American Beauty is a 1999 drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged office worker who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his daughter's best friend; Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper and Allison Janney also feature. Described as a satire of American notions of beauty and personal satisfaction, the film explores themes of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation and redemption. American Beauty was Mendes' film directorial debut and Ball's first film screenplay. DreamWorks bought his spec script for $250,000 and financed the $15 million production. Courted by the studio after a run of successful theater productions, Mendes was nevertheless only given the job after several "A-list" directors turned it down. Released in late 1999, American Beauty was the best-reviewed American film of the year and grossed over $350 million worldwide. At the 2000 Academy Awards, the film won five of its eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (for Spacey). The film was nominated for and won many other awards and honors, mainly for the direction, writing and acting.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Beauty_%28film%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1027:

Pope John XIX crowned Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor

1484:

William Caxton, the first printer of books in English, printed his translation of Aesop's Fables. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesop%27s_Fables

1636:

Utrecht University, one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe, was established. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utrecht_University

1971:

After the Pakistan Army attempted to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in Operation Searchlight, East Pakistan declared its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh , starting the Bangladesh Liberation War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Searchlight

1975:

The Biological Weapons Convention, the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of an entire category of weapons, entered into force. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_Weapons_Convention

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

seam allowance (n): (sewing) That part of the material or fabric added to the dimensions of a sewing pattern outside the seam http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/seam_allowance

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. --Robert Frost http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Frost