vidocq"). The cameras record in the HDCAM format (1080p), although the image was cropped to a 2.40:1 widescreen ratio. The area above and below the 2.40 extraction area was available for Lucas to reframe the picture as necessary in post-production.


text: Despite Lucas' efforts to persuade movie theaters to switch to digital projectors for viewing of "Episode II", few theaters did.


text: The film relied almost solely on digital animatics as opposed to storyboards in order to previsualize sequences for editing early on in the film's production. While Lucas had used other ways of producing motion-based storyboards in the past, after "The Phantom Menace" the decision was made to take advantage of the growing digital technology. The process began with Ben Burtt's creation of what the department dubbed as "videomatics", so called because they were shot on a household videocamera. In these videomatics, production assistants and relatives of the department workers acted out scenes in front of greenscreen. Using computer-generated imagery (CGI), the previsualization department later filled in the green screen with rough background footage. Burtt then cut together this footage and sent it off to Lucas for changes and approval. The result was a rough example of what the final product was intended to be. The previsualization department then created a finer version of the videomatic by creating an animatic, in which the videomatic actors, props, and sets were replaced by digital counterparts to give a more precise, but still rough, look at what would eventually be seen. The animatic was later brought on set and shown to the actors so that they could understand the concept of the scene they were filming in the midst of the large amount of bluescreen used. Unlike most of the action sequences, the Battle of Geonosis was not story-boarded or created through videomatics but was sent straight to animatics after the department received a small vague page on the sequence. The intent was to create a number of small events that would be edited together for pacing inside the finished film. The animatics department was given a free hand regarding events to be created within the animatic; Lucas only asked for good action shots that he could choose from and approve later.


text: In addition to introducing the digital camera, "Attack of the Clones" emphasized "digital doubles" as computer-generated models that doubled for actors, in the same way that traditional stunt doubles did. It also furthered the authenticity of computer-generated characters by introducing a new, completely CGI-created version of the character Yoda. Rob Coleman and John Knoll prepared two tests featuring a CGI-animated Yoda using audio from "The Empire Strikes Back". Yoda's appearance in "Episode V" also served as the reference point for the creation of the CGI Yoda; Lucas repeatedly stated to the animation department that "the trick" to the animation of the CGI Yoda was to make him like the puppet from which he was based, in order to maintain a flow of continuity. Frank Oz (voice and puppeteer for Yoda in the original trilogy and "The Phantom Menace") was consulted; his main piece of advice was that Yoda should look extremely old, sore, and frigid. Coleman later explained the process of making the digital Yoda like the puppet version, by saying "When Frank [Oz] would move the head, the ears would jiggle. If we hadn't put that in, it wouldn't look like Yoda." Because of the acrobatics of the lightsaber fight between Count Dooku and Yoda, the then 78-year-old Christopher Lee relied on a stunt double to perform the most demanding scenes instead. Lee's face was superimposed onto the double's body in all shots other than close-ups, which he performed himself. Lucas often called the duel crucial to the animation department, as it had such potential to be humorous rather than dramatic.


text: The soundtrack to the film was released on April 23, 2002 by Sony Classical Records. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Voices and London Symphony Orchestra. The soundtrack recreates "The Imperial March" from the film "The Empire Strikes Back" for its first chronological appearance in "Attack of the Clones", even though a hint of it appeared in the previous movie in one of the final scenes. A music video for the main theme "Across the Stars" was produced specifically for the DVD.


text: On March 15, 2016, a limited edition vinyl version of the soundtrack was released. Only 1,000 copies were pressed initially.


text: Lucas has noted that Palpatine's rise to power is very similar to that of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany; as Chancellor of Germany, the latter was granted emergency powers, as is Palpatine. Comparisons have been made to Octavian—who became Augustus, the first emperor of Rome—and to Napoleon Bonaparte, who rose to power in France from 1796 to 1799. Octavian was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of political opponents well before he was granted tribunician powers; Bonaparte was appointed First Consul for life (and later Emperor) by the French Consulate after a failed attempt on his life and the subsequent "coup" of 18 Brumaire in 1799. References to the American Civil War can also be discerned.


text: War journalism, combat films, and footage of World War II combat influenced the documentary-style camera work of the Battle of Geonosis, even to the point that hand-held shakes were digitally added to computer-generated sequences.


text: English scholar Anne Lancashire describes "Attack of the Clones" as "thoroughly political in its narrative", to the point that interpersonal relations are made subordinate to the political drama that unfolds, and "a critique of the increasing role played by economic and political appetite in contemporary First World international politics in general". In this political drama, the Trade Federation, the former idealist Dooku, and Palpatine "[represent] the economic and political greed and ambition ... of the political and business classes", while the intuition of the Jedi has been clouded by the dark side of the Force. The cityscape of Coruscant, the location of the Jedi Temple, is a dystopian environment that refers to 1982's "Blade Runner". Nevertheless, the Jedi endure as the heroes; Obi-Wan's role has been noted as similar to that of James Bond, and Zam Wesell's attempt on Padmé's life is similar to a scene in the first 007 film, "Dr. No".


text: The prequel trilogy films often refer to the original trilogy in order to help connect the films together. Lucas has often referred to the films as a long poem that rhymes. Such examples include the line "I have a bad feeling about this", a phrase used in each film, and lightsaber duels which almost always occur over a pit. As with "Attack of the Clones", "The Empire Strikes Back" was the middle film in a trilogy, and of the original trilogy films, "The Empire Strikes Back" is the object of the most references in "Attack of the Clones". In both films, an asteroid field is the backdrop of a major star battle in the middle of the film. Obi-Wan escapes Jango Fett by attaching his spacecraft to an asteroid in order to disappear from the enemy sensors; Han Solo uses a similar tactic by attaching the "Millennium Falcon" to a Star Destroyer in "The Empire Strikes Back". As a retcon, John Knoll confirms on the film's DVD commentary that Boba Fett, who would later catch Solo in the act in "The Empire Strikes Back", "learned his lesson" from the events of "Attack of the Clones". The Galactic Republic's clone troopers also establish the origin of the stormtroopers that play an important role in the original trilogy.


text: The titles of both films refer to the response of the primary galactic government to a threat of rebellion


text: In November 2001, three teaser trailers for "Attack of the Clones" were released, which were shown on the Internet, as well as the DVD-ROM selection of "". The first one was released on November 2 with the Disney Pixar film "Monsters, Inc." in theaters. A second teaser debuted online three days later on November 5. This was followed by a third teaser trailer, which was released on November 16 with the release of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". Just like its predecessor, fans paid full admission at theaters to see the trailers. The next trailer premiered on Fox Network on March 10, 2002 between "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The X-Files", followed by a theatrical debut five days later on March 15 with the opening of "Ice Age". It was made available on the official "Star Wars" website the same day. The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas from Chicago predicted before the film's release that U.S. companies could lose more than $319 million in productivity due to employees calling in sick and then heading to theaters to see the film.


text: The film premiered as part of the inaugural Tribeca Film Festival at the BMCC Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St. in New York City at a Sunday, May 12 set of screenings benefitting the Children's Aid Society, a charity supported by George Lucas. "Attack of the Clones" was then screened out of competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, before getting a worldwide theatrical release on May 16, 2002. The film was also later released in IMAX theaters; the film had not been filmed for IMAX but was "up converted" with the digital remastering process. Because of the technical limitations of the IMAX projector at the time, an edited, 120-minute version of the film was presented.


text: Before the film's release, there was a string of controversies regarding copyright infringement. In 2000, an underground organization calling itself the Atlas Group, based in Perth, Western Australia offered a copy of the screenplay, with an asking price of US$100,000, to various fan sites and media organizations, including TheForce.Net. The scheme was subsequently reported to Lucasfilm Ltd. by the fan site.


text: An unauthorized copy was allegedly made at a private showing, using a digital recorder that was pointed at the screen. This copy spread over the internet, and analysts predicted up to a million fans would have seen the film before the day of its release. In addition, authorities seized thousands of bootlegs throughout Kuala Lumpur before the film opened.


text: "Attack of the Clones" was released on DVD and VHS on November 12, 2002. On the first day of release, over 4 million DVD copies were sold, becoming the third-highest single-day DVD sales of any film, behind "Monsters, Inc." and "Spider-Man". This THX certified two-disc DVD release consists of widescreen and pan and scan fullscreen versions. The set contains one disc with the film and the other one with bonus features. The first disc features three randomized selected menus, which are Coruscant, Kamino and Geonosis. There is an Easter egg located in the options menu. When the THX Optimizer is highlighted, the viewer can press 1-1-3-8. By doing this, some bloopers and DVD credits will be shown. The DVD also features an audio commentary from director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, editor and sound designer Ben Burtt, ILM animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors Pablo Helman, John Knoll, and Ben Snow. Eight deleted scenes are included along with multiple documentaries, which include a full-length documentary about the creation of digital characters and two others that focus on sound design and the animatics team. Three featurettes examine the storyline, action scenes, and love story, and a set of 12 short web documentaries cover the overall production of the film.


text: The "Attack of the Clones" DVD also features a trailer for a mockumentary-style short film known as "R2-D2: Beneath the Dome". Some stores offered the full mockumentary as an exclusive bonus disc for a small extra charge. The film gives an alternate look at the "life" of the droid R2-D2. The story, which Lucas approved, was meant to be humorous.


text: The six-film "Star Wars" saga was released on Blu-ray Disc on September 16, 2011 in three different editions.


text: On April 7, 2015, Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released "Star Wars" films. "Attack of the Clones" was released through the iTunes Store, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, and Disney Movies Anywhere on April 10, 2015.


text: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment reissued "Attack of the Clones" on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on September 22, 2019. Additionally, all six films were available for 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos streaming on Disney+ upon the service's launch on November 12, 2019. This version of the film was released by Disney on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 31, 2020 whilst being re-released on Blu-ray and DVD.


text: On , it was announced that all six films in the series were to be stereo-converted to 3D, and re-released in chronological order beginning with "The Phantom Menace" which was released on . "Attack of the Clones" was originally scheduled to be re-released in 3D on , but was postponed due to Lucasfilm's desire to focus on "". However, the 3D presentation of the film was first shown at Celebration Europe II from July 26 to 28, 2013.


text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, ""Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" benefits from an increased emphasis on thrilling action, although they're once again undercut by ponderous plot points and underdeveloped characters." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 39 critics, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the previous film.


text: Numerous critics characterized the dialogue as "stiff" and "flat." The acting was also disparaged by some critics. Conversely, other critics felt fans would be pleased to see that Jar Jar Binks has only a minor role. Additionally, Jar Jar's attempts at comic relief seen in "The Phantom Menace" were toned down; instead, C-3PO reprised some of his bumbling traditions in that role. McGregor referred to the swordplay in the film as "unsatisfactory" when comparing it to the climactic duel in "" as it neared release. ReelViews.net's James Berardinelli gave a positive review, saying "in a time when, more often than not, sequels disappoint, it's refreshing to uncover something this high-profile that fulfills the promise of its name and adds another title to a storied legacy."


text: Roger Ebert, who had praised the previous "Star Wars" films, gave "Episode II" only two out of four stars, noting "[As] someone who admired the freshness and energy of the earlier films, I was amazed, at the end of "Episode II", to realize that I had not heard one line of quotable, memorable dialogue." About Anakin and Padme's relationship, Ebert stated, "There is not a romantic word they exchange that has not long since been reduced to cliché." Leonard Maltin, who also liked all of the previous installments, awarded two stars out of four to this endeavor as well, as seen in his "Movie and Video Guide" from the 2002 edition onward. Maltin cited an "overlong story" as reason for his dissatisfaction and added "Wooden characterizations and dialogue don't help." While "TheWrap" considered "Attack of the Clones" a "marginal improvement" over "The Phantom Menace", "Screen Rant" ranked it as inferior to "Episode I" and as the worst "Star Wars" film overall, citing its romance story, characterization, and acting as weak points. Some film critics and fans criticized the CGI model of Yoda and his lightsaber fight; while many loved it, others believed it went against his character.


text: During its opening day, "Attack of the Clones" made $30.1 million, combined with $6 million from midnight screenings. At that point, it had the highest Thursday gross of any film, taking the former record held by "Independence Day". It would go on to make $116.3 million within four days, making it the second-fastest film to approach the $100 million mark, behind "Spider-Man". Plus, it had grossed over $80 million over the weekend, becoming the third-highest three-day opening weekend of all time, after "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Spider-Man". "Attack of the Clones" had the highest opening weekend for a 20th Century Fox film until 2003 when it was taken by "X2". That year, "The Matrix Reloaded" beat "Attack of the Clones" for having the biggest Thursday opening of any film. The film would stay at the top of the box office for two weeks until it was dethroned by "The Sum of All Fears".


text: "Attack of the Clones" grossed $310,676,740 in North America and $338,721,588 overseas for a worldwide total of $649,398,328. Though a box office success, it was nevertheless overshadowed by the even greater box-office success of "" three years earlier. It was not the top-grossing film of the year, either in North America (where it finished in third place) or worldwide (where it was fourth), the first time that a "Star Wars" film did not have this distinction. In North America, it was outgrossed by "Spider-Man" and "", both of which were more favorably received by critics. Worldwide, it was also outgrossed by "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". Adjusted for inflation, "Attack of the Clones" is the lowest-performing live-action "Star Wars" film at the North American box office, though is still among the 100 highest-grossing films of all time when adjusted for inflation. It sold an estimated 52,012,300 tickets in the US in its initial theatrical run.


text: Internationally, "Attack of the Clones" made $69.1 million during its opening weekend from 71 countries, breaking "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"s record for having the largest international opening weekend. The combined total gross increased to $173.9 million, making it the highest worldwide opening weekend at that time. It made a total opening weekend gross of $54 million in Europe, with $17 million from the UK, $11 million from Germany, $7.6 million from France and $4.5 million from Spain. The film also recorded the highest opening weekend in Hungary, surpassing "". With a total gross of $954,000, "Attack of the Clones" had the second-highest opening of any film in Singapore, behind "". Meanwhile, in Japan, it earned a total of $13.8 million in its first two days of release, joining "The Phantom Menace", "" and "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" to rank themselves in the list of the country's top five highest opening weekends of all time. Outside the United States and Canada, the film grossed over $10 million in Australia ($18.9 million), France and Algeria ($30.6 million), Germany ($35 million), Italy ($12.9 million), Japan ($78.1 million), Spain ($16.1 million), and the United Kingdom and Ireland ($58.7 million).


text: Following suit with the series' previous installments, the Academy Awards nominated "Attack of the Clones"' Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll, and Ben Snow for Best Visual Effects at the 2003 Academy Awards, but the award ultimately went to "". Natalie Portman was also honored at the Teen Choice Awards, and the film received an award for Best Fight at the MTV Movie Awards. In contrast, the film also received seven nominations from the Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Picture, Worst Director (George Lucas), Worst Screenplay (George Lucas), Worst Supporting Actor (Hayden Christensen), Worst Supporting Actress (Natalie Portman), Worst Screen Couple (Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman) and Worst Remake or Sequel. It took home two awards for Worst Screenplay (George Lucas) and Worst Supporting Actor (Hayden Christensen).


text: Two novels based on the movie were published, a tie-in junior novel by Scholastic, and a novelization written by R. A. Salvatore, which includes some unique scenes. A four-issue comic book adaptation was written by Henry Gilroy and published by Dark Horse Comics.


text: A sequel titled "Revenge of the Sith" was released May 19, 2005 and was written and directed by George Lucas. It concludes the story of Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader following the death of Amidala and the destruction of all the Jedi except for Obi-Wan and Yoda.


title: Michael Madsen

text: Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film "Reservoir Dogs" (1992).


title: Michael Madsen

text: Madsen was born on September 25, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Elaine (née Melson; born 1932), was a filmmaker and author. His father, Calvin Christian Madsen (1927–2015), was a World War II Navy veteran and a firefighter with the Chicago Fire Department. His parents divorced in the 1960s, and his mother left the financial world to pursue a career in the arts, encouraged by film critic Roger Ebert. His siblings are Cheryl Madsen, an entrepreneur, and Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen. Madsen's paternal grandparents were Danish, while his mother is of English, German, Irish, Native American and Scottish ancestry.


title: Michael Madsen

text: Madsen began working at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, where he served as an apprentice under John Malkovich and appeared in a production of "Of Mice and Men".


title: Michael Madsen

text: His first notable film role was a small part, playing opposite John Spencer, in the beginning of "WarGames", and he was also in "Free Willy". In Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut film "Reservoir Dogs", Madsen played "Mr. Blonde", a cruel criminal. Steve Buscemi received the role of "Mr. Pink", which Madsen wanted because it had more scenes with Harvey Keitel. For "Pulp Fiction", Madsen declined the role of Vincent Vega, which went to John Travolta. Madsen starred in Mike Newell's gangster film "Donnie Brasco". He once said of these films: "Some of them I'm only in for 10 minutes, but they bought my name, and they bought my face to put on the DVD box with a gun. What people don't always understand is that I established a certain lifestyle for my family back in the days of "Species" and "Mulholland Falls" and "The Getaway". I wasn't about to move my six kids into a trailer park. So when people offered me work, it wasn't always the best, but I had to buy groceries and I had to put gas in the car."


title: Michael Madsen

text: In "Kill Bill", Madsen played assassin Budd, the brother of Bill (David Carradine). The film was released in two parts, "" and "". In 2004, Tarantino discussed an idea for the film to unite Madsen and Travolta, as The Vega Brothers. In 2007, Tarantino said the film (which he intended to call "Double V Vega") was "kind of unlikely now", because of the age of the actors and the onscreen deaths of both characters.


title: Michael Madsen

text: Madsen appeared in Uwe Boll's "BloodRayne", a film he described as "an abomination... It's a horrifying and preposterous movie." He won Best Actor awards at the Boston Film Festival and New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for his performance in "Strength and Honour". He played himself in the mockumentary "Being Michael Madsen". Madsen co-starred in "Coma", a Web series on Crackle.


title: Michael Madsen

text: He played , the old friend of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), in the eighth season of "24". Madsen starred in the comedy film "Let the Game Begin". On January 5, 2012, he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house, where he finished in 4th place in the final.


title: Michael Madsen

text: In February 2014, he played Las Vegas casino mogul Ted Binion in Josh Evans' film "Death in the Desert". The screenplay was written by John Steppling, based on the book "Death in the Desert" by crime writer Cathy Scott.


title: Michael Madsen

text: In August 2014, he starred in the "Kill Bill"-themed music video for the song "Black Widow" by Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora.


title: Michael Madsen

text: Madsen starred in the ensemble western film "The Hateful Eight". He was among a number of people rumored to have leaked the film's script before it was released, causing Tarantino to almost not make the film and eventually rewrite it. It was later revealed Madsen was not responsible for leaking the script. In 2016, he played a dramatized role of former Texas Ranger Phil Ryan in "Real Detective" on the "Investigation Discovery" network.


title: Michael Madsen

text: He starred in Vilan Trub's crime drama film "The Dirty Kind", which is loosely inspired by Anthony Weiner.


title: Michael Madsen

text: Madsen's first wife was Georganne LaPiere, half-sister of singer and actress Cher. They met in 1983, married in 1984, and divorced two years later.


title: Michael Madsen

text: He was married to Jeannine Bisignano from 1991 to 1995. They have two sons, Christian and Max, who are both actors.


title: Michael Madsen

text: In 1996, he married DeAnna Morgan. The couple married in Ocho Rios, Jamaica while Madsen was on a break from shooting "Donnie Brasco". Together they have three sons, Luke, Calvin and Hudson.


title: Michael Madsen

text: On January 25, 2022, it was reported that Michael and DeAnna's son, Hudson, an active U.S. Army Soldier with 2-27IN at Schofield Barracks Hawaii, died by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Hudson's godfather was director Quentin Tarantino.


title: Michael Madsen

text: In September 2009, Madsen announced his participation in the 26th annual Love Ride to help raise money for local charities. The charity included celebrities Malcolm Forbes, Peter Fonda, Larry Hagman, Billy Idol and Bruce Springsteen, among others. The event was scheduled for October 25, 2009, but was ultimately canceled due to poor ticket sales and a decline in sponsorship.


title: Michael Madsen

text: In 2016, Madsen hosted the event "An Intimate Evening with Michael Madsen" to benefit Children's Pediatric Cancer.


title: Organ (biology)

text: In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a function. Tissues of different types combine to form an organ which has a specific function. The intestinal wall for example is formed by epithelial tissue and smooth muscle tissue. Two or more organs working together in the execution of a specific body function form an organ system, also called a biological system or body system.


title: Organ (biology)

text: An organ's tissues can be broadly categorized as parenchyma, the functional tissue, and stroma, the structural tissue with supportive, connective, or ancillary functions. For example, the gland's tissue that makes the hormones is the parenchyma, whereas the stroma includes the nerves that innervate the parenchyma, the blood vessels that oxygenate and nourish it and carry away its metabolic wastes, and the connective tissues that provide a suitable place for it to be situated and anchored. The main tissues that make up an organ tend to have common embryologic origins, such as arising from the same germ layer. Organs exist in most multicellular organisms. In single-celled organisms such as bacteria, the functional analogue of an organ is known as an organelle. In plants, there are three main organs.


title: Organ (biology)

text: In the study of anatomy, viscera (singular viscus) refers to the internal organs of the abdominal, thoracic, and pelvic cavities. The abdominal organs may be classified as solid organs, or hollow organs. The solid organs are the liver, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, and adrenal glands. The hollow organs of the abdomen are the stomach, intestines, gallbladder, bladder, and rectum. In the thoracic cavity the heart is a hollow, muscular organ.


title: Organ (biology)

text: The number of organs in any organism depends on the definition used. By one widely adopted definition, 79 organs have been identified in the human body.


title: Organ (biology)

text: Except for placozoans, multicellular animals including humans have a variety of organ systems. These specific systems are widely studied in human anatomy. The functions of these organ systems often share significant overlap. For instance, the nervous and endocrine system both operate via a shared organ, the hypothalamus. For this reason, the two systems are combined and studied as the neuroendocrine system. The same is true for the musculoskeletal system because of the relationship between the muscular and skeletal systems.


title: Organ (biology)

text: In the study of anatomy, viscera (singular viscus) refers to the internal organs of the abdominal, thoracic, and pelvic cavities. The abdominal organs may be classed as solid organs, or hollow organs. The solid organs are the liver, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, and adrenal glands. The hollow organs are the stomach, intestines, gallbladder, bladder, and rectum. In the thoracic cavity the heart is a hollow, muscular organ. Splanchnology is the study of the viscera. The term "visceral" is contrasted with the term "", meaning "of or relating to the wall of a body part, organ or cavity" The two terms are often used in describing a membrane or piece of connective tissue, referring to the opposing sides.


title: Organ (biology)

text: The organ level of organisation in animals can be first detected in flatworms and the more derived phyla, i.e. the bilaterians. The less-advanced taxa (i.e. "Placozoa", "Porifera", "Ctenophora" and "Cnidaria") do not show consolidation of their tissues into organs.


title: Organ (biology)

text: More complex animals are composed of different organs, which have evolved over time. For example, the liver and heart evolved in the chordates about 550-500 million years ago, while the gut and brain are even more ancient, arising in the ancestor of vertebrates, insects, molluscs, and worms about 700-650 million years ago.


title: Organ (biology)

text: Given the ancient origin of most vertebrate organs, researchers have looked for model systems, where organs have evolved more recently, and ideally have evolved multiple times independently. An outstanding model for this kind of research is the placenta, which has evolved more than 100 times independently in vertebrates, has evolved relatively recently in some lineages, and exists in intermediate forms in extant taxa. Studies on the evolution of the placenta have identified a variety of genetic and physiological processes that contribute to the origin and evolution of organs, these include the re-purposing of existing animal tissues, the acquisition of new functional properties by these tissues, and novel interactions of distinct tissue types.


title: Organ (biology)

text: The study of plant organs is covered in plant morphology. Organs of plants can be divided into vegetative and reproductive. Vegetative plant organs include roots, stems, and leaves. The reproductive organs are variable. In flowering plants, they are represented by the flower, seed and fruit. In conifers, the organ that bears the reproductive structures is called a cone. In other divisions (phyla) of plants, the reproductive organs are called strobili, in "Lycopodiophyta", or simply gametophores in mosses. Common organ system designations in plants include the differentiation of shoot and root. All parts of the plant above ground (in non-epiphytes), including the functionally distinct leaf and flower organs, may be classified together as the shoot organ system.


title: Organ (biology)

text: The vegetative organs are essential for maintaining the life of a plant. While there can be 11 organ systems in animals, there are far fewer in plants, where some perform the vital functions, such as photosynthesis, while the reproductive organs are essential in reproduction. However, if there is asexual vegetative reproduction, the vegetative organs are those that create the new generation of plants (see clonal colony).


title: Organ (biology)

text: Many societies have a system for organ donation, in which a living or deceased donor's organ are transplanted into a person with a failing organ. The transplantation of larger solid organs often requires immunosuppression to prevent organ rejection or graft-versus-host disease.


title: Organ (biology)

text: There is considerable interest throughout the world in creating laboratory-grown or artificial organs.


title: Organ (biology)

text: Beginning in the 20th century organ transplants began to take place as scientists knew more about the anatomy of organs. These came later in time as procedures were often dangerous and difficult. Both the source and method of obtaining the organ to transplant are major ethical issues to consider, and because organs as resources for transplant are always more limited than demand for them, various notions of justice, including distributive justice, are developed in the ethical analysis. This situation continues as long as transplantation relies upon organ donors rather than technological innovation, testing, and industrial manufacturing.


title: Organ (biology)

text: The English word "organ" dates back to the twelfth century and refers to any musical instrument. By the late 14th century, the musical term's meaning had narrowed to refer specifically to the keyboard-based instrument. At the same time, a second meaning arose, in reference to a "body part adapted to a certain function".


title: Organ (biology)

text: Plant organs are made from tissue composed of different types of tissue. The three tissue types are ground, vascular, and dermal. When three or more organs are present, it is called an organ system.