We Bought a Zoo

We Bought a Zoo is a 2011 American family comedy-drama film loosely based on the 2008 memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee. It was written and directed by Cameron Crowe and stars Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee, who purchases a dilapidated zoo with his family and takes on the challenge of preparing the zoo for its reopening to the public. The film also stars Scarlett Johansson, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Elle Fanning, Colin Ford, and John Michael Higgins. The film was released in the United States on December 23, 2011 by 20th Century Fox. The film earned $120.1 million on a $50 million budget. We Bought a Zoo was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 3, 2012 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Plot

Recently widowed Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), still grieving his loss and dealing with the expulsion of his 14-year-old son, Dylan (Colin Ford), from school, decides to make a fresh start by buying a new house. He tours many houses with his 7-year-old daughter, Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), and his realtor, Mr. Stevens (J.B. Smoove), but finds none he likes until his daughter finds a listing with what seems like the perfect house. They drive to an old large house and Benjamin inspects the property, telling his realtor it is perfect. When they hear a lion roar, Stevens explains that the house comes with a zoo in the back, which closed several years before; if they want the house, they must buy the zoo.

Cameron Crowe

Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American actor, author, director, producer, screenwriter and journalist. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes.

Crowe has made his mark with character-driven, personal films that have been generally hailed as refreshingly original and devoid of cynicism. Michael Walker in The New York Times called Crowe "something of a cinematic spokesman for the post-baby boom generation" because his first few films focused on that specific age group, first as high schoolers and then as young adults making their way in the world.

Crowe's debut screenwriting effort, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, grew out of a book he wrote while posing for one year undercover as a student at Clairemont High School in San Diego, California. Later, he wrote and directed one more high school saga, Say Anything, and then Singles, a story of Seattle twentysomethings that was woven together by a soundtrack centering on that city's burgeoning grunge music scene. Crowe landed his biggest hit, though, with Jerry Maguire. After this, he was given a green light to go ahead with a pet project, the autobiographical effort Almost Famous. Centering on a teenage music journalist on tour with an up-and-coming band, it gave insight to his life as a 15-year-old writer for Rolling Stone. For his screenplay, he won an Academy Award. Also in late 1999, Crowe released his second book, Conversations with Billy Wilder, a question and answer session with the director.

Matt Damon

Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon (/ˈdeɪmən/; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Damon began his acting career by appearing in high school theater productions and he made his professional acting debut in the film Mystic Pizza (1988). He came to prominence in 1997 when he and Ben Affleck wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting, which won them the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received further praise for his roles as the eponymous character in Saving Private Ryan (1998), the antihero in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), a fallen angel in Dogma, and received critical acclaim for performances in dramas such as Syriana (2005) and The Good Shepherd, as well as his role as a villain in the neo-noir crime drama The Departed (2006).

Damon is also known for his starring roles as Jason Bourne in the Bourne film series (2002–present).For his supporting role as rugby player Francois Pienaar in Invictus (2009) and his leading role as an astronaut stranded on Mars in The Martian (2015), he has received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor, respectively. Damon's leading role in The Martian won him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He has also received BAFTA, Golden Globe, and SAG nominations for Behind the Candelabra (2013) and three Emmy nominations for producing Project Greenlight

20th century

The 20th century was a century that began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000. It was the tenth and final century of the 2nd millennium. It is distinct from the century known as the 1900s (sometimes written as 19XX), which began on January 1, 1900 and ended on December 31, 1999.

Dubbed the "short twentieth century", this century in human history was dominated by chain of events that heralded significant changes in world history as to redefine the era: World War I and World War II, nationalism and decolonization, the Cold War and Post-Cold War conflicts, cultural homogenization through developments in transportation and communications technology, world population growth, awareness of environmental degradation, ecological extinction and the birth of the Digital Revolution. It saw great advances in communication and medical technology that by the late 1980s allowed for near-instantaneous worldwide computer communication and genetic modification of life.

Overview

The century had the first global-scale total wars between world powers across continents and oceans in World War I and World War II. Nationalism became a major political issue in the world in the 20th century, acknowledged in international law along with the right of nations to self-determination, official decolonization in the mid-century, and nationalist-influenced armed regional-conflicts.

Bought

Bought is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film produced and released by Warner Bros. and directed by Archie Mayo. The movie stars Constance Bennett, Ben Lyon, Richard Bennett and Dorothy Peterson. The film is based on a novel, entitled Jackdaw's Strut, by Harriet Henry.

Synopsis

Raised in poverty by a never-married mother, Stephanie Dale resents her mother's working-class sensibilities. Dreaming of a rich lifestyle Stephanie gets a job modeling as a modiste shop. Executive David Meyer notices her and is immediately attracted to her. One day Stephanie returns home to find that her mother has died. She moves out and finds an apartment in a good location for meeting celebrities. David and Stephanie get involved and his wealth allows her to indulge in luxuries. They share an interest in books, but she's put off by his age, clothes, and manners. Young, handsome Nick Amory is also interested in Stephanie, but she prefers David's wealth and interests.

One day David notices a photograph of Stephanie's mother and realizes that he is her father--but keeps this information secret as he helps his daughter meet wealthy socialites. At one of the many parties she attends, she meets Charles Carter Jr., immediately falls in love, and tells David she plans to marry Charles. When Nick finally gets a raise he proposes to Stephanie, but she rejects him.