HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLIN FIRTH

The British Oscar winner turns 52 today. Firth won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 2010 for The King’s Speech, in which he played the stammering King George VI. He was nominated the previous year for A Single Man. 

Firth has also appeared in The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love, Love Actually, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. By starring in The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love, and The King’s Speech, Firth has appeared in three films that have won Best Picture at the Oscars.

What’s your favorite Colin Firth role? Let us know by clicking here. 

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE SHEEN

The self proclaimed “rockstar from Mars” turns 47 today. Before a viral meltdown last year that cost him his job on Two and a Half Men, Sheen was the highest paid actor on TV making $2 million per episode. 

Aside from his work on TV - he also had a recurring role on popular 90s show Spin City - Sheen has quite the impressive film resume to boast. In 1986, Sheen made his first notable appearance as “Boy in Police Station” in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. His character had been arrested for “drugs”. What a stretch. Later that year, Sheen would have the starring role in Oliver Stone’s Platoon, the Vietnam War drama that won four Oscars including Best Picture. The following year, Sheen would star in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street. 

Sheen’s film credits also include Major League, Eight Men Out, The Hot Shots franchise, and the Scary Movie franchise. Sheen currently has a new TV series called Anger Management, which was just renewed for 90 episodes on FX.

What’s your favorite work featuring Charlie Sheen? Let us know here.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID FINCHER

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo director turns 50 today. Fincher didn’t have the best start in the industry, directing the wholly disliked Alien 3. Placing the blame on constant studio interference, Fincher ended up leaving the production before editing began. Three years later, Fincher would make a huge impact on audiences with Se7en, a gloomy thriller about a killer who chooses his victims based on the seven deadly sins.

But Fincher would really become famous with audiences in 1999 with the release of Fight Club, the anti-establishment film adapted from the novel by Chuck Palahnuik. Fight Club is by far Fincher’s most loved film, and one of the most iconic films of the 90s. 

Fincher has gone on to direct Panic Room, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and The Social Network, earning Best Director nominations for the latter two (he should have won for The Social Network, as I consider that film to be the greatest of this century). Fincher is currently trying to get the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo into production.

What’s your favorite David Fincher film? Let us know here.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY ADAMS

The red-haired, versatile actress turns 38 today. Adams had small roles in film and TV for the early part of her career, with her screen debut coming in Drop Dead Gorgeous in 1999. In 2002, she got the chance to star opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the Steven Spielberg directed Catch Me If You Can. Adams received her first Oscar nomination in 2005 for Junebug, a small film that ended up really launching her career. Adams has raked in two more Oscar nominations for serious films like Doubt and The Fighter, but she knows how to keep things light-hearted by also starring in Enchanted, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and The Muppets.

You can see Adams in Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming film, The Master. 

What is your favorite Amy Adams role? Let us know here.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDWARD NORTON

The two time Oscar nominee is 43 today. Norton started his career capturing audiences as Aaron in Primal Fear, a role which earned him an Oscar nomination. Norton would earn his second nomination two years later, as the reformed neo-Nazi Derek Vinyard in American History X. But Norton will forever be remembered as the star of the establishment defying Fight Club, by far the most popular film on his resume. Norton recently appeared in Moonrise Kingdom and The Bournce Legacy.

What’s your favorite Edward Norton film?

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN PENN

The two time Oscar winner turns 52 today. Who would have thought that Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High would go on to have such a successful career. Penn has made a career with heavy films, winning Oscars for Milk and Mystic River, and earning nominations for Dead Man Walking and I Am Sam. He was also nominated for Sweet and Lowdown, a Woody Allen comedy.

What’s your favorite Sean Penn movie? Let us know here.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERT DE NIRO

The two time Oscar winner turns 69 years old today. The New Yorker’s career picked up momentum in 1973, as he starred in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, the latter being the first of many collaborations with Martin Scorsese. The following year, De Niro would win his first Oscar for playing Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II. 

De Niro has created several legendary performances, including Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, and James Conway in Goodfellas. His second Oscar came for Raging Bull, with nominations for Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Awakenings, and Cape Fear. In the recent past, De Niro seems interested in having fun with roles more than ever, starring in comedies and second rate thrillers.

What’s your favorite Robert De Niro performance? Let us know here.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES CAMERON (in 3D!)

The innovative filmmaker turns 58 today. Cameron mastered the sci-fi genre early in his career by directing the first two Terminator films and Aliens, three of the best films in that genre ever. In 1997, Cameron won all three of his Oscars for Titanic, which chances are you’ve seen. For years after, he focused on documentaries about deep sea expeditions, but he returned to directing narrative film in 2009 with the visually groundbreaking Avatar, which again, you’ve probably seen. Avatar and Titanic are the two highest grossing films of all time (without adjusting for inflation), and Cameron looks to dominate that list even more as he works on Avatars 2 and 3.

James Cameron has become a bit of a polarizing figure in Hollywood. Many love him for his earlier works and appreciate the revolutionary mind he brings to filmmaking. On the other hand, there are people who hate him for reinvigorating 3D filmmaking, and want him to stop tinkering with established frame rates and stop trying to push us towards an unwanted future. 

What are your feelings about James Cameron? What are your favorite films by him? Let us know here.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE CARELL!

Dunder Mifflin better have a big party planned, as Steve Carell turns 50 today. Carells’ first major appearance in a movie was 2003’s Bruce Almighty, but it wasn’t until the following year that audiences fell in love with him as the affable idiot Brick in Anchorman. Soon after, Carell made a name for himself as a leading man in Judd Apatow’s 40 Year Old Virgin. Since then, Carell has consistently performed well in both comedic and serious roles. But perhaps he is most famous for playing the devastatingly embarrassing Michael Scott on The Office for six years.

What’s your favorite Steve Carell role? Tell us here.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVE MARTIN

The white-haired comedian turns 67 today. Martin has made a name for himself in the world of comedy, starring in classics such as The Jerk and Planes Trains & Automobiles. He’s also starred in Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, The Man with Two Brains, Three Amigos, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Martin also had a scene-stealing role in the 80s musical, Little Shop of Horrors. 

What’s your favorite Steve Martin movie? Let us know in our Ask Box

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