On this day in 2006, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, an adventure film starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, opens in theaters across America. The movie, the second in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, was part of a multi-billion dollar Disney franchise that included theme park rides, video games and […]
Continue readingDaimlerChrysler Announces Smart’s Arrival In United States
After a flurry of rumors, DaimlerChrysler chairman Dieter Zetsche announces on this day in 2006 that the company’s urban-focused Smart brand–already popular in Europe–will come to the United States in early 2008. Smart–an acronym for Swatch Mercedes ART–began as a joint venture between Swatch, the company known for its colorful and trendy plastic watches, and […]
Continue readingJurors Begin Deliberations In Susan Polk Trial
On June 13, 2006, jurors began deliberations in the trial of Susan Polk, 48, for the October 2002 murder of her psychotherapist husband Felix Polk, 70, in a poolside cottage at the couple’s Orinda, California, home. Felix was stabbed and cut 27 times and had suffered blunt force trauma to the head. Susan and Felix […]
Continue reading“Cars” Released
On this day in 2006, the animated feature film “Cars,” produced by Pixar Animation Studios, roars into theaters across the United States. For “Cars,” which won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Pixar’s animators created an alternate America inhabited by vehicles instead of humans. The film’s hero is Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen […]
Continue readingHollywood Power Couple Welcomes Child
On this day in 2006, in Swakopmund, Namibia, the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt welcome the arrival of their first biological child, a daughter named Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. Talented and famous, Jolie and Pitt were both fixtures on Hollywood’s A-list by the time they starred together as married assassins in the action film Mr. […]
Continue readingThe Da Vinci Code Opens
Amid a firestorm of publicity and controversy, the director Ron Howard’s big-screen adaptation of Dan Brown’s mega-bestselling thriller The Da Vinci Code debuts in theaters on this day in 2006. Howard directed the $125 million film from a script by Akiva Goldsman; the pair had previously won Oscars for their collaboration on 2001’s A Beautiful […]
Continue reading“World’s Fastest Indian” Makes U.S. Debut
On February 3, 2006, “The World’s Fastest Indian,” a movie based on the true story of motorcycle racer and land-speed record holder Burt Munro, opens in U.S. theaters. The film starred Anthony Hopkins as Munro, the sexagenarian who in the 1960s set several land-speed records on his modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle at the Bonneville […]
Continue readingClint Eastwood Honored By Directors Guild Of America
On this day in 2006, Clint Eastwood becomes only the 31st filmmaker in 70 years of Directors Guild of America (DGA) history to be given the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Eastwood accepted his award from DGA President Michael Apted at the 58th Annual DGA Awards ceremony, held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los […]
Continue readingOprah Winfrey Takes James Frey To Task For Lying
On this day in 2006, during a live broadcast of her daytime TV talk show, Oprah Winfrey confronts author James Frey about fabrications in “A Million Little Pieces,” his memoir about addiction and recovery, which she chose as an Oprah’s Book Club selection in September 2005. “A Million Little Pieces,” published in 2003, was James […]
Continue readingWalt Disney Announces $7.4 Billion Purchase Of Pixar
By the end of 2005, Pixar had become a giant in the world of movie animation, and on this day in 2006, the company that brought the world the blockbuster hits Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003) and The Incredibles (2004) was sold to the Walt Disney Company, […]
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