Name	Redbelt
Caption	Theatrical release poster
Director	David Mamet
Producer	Chrisann Verges
Writer	David Mamet
Starring	Chiwetel EjioforTim AllenEmily MortimerAlice BragaRodrigo SantoroJoe MantegnaRebecca PidgeonRicky Jay Randy Couture
Cinematography	Robert Elswit
Editing	Barbara Tulliver
Distributor	Sony Pictures Classics
Released
Runtime	100 minutes
Country	United StatesBrazil
Language	English
Budget	$7 million
Gross	$2,674,090

Redbelt is a 2008 martial arts film written and directed by David Mamet and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on May 9, 2008.

Plot

The movie opens in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu studio where Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is teaching an advanced class. Mike employs a unique training method. Before a sparring match, each fighter draws one of three marbles, two white and one black. Whoever draws a black marble has to fight with a handicap as determined by the spin of a wheel much like a board game. Joe (Max Martini), a police officer training for a black belt, draws a black marble and must compete with his hands tied in front of him while his opponent drew the white marble and is unencumbered. Joe puts up an impressive fight but ultimately loses when he is unable to break a choke hold. Mike consoles him by showing Joe that despite the handicap, he could have easily broken the choke hold if he had been more focused.

Meanwhile, Laura (Emily Mortimer) is driving through a heavy downpour desperately trying to locate a pharmacy before it closes to fill a prescription. Frustrated and distracted while talking on her phone, she sideswipes a parked truck. Seeking the truck's owner, Laura wanders into the Jiu-Jitsu academy while Mike is demonstrating how Joe's police issued shoulder holster is a liability in a fight. Joe sees that Laura is soaked and distressed so he chivalrously tries to take her coat. Startled, she grabs Joe's stray gun which he set down only briefly during Mike's private demonstration. The gun fires and shatters the studio's front window. Laura picks up the ejected shell casing while Joe and Mike are shocked by how easily and dramatically she was frightened.

Mike and Joe agree to hide that the shooting ever happened. Technically, the police could charge Laura with attempted murder which wouldn't be fair to a woman who is clearly just disturbed and meant no harm. But claiming the window broke because of strong wind makes it an act of God and not covered by Mike's insurance. This sparks an argument between Mike and his wife over finances. Apparently the academy is bankrupt. The only reason it hasn't closed is because Mike's wife, Sondra (Alice Braga), is supplementing the studio through profits from her fashion business which puts a strain on her income. Sondra advises Mike to ask for a loan from Sondra's brother, Ricardo (John Machado), a mixed martial arts champion.

Mike goes to visit Ricardo at his club which is co-owned by Sondra's other brother, Bruno (Rodrigo Santoro). Mike notices that the club has no bouncer. Joe was supposed to be bouncing to earn extra cash for his family's unnamed medical bills. Ricardo is unavailable so Mike meets with Bruno instead. While waiting to see Bruno, Mike is entertained by a cocky magician. The man displays some incredible sleight of hand by turning a die from black to white with uncanny ease. Mike also learns from the bartender that Joe quit bouncing because Bruno never paid him.

In the club's office, Bruno and fight promoter Marty Brown (Ricky Jay) are discussing how to promote a championship mixed martial arts fight between Ricardo and a Japanese legend, Morisaki (Enson Inoue). Marty makes some references to fixing the fight and Bruno debates with him about whether or not Ricardo will go for it.

Mike finally meets with Bruno and questions him about why he didn't pay Joe. Bruno gives a mysteriously vague explanation claiming that he planned on paying Joe eventually but Joe was impatient. Bruno also tries to encourage Mike to fight on the undercard in the aforementioned upcoming fight which could potentially pay out $50,000. But Mike follows a strict, samurai-like code. He believes competition weakens the fighter because a competition is not a fight, especially when it's only for money. Their conversation is interrupted when Bruno notices on the security monitors that Chet Frank (Tim Allen), an aging Hollywood action star, just entered the club without a bodyguard.

Chet offers to buy a woman at the bar a drink, but the woman's boyfriend gets offended and picks a fight with Chet. When the boyfriend attempts to attack Chet with a broken bottle, Mike intervenes to stop the fight. Two more guys attack Mike, but Mike quickly subdues them.

The following day, a messenger shows up at Mike's door delivering an expensive watch from Chet Frank and an invitation to dinner. Chet is grateful for Mike's intervention in the bar fight. Mike gives the watch to Joe and advises him to pawn it. Mike feels responsible for hooking Joe up with an employer that stiffed him.

Mike goes to the academy the following morning and finds that Laura is paying to fix the window. She apologizes for her odd behavior the previous evening and accepts an enrollment form for Mike's class.

That evening during dinner, Chet's wife (Rebecca Pidgeon) admires Sondra's fashion style and arranges an informal business deal to buy a large supply of dresses from Sondra's company. After hearing some of the tenets of Mike's teaching philosophy, Chet invites Mike to the set of his recent film project the next morning. Before parting ways, Sondra encourages Mike to tell Chet's business associate, Jerry Weiss (Joe Mantegna), about the marble drawing training method. Jerry thinks it is an interesting concept and comments on how it could be a clever gimmick to use in competitive fighting to draw a crowd.

The next morning, Mike visits the movie set. Chet is running late so Mike wanders the set and discovers a colleague/acquaintance is doing stunt choreography for the movie's hand to hand combat. Having served in Desert Storm, Mike was able to answer some of Chet's technical questions about the military. Impressed with Mike's knowledge, Chet asks Mike to be a co-producer of the film. Jerry invites Mike to dinner that evening to discuss the details. Mike returns home to share the good news with Sondra and begins faxing details of his training methods to Jerry so they can be used in the movie.

Mike meets with Laura later that afternoon for a private lesson. Laura reveals that she was raped while the assailant held a knife to her throat thus explaining why she's easily startled. Skeptical of Mike being able to help her, she begins to exit the studio. Mike aggressively grabs her from behind holding a rubber training knife to her throat. After showing her how she could've escaped from such a predicament, Laura cathartically sobs.

Later while preparing for the beginner class, Joe shows up to the studio and informs Mike that he was temporarily suspended from duty after trying to pawn a stolen watch. Mike is shocked to learn it was stolen and assures Joe that he will straighten things out.

When meeting Jerry for dinner, Mike insists on sorting out the issue of the stolen watch before discussing other business. Jerry is shocked and embarrassed to learn the watch was stolen and excuses himself to go make a phone call to handle the matter. Jerry never returns and Mike leaves the restaurant puzzled. When Mike gets home, Sondra is also confused. The phone numbers that Chet's wife gave her have been disconnected. Sondra is panicky because she already ordered $30,000 worth of fabric based on their oral business arrangement. Sondra borrowed the money for the fabric from a loan shark (David Paymer).

Mike meets with the loan shark to plead for more time to pay back the money. During their conversation, Mike notices Marty Brown and Bruno on television promoting the mixed martial arts match of Ricardo versus Morisaki. As a promotional gimmick, they are planning to use Mike's marble drawing technique for the undercard fights.

Mike then hires Laura to see if they can sue the fight promoter for stealing Mike's idea. The problem is they can't prove how Marty Brown could've stolen the idea if Mike never told it to him. That question is answered when Jerry Weiss enters Marty's office and refers to Marty as his new partner. This connected Mike's idea to Jerry then to Marty thus allowing Laura to prove theft and conspiracy to defraud. But Marty's lawyer threatens that if they don't drop the lawsuit then he will hand over proof to the police, in the form of an empty shell casing with Laura's fingerprints, that she attempted to kill an off duty cop. He can also prove that Mike was a witness who covered up the attempted murder by bribing the cop with a stolen wrist watch.

Upon hearing about this situation, Joe feels entirely responsible and kills himself. Mike visits Joe's wife to console her but finds she is inconsolable. She claims Joe was trying to preserve the honor of the academy and Mike's principles. But mostly she's angry because she's stuck with a stack of bills that she can't pay. Mike feels obligated to help. Desperately in need of money, Mike decides to abandon his principles and compete as an undercard fighter in the upcoming competition.

When Mike arrives at the arena before the fight, he learns that the promoters have made the marble drawing look like an elaborate, ancient ritual conducted by an elderly man wearing a ceremonial mask and escorted by tribal drummers. Mike also learns that his mentor, known as The Professor, is present at the fight. As Mike walks through the halls of the arena, he peers through a partially opened dressing room door and sees that the elderly Asian man who draws the colored stones is actually the magician from Bruno's club in disguise. The magician is vainly displaying his sleight of hand skills in the dressing room mirror and secretly switching colored marbles. Mike realizes that the fight is fixed. Unbeknownst to the competitors, the magician assigns the handicap as predetermined by the fight promoters. Disgusted by this revelation, Mike confronts the promoters/conspirators: Marty, Jerry and Bruno. They confirm the accusation and also reveal that Ricardo is intentionally losing the fight to Morisaki so they can make money on the rematch.

When Mike accuses them of being responsible for Joe's suicide, Jerry laments that it was unfortunate but blames Mike for being stupid enough to give a gift from someone as important as Chet Frank. Jerry also tells Mike that Sondra is the one who told them about Laura shooting the window. Bruno justifies her betrayal by explaining that his sister is too smart to stay with someone who can't provide for her.

As Mike is exiting the arena, he meets with Laura. Their conversation is not audible, but it ends with Laura giving Mike a loud, echoing slap to the face. Mike then re-enters the arena determined to expose that the fights are fixed. One by one, security guards try to stop Mike but they are unsuccessful. Finally, Ricardo engages Mike. As they begin fighting in the arena's corridors, the audience and camera crews take notice. Eventually, Ricardo puts Mike in a difficult choke hold. As he's losing consciousness, Mike is inspired by the sight of The Professor and reverses the hold. Mike wins the fight. He is approached by Morisaki who awards Mike with his ivory-studded belt, previously referred to as a Japanese national treasure. Mike is then approached by The Professor himself who awards Mike with the coveted Redbelt, signifying Mike as his one worthy pupil.

Cast

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mike Terry

Tim Allen as Chet Frank

Alice Braga as Sondra Terry

Rodrigo Santoro as Bruno Silva

Jose Pablo Cantillo as Snowflake

Randy Couture as Dylan Flynn

Caroline de Souza Correa as Monica

Mike Goldberg as Sports Announcer #2

Damon Herriman as Official

Dan Inosanto as Joao Moro

Enson Inoue as Taketa Morisaki

Ricky Jay as Marty Brown

John Machado as Ricardo Silva

Ray Mancini as George

Joe Mantegna as Jerry Weiss

Max Martini as Joe Collins

Emily Mortimer as Laura Black

David Paymer as Richie

Rebecca Pidgeon as Zena Frank

Cyril Takayama as Jimmy Takata

Jennifer Grey as Lucy Weiss

Production

and David Mamet at the premiere.]] Mamet has described Redbelt as a samurai film in the tradition of Kurosawa. Stephen King of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Eljiofor "brings gravity and grace to Terry's moral dilemma." O'Hehir said "the jiu-jitsu scenes are so incoherently shot and edited you can't tell if the fight choreography is any good or not." Berardinelli wrote "Anyone attending with the expectation that this is going to satisfy a primal desire for wall-to-wall combat will be sadly disappointed.

In The Weekly Standard, Sonny Bunch wrote that the film's "heart is not in the twists and turns [...] but a careful character study of a man who lives a life based on honor, and the corrupting influence of money." Bunch said it "takes lack of exposition to a new extreme [...] How does Mamet tell us about Terry's character? Very subtly. Throughout the film we get hints about Terry's life [...] Mamet challenges us to figure out for ourselves what's going on in Terry's head." and Mike Russell of the Portland Oregonian named it the 9th best film of 2008.

Box office performance

The film opened in limited release in the United States on May 2, 2008 and grossed $63,361 in 6 theaters, averaging $10,560 per theater. On May 9, 2008, the film opened in wide release in the United States and Canada, and grossed $1,012,435 in 1,379 theaters, ranking #11 at the box office and averaging $734 per theater. It has grossed $2,674,090 worldwide against a $7 million dollar budget.

References

External links

CROP Report - Cinematic Happenings Under Development - may contain plot detail

Category:2008 films Category:2000s thriller films Category:American action thriller films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by David Mamet Category:Interracial romance films Category:Martial arts films Category:Mixed martial arts films Category:Sony Pictures Classics films

Name	David Mamet
Caption	Mamet at the premiere of Redbelt
Birth date	November 30, 1947
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Occupation	Author, playwright, screenwriter, film director
Nationality	United States
Notableworks	Lakeboat (1970)The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) The Unit (2006)

David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.

Best known as a playwright, Mamet has won a Pulitzer Prize, and Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for The Verdict (1982) and Wag the Dog (1997). Mamet's books include The Old Religion (1997), a novel about the lynching of Leo Frank; Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (2004), a Torah commentary, with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner; The Wicked Son (2006), a study of Jewish self-hatred and antisemitism; and Bambi vs. Godzilla, a commentary on the movie business.

Early life

Mamet was born in Chicago to Jewish parents, Lenore June (née Silver), a teacher, and Bernard Morris Mamet, an attorney. One of his first jobs was as a busboy at Chicago's The Second City. He was educated at the progressive Francis W. Parker School and at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.

Career

Theatre

Mamet is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company; he first gained acclaim for a trio of off-Broadway plays in 1976, The Duck Variations, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and American Buffalo. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for Glengarry Glen Ross, which received its first Broadway revival in the summer of 2005. His play Race, which opened on Broadway on December 6, 2009 and featured James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington, and Richard Thomas in the cast, received mixed reviews.

Film

Mamet's first produced screenplay was the 1981 production of The Postman Always Rings Twice (directed by Bob Rafelson), based upon James M. Cain's novel. He received an Academy Award nomination one year later for his first script, The Verdict, written in the late 1970s. He also wrote the screenplay for The Untouchables.

In 1987, Mamet made his film directing debut with House of Games, starring his then-wife, Lindsay Crouse, and a host of longtime stage associates. He uses friends as actors, especially in one early scene in the movie, which featured Vermont poker playing friends. He is quoted as saying, "It was my first film as a director and I needed support, so I stacked the deck." Two of the four poker friends included in the film were fellow Goddard College graduates Allen Soule and Bob Silverstein. Three of Mamet's own films, House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner, and Heist, have involved the world of con artists.

Mamet remains a prolific writer and director, and has assembled an informal repertory company for his films, including Crouse, William H. Macy, Joe Mantegna, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Ricky Jay, as well as some of the aforementioned poker associates. Mamet funds his own films with the payments he receives for credited and uncredited rewrites of typically big-budget films. For instance, Mamet did a rewrite of the script for Ronin under the pseudonym "Richard Weisz" and turned in an early version of a script for Malcolm X that director Spike Lee rejected. In 2000, Mamet directed but did not write Catastrophe, based on the one-act play by Samuel Beckett, and featuring Harold Pinter and John Gielgud (in his final screen performance). In 2008, he directed and wrote the mixed martial arts movie Redbelt, about a martial arts instructor tricked into fighting in a professional bout. Mamet teamed up with his wife Rebecca Pidgeon to adapt the novel Come Back to Sorrento as a screenplay, the film in development during 2010.

In On Directing Film, Mamet iterates the objectivity of filmmaking. He believes meaning is found in juxtaposing cuts, and that when shooting a scene, the director should consistently follow the point of the scene. He doesn't believe film should follow the protagonist or consist of visually beautiful or intriguing shots, but should be focused getting a point across in an essential and necessary way. He wants his films to be shaped by logical ways of creating order from disorder in search of the superobjective. Mamet believes in minimal stage and prompt directions.

Books

In 1990 Mamet published The Hero Pony, a 55-page collection of poetry. He has also published a series of short plays, monologues and three novels, The Village (1994), The Old Religion (1997), and (2000). He has written several non-fiction texts, and children's stories. in 2004 he published a lauded version of the classical Faust story, Faustus, however, the play, when staged in San Francisco during the spring of 2004, was not well received by critics. On May 1, 2010, Mamet released a graphic novel The Trials of Roderick Spode (The Human Ant).

Television and radio

Mamet wrote the "Wasted Weekend" episode of Hill Street Blues that aired in 1987. His then-wife, Lindsay Crouse, appeared in numerous episodes (including that one) as Officer McBride. Mamet is also the creator, producer and frequent writer of the television series The Unit, and he directed a third season episode of The Shield with Shawn Ryan. In 2007, Mamet directed two television commercials for Ford Motor Company. The two 30-second ads featured the Ford Edge and were filmed in Mamet's signature style of fast-paced dialogue and clear, simple imagery. Mamet's sister, Lynn, is a producer and writer for television shows, such as The Unit and Law & Order.

Mamet has also contributed several dramas to BBC Radio through Jarvis & Ayres Productions, including an adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross for BBC Radio 3 and new dramas for BBC Radio 4. The comedy Keep Your Pantheon, (or On the Whole I'd Rather Be in Mesopotamia) was aired in 2007).

Other Media

Since May 2005 he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. As part of his contribution Mamet has drawn many satirical cartoons with themes including political strife in Israel. Writing in The Village Voice, his first post chronicled his astonishment that one can communicate on a computer. Mamet announced that he was no longer a "brain-dead liberal", but instead believed in free market thinkers such as Thomas Sowell, who Mamet called "one of our greatest minds". Mamet also appeared as a guest on Episode 312 of the animated Comedy Central program Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. The episode, "New Phone System," originally aired on March 2, 1997.

"Mamet speak"

Mamet's style of writing dialogue, marked by a cynical, street-smart edge, precisely crafted for effect, is so distinctive that it came to be called Mamet speak. He often uses italics and quotation marks to highlight particular words and to draw attention to his characters' frequent manipulation and deceitful use of language. His characters frequently interrupt one another, their sentences trail off unfinished, and their dialogue overlaps. Mamet himself has criticized his (and other writers') tendency to write "pretty" at the expense of sound, logical plots.

When asked how he developed his style for writing dialogue, Mamet said, "In my family, in the days prior to television, we liked to while away the evenings by making ourselves miserable, based solely on our ability to speak the language viciously. That's probably where my ability was honed."

One classic instance of Mamet's dialogue style can be found in Glengarry Glen Ross, in which two down-on-their-luck real estate salesmen are considering breaking into their employer's office to steal a list of good sales leads. George Aaronow and Dave Moss finagle the meaning of "talk" and "speak," steeped in fraudulent connivance of the language and meaning:

:Moss No. What do you mean? Have I talked to him about this [Pause] :Aaronow Yes. I mean are you actually talking about this, or are we just... :Moss No, we're just... :Aaronow We're just "talking" about it. :Moss We're just speaking about it. [Pause] As an idea. :Aaronow As an idea. :Moss Yes. :Aaronow We're not actually talking about it. :Moss No. :Aaronow Talking about it as a... :Moss No. :Aaronow As a robbery. :Moss As a "robbery"? No.

Mamet dedicated Glengarry Glen Ross to Harold Pinter, who was instrumental in its being first staged at the Royal National Theatre, (London) in 1983, and whom Mamet has acknowledged as an influence on its success, and on his other work.

Personal life

Mamet and actress Lindsay Crouse were married from 1977 to 1990, and have two children together, Willa and Zosia. Mamet has been married to actress and singer-songwriter Rebecca Pidgeon since 1991. They have two children, Clara and Noah.

Works

{|class="wikitable" !Year!!Plays!!Films!!Books |- |1970 |Lakeboat (revised 1980) | | |- |1972 |The Duck Variations, Lone Canoe | | |- |1974 |Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Squirrels | | |- |1975 |American Buffalo | | |- |1976 |Reunion, The Water Engine | | |- |1977 |A Life in the Theatre | | |- |1978 |Revenge of the Space Pandas, or Binky Rudich and the Two-Speed Clock | | |- |1979 |The Woods, The Blue Hour | | |- |1980 |Lakeboat (revision) | | |- |1981 | |The Postman Always Rings Twice | |- |1982 |Edmond |The Verdict | |- |1983 |The Frog Prince | | |- |1984 |Glengarry Glen Ross | | |- |1985 |The Shawl, | | |- |1986 |The Poet & The Rent |About Last Night... | |- |1987 | |House of Games (director), The Untouchables, Black Widow |Writing in Restaurants |- |1988 |Speed-the-Plow |Things Change (director) | |- |1989 |Bobby Gould In Hell |We're No Angels | |- |1991 | |Homicide (director) | |- |1992 |Oleanna |Hoffa (producer), Glengarry Glen Ross |On Directing Film, |- |1994 | |Oleanna (director), Vanya on 42nd Street |The Village |- |1995 |The Cryptogram | | |- |1996 | |American Buffalo |Three Uses of the Knife |- |1997 |The Old Neighborhood |Wag the Dog, The Spanish Prisoner (director), The Edge |The Old Religion |- |1998 | |Ronin (writer) | |- |1999 |Boston Marriage |The Winslow Boy (director) |The Chinaman (poems) |- |2000 | |Lakeboat, State and Main (director) | |- |2001 | |Hannibal, Heist (director) | |- |2004 |Faustus |Spartan (director) | |- |2005 |Romance, The Voysey Inheritance (adapted) |Edmond | |- |2006 | | | |- |2007 |Keep Your Pantheon* November | | |- |2008 |The Vikings and Darwin (commissioned by the National Theatre Connections project) |A Waitress in Yellowstone (musical), * Redbelt (writer, director) | |- |2009 |*Race*Keep your Pantheon*School |The Prince of Providence (writer) | |- |2010 | |*The Diary of Anne Frank (director) * Come Back to Sorrento (Screenplay) |*Theatre (book) *The Trials of Roderick Spode (The Human Ant) (Graphic Novel) |}

References

Further reading

External links

in 2010. Video and transcript.

Mamet: Why I Am No Longer a 'Brain-Dead Liberal' (Village Voice)

David Mamet Bio at CBS - The Unit

David Mamet's writings and cartoons on the Huffington Post''

Interview at salon.com

"Prickly Ideals: encountering David Mamet’s new book", ArtsEditor.com, 2010

Interview by Cathy Pryor in the London 'Independent on Sunday'

Book Review of The Wicked Son

Book Review of The Wicked Son from the Toronto Star

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Acting theorists Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:American Jews Category:Jewish dramatists and playwrights Category:American screenwriters Category:Baalei teshuva Category:Jewish American writers Category:Goddard College alumni Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Category:Vermont culture Category:Writers from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Washington County, Vermont

Name	Rodrigo Santoro
Caption	Rodrigo Santoro, March 2003
Birthname	Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro
Birthdate	August 22, 1975
Birthplace	Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Occupation	Actor
Yearsactive	1993–present
Website	http://www.rodrigosantoro.com.br/

Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro (born August 22, 1975) is a Brazilian actor. He is of Italian and Portugese decent.

Life and career

Santoro was born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. In 1993, as Santoro was studying Journalism at PUC-Rio, he entered the Actor's Workshop of Rede Globo. Santoro went on to play parts in many of Globo's telenovelas, such as Olho no Olho (1993), Pátria Minha (1994), Explode Coração (1995), O Amor Está no Ar (1997), Suave Veneno (1999) and Mulheres Apaixonadas (2003), as well as the miniseries Hilda Furacão (1998), in the role of a priest. Santoro was also the voice actor of the titular character in Stuart Little and its sequel in the Brazilian dubbed copies.

His first major role in a cinema production would come in 2001, with Bicho de Sete Cabeças (Brainstorm) by Brazilian director Laís Bodansky. By the end of the film, he received a standing ovation from the audience. He also went on to win the festival's best actor trophy. After Bicho, his reputation as an actor had been solidified and he was cast as the male lead in Abril Despedaçado (Behind the Sun), one of the nominees for best foreign film in the 2002 Golden Globe Awards. He had another performance in the 2003 Hector Babenco film Carandiru, where he played a transexual prisoner known as Lady Di.

Canadian director Robert Allan Ackerman signed Santoro for his TV production The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone after being mesmerised by his performance on Bicho de Sete Cabeças. Since Santoro didn't have an agent in North America, Ackerman contacted Santoro's father. He spent two months filming in Rome, alongside renowned actors such as Helen Mirren and Anne Bancroft. Soon after he finished shooting for Mrs. Stone, he received an offer from Columbia Pictures for a part in the blockbuster . His performance in Charlie's Angels kick-started his career in Hollywood. After Charlie's Angels, he played the character of Karl, the "enigmatic chief designer" and love interest of Laura Linney's character, in the romantic comedy Love Actually, alongside Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley and Rowan Atkinson.

He also started getting work in the advertising business as he appeared in a commercial campaign with Gisele Bündchen in 2002. He also played the male lead in No. 5 The Film, the 3-minute-long commercial for Chanel, directed by Baz Luhrmann alongside Nicole Kidman in 2004.

In 2006, Santoro joined the cast of Lost as survivor of Oceanic Flight 815, Paulo. His first appearance was in episode titled, "Further Instructions". His character was killed off in the episode "Exposé". He also voices his character Paulo in the Portuguese dub for Brazil.

Santoro was cast as Persian emperor Xerxes I in the movie 300, based on the Frank Miller comic of the same name, in 2007. The role had many special requirements, such as intensive workout for the physicality of the role (Santoro had lost 24 pounds to work in a Brazilian miniseries), extensive CG work to portray the 6'-2" Santoro as the 7-foot god-king, a four-and-a-half-hour makeup application process, and the complete removal of Santoro's body hair first by waxing and then by shaving when that proved too painful. His eyebrows were kept intact, however, covered over with prosthetics and drawn in rather than being shaved. Santoro read the works of Herodotus, an Ancient Greek historian, in order to prepare for his part. Regarding Xerxes I, he says:

For his role on 300, Santoro became the first Brazilian actor nominated to the MTV Movie Awards in the category of Best Villain. He did not win, however, and the award went to Jack Nicholson for The Departed.

Despite his successful international career, Santoro has said he does not want to move to Los Angeles and would like to stay in Rio. He practices Transcendental Meditation and sports when time allows, is a fan of The Doors and likes to read William Shakespeare's works. His favorite actors are Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. He is also part of the Oficina of Actors of the Rede Globo. In 2008, he participated in the UK's Soccer Aid which raised money for Unicef charity, where he played alongside legends such as Alan Shearer and Luis Figo at Wembley Stadium.

Recently, he has been confirmed as dating make-up artist Vanessa Berigo. The two have had an ongoing relationship the past four years. Unsubstantiated rumours have been circling since past September about the couple's engagement due to Berigo's confirmed pregnancy with Santoro's child.

Filmography

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes |- |rowspan="2" | 2001 || Abril Despedaçado || Tonho || |- |Bicho de Sete Cabeças || Wilson Souza || |- |rowspan="3" | 2003 || || Randy Emmers || Cameo |- | Carandiru || Lady Di || |- | Love Actually || Karl || |- |rowspan="1" | 2004 || A Dona da História || Luiz Cláudio || |- |rowspan="2" | 2007 || 300 || Xerxes I || Nominated: MTV Movie Awards for Best Villain |- |Não por acaso || Pedro || |- |rowspan="4" | 2008 || Redbelt || Bruno Silva || |- | Os Desafinados || Joaquim || |- | Leonera || Ramiro || |- | Che || Raul Castro || |- |rowspan="2" | 2009 || Post Grad || David || |- | I Love You Phillip Morris || Jimmy || |- |rowspan="1" | 2010 || There Be Dragons || Oriol || |- |rowspan="2" | 2011 || Black Oasis || || |- | Rio || ||Voice |- |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | 1993 || Olho no Olho || Pedro || Brazilian telenovela |- | 1994 || Pátria Minha || Fernando || Brazilian telenovela |- | 1995 || Explode Coração || Sérgio || Brazilian telenovela |- | 1996 || Sai de Baixo || Gama || Cameo |- | 1997 || O Amor Está no Ar || Léo || Brazilian telenovela |- | 1998 || Hilda Furacão || Frei Malthus || Brazilian miniseries |- | 1999 || Suave Veneno || Eliseu Vieira || Brazilian telenovela |- | 2001 || Estrela-Guia || Carlos Charles || Brazilian telenovela |- | 2001 || Os Normais || Júlio || Cameo |- | 2002 || Pastores da Noite || Padre Gomes || Brazilian minseries |- | 2003 || Mulheres Apaixonadas || Diogo Ribeiro || Brazilian telenovela |- | 2003 || The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone || Young Man || |- | 2005 || Hoje É Dia de Maria || Amado/Dom Chico Chicote || Brazilian minseries |- | 2006–2007 || Lost || Paulo || 7 episodes |- | 2009 || Som & Fúria || Sanjay || Brazilian miniseries |- | 2010 || Afinal, o Que Querem as Mulheres? || Rodrigo Santoro || Brazilian series |- | 2010 || Papai Noel Existe || Robson Luiz || Brazilian series |}

Awards and nominations

Cartagena Film Festival

* 2002 - Best Actor for Bicho de Sete Cabeças (Won)

Cannes Film Festival

* 2004 - Chopard Trophy of Male Revelation (Won)

MTV Movie Awards

* 2007 - Best Villain for 300 (Nominated)

Other nominations and honors

2004: On People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful list 2004.

2006: 12th position on People Magazine's 2006 Sexiest Man Alive.

2008: 16th position on E!'s 2008 Sexiest man of the world

References

External links

Category:1975 births Category:Brazilian actors Category:Brazilian telenovela actors Category:Brazilian vegetarians Category:Brazilian people of Italian descent Category:Living people Category:Transcendental Meditation practitioners Category:People from Petrópolis

Name	Cyril Takayama
Caption	In front of ION Orchard in Singapore.
Birthdate	September 27, 1973 ( Age: 37 )
Birthplace	Hollywood, California

Cyril Takayama (born September 27, 1973) is an American illusionist of Ryukyuan and French descent. He is perhaps best known for his magic performances around Japan.

Early life

Cyril Takayama was born and raised in Hollywood, California. His father is a native Ryukyuan from Okinawa prefecture in Japan, while his mother is Moroccan, both of whom were beauticians. Cyril Takayama had an eventful yet troubled upbringing. A recent profile in Magic (“The Magazine for Magicians”) describes him being expelled from school at 15 and then dropping out of school at the age of 16. Cyril's father, upset at his behavioral problems, sent him to Japan. While traveling he got off the plane during a stopover in Tokyo and never got back on. Cyril wound up busking on the streets of Shinjuku, and at times had so little money that he could afford just one meal a day. He attempted to contact Japan magic circles though they viewed him as an outsider. At the age of 17, Cyril met a rich Japanese businessman who saw his talent and employed him to work in his hotel paying him for each short range performance 4 to 5 days a week. For two years Cyril performed as a magician for weddings and parties. Within 2 months Cyril created his own stage magic show. Ito, impressed at Cyril's progress, sent Cyril to magic assemblies and competitions. In 1991, Cyril's dedication began to pay off. He was awarded a top prize by magic's international governing body, the International Federation of Magic Societies, as well in 1994. In 1992, he joined the International Brotherhood of Magicians. In 2001, he and his partner Jane won the Golden Lion Award at Siegfried and Roy’s World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas. He is a member of the short-lived television series T.H.E.M.(2004). In 2007 he won first place in The Magic Woods Awards, Best Magician Category.

Career

Takayama became interested in magic when he was six years old when he went to a magic show in Las Vegas where he saw a guest magician levitate a woman and cut himself in half. The first time Cyril ever performed magic in front of people was during his junior high school's talent show. At the age of 12, he entered the junior program at the Magic Castle in Hollywood.

Some of Cyril's signature tricks include the hamburger in the menu trick, having his head fall off his shoulders, and the card through window trick. His most dramatic trick was above the Circus Circus hotel, where he bungee jumps into the hotel pool with a sword and spears the chosen card of his co host from a deck floating in the water. To promote , Cyril performed magic with the game itself, surprising the audience. Because of his large popularity in Japan, Cyril frequently goes out in a disguise, his most notable one being or Old Man Cyril.

Since 2005 Cyril has been steadily increasing in popularity in Japan as well as on the Internet, due to many of his magic shows being uploaded and viewed on the popular video-sharing site YouTube. He has been dubbed Magic's first cyber celebrity.

Appearances

In his 2006 magic specials, Cyril visited Thailand to put on a show for orphans with HIV. He also did the same with orphans in Nepal.

He appeared on the MTV series called Room 401 (2007) where magicians prank unsuspecting victims. On May 31, 2008 he hosted the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards in Japan.

Cyril doesn't limit his work to television only. He travels around Japan performing grand magic stage shows known as "Magic Revolution: The Xperience".

He also appeared in the movie Redbelt, playing a minor role as the magician.

He has started appearing in a new show called "Cyril Simply Magic" on AXN.

He was a speaker and performer at the 2010 Essential Magic Conference, that took place in Portugal.

Performances on TV

Cyril has been very active in Japan. Since 2004, he appeared in

Four "Super Street Magic Magazine" episodes (broadcast on TV Tokyo)

* Date Unknown

* Date Unknown

* June 21, 2004

* Best Selection (September 12, 2004)

Three "Super Street Magic CYRIL MAGAZINE" DVD Product

* September, 2004

* October, 2004

* November, 2004

12 "Magic Revolution" episodes (broadcast on FujiTV)

* September 12, 2004

* January 4, 2005

* June 30, 2005

* January 10, 2006

* June 20, 2006

* September 30, 2006

* January 23, 2007

* July 24, 2007

* September 29, 2007

* May 27, 2008

* December 12, 2008 (Live performance; including previous episodes)

* February 24, 2009

Two 90 minute Korean magic specials

* October 6, 2006

* September 25, 2007

Three "Simply Magic" episodes (broadcast on AXN-Asia)

* November 19, 2009

* November 26, 2009

* December 3, 2009

Guest Appearance(s)

*January 6, 2007- What a cool weare! (Mecha Ike)

*July 19, 2007- Marumaru Chibi Maruko chan

*July 23, 2007- SMAP SMAP

*September 13, 2008- TBS Japan

*January 8, 2009- BAKA-TONO (A Stupid Lord)

*June 18, 2009- Guest at the release of the Sony Ericsson phone.

In the whole Asia:

premiered on AXN Asia in 2009.

References

Official website of Cyril Takayama

External links

Cyril Takayama Official English Website Cyril Takayama Official Japanese Website Cyril Takayama Official Twitter Website Cyril Takayama at the Internet Movie Database

Category:1973 births Category:American buskers Category:American magicians Category:Living people Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Japanese descent Category:Magician of the year Award winner Category:People from Los Angeles, California

Name	Chiwetel Ejiofor
Caption	Ejiofor at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Redbelt
Birthname	Chiwetelu Umeadi Ejiofor
Birth date	July 10, 1977
Birth place	London, England, UK
Occupation	Actor
Yearsactive	1995–present

Chiwetelu Umeadi "Chiwetel" Ejiofor, OBE (pronounced ; | |- |}

Theatre

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year(s)of appearance ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Work ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Awards and nominations |- | 1997 | Macbeth (first performed c. 1607)by William Shakespeare | Malcolm | |- | 1999 | Sparkleshark (first performed 1993)by Philip Ridley | | |- |rowspan="3"| 2000 | Blue/Orange (2000)by Joe Penhall | Chris | Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer, 2000 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards Outstanding Newcomer, 2000 London Evening Standard Theatre Award Nomination: Best Supporting Actor, 2001 Laurence Olivier Award |- | Romeo and Juliet (c. 1595)by William Shakespeare | Romeo | Nomination: Ian Charleson Award |- | Peer Gynt (first performed 1876)by Henrik Ibsen | Young Peer | |- |2002 | The Vortex (first performed 1924)by Noël Coward

Donmar Warehouse, London | Nicky Lancaster | |- |rowspan="2"| 2007 | The Seagull (1895)by Anton Chekhov(2007 translation by Christopher Hampton)

The Royal Court, London | Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin | |- | Othello (c. 1603)by William Shakespeare | Othello | 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor |}

References

External links

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Category:Black British actors Category:British expatriates in the United States Category:English film actors Category:English people of Igbo descent Category:English radio actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:Igbo actors Category:Independent Spirit Award winners Category:Actors from London Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Old Alleynians Category:Olivier Award winners Category:People from Forest Gate Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Shakespearean actors

Caption	Braga at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
Birthname	Alice Braga Moraes
Birth date	April 15, 1983
Birth place	São Paulo, Brazil
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1998–present

Alice Braga Moraes (born April 15, 1983) is a Brazilian actress. She has appeared in several films in her native Brazil, most notably as Angélica in 2002's highly acclaimed City of God and as Karina in 2005's Lower City. She has also starred in the Hollywood blockbusters I Am Legend (2007), Repo Men and Predators (both 2010).

Early life

Alice Braga Moraes was born in São Paulo, Brazil. Her exposure to the world of acting came at an early age. Both her mother, Ana Braga, and aunt, Sônia Braga, are actresses, and Braga often accompanied them to film sets. She began her career by appearing in school plays and commercials. Her first commercial was for yoghurt when she was eight years old. As a teenager she began pursuing roles in television and movies. She speaks fluent Portuguese, Spanish and English.

Career

In 1998, Braga debuted in a Portuguese-language short called Trampolim, then returned to her schooling. Her big break came in 2002, when she was cast as Angélica in the critically acclaimed film, City of God, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize. She took more time off, and attended university while appearing in a pair of well-regarded South American films—2005’s Lower City and 2006’s Only God Knows—and also played a role in the popular Brazilian television program Carandiru, Outras Historias. Braga made her English-language debut in 2006 with a starring role with Brendan Fraser, Mos Def, and Catalina Sandino Moreno in Journey to the End of Night, which premiered at the 5th Annual Tribeca Film Festival and eventually went straight to video in North America. In 2007, Braga was cast in the Will Smith blockbuster I Am Legend, and the drama Crossing Over (which stars Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, and Ashley Judd). She also appeared in the 2008 David Mamet film Redbelt alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor. Braga portrayed Beth in the science-fiction film Repo Men. She starred as Isabelle in Antal Nimrod's Predators, which was shot and produced by Troublemaker Studios and Robert Rodriguez.

Filmography

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center" ! Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes |- | 1998 || Trampolim || Cláudia || |- | 2002 || City of God || Angélica || Nominated: Cinema Brazil Grand Prize - Best Supporting Actress |- | rowspan="2" | 2005 || Lower City || Karina || Verona Love Screens Film Festival - Best ActressSão Paulo Association of Art Critics Awards - Best ActressRio de Janeiro International Film Festival - Best ActressPrêmio Contigo Cinema - Best ActressCinema Brazil Grand Prize - Best Actress |- | Carandiru, Outras Histórias || Vânia || TV series |- | rowspan="3" | 2006 || Only God Knows || Dolores || |- | Journey to the End of the Night || Monique || |- | Drained || Waitress || Nominated: Cinema Brazil Grand Prize - Best Supporting Actress |- | rowspan="3" | 2007 || The Milky Way || Júlia || |- | Rummikub || Filha paulista || Short |- | I Am Legend || Anna Montez || |- | rowspan="2" | 2008 || Redbelt || Sondra Terry || |- | Blindness || Woman with the dark glasses || Nominated: Cinema Brazil Grand Prize - Best Supporting ActressNominated: Black Reel Awards - Best Supporting Actress |- | rowspan="2" | 2009 || Crossing Over || Mireya Sanchez || |- | Cabeça a Prêmio || || |- | rowspan="2" | 2010 || Repo Men || Beth || |- | Predators || Isabelle || |- | rowspan="2" | 2011 || The Rite || || Post-production |- |On the Road ||Terry|| Post-Production |}

References

External links

Interview with Alice Braga, star of 'Lower City' by Peter Fraser, Close-Up Film

Alice Braga at Yahoo! Movies

Category:1983 births Category:Brazilian film actors Category:Living people Category:People from São Paulo (city) Category:Brazilian expatriates in the United States