The Firemen's Ball
The Firemen's Ball( or The Fireman's Ball) is a 1967 comedy film directed by Miloš Forman.
It is set at the annual ball of a small town's volunteer fire department, and the plot portrays the series of disasters that occur during the evening.
The film uses few professional actors – the firemen portrayed are primarily played by the firemen of the small town where it was filmed.
In its portrayal of the prevailing corruption of the local community, and the collapse even of well- intentioned plans, the film has widely been interpreted as a satire on the East European Communist system, and it was" banned forever" in Czechoslovakia following the Soviet invasion of 1968.
" The Firemen's Ball" was the last film Forman made in his native Czechoslovakia before going into exile.
It is also the first film he shot in color, and a milestone of the Czechoslovak New Wave.
Pam MacKinnon
Pam MacKinnon( born January 9, 1968) is an American theatre director.
She has directed for the stage Off- Broadway, on Broadway and in regional theatre.
She won the Obie Award for Directing and received a Tony Award nomination, Best Director, for her work on" Clybourne Park".
In 2013 she received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for a revival of" Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
She was named Artistic Director of American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California on January 23, 2018.
Alex North
Alex North( born Isadore Soifer, December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American composer best known for his many film scores, including" A Streetcar Named Desire"( one of the first jazz- based film scores)," Viva Zapata! SpartacusCleopatra", and" Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
He was the first composer to receive an Honorary Academy Award but never won a competitive Oscar despite fourteen nominations.
Miloš Forman
Jan Tomáš" Miloš" Forman( 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech- American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States 1968.
Forman was an important figure in the Czechoslovak New Wave.
Film scholars and Czechoslovakian authorities saw his 1967 film" The Firemen's Ball" as a biting satire on Eastern European Communism, and it was banned for many years in his home country.
He left Czechoslovakia for the United States, and his films" One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"( 1975) and" Amadeus"( 1984) acquired particular renown and for both films he won the Academy Award for Best Director.
" One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was the second film to win all five major Academy Awards( Best Picture, Actor in Leading Role, Actress in Leading Role, Director, and Screenplay).
Forman also received an Academy Award nomination for a Best Director for" The People vs. Larry Flynt"( 1996).
He also won Golden Globe, Cannes, Berlinale, BAFTA, Cesar, David di Donatello, European Film Academy, and Czech Lion awards.
Who's Afraid of Vagina Wolf?
Who's Afraid of Vagina Wolf? is a 2013 lesbian romantic comedy film, created by Anna Margarita Albelo, in her feature directorial debut.
Irene Coates
Irene Coates( née Gregory); 23 March 1925- 18 June 2019 was an English playwright, poet, painter, feminist and environmentalist.
She is the author of 14 plays and four books, perhaps best known is her biography" Who's Afraid of Leonard Woolf?:
A Case for the Sanity of Virginia Woolf".
Amy Morton
Amy Morton( born January 1, 1958) is an American actress and director, best known for her work in theatre.
Morton was nominated two times for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performances in and" Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".
On screen, she is known for her performances in films" Rookie of the Year"( 1993)," Up in the Air"( 2009)," The Dilemma"( 2011) and" Bluebird"( 2013).
In 2014, Morton began starring as Sergeant Trudy Platt in the NBC drama series" Chicago P.D."
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols( born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian.
He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of their experience.
Nichols began his career in the 1950s with the comedy improvisational troupe
The Compass Players, predecessor of The Second City, in Chicago.
He then teamed up with his improv partner, Elaine May, to form the comedy duo Nichols and May.
Their live improv act was a hit on Broadway, and the first of their three albums won a Grammy Award.
After Nichols and May disbanded in 1961, he began directing plays, and quickly became known for his innovative productions and ability to elicit polished performances.
His Broadway directing debut was Neil Simon's" Barefoot in the Park" in 1963, with Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley.
He next directed" Luv" in 1964, and in 1965 directed another Neil Simon play," The Odd Couple".
He received a Tony Award for each of those plays.
In 2012, he won his sixth Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play with a revival of" Death of a Salesman".
Nichols directed and/ or produced more than twenty- five Broadway plays.
In 1966, Warner Brothers invited Nichols to direct his first film," Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
The groundbreaking film inspired some critics to declare Nichols the" new Orson Welles".
It won five Academy Awards( out of 13 nominations), and was the top- grossing film of 1966.
Nichols's next film," The Graduate"( 1967) starred then unknown actor Dustin Hoffman, alongside Anne Bancroft and Katharine Ross.
It was another critical and financial success, became the highest- grossing film of the year, and received seven Academy Award nominations, winning Nichols the Academy Award for Best Director.
Among the other films Nichols directed were" Catch- 22"( 1970)," Carnal Knowledge"( 1971)," Silkwood"( 1983)," Working Girl"( 1988)," Wolf"( 1994)," The Birdcage"( 1996)," Closer"( 2004) and" Charlie Wilson's War"( 2007).
Along with an Academy Award, Nichols won a Grammy Award( the first for a comedian born outside the United States), four Emmy Awards, nine Tony Awards, and three BAFTA Awards.
His other honors included the Lincoln Center Gala Tribute in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2010.
His films received a total of 42 Academy Award nominations, and seven wins.
He is one of the few people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards.
George Segal
George Segal( born February 13, 1934) is an American actor and musician.
Segal became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles.
Some of his most acclaimed roles are in films such as" Ship of Fools"( 1965)," King Rat"( 1965)," Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"( 1966)," The St. Valentine's Day Massacre"( 1967)," Where's Poppa?"( 1970)," The Hot Rock"( 1972)," Blume in Love"( 1973)," A Touch of Class"( 1973)," California Split"( 1974)," For the Boys"( 1991), and" Flirting with Disaster"( 1996).
He was one of the first American film actors to rise to leading man status with an unchanged Jewish surname—thus helping pave the way for artists such as Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in" Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and has won two Golden Globe Awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in" A Touch of Class".
On television, he is best known for his roles as Jack Gallo on" Just Shoot Me!"( 1997–2003) and as Albert" Pops" Solomon on" The Goldbergs"( 2013 – present).
Segal is also an accomplished banjo player.
He has released three albums and has also performed the instrument in several of his acting roles and on late night television.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 American black comedy- drama film directed by Mike Nichols in his directorial debut.
The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is an adaptation of the play of the same name by Edward Albee.
The film stars Elizabeth Taylor as Martha and Richard Burton as George, with George Segal as Nick and Sandy Dennis as Honey.
The film was nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Mike Nichols, and is one of only two films to be nominated in every eligible category at the Academy Awards( the other being" Cimarron").
All of the film's four main actors were nominated in their respective acting categories.
The film won five awards, including a second Academy Award for Best Actress for Elizabeth Taylor and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Sandy Dennis.
However, the film lost to" A Man for All Seasons" for the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay awards, and both Richard Burton and George Segal failed to win in their categories.
In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being" culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Question: Are both directors of films The Firemen'S Ball and Who'S Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (Film) from the same country?
Answer: yes