title: Ne-Yo

text: His second album, "Because of You", was released on May 1, 2007, and, fueled by its lead single, debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200, selling 251,000 copies in the United States; the feat gave Ne-Yo his second number-one album. The first single from the platinum-selling album was the title track, which peaked at the number-two spot. Despite the success of "Because of You", later singles released charted lower and were unable to reach the Top 20. The album has been certified platinum by RIAA for a shipment of over one million units. In December 2007, Ne-Yo and the Goo Goo Dolls performed at a fund-raising concert for the then–presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.


title: Ne-Yo

text: Ne-Yo's third album, "Year of the Gentleman", was released internationally on August 5, 2008. Speaking to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Ne-Yo explained the thinking behind its title: "To me "Year of the Gentleman" is all about a persona, a swag and a charm. I made an assessment of the music business. And, in my personal opinion, the essence of the gentleman is absent right now. Everybody kinda looks the same, everybody's kinda doing the same thing, everybody's kinda rude and full of themselves. Whereas a gentleman is calm, courteous, kind, charming... So that title basically represents me trying to lead by example, and showing these cats what it is to be a gentleman in this business still."


title: Ne-Yo

text: The album sold 250,000 copies in its first week in the United States, debuting on the "Billboard" 200 at number two. Reviews for the album were positive: in one, Caryn Ganz of "Rolling Stone" magazine wrote that "Year of the Gentleman" is "actually a superb concept album about what a great boyfriend he [Ne-Yo] can be".


title: Ne-Yo

text: The first two singles, "Closer" and "Miss Independent", peaked at number seven on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album and Album of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards, "Closer" for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and "Miss Independent" for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song. "Year of the Gentleman" has been certified platinum by RIAA for a shipment of more than one million copies. The third single, "Mad", peaked at number 11 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Ne-Yo

text: On August 12, 2008, the New Kids on the Block released "Single", the second single from their fifth studio album, "The Block", which is a duet with Ne-Yo. Ne-Yo included a solo version of the song on his album "Year of the Gentleman".


title: Ne-Yo

text: In December 2008, Ne-Yo performed at the Kennedy Center Honors as part of the tribute to Barbra Streisand; he sang and danced to the song "Lover Come Back to Me", which Streisand recorded on her second album in 1963.


title: Ne-Yo

text: On September 2, 2009, Ne-Yo released greatest hits album "" in Japan. The album was also released with a limited edition CD+DVD edition complete with the music videos of singles. It debuted at number four on Japan's "Oricon" weekly albums chart, selling 55,625 copies in the first week.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In June 2010, Ne-Yo released the single "Beautiful Monster", which became Ne-Yo's third number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at number 53 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart.


title: Ne-Yo

text: On October 8, 2010, Ne-Yo performed some of his songs from the new album at P.C. Richard & Son Theater in New York City, an event hosted by iHeartRadio. Ne-Yo made an appearance at New York ComicCon to announce that he was collaborating with Stan Lee for a Libra Scale comic. Ne-Yo also met with fans for pictures and autographs in the Cultyard of the ComicCon. The second and third singles released from the album are "Champagne Life" and "One in a Million", respectively.


title: Ne-Yo

text: "Libra Scale" was released on November 22, 2010. It received critical acclaim from music critics, but was a commercial disappointment, debuting at number nine on the US "Billboard" 200 chart, selling less than all of his previous three studio albums. Ne-Yo stated: "The album is based upon this short story which basically follows these three characters who are forced to choose between money-power-and-fame versus love. Which in turn is why I've called it 'Libra Scale'. You know, its whole concept is based on that question of morality – that, if you weighed it all out on a libra scale, which one of those two options would you choose?". "Libra Scale" sold 112,000 copies in its first week. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart, while debuting at number one on the UK R&B Chart.


title: Ne-Yo

text: On February 25, 2011, while on his tour in the United Kingdom, he announced his new album would be called "Love and Passion" and would be released in September, but this was proven false as the title was tentative. American rapper Fabolous said in an interview that he is planning a collaboration album with Ne-Yo as well. Ne-Yo has also written songs for Mary J. Blige, JB, Beyoncé, Monica, Alexandra Burke, Cheryl Cole and Willow Smith's upcoming albums. Ne-Yo starred in two motion pictures, the long-gestating George Lucas project "Red Tails", released in early 2012, and "", which was released in the United States on March 11, 2011. Ne-Yo has already finished writing songs for American singer and Roc Nation artist Alexis Jordan and her self-titled debut album as well as Jennifer Hudson for her second studio album, "I Remember Me", which had a North American release on March 22, 2011. Ne-Yo appeared in the children's preschool show "The Fresh Beat Band" and was one of the few artists not to cancel appearances in the wake of the 2011 Japan earthquake.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In the spring of 2011, Ne-Yo featured alongside Nayer and Afrojack on Pitbull's single "Give Me Everything", which peaked at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100, giving Ne-Yo his second US number-one single, his first since 2006's "So Sick" and his first as a guest artist. Ne-Yo also revealed in an interview that he would like to collaborate with Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Drake on his upcoming album.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In January 2012, it was reported that Ne-Yo, along with his label imprint Compound Entertainment, had moved from Def Jam Recordings to Motown Records. He was also appointed Senior Vice President of A&R of Motown, where he would serve "...as a producer and mentor to the label's artists, as well as seeking out and signing new talent to the label." Ne-Yo was slated to release his fifth studio album, "R.E.D." (as in "Realizing Every Dream"), on September 18, 2012. The album was initially titled "The Cracks in Mr. Perfect". The album's first official single, "Lazy Love", was released on June 12, 2012, and peaked at number forty-two on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)", co-written by Australian singer-songwriter Sia, was released as the second single on July 31, 2012. The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Ne-Yo's fifth number-one song in the United Kingdom. Because of Kevin McCall's new album and the song Ne-Yo will be in, "Love Time", was not yet released because he and his friend Chris Brown will make an appearance on Ne-Yo's R.E.D. album in the song called "What I Do", which they all will be involved in writing the beat says Ne-Yo, who was interviewed by TMZ in New York. "I expect this to be a banger in clubs for the slow songs and to get Ne-Yo his first top 10 song in years," said Chris Brown, after a celebrity basketball game with Ne-Yo, Kevin Hart, and other celebrities in the month of July.


title: Ne-Yo

text: On August 29, 2012, Ne-Yo was one of the headliners alongside R&B recording artist Melanie Fiona, in the "Summer Beats Concert Series", otherwise known as the "MJ Birthday Concert", which was on what would have been the 54th birthday of the late American pop icon Michael Jackson which was sponsored by and live-streamed by Pepsi and "Billboard". He performed a medley of hits, as well as performing "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Smooth Criminal" and "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" from Jackson's best-selling 1987 album, "Bad", in preparation for the reissue of "Bad 25" on September 18, 2012. The concert took place at Gotham Hall in New York City. "R.E.D." was released in the United Kingdom on November 5, and in North America on November 6, 2012. On December 8, 2012, Ne-Yo was the musical guest for Saturday Night Live with Jamie Foxx guest-hosting for that week.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In 2012, Ne-Yo was awarded the Hal David Starlight Award of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame which honors gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In March 2013, Ne-Yo collaborated with Akon on David Guetta's single "Play Hard", from his 2012 album "Nothing but the Beat 2.0". He also collaborated with Jessica Sanchez on her single "Tonight" from her debut album "Me, You & the Music". The single, along with the music video was released on March 21, 2013. In April, Ne-Yo and Cher Lloyd collaborated on their single "It's All Good", which eventually was featured on Fruttare commercials. Around the same time, he and Celine Dion recorded "Incredible" for Dion's 2013 album "Loved Me Back to Life". "Incredible" was released as a single in February 2014 and the music video premiered in June 2014.


title: Ne-Yo

text: On May 29, 2014, Ne-Yo announced his upcoming sixth studio album would be called "Non-Fiction". That same day, he announced a new single, "Money Can't Buy". On September 16, 2014, the lead single from "Non Fiction" was sent to mainstream radio titled "She Knows" featuring Juicy J. A few months later, Ne-Yo announced that the new release date for "Non-Fiction" was January 27, 2015. The album included collaborations with Pitbull and Charisse Mills. The album peaked at number five on the "Billboard" 200 chart.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In July 2015, Ne-Yo collaborated with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike on a new song for the Tomorrowland anthem titled "Higher Place". In 2016, Ne-Yo collaborated with Yunel and J Alvarez for their single entitled "Sin Miedo", released on November 12, 2016, and with Diamond Platnumz for their single entitled "Marry You", released on February 2, 2017.


title: Ne-Yo

text: On May 8, 2017, Ne-Yo released a single "Earn Your Love" from his forthcoming seventh album, whilst announcing that the album is slated for a release in 2017. A new single, "Another Love Song" was released on May 30, 2017. In July 2017, he made a cameo in the comedy film "Girls Trip", starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Regina Hall.


title: Ne-Yo

text: On March 27, 2020, Ne-Yo collaborated with Jamaican dancehall singer Charly Black for a new single, "Over Again".


title: Ne-Yo

text: From 2020 to 2021, Ne-Yo competed as Badger in the second season of the British version of "The Masked Singer". He finished as the runner-up to Joss Stone. He also confirmed that his next album, previously titled "Sweet Escape" had been renamed "Self Explanatory". It was released on Motown Records on July 15, 2022.


title: Ne-Yo

text: Ne-Yo's music is generally R&B, while he also incorporates pop and hip hop occasionally. His musical influences include Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Babyface, Blackstreet and Usher. Ne-Yo is noted for his tenor voice, including his application of falsetto in his works.


title: Ne-Yo

text: Ne-Yo frequently co-writes with Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen of the Norwegian production team Stargate. Ne-Yo met them in a hallway at Sony Music Studios in New York, and knowing the team produced R&B records, decided to collaborate with them. The collective's early works were tracks from "In My Own Words", including "So Sick".


title: Ne-Yo

text: Aside from working on his own album, Ne-Yo also collaborates with several other artists. His works include: Rihanna's top-ten singles "Unfaithful", "Russian Roulette", and her number-one hit "Take a Bow", Mario Vazquez's "Gallery", Paula DeAnda's "Walk Away (Remember Me)", and Beyoncé Knowles' "Billboard" Hot 100 number-one single "Irreplaceable", which stayed at the top of the chart for ten consecutive weeks. He wrote the song "I'm You" for Leona Lewis's debut album "Spirit", and is currently writing songs for her next album and for the debut album of fellow X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. He has also been working with Sugababes for their seventh album, with member Keisha Buchanan confirming that Ne-Yo had written a song called "No More You" for their album.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In 2010, he dueted with Mariah Carey on "Angel's Cry", a song for her cancelled album, "Angels Advocate".


title: Ne-Yo

text: Ne-Yo has also written songs for Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Carrie Underwood, Anastacia, Ciara, Corbin Bleu, Enrique Iglesias, and Dima Bilan. He collaborated with Lindsay Lohan on her new material, having already finished "Bossy", a pre-single for her new album "Spirit in the Dark". In 2007, Ne-Yo confirmed that he had been contacted by producer will.i.am to work on what would have been Michael Jackson's new album. However, at the time of Jackson's death, Ne-Yo's collaborations with him had yet to move past the writing stage. In an interview in 2010, Ne-Yo said that, since Jackson's death, he had been confused as what to do with the songs, as he felt that selling them to another artist or even releasing the songs himself would be disrespectful to Jackson's legacy. In 2009, he wrote "Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" for w-inds., the Japanese pop group.


title: Ne-Yo

text: Ne-Yo ventured out to open his own recording studio, called Carrington House, in Atlanta, Georgia. He also had started his own production company, Compound Entertainment, in 2007, and has hired several producers and songwriters in hopes of turning it into a full-fledged record label. It successfully became a label, and artists such as RaVaughn, Paula Campbell, Sixx John, Adrienne Bailon and Shanell are now associated with Compound.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In 2011, Ne-Yo was approached by Cartoon Network to help create an animated series. Ne-Yo announced that the show would be titled "I Heart Tuesday" and that he had created it for his sister. He also stated that he wanted to avoid having the show resemble the anime art style of "The Boondocks" due to the potential cost of the show's animation style.


title: Ne-Yo

text: He starred as the Tin Man in NBC's musical telecast adaptation of "The Wiz" alongside David Alan Grier, Elijah Kelley, Queen Latifah, Common, Amber Riley, Uzo Aduba and Mary J. Blige. The musical telecast premiered December 3, 2015 as a three-hour event. For his performance, he received a Critics' Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie made for Television or Limited Series.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In May 2018, he took part in the Celebrity Ninja Warrior special for Red Nose Day. He completed the course, resulting in a $30,000 donation.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In December 2018, he was the entertainment at 67th Miss Universe pageant where he performed during the final catwalk.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In 2021, Ne-Yo competed as "Badger" on the second season of the British version of "The Masked Singer" and finished in second place.


title: Ne-Yo

text: Ne-Yo is passionate about the arts and children and has shown his support for Little Kids Rock by filming a PSA for the organization.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In 2005, Jesseca White, Ne-Yo's girlfriend at the time, gave birth to a boy, naming him Chimere after Ne-Yo's middle name. Though Ne-Yo believed he was the father, he later discovered the child was not his.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In June 2010, Ne-Yo told "Ebony" that he and his then-girlfriend, Monyetta Shaw, were expecting their first child together – a girl due early in 2011. Shaw gave birth prematurely to daughter Madilyn Grace Smith on November 12, 2010, in Atlanta, Georgia. Announcing the birth, Ne-Yo said of his first child, "I've been in love before but this feels like nothing I've ever felt... like I'm in love for the first time."


title: Ne-Yo

text: In September 2011, Ne-Yo revealed that he was expecting his second child with Monyetta Shaw. Shaw gave birth to a boy, Mason Evan Smith, on October 9, 2011.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In September 2015, the singer announced that he and Crystal Renay Williams were engaged and expecting a child. They were married on February 20, 2016. Their son, Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr., was born on March 15, 2016. Their second son, Roman Alexander-Raj Smith was born on June 14, 2018. In February 2020, Ne-Yo announced that he and Crystal Smith would end their marriage, and he withdrew his divorce case afterwards. The pair reconciled during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, with Ne-Yo telling CBS chat show The Talk: "Before the quarantine happened, we were definitely talking divorce, and the quarantine forced us to sit still, block out the noise from the world - you know the world can get very, very loud, and we tend to let the world's opinion mean more in certain situations than it should."


title: Ne-Yo

text: In February 2021, Ne-Yo announced via Instagram that he and Williams were expecting a third child together. On June 25, 2021, Ne-Yo and his wife welcomed their third child Isabella Rose Smith.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In April 2022, the couple remarried in a Las Vegas ceremony. In August 2022, Smith filed for divorce, with allegations of infidelity throughout their marriage.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In 2019, in wake of the television documentary, "Surviving R. Kelly", Ne-Yo confirmed his support for the Mute R. Kelly campaign, for the protection of his own daughter.


title: Ne-Yo

text: On February 19, 2008, Ne-Yo was arrested for reckless driving and driving without a valid license after driving through Cobb County, Georgia in his 2006 Range Rover. It was reported that he was doing about 150 mph, 100 mph over the speed limit. On June 2, 2008, Ne-Yo pleaded guilty to the driving without a valid license charge and no contest to the reckless driving charge. He was sentenced to 24 hours of community service. On August 22, 2011, Ne-Yo was sued along with rapper Pitbull and DJ Afrojack by actress Lindsay Lohan, claiming that their song "Give Me Everything" referenced her by name in the lyrics. A judge ruled that Pitbull's use of her name was protected by the First Amendment and that Lohan was barely mentioned in the song. Pitbull then won the lawsuit.


title: Ne-Yo

text: In August 2017, Ne-Yo announced he had adopted a vegan diet after viewing the documentary "What the Health". In February 2019 he said in an interview that he had lost "like 30 pounds" and had also reversed his tendinitis since he became vegan, calling it "one of the best things he's ever done". However, his representative confirmed in March 2020 that he was no longer a vegan.


title: Peter Davison

text: Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of James Herriot's "All Creatures Great and Small" stories.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison's subsequent starring roles included the sitcoms "Holding the Fort" (1980–1982) and "Sink or Swim" (1980–1982), the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in "Doctor Who" (1981–1984), Dr. Stephen Daker in "A Very Peculiar Practice" (1986–1988) and Albert Campion in "Campion" (1989–1990). He also played David Braithwaite in "At Home with the Braithwaites" (2000–2003), "Dangerous" Davies in "The Last Detective" (2003–2007) and Henry Sharpe in "" (2011–2014).


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison was born to Claude and Sheila Moffett in Streatham, London. Claude was originally from British Guiana (now Guyana), and worked as a radio engineer before opening a grocer's shop, whilst Sheila worked in intelligence during World War II before becoming a housewife. Davison had three sisters: Shirley, Pamela and Barbara. Whilst in Streatham, he attended Granton Primary School. The family then moved to Knaphill in Surrey. During this time, Davison was a member of an amateur theatre company called the Byfleet Players.


title: Peter Davison

text: Before becoming an actor, he gained one O-level in English Language at Winston Churchill School, St John's, Woking, Surrey, and then had several odd jobs, including a stint as a mortuary attendant and a Hoffman Press operator. Early aspirations at a teacher-training college or his father's plan for a job at a building society vanished.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His first job was as an actor and assistant stage manager at the Nottingham Playhouse. He chose the stage name Peter Davison to avoid confusion with the actor and director Peter Moffatt, with whom Davison later worked. He only uses Davison professionally.


title: Peter Davison

text: His first television work was a 1975 episode of the children's science fiction television programme "The Tomorrow People", alongside American actress Sandra Dickinson, whom he married on 26 December 1978. Davison portrayed an alien named Elmer, who arrives on Earth along with his sister (played by Dickinson) and his mother, known as "the Mama" (played by Margaret Burton).


title: Peter Davison

text: In the mid-1970s, during a lull in his acting career, Davison spent 18 months working in a tax office in Twickenham.


title: Peter Davison

text: In 1976, he was offered a prominent role in the 13-part TV series "Love for Lydia" opposite Jeremy Irons; the series was broadcast on ITV the following year.


title: Peter Davison

text: In 1978, Davison's performance as the youthfully mischievous Tristan Farnon in "All Creatures Great and Small" made him a household name. "I don't know how much it changed my life. It creeps up on you really. You become used to it quickly, I think. I wasn't aware of it suddenly changing my life, although I had a bit more money to spend on rubbish. I bought a house, but the money was rubbish because I was a BBC newcomer, though nobody's money was very good, except probably Robert Hardy's. I remember after the third series I bought a car, which was a Renault 18. I thought it was pretty flash, and I went to this garage to fill up with petrol, and the guy said, 'Aren't you that bloke off the vet series?' I said yes I was, and he said, 'Why are you driving that piece of shit?'"


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison married for a second time in December 1978. "By March, I was back in the Dales, freezing to death and chasing sheep across the snowy hilltops."


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison was absent for 24 episodes in the second run of the series, including the majority of series 5 and 6, due to other acting commitments; Alison Lewis, who played Rosie Herriot in the final series, revealed: "I never met Peter Davison because I didn't have any scenes with him." "I didn't ever want to leave the series, it's just that other programmes came up and I wanted to do them," he explained in 2016. "I'd miss the second half of series 5 because of "A Very Peculiar Practice" and series 6 I missed because I was doing "Campion". I was incredibly lucky to move onto the things I did. There was no plan to it; it's just good fortune, being in the right place at the right time. But in the end, when I'd finished "Campion" and "A Very Peculiar Practice", "All Creatures" was still going and I never had any problem coming back."


title: Peter Davison

text: "Only days after finishing "A Very Peculiar Practice", I was back in Yorkshire to film a second "All Creatures" Christmas Special," remembered Davison. "I can't remember when the idea of making another series of the show came up, but it was probably long before anyone mentioned it to the actors. Not that we raised too many eyebrows; I felt I had done enough other work to prove to myself that Tristan hadn't hindered my prospects. Quite the reverse, as "Doctor Who" had proved: Tristan was a stepping stone to other parts. By the end of 1986, it was agreed that the original cast, minus Carol Drinkwater, would re-assemble to film another series," continued Davison. "The date was set for the spring of the following year, dangerously close to the date set for a second series of "A Very Peculiar Practice"."


title: Peter Davison

text: In 1980, Davison signed a contract to play the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in "Doctor Who" for three years, succeeding Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor) and, at age 29, was at the time the youngest actor to have played the lead role, a record he retained for nearly thirty years until Matt Smith (the Eleventh Doctor) took the role in 2009 at age 26. Attracting such a high-profile actor as Davison was as much of a coup for the programme as getting the role was for him, but he did not renew his contract because he feared being typecast. Patrick Troughton (who had played the Second Doctor and whom Davison had watched on the programme as a teenager) recommended to Davison that he leave the role after three years, and Davison followed his advice. The Fifth Doctor encountered many of the Doctor's best-known adversaries, including the Cybermen in "Earthshock" (1982) and the Daleks and Davros in "Resurrection of the Daleks" (1984).


title: Peter Davison

text: In the 1983 serial "Arc of Infinity", in addition to portraying the Fifth Doctor, Davison portrayed the human form of Omega, sharing the role with Ian Collier.


title: Peter Davison

text: Since leaving "Doctor Who", Davison has returned to the franchise several times. He presented the special videotape documentary release "Daleks – The Early Years" (1993), showcasing selected episodes of missing Dalek stories from both the First and Second Doctor's eras. Davison did, in fact, return to play the Fifth Doctor in the 1993 multi-doctor charity special "Dimensions in Time" and in the 1997 video game "Destiny of the Doctors".


title: Peter Davison

text: Since 1999, he has reprised his role as the Fifth Doctor in numerous "Doctor Who" audio dramas for Big Finish Productions; he also reprised the role of Omega in an audio drama of the same name, again sharing the role with Collier. He returned to the TV series in "Time Crash", a special episode written by Steven Moffat for Children in Need; in the episode, which aired on 16 November 2007, the Fifth Doctor met the Tenth Doctor, played by Davison's future son-in-law David Tennant. Tennant later presented a documentary, "Come in Number Five", which examined Davison's tenure in some detail, and which was included as a special feature on the 2011 DVD re-release of "Resurrection of the Daleks". It is one of many DVD releases of his serials in which Davison has appeared as an in-vision interviewee or in DVD commentary recordings. In 2022, he returned to portray the Doctor on television again in "The Power of the Doctor". With this appearance, he holds the record for the most returns to the role, tieing it with Troughton.


title: Peter Davison

text: In 2012, Davison expressed further interest in returning to the role of the Doctor for the series' 50th anniversary special, but he did not appear. He did, however, write and direct "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot", an affectionate and comedic account of Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and himself attempting to get parts in the Anniversary Special, featuring cameos from numerous "Doctor Who" cast, crew, and famous fans. In July 2018, Davison reprised the role of the Doctor at the live show "The Muppets Take the O2" during the Pigs in Space sketch Mirthshock.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison has been critical of some aspects of "Doctor Who"s original run, and has expressed great admiration for the 21st century revival. In 2008, he spoke unfavourably of some of the writing for the series during his tenure: "There were some very suspect scripts we did, knocked off by TV writers who'd turn their hand to anything. Fair enough, but they weren't science fiction fans. You do get the impression, both with the television series now and Big Finish, that they are fans of science fiction and that's why they are doing those stories." In 2013, he also praised the frisson between the Doctor and companions in the revived series: "They were struggling for many years to make the companions more rounded characters and... they never once thought it was a good idea to put any frisson or sexual tension – even in its most innocent form – between the Doctor and companion. I think it would make it easier to write a better character. All I know is they've struggled for many years to write a good companion's part. I don't think they've ever really managed it till Rose, when the series came back." Interviewed in 2013, Davison stated that "The Caves of Androzani", "The Visitation" and "Earthshock" were his favourite serials from his time on the series, and that "Time-Flight" was the biggest disappointment because of a lack of budget.


title: Peter Davison

text: In 2013, Davison was asked in an interview about the possibility of a female Doctor, to which he replied: "I have a slight problem with that because it’s not as if genders are interchangeable on Gallifrey... I don’t like the idea of the Doctor having a sex change - it’s not as if you would have a female James Bond." In July 2017, Davison reacted positively to the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, but expressed the belief that it was "the loss of a role model for boys who I think "Doctor Who" is vitally important for". He added: "I feel a bit sad about that, but I understand the argument that you need to open it up." Davison closed his Twitter account following the backlash to his comments, saying the "toxicity" from the series’ viewers on both sides of the dispute had been "sobering".


title: Peter Davison

text: After Davison left "Doctor Who" in 1984, he immediately landed a role in "Anna of the Five Towns", a period drama. In 1985, he appeared in an "All Creatures Great and Small" Christmas special, and a feature-length episode of the American show "Magnum, P.I." ("Deja Vu"), set in the UK.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison played Dr Stephen Daker, the central character in "A Very Peculiar Practice" (1986–88). Written by Andrew Davies, it concerns a university's health centre; Daker is the centre's only effective physician. The black comedy-drama ran for two series and had a sequel with "A Very Polish Practice" in 1992, a television film mainly set in a post-communist Polish hospital. In 1986 he appeared as Lance Fortescue in an episode of the BBC's "Miss Marple" ("A Pocketful of Rye").


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison reprised his role as Tristan Farnon in four more series of "All Creatures Great and Small" between 1988 and 1990, although he was absent from 24 episodes of the final three to play the lead in "Campion", a series based on the period whodunnits of Margery Allingham. He appeared in the sitcoms "Fiddlers Three" for ITV in 1991, and "Ain't Misbehavin'" in 1993 and 1995. He played Jim Huxtable in the 1993 TV movie "Harnessing Peacocks", based on the novel by Mary Wesley.


title: Peter Davison

text: In 1994, he provided the voice of Mole in "The Wind in the Willows" animated special "Mole's Christmas". He also appeared as a doctor in "Heartbeat" episode "A Bird in the Hand", and played Squire Gordon in the 1994 film of "Black Beauty".


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison presented "Heavenly Bodies", a six-part series about astronomy broadcast on BBC1 in 1995. This led to him being featured on the cover of "Practical Astronomy" magazine.


title: Peter Davison

text: He guest starred in the sixth episode of the crime drama "Jonathan Creek" in 1998 as the son-in-law of a horror writer who was shot dead on Halloween. The following year he played the outgoing head teacher in the television series "Hope and Glory", and appeared in "Parting Shots", the last film to be directed by Michael Winner.


title: Peter Davison

text: It was not until 2000 that Davison returned in another major role, that of David Braithwaite in "At Home with the Braithwaites". During convention appearances in 2013, Davison cited this as his favourite among the roles he has played. Also in 2000, he appeared in the recurring role of Inspector Christmas in several episodes of Diana Rigg's "Mrs Bradley Mysteries". The first episode, "Death at the Opera", saw Davison appear with his future son-in-law (and future Doctor Who actor), David Tennant.


title: Peter Davison

text: He starred as Dangerous Davies in the television series "The Last Detective" (2003–2007) and as Dr Bill Shore in "Distant Shores" (2005–2008), both for ITV. In 2006, he appeared as Professor George Huntley in "The Complete Guide to Parenting", and appeared as himself in the TV series "Hardware".


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison starred as Martin Chadwick, one half of an overworked couple coping with two irresponsible daughters and his senile mother at home, in the BBC Two comedy "Fear, Stress and Anger" in early 2007. The show also starred his daughter Georgia Tennant. Later in 2007, he played Hubert Curtain in an episode of ITV's "Agatha Christie's Marple" ("At Bertram's Hotel").


title: Peter Davison

text: In January 2009, he appeared in "Unforgiven", an ITV1 drama starring Suranne Jones. Davison played John Ingrams, a lawyer who helps Jones' character, Ruth Slater, find her sister after her release from prison. In July 2009, he appeared in an episode of "Midsomer Murders", and made a guest appearance as a teacher in Miranda Hart's sitcom, "Miranda", in autumn 2009. In October 2009, Davison was seen in a small but memorable role as a bank manager in "Micro Men", a drama about the rise of the British home computer market in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and in December 2009, he played Denis Thatcher in "The Queen", a docudrama on Channel 4.


title: Peter Davison

text: In November 2010, it was announced that Davison would be joining the regular cast of the UK version of "" as Henry Sharpe, the Director of the London Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Davison's appeared from the beginning of the series' fifth season, alongside fellow "Doctor Who" actress Freema Agyeman. He appeared in an episode of the police comedy-drama "New Tricks" in 2011, and in 2013 he played divorcee Michael in the comedy series "Pat and Cabbage", as well as appearing in an episode of the ITV detective series "Lewis".


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison had been lined up to appear in writer/director Daisy Aitkens' first feature-length film "You, Me and Him" (previously titled "Fish Without Bicycles") in late 2016. However, due to a scheduling clash, Davison was forced to pull out of the film. The film stars his son-in-law David Tennant, and is co-produced by Davison's daughter, Georgia.


title: Peter Davison

text: In 2017, Davison appeared in an episode of the third series of "Grantchester", playing a cricket-loving solicitor.


title: Peter Davison

text: In 2018, Davison appeared with Christopher Timothy in the three-part series "Great British Car Journeys" (known internationally as "Vintage Roads Great & Small") for More4. In the first series the pair travelled in a Morgan 4/4 on three trips from London to Land's End, from Loch Ness to The Isle of Skye and from Cardiff to Snowdonia. On each trip, which was themed around the 'Golden Age of Motoring', the pair would meet people involved with the vintage car scene and take rides in a number of vintage cars. The series was recommissioned by Channel 4 for a second series on More4, with the four-part series starting off with a trip through Yorkshire on 12 October 2019.


title: Peter Davison

text: In April 2020, Davison was asked to narrate the tenth season of Channel 5's documentary series, "The Yorkshire Vet", which follows a number of veterinarians working in Weatherby, Kirkbymoorside and Huddersfield. Christopher Timothy had been the programme's narrator since the start of the series, but he was self-isolating due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Davison's home was equipped with a recording studio, making the role practical for him. For the next series, Timothy was back as the narrator, though Davison would appear again in the 2021 Christmas Special, "The Yorkshire Vet at Christmas: It's a Wonderful Life" appearing on-screen with Kirkbymoorside-based vet Peter Wright (from Gracey Lane Vets), in a number of short dramatic scenes which linked the stories from each of the three vet practices featured.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison has appeared in several radio series, including the BBC Radio 4 comedy drama series "King Street Junior" in 1985. Davison played teacher Eric Brown, however, he left after two series and was replaced by Karl Howman (as Philip Sims). In 1995, he appeared in "Change at Oglethorpe", and the following year he played Richard Stubbs in a six-part comedy called "Minor Adjustment".


title: Peter Davison

text: He played Dr Anthony Webster in the comedy series "Rigor Mortis" on Radio 4 in 2003 and 2006, and made a guest appearance in the first episode of the second series of the BBC Radio 4 science fiction comedy series "Nebulous", broadcast in April 2006,


title: Peter Davison

text: In 2008, he voiced Simon Draycott in the radio adaptation of "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul", and between 2012 and 2013 he played Richard Lyons in the BBC Radio 2 comedy "Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully".


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison has also worked on the stage. In 1984, he appeared in Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park" at the Apollo Theatre alongside his then wife, Sandra Dickinson. In 1991, he appeared in "Arsenic and Old Lace" at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Further theatre appearances during the 1990s include: "The Last Yankee", by Arthur Miller at the Young Vic Theatre and later the Duke of York's Theatre, London in 1993, and Vatelin in "An Absolute Turkey", by Georges Feydeau, at the Gielgud Theatre in 1994. In 1996 he played the role of Tony Wendice in the theatrical production of "Dial M for Murder", and in 1997 he played Buttons in the pantomime "Cinderella" in the Arts Theatre in Cambridge.


title: Peter Davison

text: He appeared as Amos Hart in "Chicago" at the Adelphi Theatre in 1999, and played Dr Jean-Pierre Moulineaux, in "Under the Doctor" at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley and later at the Comedy Theatre, London in 2001.


title: Peter Davison

text: Between July 2007 and March 2008, Davison performed as King Arthur in the London production of "Spamalot".


title: Peter Davison

text: Throughout 2010 and 2011, he appeared as Professor Callahan in the West End production of "Legally Blonde", which opened at the Savoy Theatre.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison played the part of Oliver Lucas in David Hare's play "The Vertical Hour" at the Park Theatre, London between September and October 2014.


title: Peter Davison

text: In 2015, he joined the cast of "Gypsy" in its West End transfer to the Savoy Theatre in London, playing the role of Herbie, alongside Imelda Staunton as Rose. The role was originally played by Kevin Whately during its run in Chichester in 2014.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison and his wife composed and performed the theme tunes to "Button Moon", a children's programme broadcast in the 1980s, and "Mixed Blessings", a sitcom broadcast on ITV in 1978. Davison subsequently appeared alongside Dickinson as the Dish of the Day in the television version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" in 1981. The producers considered it humorous for an actor known for playing a veterinary surgeon to appear as a cow.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison has also appeared in several British sitcoms, including "Holding the Fort" (1980–82) and "Sink or Swim" (1980–82), as well as appearing in dramatic roles.


title: Peter Davison

text: He was the subject of "This Is Your Life" in 1982 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while filming a promotional piece for "Doctor Who" in Trafalgar Square in London.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison lent his name to be used to endorse two science-fiction anthology books published by Hutchinson: "Peter Davison's Book of Alien Monsters" released in 1982 and "Peter Davison's Book of Alien Planets" released in 1983.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison has been married three times. His 1973 marriage to Diane J. Russell ended with divorce in 1975.


title: Peter Davison

text: In 1978, he married American-British actress Sandra Dickinson. The couple divorced in 1994. Davison's daughter from his second marriage is actress Georgia Tennant (née Moffett) (1984). In December 2011, Georgia married actor David Tennant, who played the Tenth Doctor.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison married his third wife, actress and writer Elizabeth Morton, in 2003. The couple live in Twickenham and have two sons, Louis (born 1999) and Joel (born 2001). They both appeared in "The Five(ish) Doctors" playing themselves. Louis Moffett made his professional theatrical acting debut aged 14, playing Prince Edward in the 2014 Trafalgar Studios stage production of Richard III, credited as Louis Davison, having adopted his father's stage name as his own. His brother Joel also made his theatrical debut aged 13 in the summer of 2014, playing Jack in "The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd" at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond. Louis Davison plays the part of Victor in Tim Burton's film, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" released in 2016, and Joel Davison played Lord Heybrook in "French Without Tears" at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond. Louis has appeared as Parker Whitfield in BBC One's "Holby City", and as King Edmund Ironside in Netflix's "".


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison's autobiography, titled "Is There Life Outside the Box?: An Actor Despairs", was published on 6 October 2016.


title: Peter Davison

text: In April 2010, Davison declared his support for the Labour Party at the general election of that year. He was also one of 48 celebrities who signed a letter warning voters against Conservative Party policy towards the BBC.


title: Peter Davison

text: Davison publicly supported the UK's membership of the European Union in the 2016 EU referendum, describing Brexit supporters as "mad old farts who want to return the country to an age that never existed".


title: Infinite Jest

text: Infinite Jest is a 1996 novel by American writer David Foster Wallace. Categorized as an encyclopedic novel, "Infinite Jest" is featured in "TIME" magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.


title: Infinite Jest

text: The novel has an unconventional narrative structure and includes hundreds of extensive endnotes, some with footnotes of their own.


title: Infinite Jest

text: A literary fiction bestseller after having sold 44,000 hardcover copies in its first year of publication, the novel has since sold more than a million copies worldwide.


title: Infinite Jest

text: Wallace began "Infinite Jest", "or something like it", at various times between 1986 and 1989. His efforts in 1991–92 were more productive.


title: Infinite Jest

text: From early 1992 until the novel's publication, excerpts from various drafts appeared sporadically in magazines and literary journals including "Harvard Review", "Grand Street", "Conjunctions", "Review of Contemporary Fiction", "Harper's Magazine", "The Iowa Review", "The New Yorker" and the "Los Angeles Times Magazine".


title: Infinite Jest

text: The book was edited by publisher Little, Brown and Company's Michael Pietsch. Pietsch made suggestions and recommendations to Wallace, but every editing decision was Wallace's. He accepted cuts amounting to around 250 manuscript pages from his original submission. He resisted many changes for reasons that he usually explained.


title: Infinite Jest

text: The novel gets its name from "Hamlet", Act V, Scene 1, in which Hamlet holds the skull of the court jester, Yorick, and says, "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is!"


title: Infinite Jest

text: In the novel's future world, the United States, Canada, and Mexico together compose a unified North American superstate known as the Organization of North American Nations, or O.N.A.N. (an allusion to onanism).


title: Infinite Jest

text: Corporations are allowed the opportunity to bid for and purchase naming rights for each calendar year, replacing traditional numerical designations with ostensibly honorary monikers bearing corporate names. Although the narrative is fragmented and spans several "named" years, most of the story takes place during "The Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment" (Y.D.A.U.).


title: Infinite Jest

text: On the orders of US President Johnny Gentle (a "clean freak" who campaigned on the platform of cleaning up the US while ensuring that no American would be caused any discomfort in the process), much of what used to be the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada has become a giant hazardous waste dump, an area "given" to Canada and known as the "Great Concavity" by Americans due to the resulting displacement of the border.


title: Infinite Jest

text: In the novel's world, each year is subsidized by a specific corporate sponsor for tax revenue. The years of Subsidized Time are:


title: Infinite Jest

text: Critics have debated which year Y.D.A.U. corresponds to in the Gregorian calendar, with various theories supporting 2008, 2009 and 2011.


title: Infinite Jest

text: These narratives are connected via a film, "Infinite Jest", also called "the Entertainment" or "the samizdat". The film is so entertaining that its viewers lose all interest in anything other than repeatedly viewing it, and thus eventually die. It was James Incandenza's final work. He completed it during a period of sobriety that was insisted upon by its lead actress, Joelle van Dyne. The Québécois separatists seek a replicable master copy of the work to aid in acts of terrorism against the United States. The United States Office of Unspecified Services (O.U.S.) aims to intercept the master copy to prevent mass dissemination and the destabilization of the Organization of North American Nations, or else to find or produce an anti-entertainment that can counter the film's effects. Joelle seeks treatment for substance abuse problems at Ennet House. A.F.R. member (and possible O.U.S. double agent) Rémy Marathe visits Ennet House, aiming to find Joelle and a lead to the master copy of "the Entertainment".


title: Infinite Jest

text: Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents (A.F.R.), the Wheelchair Assassins, are a Québécois separatist group. (The use of "rollents" where "roulants" would be correct is in keeping with other erroneous French words and phrases in the novel.) They are one of many such groups that developed after the United States coerced Canada and Mexico into joining the Organization of North American Nations (O.N.A.N.), but the A.F.R. is the most deadly and extremist. While other separatist groups are willing to settle for nationhood, the A.F.R. wants Canada to secede from O.N.A.N. and to reject America's forced gift of its polluted "Great Concavity" (or, Hal and Orin speculate, is pretending that those are its goals to put pressure on Canada to let Quebec secede). The A.F.R. seeks the master copy of "Infinite Jest" as a terrorist weapon to achieve its goals. The A.F.R. has its roots in a childhood game in which miners' sons would line up alongside a train track and compete to be the last to jump across the path of an oncoming train, a game in which many were killed or rendered legless (hence the wheelchairs).


title: Infinite Jest

text: Only one miner's son ever (disgracefully) failed to jump—Bernard Wayne, who may be related to E.T.A.'s John Wayne. Québécoise Avril's liaisons with John Wayne, and with A.F.R.'s Guillaume DuPlessis and Luria Perec, suggest that Avril may have ties to the A.F.R. as well. There is also evidence linking E.T.A. prorector Thierry Poutrincourt to the group.


title: Infinite Jest

text: "Infinite Jest" is a postmodern encyclopedic novel, famous for its length, detail and digressions involving 388 endnotes, some of which themselves have footnotes. It has also been called metamodernist and hysterical realist. Wallace's "encyclopedic display of knowledge" incorporates media theory, linguistics, film studies, sport, addiction, science, and issues of national identity. The book is often humorous yet explores melancholy deeply.


title: Infinite Jest

text: Eschewing chronological plot development and straightforward resolution—a concern often mentioned in reviews—the novel supports a wide range of readings. At various times Wallace said that he intended for the novel's plot to resolve, but indirectly; responding to his editor's concerns about the lack of resolution, he said "the answers all [exist], but just past the last page". Long after publication Wallace maintained this position, stating that the novel "does resolve, but it resolves ... outside of the right frame of the picture. You can get a pretty good idea, I think, of what happens". Critical reviews and a reader's guide have provided insight, but Stephen Burn notes that Wallace privately conceded to Jonathan Franzen that "the story can't fully be made sense of".


title: Infinite Jest

text: In an interview with Charlie Rose, Wallace characterized the novel's heavy use of endnotes as a method of disrupting the linearity of the text while maintaining some sense of narrative cohesion. In a separate interview on Michael Silverblatt's radio show "Bookworm", Wallace said the plotting and notes had a fractal structure modeled after the Sierpiński gasket.


title: Infinite Jest

text: The novel touches on many topics, including addiction (to drugs, but also to sex and fame), withdrawal, recovery, death, family relationships, absent or dead parents, mental health, suicide, sadness, entertainment, film theory, media theory, linguistics, science, Quebec separatism, national identity, and tennis as a metaphysical activity.


title: Infinite Jest

text: As its title implies, the novel is in part based on the play "Hamlet". Enfield Tennis Academy corresponds to Denmark, ruled by James (King Hamlet) and Avril (Queen Gertrude). When James dies, he is replaced by Charles (Claudius), the uncle of Avril's gifted son Hal (Prince Hamlet). As in the play, the son's task is to fight incipient mental breakdown in order to redeem his father's reputation.


title: Infinite Jest

text: Another link is to the "Odyssey", wherein the son Telemachus (Hal) has to grow apart from his dominating mother Penelope (Avril) and discover the truth about his absent father Odysseus (James). (That pattern is also reproduced in the novel "Ulysses", set in a realistic version of Dublin populated by a wide range of inhabitants, just as "Infinite Jest" is mostly in a realistic Boston with a varied population.) In one scene, Hal, on the phone with Orin, says that clipping his toenails into a wastebasket "now seems like an exercise in telemachry.” Orin then asks whether Hal meant telemetry. Christopher Bartlett has argued that Hal's mistake is a direct reference to Telemachus, who for the first four books of the "Odyssey" believes that his father is dead.


title: Infinite Jest

text: Links to "The Brothers Karamazov" have been analyzed by Timothy Jacobs, who sees Orin representing the nihilistic Dmitri, Hal standing for Ivan and Mario the simple and good Alyosha.


title: Infinite Jest

text: The film so entertaining that its viewers lose interest in anything else has been likened to the Monty Python sketch "The Funniest Joke in the World", as well as to "the experience machine", a thought experiment by Robert Nozick.


title: Infinite Jest

text: "Infinite Jest" was marketed heavily, and Wallace had to adapt to being a public figure. He was interviewed in national magazines and went on a 10-city book tour. Publisher Little, Brown equated the book's heft with its importance in marketing and sent a series of cryptic teaser postcards to 4,000 people, announcing a novel of "infinite pleasure" and "infinite style". "Rolling Stone" sent reporter David Lipsky to follow Wallace on his "triumphant" book tour—the first time the magazine had sent a reporter to profile a young author in ten years. The interview was never published in the magazine but became Lipsky's "New York Times"-bestselling book "Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself" (2010), of which the 2015 movie "The End of the Tour" is an adaptation.


title: Infinite Jest

text: Early reviews contributed to "Infinite Jest"'s hype, many of them describing it as a momentous literary event. In the "Review of Contemporary Fiction", Steven Moore called the book "a profound study of the postmodern condition." In 2004, Chad Harbach declared that, in retrospect, "Infinite Jest" "now looks like the central American novel of the past thirty years, a dense star for lesser work to orbit." In a 2008 retrospective by "The New York Times", it was described as "a masterpiece that's also a monster—nearly 1,100 pages of mind-blowing inventiveness and disarming sweetness. Its size and complexity make it forbidding and esoteric."


title: Infinite Jest

text: "Time" magazine included the novel in its list of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.


title: Infinite Jest

text: As Wallace's "magnum opus", "Infinite Jest" is at the center of the new discipline of "Wallace Studies", which, according to "The Chronicle of Higher Education", "... is on its way to becoming a robust scholarly enterprise."


title: Infinite Jest

text: Not all critics were as laudatory. Some early reviews, such as Michiko Kakutani's in "The New York Times", were mixed, recognizing the inventiveness of the writing but criticizing the length and plot. She called the novel "a vast, encyclopedic compendium of whatever seems to have crossed Wallace's mind." In the "London Review of Books", Dale Peck wrote of the novel, "... it is, in a word, terrible. Other words I might use include bloated, boring, gratuitous, and—perhaps especially—uncontrolled." Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University, called it "just awful" and written with "no discernible talent" (in the novel, Bloom's own work is called "turgid"). In a review of Wallace's work up to the year 2000, A. O. Scott wrote of "Infinite Jest", "[T]he novel's Pynchonesque elements...feel rather willed and secondhand. They are impressive in the manner of a precocious child's performance at a dinner party, and, in the same way, ultimately irritating: they seem motivated, mostly, by a desire to show off."


title: Infinite Jest

text: Some critics have since qualified their initial stances. In 2008, A. O. Scott called "Infinite Jest" an "enormous, zeitgeist-gobbling novel that set his generation's benchmark for literary ambition" and Wallace "the best mind of his generation". James Wood has said that he regrets his negative review: "I wish I'd slowed down a bit more with David Foster Wallace." "Infinite Jest" is one of the recommendations in Kakutani's book "Ex Libris: 100 Books to Read and Reread".


title: Infinite Jest

text: Playwright Ken Campbell worked on an adaptation of "Infinite Jest" for the Millennium. His concept was to have 1,000 performers who each paid $23 to take part in the event, which would last a week. It did not come to fruition. German theatrical company Hebbel am Ufer produced a 24-hour avant-garde open-air theatre adaptation in 2012.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu and Hindi films that either simultaneously shot with or remakes of his own Tamil films.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Many of his films have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, most notably his romantic films "Minnale" (2001), "Vaaranam Aayiram" (2008), "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa" (2010), his cop action thrillers "Kaakha Kaakha" (2003), "Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu" (2006), "Yennai Arindhaal" (2015) and his gangster drama "Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu" (2022). "Vaaranam Aayiram" won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. Menon produces films through his film production company named Photon Kathaas. His production "Thanga Meengal" (2013) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Menon was born to a Malayali father Vasudeva Menon and a Tamil mother Uma on 25 February 1973 in Ottapalam, a town in the Palakkad district of Kerala. Although born in Kerala, he grew up in Anna Nagar, Chennai. His father passed away in 2007.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Menon did his schooling at the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School. He then earned a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mookambigai College of Engineering, Pudukkottai.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Menon's time at university inspired him to write the lead roles of "Minnale", "Vaaranam Aayiram", "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa", "Neethaane En Ponvasantham" and "Enai Noki Paayum Thota" who were students in the same course. During the period, he was inspired by films such as "Dead Poets Society" (1989) and "Nayakan" (1987) and expressed his desire to his parents to change his career path and become a filmmaker. His mother insisted that he become an ad filmmaker by shooting various commercials and he took an apprenticeship under filmmaker Rajiv Menon. He went on to work as an assistant director for "Minsara Kanavu" (1997), in which he also appeared in a cameo role.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Menon launched a Tamil romance film "O Lala" in 2000 with the project eventually changing producers and titles into "Minnale" (2001) with Madhavan, who was at the beginning of his career, being signed on to portray the lead role. About the making of the film, Menon revealed that he found it difficult as the team was new to the industry with only the editor of the film, Suresh Urs, being an experienced technician. Menon came under further pressure when Madhavan insisted that the film's story was narrated to the actor's mentor, Mani Ratnam, to identify if the film was a positive career move. Despite initial reservations, Menon did so and Ratnam was unimpressed; however, Menon has since cited that he thought that Madhavan "felt sorry" and later agreed to continue with the project. The film also featured Abbas and newcomer Reemma Sen in significant roles, whilst Menon introduced Harris Jayaraj as music composer with the film. The film was advertised as a Valentine's Day release in 2001 and told the tale of a young man who falls in love with the girl engaged to his ex-college rival. Upon release it went on to become a large success commercially and won positive reviews from critics, with claims that the film had a lot of "lot of verve and vigour" and that it was "technically excellent".


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: The success of the film led producer Vashu Bhagnani to sign him on to direct the Hindi language remake of the film, "Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein" (2001), starring Madhavan alongside Dia Mirza and Saif Ali Khan. Menon was initially apprehensive but said it eventually took "half an hour" to agree, but against his intentions, the producer opted against retaining the technical crew of the original. He changed a few elements, deleted certain scenes and added some more for the version. A critic felt that "the presentation is not absorbing" though stating that Menon "handled certain sequences with aplomb"; the film subsequently became a below-average box office performer. The failure of the film left him disappointed, with Menon claiming in hindsight that the film lacked the simplicity of the original with the producer's intervention affecting proceedings. Several years after release, the film belatedly gained popularity through screenings on television and subsequently developed a cult following amongst young Hindi-speaking audiences. In 2011, the producer of the film approached him to remake "Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein" with the producer's son Jackky Bhagnani in the lead role, but Menon was uninterested with the offer. Later on in 2001, it was reported that he was working on a film tentatively titled "Iru Vizhi Unadhu", though the project did not develop into production.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Gautham Menon returned in 2003 by directing the realistic police thriller "Kaakha Kaakha" (2003) starring Suriya, Jyothika and Jeevan. The film portrayed the personal life of a police officer and how his life is affected by gangsters, showing a different perspective of police in comparison to other Tamil films of the time. Menon revealed that he was inspired to make the film after reading articles on how to encounter specialists who shoot gangsters and how their families get threatening calls in return, and initially approached Madhavan, Ajith Kumar and then Vikram for the role without success, with all three actors citing that they did not want to play a police officer. The lead actress Jyothika asked Menon to consider Suriya for the role, and he was subsequently selected after Menon saw his portrayal in "Nandha". He held a rehearsal of the script with the actors, a costume trial with Jyothika and then enrolled Suriya in a commando training school before beginning production, which he described as a "very planned shoot". The film consequently opened to very positive reviews from critics on the way to becoming another success for Menon, with critics labeling it as a "career high film". Furthermore, the film was described as "for action lovers who believe in logical storylines and deft treatment" with Menon being praised for his linear narrative screenplay.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Menon subsequently remade the film in the Telugu language as "Gharshana" (2004) starring Venkatesh in Suriya's role. The film also featured actress Asin and Salim Baig in prominent roles and went on to earn commercial and critical acclaim with reviewers citing that "film redeems itself due to the technical excellence and masterful craft of Gautham", drawing comparisons of Menon with noted film makers Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma. In July 2004, Menon also agreed terms to direct and produce another version of "Kaakha Kaakha" in Hindi with Sunny Deol in the lead role and revealed that the script was written five years ago with Deol in mind, but the film eventually failed to take off. Producer Vipul Shah approached him to direct the Hindi version of the film in 2010 as "Force" with John Abraham and Genelia D'Souza, and Menon initially agreed before pulling out again. Menon and the original producer, Dhanu, also floated an idea of an English-language version with a Chechnyan backdrop, though talks with a potential collaboration with Ashok Amritraj collapsed. In 2018, Menon revealed that he had plans of making a sequel to "Kaakha Kaakha" with Suriya.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: He was then signed on to direct a venture starring Kamal Haasan and produced by Kaja Mohideen, and initially suggested a one-line story which went on to become "Pachaikili Muthucharam" for the collaboration. Kamal Haasan wanted a different story and thus the investigative thriller film "Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu" (2006), was written with Jyothika, Kamalinee Mukherjee, Prakash Raj, Daniel Balaji and Salim Baig added to the cast. The film told another episode from a police officer's life, with an Indian cop moved to America to investigate the case of psychotic serial killers before returning to pursue the chase in India. During the shooting, the unit ran into problems after the producer had attempted suicide and as a result, Kamal Haasan wanted to quit the project. Menon subsequently convinced him to stay on as they had taken advance payments. He has since revealed that unlike Kamal Haasan's other films, the actor did not take particular control of the script or production of the film. The film however had gone through change from the original script with less emphasis on the antagonists than Menon had hoped and he also revealed that scenes for songs were forced in and shot without him. The film released in August 2006 and went on to become his third successive hit film in Tamil and once again, he won rave reviews for his direction. Menon later expressed interest in remaking the film in Hindi with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role without the love angle, though the project fell through after discussions. In 2012, he re-began negotiations with producers to make a Hindi version of the film with Shahrukh Khan in the lead role. He had stated his intent on making a trilogy of police episode films, with a possible third featuring Vikram in the lead role, before completing it in 2015 with Ajith Kumar in "Yennai Arindhaal".


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: His next project, "Pachaikili Muthucharam" (2007), based on the novel "Derailed" by James Siegel, featured Sarath Kumar and Jyothika and was released in February 2007. Initially, the lead role was offered to Kamal Haasan who passed the opportunity, while actors Cheran and Madhavan declined citing date and image problems respectively. Menon met Sarath Kumar at an event where he cited he was looking to change his 'action' image and Menon subsequently cast him in the lead role. During production, the film ran into further casting trouble with Simran dropping out her assigned role and was replaced by Shobana after another actress, Tabu, also rejected the role. Shobana was also duly replaced by a newcomer, Andrea Jeremiah to portray the character of Kalyani in the film. The film was under production for over a year and coincided with the making of his previous film which was largely delayed. The film initially opened to positive reviews with a critic citing that Menon is "growing with each passing film. His style is distinctive, his vision clear, his team rallies around him and he manages to pull it off each time he attempts". However the film became a financial failure for the producer, Venu Ravichandran and in regard to the failure of the film, Menon went on to claim that Sarath Kumar was "wrong for the film" and that he tweaked the story to fit his image; he also claimed that his father's ailing health and consequent death a week before the release had left him mentally affected. In mid-2007, Menon announced and began work on a youth-centric film titled "Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam" featuring Trisha and an ensemble of newcomers. Set in the backdrop of Chennai's booming IT industry, the team began its shoot in September 2007 and continued for thirty days but was later delayed and eventually shelved. In 2011, he revealed that the film was dropped because he felt the actors "needed to be trained", and would consider restarting the project at a later stage.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: His next release, "Vaaranam Aayiram" (2008), saw him re-collaborate with Suriya, who played dual roles in the film. The film illustrates the theme of how a father often came across in his son's life as a hero and inspiration, and Menon dedicated the film to his late father who died in 2007. The pre-production of the film, then titled "Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam" began in 2003, with Menon planning it as a romantic film with Suriya as a follow-up to their successful previous collaboration, "Kaakha Kaakha". Abhirami was signed and then dropped due to her height before a relatively new actress at the time Asin was selected to make her debut in Tamil films with the project.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: The first schedule of the film began in January 2004 in Visakhapatanam and consequently romantic scenes with Suriya and Asin were shot for ten days and then a photo shoot with the pair. The film was subsequently stalled and was eventually relaunched with a new cast including Divya Spandana, Simran and Sameera Reddy in 2006 with Aascar Ravichandran stepping in as producer, who opted for a change of title. Menon has described the film as "autobiographical and a very personal story and if people didn't know, that 70% of this [the film] is from my life". Throughout the film-making process, Menon improvised the script to pay homage to his late father by adding a family angle to the initial romantic script, with Suriya eventually playing dual roles. The film's production process became noted for the strain and the hard work that Suriya had gone through to portray the different roles with production taking nearly two years. The film was released to a positive response, with critics heaping praise on Suriya's performance while claiming that the film was "just a feather in Gautam's hat" and that it was "a classic". The film was made at a budget of 150  million rupees and became a commercial success, bringing in almost 220 million rupees worldwide. It went on to become Menon's most appreciated work till date winning five Filmfare Awards, nine Vijay Awards and the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for 2008 amongst other accolades. Post-release of the film, Menon had a public fallout with his regular music composer Harris Jayaraj and announced that they would no longer work together, though they later returned in 2015 for "Yennai Arindhaal". In late 2008, during the making of "Vaaranam Aayiram", he had signed on with Sivaji Productions to direct Ajith Kumar and Sameera Reddy in an action film titled "Surangani". Menon later pulled out of the commitment citing that the producers were not willing to let him take his own time with scripting.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa" (2010), starring Silambarasan and Trisha. Originally planned as a d "Jessie" with Mahesh Babu in the lead role, the actor's refusal prompted Menon to make the Tamil version first. The film explored the complicated relationship between a Hindu Tamil assistant director, Karthik, and a Christian Malayali girl, Jessie and their resultant emotional conflicts. The film featured music by A. R. Rahman in his first collaboration with Menon whilst cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa was also selected to be a part of the technical crew. Menon cited that he was "a week away from starting the film with a newcomer" before his producer insisted they looked at Silambarasan, with Menon revealing that he was unimpressed with the actor's previous work. The film was in production for close to a year and throughout the opening week of filming, promotional posters from classic Indian romantic films were released featuring the lead pair. Prior to release, the film became the first Tamil project to have a music soundtrack premiere outside of India, with a successful launch at the BAFTA in London. Upon release, the film achieved positive reviews, with several critics giving the film "classic" status, whilst also become a commercially successful venture. Reviewers praised Menon citing that "credit for their perfect portrayal, of course, goes to Gautam Vasudev Menon. This is one director who's got the pulse of today's urban youth perfectly" and that "crafted a movie that will stay in our hearts for a long, long time." Soon after the Tamil version began shoot, Menon decided to begin a Telugu version titled "Ye Maaya Chesave" (2010) and release it simultaneously, with featuring a fresh cast of Naga Chaitanya and debutante Samantha . Like the Tamil version, the film won critical acclaim and was given "classic" status from critics, as it went on to become among the most profitable Telugu films of 2010. In 2016, he revealed that he had scripted a spin-off film from "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa" titled "Ondraga", where the character of Karthik's life would be followed eight years after the happenings of the previous film.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: He next began research and pre-production work on a 1920s period spy thriller titled "Thuppariyum Anand" in early 2010, with both Ajith Kumar and then Suriya considered for the lead roles, but the film failed to progress. Menon had also made progress over the previous two years directing the psychological thriller "Nadunisi Naaygal" (2011) featuring his assistant and debutant Veera Bahu and Sameera Reddy . Menon claimed that the film was inspired by a true event from the US, while also claiming that a novel also helped form the story of the film. During the making, he explicitly revealed that the film was for "the multiplex audience" and would face a limited release, citing that "it will not cater to all sections of the audience". He promoted the film by presenting a chat show dubbed as "Koffee with Gautham" where he interviewed Bharathiraja and Silambarasan, both of whom had previously worked in such psychological thriller films with "Sigappu Rojakkal" and "Manmadhan". The film, which was his first home production under Photon Kathaas and did not have a background score, told the story of a victim of child abuse and the havoc he causes to women, narrating the events of a particular day. The film opened to mixed reviews with one critic citing it as "above average" but warning that "don't go expecting a typical Gautham romantic film" and that it "is definitely not for the family audiences", while criticizing that "there are too many loopholes in the story, raising doubts about logic". In contrast another critic dubbed it as an "unimpressive show by director Menon, as it is neither convincing nor appealing, despite having some engrossing moments". A group of protesters held a protest outside Gautham's house on reason for misusing a goddess's name in his film and also showing explicit sex and violent scenes, claiming that it was against Tamil culture. Soon after the release of the film, Menon began pre-production work on a television series featuring Parthiban in the lead role of a detective, but did not carry through with the idea after he failed to find financiers.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Menon returned to Bollywood with the Hindi remake of "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa", titled "Ekk Deewana Tha" (2012), with Prateik Babbar and Amy Jackson . Unlike the South Indian versions, the film opened to unanimously below average reviews, with critics noting the story "got lost in translation", and became a box office failure. Post-release, Menon admitted that he "got the casting wrong", and subsequently other Hindi films he had pre-planned were dropped. During the period, Menon also began pre-production work on the first film of an action-adventure series of films titled "Yohan" starring Vijay in the title role. However, after a year of pre-production, the director shelved the film citing differences of opinion about the project.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Menon's next releases were the romantic films "Neethaane En Ponvasantham" (2012) in Tamil and "Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu" (2012) in Telugu, both co-produced by Photon Kathaas. Jiiva and Nani played the lead roles in each version respectively, while Samantha was common in both films. Ilaiyaraaja was chosen as music composer for the film, which told the story of three stages in the life of a couple. A third Hindi version "Assi Nabbe Poorey Sau", was also shot simultaneously with Aditya Roy Kapoor playing the lead role, though the failure of "Ek Deewana Tha" saw production ultimately halted. The films both opened to average reviews and collections, with critics noting Menon "falls into the trap every seasoned filmmaker dreads -- of repeating his own mandatory formula" though noting that the film has its "sparkling moments". The lukewarm response of the film prompted a legal tussle to ensue between Menon and the film's producer Elred Kumar, prompting the director to release an emotionally charged letter attempting to clear his name of any financial wrongdoing. Menon was then briefly associated with the anthology film, "X", helping partially direct a script written by Thiagarajan Kumararaja before opting out and being replaced by Nalan Kumarasamy. He also began production work on a big-budgeted venture titled "Dhruva Natchathiram", signing up an ensemble cast including Suriya, Trisha and Arun Vijay, with a series of posters issued and an official launch event being held. However, in October 2013, Suriya left the film citing Menon's lack of progress in developing the script and the film was subsequently dropped. Later in early 2015, Menon restarted pre-production for the project with Vikram and Nayantara , but again was forced to postpone the film citing financial restraints.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Following Suriya's withdrawal from "Dhruva Natchathiram", Menon moved on to begin a romantic thriller film with Silambarasan and Pallavi Subhash in the lead role from November 2013. The film developed under the title "Sattendru Maarathu Vaanilai" and was shot for thirty days, before the film was put on hold as a result of Menon getting an offer from producer A. M. Rathnam to begin a film starring Ajith Kumar. Consequently, in April 2014, he began filming for "Yennai Arindhaal" (2015), the third instalment in his franchise of police films. He described Ajith's character Sathyadev as an "extension" of the protagonists from "Kaakha Kaakha" and "Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu", while Trisha, Anushka Shetty, Arun Vijay and Parvathy Nair were also selected to portray supporting roles. The film saw him collaborate again with music composer Harris Jayaraj, for the first time since their spat in 2008, while writers Shridhar Raghavan and Thiagarajan Kumararaja were both also involved in the screen-writing process. Focussing on the story of a police officer's professional and personal life from the ages of thirteen to thirty-eight with the backdrop of tackling an organ-trafficking gang, "Yennai Arindhaal" opened to mixed to positive reviews in February 2015. Critics from "The Hindu" wrote it "leaves you feeling like having gone back to a well-known play you have enjoyed a few times over", and that it is "a much-needed intervention in the Tamil commercial cinema space" while also "the most engaging of the three [police films]". Reviewer Udhav Naig of The Hindu added that "Gautham wins as he has reconfigured, albeit not radically, the basic contours of a Tamil cop", and that he "has consistently improved on the character sketch in the last three films." The film also performed well at the box office and gave Menon his first commercially successful Tamil film in five years. Soon after the release, he began work on a sequel to the film and expressed his interest in approaching Ajith again to work together in the future. Menon also worked as a singer in Radha Mohan's film "Uppu Karuvaadu" (2015).


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: After "Yennai Arindhaal", Menon resumed work on his film with Silambarasan under the new title of "Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada", with Manjima Mohan joining the cast to replace Pallavi Sharda. A Telugu version with Naga Chaitanya and Manjima was simultaneously shot under the title "Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo", with Menon revealing that he hoped to finance the Tamil version through the salary he received from the Telugu film's producers. The film developed slowly and was further delayed after Silambarasan refused to shoot for the film following a salary dispute during mid-2016. Menon also has "Enai Noki Paayum Thota", a drama featuring Dhanush and Megha Akash in production, with the shoot began during February 2016.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Menon also has several proposed directorial projects in production. He began producing and directing the spy thriller "Dhruva Natchathiram" in late 2016 with Vikram leading an ensemble cast. Despite regular schedules throughout 2017, the film has been put on hold as Menon looks to raise funds. He has agreed terms to make an anthology film for Netflix, and another film titled "Joshua: Adhiyayam Ondru" for Vels Film International featuring Varun. He has also completed a web series titled "Queen" based on the life of political leader Jayalalithaa, which features Ramya Krishnan in the lead role. The series is released on MX Player. Menon also still aspires to complete his proposed multilingual film titled "Ondraaga", which would be a spiritual sequel to "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa".


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Menon has stated that he is largely inspired by the "depth and aesthetics" that are created by American films. He usually makes the characters in his films by sport identical haircuts and urban casual wear and by speaking in English. His films are also known for their strong depiction of female characters, in contrast to other contemporary Tamil films which, according to journalist Sudhish Kamath, are "hero-worshipping star vehicles where the heroine is just a mere prop". Kamath also notes that several defining traits of Menon's films include liberal doses of English and restraint, the villains being "a seriously dangerous threat", his male protagonists being a "picture of grace and dignity" who are yet fallible, who love their fathers and are trying hard to be good men, who respect women and accept them for who they are. The majority of Menon's police films feature a woman, typically the male lead's wife or lover, being fridged. Menon stated that distributors and financiers often lay several limitations and constraints on his films, that such actions only drift his thoughts and make him feel like he is losing creative control. Though his films are perceived as targeting mainly urban audiences, Menon feels they can be enjoyed by anyone.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: According to "The Hindu"s Udhav Naig, Menon's films are "regulated by a matrix of strong middle-class values", and also have biographical elements which, according to Menon, are inspired by his own life. Menon prefers to write the climax of his films only after filming has significantly progressed, stating that though he has an idea about the climax, it always changes when the film starts shooting. He also names his films after classic Tamil phrases and lines from Tamil film songs such as "Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada" being named after the namesake song from "Mannathi Mannan" (1960) and "Yennai Arindhaal" being named after the song "Unnai Arindhaal" from "Vettaikkaran" (1964). Menon dislikes watching dubbed versions of his own films, and claims his scripts have "a universal theme", citing this as the reason he chose to film "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya" in Telugu as "Ye Maaya Chesave", rather than dub. Menon also makes cameo appearances in the films he directs. Menon's films notably feature voiceovers, either from the view of the protagonist or the antagonist.


title: Gautham Vasudev Menon

text: Gautham married Preethi Menon and they have 3 sons Arya, Dhruv and Adhiya. Costume designer Uthara Menon is his sister, and has worked on his films following "Yennai Arindhaal" (2015).


title: Capcom

text: Capcom's predecessor, I.R.M. Corporation, was founded on May 30, 1979 by Kenzo Tsujimoto, who was still president of Irem Corporation when he founded I.R.M. He worked concomitantly in both companies until leaving the former in 1983.


title: Capcom

text: The original companies that spawned Capcom's Japan branch were I.R.M. and its subsidiary Japan Capsule Computers Co., Ltd., both of which were devoted to the manufacture and distribution of electronic game machines. The two companies underwent a name change to Sanbi Co., Ltd. in September 1981. On June 11, 1983, Tsujimoto established Capcom Co., Ltd. for the purpose of taking over the internal sales department.


title: Capcom

text: In January 1989, Capcom Co., Ltd. merged with Sanbi Co., Ltd., resulting in the current Japan branch. The name Capcom is a clipped compound of "Capsule Computers", a term coined by the company for the arcade machines it solely manufactured in its early years, designed to set themselves apart from personal computers that were becoming widespread. "Capsule" alludes to how Capcom likened its game software to "a capsule packed to the brim with gaming fun", and to the company's desire to protect its intellectual property with a hard outer shell, preventing illegal copies and inferior imitations.


title: Capcom

text: Capcom's first product was the coin-operated arcade game "Little League" (1983). It released its first real arcade video game, "Vulgus" (May 1984). Starting with the arcade hit "1942" (1984), they began designing games with international markets in mind. The successful 1985 arcade games "Commando" and "Ghosts 'n Goblins" have been credited as the products "that shot [Capcom] to 8-bit silicon stardom" in the mid-1980s. Starting with "Commando" (late 1985), Capcom began licensing their arcade games for release on home computers, notably to British software houses Elite Systems and U.S. Gold in the late 1980s.


title: Capcom

text: Beginning with a Nintendo Entertainment System port of "1942" (published in Dec. 1985), the company ventured into the market of home console video games, which would eventually become its main business. The Capcom USA division had a brief stint in the late 1980s as a video game publisher for Commodore 64 and IBM PC DOS computers, although development of these arcade ports was handled by other companies. Capcom went on to create 15 multi-million-selling home video game franchises, with the best-selling being "Resident Evil" (1996). Their highest-grossing is the fighting game "Street Fighter II" (1991), driven largely by its success in arcades.


title: Capcom

text: Capcom has been noted as the last major publisher to be committed to 2D games, though it was not entirely by choice. The company's commitment to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as its platform of choice caused them to lag behind other leading publishers in developing 3D-capable arcade boards. Also, the 2D animated cartoon-style graphics seen in games such as "" and "" proved popular, leading Capcom to adopt them as a signature style and use them in more games.


title: Capcom

text: In 1990, Capcom entered the bowling industry with "Bowlingo". It was a coin-operated, electro-mechanical, fully automated mini ten-pin bowling installation. It was smaller than a standard bowling alley, designed to be smaller and cheaper for amusement arcades. "Bowlingo" drew significant earnings in North America upon release in 1990.


title: Capcom

text: In 1994, Capcom adapted its "Street Fighter" series of fighting games into a film of the same name. While commercially successful, it was critically panned. A 2002 adaptation of its "Resident Evil" series faced similar criticism but was also successful in theaters. The company sees films as a way to build sales for its video games.


title: Capcom

text: Capcom partnered with Nyu Media in 2011 to publish and distribute the Japanese independent (dōjin soft) games that Nyu localized into the English language. The company works with the Polish localization company QLOC to port Capcom's games to other platforms; notably, examples are ""s PC version and its PlayStation 4 and Xbox One remasters, "Dragon's Dogma"s PC version and "Dead Rising"s version on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.


title: Capcom

text: In 2012, Capcom came under criticism for controversial sales tactics, such as the implementation of disc-locked content, which requires players to pay for additional content that is already available within the game's files, most notably in "Street Fighter X Tekken". The company defended the practice. It has also been criticized for other business decisions, such as not releasing certain games outside of Japan (most notably the "Sengoku Basara" series), abruptly cancelling anticipated projects (most notably "Mega Man Legends 3"), and shutting down Clover Studio.


title: Capcom

text: On August 27, 2014, Capcom filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Koei Tecmo Games at the Osaka District Court for 980 million yen in damage. Capcom claimed Koei Tecmo infringed a patent it obtained in 2002 regarding a play feature in video games.


title: Capcom

text: On 2 November 2020, the company reported that its servers were affected by ransomware, scrambling its data, and the threat actors, the Ragnar Locker hacker group, had allegedly stolen 1TB of sensitive corporate data and were blackmailing Capcom to pay them to remove the ransomware. By mid-November, the group began putting information from the hack online, which included contact information for up to 350,000 of the company's employees and partners, as well as plans for upcoming games, indicating that Capcom opted to not pay the group. Capcom affirmed that no credit-card or other sensitive financial information was obtained in the hack.


title: Capcom

text: Artist and author Judy A. Juracek filed a lawsuit in June 2021 against Capcom for copyright infringement. In the court filings, she asserted Capcom had used images from her 1996 book "Surfaces" in their cover art and other assets for "Resident Evil 4", "Devil May Cry" and other games. This was discovered due to the 2020 Capcom data breach, with several files and images matching those that were included within the book's companion CD-ROM. The court filings noted one image file of a metal surface, named ME0009 in Capcom's files, to have the same exact name on the book's CD-ROM. Juracek was seeking over in damages and $2,500 to $25,000 in false copyright management for each photograph Capcom used. Before a court date could be made, the matter was settled "amicably" in February 2022. It comes on the heels of Capcom being accused by Dutch movie director Richard Raaphorst of copying the monster design of his movie "Frankenstein's Army" into their game "Resident Evil Village".


title: Capcom

text: In February 2022, it was reported by Bloomberg that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund had purchased a 5% stake in Capcom, for an approximate value of $332 USD million.


title: Capcom

text: In its beginning few years, Capcom's Japan branch had three development groups referred to as "Planning Rooms", led by Tokuro Fujiwara, Takashi Nishiyama and Yoshiki Okamoto. Later, games developed internally were created by several numbered "Production Studios", each assigned to different games. Starting in 2002, the development process was reformed to better share technologies and expertise, and the individual studios were gradually restructured into bigger departments responsible for different tasks. While there are self-contained departments for the creation of arcade, pachinko and pachislo, online, and mobile games, the Consumer Games R&D Division is an amalgamation of subsections in charge of game development stages.


title: Capcom

text: In addition to these teams, Capcom commissions outside development studios to ensure a steady output of titles. However, following poor sales of "Dark Void" and "Bionic Commando", its management has decided to limit outsourcing to sequels and newer versions of installments in existing franchises, reserving the development of original titles for its in-house teams. The production of games, budgets, and platform support are decided on in development approval meetings, attended by the company management and the marketing, sales and quality control departments.


title: Capcom

text: Capcom Co., Ltd.'s head office building and R&D building are in Chūō-ku, Osaka. The parent company also has a branch office in the Shinjuku Mitsui Building in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo; and the Ueno Facility, a branch office in Iga, Mie Prefecture.


title: Capcom

text: The international Capcom Group encompasses 15 subsidiaries in Japan, rest of East Asia, North America, and Europe. Affiliated companies include Koko Capcom Co., Ltd. in South Korea, Street Fighter Film, LLC in the United States, and Dellgamadas Co., Ltd.


title: Capcom

text: In addition to home, online, mobile, arcade, pachinko and pachislo games, Capcom publishes strategy guides; maintains its own "Plaza Capcom" arcade centers in Japan; and licenses its franchise and character properties for tie-in products, movies, television series and stage performances.


title: Capcom

text: Suleputer, an in-house marketing and music label established in cooperation with Sony Music Entertainment Intermedia in 1998, publishes CDs, DVDs, and other media based on Capcom's games. Captivate (renamed from Gamers Day in 2008), an annual private media summit, is traditionally used for new game and business announcements.


title: Capcom

text: Capcom started its "Street Fighter" franchise in 1987. The series of fighting games are among the most popular in their genre. Having sold almost 50 million copies, it is one of Capcom's flagship franchises. The company also introduced its "Mega Man" series in 1987, which has sold almost 40 million copies.


title: Capcom

text: The company released the first entry in its "Resident Evil" survival horror series in 1996, which become its most successful game series, selling more than 130 million copies. After releasing the second entry in the "Resident Evil" series, Capcom began a "Resident Evil" game for PlayStation 2. As it was significantly different from the existing series' games, Capcom decided to spin it into its own series, "Devil May Cry". The first three entries were exclusively for PlayStation 2; further entries were released for non-Sony consoles. The entire series has sold almost 30 million copies. Capcom began its "Monster Hunter" series in 2004, which has sold almost 90 million copies on a variety of consoles.


title: Capcom

text: Although the company often relies on existing franchises, it has also published and developed several titles for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii based on original intellectual property: "", "Dead Rising", "Dragon's Dogma", "Asura's Wrath" and "Zack and Wiki". During this period, Capcom also helped publish several original titles from up-and-coming Western developers, including "Remember Me", "Dark Void" and "Spyborgs", titles other publishers were not willing to gamble on. Other games of note are the titles "Ōkami", "Ōkamiden" and "".


title: Capcom

text: In 2015, the PlayStation 4 version of "Ultra Street Fighter IV" was pulled from the Capcom Pro Tour due to numerous technical issues and bugs. In 2016, Capcom released "Street Fighter V" with very limited single player content. At launch, there were stability issues with the game's network that booted players mid-game even when they were not playing in an online mode. "Street Fighter V" failed to meet its sales target of 2 million in March 2016.


title: Capcom

text: Capcom compiles a "Platinum Titles" list, updated quarterly, of its games that have sold over one million copies. It contains over 100 video games. This table shows the top ten titles, by sold copies, as of September 30, 2022.


title: AJR (band)

text: AJR is an American indie pop trio composed of multi-instrumentalist brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met (which is short for their birth name Metzger). Their most successful songs include "I'm Ready", "Sober Up", "Burn the House Down", "Way Less Sad", "100 Bad Days", "Weak", "World's Smallest Violin", "Bang!", "I Won't" and “The DJ Is Crying For Help”. In 2019, their third album "Neotheater" debuted at number 8 on the "Billboard" 200, and hit number one on the Top Rock Albums chart. "Bang!" is their highest-charting song and only song to reach the top 10 in the United States, peaking at number 8 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on January 22, 2021.


title: AJR (band)

text: The name "AJR" comes from the first initials of the three brothers, Adam, Jack, and Ryan. The band writes, produces, and mixes their music in the living room of their apartment in New York City. Their musical style has been described as "eclectic", combining elements of pop, electronic, and dubstep.


title: AJR (band)

text: The Met brothers initially began writing, producing, and mixing their own material in the living room of their Chelsea apartment in Manhattan, New York, focusing on DIY indie pop music. They began performing around 2006, busking in Central Park and Washington Square Park. Initially, Jack played the harmonica, Ryan played the piano, and Adam played the bass. They later began playing various instruments. They began by performing covers, and have also put out 2 albums in 2010 and an EP in 2012 (which are now removed from all streaming services.).


title: AJR (band)

text: In November 2012, AJR's Ryan Met tweeted a link to a video of their song "I'm Ready" to about 80 celebrities, including Australian singer Sia. Sia told her manager about the song, and he contacted Steve Greenberg, former president of Columbia Records and current CEO and Founder of S-Curve Records. He acts as their co-manager. AJR's debut single, "I'm Ready", which features a sample of SpongeBob SquarePants repeatedly singing his catchphrase "I'm ready" from the eponymous animated series' premiere episode, was commercially released on August 22, 2013. The song was placed in regular rotation on Sirius XM Radio's Top 20 on 20 and Hits 1 stations, and they performed the song on Good Day New York and VH1's "Big Morning Buzz". The official music video for "I'm Ready" premiered on VEVO on October 15, 2013.


title: AJR (band)

text: AJR released their debut EP, "6foot1" (later renamed "I'm Ready" after the band signed to Warner Music Group), on December 20, 2013. They were named Clear Channel's "Artist on the Rise" for the month of October 2013. By 2014, the band was already named IHeartRadio's Artist of the Month for Top 40 in January, and a Myspace "One to Watch" in February, while "I'm Ready" officially impacted pop radio in April. As of August 2022, the music video for "I'm Ready" had reached 39 million views on YouTube. Many thousands of singles sold each week, features in "Billboard" and the "New York Post", while climbing the Top 40 chart. "I'm Ready" hit number one on Next Big Sound's chart in May 2014. The band performed the song on "Today" on July 29, 2014. "I'm Ready" had been certified Platinum in Canada and Australia.


title: AJR (band)

text: The band's second EP, "Infinity", was released on September 23, 2014. It contains 5 tracks, including the lead single "Infinity". They released a lyric video for the single. A majority of the work for the video was done by AJR, including directing and producing. The EP was released instead of their debut album, "Living Room", which was pushed back to a release date of March 3, 2015. The band expressed the delay in their debut album was because they wanted to add some of their newer music to the project. Around this time, the brothers began to take on distinctive appearances. Adam grew a full beard (later he would grow his hair long), Jack also grew a beard and would wear a bomber hat (which he admits is his mother's), and Ryan wore glasses, was clean shaven, and had a cowlick hairstyle. On October 23, 2015, they released a bonus track from the album called "Let The Games Begin".