The Wes Bentley Handbook - Everything you need to know about Wes Bentley

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Wesley Cook "Wes" Bentley (born September 4, 1978) is an American film actor known for his roles of Ricky Fitts in American Beauty and Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games.

This book is your ultimate resource for Wes Bentley. Here you will find the most up-to-date information, photos, and much more.

In easy to read chapters, with extensive references and links to get you to know all there is to know about Wes Bentley's Early life, Career and Personal life right away. A quick look inside: Wes Bentley, American Beauty (film), Blackheart, Brad Rowe (actor), Chad Lindberg, Classic Stage Company, David Ives, Dolan's Cadillac (film), Gabriel Cowan, Ghost Rider (film), Gone (2012 film), Greg Fawcett, Hirokin, Jonesboro, Arkansas, Lovelace (film), My Big Break, P2 (film), Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Sherwood, Arkansas, Soul Survivors, Stars in Shorts, Sylvan Hills High School, The Claim, The Game of Their Lives (2005 film), The Hunger Games (film), The Last Word (2008 film), There Be Dragons, Underworld: Awakening, Venus in Fur, Weirdsville 157…and more pages!

Contains selected content from the highest rated entries, typeset, printed and shipped, combining the advantages of up-to-date and in-depth knowledge with the convenience of printed books. A portion of the proceeds of each book will be donated to the Wikimedia Foundation to support their mission.

Sujets

Biography

Autobiography

Informations

Publié par	Emereo Publishing
Date de parution	19 février 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781486467341
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	10 Mo

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Topic relevant selected content from the highest rated entries, typeset, printed and shipped.

Combine the advantages of up-to-date and in-depth knowledge with the con-venience of printed books.

A portion of the proceeds of each book will be donated to the Wikimedia Foundation to support their mission: to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it eectively and globally.

e content within this book was generated collaboratively by volunteers. Please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by people with the expertise required to provide you with complete, accurate or reliable information. Some information in this book maybe misleading or simply wrong. e publisher does not guarantee the validity of the infor-mation found here. If you need specic advice (for example, medical, legal, nancial, or risk management) please seek a professional who is licensed or knowledgeable in that area.

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Contents

Articles Wes Bentley American Beauty (film) Blackheart Brad Rowe (actor) Chad Lindberg Classic Stage Company David Ives Dolan's Cadillac (film) Gabriel Cowan Ghost Rider (film) Gone (2012 film)

Greg Fawcett Hirokin Jonesboro, Arkansas Lovelace (film) My Big Break P2 (film) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Sherwood, Arkansas Soul Survivors Stars in Shorts Sylvan Hills High School The Claim The Game of Their Lives (2005 film) The Hunger Games (film) The Last Word (2008 film) There Be Dragons Underworld: Awakening Venus in Fur Weirdsville

References Article Sources and Contributors Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

1 4 26 30 32 34 37 39 41 43 52 56 57 58 66 70 76 79 85 94 98 100 110 114 117 142 144 149 155 157

161 164

Article Licenses License

166

Wes Bentley

Born

Occupation

Years active

Spouse(s)

Wes Bentley

Wes Bentley Wesley Cook Bentley September 4, 1978 Jonesboro, Arkansas, U.S.

Actor

1995–present

Jennifer Quanz (2001–2009) Jacqui Swedberg (2010-present; 1 child)

[1] Wesley Cook "Wes" Bentleyis an American film actor known for his roles of Ricky(born September 4, 1978) Fitts inAmerican Beautyand Seneca Crane inThe Hunger Games.

Early life and education Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the son of Cherie and David Bentley, who are United Methodist [1][2] [3] ministers. In 1996, he graduated from Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, Arkansas. Bentley then [4] attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division (Group 29: 1996–left the school after one year to pursue2000) but [5] his acting career.

Career Bentley has starred in several films, including the Oscar-winning filmAmerican Beauty,The Four Feathers,P2, and [6] [7] Ghost Rider. He starred in the thrillerDolan's Cadillacand, based on the short story by Stephen King, There Be Dragons. Bentley is one of the main subjects in the documentaryby director Roland Joff My Big Break, directed by Tony Zierra, which follows Bentley and three of his former roommates, Chad Lindberg, Brad Rowe and Greg Fawcett, as they pursue their dream to become successful actors in Hollywood. In the 2007 filmGhost Rider, Bentley played Blackheart, a demonic being that was the main antagonist. In 2010, he starred opposite Nina Arianda in the premier of the David Ives playVenus in Furat the Classic Stage [8][9][10][11] Company in New York City.

In March 2012, Bentley had a supporting role in the blockbuster movieThe Hunger Games, playing gamemaker Seneca Crane. In 2012, Bentley also starred with Amber Tamblyn and Vincent Piazza in the indie feature3 Nights in the Desert [12] directed by Gabriel Cowan written by award winning playwright Adam Chanzit and produced by John Suits.

Jack Durrance

Walter Bahr

Short film

Julian Flincher

Matt

Blackheart/Legion

Donnie Greims

Short film

Notes

Adleman Lusk

Documentary film

Television film

Benny

Himself

Hirokin

Carving Out Our Name

Role

Film

Lonnie

Serendipity Lane

Johnathan

Evan

2011

2009

2011

2005

2001

2000

1999

2007The Ungodly

2009The Greims

1998Three Below Zero

Soul Survivors

Filmography

Year

1995

Film

1999The White River Kid

1998Beloved

The Claim

American Beauty

2007Weirdsville

2007Ghost Rider

2002The Four Feathers

Mickey Gravatski

2007P2

2008The Last Word

Rites of Passage

2008The Tomb

2011Hirokin

Wes Bentley

2010Jonah Hex

Tilda

Dolan's Cadillac

Thomas

Robinson

Personal life Bentley was married to actress Jennifer Quanz from 2001 to 2009. They separated in 2006 due to his substance [13] abuse. He married producer Jacqui Swedberg in 2010 and they have a son, Charles, born in late 2010. In aNew York Timesarticle on February 8, 2010, he described his descent into drug addiction that began almost immediately after his success inAmerican Beauty. He said he hid his addiction from his wife; they separated in 2006, and he moved to an apartment where he began doing drugs full-time. During this time he worked sporadically, just enough to pay bills and buy drugs, and in 2008 was arrested and ordered into counseling and 12-step programs. [8] He relapsed, however, and "continued using heroin until he was broke".

The Game of Their Lives

Royce

Schoolteacher's Nephew

White River Kid

Donald Daglish

Ricky Fitts

In July 2009, he said, he confessed to a friend, "I’m a drug addict, and an alcoholic, and I need help. I need help or [14] I’m going to die". He again entered a 12-step program and, while clean since then, considers himself on the path to recovery, and has begun to rebuild his career by starring in the Off-Broadway playVenus in Fur. The documentaryMy Big Breakcaptures Bentley's early life as an unknown actor, his explosive career launch after American Beauty, his subsequent emotional struggle with fame, and his admission years later that he was recovering [8] from an addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Wes Bentley

Theater aVenus in Fur(2010)

References

2011

2012

2013

There Be Dragons

After-School Special

Underworld: Awakening

Gone

The Hunger Games

Stars in Shorts

The Time Being

Hidden Moon

Lovelace

[15] The Green Blade Rises

Manolo Torres

Man

Dr. Edward Vronski

Peter Hood

Seneca Crane

Man

Daniel

Victor Brighton

Larry Marchiano

Uncredited

[1] "Wes Bentley Biography (1978–)" (http://www.filmreference.com/film/17/Wes-Bentley.html). FilmReference.com. . [2] "Wes Bentley star bio" (http:/ /www.tribute.ca/bio.asp?id=3721). Tribute.ca. . [3] Bennett, Tara (March 21, 2012). "The 'Hunger Games' Cast Before They Were Famous: Wes Bentley, Senior Year at Sylvan Hills High School, Sherwood, Arkansas (1996)" (http://www.snakkle.com/galleries/ before-they-were-famous-stars-the-red-hot-hunger-games-cast-photo-gallery-then-and-now/ wes-bentley-yearbook-high-school-young-1996-photo-gc/ ).Snakkle.com. Pontiac Digital Media. . [4] "Alumni News" (http://www.juilliard.edu/alumni/news/news_decades/2009-2010/1003/index.php). The Juilliard School. March 2010. . Retrieved April 7, 2012. [5] Daly, Steve (October 8, 1999). "Wes Bentley of 'American Beauty'" (http:/ /www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,270998,00.html).People. . [6] Christian Slater and Wes Bentley Join 'Dolan's Cadillac' (http:/ /www.cinematical.com/2008/04/25/ christian-slater-and-wes-bentley-join-dolans-cadillac/), Cinematical, April 25, 2008 [7] Stephen King's DOLAN'S CADILLAC Filming in Canada! (http:/ /iconsoffright.com/news/2008/05/stephen_kings_dolans_cadillac. html), May 29, 2008 [8] Healy, Patrick (8 February 2010). "Back From the Depths, Rebuilding a Career" (http:/ /www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/theater/ 08bentley.html).The New York Timesb..1.:p [9] Run Extended for‘Venus in Fur’ri=p&ntgepademouf-n?/rnev-i-sunded-forrun-exte20/30//0201/rtsb/abloeat.ynitsg.cmoem.s/:ptth(scp=3&sq=Nina arianda&st=cse), Patrick Healey, Feb. 3, 2010, NY Times [10] One Object of Deisre, Delivered (http:/ /theater.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/theater/reviews/28venus.html), Charles Isherwood, NY Times, Jan. 28, 2010 [11] Nina Arianda: A Star Is Born (http:/ /www.playbill.com/playblog/?p=4577#more-4577) [12] http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/indie-feature-3-nights-in-the-desert-gets-underway/ [13] Oliver Jones (June 13, 2011). "Wes Bentley: 'I Felt Myself Dying'" (http:/ /www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20501824,00. html).Peoplemagazine. . Retrieved January 13, 2012. [14] "The Hunger Games Star Wes Bentley Fights Back From Homelessness, Bankruptcy" (http:/ /www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/03/ hunger-games-wes-bentley-homelessness-bankruptcy).Radar Online. 2012-03-29. . Retrieved 2012-04-09. [15] http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/wes-bentley-and-brit-marling-join-green-blade-rises-58496

Wes Bentley

External links a Wes Bentley (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4747/) at the Internet Movie Database Wes Bentley (http://www.allrovi.com/name/p263919) at AllRovi

American Beauty (film)

American Beauty

Theatrical release poster Directed bySam Mendes

Produced by

Written by

Starring

Music by

Bruce Cohen Dan Jinks

Alan Ball

Kevin Spacey Annette Bening

Thomas Newman

CinematographyConrad Hall

Editing by

Distributed by

Release date(s)

Running time

Country

Language

Budget

Box office

Tariq Anwar Christopher Greenbury

DreamWorks Pictures

September 17, 1999

122 minutes

United States

English

$15,000,000

[1] $356,296,601

American Beautyis a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as office worker Lester Burnham, who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). Annette Bening co-stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane; Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney also feature. The film has been described by academics as a satire of American middle class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction; analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption. Ball began writingAmerican Beautyas a play in the early 1990s, partly inspired by the media circus around the Amy Fisher trial in 1992. He shelved the play after realizing the story would not work on stage. After several years as a television screenwriter, Ball revived the idea in 1997 when attempting to break into the film industry. The modified script had a cynical outlook that was influenced by Ball's frustrating tenures writing for several sitcoms. Producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen tookAmerican Beautyto DreamWorks; the fledgling film studio bought Ball's script for $250,000, outbidding several other production bodies. DreamWorks financed the $15bmillion production and served as the North American distributor.American Beautymarked acclaimed theater director Mendes' film debut; courted after his successful productions of the musicalsOliver!andCabaret, Mendes was nevertheless only given the job after twenty others were considered and several "A-list" directors turned down the opportunity.

American Beauty (film)

Spacey was Mendes' first choice for the role of Lester, even though DreamWorks had urged the director to consider better-known actors; similarly, the studio suggested several actors for the role of Carolyn until Mendes offered the part to Bening without DreamWorks' knowledge. Principal photography took place between December 1998 and February 1999 on soundstages at the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California and on location in Los Angeles. Mendes' dominant style was deliberate and composed; he made extensive use of static shots and slow pans and zooms to generate tension. Cinematographer Conrad Hall complemented Mendes' style with peaceful shot compositions to contrast with the turbulent on-screen events. During editing, Mendes made several changes that gave the film a less cynical tone. Released in North America on Septemberb15, 1999,American Beauty was positively received by critics and audiences alike; it was the best-reviewed American film of the year and grossed over $350bmillion worldwide. Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey and Ball; criticism tended to focus on the familiarity of the characters and setting. DreamWorks launched a major campaign to increase American Beauty's chances of Academy Award success; at the 72nd Academy Awards the following year, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Spacey), Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

Plot Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is a middle-aged magazine writer who despises his job. His wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), is an ambitious real-estate broker; their sixteen-year-old daughter, Jane (Thora Birch), abhors her parents and has low self-esteem. The Burnhams' new neighbors are retired United States Marine Corps Colonel Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper) and his introverted wife, Barbara (Allison Janney); their teenage son, Ricky (Wes Bentley), is a secret marijuana smoker and drug dealer whom the colonel subjects to a strict disciplinarian lifestyle. Ricky, who had been forced into a military academy and mental hospital, spends time recording his surroundings with a camcorder; he keeps dozens of taped videos in his bedroom. Lester becomes infatuated with Jane's cheerleader friend, Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari), after seeing her perform a half-time dance routine at a high school basketball game. He begins to have sexual fantasies about Angela, during which red rose petals are a recurring motif. Carolyn begins an affair with a business rival, Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher). When Lester is about to be laid off his job, he blackmails his boss for $60,000 and quits, taking employment serving fast food. He buys his dream car (a 1970 Pontiac Firebird) and starts working out after he overhears Angela tell Jane that she would find him sexually attractive if he improved his physique. He begins smoking marijuana bought from Ricky and flirts with Angela whenever she visits Jane. Jane becomes involved with Ricky and they bond over what Ricky considers the most beautiful imagery he has filmed: a plastic bag dancing in [2] the wind. Lester discovers Carolyn's infidelity, but reacts indifferently. Buddy ends the affair, saying he is facing an expensive divorce. Frank becomes suspicious of Lester and Ricky's friendship and finds his son's footage of Lester lifting weights while nude, which Ricky captured by chance and leads Frank to believe Ricky is gay. Carolyn becomes distraught, loads a gun, and drives home. That night, after watching Ricky and Lester through Lester's garage window, Frank mistakenly concludes the pair are sexually involved. He later beats Ricky and after Ricky falsely admits the charge, he goads his father into kicking him out of the family home. Ricky convinces Jane to flee with him to New York City and tells the vain Angela she is ordinary. Frank confronts Lester and attempts to kiss him; Lester rebuffs the colonel, who leaves. Lester finds a distraught Angela, who begins to seduce him. After learning that Angela is a virgin, Lester stops and comforts her; the pair instead bond over their shared frustrations. Angela goes to the bathroom and Lester smiles at a family photograph of himself, his wife, and Jane in happier times in his kitchen. A gunshot sounds and blood splatters on the wall. Ricky and Jane find Lester's body. Carolyn is seen crying in the bedroom, and Frank returns home, bloodied, a gun missing from his collection. Lester's closing narration describes meaningful experiences during his life; he says that despite [2] his death he is happy, as there's so much beauty in the world.

American Beauty (film)

Themes and analysis

Multiple interpretations Academics have offered many possible readings ofAmerican Beauty; film critics are similarly divided, not so much [3] about the quality of the film as their interpretations of it. Described by many as about "the meaning of life" or [4] "gender identification" or "the hollow existence of the American suburbs", the film has defied categorization by even the filmmakers. Mendes is indecisive, saying the script seemed to be about something different each time he read it: "a mystery story, a kaleidoscopic journey through American suburbia, a series of love storiesb... it was about [5] imprisonmentb... loneliness [and] beauty. It was funny; it was angry, sad." The literary critic and author Wayne C. Booth concludes that the film resists any one interpretation: "[American Beauty] cannot be adequately summarized as 'here is a satire on what's wrong with American life'; that plays down the celebration of beauty. It is more tempting to summarize it as 'a portrait of the beauty underlying American miseries and misdeeds'; but that plays down the scenes of cruelty and horror, and Ball's disgust with our mores. It cannot be summarized with either Lester's or [3] Ricky's philosophical statements about what life is or how one should liveb..." He argues that the problem of [6][5] interpreting the film is tied with that of finding its center—a controlling voice who "[unites] all of the choices". [7] He contends that inAmerican BeautyMendes considers the voice to be Ball's,'s case it is neither Mendes nor Ball. [5] [7] but even while the writer was "strongly influential" on set, he often had to accept deviations from his vision, [8] particularly ones that transformed the cynical tone of his script into something more optimistic. With "innumerable voices intruding on the original author's," Booth says, those who interpretAmerican Beauty"have forgotten to probe for the elusive center". According to Booth, the film's true controller is the creative energy "that hundreds of people [3] put into its production, agreeing and disagreeing, inserting and cutting".

Imprisonment and redemption Mendes calledAmerican Beautya rites of passage film about imprisonment and escape from imprisonment. The [] monotony of Lester's existence is established through his gray, nondescript workplace and characterless clothing. In these scenes, he is often framed as if trapped, "reiterating rituals that hardly please him". He masturbates in the [9] confines of his shower; the shower stall evokes a jail cell and the shot is the first of many where Lester is confined [][] behind bars or within frames, such as when he is reflected behind columns of numbers on a computer monitor, [9] "confined [and] nearly crossed out". The academic and author Jody W. Pennington argues that Lester's journey is [10] the story's center. His sexual reawakening through meeting Angela is the first of several turning points as he [11] begins to "[throw] off the responsibilities of the comfortable life he has come to despise". After Lester shares a [12] joint with Ricky, his spirit is released and he begins to rebel against Carolyn. Changed by Ricky's "attractive, profound confidence", Lester is convinced that Angela is attainable and sees that he must question his "banal, numbingly materialist suburban existence"; he takes a job at a fast-food outlet, which allows him to regress to a point [13] when he could "see his whole life ahead of him". When Lester is caught masturbating by Carolyn, his angry retort about their lack of intimacy is the first time he says [14] aloud what he thinks about her. By confronting the issue and Carolyn's "superficial investments in others", Lester [13] is trying to "regain a voice in a home that [only respects] the voices of mother and daughter". His final turning [15] point comes when he and Angela almost have sex; after she confesses her virginity, he no longer thinks of her as [16] a sex object, but as a daughter. He holds her close and "wraps her up". Mendes called it "the most satisfying end to [Lester's] journey there could possibly have been". With these final scenes, Mendes intended to show Lester at the conclusion of a "mythical quest". After Lester gets a beer from the refrigerator, the camera pushes toward him, then [15][17] stops facing a hallway down which he walks "to meet his fate". Having begun to act his age again, Lester [16] achieves closure. As he smiles at a family photo, the camera pans slowly from Lester to the kitchen wall, onto [18] which blood spatters as a gunshot rings out; the slow pan reflects the peace of Lester's death. His body is discovered by Jane and Ricky. Mendes said that Ricky's staring into Lester's dead eyes is "the culmination of the

American Beauty (film)

[19] theme" of the film: that beauty is found where it is least expected.

Conformity and beauty Like other American films of 1999—such asFight Club,Bringing Out the DeadandMagnolia—American Beauty [20] instructs its audience to "[lead] more meaningful lives". The film argues the case against conformity, but does not [21] deny that people need and want it; even the gay characters just want to fit in. Jim and Jim, the Burnhams' other [22] neighbors, are a satire of "gay bourgeois coupledom", who "[invest] in the numbing sameness" that the film [23][24] criticizes in heterosexual couples. The feminist academic and author Sally R. Munt argues thatAmerican Beautyuses its "art house" trappings to direct its message of non-conformity primarily to the middle classes, and that this approach is a "clich of bourgeois preoccupationb... the underlying premise being that the luxury of finding an individual 'self' through denial and renunciation is always open to those wealthy enough to choose, and sly enough to [11] present themselves sympathetically as a rebel." Professor Roy M. Anker argues that the film's thematic center is its direction to the audience to "look closer". The opening combines an unfamiliar viewpoint of the Burnhams' neighborhood with Lester's narrated admission that he [25] will soon die, forcing audiences to consider their own mortality and the beauty around them. It also sets a series of mysteries; Anker asks, "from what place exactly, and from what state of being, is he telling this story?b... if he's already dead, why bother with whatever it is he wishes to tell about his last year of being alive?b... There is also the question of how Lester has died—or will die." Anker believes the preceding scene—Jane's discussion with Ricky [26] about the possibility of his killing her father—Professor Ann C. Hall disagrees; she says byadds further mystery. presenting an early resolution to the mystery, the film allows the audience to put it aside "to view the film and its [27] philosophical issues". Through this examination of Lester's life, rebirth and death,American Beautysatirizes [28] American middle class notions of meaning, beauty and satisfaction. Even Lester's transformation only comes about because of the possibility of sex with Angela; he therefore remains a "willing devotee of the popular media's [29] exultation of pubescent male sexuality as a route to personal wholeness". Carolyn is similarly driven by conventional views of happiness; from her belief in "house beautiful" domestic bliss to her car and gardening outfit, [30] Carolyn's domain is a "fetching American millennial vision of Pleasantville, or Eden". The Burnhams are unaware that they are "materialists philosophically, and devout consumers ethically" who expect the "rudiments of American beauty" to give them happiness. Anker argues that "they are helpless in the face of the prettified economic [31] and sexual stereotypesb... that they and their culture have designated for their salvation." [32] The film presents Ricky as its "visionaryb... its spiritual and mystical center". He sees beauty in the minutiae of everyday life, videoing as much as he can for fear of missing it. He shows Jane what he considers the most beautiful thing he has filmed: a plastic bag, tossing in the wind in front of a wall. He says capturing the moment was when he realized that there was "an entire life behind things"; he feels that "sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take itb... and my heart is going to cave in." Anker argues that Ricky, in looking past the "cultural [33] dross", has "[grasped] the radiant splendor of the created world" to see God. As the film progresses, the [34] Burnhams move closer to Ricky's view of the world. Lester only forswears personal satisfaction at the film's end. On the cusp of having sex with Angela, he returns to himself after she admits her virginity. Suddenly confronted with a child, he begins to treat her as a daughter; in doing so Lester sees himself, Angela and his family "for the poor [35] and fragile but wondrous creatures they are". He looks at a picture of his family in happier times, and dies having had an epiphany that infuses him with "wonder, joy, and soul-shaking gratitude"—he has finally seen the world as it [28] is. [36] According to Patti Bellantoni, colors are used symbolically throughout the film, none more so than red, which is an important thematic signature that drives the story and "[defines] Lester's arc". First seen in drab colors that reflect [37] his passivity, Lester surrounds himself with red as he regains his individuality. The American Beauty rose is repeatedly used as symbol; when Lester fantasizes about Angela, she is usually naked and surrounded by rose petals. In these scenes, the rose symbolizes Lester's desire for her. When associated with Carolyn, the rose represents a