Selena Gomez voice acted in the movie Hotel Transylvania 2.

Hotel Transylvania 2 Hotel Transylvania 2 is a 2015 American 3D computer animated fantasy-comedy film . It is the second installment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise , and the sequel to the 2012 film Hotel Transylvania , with its director , Genndy Tartakovsky , and writer , Robert Smigel , returning for the film . Produced by Sony Pictures Animation , it was animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks , with an additional funding provided by LStar Capital .   Hotel Transylvania 2 takes place seven years after the first film , with the hotel now open to human guests . Mavis and Johnny have a young son named Dennis , whose lack of any vampire abilities worries his grandfather Dracula . When Mavis and Johnny go on a visit to Johnny 's parents , Dracula calls his friends to help him make Dennis a vampire . Soon , things turn upside-down when Dracula 's old-school human-hating father Vlad unexpectedly visits the hotel .   Original voices from the first film -- Adam Sandler , Andy Samberg , Selena Gomez , Kevin James , Steve Buscemi , David Spade , Fran Drescher , Molly Shannon -- returned for the sequel , with Keegan-Michael Key replacing CeeLo Green as Murray . New additions to the cast include Mel Brooks as Count Dracula 's father , Vlad ; Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally as Jonathan 's parents , Mike and Linda ; and Asher Blinkoff as Mavis and Johnny 's half-human/half-vampire son , Dennis . The film was released on September 25 , 2015 , by Columbia Pictures and was a box office success .   A third film , titled Hotel Transylvania 3 , is scheduled to be released on July 13 , 2018 .


Snoop Dogg Cordozar Calvin Broadus , Jr. ( born October 20 , 1971 ) , known professionally as Snoop Dogg ( sometimes shortened to Snoop and formerly called Snoop Doggy Dogg and Snoop Lion ) , is an American rapper and actor from Long Beach , California . His music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre of N.W.A , and as a result was prominently featured throughout Dr. Dre 's solo debut album , The Chronic ( 1992 ) . He has since sold over twenty-three million albums in the United States and thirty-five million albums worldwide .   Snoop 's debut album , Doggystyle , was released in 1993 under Death Row Records , debuting at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Top R&B / Hip-Hop Albums charts . Selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release , Doggystyle became certified 4 × platinum in 1994 and spawned several hit singles , including `` What 's My Name ? '' and `` Gin & Juice '' . In 1994 Snoop released a soundtrack on Death Row Records for the short film Murder Was The Case , starring himself . His second album Tha Doggfather ( 1996 ) , also debuted at number one on both charts with `` Snoop 's Upside Ya Head '' , as the lead single . The album was certified double platinum in 1997 .   After leaving Death Row Records , Snoop signed with No Limit Records , where he recorded his next three albums . Da Game Is to Be Sold , Not to Be Told ( 1998 ) , No Limit Top Dogg ( 1999 ) , and Tha Last Meal ( 2000 ) . Snoop then signed with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records in 2002 , where he released Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss . He then signed with Geffen Records in 2004 for his next three albums R&G ( Rhythm & Gangsta ) : The Masterpiece , Tha Blue Carpet Treatment , and Ego Trippin ' . Malice 'n Wonderland ( 2009 ) , and Doggumentary ( 2011 ) , were released on Priority . Snoop Dogg has starred in motion pictures and hosted several television shows , including Doggy Fizzle Televizzle , Snoop Dogg 's Father Hood , and Dogg After Dark . He also coaches a youth football league and high school football team . In September 2009 , Snoop was hired by EMI as the chairman of a reactivated Priority Records .   In 2012 , after a trip to Jamaica , Snoop announced a conversion to the Rastafari movement and a new alias , Snoop Lion . Under the new moniker , he released a reggae album , Reincarnated , and a documentary film of the same name , of his Jamaican experience , in early 2013 . His fourteenth solo studio album , Coolaid , was released in July 2016 .   Snoop Dogg holds the dubious distinction of having seventeen Grammy nominations without a win .   In March 2016 , the night before WrestleMania 32 in Arlington , Texas , Snoop was inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame having made several appearances for the company , including as Master of Ceremonies during a match at Wrestlemania XXIV .


Zendaya's full legal name is Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman.

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


The Night Of is a 10-episode BBC miniseries.

The Night Of The Night Of is an American eight-part crime drama television miniseries based on Criminal Justice , a 2008 -- 09 British television series . The miniseries was written by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian and directed by Zaillian and James Marsh . Broadcast on HBO , The Night Of premiered on July 10 , 2016 to critical acclaim . The first episode premiered on June 24 , 2016 , via HBO on-demand .


Dismissal (cricket) In the sport of cricket , a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out ( also known as the fielding side taking a wicket and/or the batting side losing a wicket ) . At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings . A bowling team dismisses ( or bowls out ) the entire batting team by dismissing 10 of the 11 players ( assuming player ( s ) from the batting team have not retired hurt or are absent ) . As the players bat in pairs , when only one person is undismissed , it is not possible for them to bat any longer .


Fielding (cricket) Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman , to limit the number of runs that the batsman scores and/or to get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or by running the batsman out . There are a number of recognised fielding positions , and they can be categorised into the offside and leg side of the field .   A fielder or fieldsman may field the ball with any part of his body . However , if while the ball is in play he wilfully fields it otherwise ( e.g. by using his hat ) , the ball becomes dead and 5 penalty runs are awarded to the batting side , unless the ball previously struck a batsman not attempting to hit or avoid the ball . Most of the rules covering fielders are in Law 41 of the Laws of cricket .   In the early days of Test cricket , fielding was not a priority and many players were sloppy when it came to fielding . Fielding later became more professional , and much later , with the advent of One Day International matches , saving runs became even more important .


Test cricket Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket and is considered its highest standard . Test matches are played between national representative teams with `` Test status '' , as determined by the International Cricket Council ( ICC ) . The two teams of 11 players play a four-innings match , which may last up to five days ( or longer in some historical cases ) . It is generally considered the most complete examination of teams ' playing ability and endurance . The name Test stems from the long , gruelling match being a `` test '' of the relative strengths of the two sides .   The first officially recognised Test match began on 15 March 1877 and ended on 19 March 1877 and was played between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ( MCG ) , where Australia won by 45 runs . A Test match to celebrate 100 years of Test cricket was held in Melbourne from 12 to 17 March 1977 , in which Australia beat England by 45 runs -- the same margin as that first Test .   In October 2012 , the International Cricket Council recast the playing conditions for Test matches , permitting day/night Test matches . The first day/night game took place between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval , Adelaide , on 27 November 2015 .


Batting (cricket) In the sport of cricket , batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one 's wicket . A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman , while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke . The term specialist batsman is also used generically to describe players who specialise in batting ( as opposed to e.g. bowlers who specialise in bowling ) , and the term bowler is also used in this context . The latter term can , however , refer to any player during their turn at bat . In women 's cricket , the term batswoman is sometimes encountered , as is batter , but the `` male '' form is widely used in both men 's and women 's cricket . Cricketers have to adapt to various conditions when visiting international pitches ; this is because the type of pitch usually changes . Therefore , batsmen have to also have a good sense of decision making .   During an innings two members of the batting side are on the pitch at any time : the one facing the current delivery from the bowler is denoted the striker , while the other is the non-striker . When a batsman is out , he is replaced by a teammate . This continues until the end of the innings or until 10 of the team members are out , where upon the other team gets a turn to bat .   Batting tactics and strategy vary depending on the type of match being played as well as the current state of play . The main concerns for the batsmen are not to lose their wicket and to score as many runs as quickly as possible . These objectives generally conflict -- to score quickly , risky shots must be played , increasing the chance that the batsman will be dismissed , while the batsman 's safest choice with a careful wicket-guarding stroke may be not to attempt any runs at all . Depending on the situation , batsmen may forget attempts at run-scoring in an effort to preserve their wicket , or may attempt to score runs as quickly as possible with scant concern for the possibility of being dismissed .   As with all other cricket statistics , batting statistics and records are given much attention and provide a measure of a player 's effectiveness . The main statistic for batting is a player 's batting average . This is calculated by dividing the number of runs he has scored , not by the innings he has played , but by the number of times he has been dismissed .   Sir Donald Bradman set many batting records , some as far back as the 1930s and still unbeaten , and he is widely regarded as the greatest batsman of all time .


Cricket ball A cricket ball is a hard , solid ball used to play cricket . A cricket ball consists of cork covered by leather , and manufacture is regulated by cricket law at first-class level . The manipulation of a cricket ball , through employment of its various physical properties , is a staple component of bowling and dismissing batsmen . Movement in the air , and off the ground , is influenced by the condition of the ball , the efforts of the bowler and the pitch , while working on the cricket ball to obtain optimum condition is a key role of the fielding side . The cricket ball is the principal manner through which the batsman scores runs , by manipulating the ball into a position where it would be safe to take a run , or by directing the ball through or over the boundary .   In test cricket , professional domestic games that spread over a multitude of days , and almost the entirety of amateur cricket , the traditional red cricket ball is normally used . In many one day cricket matches , a white ball is used instead in order to remain visible under floodlights , and since 2010 , pink has been introduced to contrast with players ' white clothing and for improved night visibility . Training balls of white , red and pink are also common , and tennis balls and other similar-sized balls can be used for training or informal cricket matches . During cricket matches , the quality of the ball changes to a point where it is no longer usable , and during this decline its properties alter and thus can influence the match . Altering the state of the cricket ball outside the permitted manners designated in the rules of cricket is prohibited during a match , and so-called `` ball tampering '' has resulted in numerous controversies .   Injuries and fatalities have been caused by cricket balls during matches . The hazards posed by cricket balls were a key motivator for the introduction of protective equipment .  '' '


Cricket pitch In the game of cricket , the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets -- 1 chain or 20.12 m ( 22 yards ) long and 3.05 m ( 10 feet ) wide . The surface is flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the pitch .   In amateur matches in some parts of the world , artificial pitches are sometimes used . These can be a slab of concrete , overlaid with a coir mat , artificial turf , sometimes dirt is put over the coir mat to provide an authentic feeling pitch . Artificial pitches are rare in professional cricket , being used only when exhibition matches are played in regions where cricket is not a common sport .   The pitch has specific markings delineating the creases , as specified by the Laws of Cricket .   The word wicket often occurs in reference to the pitch . Although technically incorrect according to the Laws of Cricket ( Law 7 covers the pitch and Law 8 the wickets , distinguishing between them ) , cricket players , followers , and commentators persist in the usage , with context eliminating any possible ambiguity . Track is yet another synonym for pitch .   The rectangular central area of the cricket field -- the space used for pitches -- is known as the square . Cricket pitches are usually oriented as close to the north-south direction as practical , because the low afternoon sun would be dangerous for a batsman facing due west .


Bowled Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket . This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket .   A batter is out bowled if his or her wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler . It is irrelevant whether the ball has touched the bat , glove , or any part of the batsman before going on to put down the wicket , though it may not touch another player or an umpire before doing so . Such rules mean that bowled is the most obvious of dismissals : almost never requiring an appeal to the umpire ; a bowled batsman will usually acknowledge the dismissal voluntarily .   If the delivered ball deflects off the bat , and bowls the batter , then the informal term is known as played on , knocked on or dragged on . If the wicket is put down without the batter making any sort of contact with the ball , then it is known as clean bowled with variations being ` bowled through the gate ' , where the ball travels between the bat and pad , or ` bowled around the legs ' , where the ball goes behind ( to the legside of ) the batsman and hits the stumps .   A batter can not be out on a no ball , wide or dead ball , though he/she can be stumped if it is a wide .   A batter is out bowled even if he/she could be given out by another method of dismissal instead . For instance , suppose a ball that pitches in line with the stumps , hits the player on the pads in line with the stumps and would , if it had not hit the pads , have struck the stumps . The player could be out leg before wicket . However , if the ball ricochets off the pads onto the stumps , the batter would be given out bowled instead .   Being out bowled is the second most common method of dismissal after caught . The bowler is credited to have dismissed the batter if a batter is given out bowled .


Bowling (cricket) In the sport of cricket bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman . A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler ; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder . Bowling the ball is distinguished from throwing the ball by a strictly specified biomechanical definition which restricts the angle of extension of the elbow . A single act of bowling the ball towards the batsman is called a ball or a delivery . Bowlers bowl deliveries in sets of six , called an over . Once a bowler has bowled their over , one of their team mates will bowl an over from the other end of the pitch . The Laws of Cricket govern how a ball must be bowled . If a ball is bowled illegally , an umpire will rule it a no ball . If a ball is bowled too wide of the striker for the batsman to be able to play at it with a proper cricket shot , the bowler 's end umpire will rule it a wide .   There are different types of bowlers ranging from fast bowlers , whose primary weapon is pace , through swing and seam bowlers who try to make the ball deviate in its course through the air or when it bounces , to slow bowlers , who will attempt to deceive the batsmen with a variety of flight and spin . A spin bowler usually delivers the ball quite slowly and puts spin on the ball , causing it to turn at an angle while bouncing off the pitch .


Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a cricket field , at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a wicket ( a set of three wooden stumps ) at each end . One team bats , attempting to score as many runs as possible , whilst their opponents field . Each phase of play is called an innings . After either ten batsmen have been dismissed or a fixed number of overs have been completed , the innings ends and the two teams then swap roles . The winning team is the one that scores the most runs , including any extras gained , during their innings .   At the start of each game , two batsmen and eleven fielders enter the field of play . The play begins when a member of the fielding team , known as the bowler , delivers the ball from one end of the pitch to the other , towards the wicket at that end , in front of which stands one of the batsmen , known as the striker . The striker `` takes guard '' on a crease drawn on the pitch four feet in front of the wicket . His role is to prevent the ball from hitting the stumps by use of his bat , and simultaneously to strike it well enough to score runs . The other batsman , known as the non-striker , waits at the opposite end of the pitch near the bowler . A dismissed batsman must leave the field , and a teammate replaces him . The bowler 's objectives are to prevent the scoring of runs and to dismiss the batsman . An over is a set of six deliveries bowled by the same bowler . The next over is bowled from the other end of the pitch by a different bowler .   The most common forms of dismissal are bowled , when the bowler hits the stumps directly with the ball ; leg before wicket , when the batsman prevents the ball from hitting the stumps with his body instead of his bat ; and caught , when the batsman hits the ball into the air and it is intercepted by a fielder before touching the ground . Runs are scored by two main methods : either by hitting the ball hard enough for it to cross the boundary , or by the two batsmen swapping ends by each simultaneously running the length of the pitch in opposite directions whilst the fielders are retrieving the ball . If a fielder retrieves the ball quickly enough to put down the wicket with a batsman not having reached the crease at that end of the pitch , that batsman is dismissed ( a run-out occurs ) . Adjudication is performed on the field by two umpires .   The laws of cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council ( ICC ) and the Marylebone Cricket Club ( MCC ) . There are various formats ranging from Twenty20 , played over a few hours with each team having a single innings of 20 overs ( i.e. 120 deliveries ) , to Test cricket , played over five days with unlimited overs and the teams playing two innings apiece . Traditionally cricketers play in all-white kit , but in limited overs cricket they wear club or team colours . In addition to the basic kit , some players wear protective gear to prevent injury caused by the ball , which is a hard , solid object made of compressed leather enclosing a cork core .   Although cricket 's origins are uncertain , it is first recorded in south-east England in the 16th century . It spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire , leading to the first international matches in the mid-19th century . ICC , the game 's governing body , has over 100 members , ten of which are full members who play Test cricket . The sport is followed primarily in Australasia , Britain , the Indian subcontinent , southern Africa and the West Indies . Women 's cricket , which is organised and played separately , has also achieved international standard .


Crease (cricket) In the sport of cricket , the crease is a certain area demarcated by white lines painted or chalked on the field of play , and pursuant to the rules of cricket they help determine legal play in different ways for the fielding and batting side . They define the area within which the batsmen and bowlers operate . The term crease may refer to any of the lines themselves , particularly the popping crease , or to the region that they demark . Law 9 of the Laws of Cricket governs the size and position of the crease markings , and defines the actual line as the back edge of the width of the marked line on the grass , i.e. , the edge nearest to the wicket at that end .   Four creases ( one popping crease , one bowling crease , and two return creases ) are drawn at each end of the pitch , around the two sets of stumps . The batsmen generally play in and run between the areas defined by the creases at each end of the pitch . The bowling creases lie 22 yards ( 66 feet or 20.12 m ) away , and marks the other end of the pitch . For the fielding side , the crease defines whether there is a no ball because a fielder has encroached on the pitch or the wicket-keeper has moved in front of the wicket before he is permitted to do so . In addition , historically part of the bowler 's back foot in the delivery stride was required to fall behind the bowling crease to avoid a delivery being a no ball . This rule was replaced by a requirement that part of the bowler 's front foot in the delivery stride must fall behind the popping crease ( see below ) .


Innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat . Innings , in cricket , is both singular and plural which contrasts with baseball and softball in which the singular is `` inning '' .


Laws of cricket The laws of cricket are a set of rules established by the Marylebone Cricket Club ( MCC ) which describe the laws of cricket worldwide , to ensure uniformity and fairness . There are currently 42 laws , which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game , how a batsman is dismissed , through to specifications on how the pitch is to be prepared and maintained .   The MCC is a private club based in London in England and is no longer the game 's official governing body , but the MCC retains the copyright in the laws of the game , and only the MCC may change the laws , although since 2005 this is usually only done after discussions with the game 's global governing body , the International Cricket Council ( ICC ) .  Cricket is one of the few sports for which the governing principles are referred to as ` Laws ' rather than as ` Rules ' or ` Regulations ' .   However , regulations to supplement and/or vary the laws may be agreed to for particular competitions as required . Those applying for international matches ( referred to as `` playing conditions '' ) can be found on the ICC 's website .


Bungie is an American video game developer.

Bungie Bungie , Inc. is an American video game developer located in Bellevue , Washington , United States . The company was established in May 1991 as Bungie Software Products Corporation by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian , who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones ' game Minotaur : The Labyrinths of Crete . Originally based in Chicago , Illinois , the company concentrated primarily on Macintosh games during its early years and created two very successful video game franchises called Marathon and Myth . A West Coast offshoot produced the PC and console title Oni .   Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000 ; the project it was working on was repurposed into a launch title for Microsoft 's Xbox console , called Halo : Combat Evolved . Halo became the Xbox 's `` killer app '' , selling millions of copies and spawning a billion dollar franchise . On October 5 , 2007 , Bungie announced that it had split from Microsoft and become a privately held independent company , Bungie LLC ( Microsoft retained ownership of the Halo franchise IP ) .   Among Bungie 's side projects is Bungie.net , the company 's official website , which includes company information , forums , and statistics-tracking and integration with many of its games . Bungie.net also serves as the platform from which Bungie sells company-related merchandise out of the Bungie Store and runs other projects , including Bungie Aerospace , charitable organization the Bungie Foundation , a podcast , and online publications about game topics . The company is known for its informal and dedicated workplace culture , and recently signed a ten-year publishing deal with Activision . Their first project together was the 2014 first-person shooter , Destiny .


Sunburn was released by Universal Pictures.

Sunburn (film) Sunburn is a 1979 British-American comedy film directed by Richard C. Sarafian and written by James Booth , John Daly and Stephen Oliver . It is based on the novel The Bind by Stanley Ellin . The film stars Farrah Fawcett , Charles Grodin , Art Carney , Joan Collins , William Daniels and John Hillerman . The film was released on August 10 , 1979 , by Paramount Pictures .


Elizabeth II has reigned through the decolonisation of Africa.

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II ( Elizabeth Alexandra Mary ; born 21 April 1926 ) has been Queen of the United Kingdom , Canada , Australia , and New Zealand since 6 February 1952 . She is Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of 12 countries that have become independent since her accession : Jamaica , Barbados , the Bahamas , Grenada , Papua New Guinea , Solomon Islands , Tuvalu , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , Belize , Antigua and Barbuda , and Saint Kitts and Nevis .   Elizabeth was born in London as the elder child of the Duke and Duchess of York , later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth , and she was educated privately at home . Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936 , from which time she was the heir presumptive . She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War , serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service . In 1947 , she married Philip , Duke of Edinburgh , a former prince of Greece and Denmark , with whom she has four children : Charles , Prince of Wales ; Anne , Princess Royal ; Prince Andrew , Duke of York ; and Prince Edward , Earl of Wessex .   Elizabeth 's many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and visits to or from five popes . She has seen major constitutional changes , such as devolution in the United Kingdom , Canadian patriation , and the decolonisation of Africa . She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms . She is the world 's oldest reigning monarch as well as Britain 's longest-lived . In 2015 , she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother , Queen Victoria , to become the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in world history . In October 2016 , she became the longest currently reigning monarch and head of state following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand .   Times of personal significance have included the births and marriages of her children , her coronation in 1953 , and the celebration of milestones such as her Silver , Golden , and Diamond Jubilees in 1977 , 2002 , and 2012 , respectively . In 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee . Moments of sadness for her include the death of her father in 1952 at age 56 ; the assassination of Prince Philip 's uncle Lord Mountbatten in 1979 ; the breakdown of her children 's marriages in 1992 ( her annus horribilis ) ; the death in 1997 of her son 's former wife , Diana , Princess of Wales ; and the deaths of her mother and sister in 2002 . Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the royal family ; however , support for the monarchy remains high , as does her personal popularity .


Emma Stone Emily Jean `` Emma '' Stone ( born November 6 , 1988 ) is an American actress . One of the world 's highest-paid actresses in 2015 , Stone has received numerous accolades , including an Academy Award , a BAFTA Award , a Golden Globe Award and three Screen Actors Guild Awards . She appeared in Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2013 and the Time 100 in 2017 , and is often described by the media as one of the most talented actresses of her generation .   Born and raised in Scottsdale , Arizona , Stone began acting as a child , in a theater production of The Wind in the Willows in 2000 . As a teenager , she relocated to Los Angeles with her mother , and made her television debut in VH1 's In Search of the New Partridge Family ( 2004 ) , a reality show that produced only an unsold pilot . After small television roles , she won a Young Hollywood Award for her film debut in Superbad ( 2007 ) , and received positive media attention for her role in Zombieland ( 2009 ) .   The 2010 teen comedy Easy A was Stone 's first starring role and earned her nominations for the BAFTA Rising Star Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress . This breakthrough was followed by a supporting role in the commercially successful romantic comedy Crazy , Stupid , Love ( 2011 ) , and then a co-starring role in the critically acclaimed drama The Help ( 2011 ) . Stone gained wider recognition for playing Gwen Stacy in the 2012 superhero film The Amazing Spider-Man , and its sequel in 2014 . She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role of a recovering drug addict in the black comedy-drama Birdman ( 2014 ) . Her Broadway debut came in a revival of the musical Cabaret ( 2014 -- 2015 ) . Stone won an Academy Award , a BAFTA Award , and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for playing an aspiring actress in the highly successful musical film La La Land ( 2016 ) .


Deadpool Deadpool ( Wade Winston Wilson ) is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by artist/writer Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza , the character first appeared in The New Mutants # 98 ( cover-dated February 1991 ) . Initially Deadpool was depicted as a supervillain when he made his first appearance in The New Mutants and later in issues of X-Force , but later evolved into his more recognizable antiheroic persona . Deadpool , whose real name is Wade Wilson , is a disfigured and mentally unstable mercenary with the superhuman ability of an accelerated healing factor and physical prowess . The character is known as the `` Merc with a Mouth '' because of his talkative nature and tendency to break the fourth wall , which is used by writers for humorous effect and running gags .   The character 's popularity has seen him feature in numerous other media . In the 2004 series Cable & Deadpool , he refers to his own scarred appearance as `` Ryan Reynolds crossed with a Shar Pei '' . Reynolds himself would eventually portray the character in the 2009 film X-Men Origins : Wolverine and reprised the role in the 2016 film Deadpool .


Berlin's significant industries include pharmaceuticals.

Berlin Berlin ( -LSB- bəɹˈlɪn -RSB- , -LSB- bɛɐ̯ˈliːn -RSB- ) is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its 16 constituent states . With a population of approximately 3.7 million , Berlin is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union . Located in northeastern Germany on the banks of the rivers Spree and Havel , it is the centre of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region , which has roughly 6 million residents from more than 180 nations . Due to its location in the European Plain , Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate . Around one-third of the city 's area is composed of forests , parks , gardens , rivers , canals and lakes .   First documented in the 13th century and situated at the crossing of two important historic trade routes , Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg ( 14171701 ) , the Kingdom of Prussia ( 1701 -- 1918 ) , the German Empire ( 1871 -- 1918 ) , the Weimar Republic ( 1919 -- 1933 ) and the Third Reich ( 1933 -- 1945 ) . Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world . After World War II and its subsequent occupation by the victorious countries , the city was divided ; East Berlin was declared capital of East Germany , while West Berlin became a de facto West German exclave , surrounded by the Berlin Wall ( 1961 -- 1989 ) and East German territory . Following German reunification in 1990 , Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany .   Berlin is a world city of culture , politics , media and science . Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the service sector , encompassing a diverse range of creative industries , research facilities , media corporations and convention venues . Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network . The metropolis is a popular tourist destination . Significant industries also include IT , pharmaceuticals , biomedical engineering , clean tech , biotechnology , construction and electronics .   Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities , orchestras , museums , entertainment venues and is host to many sporting events . Its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions . The city is well known for its festivals , diverse architecture , nightlife , contemporary arts and a high quality of living . Since the 2000s Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene .


Larry Buttrose's wife wrote The Maze of the Muse.

Larry Buttrose Larry Philip Buttrose ( born 16 December 1952 ) is an Australian writer , journalist and academic . He is the ghostwriter of the Saroo Brierley memoir A Long Way Home ( adapted for the screen as the major international feature film Lion ) . He is also the author of the novels The Maze of the Muse and Sweet Sentence , and the travel books The King Neptune Day & Night Club , and Cafe Royale ( also published as The Blue Man ) .   For the stage he co-wrote the hit musical Hot Shoe Shuffle , as well Kurtz , his stage adaptation of Heart of Darkness , and a stage adaptation of Don Quixote . For the screen he co-wrote the feature Gino and the feature documentary Movietone Memories , and is currently working on the screenplay for Hicks , about the life of Australian inmate in Guantanamo , David Hicks . He teaches Screenwriting at New York University 's Sydney campus at The Rocks .


Seppuku Seppuku ( 切腹 , `` cutting -LSB- the -RSB- abdomen/belly '' , formal on reading of original Kanji ) , sometimes metathesized as harakiri ( 腹切り , `` abdomen/belly cutting '' ) which is a native Japanese kun reading , is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment . It was originally reserved for samurai . A samurai practice , seppuku was used either voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies ( and likely suffer torture ) or as a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offenses , or performed because they had brought shame to themselves . The ceremonial disembowelment , which is usually part of a more elaborate ritual and performed in front of spectators , consists of plunging a short blade , traditionally a tantō , into the abdomen and drawing the blade from left to right , slicing the abdomen open . If the cut , done with a movement , is done deep enough , it can cut the descending aorta , inducing a massive blood loss inside the abdomen , with a very fast death .


Tyra Banks is the creator, executive producer, and presenter of America's Next Top Model.

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks ( born December 4 , 1973 ) is an American television personality , producer , businesswoman , actress , author , former model and occasional singer . Born in Inglewood , California , she began her career as a model at age 15 , and was the first African American woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue , on which she appeared twice . She was a Victoria 's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005 . By the early 2000s , Banks was one of the world 's top-earning models .   Banks began acting on television in 1993 on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , and made her film debut in Higher Learning in 1995 . She had major roles such as Eve in Disney Channel 's Life-Size and Zoe in the box office hit Coyote Ugly . She had small roles in the romantic film Love & Basketball and horror film Halloween : Resurrection , and appeared in television series Gossip Girl and Glee .   In 2003 , Banks created and began presenting the long-running reality television series America 's Next Top Model , which she executive produced and presented for the first twenty-two seasons until the series ' cancellation in October 2015 . She remained executive producer for the revival of the series , and enlisted Rita Ora as host for the twenty-third cycle before reassuming the duties herself for the upcoming twenty-fourth cycle . Banks was the co-creator of True Beauty , and had her own talk show , The Tyra Banks Show , which aired on The CW for five seasons and won two Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Talk Show Informative . She co-hosted the talk show FABLife for two months . In 2017 , Banks will replace Nick Cannon as host of America 's Got Talent for its 12th season .   In 2010 , she published a young adult novel titled Modelland , based on her life as a model which topped The New York Times Best Seller list in 2011 . Banks is one of four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly ranked among the world 's most influential people by TIME magazine .


The iPhone 5C was compared to the discontinued 5S.

IPhone 5C The iPhone 5C ( marketed with a stylized lowercase ` c ' as iPhone 5c ) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. . The device was part of the iPhone series and was unveiled on September 10 , 2013 , and released on September 20 , 2013 , along with its higher-end counterpart , the iPhone 5S .   The iPhone 5C is a variant of the iPhone 5 , with similar hardware specifications but a hard-coated polycarbonate shell instead of the aluminium of the original iPhone 5 . The iPhone 5C was available in several color options , and shipped with iOS 7 . The iPhone 5C was sold at a discounted price point in comparison to the 5S : unlike Apple 's prior practice of lowering the price of the previous model upon release of a new version , the iPhone 5 was explicitly discontinued and replaced by the 5C . On September 9 , 2014 , the 16 and 32 GB iPhone 5C models were replaced by the 8 GB model with the announcement of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus . On September 9 , 2015 , the 8 GB version was discontinued upon the announcement of the iPhone 6S .


Tardigrades have been found in mud volcanoes and the Antarctic.

Tardigrade Tardigrades ( -LSB- ˈtɑrdᵻˌgreɪd -RSB- also known as water bears , space bears , or moss piglets ) are water-dwelling , eight-legged , segmented micro-animals . They were first discovered by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773 . The name Tardigrada ( meaning `` slow stepper '' ) was given three years later by the Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani . They have been found everywhere from mountaintops to the deep sea , mud volcanoes , and from tropical rain forests to the Antarctic .   Tardigrades are one of the most resilient animals known : they can survive extreme conditions that would be rapidly fatal to nearly all other known life forms . They can withstand temperature ranges from 1 K ( close to absolute zero ) to about 420 K for several minutes , pressures about six times greater than those found in the deepest ocean trenches , ionizing radiation at doses hundreds of times higher than the lethal dose for a human , and the vacuum of outer space . They can go without food or water for more than 30 years , drying out to the point where they are 3 % or less water , only to rehydrate , forage , and reproduce . Tardigrades living in harsh conditions undergo an annual process of cyclomorphosis .   They are not considered extremophilic because they are not adapted to exploit these conditions . This means that their chances of dying increase the longer they are exposed to the extreme environments , whereas true extremophiles thrive in a physically or geochemically extreme environment that would harm most other organisms .   Usually , tardigrades are about 0.5 mm long when they are fully grown . They are short and plump with four pairs of legs , each with four to eight claws also known as `` disks '' . The first three pairs of legs are directed ventrolaterally and are the primary means of locomotion , while the fourth pair is directed posteriorly on the terminal segment of the trunk and is used primarily for grasping the substrate . Tardigrades are prevalent in mosses and lichens and feed on plant cells , algae , and small invertebrates . When collected , they may be viewed under a very low-power microscope , making them accessible to students and amateur scientists .   Tardigrades form the phylum Tardigrada , part of the superphylum Ecdysozoa . It is an ancient group , with fossils dating from 530 million years ago , in the Cambrian period . About 1,150 species of tardigrades have been described . Tardigrades can be found throughout the world , from the Himalayas ( above 6000 m ) , to the deep sea ( below 4000 m ) and from the polar regions to the equator .


Worcester, Massachusetts is 40 mi from the capital of Rhode Island.

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( -LSB- ˈwʊstər -RSB- , -LSB- ˈwʊstə -RSB- ) is a city and the county seat of Worcester County , Massachusetts , United States . Named after Worcester , England , as of the 2010 Census the city 's population was 181,045 , making it the second most populous city in New England after Boston . Worcester is located approximately 40 mi west of Boston , 50 mi east of Springfield and 40 mi north of Providence . Due to its location in Central Massachusetts , Worcester is known as the `` Heart of the Commonwealth '' , thus , a heart is the official symbol of the city . However , the heart symbol may also have its provenance in lore that the mass-produced Valentine 's Day card was invented in the city .   Worcester was considered its own region for centuries ; however , with the encroachment of Boston 's suburbs in the 1970s after the construction of Interstate 495 and Interstate 290 , it now marks the western periphery of the Boston-Worcester-Providence ( MA-RI-NH ) U.S. Census Combined Statistical Area ( CSA ) , or Greater Boston . The city features many examples of Victorian-era mill architecture .


Elementary (TV series) Elementary is an American procedural drama series that presents a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's character Sherlock Holmes . The series was created by Robert Doherty and stars Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson . The series premiered on CBS on September 27 , 2012 . The series is set and filmed primarily in New York City .   The show follows Holmes , a recovering drug addict and former consultant to Scotland Yard , as he assists the New York City Police Department in solving crimes . His indifference to police procedure often leads to conflict with Captain Thomas Gregson ( Aidan Quinn ) , although the two still remain mutually respectful of one another . He is accompanied by Dr. Joan Watson ( Lucy Liu ) , who initially acts as his sober companion . She is a former surgeon and was hired by Sherlock 's father to help him in his rehabilitation . They eventually begin to work together on his cases , and she becomes Holmes ' apprentice . The series also features Holmes ' ongoing conflict with his nemesis Jamie Moriarty ( Natalie Dormer ) . Other supporting roles include Jon Michael Hill as Detective Marcus Bell , Rhys Ifans as Sherlock 's brother , Mycroft Holmes , and John Noble as Sherlock 's father , Morland Holmes .   Before the series premiered , it was met with some criticism given it followed closely on the heels of the BBC 's modern adaptation Sherlock . After the premiere , it was picked up for a full season and later an extra two episodes . The season two premiere was partly filmed on location in London . The series has since been well received by critics , who have praised the performances , writing , and novel approach to the source material . On March 25 , 2016 , CBS renewed the series for a fifth season , which premiered on October 2 , 2016 . On May 13 , 2017 , CBS renewed the series for a sixth season .


William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( -LSB- ˈʃeɪkspɪə -RSB- 26 April 1564 ( baptised ) -- 23 April 1616 ) was an English : poet , : playwright , and actor , widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world 's pre-eminent dramatist . He is often called England 's national poet , and the `` Bard of Avon '' . His extant works , including collaborations , consist of approximately 38 plays , 154 sonnets , two long narrative poems , and a few other verses , some of uncertain authorship . His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright .   Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon , Warwickshire . At the age of 18 , he married Anne Hathaway , with whom he had three children : Susanna , and twins Hamnet and Judith . Sometime between 1585 and 1592 , he began a successful career in London as an actor , writer , and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain 's Men , later known as the King 's Men . He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 , at age 49 , where he died three years later . Few records of Shakespeare 's private life survive , which has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance , sexuality , and religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written by others .   Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613 . His early plays were primarily comedies and histories , which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres . He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608 , including Hamlet , Othello , King Lear , and Macbeth , considered some of the finest works in the English language . In his last phase , he wrote tragicomedies , also known as romances , and collaborated with other playwrights .   Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime . In 1623 , however , John Heminges and Henry Condell , two friends and fellow actors of Shakespeare , published a more definitive text known as the First Folio , a posthumous collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare 's . It was prefaced with a poem by Ben Jonson , in which Shakespeare is hailed , presciently , as `` not of an age , but for all time '' .   In the 20th and 21st centuries , his works have been repeatedly adapted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance . His plays remain highly popular and are constantly studied , performed , and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world .


WALL-E won a Hugo Award for Best Long Form Dramatic Presentation.

WALL-E WALL-E ( stylized with an interpunct as WALL · E ) is a 2008 American computer-animated dystopian science fiction comedy film directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton , produced by Jim Morris , and co-written by Jim Reardon . It stars the voices of Ben Burtt , Elissa Knight , Jeff Garlin , Fred Willard , John Ratzenberger , Kathy Najimy , Sigourney Weaver and the MacInTalk system . It was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures , and was the overall ninth feature film produced by the company .   After directing Finding Nemo , Stanton felt Pixar had created believable simulations of underwater physics and was willing to direct a film set largely in space . WALL-E has minimal dialogue in its early sequences ; many of the characters do not have voices , but instead communicate with body language and robotic sounds designed by Ben Burtt . The film criticizes consumerism , corporatism , nostalgia , waste management , human environmental impact and concerns , obesity , and global catastrophic risk . It is also Pixar 's first animated film with segments featuring live-action characters . Following Pixar tradition , WALL-E was paired with a short film titled Presto for its theatrical release .   WALL-E was released in the United States and Canada on June 27 , 2008 , by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures . It was an instant blockbuster , grossing $ 533.3 million worldwide over a $ 180 million budget , receiving overwhelming acclaim from critics and winning the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film , the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Long Form Dramatic Presentation , the final Nebula Award for Best Script , the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature with five nominations . The film also topped Times `` Best Movies of the Decade '' .


Tyrion Lannister only features in stand-alone novels.

Tyrion Lannister Tyrion Lannister ( also referred to as `` the Imp '' or `` the Halfman '' ) is a fictional character in A Song of Ice and Fire , a series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin , and its television adaptation Game of Thrones . Based on an idea that came to Martin while writing the 1981 novel Windhaven , Tyrion has been called one of the author 's finest creations and most popular characters by The New York Times . Martin has named the character as his favorite in the series .   Introduced in 1996 's A Game of Thrones , Tyrion is a dwarf and member of House Lannister , one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the fictional kingdom of Westeros . He subsequently appeared in Martin 's A Clash of Kings ( 1998 ) and A Storm of Swords ( 2000 ) . Tyrion was one of a few prominent characters that were not included in 2005 's A Feast for Crows , but returned in the next novel A Dance with Dragons ( 2011 ) . The character will also appear in the forthcoming volume The Winds of Winter . The popularity of the character led Martin and Bantam Books to publish The Wit & Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister , an illustrated collection of Tyrion quotes from the novels , in 2013 .   In the story , Tyrion uses his status as a Lannister to mitigate the impact of the marginalization and derision he has received all of his life -- even from his own family . Knowing that no one will ever take him seriously , he soothes his inadequacies with wine , wit , and self-indulgence . But as the peaceful rule of King Robert Baratheon begins to come apart , Tyrion sees how ill-equipped his family are to hold everything together . He first saves his own neck from the vengeful Catelyn Stark and her sister Lysa Arryn , then is tasked by his father Tywin to impose order on the capital of King 's Landing -- as well as his nephew Joffrey , the new king -- as civil war is sparked . Tyrion struggles to strengthen and protect the city and family who hate him and refuse to see the peril they are in ; when his father returns , Tyrion becomes vulnerable to the wrath and machinations of the self-serving courtiers who surround Joffrey -- including Tyrion 's own scheming sister Cersei . Tyrion escapes death again but at great cost , and in fleeing Westeros finds himself in even more danger , but without his Lannister resources .   Peter Dinklage has garnered enormous praise for his portrayal of the character . In 2011 , Dinklage received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and later the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series , Miniseries , or Television Film for his portrayal of Tyrion in the HBO series . He won the Emmy again in 2015 . Among other accolades , Dinklage has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award in 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , and 2016 .


Costa Rica Costa Rica ( -LSB- kɒstə_ˈriːkə -RSB- -LSB- ˈkosta ˈrika -RSB- ; literally meaning `` Rich Coast '' ) , officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( República de Costa Rica ) , is a country in Central America , bordered by Nicaragua to the north , Panama to the southeast , the Pacific Ocean to the west , the Caribbean Sea to the east , and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island . It has a population of around 4.5 million , of whom nearly a quarter live in the metropolitan area of the capital and largest city , San José .   Costa Rica was sparsely inhabited by indigenous people before coming under Spanish rule in the 16th century . It remained a peripheral colony of the empire until independence as part of the short-lived First Mexican Empire , followed by membership in the United Provinces of Central America , from which it formally declared sovereignty in 1847 . Since then , Costa Rica has remained among the most stable , prosperous , and progressive nations in Latin America . Following a brief civil war , it permanently abolished its army in 1949 , becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army . Costa Rica is an observing member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie ( OIF ) .   The country has consistently performed favourably in the Human Development Index ( HDI ) , placing 69th in the world , among the highest of any Latin American nation . It has also been cited by the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) as having attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels , with a better record on human development and inequality than the median of the region . Its rapidly developing economy , once heavily dependent on agriculture , has diversified to include sectors such as finance , pharmaceuticals , and ecotourism .   Costa Rica is known for its progressive environmental policies , being the only country to meet all five UNDP criteria established to measure environmental sustainability . It was ranked 42nd in the world , and third in the Americas , in the 2016 Environmental Performance Index , was twice ranked the best performing country in the New Economics Foundation 's ( NEF ) Happy Planet Index , which measures environmental sustainability , and was identified by the NEF as the greenest country in the world in 2009 . Costa Rica officially plans to become a carbon-neutral country by 2021 . In 2012 , it became the first country in the Americas to ban recreational hunting .


Pre-Columbian era The Pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents , spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during the Early Modern period .   While the phrase `` pre-Columbian era '' literally refers only to the time preceding Christopher Columbus 's voyages of 1492 , in practice the phrase is usually used to denote the entire history of indigenous Americas cultures until those cultures were vanquished , diminished , or extensively altered by Europeans , even if this happened decades or centuries after Columbus 's first landing . For this reason the alternative terms of Precontact Americas , Pre-Colonial Americas or Prehistoric Americas are also in use . In areas of Latin America the term usually used is Pre-Hispanic . Similarly , the Norse colonization of North America is generally not treated as `` pre-Columbian '' , despite the fact that it predates Columbus by several centuries .   Many pre-Columbian civilizations established hallmarks which included permanent settlements , cities , agriculture , civic and monumental architecture , major earthworks , and complex societal hierarchies . Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first permanent European colonies and the arrival of enslaved Africans ( c. late 16th -- early 17th centuries ) , and are known only through archaeological investigations and oral history . Other civilizations were contemporary with the colonial period and were described in European historical accounts of the time . A few , such as the Maya civilization , had their own written records . Because many Christian Europeans of the time viewed such texts as heretical , men like Diego de Landa destroyed many texts in pyres , even while seeking to preserve native histories . Only a few hidden documents have survived in their original languages , while others were transcribed or dictated into Spanish , giving modern historians glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge .   Indigenous American cultures continue to evolve after the pre-Columbian era . Many of these peoples and their descendants continue traditional practices , while evolving and adapting new cultural practices and technologies into their lives .


El Salvador El Salvador ( -LSB- ɛl_ˈsælvədɔr -RSB- -LSB- el salβaˈðor -RSB- ) , officially the Republic of El Salvador ( -LSB- República de El Salvador , links = no -RSB- , literally `` Republic of The Savior '' ) , is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America . El Salvador 's capital and largest city is San Salvador . , the country had a population of approximately 6.38 million , consisting largely of Mestizos of European and Indigenous American descent .   El Salvador was for centuries inhabited by several Mesoamerican nations , especially the Cuzcatlecs , as well as the Lenca and Maya . In the early 16th century , the Spanish Empire conquered the territory , incorporating it into the Viceroyalty of New Spain ruled from Mexico City . In 1821 , the country achieved independence from Spain as part of the First Mexican Empire , only to further secede as part of the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823 . Upon the republic 's dissolution in 1841 , El Salvador became sovereign until forming a short-lived union with Honduras and Nicaragua called the Greater Republic of Central America , which lasted from 1895 to 1898 .   From the late 19th to the mid-20th century , El Salvador endured chronic political and economic instability characterized by coups , revolts , and a succession of authoritarian rulers . Persistent socioeconomic inequality and civil unrest culminated in the devastating Salvadoran Civil War ( 1979 -- 1992 ) , which was fought between the military-led government and a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups . The conflict ended with a negotiated settlement that established a multiparty constitutional republic , which remains in place to this day .   El Salvador 's economy was historically dominated by agriculture , beginning with the indigo plant ( añil '' in Spanish ) , the most important crop during the colonial period , and followed thereafter by coffee , which by the early 20th century accounted for 90 percent of export earnings . El Salvador has since reduced its dependence on coffee and embarked on diversifying the economy by opening up trade and financial links and expanding the manufacturing sector . The colón , the official currency of El Salvador since 1892 , was replaced by the U.S. dollar in 2001 .   , El Salvador ranks 12th among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and fourth in Central America ( behind Panama , Costa Rica , and Belize ) due in part to ongoing rapid industrialisation . However , the country continues to struggle with high rates of poverty , inequality , and crime .


Central America Central America ( América Central or Centroamérica ) is the southernmost , isthmian portion of the North American continent , which connects with South America on the southeast . Central America is bordered by Mexico to the north , Colombia to the southeast , the Caribbean Sea to the east , and the Pacific Ocean to the west . Central America consists of seven countries : Belize , Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua , and Panama . The combined population of Central America is between 41,739,000 ( 2009 estimate ) and 42,688,190 ( 2012 estimate ) .   Central America is a part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot , which extends from northern Guatemala through to central Panama . Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc , there is a great deal of seismic activity in the region . Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur frequently ; these natural disasters have resulted in the loss of many lives and much property .   In the Pre-Columbian era , Central America was inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west and the Isthmo-Colombian peoples to the south and east . Soon after Christopher Columbus 's voyages to the Americas , the Spanish began to colonize the Americas . From 1609 until 1821 , most of the territory within Central America -- except for the lands that would become Belize and Panama -- was governed by the Viceroyalty of New Spain from Mexico City as the Captaincy General of Guatemala . After New Spain achieved independence from Spain in 1821 , some of its provinces were annexed to the First Mexican Empire , but soon seceded from Mexico to form the Federal Republic of Central America , which lasted from 1823 to 1838 . The seven states finally became independent autonomous states : beginning with Nicaragua , Honduras , Costa Rica , and Guatemala ( 1838 ) ; followed by El Salvador ( 1841 ) ; then Panama ( 1903 ) ; and finally Belize ( 1981 ) .


Mesoamerica Mesoamerica was a region and cultural area in the Americas , extending up there approximately from central Mexico to Belize , Guatemala , El Salvador , Honduras , Nicaragua , and northern Costa Rica , within which pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries . It is one of six areas in the world where ancient civilization arose independently , and the second in the Americas along with Norte Chico ( Caral-Supe ) in present-day northern coastal Peru .   As a cultural area , Mesoamerica is defined by a mosaic of cultural traits developed and shared by its indigenous cultures . Beginning as early as 7000 BC , the domestication of cacao , maize , beans , tomato , squash and chili , as well as the turkey and dog , caused a transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherer tribal grouping to the organization of sedentary agricultural villages . In the subsequent Formative period , agriculture and cultural traits such as a complex mythological and religious tradition , a vigesimal numeric system , and a complex calendric system , a tradition of ball playing , and a distinct architectural style , were diffused through the area . Also in this period , villages began to become socially stratified and develop into chiefdoms with the development of large ceremonial centers , interconnected by a network of trade routes for the exchange of luxury goods , such as obsidian , jade , cacao , cinnabar , Spondylus shells , hematite , and ceramics . While Mesoamerican civilization did know of the wheel and basic metallurgy , neither of these technologies became culturally important .   Among the earliest complex civilizations was the Olmec culture , which inhabited the Gulf coast of Mexico and extended inland and southwards across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec . Frequent contact and cultural interchange between the early Olmec and other cultures in Chiapas , Guatemala and Oaxaca laid the basis for the Mesoamerican cultural area . All this was facilitated by considerable regional communications in ancient Mesoamerica , especially along the Pacific coast .   This formative period saw the spread of distinct religious and symbolic traditions , as well as artistic and architectural complexes . In the subsequent Preclassic period , complex urban polities began to develop among the Maya , with the rise of centers such as El Mirador , Calakmul and Tikal , and the Zapotec at Monte Albán . During this period , the first true Mesoamerican writing systems were developed in the Epi-Olmec and the Zapotec cultures , and the Mesoamerican writing tradition reached its height in the Classic Maya hieroglyphic script .   Mesoamerica is one of only three regions of the world where writing is known to have independently developed ( the others being ancient Sumer and China ) . In Central Mexico , the height of the Classic period saw the ascendancy of the city of Teotihuacan , which formed a military and commercial empire whose political influence stretched south into the Maya area and northward . Upon the collapse of Teotihuacán around AD 600 , competition between several important political centers in central Mexico , such as Xochicalco and Cholula , ensued . At this time during the Epi-Classic period , the Nahua peoples began moving south into Mesoamerica from the North , and became politically and culturally dominant in central Mexico , as they displaced speakers of Oto-Manguean languages . During the early post-Classic period , Central Mexico was dominated by the Toltec culture , Oaxaca by the Mixtec , and the lowland Maya area had important centers at Chichén Itzá and Mayapán . Towards the end of the post-Classic period , the Aztecs of Central Mexico built a tributary empire covering most of central Mesoamerica .   The distinct Mesoamerican cultural tradition ended with the Spanish conquest in the 16th century . Over the next centuries , Mesoamerican indigenous cultures were gradually subjected to Spanish colonial rule . Aspects of the Mesoamerican cultural heritage still survive among the indigenous peoples who inhabit Mesoamerica , many of whom continue to speak their ancestral languages , and maintain many practices harking back to their Mesoamerican roots .


Melisandre appeared in the fifth novel in a series.

A Dance with Dragons A Dance with Dragons is the fifth of seven planned novels in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by American author George R. R. Martin . In some areas the paperback edition was published in two parts titled Dreams and Dust and After the Feast . It was the first novel in the series to be published following the commencement of the HBO series adaptation , Game of Thrones , and runs to 1,040 pages .   On March 3 , 2011 , publishing imprint Bantam Spectra announced that the novel would be released on July 12 , 2011 . Martin delivered the manuscript to his editor on April 27 , 2011 ; however , as early as 2006 , Martin made sample chapters available on his website and at Amazon.co.uk . Additionally , the German branch of Amazon.com ( Amazon.de ) released a reported 180 copies two weeks early by mistake . The US hardcover was officially published on July 12 , 2011 , having gone back to press for six printings ( totaling more than 650,000 copies ) prior to the 1,000 + page novel being available ; 298,000 copies in print , digital , and audio formats were sold that first day alone , becoming publishing giant Random House 's biggest book of 2011 and a runaway bestseller . The book was the second in the series to debut at the # 1 position on the New York Times Best Seller list . A few weeks after publication , A Dance with Dragons went on to be # 1 on both Publishers Weekly and USA Today Bestsellers lists .   The novel , along with A Feast for Crows , has been adapted for television as the fifth season of Game of Thrones , although elements of the book have also appeared in the series ' third , fourth and sixth seasons .


Melisandre Melisandre of Asshai is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin , and its television adaptation Game of Thrones . She is a priestess of the god R'hllor and a close advisor to King Stannis Baratheon in his campaign to take the Iron Throne . She is often nicknamed The Red Woman due to the color of her hair and clothes .   Introduced in 1998 's A Clash of Kings , Melisandre originates from the continent Essos and has come to Westeros to propagate her faith in the Red God . She subsequently appeared in Martin 's A Storm of Swords ( 2000 ) and A Dance with Dragons ( 2011 ) .   Melisandre is portrayed by Dutch actress Carice van Houten in the HBO television adaptation .


Naga Chaitanya Naga Chaitanya Akkineni ( born 23 November 1986 ) is an Indian film actor who works in Telugu cinema . He debuted in the 2009 film Josh , directed by newcomer Vasu Varma and produced by Dil Raju . Prior to the release of his first film , he signed his second film with Indira Productions , which was to be directed by Gautham Menon . Ye Maaya Chesave released in February 2010 with comparisons drawn to his father Akkineni Nagarjuna 's romantic film , Geethanjali .   His next movie was Sukumar 's 100 % Love co-starring Tamannaah . The movie was shortly followed by Dhada and Bejawada . Chaitanya also appeared in the movie Autonagar Surya . In 2013 , he appeared in Thadaka . The film Manam also featured other members of his family . He has also appeared in Oka Laila Kosam .


Tom Hardy was in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

Tom Hardy Edward Thomas Hardy  ( born 15 September 1977 ) is an English actor and producer . His motion picture debut was in Ridley Scott 's 2001 action film Black Hawk Down . Hardy 's other notable films include the science fiction film Star Trek : Nemesis ( 2002 ) , the crime film RocknRolla ( 2008 ) , biographical psychological drama Bronson ( 2008 ) , sports drama Warrior ( 2011 ) , Cold War espionage film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ( 2011 ) , crime drama Lawless ( 2012 ) , drama Locke ( 2013 ) , mobster film The Drop ( 2014 ) , and the biographical western thriller The Revenant ( 2015 ) , for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor . He portrayed `` Mad '' Max Rockatansky in the post-apocalyptic film Mad Max : Fury Road ( 2015 ) , and both of the Kray twins in the crime thriller Legend ( 2015 ) . He has appeared in three Christopher Nolan films : the science fiction thriller Inception ( 2010 ) , portrayed Bane in the superhero film The Dark Knight Rises ( 2012 ) , and the action-thriller Dunkirk ( 2017 ) based on the British evacuation in World War II .   Hardy 's television roles include the HBO war drama miniseries Band of Brothers ( 2001 ) , the BBC historical drama miniseries The Virgin Queen ( 2005 ) , ITV 's Wuthering Heights ( 2008 ) , the Sky 1 drama series The Take ( 2009 ) , and the BBC historical crime drama television series Peaky Blinders ( 2013 ) . He created , co-produced and took the lead in the eight-part historical fiction series Taboo ( 2017 ) on BBC One and FX .   Hardy has performed on both British and American stages . He was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his role as Skank in the 2003 production of In Arabia We 'd All Be Kings , and was awarded the 2003 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performances in both In Arabia We 'd All be Kings and for his role as Luca in Blood . He starred in the 2007 production of The Man of Mode and received positive reviews for his role in the 2010 Philip Seymour Hoffman-directed play The Long Red Road .


Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was in a suspense movie of Danish origin.

Nightwatch (1994 film) Nightwatch ( Nattevagten ) is a 1994 Danish thriller film directed and written by Danish director Ole Bornedal . The film involves Martin ( Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ) who gets a student job as night watchman at the Forensic Medicine Institute . When making his rounds he finds he must go to where the deceased people are kept . At the same time , a series of murders occur among women in Copenhagen as well as mysterious and unexplained things happening in the medical department .   Nightwatch was a success in Denmark and was shown at the Fantafestival in 1995 . An American remake of the film which was also directed by Bornedal , was released in 1997 . The original Nightwatch was included on a list of the top 100 Danish film as chosen by Kosmorama .


Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ( -LSB- neɡ̊olaɪ̯ kʰʌsd̥ɐ ˈʋald̥ɑʊ̯ -RSB- ; born 27 July 1970 ) is a Danish actor , producer and screenwriter . He graduated from Danish National School of Theatre in Copenhagen in 1993 . Coster-Waldau 's breakthrough performance in Denmark was his role in the film Nightwatch ( 1994 ) . Since then he has appeared in numerous films in his native Scandinavia and Europe in general , including Headhunters ( 2011 ) and A Thousand Times Good Night ( 2013 ) .   In the United States , his debut film role was in the war film Black Hawk Down ( 2001 ) , playing Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon . He then played Detective John Amsterdam in the short-lived Fox television series New Amsterdam ( 2008 ) , as well as appearing as Frank Pike in the 2009 Fox television film Virtuality , originally intended as a pilot . He became widely known to a broad audience for his current role as Ser Jaime Lannister , in the HBO series Game of Thrones . In 2017 , he became one of the highest paid actors on television and earned # 2 million per episode of Game of Thrones .


Luxembourg Luxembourg -LSB- ˈlətsəbuərx -RSB- Luxemburg ) , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe . It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north , Germany to the east , and France to the south . Its capital , Luxembourg City , is , together with Brussels and Strasbourg , one of the three official capitals of the European Union and the seat of the European Court of Justice , the highest juridical authority in the EU . Its culture , people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours , making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures . This is emphasised by the three official languages , Luxembourgish , French , and German . The repeated invasions by its neighbor countries , especially in World War II , resulted in the country 's strong will for mediation between France and Germany and , among other things , led to the foundation of the European Union .   With an area of 2,586 km2 , it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe , about the same size as the US state of Rhode Island or the English county of Northamptonshire . In 2016 , Luxembourg had a population of 576 249 , which makes it one of the least-populous countries in Europe , but by far the one with the highest population growth rate . As a representative democracy with a constitutional monarch , it is headed by a Grand Duke , Henri , Grand Duke of Luxembourg , and is the world 's only remaining grand duchy . Luxembourg is a developed country , with an advanced economy and the world 's highest GDP ( PPP ) per capita , according to the United Nations in 2014 . The City of Luxembourg with its old quarters and fortifications was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 due to the exceptional preservation of the vast fortifications and the old city .   The history of Luxembourg is considered to begin in 963 , when count Siegfried I acquired a rocky promontory and its Roman-era fortifications known as Lucilinburhuc , ′ little castle ′ , and the surrounding area from the Imperial Abbey of St. Maximin in nearby Trier .  Siegfried 's descendants increased their territory through marriage , war and vassal relations . At the end of the 13th century , the Counts of Luxembourg reigned over a considerable territory .   In 1308 , Henry VII , Count of Luxembourg became King of the Germans and Holy Roman Emperor . The House of Luxembourg produced four Holy Roman Emperors at the high time of the Middle Ages . In 1354 , Charles IV elevated the County to the Duchy of Luxembourg . Since Sigismund had no male heir , the Duchy became part of the Burgundian Circle and then one of the Seventeen Provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands .  Over the centuries , the City and Fortress of Luxembourg , of great strategic importance situated between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg territories , was gradually built up to be one of the most reputed fortifications in Europe . After belonging to both the France of Louis XIV and the Austria of Maria Theresia , Luxembourg became part of the First French Republic and Empire under Napoleon .   The present-day state of Luxembourg first emerged at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 . The Grand-Duchy , with its powerful fortress , became an independent state under the personal possession of William I of the Netherlands with a Prussian garrison to guard the city against another invasion from France .   In 1839 , following the turmoil of the Belgian Revolution , the purely French-speaking part of Luxembourg was ceded to Belgium and the Luxembourgish-speaking part became what is the present state of Luxembourg .   The steel industry exploiting the Red Lands ' rich iron-ore grounds in the beginning of the 20th century drove the country 's industrialisation . ArcelorMittal , the world 's largest steel producer with headquarters in Luxembourg City , is still a reminder of these times . After the decline of the steel industry in the 1970s , the country focused on establishing itself as a global financial centre and developed into the banking hub it is reputed for . Since the beginning of the 21st century , its governments have focused on developing the country into a knowledge economy , with the founding of the University of Luxembourg and a national space programme , projecting the first involvement in a non-manned lunar expedition by 2020 .   Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union , OECD , United Nations , NATO , and Benelux , reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic , political , and military integration . The city of Luxembourg , which is the country 's capital and largest city , is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the EU . Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014 , which was a first in the country 's history . In 2016 Luxembourgish citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 172 countries and territories , ranking the Luxembourgian passport 6th in the world , tied with countries such as Canada and Switzerland .


Iron Man 3 is the first movie in a series.

Iron Man (2008 film) Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name , produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures . It is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . The film was directed by Jon Favreau , with a screenplay by Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway . It stars Robert Downey Jr. , Terrence Howard , Jeff Bridges , Shaun Toub and Gwyneth Paltrow . In Iron Man , Tony Stark , an industrialist and master engineer , builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero Iron Man .   The film had been in development since 1990 at Universal Pictures , 20th Century Fox , or New Line Cinema at various times , before Marvel Studios reacquired the rights in 2006 . Marvel put the project in production as its first self-financed film , with Paramount Pictures as its distributor . Favreau signed on as director , aiming for a naturalistic feel , and he chose to shoot the film primarily in California , rejecting the East Coast setting of the comics to differentiate the film from numerous superhero films set in New York City-esque environments . Filming began in March 2007 and concluded in June . During filming , the actors were free to create their own dialogue because pre-production was focused on the story and action . Rubber and metal versions of the armors , created by Stan Winston 's company , were mixed with computer-generated imagery to create the title character .   Iron Man premiered in Sydney on April 14 , 2008 , and was released in theaters on May 2 , 2008 . The film was a critical and commercial success , grossing over $ 585 million and garnering widespread critical acclaim . Downey 's performance as Tony Stark was particularly praised . The American Film Institute selected the film as one of the ten best of the year . It was also nominated for two Academy Awards for the Best Sound Editing and the Best Visual Effects . Two sequels , Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3 , were released on May 7 , 2010 , and May 3 , 2013 , respectively .


Iron Man 3 Iron Man 3 ( stylized onscreen as Iron Man Three ) is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man , produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures . It is the sequel to 2008 's Iron Man and 2010 's Iron Man 2 , and the seventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Shane Black directed a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce , which uses concepts from the `` Extremis '' story arc by Warren Ellis . The film stars Robert Downey Jr. , Gwyneth Paltrow , Don Cheadle , Guy Pearce , Rebecca Hall , Stephanie Szostak , James Badge Dale , Jon Favreau , and Ben Kingsley . In Iron Man 3 , Tony Stark deals with posttraumatic stress disorder caused by the events of The Avengers , while investigating the reemergence of the Ten Rings , led by the mysterious Mandarin and comes into a conflict with an old enemy : Aldrich Killian .   After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010 , Favreau , who served as director , decided not to return , and in February 2011 Black was hired to write and direct the film . Black and Pearce opted to make the script more character-centric and focused on thriller elements . Throughout April and May 2012 , the film 's supporting cast was filled out , with Kingsley , Pearce , and Hall brought in to portray key roles . Filming began on May 23 , and lasted through December 17 , 2012 , primarily at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington , North Carolina . Additional shooting took place at various locations around North Carolina , as well as Florida , China , and Los Angeles . The visual effects were handled by 17 companies , including Scanline VFX , Digital Domain , and Weta Digital . The film was converted to 3D in post-production .   Iron Man 3 premiered at Le Grand Rex in Paris on April 14 , 2013 . It began its release on April 25 , 2013 , internationally , and debuted in the United States one week later on May 3 . The film received generally positive reviews and was commercially successful , grossing over $ 1.2 billion worldwide , the second highest-grossing film of 2013 overall , and the second-highest-grossing film at the domestic box office released in 2013 . It became the sixteenth film to gross over $ 1 billion and the 5th-highest-grossing film of all time , with its opening weekend ranking as the 6th-highest-grossing opening of all time . The film also received a nomination for Academy Award in the category of Best Visual Effects , and received another nomination for BAFTA Award in the same category .


Gran Torino Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood , who also starred in the film . The film co-stars Christopher Carley , Bee Vang and Ahney Her . This was Eastwood 's first starring role since 2004 's Million Dollar Baby . The film features a large Hmong American cast , as well as one of Eastwood 's younger sons , Scott . Eastwood 's oldest son , Kyle , provided the score . Gran Torino opened via a limited theatrical release in North America on December 12 , 2008 , and later to a worldwide release on January 9 , 2009 . Set in Detroit , Michigan , it is the first mainstream American film to feature Hmong Americans . Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975 .   The story follows Walt Kowalski , a recently widowed Korean War veteran alienated from his family and angry at the world . Walt 's young neighbor , Thao Vang Lor , is pressured by his cousin into stealing Walt 's prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino for his initiation into a gang . Walt thwarts the theft with his M1 Garand rifle and subsequently develops a relationship with the boy and his family .   Gran Torino was a critical and commercial success , grossing nearly $ 270 million worldwide ( making it Eastwood 's second highest-grossing film to date ) . Within the Hmong community in the United States , the film received both praise and criticism .


Pale Rider Pale Rider is a 1985 American western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood , who also stars in the lead role . The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , as the rider of a pale horse is Death . The film , which took in nearly $ 41 million at the box office , became the highest grossing Western of the 1980s .


Every Which Way but Loose (film) Every Which Way but Loose is a 1978 American adventure comedy film , released by Warner Brothers , produced by Robert Daley and directed by James Fargo . It stars Clint Eastwood in an uncharacteristic and offbeat comedy role , as Philo Beddoe , a trucker and brawler roaming the American West in search of a lost love while accompanied by his friend/manager , Orville , and his pet orangutan , Clyde . In the process Philo manages to cross a motley assortment of characters , including a pair of police officers and an entire motorcycle gang ( the `` Black Widows '' ) , who end up pursuing him for revenge .   Eastwood 's appearance in the film , after his string of spaghetti western and Dirty Harry roles , somewhat startled the film industry and he was reportedly advised against making it . Although it was panned by critics , the film went on to become an enormous success and became , along with its 1980 sequel Any Which Way You Can , two of the highest grossing Eastwood films . When adjusted for inflation , it still ranks as one of the top 200 highest-grossing films of all time .


Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. '' ' ( born May 31 , 1930 ) is an American actor , filmmaker , musician , and political figure . After achieving success in the Western TV series Rawhide , he rose to international fame with his role as the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone 's Dollars trilogy of spaghetti Westerns during the 1960s , and as antihero cop Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films throughout the 1970s and 1980s . These roles , among others , have made Eastwood an enduring cultural icon of masculinity .   For his work in the Western film Unforgiven ( 1992 ) and the sports drama Million Dollar Baby ( 2004 ) , Eastwood won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture , as well as receiving nominations for Best Actor . Eastwood 's greatest commercial successes have been the adventure comedy Every Which Way But Loose ( 1978 ) and its sequel , the action comedy Any Which Way You Can ( 1980 ) , after adjustment for inflation . Other popular films include the Western Hang 'Em High ( 1968 ) , the psychological thriller Play Misty for Me ( 1971 ) , the crime film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot ( 1974 ) , the Western The Outlaw Josey Wales ( 1976 ) , the prison film Escape from Alcatraz ( 1979 ) , the action film Firefox ( 1982 ) , the suspense thriller Tightrope ( 1984 ) , the Western Pale Rider ( 1985 ) , the war films Where Eagles Dare ( 1968 ) , Heartbreak Ridge ( 1986 ) , the action thriller In the Line of Fire ( 1993 ) , the romantic drama The Bridges of Madison County ( 1995 ) , and the drama Gran Torino ( 2008 ) .   In addition to directing many of his own star vehicles , Eastwood has also directed films in which he did not appear , such as the mystery drama Mystic River ( 2003 ) and the war film Letters from Iwo Jima ( 2006 ) , for which he received Academy Award nominations , and the drama Changeling ( 2008 ) . The war drama biopic American Sniper '' ( 2014 ) set box office records for the largest January release ever and was also the largest opening ever for an Eastwood film .   Eastwood received considerable critical praise in France for several films , including some that were not well received in the United States . Eastwood has been awarded two of France 's highest honors : in 1994 he became a recipient of the Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres , and in 2007 he was awarded the Legion of Honour medal . In 2000 , Eastwood was awarded the Italian Venice Film Festival Golden Lion for lifetime achievement .   Since 1967 , Eastwood has run his own production company , Malpaso , which has produced all but four of his American films . Starting in 1986 , Eastwood served for two years as Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea , California , a non-partisan office .


Escape from Alcatraz (film) Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 American prison thriller film directed by Don Siegel . It is an adaptation of the 1963 non-fiction book of the same name by J. Campbell Bruce and dramatizes the 1962 prisoner escape from the maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island . The film stars Clint Eastwood , Jack Thibeau and Fred Ward as prisoners Frank Morris , Clarence Anglin and John Anglin . Allen West was played by Larry Hankin ; his character 's name was changed to Charley Butts . Patrick McGoohan portrays the suspicious , vindictive warden and Danny Glover appears in his film debut . Escape from Alcatraz marks the fifth and final collaboration between Siegel and Eastwood , following Coogan 's Bluff ( 1968 ) , Two Mules for Sister Sara ( 1970 ) , The Beguiled ( 1971 ) and Dirty Harry ( 1971 ) .


Tightrope (film) Tightrope is a 1984 American suspense thriller produced by and starring Clint Eastwood and written and directed by Richard Tuggle .


Any Which Way You Can Any Which Way You Can is a 1980 American action comedy film , starring Clint Eastwood , with Sondra Locke , Geoffrey Lewis , William Smith , and Ruth Gordon in supporting roles . It was directed by Buddy Van Horn . The film is the sequel to the 1978 hit comedy film Every Which Way but Loose .


Thunderbolt and Lightfoot Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is a 1974 American crime film written and directed by Michael Cimino and starring Clint Eastwood , Jeff Bridges , George Kennedy , and Geoffrey Lewis .


Hang 'Em High Hang 'Em High is a 1968 American DeLuxe Color revisionist Western film directed by Ted Post and produced and co-written by Leonard Freeman . It stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper , an innocent man who survives a lynching ; Inger Stevens as a widow who helps him ; Ed Begley as the leader of the gang that lynched Cooper ; and Pat Hingle as the judge who hires him as a U.S. Marshal .   Hang 'Em High was the first production of the Malpaso Company , Eastwood 's production company .   Hingle portrays a fictional judge who mirrors Judge Isaac Parker , who was labeled the `` Hanging Judge '' due to the large number of men he sentenced to be executed during his service as District Judge of the Western District of Arkansas .   The film also depicts the dangers of serving as a U.S. marshal during that period , as many federal marshals were killed while serving under Parker . The fictional Fort Grant , base for operations for that district judge seat , is also a mirror of the factual Fort Smith , Arkansas , where Judge Parker 's court was located .


In the Line of Fire In the Line of Fire is a 1993 American action thriller film , directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Clint Eastwood , John Malkovich and Rene Russo . Written by Jeff Maguire , the film is about a disillusioned and obsessed former CIA agent who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States and the Secret Service agent who tracks him . Eastwood 's character is the sole active-duty Secret Service agent remaining from the detail guarding John F. Kennedy in Dallas , Texas , at the time of his assassination in 1963 . The film also stars Dylan McDermott , Gary Cole , John Mahoney , and Fred Thompson .   The film was co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment , with Columbia handling distribution . Eastwood and Petersen also originally offered the role of Leary to Robert De Niro , who turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with A Bronx Tale . After In the Line of Fire , Eastwood directed every film he starred in , until 2012 's Trouble with the Curve .


Play Misty for Me Play Misty for Me is a 1971 American psychological thriller film , directed by and starring Clint Eastwood , in his directorial debut . Jessica Walter and Donna Mills co-star . The original music score was composed by Dee Barton . In the film , Eastwood plays the role of a radio disc jockey being stalked by an obsessed female fan .   The film was a critical and financial success , with Walter earning praise for her first major film role .


The Outlaw Josey Wales The Outlaw Josey Wales ' is a 1976 American revisionist Western DeLuxe Color and Panavision film set during and after the American Civil War . It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood ( as the eponymous Josey Wales ) , with Chief Dan George , Sondra Locke , Sam Bottoms , and Geraldine Keams . The film tells the story of Josey Wales , a Missouri farmer whose family is murdered by Union militants during the Civil War . Driven to revenge , Wales joins a Confederate guerrilla band and fights in the Civil War . After the war , all the fighters in Wales ' group except for Wales surrender to Union officers , but they end up being massacred . Wales becomes an outlaw and is pursued by bounty hunters and Union soldiers .   The film was adapted by Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman from author Forrest Carter 's 1973 novel The Rebel Outlaw : Josey Wales ( republished , as shown in the movie 's opening credits , as Gone to Texas ) . The film was a commercial success , earning $ 31.8 million against a $ 3.7 million budget . In 1996 , the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for being deemed `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' .   Josey Wales was portrayed by Michael Parks in the film 's 1986 sequel , The Return of Josey Wales '' .


Heartbreak Ridge Heartbreak Ridge is a 1986 American Technicolor war film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood , who also starred in the film . The film also co-stars Mario Van Peebles , Marsha Mason , and Everett McGill . The film was released in the United States on December 5 , 1986 . The story involves the actions of a small group of U.S. Marines during the American invasion of Grenada in 1983 . A portion of the film was filmed on the island .   The title comes from the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge in the Korean War . The character played by Eastwood received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the U.S. Army there , even though he is now a U.S. Marine .   The film was the 1000th to be released in Dolby Stereo .


Firefox (film) Firefox is a 1982 American DeLuxe Color techno-thriller film produced , directed by and starring Clint Eastwood in Panavision . It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name by Craig Thomas .   Though the film was set in Russia , authentic filming locations were not possible due to the Cold War , forcing Eastwood 's and Fritz Manes 's Malpaso Company to rely on Vienna and other locations in Austria to double for many of the Eurasian story locations . The film was shot on a $ 21 million budget , the largest production budget ever for Malpaso . Of that amount , over $ 20 million was spent on special effects .


Where Eagles Dare Where Eagles Dare is a British 1968 World War II action film starring Richard Burton , Clint Eastwood , Mary Ure , and Ingrid Pitt . It was directed by Brian G. Hutton and shot on location in Austria and Bavaria . Alistair MacLean wrote the novel of the same name and the screenplay at the same time . It was his first screenplay ; both film and book became commercial successes .   The film involved some of the top moviemaking professionals of the time and is considered a classic . Major contributors included Hollywood stuntman Yakima Canutt , who as second-unit director shot most of the action scenes ; British stuntman Alf Joint who doubled for Burton in such sequences as the fight on top of the cable car ; award-winning conductor and composer Ron Goodwin , who wrote the film score ; and future Oscar-nominee Arthur Ibbetson , who worked on its cinematography . The film is noted for the phrase `` Broadsword calling Danny Boy '' , used by Richard Burton several times throughout .