Moviefone is an American-based movie listing and information service. Moviegoers can obtain local showtimes, theatre information, film reviews, or advance tickets. The service is available nationwide in many but not all area codes, and is owned by AOL.^[1]

History[link]

In 1989, Russ Leatherman, Rob Gukeisen, Andrew Jarecki, Pat Cardamone and Adam Slutsky launched the interactive telephone service, with initial service in New York City and Los Angeles.^[2] Russ Leatherman provided the voice of "Mr. Moviefone" for the automated phone service.^[3] After gaining popularity, it later expanded across the United States and eventually adopted an online presence as Moviefone.com. In 1999, Moviefone was purchased by AOL for more than $400 million. In 2001, it entered a partnership with MovieTickets.com that crosslinked their ticketing offerings; by 2004, Moviefone's online arm was acquired outright by MovieTickets.com.^[4] However, in 2012, Moviefone announced a partnership with MovieTickets.com rival Fandango.^[5][6]

In media[link]

In an episode of Seinfeld entitled The Pool Guy, Kramer's phone number is very similar to Moviefone's, and gets many calls from people wanting listings. In the end he decides to just play along and give out movie listings. Unfortunately, Mr. Moviefone himself eventually finds out and comes after Kramer, angry that Kramer is stealing his business.^[7] As of January 2009, the actual Moviefone has incorporated voice recognition, prompting users with "Now you can just tell me the name of the movie you want to see," almost identical to Kramer's line in the Seinfeld episode.

Kansas City rapper Kutt Calhoun spoofs the use of Moviefone in his intro track for his album Feature Presentation. The skit includes someone calling "KCMO Moviefone" and goes through the steps to find a listing for "Kutt Calhoun: Feature Presentation."

In one episode of the Dilbert TV series, the Pointy-Haired Boss uses Moviefone to check on his IBM stock.

In the 13th season of The Simpsons, in the episode "Blame It On Lisa," the "real" Mr. Moviefone is seen at the phone company with a woman he's about to take on a date. He advises the woman that "tonight's date is rated R, for scenes of nudity."

In the movie The Sweetest Thing, Christina (Cameron Diaz) gives men the AOL Moviefone number when she doesn't want to hear from them again. In the opening sequence, a man dials the number and the familiar voice says, "AOL MOVIEFONE!"

In the movie 30 Minutes or Less, the number used to dial the bomb vest is replaced by the number for moviefone.

Moviefone regularly appears on the nationally-syndicated radio show Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Leatherman Interview on Fox News Radio
• List of U.S. states with Moviefone local numbers

Ryan Reynolds
Reynolds at the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010
Born	Ryan Rodney Reynolds (1976-10-23) October 23, 1976 (age 35) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1990–present
Spouse	Scarlett Johansson (2008–2011)

Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976)^[1] is a Canadian film and television actor. Reynolds is known for playing the role of Michael Bergen on ABC's sitcom Two Guys and a Girl (1998–2001), Wade Wilson / Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Hal Jordan / Green Lantern in Green Lantern. He has also appeared in films such as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, The Change-Up, and Safe House.

Early life[link]

Reynolds was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father, Jim, is a food wholesaler, and his mother, Tammy, is a retail salesperson.^[1] He is of Irish ancestry and was raised as a Roman Catholic.^[2][3] The youngest of four brothers,^[4] he graduated from Kitsilano Secondary School in Vancouver in 1994. He later attended Kwantlen Polytechnic University, also in Vancouver, until dropping out.^[5]

Career[link]

Reynolds at the X-Men Origins: Wolverine premiere in Tempe, Arizona (2009)

Reynolds' career began in 1990 when he starred as "Billy" in the Canadian-produced teen soap Hillside, distributed in the United States by Nickelodeon as Fifteen. As an adult, Reynolds starred in the National Lampoon movie Van Wilder and the American television series Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place, playing medical student Michael "Berg" Bergen. In 1993-94 he had a recurring role in The Odyssey as Macro. He also cameoed in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle as a nurse, appeared in The In-Laws with Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks, as well as the Canadian production Foolproof.

In 2005 he played a waiter named Monty in Waiting..., and as music executive Chris Brander in the romantic comedy Just Friends alongside Amy Smart and Anna Faris. Reynolds played the protagonist in the 2008 film Definitely, Maybe. He has also appeared in the second season finale of the television series Scrubs. In 2007, Reynolds guest-starred as Brendan's friend Hams in the episode "Douchebag in the City" of the TBS sitcom My Boys. In 2009, he portrayed Andrew Paxton, starring opposite Sandra Bullock, in The Proposal, and Mike Connell in Adventureland.

Although he has performed primarily in comedies, Reynolds underwent intense physical training to play an action role as the character of Hannibal King in the 2004 film Blade: Trinity. Reynolds played George Lutz in the 2005 remake of the 1979 horror film The Amityville Horror. He played an FBI agent alongside Ray Liotta in the 2006 crime action film Smokin' Aces.

Reynolds in September 2010

In a March 2005 interview, Reynolds spoke of his interest and involvement in a possible film adaptation of Deadpool with screenwriter David S. Goyer,^[6] as well as the possibility of playing the incarnation of The Flash known as Wally West in an adaption of the popular DC Comics character in the upcoming movie project. Reynolds portrayed Deadpool in the X-Men spinoff X-Men Origins: Wolverine and was announced to portray him again in a spin-off, Deadpool which is due out in 2013.^[7] It was later confirmed that the Deadpool film will be a reboot, ignoring the events that took place in X-Men Origins and establishing a new backstory for the character.^[8]

He also starred in the Spanish thriller Buried, which screened at the Sundance film festival.^[9]

Reynolds portrayed superhero Hal Jordan/Green Lantern in Warner Bros.' film Green Lantern, released June 17, 2011 in 3D; this made him one of the few actors to headline in movies based on both Marvel and DC characters.^[10]

Reynolds is scheduled to portray Nick Walker in the Universal Pictures film adaptation of the Dark Horse Comics R.I.P.D. (Rest in Peace Department), which has a planned release in 2013.^[11]

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

In 2002, Reynolds began dating Canadian singer Alanis Morissette. The two announced their engagement in June 2004.^[12] In February 2007, representatives for Morissette and Reynolds announced they had mutually decided to end their engagement.^[13] Morissette said her album Flavors of Entanglement was created out of her grief after the breakup.^[14]

Soon after the end of his relationship with Morissette in 2007, Reynolds began dating actress Scarlett Johansson.^[15] The couple announced their engagement in May 2008^[16] and they married on September 27, 2008 in a quiet ceremony near Tofino, British Columbia.^[17] On December 14, 2010, Reynolds and Johansson announced that they had separated.^[18] Reynolds filed for divorce in Los Angeles on December 23, 2010; Johansson filed her response simultaneously.^[19] The divorce was finalized on July 1, 2011.^[20]

In October 2011, it was reported that Reynolds had begun dating Green Lantern co-star Blake Lively.^[21]

In the media[link]

In October 2008 Reynolds wrote for The Huffington Post regarding his plan to run the New York City Marathon for his father, who suffers from Parkinson's disease.^[22]

Reynolds appeared in People's Sexiest Man Alive lists in 2008^[23] and 2009,^[24] and was awarded the top honor in 2010.^[25] In April 2011, he was ranked #15 on People's Most Beautiful 2011 list.^[26]

On February 12, 2012, Reynolds appeared on the BBC's Top Gear as the Star In a Reasonably-Priced Car. He posted a time of 1.43:7.

Filmography[link]

Awards and honors[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ryan Reynolds

• Ryan Reynolds at the Internet Movie Database
• Ryan Reynolds at People.com
• Ryan Reynolds' writings on HuffPost

Sandra Bullock
Bullock at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011
Born	Sandra Annette Bullock (1964-07-26) July 26, 1964 (age 47) Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, comedian, producer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Jesse G. James (2005–2010)
Children	1
Parents	John Bullock Helga Meyer (deceased)

Sandra Annette Bullock ( /ˈbʊlək/; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. In the new millennium she appeared in such films as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House, and Crash, the third of which received critical acclaim. In 2007, she was ranked as the 14th richest female celebrity with an estimated fortune of US$85 million.^[1] In 2009, Bullock starred in two of the more financially successful films of her career, The Proposal^[2] and The Blind Side.^[3] Bullock was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. She is listed in the 2012 edition of the Guinness Book Of World Records as the highest-paid actress, with $56 million.^[4]

Early life[link]

Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Her father, John W. Bullock (born 1925), was a United States Army employee and part-time voice coach from Birmingham, Alabama, and her mother, Helga D. Meyer (1942–2000), was a German opera singer and voice teacher.^[5][6][7] Bullock's maternal grandfather was a rocket scientist from Nuremberg, Germany. John Bullock, then in charge of the Army's Military Postal Service in Europe, was stationed in Nuremberg when he met his wife. They married in Germany, soon moving to Arlington, where John Bullock worked with the Army Materiel Command, before becoming a contractor for The Pentagon.^[8][9]

Bullock frequently accompanied her mother on her opera tours throughout Europe. She spent time in Salzburg and Nuremberg, where she stayed with her aunt and grandmother and became fluent in German. Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child, taking small parts in her mother's opera productions.^[5] She sang in the operas children's choir at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.^[10]

Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was a cheerleader and performed in high school theater productions. After she graduated in 1982, she entered East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. However, she dropped out in her fourth year in spring of 1986, just three credits short of graduating, to become an actress. She moved to Manhattan and supported herself as a bartender, cocktail waitress, and coat checker. She later completed her coursework and graduated from East Carolina University.^[11]

Acting[link]

This section includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2010)

Bullock at the 2010 SAG Awards red carpet.

While in New York, Bullock took acting classes with Sanford Meisner.^{[citation needed]} She appeared in several student films, and later landed a role in an Off-Broadway play No Time Flat. Director Alan J. Levi was impressed by Bullock's performance and offered her a part in the TV movie Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989). Afterward, she was cast in a series of small roles in several independent films as well as in the lead role of the short-lived NBC television version of the film Working Girl (1990). She later appeared in several films, such as Love Potion No. 9 (1992), The Thing Called Love (1993) and Fire on the Amazon. A prominent supporting role in the science-fiction/action movie Demolition Man (1993) led to her breakthrough performance in Speed the following year. She became a movie star in the late 1990s, carrying a string of successes, including While You Were Sleeping, and Miss Congeniality in 2000. Bullock received $11 million for Speed 2: Cruise Control, which she agreed to star in for financial backing for her own project, Hope Floats,^[12] and has revealed she regrets making the sequel.^[13] She later received $17.5 million for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous.^{[citation needed]}

Bullock was selected as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1996 and 1999, and was also ranked #58 in Empire magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list. She was presented with the 2002 Raúl Juliá Award for Excellence^[14] for her efforts, as the executive producer of the sitcom George Lopez, in helping expand career openings for Hispanic talent in the media and entertainment industry. She also made several appearances on the show as Accident Amy, an accident-prone employee at the factory Lopez's character manages. In 2002, she starred opposite Hugh Grant in Two Weeks Notice and in the film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

In 2004, Bullock had a supporting role in the film Crash. She received positive reviews for her performance, with some critics suggesting that it was the best performance of her career.^[15] In 2005, she was a co-recipient of the Women in Film Crystal Award.

In 2008, Sandra Bullock was announced as "the face" of prestigious cosmetic brand Artistry.

Bullock later appeared in The Lake House, a romantic drama also starring her Speed co-star, Keanu Reeves; it was released on June 16, 2006. Because their film characters are separated throughout the film (due to the plot revolving around time travel), Bullock and Reeves were only on set together for two weeks during filming.^[16] The same year, Bullock appeared in Infamous, playing author Harper Lee. Bullock also starred in Premonition with Julian McMahon, which was released in March 2007.^[17] 2009 proved to be especially good for Bullock, giving the actress two record highs in her career, as earlier in the year she released The Proposal, with co-star Ryan Reynolds, a huge hit that took in more than $314 million at the box office worldwide, making it her most successful picture to date.^[18]

In November 2009, Bullock starred in The Blind Side, which opened at #2 behind New Moon with $34.2 million, making it her highest opening weekend ever. The Blind Side is unique in that it had a 17.6% increase at the box office its second weekend, and it took the top spot of the box office in its third weekend. The movie cost $29 million to make according to the Box Office Mojo. It has grossed over $309 million to date, making it her domestic highest grossing film and the first movie in history to pass the $200 million mark with only one top-billed female star.^[19][20] She won the award for Best Actress at the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in The Blind Side.^[21] Bullock had initially turned down the role three times due to a discomfort with portraying a devout Christian.^[22] Winning the "Oscar" also gave her another unique distinction — since she won two "Razzies" the day before, for her performance in All About Steve, she is the only performer ever to have been named both "Best" and "Worst" for the same year.^[23] Sandra was asked to return her 2009 "Worst Actress of the Year" Razzie award; however, this wasn't because of a change of heart for Bullock's performance but because Bullock personally accepted her Razzie and accidentally took the original one-of-a-kind prototype Razzie, as opposed to the cheap trinket normally handed out to celebrities.^[24]

Recognition[link]

Sandra Bullock's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As of 2009, Bullock's films have grossed over $3.1 billion worldwide.^[25] According to The Numbers, her total domestic gross stands at $1.7 billion, placing her among the Top 100 Stars at the Box Office.^[26]

Critics, while praising her screen persona,^[27] have been less receptive to her films. As of the 2009 release of The Proposal, Mark Kermode said she's made only three "good" films in her career—Speed, While You Were Sleeping, and Crash, and says "she's funny, she's gorgeous, it's impossible not to love her and yet she makes rotten film after rotten film after rotten film."^[28] As of December 2009, Bullock has appeared on three Entertainment Weekly covers. She was selected by People Magazine as its "Woman of the Year" for 2010.^[29] She was ranked #12 on People's Most Beautiful 2011 list.^[30]

Entrepreneurship[link]

Bullock runs her own production company, Fortis Films. Bullock was an executive producer of The George Lopez Show, which garnered a lucrative syndication deal that banked her some $10 million (co-produced with Robert Borden). Bullock tried to produce a film based on F.X. Toole's short story, Million-Dollar Baby, but could not interest the studios in a female boxing drama. The story was eventually adapted and directed by Clint Eastwood as the Oscar-winning film, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Bullock's production company, Fortis Films, also produced All About Steve, which was released in September 2009. Her father, John Bullock, is the company's CEO,^[31] and her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, is the former president.

Since November 2006, Bullock founded a popular Austin, Texas restaurant, Bess Bistro.^[32] She later opened another business across the street in a building she extensively renovated downtown called Walton's Fancy and Staple^[33] a bakery, upscale restaurant and floral shop that also offers services such as event planning.

Personal life[link]

Relationships and children[link]

Bullock was once engaged to actor Tate Donovan, whom she met while filming Love Potion No. 9; their relationship lasted four years. She previously dated football player Troy Aikman, Austin musician Bob Schneider (for two years), and actors Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Gosling.^[34][35]

Bullock married motorcycle builder and Monster Garage host Jesse James on July 16, 2005. They first met when Bullock arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present.

In November 2009, Bullock and James entered into a custody battle with James' second ex-wife, former pornographic actress Janine Lindemulder, with whom James had a child. Bullock and James subsequently won full legal custody of James' five-year-old daughter.^[36]

Bullock at the 2010 Golden Raspberry Awards accepting her Razzie for "Worst Actress" for All About Steve

In March 2010, a scandal arose when several women claimed to have had affairs with James during his marriage to Bullock.^[37][38][39] Bullock cancelled European promotional appearances for The Blind Side citing "unforeseen personal reasons".^[40][41] On March 18, 2010, James responded to the rumors of infidelity by issuing a public apology to Bullock. He stated, "The vast majority of the allegations reported are untrue and unfounded" and "Beyond that, I will not dignify these private matters with any further public comment."^[42] James declared that "There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me", and asked that his wife and children one day "find it in their hearts to forgive me" for their current "pain and embarrassment".^[42] James’ publicist subsequently announced on March 30, 2010, that James had checked into a rehab facility "to deal with personal issues" and "save his marriage" to Bullock.^[43] However on April 28, 2010, it was reported that Bullock had filed for divorce^[44] on April 23 in Austin.^[45] Their divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010, with "conflict of personalities" cited as the reason.^[46]

Bullock announced on April 28, 2010, that she had proceeded with plans to adopt a baby boy born in January 2010 in New Orleans.^[47] Bullock and James had begun an initial adoption process four years earlier. The child began living with them in January 2010, but they chose to keep the news private until after the Oscars in March 2010. However, given the couple's separation and then divorce, Bullock continued the adoption of the baby, named Louis Bardo Bullock, as a single parent.^[47]

Vehicular accidents[link]

On December 20, 2000, Bullock and another passenger survived the crash of a chartered business jet during an attempted night landing at Jackson Hole Airport. The pilots were unable to activate the runway lights due to having out-of-date approach plates, but continued the landing. The aircraft landed in the airport's graded safety area between the runway and parallel taxiway and hit a snowbank. The accident caused a separation of the nose cone and landing gear, partial separation of the right wing, and a bend in the left wing.^[48]

On April 18, 2008, while Bullock was in Massachusetts shooting the film The Proposal, she and her then-husband were in an SUV that was hit head-on (driver's side offset) at moderate speed by a drunken driver. Vehicle damage was not major and there were no injuries.^[49]

Legal matters[link]

In October 2004, Bullock won a multimillion-dollar judgment against Benny Daneshjou, the builder of her Lake Austin, Texas home; the jury ruled the house was uninhabitable. It has since been torn down and rebuilt.^[50]

Stalking[link]

On April 22, 2007, Marcia Diana Valentine was found lying outside James and Bullock's Southern California home in Orange County. When James confronted the woman, she ran to her 2004 silver Mercedes, got behind the wheel, and tried to run over James. The woman is said to be an obsessed fan of Sandra Bullock.^[51] The woman was charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and stalking, while Bullock obtained a restraining order to bar Valentine from "contacting or coming near her home, family or work for three years."^[52] Valentine pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and stalking.^[53] Valentine was subsequently convicted of stalking and was sentenced to three years of probation.^[54]

Charity work[link]

Bullock has been a public supporter of the American Red Cross, having donated $1 million to the organization at least four times. Her first public donation of that amount was to the Red Cross's Liberty Disaster Relief Fund. Three years later, she sent money in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis.^[55] In 2010, she donated $1 million to relief efforts in Haiti following the Haiti earthquake, and again donated the same amount following the 2011 Japan Earthquake.^[56]

Along with other stars, Bullock did a PSA urging people to sign a petition for clean-up efforts of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.^[57]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sandra Bullock

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sandra Bullock

• Sandra Bullock at the Internet Movie Database
• Sandra Bullock at Yahoo! Movies
• Sandra Bullock: 2010's Triumphs – slideshow by Life magazine