Actress Kathy Bates (1948)

Richard Jewell (2019), an American biographical drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood and written by Billy Ray, follows the story of Richard Jewell. In 1986, he starts off as an office supply clerk at the Small Business Administration where he forms a friendship with attorney Watson Bryant. Eventually, he leaves to pursue a career in law enforcement. Although he briefly works as a sheriff’s deputy, he ultimately gets discharged. In early 1996, Jewell takes on a security guard position at Piedmont College but is terminated due to multiple complaints of ...

The film The Highwaymen (2019), directed by John Lee Hancock and written by John Fusco, follows the story of notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. In 1934, after two years on the run, they break several associates out of Texas’ Eastham Prison Farm. To track them down, Chief Lee Simmons of the Texas Department of Corrections convinces Governor ‘Ma’ Ferguson to hire retired Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. Despite his reluctance to leave retirement and his wife Gladys, Hamer joins the manhunt after a shootout in Missouri involving the fugitives. He ...

American Horror Story (2011–2024) is an anthology TV series by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk on FX. It’s part of the American Story franchise, with each season being a standalone miniseries set in a different location within the shared fictional universe. Some seasons also feature crossovers and tie-ins with the spin-off series, American Horror Stories. Each season has its own unique storyline, drawing inspiration from real events. The cast includes familiar faces who may return as new or recurring characters, sometimes taking on multiple roles in a ...

Midnight in Paris (2011) is a fantasy comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. Disillusioned screenwriter Gil Pender and his fiancée Inez, along with her affluent parents, take a vacation in Paris in 2010. Gil, working on his debut novel about a man in a nostalgia shop, becomes enamored with the artistic history of the city, specifically the Lost Generation of the 1920s. He dreams of making a permanent move there, but Inez dismisses his desires. During their trip, they meet Inez’s friend Paul and his wife Carol. Paul confidently discusses French history, much to Gil’s annoyance but Inez’s ...

Valentine’s Day (2010), a romantic comedy directed by Garry Marshall, features a screenplay and story written by Katherine Fugate, Abby Kohn, and Marc Silverstein. Florist Reed Bennett proposes to his girlfriend Morley Clarkson and she accepts, while his friends Alfonso Rodriguez and Julia Fitzpatrick are not surprised when Morley has a change of heart and leaves later that day. During her short leave from the U.S. Army, Kate Hazeltine meets Holden Wilson on her flight ...

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) is an American science fiction film, serving as a remake of the 1951 film with the same title, which was originally based on the 1940 short story Farewell to the Master. Way back in 1928, a lone mountaineer exploring the Karakoram mountains in India comes across a glowing sphere. After losing consciousness, he wakes up with a scar on his hand and finds that the sphere has vanished. Fast forward to present day, an unidentified object is spotted heading towards Earth from Jupiter’s orbit with potential to wipe out all life. In response, the U.S. government hastily enlists a team of scientists, including Helen Benson ...

Revolutionary Road (2008) is a romantic drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Justin Haythe. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates. The story follows longshoreman Frank Wheeler, who meets a woman named April at a party in 1948. Their aspirations differ – Frank dreams of being a cashier, while April longs to become an actress. After securing a sales position with Knox Machines, Frank and April get married and move to 115 Revolutionary Road in suburban Connecticut, as they await the ...

P.S. I Love You (2007) is a romantic film directed by Richard LaGravenese, based on the novel of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. The story follows Holly and Gerry, a couple living in Manhattan who are deeply in love, but occasionally have disagreements. Tragically, Gerry passes away from a brain tumor one winter, leaving Holly to grieve and distance herself from her loved ones. On her 30th birthday, Holly receives a cake and cassette from Gerry containing heartfelt messages signed with ‘P.S. I Love You’. These messages were arranged by Gerry to be delivered ...

The fantasy comedy-drama film Charlotte’s Web (2006) is an adaptation of E. B. White’s novel of the same name. In the springtime on a farm in Somerset County, Maine, Fern Arable discovers her father John poised to kill a runt from a litter of newborn pigs. She pleads with him to spare the piglet’s life, naming him Wilbur and caring for him tenderly. The following day, Fern sneaks Wilbur into her school desk and when her teacher overhears his squeals, she demands to know what is inside. Fern lies and claims there is nothing in her desk, causing the teacher to angrily send them both to the ...

Dragonfly (2002), a supernatural thriller film directed by Tom Shadyac based on a story by Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson, follows the story of doctors Joe and Emily Darrow. While seven months pregnant, Emily travels to Venezuela to assist natives in the Amazon area but tragically dies in a bus accident. Despite her body never being found, Joe returns to work without taking time to grieve. One night, he is startled by his wife’s dragonfly paperweight rolling across the room – a reminder of her love for ...

James Cameron directed, wrote, produced, and co-edited Titanic (1997), a powerful American film blending historical facts with fictionalized elements. The story revolves around the tragic sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912. A year earlier, Brock Lovett and his team embarked on a dive to the wreck of RMS Titanic aboard the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh. Their primary objective was to retrieve a safe believed to hold the iconic Heart of the Ocean diamond. To their surprise, they instead discovered a drawing of a young nude woman wearing the necklace on April 14, 1912 – the same day Titanic struck an iceberg ...

Directed by Taylor Hackford, Dolores Claiborne (1995) is an American psychological thriller drama film based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. The story follows Dolores Claiborne, who works as a domestic servant for her elderly employer, Vera Donovan, on Little Tall Island in Maine. One day, Dolores and Vera have a struggle which results in Vera falling down the stairs. After this incident, Dolores is caught by the mailman who sees her standing over Vera with a rolling pin. Unfortunately, Vera passes away and a murder investigation begins. In light of these ...

At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991) is an epic adventure drama directed by Héctor Babenco, based on Peter Matthiessen’s 1965 novel. Two explorers, Lewis Moon and Wolf, are stranded in Mãe de Deus (Portuguese for ‘Mother of God’), a remote outpost deep within the Brazilian Amazon River basin, when their plane runs out of fuel. The local police commander has his own agenda: he wants to relocate the nearby Niaruna tribe to avoid conflict with gold miners moving into the area and to appease the provincial government. To achieve this, he makes a deal ...

Shadows and Fog (1991), an American black-and-white comedy film by Woody Allen, is based on his one-act play Death (1975). Kleinman is awakened by a vigilante mob in search of a serial killer, enlisting his help. His landlady gives him a bag of pepper. Meanwhile, circus performers Irmy and her boyfriend Paul argue about marriage and having children. When Paul leaves for another tent and has sex with fellow artist Marie, Irmy runs away to the city and ends up in a brothel. There, she catches the eye of student Jack who becomes infatuated with her. He offers her increasingly larger sums of money until she finally ...

Misery (1990) is an American psychological thriller film directed by Rob Reiner, based on Stephen King’s 1987 novel of the same name. The story follows famed novelist Paul Sheldon, creator of the popular Victorian romance series starring Misery Chastain. In an effort to change genres, he completes a new manuscript in hopes of launching his post-Misery career. Unfortunately, during his journey home from Silver Creek, Colorado to New York City, Paul is caught in a blizzard and crashes his car. He is rescued by Annie Wilkes, a nurse who brings him to her remote home. ...