title: Lowe's

text: Lowe's faced a backlash from several quarters, including Muslim-American and Arab-American organizations. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee called upon members to contact Lowe's to urge it to reverse its position. The Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations met to consider possible actions, including boycotts and protests. Several celebrities also called for a boycott. California State Senator Ted Lieu called Lowe's decision "naked religious bigotry" and said he would consider legislative action if Lowe's did not apologize to Muslim-Americans and reinstate the ads. Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League expressed similar views. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, criticized Lowe's decision to "uphold the beliefs of a fringe hate group and not the creed of the First Amendment". Representative John Conyers of Michigan called on Lowe's to apologize. Michigan state representative Rashida Tlaib contacted the company's corporate headquarters, reporting that Lowe's declined to change its decision.


title: Lowe's

text: Lowe's opened its first three stores in Canada on December 10, 2007, in Hamilton, Brampton and Brantford. On February 1, 2008, they opened three more stores in Toronto, East Gwillimbury, and a second store in Brampton as well as a new location in Maple (Vaughan). Lowe's also expanded into western Canada, starting with three new stores in Calgary, Alberta. One of the three locations opened in late September 2010. The other two opened in early 2011. There are now stores in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. To date (2018) Lowe's has 62 locations in Canada. Each store represents an average investment of $20.5 million (US$20.4 million).


title: Lowe's

text: In February 2013, Lowe's Canada hired former Walmart Canada and Loblaw Companies executive Sylvain Prud'homme as CEO.


title: Lowe's

text: On May 11, 2015, Lowe's Canada announced that it would acquire the leases of 13 former Target Canada stores, as well as an Ontario distribution centre, for $151 million.


title: Lowe's

text: In 2012, Lowe's attempted to buy Rona, Inc., a Quebec-based hardware chain. However, the deal was met with objections from Rona shareholders (particularly the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec) and operators of its franchised locations over concerns that the company could centralize its supply operations in the United States, and was eventually called off. On February 3, 2016, Rona announced that it had accepted an offer to be acquired by Lowe's for CDN$3.2 billion, pending regulatory and shareholder approval. The division would remain under the leadership of Sylvain Prud'homme but would be operated out of Rona's headquarters in Boucherville. Lowe's maintained Rona's retail banners, "key" executives, and the "vast majority of its current employees" post-acquisition.


title: Lowe's

text: In February 2020, Lowe's closed 34 lower performance stores, 26 that were under the Rona brand, 6 Lowe's stores, and 2 Réno-Dépôt stores.


title: Lowe's

text: In November 2022, Lowe's agreed to sell its Canadian operations to the private equity firm Sycamore Partners; following the sale, the remaining Lowe's stores in Canada will be eventually renamed Rona.


title: Lowe's

text: Trading as Masters Home Improvement, the first store opened in Braybrook, Victoria, to tradesmen on August 31, 2011, and later to the general public. Masters was a joint venture between Lowe's and Woolworths to compete against the Wesfarmers owned Bunnings Warehouse, which operates in the large bigbox format similar to Lowe's and Home Depot.


title: Lowe's

text: On 18 January 2016, Woolworths announced that it intended to "either sell or wind up" all its home improvement areas, including the Masters hardware chain. Chairman Gordon Cairns said that it would take years to become profitable and that the ongoing losses could not be sustained. The windup involved Woolworths buying back a 33.3 per cent interest in the venture, held by the Lowe's subsidiary WDR Delaware Corporation. , all stores were due to cease trading on, or before, December 11, 2016.


title: Lowe's

text: Lowe's was involved in a small cluster of class action lawsuits that revolved around the employee payment system. The cases focused on a pay practice known as "variable rate overtime". Variable-rate overtime has the effect of paying a decreasing overtime rate the more hours a person works in a week. The suits alleged that salaried managers who worked 40 to 50 hours per week were improperly compensated for that time. The variable rate overtime ended in the first quarter of 2006.


title: Lowe's

text: The first case was filed in October 2002 by employees of the Lowe's store in Shawnee, Kansas. In September 2005, the cases were certified as a class action. Four similar briefs were filed in New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The lawsuits for New York, Indiana, and Kansas resulted in an out-of-court settlement on September 22, 2006. The lawsuit in Pennsylvania became a class-action lawsuit in June 2004, with 550 employees. The case in Ohio was filed by ten former Lowe's employees in August 2004.


title: Lowe's

text: Lowe's faced multiple lawsuits from its Loss Prevention Managers citing that they were classified as exempt employees and therefore denied overtime pay. The managers asserted that they were forced to work a minimum of 48 hours per week which saved Lowe's and its investors millions of dollars every year. Lawsuits have been settled for $2.95 million in California and $6.2 million in Texas.


title: Lowe's

text: In 2014, Lowe's faced a class-action lawsuit from former and current Human Resource Managers. Similarly to the lawsuit regarding its Loss Prevention Managers, the lawsuit stated that the HR Managers were improperly, and illegally, classified as exempt employees and were, therefore, denied overtime even though they were required to work 48-hour weeks.


title: McKamey Manor

text: McKamey Manor is an American haunted house attraction in which survival horror-style events are enacted. McKamey Manor is considered a pioneer of "extreme" haunted attractions. It was founded in San Diego by Russ McKamey and originally located on his property. The house operates year-round, offering visitors a tour that can last up to eight hours.


title: McKamey Manor

text: Guests must sign a liability waiver to participate. Items on the waiver include the inability to leave the experience without the staff's permission and being subjected to various forms of physical and psychological torture, including having bones broken, teeth removed without anesthesia, and being drugged.


title: McKamey Manor

text: The house permits just a handful of patrons each weekend. There is no conventional entrance fee; McKamey instead accepts dog food for his pet dogs. At the Tennessee location, guests must be 21 or older, or 18–20 with parental consent. The Alabama location allows 21 or older.


title: McKamey Manor

text: The tour lasts from eight to ten hours, but no guest has made it all the way through. McKamey originally did not allow safewords for the tour, but has since reportedly allowed them, with guests having the option to use a safeword that ends the tour immediately. The house operates year-round, and there is reportedly a waiting list of over 24,000 people. The newest iteration of the tour, a ten-hour experience called "Desolation", offers a prize of $20,000 for successful completion. McKamey deducts $500 from the prize for every failed challenge or the use of profanity.


title: McKamey Manor

text: During the tour, employees of the Manor may physically assault patrons, waterboard them, force them to eat and drink unknown substances, have them bound and gagged, and engage in other forms of physical and psychological torture. Journalist Tara West has mentioned that in the communities where the tour is stationed, residents question how the attraction stays legal, even with a waiver. Participants may also be drugged during their experience.


title: McKamey Manor

text: A volunteer guide testified that the 40-page waiver signed by participants lists possible risks which included having teeth extracted, being tattooed, and having fingernails removed.


title: McKamey Manor

text: According to participant Laura Hertz Brotherton, in a visit to the Manor in 2016, she repeated her safeword for several minutes before employees stopped torturing her. She later went to a hospital for extensive injuries.


title: McKamey Manor

text: According to an editorial by Jeff Heimbuch of HorrorBuzz, the haunt community does not consider McKamey Manor a part of traditional Halloween horror houses.


title: McKamey Manor

text: The McKamey Manor facility in Summertown, Tennessee has been the subject of many complaints in Lawrence County. County Commissioner Scott Franks described an incident in which deputies were called to the property after a neighbor saw a woman dragged screaming from a van as part of the experience, stating that, "Staged or not, this is simply something that none of us want anywhere near us." District Attorney Brent Cooper said the program was legal because people subjected themselves to it voluntarily, though participants could withdraw their consent at any time according to Tennessee law.


title: McKamey Manor

text: McKamey Manor was featured extensively in the 2017 documentary film "Haunters: The Art of the Scare" and on the Netflix original series "Dark Tourist".


title: Forensic science

text: Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal procedure. Forensic science is a broad field that includes; DNA analysis, fingerprint analysis, blood stain pattern analysis, firearms examination and ballistics, tool mark analysis, serology, toxicology, hair and fiber analysis, entomology, questioned documents, anthropology, odontology, pathology, epidemiology, footwear and tire tread analysis, drug chemistry, paint and glass analysis, digital audio video and photo analysis.


title: Forensic science

text: Forensic scientists collect, preserve, and analyze scientific evidence during the course of an investigation. While some forensic scientists travel to the scene of the crime to collect the evidence themselves, others occupy a laboratory role, performing analysis on objects brought to them by other individuals. Still others are involved in analysis of financial, banking, or other numerical data for use in financial crime investigation, and can be employed as consultants from private firms, academia, or as government employees.


title: Forensic science

text: In addition to their laboratory role, forensic scientists testify as expert witnesses in both criminal and civil cases and can work for either the prosecution or the defense. While any field could technically be "forensic", certain sections have developed over time to encompass the majority of forensically related cases.


title: Forensic science

text: The word "forensic" comes from the Latin term "", meaning "of or before the forum". The history of the term originates in Roman times, when a criminal charge meant presenting the case before a group of public individuals in the forum. Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give speeches based on their sides of the story. The case would be decided in favor of the individual with the best argument and delivery. This origin is the source of the two modern usages of the word "forensic"—as a form of legal evidence; and as a category of public presentation.


title: Forensic science

text: The word "science", is derived from the Latin word for 'knowledge' and is today closely tied to the scientific method, a systematic way of acquiring knowledge. Taken together, forensic science means the use of the scientific methods and processes for crime solving.


title: Forensic science

text: The ancient world lacked standardized forensic practices, which enabled criminals to escape punishment. Criminal investigations and trials relied heavily on forced confessions and witness testimony. However, ancient sources do contain several accounts of techniques that foreshadow concepts in forensic science developed centuries later.


title: Forensic science

text: The first written account of using medicine and entomology to solve criminal cases is attributed to the book of "Xi Yuan Lu" (translated as "Washing Away of Wrongs"), written in China in 1248 by Song Ci (宋慈, 1186–1249), a director of justice, jail and supervision, during the Song dynasty.


title: Forensic science

text: Song Ci introduced regulations concerning autopsy reports to court, how to protect the evidence in the examining process, and explained why forensic workers must demonstrate impartiality to the public. He devised methods for making antiseptic and for promoting the reappearance of hidden injuries to dead bodies and bones (using sunlight and vinegar under a red-oil umbrella); for calculating the time of death (allowing for weather and insect activity); described how to wash and examine the dead body to ascertain the reason for death. At that time the book had described methods for distinguishing between suicide and faked suicide.


title: Forensic science

text: In one of Song Ci's accounts ("Washing Away of Wrongs"), the case of a person murdered with a sickle was solved by an investigator who instructed each suspect to bring his sickle to one location. (He realized it was a sickle by testing various blades on an animal carcass and comparing the wounds.) Flies, attracted by the smell of blood, eventually gathered on a single sickle. In light of this, the owner of that sickle confessed to the murder. The book also described how to distinguish between a drowning (water in the lungs) and strangulation (broken neck cartilage), and described evidence from examining corpses to determine if a death was caused by murder, suicide or accident.


title: Forensic science

text: Methods from around the world involved saliva and examination of the mouth and tongue to determine innocence or guilt, as a precursor to the Polygraph test. In ancient India, some suspects were made to fill their mouths with dried rice and spit it back out. Similarly, in ancient China, those accused of a crime would have rice powder placed in their mouths. In ancient middle-eastern cultures, the accused were made to lick hot metal rods briefly. It is thought that these tests had some validity since a guilty person would produce less saliva and thus have a drier mouth; the accused would be considered guilty if rice was sticking to their mouths in abundance or if their tongues were severely burned due to lack of shielding from saliva.


title: Forensic science

text: In 16th-century Europe, medical practitioners in army and university settings began to gather information on the cause and manner of death. Ambroise Paré, a French army surgeon, systematically studied the effects of violent death on internal organs. Two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia, laid the foundation of modern pathology by studying changes that occurred in the structure of the body as the result of disease. In the late 18th century, writings on these topics began to appear. These included "A Treatise on Forensic Medicine and Public Health" by the French physician Francois Immanuele Fodéré and "The Complete System of Police Medicine" by the German medical expert Johann Peter Frank.


title: Forensic science

text: As the rational values of the Enlightenment era increasingly permeated society in the 18th century, criminal investigation became a more evidence-based, rational procedure − the use of torture to force confessions was curtailed, and belief in witchcraft and other powers of the occult largely ceased to influence the court's decisions. Two examples of English forensic science in individual legal proceedings demonstrate the increasing use of logic and procedure in criminal investigations at the time. In 1784, in Lancaster, John Toms was tried and convicted for murdering Edward Culshaw with a pistol. When the dead body of Culshaw was examined, a pistol wad (crushed paper used to secure powder and balls in the muzzle) found in his head wound matched perfectly with a torn newspaper found in Toms's pocket, leading to the conviction.


title: Forensic science

text: In Warwick 1816, a farm laborer was tried and convicted of the murder of a young maidservant. She had been drowned in a shallow pool and bore the marks of violent assault. The police found footprints and an impression from corduroy cloth with a sewn patch in the damp earth near the pool. There were also scattered grains of wheat and chaff. The breeches of a farm labourer who had been threshing wheat nearby were examined and corresponded exactly to the impression in the earth near the pool.


title: Forensic science

text: An article appearing in Scientific American in 1885 describes the use of microscopy to distinguish between the blood of two persons in a criminal case in Chicago.


title: Forensic science

text: A method for detecting arsenious oxide, simple arsenic, in corpses was devised in 1773 by the Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele. His work was expanded upon, in 1806, by German chemist Valentin Ross, who learned to detect the poison in the walls of a victim's stomach.


title: Forensic science

text: James Marsh was the first to apply this new science to the art of forensics. He was called by the prosecution in a murder trial to give evidence as a chemist in 1832. The defendant, John Bodle, was accused of poisoning his grandfather with arsenic-laced coffee. Marsh performed the standard test by mixing a suspected sample with hydrogen sulfide and hydrochloric acid. While he was able to detect arsenic as yellow arsenic trisulfide, when it was shown to the jury it had deteriorated, allowing the suspect to be acquitted due to reasonable doubt.


title: Forensic science

text: Annoyed by that, Marsh developed a much better test. He combined a sample containing arsenic with sulfuric acid and arsenic-free zinc, resulting in arsine gas. The gas was ignited, and it decomposed to pure metallic arsenic, which, when passed to a cold surface, would appear as a silvery-black deposit. So sensitive was the test, known formally as the Marsh test, that it could detect as little as one-fiftieth of a milligram of arsenic. He first described this test in "The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal" in 1836.


title: Forensic science

text: Henry Goddard at Scotland Yard pioneered the use of bullet comparison in 1835. He noticed a flaw in the bullet that killed the victim and was able to trace this back to the mold that was used in the manufacturing process.


title: Forensic science

text: The French police officer Alphonse Bertillon was the first to apply the anthropological technique of anthropometry to law enforcement, thereby creating an identification system based on physical measurements. Before that time, criminals could be identified only by name or photograph. Dissatisfied with the "ad hoc" methods used to identify captured criminals in France in the 1870s, he began his work on developing a reliable system of anthropometrics for human classification.


title: Forensic science

text: Bertillon created many other forensics techniques, including forensic document examination, the use of galvanoplastic compounds to preserve footprints, ballistics, and the dynamometer, used to determine the degree of force used in breaking and entering. Although his central methods were soon to be supplanted by fingerprinting, "his other contributions like the mug shot and the systematization of crime-scene photography remain in place to this day."


title: Forensic science

text: Sir William Herschel was one of the first to advocate the use of fingerprinting in the identification of criminal suspects. While working for the Indian Civil Service, he began to use thumbprints on documents as a security measure to prevent the then-rampant repudiation of signatures in 1858.


title: Forensic science

text: In 1877 at Hooghly (near Kolkata), Herschel instituted the use of fingerprints on contracts and deeds, and he registered government pensioners' fingerprints to prevent the collection of money by relatives after a pensioner's death.


title: Forensic science

text: In 1880, Dr. Henry Faulds, a Scottish surgeon in a Tokyo hospital, published his first paper on the subject in the scientific journal "Nature", discussing the usefulness of fingerprints for identification and proposing a method to record them with printing ink. He established their first classification and was also the first to identify fingerprints left on a vial. Returning to the UK in 1886, he offered the concept to the Metropolitan Police in London, but it was dismissed at that time.


title: Forensic science

text: Faulds wrote to Charles Darwin with a description of his method, but, too old and ill to work on it, Darwin gave the information to his cousin, Francis Galton, who was interested in anthropology. Having been thus inspired to study fingerprints for ten years, Galton published a detailed statistical model of fingerprint analysis and identification and encouraged its use in forensic science in his book "Finger Prints". He had calculated that the chance of a "false positive" (two different individuals having the same fingerprints) was about 1 in 64 billion.


title: Forensic science

text: Juan Vucetich, an Argentine chief police officer, created the first method of recording the fingerprints of individuals on file. In 1892, after studying Galton's pattern types, Vucetich set up the world's first fingerprint bureau. In that same year, Francisca Rojas of Necochea was found in a house with neck injuries whilst her two sons were found dead with their throats cut. Rojas accused a neighbour, but despite brutal interrogation, this neighbour would not confess to the crimes. Inspector Alvarez, a colleague of Vucetich, went to the scene and found a bloody thumb mark on a door. When it was compared with Rojas' prints, it was found to be identical with her right thumb. She then confessed to the murder of her sons.


title: Forensic science

text: A Fingerprint Bureau was established in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, in 1897, after the Council of the Governor General approved a committee report that fingerprints should be used for the classification of criminal records. Working in the Calcutta Anthropometric Bureau, before it became the Fingerprint Bureau, were Azizul Haque and Hem Chandra Bose. Haque and Bose were Indian fingerprint experts who have been credited with the primary development of a fingerprint classification system eventually named after their supervisor, Sir Edward Richard Henry. The Henry Classification System, co-devised by Haque and Bose, was accepted in England and Wales when the first United Kingdom Fingerprint Bureau was founded in Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police headquarters, London, in 1901. Sir Edward Richard Henry subsequently achieved improvements in dactyloscopy.


title: Forensic science

text: In the United States, Dr. Henry P. DeForrest used fingerprinting in the New York Civil Service in 1902, and by December 1905, New York City Police Department Deputy Commissioner Joseph A. Faurot, an expert in the Bertillon system and a fingerprint advocate at Police Headquarters, introduced the fingerprinting of criminals to the United States.


title: Forensic science

text: The Uhlenhuth test, or the antigen–antibody precipitin test for species, was invented by Paul Uhlenhuth in 1901 and could distinguish human blood from animal blood, based on the discovery that the blood of different species had one or more characteristic proteins. The test represented a major breakthrough and came to have tremendous importance in forensic science. The test was further refined for forensic use by the Swiss chemist Maurice Müller in the year 1960s.


title: Forensic science

text: Forensic DNA analysis was first used in 1984. It was developed by Sir Alec Jeffreys, who realized that variation in the genetic sequence could be used to identify individuals and to tell individuals apart from one another. The first application of DNA profiles was used by Jefferys in a double murder mystery in the small English town of Narborough, Leicestershire, in 1985. A 15-year-old school girl by the name of Lynda Mann was raped and murdered in Carlton Hayes psychiatric hospital. The police did not find a suspect but were able to obtain a semen sample.


title: Forensic science

text: In 1986, Dawn Ashworth, 15 years old, was also raped and strangled in the nearby village of Enderby. Forensic evidence showed that both killers had the same blood type. Richard Buckland became the suspect because he worked at Carlton Hayes psychiatric hospital, had been spotted near Dawn Ashworth's murder scene and knew unreleased details about the body. He later confessed to Dawn's murder but not Lynda's. Jefferys was brought into the case to analyze the semen samples. He concluded that there was no match between the samples and Buckland, who became the first person to be exonerated using DNA. Jefferys confirmed that the DNA profiles were identical for the two murder semen samples. To find the perpetrator, DNA samples from the entire male population, more than 4,000 aged from 17 to 34, of the town were collected. They all were compared to semen samples from the crime. A friend of Colin Pitchfork was heard saying that he had given his sample to the police claiming to be Colin. Colin Pitchfork was arrested in 1987 and it was found that his DNA profile matched the semen samples from the murder.


title: Forensic science

text: Because of this case, DNA databases were developed. There is the national (FBI) and international databases as well as the European countries (ENFSI : European Network of Forensic Science Institutes). These searchable databases are used to match crime scene DNA profiles to those already in a database.


title: Forensic science

text: By the turn of the 20th century, the science of forensics had become largely established in the sphere of criminal investigation. Scientific and surgical investigation was widely employed by the Metropolitan Police during their pursuit of the mysterious Jack the Ripper, who had killed a number of women in the 1880s. This case is a watershed in the application of forensic science. Large teams of policemen conducted house-to-house inquiries throughout Whitechapel. Forensic material was collected and examined. Suspects were identified, traced and either examined more closely or eliminated from the inquiry. Police work follows the same pattern today. Over 2000 people were interviewed, "upwards of 300" people were investigated, and 80 people were detained.


title: Forensic science

text: The investigation was initially conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), headed by Detective Inspector Edmund Reid. Later, Detective Inspectors Frederick Abberline, Henry Moore, and Walter Andrews were sent from Central Office at Scotland Yard to assist. Initially, butchers, surgeons and physicians were suspected because of the manner of the mutilations. The alibis of local butchers and slaughterers were investigated, with the result that they were eliminated from the inquiry. Some contemporary figures thought the pattern of the murders indicated that the culprit was a butcher or cattle drover on one of the cattle boats that plied between London and mainland Europe. Whitechapel was close to the London Docks, and usually such boats docked on Thursday or Friday and departed on Saturday or Sunday. The cattle boats were examined, but the dates of the murders did not coincide with a single boat's movements, and the transfer of a crewman between boats was also ruled out.


title: Forensic science

text: At the end of October, Robert Anderson asked police surgeon Thomas Bond to give his opinion on the extent of the murderer's surgical skill and knowledge. The opinion offered by Bond on the character of the "Whitechapel murderer" is the earliest surviving offender profile. Bond's assessment was based on his own examination of the most extensively mutilated victim and the post mortem notes from the four previous canonical murders. In his opinion the killer must have been a man of solitary habits, subject to "periodical attacks of homicidal and erotic mania", with the character of the mutilations possibly indicating "satyriasis". Bond also stated that "the homicidal impulse may have developed from a revengeful or brooding condition of the mind, or that religious mania may have been the original disease but I do not think either hypothesis is likely".


title: Forensic science

text: "Handbook for Coroners, police officials, military policemen" was written by the Austrian criminal jurist Hans Gross in 1893, and is generally acknowledged as the birth of the field of criminalistics. The work combined in one system fields of knowledge that had not been previously integrated, such as psychology and physical science, and which could be successfully used against crime. Gross adapted some fields to the needs of criminal investigation, such as crime scene photography. He went on to found the Institute of Criminalistics in 1912, as part of the University of Graz' Law School. This Institute was followed by many similar institutes all over the world.


title: Forensic science

text: In 1909, Archibald Reiss founded the "Institut de police scientifique" of the University of Lausanne (UNIL), the first school of forensic science in the world. Dr. Edmond Locard, became known as the "Sherlock Holmes of France". He formulated the basic principle of forensic science: "Every contact leaves a trace", which became known as Locard's exchange principle. In 1910, he founded what may have been the first criminal laboratory in the world, after persuading the Police Department of Lyon (France) to give him two attic rooms and two assistants.


title: Forensic science

text: Symbolic of the newfound prestige of forensics and the use of reasoning in detective work was the popularity of the fictional character Sherlock Holmes, written by Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 19th century. He remains a great inspiration for forensic science, especially for the way his acute study of a crime scene yielded small clues as to the precise sequence of events. He made great use of trace evidence such as shoe and tire impressions, as well as fingerprints, ballistics and handwriting analysis, now known as questioned document examination. Such evidence is used to test theories conceived by the police, for example, or by the investigator himself. All of the techniques advocated by Holmes later became reality, but were generally in their infancy at the time Conan Doyle was writing. In many of his reported cases, Holmes frequently complains of the way the crime scene has been contaminated by others, especially by the police, emphasising the critical importance of maintaining its integrity, a now well-known feature of crime scene examination. He used analytical chemistry for blood residue analysis as well as toxicology examination and determination for poisons. He used ballistics by measuring bullet calibres and matching them with a suspected murder weapon.


title: Forensic science

text: Hans Gross applied scientific methods to crime scenes and was responsible for the birth of criminalistics.


title: Forensic science

text: Edmond Locard expanded on Gross' work with Locard's Exchange Principle which stated "whenever two objects come into contact with one another, materials are exchanged between them". This means that every contact by a criminal leaves a trace.


title: Forensic science

text: Alphonse Bertillon was a French criminologist and founder of Anthropometry (scientific study of measurements and proportions of the human body). He used anthropometry for identification, stating that, since each individual is unique, by measuring aspects of physical difference there could be a personal identification system. He created the Bertillon System around 1879, a way of identifying criminals and citizens by measuring 20 parts of the body. In 1884, over 240 repeat offenders were caught using the Bertillon system, but the system was largely superseded by fingerprinting.


title: Forensic science

text: Frances Glessner Lee, known as "the mother of forensic science", was instrumental in the development of forensic science in the US. She lobbied to have coroners replaced by medical professionals, endowed the Harvard Associates in Police Science, and conducted many seminars to educate homicide investigators. She also created the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, intricate crime scene dioramas used to train investigators, which are still in use today.


title: Forensic science

text: Later in the 20th century several British pathologists, Mikey Rochman, Francis Camps, Sydney Smith and Keith Simpson pioneered new forensic science methods. Alec Jeffreys pioneered the use of DNA profiling in forensic science in 1984. He realized the scope of DNA fingerprinting, which uses variations in the genetic code to identify individuals. The method has since become important in forensic science to assist police detective work, and it has also proved useful in resolving paternity and immigration disputes. DNA fingerprinting was first used as a police forensic test to identify the rapist and killer of two teenagers, Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, who were both murdered in Narborough, Leicestershire, in 1983 and 1986 respectively. Colin Pitchfork was identified and convicted of murder after samples taken from him matched semen samples taken from the two dead girls.


title: Forensic science

text: Forensic science has been fostered by a number of national and international forensic science learned bodies including the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, (founded 1959), then known as the Forensic Science Society, publisher of "Science & Justice"; American Academy of Forensic Sciences (founded 1948), publishers of the "Journal of Forensic Sciences"; the Canadian Society of Forensic Science (founded 1953), publishers of the "Journal of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science"; the British Academy of Forensic Sciences (founded 1960), publishers of "Medicine, Science and the Law"; the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences (founded 1967), publishers of the "Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences"; and the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (founded 1995).


title: Forensic science

text: In the past decade, documenting forensics scenes has become more efficient. Forensic scientists have started using laser scanners, drones and photogrammetry to obtain 3D point clouds of accidents or crime scenes. Reconstruction of an accident scene on a highway using drones involves data acquisition time of only 10–20 minutes and can be performed without shutting down traffic. The results are not just accurate, in centimeters, for measurement to be presented in court but also easy to digitally preserve in the long term.


title: Forensic science

text: Now, in the 21st century, much of forensic science's future is up for discussion. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has offered the community some guidelines upon which the science should build. NIST recommends that forensic science rethinks its system. If local laboratories abide by these guidelines, 21st century forensics will be dramatically different from what it has been up to now. One of the more recent additions by NIST is a document called NISTIR-7941, titled "Forensic Science Laboratories: Handbook for Facility Planning, Design, Construction, and Relocation". The handbook provides a clear blueprint for approaching forensic science. The details even include what type of staff should be hired for certain positions.


title: Forensic science

text: Some forensic techniques, believed to be scientifically sound at the time they were used, have turned out later to have much less scientific merit or none. Some such techniques include:


title: Forensic science

text: "Litigation science" describes analysis or data developed or produced "expressly" for use in a trial versus those produced in the course of independent research. This distinction was made by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals when evaluating the admissibility of experts.


title: Forensic science

text: This uses demonstrative evidence, which is evidence created in preparation of trial by attorneys or paralegals.


title: Forensic science

text: Real-life crime scene investigators and forensic scientists warn that popular television shows do not give a realistic picture of the work, often wildly distorting its nature, and exaggerating the ease, speed, effectiveness, drama, glamour, influence and comfort level of their jobs—which they describe as far more mundane, tedious and boring.


title: Forensic science

text: Some claim these modern TV shows have changed individuals' expectations of forensic science, sometimes unrealistically—an influence termed the "CSI effect".


title: Forensic science

text: Further, research has suggested that public misperceptions about criminal forensics can create, in the mind of a juror, unrealistic expectations of forensic evidence—which they expect to see before convicting—implicitly biasing the juror towards the defendant. Citing the "CSI effect," at least one researcher has suggested screening jurors for their level of influence from such TV programs.


title: Forensic science

text: Questions about certain areas of forensic science, such as fingerprint evidence and the assumptions behind these disciplines have been brought to light in some publications including the "New York Post". The article stated that "No one has proved even the basic assumption: That everyone's fingerprint is unique." The article also stated that "Now such assumptions are being questioned—and with it may come a radical change in how forensic science is used by police departments and prosecutors." Law professor Jessica Gabel said on NOVA that forensic science "lacks the rigors, the standards, the quality controls and procedures that we find, usually, in science".


title: Forensic science

text: In the US, on 25 June 2009, the Supreme Court issued a 5-to-4 decision in "Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts" stating that crime laboratory reports may not be used against criminal defendants at trial unless the analysts responsible for creating them give testimony and subject themselves to cross-examination. The Supreme Court cited the National Academies of Sciences report "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States" in their decision. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia referred to the National Research Council report in his assertion that "Forensic evidence is not uniquely immune from the risk of manipulation."


title: Forensic science

text: In the US, another area of forensic science that has come under question in recent years is the lack of laws requiring the accreditation of forensic labs. Some states require accreditation, but some states do not. Because of this, many labs have been caught performing very poor work resulting in false convictions or acquittals. For example, it was discovered after an audit of the Houston Police Department in 2002 that the lab had fabricated evidence which led George Rodriguez being convicted of raping a fourteen-year-old girl. The former director of the lab, when asked, said that the total number of cases that could have been contaminated by improper work could be in the range of 5,000 to 10,000.


title: Forensic science

text: The Innocence Project database of DNA exonerations shows that many wrongful convictions contained forensic science errors. As indicated by the National Academy of Sciences report "Strengthening Forensic Sciences in the United States", part of the problem is that many traditional forensic sciences have never been empirically validated; and part of the problem is that all examiners are subject to forensic confirmation biases and should be shielded from contextual information not relevant to the judgment they make.


title: Forensic science

text: Many studies have discovered a difference in rape-related injuries reporting based on race, with white victims reporting a higher frequency of injuries than black victims. However, since current forensic examination techniques may not be sensitive to all injuries across a range of skin colors, more research needs to be conducted to understand if this trend is due to skin confounding healthcare providers when examining injuries or if darker skin extends a protective element. In clinical practice, for patients with darker skin, one study recommends that attention must be paid to the thighs, labia majora, posterior fourchette and fossa navicularis, so that no rape-related injuries are missed upon close examination.


title: Forensic science

text: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) uses forensic science for humanitarian purposes to clarify the fate of missing persons after armed conflict, disasters or migration, and is one of the services related to Restoring Family Links and Missing Persons. Knowing what has happened to a missing relative can often make it easier to proceed with the grieving process and move on with life for families of missing persons.


title: Forensic science

text: Forensic science is used by various other organizations to clarify the fate and whereabouts of persons who have gone missing. Examples include the NGO Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, working to clarify the fate of people who disappeared during the period of the 1976–1983 military dictatorship. The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) uses forensic science to find missing persons, for example after the conflicts in the Balkans.


title: Forensic science

text: Recognising the role of forensic science for humanitarian purposes, as well as the importance of forensic investigations in fulfilling the state's responsibilities to investigate human rights violations, a group of experts in the late-1980s devised a UN Manual on the Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, which became known as the Minnesota Protocol. This document was revised and re-published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2016.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Jason Deneen Beghe (; born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Since 2014, he has starred in the NBC TV series "Chicago P.D." as sergeant Hank Voight. He is also known for starring in the 1988 George A. Romero film "Monkey Shines", playing Demi Moore's love interest in "G.I. Jane", appearing as a police officer in the film "Thelma & Louise", starring opposite Moira Kelly in the television series "To Have & to Hold", and having recurring roles on "Picket Fences", "Melrose Place", "Chicago Hope", "American Dreams", "Cane", and "Californication".


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe is a former Scientologist. He began taking Scientology courses in 1994 and later appeared in a Church of Scientology advertising campaign and in promotional videos. Beghe left the church in 2007 and has publicly criticized Scientology since then.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe, who is of Italian, German, English, and French Canadian heritage, was born March 12, 1960 in New York City, the son of tax court judge Renato Beghe, and has three siblings. He attended the Collegiate School, a private preparatory school for boys located in New York City. While there, he became best friends with John F. Kennedy Jr. and actor David Duchovny; another classmate was dancer Christopher d'Amboise. Kennedy and Beghe often spent time together outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in Central Park, while being monitored by Kennedy's Secret Service detail. Beghe later persuaded Duchovny to pursue work in acting.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Prior to his acting career, Beghe worked as a model in Europe. He had his feature film debut in the 1985 film "Compromising Positions", starring Susan Sarandon, and in 1986 had his first recurring role on television on the HBO situation comedy series "1st & Ten". He starred alongside O. J. Simpson and Sam J. Jones in HBO's sequel to "1st & Ten" titled "Training Camp: The Bulls Are Back", and John Voorhees of "The Seattle Times" wrote: "The cast, which includes O.J. Simpson, Sam Jones and newcomer Jason Beghe, is first-rate."


title: Jason Beghe

text: In 1988, he starred in the film "Monkey Shines: An Experiment In Fear", directed by George A. Romero. He portrayed Allan Mann, a law student made quadriplegic when hit by a truck in the opening credits of the film. "The Philadelphia Inquirer" gave a positive review of Beghe's performance in "Monkey Shines": "Acting only with his face and voice, Jason Beghe is terrific at conveying the mounting anger and rage of an active man made passive". David Foil of "The Advocate" described Beghe's performance as "remarkable simply for meeting the demands of the character".


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe played an ice hockey star in the Perry Mason TV film "The Case of the All-Star Assassin", an NBC-TV telefeature broadcast November 19, 1989. In 1991, he played a State Trooper in the film "Thelma & Louise" (reuniting him with Sarandon, with whom he'd appeared in "Compromising Positions"), and was Demi Moore's love interest in the 1997 film "G.I. Jane". He had recurring roles on "Picket Fences" and "Melrose Place", and became a cast member of "Chicago Hope" in 1997, portraying electrician Danny Blaines opposite romantic interest Dr. Austin played by Christine Lahti. In a 1997 interview in "The Boston Herald", Beghe spoke about his respect for his fellow cast members in "Chicago Hope": "I think it's the best cast assembled that I've ever seen. One for one, they're incredible. And to work with Christine Lahti? I'd drop a lot of things for that. She's so good and smart and dedicated. I've become a better actor just for working with her." He commented on his character on "Melrose Place", a closeted military officer who had feelings for Matt, played by Doug Savant: "I thought we should kiss, but it was too much. TV is a very specific medium, and you're naive if you think that everything is just based on artistic decisions. If it prevents them from selling some products, that's a major consideration. But I'm an actor. I'll do whatever it takes." In 1993, Beghe played Lt. Pat Rudledge in the television drama series Matlock.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe co-starred with Moira Kelly in the 1998 CBS television drama series "To Have & to Hold", where he played police officer Sean McGrail. Mike Duffy of the "Detroit Free Press" wrote: "There is an affectionate romantic sizzle between the ruggedly handsome Beghe ("G.I. Jane") and the dark-haired, unconventionally attractive Kelly ("Little Odessa")." Kinney Littlefield of the "Orange County Register" said that "Beghe and Kelly have charm."


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe appeared in acting roles on "Numb3rs", "", "Everwood", "Criminal Minds", "Veronica Mars", "Jag" and "Cane". Beghe portrayed exorcist Ray Purvis in the 2008 horror film "One Missed Call". In 2009, Beghe had a guest-starring role on the television show "Californication". He played the character novelist Richard Bates, a friend of character Hank Moody (played by David Duchovny). "Bates, played by Jason Beghe, made for an interesting character and the fact that he didn't get as much screen time as some of the other characters is a shame," wrote Danny Gallagher of "TV Squad". In October 2009, Beghe was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the filming of the movie "The Next Three Days", directed by Paul Haggis. The film was released in 2010 and starred Elizabeth Banks, Russell Crowe, Brian Dennehy, and Olivia Wilde.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Since 2014, Beghe has starred on "Chicago P.D."; the show is a spin-off of "Chicago Fire", on which Beghe played a recurring role. "Chicago P.D." follows the detectives of the Chicago Police Department's Intelligence Unit that combats the city's major offenses, including organized crime, drug trafficking, and high-profile murders. Beghe plays the role of Sgt. Hank Voight, a "tough cop" who heads the Intelligence Unit. On November 21, 2017, "Deadline Hollywood" reported that Beghe was investigated for behavior that was considered overly aggressive and possibly sexual harassment while filming "Chicago P.D." in 2016. Claims of inappropriate behavior were reportedly made by his former co-star, Sophia Bush. Beghe released a statement in which he acknowledged having anger problems, stated that he was working on them, admitted to engaging in aggressive behavior on set, and apologized.


title: Jason Beghe

text: In 1994, while taking an acting class taught by Scientologist Milton Katselas, Beghe decided to take some Scientology courses. Fellow acting student Bodhi Elfman gave him a book about Scientology. In 1999, Beghe helped promote a "What is Scientology?" exhibition as part of a Church of Scientology television advertising campaign in Great Britain. He appeared in Scientology promotional videos in 2005. Beghe estimated that he gave the Church of Scientology US$1 million over a 12-year period.


title: Jason Beghe

text: In 2007, Beghe decided to leave Scientology. One of the first people he went to see after his departure was his friend David Duchovny. During the years of his involvement in Scientology, his relationship with Duchovny had suffered; Duchovny was referred to as a "Suppressive Person", a term used by Scientologists for those believed to be working against the Church of Scientology.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe began to publicly criticize the Church of Scientology in April 2008. He participated in an interview about his experiences as a Scientologist; a clip of that interview was published online by Scientology critic Mark Bunker in mid-April 2008. In the video, Beghe asserted that Scientology was "very dangerous for your spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional health and evolution". The clip ended with Beghe stating, "I don't have an agenda. I'm just trying to help. [...] I have the luxury of having gotten into Scientology and after having been in it, been out. And that's a perspective that people who are still in and not out do not have." Marina Hyde of "The Guardian" has called Beghe a Scientology celebrity whistleblower.


title: Jason Beghe

text: On April 28, 2008, Beghe posted online a letter to Church leader David Miscavige. In the letter, he requested the confidential confessional files that Scientology compiles during Auditing sessions. Beghe told "The Village Voice" that these confidential files are kept on actor Tom Cruise and other celebrity Scientologists.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe has asserted that Scientology's practice of disconnection was still in place as of 2008. In an interview with Tony Ortega of "The Village Voice", Beghe stated that the expulsion of his four-year-old son from a Scientology school was an example of disconnection. Beghe has turned down opportunities to speak about his experiences with Scientology on television; he says, "I just wanted to make sure that the story isn't about me. It's not about me. It's about helping others who are still lost in the cult, or toying with the idea of getting involved."


title: Jason Beghe

text: On May 29, 2008, Beghe attended a protest against the Church of Scientology held outside the Scientology building on East 46th Street in New York City. In September 2008, Beghe traveled to Europe where he spoke with government officials in Hamburg, Germany, about his experiences as a Scientologist. Beghe suggested that governments put up warning signs about Scientology that are similar to warnings placed on packs of cigarettes; the next day, a member of Germany's Interior Department told him such a sign was placed outside a Church of Scientology building in Berlin.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe was a guest in May 2009 on the BBC World Service radio program "", where he discussed his views on what he thought of Scientology when he first joined: "I thought that it was something that was going to deliver miracles, and that it was the most selfless group of people that were totally dedicated to helping mankind, and I wanted to be part of it." He was also critical of Scientology leadership: "I think that there are probably things of Scientology that are valuable and that can help people – my main issue is not with Scientology per se, it is with Scientology the organization – it is a corrupt I believe and probably a criminal endeavor, and that has to do with people who are in charge of Scientology mainly David Miscavige..."


title: Jason Beghe

text: In September 2010, Beghe took part in a BBC News "Panorama" documentary, "The Secrets of Scientology", in which he spoke about his decision to leave the organization. Beghe also appeared in the 2015 HBO documentary "Going Clear", based upon the book of the same name by Lawrence Wright.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe's sister, Francesca Beghe, is a singer-songwriter who released a self-titled album in 1991 with SBK Records. His great-grandfather was Charles S. Deneen, a two-term governor of Illinois and one-term U.S. Senator in the late 1920s.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe and David Duchovny are close friends; he was best man at Duchovny's wedding to actress Téa Leoni in 1997.


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe is known for his signature "gravelly" voice owing to a car accident in 1999. He said, "I was intubated, and I kept pulling this tube out of my throat."


title: Jason Beghe

text: Beghe married Angie Janu in 2000. The couple have two children. He lives in Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, California. In December 2017, Beghe filed for divorce, which was granted in September 2020.


title: Jayma Mays

text: Jamia Suzette "Jayma" Mays is an American actress. She is known for playing Emma Pillsbury in the Fox musical series "Glee" (2009–2015) and for her starring roles in the films "Red Eye" (2005), "" (2009) and "The Smurfs" (2011). She is also known for portraying Debbie in the sitcom "The Millers" (2013–2014) and her recurring role as Charlie Andrews on the NBC sci-fi series "Heroes" (2006–2010). Mays starred as prosecutor Carol Anne Keane in the NBC sitcom "Trial & Error" (2017–2018).


title: Jayma Mays

text: Mays was raised in Grundy, Virginia, the daughter of Susan Paulette (née Norris) and James Edwin Mays, a high school teacher who also worked in the coal mining industry. At age 15, she was offered a job working on the local radio station reading the obituaries. After graduating from Grundy High School, she earned an associate degree from Southwest Virginia Community College. Mays then attended Virginia Tech for a year before transferring to Radford University.


title: Jayma Mays

text: In 2004, Mays made her first television appearance on "Joey". The following year, she made her feature film debut with a supporting role in "Red Eye". Mays' other credits include "Six Feet Under", "Stacked", "How I Met Your Mother", "Heroes", "Pushing Daisies", "The Comeback", "Entourage", "Ghost Whisperer", and "Ugly Betty".


title: Jayma Mays

text: Mays appeared in other movies, such as "Bar Starz", "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Blind Guy Driving". She starred in the spoof film "Epic Movie" and as Amy in "". She was a patient on "House" in the episode "Sleeping Dogs Lie" in 2006.


title: Jayma Mays

text: Mays has played the love interest of a character played by Masi Oka in two different roles: Charlie Andrews on "Heroes" and Nina in the direct-to-DVD film "". She has also been cast as a love interest twice for "Glee" co-star Matthew Morrison; in an unaired TV show called "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office", and as mysophobic guidance counsellor Emma Pillsbury on the Fox show "Glee", which premiered on May 19, 2009. She was part of the main cast of "Glee" for the first three seasons, then was made a guest star in seasons four, five, and six. She has also performed musical numbers on "Glee" including her solo performance of "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Touch Me" from "The Rocky Horror Show" during the themed episode "The Rocky Horror Glee Show"; which was also the song she had sung for her audition for the role. In March 2010, Mays played Grace Winslow, the female lead in the live-action/animated film adaptation of "The Smurfs". She also played the role of Charlotte, Henry Grubstick's ex-girlfriend on "Ugly Betty". In August 2014, Mays helped to raise awareness of the disease ALS by participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge. She also appeared in the music video for Switchfoot's single "Awakening".


title: Jayma Mays

text: From 2017–2018, Mays starred in the NBC crime anthology comedy "Trial & Error" as prosecutor Carol Anne Keane. She also appeared in a 2018 episode of "Great News" as Cat, the girlfriend of Greg, played by Mays's husband Adam Campbell.


title: Jayma Mays

text: In April 2021, it was announced that Mays was cast in "Disenchanted", the long-awaited sequel to the 2007 film "Enchanted", along with Maya Rudolph and Yvette Nicole Brown.


title: Jayma Mays

text: Mays met her husband Adam Campbell on the set of "Epic Movie" in 2006. She gave birth to their son in August 2016.


title: Prada

text: Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear and L’Oréal for fragrances.


title: Prada

text: The company was started in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Martino as "Fratelli Prada," a leather goods shop in Milan. Initially, the shop sold animal goods, imported English steamer trunks, and handbags.


title: Prada

text: Mario Prada did not believe women should have a role in business, so he prevented female family members from entering his company. Ironically, Mario's son had no interest in the business, so it was Mario's daughter Luisa who succeeded Mario and ran Prada for almost twenty years. Luisa's daughter, Miuccia Prada, joined the company in 1970, eventually taking over from Luisa in 1978.


title: Prada

text: Miuccia began making waterproof backpacks out of "Pocono", a nylon fabric. She met Patrizio Bertelli in 1977, an Italian who had begun his own leather goods business at the age of 24, and he joined the company soon after. He advised Miuccia on company business, which she followed. It was his advice to discontinue importing English goods and to change the existing luggage.


title: Prada

text: Miuccia inherited the company in 1978 by which time sales were up to U.S. $450,000. With Bertelli alongside her as business manager, Miuccia was allowed time to implement her creativity in the company's designs. She would go on to incorporate her ideas into the house of Prada that would change it.


title: Prada

text: She released her first set of backpacks and totes in 1979. They were made out of a tough military spec black nylon that her grandfather had used as coverings for steamer trunks. Initial success was not instant, as they were hard to sell due to the lack of advertising and high prices, but the lines would go on to become her first commercial hit.


title: Prada

text: Next, Miuccia and Bertelli sought out wholesale accounts for the bags in upscale department stores and boutiques worldwide. In 1983, Prada opened a second boutique in the centre of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan's shopping heart, on the site of the previous historic "London House" emporium run by Felice Bellini from 1870 to the 1960s, reminiscent of the original shop, but with a sleek and modern contrast to it.


title: Prada

text: The next big release was a nylon tote. That same year, the house of Prada began expansion across continental Europe and the United States by opening locations in prominent shopping districts within Florence, Paris, Madrid, and New York City. A shoe line was also released in 1984. In 1985 Miuccia released the "classic Prada handbag" that became an overnight sensation. Although practical and sturdy, its sleek lines and craftsmanship had a luxury that has become the Prada signature.


title: Prada

text: In 1987, Miuccia and Bertelli married. Prada launched its women's ready-to-wear collection in 1988, and the designs came to be known for their dropped waistlines and narrow belts. Prada's popularity increased when the fashion world took notice of its clean lines, opulent fabrics, and basic colors.


title: Prada

text: The logo for the label was not as obvious a design element as those on bags from other prominent luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton. It tried to market its lack of prestigious appeal, including of its apparel, by projecting an image of "anti-status" or "inverse snobbery".


title: Prada

text: Prada's originality made it one of the most influential fashion houses, and the brand became a premium status symbol in the 1990s.


title: Prada

text: Sales were reported at L 70 billion, or US$31.7 million, in 1998. Patrizio di Marco took charge of the growing business in the United States after working for the house in Asia. He was successful in having the Prada bags prominently displayed in department stores, so that they could become a hit with fashion editors. Prada's continued success was attributed to its "working-class" theme which, Ginia Bellafante at "The New York Times Magazine" proclaimed, "was becoming chic in the high-tech, IPO-driven early 1990s." Furthermore, now husband and wife, Miuccia and Bertelli led the Prada label on a cautious expansion, making products hard to come by.


title: Prada

text: In 1992, the high fashion brand Miu Miu, named after Miuccia's nickname, launched. Miu Miu catered to younger consumers and celebrities. By 1993 Prada was awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) award for accessories.


title: Prada

text: The first ready-to-wear menswear collection was Spring/Summer 1998. By 1994, sales were at US$210 million, with clothing sales accounting for 20% (expected to double in 1995). Prada won another award from the CFDA, in 1995 as a "designer of the year" 1996 witnessed the opening of the 18,000 ft² Prada boutique in Manhattan, New York, the largest in the chain at the time. By now the House of Prada operated in 40 locations worldwide, 20 of which were in Japan. The company owned eight factories and subcontracted work from 84 other manufacturers in Italy. Prada's and Bertelli's respective businesses were merged to create Prapar B.V. in 1996. The name, however, was later changed to Prada B.V., and Patrizio Bertelli was named Chief Executive Officer of the Prada luxury company.


title: Prada

text: 1996 can also be seen as marking an important turning point in Prada's aesthetics, one that fueled the brand's worldwide reputation. Journalists praised Miuccia's development of an “ugly chic” style, which initially confused customers by offering blatantly unsexy outfits which then revealed to offer daring and original takes on the relationship between fashion and desire. Since then Prada has been regarded as one of the most intelligent and conceptual designers.


title: Prada

text: In 1997, Prada posted revenue of US$674 million. Another store in Milan opened that same year. According to "The Wall Street Journal", Bertelli smashed the windows of the store a day before the opening, after he had become deeply unsatisfied with the set-up. Bertelli also acquired shares in the Gucci group, and later blamed Gucci for "aping his wife's designs." In June 1998, Bertelli gained 9.5% return on investment at US$260 million. Analysts began to speculate that he was attempting a take over of the Gucci group. The proposition seemed unlikely, however, because Prada was at the time still a small company and was in debt. "Funding Universe" states that "At the very least, Prada had a voice as one of Gucci's largest shareholders (a 10 percent holding would be required for the right to request a seat on the board) and would stand to profit tidily should anyone try to take over Gucci." However, Bertelli sold his shares to Moët-Hennessy • Louis Vuitton chairman Bernard Arnault in January 1998 for a profit of US$140 million. Arnault was in fact attempting a take over of Gucci. LVMH had been purchasing fashion companies for a while and already owned Dior, Givenchy, and other luxury brands. Gucci, however, managed to fend him off by selling a 45% stake to industrialist François Pinault, for US$3 billion. In 1998, the first Prada menswear boutique opened in Los Angeles.


title: Prada

text: Prada was determined to hold a leading portfolio of luxury brands, like the Gucci group and LVMH. Prada purchased 51% of Helmut Lang's company based in New York for US$40 million in March 1999. Lang's company was worth about US$100 million. Months later, Prada paid US$105 million to have full control of Jil Sander A.G., a German-based company with annual revenue of US$100 million. The purchase gained Prada a foothold in Germany, and months later Jil Sander resigned as chairwoman of her namesake company. Church & Company, an English shoemaker, also came under the control of Prada, when Prada bought 83% of the company for US$170 million. A joint venture between Prada and the De Rigo group was also formed that year to produce Prada eyewear. In October 1999, Prada joined with LVMH and beat Gucci to buy a 51% stake in the Rome-based Fendi S.p.A. Prada's share of the purchase (25.5%) was worth US$241.5 million out of the reported US$520 million total paid by both Prada and LVMH. Prada took on debts of Fendi, as the latter company was not doing well financially.


title: Prada

text: These acquisitions elevated Prada to the top of the luxury goods market in Europe. Revenue tripled from that of 1996, to L2 trillion. Despite apparent success, the company was still in debt.


title: Prada

text: The company's merger and purchasing sprees slowed in the 2000s. However, the company signed a loose agreement with Azzedine Alaia. Skincare products in unit doses were introduced in the United States, Japan, and Europe in 2000. A 30-day supply of cleansing lotion was marketed at the retail price of US$100. To help pay off debts of over US$850  million, the company planned on listing 30% of the company on the Milan Stock Exchange in June 2001. However, the offering slowed down after a decline in spending on luxury goods in the United States and Japan. In 2001, under the pressure of his bankers, Bertelli sold all of Prada's 25.5% share in Fendi to LVMH. The sale raised only US$295 million.


title: Prada

text: By 2006, the Helmut Lang, Amy Fairclough, Ghee, and Jil Sander labels were sold. Jil Sander was sold to the private equity firm Change Capital Partners, which was headed by Luc Vandevelde, the chairman of Carrefour, while the Helmut Lang label is now owned by Japanese fashion company Link Theory. Prada is still recovering from the Fendi debt. More recently, a 45% stake of the Church & Company brand has been sold to Equinox.


title: Prada

text: The Prada Spring/Summer 2009 Ready-to-Wear fashion show, held on 23 September 2008 in Milan, got infamous coverage because all the models on the catwalk were tottering – several of them stumbled, while two models fell down in front of the photographers and had to be helped by spectators to get up. They removed their shoes in order to continue their walk. One more model (Sigrid Agren) even had to stop and go back during the finale walk as she couldn't manage walking in her high heels any longer. Interviewed right after the show, one model declared: "I was having a panic attack, my hands were shaking. The heels were so high."


title: Prada

text: The designer Miuccia Prada, on her side, did not blame the height of the shoes, but the silk little socks inside, which were slippery and moved inside of the shoes, preventing the models' feet from having a correct grip on the sole. Miuccia Prada also assured that the shoes sold in stores would have a lower heel, and that the little socks would be sewn into the shoes in order to prevent further slips. But many fashionistas rightly claimed that the socks, once sewn into the shoes, would be non-washable and would quickly stink and become grey. Consequently, the shoes have never been commercially sold.


title: Prada

text: According to "Fortune", Bertelli planned on increasing revenue of the company to US$5 billion by 2010.


title: Prada

text: Prada is the main buyer from the Turkish leather factory DESA, which was found guilty by the Turkish Supreme Court of illegally dismissing workers who joined a union. The Clean Clothes Campaign, a labor rights organization based in Europe, has called on Prada to ensure that freedom of association is respected at the factory. On January 30, 2013, Clean Clothes Campaign reported, "Trade Union Harassment Continues at Prada Supplier".


title: Prada

text: On May 6, 2011, Hong Kong Stock Exchange was accused on approving Prada's IPO during Prada Gender Discrimination Case which Prada was ultimately to win. Feminist NGOs and Hong Kong Legislative Council lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan protested in front of Hong Kong Stock Exchange.


title: Prada

text: On June 24, 2011, the brand was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to raise $2.14 billion, but failed to meet expectations reported by AAP on June 17, 2011 and Bloomberg.


title: Prada

text: In 2015, Prada's turnover was 3,551.7 million euros, up 1 percent from 2014, while its gross operating profit fell 16.5 percent to 954.2 million euros.


title: Prada

text: In February 2015, a report in "The New York Times" by Charles Curkin was published about the use of ostrich leather by luxury fashion brands and the brutal methods by which it is removed from the flightless birds. It was based on a months-long investigation conducted by PETA and namechecked Prada as one of fashion's key brands dealing in products made from ostrich skin.


title: Prada

text: In July 2016, Prada clothing became available to purchase online for the first time through Net-a-Porter and Mytheresa.


title: Prada

text: As of March 2018, Prada's sales turned positive after declining since 2014, and their stock jumped 14% at the news.


title: Prada

text: Stating that Prada would be "(f)ocusing on innovative materials will allow the company to explore new boundaries of creative design while meeting the demand for ethical products," the company announced in 2019 that fur will be eliminated from the collection and all house brands as of 2020.


title: Prada

text: In February 2020, Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli named the Belgian designer Raf Simons as co-creative director.


title: Prada

text: Patrizio Bertelli's passion for sailing led Prada to form Team Luna Rossa in 1997 in order to participate in the America's Cup. On September 28, 2017 it was announced by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron that Prada will be the hosting sponsor of Challenger Selection Series at the 2021 America's Cup, superseding the role of Louis Vuitton started in 1983.


title: Prada

text: The Challenger Selection Series that was the Louis Vuitton Cup, will now be known as the Prada Cup, and the America's Cup Match will be presented by Prada. It will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, January 2021.


title: Prada

text: Prada hosts seasonal runway shows on the international fashion calendar, taking place in Milan often at one of the brand's spaces.


title: Prada

text: Resort 2019 was shown in New York City at Prada's New York headquarters. The show was broadcast over screens in Times Square.


title: Prada

text: Previous Prada models include Daria Werbowy, Gemma Ward, Vanessa Axente, Suvi Koponen, Ali Stephens, Vlada Roslyakova and Sasha Pivovarova, who went on to appear in Prada's ad campaigns for six consecutive seasons after opening the Prada fall 2005 runway show. Prada has also featured many actors as models in their menswear shows and campaigns, including Gary Oldman, Adrien Brody, Emile Hirsch and Norman Reedus.


title: Prada

text: Prada has commissioned architects, most notably Rem Koolhaas and Herzog & de Meuron, to design flagship stores in various locations.


title: Prada

text: 1919 - Prada was appointed Official Supplier to the Italian Royal Household; as such, it incorporated the House of Savoy's coat of arms and knotted rope design into its logo.


title: Prada

text: 1983 – Retail expansion sees a new boutique opened in Milan, as well as New York, Madrid, London, Paris, and Tokyo.


title: Prada

text: 2009 – A new store focussing on the Prada "Made to Order" collection opened on Corso Venezia, Milan, designed by architect Robert Baciocchi.


title: Prada

text: Inaugurated in 2000, Prada's Milan Headquarters are located in a former industrial space between via Bergamo and Via Fogazzaro. An art installation by Carsten Höller that takes the form of a three-story metal slide leads from Miuccia Prada's office to the interior courtyard.


title: Prada

text: Completed in 2002, Prada's New York City Headquarters open, located in a former Times Square piano factory renovated by the Herzog & de Meuron architecture firm.


title: Prada

text: 2003 – "Garden-Factories" Project – Prada collaborates with architect Guido Canali to rejuvenate the landscape surrounding their manufacturers.


title: Prada

text: In 2004, "Waist Down – Skirts by Miuccia Prada" bowed at the Tokyo Epicenter. A traveling exhibition featuring 100 skirts designed by Miuccia Prada and conceived by curator Kayoko Ota of AMO in collaboration with Mrs. Prada, the exhibition went on to Shanghai, New York, Los Angeles and Seoul.


title: Prada

text: Completed in 2009, Prada commissioned an unusual multi-purpose building from Rem Koolhaas's OMA group called the Prada Transformer in Seoul. The building was first used to display the "Waist Down – Skirts by Miuccia Prada" exhibition, and later changed into a movie theater.


title: Prada

text: In 2012, Mrs. Prada, along with designer Elsa Schiaparelli, was the subject of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition, "Impossible Conversations". The Los Angeles Epicenter was also restored in 2012.


title: Prada

text: In 2014, an exhibition called "Pradasphere" bowed in London's Harrods and Hong Kong's Central Ferry Pier 4, highlighting the Prada universe.


title: Prada

text: In 2015, Prada opened a permanent home for Fondazione Prada in Milan. Located in a former distillery redesigned by Rem Koolhaas's OMA group, it hosts a permanent collection of site-specific art as well as galleries of rotating exhibits. Intended to act as a gathering space for the local community, it also features a performance space, movie theater, bookstore, and a cafe – Bar Luce, with an interior designed by director Wes Anderson.


title: Prada

text: In 2016, after 6 years of restoration Prada opened an events space in a historic residence in the Rong Zhai district of Shanghai, China.


title: Prada

text: In 2007, Miuccia Prada contributed costume designs for two digital characters in the CGI film Appleseed Ex Machina.


title: Prada

text: In 2010, Giuseppe Verdi’s "Attila" premiered at New York’s Metropolitan Opera with costumes by Miuccia Prada.


title: Prada

text: In 2013, Miuccia Prada designed costumes for Baz Luhrmann's film "The Great Gatsby" in collaboration with costume designer Catherine Martin.


title: Prada

text: 2004 – Fragrance launched with the Puig company. Women's fragrances were followed by men's fragrances in 2006.


title: Prada

text: In May 2007, Prada began producing mobile phones with LG Electronics. Three mobile phones resulted from this collaboration: LG Prada (KE850), LG Prada II (KF900) and LG Prada 3.0.


title: Prada

text: Production of watches started in 2007 and was suspended in 2012. One of the watch models produced by Prada, the Prada Link, is compatible with bluetooth technology and can connect with the LG Prada II mobile phone.


title: Prada

text: The 1999 feature film "10 Things I Hate About You" features the following exchange extolling the virtues of Prada ownership:


title: Prada

text: The 2006 feature film "The Devil Wears Prada" (based on the 2003 book of the same name written by Lauren Weisberger) earned Meryl Streep an Oscar nomination for her role. Her shoe wardrobe for the film was said to be "at least 40% Prada" by the costume designer Patricia Field. Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue and the supposed inspiration for Meryl Streep's character, wore Prada to the film's premiere.


title: Prada

text: In 2005, a false Prada boutique was built as an art installation 26 miles away from Marfa, Texas. Called "Prada Marfa," the purpose of the structure was to eventually disintegrate into its surroundings. Shoes and bags were provided by Miuccia Prada from the Summer Season 2005 collection. The installation was looted after being completed, and the restoration needed led to a revise in plans, making the structure a permanent installation.


title: Prada

text: Prada Female Discrimination Case was the first women's rights lawsuit and movement of luxury fashion industry that appeared in the global media in 2010. It was named “David vs. Goliath” by the global NGOs leader. The Prada Female Discrimination Case occurred 10 years before the Me Too movement and was started by fashion executive, Rina Bovrisse.


title: Prada

text: On December 10, 2009, Bovrisse filed a lawsuit against Prada Japan accusing them of discriminating against women in the workplace. Prada Luxembourg (where the trademark is registered) countersued for defamation, stating "voicing women's rights damaged Prada's brand logo."


title: Prada

text: In May 2011, the Feminists rallied outside the Tsim She Tsui branch of Prada, calling on the Hong Kong exchange to veto the brand's initial public offering (IPO). In May 2012, a Labour Network Monitoring Asian Transnational Corporations issued a letter against LVMH Group on appointing Sebastian Suhl as COO of Givenchy while he was in the case of sexual harassment in Japan and Luxembourg. In October 2012, Tokyo District Court Judge Reiko Morioka ruled in favor of Prada, saying their alleged discrimination was “acceptable for a luxury fashion label.” Bovrisse claimed the court was not fair and accused the judge of screaming at her. Bovrisse took her discrimination claims to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The committee, without mentioning Bovrisse, did issue a report to the Japanese Government urging them to enact regulations that would make sexual harassment in the workplace illegal.


title: Prada

text: On December 14, 2018, Prada was forced to pull a new range of accessories and displays from its stores following complaints that they featured "blackface imagery." Prada scrapped the products after outrage spread online when a New Yorker spotted the character at the Prada's Soho store and blasted the brand for using "Sambo like imagery" in a viral Facebook post.


title: Prada

text: Prada stated in a tweet in response, "Prada Group never had the intention of offending anyone and we abhor all forms of racism and racist imagery. In this interest we will withdraw the characters in question from display and circulation."


title: Prada

text: In response to the incident, Prada assembled a diversity and inclusion advisory council co-chaired by Ava DuVernay and Theaster Gates.


title: Prada

text: , Prada was being investigated by Italian prosecutors for possible tax evasion after the luxury-goods company disclosed undeclared taxable income. Prada SpA Chairman Miuccia Prada, Chief Executive Officer Patrizio Bertelli and accountant Marco Salomoni have been named in the probe, which is for possible undeclared or false tax claims. The chairwoman of Prada faced an investigation after it was alleged the company avoided nearly £400 million in tax by transferring services abroad. Italy's "Corriere della Sera" newspaper said on Friday Prada and Bertelli had paid 420 million euros ($571 million) to Italy's tax agency to settle their tax affairs. Despite the settlement, an investigation continued. As of 2016, prosecutors requested the case be dropped as the debt had been settled.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a 2009 fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Charles McKeown. The film follows a travelling theatre troupe whose leader, having made a bet with the Devil, takes audience members through a magical mirror to explore their imaginations and present them with a choice between self-fulfilling enlightenment or gratifying ignorance.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: The film stars Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole, Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law, though Ledger's death one-third of the way through filming caused production to be temporarily suspended. Ledger completed most of the movie's runtime, and then his role was recast with Depp, Law, and Farrell portraying transformations of his character as he travels through a dream world. This is Ledger's final film performance and was dedicated to him and co-producer William Vince.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Its world premiere was during the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, out of competition. The film, which cost $30 million to make, grossed more than $60 million in its worldwide theatrical release.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: It was nominated for two Academy Awards. The first was Best Art Direction with art directed by Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro, and set decorated by Caroline Smith; and it lost to "Avatar". The second is Best Costume Design with costumes designed by Monique Prudhomme; and it lost to "The Young Victoria".


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Outside a London pub, an elderly bearded sage named Doctor Parnassus runs a nearly-bankrupt travelling theatre troupe, which includes his teenage daughter Valentina, a sleight-of-hand expert and barker Anton, and a dwarf assistant Percy. The troupe's main attraction is a portal to a magical "Imaginarium", a surreal dream world that transforms according to its participants' own desires and offers them a choice between difficult self-fulfillment or easy ignorance. After a drunkard is swayed to the latter, Parnassus says he has lost "another one" to Mr. Nick, a suave personification of the Devil, who often appears without warning to taunt Parnassus and gloat over Parnassus's failures. He reminds Parnassus that in three days Valentina turns 16, and her soul will belong to Mr. Nick. Hundreds of years ago, Mr. Nick tricked Parnassus into accepting immortality, after making a wager similar to his current predicament.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: As the troupe crosses a bridge, Anton notices someone hanging beneath it. After they rescue the man and revive him, he spits out a golden pipe that allowed him to continue breathing while being hanged; unwilling to explain his past, the man convinces his rescuers that he has amnesia. Parnassus sadly contemplates the impending loss of his daughter, and Mr. Nick visits him, revealing the identity of the rescued man: a disgraced philanthropist named Tony Shepard, who was being hanged by Russian gangsters for owing them money. Mr. Nick also offers Parnassus a new wager: Valentina can stay with Parnassus past the age of 16 if Parnassus can win five souls to the path of self-fulfillment before Mr. Nick can win five souls to the path of ignorance, all within the universe of the Imaginarium.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: The newcomer Tony soon joins the troupe as a barker even more charismatic than Anton, who is becoming suspicious. Tony convinces the troupe to remodel the show into a more modern act. While performing, Tony lures a posh, affluent woman into the Imaginarium and follows her, where they enter a pastel-coloured dream-world representing the woman's imagination. The woman's imagination also changes Tony's face to one of her liking; Tony dances elegantly with her, and they notice a motel run by Mr. Nick, but Tony convinces the woman instead to take a gondola ride that wins the first soul for Parnassus. Tony falls back out of the Imaginarium, returning his face to normal. The woman exits shortly after and gives the troupe a vast sum of money as thanks for her marvellous experience. When three other women enter, each re-emerges elated; and thus Parnassus has won a total of four souls. However, Mr. Nick easily takes the souls of four Russian gangsters looking to hunt Tony down for his debts. They chase Tony into the Imaginarium and quickly fall into a trap laid by Mr. Nick. Thus, the score is tied: four to four.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: With the bet nearing its end, Parnassus reluctantly reveals to Valentina her secret origins: after aging from immortality, Parnassus made a new pact with Mr. Nick to be youthful again, in order to win the heart of a woman he loved. In exchange, any child he fathered would become Mr. Nick's property at the age of 16. Valentina is horrified at her father's revelation. Meanwhile, having discovered that Tony is a fraudulent charity scammer who stole organs from orphans in developing countries and sold them to wealthy westerners, Anton confronts Tony, but Tony fights him off, pushes Valentina into the Imaginarium, and joins her. Influenced by Valentina's romantic desires, Tony's face changes to that of her dream lover, and they float along a beautiful river in a gondola, fulfilling their shared sexual feelings. A child in rags disrupts their serene boat trip, transitioning the scene to one of Tony as a philanthropist, speaking at a fundraiser for impoverished children. Anton, following the pair into the Imaginarium, appears in the form of an outspoken child and exposes Tony as a fraud. A mob of angry benefactors pursues Tony, and, as the landscape disintegrates, Anton confesses his love for Valentina before falling into a void.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Distraught and angry over her father's bargain and a lifetime of hiding the truth from her, Valentina willingly gives her soul over to Mr. Nick. Disillusioned by the easy victory, Mr. Nick offers Parnassus yet another bargain: to trade Valentina's soul for Tony's. Therefore, as the mob approaches Tony to hang him, Parnassus presents Tony with his true sturdy golden pipe that will allow him to survive the hanging as well as a near-perfect but brittle replica. Parnassus hopes that Tony will choose wrong; indeed, Tony inserts the cheap replica in his windpipe and thus dies when the mob lynches him. Mr. Nick keeps his word, freeing Valentina's soul but not revealing her new location to Parnassus, who is abandoned to wander in despair for years, trapped in his own Imaginarium.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: One day, Parnassus looks up to find himself a pitiful beggar back in London, when Valentina suddenly walks by him. He sees that she is now happily married to Anton, and they have a daughter. As Parnassus watches them through a window, his old assistant Percy walks up to him, dissuading him from interrupting Valentina's new cheerful life. Parnassus finally seems to be at peace, just knowing that his daughter is happy. Soon, Parnassus and Percy have teamed up again, presenting toy theatres of the Imaginarium and the troupe on a street corner. As Mr. Nick appears one final time to beckon Parnassus over to him for a new bargain, Percy quickly intervenes, ordering Parnassus back to work.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Director Terry Gilliam and screenwriter Charles McKeown wrote the script, their first collaboration since "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" (1988). When he was approached with the basic concept by Gilliam, McKeown thought of the central character of Parnassus "as a semi-eastern medicine man evolved", and in retrospect he further said about the script's sensibilities, "It is about the theme of imagination, and the importance of imagination, to how you live and how you think and so on. And that's very much a Terry theme. [...] I like the idea of storytelling being the thing that sustains the universe." Gilliam described the premise as a "fun and humorous story about the consequences of our personal choices in life", and explained his goal for the film: "It's autobiographical. I'm trying to bring a bit of fantasticality to London, an antidote to modern lives. I loved this idea of an ancient travelling show offering the kind of storytelling and wonder that we used to get, to people who are just into shoot-em-up action films." Gilliam and McKeown based the character of Tony on former British prime minister Tony Blair, who "would say the most insane things and probably he'd believe them himself".


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Gilliam repeatedly said in interviews that the character of Parnassus was meant autobiographically, a tale of an aging man with a vivid imagination in a world that does not listen anymore. He was still caught in depression over the disruption of his last self-written project, "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote", his constant struggle with the established studio system, and of becoming aware of his progressing age, worried that he was going nowhere with his latest projects and that he might not have much time left. He put several references to sudden, tragic, and premature death into his script before the loss of Ledger became a reality. He was compelled to emphasise that upon the film's release many things might be mistaken as references to Ledger's fate but that the script wasn't changed apart from re-casting Tony with Depp, Farrell, and Law.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: The film received an initial budget of $25 million, but its final budget was about $30 million. Gilliam and his cinematographer Nicola Pecorini went wider than ever before on focal length with a new 8mm Zeiss lens, unusual even for Gilliam movies which are known for wide-angle imagery. The widest lens on a Gilliam film had been a 9.8mm Kinoptik. Production of the remaining computer generated imagery effects shots were done in Vancouver.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Production started in December 2007, beginning with various shots of the Imaginarium wagon moving about the London suburbs, such as Bounds Green, on the evening of 9 December. The carnival scenes were shot at Potters Field between 10 and 11 December; shooting then moved to the abandoned Battersea Power Station for three days, where the production had set up offices nearby. After a full day of set-up, the hanging scenes at Blackfriars Bridge were shot for three hours on the evening of 17 December.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: At the same time that an intimate early scene between Andrew Garfield and Lily Cole was being shot on top of the travelling Imaginarium wagon, second unit work around London was also being done for several more nights, until 20 December; this change in schedule was to allow Heath Ledger a break to travel back to Australia to visit his family. After the entire cast returned from Christmas break, the production resumed shooting for 2008 back at Battersea for one full day; this was Tom Waits's first day on set, as he would mainly be required for the subsequent Vancouver shoot, not the London section. From 5–6 January, the production filmed scenes with the Imaginarium at Leadenhall Market; shooting on this sequence managed an average of 70 set-ups a day. The production had originally planned to shoot the Leadenhall scenes at Bond Street, but this was scrapped, due to security concerns.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Production was halted by the death of Heath Ledger in New York City on 22 January 2008. Ledger's involvement had been a "key factor" in the film's financing. Gilliam was presiding over concept art when he was informed by a phone call that Ledger had died. His initial thought about the production was: "The film's over, it's as simple as that." Although production was suspended indefinitely by 24 January, Gilliam initially wanted to "salvage" the film by using computer-generated imagery to make Ledger's character magically change his appearance, perhaps into another character. He also wanted to dedicate the film to Ledger. The imagery would have been similar to transformation techniques seen on Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and those employed on Roy Scheider's performance in his posthumous release "Iron Cross".


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Eventually, actors Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law were cast into Ledger's character in certain scenes, portraying the new idea of transformed versions of the character travelling through magical realms. Ledger's footage would remain in the film as his character's "real-world" appearance. Gilliam told "Entertainment Weekly", "Then we made the quantum leap: What if we get three actors to replace him? [...] Johnny was the first person I called. He said, 'Done. I'm there.' Same with Jude and Colin." Depp, a friend of Gilliam's who starred in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and the aborted 1998 production of "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote", had been compared to Ledger by cinematographer Nicola Pecorini. Law was also a friend of Ledger's and had been considered for the role of Tony, and Farrell had also been friends with Ledger.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Initially, Tom Cruise expressed interest in being involved as another actor to replace Ledger, but Gilliam turned him down because Cruise had never been a close friend of Ledger. Gilliam stated, "I just wanted to keep this [in the] family—it's as simple as that [...] There were people even offering to come and help, they didn't know Heath. It had to be in the family somehow, I don't know why; it was my attitude."


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: One scene planned for the Vancouver shooting with the Tony character was scrapped; two others were altered to accommodate Ledger's absence, a third was added to plan for Colin Farrell's role in the film, and a fourth, already in the script, had a prop of Farrell in a magazine added. A fifth, with close-ups of Ledger already filmed, scrapped any major dialogue from Tony and used a body and voice double, as detailed below.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: With the role recast, and the script restructured accordingly, filming resumed in Vancouver on 24 February 2008, a month later than originally planned; this push-back in filming also required another film produced by Samuel Hadida, an adaptation of the video game "Onimusha", to be delayed indefinitely. Exteriors required for the film's ending, featuring Christopher Plummer and Verne Troyer, were shot during this time; the location work also required the presence of Tom Waits (on the first day) and Lily Cole (on the second). All of Plummer's scenes, including exterior flashbacks shown early on in the film, had to be filmed first in the Vancouver schedule, within three weeks, as he was due to leave to begin filming on "The Last Station", which was to start production in Germany on 7 April.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: After arriving in Vancouver on 26 February, Colin Farrell joined the cast and began practicing scenes with them for several weeks while Christopher Plummer's bluescreen and interior work was done, only beginning filming proper on 10 March. Farrell's work was the first of the Tonys to be done, as it was the only Imaginarium-based shooting that involved significant sets; the scenes at the charity ball were shot (at Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre), then the hanging scene, and finally the gondola sequence (rewritten from its original conception due to the now-compressed shooting schedule).


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Johnny Depp's shooting on the film was the hardest to incorporate into any of the new actors' schedules, due to his contractual obligation on Michael Mann's "Public Enemies" at the time; in the end, Gilliam had access to Depp for one day and three hours. All of the shots involving him had to be completed in one take, to fit into Depp's compressed time schedule.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Finally, Jude Law arrived at the very end of shooting, on 2 April, to film the Imaginarium ladders sequence, which now required more dialogue than originally planned; a key scene in the Imaginarium wagon between Tony and the rest of the cast had been reserved for the Vancouver interior shooting, and so all of the dialogue (and, thus, narrative role of that scene) had to be funnelled into a conversation between Law and Andrew Garfield's characters in the Imaginarium. This conversation proved to be the last sequence shot for the film, and involved a set completely improvised, on the day, to look like the ground at Battersea; they did not have the budget for anything better, but the production crew came away quite impressed at how well it worked.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: For the first two Imaginarium sequences, a double for Ledger, Zander Gladish, was used to ease the audience into the other actors as Tony. Gladish also doubled for Ledger in wide shots and masked close-ups for another, non-Imaginarium scene, where his character tries out various costumes. Gladish wore the character's mask for his shots, and did not speak, but is still credited for his work on the film.


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Depp, Farrell, and Law opted to redirect their wages for the role to Ledger's young daughter, Matilda, who had been left out of an old version of Ledger's will, and Gilliam altered the part of the credits saying "A Terry Gilliam film" to "A film from Heath Ledger and friends."


title: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

text: Principal photography in Vancouver wrapped, as planned, on 15 April, but the production was soon beset by further tragedy when producer William Vince died of cancer, just two days after model shooting back in London had wrapped. Fellow producer Amy Gilliam, Terry's daughter, remembered, ""[Bill Vince]" always said, 'If you get your film in the can, you'll be all right.' And I kind of believe that he stayed with us to know that happened." Eventually, while on post-production, Gilliam himself was hit by a car, resulting in a cracked vertebra. Gilliam recalled: "So I thought, it was third time lucky – they just didn't get me. They got the star, the producer, and they were going for the director, and the fuckers failed on the last one. Whoever they are..." "They were going for the trinity "[...]" That would have been a tidy end to the whole thing. But they didn't kill me. I'm stuck here to tell the tale."