title: Great! Movies Classic

text: Great! Movies Classic (stylized as GREAT! movies classic) is a British free-to-air TV channel owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited that launched 10 September 2019 as Sony Movies Classic, replacing True Movies. The launch began with a temporary seasonal replacement called Sony Movies Christmas, lasting from 10 September 2019 to 7 January 2020. On 7 January 2020 the replacement was replaced by Sony Movies Classic. The channel is dedicated to classic movies from the 40s to the 00s.


title: Great! Movies Classic

text: The brand voice of the channel is British voice over artist Ben Neidle, who voices the promos and continuity links.


title: Great! Movies Classic

text: Prior to the 10 September 2019 launch of Sony Movies Classic, the channel was known as True Movies. This channel topped all the film channels in August 2005. The first time a Christmas replacement of the channel was made was in 2013. On 24 July 2019, it was announced that True Movies, Along with Movies4Men and True Entertainment would be closed and replaced by this channel from 10 September, after the temporary Sony Movies Christmas replacement on 10 September 2019


title: Great! Movies Classic

text: Due to Narrative Capital acquiring SPT's full UK portfolio on 14 May 2021, the channel was rebranded as Great! Movies Classic on 25 May 2021.


title: Great! Movies Classic

text: As per its time under Sony ownership, the channel becomes a 'Christmas movie' channel over the last quarter of the broadcasting year. In 2021 it was rebranded for the first time as Great! Movies Christmas, with a seasonal film schedule running from 23 September 2021 until 4 January 2022. Great! Movies Christmas returned again for the Christmas 2022 season a few weeks earlier on 8 September 2022, 108 days before Christmas. This schedule will last until 2 January 2023, with the +1 channel in Greater Manchester also reflecting the change.


title: Great! Movies Classic

text: On 5 January 2023, Great! Movies Classic will rebrand as Great! Romance showing romantic movies all day every day.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: Top Gear: Patagonia Special is a full length special that was aired as a two-part episode for the BBC car show "Top Gear"; the first part was aired on 27 December 2014, while the second part was aired a day later on 28 December. The special sees hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, using a selection of cars with V8 engines to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the small-block V8 engine, on a journey across Chile and Argentina, starting from Bariloche and ending on the outskirts of Ushuaia, and includes the infamous scene involving the protesters that the presenters and their film crew encountered and the events that happened; it is the last "Top Gear" special to be filmed with the hosts, prior to Clarkson's exit from the show in March 2015 followed by Hammond, May, and Executive Producer Andy Wilman shortly afterwards. The incident with the protesters was widely documented and reported by the media, prior to the broadcast of the special.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: Unlike previous specials, despite each part doing well to draw in viewers during Christmas week it was aired on, it received mixed reviews from fans and critics, many of whom felt that it was not as entertaining as past specials by the hosts.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: All three presenters met in an area near Bariloche, where they brought and compared their cars. Clarkson had bought a Porsche 928, which both Hammond and May berated for being "boring". Hammond had bought a Ford Mustang, which though both Clarkson and May initially liked, they pointed out the numerous flaws with the car, in that most of the car's features were "pointless". May, arriving last, had bought a Lotus Esprit, a decision that both Clarkson and Hammond were stunned by; both proceeded to ridicule May for his choice of vehicle, citing the Esprit's famed unreliability and poor craftsmanship. The producers then presented them with a challenge: they were to drive from Bariloche to Butch Cassidy's house. Amazed by the apparent ease of their challenge, the three set off towards their destination. Though May and Clarkson enjoyed the journey, Hammond's Mustang struggled, with poor steering and heavy fuel consumption, causing him to break down a mile and a half from the destination and be abandoned by May and Clarkson. When Hammond caught them up, they were informed by producers that they must continue driving southward to Ushuaia. Once there, they were to play a game of football using their cars. Their route to Ushuaia - planned by Jeremy - took many odd turns along the way. The trio took a side road that ended up leading them to a strange area where the road essentially disappeared. Eventually, they encountered an unstable bridge which they had to cross in their cars. May was the first to cross, who discovered that the end of the bridge led to a dead end, though chose not to inform Clarkson or Hammond about it. Around this time, the presenters noticed that a Citroën 2CV had been following them, allowing them to realise this was the back-up car if one of theirs was to fail. After heading back, they encountered a swamp, which bogged down the Mustang and the Porsche. Clarkson admitted that the Lotus had been performing better than anyone had expected, as it had not suffered any breakdowns thus far. After stopping at their hotel for the night, Hammond became extremely upset with his drive along the route and sought to take control, taking them on a different route where he believed the roads would be better. This route, however, ended up taking them on worse terrain than before, causing all three cars to struggle and Clarkson's Porsche to break down due to an electrical fault. May becomes frustrated by Hammond after the accommodation was a campsite and a big cow for dinner. Though he managed to fix the fault, Hammond was stripped of his leadership and Clarkson took back control of the route.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: When setting off the next morning, the trio found a large, desolate area, which they used as a race circuit. When attempting to relocate the road, they discovered that their route had been blocked by a fence, meaning the cars could not continue and that the journey would have to continue on foot. Clarkson, in protest of this, found some nearby horses, to ride, though when May fell and cracked three ribs, the presenters abandoned this idea and located another route. On the way to the overnight hotel, May is super angry and in pain but then Clarkson gets payback when his alternator belt brakes causing him to be left without electricity. The presenters fix and modified their cars to allow them to carry building materials. At a nearby town, Punta Arenas, the team stop for supplies in preparation for their football game, though end up using most of their supplies to drive across a nearby beach, filled with boulders and other various rocks, where they were landed by a commercial Chilean ship, which cannot transport the three directly to Ushuaia for political reasons. Shortly before arriving in Ushuaia, Hammond's Mustang breaks down again in the snow, leaving May and Clarkson to continue, in belief that Hammond would follow them in the 2CV. May and Clarkson crossed a nearby river, after which Hammond joined them in the Mustang for the final straight to Ushuaia.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: Prior to the trio's arrival in Ushuaia, the residents of the town got word of their upcoming arrival. Preparations were made by the residents to protest their arrival. The trio had received news about the protests, which prompted them to check into a nearby hotel, but there a small number of Falklands War veterans gathered outside of the building with a nationalistic designed van, which had "Las Malvinas son Argentinas!" ("The Falklands are Argentinian!") written on its car body. Protesters entered the hotel, followed by the local police. The protesters noted that if the crew didn't cease filming, then they would have to cause trouble. The locals had taken offense to the license plate of the Porsche, which read "H982 FKL". The protesters believed that the number plate was a direct reference to the 1982 Falklands War, fought between Argentina and the United Kingdom, and that it was a fake, deliberately designed for this specific trip to their country. The show's producers attempted to negotiate with Argentinian officials, saying that the number plate was not fake (something that was later proven to be correct), but offered a compromise that the number plate would be removed before the game of car football. However, attempts to placate the officials were unsuccessful; in fact, if anything, the attempts to reason with the officials may have escalated the scenario even further as, shortly afterwards, Clarkson received word from the producers that they had been ordered by the officials to leave the Tierra del Fuego area immediately.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: It was estimated that it would have taken 24 hours to organise a full departure from Ushuaia, but protesters warned that there would be violence if they had not departed in under 3 hours. The crew made a hasty departure, though the presenters initially had to remain in the hotel. They then went to a nearby airport, together with the two female crew members and flew out as it was assumed the rest of the crew would be left alone without the presenters accompanying them. The crew were to be escorted by the police to the border town of San Sebastián. However, they had barely managed a fifth of their journey when they began to realise that a few protesters had managed to find the convoy on motorbikes and were searching for the Porsche with the offending license plate which turned out to be the main trigger of the protest. As they neared to the town of Tolhuin, the police warned them that a large mob had prepared for their arrival, and more worryingly, were organising a blockade. As they drove through the town, they discovered the main road blocked by a large truck, slowing the convoy down allowing the protesters to begin egging the cars and pelting them with rocks. Several car windows were shattered and two crew members were hit. After a while they pulled over to attend to the injured crew members and repair the windows. Since the Porsche was inevitably going to attract more trouble wherever they went, the crew decided to leave behind all of the presenters' cars. As they continued on, they received word that an even larger mob, containing about 300 cars, was awaiting the crew in Río Grande. Fearing for their safety, the entire convoy moved cross-country, leaving the main road; the police escort meanwhile stayed behind on the main road to cover their backs in case the mob discovered their ruse. Arriving at the river border crossed previously, the crew were to illegally cross the border into Chile, which they were all able to do successfully. Once in Chile, their escape had been completed, leaving Clarkson, May and Hammond to pay a Butch Cassidy-esque homage to Patagonia.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: Filming of the "Patagonia Special" commenced after the three presenters first arrived in Buenos Aires on 17 September 2014, and made it to the starting point in Bariloche on 19 September. The filming for the two-part episode involved a crew of around 40 people, and was completed by the first of October.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: Viewing figures for both parts were exceptionally good, with the first part attracting overall UK viewing figures of 7.21 million, while the second part was slightly higher with overall UK viewing figures reaching 7.38 million; in January 2015, the first part of the "Patagonia Special" was reported as being the most watched show on BBC iPlayer during the week of Christmas, achieving 2.1 million requests for it, while the second part only achieved 1.5 million requests, but became the third-most requested show on the iPlayer.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: Despite good viewing figures, the show drew mixed reviews from critics. Gerard O'Donovan of "The Telegraph" wrote a favourable review for both parts, each earning a four star rating, with the critic declaring that he enjoyed both parts, and that the ending of the second part "left us in no doubt how serious the situation in Tierra del Fuego had got back in September." Ian Burrell of "The Independent" was also generally favourable of the ending for the special. Fans of the show also gave mixed reactions on Twitter following the broadcast of the two parts, but were generally positive about its ending.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: Filming for the episode garnered widespread media attention after an incident occurred in which the presenters and film crew became the target of a group of protesters when close to Ushuaia, who believed that the number plate on the Porsche being driven by Clarkson, "H982 FKL", was a seen as a reference to the Falklands War and the year it took place but in reality it was a random license plate chosen by the manufacturer. Comments on Twitter, discovered by a member of the crew during the start of filming, led to the replacement of the vehicle 's original plate to one reading "H1 VAE" as they neared the city.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: The change of plate did little to help, as the group encountered the protesters on 2 October 2014, after being forced into a hotel upon hearing news of the growing protests of their arrival; had it not occurred, or the controversial incident in general, filming would have continued for three more days in Ushuaia before the presenters and crew left. Discussions between the show's producers and representatives of the protesters failed to achieve calm with the growing tensions, leading to the group being forced to leave the country as a result; the presenters left with the women of the film crew for Buenos Aires, while the rest of the team were forced to drive back to the border with Chile with their equipment, taking the presenters' cars with them before eventually abandoning them during their retreat.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: The episode featured footage that included the moment that they were ambushed and became the target of an attack, with stones from protesters causing damage to their cars and resulting in two crew members being injured.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: Following the incident, Andy Wilman, executive producer for the show at the time, stated on 2 October that ""Top Gear" production purchased three cars for a forthcoming programme; to suggest that this car was either chosen for its number plate, or that an alternative number plate was substituted for the original is completely untrue"; on the same day, Clarkson tweeted that the number plate had been a coincidence and that "for once, we did nothing wrong.", before later writing in an article for "The Sunday Times" that he "had to hide under a bed" due to "a mob howling for his blood". He regarded the incident as "the most terrifying thing I've ever been involved in." According to the UK registry, the plate "H982 FKL" has been registered to the Porsche since its manufacture in May 1991. Later that month, on 31 October, Argentine ambassador Alicia Castro demanded a formal apology for the incident when she met with Danny Cohen, the BBC Director of Television, which was refused by the BBC after they stated their intention to broadcast the two-part special as a fair representation of the events that occurred. On 28 May 2015, the BBC Trust ruled that there was not a "cover-up" with the number plate and that it had not been a deliberate reference to the Falklands War, taking no further action as a direct result of its own ruling.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: The number-plate controversy was later lampooned by the hosts during a feature in Australia, where the cars' number plates were very tenuously linked to anti-republican themes.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: In 2016 Clarkson tweeted "Happy Christmas to everyone. Except the Tierra Del Fuego people of Argentina. You lot can sod off." This came after an incident where Clarkson missed an airline flight in Stuttgart, Germany, which he claimed was caused by an airline worker purposefully impeding him, stating “I’m from Argentina, so fuck you.” A spokesman for the Reutlingen police department released a statement that Clarkson and others missed the flight due to not hearing the call announcement, that the worker was actually from Spain, and had correctly prevented the group from boarding the flight after it was too late to do so.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: For the following series of Top Gear, in each introduction to a segment would be a subtle reference to Chile, as well as using mugs bearing the Chilean Flag during the News Section, in a show of gratitude for the sanctuary provided to the crew.


title: Top Gear: Patagonia Special

text: The Ford, Porsche and Lotus were kept in police custody sometime until 2017, where they were destroyed to prevent form of riots similar to what occurred from the original riots 3 years prior.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman is a large Australian-based, multi-national retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned by ASX-listed Harvey Norman Holdings Limited. As of 2016, there are 280 company-owned and franchised stores in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South-East Asia operating under the Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne brands in Australia, and under the Harvey Norman brand overseas.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Gerry Harvey and Ian Norman opened their first store in 1961, which specialised in electrical goods and appliances. Harvey and Norman had first met when both were working as door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen. The store's success prompted Harvey and Norman to expand the business and conduct talks with retailer Keith Lord, who sought to expand his own retail group. They could not settle on a name for the new business, with Harvey and Lord reluctant to take on the other's name. They eventually decided to retain Norman's name and that of its first store manager, Peter Ross. This spawned the retail chain Norman Ross.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Norman Ross became one of the largest appliance retail chains and by 1979 controlled 42 stores with sales of more than $240 million. In the early 1980s, Alan Bond and Grace Bros sought to acquire the chain, spawning a bidding war that saw Grace Bros incorporate the chain in 1982. Three weeks later however, a determined Alan Bond successfully convinced the Grace Bros director Michael Grace to sell the chain to Bond. Shortly after, Harvey and Norman were given notice and redundancy package of six months pay. Reasons for their sacking were not publicised, although Harvey later told "The Daily Telegraph": "I said I wished Alan Bond would pack up his marbles and go back to Perth. Then I got a telegram telling me I was sacked".


title: Harvey Norman

text: Norman Ross went into liquidation in 1992. In October 1982, Harvey and Norman purchased a new shopping centre in the outer Sydney suburb of Auburn for A$3 million, and opened the first Harvey Norman store. The enterprise was intended to be a single store but its success led to the opening of others. Harvey Norman Holdings Limited was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on 3 September 1987.


title: Harvey Norman

text: In the early 1990s, Harvey Norman adopted the superstore format then successful in the United States, and entered the computer and furniture markets. The first computer superstore was opened at Bennetts Green, Newcastle, in late 1993 with much fanfare. That was followed several weeks later by the opening of a larger superstore at Auburn. Many stores later expanded their computer sections.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Strong support was provided to the chain by distributors such as Merisel, Dataflow, Tech Pacific, and Marketing Results. Extra support and funding was supplied by vendors (supplied by these distributors) such as Microsoft, Corel, Symantec and WordPerfect.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman also sold Apple Computer products for several years. The launch of Windows 95 was a huge success, with a few Sydney stores opening at midnight, and some regional areas opening at 6 a.m. The products came with a bonus pack featuring Harvard Graphics on CD and an introductory internet offer from OzEmail. Apple decided to stop supplying the chain in the late 1990s, but returned in 2004 with the iPod range, which later expanded into iPads, iPhones and iMacs.


title: Harvey Norman

text: A Norman Ross store was opened at Bennetts Green in 1995, with the purpose of being a clearance centre. That had mixed results, and was closed within 12 months. However, the Bennetts Green store expanded into larger premises in 1996, where it operates today. Part of the relocation was a dedicated educational centre, named Kidscape. Specialist employees from Dataflow provided advice to parents on which software was best for their child. Kidscape was installed at a number of stores, but it was discontinued at a number of them within two years.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Some stores also opened early for the Windows 98 launch, which included a number of offers, including an SPC CD with Harvard Graphics and Quicken. Other products, such as modems and printers, were promoted at $98.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman has relied on 'bricks & mortar' stores as its strength. When suppliers such as Compaq and IBM started supplying direct, Harvey Norman stopped selling those products in-store. After Compaq later stopped selling direct, Harvey Norman returned to selling Compaq PC products.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman's growth occurred organically until it acquired Joyce Mayne in 1998. A number of electrical stores in Western Australia, some of which were owned by Wesfarmers, were purchased. Further acquisitions followed and by 2000 the chain had 100 stores. In 2006, Retravision was struggling, and a number of Retravision stores were acquired by Harvey Norman. Many were later converted to either Harvey Norman or Joyce Mayne stores, but those that were not successful were closed down.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman's operating structure is unusual in that each store department (flooring, bedding, furniture, computer and electrical) is operated by a separate entity of management. Thus many superstores are a combination of three or four separate businesses managed independently contributing revenue to Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. through lease payments and a portion of sales. Overseas, Harvey Norman stores are directly owned and operated by the ASX-listed, Sydney-based parent company, Harvey Norman Holdings Limited. However, sales commissions are still heavily used across all departments of the store to motivate salespeople, drive sales and improve service.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Retail marketing consultant Kevin Moore argues that this 'high reward-based remuneration structure' drives Harvey Norman's point of difference and is what contributes, at least partly, to its retail dominance. "Almost all the people in a Harvey Norman are there because they are great salespeople, can propose solutions for customers and are paid in line with what they sell... So when you walk into a Harvey Norman, the guys on the floor have a real reason to help you. You walk away happy at the end of the day having spent money with them. And so do the staff because some of the money you left in the store goes to them... for helping you solve a problem in your life."


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman is the flagship brand of Harvey Norman Holdings. Harvey Norman is mainly a household goods retailer – with items being sold in their stores including major appliances, small appliances, information technology (such as computers, printers and mobile phones), furniture, bedding, hardware (bathrooms) and flooring among other things. There are 193 franchise-operated Harvey Norman stores located throughout Australia, as at 23 April 2020, with separate franchisees owning and operating separate departments. The majority of Harvey Norman stores are located in New South Wales (56), followed by Victoria (45), Queensland (44), Western Australia (27), South Australia (10), Tasmania (7), Northern Territory (2) and the Australian Capital Territory (2).


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman Design and Renovations is a subsidiary of Harvey Norman Holdings Limited. The design and renovations arm of the company specialises in bathroom, kitchen, wardrobe, home office, bars and home theatre renovations, and featured showroom franchises in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. The Victorian and South Australian outlets have since closed, leaving five New South Wales outlets in operation.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Domayne is a furniture, bedding, flooring, computers, electrical and homewares chain independently operated by franchisees (and whose brand is owned by Harvey Norman Holdings). They focus on fashion and design in their furniture range, with their hallmark being their range of contemporary, Australian-made furniture. While their focus is on furniture and bedding, certain outlets (such as former Joyce Mayne stores) also stock higher-end cooking appliances. As of 9 June 2016, there are 19 Domayne franchised complexes Australia-wide, with 12 in New South Wales (Alexandria, Auburn, Belrose, Caringbah, Castle Hill, Kotara, Liverpool, Maitland, North Ryde, Penrith, Warrawong, West Gosford), 3 in Queensland (Bundall, Fortitude Valley, Maroochydore), 2 in Victoria (Melbourne QV, Springvale) and Western Australia (City West Perth, Osborne Park), and 1 each in the Australian Capital Territory (Fyshwick) and South Australia (Marion).


title: Harvey Norman

text: Joyce Mayne (slogan: "Where the smart money shops") is a retail chain offering similar products to Harvey Norman. They mainly offer whitegoods, small appliances, stationery and IT products (such as mobile phones, computers and printers). There are seven Joyce Mayne stores in Australia as of 1 November 2018 – four in Queensland (Maroochydore, Chancellor Park, Toowoomba and Townsville), two in New South Wales (Nowra and Warrawong) and one in the Northern Territory (Darwin).


title: Harvey Norman

text: In August 2007, market analysts suggested Harvey Norman would launch a rival "big-box" stationery and office supplies competitor to Officeworks before June 2008. Harvey Norman has registered the brand name "OFIS" and as a result of the acquisition of former Megamart and Retravision stores, has access to well-placed potential sites on which to open Officeworks-sized outlets. In December 2007, Harvey Norman announced it would be opening its first two OFIS stores in Albury and Auburn in March 2008.They aimed to have 100 stores within ten years. In all, five OFIS outlets were established, but proved unprofitable and in February 2009 Harvey Norman stated it would close all of the stores by June 2009 and abandon the concept.


title: Harvey Norman

text: School Locker is aimed at primary and high school students, selling school uniforms, stationery as well as sports and musical equipment. There are two big box-style retail stores in New South Wales and four in Queensland in addition to a dozen School Campus stores.


title: Harvey Norman

text: There were five Big Buys stores in Australia (all now closed), located in Springvale, Victoria, Cambridge, Tasmania, Munno Para, South Australia, Auburn, New South Wales and Maroochydore, Queensland. They sold some of Harvey Norman's range, plus music instruments, camping gear, luggage, pet and baby products. Big Buys also had an online store via the Harvey Norman website.


title: Harvey Norman

text: As of 30 June 2015, Harvey Norman Holdings' overseas operations (all conducted under the Harvey Norman brand) are in:


title: Harvey Norman

text: With the exception of Malaysia and Singapore, all overseas operations are directly owned and operated by Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. or its associated companies.


title: Harvey Norman

text: George Goh Ching Wah, founder and chairman of publicly-listed Singapore sporting goods and fashion distributor Ossia International Limited, partnered Gerry Harvey to form Harvey Norman Ossia (Asia) Pte Ltd as an SGD33 million joint venture vehicle to bring the Harvey Norman brand to Asia in 1999. Harvey Norman Ossia (Asia) bought 50.6% of Pertama Holdings, a Singapore electronics retailer that was publicly listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange for SGD$36 million. Goh was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of Pertama Holding Limited. Harvey Norman Ossia (Asia) acquired 14 electronics stores in Singapore, formerly known as Electric City and owned by Pertama Holdings, and rebranded them as Harvey Norman stores. As of 2021, the company owns 14 outlets in Singapore. Its flagship store is at Millenia Walk, which was opened in 2015, and is the largest electronics store in the city area with 100, 000 sq ft.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. and its associated companies effectively own 80.2% of Pertama, with Ossia International, holding 19.8%. Formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), on 8 July 2013, it was finally delisted after the proportion of shares in free float fell below 10%. Under the former ownership structure, as of July 2013 Harvey Norman Singapore (a wholly owned subsidiary of ASX-listed Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd.) and Harvey Norman Ossia (Asia) Ltd.—a 60/40 joint-venture with Ossia International—had held over 83% of Pertama's shares.


title: Harvey Norman

text: The 86 company-owned overseas stores of Harvey Norman contributed around 10%, or AU$36.5 million, of the parent company's AU$378 million profit in the financial year ended 30 June 2015 – an increase of 32% from the previous financial year. This excludes the financial impact of the overseas property Harvey Norman owns for its stores. New Zealand was the only overseas market to recorded a rise in profit over the last financial year (from AU$49.75 million to AU$53.11 million), with operations in Slovenia and Croatia posting a small profit decline (from AU$3.02 million to AU$2.70 million) and all other overseas operations recording losses.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd previously operated Norman Ross stores in New Zealand. The first store opened on 4 December 2007 in Lower Hutt. All Norman Ross stores were rebranded as Harvey Norman in February 2013.


title: Harvey Norman

text: On 22 December 2011, Harvey Norman launched Harvey Norman Direct Import based in Ireland to ship games to buyers in Australia. The prices for video games are cheaper than the Australia-based online store of Harvey Norman.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Flexirent has had very close ties to Harvey Norman since 1995 and is heavily marketed in stores. Flexirent is alleged to have strong elements of predatory lending practices.


title: Harvey Norman

text: In addition, Gerry Harvey has himself asserted on primetime Australian television in a January 2008 airing of "Today Tonight" that Flexirent should be turned down by the average family. This is why Harvey Norman promotes the product to its commercial customer base.


title: Harvey Norman

text: Harvey Norman partnered with Tickford Racing to support the #200 Ford Falcon FG X wildcard driven by Simona de Silvestro and Renee Gracie under the name Harvey Norman Supergirls for the 2015 Bathurst 1000.


title: Harvey Norman

text: In 2016 Harvey Norman once again sponsored the Harvey Norman Supergirls wildcard entry for the 2016 Bathurst 1000 now run by Nissan Motorsport using a Nissan Altima L33 and sporting the new number #360. In 2017 Harvey Norman became the major backer for Simona de Silvestro in the #78 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33. At the end of 2019 the partnership between Harvey Norman and Kelly Racing ended.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson on March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, where he was billed from Russia (and, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania). During his career, Koloff held championships including the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship, NWA United States Championship, NWA World Television Championship, and UWF World Television Championship. He was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and the National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame of 2008.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff was born on March 9, 1959 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of four children born to Paige and Olive Simpson. When he was two years old, his father left the family, leaving his mother as a single parent. When Koloff was 10, his family relocated to the suburb of Robbinsdale. While in junior high school, Koloff began weightlifting. He attended Robbinsdale High School where he played for the Robbinsdale Robins football team as a defensive lineman and on offense was an all-conference wide receiver. His fellow students included other future professional wrestlers Barry Darsow, Brady Boone, Curt Hennig, John Nord, Rick Rude, and Tom Zenk.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff graduated from high school in 1977. He enrolled in Golden Valley Lutheran College where he played college football alongside fellow future wrestler Joe "Animal" Laurinaitis. He suffered an injury playing football but rehabbed to play for Minnesota State University Moorhead where he suffered another injury.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: In 1984, Simpson was going to try out for the USFL when Road Warrior Animal, a professional wrestler from the Minnesota area, called him to ask him to become a professional wrestler. Simpson decided to go with wrestling and was told to shave his head bald and to show up. Jim Crockett, Jr., the promoter of the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions, renamed him "Nikita Koloff", the Russian Nightmare, and teamed him with "uncle" Ivan Koloff and Don Kernodle, a turncoat American. Koloff was briefly trained by Eddie Sharkey. He debuted on June 5, 1984 and won his first match in 13 seconds, with the only edict from Crockett being that should Koloff trip on the ropes, he would be fired on the spot.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff wrestled briefly in Puerto Rico for World Wrestling Council (WWC) and engaged in some bouts with Hercules Ayala. He returned with Ivan Koloff in 1986 and faced Invader I and Invader III at a big house show at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: While he learned more about the sport on the road with Ivan and Kernodle, Koloff was booked in very short matches until his skills developed. During television promos, Nikita stood behind Ivan and Kernodle with his arms folded while they took interviews. As his wrestling ability and speaking skills grew, the length of his matches and interviews grew as well. His improvement negated the need for Kernodle to continue teaming with Ivan and, shortly thereafter, the Russians turned on the American turncoat. Koloff went to great lengths to keep the "Evil Russian" gimmick as realistic as possible. He learned Russian and refused to come out of character, even when away from the ring.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: With Kernodle out of the picture, Uncle Ivan Koloff introduced a new comrade named Krusher Khruschev. In December 1984, Jim Crockett rewarded the Russians with the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. Three months later, on March 18, 1985, Koloff and Ivan defeated Dusty Rhodes and Manny Fernandez to win the NWA World tag team title. Ivan invoked the Freebird rule which dictated that any two of the three could defend the titles. Ivan and Krusher lost the titles to The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) on July 9.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Prior to committing themselves with Jim Crocket Promotions, The Koloffs feuded with then AWA World tag team champions the Road Warriors in both the AWA and the NWA in a brutal series during 1985. One of their encounters was voted Match of the Year runner-up by the readers of "Pro Wrestling Illustrated". The feud was often fought in steel cage Russia chain matches, with lights-out stipulations. The Russian 'chain match', using thicker chains than normal chain matches, was considered a Nikita Koloff specialty.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Continuing to improve, Koloff became a big enough heel to get a match against NWA World Champion Ric Flair at The Great American Bash 1985 on July 6. Koloff lost to Flair and was even attacked by a fan during the match, but he established himself as a superstar in the wrestling business. According to Koloff, it was his favourite match of his career.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: The Koloffs went on to regain the NWA World Tag Team title from the Rock 'N Roll Express three months later, on October 13, but lost it to the same opponents on November 28 at StarrCade 1985 in a steel cage match.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: In 1985 and 1986, Koloff wrestled several matches for Capitol Sports Promotions in Puerto Rico as part of a talent exchange, facing Hercules Ayala on several occasions. During one bout, Koloff sustained a cut to the arm when an audience member threw a spark plug at him.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: In spring of 1986, Koloff started one of the biggest, most anticipated feuds in the history of Jim Crockett Promotions when he attacked NWA United States Heavyweight Champion Magnum T. A. Following an incident where Magnum hit on-screen NWA President Bob Geigel for demanding an apology after T.A. started a brawl with Nikita during a contract signing (which started when the Koloffs berated Magnum's mother, who was present), T.A. was stripped of his title. The two were then booked in a best-of-seven series, which took place during The Great American Bash 1986 tour. The winner of the series would be declared champion. Koloff and T.A. wrestled all summer, ending up tied after six matches with one no contest. The final match took place on August 17 and featured run-ins by Kruschev and Ivan and several false-finishes. Nikita defeated T.A. to win the title.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: The following month, Koloff defeated Wahoo McDaniel to unify his US Title with Wahoo's NWA National Heavyweight Championship on September 28. He was readying to embark on a feud with Ron Garvin that would last through the upcoming Starrcade 1986. The idea of head booker Dusty Rhodes was for Koloff to reignite his feud with Magnum T. A. the following year. The plan called for T.A. to defeat Ric Flair for the NWA World Championship at StarrCade 86; after a short program of rematches with Flair, T. A. would begin a long program with Koloff that ran through The Great American Bash Tour of 1987. As of the beginning of October, Rhodes had not decided whether to give Koloff the title at some point during the feud.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: In October 1986, Magnum T. A. was involved in a career-ending car accident. Dusty Rhodes saw an alternate opportunity. The Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev had been growing in popularity throughout the country with his political reform of Glasnost and Perestroika. The era of evil Russian heels was coming to an end. Rhodes decided to strike while the iron was hot, booking Koloff to become a face and his greatest ally against The Four Horsemen. The historic moment took place on October 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Rhodes needed a partner to take on Ole Anderson and J. J. Dillon in a cage match. The fans in Charlotte erupted when Koloff entered the cage to help Rhodes. Koloff stated that even though he and Magnum T. A. had a bitter rivalry, T.A. had earned his respect, and that Nikita would work to earn the respect of the American people. This evening established Koloff as one of the top faces in the NWA.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Immediately after his face turn, Koloff resumed his quest for Ric Flair's NWA World Title and came very close to winning it on several occasions. Flair's Four Horsemen comrades bailed him out almost every time. The two fought to a double disqualification at StarrCade '86 on November 26. After StarrCade, Koloff was firmly established as one of the NWA's most popular stars. On 1987, Krusher, who left the NWA for the World Wrestling Federation, asked Koloff to join him. However, Koloff declined the offer because he felt loyalty to the promotion and he didn't want to start a new gimmick.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Throughout the early months of 1987, Koloff continued to defend the United States title against members of the Four Horsemen and Paul Jones' Army, which now included "Uncle" Ivan. In March, as part of his ongoing feud with Ivan and Dick Murdoch, Koloff's neck was "injured" by a Murdoch brainbuster on the concrete floor (of course this was a work). On April 11, Koloff and Dusty Rhodes won the second-annual Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament, defeating the Four Horsemen team of Tully Blanchard and Lex Luger in the finals.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: As the 1987 Great American Bash tour got under way, the feud between Koloff, Rhodes, The Road Warriors, and Paul Ellering versus The Four Horsemen and J. J. Dillon was booked as the centerpiece. The tour began and ended with two revolutionary matches created by Rhodes, known as WarGames: The Match Beyond. The team of The Super Powers and The Legion of Doom emerged victorious in both contests.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Also during The War Games, Flair and Blanchard reaggravated Koloff's neck injury by delivering two spike piledrivers. The worked injury set up the pretext for dropping the US Title to Lex Luger. On July 11, 1987 Koloff faced Luger in a steel cage match and was defeated after being hit with a chair. This ended Koloff's reign of nearly 11 months, which still stands today as the fifth longest U.S. title reign in the more than 33-year history of the title. Dusty Rhodes booked Koloff to rebound quickly, winning the NWA World Television Championship from Tully Blanchard on August 27.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: In the fall of 1987, Jim Crockett Promotions acquired Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). Dusty Rhodes decided which members of the UWF roster to retain and how best to use the infusion of new talent that he now had access to on an exclusive basis, beginning with a cross-promotional program between NWA Television Champion Koloff and UWF Television Champion, Terry Taylor. The feud began when Taylor, alongside his fellow members of Hot Stuff International, Inc. - Eddie Gilbert and Rick Steiner- attacked Koloff and stole his championship belt. Koloff and Taylor were booked to face each other in a unification bout at StarrCade '87, but Koloff vowed to get his TV belt back before the match. During a TBS World Championship Wrestling (WCW) broadcast leading up to what would be Jim Crockett's first foray into pay-per-view, Taylor and Gilbert jumped Koloff again, beating him unconscious, and draping his version of the TV title across his limp body. On November 26, Koloff and Taylor battled in what would be the only NWA/UWF unification bout at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. In front of his first pay-per-view audience, Nikita became the undisputed Television Champion by defeating Taylor on November 26. He still has the UWF belt as a trophy from that night.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff lost the NWA TV Title to Mike Rotunda of The Varsity Club on January 30, 1988. During this period, Koloff had altered his appearance somewhat, dropping some muscle mass (Koloff used anabolic steroids during the early part of his career but stopped when he saw where they were leading - he lost his muscle mass due to taking time off to take care of his wife, Mandy) and growing his hair out into a crewcut. He was given the singles main event when he wrestled NWA World Champion Ric Flair at the final Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament. Koloff defeated Flair by disqualification so the title was retained by Flair. He then lost to Barry Windham in the finals of the tournament for the vacant NWA United States Championship, before beginning a feud with Al Perez and teaming with Sting to feud with the Four Horsemen. During the year, he legally changed his name to 'Nikita S. Koloff'.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: In the fall of 1988, Koloff was quickly losing interest in professional wrestling due to personal reasons. His wife Mandy was suffering from Hodgkin's disease and died in the summer of 1989. After Ivan himself turned face when manager Paul Jones went against him, Koloff helped Ivan briefly against Jones' henchmen, the masked Russian Assassins, and then he took a sabbatical on November 27. A booked showdown at StarrCade '88 in December was to pit Ivan and Koloff against the Russian Assassins. Koloff's departure resulted in the Junkyard Dog substituting for him as Ivan's partner. The Russian Assassins were victorious.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Eventually, Koloff eased back into the business part-time. He returned to WCW/NWA as a special guest referee at WrestleWar '89 in match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship between The Road Warriors and Mike Rotunda and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. Rotunda & Williams were disqualified for attacking Koloff, and later stripped of the titles.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Despite some people's beliefs, Nikita was never offered any sort of contract with WWF. He met Vince McMahon only twice: first time while working out in a gym in Las Vegas, Nevada (they shook hands and said "hello") and again at Road Warrior Hawk's funeral.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: In late 1989, Koloff began wrestling with Verne Gagne's AWA (as a part of a talent share with the NWA) in his native Minnesota. The promotion was in its twilight and given Nikita's stature, Gagne positioned Nikita to challenge then AWA World Heavyweight Champion Larry Zbyszko almost immediately. Koloff continued wrestling in the NWA and the AWA for the remainder of the year and the first half of 1990, headlining numerous television broadcasts and Twin Wars '90, the last major event with the AWA under Gagne. Koloff also wrestled briefly in Herb Abrams' Universal Wrestling Federation, in no way affiliated with the original UWF of Bill Watts, where he reignited a feud with 'Uncle' Ivan.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff returned to WCW on February 24, 1991 at WrestleWar. He attacked Lex Luger, claiming he had "stolen" the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from him in 1987 and that he wanted it back. At SuperBrawl I on May 19, 1991, Koloff accidentally hit Sting with a chain while interfering in a tag team match between Sting and Lex Luger and The Steiner Brothers. Koloff and Sting went on to face on another in a Russian Chain match at The Great American Bash on July 14 which was won by Koloff. The feud came to an abortive end in August 1991 when Koloff left WCW to focus on running his gym, "Nikita's Fortress of Fitness," in Concord, North Carolina.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff returned to WCW in February 1992, saving Sting from an attack by The Dangerous Alliance. He explained on WCW's syndicated shows that he had seen the error of attacking Sting. At WrestleWar on May 17, 1992, Koloff teamed with Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, and Dustin Rhodes to face The Dangerous Alliance in a WarGames match. Koloff went on to feud with Rick Rude over Rude's WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. In late-1992, he began feuding with Big Van Vader, with the two men facing one other at Halloween Havoc on October 25. During the bout, Koloff sustained a herniated disc in his neck after receiving a stiff clothesline to the head from Vader, leading him to retire from professional wrestling.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff became a born-again Christian in 1993. He now runs a ministry. He also runs his own small wrestling promotion, the Universal Wrestling Alliance UWA as an outreach of his ministry.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: He made a few appearances for NWA:TNA in 2003 as a masked man called "Mr. Wrestling IV" who attacked Dusty Rhodes. He finally unmasked but ended up helping Rhodes against the Sports Entertainment Xtreme stable.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: On July 15, 2006, Koloff received the Frank Gotch Award from the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa for contributing to the positive public image of wrestling.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff was originally billed as being a Russian. He was billed as the nephew of fellow faux-Russian Ivan Koloff, from whom he took his ring name. He was nicknamed "The Russian Nightmare", a play on Dusty Rhodes' nickname, "The American Dream". he was also known as "The Russian Road Warrior" due to his power and ferocity, which was compared to The Road Warriors. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Koloff was billed from Lithuania. To enhance the verisimilitude of his character, Koloff learned to speak Russian.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff had an "evil" appearance with a black singlet, shaved head, and goatee. His character has been described as "wrestling's equivalent of the Drago character in "Rocky IV"...big, strong, scary and Russian. His finishing move was the "Russian Sickle", a clothesline.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Koloff has written three books. He has acted in a small number of films and television episodes, as well as appearing on an episode of "America's Funniest People" in which his daughter won the $10,000 grand prize. His character appeared in the 2004 videogame "".


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Nikita married his first wife, Mandy Smithson, on September 20, 1988, who died from Hodgkin's disease on June 14, 1989. At her funeral he met Mandy’s longtime friend and his future wife, Victoria. They married on August 17, 1990. The couple had two daughters together, Kendra, who was born in June 1992, and Kolby, who was born in May 1996, while Victoria had two daughters (Teryn and Tawni) from her previous relationship. Nikita and Victoria were divorced on April 23, 2007.


title: Nikita Koloff

text: Nikita is a member of a religious group called Fellowship of the Sword and serves as an East Coast representative.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Luise Rainer ( , ; 12 January 1910 – 30 December 2014) was a German-American-British film actress. She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her 105th birthday, she was the longest-lived Oscar recipient, a superlative that has not been exceeded as of .


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer started her acting career in Germany at age 16, under the tutelage of Austria's leading stage director, Max Reinhardt. Within a few years, she had become a distinguished Berlin stage actress with Reinhardt's Vienna theater ensemble. Critics highly praised the quality of her acting. After years of acting on stage and in films in Austria and Germany, she was discovered by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer talent scouts, who signed her to a three-year contract in Hollywood in 1935. A number of filmmakers predicted she might become another Greta Garbo, MGM's leading female star at the time.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Her first American film role was in "Escapade" in 1935. The following year she was given a supporting part in the musical biography "The Great Ziegfeld", where, despite limited appearances, her emotion-filled performance so impressed audiences that she was awarded the Oscar for Best Actress. She was later dubbed the "Viennese teardrop" for her dramatic telephone scene in the film. For her next role, producer Irving Thalberg was convinced, despite the studio's disagreement, that she would also be able to play the part of a poor, plain Chinese farm wife in "The Good Earth" (1937), based on Pearl Buck's novel about hardship in China. The subdued character role was such a dramatic contrast to her previous vivacious character that she again won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Rainer and Jodie Foster are the only actresses ever to win two Oscars before the age of 30.


title: Luise Rainer

text: However, she later stated nothing worse could have happened to her than winning two consecutive Oscars, as audience expectations from then on would be too high to fulfill. After a string of insignificant roles, MGM and Rainer became disappointed, leading her to end her brief three-year film career, soon returning to Europe. Adding to her rapid decline, some feel, was the poor career advice she received from her then-husband, playwright Clifford Odets, along with the unexpected death at age 37 of her producer, Irving Thalberg, whom she greatly admired. Some film historians consider her the "most extreme case of an Oscar victim in Hollywood mythology".


title: Luise Rainer

text: The daughter of Heinrich and Emilie (née Königsberger) Rainer, known familiarly as "Heinz" and "Emmy", Rainer was born on 12 January 1910 in Düsseldorf, Germany and raised in Hamburg and later in Vienna, Austria. Some sources list her birthplace as Vienna. Describing her childhood, she stated, "I was born into a world of destruction. The Vienna of my childhood was one of starvation, poverty and revolution." Her father was a businessman who settled in Europe after spending most of his childhood in Texas, where he was sent at the age of six as an orphan. (Rainer had stated that because of her father, she is an American citizen "by birth".) Rainer's family was upper-class and Jewish.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer had two brothers and was a premature baby, born two months early. She describes her father as being "possessive" and "tempestuous", but whose affections and concern were centered on her. Luise seemed to him as "eternally absent-minded" and "very different". She remembers his "tyrannical possessiveness", and was saddened to see her mother, "a beautiful pianist, and a woman of warmth and intelligence and deeply in love with her husband, suffering similarly". Although generally shy at home, she was immensely athletic in school, becoming a champion runner and a fearless mountain climber. Rainer said she became an actress to help expend her physical and overly emotional energy. It was her father's wish, however, that she attend a good finishing school and "marry the right man." Rainer's rebellious nature made her appear to be more of a "tomboy" and happy to be alone. She also feared she might develop what she saw as her mother's "inferiority complex".


title: Luise Rainer

text: She was only six when she decided to become part of the entertainment world, and recalled being inspired by watching a circus act:


title: Luise Rainer

text: I thought that a man on the wire was marvelous, in his spangles and tights. I wanted to run away and marry him but I never had an opportunity. I am sure, though, that the experience first disclosed to me the entertainment world. For years I longed to be able to walk on a tight wire, too.


title: Luise Rainer

text: At age 16, Rainer chose to follow her dream to become an actress; under the pretext of visiting her mother, she traveled to Düsseldorf for a prearranged audition at the Dumont Theater.


title: Luise Rainer

text: In the 1920s the theatre director Louise Dumont separated from her husband. Dumont was attached to a number of young actresses including Fita Benkhoff, Hanni Hoessrich and Rainer. It has been presumed that Dumont was bisexual.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer later began studying acting with Max Reinhardt, and, by the time she was 18, there was already an "army of critics" who felt that she had unusual talent for a young actress. She soon became a distinguished Berlin stage actress as a member of Reinhardt's Vienna theater ensemble. Her first stage appearance was at the Dumont Theater in 1928, followed by other appearances, including Jacques Deval's play "Mademoiselle", Kingsley's "Men in White", George Bernard Shaw's "Saint Joan", "Measure for Measure", and Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author".


title: Luise Rainer

text: In 1934, after appearing in several German language films, she was seen performing in the play "Six Characters in Search of an Author" by MGM talent scout Phil Berg, who offered her a three-year contract in Hollywood. He thought she would appeal to the same audience as Swedish MGM star Greta Garbo. Initially, Rainer had no interest in films, saying in a 1935 interview: "I never wanted to film. I was only for the theater. Then I saw "A Farewell to Arms" and right away I wanted to film. It was so beautiful."


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer moved to Hollywood in 1935 as a hopeful new star. Biographer Charles Higham notes that MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer and story editor Samuel Marx had seen footage of Rainer before she came to Hollywood, and both felt she had the looks, charm, and especially a "certain tender vulnerability" that Mayer admired in female stars. Because of her poor command of English, Mayer assigned actress Constance Collier to train her in correct speech and dramatic modulation, and Rainer's English improved rapidly.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Her first film role in Hollywood was in "Escapade" (1935), a remake of one of her Austrian films, co-starring William Powell. She received the part after Myrna Loy gave up her role halfway through filming. After seeing the preview, Rainer ran out of the cinema displeased with how she appeared: "On the screen, I looked so big and full of face, it was awful." The film generated immense publicity for Rainer, who was hailed as "Hollywood's next sensation." However, she did not like giving interviews, explaining:


title: Luise Rainer

text: Stars are not important, only what they do as a part of their work is important. Artists need quiet in which to grow. It seems Hollywood does not like to give them this quiet. Stardom is bad because Hollywood makes too much of it, there is too much 'bowing down' before stars. Stardom is weight pressing down over the head — and one must grow upward or not at all.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer's next performance was as the real-life character Anna Held in the musical biography "The Great Ziegfeld", again co-starring William Powell. Powell, impressed by Rainer's acting skill, had given her equal billing in "Escapade".


title: Luise Rainer

text: According to Higham, Irving Thalberg felt that only Rainer, of all the studio's stars, could play the part as he saw it. But Rainer recalled that studio head Mayer did not want her playing the part, seeing it as too small: "You are a star now and can't do it," he insisted. Shortly after shooting began in late 1935, doubts of Rainer's ability to pull off the role emerged in the press. She was criticized for not resembling the Polish-born stage performer. The director admitted that the main reason Rainer was cast was her eyes, claiming that they "are just as large, just as lustrous, and contain the same tantalizing quality of pseudo naughtiness" the part required.


title: Luise Rainer

text: As Thalberg expected, she successfully expressed the "coquettishness, wide-eyed charm, and vulnerability" required. Rainer "so impressed audiences with one highly emotional scene," wrote biographer Charles Affron, that she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. In one scene, for example, her character is speaking to her ex-husband Florenz Ziegfeld over the telephone, attempting to congratulate him on his new marriage: "The camera records her agitation; Ziegfeld hears a voice that hovers between false gaiety and despair; when she hangs up she dissolves into tears."


title: Luise Rainer

text: She is one of the most natural persons I have ever known. Moreover, she is generous, patient and possesses a magnificent sense of humor. She is an extremely sensitive organism and has a great comprehension of human nature. She has judgment and an abiding understanding which make it possible for her to portray human emotion poignantly and truly. Definitely a creative artist, she comprehends life and its significance. Everything she does has been subjected to painstaking analysis. She thinks over every shade of emotion to make it ring true. In Europe she is a great stage star. She deserves to be a star. Unmistakably she has all the qualities.


title: Luise Rainer

text: On the evening of the Academy Award ceremonies, Rainer remained at home, not expecting to win. When Mayer learned she had won, he sent MGM publicity head Howard Strickling racing to her home to get her. When she finally arrived, master of ceremonies George Jessel, during the commotion, made the mistake of introducing Rainer, which Bette Davis had been scheduled to do. She was also awarded the New York Film Critics' Award for the role.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer's next film was "The Good Earth" (1937), in which she co-starred with Paul Muni; she had been picked as the most likely choice for the female lead in September 1935. The role, however, was completely the opposite of her Anna Held character, as she was required to portray a humble Chinese peasant subservient to her husband and speaking little during the entire film. Her comparative muteness, stated historian Andrew Sarris, was "an astounding tour de force after her hysterically chattering telephone scene in "The Great Ziegfeld"", and contributed to her winning her second Best Actress Oscar.


title: Luise Rainer

text: The award made her the first actress to win two consecutive Oscars, a feat not matched until Katharine Hepburn's two wins thirty years later. In later years, however, Rainer felt that winning the two Oscars so early may have been the "worst possible thing" to befall her career. She said that it made her "work all the harder now to prove the Academy was right."


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer later recalled early conflicts even before production. Studio head Louis B. Mayer, for example, did not approve of the film being produced or her part in it, wanting her to remain a glamorous film star: "He was horrified at Irving Thalberg's insistence for me to play O-lan, the poor uncomely little Chinese peasant," she said. "I myself, with the meager dialogue given to me, feared to be a hilarious bore." Rainer remembered hearing Mayer's comments to Thalberg, her producer: "She has to be a dismal-looking slave and grow old; but Luise is a young girl; we just have made her glamorous — what are you doing?" She considered the part as one of the "greatest achievements" in her career, stating that she was allowed to express "realism," even refusing to "wear the rubber mask 'Chinese look,'" suggested by the makeup department. She was allowed to act "genuine, honest, and down-to-earth," she said.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Other serious problems took place during production. Director George W. Hill, who had spent several months in China filming backgrounds and atmospheric scenes, committed suicide soon after returning to Hollywood. The filming was postponed until Sidney Franklin could take over. A few months later, before the film was completed, Irving Thalberg died suddenly at the age of 37. Rainer commented years later, "His dying was a terrible shock to us. He was young and ever so able. Had it not been that he died, I think I may have stayed much longer in films." The film's opening screen credit includes a dedication to Thalberg: "To the Memory of Irving Grant Thalberg – his last greatest achievement – we dedicate this picture."


title: Luise Rainer

text: In late 1936, MGM conceived a script called "Maiden Voyage" especially for Rainer. The project was shelved and eventually released as "Bridal Suite" in 1939, starring Annabella as 'Luise'. Another 1936 unrealized film project that involved Rainer was "Adventure for Three", which would have co-starred William Powell. In 1938, she played Johann Strauss's long-suffering wife Poldi in the successful Oscar-winning MGM musical biopic "The Great Waltz", her last big hit.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Her four other films for MGM, "The Emperor's Candlesticks" (1937), "Big City" (1937) with Spencer Tracy, "The Toy Wife" (1938) and "Dramatic School" (1938), were ill-advised and not well received, though Rainer continued to receive praise. "The Emperor's Candlesticks", in which Rainer was cast in November 1936, reunited Rainer with Powell for the final time. For the film, she wore a red wig and wore costumes designed by Adrian, who claimed that Rainer, by the end of 1937, would become one of Hollywood's most influential people in fashion. On set, she received star treatment, having her own dressing room, diction teacher, secretary, wardrobe woman, hairdresser, and makeup artist. "The Emperor's Candlesticks" was Rainer's first film for which she received criticism, it being claimed that she did not improve in her acting technique.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Even though reviews of Rainer's performance in "Big City" were favorable, reviewers agreed that she was miscast in a 'modern role' and looked "too exotic" as Tracy's wife. Despite the criticism and announcements of leaving Hollywood, Rainer renewed her contract for seven years shortly after the film's release.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Most critics agreed Rainer was "at her most appealing" in "The Toy Wife". The final MGM film Rainer made was "Dramatic School". At the time she was cast in the film, her box office popularity had declined considerably, and she was one of the many well-known stars—along with MGM colleagues Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, and Norma Shearer, and Katharine Hepburn, Mae West, Fred Astaire, Kay Francis and others—dubbed "Box Office Poison" by the Independent Theatre Owners of America.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer refused to be stereotyped or to knuckle under to the studio system, and studio head Mayer was unsympathetic to her demands for serious roles. Furthermore, she began to fight for a higher salary, and was reported as being difficult and temperamental. As a result, she missed out on several roles, including the female lead in the Edward G. Robinson gangster film "The Last Gangster" (1937), losing out to another Viennese actress, Rose Stradner. Speaking of Mayer decades later, Rainer recalled, "He said, 'We made you and we are going to destroy you.' Well, he tried his best."


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer made her final film appearance for MGM in 1938 and abandoned the film industry. In a 1983 interview, the actress told how she went to Louis B. Mayer's office and said to him: "Mr Mayer, I must stop making films. My source has dried up. I work from the inside out, and there is nothing inside to give." Following this altercation, she traveled to Europe, where she helped get aid to children who were victims of the Spanish Civil War. Nevertheless, she was not released from her contract and, by 1940, she was still bound to make one more film for the studio.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Disenchanted with Hollywood, where she later said it was impossible to have an intellectual conversation, she moved to New York City in 1940 to live with playwright Clifford Odets, whom she had married in 1937. Rainer had never made it a secret that she felt terrible as Odets' wife, and exclaimed in a 1938 interview: "All the acting I've done on the stage or screen has been nothing compared to the acting I did in New York, when I tried to make everyone think I was happy – and my heart was breaking." She filed for divorce in mid-1938, but proceedings were delayed "to next October" when Odets went to England. The divorce was final on 14 May 1940. Rainer and Odets summered at Pine Brook Country Club in Nichols, Connecticut, where numerous other members of the Group Theatre (New York) also spent the summer of 1936, both acting and writing.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Despite the negativity, Rainer was one of the actresses considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind" (1939), but the idea was not well-received, and she was not given a screen test. She also was unable to persuade MGM bosses to cast her in "Johnny Belinda", based on a 1940 play about a deaf-mute rape victim.


title: Luise Rainer

text: I was very young. There were a lot of things I was unprepared for. I was too honest, I talked serious instead of with my eyelashes and Hollywood thought I was cuckoo. I worked in seven big pictures in three years. I have to be inspired to give a good performance. I complained to a studio executive that the source was dried up. The executive told me, 'Why worry about the source. Let the director worry about that.' I didn't run away from anybody in Hollywood. I ran away from myself.


title: Luise Rainer

text: While in Europe, Rainer studied medicine and explained she loved being accepted as "just another student", rather than as a screen actress. She returned to the stage and made her first appearance at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, on 1 May 1939 as Françoise in Jacques Deval's play "Behold the Bride"; she played the same part in her London debut at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 23 May. Returning to America, she played the lead in George Bernard Shaw's "Saint Joan" on 10 March 1940 at the Belasco Theatre in Washington, D.C. under the direction of German emigrant director Erwin Piscator. She made her first appearance on the New York stage at the Music Box Theatre in May 1942 as Miss Thing in J. M. Barrie's "A Kiss for Cinderella".


title: Luise Rainer

text: She made an appearance in "Hostages" in 1943 and abandoned film making in 1944 after marrying publisher Robert Knittel. She initially did not plan on returning to the screen, but explained her comeback in 1943 by saying:


title: Luise Rainer

text: All the professor and the other students cared about was whether I could answer the questions, not whether I could come to class looking glamorous. But after that brief return to the stage, I began to realize that all the doors which had been opened to me in Europe, and all the work I had been able to accomplish for refugee children, was due to the fact that people knew me from my screen work. I began to feel a sense of responsibility to a job which I had started and never finished. When I also felt, after that experience at Dennis, that perhaps I did have talent after all, and that my too-sudden stardom was not just a matter of happy accident, I decided to go back.


title: Luise Rainer

text: When Rainer returned to Hollywood, her contract at MGM had long expired and she had no agent. David Rose, head of Paramount Pictures, offered her a starring role in an English film shot on location, but war conditions prevented her from accepting the role. Instead, Rose suggested in 1942 that she make a screen test for the lead role in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1943), but Ingrid Bergman was cast. Rainer eventually settled on a role in "Hostages" (1943) and told the press about the role: "It's certainly not an Academy Award part, and thank goodness, my bosses don't expect me to win an award with it. ... No, this is something unspectacular but I hope, a step back in the right direction."


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer took her oath of allegiance to the United States in the 1940s, but she and Knittel lived in the UK and Switzerland for most of their marriage. Robert Knittel died in 1989. The couple had one daughter, Francesca Knittel, now known as Francesca Knittel-Bowyer. Rainer had two granddaughters, Luisa and Nicole, and two great-grandchildren, Luca and Hunter.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Federico Fellini enticed her to play the cameo role of Dolores in his 1960 Oscar-winning classic "La Dolce Vita", to the point of her travelling to the Rome location, but she quit the production prior to shooting, a fact that has been attributed either to her resistance to an unwanted sex scene or to her insistence on overseeing her own dialogue. The role was later cut from the eventual screenplay. She made sporadic television and stage appearances following her and her husband's move to Britain, appearing in an episode of the World War II television series "Combat!" in 1965. She took a dual role in a 1984 episode of "The Love Boat". For the latter, she received a standing ovation from the crew. She appeared in "The Gambler" (1997) in a small role, marking her film comeback at the age of 86. She made appearances at the 1998 and 2003 Academy Awards ceremonies as part of special retrospective tributes to past Oscar winners.


title: Luise Rainer

text: On 12 January 2010, Rainer celebrated her centenary in London. Actor Sir Ian McKellen was one of her guests. During that month, she was present at the British Film Institute tribute to her at the National Film Theatre, where she was interviewed by Richard Stirling before screenings of "The Good Earth" and "The Great Waltz". She also appeared onstage at the National Theatre, where she was interviewed by Sir Christopher Frayling. In April 2010, she returned to Hollywood to present a TCM festival screening of "The Good Earth", accompanied by an interview with host Robert Osborne.


title: Luise Rainer

text: On 5 September 2011, then 101-year-old Rainer travelled to Berlin to receive a star on the Boulevard der Stars. Her star was among the 21 stars issued in 2011 and followed the 20 that were issued in 2010. The star was issued as an exception and was not without controversy. Rainer had been forgotten when the Boulevard der Stars opened in 2010, despite being Germany's only Academy Award-winning actress. In 2011, she was initially rejected by the jury (Senta Berger, Gero Gandert, Uwe Kammann, Dieter Kosslick and Hans Helmut Prinzler) despite being nominated. A prolonged campaign started in October 2010, led by music executive Paul Baylay, who had noticed Rainer's omission on the Boulevard. Baylay campaigned in Germany, lobbying press and politicians to support the campaign to have the actress and her work recognised. The campaign was supported by the Central Council of Jews. In August 2011, the Boulevard der Stars finally relented, acknowledging the Facebook, email and letter campaign led by Baylay had been key in their decision to awarding an extra star to Rainer.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer died at her London home on 30 December 2014 at the age of 104 from pneumonia. She was 13 days shy of her 105th birthday.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer spent her final years living in a flat formerly occupied by actress Vivien Leigh at 54 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London. Her memorabilia were auctioned in 2015. The auction netted US$489,069 for her heirs.


title: Luise Rainer

text: Rainer is best known for winning back-to-back Academy Awards, although she received criticism for being "an excessive actress, larger than life, probably more suited to the Viennese and German stage of her youth than anywhere else.".


title: New People (political party)

text: New People () is a political party in Russia formed in Moscow on 1 March 2020. New People is considered a liberal party, and observers have called it centrist or centre-right.


title: New People (political party)

text: It was established in March 2020 by Alexey Nechayev, the founder of the Russian cosmetics company Faberlic. Nechayev was elected as party chairman during the second party congress, held on August 8, 2020. Alexander Davankov is the head of the party executive committee.


title: New People (political party)

text: In 2020, the party entered four regional parliaments on party lists, earning the right to participate in the 2021 elections to the State Duma without collecting voters' signatures.


title: New People (political party)

text: The party opposed many policies of the ruling United Russia, although is supportive towards Vladimir Putin specifically and has been accused of being a spoiler party to attract young and liberal voters.


title: New People (political party)

text: On 1 March 2020, the constituent congress of New People was held. 55 party regional branches were created. Official party registration was received from the Russian Ministry of Justice at the end of March.


title: New People (political party)

text: In April 2020, the party sent an appeal to the State Duma and the Federation Council and called on them to adopt additional laws eliminating contradictions in respect of the absence of an official emergency regime in the country.


title: New People (political party)

text: As of 1 July 2020, New People had 55 registered regional branches, which began preparing to take part in the regional elections of September 2020 in 12 regions of the country. Also, the party declared its readiness and intent to take part in the elections to the State Duma in 2021.


title: New People (political party)

text: On 8 August 2020, the second congress of the party was held in Moscow at which its founder Alexey Nechayev was elected chairman of the party.


title: New People (political party)

text: At the end of 2020, the party announced that its election campaign for the State Duma of the VIII convocation would be led by the well-known political strategist Yevgeny Minchenko.


title: New People (political party)

text: On 4 July 2021, a party congress was held at which the party's list and candidates for participation in the 2021 legislative election were nominated. Party leader Alexey Nechaev headed the federal list of the party. The second number in the federal list was the former Mayor of Yakutsk Sardana Avksentyeva.


title: New People (political party)

text: According to the election results, the party gained 5.3% of the vote, winning 13 seats in the State Duma. New People became the first party not from the "big four" (United Russia, Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and A Just Russia — For Truth) since 2007 to overcome the 5% barrier and form its own faction. In addition to the 13 deputies elected on the party list of the party, the New People faction also included two independent deputies elected in single-mandate constituencies: Dmitry Pevtsov and Oleg Leonov.


title: New People (political party)

text: On 15 February 2022, New People's Duma faction voted against the recognition of the separatist regions of Ukraine as independent states. In a statement the party warned against jeopardizing peace and human lives in an escalating Ukraine conflict and accused the political leadership of distracting from internal affairs by seeking conflict with other nations. However, the party later withdrew its statement and proclaimed its support for the invasion.


title: New People (political party)

text: According to electronic media, the party's goal is to "reorient the state" from caring for officials to serving citizens.


title: New People (political party)

text: The party has a centre-right ideology and considers self-employed people, as well as representatives of small business, its social base. It combines support for the values of popular capitalism such as private property, a competitive economy, a decrease in the state's share in governing the country, with a social agenda, the rights of people with disabilities and an accessible barrier-free environment, as well as environmental issues, animal protection, garbage collection problems.


title: New People (political party)

text: An important part of the party's position is the renewal and modernization of management systems and political institutions. Support for the development of modern technologies, science and education is declared.


title: New People (political party)

text: The party attracts social entrepreneurs and activists from the regions as candidates, focusing on the regional agenda.


title: New People (political party)

text: On 1 June 2020, the Ministry of Justice added the party to the list of associations eligible to participate in elections.


title: New People (political party)

text: Election commissions did not allow party lists to participate in the elections in the Belgorod and Voronezh Oblasts, as well as to the elections to the city duma of Rostov-on-Don, by rejecting voters signatures.


title: New People (political party)

text: On the Single Election Day, 13 September 2020, the party overcame the electoral barrier in all four regions where it participated, namely in Novosibirsk (7.0%), Kaluga (8.08%), Ryazan (5.7%) and Kostroma (7.5%). The party also took part in the elections to the Tomsk City Duma having received 10,945 votes.


title: New People (political party)

text: In the elections to the city duma of Krasnodar, the election commission announced the party's result in 4.97% of votes. Party candidates also took part in municipal elections in Samara and Nizhny Novgorod.


title: New People (political party)

text: The party ranked second in terms of financial expenditures in the elections in the third quarter of 2020, spending 179 million rubles, after United Russia with 261 million rubles.


title: New People (political party)

text: The party, like other new parties that appeared at the beginning of 2020, is accused of spoiling, justifying this opinion by the fact of rapid registration and the absence of obstacles from the authorities. In addition, the leader of the "New People" Alexey Nechayev is a member of the Central Council of the All-Russia People's Front, headed by Vladimir Putin. The party is also accused of having ties with the current government. So, in December 2020, the party's campaign was headed by Yevgeny Minchenko, a political strategist close to the presidential administration. According to Open Media sources in the party leadership, Nechayev's entourage and the presidential administration, the new composition of the election headquarters should adjust the party's strategy so that the constitutional majority in the State Duma remains with United Russia, and the "New People" return to their electoral niche — the educated middle class of 18-30 years.


title: New People (political party)

text: Pavel Salin, director of the Center for Political Science Studies at the Financial University under the Government, called the party a "spoiler of street protest activity".


title: New People (political party)

text: According to the results of the MBH Media investigation, the popularity of the party was ensured not so much by the creativity of its members or the "marathon of ideas" as by the promotion strategy in the regions. MBH Media came to this conclusion during the study of the party's partnership relations with regional media. Several media managers in different publications of the Central Federal District and the Southern Federal District confirmed to MBH Media the facts of cooperation with the party without registration of the relevant documents and compliance with the law on advertising. The publications publish the materials necessary for "New People", covering its activities in a positive light, for money, without making a mandatory mark about it in publications, as required by Russian legislation.


title: New People (political party)

text: In the legislative assembly of the Omsk Oblast, the New People party opposed the inclusion in the agenda of the next session of the issue of the return of direct elections of mayors and heads of districts, although such an item was in their election program. At the same time, before the elections to the State Duma of the VIII convocation, the party in its program spoke about the need to return direct elections, this was stated at the federal level by the leader of the "New People" Alexey Nechayev. As Ilya Smirnov, the leader of the New People faction in the Legislative Assembly of the Omsk Oblast, later explained, the faction opposed the inclusion of the Communist Party bill in the agenda, because in the explanatory note to the bill it was stated that the bill would not require additional budget expenditures, while the mayoral elections cost money.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Chromatics were an American electronic music band from Portland, Oregon, who formed in 2001. The band's final line-up consisted of Ruth Radelet (vocals, guitar, synthesizer), Adam Miller (guitar, vocoder), Nat Walker (drums, synthesizer), and Johnny Jewel (producer, multi-instrumentalist). The band originally featured a trademark sound indebted to punk and lo-fi that was described as "noisy" and "chaotic". After numerous lineup changes, which left guitarist Adam Miller as the sole original member, the band began releasing material on the Italians Do It Better record label in 2007, with their style streamlined into an Italo disco-influenced sound.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Their third album "Night Drive" (2007) was met with critical acclaim, as was their fourth album, "Kill for Love", which was released on March 26, 2012. Several of the band's songs have been featured in television series such as "Bates Motel", "Gossip Girl", "Mr. Robot", "The Mindy Project", "Parenthood", "Revenge", "Riverdale", "13 Reasons Why", "The 100", "Baby" and "Twin Peaks", as well as being featured in the films "Drive" (2011), "Taken 2" (2012), "Only You" (2018), and "The Perfection" (2019). In December 2014, the band announced what would have been their fifth studio album, titled "Dear Tommy." While Chromatics have released a number of singles from it, "Dear Tommy" had yet to be released when they instead issued the album "Closer to Grey" in October 2019. The band announced its break-up in August 2021.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Chromatics' first 7-inch, "Beach of Infants/Steps", was a solo project of Adam Miller. It was released by Hand Held Heart. Miller has been Chromatics' sole consistent member. "Beach of Infants/Steps" was recorded in Seattle, Washington, on a Tascam 4-track. By the time the 7-inch was released, Chromatics had scaled up to a four-piece.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Miller also played in The Vogue, a group that garnered media attention around Seattle. The Vogue were barely out of high school and created art punk that drew comparisons to The Fall. This band featured Johnny Whitney of The Blood Brothers on vocals and Hannah Blilie who went on to play drums in The Gossip. After The Vogue's keyboardist departed, the remaining members formed Soiled Doves, and released one 7-inch and one album. Although Chromatics began as a solo project for Adam Miller, he quickly added most of The Soiled Doves' lineup. Adam Miller became the vocalist. Devin Welch played guitar. Michelle Nolan, a new addition, played bass guitar Blilie played drums. After releasing their debut album "Chrome Rats vs. Basement Rutz" in 2003 on Gold Standard Laboratories, all members except Miller left to form Shoplifting.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Miller and a revamped lineup released the band's second studio album, "Plaster Hounds", in 2004 on Gold Standard Laboratories. This lineup featured Adam Miller performing double duty on guitar and vocals, with Nat Sahlstrom on bass and the Get Hustle's Ron Avila on percussion. The lineup changed once again, as Miller played many of the same songs from the "Plaster Hounds" era with Lena Okazaki replacing Sahlstrom on bass and a drum machine replacing the free jazz-influenced percussive style of Avila. This lineup of Miller and Okazaki released a few CD-Rs, still in the lo-fi art punk style that had been established, but the addition of the drum machine hinted at the major stylistic shift to come.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: While Miller's CD-Rs with Okazaki hinted at an electronic direction, Okazaki left the band and Chromatics went through their largest reinvention around 2005, becoming the quartet of Miller, Ruth Radelet, Johnny Jewel, and Nat Walker. This resulted in a gradual but dramatic shift in the band's sound and live performance. Chromatics have often toured the world with labelmates Glass Candy, since Jewel plays in both bands, as well as Desire, a side project of Jewel and Walker. Walker and Jewel also have an instrumental project called Symmetry.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Chromatics' third studio album, "Night Drive", released in 2007 on Italians Do It Better, was the band's most acclaimed release. On "Night Drive", the group ditched their "hairy noise-rock troupe" aesthetic in favor of a "neatly groomed pop-dance quartet". In their review of the album, "Pitchfork" noted that "the transformation of Chromatics has been so effortless that it's still easy to be wowed by the results", adding that "listeners who are only familiar with the band's forays into shambling punk will certainly be surprised by "Night Drive"s assured songwriting".


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Various songs from "Night Drive" have been licensed for usage in multiple Hollywood films, television shows, international television and internet advertisements, and runway shows.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Other releases have included the "Nite" and "In Shining Violence" EPs. In 2007, Chromatics' non-album tracks "In the City" and "Hands in the Dark", as well as a demo of "Night Drive"s "The Killing Spree", were featured on the Italians Do It Better compilation album "After Dark".


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Chromatics gained recognition for their song "Tick of the Clock" which was used in the film "Drive", released in September 2011 by director Nicolas Winding Refn, and its soundtrack, and again in the film "Taken 2", released in October 2012 by director Olivier Megaton, and its soundtrack. On December 23, 2011, Jewel and Walker—under the name Symmetry—released "Themes for an Imaginary Film", which was described by Pitchfork as Jewel's "most ambitious project to date: a sprawling, 37-track, two-hour collection of cinematic noir-electro", featuring contributions from Chromatics and fellow Italians Do It Better acts Glass Candy, Desire and Mirage.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: On October 23, 2011, Chromatics released the title track from their then-upcoming fourth studio album, "Kill for Love". Reviews described the single as a "really hypnotizing, fascinating song that will definitely get you psyched for the record—Ruth Radalet warmly croons her sweet, cryptic confessional lyrics while her band effortlessly weaves a bubbling, dreamy, New Order-esque soundscape."


title: Chromatics (band)

text: "The Fader" mentioned, "Maybe "Kill for Love" will inaugurate a sea change where artists come to terms with themselves and start being open about how they sound when they sing. In basement studios everywhere, young vocalists will blink three times and start x-ing out effects in Ableton, look at the mirror for the first time in weeks, deep into their beady, sun-deprived eyes and whisper, "God, there are no shortcuts... "Kill for Love" continues the band's penchant for popular-sound defiance that made Chromatics so exciting in the first place."


title: Chromatics (band)

text: After waiting patiently, Chromatics have begun to reach fans "five years after the release of their incredibly prescient "Night Drive" album." "Kill for Love" was featured in the television shows "Bates Motel" and "Gossip Girl". On February 11, 2012, the band leaked a second track from "Kill for Love", "Into the Black", a cover of the Neil Young song "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)", which was featured in the television shows "Mr. Robot", "Revenge", "Riverdale", "13 Reasons Why", and "The 100". Chromatics followed their second leak with three additional tracks, "Lady", "Candy" and on March 11, 2012 their fifth leak "Back from the Grave".


title: Chromatics (band)

text: As fans anticipated the album, Jewel mentioned that the process of creating "Kill for Love" resulted in a total of 36 tracks that have been narrowed down to 17 for the album.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Chromatics' fourth studio album, "Kill for Love", was released on March 26, 2012. The album has been described as sounding like a "time warp ... a warm collision of past, present, and future." On May 7, 2012, the group released an alternative version of "Kill for Love" for free download, featuring eleven songs from the original album with no drums or percussion. Songs from the album have been featured in television shows such as "Bates Motel", "Gossip Girl", "Mr. Robot", "Parenthood", "Revenge", "Riverdale", and "13 Reasons Why". "Kill for Love" was named the eighth best album of 2012 by Pitchfork.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Chromatics were invited by Karl Lagerfeld to play the Chanel Spring Summer 2013 fashion show in Paris in early October. The band was put above the runway, overlooking the whole catwalk and creating a dreamy ambience. Chromatics performed about five new and old songs.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: On December 4, 2014, the band announced their fifth studio album, "Dear Tommy". The album was preceded by the singles "Just Like You", "I Can Never Be Myself When You're Around", and "In Films".


title: Chromatics (band)

text: On February 3, 2015, Chromatics released the three-track single "Yes (Love Theme from "Lost River")", which is included in both the trailer and soundtrack for Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, "Lost River", and featured in the television show "Riverdale". The soundtrack was released on March 30 by Italians Do It Better, while the film was released on April 10. The song "Shadow" was made available on September 9. On November 5, Chromatics released seven cover versions of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", one which was featured in an ad for Mango featuring Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne, and another that is featured in the trailer for the 2019 Netflix original series Baby. The band released a music video for the title track "Dear Tommy" on August 25, 2016.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: In May 2017, Chromatics' former manager revealed on Twitter that Jewel had destroyed all copies of the finished "Dear Tommy" following a near-death experience in late 2015, but had subsequently re-recorded the entire album. As of August 2019, the album has not been released.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: The band performed "Shadow" at the end of the two-hour-long season premiere of Showtime's "Twin Peaks" revival series, which aired on May 21, 2017.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: In 2019, the band released a cover of the song "Petals" by Hole, from their third studio album "Celebrity Skin", which was featured on the soundtrack for the horror film "The Perfection".


title: Chromatics (band)

text: On October 1, 2019, the Italians Do It Better website was updated to show a new Chromatics album, albeit with the album and track names obscured. Upon the album's release in New Zealand, the album title was revealed to be "Closer to Grey", and the album title and track names were officially announced worldwide. The album was released on October 2, 2019. The band stated through their Instagram account that "Closer to Grey" did not contain any material from "Dear Tommy", and that the latter album would still be released, with no release date announced.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: On January 24, 2020, Chromatics released a new single, "TOY." On March 6, they released another single, "Famous Monsters." On April 16 they released "Teacher" and a new tracklisting for Dear Tommy.


title: Chromatics (band)

text: On August 10, 2021, the band (with the notable exception of Jewel) announced their disbandment. However, a representative for Johnny Jewel and Italians Do It Better confirmed the band's breakup in a statement to "Pitchfork", writing, "Johnny is extremely proud of his work with the project over the years and he’ll continue making music and supporting great art and artists through his label Italians Do It Better."


title: Chromatics (band)

text: Chromatics have played at numerous music festivals around the world, such as the Paris Pitchfork Music Festival and Barcelona Primavera in 2012. In September 2013, the band opened for English band The xx at the Hollywood Bowl.


title: Herbert Jones (basketball)

text: Herbert Keyshawn Jones (born October 6, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He earned third-team All-American honors as a senior in 2021, when he was also named the SEC Player of the Year.


title: Herbert Jones (basketball)

text: Jones started playing varsity basketball as a seventh-grader for Sunshine High School in Newbern, Alabama, where his father served as the head coach. He played alongside his older brother, Walter Jr., and helped his team reach the Class 1A state finals in 2015, before the school closed. For his junior season, Jones transferred to Hale County High School in nearby Moundville, Alabama, following his father, who was an assistant coach. As a senior, he averaged 16.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and four assists, earning Class 4A Player of the Year honors. Jones led Hale County to the 4A state championship, its first-ever state title. He committed to playing college basketball for Alabama over offers from Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Florida.


title: Herbert Jones (basketball)

text: As a freshman at Alabama, Jones averaged 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He drew a single-season program record 23 charges. In his sophomore season, he averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. On January 29, 2020, during a game against LSU, Jones suffered a fractured left wrist and underwent surgery three days later. He returned to action on February 12 while wearing a cast on his wrist. In his next game, after three days, Jones recorded six points and 17 rebounds in an 88–82 win over LSU. Late in the game, he made two free throws using only his right hand, due to his injury. As a junior, Jones averaged 7.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and was a Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Defensive Team selection. He declared for the 2020 NBA draft before withdrawing and returning to college.


title: Herbert Jones (basketball)

text: At the close of the 2020–21 regular season, Jones was named the SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches. As a senior, he averaged 11.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. On April 8, 2021, Jones declared for the 2021 NBA draft, forgoing his extra year of college eligibility.


title: Herbert Jones (basketball)

text: Jones was selected in the second round of the 2021 NBA draft with the 35th pick by the New Orleans Pelicans. On December 28, 2021, Jones scored a career-high 26 points in a 108–104 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. On March 27, 2022, he had a career-high six steals in a 116–108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.


title: Herbert Jones (basketball)

text: Jones is the son of Walter Sr. and Verlander Jones. He was born with hemolytic anemia. His older brother, Walter Jr., played college basketball for Texas–Rio Grande Valley and Alabama A&M.