On this day in movie history - A Beautiful Mind (2001 movie & book):

A Beautiful Mind

directed by Ron Howard,

written by Akiva Goldsman,

based on the book by Sylvia Nasar,

was released in the United States on December 13, 2001.
Music by James Horner.

Cast:

Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Josh Lucas, Anthony Rapp, Jason Gray-Stanford, Judd Hirsch, Austin Pendleton, Vivien Cardone, Jillie Simon, Victor Steinbach, Tanya Clarke, Thomas F. Walsh, Jesse Doran, Kent Cassella, Patrick Blindauer, John Blaylock, Roy Thinnes, Anthony Easton, Cheryl Howard, Rance Howard, Jane Jenkins, Darius Stone, Josh Pais, Alex Toma, Valentina Cardinalli, Teagle F. Bougere, David B. Allen, Michael Esper, Eva Burkley, Amy Walz, Tracey Toomey, Jennifer Weedon, Yvonne Thomas, Holly Pitrago, Isadore Rosenfeld, Tommy Allen, Dave Bayer, Brian Keith Lewis, Tom McNutt, Will Dunham, Glenn Roberts, Ed Jupp Jr., Christopher Stockton, Gregory Dress, Carla Occhiogrosso, Matt Samson, Lyena Nomura, Kathleen Fellegara, Betsy Klompus, Stelio Savante, Logan McCall, Bob Broder, Michael Abbott Jr., Liche Ariza, Michael Arthur, Reggie Austin, Fileena Bahris, Lloyd Baskin, Sean Bennett, Cade Bittner, James Thomas Bligh, Peter Bonilla, Rich Bryant, Dan Chen, Phil Cirincione, Scott Addison Clay, Ty Copeman, Sean Dillon, Berly Ellis, Jonah Falcon, Fabrizio Fante, Scott Fernstrom, Michael Fiore, Mike Fitzgerald, Todd Fredericks, Seth Gabel, Russell Gibson, Gregory Gordon, Evan Hart, Jason Horton, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron Howard, Vivian Kalinov, Alex Lorre, Monique Marissa Lukens, Dory Manzour, Tiffany Marz, Charles McClelland, Jon M. McDonnell, Arnold Montey, Robert Myers, Ryan O’Connor, Nick Oddo, Charles Pendelton, Reed Penney, Michael C. Pierce, Mills Pierre, Deborah Rayne, Sean Reid, Colby Ryan, Brian Smyj, Ned Stuart, Dave Sweeney, Alessandro Tanaka, Douglas Taurel, John H. Tobin, Jeffrey Todd, Michael Tota, Jarred Treiber, Ryan Tygh, Erik Van Wyck, James Whalen, Warner Wolf.

Recommended reading:

A Beautiful Mind

By Sylvia Nasar.

First published 1998.

Published by Simon & Schuster.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1451628420

ISBN-13: 978-1451628425

Description:

Also an Academy Award–winning film starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly – directed by Ron Howard.

The powerful, dramatic biography of math genius John Nash, who overcame serious mental illness and schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize.

“How could you, a mathematician, believe that extraterrestrials were sending you messages?” the visitor from Harvard asked the West Virginian with the movie-star looks and Olympian manner. “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did,” came the answer. “So I took them seriously.”

Thus begins the true story of John Nash, the mathematical genius who was a legend by age thirty when he slipped into madness, and who—thanks to the selflessness of a beautiful woman and the loyalty of the mathematics community—emerged after decades of ghostlike existence to win a Nobel Prize for triggering the game theory revolution. The inspiration for an Academy Award–winning movie, Sylvia Nasar’s now-classic biography is a drama about the mystery of the human mind, triumph over adversity, and the healing power of love.

Born on this day – Christopher Plummer:

Christopher Plummer

Actor

December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021

On this day in movie history - 12 Monkeys (1995):

12 Monkeys

directed by Terry Gilliam,

written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1995.
Inspired by the short movie La Jetée (1962), directed by Chris Marker.
Music by Paul Buckmaster.

Cast:

Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, David Morse, Christopher Plummer, Jon Seda, Christopher Meloni, Michael Chance, Vernon Campbell, H. Michael Walls, Bob Adrian, Simon Jones, Carol Florence, Bill Raymond, Ernest Abuba, Irma St. Paule, Joseph Melito, Bruce Kirkpatrick, Wilfred Williams, Rozwill Young, Nell Johnson, Frederick Strother, Rick Warner, Frank Gorshin, Anthony 'Chip' Brienza, Joilet Harris, Drucie McDaniel, John Blaisse, Louis Lippa, Stan Kang, Pat Dias, Aaron Michael Lacey, Charles Techman, Jann Ellis, Johnnie Hobbs Jr., Janet Zappala, Thomas Roy, Harry O'Toole, Korchenko, Chuck Jeffreys, LisaGay Hamilton, Felix Pire, Matt Ross, Barry Price, John Panzarella, Larry Daly, Arthur Fennell, Karl Warren, Paul Meshejian, Robert O'Neill, Kevin Thigpen, Lee Golden, Joseph McKenna, Jeff Tanner, Faith Potts, Michael Ryan Segal, Annie Golden, Lisa Talerico, Stephen Bridgewater, Ray Huffman, Jodi Dawson, Jack Dougherty, Lenny Daniels, Herbert C. Hauls Jr., Charley Scalies, Carolyn Walker, Tiffany Baldwin, Bart the Bear, Al Brown, C.J. Byrnes, Phillip V. Caruso, Tom Detrik, Donald Faison, Kelly Farnan, Joe Gerety, Laura Glas, Robert Gleason, John Hagy, Adam Hatley, Bonnie Love, Julie Mabry, Raymond Mamrak, Sal Mazzotta, Roger Pratt, Allelon Ruggiero, Renee Spei, Richard Stanley, Thang, Ruth Leon Weiman, Susan Wool-Rush.

On this day in movie history - The Man Who Invented Christmas (movie & book):

The Man Who Invented Christmas

directed by Bharat Nalluri,

written by Susan Coyne,

based on the book by Les Standiford,

was released in the United States on November 22, 2017.
Music by Mychael Danna.

Cast:

Dan Stevens, Ely Solan, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Callow, Donald Sumpter, Miriam Margolyes, Morfydd Clark, Justin Edwards, Miles Jupp, Ian McNeice, David McSavage, Bill Paterson, John Henshaw, Annette Badland, Anna Murphy, Jasper Hughes-Cotter, Eddie Jackson, Paul Kealyn, Aleah Lennon, Ger Ryan, Cosimo Fusco, Valeria Bandino, Donna Marie Sludds.

Recommended reading:

The Man Who Invented Christmas:

How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits

By Les Standiford.

Published 2008.

Paperback.

Published by Crown.

ISBN 13: 9781524762469

ISBN 10: 1524762466

ASIN: 1524762466

Description:

As uplifting as the tale of Scrooge itself, this is the story of how Charles Dickens revived the signal holiday of the Western world.

Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a small book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had to put out A Christmas Carol himself. He worried it might be the end of his career as a novelist.

The book immediately caused a sensation. And it breathed new life into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor, undermined by lingering Puritanism and the cold modernity of the Industrial Revolution. It was a harsh and dreary age, in desperate need of spiritual renewal, ready to embrace a book that ended with blessings for one and all.

With warmth, wit, and an infusion of Christmas cheer, Les Standiford whisks us back to Victorian England, its most beloved storyteller, and the birth of the Christmas we know best. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a rich and satisfying read for Scrooges and sentimentalists alike.

On this day in movie history - The Insider (1999):

The Insider

directed by Michael Mann,

written by Eric Roth and Michael Mann,

was released in the United States on November 5, 1999.
Based on the 1996 Vanity Fair article The Man Who Knew Too Much by Marie Brenner.
Music by Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke.

Cast:

Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall, Lindsay Crouse, Debi Mazar, Stephen Tobolowsky, Colm Feore, Bruce McGill, Gina Gershon, Michael Gambon, Rip Torn, Lynne Thigpen, Hallie Eisenberg, Michael Paul Chan, Linda Hart, Robert Harper, Nestor Serrano, Pete Hamill, Wings Hauser, Cliff Curtis, Renee Olstead, Mike Moore, Gary Sandy, Willie C. Carpenter, Paul Butler, Jack Palladino, Roger Bart, Alan Desatti, Sayed Badreya, Chris Ufland, Douglas McGrath, Bill Sage, Joseph Hindy, Dennis Garber, Tim Grimm, Paul Perri, Wanda De Jesus, Robert Patrick Brink, Vincent Foster, James Harper, Eyal Podell, Breckin Meyer, David Roberson, Gregg E. Muravchick, William P. Bradford, David Clyde Carr, Ann Reskin, Claire Slemmer, Steve Salge, Derrick Jones, Donald F. Burbrink, Vyto Ruginis, George R. Parsons, Isodine Loury, Charlene Bosarge, Saemi Nakamura, Ronal G. Yokley, Bob Lazarus, Robert J. Ragno Jr., Alvin L. Welch, Nathan Lewis Hill, Paula Bisbikos, Christi Evans, Knox White, Amy L. Caudill, Cara Briese, Brian Canberg, David C. Fisher, J.B. Flinn, Phil Hawn, Tom Jones, Zane Lamprey, Don Langley, Clyde Lee, Robert D. Parham, Roger Phenix, Scott Ritcher, Ted Speaker, Robbie G. Tomlin, Susan Wagner.