Sheryl Grossman Popular Books

Sheryl Grossman Biography & Facts

Fargo is a 1996 black comedy crime film written, directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen. Frances McDormand stars as Marge Gunderson, a pregnant Minnesota police chief investigating a triple homicide that takes place after a desperate car salesman (William H. Macy) hires two criminals (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife in order to extort a hefty ransom from her wealthy father (Harve Presnell). The film was an American and British co-production. Filmed in the United States in late 1995, Fargo premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, where Joel Coen won the festival's Prix De La Mise En Scène (Best Director Award) and the film was nominated for the Palme D'Or. The film was both a critical and commercial success, earning particular acclaim for the Coens' direction and script and the performances of McDormand, Macy, and Buscemi. Fargo received seven Oscar nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Macy, winning two: Best Actress for McDormand and Best Original Screenplay for the Coens. In 1998, the American Film Institute named it one of the 100 greatest American films in history (the most recent film on the list up to that point) but it was subsequently de-listed in 2007. In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". A Coen-produced FX television series of the same name, inspired by the film and taking place in the same fictional universe, premiered in 2014 and received widespread critical acclaim. Plot In 1987, Jerry Lundegaard, the executive sales manager of a Minneapolis car dealership owned by his father-in-law Wade Gustafson, is desperate for money, and plots to have his wife Jean kidnapped. Mechanic and convicted felon Shep Proudfoot arranges a meeting for Jerry in Fargo, North Dakota, with criminals Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud, who agree to do the job. Jerry gives them a new Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera and promises them half of the ransom, which he claims is $80,000. Jerry pitches Wade a lucrative real estate deal and believes Wade has agreed to lend him $750,000 to finance it, so he attempts to call off the kidnapping. Wade and his accountant Stan Grossman inform Jerry that Wade will make the deal himself and pay Jerry only a comparatively modest finder's fee. Carl and Gaear kidnap Jean and transport her to a remote cabin in Moose Lake. A state trooper stops them near Brainerd for not displaying temporary registration tags. When the trooper hears Jean whimpering in the back seat, Gaear shoots him, then kills two passers-by who witnessed the scene. Brainerd police chief Marge Gunderson, who is seven months pregnant, begins investigating. She correctly deduces that the dead trooper was ticketing a car with dealer plates. She later learns that two men driving a dealership vehicle checked into a nearby motel with two prostitutes and placed a call to Shep. After questioning the prostitutes, Marge visits Wade's dealership, where Shep feigns ignorance and Jerry nervously insists no cars are missing. While in Minneapolis, Marge reconnects with Mike Yanagita, a high school classmate. Mike awkwardly tries to romance her before breaking down and telling her that his wife has died. In light of the three murders, Carl demands Jerry hand over the entire $80,000. Jerry tells Wade the kidnappers have demanded $1 million and will deal only through him. Shep finds Carl with a call girl in a Minneapolis hotel room and attacks him for bringing Shep to the attention of the police. Carl angrily calls Jerry and demands that he bring the money immediately. Wade listens in on the call and insists on delivering the ransom himself and meets Carl at a parking garage. Wade refuses to hand it over without seeing his daughter, so Carl shoots him. Wade fires back, wounding Carl in the jaw. Carl kills Wade and a garage attendant, then drives away with the ransom. On the way to Moose Lake, Carl discovers the briefcase contains $1 million. He takes $80,000 to split with Gaear then buries the rest in the snow alongside the highway. At the cabin, Carl finds that Gaear killed Jean because she would not be quiet. Carl says they should split up and leave immediately, and they argue over who will keep the Oldsmobile. Carl uses his injury as justification, insults Gaear, and attempts to leave with the car. Gaear follows Carl outside and kills him with an axe. Marge learns from a friend that Yanagita lied; he has no wife and is mentally ill. Reflecting on this, Marge returns to Wade's dealership. Jerry becomes greatly agitated and again insists no cars are missing; he angrily tells Marge he will double-check his inventory. A few minutes later, Marge sees Jerry driving off the lot and calls the state police. Marge drives to Moose Lake, tipped off by a local bartender who overheard a customer brag about killing someone. She sees the Olds Ciera, then discovers Gaear feeding Carl's body into a woodchipper. Gaear attempts to flee, but Marge shoots him in the leg and he is arrested. Shortly after, Jerry is arrested at a motel outside Bismarck, North Dakota. Marge's husband, Norm, tells her the Postal Service has selected his painting of a mallard for a three-cent postage stamp and complains that his friend's painting won the competition for a twenty-nine cent stamp. Marge reminds him that smaller denomination stamps get used to make up the difference between the face value of old stamps and the new cost of first class postage. Norm is reassured, and the couple happily anticipate the birth of their child. Cast Production Casting The Coens initially considered William H. Macy for a smaller role, but they were so impressed by his reading that they asked him to come back in and read for the role of Jerry. According to Macy, he was very persistent in getting the role, saying: "I found out that they [the Coen brothers] were auditioning in New York still, so I got my jolly, jolly Lutheran ass on an airplane and walked in and said, 'I want to read again because I'm scared you're going to screw this up and hire someone else.' I actually said that. You know, you can't play that card too often as an actor. Sometimes it just blows up in your face, but I said, 'Guys, this is my role. I want this.'" Ethan Coen later remarked, "I don't think either of us [Coen brothers] realised what a tough acting challenge we were handing Bill Macy with this part. Jerry's a fascinating mix of the completely ingenuous and the utterly deceitful. Yet he's also guileless; even though he set these horrible events in motion, he's surprised when they go wrong."Frances McDormand learned how to use and fire a gun, spent days talking with a pregnant police officer and developed a backstory for her character along with John Carroll Lynch. After seeing the movie, McDormand noted that much of Marge was modele.... Discover the Sheryl Grossman popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Sheryl Grossman books.

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  • Hop Hop and Woof Woof Blow Clouds Away synopsis, comments

    Hop Hop and Woof Woof Blow Clouds Away

    Sheryl Grossman

    This book motivates kids to say words and sentences. Designed for ages 1836 months, or older kids with language delays. Hop Hop and Woof Woof are at a park. As each page is turned,...