The Hobbit (film series) The Hobbit is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson . They are based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien , with large portions of the trilogy inspired by the appendices to The Return of the King , which expand on the story told in The Hobbit , as well as new material and characters written especially for the films . Together they act as a prequel to Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy . The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey ( 2012 ) , The Desolation of Smaug ( 2013 ) , and The Battle of the Five Armies ( 2014 ) .   The screenplay was written by Fran Walsh , Philippa Boyens , Jackson , and Guillermo del Toro , who was originally chosen to direct before his departure from the project . The films take place in the fictional world of Middle-earth sixty years before the beginning of The Lord of the Rings , and follow hobbit Bilbo Baggins ( Martin Freeman ) , who is convinced by the wizard Gandalf the Grey ( Ian McKellen ) to accompany thirteen dwarves , led by Thorin Oakenshield ( Richard Armitage ) , on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug ( voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch ) . The films also expand upon certain elements from the novel and other source material , such as Gandalf 's investigation at Dol Guldur , and the pursuit of Azog and Bolg , who seek vengeance against Thorin and his ancestors .   The films feature an ensemble cast that also includes James Nesbitt , Ken Stott , Evangeline Lilly , Lee Pace and Luke Evans , with several actors reprising their roles from The Lord of the Rings , including Cate Blanchett , Orlando Bloom , Ian Holm , Christopher Lee , Hugo Weaving , Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis . The films also feature Manu Bennett , Sylvester McCoy , Stephen Fry , Mikael Persbrandt , Barry Humphries , and Lawrence Makoare . Also returning for production , among others , were illustrators John Howe and Alan Lee , art director Dan Hennah , cinematographer Andrew Lesnie , and composer Howard Shore , while props were again crafted by Weta Workshop , with visual effects managed by Weta Digital .   The first film in the series premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington , New Zealand on 28 November 2012 . One hundred thousand people lined the red carpet on Courtenay Place , and the entire event was broadcast live on television in New Zealand and streamed over the Internet . The second film of the series premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles , California on 2 December 2013 . The third and final film premiered at Leicester Square in London on 1 December 2014 .   The series was a major financial success , with the films classified as one of the highest-grossing film series of all time , going on to outgross The Lord of the Rings film trilogy . Although critically considered to be inferior to The Lord of the Rings , it was nominated for various awards and won several , though not as many as its predecessor .


Plantation era is the late 18th century to the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861.

Plantation era The Plantation era , also loosely referred to as the Antebellum era , was a period in the history of the Southern United States , from the late 18th century until the start of the American Civil War in 1861 ( which ended slavery in the United States and destroyed much of the economic landscape of the South ) , marked by the economic growth of the South , based on slave-driven plantation farming .   Much of the economic growth of this era can be attributed to the rise of the plantation system and the use of slave labor , which many historians believe to be responsible for the economic woes of the South during the Reconstruction Era . The concurrent rise in large-scale farming and in plantation slavery has led to studies on the institution of slavery as an economic system .   The plantation system eventually grew to form the industrial and social frame of government in the Southern slave states , while the associated institution of slavery became the basis of the Southern social system , ideology , and a set of psychological patterns .


Gone Girl was based on the novel of the same name.

Gone Girl (film) Gone Girl is a 2014 American psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by Gillian Flynn , based on her 2012 novel of the same name . The film stars Ben Affleck , Rosamund Pike , Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry . Set in Southwest Missouri , the story begins as a mystery that follows the events surrounding Nick Dunne ( Affleck ) , who becomes the primary suspect in the sudden disappearance of his wife , Amy ( Pike ) .   The film had its world premiere on opening night of the 52nd New York Film Festival on September 26 , 2014 , before a nationwide theatrical release on October 3 . It was received well critically and was a commercial success , grossing $ 369 million , making it the highest-grossing film by Fincher . Rosamund Pike 's performance was particularly praised , and she received nominations for an Academy Award , BAFTA Award , Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress . Further nominations included a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for Fincher and Golden Globe Award , BAFTA Award and Critics ' Choice Award nominations for Flynn 's adapted screenplay , receiving the award for the latter .


Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland `` Joe '' Barbera ( -LSB- bɑrˈbɛrə -RSB- or -LSB- ˈbɑrbərə -RSB- ; -LSB- barˈbɛːra -RSB- ; March 24 , 1911 -- December 18 , 2006 ) was an American animator , director , producer , storyboard artist , and cartoon artist , whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the 20th century .   Through his young adult years , Barbera lived , attended college , and began his career in New York City . After working odd jobs and as a banker , Barbera joined Van Beuren Studios in 1932 and subsequently Terrytoons in 1936 . In 1937 , he moved to California and while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ( MGM ) , Barbera met William Hanna . The two men began a collaboration that was at first best known for producing Tom and Jerry and live action/animated hybrid films . In 1957 , after MGM dissolved their animation department , they co-founded Hanna-Barbera , which became the most successful television animation studio in the business , producing programs such as The Flintstones , Yogi Bear , Scooby-Doo , Top Cat , The Smurfs , Huckleberry Hound and The Jetsons . In 1967 , Hanna-Barbera was sold to Taft Broadcasting for $ 12 million , but Hanna and Barbera remained heads of the company until 1991 . At that time , the studio was sold to Turner Broadcasting System , which in turn was merged with Time Warner , owners of Warner Bros. , in 1996 ; Hanna and Barbera stayed on as advisors .   Hanna and Barbera won seven Academy Awards and eight Emmy Awards . Their cartoon shows have become cultural icons , and their cartoon characters have appeared in other media such as films , books , and toys . Hanna-Barbera 's shows had a worldwide audience of over 300 million people in the 1960s and have been translated into more than 20 languages .


R. Madhavan was a cast member in Rang De Basanti.

R. Madhavan Ranganathan Madhavan ( born 1 June 1970 ) is an Indian actor , writer and film producer . Madhavan has received two Filmfare Awards , an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations . He has been described as one of the few actors in India who is able to achieve pan-Indian appeal , appearing in films from seven different languages .   Madhavan began his acting career with television guest appearances , including a role on the Zee TV prime-time soap opera Banegi Apni Baat in 1996 . After appearing in commercials and in small roles , he later gained recognition in the Tamil film industry through Mani Ratnam 's successful romance film Alaipayuthey ( 2000 ) . Madhavan soon developed an image as a romantic hero with notable roles in two of 2001 's highest grossing Tamil films , Gautham Menon 's directorial debut Minnale and Madras Talkies ' Dumm Dumm Dumm . He worked with Mani Ratnam again in the critically acclaimed 2002 film Kannathil Muthamittal playing the father of an adopted girl , whilst he achieved commercial success with his role in N. Linguswamy 's action film , Run ( 2002 ) .   Madhavan was cast alongside Kamal Haasan in the 2003 drama Anbe Sivam , which earned him two notable awards for Best Supporting Actor . In 2004 , he gave a critically acclaimed performance as the antagonist in the multi-starrer Aayutha Ezhuthu and the film secured him his first Filmfare Award for the intense portrayal of a rogue . In the mid-2000s , Madhavan also actively pursued a career in Hindi films , by appearing in supporting roles in three highly successful productions , Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra 's Rang De Basanti ( 2006 ) , Mani Ratnam 's biopic Guru ( 2007 ) and Rajkumar Hirani 's 3 Idiots ( 2009 ) , which went on to become the highest grossing Indian film of all time upon release . He simultaneously worked on Tamil films , gaining critical acclaim for his portrayal of a vigilante in his home production Evano Oruvan ( 2007 ) and for the successful bilingual horror film , Yavarum Nalam ( 2009 ) . After appearing in further box office hits , Tanu Weds Manu ( 2011 ) and Vettai ( 2012 ) , Madhavan took a break from acting . Returning after a three-year sabbatical in 2015 , his comeback films , the romantic-comedy Tanu Weds Manu Returns ( 2015 ) and the sports drama Irudhi Suttru ( 2016 ) , both won critical and commercial acclaim .   In addition to his acting career , Madhavan has worked as a writer on his films , hosted television programmes and has been a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products . He has also worked as a film producer , first making Evano Oruvan with Leukos Films , before setting up Tricolour Films to produce Saala Khadoos ( 2016 ) . Madhavan is noted for his philanthropic activities and promotes various causes such as environment , health and education . He is particularly vocal about the protection of animals and was awarded PETA 's Person of the Year recognition in 2012 .


The Shield The Shield is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12 , 2002 , on FX in the United States , and concluded on November 25 , 2008 , after seven seasons . Known for its portrayal of corrupt police officers , it was originally advertised as Rampart in reference to the true life Rampart Division police scandal , on which the show 's Strike Team was loosely based . The series was created by Shawn Ryan and The Barn Productions for Fox Television Studios and Sony Pictures Television .   Several notable film actors took extended roles on the show , including Glenn Close , who was the female lead during the fourth season , Forest Whitaker , who guest starred in seasons 5 and 6 , Laura Harring , in season 5 , Franka Potente , in season 6 , and Laurie Holden , in season 7 .   The series has received critical acclaim , as well as several awards and nominations . It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series -- Drama in 2002 , and the final season won a 2008 AFI Award for best television series . In 2013 , TV Guide ranked The Shield # 50 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time . Chiklis won both the Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama in 2002 .


Jeff Ament released zero albums on Monkeywrench Records.

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament ( born March 10 , 1963 ) is an American musician and songwriter who serves as the bassist for the American rock band Pearl Jam .   Along with Stone Gossard , Mike McCready , and Eddie Vedder , he is one of the band 's founding members , and is also known for his work prior to Pearl Jam with the 1980s Seattle-based grunge rock bands Green River and Mother Love Bone , and is particularly notable for his work with the fretless bass , upright bass , and twelve-string bass guitar . Ament is also a member of the bands , Tres Mts. , Three Fish and RNDM .   In 2008 , Ament released his first solo album , Tone . A second solo album , While My Heart Beats , followed in 2012 .   Ament was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pearl Jam on April 7 , 2017 .


Tone (Jeff Ament album) Tone is the debut solo album of American rock bassist and Pearl Jam-member Jeff Ament , released September 16 , 2008 on Monkeywrench Records . 3,000 copies of the album were pressed and distributed through independent record stores across the United States , as well as through Pearl Jam 's official website . The album has also been made available as a digital download via Pearl Jam 's official website for US$ 4.99 .


Texas is popularly associated with deserts, despite them only making up less than 10% of its land area.

Texas Texas ( -LSB- ˈtɛksəs -RSB- , -LSB- localˈtɛksᵻz -RSB- Texas or Tejas -LSB- ˈtexas -RSB- ) is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population . Geographically located in the South Central region of the country , Texas shares borders with the U.S. states of Louisiana to the east , Arkansas to the northeast , Oklahoma to the north , New Mexico to the west , and the Mexican states of Chihuahua , Coahuila , Nuevo León , and Tamaulipas to the southwest , while the Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast .   Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth largest in the U.S. , while San Antonio is the second most populous in the state and seventh largest in the U.S. Dallas -- Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country , respectively . Other major cities include Austin , the second most populous state capital in the U.S. , and El Paso . Texas is nicknamed `` The Lone Star State '' to signify its former status as an independent republic , and as a reminder of the state 's struggle for independence from Mexico . The `` Lone Star '' can be found on the Texan state flag and on the Texan state seal . The origin of Texas 's name is from the word `` Tejas , '' which means `` friends '' in the Caddo language .   Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault , Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both the U.S. Southern and Southwestern regions . Although Texas is popularly associated with the U.S. southwestern deserts , less than 10 % of Texas ' land area is desert . Most of the population centers are located in areas of former prairies , grasslands , forests , and the coastline . Traveling from east to west , one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods , to rolling plains and rugged hills , and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend .   The term `` six flags over Texas `` For example , as used by the large Grand Prairie -- based national and international amusement park operator Six Flags refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory . Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas . France held a short-lived colony . Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence , becoming an independent Republic . In 1845 , Texas joined the union as the 28th state . The state 's annexation set off a chain of events that led to the Mexican -- American War in 1846 . A slave state before the American Civil War , Texas declared its secession from the U.S. in early 1861 , and officially joined the Confederate States of America on March 2 of the same year . After the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government , Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation .   One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle . Due to its long history as a center of the industry , Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy . The state 's economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century , when oil discoveries initiated an economic boom in the state . With strong investments in universities , Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry in the mid-20th century . As of 2015 , it is second on the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with 54 . With a growing base of industry , the state leads in many industries , including agriculture , petrochemicals , energy , computers and electronics , aerospace , and biomedical sciences . Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product .


Rock music originated as jazz music in the 1970s.

Rock music Rock music is a genre of popular music that originated as `` rock and roll '' in the United States in the early 1950s , and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later , particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States . It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll , a style which drew heavily on the African-American genres of blues and rhythm and blues , and from country music . Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres such as electric blues and folk , and incorporated influences from jazz , classical and other musical styles . Musically , rock has centered on the electric guitar , usually as part of a rock group with electric bass and drums and one or more singers . Typically , rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form , but the genre has become extremely diverse . Like pop music , lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political .   By the late 1960s `` classic rock '' period , a number of distinct rock music subgenres had emerged , including hybrids like blues rock , folk rock , country rock , raga rock , and jazz-rock , many of which contributed to the development of psychedelic rock , which was influenced by the countercultural psychedelic and hippie scene . New genres that emerged included progressive rock , which extended the artistic elements ; glam rock , which highlighted showmanship and visual style ; and the diverse and enduring subgenre of heavy metal , which emphasized volume , power , and speed . In the second half of the 1970s , punk rock reacted by producing stripped-down , energetic social and political critiques . Punk was an influence in the 1980s on new wave , post-punk and eventually alternative rock . From the 1990s alternative rock began to dominate rock music and break into the mainstream in the form of grunge , Britpop , and indie rock . Further fusion subgenres have since emerged , including pop punk , rap rock , and rap metal , as well as conscious attempts to revisit rock 's history , including the garage rock/post-punk and synth-pop revivals at the beginning of the 2000s ( decade ) .   Rock music has also embodied and served as the vehicle for cultural and social movements , leading to major subcultures including mods and rockers in the UK and the hippie counterculture that spread out from San Francisco in the US in the 1960s . Similarly , 1970s punk culture spawned the goth and emo subcultures . Inheriting the folk tradition of the protest song , rock music has been associated with political activism as well as changes in social attitudes to race , sex and drug use , and is often seen as an expression of youth revolt against adult consumerism and conformity .


Miley Cyrus's father is Billy Ray Cyrus.

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


Asset management may apply to intangible assets such as intellectual property.

Asset management Asset management , broadly defined , refers to any system that monitors and maintains things of value to an entity or group . It may apply to both tangible assets ( such as buildings ) and to intangible assets such as human capital , intellectual property , goodwill and/or financial assets ) . Asset management is a systematic process of deploying , operating , maintaining , upgrading , and disposing of assets cost-effectively .   The term is most commonly used in the financial sector to describe people and companies that manage investments on behalf of others . These include , for example , investment managers that manage the assets of a pension fund .   Alternative views of asset management in the engineering environment are : the practice of managing assets to achieve the greatest return ( particularly useful for productive assets such as plant and equipment ) , and the process of monitoring and maintaining facilities systems , with the objective of providing the best possible service to users in all dimensions ( appropriate for public infrastructure assets ) .


The Chernobyl disaster ultimately involved 503,000 workers.

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster , also referred to as the Chernobyl accident , was a catastrophic nuclear accident . It occurred on 26 April 1986 in the No. 4 light water graphite moderated reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat , in what was then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union ( USSR ) .   During a late night safety test which simulated a station blackout power-failure and in which safety systems were deliberately turned off , a combination of inherent reactor design flaws , together with the reactor operators arranging the core in a manner contrary to the checklist for the test , eventually resulted in uncontrolled reaction conditions that flashed water into steam generating a destructive steam explosion and a subsequent open-air graphite fire.Although most reports on the Chernobyl accident refer to a number of graphite fires , it is highly unlikely that the graphite itself burned . According to the General Atomics website < http://gt-mhr.ga.com/safety.php > : `` It is often incorrectly assumed that the combustion behavior of graphite is similar to that of charcoal and coal . Numerous tests and calculations have shown that it is virtually impossible to burn high-purity , nuclear-grade graphites . '' On Chernobyl , the same source states : `` Graphite played little or no role in the progression or consequences of the accident . The red glow observed during the Chernobyl accident was the expected color of luminescence for graphite at 700 ° C and not a large-scale graphite fire , as some have incorrectly assumed . '' Similarly , nuclear physicist Yevgeny Velikhov , < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4918742.stm > noted some 2 weeks after the accident that `` Until now the possibility of a catastrophe really did exist : A great quantity of fuel and graphite of the reactor was in an incandescent state '' That is , all the nuclear-decay heat that was generated inside the uranium fuel ( heat which would normally be extracted by back-up coolant pumps , in an undamaged reactor ) was instead responsible for making the fuel itself and any graphite in contact with it , to glow red-hot . This is contrary to the oft cited interpretation , which is that the graphite was red-hot chiefly because it was chemically oxidizing with the air . This fire produced considerable updrafts for about 9 days , that lofted plumes of fission products into the atmosphere , with the estimated radioactive inventory that was released during this very hot fire phase , approximately equal in magnitude to the airborne fission products released in the initial destructive explosion . Practically all of this radioactive material would then go on to fall-out/precipitate onto much of the surface of the western USSR and Europe .   The Chernobyl accident dominates the Energy accidents sub-category , of most disastrous nuclear power plant accident in history , both in terms of cost and casualties . It is one of only two nuclear energy accidents classified as a level 7 event ( the maximum classification ) on the International Nuclear Event Scale , the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011 . The struggle to safeguard against scenarios which were , at many times falsely , perceived as having the potential for greater catastrophe and the later decontamination efforts of the surroundings , ultimately involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles . During the accident , blast effects caused 2 deaths within the facility and later 29 firemen and employees died in the days-to-months afterward from acute radiation syndrome , with the potential for long-term cancers still being investigated .   The remains of the No. 4 reactor building were enclosed in a large sarcophagus ( radiation shield ) by December 1986 , at a time when what was left of the reactor was entering the cold shut-down phase ; the enclosure was built quickly as occupational safety for the crews of the other undamaged reactors at the power station , with No. 3 continuing to produce electricity into 2000 .   The accident motivated safety upgrades on all remaining Soviet-designed reactors in the RBMK ( Chernobyl No. 4 ) family , of which eleven continued to power electric grids as of 2013 .


Grace Kelly worked under famed director Alfred Hitchcock.

Rear Window Rear Window is a 1954 American Technicolor mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich 's 1942 short story `` It Had to Be Murder '' . Originally released by Paramount Pictures , the film stars James Stewart , Grace Kelly , Wendell Corey , Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr . It was screened at the 1954 Venice Film Festival .   The film is considered by many filmgoers , critics and scholars to be one of Hitchcock 's best and one of the greatest movies ever made . The film received four Academy Award nominations and was ranked No. 42 on AFI 's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list and No. 48 on the 10th-anniversary edition . In 1997 , Rear Window was added to the United States National Film Registry in the Library of Congress as being `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' .


Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly ( November 12 , 1929September 14 , 1982 ) was an American actress who became Princess of Monaco after marrying Prince Rainier III , in April 1956 .   After embarking on an acting career in 1950 , at age 20 , Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions and more than 40 episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television . In October 1953 , she gained stardom from her performance in the film Mogambo , which won her a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination in 1954 . Subsequently , she had leading roles in five films , including The Country Girl ( 1954 ) , for which her deglamorized performance earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress . Other films include High Noon ( 1952 ) with Gary Cooper , Dial M for Murder ( 1954 ) with Ray Milland , Rear Window ( 1954 ) with James Stewart , To Catch a Thief ( 1955 ) with Cary Grant , and High Society ( 1956 ) with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby .   Kelly retired from acting at the age of 26 to marry Rainier and began her duties as Princess of Monaco . They had three children : Caroline , Albert II , and Stéphanie . Kelly retained her American roots , maintaining dual U.S. and Monégasque citizenship . She died on September 14 , 1982 , a day after suffering a stroke while driving her car , which caused a crash .


David Simon David Judah Simon ( born February 9 , 1960 ) is an American author , journalist , writer , and producer . He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years ( 1982 -- 95 ) and wrote Homicide : A Year on the Killing Streets ( 1991 ) and co-wrote The Corner : A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood ( 1997 ) with Ed Burns . The former book was the basis for the NBC series Homicide : Life on the Street ( 1993 -- 99 ) , on which Simon served as a writer and producer . Simon adapted the latter book into the HBO mini-series The Corner ( 2000 ) .   He was the creator , executive producer , head writer , and show runner for all five seasons of the HBO television series The Wire ( 2002 -- 2008 ) . He adapted the non-fiction book Generation Kill into a television mini-series , and served as the show runner for the project . He was selected as one of the 2010 MacArthur Fellows and named an Utne Reader visionary in 2011 . Simon also created the HBO series Treme with Eric Overmyer , which aired for four seasons . Following Treme , Simon wrote the HBO mini-series Show Me a Hero with journalist William F. Zorzi , a colleague at The Baltimore Sun , and on The Wire .   In August 2015 , HBO commissioned two pilots from Simon 's company Blown Deadline Productions . The first drama , The Deuce , about the New York porn industry in the 1970s and 1980s , would star Maggie Gyllenhaal and co-producer James Franco with shooting in New York in the fall of 2015 . The second drama is an untitled program exploring a `` detailed examination of partisanship '' and money in Washington politics , to be co-produced with Carl Bernstein .


Anne Bancroft Anna Maria Louisa Italiano ( September 17 , 1931 -- June 6 , 2005 ) , known professionally as Anne Bancroft , was an American actress associated with the method acting school , having studied under Lee Strasberg . Respected for her acting prowess and versatility , Bancroft was acknowledged for her work in film , theatre and television . She won one Academy Award , three BAFTA Awards , two Golden Globes , two Tony Awards and two Emmy Awards , and several other awards and nominations .   After her film debut in Do n't Bother to Knock ( 1952 ) and a string of supporting film roles during the 1950s , she won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her lead role in The Miracle Worker ( 1962 ) as the teacher of teenage Helen Keller , reprising her role in the Broadway stage play . She won both an Oscar for her work in the film , and a Tony for the same role in the play . On Broadway in 1965 , she played a medieval nun obsessed with a priest ( Jason Robards ) in John Whiting 's play The Devils , based on the Aldous Huxley novel The Devils of Loudun . She was perhaps best known as the seductress , Mrs. Robinson , in The Graduate ( 1967 ) , a role that she later stated had come to overshadow her other work .   Bancroft received several other Oscar nominations and continued in lead roles until the late 1980s .  She played a ballet dancer in The Turning Point ( 1977 ) , and in Agnes of God ( 1985 ) , she played the mother superior of a convent who clashes with a psychiatrist played by Jane Fonda over dealings with a troubled young novice nun played by Meg Tilly . In 1987 , she starred with Anthony Hopkins in 84 Charing Cross Road . She appeared in several movies directed or produced by her second husband , comedian Mel Brooks , including the award-winning drama The Elephant Man as well as comedies To Be or Not to Be and Dracula : Dead and Loving It .   In the 1990s she returned to supporting roles in films , but continued to play lead roles in television films . She received Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations , for The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone ( 2003 ) , as well as an Emmy nomination for 2001 's Haven .


Stranger Things Stranger Things is an American science fiction-horror web television series created , written , directed and co-executive produced by the Duffer Brothers , as well as co-executive-produced by Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen . The first season stars Winona Ryder , David Harbour , Finn Wolfhard , Millie Bobby Brown , Gaten Matarazzo , Caleb McLaughlin , Natalia Dyer , Charlie Heaton , Cara Buono , and Matthew Modine , with Noah Schnapp and Joe Keery in recurring roles . The second season will see Schnapp and Keery promoted to series regulars , along with the addition of Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery .   Set in the fictional town of Hawkins , Indiana in the 1980s , the first season focuses on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy by his friends , older brother and traumatized mother and the local police chief , amid supernatural events occurring around the town including the appearance of a psychokinetic girl who helps the missing boy 's friends in their own search . The second season is set a year after the first , and deals with attempts of the characters to return to normal and consequences from that season .   The Duffer Brothers developed the series as a mix of investigative drama alongside supernatural elements with childlike sensibilities , establishing its time frame in the 1980s and creating a homage #Noun to pop culture of that decade . Several themes and directorial aspects were inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg , John Carpenter , and Stephen King , among others .   The series was released on Netflix on July 15 , 2016 . It received critical acclaim for its characterization , pacing , atmosphere , acting , soundtrack , directing , writing and homages to 1980s genre films . The series has received several industry nominations and awards , including winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2016 . On August 31 , 2016 , Netflix renewed the series for a second season of nine episodes , which is set to be released on October 31 , 2017 .


Conquest of the Planet of the Apes was written by Stephen King.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is a 1972 science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson and written by Paul Dehn . It is the fourth of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs . The film stars Roddy McDowall , Don Murray and Ricardo Montalbán . It explores how the apes rebelled from humanity 's ill treatment following Escape from the Planet of the Apes ( 1971 ) . It was followed by Battle for the Planet of the Apes ( 1973 ) .   The series reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes ( 2011 ) has a similar premise to Conquest , but is not officially a remake .


Steven Spielberg has a career as a director.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence A.I. Artificial Intelligence , also known as A.I. , is a 2001 American science fiction drama film directed by Steven Spielberg . The screenplay by Spielberg was based on a screen story by Ian Watson and the 1969 short story `` Super-Toys Last All Summer Long '' by Brian Aldiss . The film was produced by Kathleen Kennedy , Spielberg and Bonnie Curtis . It stars Haley Joel Osment , Jude Law , Frances O'Connor , Brendan Gleeson and William Hurt . Set in a futuristic post-climate change society , A.I. tells the story of David ( Osment ) , a childlike android uniquely programmed with the ability to love .   Development of A.I. originally began with producer-director Stanley Kubrick , after he acquired the rights to Aldiss ' story in the early 1970s . Kubrick hired a series of writers until the mid-1990s , including Brian Aldiss , Bob Shaw , Ian Watson , and Sara Maitland . The film languished in protracted development for years , partly because Kubrick felt computer-generated imagery was not advanced enough to create the David character , whom he believed no child actor would convincingly portray . In 1995 , Kubrick handed A.I. to Spielberg , but the film did not gain momentum until Kubrick 's death in 1999 . Spielberg remained close to Watson 's film treatment for the screenplay .   The film divided critics , with the overall balance being positive , and grossed approximately $ 235 million . The film was nominated for two Academy Awards at the 74th Academy Awards , for Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score ( by John Williams ) . A.I. is dedicated to Stanley Kubrick .


E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction fantasy film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg , and written by Melissa Mathison . It features special effects by Carlo Rambaldi and Dennis Muren , and stars Henry Thomas , Dee Wallace , Robert MacNaughton , Drew Barrymore , Peter Coyote and Pat Welsh . It tells the story of Elliott ( Thomas ) , a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial , dubbed `` E.T. '' , who is stranded on Earth . He and his siblings help it return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government .   The concept was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents ' divorce in 1960 . In 1980 , Spielberg met Mathison and developed a new story from the stalled sci-fi horror film project Night Skies . It was shot from September to December 1981 in California on a budget of US$ 10.5 million . Unlike most films , it was shot in rough chronological order , to facilitate convincing emotional performances from the young cast .   Released on June 11 , 1982 by Universal Pictures , E.T was an immediate blockbuster , surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time -- a record it held for eleven years until Jurassic Park , another Spielberg-directed film , surpassed it in 1993 . It is the highest-grossing film of the 1980s . Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time , critics acclaimed it as a timeless story of friendship , and it ranks as the greatest science fiction film ever made in a Rotten Tomatoes survey . In 1994 , it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' . It was re-released in 1985 , and then again in 2002 to celebrate its 20th anniversary , with altered shots and additional scenes .


Jurassic Park (film) Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science-fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Gerald R. Molen . The first installment in the Jurassic Park franchise , it is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton and a screenplay written by Crichton and David Koepp . The film is set on the fictional islet of Isla Nublar , located off Central America 's Pacific Coast near Costa Rica , where a billionaire philanthropist and a small team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of cloned dinosaurs .   Before Crichton 's novel was published , four studios put in bids for its film rights . With the backing of Universal Studios , Spielberg acquired the rights for $ 1.5 million before its publication in 1990 ; Crichton was hired for an additional $ 500,000 to adapt the novel for the screen . Koepp wrote the final draft , which left out much of the novel 's exposition and violence and made numerous changes to the characters . Filming took place in California and Hawaii between August and November 1992 , and post-production rolled until May 1993 , supervised by Spielberg in Poland as he filmed Schindler 's List . The dinosaurs were created with groundbreaking computer-generated imagery by Industrial Light & Magic and with life-sized animatronic dinosaurs built by Stan Winston 's team . To showcase the film 's sound design , which included a mixture of various animal noises for the dinosaur roars , Spielberg invested in the creation of DTS , a company specializing in digital surround sound formats .   Following an extensive $ 65 million marketing campaign , which included licensing deals with 100 companies , Jurassic Park grossed over $ 900 million worldwide in its original theatrical run , becoming the highest-grossing film ever at the time , a record held until the 1997 release of Titanic . It was well received by critics , who praised its special effects , John Williams ' musical score , and Spielberg 's direction . Following a 3D re-release in 2013 to celebrate its 20th anniversary , Jurassic Park became the 17th film to surpass $ 1 billion in ticket sales , and the film ranks among the 25 highest-grossing films ever . The film won more than twenty awards , including three Academy Awards for its technical achievements in visual effects and sound design . Jurassic Park is considered a landmark in the development of computer-generated imagery and animatronic visual effects , and was followed by three commercially successful sequels , The Lost World : Jurassic Park ( 1997 ) , Jurassic Park III ( 2001 ) , and Jurassic World ( 2015 ) . A fifth installment is scheduled for a 2018 release .


Bridge of Spies (film) Bridge of Spies is a 2015 historical drama legal thriller film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg , written by Matt Charman , Ethan and Joel Coen and stars Tom Hanks , Mark Rylance , Amy Ryan and Alan Alda . Set during the Cold War , the film tells the story of lawyer James B. Donovan , who is entrusted with negotiating the release of Francis Gary Powers -- a U.S. Air Force pilot whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960 -- in exchange for Rudolf Abel , a convicted Soviet KGB spy held under the custody of the United States , whom he represented at trial . The name of the film refers to the Glienicke Bridge , which connects Potsdam with Berlin , where the prisoner exchange took place . The film was an international co-production of the United States and Germany .   Bridge of Spies was shot under the working title of St. James Place . Principal photography began on September 8 , 2014 , in Brooklyn , New York City , and the production proceeded at Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam . The film was released by Touchstone Pictures on October 16 , 2015 , in the United States and distributed by 20th Century Fox in other territories . It was a box office success , grossing $ 165 million worldwide , and received positive reviews , garnering praise for its direction , screenplay , acting , score , and production merits . The film received six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay , and won Best Supporting Actor for Rylance .


Amistad (film) Amistad is a 1997 American historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg , based on the true story of the 1839 mutiny aboard the slave ship La Amistad , during which Mende tribesmen abducted for the slave trade managed to gain control of their captors ' ship off the coast of Cuba , and the international legal battle that followed their capture by a U.S. revenue cutter . The case was ultimately resolved by the Supreme Court in 1841 .   Morgan Freeman , Nigel Hawthorne , Anthony Hopkins , Djimon Hounsou , and Matthew McConaughey had starring roles . David Franzoni 's screenplay was based on the book Mutiny on the Amistad : The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition , Law , and Diplomacy ( 1987 ) , by the historian Howard Jones .


Close Encounters of the Third Kind Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg , and starring Richard Dreyfuss , François Truffaut , Melinda Dillon , Teri Garr , Bob Balaban , and Cary Guffey . It tells the story of Roy Neary , an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana , whose life changes after an encounter with an unidentified flying object ( UFO ) .   Close Encounters was a long-cherished project for Spielberg . In late 1973 , he developed a deal with Columbia Pictures for a science fiction film . Though Spielberg received sole credit for the script , he was assisted by Paul Schrader , John Hill , David Giler , Hal Barwood , Matthew Robbins , and Jerry Belson , all of whom contributed to the screenplay in varying degrees . The title is derived from UFO-ologist J. Allen Hynek 's classification of close encounters with aliens , in which the third kind denotes human observations of aliens or `` animate beings . '' Douglas Trumbull served as the visual effects supervisor , while Carlo Rambaldi designed the aliens .   Made on a production budget of $ 20 million , Close Encounters was released in a limited number of cities on November 16 , 1977 and November 23 , 1977 before expanding into wide release the following month . It was a critical and financial success , eventually grossing over $ 337 million worldwide . The film received numerous awards and nominations at the 50th Academy Awards , 32nd British Academy Film Awards , the 35th Golden Globe Awards , the Saturn Awards and has been widely acclaimed by the American Film Institute . In December 2007 , it was deemed `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . A Special Edition of the film , featuring additional scenes , was released theatrically in 1980 . A third cut of the film was issued on VHS and LaserDisc in 1998 ( and later DVD and Blu-ray ) .


Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg , , ( born December 18 , 1946 ) is an American director , producer , and screenwriter . He is considered one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era , as well as being viewed as one of the most popular directors and producers in film history . He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks Studios .   In a career spanning more than four decades , Spielberg 's films have spanned many themes and genres . Spielberg 's early science-fiction and adventure films , such as Jaws ( 1975 ) , Close Encounters of the Third Kind ( 1977 ) , Raiders of the Lost Ark ( 1981 ) , and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ( 1982 ) , were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood escapist filmmaking . In later years , his films began addressing humanistic issues such as the Holocaust , the transatlantic slave trade , civil rights , war , and terrorism in such films as The Color Purple ( 1985 ) , Empire of the Sun ( 1987 ) , Schindler 's List ( 1993 ) , Amistad ( 1997 ) , Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 ) , Munich ( 2005 ) , War Horse ( 2011 ) , Lincoln ( 2012 ) , and Bridge of Spies ( 2015 ) . His other films include Jurassic Park ( 1993 ) , A.I. Artificial Intelligence ( 2001 ) , and War of the Worlds ( 2005 ) .   Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler 's List and Saving Private Ryan , as well as receiving five other nominations . Three of Spielberg 's films -- Jaws , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and Jurassic Park -- achieved box office records , originated and came to epitomize the blockbuster film . The unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $ 9 billion worldwide , making him the highest-grossing director in history . His personal net worth is estimated to be more than $ 3 billion . He is also known for his long-standing associations with several actors , producers , and technicians , most notably composer John Williams , who has composed music for all but two of Spielberg 's movies which are The Color Purple and Bridge of Spies .


Jaws (film) Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley 's 1974 novel of the same name . In the story , a giant man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers on Amity Island , a fictional New England summer resort town , prompting the local police chief to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter . The film stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody , Robert Shaw as shark hunter Quint , Richard Dreyfuss as oceanographer Matt Hooper , Murray Hamilton as Larry Vaughn , the mayor of Amity Island , and Lorraine Gary as Brody 's wife , Ellen . The screenplay is credited to both Benchley , who wrote the first drafts , and actor-writer Carl Gottlieb , who rewrote the script during principal photography .   Shot mostly on location on Martha 's Vineyard in Massachusetts , the film had a troubled production , going over budget and past schedule . As the art department 's mechanical sharks suffered many malfunctions , Spielberg decided to mostly suggest the animal 's presence , employing an ominous , minimalistic theme created by composer John Williams to indicate the shark 's impending appearances . Spielberg and others have compared this suggestive approach to that of classic thriller director Alfred Hitchcock . Universal Pictures gave the film what was then an exceptionally wide release for a major studio picture , over 450 screens , accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign with a heavy emphasis on television spots and tie-in merchandise .   Now considered one of the greatest films ever made , Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster , with its release regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history . Jaws became the highest-grossing film of all time until the release of Star Wars ( 1977 ) . It won several awards for its soundtrack and editing . Along with Star Wars , Jaws was pivotal in establishing the modern Hollywood business model , which revolves around high box-office returns from action and adventure pictures with simple `` high-concept '' premises that are released during the summer in thousands of theaters and supported by heavy advertising . It was followed by three sequels , none with the participation of Spielberg or Benchley , and many imitative thrillers . In 2001 , Jaws was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry , being deemed `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' .


Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun . It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System . Uranus is similar in composition to Neptune , and both have different bulk chemical composition from that of the larger gas giants Jupiter and Saturn . For this reason , scientists often classify Uranus and Neptune as `` ice giants '' to distinguish them from the gas giants . Uranus 's atmosphere is similar to Jupiter 's and Saturn 's in its primary composition of hydrogen and helium , but it contains more `` ices '' such as water , ammonia , and methane , along with traces of other hydrocarbons . It is the coldest planetary atmosphere in the Solar System , with a minimum temperature of 49 K , and has a complex , layered cloud structure with water thought to make up the lowest clouds and methane the uppermost layer of clouds . The interior of Uranus is mainly composed of ices and rock .   Uranus is the only planet whose name is derived from a figure from Greek mythology , from the Latinised version of the Greek god of the sky Ouranos . Like the other giant planets , Uranus has a ring system , a magnetosphere , and numerous moons . The Uranian system has a unique configuration among those of the planets because its axis of rotation is tilted sideways , nearly into the plane of its solar orbit . Its north and south poles , therefore , lie where most other planets have their equators . In 1986 , images from Voyager 2 showed Uranus as an almost featureless planet in visible light , without the cloud bands or storms associated with the other giant planets . Observations from Earth have shown seasonal change and increased weather activity as Uranus approached its equinox in 2007 . Wind speeds can reach 250 m/s .


Planet A planet is an astronomical body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that  is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity ,  is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion , and  has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.This definition is drawn from two separate IAU declarations ; a formal definition agreed by the IAU in 2006 , and an informal working definition established by the IAU in 2001/2003 for objects outside of the Solar System . The official 2006 definition applies only to the Solar System , whereas the 2003 definition applies to planets around other stars . The extrasolar planet issue was deemed too complex to resolve at the 2006 IAU conference .  The term planet is ancient , with ties to history , astrology , science , mythology , and religion . Several planets in the Solar System can be seen with the naked eye . These were regarded by many early cultures as divine , or as emissaries of deities . As scientific knowledge advanced , human perception of the planets changed , incorporating a number of disparate objects . In 2006 , the International Astronomical Union ( IAU ) officially adopted a resolution defining planets within the Solar System . This definition is controversial because it excludes many objects of planetary mass based on where or what they orbit . Although eight of the planetary bodies discovered before 1950 remain `` planets '' under the modern definition , some celestial bodies , such as Ceres , Pallas , Juno and Vesta ( each an object in the solar asteroid belt ) , and Pluto ( the first trans-Neptunian object discovered ) , that were once considered planets by the scientific community , are no longer viewed as such .   The planets were thought by Ptolemy to orbit Earth in deferent and epicycle motions . Although the idea that the planets orbited the Sun had been suggested many times , it was not until the 17th century that this view was supported by evidence from the first telescopic astronomical observations , performed by Galileo Galilei . At about the same time , by careful analysis of pre-telescopic observation data collected by Tycho Brahe , Johannes Kepler found the planets ' orbits were not circular but elliptical . As observational tools improved , astronomers saw that , like Earth , the planets rotated around tilted axes , and some shared such features as ice caps and seasons . Since the dawn of the Space Age , close observation by space probes has found that Earth and the other planets share characteristics such as volcanism , hurricanes , tectonics , and even hydrology .   Planets are generally divided into two main types : large low-density giant planets , and smaller rocky terrestrials . Under IAU definitions , there are eight planets in the Solar System . In order of increasing distance from the Sun , they are the four terrestrials , Mercury , Venus , Earth , and Mars , then the four giant planets , Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune . Six of the planets are orbited by one or more natural satellites .   Several thousands of planets around other stars ( `` extrasolar planets '' or `` exoplanets '' ) have been discovered in the Milky Way . As of , known extrasolar planets in planetary systems ( including multiple planetary systems ) , ranging in size from just above the size of the Moon to gas giants about twice as large as Jupiter have been discovered , out of which more than 100 planets are the same size as Earth , nine of which are at the same relative distance from their star as Earth from the Sun , i.e. in the habitable zone . On December 20 , 2011 , the Kepler Space Telescope team reported the discovery of the first Earth-sized extrasolar planets , Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f , orbiting a Sun-like star , Kepler-20 . A 2012 study , analyzing gravitational microlensing data , estimates an average of at least 1.6 bound planets for every star in the Milky Way .  Around one in five Sun-like stars is thought to have an Earth-sized planet in its habitable zone .


David Carradine was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards in 2003.

David Carradine David Carradine ( born John Arthur Carradine ; December 8 , 1936 -- June 3 , 2009 ) was an American actor and martial artist . He was known for his leading role as a peace-loving Shaolin monk , Kwai Chang Caine , in the 1970s television series Kung Fu . He was also known for playing Frankenstein in the original Death Race movie and Bill in both Kill Bill films .   He was a member of an acting family that began with his father , John Carradine . Carradine 's acting career , which included major and minor roles on stage and television , and in cinema , spanned over four decades . A prolific `` B '' movie actor , he appeared in more than 100 feature films in career spanning over sixty years . He was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards , for projects such as the television series Kung Fu ( 1972 -- 1975 ) , the Woody Guthrie biopic Bound for Glory ( 1976 ) and the miniseries North and South ( 1985 ) . His final nomination came in the category of Best Supporting Actor for portraying the titular character in Quentin Tarantino 's Kill Bill : Volume 2 ( 2004 ) .   Films that featured Carradine continued to be released after his death . These posthumous credits were from a variety of genres including action , documentaries , drama , horror , martial arts , science fiction , and westerns . In addition to his acting career , Carradine was a director and musician . Moreover , influenced by his most popular acting role , he studied martial arts .   He was sometimes arrested and prosecuted for a variety of offenses , which often involved substance abuse . He died on June 3 , 2009 , in a hotel room in Bangkok , Thailand from auto-erotic asphyxiation .


Portal 2 Portal 2 is a 2011 first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation . It is the sequel to Portal ( 2007 ) and was released on April 19 , 2011 , for Microsoft Windows , OS X , Linux , PlayStation 3 , and Xbox 360 . The retail versions of the game are distributed by Electronic Arts while online distribution of the Microsoft Windows , Mac OS X and Linux versions is handled by Valve 's content delivery service Steam . Portal 2 was announced on March 5 , 2010 , following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game . Before the game 's release on Steam , the company released the Potato Sack , a second multi-week alternate reality game , involving 13 independently developed titles which culminated in a distributed computing spoof to release Portal 2 several hours early .   The game retains Portals gameplay elements , and adds new features , including tractor beams , laser redirection , bridges made of light , and paint-like ` gels ' accelerating the player 's speed , allowing the player-character to jump higher or place portals on any surface . These gels were created by the team from the Independent Games Festival-winning DigiPen student project Tag : The Power of Paint . In the single-player campaign , the player controls protagonist Chell , awoken from suspended animation after many years , who must navigate the now-dilapidated Aperture Science Enrichment Center during its reconstruction by the reactivated GLaDOS , a powerful supercomputer . The storyline introduces new characters , including Wheatley ( Stephen Merchant ) and Cave Johnson ( J. K. Simmons ) . Ellen McLain reprised the role of GLaDOS . Jonathan Coulton and The National each produced a song for the game . Portal 2 also includes a two-player cooperative mode , in which the robotic player-characters Atlas and P-Body ( both voiced by Dee Bradley Baker ) are each given a portal gun and are required to work together to solve puzzles . Valve provided post-release support for the game , including additional downloadable content and a simplified map editor to allow players to create and share test chambers with others .   Although some reviewers initially expressed concerns about the difficulty of expanding Portal into a full sequel , Portal 2 received critical acclaim , particularly for its writing , pacing , and dark humor . The voice work of McLain , Merchant , and Simmons were also praised , as were the new gameplay elements , the challenging but surmountable learning curve , and the additional cooperative mode . Some journalists ranked Portal 2 among the best games of 2011 , and several named it their Game of the Year . Portal 2 has since been hailed as one of the greatest video games of all time .


American Horror Story's first season took place in California.

American Horror Story American Horror Story is an American anthology horror television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk . Described as an anthology series , each season is conceived as a self-contained miniseries , following a disparate set of characters and settings , and a storyline with its own `` beginning , middle , and end . '' Some plot elements of each season are loosely inspired by true events .   The first season , retroactively subtitled Murder House , takes place in Los Angeles , California , during the year 2011 and centers on a family that moves into a house haunted by its deceased former occupants . The second season , subtitled Asylum , takes place in Massachusetts during the year 1964 and follows the stories of the patients and staff of an institution for the criminally insane . The third season , subtitled Coven , takes place in New Orleans , Louisiana , during the year 2013 and follows a coven of witches who face off against those who wish to destroy them . The fourth season , subtitled Freak Show , takes place in Jupiter , Florida , during the year 1952 and centers around one of the few remaining American freak shows . The fifth season , subtitled Hotel , takes place in Los Angeles during the year 2015 and focuses on the staff and guests of a supernatural hotel . The sixth season , subtitled Roanoke , takes place in Roanoke Island , during the year 2016 and focuses on the paranormal events that take place at an isolated farmhouse .   The only actors to appear in all iterations of the show so far are Evan Peters , Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe .   The series is broadcast on the cable television channel FX in the United States . On November 10 , 2015 , the show was renewed for a sixth season , and premiered , for the first time out of October , on September 14 , 2016 . On October 4 , 2016 , the series was renewed for a seventh season , which is set to premiere in September 2017 . On January 12 , 2017 , the series was renewed for an eighth and ninth season .   Although reception to individual seasons has varied , American Horror Story has been overall well received by television critics , with the majority of the praise going to the cast , particularly Jessica Lange , who won two Emmy Awards , a Golden Globe Award , and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performances . Additionally , Kathy Bates and Lady Gaga won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award , respectively , for their performances . The series draws consistently high ratings for the FX network , with its first season being the most-viewed new cable series of 2011 .


Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler ( born September 9 , 1966 ) is an American actor , comedian , screenwriter , film producer , and musician . After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member , Sandler went on to star in many Hollywood feature films that combined have grossed over $ 2 billion at the box office . He is best known for his comedic roles , such as in the films Billy Madison ( 1995 ) , the sports comedies Happy Gilmore ( 1996 ) and The Waterboy ( 1998 ) , the romantic comedy The Wedding Singer ( 1998 ) , Big Daddy ( 1999 ) , and Mr. Deeds ( 2002 ) , and voicing Dracula in Hotel Transylvania ( 2012 ) and Hotel Transylvania 2 ( 2015 ) . Several of his movies , most notably the widely panned Jack and Jill , have gained harsh criticism , culminating in a shared second place in the number of Raspberry Awards ( 3 ) and Raspberry Award Nominations ( 11 ) , in both cases second only to Sylvester Stallone . He has ventured into more dramatic territory with his roles in Punch-Drunk Love ( 2002 ) , Spanglish ( 2004 ) , Reign Over Me ( 2007 ) , Funny People ( 2009 ) and The Meyerowitz Stories ( 2017 ) .   Sandler has released five comedy albums in his career . They 're All Gon na Laugh at You ! ( 1993 ) and What the Hell Happened to Me ? ( 1996 ) are both certified double-platinum . In 1999 , Sandler founded Happy Madison Productions .


The Avengers (2012 film) was written by a Belgian screenwriter born in 1970.

Joss Whedon Joss Whedon ( -LSB- ˈwiːdən -RSB- ) ( born Joseph Hill Whedon on June 23 , 1964 ) is an American screenwriter , film and television director , film and television producer , comic book author , and composer . He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-founder of Bellwether Pictures , and is best known as the creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer ( 1997 -- 2003 ) , Angel ( 1999 -- 2004 ) , Firefly ( 2002 ) , Dollhouse ( 2009 -- 10 ) and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ( from 2013 ) .   Whedon co-wrote the Pixar film Toy Story ( 1995 ) , wrote and directed the Firefly film continuation Serenity ( 2005 ) , co-wrote and directed the Internet mini-series Dr. Horrible 's Sing-Along Blog ( 2008 ) , co-wrote and produced the horror comedy The Cabin in the Woods ( 2012 ) , and wrote and directed the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films The Avengers ( 2012 ) and its sequel Avengers : Age of Ultron ( 2015 ) .


The Avengers (2012 film) Marvel 's The Avengers ( classified under the name Marvel Avengers Assemble in the United Kingdom and Ireland ) , or simply The Avengers , is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name , produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures . It is the sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Evans , Mark Ruffalo , Chris Hemsworth , Scarlett Johansson , Jeremy Renner , Tom Hiddleston , Clark Gregg , Cobie Smulders , Stellan Skarsgård , and Samuel L. Jackson . In the film , Nick Fury , director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D. , recruits Iron Man , Captain America , the Hulk , and Thor to form a team that must stop Thor 's brother Loki from subjugating Earth .   The film 's development began when Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch in April 2005 . After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008 , Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011 . With the signing of Johansson in March 2009 , the film was pushed back for a 2012 release . Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the original screenplay by Zak Penn. . Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque , New Mexico , before moving to Cleveland , Ohio , in August and New York City in September . The film was converted to 3D in post-production .   The Avengers premiered on April 11 , 2012 , at Hollywood 's El Capitan Theatre and was released theatrically in the United States on May 4 , 2012 . The film received positive reviews from critics , as well as numerous awards and nominations including Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for achievements in visual effects . It has set or tied numerous box office records , including the biggest opening weekend in North America . The Avengers grossed over $ 1.5 billion worldwide , and became the third-highest-grossing film during its theatrical run -- as well as the first Marvel production to generate $ 1 billion in ticket sales . The film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 25 , 2012 . A sequel , titled Avengers : Age of Ultron , was released on May 1 , 2015 , while two additional sequels , Avengers : Infinity War and an untitled sequel , are currently in development , with Infinity War scheduled for a May 4 , 2018 release date , and its sequel scheduled to be released on May 3 , 2019 .


Extreme environments can be caused by Radation.

Extreme environment An extreme environment contains conditions that are hard to survive for most known life forms . These conditions may be extremely high or low temperature or pressure ; high or low content of oxygen or carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ; high levels of radiation , acidity , or alkalinity ; absence of water ; water containing a high concentration of salt or sugar ; presence of sulphur , petroleum , and other toxic substances .   Examples of extreme environments include the geographical poles , very dry deserts , volcanoes , deep ocean trenches , upper atmosphere , Mt Everest , outer space , and the environments of every planet in the Solar System except the Earth . Any organisms living in these conditions are often very well adapted to their living circumstances , which is usually a result of long-term evolution . Physiologists have long known that organisms living in extreme environments are especially likely to exhibit clear examples of evolutionary adaptation because of the presumably intense past natural selection they have experienced .


The gray wolf is a Canis with a range encompassing both the Old and New Worlds.

Old World The Old World is used in the west to refer to Africa , Europe , and Asia ( Afro-Eurasia ) , regarded collectively as the part of the world known to Europeans before contact with the Americas . It is used in the context of , and contrasts with , the New World ( Americas ) .


New World The New World is one of the names used for the Earth 's Western Hemisphere , specifically the Americas ( including nearby islands such as those of the Caribbean and Bermuda ) .   The term originated in the early 16th century after Europeans made landfall in what would later be called the Americas in the age of discovery , expanding the geographical horizon of classical geographers , who had thought of the world as consisting of Africa , Europe , and Asia , collectively now referred to as the Old World ( a.k.a. Afro-Eurasia ) .   The term was coined by Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci . The Americas were also referred to as the `` fourth part of the world '' .


Gray wolf The gray wolf or grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) , also known as the timber wolf or western wolf , is a canine native to the wilderness and remote areas of Eurasia and North America . It is the largest extant member of its family , with males averaging 43 - and females 36 - . Like the red wolf , it is distinguished from other Canis species by its larger size and less pointed features , particularly on the ears and muzzle . Its winter fur is long and bushy and predominantly a mottled gray in color , although nearly pure white , red , and brown to black also occur . , 37 subspecies of C. lupus are recognised by MSW3 .   The gray wolf is the second most specialised member of the genus Canis , after the Ethiopian wolf , as demonstrated by its morphological adaptations to hunting large prey , its more gregarious nature , and its highly advanced expressive behavior . It is nonetheless closely related enough to smaller Canis species , such as the eastern wolf , coyote , and golden jackal to produce fertile hybrids . It is the only species of Canis to have a range encompassing both the Old and New Worlds , and originated in Eurasia during the Pleistocene , colonizing North America on at least three separate occasions during the Rancholabrean . It is a social animal , travelling in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair , accompanied by the pair 's adult offspring . The gray wolf is typically an apex predator throughout its range , with only humans and tigers posing a serious threat to it . It feeds primarily on large ungulates , though it also eats smaller animals , livestock , carrion , and garbage .   The gray wolf is one of the world 's best-known and most-researched animals , with probably more books written about it than any other wildlife species . It has a long history of association with humans , having been despised and hunted in most pastoral communities because of its attacks on livestock , while conversely being respected in some agrarian and hunter-gatherer societies . Although the fear of wolves is pervasive in many human societies , the majority of recorded attacks on people have been attributed to animals suffering from rabies . Non-rabid wolves have attacked and killed people , mainly children , but this is rare , as wolves are relatively few , live away from people , and have developed a fear of humans from hunters and shepherds .


Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick ( born August 9 , 1985 ) is an American actress and singer . She began her career as a child actor in theater productions . Her first prominent role was in the 1998 Broadway musical High Society , which earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical . She made her film debut in the musical comedy Camp ( 2003 ) .   Kendrick rose to prominence for her supporting role in The Twilight Saga ( 2008 -- 12 ) , the film franchise based on Stephenie Meyer 's book series . She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Up in the Air ( 2009 ) . She achieved further fame for playing the protagonist in the 2012 musical comedy Pitch Perfect and the 2015 sequel , Pitch Perfect 2 .   Kendrick has also featured in the comedy-drama 50/50 ( 2011 ) , the crime-drama End of Watch ( 2012 ) , the musical-fantasy Into the Woods ( 2014 ) , and the adult comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates ( 2016 ) .  In 2016 , Kendrick published her memoir , Scrappy Little Nobody .


Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp ( March 19 , 1848 -- January 13 , 1929 ) was an American Old West gambler , a deputy sheriff in Pima County , and deputy town marshal in Tombstone , Arizona Territory , who took part in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral , during which lawmen killed three outlaw cowboys . He is often regarded as the central figure in the shootout in Tombstone , although his brother Virgil was Tombstone city marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal that day , and had far more experience as a sheriff , constable , marshal , and soldier in combat .   Earp lived a restless life . He was at different times a constable , city policeman , county sheriff , Deputy U.S. Marshal , teamster , buffalo hunter , bouncer , saloon-keeper , gambler , brothel keeper , miner , and boxing referee . Earp spent his early life in Iowa . In 1870 , Earp married his first wife , Urilla Sutherland Earp , who contracted typhoid fever and died shortly before their first child was to be born . During the next two years Earp was arrested for stealing a horse , escaped from jail , sued twice , and was arrested and fined three times during the course of 1872 for `` keeping and being found in a house of ill-fame '' . His third arrest was subject of a lengthy account in the `` Daily Transcript '' which referred to him as an `` old offender '' and nicknamed him the `` Peoria Bummer '' .   By 1874 he had arrived in the cattle boomtown of Wichita , Kansas where his brother had opened a brothel . On April 21 , 1875 he was appointed to the Wichita police force , and developed a solid reputation as a lawman . In April 1876 he was dismissed from his position as a lawman following an altercation with a political opponent of his boss which led to him being fined $ 30 . In 1876 , he followed his brother James to Dodge City , Kansas , where he became an assistant city marshal . In winter 1878 , he went to Texas to track down an outlaw and met John `` Doc '' Holliday , whom Earp later credited with saving his life .   Earp moved constantly throughout his life from one boomtown to another . He left Dodge City in 1879 and moved to Tombstone with his brothers James and Virgil , where a silver boom was underway . There , the Earps clashed with a loose federation of outlaws known as the Cowboys . Wyatt , Virgil , and their younger brother Morgan held various law enforcement positions that put them in conflict with Tom and Frank McLaury , and Ike and Billy Clanton , who threatened on several occasions to kill the Earps . The conflict escalated over the next year , culminating on October 26 , 1881 in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral , in which the Earps and Holliday killed three of the Cowboys . In the next five months , Virgil was ambushed and maimed , and Morgan was assassinated . Pursuing a vendetta , Wyatt , his brother Warren , Holliday , and others formed a federal posse that killed three of the Cowboys whom they thought responsible . Wyatt was never wounded in any of the gunfights in which he took part , unlike his brothers Virgil and James , or his friend , Doc Holliday , which only added to his mystique after his death .   Earp was a lifelong gambler and was always looking for a quick way to make money . After leaving Tombstone , Earp went to San Francisco where he reunited with Josephine Earp . She became his common-law wife . They joined a gold rush to Eagle City , Idaho , where they owned mining interests and a saloon . They left there to race horses and open a saloon during a real estate boom in San Diego , California . Back in San Francisco , Wyatt raced horses again , but his reputation suffered irreparably when he refereed the Fitzsimmons-Sharkey boxing match and called a foul that led many to believe that he fixed the fight . They moved briefly to Yuma , Arizona before joining the Nome Gold Rush in 1899 . In partnership with Charlie Hoxie they opened a two-story saloon called the Dexter and made an estimated $ 80,000 ( about $ 2 million in 2017 dollars ) . Returning to the lower 48 , they opened another saloon in Tonopah , Nevada , the site of a new gold find . In about 1911 , Earp began working several mining claims in Vidal , California , retiring in the hot summers with Josephine to Los Angeles .   Wyatt Earp died on January 13 , 1929 . He was known as a Western lawman , gunfighter , and boxing referee . He had a notorious reputation for both his handling of the Fitzsimmons-Sharkey fight and his role in the O.K. Corral gunfight . This only began to change after his death when an extremely flattering biography was published in 1931 . It became a bestseller and created his reputation as a fearless lawman . Since then , Earp has been the subject of and model for numerous films , TV shows , biographies , and works of fiction that have increased his notoriety . He did , however , live to see himself being portrayed in the film Wild Bill Hickok , released in 1923 . Long after his death , he has many devoted detractors and admirers . Earp 's modern-day reputation is that of the Old West 's `` toughest and deadliest gunman of his day . ''


Ivan Lendl was ranked No. 1 for a total of 270 years.

Ivan Lendl Ivan Lendl ( -LSB- ˈɪvan ˈlɛndl̩ -RSB- ; born March 7 , 1960 ) is a former world No. 1 professional tennis player and is currently coaching current world No. 1 Andy Murray , alongside Jamie Delgado . Originally from Czechoslovakia , he became a United States citizen in 1992 . He was one of the game 's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s . He has been described as one of the greatest tennis players of all time . Lendl 's game relied particularly on strength and heavy topspin from the baseline and helped usher in the modern era of `` power tennis '' .   Lendl captured eight Grand Slam singles titles . He competed in 19 Grand Slam singles finals , a record surpassed by Roger Federer in 2009 , Rafael Nadal in 2014 and Novak Djokovic in 2016 . He reached at least one Grand Slam final for 11 consecutive years , a record shared with Pete Sampras , with the male primacy of eight consecutive finals in a Grand Slam tournament ( a record shared with Bill Tilden at the US Open ) . Before the formation of the ATP , Lendl reached a record 12 year-end championships ( equalled by John McEnroe ) . He won two WCT Finals titles and five Masters Grand Prix titles , with the record of nine consecutive finals . He also won a record 22 Grand Prix Super Series titles ( 1980 -- 89 ) , the precursors to the current ATP Masters 1000 .   Lendl first attained the world No. 1 ranking on February 28 , 1983 and bolstered his claim to the top spot when he defeated John McEnroe in the 1984 French Open final . For much of the next five years , until August 1990 , Lendl was the top-ranked player ( with a break from September 1988 to January 1989 when Mats Wilander was at the top ) . He finished four years ranked as the world 's top player ( 1985 -- 1987 and 1989 ) and was ranked No. 1 for a total of 270 weeks and set a new record previously held by Jimmy Connors , since broken by Pete Sampras and Roger Federer . He is one of three male players in the Open Era ( with Connors and Federer ) to win more than 1,000 tennis singles matches ( 1,071 ) . Lendl has won 94 singles titles , second only in the Open Era to Connors ' 109 titles . Lendl has been runner-up in a record 11 Grand Slam finals .


Tidewater region is located 5,000 miles away from Virginia and North Carolina.

Tidewater region The Tidewater region is a geographic area of southeast Virginia and northeastern North Carolina , part of the Atlantic coastal plain in the United States of America . Portions of Maryland facing the Chesapeake Bay are also given this designation . The area gains its name because of the effects of the changing tides on local rivers , sounds , and the ocean . The area is generally flat and low and composed of tidal marsh and large expanses of swamp . Much of the area is covered with pocosin and the higher areas are used for agricultural farmlands . Geographically , in North Carolina and Virginia the Tidewater area is the land between the Suffolk Scarp and the Atlantic Ocean . The Hampton Roads area of Virginia is considered to be in the Tidewater . Extreme Southern Maryland and parts of the lower Eastern Shore round out the northern fringe of the region on the Chesapeake Bay .   The term tidewater may be correctly applied to all portions of any area , including Virginia , where the water level is affected by the tides ( more specifically , where the water level rises when the tide comes in ) . In the case of Virginia , the Tidewater region includes the land east of the Fall Line , the natural border with the Piedmont Region . It includes Hampton Roads , the rest of the Virginia Peninsula , the Middle Peninsula , the Northern Neck , and the Eastern Shore .   Planters in the early American colonies extended their tobacco productions above the `` fall line , '' where waterfalls or rapids mark the end of the Tidewater and the beginning of the foothill region known as the Piedmont .   Tidewater is host to flora commonly associated with the South Atlantic pine forests and lower Southeast Coastal Plain maritime flora , the latter found primarily in southeastern Virginia .


Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 . The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page , singer Robert Plant , bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones , and drummer John Bonham . The band 's heavy , guitar-driven sound , rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums , has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal , though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences , including folk music .   After changing their name from the New Yardbirds , Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that afforded them considerable artistic freedom . Although the group was initially unpopular with critics , they achieved significant commercial success with albums such as Led Zeppelin ( 1969 ) , Led Zeppelin II ( 1969 ) , Led Zeppelin III ( 1970 ) , Led Zeppelin IV ( 1971 ) , Houses of the Holy ( 1973 ) , and Physical Graffiti ( 1975 ) . Their fourth album , which features the track `` Stairway to Heaven '' , is among the most popular and influential works in rock music , and it helped to secure the group 's popularity .   Page wrote most of Led Zeppelin 's music , particularly early in their career , while Plant generally supplied the lyrics . Jones ' keyboard-based compositions later became central to the group 's catalogue , which featured increasing experimentation . The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery . Although they remained commercially and critically successful , their output and touring schedule were limited during the late 1970s , and the group disbanded following Bonham 's death from alcohol-related asphyxia in 1980 . In the decades that followed , the surviving members sporadically collaborated and participated in one-off Led Zeppelin reunions . The most successful of these was the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London , with Jason Bonham taking his late father 's place behind the drums .   Led Zeppelin are widely considered one of the most successful , innovative , and influential rock groups in history . They are one of the best-selling music artists in the history of audio recording ; various sources estimate the group 's record sales at 200 to 300 million units worldwide . With RIAA-certified sales of 111.5 million units , they are the second-best-selling band in the US . Each of their nine studio albums placed in the top 10 of the Billboard album chart and six reached the number-one spot . They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums . Rolling Stone magazine described them as `` the heaviest band of all time '' , `` the biggest band of the Seventies '' , and `` unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history '' . They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 ; the museum 's biography of the band states that they were `` as influential '' during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s .


Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , and first appeared in Detective Comics # 27 ( 1939 ) . Originally named the `` Bat-Man '' , the character is also referred to by such epithets as the Caped Crusader , the Dark Knight , and the World 's Greatest Detective .   Batman 's secret identity is Bruce Wayne , a wealthy American playboy , philanthropist , and owner of Wayne Enterprises . After witnessing the murder of his parents Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne as a child , he swore vengeance against criminals , an oath tempered by a sense of justice . Bruce Wayne trains himself physically and intellectually and crafts a bat-inspired persona to fight crime .   Batman operates in the fictional Gotham City with assistance from various supporting characters , including his butler Alfred , police commissioner Gordon , and vigilante allies such as Robin . Unlike most superheroes , Batman does not possess any superpowers ; rather , he relies on his genius intellect , physical prowess , martial arts abilities , detective skills , science and technology , vast wealth , intimidation , and indomitable will . A large assortment of villains make up Batman 's rogues gallery , including his archenemy , the Joker .   The character became popular soon after his introduction in 1939 and gained his own comic book title , Batman , the following year . As the decades went on , differing interpretations of the character emerged . The late 1960s Batman television series used a camp aesthetic , which continued to be associated with the character for years after the show ended . Various creators worked to return the character to his dark roots , culminating in 1986 with The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller . The success of Warner Bros. ' live-action Batman feature films have helped maintain the public 's interest in the character .   An American cultural icon , Batman has been licensed and adapted into a variety of media , from radio to television and film , and appears on various merchandise sold all over the world , such as toys and video games . The character has also intrigued psychiatrists , with many trying to understand the character 's psyche . In 2015 , FanSided ranked Batman as number one on their list of `` 50 Greatest Super Heroes In Comic Book History '' . Kevin Conroy , Bruce Greenwood , Peter Weller , Anthony Ruivivar , Jason O'Mara , and Will Arnett , among others , have provided the character 's voice for animated adaptations . Batman has been portrayed in both film and television by Lewis Wilson , Robert Lowery , Adam West , Michael Keaton , Val Kilmer , George Clooney , Christian Bale , and Ben Affleck .


Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( born June 26 , 1993 ) , known as Ariana Grande ( -LSB- ˌɑriˈɑːnə_ˈɡrɑːndeɪ -RSB- ) , is an American singer and actress . She began her career in the Broadway musical 13 , before landing the role of Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious in 2009 . The show ended after four seasons , and Grande starred in the spinoff , Sam & Cat , which ended in 2014 . She has also appeared in other theatre and television roles , and has lent her voice to animated television and films .   Grande 's music career began with the soundtrack Music from Victorious ( 2011 ) . She signed a recording contract with Republic Records and released her debut studio album , Yours Truly , in 2013 , which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 . The album 's lead single , `` The Way '' , debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 , with critics comparing her wide vocal range to that of Mariah Carey .   Grande 's second studio album , My Everything ( 2014 ) , debuted at number one in the US and charted in the top 10 in 24 other countries . With the lead single `` Problem '' and several others from that album , she was continuously in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for 34 weeks and had the most top 10 singles of any artist in 2014 . In 2015 , Grande promoted My Everything with her first world tour , The Honeymoon Tour , guest-starred in the Fox comedy horror television series , Scream Queens and released a holiday EP , Christmas & Chill . In 2016 , she released her third studio album , Dangerous Woman , and several songs from the album . The title track debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 , making Grande the first person in the history of that chart to have the lead single from each of her first three albums debut in the top 10 . The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 . As of January 2017 , Grande 's music videos had been viewed a total of more than seven billion times online .   Grande 's accolades include three American Music Awards , an MTV Video Music Award , three MTV Europe Music Awards and four Grammy Award nominations . All three of her albums have been certified platinum by the RIAA . She has actively supported a range of charities , and has a large following on social media ; she is the second most followed person on Instagram . In 2016 , Time named Grande one of the 100 most influential people in the world on the annual Time 100 list .


RB Leipzig is based in the largest town in Saxony.

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. , commonly known as RB Leipzig , is a German association football club based in Leipzig , Saxony . The club was founded in 2009 by initiative of energy drink-maker Red Bull GmbH who purchased a playing right of the fifth division side SSV Markranstädt with the intention of advancing the new club to the top-flight Bundesliga within eight years . Men 's professional football is run by the spin-off organization RasenballSport Leipzig GmbH . RB Leipzig plays its home matches at the Red Bull Arena .   In its inaugural season in 2009 -- 10 , RB Leipzig dominated the NOFV-Oberliga Süd ( V ) and was promoted as champions to the Regionalliga Nord ( IV ) . RB Leipzig won the 2012 -- 13 Regionalliga Nordost season without conceding a single defeat and was promoted to the 3 . Liga ( III ) , then finished the 2013 -- 14 3 . Liga season as runner-up and was promoted to the 2 . Bundesliga ( II ) as the first team since the introduction of the 3 . Liga to win promotion after only one season .   On 8 May 2016 , RB Leipzig ensured promotion to the Bundesliga for the 2016 -- 17 season with a 2 -- 0 defeat of Karlsruher SC . One year later , RB Leipzig captured a place in the 2017 -- 18 UEFA Champions League by finishing as runner-up of the Bundesliga .


Saxony The Free State of Saxony ( der Freistaat Sachsen -LSB- ˈfʁaɪ̯ʃtaːt ˈzaksn̩ -RSB- Swobodny stat Sakska ) is a landlocked federal state of Germany , bordering the federal states of Brandenburg , Saxony Anhalt , Thuringia , and Bavaria , as well as the countries of Poland ( Lower Silesian and Lubusz Voivodeships ) and the Czech Republic ( Karlovy Vary , Liberec and Ústí nad Labem Regions ) . Its capital is Dresden , and its largest city is Leipzig .   Saxony is the tenth largest of Germany 's sixteen states , with an area of 18,413 km2 , and the sixth most populous , with 4 million people .   Located in the middle of a large , formerly all German-speaking part of Europe , the history of the state of Saxony spans more than a millennium . It has been a medieval duchy , an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire , a kingdom , and twice a republic .   The area of the modern state of Saxony should not be confused with Old Saxony , the area inhabited by Saxons . Old Saxony corresponds approximately to the modern German states of Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt and the Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia .


Ireland is a place on Earth surrounded by water.

Ireland Ireland ( -LSB- ˈaɪərlənd -RSB- Éire -LSB- ˈeːɾʲə -RSB- ; Ulster-Scots : Airlann -LSB- - scoˈɑːrlən -RSB- ) is an island in the North Atlantic . It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel , the Irish Sea , and St George 's Channel . Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles , the third-largest in Europe , and the twentieth-largest on Earth .   Politically , Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland ( officially named Ireland ) , which covers five-sixths of the island , and Northern Ireland , which is part of the United Kingdom , in the northeast of the island . In 2011 , the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million , ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain . Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just over 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland .   The island 's geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain , with several navigable rivers extending inland . The island has lush vegetation , a product of its mild but changeable climate which avoids extremes in temperature . Thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages . As of 2013 , the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11 % of the total , compared with a European average of 35 % . There are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland . The Irish climate is very moderate and classified as oceanic . As a result , winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area . However , summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe . Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant .   The earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC . Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE . The island was Christianised from the 5th century onward . Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century , England claimed sovereignty over Ireland . However , English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th -- 17th century Tudor conquest , which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain . In the 1690s , a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters , and was extended during the 18th century . With the Acts of Union in 1801 , Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom . A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island , creating the Irish Free State , which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades , and Northern Ireland , which remained a part of the United Kingdom . Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s . This subsided following a political agreement in 1998 . In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom , and Northern Ireland , as part of it , did the same .   Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures , especially in the fields of literature . Alongside mainstream Western culture , a strong indigenous culture exists , as expressed through Gaelic games , Irish music , and the Irish language . The culture of the island also shares many features with that of Great Britain , including the English language , and sports such as association football , rugby , horse racing , and golf .


Island An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water . Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets , skerries , cays or keys . An island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait , and a small island off the coast may be called a holm . A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago , e.g. the Philippines .   An island may be described as such , despite the presence of an artificial land bridge ; examples are Singapore and its causeway , and the various Dutch delta islands , such as IJsselmonde . Some places may even retain `` island '' in their names for historical reasons after being connected to a larger landmass by a land bridge or landfill , such as Coney Island and Coronado Island , though these are strictly tied islands . Conversely , when a piece of land is separated from the mainland by a man-made canal , for example the Peloponnese by the Corinth Canal or Marble Hill in northern Manhattan during the time between the building of the United States Ship Canal and the filling-in of the Harlem River which surrounded the area , it is generally not considered an island .   There are two main types of islands in the sea : continental and oceanic . There are also artificial islands .