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- Shioli Kutsuna was born in Australia, but moved to Japan at age 14 in order to pursue a career in acting.
Shioli won the 11th Japan Bishojo Contest in 2006. This award honors the most beautiful young girl in Japan. Her first role came the following year when she was a member of the cast of 3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei 8, which was a TBD TV school drama. Two years later she achieved a main character role for the serial Tsugumi Nitobe in 7 Mannin Tantei Nitobe. In that year she also appeared in her first movie, Guardian Angel. Her appearance in Back Pages garnered her the 85th Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actress in 2010.
Shioli graduated from Horikoshi High School in Tokyo in 2011, but dropped out of Asia University, where she was starting Arts, in 2013 in advance of her third year due to the pressures of acting, thus breaking an earlier vow to persist no matter what.
She has won several other awards since her earlier ones including 9th Clarino Beautiful Legs Award in the teen category in 2011 and Newcomer Of The Year, which came in 2014, some five years after she began her career, at the 37th Japan Academy Prize. She was one of four girls on the road in Petaru Dansu and was cast in the Hollywood production for a Deadpool sequel, scheduled for release in 2018.
It was reported that she was dating actor Shôta Matsuda in 2013. Shioli has done quite a bit of corporate advertising for companies such as Epson, MOS Burger and Pocky and others. She suffered some blow-back for the Pocky work due to the popularity of her predecessor, Yui Aragaki. She is represented by Oscar Promotion. - Actor
- Producer
- Director
Actor Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on December 22, 1962 in Suffolk, England, to Jennifer Anne Mary Alleyne (Lash), a novelist, and Mark Fiennes, a photographer. He is the eldest of six children. Four of his siblings are also in the arts: Martha Fiennes, a director; Magnus Fiennes, a musician; Sophie Fiennes, a producer; and Joseph Fiennes, an actor. He is of English, Irish, and Scottish origin.
A noted Shakespeare interpreter, he first achieved success onstage at the Royal National Theatre. Fiennes first worked on screen in 1990 and then made his film debut in 1992 as Heathcliff in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1992), opposite Juliette Binoche. 1993 was his "breakout year". He had a major role in the controversial Peter Greenaway film The Baby of Mâcon (1993), with Julia Ormond, which was poorly received. Later that year he became known internationally for portraying the amoral Nazi concentration camp commandant Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993). For this he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He did not win, but did win the Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award for the role, as well as Best Supporting Actor honors from numerous critics groups, including the National Society of Film Critics, and the New York, Chicago, Boston, and London Film Critics associations. His portrayal as Göth also earned him a spot on the American Film Institute's list of Top 50 Film Villains. To look suitable to represent Goeth, Fiennes gained weight, but he managed to shed it afterwards. In 1994, he portrayed American academic Charles Van Doren in Quiz Show (1994). In 1996, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Count Almásy the World War II epic romance, and another Best Picture winner, Anthony Minghella's The English Patient (1996), in which he starred with Kristin Scott Thomas. He also received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations, as well as two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations, one for Best Actor and another shared with the film's ensemble cast.
Since then, Fiennes has been in a number of notable films, including Strange Days (1995), Oscar and Lucinda (1997), the animated The Prince of Egypt (1998), István Szabó's Sunshine (1999), Neil Jordan-directed films The End of the Affair (1999) and The Good Thief (2002), Red Dragon (2002), Maid in Manhattan (2002), The Constant Gardener (2005), In Bruges (2008), The Reader (2008), co-starring Kate Winslet, Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar®-winning The Hurt Locker (2008), Clash of the Titans (2010), Mike Newell's screen adaptation of Charles Dickens'Great Expectations (2012), with Helena Bonham Carter and Jeremy Irvine, and Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
He is also known for his roles in major film franchises such as the Harry Potter film series (2005-2011), in which he played the evil Lord Voldemort. His nephew, Hero Fiennes Tiffin played Tom Riddle, the young Lord Voldemort, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). Ralph also appears in the James Bond series, in which he has played M, starting with the 2012 film Skyfall (2012).
In 2011, Fiennes made his directorial debut with his film adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy political thriller Coriolanus (2011), in which he also played the title character, opposite Gerard Butler and Vanessa Redgrave. Fiennes has won a Tony Award for playing Prince Hamlet on Broadway.
In 2015, Fiennes played a music producer in Luca Guadagnino's A Bigger Splash (2015), starring opposite Tilda Swinton and Matthias Schoenaerts, and in 2016, Fiennes starred in Joel and Ethan Coen's Hail, Caesar! (2016).
Since 1999, Fiennes has served as an ambassador for UNICEF UK.- Actress
- Producer
Dina Meyer is an American film and television actress best known for her roles as Barbara Gordon in Birds of Prey (2002), Dizzy Flores in Starship Troopers (1997) and Detective Allison Kerry in the Saw installments. Meyer started acting in 1993, with her first major role playing Lucinda Nicholson in the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990). In the same year she made her film debut in the TV movie Strapped (1993). She broke out two years later, playing the cybernetically enhanced bodyguard Jane in the cyberpunk thriller Johnny Mnemonic (1995). In addition to Johnny Mnemonic, Meyer has played roles in other science fiction productions including Starship Troopers, Birds of Prey and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). She also starred as Detective Allison Kerry in the horror/thriller film Saw (2004) and its sequels as well. She has made many guest appearances and played one of the series regular roles in FOX's Point Pleasant (2005). Her additional guest star roles include Criminal Minds (2005), Castle (2009), The Mentalist (2008), Burn Notice (2007), and Nip/Tuck (2003), and she has recurred on ABC's Scoundrels (2010), CW's 90210 (2008), CBS's CSI: Miami (2002), and NCIS (2003).
Meyer resides in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Hector Elizondo was born in New York City, New York, where he was raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He is the son of Carmen Medina Reyes and Martín Echevarría Elizondo. Hector is of Basque and Puerto Rican descent, and "Elizondo" means "at the foot of the church" in Basque. His lifestyle in his days before acting was as diverse as the roles he plays today. He was a conga player with a Latin band, a classical guitarist and singer, a weightlifting coach, a ballet dancer and a manager of a bodybuilding gym. In his teens, he played basketball and baseball, and was scouted by the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates farm teams. After a knee injury ended his dance career, he switched to drama. Since then, he has frequently appeared on Broadway, most notably with George C. Scott in Arthur Penn's production of "Sly Fox" for which he received a Drama Desk nomination and for his role as "God" in "Steambath", which won him an Obie Award. Other theatre credits include; "The Prisoner of Second Avenue"; "The Great White Hope"; "Dance of Death" with Robert Shaw and "The Rose Tattoo" opposite Cicely Tyson. Countless starring roles in television include: Foley Square (1985); Medal of Honor Rag (1982); Casablanca (1983) (in which he recreated the Claude Rains role of police chief "Capt. Renault"); Freebie and the Bean (1974); Popi (1975) and as Sophia Loren's husband in the CBS special Courage (1986). Guest appearances include: Kojak (1973); Kojak: Ariana (1989); A Case of Immunity (1975); Baretta (1975); All in the Family (1971); The Rockford Files (1974) and Bret Maverick (1981). In addition, he also directed a.k.a. Pablo (1984), the first show to utilize seven cameras instead of the usual four. On the big screen, he has been seen in, among others, American Gigolo (1980); The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974); Cuba (1979); Valdez Is Coming (1971) and in four films directed by Garry Marshall: Young Doctors in Love (1982); The Flamingo Kid (1984); Nothing in Common (1986) and Overboard (1987). Elizondo starred with Dan Aykroyd and Michelle Pfeiffer in PBS' Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson (1987) (based on a collection of John O'Hara stories) and made his debut as a stage director with a production of "Villa!" starring Julio Medina. In addition, he performed in the 50th anniversary production of "War of the Worlds" co-starring Jason Robards and the TV-movie Addicted to His Love (1988) with Barry Bostwick.- Bunny Levine has had a passion for entertaining from her earliest memory. At the age of two, she subjected all her relatives to her rendition of the song "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" at every possible opportunity. Playing with her sister and friends in pre-school days, her favorite game was a simulation of the performances of the current Hollywood stars, replete with screams and fainting, in the mode of the times. Her greatest regret was that she, unlike her contemporary Shirley Temple, had not been discovered in dance class. By third grade she wrote, directed and starred in the epic, "Debbie's Diary." A year or so later, with increased maturity, she limited her contributions to no more than two of the three elements. All through elementary school and high school, she played either the lead or a character role in school and local productions. Transferring colleges on her marriage after sophomore year made her rethink the wisdom of a short, young, character woman gaining fame and fortune in the field, so she switched majors from Theater Arts, but continued to act, and to work on the college radio station. Already pregnant upon graduation, she put her acting aspirations on the back burner for 25 years, working primarily as a school librarian, to help her underpaid college professor husband raise their three children. Storytelling and book talks helped fill her performing aspirations. Foolishly, she would not participate in community theater, thinking of herself as too much of a professional. Upon early retirement, she began taking acting classes, going on auditions, and gradually immersing herself totally in the fabulous, mad world of acting. Soon she was a member of all the unions and began booking commercials, roles on soaps and episodics, as well as films. Upon her beloved husband, Bernie's, death, she moved from the New York area to the LA market, and continued studying, booking, and striving. Among her credits are Law & Order (1990), The Jimmy Show (2001), Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), _Gilmore Girls_, the soon-to-be-released Charles Busch film, and Las Vegas (2003). She considers herself the most energetic and agile septuagenarian in the field and the oldest living student (her philosophy being that you can never stop learning and exercising the acting muscle).
- Actress
- Writer
Joanne can most recently be seen starring opposite Kevin Bacon in the third season of CITY ON A HILL for Showtime and in an episode of HUDSON & REX on Citytv. Joanne's impressive list of TV credits includes the Emmy-nominated series SEVERANCE for Apple TV+ as well as her recurring role in GODFATHER OF HARLEM for EPIX. Other TV work includes ABC's THE RESIDENT, the mini-series THE DISAPPEARANCE, CBS's ZOO, A&E's THE RETURNED, and CBS's HOSTAGES. She was also a series regular lead on Syfy's WAREHOUSE 13 and has been nominated for two Gemini Awards in her career--one for her lead role in the mini-series DIAMONDS and the other for her lead role in the mini-series PLAYING HOUSE. Joanne's feature credits include CLOSET MONSTER, which won the best Canadian Feature at TIFF 2015. On the stage, Joanne will next star as "Lady Macbeth" in Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's production of MACBETH. In the past, she has performed in ROMEO AND JULIET, JULIUS CAESAR, MACBETH, MEASURE FOR MEASURE, SEVEN STORIES, OLEANNA and PROOF. Additionally, she starred in the play THE FALL, which premiered at The Huntington Theatre in Boston. As a writer, Joanne was staffed on the Amazon series, ABSENTIA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Chris Carmack was born on 22 December 1980 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is an actor, known for The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations (2009), Shark Night (2011) and Lovewrecked (2005). He has been married to Erin Carmack since 19 October 2018. They have two children.- Isha Talwar is a film and television actress. After working as a model and appearing in various commercials, she made her film debut with the 2012 Malayalam film "Thattathin Marayathu." Born to Vinod Talwar, who works as a director and executive producer for Boney Kapoor in Bollywood, Isha was brought up in Mumbai and graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, in 2008. She joined choreographer Terence Lewis's dance school in 2004, where she learned ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and salsa, eventually becoming a tutor at the studio. Talwar credits Lewis as a significant influence on her life.
Talwar worked as a model, appearing in 40 commercials for brands like Pizza Hut, Vivel Fairness Cream, Dulux Paints, and Dharti Fairness Cream, and featured in a music video with Hrithik Roshan for the Just Dance competition. She spent two years preparing for her film debut, taking a four-month voice training class, learning Malayalam, and picking up the guitar for her role in "Thattathin Marayathu." The film, where she played Aisha, a Muslim girl in love with a Hindu boy, became a blockbuster and was listed by Rediff in their "Top five Malayalam films of 2012." Critics noted her beauty but mentioned she had little to do in the film. Talwar later expressed that the role gave her significant recognition and she was pleased with her "girl next door" image from the film.
Her second film, "I Love Me" by B. Unnikrishnan, featured her as the female lead alongside Asif Ali and Unni Mukundan. She described her character, Samantha, as having "shades of Grey." In 2013, she debuted in Telugu cinema with "Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde," which received a positive response. She then worked on her first Tamil film, "Thillu Mullu 2," a remake of the 1981 Tamil comedy film. Isha Talwar also appeared in the Amazon Prime web series "Mirzapur." - Actress
- Production Manager
Anna Próchniak is a Polish actresses who became interested in ballet and contemporary dance at an early age and trained as a dancer until deciding to switch to theatre. She graduated from the acting department of the Lodz Film School. She has received several Polish and international awards including the Award for Best Debut (First Contact Festival in Torun) and the Award for Best Acting Duo (with Joanna Osyda - International Festival of Modern Drama "Kolyada-Plays" in Yekaterinburg) for her theatre debut in "Natasha's Dream" in Teatr Powszechny in Warsaw. On the big screen, Anna Próchniak made her debut with the role of Irmina in the film "Shameless" (dir. Filip Marczewski) for which she was nominated for The Golden Duck Award. The movie had it's international premiere at the 47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2012. For the role of Kama in "Warsaw 44" (dir. Jan Komasa) she received the ELLE Rising Star Award at the 39th Gdynia Film Festival, the Piotr Lazarkiewicz Award for Young Talent during the Polish Film Festival in Los Angeles and a nomination for the Award of Zbyszek Cybulski. She starred in Oscar-nominated Anne Fontaine's movie, "The Innocents" which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016 and the Northern Irish film "Bad Day For the Cut" (dir. Chris Baugh) which premiered at the same festival the following year. One of her latest features "Oleg" (dir. by Juris Kursietis) had it's international premiere in the Director's Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2019.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Madeleine McGraw recently starred as fan-favorite "Gwen" in the feature film THE BLACK PHONE from Blumhouse, Universal Pictures and director Scott Derrickson, and she can be seen as a series regular in season 3 of the Disney Channel series SULPHUR SPRINGS. Maddy voices the role of "Bonnie" in the hit Disney film TOY STORY 4 and was a series regular on OUTCAST. McGraw stars in the feature films PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, among others.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Brooke Nevin was born on 22 December 1982 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress and director, known for The Comebacks (2007), My Suicide (2009) and I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006).- Poorna Jagannathan is an actress and producer. She is best known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO miniseries "The Night Of" as well for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen comedy series "Never Have I Ever" by Mindy Kaling.
She also initiated, produced and acted in the play "Nirbhaya," written and directed by Yaël Farber, which dealt with breaking the silences around sexual violence, including her own. "Nirbhaya" won the prestigious 2013 Amnesty International Award and was called by The Telegraph as the "One of the most powerful pieces of theater you'll ever see". The play is considered one of the most impactful moments in India's history of women's empowerment.
Jagannathan was previously a series regular in the Netflix psychological thriller series Gypsy, a recurring in the Apple TV+ crime drama miniseries Defending Jacob, and part of the ensemble cast for HBO's anthology series, Room 104.[4] She also starred in the cult Bollywood comedy, Delhi Belly as well as the movie Share, which was directed by Pippa Bianco, produced by A24, and released on HBO in 2019.
Jagannathan was named among the top 100 Most Impactful Asians by Gold House for 2021, as well as being named among the top 50 most powerful women in India in 2014. She was featured among the top 10 in Femina Magazine's "India's 50 most beautiful women" in 2012, in addition to Vogue naming her as one of 8 Indian women changing the face of beauty in India. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Ruth Roman was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the youngest of three daughters of Lithuanian-Jewish parents Mary Pauline (Gold) and Abraham Roman. Her father, a carnival barker, died when she was a small child, forcing her mother to support the family by working as a waitress and cleaning woman. Ruth grew up in the poor tenement district of Boston, Massachusetts, where she went to school. However, she left school after just two years to pursue an acting career. Her chosen path proved to be strewn with obstacles: in New York, she obtained a job posing for stills for a crime magazine, but theatrical work eluded her. She then worked as a hat check girl at a night club before calling it quits and returning to Boston. There, she made ends meet as an usherette during the day while at night performing with the New England Repertory Company, her first steady acting job. She also studied drama and eventually graduated from the Bishop-Lee Theatre School.
Trying to get into films, Ruth unsuccessfully made the rounds of agents and producers for two years (1940-42), until a bit part as a WAVE came her way in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943). With $200 to her name, she purchased a one-way ticket to Hollywood, where she found shared accommodation with other aspiring starlets, naming it, optimistically, 'the House of the Seven Garbos'. After a screen test with Warner Brothers failed to result in a contract, Ruth had another run of six hard years playing bit parts, many of them uncredited, some ending up on the cutting room floor. A sole speaking part of consequence was in the titular role of Jungle Queen (1945), a Universal serial (after subsequent acting lessons, Ruth was aghast when the serial was rereleased in 1951).
Ruth finally got her big break when producer Dore Schary cast her (against character, as a murderess) in the RKO thriller The Window (1949). That same year, she successfully auditioned for Stanley Kramer's boxing drama Champion (1949) as the dependable wife of the fighter (Kirk Douglas). After this turning point in her life, the shapely, smoky-voiced brunette secured a contract with Warner Brothers. During the next phase of her career, she moved effortlessly from glamorous and seductive to demure and wholesome in films opposite stars like James Stewart, Errol Flynn, and Gary Cooper. Look Magazine billed her as the 'Big Time Movie Personality of 1950', and by the following year she was receiving some 500 fan letters per week.
While many of her leads were in westerns (albeit mostly A-grade ones), Ruth was somewhat more memorable in support of Farley Granger (as his upper-crust lover and the raison d'etre for the planned murder of his wife) in Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951). Another offbeat role was as a gangster's moll in the British-made updated adaptation of Shakespeare's Joe MacBeth (1955). As Lily, she is the power behind angst-ridden Paul Douglas ('Joe'), whom she easily manipulates to do her bidding. In The Bottom of the Bottle (1956), she was at her dependable best as the supportive wife of lawyer Joseph Cotten. Arguably, her last noteworthy performance on the big screen was in Alexander Singer's romance/drama Love Has Many Faces (1965).
By the 1960s, Ruth had made the transition to middle-aged character parts and began to appear mostly on television in shows like The Outer Limits (1963), Mannix (1967), Gunsmoke (1955), and (in a recurring role) in The Long, Hot Summer (1965). She also toured nationally with theatrical productions of "Plaza Suite", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", and "Two for the Seesaw". For the actress, who was said to disdain the trimmings of Hollywood stardom, real-life drama came when she and her son counted among the 760 survivors of the sinking of the luxury cruise liner 'Andrea Doria' in 1956. In September 1967, she jumped from her burning car but still managed to make her scheduled performance in "Beekman Place" at the Ivanhoe Theatre. Ruth died in September 1999 at her home in Laguna Beach, aged 76.- Actress
- Composer
- Music Department
Vanessa Paradis is a renowned French actress, model and singer born in 1972. She started her career as a model and singer before becoming a movie star. Her song "Joe Le Taxi" brought her success in 15 countries at the age of 14. Later, in 1990, she was awarded a 'César' (French equivalent of Oscar) for her debut movie White Wedding (1989). For the next 5 years, she concentrated on her musical career, she rejected Pedro Almodóvar and John Boorman. In 1995, she appeared in Élisa (1995), but decided to concentrate on her private life with Johnny Depp and their children. After several years, Vanessa continued her singing and acting career.- Krystal Joy Brown is a multi-talented Broadway, TV, and film actress.
She has appeared on Broadway as Eliza Hamilton in "Hamilton", as Dionne/Abe Lincoln in "Hair", Ornella in "Leap of Faith", Josephine in "Big Fish", and Diana Ross in "Motown". As a two-time Fred Astaire Award Nominee, her goal is to always create new characters and be hands-on in the development of new inspiring works.
Krystal is a recurring guest-star on the hit series "Power Book III: Raising Kanan". She voices the character of Netossa in the DreamWorks/Netflix animated series, "She-Ra: Princesses of Power". She has guest starred on "The Equalizer", "Law & Order: SUV", "Deadbeat", "Castle", "Sydney to the Max", "One Royal Holiday" and "Writing Around The Christmas Tree". She has been seen in the Disney live-action feature film "Magic Camp".
Aside from her many theatrical pursuits, she is also a stage and screenwriter, columnist, novelist, and songwriter. Her original music has been featured on "The Neighbors" and "Mistresses". She made her directorial debut in 2019 with the short film she co-wrote, "Reddy Records". She has been commissioned to write and develop diverse new stories for stage and screen, sparking a new passion for the ambitious multi-hyphenate.
An avid activist in mental health, wellness, and social justice, Krystal has also helped to create the Hamilton Racial Justice Task Force Ham4Progress to use the brand and the many talents of the company to push change in our society and create a more equitable future. - Actress
- Additional Crew
- Camera and Electrical Department
Thunderbird Dinwiddie was born on 22 December 1973 in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. She is an actress, known for The Aerialist (2020), Supernatural (2005) and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Heather Donahue was born on 22 December 1974 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Blair Witch Project (1999), Taken (2002) and Seven and a Match (2001).- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Emmy-nominated writer and director Geeta Vasant Patel is renowned for her form-pushing and nontraditional filmmaking style, which spans both drama and comedy. In 2024, Patel is slated to helm a handful of prestigious projects, positioning her as one of the most-watched directors in the entertainment industry today. First up, she returns to direct and executive produce season two of Max's Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning fantasy/drama series "The House of the Dragon" starring Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy, set to premiere Sunday, June 16th. Patel takes the reins on episode #3 and the finale of season two, marking her return to the show after directing "The Lord of the Tides" (ep. #8, season 1) in 2022.
Also in television, Patel serves as an Executive Producer and Pilot Director on Hulu's new limited series "Under the Bridge" starring Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough. "Under the Bridge," and Patel's work was nominated for Breakthrough Limited Series at the inaugural 2024 Gotham TV Awards.
Additional recent credits for Patel include directing "Ahsoka" for Disney+, "P-Valley" for Starz, and multiple episodes of Hulu's award-winning series "The Great" starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. She has also directed episodes of "The Magicians," "The Runaways," "Sweetbitter," "Dead to Me," "Chambers," "Santa Clarita Diet," "The Mindy Project," "Atypical," "Fresh off the Boat," and 5 episodes of the comedy series "Superstore."
In 2014, Patel, alongside her brother, gained global acclaim for their romantic comedy "Meet The Patels" which they co-directed, wrote, edited, and produced. The film dove headfirst into cultural identity and matrimonial expectations within their Indian-American family and premiered to critical acclaim. Variety called it "sharp" and "riotously funny," while The Hollywood Reporter said it's "the funniest doc I've seen in years and a sure-fire Oscar contender." "Meet The Patels" was nominated for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary at the 2017 News & Documentary Emmy Awards, nominated for Viewfinders Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC, and won Best Documentary Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film further solidified Patel's path in wearing multiple hats in bringing a project to life, as she also took on the role of cinematographer.
Patel launched her career in the film industry as an associate screenwriter for big-budget studio films across all stages of production. She collaborated with Disney, Universal Pictures, ABC, NBC, and Twentieth Century Fox, and worked on projects including "The Fast and the Furious" and "Blue Crush." Her directorial talents were first recognized in her debut documentary "Project Kashmir," a war thriller that explored the geopolitical tensions in the Kashmir region. The film was produced by the Sundance Documentary Fund, featured at the Sundance Film Festival, and earned Patel directing fellowships at both the Sundance and Tribeca Institutes.
A graduate of Duke University with a degree in Comparative Area Studies, Patel's background in languages and global human geography enriches her narrative approach, providing a deeper cultural and social context to her films. While studying in Berlin, filmmaker Anthony Minghella inspired her to pursue a career in storytelling. Beyond her roles behind the camera, Patel has also served as a Visiting Artist in various countries, including Belarus, Turkey, Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Japan as part of the U.S. State Department's film diplomacy program. This role not only highlights her commitment to cross-cultural exchange through film but underscores her influence as a global storyteller. Her extensive body of work, marked by a commitment to exploring diverse narratives and pushing the boundaries of conventional filmmaking, continues to earn her recognition and respect within the international film community.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Multi-talented actress Lynne Thigpen was born Cherlynne Thigpen in Joliet, Illinois, on December 22, 1948. She performed in community theater and university theater productions while attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Following graduation, she taught high-school English for a short time, but her interest in acting eventually prevailed over teaching. Her desire to act professionally was further fueled by a strong set of vocal chops.
Moving to New York, Lynne subsequently won a singing role as part of the ragtag disciple ensemble in the hip, flower-powered musical "Godspell" in 1971. Two years later she transferred her role to film along with several other members of the original stage cast. Godspell (1973) opened a major door for the actress as a performer of boundless energy and vocal power, as exemplified by her rousing version of "O Bless the Lord My Soul."
Lynne continued on the 1970s musical stage with roles in "The Magic Show" and the blue-collar piece "Working," and in 1981 earned a Tony nomination for her powerhouse performance in "Tintypes." She eventually reasoned, however, that if she was to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress, she would need to refocus her energies. She then abandoned her tuneful ways and ventured assertively into films and TV.
During her 30-year career, Lynne went on to appear in nearly 40 movies and numerous television series, usually secondary in nature but alternately fiery and dignified in character. Lynne became a strong, set-jawed figure in social and urban drama as she managed to avoid the easy pitfalls of typecasting. Though most of her early film parts seemed small and insignificant, she continued to grow and gain a more assured footing while appearing in such popular features as Tootsie (1982), Sweet Liberty (1986), Hello Again (1987), and Running on Empty (1988).
Every now and then she was given a chance to shine, as with her volatile school parent in Lean on Me (1989). TV was a more palpable and productive medium for her with a stand-out recurring role as a judge on L.A. Law (1986) and a long-running part on the daytime soap All My Children (1970). She also committed herself to wholesome viewing for children, portraying the unnamed Chief on the PBS children's series Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991) and Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (1996), earning four Emmy nominations in the process.
Throughout the years, Lynne remained a vital force on the stage. She won a Los Angeles Drama Critics award for her performance in August Wilson's "Fences," two off-Broadway Obies for Athol Fugard's "Boesman and Lena" (1992) and "Jar the Floor" (2000), and a Tony for "Best Supporting Actress" for her portrayal of a half-Black, half-Jewish feminist in "An American Daughter" (1997).
Other strong theater roles came with "A Month of Sundays" (1987) and as a spunky 101-year-old maiden woman in "Having Our Say." Lynne's dusky-voiced command was also utilized to narrate more than 20 socially relevant books on tape. Her last regular TV series role was as police clerk and computer expert Ella Farmer on The District (2000), a role she played until her sudden death.
Lynne was found unconscious at her home in Marina del Rey, California, by a friend. She died on March 12, 2003, age 54, of a cerebral hemorrhage. Her final film Anger Management (2003), which starred Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson, was released posthumously.- Lenny von Dohlen was born in Augusta, Georgia. As a child, he wished to become a jockey, but grew too tall for his dream. He graduated from the University of Texas/Austin and majored in drama at Loretto Heights College.
His film debut was in the Academy Award-winning Tender Mercies (1983), starring Robert Duvall, written by Horton Foote and directed by Bruce Beresford. From that performance, he was given the leading role in MGM/UA's Electric Dreams (1984). Other starring roles quickly followed: Under the Biltmore Clock (1984), Blind Vision (1992), Jennifer 8 (1992), Edward Zwick's Leaving Normal (1992), David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), and the title role in Billy Galvin (1986), opposite Karl Malden.
In a career known for depth, diversity and mostly dramatic roles, Lenny Von Dohlen shook things up hilariously when he played one of the bumbling bad guys in Twentieth Century Fox's Home Alone 3 (1997). This came on the heels of a string of amazingly complex roles in highly regarded independent films such as Tollbooth (1994), Bird of Prey (1995), One Good Turn (1996), Entertaining Angels (1998), Cadillac (1997) and Breaking News (1994).
Von Dohlen made an auspicious television debut in the Emmy Award-winning Kent State: The Day the War Came Home (2000), and has appeared in some of television's most highly regarded shows, such as Thirtysomething (1987), Picket Fences (1992), Chicago Hope (1994), The Lazarus Man (1996), The Pretender (1996), CSI: Miami (2002) and "ABC Afternoon Specials" (1972) {Don't Touch}_ , directed by Beau Bridges. However, he is probably best known for having created the agoraphobic orchid-growing "Harold Smith" in David Lynch's cutting-edge series Twin Peaks (1990). Most recently, he appeared in Masterpiece Theatre's presentation of Eudora Welty's "The Ponder Heart" on PBS. Above all, the theater is his first love. In New York, he created roles in "Asian Shade", "The Team", "Twister" and "Vanishing Act" and "The Maderati", both by Richard Greenberg. For nine months, he starred in Carol Churchill's hit play "Cloud 9", directed by Tommy Tune, followed by The Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of "Desire Under The Elms", opposite Kathy Baker. He has starred in "Hamlet", "Romeo and Juliet", Joe Orton's "Loot", Wedekind's and Lanford Wilson's one-man play "A Poster of the Cosmos". On the West Coast, Mr. Von Dohlen has been see in Wedekind's "Lulu" at the La Jolla Playhouse, "The Blue Room" at the Pasadena Playhouse, in "Theater Distric" at the Black Dahlia Theater, and at the Theater & Boston Court played "Voltaire" in the much acclaimed World Premier of Jean Claude van Italie's "Light" garnering the Los Angeles Critics Circle and Ovation Best Actor Award nominations. Von Dohlen resided in New York and Los Angeles.
On 2022, von Dohlen died after struggling against an undisclosed long illness. He was 63. - Actress
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Genevieve Hannelius is an actress, singer, and entrepreneur. She was most recently seen starring in Netflix's original series "American Vandal." She is perhaps best known for starring on the three-time Emmy-nominated Disney Channel series, Dog with a Blog, which premiered in October 2012, and was watched by 4.5 million viewers.
Previously, Genevieve appeared in the critically-acclaimed reboot of the landmark TV mini-series "Roots" which aired in May 2016 on the History Channel. She recently wrapped production on the independent thriller film titled DAY 13 and the independent comedy feature SID IS DEAD from producer Jeremy Garelick.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Maine, Genevieve always had a love for entertaining, even at a very young age. She got her start in acting by participating in local theatre productions, landing the starring role as "Madeline", when she was eight-years-old in "Madeline's Rescue" and "Jenny" in "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing". Realizing their daughter's love for performing, Genevieve's mom and dad made the decision to come out to Los Angeles for pilot season in what may have been the worst time in history to try and break into the entertainment business; during the 2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Upon arrival, despite the current conditions of the industry, Genevieve started to book projects, immediately. Her first real job, was a commercial for the "Aquarium of the Pacific". Soon after the commercial launched, she booked a series regular role on the Bob Saget series, Surviving Suburbia, for ABC, filming 13 episodes in 2009.
Although "Surviving Suburbia" only lasted one season, 2009 would prove to be a very busy year for Genevieve. After the series wrapped, she was discovered by a Disney Channel executive who caught Hannelius on the "Aquarium of the Pacific" commercial, and sought her out for several projects in production over at Disney. Throughout the rest of 2009 to 2012, she landed roles on Disney Channel hit series, including Sonny with a Chance, Hannah Montana, I'm in the Band and Good Luck Charlie, in addition to her role in the Disney Channel original movie, Den Brother and Disney Channel's Leo Little's Big Show. She also has lent her voice to several films over the last few years, working on Disney's Treasure Buddies and Spooky Buddies as the fun-loving golden retriever, "Rosebud", and The Search for Santa Paws and Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups, also Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
Genevieve is also a tech entrepreneur. She started "Make Me Nails" in 2013, which sells customized nail wraps direct to consumers globally. She has been recognized for her entrepreneurial endeavors in Seventeen Magazine, Teen Vogue Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and the Huffington Post. In June 2019, Genevieve launched her eponymous nail polish line, G Polish.
In her free time, Genevieve enjoys writing music, playing the piano, singing, poetry, fencing, horseback riding, ballet, juggling and acrobatics. She is also an active supporter of "A Window Between Worlds", a nonprofit organization dedicated to using art to help end domestic violence. She has been supporting the organization for six years.- Actress
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Born Barbara Lillian Combes, she attended Los Angeles Junior College in the mid-1930s and then moved to New York City, where she worked as a model. In 1945, she received a contract from MGM, and she appeared in several films during the late 1940s and 1950s, sometimes without screen credit. In the 1950s, she turned to television and appeared in shows including the sitcoms Professional Father (1955) and The Box Brothers (1956), as well as guest-starring on "The Abbott and Costello Show", the David Niven anthology series, Four Star Playhouse (1952), and the sitcom, Mr. Adams and Eve (1957). In 1957, Billingsley began starring in the sitcom, Leave It to Beaver (1957), as "June Cleaver", mother to "Wally" and "Theodore", nicknamed "Beaver". She appeared in her most famous role for 234 episodes, remaining with the show until it ended after six seasons. After 17 years of semi-retirement, Billingsley returned to movies in 1980's Airplane! (1980), creating another iconic role by spoofing her wholesome image with a brief appearance in this send-up of 1970s disaster movies, as a middle-aged white passenger who could translate between a white stewardess and two African-American passengers, because "I speak jive". She also appeared in The New Leave It to Beaver (1983), which ran from 1983 to 1989, and voiced the character of "Nanny" in the Muppet Babies (1984) cartoon series, from 1984 to 1991. Billingsley continued to act occasionally, including appearances on the sitcoms, Roseanne (1988) and Empty Nest (1988), and died at her home, after having dealt for several years with the effects of a rheumatoid disease.- Actress
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Tall, sultry, green-eyed blonde Peggie Castle was actually spotted by a talent scout while she was lunching in a Beverly Hills restaurant. In her films she was usually somebody's "woman" rather than a girlfriend, and her career was confined to mostly "B"-grade action pictures, dramas or westerns: Harem Girl (1952), Wagons West (1952), The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951), Jesse James' Women (1954), among others. She did, however, have good roles in such films as Payment on Demand (1951) with Bette Davis, 99 River Street (1953) with John Payne, I, the Jury (1953), The White Orchid (1954), Miracle in the Rain (1956) with Jane Wyman and in Seven Hills of Rome (1957) with Mario Lanza. After three seasons playing sexy femme lead Lily Merrill, the dance-hall hostess and romantic interest for steely-eyed Marshal Dan Troop in the TV western series Lawman (1958), she left show business in 1962. She later developed an alcohol problem and died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1973 at age 45.- Writer
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David S. Goyer was born on 22 December 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Dark City (1998), The Dark Knight (2008) and Batman Begins (2005). He is married to Marina Black. They have two children. He was previously married to Jessika Borsiczky.- Actor
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Hugh Quarshie was born on 22 December 1954 in Accra, Ghana. He is an actor and director, known for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Highlander (1986) and Nightbreed (1990). He is married to Annika Sundström.