Actor Brian Howe

Clint Eastwood directed and produced Gran Torino (2008), an American drama film in which he also starred. This marked Eastwood’s return to the big screen since his role in Million Dollar Baby (2004). Walt Kowalski is a recently widowed Korean War veteran and retired Ford factory worker living in a Rust Belt neighborhood of Metro Detroit. The area has been plagued by gang violence and an influx of poor Hmong immigrants, including the Vang Lor family next door. Despite his son’s suggestion that he move to a retirement community, Walt chooses to live ...

The American biographical drama film, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), directed by Gabriele Muccino, follows the story of Chris Gardner. In 1981, Gardner, a San Francisco salesman, puts all his savings into portable bone-density scanners. He promotes them to doctors and touts their convenience over regular X-rays. These scanners become a key factor in Gardner’s life. Despite being successful in selling most of them, the delay in receiving payments causes tension with his wife Linda, who also works as a hotel maid. As their financial struggles increase, so does the strain on their marriage, even with their young ...

The American romantic drama film, The Majestic (2001), was produced and directed by Frank Darabont and written by Michael Sloane. Set in 1951 during the height of McCarthyism, the story follows Peter Appleton, a rising young Hollywood screenwriter. He is informed by his agent Leo Kubelsky and attorney Kevin Bannerman that he has been accused of being a communist due to attending an antiwar gathering in college. Despite claiming he only went to impress a girl, the accusation causes his latest film, Ashes to Ashes, to be delayed and credited to someone else. It also leads ...