name	Guy Pearce
birth name	Guy Edward Pearce
birth date	October 05, 1967
birth place	Ely, Cambridgeshire, England
occupation	Actor, musician
years active	1986–present
spouse	Kate Mestitz (1997–present) }}

Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's ''Memento'', Lieutenant Ed Exley in the film ''L.A. Confidential'', a drag queen in the cult film ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'', Mike Young in the popular Australian television series ''Neighbours'' and King Edward VIII ("David") in the 2010 Best Picture Oscar winner ''The King's Speech.''

Early life

Pearce was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. His mother, Anne Cocking (née Pickering), was a County Durham-born schoolteacher specialising in needlework and home economics, and his father, Stuart Pearce, was a New Zealand-born air force test pilot who died when Pearce was nine. When he was three years old, Pearce moved to Geelong, Australia, where his mother ran a deer farm. He attended The Geelong College, a local private school, and was a member of the GSODA Junior Players. From ages 15 to 22, he was a competitive amateur bodybuilder, leading to the title of Junior Mr. Victoria. He also partook in fencing. He lived in Box Hill North, Victoria in the late 1980s while working on the Australian drama series ''Neighbours''.

Career

Pearce starred in several theatre productions when he was young, and graduated to television when he was cast in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' in 1985, playing the role of Mike Young for several years. Pearce also found roles in other television series such as ''Home and Away'' (1988) and ''Snowy River: The McGregor Saga'' (1993).

The director/producer/writer Frank Howson cast Pearce in his first three films, and paid for him to go to the Cannes Film Festival in 1991 for the premiere of the Howson-directed ''Hunting''. The accompanying Howson-funded publicity campaign brought Pearce to the attention of the international film industry. He made his first major film breakthrough shortly after, with his role as a drag queen in ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' in 1994. Since then, he has appeared in several U.S. productions including ''L.A. Confidential'', ''Ravenous'', ''Rules of Engagement'', ''Memento'', ''The Count of Monte Cristo'', and ''The Time Machine''. Pearce portrayed pop artist Andy Warhol in ''Factory Girl'' and Harry Houdini in ''Death Defying Acts.'' He also appeared in ''The Road'' and in ''Bedtime Stories'' with Adam Sandler.

Pearce continues to perform in Australian theatre productions as well as Australian films, such as ''The Hard Word'' (2002) and the critically lauded ''The Proposition'' (2005). In January 2009, Pearce returned to the stage after a seven year absence. He performed in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of ''Poor Boy'', a play with music, co-written by Matt Cameron and Tim Finn.

In 2010 he appeared as playboy David, the Prince of Wales, who became King Edward VIII, in the award-winning film ''The King's Speech''.

Pearce appeared in Australian band Silverchair's music video for "Across the Night" and in Razorlight's video for "Before I Fall to Pieces". He recorded the soundtrack for ''A Slipping Down Life'', singing and playing guitar on cover versions of songs by Ron Sexsmith, Vic Chesnutt, and Robyn Hitchcock.

Personal life

He has been married to Kate Mestitz, a psychologist, since March 1997. He is a long-standing supporter of the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League. Pearce does not believe in God but believes "we're all connected."

Filmography

+ List of film and television credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1986–1989	''Neighbours''	Mike Young	496 episodes
1990	''Friday on My Mind''		Frank Howson thriller never released to VHS or DVD as Boulevard Films wound up
1990	''Heaven Tonight''	Paul Dysart
1991	''Hunting''	Sharp
1991–1992	''Home and Away''	David Croft
1994–1996		Rob McGregor	65 episodesNominated—Logie Award for Most Popular Actor (1996)
1994	''''	Adam/Felicia
1996	''Dating the Enemy''	Brett
1997	''''	Michael	TV movie
1997	''Halifax f.p: Deja Vu''	Daniel Viney/Richard Viney	TV movie
1997	''Flynn''	Errol Flynn
1997		Ed Exley	Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best ActorNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1998	''Woundings''	Jimmy Compton
1999	''''	Drumstrings Casey
1999	''Ravenous''	Capt. John Boyd
2000		Maj. Mark Biggs
2001		Leonard Shelby	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorSan Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture DramaNominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
2002	''''	Fernand Mondego
2002	''''	Alexander Hartdegen
2002	''''	Dale
2002		Dr. Sam Franks
2004	''Two Brothers''	Aidan McRory
2005	''''	Charlie Burns	Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best ActorNominated—Film Critics Circle of Australia
2006		Jimmy Starks
2006	''[[Factory Girl''	Andy Warhol
2007	''Death Defying Acts''	Harry Houdini	Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
2008		Dr. Bruce Laraby
2008		Roy Clayton
2008	''''	Staff Sergeant Matt Thompson
2008		Kendall
2009	''I Am You''	Mr. Barber
2009	''''	The Veteran
2010		Det. Nathan Leckie
2010	''''
2011		Monty Beragon	TV miniseries Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
2011		Alex Hirst
2011	''''	Simon	post-production
2011	''33 Postcards''	Dean Randall	post-production
2012	''''	Deputy Charley Rakes	filming
2012	''Thicker''	Ronny	filming
2012		''Unknown''	filming
2012		''Unknown''	filming

References

External links

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian stage actors Category:Australian television actors Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:Australian people of English descent Category:Australian people of New Zealand descent Category:Australian atheists Category:English atheists Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Ely, Cambridgeshire Category:People from Geelong Category:People educated at the Geelong College

ar:غاي بيرس ca:Guy Pearce cy:Guy Pearce da:Guy Pearce de:Guy Pearce es:Guy Pearce fr:Guy Pearce ga:Guy Pearce id:Guy Pearce it:Guy Pearce he:גאי פירס la:Guido Pearce nl:Guy Pearce ja:ガイ・ピアース no:Guy Pearce pl:Guy Pearce pt:Guy Pearce ro:Guy Pearce ru:Пирс, Гай fi:Guy Pearce sv:Guy Pearce tr:Guy Pearce

name	Maggie Grace
birthname	Margaret Grace Denig
birth date	September 21, 1983
birth place	Worthington, Ohio, US
occupation	Actress
yearsactive	1998–present
website	}}

Margaret Grace Denig (born September 21, 1983), best known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents' divorce. While struggling financially, she landed her first role as the title character in the web-based video series ''Rachel's Room'' in 2001. She went on to earn a Young Artist Award nomination in 2002 with her portrayal of 15-year-old murder victim Martha Moxley in the television movie ''Murder in Greenwich''.

In 2004, Grace was cast as Shannon Rutherford in the television series ''Lost'', on which she was a main cast member for the first two seasons, winning a Screen Actors Guild Award shared with the ensemble cast. Leaving the series, Grace was keen to work more prominently in film having starred opposite Tom Welling in ''The Fog'' in 2005. She appeared in ''Suburban Girl'', ''The Jane Austen Book Club'' (both 2007), and ''Taken'' (2008). She has the lead role of Alice in ''Malice in Wonderland'', a modern take on Lewis Carroll's novel ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. Grace reprised the role of Shannon in two more episodes of ''Lost'', including the series finale.

Early life

Grace was born Margaret Grace Denig in Worthington, Ohio, the second of three children to parents Valinn and Rick Denig, who ran a family jewelry business. Her family lived in a 200-year-old house, the first saltbox house in central Ohio. She attended Worthington Christian Schools from kindergarten through ninth grade and briefly attended Thomas Worthington High School, where she began acting in school plays and community theater, including a Jewish Community Center's Gallery Players' 2000 production of ''The Crucible''. Her parents divorced "amicably" when she was 16 years old, but her mother sought a "fresh start". Grace dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles, California with her mother, while her younger siblings Ian and Marissa continued to live with their father. In Los Angeles, Grace and her mother moved around often as they struggled financially, taking out short-term rents rather than paying for permanent residence while eating a basic diet, as it was all they could afford.

Career

Grace acquired an agent within a week of relocating to Los Angeles and enrolled in acting classes. She landed her first role in ''Rachel's Room'', a 2001 web-based video series about the affairs inside a teenage girl's bedroom that was created by ''Dawson's Creek'' executive producer Paul Stupin. Her next role was on the 2002 television series ''Septuplets'', which was cancelled before the first episode had aired. Her breakout role was on 2002's television movie ''Murder in Greenwich'', based on the true story of 15-year-old Martha Moxley's murder. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her portrayal of Moxley in the Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Leading Young Actress category, but lost to Clara Bryant for ''Tru Confessions''. She went on to feature in minor roles on the television series ''CSI: Miami'', ''The Lyon's Den'', ''Miracles'', ''Like Family'', ''Cold Case'' and ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and the films ''Twelve Mile Road'' and ''Creature Unknown'', before appearing in 2011's semi hit Zookeeper with Kevin Jamesa.

In mid-2004, Grace's agent sent her the script for the pilot episode of ''Lost''; she was given the role of Shannon Rutherford after a successful audition. She was nominated in 2005 for a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Breakout Performance – Female for her role on ''Lost'', but lost to ''Desperate Housewives'' Eva Longoria. She lived in Hawaii during the filming of the show's first season, and signed on to star opposite Tom Welling in ''The Fog'', a 2005 remake of the 1980 horror film of the same name, as a character originally played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Though the filming of ''Lost'' was supposed to have ended before ''The Fog'' began, the productions coincided due to ''Lost''s extended season finale and Grace flew between the two sets, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and on Bowen Island in British Columbia, Canada. After ranking at #27 on ''Maxim''s Hot 100 list of 2005, she returned for ''Lost''s second season. Her character was killed off the series in the season's eighth episode, "Collision" when the series' writers began to feel that the character's "story avenues [were] limited". Executive producer Carlton Cuse said that Grace's departure from the show was "sort of a win-win" as she was eager to enter a full-time career in film. After leaving the series, she nevertheless joined the other principal ''Lost'' cast members of season 2 onstage at the 12th Screen Actors Guild Awards where ''Lost'' won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

''Variety'' reported in May 2005 that Grace was in negotiations to play X-Men character Kitty Pryde in the 2006 film ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', but in July, auditions were reportedly being held for her replacement. The role ultimately went to Ellen Page, and Grace later revealed that she had never been contacted about the role and was surprised to read that she was up for the part in question. Grace's next role was in the 2007 independent film ''Suburban Girl'', alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin. In 2007, she starred in ''The Jane Austen Book Club'', based on Karen Joy Fowler's novel of the same name. She is a fan of Jane Austen and had read Fowler's novel when it was released in 2004. When she was given the film's script, she met with the director Robin Swicord, with whom she says she "geeked out", and was given the role of Allegra, an openly lesbian 20-year-old. After the filming of ''The Jane Austen Book Club'' was completed, Grace briefly returned to Hawaii to shoot a guest spot on the ''Lost'' season 3 episode "Exposé". She starred in the 2008 thriller film ''Taken'' with Liam Neeson, who was at the top of a list of male actors Grace wished to work with that she had written just two months before she was cast. She recently played the lead in Simon Fellows' ''Malice in Wonderland'', a modern adaptation of Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. In 2010, Grace starred in the drama ''Flying Lessons'', and appeared opposite Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in James Mangold's film ''Knight and Day'', as well as in ''Faster'', with Dwayne Johnson. Grace's busy schedule prevented her from returning as Shannon in "LA X", the season premiere for ''Lost'''s sixth and final season, but she eventually returned for the series finale "The End". On September 2010, it was revealed that Grace was chosen to play Irina in ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn''.

Personal life

Grace lived in Honolulu, Hawaii while working on ''Lost'', saying "I love it here, but it's not a place you can really pursue acting." She claimed that, while living in Hawaii, her ''Lost'' co-stars would introduce her to men and that some "would probably have me with a different guy every night." She said that her male co-stars were "mostly very protective" and "very opinionated" when deciding whether she should date certain men; actor Josh Holloway once offered to help her select dates from a portfolio of male models with whom he previously worked. Grace and Ian Somerhalder, her onscreen stepbrother, were rumored to be dating in April 2006 after both had left ''Lost''. When asked about Somerhalder in August, she stated, "Ian's great, I adore him, although I'm only 22 – far too young to even think about having a serious relationship." While still working on ''Lost,'' Grace and Somerhalder adopted a feral cat named Roo which they found "literally dying" in the jungle on the set. She said that the cat is now her "travel buddy." In 2008 and 2009, she dated Blake Mycoskie, a contestant on the second season of ''The Amazing Race'' and founder of TOMS Shoes.

Grace says that the person she is most inspired by is her mother. When asked about her closest friend, she said that she and her mother were more like sisters and that she is "lucky to have an exceptionally cool mum." She is a self-proclaimed anglophile, having written to a pen pal in the Lake District from the age of eight, having first visited England at 13 years old, and admiring a number of British poets as well as William Shakespeare. She calls herself very clumsy, claiming to "trip over my legs all the time," and was jokingly nicknamed "Maggie Graceless" by one of her former castmates. She plays in a Los Angeles kickball league with her friends.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2001	''Rachel's Room''	Rachel Reed
2002	''Shop Club''
2002	''Septuplets''	Hope Wilde	TV series
2002		Martha Moxley	TV movie
2003	''CSI: Miami''	Amy Gorman	Episode: "Spring Break"
2003	''Twelve Mile Road''	Dulcie Landis	TV movie
2003	''''	Haley Dugan	Episode: "Beach House"
2003		Hannah Cottrell	Episode: "Mother's Daughter"
2004		Renee	Episode: "Volunteers"
2004	''Creature Unknown''	Amanda
2004	''Oliver Beene''	Elke	8 episodes
2004	''Like Family''	Mary	Episode: "My Two Moms"
2004	''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''	Jessie Dawning	Episode: "Obscene"
2004–2007		Shannon Rutherford	34 episodes
2005	''''	Elizabeth Williams
2007	''Suburban Girl''	Chloe
2007	''''	Allegra
2008		Kim Mills
2009		Alice
2010		Shannon Rutherford	Episode: "The End"
2010	''Flying Lessons''	Sophie Conway
2010	''Knight and Day''	April Havens
2010	''''	Bay
2010		Lily
2011	''''	Irina	Filming
2011	''Relative Insanity''	Emilie Warnock	Post-production
2012	''Lockout''	Nina	Pre-production
2013		Kim Mills	Pre-production

References

External links

Category:1983 births Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Actors from Ohio Category:People from Columbus, Ohio Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Living people

ar:ماجي غرايس be-x-old:Мэгі Грэйс bg:Маги Грейс ca:Maggie Grace cs:Maggie Grace da:Maggie Grace de:Maggie Grace es:Maggie Grace fa:مگی گریس fr:Maggie Grace ga:Maggie Grace ko:매기 그레이스 it:Maggie Grace he:מגי גרייס lt:Maggie Grace hu:Maggie Grace nl:Maggie Grace ja:マギー・グレイス no:Maggie Grace pl:Maggie Grace pt:Maggie Grace ru:Грейс, Мэгги fi:Maggie Grace sv:Maggie Grace th:แมกกี เกรซ tr:Maggie Grace

name	Paul Cameron
birth date	November 09, 1939
birth place	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
residence	United States
field	Psychology
work institution	Stout State UniversityWayne State UniversityUniversity of LouisvilleFuller Theological Seminary University of Nebraska Family Research Institute
alma mater	Los Angeles Pacific College California State University University of Colorado at Boulder
known for	Passive smoking Homosexuality }}

Paul Drummond Cameron (born November 9, 1939) is an American psychologist and sex researcher. While employed at various institutions including the University of Nebraska he conducted research on passive smoking, but he is best known today for his claims about homosexuality. After a successful 1982 campaign against a gay rights proposal in Lincoln, Nebraska, he established the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality, now known as the Family Research Institute (FRI). As FRI's chairman, Cameron has written papers associating homosexuality with perpetration of child sexual abuse and reduced life expectancy.

In 1983, the American Psychological Association expelled Cameron for non-cooperation with an ethics investigation, although by his own account he had resigned from the organization the previous year. Position statements issued by the American Sociological Association and Canadian Psychological Association have accused Cameron of misrepresenting social science research.

Biography

Early life and career

Paul Cameron was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., on November 9, 1939. His family moved shortly afterwards to Florida. He received a BA from Los Angeles Pacific College in 1961, an MA from California State University in Los Angeles the following year and a PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1966. He held posts as an assistant psychology professor at University of Wisconsin–Stout (1966–67) and Wayne State University (1967–68), before becoming an associate professor at the University of Louisville (1970–73) and the Fuller Graduate School of Psychology (part of the Fuller Theological Seminary) (1976–79). In 1979, he became an associate professor of Marriage and Family at the University of Nebraska.

During this period, Cameron conducted research on a variety of topics, including the effects of passive smoking and the relation between pet ownership and happiness. In his 1978 book ''Sexual Gradualism'', he supported a middle ground between liberal and conservative Christian attitudes to sexuality, arguing that teenagers should avoid intercourse while experimenting with lower "levels" of sexual intimacy.

In 1980, Cameron left the University of Nebraska and took up private practice as a psychologist in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1982, when the Lincoln city council asked residents to vote on a proposal to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, Cameron led the opposition as chairman of the Committee to Oppose Special Rights for Homosexuals. Despite his earlier moderate position on teenage relationships, Cameron had come to take a hard-line stance on the topic of homosexuality. He has stated that his approach, emphasising the harms he believed to be caused by homosexual behavior and its acceptance, was influenced by his work on the "lethal" behavior of smokers.

During the campaign in Lincoln, Cameron delivered a speech at the University of Nebraska Lutheran chapel. This drew much attention after he stated that a four-year-old boy had suffered a brutal homosexual assault in a local mall. Police were unable to confirm the incident, and Cameron acknowledged that he had heard the story only as a rumor. On May 11, Lincoln voters rejected the proposed measure by a 4–1 margin.

Family Research Institute

In 1982, Cameron co-founded the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality in Lincoln. Believing that earlier sex surveys, including those conducted by ''Playboy'' magazine, had overestimated the prevalence of homosexuality, Cameron set out in 1983 to conduct what he described as "a fair sexuality poll, not one based on volunteers". One newspaper reported his expectation that the results would support his case for a ban on homosexual acts throughout the United States. Funding, according to Cameron, was provided by businessmen including several Nebraska chief executives. In the 1983 ISIS Survey, an "extensive self-administered questionnaire" was offered to 9,129 adults in five U.S. cities, and 4,340 responses were received. In 1984, these were supplemented with data from 824 adults from Dallas.

ISIS was shortly afterwards renamed the Family Research Institute (FRI) and moved to Washington, D.C.. In 1995 FRI changed location again, this time to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where it remains based. In his capacity as FRI's chairman, Cameron has authored both popular pamphlets and scientific articles on the topic of homosexuality. The cover photograph for Cameron's pamphlet ''Child Molestation and Homosexuality'' depicted "a young boy being pulled into a men's bathroom", while ''Murder, Violence and Homosexuality'' showed "a little girl cowering beneath an arm wielding an ax". Many of Cameron's scientific articles have been based on the 1983–1984 ISIS survey, including a 1996 paper that concluded based on participants' answers concerning their teachers that homosexual teachers could influence their students to become homosexual.

Another of Cameron's conclusions, based partly on his studies of obituaries in gay newspapers, is that homosexuals as a group have a median age of death about 20 years lower than that of heterosexuals. After analysing official data from Denmark and Norway, which allowed same-sex marriage, Cameron reported in 2007 that "married lesbians lived to age 56 and married gay men to age 52". Cameron states that many victims of child sexual abuse are the same sex as their abusers – one FRI study on sexual abuse by foster parents in Illinois reported that 34% of perpetrators were guilty of same-sex abuse – and concludes that "there is a strong, disproportionate association between child molestation and homosexuality". Many of Cameron's papers have been published in the journal ''Psychological Reports''; unlike many journals, this charges authors a publication fee and does not necessarily reject an article on the basis of a negative peer review.

Cameron was quoted in ''Rolling Stone'' as saying that homosexual sex was more pleasurable than most heterosexual sex, and as a result, if homosexuality were tolerated then it would become predominant within a few generations.

Cameron's publications have been cited as support by some groups who oppose same-sex marriage and allowing homosexuals to become foster or adoptive parents, including the Traditional Values Coalition. Paul Cameron testified in the case ''Baker v. Wade'' (1985). In 1992, Gale Norton, then the Attorney General of Colorado, employed Cameron as a consultant when defending a law preventing the extension of civil rights legislation to homosexuals. Cameron's testimony went unused, and the law was struck down by the Supreme Court. More recently, Cameron campaigned against a gay-rights initiative in Maine in 2000, testified in favor of the failed Virginia Anti-Gay Adoption Bill in 2005, and opposed a 2007 Colorado bill intended to allow cohabiting couples to adopt. He was tricked into appearing in Sacha Baron Cohen's mockumentary film ''Brüno'' (2009).

Family

Paul Cameron is married and has several children. His son Kirk received a doctorate in statistics from Stanford University and has been involved with the Family Research Institute since 1983.

Criticism

For the most part, official scientific organisations have paid very little attention to Cameron's studies, and thus extensive scientific analysis of his claims have not been widely available. However Cameron's research, public statements and legal testimony have received criticism from researchers and organizations over methodologies they view as academically dishonest and misleading.

From professional organizations

The American Psychological Association (APA) launched an investigation into Cameron after receiving complaints about his work from members. The APA President Max Seigel sent Cameron a letter on December 2, 1983 stating that the Board of Directors had decided to drop him from membership for failure to cooperate with their investigation. FRI has contended that Cameron had already resigned from the organization in November 1982, citing correspondence from before his formal expulsion. In a letter published in the March 1983 edition of the ''APA Monitor'', Cameron stated that his reasons for leaving included his opinion that the organization was becoming more of a "liberal PAC" than a professional society. An APA spokesperson told ''The Boston Globe'' in 2005, "We are concerned about Dr. Cameron because we do believe that his methodology is weak."

In 1984 the Nebraska Psychological Association issued a statement disassociating itself "from the representations and interpretations of scientific literature offered by Dr. Paul Cameron". In 1986 the American Sociological Association passed a resolution condemning Cameron for "consistent misrepresentation of sociological research". This was based on a report from the ASA's Committee on the Status of Homosexuals in Sociology, which summarised Cameron's inflammatory statements and commented, "It does not take great analytical abilities to suspect from even a cursory review of Cameron's writings that his claims have almost nothing to do with social science and that social science is used only to cover over another agenda. Very little of his work could find support from even a bad misreading of genuine social science investigation on the subject and some sociologists, such as Alan Bell, have been 'appalled' at the abuse of their work." In 1996, the Board of Directors of the Canadian Psychological Association approved a position statement disassociating the organisation from Cameron's work on sexuality, stating that he had "consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism".

From individuals

After Dr. Cameron submitted affidavits to the U. S. District Court of Dallas in ''Baker v. Wade'' (1985), Judge Buchmeyer wrote in his opinion that Cameron had "made misrepresentations to this Court". However, Buchmeyer's decision was later overturned by the Fifth Circuit sitting en banc, which specifically reversed the "misrepresentations" finding by Buchmeyer. FRI has disputed Judge Buchmeyer's assessment of Dr. Cameron's affidavits.

Epidemiologists Morten Frisch and Henrik Brønnum-Hansen argue that Cameron was wrong to infer reduced life expectancy from the fact that deaths among homosexually married partners in Denmark and Norway occurred at a lower median age than those among heterosexually married partners: "Because the age distribution among persons in same-sex marriages was considerably younger than that of people who had ever been heterosexually married, the average age at death among those who actually died during the observation period was, not surprisingly, considerably younger in the population of same-sex married persons." Their own analysis found that excess mortality in Danish same-sex marriages since 1995 was "restricted to the first few years after a marriage, presumably reflecting preexisting illness at the time of marriage". Similarly, critics have argued that obituaries in gay-themed newspapers, which Cameron used to estimate homosexual mortality, do not provide a representative sample of deaths and ignore surviving members of the same generation.

Cameron has also been criticized for placing responsibility for same-sex child sexual abuse on "homosexuals"; opponents state that someone who carries out such abuse need not have a homosexual orientation with respect to other adults. Gregory M. Herek, a psychologist specialising in prejudice against sexual minorities, charges that Cameron misrepresented the literature he had reviewed and cited to support his claims, such as a Groth and Birnbaum (1978) study in which none of the participating child molestors actually identified as homosexuals, and none of those who were bisexual claimed to prefer men over women. Furthermore, while Cameron assumed all the same-sex molestations were perpetrated by homosexuals, he did not assume all the opposite-sex molestations were perpetrated by heterosexuals; he included a "bisexual correction" only for opposite-sex molestations that effectively increased the number of perpetrators described as "homosexual" without changing the number described as "heterosexual".

Herek noted that most of the Cameron group's academic publications in the past 15 years have been based on a survey study conducted in 1983 and 1984. The main survey was completed in seven U.S. cities and towns in 1983. Data were later added from a 1984 Dallas (TX) sample. Most of the Cameron group's papers have reported data from the combined samples. According to Herek, a critical review of the Cameron group's sampling techniques, survey methodology, and interpretation of results reveals at least six serious errors in their study. Herek concludes, "an empirical study manifesting even one of these six weaknesses would be considered seriously flawed. In combination, the multiple methodological problems evident in the Cameron group's surveys mean that their results cannot even be considered a valid description of the specific group of individuals who returned the survey questionnaire. Because the data are essentially meaningless, it is not surprising that they have been virtually ignored by the scientific community." "The Cameron group has published its empirical research in academic journals with low prestige and, at least in the case of Psychological Reports, with a low rejection rate and a publication fee required from authors. Given the serious methodological flaws in their survey studies and obituary study, it is reasonable to conclude that the Cameron group's papers would have been rejected by more prestigious scientific journals. Other than the Cameron group itself, researchers have not cited their empirical studies as a source of ideas for new research on sexual orientation. Nor have scientists cited the group's papers to support assertions about the dangers to society posed by homosexuals."

In a widely publicized interview with Midweek Politics with David Pakman, Cameron compared homosexuality to drug use, a comparison that drew criticism from a number of gay rights blogs, websites, and the Huffington Post.

Works

Notes and references

External links

Family Research Institute website

Mark E. Pietrzyk, "Queer Science" ''Independent Gay Forum''

"A Mighty Army", ''Southern Poverty Law Center'' -- profile of the Family Research Institute

Gregory M. Herek, "Paul Cameron Bio and Fact Sheet"

Category:1939 births Category:American psychologists Category:Living people Category:Azusa Pacific University alumni Category:California State University, Los Angeles alumni Category:University of Colorado at Boulder alumni Category:Scientific misconduct Category:University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty Category:Wayne State University faculty

cs:Paul Cameron de:Paul Cameron pl:Paul Cameron sv:Paul Cameron

name	Luc Besson
birth date	March 18, 1959
birth place	Paris, France
years active	1981–present
occupation	Producer, director, screenwriter
spouse	Anne Parillaud (div.)Milla Jovovich (1997–99)Virginie Silla (2004–) }}

Luc Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.

Early life

Besson was born in Paris to parents who were both Club Med scuba diving instructors. This had a profound influence on his childhood as Besson planned on becoming a marine biologist. He spent much of his youth traveling with his parents to tourist resorts in Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece. The family returned to France when Besson was 10. His parents promptly divorced and were remarried to other people. "Here there is two families, and I am the only bad souvenir of something that doesn't work," he said in the ''International Herald Tribune''. "And if I disappear, then everything is perfect. The rage to exist comes from here. I have to do something! Otherwise I am going to die."

At the age of 17, Besson had a diving accident that left him temporarily unable to dive.

"I was 17 and I wondered what I was going to do. ... So I took a piece of paper and on the left I put everything I could do, or had skills for, and all the things I couldn't do. The first line was shorter and I could see that I loved writing, I loved images, I was taking a lot of pictures. So I thought maybe movies would be good. But I thought that to really know I should go to a set. And a friend of mine knew a guy whose brother was a third assistant on a short film. It's true," he said in a 2000 interview with ''The Guardian''.

"So, I said: 'OK, let's go on the set.' So I went on the set...The day after I went back to see my mum and told her that I was going to make films and stop school and 'bye. And I did it! Very soon after I made a short film and it was very, very bad. I wanted to prove that I could do something, so I made a short film. That was in fact my main concern, to be able to show that I could do one."

Career

Out of boredom, he started to write stories, including the backdrop to what later became one of his most popular movies, ''The Fifth Element''. Besson directed and co-wrote the screenplay of this science fiction thriller with the screenwriter, Robert Mark Kamen. The film is inspired by the French comic books Besson read as a teenager. He also reportedly worked on the first drafts of ''Le Grand Bleu'' while still in his teens.

At 18, Besson returned to his birthplace of Paris. There he took odd jobs in film to get a feel for the industry. He worked as an assistant to directors including Claude Faraldo and Patrick Grandperret. Besson also directed three short films, a commissioned documentary, and several commercials.

After this, he moved to the United States for three years, but returned to form his own production company which he called "Les Films du Loup". The name was later changed to "Les Films du Dauphin". In the early 1980s, Besson met Éric Serra and asked him to compose the score for his first short film, ''L'Avant dernier''.

In recent years, he has written and produced numerous action movies, including the ''Taxi'' and ''The Transporter'' series, and the Jet Li films ''Kiss of the Dragon'' and ''Unleashed/Danny the Dog''. Besson was also in charge of the promotional movie for the Paris bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Luc had been nominated for Best Director and Best Picture César Awards for his films ''Léon'' (a.k.a. ''The Professional'') and ''The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'', but won Best Director and Best French Director for his film ''The Fifth Element''.

Cinéma du look

Critics cite Besson as a pivotal figure in the Cinéma du look movement, a specific, highly visual style produced from the 1980s into the early 1990s. ''Subway'', ''The Big Blue'' and ''Nikita'' are all considered to be of this stylistic school. The term was coined in a 1989 essay, in ''La Revue du Cinema'' n° 449, by Raphaël Bassan, in which Besson was lumped with two other directors who shared "le look." These directors were said to favor style over substance, spectacle over narrative.

Most of the filmmakers in the category, including Besson, squirmed uncomfortably at being labeled, particularly in light of their forebears: France's New Wave. "Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut were rebelling against existing cultural values and used cinema as a means of expression simply because it was the most avant-garde medium at the time," said Besson in ''The New York Times''. "Today, the revolution is occurring entirely within the industry and is led by people who want to change the look of movies by making them better, more convincing and pleasurable to watch.

"Because it's becoming increasingly difficult to break into this field, we have developed a psychological armor and are ready to do anything in order to work", he added in this same interview. "I think our ardor alone is going to shake the pillars of the moviemaking establishment."

Besson is working on a film called ''The Lady'' (original title ''Dans la Lumiere''), due to be released in the fall of 2011. He is also working on ''Lockout'' due to be released in April 2012.He is also co-producer of a film called ''Colombiana'', also scheduled to be released in August 2011.

Works

Many of Besson's films have achieved popular, if not critical success. One such release was ''Le Grand Bleu''. "When the film had its premiere on opening night at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, it was mercilessly drubbed, but no matter; it was a smash," observed the ''International Herald Tribune'' in a 2007 profile of Besson. "Embraced by young people who kept returning to see it again, the movie sold 10 million tickets and quickly became what the French call a film générationnel, a defining moment in the culture."

Besson created the Arthur series, which comprises ''Arthur and the Minimoys'', ''Arthur and the Forbidden City'', ''Arthur and the Vengeance of Maltazard'' and ''Arthur and the War of the Two Worlds''. Besson directed ''Arthur and the Invisibles'', an adaptation of the first two books of the collection. A film with live action and animation, it was released in the UK and the USA and starred Freddie Highmore, Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Mia Farrow, Robert De Niro and David Bowie.

Critical evaluation

Besson has been criticized as the most Hollywood of French filmakers. His "slick, commercial" action movies have been panned as "so interchangeable—drugs, sleaze, chuckling supervillainy, and Hong Kong-style effects—that each new project probably starts with white-out on the title page."

Others disagree. American film critic Armond White has praised Besson, who he claims is one of the best film producers, for refining and revolutionizing action film, also stating that Besson dramatizes the struggle of his characters "as a conscientious resistance to human degradation",

Personal life

Besson was married to Anne Parillaud, who starred in ''Nikita'', a film he wrote and directed. They have one daughter. He later dated model Maïwenn Le Besco. Their daughter, Shana Besson, was born in 1993. Besson married Milla Jovovich on 14 December 1997, but they divorced in 1999. On 28 August 2004, Besson married Virginie Silla, a film producer.

He has five daughters: Juliette, Shana, Talia, Satine, and Mao. Mao was born in 2005.

Filmography

:''See Luc Besson filmography''

Awards

Among Besson's many awards are the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film Critics Prize, Fantasporto Audience Jury Award-Special Mention, Best Director, and Best Film, for ''Le Dernier Combat'' in 1983; The Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon-Best Director-Foreign Film, for ''La Femme Nikita'', 1990; the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, ''Nil by Mouth'', 1997; and the Best Director Cesar Award, for ''The Fifth Element'', 1997.

Music videos

''Pull Marine'': Isabelle Adjani (1983)

''Mon Légionnaire'': Serge Gainsbourg (1988)

''Que mon cœur lâche'': Mylène Farmer (1992)

''Love Profusion'': Madonna (2003)

''L'impasse'': Kery James

References

External links

Luc Besson Official Homepage at Luc-Besson.com

Luc Besson Interview, Angel-A

JewReview.net video interview with Luc Besson and Rie Rasmussen about Angel-A

In-depth interview with Luc Besson

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:People from Paris Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:César Award winners Category:French film directors Category:French film producers Category:Best Director César Award winners

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James Mather (England, ca. 1750 - St. James Parish, Louisiana, 1821) was mayor of New Orleans from March 9, 1807 to October 8, 1812.

His place of birth is variously given as Coupland in Northumberland; or London. A merchant by trade, he moved to America in 1776, and by 1780 he was working in New Orleans, contracting with the Spanish Government to operate two vessels out of the port and importing articles required in the trade with the Indians of Louisiana and West Florida.

Mather & his descendents owned a large sugar plantation in Lutcher, Louisiana until 1879.

He was appointed mayor of New Orleans by William C.C. Claiborne, governor of the Louisiana Territory. Almost as soon as became mayor, he was obliged to take measures to defend the city against the possibility of a conspiracy by the friends of Aaron Burr, which, however, did not eventuate. In November 1809, through similar measures, he is credited with averting an insurrection of the black population.

Mather attempted to establish a viable police force for the city, but failed. He succeeded, however, in creating a tolerably efficient fire department.

The last years of his administration saw him under fire for being under the influence of certain individuals, for failing to protect the city's interests by vetoing the resolutions of the city council, and for hiring people to write anonymous letters attacking his enemies and paying them with public funds: whether any of this was true has proved impossible to determine. In 1812, however, he had had enough, and resigned. He retired to his son's property on the Acadian Coast of Louisiana, where he died in 1821.

References

External links

Mather as mayor of New Orleans (in Kendall's history of New Orleans)

Category:Mayors of New Orleans, Louisiana Category:1750s births Category:1821 deaths Category:People from St. James Parish, Louisiana

fr:James Mather