Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese. The two previously collaborated on the 1990 hit film Goodfellas.

The film marks the eighth and (to date) final collaboration between director Scorsese and Robert de Niro, following Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1983), Goodfellas (1990), and Cape Fear (1991).

De Niro stars as Sam "Ace" Rothstein, a Jewish-American top gambling handicapper who is called by the Mob to oversee the day-to-day operations at the fictional Tangiers casino in Las Vegas. The story is based on Frank Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont and the Hacienda casinos in Las Vegas for the Chicago Outfit from the 1970s until the early 1980s.

Joe Pesci plays Nicky Santoro, based on real-life mob enforcer Anthony Spilotro. Nicky is sent to Vegas to make sure that money from the Tangiers is skimmed off the top and that the mobsters in Vegas are kept in line. Sharon Stone plays Ginger, Ace's wife, a role that earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Plot[link]

Sam "Ace" Rothstein (De Niro), a sports handicapper and mob associate, is sent to Las Vegas to run the Teamsters-funded Tangiers Casino on behalf of several midwest mob families. Taking advantage of lax gaming laws allowing him to work at the casino while his gaming license is still pending, Sam becomes the Tangiers' de facto boss and doubles the casino's profits, which are skimmed by the Mafia before the records are reported to income tax agencies. Impressed with Sam's work, the bosses send Sam's friend, enforcer and caporegime Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro (Pesci) and his crew to protect Sam and the whole business. Nicky, however, begins to become more of a liability than an asset; his violent temper quickly gets him banned by the gaming board from every casino, and his name is placed in the black book. Nicky then gathers his own crew and begins running unsanctioned shakedowns and burglaries.

Sam, meanwhile, meets and falls in love with a hustler, Ginger McKenna (Stone). Despite Ginger's reluctance, they soon conceive a daughter, Amy, and marry. Their relationship begins to deteriorate when Sam and Nicky catch Ginger giving money to her former boyfriend, a con man named Lester Diamond (Woods). Sam also makes an enemy in Clark County Commissioner Pat Webb (Jones) by firing Webb's brother-in-law Donald Ward (Briggs) for incompetence, and refusing to reinstate him. Webb retaliates by pulling Sam's casino license application from the backlog, forcing Sam to have a license hearing, while secretly arranging for the gaming board and State Senator Harrison Roberts (Smothers) to reject the license. Sam responds by appearing on television and openly accuses the city government of corruption. The bosses, unappreciative of Sam's publicity, ask him to return home, but he stubbornly blames Nicky's reckless lawbreaking for his own problems. In a heated argument in the desert, Nicky chastises Sam to never "go over his head" again.

The bosses appoint Kansas City underboss Artie Piscano (Vella) to oversee the skim and reduce the amount local mobsters are keeping for themselves, but he keeps incriminating ledgers and is caught on an FBI bug discussing the skim. Sam loses patience with Ginger after she and Lester are in Los Angeles with plans to run away to Europe with his daughter Amy. Sam talks Ginger into bringing Amy back, but Ginger's alcoholism and cocaine addiction anger him so much that he kicks her out of the house. She returns, on Sam's condition that she carry a beeper on her for Sam to contact her whenever he must. Ginger turns to Nicky for help in getting her share of her and Sam's money from the bank, and they begin an affair. Sam reaches his limit with Ginger when she ties Amy to her bed to have a night with Nicky. Sam confronts Ginger in the restaurant and disowns her. She turns to Nicky, but he has washed his hands of her as well. The next morning, Ginger goes to Sam's house, creates a disturbance, and uses the distraction to take the key to their bank deposit box. She takes some of the savings, but is then arrested by FBI agents.

With Ginger's arrest and the FBI's discovery of Piscano's records, which are then matched with the skimming operation, the casino empire crumbles and the bosses are arrested. During a meeting, they decide to eliminate anyone involved in order to keep them from testifying, including the head of the teamsters, the money courier, and several casino executives. Ginger dies nearly penniless in Los Angeles of a drug overdose, and Sam is almost killed in a botched car bombing, which he suspects Nicky planted. Before Sam can confront him, however, Nicky and his brother Dominick are murdered by Nicky's former associate, Frankie Marino (Vincent). Sam narrates that the bosses had finally had enough of Nicky, and had ordered Frankie to get rid of him.

With the mob now out of power, the old casinos are purchased by big corporations and demolished to make way for gaudier gambling attractions financed by junk bonds. Sam laments that this new "family friendly" Las Vegas lacks the same kind of catering to the players as the older and, to his perception, classier Vegas he saw when he ran the Tangiers. In the final scene, an older Sam is shown living in San Diego, once again as a sports handicapper for the mob, or in his words, "...right back where I started".

Cast[link]

Production[link]

Development[link]

The research for Casino began when screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi read a report from the Las Vegas Sun in 1980 about a domestic argument between Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, a casino figure and his wife, Geri McGee, a former topless dancer.^[2] This gave him an idea to focus on a new book about the true story of mob infringement in Las Vegas during the 1970s, when filming of Goodfellas (the screenplay which he co-wrote with Scorsese) was coming to an end.^[3] Pileggi decided to contact Scorsese about taking the helm of the project which would become known as Casino.^[2] Scorsese expressed interest in the project calling this an "idea of success, no limits".^[4] Although Pileggi was keen to release the book and then concentrate on a film adaptation, Scorsese encouraged him to "reverse the order".^[5]

Scorsese and Pileggi collaborated on the script lasting for a total of five months, towards the end of 1994.^[3] Real-life characters such as Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, Geri, Anthony Spilotro and his brother were reshaped. Some characters were combined as well as parts of the story being set in Las Vegas instead of Chicago. A problem emerged when they were forced to refer Chicago as "back home" and use the words "adapted from a true story" instead of "based on a true story".^[4] They also decided to simplify the script, so that the character of Sam "Ace" Rothstein only worked at the Tangiers Casino to show a glimpse of the trials involved in operating a Mafia-run casino hotel without overwhelming the audience.^[4] According to Scorsese, the initial opening sequence was to feature the main character, Sam Rothstein, fighting with his estranged wife, Ginger, on the lawn of their house. Since the scene was too detailed, they changed the sequence to show the explosion of Sam's car and see him fly into the air before hovering over the flames in slow motion—like a soul about to go straight down in hell.^[4]

Principal photography[link]

Filming took place at night in the Riviera casino in Las Vegas to replicate the fictional Tangiers. According to the producer Barbara De Fina, there was no point in building a set if the cost was the same to use a real-life one.^[4] The opening scene, with Sam's car exploding, was shot three times with the third used for the film.^[4]

Reception[link]

When first submitted to the MPAA, the film received an NC-17 rating due to its depictions of violence. Several edits were made in order to reduce the rating to R.^[6][7]

While the film was heavily criticized for its excessive violence, it garnered a mostly positive critical response. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an 81% "fresh" rating, based on 57 reviews.^[8] On Metacritic, the rating is 73 (generally favorable reviews) out of 100 based on 17 reviews.^[9]

Sharon Stone was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role as well as a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama. Martin Scorsese was also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Director – Motion Picture.

American Film Institute Lists

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - Nominated^[10]
• AFI's 10 Top 10 - Nominated Gangster Film^[11]

Soundtrack[link]

Track listing[link]

Disc one[link]

1. "Contempt – Theme De Camille" by Georges Delerue
2. "Angelina/Zooma, Zooma Medley" by Louis Prima
3. "Hoochie Coochie Man" by Muddy Waters
4. "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers
5. "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues
6. "How High The Moon" by Les Paul & Mary Ford
7. "Hurt" by Timi Yuro
8. "Ain't Got No Home" by Clarence 'Frogman' Henry
9. "Without You" by Nilsson
10. "Love Is the Drug" by Roxy Music
11. "I'm Sorry" by Brenda Lee
12. "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac
13. "The Thrill Is Gone" by B.B. King
14. "Love Is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia
15. "The 'In' Crowd" by Ramsey Lewis
16. "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael

Disc two[link]

1. "Walk on the Wild Side" by Jimmy Smith
2. "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" by Otis Redding
3. "I Ain't Superstitious" by Jeff Beck Group
4. "The Glory of Love" by The Velvetones
5. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by Devo
6. "What a Diff'rence a Day Made" by Dinah Washington
7. "Working in the Coal Mine" by Lee Dorsey
8. "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals
9. "Those Were the Days" by Cream
10. "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" by Tony Bennett
11. "Slippin' and Slidin'" by Little Richard
12. "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" by Dean Martin
13. "Compared to What" (Live) by Les McCann & Eddie Harris
14. "Basin Street Blues/When It's Sleepy Time Down South" by Louis Prima
15. "St. Matthew Passion (Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder)" by Johann Sebastian Bach (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti)

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

• Thompson, David; Chrstie, Ian (1996). Scorsese on Scorsese. Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-22002-1. 
• Evans, David (2006). DeNiro: A Biography. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Casino (film)

• Casino at the Internet Movie Database
• Casino at Rotten Tomatoes
• Casino at Metacritic
• Casino at AllRovi
• Casino at Box Office Mojo
• Casino at the TCM Movie Database

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011)

Count von Count, often known simply as "the Count", is one of the Muppet characters on Sesame Street, performed by Jerry Nelson. The Count is a vampire modeled after Bela Lugosi's interpretation of Count Dracula.

Description[link]

The Count's main purpose is educating children on simple mathematical concepts, most notably counting. The Count has a love of counting (arithmomania); he will count anything and everything, regardless of size, amount, or how much annoyance he is causing the other Muppets or human cast. His favorite number is 230, which is referring to an inside joke about the time 2:30. The Count mentions 2:30 at an any chance he can get and often makes jokes about it. During the afternoon, his segments of the show always come on at exactly 2:30 p.m. or during the "fashionably late" segment, which airs at 2:31. For instance, he once prevented Ernie from answering a telephone because he wanted to continue counting the number of rings. Another time, while serving as an elevator operator, he refused to let Kermit the Frog get out at his selected floor so he could count on every floor in the building.

The Count lives in an old, cobweb-infested castle which he shares with many bats. Sometimes he counts them. Some of the pet bats are named, including Grisha, Misha, Sasha, and Tatiana. He has a cat, Fatatita, as well. Sometimes he counts her. He also drives a special car designed in the features of a bat, named the Countmobile.

The Count has been shown with a number of girlfriends. Always a feminized version of the Count Muppet, they have included Countess von Backwards (debuting in Sesame Street's 28th season) who counts backwards; Countess Dahling von Dahling (debuted in the 12th season), and one simply named "The Countess" (first appearing in season 8). The von Count family also includes an unnamed brother and mother as well as an Uncle Uno and grandparents.

[edit] History and evolution of the character on Sesame Street

The Count debuted on Sesame Street in Season 4 (1972–73), and was conceived by Norman Stiles, who wrote the first script. The Count was performed by Jerry Nelson, who brought the character to life. He was originally made out of the Large Lavender Live Hand Anything Muppet pattern.

In the early 1970s, following a counting session, the Count would laugh maniacally, "AH AH AH AH AH!", accompanied by thunder and lightning flashes. He wouldn't let anything interrupt his counting, and used hypnotic powers to temporarily stun people with a wave of his hands.^{[citation needed]} This practice, however, was discontinued in the mid-1970s because of concern that young viewers would become frightened. In the mid-1970s, the Count became friendlier, did not have hypnotic powers, and interacted more with the characters (both live actors and Muppets). His laugh also changed from maniacal laughter to a more triumphant, stereotypical Dracula-style laugh.

Belvedere Castle, in New York's Central Park, was used for exterior establishing shots of the Count's castle on the show.

The Count made an appearance in the film The Muppets Take Manhattan at Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy's wedding, then in the Sesame Street movies Follow That Bird and Elmo in Grouchland. Notably, the Count appeared on-screen during the closing credits of Follow That Bird where he proceeded to read and count the credits.

In Season 33, the Count got a daily segment on Sesame Street, simply called The Number of the Day.

Influences and resemblances[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (February 2011)

When the Count sings, the background music resembles Romani music, no matter what the song. The original "Song of the Count" was written by Jeff Moss as a traditional Hungarian Csárdás. The "Batty Bat" was another popular song by the Count, in a similar style, but waltzified.

Some traditional vampire myths depict vampires as having a similar fixation with counting small objects, providing a means of distracting them by tossing a handful of seeds or salt on the ground. This is seen as a protection from the vampire, similar to the use of garlic (by which he is not repelled).^[1][2] The Count's own arithmomania may simply be a coincidence, however, inspired by the pun on his title of nobility and his educational purpose. According to his theme song, "The Song of the Count": "When I'm alone, I count myself. One count!"

The Count bears a noticeable resemblance to Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula, including a similar accent and oversized, pointed canine teeth (better known as fangs, although Lugosi himself did not bear fangs in the 1931 film), but it would appear that he is different from other vampires, besides sporting a goatee and monocle. For example, most vampires wither in direct sunlight; the Count does not and, in fact, enjoys being outside. Additionally, the Count does not suck or drink blood (nor has any association with blood), change into a bat (even though he does have bat companions) or sleep in a coffin; instead he uses a normal bed. In many ways, he is more like a regular human than a vampire. However, the Count still has one vampiric trait: he has no reflection in mirrors.

Internationally[link]

• In the Dutch version of the series, Sesamstraat, the Count's name is Graaf Tel (literally, "Count Count").
• In the French series 1, Rue Sésame, his name is Comte von Compte.
• In the German series Sesamstraße, his name is Graf Zahl (literally, "Count Number").
• In the Hebrew series Rechov Sumsum, his name is 'מר סופר', phonetically pronounced 'Mar Sofer', which literally means "Mr. Counter".
• In the Mexican series Plaza Sésamo, his name is Conde Contar (literally, "Count Count").
• In the Polish series Ulica Sezamkowa, his name is Liczyhrabia (literally, "Countcount").
• In the Portugal series Rua Sésamo, his name is Conde de Contar (translated as "Count of Counting").
• In the Russian series Улица Сезам, his name is Znak (Знак) (translated as "figure", "character" or "sign").
• In the Spanish series, Barrio Sésamo, his name is Conde Draco.
• In the Turkish series Susam Sokağı, his name is Sayıların Kontu (literally, "The Count of Numbers")

[edit] Appearances outside of Sesame Street

• The Count appeared on a video package aired on the first episode of The Late Show with David Letterman that was shown after Letterman's emergency quintuple bypass operation. He appeared as a surgeon in an operating theater, counting "One bypass... AH AH AH! Two bypass..."^{[citation needed]}
• In a Dancing with the Stars results show that aired on October 2, 2007, a fake backstage sequence with Jimmy Kimmel claimed that votes for the show are tabulated by The Count, who was depicted as being thrown into a panic by the discovery that "Mel B" and "Scary Spice" are in fact the same person.
• The Count was interviewed on the BBC Radio 4 programme More or Less on December 11, 2009, where he mentioned his favorite number, 34969.
• He appeared on the Halloween edition of SportsCenter to count down the top ten trickplays of the 2010 college football season.
• He appeared in the MAD episode Mouse M.D along with Cookie Monster.
• He was a guest on Countdown with Keith Olbermann for the first anniversary episode.
• He attended the 100th anniversary of the Island Public School and gave a speech to help celebrate the 100th Day of School in 2008.
• An animated version of the Count appeared in the 2010 The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode "Tweenlight", aired Nov. 7, 2010. The Count enumerated the kisses Edward (voiced by Daniel Radcliffe) gave Lisa.
• A parody of the Count appeared in an episode of Frankenhole as a character called "Count Along With Me".

References in popular culture[link]

• The St. Paul Saints, an independent minor-league baseball team in St. Paul, Minnesota known for unique and sometimes over-the-top promotions, announced that it would give away 2,500 bobblehead dolls dressed as the Count at its May 23, 2009 game. However, instead of the Count's regular head, this doll's head featured Al Franken on one side and Norm Coleman on the other, and was called "Count von Re-Count"—referring to the extraordinarily prolonged recount and legal battle surrounding the 2008 U.S. Senate election between the two men. The team made further jabs at the election during the game.^[3]
• Australian rugby league football international Anthony Minichiello has been nicknamed 'The Count' due to his striking resemblance to the character.^[4]
• Dave Chapelle has compared the Count to a pimp in his standup routines.

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

• Count von Count on Muppet Wiki, an external wiki

Sharon Stone
Stone at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005
Born	Sharon Vonne Stone (1958-03-10) March 10, 1958 (age 54) Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States
Occupation	Actress, model, producer
Years active	1980–present
Spouse	Michael Greenburg (1984–1990) Phil Bronstein (1998–2004)
Children	3

Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her performance in Casino.

Early life[link]

Stone was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania. The second of four children, she is the daughter of Dorothy (née Lawson), an accountant and homemaker, and Joseph William Stone II, a tool and die manufacturer and factory worker.^[1][2][3] Stone graduated in 1975 from Saegertown High School in Saegertown, Pennsylvania.^[3]

Career[link]

Modeling[link]

Stone won the title of Miss Crawford County in Meadville, and was a candidate for Miss Pennsylvania.^[3] One of the pageant judges said she should quit school and move to New York City to become a fashion model.^[3] In 1977, Stone left Meadville, moving in with an aunt in New Jersey. Within four days of her arrival in New Jersey, she was signed by Ford Modeling Agency in New York.

1980–1989[link]

While living in Europe, she decided to quit modeling and become an actress. "So I packed my bags, moved back to New York, and stood in line to be an extra in a Woody Allen movie," she later recalled.^{[citation needed]} Stone was cast for a brief role in Allen's Stardust Memories (1980),^[3] and then had a speaking part a year later in the horror film Deadly Blessing (1981). French director Claude Lelouch cast her in Les Uns et les Autres (1982), starring James Caan.^{[citation needed]} She was on screen for two minutes and did not appear in the credits.

Her next film role was in Irreconcilable Differences (1984), starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, and a young Drew Barrymore. Stone played a starlet who breaks up the marriage of a successful director and his screenwriter wife. In 1984, she appeared in a two-part episode of Magnum, P.I., titled "Echoes of the Mind", where she played identical twins, one a love interest of Tom Selleck's character.

Through the rest of the 1980s, she had roles in such B-films as King Solomon's Mines (1985) and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987), and played Steven Seagal's wife in Above the Law (1988). Also in 1988, Stone took over the role of Janice Henry for the filming of the miniseries War and Remembrance.

1990–2002[link]

Stone in France, 1991

Her appearance in Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall (1990) with Arnold Schwarzenegger gave Stone's career a boost.^[3] To coincide with the film's release, she posed nude for Playboy, showing off the muscles she developed in preparation for the film (she lifted weights and learned taekwondo). In 1999, she was rated among the 25 sexiest stars of the century by Playboy.^[4]

In another Verhoeven film was the role that made her a star, playing Catherine Tramell, a brilliant, bisexual, alleged serial killer, in Basic Instinct (1992).^[3] Several better known actresses of the time turned down the part, mostly because of the nudity required.^{[citation needed]} In the film's most notorious scene, Tramell is being questioned by the police, and she crosses and uncrosses her legs, revealing the fact she is not wearing any underwear.^[5] According to Stone, she agreed to film the flashing scene with no panties, and although she and Verhoeven had discussed the scene from the beginning of production, she was unaware just how explicit the infamous shot would be:^[6]

"I knew that we were going to do this leg-crossing thing and I knew that we were going to allude to the concept that I was nude, but I did not think that you would see my vagina in the scene. Later, when I saw it in the screening I was shocked. I think seeing it in a room full of strangers was so disrespectful and so shocking, so I went into the booth and slapped him and left."^[7][8]

She claimed in an earlier interview, however, that "it was so fun" watching the film for the first time with strangers.^[6] Verhoeven has denied all claims of trickery and said, "As much as I love her, I hate her, too, especially after the lies she told the press about the shot between her legs, which was a straight lie".^[9] Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, who later befriended the actress, also claimed in his memoir, Hollywood Animal, that the actress was fully aware of the level of nudity involved.

Stone at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival

Following Basic Instinct, she was listed by People magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.^[10] In 1992, photographer George Hurrell took a series of photographs of Stone, Sherilyn Fenn, Julian Sands, Raquel Welch, Eric Roberts, and Sean Penn. In November 1995, Stone received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. That same year, Empire chose her as one of the 100 sexiest stars in film history. In October 1997, she was ranked among the top 100 film stars of all time by Empire.

In 1995, she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Motion Picture, for her role as "Ginger" in Martin Scorsese's Casino, opposite Robert De Niro.^[3] She also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the role.^[3] The same year, she starred opposite Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio in the Sam Raimi western The Quick And The Dead. Also in 1995, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award.^[11]

Stone starred opposite Ellen DeGeneres in the 2000 HBO film If These Walls Could Talk 2, in which she played a lesbian trying to start a family. For her work on 'Walls', she was again recognized by Women in Film, this time with the Lucy Award.^[11]

In 2001, Stone was linked to a biopic of the German film director Leni Riefenstahl. The prospective director, Paul Verhoeven, and Riefenstahl herself, favoured Stone to portray Riefenstahl in the film. According to Verhoeven, he discussed the project with Stone and she was very interested. Subsequently, Verhoeven pulled out of the project as he wanted to hire a more expensive screenwriter than the producers did.^[12][13]

Stone was hospitalized on September 29, 2001 for a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which was diagnosed as a vertebral artery dissection rather than the more common ruptured aneurysm, and treated with an endovascular coil embolization.^[14]

2003–present[link]

Stone in 2005

In 2003, she appeared in three episodes from the eighth season of The Practice. For her performances, she received an Emmy Award^[15] for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

Also in 2003, she appeared in a James Woods-directed American Stroke Association television commercial to raise awareness of the symptoms of a stroke. This commercial was also shown in Canada courtesy of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.^[16]

Stone attempted a return to the mainstream with roles in the films Cold Creek Manor (2003) with Dennis Quaid and Catwoman (2004) with Halle Berry; however, both films were critical and commercial flops.

After years of litigation, Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction was released on March 31, 2006. A reason for a long delay in releasing the film was reportedly Stone's dispute with the filmmakers over the nudity in the film; she wanted more, while they wanted less. A group sex scene was cut in order to achieve an R rating from the MPAA for the U.S. release; the controversial scene remained in the U.K. version of the London-based film. Stone told an interviewer, "We are in a time of odd repression and if a popcorn movie allows us to create a platform for discussion, wouldn't that be great?"^[17]

Despite an estimated budget of $70 million, it placed only 10th in gross on its debut weekend with a meager $3,200,000, and was subsequently declared a bomb.^[18] It ultimately ran in theaters for only 17 days and finished with a total domestic gross of under $6 million. Despite the failure of Basic Instinct 2, Stone has said that she would love to direct and act in a third Basic Instinct film.

Stone at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011

She appeared in the 2006 drama Alpha Dog opposite Bruce Willis, playing Olivia Mazursky, the mother of a real-life murder victim. Stone wore a fatsuit for the role.^[19] In February 2007, Stone found her role as a clinically depressed woman in her latest film, When a Man Falls in the Forest, uplifting, as it challenged what she called "Prozac society." "It was a watershed experience," she said. "I think that we live in a... Prozac society where we're always told we're supposed to have this kind of equilibrium of emotion. We have all these assignments about how we're supposed to feel about something."^[20]

In December 2006, she co hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway together with Anjelica Huston. The concert was in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize winners Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank.^[21] Also in that year, she appeared in the last episode of the Turkish TV series Kurtlar Vadisi (Valley of the Wolves) along with Andy Garcia.^{[citation needed]}

On January 5, 2010, Entertainment Weekly reported Stone's impending appearance in four episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in April,^[22] and then included in a review on the 29th of that April such descriptions of Stone's performance as a "great presence," and having "had to revive her best . . . tone to sell hokey lines" in a series it described as "mawkish and overwrought."^[23] Stone portrayed Jo Marlowe, a former cop turned prosecutor.

Criticism[link]

Tanzania[link]

On January 28, 2005, Stone helped solicit pledges for $1 million in five minutes for mosquito nets in Tanzania,^[24] turning a panel on African poverty into an impromptu fund-raiser at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Many observers, including UNICEF, criticized her actions by claiming that Stone had reacted instinctively to the words of Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, because she had not done her research on the causes, consequences and methods of preventing malaria.^[25]

Of the $1 million pledged, only $250,000 was actually raised. In order to fulfill the promise to send $1 million worth of bed nets to Tanzania, UNICEF contributed $750,000.^[26] This diverted funds from other UNICEF projects.^[26] According to prominent economist Xavier Sala-i-Martín, officials are largely unaware of what happened with the bed nets. Some were delivered to the local airport.^[26] These reportedly were stolen and later resurfaced as wedding dresses on the local black market.^[25][26]

Chinese earthquake[link]

Stone sparked a storm of criticism with her comments in an exchange on the red carpet with Hong Kong's Cable Entertainment News during the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 25, 2008. When asked about the 2008 Sichuan earthquake she remarked:

Well you know it was very interesting because at first, you know, I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And so I have been very concerned about how to think and what to do about that because I don't like that. And I had been this, you know, concerned about, oh how should we deal with the Olympics because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine. And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that Karma? When you're not nice then the bad things happen to you? ^[27]

Observers have noted that Wenchuan County, the epicenter of the earthquake, is located in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, where ethnic Tibetans compose over half the population. According to the Hollywood Reporter, one of China's biggest cinema chains reacted to Stone's comments by declaring it would not show her films in its theaters.^[28] The founder of the UME Cineplex chain and the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, Ng See-Yuen, called Stone's comments "inappropriate," and said the UME Cineplex chain would be presenting her films no further.^[28] Christian Dior advertisements featuring Stone's image were dropped from all ads in China amid the public uproar.^[29] Stone was struck from the 2008 Shanghai International Film Festival guest list, and the event's organizers considered banning the actress permanently.^[30]

Dior China had originally posted an apology in Stone's name, but Stone later denied making the apology during an interview with the New York Times, saying "I'm not going to apologize. I'm certainly not going to apologize for something that isn't real and true – not for face creams," although she does admit she had "sounded like an idiot."^[31] However, after the interview, Stone released a statement entitled "In my own words by Sharon Stone" in which she said "I could not be more regretful of that mistake. It was unintentional. I apologize. Those words were never meant to be hurtful to anyone."^[32]

While Stone cited the Dalai Lama as her "good friend" when she made the remark at the Cannes film festival, the Dalai Lama has reportedly distanced himself by saying of her only, "yes, I've met that lady".^[33][34]

Mensa[link]

For many years, Stone maintained that she had an IQ of 148^[35] and was a member of Mensa,^[36][37] but in April 2002, she admitted she was not, and had never been, a member of that society.^[36][38] Jim Blackmore of Mensa said, "It's delightful to finally see Ms. Stone admit that she's not and never has been a member of our society." Blackmore admits Stone may be as clever as many like to think. He says, "My gut feeling is that she would definitely qualify. But that's just based on what we've been told by other individuals."^[38]

Personal life[link]

In March 2006, Stone traveled to Israel to promote peace in the Middle East through a press conference with Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres.^[39]

Religion[link]

Stone is a convert to Tibetan Buddhism.^[40] She believes in God and is religious by self-description.^[41] She is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church.^[42]

Relationships[link]

Stone married television producer Michael Greenburg in 1984 on the set of The Vegas Strip War, a television film he produced and she starred in. The couple separated three years later, and their divorce was finalized in 1990.^[43]

In 1993, Stone met William J. MacDonald (aka Bill MacDonald) on the set of the film Sliver, which he co-produced. MacDonald left his wife Naomi Baca for Stone and became engaged to her. They separated one year later in 1994.^[44]

While working on the film The Quick and the Dead in 1995, Stone met Bob Wagner (a second assistant director) and they became engaged. After they separated, Stone returned the engagement ring via FedEx.^[45]

On February 14, 1998, Stone married Phil Bronstein, executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner and later San Francisco Chronicle.^[46] They adopted a baby son, Roan Joseph Bronstein, in 2000.^[47] Bronstein filed for divorce in 2003, citing irreconcilable differences.^[48] The divorce became final in 2004,^[49] with a judge ruling that Roan should remain primarily with Bronstein, with Stone receiving visitation.^[50][51]

Stone adopted her second son, Laird Vonne Stone, in 2005,^[52] and her third son, Quinn Kelly Stone, in 2006.^[43][53]

In 2005, during a television interview for her film Basic Instinct 2, Stone hinted at an interest in bisexuality, stating "Middle age is an open-minded period".^[54] Stone also has said that in the past she's "dated" girls. Furthermore, in Naked Instinct, an unauthorized biography of Stone, author Frank Sanello details a sexual liaison between Stone and a woman in the bathroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel.^[55] In an interview on the Michael Parkinson talk show in Britain on March 18, 2006, she said she was straight. However, in January 2008, she was quoted as saying, "Everybody is bisexual to an extent. Now men act like women and it's difficult to have a relationship because I like men in that old-fashioned way. I like masculinity and, in truth, only women do that now".^[56]

In 2011, Stone stated on Piers Morgan Tonight that she was never married to George Howe Englund Jr., despite contrary internet rumors.^[57]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sharon Stone

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sharon Stone

• Sharon Stone at the Internet Movie Database

Joe Pesci
Joe Pesci in 2009
Born	Joseph Frank Pesci (1943-02-09) February 9, 1943 (age 69) Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, comedian, singer, musician
Years active	1961–1999, 2005–present

Joseph Frank "Joe" Pesci (/ˈpɛʃi/PESH-ee; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for playing a variety of different roles, from violent mobsters to comedic leads to quirky sidekicks. Pesci has starred in a number of high profile films including Goodfellas, Casino, Raging Bull, Once Upon a Time in America, My Cousin Vinny, JFK, Home Alone, and the Lethal Weapon series. He took a six year hiatus from acting between 1999 and 2005 before returning for a cameo in The Good Shepherd (2006).

In 1990, Pesci won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the psychotic mobster Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas, ten years after receiving a nomination in the same category for Raging Bull.

Early life[link]

Pesci was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Mary, who worked part-time as a barber, and Angelo Pesci, a forklift driver for General Motors and bartender.^[1] Pesci was raised in Belleville, New Jersey and attended Belleville High School. By the time Pesci was five years old, he was appearing in plays in New York.^[2] A few years later, at age ten, he was a regular on a television variety show called Startime Kids, which also featured Connie Francis.^[2] He started out working as a barber in the 1960s, following in his mother's footsteps.

Acting career[link]

The first film he starred in was the 1975 low budget crime film The Death Collector with Frank Vincent. After the film Pesci returned to run his restaurant in The Bronx, Pesci then got a phone call from Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro who were impressed with his performance in the film and asked him to co-star in a 1980 film with Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. Pesci won the BAFTA Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer to Leading Film Roles in 1981 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Subsequently, he performed with De Niro in the films Once Upon a Time in America, and in Scorsese's Goodfellas (for which Pesci received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, in 1990),^[3] and Casino. He also had a small role in 1993's A Bronx Tale and 2006's The Good Shepherd, which were both directed by and starred De Niro.

The pairing became famous enough to inspire a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live (SNL) called "The Joe Pesci Show". (The real Pesci and De Niro made a surprise appearance in one episode.) Pesci hosted SNL on October 10, 1992. During the monologue, he restored a picture of Pope John Paul II, which had been torn by Sinéad O'Connor on the previous broadcast; he demonstrated this by tearing up a photo of O'Connor, which was met with huge applause.

In 1988, Pesci co-starred with pop singer Michael Jackson in the musical-fantasy film Moonwalker as the film's antagonist, Frankie "Mr. Big" LiDeo (an anagram for one of the film's producers and longtime Jackson manager Frank DiLeo^[4]). In the film, Pesci was featured in the fifth and final segment, a short movie called Smooth Criminal, which was based on Michael Jackson's song of the same name.^[3]

He later co-starred in the blockbuster Home Alone (1990), playing Harry Lyme; one of two bumbling burglars (along with good friend Daniel Stern), who attempt to rob the house of the character played by Macaulay Culkin. Two years later, he reprised his role in the sequel, "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York."

Pesci also played David Ferrie in 1991's JFK and the title character in the 1992 comedy My Cousin Vinny. He appeared as Leo Getz in the Lethal Weapon sequels, released in 1989, 1992 and 1998 respectively.

He had starring roles in several other films including Easy Money (1983), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Man on Fire (1987), The Super (1991), Jimmy Hollywood (1994), With Honors (also 1994) and Gone Fishin' (1997).

Other work and retirement from acting[link]

In the late 1970s, Joe teamed up with Frankie Vincent, performing in local clubs like the Arlington Lounge and other venues around Northern NJ as "Vincent and Pesci." The comedy duo's material was a play on Martin and Lewis and Abbott and Costello.

He is one of the producers of the hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys. The musical is based on the lives of the musical group, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Pesci was present during the formation of the group as a young man and is portrayed as a character in the play.

In 1998, he released his second LP (his first album in 30 years) called Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You, which spawned the single "Wise Guy", a rap tune that played on the gangsta theme by referencing Mafia gangsterism. "Wise Guy" interpolated the 1980 Hip-Hop hit "Rapture" by Blondie and was co-written and produced by Poke & Tone—the Hip-Hop production team better known as Trackmasters, who first musically introduced the world to 50 Cent. Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just For You was an album that was both humorous and serious, exploring a variety of genres, though most of it was big band Jazz, and which paid homage to his character name from the 1992 film My Cousin Vinny, not only through its album title, but also by its lead track "Yo Cousin Vinny".

In 1999, Pesci announced his retirement from acting to pursue a musical career and to enjoy life away from the camera. He returned to acting when he did a cameo in De Niro's 2006 film The Good Shepherd. He is the star in the 2010 brothel drama Love Ranch, alongside Helen Mirren.^[5]

Pesci appeared with Don Rickles in a 2011 Snickers advertisement in which he attended a party and becomes agitated by two women.^[6]

Personal life[link]

Pesci was married to Claudia Martha Haro from 1988 to 1992. He has a daughter, Tiffany, from this marriage. In July 2007, Pesci, then 64, became engaged to actress/model Angie Everhart, who was 37 at the time.^[7] However, according to Everhart, they were never actually engaged. They announced their breakup in April 2008.

Pesci is an avid New York Yankees fan.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joe Pesci

• Joe Pesci at the Internet Movie Database