The Informant may refer to:

The Informant (1997 film), a TV movie about Northern Ireland based on the book Field of Blood

The Informant (book), a 2000 book by Kurt Eichenwald about the lysine price-fixing conspiracy in the U.S.

The Informant!, a 2009 film based on the 2000 book

See also

Informant, in general

Alt	Head shot of Damon looking into the camera smiling slightly. He is wearing a black polo shirt.
Caption	Damon in 2009
Birth date	October 08, 1970
Birth name	Matthew Paige Damon
Birth place	Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Spouse
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, producer
Alma mater	Harvard University (attended)
Years active	1988–present

Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon (born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting (1997), from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck. The pair won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for their work and Damon garnered multiple Best Actor nominations, including the Academy Award, for his lead performance in the film.

Damon has since starred in commercially successful films such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), the Ocean's trilogy, and the Bourne series, while also gaining critical acclaim for his performances in dramas such as Syriana (2005), The Good Shepherd (2006), and The Departed (2006). He garnered a Golden Globe nomination for portraying the title character in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and was nominated for an Academy Award as a supporting actor in Invictus (2009). He is one of the top forty highest grossing actors of all time. In 2007, Damon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine.

Damon has been actively involved in charitable work, including the ONE Campaign, H2O Africa Foundation, and Water.org.

Early life

Matt Damon was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Kent Telfer Damon, a stockbroker, and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an early childhood education professor at Lesley University. Damon is of English, Scottish, Finnish, and Swedish ancestry, and is a distant cousin of actors Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck. He has a brother, Kyle, who is an accomplished sculptor and artist. He and his family moved to Newton and lived there for two years. After his parents divorced, Damon and his brother moved with their mother back to Cambridge, where they lived in a six-family communal house. Damon grew up near Ben Affleck, a close friend since childhood and collaborator on several films, and historian and author Howard Zinn, whose biographical film You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train and audio version of A People's History of the United States Damon later narrated. As a lonely adolescent, Damon has described feeling "such pain in wanting to belong somewhere and not belonging."

Damon attended Harvard University from 1988 to 1992 but did not graduate. While at Harvard, he studied English and lived in Lowell House. He took part in student theater, appearing in plays such as Burn This in Winthrop House and A... My Name is Alice (in one of the three male roles usually performed by women). Damon dropped out of the university to pursue his acting career in Los Angeles because he mistakenly expected to become a big success. "By the time I figured out I had made the wrong decision, it was too late. I was living out here with a bunch of actors, and we were all scrambling to make ends meet," Damon has said.

Acting career

Early years

Damon's first film role came in 1988 when he was eighteen, with a single line of dialogue in the romantic comedy Mystic Pizza. As a student at Harvard University, he continued to pursue acting and performed small roles in projects such as the TNT original film Rising Son and the ensemble prep-school drama School Ties. In 1992, he landed a big part in with Gene Hackman and Jason Patric. Damon next appeared as an opiate-addicted soldier in 1996's Courage Under Fire. He was required to lose in 100 days (for only two days of filming). After following a self-prescribed diet and fitness regimen to lose the weight, Damon was told after filming that he was fortunate his heart did not shrink. He took medication for several years afterwards to correct the stress inflicted on his adrenal gland. Courage Under Fire gained him some critical notice, as The Washington Post labeled his performance "impressive"; Damon has stated that it was worthwhile to risk his health in order to properly portray his character and show the industry how committed he was to his work as an actor. Damon was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for the same film, which also netted an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for co-star Robin Williams. The two later parodied their roles from the film in Kevin Smith's 2001 movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Also in 1997, Damon was the lead in the critically-acclaimed drama The Rainmaker, where he was recognized by the Los Angeles Times as "a talented young actor on the brink of stardom." After meeting Damon on the set of Good Will Hunting, director Steven Spielberg cast Damon as the titular character in the 1998 World War II film Saving Private Ryan. to the low budget experimental film Gerry (2002), which he co-wrote with Casey Affleck and Gus Van Sant. Damon garnered generally positive critical reaction for his Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of Ripley, with Variety stating, "Damon outstandingly conveys his character's slide from innocent enthusiasm into cold calculation."

Damon's attempts at essaying leading characters in romantic dramas such as 2000's All the Pretty Horses and The Legend of Bagger Vance were commercially and critically unsuccessful. He was similarly deemed "uncomfortable being the center" of Robert Redford's The Legend of Bagger Vance.

From 2001 to 2007, Damon gained wider international recognition as part of two major film franchises. He co-starred as thief Linus Caldwell, alongside George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts, in Steven Soderbergh's 2001 remake of the Rat Pack's 1960 caper film Ocean's 11; the successful crime dramedy spawned two sequels, Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007). In August 2007, financial magazine Forbes created a list of actors who generated the best box office performance related to their salaries; the list placed Damon as the most bankable star of the actors reviewed, revealing that Damon had averaged U.S.$29 at the box office for every dollar he earned for his last three films.

in Berlin in February 2007 for the premiere of The Good Shepherd]] Damon played a fictionalized version of Wilhelm Grimm in Terry Gilliam's fantasy adventure The Brothers Grimm (2005), which was a critically panned commercial failure; Later that year, he appeared as an energy analyst in Syriana. In 2006, Damon joined Robert De Niro in The Good Shepherd as a career CIA officer, and played an undercover mobster working for the Massachusetts State Police in Martin Scorsese's The Departed, a remake of the Hong Kong police thriller Infernal Affairs. The Departed was a success amongst critics and audiences alike.

Damon had an uncredited cameo in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth (2007) and another cameo in the 2008 Che Guevara biopic Che. He lent his voice to the English version of the animated film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, which was released in the United States in August 2009. He also made a guest appearance in 2009 on the sixth season finale of Entourage as himself, where he tries to pressure Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) into donating to his charity OneXOne—a real foundation for which Damon is an ambassador—and gets increasingly irritated when Chase does not seem to comply.

Damon next appeared in Steven Soderbergh's dark comedy, The Informant! (2009), in which his Golden Globe-nominated work was described by Entertainment Weekly as such: "The star – who has quietly and steadily turned into a great Everyman actor – is in nimble control as he reveals his character's deep crazies." Also in 2009, Damon portrayed South Africa national rugby union team captain François Pienaar in the Clint Eastwood-directed Nelson Mandela film Invictus, which is based on the 2008 John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation and features Morgan Freeman as Mandela. Invictus earned Damon an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The New Republic observed, "It is not a demanding role, but the ever-more-actorly Damon brings it off with low-key charm and integrity."

In 2010, Damon re-teamed with director Paul Greengrass, who directed him in the Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum, for the action thriller Green Zone, which flopped commercially and received ambivalent reception from critics.

In motion pictures that feature him either as a leading actor or as a supporting co-star, his films have grossed a total of U.S.$1.94 to U.S.$2.42 billion (based on counting his roles as strictly lead or including supporting roles, respectively) at the North American box office, placing him in the top forty grossing actors of all time.

He has appeared as a guest star in an episode of Arthur, titled The Making of Arthur, as himself. During Season 5 of 30 Rock, he appeared as guest star in the role of Liz Lemon's boyfriend in the episodes "When It Rains, It Pours" and "Live Show".

Damon's 2010 projects included The Adjustment Bureau, Clint Eastwood's Hereafter, and the Coen Brothers' remake of the 1969 John Wayne-starring Western True Grit; the latter movie started filming in March 2010 and was released in December of that year.

Upcoming films

He will next work with frequent collaborator Steven Soderbergh on two projects: as the longtime Liberace love interest, Scott Thorsen, opposite Michael Douglas in an upcoming film centered on the pianist's life and as part of an ensemble cast in Contagion. The company produced and founded the short-lived mystery-hybrid series Push, Nevada, among other projects. Project Greenlight was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program in 2002, 2004, and 2005.

Humanitarian work

Damon has taken part in philanthropy since the age of 12, deciding what to do with his $5 allowance. Damon was the founder of H2O Africa Foundation, the charitable arm of the Running the Sahara expedition, which merged with WaterPartners to create Water.org in July 2009. He, along with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, and Jerry Weintraub, is one of the founders of , an organization that focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities such as in Darfur. Damon supports the ONE Campaign, which is aimed at fighting AIDS and poverty in Third World countries. He has appeared in their print and television advertising. Damon is also an ambassador for OneXOne, a non-profit foundation committed to supporting, preserving and improving the lives of children at home in Canada, the United States, and around the world. Damon is also a spokesperson for Feeding America, the largest USA-focused hunger-relief organization, and a member of their Entertainment Council, participating in their Ad Council PSAs.

Damon is a board member of Tonic Mailstopper (formerly GreenDimes), a company that attempts to halt junk mail delivered to American homes each day. Appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 20, 2007, Damon promoted the organization's efforts to prevent the trees used for junk mail letters and envelopes from being chopped down. Damon stated: "For an estimated dime a day they can stop 70 per cent of the junk mail that comes to your house. It's very simple, easy to do, great gift to give, I've actually signed up my entire family. It was a gift given to me this past holiday season and I was so impressed that I'm now on the board of the company."

In the media

Kimmel and Damon

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel at some point started stating near the end of his ABC television show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, "My apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time." The line is a gag lampooning instances where shows cannot feature their last guest due to time constraints. On September 12, 2006, after a segment highlighting the running gag and a lengthy introduction by Kimmel, Damon finally appeared on the show, only for Kimmel to apologetically cut his interview and head to credits, as Damon cursed him. It was later determined that the skit was entirely planned by Kimmel and Damon. Kimmel's girlfriend at the time, comedian Sarah Silverman, also used this line at the end of the 2007 MTV Movie Awards. Silverman then aired a clip of her singing a song entitled "I'm Fucking Matt Damon" on January 31, 2008, on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Damon appeared in the song with Silverman and at the end when she is apologizing to Jimmy, Damon interrupts her and says, "Jimmy, we're out of time. Sorry." Kimmel responded by airing his own music video in which he announced, through song, that he is "fucking Ben Affleck". The video aired on February 24, 2008, and featured Affleck along with a host of celebrities, including Don Cheadle, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Harrison Ford, and Robin Williams. After this Jimmy's sidekick, Guillermo, appeared in a spoof of The Bourne Ultimatum, which starred Damon. He was then chased down by Damon as Matt cursed about Kimmel being behind all this. Guillermo also stopped Damon on the red carpet one time and before he could finish the interview he said "Sorry we are out of time. The most recent encounter was titled "The Handsome Men's Club" which featured Kimmel, along with other "Handsome Men" including Matthew McConaughey, Rob Lowe, Lenny Kravitz, and many more, speaking about being handsome and all the jobs that come with it. At the end of the skit Kimmel has a door slammed in his face by none other then Matt Damon stating that they had run out of time and then Damon continues with a sinister laugh.

Political views

Damon appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews in December 2006 and, while discussing the ongoing war in Iraq, he stated: "I don't think that it's fair, as I said before, that it seems like we have a fighting class in our country that's people who have to go for either financial reasons, or ... if you're gonna send people to war, then that needs to be shared by everybody."

On September 10, 2008, a video was released on YouTube by the Associated Press in which Damon criticized the Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, whom he found unready to lead the country in case John McCain were to not make it through his first term. Damon referred to Palin as a "...bad Disney movie... 'I'm just a hockey mom from Alaska here to take on the White House'," and added, "It's absurd ... I need to know if she really thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago. Because she’s gonna have the nuclear codes."

Damon narrated the audiobook version of historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, published in 2003.

Personal life

Damon dated his Good Will Hunting co-star Minnie Driver. He later had a two-year relationship with actress Winona Ryder. Damon met Argentine-born Luciana Bozán Barroso (born 1976) in Miami, where she was working as a bartender. They married in a private civil ceremony on December 9, 2005, at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau near New York City Hall. On August 20, 2008, Barroso gave birth to the couple's second child, Gia Zavala Damon, both girls born in Miami, Florida. On October 20, 2010, Barroso gave birth to their third daughter, Stella Zavala Damon, in New York. As of 2010, Damon and his family reside in Manhattan. After the team won the 2007 World Series, he narrated the commemorative DVD release of the event.

Damon enjoys playing poker and has competed in several World Series of Poker (WSOP) events including the 2010 World Series of Poker main event. He dropped $25,000 at the WSOP while researching his role as a professional poker player in Rounders (1998) and after filming the movie Damon was busted out of the 1998 WSOP by poker professional Doyle Brunson.

Awards and honors

Damon won multiple awards for Good Will Hunting, a film he co-wrote with Ben Affleck. He was nominated for the Academy Award as "Best Actor in a Leading Role" and won for "Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen". He reacted to the award by stating: "A few times in my life I've had these experiences that are just kind of too big to process and this looks like it's going to be one of those times." Damon has been nominated for four Screen Actors Guild awards and seven MTV Movie Awards for various films. Additionally, he has three Emmy nominations for his work as producer on three seasons of Project Greenlight. Damon was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2007. Damon won 'Best Ass-Kicker' and 'Guy of the Year' at the Spike Guys' Choice Awards of 2008. On March 27, 2010, Damon received the 24th Annual American Cinematheque Award, which was presented to him by Ben Affleck at a ceremony comprising roasts from Damon's colleagues and friends in the entertainment industry.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |rowspan="2"| 1988 | Mystic Pizza | Steamer | |- | The Good Mother | Extra | |- | 1989 |Field of Dreams | Fenway Park extra | |- | 1992 | School Ties | Charlie Dillon | |- | 1993 | | 2nd Lt. Britton Davis | |- |rowspan="2"| 1996 | Glory Daze | Edgar Pudwhacker | |- | Courage Under Fire | Specialist Ilario | |- |rowspan="3"| 1997 | Good Will Hunting | Will Hunting | Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with Ben AffleckGolden Globe Award for Best ScreenplayNominated — Academy Award for Best ActorNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best ActorNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Best CastNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Best ActorNominated — Writers Guild of America Award with Ben Affleck |- | The Rainmaker | Rudy Baylor | |- | Chasing Amy | Shawn Oran | Cameo |- |rowspan="2"| 1998 | Rounders | Mike McDermott | |- | Saving Private Ryan | Private James Francis Ryan | Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast |- |rowspan="2"| 1999 | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Tom Ripley | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor |- | Dogma | Loki | |- |rowspan="4"| 2000 | Finding Forrester | Steven Sanderson | Cameo |- | All the Pretty Horses | John Grady Cole | |- | The Legend of Bagger Vance | Rannulph Junuh | |- | Titan A.E. | Cale Tucker | Voice |- |rowspan="3"| 2001 | The Majestic | Luke Trimble | Voice only |- | Ocean's Eleven | Linus Caldwell | |- | Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Himself | Cameo |- |rowspan="5"| 2002 | Confessions of a Dangerous Mind | Matt, bachelor #2 | Cameo |- | The Bourne Identity | Jason Bourne | |- | | Spirit | Voice |- | Gerry | Gerry | Also co-writer |- | The Third Wheel | Kevin | Cameo |- | 2003 | Stuck on You | Bob Tenor | |- |rowspan="5"| 2004 | Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train | Narrator | Voice |- | Ocean's Twelve | Linus Caldwell | |- | The Bourne Supremacy | Jason Bourne | |- | Jersey Girl | PR Exec #2 | Cameo |- | EuroTrip | Donny | Cameo |- |rowspan="2"| 2005 | Syriana | Bryan Woodman | |- | The Brothers Grimm | Will (Wilhelm) Grimm | |- |rowspan="2"| 2006 | The Good Shepherd | Edward Wilson | |- | The Departed | Colin Sullivan | Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast |- |rowspan="4"| 2007 | Ocean's Thirteen | Linus Caldwell | |- | The Bourne Ultimatum | Jason Bourne | |- | Youth Without Youth | Ted Jones, Life Magazine Reporter |Cameo |- | Arthur | Himself |Voice |- | 2008 | Che: Part Two | Fr. Schwarz |Cameo |- | rowspan="3"| 2009 | Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea | Koichi | Voice (English version) |- | The Informant! | Mark Whitacre | Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated — Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated — San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | Invictus | Francois Pienaar | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion PictureNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role |- | rowspan="5"| 2010 | Green Zone | Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller | |- | 30 Rock | Carol | TV series (episodes: "I Do Do," "The Fabian Strategy," and "Live Show") |- | Inside Job | Narrator | |- | Hereafter | George Lonegan | |- | True Grit | La Boeuf | Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor |- | rowspan="2"| 2011 | The Adjustment Bureau | David Norris | post-production |- | Contagion | Thomas Emhoff | pre-production |}

References

Further reading

Altman, Sheryl and Berk, Sheryl. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck: On and Off Screen. HarperCollins Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0-06-107145-5.

Bego, Mark. Matt Damon: Chasing a Dream. Andrews Mcmeel Pub, 1998. ISBN 0-8362-7131-9.

Diamond, Maxine and Hemmings, Harriet. Matt Damon a Biography. Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 1998. ISBN 0-671-02649-6.

Nickson, Chris. Matt Damon: An Unauthorized Biography. Renaissance Books, 1999. ISBN 1-58063-072-3.

External links

Matt Damon on Moviefone

Category:1970 births Category:American film actors Category:American screenwriters Category:Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Category:Harvard University people Category:Living people Category:Actors from Massachusetts Category:People from Cambridge, Massachusetts

Name	Steven Soderbergh
Birth date	January 14, 1963
Birth place	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Birth name	Steven Andrew Soderbergh
Spouse	Betsy Brantley (div. 1994) Jules Asner (2003–present)
Caption	Soderbergh at the 2009 Venice Film Festival
Occupation	Director, cinematographer, screenwriter, producer, editor
Years active	1989–present

Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, actor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less conventional and commercialized works such as Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Schizopolis, Bubble, and Che.

Early life and career

Soderbergh was born in Atlanta, the son of Mary Ann (née Bernard) and Peter Andrew Soderbergh, who was a university administrator and educator. He has Swedish ancestry (the family's original surname in Swedish, Söderberg, was changed to Soderbergh when they immigrated to the United States). When he was a child, his family moved from Atlanta to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his father became Dean of Education at Louisiana State University (LSU). There he discovered filmmaking as a teenager, directing short Super 8 mm films with equipment borrowed from LSU students.

His primary high school education was at Louisiana State University Laboratory School, a K-12 school that is directed by the University. While still taking classes there around the age of fifteen, Soderbergh enrolled in the university's film animation class and began making short 16 mm films with secondhand equipment.

Rather than attending LSU, Soderbergh tried his luck in Hollywood after graduating from high school; he worked as a game show scorer and cue card holder to make ends meet, and eventually found work as a freelance film editor. His big break came when he directed the Grammy-nominated concert video 9012Live for the rock band Yes in 1985.

Career

1989 Rise to prominence: Sex, Lies, and Videotape

It wasn't until Soderbergh came back to Baton Rouge that he conceived the idea for Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), which he wrote in eight days. The independent film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, became a worldwide commercial success and greatly contributed to the 1990s independent film revolution. At age 26, Soderbergh became the youngest director to win the festival's top award. Movie critic Roger Ebert dubbed Soderbergh the "poster boy of the Sundance generation".

1993 to 1998

Sex, Lies, and Videotape was followed by a series of low-budget box-office disappointments: Kafka, a biopic mixing fact and Kafka's own fiction (notably The Castle and The Trial), written by Lem Dobbs and starring Jeremy Irons as Franz Kafka; King of the Hill (1993), a critically acclaimed Depression-era drama; The Underneath (1995), a remake of Robert Siodmak's 1949 film noir Criss Cross; and Schizopolis (1996), a comedy which he starred in, wrote, composed, and shot as well as directed. He also directed the Spalding Gray monologue film Gray's Anatomy in 1996.

Making good on his Schizopolis-inspired "artistic wake-up call", his commercial slump ended in 1998 with Out of Sight, a stylized adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, written by Scott Frank and starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. The film was widely praised, though only a moderate box-office success. It reaffirmed Soderbergh's potential, sparking the beginnings of a lucrative artistic partnership between Clooney and Soderbergh.

1999 and 2000

Soderbergh followed up on the success of Out of Sight by making another crime caper, The Limey (1999), from an original screenplay by Lem Dobbs and starring veteran actors Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda. The film was well-received, but not as much as Erin Brockovich (2000), a "Rocky movie" he directed, written by Susannah Grant and starring Julia Roberts in her Oscar-winning role as a single mother taking on industry in a civil action. Later that year, Soderbergh released Traffic, a social drama written by Stephen Gaghan and featuring an ensemble cast.

Traffic became his most acclaimed movie since Sex, Lies, and Videotape, and earned him an Academy Award for Best Director. He was also nominated that same year for Erin Brockovich. He is the only director to have been nominated in the same year for Best Director for two different films by the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the Directors Guild of America. The double nomination was the first in 60 years. (In 1938, Michael Curtiz was nominated twice, for Angels with Dirty Faces and Four Daughters, but did not win for either film.)

2001 to 2007

, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy García, Julia Roberts, and Soderbergh in December 2001]] Ocean's Eleven (2001), featuring an all-star cast and flashy aesthetics, is Soderbergh's highest grossing movie to date, grossing more than $183 million domestically and more than $450 million worldwide. The film's star, George Clooney, subsequently appeared in Solaris (2002), marking the third time the two have headlined a film. In the same year, Soderbergh made Full Frontal which was shot mostly on digital video in an improvisional style that deliberately blurred the line between which actors were playing characters and which were playing fictionized versions of themselves. A film within a film, the title is a film industry reference to an actor or actress appearing fully nude (a.k.a., "full frontal nudity"). Also in 2002, Soderbergh was elected First Vice President of the Directors Guild of America.

Following up Full Frontal stylistically was Soderbergh next project, K Street (2003), a ten-part political HBO series he co-produced with Clooney. The series was noteworthy for being both partially improvised and each episode being produced in the 5 days prior to airing to take advantage of topical events that could be worked into the fictional narrative. Actual political players appeared as themselves, either in cameos or fictionalized versions of themselves (as were the leads, real life husband and wife James Carville and Mary Matalin). The show caused a stir during the 2004 Democratic Primary when Carville gave candidate Howard Dean a soundbite during a location shoot that Dean then used in a debate.

Ocean's Twelve (2004), a sequel to Ocean's Eleven, has followed. The Good German, a romantic drama set in post-war Berlin starring Cate Blanchett and Clooney, was released in late 2006. The sixth pairing of Clooney and Soderbergh, Ocean's Thirteen, was released in June 2007.

Latest work

In 2006, Soderbergh raised eyebrows with Bubble, a $1.6 million film featuring a cast of nonprofessional actors. It opened in selected theaters and HDNet simultaneously, and four days later on DVD. Industry heads were reportedly watching how the film performed, as its unusual release schedule could have implications for future feature films. Theater-owners, who at the time had been suffering from dropping attendance rates, did not welcome so-called "day-and-date" movies. National Association of Theatre Owners president and CEO John Fithian indirectly called the film's release model "the biggest threat to the viability of the cinema industry today." Soderbergh's response to such criticism: "I don't think it's going to destroy the movie-going experience any more than the ability to get takeout has destroyed the restaurant business." The film did poor business both at the box office and on the home video market. Nevertheless, Soderbergh is on contract to deliver five more day-and-date movies. In fall of 2006 he contributed a mini-essay on hotel pornography, along with an accompanying series of long-exposure photographs, to Anthem magazine's November/December issue.

In 2007, Soderbergh and Tony Gilroy contributed an audio commentary to the DVD re-release of The Third Man by the Criterion Collection.

On May 22, 2008, Che, which was released in theatres in two parts titled The Argentine and Guerrilla, was presented in the main competition of the 2008 Cannes film festival. Benicio del Toro plays Argentine guerrilla Ernesto "Che" Guevara in an epic four-hour double bill which looks first at his role in the Cuban revolution before moving to his campaign and eventual death in Bolivia.

Soderbergh shot his feature film The Girlfriend Experience in New York in 2008. The film's lead actress is adult film star Sasha Grey.

A Warner Brothers film had Soderbergh working with Matt Damon again. The Informant! featured Matt Damon playing the role of Mark Whitacre, a corporate whistleblower. Whitacre wore a wire for two and a half years for the FBI as a high-level executive at a Fortune 500 company, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), in one of the largest price-fixing cases in history. The film was released on September 18, 2009. The script for the movie was written by Scott Z. Burns based on Kurt Eichenwald's book, The Informant.

Soderbergh was until recently working on a feature adaptation of the controversial state-of-baseball tome Moneyball, which was going to star Brad Pitt and Demetri Martin. The book, which was written by Michael Lewis, tells the story of how Billy Beane, general manager of Oakland Athletics, beat the odds, leading his team in a series of notable wins in 2002 using statistical analysis to make up for what he lacked in funds. Disagreements between Sony and Soderbergh about revisions to Steve Zaillian's version of the screenplay led to the project being canceled a mere week prior to scheduled production in June 2009. The move, unprecedented in recent history, sent shockwaves through the industry.

He is developing his next directing effort, a 3-D live-action rock musical film based on Cleopatra's life, with Catherine Zeta-Jones in talks to play Cleopatra, and with music by the band Guided by Voices. Soderbergh and scriptwriter James Greer will rewrite the lyrics of the songs to fit the story. Hugh Jackman was approached to play Mark Antony but withdrew.

In 2009, Soderbergh directed a play titled Tot-Mom for the Sydney Theatre Company in Sydney, Australia. The play is based on the real-life case of Caylee Anthony. Rehearsals commenced in early November 2009, and the production opened December 2009. Soderbergh also shot a small improvised film with the cast of the play, The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg, a comedy about a theatre company staging Chekhov's Three Sisters. He will direct the Action-Thriller Contagion, which based on a screenplay from Scott Z. Burns.

Directorial style and collaborations

Soderbergh has worked with the following actors more than once (in order of first film appearance):

Peter Gallagher (Sex, Lies and Videotapes and The Underneath)

Eddie Jemison (Schizopolis, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen, and The Informant!)

Don Cheadle (Out of Sight, Traffic, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen)

George Clooney (Out of Sight, Ocean's Eleven, Solaris, Ocean's Twelve, The Good German and Ocean's Thirteen)

Luis Guzmán (Out of Sight, The Limey, and Traffic)

Terrence Stamp (The Limey and Full Frontal)

Albert Finney (Erin Brokovich, Traffic and Ocean's Twelve)

Julia Roberts (Erin Brokovich, Ocean's Eleven, Full Frontal and Ocean's Twelve)

Michael Douglas (Traffic and Haywire)

Topher Grace (Traffic, Ocean's Eleven and Ocean's Twelve)

Benicio del Toro (Traffic and Che)

Catherine Zeta-Jones (Traffic, Ocean's Twelve and Cleo)

Matt Damon (Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen, Che Part 2: Guerrilla, The Informant! and Contagion)

Elliott Gould (Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen and Contagion)

Brad Pitt (Ocean's Eleven, Full Frontal, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen)

"I've always gotten along with them," says Soderbergh of actors, "I try and make sure they're OK, and when they're in the zone, I leave them alone. I don't get in their way." His non-intrusive directorial style has attracted repeat performances by many high-profile movie stars. Julia Roberts had supporting roles in Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, and Full Frontal, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her lead in Erin Brockovich. Benicio del Toro, who also won an Academy Award for his work in a Soderbergh film (Traffic), later starred in Guerrilla and The Argentine. Catherine Zeta-Jones won a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Helena in Traffic (2000) and reteamed with him for box-office hit Ocean's Twelve (2004). They're currently working together for the musical Cleo (2011), with Zeta-Jones in the title role. But the actor who played the leading role in no fewer than six of his films is George Clooney, with whom he co-owns the film production company, Section Eight Productions. Section Eight produced the critical hits Far From Heaven, Insomnia, and Syriana as well as the Clooney-directed films Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck.

Soderbergh often acts as his own director of photography under the alias of Peter Andrews and occasionally as his own editor under the alias of Mary Ann Bernard. While shooting Traffic, Soderbergh wanted a credit of "Photographed and Directed by". The Writer's Guild (WGA) wouldn't allow another credit ahead of the writer. Because Soderbergh didn't want his name used more than once, he adopted a pseudonym, Peter Andrews, his father's first and middle names.

Soderbergh often utilizes Cliff Martinez to construct/compose the soundtracks to his movies, and when not cutting his own films, he relies on editor Stephen Mirrione.

Aesthetics

Soderbergh has made big-budget Hollywood films as well as art-house independent films; works with above-the-title movie stars and unknowns; directs adaptations and original material, both of which written by himself as well as other screenwriters. His versatility is also apparent with the genres which he chooses to film and his trades as a filmmaker behind the scenes. Traffic screenwriter and Syriana director Stephen Gaghan named Soderbergh "the Michael Jordan of filmmaking" for his ability to assume so many distinct roles in film production.

While Soderbergh is enamoured of dialogue, Soderbergh's incorporation of score and montage are equally prevalent in his story-telling. Even Soderbergh's light-hearted affairs, such as Out of Sight and Ocean's 11, contain scenes where images and score are the dominant story-telling mechanisms. Films such as Solaris and Traffic are heavily layered in scenes absent of dialogue altogether. Cliff Martinez, a frequent collaborator with Soderbergh, composes many of the scores that provide Soderbergh with the thematic and sonic landscapes into which he inserts his characters. About Soderbergh's film, The Good German and his emphasis on style over substance, film critic Richard Roeper commented that the film had to offer, "a lot of style. Not so much with the plot."

Soderbergh has, nonetheless, been dubbed a stylistic chameleon by Anne Thompson of Premiere Magazine. Drew Morton has extensively researched Soderbergh and has tied him to a modern movement much like the French New Wave.

Views

Soderbergh is not a fan of possessory credits, and prefers not to have his name front and center at the start of a film. "The fact that I'm not an identifiable brand is very freeing," says Soderbergh, "because people get tired of brands and they switch brands. I've never had a desire to be out in front of anything, which is why I don't take a possessory credit."

On Monday, April 5, 2009, Soderbergh appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, and "cited the French initiative in asking lawmakers to deputize the American film industry to pursue copyright pirates", indicating he supports anti-piracy laws and internet regulation.

Personal life

Soderbergh is married to writer/journalist Jules Asner whom he often credits for influencing his female characters. Soderbergh claims he no longer reads reviews of his movies. "After Traffic I just stopped completely",

Filmography

Director

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Oscar nominations ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Oscar wins |- | 1985 || Yes 9012 Live || || |- | 1989 || Sex, Lies, and Videotape || 1 (Original Screenplay) || |- | 1991 || Kafka || || |- | 1993 || King of the Hill || || |- | 1995 || The Underneath || || |- |rowspan="2" | 1996 || Gray's Anatomy || || |- | Schizopolis || || |- | 1998 || Out of Sight || 2 || |- | 1999 || The Limey || || |- |rowspan="2" | 2000 || Erin Brockovich || 5 (incl. Best Director) || 1 |- | Traffic || 5 (incl. Best Director) || 4 (incl. Best Director) |- | 2001 || Ocean's Eleven |||| |- |rowspan="2" | 2002 || Full Frontal || || |- | Solaris || || |- | 2004 || Ocean's Twelve|| || |- | 2005 || Bubble || || |- | 2006 || The Good German || 1 || |- | 2007 || Ocean's Thirteen || || |- | 2008 || Che || || |- |rowspan="2" | 2009 || The Girlfriend Experience || || |- | The Informant! || || |- |rowspan="2" | 2010 || And Everything is Going Fine || || |- | The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg || || |- |rowspan="2" | 2011 || Haywire || || |- | Contagion || || |}

Screenwriter

1989: Sex, Lies, and Videotape

1993: King of the Hill

1995: The Underneath as Sam Lowry

1996: Schizopolis

1997: Nightwatch

2002: Solaris

2004: Eros – the segment "Equilibrium"

Cinematographer

1996: Schizopolis

2000: Traffic – as Peter Andrews

2001: Ocean's Eleven – as Peter Andrews

2002: Full Frontal – as Peter Andrews

2002: Solaris – as Peter Andrews

2004: Ocean's Twelve – as Peter Andrews

2004: Eros – the segment "Equilibrium"

2006: Bubble – as Peter Andrews

2006: The Good German – as Peter Andrews

2007: Ocean's Thirteen – as Peter Andrews

2008: Che – as Peter Andrews

2009: The Girlfriend Experience – as Peter Andrews

2009: The Informant! – as Peter Andrews

Editor

1989: Sex, Lies, and Videotape

1991: Kafka

1993: King of the Hill

2002: Solaris – as Mary Ann Bernard

2004: Eros – the segment "Equilibrium"

2006: Bubble – as Mary Ann Bernard

2006: The Good German – as Mary Ann Bernard

2009: The Girlfriend Experience – as Mary Ann Bernard

Producer

1994: Suture

1996: The Daytrippers

1998: Pleasantville

2002: Far from Heaven

2002: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

2002: Insomnia

2002: Welcome to Collinwood

2002: Naqoyqatsi

2004: Keane

2004: Criminal

2005: Syriana

2005: Good Night, and Good Luck

2005: The Jacket

2005: Rumor Has It...

2006: Pu-239

2006: A Scanner Darkly

2007: I'm Not There

2007: Wind Chill

2008: Tishomingo Blues [in limbo]

References

External links

Steven Soderbergh Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)

Steven Soderbergh: Interviews

Everhip interview with Steven Soderbergh about making The Girlfriend Experience

NPR: Bubble (01/2006)

Wired interview (12/2005)

Guardian interview (02/2003)

French New Wave Influences in Steven Soderbergh (05/2003)

Steven Soderbergh on The Girlfriend Experience (April 30, 2009)

'Che': Soderbergh's Own Revolution? by Lisa Collins, New York Post, October 31, 2008

"Soderbergh Takes A Revolutionary Approach to 'Che'" by Mark Olsen, LA Times, October 31, 2008

Steven Soderbergh interview by Scott Tobias, The Onion A.V. Club, January 5, 2009

Steven Soderbergh Wants a Revolution interview by Foster Kamer, Black Books, December 29, 2008

The Rumpus Long Interview with Steven Soderbergh by Scott Hitchins, The Rumpus, January 19, 2009

Steven Soderbergh: "I can see the end of my career" by Henry Barnes, Guardian, July 14, 2009

Category:1963 births Category:Actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:American atheists Category:American cinematographers Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:American screenwriters Category:Best Director Academy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia

Caylee Marie Anthony (August 9, 2005 - June 16, 2008) was an American toddler who disappeared in June 2008 and was subsequently discovered dead, attracting national attention. Her mother, Casey Anthony (born March 19, 1986), was indicted on October 14, 2008, for first-degree murder. Police found Anthony's account of Caylee's disappearance suspicious after learning that Casey had not reported her daughter missing for more than a month; the last time Casey Anthony claimed to have seen Caylee was on June 16, 2008, but the child's disappearance was not reported to police until July 15, 2008. On December 11, 2008, the skeletal remains of Caylee Anthony were found near the Anthony home by a meter reader, later confirmed on December 19, 2008 by the Orange County Medical Examiner to be those of the toddler. The cause of the child's death is listed in the autopsy report as "homicide by undetermined means." Casey Anthony is currently in jail, arrested on first-degree murder charges with a trial start date for May 2011. Casey Anthony, her lawyers, and her family maintain that she did not harm her child and that she is innocent of all charges.

Disappearance

Caylee Anthony was first reported missing to authorities on July 15, 2008. Caylee's grandmother, Cindy Anthony, reportedly called 9-1-1 when her daughter Casey Anthony, Caylee's mother, would not tell her where Caylee had been. Cindy had not seen her granddaughter for weeks and became very alarmed when she admitted that she smelled the odor of a "dead body" in the trunk of Casey's car. Cindy later denied what she said and revised her account, stating that the smell was from old, stale pizza. Police later determined, through forensic testing, that there had indeed been the presence of a decomposing body in the trunk of that car.

Investigation

When Detective Yuri Melich questioned Casey Anthony about the whereabouts of her daughter, she stated the child was with a babysitter. The purported babysitter, Zenaida "Zanny" Fernandez-Gonzalez, according to Casey, supposedly had been a caregiver for the child for over two years. When a local woman named Zenaida Gonzalez (not Fernandez-Gonzalez) was questioned by police on July 17, 2008, Gonzalez denied knowing either Casey or Caylee Anthony. When police asked the grandmother Cindy about the babysitter, Cindy said that she had no reason to doubt Casey's account of Fernandez-Gonzalez's caring for Caylee. However, in the nearly three years that Caylee was alive and living at Cindy Anthony's house, neither of Casey's parents nor any of her friends, boyfriends, family, or acquaintances had ever once met the purported babysitter.

From the start of the investigation, Melich had trouble determining the majority of facts of the case. For instance, initially Caylee's grandparents, Cindy and George Anthony, told police that the last time they saw their granddaughter was on June 9, 2008 but authorities found a videotape, taken June 15, 2008, that shows Caylee reading a book. When the grandparents were questioned about the time discrepancy, Cindy Anthony said that she had been confused about the dates and recalled taking Caylee to see Caylee's great-grandfather on Father's Day, June 15, 2008. Cindy Anthony told police that her husband probably went along with the dates because he generally took his wife's word on details.

When Melich began to investigate Casey Anthony, he found discrepancies in what she had told law enforcement in her signed statement. The preponderance of the information Casey gave, starting with the babysitter account, appeared to be false. For example, Casey told police that she currently worked at Universal Studios; when police escorted her to the studio facility, she led them to an office but then admitted that she no longer worked there. Casey also claimed she had been investigating Caylee's disappearance on her own which is why she did not contact police earlier. However, friends and family denied ever having been asked by Casey about Caylee's whereabouts. Numerous photos of Casey smiling and mugging for the camera while at bars and while attending parties in the weeks immediately after Caylee's disappearance were published by news media outlets. On the December 10, 2008 episode of Larry King Live, Cindy Anthony said she believed the photos in question were "staged" photos for which Casey was remunerated, apparently for the promotion of a nightclub.

In July, KioMarie Cruz, Casey Anthony's childhood friend, told local police to investigate the wooded area near Hidden Oaks Elementary School. On August 11, 12, and 13 of 2008, tips were called in to police by a utility worker, subsequently identified as Orange County utility worker, Roy Kronk, but ignored by Richard Cain, a deputy sheriff of Orange County, Florida. Caylee's remains were found in a bag, discovered by Kronk, near the same wooded area on Suburban Drive, less than a half-mile from the Anthony residence on Hopespring Drive.

Arrests and charges

Casey Anthony was arrested for the third time on September 15, 2008, on new charges of theft, and was released shortly afterward.

On October 14, 2008, Casey Anthony was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and was arrested for the fourth time. She entered a plea of not-guilty to the charges that she killed Caylee. On April 14, 2009, prosecutors announced that they plan to seek the death penalty in this case. Casey Anthony and her family maintain that she is innocent of all charges.

Discovery and confirmation of death

On December 11, 2008, skeletal remains of what appeared to be a young child were found by a meter reader for a local utility, Roy Kronk. It was reported that the skull had duct tape wrapped around it. Documents released to the public on January 21, 2009 determined that the duct tape was over the mouth area of the child's skull and stuck to the hair on either side, and that the duct tape had a small heart shaped area of residue on its surface indicating a heart shaped sticker had at one time been stuck on the surface of the duct tape. On December 12, the remains were tentatively identified as Caylee based on strands of hair found with the remains as well as the age and measurements being a match for Caylee. On December 15, WFTV reported that more bones were found in the wooded area near where the skull was discovered.

On December 19, 2008, medical examiner Dr. "G" Jan Garavaglia confirmed that the remains found were those of Caylee Anthony, the death being ruled a homicide and that she had been killed by undetermined means. No details of the DNA identification testing were given, such as the number of loci (specific locations on a DNA sequence) that matched, or the sources used in the match.

Publicity

The case attracted a large amount of mainstream media attention, and was regularly the main topic of many talk shows, including those hosted by Greta Van Susteren, Nancy Grace, Geraldo Rivera, and others. It has been featured on Fox's America's Most Wanted, NBC's Dateline, and ABC's 20/20.

The mysterious and still unexplained death of Caylee has been distinguished by an unexplained lack of critical information from Casey Anthony, who was initially charged with child neglect and making false statements to investigators before later being charged with murder. However, while the Anthony grandparents repeatedly called upon the public to search for Caylee in places as far as Texas, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, they also insisted that Casey had been maintaining her silence in order to protect Caylee, and that searches for a dead body were inappropriate.

Casey Anthony's parents, Cindy and George, appeared on the Today show on October 22, 2008. They maintained their belief that Caylee was alive and would be found. Larry Garrison, president of SilverCreek Entertainment, was their spokesman until he resigned in November 2008, citing that he was leaving due to "the Anthony family's erratic behavior."

More than 600 pages of evidence released by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, including hundreds of instant messages between Casey and then-boyfriend Tony Rusciano, have been the subject of increased scrutiny by the media for clues and possible motives in the homicide.

George Anthony was reported missing on January 22, 2009, after he failed to show up for a meeting with his lawyer, Brad Conway. George was found in a Daytona Beach hotel the next day after sending messages to family members threatening suicide. He was taken to Halifax Hospital for psychiatric evaluation and later released.

Commentators have expressed concern that Casey Anthony's right to a fair trial may be jeopardized by all of the pre-trial publicity. Some cases have been successfully appealed based on prejudicial pre-trial publicity. On May 4, 2009, Anthony's attorney Jose Baez filed for a change in venue to Miami-Dade County.

An episode of the popular daytime talk show Dr. Phil covered the case, including the discovery of the body (which had not been confirmed as Caylee Anthony's at the time).

Evidence

On Friday, October 24, 2008, a forensic report from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee confirmed results from a DNA test showing "evidence consistent with decomposition" based on five "key" compounds out of over 400 possible found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car. DNA samples could not confirm whether the source was alive or dead. The only DNA testing by the FBI was limited to 752 base pairs out of 16,569 base pairs (less than 5% of the mitochondrial genome sequence). Whether or not the decomposition is human is still unknown but indicated as a possibility. The process has not been affirmed by a Daubert Test in the courts.

Traces of chloroform were also found in Casey Anthony's car trunk and evidence was found that someone had searched the Internet on her computer for the use of the chemical and how to make it. No dates of the search were given and they did not establish if the searches were done by Casey. On November 26, 2008, officials released 700 pages of documents related to the Anthony investigation, which included evidence of Google searches of the terms "neck breaking," "how to make chloroform," and "death" on Casey Anthony's home computer. No dates were given as to when the searches were done or by whom.

On February 18, 2009, documents released by the State Attorney's Office in Florida indicated that the same type of laundry bag, duct tape, and plastic bags discovered at the crime scene were found in the house where Casey and Caylee resided. Heart-shaped stickers were also recovered by investigators. A heart-shaped sticker was found on the duct tape that covered the mouth area of Caylee's skull. The documents also indicate that Cindy Anthony stated to them that a Winnie the Pooh blanket was missing from Caylee's bed. This type of blanket was found at the crime scene. An entry from Casey Anthony's diary was also released.

The entry is dated "June 21," and reads:

I have no regrets, just a bit worried. I just want for everything to work out okay. I completely trust my own judgment & know that I made the right decision. I just hope that the end justifies the means. I just want to know what the future will hold for me. I guess I will soon see -- This is the happiest that I have been in a very long time. I hope that my happiness will continue to grow -- I've made new friends that I really like. I've surrounded myself with good people -- I am finally happy. Let's just hope that it doesn't change.

A member of Casey Anthony's defense team, spokeswoman Marti MacKenzie, contends that this entry was written in 2003 prior to the time that Caylee was born. The defense contends that the opposite page has "'03" written in one of the corners as the date, and the handwriting on the two pages match. However, there was no authentication that this is a date, or when it was entered in the diary or by whom. The prosecution acknowledged that it did not know when the entry was made.

Hundreds of pages of evidence were released to the public throughout the case under the Florida "Sunshine Law", and published on the websites of several Orlando, Florida, news stations.

FBI Laboratory documents from June 2009, released to the public in September 2009, stated that the fabric of the duct tape found on the remains and the duct tape found on a gas can at the Anthony family home were microscopically dissimilar in fiber composition and not consistent with originating from the same source.

FBI forensics laboratory identified on September 30, 2009 that a stain in the shape of a young child in the fetal position was found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car.

FBI documents released to the public in October 2009 indicated that two sources of DNA had been discovered in swabbings taken from the duct tape which was found on Caylee's remains, neither of them Casey Anthony's. One set of DNA, found on the shiny side of the tape, was found to be that of one of the FBI laboratory personnel and unrelated to the case. The other was an incomplete segment of DNA found on the adhesive side of the tape which did not match the DNA of Casey Anthony, her parents, the FBI analyst, or that of Caylee.

Civil case

Casey Anthony is being sued for defamation by Zenaida Gonzalez, a 38-year-old Kissimmee mother of six, for damages including punitive. Anthony told investigators that a baby sitter named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez — also known as "Zanny" — abducted 2-year-old Caylee Marie in June. It was reported that Anthony would be exercising her rights under the Fifth Amendment in response to written questions in the civil case. The civil trial is set for August 29, 2011.

Attorneys depart

Andrea Lyon has departed the defense team for Casey Anthony. Todd Macaluso left the case due to California stating that he cannot practice law in California due to charges he used his clients' money. Brad Conway, the attorney for Casey Anthony's parents, withdrew in mid-August 2010, citing allegations in a defense motion that he got "special treatment" in reviewing records. Conway denied the defense allegations, and stated that the allegations made him a witness in the case and forced him to withdraw.

Casey Anthony

Image name	Casey_Anthony_Mugshot.jpeg
Subject name	Casey Anthony
Birth date	March 19, 1986
Birth place	Warren, Ohio, U.S.
Charge	First degree murder,
Conviction status	Incarcerated in Orange County Jail
Parents	George and Cindy Anthony
Siblings	Lee Anthony
Children	Caylee Anthony (2005-2008)

Casey Marie Anthony (born March 19, 1986), Caylee's mother, has been charged with the first degree murder of her daughter.

She was first arrested on July 16, 2008, for giving false statements, neglect of a child, and obstruction of a criminal investigation with a request that she be held on a no bond status until Caylee Anthony was located.

On August 21, 2008, Casey Anthony was released after one month of incarceration. She was released from the Orange County jail after her $500,200 bond was posted by California bail bondsman Tony Padilla.

She was arrested again on August 29, 2008, on charges of forgery, fraudulent use of personal information, and petty theft for forging $700 worth of checks and using her friend's credit cards without permission. Tony Padilla subsequently rescinded the $500,200 in bail due to a lack of cooperation from Casey Anthony.

On September 5, 2008, Casey Anthony was released again on bail after being fitted with an electronic tracking device. Her $500,000 bond was posted anonymously, and it was later revealed that her parents, Cindy and George Anthony, signed a promissory note for the bond.

On October 14, 2008, Casey Anthony was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and was arrested for the fourth time. She is currently in the Orange County Jail awaiting her expected May 16, 2011, trial date, jury selection will start on May 9, 2011, in an undisclosed location. The Florida state attorney's office in April 2009 announced that it intended to seek the death penalty. If convicted and sentenced to death, she will join Tiffany Cole as the only two women on Florida's death row.

See also

Child abduction

Missing white woman syndrome

Unreported missing

References

External links

Caylee Anthony Case Full Coverage at Investigation Discovery

Caylee Anthony Archives at Shadowscope

The Caylee Anthony Story Full Caylee Anthony Coverage (Defunct site prior to 10/2010)

AP Obituary in the Orlando Sentinel

Orange County Incarcerations Page for Casey Anthony

Casey Anthony Diary

Casey Anthony Evidence 2009-02-18

Dr. Michael Stone discusses the Casey Anthony case on Real Law Radio with Bob DiCello Dr. Michael Stone of the Discovery Channel Investigation series Most Evil discusses the psychopathy of mothers who kill children, in conjunction with the Sandra Cantu murder by Melissa Huckaby (Saturday, May 15, 2010).

Category:2008 crimes Category:Crimes against children Category:Murder in Florida Category:Murdered American children Category:Murders Category:People from Florida

Name	Marvin Hamlisch
Landscape	yes
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Marvin Frederick Hamlisch
Born	June 02, 1944New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Composer, conductor
Instrument	Piano
Genre	Musical theatre, Film, Pops
Years active	1965–present
Associated acts	Pittsburgh Symphony OrchestraSeattle Symphony OrchestraDallas Symphony OrchestraPasadena Symphony and PopsSan Diego SymphonyMilwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (born June 2, 1944) is an American composer. He is one of only two people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony (those four together are known as an EGOT) plus a Pulitzer Prize (the other is Richard Rodgers). Hamlisch has also won two Golden Globes.

Biography

Early life and career

Hamlisch was born in New York City to Viennese Jewish parents: Lilly Schachter and Max Hamlisch. His father was an accordionist and bandleader. Hamlisch was a child prodigy, and by age five he began mimicking music he heard on the radio on the piano. A few months before he turned seven, in 1951, he was accepted into what is now the Juilliard School Pre-College Division. His first job was as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand. Shortly after that, he was hired by producer Sam Spiegel to play piano at Spiegel's parties. This connection led to his first film score, The Swimmer.

Hamlisch attended Queens College. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967. In 1986, Smile was a mixed success, but he did gain some note for the song Disneyland. The musical version of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl (1993) closed after only 188 performances, although he received a Drama Desk nomination, for Outstanding Music.

Conductor

Hamlisch was Musical Director and arranger of Barbra Streisand’s 1994 concert tour of the U.S. and England as well as of the television special, "Barbra Streisand: The Concert" (for which he received two of his Emmys).

Currently, Marvin Hamlisch holds the position of Principal Pops Conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. and The Pasadena Symphony and Pops.

Honors and awards

He is one of only ten people to win all four major US performing awards: Emmy Award, Grammy Award, the Oscar and Tony Award. This collection of all four is referred to as an "EGOT". Hamlisch and Richard Rodgers are the only two human beings to have won an "EGOT" and a Pulitzer Prize.

He has received ten Golden Globe Award nominations, winning twice for Best Original Song, with Life Is What You Make It in 1972 and The Way We Were in 1974.

He has received six Emmy Award nominations, winning four times, twice for music direction of Barbra Streisand specials, in 1995 and 2001.

Hamlisch received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Soundtrack Awards, in Ghent, Belgium in 2009. The World Soundtrack Awards are held annually at the end of the Ghent Film Festival, which honors Belgian and international films, with a focus on film music.

He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

In 2008, he appeared as a judge in the Canadian reality series "Triple Sensation" which aired on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). The show was aimed to provide a training bursary to a talented youth who could be a leader in song, dance, and acting.

Personal life

Hamlisch married Terre Blair, a Columbus, Ohio native and news anchor from the ABC affiliate WTVN - Channel 6 in in that city, in May 1989.

He had a prior relationship with Carole Bayer Sager, which was the inspiration for the musical They're Playing Our Song.

Work

Symphony

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra performed a rare Hamlisch classical symphonic suite titled Anatomy of Peace (Symphonic Suite in one Movement For Full Orchestra/Chorus/Child Vocal Soloist) on November 19, 1991. It was also performed in Paris in 1994 to commemorate D-Day. The work was recorded by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1992.

"Anatomy of Peace" was a book by Emery Reves which expressed the world federalist sentiments shared by Albert Einstein and many others in the late 1940s, in the period immediately following World War II.

Hamlisch explains: Emery Reves’s call for one law for us all could be defined by a simple, clear, plaintive theme, and the orchestra would represent all the nations of the world and their different rules of law. The suite begins with the nations of the world in loud, cacophonous uproar. Suddenly, a solo flute introduces the One Law theme, beckoning to us all; one law bringing us all together. But each section of the orchestra (our world) initially resists the call, since old habits are hard to break. The brass and the woodwinds are first to display their dislike of this new idea. But the flute acts as a magnet and slowly its pull (its logic) is felt, first by the woodwinds. When the theme returns, it is not alone. The strings, a big part of our world, must now be convinced, and finally they are. Our theme is now given words, first introduced by a solo child, and then sung again by a children’s chorus. Slowly the irresistibility of the idea begins to weave a spell on the orchestra and the penultimate section of the piece is a contemplative one, as the world thinks about what the new world order would be. Finally, Reves’s dream is musically realized, as the entire orchestra accepts the One Law concept.

Theatre

Seesaw (1973) [Dance Arrangements]

A Chorus Line (Pulitzer Prize for Drama) (1975)

They're Playing Our Song (1978)

Jean Seberg (1983)

Smile (1986)

The Goodbye Girl (1993)

(2002)

Imaginary Friends (2002)

Film

The Swimmer (1968)

Take the Money and Run (1969)

The April Fools (1969)

Move (1970)

Flap (1970)

Something Big (1971)

Kotch (1971)

Bananas (1971)

The War Between Men and Women (1972)

The World's Greatest Athlete (1973)

Save the Tiger (1973)

The Way We Were (1974)

The Sting (1974)

The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977)

Same Time, Next Year (1978)

Ice Castles (1978)

Starting Over (1979)

Chapter Two (1979)

Seems Like Old Times (1980)

Ordinary People (1980)

Gilda Live (1980)

Sophie's Choice (1982)

I Ought to Be in Pictures (film) (1982)

Romantic Comedy (1983)

A Streetcar Named Desire (1984)

DARYL (1985)

A Chorus Line (1985)

When the Time Comes (1987)

Three Men and a Baby (1987)

''The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987)

(1988)

Little Nikita (1988)

David (1988)

The January Man (1989)

Shirley Valentine (1989)

The Experts (1989)

(1990)

Switched at Birth (1991)

Missing Pieces (1991)

Frankie and Johnny (1991)

Seasons of the Heart (1994)

The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)

The Informant! (2009)

Hamlisch also composed "Theme Song for Peaboy" for Late Night with David Letterman.

Academy Awards

1972 Nominee, Best Original Song - "Life Is What You Make It" from Kotch

1973 Winner, Best Original Dramatic Score - The Way We Were

1973 Winner, Best Original Song Score and/or Adaptation - The Sting

1973 Winner, Best Original Song - "The Way We Were" from The Way We Were

* In 1973, Hamlisch became the second person to win three Academy Awards in the same evening following Billy Wilder in 1960.

1977 Nominee, Best Original Song - "Nobody Does It Better" from The Spy Who Loved Me

1977 Nominee, Best Original Score - The Spy Who Loved Me

1979 Nominee, Best Original Song - "The Last Time I Felt Like This" from Same Time Next Year

1980 Nominee, Best Original Song - "Through The Eyes of Love" from Ice Castles

1983 Nominee, Best Original Score - Sophie's Choice

1986 Nominee, Best Original Song - "Surprise Surprise" from A Chorus Line

1990 Nominee, Best Original Song - "The Girl Who Used To Be Me" from Shirley Valentine

1997 Nominee, Best Original Song - "I Finally Found Someone" from The Mirror Has Two Faces

See also

List of persons who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards

References

Further reading

Hamlisch, Marvin (1992). The way I was. Scribner; 1st edition ISBN 0-684-19327-2

Mandelbaum, Ken (1990). A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett. St Martins Press ISBN 0-312-04280-9

Viagas, Robert (1990). On the Line - The Creation of A Chorus Line. Limelight Editions; 2nd edition ISBN 0-87910-336-1

Kelly, Kevin (1990). One Singular Sensation: The Michael Bennett Story. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-26125-X.

Stevens, Gary (2000). The Longest Line: Broadway's Most Singular Sensation: A Chorus Line. Applause Books ISBN 1-55783-221-8

Flinn, Denny Martin (1989). What They Did for Love: The Untold Story Behind the Making of "A Chorus Line."' Bantam ISBN 0-553-34593-1

External links

PBS article

Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:American film score composers Category:American musical theatre composers Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters

Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Golden Globe Award winning musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jewish American composers and songwriters Category:Juilliard School of Music alumni Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Category:Queens College, City University of New York alumni Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Tony Award winners Category:Drama Desk Award winners