title: Waiting for Godot

text: In 1988 a Dutch theatre company, De Haarlemse Toneelschuur, put on a production directed by Matin Van Veldhuizen with all female actors, using a French-to-Dutch translation by Jacoba Van Velde. Beckett brought an unsuccessful lawsuit against the theatre company. "The issue of gender seemed to him to be so vital a distinction for a playwright to make that he reacted angrily, instituting a ban on all productions of his plays in The Netherlands." This ban was short-lived, however: in 1991 (two years after Beckett's death), a French judge ruled that productions with female casts would not cause excessive damage to Beckett's legacy, and allowed the play to be performed by the all-female cast of the Brut de Beton theater company at the Avignon Festival, although an objection of Beckett's representative must be read before each performance.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The Italian Pontedera Theatre Foundation won a similar claim in 2006 when it cast two actresses in the roles of Vladimir and Estragon, albeit in the characters' traditional roles as men. At the 1995 Acco Festival, director Nola Chilton staged a production with Daniella Michaeli in the role of Lucky.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: "[O]n 17 February 1952 ... an abridged version of the play was performed in the studio of the Club d'Essai de la Radio and was broadcast on [French] radio ... [A]lthough he sent a polite note that Roger Blin read out, Beckett himself did not turn up." Part of his introduction reads:


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The play was first published in September 1952 by Les Éditions de Minuit and released on 17 October 1952 in advance of the first full theatrical performance; only 2500 copies were printed of this first edition. On 4 January 1953, "[t]hirty reviewers came to the "générale" of "En attendant Godot" before the public opening ... Contrary to later legend, the reviewers were kind ... Some dozen reviews in daily newspapers range[d] from tolerant to enthusiastic ... Reviews in the weeklies [were] longer and more fervent; moreover, they appeared in time to lure spectators to that first thirty-day run" which began on 5 January 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone, Paris. Early public performances were not, however, without incident: during one performance "the curtain had to be brought down after Lucky's monologue as twenty, well-dressed, but disgruntled spectators whistled and hooted derisively ... One of the protesters [even] wrote a vituperative letter dated 2 February 1953 to "Le Monde"."


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The cast comprised (Estragon), Lucien Raimbourg (Vladimir), Jean Martin (Lucky) and Roger Blin (Pozzo). The actor due to play Pozzo found a more remunerative role and so the director – a shy, lean man in real life – had to step in and play the stout bombaster himself with a pillow amplifying his stomach. Both boys were played by Serge Lecointe. The entire production was done on the thinnest of shoestring budgets; the large battered valise that Martin carried "was found among the city's refuse by the husband of the theatre dresser on his rounds as he worked clearing the dustbins", for example.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: A particularly significant production – from Beckett's perspective – took place in Lüttringhausen Prison near Remscheid in Germany. An inmate obtained a copy of the French first edition, translated it himself into German and obtained permission to stage the play. The first night had been on 29 November 1953. He wrote to Beckett in October 1954: "You will be surprised to be receiving a letter about your play "Waiting for Godot", from a prison where so many thieves, forgers, toughs, homos, crazy men and killers spend this bitch of a life waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting. Waiting for what? Godot? Perhaps." Beckett was intensely moved and intended to visit the prison to see a last performance of the play but it never happened. This marked "the beginning of Beckett's enduring links with prisons and prisoners ... He took a tremendous interest in productions of his plays performed in prisons."


title: Waiting for Godot

text: Like all of Beckett's translations, the English translation of "Waiting for Godot" is not simply a literal translation of "". "Small but significant differences separate the French and English text. Some, like Vladimir's inability to remember the farmer's name (Bonnelly), show how the translation became more indefinite, attrition and loss of memory more pronounced." A number of biographical details were removed, all adding to a general "vaguening" of the text which he continued to trim for the rest of his life.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The English-language premiere was on 3 August 1955 at the Arts Theatre, London, directed by the 24-year-old Peter Hall. During an early rehearsal Hall told the cast "I haven't really the foggiest idea what some of it means ... But if we stop and discuss every line we'll never open." Again, the printed version preceded it (New York: Grove Press, 1954) but Faber's "mutilated" edition did not materialise until 1956. A "corrected" edition was subsequently produced in 1965. "The most accurate text is in "Theatrical Notebooks" I, (Ed.) Dougald McMillan and James Knowlson (Faber and Grove, 1993). It is based on Beckett's revisions for his Schiller-Theater production (1975) and the London San Quentin Drama Workshop, based on the Schiller production but revised further at the Riverside Studios (March 1984)."


title: Waiting for Godot

text: In the 1950s, theatre was strictly censored in the UK, to Beckett's amazement since he thought it a bastion of free speech. The Lord Chamberlain insisted that the word "erection" be removed, " 'Fartov' became 'Popov' and Mrs Gozzo had 'warts' instead of 'clap' ". Indeed, there were attempts to ban the play completely. Lady Dorothy Howitt wrote to the Lord Chamberlain, saying: "One of the many themes running through the play is the desire of two old tramps continually to relieve themselves. Such a dramatisation of lavatory necessities is offensive and against all sense of British decency." "The first unexpurgated version of "Godot" in England ... opened at the Royal Court on 30 December 1964."


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The London run was not without incident. The actor Peter Bull, who played Pozzo, recalls the reaction of that first night audience:


title: Waiting for Godot

text: Waves of hostility came whirling over the footlights, and the mass exodus, which was to form such a feature of the run of the piece, started quite soon after the curtain had risen. The audible groans were also fairly disconcerting ... The curtain fell to mild applause, we took a scant three calls (Peter Woodthorpe reports only one curtain call) and a depression and a sense of anti-climax descended on us all.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The critics were less than kind but "[e]verything changed on Sunday 7 August 1955 with Kenneth Tynan's and Harold Hobson's reviews in "The Observer" and "The Sunday Times". Beckett was always grateful to the two reviewers for their support ... which more or less transformed the play overnight into the rage of London." "At the end of the year, the Evening Standard Drama Awards were held for the first time ... Feelings ran high and the opposition, led by Sir Malcolm Sargent, threatened to resign if "Godot" won [The Best New Play category]. An English compromise was worked out by changing the title of the award. "Godot" became The Most Controversial Play of the Year. It is a prize that has never been given since."


title: Waiting for Godot

text: Planning for an American tour for "Waiting for Godot" started in 1955. The first American tour was directed by Alan Schneider and produced by Michael Myerberg. Bert Lahr and Tom Ewell acted in the initial production.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The first part of the tour was a disaster. The play was originally set to be shown in Washington and Philadelphia. However, low advance sales forced the play to be performed in Miami for two weeks in early January 1956 at the newly-opened Coconut Grove Playhouse, where the audience was made up of vacationers. It had been promoted as "the laugh sensation of two continents" in the notices run by Myerberg in the local newspapers.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: Most audience members were baffled by the play. Theatregoers would leave after the first act, describing it as a play where "nothing happens", and taxi drivers would wait in front of the theatre to take them home. The Miami showing caused the cancellation of the showings in New York.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: By April 1956, new showings were planned. That month, Schneider and most of the cast were replaced. Herbert Berghof took over as director and E. G. Marshall replaced Tom Ewell as Vladimir. The play had its Broadway premiere at the John Golden Theatre on 19 April 1956, with Bert Lahr as Estragon, E. G. Marshall as Vladimir, Alvin Epstein as Lucky, and Kurt Kasznar as Pozzo. The New York showing of the play prompted discussions of the play being an allegory. One reviewer, Henry Hewes of the "Saturday Review", identified Godot as God, Pozzo as a capitalist-aristocrat, and Lucky as labour-proletarian. This prompted Beckett to issue a rare statement, stating that the reaction was based on a misconception of the play. To Beckett, the play tries not to be able to be defined. The New York showing of the play was well-received with critics. Brooks Atkinson of "The New York Times" praised Lahr for his performance as Estragon.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: In 1957, four years after its world premiere, "Waiting for Godot" was staged for one night only at the San Quentin State Prison in California. Herbert Blau with the San Francisco Actor's Workshop directed the production. Some 1,400 inmates encountered the performance. Beckett later gave Rick Cluchey, a former prisoner from San Quentin, financial and moral support over a period of many years. Cluchey played Vladimir in two productions in the former Gallows room of the San Quentin California State Prison, which had been converted into a 65-seat theatre and, like the German prisoner before him, went on to work on a variety of Beckett's plays after his release. Cluchey said, "The thing that everyone in San Quentin understood about Beckett, while the rest of the world had trouble catching up, was what it meant to be in the face of it." The attitude of this troupe was to move it away from a commercial attitude to an "avant garde" attitude. As well, the play did not have competition between the actors playing Vladimir and Estragon for being the star of the show. The most successful showing was in November 1957 at the San Quentin prison, where the play had a profound impact on the inmates and spurred them to start a drama group in the prison. They would go on to produce seven of Beckett's works. In 1958, the play, produced by the San Francisco Actor's Workshop, would be chosen to go to Brussels for the 1958 World's Fair.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: In the Australian premiere at the Arrow Theatre in Melbourne in 1957, Barry Humphries played Estragon opposite Peter O'Shaughnessy's Vladimir.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: In 1978, a production was staged by Walter Asmus at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City with Sam Waterston as Vladimir, Austin Pendleton as Estragon, Milo O'Shea as Lucky and Michael Egan as Pozzo.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: A young Geoffrey Rush played Vladimir opposite his then flatmate Mel Gibson as Estragon in 1979 at the Jane Street Theatre in Sydney.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: In 1980, Braham Murray directed a production at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester with Max Wall as Vladimir, Trevor Peacock as Estragon and Wolfe Morris as Pozzo.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center was the site of a 1988 revival directed by Mike Nichols, featuring Robin Williams (Estragon), Steve Martin (Vladimir), Bill Irwin (Lucky), F. Murray Abraham (Pozzo), and Lukas Haas (boy). With a limited run of seven weeks and an all-star cast, it was financially successful, but the critical reception was not particularly favourable, with Frank Rich of "The New York Times" writing, "Audiences will still be waiting for a transcendent "Godot" long after the clowns at Lincoln Center, like so many others passing through Beckett's eternal universe before them, have come and gone."


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The play was revived in London's West End at the Queen's Theatre in a production directed by Les Blair, which opened on 30 September 1991. This was the first West End revival since the play's British première. Rik Mayall played Vladimir and Adrian Edmondson played Estragon, with Philip Jackson as Pozzo and Christopher Ryan as Lucky; the boy was played by Dean Gaffney and Duncan Thornley. Derek Jarman provided the scenic design, in collaboration with Madeleine Morris.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: In June 1999 the Royal Exchange, Manchester staged a production directed by Matthew Lloyd with Richard Wilson as Vladimir, Brian Pettifer as Estragon and Nicky Henson.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: Neil Armfield directed a controversial production in 2003 with Max Cullen as Estragon, John Gaden as Didi, Boddan Koca as Pozzo and Steve Le Marquand as Lucky at Sydney's Belvoir St Theatre. A representative of Beckett's estate was present at opening night and had believed a contract for the play had stated that no music was to be used in the production.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: On 2 and 3 November 2007, two performances were staged in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, two years after the neighborhood had been devastated by the failure of the federal levee system caused by Hurricane Katrina. This was followed by two performances in the similarly damaged neighborhood Gentilly on 9 and 10 November. The production was staged by American artist Paul Chan, the NYC-based arts organization Creative Time, and the Classical Theatre of Harlem. It featured New Orleans native Wendell Pierce as Vladimir and J. Kyle Manzay as Estragon.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: On 30 April 2009, a production directed by Sean Mathias, with Sir Ian McKellen as Estragon and Sir Patrick Stewart as Vladimir, opened at the Haymarket Theatre in London's West End. Their performances received critical acclaim, and were the subject of an eight-part documentary series called "Theatreland", which was produced by Sky Arts. The production was revived at the same theatre in January 2010 for 11 weeks and, in 2010 toured internationally, with Roger Rees replacing Stewart as Vladimir. This production toured to Adelaide, South Australia, in June 2010, playing at Her Majesty's.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: A 2009 Broadway revival of the play starring Nathan Lane, John Goodman, John Glover and Bill Irwin was nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Revival of a Play, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play (John Glover), and Best Costume Design of a Play (Jane Greenwood).


title: Waiting for Godot

text: For Ontario's Stratford Festival's 61st season in 2013, Jennifer Tarver directed a new production at the Tom Patterson Theatre starring Brian Dennehy as Pozzo, Stephen Ouimette as Estragon, Tom Rooney as Vladimir and Randy Hughson as Lucky.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: A new production directed by Sean Mathias, began previews at the Cort Theatre on Broadway in late October 2013, with Ian McKellen as Estragon, Patrick Stewart as Vladimir, Billy Crudup as Lucky and Shuler Hensley as Pozzo.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: The Sydney Theatre Company staged "Godot" in November 2013 with Richard Roxburgh as Estragon, Hugo Weaving as Vladimir, and Philip Quast as Pozzo, directed by Andrew Upton.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: In November 2018, the Druid Theater Company staged "Godot" at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College in Manhattan, starring Garrett Lombard, Aaron Monaghan, Marty Rea and Rory Nolan, and directed by Garry Hynes.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: Beckett received numerous requests to adapt "Waiting for Godot" for film and television. The author, however, resisted these offers, except for occasional approval out of friendship or sympathy for the person making the request. This was the case when he agreed to some televised productions in his lifetime (including a 1961 American telecast with Zero Mostel as Estragon and Burgess Meredith as Vladimir that "New York Times" theatre critic Alvin Klein describes as having "left critics bewildered and is now a classic"). When Keep Films made Beckett an offer to film an adaptation in which Peter O'Toole would feature, Beckett tersely told his French publisher to advise them: "I do not want a film of "Godot"." The BBC broadcast a production of "Waiting for Godot" on 26 June 1961, a version for radio having already been transmitted on 25 April 1960. Beckett watched the programme with a few close friends in Peter Woodthorpe's Chelsea flat. He was unhappy with what he saw. "My play", he said, "wasn't written for this box. My play was written for small men locked in a big space. Here you're all too big for the place." One analysis argued that Beckett's opposition to alterations and creative adaptations stem from his abiding concern with audience reaction rather than proprietary rights over a text being performed.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: On the other hand, theatrical adaptations have had more success. For instance, Andre Engel adapted the play in 1979 and was produced in Strasbourg. In this performance, the two main characters were fragmented into 10 characters. The first four involved Gogo, Didi, Lucky, and Pozzo while the rest were divided into three pairs: two tramps, a pair of grim heterosexuals, and a bride raped by her groom. Each of these embodied some characteristics of Estragon and Vladimir. A similar approach was employed by Tamiya Kuriyama who directed his own adaptation of the play in Tokyo. These interpretations, which only used extracts from the dialogues of the original, focused on the minds of the urban-dwellers today, who are considered to be no longer individuals but one of the many or of the whole, which turned such individuals into machines.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: A web series adaptation titled "While Waiting for Godot" was also produced at New York University in 2013, setting the story among the modern-day New York homeless. Directed by Rudi Azank, the English script was based on Beckett's original French manuscript of "" (the new title being an alternate translation of the French) prior to censorship from British publishing houses in the 1950s, as well as adaptation to the stage. Season 1 of the web series won Best Cinematography at the 2014 Rome Web Awards. Season 2 was released in Spring 2014 on the show's official website whilewaitingforgodot.com.


title: Waiting for Godot

text: Although not his favourite amongst his plays, "Waiting for Godot" was the work which brought Beckett fame and financial stability and as such it always held a special place in his affections. "When the manuscript and rare books dealer, Henry Wenning, asked him if he could sell the original French manuscript for him, Beckett replied: 'Rightly or wrongly have decided not to let "Godot" go yet. Neither sentimental nor financial, probably peak of market now and never such an offer. Can't explain.' "


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: Raksha Bandhan () is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language family comedy-drama film directed by Aanand L. Rai and written by Himanshu Sharma and Kanika Dhillon. It stars Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Sadia Khateeb, Sahejmeen Kaur, Smrithi Srikanth, Abhinay Raj Singh and Deepika Khanna.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: The film was theatrically released on 11 August 2022, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a commercial failure.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: Lala Kedarnath Agarwal, the eldest and only brother of four sisters named Gayatri, Durga, Laxmi and Saraswati, runs a chaat shop named "Premlata Chat Bhandar" that was started by his grandfather. Lala promises his frail mother on her deathbed that he will only get married after he fulfills the responsibility of marrying his sisters into suitable homes first. Lala's relentless efforts of getting his sisters married while upholding his family values go in vain, as he faces hurdles to find suitable grooms due to Laxmi's dark skin, Durga's weight and Saraswati's masculine behaviour. At the same time, Lala's commitment to his sisters stands as a huge roadblock for his and his childhood love Sapna's relationship to take off.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: Understanding the importance of Lala's vow, Sapna decides to wait till his goal is achieved. But her father Harishankar always nags her to get married. Sometime later, Lala manages to gather for Gayatri's dowry. Gayatri gets married. After the marriage, it is revealed that Lala is not their real brother and that their mother adopted him long ago when his real mother died near temple. Lala arranges money for Durga and Laxmi's wedding by selling his one kidney, but things didn't go as planned when Gayatri commits suicide by drinking poison. Her husband and in-laws were asking for more dowry, She didn't say anything to Lala as she didn't want him to get more stressed. Lala realizes the curse of dowry system, and vows that he will make his other three sisters capable enough for their future so they can choose their own groom and marry without a dowry.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: Lala breaks all ties with Sapna and asks her to marry the guy of her father's choice. On Sapna's wedding day, Harishankar realizes that she still is in love with Lala and asks her to break the alliance. Sapna breaks the marriage and decides to wait for Lala. 12 years later, Laxmi marries Swapnil, with whom Sapna was getting married but he falls for Laxmi after she broke the engagement. Durga completes her graduation and becomes a lawyer, where she gets Gayathri's husband punished by sending him to prison on charges of dowry. Later she marries her classmate. Saraswati becomes a cop and marries her colleague. At last, Lala marries Sapna at the age of 60 after fulfilling his mother's wish.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: The film was officially announced on 3 August 2020 to mark the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. Akshay Kumar stated that it is the quickest film he has signed in his career, and dedicated the film to his sister Alka Hiranandani who also serves as co-producer.Originally this film is scheduled to release on 13 December 2021.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: Principal photography for the film commenced on 23 January 2021. First schedule ended in July 2021 at Mumbai. The film was wrapped up in Delhi on December 2021.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: The film score was composed and produced by Ishaan Chhabra, a protege of A. R. Rahman while the songs featured in the film were composed by Himesh Reshammiya. Irshad Kamil has written the lyrics.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: The second song "Kangan Ruby", sung by Reshammiya himself was released on 6 July 2022. The third song titled "Done Kar Do", sung by Navraj Hans was released on 18 July 2022 and it was the first song from an Indian film to have an international release, being launched in the UK. The fourth song "Dhaagon Se Baandhaa", sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Arijit Singh was released on 28 July 2022.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: The cast of Raksha Bandhan was on a promotional spree, visiting different cities across India, ahead of its release. The team, including Akshay Kumar, Aanand L Rai, Sadia Khateeb, Smrithi Srikanth, Sahejmeen Kaur and Deepika Khanna, visited Dubai, Pune and Indore and Hyderabad. On 7 August 2022, the team of Raksha Bandhan film visited Hyderabad to attend a press conference at a multiplex. Akshay took his on-screen sisters to the famous MG Road at Durga Gold and Silver (Durga Jewellers), for some pearl shopping and continued the tradition of gifting.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: The film was theatrically released on 11 August 2022, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: The digital streaming rights of the film were acquired by ZEE5. The film will digitally stream on ZEE5 from 5 October 2022.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: "Raksha Bandhan" earned 8.20 crores at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected 6.40 crore. On the third day, the film collected 6.51 crore. On the fourth day, the film collected 7.05 crore taking a total domestic weekend collection to 28.16 crore.


title: Raksha Bandhan (film)

text: A critic for "Bollywood Hungama" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The Akshay Kumar starrer "Raksha Bandhan" is a touching family saga, with a highly emotional second half that uplifts the film". Aman Wadhwa of "DNA India" rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Akshay Kumar's heartfelt and earnest performance is the biggest strength of "Raksha Bandhan"". Archika Khurana of "The Times of India" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "This highly emotional drama doesn't fail to touch you, but it had the potential to be a far more entertaining watch". Zinia Bandyopadhyay of "News 18" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "it is one of those films that you can watch with the entire family, as they come together for Raksha Bandhan. Moreover, it will make you laugh and cry in equal parts". Nandini Ramnath of "Scroll.in" rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote ""Raksha Bandhan" harps away on the evils of the bride price practice before concluding that in an ideal world, women should be the ones demanding dowry". Shubhra Gupta of "The Indian Express" rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Do the filmmakers truly believe that such low-rent family dramas, with their uneasy mix of humour and crassness". Saibal Chatterjee of "NDTV" rated the film 1 out of 5 stars and wrote "It is hard to believe that anybody would make a film such as this in 2022. The girls of "Raksha Bandhan", like the film itself, are caught in a time warp". Monika Rawal Kukreja of "The Hindustan Times" stated "Akshay Kumar's films delivers a strong message on dowry without trivialising the issue while managing to be an entertaining watch".


title: Kopi luwak

text: Kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee, is a coffee that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet ("Paradoxurus hermaphroditus"). The cherries are fermented as they pass through a civet's intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter, they are collected. Asian palm civets are increasingly caught in the wild and traded for this purpose.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, and in East Timor. It is also widely gathered in the forest or produced in farms in the islands of the Philippines, where the product is called "kape motit" in the Cordillera region, "kapé alamíd" in Tagalog areas, "kapé melô" or "kapé musang" in Mindanao, and "kahawa kubing" in the Sulu Archipelago. "Weasel coffee" is a loose English translation of its Vietnamese name "cà phê Chồn".


title: Kopi luwak

text: Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve coffee through two mechanisms: selection – civets choosing to eat only certain cherries, and digestion – biological or chemical mechanisms in the animals' digestive tracts altering the composition of the coffee cherries.


title: Kopi luwak

text: The traditional method of collecting feces from wild Asian palm civets has given way to an intensive farming method, in which the palm civets are kept in battery cages and are force-fed the cherries. This method of production has raised ethical concerns about the treatment of civets and the conditions they are made to live in, which include isolation, poor diet, small cages, and a high mortality rate.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Although kopi luwak is a form of processing rather than a variety of coffee, it has been called one of the most expensive coffees in the world, with retail prices reaching per kilogram for farmed beans and per kilogram for wild-collected beans.


title: Kopi luwak

text: The origin of kopi luwak is closely connected to the history of coffee production in Indonesia; Dutch colonialists established coffee plantations in Indonesia and imported beans from Yemen. In the 19th century, farmers in central Java started to brew and drink coffee from excreted beans collected at their plantations.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Kopi luwak is brewed from coffee beans that transversed the gastrointestinal tract of an Asian palm civet, and were thus subjected to a combination of acidic, enzymatic, and fermentation treatment. During digestion, digestive enzymes and gastric juices permeate through the endocarp of coffee cherries and break down storage proteins, yielding shorter peptides. This alters the composition of amino acids and impacts the aroma of the coffee. In the roasting process, the proteins undergo a non-enzymatic Maillard reaction.


title: Kopi luwak

text: The palm civet is thought to select the most ripe and flawless coffee cherries. This selection influences the flavour of the coffee, as does the digestive process. The beans begin to germinate by malting, which reduces their bitterness. When performed in nature, or in the wild, these two mechanisms achieve the same goal as selective picking and the wet or washed process of coffee milling: 1) harvesting optimally ripe cherries and 2) mechanically and chemically removing the pulp and skin from the cherry, leaving mainly the seed.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Traditionally, excreted coffee beans were collected directly in plantations and forests. As the international demand for kopi luwak increased, some producers turned to caged production methods to increase yields.


title: Kopi luwak

text: In 2014, the annual kopi luwak production was grossly estimated at less than 127 kg. It is produced in Indonesia, East Timor, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Ethiopia.


title: Kopi luwak

text: The taste of kopi luwak varies with the type and origin of excreted beans, processing, roasting, aging, and brewing. The ability of the civet to select its berries, and other aspects of the civet's diet and health, like stress levels, may also influence the processing and hence taste.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Within the coffee industry, kopi luwak is widely regarded as a gimmick or novelty item. The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) states that there is a "general consensus within the industry...it just tastes bad". A coffee professional compared the same beans with and without the kopi luwak process using a rigorous coffee cupping evaluation. He concluded: "it was apparent that luwak coffee sold for the story, not superior quality...Using the SCAA cupping scale, the luwak scored two points below the lowest of the other three coffees. It would appear that the luwak processing diminishes good acidity and flavor and adds smoothness to the body, which is what many people seem to note as a positive to the coffee.” Professional coffee tasters were able to distinguish kopi luwak from other coffee samples, but remarked that it tasted "thin". Some critics claim more generally that kopi luwak is simply bad coffee, purchased for novelty rather than taste.


title: Kopi luwak

text: A food writer reviewed kopi luwak available to American consumers and concluded "It tasted just like...Folgers. Stale. Lifeless. Petrified dinosaur droppings steeped in bathtub water. I couldn't finish it."


title: Kopi luwak

text: Several commercial processes attempt to replicate the digestive process of the civets without animal involvement. Researchers with the University of Florida have been issued with a patent for one such process. Brooklyn-based food startup Afineur has also developed a patented fermentation technology that reproduces some of the taste aspects of Kopi Luwak while improving coffee bean taste and nutritional profile.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Vietnamese companies sell an imitation kopi luwak, made using an enzyme soak which they claim replicates the civet's digestive process.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Imitation has several motivations. The high price of kopi luwak drives the search for a way to produce kopi luwak in large quantities. Kopi luwak production involves a great deal of labour, whether farmed or wild-gathered. The small production quantity and the labor involved in production contribute to the coffee's high cost. Imitation may be a response to the decrease in the civet population.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Growing numbers of intensive civet "farms" have been established and are operated in Southeast Asia, confining tens of thousands of animals to live in battery cages and be force-fed.


title: Kopi luwak

text: "The conditions are awful, much like battery chickens", said Chris Shepherd, deputy regional director of TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia. "The civets are taken from the wild and have to endure horrific conditions. They fight to stay together but they are separated and have to bear a very poor diet in very small cages. There is a high mortality rate and for some species of civet, there's a real conservation risk. It is spiraling out of control". The trade in palm civets for the production of kopi luwak may constitute a significant threat to wild populations.


title: Kopi luwak

text: In 2013, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) investigators found wild-caught civets on farms in Indonesia and the Philippines. They were deprived of exercise, proper diet, and space. Video footage from the investigation shows abnormal behaviours such as repeated pacing, circling, or biting the bars of their cages. The animals often lose their fur. A BBC investigation revealed similar conditions. Farmers using caged palm civets in north Sumatra confirmed that they supplied kopi luwak beans to exporters whose produce ends up in Europe and Asia.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Tony Wild, the coffee executive responsible for bringing kopi luwak to the Western world, has stated he no longer supports using kopi luwak due to animal cruelty and launched a campaign called "Cut the Crap" to halt the use of kopi luwak.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Kopi luwak is one of the most expensive coffees in the world, selling for between in 2010. The price paid to collectors in the Philippines is closer to US$20 per kilogram. The specialty Vietnamese "weasel coffee", which is made by collecting coffee beans eaten by wild civets, is sold at US$500 per kilogram. Most customers are Asian, especially those originating from Japan, China, and South Korea.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Investigations by PETA and the BBC found fraud to be rife in the kopi luwak industry, with producers willing to label coffee from caged civets with a "wild sourced" or similar label.


title: Kopi luwak

text: Genuine kopi luwak from wild civets is difficult to purchase in Indonesia and proving it is not fake is very difficult – there is little enforcement regarding use of the name "kopi luwak", and there's even a local cheap coffee brand named "Luwak", which costs under US$3 per kilogram but is occasionally sold online under the guise of real kopi luwak.


title: Kopi luwak

text: There are reports of a kopi luwak type process occurring naturally with muntjac and birds. Bat coffee is another variation that is in demand. Bats feed on the ripest coffee and fruits and spit out the seeds. These seeds are dried and processed to make coffee with a slight fruity flavor.


title: Kopi luwak

text: In the movie "The Bucket List", billionaire health care magnate Edward Cole (played by Jack Nicholson) enjoys drinking kopi luwak, but is unaware of how it is produced. Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) explains how civets defecate kopi luwak coffee beans and that its gastric juices give the unique aroma to this coffee.


title: Kopi luwak

text: The Japanese manga series "Beastars" features an anthropomorphic civet character that produces kopi luwak.


title: Jim Belushi

text: James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom "According to Jim" (2001–2009). His other television roles include "Saturday Night Live" (1983–1985), "Total Security" (1997), and "Twin Peaks" (2017).


title: Jim Belushi

text: Belushi appeared in films such as "Thief" (1981), "The Man with One Red Shoe" (1985), "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986), "Red Heat" (1988), "K-9" (1989), "The Palermo Connection" (1990), "Destiny Turns on the Radio" (1995), "Angel's Dance" (1999), "The Wild" (2006), "The Ghost Writer" (2010), "Thunderstruck" (2012), "Home Sweet Hell" (2015) and "Wonder Wheel" (2017).


title: Jim Belushi

text: Belushi was born June 15, 1954, in Wheaton, Illinois, to Adam Anastos Belushi (1918–1996), an Albanian from Qytezë, Korçë, and Agnes Demetri Belushi (née Samaras; 1922–1989), who was born in Ohio to Albanian immigrants from Korçë. He was raised in Wheaton, a Chicago suburb, along with his three siblings: older brother John (1949–1982), older sister Marian, and younger brother Billy. After graduating from Wheaton Central High School in 1972, Jim Belushi attended the College of DuPage, and graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a bachelor's degree in Speech and Theater Arts in 1978.


title: Jim Belushi

text: From 1977 to 1980, Belushi, like his older brother John Belushi, worked with the Chicago theater group The Second City. During this period, Belushi made his television debut in 1978's "Who's Watching the Kids" and also had a small part in Brian De Palma's "The Fury". His first significant role was in Michael Mann's "Thief" (1981). After his elder brother John's death, from 1983 to 1985 he appeared on "Saturday Night Live"; he portrayed characters such as Hank Rippy from "Hello, Trudy!", Man on the Street Jesse Donnelly, and "That White Guy". Belushi also appeared in the film "Trading Places" as a drunk man in a gorilla suit during a New Year's Eve party. He made a guest appearance in Faerie Tale Theatre's third-season episode "Pinocchio", starring Paul Reubens as the titular puppet.


title: Jim Belushi

text: Belushi rose to greater prominence with his supporting roles in "The Man with One Red Shoe" (1985), "About Last Night...", "Salvador" and "Little Shop of Horrors" (as Patrick Martin) (all 1986), which opened up opportunities for lead roles. He has starred in films including "Real Men", "The Principal", "Red Heat", "Homer and Eddie", "K-9", Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, "Dimenticare Palermo", "Taking Care of Business", "Mr. Destiny", "Only the Lonely", "Curly Sue", "Once upon a Crime", "Wild Palms", "Race the Sun", "Jingle All the Way", "Separate Lives", "Retroactive", "Gang Related", "Angel's Dance" and "Joe Somebody" (2001).


title: Jim Belushi

text: His voice work includes "The Mighty Ducks", "The Pebble and the Penguin", "Babes in Toy land", "Gargoyles" and "Hey Arnold!", and "Hoodwinked", "Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King" and "The Wild". He also lent his vocal talents for "" (a PC game released in 1995), in which he portrayed "Salty", a coarse yet helpful character. In 1997, he portrayed the "Masked Mutant" in the Goosebumps PC video game, alongside Adam West as "The Galloping Gazelle". On January 4, 2001, Belushi appeared on the "ER" episode "Piece of Mind". The episode focused both on Dr. Mark Greene's life-or-death brain surgery in New York and on Belushi's character, who had been in a car accident with his son in Chicago. Belushi's performance contributed to his re-emergence in the public eye, and the following year he was cast as the title role in ABC's "According to Jim".


title: Jim Belushi

text: His first animation voice-over was as a pimple on Krumm's head in "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters" on Nickelodeon. That performance led him to be cast in the recurring role as Simon the Monster Hunter in that series, where he ad-libbed much of his own dialogue.


title: Jim Belushi

text: In 2003, Belushi and Dan Aykroyd released the album "Have Love, Will Travel", and participated in an accompanying tour. The concert was made available on video on demand by Bob Gold & Associates. He also performs at various venues nationwide as Zee Blues in an updated version of The Blues Brothers. He released his first book, "Real Men Don't Apologize", in May 2006. Belushi was a narrator of an NFL offensive linemen commercial. Belushi also introduced the starting lineups for the University of Illinois football team during ABC's telecast of the 2008 Rose Bowl.


title: Jim Belushi

text: He appeared in MC Hammer's video "Too Legit to Quit" in 1991 (in the extended full-length version). He also hosted a celebration rally for the Chicago Cubs playoff series in Chicago prior to the 2008 World Series. Steve Dahl has dubbed him "The Funniest Living Belushi".


title: Jim Belushi

text: In 2010, Belushi was cast in a pilot for CBS called "The Defenders", a series about defense lawyers. The one-hour series premiered on September 22, 2010. In two episodes in 2011, Belushi was paired with Blues Brothers partner Dan Aykroyd. On May 15, 2011, "The Defenders" was canceled by CBS. In 2011, he was cast as corrupt businessman Harry Brock in "Born Yesterday", which opened on Broadway in late April.


title: Jim Belushi

text: In August 2020, Belushi started a Discovery Channel series about his life at his cannabis farm in Oregon, called "Growing Belushi".


title: Jim Belushi

text: In August 2022, Belushi appeared as Brother Zee, with Aykroyd and The Blues Brothers Band, at the first "Blues Brothers Con" event held at Old Joliet Prison. The two day festival also featured a screening of the film and performances from Mondo Cortez & The Chicago Blues Angels, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials and Dave Weld & The Imperial Flames.


title: Jim Belushi

text: Belushi has been married three times. On May 17, 1980, he married Sandra Davenport, who gave birth to their son, Robert James, on October 23, 1980. Belushi and Davenport divorced in 1988. Belushi was married to actress Marjorie Bransfield from 1990 to 1992. He married Jennifer Sloan on May 2, 1998; the couple have a daughter and a son. On March 5, 2018, Jennifer Sloan filed for divorce from Belushi. The two have since reconciled.


title: Jim Belushi

text: Belushi is closely linked to his Albanian heritage and received honorary Albanian citizenship, as well as the "Honor of the Nation" Decoration from the President of Albania, Bamir Topi, in 2008. He is Eastern Orthodox Christian, visiting with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2010. Belushi is an avid fan of the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Fire.


title: Jim Belushi

text: Belushi had a legal battle and publicized feud with his neighbor, actress Julie Newmar. She claimed their conflicts stemmed from Belushi's attempt to "build a second house in the back", which she claimed was illegal in their R-1 neighborhood, since there can be only one house per lot. In 2004, Belushi filed a $4million lawsuit against Newmar, alleging "she harassed and defamed him". He also claimed she destroyed his fence, which Newmar denied. They ended the feud in 2006, and Belushi invited Newmar to guest-star on "According to Jim" on an episode which satirized their conflict.


title: Jim Belushi

text: In 2011, Belushi announced he was suffering from gout, and became a spokesman for Savient Pharmaceuticals' educational campaign "Check Out Your Gout". He appeared on the cover of and was interviewed by "Cigar Aficionado" magazine. Jim Belushi had such frequent diarrhea on the set of "According to Jim", castmates and crew started calling him "Jim Bel-loosey". He was later diagnosed with IBS, which he has since become an advocate for.


title: Jim Belushi

text: Belushi endorsed the re-election campaign of Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012. On a Fox News interview, he explained "When you talk to the President in private, he's a cool guy, who knows what he's doing. Besides, I'm from Chicago too."


title: Jim Belushi

text: Belushi built a getaway home in Eagle Point, Oregon in 2015 where he now grows cannabis. By 2018, the size of his Eagle Point property had been expanded to . He is involved with fundraising for projects in Eagle Point and elsewhere in Southern Oregon, including the planned rebuilding of the Butte Creek Mill and the restoration of the Holly Theatre, in Medford. In 2018, he was living in Los Angeles "most of the time", "The Oregonian" reported, and living in Oregon part of the year. Per a 2018 article, Belushi indicated he planned on opening a pop-up cannabis dispensary in downtown Portland.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film stars Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, as members of a family taking the youngest to compete in a child beauty pageant. It was produced by Big Beach Films on a budget of US$8 million. Filming began on June 6, 2005, and took place over 30 days in Arizona and Southern California.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2006, and its distribution rights were bought by Searchlight Pictures for one of the biggest deals made in the history of the festival. The film had a limited release in the United States on July 26, 2006, and later expanded to a wider release starting on August 18.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: "Little Miss Sunshine" was a box office success, earning $101 million, and was praised mainly for the performances, direction, screenplay and humor. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Arndt and Arkin won Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. Breslin was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. It also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature and received numerous other accolades. The film also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Sheryl Hoover is an overworked mother of two living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her gay brother, Frank, an unemployed scholar of Proust, is temporarily living with the family after having attempted suicide. Sheryl's husband Richard is a Type A striving to build a career as a motivational speaker and life coach. Dwayne, Sheryl's Nietzsche-reading teenage son from a previous marriage, has taken a vow of silence until he can accomplish his dream of becoming a fighter pilot. Richard's foul-mouthed father, Edwin, lives with the family after being evicted from a retirement home for snorting heroin. Olive, the daughter of Richard and Sheryl and the youngest of the Hoover family, is an aspiring beauty queen who is coached by Edwin.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Olive learns she has qualified for the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant, being held in Redondo Beach, California in two days. Richard, Sheryl, and Edwin want to support her, and Frank and Dwayne cannot be left alone, so the whole family goes. Because they have little money, they go on an 800-mile road trip in their yellow Volkswagen van. Family tensions play out along the way, amidst the aging van's mechanical problems. When the van breaks down early on, the family learns that they must push the van until it is moving at about 20 mph before it is put into gear, at which point they have to run up to the side door and jump in. Later on, the van's horn starts honking unceasingly by itself, which leads to the family being pulled over by a state trooper.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Throughout the trip, the family suffers numerous personal setbacks and discover their need for each other's support. Richard loses an important contract that would have jump-started his motivational business. Frank encounters the ex-boyfriend who, in leaving him for an academic rival, had prompted his suicide attempt. Edwin dies from a heroin overdose, and the family has to smuggle his body out of the hospital. During the final leg of the trip, Dwayne discovers that he is color blind, meaning he cannot become a pilot. This prompts him to finally break his silence and shout his disdain for his family, though apologizing after Olive calms him with a hug.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: After a frantic race against the clock, the family arrives at the pageant hotel. The other contestants are slim, sexualized pre-teen girls who perform elaborate dance numbers with great panache. Richard and Dwayne realize that the amateur Olive is certain to be humiliated and try to talk her out of performing. Sheryl insists that they "let Olive be Olive", and Olive goes on stage, revealing her hitherto-unseen dance routine that Edwin had taught her to be a striptease performed to a Rocasound revamp of Rick James' "Super Freak". Despite the other girls being over-sexualized, Olive's burlesque performance horrifies most of the audience and organizers, who demand Olive be removed from the stage. The members of the Hoover family join Olive onstage and dance alongside her to show their support.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The family is later released from the hotel's security office on the condition that Olive never enters a beauty pageant in California ever again. Piling into the van with the horn still honking, they happily smash through the barrier of the hotel's toll booth and begin their trip back home to Albuquerque.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: When choosing the cast for the film, directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris were assisted by casting directors Kim Davis and Justine Baddeley who had worked with them on previous music videos. The directors had initially settled on Greg Kinnear to portray Richard Hoover. However, for the character of Sheryl Hoover, they considered several actresses before deciding on Australian actress Toni Collette. Davis and Baddeley traveled to "every English-speaking country" to search for the actress to portray Olive Hoover, and they finally chose actress Abigail Breslin through an audition when she was six. Paul Dano was cast as Dwayne two years before production began and in preparation for portraying his character, spent a few days taking his own vow of silence. Alan Arkin, who portrayed Edwin Hoover, was initially considered too young for the role.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The role of Frank, the suicidal Proust scholar, was originally written for Bill Murray, and there was also studio pressure for Robin Williams. The directing duo chose Steve Carell for the role a few months before filming began, and in an interview revealed: "When we met with Steve Carell, we didn't know he could do this based upon what he had done. But when we met with him and talked to him about the character, the tone of the movie and the way we were approaching it, he was right on the same page with us." Although known to Comedy Central viewers for many years as a correspondent on the highly rated satirical news program "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", at the time Carell was cast for "Little Miss Sunshine", he was relatively unknown in Hollywood. Producers of the film were worried that he was not a big enough star and did not have much acting experience.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The script was written by Michael Arndt and was originally about an East Coast road trip from Maryland to Florida, but was shifted to a journey from New Mexico to California because of budget issues. Arndt started the script on May 23, 2000 and completed the first rough draft by May 26. He had initially planned on shooting the film himself by raising several thousand dollars and using a camcorder. Instead, he gave the screenplay to producers Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger who teamed up with Deep River Productions to find a potential director. Addressing the inclusion of the "Fargo" character Stan Grossman in the film after its release, Arndt stated that he had "just [simply] assumed that people [the filmmakers] [had known] it was a tribute to "Fargo", but that [in actuality] people didn’t realize until we started shooting", in addition expressing gratitude towards the Coen brothers for allowing him to retain the character.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The producers met directors Dayton and Faris while producing "Election" and in turn gave the script to them to read in 2001. The directors commented later on the script stating: "This film really struck a chord. We felt like it was written for us." The script was purchased from first-time screenwriter Arndt for $250,000 by Marc Turtletaub, one of the film's producers, on December 21, 2001. Yerxa and Berger remained as producers as they were responsible for finding the directors and cinematographer, assisting in the ending re-shoot, and helping bring the film to the Sundance Film Festival.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The film was pitched to several studios, and the only interested studio was Focus Features, who wanted to film it in Canada. After the studio attempted to have the film be centered on the character Richard Hoover, and Arndt disagreed, he was fired and replaced by another writer. The new writer added several scenes, including Richard's confrontation with the character who dismisses his motivational technique business. A corporate change brought in a new studio head and Arndt was rehired when the new writer left after four weeks of rewriting the script. After two years of pre-production, Focus Features dropped the film in August 2004. Marc Turtletaub paid $400,000 to Focus Features to buy back the rights to the film and for development costs. He also paid for the $8 million budget, allowing "Little Miss Sunshine" to then be filmed.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Principal photography began on June 6, 2005. Filming took place over 30 days in Arizona and southern California, with scenes shot in keeping with the chronological order of the script. Arndt re-wrote the ending to the film six weeks before the film's release at the Sundance Film Festival, and this was filmed in December 2005. The film was dedicated to Rebecca Annitto, the niece of producer Peter Saraf and an extra in scenes set in the diner and the convenience store, who was killed in a car accident on September 14, 2005.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: When writing the script, Arndt chose the Volkswagen T2 Microbus to use for the road trip based on his experience with the vehicle and its practicality for filming: "I remember thinking, it's a road trip, what vehicle are you going to put them in? And [the] VW bus just seems logical, just because you have these high ceilings and these clean sight lines where you can put the camera. In the front windshield looking back and seeing everybody." Five VW Microbuses were used for the family car as some were modified for different filming techniques. Three of the vans had engines, and the two without were mounted on trailers. During pre-production, the cinematographer used a basic video camera and set it up at angles inside the van to determine the best locations to shoot from during filming. Many of the problems associated with the van that were included in the plot (a broken clutch, a stuck horn, and a detached door), were based on similar problems that writer Arndt experienced during a childhood trip that involved the same type of vehicle.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: While filming the scenes where the family pushes the van to get it started, a stunt coordinator was used to ensure the safety of the actors. In an interview, actor Greg Kinnear jokingly described how the scenes were filmed when he was driving: "I was going like 50 miles an hour in this '71 VW van that doesn't have side airbags. Basically, you'd wait for this huge camera truck to come whizzing in front of us with the camera. 'Okay, go!' I mean, it was insanity; it's the most dangerous movie I've ever made." While filming the scenes in the van, the actors would at times remain in the vehicle for three or four hours a day. For scenes in which Alan Arkin's character was swearing excessively, Breslin had her headphones on and could not hear the dialogue, just like her character in the film. Only when she saw the film did she know what was being said. On July 25, 2006, Fox Searchlight Pictures invited VW bus owners to a screening at Vineland Drive-In theater in Industry, California. Over 60 of the vans were present at the screening.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Prior to writing the script, Arndt read in a newspaper about Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking to a group of high school students and saying "If there's one thing in this world I hate, it's losers. I despise them." As a result, Arndt developed his script lampooning the thought process: "And I thought there's something so wrong with that attitude ... I wanted to ... attack that idea that in life you're going up or you're going down ... So to a degree, a child beauty pageant is the epitome of the ultimate stupid meaningless competition people put themselves through." Co-director Jonathan Dayton also commented on the importance of the pageant to the film: "As far as the pageant goes, it was very important to us that the film not be about pageants. It's about being out of place, it's about not knowing where you're going to end up ..." All the girls acting as participants in the beauty pageant, except Abigail Breslin, were veterans of real beauty pageants. They looked the same and performed the same acts as they had in their real-life pageants. To prepare for filming, the directors attended several pageants in Southern California and met with a coordinator to learn more about the pageant process. A mother of a contestant in the film claimed that the film overplayed practices that the contestants go through: "Most pageants aren't quite like that, with shaving the girls' legs, spraying them with fake tans and putting on so much makeup."


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: When Focus Features initially wanted to film in Canada, the directors opposed it, believing the costs of flying all of the pageant girls and their families would be excessive. The contestants and their families instead spent two weeks filming in a hotel in Ventura with most of the equipment and costumes being provided by the contestants' parents. To make Breslin's character the "plump" figure as shown in the film, she had to wear a padded suit during filming. For Olive's final scene involving her dancing routine, Breslin spent two weeks preparing with a choreographer.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Following the film's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2006, several studios placed bids; Searchlight Pictures won, offering $10.5 million, plus 10% of all the gross revenues. The deal occurred less than a day after the premiere and was one of the biggest deals made in the history of the festival. The previous year's festival had the film "Hustle & Flow" receive $9 million from Paramount Classics and in 1999, "Happy, Texas" received $10 million from Miramax Films.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: "Little Miss Sunshine" initially opened in seven theaters in the U.S. in its first week, earning $498,796. On July 29, 2006, the first Saturday after its initial limited release, "Little Miss Sunshine" earned a $20,335 per-theater average gross. It had the highest per-theater average gross of all the films shown in the United States every day for the first 21 days of its release, until being surpassed by the IMAX film "Deep Sea 3D" on August 15. In its third week of release "Little Miss Sunshine" entered the list of top ten highest grossing American films for the week. It remained in the top ten until the 11th week of release, when it dropped to 11th place. The highest position it reached was third, which occurred in its fifth week of release. The largest number of theaters the film appeared in was 1,602. Internationally, the film earned over $5 million in Australia, $3 million in Germany, $4 million in Spain, and $6 million combined in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Malta. "Little Miss Sunshine" has had gross receipts of $59,891,098 in North America and $40,632,083 internationally for a total of $100,523,181.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The DVD was released on December 19, 2006. It includes a dual-disc widescreen/full screen format, two commentary tracks, four alternate endings, and a music video by DeVotchKa. In its first week of release, DVD sales totaled $19,614,299 and it was the sixth-most sold DVD of the week. By September 16, 2008 gross domestic DVD sales totaled $55,516,832. Rentals of the film from its release through April 15, 2007 totalled $46.32 million. The film was released on Blu-ray on February 10, 2009.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 91% positive aggregate rating, based on 218 reviews, with an average rating of 7.72/10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Little Miss Sunshine" succeeds thanks to a strong ensemble cast that includes Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, and Abigail Breslin, as well as a delightfully funny script." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 80 out of 100, based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Michael Medved gave "Little Miss Sunshine" four out of four, saying that "... this startling and irresistible dark comedy counts as one of the very best films of the year ..." and that directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the movie itself, and actors Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, and Steve Carell deserved Oscar nominations. Joel Siegel issued an 'A' rating, saying that "Orson Welles would have to come back to life for this not to make my year-end Top 10 list." Stella Papamichael of BBC News called the film "a winning blend of sophistication and silliness". "USA Today"s Claudia Puig commented on Breslin's depiction of Olive Hoover, "If Olive had been played by any other little girl, she would not have affected us as mightily as it did."


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" labeled the film with a 'C' rating, calling the characters "walking, talking catalogs of screenwriter index-card data". Jim Ridley of "The Village Voice" called the movie a "rickety vehicle that travels mostly downhill" and a "Sundance clunker". Liam Lacey of "The Globe and Mail" criticized the film, stating "Though "Little Miss Sunshine" is consistently contrived in its characters' too-cute misery, the conclusion, which is genuinely outrageous and uplifting, is almost worth the hype." Anna Nimouse of "National Review" wrote that the film "is praised as a 'feel-good' film, perhaps for moviegoers who like bamboo under their fingernails. If you are miserable, then "Little Miss Sunshine" is the film for you". "Paste Magazine" named it one of the 50 Best Movies of the Decade (2000–2009), ranking it at #34.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Roger Ebert reflected on the film's themes, writing ""Little Miss Sunshine" shows us a world in which there's a form, a brochure, a procedure, a job title, a diet, a step-by-step program, a career path, a prize, a retirement community, to quantify, sort, categorize and process every human emotion or desire. Nothing exists that cannot be compartmentalized or turned into a self-improvement mantra about 'winners and losers.'" Brian Tallerico of UGO.com also focused on the film's themes: ""Little Miss Sunshine" teaches us to embrace that middle ground, acknowledging that life may just be a beauty pageant, where we're often going to be outdone by someone prettier, smarter, or just plain luckier, but if we get up on that stage and be ourselves, everything will turn out fine."


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: "Little Miss Sunshine" was nominated for and won multiple awards from numerous film organizations and festivals. It was nominated for four Academy Awards and was awarded two at the 79th Academy Awards: Michael Arndt received "Best Original Screenplay" and Alan Arkin received "Best Supporting Actor". In addition, the AFI Awards deemed it the "Movie of the Year", while the BAFTA Awards awarded it two awards out of six nominations with "Best Screenplay" for Arndt and "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" for Arkin. The Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and Washington D.C. Area Film Critics commended the film for its ensemble cast. Then 10-year-old Abigail Breslin was nominated for several Best Supporting Actress and Breakthrough Performance awards.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The Deauville Film Festival awarded the film the "Grand Special Prize" while the Palm Springs International Film Festival awarded it the "Chairman's Vanguard Award". The Independent Spirit Awards awarded it four awards out of five nominations, including "Best Feature" and "Best Director". The film's soundtrack was nominated for "Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media" at the Grammy Awards, but lost to "Walk the Line". The film also had multiple nominations at the MTV Movie Awards, Satellite Awards, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, and Golden Globe Awards, among others.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: There was some controversy concerning how many producers should receive an award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their work in producing the film. In 1999, the Academy decided that up to a maximum of three producers are eligible to be included in an award for a film. The rule was implemented to prevent a large number of involved filmmakers to appear on stage when a film was receiving an award. The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has not set a limit of producers that can be honored for a film. In the case of "Little Miss Sunshine", there were five producers (Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, and David Friendly) and the Academy did not want to include Berger and Yerxa. The two producers were responsible for finding the script, introducing the directors to the other producers, choosing the cinematographer, assisting in the re-shoot of the ending, and helping bring the film to the Sundance Film Festival. The Academy acknowledged that the two were partners in the production process, but declared that only individual producers are recognized by the Academy. Deeming the two producers' work as a collective effort, the Academy refused to consider either Berger or Yerxa for the award. Producer David Hoberman commented on the support for honoring all five producers, stating "If there are five people actually involved in producing a movie, there's no reason why someone who's made a good enough film to be nominated for an Academy Award should be precluded from being rewarded for the work they did." Film producer and author Lynda Obst who was affiliated with an Academy Award producer committee, also commented: "By and large, five people don't make a movie. If this is an exception, then it's a sad situation. But you don't destroy a rule for an exception."


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The PGA had previously honored all five of the producers. Albert Berger, reacting to the Academy's decision while at a panel for the film, stated "No matter what the Academy decided, we produced this movie." In June 2007, the Academy announced that they would allow exceptions for films that had more than three producers in the future, stating, "The committee has the right, in what it determines to be a rare and extraordinary circumstance, to name any additional qualified producer as a nominee."


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The score for "Little Miss Sunshine" was written by the Denver band DeVotchKa and composer Mychael Danna. Performed by DeVotchKa, much of the music was adapted from their pre-existing songs, such as "How It Ends", which became "The Winner Is", "The Enemy Guns" and "You Love Me" from the album "How It Ends", and "La Llorona" from "Una Volta".


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: Directors Dayton and Faris were introduced to DeVotchKa's music after hearing the song "You Love Me" on Los Angeles' KCRW radio station. The directors were so impressed with the music that they purchased iPods for cast members containing DeVotchKa albums. Mychael Danna was brought in to help arrange the pre-existing material and collaborate with DeVotchKa on new material for the film. The "Little Miss Sunshine" score was not eligible for Academy Award consideration due to the percentage of material derived from already written DeVotchKa songs. The DeVotchka song "Til the End of Time" received a nomination for a 2006 Satellite Award as "Best Original Song". Both DeVotchKa and Danna received 2007 Grammy nominations for their work on the soundtrack.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: The soundtrack reached #42 on the "Top Independent Albums" and 24 on "Top Soundtracks" in the U.S. for 2006. It contains two songs by Sufjan Stevens ("" and "Chicago"), and songs by Tony Tisdale ("Catwalkin'") and Rick James ("Super Freak"). Two additional songs in the film that were written by Gordon Pogoda—"Let It Go" and "You've Got Me Dancing" (the latter of which he co-wrote with Barry Upton)—are featured during the pageant scenes near the end of the film. "Super Freak", the source music danced to by Olive during the pageant competition, was introduced during post-production by a suggestion from the music supervisor. Arndt's screenplay had called for Prince's song "Peach"; during filming, the ZZ Top song "Gimme All Your Lovin'" was used. For the film, "Super Freak" was remixed by record producer Sebastian Arocha Morton (known professionally as ROCAsound).


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: A musical based on the film, with music and lyrics by William Finn and book and direction by James Lapine, was workshopped at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at White Oak in Yulee, Florida October 25 through November 7, 2009. It then premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse from February 15 through March 27, 2011. The cast features Hunter Foster, Malcolm Gets, Georgi James, Dick Latessa, Jennifer Laura Thompson, and Taylor Trensch.


title: Little Miss Sunshine

text: On March 11, 2011, Gets left the show. Ensemble member Andrew Samonsky took over the role of Uncle Frank, and understudy Ryan Wagner took over the role of Joshua Rose until the show closed on March 27, 2011. The musical premiered at Second Stage Theatre on October 15, 2013 (previews), and officially on November 14, 2013. The production closed on December 15, 2013. The cast features Hannah Rose Nordberg as Olive Hoover, Stephanie J. Block as Sheryl Hoover, Rory O'Malley as Frank Hoover, Wesley Taylor as Joshua Rose, Josh Lamon as Buddy, David Rasche as Grandpa Hoover, Jennifer Sanchez as Miss California and Logan Rowland as Dwayne Hoover.


title: Camera

text: A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a small hole (the aperture) that allows light to pass through in order to capture an image on a light-sensitive surface (usually a digital sensor or photographic film). Cameras have various mechanisms to control how the light falls onto the light-sensitive surface. Lenses focus the light entering the camera, and the aperture can be narrowed or widened. A shutter mechanism determines the amount of time the photosensitive surface is exposed to the light.


title: Camera

text: The still image camera is the main instrument in the art of photography. Captured images may be reproduced later as part of the process of photography, digital imaging, or photographic printing. Similar artistic fields in the moving-image camera domain are film, videography, and cinematography.


title: Camera

text: The word "camera" comes from "camera obscura", the Latin name of the original device for projecting a 2D image onto a flat surface (literally translated to "dark chamber"). The modern photographic camera evolved from the camera obscura. The first permanent photograph was made in 1825 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.


title: Camera

text: Most cameras capture light from the visible spectrum, while specialized cameras capture other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as infrared.


title: Camera

text: All cameras use the same basic design: light enters an enclosed box through a converging or convex lens and an image is recorded on a light-sensitive medium. A shutter mechanism controls the length of time that light enters the camera.


title: Camera

text: Most cameras also have a viewfinder, which shows the scene to be recorded, along with means to adjust various combinations of focus, aperture and shutter speed.


title: Camera

text: Light enters the camera through an aperture, an opening adjusted by overlapping plates called the aperture ring. Typically located in the lens, this opening can be widened or narrowed to alter the amount of light that strikes the film or sensor. The size of the aperture can be set manually, by rotating the lens or adjusting a dial, or automatically based on readings from an internal light meter.


title: Camera

text: As the aperture is adjusted, the opening expands and contracts in increments called "f-stops". The smaller the f-stop, the more light is allowed to enter the lens, increasing the exposure. Typically, f-stops range from 1.4 to 32 in standard increments: 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, and 32. The light entering the camera is halved with each increasing increment.


title: Camera

text: The wider opening at lower f-stops narrows the range of focus so the background is blurry while the foreground is in focus. This depth of field increases as the aperture closes. A narrow aperture results in a high depth of field, meaning that objects at many different distances from the camera will appear to be in focus. What is acceptably in focus is determined by the circle of confusion, the photographic technique, the equipment in use and the degree of magnification expected of the final image.


title: Camera

text: The shutter, along with the aperture, is one of two ways to control the amount of light entering the camera. The shutter determines the duration that the light-sensitive surface is exposed to light. The shutter opens, light enters the camera and exposes the film or sensor to light, and then the shutter closes.


title: Camera

text: There are two types of mechanical shutters: the leaf-type shutter and the focal-plane shutter. The leaf-type uses a circular iris diaphragm maintained under spring tension inside or just behind the lens that rapidly opens and closes when the shutter is released.


title: Camera

text: More commonly, a focal-plane shutter is used. This shutter operates close to the film plane and employs metal plates or cloth curtains with an opening that passes across the light-sensitive surface. The curtains or plates have an opening that is pulled across the film plane during exposure. The focal-plane shutter is typically used in single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, since covering the film (rather than blocking the light passing through the lens) allows the photographer to view the image through the lens at all times, except during the exposure itself. Covering the film also facilitates removing the lens from a loaded camera, as many SLRs have interchangeable lenses.


title: Camera

text: A digital camera may use a mechanical or electronic shutter, the latter of which is common in smartphone cameras. Electronic shutters either record data from the entire sensor at the same time (a global shutter) or record the data line by line across the sensor (a rolling shutter). In movie cameras, a rotary shutter opens and closes in sync with the advancement of each frame of film.


title: Camera

text: The duration for which the shutter is open is called the "shutter speed" or "exposure time". Typical exposure times can range from one second to 1/1,000 of a second, though longer and shorter durations are not uncommon. In the early stages of photography, exposures were often several minutes long. These long exposure times often resulted in blurry images, as a single object is recorded in multiple places across a single image for the duration of the exposure. To prevent this, shorter exposure times can be used. Very short exposure times can capture fast-moving action and eliminate motion blur. However, shorter exposure times require more light to produce a properly exposed image, so shortening the exposure time is not always possible.


title: Camera

text: Like aperture settings, exposure times increment in powers of two. The two settings determine the exposure value (EV), a measure of how much light is recorded during the exposure. There is a direct relationship between the exposure times and aperture settings so that if the exposure time is lengthened one step, but the aperture opening is also narrowed one step, then the amount of light that contacts the film or sensor is the same.


title: Camera

text: In most modern cameras, the amount of light entering the camera is measured using a built-in light meter or exposure meter. Taken through the lens (called " metering"), these readings are taken using a panel of light-sensitive semiconductors. They are used to calculate optimal exposure settings. These settings are typically determined automatically as the reading is used by the camera's microprocessor. The reading from the light meter is incorporated with aperture settings, exposure times, and film or sensor sensitivity to calculate the optimal exposure.


title: Camera

text: Light meters typically average the light in a scene to 18% middle gray. More advanced cameras are more nuanced in their metering—weighing the center of the frame more heavily (center-weighted metering), considering the differences in light across the image (matrix metering), or allowing the photographer to take a light reading at a specific point within the image (spot metering).


title: Camera

text: The lens of a camera captures light from the subject and focuses it on the sensor. The design and manufacturing of the lens are critical to photo quality. A technological revolution in camera design during the 19th century modernized optical glass manufacturing and lens design. This contributed to the modern manufacturing processes of a wide range of optical instruments such as reading glasses and microscopes. Pioneering companies include Zeiss and Leitz.


title: Camera

text: Camera lenses are made in a wide range of focal lengths, such as extreme wide angle, standard, and medium telephoto. Lenses either have a fixed focal length (prime lens) or a variable focal length (zoom lens). Each lens is best suited to certain types of photography. Extreme wide angles might be preferred for architecture due to their ability to capture a wide view of buildings. Standard lenses commonly have a wide aperture, and because of this, they are often used for street and documentary photography. The telephoto lens is useful in sports and wildlife but is more susceptible to camera shake, which might cause motion blur.


title: Camera

text: Due to the optical properties of a photographic lens, only objects within a limited range of distance from the camera will be reproduced clearly. The process of adjusting this range is known as changing the camera's focus. There are various ways to accurately focus a camera. The simplest cameras have fixed focus and use a small aperture and wide-angle lens to ensure that everything within a certain range of distance from the lens, usually around 3 meters (10 ft.) to infinity, is in reasonable focus. Fixed focus cameras are usually inexpensive, such as single-use cameras. The camera can also have a limited focusing range or scale-focus that is indicated on the camera body. The user will guess or calculate the distance to the subject and adjust the focus accordingly. On some cameras, this is indicated by symbols (head-and-shoulders; two people standing upright; one tree; mountains).


title: Camera

text: Rangefinder cameras allow the distance to objects to be measured employing a coupled parallax unit on top of the camera, allowing the focus to be set with accuracy. Single-lens reflex cameras allow the photographer to determine the focus and composition visually using the objective lens and a moving mirror to project the image onto a ground glass or plastic micro-prism screen. Twin-lens reflex cameras use an objective lens and a focusing lens unit (usually identical to the objective lens) in a parallel body for composition and focus. View cameras use a ground glass screen which is removed and replaced by either a photographic plate or a reusable holder containing sheet film before exposure. Modern cameras often offer autofocus systems to focus the camera automatically by a variety of methods.


title: Camera

text: Experimental cameras such as the planar Fourier capture array (PFCA) do not require focusing to take pictures. In conventional digital photography, lenses or mirrors map all of the light originating from a single point of an in-focus object to a single point at the sensor plane. Each pixel thus relates an independent piece of information about the far-away scene. In contrast, a PFCA does not have a lens or mirror, but each pixel has an idiosyncratic pair of diffraction gratings above it, allowing each pixel to likewise relate an independent piece of information (specifically, one component of the 2D Fourier transform) about the far-away scene. Together, complete scene information is captured, and images can be reconstructed by computation.


title: Camera

text: Some cameras support post-focusing. Post focusing refers to taking photos that are later focused on a computer. The camera uses many tiny lenses on the sensor to capture light from every camera angle of a scene, which is known as "plenoptic technology". A current plenoptic camera design has 40,000 lenses working together to grab the optimal picture.


title: Camera

text: Traditional cameras capture light onto photographic plates, or photographic film. Video and digital cameras use an electronic image sensor, usually a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS sensor to capture images which can be transferred or stored in a memory card or other storage inside the camera for later playback or processing.


title: Camera

text: A wide range of film and plate formats have been used by cameras. In the early history plate sizes were often specific for the make and model of cameras although there quickly developed some standardization for the more popular cameras. The introduction of roll film drove the standardization process still further so that by the 1950s only a few standard roll films were in use. These included 120 films providing 8, 12 or 16 exposures, 220 films providing 16 or 24 exposures, 127 films providing 8 or 12 exposures (principally in Brownie cameras) and 135 (35mm film) providing 12, 20 or 36 exposures – or up to 72 exposures in the half-frame format or bulk cassettes for the Leica Camera range.


title: Camera

text: For cine cameras, film 35mm wide and perforated with sprocket holes was established as the standard format in the 1890s. It was used for nearly all film-based professional motion picture production. For amateur use, several smaller and therefore less expensive formats were introduced. 17.5mm film, created by splitting 35mm film, was one early amateur format, but 9.5mm film, introduced in Europe in 1922, and 16 mm film, introduced in the US in 1923, soon became the standards for "home movies" in their respective hemispheres. In 1932, the even more economical 8mm format was created by doubling the number of perforations in 16mm film, then splitting it, usually after exposure and processing. The Super 8 format, still 8mm wide but with smaller perforations to make room for substantially larger film frames, was introduced in 1965.


title: Camera

text: Traditionally used to tell the camera the film speed of the selected film on film cameras, film speed numbers are employed on modern digital cameras as an indication of the system's gain from light to numerical output and to control the automatic exposure system. Film speed is usually measured via the ISO 5800 system. The higher the film speed number, the greater the film sensitivity to light, whereas with a lower number, the film is less sensitive to light.


title: Camera

text: In digital cameras, there is electronic compensation for the color temperature associated with a given set of lighting conditions, ensuring that white light is registered as such on the imaging chip and therefore that the colors in the frame will appear natural. On mechanical, film-based cameras, this function is served by the operator's choice of film stock or with color correction filters. In addition to using white balance to register the natural coloration of the image, photographers may employ white balance to aesthetic end—for example, white balancing to a blue object to obtain a warm color temperature.


title: Camera

text: A flash provides a short burst of bright light during exposure and is a commonly used artificial light source in photography. Most modern flash systems use a battery-powered high-voltage discharge through a gas-filled tube to generate bright light for a very short time (1/1,000 of a second or less).


title: Camera

text: Many flash units measure the light reflected from the flash to help determine the appropriate duration of the flash. When the flash is attached directly to the camera—typically in a slot at the top of the camera (the flash shoe or hot shoe) or through a cable—activating the shutter on the camera triggers the flash, and the camera's internal light meter can help determine the duration of the flash.


title: Camera

text: Additional flash equipment can include a light diffuser, mount and stand, reflector, soft box, trigger and cord.


title: Camera

text: Large format cameras use special equipment that includes magnifier loupe, viewfinder, angle finder, and focusing rail/truck. Some professional SLRs can be provided with interchangeable finders for eye-level or waist-level focusing, focusing screens, eyecup, data backs, motor-drives for film transportation or external battery packs.


title: Camera

text: In photography, the single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is provided with a mirror to redirect light from the lens to the viewfinder prior to releasing the shutter for composing and focusing an image. When the shutter is released, the mirror swings up and away, allowing the exposure of the photographic medium, and instantly returns after the exposure is finished. No SLR camera before 1954 had this feature, although the mirror on some early SLR cameras was entirely operated by the force exerted on the shutter release and only returned when the finger pressure was released. The Asahiflex II, released by Japanese company Asahi (Pentax) in 1954, was the world's first SLR camera with an instant return mirror.


title: Camera

text: In the single-lens reflex camera, the photographer sees the scene through the camera lens. This avoids the problem of parallax which occurs when the viewfinder or viewing lens is separated from the taking lens. Single-lens reflex cameras have been made in several formats including sheet film 5x7" and 4x5", roll film 220/120 taking 8,10, 12, or 16 photographs on a 120 roll, and twice that number of a 220 film. These correspond to 6x9, 6x7, 6x6, and 6x4.5 respectively (all dimensions in cm). Notable manufacturers of large format and roll film SLR cameras include Bronica, Graflex, Hasselblad, Seagull, Mamiya and Pentax. However, the most common format of SLR cameras has been 35 mm and subsequently the migration to digital SLR cameras, using almost identical sized bodies and sometimes using the same lens systems.


title: Camera

text: Almost all SLR cameras use a front-surfaced mirror in the optical path to direct the light from the lens via a viewing screen and pentaprism to the eyepiece. At the time of exposure, the mirror is flipped up out of the light path before the shutter opens. Some early cameras experimented with other methods of providing through-the-lens viewing, including the use of a semi-transparent pellicle as in the Canon "Pellix" and others with a small periscope such as in the Corfield Periflex series.


title: Camera

text: The large-format camera, taking sheet film, is a direct successor of the early plate cameras and remained in use for high-quality photography and technical, architectural, and industrial photography. There are three common types: the view camera, with its monorail and field camera variants, and the press camera. They have extensible bellows with the lens and shutter mounted on a lens plate at the front. Backs taking roll film and later digital backs are available in addition to the standard dark slide back. These cameras have a wide range of movements allowing very close control of focus and perspective. Composition and focusing are done on view cameras by viewing a ground-glass screen which is replaced by the film to make the exposure; they are suitable for static subjects only and are slow to use.


title: Camera

text: The earliest cameras produced in significant numbers were "plate cameras", using sensitized glass plates. Light entered a lens mounted on a lens board which was separated from the plate by extendible bellows. There were simple box cameras for glass plates but also single-lens reflex cameras with interchangeable lenses and even for color photography (Autochrome Lumière). Many of these cameras had controls to raise, lower, and tilt the lens forwards or backward to control perspective.


title: Camera

text: Focusing of these plate cameras was by the use of a ground glass screen at the point of focus. Because lens design only allowed rather small aperture lenses, the image on the ground glass screen was faint and most photographers had a dark cloth to cover their heads to allow focusing and composition to be carried out more easily. When focus and composition were satisfactory, the ground glass screen was removed, and a sensitized plate was put in its place protected by a dark slide. To make the exposure, the dark slide was carefully slid out and the shutter opened, and then closed and the dark slide replaced.


title: Camera

text: Glass plates were later replaced by sheet film in a dark slide for sheet film; adapter sleeves were made to allow sheet film to be used in plate holders. In addition to the ground glass, a simple optical viewfinder was often fitted.


title: Camera

text: Medium-format cameras have a film size between the large-format cameras and smaller 35 mm cameras. Typically these systems use 120 or 220 roll film. The most common image sizes are 6×4.5 cm, 6×6 cm and 6×7 cm; the older 6×9 cm is rarely used. The designs of this kind of camera show greater variation than their larger brethren, ranging from monorail systems through the classic Hasselblad model with separate backs, to smaller rangefinder cameras. There are even compact amateur cameras available in this format.


title: Camera

text: Twin-lens reflex cameras used a pair of nearly identical lenses: one to form the image and one as a viewfinder. The lenses were arranged with the viewing lens immediately above the taking lens. The viewing lens projects an image onto a viewing screen which can be seen from above. Some manufacturers such as Mamiya also provided a reflex head to attach to the viewing screen to allow the camera to be held to the eye when in use. The advantage of a TLR was that it could be easily focused using the viewing screen and that under most circumstances the view seen in the viewing screen was identical to that recorded on film. At close distances, however, parallax errors were encountered, and some cameras also included an indicator to show what part of the composition would be excluded.


title: Camera

text: Some TLRs had interchangeable lenses, but as these had to be paired lenses, they were relatively heavy and did not provide the range of focal lengths that the SLR could support. Most TLRs used 120 or 220 films; some used the smaller 127 films.


title: Camera

text: After exposure, every photograph is taken through pinch rollers inside of the instant camera. Thereby the developer paste contained in the paper 'sandwich' is distributed on the image. After a minute, the cover sheet just needs to be removed and one gets a single original positive image with a fixed format. With some systems, it was also possible to create an instant image negative, from which then could be made copies in the photo lab. The ultimate development was the SX-70 system of Polaroid, in which a row of ten shots – engine driven – could be made without having to remove any cover sheets from the picture. There were instant cameras for a variety of formats, as well as adapters for instant film use in medium- and large-format cameras.


title: Camera

text: Subminiature cameras were first produced in the nineteenth century and use film significantly smaller than 35mm. The expensive 8×11mm Minox, the only type of camera produced by the company from 1937 to 1976, became very widely known and was often used for espionage (the Minox company later also produced larger cameras). Later inexpensive subminiatures were made for general use, some using rewound 16 mm cine film. Image quality with these small film sizes was limited.


title: Camera

text: The introduction of films enabled the existing designs for plate cameras to be made much smaller and for the baseplate to be hinged so that it could be folded up, compressing the bellows. These designs were very compact and small models were dubbed "vest pocket" cameras. Folding roll film cameras were preceded by folding plate cameras, more compact than other designs.


title: Camera

text: Box cameras were introduced as budget-level cameras and had few, if any controls. The original box Brownie models had a small reflex viewfinder mounted on the top of the camera and had no aperture or focusing controls and just a simple shutter. Later models such as the Brownie 127 had larger direct view optical viewfinders together with a curved film path to reduce the impact of deficiencies in the lens.


title: Camera

text: As camera lens technology developed and wide aperture lenses became more common, rangefinder cameras were introduced to make focusing more precise. Early rangefinders had two separate viewfinder windows, one of which is linked to the focusing mechanisms and moved right or left as the focusing ring is turned. The two separate images are brought together on a ground glass viewing screen. When vertical lines in the object being photographed meet exactly in the combined image, the object is in focus. A normal composition viewfinder is also provided. Later the viewfinder and rangefinder were combined. Many rangefinder cameras had interchangeable lenses, each lens requiring its range- and viewfinder linkages.


title: Camera

text: A movie camera or a video camera operates similarly to a still camera, except it records a series of static images in rapid succession, commonly at a rate of 24 frames per second. When the images are combined and displayed in order, the illusion of motion is achieved.


title: Camera

text: Cameras that capture many images in sequence are known as movie cameras or as cine cameras in Europe; those designed for single images are still cameras. However, these categories overlap as still cameras are often used to capture moving images in special effects work and many modern cameras can quickly switch between still and motion recording modes.


title: Camera

text: A ciné camera or movie camera takes a rapid sequence of photographs on an image sensor or strips of film. In contrast to a still camera, which captures a single snapshot at a time, the ciné camera takes a series of images, each called a "frame", through the use of an intermittent mechanism.


title: Camera

text: The frames are later played back in a ciné projector at a specific speed, called the "frame rate" (number of frames per second). While viewing, a person's eyes and brain merge the separate pictures to create the illusion of motion. The first ciné camera was built around 1888 and by 1890 several types were being manufactured. The standard film size for ciné cameras was quickly established as 35mm film and this remained in use until the transition to digital cinematography. Other professional standard formats include 70 mm film and 16 mm film whilst amateur filmmakers used 9.5 mm film, 8 mm film, or Standard 8 and Super 8 before the move into digital format.


title: Camera

text: The size and complexity of ciné cameras vary greatly depending on the uses required of the camera. Some professional equipment is very large and too heavy to be handheld whilst some amateur cameras were designed to be very small and light for single-handed operation.


title: Camera

text: A professional video camera (often called a "television camera" even though the use has spread beyond television) is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images (as opposed to a movie camera, that earlier recorded the images on film). Originally developed for use in television studios, they are now also used for music videos, direct-to-video movies, corporate and educational videos, marriage videos, etc.


title: Camera

text: A camcorder is an electronic device combining a video camera and a video recorder. Although marketing materials may use the colloquial term "camcorder", the name on the package and manual is often "video camera recorder". Most devices capable of recording video are camera phones and digital cameras primarily intended for still pictures; the term "camcorder" is used to describe a portable, self-contained device, with video capture and recording its primary function.


title: Camera

text: A digital camera (or digicam) is a camera that encodes digital images and videos and stores them for later reproduction. They typically use semiconductor image sensors. Most cameras sold today are digital, and they are incorporated into many devices ranging from mobile phones (called camera phones) to vehicles.