He made an auspicious feature-film debut in 1981 with Do You Remember Dolly Bell?, which won the prestigious Golden Lion at that year's Venice Film Festival.

His first film, When Father Was Away on Business (1985), earned a Golden Palm at Cannes, five Yugoslavian Oscar equivalents, and was nominated for an American Academy award for Best Foreign Film. Both Do You Remember Dolly Bell? and When Father Was Away on Business were made in collaboration with Abdulah Sidran (a famous contemporary Bosnian writer and poet who wrote screenplays for both films with many autobiographical elements from Abdulah's life). In 1989, he earned even more accolades for Time of the Gypsies, a penetrating but magical look into gypsy culture and the exploitation of their youths.

Kusturica continued to make highly regarded films into the next decade, including his American debut, the absurdist comedy Arizona Dream (1993) and the Golden Palm-winning black comedic epic, Underground (1995).

Underground, scripted by Dusan Kovacevic, was partly financed by state-owned Yugoslav television and created some controversy. The film detailed the history of Yugoslavia from the beginning of the second World War till the conflict in the 1990's. While some critics claimed Kusturica propagated a pro-Serbian view of the Yugoslav conflict (including animosities during WWII), others held the opinion that his ironic characterizations of Balkan ethnic groups were equally detrimental to all.

In 1998, he won the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion for Best Direction for Black Cat, White Cat, an outrageous, farcical comedy set in a Gypsy settlement on the banks of the Danube.

In The Widow of St. Pierre 2000, a movie by director Patrice Leconte, Kusturica, here in his first appearance as an actor, has little in the way of lines, but his eyes and body language speak volumes.

In 2001, Kusturica directed Super 8 Stories. This is a typical on the road documentary and concert movie. It's full of inside material, 'read between the lines' nuances and small pleasures offering also a breathless and exhilarating behind-the-scenes look.

In 2002, The Good Thief, directed by Neil Jordan, Emir Kusturica appears as an electric guitar player slash security specialist who constantly plays Jimi Hendrix riffs. In 2004, The Prix de l'Education nationale (National Education Prize) honoured Emir Kusturica and his film Zivot je cudo (Life is a Miracle). Life is a Miracle will be considered a national educational tool, complete with an instructional CD-ROM intended to facilitate analysis and debate among film students. (если получитс€, этот абзац тоже неплохо было бы выделить серым или отдельно оформить Ц а то он какой-то такой отдельный Ц не очень в€жетс€ с предыдущим) Emir Kusturica is the winner of the Philippe Rotthier European Architecture Award for his Drvengrad (a Уwooden townФ) ethnic village project on Mt. Zlatibor, Serbia, in 2005. The prize is awarded every three years by the Brussels Foundation for Architecture and is one of the most prestigious Belgian and European awards in this field. The village was named Kustendorf, and Emir is currently living there with the idea of opening there a school of cinema, promoting local biological agriculture, receiving his family & friends....

He was President of the Jury of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

Emir Kusturica spends his life between cameras, festivals, No Smoking Orchestra concerts and the village Kustendorf.

to denounce [dI'nauns] обвин€ть, осуждать

auspicious [Ls'pISqs] благопри€тный

accolade ['xkquleId] похвала, хороший отзыв, одобрение

penetrating ['penItreItIN] проницательный; острый

animosity ["xnI'mOsItI] враждебность, злоба

detrimental ["detrI'mentl] пагубный, губительный, вредный

riff [rIf] небольша€ ритмическа€ фигура

to facilitate [fq'sIlIteIt] способствовать; помогать

She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, to Gladys Baker. As the identity of her father is undetermined, she was later baptized Norma Jeane Baker. Due to her mother's mental instability and the fact that she was unmarried at the time, Norma Jeane was placed in the foster home of Albert and Ida Bolender. It was here she lived the first years of her life. Then she moved in with family friend Grace McKee Goddard. Unfortunately, when Grace's husband was transferred to the East Coast in 1942, the couple couldn't afford to take 16-year-old Norma Jeane with them. The girl had two options: return to the orphanage or get married.

So she wed her 21-year-old neighbor Jimmy Dougherty, whom she had been dating for six months. "She was a sweet, generous and religious girl," Jimmy said. "She liked to be cuddled. " By all accounts Norma Jeane loved Jimmy, and they were happy together until he joined the Merchant Marines and was sent to the South Pacific in 1944.

After Jimmy left, Norma Jeane took a job on the assembly line at the Radio Plane Munitions factory in Burbank, California. Several months later, photographer David Conover saw her while taking pictures of women contributing to the war effort for Yank magazine. He couldn't believe his luck. She was a "photographer's dream." Conover used her for the shoot and then began sending modeling jobs her way. The camera loved Norma Jeane, and within two years she was a reputable model with many popular magazine covers to her credit. She began studying the work of legendary actresses Jean Harlow and Lana Turner, and enrolled in drama classes with dreams of stardom. However, Jimmy's return in 1946 meant Norma Jeane had to make another choice - this time between her marriage and her career.

Norma Jeane divorced Jimmy later that year, and signed her first studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox. She earned $125 a week. Soon after, Norma Jeane dyed her hair blonde and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe (borrowing her grandmother's last name). The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Marilyn's first movie role was a bit part in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. She played a series of inconsequential characters until 1950, when John Huston's thrillerThe Asphalt Jungle provided her with a small but influential role. Later that year, Marilyn's performance as Claudia Caswell in All About Eve (starring Bette Davis) earned her further praise. From then on Marilyn worked steadily in movies such as: Let's Make It Legal, As Young As You Feel, Monkey Business and Don't Bother to Knock. It was her performance in Niagara, however, that delivered her to stardom. Marilyn played Rose Loomis, a beautiful young wife who plots to kill her older, jealous husband.

Marilyn's success in Niagara was followed with lead roles in the wildly popular Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire. Photoplay magazine voted Marilyn the Best New Actress of 1953, and at 27 years old she was undeniably the best-loved blonde bombshell in Hollywood.

The next year Marilyn married baseball superstar Joe DiMaggio at San Francisco's City Hall. They had been a couple for two years, after Joe asked his agent to arrange a dinner date. "I don't know if I'm in love with him yet," Marilyn said when the press got word of their relationship, "but I know I like him more than any man I've ever met." During their Tokyo honeymoon, Marilyn took time to perform for the service men stationed in Korea. Her presence caused a near-riot among the troops, and Joe was clearly uncomfortable with thousands of men ogling his new bride.

Unfortunately, Marilyn's fame and sexual image became a theme that haunted their marriage. Nine months later Marilyn and Joe divorced. They attributed the split to a "conflict of careers," and remained close friends.

Marilyn was ready to shed her "shallow blonde" image. It had gotten her into the spotlight, but now that she had the opportunity and experience, Marilyn wanted to pursue serious acting. She took a hiatus from Hollywood and moved to New York City to study under Lee Strasberg at his Actors' Studio. In 1956 Marilyn started her own motion picture company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. The company produced Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl. These two films allowed her to demonstrate her talent and versatility as an actress. Marilyn received further recognition for Some Like It Hot.

Later that year Marilyn wed playwright Arthur Miller. The couple met through Lee Strasberg, and friends reported she made him "giddy." While they were married, Arthur wrote the part of Roslyn Taber in The Misfits especially for Marilyn. The movie co-starred Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. Sadly, the marriage between Marilyn and Arthur ended and The Misfitswas to be Marilyn's last completed film.

At the 1962 Golden Globes, Marilyn was named female World Film Favorite, once again demonstrating her widespread appeal. Sadly, in a shocking turn of events on the early morning of August 5, 1962, 36-year-old Marilyn died in her sleep at her Brentwood, California home. The world was stunned. Marilyn's vibrant spirit and beauty made it impossible to believe she was gone. Marilyn's body was laid to rest in the Corridor of Memories, #24, at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.

Until today the truth about Marilyn Monroe's death has not been revealed. There are rumors that Marilyn's relationship to the Kennedys had something to do with her death. Supposedly she should have threatened Robert Kennedy to talk to the press about their affair if he wouldn't make it public, but that would have been a contradiction to the planned wedding. Another theory is suicide, but why is there no suicide note and why was she happily chatting with Joe's son in the evening. Years later scientists found out that a suicide is very improbable. The barbiturates found in her body weren't taken all at once. Probably Marilyn had taken sedatives which were given to her by her physician throughout the whole day. The fatal drug dose was caused by an enema. Most likely he didn't know about the sedatives and gave Marilyn the enema, but that was the fatal combination to the barbiturates. The cause of her death can't be specified definitely. Unfortunately the truth won't ever be revealed.

During her career, Marilyn made 30 films and left one, Something's Got to Give, unfinished. She was more than just a movie star or glamour queen. A global sensation in her lifetime, Marilyn's popularity has extended beyond star status to icon. Today, the name "Marilyn Monroe" is synonymous with beauty, sensuality and effervescence. She remains an inspiration to all who strive to overcome personal obstacles for the goal of achieving greatness.

Facts:

Elton John recorded the song "Candle in the Wind" as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe.

She was crowned Miss California Artichoke Queen in 1947.

Playboy УSweetheartФ of the Month (December 1953)

Nomination for Best Foreign Actress, 1956 British Academy Awards (УThe Seven Year ItchФ)

Nomination for Best Foreign Actress, 1958 British Academy Awards (УThe Prince and the ShowgirlФ)

Chosen by Empire Magazine as one of the У100 Sexiest Stars in Film HistoryФ (1995)

Voted Empire (UK) MagazineТs УSexiest Female Movie Star of all TimeФ (1995)

Ranked #8 in Empire (UK) MagazineТs УThe Top 100 Movie Stars of All TimeФ (1997)

Named the Number One Sex Star of the 20th century by Playboy magazine (1999)

Voted УSexiest Woman of the CenturyФ by People Magazine (1999)

Voted 4th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly

Voted 2nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine

Ranked #6 on the American Film InstituteТs У50 Greatest Screen LegendsФ list

Quotes:

"I am not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful."

"In Hollywood, a girl's best virtue is much less important than her hairdo."

"[Hollywood is] a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul."

"No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren't."

"I have too many fantasies to be a housewife."

"An actress is not a machine, but they treat you like a machine. A money machine."

"Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered."

"I don't mind living in a man's world as long as I can be a woman in it."

"It's not true that I had nothing on. I had the radio on."

"With fame, you know, you can read about yourself, somebody else's ideas about you, but what's important is how you feel about yourself--for survival and living day to day with what comes up."

"I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else."

"Only the public can make a star. It's the studios who try to make a system out of it."

to enamour [I'nxmq] возбуждать любовь; очаровывать, приводить в восхищение

alluring [q'ljuqrIN] привлекательный, соблазнительный

voluptuous [vq'lAptjuqs] пышный, роскошный

pout [paut] надутые губы

apparent [q'pxr(q)nt] видимый, видный

vulnerability ["vAln(q)rq'bIlItI] у€звимость; ранимость

innate ['I'neIt] природный; присущий, свойственный

to endear [In'dIq] заставить полюбить; внушить любовь

to cuddle ['kAdl] обнимать(с€)

reputable ['repjutqbl] почтенный, уважаемый, достойный уважени€

to enroll [In'rOl] записыватьс€

stardom ['stRdqm] положение звезды

inconsequential [In"kOnsI'kwenS(q)l] (редк.) несущественный; неважный, незначительный

bombshell ['bOmSel] секс-бомба

riot ['raIqt] бунт; разгул; необузданность

to ogle ['qugl] смотреть влюбленно, кокетливо; строить глазки

hiatus [haI'eItqs] перерыв

versatility ["vWsq'tIlItI] многосторонность

giddy ['gIdI] испытывающий головокружение

vibrant ['vaIbr(q)nt] живой, энергичный

enema ['enImq] клизма

effervescence ["efq'vesns] возбуждение, подъем, волнение