Seven (sometimes stylized as Se7en) is a 1995 American thriller film, with horror and neo-noir elements, written by Andrew Kevin Walker, directed by David Fincher, and distributed by New Line Cinema. It stars Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, with Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey and Kevin Spacey in supporting roles.

The newly-transferred David Mills (Pitt) and the soon-to-retire William Somerset (Freeman) are homicide detectives who become deeply involved in the case of a sadistic serial killer. Each meticulously-planned murder corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust, and envy.

The film was released in the United States on September 22, 1995. Grossing $327 million at the box office internationally, Seven was a commercial success, and received very positive reviews from most critics.

Plot[link]

In an unidentified city of near-constant rain and urban decay, the soon-to-be retiring Detective William R. Somerset (Freeman) is partnered with short-tempered Detective David Mills (Pitt) who recently transferred to the department.

The detectives investigate a series of murders relating to the seven deadly sins, such as an obese man who was forced to feed himself to death, representing "Gluttony". They find clues at each crime scene related to other deaths, and believe they are chasing a serial killer. A set of fingerprints found at the scene of the "Greed" murder — the fatal bloodletting of a rich attorney — leads them to an apartment where they find an emaciated man strapped to a bed. Though he initially appears to be dead, it soon is discovered that the man has been kept alive and entirely immobile by the killer for exactly one year to the day; a drug dealer and child molester before his captivity, this victim represents "Sloth", and dies soon after from shock. Though unable to learn anything from the insentient victim, the detectives agree that the killer has planned these crimes for more than a year.

Somerset is eventually invited to meet Mills' wife, Tracy (Paltrow), who is unhappy with Mills' recent move to the city. Somerset becomes Tracy's confidante, and she meets with him after the first few murders. Upon learning that she is pregnant but has not told her husband, Somerset confides in her his fear that the city is no place to start a family, and reveals that he had ended a relationship years earlier after pressuring his girlfriend to have an abortion. Somerset advises her to not tell Mills if she plans to have an abortion; otherwise, if she decides to keep the child, "spoil that kid every chance you get".

Using library records, Somerset and Mills track down a man named John Doe (Kevin Spacey), who has frequently checked out books related to the deadly sins. When Doe finds the detectives approaching his apartment, he opens fire on them and flees, chased by Mills. Eventually, Doe gains the upper hand and holds Mills at gunpoint, but then abruptly leaves. Investigation of Doe's apartment finds handwritten volumes of his irrational judgments and clues leading to another potential victim, but no fingerprints. They arrive too late to find their "Lust" victim, a prostitute killed by an unwitting man wearing a bladed S&M device, forced by Doe to simultaneously rape and kill her. Some time later, they investigate the death of a young model whose face had been mutilated. Having chosen to kill herself rather than live with a disfigured face, she is the victim of "Pride".

As they return to the police station, Doe appears to them and offers himself for arrest, with the blood of the model and an unidentified victim on his hands. They find out that he has been cutting the skin off his fingers to avoid leaving fingerprints. Through his lawyer, Doe claims he will lead the two detectives to the last two bodies and confess to the crimes, or otherwise will plead insanity. Though Somerset is worried, Mills agrees to the demand. Doe directs the two detectives to a remote desert area far from the city; along the way, he claims that God told him to punish the wicked and reveal the world for the awful place that it is. He also makes cryptic comments toward Mills.

After arriving at the location, a delivery van approaches; Somerset intercepts the driver, leaving Mills and Doe alone. The driver hands over a package he was instructed to deliver at precisely this time and location. While Mills holds Doe at gunpoint, Doe mentions how much he admires him, but does not say why. Somerset opens the package and recoils in horror at the sight of the contents. He races back to warn Mills not to listen to Doe, but the killer reveals that the box contains Tracy's head. Doe claims to represent the sin of "Envy"; he was jealous of Mills' normal life, and killed Tracy after failing to "play husband" with her. He then taunts the distraught Mills with the knowledge that Tracy was pregnant. Somerset is unable to contain Mills as he unloads his gun into Doe, becoming the embodiment of "Wrath". After a catatonic Mills is taken away, Somerset is asked where he will be; he replies, "around".

With the sun setting over the desert, Somerset quotes Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls:

Cast[link]

Pre-production[link]

The primary influence for the film's screenplay came from Andrew Kevin Walker's time spent in New York City while trying to make it as a screenwriter. "I didn't like my time in New York, but it's true that if I hadn't lived there I probably wouldn't have written Seven."^[1] While writing the screenplay, he envisioned actor William Hurt as Somerset and named the character after his favorite author, W. Somerset Maugham.^[1]

During pre-production, Al Pacino was considered for the Somerset role, but he decided to do City Hall. Jeremiah Chechik was attached to direct at one point.^[1] After the frustrating experience of making Alien 3, Fincher did not read a script for a year and a half. He said, "I thought I'd rather die of colon cancer than do another movie".^[2] Fincher eventually agreed to direct because he was drawn to the script, which he found to be a "connect-the-dots movie that delivers about inhumanity. It's psychologically violent. It implies so much, not about why you did but how you did it".^[2]

Production[link]

Filming took place in Los Angeles, California.^{[citation needed]}

Fincher approached making Seven like a "tiny genre movie, the kind of movie Friedkin might have made after The Exorcist." He worked with cinematographer Darius Khondji and adopted a simple approach to the camerawork, which was influenced by the television show COPS, "how the camera is in the backseat peering over people's shoulder".^[2] Fincher allowed Walker on the set while filming for on-the-set rewrites.^[1] According to the director, "Seven is the first time I got to carry through certain things about the camera – and about what movies are or can be".^[2]

The crowded urban streets filled with noisy denizens and an oppressive rain that always seems to fall without respite were integral parts of the film, as Fincher wanted to show a city that was "dirty, violent, polluted, often depressing. Visually and stylistically, that's how we wanted to portray this world. Everything needed to be as authentic and raw as possible." To this end, Fincher turned to production designer Arthur Max to create a dismal world that often eerily mirrors its inhabitants. "We created a setting that reflects the moral decay of the people in it", says Max. "Everything is falling apart, and nothing is working properly." The film's brooding, dark look was achieved through a chemical process called bleach bypass, wherein the silver in the film stock was not removed, which in turn deepened the dark, shadowy images in the film and increased its overall tonal quality.

Alternative versions[link]

The US laserdisc adds a few scenes deleted from theatrical release as a bonus at the end of the program, including a prologue wherein Somerset is going to buy a country house. He uses his switchblade (seen many times in the final cut, but not explained) to cut out a small piece of wallpaper. In an extended scene at the Mills', when David is playing with his dogs, Somerset talks to Tracy. He tells her about the house and shows her the wallpaper. She tells him that it would not be such a good idea to show it to David, saying, "He wouldn't understand". These two scenes establish Somerset's character better, and the second one helps the viewer understand why the wife chooses Somerset to talk to when she gets pregnant. She knows that Somerset is much more sensible than her husband, and will understand her. The second one, however, was probably dumped earlier since it is included among the dailies and outtakes and the first one appears as a deleted scene.

In the English version, Tracy calls her husband at the office and asks to speak to Detective Somerset. However, Tracy's voice is very quiet and only Detective Mills and Somerset can clearly be heard. When Somerset hangs up, he explains to Mills that his wife has invited him over for dinner. In the Italian version, Tracy's dialogue has been dubbed over the soundtrack, letting the audience easily hear her talking on the phone and making the invitation.

In the Platinum Series DVD released by New Line in 2000, Mills has a line just as Somerset runs up to him in the climactic scene. The line is supposed to be, "What the fuck's he talking about?" Clearly audible on the Criterion laserdisc, this line is obscured on the new DVD because the director, while remastering the sound for the new release, thought the character should be whispering the line to himself rather than yelling it, as it was on the Criterion laserdisc.^{[citation needed]} The song used for the opening credit sequence is a remix of "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails. It was credited as "Closer (Precursor) (Remix)" by Nine Inch Nails on the Criterion laserdisc, but the new DVD simply credits the song as "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails. The song title differs on these prints. Note: The Criterion laserdisc release also moved a few seconds of Howard Shore's score for its last side break so as to keep the entire music cue intact. The cue plays as originally shot on the new DVD.

Some of the 2,500 first-run prints released theatrically were created using a silver retention process from Deluxe called Color Contrast Enhancement (CCE).^[3] With silver retention, the silver leached out during conventional film processing is rebonded to the print, thus greatly increasing luminosity in the light portions of the image and the density of the dark tones. New Line's Platinum Series DVD was made using one of the CCE silver retention process prints as the Criterion laserdisc was, while the previous New Line VHS, laserdisc and DVD releases used one of the regular theatrical prints.^{[citation needed]}

The writer, Andrew Kevin Walker, completed two separate drafts of the ending. The first was used in the final edition of the film. In the second, John Doe is killed by Somerset instead of Mills. This alternate ending sequence was storyboarded and is included in the published script, but never filmed.^{[citation needed]}

The version shown on BBC TV in the United Kingdom was heavily cut. All uses of the word "fuck" were removed, as were some of the more grisly images in the various murder scenes. Most notable cuts were to the autopsy of the "Gluttony" victim (shots of the victim's full body as well as the removed stomach are missing) and the interrogation after the "Lust" murder (in which the picture of the instrument used in the murder is removed).

The DVD contains an alternate ending, which features alternate takes of some scenes. It shows the delivery guy also hand Somerset the truck registration. Afterwards, a wide shot of Mills is shown when John Doe reveals Mills' wife was pregnant, instead of the close up. There is no quick flash of Gwyneth Paltrow's face before Mills shoots Doe, and only one shot to the head is fired. There are no additional shots fired at Doe afterwards.

The US television print is heavily edited for language and violence. Also, there is an alternate shot when John Doe takes the gun away from Mills' head. In the original film, we see a shot of Mills' head with the gun to it, and John Doe's arm. Then the gun is quickly whisked away. In the television edit, we're still looking up the barrel of the gun as it is slowly taken away.

Reception[link]

Seven was released on September 22, 1995, in 2,441 theaters where it grossed US$13.9 million on its opening weekend. It went on to gross $100.1 million in North America and $227.1 million in the rest of the world for a total of $327.3 million,^[4] making Seven the seventh-highest grossing film in 1995.^[5]

The film was highly acclaimed by critics and currently has an 85% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Gary Arnold, in The Washington Times, praised the cast: "The film's ace in the hole is the personal appeal generated by Mr. Freeman as the mature, cerebral cop and Mr. Pitt as the young, headstrong cop. Not that the contrast is inspired or believable in itself. What gets to you is the prowess of the co-stars as they fill out sketchy character profiles".^[6] Sheila Johnston, in her review for The Independent, praised Freeman's performance: "the film belongs to Freeman and his quiet, carefully detailed portrayal of the jaded older man who learns not to give up the fight".^[7] In his review for Sight and Sound, John Wrathall wrote, "Seven has the scariest ending since George Sluizer's original The Vanishing...and stands as the most complex and disturbing entry in the serial killer genre since Manhunter".^[8] Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 1/2 stars in his 1995 review of it ^[9] and, in 2011, added it to his "Great Movies" list. ^[10]

Accolades[link]

New Line Cinema re-released Seven in Westwood, California on Christmas Day and in New York City on December 29, 1995, in an attempt to generate Academy Award nominations for Freeman, Pitt, Fincher, and Walker.^[11]

Walker received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Film editor Richard Francis-Bruce was nominated for an Academy Award for Film Editing, and Director of Photography Darius Khondji's extensive use of silver retention film processing has since been noted as a major influence on contemporary cinematographic technique, especially in the late 1990s.^[12] The film was given an MTV Movie Award as best movie.

American Film Institute lists

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills - Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains
  • John Doe - Nominated Villain
• AFI's 10 Top 10 - Nominated Mystery Film

Home media[link]

For the DVD release, Seven was remastered and presented in the widescreen format, preserving the 2.40:1 aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition. Audio options include Dolby Digital EX 5.1, DTS ES Discrete 6.1, and Stereo Surround Sound.

The Seven DVD features four newly recorded, feature-length audio commentaries featuring the stars and other key contributors to the film, who talk about their experiences making Seven.

This DVD is also compatible with DVD-ROM drives. Disc One features a printable screenplay with links to the film. The Blu-ray Disc was released September 14, 2010.^[13]

Novelization[link]

In 1995, a novel with the same title was written by Anthony Bruno based on the original film.^[14]

Soundtrack[link]

The opening credit music is a spliced sample of an uncredited remix of the Nine Inch Nails song "Closer", available as "Closer (Precursor)", remixed by Coil, on the "Closer" single. The song during the end credits is David Bowie's song "The Hearts Filthy Lesson", found on his album Outside. The film's original score is by Howard Shore.

1. "In the Beginning" – The Statler Brothers
2. "Guilty" – Gravity Kills
3. "Trouble Man" – Marvin Gaye
4. "Speaking of Happiness" – Gloria Lynne – written by Buddy Scott & Jimmy Radcliffe
5. "Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068 Air" – written by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Stuttgarter Kammerorchester / Karl Münchinger
6. "Love Plus One" – Haircut One Hundred
7. "I Cover the Waterfront" – Billie Holiday
8. "Now's the Time" – Charlie Parker
9. "Straight, No Chaser" – Thelonious Monk (Taken from Monk in Tokyo)
10. "Portrait of John Doe" – Howard Shore
11. "Suite from Seven" – Howard Shore

Trivia[link]

• Somerset carries a Smith and Wesson Combat Masterpiece .38 Special revolver and a Frank B. Italian Stiletto switch blade knife as a back up weapon, while Mills carries a customized Model 1911A1 .45 ACP caliber semi-automatic pistol with stag horn grips.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Se7en

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

Sam Rockwell
Rockwell at the 2009 premiere of Moon at the Tribeca Film Institute
Born	(1968-11-05) November 5, 1968 (age 43) Daly City, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1989–present

Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor known for his leading roles in Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke and Moon, as well as for his supporting roles in The Green Mile, Iron Man 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Frost/Nixon, Galaxy Quest, Matchstick Men, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Conviction and Cowboys & Aliens.

Early life[link]

He was born in Daly City, California, the son of actors who divorced when he was five years old.^[1] He was raised by his father, Pete Rockwell, in San Francisco, while his mother, Penny Hess, stayed behind in New York (he spent his summer vacations with her). Rockwell had what The New York Times described in 1998 as a "footloose upbringing" and, at age 10, made his brief stage debut playing Humphrey Bogart in an East Village improv comedy sketch starring his mother.^[2] His mother had an unconventional lifestyle – she was involved with hippies, sex, and drugs.^[3]

He attended San Francisco School of the Arts with Margaret Cho and dropped out before graduation. He later received his high school diploma after his parents enrolled him in an Outward Bound-style alternative high school called Urban Pioneers because, as Rockwell explained, "I just wanted to get stoned, flirt with girls, go to parties."^[4] The school, the actor said, "had a reputation as a place stoners went because it was easy to graduate," but the program ended up helping him regain an interest in performing. After appearing in an independent film during his senior year, he graduated and moved to New York to pursue an acting career.^[5]

Acting career[link]

Early films[link]

After his first film role in the 1989 horror film Clownhouse (produced by Francis Ford Coppola's production company) which he filmed when based in San Francisco, he moved to New York and trained at the William Esper Studios. His career slowly gathered momentum in the early 1990s, when he alternated between small-screen guest spots in TV shows like The Equalizer, NYPD Blue and Law & Order and small roles in films such as Last Exit to Brooklyn and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He also appeared as the title character in The Search for One-eye Jimmy. During this time Rockwell worked in restaurants as a busboy and delivered burritos by bicycle.^[6] At one point, Rockwell even worked as a private detective's assistant. "I tailed a chick who was having an affair and took pictures of her at this motel", he told Rolling Stone in 2002. "It was pretty sleazy." A well-paying Miller commercial in 1994 finally allowed him to pursue acting full-time.

The turning point in Rockwell's career was Tom DiCillo's 1996 film Box of Moon Light, in which he played an eccentric man-child who dresses like Davy Crockett and lives in an isolated mobile home. The ensuing acclaim put him front and center with casting agents and new-found fans alike, with Rockwell himself acknowledging that "That film was definitely a turning point....I was sort of put on some independent film map after 10 years in New York."^[5]

He also won strong reviews for the 1997 film Lawn Dogs, where he played a working-class lawn mower who befriends a wealthy 10-year-old girl (Mischa Barton) in an upper-class gated community in Kentucky; Rockwell's performance won him Best Actor honors at both the Montreal World Film Festival and the Catalonian International Film Festival. In 1999, Rockwell played prisoner William "Wild Bill" Wharton in the Stephen King prison drama The Green Mile. At the time of the film's shooting, Rockwell explained why he was attracted to playing such unlikeable characters. He said, "I like that dark stuff. I think heroes should be flawed. There's a bit of self-loathing in there, and a bit of anger... But after this, I've really got to play some lawyers, or a British aristocrat, or they'll put a label on me."^[1]

Hollywood recognition[link]

After appearances as a bumbling actor in 1999's science fiction satire Galaxy Quest, in the 1999 Shakespeare adaptation A Midsummer Night's Dream as Flute, and as gregarious villain Eric Knox in Charlie's Angels (2000), Rockwell won the biggest leading role of his career as The Gong Show host Chuck Barris in George Clooney's 2002 directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Rockwell's performance was well received, and the film received generally positive reviews.

Rockwell has also received positive notices for his role opposite Nicolas Cage in Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men (2003), with Entertainment Weekly calling him "destined by a kind of excessive interestingness to forever be a colorful sidekick."^[7] He received somewhat more mixed reviews as Zaphod Beeblebrox in the 2005 film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He then had a notable supporting role as Charley Ford, brother of Casey Affleck's character Robert Ford, in the well-received 2007 drama The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, in which Brad Pitt played the lead role of Jesse James. According to an interview on The Howard Stern Show, director Jon Favreau considered casting him as the titular character in Iron Man as the studio was initially hesitant to work with Robert Downey, Jr., who had been considered for his role in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Rockwell appeared in the Iron Man sequel, released in 2010, as Tony Stark's rival weapons' developer, Justin Hammer. He is said to have accepted the role without reading the script. He had never heard of the character before he was contacted about the part, and was unaware that Hammer is an old man in the comic books.

In addition to big-budget feature films, Rockwell also keeps his feet firmly planted in the indie film world with projects such as The F Word and he recently played a very randy, Halloween-costume-clad Batman in a short, Robin's Big Date, opposite Justin Long as Robin. He also starred in the 2008 film Snow Angels opposite Kate Beckinsale and directed by David Gordon Green. He had worked on several occasions with the comedy troupe Stella (Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain), making cameo appearances in their short films and eponymous TV series.

Rockwell played Victor Mancini in the film Choke, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk. Critic Roger Ebert said of his performance that he "seems to have become the latter-day version of Christopher Walken – not all the time, but when you need him, he's your go-to guy for weirdness."^[8]

In 2007, Rockwell guest-starred in a comedy mini-series via the web called "Casted: The Continuing Chronicles of Derek Riffchyn, Greatest Casting Director in the World. Ever." He appears opposite Jonathan Togo (of CSI: Miami fame) as Derek and Justin Long (Dodgeball, Accepted) as Scott. Rockwell plays an aspiring young actor named Pete Sampras, no relation to the tennis player. The video can be viewed on YouTube, episode number two of a four-part series.^[9]

In 2009, he starred in the critically acclaimed science fiction film Moon, directed by Duncan Jones, for which his performance was widely praised, with some critics calling for an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination.^[10]

On May 3, 2010, it was announced that Rockwell would team up again with Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau, for Favreau's adaptation of the graphic novel Cowboys & Aliens. He played a bar owner named Doc who joins in the pursuit of the aliens.^[11]

Rockwell will appear in Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths alongside Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits, and Colin Farrell.^[12]

Theatre[link]

Since 1992, Rockwell has been a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company, where Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz are Co-Artistic Directors. In 2005, Hoffman directed him in Stephen Adly Guirgis' hit play, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. This past August, Rockwell work-shopped an upcoming LAByrinth production, North of Mason-Dixon, scheduled to debut in London in 2007 and then premiere in New York City later the same year. Other plays in which Rockwell performed are: Dumb Waiter (2001), Zoo Story (2001), Hot L Baltimore (2000), Goosepimples (1998), Love and Human Remains, Face Divided, Orphans, Den of Thieves, Dessert at Waffle House, The Largest Elizabeth, and A Behanding in Spokane.

Personal life[link]

Rockwell has never been married, and stated in a 2007 interview, "I definitely don't want to become a parent. It's not my bag."^[13]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sam Rockwell

• Sam Rockwell at the Internet Movie Database
• Sam Rockwell at the Internet Broadway Database
• Sam Rockwell at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Sam Rockwell Interview

Colin Farrell
Farrell at the premiere of Ondine at the Tribeca Film Festival, 28 April 2010
Born	Colin James Farrell (1976-05-31) 31 May 1976 (age 36) Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Amelia Warner (2001; divorced)
Partner	Kim Bordenave (2002–03; 1 child) Alicja Bachleda-Curus (2009–2010; 1 child)
Website
www.colinfarrell.org

Colin James Farrell (born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such films as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T.. In 2008 he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role in In Bruges.

Early life[link]

Farrell was born in Dublin, the son of Rita (née Monaghan), a housewife, and Eamon Farrell, a footballer who played for Shamrock Rovers F.C. and owned a company importing and exporting canned goods in Dublin City.^[1][2] He was raised as a Roman Catholic.^[3][4] His uncle Tommy Farrell also played for Rovers. Farrell has two sisters, Claudine (who is his personal assistant)^[5] and Catherine, and a brother, Eamon Jr. When he was ten, the Farrells moved to Castleknock, a Dublin suburb.^[6] Farrell was educated at St. Brigid's National School Castleknock followed by Castleknock College and Gormanston College. Farrell unsuccessfully auditioned for the Irish group Boyzone when he was still unknown.^[7] Farrell attended The Gaiety School of Acting, but dropped out and was cast in the part of Danny Byrne on Ballykissangel, a BBC television drama. Farrell appeared on the show seven times from 1998 to 1999. He was inspired to try acting after being brought to tears while watching E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.^[8]

Career[link]

Farrell had small parts in television shows and films, including the BBC drama Ballykissangel in 1998, and his film debut in Tim Roth's The War Zone.^[9] In 2000, he was cast in the lead role of Private Roland Bozz in Tigerland, an American film directed by Joel Schumacher. Farrell's next American films, American Outlaws (2001) and Hart's War (2002), were not commercially successful, but his 2003 films, including Phone Booth, S.W.A.T., and The Recruit were well-received box office successes. Although he has a pronounced Irish accent, Farrell uses an American accent in some of his films including American Outlaws and his breakthrough role, Tigerland.

Farrell roles as a supporting actor include his performances as an ambitious cop who chases after a potential criminal, played by actor Tom Cruise, in Minority Report (2002), and as the skilled villain Bullseye in Daredevil (2003). Matt Damon was originally offered the Minority Report role but he turned it down to appear in Ocean's Eleven.^[10] Farrell said "he had no problem" that people knew he was the producer's fall back pick after Damon declined.^[11] The character of Bullseye is that of an assassin with perfect accuracy and deep-rooted pride of it. Farrell was attached to this role in December 2001, though initially he was considered for the lead role as Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, until Ben Affleck signed.^[12] Farrell was encouraged to keep his Irish accent as this version of Bullseye is from Ireland.^[13] Farrell had to read into Frank Miller's Daredevil comics to understand Bullseye "because the expression on the character's faces in the comic books, and just the way they move sometimes, and the exaggerations of the character I'm playing […] he's so over-the-top that you do draw from that. But it's not exactly a character you can do method acting for... you know, running around New York killing people with paper clips."^[14]

Farrell at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival

In late 2003, Farrell starred as a criminal who plots a bank heist with Cillian Murphy in the comedy Intermission, which held the record as highest-grossing Irish independent film in Irish box office history until 2006.^[15] In 2004, Farrell appeared in several independent films that received only a limited theatrical release in most countries, including A Home at the End of the World, which received some positive reviews.^[16][17] Farrell appeared in the title role of Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's 2004 biographical film Alexander, which, while receiving some favourable reviews internationally, was poorly received in the United States.^[18] It was marked by controversy for portraying the ancient conqueror as bisexual, and received criticism from some historians for its portrayal of the ancient Persians,^[19] though others praised it for its accuracy in these regards as well.^[20][21] The movie grossed a total of $167 million worldwide, despite its poor showing within the United States, just exceeding its budget of $155 million.^[22]

Farrell's next film was 2005's Academy Award-nominated The New World, also a historical epic that was met with mixed reviews.^[23] Farrell played the leading role of Captain John Smith, the founder of 17th century colonial Jamestown, Virginia who falls in love with a beautiful Native American princess, Pocahontas, played by Q'Orianka Kilcher. The film received positive reviews, despite being released in only 811 theatres worldwide and having a relatively low box office gross.^[24][25]

The New World was followed by Ask the Dust, a romance film set in period Los Angeles and co-starring Salma Hayek. It received a very limited theatrical release and was not a financial success.^[26] 2006 brought more success in Farrell's career, as he appeared opposite Jamie Foxx in Michael Mann's action-crime film Miami Vice. The film was a box office success grossing a total of US $164 million worldwide.^[27] Farrell was next seen in Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, which premiered in 2007 and was distributed in the U.S. in early 2008. Farrell's next film, Martin McDonagh's In Bruges, opened the Sundance Film Festival in 2008; Farrell received his first Golden Globe nomination and win for his role as Ray, a hired hitman. Shortly thereafter, he appeared in Kicking It, a documentary following six homeless men from different countries as they attempt to qualify for the Homeless World Cup. Farrell appeared on screen and provided narration. The film released simultaneously in theatres and television, airing on ESPN2 with a very short window to DVD release. Farrell received positive press for his involvement in the heartwarming true-life tale, and enthusiastic reviews for the two dramatic roles that preceded it.

On 11 January 2009, he won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor: Musical or Comedy for his role in In Bruges, in which he co-starred with Brendan Gleeson. The same year, he starred in Terry Gilliam's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, alongside Christopher Plummer. He was one of the actors, along with Johnny Depp and Jude Law, who helped complete the late Heath Ledger's role after he died before filming ended. They all played "Imaginarium" versions of Ledger's character Tony. He also took a supporting role as Tommy Sweet in Crazy Heart, alongside Academy Award-winning Jeff Bridges.

2010 saw the release of Ondine, a fantasy-drama directed by Neil Jordan, which stars Farrell as a fisherman. It also saw him star opposite Keira Knightley in the crime / romance London Boulevard. The film was directed by William Monahan, screenplay writer of The Departed and Body of Lies.

Farrell starred in the 2011 comedy movie Horrible Bosses, with Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis, directed by Seth Gordon. The film focuses on a trio of employees who plot to murder their titular tyrannical supervisors.^[28] Later that year, Farrell played the lead role in the Fright Night remake.^[29] Farrell joined Anton Yelchin, David Tennant, and Toni Collette in this story about a charismatic vampire who moves in next to a high school student. The film was released by Dreamworks, with Craig Gillespie having directed.

Upcoming films[link]

Farrell at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival

Farrell is involved in a film adaptation of Flann O'Brien's metafictional novel At Swim-Two-Birds alongside Cillian Murphy and Gabriel Byrne. Actor Brendan Gleeson will direct the film, which was scheduled for release in 2010.^[30] In October 2009, however, Gleeson expressed fear that, should the Irish Film Board be abolished as planned by the Irish State, the production may fall through.^[31]

Additionally, Farrell is set to star in Columbia Pictures' Total Recall (a remake of the 1990 film of the same name), which filmed from May to September 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Directed by Len Wiseman, the film is a new take on the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi picture about a sleeper agent who is compelled to travel to a colony on Mars. Kurt Wimmer (Salt) wrote the script, which like the original is based on the Philip K. Dick story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale."^[32]

Personal life[link]

Colin Farrell was reportedly married to English actress Amelia Warner from July 2001 to November 2001.^[33] However, in December 2011, Amelia Warner said that the marriage ceremony was not legal.^[34]

Colin and British writer Emma Forrest dated for over a year, an experience she discusses in depth in her memoir Your Voice In My Head. According to Forrest, they had planned to have a child together, before he ended the relationship.

Colin and US model Kim Bordenave became parents of James Padraig Farrell, born in 2003, in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. In October 2007, Farrell revealed that his son has Angelman Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterised by intellectual and developmental delay.^[35]

Farrell and Ondine co-star Alicja Bachleda-Curus have a son, Henry Tadeusz Farrell, born in October 2009^[36] One year after the birth of their son, Alicja Bachleda Curus and Colin Farrell decided to end their relationship. ^{[37][dead link]}

Friendship with Elizabeth Taylor[link]

Farrell had reportedly grown very close to Elizabeth Taylor shortly before her death and was one of the few non-family members to attend her private funeral.^[38] He recited the poem The Leaden Echo and The Golden Echo by Gerard Manley Hopkins at her funeral, requested by Taylor herself.

Drug addictions[link]

In December 2005, Farrell voluntarily checked into a rehabilitation treatment center for addictions to recreational drugs and painkillers.^{[citation needed]} His publicist commented that Farrell had started taking painkillers due to a back injury.^{[citation needed]}

Sex tape[link]

In July 2006, Farrell filed a lawsuit suing his former girlfriend, Playboy model Nicole Narain, and the Internet Commerce Group (ICG) over the unauthorised public distribution of a 14-minute sex tape that Farrell made with Narain in 2003.^[39] It was leaked to ICG who tried to release it publicly. A Los Angeles judge issued an injunction barring the sale, distribution, or display of the tape.^{[citation needed]}

Narain claimed that she did not give the tape to anyone and was not sure if or how copies were taken from her. She originally said that she would work with Farrell to ensure that it remained private, but Farrell said that Narain was trying to release it in order to damage his acting career and "make money out of it", which Narain denies.^{[40][41][dead link]}

A trial date for the Narain lawsuit was set for 17 July 2006, but the judge allowed Farrell and Nicole to mediate until 20 April. On 16 April, the two reached a settlement with confidential terms. However, Farrell's lawsuit against ICG continued with a trial date set for 21 July 2006.^[42]

Stalker incidents[link]

Farrell has a stalking restraining order against telephone sex worker Dessarae Bradford.^[43]. Bradford had twice attempted to sue Farrell, alleging abusive messages, but the lawsuits were dismissed due to a lack of evidence provided by Bradford.^[44][45] Bradford also failed a lie detector test on an i TV program while attempting to support her claims and stories.^[46]

On 20 July 2006, as Farrell was being interviewed by Jay Leno on the set of The Tonight Show, Bradford evaded security, walked on stage as cameras were rolling, confronted Farrell, and threw her book on Leno's desk. Farrell escorted her off the stage himself, telling the camera crew to stop filming, and handed her over to security. As Bradford was led out of the studio, she shouted "I'll see you in court." Farrell's response was, "Darling, you're insane!" NBC security handed her to Burbank police, who eventually released her. After Farrell apologised to the audience, describing Bradford as "my first stalker", the show continued filming and the incident was edited out of the aired broadcast.^[45] The following day, Farrell obtained a restraining order against Bradford.^[43]

Bradford has recorded a song entitled "Colin Farrell is My Bitch" and has self-published a book called Colin Farrell: A Dark Twisted Puppy.^[44]

Celebrity status[link]

Farrell was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2003.^[47] He was also voted sixth in the World's "Sexiest Man" contest by Company magazine that same year.^[48]

In 2007, Farrell joined other celebrities to become an official games spokesman for the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China.^[49]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Colin Farrell

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Colin Farrell

• Colin Farrell at the Internet Movie Database
• Colin Farrell at AllRovi
• Colin Farrell – biography, filmography

George M. Cohan
c.1908
Born	(1878-07-03)July 3, 1878 Providence, Rhode Island
Died	November 5, 1942(1942-11-05) (aged 64) New York City, New York
Occupation	entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, producer
Spouse	Ethel Levey (m.1899-1907, divorced) Agnes Mary Nolan (m.1907-1942, his death)
Children	Georgette Cohan Mary Cohan Helen Cohan George M Cohan, Jr.

George Michael Cohan (pronounced Ko-han; July 3, 1878 – November 5, 1942), known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and producer.

Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudeville act known as "The Four Cohans." Beginning with Little Johnny Jones in 1904, he wrote, composed, produced, and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan wrote some 500 songs during his lifetime, including the standards "Over There", "Give My Regards to Broadway", "The Yankee Doodle Boy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag".^[1] As a composer, he was one of the early members of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He displayed remarkable theatrical longevity, appearing in films until the 1930s, and continuing to perform as a headline artist until 1940.

Known in the decade before World War I as "the man who owned Broadway", he is considered the father of American musical comedy.^[1] His life and music were depicted in the Academy Award-winning film Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and the 1968 musical George M!. A statue of Cohan in Times Square in New York City commemorates his contributions to American musical theatre.

Early career[link]

Cohan was born in 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island, to Irish Catholic parents. A baptismal certificate (which gave the wrong first name for his mother) indicated that he was born on July 3, but Cohan and his family always insisted that George had been "born on the Fourth of July!"^[2] George's parents were traveling vaudeville performers, and he joined them on stage while still an infant, first as a prop, learning to dance and sing soon after he could walk and talk.^{[citation needed]}

Cohan started as a child performer at age 8, first on the violin and then as a dancer.^[3] He was the fourth member of the family act called The Four Cohans, which included his father Jeremiah "Jere" (Keohane) Cohan (1848–1917),^[4] mother Helen "Nellie" Costigan Cohan (1854–1928) and sister Josephine "Josie" Cohan Niblo (1876–1916).^[2] The family mostly toured together from 1890 to 1901. He and his sister made their Broadway debut in 1893 in a sketch called The Lively Bootblack. Temperamental in his early years, Cohan later learned to control his frustrations. During these years, Cohan originated his famous curtain speech: "My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you."^[3]

He began writing original skits (over 150 of them) and songs for the family act in both vaudeville and minstrel shows while in his teens.^[3] Soon he was writing professionally, selling his first songs to a national publisher in 1893. In 1901 he wrote, directed and produced his first Broadway musical, "The Governor's Son", for The Four Cohans.^[3] His first big Broadway hit in 1904 was the show Little Johnny Jones, which introduced his tunes "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "The Yankee Doodle Boy."^[5]

Cohan became one of the leading Tin Pan Alley songwriters, publishing upwards of 300 original songs^[1] noted for their catchy melodies and clever lyrics. His other major hit songs included "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway," "Mary Is a Grand Old Name," "The Warmest Baby in the Bunch," "Life's a Funny Proposition After All," "I Want To Hear a Yankee Doodle Tune," "You Won't Do Any Business If You Haven't Got a Band," "The Small Town Gal," "I'm Mighty Glad I'm Living, That's All," "That Haunting Melody," "Always Leave Them Laughing When You Say Goodbye", and America's most popular World War I song "Over There."^[3]

From 1904 to 1920, Cohan created and produced over fifty musicals, plays and revues on Broadway together with his friend Sam Harris,^[6] including Give My Regards to Broadway and the successful Going Up in 1917, which became a smash hit in London the following year.^[7] They ran shows simultaneously in as many as five theatres. One of Cohan's most innovative plays was a dramatization of the mystery "Seven Keys to Baldpate" in 1913, which baffled some audiences and critics but became a hit. Cohan dropped out of acting for some years after his 1919 dispute with Actors' Equity Association, described below.^[3]

In 1925, he published his autobiography, Twenty Years on Broadway and the Years It Took To Get There.^[8]