Biography films 2016 wikipedia

Florence Foster Jenkins (film)

2016 film directed by Stephen Frears

Florence Foster Jenkins is a 2016 biographical film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Nicholas Martin and Julia Kogan. It stars Meryl Streep as Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress known for her generosity and poor singing. Hugh Grant plays her manager and long-time companion, St. Clair Bayfield. Other cast members include Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Nina Arianda.

Filming began in May 2015, and the premiere was held in London on 12 April 2016. The film was released on 6 May 2016 in the United Kingdom, 13 July in France and 12 August in the United States. At the 89th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Actress for Streep, which marked her 20th Oscar nomination, and Best Costume Design. The film also received four nominations at the 74th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Plot

In 1944, Florence Foster Jenkins is a New York City socialite heiress who founded the Verdi Club to celebrate her love of music. St. Clair Bayfield, a British Shakespearean actor, is her manager and long-time companion. Florence lives in a grand hotel suite, while Bayfield lives in an apartment with his mistress, Kathleen Weatherley. Florence suffers from long-term syphilis, contracted from her first husband, Frank Jenkins.

Florence decides to resume singing lessons after she sees Lily Pons in concert with Bayfield. She hires pianist Cosmé McMoon, who is shocked by her terrible singing, but Bayfield and vocal coach Carlo Edwards, the assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, pretend she is wonderful. Bayfield warns McMoon of dire consequences if he criticizes her.

Bayfield arranges a small recital, handpicking the attendees. Loyal Verdi Club members watch respectfully, but others barely contain their laughter. Encouraged by her good reviews, she arranges to make a recording at Mel

Snowden (film)

2016 biographical political thriller film by Oliver Stone

Snowden is a 2016 biographicalthriller film directed by Oliver Stone and written by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald. Based on the books The Snowden Files (2014) by Luke Harding and Time of the Octopus (2015) by Anatoly Kucherena, the film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) subcontractor and whistleblower who copied and leakedhighly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) beginning in 2013. In addition to Gordon-Levitt, the film features an ensemble cast including Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Scott Eastwood, Logan Marshall-Green, Timothy Olyphant, Ben Schnetzer, LaKeith Lee Stanfield, Rhys Ifans and Nicolas Cage. An international co-production of Germany, France, and the United States, principal photography began on February 16, 2015, in Munich.

Snowden screened at San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2016, before premiering at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2016. The film was theatrically released in the United States on September 16, 2016, by Open Road Films and on September 22 in Germany. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Gordon-Levitt's performance and said Stone's direction played it safe. It grossed $37.3 million worldwide against its $40 million budget.

Plot

In 2013, Edward Snowden arranges a clandestine meeting in Hong Kong with documentarianLaura Poitras and journalistGlenn Greenwald. They discuss releasing the classified information in the former's possession regarding illegal mass surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA). Poitras later released a documentary about this meeting titled Citizenfour, which was used in a scene within the film.

In 2004, Snowden is undergoing basic training, having enlisted in the U.S. Army with intentions of matriculating to the Special Forces. H

List of biographical films

Year Film Subject(s) Lead actor or actress 1906The Story of the Kelly GangNed KellyFrank Mills1909The Origin of Beethoven's Moonlight SonataLudwig van BeethovenHarry BaurThe Life of MosesMosesPat HartiganEdgar Allen PoeEdgar Allan PoeHerbert YostSaul and DavidKing DavidMaurice CostelloKing SaulWilliam V. Ranous1910Pyotr VelikiyPeter the GreatPyotr Voinov1911Sweet Nell of Old DruryNell GwynNellie StewartCharles II of EnglandAugustus Neville1912Custer's Last FightGeorge Armstrong CusterFrancis FordCleopatraCleopatraHelen GardnerFrom the Manger to the CrossJesusRobert Henderson-Bland1913Adrienne LecouvreurAdrienne LecouvreurSarah BernhardtGiuseppe Verdi nella vita e nella gloriaGiuseppe VerdiEgisto Cecchi The Life and Works of Richard WagnerRichard WagnerGiuseppe BecceSixty Years a QueenQueen VictoriaBlanche Forsythe (younger)

Louie Henri (older)

1914Beating BackAl JenningsAl JenningsRichelieuCardinal RichelieuMurdock MacQuarrieThe Adventures of François Villon: The OublietteFrançois VillonThe Adventures of François Villon: The Higher LawThe Adventures of François Villon: Monsieur BluebeardThe Adventures of François Villon: The Ninety Black BoxesHome, Sweet HomeJohn Howard PayneHenry B. WalthallJudith of BethuliaJudithBlanche SweetThe Life of General VillaPancho VillaRaoul Walsh (younger)

Pancho Villa (older, as himself)

1915Florence NightingaleFlorence NightingaleElisabeth RisdonMistress NellNell GwynMary PickfordThe RavenEdgar Allan PoeHenry B. Walthall1916David GarrickDavid GarrickDustin FarnumDavy CrockettDavy CrockettDisraeliBenjamin DisraeliDennis EadieJoan the WomanJoan of ArcGeraldine Farrar1917Betsy Ro

Maudie (film)

2016 film

Maudie is a 2016 biographicaldrama film directed by Aisling Walsh and starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke. A co-production of Ireland and Canada, it is about the life of folk artistMaud Lewis, who painted in Nova Scotia. In the story, Maud (Hawkins) struggles with rheumatoid arthritis, the memory of a lost child, and a family that doubts her abilities, before moving in with a surly fish peddler (Hawke) as a housekeeper. Despite their differing personalities, they marry as her art gains in popularity. The film was shot in Newfoundland and Labrador, requiring a re-creation of Lewis' famously small house.

It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 2016. It was selected for the Special Presentations section of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and won a number of awards at other festivals. After festival screenings and wider releases, it received positive reviews, and won critics societies' awards for Hawkins' performance; seven Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Motion Picture; and three Irish Film & Television Awards, including Best Director and Best International Actor for Ethan Hawke.

Plot

In Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, Maud Dowley lives with her Aunt Ida and brother Charles in the 1930s. She has severe arthritis and is shocked to learn that Charles has sold their family home, which their parents had left to him. In the meantime, she is berated by Ida about visiting the local nightclub. Maud had once been impregnated and gave birth, but Charles and Ida told her that the child was deformed and died.

At a store, Maud sees the inarticulate and rough fish peddler Everett Lewis place an advertisement for a cleaning lady. Maud answers the call and takes the position in exchange for room and board. Everett's house is very small, and the two are known to share a bed. This causes scandal in the town, with gossip that Maud is offering sexual services. While attempting to clean the shack, Maud paints a shelf.

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