Edward Turner Bale

Edward Turner Bale (1810 – October 9, 1849) was an English immigrant physician who built the Bale Grist Mill in Napa County, California.

Life

He arrived from England in Monterey, California in 1837 on the H.M.S. Harriet, having served as the ship's surgeon. He soon became Surgeon-In-Chief of the Mexican Army under General Mariano Vallejo, and on March 21, 1839, married Vallejo's niece Maria Ignacia Soberanes. After becoming a citizen of Mexico in March 1841, in June, Bale was granted the Rancho Carne Humana, which comprised the land between what is now Rutherford and Calistoga, California.

Construction of the Bale Grist Mill located between St. Helena and Calistoga was completed in 1846, the same year the Bear Flag Revolt claimed independence from Mexico. Bale's connection to the Bear Flag Party is uncertain, but there is evidence that they met at his mill before the capture of Sonoma. Several of Bale's acquaintances were members of the Bear Flag Party.

During the California Gold Rush, Bale tried his hand at mining, and eventually caught a fever from which he never recovered. He died on October 9, 1849.

American Psycho

American Psycho is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan businessman. The Observer notes that while "some countries [deem it] so potentially disturbing that it can only be sold shrink-wrapped", "critics rave about it" and "academics revel in its transgressive and postmodern qualities."

A film adaptation starring Christian Bale was released in 2000 to generally favorable reviews. In 2008, it was confirmed that producers David Johnson and Jesse Singer were developing a musical adaptation of the novel to appear on Broadway. The musical premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London in December 2013.

Development

Ellis researched murders at the New York Public Library. His first draft of American Psycho left all the grisly scenes until last, to be added in later. In 2010, to one interviewer, Ellis commented:

Plot

Christian Bale

Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. He has starred in both blockbuster films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses.

Bale first caught the public eye at the age of 13, when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (1987). Based on the original story by J. G. Ballard, Bale played an English boy who is separated from his parents and subsequently finds himself lost in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. In 2000, he garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. He is known for going to great lengths to portray characters in films, notably for the psychological thriller The Machinist (2004), where he lost 63 pounds (28.5 kg) to play the role of Trevor Reznik.

Bale went on to receive greater commercial recognition and acclaim for his performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). His portrayal of Dicky Eklund in the David O. Russell-directed biographical film The Fighter (2010), earned him widespread acclaim and a number of awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has since gained further critical acclaim, as well as subsequent Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Russell's American Hustle and Adam McKay's The Big Short.

Mary Harron

Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter best known for her films I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page.

Overview

Born in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada, Harron grew up with a family that was entrenched in the world of film and theater. She is the daughter of Gloria Fisher and Don Harron, a Canadian actor, comedian, author, and director. Harron’s first stepmother, Virginia Leith, was discovered by Stanley Kubrick and acted in his first film, Fear and Desire. Leith's brief acting career partly inspired Harron's interest in making The Notorious Bettie Page. Harron’s stepfather is the novelist Stephen Vizinczey best known for his internationally successful book In Praise of Older Women. Harron's second stepmother is the Canadian singer Catherine McKinnon. Harron’s sister, Kelley Harron, is an actor and producer.

Harron moved to England when she was thirteen and later attended St Anne's College, Oxford University. While in England she dated Tony Blair, later the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She then moved to New York City and was part of its 1970s punk scene. She helped start and write for Punk magazine as a music journalist – she was the first journalist to interview the Sex Pistols for an American publication. During the 1980s she was a drama critic for The Observer in London for a time, as well as working as a music critic for The Guardian and the New Statesman.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (/dᵻˈkæpri.oʊ/; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. He has been nominated for numerous awards, and has won three Golden Globe Awards. DiCaprio began his career by appearing in television commercials, after which he had recurring roles in TV series such as the soap opera Santa Barbara and the sitcom Growing Pains in the early 1990s. He began his film career by starring as Josh in Critters 3 before starring in the film adaptation of the memoir This Boy's Life (1993) alongside Robert De Niro. DiCaprio was praised for his supporting role in the drama What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), and gained public recognition with leading roles in the drama The Basketball Diaries (1995) and the romantic drama Romeo + Juliet (1996), before achieving international fame with James Cameron's epic romance Titanic (1997), which became the highest-grossing film to that point.

Since the 2000s, DiCaprio has received critical acclaim for his work in a wide range of film genres. His subsequent films include The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), the biographical crime drama Catch Me If You Can (2002) and the epic historical drama Gangs of New York (2002) which also marked his first of many collaborations with director Martin Scorsese. DiCaprio was also acclaimed for his performances in the political war thriller Blood Diamond (2006), the neo-noir crime drama The Departed (2006), the espionage thriller Body of Lies (2008), the drama Revolutionary Road (2008), the psychological thriller Shutter Island (2010), the science fiction thriller Inception (2010), the biographical film J. Edgar (2011), the western Django Unchained (2012), and the period drama The Great Gatsby (2013).