title: Sergei Polunin

text: In January 2019, Polunin was invited to perform in the Paris Opéra Ballet's "Swan Lake". The Ballet revoked the invitation 48 hours later after being notified of Polunin's recent homophobic and sexist Instagram posts that sparked international outrage, including from dancers within the company.


title: Sergei Polunin

text: Polunin and his company, Polunin Ink introduced three new productions of ballet in 2019. The first was "Rasputin", choreographed by Yuka Oishi and premiered in London Palladium in June; the show received generally negative reviews from London critics but was later successfully shown in cities such as Zurich and Tashkent. The second was on 26 August 2019, Polunin danced the role of Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet" choreographed by Johan Kobborg and with Alina Cojocaru as Juliet, in the Arena of Verona to over 10,000 members in the audience and to critical acclaim. As the year closed, the third production of Polunin Ink, "Little Red and the Wolf", choreographed by Ross Freddie Ray, music composed by Kirill Richter, and performed by Sergei Polunin, Laura Fernandez-Gromova, Johan Kobborg and premiered in Zaryadye Concert Hall, Moscow on 29 and 30 December 2019. In 2019, he also performed in Dubai, Israel, Munich, and Shanghai. Noteworthy was the performance on 7 September 2019 when he was invited to dance at the ancient Buddhist temple Ninna-ji in Kyoto, Japan. Branded as the "Encounter of the East and the West", efforts were put into illustrating the theme with artists from Europe and Asia performing on the stage. Polunin's outfit was a carefully crafted kimono specially designed and made by artist Kamida Kazumak and with the calligraphy of the "Heart Sutra", which teaches the illusion of the phenomenal world, written on the outfit by calligrapher, Tomoko Kawao. The performance was later broadcast nationwide in Japan.


title: Sergei Polunin

text: Polunin was recognized as the Personality of the Year by Danza & Danza Awards 2019 (Premio D&D-Mario Bedendo), for which the jury wrote: "A multi-faceted artist... he and his Polunin Ink company scored not one but two goals in 2019", namely, "a 'modern' take on the twentieth-century classic "Romeo & Juliet" where Polunin gave a powerful, passionate performance opposite Alina Cojocaru", and “"Rasputin" a memorable dance-drama in which Sergei outdid himself".


title: Sergei Polunin

text: In 2022, Polunin was censured after performing/dancing to a song dedicated to fallen Russian soldiers while on tour in Uzbekistan. He performed in full military uniform which Uzbek authorities said deviated from the planned programme.


title: Sergei Polunin

text: Polunin made his feature film debut in the 2017 adaptation of "Murder on the Orient Express", followed by a performance in the 2018 film "Red Sparrow". Also in 2018, he appeared as Yuri Soloviev in the Rudolf Nureyev biopic "The White Crow", directed by Ralph Fiennes.


title: Sergei Polunin

text: As of 2020, Polunin is engaged to Russian ice dancer Elena Ilinykh. On 16 January 2020, their son, Mir, was born in Miami, Florida, U.S. In April 2022, their second son, Dar, was born.


title: Sergei Polunin

text: Along with a number of other celebrities, Polunin was granted Serbian citizenship in 2017, for his work in promoting the country and its culture.


title: Sergei Polunin

text: In November 2018, Polunin posted on his Instagram account voicing support for Russian president Vladimir Putin. In December 2018, Polunin expressed admiration and support for U.S. president Donald Trump in another Instagram post.


title: Roar (film)

text: Roar is a 1981 American adventure comedy film written and directed by Noel Marshall, and produced by Marshall, Tippi Hedren, and Robert Gottschalk. "Roar"s story follows Hank, a naturalist who lives on a nature preserve in Africa with lions, tigers, and other big cats. When his family visits him, they are instead confronted by the group of animals. The film stars Marshall as Hank, his real-life wife Tippi Hedren as his wife Madeleine, with Hedren's daughter Melanie Griffith and Marshall's sons John and Jerry Marshall in supporting roles.


title: Roar (film)

text: In 1969, while Hedren was filming "Satan's Harvest" in Mozambique, she and Marshall had occasion to observe a pride of lions move into a recently vacated house, driven by increased poaching. They decided to make a film centered around that theme, with production starting when the first script was completed in 1970. They began bringing rescued big cats into their homes in California and living with them. Filming began in 1976; it was finished after five years. The film was fully completed after 11 years in production.


title: Roar (film)

text: "Roar" was not initially released in North America; instead, in 1981, Noel and John Marshall released it internationally. It was also acquired by Filmways Pictures and Alpha Films. Despite performing well in Germany and Japan, "Roar" was a box office failure, grossing $2 million worldwide against a $17 million budget. In 2015, 34 years after the film's original release, it was released in theaters in the United States by Drafthouse Films. "Roar" message of protection for African wildlife as well as its animal interactions were praised by critics, but its plot, story, inconsistent tone, dialogue, and editing were criticized.


title: Roar (film)

text: The cast and crew members of "Roar" faced dangerous situations during filming; seventy people, including the film's stars, were injured as a result of multiple animal attacks. Flooding from a dam destroyed much of the set and equipment during its production, and the film's budget increased drastically. In 1983, Hedren founded the Roar Foundation and established the Shambala Preserve sanctuary, to house the animals appearing in the film. She also wrote a book, "The Cats of Shambala" (1985), about many of the film's events. The film has been described as "the most dangerous film ever made" and "the most expensive home movie ever made", and has gained a cult following.


title: Roar (film)

text: American naturalist Hank (Noel Marshall) lives on a nature preserve in Tanzania with a collection of big cats to study their behavior. Although he is due to pick up his wife Madeleine (Tippi Hedren) and their children John, Jerry, and Melanie (Melanie Griffith) from the airport to bring them to his home, he is delayed by his friend Mativo (Kyalo Mativo) warning him that a committee is coming to review his grant. As he shows Mativo around his ranch and the rest of the preserve while they wait, Hank explains the nature of the lion pride and their fear of Togar, a rogue lion who often quarrels with the pride's leader, Robbie. Hank asks Mativo to help keep the pride safe.


title: Roar (film)

text: The grant committee arrives. One of its members, Prentiss (Steve Miller), disapproves of the big cats and threatens to shoot them. A fight between two lions distracts Hank; he breaks it up despite having his hand bitten. While Hank is bandaging his hand, the tigers attack members of the committee and injure some of them, and, although Hank offers assistance, they leave in fear. Mativo expresses his concerns over another attack when Hank brings his family to the ranch. As they leave for the airport on Mativo's boat, two tigers jump aboard, traveling with them. Mativo steers into a log in the water, causing the craft to sink. The two men swim to safety.


title: Roar (film)

text: Madeleine, John, Jerry, and Melanie are advised by an airport attendant to board a bus. They arrive at the ranch and enter the house, realizing that it has been left unattended. When Madeleine and Jerry open the windows and doors, they are shocked to see the lions eating a zebra carcass in front of the house. The family are frightened when animals enter the house and try to escape but Togar pursues them. Jerry finds a rifle and tries to shoot Togar while he is fighting Robbie. Melanie fears that her father has been killed by the animals.


title: Roar (film)

text: Hank and Mativo—still pursued by the tigers—take two bikes from a local village. To prevent the tigers from following Hank to the airport, Mativo climbs a tree and distracts them. Hank encounters the airport attendant, who tells him that his family have taken the bus to his ranch. Hank drives back in a friend's car and rescues Mativo from the tree. One of the car's tires is punctured on a rocky road, and Hank runs to the ranch while Mativo fends off the tigers with an umbrella.


title: Roar (film)

text: The following morning, the family board Hank's boat to try to escape, but an elephant pulls the craft back to shore and destroys it. John goes for help on Hank's motorcycle, but he is chased by the big cats, and drives into the lake. After escaping another elephant, the family swims across the lake and find another house that they use to sleep in. When they awake, they find themselves surrounded by the pride and conclude that, since they are still alive, the animals do not intend to hurt them.


title: Roar (film)

text: Prentiss tries to persuade the committee to hunt down and kill Hank's lions. Though he is unsuccessful, he and Rick (Rick Glassey), another committee member, shoot many of the big cats anyway. Eventually Togar attacks them and although Hank sees the assault and tries to intervene, the lion kills Prentiss and Rick before returning to the house to battle Robbie. Robbie stands up to Togar and the fight ends. Hank arrives at the ranch to find his family waiting for him. Mativo arrives, and Hank asks him not to mention Prentiss or Rick's death; he is introduced to Hank's family, who agree to stay for the week.


title: Roar (film)

text: Expert and experienced animal trainers such as Frank Tom, Rick Glassey and Steve Miller were given acting parts as committee members attacked by tigers. Zakes Mokae plays a committee member, and Will Hutchins portrays a man in a rowboat. The untrained lions Robbie, his offspring Gary, and Togar are all credited as actors.


title: Roar (film)

text: "Roar" was conceived by Marshall and Hedren in 1969, after she had starred in "Satan's Harvest" in Mozambique. During filming, they came across an abandoned plantation house in Gorongosa National Park which had been overrun by a pride of lions, and were told by their bus guide and local residents that animal populations were becoming endangered due to poaching; this inspired them to consider making either one or a series of films.


title: Roar (film)

text: Marshall and Hedren discussed the film with their family (Melanie Griffith, Joel, John, and Jerry Marshall), who liked the idea and agreed to participate as actors, except Joel, who preferred to be the art director and set decorator. Marshall and Hedren visited animal preserves in their free time and talked to lion experts. They learned they would have to film in the United States, as tame lions were rare in Africa. A number of lion tamers warned that it was impossible to bring a large number of big cats together on a film set. Other tamers, such as animal trainer Ron Oxley—who brought a lion named Neil over to introduce the family to big cats—suggested that they obtain their own animals, give them basic training, and gradually introduce them to each other. The Marshalls developed ideas for funding the project and estimated that the film would be completed on a budget of $3 million.


title: Roar (film)

text: Marshall wrote the first script for the project in the spring of 1970, and gave it the working title "Lions"; later, he changed it to "Lions, Lions and More Lions". He also enlisted the assistance of actor and voice artist Ted Cassidy, with whom he had co-written and produced "The Harrad Experiment". The original script allowed for up to thirty or forty trained lions. Marshall was also inspired by Mack Sennett's slapstick routines, and decided to incorporate a mixture of comedy, drama, and moments of "stark terror" in the human and animal encounters, with an underlying message of the need for the preservation of African wildlife. Scenes where animals chase after the characters required that the actors pretend to be scared and scream, in order to trigger a reaction from the animals. The script developed with frequent changes but always allowing for inclusion of spontaneous actions by the animals, such as playing with the family's boat or riding a skateboard. This led some of the lions to be credited as writers.


title: Roar (film)

text: Marshall and Hedren began keeping young lions that they had acquired from zoos and circuses in their house in Sherman Oaks. This was illegal as they did not secure permission from the authorities beforehand—though it was before the more stringent regulations of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The authorities discovered the animals in 1972 and ordered the family to remove them from the property. The couple purchased land in Soledad Canyon, and hired staff to construct a set along with a two-storey house inspired by African architecture. The house was supported by fourteen telephone poles which made it sturdy enough to bear the weight of fifty big cats, or . The staff was composed of non-union workers; the Marshalls did not use union workers as they were unable to afford them and were afraid of breaking union rules. A flat roof was installed on the house, the surrounding land's Californian desert characteristics were adapted to mimic Tanzania, by the planting of thousands of cottonwoods and Mozambique bushes, and a nearby creek was dammed to create a lake. A crew of five men cordoned off areas of up to with fences to prevent the animals from escaping. A miniature studio was constructed alongside numerous other buildings, such as editing rooms and a kitchen commissary. An animal hospital, elephant barn, and a freezer—to store meat for the big cats—were also constructed. Hedren operated a backhoe on the set, and was in charge of the film's wardrobe, which she described as a plain "wash-and-wear look".


title: Roar (film)

text: After Marshall took in two infant Siberian tigers and an African bull elephant named Timbo from the Okanagan Game Preserve, he decided to revise the film's script to include different animals, and changed the formerly leo-centric title to "Roar". Another addition to the script involved Timbo crushing the family's rowboat, inspired by seeing the elephant destroy a metal camper shell. The family would eventually accumulate, by 1979, 71 lions, 26 tigers, a tigon, nine black panthers, 10 cougars, two jaguars, four leopards, two elephants, six black swans, four Canada geese, four cranes, two peacocks, seven flamingos, and a marabou stork; the only animal they turned down was a hippopotamus. Marshall and Hedren had to hire animal trainers when they received more lions; one trainer, Frank Tom, brought his pet cougar that needed re-homing. After six years of production had been completed, the big cats numbered about 100; the total would eventually reach 150.


title: Roar (film)

text: Issues with funding started in 1973, as by then the cost of the crew and feed for the animals was $4,000 per week. The family sold their four houses and near Magic Mountain to pay debts, and Marshall's commercial-production company went bankrupt. He had been executive producer of "The Exorcist" and the proceeds from that film partially funded production. The Marshalls also sold some possessions, including Hedren's fur coat, given to her by Alfred Hitchcock for her starring role in "The Birds". The lack of funds meant that members of the family had to cover crew tasks and take on other work. John Marshall was an animal wrangler, set mechanic, boom operator, and camera operator; he also undertook veterinary work, such as giving vaccines and drawing blood from the animals. In a 1977 interview, Noel Marshall was asked why he took personal risks for the project:


title: Roar (film)

text: Principal photography began on October 1, 1976, and was initially scheduled to last for six months, but filming was restricted to five months at a time because the cottonwood trees on set turned brown from November until March. Filming the big cats was difficult and frustrating; cinematographer Jan de Bont often spent hours setting up five cameras and waiting for the cats to do something that could be included in the film. This eventually led to Marshall and the crew recording footage in documentary style with up to eight Panavision 35mm cameras. One scene where Marshall and Mativo drive a 1937 Chevrolet containing two tigers took seven weeks to complete, because Glassey and Miller had to train the animals to ride in a car. Marshall often refused to stop filming because he did not want to lose a take; sometimes only one take was usable from a day's filming.


title: Roar (film)

text: The opening footage of Marshall racing a bull giraffe on a motorcycle was filmed in Kenya, with the location acknowledged in the credits. One session involved a leopard licking Hedren's face which had been coated in honey; Hedren considered it to be one of the most dangerous scenes she agreed to film as although handlers were away, they would not have been able to stop the cat from biting her. In the scenes where some of the big cats are shot and killed by hunters, the effect was achieved by filming the animals when they were tranquilized for their annual blood draw.


title: Roar (film)

text: Filming took five years to complete. Although Hedren has claimed that principal photography ended on October 16, 1979, after just over three years, additional pick-up shots were filmed in Kenya during the editing stage. The total production time was 11 years.


title: Roar (film)

text: Due to the large number of untrained animals on set, there were a reported 48 injuries within two years of the start of filming. It has been estimated that, of "Roar" 140-person crew, at least 70 were injured during production. In a 2015 interview, John Marshall said that he believed the number of people injured was over 100.


title: Roar (film)

text: Noel Marshall was bitten through the hand when he interacted with male lions during a fight scene; doctors initially feared that he might lose his arm. By the time he suffered eight puncture wounds on his leg caused by a lion which was curious about his anti-reflection makeup, Marshall had already been bitten around eleven times. He was hospitalized when his face and chest were injured and was diagnosed with blood poisoning. Marshall was also diagnosed with gangrene after being attacked many times. It took Marshall several years to fully recover from his injuries. During a promo shoot in 1973, Hedren was bitten in the head by a lion, Cherries, whose teeth scraped against her skull. She was taken to Sherman Oaks Hospital, where her wounds were treated and she was given a tetanus shot. She was admitted to Antelope Valley Hospital after Tembo, the five-ton elephant, picked her up by and fractured her ankle with his trunk before bucking her off his back; Hedren said that Tembo had been trying to keep her from falling and was not at fault. She was left with phlebitis and gangrene, in addition to a fractured hand and abrasions on her leg. Several days earlier Tembo had bucked his trainer, Patricia Barbeau, into a tree and broken her shoulder. Hedren was also scratched on the arm by a leopard and bitten on the chest by a cougar. Griffith received 50 sutures after being attacked by a lioness. It was feared that she would lose an eye, but she eventually recovered without being disfigured, although she did require some facial reconstruction. A lion jumped on John Marshall and bit the back of his head, inflicting a wound that required 56 sutures. Jerry Marshall was bitten in the thigh by a lion while he was in a cage on set, and he was in hospital alongside Hedren for a month.


title: Roar (film)

text: Most members of the crew were injured, including de Bont, who was scalped by Cherries while he was filming under a tarpaulin; he received 220 sutures, but resumed his duties after recovering. Togar, one of the lead lions, bit assistant director Doron Kauper in the throat and jaw and tried to pull off one of his ears after Kauper unintentionally cued an attack; Kauper also received injuries to his scalp, chest and thigh, and he was admitted to Palmdale General Hospital where he had to undergo four and a half hours of surgery. Although the attack was reported as nearly fatal, a nurse told a "Santa Cruz Sentinel" reporter that Kauper's injuries were acute (sudden and traumatic), but that he was conscious and in fair condition after the surgery. After witnessing the attacks, twenty crew members left the set en masse; turnover was high, and many did not want to return. Because of Marshall's financial proceeds from his producer credit on "The Exorcist", rumors spread that the set of "Roar" was plagued by the "curse of "The Exorcist"".


title: Roar (film)

text: Pipes and berms from Aliso Canyon became flooded with water and burst on February 9, 1978, after a night of heavy rain. Both were pointed towards the Marshall property to redirect water from the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks. The property was destroyed by a flood, from which four sound-crew members had to be rescued. Marshall, who had left the hospital despite being scheduled to undergo knee surgery, helped to rescue many of the animals. Fifteen lions and tigers escaped from the set after fences and cages collapsed; the sheriff and local law enforcement killed three lions, including Robbie the lead lion, who was replaced with another lion, Zuru, when filming resumed. A broken dam and several floods also caused the surrounding lake to fill with sediment, adding six feet to its height. Most of the set, ranch, editing equipment and film stock were destroyed; over $3 million of damage was caused, though the negative had already been sent to be edited in a Hollywood studio. Many friends and strangers offered help to the Marshalls and their crew, including the Southern Pacific Railroad office who offered to send railway cars as temporary housing for the animals. As a result of the flood, production was halted for a year to allow the surrounding area to recover. It took eight months to rebuild the set, and 700 replacement trees were purchased. After most of the issues resulting from the flood had been resolved, twelve wildfires in an Acton, California area broke out in September, though the animals remained unharmed.


title: Roar (film)

text: Terence P. Minogue composed the film's score and recorded it with the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Robert Florczak—credited in the film as Robert Hawk—provided vocals for original songs such as "Nchi Ya Nani? (Whose Land Is This)", a song with an African-pop style like others on the soundtrack. Both musicians visited the set to seek inspiration, and Minogue created the composition using a piano he brought to the family's ranch. Percussionist Alexander Lepak used grinding drums and synthesizers to augment dialogue-free scenes, and Minogue's orchestral score was used in lighter scenes. Dominic Frontiere wrote a theme for Togar, the rogue lion. The soundtrack, originally released in 1981, became available online in 2005.


title: Roar (film)

text: "Roar" was not released theatrically in North America. Hedren stated that it was not released in the United States because distributors wanted the "lion's share" of the profits, which she and Marshall had intended to allocate for the care of the film's animals. Terry Albright, who was part of the film's crew throughout its production, said that another reason prohibiting the film's release in North America was because the crew was non-unionised, except for de Bont.


title: Roar (film)

text: While "Roar" was initially screened internationally on February 22, 1981, by Noel and John Marshall, its world premiere was held in Sydney, Australia on October 30, 1981. The film was also picked up for a one-week distribution in Australia and the United Kingdom by Filmways Pictures and Alpha Films, the latter giving it the title "Roar - Spirit of the Jungle". The Marshalls also signed deals to release "Roar" in Japan, Germany, and Italy.


title: Roar (film)

text: In 2015, 34 years after its initial release, Drafthouse Films founder Tim League expressed interest in the film and the company bought "Roar" rights. It began a limited theatrical run on April 17, 2015 at six theaters across the United States; the following month, distribution was expanded to 50 cities. The Drafthouse re-release used promotional text in its trailers and press materials such as: "No animals were harmed during the making of 'Roar.' But 70 members of the cast and crew were", and called it the "snuff version of "Swiss Family Robinson"". Hedren canceled an interview with the Associated Press after the Roar Foundation and Shambala Preserve's board of directors asked her not to speak publicly about the film, although she stated through a spokesman that its Drafthouse promotion was filled with "inaccuracies".


title: Roar (film)

text: "Roar"s worldwide gross (excluding the U.S.) was less than $2 million against its $17 million budget, making the film a box-office bomb. Hedren had predicted that it would be a hit, projecting a gross of $125–150 million, and claimed in 1982 that it was making $1 million a month. Though it was popular in West Germany and Japan, performing well at the box office. Despite this, John Marshall later said in a "Grantland" interview that "$2 million is a long way off" due to the film's success in West Germany and Japan; the latter's distributor paid $1 million, and Noel Marshall told him that the film made $10 million. It had an opening weekend gross of $15,064 in its re-release, ending with a domestic gross of $110,048.


title: Roar (film)

text: "Roar" has an approval rating of 72% (based on 25 reviews) on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.77/10. According to the site's critical consensus: ""Roar" may not satisfy in terms of acting, storytelling, or overall production, but the real-life danger onscreen makes it difficult to turn away." The film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 (based on 9 critics) on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Roar (film)

text: The film received mixed-to-negative reviews when it was first released. Although "Variety" praised its intended message ("a passionate plea" to preserve African wildlife), "Roar" was described as "a kind of "Jaws" of the jungle" which seemed "at times more like "Born Free" gone berserk"; its "thin" plot was also noted. David Robinson believed he was obligated to dismiss the story and plot, instead choosing to compliment the "superb" animals in his review for "The Times", and he was impressed by the depiction of the interactions between the humans and the animals in the film which "overturns centuries of preconceptions about relationships in nature." "Time Out", in a review published in 2004, disliked the film's "ingenuous documentary portrait of the Marshalls as mega-eccentrics and misguided animal lovers", and called its narrative a "farcical melange of pseudo David Attenborough and Disneyspeak" with "bizarre contradictions" and "fickle camerawork."


title: Roar (film)

text: "Roar" received mixed reviews after its 2015 re-release. Writing for "RogerEbert.com", Simon Abrams rated the film a 2 while giving a mixed reaction; the untrained big cats were the only assets in an "otherwise slack thriller", and some scenes were dull due to their emphasis on "Scooby Doo-like" chase scenes that focused more on the animals than on the plot, though Abrams concluded that for animal lovers, "Roar" was "worth seeing once". Matt Patches, in his mostly positive review for "Esquire", said the film worked as a "portrait of recklessness and beastly terror", akin to watching a "Jackass" movie; although "plotless enough" to give animals writing credits, Patches said the film was "shock cinema worth preserving".


title: Roar (film)

text: On a more negative note, Jordan Hoffman of "The Guardian" thought the film had little story to offer and described it as "a tad incoherent", picking up on Hank's confusing background. Hoffman criticized the film's dialogue, calling a scene of Hedren and Griffith discussing sexuality "undeniably creepy". Amy Nicholson in "LA Weekly" observed the subjugation of the script to the boisterous impulses of the animal cast and noted that the actors seemed keen to get through their scenes quickly; this, she said, conflicted with the film's goal of proving "big cats are lovable". Rene Rodriguez of the "Miami Herald" was displeased with the film's editing, saying it was "pasted together into a threadbare story", producing "a hysterically bad, awful movie". "Flavorwire" included the re-release in their monthly "So Bad It’s Good" review; writer Jason Bailey saw "Roar" as "a cross between a nature special, a home movie, a snuff film, and a key exhibit at a sanity hearing" with animals inflicting "horrifying bloodshed" before abruptly becoming "cuddly kittens, accompanied by a sappy string score" and said much of the film consisted of "odd, semi-improvised" dialogue.


title: Roar (film)

text: After its release, "Roar"'s financial failure hindered the intended plan to fund the animals' retirement. Marshall and Hedren had grown distant by the time production was completed, and they divorced in 1982. Hedren founded the Roar Foundation, and established the Shambala Preserve sanctuary in Soledad Canyon in 1983 to house the animals after filming was completed. As a result of establishing Shambala and rescuing more than 230 big cats, Hedren advocates animal rights and the preservation of natural habitat, and opposes animal exploitation. Although Marshall continued to provide most of Shambala's financial support, according to John Marshall he "couldn't be with the animals that he loved and raised". He never directed another film again and died in 2010.


title: Roar (film)

text: The film has been mentioned by authors Harry and Michael Medved in the 1984 book "The Hollywood Hall of Shame" as "the most expensive home movie ever made" due to its inflated budget. Hedren wrote "The Cats of Shambala", published in 1985, which told many behind-the-scenes stories and described the many on-set injuries. Hedren stated in her book she and Noel realized that, while they accomplished their goal (to "capture wild animals in an astonishing and absolutely unique way"), the story was poorly made and secondary to "the actions, reactions and interactions of the big cats". She also said that the injuries inflicted on the crewmembers and cast were the result of putting their lives at risk to make the film. Hedren, however, noted a positive outcome for those who worked on "Roar": many of the people involved went on to have successful careers or jobs in the film industry, such as de Bont and Griffith. She later reflected on the film, saying that despite the danger, "Roar" had been worthwhile, but still called it "the toughest movie of my life". Due to the many injuries on set, the film's re-release trailers and adverts called it "the most dangerous film ever made". Since its original release, it has built up a cult following.


title: Roar (film)

text: A non-anamorphic version of the film was originally released on DVD but, as stocks dwindled, it became a cult item and was listed at high prices on Amazon and eBay. After its 2015 theatrical release in the United States, the film was released in November 2015 by Olive Films for Blu-ray in anamorphic format. The Blu-ray bonus features included audio commentary by John Marshall and Tim League, "The Making of "ROAR"" featurette, and a Q&A with the cast and crew at Cinefamily in Los Angeles. Drafthouse also authorized an at-home VOD release featuring a video Q&A with John Marshall. Ten percent of the profits went to the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation’s Pioneers Assistance Fund, which in turn channel profits to theater employees affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: La Jetée

text: La Jetée () is a 1962 French science fiction featurette directed by Chris Marker and associated with the Left Bank artistic movement. Constructed almost entirely from still photos, it tells the story of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel. It is 28 minutes long and shot in black and white.


title: La Jetée

text: It won the Prix Jean Vigo for short film. The 1995 science fiction film "12 Monkeys" was inspired by and borrows several concepts directly from "La Jetée".


title: La Jetée

text: A man (Davos Hanich) is a prisoner in the aftermath of World War III in post-apocalyptic Paris, where survivors live underground in the "Palais de Chaillot" galleries. Scientists research time travel, hoping to send test subjects to different time periods "to call past and future to the rescue of the present." They have difficulty finding subjects who can mentally withstand the shock of time travel. The scientists eventually settle upon the protagonist; his key to the past is a vague but obsessive memory from his pre-war childhood of a woman (Hélène Châtelain) he had seen on the observation platform ("the jetty") at Orly Airport shortly before witnessing a startling incident there. He did not understand exactly what happened, but knew he had seen a man die.


title: La Jetée

text: After several attempts, he reaches the pre-war period. He meets the woman from his memory, and they develop a romantic relationship. After his successful passages to the past, the experimenters attempt to send him into the far future. In a brief meeting with the technologically advanced people of the future, he is given a power unit sufficient to regenerate his own destroyed society.


title: La Jetée

text: Upon his return, with his mission accomplished, he discerns that he is to be executed by his jailers. He is contacted by the people of the future, who offer to help him escape to their time permanently; but he asks instead to be returned to the pre-war time of his childhood, hoping to find the woman again. He is returned to the past, placed on the jetty at the airport, and it occurs to him that the child version of himself is probably also there at the same time. He is more concerned with locating the woman, and quickly spots her. However, as he rushes to her, he notices an agent of his jailers who has followed him and realizes the agent is about to kill him. In his final moments, he comes to understand that the incident he witnessed as a child, which has haunted him ever since, was his own death.


title: La Jetée

text: "La Jetée" is constructed almost entirely from optically printed photographs playing out as a photomontage of varying rhythm. It contains only one brief shot (of the woman mentioned above sleeping and suddenly waking up) originating on a motion-picture camera, this due to the fact that Marker could only afford to hire one for an afternoon. The stills were taken with a Pentax Spotmatic and the motion-picture segment was shot with a 35 mm Arriflex. The film has no dialogue aside from small sections of muttering in German and people talking in an airport terminal. The story is told by a voice-over narrator. The scene in which the hero and the woman look at a cut-away trunk of a tree is a reference to Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film "Vertigo" which Marker also references in his 1983 film "Sans soleil".


title: La Jetée

text: The editing of "La Jetée" adds to the intensity of the film. With the use of cut-ins and fade-outs, it produces the eerie and unsettling nature adding to the theme of the apocalyptic destruction of World War III. Terry Gilliam, director of "12 Monkeys", describes the editing as "simply poetic" in the combination of editing and soundtrack that is used in the short film.


title: La Jetée

text: As the film plays out as a photomontage, the only continuous variable is the sound. The sound used in this production is minimal, showing up in the form of narration, Orchestral score and sound effect. The rhythmic patterns of the soundtrack act as a framework to add to the intensity of the film. "The dissolve is synchronized with the sound. As the story moves from the past to the present, "La Jetee" creates mental continuity." The soundtrack adds to the illusion of movement within the film and the change of time.


title: La Jetée

text: In "Black and Blue", her study of postwar French fiction, Carol Mavor describes "La Jetée" as "taking place in a no-place (u-topia) in no-time (u-chronia)" which she connects to the time and place of the fairy tale. She further elaborates: "even the sound of the title resonates with the fairy-tale surprise of finding oneself in another world: "La Jetée" evokes 'là j'étais' (there I was)". By "u-topia", Mavor does not refer to "utopia" as the word is commonly used; she also describes an ambiguity of dystopia/utopia in the film: "It is dystopia with the hope of utopia, or is it utopia cut by the threat of dystopia."


title: La Jetée

text: Tor Books blogger Jake Hinkson summed up his interpretation in the title of an essay about the film, "There's No Escape Out of Time". He elaborated:


title: La Jetée

text: Hinkson also addresses the symbolic use of imagery: "The Man is blindfolded with some kind of padded device and he sees images. The Man is chosen for this assignment because ... he has maintained a sharp mind because of his attachment to certain images. Thus a film told through the use of still photos becomes about looking at images." He further observes that Marker himself did not refer to "La Jetée" as a film, but as photo novel.


title: La Jetée

text: Yannis Karpouzis makes a structuralistic analysis on "La Jetée", examining it as an intermedial artwork: Chris Marker creates an "archive" of objects and conditions that have a photographic quality of their own and they are followed by the same predicates as pictures. The dialogue between the media (photography and cinematography) and the filmic signifier (film stills, storyline and narration) is constantly in the backdrop.


title: La Jetée

text: In 2010, "Time" ranked "La Jetée" first in its list of "Top 10 time-travel movies". In 2012, in correspondence with the "Sight & Sound" Poll, the British Film Institute deemed "La Jetée" as the 50th greatest film of all time.


title: La Jetée

text: Terry Gilliam's "12 Monkeys" (1995) was inspired by and takes several concepts directly from "La Jetée" (acknowledging this debt in the opening credits).


title: La Jetée

text: The 2007 Mexican film "Year of the Nail", which is told entirely through still photographs, was inspired by "La Jetée".


title: La Jetée

text: The 2018 Spanish film "Entre Oscuros Sueños", where is used the still-image movie concept, was entirely inspired by "La Jetée".


title: La Jetée

text: Kode9 in collaboration with Ms. Haptic, Marcel Weber (aka MFO), and Lucy Benson created an homage to "La Jetée" in 2011, for the Unsound Festival.


title: La Jetée

text: Northern Irish rock band Two Door Cinema Club screened the film at the launch party for their 2016 album "Gameshow". The final track on the album, "Je viens de la", is inspired by "La Jetée" and describes the journey of the film's protagonist.


title: La Jetée

text: The Chicago-based band Isotope 217 recorded a track "La Jetée" for their 1997 album, "The Unstable Molecule". On the 1998 album "TNT", the post-rock band Tortoise, of which Isotope 217 is a side-project, featured an alternate version of the same song, title "Jetty". Both are inspired by the film.


title: La Jetée

text: On November 8, 2022 the Chicago Fringe Opera staged a world-premiere concert performance of Seth Boustead and J. Robert Lennon's chamber opera adaptation of the film.


title: La Jetée

text: In 1992, Zone Books released a book which reproduced the film's original images along with the script in both English and French.


title: La Jetée

text: In Region 2, the film is available with English subtitles in the "La Jetée/Sans soleil" digipack released by Arte Video. In Region 1, the Criterion Collection has released a "La Jetée/Sans soleil" combination DVD / Blu-ray, which features the option of hearing the English or French narration.


title: Kanye West singles discography

text: American rapper and record producer Kanye West has released 138 singles, four promotional singles and charted with 65 other songs.


title: Kanye West singles discography

text: As of July 2022, West is one of only seven artists in the United States to be certified for over 100 million digital singles by the Recording Industry Association of America, having sold 133 million certified digital units as a solo artist. He is the highest certified digital singles artist in the United States with 84 of his singles going platinum. His "Billboard" Hot 100 history reads; 107 entries, 56 top 40s, 18 top 10s, and four number-one singles. Elsewhere, West has 20 top-ten, and three number-one singles in the UK, as well as, six number ones in New Zealand. West ended the 2000s decade with the most number-one songs on the Hot Rap Songs chart, most digital song certifications by a male solo artist in the United States, and was tenth on "Billboard"s Top Hot 100 Artists of the 2000s chart. As of September 2012, he had the second-most 3 million+ selling digital songs.


title: Kanye West singles discography

text: In 2003, West collaborated with rapper Twista and singer Jamie Foxx on the song "Slow Jamz", which became West's first single to top the US "Billboard" Hot 100. In 2004, West's debut album "The College Dropout" produced four singles, including the Hot 100 top ten single "All Falls Down" and the Grammy Award-winner "Jesus Walks". In 2005, West released his second studio album "Late Registration", which featured five singles, including "Touch the Sky", "Heard 'Em Say" and "Gold Digger", the latter spent ten weeks at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100, broke digital download records, and was the ninth biggest Hot 100 hit of the 2000s decade.


title: Kanye West singles discography

text: In 2007, West's third studio album "Graduation" was released and was supported by five singles, including the "Billboard" Hot 100 number one single "Stronger" and the top ten single "Good Life". In 2008, West's fourth album "808s & Heartbreak" was released and featured two top three singles, "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless". The former became just the second song by a non-American Idol artist to debut in the top three of the Hot 100 of the decade. From 2008 to 2009, West collaborated with other recording artists on multiple Hot 100 top ten singles, including "American Boy" by singer Estelle, "Swagga Like Us" by rappers Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and T.I., "Knock You Down" by singer Keri Hilson, "Run This Town" by Jay-Z and singer Rihanna, and "Forever" with rappers Drake, Lil Wayne and Eminem.


title: Kanye West singles discography

text: In 2010, West released his fifth studio album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"; four singles were released from the album, all of which reached the top 25 on the "Billboard" Hot 100: "Power", "Monster", "Runaway" and "All of the Lights". The following year, West collaborated with American singer Katy Perry on a remix of her song "E.T." which hit number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100, marking West's fourth number one single on the chart. "Watch the Throne", a collaboration with Jay-Z, produced seven singles, including the "Billboard" Hot 100 top 25 singles "H•A•M", "Otis" and "Niggas in Paris". West's sixth studio album "Yeezus", released in 2013, featured the singles "Black Skinhead" and "Bound 2".


title: Kanye West singles discography

text: "FourFiveSeconds", a 2015 collaboration with Rihanna and musician Paul McCartney, became a top five hit on the Hot 100 and a top ten hit in several other countries. The singles "Famous", "Father Stretch My Hands", which was released as a two-part single, and "Fade" were released in support of West's seventh studio album "The Life of Pablo", released in 2016. "Yikes" was released as the first single from Kanye's eighth studio album "Ye" in 2018 and performed best in Canada by peaking at number 6 on the Canadian Hot 100 and "All Mine" was the second single to released from the album, which performed best in New Zealand by reaching number 5 on the NZ Top 40 chart.


title: Gordon Liu

text: Gordon Liu (Lau Kar-fai ); born Sin Kam-hei () August 22, 1951) is a Chinese martial arts film actor and martial artist. He played the lead role of San Te in "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" (1978) and its sequels, and later played two roles in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films: Johnny Mo, the leader of the Crazy 88 Yakuza gang in "" (2003); and kung fu master Pai Mei in "" (2004).


title: Gordon Liu

text: Liu was born Sin Kam-hei in Guangdong Province, China on August 22, 1951, prior to his adoption into another family. He is often wrongly cited as being the adopted son of Lau Cham, and adoptive brother of directors and actors Lau Kar-leung (Liu Chia-liang) and Lau Kar-wing (Liu Chia-Yung). He was not adopted by the family but is Lau Cham's godson.


title: Gordon Liu

text: In his youth (ages 15–20), he skipped school to train in Chinese martial arts without his parents' knowledge. He trained at Lau Cham's martial arts school of Hung Gar discipline, which descended from Wong Fei-hung's grand student (father to Lau Kar Leung). Lau Cham's wife assisted in his training and due to the friendship and respect Liu felt for Lau and his wife, he took on the name Lau Ka-fai. As he grew up, he found a job as a shipping clerk to make ends meet. His interests had always been towards martial arts and he was eventually offered a role by Lau Kar-leung.


title: Gordon Liu

text: Liu's first break was with Chang's Film Company (a Shaw Brothers subsidiary operating in Taiwan) acting small parts for such films as "5 Shaolin Masters", "Shaolin Martial Arts", and "4 Assassins". He starred in "Challenge of the Masters" (1976), as the folk hero Wong Fei Hung, and was featured in "Executioners From Shaolin" (1977) before starring in his signature role as Shaolin hero San Te in "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin".


title: Gordon Liu

text: The tale of the imperialistic struggle, while not a new one, was significant for the intense focus placed on the inner workings of Shaolin Temple itself. San Te, Liu's character, overcomes the temple's thirty-five chambers as he unwittingly undergoes the rigorous training regimen imposed by the temple's Head Abbott on the pretext of "earning" a right to study martial arts there.


title: Gordon Liu

text: The "zero-to-hero" tale turned Liu into an international icon in spite of a frame far slighter than that of the folk hero himself (known as "Iron Arms" for the muscularity of his physique) and paved the way for a very healthy working schedule into the mid-1990s, even as younger, more agile martial artists eventually emerged. By the late 1980s, he had begun accepting smaller roles, such as in Lau Kar-leung's "Tiger on the Beat".


title: Gordon Liu

text: Liu has also been active in television, and was contracted to Hong Kong's TVB company for many years, continuing playing roles as a martial arts master. Though still performing some martial arts roles, he is at home as well in comedic, self-deprecatory or emotional characters. His second-most common role in TVB has been playing a Hong Kong Police Force officer.


title: Gordon Liu

text: Quentin Tarantino had long been a fan of Liu, and hoped to find him a role in one of his movies. This eventually came to pass with the roles of Johnny Mo and Master Pai Mei in Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films. His roles in "Kill Bill" raised Liu's profile again and a renewed interest was shown by Chinese producers; since "Kill Bill", Liu has returned to doing movies while continuing to do television for Hong Kong's TVB station.


title: Gordon Liu

text: In 2008, Liu added a Bollywood film to his profile. Collaborating with Indian actor Akshay Kumar who is a top-billed Bollywood actor and also a martial arts performer in a film titled "Chandni Chowk To China" "(CC2C)". He played the role of the villain, Hojo, a smuggler and a well-trained martial artist. Before this, he appeared as himself (along with his mentor Lau Kar Leung) in the 2009 film "Dragonland", the first Italian documentary about martial cinema history, by Lorenzo De Luca. Liu attended as special guest star at the premiere in Rome, meeting his Italian fans for the first time. During August 2011, Liu had a stroke and put all his plans on hold to recover. Liu had cancelled all public engagements as of March 2012.


title: Gordon Liu

text: Liu has been married twice. He has two daughters, Angie and Bonnie, from his first marriage which ended in 1986, and a son Kris () and daughter Sonia () from his second marriage with Ma Fei-feng () of Thai-descent which ended in 2009.


title: Gordon Liu

text: In August 2011, while in To Kwa Wan performing with his band, Liu had a stroke and hit his head. He had partial right-sided paralysis and a speech impairment as a consequence of the stroke, needing a wheelchair to travel. At the same time, his estranged family from his second marriage had begun pressuring him for money. Depressed at his physical state and family complications, he isolated himself in a nursing home. In June 2012, Liu decided to divorce his second wife and focus on his recovery.


title: Gordon Liu

text: During his medical crisis, Liu entrusted his assets to his assistant and spokesperson, Eva Fung. However, the two fell out, and Fung refused to return his assets. Subsequently in 2013, he arranged for Hong Kong actress Amy Fan to become the legal guardian of his assets. Liu later took legal action to recover his assets, and on April 29, 2014, a day before the court date, Fung agreed to return them with interest. In 2015, it was reported that he no longer spoke with a slur but continued to use a wheelchair, and that he had resided at a nursing home for several years.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincetown has a summer population as high as 60,000. Often called "P-town" or "P'town", the locale is known for its beaches, harbor, artists, tourist industry, and as a popular vacation destination for the LGBT+ community.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: At the time of European encounter, the area was long settled by the historic Nauset tribe, who had a settlement known as "Meeshawn". They spoke Massachusett, a Southern New England Algonquian language dialect that they shared in common with their closely related neighbors, the Wampanoag.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: On 15 May 1602, having made landfall from the west and believing it to be an island, Bartholomew Gosnold initially named this area "Shoal Hope". Later that day, after catching a "great store of codfish", he chose instead to name this outermost tip of land "Cape Cod". Notably, that name referred specifically to the area of modern-day Provincetown; it wasn't until much later that that name was reused to designate the entire region now known as Cape Cod.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: On 9 November 1620, the Pilgrims aboard the "Mayflower" sighted Cape Cod while en route to the Colony of Virginia. After two days of failed attempts to sail south against the strong winter seas, they returned to the safety of the harbor, known today as Provincetown Harbor, and set anchor. It was here that the Mayflower Compact was drawn up and signed. They agreed to settle and build a self-governing community, and came ashore in the West End.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Though the Pilgrims chose to settle across the bay in Plymouth, Cape Cod enjoyed an early reputation for its valuable fishing grounds, and for its harbor: a naturally deep, protected basin that was considered the best along the coast. In 1654, the Governor of the Plymouth Colony purchased this land from the Chief of the Nausets, for a selling price of two brass kettles, six coats, 12 hoes, 12 axes, 12 knives and a box.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: That land, which spanned from East Harbor (formerly, Pilgrim Lake)—near the present-day border between Provincetown and Truro—to Long Point, was kept for the benefit of Plymouth Colony, which began leasing fishing rights to roving fishermen. The collected fees were used to defray the costs of schools and other projects throughout the colony. In 1678, the fishing grounds were opened up to allow the inclusion of fishermen from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: In 1692, a new Royal Charter combined the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies into the Province of Massachusetts Bay. "Cape Cod" was thus officially renamed the "Province Lands".


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The first record of a municipal government with jurisdiction over the Province Lands was in 1714, with an Act that declared it the "Precinct of Cape Cod", annexed under control of Truro.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: On 14 June 1727, after harboring ships for more than a century, the Precinct of Cape Cod was incorporated as a township. The name chosen by its inhabitants was "Herringtown", which was rejected by the Massachusetts General Court in favor of "Provincetown". The act of incorporation provided that inhabitants of Provincetown could be landholders, but not landowners. They received a quit claim to their property, but the Province retained the title. The land was to be used as it had been from the beginning of the colony—a place for the making of fish. All resources, including the trees, could be used for that purpose. In 1893 the Massachusetts General Court changed the Town's charter, giving the townspeople deeds to the properties they held, while still reserving unoccupied areas.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The town was affected by the American Revolution the same way most of Cape Cod was: the effective British blockade shut down most fish production and shipping and the town dwindled. It was, by happenstance, the location of the wreck of British warship at the Peaked Hill Bars off the Atlantic Coast of Provincetown in 1778.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Following the American Revolution, Provincetown grew rapidly as a fishing and whaling center. The population was bolstered by numerous Portuguese sailors, many of whom were from the Azores, and settled in Provincetown after being hired to work on US ships.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: By the 1890s, Provincetown was booming and began to develop a resident population of writers and artists, as well as a summer tourist industry. After the 1898 Portland Gale severely damaged the town's fishing industry, members of the town's art community took over many of the abandoned buildings. By the early decades of the 20th century, the town had acquired an international reputation for its artistic and literary productions. The Provincetown Players was an important experimental theatre company formed during this period. Many of its members lived during other parts of the year in Greenwich Village in New York, and intellectual and artistic connections were woven between the places. In 1898 Charles Webster Hawthorne opened the Cape Cod School of Art, said to be the first outdoor school for figure painting, in Provincetown. Film of his class from 1916 has been preserved.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The town includes eight buildings and two historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places: Provincetown Historic District and Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: In the mid-1960s, Provincetown saw population growth. The town's rural character appealed to the hippies of the era; property was relatively cheap and rents were correspondingly low, especially during the winter. Many of those who came stayed and raised families. Commercial Street, where most of the town's businesses are located, gained numerous cafés, leather shops, and head shops.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: By the 1970s, Provincetown had a significant gay population, especially during the summer tourist season, when restaurants, bars and small shops serving the tourist trade were open. There had been a gay presence in Provincetown as early as the start of the 20th century as the artists' colony developed, along with experimental theatre. Drag queens could be seen in performance as early as the 1940s in Provincetown. In 1978 the Provincetown Business Guild (PBG) was formed to promote gay tourism. Today more than 200 businesses belong to the PBG and Provincetown is perhaps the best-known gay summer resort on the East Coast. The 2010 US Census revealed Provincetown to have the highest rate of same-sex couples in the country, at 163.1 per 1000 households.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Since the 1990s, property prices have risen significantly, causing some residents economic hardship. The housing bust of 2005 - 2012 caused property values in and around town to fall by 10 percent or more in less than a year. This did not slow down the town's economy, however. Provincetown's tourist season has expanded, and the town has created festivals and week-long events throughout the year. The most established are in the summer: the Portuguese Festival, Bear Week, and PBG's Carnival Week.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: For nearly all of Provincetown's recorded history, life has revolved around the waterfront − especially the waterfront on its southern shore − which offers a naturally deep harbor with easy and safe boat access, plus natural protection from the wind and waves. An additional element of Provincetown's geography tremendously influenced the manner in which the town evolved: the town was physically isolated, being at the hard-to-reach tip of a long, narrow peninsula.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The East Harbor, which provided the most protected mooring place in Provincetown, had a inlet from Provincetown Harbor, and effectively blocked off access to Provincetown by land. Until the late 19th century, no road led to Provincetown – the only land route connecting the village to points back toward the mainland was along a thin stretch of beach along the shore to the north (known locally as the "backshore"). A wooden bridge was erected over the East Harbor in 1854, only to be destroyed by a winter storm and ice two years later. Although the bridge was replaced the following year, any traveler who crossed it still needed to traverse several miles over sand routes, which, together with the backshore route, was occasionally washed out by storms. This made Provincetown very much like an island. Its residents relied almost entirely upon its harbor for its communication, travel, and commerce needs.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: That changed in 1868, when the mouth of the East Harbor was diked to enable the laying of track for the arrival of the railroad. The railroad was completed, to great fanfare, in 1873; and the wooden bridge and sand road was finally replaced by a formal roadway in 1877. The railroad terminated at Railroad Wharf, known today as MacMillan Pier. It provided an easy means for fishermen to offload their vessels and ship their catch to the cities by rail.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The railroad was not the only late arrival to Provincetown. Even roads "within" the town were slow to be constructed:


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The town's internal road layout reflects the historic importance of the waterfront, the key to communication and commerce with the outside world. As the town grew, it organically expanded along the harborfront. The main "thoroughfare" was the hard-packed beach, where all commerce and socializing took place. Early deeds refer to a "Town Rode", which was little more than a footpath that ran behind the houses. In 1835, County Commissioners turned that into "Front Street", now known as Commercial Street. "Back Street" ran parallel to Front Street, but was set back from the harbor − today it is known as Bradford Street.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown is located at the very tip of Cape Cod, encompassing a total area of − 55% of that, or , is land area, and the remaining water area. Surrounded by water in every direction except due east, the town has of coastal shoreline. Provincetown is bordered to the east by its only neighbor, the town of Truro, and by Provincetown Harbor to the southeast, Cape Cod Bay to the south and west, Massachusetts Bay to the northwest and north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The town is north (by road) from Barnstable, Hyannis, Massachusetts, and by road to the Sagamore Bridge, which spans the Cape Cod Canal and connects Cape Cod to the mainland. Provincetown is east by southeast from Boston by air or sea, and by road.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: About 4,500 acres, or about 73% of the town's land area, is owned by the National Park Service, which operates the Cape Cod National Seashore, leaving about of land under the town's jurisdiction. To the north lie the "Province Lands", the area of dunes and small ponds extending from Mount Ararat in the east to Race Point in the west, along the Massachusetts Bay shore. The Cape Cod Bay shoreline extends from Race Point to the far west, to Wood End in the south, eastward to Long Point, which in turn points inward towards the town, and provides a natural barrier for Provincetown Harbor. All three points are marked by lighthouses. The town's population center extends along the harbor, south of the Seashore's lands.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Mount Ararat was named after Noah's landing place, while Mount Gilboa, and another dune, was named for the mountain described in the book of Samuel.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The town of Provincetown has a warm-summer Humid continental climate ("Dfb"). The plant hardiness zone is 7a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . The average seasonal (Nov–Apr) snowfall total is around . The average snowiest month is February which corresponds to the annual peak in nor'easter activity.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: According to the U.S. census of 2010, there were 2,942 people living in the town (down 14.3% since 2000). The population density was . There were 4,494 housing units (up 15.5%) at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.5% White, 4.0% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.8% of the population.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The top reported ancestries were Irish (26.7%, up 9.3% from 2000), English (17.4%, up 2.6%), Portuguese (14.6%, down 8.2%), Italian (13.5%, up 3.4%), and German (12.5%, up 3.6%).


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: There were 1,765 households (down 3.9%), out of which 416 (23.6%) had families, 115 (6.5%) had children under the age of 18 living within them, and 76.4% were non-families. The average household size was 1.64 persons/household, and the average family size was 2.55.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The distribution of the population, broken down by age and gender, is shown in the population pyramid. In 2010, 6.8% of the population was under the age of 18, and the median age was 52.3. There were 1,602 males and 1,340 females.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: For 2011, the estimated median income for a year-round household in the town was $46,547, with a mean household income of $74,840. For families, the median income was $87,228, and the mean is $84,050. For nonfamily households, the median income was $42,375, and the mean, $71,008. Median earnings for male full-time, year-round workers was $49,688, versus $36,471 for females. The per capita income for the town was $41,488. About 2.1% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown's ZIP code has the highest concentration of same-sex couple households of any ZIP code in the United States.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Data from traditional demographic sources like the U.S. Census, municipal voting rolls and property records may not accurately portray the demography of resort towns. They often reveal unusual results, as in this case, where the number of housing units far exceeds the Town's total population, where that number of housing units rose 15% while the population dropped 14%, and where nearly 61% of the housing stock is vacant, with 53% designated "for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use", according to the census.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: In the decade spanning the years 2000 through 2010, Provincetown's small year-round population declined 14.3% from 3,431 to 2,942, yet during the summer months, population estimates vary wildly, ranging from 19,000 to 60,000. Census figures are unable to capture these dynamic population fluctuations that are associated with seasonal tourism. Part-time residents, which includes non-resident property owners and seasonal residents, are not counted in the census.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: In 1940, Catharine Sargent Huntington, Edwin Pettit, and Virginia Thoms founded the Provincetown Playhouse on the Wharf. The playhouse replaced an older structure that existed between 1915 and 1924. Huntington served as owner and manager of the playhouse until 1973. During her time as manager, a Eugene O'Neill drama was produced each summer season, and the theater hosted an O'Neill Festival in 1966, during which ten of his plays were produced.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: From 1955 to 1959, the Sun Gallery was run by Yvonne Andersen and Dominic Falcone. It was an art exhibition that took place during the summer where young and up and coming artists could show their work.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The Fine Arts Work Center is a nonprofit educational enterprise, located in Provincetown since 1968. Its stated mission is to encourage the growth and development of emerging visual artists and writers through residency programs, to propagate aesthetic values and experience, and to restore the year-round vitality of the historic art colony of Provincetown.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) is a nationally recognized, year-round cultural institution that celebrated its Centennial in 2014. PAAM mounts 35 art exhibitions each year, offers workshops in the fine arts for children, youth, and adults, and hosts an array of programs and events to enrich visitor experience. The PAAM Permanent Collection consists of 3,000 objects, which are displayed throughout the year in the PAAM galleries.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Between 2004 and 2007, PAAM received four Rural Development grants and loans totaling $3 million to increase the museum's space, add climate-controlled facilities, renovate a historic sea captain's house (the Hargood House) and cover cost overruns. As the mission of the Rural Development program is "To increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for all rural Americans", the USDA considered Provincetown's residents in the 2000s to still be rural and to still require such federal assistance.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: In 2003, Provincetown received a $1.95 million low interest loan from the Rural Development program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help rebuild the town's MacMillan Pier. It primarily serves the town's active fishing fleet, and also tourists and high-speed ferries.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The Atlantic House in Provincetown is considered the oldest gay bar in the US and Frommer's calls it "the nation's premier gay bar".


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The Art House provides a venue for numerous entertainers and shows during the summer season, in particular Varla Jean Merman, Miss Richfield 1981, Ms. CoCo Peru, and other town favorites. In off season, the Art House remains open providing nightly entertainment that includes a Wii Bowling League, Trivia Night, and similar events.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown is the setting for the annual Women's Week festival. Held in mid-October since 1984 and attended by almost 2,000 women, it is the "longest running lesbian cultural event in the Northeast".


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Since 1975, Provincetown has been the host city to Fantasia Fair, the world's first and longest-running annual conference that focuses on gender diversity and transgender issues.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The Provincetown International Film Festival, honors the best in independent and avant-garde film. Among the honorees for 2014 were actress Patricia Clarkson and director David Cronenberg. Previous honorees include Matt Dillon, Harmony Korine, Parker Posey, Roger Corman, Vera Farmiga, Darren Aronofsky, Quentin Tarantino, Jane Lynch, Gael García Bernal, Tilda Swinton, Kathleen Turner, Jim Jarmusch, Todd Haynes, Gus Van Sant, and John Waters. Waters, a summer resident, is a major participant in the festival.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: In November 2011, the Provincetown Theater Company became the first theater company in New England to stage a live-action dramatic theatrical presentation of horror-fantasy author H.P. Lovecraft. The story was Lovecraft's 1919 classic, "The Picture in the House," and was described as "...the macabre come to life." The adaptation was produced for the 22nd Fall Playwright's Festival.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Veterans Memorial Community Center serves as the area community center. By 2012 Veterans Memorial Elementary School closed and was being refurbished to be a community center. In 2014 the town government considered building a second floor on the facility to add affordable housing.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown is governed, like most New England towns, by the open town meeting form of government. The citizens, gathered in the town meeting, act as the legislative branch and approve the budget and amend the town's bylaws, while the popularly elected Board of Selectmen act as the executive branch and hire and oversee the Town Manager, meet regularly to determine policy, and appoint members of other boards and commissions.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Fourth Barnstable District, which includes (with the exception of Brewster) all the towns east and north of Harwich on the Cape. The seat is held by Democrat Sarah Peake, a former Provincetown selectman. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the Cape and Islands District, which includes all of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket except the towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Sandwich and a portion of Barnstable. The Senate seat is held by Democrat Julian Cyr. Provincetown is patrolled by its own Police Department as well as the Second (Yarmouth) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: On the national level, Provincetown is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Keating. Following the death of Ted Kennedy, the state's senior (Class I) member of the United States Senate was John Kerry (last re-elected in 2008) until he became Secretary of State; that seat has been occupied by Ed Markey since July 16, 2013. The other (Class II) senate seat is held by Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, elected in the November 2012 elections and sworn in as senator in January 2013.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown is governed by the open town meeting form of government and is led by a town manager and a board of selectmen. The town has its own police and fire departments, both of which are stationed on Shank Painter Road. The town's post office is located on Commercial Street, near the town's Fourth Wharf. The Provincetown Public Library is a member of the Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing library network and is also located on Commercial Street, in the former Center Methodist Episcopal Church building since 2005.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: In the 2020 US Presidential Election Democrat Joe Biden received 91.9 percent of the vote to Republican Donald Trump's 7 percent.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown Schools operates the public schools for elementary and middle school levels, with the main facility being the grade 1–8 International Baccalaureate World School, verified in 2013 in the Primary Years Program and in 2014 in the Middle Years program. Provincetown Schools educates approximately 120 children in grades Pre-K–8. The Veterans Memorial Community Center houses Provincetown Schools Early Learning Center (Wee Care and Preschool ages 3–5 and kindergarten).


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: In 2010, the Provincetown school board elected to phase out the high school program of Provincetown High School, at the end of the 2012−2013 school year, and send students to nearby Nauset Regional High School (of Nauset Public Schools) in North Eastham, beginning with the 2013−2014 academic year. Provincetown students in grades 9 and 10 were already attending Nauset by 2012.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: There are no private schools in Provincetown; high school students from the town will now attend Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich or Nauset Regional High School in North Eastham. Prior to its closing, Provincetown High School (PHS) served students from seventh through twelfth grades (and for a time also accepted students from Truro). In 2012, Provincetown High School was recognized as one of the smallest high schools in the country with a student population of 32 students in grades 10–12. In 2018 there were about 45–50 students at the high school level from Provincetown.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: There are private scholarships for students from Provincetown and Truro: the John Anderson Francis Family Scholarship Fund and the Captain Joseph F. Oliver Scholarship Fund. Circa 2019 each year the number of applicants ranged from 6–10, a figure the organizers consider to be low.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown is the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 6, both in the state and in the nation. Although the terminus is directed east officially, geographically speaking, the road, having curved around Cape Cod, is facing west-southwest at the point, and is marked only by its junction with Route 6A. The state-controlled portion ends with a "" sign as the road enters the Cape Cod National Seashore, after which the road is under federal maintenance. Route 6A passes through the town as well, mostly following Bradford Street (whereas US 6 originally followed Commercial Street before the bypass was built and Commercial Street was switched to one-way westbound), and ending just south of the Herring Cove Beach.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown is served by two seasonal ferries to Boston and one to Plymouth. They all dock at MacMillan Pier, located just east of the Town Hall in the center of town. When operating at full capacity, the pier accommodates in any given day: 11 ferry trips carrying over 5,000 passengers; five whale watch vessels each running up to three trips a day with a total capacity of 3,600 passengers; the town's commercial fishing fleet of 55 vessels; and many other excursion and visiting vessels. It also plays host several times per year as a destination port-of-call to passengers of organized cruise ship tours, whether themed towards the gay traveller, or towards eco-tourism, arts and other aspects of Provincetown and the outer cape.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The town has no rail service; the Provincetown Train Station opened to service by the Old Colony Railroad in 1873. The successor operator of the Old Colony lines, New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, served the station until 1938. (Service was briefly restored in 1940.) The line was formally abandoned in 1960. A large portion of the "road" later converted into three roads (Harry Kemp Way, Railroad Avenue and Rear Howland) plus the "Old Colony Nature Pathway", a pedestrian path and greenway.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority offers flex route buses between MacMillan Pier and Harwich and a shuttle to Truro. Plymouth & Brockton Street Railway and Peter Pan Bus Lines provide daily bus service to Hyannis Transportation Center with connecting service to Boston, New York, and Providence and the Cape Flyer.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: Provincetown is at one end of the scenic "Bike Route 1" from Boston called the Claire Saltonstall Bikeway. The town earned a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community Award from the League of American Bicyclists in 2018. Provincetown has the highest rate of year-round bicycle commuters in the state, at 14%, according to the PeopleForBikes City Ratings.


title: Provincetown, Massachusetts

text: The Provincetown Municipal Airport is located just east of Race Point. This airport is surrounded by the Cape Cod National Seashore, and is used mostly for General Aviation, but does receive regular scheduled service to Boston or White Plains, New York (with optional car service to Manhattan) via Cape Air, which also operates code-share flights for JetBlue. The airport is a well-equipped, if small, general-aviation airport with a single runway, an ILS approach, and full lighting. The nearest national and international service is from Logan International Airport in Boston.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The Duchy of Warsaw (, , ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It comprised the ethnically Polish lands ceded to France by Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. It was the first attempt to re-establish Poland as a sovereign state after the 18th-century partitions and covered the central and southeastern parts of present-day Poland.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The duchy was held in personal union by Napoleon's ally, Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, who became the Grand Duke of Warsaw and remained a legitimate candidate for the Polish throne. Following Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia, the duchy was occupied by Prussian and Russian troops until 1815, when it was formally divided between the two countries at the Congress of Vienna. The east-central territory of the duchy acquired by the Russian Empire was subsequently transformed into a polity called Congress Poland, and Prussia formed the Grand Duchy of Posen in the west. The city of Kraków, Poland's cultural centre, was granted "free city" status until its incorporation into Austria in 1846.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The area of the duchy had already been liberated by a popular uprising that had escalated from anti-conscription rioting in 1806. One of the first tasks for the new government included providing food to the French army fighting the Russians in East Prussia.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The Duchy of Warsaw was officially created by French Emperor Napoleon I, as part of the Treaty of Tilsit with Prussia. Its creation met the support of both local republicans in partitioned Poland, and the large Polish diaspora in France, who openly supported Napoleon as the only man capable of restoring Polish sovereignty after the Partitions of Poland of late 18th century. However, it was created as a satellite state (and was only a duchy, rather than a kingdom).


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The newly recreated state was formally an independent duchy, allied to France, and in a personal union with the Kingdom of Saxony. King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony was compelled by Napoleon to make his new realm a constitutional monarchy, with a parliament (the Sejm of the Duchy of Warsaw).


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The Varsovian duchy was never allowed to develop as a truly independent state; Frederick Augustus' rule was subordinated to the requirements of the French "raison d'état", who largely treated the state as a source of resources. The most important person in the duchy was, in fact, the French ambassador, based in the duchy's capital, Warsaw. Significantly, the duchy lacked its own diplomatic representation abroad.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: In 1809, a short war with Austria started. Although the Duchy of Warsaw won the Battle of Raszyn, Austrian troops entered Warsaw, but Varsovian and French forces then outflanked their enemy and captured Kraków, Lwów and some of the areas annexed by Austria in the Partitions of Poland. During the war, the German colonists settled by Prussia during Partitions openly rose up against the Varsovian government. After the Battle of Wagram, the ensuing Treaty of Schönbrunn allowed for a significant expansion of the Duchy's territory southwards with the regaining of once-Polish and Lithuanian lands.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: As a result of Napoleon's campaign in 1812 against Russia, the Poles expected that the Duchy would be upgraded to the status of a kingdom and that during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, they would be joined by the liberated territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Poland's historic partner in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, Napoleon did not want to make a permanent decision that would tie his hands before his anticipated peace settlement with Russia. Nevertheless, he proclaimed the attack on Russia as a "second Polish war".


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: That peace settlement was not to be, however. Napoleon's "Grande Armée", including a substantial contingent of Polish troops, set out with the purpose of bringing the Russian Empire to its knees, but his military ambitions were frustrated by his failure to supply the army in Russia and Russia's refusal to surrender after the capture of Moscow; few returned from the march back. The failed campaign against Russia proved to be a major turning point in Napoleon's fortunes.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: After Napoleon's defeat in the east, most of the territory of the Duchy of Warsaw was occupied by Russia in January 1813 during their advance on France and its allies. The rest of the Duchy was restored to Prussia. Although several isolated fortresses held out for more than a year, the existence of the Varsovian state in anything but the name came to an end. Alexander I of Russia created a Provisional Highest Council of the Duchy of Warsaw to govern the area through his generals.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: Although many European states and ex-rulers were represented at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the decision-making was largely in the hands of the major powers. It was perhaps inevitable, therefore, that both Prussia and Russia would effectively partition Poland between them; Austria was to more-or-less retain its gains of the First Partition of 1772.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: Russia sought all territories of the Duchy of Warsaw. It kept all its gains from the three previous partitions, together with Białystok and the surrounding territory that it had obtained in 1807. Its demands for the whole Duchy of Warsaw were denied by other European powers.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: Prussia regained some of the territory it had lost to the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807: a portion of what it had conquered in the Second Partition. The Kulmerland and Gdańsk (Danzig) became part of the Province of West Prussia; the remaining territories (i.e., Greater Poland/Poznań), which covered an area of approximately , were reconstituted into the Grand Duchy of Posen. The Grand Duchy and its populace had some nominal autonomy (although it was "de facto" subordinate to Prussia) but following the 1848 Greater Poland Uprising was fully integrated into Prussia as the Province of Posen.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The city of Kraków and some surrounding territory, previously part of the Duchy of Warsaw, were established as the semi-independent Free City of Cracow, under the "protection" of its three powerful neighbors. The city's territory measured some , and had a population of about 88,000 people. The city was eventually annexed by Austria in 1846, becoming the Grand Duchy of Kraków.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: Finally, the bulk of the former Duchy of Warsaw, measuring some , was re-established as what is commonly referred to as the "Congress Kingdom" of Poland, in a personal union with the Russian Empire. This broadly corresponded to the Prussian and Austrian portions of the Third Partition (apart from the area around Białystok) plus around half of Prussia's Second Partition conquests and a small part of Austria's First Partition gains. "De facto" a Russian puppet state, it maintained its separate status only until 1831 when it was effectively annexed to the Russian Empire. Its constituent territories became the Vistula Land in 1867.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw could be considered liberal for its time. It provided for a bicameral Sejm consisting of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. A Council of Ministers functioned as the executive body of the Duchy. Serfdom was partially abolished, as the serfs were granted personal freedom without gaining any economic liberties or privileges. All classes were to be equal before the law, although the nobility was still greatly favoured as members of the Sejm. While Roman Catholicism was the state religion, religious tolerance was also guaranteed by the constitution.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The administrative divisions of Duchy of Warsaw were based on departments, each headed by a prefect. This organization was based on the French model, as the entire Duchy was in fact created by Napoleon and based on French ideas, although departments were divided into Polish powiats (counties).


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: There were 6 initial departments, after 1809 (after Napoleon's defeat of the Austrians and the Treaty of Schönbrunn) increased to 10 (as the Duchy territory increased). Each department was named after its capital city.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The duchy's armed forces were completely under French control via its war minister, Prince Józef Poniatowski, who was also a Marshal of France. In fact, the duchy was heavily militarized, bordered as it was by Prussia, the Austrian Empire, and Russia, and it was to be a significant source for troops in various campaigns of Napoleon.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The duchy's army was of considerable size when compared to the duchy's number of inhabitants. Initially consisting of 30,000 of regular soldiers (made up of both cavalry and infantry), its numbers were to rise to over 60,000 in 1810, and by the time of Napoleon's campaign in Russia in 1812, its army totaled almost 120,000 troops out of a total population of just 4.3 million people - a similar number of troops in total available to Napoleon at Austerlitz, from a country of more than 25 million people.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: The heavy drain on its resources by forced military recruitment, combined with a drop in exports of grain, caused significant problems for the duchy's economy. To make matters worse, in 1808 the French Empire imposed on the duchy an agreement at Bayonne to buy from France the debts owed to it by Prussia. The debt, amounting to more than 43 million francs in gold, was bought at a discounted rate of 21 million francs.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: Although the duchy made its payments in installments to France over a four-year period, Prussia was unable to pay it (due to a very large indemnity it owed to France), causing the Polish economy to suffer heavily. Indeed, to this day the phrase "sum of Bayonne" is a synonym in Polish for a huge amount of money. All these problems resulted in both inflation and over-taxation.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: To counter the threat of bankruptcy, the authorities intensified the development and modernization of agriculture. Also, a protectionist policy was introduced to protect industry.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: According to the Treaties of Tilsit, the area of the duchy covered roughly the areas of the 2nd and 3rd Prussian partitions, with the exception of Danzig (Gdańsk), which became the Free City of Danzig under joint French and Saxon "protection", and of the district around Białystok, which became part of Russia. The Prussian territory was made up of territory from the former Prussian provinces of New East Prussia, Southern Prussia, New Silesia, and West Prussia. In addition, the new state was given the area along the Noteć river and the Land of Chełmno.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: Altogether, the duchy had an initial area of around , with a population of approximately 2,600,000. The bulk of its inhabitants were Poles.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: Following the annexation in 1809 of Austrian West Galicia and the district of Zamość (), the duchy's area increased significantly, to around , and the population also substantially increased, to roughly 4,300,000.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: According to the 1810 census, the duchy had a population of 4,334,000, of whom a clear majority were ethnic Poles, Jews constituted 7% of the inhabitants (perhaps an underestimation), Germans - 6%, Lithuanians and Ruthenians - 4%.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: Superficially, the Duchy of Warsaw was just one of the various states set up during Napoleon's dominance over Eastern and Central Europe, lasting only a few years and passing with his fall. However, its establishment a little over a decade after the Second and Third Partitions, that had appeared to wipe Poland off the map, meant that Poles had their hopes rekindled of a resurrected Polish state. Even with Napoleon's defeat, a Polish state continued in some form until the increasingly autocratic Russian state eliminated Poland once again as a separate entity. Altogether, this meant that an identifiable Polish state was in existence for at least a quarter of a century.


title: Duchy of Warsaw

text: At the 200th anniversary of the creation of this iteration of the Polish state, numerous commemorative events dedicated to that event were held in the Polish capital of Warsaw. In addition, the Polish Ministry of Defense asked for the honor of holding a joint parade of Polish and French soldiers to which President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed.


title: Elixir of life

text: The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means of formulating the elixir.


title: Elixir of life

text: An early mention of an elixir of life is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh (from the 2nd millennium BC) in which Gilgamesh comes to fear his own declining years following the death of his beloved companion Enkidu. He seeks out Utnapishtim, a Noah-like figure in Mesopotamian mythology in which he was a servant of the great Alchemist of the rain who later became immortal, to seek out the advice of the King of Herod of the Land of Fire. Gilgamesh is directed by him to find a plant at the bottom of the sea which he does but seeks first to test it on an old man before trying it himself. Unfortunately, it is eaten by a serpent before he can do so.


title: Elixir of life

text: Many rulers of ancient China sought the fabled elixir to achieve eternal life. During the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang sent Taoist alchemist Xu Fu to the eastern seas with 500 young men and 500 young women to find the elixir in the legendary Penglai Mountain, but returned without finding it. He embarked on a second voyage with 3000 young girls and boys, but none of them ever returned (legend has it that he found Japan instead).


title: Elixir of life

text: The ancient Chinese believed that ingesting long-lasting mineral substances such as jade, cinnabar, or hematite would confer some of that longevity on the person who consumed them. Gold was considered particularly potent, as it was a non-tarnishing precious metal; the idea of potable or drinkable gold is found in China by the end of the third century BC. The most famous Chinese alchemical book, "Danjing yaojue" ("Essential Formulas of Alchemical Classics") attributed to Sun Simiao (c. 581 – c. 682 AD), a famous medical specialist respectfully called "King of Medicine" by later generations, discusses in detail the creation of elixirs for immortality (including several toxic ingredients such as mercury, sulphur, and arsenates), as well as those for curing certain diseases and the fabrication of precious stones.


title: Elixir of life

text: Many of these substances, far from contributing to longevity, were actively toxic and resulted in Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning. The Jiajing Emperor in the Ming dynasty died from ingesting a lethal dosage of mercury in the supposed "Elixir of Life" conjured by alchemists.


title: Elixir of life

text: Amrita, the elixir of life, has been described in Hindu scriptures. In the Puranas, the due to the defeat of the devas at the hands of the asuras, both power-seeking races, the preserver deity Vishnu asked the devas to churn the ocean of milk, so that they may retrieve amrita to empower themselves.


title: Elixir of life

text: Mercury, which was so vital to alchemy everywhere, is first mentioned in the 4th to 3rd century BC Arthashastra, about the same time it is encountered in China and in the West. Evidence of the idea of transmuting base metals to gold appears in 2nd to 5th century AD Buddhist texts, about the same time as in the West.


title: Elixir of life

text: It is also possible that the alchemy of medicine and immortality came to China from India, or vice versa; in any case, for both cultures, gold-making appears to have been a minor concern, and medicine the major concern. But the elixir of immortality was of little importance in India (which had other avenues to immortality). The Indian elixirs were mineral remedies for specific diseases or, at the most, to promote long life.


title: Elixir of life

text: In European alchemical tradition, the elixir of life is closely related to the creation of the philosopher's stone. According to legend, certain alchemists have gained a reputation as creators of the elixir. These include Nicolas Flamel and St. Germain.


title: Elixir of life

text: In the 8th century AD "Man'yōshū", are said to be in the possession of the moon god Tsukuyomi. Similarities have been noted with a folktale from the Ryukyu Islands, in which the moon god decides to give man the water of life (""), and serpents the water of death ("sïnimizï"). However, the person entrusted with carrying the pails down to Earth gets tired and takes a break, and a serpent bathes in the water of life, rendering it unusable. This is said to be why serpents can rejuvenate themselves each year by shedding their skin while men are doomed to die.


title: Elixir of life

text: The Elixir has had hundreds of names (one scholar of Chinese history reportedly found over 1,000 names for it), among them Kimia, Amrit Ras or Amrita, Aab-i-Hayat, Maha Ras, Aab-Haiwan, Dancing Water, Chasma-i-Kausar, Mansarover or the Pool of Nectar, Philosopher's stone, and Soma Ras. The word "elixir" was not used until the 7th century A.D. and derives from the Arabic name for miracle substances, "al iksir". Some view it as a metaphor for the spirit of God ("e.g.", Jesus's reference to "the Water of Life" or "the Fountain of Life"). "But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14) The Scots and the Irish adopted the name for their "liquid gold": the Gaelic name for whiskey is uisce beatha, or water of life.


title: Elixir of life

text: “Kimia” is from Ancient Greek language and used in old Persian literature, in which it means something that transforms and brings life. "Aab-i-Hayat" is Persian and means "water of life". "Chashma-i-Kausar" (not "hasma") is the "Fountain of Bounty", which Muslims believe to be located in Paradise. As for the Indian names, "Amrit Ras" means "immortality juice", "Maha Ras" means "great juice", and "Soma Ras" means "juice of Soma". Later, Soma came to mean the Moon. "Ras" later came to mean "sacred mood experienced listening to poetry or music"; there are altogether nine of them. Mansarovar, the "mind lake" is the holy lake at the foot of Mount Kailash in Tibet, close to the source of the Ganges.


title: Elixir of life

text: The elixir of life has been an inspiration, plot feature, or subject of artistic works including animation, comics, films, musical compositions, novels, and video games. Examples include L. Frank Baum's fantasy novel "John Dough and the Cherub", the science fiction series "Doctor Who", "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", "House of Anubis", "The Puppet Master", the manga "Fullmetal Alchemist" and "", the light novel "Baccano!", the movie "Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva" of the "Professor Layton" franchise and the horror film "As Above, So Below".


title: DeVaughn Nixon

text: DeVaughn Walter Nixon (born July 8, 1983) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in "The Bodyguard", "", and "Sugar Hill", and television series such as "," "Mackenzie Falls", and "Marvel's Runaways".


title: DeVaughn Nixon

text: Nixon was born in Los Angeles in 1983, where he also lived his childhood. He is the son of former basketball player Norm Nixon, whom he portrays in the HBO series "". His stepmother is actress/producer/director/dancer Debbie Allen and half siblings include dancer Vivian Nixon, and basketball player Norman Ellard Nixon Jr. He is married to Lara Nixon. When he was a child he voiced one of the characters in the animated film "Bébé's Kids". Later, he had a role in the film "The Bodyguard", along with other roles in other films and TV series. However, he temporarily left his film career to devote himself to his studies. He graduated in television production and business finance from Loyola Marymount University.