Iron Man 3
a Marvel Studios production
distributed by Paramount Pictures
a film by Stephen Hopkins
Rated PG-13 (Sci-Fi Violence, Language and a Sexual reference)
distributed by Paramount Pictures
a film by Stephen Hopkins
Rated PG-13 (Sci-Fi Violence, Language and a Sexual reference)
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- Actor
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Colin Farrell is one of Ireland's biggest stars in Hollywood and abroad. His film presence has been filled with memorable roles that range from an inwardly tortured hit man, to an adventurous explorer, a determined-but-failing writer, and the greatest military leader in history.
Farrell was born on May 31, 1976 in Castleknock, Dublin, Ireland to Rita (Monaghan) and Eamon Farrell. His father and uncle were both professional athletes, and briefly it looked like Farrell would follow in their footsteps. Farrell auditioned for a part in the Irish boy band Boyzone, unsuccessfully. After dropping out of the Gaiety School of Acting, Farrell was cast in Ballykissangel (1996), a BBC television drama. "Ballykissangel" was not his first onscreen role. Farrell had previously been in The War Zone (1999), directed by Tim Roth and had appeared in the independent film Drinking Crude (1997). Farrell was soon to move on to bigger things.
Exchanging his thick Dublin accent for a light Texas drawl, Farrell acted in the gritty Tigerland (2000), directed by Joel Schumacher. Starring Farrell among a number of other budding young actors, the film portrays a group of new recruits being trained for the war in Vietnam. Farrell played the arrogant soldier Boz, drafted into the army and completely spiteful of authority. The film was praised by critics but made little money at the box office. It was Farrell's first big role on film, and certainly not his last. Farrell followed up with American Outlaws (2001), where he played the notorious outlaw Jesse James with Scott Caan, son of legendary actor James Caan, in the role of Cole Younger. The film was a box-office flop and a critical failure. Immediately, Farrell returned to the war drama film that had made him famous. Co-starring in the war film Hart's War (2002) opposite Bruce Willis, Farrell played the young officer captured by the enemy. The film was another failure. Farrell struck gold when he was cast in the Steven Spielberg film Minority Report (2002) that same year. Set in a futuristic time period, Farrell played the character Danny Witwer, a young member of the Justice Department who is sent after Tom Cruise's character. The film was a smash hit, and praised by critics.
Farrell continued this success when he reunited with Joel Schumacher on the successful thriller Phone Booth (2002). Farrell played the role of the victim who is harassed by an unseen killer (Kiefer Sutherland) and is made to reveal his sins to the public. 2003 was a big year for Farrell. He starred in the crime thriller The Recruit (2003) as a young CIA man mentored by an older CIA veteran (Al Pacino). Pacino later stated that Farrell was the best actor of his generation. Farrell certainly continued to be busy that year with Daredevil (2003), which actually allowed him to keep his thick Irish accent. The film was another success for Farrell, as was the crime film S.W.A.T. (2003) where Farrell starred opposite Samuel L. Jackson and LL Cool J. Farrell also acted in the Irish black comedy film Intermission (2003) and appeared another Irish film Veronica Guerin (2003) which reunited him with Joel Schumacher once again. The following year, Farrell acted in what is his most infamous film role yet: the title role in the mighty Oliver Stone film epic Alexander (2004), which is a character study of Alexander the Great as he travels across new worlds and conquers all the known world before him. Farrell donned a blond wig and retained his Irish accent, and gave a fine performance as Alexander. However, both he and the film were criticized. Despite being one of the highest grossing films internationally and doing a good job at the DVD sales, Farrell did not come out of the experience without a few hurts. Farrell attempted to rebound with his historical film The New World (2005). Reuniting with "Alexander" star Christopher Plummer, and also acting with Christian Bale, Farrell played the brave explorer John Smith, who would make first contacts with the Native peoples. The film did not do well at the box office, though critics praised the film's stunning appearance and cinematography.
Farrell returned to act in Michael Mann's film Miami Vice (2006) alongside Jamie Foxx. The film was a film adaptation of the famous television series, and did reasonably well at the box office. Farrell also acted in Ask the Dust (2006) with Salma Hayek and Donald Sutherland, though the film did not receive much distribution. The next year, Farrell acted alongside Ewan McGregor in the Woody Allen film Cassandra's Dream (2007) which received mixed reviews from critics. Farrell followed up with the hilarious black comedy In Bruges (2008). Written and directed by Irish theatre director Martin McDonagh, the film stars Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two Irish hit men whose latest assignment went wrong, leaving them to hide out in Bruges, Belgium. The film has been one of Farrell's most praised work, and he was nominated for a Golden Globe. As well as In Bruges (2008), Farrell acted alongside Edward Norton in the crime film Pride and Glory (2008) which was not as successful as the former film. As well as working with charity, and speaking at the Special Olympics World Games in 2007, he has donated his salary for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) to Heath Ledger's little daughter (who was left nothing in a will that had not been updated in time). Ledger had originally been cast in the film and was replaced by Farrell, Johnny Depp and Jude Law. The film was a critical and financial success, and Farrell also played a small role in Crazy Heart (2009) which had the Dubliner playing a country singer. Farrell even sang a few songs for the film's soundtrack. As well as those small roles, Farrell took the lead role in the war film Triage (2009). Farrell incredibly lost forty-four pounds to play the role of a war photographer who must come to terms with what he has experienced in Kurdistan. While the film was finely made, with excellent performances from all involved, the film has received almost no distribution.
Farrell's other leading role that year was in Neil Jordan's Irish film Ondine (2009). In recent years, he co-starred in the comedy horror film Fright Night (2011), the science fiction action film Total Recall (2012), both remakes, and McDonagh's second feature, and the black comedy crime film Seven Psychopaths (2012). Since the mid-2000s, Farrell has cleaned up his act, and far from being a Hollywood hell raiser and party animal, he has shown himself to be a respectable and very talented actor.
He also starred in The Lobster (2015) and The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), both directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. For The Lobster he was nominated for a Golden Globe.Tony Stark/Iron Man- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Isla Lang Fisher was born on February 3, 1976 in Muscat, Oman, to Scottish parents Elspeth Reid and Brian Fisher, who worked as a banker for the U.N. She spent her early childhood in Bathgate, Scotland, before moving to Perth, Australia with her family in the early 1980s. From a young age, Isla showed an interest in both acting and writing. At nine years old, she was appearing in Australian TV commercials. She landed some small parts in the Australian television series Bay City (1993). This led to a bigger part in the television series Paradise Beach (1993). When that show ended, she landed a role in the long-running Australian soap opera Home and Away (1988). While working on that show, she indulged in another of her passions, writing, and published two best-selling novels, "Seduced By Fame" and "Bewitched". In 1997, she was picked by the readers of FHM magazine as #35 on the list of the "100 Sexiest Women in the World", and in 2003, she placed 26th.
Isla has since appeared in the films Wedding Crashers (2005), The Lookout (2007), Hot Rod (2007) and Definitely, Maybe (2008), Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), and Now You See Me (2013).Pepper Potts- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Jamie Foxx is an American actor, singer and comedian. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his work in the biographical film Ray (2004). The same year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the action film Collateral (2004). Other prominent acting roles include the title role in the film Django Unchained (2012), the supervillain Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and William Stacks in the modern version of Annie (2014).
Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop in Terrell, Texas, to Louise Annette Talley and Darrell Bishop, who worked as a stockbroker and had later changed his name to Shahid Abdula. His mother was an adopted child. When her marriage to his father failed, his maternal grandparents, Mark and Estelle Talley, stepped in and, at age seven months, adopted Jamie too. He has said that he had a very rigid upbringing that placed him in the Boy Scouts and the church choir. During high school, he played quarterback for his high school team and was good enough that he got press in Dallas newspapers. He studied music in college. He released a music album, "Peep This" (1994), and sings the theme song for his movie, Any Given Sunday (1999). However, in 1989, his life changed when a girlfriend challenged him to get up onstage at the Comedy Club. In fact, he says he took his androgynous stage name because he learned that women got preference for mike time on open stage nights. That led to his being cast on Roc (1991) and In Living Color (1990).
Foxx had his own WB television show from 1996 to 2001, the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show (1996), in which he played Jamie King Jr. Foxx is also a Grammy Award-winning musician, producing four albums which have charted highly on the US Billboard 200: "Unpredictable" (2005), which topped the chart, "Intuition" (2008), "Best Night of My Life" (2010), and "Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses" (2015). In 2012, Foxx starred in the title role of the Quentin Tarantino written and directed Django Unchained (2012). Foxx starred alongside his Ray co-star Kerry Washington, as well as Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson. In 2013, Foxx was cast as President James Sawyer in White House Down (2013) alongside Channing Tatum. The following year, Foxx appeared as the villain Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and co-starred with Quvenzhané Wallis in Annie (2014), Sony's Will Smith and Jay-Z produced update of the comic strip-turned-musical.
He has two children, including Corinne Foxx, (born 1994), who resides with her mother.James Rhodes/Iron Patriot- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
L.L. Cool J was born James Todd Smith in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, the son of Ondrea Griffith and James Louis Smith, Jr.
Todd, as he was called, did not have a very happy childhood. At the age of four, he saw his mother and grandfather shot by his own father. After they recovered from their injuries, his mother began to date a young physical therapist she met while in the hospital. The therapist treated Ondrea kindly, but for years he abused Todd physically and verbally, which resulted in Todd becoming a bully himself. It was during this period that he started wearing hats all the time (one of L.L. Cool J's trademarks is the fact that people never see him without a hat on--until recently). Fortunately, Ondrea finally discovered what this man was doing to her son and left him.
As he grew older, Todd found a way to escape the effects of his abuse and his bullying attitude: hip-hop music. He fell in love with it at the age of nine, and by 11 he was writing lyrics and making his own songs with some DJ equipment his grandfather gave him. At 15, he and one of his best friends came up with his present stage name, L.L. Cool J, which means "Ladies Love Cool James."
In 1984, when L.L. was 16, he met Rick Rubin, a student at NYU, who gave him his big break in music. Rick really liked L.L.'s music and decided to try to get him a record deal. Together, they made the single "I Need a Beat" and sent it to an artist manager named Russell Simmons. Simmons loved the single, and, in the same year, Rick and Russell co-founded the famous Def Jam Recordings; L.L.'s debut album, "Radio," released in 1985, after securing a distribution deal for Def Jam with Columbia/CBS Records, was the label's first long-playing release. Even today, L.L. is considered one of Def Jam's most prized possessions.
1985 was also the year L.L. started his acting career. He first appeared in Krush Groove (1985), which is a semi-biographical account of the early days of Def Jam Recordings. L.L. had a cameo appearance in the film. In 1986, L.L. also had a cameo appearance in the movie Wildcats (1986) and also wrote that movie's theme song. After that, L.L. took a break from film and concentrated more on his first love: music. His career took off, and after every one of his albums hit platinum-selling status, he was (and still is) regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.
After a few years, he had small roles in a few other films, but was still better known for his music. All this changed in 1995. By this time he was a happily married 27-year-old with three children. His first starring film, Out-of-Sync (1995), had also been released. It didn't do very well at the box office, but it got him noticed by executives at NBC-TV, who wanted to give him a part in a sitcom they were going to air. This sitcom was In the House (1995), which showed L.L.'s acting ability; the show stayed on the air until 1999.
He had been offered several films roles during the run of the show and decided to accept a part in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998). Its success resulted in L.L. being cast in bigger and better film roles, and he has acted alongside such stars as Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Lee Curtis, James Woods, Al Pacino, Omar Epps, Pam Grier, Stanley Tucci, and Dennis Quaid, to name a few.
In 2000, he was finally rewarded for his acting talent. That year he won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for the best supporting actor in the action film Deep Blue Sea (1999). Even though his film career has taken off, he hasn't forgotten his love of hip-hop music. In 1998, he was planning to retire from hip-hop and just concentrate on his film career, but he later decided to keep dividing his time between both fields. L.L. is not only known as one of the greatest MCs of all time, but he is also known as a great actor.Happy Hogan- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Chow Yun Fat is a charismatic, athletically built and energetic Asian-born film star who first came to the attention of western audiences via his roles in the high-octane/blazing guns action films of maverick HK director John Woo.
Chow was born in 1955 on the quiet island of Lamma, part of the then-British colony of Hong Kong, near its famous Victoria Harbour. His mother was a vegetable farmer and cleaning lady, and his father worked on a Shell Oil Company tanker. Chow's family moved to urban Hong Kong in 1965 and in early 1973, Chow attended a casting call for TVB, a division of Shaw Bros. productions. With his good looks and easy-going style, Chow was originally a heartthrob actor in non-demanding TV and film roles. However, his popularity increased with his appearance as white-suited gangster Hui Man-Keung in the highly popular drama TV series Shanghai Beach (1980).
In 1985, Chow started receiving acclaim for his work and scored the Golden Horse (Best Actor) Award in Taiwan and another Best Actor Award from the Asian Pacific Film Festival for his performance in Hong Kong 1941 (1984). With these accolades, Chow came to the attention of Woo, who cast Chow in the fast-paced gangster film A Better Tomorrow (1986) (aka "A Better Tomorrow"). The rest, as they say, is history. The film was an enormous commercial success, and Chow's influence on young Asian males was not dissimilar to the adulation given to previous Asian film sensations such as Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. Nearly every young guy in Hong Kong ran out and bought himself a "Mark Coat," as they became known--a long, heavy woolen coat worn by Chow in the movie (although it is is actually very unsuited to Hong Kong's hot and humid climate).
Further hard-edged roles in more John Woo crime films escalated Chow's popularity even higher, and fans all over the world flocked to see A Better Tomorrow II (1987) (aka "A Better Tomorrow 2"), The Killer (1989) (aka "The Killer"), and Hard Boiled (1992) (aka "Hard Boiled"). With the phenomenal global interest in the HK action genre, Chow was enticed to the United States and appeared in The Replacement Killers (1998) with Mira Sorvino, The Corruptor (1999) with Mark Wahlberg, and, for a change of pace, in the often-filmed romantic tale of Anna and the King (1999).
Chow then returned to the Asian cinema circuit and starred in the critically lauded kung fu epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) (aka "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). His wide appeal can be seen in his "boy next door" type of personality and his ability to play such a broad spectrum of roles from a comedic buffoon to a lovestruck Romeo to a trigger-happy professional killer. A highly entertaining and gifted actor with dynamic on-screen presence, Chow continues to remain in strong demand in many film markets.Zhang Tong/Mandarin- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Janina Zione Gavankar (born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician. Gavankar is also trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist. She majored in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Gavankar's roles include Papi, a lesbian lothario in The L Word; Leigh Turner, a police officer on The Gates; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft branded search engine who commented on the user's searches; Shiva, the namesake of the sought-after trophy on The League; shapeshifter Luna Garza on HBO's True Blood; McKenna Hall on The CW's Arrow; and Meredith Bose on NBC's The Mysteries of Laura. She also played Diana Thomas on FOX's supernatural drama Sleepy Hollow.
Gavankar was born in Joliet, Illinois, to Peter Ganesh Gavankar, an engineer from Mumbai, who first traveled to the U.S. to pursue a master's degree, and Mohra Gavankar, from Pune, Maharashtra, who also emigrated to the U.S. from India. Her mother is half-Indian and half-Dutch.
Gavankar has acted in theatre, film, television, and online. Her most notable roles include Iden Versio, canon Star Wars character, and protagonist of Star Wars: Battlefront II, shapeshifter Luna Garza in True Blood, lesbian lothario Papi in The L Word; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft live search engine; and Shiva, the namesake of the sought after trophy on The League. She regularly appears in Funny or Die shorts.
In 2006 she joined the cast of The L Word as a series regular, and shot all of the clips used for Ms. Dewey. In 2007, she landed a lead in CW pilot Dash 4 Cash. In 2008, Gavankar appeared in TV series Stargate Atlantis, Grey's Anatomy and NCIS, My Boys, and Factory. In 2009, she appeared in the TV shows The Cleaner, Dollhouse, Three Rivers, and The League, as well as indie movies Men, Interrupted, Indian Gangster, and Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. Gavankar played the voice of Nikki in Quantum Quest. She landed a lead role in The Gates, since cancelled, on ABC. She appears on CW's Arrow as a vice squad police officer and brief girlfriend to Oliver Queen.
Gavankar is an admitted gamer and has appeared on, as well as co-hosted, G4 TV's Attack of the Show!, Epileptic Gaming's Up All Night, where she helped review Rock Band, Burnout Paradise, and Army of Two.
In 2011 Gavankar became a series regular in HBO's True Blood as a public school teacher and shapeshifter, Luna Garza, who gets romantically involved with one of the main characters of the series.
Her indie movie, Satellite of Love, premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival in 2012, and her 2012 indie I'm Afraid of Virginia Wolf is in post-production. On December 20, 2012, Gavankar was the last person interviewed for the now cancelled Attack of the Show! which aired on G4 TV.
On August 3, 2013, Gavankar landed a role as a witch named Qetsiyah in the fifth season of The Vampire Diaries. She guest starred in the third season of Husbands.
In 2014, she starred as Amita in the video game, Far Cry 4. She also played Detective Meredith Bose on The Mysteries of Laura from 2014 to 2016.
She starred as Iden Versio, the main character in the campaign mode of the 2017 Electronic Arts video game Star Wars Battlefront II.
In 2018, she has two films releasing. Blindspotting is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall is being distributed by A24.
Gavankar returned to music with a cover of Kanye West's "Love Lockdown". Gavankar's former all female singing group, Endera, was signed to Cash Money Records Universal Records.
She collaborated on a project for a song called "Tell Me What" in India with Pratichee Mohapatra of Viva, Deep, and Navraaz. She has had songs licensed to movies and television, and has sung and played marimba on film scores. Gavankar was featured in Russian artist Ella Leya's music video for "Wish I Could", in the music video by San Francisco-based band Recliner for their single "Float Away", as well as the music video for Manu Narayan's band Darunam.
In August 2012, she released the single for her upcoming EP, entitled Waiting for Godot, and in November, Billboard premiered the official music video. It went on to win numerous film festival awards.
While in high school, Gavankar auditioned for the front ensemble of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps of Rockford, Illinois. Before hearing whether she had made the corps, she was accepted for the Yale School of Drama's summer camp, and went there. "I fell in love with drum corps when I was 13 years old", Gavankar has stated, and remains a strong fan of the activity. When she heard the Martin Garrix/Usher collaboration, "Don't Look Down", she had the idea of performing it as marching music. With assistance from Drum Corps International, she contacted the Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps and arranger Colin Bell. She went into the studios in New York with fifty members of Jersey Surf and recorded the music video "Don't Look Down- #JustAddDrumCorps Edition" that was released in April 2015.
On May 20, 2015, Gavankar performed a percussion duet at Carnegie Hall with Questlove for the Best Buddies charity benefit.Maya Hansen- Actor
- Stunts
- Producer
Japanom Yeerum was born on February 5, 1976, in the northeastern province of Surin, Thailand. His parents were elephant herders. Jaa watched martial arts films as a young kid and began to emulate some of his idols, from Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan to Jet Li. Jaa studied martial arts at the local temple school and later under a scholarship at the Physical Education College in Khon Kaen, Thailand where he continued to study Muay Boran, Muay Thai, Wushu, Judo and Tae-Kwan-Do. Jaa later did some stunt for in a film for 'Panna Rittikrai', This resulted in Jaa being seen and getting work, doubling for Robin Shou and James Remar in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), and when his demo reel was seen by director Prachya Pinkaew, the film Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003) was created for Jaa. He adopted the English name Tony Jaa. In 2013, after ending his association with Sahamongkol Film, Jaa was contracted by Universal Studio's for a role in Fast and Furious 7. Jaa now has starring roles in several international films being filmed in 2014 and is concentrating his efforts more towards international audiences.Eric Savin- Actress
- Producer
French/US actress, Roxane Mesquida grew up in Le Pradet, a little town in the South of France. At the age of 11, while walking with her mother, writer Francoise Mesquida, she was spotted by director Manuel Pradal who cast her in Mary from the Bay of Angels (Marie Baie de Anges). In 1998, she played opposite Isabelle Huppert in Benoit Jacquot's The School of Flesh (L'ecole de la Chair) which was presented at that year's Cannes Film Festival. A few years later, she crossed paths with the renowned and provocative director Catherine Breillat. Not only did the director bring Roxane to international attention, she taught the actress her craft. In 2001, their first film Fat Girl (A ma soeur!) was presented at festivals around the world including Berlin and Toronto. The following year, the director and her actress collaborated on Sex is a Comedy which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival, 2002. They worked together again on The Last Mistress (Une vieille maitresse) with Asia Argento. The film was presented in competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. In 2006, after making Sheitan with Vincent Cassel directed by Kim Chapiron, Mesquida moved to the United States. She spent several months in New York attending The Barrow Group, a prestigious non-profit Off-Broadway Theatre Company and acting School before settling in Los Angeles. In 2010, two of her films were presented at Cannes: Kaboom by independent filmmaker Gregg Araki and Rubber by Quentin Dupieux a.k.a Mr. Oizo (a corruption of the French word for "bird"). She also starred three music videos: Buck 65's "Paper Airplane", Grudd Rhys's "Shark Ridden Waters" and Marilyn Manson's "No Reflection" in 2012. 2011 was a very busy year for Mesquida who played Beatrice, the sister of Louis Grimaldi in TV series Gossip Girl and appeared in the features The Most Fun You Can Have Dying by Kirstin Marcon, Kiss of the Damned by Alexandra Cassavetes (daughter of John Cassavetes) and Homesick by young independent filmmaker Frederic Da. She also appeared in the art video for Opening Ceremony.
When she was 14, Mesquida was spotted by Elite Model Management and she has been working as a model ever since. She is signed by worldwide modeling agency IMG Modelssince 2008.Brandt- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Born in Chicago, Oscar nominee and Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Tom Berenger was born Thomas Michael Moore and raised in a working class Roman Catholic family of Irish descent. His father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Tom attended the University of Missouri to study journalism. There, he first auditioned for a role in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" at the college theater on a whim and a bet with a roommate; he won the role of "Nick", the second male lead.
After several stints in regional theater, Berenger attended Herbert Berghof's Studio School for Acting in New York City. There, he pursued a professional acting. He selected "Berenger" as his professional name, after a school friend, as there was already a "Tom Moore" in Actors' Equity. His film debut was in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), followed by roles in such films as The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Platoon (1986), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Shoot to Kill (1988), Betrayed (1988), Last Rites (1988), Major League (1989), Shattered (1991), Gettysburg (1993), The Substitute (1996), Sniper (1993), Rough Riders (1997), Inception (2010), Hatfields & McCoys (2012), among many others.President Ellis- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Kurtwood Smith was born on 3 July 1943 in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for RoboCop (1987), Broken Arrow (1996) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). He has been married to Joan Pirkle since 5 November 1988. He was previously married to Cecilia Souza.Vice President Rodriguez- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Actor Stanley Tucci was born on November 11, 1960, in Peekskill, New York. He is the son of Joan (Tropiano), a writer, and Stanley Tucci, an art teacher. His family is Italian-American, with origins in Calabria.
Tucci took an interest in acting while in high school, and went on to attend the State University of New York's Conservatory of Theater Arts in Purchase. He began his professional career on the stage, making his Broadway debut in 1982, and then made his film debut in Prizzi's Honor (1985).
In 2009, Tucci received his first Academy Award nomination for his turn as a child murderer in The Lovely Bones (2009). He also received a BAFTA nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for the same role. Other than The Lovely Bones, Tucci has recently had noteworthy supporting turns in a broad range of movies including Lucky Number Slevin (2006), The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Tucci reached his widest audience yet when he played Caesar Flickerman in box office sensation The Hunger Games (2012).
While maintaining an active career in movies, Tucci received major accolades for some work in television. He won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his role in TV movie Winchell (1998), an Emmy for a guest turn on Monk (2002), and a Golden Globe for his role in HBO movie Conspiracy (2001).
Tucci has also had an extensive career behind the camera. His directorial efforts include Big Night (1996), The Impostors (1998), Joe Gould's Secret (2000) and Blind Date (2007), and he did credited work on all of those screenplays with the exception of Joe Gould's Secret (2000).
Tucci has three children with Kate Tucci, who passed away in 2009. Tucci married Felicity Blunt in August 2012.Yinsen- Actress
- Soundtrack
Chiara Aurelia is an American actress widely known for her starring role as 'Jeanette Turner' in the series Cruel Summer, for which she received a Critics' Choice Nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Her breakout performance also garnered Aurelia a Best Actress nomination from Women's Image Network (WIN) and the Hollywood Critics Association (HCA), with the show winning Best Cable Series in the HCA's Drama category. Cruel Summer Season 1 was the highest rated new cable drama series among women ages 18-34, scoring the highest ratings of any original series in the platform's history. Aurelia will next be seen playing 'Jordy' in the highly anticipated Peacock series, Hysteria!, which follows a high school heavy metal band of outcasts who find themselves at the center of a witch hunt after mysterious events unfold in their small town.
Aurelia is also known for her role as 'Young Ani', starring alongside Mila Kunis in the Netflix thriller Luckiest Girl Alive. Her depiction of 'Young Jessie' in Gerald's Game garnered Aurelia Best Supporting Young Actress by The BaM Awards and The Young Entertainer Awards, establishing her ability to portray emotionally demanding characters. Aurelia was born in Taos, New Mexico and began acting in theatre on stage- dancing, singing and acting at the age of four.Vice President's Daughter- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Josh Holloway was born on 20 July 1969 in San Jose, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Lost (2004), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) and Sabotage (2014). He has been married to Yessica Kumala since 1 October 2004. They have two children.Gary- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
John Cusack is, like most of his characters, an unconventional hero. Wary of fame and repelled by formulaic Hollywood fare, he has built a successful career playing underdogs and odd men out--all the while avoiding the media spotlight. John was born in Evanston, Illinois, to an Irish-American family. With the exception of mom Nancy (née Carolan), a former math teacher, the Cusack clan is all show business: father Dick Cusack was an actor and filmmaker, and John's siblings Joan Cusack, Ann Cusack, Bill Cusack and Susie Cusack are all thespians by trade. Like his brother and sisters, John became a member of Chicago's Piven Theatre Workshop while he was still in elementary school. By age 12, he already had several stage productions, commercial voice overs and industrial films under his belt. He made his feature film debut at 17, acting alongside Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy in the romantic comedy Class (1983). His next role, as a member of Anthony Michael Hall's geek brigade in Sixteen Candles (1984), put him on track to becoming a teen-flick fixture. Cusack remained on the periphery of the Brat Pack, sidestepping the meteoric rise and fall of most of his contemporaries, but he stayed busy with leads in films like The Sure Thing (1985) and Better Off Dead (1985). Young Cusack is probably best remembered for what could be considered his last adolescent role: the stereo-blaring romantic Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything (1989). A year later, he hit theaters as a grown-up, playing a bush-league con man caught between his manipulative mother and headstrong girlfriend in The Grifters (1990).
The next few years were relatively quiet for the actor, but he filled in the gaps with off-screen projects. He directed and produced several shows for the Chicago-based theater group The New Criminals, which he founded in 1988 (modeling it after Tim Robbins' Actors' Gang in Los Angeles) to promote political and avant-garde stage work. Four years later, Cusack's high school friends Steve Pink and D.V. DeVincentis joined him in starting a sister company for film, New Crime Productions. New Crime's first feature was the sharply written comedy Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), which touched off a career renaissance for Cusack. In addition to co-scripting, he starred as a world-weary hit man who goes home for his ten-year high school reunion and tries to rekindle a romance with the girl he stood up on prom night (Minnie Driver). In an instance of life imitating art, Cusack actually did go home for his ten-year reunion (to honor a bet about the film's financing) and ended up in a real-life romance with Driver. Cusack's next appearance was as a federal agent (or, as he described it, "the first post-Heston, non-biblical action star in sandals") in Con Air (1997), a movie he chose because he felt it was time to make smart business decisions. He followed that with Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), in which he played a Yankee reporter entangled in a Savannah murder case.
Cusack has always favored offbeat material, so it was no surprise when he turned up in the fiercely original Being John Malkovich (1999). Long-haired, bearded and bespectacled, he was almost unrecognizable in the role of a frustrated puppeteer who stumbles across a portal into the brain of actor John Malkovich. The convincing performance won him a Best Actor nomination at the Independent Spirit Awards. In 2000, Cusack was back to his clean-shaven self in High Fidelity (2000), another New Crime production. He worked with Steve Pink and D.V. DeVincentis to adapt Nick Hornby's popular novel (relocating the story to their native Chicago), then starred as the sarcastic record store owner who revisits his "Top 5" breakups to find out why he's so unlucky in love. The real Cusack has been romantically linked with several celebs, including Driver, Alison Eastwood, Claire Forlani and Neve Campbell. He's also something of a family man, acting frequently opposite sister Joan Cusack and pulling other Cusacks into his films on a regular basis. He seems pleased with the spate of projects on his horizon, but admits that he still hasn't reached his ultimate goal: to be involved in a "great piece of art".Bruce Banner (uncredited)- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Henry Jackman has established himself as one of today's top composers by fusing his classical training with his experience as a successful record producer and creator of electronic music.
Jackman grew up in the southeast of England, where he began composing his first symphony at the age of six. He studied classical music at Oxford and sang in the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir-but simultaneously got involved in the underground rave scene and began producing popular electronica music and dance remixes, eventually working with artists such as Seal and The Art of Noise.
In 2006 he caught the attention of film composers Hans Zimmer and John Powell, and began writing additional music for Powell on Kung Fu Panda and then for Zimmer on The Dark Knight, The Da Vinci Code, and The Pirates of the Caribbean films, which rapidly led to scoring blockbuster films on his own. His first solo feature film then came to be 'Monsters v Aliens' directed by Rob Letterman.
"I've spent a lot of time working in the record industry," says Jackman, "and for my money being a film composer is way more fun. You can be working on X-Men, and then a movie set in 17th-century Italy. It's not about showing off what you think is cool or what you want to hear, but 'what is this movie about, and what would best serve it?' That process just leads to strange and remarkable places."
Jackman is known for his recent scores for Marvel Studios' 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier', Showtime's 'The Comey Rule', The Russo Brothers' 'Cherry', as well as 'Jumanji: The Next Level', a continuation of the magical board game adventure story, and 'Detective Pikachu', following the story of the beloved Pikachu Pokémon character starring Ryan Reynolds. His other recent work includes 'Ralph Breaks the Internet', which was nominated for Best Animated Feature. His other diverse credits include Captain America: Civil War, Kong: Skull Island, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Big Hero 6, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle.Music- Producer
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- Production Manager
Kevin Feige is an American film producer who has produced every Marvel Cinematic Universe film since Iron Man. He got his start as an associate and executive producer for the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, Daredevil, The Punisher, Ang Lee's Hulk, the original X-Men trilogy, Blade: Trinity and Tim Story's Fantastic Four films. Avengers: Endgame, one of his produced films is one of the highest grossing superhero films.Producer- Producer
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- Editorial Department
Victoria Alonso was born on 22 December 1965 in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a producer, known for Avengers: Endgame (2019), Iron Man (2008) and Kingdom of Heaven (2005).Producer- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Tom DeSanto is the founding writer/producer behind some of the biggest franchises in movie history (Transformers, X-Men). DeSanto's films have grossed almost $6 billion dollars worldwide with billions more in licensing, merchandising, and video games.
The proud owner of more than 40,000 comic books and a self-described pop culture junkie, DeSanto dreamed of bringing the characters he loved as a kid to life in Hollywood, X-Men was first on his list. With comic book films failing at the box office in the late 90's and Marvel in bankruptcy, DeSanto saw the potential in the stable of characters he grew up with becoming films. DeSanto contacted 20th Century Fox and pushed the film out of a long stalled development and into production. Besides producing, DeSanto co-wrote the story and did several rewrites of the screenplay including the drafts that greenlit the film. X-men spawned a billion dollar franchise for Fox and starting Marvel's rise out of bankruptcy.
After the success of X-Men, DeSanto pulled another undervalued property, Battlestar Galactica out of mothballs and developed Galactica for Universal Television. Battlestar Galactica found a home on Sci-Fi Channel and was the number one rated mini-series for all of cable in 2003 and helped brand the network. Much of DeSanto's vision were the backbone of the show including human Cylons, female president, and many designs including the new Vipers.
Mr. DeSanto returned as part of the guiding creative team for "X2: X-Men United", including the continuation of the Phoenix storyline which DeSanto set up in the first film. X-men was used by Marvel as the template for larger storylines and interconnected characters that has been the foundation of their success. That same year Mr. DeSanto went after Transformers another dormant property that he was a fan of since childhood. DeSanto reached out to his friend producer Don Murphy about partnering on the project and they set meetings with Hasbro. Based on DeSanto's pitch and understanding of the universe, Hasbro gave them the rights for free, hoping DeSanto would do for Transformers and Hasbro what he did for X-men and Marvel. .
Transformers was a tough sell for those running the studios who did not grow up with the property and therefore did not understand its potential. After being rejected by every studio in town Mr. DeSanto made a second pass at DreamWorks and after Steven Spielberg read his treatment, he decided his studio would do the film and was an early champion of the idea. Mr. DeSanto set the project up with DreamWorks and Paramount, selling his storyline and attaching as Producer.
The first film grossed over $700 million dollars worldwide and Mr. DeSanto gave birth to another franchise. Transformers was the first live action franchise for DreamWorks and Paramount's largest moneymaking series in its history. Mr. DeSanto returned as Producer of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in 2009 and the film became the biggest moneymaker of 2009 with over $800 million in box office alone. DeSanto also produced the billion dollar grossing Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Transformers: Age of Extinction. DeSanto returned in 2017 for Transformers: The Last Knight and to produce, Bumblebee, a solo Transformers film of the beloved character released December 2018.
As well as franchise films, DeSanto has done several documentaries involving various social causes. Kidnapped For Christ, a documentary about abuse of children at religious education camps, won numerous awards including the Audience Award at SlamDance Film Festival and was sold to Showtime. His next documentary, Lost In America, deals with the problems of youth homelessness and how politics has gotten in the middle finding a solution to getting these kids off the street. It was released to critical acclaim in February 2020 and scores 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
In addition to filmmaking, Mr. DeSanto is also an activist, having spoke at the Smithsonian, Kennedy Center at Harvard, and the United Nations.
During the COVID-19 pandemic DeSanto co- founded Facts2Health in partnership with the CDC Foundation to activate Hollywood to help in messaging in the battle against the virus. DeSanto created the Heroes Wear Masks campaign which enlisted pop culture heroes to join the global battle against COVID-19. The website and social media program helped change the narrative on wearing masks helping people, especially children and young adults, understand that you wear a mask to protect others. The campaign was cited for excellence in social media in 2021.
DeSanto's world building continues into the world of digital medicine as he is a Co-Founder of NeuroAnimation. The company uses computer animation and virtual reality to help people recover from stoke and other neurological medical issues. The cutting edge technology is twice current standard of care for stroke recovery.
DeSanto returned to produce Transformers : Rise of the Beasts which released June 9, 2023 and a Transformers feature animated film titled Transformers One for summer 2024. Transformers continues to be Paramount/Viacom most profitable franchise in studio history, employing thousands of people around the globe.Producer- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Filmmaker Len Wiseman's career began through his work in the art department on the blockbuster hits like Godzilla (1998), Men in Black (1997), and Independence Day (1996). His design talents soon got him behind the camera directing commercials for PlayStation, Time Warner, Oracle, Intel, and Activision, and quickly lead to work in music videos. Len received numerous award nominations, including Best Art Direction at the 2002 MTV Awards for Quarashi's Gargandi snilld (2005) (aka Stick 'Em Up) and Best Director at the 2002 MVPA Awards for the Rufus Wainwright video "Across the Universe." In addition, Wiseman directed music videos for Megadeth, En Vogue, Static-X, Paul Oakenfold and Brooke Allison.Producer- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Mike Richardson was born on 29 June 1950 in Milwaukie, Oregon, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Mask (1994), Timecop (1994) and Hellboy (2004).Producer- Writer
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- Producer
Christopher L. Yost was born on 21 February 1973 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Cowboy Bebop (2021).Producer- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Craig Kyle was born on 3 November 1971 in Houston, Texas, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Iron Man (2008) and The Incredible Hulk (2008).Writer- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Brad Ingelsby is known for Mare of Easttown (2021), Run All Night (2015) and Out of the Furnace (2013).Writer- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Stan Lee was an American comic-book writer, editor, and publisher, who was executive vice president and publisher of Marvel Comics.
Stan was born in New York City, to Celia (Solomon) and Jack Lieber, a dress cutter. His parents were Romanian Jewish immigrants. Lee co-created Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor, the X-Men, and many other fictional characters, introducing a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. In addition, he challenged the comics' industry's censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, indirectly leading to it updating its policies. Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
He had cameo appearances in many Marvel film and television projects, with many yet to come, posthumously. A few of these appearances are self-aware and sometimes reference Lee's involvement in the creation of certain characters.
On 16 July 2017, Lee was named a Disney Legend, a hall of fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company.
Stan was married to Joan Lee for almost 70 years, until her death. The couple had two children. Joan died on July 6, 2017. Stan died on November 12, 2018, in LA.(based on the Marvel comic book by)- Writer
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Larry Lieber was born on 26 October 1931 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer, known for Iron Man (2008), Ant-Man (2015) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).(based on the Marvel comic book by)- Writer
- Art Department
- Additional Crew
Don Heck was born on 2 January 1929 in Queens, New York, USA. Don was a writer, known for Iron Man (2008), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Don died on 23 February 1995 in Centereach, Suffolk, New York, USA.(based on the Marvel comic book by)- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Animation Department
Jack "The King" Kirby was an influential comic book writer and artist, particularly famous for creating or co-creating some of the most famous characters for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
In 1917, Kirby was born under the name "Jacob Kurtzberg" on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He was a son of garment factory worker Benjamin Kurtzberg and his wife Rose Bernstein. Both his parents were Austrian-Jewish immigrants.
He developed an interest in drawing at an early age. He was mostly self-taught as an artist, having started by studying newspaper artwork from comic strip artists and political cartoonists. He cited among his main influences comic strip artists Milton Caniff (1907-1988), Hal Foster (1892-1982), and Alex Raymond (1909-1956), who were all pioneers of the adventure genre in comic strips. His professional name "Jack Kirby" was possibly chosen in reference to Rollin Kirby (1875-1952), an influential political cartoonist, who had won three Pulitzer Prizes in the 1920s.
At age 14, Kirby enrolled in Pratt Institute, a prestigious school for illustrators. He dropped out early. According to Kirby, his personal philosophy did not agree with that of the school. He was interested in producing quantities of artwork at a rapid rate and "get things done", while the Institute taught students to devote large amounts of time to a single piece of artwork.
After publishing a few works in outlets for amateur artists, Kirby entered the world of professional cartooning in 1936. He was hired by the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate to work on comic strips and advice cartoons. He stayed there until 1939. He then briefly joined the field of animation and was hired by the Fleischer Studios. He worked as an in-betweener in animated shorts, drawing intermediate frames between two images to give the appearance that the first image evolves smoothly into the second image. He quit after a short period, feeling dissatisfied with the factory-like conditions at Fleischer.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the comic book medium was taking off and there were many available positions for writers and artists interested in working in the medium. Kirby soon joined the staff at the Eisner and Iger Studio, working under co-founders Will Eisner and Jerry Iger. The Studio was one of a number of pioneering companies selling completed comic book stories and artwork to the fledgling publishing companies of the time. Under various pseudonyms, Kirby contributed artwork to series in various genres, including humor, science fiction, swashbucklers, and Westerns.
The Eisner and Iger Studio dissolved for uncertain reasons by 1940. By that time comic book publishing companies were starting to hire writers and artists directly, instead of simply buying stories. Kirby found work at one of the publishers of the time, Fox Features Syndicate. Kirby's first superhero stories were Blue Beetle stories. He was not credited as an artist, the credit going to the non-existent "Charles Nicholas".
While working at Fox, Kirby was acquainted with Joe Simon. Simon was producing stories for various publishers and had recently created a superhero called Blue Bolt for Novelty Press. He had seeking for a partner to work on the second issue of Blue Bolt and was impressed enough with Kirby's work to offer him the partnership. Kirby accepted and the duo ended up working together for the following decades.
Simon was soon hired as an editor for Timely Comics (later renamed to Marvel Comics) and was also interested in contributing stories. He had the idea for a new patriotic superhero and managed to convince Timely publisher Martin Goodman that the new hero would work as the star of a solo comic book. This was at the time rare, since most comic book characters were featured in anthology titles. Once securing a publisher, Simon asked Kirby to join him in working on the character. The new character was called Captain America and debuted in 1941. Despite its strong similarities to an earlier MLJ Comics character called The Shield, Captain America became the most successful of the two characters and the fist two issues of his title were major best sellers of the comic book medium. This helped establish co-creators Simon and Kirby among the most famous comic creators of the time.
Despite the commercial success of Captain America, Kirby was not paid more than the average comic book artist of the time: 75 dollars per week. He and Simon continued working on the Captain America series until issue #10 while secretly negotiating a deal with another publisher. An early incarnation of DC Comics was offering them a combined weekly salary of 500 dollars if they switched publishers. The switch was formalized by 1942.
At first DC was uncertain on what work to assign Simon and Kirby. After a few minor assignments, they were asked to contribute their own story ideas. The duo soon took over the already established Sandman series featured in Adventure Comics and revamped the character. They also created a new version of the Manhunter, this time as a superhero. Kirby and Simon wanted to name the character "Rick Nelson", but the editor changed the name to "Paul Kirk", essentially naming him after an earlier character called Paul Kirk, Manhunter.
Simon and Kirby found more success with a non-superhero idea. They created the Boy Commandos, a combination of the "kid gang" concept that was already established in comic books, this time with a then-modern war setting. The Commandos soon became one of the most popular DC series of their time, graduated to their own title, and reportedly sold "over a million copies each month". In their heyday, the commandos were the third highest selling characters DC had in its stable. Only Superman and Batman actually sold more.
Besides the Boy Commandos, Simon and Kirby co-created another "kid gang" for DC: the Newsboy Legion. While never as popular as the Commandos, they became the feature characters of Star-Spangled Comics and were considered a hit in their own right.
Kirby's comic book career had to be put in hiatus in 1943, when he was drafted into the United States Army. While he never took part in any major battle, he was deployed in the European theatre of World War II in 1944. Following the Invasion of Normandy, Kirby was tasked with drawing reconnaissance maps and images of areas which the Army was considering to occupy. He was effectively a military scout and reconnaissance agent, and his work put him at risk. A case of severe frostbite in the winter of 1944-1945 resulted in his hospitalization. There were fears that his feet would have to be amputated for him to survive, though he managed to recover with no amputation necessary. He was discharged from the Army in July, 1945, having been awarded medals for his service.
Following his discharge from the Army, Kirby was reunited with Simon. Simon had spend the majority of the War serving in the United States Coast Guard. They were both looking for a way to return to comic book work, though their old jobs at DC had been taken by other creators. They spend the next several years working for Harvey Comics. For Harvey, the duo created some original characters such, as the superheroes Stuntman (1946) and Captain 3-D (1953). However, these characters were not as popular as their earlier creations.
Besides their relatively steady work for Harvey, Simon and Kirby freelanced for other publishers. Their employers of the time included publishers such as Crestwood Publications and Hillman Periodicals. For Crestwood, Simon and Kirby created one of their greatest hits: Young Romance, the first of the romance comics. At the time traditional comic book genres such as superheroes were in decline and publishers and creators were looking for new ideas. Simon and Kirby noticed that romance magazines of the 1940s sold well and had the idea of adapting the genre to comic books. It worked far better than expected. Young Romance and its spin-off series Young Love continued to sell millions of copies for years.
Due to the "follow the leader" mentality of comic book publishers of the time, other publishers soon published their own romance comics. Though few managed to successfully compete with the Simon and Kirby created titles, who were considered better in quality than most of their imitators. The success had an effect in the lives of the duo. Simon and Kirby had negotiated a contract which earned them a large percentage from the profits. Kirby earned more money than ever before and was able to purchase a new home for his family.
In 1953-1954, Simon and Kirby were annoyed to find out that Atlas Comics (the then-current name of Marvel Comics) was reviving Captain America. They had never asked for any input from Simon and Kirby to do this, nor offered to rehire them. Seeking for a way to outdo their old creation, the duo created a new superhero called Fighting American (1954) for Crestwood Publications. At first conceived as a serious 1950s take on the old patriotic hero concept, Fighting American's series soon became largely satirical. It never sold well and did not last long, though it has left enough of a mark in the comic book medium to be constantly reprinted and occasionally revived from a relatively high number of publishers.
In late 1953-1954, Simon and Kirby founded their own comic book publishing company: Mainline Publications. At the time the comic book industry was under attack by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham (1895-1981) and politician Estes Kefauver (1903-1963). Many of the older comic book publishers were affected by the controversy and the resulting drop in sales, either getting out of the business or reducing their output. There was still a high demand for new material and Mainline Publications hoped to fill the void left by the demise of the older publishers.
Simon and Kirby's plans for their company turned out to be too optimistic. They published only four titles, all in established genres. They were "Bullseye: Western Scout" (a Western), "Foxhole" (a war comic), "In Love" (a romance comic), and "Police Trap" (a crime comic). None of them was a great success in sales, but they were noticed by Wertham, who used them as exhibits of comic book "filth". At the same time, Simon and Kirby entered into a complex legal battle with Crestwood Publications. They claimed their former employer owed them at least 130,000 dollars, but the case was settled out of court with the payment of only 10,000 dollars. It was not not enough to solve ongoing financial problems for Mainline Publications, which closed in 1956.
The partnership of Simon and Kirby did not survive the demise of their company. Simon was considering leaving the comic book medium altogether and seeking employment as an advertising artist, but Kirby wanted to keep working in his original medium. They parted amiably. Several of the unpublished material for Mainline Publications was sold to Charlton Comics. Kirby was left with an unused idea for a new team of adventurers. He would continue developing the idea over the following year, and eventually sell it to DC Comics. It was the the earliest incarnation of Challengers of the Unknown, though Kirby did not stay with DC long enough to further develop it.
From 1956 to 1958, Kirby was producing freelance work for DC Comics and Atlas Comics (Marvel Comics), mostly as a writer and penciller, and occasionally as an inker. He contributed stories for characters such as the Green Arrow and the Yellow Claw, though he did not create any major characters of his own. His take on Green Arrow was considered controversial, as Kirby included more science-fiction themes in the stories and was trying to revamp the character. Green Arrow co-creator Mort Weisinger reportedly hated Kirby's concept for the character.
In addition to comic books, Kirby co-created a comic strip called "Sky Masters of the Space Force" (1958). It was a science fiction comic book set in the near-future. It was a minor hit but got Kirby in a legal dispute with Jack Schiff, editor of DC. Schiff had helped bring Kirby in contact with his collaborators for the comic strip. He claimed that Kirby owed him a share of the strip's profits. The matter was settled in court and Schiff won the trial. This helped severe Kirby's relations with DC, and he soon quit the comic strip as well.
In late 1958, Kirby started producing more work for Atlas Comics (Marvel Comics). For various reasons Atlas had lost much of its creative personnel and there was a need for the remaining staff to increase its productivity. Kirby decided he could use some extra money and started mass producing art for Atlas. He became arguably the most prolific artist of the company, with his artwork appearing in almost any ongoing title. His best-remembered production from this time involved anthology stories for Atlas' series of supernatural-fantasy and science fiction titles. They were minor hits of their time and considered classics by later Marvel artists and readers. Most of his creations were supposed to be one-shot characters, but some of his characters have been revived and have made appearances in several works by other creators. They include characters such as Fin Fang Foom, Groot, and Grottu.
Kirby still did not work exclusively for Atlas. He collaborated with Joe Simon to create two more superheroes for Archie Comics. They were the Fly (1959) and a new incarnation of the Shield, called Lancelot Strong (1959). He also worked for the "Classics Illustrated" comic book series by The Gilberton Company, Inc.
In 1961, Atlas/Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee wanted to create a new superhero team to compete with DC's Justice League of America, which was turning out to be a hit. He decided to collaborate with Kirby in creating the team, the result being the Fantastic Four. For the first story of the new team, Lee created a synopsis of what he wanted the story to be like. Kirby then incorporated his own ideas and drew the whole story. Then Lee added his own dialogue to the finished artwork and narrative captions. The finished story was then offered for further inking, coloring, and eventual publication. This was the so-called "Marvel Method" of producing stories, where both co-creators had considerable influence on what was being created.
In later years, both Kirby and Lee would argue over who was the true creator of the Fantastic Four and the driving force behind the series. They both claimed that they came up with most of the concepts and that their collaborator only added relatively insignificant details. A number of comic book historians have tried to determine which version was true, though no definite evidence can be produced. Historian Mark Evanier, who has written a biography of Kirby, has argued that none of the two versions were true. He has argued that the two men were equal collaborators and that the credit for the series belongs to both of them.
The Fantastic Four title became a commercial hit and Kirby was its main artist for the first 102 issues (November, 1961-September, 1970). Atlas/Marvel soon launched a new line of titles, with Kirby serving as an artist for most of them. Besides contributing artwork and plots, Kirby was asked to train other Marvel artists in how to draw the characters. He provided "breakdown" layouts and the other artists would learn to draw based on them. Before long, Kirby's style had become Marvel's new house style. This did not prevent his personal style from further evolving, by incorporating new drawing techniques and other experiments.
In the 1960s, Kirby created or co-created hundreds of major and minor characters for Marvel Comics. Among his major creations were Doctor Doom (1962), the Hulk (1962), Thor (1962), Iron Man (1963), Magneto (1963), Uatu the Watcher (1963), the original X-Men (1963), the Inhumans (1965), the Black Panther (1966), Ego the Living Planet (1966), Galactus (1966), and the Silver Surfer (1966). For some of them Kirby only contributed their debut stories, for others entire runs of featured stories. He also helped revive older characters, such as Captain America, Namor, and Ka-Zar (who was given an entirely different setting and backstory).
By the early 1970s, Kirby felt increasingly dissatisfied with his working relationship with Marvel. He was paid much better than before, earning about 35,000 dollars per year. But he felt that he was not given adequate credit for his own creations, that his plot contributions went mostly uncredited, and that Marvel was earning much more money from characters that he had created. He consequently left Marvel. He was hired by DC Comics, as the result of a deal with editorial director Carmine Infantino.
Kirby's contract with DC, produced in 1970, gave him essentially a free reign as writer and penciller in whatever title he worked on. He soon worked in four inter-connected titles. They were the already established (but low-selling) title Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen (which had no one assigned to it so Kirby could take it over without having someone lose their job) and the new titles New Gods, Mister Miracle, and the Forever People. The concept of the titles became known as Jack Kirby's Fourth World.
The idea for the so-called New Gods had reportedly come to Kirby a few years earlier, while he was working on the "Tales of Asgard" sub-series for Marvel's "Thor" title. He wanted to produce a story about two planets at war with each other and the grand finale would be the Ragnarok ("Twilight of the Gods"), the battle that ends the gods at the finale of Norse mythology. Marvel never allowed him to work on such a story, DC on the other hand did. Kirby came up with the idea of the New Gods born out of the death of the old ones. He soon developed an entirely new mythology for his creations, combining disparate ideas from multiple sources. The scope was epic.
Kirby at first intended to tell a finite story about the New Gods. It would have a start, several chapters, and a definite conclusion. But the titles initially sold too well and DC argued against the idea, wanting the tales to continue indefinitely. Kirby was forced to compromise and the story continued, though sales soon dropped. "New Gods" and the Forever people were canceled in 1972. Mister Miracle continued under Kirby until 1974, though the stories became a bit more conventional.
Though Kirby's take on the New Gods and associated characters was considered a bit too weird for mainstream comics, DC never completely lost interest in the characters. They were revived by later creators, reused for decades, and a few (like Darkseid) went on to play prominent roles in the wider DC multiverse. Meanwhile Kirby went on to work in other series.
The other 1970s DC characters created or co-created by Kirby included Etrigan the Demon (1972), Kamandi (1972), OMAC (1974), a new version of Sandman (1974), Atlas (1975), a new version of Manhunter (1975), the Dingbats of Danger Street (1975) and Kobra (1976). All these characters were considered as series protagonists, and some of them did receive their own title. However, none of them enjoyed long-term success.
In 1975, Marvel Comics announced that Kirby would return to work with them. He was soon producing new runs as sole writer and penciller of "Black Panther" and "Captain America". His most enduring work, however, was in the creation of new series and characters. His best known work was "The Eternals" (1976-1978), a 19-issue series about immortal gods active on modern Earth. It was very similar in concept to the New Gods. The human-looking gods were called Eternals, their demonic looking counterparts were the Deviants, and they were both inferior to the mysterious space gods called the Celestials. The series was never a best-seller but has its dedicated fans. The characters and concepts have been incorporated to the wider Marvel multiverse, with several other creators adding to them over the decades.
Somewhat less ambitious were the rest of the Kirby creations of the 1970s for Marvel. They included Machine Man (1977) and Devil Dinosaur (1978). Each held its own short-lived series, but enduring success eludes them. They still have enough fans to warrant several revivals over the following decades.
Kirby left Marvel in 1978 to return to the field of animation, after an absence of nearly 40 years. He spend much of the late 1970s and 1980s working on television animated series such as "Thundarr the Barbarian" and "The Centurions". Futhermore, Kirby found the experience much more satisfying, considering he was in a senior creative post as production designer and worked with young employees who did the more laborious work of animation. They treated him with far more respect than the people in the comic book industry.
Never satisfied with his lack of creative control over his older creations, Kirby briefly returned to comic books with the creator-owned series "Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers" (1981-1984). It was intended as his own sequel to the New Gods. The title character, Captain Victory, was implied to be the son and heir of Orion. His supposed grandfather "Blackmaas" was a look-alike of Darkseid.
In the mid-1980s, when the Kenner toy company judged his New Gods villains, like Darkseid, ideal antagonists for the Super Powers Collection toy-line, DC asked Kirby to design the action figure versions for character. He received royalties for the use of his character designs, the only time he was so compensated. He also returned to his characters in the DC graphic novel called The Hunger Dogs!.
In the early 1990s, Kirby licensed his creator owned-characters to Topps Comics. Existing characters and unused Kirby-produced concepts from earlier decades were used for the so-called Kirbyverse line of comic books. Kirby himself did not contribute new work to Topps. He attempted to make a comeback to the comic book medium with a comic book series called "Phantom Force", but died in 1994 before its publication.
Some of Kirby's unpublished work has seen posthumous publication. His creator-owned characters were inherited by his family and have continued to appear in new works by various publishers. The Kirby family has repeatedly attempted to claim partial ownership over Jack Kirby's Marvel creations, though their legal efforts have so far been unsuccessful. The Kirby family has not disputed the ownership of his DC creations.(based on the Marvel comic book by)- Writer
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