Birthday's to share this week : 19th - 25th November 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Adam Driver does on 19th November - check out my tribute to this Actor Birthday Boy turning 34, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 19th November

• Ted Turner - Born 1938, turns 79 - Producer | Writer | Actor 
• Charlie Kaufman - Born 1958, turns 59 - Writer | Producer | Director | Songwriter
• Jason Scott Lee - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor
• Adam Driver - Born 1983, turns 34 - Actor
• Kathleen Quinlan - Born 1954, turns 63 - Actress | Producer 
• Allison Janney - Born 1959, turns 58 - Actress | Singer
• Meg Ryan - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Jodie Foster - Born 1962, turns 55 - Actress | Director | Producer  

Monday 20th November

• Bo Derek - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actress | Producer
• Sean Young - Born 1959, turns 58 - Actress 
• Andrea Riseborough - Born 1981, turns 36 - Actress | Producer  

Tuesday 21st November

• Goldie Hawn - Born 1945, turns 72 - Actress | Producer | Singer | Director
• Jena Malone - Born 1984, turns 33 - Actress | Producer  

Wednesday 22nd November

• Jamie Lee Curtis - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actress | Director | Producer
• Scarlett Johansson - Born 1984, turns 33 - Actress | Singer | Writer | Producer | Director 
• Terry Gilliam - Born 1940, turns 77 - Writer | Director | Producer | Actor | Animator
• Tom Conti - Born 1941, turns 76 - Actor 
• Mads Mikkelsen - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actor 
• Michael Kenneth Williams - Born 1966, turns 51- Actor | Producer
• Mark Ruffalo - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director 
• Alden Ehrenreich - Born 1989, turns 28 - Actor  

Thursday 23rd November

• Robert Towne - Born 1934, turns 83 - Writer | Director | Producer | Actor
• Franco Nero - Born 1941, turns 76 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Vincent Cassel - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director 
• Miley Cyrus - Born 1992, turns 25 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Actress | Director | Writer | Producer

Friday 24th November

• Katherine Heigl - Born 1978, turns 39 - Actress | Producer
• Billy Connolly - Born 1942, turns 75 - Actor | Writer | Singer | Songwriter | Producer | Comedian | Television Personality
• Garret Dillahunt - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actor | Singer
• Aaron Pedersen - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actor | Producer
• Stephen Merchant - Born 1974, turns 43 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director 
• Colin Hanks - Born 1977, turns 40 - Actor | Director | Producer  

Saturday 25th November

• Dougray Scott - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actor | Producer
• Joel Kinnaman - Born 1979, turns 38 - Actor 
• Christina Applegate - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actress | Producer | Singer

Adam Douglas Driver was born in Fontana, San Bernardino County, California, USA to mother Nancy Needham, a paralegal, and father Joe Douglas Driver. His stepfather, Rodney Wright, is a Baptist Church Minister. When the young Adam was seven years of age, he moved with his mother and older sister to Mishawaka, Indiana where he was raised and attended the local Mishawaka High School. He sang in the local Church choir as a young lad, but also got up to all manner of antics as a teenager including scaling tall radio towers, setting objects alight, and forming a fight club. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he joined the military service enlisting in the US Marine Corps, where he served for thirty two months as an 81mm mortar man, before being medically discharged as a result of a mountain biking accident during which he broke his sternum. Because of this he never saw active duty. After his discharge, he attended the University of Indianapolis for a year and then moved to The Juilliard School in New York City to study drama, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 2009. 

After graduating, Driver began acting in stage plays in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions, during which time he also appeared in a number of television shows, made for television movies and short films, including 'The Unusuals', 'Law & Order', 'You Don't Know Jack', and 'The Wonderful Maladys'. His feature film debut came in the Clint Eastwood Directed, 'J. Edgar' in 2011. In 2012 Driver was cast as the lead character's unstable boyfriend Adam Sackler in the HBO comedy drama TV series 'Girls', in which he has appeared in 49 episodes across six seasons, with the final season wrapping up in April of this year. For the part he played, Driver was nominated three times for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. 

In 2012 Driver appeared in the Romantic Comedy Drama 'Gayby', in the drama 'Not Waving But Drowning', and the in two critically lauded films of that same year - Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' with an all star cast including Daniel Day Lewis as the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, and Noah Baumbach's 'Frances Ha' opposite Greta Gerwig in the title role.







2013 kicked off with short film 'The River', then drama 'Bluebird', followed by the Coen Brothers Written and Directed 'Inside Llewyn Davis' with Oscar Isaac in the title role and also starring Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman and Garrett Hedlund. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, three BAFTA's, and one AACTA amongst its total haul of 47 wins and 171 nominations. The adventure BioPic of Robyn Davidson's trek across the Western Australian desert with four camels and her trusted dog in tow, 'Tracks' came next with Mia Wasikowska playing adventurer Robyn, and Driver as the National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan charting her epic journey. 'What If' closed out 2013 with Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, and Rafe Spall.

Drama thriller 'Hungry Hearts' opened 2014 and then another outing with Writer and Director Noah Baumbach in 'While We're Young' opposite Naomi Watts, Ben Stiller and Amanda Seyfried. Shawn Levy's comedy drama of a dysfunctional family 'This Is Where I Leave You' with Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll and Timothy Olyphant saw out the year.







2015 saw an episode on 'The Simpson's' followed up by his critically praised role as Kylo Ren - the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, trained in the ways of the Jedi by his Uncle Luke Skywalker, and tempted over to the Dark Side by Supreme Leader Snoke, aspiring ultimately to be as powerful and fearless as his Grandfather Darth Vader, in the epic 'Star Wars : The Force Awakens' - Episode VII in the hugely popular, long running franchise. The film made $2.07B at the global Box Office making it the third highest grossing film of all time, and picked up a swag of awards including five Academy Award nominations, three BAFTA nods and one win amongst a total 57 wins and 128 nominations. Driver reprises his Kylo Ren character in the soon to be released Episode VIII - 'Star Wars : The Last Jedi' and the yet to be titled Episode IX due in late 2019.

2016 saw three new film offerings beginning with the excellent 'Midnight Special' for Writer and Director Jeff Nichols and also starring Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Sam Shepard, Jaeden Lieberher and Kirsten Dunst. This was followed up by The Directed and Co-Written Jim Jarmusch film 'Paterson' and next the Martin Scorsese Directed and Co-Written 17th Century historical adventure drama 'Silence' opposite Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson and Ciaran Hinds. The film was nominated for the Best Cinematography Academy Award amongst its collection of six wins and 48 further nominations.

This year saw the release of another Written and Directed Noah Baumbach offering with the comedy drama 'The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)' also starring Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman, Candice Bergen, Sigourney Weaver, Emma Thompson and Grace Van Patten. This was followed up by Steven Soderbergh's North Carolina NASCAR heist comedy crime drama 'Logan Lucky' starring alonsgside Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, Katie Holmes and Riley Keough.



Next up for Driver is the aforementioned 'Star Wars - Episode VIII : The Last Jedi' due for release in December this year and eagerly awaited by legions of loyal fans worldwide. Currently filming for a later 2018 release is the biographical true crime drama 'Black Klansman' for Writer and Director Spike Lee, about an African American police officer who rises through the ranks of his local Ku Klux Klan chapter. In Post-Production is Terry Gilliam's on again off again passion project 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote' also starring Olga Kurylenko, Stellan Skarsgard and Jonathan Pryce and also due in 2018. In Pre-Production is 'Annette' a drama musical for Director Leos Carax with Michelle Williams about a stand up comic whose opera singing wife has died leaving him to care for their two years old daughter, whom he discovers has a surprising talent. And finally, and recently announced is the Sylvester Stallone Directed and starring biographical drama 'Tough as They Come' about an American soldier in Afghanistan who loses both arms and and legs four days short of his 25th birthday, and the effects this has on his life when he returns home with four prosthetic limbs.

All up Driver has thirty-six Acting credits to his name, and he has garnered ten award wins and 29 nominations from around the circuit including three Primetime Emmy Award nods for 'Girls'. He has been in a steady relationship with his 'Gayby' Co-Star Joanne Tucker since mid-2013. He also founded 'Arts In The Armed Forces' (AITAF) - a not-for-profit organisation that stages theatre productions across all branches of the military service both in the US and overseas.

Adam Driver - joined the Marines because he was not doing anything honourable with his life; has been described by one Critic as being 'an understated star with a great, non-movie star face'; refuses to watch himself on screen, or listen to himself in radio interviews; is terrified of not having somewhere to put his voice; admits to having a really big face and is therefore in no danger of securing leading man roles; but despite these misgivings has created quite a following in just a few short years, is increasingly in demand, and is carving out a successful career in spite of himself. Keep it up Adam, and Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 30th April - 6th May 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Kirsten Dunst does on 30th April - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 35, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 30th April

• Jane Campion - Born 1954, turns 63 - Director | Writer | Producer 
• Kirsten Dunst - Born 1982, turns 35 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director
• Gal Gadot - Born 1985, turns 32 - Actress  
• Lars von Trier - Born 1956, turns 61 - Director | Writer | Producer | Actor | Cinematographer | Editor | Songwriter

Monday 1st May

• Wes Anderson - Born 1969, turns 48 - Director | Writer | Producer | Actor
• James Badge Dale - Born 1978, turns 39 - Actor 
• Jamie Dornan - Born 1982, turns 35 - Actor
• Joanna Lumley - Born 1946, turns 71 - Actress |   

Tuesday 2nd May

• Lone Scherfig - Born 1959, turns 58 - Director | Writer 
• David Suchet - Born 1946, turns 71 - Actor | Producer 
• Stephen Daldry - Born 1960, turns 57 - Director | Producer
• Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson - Born 1972, turns 45 - Actor | Producer | Singer

Wednesday 3rd May

• Rob Brydon - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Television Personality
• Bobby Cannavale - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actor 
• Amy Ryan - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actress 
• Christina Hendricks - Born 1975, turns 42 - Actress  

Thursday 4th May

• Richard Jenkins - Born 1947, turns 70 - Actor
• Will Arnett - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer  

Friday 5th May

• Lance Henriksen - Born 1940, turns 77 - Actor 
• Michael Palin - Born 1943, turns 74 - Actor | Writer | Television Personality | Singer | Songwriter
• John Rhys-Davies - Born 1944, turns 73 - Actor | Producer
• Richard E. Grant - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Henry Cavill - Born 1983, turns 34 - Actor  

Saturday 6th May

• Alan Dale - Born 1947, turns 70 - Actor 
• George Clooney - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer

Kirsten Caroline Dunst was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, USA to mother Inez Dunst, a Lufthansa airline hostess and occasional artist and former gallery owner, and father Klaus Hermann Dunst, a medical services executive. Up to the age of eleven, the young Kirsten lived in the Brick Township of New Jersey attending the independent coeducational Ranney School. In 1993 her parents split and she relocated with her mother and younger brother, Christian, to Los Angeles where she attended Laurel Hall School in North Hollywood and then the coeducational Catholic College Notre Dame High School. Her parents divorced in 1995. By the time she had graduated from Notre Dame in 2000, Dunst had already spent ten years or so in the acting business, and chose to continue along that path that had launched her career at age three as a child fashion model on television commercials having signed up with Elite Model Management and Ford Models.

At the age of six Dunst made her feature film debut in a minor role in Woody Allen's short film 'Oedipus Wrecks' which was part of the anthology film 'New York Stories' comprising three short films with the central theme being New York City as Directed by Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. In 1989 she lent her voice talents to the English language version of the Japanese animated feature film 'Kiki's Delivery Service', and followed this up in 1990 with 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' playing the daughter to the character played by Tom Hanks. The film also starred Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Melanie Griffiths. 'High Strung' and 'Greedy' both came before 'Interview with the Vampire : The Vampire Chronicles' based on the Anne Rice best seller in which Dunst plays child vampire and surrogate daughter to the characters played by Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. She had her first on-screen kiss with Pitt, aged eleven. Her performance garnered several award wins and nominations including her first Golden Globe nod. That same year came 'Little Women' opposite Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon, Christian Bale and Gabriel Byrne. 

1995 saw the release of Joe Johnston's 'Jumanji' with Robin Williams which was a commercial success raking in US$263M. In 1996 Dunst played on six episodes of 'ER' as a child prostitute taken under the stewardship of George Clooney's Dr. Doug Ross. The following years she starred in 'Tower of Terror' for 'The Wonderful World of Disney' television series, and then lent her voice work to the animated feature 'Anastasia' and followed this up that same year with Barry Levinson's 'Wag the Dog' with Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, William H. Macy and Woody Harrelson, and then 'True Heart' also that same year. Closing out the decade was 'All I Wanna Do', 'Small Soldiers', Drop Dead Gorgeous', 'Dick' and 'The Virgin Suicides' for Sofia Coppola with James Woods, Scott Glenn, Danny DeVito, Josh Hartnett and Kathleen Turner.

The turn of the new decade saw Dunst graduate from High School and lurch into 'The Crow : Salvation' the supernatural action film and the third instalment in 'The Crow' series based on the comic book of the same name. After a very limited release this film went straight to video. This was followed up by the likes of 'Luckytown', teen comedy 'Bring It On' which has become a bit of a cult classic and recovered US$90M from its US$11M budget, then 'Deeply' and then into 2001 with 'Get Over It', 'Crazy/Beautiful', Peter Bogdanovich's period drama 'The Cat's Meow', and then 'Lover's Prayer'. This leads us to 'Spiderman' based on the Marvel comic book teen web slinging hero as played by Tobey Maguire with Dunst playing Mary Jane Watson - Peter Parker's (aka Spiderman) love interest. Directed by Sam Raimi the film cost US$140M to make and brought in US$822M at the global Box Office. Dunst would reprise her role in 'Spiderman 2' released in 2004 and again in 'Spiderman 3' released in 2007. The latter two films made a combined US$1,68B against production costs of US$458M.

'Levity' came next in 2003 with Billy Bob Thornton and Morgan Freeman, then Mike Newell's 'Mona Lisa Smile' with Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal followed by Michael Gondry's 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' with Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo and Tom Wilkinson. 'Wimbledon' followed in 2004 with Paul Bettany; Cameron Crowe's 'Elizabethtown' in 2005 with Orlando Bloom; Sofia Coppola's 'Marie Antoinette' in 2006 with Dunst in the title role, and then 'How to Lose Friends & Alienate People' in 2008 with Simon Pegg.

Another new decade dawned with 'All Good Things' opposite Ryan Gosling, and then Lars von Trier's Written and Directed 'Melancholia' alongside Keifer Sutherland, John Hurt, Stellen Skarsgard, Alexander Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Comedy Romance 'Bachelorette' followed in 2012 with Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplin and Rebel Wilson, and later that same year came 'On the Road' based on novel by Jack Kerouac and Directed by Walter Salles with Garret Hedlund, Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, and Elisabeth Moss. 'Upside Down' followed with Jim Sturgess, then an uncredited turn in Sofia Coppola's 'The Bling Ring', then 'Anchorman 2 : The Legend Continues' with Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, followed up with 'The Two Faces of January' with Viggo Mortensen and Oscar Isaac.

Jeff Nichols 'Midnight Special' with Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton and Adam Driver and the still on general release 'Hidden Figures' with Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae and Kevin Costner bring us up to date in terms of feature films. In between time Dunst Directed and Co-Wrote two short films - the sixteen minute 'Welcome' in 2007 and the seven minute 'Bastard' in 2010 which was shown at both the Tribeca and Cannes Film Festivals. Over the years she has also appeared in numerous made for television films such as 'The Siege at Ruby Ridge', 'Fifteen and Pregnant', and 'The Devil's Arithmetic', and television series appearances including 'Sisters' in 1993, 'Touched by an Angel' and 'The Outer Limits' in 1997 and most recently as Peggy Blomquist in the second season of the acclaimed TV adaptation of 'Fargo'.

Next up for Dunst is drama film offering 'Woodshock' starring Pilou Asbaek and Lorelei Linklater and due for release later this year. As is a remake of 'The Beguiled' for Sofia Coppola and also starring Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, Angourie Rice and Colin Farrell. Recently announced is made for television film 'On Becoming a God in Central Florida' and her own feature film Directing debut which she has also Written and is Executive Producing on - 'The Bell Jar' and will star Dakota Fanning, Patricia Arquette and Jesse Plemons and is due out in 2018.

All up Dunst has 74 Acting credits to her name, three as Director (including 'The Bell Jar' currently in pre-production), three as Writer and two as Producer. Dunst has amassed thirty award wins to her name and a further 63 nominations including two Golden Globe nods for 'Fargo' and 'Interview with the Vampire', a Primetime Emmy Award nomination also for 'Fargo' and an AACTA Award nomination for 'Melancholia'. She works with the Elizabeth Glazer Paediatric AIDS Foundation and has worked in raising awareness for Breast Cancer. In 2008 she underwent treatment for depression checking herself into a treatment centre in Utah. Last year she began dating her 'Fargo' Co-Star Jesse Plemons and they are now engaged to be married.

Kirsten Dunst - only 35 but have spent your whole life over four decades in front of the camera and with the critical and commercial success to back it up; became a German citizen in 2011; has been named on various 'Top' lists over the years including '25 Hottest Stars Under 25', Entertainment Weekly's '30 Under 30'. '#25 out of the Top 102 Sexiest Women in the World', and one of People Magazine's '50 Most Beautiful People in the World' in 1995 and 2002; takes tap dancing lessons; has set up her own Production Company; has sung in numerous films and music videos for well known recording artists; is Sofia Coppola's go to girl; and has amassed a varied body of work across almost all genres from the age of seven that is truly enviable. Happy Birthday to you Kirsten, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-  

Birthday's to share this week : 7th - 13th August 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Michael Shannon does on 7th August - check out my tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 42, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 7th August

• Charlize Theron - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actress | Producer
• Abbie Cornish - Born 1982, turns 34 - Actress
• Tobin Bell - Born 1942, turns 74 - Actor | Producer
• David Duchovny - Born 1960, turns 56 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Michael Shannon - Born 1974, turns 42 - Actor

Monday 8th August

• Dustin Hoffman - Born 1937, turns 79 - Actor | Producer | Director | Singer | Songwriter
• Keith Carradine - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Donald P. Bellisario - Born 1935, turns 81 - Producer | Writer | Director

Tuesday 9th August

• Sam Elliott - Born 1944, turns 72 - Actor | Producer
• Eric Bana - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• McG - Born 1968, turns 48 - Producer | Director
• Gillian Anderson - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Melanie Griffith - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actress | Producer
• Audrey Tatou - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actress
• Rhona Mitra - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actress
• Anna Kendrick - Born 1985, turns 31 - Actress  

Wednesday 10th August

• Rosanna Arquette - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Antonio Banderas - Born 1960, turns 56 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer  
• Brenton Thwaites - Born 1989, turns 27 - Actor

Thursday 11th August

• Chris Hemsworth - Born 1983, turns 33 - Actor
• Hulk Hogan - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actor | Producer | Wrestler
• Ian McDiarmid - Born 1944, turns 72 - Actor
• Viola Davis - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actress | Producer  

Friday 12th August

• Cara Delevingne - Born 1992, turns 24 - Actress
• Casey Affleck - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Editor | Cinematographer
• Bruce Greenwood - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor | Producer
• George Hamilton - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actor | Producer  

Saturday 13th August

• Sebastian Stan - Born 1982, turns 34 - Actor
• John Slattery - Born 1962, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Paul Greengrass - Born 1955, turns 61 - Director | Producer | Writer

Michael Corbett Shannon was born in Lexington, Kentucky to mother Geraldine Hine, a lawyer, and father Donald Sutherland Shannon an accounting professor at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Whilst his parents were divorced, he was raised jointly by them dividing his time between Lexington and Chicago. He is the grandson of noted entomologist Raymond Corbett Shannon (1894-1945) who published over one hundred articles on the characteristics, environment and behaviour of insects and their disease carrying properties. He discovered in 1930 that mosquitoes carried malaria to the New World and upon his death his library and insect collection was left to the Smithsonian Institute. Michael attended the New Trier High School - a public secondary high school in Winnetta, Illinois. He has a brother Dave and a sister Rebecca.

His acting career began on stage in 1991 in 'Loving Little Egypt' and then 'Fun/Nobody' in 1992. That same year  he secured his small screen debut in the television films 'Overexposed' and 'Angel Street' before his big screen debut in 1993 in 'Groundhog Day'. He continued to work in theatre throughout those early days of film and television appearances, with roles in 'Killer Joe', 'Bug', 'The Killer' and 'The Idiot' on stage, with two episodes in 1998 on televisions 'Early Edition' and film roles in 'Chain Reaction', 'Chicago Cab', 'Jesus' Son' and 'The Ride' seeing out the 90's. His role in the stage play 'Bug' in 1996 he would replicate in the 2006 big screen adaptation Directed by William Friedkin with Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jnr.

From there he worked consistently year on year churning out typically three or four films a year, whilst still finding time for stage work. He kicked off the new decade with 'The Photographer', 'Tigerland' for Joel Schumacher, 'Cecil B. DeMented' for John Waters, 'Pearl Harbour' for Michael Bay, 'Vanilla Sky' for Cameron Crowe, '8 Mile' for Curtis Hanson, 'Kangaroo Jack', 'Bad Boys II', 'The Woodsman', 'World Trade Centre' for Oliver Stone, 'Shotgun Stories' for Jeff Nichols, 'Lucky You' for Curtis Hanson again and 'Before the Devil Knows You're Dead' for Sidney Lumet.

'Revolutionary Road' for Sam Mendes garnered Shannon his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and then two films followed in quick succession for Werner Herzog - 'Bad Lieutenant : Port of Call New Orleans' and 'My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done'. He continued his stage presence too throughout this time appearing in a dozen or so theatre productions often at the 'A Red Orchid Theatre' in Old Town, Chicago.

2010 kicked off with 'The Runaways' based on the 70's rock band of the same name, then '13', 'Jonah Hex' and the highly acclaimed 'Take Shelter' for Jeff Nichols again. This was followed up by 'Return', 'The Broken Tower' for James Franco, 'Machine Gun Preacher' for Marc Forster and the also critically acclaimed 'Mud' for Jeff Nichols once more. 'Premium Rush' followed for David Koepp and 'The Iceman' starring as the real life contract killer convicted of five known murders Richard Kuklinski who died in prison aged 70 in 2006.

2013 saw Shannon's first appearance as General Zod in Zack Snyder's 'Man of Steel' - a role he would reprise in cameo in this years 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice'. Horror thriller 'The Harvest', then 'Young Ones' and '99 Homes', 'Freeheld', 'The Night Before', 'Midnight Special' for Jeff Nichols once more and 'Elvis and Nixon' bring us up to date, in terms of Australian releases at least.

Still to come are 'Complete Unknown' with Rachel Weisz, 'Frank and Lola' with Imogen Poots, 'Poor Boy' and 'Loving' for Jeff Nichols again by the end of this year. In post production is 'Salt and Fire' for Werner Herzog again too, 'Nocturnal Animals' with Jake Gyllenhaal, 'The Price' with Noomi Rapace, and 'Pottersville' with Christina Hendricks. 'The Shape of Water' is in pre-production for Guillermo del Toro and 'State of Sleep' recently announced.

All up Shannon has 77 acting credits to his name, he has 28 award wins and another 45 nominations. He has also appeared in a number of short films and in acclaimed television series 'Boardwalk Empire' between 2010 and 2014. In 2002 he also formed his own indie rock band 'Corporal' and in 2010 the band released its debut album. He has been in a long term relationship with actress Kate Arrington, with whom he has two daughters, Sylvia and Marion.

Michael Shannon - frequent collaborator with Director Jeff Nichols; has worked tirelessly on stage, television and screen for twenty years; works repeatedly with the same Directors (Nichols, Herzog, Hanson); can never be accused of being typecast starring in thrillers, drama, comedy, Sci-Fi, horror and biographies, small independent fare and large scale epic offerings; often plays it slightly or totally unhinged; and has a physically imposing stature accentuated by piercing blue eyes, a square anvil like jaw, and a deep penetrating voice. Michael just keep on keeping on, 'cos we love you for it. Happy Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 19th-25th June 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Joel Edgerton does on 23rd June - check out my tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 42, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 19th June

• Paul Dano - Born 1984, turns 32 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Zoe Saldana - Born 1978, turns 38 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Sadie Frost - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actress | Producer
• Kathleen Turner - Born 1954, turns 62 - Actress | Producer
• Gena Rowlands - Born 1930, turns 86 - Actress  

Monday 20th June

• Nicole Kidman - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Martin Landau - Born 1928, turns 88 - Actor | Producer
• Stephen Frears - Born 1941, turns 75 - Director | Producer
• John Goodman - Born 1952, turns 64 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Josh Lucas - Born 1971, turns 45 - Actor | Producer
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Born 1989, turns 27 - Actor
• Robert Rodriguez - Born 1968, turns 48 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | Composer | Songwriter | Editor | Cinematographer | Cameraman | FX Executive  

Tuesday 21st June

• Chris Pratt - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actor
• Benjamin Walker - Born 1982, turns 34 - Actor
• David Morrissey - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Juliette Lewis - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actress | Producer | Director | Singer | Songwriter
• Lana Wachowski - Born 1965, turns 51 - Director | Producer | Writer  

Wednesday 22nd June

• Meryl Streep - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Lindsay Wagner - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actress | Producer
• Kris Kristofferson - Born 1936, turns 80 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter | Composer
• Bruce Campbell - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Uwe Boll - Born 1965, turns 51 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Randy Couture - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | UFC Wrestler  

Thursday 23rd June

• Joel Edgerton - Born 1974, turns 42 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Bryan Brown - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actor | Producer
• Joss Whedon - Born 1964, turns 52 - Producer | Writer | Director | Actor | Editor | Composer | Songwriter
• Frances McDormand - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actress | Producer  

Friday 24th June

• Nancy Allen - Born 1950, turns 66 - Actress
• Peter Weller - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actor | Director
• Dan Gilroy - Born 1959, turns 57 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Iain Glen - Born 1961, turns 55 - Actor | Producer  

Saturday 25th June

• Anthony Bourdain - Born 1956, turns 60 - Television Personality | Producer | Writer
• Timur Bekmambetov - Born 1961, turns 55 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Ricky Gervais - Born 1961, turns 55 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Television Personality | Singer | Songwriter

Joel Edgerton was born in Blacktown, west of Sydney, Australia to mother Marianne, a housewife and mother, and father Michael, a solicitor and property developer. He has an older brother, Nash, who works as a stuntman, actor and Director, and whom Joel describes as his best friend. He graduated from The Hills Grammar School in Kenthurst, north-west of Sydney in 1991 and went onto Nepean Drama School at the University of Western Sydney from where he graduated in 1994 before appearing in various stage productions with the likes of The Sydney Theatre Company amongst others.

His first small screen appearance came on a single episode of 'Police Rescue' in 1995 with his first big screen appearance a year later in 1996 in 'Race the Sun' with Halle Berry, James Belushi, Casey Affleck, Steve Zahn and Bill Hunter. This was followed up by a nine minute short film that same year, 'Loaded' Co-Directed by brother Nash and Kieran Darcy-Smith. The following few years saw more television series roles including 'Big Sky', 'Fallen Angels', 'Spellbinder', 'Wildside' and 'Water Rats'. 'Praise' followed in 1998 for Director John Curran and the 26 minute short film 'Bloodlock' for brother Nash and Kieran Darcy-Smith once more. 'Erskineville Kings' with Hugh Jackman and 'Dogwatch' saw out the decade.

The following few years saw a number of made for television movies including 'Secret Men's Business', 'The Three Stooges' and the 'The Secret Life of Us' with Claudia Karvan and Deborah Mailman, and which spawned a spin-off television series of the same name with largely the same cast, and Edgerton reprising his role in 32 episodes as Will McGill from 2001-2002. There were also several short films including 'Gate', 'The Pitch' Written by the Edgerton brothers and Directed by Nash, 'Animalis' and 'Saturn's Return'. Perhaps the role that really established him was as Owen Lars in 'Star Wars : Episode II - Attack of the Clones' in 2002 - a role he would reprise in 2005 in 'Star Wars : Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'.

In between time, there was 'The Hard Word' with Guy Pearce and Rachel Griffiths, Gregor Jordan's 'Ned Kelly' biopic with Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush, the Sinatra biopic of the crooners tour of Australia 'The Night We Called it a Day' with Dennis Hopper and Melanie Griffiths all followed. Antoine Fuqua's epic retelling of 'King Arthur' with Clive Owen, Ray Winstone, Stellan Skarsgard and Keira Knightley, and then 'Kinky Boots' with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nick Frost took us up to 2006.

'Open Window', 'Smokin' Aces', 'Whisper', 'The Square' Directed by Nash and written by Joel, 'Acolytes', 'Separation City' and 'The Waiting City' saw the decade out with eight episodes of Australian action drama series 'Dangerous' in 2007, and further short films 'Crossbow', 'Father' and 'Spider' again Directed by, and Co-Wriiten by brother Nash, with ABC mining drama 'Dirt Game' in 2009.

2010 saw the highly acclaimed and Oscar nominated 'Animal House' for David Michod with Jackie Weaver, then 'Warrior' with Tom Hardy and Nick Nolte, and the remake/prequel to John Carpenter's classic 'The Thing' in 2011. 'Wish You Were Here', 'The Odd Life of Timothy Green' and then highly praised Osama bin Laden hunt him down film by Katherine Bigelow 'Zero Dark Thirty' with Jessica Chastain. This was followed by his turn at Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann's lavish period piece 'The Great Gatsby' with Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire in this equally acclaimed production. The Police thriller 'Felony' Produced, Written and Starring Edgerton came next in 2013, with Ridley Scott's biblical epic adventure tale of brothers Moses and Ramses in 'Exodus : Gods & Kings' with Christian Bale, Ben Kingsley and John Tuturro.

'Life' followed in 2015, as did Egerton's Directorial debut with 'The Gift' which he also wrote, Produced and starred in to positive critical and commercial success making eleven times its budget outlay. 'Black Mass' with Johnny Depp in the lead role of James 'Whitey' Bulger in this true crime biographical drama set in the mid-70's South Boston area. 'Jane Got a Gun' was Co-Written for the screen by Edgerton and stars him too in this action Western that has yet to receive a cinema release in Australia, despite its release in the US at the end of January where it tanked - possibly due to its troubled production and repeatedly delayed release.

'Midnight Special' was released on a limited basis only just very recently to generally positive reviews, although it has so far only recovered one-third of its Budget costs. That film is Directed by Jeff Nichols and stars Michael Shannon, with whom Edgerton reprises that relationship next with 'Loving' due in November this year and very warmly received at this years Cannes Film Festival where the film received a standing ovation, and subsequent Oscar speculation of Edgerton's first nomination. He has lent his voice talents also over the years to '$9.99', 'Legend of the Guardians : The Owls of Ga'Hoole', and short films 'The Cartographer' and 'The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello'.

Next up is 'American Express' due next year and Directed by Nash Edgerton with Charlize Theron, Thandie Newton, David Oyelowo and Sharlto Copley, and then 'Bright' in pre-production for David Ayer with Will Smith and Noomi Rapace. All up Edgerton has 68 acting credits, nine Writer cerdits, six as Producer and three as Director. He has thirteen award wins and another 24 nominations so far.

Edgerton is an ambassador for the 'Fred Hollows Foundation' which restores eye sight to the less fortunate in poorer countries through a simple low cost procedure. In 1996 he and brother Nash Co-Founded Blue Tongue Films with Kieran Darcy-Smith and David Michod that has since produced feature films, short films and music videos for many named artists.

Joel Edgerton - multi-talented; multi-faceted across the film making game; has worked across just about all genres; is widely respected; grounded, real and has film making values that he holds dear; is clearly much sought after, and another great Australian success story - Happy Birthday to you Joel, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL : Wednesday 18th May 2016.

'MIDNIGHT SPECIAL' - which I saw mid-week last week is Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols, and whilst essentially a Sci-Fi drama is is also a road movie, a chase film, and a kidnapping story all rolled into one that uses many touchstones from the movie classics of the 80's and 90's - as made by Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter and written by Stephen King. Made for US$18M it so far has recovered about one-third of that sum and deserves to do so much better however, as this is a top notch close encounter of another kind that has a strong cast, a solid story, a deft Directorial touch and a warmth, emotion and conviction at its heart. Sadly, this film is not on wide release and again I had to travel half away across Sydney to catch-it, but I'm pleased I did, and you won't be disappointed either. Despite its limited release the film has received much critical acclaim around the traps for its original premise, convincing performances, and its engaging entertainment factor.

As the film opens up we are in a cheap hotel room, and Roy Tomlin (Michael Shannon) is packing up to move on out under cover of darkness with a young lad Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher) accompanied by long term friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) - a former State Trooper. We learn soon enough that Roy is the birth father of young eight year old Alton and he is escaping from a religious cult in rural Texas where they lived happily for a number of years. Alton's mother Sarah Tomlin (Kirsten Dunst) has already fled having been excommunicated two years previously during which time she has not seen her son. Known as 'The Ranch' - the leader there, Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard) is seen discussing Altons disappearance with two of his off-siders instilling in them the need to recover the boy within 72 hours at all costs. On the television news, beamed across the country is an alert for anyone to be on the lookout for Roy Tomlin who is believed to have abducted the young lad, although the relationship is unknown to the world at large it seems. In the meantime, the US Government, the FBI and other authorities have been alerted to young Alton, and also are hot on the trail.

So begins our road movie as we gain further insight into what makes Alton so special, and why so many are after him. It seems that while at 'The Ranch' the Tomlin's had to give up their son to be 'adopted' by Calvin Meyer (hence the name), and they practically worshipped Alton for the special otherworldly powers he possesses, and which they had seen manifested in various ways. The US Government have enlisted the help of Paul Sevier (Adam Driver) of the National Security Agency to help track down Alton and understand why a set of co-ordinates from a secret nuclear attack warning satellite were known to him and were being used by Calvin Meyer in his sermons. Roy and Lucas meanwhile know full well of Alton's special gift and have a preordained appointment three days from now at an undisclosed location where a possibly world changing event is to occur, and for which Alton must be present at all costs, and to which he is being drawn by a force not known by anyone else but him.

As the clock counts down on the given day, Alton's powers continue to manifest themselves when least expected, and these drain him of his energy and he grows noticeably weaker. Constantly on the look out for the FBI, the NSA, those from The Ranch, the Police and wary of television broadcasts and newspaper reports that could further identify them, Roy, Lucas and Alton travel by night and rest up by day  - a necessity also given Alton is intolerant to sunlight and needs to be shielded from it. After a number of incidents and near misses on their journey, the three arrive at the home of Sarah where mother and son are reunited. The next day, the four leave together, and along the way Alton senses an overhead patrol searching for him and urges the car to stop. He flees with Roy into the woods and finds a cave in which to hide overnight, while Sarah and Lucas continue to a motel nearby.

The next morning Alton indicates to Roy that he needs to see the sunrise, and although knowing the harm it can potentially cause Roy reluctantly agrees receiving reassurance from Alton that it will be alright. Moving into a clearing, as the sun rises behind the trees, the earth begins to shake violently and a dome of light then engulfs them. Later, they arrive at the motel where Alton is newly invigorated, energised and looking much healthier than he did just twelve hours ago, and he begins to explain that he now knows where his powers originate from, what he must do and where they must now go.

Later the four exit the motel room to continue their onward journey, but are ambushed in the process by two of Calvin Meyer's henchmen from The Ranch. They fire on Roy and Lucas, and manage to cable-tie their hands together and those of Sarah, and make off with Alton. Able to free themselves they give chase, but get caught up in traffic jam and soon discover that the vehicle carrying Alton had been halted by the FBI and Alton had been captured and taken away to a facility for questioning. Wired up to various monitors he is questioned by Paul Sevier whom Alton asked for specifically from behind a glass screen, and with whom he has had no previous contact. Alton demonstrates his powers to Sevier that he can now increasingly manifest at will, convincing the NSA Agent to co-operate and help him escape the facility to be reunited with his family so that his mission can be accomplished.

Making their escape at night and after Alton has caused a massive power outage across the whole facility so disabling security cameras, lights, gates etc. young Alton and Sevier make their getaway, meeting up with Roy, Sarah and Lucas at an isolated location where the boy can be reunited with those who will see out his mission. Travelling through open country on back roads the day has arrived when Alton's destiny becomes clear. Sevier had analysed the co-ordinates known to Alton and determined that they represent the meeting place that the family are now hurrying toward. With the FBI now laying a strict cordon around that location, Sarah and Alton continue their journey on foot as Alton increasingly senses that the place is close by. Roy and Lucas provide the necessary distraction in the vehicle.

As Sarah and Alton enter a clearing, the young lad walks on ahead, leaving Mum behind looking on - knowing that this is probably the last time she will ever see her child. Standing motionless the ground begins to shake, and a huge explosion of light creates a dome that covers most of the southeastern corner of the United States. Meanwhile, the vehicle that Roy and Lucas are travelling is set upon by FBI armoured pursuit vehicles ultimately causing it to crash and flip end over end several times coming to rest on its roof. This occurs as the dome of light is seen by Roy, Lucas, those authorities in pursuit and the entire population of that south eastern corner of the US - together with what is contained within the dome of light, which hitherto had been known by Alton and communicated to his parents and Lucas the day before after watching the sunrise. Within minutes the dome vanishes, and so too has Alton.

I really enjoyed this film - it moves along at a good pace, the story is fresh and original, and it is hard to pigeon-hole this film into any one category. The performances are solid, grounded and believable; and it contains all the elements you want from a movie - emotion, thrills, suspense, spectacle, surprises in equal measure that are not overcooked or added in just for effect. Make the effort and seek out this film where you can - you'll be pleased you did.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-