document_title: 2018 State of the Union Address

question_text: who wrote the state of the union speech

question_tokens: who wrote the state of the union speech

text: 2018 State of the Union Address

text: Background[edit]

text: Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution states that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."[3] On November 30, 2017, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan sent an invitation to the President to deliver a "State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on January 30, 2018, in the House Chamber."[4] The speech was Trump's first State of the Union address and his second speech to a joint session of Congress.[5]

text: On January 26, 2018, a senior administration official told reporters that "the tone [of the address] will be one of bipartisanship and it will be very forward looking."[6] The official said that the theme of Trump's speech would be "building a safe, strong, and proud America."[7] Five major policy issues were discussed by the president: the economy, infrastructure, immigration, trade, and national security.[8] More specifically, Trump touted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and echoed his campaign call for "fair" and "reciprocal" trade deals.[9]

text: Senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and staff secretary Rob Porter took the lead in writing the speech. The full draft of the speech was completed two weeks before the State of the Union Address, but it was still being edited with reviews and suggestions from Cabinet secretaries and senior White House aides. National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis offered feedback on the national security portion of the speech.[10]

text: Contents and delivery[edit]

text: Taxation[edit]

text: A significant portion of the scripted speech was dedicated to the tax package passed in December, which Trump labeled as the largest tax reform bill in U.S. history.

text: Economy and employment[edit]

text: The speech also focused on the economic successes of the first year of the presidency. Trump highlighted creation of new jobs, specifically 200,000 manufacturing jobs. To support this claim, Trump pointed to invited guests from Staub Manufacturing in Dayton, Ohio, a business that has seen their greatest earnings since starting their business 20 years ago.[11] The president also reiterated a 45-year low in unemployment, with the lowest rate of African-American and Hispanic unemployment ever recorded.[12]

text: Infrastructure[edit]

text: Trump called on Congress to support a plan to spend $1.5 trillion on rebuilding infrastructure across the country. His speech reflected on the building of the Empire State Building, claiming that it was built in one year while current regulations delay construction of some roads by 10 years.[13] Trump concluded by declaring "we will rebuild infrastructure with American heart, American hands and American grit.”

text: Immigration[edit]

text: Much of the State of the Union came in the form of general policy goals. This was especially the case for the issue of immigration. Trump used personal accounts in order to support his pitch for an overhaul in the U.S. immigration system. Two Long Island families, both of whom had children were killed by a member of the MS-13 gang, a group with ties to Central America, were used to highlight the need to close “glaring loopholes” in the immigration system. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer’s fight with MS-13 was used as an example for greater border security. After listing the perceived dangers of the current immigration system, Trump gave “four pillars” of what he sees as the ideal path forward. He offered a broad framework that includes an eventual pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers” that will take 12 years and increased border security, two tenets of the current budget negotiations between Democrats and the White House. Trump repeated his desire to move away from the visa-lottery system, and towards a more merit-based system, which will likely prioritize foreigners with a higher-level of education and wealth. The fourth pillar was to end what has become known as chain migration, the practice of prioritizing the family members of immigrants who are already state-side.[14]

text: Foreign policy[edit]

text: In a nod to foreign policy and recent provocations against North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the speech also said that “as part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression.”

text: Much of the foreign policy portion of the speech criticized North Korea over human rights. Trump introduced both the parents of Otto Warmbier, the American university student who returned to the U.S. in a coma and eventually died following a long detention in North Korea, as well as Ji Seong-ho, an amputee who escaped North Korea as a child after being tortured by authorities.[15]

text: Healthcare[edit]

text: In an aim to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Trump highlighted the GOP's action in repealing the individual mandate as part of their tax overhaul. He also shared that the FDA had approved more drugs in 2017 than in any year prior.[16] Additionally, his speech covered his administration's goal to give veterans choice for their healthcare, as well as allowing patients with terminal illnesses to get access to experimental treatments.

text: Trump emphasized that one of his top priorities in 2018 is to reduce the price of prescription drugs, citing that drugs in other countries cost far less than the same drugs in the United States.

text: Address[edit]

text: The State of the Union Address was given at 9 pm EST on January 30, 2018.[17] Distribution of the tickets for the event was delayed because the first printing of the tickets misspelled the event as the "State of the Uniom".[18]

text: John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the United States, and Associate Justices Stephen Breyer, Neil Gorsuch, and Elena Kagan were the only justices of the Supreme Court of the United States in attendance for the speech. The other five justices were absent.[19] Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not attend the address to participate in a "fireside chat" at Roger Williams University School of Law with U.S. Circuit Judge Bruce M. Selya, which was scheduled in August 2017.[20]

text: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was named the designated survivor and was at an undisclosed location during the address so that, in case of a catastrophe, the continuity of government was upheld.[21]

text: Protests[edit]

text: A group of female Democratic members of Congress plan to wear black outfits to the address in solidarity with movements protesting sexual harassment and assault in numerous industries.[22] Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) will wear red pins to honor Recy Taylor, a black woman who was gang raped by six white men in 1944.[23]

text: Democratic boycotts[edit]

text: On January 5, 2018, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer announced that he would be in his district rather than attend the State of the Union Address.[24] In light of reporting that Trump called Haiti, El Salvador, and several nations in Africa "shithole countries", Representative John Lewis announced on January 12 that he was not planning on attending the address.[25] Joining Lewis in the boycott, Representative Maxine Waters said, "[Trump] does not deserve my attention."[26] Representative Frederica Wilson became the fourth member of Congress to boycott the address on January 14, calling Trump a racist and liar.[27] On January 15, Representative Pramila Jayapal announced she too was boycotting the address because of "racism and hatred" from Trump.[28] On January 17, CBC chairman Cedric Richmond said that the group was pondering a potential boycott or demonstration of the address.[29] The press secretary of Representative Barbara Lee said she would not attend the address, which was decided before Trump's disparaging remarks were reported.[30]

text: On January 26, Representative Jan Schakowsky announced she was not going to attend the address, citing the travel ban, Trump's response to the violence at the Unite the Right rally, and his use of vulgar language to refer to African nations as reasons for her boycott.[31] Representative Gregory Meeks announced on January 28 that he would be boycotting, saying, "I cannot give this man, who does not respect me, the respect to be in that audience."[32] The spokesperson for Representative Albio Sires said, "The congressman is not attending the State of the Union because many of his constituents are offended by the president's rhetoric and behavior."[33] On January 29, Representatives Bobby Rush and Danny Davis announced they were boycotting the address.[34]

text: Counter-programming[edit]

text: People's State of the Union[edit]

text: Actor Mark Ruffalo told People that he, other stars, and members of "the resistance movement" would be hosting a "People's State of the Union" on January 29, saying, "In essence, it's a better reflection of our state of the union based on a more populist point of view, based on the people's point of view. I think it's important because we have a president who has a difficult time with the truth, who has a radical, divisive agenda, and spends an enormous amount of time focusing on the negative and hopelessness and despair."[35] The event was held on January 29, 2018, at The Town Hall in New York City.[36] Attendees included Bill de Blasio,[37] John Leguizamo, Michael Moore, Cynthia Nixon, Rosie Perez, Mark Ruffalo, and Gloria Steinem,[38] and performers included Andra Day, Common, and Rufus Wainwright.[39][40] "We Stand United" was the lead organizer, and additional support was provided by MoveOn.org Political Action and Stand Up America.[41][42]

text: State of the Dream[edit]

text: On January 25, actress Alyssa Milano announced that she would host counter-programming called "State of the Dream", which would solicit and present brief videos from Americans describing their dreams for the country that would be posted on Twitter and other social media simultaneously while Trump is giving his address.[43]

text: Notable invitations[edit]

text: White House[edit]

text: Along with First Lady Melania Trump, the White House invited certain people affected by the issues that the president will address in his speech.[44] On January 28, 2018, the mother of Kayla Cuevas, who was murdered on Long Island in 2016 by MS-13 gang members, said the White House invited her to attend the State of the Union Address.[45] White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders named several people on January 29 who would attend the address. Among those who were named was a police officer who adopted a baby born to a homeless woman addicted to heroin.[46] Ji Seong-ho, a North Korean defector was invited to the address.[47]

text: Republican[edit]

text: On January 17, U.S. Representative Sean Duffy invited U.S. Army veteran Ricky Taylor, better known by his Twitter username as "Deplorable Vet", to be his guest at the address after Taylor sought to take Maxine Waters' unused seats.[48] Representative Jim Bridenstine, who was nominated by Trump to be NASA administrator, invited Bill Nye on January 18 to be his guest at the address.[49] On January 24, U.S. Senator John Hoeven announced that Miss America Cara Mund was his guest at the address.[50] Representative Kevin Cramer invited Tommy Fisher, a corporate executive whose company was given a contract to develop a prototype for construction of a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, to attend the address.[51] On January 26, Representative Carlos Curbelo announced he was inviting a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.[52] Representative Kevin Yoder announced on January 27 that he was inviting the widow of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an Indian immigrant who was killed in the 2017 Olathe, Kansas shooting.[53]

text: Democratic[edit]

text: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and several other Democratic members of Congress said they would be inviting DREAMers and other immigrants to the address.[54] Representative Debbie Dingell announced on January 18 that she was inviting Cindy Garcia, whose husband was deported to Mexico after spending nearly three decades living and raising a family in Michigan, to the address.[55] Several House Democrats invited members of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements to attend the address.[56] Representatives Jackie Speier, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Suzan DelBene respectively invited Fatima Goss Graves, the President and CEO of the National Women's Law Center; the niece of Recy Taylor; and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner to be their guests.[57]

text: On January 25, Representative Mark Pocan invited U.S. House candidate Randy Bryce, who is challenging Paul Ryan in the 2018 midterm elections, to the address.[58] Representative Robin Kelly invited Illinois Attorney General candidate Kwame Raoul to attend the address, saying, "As a first-generation Haitian American, his presence and voice at the State of the Union is greatly needed, especially in light of the president's recent racist and derogatory comments about Haiti and other nations."[59] On January 26, Senator Richard Blumenthal invited a survivor of child sex trafficking to the address.[60] On January 27, Representative Val Demings invited a first responder to the Orlando nightclub shooting to the address.[61] Senator Jeanne Shaheen invited to the address a woman whose son died of drug overdose.[62]

text: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand invited San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz on January 29 to attend the address. On Twitter, Gillibrand wrote, "Throughout the crisis in Puerto Rico, Mayor Cruz has shown extraordinary leadership and fearless advocacy for her city. I hope Mayor Cruz's presence at #SOTU will remind the president and my colleagues in Congress of our urgent responsibility to help Puerto Rico fully recover and rebuild. Our fellow citizens must not be forgotten or left behind."[63]

text: Responses[edit]

text: Democratic Party[edit]

text: On January 25, 2018, it was announced that U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy III would give the Democratic response to the State of the Union Address and the Spanish language response would be given by Virginia Delegate Elizabeth Guzmán, who became the first Hispanic female immigrant elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.[64] Nancy Pelosi said, "Congressman Kennedy profoundly understands the challenges facing hardworking men and women across the country."[65] Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, "In their responses to the President's address, Congressman Kennedy and Virginia Delegate Guzmán will both do an excellent job in making clear that Democrats are laser-focused on enacting policies to benefit middle class Americans, not special interests or the wealthiest."[66]

text: Kennedy said he was honored to be chosen to give the Democratic response, saying, "From health care to economic justice, to civil rights, the Democratic agenda stands in powerful contrast to President Trump's broken promises to American families."[65] In a statement, Guzmán also said she was honored and added, "Through his rhetoric and policies, the president has marginalized members of my community who are simply trying to work hard and support their families. I look forward to standing up for all working people on Tuesday."[67]

text: The selection of Kennedy to give the Democratic response came after criticism that the Democratic Party relied too heavily on its oldest leaders since the 2016 presidential election. In choosing Kennedy, the party is trying to bridge the gap with a new face attached to one of the most famous names in American politics.[68] Joe Kennedy III is the second member of his family to give the Democratic response after his great uncle Ted Kennedy gave one to the 1982 State of the Union Address.[69]

text: It was announced on January 29 that Kennedy would be giving the Democratic response from Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fall River, Massachusetts.[70]

text: Libertarian Party[edit]

text: Nicholas Sarwark, the chairman of the Libertarian National Committee, gave the Libertarian Party response to the State of the Union Address.[71] Additionally, Libertarian 2020 presidential candidate Adam Kokesh gave a response to the State of the Union address.[72]

text: Green Party[edit]

text: On January 25, 2018, the Green Party issued a press release stating that it would stream an online response to the State of the Union Address, featuring Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka, the 2016 presidential and vice presidential nominees respectively.[73]

text: Other[edit]

text: It was announced on January 26, 2018, that Maxine Waters would be on the BET program, Angela Rye's State of the Union, after the State of the Union Address to address the country.[74] On January 29, the office of Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent, announced that he would be giving his own response to the address.[75] Alt-right figures supported the Speech.[76]

text: Coverage[edit]

text: The State of the Union Address was televised on all the major U.S. broadcast and cable television networks.[77] Facebook and Twitter streamed the address online.[78][79] Nine media outlets (ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Telemundo, Univision, and C-SPAN) and the White House will provide ten separate livestreams of the address on YouTube.[80]

text: On January 24, NBC News announced that it would begin its coverage of the address at 9 pm EST, with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt leading it. Holt was joined by Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd, Megyn Kelly Today anchor Megyn Kelly, special correspondent Tom Brokaw, and chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell. Starting at 8 pm EST, NBC News will also be livestreaming the event on YouTube and NBCNews.com with national political correspondent Steve Kornacki and correspondent Katy Tur.[81] On January 26, CBS News announced it was beginning its coverage at 9 pm EST, but CBSN would start streaming its coverage of the event at 5 pm EST.[82] CNN stated that that it would start its coverage at 7 pm EST and stream on CNNgo.[83] Fox News announced on January 28 that it would begin coverage at 9 pm EST with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.[84]

text: Viewership[edit]

text: Across twelve broadcast and cable television networks, 45.8 million viewers watched the speech.[85] The address was the most-tweeted of its kind with a record total of 4.5 million tweets, surpassing the former record of 3 million tweets, set during Trump's 2017 joint session address—which was broken less than an hour into the 2018 address.[86]

text:
Total cable and network viewers[87]

Network
Viewers

FNC
11,705,000

NBC
7,055,000

CBS
6,990,000

ABC
5,400,000

Fox
3,600,000

CNN
3,111,000

MSNBC
2,674,000

text: Reactions[edit]

text: Fact checkers[edit]

text: FactCheck.org stated, "The president exaggerates his accomplishments in his address to Congress."[88] PolitiFact assessed one true, three mostly true, two half true, four mostly false, and two false statements.[89]

text: On February 1, Trump said that viewership of his address was "the highest number in history", but there were five addresses given by Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama that had higher viewership.[90]

text: Late-night talk shows[edit]

text: Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and The Opposition with Jordan Klepper were aired live to offer instant analysis and commentary on the State of the Union Address. Both shows planned to simulcast the first segment of their live episodes via Facebook Live.[91] CBS also aired a live edition of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[92]

text: Politicians[edit]

text: Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC News described that during the address, "many Democrats showed how little stock they put in Trump's calls for cooperation by staying seated during rhetoric that would have prompted bipartisan applause if it came from almost any other president." Representative Seth Moulton asked on Twitter if people believed that Trump would follow through on infrastructure. Senator and former 2016 vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine offered advice on what would have convinced Democrats that Trump was serious about cooperation. In a statement, Representative Adam Schiff said, "Tonight, the president showered law enforcement with praise, even as he and his congressional allies launch an all out attack on the FBI, the pre-eminent federal law enforcement agency." Senators Doug Jones and Joe Manchin were the only Democrats showing consistent support for Trump.[93]

text: Public opinion[edit]

text: In a CBS News poll, 42 percent of respondents who watched the State of the Union Address identified themselves as Republicans, 33 percent as Independents, and 25 percent as Democrats. 75 percent of those who were polled approved of the speech.[94] A CNN poll of viewers determined that 48 percent of viewers had a very positive impression of the speech and 22 percent had a somewhat positive impression, which was the lowest net positive rating since CNN first began asking the question in 1998.[95]


document_title: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

question_text: who does tommy represent in o brother where art thou

root

text: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

text: Plot[edit]

text: Three convicts, Ulysses Everett McGill, Pete Hogwallop, and Delmar O'Donnell, escape from a chain gang and set out to retrieve a supposed treasure Everett buried before the area is flooded to make a lake. The three get a lift from a blind man driving a handcar on a railway. He tells them, among other prophecies, that they will find a fortune but not the one they seek. The trio make their way to the house of Wash, Pete's cousin. They sleep in the barn, but Wash reports them to Sheriff Cooley, who, along with his men, torches the barn. Wash's son helps them escape.

tag: p

text: Pete and Delmar are baptized by a group of Christians at a river. The group then picks up Tommy Johnson, a young black man, who claims he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the ability to play guitar. In need of money, the four stop at a radio broadcast tower where they record a song as The Soggy Bottom Boys. That night, the trio part ways with Tommy after their car is discovered by the police. Unbeknownst to them, the recording becomes a major hit.

text: The trio inadvertently fall in with bank robber Baby Face Nelson, and help him with a heist, before he leaves them with his share of the loot. The next day, the group hears singing. They see three women washing clothes in a river and singing. The women drug them with corn whiskey and they lose consciousness. Upon waking, Delmar finds Pete's clothes lying next to him, empty except for a toad. Delmar is convinced the women were Sirens and transformed Pete into the toad. Later, one-eyed Bible salesman Big Dan Teague invites them for a picnic lunch, then mugs them and kills the toad.

text: Everett and Delmar arrive in Everett's home town. Everett confronts his wife Penny, who changed her last name and told his daughters he was dead. He gets into a fight with Vernon T. Waldrip, her new "suitor." They later see Pete working on a chain gang. Later that night, they sneak into Pete's holding cell and free him. As it turns out, the women had dragged Pete away and turned him in to the authorities. Under torture, Pete gave away the treasure's location to the police. Everett then confesses that there is no treasure. He made it up to convince the guys he was chained with to escape with him in order to stop his wife from getting married. Pete is enraged at Everett, because he had two weeks left on his original sentence, and must serve fifty more years for the escape.

text: The trio stumble upon a rally of the  Ku Klux Klan, who are planning to hang Tommy. The trio disguise themselves as Klansmen and attempt to rescue Tommy. However, Big Dan, now a Klan member, reveals their identities. Chaos ensues, and the Grand Wizard reveals himself as Homer Stokes, a candidate in the upcoming gubernatorial election. The trio rush Tommy away and cut the supports of a large burning cross, leaving it to collapse on top of Big Dan, killing him.

text: Everett convinces Pete, Delmar and Tommy to help him win his wife back. They sneak into a Stokes campaign gala dinner she is attending, disguised as musicians. The group begins a performance of their radio hit. The crowd recognizes the song and goes wild. Homer recognizes them as the group who humiliated his mob. When he demands the group be arrested and reveals his white supremacist views, the crowd runs him out of town on a rail. Pappy O'Daniel, the incumbent candidate, seizes the opportunity, endorses the Soggy Bottom Boys and grants them full pardons. Penny agrees to re-marry Everett with the condition that he find her original wedding ring.

text: The next morning, the group sets out to retrieve the ring, which is at a cabin in the valley which Everett had earlier claimed was the location of his treasure. The police, having learned of the place from Pete, arrest the group. Dismissing their claims of having received pardons, Sheriff Cooley orders them hanged. Just as Everett prays to God, begging to reunite with his daughters, the valley is flooded and they are saved. Tommy finds the ring in a rolltop desk that floats by, and they return to town. However, when Everett presents the ring to Penny, it turns out it was not her ring, she doesn't want that one, and she can't remember where she put the real ring.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
George Clooney as Ulysses Everett McGill, a man who is imprisoned for practicing law without a license. He claims to have escaped from prison so he can find a stash of money he had hidden, though in reality it is so he can get back to his family before his wife remarries. He corresponds to Odysseus (Ulysses) in the Odyssey.[10]
John Turturro as Pete Hogwallop, a fellow criminal who reveals little about his past. He believes in being true to one's kin, even when his cousin Washington B. Hogwallop betrays him. He dreams of moving out west and opening a fine restaurant, where he will be the maître d'. He agreed to go along with the breakout, though he only had two weeks left on his sentence.
Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar O'Donnell, a small-time crook imprisoned for robbing a Piggly Wiggly in Yazoo City; he initially claims innocence but later admits he is guilty. Delmar says he will spend his share of Everett's nonexistent money buying back his family farm, believing, "You ain't no kind of man if you ain't got land."
Chris Thomas King as Tommy Johnson, a skilled blues musician. He is the accompanying guitarist in the Soggy Bottom Boys. He claims he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his skill on the guitar. He shares his name and story with Tommy Johnson, a blues musician with a mysterious past, who is said to have sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads (a story more often attributed to Robert Johnson).[11][12]
Frank Collison as Washington B. "Wash" Hogwallop, Pete's paternal cousin. He removes the escapees' chains but later betrays the men to the police.
John Goodman as Daniel "Big Dan" Teague, a one-eyed man who masquerades as a Bible salesman and mugs Everett and Delmar. He later reveals the identity of the trio when they are disguised at a Ku Klux Klan rally, but they kill him by cutting loose a burning cross, which falls on him and the Klansmen. He corresponds to the cyclops Polyphemus in the Odyssey.[10]
Holly Hunter as Penny, Everett's ex-wife, who is fed up with Everett's wheeling and dealing. She divorces him while he is in prison, telling their children he was hit by a Louisville & Nashville train. She is engaged to Vernon T. Waldrip until Everett wins her back. She corresponds to Penelope in the Odyssey.[10] (Penelope is an icon of the faithful wife, as she rejected her many suitors, stalling for time while awaiting Odysseus' return.)
Charles Durning as Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel, the incumbent Governor of Mississippi. He is frequently seen berating his son and his campaign managers, who are depicted as simpletons. The character is based on Texas governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel.[13] (Flensted-Jensen elaborates on the connection between the fictional and the real Pappy O'Daniel.) He shares a name with Menelaus, an Odyssey character, but corresponds with Zeus from the narrative.[10]
Daniel von Bargen as Sheriff Cooley, a ruthless rural sheriff who, with his bloodhound, pursues the trio for the duration of the film. It is implied several times that he is the devil incarnate, and Cooley fits Tommy Johnson's description of Satan: Cooley's sunglasses evoke Satan's "big empty eyes." He eventually ambushes the escapees after they have been pardoned by the governor. He intends to hang them nonetheless, but when the valley is flooded, he, his men, and his dog all drown. He corresponds to Poseidon in the Odyssey.[10] He has been compared to Boss Godfrey in Cool Hand Luke.[14]
Wayne Duvall as Homer Stokes, the reform candidate in the upcoming election for Governor. He travels the countryside with a dwarf, who depicts the "little man", and a broom, with which he promises to "sweep this state clean." He is secretly an Imperial Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan. He falsely identifies Everett, Pete, and Delmar as people of color because they darkened their faces to remain unseen when freeing Tommy.
Ray McKinnon as Vernon T. Waldrip, Penny's bona fide suitor and the manager of Homer Stokes's election campaign. It has been suggested that his name is a nod to novelist Howard Waldrop, whose novella A Dozen Tough Jobs is one of the inspirations for the film.[15] He corresponds to the Suitors of Penelope in the Odyssey.[10]
Michael Badalucco as George Nelson, a bipolar bank robber who dislikes being called "Baby Face." The real George Nelson died in 1934, three years before the story is set. Nelson died in a shootout known as the Battle of Barrington rather than by electric chair, as suggested in the film.
Stephen Root as Mr. Lund, the blind radio station manager who records Everett's story in the song "Man of Constant Sorrow" and makes him known throughout the state. He corresponds to Homer.[10]
Lee Weaver as the Blind Seer, a mysterious railroad man who accurately predicts the outcome of the trio's adventure as well as several other incidents. He corresponds to Tiresias in the Odyssey.[10]

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: The idea of O Brother, Where Art Thou? arose spontaneously. Work on the script began in December 1997, long before the start of production, and was at least half-written by May 1998. Despite the fact that Ethan Coen described the Odyssey as "one of my favorite storyline schemes," neither of the brothers had read the epic and were only familiar with its content through adaptations and numerous references to the Odyssey in popular culture.[16] According to the brothers, Nelson (who has a degree in classics from Brown University)[17][18] was the only person on the set who had read the Odyssey.[19]

text: The title of the film is a reference to the 1941 Preston Sturges film Sullivan's Travels, in which the protagonist (a director) wants to direct a film about the Great Depression called O Brother, Where Art Thou?[5] that will be a "commentary on modern conditions, stark realism, and the problems that confront the average man." Lacking any experience in this area, the director sets out on a journey to experience the human suffering of the average man but is sabotaged by his anxious studio. The film has some similarity in tone to Sturges's film, including scenes with prison gangs and a black church choir. The prisoners at the picture show scene is also a direct homage to a nearly identical scene in Sturges's film.[20]

text: Joel Coen revealed in a 2000 interview that he came to Phoenix, Arizona, to offer the lead role to Clooney. Clooney agreed to do the role immediately, without reading the script. He stated that he liked even the Coens' least successful films.[21] Clooney did not immediately understand his character and sent the script to his uncle Jack who lived in Kentucky and asked him to read the entire script into a tape recorder.[22] Unknown to Clooney, in his recording, Jack, a devout Baptist, omitted all instances of the words "damn" and "hell" from the Coens' script, which only became known to Clooney after the directors pointed this out to him in the middle of shooting.[22]

text: This was the fourth film of the brothers in which John Turturro has starred. Other actors in O Brother, Where Art Thou? who had worked previously with the Coens include John Goodman (three films), Holly Hunter (two), Michael Badalucco and Charles Durning (one film each).

text: The Coens used digital color correction to give the film a sepia-tinted look.[8] Joel stated this was because the actual set was "greener than Ireland." [22] Cinematographer Roger Deakins stated, "Ethan and Joel favored a dry, dusty Delta look with golden sunsets. They wanted it to look like an old hand-tinted picture, with the intensity of colors dictated by the scene and natural skin tones that were all shades of the rainbow."[23] Initially the crew tried to perform the color correction using a physical process, however after several tries with various chemical processes proved unsatisfactory, it became necessary to perform the process digitally.[22]

text: This was the fifth film collaboration between the Coen Brothers and Deakins, and it was slated to be shot in Mississippi at a time of year when the foliage, grass, trees, and bushes would be a lush green.[23] It was filmed near locations in Canton, Mississippi and Florence, South Carolina in the summer of 1999.[24] After shooting tests, including film bipack and bleach bypass techniques, Deakins suggested digital mastering be used.[23] Deakins subsequently spent 11 weeks fine-tuning the look, mainly targeting the greens, making them a burnt yellow and desaturating the overall image in the digital files.[8] This made it the first feature film to be entirely color corrected by digital means, narrowly beating Nick Park's Chicken Run.[8]

text: O Brother, Where Art Thou? was the first time a digital intermediate was used on the entirety of a first-run Hollywood film that otherwise had very few visual effects. The work was done in Los Angeles by Cinesite using a Spirit DataCine for scanning at 2K resolution, a Pandora MegaDef to adjust the color, and a Kodak Lightning II recorder to put out to film.[25]

text: A major theme of the film is the connection between old-time music and political campaigning in the Southern U.S. It makes reference to the traditions, institutions, and campaign practices of bossism and political reform that defined Southern politics in the first half of the 20th century.

text: The Ku Klux Klan, at the time a political force of white populism, is depicted burning crosses and engaging in ceremonial dance. The character Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel, the governor of Mississippi and host of the radio show The Flour Hour, is similar in name and demeanor to W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel,[26] one-time Governor of Texas and later U.S. Senator from that state.[27] W. Lee O'Daniel was in the flour business, and used a backing band called the Light Crust Doughboys on his radio show.[28] In one campaign, W. Lee O'Daniel carried a broom,[29] an oft-used campaign device in the reform era, promising to sweep away patronage and corruption.[29] His theme song had the hook, "Please pass the biscuits, Pappy", emphasizing his connection with flour.[28]

text: While the film borrows from real-life politics, differences are obvious between the characters in the film and historical political figures. The O'Daniel of the movie used "You Are My Sunshine" as his theme song (which was originally recorded by real-life Governor of Louisiana James Houston "Jimmie" Davis[30]) and Homer Stokes, as the challenger to the incumbent O'Daniel, portrays himself as the "reform candidate", using a broom as a prop.

text: Music[edit]

text: Music in the film was originally conceived as a major component of the film, not merely as a background or a support. Producer and musician T-Bone Burnett worked with the Coens while the script was still in its working phases, and the soundtrack was recorded before filming commenced.[31]

text: Much of the music used in the film is period-specific folk music,[6] including that of Virginia bluegrass singer Ralph Stanley.[7] The musical selection also includes religious music, including Primitive Baptist and traditional African American gospel, most notably The Fairfield Four, an a cappella quartet with a career extending back to 1921 who appear in the soundtrack and as gravediggers towards the film's end. Selected songs in the film reflect the possible spectrum of musical styles typical of the old culture of the American South: gospel, delta blues, country, swing and bluegrass.[32][33]

text: The use of dirges and other macabre songs is a theme that often recurs in Appalachian music[34] ("O Death", "Lonesome Valley", "Angel Band", "I Am Weary") in contrast to bright, cheerful songs ("Keep On the Sunny Side", "In the Highways") in other parts of the film.

text: The voices of the Soggy Bottom Boys were provided by Dan Tyminski (lead vocal on "Man of Constant Sorrow"), Nashville songwriter Harley Allen, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band's Pat Enright.[35] The three won a CMA Award for Single of the Year[35] and a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, both for the song "Man of Constant Sorrow".[9] Tim Blake Nelson sang the lead vocal on "In the Jailhouse Now".[5]

text: "Man of Constant Sorrow" has five variations: two are used in the film, one in the music video, and two in the soundtrack album. Two of the variations feature the verses being sung back-to-back, and the other three variations feature additional music between each verse.[36] Though the song received little significant radio airplay,[37] it reached #35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 2002.[38] The version of "I'll Fly Away" heard in the film is performed not by Krauss and Welch (as it is on the CD and concert tour), but by the Kossoy Sisters with Erik Darling accompanying on long-neck five-string banjo, recorded in 1956 for the album Bowling Green on Tradition Records.[39]

text: Release[edit]

text: The film premiered at the AFI Film Festival on October 19, 2000.[1]  It grossed $71,868,327 worldwide[3] off its $26 million budget.[2]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 77% based on 147 reviews and an average score of 7.1/10. The consensus reads: "Though not as good as Coen brothers' classics such as Blood Simple, the delightfully loopy O Brother, Where Art Thou? is still a lot of fun."[40] The film holds an average score of 69/100 on Metacritic based on 30 reviews.[41]

text: Roger Ebert gave two and a half out of four stars to the film, saying all the scenes in the film were "wonderful in their different ways, and yet I left the movie uncertain and unsatisfied".[42]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: The film was selected into the main competition of the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.[43]

text: The film also received two Academy Award nominations at the 73rd Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Cinematographer Roger Deakins was recognized with both Academy Award and ASC Outstanding Achievement Award nominations for his work on the film.[23]

text: For his portrayal of Ulysses Everett McGill, George Clooney received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The film was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

text: Soggy Bottom Boys[edit]

text: The Soggy Bottom Boys is the musical group that the main characters form to serve as accompaniment for the film. The name is in homage to the Foggy Mountain Boys, a bluegrass band led by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.[44] In the film, the songs credited to the band are lip-synched by the actors, except that Tim Blake Nelson does sing his own vocals on "In the Jailhouse Now." The band's hit single is Dick Burnett's "Man of Constant Sorrow," a song that had enjoyed much success prior to the movie's release.[45] After the film's release, the fictitious band became so popular that the country and folk musicians who were dubbed into the film got together and performed the music from the film in a Down from the Mountain concert tour which was filmed for TV and DVD.[6] This included Ralph Stanley, John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Chris Sharp, and others.

text: Notes[edit]

text: Jump up ^ Roderick Jaynes is the shared pseudonym used by the Coen brothers for their editing.

tag: ol


document_title: Jennifer Connelly

question_text: who starred in he's just not that into you

question_tokens: who starred in he 's just not that into you

text: Jennifer Connelly

text: Early life[edit]

text: Connelly was born in Cairo, New York, in the Catskill Mountains. She is the daughter of Ilene, an antiques dealer, and Gerard Karl Connelly (1941–2008), a clothing manufacturer.[3][4] Her father was Roman Catholic, and of Irish and Norwegian descent. Connelly's mother was Jewish, and was educated at a yeshiva; all of Connelly's mother's grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Poland and Russia.[5][6] Connelly was raised primarily in Brooklyn Heights, near the Brooklyn Bridge, where she attended Saint Ann's, a private school specializing in the Arts.[6] Her father suffered from asthma, so the family moved to Woodstock, New York, in 1976 to escape the city smog.[3] Four years later, the family returned to Brooklyn Heights, and Connelly returned to Saint Ann's.[1]

text: Career[edit]

text: Child modeling and early film appearances[edit]

text: When Connelly was 10 years old, an advertising executive friend of her father suggested she audition as a model.[7] Her parents sent a picture of her to the Ford Modeling Agency, which shortly after added her to its roster. Connelly began modeling for print advertisements before moving on to television commercials.[4][8] In an interview with The Guardian, she revealed that, after having done some modeling, she had no aspirations to become an actor.[9] She appeared on the cover of several issues of Seventeen in 1986 and 1988.[10][11][12][13] In December 1986, she recorded two pop songs for the Japanese market: "Monologue of Love" and "Message of Love".[14] Connelly sang in phonetic Japanese as she did not speak the language.[8]

text: Her mother started taking her to acting auditions. At once, Connelly was selected for a supporting role as the aspiring dancer and actress Deborah Gelly in Sergio Leone's 1984 gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America.[6][8] The role required performing a ballet routine. During the audition, Connelly, who had no ballet training, tried to imitate a ballerina. Her performance, and the similarity of her nose to Elizabeth McGovern's, who played the character as an adult, convinced the director to cast her.[15][16] Connelly described the movie as "an incredibly idyllic introduction to movie-making".[17] While Once Upon a Time in America was being filmed, Connelly made her first television appearance, in the episode "Stranger in Town" of the British series Tales of the Unexpected.[18]

text: Her first leading role was in Italian giallo-director Dario Argento's 1985 film Phenomena, as a girl who uses her psychic powers to communicate with insects, in order to pursue the serial killer of students of the Swiss school where she has just enrolled.[19] She next had the lead in the coming-of-age movie Seven Minutes in Heaven, released the same year.[20]

text: Of her early career, she said, "Before I knew it, [acting] became what I did. It was a very peculiar way to grow up, combined with my personality."[9] She described feeling like "a kind of walking puppet" through her adolescence, without having time alone to deal with the attention her career was generating.[9]

text: Connelly gained public recognition with Jim Henson's 1986 film Labyrinth with David Bowie, in which she played Sarah, a teenager on a quest to rescue her brother Toby from the world of goblins. Although a disappointment at the box office,[21] the film later became a cult classic.[22] The New York Times, while noting the importance of her part, panned her portrayal: "Jennifer Connelly as Sarah is unfortunately disappointing. ... She looks right, but she lacks conviction and seems to be reading rehearsed lines that are recited without belief in her goal or real need to accomplish it."[23] Two years later, she starred as a ballet student in the Italian film Étoile,[24] and portrayed college student Gabby in Michael Hoffman's Some Girls.[25]

text: Balancing work and school, she studied English for two years at Yale University in 1988 and 1989, before transferring to Stanford University in 1990 to study drama.[26] There, she trained with Roy London, Howard Fine and Harold Guskin.[27] Encouraged by her parents to continue with her film career,[4] Connelly left college and returned to the movie industry the same year.[26]

text: In 1990, Dennis Hopper directed The Hot Spot, in which Connelly played Gloria Harper, a woman being blackmailed.[28] The film was a box office failure but Connelly was praised.[7] Stephen Schaefer wrote for USA Today, "Anyone looking for proof that little girls do grow up fast in the movies should take a gander at curvaceous Jennifer Connelly [...] in The Hot Spot. Not yet 20, Connelly has neatly managed the transition from child actress to ingenue". During an interview with Shaeffer, Connelly commented on her first nude scene: "The nudity was hard for me and something I thought about...but it's not in a sleazy context".[7] The same year, director Garry Marshall considered her for the role of Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman, but ultimately felt that she was too young for the part.[29]

text: Connelly's next film was the 1991 romantic comedy Career Opportunities, starring alongside Frank Whaley.[30] People magazine criticized the film for exploiting Connelly's body. The marketing included a life-size cardboard cutout showing Whaley watching Connelly ride a mechanical horse, with the caption "He's about to have the ride of his life".[8] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Connelly said that a Yale professor brought it to her attention and "... that wasn't something I felt all that comfortable about".[17]

text: The big-budget Disney film The Rocketeer (1991) followed later that year, but failed to ignite her career.[31] She played Jenny Blake, the aspiring actress girlfriend of stunt pilot Cliff, "the Rocketeer".[32] New York characterized the movie as "pallid". The review said of her performance, "Connelly is properly cast; she has the moist, full-to-the-cheek bones sensuality of the Hollywood starlets of that period, but she's a little straight".[33] She appeared alongside Jason Priestley in the Roy Orbison music video for "I Drove All Night" the following year.[34]

text: Connelly next appeared in Of Love and Shadows, a 1994 Argentine-American drama film written and directed by Betty Kaplan starring Antonio Banderas. In 1995, director John Singleton cast Connelly as a lesbian college student in Higher Learning.[35] She next appeared in the 1996 independent film Far Harbor as Elie, a prominent person in a Hollywood studio who writes a screenplay based on her traumas.[36]

text: It was followed that year by the neo-noir crime thriller Mulholland Falls, which featured the murder of Allison Pond (Connelly), mistress of General Timms (John Malkovich), and the investigation by a group of detectives led by Maxwell Hoover (Nick Nolte).[37] New York magazine wrote about a clip that reveals the link between Timms and Pond: "This footage is actually dirty. That is, it makes us feel like voyeurs when looking at it, but it's so juicily erotic that we can hardly look away".[38] About nudity in the movie, Connelly said: "It kind of shocked everyone who knows me that I wound up doing this movie, because I had always been so careful about nudity, it was very much a part of this character and I couldn't be coy or guarded or self-conscious--otherwise it wouldn't work. It was sort of a challenge I wanted to take on, I guess".[7]

text: She began to appear in small-budget films which did well with critics, such as 1997's drama Inventing the Abbotts, set in the late 1950s, in which she played the part of Eleanor, one of three daughters of the town millionaire, Lloyd Abbott.[39] About her performance, director Ron Howard said, "She not only was beautiful and seductive but gave some difficult psychological moments in the film a lot of depth and complexity. She had an extraordinary combination of talent and beauty, and I guess I stored that information in the back of my brain".[7]

text: Her next appearance was in the critically acclaimed 1998 science fiction film Dark City, where she played alongside Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Ian Richardson and Kiefer Sutherland.[40] Connelly portrayed femme fatale Emma, a torch singer whose husband, John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), suffers from amnesia. As Murdoch is regaining his memories, Emma is kidnapped by Mr. Hand (Richard O'Brien) and The Strangers, who alter her memories and assign her a new identity.[41][42] Author Sean McMullen wrote, "Jennifer Connelly is visually splendid as the 1940s femme fatale (Emma)."[43]

text: Early 2000s[edit]

text: In 2001, Ed Harris directed Connelly in the biopic Pollock in which she played Ruth Kligman, Jackson Pollock's mistress.[44] In 2000 she appeared in what critics considered her breakthrough film, Requiem for a Dream, directed by Darren Aronofsky and based on the novel of the same name by Hubert Selby, Jr.[45] Connelly played Marion Silver, the girlfriend of Harry, played by Jared Leto; the movie also starred Marlon Wayans and Ellen Burstyn.[46][47] Her character is a middle-class girl from Manhattan Beach who pursues the dream of establishing a dress shop. She becomes addicted to heroin and descends into a life of prostitution.[48] Connelly prepared for the role by renting an apartment in the building where the character lived. During her time in the apartment, Connelly isolated herself, painted, listened to music that she considered that her character would, designed clothes, and used the time to reflect about addictions and their origin. Connelly also talked to addicts and attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings with a friend who was in recovery.[7] Critics acclaimed the individual performances for the actors' emotional courage in portraying physical and mental degradation.[49] Connelly said she became interested in the script for its depiction of the addictions and their effects on the lives and affections of the characters and their relatives.[50]

text: The critic Elvis Mitchell wrote in The New York Times,

text: "Ms. Connelly, too, whittled herself down to a new weight class, and it's her performance that gives the movie weight, since her fall is the most precipitous. By the end, when she curls into a happy fetal ball with a furtive smile on her face, she has come to love her debasement.... Her dank realization is more disturbing than anything in the novel, and Ms. Connelly has never before done anything to prepare us for how good she is here."[49]

text: During 2000, she appeared as Catherine Miller in the FOX drama series The $treet, about a brokerage house in New York.[51]

text: Also in 2000, she appeared in Waking the Dead, a film based on the 1986 novel of the same name, playing Sarah Williams, an activist killed by a car bomb in Minneapolis while she was driving Chilean refugees (Strangely, Sarah Williams was also the name of Connelly's character in Labyrinth).[52] Initially, director Keith Gordon was reluctant to cast Connelly in this role as he did not consider her a serious actress. Her agent Risa Shapiro persuaded him to watch Connelly's performance in Far Harbor. Gordon later said: "There was a subtlety and depth even to her gaze that captured more of the relationship than I ever could have hoped for."[16] About her role, Connelly said, "Waking the Dead was the first film I worked on where whatever I did felt like my own thing. I was really trying to make something of the part and threw myself into it, so that meant a lot to me".[53] The New York Times described her performance, "As Sarah, Ms. Connelly captures a burning ethereality and willfulness that are very much of the period. And she and Mr. Crudup connect powerfully in love scenes that convey the fierce tenderness of a relationship whose passion carries a tinge of religious fervor."[54]

text: The script of Ron Howard's 2001 film A Beautiful Mind, loosely based on Sylvia Nasar's 1998 biography of the mathematician John Nash, sparked her interest in the project.[55] Connelly was invited to an audition after her agent Risa Shapiro sent the producers a tape with a clip of the yet unreleased Requiem for a Dream. She was cast by the film's producer, Brian Grazer, as Alicia Nash, the caring and enduring wife of the brilliant, schizophrenic mathematician, played by Russell Crowe.[56] Howard and the producers eventually chose them after being particularly impressed by their screen chemistry.[57] The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing more than US$313 million worldwide.[58] Connelly had the chance to meet the real Alicia Nash before starting shooting and learned more about her life.[9] For her portrayal, Connelly earned a Golden Globe,[59] an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress,[60] and a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.[61] Time magazine critic Richard Schickel called her performance "luminous" and the actress intelligent and passionate.[62] Roger Ebert wrote, "...Jennifer Connelly is luminous as Alicia. Although the showier performance belongs to Crowe, it is Connelly's complex work, depicting a woman torn by love for and fear of the same man, that elevates the film to a higher level".[63]

text: Connelly said afterward, "[A Beautiful Mind] is the film I'm really proud of and really love."[35] A.O. Scott of The New York Times said, "There is, for one thing, Ms. Connelly, keen and spirited in the underwritten role of a woman who starts out as a math groupie and soon finds herself the helpmeet of a disturbed, difficult man."[64]

text: In relation to previous roles, Connelly said:

text: "There was a period where I felt like I wasn't quite being considered for the projects that I wanted to work on because maybe people were thinking. 'I'm not going to cast the girl who was in that movie for this adult project.' I've felt for a long time that this is what I want to do so I'm happy at this point to just take my time and work on projects that I feel really strongly about and the rest of the time just live my life."[7]

text: Connelly said that she became interested in Ang Lee's Hulk (2003) because of his philosophical perspective on the Marvel Comics superhero.[65] She played Betty Ross, a scientist and the former girlfriend of the main character, Bruce Banner. The film was a moderate success.[66]

text: It was followed the same year by House of Sand and Fog, a drama based on the novel by Andre Dubus III. She portrayed Kathy Nicolo, an abandoned wife whose inherited house is sold at auction to the Iranian emigre and former colonel Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley).[67] After reading the script, Connelly said: "(the story is) moving and beautifully written. I liked the fact that there is no good guy and bad guy. I found it really compelling that both sides do things that are morally questionable, because life is often like that." Producer Michael London said about Connelly's portrayal: "I think she understood Kathy and knew in her bones that she could take this character and give her the kind of dimension that she had. I don't think there is another actress who could have played Kathy with such power and grace."[68] The film received worldwide critical acclaim, with a BBC reporter commenting, "[Connelly] convinces totally as a selfish, desperate and lonely woman who confesses to her brother, 'I just feel lost'".[69]

text: After a two-year absence from the film scene, Connelly returned in the 2005 horror/psychological thriller Dark Water, which was based on a 2002 Japanese film of the same name.[8] She played Dahlia, a frightened young woman traumatized by her past, who moves with her daughter to an apartment in New York City where paranormal happenings take place.[70] In his review, critic Roger Ebert wrote, "I cared about the Jennifer Connelly character; she is not a horror heroine but an actress playing a mother faced with horror. There is a difference, and because of that difference, Dark Water works".[71]

text: She played Kathy Adamson in an adaptation of the novel Little Children alongside Kate Winslet, a movie which focuses on the relationship between Sarah Pierce (played by Winslet) and Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson).[72] Connelly co-starred in Blood Diamond opposite Leonardo DiCaprio where she portrayed journalist Maddy Bowen, who is working on exposing the real story behind Blood diamonds.[73] New York praised her performance: "Connelly is such a smart, sane, unhistrionic actress that she almost disguises the fact that her character is a wheeze."[74] Both Little Children and Blood Diamond were nominated for multiple Academy Awards.[75]

text: Her next appearance was as Grace in the drama Reservation Road with Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo, a film released in 2007.[76] After her son dies in a hit-and-run, Grace gradually tries to overcome her grief, while her husband Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) becomes obsessed with discovering who killed him.[77] By her own account, the character she played in the movie proved tougher than any of her previous roles.[78] USA Today's Susan Wloszczyna commented, "The strong performances of Jennifer Connelly and Mark Ruffalo ... raise the film above overheated melodrama".[79]

text: Parisian fashion house Balenciaga and Revlon cosmetics signed Connelly as the face of their 2008 campaigns.[80][81] Connelly portrayed astrobiologist Helen Benson alongside Keanu Reeves in the 2008 remake of the 1951 science fiction film The Day The Earth Stood Still. Unlike the original movie, in which Benson was a secretary and her relationship with Klaatu was the focus, the remake featured Benson in a troubled relationship with her stepson, portrayed by Jaden Smith.[82] This was followed by a role in the 2009 romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You, which also featured Jennifer Aniston and Ginnifer Goodwin.[83] The film was based on the self-help book of the same name.[84] Variety praised her portrayal: "Despite its layer of darkness Connelly gives a really rich performance as a woman whose principles back her into a corner".[85]

text: In 2009, she appeared in the costume drama biopic Creation, in which she played Emma Darwin, wife of Charles Darwin, opposite her real-life husband Paul Bettany.[86] Set during the writing of On the Origin of Species, the movie depicts Darwin's struggle with the subject of the book as well as with his wife, who opposed his theories, and their mourning for their daughter Annie.[87] The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Darwin's wife, a religious woman who disapproved of her husband's theories, is played by Jennifer Connelly, Bettany's real-life wife, in the kind of casting that doesn't always work, but it does here. We believe in the Darwins' history together, their familiarity and affection. Connelly's English accent is also as good as Renée Zellweger's and Gwyneth Paltrow's. She doesn't get just the sounds right, but also the music and the attitude".[88] She then voiced the character named "7", an adventurous warrior in the animated film 9.[89]

text: Dustin Lance Black's Virginia premiered on September 15, 2010, at the Toronto International Film Festival. Two years later, it was announced that the movie would receive a limited theatrical release in May 2012.[90][91] Connelly portrayed the title role of Virginia, a mentally unstable woman who has a 20-year affair with the local sheriff, whose daughter then starts a relationship with Virginia's son.[92] Connelly prepared for the role by watching documentaries on schizophrenia. She also spent time at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the New York University's Cancer Center to understand the afflections and obstacles of her character. While she was preparing for the role, director Dustin Lance Black requested Connelly's advice to design the set of Virginia's house, as well as the selection of the apparel to create the character's style.[93]

text: She described the film as a "very different" and "very personal" independent film.[94] According to Cinema Blend, "Virginia is propped up by a strong central performance, with Connelly doing some of her best work in years".[95]

text: In 2011, Connelly starred in Ron Howard's comedy The Dilemma with Vince Vaughn. Although the Austin Chronicle's review noted, "Vaughn nails it, and his nicely nuanced everyguy performance is aided by the always-excellent Connelly,"[96] the movie opened to generally negative reviews.[97] Variety remarked, "Connelly, though a shade looser and more spontaneous than usual, seems stuck at an emotional remove from the action".[98] Her next project, George Ratliff's Salvation Boulevard, premiered during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.[99] In the film Connelly played Gwen, the wife of Carl Vanderveer (Greg Kinnear); the couple are members of the Church of the Third Millennium, led by pastor Dan (Pierce Brosnan).[100] During the same year, Connelly recorded an audiobook version of Paul Bowles' The Sheltering Sky, which integrates the A-List Collection of Audible.com, released in March 2012.[101][102]

text: Her next project, starred alongside Greg Kinnear was the family drama Stuck in Love, the directorial debut of Josh Boone. Connelly played the ex-wife of Kinnear's character, with whom he is obsessed.[103][104] The film was premiered during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.[105]

text: In February 2012, Connelly was announced as the first global brand ambassador for Shiseido, having previously worked with the company in the 1980s in a series of advertisements for the Japanese market.[106] On August 2013, it was announced that Connelly was cast by her husband, Paul Bettany, for his directorial debut Shelter.[107] Connelly had a role in the 2014 film adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin novel, Winter's Tale, the directorial debut of Akiva Goldsman, alongside Colin Farrell and William Hurt;[108] As well as starring in the English-speaking directorial debut of Claudia Llosa Cry/Fly.[109]

text: Working again in collaboration with A Beautiful Mind co-star Russell Crowe, she portrayed Naameh in Darren Aronofsky's 2014 biblical epic Noah.[110] The film opened to favorable reviews.[111] The Washington Post declared Connelly and Crowe's performances "impressively grounded, powerful";[112] The Denver Post felt that Connelly portrayed the role with "fine intelligence".[113] Variety deemed her appearance "solid but underused",[114] while Detroit News stated "Connelly has too little to do, but when she lets go, she hits hard."[115] Indiewire wrote that Connelly conveyed the role with a "steady hand",[116] while St. Paul Pioneer Press defined her interpretation as "compelling".[117]

text: Personal life[edit]

text: While filming The Rocketeer, she began a romance with co-star Billy Campbell. They were involved for five years before they broke up in 1996.[118]

text: Connelly then had a relationship with photographer David Dugan, with whom she had a son, Kai, born in 1997.[119]

text: On January 1, 2003, in a private family ceremony in Scotland she married actor Paul Bettany, whom she had met while working on A Beautiful Mind.[120] The couple's first child Stellan[121] was born on August 5 the same year. She gave birth to her third child, Agnes, on May 31, 2011, in New York City.[122]

text: On November 14, 2005, Connelly was named Amnesty International Ambassador for Human Rights Education.[123] She appeared in an advertisement highlighting the global need for clean water, and sought donations for African, Indian, and Central American drilling projects for the non-profit organization Charity: Water.[124] On May 2, 2009, she participated in Revlon's annual 5k Run/Walk for Women.[125] In May 2012, Connelly was named ambassador for Save the Children fund, to advocate for children's rights in the United States and worldwide.[126]

text: Publications such as Vanity Fair, Esquire, and the Los Angeles Times have ranked her among the most beautiful women in the world.[127][128][129]

text: Filmography[edit]

text: Film[edit]

text:
Year
Title
Role
Notes

1984
Once Upon a Time in America
Young Deborah Gelly
Debut film role

1985
Phenomena
Jennifer Corvino
First starring role

1985
Seven Minutes in Heaven
Natalie Becker

1986
Labyrinth
Sarah Williams

1988
Some Girls
Gabriella d'Arc

1989
Etoile !Étoile (Ballet)
Claire Hamilton / Natalie Horvath

1990
The Hot Spot
Gloria Harper

1991
Career Opportunities
Josie McClellan

1991
Rocketeer !The Rocketeer
Jenny Blake
Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress

1994
Of Love and Shadows
Irene

1995
Higher Learning
Taryn

1996
Mulholland Falls
Allison Pond

1996
Far Harbor
Ellie

1997
Inventing the Abbotts
Eleanor Abbott

1998
Dark City
Emma Murdoch / Anna

2000
Waking the Dead
Sarah Williams

2000
Pollock
Ruth Kligman

2000
Requiem for a Dream
Marion Silver
Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
Nominated — Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress

2001
Beautiful Mind !A Beautiful Mind
Alicia Nash
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
American Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Empire Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

2003
Hulk
Betty Ross
Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress

2003
House of Sand and Fog
Kathy Nicolo
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress

2005
Dark Water
Dahlia Williams

2006
Little Children
Kathy Adamson

2006
Blood Diamond
Maddy Bowen

2007
Reservation Road
Grace Learner

2008
Day the Earth Stood Still !The Day the Earth Stood Still
Helen Benson

2009
He's Just Not That Into You
Janine Gunders

2009
Inkheart
Roxane

2009
9
7
Voice role

2009
Creation
Emma Darwin

2010
Virginia
Virginia

2011
The Dilemma
Beth

2011
Salvation Boulevard
Gwen Vanderveer

2012
Stuck in Love
Erica

2013
The Trials of Muhammad Ali
Herself
Documentary

2014
Winter's Tale
Virginia Gamely

2014
Aloft
Nana Kunning

2014
Noah
Naameh

2014
Shelter
Hannah

2016
American Pastoral
Dawn Dwyer Levov

2017
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Karen
Voice role

2017
Only the Brave
Amanda Marsh

2018
Alita: Battle Angel
Chiren
Post-production

tag: table

text: Television[edit]

text:
Year
Title
Role
Notes

1982
Tales of the Unexpected
The Girl
Episode: "Stranger in Town"

1992
The Heart of Justice
Emma Burgess
Television film

1995
Out There
Woman in grocery line
Television film; uncredited[citation needed]

2000
The $treet
Catherine Miller
Main role

2018
Snowpiercer
Melanie Cavill
Confirmed for Pilot


document_title: Barney Fife

question_text: what type of gun did barney fife carry

question_tokens: what type of gun did barney fife carry

text: Barney Fife

text: Production history[edit]

text: Before joining Griffith's show, Don Knotts was a regular on The Steve Allen Show, in which he played several parts. most notably "Mr. Morrison," a nervous man on the street character, upon which Knotts' based the personality of Barney Fife, who himself was a hyperkinetic but comically inept counterpart to Mayberry's practical and composed Sheriff Andy Taylor.

text: According to Andy Griffith, the character of Barney Fife was suggested by Don Knotts himself. At the same time that The Steve Allen Show was ending, Knotts was looking for work. When he saw the episode of The Danny Thomas Show featuring Andy Taylor, he called Griffith suggesting that his sheriff character might reasonably need a deputy. Griffith liked the idea and suggested that he call Executive Producer Sheldon Leonard. Griffith later recalled that Don Knotts' contribution was the show's saving grace because he was uncomfortable with the original concept to have Andy Taylor being the comic lead. In an interview with The Archive of American Television, Griffith admitted: "The second episode was called 'Manhunt' and I knew by that episode that Don should be the comic and I should play straight for him. That made all the difference."

text: Fife appeared on The Andy Griffith Show from the show's beginning in 1960 until 1965, when Knotts left the show to pursue a career in feature films. It is explained that Fife had left Mayberry to take a job as a detective in Raleigh. Knotts reprised the character in guest appearances each season until The Andy Griffith Show left the air in 1968. Barney also appeared in the inaugural Mayberry R.F.D. episode, in which Andy and Helen Crump marry. In 1971, the character, whose name is not explicitly mentioned, appears in the premiere episode of The New Andy Griffith Show, visiting the mid-sized city of Greenwood to catch up with Mayor Andy Sawyer, who looks exactly like Andy Taylor and shares some of Taylor's earlier mannerisms and friendships with Fife, Goober Pyle and Emmett Clark. Fifteen years would pass before the character was again reprised in the reunion film Return to Mayberry in 1986. By then, Fife had moved back and become the town's acting sheriff.

text: Character overview[edit]

text: Sometimes considered a blowhard with delusions of grandeur, he fancies himself an expert on firearms, women, singing, and just about any other topic of conversation brought up while he is around. Conversely, Andy knows that Barney's false bravado is a smokescreen for his insecurities and low self-confidence. In one episode, Barney brags that he knows about the Emancipation Proclamation. When Andy calls Barney's bluff and asks him to elaborate it to Opie for his history class, Barney becomes upset and defensive and blurts out that it was a proclamation for emancipation and leaves, irritated.

text: Barney is often overly analytical and alarmist about benign situations, such as the modest Mayberry crime scene. He takes a minor infraction, blows it out of proportion, and then concocts an elaborate solution (sometimes involving inept civilians, like Otis Campbell or Gomer Pyle) to resolve it. In one early episode, where Andy was briefly summoned away, acting sheriff Barney proceeds to book and lock up nearly everyone in town. Despite his shortcomings, Barney is zealous about law enforcement, regularly spouting off penal codes and ordinances to thugs and jaywalkers alike.

text: An emotional powderkeg, Barney often overreacts with panic, despair or bug-eyed fear. Barney is smug and self-confident, and is known for engaging in gossip and revealing both personal and police secrets, often with dire consequences. Outwardly "a man of the world," Barney is truly naïve and easily duped. Though constantly warned by Andy, Barney falls for countless scams. This gullibility is evident in many episodes, including "Barney's First Car", where he is conned into buying a lemon from a crafty old widow. Andy mentions in the episode "Andy on Trial" that Barney likes to smoke a cigar when he's feeling "sporty".

text: Like Andy, who was stationed in France, Barney served in World War II, although he was a file clerk who never left the United States (he stated that "me and this other fella ran the PX library" on Staten Island). Barney was nevertheless proud of his war record: "I did my part to lick the dreaded Hun," he boasted in the "Quiet Sam" episode.

text: Nonetheless, Barney still has his rare moments of courage and loyalty. Perhaps the greatest example of Barney's courage is in the episode "Jailbreak": Barney, with help from Andy in tracking them down, saves a member of the state police who has been captured, apprehends the criminal and his partner by driving off with the crooks and their hostage attached in their trailer, and drives them to jail with Andy close behind with his siren wailing. It's one of the rare occasions when Barney actually catches the crooks intentionally and not by accident.

text: One major comedic source is Barney's lack of ability with a firearm. After numerous misfires (usually a Colt .38 caliber revolver), Andy restricts Barney to carrying only one bullet in his shirt pocket, "in case of an emergency." However, the bullet always seems to find its way back into the gun, where Barney accidentally shoots it, usually into the floor, the ceiling, or his own gun holster. The accidental discharge of Barney's gun becomes a running gag. Another gag has Barney locking himself or together with Andy in one of the jail cells, with the keys just out of reach. Realizing that they can't get out, they shamelessly yell for help.

text: In the first season, Andy and Barney comment that they are cousins, and is also curtly mentioned several times in subsequent shows. Genetics aside, Barney and "Ange" (as he frequently addresses Andy, a derivation from Knotts' real-life nickname for Griffith) are best friends, having grown up together in Mayberry, even graduating from the same class at Mayberry High School in 1945. Barney maintains warm relations with Andy's son Opie and his Aunt Bee. In another episode, Andy finds a document indicating he issued Barney his gun in August, 1953 when he gave Barney his oath of office as his deputy.

text: When he's not patrolling the streets of Mayberry, Barney spends his free time dating a local girl named Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn) (whom he eventually marries in Return to Mayberry, a 1986 NBC movie). Thelma Lou is Barney's main girlfriend until his 1965 departure. He had two other girlfriends; the first Miss Rosemary followed by Hilda May.[2] Barney also dates other women, in particular, an oft-mentioned but never seen Junction Cafe and Bluebird Diner waitress named Juanita. She is first mentioned in the episode "Andy Forecloses". Not content to focus solely on his own love life, Barney quite often gets involved in Andy's romantic interests. Lydia Crosswaithe was one of the young ladies whom he and Thelma Lou tried to match with Mayberry's sheriff. Unfortunately, Lydia's withdrawn, exceedingly odd personality doomed any hopes that Andy would actually date her.

text: Barney takes up residence in a few places including the Raleigh YMCA and Mrs. Mendelbright's boarding house (where she forbids him from owning either a hot plate or light bulb over 40 watts). In "Sheriff Barney" we learn that Barney lives at 411 Elm Street, but it is unclear if this address refers to Barney's own home or Mrs. Mendelbright's boarding house address. When not on duty, he is usually seen in a Panama straw hat and a tweed suit (the "old salt and pepper.") Although the deputy fancies himself a singer, he has a tin ear, as highlighted by several episodes, most notably, "Barney and the Choir" and "The Song Festers."

text: Some continuity slip-ups can be expected, as the series had several writers. An illustration of this is with the various middle names given for both Barney and Andy. In the episode "Class Reunion", Barney's middle name is Milton, though at other times he is called "Bernard P. Fife". In another episode, where he believes he is the descendant of Nathan Tibbs, a Mayberry Revolutionary hero, he says his name is "Barney 'Tibbs' Fife". Andy jokingly says, "I thought your middle name was Oliver." A similar problem exists with Andy's middle name, which was given as Jackson on his own show (when his high school photo was shown), but his newborn son's name was given as Andrew Samuel Taylor Jr. on Mayberry RFD (during a christening).

text: Andy Griffith Show appearances[edit]

text: He is featured in these Andy Griffith Show episodes:

text: Season 1[edit]

text:
Episode 1: "The New Housekeeper"
Episode 2: "The Manhunt"
Episode 3: "The Guitar Player"
Episode 4: "Ellie Comes to Town"
Episode 5: "Irresistible Andy"
Episode 6: "Runaway Kid"
Episode 7: "Andy the Matchmaker"
Episode 10: "Ellie for Council"
Episode 11: "Christmas Story"
Episode 12: "Stranger in Town"
Episode 13: "Mayberry Goes Hollywood"
Episode 14: "The Horse Trader"
Episode 15: "Those Gossipin' Men"
Episode 17: "Alcohol and Old Lace"
Episode 18: "Andy the Marriage Counselor"
Episode 19: "Mayberry on Record"
Episode 20: "Andy Saves Barney's Morale"
Episode 21: "Andy and the Gentleman Crook"
Episode 22: "Cyrano Andy"
Episode 24: "The New Doctor"
Episode 25: "A Plaque for Mayberry"
Episode 26: "The Inspector"
Episode 27: "Ellie Saves a Female"
Episode 28: "Andy Forecloses"
Episode 29: "Quiet Sam"
Episode 30: "Barney Gets His Man"
Episode 31: "The Guitar Player Returns"
Episode 32: "Bringing Up Opie"

text: Season 2[edit]

text:
Episode 1: "Opie and the Bully"
Episode 2: "Barney's Replacement"
Episode 3: "Andy and the Woman Speeder"
Episode 5: "Barney on the Rebound"
Episode 6: "Opie's Hobo Friend"
Episode 7: "Crime-Free Mayberry"
Episode 8: "The Perfect Female"
Episode 10: "The Clubmen"
Episode 11: "The Pickle Story"
Episode 12: "Sheriff Barney"
Episode 13: "The Farmer Takes a Wife"
Episode 14: "Keeper of the Flame"
Episode 15: "Bailey's Bad Boy"
Episode 16: "The Manicurist"
Episode 17: "The Jinx"
Episode 18: "Jailbreak"
Episode 19: "A Medal for Opie"
Episode 20: "Barney and the Choir"
Episode 21: "Guest of Honor"
Episode 22: "The Merchant of Mayberry"
Episode 23: "Aunt Bee the Warden"
Episode 24: "The County Nurse"
Episode 25: "Andy and Barney in the Big City"
Episode 27: "Three's a Crowd"
Episode 28: "The Bookie Barber"
Episode 29: "Andy on Trial"
Episode 30: "Cousin Virgil"
Episode 31: "Deputy Otis"

text: Season 3[edit]

text:
Episode 1: "Mr. McBeevee"
Episode 2: "Andy's Rich Girlfriend"
Episode 3: "Andy and the New Mayor"
Episode 5: "The Cow Thief"
Episode 6: "Barney Mends a Broken Heart"
Episode 7: "Lawman Barney"
Episode 8: "The Mayberry Band"
Episode 11: "Convicts-at-Large"
Episode 13: "The Bank Job"
Episode 14: "One-Punch Opie"
Episode 15: "Barney and the Governor"
Episode 16: "Man in a Hurry"
Episode 17: "High Noon in Mayberry"
Episode 18: "The Loaded Goat"
Episode 19: "Class Reunion"
Episode 20: "Rafe Hollister Sings"
Episode 21: "Opie and the Spoiled Kid"
Episode 22: "The Great Filling Station Robbery"
Episode 23: "Andy Discovers America"
Episode 24: "Aunt Bee's Medicine Man"
Episode 26: "Andy's English Valet"
Episode 27: "Barney's First Car"
Episode 28: "The Rivals"
Episode 29: "A Wife for Andy"
Episode 30: "Dogs, Dogs, Dogs"
Episode 31: "Mountain Wedding"
Episode 32: "The Big House"

text: Season 4[edit]

text:
Episode 1: "Opie the Birdman"
Episode 2: "The Haunted House"
Episode 3: "Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army"
Episode 4: "The Sermon for Today"
Episode 7: "A Black Day for Mayberry"
Episode 8: "Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain"
Episode 9: "A Date for Gomer"
Episode 10: "Up in Barney's Room"
Episode 11: "Citizen's Arrest"
Episode 12: "Opie and His Merry Men"
Episode 13: "Barney and the Cave Rescue"
Episode 14: "Andy and Opie's Pal"
Episode 15: "Aunt Bee the Crusader"
Episode 16: "Barney's Sidecar"
Episode 17: "My Fair Ernest T. Bass"
Episode 18: "Prisoner of Love"
Episode 19: "Hot Rod Otis"
Episode 20: "The Song Festers"
Episode 21: "The Shoplifters"
Episode 22: "Andy's Vacation"
Episode 25: "Divorce, Mountain Style"
Episode 26: "A Deal is a Deal"
Episode 27: "Fun Girls"
Episode 28: "The Return of Malcolm Merriweather"
Episode 29: "The Rumor"
Episode 30: "Barney and Thelma Lou, Phfftt"
Episode 31: "Back to Nature"

text: Season 5[edit]

text:
Episode 1: "Opie Loves Helen"
Episode 2: "Barney's Physical"
Episode 4: "The Education of Ernest T. Bass"
Episode 6: "Barney's Bloodhound"
Episode 7: "Man in the Middle"
Episode 8: "Barney's Uniform"
Episode 9: "Opie's Fortune"
Episode 10: "Goodbye, Sheriff Taylor"
Episode 11: "The Pageant"
Episode 12: "The Darling Baby"
Episode 13: "Andy and Helen Have Their Day"
Episode 14: "Three Wishes for Opie"
Episode 15: "Otis Sues the County"
Episode 16: "Barney Fife, Realtor"
Episode 18: "The Rehabilitation of Otis"
Episode 19: "The Lucky Letter"
Episode 20: "Goober and the Art of Love"
Episode 21: "Barney Runs for Sheriff"
Episode 22: "If I Had a Quarter-Million Dollars"
Episode 23: "TV or Not TV"
Episode 25: "The Case of the Punch in the Nose"
Episode 26: "Opie's Newspaper"
Episode 27: "Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau"
Episode 28: "The Arrest of the Fun Girls"
Episode 29: "The Luck of Newton Monroe"
Episode 30: "Opie Flunks Arithmetic"

text: Season 6[edit]

text:
Episode 17: "The Return of Barney Fife"
Episode 18: "The Legend of Barney Fife"

text: Season 7[edit]

text:
Episode 18: "A Visit to Barney Fife"
Episode 19: "Barney Comes to Mayberry"

text: Season 8[edit]

text: Episode 21: "Barney Hosts a Summit Meeting"

text: Legacy[edit]

text: Calling a police officer or authority figure "Barney Fife" has become an American slang term for gross ineptitude or overzealousness. A notable example occurred during the Scott Peterson case, in which the defendant's mother referred to the local police captain as "Barney Fife."[3]

text: Notes[edit]

text: Jump up ^ In the episode "A Plaque for Mayberry", Andy states that Barney's middle name is Oliver. In later episodes Barney refers to himself as Barney "P." Fife and in the episode "Class Reunion" the Mayberry Union High yearbook lists Barney's name as Bernard Milton Fife.


document_title: Voltron: Legendary Defender

question_text: how many episodes does voltron legendary defender season 3 have

text: Voltron: Legendary Defender

text: Overview[edit]

text: For millennia, the evil Galra Empire has plagued the universe by destroying other civilizations and enslaving various races. The only known threat strong enough against the empire's power and plans is the legendary "Defender of the Universe" Voltron, a 100 meter tall robot warrior composed of five lion mechas whose pilots are known as the Paladins. At the crux of the war that ended with the destruction of planet Altea, Voltron was separated by King Alfor of Altea in order to protect Voltron from falling into the Galran Emperor Zarkon's possession. King Alfor bonded the five lion's energies to his daughter Allura's life force and sent them across the universe to different locations until the time for the next generation of Paladins to appear and pilot Voltron arrived. Princess Allura, her retainer Coran, and the Altean Castle of Lions were hidden on planet Arus along with the Black Lion.

text: In the present, the Galra Empire's path of conquest and search for Voltron has led them to Earth's solar system. A group of space pilots – Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk – discover the Blue Lion and immediately get swept up into the Galran War. They meet Princess Allura, become Paladins, and reunite the five lions to form Voltron to combat Emperor Zarkon's nefarious schemes, with the hopes of ultimately defeating the entire Galra Empire.

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Josh Keaton as Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane - The Black Paladin, pilot of the Black Lion and Guardian Spirit of Sky. Leader of the Defenders of the Universe, Shiro was captured by the Galra Empire a year before the start of the series during which he was given a weaponized prosthetic right arm. A natural, decisive leader, Shiro is calm and always in control. At the end of season two, Shiro reclaims his personal bayard from Zarkon which enables them to defeat Zarkon, but Shiro mysteriously vanishes afterwards. In season three, it is revealed he was teleported to a Galra ship, as he ended up on one before escaping and was eventually found by the team. After finding that the Black Lion no longer accepts him as its true paladin, he continues to aid the team by providing guidance and support to them from the Castle of the Lions. At the start of season four, Shiro manages to re-establish his bond with the Black Lion when Keith was absent during an intense battle.
Steven Yeun as Keith - The Red Paladin, pilot of the Red Lion and Guardian Spirit of Fire. Formerly a cadet at Galaxy Garrison academy before being expelled, Keith is an orphan and a lone wolf as a result. Sullen and temperamental, Keith spends his free time honing his skills for battle. In season two, Keith discovers he has Galra blood, apparently from his maternal side of the family. The revelation comes from a knife which associated him with a secret rebel group of the Galra called the "Blade of Marmora," but also ends up straining Allura's trust in him for a while. Due to Shiro's absence, Keith takes over as the head of Voltron as the new pilot of the Black Lion in season three. At the start of season four, Keith officially steps down as the leader of Voltron, handing the position back to Shiro so that he can continue to work with the Blade of Marmora.
Jeremy Shada as Lance - The Blue Paladin, pilot of the Blue Lion and Guardian Spirit of Water. Lance was the fighter pilot of his team at Galaxy Garrison academy. Cocky and confident, Lance is the comic relief of the Defenders and likes to think of himself as a ladies' man as well as the sharpshooter. Lance has maintained a rivalry with Keith from when the two were at the Galaxy Garrison together, but the two have shown to be an effective team. Lance takes over piloting the Red Lion in season three.
Bex Taylor-Klaus as Katie "Pidge" Holt - The Green Paladin, pilot of the Green Lion and Guardian Spirit of Forest. Katie disguised herself as a boy named Pidge Gunderson to get into Galaxy Garrison academy to find out what happened to her father and brother who disappeared whilst on the same mission which Shiro was captured on. A technical genius, Pidge is the smartest member of the team able to create specialist modifications for the Green Lion such as a cloaking device (which only lasts thirty seconds) and she re-purposed a Galran drone to work for her, naming it Rover (Rover sacrificed itself to protect Pidge). During her time as a Paladin, she continues to search for her missing family, having successfully found her bother, Matt.
Tyler Labine as Hunk - The Yellow Paladin, pilot of the Yellow Lion and Guardian Spirit of Land. Hunk was the engineer of his team at Galaxy Garrison academy. A gentle giant with an equally large appetite, Hunk is the heart of the team, lifting them up and making peace between them. After witnessing first hand the devastation and misery that Zarkon's conquest of the universe has brought upon the people of various worlds, Hunk is determined to free those enslaved.
Kimberly Brooks as Princess Allura - Crown Princess of Altea, daughter of King Alfor, Allura is the last known female Altean. Pilot and keeper of the Castle of Lions, a structure that is both a castle and a spaceship, Allura granted the Defenders their titles and sent them on their mission to defeat Zarkon and liberate the universe. Allura wishes more than anything to finish her father's work in stopping Zarkon. In season three, she becomes the new pilot of the Blue Lion as the Pink Paladin. As an Altean, Allura's abilities include the chameleon-like ability to blend in with other species and magical abilities related to quintessence. She has a telepathic bond with some Altean mice that were in the same cryo-pod that she was hibernating inside of.
Rhys Darby as Coran - The Royal advisor to Princess Allura's family and the last known male Altean. Energetic and excitable, Coran serves Allura dutifully whilst being fiercely protective over her. He tends to ramble on and on about his past, particularly about his supposedly daring feats or past experiences. Despite his odd and quirky character, he is a reliable and steadfast ally to his princess and the Paladins.
Neil Kaplan as Emperor Zarkon - The Emperor of the ruthless Galra Empire, and ruler of most of the known universe after spending the last ten thousand years conquering it. He desires the Lions of Voltron, not only because they represent the biggest threat to his campaign, but because he is later revealed to be the former Black Paladin. As such, he views the Lions as his own property rather than seeing himself as a former chosen one to pilot the Black Lion. He is powerful enough to go toe-to-toe directly with the Lions themselves. At the end of season two, Zarkon faces Voltron and the Paladins in an experimental mecha armor and is defeated but left in critical condition, unconscious and requiring life-support. By the end of season 3, his history is fully revealed and Haggar successfully reawakens him and he starts a manhunt for Lotor.
Cree Summer as Witch Haggar - Zarkon's primary advisor, and leader of the Druids, dark mystics who fanatically serve the Galra Empire. Haggar is both a dangerous sorceress and a mad scientist. She combines her unnatural magic with abominable science to arm Galra soldiers with powerful weapons, create terrible monsters (dubbed "Ro-beasts" in the second season) to fight Voltron, and leech entire planets (and other sources, such as living beings) of the mystical energy known as Quintessence. In battle, her magical abilities allow her to teleport, cast illusions, fog the minds of others with hallucinations, and use her hands to project energy blasts and shields. Haggar is revealed to be Altean in the second-season finale, and orders the remaining Galran commanders to summon their lord's son, Prince Lotor. By the end of season 3, her history is fully revealed.
A.J. Locascio as Prince Lotor - The son of Zarkon and Honerva (Witch Haggar) and heir to the Galra Empire, who assumes control of the Galra following his father's defeat. Lotor follows a different philosophy than other Galra, believing that strength comes from bringing in worthy followers from the worlds they conquer rather than expending further resources to keep them subjugated. He has a personal all-female strike team consisting of individuals who are, like himself, only half-Galra.

text: Production[edit]

text: On January 5, 2016, Netflix and DreamWorks Animation announced a new original animated Voltron series to debut in 2016 as an expansion of their existing multi-year agreement.[7] Voltron is one of several series planned for initial development and debut in 2016, including Guillermo del Toro's animated Trollhunters.[8] Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, both known for their work on the Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel The Legend of Korra, served as showrunners while fellow crew member Tim Hedrick served as head writer.[9] On March 25, 2016 at WonderCon it was announced that the voice cast would consist of Steven Yeun as Keith, Jeremy Shada as Lance, Bex Taylor-Klaus as Pidge, Josh Keaton as Shiro, Tyler Labine as Hunk, Kimberly Brooks as Princess Allura; and Rhys Darby as Coran and Neil Kaplan as King Zarkon.[10] Cree Summer later confirmed that she would be voicing Witch Haggar.[11]

text: It was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that season two will premiere on Netflix in late 2016.[12] A few months later, at New York Comic Con, it was announced that the second season will premiere on January 20, 2017.[3] The second season saw a special premiere at the New York Comic Con on October 7, 2016, where an episode was shown at the Voltron panel.[13] The second season premiered on Netflix on January 20, 2017 and consisted of 13 episodes.[3]

text: The third season premiered on Netflix on August 4, 2017 and consisted of 7 episodes. The fourth season premiered on October, 2017 and consisted of 6 episodes.[14] The series was revealed at WonderCon 2017 to have a 78-episode commitment from Netflix.[4]

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally released

First aired

1
13
June 10, 2016 (2016-06-10)

2
13
January 20, 2017 (2017-01-20)

3
7
August 4, 2017 (2017-08-04)

4
6
October 13, 2017 (2017-10-13)

text: Reception[edit]

text: Voltron: Legendary Defender received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating for the first season, based on 11 reviews, with Critic Consensus being that "Voltron: Legendary Defender honors its source material with beautifully expressive animation and impactful action."[15]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee
Status
Ref.

2017
44th Annie Awards
Best/Animated TV Broadcast Production For Children's Audience
Episode: "Return of the Gladiator"
Nominated
[16]

Kidscreen Awards
Best Animated Series, Teens and Tweens
Voltron: Legendary Defender
Nominated
[17]

text: Comics[edit]

text: Two comic series detailing events happening in between seasons were announced in January 2016. Taking story ideas that were deemed too outlandish and too epic to be contained in a 23-minute episode from the animated series, these comic series bridges the time lapse between seasons.[18]

text: Volume 1 (2016)[edit]

text: The first miniseries consisted of 5 issues, published by Lion Forge Comics. It was written by show head writer Tim Hedrick and Mitch Iverson, and illustrated by Digital Art Chefs. A special cover variant of issue #1 was available at San Diego Comic Con in 2016, with a limited release of 250 copies.[19] Issue #2 was released on August 2, 2016,[20] followed by issue #3 on October 5, 2016,[21] issue #4 on November 9, 2016,[22] and issue #5 on November 20, 2016.[23] The whole series will be collected in a graphic novel and was initially scheduled for a December 2016 release,[18] but got pushed back to January 3, 2017, then was finally released January 25, 2017 according to Lion Forge.[24][25] The second series will be announced after the release of the graphic novel.[18] A motion comic of issue 1 with full voice acting by the series cast was released on June 15, 2017 at the DreamWorksTV YouTube channel.[26]

text:
Issue
Release Date
Writer(s)
Artist(s)
Collection
ISBN

#1[5]
July 13, 2016
Tim Hedrick
Mitch Iverson
Digital Art Chefs
Voltron: Legendary Defender – Volume 1
RELEASED JANUARY 25, 2017
9781941302217

#2[27]
August 24, 2016

#3[28]
October 5, 2016

#4[29]
November 9, 2016

#5[30]
November 30, 2016

text: Volume 2 (2017)[edit]

text: During the Voltron: Legendary Defender panel at WonderCon 2017, it was announced that the second series of five issues would debut in May 2017.[31] The date was pushed back to late June due to production delays.[32]

text: International broadcast[edit]

text:
Country
Channel

 United Kingdom
Netflix
Pop

 Italy
K2

 Germany
Netflix
Super RTL

 Philippines
TV5

Asia
DreamWorks Channel

 Canada
Family Chrgd

text: Promotion and merchandising[edit]

text: To promote the series in between the release of season 1 and 2, a Robeast fanart contest was announced via social media on October 18, 2016.[33] The winner was announced on December 27, 2016 on social media under the username "Zilla B".[34] A virtual-reality video game based on the series, known as Voltron VR Chronicles, was released for Steam, Oculus and PlayStation 4 via PlayStation Network.