title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband campaigned in the Scottish independence referendum with the cross-party Better Together campaign, supporting Scotland's membership of the United Kingdom. Opinion polls showed solid leads for the 'no' campaign, with a 20 point-lead on 19 August. However, by the end of the month, the lead had fallen to just 6 points, with YouGov analysis showing a big shift in support among Labour supporters. Miliband made an unplanned visit to Lanarkshire to draw a contrast between a Labour and Conservative future for Scotland within the UK. A poll on 7 September showed a 2-point lead for the 'yes' campaign, leading to a joint commitment by Miliband, Cameron and Clegg for greater devolution to Scotland through a version of home rule. The results on 19 September showed victory for the 'no' campaign, 55.3% to 44.7%.


title: Ed Miliband

text: The day after the referendum, Cameron raised the issue of 'English votes for English laws', with Miliband criticising the move as a simplistic solution to a complex problem, eventually coming out in favour for a constitutional convention to be held after the general election.


title: Ed Miliband

text: The Labour party conference in Manchester on 21–24 September occurred days after the Scottish referendum result. Miliband's conference speech was criticised, particularly after he failed to deliver sections on the deficit and immigration, after attempting to deliver the speech without notes. At the conference, Miliband pledged to focus on six national goals for Britain until 2025, including boosting pay, apprenticeships and housing; a mansion tax and levy on tobacco companies to fund £2.5 billion a year 'time to care' fund for the NHS; a commitment to raise the minimum wage to £8 or more by 2020; and a promise to lower the voting age to 16 ready for elections in 2016.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In February 2015, Labour pledged to reverse the privatisation of the railways by getting rid of the franchising system, after previously saying that they would allow the public sector to bid for franchises.


title: Ed Miliband

text: The first election to the Shadow Cabinet that took place under Miliband's leadership was on 7 October 2010. Ending days of speculation, David Miliband announced that he would not seek election to the Shadow Cabinet on 29 September, the day nominations closed, saying he wanted to avoid "constant comparison" with his brother Ed. The three other defeated candidates for the Labour leadership all stood in the election, though Diane Abbott failed to win enough votes to gain a place. Following the election, Miliband unveiled his Shadow Cabinet on 8 October 2010. Among others, he appointed Alan Johnson as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Yvette Cooper was chosen as Shadow Foreign Secretary, and both defeated Labour leadership candidates Ed Balls and Andy Burnham were given senior roles, becoming Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Education Secretary respectively. Burnham was also given responsibility for overseeing Labour's election co-ordination.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Sadiq Khan, who managed Miliband's successful leadership campaign, was appointed Shadow Justice Secretary and Shadow Lord Chancellor, and continuing Deputy Leader Harriet Harman continued to shadow Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, as well as being made Shadow International Development Secretary. Alan Johnson would later resign, stepping down for "personal reasons" on 20 January 2011, necessitating Miliband's first reshuffle, in which he made Balls Shadow Chancellor, Cooper Shadow Home Secretary and Douglas Alexander Shadow Foreign Secretary.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 24 June 2011, it was reported that Miliband was seeking to change the decades-old rule that Labour's Shadow Cabinet would be elected every two years, instead wanting to adopt a system where he alone had the authority to select its members. Miliband later confirmed the story, claiming that the rule represented "a legacy of Labour's past in opposition". On 5 July, Labour MPs voted overwhelmingly by a margin of 196 to 41 to back the rule change, paving the way for NEC and conference approval, which was secured in September 2011. This made Miliband the first Labour leader to have the authority to pick his own Shadow Cabinet.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 7 October 2011, Miliband reshuffled his Shadow Cabinet. John Denham, John Healey and Shaun Woodward announced that they were stepping down, while Meg Hillier, Ann McKechin and Baroness Scotland also left the Shadow Cabinet. Veteran MPs Tom Watson, Jon Trickett, Stephen Twigg and Vernon Coaker were promoted to the Shadow Cabinet, as were several of the 2010 intake, including Chuka Umunna, Margaret Curran and Rachel Reeves, with Liz Kendall and Michael Dugher given the right to attend Shadow Cabinet. Lord Wood and Emily Thornberry were also made Shadow Cabinet attendees.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 15 May 2012, Miliband appointed Owen Smith to replace Peter Hain – who retired from frontline politics – as Shadow Welsh Secretary, and also promoted Jon Cruddas to the Shadow Cabinet, putting him in charge of overseeing Labour's ongoing policy review with a view to draft Labour's manifesto for the next election. On 4 July 2013, Miliband effectively sacked Tom Watson from the Shadow Cabinet after allegations of corruption over the selection of a parliamentary candidate for Falkirk. Watson had offered his resignation, but when Miliband was asked by a journalist specifically whether he had sacked Watson, he replied, "...I said it was right for him to go, yes."


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 7 October 2013, Miliband reshuffled his Shadow Cabinet for the third time, saying that this would be the last reshuffle before the general election. In a move similar to his 2011 reshuffle, several MPs from the 2010 intake were promoted, while more long-serving MPs were moved. Tristram Hunt and Rachel Reeves received promotions, while Liam Byrne and Stephen Twigg were among those demoted.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband conducted a final mini-reshuffle ahead of the 2015 general election in November 2014, when Jim Murphy resigned as Shadow International Development Secretary to become Leader of the Scottish Labour Party.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband's first electoral tests as Labour Leader came in the elections to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and various councils across England, excluding London, on 5 May 2011. The results for Labour were described as a "mixed bag", with the party performing well in Wales – falling just one seat short of an overall majority and forming the next Welsh Government on its own – and making large gains from the Liberal Democrats in northern councils, including Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Results were less encouraging in the south of England, and results in Scotland were described as a "disaster", with Labour losing nine seats to the SNP, which went on to gain the Parliament's first ever majority. Miliband said that following the poor showings in Scotland "lessons must still be learnt".


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband launched Labour's campaign for the 2012 local elections with a speech in Birmingham, accusing the coalition government of "betrayal", and claiming that it "lacked the values" that Britain needed. The Labour results were described as a success, with the party building on its performance the previous year in the north of England and Wales, consolidating its position in northern cities and winning control of places such as Cardiff and Swansea. Labour performed well in the Midlands and South of England, winning control of councils including Birmingham, Norwich, Plymouth and Southampton. Labour was less successful in Scotland than England and Wales, but retained control of Glasgow despite predictions it would not. Overall, Labour gained over 800 councillors and control of 22 councils.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In April 2013, Miliband pledged ahead of the upcoming county elections that Labour would change planning laws to give local authorities greater authority to decide what shops can open in their high streets. He also said that Labour would introduce more strenuous laws relating to pay-day lenders and betting shops. Labour subsequently gained nearly 300 councillors, as well as control of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire County Councils.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In May 2014, Miliband led Labour through the European Parliament elections, where the party increased its number of Members of the European Parliament from 13 to 20. Labour came second with 24.4% of the vote, finishing ahead of the Conservatives but behind the UKIP. This was the first time since the 1984 that the largest opposition party had failed to win the most seats in European elections. On the same day, Labour polled ahead of all other parties at the local elections, winning 31% of the vote and taking control of six additional councils.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 30 March 2015, the Parliament of the United Kingdom dissolved and a general election was called for 7 May. Miliband began his campaign by launching a "manifesto for business", stating that only by voting Labour would the UK's position within the European Union be secure. Miliband subsequently unveiled five pledges at a rally in Birmingham which would form the focus of a future Labour government, specifically identifying policies on deficit reduction, living standards, the NHS, immigration controls and tuition fees. He included an additional pledge on housing and rent on 27 April. On 14 April, Labour launched its full manifesto, which Miliband said was fully funded and would require no additional borrowing. During this time an online campaign began known as Milifandom.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Throughout the campaign for the 7 May elections, Miliband insisted that David Cameron should debate him one on one as part of a televised election broadcast in order to highlight differences in policies between the two major parties, but this was never to happen, with the pair instead being interviewed separately by Jeremy Paxman as part of the first major televised political broadcast of the election involving multiple parties.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Despite opinion polls leading up to the general election predicting a tight result, Labour decisively lost the 7 May general election to the Conservatives. Although gaining 22 seats, Labour lost all but one of its MPs in Scotland and ended up with a net loss of 26 seats, failing to win a number of key marginal seats that it had expected to win comfortably. After being returned as MP for Doncaster North, Miliband stated that it had been a "difficult and disappointing" night for Labour. Following David Cameron's success in forming a majority government, Miliband resigned as Leader of the Labour Party on 8 May, with Harriet Harman becoming acting leader while a leadership election was initiated. Jeremy Corbyn succeeded Miliband as leader.


title: Ed Miliband

text: As a backbencher, Miliband spoke about the need to tackle inequality and in favour of the Paris climate change agreement. In May 2016, he appeared on the BBC's "Question Time", speaking in favour of Remain in the UK's EU referendum and he subsequently campaigned for a Remain vote.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In the aftermath of the referendum result, Miliband said that, although he had supported Jeremy Corbyn since his election as leader, he had "reluctantly reached the conclusion his position [was] untenable", calling for Corbyn to step down in June 2016. In the ensuing contest, Miliband supported leadership challenger Owen Smith. Miliband later admitted that he was "clearly wrong" to call for Corbyn's resignation. In September 2016, Miliband joined the editorial board of "The Political Quarterly" journal, an unremunerated role.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Renewing his previous stance on the issue in 2011, Miliband criticised Rupert Murdoch's bid to takeover telecommunications company Sky in December 2016, subsequently supporting an inquiry by Ofcom.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband held his seat at the 2019 general election with an extremely reduced majority. After the election, it was announced that Miliband would sit on a panel of party figures to overview and investigate the electoral failure.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 6 April 2020, Keir Starmer appointed Miliband to his new Shadow Cabinet, after winning the contest to become leader of the Labour Party two days before. Miliband assumed the role of Shadow Business Secretary in the new cabinet.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In September 2020, Miliband faced Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a debate on the UK Internal Market Bill, in a speech accusing him of "legislative hooliganism".


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 27 October 2021, Miliband took Prime Minister's Questions after the October 2021 budget on behalf of Keir Starmer, who had contracted COVID-19.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband described himself as a new type of Labour politician, looking to move beyond the divisiveness of Blairism and Brownism, and calling for an end to the "factionalism and psychodramas" of Labour's past. He also repeatedly spoke of the need for a "new politics".


title: Ed Miliband

text: During the Labour leadership campaign, he described himself as a socialist, and spoke out against some of the actions of the Blair ministry, including criticising its record on civil liberties and foreign policy. Though he was not yet an MP at the time of the 2003 vote, Miliband was a strong critic of the Iraq War. He backed UK military action and intervention in Afghanistan and Libya respectively.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband called for "responsible capitalism" when Google's Eric Schmidt commented on his corporation's non-payment of tax. He also supported making the UK's 50% top rate of tax permanent, as well as the institution of a new financial transaction tax, mutualising Northern Rock, putting limits on top salaries, scrapping tuition fees in favour of a graduate tax, implementing a living wage policy and the scrapping of the ID cards policy, and spoke in favour of a "National Care Service".


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband worked closely with the think tank Policy Network on the concept of predistribution as a means to tackle what he described as 'the growing crisis in living standards'. His announcement that predistribution would become a cornerstone of the UK Labour Party's economic policy was jokingly mocked by Prime Minister David Cameron during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Though Labour remained officially neutral, he in a personal capacity supported the ultimately unsuccessful "Yes to AV" campaign in the Alternative Vote referendum on 5 May 2011, saying that it would benefit Britain's "progressive majority". In September 2011, Miliband stated that a future Labour Government would immediately cut the cap on tuition fees for university students from £9,000 per year to £6,000, though he also stated that he remained committed to a graduate tax in the long-run. Together with Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Miliband also promoted a "five-point plan for jobs and growth" aimed at helping the UK economy, involving extending the bonus tax on banks pioneered by Alistair Darling, bringing forward planned long-term investment to help reduce unemployment, cutting the rate of VAT from 20% back to 17.5%, cutting VAT on home improvements to 5% for a temporary one-year period, and instigating a one-year National Insurance break to encourage employers to hire more staff.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband also endorsed the Blue Labour trend in the Labour Party, founded by Maurice Glasman. This was seen to have influenced his 2011 conference speech, signalling "predatory and productive capitalism".


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband is progressive in regard to issues of gender and sexuality. He publicly identifies as a feminist. In March 2012, Miliband pledged his support for same sex marriage. As he signed an 'equal marriage pledge', he said, "I strongly agree gay and lesbian couples should have an equal right to marry and deserve the same recognition from the state and society as anyone else."


title: Ed Miliband

text: In June 2014, while speaking to the Labour Friends of Israel, Miliband stated that if he became Prime Minister he would seek "closer ties" with Israel and opposed the boycott of Israeli goods, saying that he would "resolutely oppose the isolation of Israel" and that nobody in the Labour Party should question Israel's right to exist. He also stated that, as a Jew and a friend of Israel, he must criticise Israel when necessary, opposing the "killing of innocent Palestinian civilians". Miliband criticised Israel for its conduct during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Since the end of his leadership of the Labour Party, Miliband has expressed regret for not having been "radical enough" in his manifesto, and has described himself as "not following the normal route, which is to become more right wing as you get older", but instead becoming "more left wing".


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 30 April 2019, Miliband joined Caroline Lucas and Laura Sandys in calling for a Green New Deal in the UK.


title: Ed Miliband

text: During his time as Labour leader, Miliband criticised then-Conservative Leader and Prime Minister David Cameron for "sacrificing everything on the altar of deficit reduction", and has accused him of being guilty of practising "old politics", citing alleged broken promises on areas such as crime, policing, bank bonuses, and child benefit.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband was also particularly critical of former Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg following the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, accusing him of "betrayal" and of "selling-out" his party's voters. In 2010, he stated that he would demand Clegg's resignation as a precursor to any future Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition under his own leadership. In the 2011 Alternative Vote referendum campaign he refused to share a platform with Clegg, stating that he had become "too toxic" a brand and that he would harm the "Yes to AV" campaign. He shared platforms during the campaign with former Liberal Democrat Leaders Lord Ashdown and Charles Kennedy, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Simon Hughes, the Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas and Business Secretary Vince Cable, among others. As Labour leader, Miliband made speeches aimed at winning over disaffected Liberal Democrats, identifying a difference between the "" Lib Dems, who were closer to the Conservatives, and Lib Dems on the centre-left, offering the latter a role in helping Labour's policy review at that time.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Following the death of former Prime Minister and Conservative Leader Margaret Thatcher in 2013, Miliband spoke in a House of Commons sitting specially convened to pay tributes to her. He noted that, although he disagreed with a few of her policies, he respected "what her death means to the many, many people who admired her". He also said that Thatcher "broke the mould" in everything she had achieved in her life, and that she had had the ability to "overcome every obstacle in her path". He had previously praised Thatcher shortly before the Labour Party Conference in September 2012 for creating an "era of aspiration" in the 1980s.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband has previously spoken positively of his brother David, praising his record as Foreign Secretary, and saying that "his door was always open" following David's decision not to stand for the Shadow Cabinet in 2010. Upon David's announcement in 2013 that he would resign as a Labour MP and move to New York to head the International Rescue Committee, Miliband said that British politics would be "a poorer place" without him, and that he thought David "would once again make a contribution to British public life."


title: Ed Miliband

text: When asked to choose the greatest British Prime Minister, Miliband answered with Labour's post-war Prime Minister and longest-serving Leader, Clement Attlee. He has also spoken positively of his two immediate predecessors as Labour leader, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, praising their leadership and records in government.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband was portrayed during Labour's 2015 election campaign as being genuine in his desire to improve the lives of working people and to display progression from New Labour, but was unable to defeat interpretations of him as being ineffectual, or even cartoonish in nature. Political illustrators perceived a resemblance to Wallace of the British animation Wallace and Gromit and greatly exaggerated this in caricatures; various images circulated in the press and online media of Miliband performing day-to-day activities such as eating a bacon sandwich, donating money to a beggar, and giving a kiss to his wife, all while displaying apparently awkward facial expressions. In a March 2015 "Newsnight" election debate, he was challenged by Jeremy Paxman as to whether or not he was 'tough enough' to be Prime Minister, responding, "Hell yes, I'm tough enough", in reference to his reluctance to support air strikes against extremist targets in Syria.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband is married to Justine Thornton, a High Court Judge. The couple met in 2002 and lived together in north London before becoming engaged in March 2010 and wed in May 2011. They have two sons, Daniel, born 2009, and Samuel, born 2010.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband is of Jewish heritage — the first ethnically Jewish leader of the Labour Party — and describes himself as a Jewish atheist. After marrying Thornton in a civil ceremony on 27 May 2011, he paid tribute to his Jewish heritage by following the tradition of breaking a glass. In 2012, Miliband wrote, "Like many others from Holocaust families, I have a paradoxical relationship with this history. On one level I feel intimately connected with it – this happened to my parents and grandparents. On another, it feels like a totally different world."


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband co-hosts a popular podcast, entitled "Reasons to be Cheerful", with radio presenter Geoff Lloyd. In November 2017, Miliband and Lloyd appeared as joint guests on Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast.


title: Yakult

text: Yakult ingredients are water, skimmed milk, glucose-fructose syrup, sucrose, and live "Lactobacillus casei Shirota" bacteria. The strain was originally classified as being "Lactobacillus casei" but in 2008 it was reclassified as belonging to "L. paracasei".


title: Yakult

text: Yakult is prepared by adding glucose to skimmed milk and heating the mixture at 90 to 95 °C for about 30 minutes. After letting it cool down to 45 °C, the mixture is inoculated with the lactobacillus and incubated for 6 to 7 days at 37 to 38 °C. After fermentation, water, sugar, gums and lactic acid are added.


title: Yakult

text: In 2006, a panel appointed by the Netherlands Nutrition Center ("Voedingscentrum") to evaluate a marketing request by Yakult found sufficient evidence to justify claims that drinking at least one bottle of Yakult per day might help improve bowel movements for people who tend to be constipated and might help maintain a healthy population of gut flora.


title: Yakult

text: In 2010, a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel denied a request by the company to market Yakult as defending the upper respiratory tract against pathogens (in other words, protection against diseases like the common cold), finding the claim not supported by the evidence.


title: Yakult

text: In 2013, the UK Advertising Standards Authority disallowed an advertisement for Yakult in response to a complaint. It found that while there was sufficient evidence for the claim that "significant numbers of viable [Lactobacillus] survived transit to the gut [after consumption of Yakult]", the advertisement had made claims of general health benefits without providing a specific, referenced claim, as required.


title: Yakult

text: Yakult was invented in 1935 in Japan by Minoru Shirota, who helped to found Yakult Honsha in order to commercialize it. Although Yakult is sold in Japan in supermarkets and convenience stores it is also sold door-to-door in Asia and in Latin America by women traditionally known as Yakult Ladies.


title: Yakult

text: In February 2018, it was reported that Danone planned to sell US$1.9 billion of its Yakult investment, reducing its stake from 21% to 7%. The plan was followed by a decline in Yakult's share value. Danone had first bought shares in Yakult in April 2000. The sale was completed in March 2018.


title: Yakult

text: In September 2018, it was reported that the appearance of unlabelled Yakult bottles in the 2018 film "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" led to a rise in the drink's sales that coincided with a 2.8% increase in share price following the film's release on 17 August.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American culture.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb is a prolific artist and contributed to many of the seminal works of the underground comix movement in the 1960s, including being a founder of the first successful underground comix publication, "Zap Comix", contributing to all 16 issues. He was additionally contributing to the "East Village Other" and many other publications, including a variety of one-off and anthology comics. During this time, inspired by psychedelics and cartoons from the 1920s and 1930s, he introduced a wide variety of characters that became extremely popular, including countercultural icons Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural, and the images from his "Keep On Truckin'" strip. Sexual themes abounded in all these projects, often shading into scatological and pornographic comics. In the mid-1970s, he contributed to the "Arcade" anthology; following the decline of the underground, he moved towards biographical and autobiographical subjects while refining his drawing style, a heavily crosshatched pen-and-ink style inspired by late 19th- and early 20th-century cartooning. Much of his work appeared in a magazine he founded, "Weirdo" (1981–1993), which was one of the most prominent publications of the alternative comics era. As his career progressed, his comic work became more autobiographical.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 1991, Crumb was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. He was married to cartoonist Aline Kominsky-Crumb, with whom he has frequently collaborated. Their daughter Sophie Crumb has also followed a cartooning career.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Robert Crumb was born August 30, 1943, in Philadelphia to Catholic parents of English and Scottish descent, spending his early years in West Philadelphia and Upper Darby. His father, Charles Vincent Crumb, authored the book "Training People Effectively".


title: Robert Crumb

text: His mother, Beatrice Loretta Crumb ( Hall), was a housewife who reportedly abused diet pills and amphetamines. Crumb's parents' marriage was unhappy and the children were frequent witnesses to their parents' arguments. The couple had four other children: sons Charles Vincent Crumb Jr. and Maxon Crumb, both of whom suffered from mental illness, and daughters Carol and Sandra. The family often moved between Philadelphia and Charles' hometown, Albert Lea, Minnesota. In August 1950, the Crumbs moved to Ames, Iowa. For two years, Charles, a Marine Corps sergeant, was an instructor in the Naval R.O.T.C. program at Iowa State College. The family moved to Milford, Delaware, when Crumb was twelve and where he was an average student whose teachers discouraged him from cartooning.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Inspired by Walt Kelly, Fleischer Brothers animation and others, Crumb and his brothers drew their own comics. His cartooning developed as his older brother Charles pushed him and provided feedback. In 1958 the brothers self-published three issues of "Foo" in imitation of Harvey Kurtzman's satirical "Humbug" and "Mad" which they sold door-to-door with little success, souring the young Crumb on the comic-book business. At fifteen, Crumb collected classical jazz and blues records from the 1920s to the 1940s. At age 16 he lost his Catholic faith.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb's father gave him $40 when he left home after high school. His first job, in 1962, was drawing novelty greeting cards for American Greetings in Cleveland, Ohio. He stayed with the company for four years, producing hundreds of cards for the company's Hi-Brow line; his superiors had him draw in a cuter style that was to leave a footprint on his work throughout his career.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In Cleveland, he met a group of young bohemians such as Buzzy Linhart, Liz Johnston, and Harvey Pekar. Dissatisfied with greeting card work, he tried to sell cartoons to comic book companies, who showed little interest in his work. In 1965, cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman printed some of Crumb's work in the humor magazine he edited, "Help!". Crumb moved to New York, intending to work with Kurtzman, but "Help!" ceased publication shortly after. Crumb briefly illustrated bubblegum cards for Topps before returning to Cleveland and American Greetings.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb married Dana Morgan in 1964. Nearly destitute, the couple traveled in Europe, during which Crumb continued to produce work for Kurtzman and American Greetings, and Dana stole food. The relationship was unstable as Crumb frequently went his own way, and he was not close to his son, Jesse (born in 1968).


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 1965 and 1966 Crumb had a number of Fritz the Cat strips published in the men's magazine "Cavalier". Fritz had appeared in Crumb's work as early as the late 1950s; he was to become a hipster, scam artist, and bohemian until Crumb abandoned the character in 1969.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with his job and marriage when in June 1965 he began taking LSD, a psychedelic drug that was then still legal. He had both good and bad trips. One bad trip left him in a muddled state for half a year, during which for a time he left Dana; the state ended when the two took a strong dose of the drug together in April 1966. Crumb created a number of his best-known characters during his years of LSD use, including Mr. Natural, Angelfood McSpade, and the Snoid.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In January 1967 Crumb came across two friends in a bar who were about to leave for San Francisco; Crumb was interested in the work of San Francisco-based psychedelic poster artists, and on a whim asked if he could join them. There, he contributed upbeat LSD-inspired countercultural work to underground newspapers. The work was popular, and Crumb was flooded with requests, including to illustrate a full issue of Philadelphia's "Yarrowstalks".


title: Robert Crumb

text: Independent publisher Don Donahue invited Crumb to make a comic book; Crumb drew up two issues of "Zap Comix", and Donahue published the first in February 1968 under the publisher name Apex Novelties. Crumb had difficulty at first finding retailers who would stock it, and at first his wife took to selling the first run herself out of a baby carriage.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb met cartoonist S. Clay Wilson, an art school graduate who saw himself as a rebel against middle-class American values and whose comics were violent and grotesque. Wilson's attitude inspired Crumb to give up the idea of the cartoonist-as-entertainer and to focus on comics as open, uncensored self-expression; in particular, his work soon became sexually explicit, as in the pornographic "Snatch" he and Wilson produced late in 1968.


title: Robert Crumb

text: The second issue of "Zap" appeared in June with contributions from Wilson and poster artists Victor Moscoso and Rick Griffin. Artist H.Fish also contributed to "Zap". In December, Donahue published the still-unreleased issue as 0 and a new third issue with Gilbert Shelton joining the roster of regulars. "Zap" was financially successful, and developed a market for underground comix.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb was a prolific cartoonist in the late 1960s and early 1970s; at his peak output he produced 320 pages over two years. He produced much of his best-known work then, including his "Keep On Truckin'" strip, and strips featuring characters such as the bohemian Fritz the Cat, spiritual guru Mr. Natural, and oversexed African-American stereotype Angelfood McSpade. During this period, he launched a series of solo titles, including "Despair", "Uneeda" (published by Print Mint in 1969 and 1970 respectively), "Big Ass Comics", "R. Crumb's Comics and Stories", "Motor City Comics" (all published by Rip Off Press in 1969), "Home Grown Funnies" (Kitchen Sink Press, 1971) and "Hytone Comix" (Apex Novelties, 1971), in addition to founding the pornographic anthologies "Jiz" and "Snatch" (both Apex Novelties, 1969).


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb's work also appeared in "Nasty Tales", a 1970s British underground comic. The publishers were acquitted in a celebrated 1972 obscenity trial at the Old Bailey in London; the first such case involving a comic. Giving evidence at the trial, one of the defendants said of Crumb: "He is the most outstanding, certainly the most interesting, artist to appear from the underground, and this (Dirty Dog) is Rabelaisian satire of a very high order. He is using coarseness quite deliberately in order to get across a view of social hypocrisy."


title: Robert Crumb

text: While meditating in 1980, Crumb conceived of a magazine with a lowbrow aesthetic inspired by punk zines, "Mad", and men's magazines of the 1940s and 1950s. From 1981 Crumb edited the first nine issues of the twenty-eight issue run of "Weirdo", published by Last Gasp; his contributions and tastes determined the contents of the later issues as well, edited by Peter Bagge until 17, and Aline for the remainder of the run. The magazine featured cartoonists new and old, and had a mixed response. Crumb's fumetti was so unpopular that it has never appeared in Crumb collections.


title: Robert Crumb

text: The Crumbs moved into a house in southeastern France in 1991, which is said to have been financed by the sale of six Crumb sketchbooks. The documentary "Crumb", directed by Terry Zwigoff, appeared in 1994—a project on which Zwigoff had been working since 1985. The film won several major critical accolades.


title: Robert Crumb

text: From 1987 to 2005 Fantagraphics Books published the seventeen-volume "Complete Crumb Comics" and ten volumes of sketches. Crumb (as "R. Crumb") contributes regularly to "Mineshaft" magazine, which, since 2009, has been serializing "Excerpts From R. Crumb's Dream Diary".


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 2009, after four years of work, Crumb produced "The Book of Genesis", an unabridged illustrated graphic novel version of the biblical Book of Genesis. In 2016, the Seattle Museum of Art displayed the original drawings for "The Book of Genesis" as part of an exhibit entitled "Graphic Masters: Dürer, Rembrandt, Hogarth, Goya, Picasso, R. Crumb."


title: Robert Crumb

text: In January 2015, Crumb was asked to submit a cartoon to the left-wing magazine "Libération" as a tribute for the "Charlie Hebdo" shooting. He sent a drawing titled "A Cowardly Cartoonist", depicting an illustration of the backside of Crumb's friend Mohamid Bakshi, while referencing the prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam.


title: Robert Crumb

text: A friend of comic book writer Harvey Pekar, Crumb illustrated over 30 stories of Pekar's in the award-winning comic book series "American Splendor", primarily in the first eight issues (1976–1983). As "The Complete Crumb Comics" co-editor Robert Fiore wrote about their collaborations:


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb collaborated with his wife, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, on many strips and comics, including "Dirty Laundry Comics", "Self-Loathing Comics", and work published in "The New Yorker".


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 1978, Crumb allowed his artwork to be used as pictorial rubber stamp designs by Top Drawer Rubber Stamp Company, a collaboration between cartoonist Art Spiegelman, publisher Françoise Mouly, and people living at Quarry Hill Creative Center in Rochester, Vermont. R. Crumb's imagery proved to be some of the most popular designs produced by this avant-garde pictorial stamp company.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In the 1980s and 1990s, Crumb illustrated a number of writer Charles Bukowski's stories, including the collection "The Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship" and the story "Bring Me Your Love".


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 1984–1985 Crumb produced a series of illustrations for the tenth anniversary edition of Edward Abbey's environmental-themed novel "The Monkey Wrench Gang", published in 1985 by Dream Garden Press of Salt Lake City. Many of these illustrations also appeared in a 1987 Monkey Wrench Gang calendar, and remain available on T-shirts.


title: Robert Crumb

text: "R. Crumb Comix", a theatrical production based on his work and directed by Johnny Simons, was produced in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1986. It was revived at Duke University in 1990, and co-starred Avner Eisenberg. The development of the play was supervised by Crumb, who also served as set designer, drawing larger-than-life representations of some of his most famous characters all over the floors and walls of the set.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb's collaboration with David Zane Mairowitz, the illustrated, part-comic biography and bibliography "Introducing Kafka" (1993), a.k.a. "Kafka for Beginners", is one of his less sexual- and satire-oriented, comparably highbrow works. It is well-known and favorably received, and due to its popularity was republished as "R. Crumb's Kafka".


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb has frequently drawn comics about his musical interests in blues, country, bluegrass, cajun, French Bal-musette, jazz, big band and swing music from the 1920s and 1930s, and they also heavily influenced the soundtrack choices for his bandmate Zwigoff's 1995 "Crumb" documentary. In 2006, he prepared, compiled and illustrated the book "R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country", with accompanying CD, which derived from three series of trading cards originally published in the 1980s.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb was the leader of the band R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders, for which he sang lead vocals, wrote several songs and played banjo and other instruments. Crumb often plays mandolin with Eden and John's East River String Band and has drawn four covers for them: 2009's "Drunken Barrel House Blues", 2008's "Some Cold Rainy Day", 2011's "Be Kind To A Man When He's Down" on which he plays mandolin, the latest (2022) "Goodbye Cruel World", on which he sings vocals, plays ukulele, mandolin & tiple. With Dominique Cravic, he founded "Les Primitifs du Futur"—a French-style band based on "musette" / folk, jazz and blues—and played on its 2000 album "World Musette". He also provided the cover art for this and other albums.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb has released CDs anthologizing old original performances gleaned from collectible 78-rpm phonograph records. His "That's What I Call Sweet Music" was released in 1999 and "Hot Women: Women Singers from the Torrid Regions" in 2009. "Chimpin' the Blues," a collaboration with fellow record collector Jerry Zolten that combines rare recordings with conversation about the music and the musicians, was released in 2013. Crumb drew the cover art for these CDs as well.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 2013, Crumb played mandolin with the Eden and John's East River String Band on their album "Take A Look at That Baby" and also took part in the accompanying music video.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb has illustrated many album covers, most prominently "Cheap Thrills" by Big Brother and the Holding Company and the compilation album "".


title: Robert Crumb

text: Between 1974 and 1984, Crumb drew at least 17 album covers for Yazoo Records/Blue Goose Records, including those of the Cheap Suit Serenaders. He also created the revised logo and record label designs of Blue Goose Records that were used from 1974 onward.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 1992 and 1993, Robert Crumb was involved in a project by Dutch formation The Beau Hunks and provided the cover art for both their albums "The Beau Hunks play the original Laurel & Hardy music" 1 and 2. He also illustrated the albums' booklets.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 2009, Crumb drew the artwork for a 10-CD anthology of French traditional music compiled by Guillaume Veillet for Frémeaux & Associés. The following year, he created three artworks for Christopher King's "Aimer Et Perdre: To Love And To Lose: Songs, 1917–1934"  and, in 2011, he once again played mandolin on an Eden and John's East River String Band album ("Be Kind to a Man When He's Down") for which he also created the album cover artwork.


title: Robert Crumb

text: As told by Crumb in his biographical film, his artwork was very conventional and traditional in the beginning. His earlier work shows this more restrained style. In Crumb's own words, it was a lengthy drug trip on LSD that "left him fuzzy for two months" and led to him adopting the surrealistic, psychedelic style for which he has become known.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb has been acclaimed for his attention to detail and satirical edge, but has also generated a significant amount of controversy for his graphic and very disturbing portrayals of sexuality and psychology. There exists a feminist backlash against his comics because they became more "violently misogynistic, as he graphically poured what were essentially his masturbatory fantasies onto the printed page. Women were raped, dismembered, mutilated, and murdered, sometimes all at once."


title: Robert Crumb

text: A peer in the underground comics field, Victor Moscoso, commented about his first impression of Crumb's work, in the mid-1960s, before meeting Crumb in person: "I couldn't tell if it was an old man drawing young, or a young man drawing old." Robert Crumb's cartooning style has drawn on the work of cartoon artists from earlier generations, including Billy DeBeck (Barney Google), C. E. Brock (an old story book illustrator), Gene Ahern's comic strips, Basil Wolverton (Powerhouse Pepper), George Baker ("Sad Sack"), Ub Iwerks's characters for animation, Isadore Freleng's drawings for the early "Merrie Melodies" and "Looney Tunes" of the 1930s, Sidney Smith ("The Gumps"), Rube Goldberg, E. C. Segar (Popeye) and Bud Fisher ("Mutt and Jeff"). Crumb has cited Carl Barks, who illustrated Disney's "Donald Duck" comic books, and John Stanley ("Little Lulu") as formative influences on his narrative approach, as well as Harvey Kurtzman of "Mad" Magazine fame.


title: Robert Crumb

text: After issues 0 and 1 of "Zap", Crumb began working with others, of whom the first was S. Clay Wilson. Crumb said, about when he first saw Wilson's work "The content was something like I'd never seen before, ... a nightmare vision of hell-on-earth ..." And "Suddenly my own work seemed insipid ..."


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb remains a prominent figure, as both artist and influence, within the alternative comics milieu. He is hailed as a genius by such comic book talents as Jaime Hernandez, Daniel Clowes, and Chris Ware. In the fall of 2008, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia hosted a major exhibition of his work, which was favorably reviewed in "The New York Times" and in "The Philadelphia Inquirer".


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb has received several accolades for his work, including the Inkpot Award in 1989, a nomination for the Harvey Special Award for Humor in 1990 and the Angoulême Grand Prix in 1999.


title: Robert Crumb

text: With Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Gary Panter, and Chris Ware, Crumb was among the artists honored in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the Jewish Museum in New York City, from September 16, 2006, to January 28, 2007.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 2017, Crumb's original cover art for the 1969 "Fritz the Cat" collection published by Ballantine sold at auction for $717,000, the highest sale price to that point for any piece of American cartoon art.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In addition to numerous brief television reports, there are at least three television or theatrical documentaries dedicated to Crumb.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In the 2003 movie "American Splendor", Crumb was portrayed by James Urbaniak. Crumb's wife Aline was quoted as saying she hated the interpretation and never would have married Robert if he was like that.


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 2006, Crumb brought legal action against Amazon.com after their Web site used a version of his widely recognizable "Keep On Truckin character. The case was expected to be settled out of court.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Underground rap artist Aesop Rock mentions Crumb several times in his lyrics, including in the songs "Catacomb Kids" from the album "None Shall Pass" and "Nickel Plated Pockets" from his EP "Daylight".


title: Robert Crumb

text: "R. Crumb's Sex Obsessions", a collection of his most personally revealing sexually oriented drawings and comic strips, was released by Taschen Publishing in November 2007. In August 2011, following concerns about his safety, Crumb cancelled plans to visit the Graphic 2011 festival in Sydney, Australia, after a tabloid labeled him a "self-confessed sex pervert" in an article headlined "Cult genius or filthy weirdo?"


title: Robert Crumb

text: In 2012, Crumb appeared in "John's Old Time Radio Show", talking about old music, sex, aliens and Bigfoot. He also played 78-rpm records from his record room in southern France. He has appeared on the show and recorded at least fourteen one-hour podcasts.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb has been married twice. He first married Dana Morgan in 1964, who gave birth to their son Jesse in 1968. Crumb met cartoonist Aline Kominsky in 1972; their relationship soon turned serious and they began living together (on the same property shared by Dana Crumb). In 1978, Crumb divorced Dana and married Aline, with whom Crumb has frequently collaborated. In September 1981 Aline gave birth to Crumb's second child, Sophie. Robert, Aline, and Sophie moved to a small village near Sauve in southern France in 1991. Dana died in 2014. Aline died in 2022.


title: Robert Crumb

text: At age six, Crumb's son was featured as a character in Robert and Aline's "Dirty Laundry Comics" #1 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press, 1974); he also appeared as an adult in Terry Zwigoff's 1994 documentary film, "Crumb". On New Year's Eve, December 31, 2017, Crumb's son was seriously injured in a car accident near Phillipsville, California, and died 3 days later; he was 49 years old.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb has frequently been the target of criticism due to his recurring themes of graphic sexual and violent abuse of women. Crumb himself has frequently admitted his insecurity and hostility in relation to women:


title: Robert Crumb

text: In addition to being the target of speculation by critical theorists and academic researchers, Crumb has also been held to scrutiny, by feminist writer Deirdre English. English has been quoted as saying that Crumb engages in "self-indulgent fantasies" through his work, continually blurring the line between entertainment and pornography.


title: Robert Crumb

text: He has been the target of criticism by colleagues as well, such as Trina Robbins, who called Crumb a "sexist pig" due to his sexual hostility towards women.


title: Robert Crumb

text: Crumb's work is also filled with unsavory images of African Americans (such as his recurring character Angelfood McSpade), who are often portrayed as indigent, tribal, and caricatured. (Many other underground comix published in the late 1960s and early 1970s feature similar depictions.) Crumb often utilized African American characters as "tokens", appearing as re-used tropes such as clowns, tribesmen, athletes, etc. Researcher Edward Shannon interpreted the themes of Crumb's story containing marginalized Africans in "When the Niggers Take Over America" (published in 1993 in "Weirdo") like this: "Crumb ... explores both the American Dream and its nightmare reflection; in this ... strip "all-American" white middle class children are depicted as cannibals eager to devour the devalued and dehumanized "other."" Crumb has responded to criticism by claiming that he did not invent racist caricature, but that they were part of the American culture in which he was raised. He sees his art as a criticism of the racist stereotype itself and assumed that the audience who read his work in the late 1960s were not racists and would understand his intentions.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) is a 2011 exploitation body horror film written, directed, and co-produced by Tom Six. An international co-production of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and the sequel to Six's 2009 film "The Human Centipede (First Sequence)", the film stars Laurence R. Harvey as a psychiatrically and intellectually impaired English man who watches and becomes obsessed with the first "Human Centipede" film, and decides to make his own "centipede" consisting of 12 people, including Ashlynn Yennie, an actress from the first film.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: "The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)" received substantial attention and controversy for its graphic depictions of violence, sexual violence and body horror. It was subject to heavy censorship throughout the world, where it was sometimes edited to remove objectionable content or banned altogether. It was critically panned, with much criticism focused on its acting, plot, and violence, although Harvey's performance received some praise.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: In the tollbooth of a parking garage in East London, Martin Lomax is watching "The Human Centipede (First Sequence)" on his laptop, a film he is obsessed with. Short, obese, asthmatic, and mentally challenged, Martin lives in an unkempt council flat with his emotionally abusive mother, who despises him and blames him for having his father put in prison for physically, psychologically, and sexually abusing Martin when he was a boy. Dr. Sebring, Martin's psychiatrist, touches him inappropriately and prescribes him heavy medication. Martin keeps a pet centipede.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: In an appointment with Dr. Sebring at home, Mrs. Lomax talks about her son’s unsettling discussion about creating a twelve-person centipede. Dr. Sebring says that Martin’s obsession with a twelve-person centipede and centipedes in general is a "phase", relating the pain of a centipede’s bite and phallic shape to the abuse he endured at the hands of his father. Mrs. Lomax remains resentful and apathetic towards Martin.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Martin acquires a dingy warehouse after killing the owner and lessor, and begins abducting people to use for a twelve-person human centipede. His victims include, but are not limited to: Ian, an aggressive young man and his girlfriend Kim (who Martin is attracted to); Alan, a businessman; Tim, a rich man and his pregnant wife Rachel; Valerie and Karrie, two drunk girls who catch Martin masturbating with sandpaper; and a man named Greg.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Martin's mother finds and destroys his scrapbook in disgust after unsuccessfully attempting a murder-suicide. When Mrs. Lomax attempts to dispose of his centipede, Martin kills her by bludgeoning her head with a crowbar. He then lures his detested neighbour, Dick, to the scene, before shooting and kidnapping him.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Back at the tollbooth, Martin catches on one of the CCTV security cameras Dr. Sebring and a cabbie named Paul having sex with a prostitute named Candy. Martin kills Sebring in a fit of rage and abducts both Paul and Candy. Martin's final victim is Ashlynn Yennie, the actress who played Jenny in "The Human Centipede", whom Martin lures under false pretenses of being Quentin Tarantino’s casting agent.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Martin assembles his "centipede". Following his notes and sketches from "The Human Centipede", Martin severs the ligaments in each person's knees to prevent them from fleeing and uses a hammer to knock out their teeth. However, Martin cuts into the buttocks of Alan too deeply, causing him to bleed to death. Instead of surgical tools, he uses a staple gun and duct tape to attach each person's lips to the next person's buttocks. During the assembly, Rachel (who was planned to be the front of the centipede in sympathy for her pregnancy) is presumed dead; Martin places her in the corner. Martin's "human centipede" is ultimately ten people long with Ashlynn in front.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Martin experiments by having his centipede walk around and force-feeds Ashlynn chili using the funnel and tube when she refuses to eat from the dog bowl. Disturbed by Ashlynn's screams, he tears her tongue out with pliers. He injects each victim with laxative, forcing them to evacuate their bowels into the mouth of the person behind them. He wraps his genitals in barbed wire and rapes Kim, who is the back of the centipede. Rachel awakens and runs outside screaming, in labour. She leaps into a victim's car and bears her second child. When Martin pursues her, she stomps on the accelerator, accidentally crushing her baby’s skull in the process, and drives away.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: The centipede separates into two halves. Furious that his centipede is ruined, Martin kills all the victims. As he hesitates to kill Ashlynn, she punches him in the crotch and shoves the funnel into his rectum, before dropping his pet centipede into it. Martin fatally stabs her in the neck and staggers out in agony.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: The scene cuts back to the tollbooth, with Martin rewatching the credits of "The Human Centipede" on his laptop, with exactly the same reaction as the initial scene, leaving it up to the viewer if the events that followed actually happened.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Director Tom Six stated in 2010 that he was working on a sequel to "The Human Centipede (First Sequence)", as well as a possible third film depending upon its success. He said that the plot would follow on from the first film, but with a centipede made from 12 people as opposed to the three victims of the first. The tag-line would be ""100% medically inaccurate"", in contrast to his "100% medically "accurate"" claim for the first film. Six stated the sequel would be much more graphic and disturbing, making the first film seem like ""My Little Pony" compared with part two."


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Speculation regarding the plot of "Full Sequence" grew after the Weekend of Horrors convention in May 2010, when Ashlynn Yennie and Akihiro Kitamura, who had starred in "First Sequence", hinted that their characters might return for the sequel despite their deaths in "First Sequence". Additionally, Ashley C. Williams, whose character was left alive at the end of "First Sequence", stated in September 2010 that she was shooting a horror film in Britain, which led to speculation from FEARnet that she is reprising her role of Lindsay. In a further interview, Yennie confirmed Six's statement that the sequel would contain "the blood and shit" which viewers did not see in the first film.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Six was inspired to make the movie a metafilm after reporters kept asking him if he worried about people committing copycat crimes inspired by the first film. Although he had previously considered the concept for a possible sequel, the questions cemented his idea.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: According to Six, he intentionally made "Full Sequence" very different from "First Sequence" for two reasons. First, when he was writing the script of "First Sequence", he knew people would want more "blood and shit" than is shown. Second, the two parts reflect the different characters: the coloured "First Sequence", with a slow-moving camera, fit the story of Dr. Heiter, while Martin Lomax's character required a "dark and dirty" film. Six shot "Full Sequence" in colour, but "was always thinking about black and white" and realized while editing that it was "much scarier" that way. It was also Six's idea to have little dialogue in the film's second half, except for moans, screams, and whimpers.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Principal photography for "Full Sequence" began in London in June 2010 with a largely British cast. A teaser trailer was released on 24 September, in which Six introduced Martin, a man wearing a cardboard box over his head, as the new doctor.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: The film had its United States premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, on 22 September 2011. The film's distributor, IFC Films, gave audience members complimentary barf bags at the screening, and stationed an ambulance outside the theater as a gimmick. However, one audience member became so physically ill during the premiere that paramedics had to assist her.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: The film began a limited theatrical release in the United States on 7 October 2011. It was released unrated and only had midnight showings. The film was released in an "unrated director's cut" on DVD and Blu-ray on 14 February 2012; the film runs a total 91 minutes.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: A full-color version of the film was released for the first time in the United States on 27 October 2015, exclusively on "The Human Centipede: The Complete Sequence" Blu-ray set.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: In April 2016, a Tennessee high school teacher was suspended after the film was played during class. Tom Six responded by tweeting "It should be mandatory to watch THC2 in school classes...It deals with a character that is bullied and what to do!" Six also said that he would be giving the teacher an autographed copy of the film.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: In June 2011, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) refused to classify "The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)" for a direct-to-video release, effectively meaning that the film could not legally be supplied in any format in the UK. The BBFC had given the preceding "First Sequence" title an 18 certificate. The Board stated that they had considered "First Sequence" to be "undoubtedly tasteless and disgusting", but deemed it acceptable for release because the "centipede" was the product of a "revolting medical experiment". By contrast, the BBFC report on "Full Sequence" stated that the film's content was too extreme for an 18 certificate and was "sexually violent, and potentially obscene". The board members felt that the centipede of "Full Sequence" existed purely as "the object of the protagonist's depraved sexual fantasy". They criticised the film for making "little attempt to portray any of the victims in the film as anything other than objects to be brutalised and degraded for the amusement and sexual arousal of the main character and for the pleasure of the viewer," and stated their opinion that the film was potentially in breach of the Obscene Publications Act. The BBFC initially suggested that cutting the film would not affect the decision, "as the unacceptable material featured throughout".


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Tom Six responded to the BBFC's decision in a statement released the next day:Thank you BBFC for putting spoilers of my movie on your website and thank you for banning my film in this exceptional way. Apparently I made an "[sic]" horrific horror-film, but shouldn't a good horror film be horrific? My dear people it is a fucking MOVIE. It is all fictional. Not real. It is all make-belief "[sic]". It is art. Give people their own choice to watch it or not. If people can't handle or like my movies they just don't watch them. If people like my movies they have to be able to see it any time, anywhere also in the UK.Eureka Entertainment, the film's UK distributor, issued a statement criticising the ban, echoing Six's sentiments about the revelation of plot details in the BBFC's report, and announcing their intention to appeal to the Video Appeals Committee.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: In October 2011, the BBFC ultimately granted the film an 18 certificate for "very strong bloody violence and gore, and sexual violence" after 32 compulsory cuts were made, totalling 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Sir Quentin Thomas, president of the BBFC, stated:When we first examined this work earlier this year we judged that, as submitted, it was unsuitable for classification; and, as we explained to the company, we could not ourselves see how cuts could produce a viable and classifiable work. That remains the view of one of our Vice Presidents, Gerard Lemos, who is therefore abstaining from the Board's collective decision. The company lodged an appeal against our decision to refuse classification. In the course of preparations for that appeal, the company proposed a number of cuts which it was right for us to consider. In response, after further examination, we proposed a more extensive series of cuts. These cuts produce a work which many will find difficult but which I believe can properly be classified at the adult level. The company has now accepted these cuts, withdrawn its appeal and the work has been classified, as cut, at 18.The sales director of Eureka Entertainment supported the decision, stating:We are really pleased that after nearly four months of detailed discussion and debate, we have been able to reach an agreement with the BBFC and to produce a very viable cut of the film which will both excite and challenge its fans. Naturally we have a slight disappointment that we have had to make cuts, but we feel that the storyline has not been compromised and the level of horror has been sustained.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: In May 2011, the uncut film was originally granted an R18+ classification by the Australian Classification Board (ACB). However, this decision was later overruled after Minister for Justice Brendan O'Connor asked for a review of the rating by the Australian Classification Review Board. On 28 November 2011, the film was reviewed and by unanimous decision of a three-person board, refused classification.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Several groups and individuals, including FamilyVoice Australia, Collective Shout and Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, welcomed the decision. Monster Pictures, the Australian distributor of the film, criticised the decision and announced their intention to re-edit and re-submit the film for review.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: On 13 December 2011, the ACB classified a modified version of the film at R18+ for "high impact themes, violence and sexual violence". Monster Pictures expressed their "delight", and clarified that thirty seconds of the film had been "modified". They concluded that "this decision highlights the absurdity of Classification Review Board's decision to ban the film in the first place."


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Due to the reaction by Australian film authorities, the film was not submitted for theatrical distribution in New Zealand. However, in April 2012, the DVD version was classified as "objectionable" (banned) by the New Zealand Office of Film & Literature Classification.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: "The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)" opened at 45th place with $49,456, for an average of $2,748, in the 18 theaters where it premiered. With four theaters added the next weekend, the film dropped a modest 29.9% with $34,679. Its third weekend saw a 56.2% drop despite having two more theaters added. However, in its fourth weekend, the film lost 12 theaters, causing a 61.9% drop ($5,792). In its final weekend, it grossed $2,267, putting the movie's resting spot at #95 for the weekend.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: The film grossed $5,824 in Iceland and $1,511 in the United Kingdom. Released in Peru in April 2012, the horror picture grossed $21,111 there. At the end of its run, the film made $141,877, about half of what the previous installment had grossed.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: The film has a rating of 29% at Rotten Tomatoes based on 82 reviews, with a weighted average of 3.28/10. The site's consensus reads: ""The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)" attempts to weave in social commentary but as the movie wears on, it loses its ability to repulse and shock and ends up obnoxious and annoying." At Metacritic, it rates 17 out of 100, indicating "overwhelming dislike", based on 22 reviews.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Giving it a score of 7 out of 10, "Bloody Disgusting" writer Brad Miska said the film was a "brilliant response to critics of his first film. It makes a strong statement that it's just a movie and that people take his work way too seriously, while also implementing a unique concept". Miska added that he "found it an intensely engaging and absolutely hilarious meta experience that gets its point across with flying colors", but was critical of the script's lack of depth. "Entertainment Weekly" writer Owen Gleiberman gave the film a B+ rating, stating that viewers "may feel gripped by the horror of what you're seeing and the terror of what's coming". Gleiberman noted how "The scatological climax would have the Marquis de Sade gagging into his popcorn." Writing in the "New York Post", V. A. Musetto gave the film 3 out of 4 and said "Full Sequence" "is sick, disgusting and vile. (but) It's also demonically funny, stylish and ingenious."


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Jen Yamato, writing for "Movieline", criticized the film's excessive gore and the way director Tom Six seemed to dislike his own audience, specifying "It's not really a film one can or should 'enjoy', which is what Six seems to be telling his own audience, the fans who giggled through "The Human Centipede" and demanded more! Gorier! More extreme! Well, those people will get what they asked for." Eric Kohn, writing for "indieWire", criticized the excessive grotesqueness of the film as well as Six's vanity. He stated, "Well, what if it turns someone's own body against them—is that a measure of success? To some degree, yes; it's designed to turn the tables on its own gore-hungry fans by depicting a fictionalized version of one of their own so revolting they think twice about their twisted tendencies. But it's so indulgently perverse, and so viscerally disturbing to watch—not to mention a painfully vain exercise in self-worship—that the lesson is incredibly hard-won. Take a word of warning, if you're on the fence; you don't have to see "The Human Centipede II" to know you don't want to see it."


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Some reviewers found the extreme nature of the film boring. Robert Koehler, writing for "Variety", found the gore so excessive that he termed it a form of lazy filmmaking. "More boring than stomach-churning, the film nevertheless contains scattered scenes and sequences so far beyond the tolerance of the squeamish that it can't be overstated; one, detailing the violent birth and death of a baby, is here simply to shock the most jaded of the jaded," he wrote.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Reviewer Robert Saucedo of InsidePulse.com was more generous toward the film, but found its execution lacking. He wrote, "The film ... has a hint of intelligence hiding behind its beady little eyes. Smeared with blood and poo as it may be, this intelligence exposes a film that has something to say. The problem, unfortunately, is that director Tom Six is like a child – attempting to make a profound statement but unable to get it out eloquently or even in anything not resembling a whimper or a groan most of the time ... Who would have guessed? "Human Centipede II" is a treatise about horror fandom as delivered by a giggling, poop-infatuated toddler."


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Mark Olsen, film critic for the "Los Angeles Times", expressed concern over the film's conclusion as well as its basic premise. The conclusion (which he admits is open to interpretation; did Lomax commit these crimes or not?) leaves the audience either believing that the film is a "cop-out repudiation of everything that has come prior" or that even more graphic torture is coming in the third film. Regardless, Olsen concluded that writer-director Six has left himself with no good option for the third film.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Roger Ebert, of the "Chicago Sun-Times", who did not assign a star rating to the original, gave this film zero stars on review, calling it "reprehensible, dismaying, ugly, artless and an affront to any notion, however remote, of human decency." He would later name it the worst movie of 2011.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: In the UK, the reception of the film was just as hostile. Scott Weinberg and Catherine Shoard in The Guardian and Mark Kermode in The Observer praised the BBFC for heavily censoring the film, their only regret being that the BBFC could not make "The Human Centipede 2" into a "better" film.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: "The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence", at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 2012, won as Worst Film and was nominated as Best Limited-Release/Direct-to-DVD Film.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Six stated that the third film would again be very different from the previous entry, but would also start with its ending, making the trilogy similar to a centipede. In the end, the parts of the trilogy form one continuous film about four and a half hours long. He also stated that the third film would answer some "lasting questions", have a strange happy ending, and is the last of the series, as he does not want to make any more "Centipede" films. In an interview with DreadCentral.com, Six said the third film would "make the last one look like a Disney film. We're going to shoot the third film entirely in America, and it's going to be my favorite... It's going to upset a lot of people."


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Around late 2012, actor Dieter Laser and Six ended their legal battle about creative differences, which had been ongoing since March 2012. Laser and Harvey returned for the third film, which is set in the United States, and played new characters. Six had said that the film would star a "big American celebrity," have "a storyline that nobody would expect," and feature a centipede consisting of 500+ people.


title: The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)

text: Filming commenced in May 2013, with Eric Roberts added to the cast. Other cast members include former pornographic actress Bree Olson, Robert LaSardo, and Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr. Filming concluded in June, with the film taking place in a prison. The official tagline for the film is "100% Politically Incorrect." "The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)" was released both theatrically and on video on demand on 22 May 2015.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy". , the medal has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were posthumous and 16 arose from actions in Indo-Pakistani conflicts. Of the 21 awardees, 20 have been from the Indian Army, and one has been from the Indian Air Force. Major Somnath Sharma, was the first recipient. A number of state governments of India as well as ministries of the central government provide allowances and rewards to recipients of the PVC (or their family members in case of the recipient's death).


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: The history of present-day Indian gallantry awards can be traced back to the rule of the East India Company, when the first formal award was instituted by Lord William Bentinck in 1834 as the Order of Merit, later renamed the Indian Order of Merit in 1902. During the First World War, the British awards system was adopted and continued through the Second World War. Post-independence, new awards were instituted on 26January 1950, with retroactive effect from 15August 1947. The PVC is equivalent to the Victoria Cross in the United Kingdom and the Medal of Honor in the United States.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: The history of modern-day Indian gallantry awards can be traced back to the rule of the East India Company. Gold medals were awarded to Indian officers for the first time in 1795, with the first recipient being Subedar Abdul Kader of the 5thMadras Native Infantry. The chain of the gold medal awarded to Kader was inscribed with the words "For Conduct and Courage on All Occasions". In 1834 the Order of Merit was established by the then Governor-General of India, Lord William Bentinck. The decoration was renamed the Indian Order of Merit (IOM) in 1902, and Indians considered it to be "the most coveted gallantry award" until the Victoria Cross (VC)—the highest award for gallantry in the British Empire—was extended to Indians in 1911. The VC was awarded to 153 Indian and British soldiers of the British Indian Army, and civilians under its command, from 1857 until Indian independence in 1947.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: During the First World War, in addition to the IOM, the award system of the British Indian Army was expanded. Based on the British practice for recognising actions of gallantry, senior officers would be awarded the Distinguished Service Order, junior officers the Military Cross, and enlisted men with the Military Medal. This system continued through the Second World War.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: Post-independence, the British honours and awards system in India informally came to an end. A short time later, Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru decided to give gallantry awards for the ongoing conflict in Jammu and Kashmir. Although India and Pakistan still had the option to award British honours, the leaders felt that it would not make sense to give the same honour to personnel from opposing forces. Accordingly, in June 1948 it was decided to institute new Indian awards for gallantry: the Param Vir Chakra(PVC), Maha Vir Chakra(MVC), and Vir Chakra(VrC). After the PVC, the MVC and VrC are the second and third highest gallantry awards during wartime.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: Nehru entrusted the implementation of the PVC to Major General Hira Lal Atal, the first Indian adjutant general of India. He in turn requested Savitri Khanolkar, the wife of an Indian Army officer, Vikram Khanolkar of the Sikh Regiment, to design the medal for the PVC. Coincidentally, the first PVC would be awarded to Major Somnath Sharma, the brother-in-law of Khanolkar's daughter.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: Despite gaining independence from British rule, India still remained a dominion of the United Kingdom. This meant that the Governor-General of India could not approve the establishment of the awards without assent from the British Crown. Therefore, a draft of the Royal Warrant was sent to London for approval by King George VI. However, by mid-1948 it became clear that the King's ratification would not be forthcoming for some time. As author Ian Cardozo suggests: "How could the King sanction awards for a war between two members of the Commonwealth? Also, the King would have not even have been a symbolic presence on the awards."


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: Therefore, the draft warrants to formally establish the new gallantry awards were not put into effect. On 1January 1949, a ceasefire was implemented in Jammu and Kashmir, and as it was becoming too late to honour acts of heroism from the 1947–1948 Indo-Pakistani War, Nehru forwarded the draft warrants to Governor-General Chakravarti Rajagopalachari to "institute the awards as your own". But Rajagopalachari felt that, as India was still a dominion, it would be inappropriate for him to establish the awards without the King's approval. He instead suggested to Nehru that, as India was to become a republic on 26January 1950, it would be appropriate to announce the establishment of the awards on that date, but with retroactive effect from 15August 1947.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: On 26January 1950, now celebrated as Republic Day of India, the PVC was established by Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, with effect from 15August 1947 (Independence Day of India). Provision was made in the event a PVC recipient was to receive a further award of the medal; if this were to arise, the recipient would receive a bar to their existing PVC, along with a gift of a replica of the "vajra" (club), the weapon of Indra, the god of heaven. , no instances of an individual being conferred with a second PVC have arisen. The medal carries with it the right to use "PVC" as a post-nominal.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: The regulations of the PVC were set out in "The Gazette of India" the day the award was established, 26 January 1950, as follows:


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: An amendment to the above regulations on 26 January 1980 saw Clause 12 deleted, and the remaining clauses renumbered accordingly.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: The name of the award translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave". The medal is a circular bronze disc in diameter. On the obverse, or front, the National Emblem of India appears in the centre on a raised circle surrounded by four copies of the "vajra", the weapon of Indra, the ancient Vedic king of the gods. The motif symbolizes the sacrifice of Rishi Dadhichi, who gave his bones to the gods to make the "vajra" to kill the demon Vritra. The medal is suspended from a straight-swiveling suspension bar. On the reverse, around a plain centre, are two legends separated by lotus flowers. The words "Param Vir Chakra" are written in Hindi and English. A purple ribbon, long, holds the Param Vir Chakra.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: The PVC has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were awarded posthumously and 16 arose from actions in Indo-Pakistani conflicts. Of the 21 awardees, 20 have been from the Indian Army, and one has been from the Indian Air Force. The Grenadiers, with three awards, have received the greatest number of Param Vir Chakras. The various Gorkha Rifle regiments of the Indian Army have received three awards, with the 1, 8, and 11 Gorkha Rifle regiments each having one PVC recipient.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: , Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously in 1971, is the only Indian Air Force officer to have been honoured with the medal. Subedar Major Bana Singh, Subedar Sanjay Kumar and Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav, are the only living recipients of the award.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: The PVC also carries a cash allowance for those under the rank of lieutenant (or the appropriate service equivalent), and in some cases a cash award. Upon the death of the recipient, the pension is transferred to the spouse until their death or remarriage. In the case of a posthumous recipient who is unmarried, the allowance is paid to their parents. In the case of the award being conferred posthumously on a widow or widower, the allowance is to be paid to their son or unmarried daughter. A monthly stipend of 20,000 is given to the awardee along with their regular pay. The award amount and pension benefits are exempted from income tax. In addition, different ministries under the central government have various financial awards for PVC winners.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: A relatively unknown convention in the Indian Army is for a PVC recipient to be saluted, when in ceremonial uniform, by everyone in the Army irrespective of rank, although no legal provision exists.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: Many Indian states have established individual pension rewards that far exceed the central government's stipend for recipients of the PVC.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: A memorial has been built in the memory of PVC recipients at Marina Park, Port Blair, in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was inaugurated in September 2014 by the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh, in the presence of the Commander-in-Chief Andaman and Nicobar Command, Vice Admiral Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: On 2 May 2017, at a ceremony conducted in the National Media Center, New Delhi, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre inaugurated a campaign to build a "wall of valour" in a thousand educational institutions across the country. The campaign was initiated by the two serving receipts of PVC, Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav and Naib Subedar Sanjay Kumar. The campaign was named “Vidya Veerta Abhiyan”. The objective is to build a wall of at various educational campuses with the voluntary contributions from the students and the faculty of respective institutions. These walls are to portray all 21 recipients of the PVC along with relevant information.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: Bronze Busts of all 21 recipients are installed in the Param Yodha Sthal, which is a part of the National War Memorial. The site is adjacent to the main memorial and has informative plaques displaying the citations of the heroes.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: The TV series "Param Vir Chakra" (1990), which focuses on the lives of Param Vir Chakra winners, was directed by Chetan Anand. The first episode of the series featured the first recipient of the award, Major Somnath Sharma of the Kumaon Regiment.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: Indian Punjabi-language biopic movie "Subedar Joginder Singh" (2018) is based on Singh's life and his action during Sino-Indian War.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: The Bollywood film "LOC Kargil" (2003) gives an account of all of the PVC recipients from the Kargil War. Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey is played by Ajay Devgan, Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav is played by Manoj Bajpayee, Naib Subedar Sanjay Kumar is played by Sunil Shetty, and Captain Vikram Batra is played by Abhishek Bachchan.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: An upcoming Hindi-language film "Ekkis" will focus on the life on Arun Khetarpal, who is the youngest recipient of the award.


title: Param Vir Chakra

text: In the 2021 film "Shershaah", Sidharth Malhotra played Vikram Batra in a biopic directed by Vishnuvardhan.


title: Bolo Yeung

text: Yang Sze (; born 3 July 1946), better known as Bolo Yeung, is a Hong Kong former competitive bodybuilder, martial artist and a martial arts film actor. Globally known for his performances as Bolo in "Enter the Dragon" (starring Bruce Lee), and the dominant super-villain Chong Li in "Bloodsport" (starring Jean-Claude Van Damme) as well as other numerous appearances and long career in Hong Kong martial arts films.


title: Bolo Yeung

text: Yeung began his martial arts training at the age of 10 in Canton, where he trained under several kung fu masters. Growing up, he took an interest in bodybuilding, and later became Mr. Hong Kong bodybuilding champion. He held the title for ten years. Because of his muscular physique, he was chosen for several bad guy roles in films produced by Shaw Brothers Studios, such as "The Heroic Ones", "The Deadly Duo", "Angry Guest" and others. He left Shaw Brothers in 1971.


title: Bolo Yeung

text: Yeung met Bruce Lee while the two were filming a Winston cigarettes commercial. A friendship emerged and Lee invited him to star in "Enter the Dragon", after which he became known as "Bolo", the name of the character he portrayed. The two became close friends during the filming of "Enter the Dragon", in which Lee and Yeung worked very closely on technique training. Yeung once stated in an interview, many years after Lee's death, "There will never be another Bruce Lee; I am privileged to have had the honour of calling him my friend."


title: Bolo Yeung

text: During the 1970s and 1980s, Yeung starred in numerous martial arts films, but his breakout film was "Bloodsport". Shot on a 1.5 million USD budget, it became a box office hit in the spring of 1988. Jean-Claude Van Damme had the leading role as Frank Dux, while Yeung played the role of Chong Li. A strong friendship formed between the two actors on the set of "Bloodsport", and Van Damme invited Yeung to appear in his subsequent film "Double Impact".


title: Bolo Yeung

text: Canadian action film actor, director and producer Jalal Merhi met Yeung in Hong Kong while shooting his first film "Fearless Tiger", then again on the set of "Double Impact". Merhi was impressed with Yeung's personality and ability, and decided to create a part specifically for him. Later Merhi worked with Yeung on more films such as "Tiger Claws", "TC 2000" and "Tiger Claws 2".


title: Bolo Yeung

text: In 2007, Yeung made a rare appearance in "Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter". Merhi directed the first 60 minutes of the film that was shot in Toronto. Due to other commitments, he could not complete the remaining part of the film in Russia. Producer Erken Ialgashev directed the remainder of the film.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Final Destination 5 is a 2011 American 3D supernatural horror film directed by Steven Quale and written by Eric Heisserer. It is the fifth installment in the "Final Destination" film series and a prequel to the first film. "Final Destination 5" stars Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, and Tony Todd, and follows a young man (played by D'Agosto) who has a premonition and saves a group of people from death when a suspension bridge begins to collapse. However, they soon learn that they cannot escape death.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Despite "The Final Destination" being originally announced as the final film in the franchise, due to its financial success, development of "Final Destination 5" began in 2010. Filming took place in Vancouver, as with the first three installments.


title: Final Destination 5

text: "Final Destination 5" was theatrically released on August 12, 2011, and on DVD on December 27, 2011, by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some critics considered it both a return-to-form for the franchise and an improvement over the previous installment. Reviews criticized the film for failing to bring anything new to the franchise, weak character development, and average dialogue, but also praised the use of 3D, the visual effects, the inventive death scenes, the return of suspense as opposed to a campy feel (particularly both the opening sequence and the twist ending). The film was a financial success, grossing $157 million worldwide against a $40 million budget, becoming the second highest-grossing film in the franchise. A sequel is in development.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Sam Lawton is on his way to a company retreat with his colleagues. While their bus crosses the North Bay Bridge, Sam has a premonition that high winds will cause the bridge under construction to collapse, killing everyone except his ex-girlfriend Molly Harper, whom he manages to get across the bridge safely. Panicked, he persuades Molly, his friends Nathan Sears and Peter Friedkin, Peter's girlfriend Candice Hooper, his boss Dennis Lapman, and co-workers Olivia Castle and Isaac Palmer to leave just as the bridge collapses. After being interrogated by FBI agent Jim Block, the survivors attend a memorial service for their deceased co-workers where they are being watched by coroner William Bludworth.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Later, Candice dies during her gym practice from a chain reaction that causes her to fall off the uneven bars and snap her spine. The next day, Isaac's head is crushed by a falling Buddha statue during an acupuncture session at a Chinese spa. Bludworth, who has been present for both deaths, tells the remaining survivors that if they wish to cheat Death, they must kill someone who was never meant to die on the bridge and thereby claim their remaining lifespan. At the same time, Sam and Molly fail to save Olivia, who falls out of a window to her death at an eye surgery clinic. Sam learns that the survivors are dying in the order they were meant to die on the bridge and realizes that Nathan is next.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Nathan, who has returned to the factory, accidentally kills his co-worker Roy Carson during an argument. He relays this information to the remaining survivors, who believe that Nathan must have claimed Roy's remaining lifespan. When Dennis arrives to question the incident, a wrench launched by a belt sander splits his face, killing him. That evening, Sam and Molly rekindle their relationship at the restaurant where the former is working. Peter, who has become unstable after Candice's death, interrupts the date and decides to kill Molly to take her lifespan. After Peter draws a gun, Sam and Molly both escape to the kitchen as Block overhears the gunshots from outside and enters the restaurant, only to be shot dead by Peter. The former attempts to kill Molly and Sam to eliminate witnesses, but Sam kills Peter with a meat spit to save Molly.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Two weeks later, Sam and Molly board a plane to Paris. Before taking their seats, they notice a fight between Carter Horton and Alex Browning, who are both removed from the plane with Ms. Lewton and the other students, revealing that the plane they are boarding is Volée Airlines Flight 180. Upon take-off, Sam overhears Alex's vision from a flight attendant's conversation with a passenger. When he realizes that it is too late for him and Molly to escape, both of them perish along with everyone else on the plane in the explosion that follows. At Roy's memorial, Nathan learns from a co-worker about Roy's autopsy and the discovery of his brain aneurysm that would have resulted in his death in a short time anyway. As Nathan realizes he is still in danger, the landing gear from the plane breaks through the roof and crushes him.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Devon Sawa, Kerr Smith, Amanda Detmer, Kristen Cloke, and Forbes Angus reprise their roles as Alex Browning, Carter Horton, Terry Chaney, Valerie Lewton, and Larry Murnau via archive footage from "Final Destination".


title: Final Destination 5

text: Alan Horn, the head of Warner Bros., confirmed at ShoWest in March 2010 that "Final Destination 5" was in works at ShoWest. Producer Craig Perry later added that the film would be shot in 3D. Eric Heisserer was announced as screenwriter in April 2010. The studio initially picked August 26, 2011, as the release date, but later changed it to August 12, 2011. In June 2010, New Line Cinema announced that Steven Quale would direct, and that the movie would be renamed "5nal Destination". The name change was reversed only a few months later.


title: Final Destination 5

text: According to Heisserer, "Final Destination 5" was always meant to be a prequel, set before the first film; the idea having come from franchise producer Craig Perry. Heisserer said that one major problem he encountered while writing the film was coming up with good death sequences, believing that managing to do so in the world of "Final Destination" is "ridiculously hard". The inspiration for Olivia's death sequence involving LASIK eye surgery came after his wife underwent the same type of surgery.


title: Final Destination 5

text: In August 2010, actor and musician Miles Fisher was the first to be cast in the film as Peter Friedkin. Fisher had appeared in numerous short films and in a small role in the comedy film "Superhero Movie" (2008). Fisher said during an interview that "I've done a little bit of television and a little bit of film, but 3-D is almost an entirely different sport." Three days after Fisher's casting, Arlen Escarpeta was cast in the film as Nathan Sears. Escarpeta explained that "I think what they're going to do really, really well this time around, they're going to go back—the story, the plot, a lot of stuff is really going to matter, I think the last movie it was just death. It was death, death, death, which is fine because that's what people want to see. But this time we're going to give them a little bit of everything – good story, great director—it's going to be good."


title: Final Destination 5

text: In late August 2010, Nicholas D'Agosto was cast to portray the film's main visionary Sam Lawton. D'Agosto had recently starred in the 2007 comedy film "Rocket Science" before he was cast in the film after his appearance in "Fired Up!" since 2009. Along with D'Agosto, newcomer actress Ellen Wroe joined the cast as Candice Hooper. One day later, Tony Todd, who portrayed William Bludworth from the first two installments, returned to join the film's cast after not appearing in the fourth film due to scheduling commitments to work on "". On August 30, 2010, the production hired David Koechner and P. J. Byrne to join the cast. Koechner portrays the characters' company executive Dennis Lapman while Byrne, after his appearance in "Dinner for Schmucks", portrays Isaac Palmer. Emma Bell, who made her major film debut appearance in the 2010 thriller film "Frozen", was cast on September 2 to co-lead with D'Agosto as Molly Harper. In mid-September, both Courtney B. Vance and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood are the last main cast members to join the film. "'s" Vance plays FBI agent Jim Block while Wood, who is starring as Steffy Forrester in the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful", portrays co-worker Olivia Castle.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Location filming returned to Vancouver, where parts of the first three films were shot. Principal photography took place between September 13 and December 14, 2010. Producers stated that this installment would be darker and more suspenseful in the style of the original film. "Final Destination 3" star Chelan Simmons revealed that the opening scene would be filmed on the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver.


title: Final Destination 5

text: The soundtrack to "Final Destination 5" was released on August 16, 2011, by Varèse Sarabande, four days after the release of the film. The soundtrack contains 19 tracks composed by Brian Tyler, music composer of "The Final Destination". It is also the second "Final Destination" soundtrack album to be released. Miles Fisher also released a tie-in video for his single "New Romance" which features the key actors in the film in a "Saved by the Bell" parody in which most are killed in freak accidents, in keeping with the series.


title: Final Destination 5

text: The album contains 19 cues composed by Brian Tyler and performed by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra, omitting commercially released songs that were featured in the film. It is first and only film in the series not to use original themes by Shirley Walker from the previous films.


title: Final Destination 5

text: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK ruled that the original theatrical poster, which had been used on buses and trains during the summer, "was likely to cause fear and undue distress to children". It ruled that the advert must not appear in the original form again.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Warner Bros. countered by stating that the poster "accurately reflected the content of the film in an appropriate manner without causing excessive fear or distress". They also added that the poster's dark grey and black colors were "unlikely to engage the attention of young children", and that the "surreal" image did not feature people, blood or display any real-life violence.


title: Final Destination 5

text: The ASA, which had received 13 complaints, with three stating that their children (aged between 1 and 3) had been upset, ruled "We considered the image was likely to catch the attention of children, especially because it was shown on a poster on the Underground, where it was an untargeted medium. Because very young children might view this ad depicting violence, it was likely to cause fear and undue distress to children."


title: Final Destination 5

text: "Final Destination 5" ranked #3 at the weekend box office with $18.4 million behind "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" ($27.5 million), which held the top spot for two weeks, and "The Help" ($25.5 million). It was also the third biggest "Final Destination" opening to date behind 2009's "The Final Destination" ($27.4 million) and 2006's "Final Destination 3" ($19.1 million). "Final Destination 5" grossed $42,587,643 domestically, and $115,300,000 internationally, for a worldwide total of $157,887,643, becoming the second-highest-grossing film in the franchise.


title: Final Destination 5

text: "Final Destination 5" was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 27, 2011. The Blu-ray Disc comes in two forms: the movie only edition and the Blu-ray Disc/DVD/UltraViolet edition. A Blu-ray 3D edition was released exclusively through Best Buy. The film was released in the UK on December 26, 2011; however, only the special edition Blu-ray Disc contained the 3D cut of the film. An UltraViolet copy was available in all formats.


title: Final Destination 5

text: Before the film appeared in theaters, Fisher released a music video. Starring the main cast of "Final Destination 5" and featuring Fisher's original song "New Romance", the video parodied the 1990s sitcom "Saved by the Bell" and included a clue to the plot of the film. Fisher, a fan of the show, and video director Dave Green watched every episode, and contemporary shows like "Boy Meets World" and "Clarissa Explains It All". "We thought, 'Gosh wouldn't it be fun and subversive to have Final Destination-type deaths in this safe, [sitcom] world?'" Fisher, who plays a Zack Morris-type character, said. He joked, "I basically have always been looking for a way to dance with Kelly Kapowski my whole life".