British postcard by Anabas, Essex, no. AP578, 1997.

 

Blonde and blue-eyed American actress Uma Thurman (1970) is best known for her roles in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. Furthermore, she starred in a wide variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films.

 

Uma Karuna Thurman was born in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally-minded family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman), a professor and academic who is one of the nation's foremost Buddhist scholars. Uma grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, where her father worked at Amherst College. Thurman's household was one in which The Dalai Lama was an occasional guest; she and her siblings all have names deriving from Buddhist mythology; and Middle American behaviour was little understood, much less pursued. And so it was that the young Thurman confronted childhood with an odd name and eccentric home life - and nature seemingly conspired against her as well. She is six feet tall, and from an early age Uma towered over everyone else in her class. The family constantly relocated, making the gangly, socially inept Thurman perpetually the new kid in class. The result was an exceptionally awkward, self-conscious, lonely, and alienated childhood. Unsurprisingly, the young Thurman enjoyed making believe she was someone other than herself, and so thrived at acting in school plays. This interest, and her lanky frame, perfect for modeling, led the 15-year-old Thurman to New York City for high school and modeling work (including a layout in Glamour Magazine) as she sought acting roles. The roles soon came. She made her film debut in the teen thriller Kiss Daddy Goodnight (Peter Ily Huemer, 1987). It was followed by Terry Gilliam's interesting box office bomb, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), starring John Neville. She made a brief appearance as the goddess Venus, and during her entrance, she briefly appears nude, in an homage to Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus'. Then followed her breakthrough in Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988) from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, which was based on the 1782 French novel 'Les liaisons dangereuses' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The period romantic drama, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer, brought much attention to her unorthodox sensuality. Her performance intriguingly combined innocence and worldliness. The weird, gangly girl became a sex symbol virtually overnight.

 

Uma Thurman continued to be offered good roles in Hollywood pictures into the early 1990s, the least commercially successful but probably best-known of which was her smoldering, astonishingly-adult performance as June, Henry Miller's wife, in Henry & June (Philip Kaufman, 1990), the first film to actually receive the dreaded NC-17 rating in the USA. After a celebrated start, Thurman's career stalled in the early 1990s with films such as the mediocre Mad Dog and Glory (John McNaughton, 1993) with Robert De Niro. Worse, her first starring role was in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Gus Van Sant, 1993), which had endured a tortured journey from cult-favorite book to big-budget film and was a critical and financial debacle. Uma bounced back with a brilliant performance as Mia Wallace, that most unorthodox of all gangster's molls, in Tarantino's lauded, hugely successful Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994). For her role, Thurman was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She took little advantage of her new-found fame by choosing not to do any big-budget films for the next three years. She starred in the independent period drama A Month by the Lake (John Irvin, 1995) opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Edward Fox, and supporting roles in which she has lent some glamorous presence to a mixed batch of films, such as Beautiful Girls (Ted Demme, 1996) with Matt Dillon, and The Truth About Cats & Dogs (Michael Lehmann, 1996). She played supervillain Poison Ivy in the reviled Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) with George Clooney, and Emma Peel opposite Ralph Fiennes as John Steed in a remake of The Avengers (Jeremiah Chechik, 1998). She worked with Woody Allen and Sean Penn on Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and starred in Richard Linklater's drama Tape (2001) opposite husband Ethan Hawke. Thurman also won a Golden Globe award for her turn in the made-for-television film Hysterical Blindness (2002), directed by Mira Nair.

 

A return to the mainstream spotlight came when Uma Thurman re-teamed with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). The two had dreamed up this two-part revenge action film on the set of Pulp Fiction (1994). Thurman starred as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) and their leader, Bill (David Carradine), after they try to kill her and her unborn child. She then turned up in the John Woo cautioner Paycheck (2003) that same year. The renewed attention was not altogether welcome because Thurman was dealing with the break-up of her marriage with Hawke at about this time. Thurman handled the situation with grace, however, and took her surging popularity in stride. She garnered critical acclaim for her work in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. The two Kill Bill films brought her two additional Golden Globe Award nominations. Thurman reunited with Pulp Fiction dance partner John Travolta for the Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1995) sequel Be Cool (F. Gary Gray, 2005). Despite a lukewarm critical reception, the film grossed US$95 million. She played Ulla in the remake of The Producers (Susan Stroman, 2005). In 2006, she was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier De l'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres) by France. For her five-episode role in the musical TV series Smash (2012), Thurman received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Her later films include Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac (2013) and The House That Jack Built (2018). She made her Broadway debut in Beau Willimon's political drama 'The Parisian Woman' (2017-2018) at Hudson Theatre. For her role, she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Leading Actress in a Play. In 2018, in a New York Times interview, Thurman revealed that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted her in 1994. Uma Thurman was briefly married to Gary Oldman, from 1990 to 1992. In 1998, she married Ethan Hawke, her co-star in the offbeat futuristic thriller Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997). The couple has two children, Levon and Maya. Hawke and Thurman filed for divorce in 2004.

 

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Vintage postcard, no. 1030.

 

Delicate American actress Winona Ryder (1971) is known for her dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She starred in films such as Beetlejuice Heathers, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Edward Scissorhands, and the television series Stranger Things. In 1994, she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Age of Innocence (1993), and Ryder was nominated twice for an Oscar.

 

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Winona (Olmsted County), Minnesota, in 1971. Yes, her name is very much the same as her birthplace. Her parents, Cindy Horowitz (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller, were part of the hippie movement. She has a brother named Uri Horowitz (1976), who got his first name after Yuri Gagarin, a half-sister named Sunyata Palmer (1968), and a half-brother named Jubal Palmer (1970) from her mother Cindy's first marriage. From 1978, Winona grew up in a commune near Mendocino in California, which had no electricity. When Winona was seven, her mother began to manage an old cinema in a nearby barn and would screen films all day. She allowed Winona to miss school to watch movies with her. In 1981, the family moved to Petaluma, California. Since Winona was considered an outsider in public school, she was sent to a public school and later to the American Conservatory Theater acting school. She was discovered at the age of thirteen by a talent scout at a theatre performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1985, she applied for a role in the film Desert Bloom (David Seltzer, 1986) with a video in which she performed a monologue from the book 'Franny and Zooey' by J. D. Salinger. Although the casting choice was fellow actress Annabeth Gish, director and writer David Seltzer recognised her talent and cast her as Rina in his film Lucas (David Seltzer, 1986) about a teenager (Corey Haim) and his life in high school. When telephoned to ask what name she wanted to be called in the credits, she chose Ryder as her stage name because her father's Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels album was playing in the background. Her real hair colour is blonde but when she made Lucas (1986), her hair color was dyed black. She was told to keep it that colour and with the exception of Edward Scissorhands (1990), it has stayed that color since. Her next film was Square Dance (Daniel Petrie, 1987), in which the protagonist she portrays lives a life between two worlds: on a traditional farm and in a big city. Ryder's performance received good reviews, although neither film was a commercial success. Her acting in Lucas led director Tim Burton to cast her in his film Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988). In this comedy, she played Lydia Deetz, who moves with her family into a house inhabited by ghosts (played by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton). Ryder, as well as the film, received positive reviews, and Beetlejuice was also successful at the box office. In 1989, she starred as Veronica Sawyer in the independent film Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989) about a couple (Ryder and Christian Slater) who kill popular schoolgirls. Ryder's agent had previously advised her against the role. The film was a financial failure, but Ryder received positive reviews. The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! (Jim McBride, 1989) was also a flop. That same year, Ryder appeared in Mojo Nixon's music video 'Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child'. At the premiere of Great Balls of Fire (1989), Ryder met fellow actor and later film partner Johnny Depp. The couple became engaged a few months later, but their relationship ended in 1993. He had a tattoo of her name and after they broke up, he had this reduced to "Wino forever".

 

In 1990, Winona Ryder had her breakthrough performance alongside her boyfriend Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990). The fantasy film was an international box-office success. Ryder was selected for the role of Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Welcome Home Roxy (Jim Abrahams, 1990) and Mermaids (Richard Benjamin, 1990) back-to-back. Ryder's performance alongside Cher and Christina Ricci in the family comedy Mermaids (1990) was praised by critics and she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Ryder also appeared with Cher and Ricci in the music video for 'The Shoop Shoop Song', the film's theme song. Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote a role specifically for her in Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991), as a tattooed, chain-smoking cabdriver who dreams of becoming a mechanic. Ryder was cast in a dual role as Mina Murray and Elisabeta in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992). In 1993, she starred as Blanca in the drama The House of the Spirits (Bille August, 1993) alongside Antonio Banderas, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. It is the film adaptation of Isabel Allende's bestseller of the same name. Together with Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis, she starred in Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993), the film adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel. She was Martin Scorsese's first and only choice for the role of May Welland. For years, she kept the message he left on her voicemail, informing her she got the role. Her part earned her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and an Oscar nomination. She also earned positive reviews for her role in the comedy Reality Bites (Ben Stiller, 1994). She received critical acclaim and another Oscar nomination the same year as Jo in the drama Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994). In 1996, she starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Joan Allen in The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), an adaptation of Arthur Miller's stage play about the Puritan witch hunt in Salem. The film was not a success; however, Ryder's performance was favourably reviewed. A year later she portrayed an android in the successful horror film Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997) alongside Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. In 1998 she starred in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998). after Drew Barrymore turned down the role. In 1999 she starred as a psychiatric patient with borderline syndrome in the drama Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999), based on Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical novel. Girl, Interrupted, the first film on which she served as executive producer, was supposed to be Ryder's comeback in Hollywood after the flops of the past years. However, the film became the breakthrough for her colleague Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar for her role. In this decade, she was involved with Dave Pirner, the lead singer of the group Soul Asylum, from 1993 to 1996 and with Matt Damon from December 1997 to April 2000.

 

Winona Ryder appeared alongside Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (Joan Chen, 2000), a romance about an older man's love for a younger woman. She also made a cameo appearance in the comedy Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2000). The comedy Mr. Deeds (Steven Brill, 2002) with Adam Sandler became her biggest financial success to date. The film failed with critics and Ryder was nominated for the Golden Raspberry award. Also in 2002, she was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of work for repeatedly shoplifting $5,000 worth of clothes. The incident caused a career setback. She withdrew from the public eye in the following years and did not appear in front of the camera again until 2006. In that year, she appeared in the novel adaptation A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006) alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson. In 2009, she made an appearance in Star Trek: The Future Begins (J. J. Abrams, 2009) as Spock (Zachary Quinto)'s mother Amanda Grayson. The prequel became a huge success at the box office and Ryder earned a Scream Award for Best Guest Appearance. She also appeared alongside Robin Wright and Julianne Moore in Rebecca Miller's Pippa Lee (2009), and alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). Ryder starred in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (John Kent Harrison, 2010), for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in the comedy The Dilemma (Ron Howard, 2011), and the thrillers The Iceman (Ariel Vromen, 2012), and The Letter (Jay Anania, 2012) opposite James Franco. In Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (2012) she lent her voice to the character Elsa Van Helsing. Since 2016, she has embodied the main character, Joyce Byers, in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016-2022), for which she received positive responses. Her role in the series has been described by many as a comeback. Since 2011 Winona Ryder is in a relationship with Scott MacKinlay Hahn.

 

Sources: Pedro Borges (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Kevin Smith, Great Gerwig, Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan, James Gunn, Taika Watiti

Lower Don Valley Trail, Toronto ON 14 Aug 2020

Duane Linklater's 2017 sculptural group "Monsters for Beauty, Permanence, and Individuality"

BBC: 100 greatest films of the 21st Century.

 

The best that cinema has had to offer since 2000 as picked by 177 film critics from around the world — редакторы BBC составили Топ 100 лучших фильмов вышедших с 2000 по 2016, опросив 177 кинокритиков

 

нет времени объяснять, почему у британских учёных 21st Century начинается в 2000, а не в 2001 (ниже написано), почему на сотом месте у них сразу 3 фильма и нет ничего после 2016 (он составлен осенью '16), но в любом случае было интересно взглянуть, плюс ниже я сделал Alt Top 150, не благодарите.

 

For the purposes of this poll we have decided that a list of the greatest films of the 21st Century should include the year 2000, even though we recognise that there was no ‘Year Zero’ and that 2001 is mathematically the start of the century. Not only did we all celebrate the turn of the millennium on 31 December 1999, but the year 2000 was a landmark in global cinema, and, in particular, saw the emergence of new classics from Asia like nothing we had ever seen before.

 

Итак, список BBC:

 

100. Toni Erdmann / Тони Эрдманн (Maren Ade, 2016)

100. Requiem for a Dream / Реквием по мечте (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)

100. Carlos / Карлос (Olivier Assayas, 2010)

99. The Gleaners and I / Собиратели и собирательница (Agnès Varda, 2000)

98. Ten / Десять (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002)

97. White Material / Белый материал (Claire Denis, 2009)

96. Finding Nemo / В поисках Немо (Andrew Stanton, 2003)

95. Moonrise Kingdom / Королевство полной луны (Wes Anderson, 2012)

94. Let the Right One In / Впусти меня (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

93. Ratatouille / Рататуй (Brad Bird, 2007)

92. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford / Как трусливый Роберт Форд убил Джесси Джеймса (Andrew Dominik, 2007)

91. The Secret in Their Eyes / Тайна в его глазах (Juan José Campanella, 2009)

 

90. The Pianist / Пианист (Roman Polanski, 2002)

89. The Headless Woman / Женщина без головы (Lucrecia Martel, 2008)

88. Spotlight / В центре внимания (Tom McCarthy, 2015)

87. Amélie / Амели (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)

86. Far From Heaven / Вдали от рая (Todd Haynes, 2002)

85. A Prophet / Пророк (Jacques Audiard, 2009)

84. Her / Она (Spike Jonze, 2013)

83. A.I. Artificial Intelligence / Искусственный разум (Steven Spielberg, 2001)

82. A Serious Man / Серьёзный человек (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009)

81. Shame / Стыд (Steve McQueen, 2011)

 

80. The Return / Возвращение (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2003)

79. Almost Famous / Почти знаменит (Cameron Crowe, 2000)

78. The Wolf of Wall Street / Волк с Уолл-стрит (Martin Scorsese, 2013)

77. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly / Скафандр и бабочка (Julian Schnabel, 2007)

76. Dogville / Догвилль (Lars von Trier, 2003)

75. Inherent Vice / Врождённый порок (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014)

74. Spring Breakers / Отвязные каникулы (Harmony Korine, 2012)

73. Before Sunset / Перед закатом (Richard Linklater, 2004)

72. Only Lovers Left Alive / Выживут только любовники (Jim Jarmusch, 2013)

71. Tabu / Табу (Miguel Gomes, 2012)

 

70. Stories We Tell / Истории, которые мы рассказываем (Sarah Polley, 2012)

69. Carol / Кэрол (Todd Haynes, 2015)

68. The Royal Tenenbaums / Семейка Тененбаум (Wes Anderson, 2001)

67. The Hurt Locker / Повелитель бури (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)

66. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring / Весна, лето, осень, зима… и снова весна (Kim Ki-duk, 2003)

65. Fish Tank / Аквариум (Andrea Arnold, 2009)

64. The Great Beauty / Великая красота (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013)

63. The Turin Horse / Туринская лошадь (Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, 2011)

62. Inglourious Basterds / Бесславные ублюдки (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

61. Under the Skin / Побудь в моей шкуре (Jonathan Glazer, 2013)

 

60. Syndromes and a Century / Синдромы и век (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006)

59. A History of Violence / Оправданная жестокость (David Cronenberg, 2005)

58. Moolaadé / Убежище (Ousmane Sembène, 2004)

57. Zero Dark Thirty / Цель номер один (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)

56. Werckmeister Harmonies / Гармонии Веркмейстера (Béla Tarr, director; Ágnes Hranitzky, co-director, 2000)

55. Ida / Ида (Paweł Pawlikowski, 2013)

54. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia / Однажды в Анатолии (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2011)

53. Moulin Rouge! / Мулен Руж! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)

52. Tropical Malady / Тропическая болезнь (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004)

51. Inception / Начало (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

 

50. The Assassin / Убийца (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2015)

49. Goodbye to Language / Прощай, речь 3D (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014)

48. Brooklyn / Бруклин (John Crowley, 2015)

47. Leviathan / Левиафан (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014)

46. Certified Copy / Копия верна (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)

45. Blue Is the Warmest Color / Жизнь Адель (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013)

44. 12 Years a Slave / 12 лет рабства (Steve McQueen, 2013)

43. Melancholia / Меланхолия (Lars von Trier, 2011)

42. Amour / Любовь (Michael Haneke, 2012)

41. Inside Out / Головоломка (Pete Docter, 2015)

 

40. Brokeback Mountain / Горбатая гора (Ang Lee, 2005)

39. The New World / Новый Свет (Terrence Malick, 2005)

38. City of God / Город Бога (Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002)

37. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives / Дядюшка Бунми, который помнит свои прошлые жизни (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010)

36. Timbuktu / Тимбукту (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014)

35. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon / Крадущийся тигр, затаившийся дракон (Ang Lee, 2000)

34. Son of Saul / Сын Саула (László Nemes, 2015)

33. The Dark Knight / Тёмный рыцарь (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

32. The Lives of Others / Жизнь других (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)

31. Margaret / Маргарет (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011)

 

30. Oldboy / Олдбой (Park Chan-wook, 2003)

29. WALL-E / ВАЛЛ-И (Andrew Stanton, 2008)

28. Talk to Her / Поговори с ней (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002)

27. The Social Network / Социальная сеть (David Fincher, 2010)

26. 25th Hour / 25-й час (Spike Lee, 2002)

25. ​Memento / Помни (Christopher Nolan, 2000)

24. The Master / Мастер (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)

23. Caché / Скрытое (Michael Haneke, 2005)

22. Lost in Translation / Трудности перевода (Sofia Coppola, 2003)

21. The Grand Budapest Hotel / Отель «Гранд Будапешт» (Wes Anderson, 2014)

 

20. Synecdoche, New York / Нью-Йорк, Нью-Йорк (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)

19. Mad Max: Fury Road / Безумный Макс: Дорога ярости (George Miller, 2015)

18. The White Ribbon / Белая лента (Michael Haneke, 2009)

17. Pan's Labyrinth / Лабиринт фавна (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)

16. Holy Motors / Корпорация «Святые моторы» (Leos Carax, 2012)

15. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days / 4 месяца, 3 недели и 2 дня (Cristian Mungiu, 2007)

14. The Act of Killing / Акт убийства (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012)

13. Children of Men / Дитя человеческое (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)

12. Zodiac / Зодиак (David Fincher, 2007)

11. Inside Llewyn Davis / Внутри Льюина Дэвиса (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013)

 

10. No Country for Old Men / Старикам тут не место (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)

9. A Separation / Развод Надера и Симин (Asghar Farhadi, 2011)

8. Yi Yi: A One and a Two / Один и два (Edward Yang, 2000)

7. The Tree of Life / Древо жизни (Terrence Malick, 2011)

6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind / Вечное сияние чистого разума (Michel Gondry, 2004)

5. Boyhood / Отрочество (Richard Linklater, 2014)

4. Spirited Away / Унесённые призраками (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)

3. There Will Be Blood / Нефть (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)

2. In the Mood for Love / Любовное настроение (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

1. Mulholland Drive / Малхолланд Драйв (David Lynch, 2001)

 

#прояснилось, половину из того что они понаписали я не смотрел, что-то в их топе кажется переоценённым (но кое-что отметил на будущее), с другой стороны — классно, что кто-то генерирует нечто подобное, стимулируя сделать свою версию и «вспомнить всё», хотя очевидно, что все эти топы и места условны и меняются со временем, у Линча, кстати, мой топ 5 таков: Twin Peaks 1990-91; Lost Highway '97; Dune '84; Blue Velvet '86; Eraserhead '77.

 

+ alt version:

 

Top 150 greatest films (2000-2020) by deepskyobject

 

1. Вход в пустоту / Enter the Void (2009)

2. Помутнение / A Scanner Darkly (2006)

3. Вечное сияние чистого разума / Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

4. Темный рыцарь / The Dark Knight (2008)

5. Мечтатели / The Dreamers (2003)

6. Начало / Inception (2010)

7. В диких условиях / Into the Wild (2007)

8. Авиатор / The Aviator (2004)

9. Королевство полной луны / Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

10. Властелин колец / The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

 

11. Контроль / Control (2007)

12. Молодой Годар / Le Redoutable (2017)

13. Игра на понижение / The Big Short (2015)

14. Донни Дарко / Donnie Darko (2001)

15. Однажды в Голливуде / Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

16. Три билборда на границе Эббинга, Миссури / Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

17. Соколы / Fálkar (2002)

18. Неоновый демон / The Neon Demon (2016)

19. Бегущий по лезвию 2049 / Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

20. Гарри Поттер и Дары Смерти / Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1,2 (2011)

 

21. Вам звонит Градива / Gradiva (C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle)(2006)

22. Трудности перевода / Lost in Translation (2003)

23. За удачей / The Go-Getter (2007)

24. Круглосуточные тусовщики / 24 Hour Party People (2001)

25. Это – Англия / This Is England (2006)

26. Интерстеллар / Interstellar (2014)

27. Луна 2112 / Moon (2009)

28. Я соблазнила Энди Уорхола / Factory Girl (2006)

29. Ван Гог С любовью, Винсент / Loving Vincent (2017)

30. Реквием по мечте / Requiem for a Dream (2000)

 

31. 500 дней лета / (500) Days of Summer (2009)

32. Вакольда / Wakolda (2013)

33. Добро пожаловать к Райли / Welcome to the Rileys (2009)

34. Осло, 31-го августа / Oslo, 31 august (2011)

35. Дождливый день в Нью-Йорке / A Rainy Day in New York (2019)

36. Всегда говори «ДА» / Yes Man (2008)

37. Крадущийся тигр, затаившийся дракон / Wo hu cang long (2000)

38. Завтрак на Плутоне / Breakfast on Pluto (2005)

39. Проклятый Юнайтед / The Damned United (2009)

40. Малхолланд Драйв / Mulholland Dr (2001)

 

41. Кокаин / Blow (2001)

42. Комната страха / Panic Room (2002)

43. Ранэвэйс / The Runaways (2010)

44. Молода и прекрасна / Jeune & jolie (2013)

45. Фрэнк / Frank (2014)

46. Вики Кристина Барселона / Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

47. Макбет / Macbeth (2015)

48. Нью-Йорк, Нью-Йорк / Synecdoche, New York (2008)

49. Хатико: Самый верный друг / Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2008)

50. B-Movie: Шум и ярость в Западном Берлине / B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989 (2015)

 

51. Боже, помоги девушке / God Help the Girl (2012)

52. Драйв / Drive (2011)

53. Дюнкерк / Dunkirk (2017)

54. Копия верна / Copie conforme (2009)

55. Почти знаменит / Almost Famous (2000)

56. Левиафан / Leviathan (2014)

57. Призрачный мир / Ghost World (2001)

58. Плохой Санта / Bad Santa (2003)

59. Лоро / Loro (2018)

60. Меланхолия / Melancholia (2011)

 

61. Любовное настроение / In the Mood for Love (2000)

62. Собака в коляске мотоцикла / Saido kâ ni inu (2007)

63. Великая красота / La grande bellezza (2013)

64. Под покровом ночи / Nocturnal Animals (2016)

65. Джанго освобожденный / Django Unchained (2012)

66. Лучшее предложение / La migliore offerta (2012)

67. Короли Догтауна / Lords of Dogtown (2005)

68. Выживут только любовники / Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

69. Сладкая полночь / The Cake Eaters (2007)

70. Воспоминания неудачника / Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)

 

71. Лобстер / The Lobster (2015)

72. Город грехов / Sin City (2005)

73. Мандерлей / Manderlay (2005)

74. Девушка с жемчужной сережкой / Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)

75. Внутренняя империя / Inland Empire (2006)

76. Если только / If Only (2003)

77. Пыль / Pyl (2005)

78. Выживший / The Revenant (2015)

79. Догвилль / Dogville (2003)

80. Побудь в моей шкуре / Under the Skin (2013)

 

81. Богемская рапсодия / Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

82. Поймай меня, если сможешь / Catch Me If You Can (2002)

83. Временная петля / Los cronocrímenes 2007

84. Жизнь в розовом цвете / La Môme (2007)

85. Танцующая в темноте / Dancer in the Dark (2000)

86. Демон-любовник / Demonlover (2002)

87. Аватар / Avatar (2009)

88. Брат 2 / Brat 2 (2000)

89. Сердцеедки / Heartbreakers (2001)

90. 25-й час / 25th Hour (2002)

 

91. Старикам тут не место / No Country for Old Men (2007)

92. Настройщик / Nastroyshchik (2004)

93. Паразиты / Gisaengchung (2019)

94. Безумный Макс: Дорога ярости / Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

95. Бьютифул / Biutiful (2009)

96. Ба-бах! / Kaboom (2010)

97. Богиня: Как я полюбила / Boginya: kak ya polyubila (2004)

98. Амели / Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)

99. Ушедшие / Okuribito (2008)

100. Сумерки / Twilight (2008)

 

101. Газетчик / The Paperboy (2012)

102. Да здравствует Цезарь! / Hail, Caesar! (2016)

103. Области тьмы / Limitless (2011)

104. Залечь на дно в Брюгге / In Bruges (2007)

105. Доказательство смерти / Death Proof (2007)

106. Кафе де Флор / Café de Flore (2011)

107. Затоiчи / Zatôichi (2003)

108. Девять ярдов / The Whole Nine Yards (2000)

109. Найти Форрестера / Finding Forrester (2000)

110. Изгнание / Izgnanie (2007)

 

111. Волк с Уолл-стрит / The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

112. Любовная лихорадка / A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)

113. Карта звуков Токио / Map of the Sounds of Tokyo (2009)

114. Коко до Шанель / Coco avant Chanel (2009)

115. Великий Гэтсби / The Great Gatsby (2013)

116. Загадочная кожа / Mysterious Skin (2004)

117. Последняя сказка Риты (2012)

118. Запретная любовь / The Edge of Love (2008)

119. Возвращение в Брайдсхед / Brideshead Revisited (2008)

120. Pulp: A Film About Life, Death and Supermarkets (2014)

 

121. Венера в мехах / La Vénus à la fourrure (2013)

122. Гран Торино / Gran Torino (2008)

123. Далласский клуб покупателей / Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

124. Дом Солнца / Dom Solntsa (2009)

125. Недотепы / Chain of Fools (2000)

126. Малена / Malèna (2000)

127. Апрель / Aprel (2001)

128. Море внутри / Mar adentro (2004)

129. Москва / Moskva (2000)

130. Мошенники / Serving Sara (2002)

 

131. Жмурки / Zhmurki (2005)

132. Из машины / Ex Machina (2014)

133. Бёрдмэн / Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

134. Последний король Шотландии / The Last King of Scotland (2006)

135. Моана / Moana (2016)

136. Лето / Leto (2018)

137. Особое мнение / Minority Report (2002)

138. Она / Her (2013)

139. По высшей воле / Om Gud vill (2006)

140. Планета страха / Planet Terror (2007)

 

141. Кукушка (2002) / Kukushka

142. Призраки Гойи / Goya's Ghosts (2006)

143. Сёстры / Syostry (2001)

144. Обливион / Oblivion (2013)

145. Мех: Воображаемый портрет Дианы Арбус / Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)

146. Хедвиг и злосчастный дюйм / Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

147. Через Вселенную / Across the Universe (2007)

148. Эверест / Everest (2015)

149. Дьявол носит Prada / The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

150. Социальная сеть / The Social Network (2010)

 

и напоследок «вечные ценности»: LEXX '97 (I Worship His Shadow)

 

можете заодно посмотреть список фильмов о путешествиях во времени: здесь (или тут)

 

The End.

 

#films #фильмы #best_of_2000_2020 #top_films

La Noria de Viena, también conocida como Wiener Riesenrad ("Noria de Viena" en alemán), o simplemente Riesenrad, es una noria ubicada a la entrada del Parque de Atracciones del Prater, ubicado en el parque homónimo, en el segundo distrito de Viena, Leopoldstadt.

Fue una de las primeras norias, construida en 1897 para celebrar el quincuagésimo aniversario del reinado de Francisco José de Austria. El diseño corrió a cargo del inglés Walter Bassett, lo que explica que su altura sea de 61 metros, 200 pies exactos.

La Riesenrad es, hoy en día, uno de los principales atractivos turísticos de Viena. Era considerada la noria más alta existente en el mundo, de los años 20 hasta 1985, año en que la noria Technocosmos (ahora demolida) fuera construida en Tsukuba, Japón.

Originalmente, la noria contaba con 30 góndolas, pero debido a los daños ocasionados durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, durante la reconstrucción, solo se recolocaron 15 de estas cabinas.

La noria está formada por cables de acero, los cuales trabajan a tracción. El movimiento se ejerce desde la base, moviendo la estructura perimetral de acero.

Ha sido escenario de películas tales como El tercer hombre, The Living Daylights o Antes del amanecer.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noria_de_Viena

 

The Wiener Riesenrad (German for Vienna Giant Wheel), or Riesenrad, is a 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. It is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, and symbolises the district as well as the city for many people. Constructed in 1897, it was the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985.

The Wiener Riesenrad was designed by the British engineers Harry Hitchins and Hubert Cecil Booth and constructed in 1897 by the English engineer Lieutenant Walter Bassett Bassett (1864-1907), Royal Navy, son of Charles Bassett (1834-1908), MP, of Watermouth Castle, Devon. Its purpose was to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I, and it was one of the earliest Ferris wheels ever built. Bassett's Ferris wheel manufacturing business was not a commercial success, and he died in 1907 almost bankrupt.

A permit for its demolition was issued in 1916, but because of a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, it survived.

It was built with 30 gondolas, but was severely damaged in World War II and when it was rebuilt only 15 gondolas were replaced.

The wheel is driven by a circumferential cable which leaves the wheel and passes through the drive mechanism under the base, and its spokes are steel cables, in tension.

When the 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Wiener Riesenrad was constructed in 1897, both the original 80.4-metre (264 ft) Ferris Wheel in the US (constructed 1893, demolished 1906) and the 94-metre (308 ft) Great Wheel in England (constructed 1895, demolished 1907) were taller. The 100-metre (328 ft) Grande Roue de Paris, constructed in 1900, was taller still. However, when the Grande Roue de Paris was demolished in 1920, the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel, and it remained so for the next 65 years, until the construction of the 85-metre (279 ft) Technostar in Japan in 1985.

In popular culture

The Riesenrad appeared in the post-World War II film noir The Third Man (1949)

The wheel is featured in the 1973 spy thriller Scorpio (1973)

The 1987 James Bond film, The Living Daylights features scenes throughout the Prater, around the wheel, and a lengthy romantic scene on the wheel.

The wheel appears in the novel The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

The wheel appears in Max Ophüls' Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948).

Scenes in Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (1995) were filmed around the Prater and on the wheel.

The wheel appears in The Glass Room by Simon Mawer.

The Riesenrad appears in the film Woman in Gold (2015), about the repatriation of a Klimt portrait stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish Viennese family.

The wheel appears in Kommissar Rex the Austrian television series

Winter City in Burnout 3: Takedown is based on Vienna and includes the Riesenrad.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Riesenrad

 

French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 322. Photo: Columbia Pictures. Keanu Reeves, Michaela Bercu, Monica Bellucci and Florina Kendrick in Dracula (Francis Coppola, 1992).

 

Keanu Reeves (1964) is a Canadian actor, producer, director and musician. Though Reeves often faced criticism for his deadpan delivery and perceived limited range as an actor, he nonetheless took on roles in a variety of genres, doing everything from introspective art-house fare to action-packed thrillers. His films include My Own Private Idaho (1991), the European drama Little Buddha (1993), Speed (1994), The Matrix (1999) and John Wick (2014).

 

Keanu Charles Reeves was born in 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon. His first name means ‘cool breeze over the mountains’ in Hawaiian. His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., was a geologist of Chinese-Hawaiian heritage, and his mother, Patricia Bond (née Taylor), was a British showgirl and later a costume designer for rock stars such as Alice Cooper. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Upon his parents’ split in 1966, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim Reeves to Sydney, to New York and then to Toronto. As a child, he lived with various stepfathers, including stage and film director Paul Aaron. Keanu developed an ardor for hockey, though he would eventually turn to acting. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves dropped out of high school when he was 17. His film debut was the Canadian feature One Step Away (Robert Fortier, 1985). After a part in the teen movie Youngblood (Peter Markle, 1986), starring Rob Lowe, he obtained a green card through stepfather Paul Aaron and moved to Los Angeles. After a few minor roles, he gained attention for his performance in the dark drama River's Edge (Tim Hunter, 1986), which depicted how a murder affected a group of adolescents. Reeves landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated period drama Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988), starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. Reeves joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood (1989), and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990). Unexpectedly successful was the wacky comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989) which followed two high school students (Reeves and Alex Winter) and their time-traveling high jinks. The success lead to a TV series and a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Pete Hewitt, 1991). From then on, audiences often confused Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart.

 

In the following years, Keanu Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma. He developed an eclectic film roster that included high-budget action films like the surf thriller Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) for which he won MTV's ‘Most Desirable Male’ award in 1992, but also lower-budget art-house films. My Own Private Idaho (1991), directed by Gus Van Sant and co-starring River Phoenix, chronicled the lives of two young hustlers living on the streets. In Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Reeves embodied the calm resolute lawyer Jonathan Harker who stumbles into the lair of Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula. In Europe, he played prince Siddharta who becomes the Buddha in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Italian-French-British drama Little Buddha (1993). His career reached a new high when he starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the hit action film Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994). It was followed by the romantic drama A Walk in the Clouds (Alfonso Arau, 1995) and the supernatural thriller Devil’s Advocate (Taylor Hackford, 1997), co-starring Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. At the close of the decade, Reeves starred in a Sci-fi film that would become a genre game changer, The Matrix (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999). Reeves played the prophetic figure Neo, slated to lead humanity to freedom from an all-consuming simulated world. Known for its innovative fight sequences, avant-garde special effects and gorgeous fashion, The Matrix was an international hit. Two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999) and The Matrix Revolutions (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999) followed and The Matrix Reloaded was even a bigger financial blockbuster than its predecessor.

 

Now a major, bonafide box office star, Keanu Reeves continued to work in different genres and both in bid-budget as in small independent films. He played an abusive man in the supernatural thriller The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000), starring Cate Blanchett, a smitten doctor in the romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers, 2003) opposite Diane Keaton, and a Brit demon hunter in American-German occult detective action film Constantine (Francis Lawrence, 2005). His appearance in the animated science fiction thriller A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006), based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, received favourable reviews, and The Lake House (Alejandro Agresti, 2006) , his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, was a success at the box office. Reeves returned to Sci-fi as alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 2008), the remake of the 1951 classic. Then he played a supporting part in Rebecca Miller's The Private Life of Pippa Lee (2009), which starred Robin Wright and premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Reeves co-founded a production company, Company Films. The company helped produce Henry's Crime (Malcolm Venville, 2010), in which Reeves also starred. The actor made his directorial debut with the Chinese-American Martial arts film Man of Tai Chi (2013), partly inspired by the life of Reeves' friend, stuntman Tiger Chen. Martial arts–based themes continued in Reeves's next feature, 47 Ronin (Carl Rinsch, 2013), about a real-life group of masterless samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenged the death of their lord. Variety magazine listed 47 Ronin as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013". Reeves returned as a retired hitman in the neo-noir action thriller John Wick (Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, 2014). The film opened to positive reviews and performed well at the box office. There were two sequels, John Wick: Chapter Two2 (Chad Stahelski, 2017) with Riccardo Scamarcio, and John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (Chad Stahelski, 2019) with Halle Berry. He could also be seen in the psychological horror film The Neon Demon is (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016), the romantic horror-thriller Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2016) and Bill & Ted Face the Music (Dean Parisot, 2020), in which he reunited with Alex Winter. Reeves’ artistic aspirations are not limited to film. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the grunge band Dogstar, which released two albums. He later played bass for a band called Becky. Reeves is also a longtime motorcycle enthusiast. After asking designer Gard Hollinger to create a custom-built bike for him, the two went into business together with the formation of Arch Motorcycle Company LLC in 2011. Reported to be one of the more generous actors in Hollywood, Reeves helped care for his sister during her lengthy battle with leukemia, and has supported such organizations as Stand Up To Cancer and PETA. In January 2000, Reeves's girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth eight months into her pregnancy to Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, who was stillborn. The strain put on their relationship by their grief resulted in Reeves and Syme's breakup several weeks later. In 2001, Syme died after a car accident.

 

Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

1959; Judas by Eric Linklater. Cover artist uncredited.

French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 492. Photo: Bac Films. Uma Thurman on the French poster for Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994). Caption: Affiche du film.

 

Blonde and blue-eyed American actress Uma Thurman (1970) is best known for her roles in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. Furthermore, she starred in a wide variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films.

 

Uma Karuna Thurman was born in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally-minded family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman), a professor and academic who is one of the nation's foremost Buddhist scholars. Uma grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, where her father worked at Amherst College. Thurman's household was one in which The Dalai Lama was an occasional guest; she and her siblings all have names deriving from Buddhist mythology; and Middle American behaviour was little understood, much less pursued. And so it was that the young Thurman confronted childhood with an odd name and eccentric home life - and nature seemingly conspired against her as well. She is six feet tall, and from an early age Uma towered over everyone else in her class. The family constantly relocated, making the gangly, socially inept Thurman perpetually the new kid in class. The result was an exceptionally awkward, self-conscious, lonely, and alienated childhood. Unsurprisingly, the young Thurman enjoyed making believe she was someone other than herself, and so thrived at acting in school plays. This interest, and her lanky frame, perfect for modeling, led the 15-year-old Thurman to New York City for high school and modeling work (including a layout in Glamour Magazine) as she sought acting roles. The roles soon came. She made her film debut in the teen thriller Kiss Daddy Goodnight (Peter Ily Huemer, 1987). It was followed by Terry Gilliam's interesting box office bomb, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), starring John Neville. She made a brief appearance as the goddess Venus, and during her entrance, she briefly appears nude, in an homage to Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus'. Then followed her breakthrough in Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988) from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, which was based on the 1782 French novel 'Les liaisons dangereuses' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The period romantic drama, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer, brought much attention to her unorthodox sensuality. Her performance intriguingly combined innocence and worldliness. The weird, gangly girl became a sex symbol virtually overnight.

 

Uma Thurman continued to be offered good roles in Hollywood pictures into the early 1990s, the least commercially successful but probably best-known of which was her smoldering, astonishingly-adult performance as June, Henry Miller's wife, in Henry & June (Philip Kaufman, 1990), the first film to actually receive the dreaded NC-17 rating in the USA. After a celebrated start, Thurman's career stalled in the early 1990s with films such as the mediocre Mad Dog and Glory (John McNaughton, 1993) with Robert De Niro. Worse, her first starring role was in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Gus Van Sant, 1993), which had endured a tortured journey from cult-favorite book to big-budget film and was a critical and financial debacle. Uma bounced back with a brilliant performance as Mia Wallace, that most unorthodox of all gangster's molls, in Tarantino's lauded, hugely successful Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994). For her role, Thurman was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She took little advantage of her new-found fame by choosing not to do any big-budget films for the next three years. She starred in the independent period drama A Month by the Lake (John Irvin, 1995) opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Edward Fox, and supporting roles in which she has lent some glamorous presence to a mixed batch of films, such as Beautiful Girls (Ted Demme, 1996) with Matt Dillon, and The Truth About Cats & Dogs (Michael Lehmann, 1996). She played supervillain Poison Ivy in the reviled Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) with George Clooney, and Emma Peel opposite Ralph Fiennes as John Steed in a remake of The Avengers (Jeremiah Chechik, 1998). She worked with Woody Allen and Sean Penn on Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and starred in Richard Linklater's drama Tape (2001) opposite husband Ethan Hawke. Thurman also won a Golden Globe award for her turn in the made-for-television film Hysterical Blindness (2002), directed by Mira Nair.

 

A return to the mainstream spotlight came when Uma Thurman re-teamed with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). The two had dreamed up this two-part revenge action film on the set of Pulp Fiction (1994). Thurman starred as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) and their leader, Bill (David Carradine), after they try to kill her and her unborn child. She then turned up in the John Woo cautioner Paycheck (2003) that same year. The renewed attention was not altogether welcome because Thurman was dealing with the break-up of her marriage with Hawke at about this time. Thurman handled the situation with grace, however, and took her surging popularity in stride. She garnered critical acclaim for her work in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. The two Kill Bill films brought her two additional Golden Globe Award nominations. Thurman reunited with Pulp Fiction dance partner John Travolta for the Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1995) sequel Be Cool (F. Gary Gray, 2005). Despite a lukewarm critical reception, the film grossed US$95 million. She played Ulla in the remake of The Producers (Susan Stroman, 2005). In 2006, she was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier De l'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres) by France. For her five-episode role in the musical TV series Smash (2012), Thurman received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Her later films include Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac (2013) and The House That Jack Built (2018). She made her Broadway debut in Beau Willimon's political drama 'The Parisian Woman' (2017-2018) at Hudson Theatre. For her role, she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Leading Actress in a Play. In 2018, in a New York Times interview, Thurman revealed that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted her in 1994. Uma Thurman was briefly married to Gary Oldman, from 1990 to 1992. In 1998, she married Ethan Hawke, her co-star in the offbeat futuristic thriller Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997). The couple has two children, Levon and Maya. Hawke and Thurman filed for divorce in 2004.

 

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

8.5x11" handmade collage.

PRINTS NOW AVAILABLE. Colors vary slightly from this jpg.

samsmyth.wazala.com/

 

I had this idea while falling asleep last night and worked it up quickly to see what it would look like. A pair of posters for a pair of my all-time favorite movies. I like it.

 

sam's myth I design & drums by Sam Smith

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La Noria de Viena, también conocida como Wiener Riesenrad ("Noria de Viena" en alemán), o simplemente Riesenrad, es una noria ubicada a la entrada del Parque de Atracciones del Prater, ubicado en el parque homónimo, en el segundo distrito de Viena, Leopoldstadt.

Fue una de las primeras norias, construida en 1897 para celebrar el quincuagésimo aniversario del reinado de Francisco José de Austria. El diseño corrió a cargo del inglés Walter Bassett, lo que explica que su altura sea de 61 metros, 200 pies exactos.

La Riesenrad es, hoy en día, uno de los principales atractivos turísticos de Viena. Era considerada la noria más alta existente en el mundo, de los años 20 hasta 1985, año en que la noria Technocosmos (ahora demolida) fuera construida en Tsukuba, Japón.

Originalmente, la noria contaba con 30 góndolas, pero debido a los daños ocasionados durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, durante la reconstrucción, solo se recolocaron 15 de estas cabinas.

La noria está formada por cables de acero, los cuales trabajan a tracción. El movimiento se ejerce desde la base, moviendo la estructura perimetral de acero.

Ha sido escenario de películas tales como El tercer hombre, The Living Daylights o Antes del amanecer.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noria_de_Viena

 

The Wiener Riesenrad (German for Vienna Giant Wheel), or Riesenrad, is a 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. It is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, and symbolises the district as well as the city for many people. Constructed in 1897, it was the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985.

The Wiener Riesenrad was designed by the British engineers Harry Hitchins and Hubert Cecil Booth and constructed in 1897 by the English engineer Lieutenant Walter Bassett Bassett (1864-1907), Royal Navy, son of Charles Bassett (1834-1908), MP, of Watermouth Castle, Devon. Its purpose was to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I, and it was one of the earliest Ferris wheels ever built. Bassett's Ferris wheel manufacturing business was not a commercial success, and he died in 1907 almost bankrupt.

A permit for its demolition was issued in 1916, but because of a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, it survived.

It was built with 30 gondolas, but was severely damaged in World War II and when it was rebuilt only 15 gondolas were replaced.

The wheel is driven by a circumferential cable which leaves the wheel and passes through the drive mechanism under the base, and its spokes are steel cables, in tension.

When the 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Wiener Riesenrad was constructed in 1897, both the original 80.4-metre (264 ft) Ferris Wheel in the US (constructed 1893, demolished 1906) and the 94-metre (308 ft) Great Wheel in England (constructed 1895, demolished 1907) were taller. The 100-metre (328 ft) Grande Roue de Paris, constructed in 1900, was taller still. However, when the Grande Roue de Paris was demolished in 1920, the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel, and it remained so for the next 65 years, until the construction of the 85-metre (279 ft) Technostar in Japan in 1985.

In popular culture

The Riesenrad appeared in the post-World War II film noir The Third Man (1949)

The wheel is featured in the 1973 spy thriller Scorpio (1973)

The 1987 James Bond film, The Living Daylights features scenes throughout the Prater, around the wheel, and a lengthy romantic scene on the wheel.

The wheel appears in the novel The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

The wheel appears in Max Ophüls' Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948).

Scenes in Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (1995) were filmed around the Prater and on the wheel.

The wheel appears in The Glass Room by Simon Mawer.

The Riesenrad appears in the film Woman in Gold (2015), about the repatriation of a Klimt portrait stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish Viennese family.

The wheel appears in Kommissar Rex the Austrian television series

Winter City in Burnout 3: Takedown is based on Vienna and includes the Riesenrad.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Riesenrad

 

El Wurstelprater, más conocido como Prater, es un parque de atracciones localizado en el Prater de Viena (Austria), en el segundo distrito, Leopoldstadt.

Su atracción más famosa es la noria, conocida como Wiener Riesenrad. No obstante, el parque cuenta también con otras atracciones como montañas rusas, tiovivos o autos de choque.

La mascota del parque es Calafati, una escultura de un hombre chino de nueve metros de altura, que se encuentra junto a la noria.

El parque está abierto entre las diez de la mañana y la una de la madrugada, desde el 15 de mayo hasta el 31 de octubre. No obstante, ciertas atracciones, así como los restaurantes y los puestos de comida, están abiertos durante todo el año.

No es necesario pagar para acceder al parque, sino que se paga en cada atracción, generalmente gestionadas por familias locales.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prater_(parque_de_atracciones)

 

The Wurstelprater (Viennese "Wurstel" or "Wurschtel" = German "Hanswurst" = pantaloon) is an amusement park and section of the Wiener Prater (a park) in the second district of Vienna, Leopoldstadt.

This institution dates back to the time of the Austrian Empire, when Emperor Joseph II made the Prater (which had been serving as Imperial hunting ground until then) open to the public in 1766. Soon the first snack bars, stalls and bowling alleys opened up on the grounds and the Wurstelprater was born.

The best-known attraction is the Wiener Riesenrad, a Ferris wheel. The park also features various rides, bumper cars, carousels, roller coasters, shooting galleries, ghost trains, a Madame Tussauds wax works cabinet and much more. Apart from the rides, the park features various famous traditional Viennese restaurants (such as the Schweizerhaus and the Walfisch) and souvenir shops.

The mascot for the park is Calafati, a 9 m-tall sculpture of a Chinese man, which stands near the Wiener Riesenrad.

The park is open from 10:00 am to 1:00 am daily in its season, which runs from March 15 to October 31. Some attractions, as well as the food stands and restaurants, are open throughout the year. There is no entrance fee to get into the park; instead, each attraction charges its own fee, the attractions being individual businesses mostly owned by local families.

During the advent season, a small Christmas Market can be found on Riesenradplatz, right beside the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel at the Wurstelprater entrance. This Wintermarkt is open from mid-November till beginning of January and features traditional Christmas gifts as well as seasonal food and beverages.

The Wurstelprater is located in the Wiener Prater and can be conveniently reached by public transport (U1/U2 Praterstern) as well as by car (parking facilities available).

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wurstelprater

  

La Noria de Viena, también conocida como Wiener Riesenrad ("Noria de Viena" en alemán), o simplemente Riesenrad, es una noria ubicada a la entrada del Parque de Atracciones del Prater, ubicado en el parque homónimo, en el segundo distrito de Viena, Leopoldstadt.

Fue una de las primeras norias, construida en 1897 para celebrar el quincuagésimo aniversario del reinado de Francisco José de Austria. El diseño corrió a cargo del inglés Walter Bassett, lo que explica que su altura sea de 61 metros, 200 pies exactos.

La Riesenrad es, hoy en día, uno de los principales atractivos turísticos de Viena. Era considerada la noria más alta existente en el mundo, de los años 20 hasta 1985, año en que la noria Technocosmos (ahora demolida) fuera construida en Tsukuba, Japón.

Originalmente, la noria contaba con 30 góndolas, pero debido a los daños ocasionados durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, durante la reconstrucción, solo se recolocaron 15 de estas cabinas.

La noria está formada por cables de acero, los cuales trabajan a tracción. El movimiento se ejerce desde la base, moviendo la estructura perimetral de acero.

Ha sido escenario de películas tales como El tercer hombre, The Living Daylights o Antes del amanecer.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noria_de_Viena

 

The Wiener Riesenrad (German for Vienna Giant Wheel), or Riesenrad, is a 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. It is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, and symbolises the district as well as the city for many people. Constructed in 1897, it was the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985.

The Wiener Riesenrad was designed by the British engineers Harry Hitchins and Hubert Cecil Booth and constructed in 1897 by the English engineer Lieutenant Walter Bassett Bassett (1864-1907), Royal Navy, son of Charles Bassett (1834-1908), MP, of Watermouth Castle, Devon. Its purpose was to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I, and it was one of the earliest Ferris wheels ever built. Bassett's Ferris wheel manufacturing business was not a commercial success, and he died in 1907 almost bankrupt.

A permit for its demolition was issued in 1916, but because of a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, it survived.

It was built with 30 gondolas, but was severely damaged in World War II and when it was rebuilt only 15 gondolas were replaced.

The wheel is driven by a circumferential cable which leaves the wheel and passes through the drive mechanism under the base, and its spokes are steel cables, in tension.

When the 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Wiener Riesenrad was constructed in 1897, both the original 80.4-metre (264 ft) Ferris Wheel in the US (constructed 1893, demolished 1906) and the 94-metre (308 ft) Great Wheel in England (constructed 1895, demolished 1907) were taller. The 100-metre (328 ft) Grande Roue de Paris, constructed in 1900, was taller still. However, when the Grande Roue de Paris was demolished in 1920, the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel, and it remained so for the next 65 years, until the construction of the 85-metre (279 ft) Technostar in Japan in 1985.

In popular culture

The Riesenrad appeared in the post-World War II film noir The Third Man (1949)

The wheel is featured in the 1973 spy thriller Scorpio (1973)

The 1987 James Bond film, The Living Daylights features scenes throughout the Prater, around the wheel, and a lengthy romantic scene on the wheel.

The wheel appears in the novel The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

The wheel appears in Max Ophüls' Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948).

Scenes in Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (1995) were filmed around the Prater and on the wheel.

The wheel appears in The Glass Room by Simon Mawer.

The Riesenrad appears in the film Woman in Gold (2015), about the repatriation of a Klimt portrait stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish Viennese family.

The wheel appears in Kommissar Rex the Austrian television series

Winter City in Burnout 3: Takedown is based on Vienna and includes the Riesenrad.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Riesenrad

 

Tautology (2011) by Duane Linklater, artist of Cree heritage, A depiction of a Thunderbird in neon. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Vintage postcard in the Movie's Images series, no. 53. Winona Ryder in Alien - Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997).

 

Delicate American actress Winona Ryder (1971) is known for her dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She starred in films such as Beetlejuice Heathers, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Edward Scissorhands, and the television series Stranger Things. In 1994, she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Age of Innocence (1993), and Ryder was nominated twice for an Oscar.

 

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Winona (Olmsted County), Minnesota, in 1971. Yes, her name is very much the same as her birthplace. Her parents, Cindy Horowitz (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller, were part of the hippie movement. She has a brother named Uri Horowitz (1976), who got his first name after Yuri Gagarin, a half-sister named Sunyata Palmer (1968), and a half-brother named Jubal Palmer (1970) from her mother Cindy's first marriage. From 1978, Winona grew up in a commune near Mendocino in California, which had no electricity. When Winona was seven, her mother began to manage an old cinema in a nearby barn and would screen films all day. She allowed Winona to miss school to watch movies with her. In 1981, the family moved to Petaluma, California. Since Winona was considered an outsider in public school, she was sent to a public school and later to the American Conservatory Theater acting school. She was discovered at the age of thirteen by a talent scout at a theatre performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1985, she applied for a role in the film Desert Bloom (David Seltzer, 1986) with a video in which she performed a monologue from the book 'Franny and Zooey' by J. D. Salinger. Although the casting choice was fellow actress Annabeth Gish, director and writer David Seltzer recognised her talent and cast her as Rina in his film Lucas (David Seltzer, 1986) about a teenager (Corey Haim) and his life in high school. When telephoned to ask what name she wanted to be called in the credits, she chose Ryder as her stage name because her father's Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels album was playing in the background. Her real hair colour is blonde but when she made Lucas (1986), her hair color was dyed black. She was told to keep it that colour and with the exception of Edward Scissorhands (1990), it has stayed that color since. Her next film was Square Dance (Daniel Petrie, 1987), in which the protagonist she portrays lives a life between two worlds: on a traditional farm and in a big city. Ryder's performance received good reviews, although neither film was a commercial success. Her acting in Lucas led director Tim Burton to cast her in his film Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988). In this comedy, she played Lydia Deetz, who moves with her family into a house inhabited by ghosts (played by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton). Ryder, as well as the film, received positive reviews, and Beetlejuice was also successful at the box office. In 1989, she starred as Veronica Sawyer in the independent film Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989) about a couple (Ryder and Christian Slater) who kill popular schoolgirls. Ryder's agent had previously advised her against the role. The film was a financial failure, but Ryder received positive reviews. The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! (Jim McBride, 1989) was also a flop. That same year, Ryder appeared in Mojo Nixon's music video 'Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child'. At the premiere of Great Balls of Fire (1989), Ryder met fellow actor and later film partner Johnny Depp. The couple became engaged a few months later, but their relationship ended in 1993. He had a tattoo of her name and after they broke up, he had this reduced to "Wino forever".

 

In 1990, Winona Ryder had her breakthrough performance alongside her boyfriend Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990). The fantasy film was an international box-office success. Ryder was selected for the role of Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Welcome Home Roxy (Jim Abrahams, 1990) and Mermaids (Richard Benjamin, 1990) back-to-back. Ryder's performance alongside Cher and Christina Ricci in the family comedy Mermaids (1990) was praised by critics and she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Ryder also appeared with Cher and Ricci in the music video for 'The Shoop Shoop Song', the film's theme song. Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote a role specifically for her in Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991), as a tattooed, chain-smoking cabdriver who dreams of becoming a mechanic. Ryder was cast in a dual role as Mina Murray and Elisabeta in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992). In 1993, she starred as Blanca in the drama The House of the Spirits (Bille August, 1993) alongside Antonio Banderas, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. It is the film adaptation of Isabel Allende's bestseller of the same name. Together with Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis, she starred in Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993), the film adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel. She was Martin Scorsese's first and only choice for the role of May Welland. For years, she kept the message he left on her voicemail, informing her she got the role. Her part earned her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and an Oscar nomination. She also earned positive reviews for her role in the comedy Reality Bites (Ben Stiller, 1994). She received critical acclaim and another Oscar nomination the same year as Jo in the drama Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994). In 1996, she starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Joan Allen in The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), an adaptation of Arthur Miller's stage play about the Puritan witch hunt in Salem. The film was not a success; however, Ryder's performance was favourably reviewed. A year later she portrayed an android in the successful horror film Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997) alongside Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. In 1998 she starred in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998). after Drew Barrymore turned down the role. In 1999 she starred as a psychiatric patient with borderline syndrome in the drama Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999), based on Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical novel. Girl, Interrupted, the first film on which she served as executive producer, was supposed to be Ryder's comeback in Hollywood after the flops of the past years. However, the film became the breakthrough for her colleague Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar for her role. In this decade, she was involved with Dave Pirner, the lead singer of the group Soul Asylum, from 1993 to 1996 and with Matt Damon from December 1997 to April 2000.

 

Winona Ryder appeared alongside Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (Joan Chen, 2000), a romance about an older man's love for a younger woman. She also made a cameo appearance in the comedy Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2000). The comedy Mr. Deeds (Steven Brill, 2002) with Adam Sandler became her biggest financial success to date. The film failed with critics and Ryder was nominated for the Golden Raspberry award. Also in 2002, she was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of work for repeatedly shoplifting $5,000 worth of clothes. The incident caused a career setback. She withdrew from the public eye in the following years and did not appear in front of the camera again until 2006. In that year, she appeared in the novel adaptation A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006) alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson. In 2009, she made an appearance in Star Trek: The Future Begins (J. J. Abrams, 2009) as Spock (Zachary Quinto)'s mother Amanda Grayson. The prequel became a huge success at the box office and Ryder earned a Scream Award for Best Guest Appearance. She also appeared alongside Robin Wright and Julianne Moore in Rebecca Miller's Pippa Lee (2009), and alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). Ryder starred in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (John Kent Harrison, 2010), for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in the comedy The Dilemma (Ron Howard, 2011), and the thrillers The Iceman (Ariel Vromen, 2012), and The Letter (Jay Anania, 2012) opposite James Franco. In Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (2012) she lent her voice to the character Elsa Van Helsing. Since 2016, she has embodied the main character, Joyce Byers, in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016-2022), for which she received positive responses. Her role in the series has been described by many as a comeback. Since 2011 Winona Ryder is in a relationship with Scott MacKinlay Hahn.

 

Sources: Pedro Borges (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

The story of the Elibank Castle reads like a ripping yarn. She was one of the earliest vessels built in the Great Lakes Area of NSW. This image shows Teste Island in the Louisiade Archipelago, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Teste was one of the islands visited on each of the two voyages undertaken by the Elibank Castle in 1884 and 1885.

 

To fully present the astounding events surrounding this vessel a report is presented for each of three periods in her short life:

- grounding in New Zealand in 1875

- first trip to the Pacific Islands in 1884

- final trip to the Islands in 1885

 

A map of the voyage after the massacre in May 1885 is presented in this post.

 

Section 1 deals specifically with her movement to New Zealand and subsequent grounding. Section 1

Section 2 deals with her first visit to the Pacific Islands in late 1884 and the murder of 5 crew members, including the captain. Section 2

Section 3 deals with her second and final visit to the Pacific Islands in 1885 when all but two of the crew were murdered - the survivors sailed the ship to New Guinea and were forced to abandon her and take to the long boat. Only one man survived and he turned up in Cooktown; seven months after the massacre in the Solomon Islands.

 

Details

Name: Elibank Castle

Type: Topsail Schooner – two masts

Official Number: ON 71811

Registered Sydney 3/1875

Length: 80 ft

Breadth: 18.5 ft

Depth: 6.85 ft

Registered net tonnage: 69.62 tons

Builders: William Peat and Donald Cameron

Location: Coolongolook, NSW.

Launched: September 1874 (no specific record)

 

Owners:

1875 – 1877 James Mathew Banks (NZ)

Registered in Wellington, New Zealand (2/1875)

Stranded Ninety Mile Beach; Recovered

Registered in Wellington New Zealand (10/1875)

1877 – 1879 George Parkman Austing (NZ)

Registered Dunedin, New Zealand (17/1877)

1879 – 1880 James Anderson (NZ)

1880 – 1884 Keith Ramsay, John Graham & James Anderson (NZ)

1884 - Capt. Augustus Otto Wilhelm Routch

Registered in Sydney 114/1884

 

Early Life

The Elibank Castle was built by William Peat and Donald Cameron on the banks of the Coolongolook River at Coolongolook. No details of her launch have been found but a report from 7th September 1874 indicated that launching was imminent.

"Peat and Cameron's vessel now building at the Coolongolook is nearly ready for launching. She is a pretty model and right well put together with well seasoned timber, and bids fair to prove a first class little craft to brave the dangers of the coast. September 7, 1874." The Maitland Mercury - 19 September 1874.

 

SECTION 3 - SECOND TRIP TO PACIFIC ISLANDS - 1885

 

After the deaths of one crew member on Bentley Island, and five crew members at Banyetta Point on Rendova Island it seems inconceivable that the owner of the Elibank Castle would embark on a second voyage to the South Pacific only a few months after her return to Australia.

 

Events on Teste Island

The owner, Captain Augustus Routch, effected repairs and set off for the Islands on 6th April 1885 - this time Captain Routch was command. Once again the Elibank Castle landed on Teste Island and Bentley Island; in this instance there was no problems. William Reid and John McCord had been left on Bentley Island after the first visit, with the aim of establishing a copra station for Captain Routch. The murder of Reid had been reported earlier in a letter from John McCord sent via the Wild Duck to Cooktown.

McCord, had travelled from Bentley Island to a nearby island to give information to the missionary, and falling ill of fever on the way was taken charge of by the missionary. McCord was ultimately sent on to Cooktown in a beche-de-mer trading boat and was no longer in the vicinity when Routch arrived on the second voyage.

 

Captain Routch continued to trace the earlier voyage east but was unable to land on the Goodwin Islands and continued to the Solomon Islands. The location is not known but probably not Point Banyetta where five of his crew were murdered just a few months previously. The events that were about to unfold defy imagination.

 

Events in the Solomon Islands

It was not until 3rd December 1885 that any reports of the fate of the Elibank Caste were known. The steamer Maranoa, which arrived from Cooktown, brought the only survivor from the schooner Elibank Castle, the captain and all hands except himself and another crew member having been massacred at the Solomon Islands on the 17th or 18th of May. One man, Hugh Gildie, survived the massacre but died on the long journey back after the Elibank Castle was abandoned on a reef in New Guinea. The only survivor, David Brown, supplied the following details:

The vessel started on the 6th of April last. She duly reached Teste Island, where a boat belonging to them had been left on the last voyage. The boat was taken on board and sail was made for Bentley Island, where the station had been previously formed and the two men left. It was ascertained, however, that one of these men, named William Reid, had been killed by a neighbouring tribe of hostile natives. The other man, McCord, went to an island in the vicinity to give information to the missionary, and falling ill of fever on the way was taken charge of by the missionary. He was ultimately sent on to Cooktown in a beche-de-mer trading boat. Sail was made from Bentley to the Goodwins, but the weather going bad and the ship's gear giving way, they put into one of the Solomon Islands for shelter in order to effect repair. While there 15 or 20 natives came on board, and Captain Routch, thinking it would be a good opportunity for taking in a supply of firewood, began to bargain with the natives. He showed them a quantity of "trade," comprising knives, tomahawks, beads, and calico, on seeing which they "completely went off their heads," to use the narrator's own words. This was on the 17th or 18th May last. All hands at the time were fixing the topmast rigging, and Brown, who was suffering from rheumatism in the shoulders, had just descended, and was in the forecastle rubbing his shoulders with oil, when he heard loud cries on deck of " Murder !" He hastily seized his revolver, which was in his bunk, and ran upon deck. On arriving there he was struck on the head with a tomahawk by a native. A gash was cut over his left temple. He at once took in the situation, and rushed below for shelter. A few seconds afterwards Hugh Gildie, another seaman, rushed below, with the blood streaming from a terrible gash in his face, inflicted in a similar manner, one side of his face being laid completely open. He fainted immediately after reaching the forecastle. Brown drew him clear of the ''scuttle," so that the natives could not get access to him. The two men remained quiet in the forecastle until dark, the attack having taken place about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. When darkness had set in, hearing no further noise, Brown and Gildie, who were very feeble and bleeding terribly, went through the bulkhead, and into the hold of the vessel. They then crawled up through the fore-hatch, and having gained the deck, saw a light in the cabin. Not knowing whether they were natives or some of the crew, Gildie cautiously crept aft on the starboard, and Brown on the port side. On arriving near the poop a native's head was seen to emerge from the companion-way. Brown took aim, but the revolver missed fire. The native then rushed at Brown, and seized hold of him, and in the struggle the revolver went off, and blew off a portion of Brown's left hand. He then sang out to Gildie to fire. Gildie fired, and shot the native in the head, who then rushed headlong down the companion-way into the cabin.

It was apparent that there was only one other native in the cabin. This man rushed up the steps, armed with a cutlass which he had procured below. The seamen, however, closed the companion-way, and made the natives prisoners in the cabin. The natives had not the sense to extinguish the lights in the cabin, hence they made themselves good marks for the men in the dark on deck. The latter removed the plug from the stove-pipe and, watching for an opportunity, shot both natives dead. It was then that the men discovered the horrible details of the massacre that had taken place. The captain and crew, taken unawares, had actually nothing with which to defend themselves. The dead body of Captain Routch lay bathed in blood, a gash extending across his face from eye to eye, and his eyeballs laid open and hanging in close proximity to his mouth. Only one tomahawk gash had been inflicted, but the stroke had done its deadly work. Near his body was that of the mate with his skull cleft open. Pools of blood were lying all over the deck. A coloured man named George Richards was also lying in a pool of blood, with a huge gash across his forehead. The native "boy" obtained at the Goodwins also lay dead, with his head completely split open. In all these cases, one stroke only had been inflicted, but it was sufficient to prove fatal, owing to the dexterity with which those savages have learned to wield the tomahawk. The cook, a coloured man, a native of Demarara, was next found. His head was hacked and chopped in several places, and numerous gashes were also inflicted across the back of his shoulders, evidently from someone behind. All this ghastly inspection took place in the darkness, with the assistance of a bull's eye lantern. The cable was then slipped, and the vessel put to sea. The bodies were sewn up in canvas, and were then cast overboard. In the meantime, the men dressed each other's wounds, but their sufferings were terrible. Gildie was completely stricken down and helpless. The vessel drifted about for a week or ten days, and Brown's wounds having improved, the sails were trimmed and a course was steered for New Guinea.

 

Brown and Gildie steer the Elibank Castle towards New Guinea

They had ample provisions on the ship, but Brown was compelled to do the whole of the work himself, Gildie having fallen into a petulant and indifferent mood. Added to this was the fact that serious symptoms began to appear in Brown's wound, one effect being almost total blindness. After being a considerable time at sea they sighted land, which afterwards proved to be the north-east coast of New Guinea. For more than a week they made an attempt to beat to windward in order to make the land, the wind during the time blowing heavily. On one occasion, at night, the vessel got on a reef, where she remained for a couple of hours, after which she again floated. It was then found that she had sprung a leak, and was making water. There was only one pump on board, and that a very inferior one. Brown remained at the pump as long as his time and strength would permit, but it was found that the water was steadily gaining on them. In consequence of this, and owing to the entreaties of Gildie, they determined to leave the ship. Gildie stated he had been in the vicinity of New Guinea before, and assured Brown that eight or nine days would be the outside limit in which they would have to remain in the open boat.

 

Brown and Gildie abandon Elibank Castle and take to open boat

Accordingly, sometime between the 14th and 17th July, as near as Brown could reckon, they lowered the boat — an ordinary open boat from 16 feet to 18 feet long. They put between 60 lb and 70 lb of ship biscuit, in tins, and a cask and two kerosene tins containing between six and nine gallons of water into her. They also took two charts, a guide book, and a compass, in addition to oars and sails. They then sailed for the south-west portion of New Guinea, the wind being more favourable to this course. Brown states that Gildie then became totally indifferent, and, although his wounds were almost healed, he declined to assist in working the boat. On approaching the south-west coast, they encountered symptoms of the south-east monsoon, which prevails at that time of the year. The boat was fitted with an ordinary jib and main sail.

 

Hugh Gildie knocked out of boat and drowns

They steered for Dampier Straits, which they passed through. Here they encountered a severe gale from the south-east. They ran for shelter to the lee of the island of Battanta, and when rounding a point on this island, the boat jibed, and Gildie, who was sitting at the tiller, was knocked overboard by the boom, which struck him on the chest. This was on the 20th day after leaving the ship. Brown attempted to put the boat about, but on going to the tiller, found the rudder had slipped off the lower gudgeon, and consequently would not steer the boat. Gildie, who was swimming well, repeatedly called out for assistance, but the gale was so strong that Brown was utterly powerless to assist him, and the boat quickly passed away to leeward, and Brown soon lost sight of poor Gildie, who was left to perish.

 

Brown in a bad state after losing Gildie

Brown says that from this time he lost all heart, and allowed the boat to drift about "wherever God sent him." Next day he saw an island, which he ran for, and anchored under its lee for shelter; but the boat dragged the anchor, and again drifted to leeward. There were several small islands in the vicinity, but he was afraid to land, as he feared there might be natives who would prove hostile. At length he got close under the lee of one of them, and made up his mind to go ashore. He landed, but could find neither water nor coconuts. He found a quantity of clayey rock, into which he cut a well with his cutlass, and got about half a gallon of water. However, as he states, the provisions in the boat would not allow him to waste any time on shore, as it was either a question of dying there from starvation, or of risking being drowned to save himself. He accordingly embarked again, his provisions now amounting to about 15 lb of biscuits and 3 gallons of water. The biscuits, as stated, were kept in tins, and unfortunately, with the action of the salt water, the bottoms became unsoldered, and all the bread was spoiled by the salt water. The kerosene tins rusted in the bottom, and all his fresh water was consequently spoiled through standing in a quantity of salt water. His feelings could be better imagined than described on making this discovery. He tried to eat the damaged bread, but could not do so, and the water was also undrinkable. Fortunately he captured a quantity of flying fish which leapt into his boat at night, lured thither by a bull's-eye lantern. The only comfort he had to depend on was his tobacco and pipe, he having taken on board a good supply of the weed, together with matches. However, one night, while catching the fish in the manner described, the lantern was knocked overboard through the boom coming in contact with it. He was then totally deprived of his means of sustenance. His mental as well as his physical agony were almost unbearable He dried the fish in the sun, but found this left them too salty to be eatable. He then says:—" I then knocked about indifferently from island to island, was five days without either food or drink, and at last said my prayers, as I thought, for the last time."

 

Brown sees islands and seeks help

About two hours afterwards he came in sight of a group of small islands. He sailed round one island, and at length landed, and found a native village. The natives appeared friendly, and from signs which he made they supplied him with water and coconuts, which were the only provisions obtainable. They told him there was a vessel lying up a river in the island, and he ultimately induced them to take him thither. He says by this time he had become so dazed, and he was so weak, that he could not see the vessel until he was alongside of it. He reached the brig on the 21st of September, 65 days after he left the schooner. The islands proved to be the Kaye group, and the vessel was a Dutch trader, engaged in carrying firewood from one Dutch settlement to the other. The brig then took him to a Dutch settlement called Kydoela, on the other side of the island, and here a Dutch mail boat, called the Amboyna, took him to Singapore, via Sourabaya and other Dutch ports. He was then brought by the China steamer Kildare from Singapore to Cooktown, where he transhipped into the Maranoa, for Brisbane. He had a quantity of papers and documents, the property of the murdered captain. These were detained by the Consul at Singapore, but will be forwarded on to Sydney in due course. Brown speaks highly of the treatment accorded him ever since he was picked up by the Dutch brig." Brisbane Courier," December 5, 1885.

 

Image Source: State Library Victoria - image 794877792

 

Acknowledgements: The assistance of Mori Flapan (Mori Flapan boatregister) by providing access to his extensive database is greatly appreciated.

 

All Images in this photostream are Copyright - Great Lakes Manning River Shipping and/or their individual owners as may be stated above and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or used in any way without prior written approval.

 

GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flick Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List

  

West-German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 4608. Photo: Terb-Agency.

 

American actress Shirley MacLaine (1934) is among Hollywood's most unique stars. With her auburn hair cut impishly short, she made her film debut in Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955). She earned Oscar nominations for Some Came Running (1959), for Billy Wilder's The Apartment, and for Irma La Douce (1963). Later triumphs included Sweet Charity! (1969), The Turning Point (1977), Being There (1979) and Terms of Endearment (1983). And she's still going strong.

 

Shirley MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in 1934 in Richmond, USA. She was the daughter of drama coach and former actress Kathlyn MacLean Beaty and Ira O. Beaty, a professor of psychology and philosophy. Her younger brother, Warren Beatty, also grew up to be an important Hollywood figure as an actor/director/producer and screenwriter. MacLaine took dance lessons from age two, first performed publicly at age four, and at 16 went to New York, making her Broadway debut as a chorus girl in Me and Juliet (1953). When not scrambling for theatrical work, MacLaine worked as a model. Her big break came in 1954 when she was understudying Broadway actress Carol Haney in The Pajama Game. Haney fractured her ankle, MacLaine replaced her and was spotted, and offered a movie contract by producer Hal Wallis. Her film debut was Alfred Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955). Later that year, she co-starred opposite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the comedy Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955). In her next feature, Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Anderson, 1956), she appeared as an Indian princess. The film was completed not too long before her daughter, Sachi Parker (born Stephanie), was born. Father was her husband Steve Parker, whom she had married in 1954 and would divorce in 1982.

 

Shirley MacLaine earned her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a pathetic tart who shocks a conservative town by showing up on the arm of young war hero Frank Sinatra in Some Came Running (Vincente Minnelli, 1959). She then got the opportunity to show off her long legs and dancing talents in Can-Can (Walter Lang, 1960). Prior to that, she appeared in a bit part with Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford in Oceans Eleven (Lewis Milestone, 1960). MacLaine, the only female member of the famed group, would later recount her experiences with them in her seventh book My Lucky Stars. In 1960, she won her second Oscar nomination for Billy Wilder's comedy/drama The Apartment, and the third nomination for Irma La Douce (Billy Wilder, 1963), both opposite Jack Lemmon. MacLaine's career was in high gear during the 1960s, with her appearing in everything from dramas to madcap comedies to musicals such as What a Way to Go! (J. Lee Thompson, 1964) and Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity! (1969). In addition to her screen work, she actively participated in Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign and served as a Democratic Convention delegate. She was similarly involved in George McGovern's 1972 campaign.

 

Bored by sitting around on movie sets all day awaiting her scenes, Shirley MacLaine started writing down her thoughts and was thus inspired to add writing to her list of talents. She published her first book, Don't Fall Off the Mountain in 1970. She next tried her hand at series television in 1971, starring in the comedy Shirley's World (1971-72) as a globe-trotting photographer. The role reflected her real-life reputation as a world traveller, and these experiences resulted in her second book Don't Fall Off the Mountain and the documentary The Other Half of the Sky - A China Memoir (1975) which she scripted, produced, and co-directed with Claudia Weill. MacLaine returned to Broadway in 1976 with a spectacular one-woman show A Gypsy in My Soul, and the following year entered a new phase in her career playing a middle-aged former ballerina who regrets leaving dance to live a middle-class life in The Turning Point (Herbert Ross, 1977). It meant her fourth Best Actress Oscar nomination. MacLaine was also memorable starring as a lonely political wife opposite Peter Sellers' simple-minded gardener in Being There (Hal Asby, 1979), but did not again attract too much attention until she played the over-protective, eccentric widow Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks, 1983). After 20 years in the film industry, she finally took home the Best Actress Oscar for this role. In 1983, she also published the candid Out on a Limb, bravely risking public ridicule by describing her experiences and theories concerning out-of-body travel and reincarnation.

 

Shirley MacLaine's film appearances were sporadic through the mid-'80s, although she did appear in a few television specials. In 1988, she came back strong with three great roles in Madame Sousatzka (John Schlesinger, 1988), Steel Magnolias (Herbert Ross, 1989), and particularly Postcards from the Edge (Mike Nichols, 1990), in which she played a fading star clinging to her own career while helping her daughter (Meryl Streep), a drug-addicted, self-destructive actress. Through the '90s, MacLaine specialized in playing rather crusty and strong-willed eccentrics, such as her title character in the comedy Guarding Tess (Hugh Wilson, 1994). In 1997, MacLaine stole scenes as a wise grande dame who helps pregnant, homeless Ricki Lake in Mrs. Winterbourne (Richard Benjamin, 1997), and the same year revived Aurora Greenway in The Evening Star (Robert Harling, 1997), the critically maligned sequel to Terms of Endearment. MacLaine's onscreen performances were few and far between in the first half of the next decade, but in 2005 she returned in relatively full force, appearing in three features. She took on a pair of grandmother roles in the comedy-dramas In Her Shoes (Curtis Hanson, 2005) and Rumor Has It... (Rob Reiner, 2005), and was a perfect fit for the part of Endora in the big-screen take on the classic sitcom Bewitched (Nora Ephron, 2005). In the coming years, McLaine would continue to give critically acclaimed performances in movies like Coco Chanel (Christian Duguay, 2008), Valentine's Day, (Garry Marshall, 2010), and Bernie (Richard Linklater, 2011). For a long time, MacLaine did seminars on her books, but in the mid-'90s stopped giving talks, claiming she did not want "to be anyone's guru." She does, however, continue writing and remains a popular writer. For 2015, four new films with her are announced or in pre-production.

 

Sources: AllMovie, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

British postcard by Heroes Publishing LTD, London, no SPC 2856.

 

Delicate American actress Winona Ryder (1971) is known for her dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She starred in films such as Heathers (1989), Beetlejuice (1990), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997), Black Swan (2010), and the television series Stranger Things (2016-2022). In 1994, she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Age of Innocence (1993), and Ryder was nominated twice for an Oscar.

 

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Winona (Olmsted County), Minnesota, in 1971. Yes, her name is very much the same as her birthplace. Her parents, Cindy Horowitz (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller, were part of the hippie movement. She has a brother named Uri Horowitz (1976), who got his first name after Yuri Gagarin, a half-sister named Sunyata Palmer (1968), and a half-brother named Jubal Palmer (1970) from her mother Cindy's first marriage. From 1978, Winona grew up in a commune near Mendocino in California, which had no electricity. When Winona was seven, her mother began to manage an old cinema in a nearby barn and would screen films all day. She allowed Winona to miss school to watch movies with her. In 1981, the family moved to Petaluma, California. Since Winona was considered an outsider in public school, she was sent to a public school and later to the American Conservatory Theater acting school. She was discovered at the age of thirteen by a talent scout at a theatre performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1985, she applied for a role in the film Desert Bloom (David Seltzer, 1986) with a video in which she performed a monologue from the book 'Franny and Zooey' by J. D. Salinger. Although the casting choice was fellow actress Annabeth Gish, director and writer David Seltzer recognised her talent and cast her as Rina in his film Lucas (David Seltzer, 1986) about a teenager (Corey Haim) and his life in high school. When telephoned to ask what name she wanted to be called in the credits, she chose Ryder as her stage name because her father's Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels album was playing in the background. Her real hair colour is blonde but when she made Lucas (1986), her hair color was dyed black. She was told to keep it that colour and with the exception of Edward Scissorhands (1990), it has stayed that color since. Her next film was Square Dance (Daniel Petrie, 1987), in which the protagonist she portrays lives a life between two worlds: on a traditional farm and in a big city. Ryder's performance received good reviews, although neither film was a commercial success. Her acting in Lucas led director Tim Burton to cast her in his film Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988). In this comedy, she played Lydia Deetz, who moves with her family into a house inhabited by ghosts (played by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton). Ryder, as well as the film, received positive reviews, and Beetlejuice was also successful at the box office. In 1989, she starred as Veronica Sawyer in the independent film Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989) about a couple (Ryder and Christian Slater) who kill popular schoolgirls. Ryder's agent had previously advised her against the role. The film was a financial failure, but Ryder received positive reviews. The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! (Jim McBride, 1989) was also a flop. That same year, Ryder appeared in Mojo Nixon's music video 'Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child'. At the premiere of Great Balls of Fire (1989), Ryder met fellow actor and later film partner Johnny Depp. The couple became engaged a few months later, but their relationship ended in 1993. He had a tattoo of her name and after they broke up, he had this reduced to "Wino forever".

 

In 1990, Winona Ryder had her breakthrough performance alongside her boyfriend Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990). The fantasy film was an international box-office success. Ryder was selected for the role of Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Welcome Home Roxy (Jim Abrahams, 1990) and Mermaids (Richard Benjamin, 1990) back-to-back. Ryder's performance alongside Cher and Christina Ricci in the family comedy Mermaids (1990) was praised by critics and she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Ryder also appeared with Cher and Ricci in the music video for 'The Shoop Shoop Song', the film's theme song. Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote a role specifically for her in Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991), as a tattooed, chain-smoking cabdriver who dreams of becoming a mechanic. Ryder was cast in a dual role as Mina Murray and Elisabeta in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992). In 1993, she starred as Blanca in the drama The House of the Spirits (Bille August, 1993) alongside Antonio Banderas, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. It is the film adaptation of Isabel Allende's bestseller of the same name. Together with Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis, she starred in Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993), the film adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel. She was Martin Scorsese's first and only choice for the role of May Welland. For years, she kept the message he left on her voicemail, informing her she got the role. Her part earned her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and an Oscar nomination. She also earned positive reviews for her role in the comedy Reality Bites (Ben Stiller, 1994). She received critical acclaim and another Oscar nomination the same year as Jo in the drama Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994). In 1996, she starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Joan Allen in The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), an adaptation of Arthur Miller's stage play about the Puritan witch hunt in Salem. The film was not a success; however, Ryder's performance was favourably reviewed. A year later she portrayed an android in the successful horror film Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997) alongside Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. In 1998 she starred in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998). after Drew Barrymore turned down the role. In 1999 she starred as a psychiatric patient with borderline syndrome in the drama Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999), based on Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical novel. Girl, Interrupted, the first film on which she served as executive producer, was supposed to be Ryder's comeback in Hollywood after the flops of the past years. However, the film became the breakthrough for her colleague Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar for her role. In this decade, she was involved with Dave Pirner, the lead singer of the group Soul Asylum, from 1993 to 1996 and with Matt Damon from December 1997 to April 2000.

 

Winona Ryder appeared alongside Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (Joan Chen, 2000), a romance about an older man's love for a younger woman. She also made a cameo appearance in the comedy Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2000). The comedy Mr. Deeds (Steven Brill, 2002) with Adam Sandler became her biggest financial success to date. The film failed with critics and Ryder was nominated for the Golden Raspberry award. Also in 2002, she was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of work for repeatedly shoplifting $5,000 worth of clothes. The incident caused a career setback. She withdrew from the public eye in the following years and did not appear in front of the camera again until 2006. In that year, she appeared in the novel adaptation A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006) alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson. In 2009, she made an appearance in Star Trek: The Future Begins (J. J. Abrams, 2009) as Spock (Zachary Quinto)'s mother Amanda Grayson. The prequel became a huge success at the box office and Ryder earned a Scream Award for Best Guest Appearance. She also appeared alongside Robin Wright and Julianne Moore in Rebecca Miller's Pippa Lee (2009), and alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). Ryder starred in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (John Kent Harrison, 2010), for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in the comedy The Dilemma (Ron Howard, 2011), and the thrillers The Iceman (Ariel Vromen, 2012), and The Letter (Jay Anania, 2012) opposite James Franco. In Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (2012) she lent her voice to the character Elsa Van Helsing. Since 2016, she has embodied the main character, Joyce Byers, in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016-2022), for which she received positive responses. Her role in the series has been described by many as a comeback. Since 2011 Winona Ryder is in a relationship with Scott MacKinlay Hahn.

 

Sources: Pedro Borges (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

A superb painting from Barrie.R.Linklater. Britsh painter /illustrator from 1931- 2017 from A Fokker Frindship, registration

VH-TFE This aircraft had its first flight on 21 december 1959 and served many masters. Till she was pulled douwn in december 1996 . This painting from the CASH collection CiviL Aviation Historical Society & Airways Museum Australia.

More history of this F27 can be found here. flightaware.com/live/flight/VHTFE

 

And here www.aussieairliners.org/f-27/vh-tfe/vhtfe.html

   

Street shooter or travel(ing) photographer? Click through to DearSusan - a Web site specifically for travellers and street shooters. That means lots of urban images, some landscapes and the latest camera and lens reviews.

Also on DearSusan you will find the InSight city guides; informative where-to-go and what-to-see PDF-based books for the travelling photographer. If you're planning to visit London, Tokyo, Singapore, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Cape Town, George Town (Penang) or Istanbul, these guides are available for immediate sale/download and show you a city the tourists don't see. Coming soon are Paris and Edinburgh. The InSight Guides are here: www.dearsusan.net/dearsusan-insight-guides/

 

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Please contact me if you would like to arrange a commercial use, or purchase a print of this photograph.

Vintage postcard by iauioasinu, no. 0042.

 

Delicate American actress Winona Ryder (1971) is known for her dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She starred in films such as Beetlejuice Heathers, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Edward Scissorhands, and the television series Stranger Things. In 1994, she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Age of Innocence (1993), and Ryder was nominated twice for an Oscar.

 

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Winona (Olmsted County), Minnesota, in 1971. Yes, her name is very much the same as her birthplace. Her parents, Cindy Horowitz (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller, were part of the hippie movement. She has a brother named Uri Horowitz (1976), who got his first name after Yuri Gagarin, a half-sister named Sunyata Palmer (1968), and a half-brother named Jubal Palmer (1970) from her mother Cindy's first marriage. From 1978, Winona grew up in a commune near Mendocino in California, which had no electricity. When Winona was seven, her mother began to manage an old cinema in a nearby barn and would screen films all day. She allowed Winona to miss school to watch movies with her. In 1981, the family moved to Petaluma, California. Since Winona was considered an outsider in public school, she was sent to a public school and later to the American Conservatory Theater acting school. She was discovered at the age of thirteen by a talent scout at a theatre performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1985, she applied for a role in the film Desert Bloom (David Seltzer, 1986) with a video in which she performed a monologue from the book 'Franny and Zooey' by J. D. Salinger. Although the casting choice was fellow actress Annabeth Gish, director and writer David Seltzer recognised her talent and cast her as Rina in his film Lucas (David Seltzer, 1986) about a teenager (Corey Haim) and his life in high school. When telephoned to ask what name she wanted to be called in the credits, she chose Ryder as her stage name because her father's Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels album was playing in the background. Her real hair colour is blonde but when she made Lucas (1986), her hair color was dyed black. She was told to keep it that colour and with the exception of Edward Scissorhands (1990), it has stayed that color since. Her next film was Square Dance (Daniel Petrie, 1987), in which the protagonist she portrays lives a life between two worlds: on a traditional farm and in a big city. Ryder's performance received good reviews, although neither film was a commercial success. Her acting in Lucas led director Tim Burton to cast her in his film Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988). In this comedy, she played Lydia Deetz, who moves with her family into a house inhabited by ghosts (played by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton). Ryder, as well as the film, received positive reviews, and Beetlejuice was also successful at the box office. In 1989, she starred as Veronica Sawyer in the independent film Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989) about a couple (Ryder and Christian Slater) who kill popular schoolgirls. Ryder's agent had previously advised her against the role. The film was a financial failure, but Ryder received positive reviews. The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! (Jim McBride, 1989) was also a flop. That same year, Ryder appeared in Mojo Nixon's music video 'Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child'. At the premiere of Great Balls of Fire (1989), Ryder met fellow actor and later film partner Johnny Depp. The couple became engaged a few months later, but their relationship ended in 1993. He had a tattoo of her name and after they broke up, he had this reduced to "Wino forever".

 

In 1990, Winona Ryder had her breakthrough performance alongside her boyfriend Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990). The fantasy film was an international box-office success. Ryder was selected for the role of Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Welcome Home Roxy (Jim Abrahams, 1990) and Mermaids (Richard Benjamin, 1990) back-to-back. Ryder's performance alongside Cher and Christina Ricci in the family comedy Mermaids (1990) was praised by critics and she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Ryder also appeared with Cher and Ricci in the music video for 'The Shoop Shoop Song', the film's theme song. Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote a role specifically for her in Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991), as a tattooed, chain-smoking cabdriver who dreams of becoming a mechanic. Ryder was cast in a dual role as Mina Murray and Elisabeta in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992). In 1993, she starred as Blanca in the drama The House of the Spirits (Bille August, 1993) alongside Antonio Banderas, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. It is the film adaptation of Isabel Allende's bestseller of the same name. Together with Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis, she starred in Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993), the film adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel. She was Martin Scorsese's first and only choice for the role of May Welland. For years, she kept the message he left on her voicemail, informing her she got the role. Her part earned her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and an Oscar nomination. She also earned positive reviews for her role in the comedy Reality Bites (Ben Stiller, 1994). She received critical acclaim and another Oscar nomination the same year as Jo in the drama Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994). In 1996, she starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Joan Allen in The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), an adaptation of Arthur Miller's stage play about the Puritan witch hunt in Salem. The film was not a success; however, Ryder's performance was favourably reviewed. A year later she portrayed an android in the successful horror film Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997) alongside Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. In 1998 she starred in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998). after Drew Barrymore turned down the role. In 1999 she starred as a psychiatric patient with borderline syndrome in the drama Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999), based on Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical novel. Girl, Interrupted, the first film on which she served as executive producer, was supposed to be Ryder's comeback in Hollywood after the flops of the past years. However, the film became the breakthrough for her colleague Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar for her role. In this decade, she was involved with Dave Pirner, the lead singer of the group Soul Asylum, from 1993 to 1996 and with Matt Damon from December 1997 to April 2000.

 

Winona Ryder appeared alongside Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (Joan Chen, 2000), a romance about an older man's love for a younger woman. She also made a cameo appearance in the comedy Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2000). The comedy Mr. Deeds (Steven Brill, 2002) with Adam Sandler became her biggest financial success to date. The film failed with critics and Ryder was nominated for the Golden Raspberry award. Also in 2002, she was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of work for repeatedly shoplifting $5,000 worth of clothes. The incident caused a career setback. She withdrew from the public eye in the following years and did not appear in front of the camera again until 2006. In that year, she appeared in the novel adaptation A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006) alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson. In 2009, she made an appearance in Star Trek: The Future Begins (J. J. Abrams, 2009) as Spock (Zachary Quinto)'s mother Amanda Grayson. The prequel became a huge success at the box office and Ryder earned a Scream Award for Best Guest Appearance. She also appeared alongside Robin Wright and Julianne Moore in Rebecca Miller's Pippa Lee (2009), and alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). Ryder starred in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (John Kent Harrison, 2010), for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in the comedy The Dilemma (Ron Howard, 2011), and the thrillers The Iceman (Ariel Vromen, 2012), and The Letter (Jay Anania, 2012) opposite James Franco. In Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (2012) she lent her voice to the character Elsa Van Helsing. Since 2016, she has embodied the main character, Joyce Byers, in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016-2022), for which she received positive responses. Her role in the series has been described by many as a comeback. Since 2011 Winona Ryder is in a relationship with Scott MacKinlay Hahn.

 

Sources: Pedro Borges (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

via Instagram ift.tt/2nndHvU

Monsters for Beauty, Permanence and Individuality, by Duane Linklater. 2017. Cast concrete sculpture installation in the Don River Valley Park.

Vintage postcard in the Cinemascope Collection, no. 65. Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997).

 

Blonde and blue-eyed American actress Uma Thurman (1970) is best known for her roles in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. Furthermore, she starred in a wide variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films.

 

Uma Karuna Thurman was born in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally-minded family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman), a professor and academic who is one of the nation's foremost Buddhist scholars. Uma grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, where her father worked at Amherst College. Thurman's household was one in which The Dalai Lama was an occasional guest; she and her siblings all have names deriving from Buddhist mythology; and Middle American behaviour was little understood, much less pursued. And so it was that the young Thurman confronted childhood with an odd name and eccentric home life - and nature seemingly conspired against her as well. She is six feet tall, and from an early age Uma towered over everyone else in her class. The family constantly relocated, making the gangly, socially inept Thurman perpetually the new kid in class. The result was an exceptionally awkward, self-conscious, lonely, and alienated childhood. Unsurprisingly, the young Thurman enjoyed making believe she was someone other than herself, and so thrived at acting in school plays. This interest, and her lanky frame, perfect for modeling, led the 15-year-old Thurman to New York City for high school and modeling work (including a layout in Glamour Magazine) as she sought acting roles. The roles soon came. She made her film debut in the teen thriller Kiss Daddy Goodnight (Peter Ily Huemer, 1987). It was followed by Terry Gilliam's interesting box office bomb, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), starring John Neville. She made a brief appearance as the goddess Venus, and during her entrance, she briefly appears nude, in an homage to Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus'. Then followed her breakthrough in Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988) from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, which was based on the 1782 French novel 'Les liaisons dangereuses' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The period romantic drama, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer, brought much attention to her unorthodox sensuality. Her performance intriguingly combined innocence and worldliness. The weird, gangly girl became a sex symbol virtually overnight.

 

Uma Thurman continued to be offered good roles in Hollywood pictures into the early 1990s, the least commercially successful but probably best-known of which was her smoldering, astonishingly-adult performance as June, Henry Miller's wife, in Henry & June (Philip Kaufman, 1990), the first film to actually receive the dreaded NC-17 rating in the USA. After a celebrated start, Thurman's career stalled in the early 1990s with films such as the mediocre Mad Dog and Glory (John McNaughton, 1993) with Robert De Niro. Worse, her first starring role was in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Gus Van Sant, 1993), which had endured a tortured journey from cult-favorite book to big-budget film and was a critical and financial debacle. Uma bounced back with a brilliant performance as Mia Wallace, that most unorthodox of all gangster's molls, in Tarantino's lauded, hugely successful Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994). For her role, Thurman was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She took little advantage of her new-found fame by choosing not to do any big-budget films for the next three years. She starred in the independent period drama A Month by the Lake (John Irvin, 1995) opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Edward Fox, and supporting roles in which she has lent some glamorous presence to a mixed batch of films, such as Beautiful Girls (Ted Demme, 1996) with Matt Dillon, and The Truth About Cats & Dogs (Michael Lehmann, 1996). She played supervillain Poison Ivy in the reviled Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) with George Clooney, and Emma Peel opposite Ralph Fiennes as John Steed in a remake of The Avengers (Jeremiah Chechik, 1998). She worked with Woody Allen and Sean Penn on Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and starred in Richard Linklater's drama Tape (2001) opposite husband Ethan Hawke. Thurman also won a Golden Globe award for her turn in the made-for-television film Hysterical Blindness (2002), directed by Mira Nair.

 

A return to the mainstream spotlight came when Uma Thurman re-teamed with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). The two had dreamed up this two-part revenge action film on the set of Pulp Fiction (1994). Thurman starred as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) and their leader, Bill (David Carradine), after they try to kill her and her unborn child. She then turned up in the John Woo cautioner Paycheck (2003) that same year. The renewed attention was not altogether welcome because Thurman was dealing with the break-up of her marriage with Hawke at about this time. Thurman handled the situation with grace, however, and took her surging popularity in stride. She garnered critical acclaim for her work in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. The two Kill Bill films brought her two additional Golden Globe Award nominations. Thurman reunited with Pulp Fiction dance partner John Travolta for the Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1995) sequel Be Cool (F. Gary Gray, 2005). Despite a lukewarm critical reception, the film grossed US$95 million. She played Ulla in the remake of The Producers (Susan Stroman, 2005). In 2006, she was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier De l'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres) by France. For her five-episode role in the musical TV series Smash (2012), Thurman received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Her later films include Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac (2013) and The House That Jack Built (2018). She made her Broadway debut in Beau Willimon's political drama 'The Parisian Woman' (2017-2018) at Hudson Theatre. For her role, she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Leading Actress in a Play. In 2018, in a New York Times interview, Thurman revealed that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted her in 1994. Uma Thurman was briefly married to Gary Oldman, from 1990 to 1992. In 1998, she married Ethan Hawke, her co-star in the offbeat futuristic thriller Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997). The couple has two children, Levon and Maya. Hawke and Thurman filed for divorce in 2004.

 

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

French postcard by Editions P.I., no. 742. Photo: Paramount, 1956.

 

American actress Shirley MacLaine (1934) is among Hollywood's most unique stars. With her auburn hair cut impishly short, she made her film debut in Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955). She earned Oscar nominations for Some Came Running (1959), for Billy Wilder's The Apartment, and for Irma La Douce (1963). Later triumphs included Sweet Charity! (1969), The Turning Point (1977), Being There (1979) and Terms of Endearment (1983). And she's still going strong.

 

Shirley MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in 1934 in Richmond, USA. She was the daughter of drama coach and former actress Kathlyn MacLean Beaty and Ira O. Beaty, a professor of psychology and philosophy. Her younger brother, Warren Beatty, also grew up to be an important Hollywood figure as an actor/director/producer and screenwriter. MacLaine took dance lessons from age two, first performed publicly at age four, and at 16 went to New York, making her Broadway debut as a chorus girl in Me and Juliet (1953). When not scrambling for theatrical work, MacLaine worked as a model. Her big break came in 1954 when she was understudying Broadway actress Carol Haney in The Pajama Game. Haney fractured her ankle, MacLaine replaced her and was spotted, and offered a movie contract by producer Hal Wallis. Her film debut was Alfred Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955). Later that year, she co-starred opposite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the comedy Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955). In her next feature, Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Anderson, 1956), she appeared as an Indian princess. The film was completed not too long before her daughter, Sachi Parker (born Stephanie), was born. Father was her husband Steve Parker, whom she had married in 1954 and would divorce in 1982.

 

Shirley MacLaine earned her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a pathetic tart who shocks a conservative town by showing up on the arm of young war hero Frank Sinatra in Some Came Running (Vincente Minnelli, 1959). She then got the opportunity to show off her long legs and dancing talents in Can-Can (Walter Lang, 1960). Prior to that, she appeared in a bit part with Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford in Oceans Eleven (Lewis Milestone, 1960). MacLaine, the only female member of the famed group, would later recount her experiences with them in her seventh book My Lucky Stars. In 1960, she won her second Oscar nomination for Billy Wilder's comedy/drama The Apartment, and the third nomination for Irma La Douce (Billy Wilder, 1963), both opposite Jack Lemmon. MacLaine's career was in high gear during the 1960s, with her appearing in everything from dramas to madcap comedies to musicals such as What a Way to Go! (J. Lee Thompson, 1964) and Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity! (1969). In addition to her screen work, she actively participated in Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign and served as a Democratic Convention delegate. She was similarly involved in George McGovern's 1972 campaign.

 

Bored by sitting around on movie sets all day awaiting her scenes, Shirley MacLaine started writing down her thoughts and was thus inspired to add writing to her list of talents. She published her first book, Don't Fall Off the Mountain in 1970. She next tried her hand at series television in 1971, starring in the comedy Shirley's World (1971-72) as a globe-trotting photographer. The role reflected her real-life reputation as a world traveller, and these experiences resulted in her second book Don't Fall Off the Mountain and the documentary The Other Half of the Sky - A China Memoir (1975) which she scripted, produced, and co-directed with Claudia Weill. MacLaine returned to Broadway in 1976 with a spectacular one-woman show A Gypsy in My Soul, and the following year entered a new phase in her career playing a middle-aged former ballerina who regrets leaving dance to live a middle-class life in The Turning Point (Herbert Ross, 1977). It meant her fourth Best Actress Oscar nomination. MacLaine was also memorable starring as a lonely political wife opposite Peter Sellers' simple-minded gardener in Being There (Hal Asby, 1979), but did not again attract too much attention until she played the over-protective, eccentric widow Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks, 1983). After 20 years in the film industry, she finally took home the Best Actress Oscar for this role. In 1983, she also published the candid Out on a Limb, bravely risking public ridicule by describing her experiences and theories concerning out-of-body travel and reincarnation.

 

Shirley MacLaine's film appearances were sporadic through the mid-'80s, although she did appear in a few television specials. In 1988, she came back strong with three great roles in Madame Sousatzka (John Schlesinger, 1988), Steel Magnolias (Herbert Ross, 1989), and particularly Postcards from the Edge (Mike Nichols, 1990), in which she played a fading star clinging to her own career while helping her daughter (Meryl Streep), a drug-addicted, self-destructive actress. Through the '90s, MacLaine specialized in playing rather crusty and strong-willed eccentrics, such as her title character in the comedy Guarding Tess (Hugh Wilson, 1994). In 1997, MacLaine stole scenes as a wise grande dame who helps pregnant, homeless Ricki Lake in Mrs. Winterbourne (Richard Benjamin, 1997), and the same year revived Aurora Greenway in The Evening Star (Robert Harling, 1997), the critically maligned sequel to Terms of Endearment. MacLaine's onscreen performances were few and far between in the first half of the next decade, but in 2005 she returned in relatively full force, appearing in three features. She took on a pair of grandmother roles in the comedy-dramas In Her Shoes (Curtis Hanson, 2005) and Rumor Has It... (Rob Reiner, 2005), and was a perfect fit for the part of Endora in the big-screen take on the classic sitcom Bewitched (Nora Ephron, 2005). In the coming years, McLaine would continue to give critically acclaimed performances in movies like Coco Chanel (Christian Duguay, 2008), Valentine's Day, (Garry Marshall, 2010), and Bernie (Richard Linklater, 2011). For a long time, MacLaine did seminars on her books, but in the mid-'90s stopped giving talks, claiming she did not want "to be anyone's guru." She does, however, continue writing and remains a popular writer. For 2015, four new films with her are announced or in pre-production.

 

Sources: AllMovie, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Looking along the Confederation Trail somewhere between Miscouche and Linklater on Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada.

''No one is asking what happened to all the homeless. No one cares, because it's easier to get on the subway and not be accosted'' - Richard Linklater

Hungarian postcard by Est Media, Budapest. Uma Thurman as The Bride in Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004). Caption: Aprilis 29 - Töl a Mozikban. (In the cinema from 29 April).

 

Blonde and blue-eyed American actress Uma Thurman (1970) is best known for her roles in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. Furthermore, she starred in a wide variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films.

 

Uma Karuna Thurman was born in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally-minded family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman), a professor and academic who is one of the nation's foremost Buddhist scholars. Uma grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, where her father worked at Amherst College. Thurman's household was one in which The Dalai Lama was an occasional guest; she and her siblings all have names deriving from Buddhist mythology; and Middle American behaviour was little understood, much less pursued. And so it was that the young Thurman confronted childhood with an odd name and eccentric home life - and nature seemingly conspired against her as well. She is six feet tall, and from an early age Uma towered over everyone else in her class. The family constantly relocated, making the gangly, socially inept Thurman perpetually the new kid in class. The result was an exceptionally awkward, self-conscious, lonely, and alienated childhood. Unsurprisingly, the young Thurman enjoyed making believe she was someone other than herself, and so thrived at acting in school plays. This interest, and her lanky frame, perfect for modeling, led the 15-year-old Thurman to New York City for high school and modeling work (including a layout in Glamour Magazine) as she sought acting roles. The roles soon came. She made her film debut in the teen thriller Kiss Daddy Goodnight (Peter Ily Huemer, 1987). It was followed by Terry Gilliam's interesting box office bomb, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), starring John Neville. She made a brief appearance as the goddess Venus, and during her entrance, she briefly appears nude, in an homage to Botticelli's The Birth of Venus'. Then followed her breakthrough in Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988) from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, which was based on the 1782 French novel 'Les liaisons dangereuses' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The period romantic drama, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer, brought much attention to her unorthodox sensuality. Her performance intriguingly combined innocence and worldliness. The weird, gangly girl became a sex symbol virtually overnight.

 

Uma Thurman continued to be offered good roles in Hollywood pictures into the early 1990s, the least commercially successful but probably best-known of which was her smoldering, astonishingly-adult performance as June, Henry Miller's wife, in Henry & June (Philip Kaufman, 1990), the first film to actually receive the dreaded NC-17 rating in the USA. After a celebrated start, Thurman's career stalled in the early 1990s with films such as the mediocre Mad Dog and Glory (John McNaughton, 1993) with Robert De Niro. Worse, her first starring role was in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Gus Van Sant, 1993), which had endured a tortured journey from cult-favorite book to big-budget film and was a critical and financial debacle. Uma bounced back with a brilliant performance as Mia Wallace, that most unorthodox of all gangster's molls, in Tarantino's lauded, hugely successful Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994). For her role, Thurman was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She took little advantage of her new-found fame by choosing not to do any big-budget films for the next three years. She starred in the independent period drama A Month by the Lake (John Irvin, 1995) opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Edward Fox, and supporting roles in which she has lent some glamorous presence to a mixed batch of films, such as Beautiful Girls (Ted Demme, 1996) with Matt Dillon, and The Truth About Cats & Dogs (Michael Lehmann, 1996). She played supervillain Poison Ivy in the reviled Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) with George Clooney, and Emma Peel opposite Ralph Fiennes as John Steed in a remake of The Avengers (Jeremiah Chechik, 1998). She worked with Woody Allen and Sean Penn on Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and starred in Richard Linklater's drama Tape (2001) opposite husband Ethan Hawke. Thurman also won a Golden Globe award for her turn in the made-for-television film Hysterical Blindness (2002), directed by Mira Nair.

 

A return to the mainstream spotlight came when Uma Thurman re-teamed with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). The two had dreamed up this two-part revenge action film on the set of Pulp Fiction (1994). Thurman starred as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) and their leader, Bill (David Carradine), after they try to kill her and her unborn child. She then turned up in the John Woo cautioner Paycheck (2003) that same year. The renewed attention was not altogether welcome because Thurman was dealing with the break-up of her marriage with Hawke at about this time. Thurman handled the situation with grace, however, and took her surging popularity in stride. She garnered critical acclaim for her work in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. The two Kill Bill films brought her two additional Golden Globe Award nominations. Thurman reunited with Pulp Fiction dance partner John Travolta for the Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1995) sequel Be Cool (F. Gary Gray, 2005). Despite a lukewarm critical reception, the film grossed US$95 million. She played Ulla in the remake of The Producers (Susan Stroman, 2005). In 2006, she was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier De l'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres) by France. For her five-episode role in the musical TV series Smash (2012), Thurman received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Her later films include Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac (2013) and The House That Jack Built (2018). She made her Broadway debut in Beau Willimon's political drama 'The Parisian Woman' (2017-2018) at Hudson Theatre. For her role, she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Leading Actress in a Play. In 2018, in a New York Times interview, Thurman revealed that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted her in 1994. Uma Thurman was briefly married to Gary Oldman, from 1990 to 1992. In 1998, she married Ethan Hawke, her co-star in the offbeat futuristic thriller Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997). The couple has two children, Levon and Maya. Hawke and Thurman filed for divorce in 2004.

 

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Belgian postcard by Boomerang for Extrazone. Photo: Warner Bros. Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Reloaded (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 2003).

 

Keanu Reeves (1964) is a Canadian actor, producer, director and musician. Though Reeves often faced criticism for his deadpan delivery and perceived limited range as an actor, he nonetheless took on roles in a variety of genres, doing everything from introspective art-house fare to action-packed thrillers. His films include My Own Private Idaho (1991), the European drama Little Buddha (1993), Speed (1994), The Matrix (1999) and John Wick (2014).

 

Keanu Charles Reeves was born in 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon. His first name means ‘cool breeze over the mountains’ in Hawaiian. His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr., was a geologist of Chinese-Hawaiian heritage, and his mother, Patricia Bond (née Taylor), was a British showgirl and later a costume designer for rock stars such as Alice Cooper. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Upon his parents’ split in 1966, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim Reeves to Sydney, to New York and then to Toronto. As a child, he lived with various stepfathers, including stage and film director Paul Aaron. Keanu developed an ardour for hockey, though he would eventually turn to acting. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves dropped out of high school when he was 17. His film debut was the Canadian feature One Step Away (Robert Fortier, 1985). After a part in the teen movie Youngblood (Peter Markle, 1986), starring Rob Lowe, he obtained a green card through stepfather Paul Aaron and moved to Los Angeles. After a few minor roles, he gained attention for his performance in the dark drama River's Edge (Tim Hunter, 1986), which depicted how a murder affected a group of adolescents. Reeves landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated period drama Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988), starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. Reeves joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood (1989), and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990). Unexpectedly successful was the wacky comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989) which followed two high school students (Reeves and Alex Winter) and their time-travelling high jinks. The success lead to a TV series and a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Pete Hewitt, 1991). From then on, audiences often confused Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart.

 

In the following years, Keanu Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma. He developed an eclectic film roster that included high-budget action films like the surf thriller Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) for which he won MTV's ‘Most Desirable Male’ award in 1992, but also lower-budget art-house films. My Own Private Idaho (1991), directed by Gus Van Sant and co-starring River Phoenix, chronicled the lives of two young hustlers living on the streets. In Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Reeves embodied the calm resolute lawyer Jonathan Harker who stumbles into the lair of Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula. In Europe, he played prince Siddharta who becomes the Buddha in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Italian-French-British drama Little Buddha (1993). His career reached a new high when he starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the hit action film Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994). It was followed by the romantic drama A Walk in the Clouds (Alfonso Arau, 1995) and the supernatural thriller Devil’s Advocate (Taylor Hackford, 1997), co-starring Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. At the close of the decade, Reeves starred in a Sci-Fi film that would become a genre game changer, The Matrix (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999). Reeves played the prophetic figure Neo, slated to lead humanity to freedom from an all-consuming simulated world. Known for its innovative fight sequences, avant-garde special effects and gorgeous fashion, The Matrix was an international hit. Two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999) and The Matrix Revolutions (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999) followed and The Matrix Reloaded was even a bigger financial blockbuster than its predecessor.

 

Now a major, bonafide box office star, Keanu Reeves continued to work in different genres and both in big-budget as in small independent films. He played an abusive man in the supernatural thriller The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000), starring Cate Blanchett, a smitten doctor in the romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers, 2003) opposite Diane Keaton, and a Brit demon hunter in the American-German occult detective film Constantine (Francis Lawrence, 2005). His appearance in the animated Science Fiction thriller A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006), based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, received favourable reviews, and The Lake House (Alejandro Agresti, 2006), his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, was a success at the box office. Reeves returned to Sci-Fi as alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 2008), the remake of the 1951 classic. Then he played a supporting part in Rebecca Miller's The Private Life of Pippa Lee (2009), which starred Robin Wright and premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Reeves co-founded a production company, Company Films. The company helped produce Henry's Crime (Malcolm Venville, 2010), in which Reeves also starred. The actor made his directorial debut with the Chinese-American Martial arts film Man of Tai Chi (2013), partly inspired by the life of Reeves' friend, stuntman Tiger Chen. Martial arts–based themes continued in Reeves's next feature, 47 Ronin (Carl Rinsch, 2013), about a real-life group of masterless samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenged the death of their lord. Variety magazine listed 47 Ronin as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013". Reeves returned as a retired hitman in the Neo-Noir action thriller John Wick (Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, 2014). The film opened to positive reviews and performed well at the box office. A sequel, titled John Wick: Chapter Two, is currently in production and is scheduled to be released in 2017. This year, he could be seen in the psychological horror film The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) and the romantic horror-thriller Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2016).

Reeves’ artistic aspirations are not limited to film. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the grunge band Dogstar, which released two albums. He later played bass for a band called Becky. Reeves is also a longtime motorcycle enthusiast. After asking designer Gard Hollinger to create a custom-built bike for him, the two went into business together with the formation of Arch Motorcycle Company LLC in 2011. Reported to be one of the more generous actors in Hollywood, Reeves helped care for his sister during her lengthy battle with leukaemia, and has supported such organisations as Stand Up To Cancer and PETA. In January 2000, Reeves's girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth eight months into her pregnancy to Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, who was stillborn. The strain put on their relationship by their grief resulted in Reeves and Syme's breakup several weeks later. In 2001, Syme died after a car accident.

 

Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Cover art by Denis McLoughlin.

 

J. Lane Linklater was a pseudonym used by Alexander William Watkins.

 

Originally published in hardback with alternative artwork by M.S. Mill Company in 1947.

Dutch postcard by Boomerang Studycards, Amsterdam, no. P08-03, 2003. Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Reloaded (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 2003).

 

Keanu Reeves (1964) is a Canadian actor, producer, director and musician. Though Reeves often faced criticism for his deadpan delivery and perceived limited range as an actor, he nonetheless took on roles in a variety of genres, doing everything from introspective art-house fare to action-packed thrillers. His films include My Own Private Idaho (1991), the European drama Little Buddha (1993), Speed (1994), The Matrix (1999) and John Wick (2014).

 

Keanu Charles Reeves was born in 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon. His first name means ‘cool breeze over the mountains’ in Hawaiian. His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr., was a geologist of Chinese-Hawaiian heritage, and his mother, Patricia Bond (née Taylor), was a British showgirl and later a costume designer for rock stars such as Alice Cooper. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Upon his parents’ split in 1966, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim Reeves to Sydney, to New York and then to Toronto. As a child, he lived with various stepfathers, including stage and film director Paul Aaron. Keanu developed an ardour for hockey, though he would eventually turn to acting. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves dropped out of high school when he was 17. His film debut was the Canadian feature One Step Away (Robert Fortier, 1985). After a part in the teen movie Youngblood (Peter Markle, 1986), starring Rob Lowe, he obtained a green card through stepfather Paul Aaron and moved to Los Angeles. After a few minor roles, he gained attention for his performance in the dark drama River's Edge (Tim Hunter, 1986), which depicted how a murder affected a group of adolescents. Reeves landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated period drama Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988), starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. Reeves joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood (1989), and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990). Unexpectedly successful was the wacky comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989) which followed two high school students (Reeves and Alex Winter) and their time-travelling high jinks. The success lead to a TV series and a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Pete Hewitt, 1991). From then on, audiences often confused Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart.

 

In the following years, Keanu Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma. He developed an eclectic film roster that included high-budget action films like the surf thriller Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) for which he won MTV's ‘Most Desirable Male’ award in 1992, but also lower-budget art-house films. My Own Private Idaho (1991), directed by Gus Van Sant and co-starring River Phoenix, chronicled the lives of two young hustlers living on the streets. In Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Reeves embodied the calm resolute lawyer Jonathan Harker who stumbles into the lair of Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula. In Europe, he played prince Siddharta who becomes the Buddha in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Italian-French-British drama Little Buddha (1993). His career reached a new high when he starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the hit action film Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994). It was followed by the romantic drama A Walk in the Clouds (Alfonso Arau, 1995) and the supernatural thriller Devil’s Advocate (Taylor Hackford, 1997), co-starring Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. At the close of the decade, Reeves starred in a Sci-Fi film that would become a genre game changer, The Matrix (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999). Reeves played the prophetic figure Neo, slated to lead humanity to freedom from an all-consuming simulated world. Known for its innovative fight sequences, avant-garde special effects and gorgeous fashion, The Matrix was an international hit. Two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999) and The Matrix Revolutions (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999) followed and The Matrix Reloaded was even a bigger financial blockbuster than its predecessor.

 

Now a major, bonafide box office star, Keanu Reeves continued to work in different genres and both in big-budget as in small independent films. He played an abusive man in the supernatural thriller The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000), starring Cate Blanchett, a smitten doctor in the romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers, 2003) opposite Diane Keaton, and a Brit demon hunter in the American-German occult detective film Constantine (Francis Lawrence, 2005). His appearance in the animated Science Fiction thriller A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006), based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, received favourable reviews, and The Lake House (Alejandro Agresti, 2006), his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, was a success at the box office. Reeves returned to Sci-Fi as alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 2008), the remake of the 1951 classic. Then he played a supporting part in Rebecca Miller's The Private Life of Pippa Lee (2009), which starred Robin Wright and premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Reeves co-founded a production company, Company Films. The company helped produce Henry's Crime (Malcolm Venville, 2010), in which Reeves also starred. The actor made his directorial debut with the Chinese-American Martial arts film Man of Tai Chi (2013), partly inspired by the life of Reeves' friend, stuntman Tiger Chen. Martial arts–based themes continued in Reeves's next feature, 47 Ronin (Carl Rinsch, 2013), about a real-life group of masterless samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenged the death of their lord. Variety magazine listed 47 Ronin as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013". Reeves returned as a retired hitman in the Neo-Noir action thriller John Wick (Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, 2014). The film opened to positive reviews and performed well at the box office. A sequel, titled John Wick: Chapter Two, is currently in production and is scheduled to be released in 2017. This year, he could be seen in the psychological horror film The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) and the romantic horror-thriller Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2016).

Reeves’ artistic aspirations are not limited to film. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the grunge band Dogstar, which released two albums. He later played bass for a band called Becky. Reeves is also a longtime motorcycle enthusiast. After asking designer Gard Hollinger to create a custom-built bike for him, the two went into business together with the formation of Arch Motorcycle Company LLC in 2011. Reported to be one of the more generous actors in Hollywood, Reeves helped care for his sister during her lengthy battle with leukaemia, and has supported such organisations as Stand Up To Cancer and PETA. In January 2000, Reeves's girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth eight months into her pregnancy to Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, who was stillborn. The strain put on their relationship by their grief resulted in Reeves and Syme's breakup several weeks later. In 2001, Syme died after a car accident.

 

Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Bookshop Shakespeare and Company. 37 Rue de la Bûcherie. Paris.

 

Shakespeare and Company is the name of two independent bookstores on Paris's Left Bank. The first was opened by Sylvia Beach on 19 November 1919 at 8 rue Dupuytren, before moving to larger premises at 12 rue de l'Odéon in the 6th arrondissement in 1922. During the 1920s, it was a gathering place for writers such as Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Ford Madox Ford.[1] It closed in 1940 during the German occupation of Paris and never re-opened.

 

The second is situated at 37 rue de la Bûcherie, in the 5th arrondissement. Opened in 1951 by George Whitman, it was originally named "Le Mistral" but renamed to "Shakespeare and Company" in 1964 in tribute to Sylvia Beach's bookstore. Today, it serves both as a regular bookstore, a second-hand books store and as a reading library, specializing in English-language literature. The shop has become a popular tourist attraction, and was featured in the Richard Linklater film Before Sunset and in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris.

 

Vintage postcard, no. 2068. Caption: Sweet 'n sexy.

 

Blonde and blue-eyed American actress Uma Thurman (1970) is best known for her roles in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. Furthermore, she starred in a wide variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films.

 

Uma Karuna Thurman was born in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally-minded family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman), a professor and academic who is one of the nation's foremost Buddhist scholars. Uma grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, where her father worked at Amherst College. Thurman's household was one in which The Dalai Lama was an occasional guest; she and her siblings all have names deriving from Buddhist mythology; and Middle American behaviour was little understood, much less pursued. And so it was that the young Thurman confronted childhood with an odd name and eccentric home life - and nature seemingly conspired against her as well. She is six feet tall, and from an early age Uma towered over everyone else in her class. The family constantly relocated, making the gangly, socially inept Thurman perpetually the new kid in class. The result was an exceptionally awkward, self-conscious, lonely, and alienated childhood. Unsurprisingly, the young Thurman enjoyed making believe she was someone other than herself, and so thrived at acting in school plays. This interest, and her lanky frame, perfect for modeling, led the 15-year-old Thurman to New York City for high school and modeling work (including a layout in Glamour Magazine) as she sought acting roles. The roles soon came. She made her film debut in the teen thriller Kiss Daddy Goodnight (Peter Ily Huemer, 1987). It was followed by Terry Gilliam's interesting box office bomb, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), starring John Neville. She made a brief appearance as the goddess Venus, and during her entrance, she briefly appears nude, in an homage to Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus'. Then followed her breakthrough in Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988) from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, which was based on the 1782 French novel 'Les liaisons dangereuses' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The period romantic drama, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer, brought much attention to her unorthodox sensuality. Her performance intriguingly combined innocence and worldliness. The weird, gangly girl became a sex symbol virtually overnight.

 

Uma Thurman continued to be offered good roles in Hollywood pictures into the early 1990s, the least commercially successful but probably best-known of which was her smoldering, astonishingly-adult performance as June, Henry Miller's wife, in Henry & June (Philip Kaufman, 1990), the first film to actually receive the dreaded NC-17 rating in the USA. After a celebrated start, Thurman's career stalled in the early 1990s with films such as the mediocre Mad Dog and Glory (John McNaughton, 1993) with Robert De Niro. Worse, her first starring role was in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Gus Van Sant, 1993), which had endured a tortured journey from cult-favorite book to big-budget film and was a critical and financial debacle. Uma bounced back with a brilliant performance as Mia Wallace, that most unorthodox of all gangster's molls, in Tarantino's lauded, hugely successful Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994). For her role, Thurman was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She took little advantage of her new-found fame by choosing not to do any big-budget films for the next three years. She starred in the independent period drama A Month by the Lake (John Irvin, 1995) opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Edward Fox, and supporting roles in which she has lent some glamorous presence to a mixed batch of films, such as Beautiful Girls (Ted Demme, 1996) with Matt Dillon, and The Truth About Cats & Dogs (Michael Lehmann, 1996). She played supervillain Poison Ivy in the reviled Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) with George Clooney, and Emma Peel opposite Ralph Fiennes as John Steed in a remake of The Avengers (Jeremiah Chechik, 1998). She worked with Woody Allen and Sean Penn on Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and starred in Richard Linklater's drama Tape (2001) opposite husband Ethan Hawke. Thurman also won a Golden Globe award for her turn in the made-for-television film Hysterical Blindness (2002), directed by Mira Nair.

 

A return to the mainstream spotlight came when Uma Thurman re-teamed with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). The two had dreamed up this two-part revenge action film on the set of Pulp Fiction (1994). Thurman starred as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) and their leader, Bill (David Carradine), after they try to kill her and her unborn child. She then turned up in the John Woo cautioner Paycheck (2003) that same year. The renewed attention was not altogether welcome because Thurman was dealing with the break-up of her marriage with Hawke at about this time. Thurman handled the situation with grace, however, and took her surging popularity in stride. She garnered critical acclaim for her work in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. The two Kill Bill films brought her two additional Golden Globe Award nominations. Thurman reunited with Pulp Fiction dance partner John Travolta for the Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1995) sequel Be Cool (F. Gary Gray, 2005). Despite a lukewarm critical reception, the film grossed US$95 million. She played Ulla in the remake of The Producers (Susan Stroman, 2005). In 2006, she was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier De l'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres) by France. For her five-episode role in the musical TV series Smash (2012), Thurman received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Her later films include Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac (2013) and The House That Jack Built (2018). She made her Broadway debut in Beau Willimon's political drama 'The Parisian Woman' (2017-2018) at Hudson Theatre. For her role, she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Leading Actress in a Play. In 2018, in a New York Times interview, Thurman revealed that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted her in 1994. Uma Thurman was briefly married to Gary Oldman, from 1990 to 1992. In 1998, she married Ethan Hawke, her co-star in the offbeat futuristic thriller Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997). The couple has two children, Levon and Maya. Hawke and Thurman filed for divorce in 2004.

 

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1633. Photo: Paramount.

 

American actress Shirley MacLaine (1934) is among Hollywood's most unique stars. With her auburn hair cut impishly short, she made her film debut in Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955). She earned Oscar nominations for Some Came Running (1959), for Billy Wilder's The Apartment , and for Irma La Douce (1963). Later triumphs included Sweet Charity! (1969), The Turning Point (1977), Being There (1979) and Terms of Endearment (1983). And she's still going strong.

 

Shirley MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in 1934 in Richmond, USA. She was the daughter of drama coach and former actress Kathlyn MacLean Beaty and Ira O. Beaty, a professor of psychology and philosophy. Her younger brother, Warren Beatty, also grew up to be an important Hollywood figure as an actor/director/producer and screenwriter. MacLaine took dance lessons from age two, first performed publicly at age four, and at 16 went to New York, making her Broadway debut as a chorus girl in Me and Juliet (1953). When not scrambling for theatrical work, MacLaine worked as a model. Her big break came in 1954 when she was understudying Broadway actress Carol Haney in The Pajama Game. Haney fractured her ankle, MacLaine replaced her and was spotted, and offered a movie contract by producer Hal Wallis. Her film debut was Alfred Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955). Later that year, she co-starred opposite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the comedy Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955). In her next feature, Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Anderson, 1956), she appeared as an Indian princess. The film was completed not too long before her daughter, Sachi Parker (born Stephanie), was born. Father was her husband Steve Parker, whom she had married in 1954 and would divorce in 1982.

 

Shirley MacLaine earned her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a pathetic tart who shocks a conservative town by showing up on the arm of young war hero Frank Sinatra in Some Came Running (Vincente Minnelli, 1959). She then got the opportunity to show off her long legs and dancing talents in Can-Can (Walter Lang, 1960). Prior to that, she appeared in a bit part with Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford in Oceans Eleven (Lewis Milestone, 1960). MacLaine, the only female member of the famed group, would later recount her experiences with them in her seventh book My Lucky Stars. In 1960, she won her second Oscar nomination for Billy Wilder's comedy/drama The Apartment, and the third nomination for Irma La Douce (Billy Wilder, 1963), both opposite Jack Lemmon. MacLaine's career was in high gear during the 1960s, with her appearing in everything from dramas to madcap comedies to musicals such as What a Way to Go! (J. Lee Thompson, 1964) and Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity! (1969). In addition to her screen work, she actively participated in Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign and served as a Democratic Convention delegate. She was similarly involved in George McGovern's 1972 campaign.

 

Bored by sitting around on movie sets all day awaiting her scenes, Shirley MacLaine started writing down her thoughts and was thus inspired to add writing to her list of talents. She published her first book, Don't Fall Off the Mountain in 1970. She next tried her hand at series television in 1971, starring in the comedy Shirley's World (1971-72) as a globe-trotting photographer. The role reflected her real-life reputation as a world traveller, and these experiences resulted in her second book Don't Fall Off the Mountain and the documentary The Other Half of the Sky - A China Memoir (1975) which she scripted, produced, and co-directed with Claudia Weill. MacLaine returned to Broadway in 1976 with a spectacular one-woman show A Gypsy in My Soul, and the following year entered a new phase in her career playing a middle-aged former ballerina who regrets leaving dance to live a middle-class life in The Turning Point (Herbert Ross, 1977). It meant her fourth Best Actress Oscar nomination. MacLaine was also memorable starring as a lonely political wife opposite Peter Sellers' simple-minded gardener in Being There (Hal Asby, 1979), but did not again attract too much attention until she played the over-protective, eccentric widow Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks, 1983). After 20 years in the film industry, she finally took home the Best Actress Oscar for this role. In 1983, she also published the candid Out on a Limb, bravely risking public ridicule by describing her experiences and theories concerning out-of-body travel and reincarnation.

 

Shirley MacLaine's film appearances were sporadic through the mid-'80s, although she did appear in a few television specials. In 1988, she came back strong with three great roles in Madame Sousatzka (John Schlesinger, 1988), Steel Magnolias (Herbert Ross, 1989), and particularly Postcards from the Edge (Mike Nichols, 1990), in which she played a fading star clinging to her own career while helping her daughter (Meryl Streep), a drug-addicted, self-destructive actress. Through the '90s, MacLaine specialized in playing rather crusty and strong-willed eccentrics, such as her title character in the comedy Guarding Tess (Hugh Wilson, 1994). In 1997, MacLaine stole scenes as a wise grande dame who helps pregnant, homeless Ricki Lake in Mrs. Winterbourne (Richard Benjamin, 1997), and the same year revived Aurora Greenway in The Evening Star (Robert Harling, 1997), the critically maligned sequel to Terms of Endearment. MacLaine's onscreen performances were few and far between in the first half of the next decade, but in 2005 she returned in relatively full force, appearing in three features. She took on a pair of grandmother roles in the comedy-dramas In Her Shoes (Curtis Hanson, 2005) and Rumor Has It... (Rob Reiner, 2005), and was a perfect fit for the part of Endora in the big-screen take on the classic sitcom Bewitched (Nora Ephron, 2005). In the coming years, McLaine would continue to give critically acclaimed performances in movies like Coco Chanel (Christian Duguay, 2008), Valentine's Day, (Garry Marshall, 2010), and Bernie (Richard Linklater, 2011). For a long time, MacLaine did seminars on her books, but in the mid-'90s stopped giving talks, claiming she did not want "to be anyone's guru." She does, however, continue writing and remains a popular writer. For 2015, four new films with her are announced or in pre-production.

 

Sources: AllMovie, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 169/71. Photo: Steffen.

 

American actress Shirley MacLaine (1934) is among Hollywood's most unique stars. With her auburn hair cut impishly short, she made her film debut in Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955). She earned Oscar nominations for Some Came Running (1959), for Billy Wilder's The Apartment , and for Irma La Douce (1963). Later triumphs included Sweet Charity! (1969), The Turning Point (1977), Being There (1979) and Terms of Endearment (1983). And she's still going strong.

 

Shirley MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in 1934 in Richmond, USA. She was the daughter of drama coach and former actress Kathlyn MacLean Beaty and Ira O. Beaty, a professor of psychology and philosophy. Her younger brother, Warren Beatty, also grew up to be an important Hollywood figure as an actor/director/producer and screenwriter. MacLaine took dance lessons from age two, first performed publicly at age four, and at 16 went to New York, making her Broadway debut as a chorus girl in Me and Juliet (1953). When not scrambling for theatrical work, MacLaine worked as a model. Her big break came in 1954 when she was understudying Broadway actress Carol Haney in The Pajama Game. Haney fractured her ankle, MacLaine replaced her and was spotted, and offered a movie contract by producer Hal Wallis. Her film debut was Alfred Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955). Later that year, she co-starred opposite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the comedy Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955). In her next feature, Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Anderson, 1956), she appeared as an Indian princess. The film was completed not too long before her daughter, Sachi Parker (born Stephanie), was born. Father was her husband Steve Parker, whom she had married in 1954 and would divorce in 1982.

 

Shirley MacLaine earned her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a pathetic tart who shocks a conservative town by showing up on the arm of young war hero Frank Sinatra in Some Came Running (Vincente Minnelli, 1959). She then got the opportunity to show off her long legs and dancing talents in Can-Can (Walter Lang, 1960). Prior to that, she appeared in a bit part with Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford in Oceans Eleven (Lewis Milestone, 1960). MacLaine, the only female member of the famed group, would later recount her experiences with them in her seventh book My Lucky Stars. In 1960, she won her second Oscar nomination for Billy Wilder's comedy/drama The Apartment, and the third nomination for Irma La Douce (Billy Wilder, 1963), both opposite Jack Lemmon. MacLaine's career was in high gear during the 1960s, with her appearing in everything from dramas to madcap comedies to musicals such as What a Way to Go! (J. Lee Thompson, 1964) and Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity! (1969). In addition to her screen work, she actively participated in Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign and served as a Democratic Convention delegate. She was similarly involved in George McGovern's 1972 campaign.

 

Bored by sitting around on movie sets all day awaiting her scenes, Shirley MacLaine started writing down her thoughts and was thus inspired to add writing to her list of talents. She published her first book, Don't Fall Off the Mountain in 1970. She next tried her hand at series television in 1971, starring in the comedy Shirley's World (1971-72) as a globe-trotting photographer. The role reflected her real-life reputation as a world traveller, and these experiences resulted in her second book Don't Fall Off the Mountain and the documentary The Other Half of the Sky - A China Memoir (1975) which she scripted, produced, and co-directed with Claudia Weill. MacLaine returned to Broadway in 1976 with a spectacular one-woman show A Gypsy in My Soul, and the following year entered a new phase in her career playing a middle-aged former ballerina who regrets leaving dance to live a middle-class life in The Turning Point (Herbert Ross, 1977). It meant her fourth Best Actress Oscar nomination. MacLaine was also memorable starring as a lonely political wife opposite Peter Sellers' simple-minded gardener in Being There (Hal Asby, 1979), but did not again attract too much attention until she played the over-protective, eccentric widow Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks, 1983). After 20 years in the film industry, she finally took home the Best Actress Oscar for this role. In 1983, she also published the candid Out on a Limb, bravely risking public ridicule by describing her experiences and theories concerning out-of-body travel and reincarnation.

 

Shirley MacLaine's film appearances were sporadic through the mid-'80s, although she did appear in a few television specials. In 1988, she came back strong with three great roles in Madame Sousatzka (John Schlesinger, 1988), Steel Magnolias (Herbert Ross, 1989), and particularly Postcards from the Edge (Mike Nichols, 1990), in which she played a fading star clinging to her own career while helping her daughter (Meryl Streep), a drug-addicted, self-destructive actress. Through the '90s, MacLaine specialized in playing rather crusty and strong-willed eccentrics, such as her title character in the comedy Guarding Tess (Hugh Wilson, 1994). In 1997, MacLaine stole scenes as a wise grande dame who helps pregnant, homeless Ricki Lake in Mrs. Winterbourne (Richard Benjamin, 1997), and the same year revived Aurora Greenway in The Evening Star (Robert Harling, 1997), the critically maligned sequel to Terms of Endearment. MacLaine's onscreen performances were few and far between in the first half of the next decade, but in 2005 she returned in relatively full force, appearing in three features. She took on a pair of grandmother roles in the comedy-dramas In Her Shoes (Curtis Hanson, 2005) and Rumor Has It... (Rob Reiner, 2005), and was a perfect fit for the part of Endora in the big-screen take on the classic sitcom Bewitched (Nora Ephron, 2005). In the coming years, McLaine would continue to give critically acclaimed performances in movies like Coco Chanel (Christian Duguay, 2008), Valentine's Day, (Garry Marshall, 2010), and Bernie (Richard Linklater, 2011). For a long time, MacLaine did seminars on her books, but in the mid-'90s stopped giving talks, claiming she did not want "to be anyone's guru." She does, however, continue writing and remains a popular writer. For 2015, four new films with her are announced or in pre-production.

 

Sources: AllMovie, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Vintage postcard, no. PP 105. Photo: publicity still for Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991).

 

Keanu Reeves (1964) is a Canadian actor, producer, director and musician. Though Reeves often faced criticism for his deadpan delivery and perceived limited range as an actor, he nonetheless took on roles in a variety of genres, doing everything from introspective art-house fare to action-packed thrillers. His films include My Own Private Idaho (1991), the European drama Little Buddha (1993), Speed (1994), The Matrix (1999) and John Wick (2014).

 

Keanu Charles Reeves was born in 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon. His first name means ‘cool breeze over the mountains’ in Hawaiian. His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., was a geologist of Chinese-Hawaiian heritage, and his mother, Patricia Bond (née Taylor), was a British showgirl and later a costume designer for rock stars such as Alice Cooper. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Upon his parents’ split in 1966, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim Reeves to Sydney, to New York and then to Toronto. As a child, he lived with various stepfathers, including stage and film director Paul Aaron. Keanu developed an ardor for hockey, though he would eventually turn to acting. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves dropped out of high school when he was 17. His film debut was the Canadian feature One Step Away (Robert Fortier, 1985). After a part in the teen movie Youngblood (Peter Markle, 1986), starring Rob Lowe, he obtained a green card through stepfather Paul Aaron and moved to Los Angeles. After a few minor roles, he gained attention for his performance in the dark drama River's Edge (Tim Hunter, 1986), which depicted how a murder affected a group of adolescents. Reeves landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated period drama Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988), starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. Reeves joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood (1989), and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990). Unexpectedly successful was the wacky comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989) which followed two high school students (Reeves and Alex Winter) and their time-traveling high jinks. The success lead to a TV series and a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Pete Hewitt, 1991). From then on, audiences often confused Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart.

 

In the following years, Keanu Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma. He developed an eclectic film roster that included high-budget action films like the surf thriller Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) for which he won MTV's ‘Most Desirable Male’ award in 1992, but also lower-budget art-house films. My Own Private Idaho (1991), directed by Gus Van Sant and co-starring River Phoenix, chronicled the lives of two young hustlers living on the streets. In Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Reeves embodied the calm resolute lawyer Jonathan Harker who stumbles into the lair of Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula. In Europe, he played prince Siddharta who becomes the Buddha in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Italian-French-British drama Little Buddha (1993). His career reached a new high when he starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the hit action film Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994). It was followed by the romantic drama A Walk in the Clouds (Alfonso Arau, 1995) and the supernatural thriller Devil’s Advocate (Taylor Hackford, 1997), co-starring Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. At the close of the decade, Reeves starred in a Sci-fi film that would become a genre game changer, The Matrix (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999). Reeves played the prophetic figure Neo, slated to lead humanity to freedom from an all-consuming simulated world. Known for its innovative fight sequences, avant-garde special effects and gorgeous fashion, The Matrix was an international hit. Two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999) and The Matrix Revolutions (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999) followed and The Matrix Reloaded was even a bigger financial blockbuster than its predecessor.

 

Now a major, bonafide box office star, Keanu Reeves continued to work in different genres and both in bid-budget as in small independent films. He played an abusive man in the supernatural thriller The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000), starring Cate Blanchett, a smitten doctor in the romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers, 2003) opposite Diane Keaton, and a Brit demon hunter in American-German occult detective action film Constantine (Francis Lawrence, 2005). His appearance in the animated science fiction thriller A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006), based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, received favourable reviews, and The Lake House (Alejandro Agresti, 2006) , his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, was a success at the box office. Reeves returned to Sci-fi as alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 2008), the remake of the 1951 classic. Then he played a supporting part in Rebecca Miller's The Private Life of Pippa Lee (2009), which starred Robin Wright and premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Reeves co-founded a production company, Company Films. The company helped produce Henry's Crime (Malcolm Venville, 2010), in which Reeves also starred. The actor made his directorial debut with the Chinese-American Martial arts film Man of Tai Chi (2013), partly inspired by the life of Reeves' friend, stuntman Tiger Chen. Martial arts–based themes continued in Reeves's next feature, 47 Ronin (Carl Rinsch, 2013), about a real-life group of masterless samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenged the death of their lord. Variety magazine listed 47 Ronin as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013". Reeves returned as a retired hitman in the neo-noir action thriller John Wick (Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, 2014). The film opened to positive reviews and performed well at the box office. A sequel, titled John Wick: Chapter Two, is currently in production and is scheduled to be released in 2017. This year, he could be seen in the psychological horror film The Neon Demon is (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) and the romantic horror-thriller Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2016). Reeves’ artistic aspirations are not limited to film. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the grunge band Dogstar, which released two albums. He later played bass for a band called Becky. Reeves is also a longtime motorcycle enthusiast. After asking designer Gard Hollinger to create a custom-built bike for him, the two went into business together with the formation of Arch Motorcycle Company LLC in 2011. Reported to be one of the more generous actors in Hollywood, Reeves helped care for his sister during her lengthy battle with leukemia, and has supported such organizations as Stand Up To Cancer and PETA. In January 2000, Reeves's girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth eight months into her pregnancy to Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, who was stillborn. The strain put on their relationship by their grief resulted in Reeves and Syme's breakup several weeks later. In 2001, Syme died after a car accident.

 

Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia and IMDb.

British freecard by Boomerang. Winona Ryder in Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999). Captions: The crazy thing is, you're not crazy. Girl, Interrupted. Based on a true story. Opens March 24 at Cinemas across the country.

 

Delicate American actress Winona Ryder (1971) is known for her dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She starred in films such as Beetlejuice (1988), Heathers (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), and the television series Stranger Things. In 1994, she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Age of Innocence (1993), and Ryder was nominated twice for an Oscar.

 

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Winona (Olmsted County), Minnesota, in 1971. Yes, her name is very much the same as her birthplace. Her parents, Cindy Horowitz (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller, were part of the hippie movement. She has a brother named Uri Horowitz (1976), who got his first name after Yuri Gagarin, a half-sister named Sunyata Palmer (1968), and a half-brother named Jubal Palmer (1970) from her mother Cindy's first marriage. From 1978, Winona grew up in a commune near Mendocino in California, which had no electricity. When Winona was seven, her mother began to manage an old cinema in a nearby barn and would screen films all day. She allowed Winona to miss school to watch movies with her. In 1981, the family moved to Petaluma, California. Since Winona was considered an outsider in public school, she was sent to a public school and later to the American Conservatory Theater acting school. She was discovered at the age of thirteen by a talent scout at a theatre performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1985, she applied for a role in the film Desert Bloom (David Seltzer, 1986) with a video in which she performed a monologue from the book 'Franny and Zooey' by J. D. Salinger. Although the casting choice was fellow actress Annabeth Gish, director and writer David Seltzer recognised her talent and cast her as Rina in his film Lucas (David Seltzer, 1986) about a teenager (Corey Haim) and his life in high school. When telephoned to ask what name she wanted to be called in the credits, she chose Ryder as her stage name because her father's Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels album was playing in the background. Her real hair colour is blonde but when she made Lucas (1986), her hair color was dyed black. She was told to keep it that colour and with the exception of Edward Scissorhands (1990), it has stayed that color since. Her next film was Square Dance (Daniel Petrie, 1987), in which the protagonist she portrays lives a life between two worlds: on a traditional farm and in a big city. Ryder's performance received good reviews, although neither film was a commercial success. Her acting in Lucas led director Tim Burton to cast her in his film Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988). In this comedy, she played Lydia Deetz, who moves with her family into a house inhabited by ghosts (played by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton). Ryder, as well as the film, received positive reviews, and Beetlejuice was also successful at the box office. In 1989, she starred as Veronica Sawyer in the independent film Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989) about a couple (Ryder and Christian Slater) who kill popular schoolgirls. Ryder's agent had previously advised her against the role. The film was a financial failure, but Ryder received positive reviews. The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! (Jim McBride, 1989) was also a flop. That same year, Ryder appeared in Mojo Nixon's music video 'Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child'. At the premiere of Great Balls of Fire (1989), Ryder met fellow actor and later film partner Johnny Depp. The couple became engaged a few months later, but their relationship ended in 1993. He had a tattoo of her name and after they broke up, he had this reduced to "Wino forever".

 

In 1990, Winona Ryder had her breakthrough performance alongside her boyfriend Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990). The fantasy film was an international box-office success. Ryder was selected for the role of Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Welcome Home Roxy (Jim Abrahams, 1990) and Mermaids (Richard Benjamin, 1990) back-to-back. Ryder's performance alongside Cher and Christina Ricci in the family comedy Mermaids (1990) was praised by critics and she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Ryder also appeared with Cher and Ricci in the music video for 'The Shoop Shoop Song', the film's theme song. Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote a role specifically for her in Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991), as a tattooed, chain-smoking cabdriver who dreams of becoming a mechanic. Ryder was cast in a dual role as Mina Murray and Elisabeta in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992). In 1993, she starred as Blanca in the drama The House of the Spirits (Bille August, 1993) alongside Antonio Banderas, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. It is the film adaptation of Isabel Allende's bestseller of the same name. Together with Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis, she starred in Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993), the film adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel. She was Martin Scorsese's first and only choice for the role of May Welland. For years, she kept the message he left on her voicemail, informing her she got the role. Her part earned her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and an Oscar nomination. She also earned positive reviews for her role in the comedy Reality Bites (Ben Stiller, 1994). She received critical acclaim and another Oscar nomination the same year as Jo in the drama Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994). In 1996, she starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Joan Allen in The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), an adaptation of Arthur Miller's stage play about the Puritan witch hunt in Salem. The film was not a success; however, Ryder's performance was favourably reviewed. A year later she portrayed an android in the successful horror film Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997) alongside Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. In 1998 she starred in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998). after Drew Barrymore turned down the role. In 1999 she starred as a psychiatric patient with borderline syndrome in the drama Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999), based on Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical novel. Girl, Interrupted, the first film on which she served as executive producer, was supposed to be Ryder's comeback in Hollywood after the flops of the past years. However, the film became the breakthrough for her colleague Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar for her role. In this decade, she was involved with Dave Pirner, the lead singer of the group Soul Asylum, from 1993 to 1996 and with Matt Damon from December 1997 to April 2000.

 

Winona Ryder appeared alongside Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (Joan Chen, 2000), a romance about an older man's love for a younger woman. She also made a cameo appearance in the comedy Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2000). The comedy Mr. Deeds (Steven Brill, 2002) with Adam Sandler became her biggest financial success to date. The film failed with critics and Ryder was nominated for the Golden Raspberry award. Also in 2002, she was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of work for repeatedly shoplifting $5,000 worth of clothes. The incident caused a career setback. She withdrew from the public eye in the following years and did not appear in front of the camera again until 2006. In that year, she appeared in the novel adaptation A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006) alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson. In 2009, she made an appearance in Star Trek: The Future Begins (J. J. Abrams, 2009) as Spock (Zachary Quinto)'s mother Amanda Grayson. The prequel became a huge success at the box office and Ryder earned a Scream Award for Best Guest Appearance. She also appeared alongside Robin Wright and Julianne Moore in Rebecca Miller's Pippa Lee (2009), and alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). Ryder starred in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (John Kent Harrison, 2010), for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in the comedy The Dilemma (Ron Howard, 2011), and the thrillers The Iceman (Ariel Vromen, 2012), and The Letter (Jay Anania, 2012) opposite James Franco. In Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (2012) she lent her voice to the character Elsa Van Helsing. Since 2016, she has embodied the main character, Joyce Byers, in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016-2022), for which she received positive responses. Her role in the series has been described by many as a comeback. Since 2011 Winona Ryder is in a relationship with Scott MacKinlay Hahn.

 

Sources: Pedro Borges (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

The story of the Elibank Castle reads like a ripping yarn. She was one of the earliest vessels built in the Great Lakes Area of NSW. This image, taken from a sketch, shows her stranded but the location is not stated: it seems, however, to be her stranding on Ninety Mile Beach (south of Christchurch on the East Coast of the South Island, New Zealand) in June 1875.

 

To fully present the astounding events surrounding this vessel a report is presented for each of three periods in her short life:

- grounding in New Zealand in 1875

- first trip to the Pacific Islands in 1884

- final trip to the Islands in 1885

 

Section 1 deals specifically with her movement to New Zealand and subsequent grounding.

Section 2 deals with her first visit to the Pacific Islands in late 1884 and the murder of 5 crew members, including the captain. Section 2

Section 3 deals with her second and final visit to the Pacific Islands in 1885 when all but two of the crew were murdered - the survivors sailed the ship to New Guinea and were forced to abandon her and take to the long boat. Only one man survived and he turned up in Cooktown; seven months after the massacre in the Solomon Islands. Section 3

 

Details

Name: Elibank Castle

Type: Topsail Schooner – two masts

Official Number: ON 71811

Registered Sydney 3/1875

Length: 80 ft

Breadth: 18.5 ft

Depth: 6.85 ft

Registered net tonnage: 69.62 tons

Builders: William Peat and Donald Cameron

Location: Coolongolook, NSW.

Launched: September 1874 (no specific record)

Loss: Abandoned after hitting reef - Northern New Guinea (German Colony)

 

Owners:

1875 – 1877 James Mathew Banks (NZ)

Registered in Wellington, New Zealand (2/1875)

Stranded Ninety Mile Beach; Recovered

Registered in Wellington New Zealand (10/1875)

1877 – 1879 George Parkman Austing (NZ)

Registered Dunedin, New Zealand (17/1877)

1879 – 1880 James Anderson (NZ)

1880 – 1884 Keith Ramsay, John Graham & James Anderson (NZ)

1884 - Capt. Augustus Otto Wilhelm Routch

Registered in Sydney 114/1884

 

Early Life

The Elibank Castle was built by William Peat and Donald Cameron on the banks of the Coolongolook River at Coolongolook. No details of her launch have been found but a report from 7th September 1874 indicated that launching was imminent.

"Peat and Cameron's vessel now building at the Coolongolook is nearly ready for launching. She is a pretty model and right well put together with well seasoned timber, and bids fair to prove a first class little craft to brave the dangers of the coast. September 7, 1874." The Maitland Mercury and .. - 19 September 1874.

 

SECTION 1 - NEW ZEALAND

It appears that she was sold to Captain James Mathew Banks - a well-known mariner in Sydney. She was registered in Sydney (3/875) and by late January was advertised as accepting cargo for Wanganui. The Sydney Morning Herald - 22 January 1875. She departed for Wanganui under the command of Captain Southgate on March 3rd 1875 and was registered in Wellington (2/1875).

 

Stranded on Ninety Mile Beach

Just three months later, on the evening of 6th June 1875, she was stranded on Ninety Mile Beach (South Island) near the mouth of the Ashburton River – there was no loss of life. North Otago Times 10 June 1875. The Success, of Auckland, was not so lucky when, during the same gale, she was washed ashore at the entrance of the nearby Ashburton River – four crew were drowned. North Otago Times - 10 June 1875..

 

The following account from a letter written by Captain Linklater best describes the event:

"We have been favoured by Messrs. W and G. Turnbull and Co. with the following extract from a letter -from Captain Linklater regarding the loss of the Elibank Castle :—

Ninety-mile Beach, 13th June, 1875, I beg to forward you an account of our misfortunes. We arrived at Timaru on Tuesday, 1st June, after a very tedious passage of southerly gales and calms, and found eleven sailing vessels and two steamers in the roadstead, some of which had been there 25 days, and had not got clear of their inward cargo. I was on shore once, but landed none of my inward cargo. On Friday, the 4th, at 5 p.m., it commenced to blow a hard gale from the southward, but only three vessels went to sea. On Saturday [6th], at 9.30 a.m., it commenced to blow very heavy, when signals went out from the shore for all vessels to put to sea and they all slipped their cables. We slipped at 10.30 a.m., and stood out to sea with the wind at south. At 2 p.m. the wind hauled to the S.E., putting the vessel on a dead lee shore, the wind blowing furiously, with a tremendous high sea at the beam, throwing the vessel on her beam ends several times, and, scarcely able to recover herself again. At 4 p.m. we saw the schooner Success, of Auckland, owned by Mr. Blair, of Wanganui, about two and a-half miles to leeward, and another vessel about the same distance ahead. The first vessel went ashore twelve miles to the south of us, and the other fifteen miles north. At 8 p.m. we saw land on the lee quarter, and no chance of keeping the vessel off the shore. We then made preparations to save life. At 9.15 p.m. we struck heavily on the beach, the sea breaking heavily over us, being low water at the time. We did not wash up till early next morning, when she was left high and dry. The following high water the sea only met round her. She now lies broadside on to the sea, with a small list to seaward, and about 40 yards from a cliff, which I measured, and found to be 46 feet high. The bench is loose, soft shingle. The vessel does not appear to have hurt much. She must have rubbed a considerable amount of copper off her bottom, which cannot be seen, as she is well embedded in the shingle.

Sunday, 9 a.m., we all started in various directions over the plain, to try and find a habitation. The nearest was Mr. Moffat’s, of Wakanui Creek, eight miles to the south of us, who kindly forwarded a telegram to you, and he gave me a horse to ride to Ashburton next morning, where I found it would be of no use to go to Timaru, as Christchurch was the nearest town, with the railway all the way.

Tuesday, 8th. — Had a telegram from the Agent Smith British Insurance Company, telling me to wait for him. Wednesday, 9th, at 9 a.m., proceeded to the wreck in a four-horse coach, in company with Mr. McPherson, Captain Dunsford, surveyor, Mr. McDougall, H.M.C., and Mr. Cuff, of Lyttelton, arriving at 1.30 p.m. On Thursday, 10th, rigged up a derrick 65 feet long, to land the cargo on the cliff. At night Captain Dunsford arrived with letters, and food for the draw horses, which came next morning Friday and Saturday finished discharging and got all the cargo on the cliff. At night on Saturday three drays arrived to take away the bonded cargo and some other goods. On Tuesday two oilier drays arrived, taking the balance of the cargo. The draymen that came to-day informed me that the wreck of the Success was found off the entrance of the Ashburton River, also four dead bodies of the crew. I saw part of the wreck at Moffat's Station that was picked up and carted to his house, consisting of a piece of mast, the whole of the deck house, stanchions, piece of the boat with the captain's name painted inside, also two life buoy 3 with the words " Success, of Auckland," painted on them. Evening Post, 19 June 1875.

 

The Elibank Castle was refloated and repaired; she was registered later that year (10/1875) in Wellington. After a few years of trading along the South Island, without incident, she was advertised for sale in Brisbane and finally purchased by Captain Augustus Otto Wilhelm Routch from Sydney in October 1884. She was Registered in Sydney (114/1884) but remained in Brisbane.

 

Image Source Alexander Turnbull Library, Welington - National Library of New Zealand - image A-078-013

 

Acknowledgements: The assistance of Mori Flapan (Mori Flapan boatregister) by providing access to his extensive database is greatly appreciated.

 

All Images in this photostream are Copyright - Great Lakes Manning River Shipping and/or their individual owners as may be stated above and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or used in any way without prior written approval.

 

GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flick Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List

   

Belgian postcard by MultiChoice Kaleidoscope. Photo: Isopress / Outline (Low).

 

Delicate American actress Winona Ryder (1971) is known for her dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She starred in films such as Beetlejuice Heathers, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Edward Scissorhands, and the television series Stranger Things. In 1994, she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Age of Innocence (1993), and Ryder was nominated twice for an Oscar.

 

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Winona (Olmsted County), Minnesota, in 1971. Yes, her name is very much the same as her birthplace. Her parents, Cindy Horowitz (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller, were part of the hippie movement. She has a brother named Uri Horowitz (1976), who got his first name after Yuri Gagarin, a half-sister named Sunyata Palmer (1968), and a half-brother named Jubal Palmer (1970) from her mother Cindy's first marriage. From 1978, Winona grew up in a commune near Mendocino in California, which had no electricity. When Winona was seven, her mother began to manage an old cinema in a nearby barn and would screen films all day. She allowed Winona to miss school to watch movies with her. In 1981, the family moved to Petaluma, California. Since Winona was considered an outsider in public school, she was sent to a public school and later to the American Conservatory Theater acting school. She was discovered at the age of thirteen by a talent scout at a theatre performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1985, she applied for a role in the film Desert Bloom (David Seltzer, 1986) with a video in which she performed a monologue from the book 'Franny and Zooey' by J. D. Salinger. Although the casting choice was fellow actress Annabeth Gish, director and writer David Seltzer recognised her talent and cast her as Rina in his film Lucas (David Seltzer, 1986) about a teenager (Corey Haim) and his life in high school. When telephoned to ask what name she wanted to be called in the credits, she chose Ryder as her stage name because her father's Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels album was playing in the background. Her real hair colour is blonde but when she made Lucas (1986), her hair color was dyed black. She was told to keep it that colour and with the exception of Edward Scissorhands (1990), it has stayed that color since. Her next film was Square Dance (Daniel Petrie, 1987), in which the protagonist she portrays lives a life between two worlds: on a traditional farm and in a big city. Ryder's performance received good reviews, although neither film was a commercial success. Her acting in Lucas led director Tim Burton to cast her in his film Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988). In this comedy, she played Lydia Deetz, who moves with her family into a house inhabited by ghosts (played by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton). Ryder, as well as the film, received positive reviews, and Beetlejuice was also successful at the box office. In 1989, she starred as Veronica Sawyer in the independent film Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989) about a couple (Ryder and Christian Slater) who kill popular schoolgirls. Ryder's agent had previously advised her against the role. The film was a financial failure, but Ryder received positive reviews. The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! (Jim McBride, 1989) was also a flop. That same year, Ryder appeared in Mojo Nixon's music video 'Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child'. At the premiere of Great Balls of Fire (1989), Ryder met fellow actor and later film partner Johnny Depp. The couple became engaged a few months later, but their relationship ended in 1993. He had a tattoo of her name and after they broke up, he had this reduced to "Wino forever".

 

In 1990, Winona Ryder had her breakthrough performance alongside her boyfriend Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990). The fantasy film was an international box-office success. Ryder was selected for the role of Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Welcome Home Roxy (Jim Abrahams, 1990) and Mermaids (Richard Benjamin, 1990) back-to-back. Ryder's performance alongside Cher and Christina Ricci in the family comedy Mermaids (1990) was praised by critics and she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Ryder also appeared with Cher and Ricci in the music video for 'The Shoop Shoop Song', the film's theme song. Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote a role specifically for her in Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991), as a tattooed, chain-smoking cabdriver who dreams of becoming a mechanic. Ryder was cast in a dual role as Mina Murray and Elisabeta in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992). In 1993, she starred as Blanca in the drama The House of the Spirits (Bille August, 1993) alongside Antonio Banderas, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. It is the film adaptation of Isabel Allende's bestseller of the same name. Together with Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis, she starred in Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993), the film adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel. She was Martin Scorsese's first and only choice for the role of May Welland. For years, she kept the message he left on her voicemail, informing her she got the role. Her part earned her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and an Oscar nomination. She also earned positive reviews for her role in the comedy Reality Bites (Ben Stiller, 1994). She received critical acclaim and another Oscar nomination the same year as Jo in the drama Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994). In 1996, she starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Joan Allen in The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), an adaptation of Arthur Miller's stage play about the Puritan witch hunt in Salem. The film was not a success; however, Ryder's performance was favourably reviewed. A year later she portrayed an android in the successful horror film Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997) alongside Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. In 1998 she starred in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998). after Drew Barrymore turned down the role. In 1999 she starred as a psychiatric patient with borderline syndrome in the drama Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999), based on Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical novel. Girl, Interrupted, the first film on which she served as executive producer, was supposed to be Ryder's comeback in Hollywood after the flops of the past years. However, the film became the breakthrough for her colleague Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar for her role. In this decade, she was involved with Dave Pirner, the lead singer of the group Soul Asylum, from 1993 to 1996 and with Matt Damon from December 1997 to April 2000.

 

Winona Ryder appeared alongside Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (Joan Chen, 2000), a romance about an older man's love for a younger woman. She also made a cameo appearance in the comedy Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2000). The comedy Mr. Deeds (Steven Brill, 2002) with Adam Sandler became her biggest financial success to date. The film failed with critics and Ryder was nominated for the Golden Raspberry award. Also in 2002, she was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of work for repeatedly shoplifting $5,000 worth of clothes. The incident caused a career setback. She withdrew from the public eye in the following years and did not appear in front of the camera again until 2006. In that year, she appeared in the novel adaptation A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006) alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson. In 2009, she made an appearance in Star Trek: The Future Begins (J. J. Abrams, 2009) as Spock (Zachary Quinto)'s mother Amanda Grayson. The prequel became a huge success at the box office and Ryder earned a Scream Award for Best Guest Appearance. She also appeared alongside Robin Wright and Julianne Moore in Rebecca Miller's Pippa Lee (2009), and alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). Ryder starred in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (John Kent Harrison, 2010), for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in the comedy The Dilemma (Ron Howard, 2011), and the thrillers The Iceman (Ariel Vromen, 2012), and The Letter (Jay Anania, 2012) opposite James Franco. In Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (2012) she lent her voice to the character Elsa Van Helsing. Since 2016, she has embodied the main character, Joyce Byers, in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016-2022), for which she received positive responses. Her role in the series has been described by many as a comeback. Since 2011 Winona Ryder is in a relationship with Scott MacKinlay Hahn.

 

Sources: Pedro Borges (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Wien - Prater

 

View from Giant Ferris wheel

 

Aussicht vom Riesenrad

 

The Wurstelprater (Wurstel or Wurschtel being the Viennese name for Hanswurst) is an amusement park and section of the Wiener Prater (a park) in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria.

 

This institution dates back to the time of the Austrian Empire, when Emperor Joseph II made the Prater (which had been serving as Imperial hunting ground until then) open to the public in 1766. Soon the first snack bars, stalls and bowling alleys opened up on the grounds and the Wurstelprater was born.

 

The best-known attraction is the Wiener Riesenrad, a Ferris wheel. The park also features various rides, bumper cars, carousels, roller coasters, shooting galleries, ghost trains, a Madame Tussauds wax works cabinet and much more. Apart from the rides, the park features various famous traditional Viennese restaurants (such as the Schweizerhaus and the Walfisch) and souvenir shops.

 

The mascot for the park is Calafati, a 9 m-tall sculpture of a Chinese man, which stands near the Wiener Riesenrad.

 

The park is open from 10:00 am to 1:00 am daily in its season, which runs from 15 March to 31 October. Some attractions, as well as the food stands and restaurants, are open throughout the year. There is no entrance fee to get into the park; instead, each attraction charges its own fee, the attractions being individual businesses mostly owned by local families.

 

During the advent season, a small Christmas Market can be found on Riesenradplatz, right beside the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel at the Wurstelprater entrance. This Wintermarkt is open from mid-November till beginning of January and features traditional Christmas gifts as well as seasonal food and beverages.

 

The Wurstelprater is located in the Wiener Prater and can be conveniently reached by public transport (U1/U2 Praterstern) as well as by car (parking facilities available).

 

(Wikipedia)

 

The Wiener Riesenrad (German for Vienna Giant Ferris wheel), or Riesenrad, is a 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. It is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, and symbolises the district as well as the city for many people. Constructed in 1897, it was the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985.

 

The Wiener Riesenrad was designed by the British engineers Harry Hitchins and Hubert Cecil Booth and constructed in 1897 by the English engineer Lieutenant Walter Bassett Bassett (1864-1907), Royal Navy, son of Charles Bassett (1834-1908), MP, of Watermouth Castle, Devon. Its purpose was to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I, and it was one of the earliest Ferris wheels ever built. Bassett's Ferris wheel manufacturing business was not a commercial success, and he died in 1907 almost bankrupt.

 

A permit for its demolition was issued in 1916, but because of a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, it survived.

 

It was built with 30 gondolas, but was severely damaged in World War II and when it was rebuilt only 15 gondolas were replaced.

 

The wheel is driven by a circumferential cable which leaves the wheel and passes through the drive mechanism under the base, and its spokes are steel cables, in tension.

 

When the 64.75-metre (212 ft) tall Wiener Riesenrad was constructed in 1897, both the original 80.4-metre (264 ft) Ferris Wheel in the US (constructed 1893, demolished 1906) and the 94-metre (308 ft) Great Wheel in England (constructed 1895, demolished 1907) were taller. The 100-metre (328 ft) Grande Roue de Paris, constructed in 1900, was taller still. However, when the Grande Roue de Paris was demolished in 1920, the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel, and it remained so for the next 65 years, until the construction of the 85-metre (279 ft) Technostar in Japan in 1985.

 

The Riesenrad appeared in the post-World War II film noir The Third Man (1949)[5]

The wheel is featured in the 1973 spy thriller Scorpio (1973)

The 1987 James Bond film, The Living Daylights features scenes throughout the Prater, around the wheel, and a lengthy romantic scene on the wheel.

The wheel appears in the novel The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

The wheel appears in Max Ophüls' Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948).

Scenes in Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (1995) were filmed around the Prater and on the wheel.

The wheel appears in The Glass Room by Simon Mawer.

The Riesenrad appears in the film Woman in Gold (2015), about the repatriation of a Klimt portrait stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish Viennese family.

The wheel appears in Kommissar Rex the Austrian television series

Winter City in Burnout 3: Takedown is based on Vienna and includes the Riesenrad.

The wheel is featured in the US Hallmark Channel movie Christmas in Vienna.

In the second season of the NBC TV Show: Grimm, Episode 21, "the Walking Dead" the wheel is in the background during a meeting of Frau Pech (a nasty hexenbeast) and Sebastien, an employee of the Kronenburg Family, who is also a friend of Captain Renard, a member of the resistance.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Wurstelprater ist der überregional bekannte Vergnügungspark in Wien, amtlich schon 1825 Volksprater, oft einfach Prater genannt. Er befindet sich mit seinem Wahrzeichen, dem Wiener Riesenrad, im nordwestlichen Teil des Erholungsgebiets Prater, nahe dem Praterstern, im 2. Bezirk, Leopoldstadt.

 

Geschichte

 

Der Wurstelprater, wie der Vergnügungspark inoffiziell, aber durchgängig genannt wird, verdankt seinen Namen einer Figur des Volkstheaters, dem von Josef Anton Stranitzky kreierten „Hanswurst“. In der Zeit der Aufklärung im späten 18. Jahrhundert wurden diese volkstümlichen Bühnen von den Marktplätzen der heutigen Altstadt vertrieben und fanden im von Joseph II. 1766 für die Allgemeinheit freigegebenen Prater neue Standorte.

 

Der mit Vergnügungsetablissements bestückte Teil des Oberen Praters wurde schon im Biedermeier Volksprater genannt. Anlässlich der Weltausstellung 1873, derentwegen der Wurstelprater im Frühsommer 1872 demoliert worden war, wurde die Bezeichnung Volksprater von der Stadtverwaltung amtlich festgelegt. Heute wird der Begriff Volksprater zwar amtlich verwendet, z. B. auf dem elektronischen Stadtplan der Wiener Stadtverwaltung, ist ansonsten aber kaum in Gebrauch.

 

In einer 1825 erstellten Liste der Prateretablissements mit über 80 Positionen finden sich unter anderen:

 

Plastische optische Vorstellungen, unter denen das Bergwerk in Wieliczka und die Überschwemmung von Petersburg die vorzüglichsten sind.

Kaffeehaus, nebst einem großen Salon, in welchem auch im Winter an Sonn- und Feiertagen eine gut besetzte Harmoniemusik den Besuchenden erfreut.

Ausschank und Vogelschießen.

Mechanische Künste.

Ausschank neben der kais. königl. Schwimmschule. (Der Prater reichte damals bis zur Stadtgut oder Schwimmschul Allee, der heutigen Lassallestraße, die zum Fahnenstangenwasser, einem Donauarm, führte.)

 

In den letzten Jahrzehnten des 19. Jahrhunderts überschritt der Wurstelprater die Ausstellungsstraße nach Norden. Einige Vergnügungsbetriebe siedelten sich in der Venediger Au an, am prominentesten 1892 der Zirkus Busch in dem 1881 errichteten Panoramabau In den folgenden Jahrzehnten vergrößerte sich das Vergnügungsviertel Venediger Au auf eine 48.250 m² große Fläche. Neben dem Zirkus Busch gab es Reitställe, Bierdepots und diverse Schaubuden.

 

Im Wurstelprater bestand um 1900 der vermutlich erste Themenpark der Welt, – „Venedig in Wien“. Er wurde 1895 von Gabor Steiner errichtet und bildete die Lagunenstadt auf der Kaiserwiese des Praters (zwischen Praterstern und Riesenrad) in kleinerem Format nach. Wasserkanäle wurden geschaffen, gesäumt von Schaustellerbuden und anderen Vergnügungsmöglichkeiten. Jährlich zur Sommersaison kamen neue Attraktionen hinzu.

 

In den Jahren 1896/97 wurde das Riesenrad erbaut, heute eines der Wahrzeichen Wiens. In den zwanzig Jahren vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg erreichte der Wurstelprater bei Angebot und Nachfrage Spitzenwerte. 1933 wurde auf Parzelle 96 von Friedrich Holzdorfer das Geisterschloss, eine der weltweit ältesten Geisterbahnen, in Betrieb genommen.

 

Im Rahmen der Schlacht um Wien wurde der Wurstelprater Anfang April 1945 nahezu vollständig zerstört. Er wurde in den folgenden Jahren neu errichtet bzw. wieder aufgebaut, wobei der Teil in der Venediger Au nicht mehr einbezogen wurde.

 

Im Herbst 1948 wurden im Prater wesentliche Teile des bald weltbekannten Spielfilms Der dritte Mann gedreht.

 

1981 brannte das Lustspielkino zwischen Ausstellungsstraße und Riesenrad, das letzte bestehende Praterkino, ab und wurde nicht wieder aufgebaut. Das Kino mit rund 1.000 Sitzplätzen hatte hier als Nachfolger eines 1845 gegründeten Theaters seit 1927 bestanden.

 

Der Wurstelprater heute

 

Der Wurstelprater ist der wohl bekannteste Teil des Wiener Praters, in dem sich zahlreiche Schaustell- und Unterhaltungsbetriebe mit Geisterbahnen, Ringelspielen (Karussellen), Wellenflug, Hochschaubahnen (Achterbahnen), Spiegel- und Lachkabinetten, Autodrom, Falltürmen und viele andere familienfreundliche Etablissements befinden. Daneben findet man einige Automaten-Spielhallen und andere Glücksspieleinrichtungen.

 

Ein Riesenrad neueren Datums ist das 1993 eröffnete Blumenrad. Mit seinen 35 Metern Durchmesser ist es bedeutend kleiner als das Wiener Riesenrad und hat im Unterschied zu diesem drehbare offene Kabinen. Drei weitere, wenngleich kleinere Wahrzeichen des Praters sind der Calafati, der Watschenmann und der Toboggan.

 

Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Unterhaltungsparks ist der Eintritt auf das Pratergelände frei; die konsumierten Unterhaltungen sind bei den einzelnen Schaustellern zu bezahlen. Der Wurstelprater verfügt zwar über gemeinsames Marketing, die einzelnen Grundstücke sind aber von der Stadt Wien an private Unternehmer verpachtet, die jeweils auf eigenes Risiko tätig sind.

 

Auch gastronomisch bietet der Wurstelprater große Vielfalt, beliebt sind zum Beispiel die Lángos, die an zahlreichen Ständen erhältlich sind, und das bekannte Schweizerhaus, das im Jahr 1920 von Karl Kolarik übernommen wurde. Heutzutage ist es vor allem für sein echtes Budweiser Bier bekannt, das aufgrund des hohen und daher raschen Verbrauchs nur mit wenig CO2 versetzt werden muss und daher leichter schmeckt. Eine weitere Spezialität ist die Schweinsstelze.

 

Die Liliputbahn ist eine bemerkenswerte Parkeisenbahn, die auf einem Rundkurs von 3,9 Kilometer Länge das Areal des Praters weit über den Vergnügungspark hinaus befährt. Dabei überquert sie auch einige für den öffentlichen Straßenverkehr freigegebene Straßen. Sie hat eine Spurweite von 381 Millimeter und besteht seit 1928, wobei die Strecke bis 1933 zum Praterstadion verlängert wurde. Als Fahrzeuge stehen zwei Dampfloks, vier Diesellokomotiven und vier Personenzuggarnituren zur Verfügung. Die Hauptstation befindet sich nahe dem Riesenrad.

 

Ein weiteres ungewöhnliches Objekt, das im Prater steht, ist die „Republik Kugelmugel“, ein „Staat“ mit einem einzigen Einwohner und einem einzigen Haus, – einem Kugelhaus. Der „Präsident“ des Staates, Edwin Lipburger, erbaute das Haus Anfang der 1970er Jahre im niederösterreichischen Katzelsdorf und meinte, da sein Haus nur auf einem Punkt ruhe und ein Punkt keine räumliche Ausdehnung habe, befinde es sich in einem staatsfreien Raum und er könne seine eigene Republik ausrufen. Später wurde seine „Republik“ in den Wiener Prater verfrachtet und steht dort heute noch.

 

Am Rand des Praters befindet sich nahe dem Riesenrad seit 1964 das Planetarium mit dem Pratermuseum, das mit vielen Exponaten die Geschichte dieses Vergnügungsparks erzählt.

 

Der Wurstelprater oder Volksprater befindet sich im Grundeigentum der Wiener Stadtverwaltung; die Anbieter von Vergnügungs- und Gastronomiebetrieben sind Pächter der von ihnen benützten Flächen. Die Stadtverwaltung lässt den Wurstelprater von einer ihrer Tochterfirmen verwalten.

 

Eine ähnliche, aber viel kleinere Einrichtung ist der Böhmische Prater in Wien-Favoriten.

 

Neuer Eingangsbereich

 

Im Zusammenhang mit der Fußball-Europameisterschaft 2008 (das Ernst-Happel-Stadion, einer der Spielorte der EM, befindet sich im Prater) erhielt der Wurstelprater neben dem Riesenrad nach einem Entwurf von Emmanuel Mongon einen als Rondeau gestalteten Entréebereich, der den Namen Riesenradplatz erhielt; um ihn wurden Gastronomiebetriebe, Infostände und Shops im Stil von „Wien um 1900“ angeordnet.

 

Das Projekt wurde teilweise kritisiert: Bereits im Vorfeld wurde beanstandet, dass es für den 32-Millionen-Euro-Auftrag keine öffentliche Ausschreibung gab. Weiters betraf das Projekt nur den Eingangsbereich, der Rest des Praters bleibt (auf Grund der kleinteiligen Pächterstruktur) „zersiedelt“ und zeigt ein inhomogenes Erscheinungsbild; dies ist jedoch ein typisches Merkmal des Wiener Praters. Auch die Ästhetik der Neubauten wurde in den Medien teilweise abgelehnt.

 

Am Rande des Riesenradplatzes wurde Ende 2008 die zu diesem Zeitpunkt größte Diskothek Österreichs, der Praterdome (Dome, englisch für Kuppel), eröffnet.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Das Wiener Riesenrad im Prater im Gemeindebezirk Leopoldstadt ist eine Sehenswürdigkeit und ein Wahrzeichen Wiens. Es wurde 1897 zur Feier des 50. Thronjubiläums Kaiser Franz Josephs I. errichtet und war zur damaligen Zeit eines der größten Riesenräder der Welt.

 

Das Riesenrad wurde 1896 von den englischen Ingenieuren Walter Bassett Basset (1864–1907) und Harry Hitchins geplant und mit 30 Waggons auf einem von Gabor Steiner, dem eigentlichen „Vater des Riesenrades“, gepachteten Grundstück auf dem Prater-Gelände errichtet. Als eigentlich ausführender Chefkonstrukteur wirkte Hubert Cecil Booth mit. Walter Bassett Basset selbst streckt die Baukosten von 500.000 Kronen vor und verbrieft die Finanzierungskosten hinterher in Aktien (45.000 £) und einer Anleihe von 10.000 £ (eingeteilt in 40 Stücke zu 250 £) der englischen Gesellschaft "Wiener Riesen Rad Limited" (Vienna Gigantic Wheel Ltd.)[1]. Am 25. Juni 1897 wurde das Rad erstmals in Bewegung gesetzt, allerdings führte es nur eine halbe Umdrehung aus, damit der obere Teil nach unten gebracht und fertig montiert werden konnte. Eröffnet wurde es 1897, ein Jahr vor der Feier des 50. Thronjubiläums Kaiser Franz Josephs I. Die offizielle Einweihung des Riesenrads erfolgte am 3. Juli 1897, einem heißen Sommertag, an dem die Wiener das Prater-Gelände in großer Zahl besuchten. Nur die wenigsten dürften allerdings in der Lage gewesen sein, die acht Gulden aufzubringen, die damals eine Fahrt mit dem Riesenrad kostete. Ein Beamter verdiente damals 30 Gulden im Monat.

 

Während des Ersten Weltkrieges, im Jahre 1916, wurde der britische Eigentümer des Riesenrades, Walter Basset, enteignet und die Attraktion zur Versteigerung ausgeschrieben. Erst drei Jahre später, 1919, erwarb es der nicht mit Gabor Steiner verwandte Prager Kaufmann Eduard Steiner, der es ursprünglich abreißen lassen wollte, es aber schließlich verpachtete.

 

1938 wurde das Riesenrad wie das gesamte Eigentum von Eduard Steiner (und auch jenes von Gabor Steiner) von den Nationalsozialisten „arisiert“. Ein Jahr später wurde es unter Denkmalschutz gestellt. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg wurde das Riesenrad durch Feuer und Bomben fast gänzlich vernichtet und brannte 1944 aus. Im selben Jahr starb Gabor Steiner in seinem Exil in Beverly Hills. Eduard Steiner, der letzte rechtmäßige Besitzer vor der „Arisierung“, wurde 1944 im KZ Auschwitz ermordet. 1953 wurde das Riesenrad an drei Steiner-Erbinnen restituiert.

 

Wegen der Brandschäden des Krieges ging man nach 1945 davon aus, dass die Stabilität des Riesenrads gelitten habe. Daher wurden nur noch 15 der 30 Waggons wieder eingehängt. Aus Kostengründen wurden nur 4 statt der ursprünglich 6 Fenster eingebaut. Noch 1957, als der Eigentümer aus Anlass des 60-Jahr-Jubiläums des Fahrgeschäfts alte Waggons austauschen ließ, wurde wegen zu schwacher Frequenz an der Zahl von 15 Waggons festgehalten. Das Riesenrad mit 15 Waggons wurde ein Symbol des Wiederaufbaus. Seit 2002 befindet sich beim Riesenrad eine „Panoramamuseum“ genannte Ausstellungshalle mit acht nachgebauten Waggons, in denen die Geschichte des Wiener Praters dargestellt wird.

 

2016 wurde begonnen, die 15 Waggons gegen neue auszutauschen, die nach den Originalplänen von 1896/97 gebaut werden. Damals hatten die Waggons sechs Fenster pro Seite.

 

Das Riesenrad befindet sich über die „Wiener Riesenrad Dr. Lamac GmbH & Co OG“ und jeweils einer dazwischen geschalteten Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft im Privatbesitz von Dorothea Lamac.

 

Das Wiener Riesenrad hat die Form eines Dreißigecks mit einem Gesamtdurchmesser von 60,96 Meter (von 200 engl. Fuß abgeleitet),[6] was dem Durchmesser über die Aufhängungsachsen der Waggons entspricht. Der äußere Raddurchmesser beträgt 55,78 Meter (183 Fuß), der innere Raddurchmesser 49,68 Meter (163 Fuß). Der höchste Punkt befindet sich 64,75 Meter über dem Boden.

 

Das Gewicht der rotierenden Konstruktion beträgt 244,85 Tonnen und das Gesamtgewicht aller Eisenkonstruktionen 430,05 Tonnen. Die Achse des Riesenrades ist 10,78 Meter lang, hat einen Durchmesser von 0,5 Meter und wiegt 16,3 Tonnen.

 

Der Antrieb erfolgt über zwei Motoren mit einer Leistung von 15 Kilowatt, die über eine Welle miteinander verbunden sind. Sie treiben über Riemen zwei Schwungräder an. Über Riemenscheiben und je ein zweistufiges Getriebe wird die Antriebskraft in die zwei Seiltriebe an den Außenseiten des Radkranzes eingeleitet, die Übertragung des Drehmomentes erfolgt über Reibungsbacken. Das Seil wird durch ein 3,5 Tonnen schweres Gewicht auf Spannung gehalten. Obwohl jeder der beiden Motoren allein das Rad bewegen könnte, sind zur Sicherheit noch zwei weitere, kleinere Motoren in das Antriebssystem integriert; die Stromversorgung hält bei Stromausfall ein Notstromaggregat aufrecht. Letztlich ist das Kraftübertragungssystem so ausgelegt, dass das Riesenrad auch per Hand gedreht werden kann.

 

Die Umfangsgeschwindigkeit des Riesenrads beträgt maximal 0,75 Meter pro Sekunde (2,7 Kilometer pro Stunde), die Zeit für eine vollständige Umdrehung beläuft sich somit auf 255 Sekunden. Die tatsächliche Dauer für eine Umdrehung ist wesentlich länger und hängt vom Passagieraufkommen ab, da im längsten Fall das Riesenrad jeweils nur um die Wegstrecke zwischen zwei Waggons weiterbewegt wird, um die Passagiere ein- und aussteigen zu lassen.

 

Das Wiener Riesenrad war im Verlauf seiner Geschichte auch Ort für waghalsige Aktionen: So drehte die Zirkusdirektorin Madame Solange d’Atalide im Jahr 1914 für einen Film auf einem Pferd sitzend eine Runde auf dem Dach eines Waggons des Wiener Riesenrads.

 

In die Filmgeschichte geriet das Wiener Riesenrad spätestens durch eine längere Sequenz in Der dritte Mann (1949, Regie: Carol Reed, mit Orson Welles und Joseph Cotten). In Erinnerung an diesen Film wurde es am 9. Juni 2016 in die Liste der Schätze der europäischen Filmkultur der Europäischen Filmakademie aufgenommen. Eine Szene im 15. James-Bond-Abenteuer Der Hauch des Todes (1987) ist ebenfalls auf dem Riesenrad gedreht worden.

 

Anlässlich der Fußball-Europameisterschaft 2008 war das Riesenrad mit einem Bild des tschechischen Torhüters Petr Čech dekoriert. Ursprünglich sollte diese Funktion ein 2000 Quadratmeter großes über das Rad gespanntes Netz übernehmen. Darauf waren das EM-Logo, die EM-Maskottchen Trix und Flix sowie der Satz: „Wir freuen uns auf die Europameisterschaft.“ zu sehen. Das bereits montierte Netz musste wegen des nahenden Sturmtiefs „Emma“ Anfang März 2008 geöffnet werden (die einzelnen Netzteile waren mit Reißverschlüssen verbunden). Nach Aussagen der Stadt-Wien-Marketing wurde es durch den Sturm bis auf einen 1,5 Meter langen Riss nicht weiter beschädigt. Dennoch war dessen vollständige Entfernung erforderlich, da das Riesenrad sturmbedingt eine sicherheitstechnische Überprüfung benötigte. Zum Wiederaufhängen fehlten die dafür erforderlichen 50.000 bis 60.000 Euro. Der Hauptteil wäre für die Netzmontage aufzuwenden gewesen, da derartige Arbeiten nur in den Nachtstunden während der Stillstandszeiten des Riesenrades durchgeführt werden können und 14 Tage gedauert hätten.

 

Am 16. Oktober 2019 fand eine gemeinsame Bergungsübung von Spezialkräften der Feuerwehr, Berufsrettung und Polizei statt, bei der – bei Wind – wiederholt ein Verletzten-Dummy und zuletzt auch zwei Journalisten von einer Gondel am höchsten Punkt des Rads abgeseilt wurden.

 

George Ferris als Erfinder des Riesenrades setzte bei der Weltausstellung in Chicago 1893 das erste derartige Fahrgeschäft um. Der Erfolg dieser Erfindung veranlasste den britischen Marineoffizier und Ingenieur Walter Bassett Basset, Ferris das Patent abzukaufen und in der Folge vier weitere Riesenräder in Europa zu errichten. Das heute einzige dieser vier ersten Riesenräder aus der Zeit um die Jahrhundertwende, das noch steht, ist das Wiener Riesenrad im Prater, welches eine baulich kleinere Kopie des Blackpooler Riesenrades darstellt. Ein für New Brighton (Stadtteil von Wallasey) geplantes Riesenrad wurde aufgrund von Rechtsstreitigkeiten nicht errichtet. Der Ort errichtete als Ersatz dafür den New Brighton Tower, der allerdings in den 1920er Jahren wieder abgerissen wurde.

 

(Wikipedia)

British postcard by Pyramid Posters, Leicester, no. PC 9471. Photo: Miramax Films / A Band Apart. Uma Thurman (montage) in Kill Bill (Quentin Tarantino, 2003). Caption: The 4th film by Quentin Tarantino. "Revenge is a dish best served cold".

 

Blonde and blue-eyed American actress Uma Thurman (1970) is best known for her roles in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. Furthermore, she starred in a wide variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films.

 

Uma Karuna Thurman was born in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally-minded family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman), a professor and academic who is one of the nation's foremost Buddhist scholars. Uma grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, where her father worked at Amherst College. Thurman's household was one in which The Dalai Lama was an occasional guest; she and her siblings all have names deriving from Buddhist mythology; and Middle American behaviour was little understood, much less pursued. And so it was that the young Thurman confronted childhood with an odd name and eccentric home life - and nature seemingly conspired against her as well. She is six feet tall, and from an early age Uma towered over everyone else in her class. The family constantly relocated, making the gangly, socially inept Thurman perpetually the new kid in class. The result was an exceptionally awkward, self-conscious, lonely, and alienated childhood. Unsurprisingly, the young Thurman enjoyed making believe she was someone other than herself, and so thrived at acting in school plays. This interest, and her lanky frame, perfect for modeling, led the 15-year-old Thurman to New York City for high school and modeling work (including a layout in Glamour Magazine) as she sought acting roles. The roles soon came. She made her film debut in the teen thriller Kiss Daddy Goodnight (Peter Ily Huemer, 1987). It was followed by Terry Gilliam's interesting box office bomb, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), starring John Neville. She made a brief appearance as the goddess Venus, and during her entrance, she briefly appears nude, in an homage to Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus'. Then followed her breakthrough in Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988) from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, which was based on the 1782 French novel 'Les liaisons dangereuses' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The period romantic drama, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer, brought much attention to her unorthodox sensuality. Her performance intriguingly combined innocence and worldliness. The weird, gangly girl became a sex symbol virtually overnight.

 

Uma Thurman continued to be offered good roles in Hollywood pictures into the early 1990s, the least commercially successful but probably best-known of which was her smoldering, astonishingly-adult performance as June, Henry Miller's wife, in Henry & June (Philip Kaufman, 1990), the first film to actually receive the dreaded NC-17 rating in the USA. After a celebrated start, Thurman's career stalled in the early 1990s with films such as the mediocre Mad Dog and Glory (John McNaughton, 1993) with Robert De Niro. Worse, her first starring role was in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Gus Van Sant, 1993), which had endured a tortured journey from cult-favorite book to big-budget film and was a critical and financial debacle. Uma bounced back with a brilliant performance as Mia Wallace, that most unorthodox of all gangster's molls, in Tarantino's lauded, hugely successful Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994). For her role, Thurman was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She took little advantage of her new-found fame by choosing not to do any big-budget films for the next three years. She starred in the independent period drama A Month by the Lake (John Irvin, 1995) opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Edward Fox, and supporting roles in which she has lent some glamorous presence to a mixed batch of films, such as Beautiful Girls (Ted Demme, 1996) with Matt Dillon, and The Truth About Cats & Dogs (Michael Lehmann, 1996). She played supervillain Poison Ivy in the reviled Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) with George Clooney, and Emma Peel opposite Ralph Fiennes as John Steed in a remake of The Avengers (Jeremiah Chechik, 1998). She worked with Woody Allen and Sean Penn on Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and starred in Richard Linklater's drama Tape (2001) opposite husband Ethan Hawke. Thurman also won a Golden Globe award for her turn in the made-for-television film Hysterical Blindness (2002), directed by Mira Nair.

 

A return to the mainstream spotlight came when Uma Thurman re-teamed with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). The two had dreamed up this two-part revenge action film on the set of Pulp Fiction (1994). Thurman starred as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) and their leader, Bill (David Carradine), after they try to kill her and her unborn child. She then turned up in the John Woo cautioner Paycheck (2003) that same year. The renewed attention was not altogether welcome because Thurman was dealing with the break-up of her marriage with Hawke at about this time. Thurman handled the situation with grace, however, and took her surging popularity in stride. She garnered critical acclaim for her work in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. The two Kill Bill films brought her two additional Golden Globe Award nominations. Thurman reunited with Pulp Fiction dance partner John Travolta for the Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1995) sequel Be Cool (F. Gary Gray, 2005). Despite a lukewarm critical reception, the film grossed US$95 million. She played Ulla in the remake of The Producers (Susan Stroman, 2005). In 2006, she was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier De l'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres) by France. For her five-episode role in the musical TV series Smash (2012), Thurman received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Her later films include Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac (2013) and The House That Jack Built (2018). She made her Broadway debut in Beau Willimon's political drama 'The Parisian Woman' (2017-2018) at Hudson Theatre. For her role, she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Leading Actress in a Play. In 2018, in a New York Times interview, Thurman revealed that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted her in 1994. Uma Thurman was briefly married to Gary Oldman, from 1990 to 1992. In 1998, she married Ethan Hawke, her co-star in the offbeat futuristic thriller Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997). The couple has two children, Levon and Maya. Hawke and Thurman filed for divorce in 2004.

 

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

made for Cineville to be used as a background on their website. Check it out: www.cineville.nl

Title / Titre :

Hudson's Bay Company Store Clerk Henry Linklater Building a Mink Trap, Brochet, Manitoba /

 

Henry Linklater, commis de la Compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson, posant un piège à vison, Brochet (Manitoba)

 

Creator(s) / Créateur(s) : Rosemary Gilliat Eaton

 

Date(s) : March 1955 / mars 1955

 

Reference No. / Numéro de référence : MIKAN 4323892, 4324130

 

collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&...

collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&...

 

Location / Lieu : Brochet, Manitoba, Canada

 

Credit / Mention de source :

Rosemary Gilliat Eaton. Library and Archives Canada, e010975247 /

 

Rosemary Gilliat Eaton. Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, e010975247

Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress and musician. Following her role in Richard Linklater's 1993 cult hit Dazed and Confused, she became known during the 1990s after a series of roles in independent films such as Party Girl (1995) and The House of Yes (1997) that gained her the nickname "Queen of the Indies". She later played improvisational roles in Christopher Guest mockumentaries, including Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006). Her other film appearances include You've Got Mail (1998), Scream 3 (2000), Superman Returns (2006), and the Woody Allen films Irrational Man (2015) and Café Society (2016). On television, Posey has guest-starred in series such as Will & Grace, Boston Legal, The Good Wife, Louie, Parks and Recreation, and Search Party.

pêyakotênaw by Duane Linklater on the High Line, NYC. Shot with a Sony RX10m3.

 

Vintage postcard in the Movie's Images series, no. 64. Sigourney Weaver in Alien - Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997).

 

Delicate American actress Winona Ryder (1971) is known for her dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She starred in films such as Beetlejuice (1988), Heathers (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), and the television series Stranger Things. In 1994, she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Age of Innocence (1993), and Ryder was nominated twice for an Oscar.

 

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Winona (Olmsted County), Minnesota, in 1971. Yes, her name is very much the same as her birthplace. Her parents, Cindy Horowitz (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller, were part of the hippie movement. She has a brother named Uri Horowitz (1976), who got his first name after Yuri Gagarin, a half-sister named Sunyata Palmer (1968), and a half-brother named Jubal Palmer (1970) from her mother Cindy's first marriage. From 1978, Winona grew up in a commune near Mendocino in California, which had no electricity. When Winona was seven, her mother began to manage an old cinema in a nearby barn and would screen films all day. She allowed Winona to miss school to watch movies with her. In 1981, the family moved to Petaluma, California. Since Winona was considered an outsider in public school, she was sent to a public school and later to the American Conservatory Theater acting school. She was discovered at the age of thirteen by a talent scout at a theatre performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1985, she applied for a role in the film Desert Bloom (David Seltzer, 1986) with a video in which she performed a monologue from the book 'Franny and Zooey' by J. D. Salinger. Although the casting choice was fellow actress Annabeth Gish, director and writer David Seltzer recognised her talent and cast her as Rina in his film Lucas (David Seltzer, 1986) about a teenager (Corey Haim) and his life in high school. When telephoned to ask what name she wanted to be called in the credits, she chose Ryder as her stage name because her father's Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels album was playing in the background. Her real hair colour is blonde but when she made Lucas (1986), her hair colour was dyed black. She was told to keep it that colour and with the exception of Edward Scissorhands (1990), it has stayed that colour since. Her next film was Square Dance (Daniel Petrie, 1987), in which the protagonist she portrays lives a life between two worlds: on a traditional farm and in a big city. Ryder's performance received good reviews, although neither film was a commercial success. Her acting in Lucas led director Tim Burton to cast her in his film Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988). In this comedy, she played Lydia Deetz, who moves with her family into a house inhabited by ghosts (played by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton). Ryder, as well as the film, received positive reviews, and Beetlejuice was also successful at the box office. In 1989, she starred as Veronica Sawyer in the independent film Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989) about a couple (Ryder and Christian Slater) who kill popular schoolgirls. Ryder's agent had previously advised her against the role. The film was a financial failure, but Ryder received positive reviews. The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! (Jim McBride, 1989) was also a flop. That same year, Ryder appeared in Mojo Nixon's music video 'Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child'. At the premiere of Great Balls of Fire (1989), Ryder met fellow actor and later film partner Johnny Depp. The couple became engaged a few months later, but their relationship ended in 1993. He had a tattoo of her name and after they broke up, he had this reduced to "Wino forever".

 

In 1990, Winona Ryder had her breakthrough performance alongside her boyfriend Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990). The fantasy film was an international box-office success. Ryder was selected for the role of Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Welcome Home Roxy (Jim Abrahams, 1990) and Mermaids (Richard Benjamin, 1990) back-to-back. Ryder's performance alongside Cher and Christina Ricci in the family comedy Mermaids (1990) was praised by critics and she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Ryder also appeared with Cher and Ricci in the music video for 'The Shoop Shoop Song', the film's theme song. Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote a role specifically for her in Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991), as a tattooed, chain-smoking cabdriver who dreams of becoming a mechanic. Ryder was cast in a dual role as Mina Murray and Elisabeta in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992). In 1993, she starred as Blanca in the drama The House of the Spirits (Bille August, 1993) alongside Antonio Banderas, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. It is the film adaptation of Isabel Allende's bestseller of the same name. Together with Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis, she starred in Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993), the film adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel. She was Martin Scorsese's first and only choice for the role of May Welland. For years, she kept the message he left on her voicemail, informing her she got the role. Her part earned her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and an Oscar nomination. She also earned positive reviews for her role in the comedy Reality Bites (Ben Stiller, 1994). She received critical acclaim and another Oscar nomination the same year as Jo in the drama Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994). In 1996, she starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Joan Allen in The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), an adaptation of Arthur Miller's stage play about the Puritan witch hunt in Salem. The film was not a success; however, Ryder's performance was favourably reviewed. A year later she portrayed an android in the successful horror film Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997) alongside Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. In 1998 she starred in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998). after Drew Barrymore turned down the role. In 1999 she starred as a psychiatric patient with the borderline syndrome in the drama Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999), based on Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical novel. Girl, Interrupted, the first film on which she served as executive producer, was supposed to be Ryder's comeback in Hollywood after the flops of the past years. However, the film became the breakthrough for her colleague Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar for her role. In this decade, she was involved with Dave Pirner, the lead singer of the group Soul Asylum, from 1993 to 1996 and with Matt Damon from December 1997 to April 2000.

 

Winona Ryder appeared alongside Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (Joan Chen, 2000), a romance about an older man's love for a younger woman. She also made a cameo appearance in the comedy Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2000). The comedy Mr. Deeds (Steven Brill, 2002) with Adam Sandler became her biggest financial success to date. The film failed with critics and Ryder was nominated for the Golden Raspberry award. Also in 2002, she was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of work for repeatedly shoplifting $5,000 worth of clothes. The incident caused a career setback. She withdrew from the public eye in the following years and did not appear in front of the camera again until 2006. In that year, she appeared in the novel adaptation A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006) alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson. In 2009, she made an appearance in Star Trek: The Future Begins (J. J. Abrams, 2009) as Spock (Zachary Quinto)'s mother Amanda Grayson. The prequel became a huge success at the box office and Ryder earned a Scream Award for Best Guest Appearance. She also appeared alongside Robin Wright and Julianne Moore in Rebecca Miller's Pippa Lee (2009), and alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). Ryder starred in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (John Kent Harrison, 2010), for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in the comedy The Dilemma (Ron Howard, 2011) and the thrillers The Iceman (Ariel Vromen, 2012), and The Letter (Jay Anania, 2012) opposite James Franco. In Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (2012) she lent her voice to the character Elsa Van Helsing. Since 2016, she has embodied the main character, Joyce Byers, in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016-2022), for which she received positive responses. Her role in the series has been described by many as a comeback. Since 2011 Winona Ryder is in a relationship with Scott MacKinlay Hahn.

 

Sources: Pedro Borges (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.