Gamer

Se, dopo aver visto i trailer, vi volete ancora così male da andare a vedere Gamer, vi consiglio di portarvi dietro una ampia collezione di aghi da infilare sotto le unghie: ne avrete bisogno.

Gerard Butler di mestiere fa il carcerato nel braccio della morte - carriera breve ma non priva di soddisfazioni (e fa sempre curriculum).
Entra in scena Dexter - qui nel ruolo del genio del compiutter - che ha creato una serie di mondi virtuali nei quali gli utenti possono comandare delle persone in carne ed ossa (a dire il vero più "culi e tette" che altro, da quando viene mostrato ) grazie a solito artifizio narrativo impiantato nel cervello a suon di jibba-jabba hi-tech privo di senso.
Ultimo parto della sua geniale quanto empia testolina, un mondo dove i detenuti combattono a suon di armi fichissime, morendo a carriolate. Premio per chi sopravvive a 30 battaglie: la libertà ed un set di pentole in acciaio inox.
Butler ed il ragazzino che lo controlla sono quasi al traguardo, ma qual losco piano si dipana dinnanzi a loro! Ah, perché non ci è dato vivere in un mondo di oneste regole?! Perché?! Perché?! Boh, chissene...

Se avete una vaga sensazione come di "già visto un triliardo di volte", vi state sbagliando: questo non è come i mille film che hanno già sfruttato idee analoghe - è infatti scandalosamente peggio.
Girato dalla solita scimmia col parkinson, ha escogitato un affascinante stratagemma tecnico per nascondere le piccole imperfezioni: coprirle con una colossale esplosione. Il fondale fa schifo? Mettiamoci un'esplosione! Serve un stacco di scena tra due location separate? Esplosione! La trama ha un buco che sembra un cratere? Esplosione!
È bellissimo e molto facile, provateci anche voi: esplosione!

Sorvoliamo sui dialoghi, i concetti triti-e-ritriti, l'overacting costante ed una insultante supponenza che permea tutti i suoi 95 minuti.
Ha però anche alcuni meriti: oltre a settare un nuovo standard negativo per i filmacci d'azione (e non c'è neanche Jason Statham, incredibile), ha procurato una ciotola di cibo a Milo Ventimiglia e John Leguizamo. In tempi di crisi, non è poco.

Voto: 1 - fa intrattenimento quanto un'epidemia di vaiolo.
Trashometro^® 7/10:
Tags: azione, fantascienza, thriller, invereconda porcata, esplosione, esplosioni, esplosioni!, ancora esplosioni!, criminale, mondo virtuale, detenuto, fuga, armi, sparatoria, morte, combattimento, auto, resistenza, hacker, intrusione, Gerard Butler, John Leguizamo, moglie, prostituzione, vendetta, trash.

Statham, Jason

---

Data di nascita: 12 September 1972
Altezza: 5' 10" (1.78 m)

Ultimi lavori:

• Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) .... [attore]
• The Brazilian Job (2011) .... Handsome Rob [attore]
• 13 (2010) .... Jasper [attore]
• Blitz (2010) .... [attore]
• The Expendables (2010) .... Lee Christmas [attore]
• The Killer Elite (2010) .... [attore]
• The Mechanic (2010) .... [attore]
• Crank: High Voltage (2009) .... Chev Chelios [attore]
• Transporter 3 Special Delivery: Transporters in the Real World (2009) (V) .... Frank Martin [attore]
• Death Race (2008) .... Jensen Ames [attore]

Biografia:
Born in 1972, Jason Statham has done quite a lot in a short time. He has been an Olympic Diver on the British National Diving Team and finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992. He has also been a fashion model, black market salesman and finally of course, actor. He got the audition for his debut role as Bacon in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) through French Connection, for whom he was modeling. They became a major investor in the film and introduced Jason to Guy Ritchie, who invited him to audition for a part in the film by challenging him to impersonate an illegal street vendor and convince him to purchase fake jewelery. Jason must have been doing something right because after the success of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) he teamed up again with Guy Ritchie for Snatch. (2000), with co-stars including Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina and Benicio Del Toro. After Snatch. (2000) came Turn It Up (2000) with US music star Ja Rule, followed by a supporting actor role in the Sci-Fi film Ghosts of Mars (2001), Jet Li's The One (2001) and another screen partnership with Vinnie Jones in Mean Machine (2001) under Guy Ritchie's and Matthew Vaughn's SKA Films. Finally in 2002 he was cast as the lead role of Frank Martin in The Transporter (2002). Jason is also in the summer 2003 blockbuster remake of The Italian Job (1969), The Italian Job (2003), playing Handsome Rob.

Trivia random: Offered the role of Agent 47 in Hitman (2007/I) after Vin Diesel was dropped from the project. Timothy Olyphant eventually took the role.
Citazione random: "You ain't ever gonna get an Academy Award for doing Crank (2006) and you certainly won't for doing all the other movies I've done."
Salario massimo: $750,000, per The Transporter (2002)

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Gamer (2009)

---

Regista: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Scrittore: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Genere: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Valutazione: 5.7/10 (23986 voti)
Durata: 95 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Gerard Butler .... Kable / John Tillman
• Amber Valletta .... Angie
• Michael C. Hall .... Ken Castle
• Kyra Sedgwick .... Gina Parker Smith
• Logan Lerman .... Simon Silverton
• Alison Lohman .... Trace
• Terry Crews .... Hackman
• Ramsey Moore .... Gorge
• Ludacris .... Humanz Brother (as Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges)
• Aaron Yoo .... Humanz Dude

Trama:
Set in a future-world where humans can control other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online gaming environments, a star player from a game called "Slayers" looks to regain his independence while taking down the game's mastermind.

Trivia random: The opening montage of time-lapse shots and other scenes of the world where we see ads for Kable and/or graffiti of Ken Castle overlaid on buildings or walls are mostly taken from Ron Fricke's wordless film Baraka (1992), for example, the shots of the Giza Pyramids, India, homeless man sleeping under a bridge among others.
Citazione random: Simon: This is unbelievable. Kable, listen. This is the last game. You're gonna end up dead, and I'm going to look like a total asshole if you don't pull your balls together man!

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Leguizamo, John

---

Data di nascita: 22 July 1960
Altezza: 5' 8" (1.73 m)
Coniuge: Justine Maurer::(5 July 2003 - present) 2 children, Yelba Osorio::(27 August 1994 - November 1996) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• The Spanish Harlem Project (2011) .... Ray [attore]
• Tlatelolco: Mexico 68 (2011) .... Jesus (rumored) [attore]
• Vanishing on 7th Street (2010) .... Paul [attore]
• Gamer (2009) .... Freek [attore]
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) (VG) .... Sid (voice) [attore]
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) .... Sid (voice) [attore]
• Rage (2009/I) .... Jed [attore]
• The Ministers (2009) .... Dante/Perfecto [attore]
• Miracle at St. Anna (2008) .... Enrico [attore]
• Nothing Like the Holidays (2008) .... Mauricio Rodriguez [attore]

Biografia:
Fast-talking and feisty-looking John Leguizamo has continued to impress movie audiences with his versatility: he can play sensitive and naïve young men, such as Johnny in Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991); cold-blooded killers like Benny Blanco in Carlito's Way (1993); a heroic Navy SEAL, stopping aerial terrorists in Executive Decision (1996); and drag queen Chi-Chi Rodriguez in To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995). Arguably, not since ill-fated actor and comedian Freddie Prinze starred in the smash TV series "Chico and the Man" (1974) has a youthful Latino personality had such a powerful impact on critics and fans alike. Born July 22, 1964, in Bogotá, Colombia, Leguizamo was four when his family emigrated to the United States. He was raised in Queens, New York, attended New York University and studied under legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg for only one day before Strasberg passed away. The extroverted Leguizamo started working the comedy club circuit in New York and first appeared in front of the cameras in an episode of "Miami Vice" (1984). His first film appearance was a small part in Mixed Blood (1985), and he had minor roles in Casualties of War (1989) and Die Hard 2 (1990) before playing a liquor store thief who shoots Harrison Ford in Regarding Henry (1991). His career really started to soar after his first-rate performance in the independent film Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991) as a nervous young teenager from the Bronx out for a night in brightly lit Manhattan with his buddies, facing the career choice of staying in a supermarket or heading off to college and finding out that the girl he loves from afar isn't quite what he thought she was. The year 1991 was also memorable for other reasons, as he hit the stage with his show Mambo Mouth (1991) (TV), in which he portrayed seven different Latino characters. The witty and incisive show was a smash hit and won the Obie and Outer Circle Critics Award, and later was filmed for HBO, where it picked up a CableACE Award. He returned to the stage two years later with another satirical production poking fun at Latino stereotypes titled Spic-O-Rama (1993) (TV). It played in Chicago and New York, and won the Drama Desk Award and four CableACE Awards. In 1995 he created and starred in the short-lived TV series "House of Buggin'" (1995), an all-Latino-cast comedy variety show featuring hilarious sketches and comedic routines. The show scored two Emmy nominations and received positive reviews from critics, but it was canceled after only one season. The gifted Leguizamo was still keeping busy in films, with key appearances in Super Mario Bros. (1993), Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Spawn (1997). In 1998 he made his Broadway debut in Freak (1998) (TV), a "demi-semi-quasi-pseudo-autobiographical" one-man show, which was filmed for HBO by Spike Lee. Utilizing his distinctive vocal talents, he next voiced a pesky rat in Doctor Dolittle (1998) before appearing in the dynamic Spike Lee-directed Summer of Sam (1999) as a guilt-ridden womanizer, as the Genie of The Lamp in the exciting Arabian Nights (2000) (TV) and as Henri de Toulouse Lautrec in the visually spectacular Moulin Rouge! (2001). He also voiced Sid in the animated Ice Age (2002), co-starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Collateral Damage (2002) and directed and starred in the boxing film Undefeated (2003) (TV). Afterward, Leguizamo starred in the remake of the John Carpenter hit Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) and George A. Romero's long-awaited fourth "Dead" film, Land of the Dead (2005). There can be no doubt that the remarkably talented Leguizamo has been a breakthrough performer for the Latino community in mainstream Hollywood, in much the same way that Sidney Poitier crashed through celluloid barriers for African-Americans in the early 1960s. Among his many strengths lies his ability to not take his ethnic background too seriously but also to take pride in his Latino heritage. He has opened many doors for his countrymen. A masterly and accomplished performer, movie audiences await Leguizamo's next exciting performance.

Trivia random: Was voted "Most Talkative" in high school.
Citazione random: "Marriage is wild. I thought it was this perfect land of happiness and joy. Wrong! After you say you do, you don't for a long time."
Salario massimo: $2,000,000, per Spawn (1997)

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Hall, Michael C. (I)

---

Nome di battesimo: Hall, Michael Carlyle
Data di nascita: 1 February 1971
Altezza: 5' 10½" (1.79 m)
Coniuge: Jennifer Carpenter::(31 December 2008 - present), Amy Spanger::(1 May 2002 - 2006) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• East Fifth Bliss (2010) .... Morris Bliss [attore]
• Peep World (2010) .... Jack [attore]
• Gamer (2009) .... Ken Castle [attore]
• The Edge of Things (2009) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Mysteries of the Freemasons (2006) (TV) .... Narrator [attore]
• "Hitler's War" (2005) TV series (narrator) (2005) .... [misc]
• Bereft (2004) (TV) .... Jonathan [attore]
• Paycheck (2003) .... Agent Klein [attore]

Biografia:
Michael C. Hall is a North Carolina native and graduate of NYU's Master of Fine Arts program in acting. His most recent performance was on Broadway as the emcee in "Cabaret." Hall has previously starred in nearly a dozen major off-Broadway plays, including "Macbeth" for the New York Shakespeare Festival, "Cymbeline" for the New York Shakespeare Festival at Central Park's Delacorte Theater, "Timon of Athens" and "Henry V" at the Public, "The English Teachers" for Manhattan Class Company, "Corpus Christi" at the Manhattan Theatre Club, and "Skylight" at the Mark Taper Forum.

Trivia random: Attended Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, North Carolina, the same school attended by actress Emily Procter, actor William Joyner, and editor Hughes Winborne.
Citazione random: I think Dexter is a man who, a part of himself is very much frozen, or arrested in a place that is pre-memory, pre-conscious, pre-verbal. Something very traumatic happened to him, he doesn't know what that is. And I think on some level he wants to know. He denies his humanity, he describes himself as someone who is without feeling, and yet I think that he maybe suspects - in a way that maybe isn't even conscious yet when we first meet him - that he is in fact a human being.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Butler, Gerard

---

Nome di battesimo: Butler, Gerard James
Data di nascita: 13 November 1969
Altezza: 6' 2" (1.88 m)

Ultimi lavori:

• Burns (2010) .... Robert Burns [attore]
• Coriolanus (2010) .... Tullus Aufidius [attore]
• How to Train Your Dragon (2010) .... Stoick (voice) [attore]
• The Bounty Hunter (2010) .... Milo Boyd [attore]
• Untitled Comedy (2010) .... Chaun [attore]
• Gamer (2009) .... Kable / John Tillman [attore]
• Law Abiding Citizen (2009) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Tales of the Black Freighter (2009) (V) .... The Sea Captain (voice) [attore]
• The Ugly Truth (2009) .... Mike Chadway [attore]
• Nim's Island (2008) .... Jack Rusoe / Alex Rover [attore]

Biografia:
Born in Paisley, Scotland, to Margaret and Edward Butler, Gerard Butler was raised along with his older brother and sister in his hometown of Paisley, Scotland. He also spent some of his youth in Canada. His parents divorced when he was a child, and he and his siblings were raised primarily by their mother, who later remarried. He had no contact with his father between the ages of two and 16 years old, after which time they became close. His father passed away when Gerard was in his early 20s. Butler went on to attend Glasgow University, where he studied to be a lawyer/solicitor. He was president of the school's law society thanks to his outgoing personality and great social skills. His acting career began when he was approached in a London coffee shop by actor Steven Berkoff, who later appeared alongside Butler in Attila (2001/I) (TV), who gave him a role in a stage production of Coriolanus. After that Butler decided to give up law for acting. He was cast as Ewan McGregor's character Renton in the stage adaptation of [i]Trainspotting[/i]. His film debut was as Billy Connolly's younger brother in _Mrs. Brown (1997)_. While filming the movie in Scotland, he was enjoying a picnic with his mother, near the River Tay, when they heard the shouts of a young boy who had been swimming with a friend who was in some trouble. Butler jumped in and saved the young boy from drowning. He received a Certificate of Bravery from the Royal Humane Society. He felt he only did what anyone in the situation would have done. His film career continued with small roles, first in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and then Russell Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, Butler was cast in two breakthrough roles, the first being Attila the Hun in the USA film Attila (2001/I) (TV). The film's producers wanted a known actor to play the part but kept coming back to Butler's screen tests and decided he was their man. He had to lose the thick Scottish accent, but managed well. Around the time Attila was being filmed, casting was in progress for Wes Craven's new take on the Dracula legacy. Also wanting a known name, Butler wasn't much of a consideration. His unending tenacity and drive drove him to hounding the producers. Eventually, he sent them a clip of his portrayal of Attila. Evidently they saw something because Dracula 2000 (2000) was cast in the form of Butler. Attila's producers, thinking that his big-screen role might help with their own film's ratings, finished shooting a little early so he could get to work on Dracula 2000 (2000). Attila ended up being the second highest-rated TV movie ever. Following these two roles, Butler developed quite a fan base, an Internet site and began appearing on lists everywhere. Since then he has appeared in Reign of Fire (2002) as Creedy and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) as Terry Sheridan, alongside Angelina Jolie. The role that garnered him most attention from both moviegoers and movie makers alike was that of Andre Marek in the big-screen adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel Timeline (2003). Butler played an archaeologist who was sent back in time with a team of students to rescue a colleague. Last year he appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera (2004), playing the title character in the successful adaptation of the stage musical. It was a role that brought him much international attention. Other projects include Dear Frankie (2004), The Game of Their Lives (2005) and Beowulf & Grendel (2005). In 2007 he starred as Spartan King Leonidas in the Warner Bros. production 300 (2006), based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, and Butterfly on a Wheel (2007) co-starring Pierce Brosnan and Maria Bello, which aired on network TV under the title Shattered. He most recently starred in P.S. I Love You (2007) with Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank . In 2007, he appeared in Nim's Island (2008) and RocknRolla (2008), and recently completed the new Mark Neveldine / Brian Taylor film Gamer (2009). His latest film The Ugly Truth (2009) co-starring Katherine Heigl began filming in April 2008.

Trivia random: Was once rumored to be the next James Bond (after Pierce Brosnan). [April 2001]
Citazione random: Sometimes I finish a movie and I get used to a certain lifestyle and when that stops I get a bit lost for about a week. 'No one is bringing me lunch anymore - I've got to go do that myself?' I lose the main point of my focus. Often all I want to do is travel and just get the hell out of there. But I'm actually boring really.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Ventimiglia, Milo

---

Nome di battesimo: Ventimiglia, Milo Anthony
Data di nascita: 8 July 1977
Altezza: 5' 9" (1.75 m)

Ultimi lavori:

• Order of Chaos (2010) .... Rick [attore]
• "Ultradome" (2010) .... (executive producer) (unknown episodes, 2010) [produttore]
• Armored (2009) .... Eckehart [attore]
• Dave Knoll Finds His Soul (2009) (TV) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Gamer (2009) .... Rick Rape [attore]
• High-Five Hollywood! (2008) (V) .... [attore]
• Pathology (2008) .... Ted Grey [attore]
• "It's a Mall World" (2007) .... (producer) [produttore]
• "Winter Tales" (2007) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Intelligence (2006/I) .... Colin Mathers [attore]

Biografia:
Nurturing an impressive body of work that encompasses film and television, Milo Ventimiglia is positioning himself as one of Hollywood's most promising young talents as his career continues to evolve with exciting and challenging projects. Ventimiglia will next be seen starring in Tom Fontana's new WB Series "The Bedford Diaries" (2006), which focuses on a group of college students in a human sexuality class. Ventimiglia quickly garnered attention when he joined the cast of the critically acclaimed television drama "Gilmore Girls" (2000), as the quiet and complicated 'Jess.' Last year Ventimiglia joined the cast of another critically acclaimed show, NBC's "American Dreams" (2002). He portrayed a 60's war radical and helps bring the show into the 70's. He was also a recurring character on David. E. Kelley's drama "Boston Public" (2000). Before joining "Gilmore Girls" audiences became familiar with Ventimiglia when he starred in the Fox series "Opposite Sex" (2000) which secured him a holding deal with Warner Brothers. His other television credits include guest starring roles on prime time series such as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (2000), "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (1996) and "Promised Land" (1996). Segueing effortlessly between the big and small screen, Ventimiglia's passion for the art of acting keeps him drawn to both studio and independent features. Ventimiglia recently starred in the Wes Craven/Kevin Williamson thriller Cursed (2005) and next up is the indie film Dirty Deeds (2005). His other film credits include Winter Break (2003) and Massholes (2000). Additionally he starred in the short films Nice Guys Finish Last (2001) and Must Be the Music (1996), which debuted at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews. Ventimiglia currently resides in Los Angeles and enjoys skateboarding, snowboarding and wake boarding. He also has a passion for restoring vintage muscle cars.

Trivia random: He has a great interest in directing.
Citazione random: On the WB holding deal: ... They said, 'Here's a lot of money and don't work for anybody else. We don't have anything for you, so you're going to be sitting for a while.' That was an interesting thing.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

anno millenovecentonovantaics!

Anno 199ics! Siamo alla fine del ventesimo secolo, il mondo intero è sconvolto dalle esplosioni atomiche. Sulla faccia della terra gli oceani erano scomparsi e le pianure avevano l'aspetto di desolati deserti.
Tuuuttavia Malcolm McDowell era sooopravvissuto...

Ca-vo-la-vo-ro, con Fist of the North Star siamo di fronte ad un cavolavoro! Chi della mia generazione non è cresciuto col mito di Hokuto no Ken, creato dal buon Buronson, ha avuto un'infanzia vuota. Se, cresciuti, avete sviluppato il vostro lato masochistico, potrete sperimentare una infanzia violata a posteriori col bellissimo film hollywoodiano dal vivo.

Sorvolando sulla regia, mi preme far notare il cast mica da ridere: Malcolm McDowell (Ryuken), quel gianduione di Gary Daniels a fare Kenshirô, il non meno gianduionico Costas Mandylor negli imbarazzanti panni Shin (alcuni costumi da Village People entrano nella storia del trash), il babbo di Mario Van Peebles, il compianto fratello di Sean Penn, il fratello più brutto di Ron Howard e niente meno che Paulo Tocha (in "arte" Bruce Stallion) già visto in Ninja Dragon e Ninja Terminator (che livello!)

Shin - col vezzo di fare l'architetto - ha in mente di ricostruire il mondo devastato; com'è come non è, per farlo deve accoppare il buon Ryuken-McDowell e... lo fa a revolverate!
Già che c'è, frega la tipa a Kenshirô, dopo averlo lasciato morente con le sue belle sette stelle: in realtà würstel attaccati sulla panza col vinavil.
Ma Kenshirô è l'erede pluri-ripetente della sacra scuola di Hokuto e sopravvive per vendicarsi, aiutando nel contempo i fessacchiotti abitanti di un villaggio che non vuole sottomettersi agli illuminati piani di Shin.

L'intero film è un prolungato momento trash, con solo vaghi contatti con la serie originale ed il buon gusto in generale.
Riprovevole che abbiano osato riprodurre le deformazioni e le esplosioni dei corpi, per tacere dell'atatatà ai due all'ora. Il ritorno di zombie-Ryuken, poi, è da galera a vita.

Interamente girato da un rottamaio, senza un copione o dei dialoghi, questo filmone vi farà venir voglia di farvi il colpo-che-se-te-lo-fai-dopo-tre-giorni-muori. La recitazione dei protagonisti (Ken su tutti), è allucinante ed allucinata.

Voto:1. Trashometro^® 10/10: uatatatatatà-uattà!
Tags: azione, fantascienza, fantasy, Ken il guerriero, Hokuto, Kenshirô, Fist of the North Star, Hokuto no Ken, arti marziali, omicidio, distopia, post-atomico, devastazione, Croce del Sud, morte, esplosione, bambini, cieca, orfani, villaggio, maestro, combattimento, vendetta, seme, speranza, erede, tratto da un fumetto, fa venir voglia di morire, pattume, trash.

McDowell, Malcolm

---

Nome di battesimo: Taylor, Malcolm John
Data di nascita: 13 June 1943
Altezza: 5' 8½" (1.74 m)
Coniuge: Kelley Kuhr::(12 November 1991 - present) 2 children, Mary Steenburgen::(29 September 1980 - 1990) (divorced) 2 children, Margot Bennett::(21 April 1975 - September 1980) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• "Coco Chanel" (2008) .... Marc Bouchier [attore]
• The Collaboration (2008) .... Thornton (rumored) [attore]
• Delgo (2008) .... Raius (voice) [attore]
• Doomsday (2008) .... Kane [attore]
• Vivaldi (2008) .... Merlino [attore]
• Exitz (2007) .... Percy [attore]
• Halloween (2007) .... Dr. Samuel Loomis [attore]
• The List (2007/I) .... Desmond Larochette [attore]
• "Phineas and Ferb" (2007) .... Grandpa Reg (unknown episodes, 2007) [attore]
• Robot Chicken: Star Wars (2007) (TV) .... Orientation Instructor (voice) [attore]

Biografia:
Malcolm John Taylor was born on June 13, 1943, in Leeds, England, to working-class parents Charles and Edna Taylor. His father was a publican and an alcoholic. Malcolm hated his parents' ways and fought against it. His father was keen to send his son to private school to give him a good start in life, so Malcolm was packed off to boarding school at 11. He attended the Tunbridge Boarding School and the Cannock House School in Eltham, Kent. At school he was beaten with the slipper or cane every Monday for his waywardness. Whilst at school, he decided that he wanted to become an actor; it was also around this time that his love for race cars began. He attended the London Academy of Music and Art to study acting. Meanwhile, he worked at his parents' pub but lost his job when the pub went bankrupt, his father drinking all the profits. He then had a variety of jobs, from coffee salesman to messenger. His first big-screen role was in Poor Cow (1967), although his 2-minute scene was ultimately cut from the completed film. Soon after, he caught the attention of director Lindsay Anderson who cast him in the role of a rebellious student in his film If.... (1968). The film catapulted Malcolm to stardom in Britain but failed everywhere else. He was so enthusiastic about the film's success that he wanted to do another right away. He began writing what would become the semi-autobiographical O Lucky Man! (1973). Meanwhile, he starred as the infamous Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's controversial A Clockwork Orange (1971), a role that caused him to be typecast as a manic psychopathic villain. In early 1976, he spent nearly a year working on what would later be one of the most infamous films of all time, the semi-pornographic Caligola (1979), financed by Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione. Around that time, the British film industry collapsed, forcing him to flee to America to continue working. His first American film was Time After Time (1979). He then did Britannia Hospital (1982), the last part of Lindsay Anderson's working-class trilogy that started with If.... (1968). In the mid-1980s, the years of alcohol and drug abuse, including $1000 a week on cocaine, caught up with him. Years of abuse took its toll on him; his black hairs were now grey. Looking older than he really was, nobody wanted to cast him for playing younger roles. The big roles having dried up, he did many B-rated movies. The 1990s were kinder to him, though. In 1994, he was cast as Dr. Soran, the man who killed Captain Kirk in Star Trek: Generations (1994). He was back on the track, playing villains again. He played another in the classic BBC mini-series, "Our Friends in the North" (1996) (mini). Today, with more than 100 films under his belt, he is one of the greatest actors in America. He still doesn't have American citizenship, but he likes the no-nonsense American ways. He currently resides in the northern suburb of Los Angeles.

Trivia random: Father of actress Lilly McDowell, born in 1981.
Citazione random: "I got to be the hero in that one. It's a very whimsical part, a wonderful part, H.G. running after Jack the Ripper (David Warner) and meeting this modern woman (Mary Steenburgen). Of course, it's very special to me because I met Mary ((Mary Steenburgen), we got married, and we had two children. Even though we're not together now, she is the mother of my children and that film is where we met. It's also a damn good film!" - On Time After Time (1979)

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Penn, Chris (I)

---

Nome di battesimo: Penn, Christopher Shannon
Data di nascita: 10 October 1965
Data di morte: 24 January 2006
Altezza: 5' 10" (1.78 m)

Ultimi lavori:

• Aftermath (2008/I) .... Tony Bricker [attore]
• The Darwin Awards (2006) .... Tom [attore]
• Holly (2006) .... Freddie [attore]
• King of Sorrow (2006) .... [attore]
• Juarez: Stages of Fear (2005) (V) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• After the Sunset (2004) .... Rowdy Fan [attore]
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) (VG) .... Officer Eddie Pulaski (voice) [attore]
• Starsky & Hutch (2004) .... Manetti [attore]
• Masked and Anonymous (2003) .... Crew Guy #2 [attore]
• Shelter Island (2003) .... Sheriff Deluca [attore]

Trivia random: Started acting at age 12 at the Loft Studio in Los Angeles and training under acting guru Peggy Feury.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Tocha, Paulo

---

Ultimi lavori:

• Date or Disaster (2003) .... Kickboxing Instructor [attore]
• In Hell (2003) .... Victor [attore]
• The Third Society (2002) .... Dragon's Man at Jet [attore]
• Back to Even (1998) .... Printer [attore]
• Tarzan and the Lost City (1998) .... Fitt [attore]
• Savage (1997) .... [attore]
• Trojan War (1997) .... Janitor [attore]
• Bloodfist VII: Manhunt (1995) .... Ulysses [attore]
• Broken Bars (1995) .... Jigsaw [attore]
• Fist of the North Star (1995) .... Stone [attore]

Biografia:
Tocha recently received three Siam Awards, a National Muay Thai awards program. One of the earliest Muay Thai Fighters to compete in China, Hong Kong, and Thailand, Tocha was trained at the famous Sithanikul Thai Boxing camp in Thailand. He was nominated for the U.S. national Actor's Award, International Actor's Award, and U.S. Judge and Referee of the year Award in 1999.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Daniels, Gary (I)

---

Nome di battesimo: Daniels, Gary Edward
Data di nascita: 9 May 1963
Altezza: 5' 11" (1.80 m)
Coniuge: Mericine::(? - present) 5 children

Ultimi lavori:

• Sandstorm (2009) .... Agent Stone [attore]
• Cold Earth (2008) .... Darryl Van Dyke [attore]
• "The Legend of Bruce Lee" (2008) .... (2007) [attore]
• Liberty (2008) .... Detective Johnson [attore]
• La Linea (2008) .... Martin [attore]
• The Sanctuary (2008) .... [attore]
• Vengeance of Cleopatra Wong (2008) .... [attore]
• Immortally Yours (2006) .... Sebastian [attore]
• Reptilicant (2006) .... Ryan Moore [attore]
• Submerged (2005) (V) .... Col. Sharpe [attore]

Biografia:
Action film star Gary Daniels was a real-life kick-boxing champion. With rugged good-looks, a muscular build and a charming personality, it was a natural for him to move from the world of fighting to that of acting. Born Gary Edward Daniels on May 9, 1963 in Working, Surrey, England, Daniels was a childhood fan of legendary martial arts film star Bruce Lee. He followed his idol by studying Kung Fu. Demonstrating a natural ability for the sport of kick-boxing, Daniels embarked on his ring career. Fighting in England, Daniels' aggressive ring style did not sit well with the British officials; he lost 3 fights by disqualification. Gary decided that his best bet was to fight in the United States, so he traveled to Florida and began competing there. In 1980, Daniels made his U.S. debut by defeating Sherman"Big Train" Bergman at the Sunshine State Tournament in Miami, Florida. However, in the semi-finals, Daniels lost a decision. In his next bout in Orlando, Florida, Daniels knocked out Tim Williams in 18 seconds. Next, Gary went on to California where he won the Professional Karate Association Lightheavyweight Kickboxing Championship. In 1993, he retired from the sport with a record of 22-4, with 21 knockouts victories. His ring achievements brought him small roles in Miami Vice. He later traveled to the Philippines to make karate films, and from there went into mainstream film-making. Daniels has acted in over 60 movies.

Trivia random: Daniels fought in Florida and California.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Randel, Tony

---

Data di nascita: 29 May 1956
Coniuge: Eugenia Vasels::(26 March 1996 - present) 4 children

Ultimi lavori:

• The Double Born (2008) .... (writer) [scrittore]
• An Interview with Doctor Paul McAndrews (2001) .... [regista]
• Assignment Berlin (1998) .... [regista]
• One Good Turn (1996) .... [regista]
• Rattled (1996) (TV) .... [regista]
• Ein Tödliches Vergehen (1996) (TV) .... [regista]
• Fist of the North Star (1995) .... (written by) [scrittore]
• Infested (1993) (V) .... [regista]
• Amityville 1992: It's About Time (1992) (V) .... [regista]
• Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992) .... (story) [scrittore]

Trivia random: Is a black belt in Kenpo Karate.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Fist of the North Star (1995)

---

Regista: Tony Randel
Scrittore: Buronson, Tetsuo Hara
Genere: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action
Valutazione: 3.5/10 (871 voti)
Durata: 103 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Gary Daniels .... Kenshirô
• Malcolm McDowell .... Ryuken
• Costas Mandylor .... Lord Shin
• Downtown Julie Brown .... Charlie
• Dante Basco .... Bat
• Nalona Herron .... Lynn
• Melvin Van Peebles .... Asher
• Kevin Arbouet .... Rao
• William L. Nagle .... Miner
• Clint Howard .... Stalin

Citazione random: Kenshirô: You're already dead.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Howard, Clint

---

Nome di battesimo: Howard, Clinton E.
Data di nascita: 20 April 1959
Altezza: 5' 7" (1.70 m)
Coniuge: Melanie ?::(1995 - present), ?::(1986 - 1987) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• Sleeping with the Lion (2009) .... Jerome [attore]
• Fold (2008) .... [attore]
• Foreign Exchange (2008) .... Long Larry [attore]
• Holyman Undercover (2008) .... Roy Sr. [attore]
• The House of Good and Evil (2008) .... (in talks) [regista]
• The House of Terror (2008) .... Dr.Blasko/Dr.Vandor [attore]
• London Betty (2008) .... Narrator (voice) [attore]
• Play the Game (2008) .... Dick [attore]
• Senior Skip Day (2008) .... Lionel Huffer [attore]
• Super Capers (2008) .... Mugger [attore]

Trivia random: Has appeared in many movies directed by Ron Howard.
Citazione random: "I do not attempt to orchestrate my career. I let God do that. I like horror movies. To me, they are a very legitimate place for an actor to work. It's a great arena for me to experiment, to play a range of different funky characters. I like what I'm doing and I hope it shows on the screen. Acting is a great gig. It pays well, I get to meet some nice people and it allows me to play a lot of golf. I'm a real lucky guy."

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

"Hokuto no Ken" (1984)

Ken il Guerriero

---

Regista: Toyoo Ashida, Ichirô Itano
Scrittore: Buronson, Tetsuo Hara
Genere: Action, Animation, Action
Valutazione: 8.1/10 (190 voti)
Durata: Japan:25::(109 episodes) min
Paese: Japan
Lingua: Japanese

Cast:

• Akira Kamiya .... Kenshirô (unknown episodes)

Citazione random: [Kenshirô's trademark phrase]::Kenshirô: You are already dead.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Van Peebles, Melvin

---

Nome di battesimo: Peebles, Melvin
Data di nascita: 21 August 1932
Coniuge: Maria Marx::(1956 - 19??) (divorced) 3 children

Ultimi lavori:

• Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha (2008) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Blackout (2007/III) .... George [attore]
• Hard Luck (2006) (V) .... Hospital Prophet [attore]
• Baltimore (2003) .... [attore]
• The Hebrew Hammer (2003) .... Sweetback [attore]
• How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass (2003) .... (book "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: A Guerilla Filmmaking Manifesto") [scrittore]
• The Real Deal (2003) (V) .... [regista]
• Baadasssss Cinema (2002) (TV) .... (source) [misc]
• Antilles sur Seine (2000) .... L'Américain à la soirée [attore]
• Le Conte du ventre plein (2000) .... (delegate producer) [produttore]

Trivia random: Grandfather of Maya Van Peebles, Marley Van Peebles, Mandela Van Peebles.
Citazione random: "They laughed at Columbus when he said the world was round, too." - responding to those who criticize his eccentric taste in antiques.
Salario massimo: $70,000, per Watermelon Man (1970)

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Washio, Isako

---

Data di nascita: 1 April 1967
Altezza: 5' 9" (1.75 m)
Coniuge: Tôru Nakamura::(? - ?)

Ultimi lavori:

• Takagi keishikan no jikenbo Ajisai wa shi no kaori: Kamakura bijin tôgekika no otto goroshi! (2001) (TV) .... [attrice]
• Beru epokku (1998) .... Shion Yamada [attrice]
• Watashitachi ga suki datta koto (1997) .... Yoko Ogino [attrice]
• Fist of the North Star (1995) .... Julia [attrice]
• Waga ai no uta - Taki Rentaro monogatari (1993) .... Yuki Nakano [attrice]
• Boku ga byôki ni natta wake (1990) .... (Episode 1) [attrice]
• Kanojo ga kekkon shinai riyû (1990) .... Masako Nagao [attrice]
• Noyuki yamayuki umibe yuki (1986) .... O-Shouchan [attrice]

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Buronson

---

Nome di battesimo: Okamura, Yoshiyuki
Data di nascita: 16 June 1947

Ultimi lavori:

• Shin Kyûseishu densetsu Hokuto no Ken - Kenshirô den (2008) .... (manga "Hokuto no ken") [scrittore]
• Shin Kyûseishu densetsu Hokuto no Ken - Toki den (2008) (V) .... (manga "Hokuto no ken") [scrittore]
• Shin Kyûseishu densetsu Hokuto no Ken - Yuria den (2007) (V) .... (manga "Hokuto no ken") [scrittore]
• Shin kyûseishu densetsu Hokuto no Ken: Raô den - Gekitô no shô (2007) .... (comic) [scrittore]
• Shin kyûseishu densetsu Hokuto no Ken: Raô den - Jun'ai no shô (2006) .... (manga "Hokuto no ken") [scrittore]
• Shin Hokuto no Ken (2003) (V) .... (story) [scrittore]
• Doberman deka (1996) (V) .... (writer) [scrittore]
• Fist of the North Star (1995) .... (characters from the graphic novels Hokuto No Ken) [scrittore]
• Migi muke hidari! Jieitai he ikô (1995) .... (story) (as Shô Fumimura) [scrittore]
• Sanctuary (1995) (V) .... (writer) [scrittore]

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Mandylor, Costas

---

Nome di battesimo: Theodosopoulos, Costas
Data di nascita: 3 September 1962
Altezza: 6' (1.83 m)
Coniuge: Talisa Soto::(May 1997 - 2000) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• Sandstorm (2009) .... [attore]
• The Ball Is Round (2008) .... Frank Lazaridis [attore]
• The Cursed (2008) .... Jimmy Muldoon [attore]
• The Drum Beats Twice (2008) .... Jesus [attore]
• Emma Blue (2008) .... Del [attore]
• Except East Richmond (2008) .... Michael Quinn [attore]
• Hyenas (2008) .... Gannon [attore]
• Lost Warrior: Left Behind (2008) (V) .... [attore]
• Saw V (2008) .... Hoffman [attore]
• Torn (2008) .... Steve Clay [attore]

Trivia random: Played professional soccer for Greece and Australia until he suffered stress fractures to his shins.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

prospettive di un delitto

Idea simpatica, realizzazione così-così, quella di Prospettive di un Delitto.

Durante un summit in Spagna, un attentatore spara al presidente degli Stati Uniti, mentre alcune esplosioni seminano morte nella piazza.
Immediatamente i servizi segreti indagano sull'accaduto, ed identificano alcuni personaggi-chiave che si sono trovati loro malgrado nella posizione di osservatori privilegiati dell'evento. Il guaio è che le loro versioni non coincidono granché, ed ognuno ha visto qualcosa di completamente diverso dagli altri.

Raccontando la storia più volte, da diversi punti di vista, si scopre man mano chi c'è dietro l'attentato.

Il punto di forza del film è la velocità: niente interrogatori o momenti di riflessione: tutto si svolge di corsa nei minuti immediatamente prima e dopo l'attacco; dall'inizio alla fine si è nel vivo dell'azione, senza tregua.
Il difetto è che la situazione nel suo complesso è del tutto inverosimile, ed il complotto che viene messo in atto ha del prodigioso - oltre al fatto che troppe cose restano non dette o poco approfondite.

Cast mica da ridere, con un fortissimo Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, il sempre ottimo Forest Whitaker ed un piccolo ruolo anche per Sigourney Weaver; un William Hurt bolso come non mai fa il presidente.
Pete Travis alla sua prima regia seria non fa neanche un lavoro malvagio, anche se le pecche (di sceneggiatura e regia) ci sono e sono ben visibili.

Voto: 6.
Tags: thriller, azione, drammatico, attentato, presidente degli Stati Uniti, Stati Uniti, Spagna, summit, piazza, discorso, pace, medio-oriente, assassinio, fucile, pistola, bomba, esplosione, morte, piazza, albergo, sosia, ferimento, fuga, inseguimento, rapimento, travestimento, infiltrato, vendetta, suicidio, punti di vista, telecamera, conduttrice, tv.

Travis, Pete

---

Ultimi lavori:

• Vantage Point (2008) .... [regista]
• Omagh (2004) (TV) .... [regista]
• Henry VIII (2003) (TV) .... [regista]
• "The Jury" (2002) .... [regista]
• "Other People's Children" (2000) .... (unknown episodes) [regista]

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Fox, Matty

---

Data di morte: 3 June 1964

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Vantage Point (2008)

Prospettive di un delitto

---

Regista: Pete Travis
Scrittore: Barry Levy
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller, Action
Valutazione: 6.7/10 (6236 voti)
Durata: 90 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Dennis Quaid .... Thomas Barnes
• Matthew Fox .... Kent Taylor
• Forest Whitaker .... Howard Lewis
• Bruce McGill .... Phil McCullough
• Edgar Ramirez .... Javier
• Saïd Taghmaoui .... Suarez
• Ayelet Zurer .... Veronica
• Zoe Saldana .... Angie Jones
• Sigourney Weaver .... Rex Brooks
• William Hurt .... President Ashton

Trama:
With a Rashomon narrative style, the attempted assassination of the president is told from five different perspectives.

Trivia random: As the shooting was moved to Mexico, the production design department was forced to build a replica of the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca in Mexico. The replica is slightly smaller and simpler than the original.
Citazione random: Thomas Barnes: Why the fuck did you do this?

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Quaid, Dennis

---

Nome di battesimo: Quaid, Dennis William
Data di nascita: 9 April 1954
Altezza: 6' (1.83 m)
Coniuge: Kimberly Buffington::(4 July 2004 - present) 2 children, Meg Ryan::(14 February 1991 - 16 July 2001) (divorced) 1 child, P.J. Soles::(23 November 1978 - 23 January 1983) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• G.I. Joe (2009) .... General Hawk [attore]
• The Express (2008) .... Ben Schwartzwalder [attore]
• The Horsemen (2008) .... Aidan Breslin [attore]
• Shame on You (2008) .... (writer) [scrittore]
• Smart People (2008) .... Lawrence Wetherhold [attore]
• Vantage Point (2008) .... Thomas Barnes [attore]
• Terra (2007) .... Roven (voice) [attore]
• American Dreamz (2006) .... President Staton [attore]
• TimeShift (2006) (VG) .... Colonel Michael Swift (voice) [attore]
• Yours, Mine and Ours (2005) .... Frank Beardsley [attore]

Biografia:
Dennis Quaid was born in Houston, Texas, the son of an electrician. He studied drama in high school and in college, but dropped out before completing his studies, moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career. His brother, Randy Quaid, had already began to build a successful career, but Dennis initially had trouble finding work. He began to gain notice when he appeared in Breaking Away (1979) and earned strong reviews for his role in The Right Stuff (1983). Aside from acting, Quaid is also a musician, and plays with his band, the Sharks.

Trivia random: Dennis and his wife, Kimberly, became the parents of twins, a boy and a girl, on November 8, 2007 in Santa Monica, California. Thomas Boone weighed in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and Zoe Grace weighed in at 5 lbs. 9 oz.
Citazione random: "Well, a couple of times I had people come have a talk with me, but I was operating, for the most part, on two hours of sleep a night, and I realized, "I can't do this and last very long." So I cleaned up (in the early 90's) and THEN the jobs stopped coming. You clean up your life and think you're supposed to be rewarded for it, but things actually got worse. On the other hand, if I hadn't sobered up, I probably wouldn't be alive today." - On his recovery from cocaine addiction.
Salario massimo: $60,000, per Playing by Heart (1998)

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Hurt, William (I)

---

Nome di battesimo: Hurt, William M.
Data di nascita: 20 March 1950
Altezza: 6' 2" (1.88 m)
Coniuge: Heidi Henderson::(5 March 1989 - 1992) (divorced) 2 children, Mary Beth Hurt::(1971 - 1981) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• The Countess (2009) .... [attore]
• Beast of Bataan (2008) .... Gen. Jonathan Wainwright [attore]
• The Incredible Hulk (2008) .... Gen. Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross [attore]
• Vantage Point (2008) .... President Ashton [attore]
• Yellow Handkerchief (2008) .... [attore]
• Into the Wild (2007) .... Walt McCandless [attore]
• Mr. Brooks (2007) .... Marshall [attore]
• Noise (2007/II) .... Mayor Schneer [attore]
• Beautiful Ohio (2006) .... Simon Messerman [attore]
• The Good Shepherd (2006) .... Philip Allen [attore]

Biografia:
Twenty years ago, William Hurt seemed destined for a career as a screen legend, as one of those actors like Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, and Jack Nicholson who were movie stars who could also act. Though he won a Best Actor Oscar for Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) and appeared in many interesting films in the 1980s, Hurt never lived up to his promise. Unable or unwilling to consolidate his claim as a leading-man, he failed to establish himself as either a character-lead or a character actor. After eight years of building up an A-List career, from his appearance in Ken Russell/Paddy Chayefsky's Altered States (1980) through The Accidental Tourist (1988), his light failed. He had three straight Best Actor nominations from 1986 through 1988, winning on his first nod for "Spider Woman," then racking up kudos for Children of a Lesser God (1986) and Broadcast News (1987). Eighteen years passed before he got another Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor for a small character role in A History of Violence (2005).

Trivia random: Attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
Citazione random: "All I know is that my best work has come out of being committed and happy."
Salario massimo: $1,250,000, per The Village (2004)

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Weaver, Sigourney

---

Nome di battesimo: Weaver, Susan Alexandra
Data di nascita: 8 October 1949
Altezza: 5' 11½" (1.82 m)
Coniuge: Jim Simpson::(1 October 1984 - present) 1 child

Ultimi lavori:

• Avatar (2009) .... Dr. Grace Augustine [attrice]
• Baby Mama (2008) .... Chaffee Bicknell [attrice]
• Be Kind Rewind (2008) .... Ms. Lawson [attrice]
• Gypsy and Me (2008) (TV) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• The Tale of Despereaux (2008) .... The Narrator (voice) [attrice]
• Vantage Point (2008) .... Rex Brooks [attrice]
• The Girl in the Park (2007) .... Julia Sandburg [attrice]
• Happily N'Ever After (2006) .... Frieda (voice) [attrice]
• Infamous (2006) .... Babe Paley [attrice]
• Snow Cake (2006) .... Linda Freeman [attrice]

Biografia:
Sigourney Weaver was born Susan Alexandra Weaver, on October 8, 1949, in Leroy Hospital in New York City. Her father, TV producer Sylvester L. Weaver Jr., originally wanted to name her Flavia, because of his passion for Roman history (he had already named her elder brother Trajan). Her mother, Elizabeth Inglis, was a British actress who had sacrificed her career for a family. Sigourney grew up in a virtual bubble of guiltless bliss, being taken care by nannies and maids. By 1959, the Weavers had resided in 30 different households. In 1961, Sigourney began attending the Brearly Girls Academy, but her mother moved her to another New York private school, Chapin. Sigourney was quite a bit taller than most of her other classmates (at the age of 13, she was already 5' 10"), resulting in her constantly being laughed at and picked on; in order to gain their acceptance, she took on the role of class clown. In 1962, her family moved to San Francisco briefly, an unpleasant experience for her. Later, they moved back east to Connecticut, where she became a student at the Ethel Walker School, facing the same problems as before. In 1963, she changed her name to "Sigourney", after the character "Sigourney Howard" in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" (her own birth name, Susan, was in honor of her mother's best friend, explorer Susan Pretzlik). Sigourney had already starred in a school drama production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and, in 1965, she worked during the summer with a stock troupe, performing in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "You Can't Take It With You" (she didn't star in the latter because she was taller than the lead actor!). After graduating from school in 1967, she spent some months in a kibbutz at Israel. At that time, she became engaged to reporter Aaron Latham, but they soon broke up. In 1969, Sigourney enrolled in Stanford University, majoring in English Literature. She also participated in school plays, especially Japanese Noh plays. By that time she was living in a treehouse, alongside a male friend, dressed in elf-like clothes! After completing her studies in 1971, she applied for the Yale School of Drama in New York. Despite appearing at the audition reading a Bertolt Brecht speech and wearing a rope-like belt, she was accepted by the school but her professors rejected her, because of her height, and kept typecasting her as prostitutes and old women (whereas classmate Meryl Streep was treated almost reverently). However, in 1973, while making her theatrical debut with "Watergate Classics", she met up with a team of playwrights and actors and began hanging around with them., resulting in long-term friendships with Christopher Durang, Kate McGregor-Stewart and Albert Innaurato. In 1974 she starred in such plays as Aristophanes' "Frogs" and Durang's "The Nature and Purpose of the Universe" and "Daryl and Carol and Kenny and Jenny", as Jenny. After finishing her studies that year, she began seriously pursuing a stage career, but her height kept being a hindrance. However, she continued working on stage with Durang (in "Titanic" [1975]) and Innaurato (in "Gemini" [1976]). Other 1970s stage works included "Marco Polo Sing a Song", "The Animal Kingdom", "A Flea in Her Ear", "The Constant Husband", "Conjuring an Event" and others. However, the one that really got her noticed was "Das Lusitania Songspiel", a play she co-wrote with Durang and in which she starred for two seasons, from 1979 to 1981. She was also up for a Drama Desk Award for it. During the mid-70s she appeared in several TV spots and even starred as Avis Ryan in the soap opera "Somerset" (1970). In 1977 she was cast in the role Shelley Duvall finally played in Annie Hall (1977), after rejecting the part due to prior stage commitments. In the end, however, Woody Allen offered her a part in the film that, while short (she was onscreen for six seconds), made many people sit up and take notice. She later appeared in Madman (1978) and, of course, Alien (1979). The role of the tough, uncompromising Ripley made Sigourney an "overnight" star and brought her a British Award Nomination. She next appeared in Eyewitness (1981) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), the latter being a great success in Australia that won an Oscar and brought Sigourney and co-star Mel Gibson to Cannes in 1983. The same year she delivered an honorary Emmy award to her father, a few months before her uncle, actor Doodles Weaver, committed suicide. That year also brought her a romance with Jim Simpson, her first since having broken up two years previously with James M. McClure. She and Simpson were married on 1 October 1984. Sigourney had meanwhile played in the poorly received Deal of the Century (1983) and the mega-hit Ghost Busters (1984). She was also nominated for a Tony Award for her tour-de-force performance in the play "Hurly Burly". Then followed Une femme ou deux (1985), Half Moon Street (1986) and Aliens (1986). The latter was a huge success, and Sigourney was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Oscar. She then entered her most productive career period and snatched Academy Award nominations, in both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories, for her intense portrayal of Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey (1988) and her delicious performance as a double-crossing, power-hungry corporate executive in Working Girl (1988). She ended up losing in both, but made up for it to a degree by winning both Golden Globes. After appearing in a documentary about fashion photographer Helmut Newton, Frames from the Edge (1989), and reprising her role in the sequel Ghostbusters II (1989), she discovered she was pregnant and retired from public life for a while. She gave birth to her daughter Charlotte on 13 April 1990, and returned to movies as a (now skinhead) Ripley in _Alien3 (1992)_ and a gorgeous Queen Isabella of Spain in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), her second film with director Ridley Scott. She starred in the political comedy Dave (1993) alongside Kevin Kline, and then a Roman Polanski thriller, Death and the Maiden (1994). In 1995 she was seen in Jeffrey (1995) and Copycat (1995). The next year she "trod the boards" in "Sex and Longing", yet another Durang play. She hadn't performed in the theater in many years before that play, her last stage performances occurring in the 1980s in "As You Like It" (1981), "Beyond Therapy" (1981), "The Marriage of 'Bette and Boo'" (1985) and "The Merchant of Venice" (1986). In 1997 she was the protagonist in Grimm's Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997), The Ice Storm (1997) and Alien: Resurrection (1997). Her performance in "The Ice Storm" got her a BAFTA prize and another Golden Globe nod. She also gave excellent performances in A Map of the World (1999) and the sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest (1999). Her next comedy, Company Man (2000), wasn't quite so warmly welcomed critically and financially, however. She next played a sexy con artist in Heartbreakers (2001) and had a voice role in Big Bad Love (2001). Her father died at the age of 93. Sigourney herself has recently starred in Tadpole (2002) and is planning a cinematic version of The Guys (2002), the enthralling September 11th one-act drama she played on stage on late 2001. She remains a remarkable and enormously talented actress, and at the age of 52 is still one of the world's great beauties.

Trivia random: Her performance as Ellen Ripley in the "Alien" quadrilogy is ranked #8 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Citazione random: These deep sea trawlers are operating beyond the reach of the law. It's up to all of us to change that.
Salario massimo: $11,000,000, per Alien: Resurrection (1997)

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Whitaker, Forest

---

Nome di battesimo: Whitaker, Forest Steven
Data di nascita: 15 July 1961
Altezza: 6' 2" (1.88 m)
Coniuge: Keisha Whitaker::(4 May 1996 - present) 2 children

Ultimi lavori:

• Repossession Mambo (2009) .... Jake [attore]
• Where the Wild Things Are (2009) .... Wild Thing (voice) [attore]
• Dewmocracy (2008) (VG) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Patriots (2008) .... Al Collins [attore]
• Powder Blue (2008) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Street Kings (2008) .... [attore]
• Vantage Point (2008) .... Howard Lewis [attore]
• Winged Creatures (2008) .... Charlie Archenault [attore]
• The Air I Breathe (2007) .... Happiness [attore]
• The Great Debaters (2007) .... Dr. James Farmer Sr. [attore]

Biografia:
Forest Whitaker has packaged a king-size talent into his hulking 6' 2", 220 lb frame. The athletically-inclined Whitaker initially found his way into college via a football scholarship. Later, however, he transferred to USC where he set his concentration on music and earned two more scholarships training as an operatic tenor. This, in turn, led to another scholarship at Berkeley with a renewed focus on acting and the performing stage. Whitaker made his film debut at the age of 21 in the raucous comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) wherein he played, quite naturally, a footballer. He went on to play another student pigskin player in his second film Vision Quest (1985). He gain experience on TV as well with featured spots on such varied shows as "Diff'rent Strokes" (1978) and "Cagney & Lacey" (1982), not to mention the TV-movie Civil War epic "North and South" (1985) (mini) and its sequel, the movie that truly put him on the map The Color of Money (1986). His one big scene as a naive-looking pool player who out-hustles Paul Newman's Fast Eddie Felson was pure electricity. This led to more visible roles in the "A" class films Platoon (1986), Stakeout (1987), and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), which culminated in his breakout lead portrayal of the tortured jazz icon 'Charlie "Bird' Parker' in Clint Eastwood's passion project Bird (1988), for which Whitaker won the Cannes Film Festival award for "best actor" and a Golden Globe nomination. While his "gentle giant" characters typically display innocence, indecision, and timidity along with a strong underlying humanity, he has certainly not shied away from the edgier, darker corners of life as his various hitmen and other menacing streetwise types can attest. Although in only the first section of the film, he was memorable as the IRA-captured British soldier whose bizarre relationship with a mysterious femme fatale serves as the catalyst for the critically-lauded drama The Crying Game (1992). Always a willing participant to push the envelope, he's gone on to enhance a number of lesser films. Among those was his plastic surgeon in Johnny Handsome (1989), gay clothing designer in Robert Altman's Prêt-à-Porter (1994), alien hunter in Species (1995), absentee father confronted by his estranged son in Smoke (1995), and Mafia hitman who models himself after the samurai warrior in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), among many others. As would be expected, he's also had his share of epic-sized bombs, notoriously the L. Ron Hubbard sci-fi disaster Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 (2000). On the TV front, he was the consulting producer and host of a revamped Rod Serling's cult series classic "The Twilight Zone" (2002), which lasted a disappointing one season. In the early 1990s, Whitaker widened his horizons to include producing/directing and has since developed respect name behind the camera. He started things off co-producing the violent gangster film A Rage in Harlem (1991), in which he co-starred with Gregory Hines and Robin Givens, and then made his successful directorial debut with the soulful Waiting to Exhale (1995), showcasing a legion of distaff black stars. He also directed co-star Whitney Houston's music video of the movie's theme song ("Shoop Shoop"). Most recently, he scored with audiences helming the fluffy romantic comedy First Daughter (2004) with Katie Holmes and Michael Keaton. He is married to former model Keisha Whitaker and has three children with her. His younger brothers Kenn Whitaker and Damon Whitaker are both actors as well. Whitaker's multimedia company, Spirit Dance Entertainment, includes film, television and music production. Whitaker works closely with a number of charitable organizations. He has also given back to his community, serving as an Honorary Board Member for Penny Lane, an organization that provides assistance to abused teenagers, the Human Rights Watch and The Hope North organization.

Trivia random: He and his daughter, True, have recorded a public service announcement promoting vegetarianism on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Citazione random: "As a kid, I never had dreams of becoming an actor or director. Even when I was already working professionally, it took me a long time to know whether this was what I really wanted to be. Now I feel comfortable about what I'm doing, but I see that I can continue to make it better, that I can create a deeper balance in my life, and I'm still working on that. I didn't plan for things to turn out this way at all. But I have to say, I feel good about it. I do." - 1998 quote on his career.

---

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.