title: Metroid

text: "Metroid" combines the platforming of "Super Mario Bros." and the exploration of "The Legend of Zelda" with a science fiction setting and an emphasis on nonlinear gameplay. Players battle hostile alien enemies and obtain power-ups as they progress through the game world. The series is known for its isolated atmosphere, featuring few non-player characters. Most "Metroid" games are side-scrolling, while the "Prime" games use a first-person perspective.


title: Metroid

text: , the "Metroid" series had sold over 17.44 million copies. The series has been represented in other Nintendo media, including the "Super Smash Bros." series. Additional media includes soundtracks, comic books, and manga. Along with the 1997 Konami game "", the early "Metroid" games defined the Metroidvania subgenre, inspiring other games with continuous, explorable side-scrolling levels. Samus was one of the first prominent female video game characters.


title: Metroid

text: The central figures in the production and development of the "Metroid" series are Satoru Okada, who directed "Metroid" and created the series; Yoshio Sakamoto, who acted as a character designer for the first game and has directed or supervised the development of most of the subsequent games; Gunpei Yokoi, who headed the R&D1 division and produced the first two games; Makoto Kano, who wrote the scenario for "Metroid", co-designed the second game, and produced the third; and Hiroji Kiyotake, who designed characters for the original game.


title: Metroid

text: The original "Metroid", an action game for the Family Computer Disk System, was developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 (R&D1) and released in Japan on August 6, 1986. It was published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in August 1987 in North America and on January 15, 1988, in Europe. It was directed by Satoru Okada.


title: Metroid

text: "Metroid" was designed to be a shooting game that combined the platform jumping of "Super Mario Bros." with the non-linear exploration of "The Legend of Zelda" and a darker aesthetic. The name of the game is a portmanteau of the words "metro" (as in rapid transit) and android, and was meant to allude to the mainly underground setting of the first game as well as its robot-like protagonist. Halfway through development of the original "Metroid", one of the staff said to his fellow developers "Hey, wouldn't that be kind of cool if it turned out that this person inside the suit was a woman?", and the idea was accepted. Ridley Scott's 1979 science-fiction horror film "Alien" was described by Sakamoto as a "huge influence" after the world of the first "Metroid" had been created. In recognition of this, a main antagonist was given the name Ridley, after director Ridley Scott. The development staff were also influenced by the work of the film's creature designer H. R. Giger, finding his style to be fitting for the "Metroid" universe.


title: Metroid

text: "" was released for the Game Boy in 1991 in North America and in 1992 in Japan. "Metroid II" also further established Samus' visual design, with the bulky Varia Suit upgrade and different arm cannons.


title: Metroid

text: As R&D1 were committed to making another game, Nintendo brought in Intelligent Systems to develop "Super Metroid" for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). "Super Metroid" drastically expanded the "Metroid" formula, with numerous new power-ups and a richer story. It was released to critical acclaim and is considered one of the best SNES games. It was directed by Yoshio Sakamoto, character designer for the first "Metroid"; Sakamoto has directed or produced most of the 2D "Metroid" games since.


title: Metroid

text: In 2002, Nintendo released "Metroid Fusion", a 2D game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). It was developed by R&D1 and written and directed by Sakamoto. Its gameplay is similar to that of "Super Metroid", but with a more mission-based structure that gives more guidance to the player. The team's next GBA project was "" (2004), a remake of the original "Metroid". Both GBA games received acclaim. A Nintendo restructure merged R&D1 with R&D2 in 2003, shortly ahead of the release of "Zero Mission". A 2D "Metroid" game for the DS, "Metroid Dread", was in development around 2006, but was not released until 2021 for the Switch.


title: Metroid

text: Nintendo considered developing a "Metroid" game for the Nintendo 64, but could not generate concrete ideas; Sakamoto said: "When I held the N64 controller in my hands I just couldn't imagine how it could be used to move Samus around". An unidentified company received an offer from Nintendo to develop an N64 "Metroid", but they turned it down, saying they were not confident they could create a worthwhile successor to "Super Metroid". Samus first appeared in 3D in the N64 fighting game "Super Smash Bros." (1999).


title: Metroid

text: In 2000, Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto visited the new Nintendo subsidiary Retro Studios in Austin, Texas, and tasked Retro with developing a "Metroid" game for their new console, the GameCube. "Metroid Prime", the first 3D "Metroid" game, moved the nonlinear structure of "Super Metroid" to a first-person perspective; Nintendo stressed that it was not a first-person shooter but a "first-person adventure". "" (2004) saw Samus switching between parallel light and dark worlds, and introduced more difficulty. "", released for Wii in 2007, added motion controls and has Samus exploring separate planets, with more emphasis on shooting action. The "Prime" games were rereleased for Wii in the compilation "".


title: Metroid

text: In 2005, Nintendo released "Metroid Prime Pinball", a pinball spin-off, for the handheld Nintendo DS. "Metroid Prime Hunters", a multiplayer game developed by Nintendo Software Technology, was released for the DS in 2006.


title: Metroid

text: A new 3D "Metroid" game, "", developed with Japanese studio Team Ninja and directed by Sakamoto, was released for Wii in 2010. It featured a third-person perspective and placed a greater focus on story and action. "Other M" received weaker reviews, with criticism for its characterization of Samus as timid and emotional and its reduced emphasis on exploration. "Polygon" described "Other M" as "such a massive misfire and a flop with fans that it practically killed the series", with no major new "Metroid" games in the following decade.


title: Metroid

text: The franchise was represented by a minigame, "Metroid Blast", in the Wii U game "Nintendo Land" (2012), which had a mixed reception. The player using the Wii U GamePad controls Samus' gunship, while up to four players with Wii Remotes and Nunchuks control Mii characters on foot, wearing Varia Suits. Miyamoto said this reflected his ideas for future "Metroid" games.


title: Metroid

text: In 2014, a former artist from Next Level Games said that Next Level had built a Nintendo 3DS "Metroid" prototype before Nintendo asked them to develop "" instead. In 2016, Nintendo released "", a multiplayer game for the 3DS developed by Next Level Games. It received criticism for its multiplayer focus and frivolous tone.


title: Metroid

text: In 2017, Nintendo released a remake of "Metroid II" for the 3DS, "", developed by MercurySteam and Nintendo EPD. It retained the side-scrolling gameplay of the original, adding 3D graphics and new gameplay features such as melee combat.


title: Metroid

text: At E3 2017, Nintendo announced "Metroid Prime 4" for the Nintendo Switch. According to "Eurogamer", it was initially developed by Bandai Namco Studios, but Nintendo was not satisfied with its progress. In 2019, development restarted under Retro Studios, the developer of the previous "Metroid Prime" games.


title: Metroid

text: In 2021, Nintendo released a new 2D "Metroid" game, "Metroid Dread", for the Nintendo Switch, developed with MercurySteam. The game is a realization of the cancelled Nintendo DS project from the late 2000s. By May 10, 2022, it had sold more than 2.9 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling "Metroid" game.


title: Metroid

text: The "Metroid" series contains gameplay elements from shooter, platformer, and adventure games. The series is notable for its non-linear progression and solitary exploration format where the player only controls Samus Aran, with few or no other characters to interact with. The series has been a 2D side-scroller in all its incarnations until the "Metroid Prime" series changed the perspective to a first-person perspective, leading to a new first-person shooter element. The player gains items and power-ups for Samus's cybernetic suit primarily through exploration, and occasionally by defeating alien creatures through real-time combat with the suit's arm cannon. Many such upgrades enable further avenues of exploration. A recurring upgrade is the Morph Ball, which allows Samus to curl into a ball, roll into tight places and plant bombs.


title: Metroid

text: The original "Metroid" was influenced by two other major Nintendo franchises: "Mario", from which it borrowed extensive areas of platform jumping, and "The Legend of Zelda", from which it borrowed non-linear exploration. The game differed in its atmosphere of solitude and foreboding. "Metroid" was also one of the first video games to feature an exploration to the left as well as the right, and backtracking to already explored areas to search for secret items and paths.


title: Metroid

text: "Metroid" follows the adventures of bounty hunter Samus Aran, who battles the villainous Space Pirates. The pirates threaten the Galactic Federation with their attempts to harness biological weapons such as the parasitic Metroid creatures and the hazardous Phazon material. Samus was raised by the Chozo, an avian race, after her parents were killed by Space Pirates. She serves in the military of the Galactic Federation before departing and beginning work as a bounty hunter, while facing the forces of Ridley and Mother Brain.


title: Metroid

text: In the original "Metroid", Samus travels to the planet Zebes to stop the Space Pirates from using the Metroids to create biological weapons. She defeats the cybernetic lifeform Mother Brain, as well as its guardians, Kraid and Ridley.


title: Metroid

text: The "Metroid Prime" series is set between "Metroid" and "Metroid II". In "Metroid Prime", Samus travels to Tallon IV to stop the Space Pirates from exploiting a powerful radioactive substance named Phazon, where she defeats the titular enemy, a Phazon infected Metroid. "Metroid Prime: Hunters" sees Samus respond to a distress call to the Alimbic Cluster, and fights alongside other bounty hunters against a creature named Gorea. In "Metroid Prime 2: Echoes", Samus explores the planet Aether, which has been split into "light" and "dark" dimensions, and battles Dark Samus (the revived Metroid Prime) and the Ing race. In "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption", Samus searches for bounty hunters who have been infected with Phazon, while being slowly corrupted by Phazon herself, but ultimately succeeds in eradacating both the Phazon and her double. "Metroid Prime: Federation Force", the only game in which players do not control Samus, sees Samus mind-controlled by Space Pirates; the Federation Force battles to rescue her and destroy the Space Pirates.


title: Metroid

text: In "Metroid II", Samus travels to the Metroid homeworld, SR388, to exterminate the species, but saves a hatchling Metroid that bonds to her and delivers it to the Ceres research station for study. In "Super Metroid", Ridley steals the hatchling and takes it to Zebes, where the Space Pirates are attempting to clone the Metroids. Samus is nearly killed by the revived Mother Brain, but is rescued by the now grown Metroid which sacrifices itself and Samus destroys Mother Brain in retaliation. She then escapes as Zebes explodes.


title: Metroid

text: In "Metroid: Other M", set after "Super Metroid", Samus investigates a derelict space station with a Galactic Federation platoon. They team up to stop a clone of Mother Brain created by a Federation group. In "Metroid Fusion", Samus investigates a space station in orbit around SR388 infested with parasitic organisms which can infect and take the shape of its victims known as X parasites. Samus is infected by one but is saved using a vaccine made from the baby Metroid's cells. She discovers that the Federation has been cloning Metroids in secret, and sets the space station on a collision with SR388 to destroy the X parasites. "Metroid Dread" continues where "Fusion" left off, with the Federation dispatching a squadron of advanced automatons known as E.M.M.I. to investigate the planet ZDR, where X parasite has been sighted. Samus is sent to the planet herself after contact is lost, coming into conflict with the X and a Chozo war criminal named Raven Beak, stopping both from invading the rest of the galaxy.


title: Metroid

text: The "Metroid" series has been noted and praised for its unique style of video game music. Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka, composer of the original "Metroid", has said he wanted to make a score that made players feel like they were encountering a "living creature" and had no distinction between music and sound effects. The only time the main "Metroid" theme was heard was after Mother Brain is defeated; this is intended to give the player a catharsis. At all other times, no melodies are present in the game. The composer of "Super Metroid", Kenji Yamamoto, came up with some of the games' themes by humming them to himself while riding his motorcycle to work. He was asked to compose the music for "Metroid Prime" to reinforce the series continuity. "Metroid Prime"'s Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound was mixed by a member of Dolby.


title: Metroid

text: Developers from Retro Studios noted how the 6 MB memory budget for all sound effects of a level in "Metroid Prime" was crucial in producing a quality soundtrack, as each sound had to be of high quality to be included. Composer Kenji Yamamoto used heavy drums, piano, voiced chants, clangs of pipes, and electric guitar. "" took advantage of the increased RAM in the Wii, allowing for higher-quality audio samples. Kenji Yamamoto, who composed the music for "Super Metroid" and the "Prime" trilogy, copied the musical design of the original "Metroid" in "Metroid Prime 3", by keeping the music and themes dark and scary until the very end, when uplifting music is played during the credits.


title: Metroid

text: Samus is a playable character in all five "Super Smash Bros." games. Games from "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" onward also feature Zero Suit Samus, a version of the heroine using the blue form-fitting suit seen in "Zero Mission" and the "Prime" series. Ridley makes cameos in "Super Smash Bros.", where he can be seen flying through the level Zebes, and in "Super Smash Bros. Melee" both as an unlockable trophy and in the game's opening, where he is fighting Samus at Ceres Space Station. In "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", Ridley appears as a boss character in both normal and Meta Ridley forms. Due to demand from fans, Ridley was made a playable fighter in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" alongside fellow newcomer Dark Samus. Kraid also appeared in "Super Smash Bros. Melee" as a stage hazard in Brinstar Depths and unlockable trophy. Various other characters such as Metroids, Mother Brain and Dark Samus appear as either trophies or stickers in the "Super Smash Bros." series as well. A number of locations from the "Metroid" franchise have appeared in "Super Smash Bros." games as battle stages.


title: Metroid

text: Samus has appeared in other Nintendo games such as "Super Mario RPG", the NES version of "Tetris", "Tetris DS", "Galactic Pinball", "Kirby Super Star", "Kirby's Dream Land 3" and "WarioWare".


title: Metroid

text: A Metroid-lookalike enemy, called the Komayto, appears in "Kid Icarus" for the NES; the characters allude to the similarities between the two in "". In "", a fighting game developed by Team Ninja for the 3DS, one stage is a replica of the arena in which Samus fights Ridley in "Metroid: Other M" and features both as non-playable characters; When asked why Samus is not playable in "Dimensions", Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi stated in an interview that "it would be better to let her focus on her job rather than kicking everyone's butt in ["Dead or Alive: Dimensions"]". The Wii U launch game "Nintendo Land" has a minigame based on the series called "Metroid Blast".


title: Metroid

text: A "Metroid" animated series was considered for the "Super Mario Bros. Power Hour", a cancelled animation block that would have aired in the 1980s. Concept art was produced for the series, which notably featured a male incarnation of Samus. "Power Hour" never moved forward in the intended format, instead being replaced by "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show" which aired in 1989. Mother Brain was the primary villain in the "" TV show.


title: Metroid

text: Comics and manga have been made for various magazines based on "Metroid", "Super Metroid", "Metroid Prime", "Metroid Prime 2: Echoes", and "Metroid: Zero Mission" in both the United States and Japan. Samus Aran and other "Metroid" characters also featured in the "Captain N: The Game Master" comic books by Valiant Comics. In Japan, a "Metroid" manga series was published in Kodansha's "Monthly Magazine Z" beginning in November 2003, and ran for 16 chapters which were later collected into two Tankōbon volumes. The series chronicled Samus' life up through the events of the original game, and went on to influence the plots of subsequent games in the franchise. Also in Japan, "Comic Bom Bom" published a three-volume manga starring Samus,


title: Metroid

text: In 2003, two producers optioned the rights to create a live-action film based on "Metroid", but the rights expired. Director John Woo acquired the rights a few years later, and his studio Lion Rock Productions was to produce and release the film before 2006. Writers on the film included David Greenwalt, who had worked on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel" and "Grimm". According to producer Brad Froxhoven, the film would have explored Samus' origin story; she would be "an exceptionally talented, but also flawed character who was looking for redemption ... We wanted to see her struggle, to be humbled, and to be forced to rise up against crazy odds. And of course we wanted to see the cool weapons in all of their glory".


title: Metroid

text: According to Foxhoven, Nintendo was protective due to the failure of the 1993 "Super Mario Bros." film. Nintendo had no answers to the team's questions about Samus' personal life, relationships, and other personal characteristics, and was uncomfortable with the film team "being the ones to propose those answers". Foxhoven said Nintendo left the discussions appreciating that they needed to develop the franchise further if it were to become a Hollywood film. In 2013, Sakamoto said he could support a film directed by Ryuji Kitaura, director of the CG scenes in "Other M", if the concept and methodologies were good enough.


title: Metroid

text: "Metroid" ranked as the 70th top game (collectively) by "Next Generation" in 1996 and the 6th in 1999, and as the eighth best game franchise by "IGN" in 2008. In 2001, "Electronic Gaming Monthly" named "Super Metroid" the best game ever. All the "Metroid" games released by 2005 were included in a "Nintendo Power" top 200 Nintendo games list, "Prime" in the IGN top 100, "Metroid", "Super Metroid", "Prime" and "Echoes" in a list by GameFAQs users; "Metroid" and "Super Metroid" in "Game Informer"s list; and "Prime" and "Super Metroid" in "Edge"s list. The series has influenced games including "".


title: Metroid

text: Samus Aran was recognized by "Guinness World Records" as "enduringly popular" and as the "first playable human female character in a mainstream video game", although Toby Masuyo ("Kissy") from Namco's "Alien Sector" predates her by one year. Ridley was the second-most requested Nintendo character by "IGN" and number one by the fans to be added as a playable character to the "Super Smash Bros." series and Mother Brain is often named among the best video game bosses.


title: Metroid

text: The original "Metroid" has been described as boosted by its "eerie" music, adding a "sense of mystery and exploration" to the game by making the game "moody and atmospheric". "IGN" praised the well-timed music that helped add suspense. "GameSpot" described "Super Metroid" as better than the original "in literally every conceivable way", "Metroid Fusion" was noted for its "understated score" which fit the mood of the adventure and its excellent stereo sound effects, making it an uncommonly good Game Boy Advance sound experience. "Metroid Prime" was considered one of the best games ever made upon its release, winning Game of the Year from various publications and websites. "IGN" called the aural experience with "Metroid Prime 2: Echoes" "mesmerizing". Music from "Metroid" has been frequently re-released as part of "best of" video game music releases. "Metroid Prime"s soundtrack was called the best sound design on the GameCube. The sound effects were also noted for a high degree of accuracy and blending with the soundtrack. On the popular video game music site OverClocked ReMix, "Super Metroid" is the tenth-most remixed video game, while the first "Metroid" video game was twenty-fifth.


title: Metroid

text: "Metroid", "Metroid II: Return of Samus", "Super Metroid", "Metroid Fusion", "Metroid Prime", "Metroid Prime 2: Echoes", "Metroid Prime Hunters", "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption", and "Metroid Dread" have each sold more than one million copies. By September 2012, the series had sold over 17.44 million copies worldwide.


title: Metroid

text: Sales of "Metroid" games in Japan have typically been lower than in the United States. In its debut week in Japan, "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption" sold 32,388 units, ranking it behind "Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!", "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", "Wii Fit", and "Gundam Musou Special". "Metroid: Other M" was the third-bestselling video game in Japan during its week of release with 45,398 copies sold, ranking it behind "Wii Party" and "". It sold an additional 11,239 copies the following week.


title: Metroid

text: Along with the 1997 Konami game "", the early "Metroid" games defined a subgenre known as Metroidvania. Tom Happ, developer of the 2015 Metroidvania game "Axiom Verge", defined Metroidvania games as side-scrolling adventures with continuous maps, rather than discrete levels, that require the player to collect items and backtrack. Other notable Metroidvania games include "Cave Story" (2004), "Shadow Complex" (2009), "Ori and the Blind Forest" (2014), "Hollow Knight" (2017), and "Chasm" (2018).


title: Metroid

text: In 2016, "AM2R", a fan-made remake of "Metroid II" was released. Nintendo issued takedown notices to halt its distribution, citing the potential damage to its intellectual property. "AM2R" was nominated for the Game Awards 2016, but was removed as it had not been cleared by Nintendo for inclusion.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 employees.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: Creative Artists Agency (CAA) was formed by five agents at the William Morris Agency in 1975. At a dinner, Michael Ovitz, Michael S. Rosenfeld, Ronald Meyer, Rowland Perkins, and William Haber decided to create their own agency. The agents were fired by William Morris before they could obtain financing. CAA was incorporated in Delaware and had a $35,000 line of credit and a $21,000 bank loan and rented a small Century City office. Within a week, they sold a game show called "Rhyme and Reason", the "Rich Little Show", and "The Jackson 5ive". An early plan was to form a medium-sized full-service agency, share proceeds equally, and do without nameplates on doors or formal titles or individual client lists, with guidelines like "be a team player" and "return phone calls promptly."


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: CAA used its writer clients to attract actors to the agency. Ovitz and CAA were the first to package films like TV shows. Representing numerous A-list actors and having about $90 million in annual bookings in the late 1970s, Ovitz led the agency to expand into the film business. By the mid-1990s, CAA had 550 employees, about 1,400 of Hollywood's top talent, and $150 million in revenue. In the 1990s, CAA was owned mostly by several key agents, including Ovitz, Meyer, and Haber.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: Ovitz was good at "packaging talent for movies and TV projects" and negotiating large deals between Japanese conglomerates, such as Sony and Matsushita, with Hollywood studios, such as Columbia/TriStar and MCA. Ovitz expanded the agency into advertising and telecommunications. In 1992, the Coca-Cola Company placed CAA in charge of much of its marketing campaign, to work alongside advertising agency McCann Erickson. In 1995, CAA was described as the industry's most powerful agency.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: In 1995, Ron Meyer was appointed as the head of MCA, and Ovitz left for Disney. After Ovitz and Meyer left, talent agent Jay Moloney took over the company but struggled with a drug addiction and left the agency soon afterward. After Ovitz, the agency was taken over by Richard Lovett, who was made the president, along with Kevin Huvane, Rob Light, Bryan Lourd, Rick Nicita, and David O'Connor as managing partners.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: In 1996, several CAA agents defected to rival agency William Morris Endeavor, taking with them prominent directors and actors. The partners founded the "CAA Foundation" in 1996 to create positive social change by encouraging volunteerism, partnerships, and donations. In 2012, it worked with Insight Labs for education reform, and contributed to its "School Is Not School" reform effort.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: CAA established CAA Marketing in 1998 to work with brands and clients for promotion purposes. CAA Marketing developed Chipotle's "Back to the Start" video and created a marketing campaign for the Coca-Cola Company.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: In 2003, it opened a New York City office to manage theater clients. CAA began expanding into sports in 2006. From 2005 to 2015, CAA developed greater fiscal discipline, with more emphasis on profits, possibly as the result of the influence of private equity firms. During these years, CAA doubled in size, from 750 to 1,500 employees. In 2010, new technological developments such as the digital distribution of movies put strains on the industry. There was pressure to diversify into television, publishing, concerts, and find other ways to grow. In that year, private equity firm TPG Capital invested $165 million with an additional $200 million in debt financing.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: CAA began an expansion into sports in 2006, under the leadership of CEO Richard Lovett. A report in "USA Today" suggested that CAA's development of its sports-related clientele was significant in 2007. A report in "Nexus" magazine in 2015 suggested that CAA was well-positioned to develop the E-Sports market. CAA puts together deals for sports stars such as writing their clients into fitness apps.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: CAA's agents scrambled to deal with a strike by the Screen Actors Guild in 2008. In 2010, TPG Capital gained a 35% interest in the agency and pledged $500 million for investments. The transaction enabled acquisitions in areas such as sports and overseas operations. It later sold a controlling stake to TPG Capital in October 2014. In 2015, TPG Capital was reported to own 53% of CAA. CAA is co-owner with an investment bank. CAA has diversified into different businesses such as sports marketers and leagues and digital commerce. In 2014, CAA has been undergoing a transformation from relying solely on booking talent, into engineering multimedia deals worldwide. To this end, CAA established CAA Ventures, a venture capital fund that has supported products such as the Whisper app.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: The WGA, who in 2019 held a dispute between the top four Hollywood talent agencies (William Morris Endeavor, Creative Artists Agency, United Talent Agency and ICM Partners), on September 30, 2020 asked CAA to sell a majority stake on their Content company wiip for reaching a deal, with CAA accepting their divestment on December 16, 2020 and selling the majority of it to South-Korean studio JTBC.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: In September 2021, it was announced that CAA would acquire ICM Partners. The deal closed in June 2022 at a value of $750 million. Following the acquisition, about 425 ICM agents and staff members will join CAA, with 105 positions being eliminated.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: In January 2022, CAA announced it would relocate its headquarters across the street from its current offices, in 2026.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: CAA president Richard Lovett is regarded as shunning media attention and keeping a low profile. Lovett took the job position at CAA in 1995, and he was described as a "skillful agent" with a "trademark ever-ready smile" adept at schmoozing and hobnobbing with colleagues and studio heads. Lovett was described in "The Wall Street Journal" as being "elegantly aggressive."


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: Top agencies frequently raid each other's staff, and when key people defect to rivals, it makes news headlines and often leads to legal battles over breach-of-contract claims. When agents defect, the rivalry can degenerate quickly into vicious battles played out in courtrooms and in the media. When key CAA clients Will Ferrell and Chris Pratt defected to rival United Talent Agency (UTA) in 2015, and were later followed by ten agents, it erupted into a full-frontal legal battle between the warring agencies. In the lawsuit, CAA accused UTA of conducting a "lawless, midnight raid" as part of an "illegal and unethical conspiracy" with agents deliberately delaying meetings with clients to divert business to UTA. In a bitter lawsuit and countersuit between CAA and UTA in 2015, which began after a slew of CAA's agents departed for UTA, there were accusations of fraud, malicious untruths, lying, and a range of charges including a "breach of duty of loyalty" as well as "conspiracy to breach fiduciary duty."


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: Rivalry is not limited to rank-and-file agents, but can take the form of public barbs by company CEOs. Grudges can last for years; for example, movie producer Jay Weston sued CAA in 1979 about the rights to a film, and years later, it was revealed that Weston was "totally ostracized" by the agency. In effect, CAA would do the minimally required legal tasks of passing along required offers but otherwise staying uninvolved. Some agents have had a reputation in the public's mind of living in a world of "fast cars, rooftop bars and foul-mouthed, phone-throwing power brokers," according to an account in the "Los Angeles Times". CAA agent Jay Moloney led a colorful yet self-destructive life. Moloney interned at CAA while studying at USC, became the right-hand man of Michael Ovitz, worked with clients such as Leonardo DiCaprio and made millions, dated actresses such as Jennifer Grey and Gina Gershon, and "battled personal demons" and became a "slave to cocaine"; Moloney committed suicide at age 35. In 2004, the HBO production entitled "Entourage" was made about a fictional Hollywood agent named Ari Gold. According to one report, the fictional Ari Gold character may have been based on a hybrid between an "even-keeled" Creative Artists Agency agent named Jeff Jacobs and an "abrasive 'go-for-the-jugular'" William Morris Endeavor agent named Ari Emanuel. The report suggested that images like these may contribute to the public perception of agents as foul-mouthed and aggressive bullies. Perhaps because of its dominance in the industry, CAA agents have a reputation for being "coldhearted Hollywood power brokers," according to one report in "The Wall Street Journal".


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: The agency has been accused of blacklisting people who did or said things that the agency did not want publicized; for example, Courtney Love said that she was "eternally banned" beginning 2005 by CAA after making a negative comment about Miramax producer Harvey Weinstein. Uma Thurman left CAA on November 22, 2017, the day before making an Instagram post addressing accusations against Harvey Weinstein.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: With many clients, agents charge a percentage fee based on monies that their clients make; one estimate was that CAA charges 10% of what its movie and television clients are paid.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: CAA chiefs including Michael Ovitz, Ron Meyer and Bill Haber built the agency by packaging actors and directors with literary clients, but the scope of deal-making has widened in recent decades. For example, CAA crafted a deal between toy-maker Hasbro and DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures, along with numerous CAA writers and directors, to make the movie franchise "Transformers". Sometimes deal-making entails creating new technology firms. CAA even manages deals with the estates of long-dead clients such as reggae musician Bob Marley, who died in 1981. CAA helped one former politician create an online career institute. CAA sold sponsorship rights for a baseball stadium in San Francisco.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: While talent agencies can grow by making acquisitions, CAA has generally grown organically by bringing in new clients. The company divided its agents into two camps: traditional agents who manage the career tracks of 1,000 stars, and specialists in investment banking, consulting, advertising and digital media. The agency can use its more glamorous clients in film and TV to craft deals with steadier income streams; for example, using clients such as Julia Roberts, they can assemble marketing programs for less glamorous clients, such as Nationwide Insurance.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: When Hollywood agents change firms, and take stars and talent with them, it can have major financial repercussions for the departing agency, and can lead to much confusion as lawyers pour over the fine print of numerous contracts.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: To market themselves, talent agencies often cater exclusive parties following awards ceremonies such as the Golden Globes. In 2013, CAA threw a party at the Sundance Film Festival which caused embarrassment and a public relations backlash, where "guests mingled with lingerie-clad women pretending to snort prop cocaine, erotic dancers outfitted with sex toys and an Alice in Wonderland look-alike performing a simulated sex act on a man in a rabbit costume."


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: In the late 1980s, CAA commissioned architect I. M. Pei to design a new headquarters building at the corner of Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards in Beverly Hills. The building consists of two curved wings set around a central atrium with a skylight that rises into a conical glass tower. The high atrium was designed as an art-filled formal reception hall with a 100-seat screening room and gourmet kitchen and displays a by mural by Roy Lichtenstein. The design used feng shui principles. In 2007, CAA relocated to a new building in Century City, a district of Los Angeles. The new headquarters are sometimes referred to as "The Death Star" by entertainment professionals. CAA has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, London, Beijing, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Memphis, Stockholm, Munich and Switzerland.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: CAA was formed in 1975 from defections from the William Morris Agency, and there continue to be about four or five major talent agencies.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: In 2009, William Morris Agency and Endeavor merged to form William Morris Endeavor (WME). As of 2015, CAA and WME are the largest agencies in the business. In 2014, WME bought IMG Worldwide, a fashion and sports agency, for $2.4 billion. In 2014, WME had 4500 employees while CAA had 1500 employees. WME had a larger share of sports-related clients. The rivalry can get cantankerous: in one instance, the William Morris Endeavor agency placed dozens of ads around the city using Creative Artists Agency's red-and-white color signature with the headline being CAAN'T, a "playful nod to the CAA acronym." The agencies compete by "regularly poaching agents and clients from one another." In 2021 Zac Efron left CAA for WME.


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: In Jay McInerney's short story "The Business" from "How It Ended", the main character is a screenwriter represented by CAA. CAA's building is featured in the video game "".


title: Creative Artists Agency

text: In December 2017, there were reports that the agency was actively involved in coverups relating to abuse and harassment by disgraced Miramax executive Harvey Weinstein. "Variety", citing a report in "The New York Times", reported that at least eight agents knew about the ongoing harassment yet continued to do business with Weinstein, and even sent actresses to meet with him in situations where they might have been vulnerable to his predations. Actress Uma Thurman accused the agency of being connected to Weinstein's predatory behavior. In 2005, Courtney Love advised young actresses in an interview, "If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party in the Four Seasons, don't go." Love later said that she was "banned" by CAA for speaking out about Weinstein.


title: Scott Newman (actor)

text: Alan Scott Newman (September 23, 1950 – November 20, 1978) was an American film and television actor and stuntman whose most prominent roles were in "The Towering Inferno" and "Breakheart Pass". He was the only son and the eldest child of Academy Award-winning actor Paul Newman. After Scott Newman's death from a drug overdose in 1978, his father established the Scott Newman Center, which is dedicated to preventing drug abuse through education.


title: Scott Newman (actor)

text: Newman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Paul Newman and his first wife, Jackie Witte. When Scott was still a young boy with two younger sisters, Susan and Stephanie, his father moved to California to further his career, leaving his family in New York City. By 1958, his parents had divorced and his father had married Joanne Woodward. They settled in Westport, Connecticut, during the late 1960s, where Scott attended Staples High School briefly. Scott attended expensive private schools from some of which he was expelled for bad behavior.


title: Scott Newman (actor)

text: By the late 1960s, Scott had dropped out of college and started to take jobs as a stuntman in his father's films, making over five hundred parachute jumps to become a certified instructor. He also took on menial jobs and refused to ask his father for financial help. In the early 1970s, his father used his influence to initiate an acting career for his son, and arranged a part for him in "The Great Waldo Pepper" (1975), starring Robert Redford. At the time, Scott stated, "I'm not taking any acting help from my father. I want my work to stand on its own merit." He had started to drink heavily, and was arrested for minor alcohol-related offenses. He also assaulted a police officer, kicking him in the head in a squad car after being arrested for vandalizing a school bus while drunk. Newman's father paid the resulting $1,000 fine.


title: Scott Newman (actor)

text: Newman later played an acrophobic firefighter in "The Towering Inferno" (1974), in which his father co-starred. Although they had no dialog together because Scott's scenes were with Steve McQueen, both Newmans can be seen in the film's finale. Paul's character is on the steps with Faye Dunaway, while Scott is one of the two firemen carrying a man on a stretcher down the plaza steps to California Street at the Bank of America building in San Francisco. Newman also played small parts in TV series during 1975, such as "Marcus Welby, M.D.", "Harry O.," and "S.W.A.T.". During the same year, he also appeared in the Charles Bronson film "Breakheart Pass".


title: Scott Newman (actor)

text: Newman subsequently appeared in the 1977 film "Fraternity Row", which was to be his last appearance. His alcoholism became more severe, and by 1978 he was sleeping on friends' floors and working as a laborer. He also tried his hand at cabaret singing in small clubs, billing himself as William Scott. Around this time, he confided to family friend A. E. Hotchner, "It's hell being his son, you know ... I don't have his blue eyes. I don't have his talent. I don't have his luck. I don't have anything ... that's me."


title: Scott Newman (actor)

text: He suffered a motorcycle accident in the fall of 1978, and was taking painkillers to ease the discomfort of his injuries. He also accepted an offer of psychiatric help, paid for by his father. However, in Los Angeles on the night of November 19, he took a fatal dose of valium with alcohol and other drugs. His father told Hotchner: "There's nothing you can say that will repair my guilt about Scott. It will be with me as long as I live."


title: Scott Newman (actor)

text: In 1980, Paul Newman established the Scott Newman Center, dedicated to helping healthcare professionals and teachers educate children about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. The organization also founded the Rowdy Ridge Gang Camp, a network of summer camps for families dealing with problems associated with drug abuse and alcoholism.


title: Cam Gigandet

text: Cameron Joslin Gigandet (; born August 16, 1982) is an American actor whose credits include a recurring role on "The O.C." and appearances in feature films "Twilight", "Pandorum", "Never Back Down", "Burlesque", "Easy A", "Priest" and "The Magnificent Seven". He also starred in the CBS legal drama series "Reckless". From 2016 to 2018, Gigandet starred in the Audience Network drama series "Ice".


title: Cam Gigandet

text: Gigandet was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Kim and Jay Gigandet, a co-owner of The Rock pizza franchise. His sister Kelsie is a hair stylist. After graduating from Auburn Senior High School in Auburn, Washington, in 2001, he moved to California, where he attended Santa Monica College.


title: Cam Gigandet

text: In 2003, Gigandet made his acting debut with a guest appearance in the crime television series "". In 2004 and 2005 Gigandet continued his television career with recurring roles in television shows such as "The Young and the Restless" and "Jack and Bobby".


title: Cam Gigandet

text: In 2005-06, Gigandet was cast as Kevin Volchok on the Fox teen drama television series "The O.C.", appearing in 15 episodes. Gigandet portrayed the role of Kevin, a bad boy and rebellious competitive surfer who develops a casual relationship with the rich socialite Marissa Cooper, portrayed by Mischa Barton.


title: Cam Gigandet

text: In August 2007, Gigandet was cast in the Summit Entertainment action drama film "Never Back Down". He portrayed the role of the villainous bad boy and fighting champion Ryan McCarthy who sets out to take down the film's protagonist. Gigandet and co-star Sean Faris shared an award for "Best Fight" at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards.


title: Cam Gigandet

text: In December 2007, Summit Entertainment cast Gigandet in the planned film adaptation of the best selling vampire book series "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer. He signed on to portray the role of the film's "tracker" vampire James. Gigandet received his second "Best Fight" award win at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards with Robert Pattinson.


title: Cam Gigandet

text: In 2008, Gigandet won the award for "One to Watch" at the 10th Annual Young Hollywood Awards. In August 2008, Gigandet signed on to the Screen Gems supernatural horror film "The Unborn", portraying the role of the protagonist's love interest. Also in 2009, Gigandet starred as Corporal Gallo in the sci-fi thriller "Pandorum". In 2009, Gigandet was cast alongside Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly in the thriller film "The Roommate".


title: Cam Gigandet

text: In 2010, Gigandet portrayed Micah, a Christian high school student, in "Easy A". That same year, Gigandet starred as the villainous prison guard Chase in the psychological straight-to-DVD thriller "The Experiment".


title: Cam Gigandet

text: In 2010, Gigandet was cast in the film "Burlesque". The film was written and directed by first-time director Steve Antin and starred Cher, Christina Aguilera and Stanley Tucci.


title: Cam Gigandet

text: In 2011, Gigandet portrayed Jonah in the psychological thriller "Trespass". Gigandet had a supporting role in the 2011 vampire thriller "Priest".


title: Cam Gigandet

text: Gigandet married Dominique Geisendorff in 2008. They have two daughters and a son. Geisendorff filed for divorce in August 2022.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults – is called tachycardia, and a resting heart rate that is too slow – below 60 beats per minute – is called bradycardia. Some types of arrhythmias have no symptoms. Symptoms, when present, may include palpitations or feeling a pause between heartbeats. In more serious cases, there may be lightheadedness, passing out, shortness of breath or chest pain. While most cases of arrhythmia are not serious, some predispose a person to complications such as stroke or heart failure. Others may result in sudden death.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Arrhythmias are often categorized into four groups: extra beats, supraventricular tachycardias, ventricular arrhythmias and bradyarrhythmias. Extra beats include premature atrial contractions, premature ventricular contractions and premature junctional contractions. Supraventricular tachycardias include atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter and paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. Ventricular arrhythmias include ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. Bradyarrhythmias are due to sinus node dysfunction or atrioventricular conduction disturbances. Arrhythmias are due to problems with the electrical conduction system of the heart. A number of tests can help with diagnosis, including an electrocardiogram (ECG) and Holter monitor.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Many arrhythmias can be effectively treated. Treatments may include medications, medical procedures such as inserting a pacemaker, and surgery. Medications for a fast heart rate may include beta blockers, or antiarrhythmic agents such as procainamide, which attempt to restore a normal heart rhythm. This latter group may have more significant side effects, especially if taken for a long period of time. Pacemakers are often used for slow heart rates. Those with an irregular heartbeat are often treated with blood thinners to reduce the risk of complications. Those who have severe symptoms from an arrhythmia or are medically unstable may receive urgent treatment with a controlled electric shock in the form of cardioversion or defibrillation.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Arrhythmia affects millions of people. In Europe and North America, as of 2014, atrial fibrillation affects about 2% to 3% of the population. Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter resulted in 112,000 deaths in 2013, up from 29,000 in 1990. However, in most recent cases concerning the SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic, cardiac arrhythmias are commonly developed and associated with high morbidity and mortality among patients hospitalized with the COVID-19 infection, due to the infection's ability to cause myocardial injury. Sudden cardiac death is the cause of about half of deaths due to cardiovascular disease and about 15% of all deaths globally. About 80% of sudden cardiac death is the result of ventricular arrhythmias. Arrhythmias may occur at any age but are more common among older people. Arrhythmias may also occur in children; however, the normal range for the heart rate varies with age.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Arrhythmia may be classified by rate (tachycardia, bradycardia), mechanism (automaticity, re-entry, triggered) or duration (isolated premature beats; couplets; runs, that is 3 or more beats; non-sustained = less than 30 seconds or sustained= over 30 seconds).


title: Arrhythmia

text: These are also known as AV blocks, because the vast majority of them arise from pathology at the atrioventricular node. They are the most common causes of bradycardia:


title: Arrhythmia

text: First, second, and third-degree blocks also can occur at the level of the sinoatrial junction. This is referred to as sinoatrial block typically manifesting with various degrees and patterns of sinus bradycardia.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), is a term used as part of "sudden unexpected death syndrome" to describe sudden death because of cardiac arrest occasioned by an arrhythmia in the presence or absence of any structural heart disease on autopsy. The most common cause of sudden death in the US is coronary artery disease specifically because of poor oxygenation of the heart muscle, that is myocardial ischemia or a heart attack Approximately 180,000 to 250,000 people die suddenly of this cause every year in the US. SADS may occur from other causes. There are many inherited conditions and heart diseases that can affect young people which can subsequently cause sudden death without advance symptoms.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Causes of SADS in young people include viral myocarditis, long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Arrhythmias may also occur in the fetus. The normal heart rate of the fetus is between 110 and 160 beats per minute. Any rhythm beyond these limits is abnormal and classed as a fetal arrhythmia. These are mainly the result of premature atrial contractions, usually give no symptoms, and have little consequence. However, around one percent of these will be the result of significant structural damage to the heart.


title: Arrhythmia

text: The most common symptom of arrhythmia is an awareness of an abnormal heartbeat, called palpitations. These may be infrequent, frequent, or continuous. Some of these arrhythmias are harmless (though distracting for patients) but some of them predispose to adverse outcomes.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Some arrhythmias do not cause symptoms and are not associated with increased mortality. However, some asymptomatic arrhythmias "are" associated with adverse events. Examples include a higher risk of blood clotting within the heart and a higher risk of insufficient blood being transported to the heart because of a weak heartbeat. Other increased risks are of embolization and stroke, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death.


title: Arrhythmia

text: If an arrhythmia results in a heartbeat that is too fast, too slow, or too weak to supply the body's needs, this manifests as lower blood pressure and may cause lightheadedness, dizziness, syncope or brain death due to insufficient supply of blood to the brain.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Medical assessment of the abnormality using an electrocardiogram is one way to diagnose and assess the risk of any given arrhythmia.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Cardiac arrhythmia are caused by one of two major mechanism. The first of arrhythmia is a result of enhanced or abnormal impulse formation originating at the pacemaker or the His-Purkinje network. The second is due to reentry conduction disturbances.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Cardiac arrhythmia is often first detected by simple but nonspecific means: auscultation of the heartbeat with a stethoscope, or feeling for peripheral pulses. These cannot usually diagnose specific arrhythmia but can give a general indication of the heart rate and whether it is regular or irregular. Not all the electrical impulses of the heart produce audible or palpable beats; in many cardiac arrhythmias, the premature or abnormal beats do not produce an effective pumping action and are experienced as "skipped" beats.


title: Arrhythmia

text: The simplest "specific" diagnostic test for assessment of heart rhythm is the electrocardiogram (abbreviated ECG or EKG). A Holter monitor is an EKG recorded over a 24-hour period, to detect arrhythmias that may happen briefly and unpredictably throughout the day.


title: Arrhythmia

text: A more advanced study of the heart's electrical activity can be performed to assess the source of the aberrant heart beats. This can be accomplished in an electrophysiology study, an endovascular procedure that uses a catheter to "listen" to the electrical activity from within the heart, additionally if the source of the arrhythmias is found, often the abnormal cells can be ablated and the arrhythmia can be permanently corrected. "" (TAS) instead uses an electrode inserted through the esophagus to a part where the distance to the posterior wall of the left atrium is only approximately 5–6 mm (remaining constant in people of different age and weight). Transesophageal atrial stimulation can differentiate between atrial flutter, AV nodal reentrant tachycardia and orthodromic atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia. It can also evaluate the risk in people with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, as well as terminate supraventricular tachycardia caused by re-entry.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Each heartbeat originates as an electrical impulse from a small area of tissue in the right atrium of the heart called the sinus node or sinoatrial node (SA node). The impulse initially causes both atria to contract, then activates the atrioventricular node (AV node), which is normally the only electrical connection between the atria and the ventricles (main pumping chambers). The impulse then spreads through both ventricles via the bundle of His and the Purkinje fibers causing a synchronized contraction of the heart muscle and, thus, the pulse.


title: Arrhythmia

text: In adults, the normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 90 beats per minute. The resting heart rate in children is much faster. In athletes, however, the resting heart rate can be as slow as 40 beats per minute, and be considered normal.


title: Arrhythmia

text: The term sinus arrhythmia refers to a normal phenomenon of alternating mild acceleration and slowing of the heart rate that occurs with breathing in and out respectively. It is usually quite pronounced in children and steadily decreases with age. This can also be present during meditation breathing exercises that involve deep inhaling and breath holding patterns.


title: Arrhythmia

text: A slow rhythm (less than 60 beats/min) is labelled bradycardia. This may be caused by a slowed signal from the sinus node (sinus bradycardia), by a pause in the normal activity of the sinus node (sinus arrest), or by blocking of the electrical impulse on its way from the atria to the ventricles (AV block or heart block). Heart block comes in varying degrees and severity. It may be caused by reversible poisoning of the AV node (with drugs that impair conduction) or by irreversible damage to the node. Bradycardias may also be present in the normally functioning heart of endurance athletes or other well-conditioned persons. Bradycardia may also occur in some types of seizures.


title: Arrhythmia

text: In adults and children over 15, resting heart rate faster than 100 beats per minute is labeled tachycardia. Tachycardia may result in palpitation; however, tachycardia is not "necessarily" an arrhythmia. Increased heart rate is a normal response to physical exercise or emotional stress. This is mediated by the sympathetic nervous system on the sinus node and called sinus tachycardia. Other conditions that increase sympathetic nervous system activity in the heart include ingested or injected substances, such as caffeine or amphetamines, and an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) or anemia.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Tachycardia that is not sinus tachycardia usually results from the addition of abnormal impulses to the normal cardiac cycle. Abnormal impulses can begin by one of three mechanisms: automaticity, re-entry, or triggered activity. A specialized form of re-entry which is both common and problematic is termed fibrillation.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Although the term "tachycardia" has been known for over 160 years, bases for the classification of arrhythmias are still being discussed.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Congenital heart defects are structural or electrical pathway problems in the heart that are present at birth. Anyone can be affected by this because overall health does not play a role in the problem. Problems with the electrical pathway of the heart can cause very fast or even deadly arrhythmias. Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome is due to an extra pathway in the heart that is made up of electrical muscle tissue. This tissue allows the electrical impulse, which stimulates the heartbeat, to happen very rapidly. Right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia is the most common type of ventricular tachycardia in otherwise healthy individuals. This defect is due to an electrical node in the right ventricle just before the pulmonary artery. When the node is stimulated, the patient will go into ventricular tachycardia, which does not allow the heart to fill with blood before beating again. Long QT syndrome is another complex problem in the heart and has been labeled as an independent factor in mortality. There are multiple methods of treatment for these including cardiac ablations, medication treatment, or lifestyle changes to have less stress and exercise.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Automaticity refers to a cardiac muscle cell firing off an impulse on its own. All of the cells in the heart have the ability to initiate an action potential; however, only some of these cells are designed to routinely trigger heartbeats. These cells are found in the conduction system of the heart and include the SA node, AV node, Bundle of His, and Purkinje fibers. The sinoatrial node is a single specialized location in the atrium that has a higher automaticity (a faster pacemaker) than the rest of the heart and, therefore, is usually responsible for setting the heart rate and initiating each heartbeat.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Any part of the heart that initiates an impulse without waiting for the sinoatrial node is called an ectopic focus and is, by definition, a pathological phenomenon. This may cause a single premature beat now and then, or, if the ectopic focus fires more often than the sinoatrial node, it can produce a sustained abnormal rhythm. Rhythms produced by an ectopic focus in the atria, or by the atrioventricular node, are the least dangerous dysrhythmias; but they can still produce a decrease in the heart's pumping efficiency because the signal reaches the various parts of the heart muscle with different timing than usual and can be responsible for poorly coordinated contraction.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Conditions that increase automaticity include sympathetic nervous system stimulation and hypoxia. The resulting heart rhythm depends on where the first signal begins: If it is the sinoatrial node, the rhythm remains normal but rapid; if it is an ectopic focus, many types of dysrhythmia may ensue.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Re-entrant arrhythmias occur when an electrical impulse recurrently travels in a tight circle within the heart, rather than moving from one end of the heart to the other and then stopping.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Every cardiac cell can transmit impulses of excitation in every direction but will do so only once within a short time. Normally, the action potential impulse will spread through the heart quickly enough that each cell will respond only once. However, if there is some essential heterogeneity of refractory period or if conduction is abnormally slow in some areas (for example in heart damage) so the myocardial cells are unable to activate the fast sodium channel, part of the impulse will arrive late and potentially be treated as a new impulse. Depending on the timing, this can produce a sustained abnormal circuit rhythm.


title: Arrhythmia

text: As a sort of "re-entry", vortices of excitation in the myocardium (autowave vortices) are considered to be the main mechanism of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. In particular, the autowave reverberator is common in the thin walls of the atria, sometimes resulting in atrial flutter. Re-entry is also responsible for most paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, and dangerous ventricular tachycardia. These types of re-entry circuits are different from WPW syndromes, which utilize abnormal conduction pathways.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Although omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil can be protective against arrhythmias, they can facilitate re-entrant arrhythmias.


title: Arrhythmia

text: When an entire chamber of the heart is involved in multiple micro-reentry circuits and is, therefore, quivering with chaotic electrical impulses, it is said to be in fibrillation.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Fibrillation can affect the atrium (atrial fibrillation) or the ventricle (ventricular fibrillation): ventricular fibrillation is imminently life-threatening.


title: Arrhythmia

text: CPR can prolong the survival of the brain in the lack of a normal pulse, but defibrillation is the only intervention that can restore a healthy heart rhythm. Defibrillation is performed by applying an electric shock to the heart, which resets the cells, permitting a normal beat to re-establish itself.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Triggered beats occur when problems at the level of the ion channels in individual heart cells result in abnormal propagation of electrical activity and can lead to a sustained abnormal rhythm. They are relatively rare and can result from the action of anti-arrhythmic drugs, or after depolarizations.


title: Arrhythmia

text: The method of cardiac rhythm management depends firstly on whether the affected person is stable or unstable. Treatments may include physical maneuvers, medications, electricity conversion, or electro- or cryo-cautery.


title: Arrhythmia

text: In the United States, people admitted to the hospital with cardiac arrhythmia and conduction disorders with and without complications were admitted to the intensive care unit more than half the time in 2011.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Several physical acts can increase parasympathetic nervous supply to the heart, resulting in blocking of electrical conduction through the AV node. This can slow down or stop several arrhythmias that originate above or at the AV node (see main article: supraventricular tachycardias). Parasympathetic nervous supply to the heart is via the vagus nerve, and these maneuvers are collectively known as vagal maneuvers.


title: Arrhythmia

text: There are many classes of antiarrhythmic medications, with different mechanisms of action and many different individual drugs within these classes. Although the goal of drug therapy is to prevent arrhythmia, nearly every antiarrhythmic drug has the potential to act as a pro-arrhythmic, and so must be carefully selected and used under medical supervision.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Several groups of drugs slow conduction through the heart, without actually preventing an arrhythmia. These drugs can be used to "rate control" a fast rhythm and make it physically tolerable for the patient.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Some arrhythmias promote blood clotting within the heart and increase the risk of embolus and stroke. Anticoagulant medications such as warfarin and heparins, and anti-platelet drugs such as aspirin can reduce the risk of clotting.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Arrhythmias may also be treated electrically, by applying a shock across the heart – either externally to the chest wall, or internally to the heart via implanted electrodes.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Cardioversion is either achieved pharmacologically or via the application of a shock "synchronized" to the underlying heartbeat. It is used for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardias. In elective cardioversion, the recipient is usually sedated or lightly anesthetized for the procedure.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Defibrillation differs in that the shock is not synchronized. It is needed for the chaotic rhythm of ventricular fibrillation and is also used for pulseless ventricular tachycardia. Often, more electricity is required for defibrillation than for cardioversion. In most defibrillation, the recipient has lost consciousness so there is no need for sedation.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Defibrillation or cardioversion may be accomplished by an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).


title: Arrhythmia

text: Electrical treatment of arrhythmias also includes cardiac pacing. Temporary pacing may be necessary for reversible causes of very slow heartbeats, or bradycardia (for example, from drug overdose or myocardial infarction). A permanent pacemaker may be placed in situations where the bradycardia is not expected to recover.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Some cardiologists further sub-specialize into electrophysiology. In specialized catheter laboratories, they use fine probes inserted through the blood vessels to map electrical activity from within the heart. This allows abnormal areas of conduction to be located very accurately and subsequently destroyed by heat, cold, electrical, or laser probes in a process called catheter ablation.


title: Arrhythmia

text: This procedure may be completely curative for some forms of arrhythmia, but for others, the success rate remains disappointing. AV nodal reentrant tachycardia is often curable by ablating one of the pathways in the AV node (usually the slow pathway). Atrial fibrillation can also be treated, by performing a pulmonary vein isolation, but the results are less reliable.


title: Arrhythmia

text: Arrhythmias due to medications have been reported since the 1920s with the use of quinine. In the 1960s and 1970s problems with antihistamines and antipsychotics were discovered. It was not until the 1980s that the underlying issue, QTc prolongation was determined.


title: Celia Imrie

text: Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the "Bridget Jones" film series, "Calendar Girls" (2003), "Nanny McPhee" (2005), "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (2011), "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (2015), The English dub of "The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales..." (2017), "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" (2018) and "Malevolent" (2018) and, for the FX TV series "Better Things" (2016-2022).


title: Celia Imrie

text: In the United Kingdom she is known for her work with Victoria Wood, including "" (1985–1987), the sitcom "dinnerladies" (1998–2000) and "", for which she won the 2006 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical


title: Celia Imrie

text: Imrie was born on 15 July 1952 in Guildford, Surrey, the fourth of five children of Diana Elizabeth Blois (née Cator) and David Andrew Imrie, a radiologist. Her father was from Glasgow, Scotland. Imrie is the ten-times-great granddaughter of the infamous Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset. Imrie was educated at Guildford High School, an independent school for girls in her home town of Guildford, followed by the Guildford School of Acting.


title: Celia Imrie

text: Imrie's film credits include "Nanny McPhee", "Hilary and Jackie" (playing Iris du Pré), and the 1997 film "The Borrowers", in which she played Homily Clock. Other films include "Bridget Jones's Diary", "Calendar Girls", "Highlander", and as Fighter Pilot Bravo 5 in "". In 2007 she appeared in "St Trinian's".


title: Celia Imrie

text: Imrie's television credits include "Bergerac","The Nightmare Man", "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit", "Casualty", "Absolutely Fabulous", "The Darling Buds of May" and "Upstairs, Downstairs".


title: Celia Imrie

text: In the 2000 miniseries of "Gormenghast", she played Lady Gertrude. She also appeared in the 2005 BBC television drama "Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle", where she played the role of a teacher taking an unruly party of pupils on a day-trip to Salisbury Cathedral. She starred alongside Nicholas Lyndhurst in the BBC sitcom "After You've Gone" (2007–2008), and in the ITV1 drama "Kingdom" (2007–2009) with Stephen Fry. Her part in "After You've Gone" has, whilst being critically acclaimed, been described as "criminally squandered". In 2013, she guest-starred in the BBC's "Doctor Who", playing the villainous Miss Kizlet in "The Bells of Saint John". In May 2016, she made her US television debut in the DC action-adventure series "Legends of Tomorrow". Since September 2016 she has starred as Phyllis in the FX series "Better Things". In December 2021, Imrie narrated the BBC's "Talking Pictures: Film's Family Favourites".


title: Celia Imrie

text: In 2005, she received very positive reviews for her US stage debut in "Unsuspecting Susan". In 2009, she appeared in "Plague Over England" in the West End, a play about John Gielgud, and received a positive reviews for her performance. That same year, she appeared in the world premiere of Robin Soans' "Mixed Up North", directed by Max Stafford-Clark. In 2010, she appeared alongside Robin Soans in a production of Sheridan's "The Rivals".


title: Celia Imrie

text: Imrie narrated during the ceremonial event held to mark the 75th anniversary of D-day at Portsmouth in 2019.


title: Celia Imrie

text: Imrie's radio work includes parts in BBC Radio 4's "No Commitments" and "Bleak Expectations". " The Adventures of a Black Bag and Doctor Finlay – Further Adventures of a Black Bag" 2002 and 2003 ; In early 2007, she narrated the book "Arabella", broadcast over two weeks as the "Book at Bedtime".


title: Celia Imrie

text: Imrie is perhaps best known in Great Britain for her frequent collaborations with Victoria Wood, with whom she appeared in TV programmes such as the sitcom "dinnerladies" and sketch show "". It was on the latter show in 1985 that she first played the part of Miss Babs, owner of "Acorn Antiques", a parody of the low-budget British soap opera "Crossroads". These sketches became such a British institution that the show was turned into "", a West End musical, in 2005 starring most of the original cast. Imrie won an Olivier Award in 2006 for her performance. The character has curly blonde hair, and is known for her frequent parodic flirtations with the customers, and her interactions with the housekeeper, Mrs Overall (portrayed by Julie Walters).


title: Celia Imrie

text: Her debut novel "Not Quite Nice" was published by Bloomsbury in 2015, had six weeks in the "Sunday Times" Top Ten, was cited by "The Times" as a 'delicious piece of entertainment', and also reached number 5 in the Apple ibook chart and 8 in Amazon's book chart. Her second novel, "Nice Work (If You Can Get It)", was published in 2016; and her third, "Sail Away", was published in February 2018. Her next work, "A Nice Cup of Tea", was published in 2019.


title: Celia Imrie

text: As part of the cast of the 2018 film "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again", Imrie achieved her first UK Top 40 single alongside Lily James with a cover of the ABBA song "When I Kissed the Teacher", which reached number 40 in August 2018.


title: Celia Imrie

text: Imrie lives in London and in Nice, France. She has a son, Angus Imrie, with the actor Benjamin Whitrow, but has said that she "hated the idea of marriage", describing it as a "world of cover-up and compromise". Angus appears as her on-screen son in "Kingdom" and has acted in other productions, having studied drama and performance at the University of Warwick.


title: Celia Imrie

text: When she was 14, she was admitted to the Royal Waterloo Hospital suffering from anorexia nervosa. Under the care of controversial psychiatrist William Sargant, she was given electroshock and large doses of the anti-psychotic drug Largactil.


title: Celia Imrie

text: She was the guest on "Desert Island Discs" on BBC Radio 4 on 13 February 2011. In 2013, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Winchester.


title: Celia Imrie

text: Imrie was featured in the BBC genealogy series "Who Do You Think You Are?" in October 2012 and discovered that an ancestor on her mother's side was William, Lord Russell, a Whig parliamentarian executed for treason in 1683, after being found guilty of conspiring against Charles II. Imrie's great-great uncle, William Imrie, was a founder of the White Star Line and she is a descendant of Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon who survived the sinking of the "Titanic".


title: Bob Gunton

text: Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama "The Shawshank Redemption", Chief George Earle in 1993's "Demolition Man", Dr. Walcott, the domineering dean of Virginia Medical School in "Patch Adams," and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in "Argo". He also played Leland Owlsley in the "Daredevil" television series, Secretary of Defense Ethan Kanin in "24," and Noah Taylor in "Desperate Housewives."


title: Bob Gunton

text: In addition to his film and television careers, Gunton is a prolific theatre actor. He originated the role of Juan Perón in the Broadway premiere of "Evita" and the titular character in the 1989 revival of "", roles for which he received Tony Award nominations. He has received a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and a Clarence Derwent Award.


title: Bob Gunton

text: Gunton was born November 15, 1945, in Santa Monica, California, the son of Rose Marie (née Banovetz) and Robert Patrick Gunton Sr., a labor union executive. He attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, the Paulist Seminary St Peter's College, in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of California, Irvine. A lifelong devout Catholic Christian, Gunton initially planned to be a priest.


title: Bob Gunton

text: He served in the United States Army (1969–71) as a radio telephone operator with the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, and was at the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord during the 23-day siege.


title: Bob Gunton

text: He and a comrade were awarded the Bronze Star for returning to the base to retrieve important but forgotten radios in the evacuation's final moments, so that they would not fall into the hands of the People's Army of Vietnam forces about to capture the base. Due to this, he was one of the last people to evacuate. During the battle, he lost one of his dog tags, but it was returned to him over 40 years later in 2018.


title: Bob Gunton

text: Gunton played the role of Juan Perón in the original 1980 Broadway production of "Evita", earning a nomination for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance. He had a supporting role in the 1985 HBO film "Finnegan Begin Again" starring Robert Preston and Mary Tyler Moore. Gunton later starred in the title role of a 1989 Broadway revival of "Sweeney Todd" and received a second Tony nomination for his portrayal. Additional Broadway credits include "Working", "King of Hearts", "The Music Women", "How I Got That Story", and "Big River".


title: Bob Gunton

text: Gunton portrayed President Richard Nixon in a recreation of the Watergate tapes incident for "Nightline". He also played President Woodrow Wilson in the film "Iron Jawed Angels" (2004). Gunton is also known for his guest starring role as Capt. Benjamin Maxwell in the well-received 1991 "" episode "". Gunton played Warden Samuel Norton, the head of Shawshank State Prison and the primary antagonist in "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) opposite Tim Robbins. Gunton played Cecil Dobbs in the 2011 film "The Lincoln Lawyer".


title: Bob Gunton

text: Gunton also guest starred in the first season of "Desperate Housewives" and the sixth season of "24", where he portrayed United States Secretary of Defense Ethan Kanin. He signed on as series regular afterward and reprised the role of Kanin but now as the Chief of Staff to the new president, Allison Taylor, in the show's seventh season as well as the two-hour television prequel film, "". He returned again for the eighth season but this time as the President's Secretary of State. Gunton portrays Leland Owlsley in the 2015 TV series "Daredevil". Gunton made a guest appearance on in January 2017.


title: Brian McFadden

text: Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter who rose to fame in 1998 as a member of the Irish boy band Westlife. Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden released his debut solo album, "Irish Son." He has since released four studio albums: "Set in Stone", "Wall of Soundz", "The Irish Connection", and "Otis".


title: Brian McFadden

text: McFadden was born in Dublin and was raised Catholic. Throughout his younger years, he always had an interest in singing, dancing and football. Along with his sister Susan, McFadden attended the Billie Barry Stage School in Dublin, which led him to doing stage and TV roles, including a role in the Irish TV show "Finbar's Class", a comedy revolving around a group of student-swingers. In early 1998, he formed a pop-R&B group with his friends Tim and Darragh, called "Cartel", and performed live gigs in Dublin pubs. When the band passed their credentials to prominent Irish music manager Louis Walsh, McFadden was asked to come to the audition for the formation of a new band that would later be called Westlife.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In June 1998, McFadden auditioned for Irish boy band Westlife and was against another blonde Nicky Byrne and eventually both joined the group alongside Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, and Shane Filan. After joining, he changed the spelling of his name from Brian to Bryan to make it easier to sign autographs. With McFadden as part of the group, Westlife were under the music mogul Simon Cowell and released their first single, Swear It Again, which was the group's first and only single to have charted in the US in 2000, four Irish No. 1 studio albums, and a No. 1 greatest hits album. They also released seventeen Irish top 5 singles including the hit single "Uptown Girl," which peaked within the top 10 in seven European countries and also in Australia and New Zealand. In March 2004, McFadden left the group to spend more time with his family and work on solo projects. He subsequently began a solo career and decided to revert the spelling of his first name back to its original, "Brian." Before launching his solo career, he co-wrote the song "If My World Stopped Turning," which was sung by Ireland's entry Chris Doran in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004.


title: Brian McFadden

text: Following his departure from Westlife, McFadden signed to major record label, Sony BMG. In September 2004, he released his debut solo single "Real to Me," which became his first solo No. 1 single in Britain, Ireland, Denmark and Norway. His second single and title track, "Irish Son," peaked within the top 10 on the British and Ireland Singles Charts. Following the release of the two singles, McFadden released his debut solo album, "Irish Son," in November 2004 and it peaked within the top 10 on the Irish Albums Chart. McFadden co-wrote most of the songs on the album with Guy Chambers, best known for his successful collaboration with Robbie Williams and INXS. The third single "Almost Here," a duet with Australian singer Delta Goodrem became McFadden's second No. 1 single in Ireland as a solo artist and his first in Australia and gained a platinum accreditation there. The fourth and final single, "Demons" peaked within the top 30 on the charts in Ireland and Britain. McFadden continued writing songs for artists such as Il Divo and Girls Aloud, as well as co-writing the theme song "Together We Are One" for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. That same year, McFadden collaborated with American singer LeAnn Rimes on the song, "Everybody's Someone."


title: Brian McFadden

text: While working on the second album, McFadden's record label, Sony BMG has released insisted that he work with an A&R man, after disappointing sales of his last album, which only sold 800,000 copies worldwide. However, there were claims that McFadden's A&R man did not want McFadden to work with Guy Chambers, who had previously worked with McFadden on his last album and fought about his songs and musical direction. His A&R man wanted him to make songs like James Morrison, Paolo Nutini, and the Scissor Sisters but McFadden insisted he make songs that are of his style. It was later revealed in March 2007 that McFadden parted ways with Sony BMG. Later that year, he set up his own record label under the name of BMF Records and released his new single "Like Only a Woman Can" in Ireland, through the label. "Like Only a Woman Can" became his third Irish No. 1 single as a solo artist. In early 2008, McFadden signed to Universal Music Australia and released the single there in April 2008, which peaked within the ARIA top 15. Following the release of "Like Only a Woman Can," McFadden released his second studio album, "Set in Stone." The album peaked in Australia at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Other singles were released from the album: "Twisted," which peaked within the top 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart and "Everything But You," which failed to chart the ARIA top 50.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In April 2010, McFadden released "Just Say So," which features American rapper Kevin Rudolf. The single debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at No. 1 and stayed there for three weeks. It spent seven weeks in the ARIA top ten and thirteen weeks in the ARIA top 50 and gained a platinum accreditation. Following the release of "Just Say So," McFadden released his third studio album, "Wall of Soundz," in Australia on 23 April 2010. The album was originally going to be released as a side-project McFadden embarked on with American songwriter Rob Conley but both decided to release it as McFadden's third solo album. It debuted at No. 27 on the ARIA Albums Chart and spent only three weeks in the ARIA top 50. "Chemical Rush" was the second single released from the album in June 2010 and peaked at No. 12 on the charts. In September 2010, McFadden released the third single entitled "Mistakes," a duet with his then fiancée Delta Goodrem. McFadden also recorded a duet with Ronan Keating on Keating's duet album, a cover of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody."


title: Brian McFadden

text: On 25 February 2011, McFadden released a new single "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)." The song was criticised by some as a glorification of date rape, as a result of which he cancelled the shooting of a proposed pop video for the song, asked that the song not be played on the radio and pledged via his Twitter account to donate all proceeds from the song to rape victims. "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number sixty-one on 8 March 2011, and peaked at number forty-nine the next week.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In June 2011, McFadden appeared on Australian radio show "The Kyle & Jackie O Show" to launch both of his new singles "Come Party" and "That's How Life Goes", which was co-written by multi-platinum singer, songwriter, and producer Ray Ruffin. Despite heavy promotion and appearances on TV shows such as "Dancing With the Stars", the new singles failed to impact the charts at all, which was surprising considering his high-profile appearances on "Australia's Got Talent". Some of this has been attributed to the negative press surrounding his previous single "Just the Way You Are (Drunk at the Bar)." This, as well as his much-publicized split with Delta Goodrem, appear to have had a negative impact on his music career.


title: Brian McFadden

text: McFadden released his new single "Wrap My Arms" on 20 January 2012 in Australia. The song was used in a promo for Home and Away and it managed to peak at 70 in the ARIA top 100.


title: Brian McFadden

text: On 13 September 2012, McFadden announced the release of his fourth studio album, "The Irish Connection", featuring covers of his favourite Irish songs as well as duets with Ronan Keating and Sinéad O'Connor. The album was recorded in both Sydney and Dublin. This album features none of McFadden's past five single releases, which have not appeared in an album format to date.


title: Brian McFadden

text: On 18 September 2012, Ronan Keating announced that McFadden would be joining him on his 2013 UK Fires Tour.


title: Brian McFadden

text: Boyzlife is a duo consisting of Keith Duffy and McFadden, who previously appeared as members of '90s and '00s boybands Boyzone and Westlife, respectively.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In February 2020, Keith Duffy invited John Junior, Mental Health Activist on stage with McFadden on their Boyzlife tour to share his mental health journey with their fans. Junior travels around the United Kingdom with Charlie The Duck, who accompanies him, encouraging people to speak up about mental health. Duffy is friends with Junior and supports his campaign to raise awareness for mental health.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In 2008, McFadden took on the role of television presenter as co-host of FOX8's "Football Superstar" in Australia. He reprised his role for the second season in 2009. In August 2009, McFadden appeared as a guest judge on "Australian Idol".


title: Brian McFadden

text: In 2010, McFadden became one of the new judges on "Australia's Got Talent" replacing Red Symons alongside Kyle Sandilands who replaced Tom Burlinson and Dannii Minogue. He was a judge for three years, but was not asked back for the seventh season. In season 6, McFadden had a controversial dismissal of Owen Campbell, after a small argument where it appeared that McFadden did not understand the outlaw style genre of the contestant and persona he was portraying which may have played a part in his ratings drop which led to him leaving the show.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In late 2008, McFadden teamed up with singer Ricki-Lee Coulter and former "Big Brother" host Mike Goldman to present the "Summer Breakfast Show" on 2Day FM. In September 2009, McFadden returned to radio by co-hosting on the breakfast show on 2dayFM with Jackie O and Andrew G, replacing host Kyle Sandilands for a short period of time.


title: Brian McFadden

text: 2013 saw McFadden and his former wife Vogue Williams come in second place on ITV dancing show "Stepping Out", hosted by Davina McCall.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In 2014, McFadden co-hosted the Channel 5 dating game show "Stand By Your Man" alongside former "Freshly Squeezed" co-host Laura Jackson.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In September 2014, McFadden began hosting daytime ITV series "Who's Doing the Dishes?" The show returned for a second series in September 2015 and a third in September 2016. In January 2015, McFadden took part in celebrity talent show "Get Your Act Together". In December 2015, McFadden and Vogue Williams took part in a celebrity couples edition of "Catchphrase".


title: Brian McFadden

text: In 2016, McFadden participated in the third series of "The Jump" on Channel 4. He was the fourth celebrity to be eliminated from the show.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In 2019, McFadden took part in the eleventh series of "Dancing on Ice", alongside professional partner Alex Murphy. He finished in fourth place, after a skate-off with Saara Aalto.


title: Brian McFadden

text: McFadden married then-Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona on 5 January 2002 in Rathfeigh, County Meath, Ireland. They have two daughters. They divorced in 2006. In 2004, McFadden began dating Australian singer Delta Goodrem, with whom he collaborated on the duet "Almost Here". They were engaged but the pair ended their relationship in 2011. He married Irish model Vogue Williams in 2012 in Florence, Italy. They separated in 2015 and divorced in 2017.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In 2018, McFadden received a £450 fine and was banned from driving for six months at a Nottingham court after accruing 12 penalty points for four separate speeding offences.


title: Brian McFadden

text: In December 2019, McFadden announced his engagement to PE teacher Danielle Parkinson on Twitter after three years of dating. McFadden announced in November 2020 that he and Parkinson were expecting. They welcomed their daughter on 16 May 2021.


title: Brian McFadden

text: The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.


title: Brian McFadden

text: The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single. It topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poorly in the United States because Larry Newton, the president of ABC Records, disliked the song and refused to promote it.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: After it was heard in the film "Good Morning, Vietnam", it was reissued as a single in 1988, and rose to number 32 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Armstrong's recording was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: Thiele produced the track under his own name, but as a co-composer was initially credited under the pseudonym George Douglas. His real name has appeared on it from its 1988 issue onward.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: One source claims the song was first offered to Tony Bennett, who turned it down, although Louis Armstrong biographer Ricky Riccardi disputes this. In Graham Nash's book "Off the Record: Songwriters on Songwriting," George Weiss says he wrote the song specifically for Louis Armstrong, as he was inspired by Armstrong's ability to bring together people of different races.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: Armstrong was gigging at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, so he chose to record the song nearby at Bill Porter’s United Recording studio. The session was scheduled to follow Armstrong's midnight show, and by 2 am the musicians were settled and tape was rolling. Arranger Artie Butler was there with songwriters Weiss and Thiele, and Armstrong was in the studio singing with the orchestra. Armstrong had recently signed to ABC Records, and ABC president Larry Newton showed up to photograph Armstrong. Newton wanted a swingy pop song like "Hello, Dolly!", a big hit for Armstrong when he was with Kapp Records, so when Newton heard the slow pace of "What a Wonderful World", he tried to stop the session. Newton was physically removed and locked out of the studio for his disruption, but a second problem arose: Nearby freight train whistles interrupted the session twice, forcing the recording to start over. Armstrong shook his head and laughed off the distractions, keeping his composure. The session ended around 6 am, going longer than expected. To be sure the orchestra members were paid extra for their overtime, Armstrong accepted only $250 musicians' union scale for his work.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: Because Newton refused to promote the song, it initially sold fewer than 1,000 copies in the US. It was a major success in the United Kingdom, however, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it eventually reached number 116 on the "Billboard" Bubbling Under Chart. It was also the biggest-selling single of 1968 in the UK, where it was among the last pop singles issued by HMV before it became an exclusively classical music label. The song made Armstrong the oldest male to top the UK Singles Chart. (His record was broken in 2009 when a remake of "Islands in the Stream" recorded for Comic Relief—which included the 68-year-old Tom Jones—reached number 1.)


title: What a Wonderful World

text: ABC Records' European distributor EMI forced ABC to issue a "What a Wonderful World" album in 1968 (catalogue number ABCS-650). It did not chart in the United States, due to ABC not promoting it, but charted in the UK where it was issued by Stateside Records with catalogue number SSL 10247 and peaked on the British chart at number 37.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: The song gradually became something of a standard and reached a new level of popularity. An episode of "The Muppet Show" produced in 1977 and broadcast early in 1978 featured Rowlf the Dog singing the song to a puppy. In 1978, it was featured in the closing scenes of BBC radio's "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", and was repeated for BBC's 1981 TV adaptation of the series. In 1988, Armstrong's recording was used in the film "Good Morning, Vietnam" (despite its setting in 1965, two years before the song was recorded) and was re-released as a single, reaching number 32 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart in February 1988. It charted at number 1 for the fortnight ending June 27, 1988 on the Australian chart. It is also the closing song for the 1995 movie "12 Monkeys" and the 1998 film adaptation of "Madeline".


title: What a Wonderful World

text: When the ABC television sitcom "Family Matters" premiered in 1989, Armstrong's version of "What a Wonderful World" was used as the show's theme song. However, after the fifth episode, it was replaced by the original song "As Days Go By".


title: What a Wonderful World

text: In 2001, rappers Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, and the Alchemist released "The Forest," a song that begins with three lines of lyric adapted from "What a Wonderful World", altered to become "an invitation to get high" on marijuana. The rappers and their record company, Sony Music Entertainment, were sued by Abilene Music, the owners of "What a Wonderful World". The suit was thrown out after Judge Gerard E. Lynch determined that the altered lyric was a parody, transforming the uplifting original message to a new one with a darker nature.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: After it was released digitally, Armstrong's 1967 recording had sold over 2,173,000 downloads in the United States as of April, 2004.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: In 2007, Georgian-British singer-songwriter Katie Melua recorded a version of "What a Wonderful World" with American singer and guitarist Eva Cassidy, who had died in 1996. Recorded by Melua singing over the original Cassidy track, the duet was released in late 2007 as a charity single for the British Red Cross. Melua, who considers Cassidy one of her musical idols, had previously sung with Cassidy in this manner on Christmas Eve 2006, when she performed "Over the Rainbow" on the BBC One television program "Duets Impossible" with a videotape of Cassidy singing the song. This version of "What a Wonderful World" was available for purchase only at Tesco stores and on the Tesco Direct website.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: Upon its release, the single debuted at number 45 on the Scottish Singles Chart on the week of December 9, 2007. The next week, the song rose 44 positions to number one while also debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart, giving both Cassidy and Melua their first number-one single in the United Kingdom. It also became the first UK number-one single available through only one retailer, with 97 percent of its weekly 56,114 sales coming from the physical CD format sold at Tesco. The song quickly dropped off the UK chart after peaking, spending only five weeks in the UK top 100. In Scotland, the song stayed in the top 100 for 11 weeks. The cover was also successful in Sweden, reaching number 19 in November 2008, and it became a minor hit in the Wallonia region of Belgium.


title: What a Wonderful World

text: When the song reached number one in the UK, Melua thanked everyone who bought the single, saying, "Thank you to everyone who has shown such festive goodwill." The duet was later included on her 2008 compilation album "The Katie Melua Collection".


title: Crazy Frog

text: Crazy Frog (originally known as The Annoying Thing) is a Swedish CGI-animated character and Eurodance musician created in 2003 by actor and playwright Erik Wernquist. Marketed by the ringtone provider Jamba!, the character was originally created to accompany a sound effect produced by Daniel Malmedahl while attempting to imitate the sound of a two-stroke engine.


title: Crazy Frog

text: The Crazy Frog spawned a worldwide hit single with a cover version of "Axel F" (from the soundtrack of "Beverly Hills Cop"), which reached the number one spot in Turkey, New Zealand, Australia and most of Europe. The subsequent album "Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits" and second single "Popcorn" also enjoyed worldwide chart success, and a second album entitled "Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits" was released in 2006, as well as a third album, "Everybody Dance Now", released in 2009. The Crazy Frog also spawned many singles, a range of merchandise and toys, as well as two video games before going on hiatus in 2009.


title: Crazy Frog

text: On 22 April 2020, a Twitter account for the character was created, and the account is listed on the official website, Facebook profile and YouTube channel. A new album was announced later that same day. On 10 December 2021, a new single, "Tricky" was released after a 12-year hiatus.


title: Crazy Frog

text: In 1997, 17-year-old Gothenburg student Daniel Malmedahl recorded himself imitating the noises produced by a two stroke engine. He posted this on a website and caught the attention of a Swedish television researcher, who convinced Daniel to perform the sound live on air. After it debuted on television, recordings of his performance began appearing on file sharing networks and various websites under the filename "2TAKTARE.MP3" (""Tvåtaktare"" is Swedish for "two stroker").


title: Crazy Frog

text: The sound was adopted as the sound of a Formula One car as early as 2001 in the form of "Deng Deng Form" and later "The Insanity Test" both of which were a static background of a Ferrari Formula One car accompanied by the sound.