Wall Street (1987)

Wall Street (1987)

Directed by	Oliver Stone
Produced by	Edward R. Pressman
Written by	Oliver Stone, Stanley Weiser
Starring	Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen, Sean Young, John C. McGinley, Hal Holbrook, Terrance Stamp
Music by	Stewart Copeland
Cinematography	Robert Richardson
Editing by	Claire Simpson
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	December 11, 1987
Running time	126 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15,000,000
Gross revenue	$43,848,100
Followed by	Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

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Wall Street is a 1987 American drama film released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Oliver Stone and stars Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen and Daryl Hannah. The screenplay was written by Stanley Weiser and Stone. The film tells the story of Bud Fox (Sheen), a young stockbroker desperate to succeed and becomes involved with his hero, Gordon Gekko (Douglas), a wealthy, unscrupulous corporate raider.

Stone made the film as a tribute to his father, Lou Stone, a stockbroker during the Great Depression. The character of Gekko is said to be a composite of several people, including Owen Morrisey, Dennis Levine, Ivan Boesky, Carl Icahn, Asher Edelman, Michael Ovitz, Michael Milken, and Stone himself. Originally, the studio wanted Warren Beatty to play Gekko but he was not interested and Stone wanted Richard Gere but the actor passed. Stone went with Douglas even though he had been advised by others in Hollywood not to cast him.

The film was well-received among major film critics including Roger Ebert and The New York Times. Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the film has come to be seen as the archetypal portrayal of 1980s excess, with Douglas's character advocating that "greed, for lack of a better word, is good". It has also proven influential in inspiring people to work on Wall Street with Sheen, Douglas and Stone commenting over the years how people still approach them and say that they became stockbrokers because of their respective characters in the film.

Stone and Douglas have reunited for a sequel titled Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, which will be released on September 24, 2010.

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Plot

In 1985, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), a junior stockbroker at Jackson Steinem & Co., is desperate to get to the top. He wants to become involved with his hero, the corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a ruthless and legendary Wall Street player whose values could not conflict more with those of Bud's father Carl (Martin Sheen), a blue-collar airline maintenance foreman. Bud visits Gekko on his birthday and, granted a brief interview, pitches him stocks but Gekko is unimpressed. Realizing that Gekko may not do business with him, a desperate Bud provides him with some inside information about Bluestar Airlines, which Bud had learned in a casual conversation the day before from his father. Gekko tells him he will think about it. A dejected Bud returns to his office where Gekko places an order for Bluestar stock, becoming one of Bud's clients.

Gekko gives Bud some capital to manage, but the shares that Bud selects – by honest research – lose money. Instead Gekko takes Bud under his wing, but compels him to unearth new information by any means necessary, including unethical and illegal means. One of his first assignments is to spy on British corporate raider Sir Lawrence Wildman (Terence Stamp) and discern the Brit's next move. Through Bud's spying, Gekko makes big money and Wildman is forced to buy Gekko's shares off him to complete his control of a steel company

Bud becomes wealthy, enjoying Gekko's promised perks, including a penthouse on Manhattan's Upper East Side and a trophy blonde, interior decorator Darien (Daryl Hannah). Still employed by Jackson Steinem, Bud is promoted as a result of the large commission fees which he is bringing in from Gekko's trading, and is given a corner office with a view. He continues to maximize insider information and use friends as straw buyers to get rich.

Bud pitches a new idea to Gekko, to buy Bluestar Airlines and expand the company, with Bud as president, using savings achieved by union concessions. Bud persuades his father, Carl, who dislikes Gekko, to get union support for the plan and push for the deal. Things change when Bud learns that Gekko, in fact, plans to sell off Bluestar's assets, leaving Carl and the entire Bluestar staff unemployed. Although this would leave Bud very rich, he is angered by Gekko's deceit, and racked with the guilt of being an accessory to Bluestar's destruction. Bud chooses his father over his mentor and resolves to disrupt Gekko's plans. He angrily breaks up with Darien, who refuses to plot against Gekko, a former lover and the architect of her career.

Bud creates a plan to manipulate Bluestar's stock value downwards. Gekko, realizing that his stock is plummeting, finally dumps his remaining interest in the company, only to learn on the evening news that the shares have been picked up at a lower price by Sir Lawrence Wildman, who will become the airline's new majority shareholder. Gekko realizes that Bud engineered the entire scheme. Bud triumphantly goes back to work at Jackson Steinem & Co. the following day, where he is confronted by the police and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bud is placed under arrest, handcuffed, and led out of the office in tears.

Sometime later, Bud confronts Gekko in Central Park. Gekko berates him for his role with Bluestar. He then viciously assaults Bud, but not before mentioning several of their illegal business transactions. Following the confrontation, it is revealed that he was wearing a wire to record his encounter with Gekko. He turns the wire tapes over to the federal authorities, who suggest that his sentence will be lightened in exchange for his help. Later on, Bud's parents drive him to the courthouse and Carl tells him he did right in saving the airline, but he'll most likely go to jail. The film ends with Bud going up the steps of the courthouse.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_(1987_film)

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American films | English-language films | 1987 films | 1980s drama films | American business films | American drama films | Films directed by Oliver Stone | Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award winning performance | Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance | Films set in New York City | Trading films | 20th Century Fox films

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ, 1986)

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ, Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta)

Alternative Names: 天空の城ラピュタ, Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Produced by: Isao Takahata
Written by: Hayao Miyazaki
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Distributed by: Tokuma Shoten, Toei Company
Release date(s): August 2, 1986 (Japan), April 5, 1996 (United States)
Running time: 126 minutes
Country: Japan
Rating: MPAA: PG (US), 07+

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Laputa: Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) (Or simply Laputa) (re-titled Castle in the Sky for release in the United States) is a 1986 film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is the first film created and released by Studio Ghibli. Laputa: Castle in the Sky won the Animage Anime Grand Prix in 1986.

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Plot

According to legend, humans were fascinated with the sky; therefore they created increasingly sophisticated ways of lifting aircraft from the ground. This eventually led to flying cities and fortresses. Due to an unspecified catastrophe, most of the flying cities were either destroyed or crashed back to the ground, forcing the survivors to live on the ground as before. One city, Laputa, is said to remain in the sky, concealed within the swirling clouds of a violent thunderstorm. While most people consider it to be fictional, some believe the legend is true and have sought to find the ancient city. Large airships still remain in common use.

Aboard a civilian airship, a young girl, Sheeta, is escorted to an unknown destination by sinister-looking agents under Colonel Muska. The ship is attacked by a group of sky pirates; in the resulting disorder, Sheeta takes a small pendant from Muska and escapes out the window. The sky pirates, led by an old but vivacious woman Dola, attempt to seize her and the pendant, but Sheeta accidentally falls from the ship. As she falls, the pendant radiates a blue light and she gently floats to the ground. A young boy miner, Pazu, witnesses this in amazement and catches Sheeta. He takes her back to his home, where she finds a photograph of Laputa. Pazu explains that his deceased father, an airship pilot and adventurer, took the photo, but was disbelieved by his contemporaries. Pazu believes the city exists, however, and wants to find it himself someday.

Dola's band of sky pirates arrive at Pazu's house, forcing the children to leave, with Sheeta in a disguise. The Dola Gang finds out and chases them into the village, where the children escape on a railway. Their path is eventually blocked by an armoured train; the government agents inside attempt to capture Sheeta. With both pursuing parties fighting each other over the girl, the children fall from a collapsing rail trestle, but are saved when Sheeta's pendant activates once again, allowing them to float safely into an abandoned mine shaft.

Inside the mines they meet an old miner, Uncle Pom, who tells them of "volucite" (levistone in some subtitled versions, levitation stone in the original English language dub, and aetherium in Disney's English language dub), the crystal that keeps Laputa aloft. He reveals that Sheeta's pendant is one of the largest and purest of such crystals in existence, and counsels Sheeta to remember that the crystal's power rightly belongs to the earth, and that she should never use it to commit acts of violence.

Upon returning to the surface of the land, Sheeta tells Pazu that she has inherited an ancient "secret name": Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa (Laputian for "Sheeta, Second True Ruler of Laputa"). Government agents suddenly appear and take them both into custody. They are taken to a fortress and separated.

The general in command of the fortress discusses with Muska the government-sponsored search for Laputa, and agree that Sheeta and her crystal are the keys to its discovery. Muska reveals to Sheeta his knowledge of her true name, shows her a huge android robot believed to have been created in Laputa, and tells her that unless she cooperates with him in the search of Laputa and unlocking the crystal's secrets, which he believes can be used to physically locate Laputa, Pazu is likely to come to harm. Seeking to protect her friend, Sheeta tells Pazu that she has agreed to cooperate with Muska and the army in search of Laputa and asks him to forget her and Laputa. Stunned by this apparent rejection, Pazu returns to his village, only to find Dola's pirate family occupying his home. Pazu tells Dola of his experiences; when the pirates learn that Sheeta, Muska, and the general will depart the fortress in search of Laputa aboard the gigantic military airship Goliath, Pazu begs Dola to take him with her.

In the fortress tower, Sheeta absent-mindedly recites a spell given by her grandmother, causing the crystal to illuminate a strange blue light that points to Laputa. The spell also re-animates the robot, which wreaks havoc all over the fortress, setting it on fire. The robot rescues Sheeta, demonstrating its loyalty, before it is destroyed by the Goliath airship. In the meantime, Dola and Pazu show up and rescue Sheeta from the burning tower, but her crystal is torn from her neck and later recovered by Muska, who uses it to track down Laputa. The children and Dola's pirates pursue the Goliath aboard the pirate ship Tiger Moth, intent on finding Laputa before the Goliath does. That night, as Sheeta and Pazu stand watch on the crows nest, they talk at length about their respective lives, touching upon Sheeta's study of magic words and mentioning one such spell, the Spell of Destruction, a power Sheeta has never used. Dola, who is awake in bed, overhears their discussions through the intercom.

Amid their conversation, Pazu sees the Goliath rise from the clouds. The airship attacks, but the Tiger Moth escapes unharmed. The Tiger Moth enters a storm, and Dola tells the children to keep watch above the clouds by turning the crows nest into a glider. Soon a massive cloud becomes visible, which Pazu recognises from his father's descriptions as Laputa's hiding place. As they try to find a way in, the Goliath attacks again and the glider Sheeta and Pazu are riding is blasted away from the pirate ship. After a harrowing ride through the storm-charged cloud, the children land in Laputa, only to find the city devoid of human life, having only a single robot among the ruins taking care of the grounds and its plant and animal life. In the grounds is a gargantuan tree, whose roots have pervaded Laputa's base.

The Goliath arrives at Laputa, whereupon the soldiers plunder the city's vast treasures. The Tiger Moth is found wrecked on the surface, with Dola and the pirates being held captive. As Pazu attempts to rescue Dola, Sheeta witnesses Muska locating a hidden entrance to a large sphere that surrounds the city's core; she is subsequently captured and taken inside. Pazu frees the pirates and, after many difficulties, finds another way into the sphere.

Muska takes Sheeta into Laputa's core, a chamber holding a gigantic Volucite/Aetherium crystal that serves as the city's power source, and reveals that he is also an heir to the throne of Laputa. He takes control of Laputa and all its technology and demonstrates the power of the city to the army by beaming an immensely powerful blast toward the surface. Betraying the general and the army, he then activates hundreds of robots to wipe out the army and the Goliath while Dola and the pirates hide from the robots inside the remains of the Tiger Moth. Sheeta frees herself, steals back the crystal and runs through the core with Muska in close pursuit. Eventually, she finds Pazu and passes the crystal to him.

Muska finally corners Sheeta in the city's throne room. He brandishes a handgun at her, blasting off her pigtails. Pazu, with a grenade launcher provided by Dola, then enters and asks for a moment to talk to Sheeta, which Muska grants. Together, the two children decide to use the Spell of Destruction; with a single word, the pendant releases an enormous power surge that triggers the collapse of the city's core. Muska is blinded by the flash and falls to his death, while Sheeta and Pazu are hurled into the tangle of roots from the giant tree and survive. Afterwards they find their way back to the glider, also lodged in the tangle of roots, and leave Laputa.

The Dola pirates also survive Laputa's destruction aboard their moth fighters, and are overjoyed to be reunited with Sheeta and Pazu in midair, with some Laputan treasure as a compensation for their troubles. After reaching the coast, the pirates and the children bid each other a fond farewell and part ways. The ending credits show the remains of Laputa, held together by the tree, continuing to rise, until they apparently establish an orbit high above the earth.

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Characters

Pazu is a young orphan who works in the silver mines of the nearby canyon and dreams of finding the flying city of Laputa that his father found long ago. When he catches Sheeta from the sky, he befriends her. He is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka in Japanese, Barbara Goodson in the original English dub and James Van Der Beek in the Disney dub.

Sheeta is a young pigtailed girl who is the heir to the throne of the flying city of Laputa. Her birthname is "Lusheeta Toelle Ur Laputa". She poses as the protagonist of the film. She is voiced by Keiko Yokozawa in Japanese, Lara Cody in the original English dub and Anna Paquin in the Disney dub.

Dola is the matriarch of a family of sky pirates and the captain of the Tiger Moth. She is after the Volucite/Aetherium crystal, but befriends Pazu and Sheeta when they join them on the search for Laputa. She is voiced by Kotoe Hatsui in Japanese, Rachel Vanowen in the original English dub and Cloris Leachman in the Disney dub.

Muska is the Colonel of a secret military agency dispatched by the government and the main antagonist of the film. He is revealed to be a descendant of the Laputa royal family, his birth name being "Romooska Palo Ul Laputa". He is fully aware of Sheeta's true name, and when he discovers that she holds a crystal, he kidnaps her and plans to use her to become king of Laputa. He is voiced by Minori Terada in Japanese, Jeff Winkless in the original English dub and Mark Hamill in the Disney dub.

The General is Muska's former boss, who is sent to Laputa to raid it of its riches. When Muska tricks him and his army to go into a room beneath the black dome, he falls to his death. He is voiced by Ichirō Nagai in Japanese, Mike Reynolds in the original English dub and Jim Cummings in the Disney dub.

Uncle Pom an old miner who meets Pazu and Sheeta in an abandoned mine shaft and reveals the secret of Sheeta's pendant. He is voiced by Fujio Tokita in Japanese, Ed Mannix in the original English dub and Richard Dysart in the Disney dub.

Shalulu / Charles is Dola's eldest son. He is a large, bearded man who gets into a fight with the Boss. He is voiced by Takuzō Kamiyama in Japanese, Barry Stigler in the original English dub and Michael McShane in the Disney dub.

Lui / Louis is Dola's second son. He is a short-moustached man who falls in love with Sheeta. He is voiced by Yoshito Yasuhara in Japanese, Dave Mallow in the original English dub and Mandy Patinkin in the Disney dub.
Anli / Henri is Dola's third son. He is a freckled man whose eyes are often concealed by his hat. He is voiced by Sukekiyo Kameyama in Japanese, Eddie Frierson in the original English dub and Andy Dick in the Disney dub.
Boss is the mine worker boss and Pazu's mentor. He is voiced by Hiroshi Ito in Japanese, Cliff Wells in the original English dub and John Hostetter in the Disney dub.

Old Engineer is the veteran engineer of the Tiger Moth. He is voiced by Ryūji Saikachi in Japanese.

Okami is Boss's wife. She is voiced by Machiko Washio in Japanese.

Madge is Boss's daughter. She is voiced by Tarako in Japanese.

Additional voices in the Japanese version included Eken Mine, Megumi Hayashibara, Tomomichi Nishimura, Hōchū Ōtsuka, Masashi Sugawara, Reiko Suzuki, Hideki Fukushi, Nobuyuki Furuta, Kazumi Tanaka and Toshihiko Seki. Additional voices in the original English dub included Dave Mallow, Eddie Frierson, Lara Cody, and Barbara Goodson. Additional voices in the Disney dub included Corey Burton, John DeMita, Debi Derryberry, Eddie Frierson, Susan Hickman, Tress MacNeille, Matt K. Miller, Scott Menville, Andy Philpot and Michael Sorich.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_in_the_Sky

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Japanese films | Japanese-language films | 1986 films | Adventure anime and manga | Anime films | Anime of 1986 | Anime with original screenplays | Aviation films | Children's fantasy films | Environmental films | Fantasy adventure films | Fantasy anime and manga | Films directed by Hayao Miyazaki | Films distributed by Disney | Mecha anime and manga | Romance anime and manga | Steampunk anime and manga | Steampunk films | Studio Ghibli

Harem (genre)

Harem (genre)

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Harem is an informal term used to describe a trend in Japanese anime or comics wherein a single male character is surrounded by multiple female characters: Suzuka, Love Hina, Ai Yori Aoshi and Rosario + Vampire to name a few. In most cases most of the females are romantically interested in the main character. The term "harem" is generally not used by itself, but as an adjective to the medium—such as harem anime or harem manga. The term comes from the Turkish use of the word "harem" meaning "a group of women associated with one man".

Daryl Surat, a contributor to Otaku USA, suggests that many harem anime are built around one core fetish (e.g. meido (Hanaukyo Maid Team), meganekko (G-On Riders), lolicon (Rozen Maiden), nuns (Amaenaideyo), large breasts (Eiken)), with other girls fulfilling sub-fetishes. There are also reverse harem anime in which a female protagonist is surrounded by gorgeous boys: Ouran Host Club and The Wallflower being the best known.

Some recent harem titles have experienced a backlash from some anime fans in the United States, particularly from females, due to recurring usage of female fan service in series with the genre designation, prompting calls of sexism from some viewers. However, this is in spite of portrayals of male sexuality in anime being a fast-growing trend in the US.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Alternative titles:
風の谷のナウシカ, Kaze no Tani no Naushika, Warriors of the Wind

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Studio: Topcraft
Distributed by: Toei Company
Release date(s): March 4, 1984 (Japan), June 1985 (Warriors of the Wind, North America), February 22, 2005 (uncut re-release, North America)
Rating: MPAA: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ, Kaze no Tani no Naushika) is a 1984 post-apocalyptic Japanese anime film, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on his manga of the same name. The film has environmentalist undertones and was presented by the World Wide Fund for Nature when it was released in 1984. While created before Studio Ghibli was founded, the film is considered to be the beginning of the studio, and is often included as part of the Studio's works, including the Studio Ghibli Collection DVDs. Among its numerous awards, it won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1984.

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Plot

The story takes place 1,000 years after the "Seven Days of Fire", an event which destroyed human civilization and most of the Earth's original ecosystem. Scattered human settlements survive, isolated from one another by the Toxic jungle, a forest of giant plants and fungi swarming with giant insects, which seem to come together only to wage war. Everything in the Toxic Jungle including the air is lethally toxic.

Nausicaä is a charismatic young princess of the peaceful Valley of the Wind. Although a skillful fighter, Nausicaä is humane and peace-loving. She has an unusual gift for communicating with the giant insects (particularly with the Ohmu, gigantic, armored, caterpillar- or isopod-like insects who are the most intelligent creatures in the Toxic Jungle.) She is also noted for her empathy toward animals, humans, and other beings. An intelligent girl, and inspired by the Valley's Lord Yupa, a wandering warrior possessed of great wisdom, Nausicaä frequently explores the Toxic Jungle and conducts scientific experiments in an attempt to define the true nature and origins of the toxic world in which she lives. Her explorations are facilitated by her skill at "windriding": flying with an advanced jet assisted glider craft. Yupa is searching for the mythological man in blue who, according to the legend, will appear surrounded by a sea of gold and reunite the people and nature.

One day, an airship crashes onto the cliffs near the Valley of the Wind. Nausicaä tries to rescue a shackled girl of her age from the burning wreck, but the girl dies after revealing that she is Princess Lastelle from the kingdom Pejite and that the cargo of the airship must be destroyed. The airship is from Tolmekia and the cargo turns out to be the embryo of a Giant Warrior, one of the lethal, giant creatures used in the ancient war.
It is later revealed that the Warrior embryo was unearthed by Pejite, but it was stolen by the more powerful state of Tolmekia. While transporting the Warrior - along with Lastelle as a hostage - back to their realm, the Tolmekians were attacked by insects and later crash-landed in the Valley. The next day, the Tolmekians, under the leadership of princess Kushana, invade the Valley to kill the Valley king and to secure and revive the Warrior. Kushana explains that the Giant Warrior will be used to burn the Toxic Jungle even though Obaba, a blind elder Valley woman, warns that attempting that will only anger the Ohmu and lead to more deaths and turn the valley into part of the jungle.

Kushana attempts to return to Tolmekia, with Nausicaä and several others as hostages. Before their departure, Nausicaä reveals to Yupa a hidden garden of jungle plants which are not toxic because they are growing in sand and water from a deep, untainted well. Nausicaä explains that the jungle is only toxic due to the toxic soil that covers the surface of the earth, even in the Valley; she has been trying to find the cause and a possible cure for her people, including her now-dead father. Since she has to depart, however, she has shut down the water flows which keep the plants alive.

The airships are attacked by a Pejitan gunship and several of the ships are destroyed. Nausicaä and another hostage, on board of one of the burning cargo ships still mid-air, make their way to a gunship that the Tolmekians took, but before they can leave, Kushana joins them. They are forced to make an emergency landing in the jungle. There, Nausicaä communicates with several Ohmus and discovers that the pilot of the Pejitan gunship is still alive. With the help of her glider, Nausicaä rescues the pilot from a swarm of enraged insects. However Nausicaä, the Pejitan pilot and the glider are swallowed by quicksand and end up in a strange, non-toxic world that is below the jungle. Nausicaä realizes the plants in the jungle purify the polluted topsoil, producing clean water and sand which remains hidden in the underground world. The pilot reveals that he is Asbel of Pejite, the twin brother of princess Lastelle.

Meanwhile, the people of the Valley of the Wind request weapons from the occupying Tolmekians to destroy toxic spores, which have infested the valley's forest. Enraged that they have had to burn their forest because of the Tolmekians, the citizens revolt, attacking the Tolmekians who have taken over the castle. The Tolmekians counter, forcing the valley residents to flee to an ancient ship on the shore of the acid lake, with the Tolmekians in pursuit.

Nausicaä and Asbel return to Pejite, which is devastated after the Pejite people lured the insects from the Sea of Decay into their own town in order to kill the occupying Tolmekian forces. The Pejite people, now seemingly surviving only on board of a single airship, reveal that they will do the same thing to the Valley of the Wind to recapture the Warrior, and use it to burn the jungle. To prevent Nausicaä from alerting the Tolmekians, they capture her, but she escapes with the help of Asbel and his mother. With her glider, she heads to the Valley, but along the way she encounters an enormous herd of enraged Ohmus who are following an injured baby Ohmu being used by the Pejite people to lure the Ohmus to the Valley. Nausicaä releases the baby Ohmu and gains its trust.

Meanwhile, the Tolmekians attempt to stop the herd with their armored vehicles but fail. Kushana, who had escaped from the hostages, arrives with the Giant Warrior to stop the Ohmu herd. The Warrior fires several beams from its mouth which on impact cause massive explosions, but this only serves to enrage the insects more. The Warrior attempts to continue fighting the Ohmu, but because it was awakened before being fully grown it collapses and dies. However, Nausicaä and the baby Ohmu are finally able to stop the Ohmu herd, but she is mortally wounded in the process. In front of the Valley people and the Tolmekian forces, the Ohmus use their gold-colored tentacles to heal Nausicaä's injuries. Nausicaä's dress is then seen by all her village as now being of blue color, stained by the blood of the baby Ohmu she rescued; thus Nausicaä turns out to be the mythological figure in blue mentioned in the beginning. The film ends with scenes of the future, where people and insects live in peace with each other. After the credits, a scene from under the Toxic Jungle shows a new, non-toxic plant growing, showing a possible new forest.

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Production

Nausicaä was produced with animators hired for the one film and paid per frame. One notable animator was Hideaki Anno, who later produced Neon Genesis Evangelion. Anno was assigned to draw the challenging God Warrior's attack sequence, which according to Toshio Suzuki is a "high point in the film".

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Other media

Manga

Miyazaki's manga version of Nausicaä was written over a period of 12 years, with breaks taken to work on Studio Ghibli films. Serialized in Tokuma Shoten's Animage magazine, the first chapter was published in February 1982, and the last chapter in March 1994. As can be expected, the story of the manga is far more complex than that of the film. The tale depicted in the film roughly corresponds to only the first quarter of the manga (which is all that had been written at the time the film was produced), with significant differences in plot.

In addition to the plot, there are other significant differences in the story – the characters are more developed and the environmentalist tone is more sophisticated, echoed in the complex worldview of Princess Mononoke. Nausicaä herself is portrayed as being much more potent, with abilities that are not always explained.

The Nausicaä manga is published in English by VIZ Media. Earlier editions of the English manga and fan translations often used the title Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, omitting the definite article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausica%C3%A4_of_the_Valley_of_the_Wind_(film)

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Japanese-language films | 1984 films | Adventure anime and manga | Anime films | Anime of 1984 | Doomsday films | Drama anime and manga | Fantasy adventure films | Fantasy anime and manga | Films directed by Hayao Miyazaki | Films distributed by Disney | Anime distributed by Madman Entertainment | Post-apocalyptic films | Science fiction anime and manga | Studio Ghibli | Viz Media anime | Aviation films | Environmental films

Macross (1982~)

Macross

Genre: Military Science Fiction, mecha anime, Real Robot, Space Opera

Macross (マクロス, Makurosu) is a long-running series of science fiction Mecha anime, created by Shōji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth/Humanity after the year 1999. It consists of three TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West Advertising.

Within the series, the term Macross is used to denote the main capital ship. This theme began in the original Macross, the SDF-1 Macross.

Overtechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship (Alien Star Ship - One later renamed Super Dimension Fortress - One Macross) that crashed on South Ataria island. With this technology, Earth was able to reverse engineer the technology to create mechas (variable fighters and destroids), a faster-than-light drive Space Fold for starships and other advanced technologies, which show up throughout the series.

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Chronology

Chronology	Title	Release Dates	Work	Ep
2008	Macross Zero "Macross 20th Anniversary". Original '82 TV series' prequel.	2002/12 -2004/10	OVA	5
2009 -2012	The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Original work adapted by Harmony Gold to become Robotech: The Macross Saga in 1985.	1982/10 -1983/06	TV	36
2009 -2012	Macross: The First Comic format alternate telling of the events in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross serialized in Shōnen Ace magazine.	2009	Manga	NA
2009 -2012 /2031 story within a story (in Macross 7)	The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? Alternate telling of the events in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, specifically episodes 2 through 27.	1984/07	Movie	1
2012	The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 Epilogue of the Movie, segments were added in the movie's definitive "Perfect Edition".	1987/06	OVA	1
2040	Macross Plus TV series' sequel OVA created by Studio Nue. A side-story.	1984/08 -1995/06	OVA	4
2040	Macross Plus: International Version Alternative OVA version with English cast and songs.	1995/03 -1995/07	OVA	4
2040	Macross Plus: Movie Alternative Movie version with different editing and additional scenes.	1995/09	Movie	1
2045 -2046	Macross 7 TV series sequel to Macross Plus. First of the sequels to touch upon the metaplot. Features a new cast of characters, and only three returning characters from the original series.	1994/10 -1995/09	TV	49
2046	Macross 7: Trash Comic side-story first serialized in Shōnen Ace magazine then released as volumes.	1994/10 -2001/05	Manga	8
2046	Macross 7 The Movie: The Galaxy Is Calling Me!	1995/09	Movie	1
2046	Macross 7: Encore Three '94 TV series additional episodes.	1995/12	OVA	3
2047	Macross Dynamite 7 "Macross 15th Anniversary" '94 TV series' sequel.	1997/12 -1998/08	OVA	4
2059	Macross Frontier Manga '94 TV series' sequel. Comic format telling of the events in Macross Frontier first serialized in Shōnen Ace magazine.	2007/12	Manga	NA
2059	Macross Frontier (Deculture Edition) "Macross 25th Anniversary" '94 TV series' sequel pilot episode.	2007/12	TV	1
2059	Macross Frontier '94 TV series' sequel.	2008/04	TV	25
2059	Macross Frontier The Movie: The False Diva 2008 TV series' theatrical movie adaptation.	2009/11	Movie	1
2059	Macross Frontier Movie: The Wings of Goodbye 2009 Theatrical movie sequel.	TBA	Movie	1
2092 "parallel" world alternate continuity	The Super Dimension Fortress Macross II: Lovers, Again "Macross 10th Anniversary" TV series' sequel OVA created without Studio Nue.	1992/05 -1992/11	OVA	6

A feature film, subtitled Do You Remember Love? (愛・おぼえていますか Ai Oboete Imasu ka), was released in 1984, with a condensed version of the storyline and cutting-edge animation. This movie was later described as a "historical drama" movie within the Macross universe (similar to World War II films in the real world). In Macross Plus and Macross 7, it is revealed that there was a movie produced after Space War I (the original Earth-Zentradi conflict). Kawamori described the relation between the two depictions of Space War I: "The real Macross is out there, somewhere. If I tell the story in the length of a TV series, it looks one way, and if I tell it as a movie-length story, it's organized another way." (A edited, English-dubbed version of the feature was also released to video as Clash of the Bionoids.)

Macross II, the only animated project without Studio Nue's direct involvement, was declared a parallel-world story by Studio Nue.

In March 2007, Studio Victor placed a casting call for a voice actress to play the heroine, Ranka Lee, in a then untitled new Macross series. 18 year old Nakajima Megumi was selected in the nationwide singing and acting audition for the role of Ranka Lee in Japan. The project was given the tentative title of Macross 25. Later, as part of the 25th anniversary concert, a trailer was shown that revealed the new tentative title of Macross F (Frontier). During the concert, Kawamori Shoji mentioned that the timeframe of Macross Frontier was about 2070 A.D. Kawamori also announced that Yoko Kanno would be the music co-composer of the new Macross series. According to Newtype Magazine, this new series were supposed to take place in a school. The pilot episode aired in December 23, 2007. The new series were finally set in the year 2059 A.D. and took place in a new Macross Colony Fleet called "Macross Frontier". The new show was produced by Satelight and its episodes began their regular broadcast on April 4, 2008, in MBS channel of Japan. The final episode aired on September 25, 2008, what brought the series to a total of 25 episodes. A Macross Frontier Movie Edition was announced just after the ending of the new TV animated series.

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Source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross

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Anime series | Anime films | Anime OVAs | Macross | Space opera

Emma Frost

Emma Frost

Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 (January 1980), and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne.

An urbane, mutant telepath with a well-noted dry wit initially known as the White Queen, Frost has evolved from one of the X-Men's most dangerous foes to one of its most central members.

The character placed #30 as Marvel's highest ranking female on Empire's Top 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters in 2008 and took 69th place on Wizard’s 200 Greatest Characters of All Time List in 2008, ranking ahead of other X-Men with more extensive histories. She was ranked fifth in Comics Buyer's Guide's 100 Sexiest Women in Comics list.

Actress January Jones portrays the character in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Frost

Heroes: Wonder Woman

Heroes: Wonder Woman

Lynda Carter in the 1976-1979 Wonder Woman TV series

Claudia Brown (Primeval)

Claudia Brown from Primeval

Claudia Brown is played by Lucy Brown. According to the official Primeval website, Claudia Brown, (born in Oxford) joined the Civil Service after studying law at university. For two years, she was engaged to be married, but she broke it off a month before the wedding. She has had no significant relationships since. She has fallen in love with Nick Cutter after he defended her from the "flying lizards".

Much like Lester, her official role at the Home Office is unclear. Since the discovery of the first anomaly, she has worked alongside Nick Cutter and his team, acting as a liaison with the Home Office and occasionally defending Cutter's actions to Lester, and vice versa, but is often stressed out by Cutter's methods and secrets. She is not happy when she learns Cutter's missing wife Helen is alive and that he knew, since she could give them vital information. Claudia is in love with Nick Cutter with whom she shares a passionate kiss during episode 1.5. In episode 1.6, Claudia jokingly accuses Cutter of sexual harassment, noting that it is a serious offence in the civil service. She began hallucinating, seeing anomalies and Gorgonopsid throughout the Home Office.

When Cutter and Helen started to leave, she asked him not to go as she thought it was a mistake, but he assured her that it would be okay. She and Cutter then exchanged another kiss in front of Helen and the rest of the team, and rebuffed Lester's note of it being unprofessional. When Cutter returns from the past via an anomaly, Claudia has vanished and none of his colleagues have any knowledge of who she is or was, leading Cutter to believe that something he has done in the past has altered the present, eliminating Claudia's existence. The reason for her disappearance is not yet known, though probably due to the remaining Future Predators that managed to escape the Gorgonopsid. Cutter is devastated by this, describing Claudia to co-worker Abby as "important to him" and saying he cared about her. Her non-existence shakes his foundation to the core as she is the first woman he had loved in his life since the disappearance of his wife, Helen.

Claudia remained out of existence for the second series, although another woman who appears to be physically identical, Jenny Lewis, first appears in episode 2.1. At the end of episode 2.2, Cutter explains to Jenny as best he can about what could have happened to change the past. Claudia's job as Lester's assistant was changed to a man named Oliver Leek, who was revealed to be working for Helen Cutter. It was implied that Helen was responsible for Claudia being replaced by Jenny, however Helen denies it. At the end of the finale, Cutter shreds Claudia's picture (although in Series 3 it is revealed that he repaired part of it). The writers alluded to Claudia's possible return in the future, but said that they had no plans at the time to rewrite Claudia into the timeline.

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Primeval

That's the problem with heroic gestures. Succeed, and you look wonderful. Fail, and all you do is leave the bloody mess for everyone to clear up. [Primeval 1.2] 2007

Alice (Resident Evil)

Alice (Resident Evil)

Alice is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Resident Evil film series, which is loosely based on the video game series of the same name. Though she is not a character in the game series, she does eventually interact with a number of characters from the games, including Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, Carlos Olivera (whom Alice would have a love interest in), Chris Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, Barry Burton, Ada Wong, Albert Wesker and Nemesis. Alice, portrayed by Milla Jovovich, plays the principal role in each film, the storylines all somewhat revolving around her and the struggle with the Umbrella Corporation. Apart from the films, she appears in the film's novelizations where her background is explained.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_(Resident_Evil)

Abby Maitland (Primeval)

Abby Maitland from Primeval

Abby Sarah Maitland is played by Hannah Spearritt.

ITV's official site says that while Abby has arachnophobia she developed a love of reptiles when her parents took her on holiday to the Galapagos Islands as a child and has had a love affair with lizards ever since. Although she started university she later left after only one term when she became a zookeeper. Always fit and athletic, her hobbies include gymnastics, Ashtanga yoga, karate, kick boxing, swimming and diving. She keeps gym equipment in her flat. Actress Hannah Spearritt also stated that Abby was abused as a child. In Series 1 she seemed to be attracted to Stephen Hart, but in the second season she seems to be falling in love with Connor Temple.

She openly admits to falling in love with the wrong type of men - moody and dangerous. She also appears to have her feelings hurt easily but struggles to remain upbeat and positive. She can also be remarkably deceitful in order to get her own way as she lies to the government and to her team mates about her experiences with spiders so they will take her with them. She would not tell anyone that Rex came back through the anomaly with Nick Cutter.

She is a zookeeper who first appears in the series when a small boy called Ben who alerts the zoo she works at about an escaped lizard he misidentifies as a modern day lizard named Draco volans. She later angers Cutter when she and Connor go off to find an anomaly by themselves but is allowed to stay because he admits he needs her skills. She later allows Connor to move into her flat on a purely platonic basis. She remains as the team lab assistant and sidekick up until episode 1.4 when she is almost contaminated by a deadly parasite by a student friend of work/flatmate Connor Temple.

Her love/hate relationship with Connor reaches a peak in episode 1.5 when she is enraged that he let everyone know that she's been keeping Rex in secret but later says that if he makes her breakfast on the weekends and does the washing up for a month then he can stay. She admits that this compromise is really because she actually likes having him around. Connor hugs her, prompting Abby to say she likes having him around as a friend, hinting that she is beginning to fall in love with him. How Abby has been changed by the alterations in the timeline is unknown. Connor now has a girlfriend in this new timeline but how this affects their relationship is unknown. Connor's girlfriend, much to Abby's horror, hates lizards, and the two do not get along. Also, her crush on Stephen, and their closeness because of it, seems to have completely disappeared in the second season.

In episode 2.1, Abby and Connor seem to have a much closer relationship than they did previously. This comes to the extent that Abby pays for Connor's slushie and lets Connor use her gun, even though there is a pack of Deinonychus on the loose. Abby has a much better flat in the second series, and the reptile species that she keeps includes Rex the Coelurosauravus, a corn snake, a milk snake, leopard geckos, bearded dragons and a boa constrictor. In episode 2.2, Abby is quietly jealous of Caroline Steel who Connor seems to have a relationship with. It is clear that Abby disapproves however, as she shows no sympathy when Connor has to leave for work or when he accidentally washes his number off. In episode 2.4, Abby is attacked by a futuristic Mer, and dragged through an anomaly to the future. Connor runs through, despite being injured, alone to help her, and tries to pull her over an overhang, and as he appears to be able to get her over, a massive Mer looms over them, preparing to kill them. Abby begs him to let her go and escape, but he refuses, finally bursting out, 'I can't! I love you!' She would later confront him about the matter but at this point Caroline Steel comes for her date with Connor. Ironically, at one point Abby defeats a Mer using a kickboxing move that Caroline showed her, thus Caroline probably indirectly and unknowingly saved Abby's life.

In the Series 2 finale, Abby is captured with the rest of the team and held captive. When Caroline is thrown into the cell with Connor and Abby, the two girls fight, punching and kicking each other. Eventually Abby slams Caroline against a wall, but Caroline uses her superior strength to pin Abby down. Abby bites her and she lets go, and the two continue to grapple briefly, much to Connor's shock and Leek's amusement. Connor succeeds in breaking up the fight but when Caroline thanks him, he says "I didn't do it for you" and seems to remain close to Abby throughout the episode. Surprisingly, she later forgives Caroline and even saves her life when they are kept in a room with a smilodon. Abby splits off from the group as a distraction, and inadvertently turns off the power system and releases the creatures. Rex is shot in the episode, and Abby looks after him (but not before thanking Caroline for saving him). At the end of the episode, Abby and the rest of the team are at Stephen's funeral, where Abby lays flowers for him. As they leave, Abby reaches to hold Connor's hand, but the team get called out to an anomaly.

In series 3, she and Connor continued to grow closer, though they were reluctant to do anything about their attraction. In episode 3.4 she is revealed to have a brother, Jack, who stays with her and forces Connor to move out temporarily. During episode 3.8 Abby desperately went through an anomaly to rescue Jack after he went through accidentally, risking her own life and the others because she didn't want to lose him. At the end of the episode she and Connor kissed after Jack admitted to her that Connor had helped him get Rex back and losing him in a poker game, thankful that he hadn't made Jack look bad. At the start of episode 3.9, Abby visits Connor and explains that she does not want things to be 'weird' between them, making their relationship indefinite. However when the pair are trapped in the Cretaceous while chasing Helen with new team leader Danny Quinn, she helps him to relax, and agrees to let him move back into her flat once they return home.

The episode 4.1, Connor and Abby have been living in the Cretaceous period for a year and by this time, Abby had lost all faith in getting back to the present. However, after finding an anomaly device they do manage to get back to the present, and both are told by the ARC that they are fired, due to new regulations stating that employees must be from a military/police background; although Lester later reinstates them in episode 4.2. The opening episodes also show that Connor and Abby are a couple, this is shown by the two kissing at the end of 4.1, and Abby telling Duncan that she is Connor's girlfriend. However their relationship becomes strained as they readjust to their jobs, particularly when Connor doesn't stay to support her as she tries to stop Philip Burton from killing the Rex and the other creatures in the ARC in episode 4.4, and when he blurts out about the possibility of getting married in episode 4.6.

In the fifth series she learned of Matt's mission and lent her help, though her relationship with Connor became strained as she couldn't tell him why she was trying to stop his obsessive work for Philip. In episode 5.3 she wasn't happy when Connor's new assistant April Leonard suggested that she was nothing but a distraction for him, and this emboldened her to copy Connor's hard drive, despite refusing Matt's earlier requests. When he caught her near his lab she tried to appeal to him by revealing Helen and Philip's association, though his apparent knowledge made him adamant she only wanted him away from Philip, creating further tension between them. She was furious at him when he opened his own anomaly in the ARC in episode 5.4, and set out to find Rex when he was loose in the ARC with an imminent gamma ray to kill a swarm of future beetles. In episode 5.5 she rescued Connor from a Kaprosuchus after he had been abandoned by Philip, and the two made up as Connor had realised he should have trusted Abby over Philip. At the New Dawn facility she threatened April with her EMD, and tried to go after Connor when he was pulled through the anomaly as it opened. In the series finale she and Matt go to rescue him from a pack of mutated Future Predators, and encourages Connor to return when he gives up hope, whispering something in his ear. After returning she comes up with a plan to paralyse the Predators in the ARC by using high frequency sounds, and once the crisis is over she asks Connor to marry her (what she told him in the future), which he agreed to.

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Primeval

Does anyone have a really big slipper? [Primeval 1.2]