70 mm Grandeur film, also called Fox Grandeur, was a 70mm widescreen film format developed by the Fox Film Corporation and used commercially on a small scale in 1929-1931. It is technically very similar to the Todd-AO 70mm system, marketed from 1955 and still in limited use (albeit with significant modifications) today. The main differences were that Grandeur had a four perforation pulldown (i.e. each frame occupied the height equivalent to four perforations on the film) rather than the five of Todd-AO, and that it used the Fox Movietone variable-density optical sound-on-film system.

A small number of shorts and features were produced in Grandeur. These included several issues of Fox Movietone News called Fox Grandeur News first shown May 26, 1929. Features shot in Grandeur include Fox Movietone Follies of 1929, the musical Happy Days (1929), directed by Benjamin Stoloff, Song o’ My Heart, (1930), a musical feature starring Irish tenor John McCormack and directed by Frank Borzage (Seventh Heaven, A Farewell to Arms), and the Western The Big Trail (1930), directed by Raoul Walsh, in which John Wayne played his first starring role.

70mm film (or 65mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge, with higher resolution than standard 35mm motion picture film format. As used in camera, the film is 65 mm (2.6 in) wide. For projection, the original 65mm film is printed on 70 mm (2.8 in) film. The additional 5mm are for magnetic strips holding four of the six tracks of sound. Although more recent 70mm prints now use digital sound encoding, the vast majority of 70 mm prints predate this technology. Each frame is five perforations tall, with an aspect ratio of 2.20:1. The vast majority of film theaters are unable to handle 70mm film, and so original 70mm films are shown with 35mm prints at these venues, in the regular Cinemascope / Panavision aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

Films formatted with a width of 70 mm have existed since the early days of the motion picture industry. The first 70 mm format film was most likely footage of the Henley Regatta, which was projected in 1896 and 1897, but may have been filmed as early as 1894. It required a specially built projector built by Herman Casler in Canastota, New York and had a ratio similar to full frame, with an aperture of 2.75 inches (70 mm) by 2 inches (51 mm).  There were also several film formats of various sizes from 50 to 68 mm which were developed from 1884 onwards, including Cinéorama (not to be confused with the entirely distinct "Cinerama" format), started in 1900 by Raoul Grimoin-Sanson. Two other formats, Panoramica and 20th Century Fox's Grandeur, began distribution in 1929 and 1930, respectively.

Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison; May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. An Academy Award-winner, Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades, and was named the all-time top money-making star. An enduring American icon, he epitomized rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height.

Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa but his family relocated to the greater Los Angeles area when he was four years old. He found work at local film studios when he lost his football scholarship to USC as a result of a bodysurfing accident. Initially working for the Fox Film Corporation, he mostly appeared in small bit parts. His acting breakthrough came in 1939 with John Ford's Stagecoach, making him an instant star. Wayne would go on to star in 142 pictures, primarily typecast in Western films.

Among his best known films are The Quiet Man (1952), which follows him as an Irish-American boxer and his love affair with a fiery spinster played by Maureen O'Hara; The Searchers (1956), in which he plays a Civil War veteran who seeks out his abducted niece; Rio Bravo (1959), playing a Sheriff with Dean Martin; True Grit (1969), playing a humorous U.S. Marshal who sets out to avenge a man's death in the role that won Wayne an Academy Award; and The Shootist (1976), his final screen performance in which he plays an aging gunslinger battling cancer.

Washed Out is the stage name of the American electronic musician Ernest Greene (born in 1983, Perry, Georgia).

After earning an undergraduate degree from the The University of Georgia, Greene graduated in 2009 with a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of South Carolina and was unable to find a job as a librarian. Greene moved back home to the rural town of Perry, Georgia and started producing songs in his bedroom studio. He soon won the favor of a number of influential music bloggers after they found his music on his MySpace page. His style has been identified with the Chillwave movement. He has identified hip hop as influencing the way he writes songs. The first two Washed Out EPs were released in August and September 2009. Washed Out made his debut New York City performance (his second live show ever) at Santos Party House. He has since performed at the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival and his song "Feel it All Around" is featured in the opening sequence of the TV series Portlandia.

Raoul Walsh (March 11, 1887 – December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He was known for portraying John Wilkes Booth in the silent classic The Birth of a Nation (1915) and for directing such films as The Big Trail (1930) starring John Wayne, High Sierra (1941) starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart, and White Heat (1949) with James Cagney and Edmond O'Brien. His last directorial effort came in 1964.

Born Albert Edward Walsh to Elizabeth T. Bruff, the daughter of Irish immigrants and Thomas W. Walsh, an Englishman of Irish descent. As a young man, Raoul was a close friend of Virginia O'Hanlon of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" fame. Like his younger brother, he was part of Omega Gamma Delta during his high school days. Growing up in New York, Walsh was also a friend of the Barrymore family. John Barrymore recalled spending time reading in the Walsh family library as a youth.