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128-457: Troma has produced, acquired, and distributed over 1,000 independent films since its creation. Films produced and distributed by Troma include The Toxic Avenger (1984) and its sequels ; Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986) and its sequels ; Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990); Tromeo and Juliet (1996); Terror Firmer (1999); and Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006). In 2012,

256-457: A PG-13 remake of The Toxic Avenger had been greenlit and was to be produced by Akiva Goldsman . It actually has not been the first attempt at a general audience-friendly version of the franchise, as Make Your Own Damn Movie identified a previous deal with New Line in the early 1990s for a live-action take on the Toxic Crusaders . Another 1980s Troma classic, Mother's Day (1980),

384-538: A Republican . In the 1964 U.S. presidential election , Reagan gave a speech for presidential contender Barry Goldwater that was eventually referred to as " A Time for Choosing ". Reagan argued that the Founding Fathers "knew that governments don't control things. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose" and that "We've been told increasingly that we must choose between left or right". Even though

512-471: A balanced budget . The United States borrowed heavily to cover newly spawned federal budget deficits. Reagan described the tripled debt the "greatest disappointment of his presidency". Jeffrey Frankel opined that the deficits were a major reason why Reagan's successor, Bush, reneged on his campaign promise by raising taxes through the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 . On March 30, 1981, Reagan

640-544: A lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park . In 1928, Reagan began attending Eureka College at Nelle's approval on religious grounds. He was a mediocre student who participated in sports, drama, and campus politics. He became student body president and joined a student strike that resulted in the college president's resignation. Reagan was initiated as a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and served as president of

768-681: A small government and a strong national defense , since he believed the United States was behind the Soviet Union militarily. Heading into 1980, his age became an issue among the press, and the United States was in a severe recession . In the primaries , Reagan unexpectedly lost the Iowa caucus to George H. W. Bush . Three days before the New Hampshire primary , the Reagan and Bush campaigns agreed to

896-565: A "strapping young buck", which became an example of dog whistle politics , and attacked Ford for handing the Panama Canal to Panama's government while Ford implied that he would end Social Security . Then, in Illinois, he again criticized Ford's policy and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger . Losing the first five primaries prompted Reagan to desperately win North Carolina's by running

1024-476: A bill to create the holiday in 1983 after it passed both houses of Congress with veto-proof margins. In 1984, he signed legislation intended to impose fines for fair housing discrimination offenses. In March 1988, Reagan vetoed the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 , but Congress overrode his veto. He had argued that the bill unreasonably increased the federal government's power and undermined

1152-724: A bond between him and the American people that was never really broken". Later, Reagan came to believe that God had spared his life "for a chosen mission". Reagan appointed three Associate Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States : Sandra Day O'Connor in 1981, which fulfilled a campaign promise to name the first female justice to the Court, Antonin Scalia in 1986, and Anthony Kennedy in 1988. He also elevated William Rehnquist from Associate Justice to Chief Justice in 1986. The direction of

1280-535: A grassroots campaign and uniting with the Jesse Helms political machine that viciously attacked Ford. Reagan won an upset victory, convincing party delegates that Ford's nomination was no longer guaranteed. Reagan won subsequent victories in Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Indiana with his attacks on social programs, opposition to forced busing , increased support from inclined voters of a declining George Wallace campaign for

1408-583: A hero, the Toxic Avenger continues to combat crime in Tromaville. In 1975, Lloyd Kaufman had the idea to shoot a horror film involving a health club while serving as the pre-production supervisor on the set of Rocky . Years later at the Cannes Film Festival , Kaufman read an article that stated monster movies were no longer popular, so he decided to produce his own take on one based on his idea. It

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1536-410: A landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election . In his first term as U.S. president, Reagan began implementing " Reaganomics ", which involved economic deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending during a period of stagflation . On the world stage, he escalated the arms race , transitioned Cold War policy away from the policies of détente with

1664-462: A limited acting range, was dissatisfied with the roles he received. As a result, Lew Wasserman renegotiated his contract with his studio, allowing him to also make films with Universal Pictures , Paramount Pictures , and RKO Pictures as a freelancer. With this, Reagan appeared in multiple western films , something that had been denied to him while working at Warner Bros. In 1952, he ended his relationship with Warner Bros., but went on to appear in

1792-407: A loose parody of Shakespeare 's play; Terror Firmer , a slasher film loosely based on Kaufman's book All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger , and an independent film sequel to The Toxic Avenger trilogy titled Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV . Troma's financial hardship worsened after the botched funding of a low-budget video feature titled Tales from

1920-412: A one-on-one debate sponsored by The Telegraph at Nashua, New Hampshire , but hours before the debate, the Reagan campaign invited other candidates including Bob Dole , John B. Anderson , Howard Baker and Phil Crane . Debate moderator Jon Breen denied seats to the other candidates, asserting that The Telegraph would violate federal campaign contribution laws if it sponsored the debate and changed

2048-431: A positive take on free markets . Under GE vice president Lemuel Boulware , a staunch anti-communist, employees were encouraged to vote for business-friendly politicians. In 1961, Reagan adapted his speeches into another speech to criticize Medicare . In his view, its legislation would have meant "the end of individual freedom in the United States". In 1962, Reagan was dropped by GE, and he formally registered as

2176-405: A real sheep who he thought was Julie. He is ridiculed and chased around the health club. He ultimately jumps out of a second-story window and falls into a drum of toxic waste, which was on a flatbed truck parked outside. The toxic waste burns his skin and sets him on fire as he is getting publicly ridiculed. After running away down the street, Melvin returns home to get relief in his bathtub. However,

2304-462: A remake of The Toxic Avenger was announced, set to be co-written and directed by Steve Pink . In 2016 Variety reported that Conrad Vernon will direct the film, while Mike Arnold and Chris Poole were attached to rewrite the screenplay by Pink and Daniel C. Mitchell. In 2018 Legendary Pictures won the rights to reboot The Toxic Avenger , with the original's directors–producers, Kaufman and Herz, returning as producers. In 2019 Macon Blair

2432-468: A result, taxes on sales, banks, corporate profits, inheritances, liquor, and cigarettes jumped. Kevin Starr states, Reagan "gave Californians the biggest tax hike in their history—and got away with it". In the 1970 gubernatorial election , Unruh used Reagan's tax policy against him, saying it disproportionally favored the wealthy. Reagan countered that he was still committed to reducing property taxes. By 1973,

2560-692: A set of neoliberal reforms dubbed "Reaganomics", which included monetarism and supply-side economics . Reagan worked with the boll weevil Democrats to pass tax and budget legislation in a Congress led by Tip O'Neill , a liberal who strongly criticized Reaganomics. He lifted federal oil and gasoline price controls on January 28, 1981, and in August, he signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 to dramatically lower federal income tax rates and require exemptions and brackets to be indexed for inflation starting in 1985. Amid growing concerns about

2688-614: A special election. Reagan's first tenure saw various labor–management disputes, the Hollywood blacklist , and the Taft–Hartley Act 's implementation. On April 10, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interviewed Reagan and he provided them with the names of actors whom he believed to be communist sympathizers . During a House Un-American Activities Committee hearing, Reagan testified that some guild members were associated with

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2816-678: A term synonymous with these characteristics. Troma reuses the same props, actors, and scenes repeatedly, sometimes to save money. At a certain point, however, this became yet another hallmark of Troma. Examples include a severed leg, a penis monster, and the flipping and exploding car filmed for the movie Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. , which is used in place of any other car that needs to crash and explode. Troma has produced or acquired early films featuring several rising talents, before they were discovered, including: The studio prides itself on its self-imposed "Rules of Production": Their latest production has been Shakespeare's Shitstorm (2020). In

2944-650: A total of 53 films, his last being The Killers (1964). In April 1937, Reagan enlisted in the United States Army Reserve . He was assigned as a private in Des Moines' 322nd Cavalry Regiment and reassigned to second lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps. He later became a part of the 323rd Cavalry Regiment in California. As relations between the United States and Japan worsened, Reagan

3072-405: A vocal critic of President Carter in 1977. The Panama Canal Treaty 's signing, the 1979 oil crisis , and rise in the interest, inflation and unemployment rates helped set up his 1980 presidential campaign, which he announced on November 13, 1979 with an indictment of the federal government. His announcement stressed his fundamental principles of tax cuts to stimulate the economy and having both

3200-461: A year). The film opened to positive reviews from Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times and was released in 2006 in theaters and in 2008 on DVD. During the winter of 2010/2011, Troma produced a feature-length film Father's Day , which Kaufman calls "a response film to Mother's Day". The film was written and directed by the Canadian filmmaking team Astron-6 , debuting October 21, 2011, at

3328-474: Is a 1984 American superhero black comedy splatter film produced and directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman (the latter credited as Samuel Weil for directing) from a screenplay by Joe Ritter, based on a story by Kaufman. The film was produced and released by Troma Entertainment . It is the first installment in The Toxic Avenger film series and generated a media franchise . A director's cut

3456-608: Is a neologism derived from the Greek word "tromos" (τρόμος), meaning "horror," which comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "trem-," meaning "to tremble." Troma films are B-movies known for their surrealistic or automatistic nature, along with their use of shocking imagery; some would categorize them as "shock exploitation films ". They typically contain overt sexuality, nudity, and intentionally sadistic, gory, and blatant graphic violence , so much so that Troma film has become

3584-432: Is an autobiography of sorts co-written with James Gunn . This book chronicles the history of the company, its films, and its iconic figurehead. Kaufman continued to draw on his experiences as Troma chief in the "how-to" filmmaking books Make Your Own Damn Movie! , Direct Your Own Damn Movie! , Produce Your Own Damn Movie! and Sell Your Own Damn Movie! . A DVD box set has been released to coincide with release of each of

3712-516: Is horrified at what he has become. He and Sara decide to move away from the city and into the nearby woods. Melvin and Sara are eventually discovered, and the Mayor and the National Guard come to kill him. However, the people of Tromaville step in, and Melvin's mother identifies the mutant as her son. The Mayor's evil ways are revealed, and Melvin rips out his organs to see if he has "any guts." Hailed as

3840-453: Is in former collaborator James Gunn 's directing debut, Slither , and Guardians of the Galaxy . Kaufman's long-time editor Gabriel Friedman co-directed and wrote the screenplay to his follow-up film, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead , a musical zom-com which made its official New York premiere on May 9, 2008 (although the film had previewed numerous times on single screens for over

3968-532: Is terrified of him and will not let him in the house. He subsequently builds a makeshift home in the local junkyard. A gang of three men hold up a Mexican restaurant and attack a blind woman, named Sara. They kill her guide dog and attempt to rape her, but are stopped by Melvin when he attacks them. Melvin then takes Sara back to her home, where they get to know one another and become romantically involved. Melvin continues to fight crime, including drug dealers and pimps for underage prostitutes . As Melvin gives aid to

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4096-535: The 1948 presidential election , and Helen Gahagan Douglas for the U.S. Senate in 1950 . It was Reagan's belief that communism was a powerful backstage influence in Hollywood that led him to rally his friends against them. Reagan began shifting to the right when he supported the presidential campaigns of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and Richard Nixon in 1960. When Reagan was contracted by General Electric (GE), he gave speeches to their employees. His speeches had

4224-478: The 1964 U.S. presidential election launched his rise as a leading conservative figure. After being elected governor of California in 1966 , he raised the state taxes, turned the state budget deficit into a surplus and implemented harsh crackdowns on university protests. Following his loss to Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries , Reagan won the Republican Party's nomination and then

4352-590: The 1986 bombing of Libya , the secret and illegal sale of arms to Iran to fund the Contras , and a more conciliatory approach in talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev culminating in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty . Reagan left the presidency in 1989 with the American economy having seen a significant reduction of inflation, the unemployment rate having fallen, and the U.S. having entered its then-longest peacetime expansion. At

4480-561: The AFL–CIO to fight right-to-work laws , and continued to speak out against racism when he was in Hollywood. In 1945, Reagan planned to lead an HICCASP anti-nuclear rally, but Warner Bros. prevented him from going. In 1946, he appeared in a radio program called Operation Terror to speak out against rising Ku Klux Klan activity in the country, citing the attacks as a "capably organized systematic campaign of fascist violence and intimidation and horror". Reagan also supported Harry S. Truman in

4608-507: The Black Monday stock market crash, although the markets eventually recovered. By 1989, the BLS measured the unemployment rate at 5.3 percent. The inflation rate dropped from 12 percent during the 1980 election to under 5 percent in 1989. Likewise, the interest rate dropped from 15 percent to under 10 percent. Yet, not all shared equally in the economic recovery, and both economic inequality and

4736-551: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measured the unemployment rate at 10.8 percent. Around the same time, economic activity began to rise until its end in 1990 , setting the record for the longest peacetime expansion. In 1983, the recession ended and Reagan nominated Volcker to a second term in fear of damaging confidence in the economic recovery. Reagan appointed Alan Greenspan to succeed Volcker in 1987. Greenspan raised interest rates in another attempt to curb inflation, setting off

4864-576: The Communist Party and that he was well-informed about a "jurisdictional strike". When asked if he was aware of communist efforts within the Screen Writers Guild , he called information about the efforts "hearsay". Reagan resigned as SAG president November 10, 1952, but remained on the board; Walter Pidgeon succeeded him as president. The SAG fought with film producers for the right to receive residual payments , and on November 16, 1959,

4992-549: The Defense Intelligence Agency to discover why the United States was unable to maintain its economic competitiveness. According to program director Michael Sekora, their findings helped the country surpass the Soviets in terms of missile defense technology. Reagan sought to loosen federal regulation of economic activities, and he appointed key officials who shared this agenda. William Leuchtenburg writes that by 1986,

5120-730: The Democratic nomination , and repeated criticisms of Ford and Kissinger's policies, including détente . The result was a seesaw battle for the 1,130 delegates required for their party's nomination that neither would reach before the Kansas City convention in August and Ford replacing mentions of détente with Reagan's preferred phrase, " peace through strength ". Reagan took John Sears ' advice of choosing liberal Richard Schweiker as his running mate, hoping to pry loose of delegates from Pennsylvania and other states, and distract Ford. Instead, conservatives were left alienated, and Ford picked up

5248-532: The Employment Development Department published a report suggesting that the experiment that ran from 1971 to 1974 was unsuccessful. Reagan declined to run for the governorship in 1974 and it was won by Pat Brown's son, Jerry . Reagan's governorship, as professor Gary K. Clabaugh writes, saw public schools deteriorate due to his opposition to additional basic education funding. As for higher education, journalist William Trombley believed that

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5376-507: The People's Park . One student was shot and killed while many police officers and two reporters were injured. Reagan then commanded the state National Guard troops to occupy Berkeley for seventeen days to subdue the protesters, allowing other students to attend class safely. In February 1970, violent protests broke out near the University of California, Santa Barbara , where he once again deployed

5504-517: The Southern strategy to garner white support for Republican candidates. Reagan's supporters have said that this was his typical anti-big government rhetoric, without racial context or intent. In the October 28 debate , Carter chided Reagan for being against national health insurance. Reagan replied, " There you go again ", though the audience laughed and viewers found him more appealing. Reagan later asked

5632-499: The Soviet Union , and ordered the 1983 invasion of Grenada . Within the same period, Reagan also survived an assassination attempt , fought public-sector labor unions, expanded the war on drugs , and was slow to respond to the growing AIDS epidemic . In the 1984 presidential election , he defeated Carter's former vice president, Walter Mondale , in another landslide victory. Foreign affairs dominated Reagan's second term, including

5760-534: The Toronto After Dark Film Festival where it took home the top prize of BEST FILM, as well as five other awards. In 2012 Father's Day was featured on the cover of Rue Morgue magazine and won Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Male Performance, and Best Special Effects at The Fantastic Planet/A Night of Horror International film festival . This is rare for a film that cost only ten thousand dollars to make. On October 31, 2012, Father's Day

5888-731: The United States Army Air Forces (AAF). Reagan became an AAF public relations officer and was subsequently assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit in Culver City where he felt that it was "impossible to remove an incompetent or lazy worker" due to what he felt was "the incompetence, the delays, and inefficiencies" of the federal bureaucracy . Despite this, Reagan participated in the Provisional Task Force Show Unit in Burbank and continued to make theatrical films. He

6016-464: The economic boom of the 1990s . Reagan took office in the midst of stagflation . The economy briefly experienced growth before plunging into a recession in July 1981. As Federal Reserve chairman, Paul Volcker fought inflation by pursuing a tight money policy of high interest rates , which restricted lending and investment, raised unemployment, and temporarily reduced economic growth. In December 1982,

6144-432: The presidential oath of office . In his inaugural address , Reagan commented on the country's economic malaise, arguing, "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem". As a final insult to President Carter, Iran waited until Reagan had been sworn in before announcing the release of their American hostages. Reagan advocated a laissez-faire philosophy, and promoted

6272-527: The Black Panthers". The act marked the beginning of both modern legislation and public attitude studies on gun control. Reagan also signed the 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act that allowed abortions in the cases of rape and incest when a doctor determined the birth would impair the physical or mental health of the mother. He later expressed regret over signing it, saying that he was unaware of the mental health provision. He believed that doctors were interpreting

6400-556: The Brown administration about high taxes, uncontrolled spending, the radicals at the University of California, Berkeley , and the need for accountability in government". Meanwhile, many in the press perceived Reagan as "monumentally ignorant of state issues", though Lou Cannon said that Reagan benefited from an appearance he and Brown made on Meet the Press in September. Ultimately, Reagan won

6528-468: The Crapper , which cost $ 250,000 despite most of the footage being completely unusable. India Allen , one of the producers, backed out of the film halfway through, and sued Troma, citing breach of contract , slander, sexual harassment, trade slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Kaufman supervised a reshoot in an attempt to salvage the film, dividing the footage into two parts and recasting

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6656-681: The District of Columbia. He won the popular vote by a narrower margin, receiving nearly 51 percent to Carter's 41 percent and Anderson's 7 percent. In the United States Congress , Republicans won a majority of seats in the Senate for the first time since 1952 while Democrats retained the House of Representatives . Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president of the United States on Tuesday, January 20, 1981. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered

6784-463: The Family Law Act that granted no-fault divorces . Insufficiently conservative to Reagan and many other Republicans, President Gerald Ford suffered from multiple political and economic woes. Ford, running for president, was disappointed to hear him also run. Reagan was strongly critical of détente and Ford's policy of détente with the Soviet Union. He repeated "A Time for Choosing" around

6912-480: The National Guard. On April 7, Reagan defended his policies regarding campus protests, saying, "If it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with. No more appeasement". During his victorious reelection campaign in 1970, Reagan, remaining critical of government, promised to prioritize welfare reform . He was concerned that the programs were disincentivizing work and that the growing welfare rolls would lead to both an unbalanced budget and another big tax hike in 1972. At

7040-651: The New Hampshire primary by more than 39,000 votes. Soon thereafter, Reagan's opponents began dropping out of the primaries, including Anderson, who left the party to become an independent candidate. Reagan easily captured the presidential nomination and chose Bush as his running mate at the Detroit convention in July. The general election pitted Reagan against Carter amid the multitude of domestic concerns and ongoing Iran hostage crisis that began on November 4, 1979. Reagan's campaign worried that Carter would be able to secure

7168-539: The Reagan administration eliminated almost half of the federal regulations that had existed in 1981. The 1982 Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act deregulated savings and loan associations by letting them make a variety of loans and investments outside of real estate. After the bill's passage, savings and loans associations engaged in riskier activities, and the leaders of some institutions embezzled funds. The administration's inattentiveness toward

7296-564: The Republican primary, Reagan defeated George Christopher , a moderate Republican who William F. Buckley Jr. thought had painted Reagan as extreme. Reagan's general election opponent, incumbent governor Pat Brown , attempted to label Reagan as an extremist and tout his own accomplishments. Reagan portrayed himself as a political outsider, and charged Brown as responsible for the Watts riots and lenient on crime. In numerous speeches, Reagan "hit

7424-527: The SAG presidency on June 7, 1960, and also left the board; George Chandler succeeded him as SAG president. In January 1940, Reagan married Jane Wyman , his co-star in the 1938 film Brother Rat . Together, they had two biological daughters: Maureen in 1941, and Christine in 1947 (born prematurely and died the following day). They adopted one son, Michael , in 1945. Wyman filed to divorce Reagan in June 1948. She

7552-706: The Supreme Court's reshaping has been described as conservative. Early in August 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike , violating a federal law prohibiting government unions from striking. On August 3, Reagan said that he would fire air traffic controllers if they did not return to work within 48 hours; according to him, 38 percent did not return. On August 13, Reagan fired roughly 12,000 striking air traffic controllers who ignored his order. He used military controllers and supervisors to handle

7680-551: The US government. Troma's War was a box office bomb. In the aftermath of the film's poor performance, despite another stab at the superhero genre with Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. , Troma experienced financial hardship and tried to reestablish itself as a smaller company mostly out of necessity. From 1995 to 2000, Troma had a period of creativity and produced some of their greatest work. Kaufman directed three independent films, all distributed in limited theatrical releases: Tromeo and Juliet ,

7808-518: The United States. Afterward, Reagan starred in Kings Row (1942) as a leg amputee, asking, "Where's the rest of me?" His performance was considered his best by many critics. Reagan became a star, with Gallup polls placing him "in the top 100 stars" from 1941 to 1942. World War II interrupted the movie stardom that Reagan would never be able to achieve again as Warner Bros. became uncertain about his ability to generate ticket sales. Reagan, who had

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7936-419: The amount of federal tax had fallen for all or most taxpayers, but most strongly affected the wealthy. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 reduced the number of tax brackets and top tax rate, and almost doubled personal exemptions . To Reagan, the tax cuts would not have increased the deficit as long as there was enough economic growth and spending cuts. His policies proposed that economic growth would occur when

8064-478: The audience if they were better off than they were four years ago, slightly paraphrasing Roosevelt's words in 1934. In 1983, Reagan's campaign managers were revealed to having obtained Carter's debate briefing book before the debates. On November 4, 1980, Reagan won in a decisive victory in the Electoral College over Carter, carrying 44 states and receiving 489 electoral votes to Carter's 49 in six states and

8192-486: The backing of Reagan Democrats . Though he advocated socially conservative view points, Reagan focused much of his campaign on attacks against Carter's foreign policy . In August, Reagan gave a speech at the Neshoba County Fair , stating his belief in states' rights . Joseph Crespino argues that the visit was designed to reach out to Wallace-inclined voters, and some also saw these actions as an extension of

8320-457: The board elected Reagan SAG president for the second time; he replaced Howard Keel , who had resigned. During this second stint, Reagan managed to secure payments for actors whose theatrical films had been released between 1948 and 1959 and subsequently televised. The producers were initially required to pay the actors fees, but they ultimately settled instead for providing pensions and paying residuals for films made after 1959. Reagan resigned from

8448-512: The budget cuts Reagan enacted damaged Berkeley's student-faculty ratio and research. Additionally, the homicide rate doubled and armed robbery rates rose by even more during Reagan's eight years, even with the many laws Reagan signed to try toughening criminal sentencing and reforming the criminal justice system. Reagan strongly supported capital punishment, but his efforts to enforce it were thwarted by People v. Anderson in 1972. According to his son, Michael, Reagan said that he regretted signing

8576-526: The budget had a surplus, which Reagan preferred "to give back to the people". In 1967, Reagan reacted to the Black Panther Party 's strategy of copwatching by signing the Mulford Act to prohibit the public carrying of firearms. The act was California's most restrictive piece of gun control legislation , with critics saying that it was "overreacting to the political activism of organizations such as

8704-740: The catalog. For instance, My Neighbor Totoro was originally released by Troma's subsidiary 50th Street Films, but only for a short time, and only for U.S. theatrical release. Others were briefly licensed for distribution on VHS such as Femme Fontaine Killer Babe for the C.I.A. which was one of Troma Team Video's original launch titles along with Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. and Class of Nuke 'em High Part III: The Good, The Bad and The Subhumanoid . Some titles, such as Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy , are included on this list because they were previously listed but no longer appear in Troma's catalog. Troma has also created/acquired specialty distributors for its films. Most of

8832-473: The chemicals transform him into a hideously deformed mutant with superhuman size and strength. Meanwhile, a group of drug dealers, led by Cigar Face, are trying to bribe a police officer. When he refuses to accept the money, Cigar Face and his gang prepare to castrate him. Melvin suddenly appears and kills the criminals, and then leaves a mop on their faces as a calling card. Cigar Face escapes, promising to take revenge. When Melvin returns home, his mother

8960-525: The city of Berkeley , making it a major theme in his campaigning. On February 5, 1969, Reagan declared a state of emergency in response to ongoing protests and acts of violence at the University of California, Berkeley, and sent in the California Highway Patrol . In May 1969, these officers, along with local officers from Berkeley and Alameda county, clashed with protestors over a site known as

9088-561: The company officially released many of its films on YouTube . However, their YouTube channel was eventually terminated for not meeting community standards. As of 2023, Troma's slogan is "50 years of Disrupting Media." Its slogan in 2014 was "40 years of Disrupting Media". Before that, the slogan was "30 Years of Reel Independent Cinema". Another slogan the company has used is "Movies of the Future." The company also has its own streaming service called Troma Now. The name "Troma" (pronounced "Trauma")

9216-577: The country before announcing his campaign on November 20, 1975, when he discussed economic and social problems, and to a lesser extent, foreign affairs. Both candidates were determined to knock each other out early in the primaries, but Reagan would devastatingly lose the first five primaries beginning with New Hampshire, where he popularized the welfare queen narrative about Linda Taylor , exaggerating her misuse of welfare benefits and igniting voter resentment for welfare reform, but never overtly mentioning her name or race. In Florida, Reagan referred to

9344-462: The debate began. The moderator asked Bob Malloy, the volume operator, to mute Reagan's microphone. After Breen repeated his demand to Malloy, Reagan furiously replied, "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green! [ sic ]". This turned out to be the turning point of the debate and the primary race. Ultimately, the four additional candidates left, and the debate continued between Reagan and Bush. Reagan's polling numbers improved, and he won

9472-525: The enforcement of civil rights law, arousing the ire of civil rights advocates. In 1987, Reagan unsuccessfully nominated Robert Bork to the Supreme Court as a way to achieve his civil rights policy that could not be fulfilled during his presidency; his administration had opposed affirmative action , particularly in education, federal assistance programs, housing and employment, but Reagan reluctantly continued these policies. In housing, Reagan's administration saw considerably fewer fair housing cases filed than

9600-472: The film as a double feature. Tales from the Crapper was released on DVD in September 2004. Currently, Troma produces and acquires independent films, despite financial hardships and limitations. Troma Films has distributed many films from third parties including Trey Parker 's Cannibal! The Musical . Lloyd encourages independent filmmaking , making cameo appearances in many low-budget horror films, occasionally without fee. Among his more recent appearances

9728-452: The film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, calling the film, "A funny spoof... Not without violence and gore but still entertaining." Stephen Holden of The New York Times rated the film a score of 3/5, complimenting the film for its "maniacally farcical sense of humor", while also noting that

9856-492: The film itself was "trash." TV Guide gave the film a negative 1/5 stars, writing "Though it is silly, sleazy, and graphically violent, The Toxic Avenger does hold a bit of warped charm for fans of this sort of thing." Keith Phipps from The A.V. Club was highly critical of the film, writing, "As for the movie itself, it's still a piece of trash, if a marginally entertaining one: it's too self-consciously parodic to be good kitsch, and too gross to be all that fun." In 2010

9984-680: The film on March 29, 2005. On March 7, 2006, the film was released again on DVD by Koch Entertainment . The film would not receive another home media release until Troma released a "Japanese Cut" of the film on December 11, 2012. Troma released the film for the first time on Blu-ray on August 12, 2014. On November 18, later that year, it was again released on Blu-ray by Import Vendor. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , The Toxic Avenger holds an approval rating of 70%, based on 20 reviews, and an average rating of 5.5/10. Its consensus reads, "A silly and ribald superhero spoof, Toxic Avenger's uninhibited humor hits more than it misses." On Metacritic ,

10112-658: The films made by Troma Entertainment take place in the fictional New Jersey city of Tromaville , known as the "Toxic Chemical Capital of the World." Examples include the Toxic Avenger films and the Class of Nuke 'Em High films. Another film worth mentioning takes place in a post-apocalyptic Tromaville titled A Nymphoid Barbarian In Dinosaur Hell . The following is a list of films that either take place in, or mention, Tromaville. The Toxic Avenger (1984 film) The Toxic Avenger

10240-577: The financial demise of Troma. At one time, it was the highest-selling VHS release for Troma. The Toxic Avenger was turned into a musical which debuted at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey , and opened in New York in the fall of 2008. The Toxic Avenger Musical book by Joe DiPietro, the author of the long-running I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and All Shook Up ,

10368-421: The financial demise of the company Troma itself, the sequels to the film were box office bombs , and the cartoon adaptation quickly ended. The Toxic Avenger character is now Troma's official mascot . Kaufman's follow-up film to The Toxic Avenger was Class of Nuke 'Em High , co-directed with Richard W. Haines. The film was a hit nearly as successful, though it inspired two unsuccessful sequels, both following

10496-514: The finished films on DVD. 2009 marked the last time Tromadance was held in Utah; the festival was subsequently relocated to Asbury Park, New Jersey . In 2014, the festival moved to New York City, and since 2020 has been held at The Mahoning Drive-In Theater . Kaufman has also had some success with several non-fiction books and a novelization of The Toxic Avenger . Released in 1998, All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger

10624-512: The first three books. In the video series, Kaufman interviews famous and infamous filmmakers about various filmmaking subjects. In 2006, a novelization of The Toxic Avenger was released. It was co-written by Kaufman and long-time Troma employee Adam Jahnke. Also see List of Troma Team Video titles for a complete list of films distributed by Troma Entertainment. Below is a list of some Troma distributed films. Some titles which have at one time, or another, been distributed by Troma Inc. have left

10752-424: The four health club bullies who caused his transformation. He first attacks Wanda in the health club's sauna and burns her backside on the heater. He then returns to the club later, pursues Julie into the basement, and approaches her with scissors; the camera cuts away before anything is seen. He finally confronts Bozo and Slug after they beat a woman and steal her car. They attempt to run Melvin down, but he leaps onto

10880-525: The governorship with 57 percent of the vote compared to Brown's 42 percent. Brown had spent much of California's funds on new programs, prompting them to use accrual accounting to avoid raising taxes. Consequently, it generated a larger deficit, and Reagan would call for reduced government spending and tax hikes to balance the budget . He worked with Jesse M. Unruh on securing tax increases and promising future property tax cuts. This caused some conservatives to accuse Reagan of betraying his principles. As

11008-405: The ground rules hours before the debate. As a result, the Reagan campaign agreed to pay for the debate. Reagan said that as he was funding the debate, he could decide who would debate. During the debate, when Breen was laying out the ground rules and attempting to ask the first question, Reagan interrupted in protest to make an introductory statement and wanted other candidates to be included before

11136-427: The host of MCA Inc. television production General Electric Theater at Wasserman's recommendation. It featured multiple guest stars, and Ronald and Nancy Reagan, continuing to use her stage name Nancy Davis, acted together in three episodes. When asked how Reagan was able to recruit such stars to appear on the show during television's infancy, he replied, "Good stories, top direction, production quality". However,

11264-453: The industry contributed to the savings and loan crisis and costly bailouts. The deficits were exacerbated by the early 1980s recession, which cut into federal revenue. The national debt tripled between the fiscal years of 1980 and 1989, and the national debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product rose from 33 percent in 1981 to 53 percent by 1989. During his time in office, Reagan never fulfilled his 1980 campaign promise of submitting

11392-510: The local chapter. Reagan played at the guard position for the 1930 and 1931 Eureka Red Devils football teams and recalled a time when two black football teammates were refused service at a segregated hotel; he invited them to his parents' home nearby in Dixon and his parents welcomed them. At the time, his parents' stance on racial questions was unusually progressive in Dixon. Reagan himself had grown up with very few black Americans there and

11520-502: The mid-1970s, Kaufman and Herz began producing, directing, and distributing raunchy sex comedies such as The First Turn-On! and Squeeze Play! . Troma provided production support for Louis Malle 's My Dinner with Andre , for which Kaufman served as a production manager. In 1984, Troma had a hit with the violent comedy horror superhero film The Toxic Avenger . The film went on to become Troma's most popular, spawning sequels and an animated television program. However, following

11648-512: The mounting federal debt , Reagan signed the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 , one of the eleven times Reagan raised taxes. The bill doubled the federal cigarette tax , rescinded a portion of the corporate tax cuts from the 1981 tax bill, and according to Paul Krugman , "a third of the 1981 cut" overall. Many of his supporters condemned the bill, but Reagan defended his preservation of cuts on individual income tax rates. By 1983,

11776-467: The nation's commercial air traffic until new controllers could be hired and trained. The breaking of the PATCO strike demoralized organized labor, and the number of strikes fell greatly in the 1980s. With the assent of Reagan's sympathetic National Labor Relations Board appointees, many companies also won wage and benefit cutbacks from unions, especially in the manufacturing sector. During Reagan's presidency,

11904-519: The number of homeless individuals increased during the 1980s. Critics have contended that a majority of the jobs created during this decade paid the minimum wage. In 1981, in an effort to keep it solvent, Reagan approved a plan for cuts to Social Security. He later backed off of these plans due to public backlash. He then created the Greenspan Commission to keep Social Security financially secure, and in 1983 he signed amendments to raise both

12032-654: The opening film of Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023. Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party , he became an important figure in the American conservative movement , and his presidency is known as the Reagan era . Born and raised in Illinois, Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and

12160-474: The pastor was out of town. Reagan credited her spiritual influence and he became a Christian . According to American political figure Stephen Vaughn , Reagan's values came from his pastor, and the First Christian Church's religious, economic and social positions "coincided with the words, if not the beliefs of the latter-day Reagan". Jack focused on making money to take care of the family, but this

12288-407: The people in the city and is celebrated as a hero, Mayor Belgoody grows worried. It turns out the Mayor is the leader of Tromaville's extensive crime ring and fears having the truth exposed. He wants Melvin gone. A group of men, led by Cigar Face, eventually surround Melvin with guns. Just before they fire on him, he leaps up to a fire escape so they shoot each other instead. Melvin takes revenge on

12416-671: The program's payroll taxes and retirement age for benefits. He had signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 to cut funding for federal assistance such as food stamps, unemployment benefits , subsidized housing and the Aid to Families with Dependent Children , and would discontinue the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act . On the other side, defense spending doubled between 1981 and 1985. During Reagan's presidency, Project Socrates operated within

12544-549: The provision loosely and more abortions were resulting. After Reagan won the 1966 election, he and his advisors planned a run in the 1968 Republican presidential primaries . He ran as an unofficial candidate to cut into Nixon's southern support and be a compromise candidate if there were to be a brokered convention . He won California's delegates, but Nixon secured enough delegates for the nomination . Reagan had previously been critical of former governor Brown and university administrators for tolerating student demonstrations in

12672-696: The release of the American hostages in Iran as part of the October surprise , Carter "suggested that Reagan would wreck Social Security " and portrayed him as a warmonger, and Anderson carried support from liberal Republicans dissatisfied with Reagan's conservatism. One of Reagan's key strengths was his appeal to the rising conservative movement. Though most conservative leaders espoused cutting taxes and budget deficits, many conservatives focused more closely on social issues like abortion and gay rights . Evangelical Protestants became an increasingly important voting bloc, and they generally supported Reagan. Reagan also won

12800-433: The remaining uncommitted delegates and prevailed, earning 1,187 to Reagan's 1,070. Before giving his acceptance speech, Ford invited Reagan to address the convention; Reagan emphasized individual freedom and the dangers of nuclear weapons. In 1977, Ford told Cannon that Reagan's primary challenge contributed to his own narrow loss to Democrat Jimmy Carter in the 1976 United States presidential election . Reagan emerged as

12928-617: The rights of churches and business owners. Later in September, legislation was passed to correct loopholes in the Fair Housing Act of 1968 . Early in his presidency, Reagan appointed Clarence M. Pendleton Jr. , known for his opposition to affirmative action and equal pay for men and women, as chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights despite Pendleton's hostility toward long-established civil rights views. Pendleton and Reagan's subsequent appointees greatly eroded

13056-530: The roof and throws Slug out of the moving car. Melvin then gets in and pulls off the steering wheel, causing Bozo to drive off the side of a cliff. The car explodes, killing Bozo. Melvin climbs out uninjured and walks away. When Melvin kills a seemingly innocent old woman in a dry cleaning store (who was, in fact, a leader of an underground human trafficking ring), Belgoody calls in the United States National Guard . Back in his junkyard home, Melvin

13184-524: The same time as the Sundance Festival to accentuate their true independence from the mainstream. The festival screens submitted movies from independent filmmakers from around the world, the best of which are usually released on DVD by Troma or compiled in the Best of Tromadance series. In parallel, Troma acts as adviser to aspiring filmmakers with Kaufman teaching classes, contributing cameos and often releasing

13312-509: The same time, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates to combat inflation, putting the American economy in a mild recession . Reagan worked with Bob Moretti to tighten up the eligibility requirements so that the financially needy could continue receiving payments. This was only accomplished after Reagan softened his criticism of Nixon's Family Assistance Plan . Nixon then lifted regulations to shepherd California's experiment. In 1976,

13440-560: The same time, the national debt had nearly tripled since 1981 as a result of his cuts in taxes and increased military spending, despite cuts to domestic discretionary spending. Reagan's policies also contributed to the end of the Cold War and the end of Soviet communism . Alzheimer's disease hindered Reagan post-presidency, and his physical and mental capacities gradually deteriorated, ultimately leading to his death in 2004. Historical rankings of U.S. presidents have typically placed Reagan in

13568-561: The share of employees who were part of a labor union dropped from approximately one-fourth of the total workforce to approximately one-sixth of the total workforce. Despite Reagan having opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , the bill was extended for 25 years in 1982. He initially opposed the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day , and alluded to claims that King was associated with communists during his career, but signed

13696-646: The speech was not enough to turn around the faltering Goldwater campaign , it increased Reagan's profile among conservatives. David S. Broder and Stephen H. Hess called it "the most successful national political debut since William Jennings Bryan electrified the 1896 Democratic convention with his famous 'Cross of Gold' address ". In January 1966, Reagan announced his candidacy for the California governorship , repeating his stances on individual freedom and big government . When he met with black Republicans in March, he

13824-1056: The station received by wire as the games were in progress. Simultaneously, he often expressed his opposition to racism. In 1936, while traveling with the Cubs to their spring training in California, Reagan took a screen test that led to a seven-year contract with Warner Bros. Reagan arrived at Hollywood in 1937, debuting in Love Is on the Air (1937). Using a simple and direct approach to acting and following his directors' instructions, Reagan made thirty films, mostly B films , before beginning military service in April 1942. He broke out of these types of films by portraying George Gipp in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), which would be rejuvenated when reporters called Reagan "the Gipper" while he campaigned for president of

13952-445: The tax cuts spur investments, which would result in more spending, consumption, and ergo tax revenue. This theoretical relationship has been illustrated by some with the controversial Laffer curve . Critics labeled this " trickle-down economics ", the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will spread to the poor. Milton Friedman and Robert Mundell argued that these policies invigorated America's economy and contributed to

14080-599: The upper tier, and his post-presidential approval ratings by the general public are usually high. Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in an apartment and commercial building in Tampico, Illinois , as the younger son of Nelle Clyde Wilson and Jack Reagan . Nelle was committed to the Disciples of Christ , which believed in the Social Gospel . She led prayer meetings and ran mid-week prayers at her church when

14208-528: The viewership declined in the 1960s and the show was canceled in 1962. In 1965, Reagan became the host of another MCA production, Death Valley Days . Reagan began his political career as a Democrat , viewing Franklin D. Roosevelt as "a true hero". He joined the American Veterans Committee and Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions (HICCASP), worked with

14336-533: Was also ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the sixth War Loan Drive before being reassigned to Fort MacArthur until his discharge on December 9, 1945, as a captain . Throughout his military service, Reagan produced over 400 training films . When Robert Montgomery resigned as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) on March 10, 1947, Reagan was elected to that position in

14464-472: Was also to receive a remake, expected to be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and produced by Brett Ratner . At the time, Kaufman also said that he was negotiating a deal for a remake of Class of Nuke 'Em High . Shortly thereafter, Troma and Starz Entertainment entered into an agreement for the production of Return to Nuke Em High as a two-volume title. The first volume was released in theaters and on home video. The second volume, delayed due to funding issues,

14592-519: Was announced to write and direct the upcoming film. In November 2020 it was announced that Peter Dinklage would star in the film. In April 2021 Jacob Tremblay and Taylour Paige were added to the cast. In June 2021, Kevin Bacon , Julia Davis , and Elijah Wood joined the cast. That month principal photography commenced in Bulgaria and wrapped on August. The Toxic Avenger remake premiered as

14720-531: Was completed in 1983. Troma Entertainment released The Toxic Avenger initially in 1984, receiving an early review from Variety in late December. During the next year, the film had a long run as the midnight movie on the single screen of the Bleeker Street Cinema in New York City . On April 4, 1986, the film opened on 45 screens and earned $ 140,000 for its opening weekend. The Toxic Avenger

14848-498: Was complicated by his alcoholism. Reagan had an older brother, Neil . The family lived in Chicago, Galesburg , and Monmouth before returning to Tampico. In 1920, they settled in Dixon, Illinois , living in a house near the H. C. Pitney Variety Store Building . Reagan attended Dixon High School , where he developed interests in drama and football . His first job involved working as

14976-577: Was criticized for opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 . Reagan responded that bigotry was not in his nature and later argued that certain provisions of the act infringed upon the rights of property owners. After the Supreme Court of California ruled that the initiative that repealed the Rumford Act was unconstitutional in May, he voiced his support for the act's repeal, but later preferred amending it. In

15104-597: Was given the original working title of Health Club Horror, and eventually retitled. Principal photography for The Toxic Avenger took place at various locations in New Jersey , with most of it shot in and around Boonton . The car chase scene, which ends with a car driving off a cliff and exploding, was filmed in Jersey City . The scene was inspired by the final truck scene in George Miller 's film Mad Max 2 . Filming

15232-509: Was hired the next year as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, he moved to California where he became a well-known film actor. During his acting career, Reagan was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild twice, serving from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 to 1960. In the 1950s, he became the host for General Electric Theater and also worked as a motivational speaker for General Electric . Subsequently, Reagan's " A Time for Choosing " speech during

15360-660: Was oblivious to racial discrimination. After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology from Eureka College in 1932, Reagan took a job in Davenport, Iowa , as a sports broadcaster for four football games in the Big Ten Conference . He then worked for WHO radio in Des Moines as a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs . His specialty was creating play-by-play accounts of games using only basic descriptions that

15488-486: Was ordered for active duty while he was filming Kings Row . Wasserman and Warner Bros. lawyers successfully sent draft deferments to complete the film in October 1941. However, to avoid accusations of Reagan being a draft dodger , the studio let him go in April 1942. Reagan reported for duty with severe near-sightedness . His first assignment was at Fort Mason as a liaison officer , a role that allowed him to transfer to

15616-528: Was refused classification in Australia, which makes it effectively illegal to sell or exhibit the film. A second censored version was eventually passed with an R18+ rating. In August 2012, Troma released over 100 of its back catalog films on YouTube , many for free, some for 48-hour paid viewing. However, their YouTube channel was terminated in 2020 and 2023 for not meeting community standards, but has since been reinstated. On April 7, 2010, Kaufman confirmed that

15744-449: Was released by Troma on VHS and Betamax in 1986, and for the first time on DVD on March 25, 1998. It was later re-released by Troma on November 20, 2000 and again on September 3, 2002; with the latter release of the film being a part of a 4-Disk Toxic Avenger movie pack. The film was later picked up for distribution by Prism, who released the film on DVD on February 2, 2004. Troma then released its own 21st Anniversary Edition version of

15872-464: Was released in 2002, notably adding a scene with Marisa Tomei in one of her first roles. Melvin Ferd Junko III is a 98-pound janitor at a health club in the fictional town of Tromaville, New Jersey , where a group of unknowingly murderous customers (Bozo, Slug, Wanda and Julie) regularly harass and bully him. One day, the group tricks Melvin into wearing a pink tutu and unknowingly hugging

16000-448: Was released the same year. The music is by David Bryan , keyboardist of the rock band Bon Jovi . Soon after Class of Nuke 'Em High was completed and distributed, Kaufman directed Troma's War . Intended as a criticism of what it saw as Ronald Reagan 's attempt to glamorize war, the story concerns a group of everyday people who crash land on a remote island, only to find it populated by an isolationist militia that intends to overthrow

16128-472: Was shot by John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton . Also struck were: James Brady , Thomas Delahanty , and Tim McCarthy . Although "right on the margin of death" upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital , Reagan underwent surgery and recovered quickly from a broken rib, a punctured lung, and internal bleeding. Professor J. David Woodard says that the assassination attempt "created

16256-517: Was stated on its Kickstarter website in January 2017 to be nearing completion. In 2015, Troma launched a streaming service called Troma Now, which offers many of the films distributed by Troma to subscribers. The service offers subscribers a free trial month, after which they need to pay a monthly fee of US$ 4.99. Troma holds an annual Tromadance Festival , originally taking place in Park City , Utah at

16384-587: Was uninterested in politics, and occasionally recriminated, reconciled and separated with him. Although Reagan was unprepared, the divorce was finalized in July 1949. Reagan would also remain close to his children. Later that year, Reagan met Nancy Davis after she contacted him in his capacity as the SAG president about her name appearing on a communist blacklist in Hollywood ; she had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis. They married in March 1952, and had two children, Patti in October 1952, and Ron in May 1958. Reagan has three grandchildren. Reagan became

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