Entertainment_Culture

TradingPlaces-1983

Trading Places (1983) A comedy directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet. Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis also star. The storyline is often called a modern take on Mark Twain's classic 19th century novel The Prince and the Pauper. It also bears a resemblance to another of Mark Twain's stories, The Million Pound Bank Note.The film was written by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod and was produced by Aaron Russo. It was released to theaters in North America on June 8, 1983, where it was distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film earned over $90 million during its theatrical run in the United States, finishing as the fourth highest earning film of the year and the second highest earning R-rated film of 1983.

the-nightmare-before-christmas1993

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) often promoted as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a stop motion musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to "Christmas Town" and decides to celebrate the holiday, with some dastardly and comical consequences. Danny Elfman wrote the film score and provided the singing voice of Jack, as well as other minor characters. The remaining principal voice cast includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page, Paul Reubens and Glenn Shadix.

sleepless-in-seattle-1993

Sleepless in Seattle (1993) A romantic comedy directed and co-written by Nora Ephron. Based on a story by Jeff Arch, it stars Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin and Meg Ryan as Annie Reed. The film was inspired by the 1957 film An Affair to Remember and used both its theme song and clips from the film in critical scenes. The climactic meeting at the top of the Empire State Building is a reference to a reunion between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember that fails to happen because the Kerr character is struck by a car while en route.

scrooged-1998

Scrooged (1988) - A Christmas comedy film, a modernization of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The film was produced and directed by Richard Donner, and the cinematography was by Michael Chapman. The screenplay was written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. The original music score was composed by Danny Elfman. The film stars Bill Murray, with Karen Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait, John Forsythe, Carol Kane, John Houseman, and Robert Mitchum in supporting roles. Murray's brothers Brian, John, and Joel also appear in the film.

Planes-Trains-and-automobiles

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987 ) A comedy written, produced and directed by John Hughes. The film stars Steve Martin as Neal Page, a high-strung marketing executive, who meets Del Griffith, played by John Candy, an eternally optimistic, overly talkative, and clumsy shower curtain ring salesman who seems to live in a world governed by a different set of rules. They share a three-day odyssey of misadventures trying to get Neal home to Chicago from New York City in time for Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

muppet-christmas-carol-1993

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) A musical fantasy-comedy and an adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It is the fourth in a series of live-action musical films featuring The Muppets, with Michael Caine starring as Ebenezer Scrooge. Although it is a comedic film with contemporary songs, The Muppet Christmas Carol otherwise follows Dickens's original story closely. The film was produced and directed by Brian Henson for Jim Henson Productions, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The Muppet Christmas Carol was the first Muppet film released after the deaths of Muppets creator Jim Henson and fellow puppeteer Richard Hunt. The film is dedicated to their memories.

love-actually-2003 2

Love Actually (2003) is a British Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as their tales progress. Set primarily in London, the story begins five weeks before Christmas and is played out in a weekly countdown until the holiday, followed by an epilogue that takes place one month later.

Hook-1991

Hook (1991) A fantasy adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by James V. Hart and Malia Scotch Marmo. It stars Robin Williams as Peter Pan, Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook, Julia Roberts as Tinker Bell, Bob Hoskins as Smee, Maggie Smith as Granny Wendy, Caroline Goodall as Moira Banning, and Charlie Korsmo as Jack Banning. The film acts as a sequel to J. M. Barrie's 1911 novel Peter and Wendy, focusing on a grown-up Peter Pan who has forgotten his childhood. Now known as Peter Banning, he is a successful corporate lawyer with a wife and two children. Hook kidnaps his children and Peter must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.

bad-santa_2003

Bad Santa (2003) A Christmas black comedy crime film directed by Terry Zwigoff, and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, and Lauren Graham, with Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Lauren Tom, and John Ritter in supporting roles. It was Ritter's last film appearance before his death in 2003. The Coen brothers are credited as executive producers. The film was screened out of competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. An unrated version was released on DVD on March 5, 2004 and on Blu-ray Disc on November 20, 2007 as Bad(der) Santa. A director's cut DVD was released in November 2006; it features Zwigoff's cut of the film (including an audio commentary with him and the film's editor), which is three minutes shorter than the theatrical cut and ten minutes shorter than the unrated version.

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Zacarias Moussaoui (Associated Press) ** FILE **

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Actress Lena Dunham holds her memoir, "Not That Kind Of Girl," ahead of a book signing at Waterstones book shop, Piccadilly, in central London, in this Oct. 29, 2014, file photo. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

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Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (Associated Press/File)

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This image released by 20th Century Fox shows Joel Edgerton in a scene from "Exodus: Gods and Kings." (AP Photo/20th Century Fox)

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A Nativity Scene (AP Photo)

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Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes 1971-2002 -was a member of the successful music group TLC, was killed on April 25, 2002, in a car crash in La Ceiba, Honduras. She was 36. (AP Photo/Michael Caulfield)

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Notorious B.I.G. 1972-1997 who won rap artist and rap single of the year, clutches his awards at the podium during the Billboard Music Awards in New York, in this Dec. 6, 1995 file photo. On Friday, Nov. 16, 2007, a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. against the city of Los Angeles may be amended to include several other defendants, including record executive Marion "Suge" Knight, a federal judge has ruled. The rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was shot and killed March 9, 1997, after a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)