document_title: Masters of the Universe (film)

question_text: who played the title character he-man in the 1987 live action movie masters of the universe

text: Masters of the Universe (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: On the planet Eternia, at the center of the Universe, Skeletor's army seizes Castle Grayskull, scatters the remaining Eternian defenders, and captures the Sorceress of Grayskull, planning to add her power to his own by the next moonrise.

text: Skeletor's archenemy, the warrior He-Man, veteran soldier Man-At-Arms, and his daughter Teela rescue Gwildor from Skeletor's forces. Gwildor, a Thenorian locksmith, reveals that Skeletor has acquired his invention: a "Cosmic Key" that can open a portal to anywhere by utilizing sound keys. The device was stolen by Skeletor's second-in-command, Evil-Lyn, allowing Skeletor to breach Castle Grayskull.

text: With Gwildor's remaining prototype of the Key in hand, He-Man and his friends travel to the Castle. They attempt to free the Sorceress but are overwhelmed by Skeletor's army and forced to flee through Gwildor's hastily opened portal, transporting them to Earth. The Key is misplaced on their arrival and discovered by two New Jersey teenagers, orphaned high school girl Julie Winston and her boyfriend Kevin Corrigan. The pair attempt to figure out what the Key is and accidentally send a signal that allows Evil-Lyn to track the Key and send her henchmen – Saurod, Blade, Beast Man and Karg – to recover it.

text: Kevin, an aspiring musician, mistakes the Key for a synthesizer and takes it to a music store run by his friend Charlie. Karg's team arrives and chases Julie until He-Man comes across her and rescues her. Karg's team returns to Grayskull where, incensed by their failure, Skeletor kills Saurod and sends the others back to Earth, with a larger force under Evil-Lyn's command. Unable to find Julie, Kevin is taken to Julie's house by Lubic, a detective investigating the disturbance created by Karg's team. Suspecting the Key is stolen, Lubic confiscates it from Kevin and leaves. Immediately afterward, Evil-Lyn captures and interrogates Kevin for the Key's location with a mind control collar, before pursuing Lubic.

text: Julie and the Eternians release Kevin from the collar before they go after Lubic and the Key. They manage to get hold of them in Charlie's store, but Skeletor's forces catch up with them, and a pitched battle ensues. Evil-Lyn recovers the key and summons Skeletor to Earth. Skeletor's forces capture the Eternians, and Julie is mortally wounded by Skeletor's lightning blast, which simultaneously erases the memory storage of Gwildor's Key. He-Man surrenders to save his comrades and is returned to Eternia as Skeletor's slave. Skeletor demands that He-Man kneel before him for all of Eternia to witness, before he is killed. He-Man refuses and is lashed by Blade's laser whip in an attempt to make him submit. He-Man is still standing when the moon rises, and Skeletor absorbs the powers of the universe. Declaring himself the Master of the Universe, Skeletor asserts his victory and continues to torture He-Man with energy blasts.

text: Back on Earth, Gwildor repairs the Cosmic Key, and Kevin recreates the tones necessary to create a gateway to Eternia. The group, including Lubic who attempts to arrest them, are transported to Castle Grayskull, where they begin battling Skeletor's forces. Resenting that Skeletor absorbed the power of the Universe without sharing it with her, Evil-Lyn deserts him along with the other henchmen. Skeletor accidentally frees He-Man, who reclaims the Sword of Grayskull, and they battle until He-Man shatters Skeletor's staff, removing his new powers and restoring him to his normal state. He-Man offers mercy, but Skeletor draws a concealed sword and attempts to kill He-Man; He-Man knocks Skeletor into a towering pit below. The freed Sorceress heals Julie, and a portal is opened to send the Earthlings home. Hailed as a hero for his bravery, Lubic decides to remain on Eternia.

text: Julie awakens on the morning of her parents' deaths by plane crash. She prevents them from taking the ill-fated flight by taking their keys, and runs outside to find Kevin. Kevin confirms that their experiences were real, producing a souvenir from Eternia: a small blue sphere containing a scene of He-Man in front of Castle Grayskull with his sword raised above his head.

text: In a post-credits scene, Skeletor's head emerges from the water at the bottom of the pit, saying "I'll be back!".

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Dolph Lundgren – He-Man
Frank Langella – Skeletor
Courteney Cox – Julie Winston
Barry Livingston - Charlie
James Tolkan – Detective Lubic
Christina Pickles – Sorceress
Meg Foster – Evil-Lyn
Chelsea Field – Teela
Jon Cypher – Man-At-Arms
Billy Barty – Gwildor
Robert Duncan McNeill – Kevin Corrigan
Anthony De Longis – Blade
Tony Carroll – Beast Man
Pons Maar – Saurod
Robert Towers – Karg
Peter Brooks – Narrator

text: Production[edit]

text: One of the original drafts from the script by David Odell (whose previous writing credits include Supergirl and The Dark Crystal) was reviewed in the third episode of the He-Man and She-Ra podcast, Masters Cast. The original draft included more time spent on Eternia and Snake Mountain, had Beast man in a speaking role, and even revealed that He-Man's mother was originally from Earth, as per the character Queen Marlena from the Filmation animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, thus linking the two planets.[9] Describing her character, Foster said that Evil-Lyn is not villainous, "she is just doing her job and she knows how to get results, even if it means being harsh." Langella agreed, calling Evil-Lyn a female more dedicated to Skeletor's cause than any man; she is obsessive around Skeletor because she is slightly lovelorn.[10] The filmmakers considered having Foster wear eye-lenses to mask her naturally pale-blue eyes, but decided that her natural eyes fit the character better. However, they did augment Foster's chest, fitting cleavage into the character's costume. Foster wanted the character to have a large hairstyle, rather than the short style featured in the film.[11]

text: When offered the role, Langella said that he "didn’t even blink ... I couldn't wait to play him." Langella cited his then-four-year-old son's love of Skeletor while running around his house yelling He-Man's battle cry "I have the power!", as the reason he chose to play He-Man's archenemy.[12]

text: Jack Kirby inspiration[edit]

text: Comic book writer/artist John Byrne compared the film to Jack Kirby's comic book metaseries Fourth World, stating in Comic Shop News #497:

text: The best New Gods movie, IMHO, is Masters of the Universe. I even corresponded with the director, who told me this was his intent, and that he had tried to get [Jack] Kirby to do the production designs, but the studio nixed it.

text: Check it out. It requires some bending and an occasional sex change (Metron becomes an ugly dwarf, The Highfather becomes the Sorceress), but it's an amazingly close analog, otherwise. And Frank Langella's Skeletor is a dandy Darkseid!

text: Director Gary Goddard clarified this in a letter appearing in John Byrne's Next Men #26, in which he stated:

text: As the director of Masters of the Universe, it was a pleasure to see that someone got it. Your comparison of the film to Kirby’s New Gods was not far off. In fact, the storyline was greatly inspired by the classic Fantastic Four/Doctor Doom epics, The New Gods and a bit of Thor thrown in here and there. I intended the film to be a "motion picture comic book," though it was a tough proposition to sell to the studio at the time. 'Comics are just for kids,' they thought. They would not allow me to hire Jack Kirby who I desperately wanted to be the conceptual artist for the picture…

text: I grew up with Kirby's comics (I've still got all my Marvels from the first issue of Fantastic Four and Spider-Man through the time Kirby left) and I had great pleasure meeting him when he first moved to California. Since that time I enjoyed the friendship of Jack and Roz and was lucky enough to spend many hours with Jack, hearing how he created this character and that one, why a villain has to be even more powerful than a hero, and on and on. Jack was a great communicator, and listening to him was always an education. You might be interested to know that I tried to dedicate Masters of Universe to Jack Kirby in the closing credits, but the studio took the credit out.

text: Brian Cronin, author of the "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed" column, concludes that "the film itself was not intended to be literally a reworked Fourth World, although the intent WAS to make the film a tribute to Jack Kirby — just a tribute to ALL of his work, not just the Fourth World."[13]

text: Music[edit]

text: The musical score of Masters of the Universe was composed by Bill Conti. It was recorded by several European orchestras, chiefly the Graunke Orchestra of Munich (the only one to be credited on the soundtrack album) and conducted by a number of conductors, chiefly Bruce Miller and Harry Rabinowitz (Rabinowitz received sole credit). Conti did not conduct his score because it could not be recorded in the United States as "there was a musicians strike or something like that... So it went to various places." He and the score mixer Dan Wallin assembled the score from the various recorded takes, because there were problems with the orchestral performances ("We didn't have anything that went from beginning to end without a problem").[14]

text: The soundtrack album was released on record, cassette and compact disc by Varèse Sarabande in 1987; it was subsequently issued in an expanded version by Edel. In 2008, La-La Land Records released a two-disc edition with the complete score and the original album presentation; in 2012, Intrada Records issued the complete score (the entirely of disc one and tracks 1–5 on disc two) on one disc.

text: Release[edit]

text: Prior to releasing it, the Cannon Group touted Masters of the Universe as the Star Wars of the 1980s. Despite releasing alongside the height of the success of the toy line, animated series, and related merchandise, Masters of the Universe began as the third-highest-grossing film of the weekend in North America on August 7, 1987, earning $4,883,168, behind Stakeout ($5,170,403) and The Living Daylights ($7,706,230). The film quickly left the charts altogether with a North American gross of $17,336,370.[15][2][5][16]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Masters of the Universe was released on DVD October 23, 2001. A 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc was released by Warner Home Video on October 2, 2012.[17]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Masters of the Universe received negative reviews from critics and holds a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews.[18] Variety called it a "Conan-Star Wars hybrid ripoff" that is "a colossal bore".[19]  Walter Goodman of The New York Times wrote, "If you liked the toy, you'll love the movie."[20]  Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times called it "a misfiring, underdone epic".[21] Johanna Steinmetz of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the film, while predictable and derivative, entertains audiences through its side plots set on Earth.[22]

text: In a retrospective review, Glenn Heath, Jr. of Slant Magazine called it a "jarring mix of corny screwball comedy and choppy action heroics".[23]  Chris Eggertsen of HitFix, in an article identifying the film's campy, positive qualities, called it "an objectively bad film with a big heart".[24]  Joshua Winning of Digital Spy wrote, "...beloved of '80s kids but scorned by critics, it's a high camp oddity that we should celebrate on its own terms".[4]

text: Billy Barty received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actor for his performance in the film, but 'lost' to David Mendenhall for Over the Top.

text: Legacy[edit]

text: The commercial failure of Masters of the Universe, among other films such as Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Lifeforce, contributed to the eventual closure of Cannon Films.[11] Cannon Films had intended to create a Masters of the Universe sequel, indicated by the end credits with a surprise reveal that Skeletor survives his fall. The sequel titled "Masters of the Universe 2: Cyborg" was written and followed He-Man, who returned to Earth to battle Skeletor, who has left Earth as a post-apocalyptic wasteland and the film was to feature Trap Jaw and She-Ra. Pro surfer Laird Hamilton was originally to replace Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and the only aspect known about the sequel's screenplay was that He-Man would have returned to Earth and was disguised as a professional quarterback.[25] With a low budget of $4.5 million, the sequel was to be directed by Albert Pyun, consecutively with the aborted Spider-Man movie. The project was abandoned when Cannon would not pay Mattel's fees. The production instead utilized the already-made costumes and sets for the low-budget sci-fi film Cyborg.[26][27][28]

text: Masters of the Universe was Lundgren's first leading role in a feature film following his success in Rocky IV, and he later labeled it as his least favorite film role.[10] Conversely, Langella considers playing Skeletor to be one of his favorite roles.[12]

text: Reboot[edit]

text: A new He-Man film directed by John Woo was reportedly being developed in 2007, but despite many rumors circulating the Internet regarding the film's production status and casting, the project was never officially green-lit. The film rights to He-Man have reportedly since reverted to Mattel.[29]

text: In September 2009, Sony took over the rights from Warner Bros. to produce the live action adaptation after Mattel and producer Joel Silver, who was previously involved with a potential film, couldn't agree on creative direction for the film.[30] Sony and Escape Artists' Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch will now start developing the project from scratch for Columbia Pictures. In April 2010, Sony hired screenwriters Mike Finch and Alex Litvak to draft a new script.[31] Warner announced that John Stevenson, director of Kung Fu Panda will direct the upcoming feature. On May 12, 2009, it was announced that the scripting duties had been handed to Evan Daugherty, with Stevenson still attached to direct.[32]

text: In late 2012, Deadline reported that Jon M. Chu was in talks to direct the film.[33] Original He-Man actor Lundgren did an interview with IGN about a possible role in the film as King Randor.[34] October 12, 2012, Richard Wenk is hired to rewrite the script for the film.[35] On March 28, 2013, Chu spoken that the film is still early is in the experimentation and also it won't be campy but an origin story.[36][37] On October 7, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Terry Rossio would script and that Black, Blumenthal, and Tisch would produce the film and it will be set on Eternia; the site also reported that Chu will not direct the film.[38]

text: On January 10, 2014, Schmoes Know reported that Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), Rian Johnson (Looper), Andrés Muschietti (Mama), Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders (The Croods), and Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie) were named as frontrunners to direct the film.[39] On February 26, it was reported that directors Mike Cahill, Jeff Wadlow, Harald Zwart, and Chris McKay are on the short list to direct.[40][41] On April 9, Schmoes Know reported that Wadlow will direct the film, but The Hollywood Reporter announced that he's rewriting the script of the film.[42][43]

text: On August 19, 2015, it was announced that Chris Yost had been hired to write the film.[44]

text: On January 22, 2016, Deadline reports that McG will direct the film and will also oversee a rewrite of the latest script by Alex Litvak and Mike Finch, while Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch are on board as producers.[45]

text: On June 24, 2016, Kellan Lutz tweeted that he has a meeting with both McG and Mary Viola about having the role of He-Man.[46][47]

text: On April 27, 2017, it was announced that the film will be released on December 18, 2019. At the same time, McG left the film and David S. Goyer has been hired to rewrite the script.[48]

text: In December 2017, reports are saying that Goyer is in talks to direct the film.[49][50] In February 2018, Variety reports that Goyer has decided to step away as director to focus on other projects, but he will remain on board as an executive producer and screenwriter and the studio is said to be very happy with the script he turned in and is currently meeting with potential replacements.[51] In April 2018, Variety reports that Aaron and Adam Nee will direct the film.[52][53]


document_title: Father of the Bride (1991 film)

question_text: who played cameron in father of the bride

root

text: Father of the Bride (1991 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: George Banks (Steve Martin) is the owner of a successful athletic shoe company called Side Kicks in San Marino, California. His 22-year-old daughter, Annie (Kimberly Williams) who just graduated from college, returns home from Europe, announcing that she is engaged to Bryan MacKenzie (George Newbern), a man from an upper-class family from Bel-Air, despite their only having known each other for six months. The sudden shock turns the warm reunion into a heated argument between George and Annie, but they quickly reconcile in time for Bryan to arrive and meet them. Despite Bryan's good financial status and likeable demeanour, George takes an immediate dislike to him while his wife, Nina (Diane Keaton), accepts him as a potential son-in-law. George does not want to let go of his daughter.

tag: p

text: George and Nina meet Bryan's parents, John and Joanna MacKenzie. Though George feels comfort from John also expressing how shocked he had initially been at Bryan's engagement, he quickly gets into trouble when he begins nosing around and eventually ends up falling into the pool when cornered by the MacKenzies' vicious pet Dobermans. All is forgiven, however, and the Banks meet with an eccentric European wedding coordinator, Franck Eggelhoffer (Martin Short) and his assistant, Howard Weinstein (B. D. Wong), where George immediately begins complaining about the price of the extravagant wedding items. The high price, $250 a head, plus the problems of wedding invitations begin to take their toll on George and he becomes slightly insane. The last straw occurs when his wrongly sized suit, which he had struggled to put on, rips when he bends his back. He leaves the house to cool off, but ends up causing a disturbance at the supermarket. Fed up with paying for things he doesn't want, he starts removing hot dog buns from their 12-bun packets so as to match the 8-dog packets of hot dogs. He ends up getting arrested, but Nina arrives to bail him out on the condition that he stop ruining the wedding.

text: With help from Nina and Franck, George becomes more relaxed and accepting of the wedding, particularly when Annie and Bryan receive rather expensive gifts from extended family members, but the wedding plans are put on hold when they have a row over a blender he gave her as a gift, which only gets worse when she refuses to believe his story about George's antics at his parents' house when he fell in the pool. George takes Bryan out for a drink, initially intending to get rid of him for good, but seeing his heartbroken face and genuine claim that he loves Annie, George has a change of heart and finally accepts him. He confesses to Annie that what happened at the MacKenzies' house was true, and she and Bryan reconcile.

text: Despite some last minute problems with the weather, the wedding is finally prepared, almost one year after Bryan and Annie's first meeting. They marry and the reception is held at the house, despite a nosy police officer objecting to the number of parked cars in the street. Unfortunately, George misses Annie throwing her bouquet and is unable to see her before she and Bryan leave for their honeymoon in Hawaii. However, Annie calls him from the airport to thank and tell him that she loves him one last time before they board the plane.

text: With the house now empty and the wedding finished, George finds solace with Nina and dances with her.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Steve Martin as George Banks
Diane Keaton as Nina Banks
Kimberly Williams as Annie Banks-MacKenzie
Kieran Culkin as Matty Banks
George Newbern as Bryan MacKenzie
Peter Michael Goetz as John MacKenzie
Kate McGregor-Stewart as Joanna MacKenzie
Martin Short as Franck Eggelhoffer
B. D. Wong as Howard Weinstein
Richard Portnow as Al
David Pasquesi as Hanck
Chauncey Leopardi as Cameron
Eugene Levy as Singer at audition
Marissa Lefton as 3-year-old Annie
Sarah Rose Karr as 7-year-old Annie
Amy Young as 12-year-old Annie
Ira Heiden as Supermarket Stock Boy
Britt Leach as Assistant Manager of Supermarket (uncredited, his final film role to date)

tag: ul

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: The film's soundtrack was scored by Alan Silvestri and was influenced by jazz and Christmas instrumentations. It contains the following tracks:

text:
"Main Title"
"Annie's Theme"
"Drive to Brunch"
"Snooping Around"
"Pool Cue"
"Annie Asleep"
"Basketball Kiss"
"The Wedding"
"Snow Scene"
"Nina at the Stairs"
"The Big Day"
"Annie at the Mirror
"Pachelbel Canon"
"The Way You Look Tonight" - Alan Silvestri, Fields, Dorothy
"My Annie's Gone"
"The Way You Look Tonight (Reprise)"
"End Credits"

tag: ol

text: The following songs are also featured in the film:

text:
"My Girl" - The Temptations
"(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Going to Marry" - Darlene Love
"Chapel of Love" - The Dixie Cups

text: Reception[edit]

text: The film opened to generally favorable reviews. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 73% of critics gave it a positive rating, based on 41 reviews, with an average score of 6/10. Its consensus states that "while it doesn't quite hit the heights of the original, this remake of the 1950 classic is pleasantly enjoyable, thanks in large part to winning performances from Steve Martin and Martin Short."[3] Contrastingly, it received 51/100 on Metacritic.[4]

text: Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and called it "one of the movies with a lot of smiles and laughter in it, and a good feeling all the way through. Just everyday life, warmly observed."[5] Desson Howe of The Washington Post praised Martin for his performance in it, writing that "it is so funny, it's almost sublime. The explanation is simple: It's all Steve Martin."[6]

text: The film drew $15 million on its debut.[7]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text:
1992; nominated, "Best Breakthrough Performance" - Kimberly Williams
1992; nominated, "Best Comedic Performance" - Steve Martin

text: 1993: won, "Best Movie" - Father of the Bride

text: 1993; nominated, "Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Motion Picture" - Kieran Culkin

text: Remake[edit]

text: In February of 2018, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that remakes of several films are in development as exclusive content for Walt Disney Studios' upcoming streaming service; with one of those named in the announcement being Father of the Bride.[8]