Robert Duvall - Biography and Filmography

Persons

Robert Duvall

05.01.1931

Birth name: Robert Selden Duvall

Actor and director Robert Duvall was born on January 5, 1931, in San Diego, California, the son of a career military officer who later became an admiral. Duvall majored in drama at Principia College (Elsah, Illinois), then served a two-year hitch in the army after graduating in 1953. He began attending The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre In New York City on the G.I. Bill in 1955, studying under Sanford Meisner along with Dustin Hoffman, with whom Duvall shared an apartment. Both were close to another struggling young actor named Gene Hackman. Meisner cast Duvall in the play "The Midnight Caller" by Horton Foote, a link that would prove critical to his career, as it was Foote who recommended Duvall to play the mentally disabled Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), his motion picture debut.

Duvall began making a name for himself as a stage actor in New York, winning an Obie Award in 1965 playing incest-minded longshoreman Eddie Carbone in the off-Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge," a production for which his old roommate Hoffman was assistant director. He found steady work in episodic TV and appeared as a modestly billed character actor in films, such as Arthur Penn's The Chase (1966) with Marlon Brando and in Robert Altman's Countdown (1968) and Francis Ford Coppola's The Rain People (1969), in both of which he co-starred with James Caan.

He was also memorable as the heavy who is shot by John Wayne at the climax of True Grit (1969) and was the first Maj. Frank Burns, creating the character in Altman's Korean War comedy MASH (1970). He also appeared as the eponymous lead in George Lucas' directorial debut, THX 1138 (1971). It was Coppola, casting The Godfather (1972), who reunited Duvall with Brando and Caan and provided him with his career breakthrough as mob lawyer Tom Hagen. He received the first of his six Academy Award nominations for the role.

Thereafter, Duvall had steady work in featured roles in such films as The Godfather: Part II (1974), The Killer Elite (1975), Network (1976), The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) and The Eagle Has Landed (1976). Occassionally this actor's actor got the chance to assay a lead role, most notably in Tomorrow (1972), in which he was brilliant as William Faulkner's inarticulate backwoods farmer. He was less impressive as the lead in Badge 373 (1973), in which he played a character based on real-life NYC policeman Eddie Egan, the same man his old friend Gene Hackman had won an Oscar for playing, in fictionalized form, as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection (1971).

It was his appearance as Lt. Col. Kilgore in another Coppola picture, Apocalypse Now (1979), that solidified Duvall's reputation as a great actor. He won his second Academy Award nomination for the role, and was named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most versatile actor in the world! Duvall created one of the most memorable characters ever assayed on film, and gave the world the memorable phrase, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."

Subsequently, Duvall proved one of the few established character actors to move from supporting to leading roles, with his Oscar-nominated turns in The Great Santini (1979) and Tender Mercies (1983), the latter of which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Now at the summit of his career, Duvall seemed to be afflicted with the fabled "Oscar curse" that had overwhelmed the careers of fellow Academy Award winners Luise Rainer, Rod Steiger and Cliff Robertson. He could not find work equal to his talents, either due to his post-Oscar salary demands or a lack of perception in the industry that he truly was leading man material. He did not appear in The Godfather: Part III (1990)m as the studio would not give in to his demands for a salary commensurate with that of Al Pacino, who was receiving $5 million to reprise Michael Corleone.

His greatest achievement in his immediate post-Oscar period was his acclaimed characterization of the grizzled Texas Ranger Gus McCrae in the TV mini-series "Lonesome Dove" (1989) (mini), for which he received an Emmy nomination. He received a second Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in Stalin (1992) (TV), and a third Emmy nomination playing Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) (TV).

The shakeout of his career doldrums was that Duvall eventually settled back into his status as one of the premier character actors in the industry, rivaled only by his old friend Gene Hackman. Duvall, unlike Hackman, also has directed pictures, including the documentary We're Not the Jet Set (1977), Angelo My Love (1983) and Assassination Tango (2002). As a writer-director, Duvall gave himself one of his most memorable roles, that of the preacher on the run from the law in The Apostle (1997), a brilliant performance for which he received his third Best Actor nomination and fifth Oscar nomination overall. The film brought Duvall back to the front ranks of great actors, and was followed by a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod for A Civil Action (1998).

Robert Duvall will long be remembered as one of the great naturalistic American screen actors in the mode of Spencer Tracy and his frequent co-star Marlon Brando. His performances as Boo Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird," Jackson Fentry in "Tomorrow," Tom Hagen in the first two "Godfather" movies, Frank Hackett in Network (1976), Lt. Col. Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now," Bull Meechum in "The Great Santini," Mac Sledge in "Tender Mercies," Gus McCrae in "Lonesome Dove," and Sonny Dewey in "The Apostle" rank as some of the finest acting ever put on film. It's a body of work that few actors can equal, let alone surpass.

Filmography

# The Last Full Measure (2007) .... Frank Pitsenbarger

# A Night in Old Mexico (2008)

# We Own the Night (2007) .... Burt Grusinsky

# Lucky You (2007) .... L. C. Cheever

# The Godfather: Mob Wars (2006) (VG) (voice) .... Tom Hagen

# "Broken Trail" (2006) (mini) TV Series .... Prentice Ritter

# The Godfather: The Game (2006) (VG) (voice) .... Tom Hagen

# Thank You for Smoking (2005) .... Doak 'The Captain' Boykin

# Kicking & Screaming (2005) .... Buck Weston

# Secondhand Lions (2003) .... Hub

# Open Range (2003) .... Boss Spearman

# Gods and Generals (2003) .... Gen. Robert E. Lee

# Assassination Tango (2002) .... John J. Anderson

... aka Assassination Tango (Argentina)

# John Q (2002) .... Lt. Frank Grimes

... aka John Q. (USA: poster title)

# The 6th Day (2000) .... Dr. Griffin Weir

... aka Sixième jour, Le (Canada: French title)

# A Shot at Glory (2000) .... Gordon McLeod

# Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) .... Otto Halliwell

# A Civil Action (1998) .... Jerome Facher

# Deep Impact (1998) .... Capt. Spurgeon 'Fish' Tanner

# "Saturday Night Live" .... Various (1 episode, 1998)

... aka SNL (USA: informal title)

... aka SNL 25 (USA)

- Episode #23.14 (1998) TV Episode .... Various

# The Gingerbread Man (1998) .... Dixon Doss

# The Apostle (1997) .... Euliss 'Sonny' Dewey - The Apostle E.F.

# The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) (TV) .... Adolf Eichmann

# Sling Blade (1996) .... Karl's Father

# Phenomenon (1996) .... Doc Brunder

# A Family Thing (1996) .... Earl Pilcher Jr.

# The Scarlet Letter (1995) .... Roger Chillingworth

# The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995) .... Mr. Cox

# Something to Talk About (1995) .... Wyly King

... aka Grace Under Pressure

# The Paper (1994) .... Bernie White

# Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993) .... Walter

# Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) .... Chief of Scouts Al Sieber

# Falling Down (1993) .... Detective Martin Prendergast

... aka Chute libre (France)

# Stalin (1992) (TV) .... Josef Stalin

... aka Sztálin (Hungary)

# Peste, La (1992) .... Joseph Grand

... aka The Plague (USA)

# Newsies (1992) .... Joseph Pulitzer

... aka Newsboys

# The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (1992) (V) .... Tom Hagen

... aka The Godfather Saga (USA)

... aka The Godfather Trilogy

# Convicts (1991) .... Soll

... aka Horton Foote's Convicts (USA: complete title)

# Rambling Rose (1991) .... Daddy Hilyer

# Days of Thunder (1990) .... Harry Hogge

# A Show of Force (1990) .... Howard

# The Handmaid's Tale (1990) .... Commander

# "Lonesome Dove" (1989) (mini) TV Series .... Augustus 'Gus' McCrae

# Colors (1988) .... Officer Bob Hodges

# Hotel Colonial (1987) .... Roberto Carrasco (Luca Venieri)

# Apocalypse Pooh (1987) (TV) (voice) .... Gopher

# Let's Get Harry (1986) .... Norman Shrike

... aka The Rescue

# Belizaire the Cajun (1986) .... The Preacher

# The Lightship (1986) .... Calvin Caspary

... aka Killers at Sea (USA: TV title)

# Waylon Jennings: America (1986) (V) .... Doctor

# The Natural (1984) .... Max Mercy

# The Stone Boy (1984) .... Joe Hillerman

# The Terry Fox Story (1983) (TV) .... Bill Vigars

... aka Heart of a Champion (Philippines: English title: theatrical title)

# Tender Mercies (1983) .... Mac Sledge

# The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (1981) .... Gruen

... aka Pursuit

# True Confessions (1981) .... Thomas "Tom" Spellacy

# The Great Santini (1979) .... Lieutenant Colonel Bull Meechum

... aka The Ace

... aka The Gift of Fury

# Apocalypse Now (1979) .... Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore

... aka Apocalypse Now Redux (International: English title: longer version)

# "Ike" (1979) (mini) TV Series .... Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

# Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) (uncredited) .... Priest on swing

# The Betsy (1978) .... Loren Hardeman III

... aka Harold Robbins' The Betsy

# Ike: The War Years (1978) (TV) .... General Dwight D. Eisenhower

# "The Godfather Saga" (1977) (mini) TV Series .... Tom Hagen

# The Greatest (1977) .... Bill McDonald

# The Eagle Has Landed (1976) .... Col. Max Radl

# Network (1976) .... Frank Hackett

# The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) .... Dr. John H. Watson/Narrator

# The Killer Elite (1975) .... George Hansen

# Breakout (1975) .... Jay Wagner

# The Godfather: Part II (1974) .... Tom Hagen

... aka Mario Puzo's The Godfather: Part II (USA: complete title)

# The Conversation (1974) (uncredited) .... The Director

# The Outfit (1973) .... Earl Macklin

# Badge 373 (1973) .... Eddie Ryan

# Lady Ice (1973) .... Ford Pierce

# Joe Kidd (1972) .... Frank Harlan

# The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) .... Jesse James

# Tomorrow (1972) .... Jackson Fentry

# The Godfather (1972) .... Tom Hagen

... aka Mario Puzo's The Godfather (USA: complete title)

# Lawman (1971) .... Vernon Adams

# THX 1138 (1971) .... THX 1138

# The Revolutionary (1970) .... Despard

# MASH (1970) .... Maj. 'Frank' Burns

# "The F.B.I." .... Ernie Milden / ... (6 episodes, 1965-1969)

- Nightmare Road (1969) TV Episode .... Gerald Wilson

- The Harvest (1968) TV Episode .... Joseph Troy

- The Executioners: Part 2 (1967) TV Episode .... Ernie Milden

- The Executioners: Part 1 (1967) TV Episode

- The Scourge (1966) TV Episode .... Johnny Albin

(1 more)

# The Rain People (1969) .... Gordon

# True Grit (1969) .... Ned Pepper

# "The Mod Squad" .... Matt Jenkins (1 episode, 1969)

- Keep the Faith, Baby (1969) TV Episode .... Matt Jenkins

# Bullitt (1968) .... Weissberg

# The Detective (1968) .... Nestor

# "Judd for the Defense" .... Raymond Cane (1 episode, 1968)

- Square House (1968) TV Episode .... Raymond Cane

# Countdown (1968) .... Chiz

# "Run for Your Life" .... Richard Fletcher (1 episode, 1968)

- The Killing Scene (1968) TV Episode .... Richard Fletcher

# Flesh and Blood (1968) (TV) .... Howard

# "The Wild Wild West" .... Dr. Horace Humphries (1 episode, 1967)

- The Night of the Falcon (1967) TV Episode .... Dr. Horace Humphries

# "Cimarron Strip" .... Joe Wyman (1 episode, 1967)

- The Roarer (1967) TV Episode .... Joe Wyman

# Cosa Nostra, Arch Enemy of the FBI (1967) (TV) .... Ernie Milden

# "Combat!" .... Karl / ... (3 episodes, 1965-1967)

- The Partisan (1967) TV Episode .... Michel

- Cry for Help (1966) TV Episode .... Peter Halsman

- The Enemy (1965) TV Episode .... Karl

# "T.H.E. Cat" .... Laurent / ... (2 episodes, 1966-1967)

- The Long Chase (1967) TV Episode .... Laurent

- Crossing at Destino Bay (1966) TV Episode .... Scorpio

# "The Time Tunnel" .... Raul Nimon (1 episode, 1967)

- Chase Through Time (1967) TV Episode .... Raul Nimon

# Fame Is the Name of the Game (1966) (TV) .... Eddie Franchot

# "Shane" .... Tom Gary (1 episode, 1966)

- Poor Tom's A-Cold (1966) TV Episode .... Tom Gary

# "Felony Squad" .... Albie Froehlich (1 episode, 1966)

- Death of a Dream (1966) TV Episode .... Albie Froehlich

# "Hawk" .... Dick (1 episode, 1966)

- The Theory of the Innocent Bystander (1966) TV Episode .... Dick

# "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" .... Frank Reeser (1 episode, 1966)

... aka The Chrysler Theater

... aka Universal Star Time (syndication title)

- Guilty or Not Guilty (1966) TV Episode .... Frank Reeser

# The Chase (1966) .... Edwin Stewart

# "The Defenders" .... Al Rogart / ... (3 episodes, 1961-1965)

- Only a Child (1965) TV Episode .... Bill Andrews

- Metamorphosis (1963) TV Episode .... Luke Jackson

- Perjury (1961) TV Episode .... Al Rogart

# Nightmare in the Sun (1965) .... Motorcyclist

# "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" .... Zar (1 episode, 1965)

- The Invaders (1965) TV Episode (as Robert Duval) .... Zar

# "The Fugitive" .... Eric Christian / ... (3 episodes, 1963-1965)

- Brass Ring (1965) TV Episode .... Leslie Sessions

- Never Wave Goodbye: Part 2 (1963) TV Episode .... Eric Christian

- Never Wave Goodbye: Part 1 (1963) TV Episode .... Eric Christian

# "The Outer Limits" .... Adam Ballard / ... (3 episodes, 1964)

- The Inheritors: Part 2 (1964) TV Episode .... Adam Ballard

- The Inheritors: Part 1 (1964) TV Episode .... Adam Ballard

- The Chameleon (1964) TV Episode .... Louis Mace

# "Kraft Suspense Theatre" .... Harvey Farnsworth (1 episode, 1964)

- Portrait of an Unknown Man (1964) TV Episode .... Harvey Farnsworth

# Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) .... Capt. Paul Cabot Winston

# "Arrest and Trial" .... Morton Ware (1 episode, 1963)

- The Quality of Justice (1963) TV Episode .... Morton Ware

# "Stoney Burke" .... Joby Pierce (1 episode, 1963)

- Joby (1963) TV Episode .... Joby Pierce

# "The Virginian" .... Johnny Keel (1 episode, 1963)

... aka The Men from Shiloh (USA: new title)

- The Golden Door (1963) TV Episode .... Johnny Keel

# "The Twilight Zone" .... Charley Parkes (1 episode, 1963)

... aka Twilight Zone (USA: new title)

- Miniature (1963) TV Episode .... Charley Parkes

# "Route 66" .... Arnie / ... (3 episodes, 1961-1963)

- Suppose I Said I Was the Queen of Spain (1963) TV Episode .... Lee Winters

- Birdcage on My Foot (1961) TV Episode .... Arnie

- The Newborn (1961) TV Episode .... Roman

# "The Untouchables" .... Eddie Moon (1 episode, 1963)

- Blues for a Gone Goose (1963) TV Episode .... Eddie Moon

# To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) .... Arthur 'Boo' Radley

# "Naked City" .... Barney Sonners / ... (4 episodes, 1961-1962)

- Torment Him Much and Hold Him Long (1962) TV Episode .... Barney Sonners

- Five Cranks for Winter...Ten Cranks for Spring (1962) TV Episode .... Johnny Meigi

- The One Marked Hot Gives Cold (1962) TV Episode .... Francis L. Childe

- A Hole in the City (1961) TV Episode .... Lewis Nunda

# "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" .... Bart Collins (1 episode, 1962)

- Bad Actor (1962) TV Episode .... Bart Collins

# "Shannon" .... Joey Nolan (1 episode, 1961)

- The Big Fish (1961) TV Episode .... Joey Nolan

# "Cain's Hundred" .... Tom Nugent (1 episode, 1961)

- King of the Mountain (1961) TV Episode .... Tom Nugent

# "Great Ghost Tales" .... William Wilson (1 episode, 1961)

- William Wilson (1961) TV Episode .... William Wilson

# "Armstrong Circle Theatre" .... Berks (2 episodes, 1959-1960)

- Positive Identification (1960) TV Episode

- The Jailbreak (1959) TV Episode .... Berks

# "Playhouse 90" (1 episode, 1960)

- John Brown's Raid (1960) TV Episode

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soundtracks :	22219
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Top movies

	Thriller, Drama, Action
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	Wanted \| 2008
Thriller, Mystery, Drama, Crime, Adventure, Action
The film opens with a man called "Mr. X" (David O'Hara) meeting with a ballistics expert, attempting to find out who made a particular bullet for a "competitor". The conversation is interrupted by a sniper shooting the ballistics expert through the head from a nearby building. Mr. X dashes down the corridor and leaps through the window, shooting and killing his opponents in mid-flight. Mr. X then receives a phone call from a man he calls Cross (Thomas Kretschmann). Cross tells the man that the snipers were decoys. Cross then fires a multi-stage bullet through Mr. X's head from the window of a house across town.A young man named Wesley Gibson is introduced. He works at a dead-end job with an over-bearing boss. His live-in girlfriend is sleeping with his best friend, and his voice-over says that he is finding it difficult to care about anything. One night, at the pharmacy, Wesley meets a mysterious woman who tells him that his father was an elite assassin who had been killed the day before. Wesley does not believe this; he tells the woman that his father abandoned him a week after his birth. At that moment, Cross appears, gun in hand. The woman opens fire on Cross. Wesley and the woman escape from the resulting shoot-out and have a wild car chase in the streets of Chicago.Wesley is brought to the headquarters of The Fraternity, a thousand-year-old secret society of assassins. The group's leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), formally introduces Gibson to Fox (Angelina Jolie) the woman from the night before, and invites him to follow in his father's footsteps as an assassin. Sloan tests Wesley by making him shoot the wings off a fly. When Wesley refuses, a gun is put to his head, triggering a panic attack. Wesley somehow manages to shoot the wings off several flies. Wesley wakes up the next day hoping that everything was a dream, but discovers his father's gun (which he stashes in the toilet tank). He also discovers $3.6 million in his bank account. Wesley tells his boss to "Go fuck yourself!" and quits his job, knocking out his "friend's" (the one who sleeps with Wesley's girlfriend) teeth with his keyboard, with broken keys spelling out 'fuck you', as he leaves. Fox, who has been waiting for him outside, gives him a ride back to the Fraternity headquarters - an unassuming textile mill.With his training completed, Wesley is given orders to kill people from the Loom of Fate, a loom that gives the names of the targets through a binary code hidden in weaving errors of the fabric. While on his first assignment, Wesley seems to refuse to kill his target. He recalls an earlier conversation with Fox in which he opined that it isn't right to kill people without knowing anything about them or why they deserve to die. Fox then told him her life story. Fox's father was a judge who was handling a sensitive case and the defendant had put a hit on him. One day a hired killer held the young girl at knife point as they waited for her father to return home. The killer then lit the father on fire as the young girl watched. He later branded his initials into her neck. Fox explained that the man who killed her father had been targeted by the Fraternity several weeks prior to the events of the story, but their assassin had failed to carry out his duty. Fox then tells Wesley The Fraternity's idea, "Kill one and maybe save thousands". Wesley bends a bullet trajectory to kill the target a moment after this recollection.Wesley and Fox travel to the Fraternity's original base of operations in Europe. The two easily capture Pekwarsky and force him to take them to Cross. The meeting leads to a confrontation between Wesley and Cross on a moving train. Fox steals a car and crashes it into the train, eventually causing the train to derail when it reaches a bridge over a deep ravine. Wesley is about to fall into the ravine before Cross catches his hand, saving his life. Wesley unhesitatingly shoots him. Before Cross dies, he tells Wesley that he is his real father and that the Fraternity had been lying to him. Fox confirms the truth and explains that Wesley was recruited because he was the only person that Cross wouldn't kill. Fox then tells Wesley about the kill order on him and raises her weapon to shoot him. Wesley, however, shoots the glass underneath him and plunges into the river below.Wesley awakes in an apartment across the street from his former apartment. He finds Pekwarsky there. Upon inspecting the apartment, he discovers it belonged to his father, who had been monitoring him his whole life. Pekwarsky hands Wesley a loom weaving and tells him to decode it. Wesley is shocked to discover Sloan's name in the weaving. Pekwarsky explains that Cross went rogue due to this discovery. Since then Sloan has used false kill orders to direct the Fraternity as mere contract killers. Wesley realizes that Cross had never actually tried to kill him in their previous confrontations; he had been assassinating Fraternity members to keep them away from Wesley. Pekwarsky departs after giving Wesley plane tickets, stating that his father wished him a life free of violence. While exploring the apartment further, Wesley discovers a secret room containing all of his father's weapons and maps. He even finds a supply of the Exterminator's mini-bombs, realizing that the Exterminator had been working with his father. Wesley then devises a plan to take out Sloan and the Fraternity. Upon entering Sloan's office, he finds himself surrounded by Fox and her fellow master assassins. Wesley tells them that Sloan is killing for profit by providing his killers with fraudulent kill orders. He then attempts to kill Sloan, but is disarmed by Fox.Fox asks Sloan if this is true. Sloan then reveals that all of their names had come up in the weaving, and that he had merely acted to protect them. He then goes on to explain that if they truly believe in the code then they should take their lives right where they stand. Otherwise, they should kill Wesley. The other assassins decide to kill Wesley, but Fox turns on her fellow assassins. She "curves" a bullet to kill the assassins who had been standing in a circle, then throws her gun to Wesley before stepping back into the bullet. Sloan escapes. Wesley, penniless once more, does not know what to do with himself. While Wesley provides a voice-over, the audience sees a young man sitting in front of a computer in a cubicle much like Wesley did at the beginning of the film. The man types the name "Wesley Gibson" into Google and searches for it but does not have any results, as in the beginning of the film. Sloan appears and points a gun at the man's head. At that moment, the man turns around and is revealed to be a decoy and looks down. Sloan also looks down and realizes he is standing on a marked spot. He then looks up and says, "Oh, fuck", before Wesley, who is actually several miles away, shoots him in the head from the comfort of his own appartment, from the same window his father killed Mr. X from at the beginning of the movie..The movie ends with Wesley breaking the fourth wall, addressing the audience and giving an overview of his last six weeks as an assassin saying, "This is me taking back control of my life. What the fuck have you done lately?"

Wanted | 2008

Thriller, Mystery, Drama, Crime, Adventure, Action

The film opens with a man called "Mr. X" (David O'Hara) meeting with a ballistics expert, attempting to find out who made a particular bullet for a "competitor". The conversation is interrupted by a sniper shooting the ballistics expert through the head from a nearby building. Mr. X dashes down the corridor and leaps through the window, shooting and killing his opponents in mid-flight. Mr. X then receives a phone call from a man he calls Cross (Thomas Kretschmann). Cross tells the man that the snipers were decoys. Cross then fires a multi-stage bullet through Mr. X's head from the window of a house across town.A young man named Wesley Gibson is introduced. He works at a dead-end job with an over-bearing boss. His live-in girlfriend is sleeping with his best friend, and his voice-over says that he is finding it difficult to care about anything. One night, at the pharmacy, Wesley meets a mysterious woman who tells him that his father was an elite assassin who had been killed the day before. Wesley does not believe this; he tells the woman that his father abandoned him a week after his birth. At that moment, Cross appears, gun in hand. The woman opens fire on Cross. Wesley and the woman escape from the resulting shoot-out and have a wild car chase in the streets of Chicago.Wesley is brought to the headquarters of The Fraternity, a thousand-year-old secret society of assassins. The group's leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), formally introduces Gibson to Fox (Angelina Jolie) the woman from the night before, and invites him to follow in his father's footsteps as an assassin. Sloan tests Wesley by making him shoot the wings off a fly. When Wesley refuses, a gun is put to his head, triggering a panic attack. Wesley somehow manages to shoot the wings off several flies. Wesley wakes up the next day hoping that everything was a dream, but discovers his father's gun (which he stashes in the toilet tank). He also discovers $3.6 million in his bank account. Wesley tells his boss to "Go fuck yourself!" and quits his job, knocking out his "friend's" (the one who sleeps with Wesley's girlfriend) teeth with his keyboard, with broken keys spelling out 'fuck you', as he leaves. Fox, who has been waiting for him outside, gives him a ride back to the Fraternity headquarters - an unassuming textile mill.With his training completed, Wesley is given orders to kill people from the Loom of Fate, a loom that gives the names of the targets through a binary code hidden in weaving errors of the fabric. While on his first assignment, Wesley seems to refuse to kill his target. He recalls an earlier conversation with Fox in which he opined that it isn't right to kill people without knowing anything about them or why they deserve to die. Fox then told him her life story. Fox's father was a judge who was handling a sensitive case and the defendant had put a hit on him. One day a hired killer held the young girl at knife point as they waited for her father to return home. The killer then lit the father on fire as the young girl watched. He later branded his initials into her neck. Fox explained that the man who killed her father had been targeted by the Fraternity several weeks prior to the events of the story, but their assassin had failed to carry out his duty. Fox then tells Wesley The Fraternity's idea, "Kill one and maybe save thousands". Wesley bends a bullet trajectory to kill the target a moment after this recollection.Wesley and Fox travel to the Fraternity's original base of operations in Europe. The two easily capture Pekwarsky and force him to take them to Cross. The meeting leads to a confrontation between Wesley and Cross on a moving train. Fox steals a car and crashes it into the train, eventually causing the train to derail when it reaches a bridge over a deep ravine. Wesley is about to fall into the ravine before Cross catches his hand, saving his life. Wesley unhesitatingly shoots him. Before Cross dies, he tells Wesley that he is his real father and that the Fraternity had been lying to him. Fox confirms the truth and explains that Wesley was recruited because he was the only person that Cross wouldn't kill. Fox then tells Wesley about the kill order on him and raises her weapon to shoot him. Wesley, however, shoots the glass underneath him and plunges into the river below.Wesley awakes in an apartment across the street from his former apartment. He finds Pekwarsky there. Upon inspecting the apartment, he discovers it belonged to his father, who had been monitoring him his whole life. Pekwarsky hands Wesley a loom weaving and tells him to decode it. Wesley is shocked to discover Sloan's name in the weaving. Pekwarsky explains that Cross went rogue due to this discovery. Since then Sloan has used false kill orders to direct the Fraternity as mere contract killers. Wesley realizes that Cross had never actually tried to kill him in their previous confrontations; he had been assassinating Fraternity members to keep them away from Wesley. Pekwarsky departs after giving Wesley plane tickets, stating that his father wished him a life free of violence. While exploring the apartment further, Wesley discovers a secret room containing all of his father's weapons and maps. He even finds a supply of the Exterminator's mini-bombs, realizing that the Exterminator had been working with his father. Wesley then devises a plan to take out Sloan and the Fraternity. Upon entering Sloan's office, he finds himself surrounded by Fox and her fellow master assassins. Wesley tells them that Sloan is killing for profit by providing his killers with fraudulent kill orders. He then attempts to kill Sloan, but is disarmed by Fox.Fox asks Sloan if this is true. Sloan then reveals that all of their names had come up in the weaving, and that he had merely acted to protect them. He then goes on to explain that if they truly believe in the code then they should take their lives right where they stand. Otherwise, they should kill Wesley. The other assassins decide to kill Wesley, but Fox turns on her fellow assassins. She "curves" a bullet to kill the assassins who had been standing in a circle, then throws her gun to Wesley before stepping back into the bullet. Sloan escapes. Wesley, penniless once more, does not know what to do with himself. While Wesley provides a voice-over, the audience sees a young man sitting in front of a computer in a cubicle much like Wesley did at the beginning of the film. The man types the name "Wesley Gibson" into Google and searches for it but does not have any results, as in the beginning of the film. Sloan appears and points a gun at the man's head. At that moment, the man turns around and is revealed to be a decoy and looks down. Sloan also looks down and realizes he is standing on a marked spot. He then looks up and says, "Oh, fuck", before Wesley, who is actually several miles away, shoots him in the head from the comfort of his own appartment, from the same window his father killed Mr. X from at the beginning of the movie..The movie ends with Wesley breaking the fourth wall, addressing the audience and giving an overview of his last six weeks as an assassin saying, "This is me taking back control of my life. What the fuck have you done lately?"

	Iron Man \| 2008
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Family, Comedy, Adventure, Action
Iron Man is a 2008 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film is about Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a billionaire industrialist and master engineer who is captured by terrorists in Afghanistan. Ordered to build a missile for them, Stark uses his resources instead to build a powered exoskeleton to make his escape. Returning to the United States, Stark improves his armor and becomes the technologically advanced superhero Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his personal assistant Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard plays jet pilot James Rhodes, and Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane.The film was in development from 1990 at Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, and New Line Cinema, before Marvel Studios reacquired the rights in 2006. They put the project in production as their first self-financed film. Favreau signed on as director, aiming for a realistic feel, and he chose to shoot the film primarily in California, rejecting the East Coast setting of the comics to differentiate the film from numerous superhero movies set in New York City-esque environments. During filming, the actors were free to create their own dialogue (an uncommon practice in other big budget films) because pre-production was focused on the story and action. Rubber and metal versions of the armors, created by Stan Winston's company, were mixed with computer-generated imagery to create the title character.Marvel and Paramount Pictures, the distributor, planned a $50 million marketing campaign for the film, which is modeled on Paramount's successful promotion of Transformers (2007); Hasbro and Sega will sell merchandise, and product placement deals were made with Audi, Burger King and 7-Eleven. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, particularly praising Downey's performance. The film's stars have signed on for two sequels, and Downey also cameos as Stark in the upcoming The Incredible Hulk.During a business trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate his company's new weapon system, Tony Stark is attacked and kidnapped by a terrorist group called the Ten Rings that order him to build them a version of Stark Industries' "Jericho Missile", an extremely destructive, multi-warhead weapon. While pretending to work on it for three months, he and fellow captive Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub) build a crude but strong power armor, powered from a miniature arc reactor, a fictional power source Stark invents. The arc reactor supplies energy to an electromagnet which protects Stark's heart from the embedded shrapnel in his chest. Dr. Yinsen is killed in the ensuing escape attempt when he stalls the guards to buy Stark enough time to charge the suit. Using the built-in weapons and rockets in his suit, Stark kills several terrorists, destroys their stockpile, and launches himself into escape. He is later picked up by the Air Force. Upon returning to the United States, Stark declares that Stark Industries will no longer manufacture weapons, a move which his business partner Obadiah Stane tells him is blocked by the board members shortly after.During his self-imposed sabbatical from public life, Stark tinkers with the design of his power suit, refining its flight capability, and builds a more powerful and reliable arc reactor, both to power his pacemaker and the suit. During his first public appearance since his kidnapping, he is shown pictures of Stark Industries weapons in the hands of terrorist groups, including the system he refused to build for them. He also discovers that Stane has been "dealing under the table" to both sides in the conflict, as well as being the one to shut Stark out of the board while he recovers. Faced with the realization of what his company has done, Stark dons the power suit and flies to Afghanistan, rescuing Yinsen's village from the Ten Rings. In destroying their weapon stockpiles, he accidentally draws the attention of the United States Air Force and his friend Jim Rhodes, who is an Air Force Lt. Colonel handling weapons development.Determined to make amends for his mistakes, Stark sends his assistant Pepper Potts to find the shipping records of Stark Industries, so he can track down the illicit shipments and destroy them. While hacking into the system she discovers that it was Stane who hired the Ten Rings to kill Stark, but they had reneged on the deal when they realized who the target was. She also discovers that Stane has recovered the power suit prototype (Iron Man Mk I), and has reverse engineered his own version. Stane, upon realizing Pepper's discovery, steals Stark's arc reactor from his chest to power his new suit, leaving Stark for dead. Using his first reactor, which was not designed to power the suit, Stark does battle with Stane in Los Angeles, defeating him when the larger arc reactor that powers Stark Industries is deliberately overloaded. Stark barely makes it out alive when his reactor almost fails completely, but reactivates. Afterwards, Stark makes his identity public at a press conference.When Tony Stark is forced to create a life support suit to keep him alive after an accident he decides to use the technology in his suit to fight crime. Actress Hilary Swank will have a cameo in the film. Iron Man co-creator Stan Lee will also cameo, where he appears with three blonde women and is mistaken for Hugh Hefner by Tony Stark. Favreau announced the Mandarin as the film’s villain at Comic-Con International on July 22, 2006. After filming, Favreau compared the Mandarin to Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, in that his role is a presence rather than a physical antagonist. Originally director Jon Favreau had stated his intent to cast a newcomer in the role of Tony Stark. On September 28, 2006, Robert Downey Jr. was cast as Iron Man. Downey was a big fan of the comic book, and described his challenge as portraying "a wealthy, establishmentarian, weapons manufacturing, hard drinking, womanising prick into someone who is likeable and a hero." Downey set up an office next to Favreau, discussing his role and becoming highly involved in pre-production. Terrence Howard prepared for the role by visiting Nellis Air Force Base on March 16, 2007, where he observed HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and F-22 Raptors. Gwyneth Paltrow went to the source material, reading many comic books lent by her husband, Chris Martin.

Iron Man | 2008

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Family, Comedy, Adventure, Action

Iron Man is a 2008 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film is about Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a billionaire industrialist and master engineer who is captured by terrorists in Afghanistan. Ordered to build a missile for them, Stark uses his resources instead to build a powered exoskeleton to make his escape. Returning to the United States, Stark improves his armor and becomes the technologically advanced superhero Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his personal assistant Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard plays jet pilot James Rhodes, and Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane.The film was in development from 1990 at Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, and New Line Cinema, before Marvel Studios reacquired the rights in 2006. They put the project in production as their first self-financed film. Favreau signed on as director, aiming for a realistic feel, and he chose to shoot the film primarily in California, rejecting the East Coast setting of the comics to differentiate the film from numerous superhero movies set in New York City-esque environments. During filming, the actors were free to create their own dialogue (an uncommon practice in other big budget films) because pre-production was focused on the story and action. Rubber and metal versions of the armors, created by Stan Winston's company, were mixed with computer-generated imagery to create the title character.Marvel and Paramount Pictures, the distributor, planned a $50 million marketing campaign for the film, which is modeled on Paramount's successful promotion of Transformers (2007); Hasbro and Sega will sell merchandise, and product placement deals were made with Audi, Burger King and 7-Eleven. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, particularly praising Downey's performance. The film's stars have signed on for two sequels, and Downey also cameos as Stark in the upcoming The Incredible Hulk.During a business trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate his company's new weapon system, Tony Stark is attacked and kidnapped by a terrorist group called the Ten Rings that order him to build them a version of Stark Industries' "Jericho Missile", an extremely destructive, multi-warhead weapon. While pretending to work on it for three months, he and fellow captive Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub) build a crude but strong power armor, powered from a miniature arc reactor, a fictional power source Stark invents. The arc reactor supplies energy to an electromagnet which protects Stark's heart from the embedded shrapnel in his chest. Dr. Yinsen is killed in the ensuing escape attempt when he stalls the guards to buy Stark enough time to charge the suit. Using the built-in weapons and rockets in his suit, Stark kills several terrorists, destroys their stockpile, and launches himself into escape. He is later picked up by the Air Force. Upon returning to the United States, Stark declares that Stark Industries will no longer manufacture weapons, a move which his business partner Obadiah Stane tells him is blocked by the board members shortly after.During his self-imposed sabbatical from public life, Stark tinkers with the design of his power suit, refining its flight capability, and builds a more powerful and reliable arc reactor, both to power his pacemaker and the suit. During his first public appearance since his kidnapping, he is shown pictures of Stark Industries weapons in the hands of terrorist groups, including the system he refused to build for them. He also discovers that Stane has been "dealing under the table" to both sides in the conflict, as well as being the one to shut Stark out of the board while he recovers. Faced with the realization of what his company has done, Stark dons the power suit and flies to Afghanistan, rescuing Yinsen's village from the Ten Rings. In destroying their weapon stockpiles, he accidentally draws the attention of the United States Air Force and his friend Jim Rhodes, who is an Air Force Lt. Colonel handling weapons development.Determined to make amends for his mistakes, Stark sends his assistant Pepper Potts to find the shipping records of Stark Industries, so he can track down the illicit shipments and destroy them. While hacking into the system she discovers that it was Stane who hired the Ten Rings to kill Stark, but they had reneged on the deal when they realized who the target was. She also discovers that Stane has recovered the power suit prototype (Iron Man Mk I), and has reverse engineered his own version. Stane, upon realizing Pepper's discovery, steals Stark's arc reactor from his chest to power his new suit, leaving Stark for dead. Using his first reactor, which was not designed to power the suit, Stark does battle with Stane in Los Angeles, defeating him when the larger arc reactor that powers Stark Industries is deliberately overloaded. Stark barely makes it out alive when his reactor almost fails completely, but reactivates. Afterwards, Stark makes his identity public at a press conference.When Tony Stark is forced to create a life support suit to keep him alive after an accident he decides to use the technology in his suit to fight crime. Actress Hilary Swank will have a cameo in the film. Iron Man co-creator Stan Lee will also cameo, where he appears with three blonde women and is mistaken for Hugh Hefner by Tony Stark. Favreau announced the Mandarin as the film’s villain at Comic-Con International on July 22, 2006. After filming, Favreau compared the Mandarin to Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, in that his role is a presence rather than a physical antagonist. Originally director Jon Favreau had stated his intent to cast a newcomer in the role of Tony Stark. On September 28, 2006, Robert Downey Jr. was cast as Iron Man. Downey was a big fan of the comic book, and described his challenge as portraying "a wealthy, establishmentarian, weapons manufacturing, hard drinking, womanising prick into someone who is likeable and a hero." Downey set up an office next to Favreau, discussing his role and becoming highly involved in pre-production. Terrence Howard prepared for the role by visiting Nellis Air Force Base on March 16, 2007, where he observed HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and F-22 Raptors. Gwyneth Paltrow went to the source material, reading many comic books lent by her husband, Chris Martin.

Soundtracks

Swingers

1996

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

1991

High School Musical

2006

Wallpaper