Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The plot focuses on commodities broker Louis Winthorpe III, played by Dan Aykroyd, and street hustler Billy Ray Valentine, played by Eddie Murphy (pictured), who are the subject of a bet to test how each man will perform when their lives are swapped. Trading Places was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1983 in the United States and Canada and received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the cast and the film's revival of the screwball comedy genre. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Score and won two BAFTA awards. The film has been praised as one of the greatest comedy films and Christmas films ever made, but retrospective assessments have criticized its use of racial jokes and language. In 2010, the film was referenced in congressional testimony concerning the reform of the commodities trading market designed to prevent the insider trading demonstrated in Trading Places.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_Places
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1950:
Thomas Blamey became the only Australian to attain the rank of field marshal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blamey
1967:
The Israeli Air Force attacked the U.S. Navy intelligence ship USS Liberty in international waters, killing 34 and wounding 171. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident
2007:
A major storm caused the bulk carrier Pasha Bulker to run aground in New South Wales, Australia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Xanthea
2009:
Two American journalists, having been arrested for illegal entry into North Korea, were sentenced to twelve years hard labor before being pardoned two months later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_imprisonment_of_American_journalists_by_North_Korea
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
white whale: 1. Synonym of beluga (“the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), a cetacean found in the Arctic Ocean”) 2. Any whale of the family Monodontidae, which comprises the beluga whales and narwhals (Monodon monoceros), and some extinct species. 3. (figuratively) 4. An obsession, a monomania. 5. (trading cards) A printing plate used to manufacture a particular sports card, that is then issued as a collectible itself. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/white_whale
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is not difficult to nourish admirable thoughts when the stars are present. --Marguerite Yourcenar https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marguerite_Yourcenar