Way We Were”, “A Star is Born”, etc.
Taylor, Elizabeth (1932—) — an American film actress, born in Britain.
She began making films at the age of ten, but is perhaps at least as well
known for marriages, of which there have been eight (two of them to Richard
Burton).
Temple, Shirley (1928—) — a film actress who was the child star of over
20 films in the 1930s, and in later life, as Shirley Temple Black, became a
US ambassador. She was very popular when her films first appeared because
of her style of singing, dancing and acting and her curly golden hair.
Valentino, Rudolph (1895—I926) — an American film actor, born in Italy.
He was famous for playing the part of a lover in silent films, especially
in “The Sheikh”. He is sometimes mentioned as a typical example of a good-
looking romantic man. Valentino was a ballroom dancer and movie extra
before reaching stardom in “Four Horsemen in the Apocalypse” (1921).
Soon he became the American women’s idea of masculinity, and his
private life and loves were avidly reported in newspapers and magazines.
His physique, his good looks and his physical grace were well exhibited in
“The Sheikh” and “Monsieur Beaucaire”. Valentino’s most successful film is
“Blood and Sand”, for here he seems able to bring some of his own
personality to the portrayal of the matador, an opportunity his other, more
stereotyped roles had thwarted. His untimely death created a national furor
and reportedly drove some of his fans to suicide.
Wayne, John (1907-1979) - a film actor who often played "tough guys",
particularly soldiers and cowboys.
Early in his career Wayne appeared as Hollywood's first singing cowboy.
In 1939, in "Stagecoach", he achieved star status. In his 50-year career he
appeared in more than 200 motion pictures. Some of his outstanding films
are "Red River", "The Quiet Man", "The High and Mighty", "The Searchers",
"True Grit", for which he won an Academy Award (1969), and "Shootist".
The characters John Wayne played, especially in Westerns ("Stagecoach",
"True Grit"), were often honest, strong, independent and patriotic. Because
he played these characters, John Wayne was thought to have those qualities
himself and was an example of a good American. His old-fashioned patriotism
made him something of a folk hero. In 1979 he was voted a Congressional
gold medal; the inscription read, "John Wayne — American".
Williams, Robin (1952—) — an actor and comedian whose films include
“Good Morning, Vietnam”, “Dead Poets Society”, etc.
Marilyn Monroe.
I think that the greatest actress not only of the USA, but of the whole
world is Marilyn Monroe. So I ‘d like to tell some facts about her life.
Six queens come and go, easily crowned, easily forgotten. Yet Marilyn
Monroe’s memory has remained very much alive. Admirers still cut her
picture out of public library books, artists still paint her; even the
young have become familiar with her name and her face by watching her films
on television.
Death has changed the sexy blonde into a myth, a symbol of soft
femininity and loveliness. Nowadays she is sometimes mistaken for a saintly
martyr, which she certainly was not. But then, what was she? Those who knew
her disagree so violently that it is difficult to see the real woman
through the conflicting judgments of her friends. A simple little girl to
her first husband, producer Mike Todd, she was also been described as the
most unappreciated person in the world, the meanest woman in Hollywood, a
tart, an enchanting child, an idiot, a wit, a great natural intelligence, a
victim, and a clod ‘user’ of people From the very contradiction, one can
guess that she was not simple. And obviously she had something special- not
talent, perhaps, but a certain spark. It is well known that most of her
problems had their roots in an unhappy childhood.
Marilyn had come into the world in a Los Angel’s hospital as Norma Jean
Mortensen. Her mother, Gladys Monroe Mortensen, loved her child; but since
she had to work, she left her in the hands of Ida and Albert Bolender, a
respectable couple who boarded children on their farm. Norma Jean spent her
first seven years with them. Her physical needs were well looked after, and
Gladys visited faithfully every weekend. But when she had gone, there was
not much warmth around the little girl. For Norma Jean, who was extremely
sensitive, it was a lonely, distressing childhood. In 1933 Gladys bought a
house and took her daughter home with her. But she was not there much and
when she was out, Norma Jean had to stay with the elderly couple who rented
part of the house. They were not bad people, only indifferent and more
interested in drinking than in baby-sitting. When Norma Jean didn’t have to
go to school, the couple dropped her at a nearly movie house in time for
the first afternoon show. The little girl watched happily all day, and
after the last matinee she walked home by herself. In her room, later, she
would act out the whole story. In this way she developed a passion for
acting that she never outgrew. After nine months of live together, Gladys
had a mental collaps and was hospitalized. She appeared from time to time
in her daughter’s life, but more as a burden than as a support. Many people
took Norma Jean under their wings throughout the years. She looked so
insecure, so defenseless, that men and women alike felt compelled to
protect her.
However vague Norma Jean may have been about life in general, she
never felt vague about the career she wanted to have. She wanted to be an
actress. But the first three years of Marilyn’s career didn’t bring her
more than a few very small parts. She kept herself alive by modeling. In
1950 Marilyn attracted attention in a small part in ‘The Asphalt Jungle’,
which had been obtained for her by a powerful protector. Another protector,
and the most influential by far, was the agent Johnny Hyde. Hyde was a
powerful man in Hollywood when he met Marilyn. He was too wise to claim
that she had talent; instead he insisted that such personality didn’t need
to be talented. He succeeded in getting her a part in ‘All About Eve’, a
film that was to prove lucky for all its actors. The font mail started
piling up. The Hollywood columnists included the new blonde in their gossip
columns. Soon ‘Life and Look’ magazines were honoring her with long
articles, and one critic ventured to declare her ‘a forceful actress’. The
studio, after having her co-star in several pictures, finally gave her a
starring role in ‘Niagara’ in 1953. She had become the Fox’s biggest
moneymaker.
Whenever she appeared she was cornered by excited admirers and
photographers. But there was no private happiness behind the facade, and
even her fame was not of the kind she would have liked. She resented her
shallow roles; she resented the fact she had no voice in the choice of her
scripts and that her old contract was keeping salary ridiculously low for a
star. Hurt, she retaliated as best as she could. She arrived late on the
set, unprepared and obviously indifferent to the hardships. She was
imposing on the other actors and the technicians. Scenes had to be redone
forty or fifty times because she could not remember a four-word sentence.
If something displeased her, she locked herself in her dressing room, or
failed to show up at all for days. Her behavior disgusted the people who
worked with her, but her fans loved the radiant child-woman on the screen.
In 1961 after divorcing her next husband the famous American playwright
Arthur Miller, Marilyn drifted back to the West Coast to open a new page in
her life. On August 5, 1962 she was found dead in her house. She had made
many attempts at suicide before. But it does not seem that she intended to
hill herself that Saturday. When she retired for the night, she had plans
for the next day. But early in the morning her housekeeper found her dead.
The world was shocked. In the words of one of her biographers: ‘She
broke her heart trying to achieve something she didn’t have in her to
accomplish.’
Walt Disney
Walt Disney was an American artist and film producer, who was famous
for his animated cartoons. He was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, his
father being Irish Canadian, his mother of German-American origin. In his
early child hood he revealed a talent for drawing and an interest in
photography. His teens he began an art course, but World War I broke out
and he drove for the Red Cross in Europe. When he got back to America he
met artist Ub Iwerks, ‘and they went into business together.
In 1923 he left with his brother for Hollywood Walt Disney and Ub
Iwerks made a series of short cartoons but lost all their money, and for
some years struggled against poverty. Luckily, Walt’s brother Roy gave him
more to start up again. The first talking picture came out in 1927 and
Disney realized that sound held the key to the future of films. He
developed many techniques in producing cartoons.
His most famous characters are Mickey Mouse, Duck and Pluto. The first
Mickey Mouse cartoon was drawn 1928. It was the first sound cartoon, which
brought great success to its creator. In the early cartoons he was really
horrible. He looked quite rat-like with long pointed nose and small eyes.
Later his face changed. His head got as big as his body or almost, his
eyes got bigger, too. He got younger instead of older. That makes him
cuter. Now it is an acceptable symbol for the USA. Donald Duck was created
in 1936. Walt Disney took the biggest risk of his career and spent a
fortune on a full-length cartoon. Finally, the first full-length cartoon
feature film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was brought out in 1935,
which the public paid millions of dollars to see The songs to the cartoon
were written by Frank Churchill. After the Second World War Disney
turned his attention to real — life nature studies and non-cartoon films
with living actors.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, Walt Disney began developing the family-
entertainment parks, Disneyland and Disney World. The first Disneyland was
opened in southern California in 1955. It is situated 27 miles south of Los
Angeles, at Anaheim. Of all the show-places none is as famous as
Disneyland. This superb kingdom of fantasy linked to technology was created
by Walt Disney. The park is divided into six themes and there is so much to
see and do in each that no one would attempt to see all of them in one
visit. For extended visits, there are hotels nearby. In 1971 Disney World
was opened in Florida.
Walt Disney died in California at the age of 65. But his films are
still shown regularly at the cinema, because of their time1esS quality and
will be shown for years to come.Walter (Walt) Elias Disney has won more
“Oscars” — the awards of the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences, instituted on May 16, 1929 and named after Oscar Pierce of
Texas, USA — than any other person:20 statuettes and 12 other plagues and
certificates, including posthumous awards.
Titanic.
The shooting of ‘Titanic’ in 1997 brought people flocking to the
cinemas. It has become a blockbuster and brought big profits to the
producers. The reasons are:on the one hand, the thrilling plot of the film,
depicting the first of the greatest disasters of the 20th century, and, on
the other hand, new technologies of film making, used by James Cameron, the
producer. Everybody wanted to see if the film was really worth eleven
‘Oscar’ awards.
‘Titanic’ is the latest screen version of the tragedy happened on
April 14-15, 1912 during the maiden voyage of the British luxury passenger
liner. The vessel sank with a loss of about 1,500 lives:men, women,
children. Their voyage on board the dream ship ended in a nightmare. It
revealted all human vices: arrogance, self-satisfaction, greed, selfishness
and self-confidence. But at the same time this tragedy showed the best
traits of humancharacter: the sense of duty and responsibility, self-
sacrifice and short but immortial love. The love-story about Jack and Rose,
a young poor artist and a 17-year old girl from the upper society, arouses
uor sympathy and admiration. Paired with the main story-line, it adds much
to the impression of the film. ‘Titanic’ made the leading actors Leonardo
Di Caprio and Kate Winslent international celebrities. The music of James
Horner created a special atmosphere in the film and has become popular with
the public.
The film is interesting not only from the artistic point of view, but
from the technical ones as well. Both the ship and the ocean are virtual,
created by computers. Besides, we can see unique pictures of ‘The Titanic’
buried in the depth of the ocean. Its wreck was found lying in two pieces
on the ocean floor at the depth of about 4,000 ..metres. The pictures were
taken with the help of the Russian ocean-explores and shown to the whole
world.
By the way, the film was directed by James Cameron, famous for creating
very expensive films with new special effects, which were the biggest box-
office success. ‘Titanic’ is not an exception. Critics say the film has
opened a new era in film production. I think they are right.
Literature.
1. In The USA. Martha Bordman
2. Introducing The USA. Milode Broukol, Peter Murphy.
3. Children’s Britannica. Volume 7.
4. Английский яык. Н.Г. Брюсов, Н. А. Лебедеваю
5. США и Американцы. Г. В. Нестерчук, В. М. Иванова.
6. Иностранные языки в школе №3.
7. Иностранные языки в школе №6.
8. Английский язык. Устные темы. А. С. Сушкевич, М. А. Маглыш.
Vocabularly.
Mothion picture industry - киноиндустрия
Release - выход на экран
Nervous breakdown - нервное расстройство
Mercilessly - безжалостно
To keep one’s grip - продолжать овладевать умами
To hit the nail on the head - попасть прямо в точку
Skit - пародия
Antics - ужимки, шутки
Unheard-of - неслыханный
Reentry - возвращение
Flock - стекаться толпами
Plot - сюжет
Depict - изображать
Screen version - экранизация
Shooting - (кино) съемка
Nightmare - кошмар
Reveal - показывать, обнаруживать
Vice - порок, зло, недостаток
Arrogance - высокомерие, надменость
Trait of character - черта характера
Immortial - бессмертный, вечный
Wreck - остов разбитого судна
Direct - ставить (фильм)
Essential - необходимый
Indispensable - незаменимый
Trade skills - профессиональные
Aim - стремиться
Be at one’s disposal - быть в чьем-то распоряжении
Facilities - возможности, удобства
Inspiration - вдохновение
Enrich - обогощать
Genre - жанр
Aspiration - стремление, желание
Pricless - бесценный
Spitting image - точная копия
