Joulupukki

Joulupukki is a Finnish Christmas figure. The name Joulupukki literally means Yule Goat. The Finnish word "pukki" comes from the Swedish "bock" (equivalent of the English "buck" or "billy-goat") and is an old Scandinavian tradition. Over time, the figure became more or less merged with Santa Claus.

There is a long Finnish tradition of persons dressing in goat costume to solicit or perform for leftover food after Christmas. Historically, such a person was an older man, and the tradition refers to him as a nuuttipukki. The term now also describes the practice, reportedly continuing in some parts of Finland.

Today Joulupukki looks and behaves mostly like his American version, but there are differences. Joulupukki's house and workshop are situated in the mountains of Korvatunturi, whereas the American counterpart resides at the North Pole. Another difference is that instead of sneaking in through the chimney during the late night hours, Joulupukki knocks on the front door during the Christmas Eve celebrations. When he comes in, his first words are traditionally "Onkos täällä kilttejä lapsia?" (Are there (any) well-behaved children here?)

He usually wears warm red clothes, uses a walking stick, and travels in a sleigh pulled by a number of reindeer. Unlike the American version, the reindeer do not fly. In Lapland, pulka rather than a sleigh can be encountered. The popular song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in its Finnish translation, Petteri Punakuono, has led to Rudolph's general acceptance in the mythology as Joulupukki's lead reindeer. Joulupukki has a wife, Joulumuori ("Old Lady Christmas"), but tradition doesn't have much to say about her.

Home

Joulupukki lives in Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland.

Joulupukki's assistants are called tonttu, or more precisely joulutonttu (from Swedish tomte); they are not elves, but essentially human, often dwarflike in character. They usually wear similar attire to Joulupukki's, and males also have a white beard; but joulutonttu are often smaller in size and may be of any age and either gender. While only a rather large, aged person can convincingly dress as Joulupukki, conveniently everyone can dress as a joulutonttu, with less special attire required.

Trivia

The location of Joulupukki's workshop comes from a children's radio show called Markus-sedän lastentunti ("Children's hour with Uncle Markus") hosted by Markus Rautio and broadcast by the Finnish Broadcasting Company between years 1927-1956.

Finland's Joulupukki received over 700,000 letters from children all over the world in 2006, according to a news report by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE.

The US-based Coca-Cola Santa Claus was designed by the son of Finnish emigrants, Haddon Sundblom.

Joulupukki is a prominent character in Rare Exports, a movie based on the award winning shorts by Jalmari Helander.

The origins of Joulupukki

One interesting theory about the origins of Joulupukki and his flying reindeer, comes from the aboriginal Saami people of Lapland. In the forests there is a common poisonous mushroom, Amanita muscaria, that is red with white dots. The Saami shamans used to feed this mushroom to the reindeer, whereby the intestinal tract of the reindeer would filter out the poison, but leave the intoxicating substances. The urine of the reindeer would then be collected and used as a hallucinogenic by the shamans. The shamans would often have out-of-the-body experiences and fly in the sky, returning through the chimney hole of their tent or cottage to their bodies. This shamanistic tradition would explain the flying reindeer, the use of chimneys, and even the red-white colouring of Joulupukki.

Joulupukki's dark side

Pagans used to have festivities to ward off evil spirits. In Finland these spirits of darkness wore goat skins and horns. In the beginning this creature didn't give presents but demanded them. The Yule Goat was an ugly creature and frightened children.

It is unclear how this personality was transformed into the benevolent Father Christmas. Nowadays the only remaining feature is the name. The process was probably a continuous amalgamation of many old folk customs and beliefs from varied sources. One can speak of a Christmas pageant tradition consisting of many personages with roles partly Christian, partly pagan: A white-bearded saint, the Devil, demons, house gnomes. Nowadays the Joulupukki of Finland resembles the American Santa Claus.

Popular radio programs from the year 1927 onwards probably had great influence in reformatting the concept with the Santa-like costume, reindeer and Korvatunturi as its dwelling place. Because there really are reindeer in Finland, and Finns live up North, the popular American cult took root in Finland very quickly.

(source:wikipedia)

Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Otto Lagerfeld, (born September 10, 1933 in Hamburg) is a German fashion designer and artist based in Paris, France. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel. Lagerfeld helms his own label fashion house, as well as the Italian house Fendi.

Early life

Lagerfeld was born in Hamburg, Germany. He has claimed he was born in 1938; however it has been reported that he was actually born in 1933 (according to the local christening register); indeed the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag has quoted his former teacher and classmates as confirming the earlier date. He is known to insist that no-one knows his real birth date: Interviewed on French television in February 2009, Lagerfeld said that he was "born neither in 1933 nor 1938." His older sister, Martha Christiane (a.k.a. Christel), was born in 1931. Lagerfeld also has an older half-sister, Thea, from his father's first marriage. His original name was Lagerfeldt (with a "t"), but he later changed it to Lagerfeld as "it sounds more commercial."
Karl's father is from Vladivostok, Russia; his mother is from Berlin, Germany (according to "Lagerfeld Confidential", Marconi Rodolphe, 2006). Though Lagerfeld has stated that his father was Swedish, journalist Alicia Drake in The Beautiful Fall (Little, Brown, 2006) established that Karl's father, Otto Lagerfeldt, who worked as a distributor at a company introducing condensed milk to Germany, was indeed German. According to Drake, Lagerfeld's mother, Elisabeth Bahlmann, was a lingerie saleswoman in Berlin when she met her husband and married him in 1930.




Early career (Balmain and Patou)

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2008)
Karl Lagerfeld moved to Paris in 1953. Initially he worked as a draftsman for fashion houses. At the time, in fashion, drawings were preferred over photographs. Lagerfeld is able to recap any costume style in European history at the drop of a hat, e.g., explaining collar styles used in 1710 Germany, as he has demonstrated in a German television series in the 1980s.
In 1955, at the age of 22, Lagerfeld was awarded a position as an apprentice at Pierre Balmain, after winning second place, behind Yves Saint-Laurent who came first, in a competition for a coat sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat. He told a reporter a few years later, "I won on coats, but actually I like designing coats least of all. What I really love are little black dresses." Yves Saint Laurent also won the contest for a dress award. "Yves was working for Dior. Other young people I knew were working for Balenciaga (Spanish Basque fashion designer and the founder of the Balenciaga fashion house), whom they thought was God, but I wasn't so impressed," he recalled in 1976.
In 1958, after three years at Balmain, he moved to Jean Patou, where he designed two haute couture collections a year for five years. His first collection was shown in a two-hour presentation in July 1958, but he used the name Roland Karl, rather than Karl Lagerfeld (although in 1962, reporters began referring to him as Karl Lagerfelt, and Karl Logerfeld.) That first collection was poorly received. Carrie Donovan wrote that "the press booed the collection." The UPI noted: "The firm's brand new designer, 25-year old Roland Karl, showed a collection which stressed shape and had no trace of last year's sack." The reporter went on to say that "A couple of short black cocktail dresses were cut so wide open at the front that even some of the women reporters gasped. Other cocktail and evening dresses feature low, low-cut backs." Most interestingly, Karl said that his design silhouette for the season was called by the letter "K" (for Karl), which was translated into a straight line in front, curved in at the waist in the back, with a low fullness to the skirt.
His next collection, for spring 1959, was a vast improvement according to Carrie Donovan, who noted that the press "applauded widely and even shouted several bravos." She wrote that "His clothes... have a kind of understated chic, elegance, and just plain 'class' that has not been seen on this side of the Atlantic since Molyneux and Mainbocher closed up shop."
His skirts for the spring 1960 season were the shortest in Paris, and the collection was not well received. Carrie Donovan said it "looked like clever and immensely salable ready-to-wear, not couture." And in his fall 1960 collection he designed special little hats, pancake shaped circles of satin, which hung on the cheek. He called them "slaps in the face." Karl's collection were said to be well received, but were not groundbreaking. "I became bored there, too, and I quit and tried to go back to school, but that didn't work, so I spent two years mostly on beaches – I guess I studied life."




Freelance career (1962–1982)

After leaving Patou in 1962, after launching himself as a freelance designer, working with brands such as Mario Valentino, Repetto, and the supermarket chain Monoprix and with financial backing from his family, he set up a small shop in Paris. At this time, he would often consult with Madame Zereakian, Christian Dior's Armenian fortune teller. Lagerfeld later said, "She told me I'd succeed in fashion and perfume."
In 1963, he began designing for Tiziani, a Roman couture house founded that year by a man named Evan Richards (b. 1924) of Jacksboro, Texas. It began as couture and then branched out into ready-to-wear, bearing the label "Tiziani-Roma -- Made in England." Lagerfeld and Richards sketched the first collection in 1963 together. "When they wound up with 90 outfits, Tiziani threw caution and invitations to the winds, borrowed Catherine the Great's jewels from Harry Winston, and opened his salon with a three-night wingding," according to one report in 1969. Lagerfeld designed for the company until 1969. Elizabeth Taylor was a fan of the label (she referred to Evan as "Evan Tiziani") and began wearing it in August 1966. Gina Lollobrigida, Doris Duke and Principessa Borghese were also customers while Lagerfeld was designing the line. He was replaced in 1969 with Guy Douvier.
Lagerfeld had begun to freelance for French fashion house Chloe in 1964, at first designing a few pieces a season. As more and more pieces were incorporated, he would soon design the entire collection. In 1970, he also began a brief design collaboration with Roman Haute Couture house Curiel (the designer, a woman named Gigliola Curiel, died in November 1969.) His first collection was described as having a "drippy drapey elegance" designed for a "1930s cinema queen." The Curiel mannequins all wore identical, short-cropped blonde wigs. He also showed black velvet shorts, to be worn under a black velvet ankle-length cape.
His Chloe collection for Spring 1973 (shown in October 1972) garnered headlines for offering something both "high fashion and high camp." He showed loose Spencer jackets and printed silk shirt jackets. He designed something he called a "surprise" skirt, which was ankle-length, pleated silk, so loose that it hid the fact it was actually pants. "It seems that wearing these skirts is an extraordinary sensation," he told a reporter at the time. He also designed a look inspired by Carmen Miranda, which consisted of mini bra dresses with very short skirts, and long dresses with bra tops and scarf shawls.
In 1972, he began to collaborate with Italian fashion house Fendi, designing furs, clothing and accessories.
Through the 1970s, Lagerfeld worked as a costume designer for theatrical productions. He collaborated with Italian director Luca Ronconi, and designed for theatres like La Scala in Milan (Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz, 1980), the Burgtheater in Vienna (Komödie der Verführung by Arthur Schnitzler 1980), and the Salzburg Festival (Der Schwierige by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, 1990).



International fame (1982–present)

Lagerfeld at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
At the time, he had also been maintaining a design contract with the Japanese firm Isetan, to create collections for both men and women through 30 licenses; had a lingerie line in the US, produced by Eve Stillmann; was designing shoes for Charles Jourdan, sweaters for Ballantyne, and worked with Trevira as a fashion adviser.
Lagerfeld designed the costumes for the Carmen sequences in the 2002 film Callas Forever. In 2004 he designed some outfits for the international music artist Madonna, for her Re-Invention tour, and recently designed outfits for Kylie Minogue's Showgirl tour.
Lagerfeld collaborated with the international Swedish fashion brand H&M. On November 12, 2004, H&M offered a limited range of different Lagerfeld clothes in chosen outlets for both women and men. Only two days after having supplied its outlets, H&M announced that almost all the clothes were sold out. Lagerfeld has expressed some fear that working with lower-end brands will taint his image, although in the past he has worked closely with the exclusive hosiery designer Wolford.
Lagerfeld is also a photographer. He produced Visionaire 23: The Emperor's New Clothes, a series of nude pictures of South African model David Miller. He also personally photographed Mariah Carey for the cover of V magazine in, 2005. In addition to his editorial work for Harper's Bazaar, Numéro and the Russian and German editions of Vogue, Lagerfeld photographs advertising campaigns for the houses under his direction (Chanel, Fendi and his eponymous line) every season.
In the 1980s, the Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Emperor's New Clothes" was published with drawings by Lagerfeld.
The designer was also the subject of a French reality series called Signé Chanel in 2005. The show covered the creation of his Fall/Winter 2004–2005 Chanel couture collection. It aired on Sundance Channel in the United States during the fall of 2006.
He has also supported and encouraged the work of up and coming designers including Philip Colbert of Rodnik.
On December 18, 2006, Lagerfeld announced the launch of a new collection for men and women dubbed K Karl Lagerfeld. The collection will include fitted T-shirts and a wide range of jeans.
Fashion icon, Karl Lagerfeld has signed an exclusive deal with Dubai Infinity Holdings (DIH); an investments enterprise that will focus on first of its kind projects in non conventional growth sectors, in line with their mandate to fulfil unmet market needs. Karl Lagerfeld is to design limited edition homes on Isla Moda, the world’s first dedicated fashion island, set in the iconic development, The World. This will be an exclusive collaboration between Dubai Infinity Holdings and Karl Lagerfeld across the GCC and India.
Lagerfeld is the host of fictional radio station "K109 - The Studio" in the videogame Grand Theft Auto IV.Karl Lagerfeld has been immortalized in many forms: pins, shirts, dolls, and more. In 2009, Tra Tutti began selling Karl Lagermouse and Karl Lagerfelt, mini Karl's in the form of mice and finger puppets respectively.


Controversies

In the early 1990s, he caused US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour to walk out of his runway show when he employed strippers and adult film star Moana Pozzi to model his black-and-white collection for Fendi.
Lagerfeld was the target of a pieing by PETA in 2001 at a fashion premiere at Lincoln Center in New York City. This was in protest of his use of fur and leather within his collections. The tofu pies hurled by the protestors went astray, however, and hit Calvin Klein (described by PETA as 'friendly fire').
Lagerfeld has launched himself into a bitter battle with animal rights activists after defending the use of fur in fashion. The German boss of fashion house Chanel claims anti-fur protesters are "childish" and argues hunted animals would kill their human predators if they could. Lagerfeld says, "In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and even clothes, the discussion of fur is childish."(In the north, hunters) make a living having learned nothing else than hunting, killing those beasts who would kill us if they could kill us." Michael McGraw, spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), replied, telling the New York Post, "Lagerfeld seems particularly delusional with his kill-or-be-killed mentality. When was the last time a person's life was threatened by a mink or rabbit?"Karl used faux fur in his last winter collection.
Recently, Lagerfeld was incorrectly identified as being engaged in a bitter feud with supermodel Heidi Klum. In 2009, the quotation, “Heidi Klum is no runway model. She is simply too heavy and has too big a bust. And she always grins so stupidly. That is not avant-garde - that is commercial!” is mistakenly attributed to Lagerfeld when it was, in fact, spoken by Wolfgang Joop. Lagerfeld remarked that neither he nor Claudia Schiffer knew Klum as she has never worked in Paris.


Weight loss

When Lagerfeld lost 42 kg (roughly 92.6 pounds) in 13 months[when?], his explanation was “...I suddenly wanted to dress differently, to wear clothes designed by Hedi Slimane,” he said. “But these fashions, modeled by very, very slim boys—and not men my age—required me to lose at least 40 kg. It took me exactly thirteen months.” The diet was created specially for Lagerfeld by Dr. Jean-Claude Houdret, which led to a book called The Karl Lagerfeld Diet.
Source:wikipedia
Sponser:ez2.in

Kojak

Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier. Kojak's Greek heritage, shared by actor Savalas, was prominently featured in the series.


Production

The show was created by Abby Mann, an Academy Award-winning film writer best known for his work on drama anthologies such as Robert Montgomery Presents and Playhouse 90. Universal Television approached him to do a story based on the 1963 Wylie-Hoffert "Career Girls Murders". The crime involved the brutal rape and murder of two young professional women in Manhattan.
Due to poor police work and the prevailing casual attitude toward suspects' civil rights, the crimes in the Wylie-Hoffert case were pinned on a young African-American male, George Whitmore, Jr., who had been arrested on a separate assault charge. After illegally obtaining a confession, the police had the suspect all but convicted until a second investigation by a different team of detectives exonerated the suspect and identified the real killer, a white junkie.
Mann developed the project as a gritty police procedural, but with a subtext focusing on institutionalized prejudice and the civil rights of suspects and witnesses. The result was the 1973 made-for-TV movie, The Marcus-Nelson Murders. The opening and closing titles of the film emphasized the point that it was a fictional account of the events that led to the creation of Miranda rights by the US Supreme Court in 1966.
Telly Savalas starred in The Marcus-Nelson Murders as a police detective whose last name was spelled "Kojack." The film would serve as a pilot for the Kojak television series. Kojak himself was a composite character, based on a number of detectives, lawyers, and reporters who were involved in the Wylie-Hoffert murder case.



Plot

The series was set in the New York City Police Department's Thirteenth Precinct, Manhattan South Patrol Borough. The show revolved around the efforts of the tough and incorruptible Lieutenant Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas), a bald, dapper, New York City policeman who was fond of lollipops and for using the catchphrase, "Who loves ya, baby?" Kojak was stubborn and tenacious in his investigation of crimes - and also displayed a dark, cynical wit, along with a tendency to bend the rules if it brought a criminal to justice. Savales described Kojak as a "basically honest character, tough but with feelings -- the kind of guy who might kick a hooker in the tail if he had to, but they'd understand each other because maybe they grew up on the same kind of block."
In the early episodes of the series, Kojak smoked heavily; in order to reflect the anti-smoking sentiment gaining momentum on American TV, the writers decided that Kojak had quit smoking. He began sucking on lollipops as a substitute, which became a trademark of the character (although Kojak is frequently seen smoking a cigarillo when he winds up a case by interrogation of the main suspect(s)). The lollipop made its debut in the Season 1 episode "Dark Sunday", broadcast on Dec. 12, 1973; Kojak lights a cigarillo as he begins questioning a witness, but thinks better of it and sticks a lollipop (specifically, a Tootsie Pop) in his mouth instead. Later in the episode, Kevin Dobson's character asks about the lollipop and Kojak replies, "I'm trying to bridge the generation gap."


Telly Savalas as Lt. Theo Kojak with ubiquitous lollipop
His longtime supervisor was Capt. Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer). Later in the series, McNeil was promoted to Chief of Detectives in Manhattan. Kojak is the commander of the Manhattan South Precinct's detective squad. His squad includes one of his favorite employees: young plainclothes officer, Det. Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson). Detectives Stavros (played by Telly's real-life brother George Savalas, who originally used the name "Demosthenes" as his screen credit; under his real name, Savalas also received a Production Associate credit during the early seasons), Saperstein (Mark Russell), and Rizzo (Vince Conti), all gave Kojak support.
Although the show primarily focused on Kojak's police work, it occasionally veered into other areas of the character's lives, such as the first season episode "Knockover" which included a subplot involving Kojak romancing a (much younger) female police officer.
In 1976, acclaimed crime writer Joe Gores received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a TV Series Teleplay for the third-season episode "No Immunity for Murder" (first aired November 23, 1975).

The show ended in 1978, after five seasons, due to low ratings. Reruns of Kojak became successful in syndication and TV Land. Years after the series ended, Savalas reprised the role in two TV movies, The Belarus File (1985), an adaptation of the John Loftus book The Belarus Secret, and The Price of Justice (1987), based on Dorothy Uhnak's novel, The Investigation. Kojak is not a character in either book.
In 1989–1990 Kojak returned to television in five two-hour episodes that aired on ABC, rotating with three other series as part of the ABC Mystery Movie. No longer a lieutenant commanding a precinct detective squad, Kojak had been promoted to inspector and put in charge of the NYPD's city-wide Major Crimes Squad. Andre Braugher was cast as a young detective assigned to Kojak's command.
Series stars The Savalas Brothers (Telly & George), Frazer and Dobson are the only cast members to appear in every episode of the series, and stayed throughout the entire run.



Characters

Telly Savalas - Lieutenant Theo Kojak - A bald detective
Dan Frazer - Capt. Frank McNeil - Kojak's boss
Kevin Dobson - Det. Bobby Crocker - Kojak's partner
George Savalas (Demosthenes) - Det. Stavros - Kojak's supporting co-worker
Mark Russell - Det. Saperstein
Vince Conti - Det. Rizzo
Andre Braugher - Det. Winston Blake (1989-90 ABC revival)



A roster of guest stars

During its five season run, many unfamiliar and/or familiar actors who guest-starred on the show went on to greater fame; among those appearing in Kojak episodes are: John Ritter, Bernie Kopell, Kathleen Quinlan, Sharon Gless, Swoosie Kurtz, Stacy Keach, Sr., Sylvester Stallone, Thayer David, Lenny Montana, Jayne Kennedy, David White, Harvey Keitel, Charles Siebert, Joan Van Ark, John Pleshette, Pamela Hensley, Dominic Chianese, Yvonne Craig, Mary Beth Hurt, Roosevelt Grier, Lynn Redgrave, Kene Holliday, John Larroquette, Lonny Chapman, Judith Chapman, Richard Eastham, Erik Estrada, Robert Ito, Richard Herd, Robert Webber, Sally Kirkland, Richard Gere, Paul Benedict, James Luisi, Roger E. Mosley, Stephen Macht, Nicholas Colasanto, Dabney Coleman, James Sloyan, Michael Ansara, Paul Michael Glaser, Marco St. John, Ken Kercheval, Judith Light, John M. Pickard, Eileen Brennan, Al Franken, Irene Cara, Hector Elizondo, Jackie Cooper, William Katt, Jerry Orbach, Danny Thomas, Allan Miller, Danny Aiello and James Woods, among many others.
Future Hill Street Blues stars, Daniel J. Travanti and Veronica Hamel would make guest appearances on the show, along with future Falcon Crest stars David Selby and Susan Sullivan, future The Young and The Restless stars Eric Braeden and Jess Walton, and Len Lesser, who portrayed Uncle Leo on Seinfeld, made appearances on the show, as well.



Music

The somewhat more well-known first Kojak theme, in two distinct arrangements is the work of Billy Goldenberg, who scored the early episodes. John Cacavas composed the second main title theme used throughout the show's 5th and final season.


Episodes

Main article: List of Kojak episodes
Kojak aired for 5 seasons on CBS, from 1973-1978. In the mid-eighties Kojak returned in two made-for-TV movies. In 1989, eleven years after the series ended, Telly Savalas returned to play Kojak in 5 TV movies that aired on ABC as part of their ABC Mystery Movie theme block which aired on Saturday nights.


Revival

Main article: Kojak (2005 TV series)
In March 2005, a new Kojak series debuted on the USA Network cable channel and on ITV4 in the UK. In this re-imagined version, African-American actor Ving Rhames portrays the character. The series only lasted one season.



Cultural impact

In the hit 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit, Cledus Snow (Jerry Reed) referred to a police officer with a radar gun as a "Kojak with a Kodak".
In Brazil the show was so successful that in the 1970s and 80s the term "Kojak" became Brazilian slang for "bald man". Telly Savalas visited the country to do promotional work.
In Rio de Janeiro, the expression: "I won't give a chance to Kojak" became popular among criminals — as in, the speaker would avoid leaving any clue that would lead the police to him or her. Later, this expression became popular among lay people. Nowadays, it means "I won't let anyone see my mistakes".
On French television, actor Henry Djanik dubbed Kojak. He also dubbed "Dog Savalas", who was modelled on Telly Savalas, and was a character from the manga and anime versions of the popular Japanese series Space Adventure Cobra.
In Chile and Romania, a "kojak" is a slang to refer to any kind of lollipop.
In poker, specifically Texas Hold 'Em, the starting hand K-J is often referred to as Kojak.
In Ace Attorney Investigations, the trenchcoated Detective Badd is first seen with a white stick between his lips. When he takes it out it's revealed to be a lollipop.


DVD releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released Season One of Kojak on DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4.
Mediumrare Entertainment released Seasons 2 & 3 on DVD in Region 2 on April 26th, 2010.
DVD Name Episodes Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Season One 22 March 22, 2005 July 18, 2005 June 1, 2006[6]
Season Two 25 N/A April 26, 2010[7] N/A
Season Three 24 N/A April 26, 2010[8] N/A
Season Four 25 N/A N/A N/A
Season Five 22 N/A N/A N/A
Source:wikipedia

Ashley Greene

Ashley Michele Greene, (born on February 21, 1987) is an American film and television actress, best known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptions of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels.


Personal life

Greene was born in Jacksonville, Florida, the daughter of Michele, who works in insurance, and Joe Greene, a U.S. Marine who now owns his own concrete business. She grew up in Middleburg and Jacksonville, and went to University Christian School before transferring to Wolfson High School when she was in tenth grade. She moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career. Greene has one sibling, an older brother named Joe, who still resides in Jacksonville with his parents.
Greene is good friends with her Twilight co-stars, particularly Kellan Lutz and Jackson Rathbone whom she knew before filming of the series began.
[edit]Career



Ashley Greene in 2009
She initially planned to become a model, but was told that she was not tall enough at 5'5" to be a runway model and should instead focus on commercials.After taking commercial and acting classes, she fell in love with acting and realized that she preferred it over modeling. Greene thus graduated from high school early at the age of 17 and moved to L.A. to pursue an acting career. Since then, she has appeared as a guest on many popular television programs, such as Punk'd and Crossing Jordan and also was featured in Russia duo t.A.T.u's music video "Dangerous and Moving".
Greene's big break came in 2008 when she was cast as Alice Cullen in Twilight, a film based on the novel of the same name by Stephenie Meyer. She reprised her role as Alice in the 2009 sequel to Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, 2010's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and will reprise on 2011 in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.
Greene portrayed Michelle Burkham in the drama film Skateland, which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.
She will be reuniting with her Twilight co-star Kellan Lutz in the upcoming movie Warrior and also stars in thriller film, Summer's Blood, as well as the Dark Castle Entertainment production The Apparition, which began filming on February 1, 2010. Greene, in nothing but a bodypainted bikini, has appeared in advertisements for SoBe that ran in the 2010 issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
People Magazine named Greene as one of the "World's Most Beautiful Women of 2010". She also received "The Style Icon Award" at Hollywood Life’s Young Hollywood Awards this year.
Questions were raised if she will star in the Scream 4. The deals are now concluded, Greene will play Neve Campbell’s cousin Jill, essentially the heroine of the movie.



Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Punk'd Girlfriend 1 episode
2006 Crossing Jordan Ann Rappaport 1 episode
MADtv Amber 1 episode
Desire Renata 7 episodes
2007 King of California McDonald's Customer
2008 Shark Natalie Faber 1 episode
Otis Kim #4 Straight-to-DVD
Twilight Alice Cullen Teen Choice Award for Movie Fresh Face Female
Nominated–Scream Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated–Scream Award for Best Ensemble Cast
2009 Shrink Missy
Summer's Blood Summer Straight-to-DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Alice Cullen
2010 Skateland Michelle Burkham Premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival
Radio Free Albemuth Rhonda Post-production
Warrior Brooklyn Post-production
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Alice Cullen Completed
2011 The Apparition Kelly Post-production
2012 Butter Pre-production
Source:wikipedia

Robert Redford

Charles Robert Redford, Jr. (born August 18, 1936) better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, model, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime Achievement in 2002.

Personal life

Redford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Martha W. (née Hart) and Charles Robert Redford Sr. (November 19, 1914 – April 2, 1991), a milkman-turned-accountant from Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He has a half-brother, William, from his father's re-marriage. Redford is of English and Scots-Irish ancestry.

He attended Van Nuys High School in Los Angeles, California, where he was classmates with Don Drysdale, and was a teammate on the Van Nuys High School baseball team with Don Drysdale. He graduated in 1954 and received a baseball scholarship to the University of Colorado, where he was a pitcher and a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. While there, he worked at the famous restaurant/bar The Sink. He later studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and took classes in theatrical set design at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

On August 9, 1958 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Redford married Lola Van Wagenen, who dropped out of college to marry him. They had four children: David James "Jamie", Shauna, Amy Redford, and Scott Anthony Redford. Scott, their first child was born September 1, 1959 and died of sudden infant death syndrome on November 17, 1959 at age 2½ months. He is buried at Provo City Cemetery in Provo, Utah. Robert and Lola divorced in 1985. He has five grandchildren, Dylan and Lena Redford (of son Jamie), Mica and Conor Schlosser (of daughter Shauna) and Eden August (of daughter Amy).

In July 2009, Redford married his longtime partner, Sibylle Szaggars, at the luxurious Louis C. Jacob Hotel in Hamburg, Germany. She had moved in with Redford in the 1990s and shares his Sundance, Utah, home.

Acting career

Television

Redford's career, like that of almost all major stars who emerged in the 1950s, began in New York, where an actor could find work both in television and on stage. Starting in 1959, he appeared as a guest star on numerous programs, including The Untouchables, Whispering Smith, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Dr. Kildare, Playhouse 90, Tate and The Twilight Zone, among others. He earned an Emmy nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Voice of Charlie Pont (ABC, 1962). One of his last television appearances was on October 7, 1963, on Breaking Point, an ABC medical drama about psychiatry.

Theater

Redford's Broadway debut was in a small role in Tall Story (1959), followed by parts in The Highest Tree (1959) and Sunday in New York (1961). His biggest Broadway success was as the stuffy newlywed husband of Elizabeth Ashley in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park (1963).

Film

Redford in Barefoot in the Park.

While still largely an unknown, Redford made his screen debut in War Hunt (1962), co-starring with John Saxon in a film set during the last days of the Korean War. This film also marked the debuts of Sydney Pollack and Tom Skerritt. After his Broadway success, he was cast in larger feature roles in movies. He played a bisexual movie star who marries starlet Natalie Wood in Inside Daisy Clover (1965) and rejoined her for Pollack's This Property Is Condemned (1966)—again as her lover. The same year saw his first teaming with Jane Fonda, in Arthur Penn's The Chase. Fonda and Redford were paired again in the big screen version of Barefoot in the Park (1967) and were again co-stars in Pollack's The Electric Horseman (1979).

Redford became concerned about his blond male stereotype image and turned down roles in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate. Redford found the property he was looking for in George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), scripted by William Goldman, in which he was paired for the first time with Paul Newman. The film made him a bankable star and cemented his screen image as an intelligent, reliable, sometimes sardonic good guy. Redford became one of the most popular stars of the 1970s.

Redford suffered through a few films that did not achieve box office success during this time, including Downhill Racer (1969), Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970), and The Hot Rock (1972). But his overall career was flourishing with the critical and box office hit Jeremiah Johnson (1972), the political satire The Candidate (1972), The Way We Were, (1973) and The Sting (1973), for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

During the years 1974-76, exhibitors voted Redford Hollywood's top box office name. His hits included The Great Gatsby (1974), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), and Three Days of the Condor (1975). The popular and acclaimed All the President's Men (1976), directed by Alan J. Pakula and scripted once again by Goldman, was a landmark film for Redford. Not only was he the executive producer and co-star, but the film's serious subject matter, the Watergate scandal, also reflected the actor's offscreen concerns for political causes.

He also starred in the 1977 war film A Bridge Too Far, and the baseball film The Natural (1984). Redford has continued his involvement in mainstream Hollywood movies, though projects became fewer. He appeared as a disgraced Army general sent to prison in the political thriller The Last Castle (2001), directed by Rod Lurie, someone else with a strong interest in politics. Redford, a leading environmental activist, narrated the IMAX documentary Sacred Planet (2004), a sweeping journey across the globe to some of its most exotic and endangered places. In The Clearing (2004), a thriller co-starring Helen Mirren, Redford was a successful businessman whose kidnapping unearths the secrets and inadequacies that led to his achieving the American Dream.

Redford stepped back into producing with The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), a coming-of-age road film about a young medical student, Ernesto 'Che' Guevera, and his friend Alberto Granado. It also explored political and social issues of South America that influenced Guevara and shaped his future. Five years in the making, Redford was credited by director Walter Salles for being instrumental in getting the film made and released.

Back in front of the camera, Redford received good notices for his turn in director Lasse Hallstrom's An Unfinished Life (2005) as a cantankerous rancher who is forced to take in his estranged daughter-in-law (Jennifer Lopez)—whom he blames for his son's death—and the granddaughter he never knew he had when they flee an abusive relationship. The film, which sat on the shelf for many months while its distributor Miramax was restructured, was generally dismissed as clichéd and overly sentimental. Meanwhile, Redford returned to familiar territory when he signed on to direct and star in an update of The Candidate.

Director

Redford at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.

Redford had long harbored ambitions to work on both sides of the lens. As early as 1969, Redford had served as the executive producer for Downhill Racer. His first outing as director was in 1980's Ordinary People, a drama about the slow disintegration of an upper-middle class family, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director. Redford was credited with obtaining a powerful dramatic performance from Mary Tyler Moore, as well as superb work from Donald Sutherland and Timothy Hutton, who also won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Redford did not direct again until The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), a well-crafted, though not commercially successful, screen version of John Nichols' acclaimed novel of the Southwest. The Milagro Beanfield War is the story of the people of Milagro, New Mexico (based on the real town of Truchas, in northern New Mexico) overcoming big developers who set about to ruin their community and force them out because of tax increases. Other directorial projects have included the period family drama A River Runs Through It (1992), based on Norman Maclean's novella, and the exposé Quiz Show (1994), about the quiz show scandal of the late 1950s. Redford worked from a screenplay by Paul Attanasio with noted cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and a strong cast that featured John Turturro, Rob Morrow, and Ralph Fiennes. Redford handpicked Morrow for his part in the film (Morrow's only high-profile feature film role to date), because he liked his work on Northern Exposure. Redford also directed Matt Damon and Will Smith in The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000).

Beside his directing and producing duties, Redford continued acting. He played opposite Meryl Streep in Sydney Pollack's Oscar-winning Out of Africa, Michelle Pfeiffer in the newsroom romance Up Close & Personal, and Kristin Scott Thomas in The Horse Whisperer, which he also directed. Redford also continued work in films with political context, such as Havana (1990), Sneakers (1992), Spy Game (2001), and Lions for Lambs (2007).

Honors

U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush pose with the Kennedy Center honorees, from left to right, actress Julie Harris, actor Robert Redford, singer Tina Turner, ballet dancer Suzanne Farrell and singer Tony Bennett on December 4, 2005, during the reception in the Blue Room at the White House.

He attended the University of Colorado in the 1950s and received an Honorary Degree in 1983.

In 1995, Redford received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Bard College. He was a 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award/Honorary Oscar recipient at the 74th Academy Awards.

In 1996, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

In December 2005, he received honors at the Kennedy Center for his contributions to American culture. The Honors recipients are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts: whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television.

The University of Southern California (USC) School of Theater announced the first annual Robert Redford Award for Engaged Artists in 2009. According to the school's web site, the award was created "to honor those who have distinguished themselves not only in the exemplary quality, skill and innovation of their work, but also in their public commitment to social responsibility, to increasing awareness of global issues and events, and to inspiring and empowering young people."

Robert Redford received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Brown University at the 240th Commencement exercises on May 25, 2008. He also spoke during the ceremonies.

Filmography

Actor

Year Film Role Notes

1960 Tall Story Basketball Player

1962 War Hunt Private Roy Loomis

Nothing in the Dark (episode of The Twilight Zone) Harold Beldon

1965 Inside Daisy Clover Wade Lewis

Situation Hopeless ... But Not Serious Captain Hank Wilson

1966 This Property Is Condemned Owen Legate

The Chase Charlie 'Bubber' Reeves

1967 Barefoot in the Park Paul Bratter

1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The Sundance Kid BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

also for Downhill Racer and Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here

Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here Deputy Sheriff Christopher 'Coop' Cooper BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

also for Downhill Racer and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Downhill Racer David Chappellet BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

also for Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

1970 Little Fauss and Big Halsy Halsy Knox

1972 Jeremiah Johnson Jeremiah Johnson

The Candidate Bill McKay

The Hot Rock John Archibald Dortmunder

1973 The Sting Johnny Hooker Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor

The Way We Were Hubbell Gardiner

1974 The Great Gatsby Jay Gatsby

1975 Three Days of the Condor Joseph Turner/The Condor

The Great Waldo Pepper Waldo Pepper

1976 All the President's Men Bob Woodward

1977 A Bridge Too Far Major Julian Cook

1979 The Electric Horseman Norman 'Sonny' Steele

1980 Brubaker Henry Brubaker

1984 The Natural Roy Hobbs

1985 Out of Africa Denys Finch Hatton

1986 Legal Eagles Tom Logan

1990 Havana Jack Weil

1992 A River Runs Through It Narrator (Uncredited) Voice Only

Also Producer/Director

Sneakers Martin "Marty" Bishop

Incident at Oglala Narrator

1993 Indecent Proposal John Gage

La Classe américaine Steven

1996 Up Close & Personal Warren Justice

1998 The Horse Whisperer Tom Booker Also Producer/Director

2001 Spy Game Nathan D. Muir

The Last Castle Lt. Gen. Eugene Irwin

2004 The Clearing Wayne Hayes

Sacred Planet Narrator

2005 An Unfinished Life Einar Gilkyson

2006 Charlotte's Web Ike Voice Only

2007 Lions for Lambs Dr. Stephen Malley Also Producer/Director

Director

Year Film Notes

1980 Ordinary People Academy Award for Best Director

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Feature Film

Golden Globe Award for Best Director

1988 The Milagro Beanfield War

1992 A River Runs Through It Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Director

1994 Quiz Show Nominated — Academy Award for Best Picture

Nominated — Academy Award for Best Director

Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Film

Nominated — Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Feature Film

Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Director

1998 The Horse Whisperer Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Director

2000 The Legend of Bagger Vance

2007 Lions for Lambs

2010 The Conspirator

Sundance

Mount Timpanogos, panoramic view

With the financial proceeds of his acting success, starting with his salaries from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Downhill Racer, Redford bought an entire ski area on the east side of Mount Timpanogos northeast of Provo, Utah called "Timp Haven," which was renamed "Sundance." Redford's wife Lola was from Utah and they had built a home in the area in 1963. Portions of the movie Jeremiah Johnson (1972), a film which is both one of Redford's favorites and one that has heavily influenced him, were shot near the ski area. He founded the Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute, Sundance Cinemas, Sundance Catalog, and the Sundance Channel, all in and around Park City, Utah, 30 miles (48 km) north of the Sundance ski area. The Sundance Film Festival caters to independent filmmakers in the United States and has received recognition from the industry as a place to open films. In 2008, Sundance exhibited 125 feature-length films from 34 countries, with more than 50,000 attendees. The name Sundance comes from his character, the Sundance Kid. In addition, Redford owns a celebrated restaurant called Zoom, located on Main Street in the former mining town of Park City.

ndependent films

Since founding the nonprofit Sundance Institute in Park City, in 1981, Redford has been deeply involved with independent film. Through its various workshop programs and popular film festival, Sundance has provided much-needed support for independent filmmakers. In 1995, Redford signed a deal with Showtime to start a 24-hour cable TV channel devoted to airing independent films—the Sundance Channel premiered on February 29, 1996.

Political activity

Redford is politically liberal, and has supported environmentalism, Native American rights, and the arts. Most of his federal political contributions have been to Democrats (61%) or advocacy groups (34.6%), such as the Political Action Committee of the Directors Guild of America. However Redford has on occasion also supported Republicans, including Brent Cornell Morris in his unsuccessful 1990 race for Utah's 3rd congressional district seat. Redford also supported Gary R. Herbert, another Republican and a friend, in Herbert's successful campaign to be elected Utah's Lieutenant Governor, and is currently the Governor of Utah. He is an avid environmentalist and is a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

(source:wikipedia)

Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Marie Pfeiffer, (pronounced /ˈfaɪfər/; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. She made her screen début in 1980, but first garnered mainstream attention with her appearance in Scarface (1983). She rose to prominence during the late 1980s and early 1990s, during which time she gave a series of critically-acclaimed performances in the films Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Married to the Mob (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), The Russia House (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Love Field (1992), and The Age of Innocence (1993), as well as appearing as Catwoman, the feline anti-heroine of Batman Returns (1992).

Pfeiffer has been nominated for an Academy Award three times: Best Supporting Actress for Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Best Actress for The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), and Best Actress for Love Field (1992). She won a Golden Globe Award for The Fabulous Baker Boys, a BAFTA Award for Dangerous Liaisons, and the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Love Field. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

Pfeiffer appeared on the cover of People's first "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" issue in 1990, and again in 1999, having made the list a record six times during the decade.

Early life

Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana, California, the second of four children born to Richard Pfeiffer, a heating and air-conditioning contractor, and Donna (née Taverna), a homemaker. She has one elder brother, Rick, and two younger sisters, Dedee Pfeiffer and Lori Pfeiffer, both actresses. The family moved to Midway City, California, where Pfeiffer spent her childhood. She attended Fountain Valley High School and worked as a check-out girl at Vons supermarket. She then attended Golden West College where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. After a short stint training to be a court stenographer, she decided upon an acting career, and entered the Miss Orange County Beauty Pageant in 1978 (which she won), and the Miss Los Angeles contest later that year, after which she was signed by a Hollywood agent who appeared on the judging panel. Moving to Los Angeles, she began to audition for commercials and bit parts in films.

Film career

First television and film appearances

Pfeiffer's early acting appearances included television roles in Fantasy Island, Delta House and BAD Cats, and small film roles in Falling in Love Again (1980) with Susannah York, The Hollywood Knights (1980) opposite Tony Danza, and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981), none of which met with much success. Pfeiffer took acting lessons, and appeared in three further television movies - Callie and Son (1981) with Lindsay Wagner, The Children Nobody Wanted (1981), and a remake of Splendor in the Grass (as Ginny) - before landing her first major film role as Stephanie Zinone in Grease 2 (1982), the sequel to the smash-hit musical Grease (1978). The film was a critical and commercial failure, although Pfeiffer herself received some positive attention, notably from the New York Times, which said "although she is a relative screen newcomer, Miss Pfeiffer manages to look much more insouciant and comfortable than anyone else in the cast." Despite escaping the critical mauling, Pfeiffer's agent later admitted that her association with the film meant that "she couldn't get any jobs. Nobody wanted to hire her."

Screen success

Pfeiffer in March 1985

Director Brian de Palma, having seen Grease 2, refused to audition Pfeiffer for Scarface (1983), but relented upon the producer's insistence. She was cast as cocaine-addicted trophy wife Elvira Hancock. The film was considered excessively violent by most critics, but became a commercial hit and gained a large cult following in subsequent years. Pfeiffer received positive reviews for her supporting turn; Richard Corliss of Time Magazine wrote, "most of the large cast is fine: Michelle Pfeiffer is better..." while Dominick Dunne, in an article for Vanity Fair entitled "Blonde Ambition", wrote, "[s]he is on the verge of stardom. In the parlance of the industry, she is hot."

Following Scarface, she accepted the roles of Isabeau d'Anjou in Ladyhawke (1985) opposite Rutger Hauer, Diana in John Landis' comedy Into the Night (1985) opposite Jeff Goldblum, Faith Healy in Alan Alda's Sweet Liberty (1986) opposite Michael Caine, and Brenda Landers in a segment of the 1950s sci-fi parody Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), all of which, despite achieving only modest commercial success, helped to establish her as an actress. She finally scored a major box-office hit as Sukie Ridgemont in the supernatural comedy The Witches of Eastwick (1987), alongside Jack Nicholson, Cher and Susan Sarandon.

Critical acclaim

Pfeiffer was cast against type, as a murdered gangster's widowed moll on the run, in Jonathan Demme's mafia comedy Married to the Mob (1988), opposite Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell and Mercedes Ruehl. For the role of Angela de Marco, she donned a curly brunette wig and a Brooklyn accent, and received her first of six consecutive Golden Globe Best Actress Award nominations. Pfeiffer then appeared as chic restauranteuse Jo Ann Vallenari in Tequila Sunrise (1988) opposite Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell, but experienced creative and personal differences with director Robert Towne, who later described her as the "most difficult" actress he's ever worked with.

At Demme's personal recommendation, Pfeiffer joined the cast of Stephen Frears's Dangerous Liaisons (1988) alongside Glenn Close and John Malkovich, playing the virtuous victim of seduction, Madame Marie de Tourvel. Her performance won her widespread acclaim; Hal Hinson of the Washington Post saw Pfeiffer's role as "the least obvious and the most difficult. Nothing is harder to play than virtue, and Pfeiffer is smart enough not to try. Instead, she embodies it. Her porcelain-skinned beauty, in this regard, is a great asset, and the way it's used makes it seem an aspect of her spirituality." She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Pfeiffer then accepted the role of Susie Diamond, a hard-edged former call girl turned lounge singer, in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), which co-starred Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges as the eponymous Baker Boys. She underwent intensive voice training for the role, and performed all of her character's vocals. The film was a modest success, but Pfeiffer's portrayal of Susie drew raves from critics. Pauline Kael wrote of the performance as possessing "the grinning infectiousness of Carole Lombard, [and] the radiance of the very young Lauren Bacall," while Roger Ebert compared her to Rita Hayworth in Gilda and Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, and described the film as "one of the movies they will use as a document, years from now, when they begin to trace the steps by which Pfeiffer became a great star."Variety singled out her performance of 'Makin' Whoopee', writing that Pfeiffer "hits the spot in the film's certain-to-be-remembered highlight... crawling all over a piano in a blazing red dress. She's dynamite." During the 1989–1990 awards season, Pfeiffer dominated the Best Actress category at every major awards ceremony, winning awards at the Golden Globes, the National Board of Review, the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Chicago Film Critics Association. At the Academy Awards, she was favored to win the Best Actress Oscar,but the award went to Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy in what was considered a surprise upset. The only other major acting award for which she was nominated that she did not take home for The Fabulous Baker Boys was the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which also went to Tandy.

Mid-career

Pfeiffer continued to build on her A-list status in Hollywood, accepting (and also turning down) many varied, high-profile roles. She took the part of Katya Orlova in the film adaptation of John le Carré's The Russia House (1990) opposite Sean Connery, a role that required her to adopt a Russian accent. For her efforts, she was rewarded with a third Golden Globe nomination. Pfeiffer then landed the role of damaged waitress Frankie in Garry Marshall's Frankie and Johnny (1991), a film adaptation of Terrence McNally's Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, which reunited her with her Scarface co-star, Al Pacino. The casting was seen as controversial by many, as Pfeiffer was considered far too beautiful to play an "ordinary" waitress; Kathy Bates, the original Frankie on Broadway, also expressed disappointment over the producers' choice.Pfeiffer herself stated that she took the role because it "wasn't what people would expect of [her]." Pfeiffer was once again nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.

Pfeiffer earned her third Academy Award nomination and fifth Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Lurene Hallett in the nostalgic independent drama Love Field (1992), a film that had been temporarily shelved by the financially-troubled Orion Pictures. It was finally released in late 1992, in time for Oscar consideration. The New York Times review wrote of Pfeiffer as "again demonstrating that she is as subtle and surprising as she is beautiful." For her portrayal of the eccentric Dallas housewife, she won the Silver Bear Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Pfeiffer took the role of Catwoman (Selina Kyle) in Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992) opposite Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito. For the role of Catwoman, she trained in martial arts and kickboxing; one co-star stated that "Michelle had four stunt doubles - but she did all her own whippin'." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised her for giving the "feminist avenger a tough core of intelligence and wit" and called her a "classic dazzler."Premiere retrospectively lauded her performance: "Arguably the outstanding villain of the Tim Burton era, Michelle Pfeiffer's deadly kitten with a whip brought sex to the normally neutered franchise. Her stitched-together, black patent leather costume, based on a sketch of Burton's, remains the character's most iconic look. And Michelle Pfeiffer overcomes Batman Returns' heavy-handed feminist dialogue to deliver a growling, fierce performance."

The following year, she played Countess Ellen Olenska in Martin Scorsese's film adaptation of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence (1993) opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, receiving the Elvira Notari Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and a sixth nomination for a Golden Globe award.

Pfeiffer's subsequent career choices have met with varying degrees of success. After The Age of Innocence, she played the role of Laura Alden opposite Jack Nicholson in Wolf (1994), a horror film that garnered a mixed critical reception.[25] Her next role was that of high school teacher and former US Marine LouAnne Johnson in the surprise box office hit Dangerous Minds (1995). She appeared as her character in the music video for the soundtrack's lead single, 'Gangsta's Paradise' by Coolio (featuring L.V.). The song won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, and the video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video. She then took the role of Sally Atwater in the romantic drama Up Close & Personal (1996) opposite Robert Redford; the film's screenplay, co-written by husband and wife team John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion, was intended to be a biographical account of the career of news anchor Jessica Savitch, but the final version had almost nothing to do with Savitch's life, leading Dunne to write an exposé of his eight-year battle with the Hollywood producers, Monster: Living Off the Big Screen.

Subsequent performances included the title (but technically supporting) role of Gillian Lewis in To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday (1996) opposite Peter Gallagher and Claire Danes, Melanie Parker in One Fine Day (1996) opposite George Clooney, Rose Cook Lewis in the film adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres (1997) with Jessica Lange and Jennifer Jason Leigh, Beth Cappadora in The Deep End of the Ocean (1998) opposite Treat Williams, Titania the Queen of the Fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) with Kevin Kline, Rupert Everett and Stanley Tucci, and Katie Jordan in The Story of Us (1999) opposite Bruce Willis.

Her next film, the Hitchcockian thriller What Lies Beneath (2000) with Harrison Ford, was a commercial success, opening number one at the box office in July 2000. She then accepted the role of highly-strung lawyer Rita Harrison in I Am Sam (2001) opposite Sean Penn. For her performance as murderous artist Ingrid Magnussen in White Oleander (2002), alongside Alison Lohman in her film début, Renée Zellweger and Robin Wright Penn, Pfeiffer garnered a substantial amount of critical praise. Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote that "Ms. Pfeiffer, giving the most complex screen performance of her career, makes her Olympian seductress at once irresistible and diabolical." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described her as "incandescent," bringing "power and unshakable will to her role as mother-master manipulator" in a "riveting, impeccable performance."She earned Best Supporting Actress Awards from the San Diego Film Critics Society and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

Pfeiffer also did voice work in two animated films during this period, voicing Tzipporah in The Prince of Egypt (1998), in which she introduced the Academy Award–winning song, 'When You Believe', and Eris in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003).

Return to films

After a four-year hiatus, during which she remained largely out of the public eye and devoted time to her husband and children,[30] Pfeiffer returned to the screen in 2007 with villainous roles in two major summer blockbusters, as Velma Von Tussle in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Hairspray (2007) with John Travolta and Christopher Walken, and as ancient witch Lamia in fantasy adventure Stardust (2007) opposite Claire Danes and Robert De Niro.

Pfeiffer then accepted the roles of Rosie in Amy Heckerling's I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007) with Paul Rudd and Saoirse Ronan, and Linda in Personal Effects (2009) opposite Ashton Kutcher. Her next film, an adaptation of Colette's Chéri (2009), reunited her with the director (Stephen Frears) and screenwriter (Christopher Hampton) of Dangerous Liaisons (1988), a film for which all three were nominees for (and, in Hampton's case, recipient of) an Academy Award. Pfeiffer played the role of Léa de Lonval opposite Rupert Friend in the title role, with Kathy Bates as his mother. Chéri premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2009, and received a nomination for the Golden Bear award. The Times of London reviewed the film favorably, describing Hampton's screenplay as a "steady flow of dry quips and acerbic one-liners" and Pfeiffer's performance as "magnetic and subtle, her worldly nonchalance a mask for vulnerability and heartache."[32] Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that it was "fascinating to observe how Pfeiffer controls her face and voice during times of painful hurt." Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times praised the "wordless scenes that catch Léa unawares, with the camera alone seeing the despair and regret that she hides from the world. It's the kind of refined, delicate acting Pfeiffer does so well, and it's a further reminder of how much we've missed her since she's been away."

Theatre

In 1989, Pfeiffer made her stage début in the role of Olivia in Twelfth Night, a New York Shakespeare Festival production staged in Central Park. Other film actors appearing in the play included Jeff Goldblum as Malvolio and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Viola. Frank Rich's review in the New York Times was extremely critical of the production, stating "Ms. Pfeiffer offers an object lesson in how gifted stars with young careers can be misused by those more interested in exploiting their celebrity status than in furthering their artistic development."[22] Rich praised Pfeiffer's performance in what was then her most recent film, the screwball comedy Married to the Mob, but stating it was "unfortunate that the actress has been asked to make both her stage and Shakespearean comic début in a role chained to melancholy and mourning."

Personal life

Marriages

At the start of her career, Pfeiffer met Peter Horton at an acting class taught by Milton Katselas in Los Angeles.They married in Santa Monica when Pfeiffer was 22, and it was on their honeymoon that she discovered she had won the lead role in Grease 2. Horton directed Pfeiffer in a 1985 ABC TV special, One Too Many, in which she played the high school girlfriend of an alcoholic student (Val Kilmer); and in 1987, the real-life couple then played an on-screen couple in the 'Hospital' segment of John Landis's comedy skit compilation, Amazon Women on the Moon. However, they decided to separate in 1988, and were divorced two years later; Horton later blamed the split on their devotion to their work rather than their marriage.

Pfeiffer and husband David E. Kelley at the 47th Emmy Awards, 1994

In 1993, Pfeiffer was set up on a blind date with television writer and producer David E. Kelley (creator of Chicago Hope, Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, The Practice and Boston Legal), but it became a group event and they barely spoke to each other.[40] The following week, Kelley took her to the movies to see Bram Stoker's Dracula, and they began dating seriously. They married on November 13, 1993. Since then, she has made an uncredited cameo appearance in one episode of Kelley's television series Picket Fences and played the title character in To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday, for which Kelley wrote the screenplay.

Other relationships

In between her marriages to Horton and Kelley, Pfeiffer had a three-year relationship with Fisher Stevens (Early Edition, Hackers and Short Circuit). They met when Pfeiffer was starring in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Twelfth Night, in which Stevens had the part of Sir Andrew Aguecheek.

Children

Pfeiffer and Kelley have two children, one adopted daughter and one biological son. Pfeiffer, who was by her own admission desperate to start a family, had entered into private adoption proceedings before she even met Kelley. The biracial baby girl she adopted had been born in March 1993, to a young nurse in New York who could not afford to support all of her children; she was christened Claudia Rose in November 1993, on the same day that Pfeiffer and Kelley were married. Pfeiffer soon became pregnant, and in August 1994, gave birth to a son, John Henry.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes

1980 The Hollywood Knights Suzie Q

Falling In Love Again Sue Wellington

1981 Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen Cordelia Farenington

1982 Grease 2 Stephanie Zinone Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Young Motion Picture Actress

1983 Scarface Elvira Hancock

1985 Into the Night Diana

Ladyhawke Isabeau d'Anjou Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress

1986 Sweet Liberty Faith Healy

1987 The Witches of Eastwick Sukie Ridgemont

Amazon Women on the Moon Brenda Landers

1988 Married to the Mob Angela de Marco Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Tequila Sunrise Jo Ann Vallenari

Dangerous Liaisons Madame Marie de Tourvel BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

1989 The Fabulous Baker Boys Susie Diamond Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama

Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress

National Board of Review Award for Best Actress

National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress

Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress

Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

1990 The Russia House Katya Orlova Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama

1991 Frankie and Johnny Frankie Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

1992 Batman Returns Catwoman/Selina Kyle Nominated - MTV Movie Awards - Most Desirable Female and Best Kiss (with Michael Keaton)

Love Field Lurene Hallett Berlin Film Festival - Silver Bear for Best Actress

Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress

Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama

1993 The Age of Innocence Countess Ellen Olenska Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama

1994 Wolf Laura Alden Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress

1995 Dangerous Minds LouAnne Johnson Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress (Drama)

Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female

1996 Up Close & Personal Sally/Tally Atwater

To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday Gillian Lewis

One Fine Day Melanie Parker Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress (Comedy/Romance)

Executive producer

1997 A Thousand Acres Rose Cook Lewis Producer (uncredited)

1998 The Prince of Egypt Tzipporah Voice

1999 The Deep End of the Ocean Beth Cappadora

A Midsummer Night's Dream Titania

The Story of Us Katie Jordan

2000 What Lies Beneath Claire Spencer Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress (Suspense)

Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress

2001 I Am Sam Rita Harrison Williams

2002 White Oleander Ingrid Magnussen Kansas City Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress

San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress

Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress

2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Eris Voice

2007 Stardust Lamia Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress

Hairspray Velma Von Tussle Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast

Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture

I Could Never Be Your Woman Rosie

2009 Personal Effects Linda

Cheri Lea de Lonval

Television work

Year Title Role Notes

1978 Fantasy Island Athena Episode - "The Island of Lost Women/The Flight of Great Yellow Bird"

1979 Delta House The Bombshell 2 episodes ("Hoover and the Bomb", "The Legacy")

The Solitary Man Tricia

CHiPs Jobina Episode - "The Watch Commander"

1980 Enos Joy 1 episode

B.A.D. Cats Samantha "Sunshine" Jensen

1981 Fantasy Island Deborah Dare Episode - "Elizabeth's Baby/The Artist and the Lady"

Callie & Son Sue Lynn Bordeaux credited as Michele Pfeiffer

Splendor in the Grass Ginny Stamper

The Children Nobody Wanted Jennifer Williams

1985 One Too Many Annie ABC Afterschool Special

1987 Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson Natica Jackson

1993 The Simpsons Mindy Simmons Episode "The Last Temptation of Homer"

Picket Fences Client Episode "Freezer Burn"

1996 Muppets Tonight Herself (1 episode)

(source:wikipedia)