Iraq was invaded by the United States in 2003.

Iraq Iraq ( -LSB- ɪˈræk -RSB- , -LSB- ɪˈrɑːk -RSB- , or -LSB- aɪˈræk -RSB- العراق ; عێراق ) , officially known as the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia , bordered by Turkey to the north , Iran to the east , Kuwait to the southeast , Saudi Arabia to the south , Jordan to the southwest , and Syria to the west . The capital , and largest city , is Baghdad . The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds ; others include Assyrians , Turkmen , Shabakis , Yazidis , Armenians , Mandeans , Circassians , and Kawliya . Around 95 % of the country 's 36 million citizens are Muslims , with Christianity , Yarsan , Yezidism , and Mandeanism also present . The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish .   Iraq has a coastline measuring 58 km on the northern Persian Gulf and encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain , the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range , and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert . Two major rivers , the Tigris and Euphrates , run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf . These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land .   The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers , historically known as Mesopotamia , is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation . It was here that mankind first began to read , write , create laws , and live in cities under an organised government -- notably Uruk , from which `` Iraq '' is derived . The area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC . Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian , Sumerian , Assyrian , and Babylonian empires . It was also part of the Median , Achaemenid , Hellenistic , Parthian , Sassanid , Roman , Rashidun , Umayyad , Abbasid , Ayyubid , Mongol , Safavid , Afsharid , and Ottoman empires .   Iraq 's modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres . Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia . A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932 . In 1958 , the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created . Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1968 until 2003 . After an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003 , Saddam Hussein 's Ba'ath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005 . The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011 , but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country .


Steven Knight is solely an American screenwriter.

Steven Knight Steven Knight ( born 1959 ) is a British screenwriter and film director . He read English at University College London ( UCL ) . Knight has written the screenplays for the films Closed Circuit , Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises , and also directed as well as written the films Locke and Hummingbird ( a.k.a. Redemption ) . Knight is also one of three creators of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ? , a game show that has been remade and aired in around 160 countries worldwide , and has written for BBC 's Commercial Breakdown , The Detectives , Peaky Blinders and Taboo .


Charles I was married to Henrietta Maria.

Charles I of England Charles I ( 19 November 1600 -- 30 January 1649 ) was monarch of the three kingdoms of England , Scotland , and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649 .   Charles was the second son of King James VI of Scotland , but after his father inherited the English throne in 1603 , he moved to England , where he spent much of the rest of his life . He became heir apparent to the English , Irish , and Scottish thrones on the death of his elder brother , Henry Frederick , Prince of Wales , in 1612 . An unsuccessful and unpopular attempt to marry him to the Spanish Habsburg princess Maria Anna culminated in an eight-month visit to Spain in 1623 that demonstrated the futility of the marriage negotiations . Two years later , he married the Bourbon princess Henrietta Maria of France instead .   After his succession , Charles quarrelled with the Parliament of England , which sought to curb his royal prerogative . Charles believed in the divine right of kings and thought he could govern according to his own conscience . Many of his subjects opposed his policies , in particular the levying of taxes without parliamentary consent , and perceived his actions as those of a tyrannical absolute monarch . His religious policies , coupled with his marriage to a Roman Catholic , generated the antipathy and mistrust of reformed groups such as the English Puritans and Scottish Covenanters , who thought his views too Catholic . He supported high church ecclesiastics , such as Richard Montagu and William Laud , and failed to aid Protestant forces successfully during the Thirty Years ' War . His attempts to force the Church of Scotland to adopt high Anglican practices led to the Bishops ' Wars , strengthened the position of the English and Scottish parliaments and helped precipitate his own downfall .   From 1642 , Charles fought the armies of the English and Scottish parliaments in the English Civil War . After his defeat in 1645 , he surrendered to a Scottish force that eventually handed him over to the English Parliament . Charles refused to accept his captors ' demands for a constitutional monarchy , and temporarily escaped captivity in November 1647 . Re-imprisoned on the Isle of Wight , Charles forged an alliance with Scotland , but by the end of 1648 Oliver Cromwell 's New Model Army had consolidated its control over England . Charles was tried , convicted , and executed for high treason in January 1649 . The monarchy was abolished and a republic called the Commonwealth of England was declared . The monarchy was restored to Charles 's son , Charles II , in 1660 .


Slovakia Slovakia ( listen ) , is a landlocked country in Central Europe . It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west , Poland to the north , Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south . Slovakia 's territory spans about 49000 km2 and is mostly mountainous . The population is over 5 million and comprises mostly ethnic Slovaks . The capital and largest city is Bratislava . The official language is Slovak .   The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries . In the 7th century , they played a significant role in the creation of Samo 's Empire and in the 9th century established the Principality of Nitra . In the 10th century , the territory was integrated into the Kingdom of Hungary , which itself became part of the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire . After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire , the Slovaks and Czechs established Czechoslovakia . A separate ( First ) Slovak Republic ( 1939 -- 1945 ) existed in World War II as a client state of Nazi Germany . In 1945 , Czechoslovakia was re-established under Communist rule as a Soviet satellite . In 1989 the Velvet Revolution ended authoritarian Communist rule in Czechoslovakia . Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia , sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce .   Slovakia is a high-income advanced economy with a very high Human Development Index , a very high standard of living and performs favourably in measurements of civil liberties , press freedom , internet freedom , democratic governance and peacefulness . The country maintains a combination of market economy with a comprehensive social security system . Citizens of Slovakia are provided with universal health care , free education and one of the longest paid maternity leave in the OECD . The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2009 . Slovakia is also a member of the Schengen Area , NATO , the United Nations , the OECD , the WTO , CERN , the OSCE , the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group . The Slovak economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and 3rd fastest in eurozone . Its legal tender , the Euro , is the world 's 2nd most traded currency . Although regional income inequality is high , 90 % of citizens own their homes . In 2016 , Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 165 countries and territories , ranking the Slovak passport 11th in the world . Slovakia is the world 's largest per-capita car producer with a total of 1,040,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2016 alone and the 7th largest car producer in the European Union . The car industry represents 43 % of Slovakia 's industrial output , and a quarter of its exports .


Renaissance art Renaissance art is the painting , sculpture and decorative arts of that period of European history known as the Renaissance , emerging as a distinct style in Italy in about 1400 , in parallel with developments which occurred in philosophy , literature , music and science . The Renaissance art , perceived as the noblest of ancient traditions , took as its foundation the art of Classical antiquity , but transformed that tradition by absorbing recent developments in the art of Northern Europe and by applying contemporary scientific knowledge . Renaissance art , with Renaissance Humanist philosophy , spread throughout Europe , affecting both artists and their patrons with the development of new techniques and new artistic sensibilities . Renaissance art marks the transition of Europe from the medieval period to the Early Modern age .   In many parts of Europe , Early Renaissance art was created in parallel with Late Medieval art .   The influences upon the development of Renaissance men and women in the early 15th century are those that also affected Philosophy , Literature , Architecture , Theology , Science , Government and other aspects of society . The following list presents a summary , dealt with more fully in the main articles that are cited above .  Classical texts , lost to European scholars for centuries , became available . These included Philosophy , Prose , Poetry , Drama , Science , a thesis on the Arts and Early Christian Theology .  Simultaneously , Europe gained access to advanced mathematics which had its provenance in the works of Islamic scholars .  The advent of movable type printing in the 15th century meant that ideas could be disseminated easily , and an increasing number of books were written for a broad public .  The establishment of the Medici Bank and the subsequent trade it generated brought unprecedented wealth to a single Italian city , Florence .  Cosimo de ' Medici set a new standard for patronage of the arts , not associated with the church or monarchy .  Humanist philosophy meant that man 's relationship with humanity , the universe and with God was no longer the exclusive province of the Church .  A revived interest in the Classics brought about the first archaeological study of Roman remains by the architect Brunelleschi and sculptor Donatello . The revival of a style of architecture based on classical precedents inspired a corresponding classicism in painting and sculpture , which manifested itself as early as the 1420s in the paintings of Masaccio and Uccello .  The improvement of oil paint and developments in oil-painting technique by Dutch artists such as Jan van Eyck , Rogier van der Weyden and Hugo van der Goes led to its adoption in Italy from about 1475 and had ultimately lasting effects on painting practices , worldwide .  The serendipitous presence within the region of Florence in the early 15th century of certain individuals of artistic genius , most notably Masaccio , Brunelleschi , Ghiberti , Piero della Francesca , Donatello and Michelozzo formed an ethos out of which sprang the great masters of the High Renaissance , as well as supporting and encouraging many lesser artists to achieve work of extraordinary quality .  A similar heritage of artistic achievement occurred in Venice through the talented Bellini family , their influential inlaw Mantegna , Giorgione , Titian and Tintoretto .  The publication of two treatises by Leone Battista Alberti , De Pitura ( On Painting ) , 1435 , and De re aedificatoria ( Ten Books on Architecture ) , 1452 .


Willie Nelson is involved in the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson ( born April 29 , 1933 ) is an American musician , singer , songwriter , author , poet , actor , and activist . The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie ( 1973 ) , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger ( 1975 ) and Stardust ( 1978 ) , made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music . He was one of the main figures of outlaw country , a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound . Nelson has acted in over 30 films , co-authored several books , and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana .   Born during the Great Depression , and raised by his grandparents , Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten . During high school , he toured locally with the Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player . After graduating from high school in 1950 , he joined the Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems . After his return , Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music . During this time , he worked as a disc jockey in Texas radio stations and a singer in honky-tonks . Nelson moved to Vancouver , Washington , where he wrote `` Family Bible '' and recorded the song `` Lumberjack '' in 1956 . In 1958 , he moved to Houston , Texas , after signing a contract with D Records . He sang at the Esquire Ballroom weekly and he worked as a disk jockey . During that time , he wrote songs that would become country standards , including `` Funny How Time Slips Away '' , `` Hello Walls '' , `` Pretty Paper '' , and `` Crazy '' . In 1960 he moved to Nashville , Tennessee , and later signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price 's band as a bassist . In 1962 , he recorded his first album , ... And Then I Wrote . Due to this success , Nelson signed in 1964 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year . After mid-chart hits in the late 1960s and the early 1970s , Nelson retired in 1972 and moved to Austin , Texas . The ongoing music scene of Austin motivated Nelson to return from retirement , performing frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters .   In 1973 , after signing with Atlantic Records , Nelson turned to outlaw country , including albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages . In 1975 , he switched to Columbia Records , where he recorded the critically acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger . The same year , he recorded another outlaw country album , Wanted ! The Outlaws , along with Waylon Jennings , Jessi Colter , and Tompall Glaser . During the mid-1980s , while creating hit albums like Honeysuckle Rose and recording hit songs like `` On the Road Again '' , `` To All the Girls I 've Loved Before '' , and `` Pancho and Lefty '' , he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen , along with fellow singers Johnny Cash , Waylon Jennings , and Kris Kristofferson .   In 1990 , Nelson 's assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service , which claimed that he owed . The difficulty of paying his outstanding debt was aggravated by weak investments he had made during the 1980s . In 1992 , Nelson released The IRS Tapes : Who 'll Buy My Memories ? ; the profits of the double album -- destined to the IRS -- and the auction of Nelson 's assets cleared his debt . During the 1990s and 2000s , Nelson continued touring extensively , and released albums every year . Reviews ranged from positive to mixed . He explored genres such as reggae , blues , jazz , and folk . Nelson made his first movie appearance in the 1979 film The Electric Horseman , followed by other appearances in movies and on television . Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ( NORML ) , which is in favor of marijuana legalization . On the environmental front , Nelson owns the bio-diesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel , which is made from vegetable oil . Nelson is also the honorary chairman of the Advisory Board of the Texas Music Project , the official music charity of the state of Texas .


Xbox One Xbox One is a line of home video game consoles developed by Microsoft . Announced in May 2013 , it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox family . It was first released in North America , parts of Europe , Australia , and Brazil in November 2013 , and in Japan , China , and other European countries in September 2014 . It is the first Xbox game console to be released in China , specifically in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone . Microsoft marketed the device as an `` all-in-one entertainment system '' . The Xbox One line mainly competes against consoles such as Sony 's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo 's Wii U as part of the eighth generation of video game consoles .   Moving away from its predecessor 's PowerPC-based architecture , Xbox One marks a shift back to the x86 architecture used in the original Xbox ; it features an AMD Accelerated Processing Unit ( APU ) built around the x86-64 instruction set . Xbox One 's controller was redesigned over the Xbox 360 's , with a redesigned body , D-pad and triggers capable of delivering directional haptic feedback . The console places an increased emphasis on cloud computing , as well as social networking features , and the ability to record and share video clips or screenshots from gameplay , or live-stream directly to streaming services such as Mixer and Twitch . Games can also be played off-console via a local area network on supported Windows 10 devices . The console can play Blu-ray Disc , and overlay live television programming from an existing set-top box or a digital tuner for digital terrestrial television with an enhanced program guide . The console optionally included a redesigned Kinect sensor , marketed as the `` Kinect 2.0 '' , providing improved motion tracking and voice recognition for use in its graphical user interface ( GUI ) and games .   Xbox One received mostly positive reception for its refined controller design , multimedia features , and voice navigation . Its quieter and cooler design was praised for making the console more reliable than its predecessor on-launch , but the console was generally criticized for running games at a technically lower graphical level than the PlayStation 4 . Its original user interface was panned for being nonintuitive , although changes made to it and other aspects of the console 's software post-launch received positive reception . Its Kinect received praise for its improved motion-tracking accuracy , its face recognition logins , and its voice commands .   In August 2016 , Microsoft released a refreshed Xbox One model known as Xbox One S ; it has a streamlined design , native support for 4K video playback and upscaling , and HDR10 high-dynamic-range color . It was praised for its smaller size , its on-screen visual improvements , and its lack of an external power supply , but its regressions such as the lack of a native Kinect port were noted . A future hardware revision codenamed `` Project Scorpio '' is scheduled for late-2017 ; it will feature major hardware upgrades focused on enabling 4K gameplay and support for virtual reality hardware , and will be backward compatible with all existing Xbox One software and hardware .


Amazon Web Services featured services for apps.

Amazon Web Services Amazon Web Services ( AWS ) describes both a technology and a company . The company AWS is a subsidiary of Amazon.com and provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to both individuals , companies and governments , on a paid subscription basis with a free-tier option available for 12 months . The technology allows subscribers to have at their disposal full-fledged virtual cluster of computers , available 24/7/365 , through the internet . AWS ' version of virtual computers have most of the attributes of a real computer including hardware ( CPU ( s ) & GPU ( s ) for processing , local/RAM memory , hard-disk/SSD storage ) ; a choice of operating systems ; networking ; and pre-loaded application software such as web servers , databases , CRM ... nearly anything . Each AWS system also virtualizes its console I/O ( keyboard , display , and mouse ) , allowing AWS subscribers to connect to their AWS system using a modern browser . The browser acts as a window into the virtual computer , letting subscribers log-in , configure and use their virtual systems just as they would a real physical computer . They can choose to deploy their AWS systems to provide internet-based services for their own and their customers ' benefit .   The AWS technology is implemented at server farms throughout the world , and maintained by the Amazon subsidiary . Fees are based on a combination of usage , the hardware/OS/software / networking features chosen by the subscriber , required availability , redundancy , security , and service options . Based on what the subscriber needs and pays for , they can reserve a single virtual AWS computer , a cluster of virtual computers , a physical ( real ) computer dedicated for their exclusive use , or even a cluster of dedicated physical computers . As part of the subscription agreement , Amazon manages , upgrades , and provides industry-standard security to each subscriber 's system . AWS services operate from many global geographical regions including 6 in North America .   In 2016 , AWS comprised more than 70 services spanning a wide range including compute , storage , networking , database , analytics , application services , deployment , management , mobile , developer tools , and tools for the Internet of Things . The most popular include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud ( aka `` EC2 '' ) and Amazon Simple Storage Service ( aka `` S3 '' ) . Most services are not exposed directly to end users , but instead offer functionality through APIs for developers to use in their applications . Amazon Web Services ' offerings are accessed over HTTP , using the REST architectural style and SOAP protocol .   Amazon markets AWS to subscribers as a way of obtaining large scale computing capacity more quickly and cheaply than building an actual physical server farm . All services are billed based on usage , but each service measures usage in varying ways .


Malaysia Airlines went through losses in the 21st century.

Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines Berhad ( MAB ) ( Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad ) , formerly known as Malaysian Airline  System Berhad ( MAS ; ) ; branded as Malaysia Airlines ' is a major airline operating flights from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and from secondary hubs in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching to destinations throughout Asia , Oceania and Europe . Malaysia Airlines is the flag carrier of Malaysia and a member of the oneworld airline alliance . The company 's headquarters are located at Kuala Lumpur International Airport . In August 2014 , the Malaysian government 's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional -- which then owned 69.37 % of the airline -- announced its intention to purchase remaining ownership from minority shareholders and de-list the airline from Malaysia 's stock exchange , thereby renationalising the airline .   Malaysia Airlines owns two subsidiary airlines : Firefly and MASwings . Firefly operates scheduled flights from its two home bases Penang International Airport and Subang International Airport . The airline focuses on tertiary cities . MASwings focuses on inter-Borneo flights . Malaysia Airlines has a freighter fleet operated by MASkargo , which manages freighter flights and aircraft cargo-hold capacity for all Malaysia Airlines ' passenger flights .   The airline began as Malayan Airways Limited and flew its first commercial flight in 1947 . Malayan Airways was headquartered in Singapore . In 1966 , the airline was renamed Malaysia Singapore Airlines ( MSA ) , before its assets were divided in 1972 to form Singapore 's flag carrier Singapore Airlines and Malaysian flag carrier Malaysian Airline System .   Despite numerous awards from the aviation industry , being crowned ` The World 's 5-Star Airline ' by Skytrax multiple times ( 2009 , 2012 and 2013 ) , and recognition from the World Travel Awards as ` Asia 's Leading Airline ' ( 2010 , 2011 and 2013 ) , the airline struggled to cut costs to compete with new , low-cost carriers in the region since the early 2000s . In 2013 , the airline initiated a turnaround plan after large losses beginning in 2011 and cut routes to prominent , but unprofitable , long-haul destinations , such as the Americas ( Los Angeles and Buenos Aires ) and South Africa . Malaysia Airlines also began an internal restructuring and intended to sell units such as engineering and pilot training .   In 2014 , Malaysia Airlines lost two aircraft -- Flight 370 and Flight 17 -- less than five months apart , exacerbating the airline 's financial troubles and leading to the renationalisation of the airline . Prior to 2014 , MAS had one of the world 's best safety records -- just two fatal accidents in 68 years of operation , including the hijacking in 1977 of Flight 653 that resulted in 100 deaths .


Daniel Radcliffe appeared in a 2013 historical film.

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe ( born 23 July 1989 ) is an English actor best known for his role as Harry Potter in the film series of the same name . He made his acting debut at 10 years of age in BBC One 's 1999 television film David Copperfield , followed by his cinematic debut in 2001 's The Tailor of Panama . At age 11 , he was cast as Harry Potter in the first Harry Potter film , and starred in the series for 10 years until the release of the eighth and final film in 2011 .   Radcliffe began to branch out to stage acting in 2007 , starring in the London and New York productions of Equus , and in the 2011 Broadway revival of the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying . His recent films include the horror film The Woman in Black ( 2012 ) , playing beat poet Allen Ginsberg in the independent film Kill Your Darlings ( 2013 ) , science fiction fantasy Victor Frankenstein ( 2015 ) and comedy-drama Swiss Army Man , heist thriller film Now You See Me 2 and thriller Imperium ( all 2016 ) .   He has contributed to many charities , including Demelza Hospice Care for Children , and The Trevor Project for suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth , which gave him its Hero Award in 2011 .


Nick Kroll has a supporting role in at least one movie.

Nick Kroll Nicholas `` Nick '' Kroll ( born June 5 , 1978 ) is an American actor , comedian , writer , and producer . He is best known for his role as Rodney Ruxin in the FX/FXX comedy series The League , and for creating and starring in the Comedy Central series Kroll Show . He has had supporting roles in films such as I Love You , Man , Date Night , Get Him to the Greek , Dinner for Shmucks , and A Good Old Fashioned Orgy and more prominent roles in films such as Adult Beginners , Joshy , My Blind Brother , Sausage Party , and Loving .


Bernie Sanders is a member of the Senate Budget Committee.

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders ( born September 8 , 1941 ) is an American politician who has been the junior United States Senator from Vermont since 2007 . Sanders is the longest serving independent in U.S. congressional history . Since his election to the House of Representatives in 1991 , he has caucused with the Democratic Party , which has entitled him to congressional committee assignments and at times given Democrats a majority . Sanders became the ranking minority member on the Senate Budget Committee in January 2015 ; he had previously been chair of the Senate Veterans ' Affairs Committee for two years . Since January 2017 , he has been Chair of the Senate Democratic Outreach Committee . Sanders 's campaign against Hillary Clinton for the party 's 2016 U.S. presidential nomination raised more money in small , individual contributions than any other in American history , and helped him rise to international recognition . A self-described democratic socialist , Sanders is pro-labor and emphasizes reversing economic inequality . Many scholars consider his views to be more in line with social democracy and New Deal-era American progressivism than democratic socialism .   Sanders was born and raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1964 . While a student he was an active protest organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the Civil Rights Movement . After settling in Vermont in 1968 , Sanders ran unsuccessful third-party campaigns for governor and U.S. senator in the early to mid-1970s . As an independent , he was elected mayor of Burlington -- Vermont 's most populous city of 42,417 in 2010 -- in 1981 , by a margin of ten votes . He went on to be reelected as mayor three times . In 1990 , he was elected to represent Vermont 's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives , where he co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 1991 . He served as a congressman for 16 years before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 . In 2012 , he was reelected with 71 % of the popular vote . Polls indicate that he is among the senators most popular with their constituents , ranking third in 2014 and first in both 2015 and 2016 .   Sanders rose to national prominence following his 2010 filibuster against the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 , which extended the Bush tax cuts that favored the wealthiest Americans . He has built a reputation as a leading progressive voice on issues such as campaign finance reform , corporate welfare , global warming , income inequality , LGBT rights , parental leave , and universal healthcare . Sanders has long been critical of U.S. foreign policy and was an early and outspoken opponent of the Iraq War , the First Gulf War , and U.S. support for the Contras in Nicaragua . He is also outspoken on civil liberties and civil rights , particularly criticizing racial discrimination in the criminal justice system as well as advocating for privacy rights against mass surveillance policies such as the USA PATRIOT Act and the NSA surveillance programs .   Sanders announced his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on April 30 , 2015 . Initially considered a long shot , Sanders won 23 primaries and caucuses and approximately 43 % of pledged delegates to Clinton 's 55 % . His campaign was noted for the enthusiasm of its supporters , as well as his rejection of large donations from corporations , the financial industry , and any associated Super PAC . On July 12 , 2016 , Sanders formally endorsed Clinton against her Republican general election opponent Donald Trump , while urging his supporters to continue the `` political revolution '' his campaign had begun . In November 2016 , Sanders 's book Our Revolution : A Future to Believe In was released ; upon its release , it was on The New York Times best-seller list at number 3 . In 2016 Sanders formed a political organization , Our Revolution , to educate voters about issues , get people involved in the political process , and work to organize and elect progressive candidates . In February 2017 , Sanders began webcasting The Bernie Sanders Show on Facebook .


Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is -- along with the  comparable Congressional Gold Medal -- the highest civilian award of the United States . It recognizes those people who have made `` an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States , world peace , cultural or other significant public or private endeavors '' . The award is not limited to U.S. citizens and , while it is a civilian award , it can also be awarded to military personnel and worn on the uniform .   It was established in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy , superseding the Medal of Freedom that was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945 to honor civilian service during World War II .


Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks ( born July 9 , 1956 ) is an American actor and filmmaker . He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles , including Splash ( 1984 ) , Big ( 1988 ) , Turner & Hooch ( 1989 ) , A League of Their Own ( 1992 ) , Sleepless in Seattle ( 1993 ) , Philadelphia ( 1993 ) , Forrest Gump ( 1994 ) , Apollo 13 ( 1995 ) , Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 ) , You 've Got Mail ( 1998 ) , The Green Mile ( 1999 ) , Cast Away ( 2000 ) , Road to Perdition ( 2002 ) , and The Da Vinci Code ( 2006 ) , as well as for his voice work in the animated films The Polar Express ( 2004 ) and the Toy Story series .   Hanks ' films have grossed more than $ 4.5 billion at U.S. and Canadian box offices and more than $ 9.0 billion worldwide , making him the third-highest-grossing actor in North America . Hanks has been nominated for numerous awards during his career . He won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia , as well as a Golden Globe , an Academy Award , a Screen Actors Guild Award , and a People 's Choice Award for Best Actor for his role in Forrest Gump . In 2004 , he received the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts ( BAFTA ) . In 2014 , he received a Kennedy Center Honor and , in 2016 , he received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama , as well as the French Legion of Honor .   Hanks is also known for his collaborations with film director Steven Spielberg on Saving Private Ryan , Catch Me If You Can ( 2002 ) , The Terminal ( 2004 ) , and Bridge of Spies ( 2015 ) , as well as the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers , which launched Hanks as a successful director , producer , and screenwriter . In 2010 , Spielberg and Hanks were executive producers on the HBO miniseries The Pacific ( a companion piece to Band of Brothers ) .


Cary Grant painted in the film His Girl Friday.

Cary Grant Cary Grant ( born Archibald Alec Leach ; January 18 , 1904 -- November 29 , 1986 ) was a British-American actor , known as one of classic Hollywood 's definitive leading men . He began a career in Hollywood in the early 1930s , and became known for his transatlantic accent , debonair demeanor , and light-hearted approach to acting and sense of comic timing . He became an American citizen in 1942 .   Born in Horfield , Bristol , Grant became attracted to theatre at a young age , and began performing with a troupe known as `` The Penders '' from the age of six . After attending Bishop Road Primary School and Fairfield Grammar School in Bristol , he toured the country as a stage performer , and decided to stay in New York City after a performance there . He established a name for himself in vaudeville in the 1920s and toured the United States before moving to Hollywood in the early 1930s . He initially appeared in crime films or dramas such as Blonde Venus ( 1932 ) and She Done Him Wrong ( 1933 ) , but later gained renown for his appearances in romantic comedy and screwball comedy films such as The Awful Truth ( 1937 ) , Bringing Up Baby ( 1938 ) , His Girl Friday ( 1940 ) and The Philadelphia Story ( 1940 ) . Along with the later Arsenic and Old Lace ( 1944 ) and I Was a Male War Bride ( 1949 ) ; these films are frequently cited as among the all-time great comedy films . Having established himself as a major Hollywood star , he was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor , for Penny Serenade ( 1941 ) and None but the Lonely Heart ( 1944 ) .   In the 1940s and 1950s , Grant forged a working relationship with the director Alfred Hitchcock , appearing in films such as Suspicion ( 1941 ) , Notorious ( 1946 ) , To Catch a Thief ( 1955 ) and North by Northwest ( 1959 ) . Hitchcock admired Grant and considered him to have been the only actor that he had ever loved working with . Towards the end of his film career , Grant was praised by critics as a romantic leading man , and received five Golden Globe Award for Best Actor nominations , including Indiscreet ( 1958 ) with Ingrid Bergman , That Touch of Mink ( 1962 ) with Doris Day , and Charade ( 1963 ) with Audrey Hepburn . He is remembered by critics for his unusually broad appeal , as a handsome , suave actor who did not take himself too seriously , possessing the ability to play with his own dignity in comedies without sacrificing it entirely . His comic timing and delivery made Grant what Premiere magazine considers to have been `` quite simply , the funniest actor cinema has ever produced '' .   Grant was married five times ; three of his marriages were elopements with actresses -- Virginia Cherrill ( 1934 -- 1935 ) , Betsy Drake ( 1949 -- 1962 ) and Dyan Cannon ( 1965 -- 1968 ) . He has one daughter with Cannon , Jennifer Grant ( born 1966 ) . After his retirement from film acting in 1966 , Grant pursued numerous business interests , representing cosmetics firm Fabergé , and sitting on the board of MGM and others . He was presented with an Honorary Oscar by his friend Frank Sinatra at the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970 , and in 1981 , he was accorded the Kennedy Center Honors . In 1999 , the American Film Institute named Grant the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema , after Humphrey Bogart .


George H. W. Bush became a millionaire at age 40.

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush ( born June 12 , 1924 ) is an American politician who was the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd Vice President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 . A member of the Republican Party , he was previously a congressman , ambassador , and Director of Central Intelligence . He is the oldest living former President and Vice President . Since 2000 , Bush has often been referred to as `` George H. W. Bush '' , `` Bush 41 '' , `` Bush the Elder '' , or `` George Bush Senior '' to distinguish him from his eldest son , George W. Bush , who became the 43rd President of the United States after the 2000 election .   Bush was born in Milton , Massachusetts , to Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush . Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 , Bush postponed his university studies , enlisted in the U.S. Navy on his 18th birthday , and became the youngest aviator in the U.S. Navy at the time . He served until the end of the war , then attended Yale University . Graduating in 1948 , he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business , becoming a millionaire by the age of 40 . Bush became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company , and he won election to the House of Representatives in 1966 . In 1971 , President Richard Nixon appointed Bush as Ambassador to the United Nations , and in 1973 , Bush became the Chairman of the Republican National Committee . The following year , President Gerald Ford appointed Bush as the ambassador to the People 's Republic of China , and later reassigned Bush to the position of Director of Central Intelligence . Bush ran for president in 1980 but was defeated in the Republican primary by Ronald Reagan . Reagan chose Bush as his running mate , and Bush became vice president after the Reagan -- Bush ticket won the 1980 election . During his eight-year tenure as vice president , Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting the `` War on Drugs '' .   In 1988 , Bush ran a successful campaign to succeed Reagan as President , defeating Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis . Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency : military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf ; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 , and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later . Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office , Bush also signed the North American Free Trade Agreement , which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States , Canada , and Mexico . Domestically , Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise and , after a struggle with Congress , signed an increase in taxes that Congress had passed . In the wake of a weak recovery from an economic recession , along with continuing budget deficits and the diminution of foreign politics as a major issue in a post-Cold War political climate , he lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton .   Bush left office in 1993 . His presidential library was dedicated in 1997 , and he has been active -- often alongside Bill Clinton -- in various humanitarian activities . With George W. Bush 's victory in the 2000 presidential election , Bush and his son became the second father-son combination to serve as president , following John Adams and John Quincy Adams . Another member of the Bush family , Bush 's second son Jeb Bush , served as the 43rd Governor of Florida ( 1999 -- 2007 ) and sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 .


The South Wales Valleys are also referred to as The Valleys.

South Wales Valleys The South Wales Valleys ( Cymoedd De Cymru ) are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales . Commonly referred to locally as The Valleys ( Y Cymoedd ) , they stretch from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the edge of the lower-lying , pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain around Swansea Bay , Bridgend , the capital Cardiff , and Newport . Many of the valleys run roughly parallel to each other . The Rhondda Valleys and the Cynon Valley are located roughly in the centre .


Stars Dance Stars Dance is the solo debut studio album by American singer Selena Gomez . It was released on July 19 , 2013 , by Hollywood Records . Gomez began planning the project in 2012 , at which time she announced that her band Selena Gomez & the Scene would be taking an indefinite hiatus , and continued work into 2013 . She has cited artists such as Britney Spears and Skrillex as influences on the record , which stylistically features EDM and electropop music . Elements of dubstep , techno , disco and worldbeat have been noted on the album . Gomez worked with producers such as Rock Mafia and The Cataracs on the album .   Upon its release , Stars Dance received generally mixed reviews from music critics . While some complimented both Gomez 's maturing image and the album 's content both lyrically and vocally , the album was criticized for its electronic-heavy and somewhat `` generic '' production . It is her first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 . The album sold 97,000 copies in its first week of release in the country , making it her highest selling debut at the time . This was later surpassed by her second studio effort , Revival ( 2015 ) , which sold 117,000 units in its first week . It became her fourth top twenty entry in the United Kingdom , peaking at number fourteen . As of May 2017 , the album has sold an estimated 407,000 copies in the United States , making it her lowest selling studio album to date in the country .   The album 's lead single , `` Come & Get It '' featured heavy electronic and worldbeat themes , became Gomez 's first top 10 entry in the United States , and entered the top ten in countries such as the United Kingdom , Ireland , and Canada , among others . It was also successful on pop radio , reaching number-two on the Mainstream Top 40 chart . The second single , `` Slow Down '' , failed to match the success of its predecessor , though did peak inside the Top 30 in the United States . It was met with success on pop radio , reaching the top ten of the Mainstream Top 40 chart . Gomez promoted the album through a number of high-profile performances , such as the 2013 Billboard Music Awards . Gomez embarked on the Stars Dance Tour ( 2013 ) to further promote the release .


Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . The character is a founding member of the Justice League , demigoddess , warrior princess , and Ambassador-at-Large of the Amazonian people . In her homeland , she is Princess Diana of Themyscira , and outside of her homeland , she is known by her civilian identity Diana Prince .   Wonder Woman was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston , and artist Harry G. Peter . Marston and his wife Elizabeth 's cohabitant , Olive Byrne , is credited as being his inspiration for the character 's appearance . Marston drew a great deal of inspiration from early feminists , and especially from birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger . The character first appeared in All Star Comics # 8 in October 1941 and first cover-dated on Sensation Comics # 1 , January 1942 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986 .   Wonder Woman 's origin story relates that she was sculpted from clay by her mother Queen Hippolyta and given life by Aphrodite , along with superhuman powers as gifts by the Greek Gods . However , in recent years artists updated her profile : she has been depicted as the daughter of Zeus , and jointly raised by her mother Hippolyta and her aunts Antiope and Menalippe ; artists George Perez gave her a muscular look and emphasized her Amazonian heritage ; artist Jim Lee redesigned Diana 's costume to include pants ; she inherits Ares 's divine abilities , becoming the personified `` God of War '' ; and writer Greg Rucka clarified her sexual orientation as bisexual , giving her a backstory that includes positive relationships with women .   Her Amazonian training helped to develop a wide range of extraordinary skills in strategy , hunting , and combat . She possesses an arsenal of advanced technology , including the Lasso of Truth , a pair of indestructible bracelets , a tiara which serves as a projectile , and , in older stories , a range of devices based on Amazon technology . Wonder Woman was created during World War II ; the character was initially depicted fighting Axis military forces as well as an assortment of colorful supervillains , although over time her stories came to place greater emphasis on characters , deities , and monsters from Greek mythology . Many stories depicted Wonder Woman rescuing herself from bondage , which defeated the `` damsels in distress '' trope that was common in comics during the 1940s . In the decades since her debut , Wonder Woman has gained a formidable cast of enemies bent on eliminating the Amazon , including classic villains such as Ares , Cheetah , Doctor Poison , Circe , Doctor Psycho , and Giganta , along with more recent adversaries such as Veronica Cale . Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society ( from 1941 ) and Justice League ( from 1960 ) .   Notable depictions of the character in other media include Gloria Steinem placing the character on the cover of Ms. magazine in 1971 ; the 1975 -- 1979 Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter ; as well as animated series such as the Super Friends and Justice League . Since Carter 's television series , studios struggled to introduce a new live-action Wonder Woman to audiences , although the character continued to feature in a variety of toys and merchandise , as well as animated adaptations of DC properties , including a direct-to-DVD animated feature . Attempts to return Wonder Woman to television have included a television pilot for NBC in 2011 , closely followed by another stalled production for The CW . Gal Gadot portrays Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe , starting with the 2016 film Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice , marking the character 's feature film debut after over 70 years of history . Gadot will also star in the character 's first solo live-action film Wonder Woman , set to be released on June 2 , 2017 .   On October 21 , 2016 , the United Nations sparked controversy by naming Wonder Woman a UN Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls in a ceremony attended by Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Cristina Gallach and by actors Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot . Critics regard the character as not being a worthy role model for women , deeming the scantily clad `` large breasted , white woman of impossible proportions '' as being overtly sexualized and not culturally sensitive . Two months later she was dropped from her role as a UN Ambassador following a petition .


The Place Beyond the Pines The Place Beyond the Pines is a 2012 American crime drama film directed by Derek Cianfrance and written by Cianfrance , Ben Coccio , and Darius Marder . It stars Ryan Gosling , Bradley Cooper , Eva Mendes , Emory Cohen and Dane DeHaan , with Ben Mendelsohn , Rose Byrne , Mahershala Ali , Bruce Greenwood , Harris Yulin , and Ray Liotta in supporting roles . The film reunites Cianfrance and Gosling , who worked together on 2010 's Blue Valentine . The film was scored by Mike Patton and also featured previously written music by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt . The title is the English meaning of the city of Schenectady , New York , which is derived loosely from a Mohawk word for `` place beyond the pine plains . ''


A Song of Ice and Fire takes place in a fictional world called Essos.

A Song of Ice and Fire A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin . He began the first volume of the series , A Game of Thrones , in 1991 and had it published in 1996 . Martin , who initially envisioned the series as a trilogy , has published five out of a planned seven volumes . The fifth and most recent volume of the series published in 2011 , A Dance with Dragons , took Martin five years to write . He is still writing the sixth novel , The Winds of Winter .   A Song of Ice and Fire takes place on the fictional continents Westeros and Essos . The point of view of each chapter in the story is a limited perspective of a range of characters growing from nine , in the first novel , to thirty-one by the fifth . Three main stories interweave a dynastic war among several families for control of Westeros , the rising threat of the supernatural Others in the northernmost reaches of Westeros , and the ambition of Daenerys Targaryen , the deposed king 's exiled daughter , to assume the Iron Throne .   Martin 's inspirations included the Wars of the Roses and the French historical novels The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon . A Song of Ice and Fire received praise for its diverse portrayal of women and religion , as well as its realism . An assortment of disparate and subjective points of view confronts the reader , and the success or survival of point of view characters is never assured . Within the often morally ambiguous world of A Song of Ice and Fire , questions concerning loyalty , pride , human sexuality , piety , and the morality of violence frequently arise .   As of April 2015 , the books have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide and , as of January 2017 , have been translated into 47 languages . The fourth and fifth volumes reached the top of The New York Times Best Seller lists upon their releases . Among the many derived works are several prequel novellas , a TV series , a comic book adaptation , and several card , board , and video games .


Gift of the Night Fury exclusively stars the voices of people from Kenya.

Jay Baruchel Jonathan Adam Saunders `` Jay '' Baruchel ( -LSB- ˈbæruːˌʃɛl -RSB- born April 9 , 1982 ) is a Canadian actor , comedian , screenwriter , director , and producer . He plays Josh Greenberg in the FXX comedy television series Man Seeking Woman and played the lead character in Judd Apatow 's comedy series , Undeclared . He is known for his voice role as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise , and for his roles in comedy movies such as Knocked Up , Tropic Thunder , Fanboys , She 's Out of My League , Goon , and This Is the End .


Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler ( born 13 November 1969 ) is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film , stage , and television . After studying law , Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as Mrs Brown ( 1997 ) , the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies ( 1997 ) , and Tale of the Mummy ( 1998 ) . In 2000 , he starred as Dracula in the horror film Dracula 2000 with Christopher Plummer and Jonny Lee Miller .   The following year onward , he played Attila the Hun in the miniseries Attila ( 2001 ) and then appeared in the films Reign of Fire with Christian Bale ( 2002 ) , and Lara Croft Tomb Raider : The Cradle of Life with Angelina Jolie ( 2003 ) , before playing André Marek in the adaptation of Michael Crichton 's science fiction adventure Timeline ( 2003 ) . He then was cast as the role of Erik , The Phantom in Joel Schumacher 's 2004 film adaptation of the musical The Phantom of the Opera alongside Emmy Rossum . That role earned him a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor .   Although Attila and The Phantom of the Opera were important breaks , it was only in 2007 that Butler gained worldwide recognition for his portrayal of King Leonidas in Zack Snyder 's fantasy war film 300 . That role earned him nominations for an Empire Award for Best Actor and a Saturn Award for Best Actor and a win for MTV Movie Award for Best Fight . In the 2010s , he voiced the role of Stoick the Vast in the animated action-fantasy film How to Train Your Dragon , a role he later reprised in Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon ( 2010 ) , Gift of the Night Fury ( 2011 ) and How to Train Your Dragon 2 ( 2014 ) . He played military leader Tullus Aufidius in the 2011 film Coriolanus , the modernized adaptation of Shakespeare 's tragedy of the same name . He also played Sam Childers in the 2011 action biopic Machine Gun Preacher .


Gift of the Night Fury Gift of the Night Fury is a 2011 computer-animated short film by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Tom Owens . It was released on November 15 , 2011 , on DVD and Blu-ray , along with another original animated short film Book of Dragons .   Based on How to Train Your Dragon , the short takes place in the middle of preparing for the Viking winter holiday . After all dragons inexplicably fly away , the last one of them unwittingly kidnaps Hiccup . The film stars the voices of Jay Baruchel , Gerard Butler , Craig Ferguson , America Ferrera , Jonah Hill , T.J. Miller , Kristen Wiig , and Christopher Mintz-Plasse .


The National Security Agency is responsible for the processing of information for intelligence purposes.

National Security Agency The National Security Agency ( NSA ) is a military intelligence organization and a constituent of the United States Department of Defense ( DOD ) . The NSA is responsible for global monitoring , collection , and processing of information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes , a discipline known as signals intelligence ( SIGINT ) . NSA is concurrently charged with protection of U.S. government communications and information systems against penetration and network warfare . Although many of NSA 's programs rely on `` passive '' electronic collection , the agency is authorized to accomplish its mission through active clandestine means , among which are physically bugging electronic systems and allegedly engaging in sabotage through subversive software . Moreover , NSA maintains physical presence in a large number of countries across the globe , where its Special Collection Service ( SCS ) inserts eavesdropping devices in difficult-to-reach places . SCS collection tactics allegedly encompass `` close surveillance , burglary , wiretapping , breaking and entering . ''   Unlike the Defense Intelligence Agency ( DIA ) and the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) , both of which specialize primarily in foreign human espionage , NSA does not unilaterally conduct human-source intelligence gathering , despite often being portrayed so in popular culture . Instead , NSA is entrusted with assistance to and coordination of SIGINT elements at other government organizations , which are prevented by law from engaging in such activities without the approval of the NSA via the Defense Secretary . As part of these streamlining responsibilities , the agency has a co-located organization called the Central Security Service ( CSS ) , which was created to facilitate cooperation between NSA and other U.S. military cryptanalysis components . Additionally , the NSA Director simultaneously serves as the Commander of the United States Cyber Command and as Chief of the Central Security Service .   Originating as a unit to decipher coded communications in World War II , it was officially formed as the NSA by President Harry S. Truman in 1952 . Since then , it has become one of the largest U.S. intelligence organizations in terms of personnel and budget , operating as part of the Department of Defense and simultaneously reporting to the Director of National Intelligence .   NSA surveillance has been a matter of political controversy on several occasions , such as its spying on anti-Vietnam-war leaders and economic espionage . In 2013 , the extent of some of the NSA 's secret surveillance programs was revealed to the public by Edward Snowden . According to the leaked documents , the NSA intercepts the communications of over a billion people worldwide , many of whom are United States citizens , and tracks the movement of hundreds of millions of people using cellphones . Internationally , research has pointed to the NSA 's ability to surveil the domestic Internet traffic of foreign countries through `` boomerang routing '' .


Furia is adapted from a short story by anyone but a novelist.

Furia (film) Furia is a 1999 French romantic drama film directed by Alexandre Aja , who co-wrote screenplay with Grégory Levasseur , adapted from the science fiction short story `` Graffiti '' by Julio Cortázar . It stars Stanislas Merhar and Marion Cotillard .


Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 is directed by Soundarya Rajnikanth.

Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 ( The Unemployed Graduate 2 ) , popularly referred to as VIP 2 , is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language comedy-drama film directed by Soundarya Rajnikanth . A sequel to Velaiilla Pattadhari ( 2014 ) , the film has Dhanush , Amala Paul , Saranya Ponvannan and Samuthirakani returning from the first film , other cast including Kajol . Dhanush , besides acting , is also co-producing the film and has written the story and dialogues for the film . The film , which is also co-produced by S. Thanu , has music composed by Sean Roldan and will release in 28 july 2017 .


The 19th G7 summit included politicians.

President of the European Commission The President of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission ( the civil service of the executive branch of the : European Union , the function of which is to apply and enforce the Treaties ) . The President of the Commission is responsible for allocating portfolios to members of the Commission and can reshuffle or dismiss them if needed . They determine the Commission 's policy agenda and all the legislative proposals it produces ( the Commission is the only body that can propose EU laws ) .   The President of the Commission also represents the EU abroad , together with the President of the European Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy .   The post was established in 1958 . Each new President is nominated by the European Council and formally elected by the European Parliament , for a five-year term . Once appointed , he or she , along with the Commission , is responsible to Parliament . , the current President is Jean-Claude Juncker , who took office on 1 November 2014 . He is a member of the European People 's Party ( EPP ) and is the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg . Juncker is the twelfth President and his First Vice-President is Frans Timmermans .


19th G7 summit The 19th G7 Summit was held in Tokyo , Japan , on July 7 -- 9 , 1993 . The venue for the summit meetings was the State Guesthouse in Tokyo , Japan .   The Group of Seven ( G7 ) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries : France , Germany , Italy , Japan , the United Kingdom , the United States , Canada ( since 1976 ) and the President of the European Commission ( starting officially in 1981 ) . The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions ; and in fact , a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France 's President Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany 's Chancellor Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the first Group of Six ( G6 ) summit in 1975 .


Portia de Rossi starred in Better Off Ted.

Portia de Rossi Portia Lee James DeGeneres ( born Amanda Lee Rogers ; January 31 , 1973 ) , also known professionally as Portia de Rossi ( -LSB- ˈpɔərʃə_də_ˈrɒsi -RSB- ) , is an Australian and American actress , model , and philanthropist . She appeared as a regular cast member on the American political thriller television series Scandal in the role of Elizabeth North from 2014 to 2017 . She is also known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter on the American television series Ally McBeal -- for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award in 1999 -- and as Lindsay Fünke on the American television sitcom Arrested Development . She also portrayed Veronica Palmer on the ABC television sitcom Better Off Ted , and Olivia Lord on the television drama Nip/Tuck . De Rossi is married to comedian and television host Ellen DeGeneres .


Paleogene starts from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago (Mya).

Paleogene The Paleogene ( -LSB- pronˈpæliːədʒiːn -RSB- or -LSB- ˈpeɪliːədʒiːn -RSB- also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene ; informally Lower Tertiary ) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya ) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Mya . It is the beginning of the Cenozoic Era of the present Phanerozoic Eon . The Paleogene is most notable for being the time during which mammals diversified from relatively small , simple forms into a large group of diverse animals in the wake of the Cretaceous -- Paleogene extinction event that ended the preceding Cretaceous Period .   This period consists of the Paleocene , Eocene and Oligocene epochs . The end of the Paleocene ( 55.5 / 54.8 Mya ) was marked by the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum , one of the most significant periods of global change during the Cenozoic , which upset oceanic and atmospheric circulation and led to the extinction of numerous deep-sea benthic foraminifera and on land , a major turnover in mammals . The terms ` Paleogene System ' ( formal ) and ` lower Tertiary System ' ( informal ) are applied to the rocks deposited during the ` Paleogene Period ' . The somewhat confusing terminology seems to be due to attempts to deal with the comparatively fine subdivisions of time possible in the relatively recent geologic past , for which more details are preserved . By dividing the Tertiary Period into two periods instead of directly into five epochs , the periods are more closely comparable to the duration of ` periods ' of the preceding Mesozoic and Paleozoic Eras .


Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman ( born April 13 , 1950 ) is an American actor and voice actor . He is best known for his roles as Clay Morrow on the television series Sons of Anarchy , Vincent on the television series Beauty and the Beast ( for which he won a Golden Globe Award ) , and as the comic book character Hellboy in both Hellboy ( 2004 ) and its sequel Hellboy II : The Golden Army ( 2008 ) .   Perlman is also well known as a frequent collaborator of Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro , also having roles in his films Cronos , Blade II and Pacific Rim . He is also known for his voice-over work as the narrator of the post-apocalyptic game series Fallout , Clayface on Batman : The Animated Series , Slade on the animated series Teen Titans , The Lich in Adventure Time , The Stabbington Brothers in Disney 's animated film Tangled , and as the narrator of the television series 1000 Ways to Die .


Robert Browning Robert Browning ( 7 May 1812 -- 12 December 1889 ) was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of the dramatic monologue made him one of the foremost Victorian poets . His poems are known for their irony , characterization , dark humour , social commentary , historical settings , and challenging vocabulary and syntax .   Browning 's early career began promisingly , but was not a success . The long poem Pauline brought him to the attention of Dante Gabriel Rossetti , and was followed by Paracelsus , which was praised by William Wordsworth and Charles Dickens , but in 1840 the difficult Sordello , which was seen as wilfully obscure , brought his poetry into disrepute . His reputation took more than a decade to recover , during which time he moved away from the Shelleyan forms of his early period and developed a more personal style .   In 1846 Browning married the older poet Elizabeth Barrett , who at the time was considerably better known than himself . So started one of history 's most famous literary marriages . They went to live in Italy , a country he called `` my university '' , and which features frequently in his work . By the time of her death in 1861 , he had published the crucial collection Men and Women . The collection Dramatis Personae and the book-length epic poem The Ring and the Book followed , and made him a leading British poet . He continued to write prolifically , but his reputation today rests largely on the poetry he wrote in this middle period .   When Browning died in 1889 , he was regarded as a sage and philosopher-poet who through his writing had made contributions to Victorian social and political discourse -- as in the poem Caliban upon Setebos , which some critics have seen as a comment on the theory of evolution , which had recently been put forward by Darwin and others . Unusually for a poet , societies for the study of his work were founded while he was still alive . Such Browning Societies remained common in Britain and the United States until the early 20th century .   Browning 's admirers have tended to temper their praise with reservations about the length and difficulty of his most ambitious poems , particularly The Ring and the Book . Nevertheless , they have included such eminent writers as Henry James , Oscar Wilde , George Bernard Shaw , G. K. Chesterton , Ezra Pound , Jorge Luis Borges , and Vladimir Nabokov . Among living writers , Stephen King 's The Dark Tower series and A.S. Byatt 's Possession refer directly to Browning 's work .   Today Browning 's critically most esteemed poems include the monologues Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came , Fra Lippo Lippi , Andrea Del Sarto , and My Last Duchess . His most popular poems include Porphyria 's Lover , How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix , the diptych Meeting at Night , the patriotic Home Thoughts from Abroad , and the children 's poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin . His abortive dinner-party recital of How They Brought The Good News was recorded on an Edison wax cylinder , and is believed to be the oldest surviving recording made in the United Kingdom of a notable person .


Men and Women (poetry collection) Men and Women is a collection of fifty-one poems in two volumes by Robert Browning , first published in 1855 . While now generally considered to contain some of the best of Browning 's poetry , at the time it was not received well and sold poorly .


Browning Society Browning societies were groups of people who met regularly to discuss the works of Robert Browning . Emerging from various reading groups , the societies were an indication of the poet 's fame and , unusually , were actively forming during his lifetime . Browning was not consulted on the foundation of these societies in appreciation of his work , and the idea did not meet with his immediate approval .


Memorial Day Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country 's armed forces . The holiday , which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May , was held on May 30 from 1868-1971 . It marks the start of the unofficial summer vacation season , while Labor Day marks its end .   Many people visit cemeteries and memorials , particularly to honor those who have died in military service . Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries .   Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day ; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving , while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans .


Marilyn Monroe appeared in a film directed by a director.

Niagara (film) Niagara is an American 1953 film noir thriller film directed by Henry Hathaway , and starring Marilyn Monroe , Joseph Cotten , Jean Peters , and Max Showalter . It was one of Fox 's biggest box office hits of the year .   Unlike other film noirs of the time , Niagara was filmed in `` three-strip '' Technicolor ( one of the last films to be made at Fox in that format , as a few months later Fox began converting to CinemaScope , which had compatibility problems with `` three-strip '' but not with Eastmancolor ) .   Monroe was given first billing in Niagara which elevated her to star status . Her following two films of that year , Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , with Jane Russell , and How to Marry a Millionaire , with Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall , were even bigger successes .


Clash by Night Clash by Night is a 1952 American drama film with some film noir aspects , directed by Fritz Lang and starring Barbara Stanwyck , Paul Douglas , Robert Ryan , Marilyn Monroe and Keith Andes . The movie was based on the play by Clifford Odets , adapted by writer Alfred Hayes . This was the first film in which Monroe was credited before the movie 's title , albeit with fourth billing .   During the shooting , the now famous nude calendar photos of Monroe surfaced and reporters swarmed around and hounded the actress , creating considerable distraction for the film makers .


Bus Stop (1956 film) Bus Stop is a 1956 American romantic comedy film directed by Joshua Logan for 20th Century Fox , starring Marilyn Monroe , Don Murray , Arthur O'Connell , Betty Field , Eileen Heckart , Robert Bray and Hope Lange .   Unlike most of Monroe 's movies , Bus Stop is neither a full-fledged comedy nor a musical , but rather a dramatic piece ; it was the first film she appeared in after studying at the Actors Studio in New York . Monroe does however sing one song : `` That Old Black Magic '' by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer .   Bus Stop was based on two plays by William Inge , People in the Wind and Bus Stop . The inspiration for the play Bus Stop came from people Inge met in Tonganoxie , Kansas .   In the 1961 -- 62 season , ABC adapted the play and film into a television series of the same name , Bus Stop starring Marilyn Maxwell as the owner of the bus station and diner . In the segment `` Chérie '' which most closely follows the film , Tuesday Weld performed the role of Marilyn Monroe , and Gary Lockwood appeared as the Don Murray character .   The film was shot in Idaho and Arizona .


The Misfits (film) The Misfits is a 1961 American drama film written by Arthur Miller , directed by John Huston , and starring Clark Gable , Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift . The supporting cast features Thelma Ritter , Eli Wallach and Kevin McCarthy . It marked the last completed film of Gable and Monroe . For Gable , the film was posthumously released , while Monroe died the following year . The plot centers on a recently divorced woman ( Monroe ) and her time spent with a cowboy ( Gable ) and his rodeo-riding friend ( Clift ) in the Western Nevada desert in the 1960s . The film was a commercial failure at the time of its release , but received positive critical comments for its script and performances , and is highly regarded today .


How to Marry a Millionaire How to Marry a Millionaire is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson . The screenplay was based on the plays The Greeks Had a Word for It by Zoë Akins and Loco by Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert .   The film stars Betty Grable , Marilyn Monroe , and Lauren Bacall as three gold diggers , along with William Powell , David Wayne , Rory Calhoun , and Cameron Mitchell . Betty Grable received top billing in the screen credits but Marilyn Monroe 's name was first in all advertising , including the trailer .   Made by 20th Century Fox , How to Marry a Millionaire was the first film ever to be photographed in the new CinemaScope wide-screen process , although it was the second Cinemascope film released by Fox after the biblical epic film The Robe ( also 1953 ) .   How to Marry a Millionaire was also the first 1950s color and CinemaScope film ever to be shown on prime time network television , though panned-and-scanned , when it was presented as the first film on NBC Saturday Night at the Movies on September 23 , 1961 .   The soundtrack from How to Marry a Millionaire was released on CD by Film Score Monthly on March 15 , 2001 .


Monkey Business (1952 film) Monkey Business is a 1952 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and written by Ben Hecht , which stars Cary Grant , Ginger Rogers , Charles Coburn , and Marilyn Monroe . To avoid confusion with the famous 1931 Marx Brothers film of the same name , this film is sometimes referred to as Howard Hawks ' Monkey Business .


Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( born Norma Jeane Mortenson ; June 1 , 1926 -- August 5 , 1962 ) was an American actress and model . Famous for playing comic `` dumb blonde '' characters , she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s , emblematic of the era 's attitudes towards sexuality . Although she was a top-billed actress for only a decade , her films grossed $ 200 million by the time of her unexpected death in 1962 . She continues to be considered a major popular culture icon .   Born and raised in Los Angeles , Monroe spent most of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage and married at the age of sixteen . While working in a factory in 1944 as part of the war effort , she was introduced to a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career . The work led to short-lived film contracts with Twentieth Century-Fox ( 1946 -- 1947 ) and Columbia Pictures ( 1948 ) . After a series of minor film roles , she signed a new contract with Fox in 1951 . Over the next two years , she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies , including As Young as You Feel and Monkey Business , and in the dramas Clash by Night and Do n't Bother to Knock . Monroe faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photos before becoming a star , but rather than damaging her career , the story resulted in increased interest in her films .   By 1953 , Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars , with leading roles in three films : the noir Niagara , which focused on her sex appeal , and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire , which established her star image as a `` dumb blonde '' . Although she played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career , she was disappointed at being typecast and underpaid by the studio . She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project , but returned to star in one of the biggest box office successes of her career , The Seven Year Itch ( 1955 ) .   When the studio was still reluctant to change her contract , Monroe founded a film production company in late 1954 ; she named it Marilyn Monroe Productions ( MMP ) . She dedicated 1955 to building her company and began studying method acting at the Actors Studio . In late 1955 , Fox awarded her a new contract , which gave her more control and a larger salary . After a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop ( 1956 ) and acting in the first independent production of MMP , The Prince and the Showgirl ( 1957 ) , she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Some Like It Hot ( 1959 ) . Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits ( 1961 ) .   Monroe 's troubled private life received much attention . She struggled with substance abuse , depression , and anxiety . She had two highly publicized marriages , to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller , both of which ended in divorce . On August 5 , 1962 , she died at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her home in Los Angeles . Although Monroe 's death was ruled a probable suicide , several conspiracy theories have been proposed in the decades following her death .


The Seven Year Itch The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American romantic comedy film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod . The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder , and stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell , reprising his Broadway role from the play . It contains one of the most iconic images of the 20th century -- Monroe standing on a subway grate as her white dress is blown upwards by a passing train . The titular phrase , which refers to declining interest in a monogamous relationship after seven years of marriage , has been used by psychologists .


Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953 film) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a 1953 American musical comedy film of the 1949 stage musical , released by 20th Century Fox , directed by Howard Hawks , and starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe with Charles Coburn , Elliott Reid , Tommy Noonan , George Winslow , Taylor Holmes and Norma Varden in supporting roles .   The screenplay by Charles Lederer was based on the 1949 Broadway musical of the same name , directed by John C. Wilson , with Carol Channing as Lorelei Lee , which was written by Anita Loos and Joseph Fields . The stage musical was based on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes : The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady , a 1925 novel by Anita Loos . It was adapted for the stage in 1926 , and then a 1928 silent film , starring Ruth Taylor , Alice White , Ford Sterling and Mack Swain , which is now lost .   While Russell 's down-to-earth , sharp wit has been noted by most critics , it is Monroe 's turn as the gold-digging Lorelei Lee for which the film is often remembered . Monroe 's rendition of the song `` Diamonds Are a Girl 's Best Friend '' and her pink dress are considered iconic , and the performance has inspired homages by Madonna , Geri Halliwell , Kylie Minogue , Nicole Kidman , Anna Nicole Smith , Christina Aguilera and James Franco .   The movie is filled with comedic gags and musical numbers , choreographed by Jack Cole , while the music was written by songwriting teams Hoagy Carmichael & Harold Adamson and Jule Styne & Leo Robin . The songs by Styne and Robin are from the Broadway show , while the songs by Carmichael and Adamson were written especially for the film .


Some Like It Hot Some Like It Hot is a 1959 American romantic comedy film set in 1929 , directed and produced by Billy Wilder , starring Marilyn Monroe , Tony Curtis , and Jack Lemmon . The supporting cast includes George Raft , Pat O'Brien , Joe E. Brown , Joan Shawlee , and Nehemiah Persoff . The plot is based on a screenplay by Billy Wilder and Michael Logan from the French film Fanfare of Love . The film is about two musicians who dress in drag in order to escape from mafia gangsters whom they witnessed commit a crime inspired by the Saint Valentine 's Day Massacre . The film was produced in black and white , even though color films were increasing in popularity .   Some Like It Hot opened to largely positive reviews and is today considered to be one of the greatest film comedies of all time . It was voted as the top comedy film by the American Film Institute on their list on AFI 's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs poll in 2000 . The film is also notable for featuring cross dressing , and for playing with the idea of homosexuality , which led to it being produced without approval from the Motion Picture Production Code . The code had been gradually weakening in its scope during the early 1950s , due to increasing social tolerance for previously taboo topics in film , but it was still officially enforced . The overwhelming success of Some Like It Hot was a final nail in the coffin for the Hays Code .


The Prince and the Showgirl The Prince and the Showgirl ( originally called The Sleeping Prince ) is a 1957 British-American romantic comedy film starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier . Olivier also served as director and producer . The screenplay by Terence Rattigan was based on his 1953 stage play The Sleeping Prince . It was filmed in London .


Ronald Reagan had the second-longest life out of all the presidents.

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( -LSB- ˈrɒnəld_ˈwɪlsən_ˈreɪɡən -RSB- ) ( February 6 , 1911 -- June 5 , 2004 ) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 . Before his presidency , he was the 33rd Governor of California , from 1967 to 1975 , after a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader .   Raised in a poor family in small towns of northern Illinois , Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and worked as a sports announcer on several regional radio stations . After moving to Hollywood in 1937 , he became an actor and starred in a few major productions . Reagan was twice elected President of the Screen Actors Guild , the labor union for actors , where he worked to root out Communist influence . In the 1950s , he moved into television and was a motivational speaker at General Electric factories . Having been a lifelong Democrat , his views changed . He became a conservative and in 1962 switched to the Republican Party . In 1964 , Reagan 's speech , `` A Time for Choosing '' , in support of Barry Goldwater 's foundering presidential campaign , earned him national attention as a new conservative spokesman . Building a network of supporters , he was elected Governor of California in 1966 . As governor , Reagan raised taxes , turned a state budget deficit to a surplus , challenged the protesters at the University of California , ordered National Guard troops in during a period of protest movements in 1969 , and was re-elected in 1970 . He twice ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency in 1968 and 1976 ; four years later , he easily won the nomination outright , becoming the oldest elected U.S. president up to that time , defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter in 1980 .   Entering the presidency in 1981 , Reagan implemented sweeping new political and economic initiatives . His supply-side economic policies , dubbed `` Reaganomics '' , advocated tax rate reduction to spur economic growth , control of the money supply to curb inflation , economic deregulation , and reduction in government spending . In his first term he survived an assassination attempt , spurred the War on Drugs , and fought public sector labor . Over his two terms , the economy saw a reduction of inflation from 12.5 % to 4.4 % , and an average annual growth of real GDP of 3.4 ; while Reagan did enact cuts in domestic discretionary spending , tax cuts and increased military spending contributed to increased federal outlays overall , even after adjustment for inflation . During his re-election bid , Reagan campaigned on the notion that it was `` Morning in America '' , winning a landslide in 1984 with the largest electoral college victory in American history . Foreign affairs dominated his second term , including ending of the Cold War , the bombing of Libya , and the Iran -- Contra affair . Publicly describing the Soviet Union as an `` evil empire '' , and during his famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate , President Reagan challenged Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to `` tear down this wall ! '' . He transitioned Cold War policy from détente to rollback , by escalating an arms race with the USSR while engaging in talks with Gorbachev , which culminated in the INF Treaty , shrinking both countries ' nuclear arsenals . Reagan 's presidency came during the decline of the Soviet Union and just ten months after the end of his term , the Berlin Wall fell , and on December 26 , 1991 , nearly three years after he left office , the Soviet Union collapsed .   Leaving office in 1989 , Reagan held an approval rating of sixty-eight percent , matching those of Franklin D. Roosevelt , and later Bill Clinton , as the highest ratings for departing presidents in the modern era . He was the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve two full terms , after a succession of five prior presidents failed to do so . While having planned an active post-presidency , in 1994 Reagan disclosed his diagnosis with Alzheimer 's disease earlier that year , appearing publicly for the last time at the funeral of Richard Nixon ; he died ten years later in 2004 at the age of 93 ; Reagan had the second-longest life out of all the presidents ; the current longest lifespan of a president is held by Gerald Ford , who died two years after Reagan . An icon among Republicans , he is viewed favorably in historian rankings of U.S. presidents , and his tenure constituted a realignment toward conservative policies in the U.S.


Zendaya was not involved with Shake It Up.

Zendaya Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman ( born September 1 , 1996 ) , known mononymously as Zendaya ( -LSB- zɛnˈdeɪ.ə -RSB- ) , is an American actress , singer , and dancer . From 2010 to 2013 , she starred in the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up as Rocky Blue . She has starred in two films and played one of the lead roles in the film Frenemies as Halley Brandon . She voiced Fern in the Pixie Hollow Games . She appeared in Good Luck Charlie as Rocky Blue and in a Good Luck Charlie and Shake It Up crossover title Charlie Shakes It Up . She appeared on PrankStars as herself in the episode `` Walk The Prank '' and on A.N.T. Farm as Sequoia Jones in the episode `` Creative ConsultANT . ''   Zendaya signed a deal with Hollywood Records on August 8 , 2012 , and started recording songs for her debut album on August 12 , 2012 . She released a single from an independent label called `` Swag It Out '' and another single with Bella Thorne called `` Watch Me , '' which is featured on the Break It Down album . On March 20 , 2012 , Zendaya released the song `` Something to Dance For '' as promotional single from Shake It Up : Live 2 Dance soundtrack .


Spider-Man (2002 film) was the seventh highest grossing book of all time when it was released.

Spider-Man (2002 film) Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi . Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name , the film stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker , a high school student living in New York City , who turns to crimefighting after developing spider-like super powers . Spider-Man also stars Kirsten Dunst as Peter 's love interest Mary Jane Watson , Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin , Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson as Aunt May and Uncle Ben , and James Franco as his best friend Harry Osborn .   After progress on the film stalled for nearly 25 years , it was licensed for a worldwide release by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1999 after it acquired options from MGM on all previous scripts developed by Cannon Films , Carolco and New Cannon . Exercising its option on just two elements from the multi-script acquisition ( a different screenplay was written by James Cameron , Ted Newsom , John Brancato , Barney Cohen and `` Joseph Goldman '' ) , Sony hired David Koepp to create a working screenplay ( credited as Cameron 's ) , and Koepp received sole credit in final billing . Directors Roland Emmerich , Ang Lee , Chris Columbus , Jan de Bont , M. Night Shyamalan , Tony Scott and David Fincher were considered to direct the project before Raimi was hired as director in 2000 . The Koepp script was rewritten by Scott Rosenberg during preproduction and received a dialogue polish from Alvin Sargent during production .   Filming took place in Los Angeles , and New York City from January 8 to June 30 , 2001 . Spider-Man premiered in the Philippines on April 30 , 2002 , and had its general release in the United States on May 3 , 2002 . It became a critical and financial success . At the time , it was the only film to reach $ 100 million in its first weekend , had the largest opening weekend gross of all time , and was the most successful film based on a comic book . With $ 821.7 million worldwide , it was 2002 's third-highest-grossing film and is the 56th-highest-grossing film of all time ( seventh at the time of release ) . The film was nominated at the 75th Academy Awards ceremony for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Mixing . Due to the success of the film , Columbia Pictures and Marvel released two sequels , Spider-Man 2 in 2004 , and Spider-Man 3 in 2007 .


The creators of Spider-Man gave the character slow reaction to danger.

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko , and first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy # 15 ( Aug. 1962 ) in the Silver Age of Comic Books . Lee and Ditko conceived the character as an orphan being raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben , and as a teenager , having to deal with the normal struggles of adolescence in addition to those of a costumed crime-fighter . Spider-Man 's creators gave him super strength and agility , the ability to cling to most surfaces , shoot spider-webs using wrist-mounted devices of his own invention , which he calls `` web-shooters '' , and react to danger quickly with his `` spider-sense '' , enabling him to combat his foes .   When Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s , teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the protagonist . The Spider-Man series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker , the high school student behind Spider-Man 's secret identity and with whose `` self-obsessions with rejection , inadequacy , and loneliness '' young readers could relate . While Spider-Man had all the makings of a sidekick , unlike previous teen heroes such as Bucky and Robin , Spider-Man had no superhero mentor like Captain America and Batman ; he thus had to learn for himself that `` with great power there must also come great responsibility '' -- a line included in a text box in the final panel of the first Spider-Man story but later retroactively attributed to his guardian , the late Uncle Ben .   Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series , the first and longest-lasting of which is titled The Amazing Spider-Man . Over the years , the Peter Parker character has developed from shy , nerdy New York City high school student to troubled but outgoing college student , to married high school teacher to , in the late 2000s , a single freelance photographer . In the 2010s , he joins the Avengers , Marvel 's flagship superhero team . Spider-Man 's nemesis Doctor Octopus also took on the identity for a story arc spanning 2012 -- 2014 , following a body swap plot in which Peter appears to die . Separately , Marvel has also published books featuring alternate versions of Spider-Man , including Spider-Man 2099 , which features the adventures of Miguel O'Hara , the Spider-Man of the future ; Ultimate Spider-Man , which features the adventures of a teenaged Peter Parker in an alternate universe ; and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man , which depicts the teenager Miles Morales , who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man after Ultimate Peter Parker 's supposed death .   Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes . As Marvel 's flagship character and company mascot , he has appeared in countless forms of media , including several animated and live action television series , syndicated newspaper comic strips , and in a series of films . The character was first portrayed in live action by Danny Seagren in Spidey Super Stories , a The Electric Company skit which ran from 1974 to 1977 . In films , Spider-Man has been portrayed by actors Tobey Maguire ( 2002 -- 2007 ) and Andrew Garfield ( 2012 -- 2014 ) , while Tom Holland portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe , first appearing in Captain America : Civil War in 2016 . Reeve Carney starred as Spider-Man in the 2010 Broadway musical Spider-Man : Turn Off the Dark . Spider-Man has been well received as a superhero and comic book character , and he is often ranked as one of the most popular comic book characters of all time , alongside DC Comics ' most famous superheroes , Batman and Superman .


Neighbors (2014 film) Neighbors ( released in some countries as Bad Neighbours ) is a 2014 American comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Andrew Cohen and Brendan O'Brien . The film stars Seth Rogen , Zac Efron , Rose Byrne , Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse . The plot follows a couple who come into conflict with a fraternity that has recently moved in next door .   The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 8 , 2014 and was released on May 9 in the United States . It was a commercial success , grossing over $ 270 million worldwide , and is currently Rogen 's highest grossing live-action movie . A sequel , titled Neighbors 2 : Sorority Rising , was released on May 20 , 2016 . Stoller returned to direct , with Rogen , Efron , Byrne , Mintz-Plasse , Barinholtz , Gallo , Kudrow , Buress and Franco all reprising their roles .


Kaitlin Olson was a part of the theater troupe the Groundlings.

Kaitlin Olson Kaitlin Willow Olson ( born August 18 , 1975 ) is an American actress and comedian . She began her career in the Groundlings , an improvisational group in Los Angeles , California , and had minor roles in several television series before being cast as Deandra `` Sweet Dee '' Reynolds on the FX black comedy series It 's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in 2005 .   Olson has also appeared in film , with roles in Leap Year ( 2010 ) , The Heat ( 2013 ) , and also provided the voice for Destiny in Finding Dory ( 2016 ) . Beginning in 2017 , she stars as Mickey on the Fox comedy series The Mick .


The Groundlings The Groundlings are an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles , California . The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin , learning her improvisational theater techniques from the Second City 's Del Close , to produce sketches and improvised scenes . Its name is taken from Shakespeare 's Hamlet , Act III , Scene II : '' ... to split the ears of the groundlings , who  for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumbshows and noise . '' In 1975 the troupe purchased and moved into its current location on Melrose Avenue .   The Groundlings School holds new sessions every six weeks with over 300 students per session , with more than 2,000 students per year going through the program . The competitive program , with admission by audition , consists of 5 levels ( Basic , Intermediate , Advanced Improv , Writing Lab and Advanced Lab ) . Participants must satisfy instructors in order to advance .   The program takes years to complete , as 18-month to two-year wait-lists between upper levels are common . Students may be asked to repeat Basic and Intermediate classes multiple times . By the late 2000s , students had one chance to complete classes in Improv and Writing . Failure to pass either of these classes means a student can not complete the program , nor be invited into the Sunday Company .   Students may be voted into the Sunday Company , where they may remain no more than two years . Many move on sooner than that . Many Groundlings performers have found success in movies and television , including several who have become cast members and writers on Saturday Night Live , MADtv , and Reno 911 ! .


The South Wales Valleys stretch to a western place.

South Wales Valleys The South Wales Valleys ( Cymoedd De Cymru ) are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales . Commonly referred to locally as The Valleys ( Y Cymoedd ) , they stretch from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the edge of the lower-lying , pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain around Swansea Bay , Bridgend , the capital Cardiff , and Newport . Many of the valleys run roughly parallel to each other . The Rhondda Valleys and the Cynon Valley are located roughly in the centre .