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- Duration: 42:26
- Updated: 20 Aug 2013
- published: 12 Jan 2013
- views: 246257
- author: Snussemaasteri
COASTLINE
Write and Say
Write and Say
Write and Say
Ride and Say
Reach Out
Reach all this
All over again
When it’s all over, it’s all over
Then I say it to you backwards
Hold on
Hold all this
If that’s what you want
We set the fire again
Cuz wind is blowing in our hearts
Look out
Look all this
See for yourself
Behind a white tile
Don’t live your life backwards
Try out
Try all this
Rise your emotion
Down to the coastline
Holding on a perfect time
Behind a white tile
Fold into a perfect time
GLOWING SUITE
She drew all smiles making no sound
She ripped, she ripped this heart in two
I should try not to ask for, ask for
It’s alright, it’s alright
Some like to give as much
I should try not to ask for
Lights are out, all is falling down
Move your limbs with mine
And I hope you won’t go soon
We’re glowing in drops of sweet
Move your limbs with mine
And I bet you feel them too
We’re glowing in drops of sweet
It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright
The future turns up my heart
These lines, these precious lines won’t fade
Look inside, decide like always
It’s alright, it’s alright
No more tears are falling
I should try not to ask for
Lights are out, all is falling down
Cross your fingers, hold your lips
Will it take as long as we want it to be?
Cross your fingers, hold your lips
Come on now, come on now!
It’s falling
We’re down
DAYDREAMS
A sudden hot sweat had broken out all over
The pain of the coughing fit
The impression made by the dreams I’ve noticed
The rhythmic movements
If you say it’s not okay
You know we can change
All the daydreams come from me
And we got carried away
If you say it’s not alright
You know what we do
All the daydreams come from me
They’re never your mistake
A new reflection surround you like a gold line
Take only what you need
Looking forward for a cold November
And all the colours out
Send me all
All over
Send me all
Hey, kind of feeling you
Through crowded spaces in horizon scenarios
And after all you know
You can find me here
Turn it up
Turn it down
Turn it all around
So, so turn it up and go
The nights are bright and cold
And after all I know
So, so turn it up and go
The nights are bright and cold
And after all you know
You can find me here
Can you make so?
Why can't you turn it away?
Can you make so?
We're dashed two points away
Why can´t you? To Turn It!
SUMMER FOR TOMORROW
Close your eyes
Hug your lips
It’s no one’s commitment
Don’t look back cuz it’s your day
And forget we are far from home
Drop your strings
Sail on now
We’ll find us a better time
Feel the glow, it’s never late
When you see lights and sparks
Always
Calling
Summer for tomorrow
Don’t give up
It’s there for you
A small heart connection
Take your time, no goodbyes
LAYERS
The whole world
A magical spark
Shockwaves of Joy
A simple touch
A mystery
The sparkle of life
The science of things
Features
Layers
Layers of Love
United
Closing on you
It’s all... Closing on you
JAPAN
All the delusions are real
I’ve seen it all before
That’s why you took us from here
Where no one knows who we are
Tracing maps
Finding a park whatsoever
We can’t find it any longer
Near a close big square
How can one care if we’re so
Surprised by the end
Can we care if we were so…
And you know what you cannot hide
And you know what you asked for
We’ll trace all the neon lights
Can we care if we were so…
And you know what you can’t decide
And you know what were meant for
We’ll trace lines up in the sky
Come on
Come on
Come on
Getting it on
Placing tracks
Small leaded panes made of silver
We should try all the frames outside
Near the glass hotel
How can one care if we’re so
INTO THE LIGHTS
Stop and glance
Over his shoulder
We’ve been everywhere
Velvet made non-light
Stop and glance
Over his shoulder
We’ve been everywhere
Seven strands are tight
They watch / the face / in pit / the heat / was coldness
Scarlet / Caps / Swallow / the sea
Dahlia with petals of fire in golden
Lay down your head
Writing your diary
He said:
She stands the lights away
Out of the converse
She cuts those nights in days
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Norton may refer to:
Norton meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a very common place name. Places named Norton include:
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2009) |
Graham Norton | |
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Norton in May 2010 |
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Birth name | Graham William Walker |
Born | Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland |
4 April 1963
Medium | Television, radio, stand-up |
Nationality | Irish |
Years active | 1992–present |
Genres | Observational comedy |
Subject(s) | Everyday life, pop culture, current events, celebrities, sex |
Notable works and roles | So Graham Norton V Graham Norton The Graham Norton Effect Graham Norton's Bigger Picture The Graham Norton Show |
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton, (born 4 April 1963)[1] is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist. He is the host of comedy chat programme The Graham Norton Show on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US. Hot Press has described him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan", with both men sharing an Irish background and the common link of being a BBC Radio 2 presenter and the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest.[2] Norton has won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Entertainment Performance on five occassions.
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Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland to a Protestant family. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in County Cork and then University College Cork but did not complete his studies.
In 1992 his stand-up comedy drag act in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a tea-towel clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.[3]
His first appearances in broadcasting were in his spot as a regular comedian and panellist on the BBC Radio 4 show Loose Ends, when the show ran on Saturday mornings, in the early 1990s. His rise to fame began as one of the early successes of Channel 5, when he won an award for his performance as the stand-in host of a late-night TV talk show usually presented by Jack Docherty.[4][5] This was followed by a comic quiz show on Channel 5 called Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment, which was not well received as a programme, but did further enhance Norton's individual reputation as a comic and TV host. In 1996, Norton co-hosted the late-night quiz show Carnal Knowledge on ITV with Maria McErlane.
In 1996, Norton played the part of Father Noel Furlong in three episodes ("Hell", "Flight Into Terror", "The Mainland") of the Channel 4 series Father Ted. Father Noel Furlong was often seen taking charge of a small youth folk-group.
After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat shows including So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton. As a performer who is not only openly gay,[6] but also camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker.
In 2003, he was the subject of controversy when, on his show on Channel 4, he made a comedic reference to the recent death of Bee Gees singer Maurice Gibb. The Independent Television Commission investigated after complaints about this insensitivity were forwarded to it and eventually Channel 4 had to make two apologies: one in the form of a caption slide before the show, another from Norton in person.
Also in 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. (Though Norton is Irish, the bulk of his television career has been in the UK.)
In the summer of 2004, Norton moved across the Atlantic to start a new venture in American television. The Graham Norton Effect debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK on BBC Three. In the midst of controversy surrounding Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market.[7]
In 2005, Norton moved to the BBC and began hosting the Saturday evening reality TV series Strictly Dance Fever on BBC One, as well as a new comedy chat show, Graham Norton's Bigger Picture. He also read stories some nights on the BBC children's channel CBeebies as part of Bedtime Hour.
In 2006, Norton hosted the BBC One series How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? in which Andrew Lloyd Webber tried to find a lead actress for his West End version of The Sound of Music. Norton has subsequently presented the 3 follow-up series: Any Dream Will Do in 2007, in which a group of males competed to win the role of Joseph in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; I'd Do Anything in 2008, in which Andrew Lloyd Webber seeks to find the part of Nancy and Oliver for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!; and Over the Rainbow in 2010, following a similar format to find a new Dorothy for a Wizard of Oz West end Production.
Norton hosted various other shows for the BBC during this time, including When Will I Be Famous? (2007), The One and Only (2008) and Totally Saturday (2009). Since 2007, Norton has also been a regular host of The British Academy Television Awards. On 7 July 2007, Norton presented at Live Earth and undertook a trip to Ethiopia with the Born Free Foundation to highlight the plight of the Ethiopian wolf – the rarest canid in the world. In the same year, he was the subject of an episode of the BBC1 genealogy documentary Who Do You Think You Are?.
Norton's chat show, The Graham Norton Show, began on 22 February 2007 on BBC Two. Although in a format that he had not been involved in for 4 years, it is very similar to his previous Channel 4 shows. On 6 October 2009, the show moved to BBC One, in a new one-hour format.
In May 2010, he stood in for Chris Evans' breakfast show on BBC Radio 2. Later that month, it was confirmed that he would be replacing Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning slot on the same station.
In December 2011, the panel show Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton premiered on BBC America in the time slot immediately following The Graham Norton Show. Recorded in New York, it is one of BBC America's earliest efforts at producing original programming, and is also the first panel game the channel has shown, either of British or American origin.
In January 2012, he called on listeners to his Radio 2 show to help find his car hours after it was stolen. He called it "The Great Car Hunt" and told listeners to “Keep your eyes out for it. It was filthy by the way."
Norton hosted the first annual Eurovision Dance Contest alongside Claudia Winkleman which was held on 1 September 2007 in London, England. The format was based on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and the EBU's Eurovision Song Contest. Norton and Winkleman also hosted the 2008 Contest in Glasgow, Scotland.
In October 2008, it was confirmed by the BBC that Norton would replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's presenter for the UK heats of the Eurovision Song Contest, in a show to be called Your Country Needs You.
On 5 December 2008 it was announced that Norton would also take over from Wogan as the presenter of the main Eurovision Song Contest.[8] The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olimpiyskiy (Olympic) Stadium, Moscow on 16 May 2009.
Norton's jokes during his debut received some positive reviews from the British media. The Guardian noted his comments on Iceland's entry, which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers, who finished in tenth place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor."[9] The Times noted his highlighting of the arrest of thirty gay rights protesters in Moscow – "heavy-handed policing has really marred what has been a fantastic Eurovision."[9]
His comment “The bad news is you’re about to watch Albania. She’s only 17 so please bear that in mind. Where was her mother? Why didn’t she step in and say no?” which was made just before Albanian singer Kejsi Tola was set to take the stage dubbed an insult by many, sent ripples of outrage through not only Albania, but also the Albanian population in Britain. He then announced that Albania should get no points and that he didn't care what anybody else thought. There was a petition circling the net calling for a formal apology from Norton. The petition, which called his comment “very rude and insulting,” had drawn over 1,000 signatures. He never responded.[10]
In 2011, he snarked that if Jedward's entry into the competition that year won, the twins would never sleep again. In the end, they were eighth. Earlier in that year's televote, he joked "Quick, someone take a picture", when The British entry that year went temporarily in the lead early on after high votes from Russia(4), Bulgaria(12) and Italy(10). In the end, the song dropped down the 11th, earning 100 points. Very annoyed, Norton claimed 'We were better than Jedward'.
In 2012, Norton joked about the Spanish singer Pastora Soler and the economic situation of Spain. This statements unleashed many bad reviews on the internet. Norton joked about Rona Nishliu (the singer of Albania) too. He said that Rona was a singer that "she shout a lot".
In July 2000 Graham was one of three judges of the Miss Lesbian Beauty Contest 2000 held at The Talk of London, Drury Lane. The contest was won by 42 year old Carol Hutchins who wowed the audience with her sit-down comedy routine from a wheelchair. Graham described Carol as a "very bright, funny lady."
Graham Norton played Mr. Puckov in the 2006 American comedy spoof film Another Gay Movie. In 2007, Norton played Taylor in the romantic comedy film I Could Never Be Your Woman.
Norton was involved in a high-publicity advertising campaign for the UK National Lottery as an animated unicorn, the stooge to a character based on Lady Luck (played by Fay Ripley). He has also advertised McVitie's biscuits.
In 2007, Norton featured in Girls Aloud and Sugababes' Comic Relief video for the single "Walk This Way."
In January 2009, Norton made his West End stage debut in a revival of La Cage Aux Folles at the Playhouse Theatre.
Since 2009, Norton has been the host of the comedy game-show Most Popular on US cable television channel WE tv.[11]
Norton currently writes an advice column in The Daily Telegraph newspaper. In October 2010, these columns were made into a book entitled Ask Graham, published by John Blake Publishing.
Norton has stated that he felt "out of place" growing up in Ireland; his family are Protestant yet the Republic of Ireland is overwhelmingly Catholic. Norton took part in the TV programme, Who Do You Think You Are?, to trace his ancestry. It was discovered that his family were originally planters sent over from England to take over Irish land. Some members of his family had fought for the British Monarchy during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and taken part in a massacre of Catholics in Carnew Castle. Another member of his family was later killed in battle by the United Irishmen. Norton said he was comforted to find out that his family had resided in Ireland for generations.[12]
In 1989 while living in London, Norton was mugged, beaten and stabbed by a group of attackers on the street. He says he lost half his blood and nearly died, and he was hospitalised for two and a half weeks.[13][14]
Norton is openly gay.[6][15][16]
Norton owns a holiday home in Ahakista, County Cork, which is near to where he grew up, in Bandon. The house has a private beach and overlooks Dunmanus Bay.
Year | Title | Character | Broadcaster |
---|---|---|---|
1996–98 | Father Ted:
|
Father Noel Furlong | Channel 4 |
2001 | Rex the Runt: A Crap Day Out | The Plants voice | BBC |
Rex the Runt: Patio | Osvalde Halitosis voice | BBC | |
The Kumars at No. 42 | Himself | BBC | |
2002 | Absolutely Fabulous: Gay | Himself | BBC |
2007 | Who Do You Think You Are? | Himself | BBC |
Saving Planet Earth
|
Himself | BBC | |
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List | Himself | Bravo | |
Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind | Computer voice | BBC |
Sitting in for Steve Wright August 2009 BBC Radio 2
Sitting in for Chris Evans May /July 2010 BBC Radio 2
On 2 October 2010, he began his weekly BBC Radio 2 Saturday show taking over from Jonathan Ross. The show airs from 10.00am-1.00pm and combines a mixture of music, chat and celebrity guests.
2011/12 Radio 2 Saturday mornings
Year | Title | Character | Production |
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1999 | Stargay | Graham Solex | Canal+ |
2006 | Another Gay Movie | Mr. Puckov | Luna Pictures |
2007 | I Could Never Be Your Woman | Taylor | The Weinstein Company |
Media offices | ||
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Preceded by Terry Wogan |
Eurovision Song Contest UK Commentator 2009–present |
Incumbent |
Preceded by N/A |
Eurovision Dance Contest presenter (with Claudia Winkleman) 2007, 2008 |
Succeeded by TBA |
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Quentin Tarantino | |
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Quentin Tarantino at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2009 |
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Born | Quentin Jerome Tarantino March 27, 1963 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, actor |
Years active | 1988–present |
Notable work(s) | Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds |
Influenced by | Sergio Leone, Brian De Palma, Howard Hawks, John Woo, Jim Jarmusch, Jean-Luc Godard, Elmore Leonard, Samuel Fuller, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Sam Peckinpah, Jack Hill, Douglas Sirk, Jean-Pierre Melville, Enzo G. Castellari, Sergio Corbucci[1] |
Quentin Jerome Tarantino[2] (pronunciation: /ˌtærənˈtiːnoʊ/; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. He has received many industry awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA and the Palme d'Or and had been nominated for an Emmy and Grammy.
Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tarantino was an avid film fan. His career began in the late 1980's, when he wrote and directed My Best Friend's Birthday. Its screenplay would form the basis for True Romance. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence. His films include Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (2003, 2004), Death Proof (2007), and Inglourious Basterds (2009).
His movies are generally characterized by stylistic influences from grindhouse, kung fu, and spaghetti western films. Tarantino also frequently collaborates with his friend and fellow filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.
Contents |
Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Tony Tarantino, an actor and amateur musician who was born in Queens, New York, and Connie McHugh, a nurse.[3] Tarantino's father is of Italian descent and his mother is of Irish and Cherokee ancestry.[4][5][6] He was raised by his mother, as his parents separated before his birth.[7] When he was two years old, he moved to Torrance, California and later to the Harbor City neighborhood where he went to Fleming Junior High School in Lomita and took drama classes.[7] He attended Narbonne High School in Harbor City for his freshman year before dropping out of school at age 15, to attend an acting class full time at the James Best Theater Company in Toluca Lake.[8] Quentin grew bored with the James Best Acting School and quit after two years, although he made a point of keeping in touch with all his acting friends. Then he landed a job which threatened to interfere with his long-term acting ambitions. [9]
As an employee of the Video Archives, a now-defunct video rental store in Manhattan Beach, he and fellow movie enthusiasts, including Roger Avary, discussed cinema and customer video recommendations at length. He paid close attention to the types of films people liked to rent and has cited that experience as inspiration for his directorial career.[10] Tarantino has been quoted as saying, "When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, 'no, I went to films.'"[4]
After Tarantino met Lawrence Bender at a Hollywood party, Bender encouraged him to write a screenplay. Tarantino directed and co-wrote a movie called My Best Friend's Birthday in 1987. The final reel of the film was almost fully destroyed in a lab fire that occurred during editing but its screenplay would form the basis for True Romance. In January 1992, Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs screened at the Sundance Film Festival and was an immediate hit. The film garnered critical acclaim. Reservoir Dogs was a dialogue-driven heist movie that set the tone for his later films. Tarantino wrote the script in three and a half weeks and Bender forwarded it to director Monte Hellman. Hellman helped Tarantino to secure funding from Richard Gladstein at Live Entertainment (which later became Artisan). Harvey Keitel read the script and also contributed to funding, taking a co-producer role, and a part in the movie.[11]
Tarantino's screenplay True Romance was optioned and eventually released in 1993. The second script that Tarantino sold was Natural Born Killers, which was revised by Dave Veloz, Richard Rutowski and director Oliver Stone. Tarantino was given story credit, and wished the film well.[12] Following the success of Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino was approached by Hollywood and offered numerous projects, including Speed and Men in Black. He instead retreated to Amsterdam to work on his script for Pulp Fiction. After Pulp Fiction was completed, he then directed Episode Four of Four Rooms, "The Man from Hollywood", a tribute to the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode that starred Steve McQueen. Four Rooms was a collaborative effort with filmmakers Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, and Robert Rodriguez. The film was very poorly received by critics. He appeared in and wrote the script for Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn, which saw mixed reviews from the critics yet led to two sequels, for which Tarantino and Rodriguez would only serve as executive producers.
Tarantino's third feature film was Jackie Brown (1997), an adaptation of Rum Punch, a novel by Elmore Leonard. A homage to blaxploitation films, it starred Pam Grier, who starred in many of that genre's films of the 1970s. He had then planned to make the war film provisionally titled Inglourious Bastards, but postponed it to write and direct Kill Bill (released as two films, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2), a highly stylized "revenge flick" in the cinematic traditions of Wuxia (Chinese martial arts), Jidaigeki (Japanese period cinema), Spaghetti Westerns and Italian horror. It was based on a character (The Bride) and a plot that he and Kill Bill's lead actress, Uma Thurman, had developed during the making of Pulp Fiction. In 2004, Tarantino returned to Cannes, where he served as President of the Jury. Although Kill Bill was not in competition, Vol. 2 had an evening screening, while it was also shown on the morning of the final day in its original 3-hour-plus version with Quentin himself attending the full screening. Tarantino then went on to be credited as "Special Guest Director" in Robert Rodriguez's 2005 neo-noir film Sin City for his work directing the car sequence featuring Clive Owen and Benicio del Toro.
The next film project was Grindhouse, which he co-directed with Rodriguez. Released in theaters on April 6, 2007, Tarantino's contribution to the Grindhouse project was titled Death Proof. It began as a take on 1970s slasher films,[13] but evolved dramatically as the project unfolded. Ticket sales were low despite mostly positive reviews.
Among his producing credits are the horror flick Hostel (which included numerous references to his own Pulp Fiction), the adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Killshot (for which Tarantino was credited as an executive producer although Tarantino was no longer associated with the film after its 2009 release.)[14] and Hell Ride (written and directed by Larry Bishop, who appeared in Kill Bill Vol. 2).
Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds is the story of a group of guerrilla U.S. soldiers in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Filming began in October 2008.[15] The film opened on August 21, 2009 to very positive reviews[16] and the #1 spot at the box office worldwide.[17] It went on to become Tarantino's highest grossing film, both in the United States and worldwide.[18]
In 2011, production began on Django Unchained, about the revenge of a slave on his former master. The film stemmed from Tarantino's desire to produce a spaghetti western set in America's Deep South; Tarantino has called the proposed style "a southern",[19] stating that he wanted "to do movies that deal with America's horrible past with slavery and stuff but do them like spaghetti westerns, not like big issue movies. I want to do them like they're genre films, but they deal with everything that America has never dealt with because it's ashamed of it, and other countries don't really deal with because they don't feel they have the right to".[19] Tarantino finished the script on April 26, 2011, and handed in the final draft to The Weinstein Company.[20] Agency William Morris Endeavor reported Christoph Waltz was cast to play a German bounty hunter,[21] with Stacey Sher, Pilar Savone, and Reginald Hudlin producing. Although Will Smith and Idris Elba were heavily rumored to be up for the title role, Jamie Foxx has since been confirmed to play Django.[22] Tarantino regular Samuel L. Jackson will play Stephen, a house slave. Leonardo DiCaprio has also been officially cast in the role of Calvin Candie, the primary antagonist in the film. Kevin Costner had been cast as Ace Woody, a "vile and sadistic trainer of slaves who are forced to fight in death matches for a plantation owner (DiCaprio)" before he later dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, and has been replaced by Kurt Russell.[23] Kerry Washington has been cast as Broomhilda, the "long-suffering slave wife of Django."[24] Other cast members include Dennis Christopher as Candie family lawyer Leonide 'Leo' Moguy, Laura Cayouette as Candie's sister, Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly, M.C. Gainey and Tom Savini as Big John and Ellis Brittle, two of the slave owners who separate Django and Broomhilda, Anthony LaPaglia and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Australian brothers, Jano and an unnamed character, respectively,[25] who encounter Django while escorting slaves to a fight.[26][27] However, Gordon-Levitt has not fully committed to the film, due to possible scheduling issues,[28][29][30][31] and Gerald McRaney and Michael K. Williams in unknown roles. Tarantino-collaborator RZA was cast as a slave named Thadeus. According to ReservoirWatchDogs.com, Sacha Baron Cohen was cast in the role as gambler Scotty Harmony who wishes to purchase Django's wife from Calvin Candie.[32] Reportedly, Tarantino is also interested in including Lady Gaga in the film to some degree.[33] The film is said to be inspired by the 1966 film Django, directed by Sergio Corbucci. James Remar is also involved in the film. The film is scheduled to be released on December 25, 2012.
In recent years, Tarantino has used his Hollywood power to give smaller and foreign films more attention than they might have received otherwise. These films are usually labeled "Presented by Quentin Tarantino" or "Quentin Tarantino Presents". The first of these productions was in 2001 with the Hong Kong martial arts film Iron Monkey which made over $14 million in the United States, seven times its budget. In 2004 he brought the Chinese martial arts film Hero to U.S. shores. It ended up having a #1 opening at the box office and making $53.5 million. In 2006, the latest "Quentin Tarantino presents" production, Hostel, opened at #1 at the box office with a $20.1 million opening weekend, good for 8th all time in January. He presented 2006's The Protector, and is a producer of the (2007) film Hostel: Part II. in 2008 he produced the Larry Bishop helmed Hell Ride, a revenge biker film.[34]
In addition, in 1995 Tarantino formed Rolling Thunder Pictures with Miramax as a vehicle to release or re-release several independent and foreign features. By 1997, Miramax shut down the company due to "lack of interest" in the pictures released. The following films were released by Rolling Thunder Pictures: Chungking Express (1994, dir. Wong Kar-wai), Switchblade Sisters (1975, dir. Jack Hill), Sonatine (1993, dir. Takeshi Kitano), Hard Core Logo (1996, dir. Bruce McDonald), The Mighty Peking Man (1977, dir. Ho Meng-Hua), Detroit 9000 (1973, dir. Arthur Marks), The Beyond (1981, dir. Lucio Fulci) and Curdled (1996, dir. Reb Braddock).
Before Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino had considered making The Vega Brothers. The film would have starred Michael Madsen and John Travolta reprising their roles of Vic (Mr. Blonde) from Reservoir Dogs and Vincent from Pulp Fiction. However in 2007, because of the age of the actors and the onscreen deaths of both characters, he claimed that the project (which he intended to call Double V Vega) is "kind of unlikely now".[35]
In 2009, in an interview for Italian TV, after being asked about the success of the two Kill Bill films, Tarantino said "You haven't asked me about the third one", and implied that he would be making a third Kill Bill film with the words "The Bride will fight again!"[36] Later that year, at the Morelia International Film Festival,[37] Tarantino announced that he would like to film Kill Bill: Vol. 3. He explained that he wanted ten years to pass between The Bride's last conflict, in order to give her and her daughter a period of peace.[38]
Tarantino has been romantically linked with American actress Mira Sorvino,[39] directors Allison Anders and Sofia Coppola, actresses Julie Dreyfus and comedians Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho.[40] There have also been rumors about his relationship with Uma Thurman, whom he has referred to as his "muse".[41] However, Tarantino has stated that their relationship is strictly platonic.[42] Tarantino stated "I'm not saying that I'll never get married or have a kid before I'm 60. But I've made a choice, so far, to go on this road alone. Because this is my time to make movies."[43] He also has said that he plans to retire from filmmaking at age 60, to focus on writing novels and film literature. He also is skeptical of the film industry going digital, saying, "If it actually gets to the place where you can't show 35 mm film in theatres anymore and everything is digital projection, I won't even make it to 60."[44]
On February 18, 2010, it was announced that Tarantino had bought the New Beverly Cinema. Tarantino allowed the current owners to continue operating the theater, but he will be making programming suggestions from time to time. He was quoted as saying: "As long as I'm alive, and as long as I'm rich, the New Beverly will be there, showing films shot on 35mm."[45]
In an awards ceremony in the Critics Choice Awards celebrating Tarantino, he said he got his start in filmmaking in his 20s. Music is an important part of his filmmaking style. He said he would listen to music in his bedroom and create scenes that correlated to the music playing.[46]
In the 2002 Sight & Sound Directors' poll, Tarantino revealed his top-twelve films: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Rio Bravo; Taxi Driver; His Girl Friday; Rolling Thunder; They All Laughed; The Great Escape; Carrie; Coffy; Dazed and Confused; Five Fingers of Death; and Hi Diddle Diddle.[47] In 2009, he named Kinji Fukasaku's violent action film Battle Royale as his favorite film released since he became a director in 1992.[48]
In August 2007, while teaching a four-hour film course during the 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival in Manila, Tarantino cited Filipino directors Cirio Santiago, Eddie Romero, and Gerardo de León as personal icons from the 1970s,[49] citing De Leon's "soul-shattering, life-extinguishing" movies on vampires and female bondage, particularly Women in Cages. "It is just harsh, harsh, harsh," he said, and described the final shot as one of "devastating despair".[49] Upon his arrival in the Philippines, Tarantino was quoted in the local newspaper as saying, 'I'm a big fan of RP [Republic of the Philippines] cinema.'
Actor Steve Buscemi has described Tarantino's different style of film making as "bursting with energy" and "focused,"[50] a style that has earned him many accolades worldwide. According to Tarantino, a recurring hallmark in all his movies is that there is a different sense of humour in all his movies, which gets the audience to laugh at things that aren't funny.[51] Michael Winner, whilst appearing on an episode of Piers Morgan's Life Stories (an ITV production), stated that Quentin Tarantino was a "big fan" of Death Wish.
Spike Lee questioned Tarantino's use of racial epithets in his films, particularly the racially offensive epithet, "nigger". In a Variety interview discussing Jackie Brown, Lee said: "I'm not against the word... and I use it, but Quentin is infatuated with the word. What does he want? To be made an honorary black man?"[52] Tarantino responded on Charlie Rose by stating:
As a writer, I demand the right to write any character in the world that I want to write. I demand the right to be them, I demand the right to think them and I demand the right to tell the truth as I see they are, all right? And to say that I can't do that because I'm white, but the Hughes brothers can do that because they're black, that is racist. That is the heart of racism, all right. And I do not accept that ... That is how a segment of the black community that lives in Compton, lives in Inglewood, where Jackie Brown takes place, that lives in Carson, that is how they talk. I'm telling the truth. It would not be questioned if I was black, and I resent the question because I'm white. I have the right to tell the truth. I do not have the right to lie.[53]
In addition, Tarantino retaliated on The Howard Stern Show by stating Lee would have to "stand on a chair to kiss my ass."[54] Samuel L. Jackson, who has appeared in both directors' films, defended Tarantino's use of the word. At the Berlin Film Festival, where Jackie Brown was being screened, Jackson responded to Lee's criticism by saying:
I don't think the word is offensive in the context of this film ... Black artists think they are the only ones allowed to use the word. Well, that's bull. Jackie Brown is a wonderful homage to black exploitation films. This is a good film, and Spike hasn't made one of those in a few years.[55]
Tarantino has defended his use of the word, arguing that black audiences have an appreciation of his blaxploitation-influenced films that eludes some of his critics, and, indeed, that Jackie Brown, another oft-cited example, was primarily made for "black audiences".[56]
According to a 1995 Premiere magazine article, actor Denzel Washington also confronted Tarantino on his usage of racial slurs in his pictures, but mentioned that Tarantino was a "fine artist."[57]
Actor | Reservoir Dogs | Pulp Fiction | Four Rooms | Jackie Brown | Kill Bill | Death Proof | Inglourious Basterds | Django Unchained |
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Michael Bacall | ||||||||
Zoe Bell | ||||||||
Michael Bowen | ||||||||
Steve Buscemi | ||||||||
Paul Calderón | ||||||||
Laura Cayouette | ||||||||
Omar Doom | ||||||||
Julie Dreyfus | ||||||||
Kathy Griffin | ||||||||
Sid Haig | ||||||||
Samuel L. Jackson | ||||||||
Harvey Keitel | ||||||||
Jonathan Loughran | ||||||||
Michael Madsen | ||||||||
James Parks | ||||||||
Michael Parks | ||||||||
Tina Rodriguez | ||||||||
Eli Roth | ||||||||
Tim Roth | ||||||||
David Steen | ||||||||
Bo Svenson | ||||||||
Uma Thurman | ||||||||
Christoph Waltz | ||||||||
Bruce Willis |
Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | IMDB | |
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Overall | Top Critics | |||
Reservoir Dogs | 96%[63] | 92%[64] | 78[65] | 8.4[66] |
Pulp Fiction | 95%[67] | 100%[68] | 94[69] | 9.0[70] |
Jackie Brown | 86%[71] | 61%[72] | 64[73] | 7.6[74] |
Kill Bill Volume 1 | 85%[75] | 78%[76] | 69[77] | 8.4[78] |
Kill Bill Volume 2 | 85%[79] | 81%[80] | 83[81] | 8.0[82] |
Death Proof | 64%[83] | [84] | [85] | 7.1[86] |
Inglourious Basterds | 88%[87] | 74%[88] | 69[89] | 8.3[90] |
Average | 85% | 80% | 76 | 8.1 |
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (August 2011) |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Quentin Tarantino |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Quentin Tarantino |
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James McAvoy | |
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McAvoy at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival |
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Born | James Andrew McAvoy 21 April 1979 [1] Port Glasgow, Scotland |
Alma mater | Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama |
Occupation | Actor, Voice actor |
Years active | 1995–present |
Spouse | Anne-Marie Duff (2006–present) |
James Andrew McAvoy[2] ( /ˈmækəvɔɪ/ MAK-ə-voi; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish stage and screen actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in 1995's The Near Room and continued to make mostly television appearances until the early 2000s. His notable television work includes State of Play, Shameless, and Frank Herbert's Children of Dune. Besides screen acting, McAvoy has appeared on stage with Three Days of Rain in 2009, and in 2011 he did voice work for animated films including Gnomeo & Juliet and Arthur Christmas.
Starting in 2003, McAvoy began to build his film resume with Bollywood Queen. That film was followed with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), a commercial hit. His performance in Kevin Macdonald's The Last King of Scotland achieved him not only critical praise, but several award nominations. 2007's critically acclaimed Atonement marked the breakthrough in McAvoy's career. It also earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination and his second BAFTA nomination. Another big point in the actor's career was starring in Wanted (2008). Since then, he is notable for playing Charles Xavier in the 2011 superhero film X-Men: First Class.
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James McAvoy was born in Port Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Elizabeth (née Johnstone), a psychiatric nurse, and James McAvoy Senior, a builder.[3][4] He was brought up as a Roman Catholic.[5] His parents divorced when he was seven, which McAvoy took hard.[1][3][4] McAvoy's mother suffered from poor health and subsequently decided it was best that he live with his maternal grandparents, Mary and butcher James Johnstone, in the nearby Drumchapel area of Glasgow in a terrace council house.[3][6] His mother lived with them intermittently.[4] The actor has regularly visited his grandparents.[3] He has a sister, Joy, and a younger half-brother, Donald.[3][4] McAvoy has not been in contact with his father since childhood.[4] According to his father, McAvoy avoided any contact with him after he moved in with his new lover.[3] Nonetheless, the actor had a good upbringing.[7] He attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary in Jordanhill, Glasgow, a Catholic school, and briefly considered joining the Catholic priesthood.[7][8] In a 2006 interview, McAvoy admitted that part of the reason why he considered becoming a priest was that he wanted to use it as an excuse to travel.[9] During his education, he worked at a local bakery.[7][8]
McAvoy's acting debut came at the age of 15 in The Near Room (1995). McAvoy later admitted that he was not very interested in acting when joining the movie, but was inspired to study the craft after developing feelings for his co-star, Alana Brady.[10] He continued to act while still a member of PACE Youth Theatre.[11] McAvoy eventually graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2000.[12] Throughout the early 2000s, McAvoy made guest appearances in television shows and began working on movies. In 2001, the actor appeared in a play entitled Out in the Open. His performance in the play as a gay hustler impressed filmmaker Joe Wright so much that he stayed on his radar and offered McAvoy parts in his movies, but to no avail, as the actor turned them down for years.[12]
He also starred in Privates on Parade in the Donmar Warehouse, this time catching Sam Mendes's attention.[4] Also during 2001, the actor appeared in Band of Brothers, an eleven-hour World War II miniseries by executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.[13] It was shown on the HBO network.[14] He gained the attention of critics in 2002's made-for-television adaption of the book White Teeth.[15]
During 2003 McAvoy appeared in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Children of Dune, adapted from Frank Herbert's novels. It is one of the highest-rated programs ever to be aired on the channel.[16] More cable work came for him when he accepted the role of an unprincipled reporter in 2003's State of Play. The well-received six-part British drama serial tells the story of a newspaper's investigation into the death of a young woman and was broadcast on BBC One.[17][18] Calling the program a "must-see", the Chicago Tribune recommended State of Play for its cast's performance.[19] During 2002, McAvoy shot scenes for Bollywood Queen. Called West Side Story meets Romeo and Juliet with bindis, the movie deals with star-crossed lovers caught in the middle of clashing cultures. It was shown as a special presentation at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and opened in UK theatres on 17 October.[20][21] In 2004, he acted in a supporting role in the romantic comedy Wimbledon, also featuring Kirsten Dunst as a co-lead.[22] His next project was voicing a character named Hal in the 2004 English version of Strings, a mythic fantasy film.[23] Another 2004 release for him was Inside I'm Dancing, an Irish production helmed by Damien O'Donnell. In it, the actor was cast as the principal character: a maverick with duchenne muscular dystrophy.[24]
McAvoy rounded out 2004 by appearing in the first two seasons of Shameless as Steve McBride, the moral hero of the BAFTA-winning Channel 4 program, giving the actor a big break in his career.[25] His public profile was raised in 2005 with the release of Walt Disney Pictures's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. McAvoy starred in the fantasy adventure film made by Andrew Adamson and based on C. S. Lewis's'children's novel as Mr. Tumnus, a faun who befriends Lucy Pevensie (played by Georgie Henley) and joins Aslan's (Liam Neeson) forces. It was given a UK release of 9 December. At the UK box office, this movie opened at number one, earning around £8.7 million at 498 cinemas over the weekend.[26] Worldwide, Narnia grossed £463 million, making it the 41st highest-grossing film of all-time worldwide.[27] That succeeding year he also accepted the principal role of Brian Jackson, a nerdy university student who wins a place on a University Challenge quiz team in the mid-1980s, in Starter for 10. He was directed by David Nicholls, who adapted the film's screenplay from his own book. The British/American production was given distribution in the UK on 10 November. 10 scored a rating of 89% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on a sample of 75 reviews.[28] In spite of the positive buzz, the movie flopped at the box office, unable to recover its production costs of £5.7 million.[29][30]
Forrest Whittaker had suggested McAvoy to director Kevin Macdonald for the role of Nicholas Garrigan in 2006's Academy Award-winning low-budgeted The Last King of Scotland.[31] McAvoy portrayed a Scottish doctor that becomes the personal physician to dictator Idi Amin (played by Whittaker) while in Uganda. While the movie is based on factual events of Amin's rule, the story between the two is fictional and adapted from Giles Foden's acclaimed 1998 novel. He assessed his character to be a "completely selfish prick."[9] An overwhelmed McAvoy fainted during his first take of what would be the hardest scene for him to shoot, Nicolas's torture.[32] McAvoy was named Best Actor of the year by the Scotland's own BAFTA Awards, where the film swept the major categories,[33] and received a nomination from the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The movie itself walked away with three wins, including the honour for Outstanding British Film of the Year.[34] This was accompanied by praise for McAvoy's performance.[35]
Following that, he played Irish attorney Tom Lefroy and love-interest to Jane Austen in Becoming Jane, a 2007 historical movie inspired by the author's early life.[36] Next up was Penelope, which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.[37] Also starring co-producer Reese Witherspoon, it generated polarised reviews.[38] The breakthrough role in McAvoy's career came in Atonement, Joe Wright's 2007 adaption of Ian McEwan's novel of the same title. A romantic war film, it focuses on lovers Cecilia and Robbie's (Keira Knightley and McAvoy) lives being torn apart after her jealous younger sister (Saoirse Ronan) falsely accuses him of a crime. Upon reading the script, McAvoy thought to himself, "if I don't get the part I'm not reading the book because it'll be devastating. It's an amazing role and I really wanted it."[39] McAvoy has called the movie "incredibly sad" but considers it an uplifting experience. He also shared that he hoped viewers will be left "absolutely devastated and harrowed."[40] Screenings of Atonement were held at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was one of most acclaimed films present, and Venice Film Festival.[41][42] Atonement was a big awards contender; it was nominated for fourteen BAFTAs and seven Academy Awards.[43][44] Both McAvoy and Knightley were nominated for their performances at the 65th Golden Globe Awards, respectively.[45] Additionally, the film was lauded by critics, with Metacritic reporting it to have an approval rating of 85.[46] The Hollywood Reporter writer Ray Bennett said the duo gave "compelling and charismatic performances".[47]
One of the biggest highlights of McAvoy's career was starring opposite Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman in Wanted, an action movie where he personified Wesley Gibson, a young American slacker who learns he is heir to a legacy of assassins. When McAvoy screen-tested for the role, he was initially rejected because the studio was seeking an actor with conventional Hollywood leading-man looks and physique. He later recalled being considered the "runt of the litter" of those who tested, but ultimately got the part in late 2006 since the studio "wanted someone geeky."[48][49] While shooting action scenes for Wanted, he suffered several injuries, including a twisted ankle and an injured knee.[50] Nonetheless the actor said he had a "good time" doing the movie. McAvoy had never done this type of genre before and thought of Wanted as a chance to be more versatile.[51] Loosely based on the comic book miniseries of the same name by Mark Millar, it saw a June 2008 release worldwide. It received favourable reviews from the press, who generally liked that it was fast-paced.[52] At the box office, Wanted was a success, grossing £207 million against a £45 million production budget.[53] Next was The Last Station (2009), a biopic that details the final months of celebrated writer Leo Tolstoy and also stars McAvoy's wife.[54] It was shown at a limited amount of screens in the US.[55] Although most critics' awards paid attention to co-stars Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, the Satellite Awards nominated McAvoy for Best Supporting Actor.[56] In 2009, McAvoy voiced Angelina's father, Maurice Mouseling, in the television series, Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps.
He also appeared onstage in 2009 at Apollo Theater's Three Days of Rain.[57] He accepted the job of voicing the male titular character in Gnomeo and Juliet (2011), an animated movie based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.[58] In Robert Redford's historical American drama The Conspirator, McAvoy played the role of an idealistic war hero who reluctantly defends a co-conspirator charged in the Abraham Lincoln assassination. It premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.[59] While this movie garnered mixed reception, critics lauded the actor for his work. In Owen Gleiberman's assessment of The Conspirator, he found it "stiff-jointed" and tedious, but regarded McAvoy as "an avid presence".[60] In mid-2010, McAvoy was cast as telepathic superhero Professor X, leader and founder of the X-Men, in X-Men: First Class.[61] He joined an ensemble that included Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Kevin Bacon. Based on the Marvel Comics and a prequel to the film series, it is set primarily during the Cuban Missile Crisis and focuses on the relationship between Professor X and Magneto and the origin of their groups. McAvoy admitted that he was not familiar with the comics as a child, but was a fan of the cartoons since the age of 10.[62] Released to the UK on 1 June, First Class topped its box office with ticket sales of around £5 million during its opening weekend.[63] First Class was also reviewed favourably.[64] In 2011, McAvoy began filming the role of Max Lewinsky in the British thriller, Welcome to the Punch.[65] He was also cast as the lead role in the upcoming Danny Boyle film, Trance.
In 2012, McAvoy was cast as Bruce Robertson in Filth, an adaptation of an Irvine Welsh novel of the same name. The film's ensemble cast includes Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Eddie Marsan, and Imogen Poots.[66] It was also announced that he would co-star with Jessica Chastain in a double-feature film project, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.[67]
McAvoy dated Scottish actress Emma Nielsen (stage name Emma King) for six years until 2003.[68] While working on Shameless, McAvoy started a relationship with his character's love interest, Anne-Marie Duff, who is nine years his senior.[69] When they first began dating, McAvoy and Duff mutually agreed not to speak to the press about their relationship.[68][70][71] At the age of 27, he married Duff, then 36, on 18 October 2006 in a quiet ceremony.[69][71] When asked by Ryan Seacrest, during his radio show, if he wished he had waited longer to get married so he could exploit his fame better, McAvoy replied that he had married the woman of his dreams. "The world seemed less scary.... And I started to like myself a little bit more," McAvoy added of how he knew they were in love.[40]
They have one child together, a son named Brendan, born in 2010.[72] During interviews, the actor has opted not to discuss his son and have not announced their child's birth date, although he has stated the little man keeps him up at night.[73] He had dropped out of the cancer dramedy 50/50 in early 2010, shortly before filming was to begin, reportedly in fear that he would miss the birth of their child.[74] Despite his wealth, McAvoy leads what has been called a modest life. Prior to marrying Duff, he purchased a second floor flat in North London during 2006 for about £178,000. Also, he and his wife drive a 1990s Nissan Micra that is worth less than £1,000.[75] The couple enjoy a close relationship and rarely leave their flat, choosing to instead read or do sudoku puzzles together. Of this lifestyle, the actor said it is "mundane, and I love it that way".[3]
After McAvoy won an award from the BAFTAs, his estranged father spoke to the Sunday Mirror, stating that he would love to get in touch with his son, but did not know how to reach him. Though the actor did not read the piece, he heard about it and was unmoved.[4] He enjoys fantasy themes which he said started from the age of 11 with The Lord of the Rings.[76] His big interest outside acting and science fiction is football; he is a huge fan of Celtic Football Club, stating that his dream role would be to play Celtic legend Jimmy Johnstone.[77] McAvoy considers himself a spiritual person who no longer practices Catholicism.[8] Speaking to Sky News, McAvoy said he believed that British filmmakers belittle and dumb down their productions to please American audiences. "It's like we're patronising them and short changing ourselves," the actor commented.[78] He has also branded 3-D films a "waste of money", accusing movie studios of using the effect to get more money out of their theatre audiences.[79]
At one point, McAvoy did a "terrifying" base jump from the world's tallest hospital building in a bid to help raise money for Ugandan children's charity Retrak, an organisation which assists children on the streets.[80] Additionally, McAvoy is a celebrity supporter of the British Red Cross with whom he travelled to Uganda to raise awareness of the projects there. He had become involved with the charity after shooting The Last King of Scotland there for several months and was shocked by what he saw in the landlocked country.[81] In February 2007, he visited northern Uganda and spent four days seeing projects supported by the British Red Cross.[82]
Film | |||
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Year | Film | Role | Notes |
1995 | The Near Room | Kevin Savage | Minor role |
1997 | An Angel Passes By | Local boy | Short film directed by David Baillie |
1997 | Regeneration | Anthony Balfour | (Aka Behind the Lines) Minor role |
2001 | Swimming Pool | Mike | (Aka The Pool) Ensemble cast |
2003 | Bright Young Things | The Earl of Balcairn | |
2003 | Bollywood Queen | Jay | Main role |
2004 | Wimbledon | Carl Colt | Supporting role |
2004 | Strings | Hal Tara (voice) | (English version) Main role |
2004 | Inside I'm Dancing | Rory O'Shea | (Aka Rory O'Shea Was Here) Main role Nominated – London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor |
2005 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Mr. Tumnus | Nominated – London Film Critics Circle Award for British Supporting Actor of the Year |
2006 | The Last King of Scotland | Dr. Nicholas Garrigan | Main role BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor Rising Star Award, BAFTA Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Best Actor Nominated – European Film Award for Best Actor Nominated – London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor |
2006 | Starter for 10 | Brian Jackson | Main role |
2007 | Becoming Jane | Thomas Lefroy | Main role |
2007 | Penelope | Johnny Martin / Max Campion | Main role; Premiered at 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, released to foreign territories in 2007. |
2007 | Atonement | Robbie Turner | Main role Empire Award for Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated – European Film Award for Best Actor Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Nominated – Irish Film Award for Best International Actor |
2008 | Wanted | Wesley A. Gibson | Main role Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss |
2009 | The Last Station | Valentin Bulgakov | Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture |
2011 | Gnomeo and Juliet | Gnomeo (voice) | (Animated film) Main role |
2011 | The Conspirator | Frederick Aiken | Main role |
2011 | X-Men: First Class | Professor Charles Xavier / Professor X | Main role IGN Award for Best Ensemble Cast[83] Nominated – Scream Award for Best Fantasy Actor Nominated – Scream Award for Best Superhero Nominated – Scream Award for Best Ensemble Nominated — People's Choice Award for Favorite Superhero Nominated — People's Choice Award for Favorite Ensemble Movie Cast |
2011 | Arthur Christmas[84] | Arthur (voice) | (3-D animated film) Main role |
2012 | Welcome to the Punch | Max Lewinsky | (Post-production) Main role |
2012 | Filth | Bruce Robertson | (Post-production) Main role |
2013 | Trance | Simon | (Post-production) Main role |
Television | |||
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1997 | The Bill | Gavin Donald | (1984 TV series) 1 episode, "Rent" |
2001 | Band of Brothers | Pvt. James W. Miller | (2001 miniseries) 1 episode, "Replacements" |
2001 | Lorna Doone | Sergeant Bloxham | TV film |
2001 | Murder in Mind | Martin Vosper | (2001 TV series) 1 episode, "Teacher" |
2002 | White Teeth | Josh Malfen | (2002 miniseries) 2 episodes, "The Trouble with Millat" and "The Return of Magid Iqbal" |
2002 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Gowan Ross | (2001 TV series) 1 episode, "Payment in Blood" |
2002 | Foyle's War | Ray Pritchard | (2002 TV series) 1 episode, "The German Woman" |
2003 | Frank Herbert's Children of Dune | Leto Atreides II | (2003 miniseries) 3 episodes |
2003 | State of Play | Dan Foster | (2003 miniseries) 6 episodes |
2003 | Early Doors | Liam | (2003 TV series) 4 episodes, Series 1 only |
2004–2005 | Shameless | Steve McBride | (2004 TV series) 13 episodes, Series 1 and Series 2 only Nominated – British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Newcomer |
2005 | ShakespeaRe-Told | Joe Macbeth | (2005 miniseries) Main role; 1 episode, "Macbeth" |
2009 | Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps | Maurice Mouseling (voice) | 2009 TV series |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James McAvoy |
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Alan Davies | |
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Alan Davies in 2007 |
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Born | Loughton, Essex, England, UK |
6 March 1966
Medium | Stand up, Television, Film, Podcast |
Nationality | British |
Years active | 1988–present |
Genres | Observational comedy, Improvisational comedy, Surreal humour |
Spouse | Katie Maskell (2006-present) |
Notable works and roles | Jonathan Creek QI |
Alan Roger Davies (born 6 March 1966) is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI. He also appeared in the teen comedy film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.
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Davies was born in Loughton, Essex. His childhood years were spent in Chingford.[1] Davies' mother died when he was six; he was subsequently raised along with an older brother and younger sister by his father, an accountant.[citation needed]
Davies attended Staples Road School in Loughton and was privately educated at the independent Bancroft's School in Woodford Green, where he gained eight O-Levels. He then moved on to Loughton College of Further Education where he gained four more O-Levels and two A-Levels (Communications & Theatre Studies). He graduated in Drama from the University of Kent[2] in 1988 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the university in 2003.[3]
Davies began performing stand-up comedy in 1988 at the Whitstable Labour Club. In 1991, he was named Time Out's Best Young Comic. He continued touring and performing in the UK and Australia, winning the Edinburgh Festival Critics Award for Comedy in 1994. That show was released on video and audio cassette in 1995 as Alan Davies Live at the Lyric recorded at the Lyric Theatre as part of the Perrier Pick of the Fringe season in October 1994.
A DVD of Davies's stand up has been released entitled Urban Trauma. A version of that show, which ran in the West End at the Duchess Theatre and toured the UK and United States, was shown on BBC1 in 1998.
In 2012, Davies is beginning a new tour called "Life is Pain".[4]
In 1994 and 1995, Davies hosted Alan's Big One for three series on Radio 1 before appearing in Channel 4's spoof travel show One for the Road (made by Channel X in 1994/5). He later played the title role in Jonathan Creek, as a trick-deviser for a stage magician with a side interest in solving crimes, between 1997 and 2004. Jonathan Creek won a BAFTA for Best Drama and was the show which brought Davies to mainstream attention. On New Year's Day, 2009, a special episode of Jonathan Creek, "The Grinning Man", was broadcast on the BBC. Davies returned Creek at Easter 2010 for a one-off episode, "The Judas Tree".
Davies co-wrote and starred in his own radio sitcom, The Alan Davies Show, in 1998. Cassettes of the show were produced and released by the BBC, with episodes broadcast on the digital radio station BBC7. He played Russell Boyd in the BBC comedy A Many Splintered Thing, also in 1998 and 2000.[5] In 2001 Davies played Robert Gossage in Bob and Rose, a comedy drama about a gay man falling for a woman. He won the Best Actor award at the Monte Carlo TV Festival for his performance. He also played Jack the dog in the radio sitcom About a Dog. In 2003, Alan was a Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car on Top Gear. He posted a time of 1:54 in wet conditions. He returned in Series 8 and did a 1:50.3 in dry conditions.
Davies took on a less comedic role in 2004, starring as Henry Farmer, a maverick barrister, in the ITV Sunday night drama The Brief, but quit after two series. Subsequent drama roles include Superintendent Mallard in Marple (ITV, 2008), as well as appearances in The Good Housekeeping Guide (BBC One, 2006), Roman Road (ITV 2004) and Hotel Babylon (BBC One, 2008).
He was invited to champion the case for John Lennon to be the greatest Briton of all time on the BBC's Great Britons series in 2002. In 2007, Davies starred in the second episode of ITV1's You Don't Know You're Born. He also recently became a semi-regular on The Unbelievable Truth.
He has appeared in an episode of the BBC science programme Horizon in which Professor Marcus du Sautoy attempts to introduce him to elements of mathematical thought. The episode was broadcast on BBC Two on 31 March 2009. He went on to appear in Horizon for a second time in November 2009, this time leading the episode — Professor Marcus du Sautoy also returns as a guest speaker.
On 16 May 2010 Davies appeared in the ITV detective series Lewis, as Marcus Richard, the quizmaster at a competition held in an Oxford college, at which some of the contestants are murdered. In September 2010 he began a three part documentary series Alan Davies' Teenage Revolution (Channel 4), partly based on his autobiographical book My Favourite People and Me, 1978-88.[6]
In September 2010 a BBC TV comedy series entitled Whites starring Davies as a chef started its run.[7] It was however cancelled after this first series, it is believed to have been a victim of the cuts at the BBC subsequent to the reduced licence fee settlement.[8]
In April 2011, Davies appeared as the guest on the return of the ABC TV conversation program A Quiet Word With ....[9] In 2011 Davies was also one of the judges in the ITV1 programme Show Me The Funny, a talent contest for new and aspiring stand-up comedy performers.
Davies currently appears as the permanent panellist on the BBC quiz game QI, which is hosted by Stephen Fry. He also contributed "four words" to the QI book The Book of General Ignorance (which appear after Stephen Fry's foreword), "Will this do, Stephen?". Davies has appeared on every regular episode of the show, though in one episode (Episode 10 of Series D) he appeared in only the first few minutes, in a pre-recorded scene, as he was in Paris attending the Champions League Final during the actual recording.[10] His chair was empty for the rest of the episode although his voice was heard during "General Ignorance". He also did not appear in the 2011 Comic Relief episode.
Davies' first book, the autobiographical My Favourite People and Me, 1978-88 was published by Michael Joseph (Penguin Books) in late 2009. Of the memoir, Davies said he wished to "attempt to remember what I liked as a boy/youth/idiot and to work out why". The titular favourite people include Anton Chekhov, John Belushi, Barry Sheene, Margaret Thatcher ("only for a few days" the author allows), John McEnroe and Starsky and Hutch. The book also mentions Arsenal F.C., the football team supported by Davies; he recalls his mother sewing their club badge and captain's number on to his shirt, as a child, only a year or so before she died. The paperback was published under the title Rebel Without A Clue: How the 80s Made Me.
In 2008, Davies also appeared as the dad of Georgia Nicolson in the teen comedy Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.[11]
Davies married writer Katie Maskell on 13 January 2007 after a 6-month engagement. The couple had met backstage at QI in 2005.[12] Friend and comedy partner Bill Bailey was Davies' best man and delivered a speech at the ceremony.[13] Their first child, Susie, was born on 9 December 2009.[14][15][16] Their second child, a boy, was born on 18 June 2011.[17]
Davies is a pescetarian. He has narrated an anti-vivisection video called Wasted Lives.[18]
In a transmission of The Unbelievable Truth in May 2012, Alan objected to being described as 'an avowed atheist', agreeing with fellow panelist Marcus Brigstocke's assertion that his attitude to religion could be summed up as "dabbles in light atheism".
In late 2007 he made UK national news when The Times and Daily Telegraph reported that Davies was involved in an altercation during which he bit the ear of a homeless man.[19][20] Davies had just left a wake at the nearby Groucho Club. He told The Times in 2009, "He wasn't a tramp. He was a raging, horrendous a***hole. He called me a c*** several times. Or if it wasn't him, it was his mate. And, yes, I went for him and, yes, I did it in what turned out to be an amusing way." Following the incident, Davies was banned from the Groucho Club.[21]
Davies has recently become, like his QI co-star Stephen Fry, an avid user of Twitter, updating his progress writing a new book and discussing events like sitting a few seats away from Michael Jackson at the theatre.[22]
Davies is a fan of Arsenal F.C. and a season ticket holder. He says he became a fan because his "brother was a Spurs fan and he didn't want to be the same". Davies also used to host the podcast "It's Up For Grabs Now"[23] which took a light-hearted look at goings on at the club. On 18 January 2011, Alan began hosting the new Arsenal Podcast "The Tuesday Club" with stand-up comedian Ian Stone, friend Keith Dover, DJ Tayo Popoola and Skint Records founder Damian Harris who sit with him at Arsenal home games.
In April 2012 Davies stated on his podcast that he felt that Liverpool F.C. should have played their scheduled match on 15 April, the date of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. He said "Liverpool and the 15th, that gets on my tits, that shit". The focus of the rant was to indicate the additional days rest Chelsea would be provided if the game was played, ahead of the Champions League semi-final. Some Liverpool fans saw the comments as disrespectful to the Hillsborough victims. Davies was reported to have received insults and death threats.[24] The club has never played on 15 April since the disaster in 1989, instead they hold an annual memorial service at their stadium, Anfield to respect the 96 Liverpool fans who died that day.[25]
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