name	The Help
director	Tate Taylor
producer	Chris ColumbusMichael BarnathanBrunson Green
screenplay	Tate Taylor
based on
starring	Viola DavisEmma StoneBryce Dallas HowardOctavia SpencerJessica ChastainSissy SpacekMike VogelAllison JanneyChris Lowell
music	Thomas Newman
cinematography	Stephen Goldblatt
editing	Hughes Winborne
studio	DreamWorks PicturesReliance EntertainmentParticipant MediaImagenation1492 Pictures
distributor	Touchstone Pictures
released
runtime	146 minutes
country
language	English
budget	$25 million
gross	$100,802,869 }}

''The Help'' is a 2011 drama film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name about a young white woman, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, and her relationship with two black maids during Civil Rights era America in the early 1960s. Skeeter is a journalist who decides to write a controversial book from the point of view of the maids (known as the Help), exposing the racism they are faced with as they work for white families. The film takes place in early 1960's Jackson, Mississippi, and stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Sissy Spacek, Mike Vogel and Allison Janney.

Plot

Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son. Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) is an African-American maid whose outspokenness has gotten her fired many times and built up a reputation for being a difficult employee, but she makes up for this with her baking skills.

Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating from the University of Mississippi to find that her beloved childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. Unlike her friends, who have all married and are having children, Skeeter is interested in a career as a writer. Her first job is as a "homemaker hints" columnist in the local paper, and she asks Aibileen for her help in answering questions. Skeeter becomes uncomfortable with the attitude her friends have towards their "help", especially Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her "Home Help Sanitation Initiative", a proposed bill to provide for separate bathrooms for black help. Amidst the era of discrimination based on color, Skeeter is one of the few who believe otherwise, and she decides to write a book, "The Help," based on the lives of the maids who have spent their entire life taking care of white children and have been ill treated.

The maids are at first reluctant to talk to Skeeter, because they are afraid that they will lose their jobs or worse. Aibileen is the first to share her stories after she overhears Hilly's initiative and realizes that the children that she is raising are growing up to be just like their parents. Her friend, Minny, has just been fired as Hilly's maid and has gone to work for a wealthy social outcast, Celia Foote. Minny agrees to share her stories, too. Skeeter does a draft of the story with Minny and Aibileen's stories in it and sends it to an editor in New York, who thinks there may be some interest in it, but asks for more maids' contributions. No one comes forward until after Medgar Evers is assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi -- with racial tensions running high, the maids realize that Skeeter's book will give them an opportunity for their voices to be heard, and Skeeter suddenly has numerous stories to include. The book is accepted for publication and is a success, much to the delight of Skeeter and the maids. She shares her royalties with each of the maids who contributed, and is offered a job with a publishing company in New York.

These three stories intertwine to explain how life in early-1960s' Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet despite the intimate quarters in which whites and blacks live, there is always a certain distance between them because of racial lines.

Cast

Emma Stone as Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a college graduate and aspiring writer.

* Lila Rogers as Young Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan

Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, the town's snooty ringleader.

Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark

Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson

Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote, Minny's naive employer and Johnny's wife.

Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother.

Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son.

Sissy Spacek as Mrs. Walters, Hilly's mother.

Ahna O'Reilly as Elizabeth Leefolt, Aibileen's employer.

Mike Vogel as Johnny Foote, Hilly's ex-boyfriend and Celia's husband.

Brian Kerwin as Robert Phelan, Skeeter's father.

Leslie Jordan as Mr. Blackly

Dana Ivey as Grace Higgenbottom

Cicely Tyson as Constantine Bates

Mary Steenburgen as Elain Stein

Anna Camp as Jolene French

David Oyelowo as Preacher Green

Nelsan Ellis as Henry, the waiter

Production

In December 2009, ''Variety'' reported that Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe would produce a film adaptation of ''The Help'', under their production company 1492 Prods. Brunson Green of Harbinger Productions also co-produced. The film was written and directed by Stockett's childhood friend, Tate Taylor, who optioned film rights to the book before its release.

The first casting news for the production came in March 2010, when it was reported that Emma Stone was attached to play the role of Skeeter Phelan. Other actors were since cast, including Viola Davis as Aibileen; Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, Jackson's snooty town ringleader; Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother; and Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son. Leslie Jordan appears as the editor of the fictional local newspaper, ''The Jackson Journal''. Mike Vogel plays the character Johnny Foote. Octavia Spencer portrays Minny. A longtime friend of Stockett and Taylor, Spencer inspired the character of Minny in Stockett's novel and voiced her in the audiobook version.

Filming of ''The Help'' began in July 2010 and extended through October. The town of Greenwood, Mississippi was chosen to portray 1960s-era Jackson, and producer Brunson Green said he had expected to shoot "95 percent" of the movie there. Parts of the film were also shot in the real-life Jackson, as well as in nearby Clarksdale and Greenville. One of the few locations that existed in 1963 Jackson, the book and the movie is Jackson landmark Brent's Drugs, which dates to 1946. Other locations that can still be found in Jackson include the New Capitol Building and the Mayflower Cafe downtown. Scenes set at the ''Jackson Journal'' office were shot in Clarksdale at the building which formerly housed the ''Clarksdale Press Register'' for forty years until April 2010.

''The Help'' was the most significant film production in Mississippi since 2000's ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' "Honestly, my heart would be broken if it were set anywhere but Mississippi," Stockett wrote in an e-mail to reporters. In order to convince producers to shoot in Greenwood, Tate Taylor and others had previously come to the town and scouted out locations; at his first meeting with DreamWorks executives, he presented them with a photo album of potential filming spots in the area. The state's tax incentive program for filmmakers was also a key enticement in the decision.

Release

On October 13, 2010, Touchstone Pictures and DreamWorks gave the film a release date of August 12, 2011. On July 5, 2011, the film's release date was rescheduled two days earlier to August 10, 2011.

Box Office

On its opening day, ''The Help'' grossed $5.5 million and also achieved the highest gross of the day. It then went on to make an additional $4.3 million on Thursday bringing its two day total to $9.8 million. For its opening weekend, ''The Help'' grossed $26.0 million and came in second place to ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes''. During its second weekend, ''The Help'' reached the number one spot at the box office and came in with $20.0 million. ''The Help'' held on to the number one spot in its third weekend, dropping only 27.4%, and grossed an estimated $14.5 million. The film crossed the $100 million mark on its 21st day of release. Entertainment Weekly said that this was quite an accomplishment for the film since movies released in August have a difficult time making money.

As of August 30, 2011 ''The Help'' has grossed $100,802,869.

Reception

''The Help'' received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 73% of 122 professional critics gave the film a positive review, and a score of 68% from 40 top critics' reviews. Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 62, based on 37 reviews. CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was an A plus on an A plus to F scale.

Tom Long from ''The Detroit News'' remarked about the film: "Appalling, entertaining, touching and perhaps even a bit healing, ''The Help'' is an old-fashioned grand yarn of a film, the sort we rarely get these days." Connie Ogle of ''The Miami Herald'' gave the film three out of four stars and said it "will make you laugh, yes, but it can also break your heart. In the dog days of August moviegoing, that's a powerful recommendation."

More on the mixed side was Karina Longworth of the ''Village Voice'': "We get a fairly typical Hollywood flattening of history, with powerful villains and disenfranchised heroes." Rick Gloen of ''The Globe and Mail'', giving the film two out of four stars, said: "Typically, this sort of film is an earnest tear-jerker with moments of levity. Instead, what we have here is a raucous rib-tickler with occasional pauses for a little dramatic relief."

Some of the negative reviews criticized the film for its inability to match the book's level of greatness. Chris Hewitt of the ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' said about the film: "Some adaptations find a fresh, cinematic way to convey a book's spirit but ''The Help'' doesn't."

Many critics praised the performances of Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. Wilson Morales of Blackfilm.com gave the movie 3 out of 4 stars and commented,"With powerful performances given by Viola Davis and scene stealer Octavia Spencer, the film is an emotionally, moving drama that remains highly entertaining." David Edelstein from ''New York'' magazine commented that, "The Help belongs to Viola Davis."

References

External links

''The Help'''s filming locations and associated civil rights history

Category:2011 films Category:2010s comedy-drama films Category:American films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:English-language films Category:Directorial debut films Category:Films based on novels Category:Films set in Mississippi Category:Films set in the 1960s Category:Films shot in Mississippi Category:Race-related films Category:DreamWorks films Category:Films distributed by Disney Category:Touchstone Pictures films

es:The Help (película de 2011) fa:خدمتکاران (فیلم) fr:The Help is:The Help (kvikmynd) it:The Help (film) pl:The Help pt:The Help (filme) ru:Прислуга (фильм) sv:Niceville

birthname	Emily Jean Stone
birth date	November 06, 1988
birth place	Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
othername	Riley Stone
occupation	Actress, voice actress
yearsactive	2004–present }}

Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress. Stone was a cast member of the TV series ''Drive'', and made her feature film debut in the comedy ''Superbad'' (2007). She appeared in ''The House Bunny'' (2008) and ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'' (2009). She then starred in the horror-comedy ''Zombieland'' and the indie comedy ''Paper Man'' in 2009. In 2010, Stone voiced the character Mazie in ''Marmaduke'', and starred in the high school comedy ''Easy A'', which earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.

Early life

Stone was born in Scottsdale Arizona, the daughter of Krista (née Yeager), a homemaker, and Jeff Stone, a contractor. She has a brother who is younger by two years. Stone's paternal grandfather was of Swedish descent, and his family's surname was anglicized to "Stone" when immigrating to the U.S. through Ellis Island; her ancestors also lived in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

She was a member of the Valley Youth Theatre while growing up, a regional theater in Phoenix, Arizona, where she appeared in her first stage production, ''The Wind in the Willows'', at the age of 11. Stone attended Sequoya Elementary School and then Cocopah Middle School for sixth grade. She was home schooled for two years, at which time she appeared in 16 productions at Valley Youth Theatre, including: ''A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail'', ''The Princess and the Pea'', ''Cinderella'', ''The Wiz'', ''Titanic'', ''Honk!'', ''The Little Mermaid'', ''Schoolhouse Rock Live!'', ''Alice in Wonderland'', and ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', and performed with the theater's improv comedy troupe.

Stone attended Xavier College Preparatory, an all-girl Catholic high school, as a freshman for one semester. She gave a PowerPoint presentation to her parents, set to the Madonna song "Hollywood," to convince them to let her move to California for an acting career. She dropped out of high school, and in January 2004, moved with her mother to a Los Angeles apartment, at the age of 15. She was then home schooled, so that she could audition during the day.

Career

2004–present

Stone launched a career in television after winning the role of Laurie Partridge on ''In Search of the New Partridge Family'' (2004), a VH1 talent competition reality show. The resulting show, ''The New Partridge Family'' (2005), only produced a pilot episode. Stone next had appearances in the television series ''Medium'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'' and ''Lucky Louie''. In 2007, she had a regular role on the Fox drama ''Drive'', playing Violet Trimble, until the series was cancelled. She also auditioned for ''Heroes'', and overheard in the casting room "On a scale of 1 to 10, you are an 11" — the casting directors were referring to Hayden Panettiere, who was cast as Claire Bennet instead. Stone called this experience "rock bottom."

Stone made her feature film debut in the 2007 teen comedy ''Superbad'', playing Jules, the love interest of lead character Seth (Jonah Hill). In 2008, she appeared in the comedy ''The Rocker'', with Rainn Wilson. Stone played Amelia, the bass guitarist in a band featuring singer Teddy Geiger. Stone learned to play bass for the role. Also that year, Stone appeared in ''The House Bunny'', starring Anna Faris, alongside Katharine McPhee, Kat Dennings, Rumer Willis, and Colin Hanks. Stone played the president of a sorority and sang on a single from the film, "I Know What Boys Like," a cover version of the 1982 song by The Waitresses.

In 2009, Stone appeared in ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'', a romantic comedy directed by Mark Waters, the director of ''Mean Girls'', starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. Stone played "The Ghost of Girlfriends Past," a takeoff of the Ghost of Christmas Past from Charles Dickens' ''A Christmas Carol''. She starred in the horror/comedy ''Zombieland'', along with Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. The project began shooting in Atlanta in February 2009. Stone played Wichita, a survivor/con artist from Wichita, Kansas, traveling across the U.S. with her younger sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).

Stone starred in ''Paper Man'', alongside Jeff Daniels, Ryan Reynolds and Lisa Kudrow, directed by Kieran and Michele Mulroney. Stone plays Abby, a babysitter that Daniels' character hires after moving to Long Island. Stone began filming the independent comedy on November 11, 2008, in Montauk, New York, using well-known local locations.

Stone had a voice role in ''Marmaduke'' in 2010, a film adaptation of the long-running comic strip about a Great Dane. She voiced Marmaduke's friend, Mazie, a tomboyish Australian Shepherd. Stone landed her first leading role starring as a high school student in ''Easy A'' with Amanda Bynes, a comedy directed by Will Gluck. Her character scandalizes her teachers and more conservative religious classmates after a false rumor circulates that she is sexually promiscuous. The script contrasts the novel ''The Scarlet Letter'' and its heroine, Hester Prynne, to the life of the protagonist in the film. Stone read the script before the project was optioned for production, and kept an eye on it along with her manager until preparations were made. She was attracted to the script because it was "funny and sweet" and her character was "fantastic from the first read" who was "fleshed [..] out so much in the script". When she found out that the film went into production, she met with Gluck to express her enthusiasm about the project. A few months later, the audition process started and Stone met again with Gluck to be one of the first actresses to audition. Stone was nominated for the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her role. Stone appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010, and introduced Linkin Park. She stated in 2008 that she would eventually like to venture into film production, producing her own films, and that her dream was to appear on ''Saturday Night Live''. Stone hosted the late-night sketch comedy show on October 23, 2010. She also appeared in ''Friends With Benefits'', starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, and directed by Gluck. The sex comedy began filming in July 2010, in New York and was released in July 2011.

Stone starred in ''Crazy, Stupid, Love.'', alongside Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Marisa Tomei. The Warner Bros. film, about a husband (Carell) with marital problems and difficulties with his children, began shooting on April 16, 2010, in Los Angeles and was released on July 29, 2011. Stone starred in ''The Help'', an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel of the same name, a period piece set in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s, which was released in August, 2011. She plays Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, an aspiring writer, and employed a Southern dialect for the role.

Upcoming roles

Stone joined the voice cast of ''The Croods'', a 3D computer animated caveman comedy by DreamWorks Animation. She will voice the role of Eep, the oldest daughter of Grug (Nicolas Cage) and Ugga (Catherine Keener). Ryan Reynolds voices Gy, the love interest to Stone's character. The film is scheduled for release on March 30, 2012.

She stars in the comedic short film, "Veronica," alongside Kieran Culkin, directed by Griffin Dunne. The short is a comedy segment that is part of an anthology film called ''Movie 43'', featuring Kate Winslet, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Uma Thurman, Halle Berry, and others. The feature-film was produced by the Farrelly brothers and directed by Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill and Steve Carr.

Stone will star as the female lead in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', a reboot by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Entertainment of the ''Spider-Man'' film series. She plays Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker's love interest, in the Marc Webb-directed film; a release date of July 3, 2012, has been set. The film went into production in December 2010, and is scheduled to last through April 2011. Stone was considered for the lead in a reboot of ''21 Jump Street'', alongside ''Superbad'' co-star Jonah Hill. She did not take the role however, after signing on to ''Spider-Man''. Stone will again work with writer/director Will Gluck, starring in and executive producing an untitled comedy for Screen Gems.

Stone joined the cast of ''The Gangster Squad'', a film by ''Zombieland'' director Ruben Fleischer. She will again play opposite Ryan Gosling in the ensemble crime drama, which also stars Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi and Michael Peña. Stone plays Jean, a femme fatale caught in a love triangle with Gosling and Penn's character, mobster Mickey Cohen.

Personal life

Stone was living on her own in Los Angeles in 2007, and moved to Greenwich Village, New York City in 2009. Stone has stated that she "was really into HTML and web design" when she was younger.

Although known as a redhead, Stone is naturally a blonde. She landed her first role as a teenager after dyeing her hair dark brown. Film producer Judd Apatow had her change from a brunette to a redhead for her role in ''Superbad''.

In April 2011, Stone ranked 10th on ''People'' magazine's annual 100 Most Beautiful list.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2007		Jules
2008	''''	Amelia
2008	''''	Natalie
2009	''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past''
2009	''Paper Man''	Abby
2009	''Zombieland''	Wichita (Krista)	Scream Award for Best EnsembleNominated - Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best EnsembleNominated-Scream Award for Best Horror ActressNominated-Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
2010		Mazie	Voice
2010	''Easy A''
2011		Kayla
2011	''Crazy, Stupid, Love.''	Hannah Weaver
2011	''''	(Skeeter)	Lead role
2012	''Movie 43''	Ellen Malloy	Post-production
2012			Post-production
2013	''''	Eep	Voice

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2005	''''		TV movie
2005			1 episode
2006	''''		1 episode (voice) (season 1, episode 24)
2006	''Malcolm in the Middle''	Diane	1 episode (season 7, episode 16)
2006	''Lucky Louie''	Shannon	1 episode (season 1, episode 8)
2007			7 episodes (1 unaired)

Awards

! Year	! Ceremony	! Category	! Nominated work	Result
2008	Young Hollywood Awards	Exciting New Face
2009		Best Ensemble	''Zombieland''
2010	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Comedy	''Zombieland''
2010	Scream Awards	Best Horror Actress	''Zombieland''
2010	Scream Awards	Best Ensemble	''Zombieland''
2011			''Easy A''
2011
2011	The Comedy Awards	Best Comedy Actress – Film	''Easy A''
2011	The Comedy Awards	Breakthrough Performer
2011	NewNowNext Awards	Brick of Fame
2011	MTV Movie Awards		''Easy A''
2011	MTV Movie Awards		''Easy A''
2011	MTV Movie Awards	Best Line from a Movie	''Easy A''
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Romantic Comedy	''Easy A''

Rankings

! Year	! Title	! Rank
2008	''Moviefone's'' 25 hottest actors under 25	No.14
2008		No.1
2009	''AskMen.com's'' Top 99 Women	No.93
2009	''FHM's'' 100 sexiest women in the world (US)	No.93
2009		No.66
2010	AskMen.com's Top 99 Women	No.39
2010	''Maxim's'' Hot List	No.49
2010	''LoveFilm.com's'' Top 20 Actresses Under 30	No.18
2011	AskMen.com's Top 99 Women	No.32
2011	NextMovie.com's 20 Funniest Women in Movies	No.6
2011	People's 100 Most Beautiful	No.10
2011	''Maxim's'' Hot List	No.42
2011	''FHM's'' 100 sexiest women in the world (UK)	No.68
2011	''FHM's'' 100 sexiest women in the world (AUS)	No.38

Discography

Katharine McPhee – "I Know What Boys Like" (2008), RCA – iTunes Store single with Emma Stone and Rumer Willis, a cover version of the 1982 single by The Waitresses

References

External links

Category:1988 births Category:Actors from Arizona Category:American child actors Category:American film actors Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Living people Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Greenwich Village, New York Category:People from Phoenix, Arizona Category:People from Scottsdale, Arizona

ar:ايما ستون da:Emma Stone de:Emma Stone es:Emma Stone fa:اما استون fr:Emma Stone hy:Էմմա Սթոուն it:Emma Stone he:אמה סטון lv:Emma Stouna hu:Emma Stone ms:Emma Stone nl:Emma Stone ja:エマ・ストーン no:Emma Stone pl:Emma Stone pt:Emma Stone ru:Стоун, Эмма simple:Emma Stone fi:Emma Stone sv:Emma Stone th:เอมมา สโตน uk:Емма Стоун

Name	Octavia Spencer
Birth date	May 25, 1972
Birth place	Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Occupation	Actress }}

Octavia Spencer (born May 25, 1972) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role on ''Ugly Betty'' as Constance Grady, the INS Agent turned stalker of Betty's father, Ignacio Suarez and in the 2011 movie ''The Help'' as Minny.

Life and career

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she is the sixth of seven children. She attended Auburn University and received a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts.

Spencer made her film debut as a nurse in Joel Schumacher's ''A Time to Kill'' based on the book by John Grisham. She was originally hired to work on casting, but asked Schumacher if she could audition for a small part. Other film credits include: ''Never Been Kissed'', ''Big Momma's House'', ''Bad Santa'', ''Spider-Man'', ''Coach Carter'', ''Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!'' and ''Pretty Ugly People''. She has made a number of guest appearances on a myriad of hit series including: ''Raising the Bar'', ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''The Big Bang Theory'', ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', ''NYPD Blue'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''ER'', ''Titus'', & ''Dharma & Greg''. However, she is best known for her starring roles as Serenity Johnson on Comedy Central's ''Halfway Home'', and Constance Grady, the amorous INS caseworker on ''Ugly Betty''.

In 2003, she made her stage debut in Los Angeles, in Del Shores' award-winning play, "The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife," starring opposite veteran actress Beth Grant. It was her first and only play, as she told Back Stage Magazine that she suffers from "stage fright." Later that year, she starred opposite Emmy Award-winner Allison Janney in Tate Taylor's critically lauded and award-winning short feature, "Chicken Party."

In 2008, Spencer's brief appearance in ''Seven Pounds'' as Kate, Rosario Dawson's home care nurse, garnered her high praise and media attention.

In April 2009, Entertainment Weekly listed Spencer in its list of 25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood.

In August 2009, Spencer appeared in Rob Zombie's ''Halloween II''. She will also have a role in the American remake of the Danish classic ''Love at First Hiccup'' opposite Scout Taylor-Compton. Spencer stars in the hit web series-turned feature film ''Herpes Boy'' alongside Beth Grant, Ahna O'Reilly, and Byron Lane; and, can be heard as the voice of "Minny" on the audio version of ''The Help'', the award-winning "New York Times Best Seller" by Kathryn Stockett. Later that year, Spencer's short film ''The Captain'' was honored by the CICFF as a finalist for the coveted REEL Poetry Award.

In August 2011, Spencer joined Viola Davis, Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard in DreamWorks' production of ''The Help''. She played the fiesty and unflappable domestic, "Minny Jackson." The film was directed by Tate Taylor, and produced by Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe. Her role garnered her critical acclaim, and has started buzz for various awards nominations..

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Film ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- |1996 |''A Time to Kill'' |Roark's Nurse | |- |rowspan=2| 1997 |''The Sixth Man'' |Nativity Watson | |- |''Sparkler'' |Wanda | |- |rowspan=4| 1999 |''Lansky'' (TV movie) |Evelyn the Maid | |- |''Never Been Kissed'' |Cynthia | |- |''Being John Malkovich'' |Woman in Elevator | |- |''Blue Streak'' |Shawna | |- |rowspan=8| 2000 |''The Sky Is Falling'' |Nurse #2 | |- |''Everything Put Together'' |Nurse B | |- |''Missing Pieces'' (TV movie) |Elegant Guest | |- |''American Virgin'' |Agnes Large | |- |''What Planet Are You From?'' |Baby Nurse | |- |''Auto Motives'' |Rhonda | |- |''Big Momma's House'' |Twila | |- |''Four Dogs Playing Poker'' |Waitress | |- |rowspan=3| 2001 |''Sol Goode'' |Unemployment Clerk | |- |''The Journeyman'' |Black Belly | |- |''Follow the Stars Home'' (TV movie) |Hildy | |- |rowspan=2| 2002 |''Spider-Man'' |Check-In Girl | |- |''Little John'' (TV movie) |Waitress | |- |rowspan=4| 2003 |''Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde |Security Guard | |- |''S.W.A.T.'' |Neighbor in Alley | |- |''Chicken Party'' |Laqueta Mills | |- |''Bad Santa'' |Opal | |- |rowspan=2| 2004 |''Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! |Janine | |- |''Breakin' All the Rules'' |Stylist | |- |rowspan=6| 2005 |''Coach Carter'' |Mrs. Battle | |- |''Pretty Persuasion'' |Woman | |- |''Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School'' |Ayisha Lebaron | |- |''Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous'' |Octavia - Bookstore | |- |''Beauty Shop'' |Big Customer | |- |''Wannabe'' |Lady Chanet Janney Jones | |- |2006 |''Pulse'' |Landlady | |- |2007 |''The Nines'' |Streetwalker | |- |rowspan=4| 2008 |''Next of Kin'' |Grace | |- |''Pretty Ugly People'' |Mary | |- |''The Spleenectomy'' |Nurse | |- |''Seven Pounds'' |Kate (Home Health Care Nurse) | |- |rowspan=8| 2009 |''Love at First Hiccup'' |Mrs. Hambrick | |- |''Drag Me to Hell'' |Bank Co-Worker #1 | |- |''Jesus People: The Movie'' |Angel Angelique | |- |''The Soloist'' |Troubled Woman | |- |''Just Peck'' |Detention Room Teacher | |- |''Halloween II'' |Nurse Daniels | |- |''Herpes Boy'' |Rochelle | |- |''Small Town Saturday Night'' |Rhonda Dooley | |- |2010 |''Dinner For Schmucks'' |Madame Nora | |- |rowspan=3| 2011 |''The Help'' |Minny | |- | ''Peep World'' | Allison | |- | ''Flypaper'' | Madge Wiggins | |- |}

References

External links

Octavia Spencer biography from Comedy Central

http://backstage.blogs.com/blogstage/2010/05/perfect-casting.html

Octavia Spencer Interview with Back Stage

"The Quip Queen"

Category:1972 births Category:Actors from Alabama Category:African American film actors Category:African American television actors Category:Auburn University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Montgomery, Alabama

de:Octavia Spencer fr:Octavia Spencer it:Octavia Spencer sv:Octavia Spencer

name	Jessica Chastain
birth name	Jessica Howard
birth date	March 29, 1981
birth place	Northern California, U.S.
occupation	Actress
children	}}

Jessica Chastain (born March 29, 1981) is an American film and television actress.

Early life

Jessica Chastain was born Jessica Howard in Northern California. She is one of five children. Her stepfather is a firefighter and her mother is a vegan chef. She took her mother's maiden name as her stage name. She attended The Juilliard School in New York City, where she was an active participant in the drama department and starred in several theatrical productions and student film projects.

Career

Her first professional role came in 2004 for a TV movie adaptation of ''Dark Shadows''. She later appeared in such television series as ''ER'', ''Veronica Mars'', ''Close to Home'', and ''Law & Order: Trial By Jury''.

In 2008, she made her film debut as the title role in ''Jolene'', for which she received the Seattle International Film Festival Award for Best Actress.

Her next film, the portrayal of a young Mossad agent in John Madden's ''The Debt'', was premiered at film festivals in 2010 but had its theatrical release delayed until August 2011.

She has a number of other projects scheduled for release in 2011, including Terrence Malick's ''The Tree of Life'' and the psychological thriller ''Texas Killing Fields''.

Chastain has also completed a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's ''Salome'' alongside Al Pacino and has filmed supporting roles for other adaptations such as ''Coriolanus'' and ''The Help.'' Her most recently announced project is John Hillcoat's prohibition era drama, ''The Wettest County in the World''.

Filmography

Films

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2008		Jolene
2009
2010	''''	Young Rachel Singer
2011	''''	Mrs O'Brien
2011	''Wilde Salome''	Salome
2011		Virgilia
2011	''Take Shelter''	Samantha LaForche
2011	''''	Celia Foote
2012	''''	Maggie
2012	''Texas Killing Fields''

Television

''ER (TV series) ''Veronica Mars'' ''Law & Order: Trial by Jury'' ''Close to Home (TV series) '''' ''Pirates: The True Story of Blackbeard'' ''Journeyman (TV series) ''Agatha Christie's Poirot''

Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2004	Dark Shadows (2004)>Dark Shadows''	Carolyn Stoddard
2004	ER'' ||	Dahlia Taslitz	Episode: "Forgive and Forget"
2004	|	Sarah Williams	Episode: "The Girl Next Door"
2005–2006	|	Assistant District Attorney Sigrun Borg	4 episodes
2006	Close to Home'' ||	Casey Wirth	Episode: "The Rapist Next Door"
2006	|	Laura Green	Episode: "Pilot"
2006	|	Charlotte Ormand	TV film
2007	Journeyman'' ||	Tanna Bloom	Episode: "Friendly Skies"
2010	|	Mary Debenham	Episode: "Murder on the Orient Express"

References

External links

Category:1981 births Category:Actors from California Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:Juilliard School alumni

de:Jessica Chastain fr:Jessica Chastain he:ג'סיקה צ'סטיין it:Jessica Chastain ja:ジェシカ・チャステイン pt:Jessica Chastain ru:Честейн, Джессика

name	Kathryn Stockett
birth date	1969
birth place	Jackson, Mississippi, United States
occupation	Author
alma mater	University of Alabama
notableworks	''The Help''
portaldisp	}}

Kathryn Stockett is an American novelist. She is known for her 2009 debut novel, ''The Help'', which is about African American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s.

Career

''The Help'' is Stockett's debut novel. She previously worked in magazine publishing while living in New York City. It took her five years to complete the book, which was rejected by 60 literary agents before agent Susan Ramer agreed to represent Stockett. ''The Help'' has since been published in 35 countries and three languages. As of August 2011, it has sold five million copies and has spent more than a 100 weeks on the The New York Times Best Seller list. ''The Help'' climbed best seller charts a few months after it was released, eventually selling 5 million copies as of August 2011.

Personal

Stockett is originally from Jackson, Mississippi. Until 2001, Stockett lived in New York City, where she worked in publishing. She lives in Atlanta and has a daughter from a previous marriage.

Reflective of her first novel, Stockett was raised by an African American domestic worker in lieu of an absentee mother.

References

External links

Official website

Category:Living people Category:People from Jackson, Mississippi Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:University of Alabama alumni Category:1969 births

de:Kathryn Stockett nl:Kathryn Stockett no:Kathryn Stockett pt:Kathryn Stockett