title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: The first widely accepted game in the genre was "Aeon of Strife" ("AoS"), a fan-made custom map for "StarCraft" in which four players each control a single powerful unit and, aided by weak computer-controlled units, compete against a stronger computer. "Defense of the Ancients" ("DotA") was created in 2003 by the "Warcraft III" modding community for "" and its expansion, "," with a map based on "AoS. DotA" was one of the first major titles of its genre and the first MOBA for which sponsored tournaments were held. It was followed by two spiritual successors, "League of Legends" (2009) and "Heroes of Newerth" (2010), as well by a standalone sequel, "Dota 2" (2013), and numerous other games in the genre, such as "Heroes of the Storm" (2015).


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: By the early 2010s, the genre had become a big part of the esports category. In 2018, prize pools reached over US$60 million, 40% of the year's total esports prize pools. Major esports professional tournaments are held in venues that can hold tens of thousands of spectators and are streamed online. A strong fanbase has opened up the opportunity for sponsorship and advertising, eventually leading the genre to become a global cultural phenomenon.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: Each match starts with two opposing teams typically composed of five players. Players work together as a team to achieve the ultimate victory condition, which is to destroy their enemy's base whilst protecting their own. Usually, both teams have main structures, located at the opposite corners of the battlefield. The first team to destroy the opponents' main structure wins the match, though some games have the option of different victory conditions. Destroying other structures within the opposing team's base may confer other benefits. Defensive structures, which are usually automatic "towers", are in place to prevent this. Each team is assisted by relatively weak computer-controlled units, called "minions", that periodically spawn in groups at both bases, marching down predefined paths (called "lanes") toward their enemy base. While their charges are counterbalanced by the opposite team's minions, players can aid them which turns the minions into a useful army for striking the opponents' defenses. There are typically three "lanes" on the battlefield that are the main ways of getting from one base to another. The lanes are known as top, middle and bottom lane, or, in gamer shorthand – "top", "mid" and "bot". Between the lanes is an uncharted area called "jungle". The "jungle" is a residence to neutral monsters that are hostile to both teams and appear in marked locations on the map known as "camps". Defeating neutral monsters brings various benefits to the players and their team, such as growth in power, buffs, or assistance in pushing the lane.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: The games are usually played on a battlefield shown from an isometric perspective, though MOBA design "DotA" popularized also made its way into games that deviated from the mod's isometric view, such as third-person shooters and side-scrolling platformers. The battlefield is represented in the interface by the mini-map.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: A player controls a single powerful in-game unit, called a "hero" or "champion", with each utilizing a unique set of abilities and style of play. When a hero stands near a killed enemy unit or kills an enemy unit, they gain experience points and gold which allow the hero to level up and buy items at a store. When a hero levels up, they grow in power and may strengthen one of their abilities which they typically have four of. If a hero runs out of health points and consequently dies, they are removed from active play until a respawn timer counts down to zero, at which point the hero respawns in their base. The amount of time required to respawn generally increases as the game progresses and/or the players level up.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: Heroes typically fall into one of several roles, such as tank, damage dealer, and support, each of which having unique designs, strengths, and weaknesses. MOBAs typically offer a large number of viable playable heroes for the player to choose from – "League of Legends", for instance, began with 40, and has continued to add characters over the game's lifespan, reaching 100 in 2012 and 150 in 2020. This adds to the overall complexity of the game as players must be aware of an ever-increasing list of available characters. Choosing the correct character to play is itself a skill in the MOBA genre, as players must weigh the available options to decide which character best suits their skill set, teammates, and opponents. Players usually find at least one hero they excel at playing, often referred to as a "main", and familiarize themselves with the remaining roster. Additionally, each hero is deliberately limited in the roles they can fulfill. No single hero is supposed to be powerful enough to win the game without support from their team. This creates a strong emphasis on teamwork and cooperation. The genre rewards players that are capable of cooperating with their teammates to execute an effective strategy, enabling full potential of their individual abilities and mechanical skills.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: Each player typically receives a small amount of gold per second during the course of the game. Moderate amounts of gold are rewarded for killing hostile computer-controlled units and larger amounts are rewarded for killing enemy heroes. Gold is used by heroes to buy a variety of different items that range in price and impact. For the most part, this involves improving the combat viability of the hero, although there may be other items that support the hero or team as a whole in different ways. As the heroes of each team get stronger, they can use multiple strategies to gain an advantage. These strategies can include securing objectives, killing enemy heroes and gaining levels by killing computer-controlled units. The stronger a team gets, the more capable they are at destroying the enemy team and their base, as well as protecting their own.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: In most MOBAs, playable characters have assigned classes such as "tank", "bruiser", "marksman", "mage", "fighter", "assassin", "support" and "healer", with each classification denoting various different skill sets and proficiencies. During the match, characters can be played in roles such as "carry", "support" and "ganker"; however, the number and type of roles can differ depending on the game. The carry role is expected to scale and itemize themselves to do the most damage against enemy characters and objectives, but may also require protection and assistance from their team members. Supports assist their team with abilities that aid allies and disable enemies, rather than dealing damage directly. Some supports have healing abilities which can be vital factor in the team composition's success, giving health and sustenance to their allies while limiting the enemy's options in terms of play patterns. Ganker roles are flexible, as they have both carry and support skills that are used to disrupt and eliminate enemies, thus giving their teammates an advantage over their opponents. Gankers can "act as a strategist, decision-maker or supporter depending on the team's needs." Player roles can be classified by the particular lane they are focusing on, such as "top laner", "mid laner", and "bottom laner", or by their role in a teamfight, such as "frontliner", "damage dealer", "healer", "flex", and the "offlaner".


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: As a fusion of real-time strategy (RTS), role-playing, and action games, MOBAs have many elements of preexisting genres while still offering unique gameplay. In general, the design philosophy of the MOBA genre has moved away from constructing structures, army building, and controlling additional units in favor of hero-centric gameplay. However, some MOBA games have certain heroes which control a few specialized units, but not on a massive scale commonly found in RTS games. As is the case in real-time strategy games, structures and base defense are important, and destroying the main structure at the heart of the enemy base typically serves as the ultimate victory condition of a given match. Players can find various friendly and enemy units on the map at any given time assisting each team, however, these units are computer-controlled and players usually do not have direct control over their movement and creation; instead, they forward along the map's lanes.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: Many defining elements of the action genre are represented in MOBA games. Players with better mechanical skills and quick reaction times typically excel relative to their peers. MOBAs often have a strong focus on micromanagement, involving mechanical abilities such as positioning, dodging, use of combo attacks, kiting, prediction and target selection. Direction-targeted abilities, or "skillshots", require precise aim and good timing in order to hit an enemy.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: The MOBA genre resembles role-playing games (RPGs) in gameplay, though the MOBA genre focuses on the multiplayer battle in the arena-like environment, whereas RPGs typically revolve around a single-player story and exploration of different locations. Some key features of MOBAs, such as control over one specific character in a party, growth in power over time, learning new thematic abilities, leveling and accumulation of experience points, usage of the mana resource, equipment and inventory management, completing quests, and fighting with powerful boss monsters, are also typical of role-playing games.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: The roots of the genre can be traced back decades to one of the earliest real-time strategy (RTS) titles, the 1989 Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game "Herzog Zwei".


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: the MOBA genre. It used a similar formula, where each player controls a single command unit in one of two opposing sides on a battlefield. "Herzog Zwei"s influence is apparent in several later MOBA games such as "" (2007) and "AirMech" (2012).


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: In 1998, "" featured a strategic "Precinct Assault" mode similar to "Herzog Zwei" in which the players could actively fight alongside generated non-player units.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: This could be regarded as the first example of MOBA gameplay, depending on the definition of the genre,


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: The PC version of "Future Cop: LAPD" was a game that met the criteria of an online arena video game, unlike "Herzog Zwei," as it allowed for online competitive play.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: In the same year, computer game company Blizzard Entertainment released its best-selling real-time strategy game "StarCraft" (1998) with a suite of game editing tools called "StarEdit". These tools allowed players to design and create custom maps with non-standard rules and gameplay. A modder known as Aeon64 made a custom map named "Aeon of Strife" ("AoS") that became popular. Some of the key features introduced in "AoS" became the foundation of the newborn genre.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: In the "Aeon of Strife" map, players controlled a single powerful hero unit fighting along three lanes which were protected by defensive towers. The terrain outside these lanes was nearly vacant. In early versions of the game, hero units didn't have any particular special abilities. Instead, players spent gold on weapon and armor upgrades.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: It was rumored that the modder was attempting to create gameplay similar to that of "Future Cop: LAPD"s Precinct Assault mode.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: In 2002, Blizzard released "" (WC3), with the accompanying "Warcraft III World Editor". Both the multiplayer online battle arena and tower defense subgenres took substantive shape within the "WC3" modding community. A modder named Eul began converting "Aeon of Strife" into the "Warcraft III" engine, calling the map "Defense of the Ancients" ("DotA"). Eul substantially improved the complexity of play from the original "Aeon of Strife" mod. Shortly after creating the custom "DotA" map, Eul left the modding scene. With no clear successor, "Warcraft III" modders created a variety of maps based on "DotA" and featuring different heroes. In 2003, after the release of "", a map creator named Meian created a "DotA" variant closely modeled on Eul's map, but combining heroes from the many other versions of "DotA" that existed at the time. Called "DotA: Allstars", it was inherited after a few months by a modder called Steve "Guinsoo" Feak, and under his guidance it became the dominant map of the genre. After more than a year of maintaining the "DotA: Allstars" map, with the impending release of an update that significantly changed the map layout, Guinsoo left the development to his adjutant Neichus in the year 2005. After some weeks of development and some versions released, the latter turned over responsibility to a modder named IceFrog, who initiated large changes to the mechanics that deepened its complexity and capacity for innovative gameplay. The changes conducted by IceFrog were well-received and the number of users on the "Dota: Allstars" forum is thought to have peaked at over one million. "DotA" is largely attributed to being the most significant inspiration for the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game genre in the years to come.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: By 2008, the popularity of "DotA" had attracted commercial attention. Since the format was tied to the "Warcraft" property, developers began to work on their own ""DOTA"-style" video games. A Flash web game, named "Minions," was created by The Casual Collective in 2008. Gas Powered Games released the first stand-alone commercial title in the genre, "Demigod" (2009). In late 2009, Riot Games' debut title "League of Legends" was released. It was initially designed by Steve Feak, one of the original creators of "DotA: Allstars," who went on to apply many of the mechanics and lessons he learned from the mod. Riot began to refer to the game's genre as a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). Also in 2009, IceFrog, who had continued to develop "DotA: Allstars", was hired by Valve, in order to design a sequel to the original map.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: In 2010, S2 Games released "Heroes of Newerth", with a large portion of its gameplay and aesthetics based on "DotA: Allstars". The same year, Valve announced "Dota 2" and subsequently secured the franchise's intellectual property rights after being contested by Riot Games for the "DotA" trademark. In 2012, Activision Blizzard settled a trademark dispute with Valve over the usage of the "DOTA" name and announced their own standalone game which was eventually named "Heroes of the Storm". "Dota 2" was released in 2013, and was referred to by Valve as an "action real-time strategy" game. In 2014, Hi-Rez Studios released "Smite", a MOBA with a third-person perspective. "Heroes of the Storm" was released in 2015, featuring hero characters from "Warcraft III" and other Blizzard's franchises. Blizzard adopted their own personal dictation for their game's genre with "hero brawler", citing its focus on action.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: With the expansion of the smartphone market, numerous MOBA titles have been released for portable devices, such as "Vainglory" (2014), and "Honor of Kings" (2015). An international adaptation of "Honor of Kings" developed by TiMi Studios and published by Tencent Games for markets outside mainland China, rebranded as "Arena of Valor" (2016), was released in the western market in 2017. In 2021, the Pokémon series released its first MOBA game in "Pokémon Unite".


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: During the last half of the 2010s, video game developers and publishers, following the success of "League of Legends" and "Dota 2", tried to be part of the next-generation MOBA wave by putting their own twist in the genre, releasing games such as "Battlerite" (2017), and "AirMech" (2018). After years of development, many games which were supported by large publishers have not been fully released or their servers were shut down shortly after release. The most notable examples are "Dawngate" (2015) by Electronic Arts, DC Comics-based "Infinite Crisis" (2015) by Warner Bros., "Arena of Fate" (2016) by Crytek, "Gigantic" (2017) by Perfect World Entertainment, "Master X Master" (2018) by NCSoft, and "Paragon" (2018) by Epic Games.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: In the original "Defense of the Ancients" ("DotA"), each player controls one powerful unit rather than a large army. While it still kept the large scale, core mechanics, and goals of the real-time strategy games, "DotA" attempted to avoid "clickfest" gameplay in which high actions per minute scores are mandatory for efficient playing, changing focus to the actual teamwork, coordination, and tactics. This made the mod highly popular, as its dynamic and unpredictable fights, complex map, and hero-centric gameplay create a more competitive environment and opportunities for outplaying the enemy team. By the early 2010s, multiplayer online battle arena has become a prominent genre in esports tournaments. The genre has seen further growth in popularity since the year 2015 – among the top five esports with the largest prize pools, three have been MOBA titles for three years in row. Distributed prize money in MOBA tournaments reached over US$54 million in 2017. A year later, prize pools continued to grow reaching over US$60 million, 40% of the year's total esports prize pools. MOBAs are some of the most watched games in the world. Major esports professional tournaments are held in venues that can hold tens of thousands of spectators and are streamed online to millions more. A strong fanbase has opened up the opportunity for sponsorship and advertising, eventually leading the genre to become a global cultural phenomenon.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: A free-to-play business model, which is used by the largest MOBA titles, have contributed to the genre's overall popularity. Players are able to download and play AAA-quality games at no cost. These games are generating revenue by selling cosmetic elements, including skins, voice lines, customized mounts and announcers, but none of these give the functional gameplay advantages to the buyer. As of 2012, free-to-play MOBAs, such as "League of Legends", "Dota 2", "Heroes of the Storm", and "Smite" were among the most popular PC games. The success in the genre has helped convince many video game publishers to copy the free-to-play MOBA model. SuperData Research reported that the genre generated over $2.5 billion of revenue in 2017.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: Similar to fighting games, MOBAs offer a large number of viable player characters for the player to choose from, each of which having distinctive abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. With such wide varieties available, players have numerous choices from which to find the character most aligned with their skills and preferences. Playable characters blend a variety of fantasy tropes and often feature numerous references to popular culture and mythology. One such figure commonly represented in MOBAs is Sun Wukong, a legendary mythical figure from 16th-century China. Examples of representation of Sun Wukong in MOBAs in the form of playable characters include "Wukong" in "League of Legends", Samuro's "Monkey King" skin (custom outfit/costume) in "Heroes of the Storm", and "Monkey King" in "DotA 2."


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: Due to the large volume of matches played on a daily basis around the world and the relatively complicated nature of the genre, MOBAs have become a popular target for the application of big data tools to predict match outcomes based on in-game factors such as hero kill/death/assist ratios, gold earned, time of a match, synergy with other players, team composition, and other, more advanced parameters.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: The use of artificial intelligence in MOBAs is an ongoing topic of research. Similar to real-time strategy games, MOBAs provide a highly complex environment for AI because of their large amount of possible variables, states, and decisions. One of the first known research-based MOBA AI agents was published around 2015 for League of Legends. The agent used influence maps to navigate the map and compute positioning risk. A similar agent to assist players was published in the same year.


title: Multiplayer online battle arena

text: Two years later, artificial intelligence research laboratory OpenAI developed the AI project OpenAI Five, which was first showcased at the "Dota 2" World Championship, The International 2017, during a 1v1 demonstration. In this demonstration, OpenAI Five faced off against Dendi, one of the most prolific and popular DotA players of all time. In this 1v1, OpenAI Five defeated Dendi twice in a resounding manner, with the first victory occurring before the five-minute mark and Dendi conceding before ninety seconds had passed in the second match. Open AI returned to The International 2018, this time fielding an entire team of five AI players in two games against professional players, but ultimately losing both games. Despite this loss, OpenAI continued to work to improve OpenAI Five, and the project's advancement soon became evident: one year later, at The International 2019, OpenAI Five defeated The International 2018-winner OG, becoming the first artificial intelligence system to beat the reigning world champion team at a video game.


title: 2003 Formula One World Championship

text: The 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 57th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It began on 9 March 2003 and ended on 12 October after sixteen races. World Championship titles were awarded for both drivers and constructors with Michael Schumacher winning the former and Ferrari awarded the latter.


title: 2003 Formula One World Championship

text: The 2003 season saw the introduction of new regulations intended to increase F1's excitement, stem falling global TV audiences and to help alleviate the financial difficulties of the smaller teams. One-lap qualifying was introduced as a way for smaller teams to get more television exposure. Optional Friday testing at Grand Prix events was introduced in exchange for fewer miles on stand-alone test days. This was intended to give smaller teams a cheaper alternative to these test days, which were to be banned in 2004. Only one type of wet weather tyre was allowed to be used in wet weather races. The points system for both the Constructors' and Drivers' titles was changed from 10–6–4–3–2–1 for the first six finishers at each round to 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 for the first eight finishers in an attempt to make the title contests closer.


title: 2003 Formula One World Championship

text: While Ferrari's Michael Schumacher had won the 2002 championship by 67 points from his teammate Rubens Barrichello, the 2003 season was much closer. For a great part of the 2003 season, several drivers from several teams had mathematical chances of winning the world championship. Eight different drivers won a Grand Prix, amongst them three first time winners. Kimi Räikkönen, driving for McLaren-Mercedes, and Juan Pablo Montoya, driving for BMW Williams, both had a chance of claiming the 2003 championship until late in the season, with Räikkönen still mathematically in contention at the final race, the Japanese Grand Prix. Räikkönen lost the championship to Schumacher by two points, although he won only one race to Schumacher's six. It was Schumacher's sixth World Drivers' title overall, breaking Juan Manuel Fangio's 46-year-old record of five World Drivers' titles. Ferrari's defence of the Constructors' title was challenged throughout the year by Williams and McLaren, one of the few seasons where there were three front-running teams but in the end, Ferrari emerged victorious once again and the team clinched their fifth consecutive World Constructors' title since 1999.


title: 2003 Formula One World Championship

text: Notable races include the chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix which was hampered by monsoon conditions and resulted in the wet weather tyre rule being reversed after just three races, and the British Grand Prix where the track was invaded by the now-defrocked priest Neil Horan, who ran onto the Hangar straight, running towards the 250 km/h train of cars, wearing a green kilt and waving religious banners.


title: 2003 Formula One World Championship

text: After failing to complete the 2002 season due to financial difficulties, the Arrows team had their application for admission to the 2003 championship rejected by the FIA prior to the season start date. No reason was publicly given by the FIA and Arrows subsequently folded after 25 years in Formula One since 1978.


title: 2003 Formula One World Championship

text: 2003 also saw a major leap forward in Formula One safety, with the HANS device being made a mandatory requirement for drivers to wear at all races beginning from the Australian Grand Prix onwards. However, this was not without controversy, as many drivers voiced their complaints about the device, including Barrichello, Jacques Villeneuve, Justin Wilson and Nick Heidfeld.


title: 2003 Formula One World Championship

text: The 2003 season is also notable for being the third and last season that fully-automatic gearboxes and launch control were allowed to be used in Formula One, since they were reintroduced in . Both electronic driver aids had been used since the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix, and a rule-change in the technical regulations saw the FIA banning both systems for 2004.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: Martin Luther King Sr. (born Michael King; December 19, 1899November 11, 1984) was an African-American Baptist pastor, missionary, and an early figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He was the father and namesake of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: Martin Luther King was born Michael King in Stockbridge, Georgia, the son of Delia (née Linsey; 1875–1924) and James Albert King (1864–1933).


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: Martin Luther King was a member of the Baptist Church and decided to become a preacher after being inspired by ministers who were prepared to stand up for racial equality. He was boarding with Reverend A.D. Williams, then pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. After King started courting Williams' daughter, Alberta, her family encouraged him to finish his education and to become a preacher. King completed his high school education at Bryant Preparatory School, and began to preach in several black churches in Atlanta.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: In 1926, King started his ministerial degree at the Morehouse School of Religion. On Thanksgiving Day in 1926, after eight years of courtship, he married Alberta in the Ebenezer Church. The couple had three children in four years: a daughter, Willie Christine King (born 1927), Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr., 1929–1968), and a second son, Alfred Daniel Williams King (1930–1969).


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King became leader of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in March 1931 after the death of Williams. With the country in the midst of the Great Depression, church finances were struggling, but King organized membership and fundraising drives that restored these to health. By 1934, King had become a widely respected leader of the local church. That year, he also changed his name (and that of his eldest son) from Michael King to Martin Luther King after a period of gradual transition on his own part. He was inspired during a trip to Germany for that year's meeting of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). While visiting sites associated with reformation leader Martin Luther, attendees also witnessed the rise of Nazism. Whilst the BWA conference issued a resolution condemning antisemitism, the senior King gained deepened appreciation for the power of Luther's protest.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King was the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church for four decades, wielding great influence in the black community and earning some degree of respect from the white community. He also broadcast on WAEC, a religious radio station in Atlanta.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: He became a local leader of the Civil Rights Movement, serving on the executive committee of the NAACP chapter in Atlanta and the Civic and Political League as an officer. He encouraged his son to become active in the movement.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: In his 1950 essay "An Autobiography of Religious Development", King Jr. wrote that his father was a major influence on his entering the ministry. He said, "I guess the influence of my father also had a great deal to do with my going in the ministry. This is not to say that he ever spoke to me in terms of being a minister, but that my admiration for him was the great moving factor; He set forth a noble example that I didn't mind following."


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King Jr. often recounted that his father frequently sent him to work in the fields. He said that in this way he would gain a healthier respect for his forefathers.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: In his autobiography, King Jr. remembered his father leaving a shoe shop because he and his son were asked to change seats. He said, "This was the first time I had seen Dad so furious. That experience revealed to me at a very early age that my father had not adjusted to the system, and he played a great part in shaping my conscience. I still remember walking down the street beside him as he muttered, 'I don't care how long I have to live with this system, I will never accept it.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: Another story related by King Jr. was that once the car his father was driving was stopped by a police officer, and the officer addressed the senior King as "boy". King pointed to his son, saying, "This is a boy, I'm a man; until you call me one, I will not listen to you."


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King Jr. became an associate pastor at Ebenezer in 1948, and his father wrote a letter of recommendation for him to attend the Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. King Sr. also made arrangement for King Jr. to work with J. Pius Barbour, a family friend who pastored at Calvary Baptist Church in Chester. Despite theological differences, father and son would later serve together as joint pastors at the church.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King was a major figure in the Civil Rights Movement in Georgia, where he rose to become the head of the NAACP in Atlanta and the Civic and Political League. He led the fight for equal teachers' salaries in Atlanta. He also played an instrumental role in ending Jim Crow laws in the state. King had refused to ride on Atlanta's bus system since the 1920s after a vicious attack on black passengers with no action against those responsible. King stressed the need for an educated, politically active black ministry.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: In October 1960, when King Jr. was arrested at a peaceful sit-in in Atlanta, Robert F. Kennedy, brother and aide to the Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kennedy, telephoned the judge and helped secure his release. Although King Sr. had previously opposed John Kennedy because he was a Catholic, he expressed his appreciation for these calls and switched his support to Kennedy. Until this time, King Sr. had been a lifelong registered Republican, and had endorsed Republican Richard Nixon before switching to endorse Kennedy.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King Jr. soon became a popular civil rights activist. Taking inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi of India, he led nonviolent protests in order to win greater rights for African Americans.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King Jr. was shot and killed in 1968 by James Earl Ray. King Sr.'s youngest son, Alfred Daniel Williams King, died of an accidental drowning on July 21, 1969, nine days before his 39th birthday.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: In 1969, King was one of several members of the Morehouse College board of trustees held hostage on the campus by a group of students demanding reform in the school's curriculum and governance. One of the students was Samuel L. Jackson, who was suspended for his actions. Jackson subsequently became an actor and Academy Award nominee.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King played a notable role in the nomination of Jimmy Carter as the Democratic candidate for president in the 1976 election. After Carter's success in the Iowa caucus, the New Hampshire primary and the Florida primary, some liberal Democrats were worried about his success and began an "ABC" ("Anyone But Carter") movement to try to head off his nomination. King pointed to Carter's leadership in ending the era of segregation in Georgia and helping to repeal laws restricting voting which especially disenfranchised African Americans. With King's support, Carter continued to build a coalition of black and white voters and win the nomination. King delivered the invocation at the 1976 and 1980 Democratic National Conventions.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King Sr.'s wife and King Jr.'s mother, Alberta, was murdered by Marcus Wayne Chenault on Sunday, June 30, 1974, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church during Sunday services. Chenault was a 23-year-old black man from Ohio who stood up and yelled, "You are serving a false god", and fired his gun while Alberta was playing "The Lord's Prayer" on the church organ. Upon capture, the assassin disclosed that his intended target was Martin Luther King Sr., who was elsewhere that Sunday. After failing to see King Sr., he instead targeted Alberta King and Rev. Edward Boykin. Chenault stated that he was driven to murder after concluding that "black ministers were a menace to black people" and that "all Christians are his enemies".


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: With his son's widow, Coretta Scott King, King was present when President Carter awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom to King Jr. posthumously in 1977. In 1980, he published his autobiography.


title: Martin Luther King Sr.

text: King died of a heart attack at the Crawford W. Long Hospital in Atlanta on November 11, 1984, at the age of 84. He was interred next to his wife Alberta at the South-View Cemetery in Atlanta.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Hard Candy is a 2005 American psychological thriller film focusing on a 14-year-old female vigilante's trapping and torture of a man whom she suspects of being a sexual predator. The film was directed by David Slade, written by Brian Nelson, and stars Elliot Page and Patrick Wilson. It was the first feature film for Slade, who had primarily directed music videos.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: "Hard Candy" premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, and was screened at the Florida Film Festival in April 2006. It had a limited release in two theaters in the United States. The film made over $8 million at the box office, including $1 million domestically, on a budget of under $1 million.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: "Hard Candy" won three awards at the 2005 Sitges Film Festival, four awards at the Málaga Film Festival, and was also awarded Overlooked Film of the Year at the 2006 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards. Page won Best Actress at the 2006 Austin Film Critics Association Awards.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: 14-year-old Hayley Stark and 32-year-old photographer Jeff Kohlver engage in a sexually charged, flirtatious online chat. They then meet at a coffeehouse before going to Jeff's home. When they arrive, Jeff makes them drinks, but Hayley refuses by saying she was taught to never take a drink she has not mixed herself. Hayley goes to the kitchen and makes them both screwdrivers. As Jeff shows her around his house, she notes the photographs hung on his walls, all of which seem to be of underage half clothed girls. Hayley asks Jeff to photograph her. He gets out his camera and Hayley begins to pose but before Jeff can take any photos, he loses consciousness.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: When Jeff wakes, he is bound to a desk chair. Hayley explains she has been tracking and baiting him through online chats and drugged him because she knows he is a sexual predator and murderer. Jeff denies these allegations, claiming he had innocent intentions. Hayley searches Jeff's house and finds a gun and a safe. In the safe, Hayley finds pictures, including a photo of Donna Mauer, a local girl who has been kidnapped and remains missing. Jeff continues to deny the accusations and kicks Hayley to the ground, temporarily knocking her out. He rolls the chair into his bedroom and manages to retrieve his gun, which Hayley left out on his bed. He returns to the living room to see that Hayley is no longer there; she comes up from behind him and wraps his face in plastic wrap, choking him unconscious.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: When Jeff wakes, he finds himself bound to a steel table with a bag of ice on his genitals, making them numb. Hayley tells him that she intends to castrate him and sets up his camera to take pictures of his genitals beforehand. Jeff attempts to dissuade her, including by telling her he was abused as a child in a play for sympathy, but fails. Hayley consults a medical book to guide her through the procedure, describing it to Jeff as she performs the operation. Once it is finished, Hayley puts down the scalpel and walks away, saying she needs a shower.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Jeff frees himself, only to realize that the "surgery" was a trick and he is unharmed. He picks up the scalpel and storms into the bathroom, where the shower is running. He slashes at the shower curtain, but finds the shower empty. Hayley attacks him from behind, and as they struggle, Hayley incapacitates him with a stun gun.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Hayley calls Jeff's ex-girlfriend Janelle and, posing as a police officer, asks her to come immediately to Jeff's house. Jeff regains consciousness to find that Hayley has bound his wrists and hoisted him to stand on a chair in his kitchen with a noose around his neck. Hayley makes Jeff an offer: if he commits suicide, she promises to erase the evidence of his crimes, but if he refuses, she will expose his secrets. The conversation is interrupted when a neighbor knocks on the front door, selling Girl Scout cookies. When Hayley returns, Jeff breaks from his bindings and pursues her to the roof of his house. Hayley has brought her rope from the kitchen and fashioned it into a noose secured to the chimney. Hayley keeps Jeff at bay with his gun.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Jeff confesses that he watched while another man raped and murdered Mauer. Jeff promises Hayley that, if she spares his life, he will tell her the other man's name so she can exact her revenge. Hayley reveals that she already knows his name, Aaron, and that Aaron said Jeff did it before he killed himself. Janelle arrives, and Hayley once again urges Jeff to hang himself, promising that she will destroy the evidence. Defeated, Jeff lets Hayley slide the noose around his neck, and steps off the roof. After he falls, Hayley says" "Or not";" – then gathers her belongings and walks away through the woods.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: The idea for "Hard Candy" came from a news story producer David W. Higgins saw on "20/20" about young Japanese girls who would lure older businessmen to a location with the promise of meaningful conversation, only to assault and mug the men with a gang of other girls. This led him to wonder, "What if the person you expect to be the predator is not who you expect it to be? What if it's the other person?" He shared this question with writer Brian Nelson who worked out a treatment and then a script on spec, and then Higgins and Nelson approached David Slade to direct. Due to the controversial nature of the work, the budget was kept under $1 million so that the production company would not ask to change anything.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Very little dubbing was used in the film, with only a couple of lines modified in post-production. Only nine minutes of music are present in the film, with ambient sounds, such as heavy breathing, making up most of the soundtrack. The film was shot in 18 days, largely in sequence, and mostly on a soundstage. Hayley wears a red hooded sweatshirt that is often seen as an allusion to "Little Red Riding Hood". However, this was a serendipitous wardrobe choice by the creative team that was not realized until later on. International marketing for the film made use of this allusion. For example, a tagline on the Japanese site for the film reads: "Red Hood traps the Wolf in his own game."


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Jean-Clement Soret was the digital colorist for the film, this being one of the few instances in which a colorist received a spot in the opening credits. The film contains many coloring effects and "density shifts" of lighting to reflect the moods of the characters. For example, when Hayley gets angry, the colors would be edited to be of lower frequency. One effect used which, as far as the director is aware, had not been done in cinema before, was to brighten the lighting in filming and correct everything down in post-production. This allowed for facial details to be visible even while having a darkened atmosphere. According to the DVD extras, the process required a custom-built digital intermediate to be made and proved to be extremely difficult, with corrections having to be made frame-by-frame in some instances. This technique, known as ETTR, is a standard procedure in digital photography and cinematography to minimize the amount of noise in shadows and midtones.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Nelson's early working titles of the script were "Vendetta" and "Snip Snip". When Higgins asked for a title with a "sugar and spice combination and a mixture of harsh roughness, innocence, and vulnerability", Nelson proposed the title "Hard Candy".


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival with a midnight screening. The Dolby Surround System failed before the screening and the audience was kept out until it was repaired. "Hard Candy" was also screened at the Florida Film Festival on April 1, 2006.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: "Hard Candy" opened in two theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on April 14, 2006 in a limited release. During its opening weekend, the film grossed $58,049 averaging $29,704 per theater, the highest per-screen average in the top 50. Box Office Mojo reported that it ended its run with $1,024,640 at the North American box office, and a further $5,997,569 internationally for a total of $7,022,209. The Numbers put the total gross at $8.26 million, with an international gross of $7,242,426.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 147 critic reviews are positive, and the average rating is 6.4/10. The critics consensus reads: "Disturbing, controversial, but entirely engrossing, "Hard Candy" is well written with strong lead performances, especially that of newcomer Ellen Page. A movie that stays with the viewer long after leaving the theater." According to Metacritic, which sampled 30 reviews and calculated a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, the film received "mixed or average reviews".


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Roger Ebert rated the film 3.5/4 stars, writing "There is undeniable fascination in the situation as it unfolds... Seen as a film, seen as acting and direction, seen as just exactly how it unfolds on the screen, "Hard Candy" is impressive and effective." Steve Persall wrote in the "Tampa Bay Times" that he saw the movie in a crowded bar, yet "until the shocking end, there's nothing less than rapt attention to this sordid thriller about an online predator (Wilson) and his not-so-innocent prey ([Elliot] Page). On a party night in New Orleans? That's how creepy-good this movie is." Steve Schneider, writing in the "Orlando Weekly", praised the film's "grabber of a sicko setup... It's a memorably tense "pas de deux", and if the movie doesn't pay off on it properly, fault a script that ventures further and further into psychological thriller claptrap, leaving the two stars to rely on their hefty talents to keep it at all believable."


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Caroline Westbrook at "Empire" magazine called it a "cracking little thriller". David Edwards at the "Daily Mirror" praised it as a "smart, challenging and timely look at the world of internet grooming". Todd McCarthy at "Variety" praised the "spectacular performance" by the teenaged Page. On the other hand, Jonathan Rosenbaum referred to it as torture and mutilation and wrote: "I'd rather have this movie obliterated from my memory." "The New York Times" film critic Manohla Dargis recognized the film's debt to "Ariel Dorfman and Neil LaBute, among others", but did not care for the torture theme "in the age of Abu Ghraib".


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: Page's performance received critical acclaim; Lynn Hirschberg of "The New York Times Magazine" said "a star was born, but almost no one noticed", describing "Hard Candy" as Page's initial artistic breakthrough performance, and his role in the 2007 film "Juno" as his mainstream popularity breakthrough performance. Claudia Puig from "USA Today" praised him for "remain[ing] consistently convincing" to his role which is both "powerful and chilling ... [he] manages to be both cruelly callous and likable, and [his] is one of the most complex, disturbing and haunting performances of the year."


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: The film won three awards at the 2005 Sitges Film Festival and four awards at the 2006 Málaga Film Festival. The film also won Overlooked Film of the Year at the 2006 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards. Page won the Best Actress award from the Austin Film Critics Association. Page was nominated for the Breakthrough Performer award at the 2006 Online Film Critics Society Awards, and Best Female Newcomer at the 12th Empire Awards. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Independent film at the 2006 British Independent Film Awards, and the film's trailer was nominated for Best Thriller and Best Titles in a Trailer at the 7th Golden Trailer Awards.


title: Hard Candy (film)

text: The American DVD was released on September 19, 2006, with two commentary tracks, a 52-minute making-of featurette, six deleted and extended scenes, the script and director's notebook, and trailers for "Hard Candy" and other Lionsgate films. Francis Rizzo III from "DVD Talk" gave a positive review, praising the DVD's quality and extras. The Blu-ray was released by Lionsgate Home Entertainment on October 5, 2010, and contained the same special features as the DVD. Aaron Peck from "High-Def Digest" and Jeffrey Kauffman from "Blu-ray.com" both awarded the Blu-ray four out of five stars.


title: Future of the Indian Navy

text: The Indian Navy has been focusing on developing indigenous platforms, systems, sensors and weapons as part of the nation's modernisation and expansion of its maritime forces. As of November 2022, the Indian Navy has 45 vessels of various types under construction, including destroyers; frigates; corvettes; conventional-powered and nuclear-powered submarines and various other ship, and plans to build a strong navy of 200 vessels and 500 aircraft by 2050. According to Chief of Naval Staff's statement in December 2020, India has transformed from a buyer's navy to a builder's navy.


title: Future of the Indian Navy

text: The increasing interest of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in the Indian Ocean region has led the Indian Navy to invest more in anti-submarine ships, such as the "Kamorta"-class corvette, long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft such as Boeing P-8 Poseidon and ships such as the "Saryu"-class patrol vessel and unmanned aerial vehicles such as the IAI Heron-1. However the lack of a strong submarine fleet has diminished its capabilities to some extent. Post-Chinese intrusions into Ladakh in 2020, it has been announced that the Indian Navy plans to upgrade the military facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on the eastern seaboard as well as Lakshadweep on the western seaboard, with the aim of having a network of island airbases in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal which provides an infrastructure which will guarantee freedom of navigation and overflight to all Indian territories.


title: Future of the Indian Navy

text: This indicates that a Request For Information (RFI) has currently been issued for this project. The issue of an RFI is not a commitment for procurement.


title: Future of the Indian Navy

text: This indicates that the project a Request For Information (RFI) has currently been issued for this project. The issue of RFI is not a commitment for procurement.


title: Endorheic basin

text: An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal, that equilibrate through evaporation. They are also called closed or terminal basins, internal drainage systems, or simply basins. Endorheic regions contrast with exorheic regions. Endorheic water bodies include some of the largest lakes in the world, such as the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Basins with subsurface outflows which eventually lead to the ocean are generally not considered endorheic; they are cryptorheic.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Endorheic basins constitute local base levels, defining a limit of erosion and deposition processes of nearby areas.


title: Endorheic basin

text: The term was borrowed from French "endor(rh)éisme", coined from the combining form "endo-" (from "éndon" 'within') and "rheîn" 'to flow'.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Endorheic lakes (also called terminal lakes) are bodies of water that do not flow into the sea. Most of the water falling on Earth finds its way to the oceans through a network of rivers, lakes and wetlands. However, there is a class of water bodies that are located in closed or endorheic watersheds where the topography prevents their drainage to the oceans. These endorheic watersheds (containing water in rivers or lakes that form a balance of surface inflows, evaporation and seepage) are often called sinks.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Endorheic lakes are usually in the interior of a landmass, far from an ocean in areas of relatively low rainfall. Their watersheds are often confined by natural geologic land formations such as a mountain range, cutting off water egress to the ocean. The inland water flows into dry watersheds where the water evaporates, leaving a high concentration of minerals and other inflow erosion products. Over time this input of erosion products can cause the endorheic lake to become relatively saline (a "salt lake"). Since the main outflow pathways of these lakes are chiefly through evaporation and seepage, endorheic lakes are usually more sensitive to environmental pollutant inputs than water bodies that have access to oceans, as pollution can be trapped in them and accumulate over time.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Endorheic regions can occur in any climate but are most commonly found in desert locations. This reflects the balance between tectonic subsidence and rates of evaporation and sedimentation. Where the basin floor is dropping more rapidly than water and sediments can accumulate, any lake in the basin will remain below the sill level (the level at which water can find a path out of the basin). Low rainfall or rapid evaporation in the watershed favor this case. In areas where rainfall is higher, riparian erosion will generally carve drainage channels (particularly in times of flood), or cause the water level in the terminal lake to rise until it finds an outlet, breaking the enclosed endorheic hydrological system's geographical barrier and opening it to the surrounding terrain. The Black Sea was likely such a lake, having once been an independent hydrological system before the Mediterranean Sea broke through the terrain separating the two. Lake Bonneville was another such lake, overflowing its basin in the Bonneville flood. The Malheur/Harney lake system in Oregon is normally cut off from drainage to the ocean, but has an outflow channel to the Malheur River. This is presently dry, but may have flowed as recently as 1000 years ago.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Examples of relatively humid regions in endorheic basins often exist at high elevation. These regions tend to be marshy and are subject to substantial flooding in wet years. The area containing Mexico City is one such case, with annual precipitation of and characterized by waterlogged soils that require draining.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Endorheic regions tend to be far inland with their boundaries defined by mountains or other geological features that block their access to oceans. Since the inflowing water can evacuate only through seepage or evaporation, dried minerals or other products collect in the basin, eventually making the water saline and also making the basin vulnerable to pollution. Continents vary in their concentration of endorheic regions due to conditions of geography and climate. Australia has the highest percentage of endorheic regions at 21 percent while North America has the least at five percent. Approximately 18 percent of the earth's land drains to endorheic lakes or seas, the largest of these land areas being the interior of Asia.


title: Endorheic basin

text: In deserts, water inflow is low and loss to solar evaporation high, drastically reducing the formation of complete drainage systems. In the extreme case, where there is no discernible drainage system, the basin is described as arheic. Closed water flow areas often lead to the concentration of salts and other minerals in the basin. Minerals leached from the surrounding rocks are deposited in the basin, and left behind when the water evaporates. Thus endorheic basins often contain extensive salt pans (also called salt flats, salt lakes, alkali flats, dry lake beds or playas). These areas tend to be large, flat hardened surfaces and are sometimes used for aviation runways or land speed record attempts, because of their extensive areas of perfectly level terrain.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Both permanent and seasonal endorheic lakes can form in endorheic basins. Some endorheic basins are essentially stable, climate change having reduced precipitation to the degree that a lake no longer forms. Even most permanent endorheic lakes change size and shape dramatically over time, often becoming much smaller or breaking into several smaller parts during the dry season. As humans have expanded into previously uninhabitable desert areas, the river systems that feed many endorheic lakes have been altered by the construction of dams and aqueducts. As a result, many endorheic lakes in developed or developing countries have contracted dramatically, resulting in increased salinity, higher concentrations of pollutants, and the disruption of ecosystems.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Even within exorheic basins, there can be "non-contributing", low-lying areas that trap runoff and prevent it from contributing to flows downstream during years of average or below-average runoff. In flat river basins, non-contributing areas can be a large fraction of the river basin, e.g. Lake Winnipeg's basin. A lake may be endorheic during dry years and can overflow its basin during wet years, e.g., the former Tulare Lake.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Because the Earth's climate has recently been through a warming and drying phase with the end of the Ice Ages, many endorheic areas such as Death Valley that are now dry deserts were large lakes relatively recently. During the last ice age, the Sahara may have contained lakes larger than any now existing.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Large endorheic regions in Africa are located in the Sahara Desert, the Sahel, the Kalahari Desert, and the East African Rift:


title: Endorheic basin

text: There are endorheic lakes in Antarctica in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Victoria Land, the largest ice-free area in Antarctica.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Much of Western and Central Asia is a giant endorheic region made up of a number of contiguous closed basins. The region contains several basins and terminal lakes, including:


title: Endorheic basin

text: Australia, being very dry and having exceedingly low runoff ratios due to its ancient soils, has many endorheic drainages. The most important are:


title: Endorheic basin

text: Though a large portion of Europe drains to the endorheic Caspian Sea, Europe's wet climate means it contains relatively few terminal lakes itself: any such basin is likely to continue to fill until it reaches an overflow level connecting it with an outlet or erodes the barrier blocking its exit.


title: Endorheic basin

text: There are some seemingly endorheic lakes, but in fact they are cryptorheic, being drained either through manmade canals, via karstic phenomena, or other subsurface seepage.


title: Endorheic basin

text: A few minor true endorheic lakes exist in Spain (e.g. Laguna de Gallocanta, Estany de Banyoles), Italy, Cyprus (Larnaca and Akrotiri salt lakes) and Greece.


title: Endorheic basin

text: Many small lakes and ponds in North Dakota and the Northern Great Plains are endorheic; some of them have salt encrustations along their shores.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1957 American independent science fiction-horror film produced, written, directed, and edited by Ed Wood. The film was shot in black-and-white in November 1956 and had a theatrical preview screening on March 15, 1957, at the Carlton Theatre in Los Angeles (the onscreen title at this time read "Grave Robbers from Outer Space"). It went into general release on July 22, 1959, in Texas and several other southern states re-titled "Plan 9 from Outer Space", before being sold to television in 1961.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The film stars Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson, and "Vampira" (Maila Nurmi) and is narrated by Criswell. It also posthumously bills Bela Lugosi (silent footage of the actor had been shot by Wood for another, unfinished film prior to Lugosi's death in August 1956, and was inserted into "Plan Nine" later). Other guest-stars are Hollywood veterans Lyle Talbot, who claimed that he never refused any acting job, and former cowboy star Tom Keene.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The film's storyline concerns extraterrestrials who seek to stop humanity from creating a doomsday weapon that could destroy the universe. The aliens implement "Plan 9", a scheme to resurrect the Earth's dead, referred to as "ghouls". By causing chaos, the aliens hope the crisis will force humanity to listen to them; otherwise, the aliens will destroy mankind with armies of the undead. The film was originally developed under the title "Grave Robbers from Outer Space", but in 1959 it was retitled "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and re-released under that name.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: "Plan 9 from Outer Space" played on television in relative obscurity from 1961 until 1980, when authors Harry Medved and Michael Medved dubbed it the "worst film ever made" in their book "The Golden Turkey Awards". Wood and his film were posthumously given two Golden Turkey Awards for Worst Director Ever and Worst Film Ever. It has since been retrospectively described as "the epitome of so-bad-it's-good cinema" and has gained a large cult following.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Mourners gather around an old man at his wife's grave site as an airliner overhead flies toward Burbank, California. Pilot Jeff Trent and co-pilot Danny are startled by a bright light, accompanied by a loud noise. They look outside and see a flying saucer land at the cemetery, where two gravediggers are killed by a female ghoul.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Lost in his grief, the old man is struck near his home by a car and killed. Later, mourners at the old man's funeral discover the gravediggers' dead bodies. When Inspector Daniel Clay and his police officers arrive, Clay goes off alone to investigate.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Jeff Trent and his wife, Paula (who both happen to live near the cemetery), hear sirens. He tells her about his flying saucer encounter, saying that the Army has sworn him to secrecy. As the saucer lands, a powerful swooshing noise knocks the Trents and the people at the cemetery to the ground. Clay is killed by both the female ghoul and the old man's reanimated corpse. Lieutenant Harper states: "But one thing's sure. Inspector Clay is dead, murdered, and somebody's responsible".


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Newspaper headlines report flying saucer sightings over Hollywood Boulevard, and three fly across Los Angeles. In Washington, D.C., the military fires missiles at more saucers. Chief of saucer operations Thomas Edwards says that the government has been covering up saucer attacks, and a small town has been annihilated.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The aliens return to their Space Station 7, and Commander Eros tells the alien ruler that he has been unsuccessful in contacting Earth's governments. Eros recommends "Plan 9", the resurrection of recently-deceased humans. Concerned about Paula's safety, Jeff urges her to stay with her mother but she refuses. That night, the undead old man breaks into the house and pursues Paula outside, where the female ghoul and Inspector Clay join him. Paula escapes, finally collapsing after the three ghouls return to Eros in the saucer.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: At the Pentagon, General Roberts tells Edwards that the aliens have been telling the government that they are trying to prevent humanity from destroying the universe. Roberts sends Edwards to San Fernando, where most of the alien activity has occurred.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Clay attacks Eros, nearly killing him. After examining Clay, the ruler orders the old man destroyed to further frighten humanity. He approves Eros's Plan 9 to raise armies of the dead to march on Earth's capitals.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Edwards and the police interview the Trents, unaware that the flying saucer has returned to the cemetery. Officer Kelton encounters the old man, who chases him to the Trents' house. Eros' ray strikes the old man, reducing him to a skeleton. Edwards, the Trents, and the police drive to the cemetery.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Lieutenant Harper insists on leaving Paula in the car; when she refuses to remain there by herself, Kelton stays. Eros and Tanna (his fellow female alien) send Clay to kidnap Paula and lure the other three humans to the saucer. Seeing its glow in the distance, Trent and the police head toward it. Clay knocks out Kelton.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Eros lets Trent and the police enter the saucer with pistols drawn. He tells them that human weapons development will lead to the discovery of solaronite, a substance that explodes sunlight molecules. Such an explosion would set off an uncontrollable chain reaction, destroying the universe. Eros believes that humans are immature and stupid; he intends to destroy humanity, threatening to kill Paula if Jeff and the police try to stop him. Officers Kelton and Larry arrive and see Clay near the saucer carrying the unconscious Paula. Realizing that their weapons are useless, they sneak up behind Clay and knock him out with a wooden club. Eros says that Clay's controlling ray has been shut off, which released Paula. He and Jeff fight, and the saucer's equipment (damaged in their struggle) catches fire. The humans escape, and Tanna and the unconscious Eros take off. The fire quickly consumes the saucer, which explodes, and the ghouls decompose into skeletons.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The film combines elements of science fiction, Atompunk, and gothic horror. Science fiction remained popular throughout the 1950s, though the genre had experienced significant changes in the post-war period. The Atomic Age, heralded by the development of nuclear weapons and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, had inspired science fiction films to deal with the dangers of unrestricted science, while space flight and the existence of extraterrestrial life and civilizations (more "traditional" elements of the genre), seemed to hold a new fascination for audiences at the beginning of the Space Race. On the other hand, Gothic fiction enjoyed the height of its film popularity during the 1930s and 1940s. It was in decline by the 1950s and was viewed as old-fashioned. By 1950s standards, the combination of dated and modern elements gives the film a rather anachronistic quality.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: "Plan 9"s script seems to aim at being an epic film, a genre typically requiring a big budget from a major film studio. That Ed Wood made it with minimal financial resources underscores one of the qualities of his work: His ideas tended to be too expensive to film, yet he tried to film them anyway. As Rob Craig argues, Wood's failed efforts give the film a peculiar charm. Craig finds that "Plan 9" has much in common with both epic theatre ("grand melodrama on a minuscule budget") and the Theatre of the Absurd (characters acting as buffoons, nonsense, and verbosity in dialogue, dream-like and fantasy imagery, hints of allegory, and a narrative structure where continuity is consistently undermined).


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The film opens with an introduction by Wood's friend, psychic Criswell: "Greetings my friends! We are all interested in the future, For that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives!". (This line appears in the narration for the General Motors' "Futurama" ride and its accompanying film, "To New Horizons", that were part of the 1939 New York World's Fair—years before Criswell's own television program.) At the time of filming, Criswell was the star of the KLAC Channel 13 (now KCOP-13) television series "Criswell Predicts". The introduction could be an allusion to the opening lines of his show (a "Criswell Predicts" title card appears at the start of the scene), but since no episodes of the television show are known to survive, a comparison is impossible. Craig suggests that Criswell's public persona was based on the style of a charismatic preacher, perhaps influenced by early televangelists. Criswell addresses the viewers repeatedly as "my friends," as if attempting to establish a bond between the speaker and the audience. The line likely derives from his show, and would not be out of place in a segment where a televangelist addresses his congregation. Another phrase of the introduction, "Future events such as these will affect you in the future", served as a signature line for Criswell. He used it repeatedly in his newspaper and magazine columns, and probably his show as well.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Another line asserts that the audience is interested in "the unknown, the mysterious, the unexplainable," probably assuming that the film's audience will have a fascination with the paranormal. The narrator starts claiming that "we" (the filmmakers) are bringing to light the full story and evidence of fateful events, based on the "secret testimony" of the survivors. The narration seems to emulate the style of sensational headlines in tabloid newspapers, and promises audiences access to "lurid secrets" as if following the example of "True Confessions" and similar scandal magazines. The notion that a film or show could be based on true incidents and testimony would be familiar to a 1950s audience, because it was used in contemporary police procedurals such as "Dragnet".


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Changing the tone, Criswell delivers the sermon-like lines: "Let us punish the guilty! Let us reward the innocent!" which again sounds like a preacher addressing his congregation. The introduction concludes with the dramatic question: "Can your heart stand the shocking facts about graverobbers from outer space?". The latter phrase was simply the original title of the film, but the rest of the line again seems to emulate the sensationalist press.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The film's postscript, also narrated by Criswell and delivered in an identical tone to the film's introduction, provides the audience with a challenge ("...you have seen this incident based on sworn testimony. Can you prove it didn't happen"?), a warning ("Many scientists believe that another world is watching us this moment"), and concluding wish ("God help us...in the future".)


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Through Trent's initial conversation with his wife, the film introduces the notion of a government and military conspiracy to cover up information on documented UFO sightings. This notion was clearly influenced by the emergence and increased popularity of a UFO conspiracy theory.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The implications concerning the public's distrust of the government, however, were atypical for a 1950s American film. Anti-statist ideas were to become more popular in the 1960s, which is when the subject became "safe" for mainstream cinema to explore. In this area and perhaps others, the film was actually ahead of its time.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The film contains a cautionary message from the aliens. The earliest use of this concept in film was probably in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951), and it had since seen frequent use in science fiction films. The idea was that humanity's self-destructive behavior was the real threat, not any external source of danger.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The "iconic" flying saucers seen in the film have been variously identified as paper plates or hubcaps. However, according to the documentary "Flying Saucers Over Hollywood, The Plan 9 Companion" (1991), they were actually a recognizable plastic model kit, first issued in 1952 by toy manufacturer Paul Lindberg through his Lindberg Line model kit company: This was the first science fiction plastic model kit produced (product #517). Roughly matching the popular image of UFOs of the era, the saucer model was disk-shaped with a clear dome on top. Under the kit dome was a little green alien pilot. This pilot figure was not used, however. The film's multiple flying saucers were painted all-over metallic silver, including the domes. Two slightly modified versions of the Lindberg kit are used in "Plan 9"s UFO scenes.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Footage of Los Angeles is used to ground the otherworldly events in a realistic setting. As a resident, Wood was likely familiar with the shooting locations. The scene where the military fires at the flying saucers is actual military stock footage.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The Rev. Lynn Lemon, who plays an unnamed minister, was one of the Baptists variously involved in the production of the film. J. Edward Reynolds was a leader of the Southern Baptist Convention in Beverly Hills, California, and Hugh Thomas was one of his associates from the church; both play gravediggers, while Reynolds was also the executive producer of the film. At the time of the film's creation, David De Mering was the personal secretary and alleged lover of fellow cast member Bunny Breckinridge; his inclusion in the cast was probably a result of this association.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Harry Thomas, the film's makeup man, was incensed when Wood refused to follow his suggestions regarding the appearance of the aliens in the film. Thomas had created some rubber chin appliances to elongate the actors' faces, as well as "cat's eyes" contact lenses and green wigs for them to wear, to lend them a more unearthly appearance. But Wood told him they did not have enough time for Thomas's suggestions, which led the makeup man to withdraw his name from the film's credits. "I was really mad at Wood" he said years later in interviews.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: According to Maila Nurmi (Vampira), she was recruited for $200 by Paul Marco to act as a vampire in the film. She recalled insisting that her part be silent, as she did not like the dialogue that Wood had written for her. This recollection might be inaccurate since the zombie undead of the film are generally mute. She contributed to the film a "regal presence" and theatrical mannerisms. Her performance is reminiscent of a silent film actress; she credited Theda Bara as her main influence.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The male alien Eros is apparently named after Eros, the Greek god of love. Craig suggests that the female alien's name, Tanna, invokes the name of another Greek deity: Thanatos, god of death.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The Pentagon office depicted includes a map of the United States with the sign of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. The same map appears in "Baghdad After Midnight" (1954), which was also filmed at Quality Studios; it was probably an available Quality Studios background prop.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Shortly before Lugosi's death in August 1956, he had been working with Wood on a handful of half-realized projects, variously titled "The Vampire's Tomb" or "The Ghoul Goes West". Some scenes connected to these projects had been shot. These scenes featured Lugosi weeping at a funeral, picking a rose from a bush in front of Tor Johnson's house during the daytime, walking in and out of the Johnson home's side door at nighttime, and finally a daylight scene, on a patch of highway, with Lugosi stalking towards the camera and dramatically spreading his Dracula cape before furling it around himself, then walking back the way he came. According to the documentary "Flying Saucers : The "Plan 9" Companion", these shots were all improvised. Only the first two sequences had reached any level of completion. When Lugosi died, Wood was forced to shelve the projects.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Shortly after Lugosi's death, the story and screenplay for "Grave Robbers from Outer Space" were written and finalized, with Wood planning to use the unconnected, unrelated Lugosi footage as a means of getting a known credit into the film. Wood also used the Lugosi footage as a means of attracting other actors to the picture, gaining the interest of Gregory Walcott and Maila Nurmi, among others, by telling them he was making "Bela Lugosi's last movie". Though Wood's actions were driven in part by the desire to give his film a "star name" and attract horror fans, he meant the Lugosi cameo as a loving farewell and tribute to the actor, who had become a close friend. Wood hired his wife's chiropractor Tom Mason as a stand-in for Lugosi, although Mason was taller than Lugosi and bore no resemblance to him, making Mason one of the earliest known "fake Shemps".


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Wood planned at first to make Lugosi the grandfather of Paula Trent, the film's lead female character, with Vampira being the revived corpse of Paula's grandmother, which explains why Lugosi returns to Paula's house after death, enters her bedroom, then follows her into the cemetery, and later winds up skeletonized on her backyard patio. Lugosi picks a rose at the beginning of the film from a bush in the front yard of the very same house where Paula and Jeff Trent live (Tor Johnson's house in real life), their patio being in the backyard, and the cemetery being next door. But Wood decided to cut Lugosi's character's importance down later on, making him unconnected to Paula Trent. Narration from Criswell was employed in an attempt to somehow link the Lugosi footage to the rest of "Plan 9", but the Dracula cape he wears was always hard to explain. The theatrical cut of the film utilized every last scrap of material Wood had of Lugosi, including minor sprocket discolorations, and film trims that would in a normal film be discarded as unusable. Cuts of "Plan 9" on VHS during the '80s and '90s, the majority of which were unauthorized bootleg dupes, varied drastically in both quality and the amount of Lugosi footage retained.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Coincidentally, further Lugosi footage that Wood had shot at an unspecified pre-1956 date was to have been the basis of a second, posthumous, feature film, "Ghouls of the Moon", for the horror legend. This footage had been shot on old, volatile nitrate film stock, however, and had subsequently dissolved into a toxic-smelling sludge by the time Wood returned to use it in the summer of 1959. Therefore, "Ghouls of the Moon" was completely abandoned. Mystery surrounds the content and nature of the lost material, described only as "wild" by a friend of Wood's, who had watched the raw footage shortly after it was shot.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: "Grave Robbers from Outer Space" was shot in November 1956 and had a premiere on March 15, 1957, screening at the Carlton Theatre in Los Angeles (the onscreen title at this time was "Grave Robbers from Outer Space"). Another year elapsed before Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) picked up the film. The company folded, however, and it was not released again until July 22, 1959, through DCA's receiver, Valiant Pictures. By then, the film had been retitled "Plan 9 from Outer Space". The original title is mentioned, however, at the end of Criswell's opening narration when he asks the audience: "Can your heart stand the shocking facts about ... grave robbers from outer space?". It is thought that Wood may have changed the title himself because he did not want his backers to know that the film was being distributed in the South. (By 1959, the backers had completely given up all hope of seeing a return on their investment.) The new title, however, was less indicative of the film's content and may have contributed to its distribution problems. Like many independent films of the period, "Plan 9" was distributed under a states' rights basis.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: "Plan 9" was screened as part of a double feature at various times. In Chicago, it was first seen alongside the British thriller "Time Lock" (1957), a film which is mostly remembered as an early film credit for Sean Connery. It was later used as a "co-feature" (B movie) for double-feature screenings of "The Trap" (1959), a film noir starring Richard Widmark. In Texas, it was seen alongside "Devil Girl From Mars" (1954), a reissued British science fiction film. Not long after, the picture was sold to television and was shown on "Chiller Theatre" and similar venues for years.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: "Plan 9 from Outer Space" gained notoriety through the Medveds' book because of its multiple continuity problems.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: During the first aircraft cockpit scene, the first officer is visibly reading from a script in his lap, and a flash of light from a flying saucer reveals the boom microphone's shadow. The microphone and flight officer's script are not visible in the original theatrical release, as they do not fit the frame for its original 1.85:1 projected aspect ratio. These mistakes are noticeable only in the film's open matte video transfers.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Lead actor Gregory Walcott, who had an admiration for Ed Wood's tenacity in his projects, still had some bad opinions of "Plan Nine". He commented years later, "Ed had poor taste and was undisciplined. If he had ten million dollars, ["Plan Nine"] would still have been a piece of tasteless sh*t. I liked Ed Wood but I could discern no genius there. His main concern was making his next film... It looked like they shot the thing in a kitchen...worst film of all time. Thirty years later, it's come back to haunt me."


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Vampira years later recalled "I didn't have a decent costume for "Plan Nine". What I wore was old, worn out. It looks like I had a hole in the crotch of the dress, if you notice...But I thought, "oh well, nobody's ever gonna see this movie, so it doesn't matter."


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The music for "Plan 9 from Outer Space" was compiled by Gordon Zahler. Zahler used stock recordings of works by about a dozen composers, which was a fairly common procedure in the 1950s for scoring low-budget films and television programs. However, Zahler apparently never provided a reliable accounting for the score. In 1996, Paul Mandell produced a CD that recreated the film's score by tracking down the stock recordings and the composers; Mandell subsequently wrote an article about the film's music for "Film Score Monthly". Some websites give proper credit to these composers.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In 2006, Legend Films released a colorized version of "Plan 9 from Outer Space" on DVD. Though the colorization process was largely done straight, unlike the campy bright colors used in the studio's release of "Reefer Madness", there were a few alterations. Legend had auctioned off the opportunity to insert new material into the film through two auctions on eBay. The first allowed the auction winner to provide a photograph that is digitally inserted into part of the scene between the Ghoul Man and Paula Trent. The second allowed the winner to have his or her name placed on a gravestone during a scene with Wood regular Tor Johnson. The third alteration is at a point where Eros gets punched and his skin briefly turns green.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Autographed pre-release copies of the DVD were made available in 2005, and the colorized version was also given special theatrical screenings at various theaters throughout the United States, including the Castro Theatre. The DVD featured an audio commentary track by comedian Michael J. Nelson of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fame, in which he heckles, or "riffs" the film in a style similar to an episode of the series, a restored black-and-white version of "Plan 9", a home video of Wood in drag performing a striptease (Wood, in real life, was a transvestite), a subtitled information track and a comedic feature narrated by Nelson detailing the "lost" Plans 1–8. The autographed edition also came with a limited edition air freshener. Nelson's commentary is also available through his company RiffTrax, where it can be downloaded as either an MP3 audio file or a DivX video file with the commentary embedded into the colorized version of the film.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In 2011, PassmoreLab, a San Diego-based 3D production/conversion studio, produced a 3D version of Legend's colorized version, which received limited theatrical release.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In 1992, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" was the subject of a documentary called "Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The Plan 9 Companion", which is included on Image Entertainment's DVD edition of "Plan 9". The documentary visits several locations related to the film, including the building with Ed Wood's former office (at 4477 Hollywood Blvd), and what was left of the small sound stage used for the film's interiors, which is down a small alley next to the Harvey Apartments located at 5640 Santa Monica Boulevard. That same year, Rudolph Grey's book "Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr.", was published and contained anecdotes regarding the making of this film. Grey notes that participants in the original events sometimes contradict one another, but he relates each person's recollections for posterity, regardless.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In 2006, another documentary by Kevin Sean Michaels, titled "Vampira: The Movie", chronicled Maila Nurmi's work with Wood and her role as television's first horror host.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: To date there have been only a handful of good quality or restored DVDs and Blu-rays. A good quality 35mm print from the Wade Williams Collection was released on DVD in the US (Image Entertainment, 2000), UK (MPIC Video, 2009), Germany (Winkler Film/Alive AG, 2009) and Australia (Force Video, 2001). All feature the "Flying Saucers Over Hollywood" documentary and the original theatrical trailer. Legend Films' restored colorized and original black-and-white versions have been released on both DVD and Blu-ray in the US, and DVD in various other territories.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: No home video release has featured the film's original theatrical aspect ratio. "Plan 9" was composed and shot for the 1.85:1 widescreen ratio, which by 1957 had become the common theatrical format alongside CinemaScope. As unskilled a filmmaker as he was, Ed Wood never intended for his film to be seen in a 1.33:1 open matte aspect ratio. This has led to various boom mics and edges of sets/props being seen at the top and bottom of the image, which have since come to be intrinsically associated with the viewing of this film. Further complicating the matter, Wood incorporated stock footage framed in 1.33:1 (including his own footage of Bela Lugosi), which becomes overly cropped when shown in widescreen.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Turner Classic Movies has since presented a high-definition transfer of the film in the original 1.85:1 ratio. The stock footage shots in this version have been slightly adjusted to better fit the frame.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Filmmaker Ernie Fosselius (of "Hardware Wars" fame) created the 2009 short film "Plan 9.1 from Outer Space", which featured hand-carved wooden puppets of the characters from the film. The puppets acted out the scenes along with the edited soundtrack of the original film.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: As of September 2009, there was an additional proposed remake: "Grave Robbers from Outer Space" was written and directed by Christopher Kahler for Drunkenflesh Films.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Another remake was released by Darkstone Entertainment, written and directed by John Johnson. The teaser trailer was released on the film's official website on September 9, 2009. Horror host Mr. Lobo, Brian Krause, and internet celebrities Matt Sloan, Aaron Yonda, James Rolfe, and Monique Dupree performed in the film, which was released through video-on-demand beginning February 16, 2016. It released on physical media for retail outlets on January 5, 2017.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is considered by some critics, including Michael Medved, to be the worst film in the history of cinema. Other reviews, however, have rated the film more positively; many of them stated that the film is simply too amusing to be considered the worst film ever made, claiming that its ineptitude added to its charm.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 66% based on 38 reviews, with an average score of 5.70/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The epitome of so-bad-it's-good cinema, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is an unintentionally hilarious sci-fi "thriller" from anti-genius Ed Wood that is justly celebrated for its staggering ineptitude." On Metacritic, the film received a score of 56 based on 13 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: Josiah Teal of Film Threat gave the film a 10/10 calling it a "quintessential cult classic" and stating it's a "testament to a love of cinema and making all the wrong creative choices." There were also claims that the director even managed to convey some interesting ideas. "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction", for instance, claims that in recent years "the film's reception modulated away from jovial mockery of its wanton indifference to normal professional standards of script, performance, and effects, in favour of a more nuanced appreciation of its dreamlike narrative assemblage of genre tropes, resonantly unspeakable dialogue, and irrepressible budgetary ingenuity."


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: As of 2021, "Plan 9" had failed to place in the IMDb Bottom 100, a list compiled using average scores given by Internet Movie Database users, though some of Wood's other movies had. In 1996 the film received a salute by the author of the "Cult Flicks and Trash Pics" edition of VideoHound, in which it is stated: "The film has become so famous for its own badness that it's now beyond criticism".


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In 1978 musician Glenn Danzig founded the record label Plan 9 Records, an apparent reference to the film. The record label ceased operations in 1995.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The film's title was the inspiration for the name of Bell Labs' successor to the Unix operating system. Plan 9 from Bell Labs was developed over several years starting in the mid-1980s and released to the general public in 1995.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In 1996 Paul Mandell produced a CD that recreated the film's musical score; the CD was released by the now-defunct Retrosonic Corp.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In October 2005 a stage adaptation, "Plan Nine from Outer Space: The Rip-Off," was staged in Jacksonville, Florida. The play, based on Ed Wood's script, was written by Steven Bailey. In 2006, another stage adaptation, "Plan LIVE from Outer Space!", was staged at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The play, based entirely on Wood's script, was written by James Gordon Taylor; it won a Canadian Comedy Award the following year. A stage adaptation was also performed in Glasgow by Off World Productions in 2015, again based on Wood's script. The Off World production was also performed at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In the "Seinfeld" episode titled "The Chinese Restaurant", the episode's entire storyline involves trying to get a table at a Chinese restaurant before going to see "Plan 9 from Outer Space", which is playing for one night only. Jerry emphasizes the significance of "Plan 9", saying, "Just a movie? You don't understand. This isn't plans 1 through 8 from outer space. This is Plan 9! This is the one that worked, the worst movie ever made!"


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: One level from the 2005 video game "Destroy All Humans!" features the alien protagonist causing mayhem at a drive-in theater that is playing a looped scene from "Plan 9": specifically, when the flying saucers are being attacked by the United States military. The scene in question can also be unlocked for viewing by the player.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: A portion of the film was featured in "The X-Files" episode "Hollywood A.D.", broadcast in April 2000. The series' protagonist, Fox Mulder, is paid a visit by his partner Dana Scully at his home. The film is playing on the television, and the VHS sleeve is seen as Mulder states that he has seen "Plan 9" 42 times.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In 1991, Eternity Comics released a three-issue miniseries, "Plan 9 from Outer Space: Thirty Years Later!", which served as an unofficial sequel to the film.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: An adventure game of the same name was made, in which the player must recover the film from Lugosi's double, who has stolen it.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The film was included in live performances at the SF Sketchfest by The Film Crew, composed of former "Mystery Science Theater 3000" cast members Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett. A commentary based on the performances was released by RiffTrax. It was advertised as a "Three Riffer Edition", due to Nelson's solo commentary for the film's colorized DVD release, which had previously been sold as an audio file on the Rifftrax website. On August 20, 2009, the RiffTrax trio performed the commentary at a live event in Nashville, Tennessee, and the performance was broadcast to theaters across the United States.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: The 1994 film "Ed Wood" is an Oscar-winning American comedy-drama biopic that was produced and directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp. It depicts Ed Wood's creation of "Plan 9 from Outer Space". The film was released to critical acclaim but was a box office bomb, making only $5.9 million against an $18 million budget. It went on to win two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau and Best Makeup for Rick Baker, who designed Landau's prosthetic makeup, and the makeup for Ve Neill and Yolanda Toussieng.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: In connection with the Planet Nine hypothesis, the film title recently found its way into academic discourse. In 2016, an article titled "Planet Nine from Outer Space" about the hypothesized planet in the outer region of the Solar System was published in "Scientific American". Several conference talks since then have used the same word play, as did a lecture by Mike Brown given in 2019.


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: American metalcore band Crown the Empire included a sample of Criswell's opening monologue in their single "Hologram", from their 2016 album "Retrograde".


title: Plan 9 from Outer Space

text: A clip from the film is featured in the movie theater sequence in the 1996 full-motion video game "".


title: Ben E. King

text: Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later in 1986 (when it was used as the theme to the film of the same name), a number one hit in the United Kingdom in 1987, and number 25 on the RIAA's list of Songs of the Century—and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group The Drifters, notably singing the lead vocals of one of their biggest global hit singles (and only U.S. No. 1 hit), "Save the Last Dance for Me". Besides "Stand By Me", his songs "There Goes My Baby" and "Spanish Harlem" also appeared on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.


title: Ben E. King

text: Benjamin Earl Nelson was born on September 28, 1938, in Henderson, North Carolina, and moved to Harlem, New York, at the age of nine in 1947. King began singing in church choirs, and in high school formed the Four B's, a doo-wop group that occasionally performed at the Apollo Theater.


title: Ben E. King

text: In 1958, King (still using his birth name) joined a doo-wop group called the Five Crowns. Later that year, the Drifters' manager George Treadwell fired the members of the original Drifters, and replaced them with the members of the Five Crowns.


title: Ben E. King

text: King had a string of R&B hits with the group on Atlantic Records. He co-wrote and sang lead on the first Atlantic hit by the new version of the Drifters, "There Goes My Baby" (1959). He sang lead on a succession of hits by the team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, including "Save the Last Dance for Me", "This Magic Moment", and "I Count the Tears". King recorded only thirteen songs with the two backing other lead singers and eleven lead vocal including an unreleased song called "Temptation" (later redone by Drifters vocalist Johnny Moore). The last of the King-led Drifters singles to be released was "Sometimes I Wonder", which was recorded May 19, 1960, but not issued until June 1962.


title: Ben E. King

text: Due to contract disputes with Treadwell in which King and his manager, Lover Patterson, demanded greater compensation, King rarely performed with the Drifters on tour or on television. On television, fellow Drifters member Charlie Thomas usually lip-synched the songs that King had recorded with the Drifters.


title: Ben E. King

text: In May 1960, King left the Drifters, assuming the stage name Ben E. King in preparation for a solo career. Remaining with Atlantic Records on its Atco imprint, King scored his first solo hit with the ballad "Spanish Harlem" (1961).


title: Ben E. King

text: His next single, "Stand by Me", written with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, ultimately would be voted as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America. King cited singers Brook Benton, Roy Hamilton and Sam Cooke as influences for his vocals of the song. "Stand by Me", "There Goes My Baby", "Spanish Harlem", and "Save the Last Dance for Me" were all named in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll; and each of those records has earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. King's other well-known songs include "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", "Amor", "Seven Letters", "How Can I Forget", "On the Horizon", "Young Boy Blues", "First Taste of Love", "Here Comes the Night", "Ecstasy", and "That's When It Hurts". In the summer of 1963, King had a Top 30 hit with "I (Who Have Nothing)", which reached the Top 10 on New York's radio station, WMCA.


title: Ben E. King

text: King's records continued to place well on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart until 1965. British pop bands began to dominate the pop music scene, but King still continued to make R&B hits. Some of these hits include "What is Soul?", "Tears, Tears, Tears" , "So Much Love" , and "Til I Can't Take It Anymore". In 1975, King made a comeback on the top 40 "Billboard" Hot 100 chart with the Disco hit "Supernatural Thing". "Supernatural Thing" peaked at number 5 on "Billboard" Hot 100 and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard R&B Charts. It was also nominated for a Grammy at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards in 1975 for "best R&B vocal performance, male". In 1977, King collaborated with Average White Band in releasing the album "Benny & Us". The album spawned two top 40 R&B hits, "A Star in the Ghetto" and "Get It Up".


title: Ben E. King

text: King returned to the Drifters in late 1982 in the United Kingdom, and sang with them until the group's break-up and reorganization in 1986. From 1983 until the band's break-up, the other members of this incarnation of the Drifters were Johnny Moore, Joe Blunt, and Clyde Brown.