name	Fur
writer	Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay)Patricia Bosworth (book)
starring	Nicole KidmanRobert Downey, Jr.Ty BurrellHarris YulinJane Alexander
director	Steven Shainberg
producer	Laura BickfordPatricia BosworthAndrew FierbergWilliam PohladBonnie Timmermann
distributor	Picturehouse
released	November 10, 2006
runtime	122 minutes
language	English
music	Carter Burwell

''Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus'' (also known simply as ''Fur'') is a 2006 film starring Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images.

Plot synopsis

The cinematic Arbus (Nicole Kidman) is torn between a bizarre relationship with a neighbor suffering from hypertrichosis, Lionel Sweeney (Robert Downey Jr.), and a conventional life with her husband Allan (Ty Burrell), a photographer. An incident with a clogged drain leads her to a relationship with Lionel and entry into a netherworld populated by transvestites, dwarves and others living on the fringes of society.

Production

For the film, director Steven Shainberg, best known for his kinky indie ''Secretary'', reunited with its screenwriter, Erin Cressida Wilson, who used Patricia Bosworth's book ''Diane Arbus: A Biography'' as a source. As its name implies, the film is a fictional account rather than an accurate biography.

Cast

Nicole Kidman - Diane Arbus

Robert Downey, Jr. - Lionel Sweeney

Ty Burrell - Allan Arbus

Harris Yulin - David Nemerov

Jane Alexander - Gertrude Nemerov

Emmy Clarke - Grace Arbus

Genevieve McCarthy - Sophie Arbus

Boris McGiver - Jack Henry

Marceline Hugot - Tippa Henry

Mary Duffy - Althea

Reception

The film holds a 50 score on Metacritic.

The ''Chicago Tribune'' gave the film 3 out of 4 stars; "The result is a revelatory, challenging and deeply affecting portrait, anchored by what may be Kidman's most profoundly moving performance."

The ''Los Angeles Times'' criticized the "cop-out ending that undercuts its message about the unimportance of surface differences in favor of a glib finalities to have its cake and eat it too." Although the newspaper continued to heap praise on Kidman and Downey Jr; "the remarkable acting of its two stars pulls you back in and keeps you watching. Kidman, the most consistently daring of today's top stars, is exceptionally convincing as someone whose interior process plays out in front of us. And Downey, for the most part using only his soulful, yearning eyes and a silky, urbane voice, creates a man no one could resist. Separately and together, they make us believe the unbelievable."

References

External links

Official website

New York Times review

Category:2006 films Fur Fur Fur

de:Fell – Eine Liebesgeschichte es:Fur (película) fa:خز (فیلم) fr:Fur (film) it:Fur - Un ritratto immaginario di Diane Arbus pl:Futro. Portret wyobrażony Diane Arbus pt:Fur (filme) ru:Мех (фильм) sv:Fur (film)

name	Steven Shainberg
birth date	February 05, 1963
occupation	Director, Producer, Screenwriter
spouse	}}

Steven Shainberg (born 5 February 1963) is an American film director and producer.

He is the nephew of author Lawrence Shainberg. Both are part of the Shainberg family of Memphis, Tennessee, founder of the Shainberg's chain of stores, which is now part of Dollar General.

Shainberg received his BA from Yale University in English Literature and East Asian studies. After graduation, he worked as a location manager, assistant director, production coordinator, and assistant editor on a number of films, commercials, and rock videos. He also worked as an independent producer developing adaptations of Joseph Conrad’s ''The Secret Agent'' and Henry James’ ''The Americans''. At the American Film Institute, he directed and wrote four short films including ''The Prom'' starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Andras Jones and J. T. Walsh. ''The Prom'' won the Grand Prize at the Houston International Film Festival, the Critics’ Award at the Breckenridge Film Festival, and the Silver Medal for Drama at the New York Film Festival.

In 1998, his short film series “Mr. Virgil” ran for almost six months on MTV as well as his video for Debbie Harry’s "Strike Me Pink".

Films

In August 1998, Shainberg’s first feature film ''Hit Me'' based on the Jim Thompson novel, ''A Swell-Looking Babe'', was released. However, Shainberg’s breakthrough didn’t come until 2002’s ''Secretary''.

''Secretary'' stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as a disturbed young woman who gets a job as a secretary to a lawyer played by James Spader. The story follows the two characters as they develop a sexual, sadomasochistic relationship. The film was well received and honored with numerous awards including a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Shainberg’s latest project, ''Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus'' starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. is a fictionalized account of the life of renowned photographer Diane Arbus. The film, released in 2006, received mixed review from critics and was a box-office disappointment.

Footnotes

External links

Category:Living people Category:American film directors Category:1963 births

de:Steven Shainberg es:Steven Shainberg fr:Steven Shainberg it:Steven Shainberg

This is a list of people whose names in English are commonly appended with the phrase "''the Great''", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as ''e Bozorg'' and ''e azam'' in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus) assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "''the Great''".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers

Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran

Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India

Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia

Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia

Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias

Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex

Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire

Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty

Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),

Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire

Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand

Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)

Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)

Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden

Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland

Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia

Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India

Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans

Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)

Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks

Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen

Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor

Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media

Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire

Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire

Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent

Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse

Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile

Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia

Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader

Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC

Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)

Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre

Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea

Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris

Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France

Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)

Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat

Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia

John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve

John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre

Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor

Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i

Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India

Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia

Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty

Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales

Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland

Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand

Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan

Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)

Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)

Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom

Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus

Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)

Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya

Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque

Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka

Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia

Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia

Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily

Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar

Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar

Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.

Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India

Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties

Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)

Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev

Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders

Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent

Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre

Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire

Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king

Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia

Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire

Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks

Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)

Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty

Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie

Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire

Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor

Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia

Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia

Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire

Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark

Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor

Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus

Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy

William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon

William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou

Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)

Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures

Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East

Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia

Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian

Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt

Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader

Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)

Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint

Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint

Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)

Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine

Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)

Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)

Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit

Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)

Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople

William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other

Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies

Emmy the Great, folk singer

Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III

Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also

Epithet

List of monarchs by nickname

List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I

James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus

Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater

Notes

Category:Monarchs Great, List of people known as The Category:Greatest Nationals Category:Epithets

bs:Spisak osoba znanih kao Veliki id:Daftar tokoh dengan gelar yang Agung jv:Daftar pamimpin ingkang dipun paringi julukan Ingkang Agung la:Magnus lt:Sąrašas:Žmonės, vadinami Didžiaisiais ja:称号に大が付く人物の一覧 ru:Великий (прозвище) sl:Seznam ljudi z vzdevkom Veliki sv:Lista över personer kallade den store th:รายพระนามกษัตริย์ที่ได้รับสมัญญานามมหาราช vi:Đại đế

Lory Bianco (born August 19, 1963) is an American singer and actor from the United States. She started her career in humble surroundings at the age of 10 performing in musicals, fairs, convalescent homes, hospitals, conventions, and beauty pageants. She was managed by Sam Gino and her mother Helen Bianco.

Name	Lory Bianco
Birth date	August 19, 1963
Birth place	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania }}

Career

Lory sang solo and sang duet with her sister Holly and the two of them recorded their first single, "Give me a Minute". Later at 15, Bianco received her first professional break with Hal White and Mark Gibbons, who released a single on RCA records, "Teenager in Love". At eighteen Lory was discovered by two producers from Italy, Guido and Maurizio De Angelis. They held a talent search in New York, Texas, San Francisco and Hollywood. This was a dream come true; Lory used to dream of going to Italy. The De Angeles brothers signed her to a management contract and became her record label Kangaroo Records/Polygram for five years. Also they changed her name to Bonnie Bianco.

In 1983 she landed the female leading role in the film–mini TV series ''Cinderella 80'' or ''Cindy''. The series was a renewed adaptation of the fairy-tale "Cinderella". She starred along with French actor Pierre Cosso, known from his movie ''La Boum 2'' with Sophie Marceau. Bianco, who played a singer in ''Cinderella 80'', also recorded the soundtrack for this TV series. The soundtrack album included a duet with Pierre Cosso, the hit single "Stay". Her album went gold in Germany.

From 1983 to 1985 Bianco was featured and sang and danced in the famous prime time Saturday Italian variety show ''Al Paradise''. She became an overnight success in Italy. Her film ''Cinderella 80'' was also released at the same time in the movie theaters and this as well gave her instant success as an actress in Italy.

In 1987 the two-hour film, that had 2 additional hours of film footage, was turned into a TV series and finally was aired in Germany and was a huge success. The duet "Stay" went straight to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' German charts and stayed there for several weeks, and the album was in the number 2 spot for several weeks. The single became a Top 3 hit in Switzerland and Austria too. Cosso and Bianco became overnight sensations in Germany. Bianco also starred in a second TV mini series, ''Molly O'', released only in Italy.

After going on a trip to Israel, Lory painfully contemplated not to renew her contract with the De Angelis Brothers' record label, as she was signed exclusively to their label and was not able to work with other writers. She decided to explore other career opportunities. This was a very hard decision, but nevertheless she decided to take a risk.

After several months of rest she signed with Christian De Walden and Steve Singer in a 1/3 business partnership. They signed a new record deal for the European market with Metronome Records. The first single off the album "Miss You So" was an instant Top 10 hit on the German charts. It was produced by Gunter Mende (Alexis, Falco) and Candy DeRouge (who scored a worldwide No 1 hit with Jennifer Rush's "The Power of Love" in 1985). Lory and Christian De Walden had different ideas on the vision of Bianco's career and both came to a decision to break away.

She managed to get out of her contract with Metronome after a battle of seven months and signed a new deal with the German record company WEA (Warner-Elektra-Atlantic, belonging to Warner Bros records). They produced a new album, ''True Love, Lory'', as they mutually agreed to gradually fade away from the name "Bonnie". The record company stated that she had become famous by the name "Bonnie Bianco" and people would not know who Lory Bianco was. The album failed to continue the Top 10 success of the 2 previous albums, it even failed to reach the German Top 40. Moreover, neither of the two singles off that album cracked the German charts. German hit producer Dieter Bohlen (formerly of the 80s pop group "Modern Talking") was doing the soundtrack for a TV series and persuaded Bianco to sing one of the songs, "A Cry In The Night", which finally was another hit single for Lory "Bonnie" Bianco, but couldn't help the album to climb the charts.

For the second album with WEA, ''Lonely Is The Night'', Lory wanted to challenge herself and go a little more pop, with a touch of dance. She is known for her ballads and this was a huge risk; also dropping the name Bonnie, didn't help make it any easier, it took a lot of courage. The album was produced by international top-notch producers, such as Klarmann/Weber (who also worked with Tracie Spencer, Chaka Khan or Jamie Stevens), one of America's most successful songwriters Diane Warren, and Jeff Lorber (successful from his work with Karyn White and Sheena Easton). ''Lonely Is The Night'' became a huge flop due to a lack of promotion and wrong singles choices.

Bianco spent some more time in Israel, reflecting on her life, contemplating her career. She has led a very full life, but found herself homesick. Lory has been living in Europe for 10 years, she's left everything to follow her career, her home in the States, her family, and friends. She became weary of living out of her suitcase, not ever being able to establish a permanent home for herself in Europe due to the laws and regulations, etc. Bianco had come to a very painful decision again and it was to leave WEA records. She had to agree to walk away from at least $300,000.00 that was guaranteed to her as an advance if she would make two more CDs. She had systematically stopped her career. She has been offered several contracts since then, but has not found the right team.

In the year 2001 she managed to take a risk and produce and release a new album on her own. She recorded the album ''On My Own ... but never alone'' and distributed it through the internet and the biggest independent record online store, CDBaby. Because of her loyal fan base she even managed to promote her new album on German television in 2001.

After completing her trip to Germany, she returned on the night of September 10, and the next day, September 11, the World Trade Center in New York was bombed by terrorists. This event had a devastating impact on Lory that she decided not to record pop songs anymore, but only sing Christian music.

Lory Bianco still has a loyal fan base and her own international fan club from many parts of the world. She has a close connection to all of her fans and encourages them to go forward in their dreams and to never give up. Perseverance creates character.

Bianco currently resides in the Pacific Northwestern United States and is working on a hymn CD-project, called ''Jesus paid it all''.

Discography

Albums

1982 Bonnie Bianco (Italy and Germany 1983)

1983 Cenerentola ' 80 (Italy)

1984 Al Paradise EP (Italy - Songs of the TV Show)

1985 Un'Americana a Roma (Italy and Germany)

1985 Molly ´O (Italy)

1987 Cinderella ´87

1987 Un `Americana A Roma (Germany Re-release)

1987 Stay

1987 Rhapsody

1987 Just Me

1988 Too Young

1988 True Love, Lory

1989 True Love ("A Cry In The Night" included)

1990 Lonely Is The Night

1993 Miss you So - The Very Best Of

1993 Un `Americana A Roma (re-release)

1993 Stay - The Very Best Of

1993 You're The One

1996 Lonely Is The Night (re-release)

2001 On My Own...But Never Alone

2003 The Deluxe Edition (Double CD)

2007 Best of-Incl. Spanish Mixes (Double CD including Spanish songs)

Lory is hoping to release her triple-CD (traditional, Christian-worship and meditative music) album in 2010

Singles

1984 EP-Single "Al Paradise"

1987 Stay (with Pierre Cosso)

1987 My First Love

1987 Miss You So

1987 The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

1988 When The Price Is Your Love

1989 Straight From Your Heart

1989 A Cry in the Night

1989 Hold On (Austria only)

1990 Heartbreaker

1990 Lonely Is The Night

1992 Talking Eyes

1993 Stay (The 1993 Remix)

2002 I Feel The Rhythm (promo CD only)

Chart positions

1987 "Stay" Germany: #1 Austria: #3 Switzerland: #2

1987 "Miss You So" Germany: #9 Austria: #7 Switzerland: #12

1987 "My First Love" Germany: #52

1989 "A Cry In the Night" Germany: #41 Austria: #1

References

External links

Lory Lynn Bianco complex site

Lory Bianco's latest CD

Category:1963 births Category:Actors from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:American pop singers Category:Living people Category:People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

cs:Bonnie Bianco de:Bonnie Bianco it:Bonnie Bianco ru:Бьянко, Бонни tr:Bonnie Bianco

name	Ryan Leslie
background	solo_singer
birth name	Anthony Ryan Leslie
birth date	September 25, 1978
birth place	Washington, DC
genre	R&B;, hip hop
occupation	Music producer, singer-songwriter, musical arranger, rapper
instrument	Guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums, vocals, trumpet
years active	2000-present
label	NextSelection Lifestyle Group/Casablanca Records/Universal Republic
associated acts	Cassie, Fabolous, Keri Hilson, Jadakiss, Booba, Jim Jones, LL Cool J, Lloyd Banks
website	http://www.ryanleslie.com/ }}

Anthony Ryan Leslie, known professionally as Ryan Leslie, (born September 25, 1978) is a Grammy nominated American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, entrepreneur, and singer. Founder of the media company NextSelection Lifestyle Group, Leslie has produced singles for a number of artists in a variety of genres ranging from R&B;/Hip-Hop to Pop to Gospel. From 2005–2006, he had his most commercial success to date with NextSelection/Bad Boy/Atlantic recording artist Cassie and her single "Me & U". Leslie's debut album, ''Ryan Leslie'' (2009), features the songs "Diamond Girl," "Addiction," and "How It Was Supposed To Be."

Biography

Ryan Qt Leslie was born into a multicultural family. Leslie is the oldest son of mother (Evangeline) Mooi Leslie who is of Caribbean Dutch, Chinese, and African descent, and father Clement Leslie who is from Barbados and of Irish ancestry, raised in Trinidad. His parents were Salvation Army officers who frequently relocated for work. Ryan has lived in various states, cities, and countries. At an early age, Leslie taught himself how to play the piano. He developed the ability to recite music, as well as arrange chords to create songs. At the age of 14, Leslie scored a 1600 on his SATs—a perfect score—while attending Bathurst High School, in Washington, DC. In 1993, he applied to four University of New Brunswick campuses as well as Stanford, Yale and Harvard. In his application essays he explained his interest in matriculating from his junior year in high school without having earned a diploma. He was accepted to all except Yale. He ultimately decided to attend Harvard College. At the age of 19, Leslie graduated from Harvard with a degree in Government, concentrating in Political Science and Macroeconomics. During his commencement ceremonies, Ryan delivered the prestigious Harvard Oration.

Music

During his freshman year at Harvard, Leslie devoted many hours per week to creating and developing music in a studio basement on campus. He taught himself basic production skills and also developed a musical style of his own. As the semesters progressed, Leslie spent more and more time in the school's studio molding his craft. He also performed many events around campus and was a part of the school's all male acappella group The Krokodiloes. Due to the conflict with music and school, Leslie was put on academic probation three times during his college career. He has said in many interviews that during those college years, he became accustomed to getting 2 to 3 hours of sleep per night. To earn disposable income during these years, Leslie sold instrumentals to local artists in the Boston area.

After graduating college, Leslie urged his parents to allow him to go in to the music industry. They told him that he could have a better future considering he graduated from college at the age of 19. Leslie insisted that he was going pursue his musical interests for two years and if he didn't like it he would stop. Leslie remained in Boston because of its music scene. He took on community service jobs to help support himself and would spend nights in the recording studio working on his music. Eventually, Leslie moved back home with his parents in Phoenix where he convinced them to take out a loan for a production studio so that he could pursue music full-time. He vowed to his family that he would pay back the $15,000 loan one day, even if it meant going back to school and getting a more traditional job. For the next several months, Leslie worked towards developing a distinct sound. During this period, Leslie has said that he ate and slept very little. In the summer of 2003, Ryan landed a production internship with producer Younglord. He has said in interviews that he considers this 30-day internship the jump-start of his career in the music industry. Within the first week, Leslie produced the song “Keep Giving Your Love To Me” that would later be performed by Beyoncé for the ''Bad Boys II'' soundtrack. The soundtrack was supervised by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was impressed by Leslie’s production style and offered him a management contract upon meeting him.

Under the management of Combs, Leslie worked on various Bad Boy Records projects including releases from Loon, Cheri Dennis, B5, New Edition and Danity Kane. During that time, Leslie also co-produced a record for Britney Spears. Also in 2003, Leslie was introduced by his then attorney Ed Woods to Tommy Mottola. Mottola soon became a mentor of Leslie’s and offered him a publishing deal with Aspen Songs and a recording contract with Casablanca, Mottola's imprint distributed by Universal Music Group. Under the mentorship of Mottola and Combs, Leslie signed then-aspiring model Cassie Ventura to his imprint, NextSelection in 2005.

In late 2003, Leslie began recording his debut album entitled ''Just Right'', and released two singles: "The Way That U Move Girl" and "Used 2 Be" (with Fabolous). The album was never officially released due to creative differences between Leslie and his record label.

Debut album, Transitions, & Leaving Label

Ryan Leslie returned to the studio in 2006 to record a new debut album. The lead single, "Diamond Girl", was released in December 2007. The video for "Diamond Girl" was premiered on ''BET’s 106 & Park'', and released on Leslie’s YouTube channel with a special behind the scenes clip. In November 2007, he released a video for a song named "I-R-I-N-A" that was produced in-house and released through his YouTube channel as well.

His second single, "Addiction," features pop singer and protege Cassie with a rap cameo from long-time collaborator, rapper Fabolous. The song was officially released in August 2008. Of the two music videos made for the song, the "Making of 'Addiction'" clip became Leslie's most popular video on YouTube, with more than 3.2 million views.

His third single, "How It Was Supposed To Be," also has two music videos: a rock version and a military take on the song, which was Leslie's directorial debut and was co-directed by model Tyson Beckford. The single was released March 23, 2009. After many setbacks, his self-titled album, Ryan Leslie, was finally released on February 10, 2009. Leslie wrote, arranged, produced, and performed every song on his album. Notable instrumentalists on his debut set include Tommy Mottola, Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, and Brent Paschke.

Ryan Leslie enamored old and new fans alike (June 23) during the first of two back-to-back performances at New York City's Bowery Ballroom. The R&B; singer/rapper/songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist(who parted ways with former label Universal Motown mid 2010) celebrated his new-found independence with performances of former hits like "Addicted" and "How It Was Supposed to Be," as well as two new tracks: "Glory" and "Maybachs and Diamonds."

"Never had a top ten, but they still respect my art," Ryan Leslie sang during "Glory," which is slated to be included on his third release, "Les Is More" -- his first independent album following 2009's self-titled debut and "Transition." "Maybachs and Diamonds" is a slow, groovy tune about flourishing his partner with more than just material things, like "Maybachs and Diamonds."

Initially, Leslie had a four-album deal with Universal, but toward the end of that contract, "Universal was interested in reshaping my deal to more of a 360, and they actually made a counter-offer from the initial recording fund," Leslie tells Billboard.com. "At that point I saw that as a window to potentially branch off and try something that was going to be new and dynamic."

While Leslie did not make any formal announcements about his departure from Universal Motown during the set, he took some subtle jabs at his previous label home. "I've always wanted to play these songs but I couldn't before," he said while singing "Guardian Angel." "I always felt like this song should be a single.

Les Is More

Ryan Leslie announced on Twitter and Facebook in January 2011, that his third album would be released July 4th, 2011. His first official single from the album released was 'Glory', despite the first singles performed being 'Beautiful Lie' and 'Breathe'. However Leslie would later announce on his website and Twitter account that the album has now been pushed back for a release 'This Fall'.

Online presence

Leslie is considered a pioneer for his sharp online marketing skills. His intuitive grasp of the shift in technology has kept him ahead of the game with establishing an online presence. Leslie’s blog, YouTube channel, MySpace page and most recently Twitter have been the biggest contributors to his growing fanbase. Leslie releases content that brings fans into his lifestyle as a musician. His videos have become some of the most popular on YouTube, bringing accolades such as "Top 10 Most Subscribed Users". Leslie also posts videos documenting his interaction with his audience, including giving away free iPods, backstage passes to his concerts, and invitations to have dinner with him. His energy and creative spontaneity have earned him the respect from those inside and outside of the music industry. On his website/video diary, there is a clip featuring artists such as Boyz II Men, Chrisette Michelle, Musiq Soulchild, Keri Hilson, Christina Milian, and David Banner praising him for the inspiration they have received from his videos.

Prior to his 2009 MySpace Release concert, Leslie encouraged aspiring musical artists to utilize digital media while marketing themselves.

NextSelection Lifestyle Group

While working as a producer, Leslie went on to create NextSelection Lifestyle Group, his music-media company. Ryan signed his first artist, Cassie in 2005. Under Ryan’s guidance, Cassie went on to become one of the fastest rising R&B; acts that year. Her breakout smash "Me & U" (written and produced by Leslie) spent 20 weeks on the Top 40 and went on to reach number three on the Billboard Hot 100, selling over a million digital units. Me & U also went on to become one of the biggest records in the history of Atlantic Records.

Recently, Ryan signed Krys Ivory as his newest act under NextSelection. He also signed YouTube star Mia Rose.

Musical influences

Leslie has stated in many interviews that Stevie Wonder is one of the biggest influences on his music. He attributes Michael Jackson, Prince, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Quincy Jones, The Beatles, and D'Angelo as musical heroes as well.

Celebrity

Leslie was named one of "New York's 50 Hottest Bachelors" in 2009 by PageSix Magazine, published by the New York Post.

Discography

Studio Album

2005: ''Just Right'' (Shelved)

2009: ''Ryan Leslie''

2009: ''Transition''

2011: ''Les Is More''

Awards/Nominations

BET Awards

*2009, Best Male R&B; Artist [Nominated]

*2009, Best New Artist [Nominated]

Grammy Awards

*2011, Best Contemporary R&B; Album: Transition (Nominated)

Soul Train Awards

*2009, Best New Artist [Nominated]

Academic Awards

2010, AMBLE Vanguard Award from Harvard College

References

External links

Ryan Leslie Discography & Production

Ryan Leslie on Soulrnb.com French Artist Page

Category:1978 births Category:Hip hop record producers Category:American record producers Category:American singers Category:American rappers Category:American people of Chinese descent Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American people of Barbadian descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Living people Category:American Internet personalities Category:People from Harlem Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:African-American businesspeople

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