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The game is an action-adventure title with heavy elements of hack and slash gameplay. The gameplay of the game resembles a martial arts title focused on melee combat while featuring opportunities for ranged attacks. The main character, Nariko, uses a weapon called the "Heavenly Sword" which changes into one of three forms depending on what attack stance the player uses as part of a unique fighting style. Speed Stance provides an even balance between damage and speed, where the sword takes the form of two separate blades.[1] Range Stance allows fast, long-range, but weaker attacks, with the sword being two blades chained together. Power Stance is the most powerful, but slowest style, where attacks are made with the sword in the shape of one large, two-handed blade.
For exploration and certain battles, the game also makes use of quick time events (QTE). During a QTE, a symbol for a certain button or for an action such as moving the analog stick to the right or left appears on-screen and the player must match what is shown to successfully complete the scene.[1]
In addition to Nariko, a secondary character, Kai, is controlled for some portions of the game.[1] Many of Kai's stages take the form of sniping missions, using her crossbow to pick off enemies, in some cases to protect characters. While Kai cannot perform hand-to-hand combat,[1] in stages that call for her to explore the level she is able to hop over objects and to free herself from an enemy's grasp by temporarily stunning them.
Projectiles can be maneuvered to their targets using the motion-sensing capabilities of the Sixaxis controller through a feature known as Aftertouch. Such projectiles include guiding Kai's arrows after she has launched them, and for Nariko, guiding a cannon or rocket launcher, or picking up and throwing objects.
The game's story and mythos revolves around the titular Heavenly Sword, a blade said to have been wielded by an unnamed Heavenly deity against a demonic warlord called the Raven Lord.[2] After the battle was won and the Raven Lord defeated, the sword was left in the mortal world, becoming the center of wars over its power.[3] The fighting made the sword lust after the life of its users, eventually killing them after a short time.[4][5] A warrior tribe finally took charge of the sword, ending the wars and pledging to keep it safe and unused for the world's own good.[6] Among the tribe, a legend said that the sword's original wielder would be reborn in the year of the "fire-horse", and that this figure would unite the world's scattered tribes and lead the world to peace.[7]
The game's narrator and main protagonist is Nariko (Anna Torv), a headstrong red-headed woman who was born in the year of the prophesied divine warrior: because she was a woman, her clan saw her as a mockery of the prophecy and a portent of doom.[8] The game's main antagonist is King Bohan (Andy Serkis), a tyrannical ruler who is determined to bring the world's tribes to heel and pave the way for a new golden age.[9] Nariko is trained as a warrior by her father, Master Shen (Ewan Stewart), who both cares for her as a child and has difficulty coping with her role in the clan's seeming undoing and the death of his wife.[10] Nariko's only friend is Kai (Lydia Baksh), a wild and erratic young girl who is the last member of a clan destroyed by the armies of Bohan.[11] Among Bohan's servants are his general, Flying Fox (Steven Berkoff): his serpentine mistress Whiptail (Race Davies): and Roach (Richard Ridings), Bohan's son, of whom the king is so ashamed because of Roach's obese appearance that he will not even acknowledge Roach as his own.[12]
The game begins in medias res, with Nariko fighting the forces of Bohan. As she is fighting the sword finishes draining her life and she seemingly dies, waking in a field and speaking to the power within the sword about what has happened. Five days before, Nariko's clan is assaulted by King Bohan's forces. Before she joins the fight, Shen thrusts the sword into the ground next to her demanding that she take care of it. Nariko fights alongside her father and her clansmen as their defenses are weakened and stretched by scores of Bohan's warriors scaling the city walls accompanied by catapults. As the warriors and Shen escape from Bohan's Army, Nariko protects them until spotting a catapult moving toward the fort. As Shen had earlier instructed her, she flees, as the fortress is apparently destroyed behind her. She passes a large black bird with a golden head, the animal form of the Raven Lord. When Bohan's army captures her father and corners her Nariko has no choice but to wield the sword to defend herself in order to escape. She takes a flying leap off a cliff edge as Bohan's archers begin firing at her. Kai finds Nariko after disobeying Shen's orders to hide and informs her of the temple where her father and clansmen are held captive. Nariko infiltrates the temple and is ambushed by Flying Fox. She defeats the general and continues on to rescue her father. Meanwhile, King Bohan plots to set up a trap for Nariko with Whiptail. Nariko falls into the trap, and Whiptail, after watching most of her personal guards defeated, tells Nariko the truth behind her father's original feelings about her birth - Shen wanted to kill Nariko shortly after her birth, but was unable to bring himself to do so.[13] Nariko tells her father to leave her and fights with Whiptail. After Nariko impales Whiptail with the sword, King Bohan turns up and snaps Whiptail's neck in her dying moments, then captures the sword and an incapacitated Nariko.
As Shen escapes, Kai makes her way to Nariko's cell. Kai is able to find where Nariko is imprisoned and begs that she comes home with her. Nariko explains to Kai that she needs to reacquire the Heavenly Sword to kill King Bohan. She asks Kai to retrieve the sword and Kai accepts the task. Kai succeeds in finding the Heavenly Sword, only to also discover her mother's skeleton. In a flashback, it is revealed that, some years ago, Kai's mother was murdered in front of her eyes by Flying Fox. Returning to the present, Kai is confronted by Flying Fox and barely manages to escape from him with the sword. Meanwhile, Nariko is forced by Bohan to fight before his army against Orangumen, pets of Roach's. During the battle, Kai arrives and throws Nariko the sword. When Nariko defeats all the Orangumen, Bohan orders Roach to murder Nariko. After defeating Roach, both Nariko and Kai flee from the pit. Bohan then commands Flying Fox to kill Kai while his soldiers take on Nariko. As the two try to escape, Flying Fox cuts Kai off from Nariko and they are separated. Nariko desperately tails Flying Fox, but when she finally catches up, he seemingly hangs Kai in front of her. Believing Kai dead, Nariko flies into a rage and battles with Flying Fox. As Nariko and Flying Fox duel, Kai, who survived the drop, uses her crossbow to shoot an arrow into Flying Fox's head, killing him. Nariko releases the injured Kai from the noose and returns her to the care of the clan.
King Bohan rallies his men to launch a final attack to regain the Heavenly Sword. Nariko fights alongside her father and clansmen once more. Nariko kills countless numbers of Bohan's troops with ease and destroys his catapults. Despite her efforts, the sword kills her, bringing the events of the game full circle. But this time, Nariko reverses her death by making a pact with the sword to protect it from becoming a useless and dusty relic, since it needs her more than her clan needs it.[14] Nariko returns as a goddess-like figure, and proceeds to slaughter Bohan's troops. Desperate, Bohan begs the Raven Lord (who has been seen repeatedly throughout the game watching Nariko or being with Bohan) to give him the power to destroy Nariko. Bohan gets his wish and the Raven Lord merges with him.[15] An epic battle ensues similar to the one foretold in the prophecy. After Nariko manages to defeat Bohan, the raven leaves his body, and, despite Bohan begging for mercy, pecks his eyes out and flies away.
As Nariko raises the sword to strike the final blow, Roach comes to his father's side and begs Nariko to let him take Bohan. Nariko relents, then Roach and Bohan leave, with Bohan calling Roach his son for the first time.[16] Though successful in protecting the sword from coming into the hands of Bohan, Nariko still must give her life for wielding it, for that is the price for using the almighty sword, and the story comes to its end. Nariko reflects that she believes they have fought in vain for the prophecy, that the sword was not from Heaven, but feels gratified that she chose to be the one who was going to save her people from evil: she took the sword, paid the price and ultimately defeated Bohan's army, but nevertheless she was still a normal woman.[17] Nariko heals Kai, and gives her the sword for safekeeping, before passing away. At the funeral, Nariko's body is placed into a boat filled with blossoms, and Kai and Shen cast her out to sea.
Heavenly Sword began development in 2002.[18] After establishing early concept, a CGI trailer was produced which helped guide future development, described by the team as an iterative process where many other things changed around the central concept. The team began production without a specific console in mind, tailoring gameplay elements to the PlayStation 3 when the game was picked up by Sony as an exclusive for their upcoming platform.[19] The game was developed using Havok Complete, a combination of Havok Physics and Havok Animation.[20] Production began with the aim of telling a cinematic action adventure inspired by recent films including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, with a later fantasy influence inspired by the themes of The Lord of the Rings.[21] Other influences included the game Ico (2001), the graphic novel La Tour, and the South Korean movie Musa.[19] The game eventually developed a distinct visual and narrative identity while maintaining elements from these early inspirations.[21] Nariko's three combat styles drew direct inspiration from the dragon forms in Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002).[19]
The character designs were intended to stand out from each other, with distinct elements ranging from color coding to how a character moved. Nariko was made recognisable both with her unique red hair and the simplicity of her outfit compared to other characters.[21] The early concept designs were heavily influenced by Japanese art, and while it retained a strong Far Eastern theme with influences from Japan and China, the team also incorporated references to Mongolian and South American environments and architecture.[19]
Character movement was an important element for the team. Kai's movements were based on several elements, including cats and Princess Mononoke protagonist San.[19] While they were still faced with technical restrictions, the team had access to hardware which better enabled them to realise their world and character design. Ninja Theory collaborated with Peter Jackson's company Wētā FX to create realistic facial expressions both during cutscenes and in gameplay.[21] All of the actors involved in the project had previously been involved in film or television.[19] Actor Andy Serkis performs as the voice and motion capture actor for King Bohan, one of the major characters in Heavenly Sword; he also acts as dramatic director for the game and is one of the writers of the story of the game. Nariko is voiced by Australian actress Anna Torv.[22]
A demo was released to the PlayStation Store on July 26, 2007, featuring a short, cinematic clip at the beginning and two brief enemy battles, lasting approximately five to ten minutes. An eight-second clip of the game was seen in an episode of the TV series Heroes entitled "Parasite", ostensibly being played by Jessica Sanders and her son, Micah. It featured Nariko running across ropes as they were cut by Bohan's soldiers, before landing on the platform to face them.[23] While the episode was broadcast over four months before the actual release of the game, the level displayed remained in the released build, including the rope sequence shown; the icons in the final game used to inform the player which buttons to press were changed from large, central icons as seen in the clip, to be smaller and positioned at the bottom of the screen. Sony and Ninja Theory have made five 'making-of' videos about the production of Heavenly Sword, with each one detailing a certain aspect of the game's production, from music to motion capture. The videos can either be unlocked while playing the game or downloaded from the PlayStation Store.
Nitin Sawhney composed the music for the soundtrack. It was performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Stephen Hussey. Tameem Antoniades of Ninja Theory said "we have our big orchestral soundtrack but we wanted to add a more ethnic element and marry those two together. There are actually very few musicians in the world who are experts in both areas. Nitin Sawhney is one of them."[24] Sawhney stated that his creation of "musical textures take in everything from Hollywood, European and Chinese cinema to Indian and middle eastern instrumentation through the orchestras and soloists hovering between sonic tidal waves and reflective moments of intimate grace."[25]
Nariko as represented in Part I of the animated series
A series of Heavenly Sword animated episodes were released prior to the launch of the game itself, acting as a prologue to the events of the game. The series, which consists of five episodes, was produced by London production company Blinkink and animated by CHASE Animation Studios, headed by Robert Chandler. The videos were made available both online[26] and through the PlayStation Store. The first two videos were also included on the retail version of the game; the latter three videos were not ready in time to be included.[27]
The style of the animated series differs from the graphics of the game itself. The animated series relies on a simple and stylized 2D look, which allowed director Ben Hibon to "create a complete visual re-interpretation of the world and its inhabitants".[28] The videos were produced using a combination of Adobe Photoshop, Flash and After Effects. Initial reference frames were created with Photoshop, which were then animated in Flash and exported as separate layers into After Effects. The layers were composed onto a 3D stage with multiple foreground, middle ground and background elements, which allowed the use of 3D cameras and lighting to give depth and movement to the video.[28]
Heavenly Sword sold over one million copies by May 2008.[50][51] Tameem Antoniades stated in March 2010 that sales were approximately one-and-a-half million but that the developer did not break even.[52] The game was praised for its graphics[35] and combat system, while criticism stemmed from the short length of the game and lack of online capabilities. It received "generally favorable reviews" according to video game review aggregatorMetacritic.[32]
USA Today gave the game nine stars out of ten, saying, "PlayStation 3 fans hungry for more satisfying first-party content from Sony will be satiated with the feverish pace Heavenly Sword provides."[48]Digital Spy gave it four stars out of five, saying, "The lavish sword combat system and the awesome presentation are what make this title a worthy buy. Sony seems to have created this game as a showcase for the PS3 and forgot about getting the gameplay up to scratch. But despite its failings, Heavenly Sword is a great buy for the excellent sword fighting sections and for those who simply want to show their friends just what the PS3 is capable of."[53]The New York Times gave it a favorable review, saying, "The scenery is breathtaking, battles can be exciting, and the intelligent, cruel King Bohan — voiced brilliantly by Andy Serkis (...) — is one of the best video game villains ever. The game is frustrating because it seems as if it should have been a great game and as if its creators tried to make it a great game, but it managed to be only a pretty good one."[54]Maxim gave it a score of six out of ten, saying, "A few of the puzzles are a total bitch, the button-press sequence/finishing moves that the game steals directly from God of War require too much precision, and the sniper sequences wind up being even more tedious than the fighting. It's fun for a little while, and very flashy, but in the end, for everything Heavenly Sword does right, it does two more things wrong."[55]The A.V. Club gave it a C+ and stated that "If Metal Gear Solid and Halo had acting this good, we'd be on to something."[47] In Japan, Famitsu gave the game a score of two sevens and two eights, for a total of 30 out of 40.[36]
GamesRadar featured Kai in the article "Freakish fashion" in 2007,[57] and Nariko as a "game babe" sex symbol in 2007 and 2009.[58][59] In 2009, MSN featured Nariko in the article "Gaming's Hottest Babes".[60]UGO featured her among the "Top Animated Hotties" in 2008[61] and in their list of the best girls in video games in 2011,[62] and also in the article "11 Strong Gaming Girls We Never Saw Again" in 2010.[63] In 2010, Lisa Foiles of The Escapist ranked Nariko first in the "Top 5 Impractical Female Character Hairstyles".[64] In 2013, she was ranked as the 18th greatest heroine in video game history by Complex.[65]
According to Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades, the story for the sequel has already been written; in fact a whole trilogy is being planned. He stated, "We've had the story for the sequel for a while now. Hopefully, if this game is successful, then there's no reason why there shouldn't be a sequel and we'd very much like to go into that."[66]
In March 2008, it was confirmed that Ninja Theory is not planning to create a sequel for Heavenly Sword, and instead has decided to work on a new project[67] (most likely Enslaved: Odyssey to the West). Sony Computer Entertainment retains the intellectual property of Heavenly Sword, and there is always the possibility of production on a sequel being outsourced to another developer.[68] In June 2008, it was reported that a sequel to Heavenly Sword was in-development at SCE Studio Cambridge, but was canceled due to Sony no longer seeing it as a commercially viable product.[69] Concept art for the title later surfaced in 2012.[70][71]
Haze over the Mojave Desert from a brush fire in Santa Barbara, California, seen as the Sun descends on the 2016 June solstice, allows the Sun to be photographed without a filter.Bushfire haze in Sydney, AustraliaHaze as smoke pollution over the Mojave from fires in the Inland Empire, June 2016, demonstrates the loss of contrast to the Sun, and the landscape in general.Haze causing red sky, due to the scattering of light on smoke particles, also known as Rayleigh scattering during Mexico's forest fire seasonHaze in Monterrey, Mexico, during grassland fires
Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification of particulates causing horizontal obscuration into categories of fog, ice fog, steam fog, mist, haze, smoke, volcanic ash, dust, sand, and snow.[1] Sources for particles that cause haze include farming (ploughing in dry weather), traffic, industry, windy weather, volcanic activity and wildfires.
Seen from afar (e.g. an approaching airplane) and depending on the direction of view with respect to the Sun, haze may appear brownish or bluish, while mist tends to be bluish grey instead. Whereas haze often is considered a phenomenon occurring in dry air, mist formation is a phenomenon in saturated, humid air. However, haze particles may act as condensation nuclei that leads to the subsequent vapor condensation and formation of mist droplets; such forms of haze are known as "wet haze".
In meteorological literature, the word haze is generally used to denote visibility-reducing aerosols of the wet type suspended in the atmosphere. Such aerosols commonly arise from complex chemical reactions that occur as sulfur dioxide gases emitted during combustion are converted into small droplets of sulfuric acid when exposed. The reactions are enhanced in the presence of sunlight, high relative humidity, and an absence of air flow (wind). A small component of wet-haze aerosols appear to be derived from compounds released by trees when burning, such as terpenes. For all these reasons, wet haze tends to be primarily a warm-season phenomenon. Large areas of haze covering many thousands of kilometers may be produced under extensive favorable conditions each summer.
Haze often occurs when suspended dust and smoke particles accumulate in relatively dry air. When weather conditions block the dispersal of smoke and other pollutants they concentrate and form a usually low-hanging shroud that impairs visibility and may become a respiratory health threat if excessively inhaled. Industrial pollution can result in dense haze, which is known as smog.
Since 1991, haze has been a particularly acute problem in Southeast Asia. The main source of the haze has been smoke from fires occurring in Sumatra and Borneo which dispersed over a wide area. In response to the 1997 Southeast Asian haze, the ASEAN countries agreed on a Regional Haze Action Plan (1997) as an attempt to reduce haze. In 2002, all ASEAN countries signed the Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, but the pollution is still a problem there today. Under the agreement, the ASEAN secretariat hosts a co-ordination and support unit.[2] During the 2013 Southeast Asian haze, Singapore experienced a record high pollution level, with the 3-hour Pollutant Standards Index reaching a record high of 401.[3]
In the United States, the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) program was developed as a collaborative effort between the US EPA and the National Park Service in order to establish the chemical composition of haze in National Parks and establish air pollution control measures in order to restore the visibility of the air to pre-industrial levels.[4] Additionally, the Clean Air Act requires that any current visibility problems be addressed and remedied, and future visibility problems be prevented, in 156 Class I Federal areas located throughout the United States. A full list of these areas is available on EPA's website.[5]
In addition to the severe health issues caused by haze from air pollution, dust storm particles, and bush fire smoke, reduction in irradiance is the most dominant impact of these sources of haze and a growing issue for photovoltaic production as the solar industry grows.[6] Smog also lowers agricultural yield and it has been proposed that pollution controls could increase agricultural production in China.[7] These effects are negative for both sides of agrivoltaics (the combination of photovoltaic electricity production and food from agriculture).
Haze is no longer just a confined as a domestic problem. It has become one of the causes of international disputes among neighboring countries. Haze can migrate to adjacent countries in the path of wind and thereby pollutes other countries as well, even if haze does not first manifest there. One of the most recent problems occur in Southeast Asia which largely affects the nations of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. In 2013, due to forest fires in Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas became shrouded in a pall of noxious fumes dispersed from Indonesia, that brings a smell of ash and coal for more than a week, in the country's worst environmental crisis since 1997.
The main sources of the haze are Indonesia's Sumatra Island, Indonesian areas of Borneo, and Riau, where farmers, plantation owners and miners have set hundreds of fires in the forests to clear land during dry weather. Winds blew most of the particulates and fumes across the narrow Strait of Malacca to Malaysia, although parts of Indonesia in the path are also affected.[8] The 2015 Southeast Asian haze was another major crisis of air quality, although there were occasions such as the 2006 and 2019 haze which were less impactful than the three major Southeast Asian haze of 1997, 2013 and 2015.
Haze causes issues in the area of terrestrial photography and imaging, where the penetration of large amounts of dense atmosphere may be necessary to image distant subjects. This results in the visual effect of a loss of contrast in the subject, due to the effect of light scattering and reflection through the haze particles. For these reasons, sunrise and sunset colors and possibly the sun itself appear subdued on hazy days, and stars may be obscured by haze at night. In some cases, attenuation by haze is so great that, toward sunset, the sun disappears altogether before even reaching the horizon.[9]
Haze can be defined as an aerial form of the Tyndall effect therefore unlike other atmospheric effects such as cloud, mist and fog, haze is spectrally selective in accordance to the electromagnetic spectrum: shorter (blue) wavelengths are scattered more, and longer (red/infrared) wavelengths are scattered less. For this reason, many super-telephoto lenses often incorporate yellow light filters or coatings to enhance image contrast.[10] Infrared (IR) imaging may also be used to penetrate haze over long distances, with a combination of IR-pass optical filters and IR-sensitive detectors at the intended destination.
Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973)[1][2][3] is an English actress known for her roles in period, romance, and action films. The only child of actors Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe, Kate Beckinsale made her acting debut when she was only a year old,[4] as an extra on the British daytime drama Couples (1975), on which her parents also appeared. She didn't act again until she was nearly an adult, beginning in 1991 with a small voice role in an episode of the miniseries adaptation of P. D. James'Devices and Desires and a supporting role in the television movie One Against the Wind starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill. In 1992, she starred in the Blade Runner-inspired short film "Rachel's Dream" with Christopher Eccleston and debuted onstage in a production of Noël Coward'sHay Fever.
Kathrin Romany Beckinsale was born on 26 July 1973 in the Chiswick district of London,[5][6] the only child of actors Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe.[7] She has a half-sister from her father's earlier marriage, actress Samantha Beckinsale.[7] Her father was partly of Burmese descent.[8][9] Her parents did not marry until 1977, prior to Beckinsale starting nursery school,[10] when she made her first television appearance at age four, in an episode of This Is Your Life, dedicated to her father.[11] When she was five, her father died suddenly of a heart attack, aged 31. She was deeply traumatised by the loss and "started expecting bad things to happen."[12][7]
Her widowed mother moved in with director Roy Battersby when Beckinsale was nine, and she was brought up alongside his four sons and daughter.[13] She had a close relationship with her stepfather,[7] who was a member of the Workers Revolutionary Party during her youth.[14] She helped to sell The News Line, a Trotskyist newspaper, as a little girl and has said the household phone was tapped following Battersby's blacklisting by the BBC.[14] Family friends included Ken Loach and Vanessa Redgrave.[14]
Beckinsale was educated at Godolphin and Latymer School, an independent school for girls in Hammersmith, West London, and was involved with the Orange Tree Youth Theatre.[15] She was twice a winner of the WH Smith Young Writers Award for both fiction and poetry.[16] She has described herself as a "late bloomer": "All of my friends were kissing boys and drinking cider way before me. I found it really depressing that we weren't making camp fires and everyone was doing stuff like that."[17] She had a nervous breakdown and developed anorexia at age fifteen,[18] and underwent Freudianpsychoanalysis for four years.[7]
Beckinsale studied Russian at school[19] and read French and Russian literature at New College, Oxford, and was later described by her contemporary Victoria Coren Mitchell, as "whip-clever, slightly nuts, and very charming".[20] She became friends with
Roy Kinnear's daughter Kirsty.[21] She was involved with the Oxford University Dramatic Society, most notably being directed by fellow student Tom Hooper in a production of A View from the Bridge at the Oxford Playhouse.[22] As a Modern Languages student, she was required to spend her third year abroad, and studied in Paris. She then quit university to focus on her burgeoning acting career: "It was getting to the point where I wasn't enjoying either thing enough because both were very high pressure."[7] Beckinsale has stated she would like to complete her studies at Oxford University.[23][24]
Beckinsale decided at a young age she wanted to be an actress: "I grew up immersed in film. My family were in the business. I quickly realised that my parents seemed to have much more fun in their work than any of my friends' parents."[25] She was inspired by the performances of Jeanne Moreau.[26] She made her television debut in 1991 with a small part in an ITV adaptation of P. D. James' Devices and Desires.[27] In 1992, she starred alongside Christopher Eccleston in "Rachel's Dream," a 30‑minute Channel 4 short.[28] In 1993, she appeared in the pilot of the ITV detective series, Anna Lee, starring Imogen Stubbs.[29]
In 1993, Beckinsale landed the role of Hero in Kenneth Branagh's big-screen adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. It was filmed in Tuscany, Italy, during a summer holiday from Oxford University.[30] She attended the film's Cannes Film Festival premiere and remembered it as an overwhelming experience. "Nobody even told me I could bring a friend!"[17] "I had Doc Martens boots on, and I think I put the flower from the breakfast tray in my hair."[31]Peter Travers of Rolling Stone was won over by her "lovely" performance.[32]Vincent Canby of The New York Times noted that she and Robert Sean Leonard "look right and behave with a certain naive sincerity, although they often seem numb with surprise at hearing the complex locutions they speak."[33] The film grossed over $22 million at the box office.[34]
She made three other films while at university. In 1994, she appeared as Christian Bale's love interest in Prince of Jutland, a film based on the Danish legend which inspired Shakespeare's Hamlet,[35] and starred in the murder mystery Uncovered.[36] In 1995, while studying in Paris, she filmed the French languageMarie-Louise ou la permission.[37]
Shortly after leaving Oxford University in 1995, Beckinsale starred in Cold Comfort Farm, as Flora Poste, a newly orphaned 1930s socialite sent to live with distant family members in rural England. The John Schlesinger-directed film was an adaptation of Stella Gibbons's novel and also featured Joanna Lumley, Eileen Atkins, Ian McKellen, Rufus Sewell and Stephen Fry. Beckinsale was initially considered too young, but was cast after she wrote a pleading letter to the director.[38]Emanuel Levy of Variety was reminded of "the strength of a young Glenda Jackson and the charm of a young Julie Christie."[39] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times classed the actress as "yet another of those effortlessly skilled British beauties who light up the screen."[40]Janet Maslin of The New York Times felt she played the role "with the perfect snippy aplomb."[41] The film grossed over $5 million at the US box office.[42]
Also in 1995, she appeared in Haunted, a ghost story in which Derek Elley of Variety felt she "holds the screen, with both physical looks and verbal poise."[43] 1995 saw Beckinsale's first professional stage appearance, as Nina in The Seagull at Theatre Royal, Bath. She became romantically involved with co-star Michael Sheen after meeting during play rehearsals.[44] She later said: "I was all revved up to feel very intimidated. It was my first-ever play and my mother had cut out reviews of him in previous productions. And then he walked in ... It was almost like, 'God, well, I'm finished now. That's it, then.'... He's the most outrageously talented person I've ever met."[45]Irving Wardle of The Independent felt that "the casting, including Michael Sheen's volcanic Kostya and Kate Beckinsale's steadily freezing Nina, is mainly spot-on."[46] In early 1996, she starred in two further plays, Sweetheart at the Royal Court Theatre[47] and Clocks and Whistles at the Bush Theatre.[48]
Beckinsale next starred in an ITV adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, playing Emma to Mark Strong's Mr Knightley and Samantha Morton's Harriet Smith. "You shouldn't necessarily like Emma," Beckinsale has said of her character. "You do love her, but in the way the family of a young girl could be exasperated by her outrageous behaviour and still love her."[38] The programme was aired in autumn 1996, just months after Gwyneth Paltrow had starred in a film adaptation of the same story.[38] Caryn James of The New York Times felt that while "Ms. Beckinsale's Emma is plainer looking than Ms. Paltrow's," she is "altogether more believable and funnier."[49] Jonathan Brown of The Independent has described Beckinsale's interpretation as "the most enduring modern performance" as Emma.[50]
In 1997, Beckinsale appeared opposite Stuart Townsend in the comedy Shooting Fish, one of the most commercially successful British films of that year.[51][52] "I'd just had my wisdom teeth out," Beckinsale later recalled of the initial audition. "I was also on very strong painkillers, so it was not the most conventional of meetings."[53] Elley wrote of "an incredibly laid-back performance".[54] Thomas felt she "just glows as an aristocrat facing disaster with considerable aplomb."[55] She narrated Austen's Emma for Hodder & Stoughton AudioBooks[56] and Diana Hendry's "The Proposal" for BBC Radio 4.[57][58] Also in 1997, she played Juliet to Michael Sheen's Romeo, in an audio production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Sheen.[59]
At this point in her career, Beckinsale began to seek work in the United States, something she has said wasn't "a conscious decision... My boyfriend was in a play on Broadway so that's why we ended up in New York, and my auditions happened to be for American films."[61] She starred opposite Chloë Sevigny in 1998's The Last Days of Disco. The Whit Stillman film focused on a group of mostly Ivy League and Hampshire College graduates socialising in the Manhattan disco scene of the early 1980s. Beckinsale's American accent was widely praised.[62][63][64]Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times felt her role as the bossy Charlotte was "beautifully played."[65]Todd McCarthy of Variety was unimpressed by the film but noted that "compensations include Beckinsale, looking incredible in a succession of black dresses, whose character can get on your nerves even if the actress doesn't."[66] Her performance earned her a London Critics' Circle Film Award.[67] The film grossed $3 million worldwide.[68]
In 1999, Beckinsale appeared opposite Claire Danes in Brokedown Palace, a drama about two young Americans forced to deal with the Thai justice system on a post-graduation trip abroad. A then 26-year-old Beckinsale played a young girl.[69] Danes had hoped to become friends with Beckinsale during the shoot but found her "complicated" and "prickly."[70] McCarthy said the leads "confirm their status as two of the young actresses on the scene today most worth watching," finding Beckinsale "very effective at getting across layered character traits and emotions."[71] "Danes and Beckinsale are exceptionally talented young actresses," said Thomas, but "unfortunately, the script's seriously underdeveloped context defeats their considerable efforts at every turn."[72] Stephen Holden of The New York Times felt that Beckinsale's character "never comes into focus."[73] The film was a box office failure.[74]
2000's The Golden Bowl marked Beckinsale's first role following the birth of her daughter. The Merchant/Ivory production was based on the novel by Henry James and also starred Uma Thurman and Jeremy Northam. Beckinsale's partner, Michael Sheen, hit Northam on the film set after he followed Beckinsale to her trailer to scold her for forgetting a line.[75] Holden noted "the most satisfying of the four-lead performances belong to the British cast members, Ms. Beckinsale and Mr. Northam, who are better than their American counterparts at layers of emotional concealment," adding each beat of Beckinsale's performance "registers precisely."[76] Thomas felt her performance would take her to "a new career level."[77]Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer asserted that she "comes close to capturing the sublimity of Maggie, despite the obvious fact that no movie can capture the elegant copiousness of James' prose."[78] The film grossed over $5 million worldwide.[79]
Beckinsale rose to fame in 2001 with a leading role in the war film Pearl Harbor, as a nurse torn between two pilots, played by Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. She was drawn to the project by the script: "It's so unusual these days to read a script that has those old-fashioned values to it. Not morals, but movie values. It's a big, sweeping epic....You just never get the chance to do that."[80] Director Michael Bay initially had doubts about casting the actress: "I wasn't sure about her at first...she wore black leather trousers in her screen test and I thought she was a little nasty...it was easy to think of this woman as a slut."[81] He eventually decided to hire her because she wasn't "too beautiful. Women feel disturbed when they see someone's too pretty."[82] He asked her to lose weight during filming.[83]
In a 2004 interview, the actress noted that his comments were "upsetting"[84] and said she wore leather trousers because "it was snowing out. It wasn't exactly like I had my nipple rings in."[85] She felt grateful that she had not had to deal with such criticism at a younger age: "If I had come on to a movie set at [a younger] age and someone had said, 'You're a bit funny-looking, can you go on a diet?' – I might have jumped off a building. I just didn't have the confidence to put that into perspective at the time."[81] However, speaking in 2011, she said she was "very fond" of Bay.[86]
Pearl Harbor received negative reviews. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised "the avid eyed, ruby lipped Kate Beckinsale, the rare actress whose intelligence gives her a sensual bloom; she's like Parker Posey without irony."[87]A. O. Scott of The New York Times noted that "Mr. Affleck and Ms. Beckinsale do what they can with their lines, and glow with the satiny shine of real movie stars."[88] However, Mike Clark of USA Today felt that the "usually appealing Kate Beckinsale" is "inexplicably submerged – like her hospital colleagues – under heaps of tarty makeup that even actresses of the era didn't wear."[89] The film was a commercial success, grossing $449 million worldwide.[90]
Beckinsale's second film appearance of 2001 was in the romantic comedy Serendipity, as the love interest of John Cusack. It was filmed directly after Pearl Harbor and Beckinsale found it "a real relief to return to something slightly more familiar."[61] Turan praised the "appealing and believable" leads, adding that Beckinsale "reinforces the strong impression she made in Cold Comfort Farm, The Golden Bowl, and The Last Days of Disco" after "recovering nicely" from her appearance in the much-maligned Pearl Harbor.[91] Claudia Puig of USA Today felt that "Beckinsale's talents haven't been mined as effectively in any other film since Cold Comfort Farm."[92] McCarthy found her "energetic and appealing".[93]Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times described her as "luminous but determined."[94] In an uncomplimentary review of the film, Roger Ebert described her as "a good actress, but not good enough to play this dumb."[95] The film has grossed over $77 million at the worldwide box office.[96]
In 2002, Beckinsale starred in Lisa Cholodenko's Laurel Canyon, as a strait-laced academic who finds herself increasingly attracted to her free-spirited future mother-in-law. The independent film was another opportunity for Beckinsale to work with Christian Bale, her Prince of Jutland co‑star. She found their sex scene awkward because she knew Bale well: "If it was a stranger, it would have been easier."[97] While Frances McDormand's performance as Bale's mother was widely praised, Beckinsale received negative reviews. Holden found the film "superbly acted, with the exception of Ms. Beckinsale, whose tense, colourless Alex conveys no inner life."[98] Critic Lisa Schwarzbaum was unimpressed by the "tedious" characters and criticised "the fussy performances of Bale and Beckinsale" in particular.[99] The film has grossed over $4 million worldwide.[100]
Beckinsale became known as an action star after playing a vampire in 2003's Underworld. The film was markedly different from her previous work, and Beckinsale has said she was grateful for the change of pace after appearing in "a bunch of period stuff and then a bunch of romantic comedies,"[101] adding that "It was quite a challenge for me to play an action heroine and pull off all that training when [in real life] I can't catch a ball if it's coming my way."[102] The film received negative to mixed reviews but was a surprise box-office hit and has gained a cult following.[103] Also in 2003, she starred in the little seen Tiptoes with Gary Oldman and Matthew McConaughey.[104]
In 2004, Beckinsale starred in the action horror filmVan Helsing. She was "so surprised" to be appearing in her second action film in two years. "It just seemed like a very good role."[105] Beckinsale had just separated from her long-term boyfriend Michael Sheen at the time of filming and appreciated the warm atmosphere created on set by director Stephen Sommers and co‑star Hugh Jackman: "I really did find that working with people like Stephen and Hugh made it possible to get through what I was going through."[106] The film grossed over $120 million at the US box office and over $300 million worldwide, but it was not well-reviewed.[107][108]Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle described her as "a pretty actress doing her best to maintain dignity, vainly trying to craft a feminist statement from a filmmaker's whimsy".[109]Rex Reed of The New York Observer felt she was "desperately in need of a new agent."[110]
Also in 2004, Beckinsale portrayed Ava Gardner in Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator. Scorsese decided to cast Beckinsale because, "I've always liked her. I've seen all her work, and I was glad that she agreed to audition."[111] Beckinsale's performance received mixed reviews. Ken Tucker of New York Magazine said she played the part "in full va-va-voom blossom".[112] LaSalle felt that she manages "to convince us that Ava was one of the great broads of all time."[113] However, Clark described it as "the one performance that doesn't come off (though Beckinsale has the requisite beauty)".[114]Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian stated that "Gardner's rich, voluptuous sexiness is completely absent as Beckinsale sleepwalks through the role as if she was advertising perfume."[115] The film grossed over $213 million worldwide.[116]
In 2006, Beckinsale reprised her role as Selene in the successful vampire sequel Underworld: Evolution, directed by her husband, Len Wiseman.[117] It was the first time she had "been involved with a movie from the moment it's a germ of an idea right through the whole editing process."[118] Her daughter had a small role as the younger Selene.[118] The film was a box office success, grossing $111 million worldwide.[119] Beckinsale's second film appearance of 2006 was opposite Adam Sandler and Christopher Walken in Click, a comedy about an overworked family man who discovers a magical remote control that allows him to control time. The opportunity to play a mother "was one of the things that was attractive to me" about the part.[120] It was highly profitable, grossing $237 million worldwide against a production budget of $82.5 million.[121]
Beckinsale then made a return to smaller-scale projects: "My experience is that I sort of stepped away from the independent movies and did a couple of big movies. But that's not necessarily how it's perceived by everybody else, which I do understand."[122] "I enjoy an action movie as much as the next person [but] it's not something that I would like to do solely."[123] She explained that she had originally decided to appear in Underworld because she felt typecast in classical roles – it was "assumed that I use a chamber pot and wear bloomers"[124] – but that her action career "kind of took off a little too much."
Gran Turismo 5 (グランツーリスモ 5, Guran Tsūrisumo Faibu, commonly abbreviated as GT5) is a 2010 racing simulation video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the fifth main installment and the tenth overall in the Gran Turismo series. It was released on November 24, 2010, in Europe and North America, and November 25, 2010, in Japan and Australasia.[3][2] It was preceded by the Prologue version and is the first main entry of the series to be released for the PlayStation 3.
The game marks the first entry in the series with online races with support for up to 16 players. A damage model has been included with variations of damage depending on the car. Over 1,000 cars, 29 different locations, 77 different tracks, and a track generator are available in the game.[4] Dynamic time and weather effects make their debut in the series. World Rally Championship, NASCAR and Super GT licenses are utilized for the first time in the Gran Turismo series.[5][6]
Gran Turismo 5 was well-received critically and a commercial success, becoming the second best-selling PlayStation 3 game, the best-selling PlayStation 3 exclusive and the third best-selling game in the series with nearly 12 million copies sold.[7] The game also won multiple awards and turned some players into real-life professional racing drivers with the GT Academy competition.[8][9][10][11]
An example of both damage rendering and overturning, features new to Gran Turismo
Gran Turismo 5 is the first game in the franchise to provide a damage model, with variations of damage depending on the car. The game also features weather effects, which are available on certain circuits. Optional stereoscopic-3D resolution and karting found a place in the game.[12] Furthermore, new visual effects have been introduced, including dynamic skid marks, dust and the ability for drivers to flash their headlights. A course editor which allows the player to create new circuits by using tools that randomly generate track-parts according to certain player-selected specifications, including the number of corners, the time of day and the number of sectors. There are a variety of themes the player can choose from to act as a base for each circuit design. Themes also have an effect on track length and highest elevation.[13]
The physics are significantly revised compared with Gran Turismo 4. Cars no longer instantly turn-in but realistically must load up the outside wheel first, and destabilizing effects (such as under braking) have greater influence.[14]
Gran Turismo 5 is the first game in the franchise to include both mechanical and external damage modelling, including a real-time deformation engine that processes model deformation according to the speed and angle of impact.[15] It is also possible to overturn cars for the first time in the series.[16] The cars in GT5 are separated into "premium" and "standard" vehicles. Premium vehicles are more detailed and include a fully-detailed cockpit view, while standard vehicles are less detailed. Standard cars initially could not receive aftermarket wheels, however, as of the version 2.02 update this is no longer the case. Gran Turismo 2 previously included damage, but was limited to mechanical failures only.
Gran Turismo 5 allows players to drive 31 different locations or "scenery" and 81 different track layouts (the previous iteration in the main numbered series, Gran Turismo 4, included 51 tracks total).[4]Dunsfold Aerodrome, located in the United Kingdom – the test track of the British automotive television show Top Gear – is included in the game.[17] The playable demo of Gran Turismo 5 at Gamescom 2009 featured the Tokyo Route 246 track, seen in previous incarnations of the game.[18][19] Various real-life circuits return from previous games in the series. These include (among others) Nürburgring, Circuit de la Sarthe, Tsukuba Circuit, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca[20] and Suzuka Circuit.[21] New real-life circuits included in the game include (among others) Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Monza Circuit, Daytona International Speedway and two new Rome and Madrid city circuits. Many fictional circuits return from previous games in the series including 'Trial Mountain', 'Deep Forest Raceway' and 'Autumn Ring'. An official list of all tracks available in the game has been released by Polyphony Digital.[22]
The "Track Pack" downloadable content, includes Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (with weather change) and Kart Space I/II. On January 17, 2012, Polyphony Digital released the "Speed Test Pack" that includes "Special Stage Route X". In June, Twin Ring Motegi returned to the series as DLC after the 2012 GT Academy.[23]
Customization in GT5 ranges from engine tune-ups to body effects to improve aerodynamics, as shown on this Dodge Challenger SRT-8.
Gran Turismo 5 provides a total of 1,089 cars.[24]Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti make their first main release appearance in the franchise. The new "gullwing" Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG appeared, along with the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Lexus LFA supercar. McLaren also made their first appearance as a native manufacturer with the inclusion of the McLaren F1 road car, the F1 GTR race edition, and the MP4-12C road car. It is the first main release in the series to feature licensed Formula One cars, with the Ferrari F2007 and F10 included. Le Mans spec cars made a return appearance. Hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight are included in the game. The series' creator Kazunori Yamauchi mentioned that the latest hybrid and electric cars would be included, including the Tesla Roadster (2008) and Mitsubishi i-MiEV.[5][25] At Gamescom 2010, it was also revealed that GT5 would include the Jaguar XJ13 race car prototype, as well as the Ferrari 330 P4 and the Ford Mark IV race cars, and as the developers put it, "will allow players to create the race that never came to be", since the XJ13 program was canceled before the car was ready for competition. Additionally, in association with Red Bull Racing, the development team worked on a new prototype car called the "X2010 Prototype" which was designed with the idea of, "If you built the fastest racing car on land, one that throws aside all rules and regulations, what would that car look like, how would it perform, and how would it feel to drive?" This car was worked on by Polyphony Digital and Red Bull's aerodynamics expert, Adrian Newey, and is one of the cars in the game.[26] Up to 16 cars or 32 karts would be able to race on track at once whereas previous installments allowed only six cars per race max. Polyphony Digital released the official vehicle list which also shows which vehicles were to be standard or premium.[27]
The cars in GT5 are separated into two categories, premium and standard. Premium cars are highly detailed and thus have high polygon counts, high texture resolution, feature headlights capable of high and low beams, detailed interior camera views, and detailed damage models. Premium cars also have working windshield wipers which are operated on tracks with rain or snow. Standard cars have lower polygon counts and texture resolution, standard headlights and basic damage modelling. After the Spec 2.0 update they feature simplified interior camera views. For open-topped cars, they have a functioning steering wheel and working gauges. Around 25% of all cars in the game fall into the "premium" category.[28]
The game was first revealed at E3 2005 under the name Vision Gran Turismo. This was not GT5 but simply Gran Turismo 4 (for the PlayStation 2) with more cars on track and PC-rendered footage. The PlayStation 3 would not be released until November 11, 2006, and with no Gran Turismo game in the console's launch line-up. Various bits of information and news was revealed about the game from then on, but it was not for another three years that the public got a chance to have a proper look at GT5.
At Sony's E3 2009 Press Conference, a trailer for Gran Turismo 5 was shown, revealing the inclusion of Super GT, NASCAR and WRC but no release date was revealed.[30] Yamauchi said that "We've actually reached a point where we can probably release [GT5] anytime, except that you can also keep working as long as you want to as well, it's just a matter of timing".[31] Yamauchi later explained that "Deciding a release date for a game is always difficult, as it's not something I can decide on my own. The agreement on a date comes between various parties at Sony, and it's not necessarily a date I would be hoping for. March would've been too early. We could have produced the game in time to make that deadline, but the finished product wouldn't have had everything that I wanted to include". Sony Computer Entertainment has certain control over the release dates of their games, which could be one of the contributing factors delaying Gran Turismo 5.[32]Gran Turismo 5 was shown off extensively at E3 2010 including a new trailer, a North and Latin American release date, playable demos on the show floor and various private press conferences revealing new information about the game. Alongside the original release, two collector's editions were released; one featuring some extra bonus content and the other, more expensive option containing extra paraphernalia such as further reading on car racing.
Overall, Gran Turismo 5 took more than five years to complete, with a total cost estimated at $60 million, although Polyphony Digital did release four other games during this period.[33] The first game in the series had also taken five years.[34] Yamauchi has expressed the difficulty of developing for the PlayStation 3, specifically mentioning how the extensively different (at the time) architecture of the Cell processor had made programming extremely challenging and time-consuming.[35] This greater than expected difficulty to program for the Cell processor is speculated by some people to also be part of the reasons why Gran Turismo 5 was delayed a number of times.[35]
All downloadable contents were removed from sale on April 30, 2014. The online servers were shut down on May 30 the same year.[36] On April 29, Sony announced the final online event for Gran Turismo 5, which started on April 30 and ended with the shutdown of the online servers. Players were awarded with five cars in Gran Turismo 6 for participating in the event.[37]
GT5 Time Trial Demo with Sony Bravia at the 2011 Taipei Game Show
The GT5 Time Trial Demo was released on December 17, 2009, on the PlayStation Network; it was only playable while the user was signed into the PlayStation Network. It was not so much a demo of GT5 itself, but as the first part of the 2010 GT Academy, with the fastest drivers from the time trial eventually getting the chance to drive a real racing car in a real racing series. Nevertheless, it showed what progress had been made since Polyphony Digital's previous game, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in terms of graphics, physics and other aspects of game-play and design. It featured stock and tuned versions of the Nissan370Z. The track featured in the demo was the Indianapolis GP circuit, which is new to the Gran Turismo series.[38] This demo was praised for its graphics and updated physics, however it has been criticized for its stiff camera, and confusion over what aspects of the final game the demo represents. The Time Trial demo is no longer playable since the 2010 GT Academy was finished.
On November 16, 2010, it was revealed that the GT Academy would return for a third year, this time for drivers in the USA. GT Academy is a three-phase competition with the winner being trained and enrolled as a professional racing driver in preparation for a major race event next year. A reality TV show on sports channel SPEED chronicled the competition. The preliminary virtual rounds tested of driving skills in Gran Turismo 5 using pre-selected Nissan vehicles and all entrants would receive free digital content for playing. The top 32 drivers were then invited to a live GT5 National Finals, with the 16 leading players taken to the GT Academy Boot Camp.[39][40] The second round of the competition was scrapped due to the widespread use of cheating.[41]
Sony and Polyphony Digital have confirmed that the Gran Turismo 5 Academy events would be available for European players to participate in from March 4, 2011.[42]
At E3 2010, a new trailer was shown revealing various aspects about GT5 including a release date. The song used for the trailer was by Japanese composer Daiki Kasho; many fans wanted to know the name of the song, but it was untitled. Polyphony Digital recognised this and started a competition open to all fans around the world, to submit a name for the song. The winner would have their name immortalised in Gran Turismo 5s credits and their title become the official name of the music track.[43] The winner was chosen by Yamauchi out of 5,444 entries: it was "50UL 0N D!SPLAY" (a stylised form of "Soul On Display") submitted by a fan from Argentina.[44]
Kazunori Yamauchi promised that Gran Turismo 5 could have some compatibility with the PlayStation Portable version. He stated, "we're going to make it so that you can actually export the cars for the PSP version into Gran Turismo 5, so you can export your garage".[45]
The game was reported by media in September 2009 to allow head tracking using the PlayStation Eye, though no official confirmation came in the following months. This feature would allow the player to move their head naturally while sitting down, upright, and have the view around the 3D cockpit change accordingly.[46]
Officially announced in conjunction with Toyota in January 2010 was a GPS-based device which, when loaded into the game, would create a 'ghost' lap of a run through a race circuit in real life if equipped for data recording, allowing someone to view or race against their real life driving.[47] This became available for tracks which exist in real life, but there was no information on which or how many circuits in total would support the feature.
The game supports up to six different views that can be presented on six or more PS3 consoles. Two left views, two right views, server view (front with dials), and a front view without any dials all can be duplicated on an extra PS3 console if they are on the same LAN.
The game has been updated and expanded several times in its lifespan.[48] Many of the updates have improved the multiplayer racing, including weight and power restrictions on which cars can be driven in an online session, a car performance rating system, handicaps such as ballast and engine restriction, mechanical damage, and the ability to use the built-in course maker in online multiplayer races. Physics updates have not been documented in the update logs, however many users have noted changes to the physics once updates are installed. Other updates have included additional events, an online car dealership, removal of the copy protection for saved games, friend rankings, and various adjustments to the rewards and restrictions in the game.[49][50][51][52][53]
The final update (v2.16) was released on May 31, 2014, which permanently disabled all online features such as online play and Seasonal events. On July 21 another patch (v2.17) was released, which removed the online requirement for installing the downloadable content after the servers went offline.
A new update for Gran Turismo 5, called Spec 2.0 was released on October 11, 2011, featuring 11 new NASCAR vehicles, a new downloadable opening movie[54] (no longer available after the server shutdown in 2014), the ability to save during endurance races, weather intensity control and AI improvements. Along with the release of Spec 2.0, Yamauchi also announced that four DLC packs would be available on October 18. These packs featured 15 new vehicles, two new tracks, 20 new driver costumes and 100 new paint colors.[55] The packs were released on October 18, while the North American release was delayed until October 25.[56] PD stated that all following DLC packs would be released in a two-month time frame.[57]
A second car pack was released on December 20, 2011, that features four new vehicles: the Mini Cooper S, Volkswagen Golf VI R, Volkswagen Scirocco R and the Nissan GT-R Black Edition.
GT Academy was released on May 1, 2012, as a free standalone title on the PlayStation Network as a collaboration between Nissan and Polyphony Digital. A key feature was the ability to unlock exclusive "academy cars" for use in Gran Turismo 5 as well as a special racing suit for anyone who completed all challenges. The rewards for the game were handed out on July 4.
A fourth downloadable-content pack featuring Twin Ring Motegi along with a free Scion FR-S was released on 26 June 2012.[23]
A fifth pack added three individual cars: a Honda Weider HSV-010 '11 Super GT car, the Subaru BRZ, and the Nissan GT-R N24 GT Academy '12 race car. It was released on September 25, 2012.[29]
A free DLC with Corvette C7 Test Prototype was released on 28 November 2012.[59]
A free DLC with the Corvette C7 Final Prototype was released on January 15, 2013, revealing the Corvette C7's body and interior.[60]
A new cumulative package which contains all the aforementioned content was released sometime in Q2 2015.
As of today, all downloadable content has been permanently removed from PlayStation Store.
Gran Turismo 5 also featured an online mode. Players would meet in 'lounges' or 'race rooms' and give away (and/or share) cars, car parts and trained AI drivers to friends. They could also share game pictures and designed tracks.
All online activity closed on May 20, 2014,[61] but a special event was held from April 30 to May 30 that allowed players to unlock five additional cars for Gran Turismo 6.[62]
Gran Turismo 5's marketing campaign started on November 18, 2010, with a TV commercial featuring the fictional marketing character Kevin Butler as part of Sony Computer Entertainment's It Only Does Everything advertising campaign for their video game products in North America. The commercial depicts Butler as the 'VP of Add More Awesome' explaining how he made Gran Turismo 5 "more awesome" by adding more features that were previously thought impossible.[63]
On November 14, it was revealed that Sony had teamed with Swiss watchmaker Tissot to host the official countdown timer for the launch of Gran Turismo 5. To promote the relationship, Tissot gave away one customized, GT5 edition Tissot PRS 516, every day up until the release date.[67] In February 2011, a real version of the Polyphony Digital-designed Citroën GT was floated by the Rialto Bridge in Venice, recreating a location in Gran Turismo 4.[68]
After promising that GT5 would be released in 2010 after missing its initial March 2010 Japanese release date, Sony announced at E3 2010 that Gran Turismo 5 would be officially launched in North and Latin America on November 2, in Europe and Japan on November 3 and in Australia on November 4, 2010,[69] but was later revealed that the game would not meet its November release date and would instead be released later in the "holiday season".[70] Sony producer Taku Imasaki said that the reason for the delay was that series creator Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital want to "make certain they are creating the perfect racing experience". In addition, the Sony spokesman Makiko Noda said that the reason of the delay was due to production reasons. Later, Sony stated that the game would be released "before Christmas" [2010].[71]
The actual reason for the delay turned out to be on the production side. Gran Turismo 5 missed its production window by three days. Kazunori Yamauchi publicly apologized via his Twitter account and explained that with such a complex game, a lot has to be ironed out. He finished his Tweet with, "Wait a little longer".[72][73] It was later claimed by a Blu-ray forum moderator that the delay was due to Sony's decision to release the game under the newer 3.50 SDK firmware standard (to combat piracy), rather than 3.41 as originally intended.[74][75] While at the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show on November 2, 2010, Yamauchi confirmed to automotive blog Jalopnik that GT5 had entered final production for release.[76]
After weeks of speculation, it was officially announced that Gran Turismo 5 would be released on November 24 for Asia, North America and Europe[3][2] and November 25 for Japan and Australia.[1][77]
Jessica Marie Alba (/ˈælbə/AL-bə; born April 28, 1981)[2] is an American actress. She began her acting career at age 13 in Camp Nowhere (1994), followed up by The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as the lead actress of the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.[3][4][5]
In 2011, Alba co-founded The Honest Company, a consumer goods company that sells baby, personal and household products.[7] A number of magazines, including Men's Health, Vanity Fair and FHM, have included Alba on their lists of the world's most beautiful women.
Jessica Marie Alba was born in Pomona, California[8] on April 28, 1981, to Catherine Louisa (née Jensen) and Mark David Alba. Her mother has Danish, Welsh, German, English and French ancestry, while her paternal grandparents, who were born in California, were children of Mexican immigrants.[9] She has a younger brother, Joshua. Her third cousin, once removed, is writer Gustavo Arellano.[10] Her father's Air Force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi, and Del Rio, Texas, before they settled in Claremont, California when she was nine years old.[4] Alba has described her family as "very conservative… a traditional, Catholic, Latin American family", and herself as very liberal; she says she identified as a "feminist" as early as age five.[11]
Alba's early life was marked by a multitude of physical maladies. During childhood, she suffered from pneumonia four to five times a year and had partially collapsed lungs twice as well as a ruptured appendix and tonsillar cyst. She has also had asthma since she was a child.[4] She became isolated from other children at school because she was hospitalized so often, no one knew her well enough to befriend her.[12] She has said that her family's frequent moving also contributed to her isolation from her peers.[11] She graduated from Claremont High School at age 16 and subsequently attended the Atlantic Theater Company.[13]
Alba expressed an interest in acting from age five. In 1992, the eleven year old Alba persuaded her mother to take her to an acting competition in Beverly Hills, where the grand prize was free acting classes. She won the grand prize, and took her first acting lessons. An agent signed her nine months later.[4][14] Her first film appearance was a small role in the 1994 feature Camp Nowhere as Gail. She was originally hired for two weeks but her role turned into a two-month job when one of the prominent actresses dropped out.[3]
Alba appeared in two national television commercials for Nintendo and J. C. Penney as a child. She was later featured in several independent films. She branched out into television in 1994 with a recurring role as the vain Jessica in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack.[15] She then performed the role of Maya in the first two seasons of the 1995 television series Flipper.[3][15] Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk, and was a PADI certified scuba diving skills which were put to use on the show, which was filmed in Australia.[15][16]
Her big break came when James Cameron picked Alba from over 1000 candidates for the role of the genetically engineered super-soldier Max Guevara on the FOX sci-fi television series Dark Angel.[19] The series ran for two seasons, until 2002, and earned Alba critical acclaim, a Golden Globe nomination, the Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress, and a Saturn Award for Best Actress.[6][20] Her role has been cited as a feminist character and is considered a symbol of female empowerment. Writing for the University of Melbourne, Bronwen Auty considered Max "the archetypal modern feminist hero—a young woman empowered to use her body actively to achieve goals", citing Max's refusal to use firearms and instead using martial arts and knowledge as weapons.[21] In 2004, Max was ranked #17 in TV Guide's list of "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends".[22][23] Her Dark Angel role led to significant parts in films. She had her big screen breakthrough in 2003 when she starred as an aspiring dancer-choreographer in Honey.[24]Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus was: "An attractive Jessica Alba and energetic dance numbers provide some lift to this corny and formulaic movie".[25] Budgeted at US$18 million, the film made US$62.2 million.[26]
Alba portrayed the Marvel Comics character Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four (also 2005), alongside Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, and Julian McMahon.[31]The Guardian, in its review for the film, noted: "Feminists and non-feminists alike must absorb the Fantastic Four's most troubling paradox: having been admitted to the story on the grounds of her beauty, [Alba's] superpower is to be invisible".[32] The film was a commercial success despite negative reviews, grossing US$333.5 million worldwide. At the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, Alba earned nominations for Best Hero and Best On-Screen Team. Her last 2005 film was the thriller Into the Blue, where she portrayed, opposite Paul Walker, one half of a couple who find themselves in trouble with a drug lord after finding the illicit cargo of a sunken airplane. The film saw moderate box office returns, with a US$44.4 million worldwide gross.[33] She hosted the 2006 MTV Movie Awards and performed sketches spoofing the movies King Kong, Mission: Impossible III and The Da Vinci Code.[34]
Alba reprised her role in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, released in June 2007. According to Alba, Tim Story's direction during an emotional scene almost made her quit acting. "[He told me] 'It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica.' He was like, 'Don't do that thing with your face. Just make it flat. We can CGI the tears in.'" According to Alba, this experience filled her with self-doubt: "And then it all got me thinking: Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough? Do people hate them so much that they don't want me to be a person? Am I not allowed to be a person in my work? And so I just said, 'Fuck it. I don't care about this business anymore.'"[35] The film grossed US$290 million globally.[36]
In Good Luck Chuck (also 2007), Alba portrayed the love interest of a womanizer dentist. She posed for one of the Good Luck Chuck's theatrical posters parodying the well-known Rolling Stone cover photographed by Annie Leibovitz featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono in similar poses. While the film was heavily panned by critics, it made almost US$60 million upon its release.[37] Her third starring vehicle in 2007 was the psychological thriller Awake, portraying the girlfriend of a wealthy man who is about to have a heart transplant.[38] Reviews were lukewarm, but Roger Ebert praised her performance,[39] and budgeted at around US$8 million, the film made US$32.7 million.[40]
While Alba did not have any film release in 2009, five high-profile films released throughout 2010 featured her in significant roles. Her first role in the year was that of a prostitute in The Killer Inside Me, an adaptation of the book of the same name, opposite Kate Hudson and Casey Affleck, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to polarized reactions from critics.[49][50][51] Her next film was the romantic comedy Valentine's Day, in which she played the girlfriend of a florist as part of a long ensemble cast consisting of Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Taylor Lautner and Julia Roberts, among others. Despite negative reviews, the film was a commercial success, with a worldwide gross of US$216.5 million.[52] In the action film Machete, Alba reunited with director Robert Rodriguez, taking on the role of an immigration officer torn between enforcing the law and doing what is popular in the eyes of her family. Machete made over US$44 million globally.[53]
The drama An Invisible Sign of My Own, which Alba filmed in late 2008, premiered at the Hamptons Film Festival. In it, she portrayed a painfully withdrawn young woman.[54][55][56] Her last 2010 film was the comedy Little Fockers, in which she played an extrovert drug representative, reuniting with Robert De Niro, who was also in Machete. Despite negative reviews from critics, the film grossed over US$310 million worldwide.[57] For all her 2010 roles, she received a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress.[58]
2011–present: action and independent media productions[edit]
In 2011, Alba worked for the third time with Robert Rodriguez in the film Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, portraying a retired spy who is called back into action. To bond with her new stepchildren, she invites them along.[59] The film paled at the box office in comparison to the previous films in the franchise, but was still a moderate success, taking in US$85 million around the globe.[60] Alba next appeared with Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Jane Lynch, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Catherine O'Hara in the comedy A.C.O.D. (2013), portraying what the Washington Post described as a "fellow child of divorce", with whom Scott's character "almost cheats on" her girlfriend.[61]ScreenRant critic Ben Kendrick wrote: "[Winstead] and [Alba] also deliver in their contributions – though both of their characters are mainly designed to be mirrors for Carter to examine his own life and choices."[62]A.C.O.D. received a limited theatrical run in North America.[63] In 2013, Alba also made her voice acting debut in the moderately successful animated film Escape from Planet Earth.[64]
Alba worked once again with director Rodriguez for two film sequels. She reprised her role of an Immigration Officer, in an uncredited cameo appearance, in Machete Kills (2013), which flopped with critics and audiences,[65] and her much larger role of stripper Nancy Callahan, seeking to avenge her late protector, in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, which was released in August 2014, on 2D and 3D.[66][67][68] Unlike the first film, A Dame to Kill For was a commercial failure, grossing US$39 million against its US$65 million production budget,[69] and received mixed reviews from film critics. Variety felt it was a "late, limp attempt to turn Alba's character from an exploited figure into an empowered one".[70] She next took on the roles of a cabaret show performer in the dramedy Dear Eleanor (2014), the athletic girlfriend of a successful and well-respected English professor in the romantic comedy Some Kind of Beautiful (2014), a receptionist at a limo company in the thriller Stretch (also 2014), an emotionally vulnerable weapons trafficker in the crime comedy Barely Lethal (2015), and that of a documentary filmmaker in the horror film The Veil (2016); all films were released for limited theatrical runs and VOD.[71][72][73]
In the action film Mechanic: Resurrection (2016), alongside Jason Statham, Alba played the girlfriend of a retired hitman. She did Krav Maga to get into shape for the film,[74] and was drawn to the strength her character exhibited, remarking: "I think for these types of movies you don't often get to see the female romantic lead kind of kick butt. I mean, it's usually she's being saved by the guy, and so it's nice that I got to come to the table with a toughness, and a real heart".[75] The film made US$125.7 million worldwide.[76]
She will star in and executive produce a new documentary series for Disney+ called Parenting Without Borders (working title) which will focus on families around the world and their beliefs and culture.[77]
In January 2012, Alba and business partner Christopher Gavigan launched The Honest Company, selling a collection of household goods, diapers, and body care products.[7] The company was successful, and was valued at US$1 billion as of 2014[update].[78]
In early 2013, Alba released her book, The Honest Life, based on her experiences creating a natural, non-toxic life for her family. The book became a New York Times Best Seller.[79][80] In October 2015, Alba launched a collection of skin care and beauty products called Honest Beauty.[81][82]
As of April 2022, Alba owned 6.5 percent of the company. She was employed as the company's chief creative officer, receiving an annually base salary of $700,000 and restricted stock valued $1,500,000.[83] Alba stepped down as chief creative officer in April 2024.[84]
Alba posed for a bondage-themed print advertising campaign by Declare Yourself, a campaign encouraging voter registration among youth for the 2008 United States presidential election. The ads, photographed by Mark Liddell,[85][86] feature Alba wrapped in and gagged with black tape, and drew national media attention.[86] Alba said of doing the advertisements that "it didn't freak me out at all." Alba also said, "I think it is important for young people to be aware of the need we have in this country to get them more active politically...People respond to things that are shocking."[86]
In June 2009, while filming The Killer Inside Me in Oklahoma City, Alba was involved in a controversy with residents when she pasted posters of sharks around town.[89] Alba said that she was trying to bring attention to the diminishing population of great white sharks. Media outlets speculated that Alba would be pursued and charged with vandalism.[90] On June 16, 2009, Oklahoma City police said that they would not pursue criminal charges against Alba, because none of the property owners wanted to pursue it.[91][92] Alba apologized in a statement to People magazine and said that she regretted her actions.[91] She later donated an undisclosed amount of money (over US$500)[93] to the United Way, whose billboard she had obscured with one of the shark posters.[94][95][96][97]
In 2011, Alba participated in a two day lobbying effort in Washington D.C. in support of the Safe Chemicals Act, a revision of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.[98][99] Alba returned to Capitol Hill in 2015 to lobby lawmakers as they once again debated a replacement for the 1976 Substances Control Act.[100] She has also been a strong supporter of gay rights and on June 27, 2013, she expressed her delight with the Supreme Court's decision to strike down DOMA on her Twitter account. She tweeted "#equality #love".[101]
Alba's charity work has included participation with Clothes Off Our Back, Habitat for Humanity, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Project HOME, RADD, Revlon Run/Walk for Women, SOS Children's Villages, Soles4Souls, Step Up and Baby2Baby.[102][103] Alba is an ambassador for the 1Goal movement to provide education to children in Africa.[104] She has also served as a Baby2Baby "angel" ambassador, donating and helping to distribute items such as diapers and clothing to families in Los Angeles.[105]
In 2015, Alba and The Honest Company sponsored a laboratory at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. The lab was announced to be a specialized room designed to keep out dust and particles, where a team of epidemiologists would research links between household chemicals and autism.[106]
Cookie Monster is a blue Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show Sesame Street. He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As his name suggests, his preferred food is cookies; though he eats almost anything, including inedible objects. Chocolate chip cookies are his favorite kind. His speech is often grammatically nonstandard; for example, he always uses "Me" to refer to himself in place of "I", "My", and "Mine".[2] Despite his voracious appetite for cookies, Cookie Monster shows awareness of healthy eating habits for young children and also enjoys fruits and vegetables.
In a song in 2004, and later in an interview in 2017, Cookie Monster revealed his real name as "Sid,"[3][4][5][6] though in the first season he was referred to as both "tiny" and "Harry."[7] He is known to have a mother, a younger sister, and a cousin, identical in design, who does not like cookies. All three share his characteristic blue fur and "googly eyes". He also has a father, who appeared in a Monsterpiece Theater sketch promoting energy conservation, water conservation and environmentalism. Cookie Monster's mother and father both share his enormous appetite and craving for cookies.
The book Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles explains Cookie Monster's origin as follows: "In 1966, Henson drew three monsters that ate cookies and appeared in a General Foods commercial[8] that featured three crunchy snack foods: Wheels, Crowns and Flutes. Each snack was represented by a different monster. The Wheel-Stealer was a short, fuzzy monster with wonky eyes and sharply pointed teeth. The Flute-Snatcher was a speed demon with a long, sharp nose and windblown hair. The Crown-Grabber was a hulk of a monster with a Boris Karloff accent and teeth that resembled giant knitting needles."[9]
"These monsters had insatiable appetites for the snack foods they were named after. Each time the Muppet narrator, a human-looking fellow, fixes himself a tray of Wheels, Flutes and Crowns, they disappear before he can eat them. One by one, the monsters sneak in and zoom away with the snacks. Frustrated and peckish, the narrator warns viewers that these pesky monsters could be disguised as someone in your own home, at which point the monsters briefly turn into people and then dissolve back to monsters again."[9]
As it turns out, these commercials were never aired — but all three monsters had a future in the Muppet cast. The "Crown-Grabber" was used in a sketch on The Ed Sullivan Show, in which he ruins a girl's beautiful day. Known from then on as the Beautiful Day Monster, he made a number of appearances on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. The "Flute-Snatcher" turned into Snake Frackle, a background monster from The Great Santa Claus Switch and The Muppet Show.[citation needed]
In 1967, Henson used the "Wheel-Stealer" puppet for an IBM training film, Coffee Break Machine. In the sketch, "The Computer Dinner", the monster (with frightening eyes and fangs) devours a complex coffee-making machine as it describes its different parts. When he is finished, the machine announces the monster has activated the machine's anti-vandalism system, which contains the most powerful explosives known to man. The monster promptly explodes. This sketch was also performed in October 1967 on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was also later performed on the George Burns episode of The Muppet Show using the Luncheon Counter Monster.[citation needed]
Two years later, Henson used a similarly-designed and equally hungry monster for three commercials selling Munchos, a Frito-Lay potato snack. This time, the puppet was named Arnold, the Munching Monster. After the three ads were produced, Henson had the opportunity to renew the contract. He chose not to, because at that point he was working on Sesame Street — and that monster puppet was moving on to the next stage in his career.[citation needed] According to Frank Oz, in a later routine the then unnamed monster won a quiz show and for winning was "given the choice of $10,000 cash, a new car, a trip to Hawaii, or a cookie." He took the cookie and from then on he was Cookie Monster.[10]
Cookie Monster, still unnamed, made his Sesame Street debut in the first episode, interfering with Kermit the Frog's "famous W lecture" by eating a model "W" bit by bit. He turns it into an "N", a "V", and finally an "I", to Kermit's frustration. He then tries to eat Kermit.[citation needed]
It was during the first season that Cookie Monster got his name and began using the growly vernacular (e.g., "Me eat cookie!") that would become part of his character. His signature song, "C Is For Cookie", was first aired during the 1971–72 season, and it became one of the best-known songs from Sesame Street.[citation needed]
Over the years, different approaches to the cookies have been tried. The cookies must be thin and soft so they shatter satisfactorily, preferably into many pieces.[11] They must also not make a mess on the expensive puppet.[11] The ones made of rice crackers crumbled well, but the crumbs tended to stick to Cookie Monster's fur.[11] Artificial foam cookies did not look like cookies when they broke apart.[11] In 2000, Lara MacLean developed a fat-free cookie recipe with no added sugar.[11] The main ingredients are dry pancake mix, puffed rice, Grape-Nuts cereal, and instant coffee (for color), mixed together with water and decorated with brown hot glue (to look like chocolate chips or raisins).[11] The glue is inedible, and the edible parts of the cookie do not have an appealing flavor.[11]
In 2005, in response to growing concerns about record levels of childhood obesity in the United States, Sesame Street began airing segments titled Healthy Habits for Life. In these segments, the Muppet characters of Sesame Street talk about healthy habits, such as eating properly and exercising. The Healthy Habits for Life segments spawned Internet rumors that Cookie Monster's name had been changed to Veggie Monster or would be taken off the show entirely.[12][13] Since then, Cookie Monster has eaten not only cookies (and the plate they are served on) but also fruits and vegetables.[11] There is a small hole in the puppet's mouth, so that something like an apple or banana can be "swallowed" by the puppet.[11]
In a 2007 appearance on Martha Stewart's TV program, Cookie Monster explained his new philosophy that "Cookies are a sometimes food."[14]
On February 10, 2008, NPR host Elizabeth Blair interviewed Cookie Monster for the All Things Considered segment In Character. He answered the Proust Questionnaire, as well as revealing some of his favorite and non-favorite things.[12][15]
In a June 19, 2008, appearance on The Colbert Report, Cookie Monster again explained that "Cookies are a sometimes food." Colbert had asked agitatedly why Cookie Monster had "abandoned the pro-cookie agenda" and thus caused fruit to become the favorite snack of American children, according to a study Colbert had heard. Colbert criticized Cookie Monster for not wearing a cookie lapel pin. Cookie Monster also claimed to have "crazy times during the '70s and '80s", referring to himself as "the Robert Downey Jr. of cookies." After eating a cookie to prove he still likes cookies, Cookie Monster asked if the Peabody Award, a round medallion on a small pedestal, was a cookie.[16] When Colbert returned to speak to Cookie Monster at the end of the show, the award had disappeared and Cookie Monster was wiping his mouth with a napkin.[16]
On November 24, 2010, Cookie Monster started a Facebook page as part of a campaign to host Saturday Night Live.[17] Though his bid to host Saturday Night Live failed, he was allowed to appear with Jeff Bridges when Jeff hosted the show and sang the Christmas song "Silver Bells".[18]
Rudman officially became Cookie Monster's performer in Sesame Street's 2002 season (taped 2001). Oz continued to occasionally perform Cookie Monster until 2004.[19]
Various toys and other icons of the Cookie Monster have been produced over the years. The most obvious is a cookie jar, of which numerous types have been available.
Numerous children's books featuring Cookie Monster have been published over the years:
In 1990 U.S. Budget Director Richard Darman wrote an introduction to the federal budget with a section "Green Eyeshades and the Cookie Monster" in which he called Cookie "the quintessential consumer", and the enormous budget "the Ultimate Cookie Monster."
As all monsters are, Cookie Monster is initially intimidating. His manner is gruff. His clumsiness occasionally causes damage. But quickly, Cookie Monster comes to be seen as benign—indeed, downright friendly. He has a few bad habits. He cannot resist gobbling up anything and everything that might be consumed, especially cookies. And he cannot quite control the way he spews forth crumbs. He is the quintessential consumer... The budget, for all its intimidating detail, might be seen similarly: as the Ultimate Cookie Monster. ... Its massive presence might be understood as little more than a compilation of cookies received, cookies crumbled, and crumbs spewed forth. Yet, apt though the Cookie Monster perspective may be, it does not suffice...
— U.S. Budget Director Richard Darman, unpublished version of the introduction to President Bush's 1991 Federal budget[20][21]
In the Food Network program Good Eats episode "Three Chips for Sister Marsha" (first aired December 13, 2000), a puppet named Maj. Wilfred D. Cookie who looks like a green version of Cookie Monster appears. Asked about his well-known "brother", he responds, "I told you never to mention that ruffian. All he knows about cookies is how to shovel them into his face."[22] In the Fox animated series Family Guy episode "Model Misbehavior", Cookie Monster is shown in a psychiatric hospital, repeatedly foiling drug rehab-styled efforts to cure his cookie addiction.[23]
In the Sesame Street parody Avenue Q, the character of Trekkie Monster is loosely based on Cookie Monster, sharing his speech pattern and addictive personality.
We wanted his name to indicate that he was obsessed, like Cookie Monster is obsessed with cookies. So we used "Trekkie" both because it sounded like "cookie" and because Trekkies are, by definition, obsessive fanatics.
John Lennon's song "Hold On", recorded in 1970 (only a year after Sesame Street debuted), features Lennon shouting "Cookie!" in Cookie Monster's voice, in the middle of the instrumental break in an otherwise calm, quiet song. Ringo Starr, aware of Lennon's love for Cookie Monster, also screams "Cookie!" in Cookie Monster's voice in his song "Early 1970", released in 1971.
Cookie Monster also appears in Mad, first in "Mouse M.D", a parody of House M.D., then as the main character in "Cookie Blue", a parody of Rookie Blue.[citation needed]
When the Apple personal assistant Siri is asked the question, "what is zero divided by zero", Siri responds with the answer: "Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn’t make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends."[29][30]
On March 16, 2016, Apple released an ad titled "Timer" starring Cookie Monster, where he uses the "Hey Siri" feature in the iPhone 6S to set a timer and play an album while he waits for cookies to bake.[31]
A popular internet parody of The Great Wave off Kanagawa, titled "Sea is for Cookie", was created for a RedditAdobe Photoshop competition. The piece features the wave with googly eyes and cookies in the crest, resembling Cookie Monster eating cookies.[32]
^Sesame Street - "The First Time Me Eat Cookie". May 4, 2007. Event occurs at 0:30. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Me was just a mild-mannered little kid. In fact, back then, me think me name was Sid. Yeah, yeah.
^"Cookie Monster: Me wasn't ..."Sesame Street (sesamestreet) on Twitter. 10 August 2010. Me wasn't born with name "Cookie Monster." It just nickname dat stuck. Me don't remember me real name… maybe it was Sidney?
Playboy (stylized in all caps) is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.[3]
Known for its centerfolds of nude and semi-nude[4] models (Playmates), Playboy played an important role in the sexual revolution[5] and remains one of the world's best-known brands, with a presence in nearly every medium.[6] In addition to the flagship magazine in the United States, special nation-specific versions of Playboy are published worldwide, including those by licensees, such as Dirk Steenekamp's DHS Media Group.[7][8][9][10][11]
Playboy features monthly interviews of public figures, such as artists, architects, economists, composers, conductors, film directors, journalists, novelists, playwrights, religious figures, politicians, athletes, and race car drivers. The magazine generally reflects a liberal editorial stance, although it often interviews conservative celebrities.[21]
After a year-long removal of most nude photos in Playboy magazine, the March–April 2017 issue brought back nudity.[22]
By spring 1953, Hugh Hefner—a 1949 University of Illinois psychology graduate who had worked in Chicago for Esquire magazine writing promotional copy; Publisher's Development Corporation in sales and marketing; and Children's Activities magazine as circulation promotions manager[23]—had planned out the elements of his own magazine, that he would call Stag Party.[24] He formed HMH Publishing Corporation, and recruited his friend Eldon Sellers to find investors.[24] Hefner eventually raised just over $8,000, including from his brother and mother.[25] However, the publisher of an unrelated men's adventure magazine, Stag, contacted Hefner and informed him it would file suit to protect their trademark if he were to launch his magazine with that name.[23][26] Hefner, his wife Millie, and Sellers met to seek a new name, considering "Top Hat", "Gentleman", "Sir'", "Satyr", "Pan" and "Bachelor" before Sellers suggested "Playboy".[26][27]
The first issue, in December 1953, was undated, as Hefner was unsure there would be a second. He produced it in his Hyde Park kitchen. The first centerfold was Marilyn Monroe, although the picture used originally was taken for a calendar rather than for Playboy.[28] Hefner chose what he deemed the "sexiest" image, a previously unused nude study of Monroe stretched with an upraised arm on a red velvet background with closed eyes and mouth open.[29] The heavy promotion centered on Monroe's nudity on the already-famous calendar, together with the teasers in marketing, made the new Playboy magazine a success.[30][31]
The first issue sold out in weeks. Known circulation was 53,991.[32] The cover price was 50¢. Copies of the first issue in mint to near-mint condition sold for over $5,000 in 2002.[33]
An urban legend started about Hefner and the Playmate of the Month because of markings on the front covers of the magazine. From 1955 to 1979 (except for a six-month gap in 1976), the "P" in Playboy had stars printed in or around the letter. Urban legend stated that this was either a rating that Hefner gave to the Playmate according to how attractive she was, the number of times that Hefner had slept with her, or how good she was in bed. In truth, stars, between zero and 12, indicated the domestic or international advertising region for that printing.[35]
The editorial board of Playboy in 1970. Back, left to right: Robie Macauley, Nat Lehrman, Richard M. Koff, Murray Fisher, Arthur Kretchmer; front: Sheldon Wax, Auguste Comte Spectorsky, Jack Kessie.
In the 1960s, the magazine added "The Playboy Philosophy" column. Early topics included gay rights,[36] women's rights, censorship, and the First Amendment.[36]Playboy was an early proponent of cannabis reform and provided founding support to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in 1970.[37]
In 1968, at the feminist Miss America protest, symbolically feminine products were thrown into a "Freedom Trash Can". These included copies of Playboy and Cosmopolitan magazines.[39] One of the key pamphlets produced by the protesters was "No More Miss America!", by Robin Morgan, which listed 10 characteristics of the Miss America pageant that the authors believed degraded women;[40] it compared the pageant to Playboy's centerfold as sisters under the skin, describing this as "The Unbeatable Madonna–Whore Combination".[41]
Macauley contributed all of the popular Ribald Classics series published between January 1978 and March 1984.[citation needed]
After reaching its peak in the 1970s, Playboy saw a decline in circulation and cultural relevance due to competition in the field it founded—first from Penthouse, then from Oui (which was published as a spin-off of Playboy) and Gallery in the 1970s; later from pornographic videos; and more recently from lad mags such as Maxim, FHM, and Stuff. In response, Playboy attempted to re-assert its hold on the 18–35-year-old male demographic through slight changes to content and focusing on issues and personalities more appropriate to its audience—such as hip-hop artists being featured in the "Playboy Interview".[42] In February 1974, Ratna Assan became the first women of Indonesian descent to be featured, shortly after a positively received role in the film Papillon (1973).[43]
Christie Hefner, daughter of founder Hugh Hefner, joined Playboy in 1975 and became head of the company in 1988. She announced in December 2008 that she would be stepping down from leading the company, effective in January 2009, and said that the election of Barack Obama as the next President had inspired her to give more time to charitable work, and that the decision to step down was her own. "Just as this country is embracing change in the form of new leadership, I have decided that now is the time to make changes in my own life as well", she said.[44] Hefner was succeeded by company director and media veteran Jerome H. Kern as interim CEO, who was in turn succeeded by publisher Scott Flanders.[45][46]
The magazine celebrated its 50th anniversary with the January 2004 issue. Celebrations were held at Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, and Moscow during the year to commemorate this event. Playboy also launched limited-edition products designed by fashion houses such as Versace, Vivienne Westwood and Sean John. As a homage to the magazine's 50th anniversary, MAC Cosmetics released two limited-edition products, namely a lipstick and a glitter cream.[47]
The printed magazine ran several annual features and ratings. One of the most popular was its annual ranking of the top "party schools" among all U.S. universities and colleges. In 2009, the magazine used five criteria: bikini, brains, campus, sex and sports in the development of its list. The top-ranked party school by Playboy for 2009 was the University of Miami.[48]
In June 2009, the magazine reduced its publication schedule to 11 issues per year, with a combined July/August issue. On August 11, 2009, London's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Hugh Hefner had sold his English manor house (next door to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles) for $18 m ($10 m less than the reported asking price) to another American, Daren Metropoulos, the President and co-owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon, and that due to significant losses in the company's value (down from $1 billion in 2000 to $84 million in 2009), the Playboy publishing empire was for sale for $300 million.[49] In December 2009, the publication schedule was reduced to 10 issues per year, with a combined January/February issue.
On July 12, 2010, Playboy Enterprises Inc. announced Hefner's $5.50 per share offer ($122.5 million based on shares outstanding on April 30 and the closing price on July 9) to buy the portion of the company he did not already own and take the company private with the help of Rizvi Traverse Management LLC. The company derived much of its income from licensing, rather than from the magazine.[50] On July 15, Penthouse owner FriendFinder Networks Inc. offered $210 million (the company is valued at $185 million), though Hefner, who already owned 70 percent of voting stock, did not want to sell.[51] In January 2011, the publisher of Playboy magazine agreed to an offer by Hefner to take the company private for $6.15 per share, an 18 percent premium over the price of the last previous day of trading.[52] The buyout was completed in March 2011.[53]
2016–2018 changes and brief ending of full-frontal nudity[edit]
This is what I always intended Playboy Magazine to look like.
— Hugh Hefner, when asked about ending nudity in Playboy[54]
In October 2015, Playboy announced the magazine would no longer feature full-frontal nudity beginning with the March 2016 issue.[55] Company CEO Scott Flanders acknowledged the magazine's inability to compete with freely available internet pornography and nudity; according to him, "You're now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it's just passé at this juncture".[56] Hefner agreed with the decision.[57] The redesigned Playboy, however, would still feature a Playmate of the Month and pictures of women, but they would be rated as not appropriate for children under 13.[57] The move would not affect PlayboyPlus.com (which features nudity at a paid subscription).[58] Josh Horwitz of Quartz argued that the motivation for the decision to remove nudity from the magazine was to give Playboy Licensing a less inappropriate image in India and China, where the brand is a popular item on apparel and thus generates significant revenue.[59]
Among other changes to the magazine included ending the popular jokes section and the various cartoons that appeared throughout the magazine. The redesign eliminated the use of jump copy (articles continuing on non-consecutive pages), which in turn eliminated most of the space for cartoons.[60] Hefner, himself a former cartoonist, reportedly resisted dropping the cartoons more than the nudity, but ultimately obliged. Playboy's plans were to market itself as a competitor to Vanity Fair, as opposed to more traditional competitors GQ and Maxim.[54]
Playboy announced in February 2017, however, that the dropping of nudity had been a mistake and furthermore, for its March/April issue, reestablished some of its franchises, including the Playboy Philosophy and Party Jokes, but dropped the subtitle "Entertainment for Men", inasmuch as gender roles have evolved. The announcement was made by the company's chief creative officer on Twitter with the hashtag #NakedIsNormal.[61]
In early 2018, and according to Jim Puzzanghera of the Los Angeles Times, Playboy was reportedly "considering killing the print magazine", as the publication "has lost as much as $7 million annually in recent years".[62] However, in the July/August 2018 issue a reader asked if the print magazine would discontinue, and Playboy responded that it was not going anywhere.
Following Hefner's death, and his family's financial stake in the company, the magazine changed direction. In 2019, Playboy was relaunched as a quarterly publication without adverts. Topics covered included an interview with Tarana Burke, a profile of Pete Buttigieg, coverage of BDSM and a cover photo representing gender and sexual fluidity.[1]
In March 2020, Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy Enterprises, announced that the spring 2020 issue would be the last regularly scheduled printed issue and that the magazine would now publish its content online. The decision to close the print edition was attributed in part to the COVID-19 pandemic which interfered with distribution of the magazine.[63]
In autumn 2020, Playboy announced a reverse merger deal with Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp.—a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). In February 2021, the stock of a combined company, PLBY Group, began trading on the Nasdaq exchange as "PLBY".[64][65]
In 1971, Playboy had a circulation rate base of seven million, which was its high point.[66] The best-selling individual issue was the November 1972 edition, which sold 7,161,561 copies. One-quarter of all American college men were buying or subscribing to the magazine every month.[67] On the cover was model Pam Rawlings, photographed by Rowland Scherman. Perhaps coincidentally, a cropped image of the issue's centerfold (which featured Lena Söderberg) became a de factostandard image for testing image processing algorithms. It is known simply as the "Lenna" (also "Lena") image in that field.[68] In 1972, Playboy was the ninth highest circulation magazine in the United States.[69]
The 1975 average circulation was 5.6 million; by 1981 it was 5.2 million, and by 1982 down to 4.9 million.[66] Its decline continued in later decades, and reached about 800,000 copies per issue in late 2015,[56] and 400,000 copies by December 2017.[70]
In 1970, Playboy became the first gentleman's magazine to be printed in braille.[71] It is also one of the few magazines whose microfilm format was in color, not black and white.[72]
Playboy's enduring mascot, a stylized silhouette of a rabbit wearing a tuxedo bow tie, was created by Playboyart directorArt Paul for the second issue as an endnote, but was adopted as the official logo and has appeared ever since.[73][74] A running joke in the magazine involves hiding the logo somewhere in the cover art or photograph. Hefner said he chose the rabbit for its "humorous sexual connotation", and because the image was "frisky and playful". In an interview Hefner explained his choice of a rabbit as Playboy's logo to the Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci:
The rabbit, the bunny, in America has a sexual meaning; and I chose it because it's a fresh animal, shy, vivacious, jumping - sexy. First it smells you then it escapes, then it comes back, and you feel like caressing it, playing with it. A girl resembles a bunny. Joyful, joking. Consider the girl we made popular: the Playmate of the Month. She is never sophisticated, a girl you cannot really have. She is a young, healthy, simple girl - the girl next door ... we are not interested in the mysterious, difficult woman, the femme fatale, who wears elegant underwear, with lace, and she is sad, and somehow mentally filthy. The Playboy girl has no lace, no underwear, she is naked, well washed with soap and water, and she is happy.[75]
The jaunty rabbit quickly became a popular symbol of extroverted male culture, becoming a lucrative source of merchandizing revenue for the company.[76] In the 1950s, it was adopted as the military aircraft insignia for the Navy's VX-4 fighter-evaluation squadron.
Besides its centerfold, a major part of Playboy for much of its existence has been the Playboy Interview, an extensive (usually several-thousand-word) discussion between a publicly known individual and an interviewer. Writer Alex Haley served as a Playboy interviewer on a few occasions; one of his interviews was with Martin Luther King Jr.; he also interviewed Malcolm X and American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell.[77] The magazine interviewed then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in the November 1976 issue, in which he stated "I've committed adultery in my heart many times."[78][79]David Sheff's interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared in the January 1981 issue, which was on newsstands at the time of Lennon's murder; the interview was later published in book format.
Another interview-type section, entitled "20Q" (a play on the game of Twenty Questions), was added in October 1978. Cheryl Tiegs was the first interviewee for the section.[80]
"Rock the Rabbit" was an annual music news and pictorial feature published in the March edition.[81] The pictorial featured images of rock bands photographed by music photographer Mick Rock. Fashion designers participated in the Rock the Rabbit event by designing T-shirts inspired by Playboy's rabbit head logo for each band. The shirts were sold at Playboy's retailers and auctioned off to raise money for AIDS research and treatment at LIFEbeat: The Music Industry Fights AIDS.[81] Bands who were featured include: MGMT, Daft Punk, Iggy Pop, Duran Duran, Flaming Lips, Snow Patrol, and The Killers.[82]
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