17 Again is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Burr Steers. It is the story of 35-year-old Mike (Matthew Perry) who becomes a 17-year-old high school student (Zac Efron) after a chance accident. The film was released in the United States on April 17, 2009. It was set in 2007 (it was originally supposed to be released in 2008, but was delayed until the following year), as evidenced by the date on the cell phones of several students (during a scene where Efron is beaten up by the school bully), and also by the age of Mike and Scarlett's eldest child, Maggie (she's a 17 or 18 year old high school senior)

Plot[link]

In 1989, 17 year-old Mike O'Donnell learns from his girlfriend Scarlett that she is pregnant during the start of his high school championship basketball game. Moments after the game begins, he abandons the game and goes after Scarlett.

Nearly 18 years later, Mike finds his life stalled. Scarlett has separated from him due to his regrets about abandoning college, forcing him to move in with his geeky and wealthy best friend since high school, Ned Gold. At his job we see another reason for his frustration as he is significantly older than most of his co workers and he passed over a promotion he deserves in favor of a much younger female worker, he gets fired from his job (after smashing his boss's bluetooth against the wall) and his high school-age children Maggie and Alex (Maggie is 17 or 18 but we never discover how old Alex actually is) want nothing to do with him. Later, while visiting his high school to reminisce, an encounter with a mysterious janitor transforms Mike into his 17 year-old self.

Given the chance to re-live his youth, Mike enrolls in high school posing as Mark Gold, Ned's son, and plans to go to college with a basketball scholarship. As he befriends his children, however, Mike comes to believe that his mission is to help them. Mike comforts Maggie when her boyfriend Stan, the captain of the basketball team, dumps her. With his help, Alex overcomes Stan's bullying to obtain a place with Mike on the basketball team and the girlfriend he desires.

Through their children Mike spends time with Scarlett, who is attracted to his remarkable resemblance to her husband in high school. Mike has difficulty resisting his desire for her despite the relationship's apparent inappropriateness. At the same time, he must fend off Maggie's amorous advances (completely unaware that he is her father). Meanwhile, Ned courts Jane Masterson, the high school principal who shares a mutual interest in The Lord of the Rings.

Mike soon realizes that Scarlett is the "best decision" he had ever made and finally realizes that his own selfishness has driven his family away tries to re-unite with her and unsuccessfully explains to her that he is actually Mike, her husband. On the day of the court hearing to finalize Scarlett and Mike's divorce, Mike makes one last attempt to win her back (as Mark) by reading a supposed letter from Mike. He states that although he couldn't set things right in the beginning of his life, it doesn't extinguish the fact that he still loves her since that day. After he exits, Scarlett notices that the "letter" is actually the directions to the courtroom and she begins to grow curious. During a high school basketball game, Mike reveals himself to Scarlett. As Scarlett once again runs away down the hall, Mike decides to chase her down once more, but not before handing the ball off to his son. Mike is then transformed back into his 35 year-old self and is reunited with Scarlett. Meanwhile, Ned and Jane begin dating and Mike is hired as the high school's new basketball coach.

Cast[link]

• Zac Efron as Mike O'Donnell (17 years old)
• Matthew Perry as Mike O'Donnell (35 years old)
• Thomas Lennon as Ned Gold (35 years old)
• Michelle Trachtenberg as Margret "Maggie" O'Donnell
• Sterling Knight as Alex O'Donnell
• Leslie Mann as Scarlet O'Donnell (35 years old)
• Hunter Parrish as Stan
• Katerina Graham as Jamie
• Melora Hardin as Principal Jane Masterson
• Jim Gaffigan as Coach Murphy
• Drew Sidora as Cameron
• Tiya Sircar as Samantha
• Vanessa Lee Chester as Karla
• Nicole Sullivan as Naomi
• Adam Gregory as Dom
• Brian Doyle-Murray as The Janitor
• Margaret Cho as Health Teacher
• Allison Miller as Scarlet O'Donnell (17 years old)
• Tyler Steelman as Ned Gold (17 years old)
• Josie Loren as Nicole
• Vince Vaughn as Narrator

Reception[link]

Critical reception[link]

The film received mixed reviews, with a 55% "rotten" rating from film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 143 critic reviews. The consensus was that "though it uses a well-worn formula, 17 Again has just enough Zac Efron charm to result in a harmless, pleasurable teen comedy." ^[3] Also, on Metacritic it received a score of 48 out of 100 based on 27 critic reviews.

Box office[link]

17 Again, which cost an estimated $20 million, was a commercial success with a worldwide gross of over $136 million.^[2]

Soundtrack[link]

17 Again: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on April 21, 2009 by New Line Records.^[4]

Track listing[link]

1. "On My Own" by Vincent and The Villains
2. "Can't Say No" by The Helio Sequence
3. "L.E.S. Artistes" by Santigold
4. "Naïve" by The Kooks
5. "This Is Love" by Toby Lightman
6. "You Really Wake Up the Love in Me" by The Duke Spirit
7. "The Greatest" by Cat Power
8. "Rich Girls" by The Virgins
9. "This Is for Real" by Motion City Soundtrack
10. "Drop" by Ying Yang Twins
11. "Cherish" by Kool & The Gang
12. "Bust a Move" by Young MC
13. "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins

Additional music credits[link]

• "Kid" by The Pretenders
• "Nookie" by Limp Bizkit
• "The Underdog" by Spoon
• "High School Never Ends" by Bowling for Soup (Used in movie trailer/commercial)
• "Push It Fergasonic (DJ Axel Mashup)" by Fergie, Salt-n-Pepa, JJ Fad

The orchestral score was written by Rolfe Kent and orchestrated by Tony Blondal. It was recorded at Skywalker Sound

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: 17 Again

• Official website
• 17 Again at the Internet Movie Database
• 17 Again at AllRovi
• 17 Again at Box Office Mojo
• 17 Again at Rotten Tomatoes

The Annoying Orange is an American comedy web series created by Dane Boedigheimer in 2009. It stars Boedigheimer as an anthropomorphic orange who annoys other fruits, vegetables, and various other objects by using crude-humored jokes. Due to the popularity of the show, The Annoying Orange has also become the subject of a TV series, a video game, a range of toys, and a t-shirt line, despite the show's negative reaction. Other accessories, such as costumes of the series characters, have also appeared on the market.

Summary[link]

The show is centered on Orange (voiced by Dane Boedigheimer), who resides on a kitchen counter with other objects such as his best friend Pear, a Bartlett pear (also voiced by Boedigheimer). Other fruits include Passion, a female passionfruit played by Justine Ezarik, grapefruit, a tiny apple known as Midget Apple (though he prefers the name Little Apple), a small marshmallow, and an elderly lemon named Grandpa Lemon, all of whom were not main characters until later episodes. Most episodes consist of Orange heckling other characters until they meet a sudden and gruesome end, usually by evisceration with a chef's knife (although the implements used to cut them up range from a blender to a toy pinwheel). Usually, Orange tries to "warn" them before it happens, blurting out the weapon-in-use, such as "Knife!"^[1]

Orange has several recurring mannerisms. He often begins an episode by repeatedly yelling "Hey, (name of character)!" until the character responds. Orange also often refers to said character as something that plays on the object's name or appearance (such as calling Grapefruit "Apefruit"). If he does not like an object, he will often say, "You're an apple!", even if the object is not (e.g. a tomato). Orange uses various tactics, such as telling rude and offensive jokes, burping, and making childish noises with his tongue, to get attention. He also has a loud, braying laugh.

Characters[link]

Main[link]

• Orange is the lead protagonist (or antagonist, as he literally annoys others until their death) and main character, appearing in every episode since the series began on October 9, 2009. He has yellow teeth, grey eyes, and a braying laugh. He is known for his annoying puns which he uses in every episode, although hardly any of the fruits seem to find his puns amusing. His standard reply, uttered after being taken to task for being so annoying, is, "No I'm not. I'm an orange!"^[1]
• Pear made his initial (albeit brief) appearance in the first episode, before becoming a regular character since the episode "Passion of the Fruit". He is a Bartlett pear who inhabits the same kitchen counter as Orange, his best friend. Despite their friendship, he is often annoyed by Orange, and initially wants to die early on, although he subtly warms up to Orange's antics afterwards. Pear tries to help others maintain control, and is depicted as more intelligent than Orange.
• Passion Fruit (voiced by YouTube vlogger iJustine), or simply "Passion," first appeared on February 19, 2010 in "Passion of the Fruit". Passion is offended by insults, attempts to settle issues, and scolds Orange and other characters. Unbeknownst to Passion, Orange has a crush on her. She has a twin sister named Mandy, who appeared in "Wishful Thinking," and is in love with Pear.
• Midget Apple was first seen in the episode "Crabapple" on August 6, 2010. Also voiced by Boedigheimer, he is a tiny Red Delicious apple. A friend of Orange, Pear, Passion, and especially Marshmallow, he dislikes being called "Midget Apple," preferring the term "'Little Apple."
• Marshmallow debuted in the episode "Annoying Saw 2: The Annoying Death Trap" on September 24, 2010. He is a small, childlike, squeaky-voiced marshmallow that becomes friends with Orange in the episode. Marshmallow is typically presented as cheerful and happy, and claims to love "puppies, and unicorns, and bunnies, and rainbows, and clouds, and kittens, and bunnies, and rainbows." The character is shown to absorb significant damage to his body, from cuts, fire, and throwing stars, but still emerges largely unscathed. Despite his cuteness, size, and cheerfulness, when something or someone angers him, he tends to act destructively, both towards his friends and the area around him. Although his theme song calls him a "he", it was stated by Boedigheimer that it only referred to the term "marshmallow", which is a masculine word, and not the character itself. Thus, Marshmallow's true gender is male, because he has the face of Dane Boedigheimer.
• Grapefruit (voiced by Robert Jennings) first appeared in "Passion of the Fruit" as Orange's archenemy. He often engages in juvenile insults with Orange. The character was killed by Knife in his debut, but became a recurring character after being resurrected as part of the Frankenfruit monster in "Frankenfruit."
• Grandpa Lemon (played by Kevin Brueck) is an elderly, forgetful lemon who has a habit of falling asleep at rather odd and annoying times. First appearing in "Grandpa Lemon" on June 4, 2010, he is unfazed by Orange's taunts about his memory loss and sleeping habits. Sliced in half by Knife in his debut, he became part of the Frankenfruit monster in Frankenfruit, and has become a recurring character ever since.

Recurring[link]

• Knife (voiced by Kevin Nalty) was initially introduced simply as a kitchen tool in "Annoying Orange". He appears when Orange announces his presence, proceeding to slice up the other fruits and vegetables. His first appearance as a character was in "No More Mr. Knife Guy." Knife is shown to be at odds with his role in the series, hating his life because of how he is used. His mortal enemy is a knife sharpener due to the pain involved.
• Liam the Leprechaun (played by Robert Jennings) first appeared in the episode "Luck o' the Irish" as a bad-tempered leprechaun, who loses his pot of gold to Orange. Orange tends to call him "Jolly Green Giant." Crushed by his pot of gold at the end of the episode, Liam is currently a recurring character, and is also the title character of a former spin-off series on his own YouTube channel.^[2] He still continues to return to the Annoying Orange series as a recurring character.
• Squash has appeared in quite a few episodes over 2011-2012. He is similar to Knife, only the fruits get squashed to death, not cut to death. He also appeares as a main fruit in an episode on certain occasions.

Background[link]

Dane Boedigheimer
Born	(1979-09-28) September 28, 1979 (age 32)[3] Harwood, North Dakota
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Nationality	United States of America
Alma mater	University of Minnesota
Occupation	filmmaker, Youtube celebrity
Years active	2004-present
Notable work(s)	The Annoying Orange

Dane Boedigheimer frequently made home videos as a teen.^[4] During his college years, he studied filmmaking in Minnesota, where he met Spencer Grove as an undergraduate.^[5] After finishing college, Boedigheimer and Grove moved to Bakersfield, California and then in 2004 moved to Los Angeles,^[4] where they both worked as production assistants for MTV's Pimp My Ride.^[6] After finishing working for the show, Dane decided that he didn't want to pursue a career in television; "It wasn't me," said Dane. "I wanted to be creative and do things my own way."^[7]

Boedigheimer and his production company, Gagfilms, slowly built a core of fans. In 2006, he opened two Youtube channels named Daneboe and Gagfilms, producing several video series.^[6] Dane's videos have been viewed over 500 million times and have been featured on TV, popular entertainment, news, and video sharing websites.^[8][9] He is also known for his ongoing "Video Game Mashups" series of videos.^[10] In 2010, Boedigheimer's YouTube channel had almost 350 million views and earned an income of $288,000 from ads.^[11]

Before The Annoying Orange, Boedigheimer had done many talking food videos for his channel and other sites including JibJab. He said in an interview that the idea for The Annoying Orange was a combination of the talking food videos, puns and special effects he came up with and did before.^[12] The original video was initially meant to be the only Annoying Orange video on YouTube. However, many viewers requested more videos,^[1][13] and after the 4th one, Boedigheimer decided to make a full-time series. Following the success of the series, he created a channel dedicated to The Annoying Orange under the name "realannoyingorange" on January 11, 2010.

New episodes of The Annoying Orange are released on a weekly basis, with a few exceptions. The episodes are released every Friday on realannoyingorange's YouTube channel.^[1]

Reception[link]

The series was rated as the most viewed web series of February and March 2010 by Mashable, with over 52 million views.^[14][15] On April 26, 2010, the series had over 108 million views on YouTube.^[1][16][17] In June 2010, the channel had received 137 million views.^[13] By August 13, 2010, it received had 1 million subscribers. On June 2011, the channel was ranked as the eighth most subscribed and 30th most viewed, with more than 2,000,000 subscribers.^[18][19] On January 13, 2012, the series hit 1 billion channel views and 2.3 million subscribers.^[20][21]

Despite the show's popularity, it has received some negative critical response. Liz Shannon Miller considered the show to be "annoying for many reasons."^[22] In the web series column Pass the Mustard, Ned Hepburn called the show "pure, pure unfunny, highly concentrated, in droplet form, just purely nonsensical riffing from an Annoying Orange." Hepburn concluded, "the Annoying Orange series is one of the few that I had a physically bad reaction to. It was horrible."^[23] 411mania.com called the show "idiotic" and "creepy as hell",^[24] while other publications have referred to it as "third grade humor."^[1]

Merchandise[link]

Since late 2011, The Collective has produced many accessories, toys and clothing with toymaker The Bridge Direct and clothing retailers such as JCPenney, Shopko and rue21.^[25] On November 10, 2011, GeekDad announced a giveaway for an Annoying Orange T-shirt from JCPenney and a toy from Toys R Us. GeekDad started taking entries through Friday at 11:59 PM.^[26] The Collective also announced a partnership in December of that year with costume manufacturer Rubie's Costume Company to produce children and adult Halloween costumes and accessories featuring characters such as Orange, Pear, Marshmallow, and Midget Apple from the web series.^[27]

Games[link]

A video game developed by Bottle Rocket Apps named Kitchen Carnage was released for the iPod Touch and iPhone on April 7, 2011. The game was later released in HD for the iPad on May 6, 2011, and for Android devices on October 14, 2011. Players throw various produce items across the kitchen at a series of blenders and other kitchen utensils.

TV series[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Annoying Orange official website
• The Annoying Orange official YouTube channel

Michael Bay
on the set of Transformers (May 30, 2006)
Born	Michael Benjamin Bay (1965-02-17) February 17, 1965 (age 47) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film director Film producer
Years active	1984–present

Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects.^[1][2] His films, which include The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and the Bad Boys and Transformers series, have grossed over three billion dollars world-wide.^[3] He is co-founder of commercial production house The Institute, a.k.a. The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness.^[4] He is co-chair and part-owner of the digital effects house Digital Domain.^[5] He co-owns Platinum Dunes, a production house which has remade horror movies including Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and A Nightmare on Elm Street.^[6]

Early life[link]

Michael Bay was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He was raised by his adoptive parents Harriet, a bookstore owner/child psychiatrist, and Jim, a CPA.^[7] Bay's grandfather was Russian.^[8] His cousin, Susan Bay, is the wife of Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy.^[9] He attended the exclusive Crossroads School, in Santa Monica, California.^[10] Bay often traces his interest in action films back to an incident during his childhood. As a boy, he attached some firecrackers to a toy train and filmed the ensuing fiery disaster with his mother's 8mm camera. The fire department was called and he was grounded.^[11]

Career[link]

Bay got his start in the film industry interning with George Lucas when he was fifteen, filing the storyboards for Raiders of the Lost Ark, which he thought was going to be terrible. His opinion changed after seeing it in the theater and he was so impressed by the experience that he decided to become a film director.^[12] He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1986, majoring in both English and Film.^[13][14] He was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and a favorite student of film historian Jeanine Basinger.^[15] For his graduate work, he attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where he also studied film.^{[citation needed]}

Michael Bay began working at Propaganda Films, directing commercials and music videos, two weeks after finishing his post-graduate degree.^{[citation needed]} His 90-second World War II-inspired Coca-Cola advertisement was picked up by Capitol Records. His first national commercial for the Red Cross won a Clio Award in 1992.^[16][17] He directed Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Got Milk? advertisement campaign for the California Milk Processors Board in 1993.^[18]

Bay's success in music videos gained the attention of producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, who selected him to direct his first feature-length film, Bad Boys. The film was shot in Miami in 1994 and starred Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The action film proved to be a break-out role for Smith, who was segueing from television to films at that time. Shooting in Miami was a good experience for Bay who would later own a home in the city and spend a great deal of time there.^[19] The film was completed for $19 million dollars and grossed a remarkable $141 million at the box office in the summer of 1995.^[20] Bay's success led to a strong partnership and friendship with Jerry Bruckheimer.^[21]

His follow-up film, The Rock (1996), was an action movie set on Alcatraz Island, and in the San Francisco Bay area. It starred Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris. It was also produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, the latter of whom died five months before the film's release. The film is dedicated to him.^[22] Connery and Cage won 'Best On-Screen Duo' at the MTV Movie Awards in 1997 and the film was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Achievement in Sound category for the work of Greg P. Russell, Kevin O'Connell, and Keith A. Wester.^[23][24]

In 1998, Bay collaborated with Jerry Bruckheimer again, this time as a co-producer, as well as directing the action-adventure film Armageddon.^[25][26] The film, about a group of tough oil drillers who are sent by NASA to deflect an asteroid away from a collision course with Earth, starred Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler. It was nominated for 4 Oscars at the 71st Academy Awards including Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Song.^[27] The film earned 9.6 million dollars on its opening day and a total of 36.5 million through the first weekend.^[28] The production budget, $140 million dollars, was one of the highest of the summer of 1998. Armageddon went on to gross over $553 million dollars worldwide.^[29]

In 2001, Bay directed Pearl Harbor. It starred Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale and Cuba Gooding, Jr. The film was released on Memorial Day weekend in 2001. Again, Bay produced the film with Jerry Bruckheimer. The film received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing and Best Song. Again, Kevin O'Connell received another nomination for Best Sound, but he did not win. Pearl Harbor won in the category for Sound Editing.^[30] Michael Bay also directed the music video for nominated track "There You'll Be" by vocal artist Faith Hill.^{[citation needed]}

Bay reteamed with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence for Bad Boys II, an event which also marked Bay's fifth collaboration with Jerry Bruckheimer. The film grossed $138 million domestically, enough to cover the production budget, and $273 million worldwide, almost twice as much as the first movie.

In 2005, Bay directed The Island, a science-fiction film starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. It was the first film Michael Bay made without Jerry Bruckheimer. The Island cost $126 million to produce. It earned $46 million domestically and $172 million worldwide. Bay stated that he was not comfortable with the domestic marketing campaign as it confused the audience as to the true subject of the film.^[31]

In 2007, he directed and teamed up with Steven Spielberg to produce Transformers, a live action film based on the Transformers franchise. The film was released in the U.S. and Canada on July 3, 2007, with 8 p.m. preview screenings on July 2. The previews earned $8.8 million, and in its first day of general release it grossed $27.8 million, a record for Tuesday box office attendance.^{[citation needed]} It broke the record held by Spider-Man 2 for the biggest July 4 gross, making $29 million. On its opening weekend, Transformers grossed $70.5 million, amounting to a $155.4 million opening week, giving it the record for the biggest opening week for a non-sequel.^{[citation needed]} As of November 2007, the film has made over $319 million domestically and over $708 million worldwide.

Bay returned as director and executive producer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which was released on June 24, 2009 and went on to gross over $832 million worldwide. Although it received mostly negative reviews by critics,^[32] including aggressively critical reviews by American film critics such as Roger Ebert,^[33] Michael Phillips^[34] and David Denby (who referred to Bay as "stunningly, almost viciously, untalented"),^[35][35] the film was well-received by its intended audience and was one of the highest-grossing films of 2009.^[36][37] In 2010, it earned seven Golden Raspberry Award nominations and winning three: Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay.^[38]

As of 2009, Michael Bay's worldwide box office totals make him the director with the eighth highest domestic US gross of all time (not adjusted for inflation).^[39] It was also one of the best selling DVD and Blu-ray Discs of 2009, second only to Twilight in DVD format and the number one of all time in Blu-ray format until it was surpassed by Blu-ray sales of James Cameron's Avatar in April 2010.^[40][41][42]

Bay directed Transformers: Dark of the Moon, released on June 28, 2011.^[43] He may direct a sequel to the Bad Boys franchise or a "small" film he's been developing for years, tentatively called Pain & Gain.^[44] The true crime story, based on events described in a Miami Herald article^[45] written by Pete Collins, concerns a group of bumbling bodybuilders working together to commit a robbery.

Bay produced DreamWorks' I Am Number Four, based on a series of novels by authors James Frey and Jobie Hughes published by HarperCollins Children's Books. D. J. Caruso (Eagle Eye, Disturbia) directed.^[46][47]

Bay will co-produce One Way Out, a reality series that pits ordinary people against each other as they try to keep their pasts hidden and builds toward a showdown where all those secrets will be revealed.^[48]

Gideon's Sword, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's novel set for release in February 2011, was optioned by Bay Films and will be produced by Michael Bay. The main character, Gideon Crew, avenges the death of his father.^[49][50]

In June 2011, Bay confirmed that Pain & Gain was his next project and that it would have a budget of $20 million.^[51]

On February 13, 2012, Paramount Pictures announced that Bay will produce and direct a fourth Transformers movie with a scheduled release date of June 2014.^[52]

Production and FX companies[link]

Platinum Dunes[link]

Bay founded this production house with fellow producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form in 2001.^[53] Platinum Dunes is named after one of Bay's first student films at Wesleyan University. Brad Fuller also graduated from Wesleyan and worked for Bay as an executive assistant before joining him in this business venture. The company's first film, a remake of the 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, grossed $107 million dollars worldwide.^[54] Platinum Dunes produced lucrative remakes of classic horror films and introduced new directors like Sam Bayer and Marcus Nispel to feature film audiences. Their most recent horror film production, A Nightmare on Elm Street starring Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger, was released April 2010. The film made 32.9 million dollars in its opening weekend, covering nearly its entire 35 million dollar budget and went on to gross over 100 million dollars worldwide.^[55]

Paramount Pictures signed a first look deal with Platinum Dunes in 2009.^[56] As part of this new relationship, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon have brought the Platinum Dunes producers on to produce a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, rebooting the film series launched by New Line in 1990. Bay, Fuller and Form will co-produce with Galen Walker, Scott Mednick and Marina Norman.^[57]

Platinum Dunes is currently in the process of selling an unnamed TV series to a "major cable network" with Bay in talks to direct the pilot.^[58]

Digital Domain[link]

Bay and Wyndcrest Holdings, a Florida-based investment firm, acquired the digital effects company Digital Domain from James Cameron and Stan Winston in 1996, infusing the struggling business with a $50 million dollar investment.^[5] Digital Domain considered an initial public offering in 2009 but ultimately withdrew the offer, because of the lack of interest. Currently a work for hire visual effects production house, Digital Domain plans to expand its efforts in the video gaming industry and become a full-fledged motion picture production house. Headquartered in Venice, Los Angeles, California, the company is also working to open branches in Vancouver, Canada and the state of Florida.^[59]

The Institute[link]

After leaving Propaganda Films, Bay and producer Scott Gardenhour, also formerly at Propaganda, formed The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness^[60] (now known as The Institute), to produce commercials and other projects. Through The Institute, Bay has directed and produced spots for Victoria's Secret, Lexus, Budweiser, Reebok, Mercedes-Benz, and Nike. His most recent advertisement for Victoria Secret was the 2009 "A Thousand Fantasies" holiday campaign.^[61]

Awards and honors[link]

Bay has received five MTV Movie Awards: Best Movie and Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet for Transformers, Best Action Scene for Pearl Harbor, Best Action Scene for Bad Boys II, and Best Action Scene for The Rock.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, Bay was honored by the Directors Guild of America with an award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials.^[62]

Michael Bay received the ShoWest 2009 Vanguard Award for excellence in filmmaking at the confab of theater owners.^[63]

Personal life[link]

Bay lives in Los Angeles and Miami with his two bullmastiffs, Bonecrusher and Grace, named for characters in Transformers and Armageddon, respectively. As a boy, he donated his Bar Mitzvah money to an animal shelter and often includes his bullmastiff dogs in his films.^[64] He had another dog, Mason. Mason the dog's last appearance in a film was as Miles' dog in Transformers. He died during production of that film in March 2007.^[65][66]

Filmography[link]

Feature films[link]

Television[link]

• Miami Vice (TV series) (1986) (actor - Goon #3)
• No Way Out (TV series) (announced) (producer)
• Cocaine Cowboys (TV series) (announced) (producer)

Music videos[link]

• "Soldier of Love" by Donny Osmond (1989) (director)
• "Angelia" by Richard Marx (1989) (director)
• "I'll Be Holding On" by Greg Allman (1989) (director) ... from the film Black Rain
• "I Love You" by Vanilla Ice (1991) (director)
• "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls (1991) (director)
• "Love Thing" by Tina Turner (1992) (director)
• "Do It to Me" by Lionel Ritchie (1992) (director)
• "You Won't See Me Cry" by Wilson Phillips (1992) (director)
• "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf (1993) (director)
• "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" by Meat Loaf (1994) (director)
• "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" by Meat Loaf (1994) (director)
• "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" by Aerosmith (1997) (director)
• "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill (2001) (director) ... Theme from Pearl Harbor

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michael Bay

• Official website
• The Institute
• Michael Bay at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Bay at AllRovi

Will Smith
Smith in 2011
Born	Willard Christopher Smith, Jr. (1968-09-25) September 25, 1968 (age 43) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Other names	The Fresh Prince
Occupation	Actor, producer, rapper
Years active	1985–1993, 1997–2005 (rapping), 1990–present (acting)
Spouse	Sheree Zampino (m. 1992–1995) «start: (1992)–end+1: (1996)»"Marriage: Sheree Zampino to Will Smith" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Will_Smith) Jada Pinkett Smith (m. 1997) «start: (1997)»"Marriage: Jada Pinkett Smith to Will Smith" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Will_Smith)
Children	Trey Smith Jaden Smith Willow Smith
Website
www.willsmith.com

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968),^[1] also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood.^[2] Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards.

In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years (1990–1996) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office and the only one to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at #1 spot in the domestic box office tally.^[3]

Fourteen of the nineteen fiction films he has acted in have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million, and four took in over $500 million in global box office receipts. As of 2011, his films have grossed $5.7 billion in global box office.^[4] His most financially successful films have been Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Independence Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, I, Robot, I Am Legend, Hancock, Wild Wild West, Enemy of the State, Shark Tale, Hitch and Seven Pounds. He also earned critical praise for his performances in Six Degrees of Separation, Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, receiving Best Actor Oscar nominations for the latter two.

Family and early life[link]

Born and raised in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia, Smith also lived in Germantown in Northwest Philadelphia. His mother, Caroline (née Bright), was a school administrator who worked for the Philadelphia school board, and his father, Willard Christopher Smith, Sr., was a refrigeration engineer.^[5][6] He was raised Baptist.^[7] His parents separated when he was thirteen,^[8] and did not actually divorce until around 2000.^[9]

It is untrue, though widely reported, that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); he never applied to the school,^[10] although he was admitted to a "pre-engineering program" there.^[9] According to Smith, "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college."^[11]

Recording and acting career[link]

Smith at the Emmy Awards in 1993

Early work (1985–1995)[link]

Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer,^[12] as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime".^[12] They gained critical acclaim and won the first Grammy awarded in the Rap category (1988).^[12]

Smith had a line in "Voices That Care", a 1991 Persian Gulf War song by a celebrity group. Smith spent money freely during his early career and underpaid his income taxes.^[12] The Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income.^[13] Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990, when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him.^[12]

The show was successful and began his acting career. Smith set for himself the goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world," studying box office successes' common characteristics.^[8] His first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and the action film Bad Boys (1995) which he starred opposite of Martin Lawrence.

Breakthrough (1996–2000)[link]

In 1996, Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. The film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest grossing film in history at the time and establishing Smith as a prime box office draw.^[14] He later struck gold again in the summer of 1997 alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the summer hit Men in Black playing Agent J. In 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State.^[12]

He turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West (1999). Despite the disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision, asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith himself would have achieved.^[15] Though in interviews subsequent to the release of Wild Wild West he stated that he "made a mistake on Wild Wild West. That could have been better."^[16]

2001–present[link]

Smith in September 2009

In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending a record breaking three premieres in a 24-hour time span.^[17]