Tyrone Power embraces Alice Faye in the 1938 film Alexander's Ragtime Band.

Romance films are love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theaters and on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus. Occasionally, lovers face obstacles such as finances, physical illness, various forms of discrimination, psychological restraints or family that threaten to break their union of love. As in all romantic relationships, tensions of day-to-day life, temptations (of infidelity), and differences in compatibility enter into the plots of romantic films.^[1]

Romantic films often explore the essential themes of love at first sight, young with older love, unrequited love, obsessive love, sentimental love, spiritual love, forbidden love, sexual and passionate love, sacrificial love explosive and destructive love, and tragic love. Romantic films serve as great escapes and fantasies for viewers, especially if the two people finally overcome their difficulties, declare their love, and experience life "happily ever after", implied by a reunion and final kiss. In romantic television series, the development of such relationships may play out over many episodes, and different characters may become intertwined in different romantic arcs.

Subgenres[link]

• Romantic drama is the quintessential romantic film. These films will typically place greater emphasis on the sex act and the figures of the lovers than do romantic comedies, and there is less use of the "trusted confidant" device. Music is often employed to indicate the emotional mood, creating an atmosphere of greater insulation for the couple. The conclusion of a romantic drama typically does not indicate whether a marriage will occur. Some examples of romantic drama films are The Bridges of Madison County, Falling in Love, Casablanca and Last Tango in Paris.^[2]
• Chick flick is a term often associated with romance films as many are targeted to a female audience.^[3][4] Although many romance films may be targeted at women, this is not a defining characteristic of a romance film and a chick flick does not necessarily have a romance as a central theme, revolve around the romantic involvement of characters or even contain a romantic relationship. As such, the terms cannot be used interchangeably. Films of this genre include Dirty Dancing, The Notebook, Dear John, A Walk to Remember, and Romeo + Juliet.
• Romantic comedies are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. Humor in such films tends to be of a verbal, low-key variety or situational, as opposed to slapstick. ^[5] Films within this genre include, Love Actually, Moonstruck, It Happened One Night, When Harry Met Sally..., The Family Stone, It's Complicated, Three to Tango, 27 Dresses, and The Holiday.
• Romantic thriller is a genre of film which has a storyline combining elements of the romance film and the thriller genre. Some examples of romantic thriller films are The Adjustment Bureau, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Phantom of the Opera, Super 8, The Tourist, The Bodyguard, Unfaithful, and Wicker Park. ^[6]

Examples[link]

Note: Not all romance films are about heterosexual couples. There is a history of romance films about same sex couples going back to 1919 with Anders als die Andern (a.k.a. Different from the Others).

See also[link]

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions
• Romantic comedy film
• Drama film
• Romance novel

References[link]

External links[link]

• IMDb guide to Romance movies

A Love
File:A Love.jpg A Love (Sarang) movie poster
Hangul	사랑
RR	Sarang
MR	Sarang
Directed by	Kwak Kyung-taek
Produced by	Jeong Tae-Won Yang Jung-Gyeong
Written by	Kwak Kyung-taek
Starring	Ju Jin-mo Park Si-yeon
Editing by	Park Gwang-Il
Release date(s)	September 19, 2007 (2007-09-19)
Running time	104 min.
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean

A Love (사랑 - Sarang) is a 2007 South Korean film directed by Kwak Kyung-taek. Kwak Kyung-taek's most notable film is Chingoo. A Love stars Ju Jin-mo from 200 Pounds Beauty and Park Si-yeon.

Plot[link]

At age 17, In ho meets a girl as beautiful as a watercolor painting, and promises to protect her after her brother dies. Although he is the best fighter in his school, he dreams of making his mother proud by going to college. It takes him 7 years to confess to the girl of his dreams. He stabs a gangster in the neck for her, although he wanted to live quietly like everyone else. But to keep his promise to protect her, he stabs Chi-kwon, a notorious mobster in Busan. He devotes his life to working for Chairman Yoo. He buries his love for the vanished girl and gets a second chance while working at the docks. He offers his life to the man who first holds out his hand for him. The girl he cannot forget returns as a love he cannot have. She becomes his patron’s woman and beyond reach... But as he decides to be happy for once in life, cruel destiny rattles everything in his life.

Cast[link]

• Ju Jin-mo - In-ho
• Park Si-yeon - Mi-Ju
• Joo Hyun
• Kim Min-jun

See also[link]

• List of Korean language films
• Korean cinema
• List of Korea-related topics

External links[link]

• Official site (Korean)
• Sa-rang (2007) at the Internet Movie Database
• A Love at HanCinema

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Renee Olstead
Olstead at Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Rebecca Renee Olstead
Born	(1989-06-18) June 18, 1989 (age 23) Kingwood, Texas, U.S.
Origin	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Actress, singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Renee LLC, 143, Reprise
Website	www.reneeolstead.com

Rebecca Renee Olstead (born June 18, 1989) is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles in the TV sitcoms Still Standing as Lauren Miller and The Secret Life of the American Teenager as Madison Cooperstein. In addition, she has recorded five studio albums, primarily of jazz music.

Early life[link]

Olstead was born in Kingwood, Texas, to Christopher Eric Olstead and Rebecca Lynn Jeffries. Olstead is of Norwegian ancestry.^[1][2][3] As a child actress, she made films and commercials from age eight onwards. She also attended Centre Stage theatrical school and is mentioned on their website's alumni.

From 2002 to 2006, she appeared in the TV sitcom Still Standing as middle sister Lauren Miller. Olstead was presented the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy) - Supporting Young Actress for Still Standing in 2002. She also had a small part in the 2004 film 13 Going on 30. She is currently (2011) co-starring in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, about fifteen year old Amy Juergens's struggle through her unexpected pregnancy and how it affects her peers. Olstead plays the character of Madison Cooperstein, who is one of Amy's best friends.

Music career[link]

In 2004, Olstead released an eponymous album of jazz songs and pop standards for Warner Bros. Records to good reviews: since her previous releases had had limited distribution, this album was considered her true debut. She subsequently performed in Berlin during the Live 8 concert on July 2, 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Olstead also recorded with trumpeter Chris Botti on his 2005 album To Love Again: The Duets and appeared on the 2006 DVD Chris Botti Live with Orchestra and Special Guests. Her singing style is influenced by such great jazz vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Reportedly, her musical talent was discovered by composer David Foster, who produced her 2004 album. She later also performed with Foster on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

A follow-up album entitled Skylark, also produced by Foster, was originally announced for release in 2005, but it was subsequently pushed back several times, with release dates in the summer of 2006 and early 2007 being mentioned on online retailers such as Amazon.com. It was then scheduled for a June 2008 release, but was delayed once again.^[4] It was finally released on January 27, 2009, nearly four years after it was originally announced.

Discography[link]

• Stone Country (2000)
• Unleashed (2000)
• By Request (2002)
• Renee Olstead (2004)
• The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (soundtrack) (2004)
• Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (soundtrack) (2008)
• Skylark (2009)
• A Tribute to Billie Holliday (various artists) (2009)

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Renee Olstead's Official Website
• Renee Olstead's Official Fansite
• Renee Olstead at the Internet Movie Database

Shannon Tweed
Shannon Tweed in 2007 at the 2nd Annual Night of 1000 Stars. Ritual Supper Club, Hollywood, California
Playboy centerfold appearance
November 1981
Preceded by	Kelly Tough
Succeeded by	Patricia Farinelli
Playmate of the Year
1982
Preceded by	Terri Welles
Succeeded by	Marianne Gravatte
Personal details
Born	Shannon Lee Tweed (1957-03-10) March 10, 1957 (age 55) St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada[1]
Measurements	Bust: 36"C[1][2] Waist: 25" Hips: 36"
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]

Shannon Lee Tweed (born March 10, 1957)^[1] is a Canadian actress and model. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica,^[3] she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller. Tweed lives with her husband Gene Simmons of the band Kiss and their two children.

Early life[link]

Tweed was born in St John's, Newfoundland, to a mink rancher^[2] and was raised on a mink ranch in Markland. Shannon is one of seven children. She has two younger sisters, Tracy (born May 10, 1965), who is an actress, and Sara Tweed, who lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She has another sister, Kim. Shannon and Tracy shared the screen in the film Night Eyes 3, and have appeared nude together in a Playboy spread. Tracy occasionally makes appearances on Family Jewels. She also has two brothers, Lance and Jeff.

After their father was badly injured in a car crash, her mother was left to care for the children on her own while her father was recuperating. Eventually her mother had to sell the ranch to support her seven children. Mrs Tweed did not tell her husband that she had sold the ranch and when he found out, he divorced her. Shannon's mother moved the family to her home town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Tweed attended Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan but never graduated. She became involved in beauty pageants at a young age. In 1978, she was Miss Ottawa and fourth in the Miss Canada Pageant. She won the Miss Canada talent competition (her specialty was singing).^[2]

Career[link]

After the Canadian wish-fulfilment TV series Thrill of a Lifetime arranged for her to pose for Hugh Hefner's Playboy, she was chosen to be the Playmate of the Month for the November 1981 issue and eventually the Playmate of the Year for 1982.^[4][5][6] Since then, Tweed has primarily acted in TV series such as the HBO comedy 1st and Ten, the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest and guest appearances on Frasier, as well as B movies. Tweed also appeared in an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard in the seventh and final season. In 1985, she landed a role on Days of our Lives as Savannah Wilder, remaining with the show until 1987. She reprised the role for a brief storyline in October 2011.

Her first major theatrical film appearance was in the teen sex comedy Hot Dog... The Movie in 1984. Since then, Tweed has appeared in more than 60 films including Detroit Rock City, produced by Gene Simmons in 1999.

Personal life[link]

Tweed had a relationship with the CFL linebacker Ron Foxx, who then played for the Ottawa Rough Riders. After a brief relationship with Hugh Hefner^[2] (which coincided with her Playmate appearances and being named 1982 Playmate of the Year), Tweed has lived with Gene Simmons of Kiss since 1983.^[7] The couple have two children, Nicholas (born January 22, 1989) and Sophie Alexandra (born July 7, 1992) Simmons. The family members star in a reality television show on A&E entitled Gene Simmons Family Jewels.^[8] On October 1, 2011 Shannon and Simmons married at the historic Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.^[9]

Selected filmography[link]

• Of Unknown Origin (1983)
• Hot Dog…The Movie (1984)
• The Surrogate (1984)
• Meatballs III: Summer Job (1986)
• Steele Justice (1987)
• Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988)
• Last Call (1991)
• In the Cold of the Night (1991)
• The Naked Truth (1992)
• Night Eyes 2 (1992)
• Sexual Response (1992)
• Cold Sweat (1993)
• Night Eyes 3 (1993)
• Indecent Behavior (1993)
• No Contest (1994)
• Possessed by the Night (1994)
• A Woman Scorned (1994)
• Hard Vice (1994)
• Night Fire (1994)
• Indecent Behavior 2 (1994)
• The Dark Dancer (1995)
• Victim of Desire (1995)
• Illicit Dreams (1995)
• Body Chemistry 4: Full Exposure (1995)
• Indecent Behavior 3 (1995)
• Stormy Nights (1996)
• Electra (1996)
• White Cargo (1996)
• Human Desires (1997) as Alicia Royale
• Shadow Warriors: Assault on Devil's Island (1997)
• Bimbo Bash Movie (1997)
• Dead by Dawn (film)|Dead by Dawn (1998)
• Forbidden Sins (1998)
• Naked Lies (1998)
• No Contest II (1998)
• Powerplay (1999)
• Detroit Rock City (1999)
• The Rowdy Girls (2000)
• Dead Sexy (2001)

Selected television appearances[link]

• The Hitchhiker (Season 2, Episode 6, entitled "Videodate," 1984)
• Days of our Lives (as Savannah Wilder – 142 episodes, 1985–1986)
• 21 Jump Street (Episode "You Oughta Be in Prison", 1987)
• Dear John (1989)
• Baywatch Hawaii (Episode "If Looks Could Kill", 1991)
• Married… with Children (Episode "The Two That Got Away", 1995)
• Frasier (episodes "You Scratch My Book...", 1995; and "Don Juan in Hell: Part 2", 2001)
• Murder, She Wrote (Episode "Twice Dead", 1995)
• Wings (Episode "Oedipus Wrecks", 1997)
• The Parkers (Episodes "Out with the Old, in with the New", 2003; "Mother's Day Blues", 2001; and "Moving on Out", 2000)
• Gene Simmons Family Jewels (All Episodes, 2006–Present)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (Episode "20,000 Patties Under The Sea", 2007)
• United States of Tara (Episode "Dept. of F'd Up Family Services", 2010)
• Republic of Doyle (Season 3,"Head Over Heals", 2012)

See also[link]

• List of people in Playboy 1980-1989

References[link]

External links[link]

• Shannon Tweed at the Internet Movie Database
• Shannon Tweed at Playboy.com
• AskMen.com: Shannon Tweed

Catherine Breillat (born 13 July 1948 in Bressuire, Deux-Sèvres) is a French filmmaker, novelist and Professor of Auteur Cinema at the European Graduate School.^[1]

Life and career[link]

Breillat was born in Bressuire, Deux-Sèvres, but grew up in Niort. She decided to become a writer and director at the age of 12 after watching Ingmar Bergman's Gycklarnas afton, believing she had found her "'fictional body'" in Harriet Andersson's character, Anna.^[2]

She started her career after studying acting at Yves Furet "Studio d'Entraînement de l'Acteur" in Paris together with her sister, actress Marie-Hélène Breillat (born 2 June 1947) in 1967. At the age of 17, she had her novel, l'Homme facile, (Easy Man) published. Ironically the French government banned it for readers under 18 years old. A film based on the novel was made shortly after the publication of the book, but the producer went bankrupt and the distributor Artedis blocked any commercial release of the film for twenty years although it had been given an R rating^[3].

Breillat is known for films focusing on sexuality,^[4] intimacy, gender conflict and sibling rivalry. Breillat has been the subject of controversy for her explicit depictions of sexuality and violence. She cast the pornstar Rocco Siffredi in her films Romance (Romance X, 1999) and Anatomie de l'enfer (Anatomy of Hell, 2004). Her novels have been best-sellers.

Her work has been associated with the Cinéma du corps/Cinema of the Body tendency.^[5]

In an interview with Senses of Cinema, she described David Cronenberg as another filmmaker she considers to have a similar approach to sexuality in film.

Though Breillat spends most of her time behind the camera, she has been in a handful of movies, making her film debut in 1972 as Mouchette in Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris.

In 2004, Breillat suffered a stroke.^[6]

A friend of hers, Christophe Rocancourt, a con artist, was to play a role in the upcoming film "Bad Love". However, in 2009 she accused him of taking advantage of her handicap by embezzling €650,000. Breillat documented the incident in her book, published in 2009, called "Abus de faiblesse" (Abuse of Weakness).^[7]

As of 2010, Breillat is almost fully recovered from her stroke and still intends to film Bad Love with Naomi Campbell in a lead role.^[7][8] Departing from her native French, Breillat plans for the dialogue in the movie to be in both English and Chinese.^[8] In September 2010, Breillat's second fairy-tale based film, Sleeping Beauty (La belle endormie), opened in the Orizzonti sidebar in the 67th Venice Film Festival.^[9]

Filmography[link]

Stage plays[link]

• Les Vêtements de mer

Bibliography[link]

• Abus de faiblesse
• Pornocratie
• Le Soupirail
• L'homme facile
• Tapage Nocturne

About Catherine Breillat

• Anne-Elizabeth Blateau, « Une vieille maîtresse sans Breillat » (A Last Mistress without Breillat), in Carré d'Art by Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Anagramme, Paris, 2008 (pp. 143-149).

• Douglas Keesey, Catherine Breillat, Manchester University Press, coll. « French film directors », 2009.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Catherine Breillat Faculty Page at European Graduate School (Biography, bibliography, lectures and videos)
• Catherine Breillat at the Internet Movie Database
• Catherine Breillat bibliography via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center
• A Salon interview with Catherine Breillat
• Salon review of "Romance"
• indiewire review of "Romance"
• Rewriting Fairy Tales, Revisiting Female Identity: An Interview with Catherine Breillat, Maria Garcia, Cineaste, Summer 2011