title: Mitchell Trubisky

text: Trubisky accrued 10,609 passing yards, 64 touchdowns and 37 interceptions during his four seasons with the Bears. He holds the Bears franchise record for career passer rating (87.2) and career completion percentage (64%). During his tenure with the Bears, Trubisky was considered by some to be a draft bust due to both inconsistent play and the success of those drafted after him such as Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.


title: Mitchell Trubisky

text: On March 18, 2021, Trubisky signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills worth $2.5 million. He was not offered a starting opportunity with other teams, so Trubisky said he signed with the Bills to be Josh Allen's back-up and learn under the same coaching staff that developed Allen into an MVP candidate.


title: Mitchell Trubisky

text: Trubisky made his first appearance for the Bills late in a blowout victory over Washington Football Team in Week 3. He made another appearance in the 4th quarter in a 40–0 victory over the Houston Texans in Week 4, where he scored his only touchdown of the season, a four-yard run.


title: Mitchell Trubisky

text: On March 17, 2022, Trubisky signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On September 6, 2022, Trubisky was named the starting quarterback for the Steelers Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. In the game, Trubisky threw for 194 yards and a touchdown and committed no turnovers in the 23–20 overtime win. After throwing for 168 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the Week 2 loss at home against the New England Patriots, there were chants of "We Want Kenny" heard amongst the Steelers crowd. In Week 4 against the New York Jets, Trubisky was benched going in the third quarter for Kenny Pickett after throwing for 84 yards and an interception in the 24-20 loss. Later that week, Tomlin announced Pickett the starting quarterback. During a week 6 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Trubisky came in to replace an injured Kenny Pickett.


title: Mitchell Trubisky

text: Trubisky earned the nickname "Mr. Biscuit" in college, after one of his coaches had trouble pronouncing his name. His younger brothers Manning and Mason played wide receiver at Mentor High School, with the former going on to play at John Carroll University.


title: David Blaine

text: David Blaine (born April 4, 1973) is an American illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance and has set and broken several world records.


title: David Blaine

text: Blaine was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of a single mother, Patrice White, a teacher who was of Russian-Jewish ancestry, and a father who is a Vietnam War veteran of Puerto Rican and Italian descent. When Blaine was four years old, he saw a magician performing magic on the subway. This sparked a lifelong interest for him. He was raised by his mother and attended a Montessori school in Brooklyn. They later moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, where he attended Passaic Valley Regional High School. Per one account, his mother developed cancer when Blaine was 15 and died when he was 20. Per another, "When Blaine was 21, his mother was stricken with cancer and passed away in 1994." When Blaine was 17 years old, he moved to Manhattan, New York City.


title: David Blaine

text: On May 19, 1997, Blaine's first television special, "David Blaine: Street Magic", aired on ABC. "It really, really does break new ground," said Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller. When asked about his performance style, Blaine explained, "I'd like to bring magic back to the place it used to be 100 years ago." "Time" commented, "His deceptively low-key, ultracool manner leaves spectators more amazed than if he'd razzle-dazzled."


title: David Blaine

text: In "Magic Man", Blaine is shown traveling across the country, entertaining unsuspecting pedestrians in Atlantic City, Compton, Dallas, the Mojave Desert, New York City, and San Francisco, recorded by a small crew with handheld cameras. Jon Racherbaumer commented: "Make no mistake about it, the focus of this show, boys and girls, is not Blaine. It is really about theatrical proxemics; about the show-within-a-show and the spontaneous, visceral reactions of people being astonished." "USA Today" called Blaine the "hottest name in magic right now".


title: David Blaine

text: On April 5, 1999, Blaine was entombed in an underground plastic box underneath a 3-ton water-filled tank for seven days, across from Trump Place on 68th St. and Riverside Boulevard, as part of a stunt titled "Buried Alive". According to CNN, "Blaine's only communication to the outside world was by a hand buzzer, which could have alerted an around-the-clock emergency crew standing by." BBC News reported that the plastic coffin had of headroom and on each side.


title: David Blaine

text: An estimated 75,000 people visited the site, including Marie Blood, Harry Houdini's niece, who said, "My uncle did some amazing things, but he could not have done this." On the final day of the stunt, April 12, hundreds of news teams were stationed at the site for the coffin opening. A team of construction workers removed a portion of the of gravel surrounding the deep coffin before a crane lifted the water tank. Blaine emerged and told the crowd, "I saw something very prophetic ... a vision of every race, every religion, every age group banding together, and that made all this worthwhile." BBC News stated, "The 26-year-old magician has outdone his hero, Harry Houdini, who had planned a similar feat but died in 1926 before he could perform it."


title: David Blaine

text: On November 27, 2000, Blaine performed a stunt called "Frozen in Time", where he attempted and failed to stand in a large block of ice located in Times Square, New York City for 72 hours. It was covered on a TV special. He was lightly dressed and appeared to be shivering even before the blocks of ice were placed around him. A tube supplied him with air and water, while his urine was removed with another tube. He was encased in the box of ice for 63 hours, 42 minutes, and 15 seconds before being removed with chainsaws. The ice was transparent and resting on an elevated platform to show that he was actually inside the ice the entire time. He was removed from the ice and taken to a hospital due to fears he might be going into shock. "The New York Times" reported, "The magician who emerged from the increasingly unstable ice box seemed a shadow of the confident, robust, shirtless fellow who entered two days before." Blaine later said it took a month to fully recover and that he had no plans to attempt a stunt of this difficulty in the future. In 2010, a magician from Israel named Hezi Dean broke Blaine's record when he was encased in a block of ice for 66 hours.


title: David Blaine

text: On May 22, 2002, a crane lifted Blaine onto a high and wide pillar in Bryant Park, New York City. He was not harnessed to the pillar, although there were two retractable handles on either side of him to grasp in the event of harsh weather. He remained on the pillar for 35 hours. He ended the feat by jumping down onto a landing platform made out of a high pile of cardboard boxes and suffered a mild concussion. He later said in his 2009 TED Talk that he had suffered from severe hallucinations in the final hours of this stunt, causing the buildings and structures around him to look like animal heads.


title: David Blaine

text: On September 5, 2003, Blaine began an endurance stunt in which he was sealed inside a transparent Plexiglas box. The case was suspended in the air next to Potters Fields Park on the south bank of the River Thames in London, and measured by by . A webcam was installed inside the box so that viewers could observe his progress. The stunt lasted 44 days, during which Blaine drank of water per day and did not eat.


title: David Blaine

text: The stunt was the subject of public interest and media attention, "The Times" reported that "1,614 articles in the British press have made reference to the exploit." Then-US president George W. Bush referred to Blaine's stunt in a speech at the Whitehall Palace in London, saying, "The last noted American to visit London stayed in a glass box dangling over the Thames. A few might have been happy to provide similar arrangements for me." A number of spectators threw food and other items towards the box, including eggs, paint-filled balloons and golf balls, according to "The Times". A McDonald's hamburger was flown up to the box by a remote-controlled helicopter as a taunt. The "Evening Standard" reported that one man was arrested for attempting to cut the cable supplying water to Blaine's box.


title: David Blaine

text: On September 25, BBC News reported that "if his endurance test is real rather than an elaborate illusion", then Blaine's claim of tasting pear drops indicates he is advancing through the first stage of starvation. A medical doctor said that the taste is caused by ketones, which are produced when the body burns fat reserves.


title: David Blaine

text: The stunt ended on October 19, and Blaine emerged in tears saying "I love you all!" and was subsequently hospitalized. The "New England Journal of Medicine" published a paper that documented his 44-day fast and stated his re-feeding was perhaps the most dangerous part of the stunt. The study reported, "He lost 25 percent of his original body weightand his body mass index dropped from 29.0 to 21.6. His appearance and body-mass index after his fast would not by themselves have alerted us to the risks of refeeding. Despite cautious management, he had hypophosphatemia and fluid retention, important elements of the refeeding syndrome."


title: David Blaine

text: On May 1, 2006, Blaine began his "Drowned Alive" stunt, which lasted seven days and involved a submersion in an diameter, water-filled sphere containing isotonic saline in front of the Lincoln Center in New York City. During the stunt he sustained kidney and liver damage. At the end of the stunt, Blaine attempted to free himself from handcuffs and chains after exiting the sphere. After the stunt, Blaine entered into an agreement with researchers at Yale University to monitor him in order to study the human physiological reaction to prolonged submersion.


title: David Blaine

text: On November 21, 2006, Blaine began his "Revolution" stunt, where he was shackled to a rotating gyroscope without food or water, intending to escape within 16 hours. Blaine completed the stunt 52 hours later.


title: David Blaine

text: Blaine appeared on the April 30, 2008 episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to attempt to break the Guinness World Record for oxygen assisted static apnea, following his failure to break the then-current record of "unassisted" static apnea in his previous attempt "Drowned Alive". The previous record was set by Peter Colat of Switzerland on February 10, 2008.


title: David Blaine

text: Before entering the water tank, Blaine spent 23 minutes inhaling pure oxygen. Blaine held his breath for 17 minutes 4-1/2 seconds, surpassing Colat's previous mark of 16 minutes 32 seconds, setting a new Guinness World Record that stood until September 19, 2008, when it was surpassed by German diver Tom Sietas who during an episode of the American talk show "Live with Regis and Kelly", held his breath for 17 minutes, 19 seconds.


title: David Blaine

text: On September 18, 2008 Blaine announced his "The Upside Down Man" performance with Donald Trump. Blaine planned to hang upside down without a safety net for 60 hours. On September 22, Blaine began his stunt "Dive of Death", hanging over Wollman Rink in Central Park and interacting with fans by lowering himself upside down. He pulled himself up to drink fluid and restore normal circulation. Reportedly, Blaine risked blindness and other maladies in the stunt. He was criticized when, only hours into the endurance challenge, he was seen standing on a waiting crane platform, not upside down as expected. During the stunt, he came down once an hour for a medical check and to use the bathroom.


title: David Blaine

text: In this 42-minute television special that aired in 2010, Blaine performed an illusion of catching a .22 caliber bullet fired from a rifle into a small metal cup in his mouth. The special also features 2008 footage of Blaine in New Orleans performing for people affected by Hurricane Katrina.


title: David Blaine

text: On October 5, 2012, Blaine began performing a 72-hour endurance stunt called "Electrified: One Million Volts Always On" atop a 22-foot high pillar on Pier 54 in New York City, which was streamed live on YouTube. During the stunt, Blaine stood on the pillar surrounded by seven Tesla coils producing an electric discharge of one million volts or more continuously. The coils were directed at Blaine for the entirety of the endurance stunt, during which he did not eat or sleep. He wore of gear, including a chainmail Faraday suit, designed to prevent electrical current from traveling through the body. John Belcher, a physics professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reportedly said, "He has a conducting suit, all the current is going through the suit, nothing through his body. There is no danger in this that I see."


title: David Blaine

text: At night, Blaine shivered uncontrollably from the inclement weather. "The New York Times" published an article describing the science behind Blaine's stunt. Members of the public were able to control the pattern of electric current by accessing screens, and musicians Pharrell Williams and Andrew W.K. performed solos on a keyboard which controlled the electric discharge.


title: David Blaine

text: The event concluded on October 8, 2012, at 8:44 pm. Blaine was able to walk away with assistance and was transported to a hospital for a medical check. Blaine donated two of the Tesla coils to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey to be exhibited on permanent display.


title: David Blaine

text: In 2013, Blaine starred in a 90-minute ABC television special, "David Blaine: Real or Magic", on November 19, 2013. The special, directed by Matthew Akers, featured Blaine performing magic for celebrities and public figures. "Real or Magic" achieved a 2.5 rating in the 18–49 age bracket, and posted the best numbers in the 9:3011:00 pm time slot for ABC's 2013 season.


title: David Blaine

text: On November 15, 2016, ABC aired "Beyond Magic", a 42-minute television special in which Blaine performs magic for various public figures. Among the featured stunts is one in which Blaine seemingly catches a .22 caliber bullet in a small metal cup held between a gum shield in his mouth. The bullet catch trick was performed live on stage in front of 20,000 people in an August 2015 Las Vegas performance in which Blaine fired the gun himself. Blaine's mouthguard broke during the performance. Since then, Blaine has never performed the stunt again.


title: David Blaine

text: On April 1, 2020, Blaine starred in "David Blaine: The Magic Way," airing on ABC. The special consisted of various close-up magic acts, performing card tricks through video chat, and also performing in-person for many famous athletes, actors, and other celebrities as well as ordinary citizens. The special also includes performances by Blaine's daughter.


title: David Blaine

text: In 2020, Blaine performed the David Blaine Ascension stunt, which involved him floating while holding on to a cluster of 52 helium-filled balloons using a harness. The stunt took place on the morning of September 2, 2020, in Page, Arizona and was streamed live on YouTube as a YouTube Original program. Blaine managed to get to an altitude of above sea level (more than above ground level), before letting go of his balloons and parachuting down towards a flat ravine close to the initially planned landing zone. He landed successfully and without harm.


title: David Blaine

text: On October 29, 2002, Villard published "Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic", an autobiography and armchair treasure hunt with instructions on performing magic tricks. The treasure hunt was created by game designer Cliff Johnson and solved by Sherri Skanes on March 20, 2004.


title: David Blaine

text: In November 2006, Blaine performed a stunt in New York's Times Square in support of The Salvation Army. After 52 hours, Blaine escaped from the shackles that had held him in a spinning gyroscope suspended above the ground. Blaine said this stunt was particularly important to him since The Salvation Army had provided him with clothing while he was growing up.


title: David Blaine

text: On January 15, 2010, Blaine returned to Times Square to perform "Magic for Haiti", a performance lasting 72 hours which raised nearly US$100,000 for Haiti earthquake relief.


title: David Blaine

text: Blaine also donated two $1 million Tesla coils to Liberty Science Center after performing a massive electricity stunt.


title: David Blaine

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Blaine continued his hospital magic shows remotely via FaceTime and Zoom, with a particular focus on providing light relief and distraction for the frontline doctors, nurses and other health workers. In his own words, "the greatest satisfaction as a magician is bringing joy to people who can really use it. I'm so happy to do anything to show that I appreciate what they are all doing and going through."


title: David Blaine

text: In October 2017, following a report published in "The Daily Beast" in the wake of the Me Too movement, British news outlets reported that London's Metropolitan Police had asked Blaine to travel to the UK for interview under caution regarding allegations by former model Natasha Prince that Blaine had raped her at a house in Chelsea, West London, in 2004. Speaking through his lawyer, Blaine "vehemently denies" the allegations and confirmed that he would "fully co-operate" with a police inquiry. Detectives later declined to take further action after investigating her claim.


title: David Blaine

text: In April 2019, Blaine was investigated by the New York City Police Department over allegations that he sexually assaulted at least two women, although no charges were made, and he was not charged with a crime.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: Himesh Reshammiya (born 23 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, songwriter, film & music producer and actor in Hindi cinema. He started his career as music director in the film "Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya" in 1998 and made his acting debut with the film "Aap Kaa Surroor" in 2007.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: Himesh Reshammiya was born in Mumbai to Vipin Reshammiya, an Indian music composer, and Madhu Reshammiya, on 23 July 1973. At the age of 21, Reshammiya married Komal and they have a son named Swaym.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: On 12 September 2016, it was reported that Himesh and Komal mutually agreed to separate and file for divorce. On 11 May 2018, Himesh married his long-time girlfriend, actress Sonia Kapoor.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: Reshammiya began producing TV series such as "Andaz", "Ahha", "Aman", "Aashiqui", "Amar Prem" and "Jaan" on Zee TV. He also composed title tracks for some of these shows.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: Reshammiya's father was supposed to make a film with Salman Khan in the 1990s, but this did not take place; when Khan heard one of Reshammiya's compositions, he was impressed and promised to let him compose music for one of his films. In 1998, Reshammiya made his debut as a music composer with the Salman Khan film "Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya", composing two songs for the project: "Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya" and "Tum Par Hum Hai Aatke". Both songs became hits.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: He went on to compose music for "Bandhan" and "Hello Brother", together with other composers. His first movie as a solo composer was another Salman Khan production, "Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge". Reshammiya gained some prominence when he composed music for "Humraaz". This earned him a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Music Direction.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: Reshammiya gained more prominence when he composed songs for another Salman Khan film, "Tere Naam" (2003), for which he won several accolades, including the Zee Cine Award for Best Music Director and Screen Award for Best Music Director.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: In 2004, he wrote music for ten films, among them "Aitraaz". In 2005, he worked on ten more films, including "Aashiq Banaya Apne" and "Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?".


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: At this point, he also began working as a playback singer with the song "Aashiq Banaya Aapne", which earned him numerous awards, including Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer, IIFA Award for Best Male Playback, and Zee Cine Award for Best Male Playback Singer.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: As a singer, Reshammiya has recorded multiple popular songs, such as "Aashiq Banaya Aapne", "Tera Suroor", "Zara Jhoom Jhoom", "Jhalak Dikhlaja", "Andaz Apna Apna", "Afsana", "Shakalaka Boom Boom", "Meri Awaargi", "Hookah Bar", "Chalao Na Naino Se", and "Tandoori Nights". His music has a style of composition based on a fusion of Western and Indian classical music, and Western and Indian Rock music accompanied by techno beats.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: He was the first Indian singer to perform at Wembley Arena in London and the Heineken music hall in Amsterdam.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: Reshammiya was actively involved in mentoring and judging the singing competition "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge" on Zee TV. His group was known as Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Gharana. He was the winning mentor of the show in 2007. In 2009, Vaishali Mhade, a female contestant from his Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Gharana group, won the singing competition. He is also the team captain, judge, and mentor on Star Plus's show "Music Ka Maha Muqqabla" for the team Himesh's Warriors. Reshammiya was also the judge of the musical reality show "Sur Kshetra", which was telecasted on Sahara One. He appeared as the special guest in the Grand Finale of "Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar 2", where he also trained the top four contestants.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: On 4 November 2013, it was announced that Reshammiya would be acting in and producing a movie named "The Xposé".


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: In April 2019, it was confirmed that Reshammiya would be back onscreen with the film "Namastey Rome", which is a sequel to "Namastey London" and "Namastey England". He also collaborated with lyricist Javed Akhtar in the film's soundtrack, as they had worked together on "Namastey London". Reshammiya also acted in three other projects, one being a sequel of "The Xposé", named "The Xposé Returns". Reshammiya also confirmed that he would make a biopic about the soldier Bishnu Shrestha; the film would be based on his involvement in the Maurya Express train robbery.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: On 5 June 2021, Reshammiya launched his music label "Himesh Reshammiya Melodies" and announced his upcoming studio album "Surroor 2021", the second album of the Surroor franchise to be released after 2006. The title track of the album "Surroor Tera" was released on 11 June 2021, which followed by the announcement of two new albums under the label Himesh Reshammiya Melodies, namely "Moods with Melodies" and "Himesh Ke Dil Se". Later in August, Reshammiya announced another album Super Sitaara, which will feature prominent singers from 90's era like Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik and lyricist Sameer. Surroor 2021 The Album garnered more than 200 million views on YouTube and more than 50 million audio streams on various platforms.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: In 2022, he composed all the songs for Anand L. Rai's film Raksha Bandhan, collaborating with Akshay Kumar after ten years since Khiladi 786.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: In his early singing career, when he was criticized for his nasal singing style, Reshammiya stated that R. D. Burman also sang through his nose. After this comment, Asha Bhosle, legendary singer and wife of Burman, said, "If anyone says Burman sa'ab sang through his nose, he should be slapped". Reshammiya subsequently clarified that he never intended to insult R. D. Burman.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: In his debut film as an actor, "Aap Kaa Surroor", Reshammiya added the song "Tanhaiyyan" from Boney Kapoor's proposed film "Milenge Milenge". Initially, Reshammiya had composed the song for Kapoor's film, but later decided to use it for his own movie. Tips, which held the audio rights of "Milenge Milenge", accused Reshammiya of copyright violation, as audio rights for "Aap Kaa Surroor – The Real Luv Story" were acquired by T-Series. However, Reshammiya defended himself, saying that he had made Kapoor listen to the song, but it was not included in "Milenge Milenge". He also claimed to have tried to get in touch with Kapoor for seven months, and since there was no progress on the film, he decided to use the song for his own movie.


title: Himesh Reshammiya

text: Reshammiya won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 2006 for "Aashiq Banaya Aapne", as well as receiving several other awards such as the Star Screen Award, IIFA Award, and the Zee Cine Award. He also received several nominations for his music direction. Reshammiya additionally won a BIG Star Entertainment Award as best music director for "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo".


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Zathura: A Space Adventure (also known simply as Zathura) is a 2005 American science fiction adventure film directed by Jon Favreau. It is an adaptation of the 2002 children's book "Zathura" by Chris Van Allsburg, author of the 1981 children's book "Jumanji". It is a standalone spin-off of the 1995 film "Jumanji" and the second installment of the "Jumanji" franchise. The film stars Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, and Tim Robbins.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: The story is about two squabbling brothers, Danny and Walter Budwing (portrayed by Bobo and Hutcherson respectively), who find a mysterious board game in the basement, which transports their house into outer space. Along with their older sister Lisa (Stewart) and an astronaut (Shepard), they try to survive the game so they can return home.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: The film was shot in Los Angeles and Culver City, California, and was released on November 11, 2005 in the United States. Unlike "Jumanji", which was distributed by TriStar Pictures, the film was distributed by Columbia Pictures, which is co-owned with TriStar through Sony Pictures Entertainment. It received positive reviews from critics, but was not commercially successful, grossing $65.1 million worldwide against a production budget of $65 million.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Walter and Danny are two brothers who do not get along with each other or with their cantankerous teenage sister, Lisa. While their divorced father is away at work and Lisa, whom he left in charge, is napping, Danny discovers an old science fiction-themed board game called "Zathura" in the basement. When he starts playing, the game produces a card that details a meteor shower. After an actual meteor shower occurs in the living room, Walter and Danny realize the game is affecting reality.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: The boys discover the house is floating in outer space. Lisa thinks she has overslept because of the dark sky and prepares to go out, however the next card puts her in cryonic sleep, leaving her frozen solid. Walter soon concludes they must win the game to return everything to normal. As they continue to play, Walter and Danny overcome the dangers presented by the game, including the appearance of a defective robot, passing too close to a star, and an attack on the house by a race of reptilian aliens called Zorgons. One of Danny's turns causes an astronaut to appear, who methodically eliminates the house's heat sources, as the Zorgons are attracted to heat. The astronaut lures the Zorgons' ship away by setting the boys' father's couch on fire and ejecting it from the house.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Walter demands that the astronaut leave, but Danny chooses to let him stay. Growing increasingly agitated, Walter accuses Danny of cheating of moving his piece prematurely; when he tries to move the piece back and takes his next turn, the game reacts as if Walter were cheating and ejects him from the house, but the astronaut rescues him. Danny apologizes to Walter, but he does not forgive. On Walter's next turn, he receives a card that allows him to make a wish, resulting in another heated argument between the boys. The astronaut warns Walter not to make a wish out of anger.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Fearing the worst, the astronaut is relieved to discover that Walter merely wished for an autographed football. He explains his origins, saying that he and his brother had played the game before. He received the wish card, but after an escalating fight, he wished his brother was never born. This resulted in him being stranded, as he was unable to finish the game without the second player. Upon hearing this, Danny and Walter finally put their differences aside.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Lisa awakens from her stasis and, still oblivious to the situation, turns up the heat. The Zorgons return and anchor their ships to the house. Lisa finally discovers the predicament and the quartet hide, only to realize that they left the game behind. Danny finds the game aboard one of the Zorgon ships, but is spotted. Walter uses a "Reprogram" card he drew earlier to fix the robot, who attacks the Zorgons instead, causing them to retreat.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Walter receives another wish card; he uses it to bring the astronaut's brother back into existence. The astronaut reveals he is actually an older version of Walter from an alternate timeline and commends his past self for making a better choice than he did. The astronaut and the alternate Danny merge with their counterparts as the timeline changes.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: The Zorgons return to the house with a massive fleet, with the intent of destroying it. When Danny makes the winning move, it is revealed that Zathura is a black hole, which proceeds to consume the Zorgons' fleet and the house. The siblings find themselves back in the house as it was before the brothers started the game, just as their father returns home. Their bond renewed, they promise to each other and Lisa to not tell anyone about the game and their adventure.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Additionally, John Alexander performed as the Robot, Derek Mears as Lead Zorgon, and Douglas Tait, Joe Bucaro, and Jeff Wolfe, portray individual Zorgons.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Director Jon Favreau acknowledged the influence of other films saying "Zathura" had some bits like "Star Wars", "Indiana Jones", "Battle Beyond the Stars", and "Superman". Favreau was aware of Dax Shepard from the TV series "Punk'd" but was convinced to cast him because Mike Judge put him in "Idiocracy" and because of his background in improvisation with The Groundlings that Will Ferrell had also come out of.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Favreau preferred to use practical effects instead of computer generated imagery (CGI) in the film. He said, "it's so fun to actually shoot real spaceships or have a real robot running around on the set, or real Zorgons built by Stan Winston. It gives the actors, especially young actors, so much to work off of". Dax Shepard, who plays the astronaut, said he would not have been interested in doing the film if the effects had been CGI-based. Actress Kristen Stewart enjoyed the on-set effects, saying, "When we harpooned walls and ripped them out, we were really doing it. When there was a fire on set, there was really fire," and that "[t]he only green screen I was ever involved with was for getting sucked out into the black hole." The exteriors for the house were filmed at Oaklawn Avenue, South Pasadena.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Miniature models were used to create the spaceships; Favreau enjoyed using techniques used in many earlier films, such as the "Star Wars" trilogy. in some shots the Zorgon ships were computer-generated, and in many of the scenes digital effects were used to create, for example, meteors and planets, and limbs for the robot suit built by Stan Winston Studios. CGI was used to augment the Zorgon suits, which were constructed so that the head came out of the front of the suit where the actor's chest was and the actor wore a blue screen hood over his own head, and to create an entirely computer-generated Zorgon for one scene. A full life size frozen model of Kristen Stewart was made by Stan Winston Studios. She described the process of modeling and being scanned to make it as arduous; it included details down to the freckles on her arm. She called the result an incredible experience, comparing it to having a twin. Real goats were used and extra eyes were later added using CGI. According to visual effects supervisor Pete Travers, from Sony Pictures Imageworks, it "was a very important aspect of the effects" to retain the stylized "1950s sci-fi look" from Van Allsburg's book, and was inspired by the pointillist style in painting.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Favreau says the most complicated shot in the film was when the house was caught in the gravity field of Tsouris-3. The stage was mounted on top of a gimbal off the ground, and the gimbal allowed the set to be tilted close to 40 degrees. All the cast and crew had to be safely secured with cables and harnesses. Favreau called it "an overwhelming experience".


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Favreau discouraged the notion that the film is a sequel to the 1995 film "Jumanji", having not particularly liked the film. Both he and author Chris Van Allsburg—who also wrote the book upon which "Jumanji" is based—stated "Zathura" is very different from "Jumanji". The film was marketed by the studio as taking place within the same fictional universe, and series actor Jack Black considers it the second installment of the "Jumanji" franchise. Author Chris Van Allsburg attributed the lack of box office success to marketing and timing.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: The studio marketed the release of the film in an attempt to generate word of mouth with tie-ins, including an episode of "". Favreau appeared as a guest judge, and the show's two teams were assigned the task of designing and building a float to publicize the film.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: The film was released on VHS and DVD in 2006, and a Bluray 10th Anniversary edition was released in 2015.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: With its $65 million budget, "Zathura: A Space Adventure" was considered a flop, grossing $13,427,872 in its opening weekend, while the holdover Disney animated film, "Chicken Little" earned more than twice as much that weekend. The film lost 62% of its audience the following weekend, in part due to the opening of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". "Zathura" ended its theatrical run with a gross of $29,258,869. The international box office total was $35,820,235, bringing its total worldwide gross to $65,079,104.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 76% based on 161 reviews, and an average rating of 6.54/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Dazzling special effects for the kids + well-crafted storytelling for the [parents] = cinematic satisfaction for the whole family." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave it 3 out of 4 stars, praised Favreau, and wrote: ""Zathura" lacks the undercurrents of archetypal menace and genuine emotion [...] but it works gloriously as space opera."


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Justin Chang of Variety magazine said it was "arguably the best adaptation of a Chris Van Allsburg book to date" and praised "Favreau's amiably low-key sense of humor and assured handling of well-trod emotional territory." John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "rare beast -- a family film that even childless adults can enjoy", and praised the performances both from child actors and from Dax Shepard. Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" said "Zathura" richly gratifies the fantasy of children; "not just to play a board game, but to project themselves into its world". Desson Thomson of "The Washington Post" wrote that "Zathura" has "an appealing, childlike sense of wonder".


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: The connection to "Jumanji" may have been a disadvantage, with critics such as Luke Baumgarten for the "Inlander" referring to it as ""Jumanji" in space without Robin Williams".


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Zathura was nominated for two Saturn Awards, for Best Fantasy Film, and Josh Hutcherson for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: At the Hollywood Film Awards Avy Kaufman won the award for Casting Director of the Year, for her work on Capote, Brokeback Mountain, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Syriana, and Zathura.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: At Young Artist Awards Josh Hutcherson won in the category "Best Performance in a Feature Film (Comedy or Drama)" by a Leading Young Actor, and Jonah Bobo was nominated in the category "Best Performance in a Feature Film" by a Young Actor Age Ten or Younger.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: In a 2018 review for Den of Geek, Tim George called it "a terrific movie worthy of reappraisal" praising the witty, efficient script, sense of directorial whimsy, and focus on character over special effects.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Favreau said the film wasn't released so much as it "escaped". He further described the experience: "After the highs of the success of Elf, Zathura was sobering and, though it was well-received by the critics and I learned a tremendous amount about visual effects, the grim reality of the movie business hit me like a bucket of cold water."


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: Jack Black expressed interest in the possibility of the franchise returning to space. Hiram Garcia, a producer of the Jumanji sequels, said the game contained multiple universes and that the Bazaar introduced in the 2017 film was added to be a central hub for a larger game universe that the core characters would not know about, and that it could even go into space.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: The film is based on the illustrated children's book "Zathura" by Chris Van Allsburg and to tie-in with the film several other books were released including a novelization "Zathura: The Movie – Junior Novel" as well as several other activity and play books.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: A board game that sought to mimic the film's eponymous game was released by Pressman Toy Corporation. Titled "Zathura: Adventure is Waiting", the game incorporated a spring-driven, clockwork card delivery mechanism, an astronaut, the Zorgons, the haywire robot and the disintegrating house in various ways.


title: Zathura: A Space Adventure

text: A video-game tie-in was released on November 3, 2005, developed by High Voltage Software and published by 2K Games for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The games received "generally unfavorable reviews".


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: Survivor: Winners at War is the 40th season of the American competitive reality television series "Survivor". This season, filmed in May and June 2019, is the eighth consecutive season to be filmed in Fiji. Celebrating the show's twentieth anniversary milestone, the season featured twenty returning winners from past "Survivor" seasons competing for a prize. It was won by Tony Vlachos by a 12–4–0 vote over Natalie Anderson and Michele Fitzgerald, becoming the second two-time winner in "Survivor". The season aired on CBS in the United States and Global in Canada from February 12, 2020 to May 13, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual live finale for the winner reveal was replaced by a live teleconference between host Jeff Probst, situated in his garage, and the finalists in their respective homes.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: This season is the thirteenth season to feature returning players, and the fifth season to feature only returning players. In addition, the season brought back the Edge of Extinction twist first introduced in the show's , where voted-out players could opt to stay for a chance to return into the game. The season introduced fire tokens, a form of currency that could be used by remaining players in the game to buy rewards or advantages. This was also the last season to be played over 39 days.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: The season was preceded by a retrospective special titled "Survivor at 40: Greatest Moments and Players" on February 5, 2020, which featured interviews with past players, series highlights and first few minutes of the premiere episode. "Winners at War" received mixed reviews from critics and fans; commentators praised the season's cast, strategy and memorable moments, but criticized the Edge of Extinction and the editing. The new Fire Tokens twist also received mixed reviews.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: The season's theme and players were announced at the finale of "" on December 18, 2019, revealing that the season would consist of 20 winners from past "Survivor" seasons. The winner would receive $2,000,000, the largest cash prize ever given out in American reality TV history since "The X Factor".


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: In addition to the larger grand prize, the payouts for all contestants were increased for this season only: whereas in previous seasons the first contestant eliminated received with increasing payouts for subsequently eliminated contestants, each returning player in "Winners at War" was guaranteed a minimum payment for participating in the season.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the typical live reunion show following the two-hour finale episode did not take place, but instead, the finale ran for three hours, with the final segments featuring Probst remotely from his home garage to video chatting, in a small makeshift set with the final three to announce the winner. All 20 contestants also appeared on screen together at the beginning of the finale from their homes.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: When asked about the possibility of an all-winners season during a 2018 interview with "Us Weekly", host and executive producer Jeff Probst stated that it was unlikely, saying, "we have 10 great winners that you'd want to see play again. We don't have 20. We don't have 18. Some of the winners don't want to play again. Some of the greats are like, 'No, we're done.'" In 2019, CBS president Kelly Kahl, who had been a proponent of "Survivor" since its beginning, suggested the idea again to Probst as a way to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary, and nearly all of the previous winners that were asked accepted the offers to return. Among those who accepted who the production team had considered unlikely to return were married couple Rob and Amber Mariano, who had begun their relationship while competing on "", and "" winner Parvati Shallow, who had initially declined the offer as she had recently given birth. Probst has cited those three accepting the offers as the impetus to move forward with the season.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: Among those that did not return included John Cochran, winner of "", whom Jeff Probst called "the only one that would have been on the list [where] if he had said yes would probably have a spot on the show" in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Richard Hatch, winner of the show's first season, "", was not included due to his behavior in "" in which he competed in a challenge naked and his genitals made incidental contact with another contestant, Susan Hawk, who quit the game shortly thereafter. "Given his history on our show, it did not seem appropriate", said Probst to Us Weekly. "We were in a different time and different culture back then and we would never let him run a challenge naked now." In that same interview, Probst revealed that "" winner Tom Westman was among the castaways who was ultimately cut. According to "Inside Survivor" both Tina Wesson, winner of "", and Mike Holloway, winner of "", were included in the mix for casting but cut along the way. Additionally, "" winner Earl Cole was contacted, but declined due to the birth of his child. "" winner Aras Baskauskas was also contacted but declined, feeling unwilling to leave his children. "" winner Todd Herzog confirmed on the "Talking with T-Bird" podcast that he was contacted and considered, but ultimately cut." Survivor Gabon" winner Bob Crowley was not contacted to compete. "" winner Vecepia Towery confirmed on the "Talking with T-Bird" podcast that she was not contacted to compete. "" winner Chris Underwood was asked to return, but he declined when he received the call just 12 hours after getting married. "" winner Brian Heidik was not contacted to compete.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: While Denise Stapley was the oldest player to play the game, her age of 48 was much lower than many other seasons' oldest players. Nonetheless, the average age of the players for this season is the highest of any other prior season at 37.85 years, beating out ""s average age of 37.6 years, and much higher than the average ages of players from several of the past recent seasons which have skewed younger. Probst said they did not even consider the age of the players when asking the winners to return, though did feel that older players are more interesting to watch, as their maturity brings unique facets to the game.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: All but two of the challenges during the season were based on previous challenges that at least one of the winners had participated in. While this had been done before in "", "", "" and "", Probst stated that they would not draw attention to who had done previous challenges unless there had been a major event involving it from a prior season.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: This season reintroduced the Edge of Extinction from "", the show's thirty-eighth season, wherein contestants who are voted out are taken to a desolate, abandoned beach with fewer amenities than the tribe camps. Contestants on the Edge of Extinction may either wait for an opportunity to rejoin the main game by winning a competition or may choose to leave the game at any point by raising a white sail. Unlike in "Survivor: Edge of Extinction", "Winners at War" contestants were not given the option to decline heading to the Edge of Extinction, though they could raise the mast immediately upon arrival. While the Edge of Extinction had been controversial with fans when it was first used, the element was added for this season as an assurance to returning players of additional chances to get back into the game after being voted out, a concern that had been raised by some when Probst spoke to them about returning.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: This season introduced "fire tokens", a currency that allows players to purchase comfort items, food, and advantages. Probst said that the producers had come up with the idea of fire tokens to emphasize that the game is about creating a society, and these tokens could help in establishing that society. Each player started the game with one token, but could give tokens to other players at any time. When voted out, players must bequeath all of their tokens to remaining players before heading to the Edge of Extinction. Players on the Edge of Extinction were given the chance to win fire tokens by either finding advantages and privately selling them to remaining players, or by completing tasks; the players could then use the tokens at the Edge of Extinction to buy comfort items, food or advantages, including advantages for the eventual challenge to return to the main game.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: Natalie Anderson competed on the of MTV's "The Challenge". Wendell Holland competed on the discovery+ special "Beach Cabana Royale". Michele Fitzgerald competed on the of "The Challenge". Sandra Diaz-Twine competed on "" with her daughter Nina. In 2022, Ben Driebergen, Sarah Lacina and Tyson Apostol competed on "". That same year, Kwon was a contestant on the USA Network reality competition series, "Snake in the Grass".


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: Twenty former winners were divided into two tribes of ten: Sele and Dakal. Players with heavy connections outside of the game were targeted first, including Natalie (aligned with Jeremy) and Amber (married to Rob). The “old-school” players fared poorly early on; even after a tribe swap, every winner from the first half of Survivor's season history was eliminated before the merge. They were all sent to the Edge of Extinction to compete in challenges for the chance to earn fire tokens and sell advantages to players still in the game. The lone exception was Sandra, who raised the white flag and declined to remain on the Edge for a chance to earn her way back into the game.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: On Day 19, Tyson rejoined the game in the first battle-back challenge and the tribes merged. Tyson joined players like Tony, Jeremy, and Ben in an effort to keep the big targets (the “lions”) together to eliminate the more under-the-radar players (the “hyenas”). Tony felt threatened by Sarah and Sophie's growing connection, fearing that Sophie and Sarah would become a power duo. Tony led the charge of Sophie's blindside. However, the alliance of Tony and Sarah (self-dubbed “Cops R’ Us”) reconciled, and with free agents Ben and Nick controlled the majority of the votes post-merge, with Nick getting blindsided before the Edge of Extinction competition.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: On Day 35, Natalie rejoined the game in the second battle-back challenge and found herself and Michele on the outside of a foursome including Tony, Sarah, Ben and Denise. Natalie managed to survive thanks to two idol plays and a final immunity win, assisting in voting out Denise and Ben and forcing Tony to eliminate Sarah in an emotional firemaking challenge.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: At the Final Tribal Council, most of the jurors had positive things to say to all three of them. Natalie was praised for her dominant Edge of Extinction gameplay, using multiple advantages and social connections to further herself in the game. Michele was praised for being an underdog, having many relaxed social connections with the jurors, and winning two immunity challenges when she needed to save herself. Tony was praised for being in Cops R Us with Sarah, having personal connections with multiple people, orchestrating multiple blindsides, and winning 4 immunity challenges. Even though Jeremy was mad at Tony for directly blindsiding too many people, Tony was awarded the title of Sole Survivor in a 12–4–0 vote over Natalie and Michele.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: "Winners at War" received generally mixed reviews from critics, who praised the all-winners cast, gameplay and memorable moments but criticized the return of the Edge of Extinction twist and the editing. The season's all-stars cast was amongst the chief aspects to have been widely praised by television critics. Commentators variously described Tony Vlachos as the "most entertaining" and Michele Fitzgerald as "one of the best social players in the history of the game". Fitzgerald's jury speech drew much attention and has been widely praised; while former contestant Richard Hatch felt that "everything came together" for Fitzgerald in the final speech, Katie Baker of The Ringer highlighted her ability to encapsulate her journey as "excellent". Such former players as Andrea Boehlke, Peih-Gee Law, and David Wright were especially appreciative of her social game and underdog story in an "Entertainment Weekly" roundtable previewing the finale. Others including Cirie Fields, Eliza Orlins and Jonathan Penner favoured Vlachos' dominant game. Orlins summarised Valachos saying "he has not had a single vote cast against him, [has placated] even those he has not voted with [and] won multiple individual challenges."


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: Other than the two finalists, players including Sarah Lacina, Denise Stapley, Kim Spradlin-Wolfe, and Sophie Clarke were also noted for their strong performances. Collectively, the six contestants won 10 of the 13 Player of the Week awards (three each for Vlachos and Fitzgerald, two for Clarke) in fan polls on the website "Inside Survivor". Clarke, who was vocal about feeling like a "bottom-tier winner" coming into season, grew increasingly popular during the pre-merge game and was noted for her role in blindsiding the likes of Rob Mariano and Wendell Holland. Several commentators praised her understated style of play and puzzle-solving skills. Writing for "Vulture", Martin Holmes called her "a force this season, corralling the numbers, finding idols, and taking charge when necessary".


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: Holmes gave a positive review of "Winners at War". While he stated that it "hasn't been a perfect season" due to the Edge of Extinction remaining "a flawed twist", all old-school players being voted out early, and the editing, he praised the season's humor, emotional moments, the final three, and the eventual winner. Reviewing the finale, he highlighted Vlachos' "high-wire trickery, master manipulation, and control of the votes" and Fitzgerald's "scrappy, socially adept, but under the radar" game. Holmes would later rank this season 13th out of 40. Dalton Ross of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the finale a positive review, calling Vlachos a highly entertaining player: "no one else mixes game sense and nonsense more than him". He also praised Fitzgerald's tenacious game, survival instinct, and final jury speech, saying that "it’s pretty impossible not to be happy for her". Dalton would ultimately rank "Winners at War" as the 9th best "Survivor" season. In 2021, "Rob Has a Podcast" ranked "Winners at War" 7th during their "Survivor All-Time Top 40 Rankings" podcast.


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: Holmes was critical of the "nightmarish" Edge of Extinction twist; he said: "under normal circumstances, I’d have been rooting for [Natalie Anderson]. But it demonstrates the inherent flaw in the Edge. It punishes those who make it far while rewarding those voted out earlier." Ross also criticized the return of the Edge of Extinction, stating "This isn’t even about fairness or anything like that — although Nick lasting all the way to day 34 and having zero opportunities to earn a single token before the competition certainly is anything but fair — but more about what makes for a more dramatic and intriguing contest."


title: Survivor: Winners at War

text: At the conclusion of the season, the three finalists were added to The Ringer's Hall of Fame of Survivor players, which already consisted of fellow "Winners at War" contestants Mariano, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Parvati Shallow. For their performances over the course of multiple seasons, Lacina and Spradlin-Wolfe were also added to the list, as were Jeremy Collins, Tyson Apostol, Ethan Zohn, and Yul Kwon.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: Russell Alfred Bufalino (; born Rosario Alfredo Bufalino, ; September 29, 1903 – February 25, 1994) was an Italian-American mobster who became the crime boss of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Italian-American Mafia crime family known as the Bufalino crime family, which he ruled from 1959 to 1994. He was a cousin of attorney William Bufalino, the longtime counsel for Jimmy Hoffa.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: Bufalino was born on September 29, 1903, in Montedoro, Sicily, to Angelo Bufalino and Cristina Buccoleri. On July 9, 1903, his father immigrated to the United States, settling in Pittston, Pennsylvania, working as a coal miner. With his mother and siblings, Bufalino entered the United States through the Port of New York in December 1903. A few months later, Bufalino's father died in a mine accident, and his family returned to Sicily. Bufalino emigrated to the United States again in January 1906. After his mother died in 1910, he returned to Sicily again. He returned to the United States in February 1914, settling in Pittston. At the age of 14, Bufalino moved to Buffalo, New York, where he became a criminal during his teenage years. On August 9, 1928, he married Carolyn "Carrie" Sciandra, who came from a Sicilian Mafia family. Bufalino worked alongside many Buffalo mobsters, some of whom would become top leaders in the Buffalo crime family and other future Cosa Nostra families along the East Coast of the United States. These relationships proved very helpful to Bufalino in his criminal career. Family and clan ties were important to Sicilian-American criminals; they created a strong, secretive support system that outsiders or law enforcement could not infiltrate. A significant friendship was with his first boss, and fellow immigrant from Montedoro, John C. Montana.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: In the early 1920s, Bufalino started working with Joseph Barbara, another upstate New York bootlegger in Endicott, New York. Bufalino later moved to Kingston, Pennsylvania in 1940. The Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family controlled organized crime activities in Pittston, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York areas.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: In the early 1950s, the Immigration and Naturalization Service tried to have Bufalino deported several times, but had never been successful over 15 years as the Italian government would not readmit him to the country.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: In 1957, after taking control of the Luciano crime family from boss Frank Costello, boss Vito Genovese wanted to legitimize his new power by holding a national Cosa Nostra meeting. Genovese elected Buffalo, New York boss and Commission member, Stefano "the Undertaker" Magaddino, who in turn chose northeastern Pennsylvania crime boss Joseph Barbara and Bufalino to oversee all the arrangements.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: On November 14, 1957, powerful Mafiosi from the United States and Italy convened at Barbara's estate in Apalachin, New York. Cuba was one of the Apalachin topics of discussion, particularly the gambling and narcotics smuggling interests of La Cosa Nostra on the island. The international narcotics trade was also an important topic on the agenda. The New York garment industry interests and rackets, such as loansharking to the business owners and control of garment centre trucking, were other important topics on the Apalachin agenda.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: A local state trooper named Edgar D. Croswell had been aware that Carmine Galante had been stopped by state troopers following a visit to Barbara's estate the previous year. A check of Galante by the troopers found that he was driving without a license and that he had an extensive criminal record in New York City. In the time preceding the November 1957 meeting, trooper Croswell had Barbara's house under occasional surveillance. He had become aware that Barbara's son was reserving rooms in local hotels along with the delivery of a large quantity of meat from a local butcher to the Barbara home. That made Croswell suspicious, and he, therefore, decided to keep an eye on Barbara's house. When the state police found many luxury cars parked at Barbara's home they began taking down license plate numbers. Having found that many of these cars were registered to known criminals, state police reinforcements came to the scene and began to set up a roadblock.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: Having barely started their meeting, Bartolo Guccia, a Castellammare del Golfo native and Barbara employee, spotted a police roadblock while leaving Barbara's estate. Guccia later said he was returning to the Barbara home to check on a fish order. Some attendees attempted to drive away but were stopped by the roadblock. Others trudged through the fields and woods ruining their expensive suits before they were caught. Many Mafiosi escaped through the woods surrounding the Barbara estate.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: The police stopped a car driven by Bufalino, whose passengers included Genovese and three other men, at a roadblock as they left the estate; Bufalino said that he had come to visit his sick friend, Barbara. All those apprehended were fined, up to $10,000 each, and given prison sentences ranging from three to five years, however, all the convictions were overturned on appeal in 1960.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: Following Barbara's death in June 1959, The Commission recognized Bufalino as the official family boss.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: In 1972, after singer Al Martino had the role of Johnny Fontane in "The Godfather" stripped from him and given to Vic Damone, he went to Bufalino, his godfather, who then orchestrated the publication of various news articles that claimed director Francis Ford Coppola was unaware of producer Albert S. Ruddy's having given Martino the part. Damone eventually dropped the role because he did not want to provoke the mob, in addition to being paid too little. Ultimately, the part of Johnny Fontane was given to Martino.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: On April 20, 1973, Bufalino was arrested in a Scranton nightclub in an FBI raid, charged with interference with interstate commerce, obstruction of justice, gambling and transporting stolen property, but later released on $50,000 bail.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: In 1977, Bufalino was indicted on extortion charges after Jack Napoli, who was in the Witness Protection Program, testified that Bufalino had threatened to kill him for failing to pay a $25,000 debt to a jeweller in New York. As soon as Bufalino was indicted, he took steps to reduce the possibility of further criminal charges. He named caporegime Edward Sciandra as the acting boss and removed himself from the day-to-day operations of the family. On August 8, 1978, Bufalino was convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment for his part in the extortion attempt. He served almost three years.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: Bufalino was released in May 1981 but was indicted again, this time for conspiring to kill the witness, Napoli. The main prosecution witness, Jimmy Fratianno, said that he and Michael Rizzitello had been asked by Bufalino to kill Napoli in 1976. In November 1981, Bufalino was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, held at United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: With Bufalino again in prison and the family under federal investigation, the organization's strength began to wane. In 1989, Bufalino was released from prison, and the operations of the remainder of the Northeastern family were given to Billy D'Elia.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: On February 25, 1994, Bufalino died of natural causes at Nesbitt Memorial Hospital in Kingston, Pennsylvania, aged 90. He is buried in Denison Cemetery in Swoyersville, Pennsylvania.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: A somewhat modified version of Bufalino is portrayed by Joe Pesci in Martin Scorsese's 2019 film "The Irishman". Pesci was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.


title: Russell Bufalino

text: "The Quiet Don: The True Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino" by Matt Birkbeck was published in October 2014 by Berkley Books.


title: William Gibson

text: William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as "cyberpunk". Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his early works were noir, near-future stories that explored the effects of technology, cybernetics, and computer networks on humans—a "combination of lowlife and high tech"—and helped to create an iconography for the information age before the ubiquity of the Internet in the 1990s. Gibson coined the term "cyberspace" for "widespread, interconnected digital technology" in his short story "Burning Chrome" (1982), and later popularized the concept in his acclaimed debut novel "Neuromancer" (1984). These early works of Gibson's have been credited with "renovating" science fiction literature in the 1980s.


title: William Gibson

text: After expanding on the story in "Neuromancer" with two more novels ("Count Zero" in 1986, and "Mona Lisa Overdrive" in 1988), thus completing the dystopic "Sprawl" trilogy, Gibson collaborated with Bruce Sterling on the alternate history novel "The Difference Engine" (1990), which became an important work of the science fiction subgenre known as "steampunk".


title: William Gibson

text: In the 1990s, Gibson composed the "Bridge" trilogy of novels, which explored the sociological developments of near-future urban environments, postindustrial society, and late capitalism. Following the turn of the century and the events of 9/11, Gibson emerged with a string of increasingly realist novels—"Pattern Recognition" (2003), "Spook Country" (2007), and "Zero History" (2010)—set in a roughly contemporary world. These works saw his name reach mainstream bestseller lists for the first time. His most recent novels, "The Peripheral" (2014) and "Agency" (2020), returned to a more overt engagement with technology and recognizable science fiction themes.


title: William Gibson

text: In 1999, "The Guardian" described Gibson as "probably the most important novelist of the past two decades", while "The Sydney Morning Herald" called him the "noir prophet" of cyberpunk. Throughout his career, Gibson has written more than 20 short stories and 12 critically acclaimed novels (one in collaboration), contributed articles to several major publications, and collaborated extensively with performance artists, filmmakers, and musicians. His work has been cited as influencing a variety of disciplines: academia, design, film, literature, music, cyberculture, and technology.


title: William Gibson

text: William Ford Gibson was born in the coastal city of Conway, South Carolina, and he spent most of his childhood in Wytheville, Virginia, a small town in the Appalachians where his parents had been born and raised. His family moved frequently during Gibson's youth owing to his father's position as manager of a large construction company. In Norfolk, Virginia, Gibson attended Pines Elementary School, where the teachers' lack of encouragement for him to read was a cause of dismay for his parents. While Gibson was still a young child, a little over a year into his stay at Pines Elementary, his father choked to death in a restaurant while on a business trip. His mother, unable to tell William the bad news, had someone else inform him of the death. Tom Maddox has commented that Gibson "grew up in an America as disturbing and surreal as anything J. G. Ballard ever dreamed".


title: William Gibson

text: A few days after the death of his father, Gibson and his mother moved back from Norfolk to Wytheville. Gibson later described Wytheville as "a place where modernity had arrived to some extent but was deeply distrusted" and credits the beginnings of his relationship with science fiction, his "native literary culture", with the subsequent feeling of abrupt exile. At the age of 12, Gibson "wanted nothing more than to be a science fiction writer". He spent a few unproductive years at basketball-obsessed George Wythe High School, a time spent largely in his room listening to records and reading books. At 13, unbeknownst to his mother, he purchased an anthology of Beat generation writing, thereby gaining exposure to the writings of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs; the lattermost had a particularly pronounced effect, greatly altering Gibson's notions of the possibilities of science fiction literature.


title: William Gibson

text: A shy, ungainly teenager, Gibson grew up in a monoculture he found "highly problematic", consciously rejected religion and took refuge in reading science fiction as well as writers such as Burroughs and Henry Miller. Becoming frustrated with his poor academic performance, Gibson's mother threatened to send him to a boarding school; to her surprise, he reacted enthusiastically. Unable to afford his preferred choice of Southern California, his then "chronically anxious and depressive" mother, who had remained in Wytheville since the death of her husband, sent him to Southern Arizona School for Boys in Tucson. He resented the structure of the private boarding school but was in retrospect grateful for its forcing him to engage socially. On the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) exams, he scored 148 out of 150 in the written section but 5 out of 150 in mathematics, to the dismay of his teachers.


title: William Gibson

text: After his mother's death when he was 18, Gibson left school without graduating and became very isolated for a long time, traveling to California and Europe, and immersing himself in the counterculture. In 1967, he elected to move to Canada in order "to avoid the Vietnam war draft". At his draft hearing, he honestly informed interviewers that his intention in life was to sample every narcotic substance in existence. Gibson has observed that he "did not literally evade the draft, as they never bothered drafting me"; after the hearing he went home and purchased a bus ticket to Toronto, and left a week or two later. In the biographical documentary "No Maps for These Territories" (2000), Gibson said that his decision was motivated less by conscientious objection than by a desire to "sleep with hippie chicks" and indulge in hashish. He elaborated on the topic in a 2008 interview:


title: William Gibson

text: After weeks of nominal homelessness, Gibson was hired as the manager of Toronto's first head shop, a retailer of drug paraphernalia. He found the city's émigré community of American draft dodgers unbearable owing to the prevalence of clinical depression, suicide, and hardcore substance abuse. He appeared, during the Summer of Love of 1967, in a CBC newsreel item about hippie subculture in Yorkville, Toronto, for which he was paid $500 – the equivalent of 20 weeks' rent – which financed his later travels. Aside from a "brief, riot-torn spell" in the District of Columbia, Gibson spent the rest of the 1960s in Toronto, where he met Vancouverite Deborah Jean Thompson, with whom he subsequently traveled to Europe. Gibson has recounted that they concentrated their travels on European nations with fascist regimes and favorable exchange rates, including spending time on a Greek archipelago and in Istanbul in 1970, as they "couldn't afford to stay anywhere that had anything remotely like hard currency".


title: William Gibson

text: The couple married and settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1972, with Gibson looking after their first child while they lived off his wife's teaching salary. During the 1970s, Gibson made a substantial part of his living from scouring Salvation Army thrift stores for underpriced artifacts he would then up-market to specialist dealers. Realizing that it was easier to sustain high college grades, and thus qualify for generous student financial aid, than to work, he enrolled at the University of British Columbia (UBC), earning "a desultory bachelor's degree in English" in 1977. Through studying English literature, he was exposed to a wider range of fiction than he would have read otherwise; something he credits with giving him ideas inaccessible from within the culture of science fiction, including an awareness of postmodernity. It was at UBC that he attended his first course on science fiction, taught by Susan Wood, at the end of which he was encouraged to write his first short story, "Fragments of a Hologram Rose".


title: William Gibson

text: After considering pursuing a master's degree on the topic of hard science fiction novels as fascist literature, Gibson discontinued writing in the year that followed graduation and, as one critic put it, expanded his collection of punk records. During this period he worked at various jobs, including a three-year stint as teaching assistant on a film history course at his alma mater. Impatient at much of what he saw at a science fiction convention in Vancouver in 1980 or 1981, Gibson found a kindred spirit in fellow panelist, punk musician and author John Shirley. The two became immediate and lifelong friends. Shirley persuaded Gibson to sell his early short stories and to take writing seriously.


title: William Gibson

text: Through Shirley, Gibson came into contact with science fiction authors Bruce Sterling and Lewis Shiner; reading Gibson's work, they realized that it was, as Sterling put it, "breakthrough material" and that they needed to "put down our preconceptions and pick up on this guy from Vancouver; this [was] the way forward." Gibson met Sterling at a science fiction convention in Denver, Colorado, in the autumn of 1981, where he read "Burning Chrome" – the first cyberspace short story – to an audience of four people, and later stated that Sterling "completely got it".


title: William Gibson

text: In October 1982, Gibson traveled to Austin, Texas, for ArmadilloCon, at which he appeared with Shirley, Sterling and Shiner on a panel called "Behind the Mirrorshades: A Look at Punk SF", where Shiner noted "the sense of a movement solidified". After a weekend discussing rock and roll, MTV, Japan, fashion, drugs and politics, Gibson left the cadre for Vancouver, declaring half-jokingly that "a new axis has been formed." Sterling, Shiner, Shirley and Gibson, along with Rudy Rucker, went on to form the core of the radical cyberpunk literary movement.


title: William Gibson

text: Gibson's early writings are generally near-future stories about the influences of cybernetics and cyberspace (computer-simulated reality) technology on the human species. His themes of hi-tech shanty towns, recorded or broadcast stimulus (later to be developed into the "sim-stim" package featured so heavily in "Neuromancer"), and dystopic intermingling of technology and humanity, are already evident in his first published short story, "Fragments of a Hologram Rose", in the Summer 1977 issue of "Unearth". The latter thematic obsession was described by his friend and fellow author, Bruce Sterling, in the introduction of Gibson's short story collection "Burning Chrome", as "Gibson's classic one-two combination of lowlife and high tech."


title: William Gibson

text: Beginning in 1981, Gibson's stories appeared in "Omni" and "Universe 11", wherein his fiction developed a bleak, "film noir" feel. He consciously distanced himself as far as possible from the mainstream of science fiction (towards which he felt "an aesthetic revulsion", expressed in "The Gernsback Continuum"), to the extent that his highest goal was to become "a minor cult figure, a sort of lesser Ballard." When Sterling started to distribute the stories, he found that "people were just genuinely baffled ... I mean they literally could not parse the guy's paragraphs ... the imaginative tropes he was inventing were just beyond people's grasp."


title: William Gibson

text: While Larry McCaffery has commented that these early short stories displayed flashes of Gibson's ability, science fiction critic Darko Suvin has identified them as "undoubtedly [cyberpunk's] best works", constituting the "furthest horizon" of the genre. The themes which Gibson developed in the stories, the Sprawl setting of "Burning Chrome" and the character of Molly Millions from "Johnny Mnemonic" ultimately culminated in his first novel, "Neuromancer".


title: William Gibson

text: "Neuromancer" was commissioned by Terry Carr for the second series of Ace Science Fiction Specials, which was intended to exclusively feature debut novels. Given a year to complete the work, Gibson undertook the actual writing out of "blind animal terror" at the obligation to write an entire novel – a feat which he felt he was "four or five years away from". After viewing the first 20 minutes of landmark cyberpunk film "Blade Runner" (1982) which was released when Gibson had written a third of the novel, he "figured ["Neuromancer"] was sunk, done for. Everyone would assume I'd copped my visual texture from this astonishingly fine-looking film." He re-wrote the first two-thirds of the book twelve times, feared losing the reader's attention and was convinced that he would be "permanently shamed" following its publication; yet what resulted was a major imaginative leap forward for a first-time novelist.


title: William Gibson

text: "Neuromancer"'s release was not greeted with fanfare, but it hit a cultural nerve, quickly becoming an underground word-of-mouth hit. It became the first winner of one science fiction "triple crown" —both Nebula and Hugo Awards as the year's best novel and Philip K. Dick Award as the best paperback original— eventually selling more than 6.5 million copies worldwide.


title: William Gibson

text: Lawrence Person in his "Notes Toward a Postcyberpunk Manifesto" (1998) identified "Neuromancer" as "the archetypal cyberpunk work", and in 2005, "Time" included it in its list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923, opining that "[t]here is no way to overstate how radical ["Neuromancer"] was when it first appeared." Literary critic Larry McCaffery described the concept of the matrix in "Neuromancer" as a place where "data dance with human consciousness ... human memory is literalized and mechanized ... multi-national information systems mutate and breed into startling new structures whose beauty and complexity are unimaginable, mystical, and above all nonhuman." Gibson later commented on himself as an author, circa "Neuromancer", that "I'd buy him a drink, but I don't know if I'd loan him any money," and referred to the novel as "an adolescent's book". The success of "Neuromancer" was to effect the 35-year-old Gibson's emergence from obscurity.


title: William Gibson

text: Although much of Gibson's reputation has remained rooted in "Neuromancer", his work continued to evolve conceptually and stylistically. He next intended to write an unrelated postmodern space opera, titled "The Log of the Mustang Sally", but reneged on the contract with Arbor House after a falling out over the dustjacket art of their hardcover of "Count Zero". Abandoning "The Log of the Mustang Sally", Gibson instead wrote "Mona Lisa Overdrive" (1988), which in the words of Larry McCaffery "turned off the lights" on cyberpunk literature. It was a culmination of his previous two novels, set in the same universe with shared characters, thereby completing the Sprawl trilogy. The trilogy solidified Gibson's reputation, with both later novels also earning Nebula and Hugo Award and Locus SF Award nominations.


title: William Gibson

text: The Sprawl trilogy was followed by the 1990 novel "The Difference Engine", an alternative history novel Gibson wrote in collaboration with Bruce Sterling. Set in a technologically advanced Victorian era Britain, the novel was a departure from the authors' cyberpunk roots. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1991 and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1992, and its success drew attention to the nascent steampunk literary genre of which it remains the best-known work.


title: William Gibson

text: Gibson's second series, the "Bridge trilogy", is composed of "Virtual Light" (1993), a "darkly comic urban detective story", "Idoru" (1996), and "All Tomorrow's Parties" (1999). The first and third books in the trilogy center on San Francisco in the near future; all three explore Gibson's recurring themes of technological, physical, and spiritual transcendence in a more grounded, matter-of-fact style than his first trilogy. Salon's Andrew Leonard notes that in the Bridge trilogy, Gibson's villains change from multinational corporations and artificial intelligences of the Sprawl trilogy to the mass media – namely tabloid television and the cult of celebrity. "Virtual Light" depicts an "end-stage capitalism, in which private enterprise and the profit motive are taken to their logical conclusion", according to one review. This argument on the mass media as the natural evolution of capitalism is the opening line of the major Situationist work "The Society of the Spectacle". Leonard's review called "Idoru" a "return to form" for Gibson, while critic Steven Poole asserted that "All Tomorrow's Parties" marked his development from "science-fiction hotshot to wry sociologist of the near future."


title: William Gibson

text: After "All Tomorrow's Parties", Gibson began to adopt a more realist style of writing, with continuous narratives – "speculative fiction of the very recent past." Science fiction critic John Clute has interpreted this approach as Gibson's recognition that traditional science fiction is no longer possible "in a world lacking coherent 'nows' to continue from", characterizing it as "SF for the new century". Gibson's novels "Pattern Recognition" (2003), "Spook Country" (2007) and "Zero History" (2010) are set in the same contemporary universe — "more or less the same one we live in now" — and put Gibson's work on to mainstream bestseller lists for the first time. As well as the setting, the novels share some of the same characters, including Hubertus Bigend and Pamela Mainwaring, employees of the enigmatic marketing company Blue Ant.


title: William Gibson

text: When asked on Twitter what this series of novels should be called ("The Bigend Trilogy? The Blue Ant Cycle? What?"), Gibson replied "I prefer 'books'. The Bigend books." However, "Blue Ant" rather than "Bigend" has become the standard signifier. At a later date, Gibson stated that he did not name his trilogies, "I wait to see what people call them," and has in 2016 used "the Blue Ant books" in a tweet.


title: William Gibson

text: A phenomenon peculiar to this era was the independent development of annotating fansites, "PR-Otaku" and "Node Magazine", devoted to "Pattern Recognition" and "Spook Country" respectively. These websites tracked the references and story elements in the novels through online resources such as Google and Wikipedia and collated the results, essentially creating hypertext versions of the books. Critic John Sutherland characterized this phenomenon as threatening "to completely overhaul the way literary criticism is conducted".


title: William Gibson

text: About 100 pages into writing "Pattern Recognition", Gibson felt impelled to re-write the main character's backstory, which had been suddenly rendered implausible by the September 11, 2001 attacks; he described this as "the strangest experience I've ever had with a piece of fiction." He saw the attacks as a nodal point in history, "an experience out of culture", and "in some ways ... the true beginning of the 21st century." He is noted as one of the first novelists to use the attacks to inform his writing. Examination of cultural changes in post-September 11 America, including a resurgent tribalism and the "infantilization of society", became a prominent theme of Gibson's work, while his focus nevertheless remained "at the intersection of paranoia and technology".


title: William Gibson

text: "The Peripheral", the first in a new series of novels by William Gibson, was released on October 28, 2014. He described the story briefly in an appearance he made at the New York Public Library on April 19, 2013, and read an excerpt from the first chapter of the book entitled "The Gone Haptics." The story takes place in two eras, one about thirty years into the future and the other further in the future.


title: William Gibson

text: Its continuation, "Agency", was released on January 21, 2020 after being delayed from an initial announced release date of December 2018. Gibson said in a New Yorker magazine article that both Trump's election and the controversy over Cambridge Analytica had caused him to rethink and revise the text.


title: William Gibson

text: On July 17, 2020, Gibson tweeted: "Third/final volume's working title: Jackpot", but reversed course on January 21, 2021: "I don't think I'm going to call Agency's sequel Jackpot after all. Not because of ["Jackpot" by Michael Mechanic], which I look forward to reading, but because Agency was originally called Tulpagotchi. Which I still like, but would've been a different book."


title: William Gibson

text: In 2017, in between "The Peripheral" and "Agency", Gibson's comic/graphic novel "Archangel" was published. Both "Archangel" and "The Peripheral" contain time travel (of sorts), but Gibson has clarified that the works are not related: "They're not "same universe". The Splitter and trans-continual virtuality are different mechanisms (different plot mechanisms too)." The next year, Dark Horse Comics began releasing Johnnie Christmas' adaptation of Gibson's "Alien 3" script in five parts, resulting in a hardcover collection being published in 2019.


title: William Gibson

text: Three of the stories that later appeared in "Burning Chrome" were written in collaboration with other authors: "The Belonging Kind" (1981) with John Shirley, "Red Star, Winter Orbit" (1983) with Sterling, and "Dogfight" (1985) with Michael Swanwick. Gibson had previously written the foreword to Shirley's 1980 novel "City Come A-walkin" and the pair's collaboration continued when Gibson wrote the introduction to Shirley's short story collection "Heatseeker" (1989). Shirley convinced Gibson to write a story for the television series "Max Headroom" for which Shirley had written several scripts, but the network canceled the series.


title: William Gibson

text: Gibson and Sterling collaborated again on the short story "The Angel of Goliad" in 1990, which they soon expanded into the novel-length alternate history story "The Difference Engine" (1990). The two were later "invited to dream in public" (Gibson) in a joint address to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Convocation on Technology and Education in 1993 ("the Al Gore people"), in which they argued against the digital divide and "appalled everyone" by proposing that all schools be put online, with education taking place over the Internet. In a 2007 interview, Gibson revealed that Sterling had an idea for "a second recursive science novel that was just a wonderful idea", but that Gibson was unable to pursue the collaboration because he was not creatively free at the time.


title: William Gibson

text: In 1993, Gibson contributed lyrics and featured as a guest vocalist on Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Technodon" album, and wrote lyrics to the track "Dog Star Girl" for Deborah Harry's "Debravation".


title: William Gibson

text: Gibson was first solicited to work as a screenwriter after a film producer discovered a waterlogged copy of "Neuromancer" on a beach at a Thai resort. His early efforts to write film scripts failed to manifest themselves as finished product; "Burning Chrome" (which was to be directed by Kathryn Bigelow) and "Neuro-Hotel" were two attempts by the author at film adaptations that were never made. In the late 1980s he wrote an early version of "Alien 3" (which he later characterized as "Tarkovskian"), few elements of which survived in the final version. In 2018-19, Dark Horse Comics released a five-part adaptation of Gibson's "Alien 3" script, illustrated and adapted by Johnnie Christmas. In 2019, Audible released an audio drama of Gibson's script, adapted by Dirk Maggs and with Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen reprising their roles.


title: William Gibson

text: Gibson's early involvement with the film industry extended far beyond the confines of the Hollywood blockbuster system. At one point, he collaborated on a script with Kazakh director Rashid Nugmanov after an American producer had expressed an interest in a Soviet-American collaboration to star Soviet rock musician Viktor Tsoi. Despite being occupied with writing a novel, Gibson was reluctant to abandon the "wonderfully odd project" which involved "ritualistic gang-warfare in some sort of sideways-future Leningrad" and sent Jack Womack to Russia in his stead. Rather than producing a motion picture, a prospect that ended with Tsoi's death in a car crash, Womack's experiences in Russia ultimately culminated in his novel "Let's Put the Future Behind Us" and informed much of the Russian content of Gibson's "Pattern Recognition". A similar fate befell Gibson's collaboration with Japanese filmmaker Sogo Ishii in 1991, a film they planned on shooting in the Walled City of Kowloon until the city was demolished in 1993.


title: William Gibson

text: Adaptations of Gibson's fiction have frequently been optioned and proposed, to limited success. Two of the author's short stories, both set in the Sprawl trilogy universe, have been loosely adapted as films: "Johnny Mnemonic" (1995) with screenplay by Gibson and starring Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren and Takeshi Kitano, and "New Rose Hotel" (1998), starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, and Asia Argento. The former was the first time in history that a book was launched simultaneously as a film and a CD-ROM interactive video game. , Vincenzo Natali still hoped to bring "Neuromancer" to the screen, after some years in development hell. "Count Zero" was at one point being developed as "The Zen Differential" with director Michael Mann attached, and the third novel in the Sprawl trilogy, "Mona Lisa Overdrive", has also been optioned and bought. An anime adaptation of "Idoru" was announced as in development in 2006, and "Pattern Recognition" was in the process of development by director Peter Weir, although according to Gibson the latter is no longer attached to the project. Announced at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2015 is an adaptation of Gibson's short story "Dogfight" by BAFTA award-winning writer and director Simon Pummell. Written by Gibson and Michael Swanwick and first published in Omni in July 1985, the film is being developed by British producer Janine Marmot at Hot Property Films.


title: William Gibson

text: Television is another arena in which Gibson has collaborated; with friend Tom Maddox, he co-wrote "The X-Files" episodes "Kill Switch" and "First Person Shooter", broadcast in 1998 and 2000. In 1998 he contributed the introduction to the spin-off publication "Art of the X-Files". Gibson made a cameo appearance in the television miniseries "Wild Palms" at the behest of creator Bruce Wagner. Director Oliver Stone had borrowed heavily from Gibson's novels to make the series, and in the aftermath of its cancellation Gibson contributed an article, "Where The Holograms Go", to the "Wild Palms Reader". He accepted another acting role in 2002, appearing alongside Douglas Coupland in the short film "Mon Amour Mon Parapluie" in which the pair played philosophers. Appearances in fiction aside, Gibson was the focus of a biographical documentary by Mark Neale in 2000 called "No Maps for These Territories". The film follows Gibson over the course of a drive across North America discussing various aspects of his life, literary career and cultural interpretations. It features interviews with Jack Womack and Bruce Sterling, as well as recitations from "Neuromancer" by Bono and The Edge.


title: William Gibson

text: Canadian animation studio Last Studio Standing acquired the rights to "Hinterlands" in 2016 and announced that they will be creating both a theatrical short film and a television series. The studio, which specializes in adult and science fiction based animation, has the theatrical short slated for a 2018 release.


title: William Gibson

text: Amazon has developed a series based on Gibson's novel "The Peripheral", filming for which wrapped on November 5, 2021.


title: William Gibson

text: Gibson has contributed text to be integrated into a number of performance art pieces. In October 1989, Gibson wrote text for such a collaboration with acclaimed sculptor and future "Johnny Mnemonic" director Robert Longo titled "Dream Jumbo: Working the Absolutes", which was displayed in Royce Hall, University of California Los Angeles. Three years later, Gibson contributed original text to "Memory Palace", a performance show featuring the theater group La Fura dels Baus at Art Futura '92, Barcelona, which featured images by Karl Sims, Rebecca Allen, Mark Pellington with music by Peter Gabriel and others. It was at Art Futura '92 that Gibson met Charlie Athanas, who would later act as dramaturg and "cyberprops" designer on Steve Pickering and Charley Sherman's adaptation of "Burning Chrome" for the Chicago stage. Gibson's latest contribution was in 1997, a collaboration with critically acclaimed Vancouver-based contemporary dance company Holy Body Tattoo and Gibson's friend and future webmaster Christopher Halcrow.


title: William Gibson

text: In 1990, Gibson contributed to "Visionary San Francisco", an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art shown from June 14 to August 26. He wrote a short story, "Skinner's Room", set in a decaying San Francisco in which the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge was closed and taken over by the homeless – a setting Gibson then detailed in the Bridge trilogy. The story inspired a contribution to the exhibition by architects Ming Fung and Craig Hodgetts that envisioned a San Francisco in which the rich live in high-tech, solar-powered towers, above the decrepit city and its crumbling bridge. The architects exhibit featured Gibson on a monitor discussing the future and reading from "Skinner's Room". "The New York Times" hailed the exhibition as "one of the most ambitious, and admirable, efforts to address the realm of architecture and cities that any museum in the country has mounted in the last decade", despite calling Ming and Hodgetts's reaction to Gibson's contribution "a powerful, but sad and not a little cynical, work". A slightly different version of the short story was featured a year later in "Omni".


title: William Gibson

text: A particularly well-received work by Gibson was "Agrippa (a book of the dead)" (1992), a 300-line semi-autobiographical electronic poem that was his contribution to a collaborative project with artist Dennis Ashbaugh and publisher Kevin Begos, Jr. Gibson's text focused on the ethereal nature of memories (the title refers to a photo album) and was originally published on a 3.5" floppy disk embedded in the back of an artist's book containing etchings by Ashbaugh (intended to fade from view once the book was opened and exposed to light — they never did, however). Gibson commented that Ashbaugh's design "eventually included a supposedly self-devouring floppy-disk intended to display the text only once, then eat itself." Contrary to numerous colorful reports, the diskettes were never actually "hacked"; instead the poem was manually transcribed from a surreptitious videotape of a public showing in Manhattan in December 1992, and released on the MindVox bulletin board the next day; this is the text that circulated widely on the Internet.


title: William Gibson

text: Since its debut in 1992, the mystery of "Agrippa" remained hidden for 20 years. Although many had tried to hack the code and decrypt the program, the uncompiled source code was lost long ago. Alan Liu and his team at "The Agrippa Files" created an extensive website with tools and resources to crack the Agrippa Code. They collaborated with Matthew Kirschenbaum at the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities and the Digital Forensics Lab, and Quinn DuPont, a PhD student of cryptography from the University of Toronto, in calling for the aid of cryptographers to figure out how the program works by creating "Cracking the Agrippa Code: The Challenge", which enlisted participants to solve the intentional scrambling of the poem in exchange for prizes. The code was successfully cracked by Robert Xiao in late July 2012.


title: William Gibson

text: Gibson is a sporadic contributor of non-fiction articles to newspapers and journals. He has occasionally contributed longer-form articles to "Wired" and of op-eds to "The New York Times", and has written for "The Observer", "Addicted to Noise", "New York Times Magazine", "Rolling Stone", and "Details Magazine". His first major piece of nonfiction, the article "Disneyland with the Death Penalty", concerning the city-state of Singapore, resulted in "Wired" being banned from the country and attracted a spirited critical response. He commenced writing a blog in January 2003, providing voyeuristic insights into his reaction to "Pattern Recognition", but abated in September of the same year owing to concerns that it might negatively affect his creative process.


title: William Gibson

text: Gibson recommenced blogging in October 2004, and during the process of writing "Spook Country" – and to a lesser extent "Zero History" – frequently posted short nonsequential excerpts from the novel to the blog. The blog was largely discontinued by July 2009, after the writer had undertaken prolific microblogging on Twitter under the "nom de plume" "GreatDismal". In 2012, Gibson released a collection of his non-fiction works entitled "Distrust That Particular Flavor".


title: William Gibson

text: Gibson's prose has been analyzed by a number of scholars, including a dedicated 2011 book, "". Hailed by Steven Poole of "The Guardian" in 1999 as "probably the most important novelist of the past two decades" in terms of influence, Gibson first achieved critical recognition with his debut novel, "Neuromancer". The novel won three major science fiction awards (the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award), an unprecedented achievement described by the "Mail & Guardian" as "the sci-fi writer's version of winning the Goncourt, Booker and Pulitzer prizes in the same year". "Neuromancer" gained unprecedented critical and popular attention outside science fiction, as an "evocation of life in the late 1980s", although "The Observer" noted that "it took the "New York Times" 10 years" to mention the novel.