Matt landis model. The Evolution of Fat Daddy’s: From Dance Club to Downtown York Live Venue

How are the Landis brothers transforming York’s entertainment scene. What plans do they have for The Treasury. Why is Fat Daddy’s being sold. How will this impact downtown York’s development.

The Landis Brothers’ Vision: Transforming York’s Entertainment Landscape

Matt and Sean Landis, the visionary duo behind Fat Daddy’s, are embarking on an ambitious journey to reshape York’s entertainment scene. After more than two decades of success with their popular dance club, the brothers are setting their sights on a new venture that promises to elevate the city’s cultural offerings.

Why are the Landis brothers making this bold move? The answer lies in their recognition of a gap in York’s entertainment market. “The only thing downtown is missing is this type of entertainment, and in order to make York a fuller experience, this is really what’s missing,” explains Matt Landis. This astute observation has led to the conception of “The Treasury,” a high-end live venue that aims to become a cornerstone of downtown York’s revitalization.

The Treasury: A New Era of Entertainment in Downtown York

What exactly is The Treasury, and how will it differ from Fat Daddy’s? Unlike its predecessor, The Treasury is envisioned as a sophisticated live music and entertainment venue. The project will breathe new life into the former Citizens Bank building at 1 N. George St. in Continental Square, transforming it into a cultural hub that can accommodate up to 500 guests.

The ambitious plans for The Treasury include:

• A first-floor space featuring a bar, full-service kitchen, and stage
• A versatile split event space for various entertainment purposes
• Future expansion plans for a second floor and rooftop area
• Hosting local, regional, and national touring acts

How will The Treasury impact York’s entertainment scene? By providing a platform for diverse musical performances and ticketed shows, the venue aims to attract a wide range of audiences and elevate the city’s cultural profile. The Landis brothers are drawing inspiration from successful establishments like Tellus360 in Lancaster, which has played a crucial role in revitalizing its downtown area.

Fat Daddy’s: The End of an Era and a New Beginning

As the Landis brothers focus on their new venture, what’s in store for Fat Daddy’s? The iconic dance club in Springettsbury Township is now on the market, marking the end of an era for York County’s nightlife scene. However, Matt Landis assures that the Fat Daddy’s name will remain in Springettsbury, preserving its legacy while allowing the brothers to pursue their new vision.

What’s the history behind Fat Daddy’s? Before becoming the popular dance club in 1992, the property was known as the Lincoln Woods Inn and has a claim to fame of once serving President John F. Kennedy. This rich history adds to the significance of the venue’s transition and the Landis brothers’ decision to embark on a new chapter.

The Sale of Fat Daddy’s: A Strategic Move

Why are the Landis brothers selling Fat Daddy’s? According to Matt Landis, “Fat Daddy’s has really served us well for over 20 years, but it can’t accommodate this high-end model.” This statement underscores the brothers’ commitment to evolving with the changing entertainment landscape and their desire to bring a more sophisticated venue to downtown York.

How does this sale reflect broader changes in York’s entertainment scene? The move away from the Fat Daddy’s concept signals a shift in the city’s nightlife offerings, with a growing emphasis on diverse, high-quality entertainment options that cater to a wide range of tastes and preferences.

The Treasury: A Catalyst for Downtown York’s Revitalization

How will The Treasury contribute to downtown York’s ongoing development? The new venue is poised to become a key player in the city’s revitalization efforts, attracting visitors and bolstering the local economy. By providing a missing piece in York’s entertainment puzzle, The Treasury aims to create a more vibrant and diverse downtown experience.

What impact do local officials expect from this project? Michael Black, chairman of the York Redevelopment Authority, expressed enthusiasm for the project, stating, “We wanted to make this an inclusive project and think this will bring something new to downtown.” This sentiment reflects the city’s broader goals of fostering a dynamic and inclusive urban environment.

The RDA’s Role in Ensuring Project Success

How is the York Redevelopment Authority involved in The Treasury project? The RDA will play a crucial role in overseeing the development process, conducting quarterly progress checks to ensure that renovations comply with both the redevelopment and purchase agreements. This level of oversight demonstrates the city’s commitment to the project’s success and its potential impact on downtown York.

Timeline and Development: Bringing The Treasury to Life

When can York residents expect to experience The Treasury? Matt Landis has expressed hope to open the venue by the end of 2019, though this timeline may be subject to change as the project progresses. The development process involves collaboration with Wagman Construction and CORE Design Group to create new renderings and oversee renovations.

What are the phases of The Treasury’s development?

1. Finalizing the purchasing agreement with the York Redevelopment Authority
2. Completing the first-floor renovations, including the bar, kitchen, stage, and event space
3. Future phases to develop the second floor and rooftop area

This phased approach allows for a strategic and well-planned development process, ensuring that each aspect of The Treasury is carefully considered and executed.

The Changing Face of York’s Entertainment Scene

How does The Treasury reflect broader trends in urban entertainment? The shift from a dance club model to a multi-faceted live venue aligns with growing consumer preferences for diverse, experience-driven entertainment options. This trend is evident in cities across the country, where historic buildings are being repurposed to create unique cultural spaces.

What challenges and opportunities does this transition present? While the move away from the Fat Daddy’s concept may disappoint some long-time patrons, it also opens up new possibilities for York’s nightlife and cultural scene. The Treasury has the potential to attract a wider audience, including music enthusiasts, young professionals, and visitors from neighboring cities.

Adapting to Changing Consumer Preferences

How are entertainment venues evolving to meet new demands? Modern venues like The Treasury are increasingly focusing on:

• Versatile spaces that can accommodate various types of events
• High-quality food and beverage offerings
• State-of-the-art sound and lighting systems
• A mix of local and national acts to appeal to diverse audiences

By incorporating these elements, The Treasury aims to create a dynamic and adaptable space that can evolve with York’s changing entertainment needs.

The Economic Impact of The Treasury on Downtown York

How will The Treasury contribute to York’s economic growth? The introduction of a high-end live venue in downtown York has the potential to generate significant economic benefits, including:

• Increased foot traffic and tourism in the downtown area
• Job creation in the entertainment and service industries
• Boost to local businesses, such as restaurants and hotels
• Enhanced property values in the surrounding area

What ripple effects might this development have on other businesses? The presence of The Treasury could attract complementary businesses to the area, such as boutique hotels, upscale restaurants, and artisanal shops, further contributing to downtown York’s revitalization.

Measuring Success: Key Indicators to Watch

How will the impact of The Treasury be assessed? Several factors will be crucial in determining the venue’s success and its contribution to York’s economy:

• Attendance figures for events and shows
• Revenue generated by the venue and surrounding businesses
• Increase in property values in the downtown area
• Growth in tourism and visitor numbers
• Positive media coverage and word-of-mouth recommendations

By monitoring these indicators, city officials and the Landis brothers can gauge the effectiveness of their investment and make necessary adjustments to ensure long-term success.

The Future of Live Entertainment in York and Beyond

How does The Treasury fit into the broader landscape of live entertainment? As cities across the country seek to revitalize their downtown areas, projects like The Treasury represent a growing trend of investing in cultural venues as catalysts for urban renewal. This approach recognizes the power of live entertainment to bring people together and create vibrant, thriving communities.

What lessons can other cities learn from York’s experience? The development of The Treasury offers valuable insights for other municipalities looking to enhance their entertainment offerings:

• The importance of identifying and filling gaps in the local market
• The value of repurposing historic buildings for modern uses
• The need for collaboration between private investors and city officials
• The potential for entertainment venues to drive economic growth

As The Treasury takes shape, it will undoubtedly serve as a case study for other cities seeking to revitalize their downtown areas through strategic investments in culture and entertainment.

Embracing Technology and Innovation in Live Venues

How can The Treasury stay ahead of the curve in the rapidly evolving entertainment industry? To ensure long-term success, the venue should consider incorporating cutting-edge technologies and innovative approaches, such as:

• Virtual and augmented reality experiences to enhance live performances
• Advanced ticketing and crowd management systems
• Sustainable and eco-friendly building practices
• Integration with social media and streaming platforms to expand reach

By embracing these innovations, The Treasury can position itself as a forward-thinking venue that offers unique and memorable experiences to its patrons.

Community Engagement and Cultural Impact

How can The Treasury become an integral part of York’s cultural fabric? Beyond its role as an entertainment venue, The Treasury has the potential to become a cultural cornerstone for the community. This can be achieved through:

• Partnerships with local arts organizations and educational institutions
• Hosting community events and fundraisers
• Providing a platform for emerging local talent
• Offering workshops and classes related to music and performance

By actively engaging with the community, The Treasury can foster a sense of ownership and pride among York residents, ensuring its long-term success and cultural relevance.

Balancing Commercial Success and Community Impact

How can The Treasury maintain a balance between profitability and community benefit? This delicate balance can be achieved through:

• Offering a mix of ticketed shows and free community events
• Implementing tiered pricing structures to ensure accessibility
• Collaborating with local businesses and organizations on joint initiatives
• Reinvesting a portion of profits into community programs and initiatives

By prioritizing both commercial success and community impact, The Treasury can establish itself as a beloved institution that contributes to York’s cultural and economic growth for years to come.

Fat Daddy’s for sale; Landis brothers focus on downtown York live venue

Building up downtown: ‘York has become a place people want to be’

Warehaus CEO Rob Kinsley speaks about why more businesses and people are moving downtown.

Ty Lohr, York Daily Record

When Matt and Sean Landis purchased Fat Daddy’s in 1997, they saw it as a “business opportunity.” Now more than two decades later, the brothers are looking onward at the next phase of their lives and a new business venture in downtown York. 

“Fat Daddy’s has really served us well for over 20 years, but it can’t accommodate this high-end model,” said co-owner Matt Landis. 

While Fat Daddy’s has become known as a prominent dance club in York County,  Landis was adamant that the Fat Daddy’s name will stay in Springettsbury. And “The Treasury” will be built in the former site of Citizens Banks building at 1 N. George St. in Continental Square.

This week, the Landis brothers expect to finalize a purchasing agreement with the York Redevelopment Authority. The RDA will oversee quarterly progress checks to ensure renovations remain in compliance with both the redevelopment and purchase agreement, according to RDA chair Michael Black.

The Landis brothers are working with Wagman Construction and CORE Design Group on new renderings and renovations, said Matt Landis, who hopes to open The Treasury by the end of 2019.

The first phase of the project will complete the first floor of the space, with a bar, full-service kitchen, stage and split event space that can accommodate approximately 500 guests. Additional construction plans for a second floor and rooftop space are expected in the near future. 

As development for The Treasury continues, Fat Daddy’s in Springettsbury Township is currently on the market, according to realtor Ben Chiaro of True Commercial Reality. Before becoming Fat Daddy’s in 1992, the property was the Lincoln Woods Inn and once served President John F. Kennedy. 

Chiaro commented that the Landis’ are moving away from the Fat Daddy’s concept, with the intent to “change people’s perception of what they are.”

Read more on downtown York development

The new venue will hold live music and entertainment along with ticketed shows from local, regional and national touring acts. The goal is to provide downtown York with a commodity that Landis believes is currently absent. 

“The positive energy in downtown York is palpable,” Landis said. “The only thing downtown is missing is this type of entertainment, and in order to make York a fuller experience, this is really what’s missing.” 

Landis cited similar destinations like Tellus360 in Lancaster as a pivotal component to the resurgence and overall attractiveness of the city’s downtown culture. 

More: What to do in central PA in February: Home & Garden Expo, Great American Outdoor Show, more

Plans for The Treasury have been in development since 2017 when the Landis brothers first received a six-month option from the RDA to consider the property. The name itself is derived from the property’s history, which was formerly the home to Citizens Bank. 

“The Landis’ have always maintained this would not be moving Fat Daddy’s downtown,” said RDA chairman Michael Black. “We wanted to make this an inclusive project and think this will bring something new to downtown.” 

Forevercrombie «DIS Magazine

In 2006, the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries said that sex appeal is “almost everything.” He went on to say:

“That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that. In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either” (Salon)

Allow me to play devil’s advocate: He’s right, and he can’t help that. Even the brands that don’t strive for mainstream or uptown cultural capital struggle with losing sight of their target, once they lose control of advertising. Maison Martin Margiela, Isabel Marant, and Rick Owens are decidedly avant-garde brands, and their clout was comfortably contained within the “downtown” community, until recently. That is to say, they were not target brands for small-time thieves before they were popularized by A$AP Rocky in his music. The same can be said about Prada before Jay-Z mentioned it, Manolo Blahniks before Sex and the City, and the list goes on, linking label/logo/patented color shout outs to sales/theft increases/decreases. Some manufacturers have chosen to publicly embrace a mainstreaming of their brand’s trademark (the name of the house, rhymed with catchy lyrics, or a signature piece, worn in a way that synchs only with an ostentatious lifestyle) by placing product or dressing celebrities, while others have minor meltdowns. Each approach comes from a place of true desperation, in a moment of warranted panic.

The goal is always to make a brand iconic, and to sell the iconic feeling to a person who can afford to pay too much for it. It doesn’t matter who that person is, it just matters that the customer doesn’t get so obsessed with the image with which they are provided that they are persuaded to steal it. Which brings us back to Abercrombie. Since its start, this brand was never luxury, and it wasn’t even very expensive, although it could have been cheaper. In its late nineties heyday, A&F was the brand that made sexy versions of the clothes kids already wore to school—comfortable T-shirts and jeans, stuff you could toss a football in, or change out of… something you could throw on the grass if everyone was skinny dipping—but it was better than the cheaper versions of this. It was a name that said fitness, youth, and casual sex. It was exactly what the popular kids in school needed: not their father’s country club attire, and not something as feminized as Delia’s or as political as Nike.

This was the golden age of the original, when kids needed Louis Vuitton luggage, Gucci glasses, and Starbucks in the cup holder on the way to school. Knockoffs were everywhere but imitations were unacceptable: even your energy drink had to be a clean, narrow Redbull, unless you were part of the Monster alternative crowd. Clothing was another question. No one wanted to wear a Lagerfeld to school, because school sucked, and so did anyone who tried too hard, especially the weirdos. Competing with sports brands and the free shirts given out at pep rallies, A&F had to become a lifestyle brand if they wanted to become truly top-tier in the empty space above a 1990s sloppy flannel wardrobe, which was running middle-America.

When A&F Quarterly was born, it was packaged like porn in brown paper, and shipped to teenagers. Sex scenes shot by the famously homoerotic Weber influenced the first feelings of arousal in many youths, mostly in the Midwest. A new youth culture arose: Maybe the uptown cufflink wearers or the Hollywood high heels actually weren’t the hottest people on earth to the people who had never seen them: Maybe blissful, perfect sex was available at camp, or in back yards. And maybe the reason kids hadn’t had the key to that exclusive club yet was because they weren’t dressed for it.

Ironically, the controversy caused by the catalogues was not very focused on how homosexual the images were. Parents were upset about their kids seeing porn at all, and then begging to buy the clothes associated with it at the mall—out of a nightclub-like store, bumping bass-heavy music and guarded by hard-bodied male greeters. This was before the internet was accessible enough for teens to search watchable porn, or fast enough to get a full experience with it. A&F became the thing that parents warned their kids against: it was as naughty as hooking up or doing drugs, but hardly as dangerous. Thus, the lifestyle brand—complete with fragrance and friendship bracelets—was, at its height, as popular as it ever wanted to be, with just a few thefts to worry about. No big deal, since the sales made up for them, seeing as they were pricing stuff much higher than their cheaper lines of almost identical clothes.

I never would have guessed that Abercrombie & Fitch would be so much in the news again. It just felt really over, which was why it could be embraced by all the people it used to hate on. We can finally look at the sexy pages of A&F Quarterly and admire it as simple propaganda. In these beautiful pages, there were hardly any clothes on the models, so ordering an outfit came last, and no one really looked at what they were buying. But news items like this one, which points out that people are still outraged by every little thing A&F does, confuse the company into thinking that they still have sway. Taylor Swift fans (“Swifties”) hate that the mall store put out a shirt poking fun at the romantically challenged pop-country singer’s growing boyfriend count. Never mind that the shirt’s message, in trying to be a relevant as a shirt can possibly be, has missed the mark by making a hashtag with spaces and punctuation (every Swiftee and Swiftee-age internet user knows that a hashtag broken up is a hashtag broken), in all lowercase letters. Since no one calls Taylor Swift t.s., one may be inclined to assume this shirt mentions the modernist poet famously in favor of abolishing capital letters, t.s. eliot, making this one of the least relevant shirts I’ve ever seen.

Remember, in high school, when all the white boys would wear the shirts that said “Wok-n-Bowl” and “Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make it White,” accompanied by cartoons that could have been on a WWII propaganda poster? Back then, in the early 2000s, all of it was deplorable, if you were on the other side of things. Meaning, if you weren’t part of the in-crowd, straight, and white. Now, the only people I see wearing this brand are Asians and gay people. The take-back may not be very calculated—not as calculated as ‘the n-word’ re-meaning, or new burlesque culture, at least—but it seems pretty obvious that the once-protestable racism, misogyny, and elitist ways of a brand have given it the cred to fill out its next stage. Like when golf and polo outfitters Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren became so knocked-off and collected by urban kids, new versions of the brands were launched specifically for the urban kids.

Of course, each high-end clothing morph included some growing pains. There was that rumor that Tommy said he hated black people wearing his clothes, and there were the Lo Lifes—a subculture made up of people who only wore Polo, and never purchased it. There was that Cristal quote about rappers promoting the champagne as part of a “bling lifestyle”: (“what can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it” [The Economist]) and Burberry’s annoyance with the middle class adopting its signatures, and ever so many more examples of luxury brands getting choosy about their customers. This strategy itself isn’t necessarily racist or bigoted, although it comes off that way, and sometimes the spokespeople for the brands do, too, probably because they are.

In high school, like so many scenes in the movies suggested, there was (is) a class system. The tables in the cafeteria are designated to different groups that range in popularity. There are nerds of different sorts—in the 2000s there were those dressed as nerd-heroes (of Hackers, The Matrix, etc), and then there was every other kind of nerd, who tried to camouflage his or her behavior with inconspicuous clothing. This meant T-shirts and jeans, but even a plain pocket T with Lees or Levis would stand out as a clueless attempt to blend in. Shirts that said “America,” or something as unassuming replaced any minimal efforts, but then the emblems would easily give away the wearers. Popular kids could spot nerds easily because their Old Navy logos looked cheap, which meant they didn’t care about looking good, which meant they were probably virgins. But if you wore Bebe or Coach—anything more expensive than Guess—you weren’t as easy-going and DTF as the perfect medium, and possibly also a virgin.

The best specimens played sports, but could also do a lap dance. They were motivated enough to get up and get on the pontoon boat, at the lake, on summer days, at 9am, but they were relaxed enough to enjoy the next several hours floating on it. These were the Abercrombie kids: aggressive enough to snowboard, date rape, and shame the Algebra teacher by telling a mean joke in class, but projecting that they were okay with whatever, presumably taking what they dished out, if anyone stepped up to the plate. They weren’t as passive as stoners and skaters, who had their own set of signifiers. They were specific, and needed specific branding. Abercrombie’s was so strong it was part of the chorus in 1999’s hit “Summer Girls,” by Lyte Funky Ones. In fact, a checkpoint of a generation, that whole song is random pop-culture references from the 1980s and 90s, but the most memorable lyric is tinged with racism: “I like girls that [sic] wear Abercrombie and Fitch / Chinese food makes me sick.”

By that time, the 1990s were ending and popular movies had left us with a few variations of the same lesson: Never trust anyone except yourself, and be especially wary of grownups. Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Disturbing Behavior and The Faculty depicted the evil inside each adult, and made us more fearful of aging than any preceding generation. Just look at what happened to the most rebellious teens before us: they are all working for The Man they once protested, and now they’re telling us not to listen to rap music. There were two groups then: kids wanted to be in with Abercrombie, and kids who hated it. To everyone who hated it, the brand represented the staggered systems of upward mobility and whitewashing. It was a group who ridiculed (again, ironically) gays, minorities, and even the too pale or the too thin. Of course, fat people were not allowed (but where have they ever been welcomed, over others?). The brand was like boy bands and girl groups of the time: all-play no-work cliques, who were sexy and safe within the screen or page. But where were the kids with acne? Where were these adults who wanted nothing but to bum us out, in these music videos and mall stores? They were lurking in the shadows the whole time, and it was the industry’s job to keep them at a distance. Only the dumbest of teens couldn’t accept that the people protecting them from the evil adults were adults themselves—and the most evil out of everyone, owning sweatshops and committing fraud. But the dumbest teens turned out to also be the hottest.

In 2006, it was discovered that Lou Pearlman—manager of The Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync and Lyte Funky Ones—was running one of the country’s biggest Ponzi schemes on record. And by 2006, Mike Jeffries’ most controversial public statement on sex appeal was really just saying what we were all thinking. “…Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely…”

It’s like what your parents always said to you about your abnormalities (whatever they may have been/are): they’re blessings, because you won’t have to find out the hard way who your real friends are, since no one shallow would ever befriend you. The same mentality can be transferred onto the A&F signage all over the jocks and their girlfriends (not the cheerleaders; they were sluts). We didn’t have to find out the hard way that they weren’t friendable—it said so on their shirts. And it also said business: caring more about a quality of life than the quality of all lives is a priority all business-school students have already made. Advertising that you are interested in business—that you will make money one day—is almost like advertising success. Advertising that you hated A&F was saying you took the moral high ground, whether it involved failure or not.

Anyway, A&F couldn’t stay popular forever, but it did have a good run. And now wearing A&F ironically is all over the internet (Google it: there are plenty of Tumblrs, DIY photo shoots and performance art projects devoted to defaming the brand by wearing it as an “outsider”). There are now knockoff Abercrombie clothes—a fate the “casual luxury” brand once assumed they could avoid. Actually, the brand stole its name and rustic identity from a bankrupt fishing and sporting goods company founded in 1892. A&F as we know it started in 1988, and was almost immediately copied by other mall stores like American Eagle and Aéropostale. I don’t have to tell you that since the remarks made by Jeffries and since lawsuit after lawsuit, mostly involving discrimination in staffing of storefronts, and since announcing they will not carry anything over a size 10, sales for Abercrombie & Fitch have decreased. What may not be as obvious is that worldwide, if we’re to include knockoffs (we can call the wearers of faux A&F the brand’s cheerleaders, if not part of the official team), it’s probably doing well despite its rumored collapse, the same way American Apparel, after all that talk of bankruptcy, has. Amer-pare has stayed afloat mostly because no matter how offensive the brand is, the clothes are innocuous. A&F on the other hand, has come to represent a late-nineties excess met with endless access. The song “Summer Girls” may not attract the same type of girl it once did, but it stays stuck in the head of the girl it originally enticed. The A&F logo is all over Asia as a symbol of American laziness, which is still enviable to many. Like Juicy Couture and Baby Phat, their sweatpants truly are casual luxury, with a history behind them that proves how dangerous this mindset is.

Like the tongue-in-cheek rips on luxury brands like fake Balmain shirts that instead say “Baller,” Comme des Garçons-style fonts that say “Comme des Fuck Down,” etc., someone who could never live up to an Abercrombie ad wearing an Abercrombie outfit is a subtle burn. A certain type of gay man has been wearing it head-to-toe since A&F Quarterly came out (no pun intended), even if he was never exactly the key demographic. And since the Wok-n-Bowl shirts were taken out of circulation after a complaint was filed, the Asian population have agreed to forgive and forget—or at least reappropriate the logos in a way that gets a new point across, the way dressing in head-to-toe Tommy Gear or getting tattooed with the Chanel double-Cs would.

Although A&F, the company, had an idea of who they wanted—limiting wearers to the few who had not only the privilege of wealth, but robust looks—their fantasy world became too enticing. A&F the image presented many with a sexual awakening, and a pride in American greed. Instead of creating a brand that was reachable, desirable, and elitist, it created a frenzy of horny teens who did steal it (because their parents refused to buy the over-sexed and/or corrupt brand). And now that the mall, overall, looks more Hot Topic than Old Navy, wearing the “All-American” made-in-China brands looks a little subversive. In a way, wearing A&F now is as punk as wearing Sharpie-written anti-Abercrombie shirts was in the 2000s—but with layers as plentiful as the tanks and tees worn under non-regulation spaghetti straps to school. Go ahead: try and not get away with that.

Essay Natasha Stagg

Photography DIS
Photo Assistants Ian Stoner and Ben Taylor
Styling Joyce Ng and Patric DiCaprio
Hair Eric Jamieson
Makeup­ Akihisa Yamaguchi
Clothes Abercrombie & Fitch
Models Matt Landis at Red Model Management, Algae at Wilhelmina, Kenny at New York Model Management, Joyce Ng, Edward Charles Duepner,
Walter Pearce, and Christen Mooney

Matt Barnes Feels Lakers Can Dominate With Veterans

The Los Angeles Lakers appear solid on paper although a closer look shows most of them past their prime. 

Their offseason moves have been branded as phenomenal, but seeing the franchise embarking on another NBA title quest will depend on how most of the elder statesmen can stay healthy.

Added to the mix were Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.

LeBron James is also turning 37 in December, a reason why pundits are taking several swipes at the Lakers’ chances this coming season.

However, one ex-Laker who is excited to see the retooled-but-aging Lakers roster is Matt Barnes. The 41-year-old suited up for the ballclub from 2010 to 2012.

As far as Barnes is concerned, the older roster is a good thing when he spoke to TMZ Sports.

“I think you know, they’re saying the team is old, but they got a lot of experience, a lot of great players. So, I’m excited to see what happens,” Barnes stated.

However, the one-time NBA champion did agree that for the Lakers to win the title, everyone needs to find a way to keep themselves healthy.

Assuming this is addressed, the 6-foot-7 player feels that the experience they bring would make the Lakers a team to watch this coming 2021-22 season.

“I just think older people work smarter, so they’re going to understand how to work even when they need to do the work during the season and understand that it’s a marathon, and I think they’re going to be okay with it,” he explained.

LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives against Carmelo Anthony #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers
Photo: Getty Images | Ashley Landis-Pool

Barnes’ comments come not long after Anthony brushed off concerns by many about their lineup.

“I like when people talk about the age. It gives a better story. I think it gives a better story. I think people forget, at the end of the day, it’s about basketball. You got to know how to play basketball. You got to have that experience. I think that’s what we bring at this point and time. Our talent, our skill, but also our experience,” Anthony stated.

Gravel Keeps Rolling with Prelim Night Win – DTD Exclusive

By MIKE MALLETT

Right now, it’s good to be David Gravel.

The defending Knoxville Nationals champion just keeps rolling. He picked up the Capitani Classic on Sunday night and now he has another preliminary night triumph on his resume as he won the 25-lap feature event on night one of the 60th Knoxville Nationals.

Even though he went out 47th in time trials, Gravel put down a competitive lap that placed him in the top 10. He did the hard part transferring from his heat race before starting the feature from sixth. He took advantage of slower traffic to drive by race long leader Justin Henderson for the lead with a handful of laps to go.

“Knoxville has been just a good place to me and I’ve always felt competitive here,” stated Gravel. “Usually when you win on Sunday, it gives you good confidence moving forward, but tracks can change and a bad pill draw can make you struggle all night. Making it through the heat is such a big deal, it makes the A-Main a bit of a relief. Since we qualified well and made it through the heat, I felt the pressure was kind of off going into the A. We’re just going to roll with it. It’s all about runs and momentum.”

Gravel avoided the top in turns one and two like the plague on Sunday night. That was not the case Wednesday as the top proved to be the dominant lane throughout much of the race fore everyone not named Donny Schatz. He used the top to track down Henderson before using a slide job, and a little help from traffic, to take the lead.

“I knew the race was coming to an end there, but I really couldn’t catch him before that,” commented Gravel. “He slid that lapped car and really broke his momentum. Luckily there was lapped traffic because if he had clean air the whole time, he would’ve won that race. But, that’s why we do this and that’s why we run all 25 laps to get to the lead.”

Although Gravel is the defending winner, he’s no longer with the Jason Johnson Racing team that he was with when he won the event. This is a whole new experience for Gravel along with his crew led by Cody Jacobs. He doesn’t feel different as a driver, but he knows winning on Saturday will come down to decisions they make at the last moment.

“I don’t think it feels any different, it’s a different team,” said Gravel. “Obviously, I know how to win the race now, but it takes a lot to lead lap 50. The track just changes so much and you have the opportunity to make changes at the red flag, and you can either put yourself in the ball game or take yourself out of the ball game right there. There’s a lot of decision making in the Nationals, and you have to make the right one. I’ve been up front at the break and made the wrong changes and went backwards after it. This race is a very hard one to win, and you just need to be on your game.”

So far, for two nights, Gravel and company have made the right decisions. The question left to be answered is, will they make the right ones come feature time on Saturday night to make him a two-time winner of the Knoxville Nationals?

How the famous film monsters were created – News on Film About

Films of the fantastic, fantasy and horror genre are hard to imagine without fictional creatures. Some of the heroes of such films turn out to be so bright and convincing that over time the viewer may forget the movie, but at the same time will remember its characters. “Film Pro” begins publishing a series of articles about the famous monsters and monsters that have forever gone down in the history of cinema.

The craving for fantastic heroes and monsters arose among directors at the dawn of cinema.Many tried to surprise, amaze and scare the viewer, because cinema has always been perceived by the majority as entertainment. And over the years, this desire has only intensified, thanks in large part to the development of technology that opened up new possibilities and freed the imagination.

Most likely, the first monsters and outlandish creatures appeared in the short films of the magician and director Georges Méliès.

In The Castle of the Devil (1896), the French genius frightened the viewer with skeletons and demons, in the famous film Journey to the Moon (1902) he amazed the inhabitants of the Moon, and in the painting The Conquest of the Pole (1912) he admired the appearance of the ice giant.

Fragment from the film “Conquest of the Pole” by Georges Méliès. The ice giant’s puppet was operated by several workers positioned below and above the stage. Four technicians moved their arms, one made their ears move, and four more used mechanisms to set their heads in motion.

Make-up, dolls, time-lapse animation, double exposure, freeze-frame, fast and slow motion – for his time, Méliès mastered these technologies to perfection. It was makeup, dolls, frame-by-frame animation combined with double exposure that were widely used in cinema to create fictional creatures and monsters – before the introduction of computer technology.But the main merit of Melies was not only in discovering new techniques and methods of filming, but also in his application of these techniques and tricks as artistic elements of film narration.
The film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923)

Lone Cheney without makeup. Photo taken from wikipedia.org

In the 1920s, cinematography became technically sophisticated. Hollywood star Lona Cheney, who was called “the man with a thousand faces.” Cheney managed to create a vibrant gallery of ghouls.A sudden death in 1930 put an end to Cheney’s cherished dream of playing Dracula with his favorite director Tod Browning (“Freaks.” the drama “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” based on the novel by Victor Hugo, he wore a heavy rubber hump weighing 18 kilograms, which was attached to his back with a leather hitch, which weighed the structure by another 13.5 kilograms.In addition, he took wax into his mouth and covered one eye with it. In the thriller Punishment, Cheney played a legless man. On the site, he bent his legs, tightened them with straps and walked on one knee. And for the role in the horror film “The Phantom of the Opera” inserted metal staples into the nostrils that made the nose bleed.

Preferring to work behind closed doors, he himself invented and applied makeup for all the images he embodied. Cheney created such different and shocking images that at the peak of his popularity a joke was born:

Fragment of the film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” based on the novel by Victor Hugo.Lon Cheney plays the role of Quasimoda.

The film “King Kong” (1933)

The famous shot from the movie “King Kong”

The most technically perfect film of its time was released in 1933. “King Kong” was filmed using absolutely all the technologies available at that time. The dummies made a life-size paw, leg and torso of the monkey for close-ups, but most of the filming involved a 46-centimeter doll, animated by Willis O’Brien from frames.The model of the monkey was made by the sculptor Marcelo Delgado. In the work on the doll, metal was used for the skeleton, foam plastic, rubber and rabbit skin for the shell. Optical effects were realized using “wandering masks” by contact printing on an optical printer or trick machine. Also, traditional animation for the image of a flock of seagulls, the Schufftan method *, double exposure and keying of miniatures were used. The tape was a huge success, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of the decade.

A fragment of the movie “King Kong”

Interesting facts about the film:
1.On its weekend premiere, the film earned $ 90,000, setting a new grossing record. For the entire time of distribution, the film brought the film studio $ 1.7 million.

2. The magazine Entertainment Weekly included the film among the greatest films in history, placing the picture in 47th place in its rating.

3. In the USSR the film was shown in 1970 in the Moscow cinema “Illusion”.

4. Filming the scene of King Kong’s fight with the pterodactyl took seven weeks.

5. Marcelo Delgado made dinosaur dolls using wood and wire for the skeleton, covering the models with rubber.It is noteworthy that before that, dolls for stop-motion animation were created mainly from plasticine, so the construction with a metal skeleton became a real innovation.

The film “Frankenstein” (1931)

Boris Karloff as a monster. A still from the movie “Frankenstein”

The image of the Monster, created by Professor Frankenstein during a scientific experiment, was imprinted in popular culture in the form of several films, comics and computer games. The monster in the famous black-and-white film “Frankenstein” was played by Boris Karloff after Bela Lugosi left the project due to creative differences with the director of the film.The famous protruding forehead of the monster was made using cotton cloth and collodion solution, in which it was soaked, and then layered on the actor’s head. In total, it took more than three hours to make up, and then another hour and a half to remove and wash it off. Early materials for plastic makeup caused a lot of inconvenience for both creators and actors. For example, collodion was highly flammable and often irritated to the skin.

Jack Pearce’s makeup and monster look is protected by a special patent that gives Universal Pictures the exclusive right to dispose of them until 2026.

Interesting facts about the film:
1. Make-up and costume of the Beast weighed about 24 kilograms.

2. Boris Karloff suggested that makeup artist Jack Pearce remove the denture from his mouth to make the monster’s cheeks look more sunken.

3. Makeup artist Jack Pearce studied ancient burial techniques and anatomy while working on the Frankenstein monster.

Trailer for the film “Frankenstein” with Boris Karloff in the title role

The film “Jason and the Argonauts” (1963)

Still from the film “Jason and the Argonauts”

In the first half of the 60s, the adventure tape becomes a real gem of special effects “Jason and the Argonauts”, to the creation of which had a hand in animation director Ray Harrihausen, a student of the legendary Willis O’Brien (“King Kong”).Throughout his life, Harrihausen was engaged in stop-motion animation and achieved great success in this technique. The pinnacle of his career is the scene of the battle between the Argonauts and the skeletons. During rehearsals on the site, the skeletons were replaced by stuntmen so that the actors understood how they should act out the episode. The participants in the action memorized the movements like professional dancers. The images of the animated skeletons were imprinted into frames using an optical printer. Stop-motion animation master Ray Harrihausen passed away in May of this year, here is how George Lucas reacted to this sad news:
Scene of the battle with skeletons in the movie “Jason and the Argonauts”

Interesting facts about the film:
1.Filming took place in Italy on natural sites and in the pavilions of the British studio Shepperton.

2. Staging the scene of the fight with the skeletons, which lasts no more than three minutes of screen time, took four and a half months.

3. For this painting, Harrihausen perfected the Dynamition technique he invented for Sinbad’s Seventh Voyage (1958).

American Werewolf in London (1981)

David Naughton’s make-up process

One of the most famous horror films of the 80s, American Werewolf in London, made a splash, thanks in large part to the titanic work of Oscar-winning Rick Baker for the best makeup.The scene of the transformation of the hero into a werewolf still looks impressive and convincing. Baker used plastic make-up based on foam latex, as well as animatronics – various mechanical devices that made it possible to stretch the fake arms and legs of the character. In one of the shots, the main character is overgrown with wool. The hair sprouting effect was realized using the classical technique. In the false skin, the artists made holes in which they passed the hairs. During the shooting, the wool was manually pulled from the back side in such a way that the length of the hair was reduced and completely disappeared.

The footage was played in reverse order – this is how a werewolf with a skin growing before our eyes turned out.

Scene of transformation of the hero into a werewolf from the movie “American Werewolf in London”

Interesting facts about the film:
1. The first sketches of the script were made by John Landis in 1969

2. The director noticed the leading role of David Naughton in the Dr. Pepper

3. Michael Jackson liked the film so much that he invited John Landis to direct the video for the song “Thriller”.

The film “Star Wars. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Still from the movie Star Wars. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

The classic Star Wars trilogy is replete with memorable imagery of outlandish creatures. But, perhaps, it was Jabba the Hutt, the leader of the intergalactic mafia, who turned out to be the most colorful character among the characters depicted by the dolls. At the time of the release of the picture on the screens, Jabba the Hutt was the largest and most complex doll, in the creation of which animatronics were used.The model was operated by six specialists, including three hiding inside Jabba’s hollow body. At the base of the tail was a dwarf, two other props moved the arms, tongue, head and body of the monster. Another puppeteer was under the stage and helped Jabba breathe. The eyes were controlled by another operator using a remote control. The sixth and last specialist was blowing smoke out of the pipe. The doll was built by Phil Tippett and Stuart Freeborn.

Scene with Jabba the Hutt – the head of the intergalactic mafia from the movie “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”

Interesting facts about the film:
1.The film won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

2. Several Ewoks speak Filipino in the film.

3. Darth Vader was played by three actors. One of the performers wore a costume, the other showed his face in makeup, and the third spoke for the character.

4. The greedy Viceroy of the Trade Federation is named Nute Gunray. This is an anagram for the name of then US President Ronald Reagan, whose initiative to name the strategic defense program “Star Wars” did not like George Lucas.

5. Jabba the Hutt’s doll weighed about a ton.

The film “Aliens” (1986)

Doll of the Alien Queen. Shot from Stan Winston’s workshop

James Cameron took up the production of the sequel to Alien after the successful release of the fantastic action movie The Terminator (1984). It is known that the director drew many of the sketches himself. For example, Cameron designed the Alien Queen. Stan Winston supervised the creation of the doll, who designed the Terminator. Not only sketches of the entire monster, but also of its parts – the head, body and tail – were commissioned by the special effects masters.The full-scale doll was controlled by several operators, including two who were seated inside the creature. The Queen’s model was created on two scales.

In addition to the full-size doll, a ¼ miniature was built for filming in the den.

The miniature model was an animatronic doll whose movements were controlled by 50 cables. The same model was filmed in the battle scene when Ripley uses a forklift. In many shots, the viewer is shown a Ripley doll and a forklift, built on the same scale as the Alien’s womb.It took about six months to create them. A miniature copy of the Queen exactly repeated all the features of a full-size monster doll, inside which, in addition to two operators, there was a hydraulic system for controlling the head, neck, tongue and body. Despite the complexity of the design, the viewer will not see cables and other devices in the frames due to the favorable shooting angles.

A video that introduces the process of creating a sculpture of the Alien Queen

Interesting facts about the film:
1. The decoration of the Aliens lair depicted the Axis Chemicals plant in Batman (1989).

2. The actors who played the Marines were required to take a young soldier’s course and read the novel “Starship Troopers” by Robert Heinlein.

3. James Cameron refused to write an alternative script that did not include Ripley’s character. Fox studio wanted to hedge against the failure of negotiations with Sigourney Weaver.

4. Intertainment Weekly ranked the film 42nd on the list of “Greatest Movies in Cinema History”.

5. The film won two Academy Awards.The award was given to the best visual effects and the best sound effects editing.

* Eugen Schüfftan’s method consisted of combining miniatures with decorations and a painted background using mirrors. The director of photography put a large mirror at an angle of 45 degrees to the camera. In turn, the model or drawing was positioned at an angle of 90 degrees to the lens so that their reflection in the mirror becomes visible to the camera. Areas of reflection that were to be replaced with a miniature or decoration image were cleaned out, that is, the reflective coating was removed.The result was a reflection with empty areas that were filled with the thumbnail image.

To be continued
Adapted from: Cinefex, Richard Rickett’s ‘The History and technique of special effects’, imdb.com

90,000 Max Landis accused of emotional and sexual abuse

Max Landis, son of Animal House director John Landis, has been accused of abuse by eight different women.

The 33-year-old “Bright” screenwriter has allegedly emotionally, sexually and physically abused his partners for 10 years, according to the Daily Beast.

Travis Barkers ex-wife

His prosecutors detail the incidents of abuse, which include repeated rape, as well as body shame and violence.

He showed me the insults and humiliation of porn and constantly tested his boundaries – it got darker and darker as our relationship became more turbulent, as I grew up to see sex with him as the only way to get love and connect ‘, ex- the girlfriend told the exit.”This led me to the fact that I began to be subjected to more and more violence.”

She said that Landis continued to manipulate her, claiming that her crying was “excitement.”

“He provoked fights, belittled and upset me, just so he could have sex with me, and real, legal fights ended the same way,” the woman said. “He choked me until I passed out, and did humiliating, degrading things that I still cannot write out on paper.”

Cardi B bisexual

His ex-girlfriend, Ani Baker, said that he often shows partners the rating of every woman he has slept with and shows where they are on the list.

“He scrolled to the bottom and showed me my name and next to it his rating,” Baker said. “This list and the way he showed it to women was one of the most striking things about his views on women. He collected the experience of communication with women for his own pleasure and ego, and then turned these experiences into pain and devaluation for as many women as possible. “

A former University of Miami classmate who briefly met with Landis, recalled how he “insulted” his other girlfriends. She claimed that he “manipulates them, shames them, and was generally violent.”

“He systematically tried to have sex with every woman I knew,” a classmate said. “We are not people for him.”

Could not immediately contact a Landis representative for comment.

Page Not Found | ShareAmerica

Every four years, fans around the world with bated breath watch the competitions of the best athletes in the world at the Summer Olympics.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this time they had to wait for five whole years. Until July 23, when the Tokyo Olympics begin, American athletes are counting the days.

At the current Olympics, in addition to traditional sports such as gymnastics and swimming, new ones will also be presented, including surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing. Today we introduce our readers to the American Olympians, the favorites of the upcoming competitions.

Juvon Harrison

This 22-year-old athlete (pictured above) will perform in Tokyo in both long and high jump.This is the first time since 1912, when the legendary Jim Thorpe competed for the US national team in several athletics events.

Simone Biles

Simone Biles performs the balance beam during US Olympic Qualifiers (© Jeff Roberson / AP Images)

The most decorated gymnast in history, four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles, 24, remains best placed to add to her medal collection at the upcoming Games. Recently, Simona mastered the vault with a double back somersault, which entered artistic gymnastics as “Yurchenko’s jump” [named after the legendary Soviet gymnast Natalia Yurchenko – ed.], so difficult and dangerous that other gymnasts never try to repeat it.

In addition to the sports arena, Simone Biles, who lives in Texas, can be found at a hurricane relief center where she volunteers. The athlete is also known for her statements on such sensitive social topics as gender equality, racism, and offensive actions against female gymnasts. Before her grandparents were able to take her with them, Simone was an adopted child in various families, and she speaks frankly about her experience.The champion established a scholarship to support foster children, students of the University of the People, a non-profit online popular university.

Karissa Moore

April 9, 2021. Karissa Moore, four-time Women’s Super League Surfing Champion, competes in the Rip Curl Newcastle Cup in Newcastle, Australia. (© Cait Miers / World Surf League / Getty Images)

Four-time world champion Karissa Moore, 28, was born in Honolulu. Already in 2014, her name was inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame.Karissa was addicted to surfing by her father when she was only four years old. Until 2010, when Karissa became a professional surfer, she had eleven amateur championships to her credit. She graduated with honors from the Punahou School in Honolulu (at one time Barack Obama studied at this school), and here she met her future husband.

Karissa Moore is committed to protecting the environment and strengthening health systems. She devotes a lot of time to mentoring: with her father, she established the Mur-Aloha program, aimed at developing self-esteem in girls and young women.

Jordan Windle

Jordan Will dives from the 10m platform in the qualifying round for the 2021 US Olympic Team. (© Dylan Buell / Getty Images)

George Windle is twenty-two years old. He was born in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, lost his parents at the age of one and ended up in an orphanage in Phnom Penh. He was adopted by an American named Jerry Windle and taken to Florida. In the summer camp, the coach drew attention to the future champion – seven-year-old George knew how to dive perfectly.Two years later, “Little Luganis” (as he was nicknamed in honor of the outstanding American diving four-time Olympic champion Greg Luganis) won his first championship title. Since those in his asset – many titles, medals and awards. A student at the University of Texas, he became a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion.

After two unsuccessful attempts, George Windle won a spot on the US Olympic team in 2021.Although not regarded as the most likely Olympic winner, he has many fans in the United States and Cambodia (in whose capital, Phnom Penh, he organized a scuba-themed exhibition for orphans in 2016). Best of luck in Tokyo!

Kira Condi

Kira Condi qualifies for sport climbing in Salt Lake City on May 21 (© Rick Bowmer / AP Images)

When Kira Condi was eleven years old, she joined the climbing team from St. Paul, Minnesota, but after training she was constantly haunted by back pain.It turned out that she had scoliosis. Kira underwent surgery, after which her height increased by as much as 7.5 cm. Doctors warned that she had better give up climbing, but Kira did not give in: after a few months she moved to Salt Lake City and continued training in the USA team Climbing under the guidance of experienced trainers. Today Kira is one of the strongest sports climbers in the world. She successfully qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.

Kira competed with refugee athletes.In addition, she starred in the TV series “Inspired by Sport” on the Olympic TV channel. Kira intends to continue this work, the important task of which is to support those who decided to change their lives through sports.

Caleb Dressel

In qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, Caleb Dressel set the US national 50m freestyle record (© Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

24-year-old American swimmer Caleb Dressel, record holder in butterfly and freestyle short distances, won two gold medals at the previous Olympics and won 13 world championships.He holds US records at distances of 50 and 100 meters freestyle, as well as at a distance of 50 meters butterfly. According to coach Bob Bauman, who also worked with swimming legend Michael Phelps, there is every reason to believe that Dressel will continue his winning streak.

Dressel believes that people should learn from each other and that when they learn something new, their day is not wasted. “Swimming,” he told FINAAquatics World magazine, “there are things that an eight-year-old can do better than me.I am sure about that”.

Nija Houston

Nija Houston will represent the United States in Tokyo in the new Olympic sport of skateboarding. (Photographed on June 3 at Foro Italico Stadium in Rome, Italy’s capital, hosting the World Cup this year). (© Tiziana Fabi / AFP / Getty Images)

Professional skateboarder Nija Houston is 26 years old. He is a five-time world champion and the highest paid skateboarder in history. He is often called the “LeBron James of Skateboarding” [American basketball player LeBron James is the highest paid player in the National Basketball League – ed.] Houston, the inventor of more and more skateboarding techniques, says that his favorite places to skate are handrails and steps.

Although Nija was born in Davis, California, he spent his early childhood in Puerto Rico, where access to drinking water was often difficult. In 2009, he and his mother, Kelle, founded Let It Flow, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing clean water to vulnerable communities. With the help of fellow skateboarding stars including Tony Hawke, Houston has refurbished water systems in several rural communities around the world, from Ethiopia to Haiti.

Delilah Muhammad and Sidney McLaughin

June 27, 2021. American women Delilah Muhammad and Sidney McLaughin compete for the US Olympic 400m hurdles team. (© Andy Lyons / Getty Images) 400 meters with hurdles. Delilah lives and trains in New York. And in 2019 at the World Championships, she set a world record by running the distance in 52.16 seconds, and before that she won gold at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.McLaughin of New Jersey set a new world record in the pre-Olympic qualifiers on June 27 in less than 52 seconds – 51.9.

Delilah Muhammad contracted the coronavirus in February, but was able to recuperate by the qualifying tournament. According to her, she is thinking about ending her sports career. And Sidney McLaughin is still ahead, as she is the youngest American runner to compete in this athletics at the Olympics since 1972.

Katie Ledecky

Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle (pre-Olympic swimming qualifier, June 19) (© Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

Catherine Genevieve (Katie) Ledecky, 24, is a five-time Olympic swimming champion and 15 gold medals at the World Championships – is the most titled swimmer in the world. She has set world records in freestyle swimming 14 times. A graduate of Stanford University this year, Katie earned her BA in Psychology.In Tokyo, she will perform in five forms, four individual and 4 × 200 meters freestyle relay.

Katie Ledecky was born in Bethesda, Maryland. Her Olympic teammate Mike Phelps called her “the greatest swimmer of our time.” Ledecky, in turn, calls her 15-year-old teammate Katie Grims, who will compete for the first time in an Olympic tournament, as “the future of women’s swimming”.

Katie Ledecky’s free time devotes to charities such as the Catholic Charities, Shepherd’s Table, Bikes for the World and the Wounded Warriors Project, as well as the Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda.

Adeline Maria Gray

American freestyle wrestler Adeline Maria Gray celebrates her victory in the 76kg division at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. (© Anvar Ilyasov / AP Images)

30-year-old freestyle wrestler Adeline Maria Gray became the first American (both women and men) winner of the World Wrestling Championships. She began her career at the age of six under the influence of her father, and since then has not parted with the sport.The Tokyo Olympics will be her last international tournament. At the end of the performances, Adeleine is going to return to Colorado, where she lives with her husband, a US Army soldier.

She grew up competing in this sport with boys and was thrilled when women’s wrestling competitions were included in the Olympic program. “Women’s martial arts have changed the concept of what women can and cannot do in sports,” Adeleine said in an interview with NBC. In May, she became the winner of four fights at the Pan American Championships, and on the eve of the Tokyo Games, this gave her confidence in her abilities.Adeleine Maria Gray speaks highly of her Japanese rivals, with whom she has befriended and who, she says, bring “happy energy” to the sport.

90,000 last-born% 20% 28child% 29 – from French to all languages ​​

1.

1937 – USA (111 min)

Manuf. David O. Selznick (rental UA)

Dir. WILLIAM O. WELLMAN

Scenes Dorothy Parker, Alan Kumble, Robert Carson based on a story by William O.Wellman and Robert Carson, inspired by How Much Hollywood? (What Price Hollywood ?, 1932)

Opera. W. Howard Green (Technicolor)

Muses. Max Steiner

Starring Janet Gaynor (Esther Blodgett / Vicki Lester), Fredrick March (Norman Maine), Adolph Manjou (Oliver Niles), Andy Devine (Danny McGuire), May Robson (Letty’s grandmother), Lionel Stander (Matt Libby), Owen (Casey Burke), Elizabeth Jenns (Anita Regis), J.C. Nugent (Theodore Blodgett), Clara Blandick (Aunt Matty), Franklin Pangbourne (Billy Moon), Edgar Kennedy (Randall’s dad), Marshall Bert Neilan (director Vince Barnett (Bernie’s photographer), Carol Landis, Lana Turner (Santa Anita bar stats).

Esther Blodgett lives with her grandmother, father, aunt and younger brother on a farm in North Dakota. She is crazy about movies and wants to try her luck in Hollywood. Her father and aunt criticize this quirk, but the grandmother, true to the spirit of the pioneers among whom she spent her youth, persuades her to leave and make her dream come true. To do this, she gives her granddaughter her savings. In Hollywood, Esther rents a room in a small boarding house and learns that the recruitment of extras has been discontinued for 2 years already. Everyone speaks in one voice that it would be better if Esther stayed at home; the same is said by the assistant director she met at the boarding house.Arriving with him at a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, she notices among the audience her idol, actor Norman Maine, who, as usual, is drunk. He gets into a skirmish with the photographer. The assistant finds a casual job for Esther: as a waitress at a party for a certain producer. There she meets Norman Maine again. He is seduced by her youth and beauty, looks after her and escorts her home. He wakes producer Niles in the middle of the night to audition Esther immediately. On auditions, he himself gives the girl replicas.

Esther signs a contract with Niles, which emphasizes that he has hired her, even though her spontaneity and complete lack of acting technique goes against the tastes of the current public. Advertising agent Matt Libby is transforming Esther’s biography to make it more attractive to viewers. Niles gives her a new name: Vicki Lester. She is taught to walk, talk; make up her. Norman, who can’t find a partner for himself, offers to take Esther for the female lead in the next film.Niles agrees. Esther faints. After the preliminary screening, her name remains on the lips of the public, and almost not a word is spoken about Norman. Together they look at the city: Norman says that the city lies at the feet of a new star. He advises Esther not to miss the chance, as happened to him. He takes her to a boxing match and asks for her hand in there. Libby wants to make a splash in the press, but Norman and Esther prefer to get married incognito and go on their honeymoon.

Upon his return, Norman shows his wife the luxurious mansion he had just purchased for her.Norman learns from Niles that his career is in jeopardy and the studio terminates his contract shortly thereafter. (From now on, Cukor’s version [see next article] is almost identical to this version – with the addition of musical numbers, of course.) Norman stays at home all day. He becomes, so to speak, a secretary and personal assistant to his wife and even prepares food for her. At the Oscars, Esther wins the Best Actress award, and Norman, drunk as a lord, interrupts her acceptance speech.He demands to award him an Oscar as the worst actor and accidentally punches his wife in the face. He is being treated for alcoholism. Refuses the small role offered to him. Leaving the hospital, he meets Libby, who insults and beats him. Norman drinks to calm his nerves and disappears for several days. Esther wants the court to bail her out on Norman. Back home, Norman hears her telling Niles that she will sacrifice her career and take care of her husband. After waiting for darkness, he goes ashore and drowns in the sea.Grandmother Esther, having specially arrived in Hollywood, will not allow her granddaughter to return to North Dakota and ruin her career. At the premiere of the new film, Esther introduces herself into the microphone as “Mrs. Norman Maine.”

► Those who first saw Cukor’s film find it difficult to perceive Wellman’s film as anything other than an honest and talented sketch of a future masterpiece. This picture lacks scope and lyricism, documentary authenticity, tragic emotionality – in general, everything that distinguishes Cukor’s version. Wellman’s version (whose authorship is largely attributable to Selznick) appears before us as a stern, classic, often disturbing melodrama, which includes fiery praises of courage and perseverance in achieving dreams (a theme dear to Wellman), and a touch of romanticism inherent in Selznick.The plot is based on passionate love, doomed to failure in advance: such stories were adored by Selznik. In order not to inflate the length of the film without measure, he decided to cut out the technical details of the “dream factory” that figured in the project in the early stages: Cukor’s version will give them a lot of attention. None of the actors in Wellman’s film are mediocre, but none of them compare in expressiveness to those of Cukor. This applies to both major and minor roles: ex., a huge chasm separates Lionel Stander’s acting as an advertising agent (his prototype was Russell Birdwell, who worked for Selznick) and Jack Carson’s acting (in an unusual role for him) in the same role with Cukor. At the same time, in the 1st version there are many magnificent finds and dialogues that are absolutely necessary to see: Norman accidentally punches his wife in the face at the Oscars; Norman commits suicide on the beach at night; the judge lectures Norman (the same speech was once read to Wellman under similar circumstances).

BIBLIOGRAPHY: The film is devoted to a chapter in the book: Roland Haver, David Selznick’s Hollywood, New York, Knopf, 1980. The author analyzes the various stages of script creation. The authorship of the last scene and the famous line “This is Mrs. Norman Maine” belongs to screenwriter John Lee Mayin, who joined the work after the 1st private screening and the exit from the project of Dorothy Parker and Alan Camp. The idea came to him after he read the scene (preserved in the film) where Adolph Manjou breaks up with the heroine, saying at last: “Goodbye, Vicki … Good luck, Mrs. Norman Maine.”

2. (1954)

1954 – USA (182 min; reduced to 134 and 115 min; restored version – 170 min)

Manuf. Warner (Sidney Luft)

Dir. GEORGE KUKOR

Scenes Moss Hart based on a screenplay by Dorothy Parker, Alan Kumble, Robert Carson and a story by William O. Wellman and Robert Carson, inspired by the movie How Much Hollywood? (What Price Hollywood ?, 1932)

Opera. Sam Leavitt (Cinemascope, Technicolor)

Muses.Herold Arlen

Lyrics by Ira Gershwin (number “Born in a Suitcase” written by Leonard Gershe)

Choreography Richard Barstow

Starring Judy Garland (Esther Blodgett / Vicky Lester), James Mason (Norman Maine), Charles Bickford (Oliver Niles), Jack Carson (Matt Libby), Tommy Noonan (Danny McGuire), Lucy Marlowe (Lola Lavery), Amanda Blair (Susan Ettinger), Grady Sutton (Curven), Frank Ferguson (judge).

Here is a summary of the restored 1983 version., indicating episodes in brackets, to one degree or another restored with the help of an audio track, photographs and preserved individual plans.

At a gala concert hosted by the Hollywood Film Mutual Aid Fund, the famous actor Norman Maine, completely drunk, as often happens to him, rises on stage and almost disrupts the performance of the Glenn Williams Orchestra. Orchestra singer Esther Blodgett helps everyone out of trouble: without losing her presence of mind, she dances a short dance with the actor, and the audience takes it all for a pleasant comic sketch.The scandal is thus avoided. At night, sobering up, Norman finds Esther in a small bar on Sunset Boulevard, where she sings for pleasure to the accompaniment of musicians from the orchestra. He hears in her performance “My man escaped” and is surprised at the singularity and strength of her voice. He escorts her to the hotel and assures her that there is something in her that makes stars born. He persuades her to quit the orchestra and try her luck at the cinema. That same night, he wakes up producer Oliver Niles, claiming to have found a future star.

(The next morning Esther watches the orchestra leave. Norman is half-conscious and taken to the shooting quite far from Hollywood. Filming takes place on board the yacht. He demands that Esther be found for him, but she has already changed the hotel. Norman gets the flu and does not get out of bed Esther voices a doll for advertising Although Esther is penniless, she refuses to perform with the Glenn Williams Orchestra She works as a waitress in a roadside restaurant Norman hears her voice in a TV commercial.He finds her address and comes to her. They kiss.)

In the studio, getting ready for auditions, Esther becomes a victim of make-up artists. When she breaks free from their tenacious paws, Hopman does not recognize her. They immediately make her take off her wig, fake nose and hideous makeup. After signing a contract with the studio, she meets the head of advertising services Matt Libby and his employees. She only has time to catch a glimpse of the producer Niles: they are introduced in the projection room, where he is watching a western. She stars in a small role, but in such a way that her face does not appear on the screen.Receiving a weekly earnings, she learns her new name – Vicki Lester. Norman tricks Niles into his office so that he could hear Esther sing through the window. The trick succeeds: Niles takes Esther for the lead role in the musical.

(Esther and Norman drive to a movie theater for a private screening of her film. Esther is shaking and asks Norman to stop because she is sick.) Esther’s film is shown as a surprise after Norman’s film program.Ester, in particular, performs on the screen a long song and dance death “Born in a Suitcase”. The audience is delighted with her performance. Norman says Hollywood is now at her feet. He regrets that he met her so late. In the recording studio, she is dubbing her next film. Norman came to listen to her. They whisper to each other, and the sound engineers jokingly record their conversation and play it over the speakerphone: Norman just asked for Esther’s hand. She agrees in front of everyone.

Esther and Norman want to marry incognito. This is not profitable for Libby’s head of advertising: in the past, he spent a lot of energy hiding Norman’s adventures from the press – despite the fact that Libby hates him. He believes that with this hasty marriage, Norman crossed all boundaries and missed a good opportunity to improve his reputation with the audience. The newlyweds are renting a hotel room. Norman asks Esther to sing “It’s a New World” for him. At a party in his new home with a cinema, Norman learns from Niles that his contract has been terminated.His binges are increasingly endangering filming, and the finished films with his participation are not successful. Norman, involuntarily unemployed, sits at home all day. He replaces his wife’s secretary, and sometimes even a cook. One evening she retells him the script of the ridiculous exotic musical in which she is filming. She portrays and sings all the episodes. At the Oscars, Esther receives the Best Actress Award. Norman, arriving late and drunk, interrupts her acceptance speech and begs to be given the role.Turning awkwardly, he punches his wife in the face. From this he instantly sober up, and Esther gently takes him to the table.

In between takes of the musical number “I Love That Dull Face” for the new film, Niles visits Esther in the dressing room, and the actress confesses that she is confused: she cannot stop her husband’s self-destruction. Now he is being treated for binge in the hospital. Niles comes there and offers Norman a small role, but he rejects it. Their conversation takes place in front of a bodyguard: he goes everywhere for Norman and does not allow him to drink.Leaving the hospital, Norman meets Matt Libby at the races, and he insults him. They fight and Libby knocks Norman out. To recover, Norman immediately orders a double whiskey from the bar. Then it disappears for several days. Esther finds him in court, where Norman is sentenced to 3 months in prison for drunk driving and assaulting a police officer. Esther begs the judge to bail her husband and gets her way. Lying in bed, Norman hears Esther telling Niles that she is ready to sacrifice her career to save her husband.Norman goes to the beach and, after dark, drowns in the sea.

After the funeral, Esther lives alone, not seeing anyone. Her friend, pianist from the orchestra Glenn Williams, persuades Esther to keep her promise and take part in a gala concert of the “Film Mutual Aid Fund”. He says Esther is the only good fortune in Norman’s career; having ruined her own career, she will offend the memory of her husband. On stage, Esther introduces herself to the public as Mrs. Norman Maine.

► This beautiful and poignant tour of the “dream factory” is undeniably the best, most realistic and concrete film ever made about Hollywood from the inside.A huge number of facets of cinematic creativity (audition, filming, scoring, private screenings, advertising technologies, etc.) are revealed in the course of the action with considerable reliability, hidden irony and, most importantly, with amazing objectivity. Cukor has already shown Hollywood in the brutal film How Much Hollywood !, which formed the basis for the 1st version, Star is Born, directed by Wellman: thus, the 2nd version is not just a remake, but a film entirely owned by Cukor.Incidentally, Cukor came up with some ideas for Wellman’s 1st version and used them again in his film: for example, the arrival of the producer in Norman’s hospital room. Cukor had a similar experience himself when he went to John Barrymore to offer him a role in The Lady of the Camellias, Camille, which was eventually played by Henry Daniel. The almost technical description of the mechanisms of Hollywood occupies an important place in the film A Star is Born, but it fits perfectly with the development of the characters, and the duet of Judy Garland and James Mason becomes one of the most exciting duos in American cinema.Neither the strong and pure love of the spouses, nor the energy of Esther are able to save the actor from self-destruction and prevent the final split in the family. Painting a paired portrait of 2 stars, one of which is rising, and the other is preparing to slide from the sky, Cukor gives birth to a genuine tragedy, a fairly frequent occurrence in his work. As an original and disruptive variation on the theme of Pygmalion, James Mason creates one of the most iconic characters of his career.

A Star Is Born – a historical document, a film with many characters, but also a film about stars and stars.He became a great benefit performance for Judy Garland (for which he was partly conceived). You may not be a fan of this actress, but it is impossible not to admit that she is beautiful in this neurotic role, which in terms of material is much more suited to the true nature of Garland than the entertainment roles in which she had to act under the direction of Minnelli, George Sidney or Charles Waters. Esther rises higher to the stars, but her husband is degrading before our eyes; the heroine’s disappointment turns her fate into a real tragedy.As in the plays of Pirandello, as a result of the complex play of reflections, the character of Norman Maine becomes a copy of Judy Garland herself, exhausted and prone to self-destruction. This film was supposed to revive her career again, but in fact it became a kind of farewell to the public, since after it Garland will appear in only 4 unremarkable films. Using color and widescreen for the first time, Cukor works wonders with the help of director of photography Sam Leavitt and color consultant famed photographer Georg Heuningen-Hune.The heavy, thick and warm tones of the studios and Hollywood nights contribute to the drama in a sophisticated and effective way. The scale of the shot in each scene, amazing editing, sometimes short in reportage scenes, now completely invisible in dramatic scenes – all this creates the impression that a new format was invented especially for Cukor and for this film.

Despite the hype that accompanied the premiere of the film in Hollywood (the real heroine of the holiday was Judy Garland, who returned to the screen after a 4-year hiatus following her departure from MGM), Warner considered it necessary to cut the length of the film from 182 minutes (indeed an abnormally long duration for that time) up to 154, and then up to 135 minutes.In 1983, a restored copy appeared, lasting 170 minutes – absolutely amazing. The full original version of the film seems to be lost forever, and the 170-min version restores the missing fragments, which only enriches the main idea of ​​the film. The scenes, quite touchingly recreated piece by piece, in themselves become an important monument to Hollywood and its ill-considered carelessness in relation to its own treasures. It is now evident that the original version was not dragged out, as the ideal drama placed the characters in a large-scale and believable portrait of Hollywood life.In addition to the restored scenes, this version also contains 2 very important episodes cut out during editing: the dubbing scene (when Norman asks for Esther’s hand) and the ballet I Love That Dull Face, without which Judy Garland’s monologue in the dressing room after the arrival of Charles Bickford’s hero sounded pretty artificially.

N.V. Cukor did not direct Born in a Suitcase (choreographed by Richard Barstow). It was added against the wishes of the director, who always vilified it in every possible way, although the episode is quite beautiful.The 3rd version A Star is Born, Superficial and Quickly Forgotten, was directed by Frank Pearson starring Barbra Strysend (1976).

REFERENCES: Ronald Haver, A Star Is Born, The Making of the 1954 Movie and its 1983 Restoration, Alfred Knopf, New York, 1988.

Lance Armstrong Inc. | Forbes.ru

There was an ice sculpture of a cyclist in the hall. Lance signed autographs and posed for photographers with his mother and wife Christina, who was carrying her first child and was seven months pregnant (Lance met his future wife after a course of chemotherapy, they divorced in 2003.- Forbes). President Clinton and the Governor of Texas called to congratulate the winner. The celebration was paid for by investment banker Tom Wiesel, the main sponsor of cycling in the United States. Over the years, Wiesel spent millions of dollars to support the team. Finally, his expenses paid off, if not in money, then in fame.

After recovering from cancer, diagnosed in 1996, and returning to the sport, Lance frequently performed in public for a year, telling his story at the events of the cancer charity he founded, and was notable for his eloquence.In his speech to the team, Lance was touchingly thanking his teammates for their support. Said his role in the 1999 race was “the same as the zipper on this jersey.” Everything else: fabric, sleeves, collar of the leader’s yellow jersey – was, in his words, the merit of the team.

US Postal Director of Sport Johan Brunel, a former cyclist, smiled broadly as he received congratulations from other team sponsors and guests. The general director of the team, Mark Gorsky, walked around the hall with an unlit cigar in his mouth, thinking about what had happened.Racer Tyler Hamilton finished thirteenth, 25-year-old Kevin Livingston – thirty-sixth. An amazing result for their first Tour de France! Both could have finished even better if they hadn’t given all their strength to help Lance. Doctor Luis García del Moral was also at the dinner. In an elegant green jacket and tie, he sat at a table next to his assistant, Pepe Marty.

Now that Lance has turned from a nondescript middling to a reigning champion, he has a lot more responsibility.And he felt it immediately.

In a toast, Steve Disson, Wiesel’s business partner, offered a toast to his future victory in the 2000 Tour de France. Six or seven athletes have already renewed their contracts with the team for the next year, including Armstrong, Hamilton and Livingston. Armstrong’s win earned him a million dollar bonus plus $ 50,000 “extra cash” for the yellow leader’s jersey and $ 25,000 for each day he was confirmed as the leader of the race. Such an agreement was concluded by Armstrong and Gorski a few days before it began.It also provided for an extension of Armstrong’s contract for another two years and an annual salary of $ 2.5 million.

The crew basked in the shadow of the glory that befell Lance. When he agreed to sign a contract with the team for 2000 and 2001, the talented hustler Gorski negotiated with US Postal, the title sponsor of the cycling team, to renew the contract with a payment of $ 3.3 million in 2000 (three times more than in the very first year cooperation, 1996). Winning the Tour de France helped Gorski to sign sponsorship deals with more than 20 companies.

After a gala dinner in Paris, Christina left for her native Austin, and Armstrong went to the criteria in Holland and Belgium. As the winner of the Tour de France, he now received $ 25,000 from race organizers for participation, regardless of the result.

From Holland on a plane provided by his personal sponsor Nike, he flew to New York. Armstrong’s international popularity has made him a star in his own country. He has appeared on popular TV shows, went on a press tour with Nike, and inaugurated the New York Stock Exchange’s trading day.Having stopped by for a day in Austin to see his wife, he flew to a press conference in Washington.

There he met with President Clinton in the Oval Office and with Vice President Al Gore, who has pledged to make the fight against cancer part of his future presidential agenda.

Demand for the name

After Lance’s victory, his agent Bill Stapleton’s answering machine was flooded with messages. Everyone wanted to snatch their piece of Lance. He starred in a television commercial for Reuters that aired on the big screen in New York’s Times Square.He has done commercials for American General Insurance and of course for the US Postal. A week after the victory, Lance became the face of Nike in the Just do it ad campaign.

The story of his amazing return from the other world and imminent triumph became for the Americans the best story of the victory of the spirit since the days of the nondescript horse Galeta, who overtook everyone at the races. And the Lance Armstrong Cancer Foundation made him an even greater hero.

Even before winning the race, he and Stapleton thought about how they could make money from this dramatic story by writing a book and making a film.Now they have returned to this conversation.

While Lance was on the Tour de France, Stapleton began negotiating with New York City publishing houses to sell the rights to Lance’s biography. This time everyone fought for them. After Lance won the first stage, the price climbed to $ 300,000. A couple of weeks later, when he was 6 minutes 15 seconds ahead, the price reached $ 400,000. Lance won – and Stapleton signed an agreement with Penguin Putnam Books. In announcing the book, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Stacey Creamer said that Armstrong “gave hope to the whole world with his amazing recovery from cancer,” and added that his autobiography will teach people about his achievements, emotions, emotional experiences and resilience in the struggle for a life.She noted that Lance himself described his victory in the 1999 Tour de France as a miracle.

Soon, Stapleton agreed with Sally Jenkins, daughter of popular sports writer Dan Jenkins, to help write the book. At the time, Sally was a little-known author of a women’s sports magazine. She didn’t know Lance personally. Their collaboration resulted in a book called It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, which sold over a million copies and became an international bestseller.

Stapleton managed to negotiate with legendary sports producer Bud Greenspan to create a TV movie “Second Life” worth half a million dollars. Filming began in the fall of 1999 and was scheduled to hit the screens for the 2000/2001 television season. However, after a few months, money and supply continued to grow exponentially, and Lance and Stapleton felt that his story could turn out to be much more profitable than they had anticipated. In late 1999, they decided to suspend filming, judging that the story was worthy of Hollywood and that Matt Damon or some of Lance’s new friends could star in the film.Stapleton notified Greenspan of Armstrong’s reluctance to cooperate, and the project was closed.

Protecting Lance’s image and the myth about him was Stapleton’s primary concern. Even the owner of the team had limited rights to use Armstrong’s name and image. Under a new deal with sports marketing agency Disson Furst, the agency had to enter into a separate deal with Lance before entering into any agreements with team sponsors who wanted to use Lance’s image in advertising.

Stapleton quickly figured out how to make money from the increased public attention to Armstrong, and did everything to ensure that the demand for products associated with his name grew.

In less than a year after his victory, Lance signed many new long-term advertising deals totaling $ 7.5 million. In February 2000, Armstrong entered into a long-term contract, which earned him half a million dollars a year, to partner with WebMD.com, a website dedicated to healthy lifestyle; he also starred in advertisements for pharmaceutical and investment companies, his photo even appeared on a box of breakfast cereals.A dozen and a half companies paid him to use the image. He spoke about his amazing recovery, asking for $ 100,000 per hour, while before winning the Tour de France his fee was no more than $ 30,000.

Lance Effect

The deals were big, but the sponsors thought it was worth it. Gail Sonnenberg, the first deputy director of US Postal, was confident that the company’s core business – delivering mail – began to bring in “millions and millions” of dollars, mainly due to the partnership with Armstrong.The decision to invest in a budding cycling team, made in 1996, turned out to be far-sighted.

This was a very profitable deal for US Postal, as the company only spent about $ 8 million a year on sponsorship out of its $ 146 million total advertising budget.

Thanks to the success of the team, the name of this American postal service suddenly became recognizable throughout the world. On Postal Worker’s Day in 2002, in a Kansas town, a flag in the color of the US Postal team was hoisted over a local branch.The division chief said the flag should remind Americans of the “hard work” of US Postal cyclists, who took part in nearly 60 races around the world in a year. (Lance is a power bank for the Tour de France and did not participate in most of them.)

In retrospect, sports marketing was far from the company’s primary concern. The digital age threatened its core business, mailing, and US Postal was losing ground over private companies such as FedEx in the only growing business sector, express delivery.

Armstrong’s victory also had a major impact on Trek. She became popular thanks to the fact that Lance won his victories on bicycles made by her. Sales of the most expensive series of bicycles, which cost $ 4,000, doubled in 1999 compared to 1998. Overall, sales grew 143% between 2000 and 2005.

Lance’s face helped boost sales even to cereal makers. A box of cereal with his photo sold an average of 10% better than all the other cereal from the company.

The Lance Effect was very strong. Over the course of his career, companies that make everything from bicycles to helmets and cycling shoes have seen incredible sales growth.

This is not surprising. As marketing expert David Carter commented on this phenomenon in May 2000, Lance is “the epitome of the real hero that Americans want.”

Create a legend

Nike played a significant role in the creation of the new national hero. When Michael Jordan retired from the sport, the company began looking for a big new name to help sell its products.Rather than portraying Armstrong as just a champion cyclist and boosting sales of cycling products, which have a very small market share, Nike launched an ad campaign starring Armstrong. To showcase the “real Lance Armstrong,” she sent a film crew to his villa in Nice. They filmed him eating breakfast, undergoing an intensive chiropractic course in the gym, changing diapers for his newborn son Luke. They showed, of course, how Armstrong rides his bike through the streets of Nice and its environs.

At the same time, Tom Wiesel was experiencing the joy of his own return to the big game. Having sold his investment business, he founded a new TWP fund – Thomas Weisel Partners. In the year of Armstrong’s first victory in the Tour de France, Wiesel’s new investment bank became a testing ground for promoting unknown technology companies from Silicon Valley. Investors followed them in line. By bringing startups to the stock exchange, Wiesel earned hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2000, TWP’s profits reached $ 476 million.In January of the same year, the largest and most influential state pension fund announced its intention to invest $ 100 million in exchange for a 10% stake in TWP, valuing the entire business at $ 1 billion.

Wiesel applied his business acumen and ingenuity to the promotion of the cycling team. He and Gorski decided they could capitalize on Armstrong’s success and create a sports club for the ages, such as the Manchester United or the New York Yankees. He hoped the partnership with Disson Furst would continue after Armstrong retired from the sport.

But even after winning in 1999, despite all the sponsorship money – a total of $ 30.6 million from 2001 to 2004 – the team suffered losses. And a few months after Armstrong’s second victory in 2000, Steve Disson’s patience snapped. He was unhappy with the way Gorski and Wiesel were running a business centered around Lance alone. It seemed to him that the money that she had so hard earned for the Disson Furst team went to Armstrong’s salary. Indeed, from 2001 to 2004, Lance received $ 9.5 million, not counting the prize money.Armstrong’s demand for eight world-class cyclists to assist him in the races also increased the expense item.

The last straw for Disson was the intention of Gorsky and Wiesel to make Armstrong a member of the board of directors. Disson thought it was madness. “I’m actually trying to get my business up here,” he told them.

Fashion sport

In October 2000, Disson withdrew from the agreement and parted ways with Gorski and Wiesel, who soon renamed the company to Tailwind Sports.Gorski became CEO.

According to the team’s financial documents shared with Tailwind’s investors, which included copies of contracts and financial statements, the company was expected to achieve financial stability by 2003. However, a circumstance that foreshadowed problems was spelled out in small print. Under payments to staff from Europe, the report indicated transfers in the amount of $ 185,054 to the Valencia Medical Center – the sports clinic of Dr. Luis García del Moral.

As the team’s expenses approached $ 10.5 million in 2002, Wiesel realized that he had no choice but to find new investors to help cover the costs.Armstrong’s succession of victories has radically changed the contingent of those interested in cycling. From the early 1990s to the early 2000s, this sport turned from a strange hobby of the working class into a favorite pastime of the powerful. Wealthy people from all over America gave up their golf clubs, put on the finest uniforms in Europe and got on expensive bicycles. Racing and group cycling have gained immense popularity, especially in the world of American corporations. It was to them that Wiesel turned for help.

Tailwind Sports was able to attract more than two dozen wealthy investors, many of whom were over forty, fifty and even sixty years old. These include CEO of real estate investment firm General Growth, John Baxbaum, and former CEO of the US Olympic Committee, Harvey Schiller, who, influenced by Gorski, invested $ 100,000 in Tailwind. Investors in 2002 include Olympic rower and board member Richard Cashin Jr., NHL player David (Tiger) Williams, who founded his company.

Many of these investors initially donated $ 200,000 or more to support American cycling in general through the Champions Club, an organization Wiesel created in 2000 to raise funds for the Cycling Federation. Information about the Champions Club was spread among amateur cyclists in San Francisco, New York and other large cities. The team’s investors and club members had privileges. For example, when the Tour de France was held on alpine tracks, American fans rode their bicycles through some sections, accompanied by cars that carried food and water for the athletes.The group had masseurs, excellent food and a better view of the finish line of the mountain stages. They were invited to trainings where they could ride with Armstrong, Floyd Landis, George Hinkepie and other team members.

“There were a lot of tough men there,” recalls Kenneth Barent, director of a marketing firm, one of the participants in the trip. “These accomplished people behaved like boys.”

Rich Silverston, a San Francisco businessman who transferred money to the Cycling Federation through the Champions Club but did not invest in the team, fondly recalls those days.“In baseball, you can never go out to the players and leave the ball,” he says. – And at the spring training camp for cyclists, we easily rode together with the guys. It was curious to see the sport from the inside as we saw it. ”

Most of the investors in the Wiesel team, wealthy cycling enthusiasts, have invested in a particular lifestyle. Only Tiger Williams had a special approach to business. He was an entrepreneur, so investing became for him not just a beautiful gesture (although, of course, it was) and not only work for the image of a person close to the team, which he enjoyed using, but also an advertisement for his company Williams Trading, which he opened in 1997 year.

The head office of his company was located in a nondescript building in Stanford, which, however, did not prevent him from working with clients such as Cascade Investment – the company that managed the assets of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Blue Ridge Capital and other large hedge funds. When Wiesel invited Williams to invest in Tailwind Sports, Williams was making more than $ 20 million a year. Every weekend he went on a private helicopter to relax on the coast.

Wiesel and Gorski in their presentation outlined ways for Williams to generate income from Tailwind.The main idea was to create a fan club that would generate profits through membership fees and merchandise sales. By agreeing to invest in the team, Williams paid extra to have his company logo displayed on the team’s kits. In addition, he donated $ 100,000 a year to the Lance Armstrong Charitable Foundation and helped him find new donors.

Administrative takeoff

While investors rejoiced at the team’s success, for Wiesel better than any profit were the team’s Tour de France victories themselves.He proudly hung Armstrong’s yellow T-shirts over his desk in his office. Despite the losses, he did not abandon the team.

Wiesel aspired to go global in cycling. He dreamed of ousting the European bureaucrats from the main governing organization – the International Cycling Union, which seemed to him outdated, tedious and clumsy. They controlled hundreds of private races, which were held mainly in Europe, and the organizers of each race had to independently negotiate with TV channels and sponsors.Cycling, unlike baseball and football, lacked a think tank that could itself offer cooperation with potential advertisers, corporate partners, and TV companies. Union President Hein Verbruggen tried to change something, but he was especially in no hurry. In Europe, bureaucracy is firmly rooted. Wiesel began looking for long-term investment in cycling closer to home.

The Cycling Federation of the United States since 1995 was officially called simply “Cycling USA”, it had a significant budget, but it did not know how to sensibly dispose of funds.Wiesel was outraged by such mismanagement: “It was a complete mess. There were no plans, funding, budgeting. Nothing”.

In 2000, he created an independent organization he called the United States Cycling Development Fund. It was then that he organized the Champions Club on the model of a charitable foundation.

Cycling USA soon became dependent on the Wiesel Foundation. In return for funding, this organization agreed to amend the statutory documents and gave the fund the right to vote on the board of directors.Wiesel’s friend Steve Johnson left the university, where he taught at the department of sports, and became the executive director of the federation. A few years later, Wiesel helped Jim Ochowitz, coach and director of two teams, become president of the federation and took him to work at his bank. Ochowitz brought along a very important client from the world of cycling – Verbruggen, opening a brokerage account for him in 1999. Ochowitz became a close friend of Armstrong and even godfather to his firstborn, Luke.

Skillfully using the resources of his investment bank, Wiesel got the opportunity to influence the International Cycling Union, which carried out doping control at the Tour de France.Ochowitz, as the head of the American Cycling Federation, traveled to Swiss Aigle to meet with Hein Verbruggen under the pretext of discussing the popularization of sports in the world and the upcoming Olympic Games. In fact, they often discussed the state of the Verbruggen brokerage account. Wiesel was the best investment banker in Silicon Valley at the time and did not accept investment from anyone. If the team wanted to transfer money to Verbruggen, it was not difficult for Wiesel’s company to throw him an offer that could bring him hundreds, thousands, if not millions of dollars.

Verbruggen has always pursued a “soft doping policy” towards Armstrong instead.

Being Lance Armstrong

Lance was suspected of using doping on several occasions, but the real investigation did not begin until 2010, when his former teammate and protégé Floyd Landis confessed to doping and using blood transfusions the year he was on the team with Lance. Landis has mentioned Lance as the instigator of the doping.

In 2012, following an investigation by the US Anti-Doping Agency, Lance was disqualified for life and stripped of all titles and awards, including seven Tour de France titles and the Sydney Olympics bronze medal.

Millions of viewers were stunned by Lance’s candid interview with Oprah Winfrey in early 2013. For the first time, he publicly admitted to doping and blood transfusions ahead of seven Tour de France victories.However, he did not disclose where he got the doping from, how he managed to hide what was happening for so long, despite hundreds of passed doping tests. The authors of this book, who investigated the US Postal doping scheme for the Wall Street Journal, tried to fill in the gaps and write in detail not only about personality, sports and deception, but also about business. Below is an excerpt from the afterword.

I especially wanted to understand the situation with the report, which was released in 2006. An independent investigation was expected to uncover the truth about Armstrong’s 1999 Tour de France positive tests.It was chaired by lawyer Emil Vrizhman, a good friend of Hein Verbruggen.

Finally, we got our hands on information, the source of which was, among others, Armstrong himself: he and his lawyers allegedly helped to draw up the report in order to present Lance in the best light. For this, Armstrong, through one of his lawyers, paid part of the costs of the International Cycling Union for the services of Vryzhman. When we called Verbruggen with a request to state his version of events, he was outraged and burst into a tirade in which he accused Armstrong of lying.

We then asked Armstrong, who clearly disliked Verbruggen, to provide evidence for these claims, such as correspondence between his lawyers and representatives of the cyclists’ union, or a payment document for a money transfer, or a cashed check. And if he does not have such evidence, could he guarantee that he personally saw them? To this request, we received the following response: “I would like to help, but one person sent me the cover of your book the other day. Greatest conspiracy in sports history? Are you seriously? Excuse my French, but you wouldn’t fuck your ass. ”

And although Armstrong showed in every possible way how outraged and offended he was, becoming the scapegoat for the entire corrupt sports system, in his heart of hearts he knew for sure that his affairs were not so bad.

Although his new house, bought in 2013, is not as big as the old Spanish mansion in Austin, but it is also impressive in size. In addition, his young girlfriend Anna owns a house in the prestigious area of ​​Aspen, and they also have a vacation home on the Hawaiian island of Cookio.Armstrong is a member of two prestigious golf clubs, one located in Cookio and one of the best in the world, the other in Austin.

“Being Lance Armstrong is always good,” he once said when asked how you are doing.

90,000 Summer plans: 14 new TV series

Goodwin Games

(The Goodwin Games)

Creators: Carter Base, Craig Thomas, Chris Harris

Cast , Becky Newton, Todd Miller, Kat Foster, Melissa Tung, Beau Bridges

C May 20 , Fox

New How I Met Your Mother Comedy Series, with less chance of hitting the hit.This time in the center of the plot is the dad, and the deceased. Before his death, Professor Goodwin writes down a video testament in which he gives the entire $ 23 million inheritance to the one of his three adult children who wins in the competitions he invented. One of his sons is a gifted surgeon who has abandoned his true love, the other is an innocent criminal who has just been released from prison, his daughter is a former child prodigy and now a barmaid with ambitions to become a famous actress. All of them grab the chance to get rich, but very soon realize that the main goal of the Goodwin Games is to make them one family again.

Save Me

(Save Me)

Creator : John Scott Shepherd

Casting Alexandra Handereckle Heather Burns

C 23 May , NBC

Comedy series about divine intervention. There is a broken woman who knows a lot about entertainment. In her sinful life, there is a turning point when she almost dies, choking on a sandwich.The heroine discovers that the Lord is now talking to her on a regular basis. In accordance with the recommendations from the highest authority, she undertakes to change her life, and at the same time those around her. Starring Anne Heche, whose most notable work prior to that was the romantic comedy Six Days, Seven Nights, paired with Harrison Ford. The director of the first episodes filmed Breaking Bad.

Mistresses

(Mistresses)

Creator : K.J. Steinberg

Cast : Alyssa Milano, Rochelle Aits,
Shannin Sossamon, Kim Yun Jin, Jess
McAllan, Jason George

C June 3, ABC

American remake of the British TV series of the same name on Channel One in 2008. The four heroines have one thing in common: they all date married. It happens that they immediately know that the guy is not free, and sometimes this is revealed over time. The trailer reminds of “Sex and the City”, but the project is still sadder: several heroes of the British version died without waiting for the ending.The actresses involved in the project include Lost’s Kim Yoon Jin, Charmed’s Alyssa Milano, and Shannin Sossamon, best known for her roles in A Knight’s Tale and Rules of Sex.

Graceland

(Graceland)

Creator : Jeff Fernata

Starring : Aarneyto McDonald 9000 ,
Serinda Swan

C June 6 , USA

New action series from the creator of White Collar.The best agents from different intelligence agencies of America are forced to coexist in the same beach house in California. They are there not to build love (or at least not only), but to carry out some important undercover operation. The main role is played by 29-year-old Aaron Tveit, familiar to viewers of the latest film version of Les Miserables and the TV series Gossip Girl. His co-star, Vanessa Ferlito, was seen in the company of Al Pacino and Christopher Walken in Real Boys at the beginning of the year.

King & Maxwell

(King & Maxwell)

Creator : Shane Brennan

Rebeckan Rynach 902 , Michael O’Keeffe

C 10 June , TNT

An adaptation of a series of popular detective novels by David Baldacci, based on another book of which Clint Eastwood once made the film “Absolute Power”.The heroes of the series are Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, former secret agents, and now – virtuoso private detectives. The beauty Michelle, an Olympic rowing medalist and martial artist, was transformed from a brunette to a blonde in the film adaptation. She is played by former model and star of the first X-Men trilogy, Rebecca Romaine.

The Fosters

(The Fosters)

Creators : Peter Page, Brad Sherrieghawg

Roller

Jake T.Austin, Kierra Ramirez, David Lambert

C 10 June , ABC Family

Producer Jennifer Lopez presents a series about two lesbians – black and white – and their bunch of adopted children, most of whom are played by adult actors. The main characters are a policewoman (her face may be familiar from the movie “Meet the Parents,” where actress Teri Polo played the betrothed of the protagonist) and the compassionate headmistress of the school who cannot pass by a problem teenager without trying to adopt him, even contrary to opinion sweetheart.As a result – an extremely soulful melodrama about how strangers overcome all sorts of difficulties and become a family.

Confused

(Twisted)

Creator : Adam Milch

Cast , Evan Jellybeemee Richards

C June 11, ABC Family

11-year-old Danny kills his aunt and goes to the colony, but refuses to tell what happened.After five years, he is released and returns to his hometown. Classmates treat him as a complete psycho, and the early death of one of them makes Danny the main suspect in another murder. The 16-year-old hero takes on his own investigation to regain his good name. The series’ executive producer Gavin Polon is a six-time Emmy nominee for Curb Your Enthusiasm. In the role of the mother of the protagonist appears the sex symbol of the late nineties, 42-year-old Denise Richards.

Crossing Lines

(Crossing Lines)

Creators : Ed Bernero, Rola Boweruer

Rollendah Donamner, Wyllahuert Wuillahuert

, Tom Vlashikha, Gabriella Peschen

C June 23, NBC

Crime series about a secret global organization of fighters against crime, which recruits the best police officers from different countries.The main character of the story is a former brilliant detective from the United States, who is addicted to morphine. Together with a new team, he must now solve the worst crimes in European capitals. The actors were also recruited all over the world: there is the German Tom Vlashikha, known for “Game of Thrones”, there is the French singer Marc Lavoin, the Italian Gabriella Peschen and – the most famous of them – Donald Sutherland, a native of Canada. The author and executive producers went to the series from Third Shift and Criminal Minds.

Under the Dome

(Under the Dome)

Creator : Brian K. Vaughan

Cast: Rachevre , Colin Ford, Natalie Martinez,
Alexander Koch

From June 24, CBS

A screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by Stephen King, released three years ago (however, he began writing it back in the seventies, under the tentative title “Cannibals “).The small town is cut off from the outside world by a mysterious transparent dome. After the death of the police chief, power is taken over by a used car dealer (played by Dean Norris from Breaking Bad) and his son, who has brain cancer and turned into a maniac. At this time, other residents are trying to find a way to blow up the dome. King, who is involved in the filming as a producer, promises that the ending will be different from the book.

Ray Donovan

(Ray Donovan)

Creator : Anne Biederman

Livcomb

Cast Eddieber, Paul Marie 34234 , Catherine Mannig,
Stephen Bower, Elliott Gould

C June 30, Showtime

Ray Donovan is a much needed person in Hollywood.Thanks to him, celebrities can lead the wild life they want. Ray will get rid of the dead whore in your bed and break the bones of your ill-wishers. What Rey is not ready to face is the early release of his father, an outrageous criminal, whom he himself sent to jail and who now dreams of a family reunion. The author of this obscene and bloody series previously worked on Southland. Liv “Wolverine’s brother” Schreiber as Ray Donovan. Father was played by Oscar winner Jon Voight, in real life – Angelina Jolie’s dad.

Siberia

Siberia

Creator : Matthew Arnold

On July 1, NBC The Last Hero ”in Siberia, at the site of the fall of the Tunguska meteorite. Very soon, frightening and inexplicable things, clearly not planned by the producers, begin to happen on the set. The participants of the show, instead of fighting each other for victory, unite in a real struggle for survival.Filmed without stars, the series reminds of the beginning of “Lost” – the main thing is that it does not turn into “The Mystery of the Dyatlov Pass”.

“The Bridge”

The Bridge

Creator : Meredith Steam, Elwood Reed

Cast: Détjaneh Kathueviela Krugerla Sandino Moreno

C 10 July, FOX

A woman’s body has been found exactly on the border between the United States and Mexico.Two police officers – an American and a Mexican – are fighting to solve the case, separately and together. Their border activity strongly interferes with the drug mafia operating there. In the meantime, new corpses appear. “The Bridge” is an American remake of the Scandinavian TV series of the same name in 2011 – in the original version, the body was found on the bridge connecting Denmark with Sweden. The new version was handled by the creators of the series Homeland (“Alien among their own”) and Cold Case (“Detective Rush”). Film star Diane Kruger first appears in a big role on television – police detective Sony Cross.It also starred Matthew Lillard, the star of past blockbusters like Scream and Scooby Doo.

The White Queen

(The White Queen)

Creator : Emma Frost

Starring Ferguson, Jameson Rebeckda Hale, Eleanor Tomlinson

C 10 Aug BBC One

XV century. England is almost destroyed by the Nine Years War – the result of the struggle for the throne of two clans of the same family – the House of York and the House of Lancaster, the White Rose and the Scarlet Rose.The bloody story of conspiracies and battles in the series is shown through the life story of one of the key figures of those events – the White Queen. Known for her extraordinary beauty, Elizabeth Woodville was widowed in her youth and, with two children in her arms, at the age of 27 she married King Edward IV, then 22 years old. She was destined to give birth to ten children, survive the loss of the throne and his return, become a witness and participant in many palace battles. The ten-episode drama is an adaptation of the book by Philip Gregory, the author of popular historical novels, one of which was used in the film “Another Boleyn Girl” with Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman.Most of the roles in the series were given to British theater school actors. The main character was played by 29-year-old Swede Rebecca Ferguson. King – the romantic hero of Hollywood youth films “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Guest” Max Irons.

Low Winter Sun

(Low Winter Sun)

Creator : Chris Mundy

Str. David Costabyle

C August 11, AMC

Guy Ritchie’s favorite, a frequenter of gangster detectives, Mark Strong in 2006 starred in a Scottish miniseries about a dirty cop who, out of revenge, drowned a colleague in a sink and sent him to suicide together with the car to the bottom of the river.When the car was fished out, a corpse was found in its trunk. The hero had to face an unpleasant task – to find out what the hell with the second victim was, and to get out of the water himself. The series was successful and even won a couple of awards at home. Now, seven years later, his American remake with the same Mark Strong in the lead role is to be released.