Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What was the first film directed by Penelope Spheeris?
Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary film and scripted films. Her best known works include the trilogy titled "The Decline of Western Civilization", each covering an aspect of Los Angeles underground culture, and the film "Wayne's World", her highest-grossing film.
"The Last Hurrah", (Columbia, 1958), again set in present-day of the 1950s, starred Spencer Tracy, who had made his first film appearance in Ford's "Up The River" in 1930. Tracy plays an aging politician fighting his last campaign, with Jeffrey Hunter as his nephew. Katharine Hepburn reportedly facilitated a rapprochement between the two men, ending a long-running feud, and she convinced Tracy to take the lead role, which had originally been offered to Orson Welles (but was turned down by Welles' agent without his knowledge, much to his chagrin). It did considerably better business than either of Ford's two preceding films, grossing $950,000 in its first year although cast member Anna Lee stated that Ford was "disappointed with the picture" and that Columbia had not permitted him to supervise the editing.
The first series of "Spooks" was produced by Kudos Film and Television for the BBC. David Wolstencroft was credited as the series creator, Simon Crawford Collins as the producer, and Jane Featherstone as the series producer. The executive producers of the first series were Kudos director Stephen Garrett and Head of Independent Drama Commissioning for the BBC, Gareth Neame. The series includes three screenwriters, and three directors. Wolstencroft wrote the first two episodes and finale of series one. Simon Mirren wrote the third episode. Howard Brenton wrote the last three episodes, co-writing the finale with Wolstencroft. The producers hired Brenton for his "radical" and "provocative" style. By the time he was hired it had been sixteen years since he last wrote for television.
Filming finished in August 2008 in Moscow, Russia; it was the first time in series history where filming took place outside the United Kingdom; producer Katie Swinden stated that "Spooks" is usually "London-orientated," including when it comes to filming scenes set in other countries, and it usually does not take place outside the confines of the M25, an orbital motorway which encircles the UK's capital. However, the producers were able to afford to shoot in another country. A small crew were used to save costs. Armitage and Norris were the only two of the main actors who participated in the shoot. However, the main problem with filming in Moscow was of the 30 plus degree heat, and the actors had to wear winter coats because the episodes were set during the colder months.
Works of literature have been adapted for film from the dawn of the industry. Some of the earliest examples come from the work of Georges Méliès, who pioneered many film techniques. In 1899, he released two adaptations — "Cinderella" based on the Brothers Grimm story of the same name and "King John", the first known film to be based on the works of Shakespeare. The 1900 film "Sherlock Holmes Baffled", directed by Arthur Marvin featured Arthur Conan Doyle's detective character Sherlock Holmes intruding upon a pseudo-supernatural burglary. The film, considered the first detective movie, ran for only 30 seconds and was originally intended to be shown in hand-cranked Mutoscope machines.
The first live-action film based on Spider-Man was the unauthorized short "Spider-Man" by Donald F. Glut in 1969. This was followed by "Spider-Man", an American made-for-television film that premiered on the CBS network in 1977. It starred Nicholas Hammond and was intended as a backdoor pilot for what became a weekly episodic TV series.
Naked Angels is a 1969 outlaw biker film, directed by Bruce D. Clark. Starring Michael Greene as Mother, Jennifer Gan as Marlene and Richard Rust as Fingers. Later documentary director Penelope Spheeris is a cast member in her first appearance as an actress. Actor Corey Fischer also appears in the cast.
The first known Dutch documentary was made in 1916 by Johann Vierboom. The film "Storm en noodweer in Nederland" shows the 1916 flood disaster at the coasts of the Zuiderzee. An other documentary film of this era is "Holland Neutraal: De leger- en vlootfilm" (1917) by Willy Mullens. One of the most famous Dutch documentary film directors is Joris Ivens. Ivens started making his own films in 1928. The first was an avant-garde look at a Rotterdam bridge, "The Bridge" ("De brug", 1928). His later films were more realistic, socially concerned and polemical.
"The Spanish Earth" (1937) is one of his most famous films. In order to make internationally oriented documentaries, Ivens travelled to countries such as the Soviet Union, Spain, China, Australia and the United States.
Smith first came to public attention with her role as Pam in the 1980 John Travolta film "Urban Cowboy", and later co-starred in the films "All of Me" (1984), a Steve Martin-Lily Tomlin comedy, and "2010" (1984), the science fiction sequel to "". In the early 1980s she also appeared in several TV movies, including "Pray TV", "Rehearsal for Murder" and "Deadly Intentions". She portrayed Jehan Al Sadat, wife of Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat, in the 1983 TV miniseries "Sadat", and played Ernie Kovacs' wife Dorothy in the 1984 TV movie "".
Spheeris wanted Jahnson to be part of the casting process, and invited him to many of the casting sessions, which was not common practice for directors. Jon Cryer, who had recently gained attention for his role in the hit film "Pretty in Pink", was attracted to the eclectic nature of "Dudes"' script as well as the opportunity to play the hero, which he had not done before. Spheeris favored Cryer for the film's lead but also considered Keanu Reeves, and chose Cryer at Jaffe's suggestion. To prepare for the role Cryer learned how to ride a horse and fire a gun, and got his ear pierced since the script called for Grant to wear an earring; the heavy earring caused the piercing to become infected. Being young and eager to play the hero, he performed many of his own stunts. He had difficulty with the scenes that required him to drive a car; He had earned his driver's license while performing in "Torch Song Trilogy" in Los Angeles several years prior, but used public transport and taxis in his native New York City and had very little experience behind the wheel.
The first film in the franchise, "Spider-Man", was released to US theaters on May 3, 2002. Its story follows Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire), a high-school student who turns to crime-fighting in New York, under the alias of Spider-Man, after developing spider-like powers. The film sees him develop friendships with Harry Osborn (James Franco) and his love interest, Mary Jane Watson (portrayed by Kirsten Dunst). "Spider-Man" was praised for staying faithful to the comic series and for being an enjoyable movie, with Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" finding the film to be "unusually good" for its genre. Raimi's 2002 release topped the box office with ticket revenue totaling to $114.8 million. By the end of its theatrical run, it had grossed over $820 million.
Bluth broke with Spielberg before his next film, "All Dogs Go to Heaven" (1989). (Bluth was not involved with the Spielberg-produced "", released in 1991, nor with any of the numerous subsequent sequels to his other films.) Although "All Dogs Go To Heaven" only had moderate theatrical success, it was highly successful in its release to home video. Like "The Land Before Time", "The Secret of NIMH," and "An American Tail", "All Dogs Go to Heaven" was followed by related projects, none of which involved Bluth and his studio. He also directed films, such as "Rock-a-Doodle" (1992), "Thumbelina" (1994), "A Troll in Central Park" (1994) and "The Pebble and the Penguin" (1995), which were critical and box office failures.
On the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast, on February 24, 2012, she said her next project would be directing her first film, which is about a young woman who abandons religion after surviving a plane crash. In February 2013, she said that the film is called "Paradise" (firstly known as "Lamb of God"). Julianne Hough, Holly Hunter, Octavia Spencer, and Russell Brand are in the cast. Mandate Pictures produced it.
Fahrenheit 451 is a 1966 British dystopian drama film directed by François Truffaut and starring Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, and Cyril Cusack. Based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury, the film takes place in a controlled society in an oppressive future in which the government sends out firemen to destroy all literature to prevent revolution and thinking. This was Truffaut's first colour film as well as his only English-language film. At the 1966 Venice Film Festival, "Fahrenheit 451" was nominated for the Golden Lion.
Clair was initially sceptical about the introduction of sound to films, and called it "an unnatural creation". He then realised the creative possibilities that it offered, particularly, in his view, if the soundtrack was not used realistically; words and pictures need not, and indeed should not, be tied together in a clumsy duplication of information; dialogue did not always need to be heard. Between 1930 and 1933, Clair explored these ideas in his first four sound films, starting with "Sous les toits de Paris" ("Under the Roofs of Paris"); this was followed by "Le Million" (1931), "À nous la liberté" (1931), and "Quatorze juillet" ("Bastille Day") (1933). All of these films portrayed an affectionate and idealized view of working class life, and they did much to create a popular romantic image of Paris which was seen around the world. These films were made at the Epinay Studios for Films Sonores Tobis, a French subsidiary of the German-owned Tobis company.
"First Contact" is the first documentary in what later became known as "The Highland Trilogy". The other two films are "Joe Leahy's Neighbours" (1989) and "Black Harvest" (1992). These three films, between them, have won some thirty major awards, included each film winning both the Grand Prix at the Festival Cinéma du Réel in Paris and AFI Award for Best Documentary.
Bumblebee is a 2018 American science fiction action film centered on the "Transformers" character of the same name. It is the sixth installment of the live-action "Transformers" film series and a prequel to 2007's "Transformers". Directed by Travis Knight and written by Christina Hodson, the film stars Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Ortiz, Jason Drucker, and Pamela Adlon, with Dylan O'Brien, Angela Bassett, Justin Theroux, and Peter Cullen in voice roles. It is the first live-action "Transformers" film not to be directed by Michael Bay, though he still produced, and Travis Knight's first live-action film. Principal photography on the film began on July 31, 2017, in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California.
The third series of "Spooks" was produced by Kudos Film and Television for the BBC. Much of the production crew from the first two series returned. New crew members were brought in with the requirement that they were fans of the series and have ambition, so that they can understand "Spooks". Andrew Woodhead was the series producer, with Jane Featherstone, Simon Crawford Collins and Gareth Neame as executive producers. Collins, who was the producer for the first two series, had to step back to executive producer, as he was overcommitted producing Kudos crime series "Hustle". Woodhead replaced him as he was accustomed to the show, but also added more vitality to the show. Christopher Aird was the assistant producer. The third series included five writers. Howard Brenton wrote the first, second and eighth episodes. Rupert Walters wrote the third and ninth episodes. Ben Richards wrote the fourth, sixth and tenth episodes. Richards previously wrote the ninth episode of series two, and accepted the offer to return. His script in the second series was his first script for television; he found writing easier as time went by. Raymond Khoury wrote the seventh episode. Series creator David Wolstencroft wrote the fifth episode. Wolstencroft was poised to write the next episode, but found himself committed to other projects.
"The Hound of the Baskervilles" marks the first of the fourteen "Sherlock Holmes" films starring Rathbone and Bruce as Holmes and Watson, respectively. It is also notable as the earliest known "Sherlock Holmes" film to be set in the Victorian period of the original stories; all known previous "Holmes" films, up to and including the 1930s British film series starring Arthur Wontner as Holmes, had been updated to a setting contemporaneous with the films' release. It is also the only film in the series to be a strict adaptation of its source material, while subsequent installments would feature original titles and incorporate various elements of different stories.
Science fiction films appeared very early in the silent film era. The initial attempts were short films of typically 1 to 2 minutes in duration, shot in black and white, but sometimes with colour tinting. These usually had a technological theme, and were often intended to be humorous. "Le Voyage dans la Lune", created by Georges Méliès in 1902 is often considered to be the first science fiction film. It drew upon Jules Verne and H. G. Wells in its depiction of a spacecraft being launched to the moon in a large cannon. Its ground-breaking special effects pioneered the way for future science-fiction films, and it became largely popular after its release.
Tope, who was an actor for 12 years, featuring in films like "Relentless (2010 film)", cut her teeth in directing, working as an assistant director for "The Apprentice Africa". and has since become known for directing popular African TV dramas and soap operas such as "Hush", "Hotel Majestic","Tinsel (TV series)" and Season 6 of MTV Shuga.
Though she has directed several introspective short films such as "The Young Smoker", "Till Death Do Us Part", "New Horizons" and "Ireti", she is known for her 2012 feature film "Journey to Self", and March 2018 feature film release "New Money".
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a 1988 documentary film, directed by Penelope Spheeris, about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene from 1986 to 1988. It is the second film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at various points in time. The first film, "The Decline of Western Civilization" (1981), dealt with the punk rock scene during 1979–1980. The third film, "The Decline of Western Civilization III" (1998), chronicles the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers in the late 1990s.
The Decline of Western Civilization III is a 1998 documentary film, directed by Penelope Spheeris, that chronicles the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers. It is the third film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at various points in time. The first film, "The Decline of Western Civilization" (1981), dealt with the punk rock scene during 1980-1981. The second film, "" (1988), covers the Los Angeles heavy metal movement of 1986-1988.
The moving image collection of Penelope Spheeris is held at the Academy Film Archive. The Academy Film Archive has preserved several of Penelope Spheeris' films, including "Bath," "Hats Off To Hollywood," and "Shit."
Jahnson pitched his script to producer Miguel Tejada-Flores of independent film company the Vista Organization as "punk rockers out in the wilds of Wyoming", which Tejada-Flores thought was an interesting idea, though a bit "out there" conceptually. He and fellow producer Herb Jaffe sought Ridley Scott to direct, but could not agree with him on the film's "vision". Penelope Spheeris first read the script in March 1986 and expressed interest. Tejada-Flores had been impressed by her previous directorial work, particularly her 1985 film "The Boys Next Door", and felt that she could tell an enthralling story from the mix of genres present in Jahnson's script. He showed "The Boys Next Door" to Jaffe, and the two agreed that Spheeris was a good candidate to direct, a choice which was solidified when she convinced them that she could make the film within their proposed budget and get good performances out of her actors. Jahnson was a fan of Spheeris' 1981 punk rock documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization", and agreed that she had the "punk rock sensibility" for the script.