Justin Bieber has been the winner of awards.

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( -LSB- ˈbiːbər -RSB- born March 1 , 1994 ) is a Canadian singer and songwriter . After a talent manager discovered him through his YouTube videos covering songs in 2008 and signed to RBMG , Bieber released his debut EP , My World , in late 2009 . It was certified Platinum in the U.S. . He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record chart on the Billboard Hot 100 . Bieber released his first full-length studio album , My World 2.0 , in 2010 . It debuted at or near number one in several countries , was certified triple Platinum in the U.S. , and contained his single `` Baby '' .   Following his debut album , he had his first headlining tour , the My World Tour , released the remix albums My Worlds Acoustic and Never Say Never -- The Remixes -- and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber : Never Say Never . He released his second studio album , Under the Mistletoe , in November 2011 , when it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 . Bieber released his third studio album , Believe , in 2012 . His fourth studio album Purpose was released in November 2015 , spawning three number one singles : `` What Do You Mean ? '' , `` Sorry '' , and `` Love Yourself '' . His U.S. album and singles sales total 44.7 million . He has sold an estimated 100 million records , making him one of the world 's best-selling music artists .   Bieber has won numerous awards , including the American Music Award for Artist of the Year in 2010 and 2012 . In his career , he has won one Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for the song `` Where Are Ü Now '' at the 2016 ceremony . He has been listed four times by Forbes magazine among the top ten most powerful celebrities in the world in 2011 , 2012 , and 2013 . Bieber also became the first artist to surpass 10 billion total video views on Vevo .


Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall ( -LSB- ˌlɔːrən_bəˈkɔːl -RSB- , born Betty Joan Perske ; September 16 , 1924 -- August 12 , 2014 ) was an American actress and singer known for her distinctive voice and sultry looks . She was named the 20th greatest female star of Classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute , and received an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2009 , `` in recognition of her central place in the Golden Age of motion pictures . ''   Bacall began her career as a model , before making her debut as a leading lady with Humphrey Bogart in the film To Have and Have Not in 1944 . She continued in the film noir genre with appearances with Bogart in The Big Sleep ( 1946 ) , Dark Passage ( 1947 ) , and Key Largo ( 1948 ) , and starred in the romantic comedies How to Marry a Millionaire ( 1953 ) with Marilyn Monroe and Designing Woman ( 1957 ) with Gregory Peck . She co-starred with John Wayne in his final film , The Shootist ( 1976 ) . Bacall also worked on Broadway in musicals , earning Tony Awards for Applause ( 1970 ) and Woman of the Year ( 1981 ) . Her performance in The Mirror Has Two Faces ( 1996 ) earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination .   A month before her 90th birthday , Bacall died in New York City after a stroke .


The Comedian stars Robert De Niro as the lead role.

The Comedian (2016 film) The Comedian is a 2016 American comedy-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford and written by Lewis Friedman , Richard LaGravenese , Art Linson , and Jeff Ross . The film stars Robert De Niro , Leslie Mann , Danny DeVito , Edie Falco , Veronica Ferres , Charles Grodin , Cloris Leachman , Patti LuPone and Harvey Keitel .   The film had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 11 , 2016 and was released on December 9 , 2016 , by Sony Pictures Classics . The film opened to negative reviews from critics .


Diego Luna Diego Luna Alexander ( -LSB- ˈdjeɣo ˈluna -RSB- ; born 29 December 1979 ) is a Mexican actor , producer and director . After starring in telenovelas early in his career , he has appeared in many films , including Y tu mamá también , Dirty Dancing : Havana Nights , Rudo y Cursi and the Star Wars anthology film Rogue One . He also provided the Spanish language narration for the National Geographic Channel documentary Great Migrations .


Joaquin Phoenix Joaquín Rafael Phoenix ( -LSB- ˌhwɑːˈkiːn -RSB- born Joaquín Rafael Bottom ; October 28 , 1974 ) , known formerly as Leaf Phoenix , is a Puerto Rican -- born American actor , producer , music video director , musician and activist . For his work as an artist , Phoenix has received a Grammy Award , a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations .   Phoenix started acting in television shows with his brother River Phoenix and sister Summer Phoenix . His first major film release was in the comedy-drama film Parenthood ( 1989 ) . During his period as a child actor he was credited as Leaf Phoenix , his self-given name . He later went back to his birth name , Joaquín , and received positive reviews for his supporting work in a wide range of films , most notably in the film adaptation of the novel To Die For ( 1995 ) and the period film Quills ( 2000 ) . He received international attention for his portrayal of Commodus in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator , which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . He has subsequently earned Best Actor nominations for portraying musician Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line ( 2005 ) and for his role as Freddie Quell , a sex-obsessed alcoholic World War II veteran in the drama film The Master ( 2012 ) , the latter winning him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor . To this date , he and River Phoenix hold the distinction of being the first and only brothers to be nominated for acting Academy Awards .   Some of his other notable films include the satire film Buffalo Soldiers ( 2001 ) , the science fiction thriller Signs ( 2002 ) , the animated film Brother Bear ( 2003 ) , the historical drama film Hotel Rwanda ( 2004 ) , the psychological thriller The Village ( 2004 ) , the documentary Earthlings ( 2005 ) , the romantic drama Two Lovers ( 2008 ) , the drama The Immigrant ( 2013 ) , the romantic science fiction drama Her ( 2013 ) , the crime comedy-drama film Inherent Vice ( 2014 ) , and the thriller You Were Never Really Here ( 2017 ) , for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor .   Aside from his acting career , he has also ventured into directing music videos , as well as producing films and television shows . He has recorded an album , the soundtrack to Walk The Line , for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media . Phoenix is a social activist , lending his support to a number of charities and humanitarian organizations . He is also widely known for his animal rights advocacy . He has been a vegan since the age of three , and campaigns for PETA and In Defense of Animals .


John Cena started his professional wrestling career with Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) in 1999.

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. ( -LSB- ˈsiːnə -RSB- born April 23 , 1977 ) is an American professional wrestler , rapper , actor , and reality television show host . He is signed to WWE , where he performs on the SmackDown brand . Cena started his professional wrestling career in 1999 with Ultimate Pro Wrestling ( UPW ) and won the UPW Heavyweight Championship the following year . Cena signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF , later renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment , or simply WWE ) in 2001 , debuting on the WWE main roster in 2002 .   From a generic character in 2002 , Cena morphed into a rapper for the time period of 2002 -- 2004 , which earned him fame within the audience on SmackDown ! . Cena later transitioned to his current character , which he describes as a `` goody-two shoes Superman '' . However , Cena has been labeled as the `` most polarizing professional wrestler ever '' as his character has many supporters and many detractors , according to Jim Ross of Fox Sports , who also noted that Cena has been WWE 's franchise player for a long-time . In 2012 , IGN described Cena as WWE 's franchise player since 2005 and WWE credited Cena as being the `` face of WWE '' in 2015 since 2004 . Industry veterans John Layfield , Paul Heyman , and Kurt Angle have called Cena the greatest WWE star of all time .   Throughout his WWE career , Cena has won 25 championships , with 16 reigns as a world champion ( 13 times as WWE Champion and three times as WWE 's World Heavyweight Champion ) , an accomplishment only previously achieved by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair . He is also a five-time United States Champion , and four-time world tag team champion ( two World Tag Team and two WWE Tag Team ) . Furthermore , he is a Money in the Bank ladder match winner ( 2012 ) , a two-time Royal Rumble winner ( 2008 , 2013 ) , and a three-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner ( 2009 , 2010 , 2012 ) . Cena has the fourth-highest number of combined days as WWE Champion , behind Bruno Sammartino , Bob Backlund , and Hulk Hogan . He has also headlined WWE 's flagship event , WrestleMania , on five different occasions ( WrestleManias 22 , 23 , XXVII , XXVIII , and 29 ) over the course of his career , as well as many others pay-per-view events . As of 2016 , John Cena is WWE 's highest-paid wrestler .   Outside of wrestling , Cena has released the rap album You Ca n't See Me , which debuted at No. 15 on the US Billboard 200 chart , and starred in the feature films The Marine ( 2006 ) , 12 Rounds ( 2009 ) , Legendary ( 2010 ) , The Reunion ( 2011 ) , Trainwreck ( 2015 ) , and Sisters ( 2015 ) . Cena has also made appearances on television shows including Manhunt , Deal or No Deal , MADtv , Saturday Night Live , Punk 'd , Psych , and Parks and Recreation . He was also a contestant on Fast Cars and Superstars : The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race , where he made it to the final round before being eliminated , placing third in the overall competition . Cena is also the host of American Grit on Fox . Cena is involved in numerous philanthropic causes ; most notably with the Make-A-Wish Foundation . He has granted the most wishes in Make-A-Wish history .


The Panic in Needle Park is only a book.

Sherman Square Sherman Square is a diminutive public space bounded by Broadway , Amsterdam Avenue , and West 70th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan , in New York City , just south of Verdi Square . Acquired by the city in 1849 , the small parcel of land was named in 1891 for William Tecumseh Sherman , who had once lived nearby .   In the 1960s and 1970s , Sherman Square and the nearby Verdi Square were known by local drug users and dealers as `` Needle Park '' . This provided the title and general setting for the gritty 1971 film The Panic in Needle Park ( set in Sherman Square , according to its credits ) , directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Al Pacino in his second role .


James Mills (author) James Mills ( born 1932 ) is an American novelist , screenwriter and prize-winning journalist .   Mills wrote two New York Times bestsellers , Report to the Commissioner , a novel , and The Underground Empire , a study of international narcotics trafficking . As a result , he testified before a panel of the House Foreign Affairs Committee as an expert . His books The Panic in Needle Park and Report to the Commissioner were later made into major motion pictures by 20th Century Fox and United Artists respectively .


Kitty Winn Katherine Tupper `` Kitty '' Winn ( born February 21 , 1943 ) is an American theatre and film actress . She is best known for her roles as the heroin addict Helen in the romantic drama The Panic in Needle Park and her recurring role of Sharon Spencer in the horror film franchise The Exorcist .


The Panic in Needle Park The Panic in Needle Park is a 1971 American romantic drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Al Pacino , in his second film appearance . The screenplay was written by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne , adapted from the 1966 novel by James Mills .   The film portrays life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in `` Needle Park '' ( then-nickname of Sherman Square on Manhattan 's Upper West Side near 72nd Street and Broadway ) . The film is a love story between Bobby ( Pacino ) , a young addict and small-time hustler , and Helen ( Kitty Winn ) , a restless woman whom finds Bobby charismatic . She becomes an addict , and life goes downhill for them both as their addictions worsen , eventually leading to a series of betrayals .


Stone Temple Pilots are an Armenian band.

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots ( sometimes abbreviated as STP ) are an American rock band from San Diego , California , that originally consisted of Scott Weiland ( lead vocals ) , brothers Dean ( guitar ) and Robert DeLeo ( bass , backing vocals ) , and Eric Kretz ( drums ) . Since the band 's formation in 1989 , its line-up remained unchanged until the firing of Weiland in 2013 , who was replaced by Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington . In 2015 , Bennington left the band to focus solely on Linkin Park . On December 3 , 2015 , Weiland was found dead on his tour bus prior to a performance with his band The Wildabouts . In 2016 , the band launched an online audition for a new lead vocalist .   After forming in 1989 under the name Mighty Joe Young , the band signed with Atlantic Records and changed its name to Stone Temple Pilots . The band found immediate success in 1993 upon releasing their debut album , Core ( 1992 ) , and went on to become one of the most commercially successful bands of the 1990s . The band released four more studio albums : Purple ( 1994 ) , Tiny Music ... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop ( 1996 ) , No. 4 ( 1999 ) and Shangri-La Dee Da ( 2001 ) , before separating in 2002 , after which the band members partook in various projects ( most notably Velvet Revolver and Army of Anyone ) . The band eventually reconvened in 2008 for a reunion tour , released a new self-titled album in 2010 , and actively toured until Chester Bennington 's departure . The band 's only material with Bennington was the EP High Rise in 2013 .   While initially displaying a sound typically identified as grunge early on in its career , further releases from the band expressed a variety of influences , including psychedelic rock , bossa nova and classic rock . The band 's evolution throughout the 1990s and early 2000s involved several tumultuous periods of commercial highs and lows , brought about in part by Weiland 's well-publicized struggles with drug addiction .


Opera incorporates parts of spoken theatre.

Opera Opera ( -LSB- ˈɔːpera -RSB- ; English plural : operas ; Italian plural : opere -LSB- ˈɔːpere -RSB- ) is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text ( libretto ) and musical score , usually in a theatrical setting . In traditional opera , singers do two types of singing : recitative , a speech-inflected style and arias , a more melodic style , in which notes are sung in a sustained fashion . Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre , such as acting , scenery , and costumes and sometimes includes dance . The performance is typically given in an opera house , accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble , which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor .   Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition . It started in Italy at the end of the 16th century ( with Jacopo Peri 's mostly lost Dafne , produced in Florence in 1598 ) and soon spread through the rest of Europe : Heinrich Schütz in Germany , Jean-Baptiste Lully in France , and Henry Purcell in England all helped to establish their national traditions in the 17th century . In the 18th century , Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe ( except France ) , attracting foreign composers such as George Frideric Handel . Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera , until Christoph Willibald Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his `` reform '' operas in the 1760s . In the 2000s , the most renowned figure of late 18th-century opera is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , who began with opera seria but is most famous for his Italian comic operas , especially The Marriage of Figaro ( Le nozze di Figaro ) , Don Giovanni , and Così fan tutte , as well as The Magic Flute ( Die Zauberflöte ) , a landmark in the German tradition .   The first third of the 19th century saw the high point of the bel canto style , with Gioachino Rossini , Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini all creating works that are still performed . It also saw the advent of Grand Opera typified by the works of Auber and Meyerbeer . The mid-to-late 19th century was a `` golden age '' of opera , led and dominated by Richard Wagner in Germany and Giuseppe Verdi in Italy . The popularity of opera continued through the verismo era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Giacomo Puccini and Richard Strauss in the early 20th century . During the 19th century , parallel operatic traditions emerged in central and eastern Europe , particularly in Russia and Bohemia . The 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles , such as atonality and serialism ( Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg ) , Neoclassicism ( Igor Stravinsky ) , and Minimalism ( Philip Glass and John Adams ) . With the rise of recording technology , singers such as Enrico Caruso and Maria Callas became known to much wider audiences that went beyond the circle of opera fans . Since the invention of radio and television , operas were also performed on ( and written for ) these mediums . Beginning in 2006 , a number of major opera houses began to present live high-definition video transmissions of their performances in cinemas all over the world . In 2009 , an opera company offered an online download of a complete performance .


The Jim Henson Company was the producer of The Muppet Movie.

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company ( also known at various times as Muppets , LLC. , Henson Associates , Ltd. , and Jim Henson Productions , Inc. ) is an American entertainment company , a leading producer of children 's and family entertainment ( despite some of the company 's works containing mature content ) , and best known as the creators of the renowned Muppets characters . Founded in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson and performing partner and wife Jane Henson , the company is independently owned and operated by the children of its founders .   Henson has produced many successful television series , including The Muppet Show ( later owned by Disney ) , Fraggle Rock , Dinosaurs , Bear in the Big Blue House , and Farscape , and creates the Muppet characters for the long-running PBS television series , Sesame Street . The company has also produced many films , including The Muppet Movie , The Dark Crystal , and Labyrinth . Henson also operates Jim Henson 's Creature Shop , a puppet , animatronics , and visual effects workshop , which has created characters and effects for Henson productions , as well as outside producers .   In 1989 , the company entered merger negotiations with The Walt Disney Company , but the deal fell through following Jim Henson 's unexpected death in 1990 . Following Henson 's death and the calling off of the Disney merger , the company was taken over by Henson 's children , Lisa , Cheryl , Brian , John , and Heather , with Brian at the helm . In 2000 Henson was sold to EM.TV & Merchandising AG , a German media company , but by the end of that year , EM.TV 's stock collapsed , and the company was sold back to the Henson family in 2003 . ( EM.TV had in the interim sold the rights to the Sesame Street Muppets to Sesame Workshop in 2001 . )   In 2004 , Henson sold the rights to the Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House to The Walt Disney Company , but retains the rights to the rest of its characters , program library , and assets . , Brian , Lisa , Cheryl , and Heather Henson run the company ( sibling and fellow co-owner John Henson died in February 2014 ) . Brian Henson serves as chairman , while Lisa Henson serves as CEO .   Since 2000 , The Jim Henson Company has been headquartered at the Jim Henson Company Lot , the historic former Charlie Chaplin Studios , in Hollywood , California .


A Thousand Suns was created by Nickelback.

A Thousand Suns A Thousand Suns is the fourth studio album by American rock band Linkin Park . It was released on September 8 , 2010 , by Warner Bros. . Records . The album was written by the band and was produced by Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin , who worked together to produce the band 's previous studio album Minutes to Midnight ( 2007 ) . Recording sessions for A Thousand Suns took place at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood , California from 2008 until early 2010 .   A Thousand Suns is a multi-concept album dealing with human fears such as nuclear warfare . The band has said the album is a drastic departure from their previous work ; they experimented on different and new sounds . Shinoda told MTV the album references numerous social issues and blends human ideas with technology . The title is a reference to Hindu Sanskrit scripture , a line of which was first popularized in 1945 by J. Robert Oppenheimer , who described the atomic bomb as being `` as bright as a thousand suns '' . It also appears in a line from the first single of the album , `` The Catalyst '' .   `` The Catalyst '' was sent to radio and released to digital music retailers on August 2 , 2010 . `` The Catalyst '' peaked at the Billboard Alternative Songs and Rock Songs charts . Three more singles were released to promote the album : `` Waiting for the End '' , `` Burning in the Skies '' and `` Iridescent '' . `` The Catalyst '' and `` Waiting for the End '' were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) . Linkin Park promoted the album through the A Thousand Suns World Tour from October 2010 to September 2011 .   Upon release , the album polarized critics and fans . The band 's fanbase divided over their new sound , splitting them into `` love-it versus hate-it groups '' according to one reviewer . Despite this , the album has been a commercial success , debuting at number one on over ten charts . It was certified gold by the RIAA in February 2011 . By June 2014 , it had sold over 960,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan .


Charles Dance played Alastair Denniston in the 2014 film The Imitation Game.

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance , OBE ( born 10 October 1946 ) is an English actor , screenwriter , and film director .   Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains . Some of his most high-profile roles are Tywin Lannister in HBO 's Game of Thrones , Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown ( 1984 ) , Sardo Numspa in The Golden Child ( 1986 ) , Jonathan Clemens in Alien 3 ( 1992 ) , Benedict in Last Action Hero ( 1993 ) , the Master Vampire in Dracula Untold ( 2014 ) , Lord Havelock Vetinari in Terry Pratchett 's Going Postal ( 2010 ) and Alastair Denniston in The Imitation Game ( 2014 ) .


Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is a film in the historical fiction genre.

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion Baahubali 2 : The Conclusion , also known by the initialism BB2 , is a 2017 Indian historical fiction film co-written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli . The film was produced by Tollywood studio Arka Media Works . It is the continuation of Baahubali : The Beginning , taking place before and after the events of that film . It was originally made in both Telugu and Tamil and dubbed into Hindi , Malayalam , German , French , Japanese and English . The film stars major actors from Tollywood industry with Prabhas , Anushka Shetty , Rana Daggubati and Sathyaraj in lead roles . Initially , both parts were jointly produced on a budget of 250 crore ( 2.5 billion ) , however , the budget of the second part was increased later . Baahubali 2 : The Conclusion has made a record of highest pre-release business with 500 crore ( 5 billion ) .   Baahubali 2 : The Conclusion was premiered at the British Film Institute , and was theatrically released over 9000 screens worldwide on 28 April 2017 . Baahubali 2 was the first Telugu film to be released in 4K High Definition format . It is estimated that close to 200 screens are being upgraded to 4K projectors before the release date of the movie .   Baahubali 2 released to positive reviews from critics and surpassed the 2014 Hindi film PK , to briefly become the highest grossing Indian film of all time , collecting approximately worldwide within just six days of its release . It became the first ever Indian film to gross over in all languages , doing so in just ten days . It currently stands as the second highest grossing Indian film worldwide .


Wonder Woman has appeared in the Justice Society comics.

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 Illusionist (2006 film) is a film written and directed by Neil Burger.

The Illusionist (2006 film) The Illusionist is a 2006 American romantic mystery film written and directed by Neil Burger and starring Edward Norton , Paul Giamatti , and Jessica Biel . It is based loosely on Steven Millhauser 's short story , `` Eisenheim the Illusionist '' . The film tells the story of Eisenheim , a magician in turn-of-the-century Vienna , who reunites with his childhood love , a woman far above his social standing . The film also depicts a fictionalized version of the Mayerling Incident .   The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opened the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival ; it was distributed in limited release to theaters on August 18 , 2006 , and expanded nationwide on September 1 . The film was a commercial and critical success .


25 top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 were the work of Don Henley.

Don Henley Donald Hugh `` Don '' Henley ( born July 22 , 1947 ) is an American singer-songwriter , producer , and drummer , best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career . Henley was the drummer and co-lead singer for the Eagles from 1971 to 1980 , when the band broke up , and from 1994 to 2016 , when they reunited . Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as `` Witchy Woman '' , `` Desperado '' , `` Best of My Love '' , `` One of These Nights '' , `` Hotel California '' , `` Life in the Fast Lane '' , `` The Long Run '' and `` Get Over It '' .   After the Eagles broke up in 1980 , Henley pursued a solo career and released his debut album I Ca n't Stand Still , in 1982 . He has released five studio albums , two compilation albums , and one live DVD . His solo hits include `` Dirty Laundry '' , `` The Boys of Summer '' , `` All She Wants to Do Is Dance '' , `` The Heart of the Matter '' , `` The Last Worthless Evening '' , `` Sunset Grill '' , `` Not Enough Love in the World '' , and `` The End of the Innocence '' .   The Eagles have sold over 150 million albums worldwide , won six Grammy Awards , had five No. 1 singles , 17 Top 40 singles , and six No. 1 albums . They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and are the biggest selling American band in history . As a solo artist , Henley has sold over 10 million albums worldwide , had eight Top 40 singles , won two Grammy Awards and five MTV Video Music Awards . Combined with the Eagles and as a solo artist , Henley has released 25 Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 . He has also released seven studio albums with the Eagles and four as a solo artist . In 2008 , he was ranked as the 87th greatest singer of all time by the Rolling Stone magazine .   Henley has also played a founding role in several environmental and political causes , most notably the Walden Woods Project . From 1994 to 2016 , he divided his musical activities between the Eagles and his solo career .


Andrew Garfield Andrew Russell Garfield ( born 20 August 1983 ) is a British-American actor . Born in Los Angeles and raised in Epsom , Surrey , Garfield began his career on the UK stage and in television productions . He made his feature-film debut in the 2007 ensemble drama Lions for Lambs . Garfield first came to international attention in 2010 with supporting roles in the drama films The Social Network , for which he received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for his portrayal of Eduardo Saverin , and Never Let Me Go , for which he received a Saturn Award and another BAFTA nomination .   Garfield subsequently received praise for his performance as the title character in the 2012 superhero film The Amazing Spider-Man . He has also performed on stage , playing Biff in the 2012 Mike Nichols directed Broadway revival of Arthur Miller 's Death of a Salesman , which earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play .  In 2015 , he co-produced and starred in the thriller-drama 99 Homes .   In 2016 , Garfield starred in two critically acclaimed historical dramas , Mel Gibson 's Hacksaw Ridge and Martin Scorsese 's Silence . His portrayal of Desmond T. Doss in the former earned him nominations for the Academy Award , Golden Globe Award , BAFTA and SAG Award for Best Actor .


Bradley Cooper portrayed a struggling writer in the thriller The Matrix.

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper ( born January 5 , 1975 ) is an American actor and producer . He was one of the world 's highest-paid actors for three years , and has been nominated for various accolades , including four Academy Awards , two BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards . Cooper appeared in Forbes Celebrity 100 on two occasions and Time list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2015 .   Cooper enrolled in the MFA program at the Actors Studio , New York City in 2000 . His career began with a guest role in the television series Sex and the City in 1999 and his film debut came two years later in Wet Hot American Summer . He first gained recognition as Will Tippin in the spy-action television show Alias ( 2001 -- 2006 ) , and achieved minor success with a supporting part in the comedy film Wedding Crashers ( 2005 ) . His breakthrough role came in 2009 with  The Hangover , a commercially successful comedy which spawned two sequels in 2011 and 2013 .   Cooper 's portrayal of a struggling writer in the thriller Limitless ( 2011 ) and a rookie police officer in the crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines ( 2012 ) drew praise from critics . He found greater success with the romantic comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook ( 2012 ) , the black comedy crime film American Hustle ( 2013 ) , and the biopic American Sniper ( 2014 ) . For his work in these films , Cooper was nominated for Academy Awards -- two Best Actor , one Best Supporting Actor , and one Best Picture . Cooper became the tenth actor to receive an Academy Award nomination in three consecutive years . In 2014 , he portrayed Joseph Merrick in a Broadway revival of The Elephant Man , garnering a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play .


The United States Army is one of the ground-based defensive forces of the United States.

United States Army The United States Army ( USA ) is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations . It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution , Article 2 , Section 2 , Clause 1 and United States Code , Title 10 , Subtitle B , Chapter 301 , Section 3001 . As the largest and senior branch of the U.S. military , the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army , which was formed ( 14 June 1775 ) to fight the American Revolutionary War ( 1775 -- 1783 ) -- before the U.S. was established as a country . After the Revolutionary War , the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 , to replace the disbanded Continental Army . The United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army , and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775 .   As a uniformed military service , the Army is part of the Department of the Army , which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense . The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant , the Secretary of the Army ( SECARMY ) , and by a chief military officer , the Chief of Staff of the Army ( CSA ) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . In the fiscal year 2017 , the projected end strength for the Regular Army ( USA ) was 460,000 soldiers ; the Army National Guard ( ARNG ) had 335,000 soldiers , and the United States Army Reserve ( USAR ) had 195,000 soldiers ; the combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 990,000 soldiers . As a branch of the armed forces , the mission of the U.S. Army is `` to fight and win our Nation 's wars , by providing prompt , sustained , land dominance , across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict , in support of combatant commanders . '' The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States .


Judy Garland Judy Garland ( born Frances Ethel Gumm ; June 10 , 1922 -- June 22 , 1969 ) was an American singer , actress , and vaudevillian . She was renowned for her contralto vocals and attained international stardom that continued throughout a career spanning more than 40 years as an actress in musical and dramatic roles , as a recording artist , and on concert stages .   Garland began performing in vaudeville with her two older sisters and was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager . She made more than two dozen films with MGM , including nine with Mickey Rooney . Garland 's most famous role was as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz ( 1939 ) . Her other roles at MGM included Meet Me in St. Louis ( 1944 ) , The Harvey Girls ( 1946 ) and Easter Parade ( 1948 ) . After 15 years , she was released from the studio and made record-breaking concert appearances , a successful recording career , and her own Emmy-nominated television series . Film appearances became fewer in her later years , but included two Academy Award nominated performances in A Star Is Born ( 1954 ) and Judgment at Nuremberg ( 1961 ) .   Garland received a Golden Globe Award , a Juvenile Academy Award , and a Special Tony Award , and at 39 , became the youngest and first female recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in the film industry . She was the first woman to win a Grammy for Album of the Year for her live recording of Judy at Carnegie Hall . In 1997 , Garland was posthumously awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . Several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame . In 1999 , the American Film Institute placed her among the 10 greatest female stars of classic American cinema .   From an early age , Garland struggled in her personal life . The pressures of adolescent stardom sent her to a psychiatrist at age 18 . Her self-image was influenced by film executives who said she was unattractive and manipulated her on-screen physical appearance . She was plagued by financial instability , often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes . She married five times , with her first four marriages ending in divorce . She also had a long addiction with drugs and alcohol , which ultimately led to her death from a barbiturate overdose at the age of 47 .


The World According to Paris was filmed from November 2010 to February 2011.

The World According to Paris The World According to Paris is an American reality television series on Oxygen that premiered on June 1 , 2011 . It was announced on August 13 , 2011 , that Oxygen did not renew the series for a second season . The series ' eight-week run averaged only 293,000 viewers and a 0.2 rating among adults 18-49 , making it Oxygen 's least-watched series of 2011 . The World According to Paris follows the daily life of Paris Hilton . It was filmed from November 2010 , with Hilton 's court-ordered community service stemming from her arrest in Las Vegas , Nevada for cocaine possession , to February 2011 , with her birthday party , the series co-starred Brooke Mueller , Lexi Dreyfus , Jennifer Rovero , Allison Melnick , Brooke Brinson ( daughter of Kim Richards ) , Hilton 's then-boyfriend Cy Waits , and Kathy Hilton .


Joan Cusack Joan Cusack ( -LSB- ˈkjuːsæk -RSB- , born October 11 , 1962 ) is an American actress . She received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the romantic comedy-drama Working Girl ( 1988 ) and the romantic comedy In & Out ( 1997 ) , as well as one Golden Globe nomination for her performance in the latter . She is also known as the voice of Jessie in the Toy Story franchise .   Cusack was a cast member on the comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1986 . She starred on the Showtime hit drama/comedy Shameless as Sheila Gallagher ( née Jackson ) , a role for which she has received five consecutive Emmy Award nominations , winning for the first time in 2015 . She is the sister of actress Ann and actor John Cusack .


Arrow (TV series) Arrow is an American action crime television series developed by writer/producers Greg Berlanti , Marc Guggenheim , and Andrew Kreisberg . It is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow , a costumed crime-fighter created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp . It premiered in North America on The CW on October 10 , 2012 , with international broadcasting taking place in late 2012 . Primarily filmed in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada , the series follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen ( Stephen Amell ) , who , five years after being stranded on a hostile island , returns home to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow .   The series takes a new look at the Green Arrow character , as well as other characters from the DC Comics universe . Although Oliver Queen/Green Arrow had been featured in the television series Smallville from 2006 to 2011 , on the CW , the producers decided to start clean and find a new actor to portray the character . Arrow focuses on the humanity of Oliver Queen , and how he was changed by time spent shipwrecked on an island . Most episodes in the first five seasons have flashback scenes to the five years in which Oliver was missing .   Arrow has received generally positive reviews from critics . The series averaged about 3.68 million viewers over the course of the first season and received several awards and multiple nominations . To promote it , a preview comic book was released before the television series began , while webisodes featuring a product tie-in with Bose were developed for the second season . The first four seasons are available on DVD and Blu-ray in regions 1 , 2 and 4 ; a soundtrack was also released for the first two seasons . In October 2014 , a spin-off series set in the same universe , titled The Flash , premiered . In August 2015 , an animated spin-off , Vixen , was released , while a second live-action spin-off , Legends of Tomorrow , premiered in January 2016 , featuring a number of characters from Arrow and The Flash . On March 11 , 2016 , the series was renewed for a fifth season , which premiered on October 5 , 2016 . On January 8 , 2017 , The CW renewed the show for a sixth season .


Rafael Nadal is a male who plays tennis.

Rafael Nadal Rafael `` Rafa '' Nadal Parera ( -LSB- rəfəˈɛɫ nəˈðaɫ pəˈɾeɾə -RSB- , -LSB- rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa -RSB- ; born 3 June 1986 ) is a Spanish professional tennis player . He is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player in history , and owing to his dominance and success on the surface , he has been called `` The King of Clay '' . His evolution into an all-court threat has established him as one of the greatest players in tennis history , with some considering Nadal to be the greatest male player of all time .   Nadal has won 14 Grand Slam singles titles , the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles , an all-time record of 30 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles , tied with Novak Djokovic , and a record 18 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments . He was also a member of the winning Spain Davis Cup team in 2004 , 2008 , 2009 , and 2011 . In 2010 , he became the seventh male player in history and youngest of four in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam at age 24 . He is the second male player , after Andre Agassi , to complete the singles Career Golden Slam . In 2011 , Nadal was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year . The left-hander is the sixth player in the Open Era to reach more than 100 finals on the ATP World Tour .   Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only two male players who have won at least two Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces -- hard court , grass , and clay . By winning the 2014 French Open , Nadal became the third player to win a single Grand Slam tournament nine times ( Martina Navratilova 9 , Margaret Court 11 ) and the first male to win at least one Grand Slam tournament for ten consecutive years , breaking the record of eight consecutive years previously shared by Björn Borg , Pete Sampras , and Roger Federer . By winning the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2012 , Nadal became the only male player in the open era to win a tournament eight consecutive times . Nadal is the only male player in tennis history to win one Grand Slam and at least one Masters 1000 title for ten consecutive years from 2005 -- 2014 . He beat Guillermo Vilas 's Open Era record of 49 clay-court titles by winning the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2017 . Nadal became the first man to win the same tournament 10 times by wining the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2017 . He repeated this historic achievement by winning the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell for a 10th time just a few weeks later .


Mike Love Michael Edward `` Mike '' Love ( born March 15 , 1941 ) is an American singer , songwriter , musician , and activist who co-founded the Beach Boys . Characterized by his nasal , sometimes baritone singing , Love has been one of the band 's vocalists and lyricists for most of their career , contributing to each of their studio albums . He is often regarded as a malign figure in the band 's history , a reputation he acknowledges : `` For those who believe that Brian -LSB- Wilson -RSB- walks on water , I will always be the Antichrist . ''   In the 1960s , Love collaborated with Wilson and was a lyricist on singles including `` Fun , Fun , Fun '' ( 1964 ) and `` California Girls '' ( 1965 ) . During this period , his lyrics primarily reflected the youth culture of surfing , cars , and romance , which helped fashion pop culture 's perception of the `` California Dream '' . Starting in 1968 , Love became a teacher of Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi . The experience influenced his lyrics to take on themes of astrology , meditation , politics and ecology . Following this , Love 's lyrical direction shifted to attempt to recapture the band 's earlier , lighthearted sound . In the late 1970s , Love began working on solo albums , releasing his first and only in 1981 : Looking Back with Love . In 1988 , he , along with the other founding members of the Beach Boys , was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . The same year , the song , `` Kokomo '' , co-written by Love , reached number one in the United States and was nominated for a Grammy .   In 1998 , following the death of cousin Carl Wilson , Love and longtime Beach Boy Bruce Johnston were given an exclusive license to tour under the name the Beach Boys . The other surviving Beach Boys , Brian Wilson and Al Jardine , embarked on solo endeavors . In 2011 , the group reunited to produce a new album and embark on a tour for their 50th anniversary . Following the 50th anniversary reunion shows , Love resumed touring only with Johnston .


Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama . The series began in Kodansha 's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine on September 9 , 2009 , and has been collected into 22 tankōbon volumes as of April 2017 . It is set in a world where humanity lives in cities surrounded by enormous walls ; a defense against the Titans , gigantic humanoids that eat humans seemingly without reason . The story initially centers on Eren Yeager , his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and childhood friend Armin Arlert , who join the military to fight the Titans after their home town is invaded and Eren 's mother is eaten . However , as the story progresses and the truths about the Titans are slowly revealed to the reader , the narrative shifts to encompass Historia Reiss , squad leader Levi , Eren 's father Grisha , and other supporting characters .   The spin-off light novel series Before the Fall began in December 2011 and has received a manga adaptation . Two additional light novel series and four additional spin-off manga series have also been created . An anime television adaptation produced by Wit Studio and Production I.G aired in Japan on MBS between April and September 2013 and a second season of the series premiered in April 2017 . Four video game adaptations developed by Nitroplus staffers in collaboration with Production I.G were announced to be released as bonus content for the third and sixth volumes of the Blu-ray Disc release of the anime , with another game developed by Spike Chunsoft for the Nintendo 3DS . A two-part live-action film adaptation , Attack on Titan and Attack on Titan : End of the World , and a live-action web-series were released in 2015 . An anime adaptation of the Junior High spin-off manga , produced by Production I.G , began airing in October 2015 . Attack on Titan and all five spin-off manga are published in North America by Kodansha Comics USA , while the three novel series are published by Vertical . The anime has been licensed by Funimation for North America , by Manga Entertainment for the UK , and by Madman Entertainment for Australasia .   Attack on Titan has become a commercial success . As of April 2017 , the manga has 66 million copies in print . The release of the anime also saw a boost in the series ' popularity , with it having received widespread critical acclaim for its atmosphere and story . Although it also gained fame in neighboring Asian countries , the series ' themes have been a subject of controversy .


Levi Miller was the lead in the 2015 film Pan.

Levi Miller Levi Zane Miller ( born 30 September 2002 ) is an Australian actor and model . Levi was the leading actor in his major film debut the 2015 film Pan , starring as the well known Peter Pan . Previously , he appeared in the film A Heartbeat Away ( 2012 ) and in short films such as Akiva ( 2010 ) and Great Adventures ( 2012 ) . One of Levi 's more recent roles was in the movie Red Dog : True Blue where he played Mick . In 2015 , he was named ambassador for Polo , the Ralph Lauren kids ' fall campaign . Levi plays Charlie Bucktin in the film adaptation of Australian novel Jasper Jones ( 2017 ) . Levi is confirmed to be playing Calvin O'Keefe in the American fantasy adventure A Wrinkle in Time ( 2018 ) , which is scheduled to premiere on April 6 , 2018 .


Taylor Sheridan was in a television series.

Taylor Sheridan Taylor Sheridan is an American actor , screenwriter , and director . He is most known for his role as David Hale on the FX television series Sons of Anarchy , and writing the screenplay for the Denis Villeneuve-directed Sicario ( 2015 ) , for which he received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay . He also wrote the screenplay for Hell or High Water ( 2016 ) , starring Jeff Bridges , Chris Pine , and Ben Foster , which was released in August 2016 and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay .   He made his directorial debut with Wind River , starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen , the script for which he also penned , set for release in 2017 .


James Bryant Conant had criticisms of the education system in the United States.

James Bryant Conant James Bryant Conant ( March 26 , 1893 -- February 11 , 1978 ) was an American chemist , a transformative President of Harvard University , and the first U.S. Ambassador to West Germany . Conant obtained a PhD in Chemistry from Harvard in 1916 . During World War I he served in the U.S. Army , working on the development of poison gases . He became an assistant professor of chemistry at Harvard in 1919 , and the Sheldon Emery Professor of Organic Chemistry in 1929 . He researched the physical structures of natural products , particularly chlorophyll , and he was one of the first to explore the sometimes complex relationship between chemical equilibrium and the reaction rate of chemical processes . He studied the biochemistry of oxyhemoglobin providing insight into the disease methemoglobinemia , helped to explain the structure of chlorophyll , and contributed important insights that underlie modern theories of acid-base chemistry .   In 1933 , Conant became the President of Harvard University with a reformist agenda that involved dispensing with a number of customs , including class rankings and the requirement for Latin classes . He abolished athletic scholarships , and instituted an `` up or out '' policy , under which scholars who were not promoted were terminated . His egalitarian vision of education required a diversified student body , and he promoted the adoption of the Scholastic Aptitude Test ( SAT ) and co-educational classes . During his presidency , women were admitted to Harvard Medical School and Harvard Law School for the first time .   Conant was appointed to the National Defense Research Committee ( NDRC ) in 1940 , becoming its chairman in 1941 . In this capacity , he oversaw vital wartime research projects , including the development of synthetic rubber , and the Manhattan Project , which developed the first atomic bombs . On July 16 , 1945 , he was among the dignitaries present at the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range for the Trinity nuclear test , the first detonation of an atomic bomb , and was part of the Interim Committee that advised President Harry S. Truman to use atomic bombs on Japan . After the war , he served on the Joint Research and Development Board ( JRDC ) that was established to coordinate burgeoning defense research , and on the influential General Advisory Committee ( GAC ) of the Atomic Energy Commission ( AEC ) . While in this position , he would advise the president against starting a development program for the `` hydrogen bomb '' .   In his later years at Harvard , Conant taught undergraduate courses on the history and philosophy of science , and wrote books explaining the scientific method to laymen . In 1953 he retired as President of Harvard and became the United States High Commissioner for Germany , overseeing the restoration of German sovereignty after World War II , and then was Ambassador to West Germany until 1957 . On returning to the United States , he criticized the education system in works such as The American High School Today ( 1959 ) , Slums and Suburbs ( 1961 ) and The Education of American Teachers ( 1963 ) . Between 1965 and 1969 , Conant , suffering from a heart condition , worked on his autobiography , My Several Lives ( 1970 ) . He became increasingly infirm , suffered a series of strokes in 1977 , and died in a nursing home the following year .


Russia has the smallest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.

Russia Russia ( -LSB- ˈrʌʃə -RSB- -LSB- Россия , Rossiya , rɐˈsʲijə -RSB- ) , also officially the Russian Federation ( -LSB- Российская Федерация , r = Rossiyskaya Federatsiya , p = rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə -RSB- ) , is a country in Eurasia . At 17075200 km2 , Russia is the largest country in the world by surface area , covering more than one-eighth of the Earth 's inhabited land area , and the ninth most populous , with over 144 million people at the end of March 2016 . The European western part of the country is much more populated and urbanised than the eastern ; about 77 % of the population live in European Russia . Russia 's capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world ; other major urban centers include Saint Petersburg , Novosibirsk , Yekaterinburg , Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan .   Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe , Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms . From northwest to southeast , Russia shares land borders with Norway , Finland , Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania and Poland ( both with Kaliningrad Oblast ) , Belarus , Ukraine , Georgia , Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , China , Mongolia , and North Korea . It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait .   The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD . Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants , the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century . In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire , beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium . Rus ' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states ; most of the Rus ' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde in the 13th century . The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities , achieved independence from the Golden Horde , and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus ' . By the 18th century , the nation had greatly expanded through conquest , annexation , and exploration to become the Russian Empire , which was the third largest empire in history , stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east .   Following the Russian Revolution , the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , the world 's first constitutionally socialist state . The Soviet Union played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II , and emerged as a recognized superpower and rival to the United States during the Cold War . The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century , including the world 's first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space . By the end of 1990 , the Soviet Union had the world 's second largest economy , largest standing military in the world and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction . Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 , fifteen independent republics emerged from the USSR : Russia , Ukraine , Belarus , Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Armenia , Azerbaijan , Estonia , Georgia , Kyrgyzstan , Latvia , Lithuania , Moldova , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan ; the Russian SFSR reconstituted itself as the Russian Federation and is recognized as the continuing legal personality and sole successor state of the Soviet Union . It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic .   The Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015 . Russia 's extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world , making it one of the leading producers of oil and natural gas globally . The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction . Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower . It is permanent member of the United Nations Security Council , as well as a member of the G20 , the Council of Europe , the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) , the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ( SCO ) , the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe ( OSCE ) , and the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) , as well as being the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS ) , the Collective Security Treaty Organization ( CSTO ) and one of the five members of the Eurasian Economic Union ( EEU ) , along with Armenia , Belarus , Kazakhstan , and Kyrgyzstan .


Memento depicts the tale of a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia.

Memento (film) Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed and written by Christopher Nolan , and produced by Suzanne and Jennifer Todd . The film 's script was based on a pitch by Jonathan Nolan , who later wrote the story `` Memento Mori '' from the concept . It stars Guy Pearce , Carrie-Anne Moss , and Joe Pantoliano .   Pearce stars as a man who , as a result of a past trauma , suffers from anterograde amnesia , the inability to form new memories and suffers short-term memory loss approximately every five minutes . He is searching for the persons who attacked him and killed his wife , using an intricate system of Polaroid photographs and tattoos to track information he can not remember . Memento is presented as two different sequences of scenes interspersed during the film : a series in black-and-white that is shown chronologically , and a series of color sequences shown in reverse order ( simulating for the audience the mental state of the protagonist ) . The two sequences `` meet '' at the end of the film , producing one complete and cohesive narrative .   Memento premiered on September 5 , 2000 , at the Venice International Film Festival and was released in European theaters starting in October . It became a blockbuster success , being acclaimed by critics who praised its nonlinear narrative structure and motifs of memory , perception , grief , and self-deception , and earning $ 39.7 million over a $ 9 million budget . It received numerous accolades , including Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing . The film was subsequently ranked one of the best films of the 2000s by several critics and media outlets .


Alec Baldwin made one brief and uncredited cameo appearance on 30 Rock.

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae `` Alec '' Baldwin III ( born April 3 , 1958 ) is an American actor , writer , producer , and comedian . A member of the Baldwin family , he is the oldest of the four Baldwin brothers , all actors . Baldwin first gained recognition appearing on seasons 6 and 7 of the CBS television drama Knots Landing , in the role of Joshua Rush . He has since played both leading and supporting roles in films such as the horror comedy fantasy film Beetlejuice ( 1988 ) , as Jack Ryan in the action thriller The Hunt for Red October ( 1990 ) , the romantic comedy The Marrying Man ( 1991 ) , the superhero film The Shadow ( 1994 ) , and two films directed by Martin Scorsese : the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator ( 2004 ) and the neo-noir crime drama The Departed ( 2006 ) . His performance in the 2003 romantic drama The Cooler garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor .   From 2006 to 2013 , Baldwin starred as Jack Donaghy on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock , winning two Emmy Awards , three Golden Globe Awards , and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work on the show , making him the male performer with the most SAG Awards . Baldwin co-starred in Mission : Impossible -- Rogue Nation , the fifth installment of the Mission : Impossible series , released on July 31 , 2015 . He is also a columnist for The Huffington Post . Since 2016 , he has been the host of Match Game . He has received worldwide attention and acclaim for his portrayal of President Donald Trump on the long-running sketch series Saturday Night Live , both during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and following the inauguration .


30 Rock 30 Rock is an American satirical television sitcom created by Tina Fey that ran on NBC from October 11 , 2006 , to January 31 , 2013 . The series , loosely based on Fey 's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live , takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy show depicted as airing on NBC . The series ' name refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City , the address of the Comcast Building , where the NBC Studios are located and where Saturday Night Live is written , produced , and performed . This series is produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger , Inc. , in association with NBCUniversal .   30 Rock episodes were produced in a single-camera setup ( with the exception of the two live episodes that were taped in the multiple-camera setup ) , and were filmed in New York . The pilot episode premiered on October 11 , 2006 , and seven seasons followed . The series stars Fey with a supporting cast that includes Alec Baldwin , Tracy Morgan , Jane Krakowski , Jack McBrayer , Scott Adsit , Judah Friedlander , Katrina Bowden , Keith Powell , Lonny Ross , John Lutz , Sue Galloway , Kevin Brown , Grizz Chapman , Maulik Pancholy , and Rachel Dratch .   Tonally , 30 Rock uses surreal humor to parody the complex corporate structure of NBC and its then parent company General Electric . Television critic Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club once remarked that it `` usually adopts the manic pacing of a live-action cartoon . '' The show was influential in its extensive use of smash cuts : sudden , short cuts to unrelated scenes showing something the characters are briefly discussing . 30 Rock also became known for its dedication to making these extremely elaborate , once showing a set that took three days to build for only six seconds of video .   30 Rock received critical acclaim throughout its run , winning several major awards ( including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2007 , 2008 , and 2009 and nominations for every other year it ran ) , and appearing on many critics ' year-end `` best of '' 2006-2013 lists . On July 14 , 2009 , the series was nominated for 22 Primetime Emmy Awards , the most in a single year for a comedy series . Over the course of the series , it was nominated for 103 Primetime Emmy Awards and won 16 , in addition to numerous other nominations and wins from other awards shows . Despite the high praise , the series struggled in the ratings throughout its run , something of which Fey herself has made light .   In 2009 , Comedy Central and WGN America bought the syndication rights to the show , which began airing on both networks on September 19 , 2011 ; the series also entered into local broadcast syndication on the same day . Today , 30 Rock is regarded as a landmark series . Its series finale in particular has been named as one of the greatest in television history by several publications . In 2013 , the Writers Guild of America named 30 Rock the 21st best-written television series of all time .


Edward Norton worked on The Incredible Hulk.

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton ( born August 18 , 1969 ) is an American actor , filmmaker and activist . He has been nominated for three Academy Awards for his work in the films Primal Fear ( 1996 ) , American History X ( 1998 ) and Birdman ( 2014 ) . He also starred in other roles , such as Everyone Says I Love You ( 1996 ) , The People vs. Larry Flynt ( 1996 ) , Fight Club ( 1999 ) , Red Dragon ( 2002 ) , 25th Hour ( 2002 ) , Kingdom of Heaven ( 2005 ) , The Illusionist ( 2006 ) , Moonrise Kingdom ( 2012 ) , The Grand Budapest Hotel ( 2014 ) and Sausage Party ( 2016 ) . He has also directed and co-written films , including his directorial debut , Keeping the Faith ( 2000 ) . He has done uncredited work on the scripts for The Score ( 2001 ) , Frida ( 2002 ) , and The Incredible Hulk ( 2008 ) .   Alongside his work in cinema , Norton is an environmental and social activist , and is a member of the board of trustees of Enterprise Community Partners , a non-profit organization for developing affordable housing founded by his grandfather James Rouse . Norton is president of the American branch of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust . He ran in the 2009 New York City Marathon to raise money for the Trust . He also raises money for charity through Crowdrise , a social networking community for volunteers and a micro-donations fundraising platform . In July 2010 , Norton was designated as the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon . On July 2 , 2014 , Norton was elected chairman of the board of trustees to Signature Theatre , a not-for-profit theater company in New York . Norton has been on Signature 's board since 1996 and served as the co-chair of the Capital Campaign during the building of the Pershing Square Signature Center .


An Inconvenient Truth An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore 's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that , by his own estimate made in the film , he has given more than a thousand times . The idea to document his efforts came from producer Laurie David , who saw his presentation at a town-hall meeting on global warming , which coincided with the opening of The Day After Tomorrow . Laurie David was so inspired by Gore 's slide show that she , with producer Lawrence Bender , met with Guggenheim to adapt the presentation into a film .   Premiering at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opening in New York City and Los Angeles on May 24 , 2006 , the documentary was a critical and box office success , winning two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song . The film grossed $ 24 million in the U.S. and $ 26 million at the international box office , becoming the tenth highest grossing documentary film to date in the United States . Since the film 's release , An Inconvenient Truth has been credited for raising international public awareness of global warming and reenergizing the environmental movement . The documentary has also been included in science curricula in schools around the world , which has spurred some controversy . A sequel to the film , titled An Inconvenient Sequel : Truth to Power , will be released on July 28 , 2017 .


Davis Guggenheim Philip Davis Guggenheim ( born November 3 , 1963 ) is an American film and television director and producer . His credits include NYPD Blue , ER , 24 , Alias , The Shield , Deadwood , and the documentaries An Inconvenient Truth , The Road We 've Traveled , Waiting for ` Superman ' and He Named Me Malala . Since 2006 , Guggenheim is the only filmmaker to release three different documentaries that were ranked within the top 100 highest-grossing documentaries of all time ( An Inconvenient Truth , It Might Get Loud , and Waiting for ′ Superman ′ ) .


A mature image was cultivated by Miley Cyrus.

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( born Destiny Hope Cyrus ; November 23 , 1992 ) is an American singer , songwriter , and actress . After playing minor roles in the television series Doc and the film Big Fish in her childhood , she became a teen idol starring as the character Miley Stewart in the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana in 2006 . Her father Billy Ray Cyrus also starred in the show . She subsequently signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records , and her debut studio album Meet Miley Cyrus ( 2007 ) was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) having shipped over three million units . She released her second album Breakout and launched her film career as a voice actress in the animated film Bolt in 2008 .   Cyrus starred in the feature film Hannah Montana : The Movie , and began cultivating a more mature image with her EP The Time of Our Lives in 2009 . In 2010 , she released her third album Ca n't Be Tamed , which stands as the lowest-selling record of her career , and starred in the coming-of-age film The Last Song . Cyrus focused on her acting career with several television and film appearances in 2011 and 2012 . Her sexually explicit behavior generated widespread controversy while promoting her fourth album Bangerz ( 2013 ) , her first under her recording contract with RCA Records . Cyrus ' independently-released fifth studio album Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz ( 2015 ) deviated from her traditional pop style for more psychedelic experimentation . In 2016 , she was a coach for the eleventh season of the singing competition series The Voice .   With Bangerz , Cyrus achieved her third number-one album on the U.S. Billboard 200 , and fifth overall including Hannah Montana soundtrack albums . She has logged eight top 10 entries on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with : `` See You Again '' , `` 7 Things '' , `` The Climb '' , `` Party in the U.S.A. '' , `` Ca n't Be Tamed '' , `` We Ca n't Stop '' , `` Malibu '' and the chart-topping `` Wrecking Ball '' . Cyrus has earned numerous awards and nominations , as Billboard ranked her as the fourth best-selling female artist of 2009 . She was ranked number thirteen on Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2010 , and in 2013 was declared `` Artist of the Year '' by MTV . She has been included on the Time 100 list of most influential people in 2008 and 2014 .


Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke ( born November 6 , 1970 ) is an American actor , writer , and director . He has been nominated for four Academy Awards and a Tony Award . Hawke has directed two feature films , three Off-Broadway plays , and a documentary , and written the novels The Hottest State ( 1996 ) , Ash Wednesday ( 2002 ) , and Rules for a Knight ( 2015 ) .   He made his film debut in 1985 with the science fiction feature Explorers , before making a breakthrough appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society . He then appeared in numerous films before taking a role in the 1994 Generation X drama Reality Bites , for which he received critical praise . In 1995 , Hawke first appeared in Richard Linklater 's romance trilogy , co-starring opposite Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise , and later in its sequels Before Sunset ( 2004 ) and Before Midnight ( 2013 ) , all of which met with critical acclaim .   Hawke has been twice nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ; his writing contributions to Before Sunset and Before Midnight were recognized , as were his performances in Training Day ( 2001 ) and Boyhood ( 2014 ) . Hawke was further honored with SAG Award nominations for both films , along with BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for the latter .   His other films include the science fiction drama Gattaca ( 1997 ) , the contemporary adaptation of Hamlet ( 2000 ) , the action thriller Assault on Precinct 13 ( 2005 ) , the crime drama Before the Devil Knows You 're Dead ( 2007 ) , and the horror film Sinister ( 2012 ) .


The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 . With members John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr , they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential act of the rock era . Rooted in skiffle , beat and 1950s rock and roll , the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles , ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock , often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways . In 1963 their enormous popularity first emerged as `` Beatlemania '' , and as the group 's music grew in sophistication in subsequent years , led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney , they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the counterculture of the 1960s .   The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960 , with Stuart Sutcliffe initially serving as bass player . The core of Lennon , McCartney and Harrison went through a succession of drummers , including Pete Best , before asking Starr to join them in 1962 . Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act , and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings , greatly expanding their popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit , `` Love Me Do '' , in late 1962 . They acquired the nickname `` the Fab Four '' as Beatlemania grew in Britain the next year , and by early 1964 became international stars , leading the `` British Invasion '' of the United States pop market . From 1965 onwards , the Beatles produced increasingly innovative recordings , including the albums Rubber Soul ( 1965 ) , Revolver ( 1966 ) , Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( 1967 ) , The Beatles ( commonly known as the White Album , 1968 ) and Abbey Road ( 1969 ) . After their break-up in 1970 , they each enjoyed successful musical careers of varying lengths . McCartney and Starr , the surviving members , remain musically active . Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980 , and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001 .   The Beatles are the best-selling band in history , with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide . They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act . According to the RIAA , the Beatles are also the best-selling music artists in the United States , with 178 million certified units . In 2008 , the group topped Billboard magazine 's list of the all-time most successful `` Hot 100 '' artists ; , they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with twenty . They have received ten Grammy Awards , an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards . The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 , and all four were inducted individually from 1994 to 2015 . They were also collectively included in Time magazine 's compilation of the twentieth century 's 100 most influential people .


Django Unchained Django Unchained is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino , starring Jamie Foxx , Christoph Waltz , Leonardo DiCaprio , Kerry Washington , and Samuel L. Jackson , with Walton Goggins , Dennis Christopher , James Remar , Michael Parks , and Don Johnson in supporting roles . Set in the Old West and Antebellum South , it is a highly stylized tribute to Spaghetti Westerns , in particular the 1966 Italian film Django by Sergio Corbucci , whose star Franco Nero has a cameo appearance .   Development of Django Unchained began in 2007 when Tarantino was writing a book on Sergio Corbucci . By April 2011 , Tarantino sent his final draft of the script to The Weinstein Company . Casting began in the summer of 2011 , with Michael K. Williams and Will Smith being considered for the role of the title character before Foxx was cast . Principal photography took place from November 2011 to March 2012 in California , Wyoming and Louisiana .   Django Unchained premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on December 11 , 2012 , and was released on December 25 , 2012 in the United States . The film was nominated for several film industry awards , including five Academy Awards . Waltz won several awards for his performance , among them Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes , BAFTAs , and Academy Awards . Tarantino won an Academy Award , a Golden Globe , and a BAFTA award for writing the film 's original screenplay . The film grossed over $ 425 million worldwide in theaters against its $ 100 million budget , making it Tarantino 's highest-grossing theatrical release .


The Hunger Games is critically acclaimed.

The Hunger Games (film) The Hunger Games is a 2012 American dystopian science fiction adventure film directed by Gary Ross and based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins . It is the first installment in The Hunger Games film series and was produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik , with a screenplay by Ross , Collins , and Billy Ray . The film stars Jennifer Lawrence , Josh Hutcherson , Liam Hemsworth , Woody Harrelson , Elizabeth Banks , Lenny Kravitz , Stanley Tucci , and Donald Sutherland . The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation of Panem , where boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 must take part in the Hunger Games , a televised annual event in which the `` tributes '' are required to fight to the death until there is only one survivor . Katniss Everdeen ( Lawrence ) volunteers to take her younger sister 's place . Joined by her district 's male tribute , Peeta Mellark ( Hutcherson ) , Katniss travels to the Capitol to train for the Hunger Games under the guidance of former victor Haymitch Abernathy ( Harrelson ) .   Development of The Hunger Games began in March 2009 when Lions Gate Entertainment entered into a co-production agreement with Color Force , which had acquired the rights a few weeks earlier . Collins collaborated with Ray and Ross to write the screenplay . The screenplay expanded the character of Seneca Crane to allow several developments to be shown directly to the audience and Ross added several scenes between Crane and Coriolanus Snow . The main characters were cast between March and May 2011 . Principal photography began in May 2011 and ended in September 2011 , with filming taking place in North Carolina . The Hunger Games was shot entirely on film as opposed to digital .   The film was released on March 21 , 2012 , in some European countries and in the US on March 23 , 2012 , in both conventional theaters and digital IMAX theaters . Japan received it last , on September 28 . When the film released , it set records for opening day ( $ 67.3 million ) and opening weekend for a non-sequel . At the time of its release , the film 's opening weekend gross ( $ 152.5 million ) was the third-largest of any movie in North America . It is the first film since Avatar to remain in first place at the North American box office for four consecutive weekends . The film was a massive box-office success by grossing over $ 694 million worldwide against its budget of $ 78 million , making it the third-highest-grossing film in the United States and ninth-highest-grossing worldwide of 2012 . It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on August 18 , 2012 . With 7,434,058 units sold , the DVD was the best-selling DVD of 2012 . A sequel , The Hunger Games : Catching Fire , was released on November 22 , 2013 , in the United States .   The Hunger Games received positive reviews from critics , with praise for its themes and messages , as well as Jennifer Lawrence 's portrayal of Katniss , though there was criticism of the film 's use of shaky cam in the action sequences . Like the novel , the film has been noted for its similarities to other works , such as Robert Sheckley 's short story `` Seventh Victim '' and its Italian film adaptation The 10th Victim , the Japanese novel Battle Royale and its film adaptation , and the Shirley Jackson short story `` The Lottery '' , with some criticizing The Hunger Games for being derivative of such works . Collins stated in an interview that her novel and screenplay drew on sources of inspiration such as the myth of Theseus , Roman gladiatorial games , reality television , and the desensitization of viewers to media coverage of real-life tragedy and war , not to think as just an audience member , `` Because those are real people on the screen , and they 're not going away when the commercials start to roll . '' The song `` Safe & Sound '' won a Grammy Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song . For her performance , Lawrence won the Saturn Award for Best Actress , the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie , the Empire Award for Best Actress and was also nominated for the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress .


Blue Velvet (film) Blue Velvet is a 1986 American neo-noir mystery film , written and directed by David Lynch . Blending psychological horror with film noir , the film stars Kyle MacLachlan , Isabella Rossellini , Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern . The title is taken from Bobby Vinton 's 1963 song of the same name .   The screenplay of Blue Velvet had been passed around multiple times in the late 1970s and early 1980s , with many major studios declining it because of its strong sexual and violent content . After the commercial and critical failure of Lynch 's Dune ( 1984 ) , the director made attempts at developing a more `` personal story '' , somewhat characteristic of the surrealist style displayed in his debut Eraserhead ( 1977 ) . The independent studio De Laurentiis Entertainment Group , owned at the time by Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis , agreed to finance and produce the film .   Blue Velvet initially received a divided critical response , with many stating that its objectionable content served little artistic purpose . It nevertheless earned Lynch his second Academy Award nomination for Best Director and came to achieve cult status . As an example of a director casting against the norm , it was credited for re-launching Hopper 's career and for providing Rossellini with a dramatic outlet beyond her previous work as a fashion model and a cosmetics spokeswoman .   In the years since , the film has generated significant academic attention with regard to its thematic symbolism , and is now widely regarded as one of Lynch 's major works and one of the greatest films of the 1980s . Publications including Sight & Sound , Time , Entertainment Weekly and BBC Magazine have ranked it among the greatest American films of all time . In 2008 , Blue Velvet was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest American mystery films ever made .


Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper ( May 17 , 1936 -- May 29 , 2010 ) was an American actor , filmmaker , photographer and artist . He attended the Actors Studio , made his first television appearance in 1954 , and soon after appeared alongside James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause ( 1955 ) and Giant ( 1956 ) . In the next ten years he made a name in television , and by the end of the 1960s had appeared in several films . Hopper also began a prolific and acclaimed photography career in the 1960s .   Hopper made his directorial film debut with Easy Rider ( 1969 ) , which he and co-star Peter Fonda wrote with Terry Southern . The film earned Hopper a Cannes Film Festival Award for `` Best First Work '' and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay ( shared with Fonda and Southern ) . Journalist Ann Hornaday wrote : `` With its portrait of counterculture heroes raising their middle fingers to the uptight middle-class hypocrisies , Easy Rider became the cinematic symbol of the 1960s , a celluloid anthem to freedom , macho bravado and anti-establishment rebellion '' . Film critic Matthew Hays notes that , `` no other persona better signifies the lost idealism of the 1960s than that of Dennis Hopper '' .   He worked on various small projects until he found new fame for his role as the American photojournalist in Apocalypse Now ( 1979 ) . He went on to helm his third directorial work Out of the Blue ( 1980 ) , for which he was again honored at Cannes , and appeared in Rumble Fish ( 1983 ) and The Osterman Weekend ( 1983 ) . He saw a career resurgence in 1986 when he was widely acclaimed for his performances in Blue Velvet and Hoosiers , the latter of which saw him nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . His fourth directorial outing came about through Colors ( 1988 ) , followed by an Emmy-nominated lead performance in Paris Trout ( 1991 ) . Hopper found even greater fame for portraying the villains of the films Super Mario Bros. ( 1993 ) , Speed ( 1994 ) and Waterworld ( 1995 ) .   Hopper 's later work included a leading role in the short-lived television series Crash ( 2008 -- 2009 ) , inspired by the Academy Award-winning film of the same name . Production on his final film , The Last Film Festival ( 2016 ) , completed just before his death ; originally slated for 2011 distribution , the project was picked up for theatrical release in late 2016 by Monterey Home Video . Hopper has an additional posthumous credit in the completed , but unreleased Orson Welles drama The Other Side of the Wind , acquired for distribution by Netflix .


Troy Baker has dubbed as Vincent Brooks in Catherine.

Troy Baker Troy Edward Baker ( born April 1 , 1976 ) is an American voice actor and musician known for portraying lead characters in several video games . He has voiced Joel in The Last of Us , Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite , Rhys in Tales from the Borderlands , Delsin Rowe in Infamous Second Son , The Joker in Batman : Arkham Origins and Batman : Assault on Arkham , Talion in Middle-earth : Shadow of Mordor , Kai Leng in Mass Effect 3 , Jack Mitchell in Call of Duty : Advanced Warfare , Vincent Brooks in Catherine , Yuri Lowell in Tales of Vesperia , Kanji Tatsumi in Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 4 , Snow in the Final Fantasy XIII series , Pagan Min in Far Cry 4 , Gul ` dan in World of Warcraft : Warlords of Draenor , Sam Drake in Uncharted 4 : A Thief 's End and Bruce Wayne in Batman : The Telltale Series . He also voiced in a number of English adaptations of Japanese anime shows , including Basilisk , Trinity Blood , Fullmetal Alchemist , and Naruto : Shippuden .   Before pursuing acting , Baker was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the indie-rock band Tripp Fontaine , which released the radio single `` Burning Out '' from their debut album Random Thoughts on a Paper Napkin in 2004 . His first solo album , Sitting in the Fire , was released on October 14 , 2014 .


The Rock is a nickname of Dwayne Johnson.

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson ( born May 2 , 1972 ) , also known by his ring name , The Rock , is an American actor , producer , and professional wrestler . He holds both American and Canadian citizenships .   Born in California and raised in New Zealand and the U.S. states of Hawaii and Pennsylvania , Johnson was a college football player for the University of Miami , where he won a national championship on the 1991 Miami Hurricanes football team . He later played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League and was cut two months into the 1995 season . This led him to become a professional wrestler like his grandfather , Peter Maivia , and his father , Rocky Johnson , from whom he also inherited his Canadian citizenship .   Currently signed to WWE on a part-time contract , Johnson gained mainstream fame in the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF , now WWE ) from 1996 to 2004 as a major figure in the company 's Attitude Era , and was the first third-generation wrestler in the company 's history . He returned to wrestling part-time for WWE from 2011 to 2013 and continues to make sporadic non-wrestling appearances for the company . Johnson has 17 championship reigns in WWE , including 10 as a world champion , winning the WWF/WWE Championship eight times ( seventh reign was as WWE Undisputed Champion ) and the WCW/World Championship twice . He won the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and the WWF Tag Team Championship five times . Johnson is the sixth Triple Crown Champion in WWE history and won the 2000 Royal Rumble . He is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time .   Johnson 's autobiography The Rock Says ... , co-written with Joe Layden , was published in 2000 . It debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list , spent 20 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list , and sold 720,000 copies in hardcover alone .   Johnson 's first leading film role was in The Scorpion King in 2002 . For this role , he was paid US$ 5.5 million , a world record for an actor in his first starring role . He has since appeared in various films , and become known for his ability to reinvigorate film franchises . One of his more prominent roles is Luke Hobbs in The Fast and the Furious franchise ; its most recent film , The Fate of the Furious , was released in 2017 and has grossed over $ 1.1 billion worldwide , making it the second highest-grossing film of 2017 and the twelfth highest-grossing film of all time . He hosted and produced The Hero , a reality competition series ; and has since continued to produce TV series and films through his production company Seven Bucks Productions , each of which he also stars in . Forbes listed Johnson No. 25 in the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities in 2013 . He was the world 's highest-paid actor of 2016 . Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 .  In 2015 , Muscle & Fitness named Johnson their `` Man of the Century '' .


Robert Wagner published his autobiography in 2010.

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner , Jr. ( pronounced -LSB- ˈwægnər -RSB- born February 10 , 1930 ) is an American actor of stage , screen , and television , best known for starring in the television shows It Takes a Thief ( 1968 -- 70 ) , Switch ( 1975 -- 78 ) , and Hart to Hart ( 1979 -- 84 ) . He also had a recurring role as Teddy Leopold on the TV sitcom Two and a Half Men and has a recurring role as Anthony DiNozzo Sr. on the police procedural NCIS .   In movies , Wagner is known for his role as Number Two in the Austin Powers trilogy of films ( 1997 , 1999 , 2002 ) , as well as for A Kiss Before Dying , The Pink Panther , Harper , The Towering Inferno and many more .   Wagner 's autobiography , Pieces of My Heart : A Life , written with author Scott Eyman , was published on September 23 , 2008 .


Southport hosts a flower show in Victoria Park.

Southport Southport ( -LSB- ˈsaʊθpɔrt -RSB- ) is a large seaside town in Merseyside , England . At the 2001 census , it had a population of 90,336 , making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England .   Southport lies on the Irish Sea coast and is fringed to the north by the Ribble estuary . The town is 16.7 mi north of Liverpool and 14.8 mi southwest of Preston .   Historically part of Lancashire , the town was founded in 1792 when William Sutton , an innkeeper from Churchtown , built a bathing house at what now is the south end of Lord Street . At that time , the area , known as South Hawes , was sparsely populated and dominated by sand dunes . At the turn of the 19th century , the area became popular with tourists due to the easy access from the nearby Leeds and Liverpool Canal . The rapid growth of Southport largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era . Town attractions include Southport Pier with its Southport Pier Tramway , the second longest seaside pleasure pier in the British Isles and Lord Street , an elegant tree-lined shopping street , once home of Napoleon III of France .   Extensive sand dunes stretch for several miles between Birkdale and Woodvale to the south of the town . The Ainsdale sand dunes have been designated as a national nature reserve and a Ramsar site . Local fauna include the Natterjack toad and the Sand lizard . The town contains examples of Victorian architecture and town planning , on Lord Street and elsewhere . A particular feature of the town is the extensive tree planting . This was one of the conditions required by the Hesketh family when they made land available for development in the 19th century . Hesketh Park at the northern end of the town is named after them , having been built on land donated by Rev. Charles Hesketh .   Southport today is still one of the most popular seaside resorts in the UK . It hosts various events , including an annual air show on and over the beach , and the largest independent flower show in the UK , in Victoria Park . The town is at the centre of England 's Golf Coast and has hosted the Open Championship at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club .


Dwayne Johnson played for the Canadian Football League.


Usain Bolt Usain St Leo Bolt , OJ , CD ( -LSB- ˈjuːseɪn -RSB- born 21 August 1986 ) is a Jamaican sprinter . He is the first person to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time became mandatory . He also holds the world record as a part of the 4 × 100 metres relay . He is the reigning world and Olympic champion in these three events . Due to his unprecedented dominance and achievements in sprint competition , he is widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time .   An eight-time Olympic gold medalist , Bolt won the 100 m , 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay at three consecutive Olympic Games , although he subsequently lost one of the gold medals ( as well as the world record set therein ) nine years after the fact due to teammate Nesta Carter 's disqualification for doping offences . He gained worldwide popularity for his double sprint victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in world record times . Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive olympics ( 2008 , 2012 and 2016 ) , a feat referred to as the `` triple double . ''   An eleven-time World Champion , he won consecutive World Championship 100 m , 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals from 2009 to 2015 , with the exception of a 100 m false start in 2011 . He is the most successful athlete of the World Championships and was the first athlete to win three titles in both the 100 m and 200 m at the competition .   Bolt improved upon his first 100 m world record of 9.69 with 9.58 seconds in 2009 -- the biggest improvement since the start of electronic timing . He has twice broken the 200 metres world record , setting 19.30 in 2008 and 19.19 in 2009 . He has helped Jamaica to three 4 × 100 metres relay world records , with the current record being 36.84 seconds set in 2012 . Bolt 's most successful event is the 200 m , with three Olympic and four World titles . The 2008 Olympics was his international debut over 100 m ; he had earlier won numerous 200 m medals ( including 2007 World Championship silver ) and holds the world under-20 and world under-18 records for the event .   His achievements as a sprinter have earned him the media nickname `` Lightning Bolt '' , and his awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year , Track & Field Athlete of the Year , and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year ( four times ) . Bolt has stated that he intends to retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships .