title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The drama's success factors were attributed to its elaborate screenplay, beautiful love story and the co-production between South Korea and China. "The Korea Times" said, "At a time when Korean melodramas are said to have been losing steam, 'Descendants of the Sun' brought fantasy together with a number of different genres to create a high quality production." and "the drama appeals to viewers' desires for justice in a society that appears to lack it." Chinese Government mouthpiece "People's Daily" praised it as "an excellent advertisement for conscription" showcasing South Korea's "national spirit" and "communitarian culture". The drama also earned plaudits from (former) president Park Geun-hye, who praised the drama for instilling "patriotism" among young Koreans. She also called "Descendants" an exemplary case of the positive effects of cultural content on the manufacturing industry.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: In China, iQiyi bought the exclusive rights to stream the show for US$250,000 per episode which, in total, is equivalent to about 40% of the show's production costs. The show was released simultaneously in South Korea and China, the first Korean drama to do so, and was viewed 2.4 billion times by April 2016. The success of the drama was credited for driving up the paid membership of iQiyi. Also the reports have claimed that the drama was sold for US$100,000 per episode in Japan.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The drama's success helped boost Korea's economy; contributing in a rise of tourists, overseas sales of products (exports), and creating new jobs. "Descendants" has been reported to have earned 3 billion won from product placement advertisements (PPL) and 10 billion won from sales of related sound tracks and video-on-demand service. According to reports, the direct and indirect economic effects of "Descendants" are estimated to hover above 1 trillion won ($880 million).


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The "Two Tone Lip Bar" lipstick that Song Hye-kyo wore in a scene on the show has broken sales records for Aritaum in South Korea with Laneige subsequently hosting its own Descendants of the Sun makeup event on its homepage. The product became so popular that it sold out four days after its release on the popular Chinese shopping website, 11th Street, owned by its Korean parent-company, SK Planet. The same product also experienced "double digit growth" in Singapore.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Laneige, Dal.Komm Coffee, KGC Cheong Kwan Jang Korean Red Ginseng, Subway and Hyundai all reported a surge in sales after exposure of their products in the drama. The popularity of the show has also led to KBS launching several merchandise of the drama, such as cookies, memory sticks, emoticons and commemorative medals, which were specially created and sold to fans.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Filming locations and sets of the show underwent restoration by the government, due to the demands by both local and foreign tourists. Camp Greaves, the former U.S. military camp near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Paju, north of Seoul, was turned into a park composed of separate zones focusing on natural scenery, culture and arts, and military experience. The Taebak film site was also re-modeled as a tourist site, where visitors can browse the medical camp and military base wearing costumes with the same design as those worn by the cast.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The set in Taebaek was featured on popular variety shows "2 Days & 1 Night" and "Battle Trip". Navagio, one of the iconic locations where the "relationship between the lead characters blossom", experienced a surge in popularity among Chinese and Korean tourists.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The success of the drama has given rise to the popularity of "soldier talk", a style of Korean speaking only used in the military. There is also a spike in the number of young men wanting to join South Korean special forces units for their mandatory military service.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The popularity of the series in China caused concern with the country's Ministry of Public Security, posting a warning on its official Weibo account against the drama warning viewers "watching Korean dramas could be dangerous, and even lead to legal troubles". It was part of a growing concern among Chinese officials at the time who were wary of the growing influence of Korean pop culture on the Chinese populace since the similar success of "My Love from the Star" which aired in 2014. When Samgyetang (a Korean chicken soup) was featured in the drama, it gained wider appeal among the Chinese.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: During its run in Singapore, it was the most-watched show on OTT video streaming provider Viu in the country and enjoyed ratings as high as 31.8%. Statistics from March 2016 showed about 60% of users on Viu had tuned in to watch the drama. In the week following its finale, eight songs from the drama's soundtrack occupied the top 10, including the top six positions, of Singapore's Top 30 Singles chart. The show was also dubbed in Hindi and telecasted on Indian TV Channel, Zindagi and became one of the first K-dramas to be available on a widely known Indian cable network. The popularity of the show drew 8000 tourists from Vietnam, who signed up for tour packages to visit major sightseeing areas and filming locations of "Descendants". Prior to the airing of the show, there was a debate on whether it's appropriate for Vietnamese to watch it given the alleged atrocities committed by Korean soldiers against civilians during the Vietnam War.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: While prior to the screening of the drama in Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-cha, the prime minister of Thailand, called for citizens of Thailand to watch the drama claiming it conveys messages of "patriotism, sacrifice, obeying orders and being a dutiful citizen". The drama's lead star, Song Joong-ki, was invited to Thailand by Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. He visited the country to promote the drama as part of his Asia tour. Song-Song couple also attended a promotional event for the premiere of the drama in Hong Kong. There it recorded over 1.2 million views on ViuTV.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: In late 2016, Google Trends revealed that in 2016 most people in Sri Lanka searched for "Descendants of the Sun" rather than "Donald Trump" which stood in stark contrast to most of the world. There the drama is available to stream on Iflix with Sinhalese and English subtitles. The drama also contributed to the rise of tourism in Greece, where scenes of the drama were shot. Additionally it enjoyed popularity in the United States, where the drama was the most-searched on video streaming website Viki. The drama was also broadcast around the world on KBS World with English subtitles; and due to its popularity the drama was put up for streaming worldwide on Netflix.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Although Descendants of the Sun received mostly positive reception, there has been controversy surrounding the use of product placement in this drama. Some critics argued that there was excessive product placement in the drama and that the use of product placement undermined the drama's content and artistry. Kim Si-hyoung, cinematographer of "Descendants" admitted that product placement was excessive, but argued that they were “essential,” as he and other production staff found it hard to secure revenues from TV advertising.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The series also drew criticism for its unconvincing plot and unrealistic storyline. Critics say that the drama ironically reflects what today's South Korean society lacks, such as the cohesive military culture; and also pointed out deeply embedded sexual discrimination featured in the drama. The drama was also accused of missing a noticeable plot, and kept with the terrestrial tradition of being overly predictable.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: A Chinese film adaptation produced by Huace Film & TV and directed by Zhang Yibai is planned. A book based on the script is also planned for release.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: A Philippine television adaptation produced by GMA Network was aired from February 10 to December 25, 2020 for 65 episodes.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: A Vietnamese television adaptation titled ""Hậu duệ mặt trời"" was aired on September 2018 for 48 episodes.


title: Irréversible

text: Irréversible () is a 2002 French experimental psychological thriller film written and directed by Gaspar Noé. Starring Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel, the plot depicts the events of a tragic night in Paris as two men attempt to avenge the brutal rape and beating of the woman they love. The film was edited as continuous shot and is told in reverse order, with each scene taking place chronologically before the one that precedes it.


title: Irréversible

text: Theatrically released in France, the United Kingdom and the United States, "Irréversible" competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and won the Bronze Horse at the Stockholm International Film Festival. Critical reception was mixed, with praise towards the performances and Noé's direction, but criticism towards its graphic portrayal of violence and rape. American film critic Roger Ebert called "Irréversible" "a movie so violent and cruel that most people will find it unwatchable".


title: Irréversible

text: During a night in Paris, emergency personnel respond to an altercation at the Rectum, a gay BDSM club. Two men are taken outside the club: Marcus, who's being carried out on a stretcher; and Pierre, who's being arrested by the police.


title: Irréversible

text: The next scene shows a volatile Marcus and reluctant Pierre enter the Rectum in search of a perverted psychopath known as Le Tenia. Marcus then proceeds to get into a fight with a man he suspects of being Le Tenia, who ends up breaking his arm before attempting to rape him. Pierre comes to his rescue and beats the man to death with a nearby fire extinguisher as the man's companion watches in amusement.


title: Irréversible

text: As the film progresses, it's revealed the two men are attempting to avenge a brutal attack on Alex, Marcus' girlfriend and Pierre's ex. In the proper chronology, Alex leaves a party attended by the two men due to Marcus' behavior and walks home alone through a pedestrian underpass when she notices a transgender prostitute getting attacked by Le Tenia, who turns out to be the companion of the man killed at the Rectum. Upon realizing he's been seen, Le Tenia immediately turns his attention to Alex, brutally raping her before savagely beating her into unconsciousness. After Marcus and Pierre discover Alex being taken away by paramedics, they encounter street criminals Mourad and Layde, who offer to help them find the culprit. The group tracks down Concha, the prostitute from before, through an ID she left at the scene. Concha identifies Le Tenia as Alex's rapist, setting up the events at the Rectum.


title: Irréversible

text: The last scenes of the film depict Alex, Marcus and Pierre earlier in the day where it's implied Alex left the more reserved Pierre for the uninhibited Marcus because he couldn't satisfy her sexually, which the former still holds frustration over. The film then reveals that Alex received a positive result on a pregnancy test she took at the start of the day. In the final scene, Alex is shown reading in a park before the film transitions to a strobe effect that ends with the message ""Le Temps Detruit Tout"", which is French for ""Time Destroys Everything"".


title: Irréversible

text: "Irréversible" was originally titled as "Danger". Gaspar Noé first found financing for the new title after he pitched the story to be told in reverse, in order to capitalize on the popularity of Christopher Nolan's film "Memento" (2000).


title: Irréversible

text: "Irréversible" was shot using a widescreen lightweight Minima Super16 mm camera. The film consists of about a dozen apparently unbroken shots melded together from hundreds of shots. This included a nine-minute-long rape scene, portrayed in a single, unbroken shot. Noé said he had no idea how long the rape scene was going to last, as this was determined by Monica Bellucci, who essentially directed the scene, and Jo Prestia, who played her assailant. Noé stated in interviews that during the production of the film he used cocaine in order to help him carry the large cameras needed to capture the rotating shots in the film.


title: Irréversible

text: Computer-generated imagery was used in post-production for the penis in the rape scene. Another example is the scene where Pierre beats a man's face and crushes his skull with a fire extinguisher. CGI was used to augment the results, as initial footage using a conventional latex dummy proved unconvincing. During the first sixty minutes of its running time, the film uses an extremely low-frequency sound of 27Hz to create a state of nausea and anxiety in the audience, as it is not immediately perceptible to the spectator, but enough to evoke a physical response. This technique, called Sensurround, involves the intentional use of a sub-audible sound to enhance the spectator’s experience of a movie, in this case, deliberately making them uncomfortable.


title: Irréversible

text: The film premiered in France on 22 May 2002 through Mars Distribution. It competed at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in the United Kingdom on 31 January 2003 through Metro Tartan Distribution, and the United States on 7 March 2003 through Lions Gate Films. Audience reactions to both the rape scene and the murder scene have ranged from appreciation of their artistic merits to leaving the theater in disgust. "Newsweek"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s David Ansen stated that "If outraged viewers (mostly women) at the Cannes Film Festival are any indication, this will be the most walked-out-of movie of 2003." In the same review, Ansen suggested that the film displayed "an adolescent pride in its own ugliness".


title: Irréversible

text: Critical response to the film was divided, with some critics panning the film and others considering it one of the year's best. The film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 123 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.10/10. The website's critics' consensus states: "Though well-filmed, "Irréversible" feels gratuitous in its extreme violence." The American film critic Roger Ebert argued that the film's structure makes it inherently moral; that by presenting vengeance before the acts that inspire it, we are forced to process the vengeance first, and therefore think more deeply about its implications.


title: Irréversible

text: "Irréversible" won the top award, the Bronze Horse for best film, at the 2002 Stockholm International Film Festival. It was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Award by the Film Critics Circle of Australia. It was voted Best Foreign Language Film by the San Diego Film Critics Society, tied with "The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares)". It grossed $792,200 from theatrical screenings.


title: Irréversible

text: The film received three votes in the 2012 "Sight & Sound" critics' poll of the greatest films and in 2016 was listed by critic Andreas Borcholte as one of the ten best films since 2000.


title: Irréversible

text: "Irréversible" has been associated with a series of films defined as the "cinéma du corps" ("cinema of the body"), which according to Palmer includes: an attenuated use of narrative, assaulting and often illegible cinematography, confrontational subject material, and a pervasive sense of social nihilism or despair. "Irréversible" has also been associated with the New French Extremity movement.


title: Irréversible

text: Film critic David Edelstein argued ""Irréversible" might be the most homophobic movie ever made." Noé's depiction of gay criminal Le Tenia raping the female lead, Alex, remains the film's most controversial image. In his defense, Noé stated, "I'm not homophobic", noting "I also appear in "Irréversible", masturbating at the gay club", as a means of showing "I didn't feel superior to gay people".


title: Encanto

text: Encanto is a 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 60th film produced by the studio, it was directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, co-directed by Charise Castro Smith, and produced by Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer, with original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The screenplay was written by Castro Smith and Bush, both of whom also wrote the film's story with Howard, Miranda, Jason Hand, and Nancy Kruse. The film stars the voices of Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitán, Diane Guerrero, and Wilmer Valderrama. "Encanto" follows a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch (Botero) whose children and grandchildren—except for Mirabel Madrigal (Beatriz)—receive magical gifts from a miracle that helps them serve the people in their rural community called the Encanto. When Mirabel learns that the family is losing their magic, she sets out to find out what is happening, and save her family and their magical house.


title: Encanto

text: "Encanto" premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 3, 2021, and was released in the United States on November 24 over a 30-day theatrical run. It was also released in 3D, 2D and D-BOX formats. It grossed over $256 million worldwide against a $120–150 million budget, and achieved wider commercial success when released onto Disney+ on December 24, 2021. Its soundtrack went viral and reached number one on the US "Billboard" 200 and UK Compilation Albums charts; "We Don't Talk About Bruno" and "Surface Pressure" were its two most successful songs, with the former topping both the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart for multiple weeks.


title: Encanto

text: Upon release, "Encanto" received critical acclaim for its characterization, music, animation, voice acting, emotional depth, and cultural fidelity; reviews named magic realism and transgenerational trauma as the film's core concepts. Publications have described "Encanto" as a cultural phenomenon. The film was nominated for three awards at the 94th Academy Awards, winning Best Animated Feature, and received numerous other accolades.


title: Encanto

text: An armed conflict forces Pedro and Alma Madrigal, a young married couple, to flee their home village in Colombia with their infant triplets Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno. The attackers kill Pedro, but the candle of Alma magically repels the attackers and creates Casita, a sentient house for the family located in "Encanto", a magical realm, bordered by high mountains.


title: Encanto

text: Fifty years later, a new village thrives under the candle's protection, and its magic grants "gifts" to each Madrigal descendant at the age of five which they use to serve the villagers. However, Bruno, vilified and scapegoated for his gift of seeing the future, disappeared ten years earlier, while Julieta's youngest daughter, 15-year-old Mirabel, had mysteriously received no gift.


title: Encanto

text: On the evening when 5-year-old Antonio gains the ability to communicate with animals, Mirabel suddenly sees Casita cracking and the candle's flame flickering, but her warnings go unheeded when Casita appears undamaged to the others. After overhearing Alma praying, Mirabel resolves to save the miracle's magic. The next day, she talks to her super-strong older sister Luisa, who confesses to feeling overwhelmed by her near-constant obligations then suggests that Bruno's room, in a forbidden tower in Casita, may explain the phenomenon.


title: Encanto

text: There, Mirabel discovers a cave and barely escapes it with some pieces of a slab of opaque emerald glass in hand. Outside, Luisa discovers that her gift is weakening. After her family reminds her why Bruno is vilified, Mirabel reassembles the glass and sees a picture of herself with Casita cracking behind her.


title: Encanto

text: Later that evening, Mirabel's oldest sister Isabela, who can make plants and flowers grow at will, is scheduled to become engaged to neighbor Mariano Guzmán. Amidst Mariano's proposal and an awkward dinner, Dolores, who possesses superhuman hearing, reveals Mirabel's discovery to everyone, causing Casita to crack again, ruining the night and Mariano's proposal when the weather-controlling Pepa inadvertently conjures a downpour.


title: Encanto

text: Amidst the chaos, Mirabel follows a group of rats and discovers a secret passage behind a portrait where she finds Bruno is hiding. Bruno reveals he never left the house, and that the vision changes between Mirabel saving and cracking the Casita, making him believe that she is the key to the Casita magic; refusing to let Mirabel get hurt, he broke the vision and disappeared. In Antonio's room, Bruno reluctantly conjures another vision that resembles the previous one, along with Mirabel embracing Isabela and strengthening the candle.


title: Encanto

text: Mirabel reluctantly apologizes to Isabela, who abruptly confesses that she does not want to marry Mariano and is burdened by her image of perfection. Mirabel helps Isabela develop her powers and the two embrace, but Alma sees the pair and accuses Mirabel of causing the family's misfortunes out of spite for not having a gift. Mirabel finally snaps at Alma for deeming her not good enough for the family, blaming her overbearing nature for weakening the family's magic. This argument creates a fissure that splits the nearby mountain and demolishes Casita as the candle extinguishes, leaving the Madrigals powerless. A devastated Mirabel runs away from the family, who scramble to find her.


title: Encanto

text: Several hours later, Alma finds a tearful Mirabel back at the river where Pedro died and explains her tragic backstory and how, determined to preserve the magic, she ignored how her expectations were harming the family and finally accepts responsibility for what happened. Mirabel and Alma reconcile and the two, with Bruno in tow, assemble the Madrigals to rebuild Casita with the townsfolk joining in. Mirabel installs a new doorknob to the main door, restoring the family's gifts and reviving Casita. She and Bruno join the family for another photo.


title: Encanto

text: Additionally, Rose Portillo voices Señora Guzman, Mariano's mother and the Madrigal family's neighbor; Alyssa Bella Candiani, Noemi Josefina Flores, Paisley Herrera, Brooklyn Skylar Rodriguez, and Ezra Rudulph voice the town kids; Juan Castano voices Osvaldo, a donkey delivery man who Bruno predicted would grow a gut which came true; Sarah-Nicole Robles voices Señora Ozma, a townsperson who once asked Luisa to reroute the river; Hector Elias voices Old Arturo, a townsperson who asks Alma about their fellow townspeople becoming anxious about the fading magic; Alan Tudyk voices Pico, a toucan who Bush described as "clueless"; and Jorge E. Ruize Cano voices Tiple Maestro.


title: Encanto

text: During a November 2016 publicity tour for "Moana", Miranda revealed that early-stage work had begun on an animated project that John Lasseter, then the chief creative officer of Disney Animation, had presented to him and Howard. Howard and Bush subsequently revealed that after finishing "Zootopia" (2016), they knew they wanted their next project to be a musical—which turned into a Latin-American musical after Miranda came on board. Howard and Bush had already worked on buddy films "where two characters go out into the world and learn about each other" and wanted to try something "completely different". The three men discussed their common experience of having large extended families, and decided to make a musical film about a large extended family with a dozen main characters.


title: Encanto

text: During the five years it took to develop the film, Howard and Bush's "true north" was the theme of perspective, "about how you see the other people in your family and how you're seen". They began by brainstorming ideas on a whiteboard. Early on, they made "three important discoveries" about families which became the basis of the film's story: "1) "most" of us don't feel truly seen by our families, 2) "most" of us carry burdens we never let our families see, and 3) "most" of us are oblivious that nearly "all of us", especially within our own families, feel the exact same way". In turn, it was Miranda who suggested that the "vibrant, broad spectrum" of Latin-American music could "best capture" the complexity of family relationships.


title: Encanto

text: Early in development, the production team spoke with many therapists and psychologists. All were asked who would be treated best by the parents in a four-person family; every answer differed. Bush concluded: "It's about how you perceive yourself in the family." The crew also consulted family members and Disney Animation people.


title: Encanto

text: Howard and Bush started to discuss Latin-American culture at length with Juan Rendon and Natalie Osma, who had previously worked with them on the making-of documentary "Imagining Zootopia". Rendon and Osma both happened to be from Colombia and repeatedly drew upon their personal experiences with Colombian culture in their discussions, which caused Howard, Bush, and Miranda to focus their research on that country. Rendon and Osma became the first two of several cultural experts hired by Disney Animation as consultants on the film, who collectively formed what Disney called the "Colombian Cultural Trust".


title: Encanto

text: In 2018, Rendon and Osma accompanied Howard, Bush, and Miranda on a research trip to Colombia. During their two weeks in the country, they met with architects, chefs, and artisans to immerse themselves in the country's culture. They also visited the Gabriel García Márquez foundation. They visited big cities like Bogotá and Cartagena, but they found inspiration in small towns such as Salento (terrain) and Barichara (architecture). Bush noticed that "every town we went to had a very specific personality", because of how the country's mountainous terrain divides and isolates them.


title: Encanto

text: According to Disney fan club publication "Disney twenty-three," this isolation became the key to placing the Madrigals' residence in a "remote 'encanto'—that is, a place that's 'charmed', or spiritually blessed, a domain where magic and reality merge". As Colombian tourist guide Alejandra Espinosa Uribe explained, Colombians are surrounded by "sacred lands that feel magical, and we coexist with them, not questioning their existence".


title: Encanto

text: In Barichara, they befriended Espinosa Uribe, who showed them around the town, and later hired her to consult on the film's historical and cultural authenticity. Espinosa Uribe was an inspiration for several aspects of the film's protagonist Mirabel, including her curly black hair, large eyeglasses, and gestures. The design of Mirabel's skirt was inspired by traditional skirts woven in the Vélez area.


title: Encanto

text: The final version of the film is deliberately vague as to the timeframe in which it is set, but drew inspiration from early 20th-century Colombia. After exploring the 1950s, the directors decided to shift the look of the film to the early 1900s and to use a "folkloric Colombian aesthetic". At the beginning of the 20th century, the country endured the Thousand Days' War, which resulted in the populations of entire villages fleeing to save themselves as depicted in the film.


title: Encanto

text: As the film steadily became more complex, with an entire family to develop, multiple songs, and a rich cultural setting with a deep tradition of magical realism, Howard and Bush realized they needed a second screenwriter to help write the screenplay. They selected Charise Castro Smith for her strong background in magical realism and experience with handling "real-world family dynamics". Bush described her as a "godsend", as she provided "a foundation of heart, vulnerability and authenticity". Castro Smith sought to create a distinct, imperfect, and completely human character in Mirabel, one that spoke to the lives of many Latinas while also being relatable to viewers globally.


title: Encanto

text: From working on "Moana", Miranda knew that film's protagonist, Moana, originally had eight brothers before they were removed to streamline the film's plot. As Miranda had expected from that experience, Disney Animation initially resisted moving forward with a dozen main characters for "Encanto". Miranda deliberately wrote the film's opening number, "The Family Madrigal", to prove to Disney Animation that it was possible to efficiently introduce such a large family and its internal dynamics to the audience. Because of the film's 90-minute runtime, the filmmakers struggled to make the center family feel genuine, fleshed out, and human, and to give them arcs.


title: Encanto

text: The crew worked hard to develop "Encanto" upon instantly identifiable family archetypes. The team focused on pushing past the archetypes and showing that family members are more complicated than the "masks" imposed on them. Each member of the Madrigal family is inspired by a common family archetype if it were exaggerated and made magical; for example, Isabela and Luisa are based on that of the golden child and rock, respectively. Bush explained that this method prevented each gift from feeling arbitrary, instead being prescribed by emotions and personality.


title: Encanto

text: Like most Disney Animation films, "Encanto" went through "many different versions" in its development, as various story ideas were explored and discarded. The ideas discarded along the way include: a young modern-day woman is transported by a magical doorknob to another world; Agustín was the family patriarch who discovered Encanto and personally built Casita there; the film would have been expressly set in the 1950s and featured cosmopolitan and modern fashions, as well as motor vehicles and a trip to the big city where Alma had originally come from; Casita was an extension of only Alma's personality, rather than the entire family; the film would have followed the story of multiple generations and Casita over a 100-year timespan; Mirabel was desperately trying to find her magical gift, rather than merely expressing frustration with not being granted one; the colors of Mirabel's world as seen from her perspective would have reflected her emotional state as she narrated the first two acts, and then changed over to more realistic colors when the film shifted to Alma's point of view in the third act; Luisa's room would have been made out of stone and appeared "boring" to reflect her sense of responsibility, but would have concealed a "secret exit" to a hidden room similar to a "theme park" where she could have fun; and Isabela at one point had a "dorky" suitor named Bubo who came from the big city.


title: Encanto

text: After the film's release, Bush revealed via Twitter several more ideas which had been discussed and set aside: Alma gave birth to the triplets at the river, at the moment of Pedro's death; Isabela and Mirabel's mutual hostility culminated in a fistfight; and Mirabel celebrated her quinceañera. According to Howard, as the plot evolved over several years, "the core of the whole film" was always the relationship between Mirabel and Alma.


title: Encanto

text: Disney cast several actors with Colombian heritage, including Stephanie Beatriz, whose father is Colombian; John Leguizamo, who was born in Bogotá; and Wilmer Valderrama, who spent his childhood in Colombia, where his mother is from.


title: Encanto

text: Though no obvious roles which he could voice existed, due to the Madrigals' Colombian nationality and Mirabel's lack of an animal sidekick, Alan Tudyk—considered Disney's "good luck charm"—makes a cameo as Pico, a toucan. When he first came into the recording studio, Tudyk informed the crew that their scratch vocals for Pico were not actually those of toucans, but instead were parrots. He spent many hours doing imitations of various toucans. The team would speak to him in English, and Tudyk would respond using toucan noises.


title: Encanto

text: "Encanto" was the "hardest film" to date for heads of animation Renato dos Anjos and Kira Lehtomaki because they were asked to fully develop a dozen characters, as opposed to other animated films which primarily feature two or three characters out of a large cast. Accordingly, the characters required a degree of complexity that Disney Animation had previously never achieved. Journalist Edna Liliana Valencia Murillo was the Afro-Caribbean consultant and contributed greatly towards Félix, Dolores, and Antonio's designs. According to Howard, certain characters' Afro–Latin hairstyles were essential. Neysa and Lorelay Bové, the costume design lead and associate production designer respectively, hoped to represent the film's various communities well. Neysa requested Colombian consultants, which included an anthropologist and botanist.


title: Encanto

text: Instead of fabrics similar to neoprene that are often depicted in films, the characters' costumes are generally loose. The clothes are meant to appear as though they are from Colombia. The designers emphasized embroidery, texture, and movement; each costume—except Isabela's—is asymmetric, with a handmade feeling. In "Encanto", personalities and family ties are represented through color. For example, Pepa and Félix's side of the family wear warm tones of orange, yellow, and red—an homage to his Caribbean ancestry.


title: Encanto

text: By contrast, Julieta and Agustín's side wear cool tones of blues, purples, and greens. Alma "sits in the middle", with darker hues, such as purple, black, and brown. Each Madrigal has a symbol on their clothing that denotes their gift, such as barbells on Luisa's skirt and Pepa's sun earrings. Due to her lack of a gift, Mirabel has symbols of the other family members' gifts embroidered across her skirt, in addition to her face and name.


title: Encanto

text: The residents of the "Encanto" dress in neutral tones; thus, the main family are distinguished by their vivid colors. They needed to be distinctive while not standing out, which visual development artist Jin Kim said occasionally made them harder to design than the main cast. Disney used simple silhouettes for the villagers' clothes to make them seem and feel similar to typical residents from the Colombian coffee region. They incorporated depictions of the Sombrero Vueltiao from the Zenú Indigenous Community and the Sombrero Aguadeño from the Aguadas Community.


title: Encanto

text: The animators were challenged by the directors to make Mirabel distinctively different from all prior Disney heroines; she had to be both capable and imperfect, but not merely just clumsy. The Casita was inspired not only by traditional Colombian homes but films in which houses come alive, especially "Beetlejuice" (1988).


title: Encanto

text: The production team learned in their research that music, dance, and rhythm are core elements of everyday life in Colombia. As a result, "Encanto" was the first Disney Animation film to have choreographers involved in the development process from start to finish, meaning they worked closely with the production team to develop songs, characters, and story.


title: Encanto

text: This is in contrast to older films where the story was already in place by the time a choreographer was hired to consult on specific scenes. For "Encanto", Disney Animation initially hired African-American choreographer Jamal Sims, who insisted on immediately hiring Colombian-American dancer Kai Martinez as the film's animation reference consultant. They worked together with a team of dancers to prepare choreography reference footage for each scene, and then gave feedback to the animators on scenes as they were animated. They developed different dance styles for different characters; Luisa's style is reggaeton, while Mirabel's style is Cali salsa.


title: Encanto

text: For selection and animation of the plants and flowers that Isabela could make grow, the production team consulted with Colombian botanist Felipe Zapata. His advice allowed appropriate plants to be selected and then shown in accurate detail. The river of jacarandas and strangler figs and the cascade of sundew that Isabela produces are all based on this input. Plants in the background scenery are also realistic. These included the iconic, but now vulnerable wax palm and dramatic Cecropia trees. Economically important plants, like coffee, also appear.


title: Encanto

text: Over 800 people, 108 of them animators, were involved in the production of "Encanto". Disney Animation was planning to send many of its animators to Colombia starting on March 15, 2020, in preparation for the film's transition from development to production. This second research trip had to be cancelled after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The studio's animators ended up having to work remotely with the Colombian Cultural Trust; for example, Espinosa Uribe gave the animators a virtual tour of Colombia with the help of her cell phone. Diane Guerrero sent the studio's designers photographs of Colombian food taken by her relatives in Colombia.


title: Encanto

text: On June 22, 2020, Miranda confirmed on "Good Morning America" that he and Bush were working on an animated Disney film set in Colombia, with Bush and Byron Howard directing, and Charise Castro Smith co-directing.


title: Encanto

text: On June 18, 2020, the tentative title was revealed to be "Encanto". The project was also confirmed to be the film Miranda was involved in, and it was reported to be about a girl in a magical family. On December 10, 2020, the project was officially confirmed at a Disney Investor Day meeting, where a clip was shown, a fall 2021 release was announced, and magical realism was referenced. According to Bush, development of the film's script wrapped in August 2021, and production on the film wrapped a month later. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many crew members worked together remotely for over a year and did not meet each other in person until Disney put on a socially-distanced outdoor screening of the final version of the film.


title: Encanto

text: "Encanto" is the first Disney Animation film since "Tangled" (2010) to employ a tall frame, a decision made to "get closer to the characters". This layout was supplemented by romanticism lighting. According to Howard, "romantic" (meaning heightened in spirit) is the film's key word in terms of the approach towards cinematography and lighting. The latter was also inspired by magic realism, due to the genre's heavy influence on the writing and characters.


title: Encanto

text: The directors aimed to use the film's optics to portray strong emotions. Alessandro Jacomini and Daniel Rice—directors of cinematography, lighting—stated this use "would amplify, exaggerate, and distort perception, which is very in line with Mirabel's point of view as a narrator". Her feelings of being left out were also shown using emotive lighting. The directors frequently reminded the crew of the emotional subtext of every scene as well as the intricacies of the individual parts. That subtext was applied by Warner, Jacomini, and Rice in elaborate sequences, such as the song "Surface Pressure".


title: Encanto

text: In June 2020, Miranda publicly revealed that he had begun to write the film's music, which would have eight original songs in both Spanish and English. After the film's premiere, he disclosed that he had been writing songs for the film from the very beginning. On September 8, 2021, Germaine Franco, co-composer of the songs for "Coco" (2017), began to score the film.


title: Encanto

text: "Encanto (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" was released on November 19, 2021. A huge commercial success alike the film, the soundtrack reached number one on the US "Billboard" 200, becoming the first Disney soundtrack since that of "Frozen II" (2019) to top the chart. The track "We Don't Talk About Bruno" was a viral sensation. It broke various records and became one of Disney's most successful songs of all time. It topped the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, and marked Disney's first number-one song on the former in the 21st century and its first-ever on the latter. "Encanto" is the first Disney film to have produced a number-one song and a number-one album.


title: Encanto

text: The first look of the film was shown on December 10, 2020, during Disney's Investor Day. The teaser trailer was released on July 8, 2021, which garnered acclaim from internet users due to Luisa's physical appearance, especially her muscles; she was dubbed the "Buff Lady". The official trailer was released on September 29, 2021. For its opening weekend at the box office, Disney spent $14 million on television advertisements to promote the film, generating 1.26 billion impressions. "Deadline Hollywood" said the marketing failed to distinguish the film from other Disney properties, causing audience members to believe that it would be similar to "Coco". ":/Film" was critical of Disney's merchandising, most of which featured Mirabel and Isabela. Many members of the Madrigal family could only be bought in more costly merchandise of the entire family. Since Isabela is considered the perfect and beautiful sister, the website stated the merchandise reinforces the idea that beauty is the most effective marketing tactic for young girls.


title: Encanto

text: Disney held the film's world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 3, 2021, and also held a Colombia premiere at the Teatro Colón in Bogotá, Colombia on November 23, 2021. The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 24. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had an exclusive 30-day theatrical run before being released on Disney+ on December 24. The film was paired with the short film "Far from the Tree". "Encanto" was released in China on January 7, 2022. On February 16, 2022, the film was re-released in cinemas after its success on Disney+ and Academy Award nominations.


title: Encanto

text: "Encanto" was released on Disney+ on December 24, 2021, and was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 8, 2022. Bonus features include "Let’s Talk About Bruno", "Our Casita", "Journey To Colombia", "Familia Lo Es Todo", "A Journey Through Music", and a sing-along version of the movie. "Far from the Tree" was also released alongside the film on streaming on physical media.


title: Encanto

text: Since its Disney+ release, "Encanto" has consistently topped Nielsen's weekly streaming chart, most recently with 1.224 billion total minutes of viewing.


title: Encanto

text: "Encanto" grossed $96.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $160.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $256.5 million. "Encanto" was 2021's highest grossing animated film before it was surpassed by "Sing 2". Factoring in both the film's production budget and marketing expenses, along with the theaters' share of revenues, "Encanto" was estimated to need to gross at least $300 million worldwide to break-even. Nevertheless, the film went viral over the 2021 holiday season and achieved wider commercial success after its digital release to Disney+ on December 24, 2021.


title: Encanto

text: In the United States and Canada, it was released alongside "House of Gucci" and "", and originally projected to gross $35–40 million from 3,980 theaters in its five-day opening weekend. It opened nationwide on Wednesday, November 24, 2021 (the day before American Thanksgiving), and made $7.5 million on its first day, including $1.5 million from Tuesday night previews. It went on to make $40.6 million in its first five days. Of the 3.7 million moviegoers who saw it, 52% were Latino and Hispanic, 51% were families, and 62% were female. Though its five-day opening gross was lower than Pixar's "The Good Dinosaur" (2015) ($55.4 million), which failed at the box office in 2015, "Encanto" had the best opening weekend for an animated film during the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Encanto

text: In its second weekend, it made $13.1 million, less than the second weekend results of "The Good Dinosaur" ($15.3 million) and "Tangled" (2010) ($21.6 million) but higher than "The Princess and the Frog" (2009) ($12.1 million). It went on to finish in second place in its third and fourth weekends, earning $10 million and $6.5 million respectively. In its fifth weekend, it made $1.8 million and dropped to ninth place at the box office. In its sixth weekend, it finished in tenth place with $1.08 million. It dropped out of the box office top ten in its seventh weekend, finishing eleventh with $613,501.


title: Encanto

text: Outside of the U.S. and Canada, it made $29.3 million from 47 markets in its opening weekend. The top countries in its first five days were France ($3.5 million), Colombia ($2.6 million), the United Kingdom ($2.4 million), Korea ($2.2 million) and Italy ($2.1 million). It earned $20.7 million in its second weekend and $13.6 million in its third. In its fourth weekend, it became Colombia's second highest-grossing animated film of all time. In its fifth weekend, it crossed the $100 million mark outside the U.S. and Canada. It earned $3.5 million in its sixth weekend, $5.8 million in its seventh, and $3.6 million in its eighth. As of January 9, 2022, its largest markets are France ($18.5 million), Colombia ($10.2 million), the U.K. ($8.8 million), Spain ($7.3 million), and Japan ($6.6 million).


title: Encanto

text: "Encanto" received widespread critical acclaim. News channel "CNBC" reported reviewers considered it among Walt Disney Animation's best films. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, of critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of . The website's consensus reads, ""Encanto" setting and cultural perspective are new for Disney, but the end result is the same – enchanting, beautifully animated fun for the whole family." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an 88% positive score, with 70% saying they would definitely recommend it.


title: Encanto

text: The film's animation, which journalists considered beautiful, was a source of plaudits. "RogerEbert.com" critic Monica Castillo thought the musical sequences and characters' rooms allowed animation more artistic and abstract than that of previous Disney films. Writing for "Good Morning America", Peter Travers deemed the visuals of "Encanto" miraculous, while Shreemayee Das of "Firstpost" described the animation as having spellbinding intricacy. "Variety" Owen Gleiberman gave acclaim, saying ""Encanto" has been visualized with a vivacious naturalistic glow (swirling flower petals, eye-candy pastels) that, at moments, is nearly psychedelic". David Rooney from "The Hollywood Reporter" highlighted the film's colors and the designs of the costumes, natural settings, and Casita for particular praise. For "IndieWire", Kristen Lopez lauded the visuals as stunning and life-like. "IGN" Andrea Towers called the animation beautiful. "The Daily Telegraph" film critic Robbie Collin was particularly amazed: ""Encanto" animation is dazzling in all sorts of ways, with technical effects and flights of creative fancy that would have been unimaginable even a year ago, particularly during the musical numbers."


title: Encanto

text: Critics found the film's songs "spellbinding". According to Ben Travis of "Empire", the songs once again demonstrate Miranda's abundant skills for enchanting, wondrous melodies and lyrics. For "Chicago Sun-Times" and the "Daily Herald", respectively, Richard Roeper and Dann Gire described the music as "infectious and instantly memorable", and "emotionally distilled [and] verbally nimble"; "The Detroit News" writer Adam Graham agreed, commenting that the songs "lift ["Encanto"] to the sky". Similarly, "The Arizona Republic" Bill Goodykoontz regarded them as the film's peak. "CNN" writer Brian Lowry shared a similar view. Nevertheless, many journalists found fault with the music, such as "National Review" Kyle Smith, who called it "thuddingly mediocre". Though he found the songs "breezy and fun", Christian Holub of "Entertainment Weekly" deemed them unmemorable. Writing for "Bleeding Cool", Kaitlyn Booth believed the music was "[no]thing particularly special" and that a lack of songs would have benefited the film.


title: Encanto

text: Reviewers singled out "Encanto" representation and diversity for particular praise. Writing for "The Guardian", Simran Hans found the awareness of culturally unique generational trauma and displacement intriguing and surprising. Despite being critical of a perceived disguise of cultural representation, Rafael Matomayor of "The New York Observer" stated that "when the film dives into the specificity of its portrayal of Colombia[,] ... it becomes an exciting, nuanced, complex magical realist adventure" that propels Disney into "a new era". "The Independent" Clarissa Loughgrey highlighted that the cultural specificity was more than simple aesthetic or linguistic references, commending the incorporation of magical realism and various skin tones. Whelan Barzel of "Time Out" summarized the film as a "genuine love letter to the diversity of Latin America".


title: Encanto

text: Reviews with regards to the film's portrayal of family dynamics deemed the aspect one of its strengths. According to "Slant Magazine" Derek Smith, "Encanto" thrives in expressing not only the typical message of the value of family but also the concept that even the best families require much effort to stay intact. Preston Barra of "Denton Record-Chronicle" named the message of family a contributing factor to the film becoming a "must-see family event"; fellow journalist Matt Goldberg, who writes for "Collider," commended the message of "[being] enough because family is enough". "Polygon" Petrana Radulovic found the familial interactions stunningly realistic and strengthened by magical metaphors. Many critics also acclaimed "Encanto" emotional depth. "The A.V. Club" Caroline Siede lauded the depiction of intergenerational trauma. According to "Screen International" critic Tim Greierson, when the directors concentrate on the script's underlying emotions, the film is extremely moving. Writing for "CinemaBlend", Dirk Libbey opined that every audience member would eventually cry once they discovered which character they identified with most. "MovieWeb" singled out Mirabel's search for acceptance and a purpose, stating "[b]uckets of tears are going to be shed".


title: Encanto

text: Regarding "Disney's regular formula", "Encanto" divided reviewers; some thought that it departed from the formula well. "Forbes" Scott Mendelson called the film "terrifically unconventional", while "World" critic Collin Garbarino highlighted several aspects that he recognized as deviating from the formula; such as a lack of princesses and villains, as well as the focus on community. "Vulture" Bilge Ebiri attributed the film's enchanting qualities to the "smaller-scale narrative". He explained that when the Madrigals' inner journey is combined with the typical "Disney spectacle", it becomes an unexpected, "downright Sirkian power". Others found it too similar to other Disney films. For "Pittsburgh Magazine", Sean Collier felt the film was "just another by-the-numbers Disney flick", while Peter Bradshaw from "The Guardian" thought that the story "wants to have its metaphorical cake and eat it", deeming it contrived. ":/Film" Josh Spiegel thought "Encanto" included a mixture of formulaic aspects from many of the previous Disney and Pixar films, and failed to make them unnoticeable.


title: Encanto

text: Several critics found the story unfocused. The "Irish Independent" Paul Whittington considered the plot "too aimless, to satisfy anyone for long". Alice Forman of "Mashable" concurred and felt several parts of Mirabel's journey were arbitrary; she had a particularly negative opinion of the film's middle section, which she called tedious. "The Globe and Mail" writer Aparita Bhandari asserted the internal, rather than external, source of conflict and several unanswered questions confused her, preventing her from immersing herself in the film. From "USA Today", Brian Truitt expressed his disappointment in the third act, which he said misses "Encanto" focal point. David Lynch, writing for KENS, agreed, and stated the act was weak due to an underdeveloped relationship between Mirabel and Alma, as well as clumsy writing. Multiple critics also cited the film's lack of villains as a detractor.


title: Encanto

text: Metacritic reported that "Encanto" appeared in five critic top-ten lists, including "CNN" and New York "Daily News" non-ranked lists, and "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" ranking (ninth). The film has also appeared on several lists of the best animated films of 2021, including those by "Paste" (tenth), Rotten Tomatoes (sixth), "Screen Rant" (non-ranked), "MovieWeb" (fifth), "Vulture" (non-ranked), and "Comic Book Resources" (sixth). "Variety", "IndieWire", "Gold Derby", "Entertainment Weekly", "The Hollywood Reporter", "Den of Geek", and the "Los Angeles Times" named the film the most-likely to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, which was ultimately the case.


title: Encanto

text: "The Denver Post" journalist John Wenzel wrote, with "Encanto" alongside other 2021 films like "West Side Story" and "Being the Ricardos", "Latino voices are having a moment in U.S. cinema, injecting a diverse set of cultures long ignored by TV, books, movies, video games, stage shows and news media." Pamila Avila, writing for "USA Today," underscored that "Encanto" is Disney's first feature with an all-Latin American cast, capturing "the complicated tug and pull between older and younger generations in Hispanic families." Roughly 25% of viewership comes from Hispanic households, while 40% of viewers are between the ages of 2 and 11.


title: Encanto

text: "Billboard" writer Leila Cobo said, following the success of Colombian musicians like Shakira, Maluma and J Balvin in the U.S., Colombia is "finally seen and not just heard" via "Encanto". Cobo praised the film for not homogenizing all of the Latin American countries in the manner U.S. media has generally been, instead accurately depicting the culture unique to Colombia: "from accents to outfits to minute details like the hand-painted tableware, the embroidered dresses, the food, the many colors of our skin, even the animals – including the ubiquitous toucan and the yellow butterflies that are synonymous with García Márquez."


title: Encanto

text: Johanna Ferreira of "PopSugar" wrote that the success of both "Encanto" and its soundtrack speaks to "not just the importance and significance of this type of representation in animated films, but also how movies like this are really changing how Latinx stories are being told." She stated "Encanto" celebrates the importance of family and respect for Latin American culture, featuring "animated stories about Latinxs written by Latinxs, with characters voiced by Latinxs, and a storyline that actually celebrates Latinxs communities rather than stereotype [Latinx]."


title: Encanto

text: Mikael Wood of "Los Angeles Times" stated "Encanto" became "2022's first widespread cultural phenomenon", bolstered by its unique direction and music. "Far Out" journalist Tyler Posen called the effect ""Encanto"-mania". Various social media trends surrounding "Encanto" had "people posting videos of their children recognizing themselves for perhaps the first time in the movie's characters." Luisa's physical appearance has been praised for representing muscular women—a departure from Disney's conventionally "feminine" depiction of female protagonists as "small and skinny". As of January 23, 2022, the videos tagged with the hashtag "#encanto" have collectively amassed more than 11.5 billion views on TikTok. A viral meme in early 2022, We Don't Talk About Apple Bottom Jeans, received over 31 million views in under three months, featuring a dubbed-over version of the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" and inspiring other parodies of the song.


title: Encanto

text: The film's characters and their dynamics have fueled a discourse among mental health specialists, many of whom reported that their clients, especially first-generation children of immigrants, "see themselves reflected" in the story of "Encanto" and use the film to communicate "about things that otherwise might go unsaid." Mirabel, Isabela, Luisa, Alma and Bruno have been the most discussed characters, with Bruno being associated with neurodivergent family members. Speaking to CNN, psychotherapist Kadesha Adelakun stated "there are so many layers" to "Encanto", portraying issues "many families are going through."


title: Encanto

text: At the 94th Academy Awards, "Encanto" received nominations for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, and won Best Animated Feature. The film's other nominations include nine Annie Awards (winning three), a British Academy Film Award (which it won), two Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards (winning one). It also won National Board of Review Award for Best Animated Film.


title: Encanto

text: Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith have expressed that they are open to a potential Disney+ series. Bush said he would be happy to see a show about any member of the family, and Castro Smith shared that Miranda was very interested in creating a show about Dolores. Disney CEO Bob Chapek described "Encanto" as the company's latest franchise during a February 2022 earnings call.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The End of the F***ing World is a British black comedy-drama television programme. The eight-part first series premiered its first episode on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2017, after which the following episodes were released on All 4. Netflix handled international distribution and released it internationally on 5 January 2018. The programme follows James (Alex Lawther), a 17-year-old who believes himself to be a psychopath, and Alyssa (Jessica Barden), an angry classmate who sees in James a chance to escape from her tumultuous home life. Gemma Whelan, Wunmi Mosaku, Steve Oram, Christine Bottomley, Navin Chowdhry, Barry Ward and Naomi Ackie appear in supporting roles.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The series is based on Charles Forsman's mini-comics "The End of the Fucking World", which were collected into a book in 2013. Series creator Jonathan Entwistle contacted him about making a film, and a short was made in 2014. The short film is now considered to be lost, with no way to access the film online. Instead, an eight-part serial was commissioned, with filming beginning in April 2017. It was written by Charlie Covell, and episodes were directed by Entwistle and Lucy Tcherniak. In August 2018, the programme was renewed for a second series, which premiered on Channel 4 on 4 November 2019, after which all eight episodes were released on All 4, and internationally on Netflix the next day. Covell stated before the second series' release that she does not intend to produce a third series for the programme.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The programme has been praised for its writing, execution and subject matter, as well as for Lawther's and Barden's performances. Both series were nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series, with the second series winning in 2020, as well as receiving a Peabody Award in 2019.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: James is a 17-year-old who believes he is a psychopath. He kills animals as a hobby, but grows bored with the practice. He decides he wants to try killing a human. He settles on Alyssa; a mouthy, rebellious 17-year-old classmate with issues of her own. She proposes they run away together, hoping for an adventure away from her turbulent home-life, and James agrees with the intention of finding an opportunity to kill her. They embark on a road trip across England and begin to develop a relationship after a series of mishaps. However, in series two they grow distant and Alyssa proposes to another man. But someone thirsty for revenge for what they did hunts them down, bringing them together once again.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The series was based on the work of the same title by Charles Forsman. Originally self-published as a series of mini-comics, the series was published as a graphic novel by Fantagraphics Books in 2013. It was republished in hardback in 2017, in anticipation of the television series.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: While Forsman was publishing the mini-comics, Jonathan Entwistle contacted him about adapting it to a visual format – the original idea was to make an American film, and later a web series was considered. A film was pitched to Film4, and Entwistle was given funding for a short. Made in 2014, it featured some cast and crew who continued their roles for the television series. Entwistle directed and Dominic Buchanan was producer; Jessica Barden played Alyssa. However, instead of Alex Lawther, James was played by Craig Roberts.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: Though the short was well-received, no production companies wanted to invest in the idea as a full-length film. Entwistle and Buchanan decided to make a television series with Clerkenwell Films, following which Channel 4 and then Netflix became involved. Forsman had no official role in the show's production, wanting to continue working on his comics, though Entwistle would regularly consult him and keep him updated. In August 2018, Channel 4's director of programmes Ian Katz expressed frustration that many people think the programme is a Netflix original, saying that "it's absolutely a Channel 4 show".


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The programme's plot differs from that of Forsman's comics. In print, the two kill a satanist serial killer, whose wife was a police officer; instead the television series features police officers Eunice Noon and Teri Darego, and does not show the serial killer to be a satanist. Another major difference is the ending of the graphic novel: the satanist police officer chases after James, and the two begin to attack each other, while police try to break up the fight. There is then a gunshot. In the final scene, Alyssa's mother talks about her daughter being safe from James, while Alyssa is seen carving the name "JAMES" into her arm. Some critics interpreted this to mean that James was dead, but Forsman sees the ending as ambiguous.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The first series covered the entirety of the storyline in Forsman's original comics. On 25 January 2018, Jonathan Entwistle spoke of the potential for a second series. He confirmed that "We're exploring and we're seeing what we can do to expand the world and see where we get to." Entwistle then went on to say that Netflix was enthusiastic about a second series of the show if one could be conceived. Writer Charlie Covell said "I think there are a number of stories we could tell" and that she would "love to write more". Actor Alex Lawther stated in an interview that he would be "very excited" about a second series, as it would give Covell "a chance to explore something from her imagination". A second series was announced on 21 August 2018 on the official Channel 4 Twitter account.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: Covell stated in October 2019, before the second series' release, that she does not intend to produce a third series for the programme. Covell went on to say "I think, for me, that's it now. Yeah, that's done. I think to try and eke more out would be wrong, I like where we've left it."


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The first series began filming in April 2017 and concluded a few weeks before the show's release in October 2017. Though filmed in England, the programme has an American tone to it; Entwistle was inspired by "Twin Peaks" and "Fargo". Episodes were filmed largely in suburban areas and across Surrey, with locations such as Guildford bus station, The Square shopping centre in Camberley, Woking and Longcross Studios. There was also some scenes in Bracknell in Berkshire. Another filming location was Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey. Entwistle uses mostly close-up shots, particularly in early episodes where most frames feature only one character. He uses this for deadpan humour, by moving from face to face to get shots of characters' reactions.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The series is set in the present day, but Entwistle aimed to make it feel like it could have been set "any time from 1988 to 2006". Additionally, diners have a 1970s-style design, and the soundtrack features songs from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, along with original music from Graham Coxon, the founding member of Blur. Entwistle describes Coxon's scores as "guitar-based suburban noir", and notes that more of his music is used in later episodes for the police officers.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: Production for the second season moved to southern Wales and the greater Bristol area. The woodland café was constructed within the Forest of Dean. Key locations in Wales were Port Talbot, Swansea, the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Afan Forest Park.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The eight-part programme premiered its first episode on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2017, after which all eight episodes were released on All 4. "The End of the F***ing World" was a co-production with Netflix who exclusively released it internationally on 5 January 2018. On that weekend, sales of the graphic novel rose considerably, with Fantagraphics Books selling out of the current print run according to Forsman.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: The second series premiered on Channel 4 on 4 November 2019, with two episodes being broadcast back-to-back daily until 7 November. The full series became available on All 4 after the Channel 4 premiere and internationally on Netflix the next day.


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: "The End of the F***ing World" has an overall approval rating of 93% on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. The first series has an approval rating of 96% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 8.38/10. The site's consensus states, "Misanthropy and humor blend perfectly in this romantically nihilistic show that proves that falling in love can feel like "The End of the F***ing World"." The second series has an approval rating of 91% based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 7.64/10. The site's consensus states, "What "The End of the F***ing World"'s second season lacks in urgency it makes up for in character development, diving deep into the darkest creases of the leading pair's memories to emerge a darkly funny meditation on love and trauma."


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: On Metacritic, the series has an overall score of 77 out of 100, based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". The first series has a score of 81 out of 100, based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The second series has a score of 71 out of 100, based on reviews from 9 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".


title: The End of the F***ing World

text: Reviewer Daniel Fienberg of "The Hollywood Reporter" lauded the programme's writing, characters, and soundtrack, as well as praising the performances of Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden, calling it a "pitch-black, eight-episode comedy gem of a UK import". Kelly Lawler of "USA Today" called it "batty fun", also praising Lawther and Barden's performances while praising the programme's surreal concept and execution.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition in his home country for his leading performances in the Hammer Productions horror films from the 1950s to 1970s, while earning international prominence as Grand Moff Tarkin in "Star Wars" (1977).


title: Peter Cushing

text: Born in Kenley, Surrey, Cushing made his stage debut in 1935 and spent three years at a repertory theatre before moving to Hollywood to pursue a film career. After making his motion picture debut in the film "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1939), Cushing began to find modest success in American films before returning to England at the outbreak of the Second World War. Despite performing in a string of roles, including one as Osric in Laurence Olivier's film adaptation of "Hamlet" (1948), Cushing struggled greatly to find work during this period. His career was revitalised once he started to work in live television plays, and he soon became one of the most recognisable faces in British television. He earned particular acclaim for his lead performance as Winston Smith in a BBC adaptation of George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" (1954).


title: Peter Cushing

text: Cushing gained worldwide fame for his appearances in 22 horror films from the Hammer studio, particularly for his role as Baron Frankenstein in six of their seven "Frankenstein" films, and Doctor Van Helsing in five "Dracula" films. Cushing often appeared alongside actor Christopher Lee, who became one of his closest friends, and occasionally with the American horror star Vincent Price. Cushing appeared in several other Hammer films, including "The Abominable Snowman" (1957), "The Mummy" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (both 1959), the last of which marked the first of the several occasions he portrayed the detective Sherlock Holmes. Cushing continued to perform in a variety of roles, although he was often typecast as a horror film actor. He played Dr. Who in "Dr. Who and the Daleks" (1965) and "Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D." (1966) and gained the highest amount of visibility in his career with his part in the original "Star Wars" film. Cushing continued acting into the early 1990s and wrote two autobiographies.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Peter Wilton Cushing was born in Kenley, a district in the English county of Surrey, on 26 May 1913 to George Edward Cushing (1881–1956) and Nellie Marie (née King) Cushing (1882–1961). His father, a quantity surveyor, was a reserved and uncommunicative man whom Peter said he never got to know very well. His mother was the daughter of a carpet merchant and considered of a lower class than her husband. Cushing's family consisted of several stage actors, including his paternal grandfather Henry William Cushing (who toured with Henry Irving), his paternal aunt Maude Cushing (his father's sister) and his step-uncle Wilton Herriot, after whom Peter Cushing received his middle name.


title: Peter Cushing

text: The Cushing family lived in Dulwich during the First World War, but moved to Purley after the war ended in 1918. Although raised during wartime, Cushing was too young to understand or become greatly affected by it, and was shielded from the horrors of war by his mother, who encouraged him to play games under the kitchen table whenever the threat of possible bombings arose. In his infancy, Cushing twice developed pneumonia and once what was then known as "double pneumonia". Although he survived, the latter was often fatal during that period. During one Christmas in his youth, Cushing saw a stage production of "Peter Pan", which served as an early source of inspiration and interest in acting. Cushing loved dressing up and make believe from an early age, and later claimed he always wanted to be an actor, "perhaps without knowing at first." A fan of comics and toy collectibles in his youth, Cushing earned money by staging puppet shows for family members with his glove-puppets and toys.


title: Peter Cushing

text: He began his early education in Dulwich, South London, before attending the Shoreham Grammar School in Shoreham-by-Sea, on the Sussex coast between Brighton and Worthing. Prone to homesickness, he was miserable at the boarding school and spent only one term there before returning home. He attended the Purley County Grammar School, where he swam and played cricket and rugby. With the exception of art, Cushing was a self-proclaimed poor student in most subjects and had little attention span for that which did not interest him. He got fair grades only through the help of his brother, a strong student who did his homework for him. Cushing harboured aspirations for the arts all throughout his youth, especially acting. His childhood inspiration was Tom Mix, an American film actor and star of many Western films. D.J. Davies, the Purley County Grammar School physics teacher who produced all the school's plays, recognised some acting potential in him and encouraged him to participate in the theatre, even allowing Cushing to skip class to paint sets. He played the lead in nearly every school production during his teenage years, including the role of Sir Anthony Absolute in a 1929 staging of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy of manners play, "The Rivals".


title: Peter Cushing

text: Cushing wanted to enter the acting profession after school, but his father opposed the idea, despite the theatrical background of several of his family members. Instead, seizing upon Cushing's interest in art and drawing, he got his son a job as a surveyor's assistant in the drawing department of the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council's surveyor's office during the summer of 1933. Cushing hated the job, where he remained for three years without promotion or advancement due to his lack of ambition in the profession. The only enjoyment he got out of it was drawing prospectives of proposed buildings, which were almost always rejected because they were too imaginative and expensive and lacked strong foundations, which Cushing disregarded as a "mere detail."


title: Peter Cushing

text: Thanks to his former teacher Davies, Cushing continued to appear in school productions during this time, as well as amateur plays such as W. S. Gilbert's "Pygmalion and Galatea", George Kelly's "The Torch-Bearers", and "The Red Umbrella", by Brenda Girvin and Monica Cosens. Cushing often learned and practised his lines in an attic at work, under the guise that he was putting ordnance survey maps into order. He regularly applied for auditions and openings for roles he found in the arts-oriented newspaper "The Stage", but was turned down repeatedly due to his lack of professional experience in the theatre.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Cushing eventually applied for a scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. His first audition was before the actor Allan Aynesworth, who was so unimpressed with Cushing's manner of speech that he rejected him outright and insisted he not return until he improved his diction. Cushing continued to pursue a scholarship, writing exactly twenty-one letters to the school, until actor and theatre manager Bill Fraser finally agreed to meet Cushing in 1935 simply so he could ask him in person to stop writing. During that meeting, Cushing was given a walk-on part as a courier in that night's production of J.B. Priestley's "Cornelius". This marked his professional stage debut, although he had no lines and did little more than stand on stage behind other actors. Afterward, he was granted the scholarship and given odd jobs around the theatre, such as selling refreshments and working as an assistant stage manager.


title: Peter Cushing

text: One of his earliest professional stage performances was in 1935 as Captain Randall in Ian Hay's "The Middle Watch" at the Connaught Theatre in Worthing. By the end of the summer of 1936, Cushing accepted a job with the repertory theatre company Southampton Rep, working as assistant stage manager and performing in bit roles at the Grand Theatre in the Hampshire city. He spent the next three years in an apprenticeship at Southampton Rep., auditioning for character roles both there and in other surrounding theatres, eventually amassing almost 100 individual parts. While he was in Southampton he met an 18 year old fellow actor Doreen Lawrence and they were engaged to be married. Lawrence broke off the engagement citing his frequent crying and bringing his parents on dates.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Soon, he felt the urge to pursue a film career in the United States. In 1939, his father bought him a one-way ticket to Hollywood, where he moved with only £50 to his name. Cushing met a Columbia Pictures employee named Larry Goodkind, who wrote him a letter of recommendation and directed him to acquaintances Goodkind knew at the company Edward Small Productions. Cushing visited the company, which was only a few days away from shooting "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1939), the James Whale-directed adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas based on the French legend of a prisoner during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Cushing was hired as a stand-in for scenes that featured both characters played by Louis Hayward, who had the dual lead roles of King Louis XIV and Philippe of Gascony. Cushing played one part against Hayward in one scene, then the opposite part in another, and ultimately the scenes were spliced together in a split screen process that featured Hayward in both parts and left Cushing's work cut from the film altogether. Although the job meant Cushing received no actual screen time, he was eventually cast in a bit part as the king's messenger, which made "The Man in the Iron Mask" his official film debut. The small role involved sword-fighting and, although Cushing had no experience with fencing, he told Whale he was an excellent fencer to ensure he got the part. Cushing later said his unscreened scenes alongside Hayward were terrible performances, but that his experience on the film provided an excellent opportunity to learn and observe how filming on a studio set worked.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Only a few days after filming on "The Man in the Iron Mask" was completed, Cushing was in the Schwab's Drug Store, a famous Sunset Boulevard hangout spot for actors, when he learned producer Hal Roach was seeking an English actor for a comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. Cushing sought and was cast in the role. Cushing appeared only briefly in "A Chump at Oxford" (1940) and his scenes took just one week to film, but he was proud to work with whom he called "two of the greatest comedians the cinema has ever produced." Around this time actor Robert Coote, who met Cushing during a cricket game, recommended to director George Stevens that Cushing might be good for a part in Stevens' upcoming film "Vigil in the Night" (1940). Adapted from a serial novella of the same name, it was a drama film about a nurse played by Carole Lombard working in a poorly-equipped country hospital. Stevens cast Cushing in the second male lead role of Joe Shand, the husband of the Lombard character's sister. Shooting ran from September to November 1939, and the film was released in 1940, drawing Cushing's first semblance of attention and critical praise.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Cushing continued to work in a few Hollywood engagements, including an uncredited role in the war film "They Dare Not Love" (1941), which reunited him with director James Whale. Cushing was cast (again uncredited) in one of a series of short films in an entry in the MGM series "The Passing Parade", which focused on strange-but-true historical events. He appeared in the episode "The Hidden Master" (1940) as a young Clive of India, well before the soldier established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company. In the film, Clive tries to shoot himself twice but the gun misfires, then he fires a third time at a pitcher of water and the gun works perfectly. Clive takes this to be an omen that he should live, and he goes on to perform great feats in his life. Studio executives were pleased with Cushing's performance, and there was talk among Hollywood insiders grooming him for stardom. Despite the promise, however, Cushing grew homesick and decided he wished to return to England. He moved to New York City in anticipation of his eventual return home, during which time he voiced a few radio commercials and joined a summer stock theatre company to raise money for his voyage back to England. He performed in such plays as Robert E. Sherwood's "The Petrified Forest", Arnold Ridley's "The Ghost Train", S. N. Behrman's "Biography" and a modern dress version of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth". He was eventually noticed by a Broadway theatre talent scout, and in 1941 he made his Broadway debut in the religious wartime drama "The Seventh Trumpet". It received poor reviews, however, and ran for only eleven days.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Cushing returned to England during the Second World War. Although some childhood injuries prevented him from serving on active duty, a friend suggested he entertain the troops by performing as part of the Entertainments National Service Association. In 1942, the Noël Coward play "Private Lives" was touring the military stations and hospitals in the British Isles, and the actor playing the lead role of Elyot Chase was called to service. Cushing agreed to take his place with very little notice or time to prepare, and earned a salary of ten pounds a week for the job. During this tour he met Violet Hélène "Helen" Beck, a former dancer who was starring in the lead female role of Amanda Prynne. They fell in love and were married on 10 April 1943. Cushing eventually had to leave ENSA due to lung congestion, an ailment his wife helped him recover from. The two had little money around this time, and Cushing had to collect from both National Assistance and the Actors' Benevolent Fund. Cushing struggled to find work during this period, with some plays he was cast in failing to even make it past rehearsals into theatres. Others closed after a few showings, like an ambitious five-hour stage adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" that opened and closed in 1943 in London's Phoenix Theatre.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Cushing recorded occasional radio spots and appeared in week-long stints as a featured player in London's Q Theatre, but otherwise work was difficult to come by. He found a modest success in a 1945 production of Sheridan's "The Rivals" at Westminster's Criterion Theatre, which earned him enough money to pay off some growing debts. The war years continued to prove difficult for him, however, and at one point he was forced to work designing ladies head-scarves at a Macclesfield-based silk manufacturer to make ends meet. In the autumn of 1946, after the war ended, Cushing unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of Paul Verrall in a stage production of the play "Born Yesterday" that was being staged by famed actor and director Laurence Olivier. He was not cast because he insisted he could not perform in an American accent. After Cushing attempted the accent and failed, Olivier replied, "Well, I appreciate you not wasting my time. I shall remember you." Nearing middle age and finding it increasingly harder to make a living in acting, Cushing began to consider himself a failure.


title: Peter Cushing

text: In 1947, when Laurence Olivier sought him out for his film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Cushing's wife Helen pushed him to pursue a role. Far from being deterred by Cushing's unsuccessful audition the year before, Olivier remembered the actor well and was happy to cast him, but the only character left unfilled was the relatively small part of the foppish courtier Osric. Cushing accepted the role, and "Hamlet" (1948) marked his British film debut. One of Cushing's primary scenes involved Osric talking to Hamlet and Horatio while walking down a wide stone spiral stairway. The set provided technical difficulties, and all of Cushing's lines had to be post-synched. Cushing had recently undergone dental surgery and he was trying not to open his mouth widely for fear of spitting. When this hindered the post-synching process, Olivier leaned in close to Cushing's face and said, "Now drown me. It'll be a glorious death, so long as I can hear what you're saying."


title: Peter Cushing

text: "Hamlet" won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and earned Cushing praise for his performance. Also appearing in the film was Christopher Lee, who eventually became a close friend and frequent co-star with Cushing. Cushing designed custom hand-scarves in honour of the "Hamlet" film, and as it was being exhibited across England, the scarves were eventually accepted as gifts by the Queen and her daughter Princess Elizabeth. After "Hamlet", both Peter and Helen Cushing accepted a personal invitation from Olivier to join Old Vic, Olivier's repertory theatre company, which embarked on a year-long tour of Australasia. The tour, which lasted until February 1949, took them to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart, Tasmania, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, and included performances of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's "The School for Scandal", Shakespeare's "Richard III", Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth", Jean Anouilh's "Antigone" and Anton Chekhov's "The Proposal".


title: Peter Cushing

text: Cushing struggled greatly to find work over the next few years, and became so stressed that he felt he was suffering from an extended nervous breakdown. Nevertheless, he continued to appear in several small roles in radio, theatre and film. Among them was the John Huston film "Moulin Rouge" (1952) in which he played a racing spectator named Marcel de la Voisier appearing with José Ferrer, who played the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. During this discouraging period for Cushing, his wife encouraged him to seek roles in television, which was beginning to develop in England. She suggested he write to all the producers listed in the "Radio Times" magazine seeking work in the medium. The move proved to be a wise one, as Cushing was hired to complement the cast of a string of major theatre successes that were being adapted to live television. The first was J.B. Priestley's "Eden End", which was televised in December 1951. Over the next three years, he became one of the most active and favoured names in British television, and was considered a pioneer in British television drama.


title: Peter Cushing

text: He earned praise for playing the lead male role of Mr. Darcy in an early BBC Television serialisation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" (1952). Other successful television ventures during this time included "Epitaph for a Spy", "The Noble Spaniard", "Beau Brummell", "Portrait by Peko", and "Anastasia", the latter of which won Cushing the "Daily Mail" National Television Award for Best Actor of 1953–54. His largest television success from this period was the leading role of Winston Smith in "Nineteen Eighty-Four", (1954) an adaptation by Nigel Kneale of George Orwell's novel of the same name about a totalitarian regime. The production proved to be controversial, resulting in death threats for director Rudolph Cartier and causing Cushing to be vilified for appearing in such "filth." Parliament even considered a motion immediately after the first screening to ban the play's live repeat. Nevertheless, a second televised production was filmed and aired, and Cushing eventually drew both critical praise and acting awards, further cementing his reputation as one of Britain's biggest television stars. Cushing felt his first performance was much stronger than the second, but the second production is the only known surviving version.


title: Peter Cushing

text: In the two years following "Nineteen Eighty-Four", Cushing appeared in thirty-one television plays and two serials, and won Best Television Actor of the Year from the "Evening Chronicle". He also won best actor awards from the Guild of Television Producers in 1955, and from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1956. Among the plays he appeared in during this time were Terence Rattigan's "The Browning Version", Gordon Daviot's "Richard of Bordeaux", and the production of Nigel Kneale's "The Creature" (1955), the latter of which Cushing starred in film adaptation released in 1957. Despite this continued success in live television, Cushing found the medium too stressful and wished to return to film. Cinematic roles proved somewhat difficult to find, however, as film producers were often resentful of television stars for drawing audiences away from the cinema.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Nevertheless, he continued to work in some film roles during this period, including the adventure film "The Black Knight" (1954) opposite Alan Ladd. For that film, he travelled to Spain and filmed scenes on location in the castles of Manzanares el Real and El Escorial. He also starred in the film adaptation of the Graham Greene novel "The End of the Affair" (1955) as Henry Miles, an important civil servant and the cuckolded husband of Sarah Miles, played by Deborah Kerr. Also around the same time, he appeared in "Magic Fire" (also 1955), an autobiographical film about the German composer Richard Wagner. Filmed on location in Munich, Cushing played Otto Wesendonck, the husband of poet Mathilde Wesendonck, who in the film is portrayed as having an affair with Wagner.


title: Peter Cushing

text: During a brief quiet period following Cushing's television work, he read in trade publications about Hammer, a low-budget production company seeking to adapt Mary Shelley's horror novel "Frankenstein" into a new film. Cushing, who enjoyed the tale as a child, had his agent John Redway inform the company of Cushing's interest in playing the protagonist, Baron Victor Frankenstein. The studio executives were anxious to have Cushing; in fact, Hammer co-founder James Carreras had been unsuccessfully courting Cushing for film roles in other projects even before his major success with "Nineteen Eighty-Four". Cushing was about twenty years older than Baron Frankenstein as he appeared in the original novel, but that did not deter the filmmakers. Cushing was cast in the lead role of "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957), marking the first of twenty-two films he made for Hammer. He later said that his career decisions entailed selecting roles where he knew that he would be accepted by the audience. "Who wants to see me as Hamlet? Very few. But millions want to see me as [Baron] Frankenstein, so that's the one I do." The film critic Roger Ebert described Cushing's work in the Hammer films: "[Cushing is] the one in all those British horror films, standing between Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. His dialog usually runs along the lines of, 'But good heavens, man! The person you saw has been dead for more than two centuries!'"


title: Peter Cushing

text: Unlike "Frankenstein" (1931) produced by Universal, the Hammer films revolved mainly around Victor Frankenstein, rather than his monster. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster wrote the protagonist as an ambitious, egotistical and coldly intellectual scientist who despised his contemporaries. Unlike the character from the novel and past film versions, Cushing's Baron Frankenstein commits vicious crimes to attain his goals, including the murder of a colleague to obtain a brain for his creature. "The Curse of Frankenstein" also featured Christopher Lee, who played Frankenstein's monster. Cushing and Lee became extremely close friends, and remained so for the rest of Cushing's life. They first met on the set of the film, where Lee was still wearing the monster make-up prepared by Phil Leakey. Hammer Studios' publicity department put out a story that when Cushing first encountered Lee without the make-up on, he screamed in terror.


title: Peter Cushing

text: Cushing so valued preparation for his role that he insisted on being trained by a surgeon to learn how to wield a scalpel authentically. Shot in dynamic colour with a £65,000-budget, the film became known for its heavy usage of gore and sexual content. As a result, while the film did well at the box-office with its target audience, it drew mixed to negative reviews from the critics. Most, however, were complimentary of Cushing's performance, claiming it added a layer of distinction and credibility to the film. Many felt Cushing's performance helped create the archetypal mad scientist character. "Picturegoer" writer Margaret Hinxman, who was not complimentary of Lee's performance, praised Cushing and wrote of the film: "Although this shocker may not have created much of a monster, it may well have created something more lasting: a star!" Donald F. Glut, a writer and filmmaker who wrote a book about the portrayals of "Frankenstein", said the inner warmth of Cushing's off-screen personality was apparent on-screen even despite the horrific elements of Frankenstein, which helped add a layer of likability to the character.


title: Peter Cushing

text: "The Curse of Frankenstein" was an overnight success, bringing both Cushing and Lee worldwide fame. The two men continued to work together in many films for Hammer, and their names became synonymous with the company. Cushing reprised the role of Baron Victor Frankenstein in five sequels. In the first, "The Revenge of Frankenstein" (1958), his protagonist is sentenced to death by guillotine, but he flees and hides under the alias Doctor Victor Stein. He returned for "The Evil of Frankenstein" (1963), where the Baron has a carnival hypnotist resurrect his monster's inactive brain, and "Frankenstein Created Woman" (1967), in which the Frankenstein's monster is a woman played by "Playboy" magazine centrefold model Susan Denberg. Cushing played the lead role twice more in "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed" (1969) and "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" (1974). The former film portrays Frankenstein as a far more ruthless character than had been seen before, and features a scene in which Cushing's Frankenstein rapes the character played by Veronica Carlson. Neither Carlson nor Cushing wanted to do the scene, filmed despite director Terence Fisher's objections, and the controversial sequence was edited out of the film for its American release. In "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell", Cushing portrayed Frankenstein as having gone completely mad, in a fitting coda to the earlier films.


title: Peter Cushing

text: When Hammer sought to adapt Bram Stoker's classic vampire novel "Dracula", they cast Cushing to play the vampire's adversary Doctor Van Helsing. Cushing envisioned the character as an idealist warrior for the greater good, and studied the original book carefully and adapted several of Van Helsing's characteristics from the books into his performance, including the repeated gesture of raising his index finger to emphasise an important point. Cushing said one of the biggest challenges during filming was not missing whenever he struck a prop stake with a mallet and drove it into a vampire's heart. "Dracula" was released in 1958, with Cushing once again starring opposite Lee, who played the title character, although Cushing was given top billing. During filming, Cushing himself suggested the staging for the final confrontation scene, in which Van Helsing leaps onto a large library table, opens window curtains to weaken Dracula with sunlight, then uses two candlesticks as a makeshift crucifix to drive the vampire into the sunlight. As with the "Frankenstein" film, critics largely disliked "Dracula" because of its violence and sexual content, deeming it inferior to the 1931 Universal version.


title: Peter Cushing

text: In 1959, Cushing agreed to reprise the role of Van Helsing in the sequel, "The Brides of Dracula" (1960). Before filming began, however, Cushing said he had reservations about the screenplay written by Jimmy Sangster and Peter Bryan. As a result, playwright Edward Percy was brought in to make modifications to the script, though the rewrites pushed filming into early 1960 and brought additional costs to the production. For the sequel, "" (1966), which marked Lee's return to the title role for the first time since 1958, Cushing granted permission for archival footage featuring him to be used in the opening scene, a reprisal of the climax from the first "Dracula" film. In exchange, Hammer's James Carreras thanked Cushing by paying for extensive roofing repair work that had recently been done on Cushing's recently purchased Whitstable home. Cushing appeared in " Dracula A.D. 1972" (1972), a Hammer modernisation of the Dracula story set in the then-present day. Lee once again starred as Dracula. In the opening scene, Cushing portrays the nineteenth century Van Helsing as he did in the previous films, and the character is killed after battling Dracula. Thereafter the action jumps ahead to 1972, and Cushing plays the original character's grandson for the bulk of the movie. Cushing performed many of his own stunts in "Dracula A.D. 1972", which included tumbling off a haywagon during a fight with Dracula. Christopher Neame, who also starred in the film, said he was particularly impressed with Cushing's agility and fitness, considering his age. Cushing and Lee both reprised their respective roles in the sequel "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" (1974), which was known in the United States as "Count Dracula and his Vampire Bride". Around the same time, Cushing played the original nineteenth century Van Helsing in "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires" (also 1974), a co-production between Hammer Studios and the Shaw Brothers Studio, which brought Chinese martial arts into the Dracula story. In that film, Cushing's Van Helsing travels to the Chinese city Chungking, where Count Dracula is heading a vampire cult.