Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton

William Archibald Paxton (born May 17, 1955) is an American actor and film director. He gained in popularity after his starring roles in the movies Apollo 13 and Twister. He is currently working on the third season of the HBO series Big Love which premiered on January 18, 2009.

Paxton was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of Mary Lou (née Gray) and John Lane Paxton, who was a businessman, lumber wholesaler, museum executive, and occasional actor. Paxton was raised in his mother's Catholic religion. Paxton attended Aledo High School in Aledo, Texas and then Texas State University (called Southwest Texas State at that time) in San Marcos, TX and then moved to Los Angeles and began working for director Roger Corman as a set designer on his films. Exposure to films and actors at that age influenced his decision to pursue acting and led Paxton to relocate to New York City, where he studied with Stella Adler.

Paxton has played many distinctive and memorable characters including the sneering older brother Chet in John Hughes' Weird Science; the loud-mouthed Colonial Marine Private William Hudson in James Cameron's Aliens; astronaut Fred Haise in Ron Howard's Apollo 13; the sadistic vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow's film Near Dark; tornado researcher Bill Harding opposite Helen Hunt in the blockbuster Twister; the treasure hunter to whom Rose's story is told in Titanic and the sleazy car salesman in True Lies. Notable is the performance Paxton delivered in Carl Franklin's critically acclaimed One False Move. Paxton has the unique distinction of being the only actor who has played characters killed by an Alien (as Private Hudson in Aliens), a Predator (as Jerry Lambert in Predator 2), and a Terminator (as the punk leader in The Terminator, he also had a cameo role in Terminator 2 as a resistance soldier but was not killed) in the respective science fiction film franchises.

James Cameron gave Paxton the nickname "Knuckles." In a local bar during the filming of True Lies, Paxton warned off a disgruntled local by donning an iron knuckleduster given to him by Lance Henriksen.

Paxton appeared as a treasure hunter searching for a diamond at the wreckage of the Titanic in the 1997 film. Four years later, he joined James Cameron on an expedition to the actual Titanic; a film about this trip, Ghosts of the Abyss, was released in 2003.

In 1988, he and vocalist/guitarist Andrew Todd formed the short-lived rock duo Martini Ranch. They recorded and released an album entitled Holy Cow (the band's only release), which included input from Devo members Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Casale and Alan Myers (all of whom contributed to the album's modest hit "How Can the Labouring Man Find Time For Self-Culture?"), along with Cindy Wilson of the B-52's as a back-up vocalist and actor Judge Reinhold is credited as a whistler on "Reach". Paxton has also directed a number of short films, including Fish Heads, which aired during Saturday Night Live's low-rated 1980-1981 season on the episode hosted by Ellen Burstyn (with musical guests Aretha Franklin and Keith Sykes). He has also directed feature films: Frailty and The Greatest Game Ever Played.

Paxton is often confused with Bill Pullman, an actor known for similar roles as Paxton. This is parodied in both the Simpsons when the audience at the cinema confuse them and Homer corrects them on the matter and when Paxton hosted Saturday Night Live in 1999.

In 1982, Paxton was cast in a music video for the Pat Benatar song "Shadows Of the Night," in which he appeared as a Nazi Radio Officer.

Paxton is performing in the HBO drama Big Love as Bill Henrickson, the head of a polygamous family in Utah. He was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama in 2007 for the role.

Paxton married Louise Newbury in 1987, and they have two children, James (born 1994) and Lydia (born December 19, 1997).

An 8 year old Paxton was in the crowd waving when President Kennedy emerged from the Hotel Texas in Ft. Worth the morning of Nov. 22, 1963. There are pictures at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas where the young Paxton can clearly be seen astride the shoulders of an unidentified man.

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James Cameron

James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is an Academy Award-winning Canadian-American director, producer and screenwriter. He has written and directed films as disparate as Aliens and Titanic. To date, his directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$1.1 billion domestically, unadjusted for inflation. After a string of landmark feature films, Cameron turned his focus to documentary filmmaking and the co-development of the digital 3-D Fusion Camera System. He is currently working on a return to feature filmmaking with the science fiction film Avatar, which will make use of the Fusion Camera System technology. Avatar is scheduled for release in December of 2009.

Cameron is noted for his films—which are often highly innovative, artistic and financially successful—as well as his fierce temper and confrontational personality.

After dropping out, he worked several jobs such as truck driving and wrote when he had time. After seeing the film Star Wars in 1977, Cameron quit his job as a truck driver to enter the film industry. When Cameron read Syd Field's book Screenplay, it occurred to him that integrating science and art were possible and he wrote a ten minute science fiction script with two friends, entitled Xenogenesis. They raised money and rented a camera, lenses, the film stocks, studio and shot it in 35mm. To understand how to operate the camera, they dismantled it and spent the first half-day of the shoot trying to figure out how to get it running.

As Cameron continued educating himself in techniques, he started as a miniature model maker at Roger Corman Studios. Making fast, low-budget productions enabled Cameron to pick up the pace efficiently and effectively, soon becoming an art director in the sci-fi movie Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), and he did special effects work design and direction on John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981). He consulted on the design of Android (1981), and acted as production designer on Galaxy of Terror (1981).

Cameron was hired as the special effects director for the sequel of Piranha, entitled Piranha II: The Spawning in 1981. However, the director left the project and Cameron was hired by Italian producer Assonitis to take over, giving him his first directorial job. He worked with producer Roger Corman. The interior scenes were filmed in Rome, Italy while the underwater diving sequences were shot at Grand Cayman Island.

The movie was to be produced on Jamaica, but when Cameron arrived at the studio, he discovered his crew was comprised primarily of Italians who spoke no English and the project was under financed. Under duress, Cameron says he had a nightmare about an invisible robot hit man sent from the future to kill him, giving him the idea for The Terminator, which would later catapult his filming career.

After completing a screenplay for The Terminator, Cameron decided to sell it so that he could direct the movie. However, the production companies he contacted, while expressing interest in the project, were unwilling to let a first-time director make the movie. Finally, Cameron found a company called Hemdale Pictures, which was willing to let him direct. His soon-to-be-wife, Gale Anne Hurd, who had started her own production company, Pacific Western Productions, had previously worked with Cameron in Roger Corman's company and agreed to buy Cameron's screenplay for one dollar, on the condition that Cameron direct the film. Hurd was signed on as producer, and Cameron finally got his first break as director. Orion Pictures would distribute the film.

Initially, for the role of the Terminator, Cameron wanted someone who wasn't exceptionally muscular, and who could "blend into" a normal crowd. Lance Henriksen, who had starred in Piranha II: The Spawning, was considered for the titular role, but when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cameron first met over lunch to discuss Schwarzenegger playing the role of Kyle Reese, both came to the conclusion that the cyborg villain would be the more compelling role for the Austrian bodybuilder; Henriksen got the smaller part of LAPD detective Hal Vukovich and the role of Kyle Reese went to Michael Biehn. In addition, Linda Hamilton first appeared in this film in her iconic role of Sarah Connor, and later married Cameron.

The Terminator was a box office hit, breaking expectations by Orion Pictures executives that the film would be regarded as no more than a sci-fi film, and only last a week in theaters. The film was low-budget ($6.5 million), but it earned over $78 million worldwide.

During the early 1980s, Cameron wrote three screenplays simultaneously: The Terminator, Aliens, and the first draft of Rambo: First Blood Part II. While Cameron would continue with The Terminator and with Aliens, Sylvester Stallone eventually took over the script of Rambo: First Blood Part II, creating a final draft which differed radically from Cameron's initial version. Cameron was credited for his screenplay in the film's final credits.

Cameron next began the sequel to Alien, the 1979 film by Ridley Scott. Cameron would name the sequel Aliens, and would again cast Sigourney Weaver in the iconic role of Ellen Ripley. According to Cameron, the crew on Aliens was hostile to him, regarding him as a poor substitute for Ridley Scott. Cameron sought to show them The Terminator but the majority of the crew refused and remained skeptical of his direction throughout production. Despite this and other off screen problems (such as clashing with an uncooperative camera man and having to replace one of the lead actors - Michael Biehn of Terminator took James Remar's place as Corporal Hicks), Aliens became a box office success, and Sigourney Weaver received a nomination for Best Actress during the 1986 Academy Awards. In addition, the film and its lead actress made the cover of Time Magazine as a result of its breakthrough feminist themes about women in combat. Following the phenomenal success of the film, Cameron now had more freedom to make whatever project he wanted.

Cameron's next project stemmed from an idea that had come up during a high school biology class. The story of oil-rig workers who discover otherworldly underwater creatures became the basis of Cameron's screenplay for The Abyss, which cast Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn. Initially budgeted at $41 million U.S. (though the production ran considerably overbudget), it was considered to be one of the most expensive films of its time, and required cutting-edge effects technology. Because much of the film takes place underwater and the technology wasn't advanced enough to digitally create an underwater environment, Cameron chose to shoot much of the movie "reel-for-real", at depths of up to 40 feet (12 m). For creation of the sets, the containment building of an unfinished nuclear power plant was converted, and two huge tanks were utilized. The main tank was filled with 7,500,000 US gallons (28,400,000 l) of water, and the second with 2,500,000 US gallons (9,500,000 l). There, the cast and crew would reside for much of the shooting.

The Abyss opened on August 9, 1989 with $9.3 million in 2nd place at the boxoffice behind Parenthood. It ultimately earned $54.5 million domestically, $35.5 million in foreign markets and a mostly lukewarm response from critics. Cameron would later release a special edition version of the film in spring of 1993, restoring deleted scenes, including the film's climax as it had been originally conceived. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound. It won for Best Visual Effects. After the release of The Abyss, Cameron founded his own production company called Lightstorm Entertainment, which produced all of his subsequent films.

After the success of The Terminator, there had always been talks about a sequel to continue the story of Sarah Connor and her struggle against machines from the future. Although Cameron had come up with a core idea for the sequel, and Schwarzenegger expressed interest in continuing the story, there were still problems regarding who had the rights to the story, as well as the logistics of the special effects needed to make the sequel. Finally, in mid-1990, Mario Kassar of Carolco Pictures secured the rights to the sequel, allowing Cameron to greenlight production of the film, now called Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Cameron had originally wanted to incorporate this advanced-model Terminator into the first film, but the special effects at the time were not advanced enough. The ground-breaking effects used in The Abyss to digitally realize the water tentacle convinced Cameron that his liquid metal villain was now possible.

TriStar Pictures would distribute the film under a locked release date that was only about one year away from when shooting would begin. The movie, which was co-written by Cameron and his longtime friend, William Wisher, Jr., had to go from screenplay to finished film in just that amount of time. Like Cameron's previous film, it was one of the most expensive films of its era, with a budget of about $100 million. The biggest challenge of the movie was the special effects used in creating the T-1000. Nevertheless, the film was finished on time, and released to theaters on July 3, 1991.

Terminator 2, or T2, as it was abbreviated, broke box-office records (including the opening weekend record for an R-rated film), earning over $200 million domestically, and over $300 million overseas, and became the highest-grossing film of that year. It won four Academy Awards: Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects, and Best Visual Effects.

James Cameron announced a third Terminator film many times during the 1990s, but without coming out with any finished scripts. Kassar and Vajna purchased the rights to the Terminator franchise from a bankruptcy sale of Carolco's assets. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was eventually made and released in July 2003 without Cameron's involvement. Jonathan Mostow directed the film and Schwarzenegger returned as the Terminator.

Director James Cameron reunited with the main cast of Terminator 2 to film T2 3-D: Battle Across Time, an attraction at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan. It was released in 1996 and was a mini-sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The show is in two parts: a pre-show where a spokesperson talks about Cyberdyne and the main feature which has performers interacting with a 3-D movie.

Before the release of T2, Schwarzenegger came to Cameron with the idea of making a remake of the French comedy titled La Totale. Titled True Lies, with filming begun after T2's release, the story revolves around a secret-agent spy who leads a double life as a married man, whose wife believes he is a computer salesman. Schwarzenegger would be cast as the secret spy, named Harry Tasker, whose mission in the movie is to investigate and stop a plan by Arab terrorists to use nuclear weapons against the United States. Jamie Lee Curtis would play Schwarzenegger's onscreen wife, with Tom Arnold cast as the secret agent's sidekick.

Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment signed on with Twentieth Century Fox for production of True Lies. Made on a budget of $115 million and released in 1994, the film earned $146 million in North America, and $232 million abroad.

Cameron expressed interest in the famous sinking of the ship Titanic. He decided to script and film his next project based on this event. The picture revolved around a fictional romance story between two young lovers from different social classes who meet onboard the ship's maiden, and final, voyage. Before production began, he took dives to the bottom of the Atlantic and shot actual footage of the ship underwater, which he would insert into the final film.

For the film Titanic, Cameron cast Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, and Billy Zane. Cameron's budget for the film reached about $200 million, and it became the most expensive movie ever made. Before its release, the film was widely ridiculed for its expense and protracted production schedule.

Released to theaters on December 19, 1997, Titanic opened with $28 million on its first weekend. The film's grosses escalated in the next several weeks. Titanic was one of very few modern, big-budget movies to gross more in their second weekend than their first. Its gross increased from $28.6 million to $35.4 million from week 1 to week 2, an increase of 23.8%, unheard of for a wide release, and a testament to the appeal of the movie. This was especially noteworthy, considering that the film's running time of more than three hours limited the number of showings each theater could schedule. It held the #1 spot on the box-office charts for months, eventually grossing a total of over $600 million domestically and more than $1.8 billion worldwide. Titanic became the highest grossing film of all time. (Adjusting for inflation, the film brought in the sixth-highest domestic (U.S. only) gross of all time.) The CG visuals surrounding the sinking and destruction of the ship were considered spectacular. During the 1998 Academy Awards, the film won a record-tying 11 Oscars. Among them were Best Picture and Best Director.

Cameron had initially next planned to do a film of the comic book character Spider-Man, a project developed by Menahem Golan of Cannon Films. Disputes arose focusing on Golan's role in the Carolco project.

A screenplay dating back to 1989 exists with Cameron's name appended to it, indicating erroneously he worked with a series of writers on the project (John Brancato, Barry Cohen, Joseph Goldmari and Ted Newsom), but the script was identical to one presented to Columbia Pictures by Golan in 1988, where the project had been in development (Cameron never worked with these writers at all).

Subsequent to the delivery of this script to Carolco, Cameron presented a 45-page Spider-Man screen story to Carolco, which bore substantive similarities to a number of earlier screenplay drafts, particularly one written by Ethan Wiley (writer House and writer/director of House 2).

When Carolco went into bankruptcy, all previous "Spider-Man" scripts were acquired by MGM-UA, including the "Cameron material", i.e., both the multi-author screenplay and the later treatment credited solely to Cameron. MGM in turn sold the material to Columbia Pictures in exchange for Columbia dropping their plans to do an alternative James Bond series based on the Kevin McClory Bond material.

Columbia hired David Koepp to adapt Cameron's treatment into a screenplay, and Koepp's first draft is taken often word-for-word from Cameron's story, though later drafts were heavily rewritten by Koepp himself, Scott Rosenberg, Alvin Sargent (husband of producer Laura Ziskin), and (allegedly) Ivan Raimi, brother of director Sam Raimi.

Columbia preferred to credit David Koepp solely, and none of the scripts before or after his were ever examined by the Writers Guild of America, East to determine proper credit attribution. Cameron and other writers objected, but Columbia and the WGA prevailed. In its release in 2002, Spider-Man had its screenplay credited solely to Koepp.

After the Sarah Connors and Ellen Ripleys of the eighties, the nineties weren't so kind to the superwoman format --Xena: Warrior Princess excepted. But it's a new millennium now, and while Charlie's Angels and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are kicking up a storm on movie screens, it's been down to James Cameron to bring empowered female warriors back to television screens. And tellingly, Cameron has done it by mixing the sober feminism of his The Terminator and Aliens characters with the sexed-up Girl Power of a Britney Spears concert. The result is Dark Angel, a weekly action series that's burning up the ratings on America's Fox Network and has recently premiered in the UK.

Co-produced with Charles H. Eglee, Dark Angel starred Jessica Alba as Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced transgenic super-soldier created by the super-secretive Manticore organization. It also starred Michael Weatherly as Logan Cale, and noted actor John Savage (of The Deer Hunter) as Colonel Donald Michael Lydecker; the second season finale also guest starred Amy Dumas. While a success in its first season, low ratings in the second led to its cancellation. Cameron himself directed the series finale, a two-hour episode wrapping up many of the series' loose ends.

Cameron's recent projects have included undersea documentaries on the Bismarck (Expedition: Bismarck, 2002) and the Titanic (Ghosts of the Abyss (2003, in IMAX 3D), and Tony Robinson's Titanic Adventure (2005)). He was a producer on the 2002 film Solaris, and narrated The Exodus Decoded.

Cameron is a leading advocate for stereoscopic digital 3-D films. In a 2003 interview about his IMAX 3D documentary Ghosts of the Abyss, he mentioned that he is "going to do everything in 3D now". He has made similar statements in other interviews. Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep (also an IMAX documentary) were shot in 3-D, as will his next projects, Avatar, The Dive, Sanctum and an adaptation of the manga series Battle Angel Alita. He is currently filming Avatar, his first film since 1997's Titanic. Cameron sees Avatar and Battle Angel Alita as a "three film cycle". See Avatar and Battle Angel below.

He is co-rewriting the screenplay for a high-definition 3-D live-action deep-sea-diving drama entitled James Cameron's Sanctum, to be produced by himself and directed by Gary Johnstone. Sanctum will have a relatively-low starting budget of about $20 million.

In addition, he plans to create a 3-D project about the first trip to Mars. ("I've been very interested in the Humans to Mars movement—the 'Mars Underground'—and I've done a tremendous amount of personal research for a novel, a miniseries, and a 3-D film.") He is on the science team for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory.

Cameron announced on February 26, 2007, that he, along with his director, Simcha Jacobovici, have documented the unearthing of the Talpiot Tomb, which is alleged to be the tomb of Jesus. Unearthed in 1980 by Israeli construction workers, the names on the tomb are claimed, by Cameron, to correlate with the names of Jesus and several individuals closely associated with him. Cameron further claims to have DNA tests, archaeological evidence, and Biblical studies to back up his claim. The documentary, named The Lost Tomb of Jesus, was broadcast on the Discovery Channel on March 4, 2007.

Marilyn Manson made a 3D video for the first single from their album Eat Me, Drink Me, "Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)", which is an extract from a 3D horror movie which Manson will continue filming at the beginning of 2008 with James Cameron.

In June 2005, director Cameron was announced to be working on a project tentatively titled "Project 880" (now known to be Avatar) in parallel with another project, Battle Angel. Both movies were to be shot in 3D. By December, Cameron stated that he wanted to film Battle Angel first, followed by Avatar. However in February 2006, he switched goals for the two film projects and decided to film Avatar first. He mentioned that if both films are successful, he would be interested in seeing a trilogy being made for both.

Avatar, previously known as Project 880, has an estimated budget of $200 million, is a 3D film currently set for a December 18, 2009 release, and will mark his first feature film since 1997's Titanic. It will be composed almost entirely of computer-generated animation, using a more advanced version of the "performance capture" technique used by director Robert Zemeckis in The Polar Express. James Cameron wrote an 80 page scriptment for Avatar in 1995 and announced in 1996 that he would make the film after completing Titanic. In December 2006, Cameron explained that the delay in producing the film since the 1990s had been to wait until the technology necessary to create his project was advanced enough. The director is planning to create photo-realistic computer-generated characters through motion capture animation technology using his new virtual camera system. The film was originally scheduled to be released in May 2009 but was pushed back to December 2009 to allow more time for post production on the complex photorealistic CGI and to give more time for theatres worldwide to install 3D projectors.

James Cameron will also be writing, producing and directing Battle Angel, a live-action adaptation of the first three volumes of the manga series. Alita will be a CG character performed by an actress. Like Avatar, the film will be a mix of CG and live action. Filming will be made with the new digital 3D system Cameron has developed for Avatar. In January 2005, Cameron mentioned that the delay in making this film initially had been to wait until a sufficient number of theatres had installed 3D projectors. Pre-production on this film has been occurring since at least 2004-05. As with Avatar, the movie will be marketed and distributed by 20th Century Fox worldwide. Cameron is aiming for a PG-13 rating. Laeta Kalogridis wrote the original script but Cameron is re-writing the script.

The Dive - James Cameron is set to go back underwater with "The Dive" as he will direct the movie, which is based on the true love story of two divers, Cuban-born Francisco "Pipín" Ferreras and French-born Audrey Mestre. Screenwriter Dana Stevens has been hired to work on the script to "The Dive," with Cameron producing the movie along with his partners Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini. According to The Hollywood Reporter, James Cameron purchased the rights to Francisco Ferreras' life story as well as a story from Sports Illustrated on Ferreras.

Cameron received the Bradbury Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1991—but, being primarily thought of as a genre filmmaker, he did not receive any major mainstream filmmaking awards prior to Titanic. With Titanic, Cameron received the Academy Awards for Best Editing (shared with Conrad Buff and Richard A. Harris), Best Picture (shared with Jon Landau), and Best Director. He also won a Golden Globe for best director for the film.

In recognition of his contributions to underwater filming and remote vehicle technology, the University of Southampton awarded Cameron the honorary degree of Doctor of the University. Cameron received his degree in person at the graduation ceremony in July, 2004.

On June 3, 2008, it was announced that he would be inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

Cameron often casts certain actors more than once in his films. Cameron has consistently worked with Bill Paxton (who also narrated Ghosts of the Abyss), Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen (who also narrated Expedition: Bismarck), and Jenette Goldstein. In addition to starring in the Terminator films, Arnold Schwarzenegger also starred in True Lies. In February 2007, Sigourney Weaver was cast for Cameron's upcoming film Avatar after having worked with him on Aliens as lead actress.

Throughout Cameron's career, several of his films have had recurring themes and subtexts. These include: the prospects of nuclear holocaust (the Skynet takeover scenario from both Terminator films and a proposed "solution" in Aliens), attempts to reconcile humanity with technology (as seen in Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day), two protagonists who face impossible odds and work together to achieve their goals, strong female characters (Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley being the most famous) and an undercurrent of feminism.

While The Abyss dealt with deep sea exploration (shot on a studio set), Cameron himself became an expert in the field of deep sea wreckage exploration exploring the wreckage of Titanic and Bismarck.

Cameron has been married five times: Sharon Williams (1978–1984), Gale Anne Hurd (1985–1989), Kathryn Bigelow (1989–1991), Linda Hamilton (1997–1999, one daughter), Suzy Amis (2000-, one son, two daughters). Cameron is very distantly related to actress Joanna Cameron who starred as Isis on tv in the 1970s.

After working with Cameron on the set of Titanic, Kate Winslet decided she would not work with Cameron again unless she earned "a lot of money." She admitted Cameron was a nice man, but had too much of a temper.

Cameron is a member of the NASA Advisory Council and is working on the project to get cameras on the pending manned Mars mission.

In late October 2007, Cameron, along with singers Olivia Newton-John and Tanya Tucker, were ordered out of their Malibu homes due to the pending threat of the Witch Fire in Southern California.

In Entourage, Cameron appeared as himself as the director of the film Aquaman. Cameron's involvement in the project attracted Vincent Chase to the title role.

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Mighty Joe Young (1998 film)

Mighty Joe Young is a 1998 Disney family film starring Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron and directed by Ron Underwood. It is based on the 1949 film of the same name. In this version, the ape is much larger than in the original.

Charlize Theron plays Jill Young who as a child has witnessed the death of her mother and the mother of Joe, a baby ape, at the hands of poachers led by Andrei Strasser, (Rade Šerbedžija). The poacher loses his thumb and trigger finger to the baby gorilla. Twelve years later, Jill has raised Joe (because of his size, the other gorillas won't accept him) and both are living in relative peace until a wildlife refuge director, Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton), convinces Jill that they would be safer from poachers if they relocated to the United States.

The pair go to Hollywood, California (as in the original film) and win the hearts of the refuge staff. There, Jill is approached by Strasser, who has seen a news report about Joe and wants revenge because of the damage done to his hand 12 years ago. Jill fails to recognize Strasser as the poacher who killed both her mother and Joe's. Strasser tries to persuade Jill that Joe would be better off in his wildlife refuge back in Africa. Later, during a gala, Strasser's henchman uses a poacher's noisemaker to scare Joe into a frenzy. Joe trashes the gala, recognizes Strasser and tries to attack him. Joe is tranquilized and placed in a concrete bunker. When Jill learns that Joe may be euthanized she decides to take Strasser's offer. She and the refuge staff smuggle Joe out in a truck but on the way to the airport, Jill notices Strasser's missing fingers. He makes a remark that makes her realize he is the poacher who killed her mother. She crashes the truck and Joe escapes. Meanwhile Greg has also realized the identity of the poacher and goes after Jill and Joe. He finds Jill and they locate Joe at a carnival. Strasser arrives and in attempting to shoot Jill starts a fire which causes the Ferris wheel to break down. Joe catches Strasser and tosses him onto some electrical wires where he is killed by electrocution. In a poignant scene at the Santa Monica Pier, while saving a child Joe falls from the collapsing Ferris wheel. The scene is reminiscent of King Kong falling from the Empire State Building. Joe survives the fall and is shipped back to Africa to run free on his own refuge funded by donations from his fans owned by Jill and Gregg who cuddle with each other in a warm embrace watching Joe happily run free.

Mighty Joe Young had a better critical reception than the other big monster remake of the year, Godzilla; however it was ultimately judged a disaster by some critics as being typically 'Disney' in plot and outcome. In May 2008, it had a freshness rating of 54 percent from Rotten Tomatoes. The movie grossed $50,632,037 with a production budget of $90,000,000, thus a box office bomb.

The ape was created through a combination of computer animation and an actor in a suit. John Alexander, famous for his work with animals, played the ape Joe, and Verne Troyer played the baby ape. This is is one of very few recent films produced under the name of RKO Pictures.

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Ghosts of the Abyss

Ghosts of the Abyss is a 2003 documentary film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media. It was directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker James Cameron after his Oscar winning film Titanic. It consists of Cameron and a group of scientists sailing out to the wreck of the Titanic, and then going down to get closer than anyone has before. With the help of specially created cameras, Jake and Elwood, the audience too can see inside the Titanic and with the help of CGI, people can see how it would have originally looked. Also along for the ride Cameron invites friend and actor Bill Paxton who played Brock Lovett in the 1997 film. He narrates the event through his eyes. The film itself was produced for IMAX 3D during the Summer of 2003. It was also nominated for a BFCA award for Best Documentary.

The submersibles Mir 1 and Mir 2 carried the Ghosts of the Abyss team on twelve dives.

Director James Cameron returns to the site of the wreck of the Titanic. With a team of history and marine experts and friend Bill Paxton, he embarks on an unscripted adventure back to the final grave where nearly 1,500 souls lost their lives almost a century ago. Using technology developed for this expedition, Cameron and his crew are able to explore virtually all of the wreckage, inside and out, as never before. With 3D photography, moviegoers experience the ship as if they are part of the crew, right inside the dive subs. This documentary was made for IMAX 3D Theatres and specially outfitted 35mm 3D theaters. Cameron and his team bring audiences to sights not seen since the sinking 91 years ago and explore why the landmark vessel, more than any shipwreck, continues to intrigue and fascinate the public.

The feature film on the DVD is 90 minutes long and is available in a 2-disc edition and as the 5th disc in the Titanic 5-Disc Deluxe Limited Edition.

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Thunderbirds (film)

Thunderbirds is a 2004 science fiction-adventure film based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes. The movie, written by William Osborne and Michael McCullers, was released on July 24, 2004 in the UK, with later dates for others. The film uses live-action actors playing the Tracy brothers rather than the Supermarionation marionettes used in the television series. The film did fairly poorly at the box-office and critical response was mainly negative. The film's soundtrack features songs by British band Busted, including the single "Thunderbirds" which reached number one in the UK charts and later won the 2004 Record of the Year award.

The year is 2020 (according to an on screen caption). Teenager Alan Tracy (Brady Corbet), sent off to a distant boarding school, is the youngest of the sons of Jeff Tracy, a retired American astronaut (Bill Paxton). Jeff, a widower, has formed International Rescue, and raised his sons to act as a secret, volunteer organization which uses highly advanced technology to save lives worldwide. Jeff and his older sons (John, Virgil, Scott, and Gordon, who like Alan were named after the Mercury Seven astronauts) are joined in this effort by Lady Penelope and her butler/chauffeur Parker (a man whose "checkered past" comes in handy). Their futuristic hardware is largely developed by a genius scientist known as Brains (Anthony Edwards), who lives at the International Rescue base on Tracy Island, somewhere in the Pacific.

Alan is eager to join his family in their work, but his big brothers still see him as just their little kid brother; not ready for duty. Alan is befriended by Brains' son Fermat (Soren Fulton) and has a budding romance with Tintin (Vanessa Anne Hudgens), adolescent daughter of Tracy Island's caretaker, Kyrano (Bhasker Patel), and the cook, Onaha.

Ben Kingsley portrays the arch-villain known as The Hood, a character introduced in the first episode of the television series, brother of Kyrano. Bitter over having been abandoned and presumed dead by the Thunderbirds in an early rescue attempt, he has come to destroy them and take their machines to use in a daring raid on the Bank of England (renamed Bank of London, for the film) vaults. He launches a missile to wreck Thunderbird 5, the orbiting communications station. The Tracys except, of course, for Alan - launch into space aboard Thunderbird 3 to rescue John Tracy, who is manning the station when it is hit, and The Hood takes over the secret island base.

Using his mental powers to overcome Brains' resistance, The Hood takes control of the Thunderbirds home base, aided by his confederates Transom (Rose Keegan) and strongman Mullion (Deobia Oparei). He also disables the control systems, stranding the rescuers aboard the disintegrating Thunderbird 5. Alan, Tintin and Fermat, having observed the invasion of the Hood and his minions, then hearing his plans, launch a hasty resistance. Fermat disables heavy-lifter Thunderbird 2 as they retreat from the base, then flee to the mountaintop radio transmitter site. They make contact with Jeff Tracy, who tells them to wait for Lady Penelope to come and take charge. However, the impulsive Alan leads the other two teenagers into ill-planned action, resulting in their capture. Lady Penelope and Parker are likewise captured, and Alan is forced to give Thunderbird 2's missing guidance processor to the Hood. The island's defenders all end up locked in the walk-in freezer while The Hood, Transom and Mullion head off to London.

Escaping the freezer, the first order of business is to rescue Thunderbird 5 and the Tracys. Reporting The Hood's scheme, Alan gets his chance to go to work as he manages to convince Jeff to let him, Fermat and Tintin go after the Hood as his father and brothers would never make it in time. John, Brains and Lady Penelope back Alan up and Jeff reluctantly agrees. Alan, Fermat and Tintin launch for London in Thunderbird 1, chaperoned by Lady Penelope and piloted by Alan and Fermat while Parker heads for the Bank of London to meet up with them in FAB 1.

The Hood and his accomplices, having arrived in London, use International Rescue's drilling machine The Mole to begin tunneling toward the vaults at the Bank, in the process damaging the support pylons for a public-transit monorail, which falls into the River Thames. The pursuing Alan, Tintin and Fermat land next to Thunderbird 2, then begin their rescue of the submerged monorail and its passengers. Alan turns over piloting duties to Fermat, then launches in the Thunderbird 4 rescue submarine. When Alan and Fermat are unable to connect the lifting cable, Tintin dives into the water, swims down to the stricken monorail where she secures the cable, then joins Alan aboard Thunderbird 4. Jeff and his other sons arrive just in time to see the successful rescue, then Jeff, Alan, Tintin and Fermat rush to the bank, where they are joined by Parker.

The Hood, Mullion and Transom are arrested by the police with the Hood promising to "see you soon, Jeff." With the evil-doers turned over to police custody, the Tracys return home, where the three young heroes are inducted into International Rescue. Moments later a call from the President has the Thunderbirds (minus Jeff who stays behind, but including Alan and presumably Fermat and Tintin) off on another mission.

The movie is essentially a science fiction adventure aimed at the very young, but with a great number of "in jokes" and references for the older generation which grew up with the original series, including visible strings on a character's hand in one scene and the Hood's mind powers causing Brains to walk like his original puppet counterpart.

By August 2004, the film had taken a relatively low worldwide total of about $28m (£14m). It cost $57m (£29m) to produce. The film received a poor critical response and was the subject of vociferous complaints from longtime fans. Those familiar with the series tended to be more negative in their views, accusing the filmmakers of abandoning the concepts of the original series in favor of the Spy Kids angle, with reviewers dubbing it "Thunderbirds Are NO!" (a riff on the catchprase from the original series, "Thunderbirds are GO!").

Fans of the original series directed heavy criticism at the film through the Internet even before its release.

One of the few aspects of the film to receive positive acclaim (other than the special effects) was Sophia Myles' performance as iconic superspy Lady Penelope, a portrayal in a style identical to that of her television counterpart. The Thunderbirds craft, as well as Tracy Island, were also seen to be very close to the style of the original designs. Purists disliked the fact that FAB-1, Lady Penelope's car, was a Ford rather than a Rolls-Royce. However, this was because the producers could not reach a suitable agreement with BMW, who own the Rolls-Royce marque; the car manufacturers insisting that only an actual production model could be used. Ford stepped in with special version of their Thunderbird model, duplicating the six-wheel system on the Supermarionation Rolls. FAB-1 steers with the four front tires.

The Ford Motor Company supplied a number of vehicles to the production, including an advanced off-road vehicle which prominently sported the Ford logo as well as many Ford C-MAX and Ford F-150s in various locations, leading to jeers over the too-obvious level of product placement by the car manufacturers - a sentiment actually shared by director Jonathan Frakes, as revealed in the DVD audio commentary.

There are notable changes from the original. The most obvious difference is the updated effects and new designs of the Thunderbirds. Most of them are now sleeker and look more modern; however, most of them are still based on their original designs, with Thunderbirds 2 & 4 deviating the most from their original designs. Tracy Island had a major overhaul and FAB-1 changed from a Rolls Royce to a Ford. The organisation is also referred to as Thunderbirds instead of International Rescue; although on their induction at the end of the film Alan, Tin-Tin and Fermat receive badges that are designed with the "IR", International Rescue, logo on them as per the original TV series intimating that the team are still officially called this, even though it seems the media's common parlance of "Thunderbirds" has become the norm, and been adopted amongst the family members themselves for everyday use.

Also the plot was changed dramatically by making the younger Tin-Tin, Alan Tracy and Fermat Hackenbacker, who is depicted as being Brains' son, the main characters. In the original however Alan Tracy does tend to sometimes have a larger role than the others and certainly a more emotional storyline (especially in the Thunderbirds Are Go! movie), but he's never been the main character. Alan and Tin-Tin were in fact much closer to the age of the rest of the Tracy brothers, in fact Alan is captain of Thunderbird 3 from the very first episode. Fermat Hackenbacker was only seen in this movie, because there's no mention of Brains ever having a son. Also in the original, Jeff Tracy never flew any of the Thunderbirds craft and there has never been an instance where he went off to the danger zone (with the exception of the episode "Brink of Disaster" because he was caught in the accident).

Like Fermat, the character of Onaha is not from the original TV series, where Kyrano was a single parent – and presumably, like Jeff Tracy, a widower. In addition, the TV series has "Kyrano" as the family name, with Kyrano's first name never being revealed. Jeff's mother (known simply as Grandma in the TV series) does not feature or get mentioned during the film.

Other changes are more canonical. The feature film is set in 2020, while the original is set in 2026, the year of International Rescue's first mission according to a calendar seen in the episode 'Give or Take a Million' (although according to Fanderson this was a mistake and it should have read 2065 ie 100 years in the future). In the feature film, the Hood said that he was left for dead in one of International Rescue's earlier missions, but in "Trapped in the Sky" -- which was stated as International Rescue's first mission -- he was already trying to get their technology, which he knew the existence of via Kyrano.

Another notable difference between the 2004 film and the original TV series is that International Rescue now allows itself to be filmed and photographed on missions. One of the recurring 'rules' in the original TV series was that under no circumstances was anything related to International Rescue -- be it the pilots or the crafts themselves -- permitted to be photographed. In the episode "Terror in New York City", Scott Tracy wipes the film of a news crew with EMP when they breached this rule.

The location for Tracy Island was filmed on North Island, a boutique island resort in the Seychelles, although originally said to be somewhere in the south Pacific, presumably Fiji, Tonga or French Polynesia.

This was in fact the third theatrical release based upon the series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. It was preceded by Thunderbirds Are Go in 1966 and Thunderbird 6 in 1968, both films using the Supermarionation production techniques of the series. Gerry Anderson had no involvement in the making of this film as his ex-wife Sylvia owns the film rights to the characters.

Thunderbirds was dedicated to the memory of Stephen Lowden.

Timed to coincide with the theatrical release of Thunderbirds, the two prior films were released on DVD. The DVD versions of all three films include a number of extra features, including historical and production information.

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Near Dark

Near Dark is an American vampire/Western horror film, written by Eric Red and Kathryn Bigelow, and directed by Bigelow. Starring then little-known actors Adrian Pasdar and Jenny Wright, the movie was released in 1987, part of a revival of serious vampire movies in the late 1980s. It did poorly at the box office upon release, but was viewed favourably by critics subsequently and has a sizable cult following.

One night, Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar), a young man in a small Oklahoma town, meets Mae (Jenny Wright), an attractive young drifter. Just before sunrise, she bites him on the neck then runs off. The rising sun causes Caleb's flesh to begin to burn. Mae comes with a group of roaming vampires and takes him away. Two of the vampires, Severen (Bill Paxton) and Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein), want to kill him, but Mae reveals she made him a vampire. Their leader, Jessie Hooker (Lance Henriksen), reluctantly agrees to allow Caleb to remain with them for a week to see if he can become a trusted member of their group. Caleb is unwilling to kill to feed, which alienates him from the others. To protect him, Mae kills for him then has him drink from her wrist. After Caleb endangers himself to help them during a daylight police raid on their motel, Jesse and the others are temporarily mollified.

Meanwhile, Caleb's father (Tim Thomerson) has begun searching for the group while the police are also investigating. A young vampire in the group, Homer (Joshua John Miller), meets Caleb's sister Sarah (Marcie Leeds) and wants to transform her into his companion, but Caleb objects. While the group argues, Caleb's father arrives and holds them at gunpoint, demanding Sarah be released. Jesse taunts him into shooting, but regurgitates the bullet then wrestles the gun away. In the confusion, Sarah opens the door letting in the sunlight and forcing the vampires back. Burning, Caleb escapes with his family and suggests they try doing a blood transfusion to attempt to cure him. The transfusion successfully reverses Caleb's transformation. That night the vampires search for Caleb because he knows their identity, and Homer is still desiring to have Sarah for his mate. Mae distracts Caleb by trying to convince him to return to her while the others kidnap Sarah.

After Mae leaves, Caleb discovers the kidnapping and gives chase on horseback after finding his tires slashed. Along the way, he commandeers a tractor-trailer and encounters Severen, whom he runs over. The injured vampire manages to get into the truck's cab, so Caleb jackknifes the vehicle and jumps out as the truck explodes and kills Severen. Seeking revenge, Jesse and Diamondback pursue him, but are forced to flee in their car as dawn breaks.

Not wanting Sarah to become another child-like monster, Mae breaks out of the back of the car with Sarah, getting badly burned by the sun as she runs with Sarah into Caleb's arm. Homer follows her, but is destroyed in a fiery explosion by the sun. Jesse and Diamondback, now having no shelter from the sun, are beginning to burn. They attempt to run Caleb and Sarah over with the car but it veers off the road and they are killed as it explodes.

Mae, her burns now healed, is given a transfusion and is also cured, and watches the sun rise with Caleb.

Kathryn Bigelow wanted to film a Western movie that departed from cinematic convention, which at the time was strongly identified with the films of John Wayne and John Ford. When she and co-writer Eric Red found financial backing for a Western difficult to obtain, it was suggested to them that they try mixing a Western with another, more popular genre. Her interest in revisionist interpretation of cinematic tradition led her and Red to the idea of combining two genres that they regarded as ripe for reinterpretation: the Western movie, and the vampire movie, whose conventions largely derived from Bela Lugosi's performance in Dracula. The film was scored by the German electronic music group Tangerine Dream, who also created the soundtracks for Risky Business and Legend.

Part of a late 1980s revival of serious (as opposed to comedic) vampire depictions on the big screen, Near Dark was released on October 2, 1987 in 262 theaters, grossing USD $635,789 on its opening weekend. It went on to make $3.4 million, below its $5 million budget. It received mostly positive reviews for its mix of the western, biker and vampire movie genres.

In her review for the New York Times, Caryn James wrote, "Ms. Bigelow's too-studied compositions - Caleb in silhouette riding a horse toward the camera - clash with her unstudied approach to the characters' looks".

Jay Scott in his review for the Globe and Mail wrote, "Bill Paxton as the undead sex symbol - is exceptional, but not exceptional enough to put across the cop-out that concludes the film".

In his book, Monster Show: Cultural History of Horror, Film critic David J. Skal highly praises the film's mix of western and horror genres, and homeless wanderings and undeath. Richard Corliss, of Time Magazine calls Near Dark "weird (and) beautiful " and "the all-time teenage vampire love story". Likewise, Richard Schickel (also of Time) considers the film a clever variant of the vampire film genre. . Peter Travers, of Rolling Stone concurs, calling it "gory and gorgeous".

Near Dark is ranked 34 on Rotten Tomatoes' "Top 50 Horror Movies" list of the 50 best reviewed horror movies of all time.

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Frank & Jesse

Frank & Jesse is a 1994 western starring Rob Lowe as Jesse James and Bill Paxton as Jesse's brother Frank James. Following the Civil War the two brothers, along with the Younger brothers - Cole Younger (played by Randy Travis) and Bob Younger (Todd Field), Bob Ford (Jim Flowers) and Charlie Ford (Alexis Arquette), Clell Miller (John Pyper-Ferguson), and Arch Clements (Nick Sadler), begin to feel oppressed by the Chicago railroad investors. They set off on a trail of bank robberies, train heists, and stage holdups while evading the dogged pursuit of Allan Pinkerton (William Atherton) and his detective agency.

Based on the story of Jesse James, the movie follows more the myth of the man than the reality.

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Lance Henriksen

Lance James Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor, painter, and potter.

Henriksen was born in Manhattan, New York City to a poor family. His father was a Norwegian merchant sailor and boxer nicknamed "Icewater" who spent most of his life at sea. Henriksen’s mother struggled to find work as a dance instructor, waitress, and model. His parents divorced when he was only two years old and he was raised by his mother. As he grew up, Henriksen found himself in trouble at various schools and even saw the inside of a children's home. Henriksen left home and dropped out of school at the age of twelve; he would not learn to read until he was 30, when he taught himself by studying film scripts. . He spent most of his adolescence as a street urchin in New York. Riding on freight trains across the country, he would also do time in jail for petty crimes such as vagrancy. It was during this period of wayfaring that he met lifetime friends James Cameron and Bruce Kenselaar.

Henriksen's first job in the theater world was as a designer of theatrical sets; in fact, he received his first role because built the set for the production. In his early 30s, Henriksen graduated from the prestigious Actors Studio and began acting in New York City's Off-Broadway theater circuit. In film, he first appeared in It Ain't Easy in 1972. Henriksen went on to portray a variety of supporting roles in noteworthy genre films such as Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Damien: Omen II (1978). He also portrayed astronaut Walter Schirra in The Right Stuff (1983) and actor Charles Bronson in the 1991 TV-movie Reason for Living: The Jill Ireland Story.

When James Cameron was writing the movie The Terminator (1984), he had originally envisioned Henriksen playing the title role. Cameron went so far as to paint a picture of the Terminator using Henriksen's face, and he had the actor dress up as the character and attend an Orion Pictures production meeting in character. Regardless, the famous role ultimately went to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Henriksen did appear in the film, albeit in the minor role of Detective Hal Vukovich. Henriksen is perhaps best known for portraying the android Bishop, an artificial life-form, in Aliens (1986) and Alien³ (1992). He would go on to play Charles Bishop Weyland, the man Bishop's appearance was based on, in Alien vs. Predator (2004).

Henriksen and Bill Paxton are the only actors to appear in the Alien, Predator and Terminator series. While Paxton was killed by all three titular creatures in his appearances, Henriksen was killed by the Terminator and a Predator (in AvP), and would have had the distinction of also being killed by an Alien after his character in Aliens was torn in half by the Queen. However, the android was not killed, and after making an appearance in the third Alien movie, asks Ellen Ripley to deactivate him.

In 1996, Henriksen starred in the television series Millennium, created and produced by Chris Carter, the creator of The X-Files. Henriksen played Frank Black, a former FBI agent who possessed a unique ability to see into the minds of killers. Carter created the role specifically for the actor. Henriksen's performances on Millennium earned him critical acclaim, a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite New Male TV Star, and three consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series (1997-1999). The series was cancelled in 1999. Henriksen's daughter, Alcamy, appears uncredited in an episode of Millennium. He later moved to the state of Hawaii with his wife Jane Pollack and their daughter Sage Ariel.

No less than three prominent franchise roles have been written specifically for Henriksen, though he would only star in one of them. James Cameron wrote The Terminator (1984) hoping Henriksen would play the titular character. Chris Carter created Millennium (1996) specifically for Henriksen, then convinced him to become hero Frank Black. Lastly, Victor Salva wrote Jeepers Creepers (2001) with Henriksen in mind for the role of the Creeper.

On television, Henriksen most recently appeared in the ensemble of Into the West (2005), a miniseries executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. He has also recently appeared in a Brazilian soap opera, Caminhos do Coração ("Ways of the Heart") from Rede Record. It was announced in January 2009 that Henriksen would be guest-starring on an episode of NCIS playing a local sheriff.

In recent years Henriksen has also been active as a voice actor, lending his distinctive voice to a number of animated features and video game titles. In Disney's Tarzan (1999) and its direct-to-video midquel Henriksen is Kerchak, the ape who serves as Tarzan's surrogate father. He provided the voice for the alien supervillain Brainiac in Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006). Henriksen is the voice of the character Molov in the video game Red Faction II (2002), which was developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ, and has also contributed to GUN (2005), Run Like Hell (2002), the canceled title Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2004), and BioWare's role-playing game Mass Effect (2007) as Admiral Hackett of the Human Systems Alliance. Henriksen was also the voice behind PlayStation 3's internet promotional videos. In 2005, Henriksen was the voice of Andrei Rublev in Cartoon Network's IGPX. Currently, the actor is lending his voice to the animated television series Transformers: Animated as the character Lockdown.

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