title: Commonwealth Games

text: Athletes with a disability were then first included the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia when this events was added to athletics and lawn bowls, As at 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, they were included as compulsory events, making them the first fully inclusive international multi-sport games. This meant that results were included in the medal count and the athletes are full members of each country delegation.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: During the 2007 General Assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) at Colombo, Sri Lanka, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and CGF signed a co-operative agreement to ensure a formal institutional relationship between the two bodies and secure the future participation of elite athletes with a disability (EAD) in future Commonwealth Games.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The co-operation agreement outlined the strong partnership between the IPC and the CGF. It recognised the IPC as the respective sport body and have the function to oversee the co-ordination and delivery of the Commonwealth Games EAD sports programme and committed both organisations to work together in supporting the growth of the Paralympic and Commonwealth Games Movements.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The Commonwealth Winter Games was a multi-sport event comprising winter sports, last held in 1966. Three editions of the Games have been staged. The Winter Games were designed as a counterbalance to the Commonwealth Games, which focuses on summer sports, to accompany the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympic Games. The winter Games were founded by T.D. Richardson. The 1958 Commonwealth Winter Games were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland and was the inaugural games for the winter edition. The 1962 Games were also held in St. Moritz, complementing the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia, and the 1966 event was held in St. Moritz as well, following which the idea was discontinued.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The Commonwealth Youth Games is an international multi-sport event organised by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The Games are held every four years with the current Commonwealth Games format. The Commonwealth Games Federation discussed the idea of a Millennium Commonwealth Youth Games in 1997. In 1998 the concept was agreed on for the purpose of providing a Commonwealth multi-sport event for young people born in the calendar year 1986 or later. The first version was held in Edinburgh, Scotland from 10 to 14 August 2000. The age limitation of the athletes is 14 to 18.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is the foremost authority in matters relating to the games. The Commonwealth House in London, England hosts the headquarters of CGF. The Commonwealth House also hosts the headquarters of the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: As the International Olympic Committee the Commonwealth Games Movement is made of three major elements:


title: Commonwealth Games

text: English is the official language of the Commonwealth. The other language used at each Commonwealth Games is the language of the host country (or languages, if a country has more than one official language apart from English). Every proclamation (such as the announcement of each country during the parade of nations in the opening ceremony) is spoken in these two (or more) languages. If the host country does this, it is their responsibility to chose the language{s) and their order.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The King's Baton Relay, is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently King Charles III. The Relay traditionally begins at Buckingham Palace in London as a part of the city's Commonwealth Day festivities. The King entrusts the baton to the first relay runner. At the Opening Ceremony of the Games, the final relay runner hands the baton back to the King or his representative, who reads the message aloud to officially open the Games. The King's Baton Relay is similar to the Olympic Torch Relay.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The Relay was introduced at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales as the Queen's Baton Relay. Up until, and including, the 1994 Games, the Relay only went through England and the host nation. The Relay for the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was the first to travel to other nations of the Commonwealth. The Gold Coast 2018 Queen's Baton Relay was the longest in Commonwealth Games history. Covering 230,000 km (150,000 miles) over 388 days, the Baton made its way through the six Commonwealth regions of Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania. For the first time, the Queen's Baton was presented at the Commonwealth Youth Games during its sixth edition in 2017 which were held in Nassau, Bahamas.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Various elements frame the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. This ceremony takes place before the events have occurred. The ceremony typically starts with the hoisting of the host country's flag and a performance of its national anthem. The flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation, flag of the last hosting nation and the next hosting nation are also hosted during the opening ceremony. The host nation then presents artistic displays of music, singing, dance and theatre representative of its culture. The artistic presentations have grown in scale and complexity as successive hosts attempt to provide a ceremony that outlasts its predecessor's in terms of memorability. The opening ceremony of the Delhi Games reportedly cost $70 million, with much of the cost incurred in the artistic segment.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: After the artistic portion of the ceremony, the athletes parade into the stadium grouped by nation. The last hosting nation is traditionally the first nation to enter. Nations then enter the stadium alphabetical or continental wise with the host country's athletes being the last to enter. Speeches are given, formally opening the Games. Finally, the King's Baton is brought into the stadium and passed on until it reaches the final baton carrier, often a successful Commonwealth athlete from the host nation, who hands it over to the Head of the Commonwealth or his representative.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games takes place after all sporting events have concluded. Flag-bearers from each participating country enter the stadium, followed by the athletes who enter together, without any national distinction. The president of the organising committee and the CGF president make their closing speeches and the Games are officially closed. The CGF president also speaks about the conduct of the games. The mayor of the city that organised the Games transfers the CGF flag to the president of the CGF, who then passes it on to the mayor of the city hosting the next Commonwealth Games. The next host nation then also briefly introduces itself with artistic displays of dance and theatre representative of its culture. Many great artists and singers had performed at the ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: At the closing ceremony of every Commonwealth Games the CGF President makes an award and presents a trophy to one athlete who has competed with particular distinction and honour both in terms of athletic performance and overall contribution to his or her team. Athletes are nominated by their Commonwealth Games Association at the end of the final day of competition and the winner is selected by a panel comprising the CGF President and representatives from each of the six Commonwealth Regions. The ‘David Dixon Award’ as it is called was introduced in Manchester 2002, after the late David Dixon, former Honorary Secretary of the CGF, in honour of his monumental contribution to Commonwealth sport for many years.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: A medal ceremony is held after each event is concluded. The winner, second and third-place competitors or teams stand on top of a three-tiered rostrum to be awarded their respective medals. After the medals are given out by a CGF member, the national flags of the three medallists are raised while the national anthem of the gold medallist's country plays. Volunteering citizens of the host country also act as hosts during the medal ceremonies, as they aid the officials who present the medals and act as flag-bearers.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: "God Save the King" is an official or national anthem of multiple Commonwealth countries. As a result, and due to the countries of the United Kingdom competing individually, it is not played in some official events, medal ceremonies or before matches in team events.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Anthems used at the Commonwealth Games which differ from a currently-eligible country's national or official anthem(s):


title: Commonwealth Games

text: There are a total of 23 sports (with three multi-disciplinary sports) and a ten seven para-sports which are approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation. Core sports must be included in each program. Several optional sports may be picked by the host nation, which may consist of some team sports such as basketball.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: In 2015, the Commonwealth Games Federation agreed large changes to the programme which increased the number of core sports, whilst removing a number of optionals, those removed are listed below.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Sports such as the following are sports which have been analyzed by the Commonwealth Games Federation but which are deemed to need expansion in areas such as participation levels within the Commonwealth both at a national (International Federation) and grassroots athletics level, Marketability, Television Rights, Equity, and Hosting Expenses, per Regulation 6 of the Commonwealth Games Constitution; host nations may not pick these sports for their program until the Federation's requirements are fulfilled.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. Australia has been the highest scoring team for thirteen games, England for seven, and Canada for one.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The 1934 British Empire Games, originally awarded in 1930 to Johannesburg, were moved to London after South Africa's pre-apartheid government refused to allow participants of colour.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The 2022 Commonwealth Games were originally awarded to Durban on 2 September 2015, at the CGF General Assembly in Auckland. It was reported in February 2017 that Durban may be unable to host the games due to financial constraints. On 13 March 2017, the CGF stripped Durban of their rights to host and reopened the bidding process for the 2022 games. Many cities from Australia, Canada, England and Malaysia expressed interest to host the games. However, the CGF received only one official bid and that was from Birmingham, England. On 21 December 2017, Birmingham was awarded for the 2022 Games as Durban's replacement host.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Nigeria boycotted the 1978 Commonwealth Games at Edmonton in protest of New Zealand's sporting contacts with apartheid-era South Africa. Uganda also stayed away, in protest of alleged Canadian hostility towards the government of Idi Amin.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: During the 1986 Commonwealth Games at Edinburgh, a majority of the Commonwealth nations staged a boycott, so that the Games appeared to be a whites-only event. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries—largely African, Asian and Caribbean states—stayed away because of the Thatcher government's policy of keeping Britain's sporting links with apartheid South Africa in preference to participating in the general sporting boycott of that country. Consequently, Edinburgh 1986 witnessed the lowest number of athletes since Auckland 1950. The boycotting nations were Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Belize, Cyprus, Dominica, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, Grenada, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Tanzania, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Bermuda was a particularly late withdrawal, as its athletes appeared in the opening ceremony and in the opening day of competition before the Bermuda Olympic Association decided to formally withdraw.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: The estimated cost of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi were US$11 billion, according to "Business Today" magazine. The initial total budget estimated by the Indian Olympic Association in 2003 was US$250 million. In 2010, however, the official total budget soon escalated to an estimated US$1.8 billion, a figure which excluded non-sports-related infrastructure development. Until today,the 2010 Commonwealth Games are reportedly the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: An analysis conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers on the 2002, 2006, 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games found that each dollar spent by governments on operating costs, games venues and athletes’ villages generated US$2 for the host city or state economies, with an average of more than 18,000 jobs generated by each of the events. Additionally, all four cities enjoyed long-term improvements to transport or other infrastructure through hosting the Games, while some also benefited from the revival of struggling precincts.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Lawn bowler Willie Wood from Scotland was the first competitor to have competed in seven Commonwealth Games, from 1974 to 2002, a record equalled in 2014 by Isle of Man cyclist Andrew Roche. They have both been surpassed by David Calvert of Northern Ireland who in 2018 attended his 11th games.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Sitiveni Rabuka was a Prime Minister of Fiji. Beforehand he represented Fiji in shot put, hammer throw, discus and the decathlon at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch, New Zealand.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Greg Yelavich, a sports shooter from New Zealand, has won 12 medals in seven games from 1986 to 2010.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Lawn bowler Robert Weale has represented Wales in 8 Commonwealth Games, 1986–2014, winning 2 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Nauruan weightlifter Marcus Stephen won twelve medals at the Games between 1990 and 2002, of which seven gold, and was elected President of Nauru in 2007. His performance has helped place Nauru (the smallest independent state in the Commonwealth, at and with a population of fewer than 9,400 in 2011) in twenty-second place on the all-time Commonwealth Games medal table.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe has won 10 Commonwealth Games gold medals and 1 silver medal. At the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, he won 4 gold medals. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, he won 6 gold medals and 1 silver medal.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: Chad le Clos, South Africa's most decorated swimmer, has won 18 medals from four Commonwealth Games (2010, 2014, 2018 & 2022), seven of which are gold. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, he won two gold medals, one silver medal, and four bronze medals. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, he won three golds, a silver and a bronze.


title: Commonwealth Games

text: At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Australian singer Cody Simpson won a gold medal as a swimmer at the men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay.


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: Monster is a 2003 American biographical crime drama film written and directed by Patty Jenkins in her feature directorial debut. The film is about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a street prostitute who murdered seven of her male clients between 1989 and 1990 and was executed in Florida in 2002. It stars Charlize Theron (who also produced) as Wuornos, and Christina Ricci as her semi-fictionalized lover, Selby Wall (based on Wuornos's real-life girlfriend, Tyria Moore).


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: "Monster" had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 16, 2003. On February 8, 2004, it premiered at the 54th Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Bear, while Theron won the Silver Bear for Best Actress. The film was theatrically released in the United States on December 24, 2003, by Newmarket Films. "Monster" received positive reviews from critics and achieved box office success, grossing $64.2 million on an $1.5 million budget.


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: The film received a large number of awards and nominations, in particular for Theron's role, including the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Lead Actress, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, and also the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature (Patty Jenkins). Theron's acting has received critical acclaim; film critic Roger Ebert called Theron's role "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema". The film was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten films of 2003.


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: In 1989, after moving from Michigan to Daytona Beach, Florida, and on the verge of committing suicide, street prostitute Aileen Wuornos meets Selby Wall in a gay bar. Although she is initially hostile and declares that she is not gay, Aileen talks to Selby while drinking beer. Selby takes to Aileen almost immediately, as she likes that she is very protective of her. Selby invites Aileen to spend the night with her. The two women return to the house where Selby is staying (temporarily exiled by her parents following the accusation from another girl that Selby tried to kiss her). They later agree to meet at a roller skating rink, and they kiss for the first time. Aileen and Selby fall in love, but they have nowhere to go, so Selby goes back to her aunt's home.


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: After being brutally raped and beaten by a client, Vincent Corey, Aileen kills him in self-defense and decides to quit prostitution. She confesses her actions to Selby, who has been angry with her for her failure to support both of them. Aileen decides to find legitimate work, but because of her lack of qualifications and criminal history, prospective employers reject her and are openly hostile. Desperate for money, Aileen returns to prostitution. She robs and kills her johns, each killed in a more brutal way than the last, as she is convinced that they are all trying to rape her. She spares one man out of pity when he admits he has never had sex with a prostitute. She also shows a predisposition to spare another man who, instead of exploiting her, offers help, but finds herself forced to shoot him after he spots her gun. Aileen uses the money she stole from her victims to support herself and Selby.


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: However, Selby reads in the newspapers about the string of murders, and she begins to suspect that Aileen may have committed them. She confronts Aileen, who justifies her actions by claiming she had only been protecting herself. Selby returns to Ohio on a charter bus. The night of her arrest, Aileen is approached at the biker bar she frequents by two strangers, who unbeknownst to her are bounty hunters. Thomas, whom Aileen always referred to as the only friend she had, infers the men's intentions and offers to drive her off. Aileen declines, no longer trusting herself with the well-being of anyone dear to her. The two men eventually lure Aileen out of the bar and she is promptly arrested by the police. Aileen speaks to Selby one last time while in jail. Selby reveals some incriminating information over the telephone and Aileen realizes that the police are listening in. To protect Selby, Aileen admits that she committed the murders alone. During Aileen's trial, Selby testifies against her, with Aileen's loving consent. Aileen is convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. On October 9, 2002, Aileen is executed by lethal injection.


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 81% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 190 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critics consensus states: "Charlize Theron gives a searing, deglamorized performance as real life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster", an intense, disquieting portrait of a profoundly damaged soul." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: "Monster" received generally positive reviews from critics; most gave overwhelmingly high praise to Theron's performance as a mentally unstable woman – Wuornos had antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. For the role, Theron gained , shaved her eyebrows, and wore prosthetic teeth. Critics called her performance, and her makeup, a "transformation". Film critic Roger Ebert named "Monster" ″the best film of the year″, gave it four stars out of four, and noted that Theron's role is "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema":


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: In 2009, Ebert named it the third-best film of the decade. Ricci's performance also drew some praise, but was not without criticism. In his review for the film, Ebert praised her performance, stating "Christina Ricci finds the right note for Selby Wall – so correct some critics have mistaken it for bad acting, when in fact it is sublime acting in its portrayal of a bad actor. She plays Selby as clueless, dim, in over her head, picking up cues from moment to moment, cobbling her behavior out of notions borrowed from bad movies, old songs, and barroom romances".


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: However, several people who knew Wuornos criticized the movie for portraying her as a victim and her victims as villains.


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: In 2004, BT released an official soundtrack to the film. Included with the release is a DVD featuring all fifteen original cues, and an additional nine cues that would not fit on the CD, as well as an interview with BT and Patty Jenkins, and remix files for "Ferris Wheel".


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: In 2005, a reference to "Monster" appeared in the series "Arrested Development". Charlize Theron plays the role of Rita in the series, and in the episode ″The Ocean Walker″, a frame from "Monster" appears on the screen with the clarification that this is a photo of Rita a year ago before the plastic surgery.


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: In 2014, on "Saturday Night Live", Charlize Theron made a self-reference to her role of Aileen Wuornos. In the sketch "Pet Rescue Commercial", Kate McKinnon asked her to play a cat lady, whose image and behavior are based on Wuornos from "Monster".


title: Monster (2003 film)

text: In 2018, comedian Willam released his third album with the song "Aileen" and the music video for the song, which are dedicated to Wuornos and this film.


title: Borat

text: Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Kazakh / Russian: Борат) (also stylized as BORДT, or simply Borat) is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen. Baron Cohen plays the leading role of Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional Kazakhstani journalist who travels through the United States in an outdated 1960s ice cream van to make a documentary which features real-life interactions with Americans. Much of the film features unscripted vignettes of Borat interviewing and interacting with real-life Americans who believe he is a foreigner with little or no understanding of American customs. It is the second of four films built around Baron Cohen's characters from "Da Ali G Show" (2000–2004): the first, "Ali G Indahouse", was released in 2002, and featured a cameo by Borat; the third, "Brüno", was released in 2009; and the sequel to "Borat", "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", was released in 2020.


title: Borat

text: "Borat" was released on 2 November 2006, in both the United Kingdom and United States, by 20th Century Fox. The film was very well received, both critically and commercially; made for $18 million, it earned $262 million worldwide. Baron Cohen won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, while the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. "Borat" was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and for Writers Guild of America Award in the same category. Controversy surrounded the film prior to its release, and after the film's release, some participants spoke against, and even sued, its creators. It was denounced by the government of Kazakhstan and was banned in almost all Arab countries.


title: Borat

text: In September 2020, a sequel, titled "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", was officially confirmed to have been secretly filmed, completed, and screened, a few weeks after Baron Cohen was spotted driving a pick-up truck in character as Borat around Los Angeles. The sequel was released on 23 October 2020, by Amazon Studios.


title: Borat

text: At the behest of the Kazakh Ministry of Information, reporter Borat Sagdiyev leaves Kazakhstan for the "US and A", the "Greatest Country in the World", to make a documentary about American society and culture. He leaves behind his wife, Oksana; his companions are his producer, Azamat Bagatov, and a pet hen.


title: Borat

text: In New York City, Borat sees an episode of "Baywatch" on TV and immediately falls in love with Pamela Anderson's character, C. J. Parker. While interviewing and mocking a panel of feminists, he learns of the actress' name and her residence in California. Borat is then informed by telegram that Oksana has been killed by a bear. Delighted, he resolves to travel to California and make Anderson his new wife. Azamat insists that they drive because of his fear of flying which stems from the September 11 attacks, which he believes was "the work of the Jews". Borat takes driving lessons and buys a dilapidated ice-cream truck for the journey.


title: Borat

text: During the trip, Borat acquires a "Baywatch" booklet and continues gathering footage for his documentary. He meets gay pride parade participants, politicians Alan Keyes and Bob Barr, and African-American youths. Borat is also interviewed on a local television station and proceeds to disrupt the weather report. Visiting a rodeo, Borat excites the crowd with jingoistic remarks, but then sings a fictional Kazakhstani national anthem to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner", receiving a strong negative reaction.


title: Borat

text: In Atlanta, Borat finds a hotel but is kicked out when he offends the front desk worker. Staying at a bed-and-breakfast, Borat and Azamat are stunned to learn their hosts are Jewish. The two escape after throwing money at two woodlice, believing they are their hosts transformed. Borat attempts to buy a handgun to defend himself, but is turned away because he is not an American citizen, so he buys a bear instead.


title: Borat

text: An etiquette coach suggests Borat attend a private dinner at an eating club in the South. During the dinner, he offends the other guests when he lets Luenell, an African-American prostitute, into the house and as a result, they are both kicked out. Borat befriends Luenell, who invites him into a relationship with her, but he tells her that he is in love with someone else. Borat then visits an antique shop, in which he clumsily breaks various Confederate heritage items.


title: Borat

text: At a hotel, Borat sees Azamat masturbating over a picture of Pamela Anderson. An angry Borat accidentally reveals his real motive for traveling to California. Azamat becomes livid at Borat's deception, and the situation escalates into a nude brawl which spills out into the hallway, a crowded elevator, and then into a packed convention ballroom.


title: Borat

text: Azamat abandons Borat, taking his passport, all of their money, and the bear. Borat's truck runs out of fuel, and he begins to hitchhike to California. He is soon picked up by drunken fraternity brothers from the University of South Carolina. On learning the reason for his trip, they show him the "Pam and Tommy" sex tape which reveals that she is not a virgin. Despondent, Borat burns the "Baywatch" booklet and, by mistake, his return ticket to Kazakhstan.


title: Borat

text: Borat attends a United Pentecostal camp meeting, at which Republican U.S. Representative Chip Pickering and Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Smith, Jr. are present. He undergoes a religious conversion and forgives Azamat and Pamela. He accompanies church members on a bus to Los Angeles and soon finds Azamat dressed as Oliver Hardy. The two reconcile and Azamat tells Borat where to find Pamela Anderson. Borat finally comes face-to-face with Anderson at a book signing at a Virgin Megastore. After showing Anderson his "traditional marriage sack", Borat pursues her throughout the store in an attempt to abduct her, until security guards intervene.


title: Borat

text: Borat visits Luenell and they return to Kazakhstan together. They bring several American customs and traditions back to his village, including the apparent conversion of the people to Christianity (the Kazakh version of which includes crucifixion and torturing of Jews) and the introduction of computer-based technology, such as iPods, laptop computers and a high-definition television.


title: Borat

text: Except for Borat, Azamat, Luenell, and Pamela Anderson, none of the characters are portrayed by actors. Most scenes in the film were unscripted. In most cases, the film's participants were given no warning on what they would be taking part in except for being asked to sign release forms agreeing not to take legal action against the film's producers.


title: Borat

text: Principal photography was already underway in January 2005, when Baron Cohen caused a near riot in what would ultimately be the rodeo scene in the final cut of the film. An interview with Baron Cohen by "Rolling Stone" indicated that more than 400 hours of footage had been shot for the film.


title: Borat

text: The Kazakhstan depicted in the film has little or no relationship with the actual country, and the producers explicitly deny attempting to "convey the actual beliefs, practices or behaviour of anyone associated with Kazakhstan" in the "all persons fictitious" disclaimer. The scenes showing Borat's home village were filmed in the Romanian village of Glod, which is primarily Roma. The name of Borat's neighbour, Nursultan Tulyakbay, is a cross between the names of then Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and opposition politician Zharmakhan Tuyakbay.


title: Borat

text: No Kazakh language is heard in the film. Borat's neighbours in Kazakhstan were portrayed by Romani people, who were unaware of the film's subject until after it premiered. Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) commonly speaks Hebrew (due to his mother being Israeli and being fluent in the language) throughout the film, mixing with phrases of Polish. Romanian was spoken at the beginning of the film in the Romani town. The Cyrillic alphabet used in the film is the Russian form, not the Kazakh one, although most of the words written in it (especially the geographical names) are either misspelled or make no sense at all. The English words are typed on an English keyboard with a Russian language setting. The lettering on the Lockheed L-188 Electra in the beginning of the film is merely the result of Roman characters on a reversed image, while promotional materials spell "BORДT" with a Cyrillic letter for D substituted for the "A" in Faux Cyrillic style typically used to give a "Russian" appearance. While Baron Cohen speaks Hebrew in the film, Ken Davitian (Azamat) speaks Armenian.


title: Borat

text: The DVD included several deleted scenes from the film, including Borat being questioned by police at a traffic stop, visiting an animal shelter to adopt a dog that could protect him from Jews, getting a massage at a hotel, and visiting an American doctor. There is also a montage of scenes cut from the film, including Borat taking a job at Krystal and taking part in an American Civil War reenactment. The deleted scenes menu also includes an intentionally tedious supermarket sequence with an unusually patient supermarket owner (Borat repeatedly asks about each product in the cheese section of the store and the owner responds the same way: "That's cheese"), an actual local TV news report about Borat's rodeo singing, and a final "happy ending" scene about Borat appearing in a Kazakh show entitled ""Sexydrownwatch"", a "Baywatch" clone that also starred Azamat, Luenell and Alexandra Paul. A scene in which Borat "started pretending he was being arrested" was also filmed, but was removed under the threat of legal action by prison officials when they learned that the "documentary" was a satire. In an interview, one of the film's writers, Dan Mazer, confirmed that there was a scene filmed but cut in which Borat observed the shooting of actual pornography with actress Brooke Banner. Mazer stated that the scene was deleted so as not to compete with the naked hotel fight, but hinted it might be included in future DVD releases. In a 2016 interview on "Conan", Cohen elaborated on the deleted scene in which he was featured in the pornographic film.


title: Borat

text: "Borat" was previewed at the 2006 Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, on 21 July 2006. Its first screening to a paying audience was during the 2006 Traverse City Film Festival, where it won the Excellence in Filmmaking Award.


title: Borat

text: The film's official debut was in Toronto on 7 September 2006, at the Ryerson Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival. Baron Cohen arrived in character as Borat in a cart pulled by women dressed as peasants. Twenty minutes into the showing, however, the projector broke. Baron Cohen performed an impromptu act to keep the audience amused, but ultimately all attempts to fix the equipment failed. The film was successfully screened the following night, with Dustin Hoffman in attendance.


title: Borat

text: In Israel, a proposed poster depicting Borat in a sling bikini was rejected by the film's advertising firm in favour of one showing him in his usual suit. The film helped popularize the term "mankini".


title: Borat

text: The film opened at No. 1 in the box office, maintaining first place for two weeks straight. The film earned more in the second week ($28,269,900) than in the first ($26,455,463), due to an expansion onto 2,566 screens.


title: Borat

text: "Borat" had its public release on 1 November 2006 in Belgium. By 3 November 2006, it had opened in the United States and Canada, as well as in 14 European countries. Upon its release, it was a massive hit, taking in US$26.4 million in its opening weekend, the highest ever in the United States and Canada for a film released in fewer than 1,000 cinemas until "" in 2008. However, its opening day (approximately $9.2 million) was larger than that of the "Hannah Montana" concert (approximately $8.6 million), leaving "Borat" with the record of the highest opening day gross for a film released in fewer than 1,000 cinemas. On its second weekend, "Borat" surpassed its opening with a total of US$29 million.


title: Borat

text: "Borat" received widespread critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 91% based on reviews from 222 critics, with an average rating of 8.02/10. The website's consensus for the film reads, "Part satire, part shockumentary, "Borat" gets high-fives almost all-around for being offensive in the funniest possible way. Jagshemash!" On Metacritic, the film has a score of 89 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F.


title: Borat

text: Ty Burr spoke positively about the film in his review for "The Boston Globe", calling it "silliness at its most trenchant" and declaring it the funniest film of the year. Michael Medved gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "simultaneously hilarious and cringe-inducing, full of ingenious bits that you'll want to describe to your friends and then laugh all over again when you do." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" wrote: "You won't know what outrageous fun is until you see Borat. High-five!" In an article about the changing face of comedy, "The Atlantic" said that it "may be the funniest film in a decade".


title: Borat

text: One negative review came from American critic Joe Queenan, who went as far as to call Baron Cohen an "odious twit". In an article for "Slate", writer Christopher Hitchens offered a counter-argument to suggestions of anti-Americanism in the film. Hitchens suggested instead that the film demonstrated amazing tolerance by the film's unknowing subjects, especially citing the reactions of the guests in the Southern dinner scene to Borat's behaviour.


title: Borat

text: By posting scenes from the film on YouTube, "Borat" was also exposed by viral communication. This triggered discussions on different national identities (Kazakh, American, Polish, Romanian, Jewish, British) that Baron Cohen had used in creating the Borat character.


title: Borat

text: American audiences embraced the film, which played to sold-out crowds at many showings on its opening, despite having been shown on only 837 screens. "Borat" debuted at No. 1 on its opening weekend, with a total gross of $26.4 million, beating its competitors "Flushed Away" and "". The cinema average for the film's opening weekend was an estimated $31,511, topping "", yet behind "" and "Spider-Man". It retained the top spot in its second weekend after expanding to 2,566 theatres, extending the box office total to $67.8 million.


title: Borat

text: In the United Kingdom, "Borat" opened at No. 1, with an opening weekend gross of £6,242,344 ($11,935,986), the 43rd best opening week earnings in the UK as of March 2007. Since its release, "Borat" has grossed over $260 million worldwide.


title: Borat

text: After the film's release, Dharma Arthur, a news producer for ABC affiliate WAPT in Jackson, Mississippi, wrote a letter to "Newsweek" saying that Borat's appearance on the station had led to her losing her job: "Because of him, my boss lost faith in my abilities and second-guessed everything I did thereafter. How upsetting that a man who leaves so much harm in his path is applauded as a comedic genius." Although Arthur has said she was fired from the newscast, she told the Associated Press that she resigned from the station. She said that she checked a public relations website that Borat's producers gave her before booking him.


title: Borat

text: In news coverage that aired in January 2005 of the filming of the rodeo scene, Bobby Rowe, producer of the Salem, Virginia rodeo depicted in the film, stated that he felt he had been the victim of a hoax. He said that "months" prior to the appearance, he had been approached by someone from "One America, a California-based film company that was reportedly doing a documentary on a Russian immigrant"; he agreed to permit the "immigrant" to sing the U.S. national anthem after listening to a tape. After the film's release, Rowe said, "Some people come up and say, 'Hey, you made the big time'; I've made the big time, but not in the way I want it."


title: Borat

text: Cindy Streit, Borat's etiquette consultant, subsequently hired high-profile attorney Gloria Allred, who demanded that the California Attorney General investigate fraud allegedly committed by Baron Cohen and the film's producers.


title: Borat

text: The "Salon" Arts & Entertainment site quotes the Behars (a Jewish couple at whose guest house Borat and Azamat stay) as calling the film "outstanding", referring to Baron Cohen as "very lovely and very polite" and a "genius". "The Boston Globe" also interviewed the couple, saying they considered the film more anti-Muslim than anti-Semitic and had feared that Baron Cohen and his ensemble might be filming pornography in the house.


title: Borat

text: The feminists from Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) felt that they had been duped, having "sensed something odd was going on" before and during the interview with Borat. "The Guardian" later reported at least one of the women felt that the film was worth going to see at the cinema.


title: Borat

text: The "New York Post" had reported in November 2006 that Pamela Anderson filed for divorce from her husband Kid Rock after he reacted unfavourably to the film during a screening. "The Post"s article specifically claimed he had said of her role in the film, "You're nothing but a whore! You're a slut! How could you do that movie?" In an interview on "The Howard Stern Show", Anderson confirmed that Rock was upset by her appearance in the film, but did not confirm that this was the cause of the separation.


title: Borat

text: The villagers of Glod, Romania, took legal action against the producers of "Borat", complaining that they were lied to about the nature of the filming and they were portrayed as incestuous and ignorant. Some said they were paid only three lei (about $1.28 in 2004) each, while others stated they were paid between $70 and $100 each, which did not cover their expenses. The residents asked for $38 million in damages. One lawsuit was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in a hearing in early December 2006 on the ground that the allegations in the complaint were too vague. Despite this, the litigants planned to refile. In April 2008, the case was dismissed again, citing insufficient evidence.


title: Borat

text: Two of the University of South Carolina fraternity brothers who appeared in the film, Justin Seay and Christopher Rotunda, sued the producers, claiming defamation. The suit by Seay and Rotunda was dismissed in February 2007. The students had also sought an injunction to prevent the DVD release of the film, which was denied.


title: Borat

text: Another lawsuit was filed by a South Carolina resident who said he was accosted by Baron Cohen (as Borat) in the bathroom at a restaurant in downtown Columbia, with the actor allegedly making comments regarding the individual's genitals, without signing any legal waiver. The lawsuit also sought to have the footage excluded from any DVD releases and removed from Internet video sites.


title: Borat

text: The Macedonian Romani singer Esma Redžepova sued the film's producers, seeking €800,000 because the film used her song "Chaje Šukarije" without her permission. But since Redžepova’s production house had failed to inform her that they had granted permission to use the song, she instead received a €26,000 compensation from it.


title: Borat

text: Felix Cedeno, a 31-year-old American, sued 20th Century Fox for $2.25 million, after he was filmed as part of a scene where a live chicken fell out of Borat's suitcase on the subway. Cedeno later dropped the suit and received nothing.


title: Borat

text: Baltimore resident Michael Psenicska sought more than $100,000 in damages from Baron Cohen, 20th Century Fox, and other parties. Psenicska—a high school mathematics teacher who also owns a driving school—was reportedly paid $500 in cash to give Baron Cohen's bogus Kazakh journalist a driving lesson. In his action—filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan—the driving instructor said that he had been told the film was a "documentary about the integration of foreign people into the American way of life", and that if he had known the film's true nature, he would have never participated. Psenicska said he was entitled to damages because the defendants used images of him to advertise the film. The case was dismissed on 9 September 2008.


title: Borat

text: Jeffrey Lemerond, who was shown running and yelling, "Get away" as Borat attempted to hug strangers on a New York street, filed a legal case claiming his image was used in the film illegally, and that he suffered "public ridicule, degradation and humiliation" as a result. The case was dismissed.


title: Borat

text: Baron Cohen reacted to these suits by commenting: "Some of the letters I get are quite unusual, like the one where the lawyer informed me I'm about to be sued for $100,000 and at the end says, 'P.S. Loved the movie. Can you sign a poster for my son Jeremy?'"


title: Borat

text: The government of Kazakhstan at first denounced "Borat". In 2005, following Borat's appearance at the MTV Movie Awards, the country's Foreign Ministry threatened to sue Sacha Baron Cohen, and Borat's Kazakh-based website, www.borat.kz, was taken down. Kazakhstan also launched a multi-million dollar "Heart of Eurasia" campaign to counter the Borat effect; Baron Cohen replied by denouncing the campaign at an in-character press conference in front of the White House as the propaganda of the "evil nitwits" of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is, throughout the film, referred to by Borat as his nation's second leading problem, with the first being the Jews. In November 2006, Kazakh TV personality Jantemir Baimukhamedov travelled to London with the stated aim of presenting Baron Cohen with horse meat and horse urine, which were claimed by Borat to be the national food and drink of Kazakhstan, although he was unable to organise a meeting with him.


title: Borat

text: In 2006, Gemini Films, the Central Asian distributor of 20th Century Fox, complied with a Kazakh government request to not release the film. That year, Kazakh ambassador to the United Kingdom Erlan Idrissov, after viewing the film, called parts of the film funny and wrote that the film had "placed Kazakhstan on the map". By 2012, Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov attributed a great rise in tourism to his country—with visas issued rising ten times—to the film, saying "I am grateful to 'Borat' for helping attract tourists to Kazakhstan."


title: Borat

text: According to Yerlan Askarbekov, a Kazakh public relations professional who worked with both the British Council and the Kazakh government who wrote a piece for the BBC website in 2016, ten years after the film's release, many of his colleagues in the Kazakh media saw the character of Borat as a valuable PR opportunity. According to him some of the Kazakhs who were most upset by the film were students studying in the US and the UK, who understood the film's satirical intent but felt that their non-Kazakh peers were taking the film at face value as an accurate portrayal of the country. He suggested that interest in the character inside the country faded once Kazakhs grasped that the film was designed to "get an outsider's view of the US and reveal the prejudices of the Americans who Borat interacts with... functioning as a sort of 21st Century Alexis de Tocqueville".


title: Borat

text: The Kazakh tabloid "Karavan" declared "Borat" to be the best film of the year, having had a reviewer see the film at a screening in Vienna. The paper said that it was "certainly not an anti-Kazakh, anti-Romanian or anti-Semitic" film, but rather "cruelly anti-American ... amazingly funny and sad at the same time." Another favorable word came from Kazakh novelist Sapabek Asip-uly, who suggested Baron Cohen be nominated for the annual award bestowed by the Kazakh Club of Art Patrons. In a letter published by the newspaper "Vremya", Asip-uly wrote, "[Borat] has managed to spark an immense interest of the whole world in Kazakhstan—something our authorities could not do during the years of independence. If state officials completely lack a sense of humor, their country becomes a laughing stock." Amazon UK has also reported significant numbers of orders of "Borat" on DVD from Kazakhstan.


title: Borat

text: In 2012, the parody national anthem from the film's soundtrack, which acclaims Kazakhstan for its high-quality potassium exports and having the second-cleanest prostitutes in the region, was mistakenly played at the medal ceremony of Mariya Dmitriyenko at the Emir of Kuwait International Shooting Grand Prix. The incident apparently resulted from the wrong song being downloaded from the Internet. For similar incidents, see list of wrong anthems incidents.


title: Borat

text: The European Center for Antiziganism Research, which works against negative attitudes toward Romani people, filed a complaint with German prosecutors on 18 October 2006, based on Borat's references to Gypsies in his film. The complaint accuses him of defamation and inciting violence against an ethnic group. As a consequence, 20th Century Fox declared that it would remove all parts referring to Romani people from trailers shown on German television as well as on the film's website.


title: Borat

text: Before the release of the film, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a statement expressing concern over Borat's characteristic anti-Semitism. Both Baron Cohen (who is Jewish) and the ADL have stated that the film uses Borat to expose prejudices felt or tolerated by others, but the ADL expressed concern that some audiences might remain oblivious to this aspect of the film's humor, while "some may even find it reinforcing their bigotry".


title: Borat

text: The film was banned in the entire Arab world except for Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates (which released the film heavily censored). Yousuf Abdul Hamid, a film censor for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, called the film "vile, gross and extremely ridiculous". The censor said that he and his colleagues had walked out on their screening before it had finished, and that only half an hour of the film would be left once all the offensive scenes were removed.


title: Borat

text: The soundtrack for "Borat" was released on the iTunes Store on 24 October 2006, and in shops on 31 October 2006. The album included music from the film, five tracks entitled "Dialoguing excerpt from moviefilm", as well as the controversial anti-Semitic song "In My Country There Is Problem" from "Da Ali G Show".


title: Borat

text: The folk music included in the soundtrack has no connection to the authentic music of Kazakhstan. The album features songs by Romani and Balkan artists (mostly Emir Kusturica and Goran Bregovic) and includes music by Erran Baron Cohen, founding member of ZOHAR Sound System and brother of "Borat" star Sacha Baron Cohen, as well as songs sung by Sacha Baron Cohen himself in character as Borat.


title: Borat

text: The Region 2 DVD was released 5 March 2007, with the Region 1 release the following day. Special features include deleted scenes, faux advertisements for the soundtrack album, and a complete Russian language translation audio track using a professional dubbing cast, along with the English, French, and Spanish language tracks common on Region 1. There is also a choice of Hebrew, but this is merely a joke; choosing the Hebrew language option results in a warning screen reading "You have been trapped, Jew!" which warns the viewer not to change his shape and to keep his claws where they can be seen, again playing on the anti-Semitism supposedly prevalent in Borat's version of Kazakhstan. It also includes footage of Borat's publicity tour for the film, with Baron Cohen in character as Borat on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", the Toronto International Film Festival, and "Saturday Night Live". The bonus features conclude with a news segment from a Virginia TV station about Borat's night at the rodeo, complete with an interview with rodeo owner Bobby Rowe.


title: Borat

text: As a play on the copyright infringement common in the former Soviet Union, the packaging of the Region 1 (United States/Canada), 2 (Europe/Japan/South Africa/Middle East), and 4 (Latin America/Oceania) editions mimics a foreign bootleg DVD. The slipcover is in English but the case itself has all-Cyrillic text (a majority of which is in legitimate Russian, not faux Cyrillic) and is made to look poorly photocopied. The disc itself is made to look like a "Demorez" DVD-R with the slogan "Is life? No. Demorez.", a parody on "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" ad campaign, and the word "BOЯAT" appearing to be crudely written in marker with the "R" written backwards. The UMD version is similar to the DVD, even being labelled a "UMD-R" (which do not exist). Even the Fox in-cover advertising is written in broken English that appears poorly printed, indicating that there are "More movie discs available from US&A" and "Also legal to own in Kazakhstan".


title: Borat

text: There are further jokes within the DVD itself. The menus are styled as a worn, static-laden film on an erratically functioning projector, with more Cyrillic writing accompanied by translations in broken English. The DVD is described as a "prerecorded moviedisc for purpose domestic viewing of moviefilm", and the viewer is warned that "selling piratings of this moviedisc will result in punishment by crushing". The DVD's collection of trailers promises that the depicted films are "coming Kazakhstan in 2028". By April 2007, the DVD had sold over 3.5 million copies, totaling more than $55 million in sales. "Borat" was released on Blu-ray in the US on 9 November 2009 as a region-free disc.


title: Borat

text: In 2009, the film "Brüno" was released. Co-written, co-produced by, and starring Baron Cohen, the film was based on another of his characters: Brüno, a gay Austrian fashion reporter. Universal Studios is reported to have produced the film with a budget of $42 million.


title: Borat

text: Rupert Murdoch announced in early February 2007 that Baron Cohen had signed on to do another Borat film with Fox. However, this was contradicted by an interview in which Baron Cohen himself stated that Borat was to be discontinued, as he was now too recognizable to prevent detection as he did in the original film and on "Da Ali G Show". A spokesman for Fox later said that it was too early to begin planning such a film, although they were open to the idea.


title: Borat

text: Baron Cohen subsequently announced that he was "killing off" the characters of Borat and Ali G because they were now so famous he could no longer trick people. Even though he decided to retire the characters, on 26 February 2014, he brought them back for the FXX series "", a collection of the sketches from all 18 episodes of "Da Ali G Show", including new footage of Baron Cohen in-character as Ali G, who is portrayed as the presenter of the show.


title: Borat

text: Baron Cohen revived the character of Borat in December 2015 on the late night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to premiere the new trailer for his movie "Grimsby".


title: Borat

text: In September 2020, a direct sequel, titled "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", was officially confirmed to have been secretly filmed, completed and screened during the COVID-19 pandemic a few weeks after Baron Cohen was spotted driving a pick-up truck in character as Borat around Los Angeles. That same month, Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film and released it on 23 October 2020.


title: Aidan Gillen

text: Aidan Murphy (born 24 April 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of three Irish Film & Television Awards and has been nominated for a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award, and a Tony Award.


title: Aidan Gillen

text: On television, he played Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 series "Queer as Folk" (1999–2000), Tommy Carcetti in the HBO series "The Wire" (2004–2008), John Boy in the RTÉ series "Love/Hate" (2010–2011), Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the HBO series "Game of Thrones" (2011–2017), and Dr. J. Allen Hynek in The History Channel's "Project Blue Book" (2019–2020). In 2021, he appeared in the crime dramas "Mayor of Kingstown" and "Kin".


title: Aidan Gillen

text: His film roles include Miles Jackson in "12 Rounds" (2009), CIA operative Bill Wilson in "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), Janson in "" (2015) and "" (2018), Robert in "The Lovers" (2017), Queen's manager John Reid in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018), and Jack Blackwell in "Those Who Wish Me Dead" (2021). He also provided the voice and motion capture for Paul Serene in the 2016 video game "Quantum Break".


title: Aidan Gillen

text: Gillen was born Aidan Murphy in the Drumcondra area of Dublin on 24 April 1968, the youngest of six children born to Patricia (née Gillen) and Denis Murphy. He was educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S. in Dublin's Glasnevin neighbourhood.


title: Aidan Gillen

text: Gillen began his acting career as a teenager, joining the National Youth Theatre at the age of fourteen and playing Nick Bottom in a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Project Arts Centre when he was sixteen. The name Aidan Murphy was already registered so he began using his mother's maiden name as a stage name. He moved to London in 1987 when he was nineteen.


title: Aidan Gillen

text: Gillen played Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 television series "Queer as Folk" and its sequel, for which he received a British Academy Television Award nomination for Best Actor. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his Broadway role in Harold Pinter's play "The Caretaker" and has also been nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award for his portrayal of Teach in the Dublin Gate Theatre's 2007 production of David Mamet's "American Buffalo".


title: Aidan Gillen

text: In 2004, having been spotted by producers in "The Caretaker", Gillen was cast as Tommy Carcetti in the HBO series "The Wire", for which he received an Irish Film & Television Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television. In 2008, he was named an "Irish cult hero" by the "Sunday Tribune". He appeared in the 2009 film "12 Rounds", and in July of that year, he appeared in the one-off BBC2 drama "Freefall". He co-starred as Phil Hendrick in the British drama "Thorne".


title: Aidan Gillen

text: In 2011, Gillen began playing Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish on the HBO series "Game of Thrones", for which he received his second Irish Film & Television Award nomination. He appeared in seven seasons, until his character's death in the season 7 finale "The Dragon and the Wolf". He starred as cop killer Barry Weiss in the British crime-thriller "Blitz" and in the British horror film "Wake Wood". Gillen played crime boss John Boy in the acclaimed Irish crime-drama "Love/Hate", for which he received his third Irish Film & Television Award nomination and second win.


title: Aidan Gillen

text: In 2012, he played CIA operative Bill Wilson (the character's name is from the novelisation; his name is not directly said in the film's script) in "The Dark Knight Rises", his first role in a major Hollywood film. Gillen said he enjoyed playing the role, but preferred low-budget lead roles to blockbuster bit-parts. Gillen's character was particularly noted by some Internet circles for his delivery of supposedly awkward dialogue in the film's opening plane scene, especially by users of 4chan's /tv/ board. Thus, he subsequently became the subject of an Internet meme popular among /tv/ users known as "Baneposting", which references the dialogue between Wilson and Tom Hardy's character Bane in said scene. The same year, Gillen also starred in the British spy-drama "Shadow Dancer", and was announced as the new host of the music show "Other Voices".


title: Aidan Gillen

text: He starred in the BBC five-part thriller "Mayday" in 2013, and the Irish comedy-drama film "Calvary" the following year. He shared a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination with the cast of "Game of Thrones" for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Gillen also starred in the short film "Ekki Múkk", created for the Valtari Mystery Film Experiment by Icelandic band Sigur Rós, as well as Janson in the second film, "", and third film, "", in the "Maze Runner" trilogy.


title: Aidan Gillen

text: Gillen played Queen's manager John Reid in the biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody", which was released on 2 November 2018. He starred as Aidan in the short film titled "I Didn't...I Wasn't...I Amn't", written and directed by Irish actress Laoisa Sexton.


title: Aidan Gillen

text: He starred in The History Channel's two-season series "Project Blue Book" from 2019 to 2020. Gillen played Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a brilliant and underappreciated college professor who is recruited by the U.S. Air Force to spearhead an operation named Project Blue Book. He is joined by his partner Air Force Capt. Michael Quinn as they investigate UFO sightings around the country.


title: Aidan Gillen

text: Gillen resides in his native Dublin. He met Olivia O'Flanagan when they were teenagers. They have two children: Berry (b. March 1997) and Joe (b. October 2000). They married in 2001 and separated in 2005.


title: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019 film)

text: Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 American monster film directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty. A sequel to "Godzilla" (2014), it is the 35th film in the "Godzilla" franchise, the third film in Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, and the third "Godzilla" film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. The film stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, and Zhang Ziyi. In the film, eco-terrorists release King Ghidorah, who awakens other monsters known as "Titans" across the world, forcing Godzilla and Mothra to surface and engage Ghidorah and Rodan in a decisive battle.


text: The sequel was green-lit during the opening weekend of "Godzilla", with Gareth Edwards expected to return to direct a trilogy. In May 2016, Edwards left the project. In October 2016, Dougherty and Shields were hired to rewrite the script. In January 2017, Dougherty was announced as the director. Principal photography began in June 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrapped in September 2017. The film is dedicated to executive producer Yoshimitsu Banno (director of "Godzilla vs. Hedorah") and original "Godzilla" suit performer Haruo Nakajima, both of whom died in 2017.


text: "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" was theatrically released on May 31, 2019, to mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its visual effects, action sequences, cinematography, and musical score but with criticism to the plot, pacing, tone and characters. The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $386 million worldwide against a production budget between $170–200 million and marketing costs between $100–150 million. A sequel, "Godzilla vs. Kong", was released on March 24, 2021.


text: Five years after the existence of giant monsters, known as "Titans", was revealed to the world, Dr. Emma Russell, a paleobiologist working for the Titan-studying organization Monarch, and her daughter Madison witness the birth of a larva called Mothra. Emma calms Mothra using the "Orca," a device that can emit frequencies to attract or alter Titan behavior. A group of eco-terrorists, led by former British Army Colonel Alan Jonah, attacks the base and abducts Emma and Madison. At the same time, Mothra flees and pupates under a nearby waterfall.


text: Monarch scientists Dr. Ishirō Serizawa and Dr. Vivienne Graham approach former employee Dr. Mark Russell, Emma's ex-husband and Madison's father, to help track them down. Mark is reluctant at first due to his hatred toward Godzilla, whom he blames for the death of his son during the events in San Francisco, but eventually agrees. The Monarch team follows Godzilla to Antarctica, where Jonah plans to free a three-headed Titan codenamed "Monster Zero." Emma frees and awakens Monster Zero, who battles Godzilla, devours Graham, and escapes. The team later realizes that Emma is working with the terrorists. From a Monarch bunker in Boston, Emma contacts Monarch and argues that the Titans must be awakened to heal the Earth from the damages that humans have caused.


text: Emma awakens Rodan in Mexico, and the Monarch team lures it towards Monster Zero. After Rodan is defeated, Godzilla ambushes Monster Zero and severs his left head. During the fight, the U.S. Navy launches a prototype weapon called the "Oxygen Destroyer," seemingly killing Godzilla. Unaffected, Monster Zero regrows his lost head and awakens all the other dormant Titans worldwide, with Rodan submitting to his rule. As a result, Madison disowns Emma.


text: Through mythological texts, Dr. Ilene Chen discovers that Monster Zero is King Ghidorah, a prehistoric alien seeking to transform the Earth. Mothra emerges from her cocoon and flies to Monarch's Bermuda base to communicate with Godzilla, who is recuperating in an ancient underwater city. The team locates Godzilla's lair in a submarine, which is highly radioactive. They deduce it will take too long for Godzilla to heal on his own and decide to detonate a nuclear warhead to speed up the process. Serizawa sacrifices himself by manually detonating the warhead, reviving Godzilla, and increasing his power.


text: Emma realizes the destruction Ghidorah and the other Titans will bring to the world is far worse than anything humans could inflict, but Jonah ignores her pleas to stop. Madison overhears this and steals the Orca. Arriving at Fenway Park, Madison broadcasts a frequency that calms the Titans but unwittingly attracts them all to her location. Ghidorah lands in Boston to destroy the Orca. Godzilla arrives to engage him in battle with Monarch personnel's assistance. Mark leads a team to rescue Madison and escape the city after learning Godzilla's radiation levels are increasing and will lead to a thermonuclear explosion. Mothra arrives to help Godzilla but is intercepted by Rodan; she defeats him but is injured in the process.


text: Ghidorah overpowers Godzilla and prepares to kill him, but Mothra sacrifices herself and transfers her energy to Godzilla. Mark, Emma, and Madison are reunited and reactivate the Orca to lure Ghidorah away from Godzilla. Emma sacrifices herself to lead Ghidorah away, giving Mark, Madison, and the Monarch team time to escape. Godzilla enters a newly empowered state and defeats Ghidorah. Rodan and the other Titans converge on Godzilla and bow to him.


text: During the ending credits, news clippings and Monarch public files show that the Titans are helping to heal the planet, a suspected second Mothra egg has been discovered, and some of the Titans are converging on Skull Island. Ancient cave paintings of Godzilla and Kong-like Titans locked in battle are shown. In a post-credits scene, Jonah and his forces purchase Ghidorah's severed left head in Mexico.


text: Joe Morton appears as an older Dr. Houston Brooks, a character that originally appeared in "", where he was portrayed by Corey Hawkins. Additionally, CCH Pounder portrays Senator Williams, Anthony Ramos portrays Staff Sergeant Anthony Martinez, Elizabeth Ludlow plays First Lieutenant Lauren Griffin, Jonathan Howard portrays Asher Jonah, and Randy Havens portrays Dr. Tim Mancini. Tyler Crumley plays Mark and Emma's son and Madison's brother Andrew. Kevin Shinick cameos as a weatherman. Through performance capture, T. J. Storm reprises his role as Godzilla, while Jason Liles, Alan Maxson, and Richard Dorton portray the heads of King Ghidorah. Liles also portrays Rodan via performance capture.


text: Gareth Edwards, the director of "Godzilla" (2014), stated that he wanted "Godzilla" to work as a standalone film with a definitive ending, and he opposed suggestions that the ending should leave the film open for a sequel. He said that he had no problem coming back for a sequel if the film did well, but his main concern was delivering a satisfying experience with the current film, "I want a story that begins and ends, and you leave on a high note. That's all we cared about when we were making this; just this film. If this film is good, the others can come, but let's just pay attention to this and not get sidetracked by other things." After a successful opening of $103 million internationally, Legendary green-lit the "Godzilla" sequel, with plans to produce a trilogy and Edwards attached to direct. At the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014, Legendary confirmed that they had acquired the rights to Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah from Toho Co., Ltd. A short teaser clip showing concept art of all three with the ending tagline "Let them fight" was shown. Other details of their appearances in the sequels were not announced. In August 2014, Legendary announced that the sequel would be released on June 8, 2018, and that "Godzilla" writer Max Borenstein would return to write the screenplay.


text: In April 2015, Aaron Taylor-Johnson stated that he was unsure if he would reprise his role for the sequel and that his return depended on Edwards' decision. In October 2015, Legendary announced plans to unite Godzilla and Kong in a film titled "Godzilla vs. Kong", then-set for a 2020 release date. Legendary is creating a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch" that "brings together Godzilla and ... King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new." While Legendary will maintain its home at Universal Pictures, it will continue to collaborate with Warner Bros. for the franchise. In May 2016, Warner Bros. announced that "Godzilla 2" had been pushed back from its original June 8, 2018 release date to March 22, 2019, and shortly afterward, that Edwards had left the sequel to work on smaller-scale projects. Edwards also felt that Legendary "needed to get on with things" instead of waiting for him to finish work on "Rogue One", but expressed his hope to work on "Godzilla" again one day.


text: In October 2016, it was announced that Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields (both of whom had worked on "Krampus") would write the screenplay for "Godzilla 2". A day later, it was reported that Dougherty was also in negotiations to direct "Godzilla 2". That same month, Legendary announced that production would also take place at parent company Wanda's Qingdao Movie Metropolis facility in Qingdao, China, along with "". In December 2016, Legendary announced that the official title for "Godzilla 2" would be "Godzilla: King of the Monsters". In January 2017, Dougherty was officially confirmed as the director. Dougherty stated that he was offered to direct first before being offered to re-write the script. When asked about his reaction to being asked to direct, Dougherty stated, "'Yes.' That was my reaction very, very quickly. I felt flattered, honored...and that continues to this day. It was a dream come true. And lots of pressure. Immense, immense pressure." Dougherty described the film as:


text: While Dougherty loved the 2014 film's slow-build, he said that he would "take the gloves off for this film. No holding back." While comparing "King of the Monsters" to the 2014 film, Dougherty said "I would call (my movie) the "Aliens" to Gareth's "Alien"." Dougherty elaborated by noting the balance between serious and "fun, tongue-in-cheek moments" from "Aliens" and that "King of the Monsters" would take a similar approach.


text: In September 2014, it was reported that Max Borenstein would return to write the script. While promoting "", Borenstein mentioned that one thing he aimed to do in the "Godzilla" sequel is make Godzilla more empathetic for the audience:


text: Legendary's only mandate was to include Monarch, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. For Dougherty's script, he and his team "started over from scratch". Dougherty began with a rough two-page treatment that contained basic beats and rough sketches of the characters. Subsequently, a writer's room was assembled that was run by Dougherty and co-writer/executive producer Zach Shields, with Borenstein participating. Ten writers contributed to building on the treatment. The script took a year to come together. Dougherty also changed, revised, and improved lines during filming and post-production. He felt the struggles of writing the script were balancing the monster spectacle "while still creating a story with human characters that we care about." While the previous film focused on Ford with Monarch in the background, Dougherty wanted the film to be focused on Monarch, feeling there was an opportunity to craft the organization as a group of heroes. Due to this, the film became an ensemble piece.


text: Dougherty and Shields chose a human story line where the science fiction elements could be replaced with themes such as climate change or eco-terrorism and stand out on its own without the monsters. Dougherty felt that the third act proved the most challenging in terms of writing as many of the human and monster story arcs converged and needed to be resolved. Shields confirmed that Emma's speech to Monarch went through several rewrites. Shields and Dougherty wanted the speech to present a moral question to audiences whether they would put their faith in humanity or Mother Nature.


text: In the original script, Mark and Sam were originally written as old friends. This was changed in later drafts from Sam to Serizawa to have him be the guiding force for Mark. Dougherty added the Oxygen Destroyer as a representation of "humanity's inability to not interfere." Dougherty and Shields chose to have Godzilla killed during the film's mid-point due to this being an idea that has not been done in previous "Godzilla" films. Shields noted that this was also to parallel Godzilla and Mark's characters, stating, "Kyle's loss of faith in the beginning, and finding it in this moment when he realizes, you know, God is dead." In Dougherty and Shields's treatment and early drafts, full sequences of the non-Toho Titans rising after Ghidorah's call were written but later trimmed due to budgetary concerns. Borenstein had originally written Mechagodzilla into the film. However, Dougherty scrapped the character during development.


text: The film reclassifies the monsters' designation from "MUTOs" to "Titans". For the monsters, Dougherty wanted their designs to emit a godly presence and evoke a sense of worship, stating, "Primitive man saw these creatures, and you want to give them a presence that would make him drop to his knees and bow to this god...It can't just look like big dinosaurs. "Jurassic Park" has that covered. These have to be distinct. They have to be their own thing. They're Titans." The director instructed the designers to look at the original designs from every era and "distill those silhouettes and those key traits into something more modern." It was important for the director that the Titans were not just treated as monsters but "very large animals with a distinct thought process."


text: For Godzilla, Dougherty wished to put back the "God in Godzilla". He liked the design that Gareth Edwards and Matt Allsopp conceived but wanted to tweak it by adding the dorsal plates of the 1954 iteration, as well as making the claws and feet bigger to make Godzilla look like a more powerful predator. The director had the sound design team expand on Godzilla's roar by making it sound closer to the roars of the 1954 incarnation, stating, "I think they did a great job with Godzilla's roar in the first movie. I pushed them a little bit further to bring it even closer to the (1954) original even more."


text: For Rodan, elements of volcanic rock were added to the scales and skin color to make Rodan look capable of living inside of a volcano. Dougherty wanted Rodan's design to resemble something that "Mother Nature could have created." The designers were instructed to not just look at "Pteranodons" but at various birds such as vultures, eagles, and hawks due to birds being related to dinosaurs. Dougherty described Rodan as a "bit of a rogue...you never quite know where his loyalties lie". The director further described Rodan as a "massive A-bomb" that brings "speed and ferocity." Tom Woodruff Jr. and Amalgamated Dynamics provided the design for Rodan. The Rodan chase scene was the first pre-viz sequence produced to be used as a pitch to Legendary.


text: For Mothra, Dougherty wanted to create something that was "beautiful, and feminine, and elegant, and looked like a true goddess, but also dangerous if she had to be." He attempted to remain faithful to the color palette of the original 1961 incarnation and retain the eye-spots on her wings. The eye-spots were designed to resemble Godzilla's eyes in order to create a connection between Mothra and Godzilla. Mothra was designed to resemble real moths and given longer legs in order to defend herself against other monsters, another attribute inspired by moths. Dougherty researched various moth species and discovered that some looked "scary" and "predatory". He wished to maintain a sense of realism for Mothra, stating, "...the approach for Mothra is to create an insectoid, huge creature that looks believable from every angle, and especially in motion." The director found Mothra the most difficult Titan to design because he wished to avoid making Mothra look like a blown-up moth. Legacy Effects provided the design for Mothra.


text: For King Ghidorah, Dougherty wanted to create a "unique" design that still resembled King Ghidorah, and worked closely with Toho to make sure the new design respected past incarnations. Each head was given its own personality, with the center being the alpha and the others its lackeys. He studied various animals, specifically king cobras, in order to add a sense of realism to the design. The designers were instructed to look at different scales from various reptiles to avoid having Ghidorah's scales looking similar to Godzilla or the original King Ghidorah. The director told the design team to maintain an Eastern dragon influence for Ghidorah and to avoid any Western dragon influence, stating, "They're not traditional western dragons. So those were marching orders from the beginning...We don't want it to look like "Game of Thrones" dragons." Legacy Effects also provided the design for Ghidorah. While noting that the film is not a comedy, Dougherty likened Ghidorah to Rip Van Winkle, having a sense of curiosity and cruelty. Producer Alex Garcia described Ghidorah as "not part of the natural order."


text: Dougherty confirmed that the film would feature original, non-Toho monsters. The names of the non-Toho Titans were revealed as Baphomet, Typhon, Abaddon, Bunyip, Methuselah, Behemoth, Scylla, Tiamat, Leviathan, Sargon, and Mokele-Mbembe. Dougherty created new monsters because he felt it was part of the "Toho tradition" to add new monsters to the Godzilla pantheon. Dougherty had originally hoped for Legendary to acquire other Toho monsters such as Anguirus, Biollante, and Gigan. However, the film's budget prevented them from acquiring additional Toho characters.


text: For the roars, the director felt it was important "getting the noises right." He gave the sound designers a "super cut" of the monster roars from the Shōwa "Godzilla" films, and had them start from there. He stated that the monsters would have new roars that would resemble the original incarnations. Dougherty had the Shōwa roars on a massive speaker system to use on-set for scenes where actors had to run from or react to the monsters.


text: In late January 2017, Millie Bobby Brown was the first to be cast for the film, in her feature film debut. In February 2017, Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga were cast as the parents to Brown's character. In March 2017, it was reported that O'Shea Jackson Jr. was in talks for a role in the film. In April 2017, Aisha Hinds was confirmed to join the cast of the film. In May 2017, Anthony Ramos, Randy Havens, Thomas Middleditch, and Charles Dance were added to the cast, and Sally Hawkins was confirmed to return. A press release confirmed Watanabe's return for the sequel. In June 2017, Bradley Whitford and Zhang Ziyi were added to the cast, with the latter playing a "major role" in the MonsterVerse. In July 2017, Elizabeth Ludlow was added to the cast. In April 2018, Jason Liles, Alan Maxson, and Richard Dorton were cast to provide the performance capture for the heads of King Ghidorah, with Dorton performing the left head, Liles performing the middle head, and Maxson performing the right head. Other actors perform the body. Liles also provided the performance capture for Rodan.


text: Matthew E. Cunningham was hired as a Senior Illustrator during the research and development stage. Cunningham designed most of the vehicles after the storyboard artist worked with Dougherty. Senior conceptual designer George Hull provided a series of concept paintings of vehicles and monster imagery. Production designer Scott Chambliss managed all the art directors. Artists would sometimes show concept art to the writers, producers, and director; however, Chambliss had final say on what would be shown to Dougherty and the producers. After the illustrations were approved, they were delivered for pre-vis. The visual effects used concept art and pre-viz as a reference. Legacy Effects, who had worked on Edwards' "Godzilla", were brought back to provide additional concept art.


text: Principal photography began on June 19, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia under the working title "Fathom". Dougherty confirmed that the film would feature practical effects and creature designs by Tom Woodruff Jr. Lawrence Sher served as director of photography. Parts of the film were shot in the Historic Center of Mexico City between August 19–22, 2017. Dougherty announced the film had wrapped production on September 27, 2017.


text: Visual effects for the film were provided by Moving Picture Company, DNEG, Method Studios, Raynault VFX, Rodeo FX and Ollin VFX. Guillaume Rocheron was the main visual effects supervisor. In November 2018, post-production on the film officially ended. The brief shots of the non-Toho Titans were "late additions" during post-production. Dougherty said that an earlier cut of the film was nearly three hours long. Dougherty affectionately referred to the three-hour cut as "Godzilla: The Miniseries". He considered splitting the film into two parts but decided against it, feeling that the final cut is faithful to the core of his original vision.


text: On July 21, 2018, Dougherty revealed that Bear McCreary would compose the film's score, incorporating themes from Akira Ifukube's previous "Godzilla" scores. Regarding his involvement, McCreary stated, "I am thrilled to be the composer for "Godzilla: King of the Monsters", and honored beyond words to have the opportunity to contribute to one of cinema's longest-running musical legacies." McCreary further expanded on his plans and involvement, stating;


text: The first trailer featured a rearrangement of Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune" by Michael Afanasyev for Imagine Music. The "Beautiful" TV spot and final trailer featured two different renditions of "Over the Rainbow". An alternate mix of Nessun dorma was featured in the extended IMAX preview. LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" was featured in the Exclusive Final Look trailer. In November 2018, a sample of McCreary's Godzilla theme was leaked online after it was used during a panel at Tokyo Comic Con. In April 2019, WaterTower Music released two tracks from the soundtrack, "Old Rivals", composed by McCreary, and a cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "Godzilla" by Serj Tankian. Brendon Small, Gene Hoglan, and other members of Dethklok contributed to the Tankian cover.


text: McCreary called the cover "the most audacious piece of music" he had produced in his career, citing the orchestra, choir, taiko chanting, taiko drumming, heavy metal rhythm section, Hoglan's double-kick drums, and Tankian's vocals used to produce the track. McCreary stated "For [the character] Godzilla, I chose to incorporate and adapt the legendary Akira Ifukube's iconic theme, and for Mothra, Yūji Koseki's immortal 'Mothra's Song'."


text: The Japanese band Alexandros contributed the single "Pray" for the film's Japanese release. On this decision, Dougherty commented, "we feel incredibly fortunate to have had <nowiki>[Alexandros]</nowiki> contribute such an anthemic song that captures not only the gravitas of the film, but also perfectly complements its dramatic conclusion." The single was released on May 13, 2019. The soundtrack was released by Waxwork Records in 2019 on a triple LP.


text: The marketing costs was reported to be $100–150 million. In June 2017, Legendary's official Twitter account for "Kong: Skull Island" began posting videos revealing a timeline and background information of Monarch's discoveries, which teased elements for "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" and "Godzilla vs. Kong". During the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, Legendary revealed an image of a stone sculpture featuring Mothra, two larvae, and an egg. On July 12, 2018, two first-look images featuring Godzilla unleashing his atomic breath skyward, and Millie Bobby Brown and Vera Farmiga, were released, along with a few plot details.


text: On July 18, 2018, a teaser clip was released featuring Brown, and the viral Monarch website went live with documents providing information on the monsters. On July 21, 2018, the first trailer was shown at San Diego Comic-Con and later released online that same day. In October 2018, Legendary Comics held a panel titled "Godzilla: Secrets of the MonsterVerse" at the L.A. Comic Con, which presented a sneak peek at the prequel comic "Godzilla: Aftershock". In November 2018, a panel for the film was held at the Tokyo Comic-Con where Dougherty revealed concept art, a teaser for an upcoming trailer, and the S.H.MonsterArts figures with designs of the Titans. That same month, Dougherty posted a new image of Godzilla from the film on Twitter with a caption from the Book of Job originally concerning the Leviathan.


text: In early December 2018, teaser clips of Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah from a then-upcoming trailer were released online. On December 9, 2018, a new trailer premiered at Comic Con Experience. On December 10, 2018, the film's first teaser poster and CCXP trailer were released. On December 13, 2018, character posters for Rodan, Mothra, and Ghidorah were released. In January 2019, Dougherty released a new image of King Ghidorah via Twitter, and in February 2019, four new character posters of Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah were released to celebrate the Chinese New Year.


text: In March 2019, the film was featured on the cover of Total Film which revealed exclusive photos and information. An extended preview was exclusively presented at WonderCon and CinemaCon, later in the month. Warner Bros. attached the extended preview to all IMAX screenings of "Shazam!" and "The Curse of La Llorona", while US theater chain AMC Theatres (of which the parent company of Legendary, Wanda Group, are a majority stakeholder in) attached the preview to their IMAX screenings of "". In April 2019, the main theatrical poster was released online. On April 21, 2019, the extended preview was released on HBO's streaming services, and then on April 23, 2019, the final trailer was released online.


text: The Chinese investor and film marketer Huahua Media invested an undisclosed sum to market the film in China. The deal also grants the company participation in the film's box office. In May 2019, a Godzilla head was built on top of the Cinerama Dome to promote the film. That same month, the IMAX and RealD 3D posters were released. Robin Lopez created several TV spots, titled "Robzilla: King of the Mascots", promoting the film and the NBA playoffs. The website Joe created a mock-trailer, titled "Pugzilla: King of the Dogsters", by replacing the Titans with cats and dogs. The video received approval from Dougherty, who shared it on his Twitter. On May 22, 2019, a clip featuring Brown and Ghidorah premiered on "The Tonight Show". On May 23, 2019, a new Chinese poster was released.


text: A prequel graphic novel, "Godzilla: Aftershock", was released in May 2019. "Aftershock" was written by Arvid Nelson and illustrated by Drew Edward Johnson. S.H. MonsterArts figures of kaiju in the movie were released for sale in June 2019. The film's novelization was released on May 31, 2019; the art book "The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters" was released on June 4, 2019. NECA, Jakks Pacific, and Bandai all produced toy lines for the film featuring its monsters.


text: "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" was released on May 31, 2019, in IMAX, 3D, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, IMAX 3D, 4DX, and ScreenX formats by Warner Bros. Pictures, except in Japan where it was distributed by Toho. The film was originally scheduled to be released on June 8, 2018. However, in May 2016, it was pushed back to March 22, 2019, and later again to its current release date. The film was released in ScreenX formats in some markets. In the United States, the film was given a PG-13 rating for "sequences of monster action, violence, and destruction, and for some language." In April 2019, a private screening was held for the press at Toho Studios in Tokyo, which was followed by a 30-minute Q&A with Dougherty and Ken Watanabe. In early May 2019, advanced screenings were held for audiences ahead of the film's release, and on May 17, 2019, a VIP press screening was held in Los Angeles at the AMC Century City theater.


text: The film had its red carpet premiere in Beijing on May 13, 2019. It then had its second red carpet premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on May 18, 2019. A group of Taiko drummers delivered a performance signaling the opening of the ceremony prior to the actors' arrival. Prior to the Hollywood premiere, Warner Bros. hosted a block party. A green-screen photo booth was made available that allowed attendees to be placed in scenes from the film. Regal Cinemas offered collectible tickets to IMAX attendees, along with a mini-poster of the ticket image. The collectible tickets were offered in two sizes: Standard (measuring 4" × 7.5") and Godzilla-sized (5.125" × 9.5"). In June 2019, the film received a one-month theatrical extension in China.


text: The film was released on Digital HD on August 13, 2019, and released on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD on August 27, 2019. The 4K release includes HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision high dynamic range, and a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Best Buy released a retail exclusive of its own as a 4K UHD Combo steelbook release. The film's home media release debuted at number 1 on the NPD VideoScan First Alert chart. In the United States and Canada, the DVD earned $12.6 million and the Blu-ray earned $23.5 million, totaling $36.1 million in domestic video sales.


text: Toho released multiple editions of the film on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD in Japan on December 18, 2019, which included retail exclusives from Amazon, the Godzilla Store, and Tsutaya. Toho also released a four-disc limited edition set which included the 4K Blu-ray, standard Blu-ray, DVD, bonus features Blu-ray, and an S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla figure. The Godzilla Store exclusive of the four-disc set featured a limited edition Movie Monster Series figure of the film's version of Burning Godzilla. The retail exclusives included limited special clear files. In January 2020, the film made its pay cable debut on HBO.


text: "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" grossed $110.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $276.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $386.6 million. Reports on the film's break even point varies; Erik Childress from Rotten Tomatoes estimated the film would have needed to gross $550–600 million to break even. Chris Agar from Screen Rant estimated the film would have needed to gross $400 million worldwide "just to make its money back," based on the rule of thumb. John Nguyen from Nerd Reactor estimated the film would have needed to gross $340 million worldwide to break even.


text: In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside "Rocketman" and "Ma", and was projected to gross $55–65 million from 4,108 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $19.6 million on its first day, including $6.3 million from Thursday night previews, which was lower than the $9.3 million made by the 2014 film but more than "Kong: Skull Island"s $3.7 million. It went on to debut to $47.8 million, finishing first at the weekend box office but below expectations. "Deadline Hollywood" said the film "lacked urgency," having debuted its first trailer over a year before the film's release, and not separating its appearance from previous "Godzilla" films. The film fell 67% in its second weekend to $15.5 million, finishing in fourth, and then to $8.1 million the following weekend, finishing seventh.


text: Worldwide, the film was initially projected to earn around $180 million from 75 other territories in its opening weekend, for a global total of $230–235 million. It was speculated that the amount could go higher if the film over-performed in China, where it was projected to debut to $75–90 million. The film held early previews in China on May 25, 2019, where it grossed $2.5 million. "King of the Monsters" made $12.7 million from 51 countries on Thursday and $31.4 million from 75 countries on Friday, for a cume of $48.2 million through Friday. In China, the film grossed through Friday and Saturday. The film ended up grossing a total of $130 million internationally and $177.8 million including North American tallies, far below projections. Its largest markets were China ($70 million), the United Kingdom ($4.4 million), France ($2.6 million) and South Korea ($2.2 million). The film dropped 64% to $47.1 million in its second weekend of international play, for a 10-day running total of $213.7 million.


text: "The Observer" stated reviews were "mixed to negative". "The Indian Express" called reviews "largely negative." "Screen Rant" described responses as "so negative." "Yahoo! Finance" noted the reviews to be a "pretty mixed bag." Scott Mendelson from "Forbes" stated the film earned "mixed reviews", but later stated the film earned "mixed-negative reviews".


text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, ""Godzilla: King of the Monsters" delivers spectacular kaiju action—and reaffirms that cutting-edge effects are still no substitute for a good story." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 48 out of 100 based on 46 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the same grade earned by the first two MonsterVerse installments, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 85% (with an average 4.5 out of 5 stars) and a 75% "definite recommend."


text: Benjamin Lee of "The Guardian" gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing that it "has rare moments of visual splendour but they can't disguise a laughable script with a ramshackle narrative." Chris Evangelista of /Film gave the film a score of 6.5 out of 10, criticizing the human characters and writing that "The ultimate kaiju smack-down shouldn't be this boring." Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a grade of "C−", calling it "dark, wet, and inept," while Mike Ryan of Uproxx also gave the film a negative review, writing that "When a movie is just nonstop monster action, guess what happens? It all becomes the new 'normal' and it becomes boring." Ben Travis, writing for "Empire Online", gave the film 1 out of 5 stars, stating, "Globe-trotting but not adventurous, action-packed but not remotely exciting, utterly overstuffed and completely paper-thin."


text: Owen Gleiberman of "Variety" wrote that the film "makes for a spectacular clash of the titans, but this one has a less commanding balance of schlock and awe," compared to its predecessor. Conversely, Alonso Duralde of the "TheWrap" praised the film for taking an "all-thriller-no-filler approach both to monsters and the human drama." Scott Collura of IGN.com gave the film a score of 7.8 out of 10, calling it "a fun exercise in giant monster madness that indulges in all the kaiju fights fans and even casual viewers could hope for." For "Bloody Disgusting", William Bibbiani wrote ""Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is a big, kinda silly, but otherwise exciting blockbuster. It's gorgeous, it's epic in the extreme, and it features some of the most impressive monster fights you've ever seen. Maybe someday Americans will make a Godzilla movie that isn't just 'badass,' but which also works on another level and resonates in a meaningful way." James Whitbrook of "Io9" said the film "is little more than beautifully stunning sound and fury, sadly signifying nothing for its human stars—beyond them being a vector in which the movie can thickly spread on some b-movie cheese that lends the whole endeavor a sort of 'classic monster movie with a modern budget' vibe."


text: In September 2015, Legendary's "Kong: Skull Island" was moved from Universal to Warner Bros., which sparked media speculation that Godzilla and King Kong would appear in a film together. In October 2015, Legendary confirmed that they would unite Godzilla and King Kong in "Godzilla vs. Kong". They planned to create a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch" that "brings together Godzilla and Legendary's King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new."


text: "Godzilla vs. Kong" was theatrically released in Europe and Taiwan on March 24, 2021, and is scheduled in the United States on March 31, 2021, where it will be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. Dougherty had expressed interest in directing a Ray Harryhausen-esque prequel set during prehistoric times exploring how primitive humans survived against the Titans, humanity's first encounter with Godzilla, and how their relationship with Godzilla was christened.


title: Michael Bisping

text: Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2004, he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion, a former Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion and "The Ultimate Fighter 3" Light Heavyweight tournament winner. At UFC 78, he became the first British fighter to compete in a UFC main event. At UFC 199, he became the first British fighter to win a UFC Championship. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on 5 July 2019.