In the 2002 film Star Trek Nemesis, the character Shinzon (a Romulan-made clone of Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard) was ultimately portrayed by the relatively unknown British actor Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road, Peaky Blinders), who at the time was best known for his roles in Black Hawk Down and Band Of Brothers (2001). However, the role almost went to Canadian actor Michael Shanks, best known for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson on the television series Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007). Serious consideration was also given to actors Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Enemy At The Gates) and James Marsters (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Smallville).
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The fictional beverage Romulan Ale, featured on several Star Trek series, was created on-set by mixing seltzer water with Glacier Freeze Gatorade (introduced 1997). Prior to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999), Romulan Ale was never mentioned by name, but an unspecified blue-tinted Romulan beverage was depicted in 1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, reportedly composed mainly of blue raspberry Kool-Aid.
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Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a showbiz family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett then appeared in more than 70 films from the era of silent movies, well into the sound era. She is best-remembered for her film noir femme fatale roles in director Fritz Lang's movies such as Man Hunt (1941), The Woman in the Window (1944), and Scarlet Street (1945), and for her television role as matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (and ancestors Naomi Collins, Judith Collins, and Flora Collins) in the gothic 1960’s soap opera Dark Shadows.
Bennett's career had three distinct phases: first as a winsome blonde ingenue, then as a sensuous brunette femme fatale (with looks that movie magazines often compared to those of Hedy Lamarr), and finally as a warmhearted wife-and-mother figure.
In 1951, Bennett's screen career was marred by scandal after her third husband, film producer Walter Wanger, shot and injured her agent Jennings Lang. Wanger suspected that Lang and Bennett were having an affair, a charge which she adamantly denied. Bennett married four times.
In the 1960s, she achieved success for her portrayal of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard on TV's gothic fan favorite, Dark Shadows, for which she received an Emmy nomination (1968). For her final movie role, as Madame Blanc in Dario Argento's cult horror film Suspiria (1977), she received a Saturn Award nomination. Her obituary in The New York Times stated she was "one of the most underrated actresses of her time."
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Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), better known by his stage name Franco Nero, is an Italian actor. His breakthrough role was as the title character in Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti western film Django (1966), a role that he reprised in Nello Rossati's Django Strikes Again (1987).
Since then, he has performed over 200 leading and supporting roles in a wide variety of films and television programmes in both Italy and abroad, in genres ranging from poliziotteschi, to action, to drama, to war, and musicals. These include The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966), Camelot (1967), The Day of the Owl (1968), The Mercenary (1968), Battle of Neretva (1969), Tristana (1970), Compañeros (1970), Confessions of a Police Captain (1971), Keoma (1976), Hitch-Hike (1977), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Enter the Ninja (1981), Die Hard 2 (1990), Letters to Juliet (2010) and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017). He also played the narrator in the film Rasputin (2010), directed by Louis Nero, and voiced the character of Uncle Topolino in the animated film Cars 2 (2011) directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Brad Lewis. In 2012, Nero made a cameo appearance in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.
Nero is known for his ties to the Redgrave family, and has had a long-standing relationship with Vanessa, which began during the filming of Camelot. They were married in 2006.
Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), better known by his stage name Franco Nero, is an Italian actor. His breakthrough role was as the title character in Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti western film Django (1966), a role that he reprised in Nello Rossati's Django Strikes Again (1987).
Since then, he has performed over 200 leading and supporting roles in a wide variety of films and television programmes in both Italy and abroad, in genres ranging from poliziotteschi, to action, to drama, to war, and musicals. These include...Enter the Ninja (1981)
More on Enter The Ninja can be found here.
77 years ago today...
One of the costliest battles in US history (in terms of lives lost to area taken), the Battle of Tarawa took place between 20 November and 23 November 1943 at Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands as part of Operation Galvanic. The battle was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region, and was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States had faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Most of the fighting took place on and around the tiny island of Betio.
During the assault on the 0.59 sq. mi. (1.54 sq. km) island, home only to an airstrip and a network of Japanese bunkers, 18,000 United States Marines of the 2nd Marine Division (under Maj. Gen. Julian Smith) faced off against a Japanese garrison of 2,636 soldiers, which also included 1,000 Japanese and 1,200 Korean construction laborers. By the end of the fighting, the 2nd Marine Division had lost 1,009 killed and 2,101 wounded, while the Japanese garrison was effectively wiped out, with only 17 Japanese soldiers and 129 Korean workers captured.
Prior to the US attack on the island, Betio's Japanese commander, Rear Admiral Keiji Shibazaki, famously boasted to his troops that "it would take one million men one hundred years" to conquer the island. In the end, the assault only took three days.
Contrary to sporadic claims of the event being an urban legend, British musician Mick Fleetwood (of the band Fleetwood Mac) did appear on a 1989 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation under heavy prosthetic makeup as an Antedian diplomat.
Fleetwood, a fan of the original Star Trek series, requested a cameo on the show, and even agreed to shave off his trademark beard in order to wear the alien makeup.
77 years ago today...
One of the costliest battles in US history (in terms of lives lost to area taken), the Battle of Tarawa took place between 20 November and 23 November 1943 at Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands as part of Operation Galvanic.
Contrary to his frequent claims (repeated in the 1994 Tim Burton biopic Ed Wood, starring Johnny Depp), American filmmaker and Marine Corps veteran Edward D. Wood Jr. (1924-1978) did not see combat during the Battle of Tarawa-- his missing teeth were a result of a Navy hazing ritual, not hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese, and the scars on his legs were due to a severe case of filiariasis, rather than machine gun fire. However, Wood was present at the battle, albeit aboard ship, and in the aftermath had the arguably equally traumatic duty of serving on a body recovery detail, identifying and recovering the often horribly maimed Marine dead.
The name of the Romulan character Elnor (played by Australian actor Evan Evagora) on the 2020 TV series Star Trek: Picard was derived by screenwriter Michael Chabon from the Sindarin Elvish words (created by author J.R.R. Tolkien) "êl", meaning "star," and the verb "nor-", meaning "run / ride." Therefore, "Elnor" roughly translates from Elvish to English as "Star Trek."
During the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, there was a twice daily truce so that the ducks on St Stephen's Green could be fed.
Micheál Ó Mealláin, my great-grandfather's second cousin, served as second-in-command to James Connolly, and was commanding officer of the St. Stephen's Green garrison during the Rising. There was a framed portrait of him on the wall of my grandparents' house. I wonder if he was the one who fed the ducks...
instant ice tea is the U.S; nothing you'd serve at a fancy dinner party, but nothing you'd hold against anyone, either.Careful now, pardner. I live here in Texas. Tea* is serious business. Folks drink it by the gallon. And nobody best be servin' no instant tea 'round these parts, nohow. Them's fightin' words.
Isn't everything just hot in Texas, though? When Texans fill a glass pitcher with water and tealeaves and just leave it on the windowsill, doesn't it catalyze into a natural brewing process just through the radiant heat of direct sunlight? Up here in New England, we have to boil our water, and that there feels unnatural when it comes to tea!
Splitting the difference, in my own Northern homeland (the Champlain Valley), this substance is known simply as "iced tea," and is made by placing bags of black tea in a pitcher of water, then sticking it in the fridge. Or, if it's between October and June, out in the snow. It really brings out the bitterness-- proper tea needs to suffer before you drink it.
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In 1986, the Pepsi Cola Corporation briefly operated the sixth-largest navy in the world.
Did the "Cola Wars" suddenly become "hot?"
Not exactly...
In 1959, the United States participated in an international expo in Moscow. Then-Vice-President Richard Nixon gave the keynote address. During the event, Nixon and Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev had a heated exchange about the relative merits and detriments of a market economy v. communism. The vice president of the Pepsi Cola Corp. intervened, offering Khrushchev a cold Pepsi, which Khrushchev had never tried before. He loved it! This started a years-long series of negotiations to bring Pepsi into the Soviet Union. However, as the Soviet ruble was not traded in international currency markets, the question of payment became an issue.
A deal was struck in 1961: The Soviets would directly trade Russian vodka for American Pepsi, and both parties entered into a 25-year trade-in-kind agreement. When the agreement was up for re-negotiation in 1986, international vodka markets had shifted, driving prices significantly lower. PepsiCo was much less interested in trading cola for vodka.
Instead, the Soviets agreed to trade 20 decommissioned WWII-era warships from their mothballed fleet, which PepsiCo intended to sell as scrap.
For the few months that PepsiCo owned those ships, they had a navy of 17 submarines, a destroyer, a cruiser, and a frigate!
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Hate to be the spoilsport, but that tale is an urban legend, Haladir.
Did Pepsi really own the sixth largest navy?
The deal was proposed, but Pepsi didn't agree to it. And, as well, with the listed ships, it wouldn't have even been in the top 30 navies of the world. The Soviet Union did build several freight ships for Pepsi as payment, though.
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Contrary to sporadic claims of the event being an urban legend, British musician Mick Fleetwood (of the band Fleetwood Mac) did appear on a 1989 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation under heavy prosthetic makeup as an Antedian diplomat.
Fleetwood, a fan of the original Star Trek series, requested a cameo on the show, and even agreed to shave off his trademark beard in order to wear the alien makeup.
I saw a video of Jonathan Frakes describing this incident. Mick Fleetwood had ONE WORD ("FOOD!") but couldn't remember it, even with other cast members miming eating. They had to use a cue card.
Interesting. I've seen many references to the "Pepsi Navy" over the past 20 years from different sources, including some major news organizations such as the BBC and the New York Times. The story was included a book of oddball military tales I checked out of the library when my kid was a toddler, and she's in college now. I just double checked a few of those articles, and none have printed retractions.
Obviously, that doesn't mean it's definitely true: They could all be repeating the same false story and nobody brought the error to their attention.
I saw a video of Jonathan Frakes describing this incident. Mick Fleetwood had ONE WORD ("FOOD!") but couldn't remember it, even with other cast members miming eating. They had to use a cue card.Contrary to sporadic claims of the event being an urban legend, British musician Mick Fleetwood (of the band Fleetwood Mac) did appear on a 1989 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation under heavy prosthetic makeup as an Antedian diplomat.
Fleetwood, a fan of the original Star Trek series, requested a cameo on the show, and even agreed to shave off his trademark beard in order to wear the alien makeup.
I love it. I wonder if Mick Fleetwood hangs out with Tommy Wiseau.
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Vampire Circus is a 1972 British horror film directed by Robert Young and starring Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters and Anthony Higgins (billed as Anthony Corlan). It was written by Judson Kinberg, and produced by Wilbur Stark and Michael Carreras (who was uncredited) for Hammer Film Productions. The story concerns a travelling circus, the vampiric artists of which prey on the children of a 19th-century Serbian village. It was filmed at Pinewood Studios.
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An auto-antonym is a word with multiple meanings of which one is the reverse of another. Some examples from modern English:
Cleave can mean "to cling" or "to split apart".
Clip can mean "attach" or "cut off".
Dust can mean "to remove dust (as in cleaning a house)" or "to add dust" (e.g. to dust a cake with powdered sugar).
Fast can mean "fixed in place", (holding fast, also as in "steadfast"), or "moving quickly".
Let can mean "allow" or "prevent".
Left can mean "remain" or "leave" ("He left the room" or "He was the last one left in the room").
Off can mean "activated" (e.g. "The alarm went off"), or "deactivated" (e.g. "The alarm turned off by itself").
Overlook can mean to miss seeing something, or to see something from above.
Oversight can mean "accidental omission or error", or "close scrutiny and control".
Sanction can mean "approve" or "penalize".
Table can mean "to discuss a topic at a meeting" or "to postpone discussion of a topic".
While making a speech in the run-up to the 1860 United States presidential election, Democratic Party candidate Stephen A. Douglas referred to his Republican Party opponent, Abraham Lincoln, as a "hatchet-faced nutmeg dealer."
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Around 1850, a Portuguese author named Pedro Carolino decided to publish a Portuguese-English phrasebook and dictionary. He did not speak a word of English. But he had a Portuguese-French phrasebook and a French-English dictionary. The resulting book, published in English under the title English as she is Spoke (A Jest in Sober Earnest) has been described as a "linguistic train wreck" and a "masterpiece of unintended humor".
The "Idiotisms" section contains such gems as the following.
"Nothing some money, nothing of Swiss."
"So many go the jar to spring, than at last rest there."
"It want to beat the iron during it is hot."
Under "Familiar Phrases" he included these.
"Apply you at the study during that you are young."
"These apricots and these peaches make me and to come water in mouth."
"You mistake you self heavily."
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Around 1850, a Portuguese author named Pedro Carolino decided to publish a Portuguese-English phrasebook and dictionary. He did not speak a word of English. But he had a Portuguese-French phrasebook and a French-English dictionary. The resulting book, published in English under the title English as she is Spoke (A Jest in Sober Earnest) has been described as a "linguistic train wreck" and a "masterpiece of unintended humor".
The "Idiotisms" section contains such gems as the following.
"Nothing some money, nothing of Swiss."
"So many go the jar to spring, than at last rest there."
"It want to beat the iron during it is hot."Under "Familiar Phrases" he included these.
"Apply you at the study during that you are young."
"These apricots and these peaches make me and to come water in mouth."
"You mistake you self heavily."
Personally, I've always been a fan of "to craunch the marmoset," as well as "I have mind to vomit," which I've used on occasion.
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On the film's release day in 2005, a stolen time-stamped workprint of George Lucas's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith was leaked onto the internet, first appearing on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Shortly thereafter, the workprint was released in Shanghai as a bootleg DVD with Chinese and English subtitles. However, the unknown producer of the bootleg did not take the English subtitles from the script, relying instead on back-translating from the Chinese subtitles, as well as a very limited understanding of spoken English. English subtitles were also provided for the opening title crawl, and do not match the English text displayed on screen:
STAR WARS
Episode III
REVENGE OF THE SITH
War! The Republic is crumbling
under attacks by the ruthless
Sith Lord, Count Dooku.
There are heroes on both sides.
Evil is everywhere.
In a stunning move, the
fiendish droid leader, General
Grievous, has swept into the
Republic capital and kidnapped
Chancellor Palpatine, leader of
the Galactic Senate.
As the Separatist Droid Army
attempts to flee the besieged
capital with their valuable
hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a
desperate mission to rescue the
captive Chancellor....
Star War
The Third Gathers
The Backstroke of the West
The war came!
The republic encountered
Two squares fight the vehemence
The improbity fills the world
The space general of the alliance is skillful
Kidnap the D the speaker the conduct
The proper abruption alliance troops tries
ratio prosperous drive with the
In addition, the names and/or titles of nearly all of the characters had been rendered phonetically in Chinese for that set of subtitles, but were re-translated literally from Chinese characters back into English:
Obi-Wan Kenobi = 欧比瓦·肯欧比 (Ōubǐwǎ Kěnōubǐ) = The Willing to Compares / Ratio the Tile / Ratio Tile / ratio prosperous / section ratio
Padmé Amidala = 帕的梅 (Pàdeméi, literally "the plum of a handkerchief") = the plum of / The Gets the Rice
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine = 议长先生 (Yìzhǎng Xiānsheng, literally "Mr. President"), 帕卜丁 (Pàbǔdīng) = Mr. Speaker / D / Speaker D
Darth Vader = 达西·维达 (Dáxī Wéidá) = Reaching the west of reaches
Count Dooku = [unknown characters] = Drop / a big / the
General Grievous = 太空将军 (literally "Space General") = Space General
R2-D2 = [unknown characters] = Reach the Man
C-3PO = 吹皮欧 (Chuīpíōu) = blow the skin
Chewbacca = [unknown characters] = drag along
Luke = 看我 (literally "look at me," likely a mondegreen of "Luke" and "look") = See me
Yoda = 尤达 (Yóudá, literally "particularly reach") = Particularly Reach the Master / Vanquish is
The same treatment was also given to pretty much all other proper names or specific terminology:
Jedi Temple = 长老会 (literally "council of elders") = Presbyterian Church
Sith = 西斯 (Xīsī) = West / The Big
Sith Lord = [unknown characters] = South Host
The Force = 願力 or 原力 = Wish power / original dint
Sand People = 哀伤人们 (literally "sad people," likely a mondegreen of "sand" and "sad") = Pathetic people
Separatists = 独立派 = abruption doctrine
A selection of some of the best Backstroke of the West lines can be found here. The full script can be found here.
In 2016, a full dubbed version was released onto YouTube, featuring actors reading the "translated" lines, as well as subtitles of the original Lucas script.
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Personally, I've always been a fan of "to craunch the marmoset," as well as "I have mind to vomit," which I've used on occasion.Around 1850, a Portuguese author named Pedro Carolino decided to publish a Portuguese-English phrasebook and dictionary. He did not speak a word of English. But he had a Portuguese-French phrasebook and a French-English dictionary. The resulting book, published in English under the title English as she is Spoke (A Jest in Sober Earnest) has been described as a "linguistic train wreck" and a "masterpiece of unintended humor".
The "Idiotisms" section contains such gems as the following.
"Nothing some money, nothing of Swiss."
"So many go the jar to spring, than at last rest there."
"It want to beat the iron during it is hot."Under "Familiar Phrases" he included these.
"Apply you at the study during that you are young."
"These apricots and these peaches make me and to come water in mouth."
"You mistake you self heavily."
I had to run to the dictionary to look up both "craunch" and "marmoset" when first I read that expression.
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In the novelty single "Ali Baba's Camel," released by the experimental pop group the Bonzo Dog Band (AKA The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band) on their 1969 album Tadpoles, lead singer Victor "Vivian" Stanshall can be heard to sing these lines:
You've heard of Ali Baba / Forty thieves had he / Out for what we all want / Lots of LSD
The last line of the stanza is often read as a reference to the hallucinogenic drug LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), which is obviously what the band was going for. However, "Ali Baba's Camel" is actually a cover of a 1931 song written by British composer Noel Gay and first recorded that same year by Billy Mason And His Orchestra (later versions were performed by the Rhythmic Troubadours and Cicely Courtneidge, both also in 1931).
Lysergic acid diethylamide was first synthesized in 1938, and was not widely available until the late 1940s and early 1950s. The "LSD" referred to in the song's lyrics is actually an early 20th century British slang term meaning "money," with the L,S, and D referring to pounds (£), shillings (ſ or s.), and pence (d.). These abbreviations are borrowed from ancient Roman weights and coinage, with "L" standing for libra (Roman pound), "S" for solidus (gold coin) (or possibly sestertius, a brass coin), and "D" for denarius (silver coin).
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On the film's release day in 2005, a stolen time-stamped workprint of George Lucas's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith was leaked onto the internet, first appearing on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Shortly thereafter, the workprint was released in Shanghai as a bootleg DVD with Chinese and English subtitles. However, the unknown producer of the bootleg did not take the English subtitles from the script, relying instead on back-translating from the Chinese subtitles, as well as a very limited understanding of spoken English. English subtitles were also provided for the opening title crawl, and do not match the English text displayed on screen:
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
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Kind of an interesting coincidence, though I will say that depending on context, it was also translated in the subtitles as "south." West, south, same thing...
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On the film's release day in 2005, a stolen time-stamped workprint of George Lucas's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith was leaked onto the internet, first appearing on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Shortly thereafter, the workprint was released in Shanghai as a bootleg DVD with Chinese and English subtitles. However, the unknown producer of the bootleg did not take the English subtitles from the script, relying instead on back-translating from the Chinese subtitles, as well as a very limited understanding of spoken English. English subtitles were also provided for the opening title crawl, and do not match the English text displayed on screen:
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
In addition, the names and/or titles of nearly all of the characters had been rendered phonetically in Chinese for that set of subtitles, but were re-translated literally from Chinese characters back into English:
** spoiler omitted **...
The dialog is improved.
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I wonder how the Chinese would translate references to "the west" in LOTR.
West, south, same thing...
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The dialog is improved.On the film's release day in 2005, a stolen time-stamped workprint of George Lucas's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith was leaked onto the internet, first appearing on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Shortly thereafter, the workprint was released in Shanghai as a bootleg DVD with Chinese and English subtitles. However, the unknown producer of the bootleg did not take the English subtitles from the script, relying instead on back-translating from the Chinese subtitles, as well as a very limited understanding of spoken English. English subtitles were also provided for the opening title crawl, and do not match the English text displayed on screen:
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
In addition, the names and/or titles of nearly all of the characters had been rendered phonetically in Chinese for that set of subtitles, but were re-translated literally from Chinese characters back into English:
** spoiler omitted **...
Vastly so. Though, in a couple of cases, even the "translated" lines read like Lucas (the "I should really feeds you all dog" line springs to mind).
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All your base are belong to us.
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All your base are belong to us.
You have no chance to survive make your time.
In the 2012 video game Mass Effect 3, writer Patrick Weekes named the alien secret agent Jondum Bau after his friend, fellow BioWare staff writer John Dombrow. In response, Dombrow named the alien scientist Padok Wiks after Weekes.
While filming an iconic scene in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining, in which the character Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) chops through a heavy wooden door with an axe, the famously perfectionist Kubrick ordered sixty takes over the course of three days, requiring the use of sixty different doors.
Originally, the prop department created a door that could be easily broken down in just a few swings. However, years prior, Nicholson had served as a fire marshal in the California Air National Guard, and was able to break down the prop door far too easily. Due to this, the prop department was forced to build much stronger doors for future takes.
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In 1954, Jack Nicholson took a job as an office assistant for William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at MGM Cartoons, and in 1955, after Hanna and Barbera took over as heads of the studio, Nicholson was offered a job as an animator. However, Nicholson declined, deciding to pursue acting instead.
In 1958, Nicholson starred in his first film role as the title character in The Cry Baby Killer, produced by Roger Corman. That same year, MGM Cartoons was shut down, and Hanna and Barbera opened their own studio: Hanna-Barbera Productions.
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Push is a 2009 American superhero thriller film directed by Paul McGuigan and written by David Bourla. Starring Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, and Djimon Hounsou, the film centers on a group of people born with various superhuman abilities who band together in order to take down a government agency that is using a dangerous drug to enhance their powers in hopes of creating an army of super soldiers.
The film was released on February 6, 2009, by Summit Entertainment and Icon Productions. It was a moderate box office success, though critical reception was mostly negative.
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As of January 2021 (to the best of my knowledge), 55 films currently hold a 0% "Rotten" rating on the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes:
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
Genre: horror
Starring: Harold P. Warren, Tom Neyman, John Reynolds
Director: Harold P. Warren
Writers: Harold P. Warren
Country: United States
Production: Sun City Films
Distributor: Emerson Film Enterprises
Length: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Budget: $19,000
Box office: unknown
Staying Alive (1983)
Genre: dance musical
Starring: John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Writers: Sylvester Stallone, Norman Wexler
Country: United States
Production: RSO Records
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Budget: $22 million
Box office: $126 million [success]
Bolero (1984)
Genre: romantic drama
Starring: Bo Derek, George Kennedy, Andrea Occhipinti
Director: John Derek
Writers: John Derek
Country: United States
Production: City Films
Distributor: Cannon Film Distributors
Length: 1 hour, 44 minutes
Budget: $7 million
Box office: $8.9 million [failure]
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Genre: horror thriller
Starring: Lorraine Gary, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles
Director: Joseph Sargent
Writers: Michael de Guzman
Country: United States
Production: Universal Pictures
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Budget: $23 million
Box office: $51.9 million [success]
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)
Genre: comedy
Starring: Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow
Director: Jim Drake
Writers: Gene Quintano
Country: United States
Production: Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 28 minutes
Budget: $17 million
Box office: $76.8 million [success]
Mac and Me (1988)
Genre: science fiction
Starring: Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Jade Calegory
Director: Stewart Raffill
Writers: Stewart Raffill, Steve Feke
Country: United States
Production: Mac and Me Joint Venture
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 39 minutes
Budget: $13 million
Box office: $6.4 million [failure]
Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
Genre: horror comedy
Starring: Michael Kenworthy, Marsha Dietlein, Dana Ashbrook
Director: Ken Wiederhorn
Writers: Ken Wiederhorn
Country: United States
Production: Lorimar Motion Pictures
Distributor: Lorimar Motion Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Budget: $6.2 million
Box office: $9.2 million [failure]
Problem Child (1990)
Genre: comedy
Starring: John Ritter, Michael Oliver, Michael Richards
Director: Dennis Dugan
Writers: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Country: United States
Production: Imagine Entertainment
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 21 minutes
Budget: $10 million
Box office: $72.2 million [success]
Highlander 2: The Quickening (1991)
Genre: science fiction
Starring: Christopher Lambert, Virginia Madsen, Sean Connery
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Writers: Peter Bellwood, Brian Clemens, William N. Panzer
Country: United States, France
Production: Davis-Panzer Productions
Distributor: InterStar Releasing
Length: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Budget: $34 million
Box office: $15.6 million [failure]
Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)
Genre: romantic adventure
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Brian Krause, Brian Blain
Director: William A. Graham
Writers: Leslie Stevens
Country: United States
Production: Price Entertainment
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 42 minutes
Budget: $11 million
Box office: $2.8 million [failure]
Folks! (1992)
Genre: comedy drama
Starring: Tom Selleck, Don Ameche, Wendy Crewson
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Writers: Robert Klane
Country: United States
Production: Penta Pictures
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Length: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Budget: $15 million
Box office: $6.1 million [failure]
Look Who's Talking Now! (1993)
Genre: romantic comedy
Starring: John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Danny DeVito
Director: Tom Ropelewski
Writers: Tom Ropelewski, Leslie Dixon
Country: United States, Canada
Production: TriStar Pictures
Distributor: TriStar Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Budget: $22 million
Box office: $10.3 million [failure]
A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994)
Genre: action comedy
Starring: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Jada Pinkett Smith, Andrew Divoff
Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans
Writers: Keenen Ivory Wayans
Country: United States
Production: Hollywood Pictures
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Budget: $10 million
Box office: $29.4 million [success]
Wagons East (1994)
Genre: adventure comedy
Starring: John Candy, Richard Lewis, John C. McGinley
Director: Peter Markle
Writers: Matthew Carlson
Country: United States
Production: TriStar Pictures
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Length: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Budget: unknown (likely over $10 million)
Box office: $4.4 million [failure]
Shadow Conspiracy (1997)
Genre: political thriller
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Donald Sutherland, Linda Hamilton
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Writers: Adi Hasak, Ric Gibbs
Country: United States
Production: Cinergi Pictures
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Budget: $45 million
Box office: $2.3 million [failure]
Foolish (1999)
Genre: comedy drama
Starring: Master P, Eddie Griffin, Andrew Dice Clay
Director: Dave Meyers
Writers: Eddie Griffin
Country: United States
Production: No Limit Films
Distributor: Artisan Entertainment
Length: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Budget: $2 million
Box office: $6 million [success]
Simon Sez (1999)
Genre: action
Starring: Dennis Rodman, Dane Cook, John Pinette
Director: Kevin Alyn Elders
Writers: Andrew Lowery, Andrew Miller
Country: United States
Production: Signature Films
Distributor: Independent Artists Films
Length: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Budget: $10 million
Box office: $292,152 [failure]
3 Strikes (2000)
Genre: comedy
Starring: Brian Hooks, Antonio Fargas, David Alan Grier
Director: DJ Pooh
Writers: DJ Pooh
Country: United States
Production: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Length: 1 hour, 22 minutes
Budget: $3.4 million
Box office: $9.8 million [success]
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)
Genre: action thriller
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu, Gregg Henry
Director: Wych Kaosayananda
Writers: Alan B. McElroy
Country: Canada
Production: Franchise Pictures
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Budget: $70 million
Box office: $20.2 million [failure]
Killing Me Softly (2002)
Genre: erotic thriller
Starring: Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone
Director: Chen Kaige
Writers: Nicci French, Kara Lindstrom
Country: United States, United Kingdom
Production: The Montecito Picture Company
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Length: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Budget: $25 million
Box office: $7.8 million [failure]
Derailed (2002)
Genre: action
Starring: Jean-Claude van Damme, Tomas Arana, Laura Harring
Director: Bob Misiorowski
Writers: Jace Anderson, Adam Gierasch
Country: Bulgaria, United States
Production: Millennium Films
Distributor: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
Length: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Budget: $18 million
Box office: $297,835 [failure]
Merci Docteur Rey (2002)
Genre: comedy
Starring: Dianne Wiest, Jane Birkin, Stanislas Merhar
Director: Andrew Litvack
Writers: Andrew Litvack
Country: France
Production: Merchant Ivory Productions
Distributor: Regent Releasing
Length: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Budget: unknown (likely over $1 million)
Box office: $19,867 [failure]
Pinocchio (2002)
Genre: fantasy comedy
Starring: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Carlo Giuffre
Director: Roberto Benigni
Writers: Roberto Benigni, Vincenzo Cerami
Country: Italy
Production: Melampo Cinematografica
Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Length: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Budget: $45 million
Box office: $41.3 million [failure]
Hangman's Curse (2003)
Genre: horror
Starring: David Keith, Mel Harris, Leighton Meester
Director: Rafal Zielinski
Writers: Kathy Mackel, Stan Foster, Frank Peretti
Country: United States, Canada
Production: Namesake Entertainment
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Length: 1 hour, 46 minutes
Budget: $2 million
Box office: $168,406 [failure]
National Lampoon's Gold Diggers (2003)
Genre: comedy
Starring: Will Friedle, Chris Owen, Louise Lasser
Director: Gary Priesler
Writers: Gary Priesler, Michael Canale
Country: United States
Production: National Lampoon Productions
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Length: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Budget: unknown (likely over $1 million)
Box office: $829,140 [failure]
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
Genre: comedy
Starring: Jon Voight, Scott Baio, Vanessa Angel
Director: Bob Clark
Writers: Gregory Poppen, Steven Paul
Country: United States
Production: ApolloMedia
Distributor: Triumph Films
Length: 1 hour, 28 minutes
Budget: $20 million
Box office: $9.4 million [failure]
Constellation (2005)
Genre: romantic drama
Starring: Gabrielle Union, Zoe Saldana, Billy Dee Williams
Director: Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Writers: Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Country: United States
Production: Constellation, L.L.C.
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Length: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Budget: $7.2 million
Box office: $306,533 [failure]
Redline (2007)
Genre: action thriller
Starring: Nathan Phillips, Nadia Bjorlin, Jesse Johnson
Director: Andy Cheng
Writers: Robert Foreman, Daniel Sadek
Country: United States
Production: Chicago Pictures
Distributor: Chicago Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Budget: $26 million
Box office: $8.3 million [failure]
Scar (2007)
Genre: horror thriller
Starring: Angela Bettis, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Ben Cotton
Director: Jed Weintrob
Writers: Zack Ford
Country: United States, Canada
Production: Norman Twain Productions
Distributor: Phase 4 Films
Length: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Budget: $4 million
Box office: $4.9 million [failure]
One Missed Call (2008)
Genre: horror
Starring: Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns, Ray Wise
Director: Eric Valette
Writers: Andrew Klavan
Country: United States
Production: Alcon Entertainment
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 27 minutes
Budget: $20 million
Box office: $45.8 million [success]
Homecoming (2009)
Genre: horror thriller
Starring: Mischa Barton, Matt Long, Jessica Stroup
Director: Morgan J. Freeman
Writers: Katie L. Fetting, Jake Goldberger, Frank Hannah
Country: United States
Production: Animus Films
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 28 minutes
Budget: $1.5 million
Box office: $8.5 million [success]
Stolen (2009)
Genre: mystery
Starring: Jon Hamm, Josh Lucas, Rhona Mitra
Director: Anders Anderson
Writers: Glenn Taranto
Country: United States
Production: 2 Bridges Productions
Distributor: IFC Films
Length: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Budget: $2 million
Box office: $7,943 [failure]
Transylmania (2009)
Genre: horror comedy
Starring: Patrick Cavanaugh, Tony Denman, Musetta Vander
Director: David & Scott Hillenbrand
Writers: Patrick Casey, Josh "Worm" Miller
Country: United States, Romania
Production: Film Rock
Distributor: Full Circle Releasing
Length: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Budget: unknown (likely over $1 million)
Box office: $408,229 [failure]
The Nutcracker in 3D (2010)
Genre: fantasy
Starring: Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane, John Turturro
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Writers: Andrei Konchalovsky, Chris Solimine
Country: United Kingdom, Hungary, Canada
Production: HCC Media Group
Distributor: G2 Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Budget: $90 million
Box office: $20.5 million [failure]
Father of Invention (2010)
Genre: comedy drama
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Virginia Madsen, John Stamos
Director: Trent Cooper
Writers: Trent Cooper, Jonathan D. Krane
Country: United States
Production: Trigger Street Productions
Distributor: Anchor Bay Films
Length: 2 hours
Budget: $11.5 million
Box office: $97,778 [failure]
Dark Tide (2012)
Genre: action thriller
Starring: Halle Berry, Olivier Martinez, Ralph Brown
Director: John Stockwell
Writers: Ronnie Christensen, Amy Sorlie
Country: United States, United Kingdom, South Africa
Production: Infinite Ammo Motion Picture Company
Distributor: Wrekin Hill Entertainment
Length: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Budget: $25 million
Box office: $432,274 [failure]
Generation Um... (2012)
Genre: drama
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Adelaide Clemens, Bojana Novakovic
Director: Mark L. Mann
Writers: Mark L. Mann
Country: United States
Production: Voltage Pictures
Distributor: Phase 4 Films
Length: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Budget: $1.7 million
Box office: unknown
Sir Billi (2012)
Genre: animated comedy
Starring: Sean Connery, Alan Cumming, Patrick Doyle
Director: Sascha Hartmann
Writers: Tessa Hartmann
Country: United Kingdom
Production: Glasgow Animation
Distributor: Shoreline Entertainment
Length: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Budget: $20.5 million
Box office: $15,838 [failure]
A Thousand Words (2012)
Genre: comedy drama
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Kerry Washington, Cliff Curtis
Director: Brian Robbins
Writers: Steve Koren
Country: United States
Production: DreamWorks Pictures
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Budget: $40 million
Box office: $22 million [failure]
The Anomaly (2014)
Genre: science fiction thriller
Starring: Noel Clarke, Ian Somerhalder, Alexis Knapp
Director: Noel Clarke
Writers: Noel Clarke, Simon Lewis
Country: United Kingdom
Production: Unstoppable Entertainment
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Length: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Budget: $15.9 million
Box office: $252,293 [failure]
Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas (2014)
Genre: Christian comedy
Starring: Kirk Cameron, Darren Doane, Bridgette Ridenour
Director: Darren Doane
Writers: Darren Doane, Cheston Harvey
Country: United States
Production: Camfam Studios
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Length: 1 hour, 19 minutes
Budget: $500,000
Box office: $2.8 million [success]
The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
Genre: action comedy
Starring: Adam Sandler, Terry Crews, Rob Schneider
Director: Frank Coraci
Writers: Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler
Country: United States
Production: Happy Madison Productions
Distributor: Netflix
Length: 2 hours
Budget: $60 million
Box office: n/a
Cabin Fever (2016)
Genre: horror
Starring: Samuel Davis, Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario
Director: Travis Zariwny
Writers: Eli Roth, Randy Pearlstein
Country: United States
Production: Armory Films
Distributor: IFC Midnight
Length: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Budget: unknown (over $1.5 million)
Box office: $39,065 [failure]
Dark Crimes (2016)
Genre: drama
Starring: Jim Carrey, Marton Csokas, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Director:Alexandros Avranas
Writers: Jeremy Brock
Country: Poland, United States
Production: RatPac Entertainment
Distributor: Saban Films
Length: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Budget: $4.6 million
Box office: $21,216 [failure]
The Disappointments Room (2016)
Genre: horror
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Mel Raido, Gerald McRaney
Director: D.J. Caruso
Writers: D.J. Caruso, Wentworth Miller
Country: United States
Production: Relativity Studios
Distributor: Rogue
Length: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Budget: $15 million
Box office: $5.7 million [failure]
Max Steel (2016)
Genre: superhero
Starring: Ben Winchell, Maria Bello, Andy Garcia
Director: Stewart Hendler
Writers: Christopher L. Yost
Country: United States, United Kingdom
Production: Dolphin Films
Distributor: Open Road Films
Length: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Budget: $10 million
Box office: $6.3 million [failure]
Precious Cargo (2016)
Genre: action
Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Bruce Willis, Claire Forlani
Director: Max Adams
Writers: Max Adams, Paul V. Seetachitt
Country: Canada, United States
Production: Grindstone Entertainment Group
Distributor: Lionsgate Premiere
Length: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Budget: $10.5 million
Box office: $567,064
Stratton (2017)
Genre: action thriller
Starring: Dominic Cooper, Gemma Chan, Austin Stowell
Director: Simon West
Writers: Duncan Falconer, Warren Davis II
Country: United Kingdom
Production: GFM Films
Distributor: GFM Films
Length: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Budget: $17.7 million
Box office: $257,212 [failure]
The Music of Silence (2017)
Genre: biopic
Starring: Toby Sebastian, Luisa Ranieri, Antonio Banderas
Director: Michael Radford
Writers: Michael Radford, Anna Pavignan
Country: Italy
Production: Picomedi
Distributor: AMBI Group
Length: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Budget: unknown (likely over $1 million)
Box office: $150,443 [failure]
Gotti (2018)
Genre: biopic
Starring: John Travolta, Spencer Lofranco, Kelly Preston
Director: Kevin Connolly
Writers: Lem Dobbs, Leo Rossi
Country: United States
Production: EFO Films
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Length: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Budget: $10 million
Box office: $6.1 million [failure]
London Fields (2018)
Genre: mystery thriller
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Amber Heard, Jim Sturgess
Director: Matthew Cullen
Writers: Roberta Hanley, Martin Amis
Country: United Kingdom, United States
Production: Periscope Entertainment
Distributor: GVN Releasing
Length: 1 hour, 58 minutes
Budget: $8 million
Box office: $487,420 [failure]
365 Days (2020)
Genre: erotic drama
Starring: Anna-Maria Sieklucka, Michele Morrone, Magdalena Lamparska
Director: Barbara Bialowas and Tomasz Mandes
Writers: Tomasz Limala, Barbara Bialowas, Tomasz Mandes, Blanka Lipinska
Country: Poland
Production: Next Film
Distributor: Next Film
Length: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Budget: unknown
Box office: $9.5 million
John Henry (2020)
Genre: thriller
Starring: Terry Crews, Jamila Velazquez, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
Director: Will Forbes
Writers: Will Forbes, Doug Skinner
Country: United States
Production: Defiant Studios
Distributor: Saban Films
Length: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Budget: unknown
Box office: unknown
The Last Days of American Crime (2020)
Genre: action thriller
Starring: Edgar Ramirez, Michael Pitt, Anna Brewster
Director: Oliver Megaton
Writers: Karl Gajdusek
Country: United States, South Africa
Production: Mandalay Pictures
Distributor: Netflix
Length: 2 hours, 29 minutes
Budget: unknown
Box office: n/a
Hard Kill (2020)
Genre: action thriller
Starring: Jesse Metcalfe, Bruce Willis, Natalia Eva Marie
Director: Matt Eskandari
Writers: Chris LaMont, Joe Russo, Nikolai From, Clayton Haugen
Country: United States
Production: EFO Films
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Length: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Budget: $7 million
Box office: $111,523 [failure]
There have been a surprising number of Easter eggs in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated series relating to Indiana Jones:
- The skull of one of the interdimensional beings from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull can be seen in the trophy room of a Trandoshan ship on an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In addition, a Mandalorian Neo-Crusader helmet (from the now non-canon Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series) can be seen next to the crystal skull.
- In another episode of The Clone Wars, battle droids can be seen loading the Ark of the Covenant (the titular artifact from Raiders of the Lost Ark) onto a ship. The version shown in The Clone Wars, however, has had the kneeling winged figures on its lid replaced with the figures of two kneeling Twi'leks. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the stone vault containing the Ark is inscribed with the figures of Star Wars droids R2-D2 and C-3PO hidden among the Egyptian hieroglyphs.
- In still another episode of The Clone Wars, when looking for a replacement for his own iconic hat, the bounty hunter Cad Bane briefly examines a high-crowned fedora resembling the trademark hat worn by Indiana Jones.
- Kharrus, senator from Kinyen, appeared in an episode of The Clone Wars carrying a staff with a headpiece identical to that of the Staff of Ra from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- The appearance of the character Governor Arihnda Pryce was based on that of Col. Dr. Irina Spalko from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
- The office of Grand Admiral Thrawn, appearing on Star Wars Rebels, includes a great number of artifacts and art objects, including the Holy Grail, as depicted in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Also appearing in Thrawn's office is a piece of concept art created by Ralph McQuarrie for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
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In 1983, after a meeting with Marvel Comics creative director Stan Lee, German film producer Bernd Eichinger optioned rights to make a superhero film based on Marvel's "The Fantastic Four" by his film studio Constantin Film. The option had a 9-year window, after which the film rights would revert back to Marvel.
By 1992, with that option window closing, Eichinger attempted to get Marvel to extend it. When those talks broke down, he then hired the low-budget genre film specialist Roger Corman to write a script and begin production of the film.
Production of the film The Fantastic Four began on 28 Dec 1992, just three days before the production window closed. The film starred relative unknowns Alex Hyde-White as Mr. Fantastic, Rebecca Staab as The Invisible Girl, Jay Underwood as The Human Torch, Michael Bailey Smith as The Thing, and Joseph Culp as Dr. Doom. Principal shooting concluded in late January 1993. The film had a $1M budget, and a scheduled premiere at the Mall of America in January 1994. Throughout 1993, the actors and other people connected with the film gave interviews to the media and attended conventions to promote the upcoming film.
Just days before release, the premiere was cancelled, the actors and production crew were hit with a cease-and-desist order regarding all promotion of the film, and all copies, including the negatives, were recalled by the studio. The completed film has never been officially released, although unofficial copies have circulated off-and-on over the years.
It later came to light that the low-budget film was never intended to be released to the public: The film was made just to fulfill the production contract, allowing Constatntin Films to retain the rights to make a bigger-budget (and presumably more-profitable) film in the future. None of the cast and crew involved in the production were aware that they were making art that would never see the light of day.
Eichinger's gambit ultimately paid off with the Constantin Films' production of Fantastic Four in 2005 (budget: $90M) and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (budget: $120M) in 2007: Both films were financial successes.
In the 1977 film Star Wars (AKA Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), Rebel Alliance pilot "Piggy" Porkins was played by actor William Hootkins (1948-2005). Contrary to what you would expect given the name, the role was not written specifically for the rotund actor, and the Rebel pilot costumes were all created to a standard size. As a result, in order for the actor to fit into Porkins's costume, the flight suit had to be slit up the back.
In addition, there has been some confusion over the years as to the character's name. In the film itself, only his last name and nickname are used, but in issue #6 of the 1977 Star Wars comic series written by Roy Thomas, he was given the first name "Tono." However, in the 1989 Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game sourcebook Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope, written by Grant S. Boucher, Porkins's first name was given as "Jek."
Actor Jean Reno, possibly one of the most stereotypically French actors to ever be French, is not originally French, and was born Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez in 1948 to Spanish parents in Casablanca, at that time part of the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco. Reno grew up speaking Spanish, French, and Arabic, and did not move to France until the age of 17, whereupon he served in the French army as a condition of being granted French citizenship.
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Half Price Books, Records, Magazines, Incorporated is a chain of new and used bookstores in the United States. The company's original motto is "We buy and sell anything printed or recorded except yesterday's newspaper", and many of the used books, music, and movies for sale in each location are purchased from local residents. The corporate office is located in the flagship Northwest Highway location in Dallas, Texas. Half Price Books now operates more than 127 stores (including outlets) in 17 states.
Half Price Books, Records, Magazines, Incorporated is a chain of new and used bookstores in the United States. The company's original motto is "We buy and sell anything printed or recorded except yesterday's newspaper", and many of the used books, music, and movies for sale in each location are purchased from local residents. The corporate office is located in the flagship Northwest Highway location in Dallas, Texas. Half Price Books now operates more than 127 stores (including outlets) in 17 states.
Cool! I've bought hundreds of dollars' worth of RPG books from their eBay and Amazon stores over the years, and had no idea they were a chain with physical locations!
Aethelred (spelled "Æþelræd" in the original Old English) was King of the English from AD 978 to AD 1013, and is chiefly known in modern times for enacting poorly-conceived policies, most notably levying massive taxes in order to pay bribes, or "Danegeld," to Danish raiders in exchange for temporary "peace." Many years after his reign, Aethelred gained the nickname "Aethelred Unraed" (OE: "Æþelræd Unræd"), which is commonly rendered in modern English as "Aethelred the Unready."
However, this rendering is technically inaccurate, and is based on the similarity in spelling of the Old English "Unraed" to the modern English "unready." The nickname is in fact an Old English pun on the meaning of the king's name: "Æþelræd" literally translates as "noble counsel," whereas "unræd" translates as "evil counsel" or "bad plan." Therefore, "Aethelred Unraed" can be loosely translated as "noble counsel, badly counseled."