NEVER TALK TO STRANGERS
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Tom WaitsThomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the folk scene during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected the influence of such diverse genres as rock, jazz, Delta blues, opera, vaudeville, cabaret, funk and experimental techniques verging on industrial music. Tom Waits was born and raised in a middle-class family in Pomona, California. Inspired by the work of Bob Dylan and the Beat Generation, he began singing on the San Diego folk circuit. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1972, where he worked as a songwriter before signing a recording contract with Asylum Records. His debut album was Closing Time (1973), followed by The Heart of Saturday Night (1974) and Nighthawks at the Diner (1975). He repeatedly toured the United States, Europe and Japan, and found greater critical and commercial success with Small Change (1976), Blue Valentine (1978) and Heartattack and Vine (1980). During this period, Waits entered the world of film, acting in Paradise Alley (1978), where he met Kathleen Brennan. In 1980, Waits married Brennan, split from his manager and record label, and moved to New York City. With Brennan's encouragement and frequent collaboration, he pursued a more eclectic and experimental sound influenced by Harry Partch and Captain Beefheart, as heard on the loose trilogy Swordfishtrombones (1983), Rain Dogs (1985) and Franks Wild Years (1987). In 1990, he collaborated with theater director Robert Wilson on the musical The Black Rider, the songs for which were released on the album of the same name. Waits and Wilson reunited for the musicals Alice (1992) and Woyzeck (2000). In 2002, the songs from them were released on the albums Alice and Blood Money. Waits won Grammys for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Contemporary Folk Album for Bone Machine (1992) and Mule Variations (1999). Waits went on to release Real Gone (2004), the compilation Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (2006), the live album Glitter and Doom Live (2009) and Bad as Me (2011). Waits has influenced many artists and gained an international cult following. His songs have been covered by Bruce Springsteen, Tori Amos, Rod Stewart and the Eagles and he has written songs for Johnny Cash and Norah Jones, among others. In 2011, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Introducing him, Neil Young said "This next man is indescribable, and I'm here to describe him. He's sort of a performer, singer, actor, magician, spirit guide, changeling..." Accepting the honor, Waits mused: "They say that I have no hits and I'm difficult to work with. And they say it like it's a bad thing!"
Rebecca De MornayRebecca De Mornay (born August 29, 1959) is an American actress. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she starred in Risky Business. De Mornay is also known for her roles in The Slugger's Wife (1985), Runaway Train (1985), The Trip to Bountiful (1985), Backdraft (1991), and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992). Her other film credits include The Three Musketeers (1993), Never Talk to Strangers (1995), Identity (2003), Lords of Dogtown, Wedding Crashers (both 2005), and Mother's Day (2010). On television, she starred as Wendy Torrance in the miniseries adaptation of The Shining (1997), and as Dorothy Walker on Marvel's Jessica Jones (2015–19).
Peter Hall (director)Sir Peter Reginald Frederick Hall (22 November 1930 – 11 September 2017) was an English theatre, opera and film director. His obituary in The Times declared him "the most important figure in British theatre for half a century" and on his death, a Royal National Theatre statement declared that Hall's "influence on the artistic life of Britain in the 20th century was unparalleled". In 2018, the Laurence Olivier Awards, recognising achievements in London theatre, changed the award for Best Director to the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director. In 1955, Hall introduced London audiences to the work of Samuel Beckett with the UK premiere of Waiting for Godot. Hall founded the Royal Shakespeare Company (1960–68) and went on to build an international reputation in theatre, opera, film and television. He was director of the National Theatre (1973–88) and artistic director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera (1984–1990). He formed the Peter Hall Company (1998–2011) and became founding director of the Rose Theatre Kingston in 2003. Throughout his career, he was a tenacious champion of public funding for the arts.
Foreign Affairs (Tom Waits album)Foreign Affairs is the fifth studio album by singer and songwriter Tom Waits, released on September 13, 1977, on Asylum Records. It was produced by Bones Howe, and featured Bette Midler singing a duet with Waits on "I Never Talk to Strangers".
Never Talk to StrangersNever Talk to Strangers is a 1995 psychological erotic thriller film directed by Peter Hall and starring Antonio Banderas and Rebecca De Mornay.
The Strangers (2008 film)The Strangers is a 2008 American psychological horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino. The film follows a couple (portrayed by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman) whose stay at a vacation home is disrupted by three masked intruders (portrayed by Kip Weeks, Gemma Ward, and Laura Margolis) who infiltrate the home one night. It is the first installment in The Strangers film series. The screenplay was inspired by two real-life events: the multiple-homicide Manson family Tate murders and a series of break-ins that occurred in Bertino's neighborhood as a child. Some journalists noted similarities between the film and the Keddie cabin murders that occurred in Keddie, California, in 1981, though Bertino did not cite this as a reference. Made on a budget of $9 million, the film was shot on location in rural South Carolina in the fall of 2006. Originally slated for a theatrical release in November 2007, it was postponed before a theatrical release on May 30, 2008. The film became a sleeper hit, grossing $82 million at the box office worldwide. It received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its atmosphere and tension, and others criticizing its script and characters. In the years since its release, it has become a cult film. A sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night, was released in March 2018, followed by a standalone sequel trilogy of Strangers films, with the first, subtitled Chapter 1, released in May 2024.
The Black PhoneThe Black Phone is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson from a screenplay coauthored with longtime collaborator C. Robert Cargill. It stars Mason Thames as Finney, a teenage boy abducted by a serial child killer known colloquially as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). When Finney encounters a mystical black rotary phone in captivity, he uses it to plot his escape by communicating with the ghosts of The Grabber's slain victims. Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and James Ransone also feature in the principal cast. Derrickson and Cargill produced The Black Phone in association with Blumhouse Productions CEO Jason Blum. Universal Pictures oversaw the film's commercial distribution, and funding was sourced through a Universal–Blumhouse co-production pact and tax subsidies from the North Carolina state government. The idea of The Black Phone arose from Derrickson and Cargill's adaptation of Joe Hill's short story of the same name. Derrickson struggled to produce additional ideas that supplemented the short story, shifting his attention to other filmmaking endeavors. The film remained dormant until he resigned from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) over creative differences. Derrickson used his childhood experiences in suburban Denver, Colorado, to develop The Black Phone story. Principal photography began in February 2021 on a $16–18 million budget, and wrapped the following month. Shooting took place on sets and on location in Wilmington, North Carolina. Mark Korven composed the film's score, which drew on modern and vintage synthesizer sounds. The Black Phone premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 25, 2021, and opened in US theaters after several delays on June 24, 2022. It was an unexpected hit at the box office and finished its theatrical run grossing $161.4 million globally. The film received generally positive reviews from the critics, who praised its performances but were divided on its concept. The success of The Black Phone spawned the in-canon short film "Dreamkill", also directed by Derrickson and written by him and Cargill, released in 2023 as part of the anthology film V/H/S/85. A sequel, Black Phone 2, is scheduled for release on October 17, 2025.
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