This article's references may not meet Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources. Please help by checking whether the references meet the criteria for reliable sources. (December 2010)

Red Band, previously Untitled Comedy, and later titled Untitled Ferrelly/Wessler Project, then Movie 43 is an upcoming comedy film written by Rocky Russo, Jeremy Sosenko and Patrik Forsberg. The film will feature segments directed by Patrik Forsberg and Peter Farrelly and co-directed by Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk and Brett Ratner. The film was shot in 2010 and is set to be released by Relativity Media on January 25, 2013.^[1]

Plot[link]

It is a feature-film composed of 25 short comedy segments.

Cast[link]

The film features a large ensemble cast.

• Elizabeth Banks
• Emma Stone as Ellen Malloy
• Kristen Bell as Supergirl
• Jimmy Bennett
• Halle Berry
• Kate Bosworth as Arlene
• Gerard Butler as Shaun
• Steve Crotry and Sara Zillions as Marv and Harriet Romero
• Kieran Culkin
• Aasif Mandvi as Asif
• Josh Duhamel
• Anna Faris as Vanessa
• Richard Gere as Boss
• Hugh Jackman
• Johnny Knoxville
• Beth Littleford
• Justin Long as Robin
• Stephen Merchant as Donald
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse
• Chloë Grace Moretz
• Liev Schreiber
• Tony Shalhoub
• Uma Thurman as Lois Lane
• Patrick Warburton
• Naomi Watts
• Seann William Scott
• Kate Winslet as Juliet Hulme
• Jason Sudeikis as Batman
• John Hodgman as The Penguin
• Jack McBrayer as Brian
• Jeremy Allen White as Kevin Metzger
• Christina Linhardt as Birthday Party Clown
• Chris Pratt as Jason
• Martin Klebba as Killer Chaun
• Bobby Cannavale as Superman

References[link]

External links[link]

• Red Band at the Internet Movie Database
• Movie 43 at Box Office Mojo

Marlon Wayans
Marlon Wayans.
Born	Marlon L. Wayans (1972-07-23) July 23, 1972 (age 39) New York, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, producer, comedian, screenwriter, director
Years active	1988–present

Marlon L. Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, model producer, comedian, writer, and director of movies, beginning with his role as a pedestrian in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in 1988. He frequently collaborates with his brother Shawn Wayans, as he has on the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. and in the comedic films Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2, White Chicks, Little Man, and Dance Flick. However, Wayans had a dramatic role in Darren Aronofsky's critically acclaimed Requiem for a Dream, which saw his departure from the usual comedies. In 2009, he appeared in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Early life[link]

Wayans was born in New York, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager.^[1] His family was involved in the Jehovah's Witnesses religion.^[2][3] Marlon Wayans was raised in the housing projects of New York City, the youngest of ten siblings. He is the brother of Nadia Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, Dwayne Wayans, and Kim Wayans; all celebrities in their own right. Wayans went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City, the school made famous in Fame. He attended Howard University.

Career[link]

From 1995 until 1999, Wayans co-starred in the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. with brother Shawn Wayans. Though primarily a comedic actor, he garnered considerable critical acclaim for his dramatic turn in Requiem for a Dream. He has also produced the first two films of the Scary Movie series, in which he and Shawn were credited writers and co-stars. He was sharply criticized for his performance in the 2000 movie Dungeons & Dragons as "Snails", the incompetent Rogue. Wayans filmed all his scenes in four days before leaving to work on Requiem for a Dream.

Wayans was originally cast as Robin in the 1992 film Batman Returns,^[4] however it was felt that the film featured too many characters, so the character was omitted from that film. He was considered for the role in the 1995 sequel Batman Forever, but the change in directors from Tim Burton to Joel Schumacher would also mean a change in the choice of actor for the role of Robin. Despite not actually appearing in either film, he was reportedly still paid for the role.^{[citation needed]} He was replaced by Chris O'Donnell.

He produced a cartoon series on Nickelodeon that he has said is a combination of Charlie Brown and Fat Albert, called Thugaboo. In an interview on Chelsea Lately, Wayans, along with his brother Shawn stated that "in meetings he usually falls asleep but wakes up with amazing ideas."^{[citation needed]} Marlon also hosted the 2000 MTV VMA's, along with his brother Shawn. He received much critical acclaim for his role in Requiem for a Dream.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marlon Wayans at the Internet Movie Database
• Marlon Wayans at AllRovi

Persondata
Name	Wayans, Marlon
Alternative names
Short description	Actor
Date of birth	1972-7-23
Place of birth	New York City, New York,  United States
Date of death
Place of death

Eddie Murphy
Murphy at the Tribeca Film Festival for Shrek Forever After in 2010.
Birth name	Edward Regan Murphy
Born	(1961-04-03) April 3, 1961 (age 51) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Medium	Film, television, stand-up, music, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1976–present
Genres	Observational comedy, musical comedy, black comedy, satire, physical comedy, Dance Pop
Subject(s)	African American culture, race relations, racism, marriage, everyday life, current events, pop culture, human sexuality
Influences	Bill Cosby,[1] Richard Pryor,[1] Peter Sellers, Redd Foxx[1] Robin Williams,[1]
Spouse	Nicole Mitchell (1993–2006) (divorced) 5 children Tracey Edmonds (2008) (unofficial)
Domestic partner(s)	Melanie Brown (2006–07) 1 child
Notable works and roles	Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop Various on Saturday Night Live Shrek series

Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician.

Box office takes from Murphy's films make him the second-highest grossing actor in the United States.^[2][3] He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984 and has worked as a stand-up comedian. He was ranked #10 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.^[4]

He has received Golden Globe Award nominations for his performances in 48 Hrs, Beverly Hills Cop series, Trading Places, and The Nutty Professor. In 2007, he won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of soul singer James "Thunder" Early in Dreamgirls.^[5]

Eddie Murphy's work as a voice actor includes Thurgood Stubbs in The PJs, Donkey in the Shrek series and the dragon Mushu in Disney's Mulan. In some of his films, he plays multiple roles in addition to his main character, intended as a tribute to one of his idols Peter Sellers, who played multiple roles in Dr. Strangelove and elsewhere. Murphy has played multiple roles in Coming to America, Wes Craven's Vampire In Brooklyn, the Nutty Professor films (where he played the title role in two incarnations, plus his father, brother, mother, and grandmother), Bowfinger, Norbit, and Meet Dave.

Early life[link]

Murphy grew up in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick.^[6] His mother, Lillian, was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer and an amateur actor and comedian.^[1][7][8][9] His father died when he was young. When Murphy's single mom became ill, the eight-year-old Eddie Murphy and his older brother lived in foster care for one year.^[10] In interviews, the actor and comedian says that his time in foster care was influential in developing his sense of humour. Later Murphy and his older brother Charlie were raised in Roosevelt, New York by his mother and stepfather Vernon Lynch, a foreman at an ice cream plant.^[1] Around the age of 15, Murphy was writing and performing his own routines, which were heavily influenced by Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor.^[1]

Career[link]

Stand-up comedy[link]

Murphy performed stand-up at the same Bay Area Comedy Club as Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. His early comedy was characterized by frequent swearing and sketches lampooning a diverse group of people (including WASPs, African Americans, Italian Americans, overweight people, and gay people). This racy content was akin to that of Richard Pryor, whom Murphy has credited as his inspiration to enter comedy;^[1] however, in his autobiography, Pryor Convictions, Pryor wrote that he found Murphy's comedy at times excessively insensitive. Murphy later apologized for insensitive jokes about gay people and HIV. The stand-up shows Delirious and Raw have been recorded and released.

1980s acting career[link]

Murphy in 1988

Murphy first earned attention as a regular actor at Saturday Night Live, and was credited with helping revitalize the series during its first true slump in quality in the early 1980s.^[11] Some of his notable characters included a grown version of the Little Rascals character Buckwheat,^[12] impoverished but street-wise children's show host Mr. Robinson (a spoof of Fred Rogers, who found it amusing),^[13] and Gumby,^[12] a harshly cynical version of the animated character; Murphy's take on the latter character spawned one of SNL's many catchphrases, "I'm Gumby, dammit!" Although Buckwheat was his most popular character, Murphy asked that he be retired because the actor grew tired of people asking him to "Do Buckwheat! Do Buckwheat!"; the character was assassinated on camera in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.^[14]

In 1982, Murphy made his big screen debut in the film 48 Hrs. with Nick Nolte.^[1] 48 Hrs. proved to be a hit when it was released in the Christmas season of 1982. Nolte was scheduled to host the December 11, 1982 Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live, but became too ill to host, so Murphy took over. He became the only cast member to host while still a regular. Murphy opened the show with the phrase, "Live from New York, It's the Eddie Murphy Show!" The following year, Murphy starred in Trading Places with fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd.^[1] The movie marked the first of Murphy's collaborations with director John Landis (who also directed Murphy in Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop III) and proved to be an even greater box office success than 48 Hrs. In 1984, Murphy starred in the successful action comedy film Beverly Hills Cop.^[1] The film was Murphy's first full-fledged starring vehicle, originally intended to star Sylvester Stallone (who later tweaked the script as his own starring vehicle Cobra in 1986).^[1] Beverly Hills Cop grossed over $230 million at the box office and is 40th in the list of all-time total U.S. box office grosses (4th-highest amongst "R" rated films), after adjusting for inflation, as of March 2011^[update].^[15]

In 1984, Murphy appeared in Best Defense, co-starring Dudley Moore. Murphy, who was credited as a "Strategic Guest Star", was added to the film after an original version was completed but tested poorly with audiences. Best Defense was a major financial and critical disappointment. When he hosted SNL, Murphy joined the chorus of those bashing Best Defense, calling it "the worst movie in the history of everything". Murphy's Trading Places co-star Dan Aykroyd had originally written the character of Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters specifically for Murphy, but he was unable to commit at the time due to the Beverly Hills Cop shooting schedule. The part ultimately went to Ernie Hudson. Murphy was also offered a part in 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, a role that, after being heavily re-written from comic relief to love interest, ultimately went to future 7th Heaven star Catherine Hicks. By this point^[16] Murphy's near-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures rivaled Star Trek as Paramount's most lucrative franchise.

In 1986, Murphy starred in the supernatural comedy, The Golden Child.^[1] The Golden Child was originally intended to be a serious adventure picture starring Mel Gibson. After Gibson turned the role down, the project was offered to Murphy as it was subsequently rewritten as a partial comedy. Although The Golden Child (featuring Murphy's "I want the knife!" routine) performed well at the box office, the movie was not as critically acclaimed as 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop. The Golden Child was considered a change of pace for Murphy because of the supernatural setting as opposed to the more "street smart" settings of Murphy's previous efforts. A year later, Murphy reprised his role of Axel Foley in the Tony Scott-directed Beverly Hills Cop II. It was a box office success, grossing over $150 million. Producers reportedly wanted to turn the Beverly Hills Cop franchise into a weekly television series. Murphy declined the television offer, but was willing to do a film sequel instead.

Murphy was one of the last movie actors to sign an exclusive contract with a studio. In this case, it was Paramount Pictures, which released all of his early films.

Singing career[link]

Murphy is also a singer and musician, having frequently provided background vocals to songs released by The Bus Boys, which their song "The Boys Are Back in Town" was featured in 48 Hrs. and Murphy's comedy special Eddie Murphy Delirious. As a solo artist, Murphy had two hit singles, "Party All the Time" (which was produced by Rick James) and "Put Your Mouth on Me" in the mid-1980s (although he actually started singing earlier in his career, with the songs "Boogie In Your Butt" and "Enough Is Enough", the latter being a parody of Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer's 1979 song, "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)". They both appear on his 1982 self-titled comedy album.) "Party All the Time" was featured on Murphy's 1985 debut album How Could It Be, which included a minor follow-up R&B hit in the title track, a duet with vocalist Crystal Blake. This track was written by Rusty Hamilton and was produced by Stevie Wonder's cousin Aquil Fudge after a brief falling out and bet with Rick James. In 2004, VH-1 and Blender voted "Party All the Time" number seven among the "50 Worst Songs of All-Time." Sharam used a sample of the song for the UK #8 hit "PATT (Party All The Time)" in 2006.

Murphy recorded the album Love's Alright in the early 1990s. He performed in a music video of the single "Whatzupwitu", featuring Michael Jackson. He recorded a duet with Shabba Ranks called "I Was a King". In 1992, Murphy appeared in Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" alongside Magic Johnson and Iman.

Though uncredited, Murphy provided vocal work on SNL castmate Joe Piscopo's comedy single, "The Honeymooners Rap."^{[citation needed]} Piscopo impersonated Jackie Gleason on the single, while Murphy provided an imitation of Art Carney.

In Coming to America, he imitated Jackie Wilson when he sang "To Be Loved", but because the character he was playing had a thick accent, he had to sing it in character. In later years, Murphy performed several songs in the Shrek film franchise. In the first film, he performed a version of "I'm a Believer" in the film's final scene; in Shrek 2 he performed Ricky Martin's hit "Livin' La Vida Loca" along with co-star Antonio Banderas.

Murphy's all-time favorite singer is Elvis Presley.

Early 1990s career[link]

From 1989 until the mid 1990s, box office results and reviews for Murphy's films dropped, hitting a low point with the critically panned Beverly Hills Cop III (1994),^[17] a movie Murphy would ultimately denounce during an appearance on Inside the Actors Studio,^[1] although he did find box office success with Boomerang and Another 48 Hrs. Harlem Nights featured Murphy, who had previously been known only as a performer, as director, producer, star, and co-writer, with his brother, Charlie Murphy, as well as supporting roles for Murphy's comic idols Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor.^[1]

During this period Murphy was criticized by filmmaker Spike Lee for not using his show business stature to help black actors break into film, despite Murphy's films (especially those he produced) often being populated with predominantly black casts (Coming To America, Harlem Nights, Boomerang, Vampire In Brooklyn, Life). Many black actors who would later gain wider recognition make early appearances in Murphy films such as Damon Wayans in Beverly Hills Cop, Halle Berry and Martin Lawrence in Boomerang, Samuel L. Jackson and Cuba Gooding Jr. in Coming to America, Dave Chappelle in The Nutty Professor and Chris Rock in Beverly Hills Cop II.

Although Murphy has enjoyed commercial success since Saturday Night Live, he has never attended cast reunions or anniversary specials, nor did he participate in the making of the Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live retrospective book by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller (2002).

Comeback and image makeover[link]

Murphy's box office results began to recover in 1996, starting with The Nutty Professor. He followed with a series of very successful family-friendly movies like Mulan, Dr. Dolittle and its sequel, the Shrek series, Daddy Day Care, and The Haunted Mansion, along with Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. However, most of his movies meant for more adult audiences performed moderately; Metro, I Spy, and Showtime all ended to gross less than $40 million domestically, Holy Man performed poorly, grossing less than $13 million, and The Adventures of Pluto Nash is on record as one of the biggest theatrical money-losers of all time, grossing just $7 million worldwide on a reported $110 million budget. A notable exception to this run of poorly received adult-themed films was the Frank Oz comedy Bowfinger, also starring Steve Martin. The film garnered generally positive critical reviews, and grossed $98 million at the box office.

In 2006, he starred in the motion picture version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls as soul singer James "Thunder" Early. Murphy won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award in that category. Several reviews for the film highlighted Murphy's performance while he received some pre-release Academy Awards buzz.^[18] Murphy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on January 23, 2007, but lost to Alan Arkin for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine. Dreamgirls was the first film distributed by Paramount Pictures to star Murphy (who once was on an exclusive contract with the studio) since Vampire in Brooklyn in 1995.

In 2007, Murphy was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[19] As a result of Viacom's acquisition of Dreamworks SKG, Paramount distributed his other 2007 releases: Norbit and Shrek the Third. He starred in the 2008 film Meet Dave and the 2009 film Imagine That for Paramount Pictures.

Murphy co-starred in Tower Heist, directed by Brett Ratner. Murphy played a thief who joins a group of hardworking men who find out they have fallen victim to a wealthy businessman's Ponzi scheme, and conspire to rob his high-rise residence. Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, and Casey Affleck also starred in the film, released on November 4, 2011.^[1][20][21]

It was reported in late 2011 that Murphy would host the 84th Academy Awards in 2012. However, he dropped out of his hosting duties on November 9, 2011, in the wake of the Brett Ratner scandal.^[22]

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Eddie Murphy in Hollywood Walk of Fame

Murphy began a longtime romantic relationship with Nicole Mitchell (born January 5, 1968) after meeting her in 1988 at an NAACP Image Awards show. They lived together for almost two years before getting married at the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel in New York City on March 18, 1993.^[23] Murphy and Mitchell had five children together: Bria L. Murphy (born November 18, 1989), Myles Mitchell (born November 7, 1992), Shayne Audra (born October 10, 1994), Zola Ivy (born December 24, 1999) and Bella Zahra (born January 29, 2002). In August 2005, Mitchell filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". The divorce was finalized on April 17, 2006.^[24]

He also has a child by Tamara Hood: son Christian Murphy (born on 29 November 1990).^[25]

Murphy as of 2008 resided in Long Island, New York.^[26]

Following his divorce from Mitchell, in 2006, Murphy began dating former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, who became pregnant and stated that the child was Murphy's. When questioned about the pregnancy in December 2006 by RTL Boulevard, Murphy told Dutch reporter Matthijs Kleyn, "I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, sir". Brown gave birth to a baby girl, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, on Murphy's 46th birthday, April 3, 2007. On June 22, 2007, representatives for Brown announced in People that a DNA test had confirmed that Murphy was the father.^[27] Brown has stated in an interview that Murphy has not sought a relationship with Angel.^[28][29]

Murphy exchanged marriage vows with film producer Tracey Edmonds, former wife of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, on January 1, 2008, in a private ceremony on an island off Bora Bora.^[30] On January 16, the couple released a statement saying, "After much consideration and discussion, we have jointly decided that we will forego having a legal ceremony as it is not necessary to define our relationship further," and called the Bora Bora wedding a "symbolic union". The two had planned on having a legal ceremony upon their return to the U.S. but did not, and their wedding was never official.^[31]

Legal problems[link]

According to Murphy's childhood friend Harris Haith in his book, Growing Up Laughing With Eddie, long before Murphy did any writing for Coming to America, Art Buchwald had approached Paramount Pictures with the idea for a similar film. His material was rejected, but the information was retained by Paramount. They liked Buchwald's idea but did not see fit to pay him and saved it for use later down the road. Some years later, Paramount presented the idea of Coming to America to Eddie and gave him the contract. Murphy wrote a screenplay that came to light exactly as it aired on the silver screen. In 1988, Buchwald sued Murphy and Paramount Pictures, but Murphy was not found liable because Paramount had received the material.

Philanthropy[link]

Murphy has donated money to the AIDS Foundation, and cancer, education, creative arts, family/parent support, health and homeless charities. He has donated to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, various cancer charities and $100,000 to the Screen Actors' Guild's strike relief fund.^[32]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Singles[link]

Awards/nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Eddie Murphy

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eddie Murphy

• Eddie Murphy at the Internet Movie Database
• Eddie Murphy at Allmusic
• Eddie Murphy on Discogs
• Maxim Rated Top SNL performer

Julia Stiles
Stiles at the Tribeca Film Festival, New York, April 25, 2007
Born	Julia O'Hara Stiles (1981-03-28) March 28, 1981 (age 31) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	actress
Years active	1993–present
Website
juliastilesblog.com

Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress.

After beginning her career in small parts in a New York City theatre troupe, she has moved on to leading roles in plays by writers as diverse as William Shakespeare and David Mamet. Her film career has included both commercial and critical successes, ranging from teen romantic comedies such as 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) to dark art house pictures such as The Business of Strangers (2001). She is also known for playing the supporting character Nicky Parsons in the Bourne film series and the leading role in Save the Last Dance, and for her role in Mona Lisa Smile. She guest starred as Lumen Pierce in the fifth season of the Showtime series Dexter, a role that earned her Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations.^[1][2]

Early life[link]

Stiles was born in New York City, the eldest of three children. Her mother, Judith Newcomb Stiles, is a potter, and her father, John O'Hara, is a businessman.^[3] Stiles has English, Irish, and Italian ancestry.^[4] She started acting at age eleven, performing with New York's La MaMa Theatre Company.^[5]

Career[link]

Film career[link]

Stiles' first film was a non-speaking part in I Love You, I Love You Not (1996), with Claire Danes and Jude Law. She also had small roles as Harrison Ford's daughter in Alan J. Pakula's The Devil's Own (1997) and in M. Night Shyamalan's Wide Awake (1998). Her first lead was in Wicked (1998), playing a teenage girl who might have murdered her mother so she could have her father all to herself. Critic Joe Balthai wrote she was "the darling of the 1998 Sundance Film Festival"^[6] and Internet movie writer Harry Knowles said she was the "discovery of the fest", but the film was not commercially released in the U.S. and went direct-to-video.

In 1999, she portrayed Kat Stratford, opposite Heath Ledger, in Gil Junger's 10 Things I Hate About You, an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew set in a high school in Tacoma, Washington. She won an MTV Movie Award for "Breakthrough Female Performance" for the role, and the Chicago Film Critics voted her the most promising new actress of the year. Foreign critics applauded her work as well, including Adina Hoffman, who praised her as "a young, serious looking Diane Lane"^[7] and Martin Hoyle, who commented that Stiles played Kat "with bloody-minded independent charm from the beginning with hints of wistfulness beneath the determination."^[8]

Her next starring role was in Down to You (2000), which was panned by critics, but earned her and her co-star Freddie Prinze, Jr. a Teen Choice Award nomination for their on-screen chemistry. She subsequently appeared in two more Shakespearean adaptations. The first was as Ophelia in Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (2000), with Ethan Hawke in the lead. The second was in the Desdemona role, opposite Mekhi Phifer, in Tim Blake Nelson's O (2001), a version of Othello set in a private boarding school. Neither film was a great success; O was subject to many delays and a change of distributors, and Hamlet was an art house film shot on a minimal budget.

Stiles' next commercial success was in Save the Last Dance (2001), as an aspiring ballerina forced to leave her small town in downstate Illinois to live with her struggling musician father in Chicago after her mother dies in a car accident. At her new, nearly all-black school, she falls in love with the character played by Sean Patrick Thomas, who teaches her hip-hop dance steps that get her into The Juilliard School. The role won her two more MTV awards for "Best Kiss" and "Best Female Performance", and a Teen Choice Award for best fight scene for her battle with Bianca Lawson. Rolling Stone pronounced her "the coolest co-ed," putting her on the cover of its April 12, 2001 issue. She told Rolling Stone that she performed all her own dancing in the film, though the way the film was shot and edited might have made it appear otherwise.^[9]

In David Mamet's State and Main (2000), about a film shooting on location in a small town in Vermont, she played a teenage girl who seduces a film actor (Alec Baldwin) with a weakness for young girls. Stiles also appeared opposite Stockard Channing in the dark art-house film The Business of Strangers (2001) as a conniving, amoral secretary who exacts revenge on her boss. Channing was impressed by her co-star: "In addition to her talent, she has a quality that is almost feral, something that can make people uneasy. She has an effect on people."^[10] Stiles also had a small but crucial role as Treadstone operative Nicolette "Nicky" Parsons in The Bourne Identity (2002), a role that was enlarged in The Bourne Supremacy (2004), then greatly expanded in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).

Between the Bourne films, she appeared in Mona Lisa Smile (2003) as Joan, a student at Wellesley College in 1953, whose art professor (Julia Roberts) encourages her to pursue a career in law rather than become a wife and mother. Critic Stephen Holden referred to her as one of cinema's "brightest young stars,"^[11] but the film met with generally unfavorable reviews.

Stiles played a Wisconsin college student who is swept off her feet by a Danish prince in The Prince and Me (2004), directed by Martha Coolidge. Stiles told an interviewer that she was very similar to the character, Paige Morgan. Critic Scott Foundas said while she was, as always, "irrepressibly engaging," the film was a "strange career choice for Stiles."^[12] This echoed criticism in reviews of A Guy Thing (2003), a romantic comedy with Jason Lee and Selma Blair. Critic Dennis Harvey wrote that Stiles was "wasted,"^[13] and Stephen Holden called her "a serious actress from whom comedy does not seem to flow naturally".^[14]

In 2005, Stiles was cast opposite her Hamlet co-star Liev Schreiber in The Omen, a remake of the 1976 horror film. The film was released on June 6, 2006.^[15]

She returned to the Bourne series with a much larger role in The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007, and to this day it is her highest grossing film. Producer Lynda Obst said that Stiles was "turning into the next Meryl Streep."^[16] Stiles also appears in the 2008 film Gospel Hill. She portrayed a woman who falls in love with her stalker in the 2009 thriller The Cry of the Owl, based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith.^[17]

Julia Stiles began filming on her latest project, Between Us, in May 2011 with co-stars Taye Diggs, David Harbour and Melissa George. Between Us is the screen adaptation of the Off-Broadway play by the same name written by playwright Joe Hortua.^[18]

Stage career[link]

Stiles' first theatrical roles were in works by author/composer John Moran with the group Ridge Theater, in Manhattan's Lower East Side from 1993–1998. She later performed on stage in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, in the summer of 2002 and appeared as Viola, the lead role in Shakespeare in the Park's production of Twelfth Night with Jimmy Smits. Reviewing the production, Ben Brantley of The New York Times saluted Stiles as "the thinking teenager's movie goddess" who put him in mind of a "young Jane Fonda."^[19]

In the spring of 2004, she made her London stage debut opposite Aaron Eckhart in a revival of David Mamet's play Oleanna at the Garrick Theatre.^[20]

She reprised the role of Carol in a 2009 production,^[21] directed by Doug Hughes and co-starring Bill Pullman at the Mark Taper Forum. On June 30, 2009, it was announced that this production would be transferring to Broadway's John Golden Theatre, with previews beginning Sept. 29 before an October 11 opening night.^[22]

Stiles will play Jeannie in a production of Neil LaBute's Fat Pig directed by the playwright beginning in April 2011.^[23]

Other work[link]

Stiles appeared in the video for Cyndi Lauper's single, "Sally's Pigeons" in 1993. On March 17, 2001, Stiles hosted Saturday Night Live and, eight days later, she was a presenter at the 73rd Academy Awards.^[24] She returned to Saturday Night Live on May 5 appearing as then-President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna Bush in a skit that poked fun at the two first daughters being arrested for underage drinking.^[3] MTV profiled her in its Diary series in 2003,^[25] and she was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher at a Washington DC museum in the spring of 2004.^[26]

Stiles made her writing and directorial debut with Elle magazine's short Raving starring Zooey Deschanel.^[27] It premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.^[28]

In May 2010 Stiles was cast in a major role in the Showtime series Dexter^[29] and signed for 10 episodes.^[30] For this role Stiles received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.^[31] as well as a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

Personal life[link]

Stiles is a graduate of Columbia University and holds a degree in English literature. She received a John Jay Award in 2010, the annual honorary award given to five alumni by the Columbia College Alumni Association for professional achievements.^[32]

Stiles has also worked for Habitat for Humanity, building housing in Costa Rica,^[33] and has worked with Amnesty International to raise awareness of the harsh conditions of immigration detention of unaccompanied juveniles; Marie Claire, in January 2004, featured Stiles' trip to see conditions at the Berks County Youth Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania.^[34][35]

She is an ex-vegan, occasionally eating red meat.^[36] She says she gave up veganism after she developed anemia and found it difficult to get proper nutrition while traveling. Stiles has described herself as a feminist and wrote on the subject in The Guardian.^[20]

An avid baseball fan, she supports the New York Mets.^[37] She threw the ceremonial first pitch before their May 29, 2006 game.^[38] She is also an avid soccer fan and supports the New York Red Bulls. ^[39]

She's currently in a relationship with actor David Harbour.^[40]

Filmography[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Julia Stiles on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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• Julia Stiles at the Internet Movie Database
• Julia Stiles at the TCM Movie Database
• Julia Stiles at the Internet Broadway Database
• Julia Stiles at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Raving Trailer directed by Julia Stiles
• Icons of Fright interview (June 1, 2006)
• Her Personal Blog
• Guardian Unlimited interview (April 3, 2004)
• Tiscali.uk interview (2004)
• Stiles on Tavis Smiley (June 5, 2006)

Olivia Munn
Munn at the 2009 Attack of the Show panel
Born	Lisa Olivia Munn (1980-07-03) July 3, 1980 (age 31) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, model, presenter
Years active	2004–present
Website
www.oliviamunn.com

Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980^[1][2]) is an American comedic actress, model, television personality and author. She began her career being credited as Lisa Munn. Since 2006, she has been using the name Olivia Munn personally and professionally.^[3]

Early life[link]

Lisa Olivia Munn was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is of Chinese descent on her mother's side (though her mother was raised in Vietnam)^[4] and of German and Irish descent on her father's.^[5] When Munn was two, her mother re-married, this time to a man in the United States Air Force. Although the family relocated many times, Munn was predominantly raised in Tokyo, Japan,^[3][6] where the military stationed her stepfather. During this time, she had appeared in a number of local theater productions, and later became a model within the Japanese fashion industry.^[7] Her parents divorced and she moved back to Oklahoma, where she attended Putnam City North High School for her junior and senior years and where she was a contemporary of Hinder bassist Mike Rodden, future Oklahoma state senator David Holt and author Aaron Goldfarb.^[8][9] She also attended the University of Oklahoma, majoring in journalism and minoring in Japanese and dramatic arts.^[3]

Munn moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. In 2004, she interned at Fox Sports Net and worked as a sideline reporter for college football and women's basketball. She has gone on to say that she disliked the experience, explaining "I was trying to be something I wasn't, and that made me really uncomfortable on live TV."^[6]

Career[link]

Olivia cosplaying as Princess Leia Organa.

Soon after her move to Los Angeles, Munn was cast in a small role in the straight to video horror film Scarecrow Gone Wild. She appeared in rock band Zebrahead's video for their song "Hello Tomorrow" as the love interest of the lead singer Justin Mauriello.^[10]

In late 2005, Munn began her portrayal of Mily Acuna, a teen surfer, over two seasons of the TV drama Beyond the Break^[11] on The N network. She enjoys surfing and continues to practice the sport.^[12] She originally auditioned for the part of Kai, but the producers wanted a "local girl."^[13] She also appeared in the film The Road to Canyon Lake.

In 2006, Munn moved on to the G4 network, where she began co-hosting Attack of the Show! with Kevin Pereira on April 10. She replaced departing host Sarah Lane. The network, devoted to the world of video games and the video game lifestyle, was at first hesitant to hire Munn. Although she admits video games were her "weak point," she was confident in her technical knowledge.^[14] On the show, Munn was featured with journalist Anna David in a segment called "In Your Pants," which deals with sex and relationship questions from viewers. While working on Attack of the Show!, Munn hosted Formula D, a now defunct program about American drift racing, and an online podcast called Around the Net (formerly known as The Daily Nut), for G4. Munn left Attack of the Show! in December 2010 and was replaced by Candace Bailey.

Munn appeared in the Rob Schneider movie Big Stan. She played Schneider's character's receptionist Maria.^[6] Munn also had a significant role in the 2008 horror film Insanitarium, in which she played a nurse at an insane asylum. She had roles in the 2010 movies Date Night and Iron Man 2. Robert Downey, Jr. praised Munn for her improvisation skills and led the crew in a round of applause.^[15]

Munn hosted Microsoft's Bing-a-thon, an advertisement on Hulu for the Microsoft search-engine Bing^[16] on June 8, 2009, alongside Jason Sudeikis.

Munn appeared in ABC Family's Greek, portraying Cappie's love interest, Lana.

In May 2010, NBC announced that Munn would star in the upcoming television series Perfect Couples. The half-hour romantic comedy premiered at on January 20, 2011.^[17] The show was cancelled before it completed its first season run.^[18]

On June 3, 2010, Munn debuted in her new role as a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show.^[19] Her hiring prompted criticism from Irin Carmon of Jezebel, who questioned Munn's credentials and accused the show's production of sexism in hiring Munn, whom Carmon characterized as a sex symbol.^[20] Carmon saw Munn's hiring as a perpetuation of the show production office's history as a male-dominated atmosphere marginalizing and alienating to women.^[21] A group of thirty-two female Daily Show production staff members condemned Carmon's piece as inaccurate and misinformed, as did Munn herself in an interview, in which she stated that Carmon's assertion was an insult both to her and to the rest of the Daily Show staff.^[22][23]

In 2010 Munn guest-starred in NBC's Chuck as a CIA agent.^[24]

In print[link]