25 posts tagged with biography.
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Movie: Malcolm X

[TRAILER] Spike Lee's epic film biography of the Black activist and leader of the struggle for Black liberation. Starring Denzel Washington in the title role, with Angela Bassett as Betty Shabazz. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Jul 24, 2024 - 4 comments

Book: Prairie Fires

Rendering this biography as effective at racking nerves as it is at provoking thought, the story of Wilder’s emergence as a major sculptor of American identity pushes far past the usual boundaries of probability and plausibility. For anyone who has drifted into thinking of Wilder’s “Little House” books as relics of a distant and irrelevant past, reading “Prairie Fires” will provide a lasting cure. Just as effectively, for readers with a pre-existing condition of enthusiasm for western American history and literature, this book will refresh and revitalize interpretations that may be ready for some rattling. [more inside]
posted by PussKillian on Mar 7, 2024 - 6 comments

Book: Elon Musk

A writer famed for his biographies of geniuses turns his pen to cover the impetuous, vainglorious and obsessive CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, X (nee Twitter) and NeuraLink. [more inside]
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul on Sep 20, 2023 - 6 comments

Movie: The Silent Twins

Based on the lives of June and Jennifer Gibbons, real-life identical twins who grew up in Wales and became known as "the silent twins" because of their refusal to communicate with anyone but each other. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Mar 15, 2023 - 1 comment

Movie: The Imposter

A documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years. Trailer. [more inside]
posted by johnofjack on Dec 13, 2022 - 3 comments

Movie: An Angel at My Table

Janet Frame was a brilliant child who, as a teen, was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. Explore Janet's discovery of the world and her life in Europe as her books are published to acclaim. Trailer. [more inside]
posted by johnofjack on Dec 5, 2022 - 7 comments

Movie: Lenny

[TRAILER] Controversial comedian Lenny Bruce (Dustin Hoffman) begins his career telling bad jokes to bored audiences in the 1950s, but can't repress his desire to unleash edgier material. When he does, he begins a one-man campaign to break down social hypocrisy, and his groundbreaking stage act propels him to cult-hero status. When authorities ban Lenny's act for obscenity, he begins a downward spiral of drugs, sex and debt, aided by his bombshell wife, a stripper named Honey (Valerie Perrine). [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Dec 1, 2022 - 0 comments

Movie: Quiz Show

A young lawyer, Richard Goodwin, investigates a potentially fixed game show. Charles Van Doren, a big time show winner, is under Goodwin's investigation. [more inside]
posted by johnofjack on Nov 30, 2022 - 5 comments

Movie: Serpico

An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him. Trailer. [more inside]
posted by johnofjack on Nov 30, 2022 - 1 comment

Movie: Portrait of Jason

Black gay prostitute Jason Holliday is rigorously interviewed on his story and character, revealing nuanced truths about life and art. Trailer. [more inside]
posted by johnofjack on Nov 18, 2022 - 2 comments

Movie: A Beautiful Mind

John Nash is a brilliant but asocial mathematician fighting schizophrenia. After he accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn for the nightmarish. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Nov 8, 2022 - 3 comments

Book: Beryl: In Search of Britain's Greatest Athlete, Beryl Burton

"Cyclist Beryl Burton - also known as BB - dominated her sport much as her male contemporary Eddy Merckx, but with a longevity that surpasses even sporting legends like Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams and Sir Steve Redgrave." [more inside]
posted by adamrice on Aug 18, 2022 - 0 comments

Movie: Val

Documentary centering on the daily life of actor Val Kilmer featuring never-before-seen footage spanning 40 years. [more inside]
posted by rozcakj on Aug 11, 2021 - 5 comments

Book: Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

This "historically engaging and pressingly relevant" biography establishes Shirley Jackson as a towering figure in American literature and revives the life and work of a neglected master. Still known to millions primarily as the author of "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) has been curiously absent from the mainstream American literary canon. A genius of literary suspense and psychological horror, Jackson plumbed the cultural anxiety of post-war American more deeply than anyone. [more inside]
posted by winesong on Feb 18, 2020 - 4 comments

Book: The Trauma Cleaner

Winner of the Victorian Prize for Literature, Sarah Krasnostein’s The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster is the fascinating biography of one of the people responsible for tidying up homes in the wake of natural—and unnatural—catastrophes and fatalities. Homicides and suicides, fires and floods, hoarders and addicts. When properties are damaged or neglected, it falls to Sandra Pankhurst, founder of Specialized Trauma Cleaning (STC)... [more inside]
posted by MonkeyToes on Oct 3, 2019 - 3 comments

Movie: Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

The life and career of the hailed Hollywood movie star and underappreciated genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr. From her childhood in Vienna, brief cinematic career in Czechoslovakia, to her life and times in the United States, the film features extended audio interview recordings with Hedy, and recent interviews with her children and a grandchild, as well as some of Hedy's friends and colleagues. [Trailer] [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Jul 12, 2018 - 4 comments

Movie: The Founder

The story of Ray Kroc, a salesman who turned two brothers' fast food eatery, McDonald's, into one of the biggest restaurant businesses in the world. [more inside]
posted by ubiquity on Feb 15, 2017 - 2 comments

Movie: Frida

An Academy Award-winning biography of Mexican artist and revolutionary Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage to mentor and fellow artist Diego Rivera into her self-portraits. [more inside]
posted by gemutlichkeit on Jul 22, 2016 - 1 comment

Movie: The Imitation Game

English mathematician and logician, Alan Turing, helps crack the Enigma code during World War II. [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on Nov 17, 2014 - 20 comments

Movie: Foxcatcher

Wrestler Mark Schultz forms a relationship with his new sponsor, millionaire John du Pont, as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul - a union that leads to unlikely circumstances as both men feel inferior to Mark's revered brother, Dave. [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on Nov 13, 2014 - 10 comments

Movie: Temple Grandin

A biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry. [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on Sep 29, 2014 - 7 comments

Movie: The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

The feature adaptation of Roger Lewis' book about the actor best remembered for his comedy on The Goon Show (radio), as Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther movies, comedy records, and much more. [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on Sep 22, 2014 - 2 comments

Movie: The King's Speech

The story of King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it. [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on Sep 21, 2014 - 8 comments

Interest in discussing HBO's Temple Grandin?

I'd like to do a FanFare post on HBO's Temple Grandin - would people be interested in discussing this? [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on Sep 18, 2014 - 10 comments

Houdini: Part 1 & 2  Season 1, Ep 1

Follow the man behind the magic as he finds fame, engages in espionage, battles spiritualists and encounters the greatest names of the era, from U.S. presidents to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Grigori Rasputin. [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on Sep 15, 2014 - 6 comments

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