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Ashton Kutcher

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ashton Kutcher
"Ashton Kutcher"
Born	Christopher Ashton Kutcher February 7, 1978 (1978-02-07) (age 30) Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
Spouse(s)	Demi Moore (2005 - present)

Christopher Ashton Kutcher (pronounced /ˈkʊtʃɚ/, rhyming with butcher;) commonly known as Ashton Kutcher (born February 7, 1978) is an American actor and former fashion model best known for playing Michael Kelso in the television series That '70s Show. He was the creator, executive producer, and host of the MTV celebrity prank show Punk'd. He is known for his roles in films such as Dude, Where's My Car?, Just Married, The Butterfly Effect, The Guardian and What Happens in Vegas. He's also the producer and co-creator of the supernatural TV show Room 401.

Contents [hide] 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Personal life 2 Filmography 2.1 Actor 2.2 Video Games 2.3 Producer 3 Awards 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of factory workers Diane and Larry Kutcher.^[1] He has an older sister, Tausha, and a fraternal twin, Michael, who has cerebral palsy. Kutcher's childhood was that of a rugged, outdoorsy Midwesterner, and he had various odd jobs, including carpentry, and other jobs relating to farm life. Kutcher attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for about a year when his family moved to Tiffin, Iowa where he attended the Clear Creek-Amana High School. In addition to being a student, he played on the football team as wide receiver and appeared in school plays.^[2] Meanwhile, his home life was stressful. He has stated that "I didn't want to come home and find more bad news about my brother" and "kept myself so busy that I didn't allow myself to feel."^[3] Kutcher stated that as a teen, he contemplated committing suicide. At thirteen, he attempted to jump from a hospital balcony, but his father intervened at the last minute.^[4] At around this time, his parents divorced. During his senior year, he broke into the high school at night with his cousin in an attempt to steal money; he was caught leaving the scene. Kutcher was convicted of third-degree burglary and sentenced to three years' probation and 180 hours of community service. Kutcher stated that though the experience "straightened him out," he lost his girlfriend and anticipated college scholarships, and he was ostracized at school and in his community.^[2]

Kutcher attended the University of Iowa, where he majored in biochemical engineering (but did not complete), motivated by the desire to find a cure for his brother's heart ailment. At the University of Iowa, Kutcher was kicked out of his apartment for being too "noisy" and "wild." ^[5] Kutcher stated, "I thought I knew everything but I didn't have a clue. I was smoking a lot of weed and partying, and I woke up many mornings not knowing what I had done the night before. I played way too hard. I am amazed I am not dead."^[6] He was also a member of the Delta Chi fraternity. To make ends meet, Kutcher worked as a college summer hire in the cereal department for the General Mills plant in Cedar Rapids, and sometimes donated blood for money.^[7] During his time at the University he was approached by a scout at a bar called The Airliner in Iowa City, Iowa, and was recruited to enter the "Fresh Faces of Iowa" modeling competition. After placing first, he won a trip to New York City to the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Convention. Following his stay in New York City Ashton returned home to Cedar Rapids, Iowa before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career.^[5]

[edit] Career

After participating as a modelling contestant in an IMTA competition (losing to Josh Duhamel) in 1997, Kutcher signed with the Next modeling agency in New York, appeared in ads for Calvin Klein, modeled in Paris and Milan, and appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial.

After some success in modeling, Kutcher moved to Los Angeles and, after his first audition, was cast as Michael Kelso in the television series That '70s Show, which debuted in 1998 and ended in 2006. Kutcher was cast in a series of film roles; although he auditioned but was not cast for the role of Danny Walker in Pearl Harbor (2001)^[8], he starred in several comedy films that performed well at the box office, including Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), Just Married (2003), and Guess Who (2005). In addition, he appeared in the family film Cheaper By The Dozen, playing a self-obsessed actor. His 2004 film The Butterfly Effect was an unusually dramatic role for Kutcher, playing a conflicted young man who fell in love with a girl called Kayleigh; the film received very mixed reviews, but was a box-office success.^[2]

In 2003, Kutcher produced and starred in his own series on MTV's Punk'd. The series involves various hidden camera tricks performed on celebrities. Kutcher is also an executive producer of the reality television show Beauty and the Geek, which debuted in 2005, and will produce a reality show based around the rap group Three 6 Mafia,^[2] as well as another reality series entitled The Real Wedding Crashers.^[9] Kutcher's most recent film role is in The Guardian, a film which opened on September 29, 2006. The film co-stars Kevin Costner and Kutcher as United States Coast Guard rescue swimmers. The studio behind the film, Touchstone Pictures, initially hesitated in casting Kutcher in an action film because of his public image as a comic actor. In order to be there for filming, Ashton was forced not to renew his contract for the eighth and final season of That 70s Show, though he did appear in the first four episodes of it (credited as a special guest star) and returned for the show's series finale.^[2] Kutcher also voiced a leading character in the animated film Open Season, which opened on the same date as The Guardian.

Many of his production credits, including Punk'd, come through Katalyst Films, a production company he runs with partner Jason Goldberg.^[10]

Kutcher is part of the management team for Ooma, a tech start-up launched in September 2007. Ooma is in the Voice over Internet Protocol business and Ashton's role is as Creative Director. He's spearheading a marketing campaign and producing viral videos to promote this service.

[edit] Personal life

Kutcher dated actresses January Jones (from 1998 to 2001), Ashley Scott (from 2001 to 2002), Monet Mazur (2002), and Brittany Murphy (from 2002 to 2003). Following his break-up with Murphy in early 2003, Kutcher began dating Demi Moore; reports in the media frequently commented on the fifteen-year age difference between the two.^[9] Moore and Kutcher married on September 24, 2005 in a private ceremony conducted by a rabbi of the Kabbalah Centre; the wedding was attended by about 100 close friends and family of the couple, including Bruce Willis, Moore's ex-husband. Ashton has said that

It is humanly impossible for me to love any human beings more than Demi and her kids.

Both Kutcher and Moore are followers of the Kabbalah Centre, a controversial California-based organization which alleges that it teaches Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism. As part of his involvement in Kabbalah, Kutcher has toured Israel with Demi Moore, as well as taken time off to observe traditional Jewish High Holy Days,^[11] and celebrated the Jewish holiday Purim. Kutcher also usually wears the traditional Kabbalah Red string.^[12]

Kutcher is best friends with his former That '70s Show co-stars Danny Masterson and Wilmer Valderrama, as well as actor Seann William Scott, his costar in Dude, Where's My Car?. Kutcher claims that he "never felt close to Topher Grace," who is the only cast member of That '70s show that he did not punk. Kutcher has also invested in an Italian restaurant named Dolce^[2] (other owners include Masterson and Valderrama) and a Japanese-themed restaurant named Geisha House located in Atlanta and Los Angeles. Kutcher is a big Chicago Bears supporter.

Ashton Kutcher's former girlfriend, Ashley Ellerin, a 22-year-old fashion model, was found stabbed to death in her Hollywood Hills apartment in February 2001.^[13] Hours before she was found dead, Ashton Kutcher visited her home to pick her up for the 43rd Grammy Awards, but no one answered the door. Kutcher looked inside her apartment through a back window and saw what he thought were red wine stains on the carpet, then left. Ellerin's body was found later in the day by her roommate, and after hearing of the news Kutcher went to the police to offer any help in the investigation. In August 2008, police announced that they had traced Ellerin's murder to serial killer Michael Gargiulo, a Santa Monica resident who is charged in the stabbing deaths of at least three women.^[13]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Actor

• 1998–2006: That '70s Show as Michael Kelso
• 1999: Coming Soon as Louie
• 2000: Down to You as Jim Morrison
• 2000: Reindeer Games as College Kid
• 2000: Dude, Where's My Car? as Jesse Montgomery III
• 2001: Just Shoot Me! as Dean Cassidy (1 episode)
• 2001: Texas Rangers as George Durham
• 2002: Grounded for Life as Cousin Scott (1 episode)
• 2003–2007: Punk'd as Himself/Host
• 2003: Just Married as Tom Leezak
• 2003: My Boss's Daughter as Tom Stansfield
• 2003: Cheaper by the Dozen as Hank
• 2004: The Butterfly Effect as Evan Treborn
• 2005: Guess Who as Simon Green
• 2005: A Lot Like Love as Oliver Martin
• 2005: Robot Chicken various voices
• 2006: Bobby as Fisher
• 2006: The Guardian as Jake Fischer
• 2006: Open Season as Elliot (Voice)
• 2008: Miss Guided as Beaux (1 episode)
• 2008: What Happens in Vegas... as Jack Fuller
• 2008/2009: Personal Effects as Walter
• 2009: Spread as Nicki
• 2009: Like Father
• 2009: Open Season 2 as Elliot(Voice)

[edit] Video Games

Surf's Up Quiz Game as Cody(Voice) Open Season Game as Elliot(Voice)

[edit] Producer

• 2003: Punk'd (64 Episodes)(executive producer)
• 2003: My Boss's Daughter (co-producer)
• 2004: The Butterfly Effect (executive producer)
• 2004: You've Got a Friend (8 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2006: Beauty and the Geek (36 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2007: Adventures in Hollyhood (8 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2007: Miss Guided (executive producer)
• 2007: Game Show in My Head (executive producer)
• 2007: The Real Wedding Crashers (7 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2007: Room 401 (8 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2008: Pop Fiction (executive producer}

[edit] Awards

• Kids' Choice Awards
  • 2004 - Favorite Movie Actor for Just Married, My Boss's Daughter and Cheaper by the Dozen - Nominated
  • 2005 - Favorite TV Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd - Nominated
  • 2007- Favorite Voice in a cartoon- Nominated
  • 2004 - Favorite Television Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd
• Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award
  • 2000 - Sierra Award Best Male Newcomer for Dude, Where's My Car? - Nominated
• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2001 - Breakthrough Male Performance for Dude, Where's My Car? - Nominated

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ashton Kutcher at the Internet Movie Database
• Ashton Kutcher at People.com

Persondata
NAME	Kutcher, Ashton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Kutcher, Christopher Ashton
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actor and producer
DATE OF BIRTH	February 7, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

The Road Not Taken

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Road Not Taken" is a poem by Robert Frost, published in 1916 in his collection Mountain Interval. It is the first poem in the volume, and the first poem Frost had printed in italics. The title is often misremembered as "The Road Less Traveled", from the penultimate line: "I took the one less traveled by".

Contents [hide] 1 Interpretation 1.1 Literal interpretation 1.2 Ironic interpretation 2 Adaptations 3 Poem 4 References

[edit] Interpretation

The poem admits two common interpretations, which turn on how one interprets the last lines – either literally or ironically.

It is popularly interpreted literally, as inspirational and individualist, but critics universally interpret it as ironic^[1] – "'The Road Not Taken,' perhaps the most famous example of Frost's own claims to conscious irony and 'the best example in all of American poetry of a wolf in sheep's clothing.'"^[2] – and Frost himself warned "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem – very tricky."^[3]

"Frost intended the poem as a gentle jab at his great friend and fellow poet Edward Thomas, and seemed amused at this certain interpretation of the poem as inspirational."^[4]

[edit] Literal interpretation

According to the literal interpretation, the poem is inspirational, a paean to individualism and non-conformism.

The poem's last lines, where the narrator declares that taking the road "less traveled by" has "made all the difference," can be seen as a declaration of the importance of independence and personal freedom. "The Road Not Taken" seems to illustrate that once one takes a certain road, there is no turning back. Although one might change paths later on, the past cannot be changed. It can be seen as showing that choice is very important, and is a thing to be considered.

This interpretation is connected with misremembering the title as "The Road Less Traveled", since it places emphasis on the choice made, not the opportunities foregone.

[edit] Ironic interpretation

The ironic interpretation, widely held by critics,^[1][5] is that the poem is instead about regret and personal myth-making, rationalizing our decisions.

In this interpretation, the final two lines:

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

are ironic – the choice made little or no difference at all, the speaker's protestations to the contrary. The narrator admits in the second and third stanzas that both paths may be equally worn and equally leaf-covered, and it is only in his future recollection that he will call one road "less traveled by".

The sigh, widely interpreted as a sigh of regret, might also be interpreted ironically: in a 1925 letter to Crystine Yates of Dickson, Tennessee, asking about the sigh, Frost replied: "It was my rather private jest at the expense of those who might think I would yet live to be sorry for the way I had taken in life."^[6]

[edit] Adaptations

Randall Thompson set several of Frost's poems, including "The Road Not Taken", into choral arrangements. Together they are known as "Frostiana".

[edit] Poem

[edit] References

Amy Sedaris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amy Sedaris
Sedaris at BlogHer, 2007
Born	March 29, 1961 (1961-03-29) (age 47) Endicott, New York

Amy Sedaris (born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, author, and comedian. She is perhaps best known as Jerri Blank from the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy; she is also the younger sister of (and sometimes-collaborator with) author David Sedaris.

Contents [hide] 1 Biography 1.1 Personal life 1.2 Career 2 Bibliography 3 Selected filmography 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Amy Sedaris was born in Endicott, New York, daughter of Sharon and Lou Sedaris. ^[1][2] She is the younger sister of humorist David Sedaris. They grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is of half Greek descent;^[3] her father was Greek Orthodox and her mother was Protestant, and she was raised in her father's faith.^[4][5]

Amy Sedaris lives in Greenwich Village with her mini rex rabbit Dusty and is very involved with the House Rabbit Society. As part of a running joke during public appearances, she frequently alludes to her imaginary boyfriend, Ricky. During an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman (October 6, 2006), she claimed Ricky had "died", (murdered)^[6] and she now lives with Ricky's ghost.

[edit] Career

A former member of Chicago-based Second City and Annoyance Theatre comedy troupes, she is known for her role as Jerri Blank in the television series Strangers with Candy. The show, which she co-wrote with Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert (both of whom also starred with her in the short-lived sketch show, Exit 57, on Comedy Central), was based on Sedaris's impression of 1970s motivational speaker Florrie Fisher. Sedaris has appeared in the movies Elf, School of Rock, Maid in Manhattan, the film version of Bewitched and is featured in David Munro's upcoming Full Grown Men. She also starred in the 2006 film adaptation of Strangers with Candy. In addition to acting, she runs a cupcake and cheese ball business ("Dusty Food Cupcakes") out of her kitchen.^[7]

Sedaris also hosted the series Film Fanatic on Trio. She coauthored the text-and-picture novel Wigfield with Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert, published in 2003. As of 2005, Sedaris writes a monthly advice column in The Believer. She has written a guide to entertaining titled I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, published in October 2006 by Warner Books. That light-hearted approach to cooking stayed on the New York Times best-sellers list for over 12 weeks, and currently has over 350,000 copies in print.

Along with her brother, author and essayist David Sedaris, Amy has co-authored several plays under the name "The Talent Family." These include: Stump the Host (1993), Stitches (1994), One Woman Shoe (1995), Incident at Cobblers Knob (1997) and The Little Frieda Mysteries (1997) which were all produced and presented by Meryl Vladimer, when she was the artistic director of "the CLUB" at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club Incident at Kobblers Knob was presented and produced by David Rockwell at the Lincoln Center Festival. She co-authored the play The Book of Liz with her brother. She played the stage manager in Paul Rudnick's play The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told.

Sedaris appeared in two episodes of Rescue Me, two episodes of Monk, an episode of Wonder Showzen, on Just Shoot Me! as a female version of David Spade's character, and as Carrie Bradshaw's book publisher in Sex and the City. She also played Paulie the Penis in the online comedy sketch 'The Puberty Pals'.^[8] She guest-starred as Randy's cat-obsessed girlfriend in an October 2006 episode of My Name Is Earl. She has also made a guest appearance on Sesame Street as a flustered Snow White who keeps losing her dwarves.

One of Sedaris's lesser known characters, Piglet, is a foul-mouthed, promiscuous Southern girl whom she affects by pulling her nose back with a piece of tape, creating a "pig nose" look. Although the character's rants are too obscene for her television appearances, Sedaris is often encouraged by fans to perform her at book signings and other appearances.

In 2007, Sedaris was featured in Dolly Parton's first mainstream country music video in 17 years, "Better Get to Livin'."

In 2008, Sedaris stars as principal Abby Hoffman in Nickelodeon TV's Gym Teacher: The Movie directed by her Strangers with Candy co-star Paul Dinello.

[edit] Bibliography

• Sedaris, Colbert, Dinello. Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not (Hyperion, May 19, 2004) ISBN 0-7868-8696-X
• I Like You : Hospitality Under The Influence (Warner Books, October 16 2006) ISBN 0-446-57884-3

[edit] Selected filmography

• Jennifer's Body (2009)
• Gym Teacher: The Movie (2008)
• Tanner Hall (2008)
• Puberty: The Movie (2007) (voice)
• Dedication (2007)
• Snow Angels (2007)
• Shrek the Third (2007) (voice)
• Strangers with Candy (2006)
• I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)
• Full Grown Men (2006)
• Chicken Little (2005) (voice)
• Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
• Bewitched (2005)
• My Baby's Daddy (2004)
• Elf (2003)
• School of Rock (2003)
• Maid in Manhattan (2002)
• Jump Tomorrow {2001}
• Strangers with Candy (1999) (TV series)
• Six Days Seven Nights (1998)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Amy Sedaris at the Internet Movie Database
• AmySedaris.com, "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence" by Amy Sedaris
• November 2001 interview from Paper magazine
• NPR's Weekend Edition interview with Amy Sedaris
• [1] This American Life Episode 35 narrating a story with her brother, David Sedaris.
• Amy Sedaris shares her favorite NY places at ontheinside.info