Jon Corzine

# Jon Corzine

## Abstract

Jonathan Stevens " Jon " Corzine (/ ˈ k ɔːr z aɪ n / KOR -zyne; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006, and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran for a second term as governor but lost to Republican Chris Christie. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously worked at Goldman Sachs; after leaving politics, he was CEO of MF Global from 2010 until its collapse in 2011.

## Education and early business career

Corzine was born in Taylorville, Illinois, the son of Nancy June (née Hedrick) and Roy Allen Corzine, Jr. His grandfather Roy A. Corzine, Sr. served in the Illinois General Assembly. He grew up on a small family farm in Willey Station, Illinois near Taylorville. After completing high school at Taylorville High School, where he had been the football quarterback and basketball captain, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and graduated in 1969, earning Phi Beta Kappa honors. While in college, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and served from 1969 until 1975, attaining the rank of sergeant. In 1970, he enrolled in the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, from which he received a Master of Business Administration degree in 1973.

His first business experience was in the bond department of Continental Illinois National Bank, where he worked days while attending the Booth School of Business MBA program at night. He then moved to BancOhio National Bank, a regional bank in Columbus, Ohio, that was acquired in 1984 by National City Bank. Corzine worked at BancOhio until 1975, when he moved his family to New Jersey and was hired as a bond trader for Goldman Sachs.

## Goldman Sachs

In 1976, Corzine joined Goldman Sachs as a bond trader and then became co-manager of the Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities Division. He became a partner in 1980, and a member of the management committee in 1984. He served as Goldman Sachs' CFO (1991–1994), and a senior partner (1994–1999). During his leadership, Corzine oversaw the firm's expansion into Asia and was instrumental in leading the transition of the firm from a private partnership to a public company.

Corzine also chaired a presidential commission on capital budgeting for Bill Clinton and served as Chairman of the United States Department of the Treasury 's borrowing committee. As the Goldman Sachs senior partner, he helped develop a private sector plan to rescue the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management when the leveraged fund's collapse in the fall of 1998 threatened contagion across the U.S. financial system. According to U.S. News & World Report, Corzine did not get along with co-CEO Henry Paulson, who came from the other major area of the bank, investment banking. When Corzine participated in structuring the bailout, Paulson seized control of the firm. When Goldman Sachs went public after Corzine's departure, Corzine made $400 million.

Corzine has participated in meetings of the Bilderberg Group, a network of leaders in the fields of politics, business and banking (1995–1997, 1999, 2003, and 2004). He is a former member of the group's steering committee.

Corzine is a member of Kappa Beta Phi.

## U.S. Senate

### 2000 election

After being forced out from Goldman Sachs in January 1999, Corzine campaigned for a New Jersey Senate seat after Frank Lautenberg announced his retirement. Despite initially trailing behind his opponent in the Democratic primary by 30 percentage points, Corzine won the nomination by 16 points. He later attributed his successful primary run to pollster Bob Shrum who convinced him to run not as "a seasoned investment banker and job creator" but as a "liberal progressive". In the general election, Corzine won by just a three-point margin over his Republican opponent, four-term United States Congressman Bob Franks, in the November 2000 election. He was sworn into the Senate in January 2001.

He spent more than $62 million of his own money on his campaign, the most expensive Senate campaign in U.S. history – over $33 million of this was spent on the primary election alone, where he defeated former Governor James Florio 58–42%. Franks had been a last-minute choice because New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman had been expected to run for the Senate. The record $62 million amount surpassed Michael Huffington, who spent nearly $28 million in an unsuccessful 1994 Senate race.

During the campaign, Corzine refused to release his income tax return records. He claimed an interest in doing so, but he cited a confidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs. Skeptics argued that Corzine should have followed the example of his predecessor Robert Rubin, who converted his equity stake into debt upon leaving Goldman.

Corzine campaigned for state government programs including universal health care, universal gun registration, mandatory public preschool, and more taxpayer funding for college education. He pushed affirmative action and same-sex marriage. David Brooks opined that Corzine was so liberal that his election, although the fact that his predecessor was also a Democrat, helped push the Senate to the left.

During Corzine's campaign for the United States Senate, he made some controversial off-color statements. When introduced to a man with an Italian name who said he was in the construction business, Corzine quipped: "Oh, you make cement shoes !" according to Emanuel Alfano, chairman of the Italian-American One Voice Committee. Alfano reported that when introduced to a lawyer named David Stein, Corzine said: "He's not Italian, is he? Oh, I guess he's your Jewish lawyer who is here to get the rest of you out of jail." Corzine denied mentioning religion, but did not deny the quip about Italians, stating that some of his own ancestors were probably Italian, or maybe French.

Also in 2000, Corzine denied having made payments to African-American ministers, although the foundation controlled by Jon and Joanne Corzine had paid one influential black church $25,000. Reginald T. Jackson, director of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, had campaigned against a form of racial profiling whereby police officers stop minority drivers, and had gotten New Jersey state police superintendent Carl A. Williams fired. Corzine had donated to Jackson prior to getting what appears to be a reciprocal endorsement.

### Tenure

Corzine entered Congress in a class of 10 new senators, eight of whom were Democrats. According to U.S. News & World Report, Corzine, Hillary Clinton and Jean Carnahan were the more notable new senators in 2000. During his five-year senatorial career, he was present at 1,503 of 1,673 votes, cosponsored 1,014 bills, sponsored 145 bills (only 11 of which made it out of committee), and had one sponsored bill enacted.

He co-authored the Sarbanes–Oxley Act. In the aftermath of Enron, he cosponsored (with Barbara Boxer) legislation, which was later propounded by Ted Kennedy, that reforms the 401(k) plan to minimize the risk of investment portfolios. The plan was opposed by President George W. Bush and faced strong opposition in Congress. Restrictions on retirement account allocations were in direct opposition to the contemporaneous movement towards self-directed individual retirement accounts for Social Security.

Corzine was a sponsor of the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Act. He supported providing a two-year tax break to victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks and help grant citizenship to victims who were legal resident aliens. He supported gun control laws, outlawing racial profiling, and subsidies for Amtrak. He was the chief sponsor, along with U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, of the Darfur Accountability Act. He was one of 23 Senators to vote against the Iraq War Resolution. Corzine was the prime sponsor, along with fellow New Jersey U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, of a federal version of John's Law, in memory of Navy Ensign John R. Elliott (a native of New Jersey), a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who was killed by a drunk driver. The legislation provides federal highway safety grant incentives to encourage states to impound the cars of DUI suspects. He was an early contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, Corzine and Peter Fitzgerald attempted to mold a more disciplined bailout of the airline industry, but even the redesigned plan was not entirely satisfactory to Corzine. Corzine opposed the reduction in low-income student eligibility for Pell Grant funding caused by changes in the "expected family contribution".

Corzine tried and failed to introduce legislation for chemical plant regulation six weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Subsequent efforts by then- Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman in 2002 were also squelched. Along with Hillary Clinton, he was one of the few senators who attempted to pressure the Bush administration to clamp down on regulation of the chemical and nuclear-power industries. His efforts helped make New Jersey one of the stricter states in the nation in terms of chemical plant regulation.

In 2001, Corzine coauthored (with Bob Graham) a tax-cut proposal aimed at lowering the marginal tax bracket from 15% to 10% on the first $19,000 of taxable income. In 2002, he proposed a tax cut that exempted the first $10,000 of income from the $765 of Social Security taxes for both employers and employees. Corzine also proposed making dividend payments tax deductible to companies as a form of economic stimulus.

While in the Senate, he chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 2003 to 2005. In this role he was influential in convincing certain potential candidates to not run in order to avoid costly primaries in three key states during the 2004 United States Senate elections. He also played a role in the selection of Senator John Edwards as a running mate for Senator John Kerry. In 2002, Corzine called for the resignation of United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt.

### Committee assignments

In the Senate, Corzine was a member of the Committees on Banking, Intelligence, the Budget, Foreign Relations, Environment, and Energy and Natural Resources.

## Campaigns for New Jersey Governor

### 2005

Corzine and his opponent, Republican Doug Forrester, spent $73 million on their gubernatorial campaigns by the week before election day. This included $38 million by Corzine and $19 million by Forrester for the general election. The primaries accounted for the difference. Since Corzine had spent over $62 million on his 2000 United States Senate elections, the combined expenditures for Corzine's run for the Senate and governorship exceeded $100 million. The main campaign issues were property taxes and the Bush administration. New Jersey had averaged $5,500 in 2004 property taxes, and Corzine tried to link his opponent to Bush.

The campaign for the post of Governor of New Jersey was successful with 54% of the vote. Forrester, a businessman and a former Mayor of West Windsor Township, in Mercer County, won 43%. Corzine received 1,224,493 votes to Forrester's 985,235. A total of 80,277 votes, or 3%, were scattered among other candidates. Corzine won 13 of New Jersey's 21 counties: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Passaic, Salem, and Union. Corzine won the three most populous counties (Bergen, Essex, and Middlesex), five of the top six, and seven of the top nine.

### 2009

Corzine ran for re-election in the 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election. In January 2009, Rasmussen Reports indicated that recently announced Republican challenger Chris Christie led Corzine 42% to 40%. Other polls that month showed Corzine with approvals of 46% to 40%, but these were trailing his "favorables", which were just 42–44%. By June and July, a number of polls showed Corzine trailing the Republican nominee, Christie, by double digits, though the tide changed again and by October polls showed Corzine was close, and in some cases, ahead. In the end, Corzine lost the race to Christie by a margin of 48.5% to 44.9%, with 5.8% of the vote going to independent candidate Chris Daggett.

## Governor of New Jersey

Corzine officially declined his $175,000 salary in 2006.

After taking office in January 2006, Corzine's approval numbers were very low. Many polls seemed to indicate that much of this negative polling was a result of the protracted budget battle ahead of the 2006 New Jersey State Government shutdown in July. An April 26, 2006, poll from Quinnipiac University Polling Institute showed Corzine at a 35% approval with a 42% disapproval. A February 28, 2007, poll from Quinnipiac University showed Corzine at 50% approval with 34% disapproval. When Corzine released a controversial plan to monetize the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, his approval rating fell to 30% in January 2008.

In conjunction with this fall in approval rating, an initiative to recall the Governor was started for the first and only time ever in New Jersey history. The recall effort failed after gathering less than the required 1.2 million signatures.

Corzine had long insisted that state employees must bear part of the cost of their health benefits after retirement. As of July 1, 2007, in agreements with the Communications Workers of America, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, active State employees in those unions (as well as certain other non-union employees) are now required to contribute 1.5% of their salary to offset health care costs. State and local employees' contributions to the two largest pension systems increased by 10%, from 5% to 5.5% of their annual salaries and increased the retirement benefit age for new public employees, from 55 to 60 years. In 2008, Corzine approved a law that increased the retirement age from 60 to 62, required that government workers and teachers earn $7,500 per year to qualify for a pension, eliminated Lincoln's Birthday as a state worker holiday, allowed the state to offer incentives not to take health insurance and required municipal employees work 20 hours per week to get health benefits.

As part of his attempt to balance the budget, Corzine decreased funding to most programs and localities including state universities and colleges. The first of these decreases came with the 2007 budget. Rutgers University and other New Jersey state universities raised tuition, cut hundreds of sections of classes, and several sports teams. With the latest decrease in funding for 2009, most state institutions have less funding than they had a decade ago. Despite the $15 million in cuts, Rutgers went ahead with previous agreed upon raises of $15 million to their executive faculty. This resulted in Rutgers making $30 million in cuts.

Corzine has been the only New Jersey governor in recent memory to make any headway in addressing the crisis of municipal funding. While not directly touching the third rail of New Jersey governance – property taxes – Corzine's reform of the school funding formula (passed and signed in January 2008) resulted in significant relief to many New Jersey towns with outsize school costs but limited tax base. The plan survived a legal challenge and was declared constitutional by the New Jersey Supreme Court on May 28, 2009.

Corzine championed expanding government health and education programs. He planned to require every resident to enroll in a health plan and have taxpayers help pick up the tab for all the welfare low- and middle-income residents. In June 2008, state legislators voted for the first phase of that program mandating health care coverage and Corzine signed it into law in July.

Corzine spent some $200,000 of public funds on advertisements to promote a referendum on the 2007 New Jersey ballot to borrow $450 million to fund stem cell research. The referendum faced strong opposition and was rejected despite the fact that $270 million had previously been approved to build stem cell research centers.

Corzine, a death penalty opponent, as governor supported and presided over abolition of capital punishment in New Jersey and replacing it with life imprisonment. After the legislature passed and he signed it into law, New Jersey became the first state to legislatively eliminate capital punishment since 1965. Although the bill was not passed until late in 2007, New Jersey had not executed any criminals since 1963. Because the penalty was never used and often reversed upon appeal, it was viewed as a form of extended suffering for victims' families by some supporters of its abolition. Before the enactment of the new law, he commuted the death sentences of all death row inmates to life in prison. Corzine also has supported early New Jersey efforts at gun control.

Corzine was one of several United States Governors – including Martin O'Malley of Maryland, Mike Beebe of Arkansas, and Eliot Spitzer of New York – who were early supporters of Hillary Clinton 's 2008 presidential campaign. He raised $1 million for her campaign. He, Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, Chuck Schumer, and Charlie Rangel co-hosted Clinton's October 25, 2007 60th-birthday party. He remained a committed Clinton superdelegate late into the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primary season. If the Democratic National Committee had decided to recontest the Michigan and Florida primaries, Corzine and Ed Rendell were prepared to spearhead Clinton's fundraising in for those races. Towards the end of the primary season in April 2008, Corzine made it clear that although he was a Clinton supporter, his superdelegate vote would be determined by the popular vote. After her win in the April 22, 2008 Pennsylvania Democratic primary and a calculation of popular votes that excluded caucuses and included the controversial Michigan and Florida Democratic primaries, Corzine reaffirmed his support for her. Once Barack Obama became the presumptive nominee, Corzine became a prominent spokesperson for Obama's agenda.

Corzine was among a group of big (in terms of population) state governors, such as Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who moved his state Republican and Democratic primaries to February 5, 2008, the date of Super Tuesday, 2008. He was also among a group of prominent Democratic politicians (that included Ted Kennedy and Barack Obama) who received political contributions from Norman Hsu that he ended up donating to charity.

In November 2008, in response to the ongoing economic downturn, Corzine proposed an economic recovery package consisting of additional massive spending, accelerated capital improvement spending and reforms and cuts to the corporate income tax. As of December 2008 many elements of the plan had been approved by the Democrats in the NJ Legislature. On January 2, 2009, Corzine joined the governors of four other states in urging the federal government to provide $1 trillion in aid to the country's 50 state governments to help pay for education, welfare and infrastructure as states struggle with steep budget deficits amid a deepening recession.

### Government shutdown

Corzine, in attempting to pass the 2007 fiscal year budget, clashed with a few fellow state Democrats in the New Jersey General Assembly, particularly over the proposed increase of the state's sales tax from 6% to 7%. Corzine said that he would not accept a budget that did not include the sales tax increase. After the legislature failed to pass Corzine's budget by the midnight deadline of July 1, 2006, he signed an executive order that immediately closed down all non-essential state government services, such as road construction projects. Legislators failed to resolve the situation by July 4 and casinos, among other governmentally-regulated industries, closed their doors at 8:00 am on July 5. Corzine called the shutdown "deplorable", though he refused to negotiate with legislators and accept alternate plans that did not increase the sales tax. Some surmised the casino closure was an effort to encourage reluctant South Jersey legislators to break the impasse.

After six days of state government shutdown, Corzine and Assembly Democrats agreed to raise the state sales tax to 7% with half of the 1% increase going to the state budget and the other half going to property tax relief. On July 8, 2006, the $30 billion state budget, with the sales tax agreement, passed both houses and Governor Corzine signed the budget into law ending the budget impasse.

### Toll hike plan

Initially, Corzine opposed privatization of the New Jersey Turnpike. On January 8, 2008, to address ongoing structural budget issues, Governor Corzine proposed a four-part proposal including an overall reduction in spending, a constitutional amendment to require more voter approval for state borrowing, an executive order prohibiting the use of one-time revenues to balance the budget and a controversial plan to raise some $38 billion by leasing the Garden State Parkway, the New Jersey Turnpike, and other toll roads for at least 75 years to a new public benefit corporation that could sell bonds secured by future tolls, which it would be allowed to raise by 50% plus inflation every four years beginning in 2010. Corzine vowed to get that plan through the state legislature by March, but held off for nearly a month before releasing the details. Upon learning how the plan would work, New Jersey native residents railed against it, comparing it to using one credit card to pay off another, pointing out that it would create hardship for commuters and noting that it would actually increase the state's $32 billion debt. Corzine later wrote that only after the proposal was released did he discover "the harsh reality: the public intensely disliked the idea" and that, in retrospect, he "should have pressed harder to identify the most salient arguments against the plan and developed a strategy to get in front of and respond to those challenges".

### Carla Katz

Corzine, who was running for the United States Senate in the spring of 1999, met Carla Katz, the then married president of Local 1034 of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), in the same apartment building where he resided in Hoboken; the CWA represents the largest number of state workers in New Jersey. As Katz later recalled, Corzine offered her a job on his Senate campaign, but she declined the offer. Corzine and the still married Katz were soon dating, and they began appearing in public as a couple in early 2002, shortly after Corzine's unofficial separation from his wife, Joanne. (The Corzines divorced the following year.) For more than two years Corzine was romantically involved and living with Katz. She lived with him at his apartment building in Hoboken from April 2002 until August 2004.

After Corzine's breakup with Katz, their lawyers negotiated a financial payout in November 2004. According to press accounts, the settlement for Katz exceeded $6 million, including cash (in part used to buy her $1.1 million condominium in Hoboken), a college trust fund to educate her children, a 2005 Volvo sport utility vehicle, and Corzine forgave a $470,000 loan he had made to Katz in 2002 to buy out her ex-husband's share of their home in Alexandria Township. Katz enrolled in Seton Hall University School of Law on a full scholarship in 2004. Corzine later acknowledged he had given $15,000 to Katz's brother-in-law, Rocco Riccio, a former state employee who was forced to resign after being accused of examining income tax returns for political purposes. At the time, Katz was president of the CWA Local 1034, which bargains on behalf of many state employees.

In the summer of 2005, when Corzine was running in the New Jersey gubernatorial election, news first emerged of his relationship with Katz and the money she had received. Corzine was elected governor despite the scandal. In the fall of 2006, during an impasse in contract negotiations between the Corzine administration and the state's seven major state employee unions (including the CWA), Katz contacted the governor by phone and e-mail to lobby for a renewal of the negotiations. Their relationship and the financial settlement Katz received after their breakup led to allegations of many potential conflicts of interest in labor negotiations while Corzine was governor. A state ethics panel, acting on a complaint from Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan, ruled in May 2007 that Katz's contact with Corzine during negotiations did not violate the governor's code of conduct.

Separately, New Jersey Republican State Committee Chairman Tom Wilson filed a lawsuit to release all e-mail correspondence between Corzine and Katz during the contract negotiations. On May 30, 2008, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Paul Innes ruled that at least 745 pages of e-mail records should be made public, but Corzine's lawyers immediately appealed the decision to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Corzine won his case on appeal. On March 18, 2009, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled it would not hear arguments in the case, effectively ending the legal battle to make his e-mails with Katz public. Corzine spent approximately $127,000 of taxpayer funds to keep the e-mails secret. Nonetheless, on August 1, 2010, The Star-Ledger published 123 of the Corzine-Katz e-mails, revealing the extent of their personal contact during negotiations over a new state government workers contract in early 2007.

### Appointments

Corzine continued to serve in the U.S. Senate while running for governor, which ensured that he could resign from the Senate and appoint a Democrat as his successor if he won and allowed him to retain his Senate seat if he lost. Speculation was that he would appoint a Democrat from one of the congressional districts in New Jersey, perhaps Congressmen Rob Andrews, Rush Holt, or Frank Pallone. Corzine, once he was Governor-Elect, said on November 11, 2005, that he was strongly considering appointing State Senator Nia Gill to fill his vacant seat in the United States Senate. Corzine said about Gill that she was "an extraordinarily capable woman". Gill for her part told the Associated Press "I have the qualifications. If I am chosen by Jon, I am more than qualified to rise to the occasion." He strongly hinted he might appoint Governor Richard Codey although on November 23, 2005, Codey announced that he was not interested in pursuing the seat. On December 9, 2005, Corzine named his friend, who lived and lives in the same apartment building, U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez, a Democrat, to succeed him.

One of Corzine's first nominations was that of Zulima Farber as New Jersey Attorney General. She served for approximately seven months until an ethics investigation concluded that she had acted improperly by going to the location where local police in Fairview, New Jersey had stopped her boyfriend, Hamlet Gore, for driving with a suspended license and an expired vehicle registration. Corzine said he did not ask for Farber's resignation.

On February 9, 2006, after many scandals regarding financial mishandling at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Corzine nominated Robert Del Tufo, the former Attorney General of New Jersey and U.S. Attorney, as chairman of the board of trustees. Corzine also nominated Oliver Quinn, Prudential Financial's vice president and chief ethics officer, as vice chairman of the board.

Corzine's commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection and Chief of Staff, Lisa P. Jackson was nominated as the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. She was confirmed by the Senate on January 22, 2009.

### Motorcade accident

On April 12, 2007, Corzine and 25-year-old aide Samantha Gordon were injured in an automobile accident on the Garden State Parkway near Galloway Township while traveling from the New Jersey Conference of Mayors in Atlantic City to Drumthwacket, his residence in Princeton, to meet with radio personality Don Imus and the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

The New Jersey State Police determined that Corzine's SUV, driven by a state trooper, was traveling in excess of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) with its emergency lights flashing when the collision occurred. A pickup truck drifted onto the shoulder and swerved back onto the lane, and another pickup truck swerved to avoid the truck and hit the Governor's SUV, causing the SUV to hit the guardrail. The State Police reviewed roadside camera recordings and E-ZPass records to track down the driver of the truck; he was not charged with any violation.

Corzine and the trooper were flown by helicopter to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, a Level I trauma center. The aide was taken by ambulance to Atlantic City Medical Center. Neither the NJ State Trooper nor the aide was seriously injured, but Corzine suffered broken bones, including an open fracture of the left femur, 11 broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken collarbone, a fractured lower vertebra, and a facial cut that required plastic surgery. The Governor was not wearing a seat belt. Friends had long said that they had rarely seen him wear one. When asked why the state trooper who was driving would not have asked Corzine to put on his seat belt, a staffer said the governor was "not always amenable to suggestion". The Superintendent of State Police has also noted that the trooper could be charged if the crash were preventable.

By April 23, 2007, Corzine's doctors had upgraded him from critical to stable condition. He was sedated and unable to speak because of a breathing tube in his throat, and as such, was unable to perform his duties as governor. In accordance with the New Jersey State Constitution, New Jersey Senate President Richard Codey assumed the position of acting governor for the short period from April 12 until May 7, 2007. In 2005, voters had approved an amendment to the state constitution to provide for a lieutenant governor who would succeed the governor in the event of a vacancy or assume gubernatorial duties in the event of incapacitation, but that position would not be filled until 2010.

Corzine left the hospital on April 30, 2007. He returned to Drumthwacket, where he recuperated and used a videoconferencing center (installed at his expense) to communicate with legislators. He issued an apology, paid a $46 ticket for not wearing a seat belt, and he appeared in a public service announcement advocating seat belts, which opened with the words "I'm New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, and I should be dead."

It was reported that Corzine, not taxpayers, would pay his medical bills.

### Public opinion

During the first months of his administration, Corzine experienced favorable approval ratings. According to a March 2006 Fairleigh Dickinson PublicMind Poll, 47% of New Jersey voters approved of the job Corzine was doing, while 16% disapproved. Peter Woolley, director of the PublicMind, noted, "the numbers are pretty good for a New Jersey governor heading full tilt into an unprecedented budget crisis." Much of the good will that was indicated by the March poll was quickly diminished, and in April 2006, a PublicMind poll showed that Corzine's approval rating had eroded to 39% while his disapproval rating increased to 36%. By July 2006, the Governor's ratings recovered to some extent from the April decline and in September of the same year it was clear that Corzine's approvals had not suffered from the summer conflict over the budget and the sales tax hike; 51% of New Jersey voters approved of the governor's handling of his job while 31% disapproved. His PublicMind poll ratings remained relatively stable and healthy through the rest of 2006 and 2007 with his average approvals at 54% and his average disapprovals at 29%.

In January 2008, prior to the State of the State address Corzine was at 48% approving 32% disapproving, according to the PublicMind poll. But another FDU PublicMind poll taken in late January, after the State of the State address, showed that governor's ratings were slipping; 41% of voters approved of the job Corzine was doing while 39% reported that they disapproved. The decline was largely in response to the governor's plan to raise tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. February 2008 was not any kinder, as a PublicMind poll indicated that his numbers continued to slip with disapprovals catching up to approvals with 42% of voters approving and 43% of voters disapproving. Woolley remarked on the decline saying, "Considering the beating he has taken on his toll plan, it's remarkable that his numbers are not a good deal worse." The governor's approval ratings showed no recovery through September 2008 with his approvals and disapprovals averaging 42% and 43% respectively. Coincident with the presidential campaign, Corzine's approval ratings saw some improvement.

In January 2009 he stood at 46% approving and 40% disapproving. Woolley asserted that the governor was faring relatively well in public opinion considering "the enormous and growing pressure on the state budget and on the governor to protect various constituencies". Come March 2009, the PublicMind Poll found, "Gov. Jon Corzine's standing with the New Jersey public is suffering along with the economy," and as a result his approvals began to slip with 40% of voters approving and 43% disapproving. His approvals continued to decline in April as he contended with the budget and the financial crisis with 40% approving and 49% disapproving. At the end of his term, in January 2010, Corzine's approvals landed at their lowest point during the administration with 33% approving and 58% disapproving.

## Philanthropy and academia

Corzine has been active with a number of philanthropic and civic organizations. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Covenant House and is on the board of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation. His civic work has involved serving on the boards of several organizations in the New York-New Jersey area, including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the New York Philharmonic, the New York Child Study Center and the NYC Partnership. In addition, Corzine has served as co-chair of the National Commission on Capital Budgeting under President Clinton, chairman of the Treasury's Government Borrowing Committee and Chairman of the Public Securities Association.

He served on the board of trustees of the University of Chicago and served as an ex-officio member of the board of trustees of Princeton University. Corzine was the J.L. Weinberg Visiting Professor of Public Policy at Princeton in 2010 and 2011. He currently is serving at Fairleigh Dickinson University as chairman of an advisory board that is working to establish a graduate school of public and global affairs. Corzine is also serving as a visiting lecturer on politics and public policy at Farleigh's Wroxton campus in the United Kingdom.

## MF Global

Corzine was appointed CEO and Chairman of MF Global, a multinational futures broker and bond dealer, in March 2010.

MF Global's stock price declined two-thirds in the final week of October 2011 and its credit rating was reduced making its debt high-yield debt following huge quarterly losses. On October 31, 2011, trading was halted on shares of MF Global prior to the market opening, and soon thereafter MF Global announced that it had declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Shortly afterwards, federal regulators began an investigation into hundreds of millions of dollars in missing customer funds. Corzine resigned as CEO on November 4, 2011, after having retained the services of defense attorney Andrew J. Levander. It was reported that Corzine declined a severance package worth $12.1 million. MF Global's collapse was one of the ten biggest bankruptcies in U.S. history.

Corzine was subpoenaed to appear before a House committee on December 8, 2011, to answer questions regarding 1.2 billion dollars of missing money from MF Global client accounts. He testified before the committee, "I simply do not know where the money is, or why the accounts have not been reconciled to date," and that given the number of money transfers in the final days of trading at MF Global, he didn't know specifics of the movement of the funds. He also denied authorizing any misuse of customer funds. In March 2012, Bloomberg reported on a memo produced by congressional investigators that quoted an internal company e-mail relating to a $175 million transfer that was a subject of their investigation. Initial media reports suggested impropriety on Corzine's part, but this was later disproved. According to the New York Times, the employee responsible for the transfer emailed Corzine stating the transfer was a "House Wire", meaning it came from the firm's own account. The instructions Corzine had given were to deal with several overdrafts at JPMorgan Chase, but never related to any specific accounts or specific transfers made. A spokesperson for Corzine responded that Corzine "never directed Ms. O'Brien or anyone else regarding which account should be used to cure the overdrafts, and he never directed that customer funds should be used for that purpose. Nor was he informed that customer funds had been used for that purpose". In fact, as the New York Times reported, Corzine had been given specific assurances that the transfer in question was proper, and that no customer funds had been used. Subsequent court filings also attest to this fact. On November 5, 2013, The New York Times reported that MF Global customers would likely recover 100 percent of their funds. A spokesman for Corzine said "Mr. Corzine is very pleased that all customers will receive a full recovery. This is a great outcome, which has been anticipated for many months." Customers have since received distributions making them whole.

In June 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed civil charges against Corzine for using funds from MF's customer accounts for corporate purposes. "Corzine is charged with one count of failure to segregate and misuse of customer funds and one count of failure to supervise diligently," a news report said. The commission drew on extensive taped Corzine phone conversations in filing the complaint. Corzine's attorney Levander issued a statement contesting the charges when they were filed.

In 2013, Corzine, and managers including Bradley Abelow and Henri Steenkamp, appealed a court ruling relating to repayments to customers of the bankrupt brokerage. A spokesman for Corzine made clear that the appeal was not an attempt to delay payments to customers, but due to a disagreement regarding how those claims would be handled by the trustee after they were paid. Corzine fully supported customers receiving 100 percent of their money and had no desire for this to be delayed. There was nothing preventing the trustee from making full distributions immediately and litigating the appeal after the fact. Ultimately all customers were paid in full.

On January 5, 2017, Corzine and the CFTC agreed to a settlement order requiring Corzine to pay a $5 million penalty for his role in MF Global's collapse. Corzine also agreed to be permanently barred from working for a futures commission merchant or registering with the CFTC in any capacity.

## Electoral history

## Personal life

Corzine married his high school sweetheart, Joanne Dougherty, in 1969 at the age of 22, and their 33-year marriage produced three children – Jennifer, Josh, and Jeffrey. The couple separated in 2002 and were divorced in November 2003. Corzine's younger son Jeffrey died by suicide in Mexico on March 13, 2014 age 31.

Corzine had lived with his wife in Summit, New Jersey. After their separation, Corzine moved to a condominium apartment in Hoboken.

In April 2010, The Huffington Post announced the engagement of Corzine and psychotherapist Sharon Elghanayan (née Levine), whom he had been dating since 2004. On November 23, 2010, Corzine married Elghanayan in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court Stuart Rabner, according to an announcement in The New York Times. Elghanayan is a graduate of Rutgers University and New York University.


Yassine Benhattab

# Yassine Benhattab

## Abstract

Yassine Benhattab (born 18 November 2002) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Championnat National club Aubagne, on loan from Ligue 1 club Nantes.

## Career

Benhattab is a youth product of Belsunce, Marseille, and Niort. He made his professional debut with Niort in a 1–0 Ligue 2 loss to Troyes on 18 December 2020. In June 2021, he was offered a one-year aspirant contract with Niort.

On 30 August 2024, Benhattab signed for Ligue 1 club Nantes, before being immediately loaned back to Aubagne for the rest of the season.

## Personal life

Born in France, Benhattab is of Algerian descent.


Starhead Comix

# Starhead Comix

## Abstract

Starhead Comix was an alternative / underground comics publisher that operated from 1984 to c. 1999. Founded by Michael Dowers, Starhead was based in Seattle, Washington. Mostly known for limited-edition minicomics, Starhead also published standard-sized, black-and-white comics in the early 1990s.

Creators associated with Starhead included Dennis Eichhorn, Ellen Forney, Roberta Gregory, David Lasky, Pat Moriarity, Art Penn, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, J. R. Williams, Steve Willis, and Dennis Worden.

## History

Self-described " hippie " Michael Dowers discovered minicomics in 1982 and was immediately enthralled by the form. He began writing, drawing, printing, copying, and distributing his own mini comics (under the name Nessie Productions), and by 1984 formed Starhead Comix to publish his work and that of fellow cartoonists, including Ronald Roach, Steve Willis and J. R. Williams.

In the late 1980s, Starhead experimented with standard format comics, and from 1991–1995 the company focused almost exclusively on this form, often publishing Pacific Northwest -based creators like Dennis P. Eichhorn, Forney, Gregory, Lasky, Colin Upton, and J. R. Williams.

The company's last few years were limited to publishing reprints and updates of the pornographic Tijuana Bibles from the 1930s.

In 1999, publisher Dowers retired the Starhead Comix name and created Brownfield Press to sell remaining titles and occasionally publish new projects.

In 2010, Fantagraphics Books published Newave!: The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s, a nearly 900-page collection of minicomics (many of which originally saw print via Starhead), edited by Dowers. This was followed in 2013 by Dowers' Treasury of Mini Comics — Volume One, also published by Fantagraphics (ISBN 978-1606996577).

## Titles (selected)

### Minicomics

- 3R Cosmix (8 issues, 1984–1986) — Ronald Roach

- Skinboy Fights Back (1984) ---- J. R. Williams

- Armageddonquest (1984–1986) — Ronald Roach; followed by a full-size comics series in 1994

- Exquisite Corpse Comix (1985–1990) — anthology

- Morty the Dog (2 issues, 1987) — Steve Willis

- Outside In (7 issues, 1984–1985) — numbering continued from self-published Steve Willis title

- Seattle Star (1985–1990) — newsprint tabloid-size

- Starhead Presents (3 issues, 1987) — anthology

### Comics

- Amazing Adventures of Ace International (1 issue, 1993) — Dennis Eichhorn

- Armageddonquest (3 issues, 1994) — Ronald Roach

- Artistic Licentiousness (3 issues, 1991–1994) — Roberta Gregory

- Bezango Obscuro (1 issue, 1994) — Steve Willis

- Big Black Thing (1 issue, 1994) — Colin Upton

- Big Mouth (2 issues, 1992–1993) — Pat Moriarity

- Bumber Comix (2 issues, 1985–1988) — second issue published with a grant from the Bumbershoot Arts Festival

- Cruel and Unusual Punishment (2 issues, 1993–1994)

- Fun House (1 issue, 1993) — J. R. Williams

- Hemp for Victory (1 issue, 1995)

- The Mutant Book of the Dead (1 issue, 1994) — Mack White

- Northwest Cartoon Cookery (1 issue, 1995) - edited by Dennis Eichhorn

- Rat Fink Comix (1 issue, 1987) — Ed "Big Daddy" Roth

- Real Schmuck (1 issue, 1993) — Dennis Eichhorn

- Seattle Sketchbook (1 issue, 1995) — David Collier

- Stickboy (2 issues, 1993–1995)— Dennis Worden; numbering continues from Fantagraphics Books / Revolutionary Comics title

- The Tijuana Bible (9 issues, 1994–1998) — reprints of stories from the 1930s

- Tomato (2 issues, 1994–1995) — Ellen Forney


Eve (American TV series)

# Eve (American TV series)

## Abstract

Eve is an American television sitcom created by Meg DeLoatch that originally aired for three seasons on UPN from September 15, 2003, to May 11, 2006. Featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Eve, Jason George, Ali Landry, Natalie Desselle-Reid, Brian Hooks, and Sean Maguire, the show revolves around two sets of male and female friends attempting to navigate relationships with the opposite sex. The executive producers were Robert Greenblatt and David Janollari; the series was produced by The Greenblatt/Janollari Studio and Mega Diva Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television for UPN.

The series was developed as a vehicle for Eve under the working title The Opposite Sex; UPN executives approached the rapper about a television project after the success of fellow musician Brandy in another of the network's sitcoms, Moesha. Eve's series was created as part of the network's attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. After being picked up, the show was renamed Eve to attract the rapper's fans. It was set in Miami, but filmed at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood. Eve has stated that she was intimidated at first by the process of preparing for and filming a sitcom, and she would later regret not fully committing to her character. The show aired on UPN in its original run, and later in syndicated reruns on TV One and Cleo TV. UPN had promoted Eve as part of its new comedy block, one of four new comedies developed by the network.

Eve suffered low viewership in spite of its high ratings among young African-American women; it was canceled following UPN's merger with The WB Television Network (The WB) to launch The CW in 2006. The series' cancellation, along with that of other black sitcoms, was criticized by media outlets for reducing representation of African-American characters and the number of roles for African-American actors on television. Critical response to Eve was mixed; some praised its inclusion as a part of UPN's line-up of black sitcoms, but others felt Eve lacked charisma, and that the series was inferior to its contemporaries. Despite the mixed reception, the show and its star received several award nominations. The series was later released on the iTunes Store, Amazon Video, and HBO Max.

## Premise and characters

Eve revolves around Miami fashion designer Shelly Williams (Eve), "a woman whose fashion career is on the move but whose love life is a work in progress". At the start of the series, Shelly has been unable to find a suitable partner for ten months. She begins an on and off relationship with physical therapist Jeremiah Thurgood "J.T." Hunter (Jason George), which is nearly derailed when he cries while they watch Casablanca on their first date. Both characters turn to two of their close friends for advice on the opposite sex, love, and relationships. Shelly frequently looks for advice from former model Rita Lefleur (Ali Landry) and married friend Janie Egins (Natalie Desselle-Reid), while J.T. finds support in his best friends, nightclub manager Donovan Brink (Sean Maguire), and IRS worker Nick Dalaney (Brian Hooks).

Episodes typically depict the friends' comedic and romantic adventures and career issues, such as Shelly, Rita, and Janie working together at their Miami-based fashion boutique DivaStyle, and J.T. applying to colleges. The six characters each have many dates and serious relationships, and the series can be viewed as an extension of the concept of "the battle of the sexes" for its equal representation of both male and female viewpoints on the matter. Janie serves as Shelly's voice of reason, while Rita encourages her to be more impulsive with dating. They often disagree with one another on the best way for Shelly to approach her love life. Rita, Janie, Nick, and Donovan are typically shown caught in the middle of Shelly and J.T.'s miscommunications.

Even though Shelly and J.T.'s relationship is the predominant storyline, the series does explore the relationships of its supporting cast; Donovan and Rita date each other, and the quite-selective Nick attempts to find the perfect partner. Donovan owns the Z Lounge, which is described as "one of Miami's hottest clubs" and serves as one of the places where the group often meets. Other frequently recurring characters include Shelly's younger love interest Grant (Sharif Atkins), Janie's husband Marty (Reggie Gaskins), and Shelly's mother Beverly (Penny Johnson Jerald). Several celebrities also make cameo appearances on the show, including Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Brooke Burke, Vivica A. Fox, Morris Day, Antonio Fargas and Cedric the Entertainer.

## Episodes

### Season 1

The first season introduces the six main characters: Shelly, J.T., Rita, Janie, Nick, and Donovan. Shelly runs the fashion boutique DivaStyle with her friends Janie and Rita. She pursues a relationship with J.T., only to discover he is afraid of commitment and exhibits some chauvinistic behavior. Their relationship is often tested by frequent misunderstandings. Nick wants to find his ideal partner, but his attempts are typically thwarted as he is very particular about women. Even though his relationship with a woman named Dani appears to be successful, they soon break up. Donovan finds himself romantically attracted to Rita, but he resists the temptation out of fear of ruining their friendship.

### Season 2

Shelly and J.T. break up at the beginning of the second season and pursue a friends with benefits relationship. After discovering that she is bankrupt, Rita moves in with Janie to save money. She also begins a relationship with Donovan. When Janie becomes annoyed with Rita for staying at her home for an extended period, Rita persuades J.T. and Nick to let her stay with them instead. Shelly finds herself attracted to a younger man, and J.T. becomes jealous, realizing that he is in love with her. In the season finale, both men propose to Shelly. At the same time, Donovan's application for residency is rejected, and the friends prepare for his return to England.

### Season 3

In the third-season premiere, Shelly accepts J.T.'s marriage proposal. Donovan gets a work visa after finding a job selling makeup products for a British company. Shelly and J.T. break up again, resolving to remain just friends. J.T. pursues a career in medicine and enrolls in the Miami State Medical School. He finds out that college is more difficult than he'd expected, and struggles with his classes and finances. During the spring, Rita and Donovan rekindle their relationship, and she buys her own apartment. In the series finale, Beverly finally admits to Yusef, Shelly's father, that she is carrying his child; Shelly questions his ability to be a father again. The series ends in a cliffhanger, with Janie, Rita, and Donovan arrested for illegally selling BOTOX at DivaStyle.

## Background

### Conception

United Paramount Network (UPN) executives approached Eve about developing a television project following her performance of her rap single " Gangsta Lovin' " (2002) at an event marking the channel's 2002 season premieres. The network had pitched the idea to her prior to her appearances in the 2002 films XXX and Barbershop. Following their release, UPN renewed its interest in pursuing a series with Eve. She had developed the main premise behind the sitcom, in which she would star as a fashion designer with a supporting multi-ethnic ensemble. The show's creation was credited to television producer Meg DeLoatch. UPN executives designed the series as a vehicle for Eve following the positive response to fellow musician Brandy in another UPN sitcom, Moesha.

Eve accepted the role as a way to showcase a different side of her personality that was unexplored in her music. Her co-star Jason George commented that the show allowed the audience to see Eve as more than a hardcore rap artist, saying: "The part that people know the least about her comes across most in this show: There's a seriously girlie girl side to her." DeLoach emphasized the difference between Eve and her character Shelly Williams by saying, "She's bringing so much of herself to the role of Shelly but she's playing a character. Some of the things Shelly does aren't necessarily what Eve would do." To further distinguish herself as an actor, Eve decided against performing the show's theme song.

Publicized as the Untitled Eve Project in an early press release, the series had the working title The Opposite Sex before it was changed to reflect Eve's status as the star. She initially resisted the change and felt that The Opposite Sex was a stronger choice, but described it as a "corporate decision." According to her, UPN executives explained that the title would better attract the rapper's fans. They also felt that the audience would not be confused by the title Eve, despite Eve playing a character named Shelly. After the title was established, the show's premise was modified slightly, but remained centered around male and female friends discussing their love lives, and navigating their relationships with the opposite sex. While Eve described the series as "the PG version of Sex and the City ", DeLoatch promoted Eve as unique for incorporating both male and female perspectives on dating and love. She further described the sitcom as "focus on one relationship and follow all of the ups and downs in it," with the purpose of "showing the male and female points of view." To achieve this goal, DeLoatch included male writers in the discussions of potential episodes and storylines to get their input.

### Production and filming

Production was handled by The Greenblatt/Janollari Studio, Mega Diva Inc, and Warner Bros. Television. Robert Greenblatt and David Janollari served as the series' executive producers. DeLoatch, Troy Carter, David Duclon, and Eve also contributed to the series as co-executive producers. Rapper Missy Elliott wrote and performed the theme song, which was produced by Soul Diggaz. Eve was one of four new comedies developed by UPN for the 2003–04 television season, as part of a "new comedy block" including All of Us, Rock Me Baby, and The Mullets. A writer from Today described UPN's enlistment of Eve into a comedy as an example of the network's attempt to form its own identity through targeting a younger, multi-ethnic audience. In his book TV-a-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol, Jake Austen identified Eve as part of a trend in which musicians were prominently featured as the stars of television programs; he cited Brandy's role in Moesha and Queen Latifah on Living Single as two other examples.

By the time the series was officially announced during UPN's broadcast upfront presentations, Ali Landry, Natalie Desselle-Reid, and Brian Hooks were confirmed in the roles of Rita, Janie, and Nick, respectively. Bumper Robinson was originally slated to portray J.T., but was replaced by Jason George for undisclosed reasons. The role of Donovan was also recast, with original actor Eddie McClintock removed in favor of Sean Maguire. The supporting cast of Landry, Desselle-Reid, Hooks, and Maguire were described by Tom Jicha of the Sun-Sentinel as "peripheral," since they were written to "servic the highs and lows of the romance between Shelly and J.T." With Shelly and J.T.'s relationship as the heart of the sitcom, Janollari expressed hopes that the episodes would follow them "from their meeting in the pilot, through the steps of a normal relationship, all the way, hopefully to marriage." In 2006, TV One began broadcasting the series as part of an agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution. Along with All of Us, Eve marked the first time in which the channel acquired the rights for shows that were currently airing on network television. Cleo TV included syndicated reruns of Eve in 2019.

Even though the show was set in Miami, filming took place at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood. Stock exterior shots of Miami were used for the opening credits and transitions between scenes. The series was filmed with a multiple-camera setup, with each episode running 20 to 22 minutes, excluding commercials. Eve said she was initially intimidated by the amount of work required to prepare for and film a television series. During an interview with Billboard, she explained that while filming the first season she felt like she "just wanted to leave because there was so much to learn, it's just a different world". Since she found comedy to be challenging due to the "certain beats you have to learn," Eve hired two acting coaches to help improve her timing. One of her coaches was Chip Fields, who visited the show's set to offer Eve acting advice. During the development of the second season, Eve viewed the set as her home, and felt the process was easier, having grown closer to the cast and crew. In a 2016 interview with Grazia, she revealed her regret at not fully committing herself to her character and the series. She explained: "I was the youngest person on set, and was clubbing in between being on set and learning my lines. I look back and wish I was more dedicated. But I learned from it."

### Cancellation

The show, as well as a majority of UPN's programs, was officially canceled when the network merged with The WB Television Network (The WB) to form The CW in 2006. Fern Gillespie of The Crisis was critical of UPN's decision to cancel the series given how the network, "in one swoop, wiped out five of its eight African-American comedies" with the creation of The CW. Gillespie expressed disappointment at the lack of African American sitcoms on the three major networks, saying: "Without that opportunity for some of the younger artists to hone and develop their skills, it will potentially have a generational impact." IndieWire 's Dara T. Mathis identified Eve as an example of UPN's notable black sitcoms, and equated the cancellations of a majority of UPN's comedies as a sign that the genre was in a state of decline. Critic Tim Goodman noted that Eve was one of six shows "geared for an African-American audience," featuring "an African-American lead actress," that were canceled during the merger. He viewed these cancellations as a sign of networks "eliminat niche programming". Julian Kimble of Complex included Eve on a list of programs that "are often forgotten about," alongside other UPN sitcoms Half & Half and All of Us. The series has not been made available on Blu-ray or DVD, but it was released on the iTunes Store, Amazon Video, and HBO Max.

## Reception

### Critical response

Eve has received mixed feedback since its first broadcast. Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer praised the changes made during the show's development, and highlighted Maguire as the standout. In reference to its transformation from the pilot, she described Eve as the " Eliza Doolittle of UPN comedies." The supporting cast was praised by David Hinckely of the New York Daily News, who wrote that they "form an entertaining and appropriately neurotic chorus behind Eve's relationship dance." Eve was compared to the UPN comedy Girlfriends by The New York Times ' Alessandra Stanley, who regarded Eve as an appropriate lead with "an appealingly tough edge that matches the paw-print tattoos on her chest." Brian Josephs of Spin shared positive memories of African-American television shows on UPN, identifying Monday nights on the network as the place "where Eve transformed from Ruff Ryder to sitcom actress." Eve was listed by scholar Jake Austen as one of the shows "that emerged in the wake of the civil rights era " that served as "a dynamic showcase for black creativity." Tom Jicha provided a less enthusiastic review, stating that Eve was "just another cookie-cutter sitcom."

Eve drew criticism for its formulaic writing and the lead's performance. The show was included on a list by Ebony 's Kevin L. Clark profiling the top ten worst black television shows of all time. Clark was critical of the episodes' titles, such as "Condom Mania," "She Snoops to Conquer," and "Porn Free," and wrote that they indicated an overuse of "outrageous clichés that boob-tube audiences would come to know and love once reality TV hit its boon." Arianna Davis of Refinery29 negatively compared Eve to 1990s black sitcoms, and determined that it was a part of the "rollout of campy shows... that felt less like purposeful programming and more like cheap attempts at copying a successful advertising model." The Los Angeles Times ' Mimi Avins felt that the show lacked the spark and the writing quality of Sex and the City, identifying Eve as its weakest link. She felt that Eve did not show "the acting ability or high-voltage charisma that vaulted Will Smith from rapper to television star" in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. During her review of the pilot episode, Melanie McFarland wrote that the sitcom lacked any potential due to Eve's poor performance on top of the "errible scenery, cheap costumes, and a few glaring miscasts." Eve's decision to distance the series from her identity as a rapper was questioned by Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant, who felt that the character of Shelly could have used "the personality charge" from Eve's life. Despite finding Eve a charismatic presence, Catlin felt that her acting, along with that of Ali Landry, was poorly developed. Echoing Catlin's assessment, the San Francisco Gate ' s Tim Goodman was critical of Eve's and Landry's performances. Goodman also wrote that the show was an example of "the worst writing on television," citing its homophobic jokes and its reliance on clichés.

### Accolades

In spite of mixed reception from television critics, the show, and Eve's performance, received several award nominations. In 2004, the show was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout TV Show. Eve was also nominated for Choice TV Actress: Comedy in the same year. Eve was nominated again for the Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress: Comedy in 2005. She also received two nominations for the Blimp Award for Favorite Television Actress during the 2005 and 2006 Kid's Choice Awards. Eve earned a nomination for the 2005 Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, and the 2005 BET Awards Comedy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

### Ratings

The table below shows Eve ' s ratings in the United States. "Rank" refers to how well Eve rated compared to other television series that aired during prime time hours of the corresponding television season. It is shown in relation to the total number of series airing on the then-six major English-language networks in a given season. "Viewers" refers to the average number of viewers for all original episodes broadcast during the television season in the series' regular time slot. The "season premiere" is the date that the first episode of the season aired, and the "season finale" is the date that the final episode of the season aired.

According to The A.C. Nielsen Company, the show achieved high ratings among "Latina adolescents Ages 12–17," and earned 3.8 million viewers in that demographic in 2005. It was the second-highest UPN sitcom in the category, with only Everybody Hates Chris ranking above it in this demographic.


Evita (1996 film)

# Evita (1996 film)

## Abstract

Evita is a 1996 American musical-historical film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name produced by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which also inspired a 1978 musical. The film depicts the life of Eva Perón, detailing her beginnings, rise to fame, political career and death at the age of 33. Directed by Alan Parker, and written by Parker and Oliver Stone, Evita stars Madonna as Eva, Jonathan Pryce as Eva's husband Juan Perón, and Antonio Banderas as Ché, an everyman who acts as the film's narrator.

Following the release of the 1976 album, a film adaptation of the musical became mired in development hell for more than fifteen years, as the rights were passed on to several major studios, and various directors and actors considered. In 1993, producer Robert Stigwood sold the rights to Andrew G. Vajna, who agreed to finance the film through his production company Cinergi Pictures, with Buena Vista Pictures distributing the film through Hollywood Pictures. After Stone stepped down from the project in 1994, Parker agreed to write and direct the film. Recording sessions for the songs and soundtrack took place at CTS Studios in London, England, roughly four months before filming. Parker worked with Rice and Lloyd Webber to compose the soundtrack, reworking the original songs by creating the music first and then the lyrics. They also wrote a new song, " You Must Love Me ", for the film. Principal photography commenced in February 1996 with a budget of $55 million, and concluded in May of that year. Filming took place on locations in Buenos Aires and Budapest as well as on soundstages at Shepperton Studios. The film's production in Argentina was met with controversy, as the cast and crew faced protests over fears that the project would tarnish Eva's image.

Evita premiered at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, on December 14, 1996. Hollywood Pictures gave the film a platform release, which involved releasing it in select cities before expanding distribution in the following weeks. The film had a limited release on December 25, 1996, before opening nationwide on January 10, 1997. It grossed over $141 million worldwide. The film received a mixed critical response; reviewers praised Madonna's performance, the music, costume designs and cinematography, while criticism was aimed at the pacing and direction. Evita received many awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me"), and three Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture – Comedy or Musical, Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me") and Best Actress – Comedy or Musical (Madonna).

## Plot

At a cinema in Buenos Aires on July 26, 1952, a film is interrupted when news breaks of the death of Eva Perón, Argentina's First Lady, at the age of 33. As the nation goes into public mourning, Ché, a member of the public, marvels at the spectacle and promises to show how Eva did "nothing for years". The rest of the film follows Eva (née Duarte) from her beginnings as an illegitimate child of a lower-class family to her rise to become First Lady; Ché assumes many different guises throughout Eva's story.

At the age of 15, Eva lives in the provincial town of Junín, and longs for a better life in Buenos Aires. She persuades a tango singer, Agustín Magaldi, with whom she is having an affair, to take her to the city. After Magaldi leaves her, she goes through several relationships with increasingly influential men, becoming a model, actress and radio personality. She meets Colonel Juan Perón at a fundraiser following the 1944 San Juan earthquake. Perón's connection with Eva adds to his populist image, since they are both from the working class. Eva has a radio show during Perón's rise and uses all of her skills to promote him, even when the controlling administration has him jailed in an attempt to stunt his political momentum. The groundswell of support that Eva generates forces the government to release Perón, and he finds the people enamored of him and Eva. Perón wins election to the presidency and marries Eva, who promises that the new government will serve the descamisados.

At the start of the Perón government, Eva dresses glamorously, enjoying the privileges of being the First Lady. Soon after, she embarks on what is called her " Rainbow Tour " of Europe. While there, she receives a mixed reception. The people of Spain adore her, the people of Italy call her a whore and throw things at her, and Pope Pius XII gives her a small, meager gift. Upon returning to Argentina, Eva establishes a foundation to help the poor. The film suggests the Perónists otherwise plunder the public treasury.

Eva is hospitalized and learns that she has terminal cancer. She declines the position of Vice President due to her failing health, and makes one final broadcast to the people of Argentina. She understands that her life was short because she shone like the "brightest fire", and helps Perón prepare to go on without her. A large crowd surrounds the Unzué Palace in a candlelight vigil praying for her recovery when the light of her room goes out, signifying her death. At Eva's funeral, Ché is seen at her coffin, marveling at the influence of her brief life. He walks up to her glass coffin, kisses it, and joins the crowd of passing mourners.

## Cast

- Madonna as Eva Perón

- Antonio Banderas as Ché

- Jonathan Pryce as Juan Perón

- Jimmy Nail as Agustín Magaldi

- Victoria Sus as Doña Juana Ibarguren

- Julian Littman as Juancito Duarte

- Olga Merediz as Bianca Duarte

- Laura Pallas as Elisa Duarte

- Julia Worsley as Erminda Duarte

- Peter Polycarpou as Domingo Mercante

- Gary Brooker as Juan Atilio Bramuglia

- Andrea Corr as Juan's mistress

- Alan Parker as Tormented film director

- Peter Hughes as General Francisco Franco

Cast taken from Turner Classic Movies listing of Evita.

## Production

### Failed projects: 1976–1986

Following the release of Evita (1976), a sung-through concept album by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber detailing the life of Eva Perón, director Alan Parker met with their manager David Land, asking if Rice and Lloyd Webber had thought of making a film version. He understood that they were more interested in creating a stage version with the album's original lyrics. The original West End theatre production of Evita opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on June 21, 1978, and closed on February 18, 1986. The subsequent Broadway production opened at the Broadway Theatre on September 25, 1979, and closed on June 26, 1983, after 1,567 performances and 17 previews. Robert Stigwood, producer of the West End production, wanted Parker to direct Evita as a film but, after completing work on the musical Fame (1980), Parker turned down the opportunity to helm Evita, telling Stigwood that he "didn't want to do back-to-back musicals".

The film rights to Evita became the subject of a bidding war among Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Paramount Pictures. Stigwood sold the rights to EMI Films for over $7.5 million. He also discussed the project with Jon Peters, who promised that he would convince his girlfriend Barbra Streisand to play the lead role if he were allowed to produce. Streisand, however, was not interested in the project because she saw the stage version in New York and didn't like it. Stigwood turned down the offer, opting to stay involved as the film's sole producer. EMI ultimately dropped the project after merging with Thorn Electrical Industries to form Thorn EMI, as well as producing several box-office flops under the banner.

In May 1981, Paramount Pictures acquired the film rights, with Stigwood attached as a producer. Paramount allocated a budget of $15 million, and the film was scheduled to go into production by year-end. To avoid higher production costs, Stigwood, Rice and Lloyd Webber each agreed to take a smaller salary but a higher percentage of the film's gross. Stigwood hired Ken Russell to direct the film, based on the success of their previous collaboration Tommy (1975).

Stigwood and Russell decided to hold auditions with the eight actresses portraying Eva in the musical's worldwide productions, with an undisclosed number performing screen tests in New York and London. In November 1981, Russell continued holding screen tests at Elstree Studios. Karla DeVito was among those who auditioned for the role of Eva. Russell also travelled to London, where he screen tested Liza Minnelli wearing a blonde wig and custom-period gowns. He felt that Minnelli, a more established film actress, would be better suited for the role, but Rice, Stigwood and Paramount wanted Elaine Paige, the first actress to play Eva in the London stage production. Russell began working on his own screenplay without Stigwood, Rice or Lloyd Webber's approval. His script followed the outlines of the stage production, but established the character of Ché as a newspaper reporter. The script also contained a hospital montage for Eva and Ché, in which they pass each other on gurneys in white corridors as she is being treated for cancer, while Ché is beaten and injured by rioters. Russell was ultimately fired from the project after telling Stigwood he would not do the film without Minnelli.

As Paramount began scouting locations in Mexico, Stigwood began the search for a new director. He met with Herbert Ross, who declined in favor of directing Footloose (1984) for Paramount. Stigwood then met with Richard Attenborough, who deemed the project impossible. Stigwood also approached directors Alan J. Pakula and Hector Babenco, who both declined. In 1986, Madonna visited Stigwood in his office, dressed in a gown and 1940s-style hairdo to show her interest in playing Eva. She also campaigned briefly for Francis Ford Coppola to helm the film. Stigwood was impressed, stating that she was "perfect" for the part.

### Oliver Stone: 1987–1994

In 1987, Jerry Weintraub 's independent film company Weintraub Entertainment Group (WEG) obtained the film rights from Paramount. Oliver Stone, a fan of the musical, expressed interest in the film adaptation and contacted Stigwood's production company RSO Films to discuss the project. After he was confirmed as the film's writer and director in April 1988, Stone travelled to Argentina, where he visited Eva's birthplace and met with the newly elected President Carlos Menem, who agreed to provide 50,000 extras for the production as well as allowing freedom of speech.

Madonna met with Stone and Lloyd Webber in New York to discuss the role. Plans fell through after she requested script approval and told Lloyd Webber that she wanted to rewrite the score. Stone then approached Meryl Streep for the lead role and worked closely with her, Rice and Lloyd Webber at a New York City recording studio to do preliminary dubbings of the score. Stigwood said of Streep's musical performance: "She learned the entire score in a week. Not only can she sing, but she's sensational – absolutely staggering."

WEG allocated a budget of $29 million, with filming set to begin in early 1989, but production was halted due to the 1989 riots in Argentina. Concerned for the safety of the cast and crew, Stigwood and Weintraub decided against shooting there. The filmmakers then scouted locations in Brazil and Chile, before deciding on Spain, with a proposed budget of $35 million; the poor box office performances of WEG's films resulted in the studio dropping the project. Stone took Evita to Carolco Pictures shortly after, and Streep remained a front-runner for the lead role. However, Streep began increasing her compensation requests; she demanded a pay-or-play contract with a 48-hour deadline. Although an agreement was reached, Streep's agent contacted Carolco and RSO Films, advising them that she was stepping down from the project for "personal reasons". Streep renewed her interest after 10 days, but Stone and his creative team had left the project in favor of making The Doors (1991).

In 1990, the Walt Disney Studios acquired the film rights to Evita, and Glenn Gordon Caron was hired to direct the film, with Madonna set to appear in the lead role. Disney was to produce the film under its film label Hollywood Pictures. Although Disney had spent $2–3 million in development costs, it canceled the plans in May 1991 when the budget climbed to $30 million. Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg did not want to spend more than $25.7 million on the film. In November 1993, Stigwood sold the film rights to Andrew G. Vajna 's production company Cinergi Pictures. Vajna later enlisted Arnon Milchan of Regency Enterprises as a co-financier, and Stone returned as the film's director after meeting with Dan Halsted, the senior vice president of Hollywood Pictures. Production was set to begin sometime in 1995 after Stone and Milchan concluded filming of Noriega, a film chronicling the life of Panamanian general and dictator Manuel Noriega. Stone and Milchan disputed over the high production costs of Evita, Noriega (which never was filmed) and Nixon (1995), resulting in Stone leaving the project in July 1994.

### Development

In December 1994, Alan Parker signed on to write and direct the film after being approached by Stigwood and Vajna. Parker also produced the film, with his Dirty Hands Productions banner enlisted as a production company. While drafting his own script, Parker researched Eva's life, compiling newspaper articles, documentaries and English-language books. He refused to borrow elements from Stone's script or the stage play, instead opting to model his script after Rice and Lloyd Webber's concept album. Stone had a falling out with Parker over the content of the script, claiming that he had made significant contributions. A legal dispute and arbitration by the Writers Guild of America resulted in Parker and Stone sharing a screenwriting credit.

"While Evita is a story of people whose lives were in politics, it is not a political story. It is a Cinderella story about the astonishing life of a girl from the most mundane of backgrounds, who became the most powerful woman her country (and indeed Latin America) had ever seen, a woman never content to be a mere ornament at the side of her husband, the president."

Parker's finished script included 146 changes to the concept album's music and lyrics. In May 1995, he and Rice visited Lloyd Webber at his home in France, where Parker tried to bring them to work on the film. Rice and Lloyd Webber had not worked together for many years, and the script for Evita required that they compose new music. In June 1995, with assistance from the United States Department of State and United States Senator Chris Dodd, Parker arranged a private meeting with Menem in Argentina to discuss the film's production and request permission to film at the Casa Rosada, the executive mansion. Although he expressed his discontent with the production, Menem granted the filmmakers creative freedom to shoot in Argentina, but not in the Casa Rosada. He also advised Parker to be prepared to face protests against the film. Parker had the film's production designer Brian Morris take photographs of the Casa Rosada, so that the production could construct a replica at Shepperton Studios in England. The director visited seven other countries before deciding to film on location in Buenos Aires and Budapest.

### Casting

Antonio Banderas was the first actor to secure a role in the film. He was cast as Ché when Glenn Gordon Caron was hired to direct the film, and remained involved when Stone returned to the project. Before he left the project, Stone had considered casting Michelle Pfeiffer in the lead role of Eva, and this was confirmed in July 1994. Pfeiffer left the production when she became pregnant with her second child. Parker also considered Glenn Close, along with Meryl Streep, to play Eva.

In December 1994, Madonna sent Parker a four-page letter explaining that she was the best person to portray Eva and would be fully committed to the role. She also sent him a copy of her " Take a Bow " music video as a way of "auditioning". Parker insisted that if Madonna was to be his Evita, she must understand who was in charge. "The film is not a glorified Madonna video," said Parker. "I controlled it and she didn't." Rice believed that Madonna suited the title role since she could "act so beautifully through music". Lloyd Webber was wary about her singing. Since the film required the actors to sing their own parts, Madonna underwent vocal training with coach Joan Lader to increase her own confidence in singing the unusual songs, and project her voice in a much more cohesive manner. Lader noted that the singer "had to use her voice in a way she's never used it before. Evita is real musical theater — it's operatic, in a sense. Madonna developed an upper register that she didn't know she had."

In January 1996, Madonna travelled to Buenos Aires to research Eva's life, and met with several people who had known her before her death. During filming, she fell sick many times due to the intense emotional effort required, and midway through production, she discovered she was pregnant. Her daughter Lourdes was born on October 14, 1996. Madonna published a diary of the film shoot in Vanity Fair. She said of the experience, "This is the role I was born to play. I put everything of me into this because it was much more than a role in a movie. It was exhilarating and intimidating at the same time... And I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done."

Parker decided to keep Banderas in the supporting role of Ché after checking the actor's audition tape. While writing the script, the director chose not to identify the character with Ernesto "Che" Guevara, which had been done in several versions of the musical. "In the movie Ché tells the story of Eva", Banderas said. "He takes a very critical view of her and he's sometimes cynical and aggressive but funny, too. At the same time he creates this problem for himself because, for all his principles, he gets struck by the charm of the woman." For the role of Juan Perón, Parker approached film and stage actor Jonathan Pryce, who secured the part after meeting with the director.

### Filming

#### Principal photography

The film's production in Argentina was met with controversy and sparked significant media attention. The cast and crew faced protests over fears that the project would tarnish Eva's image. Members of the Peronist Party launched a hate campaign, condemning the film's production, Madonna and Parker. Evita also prompted the government of Argentina to produce its own film, Eva Perón: The True Story (1996), to counter any misconceptions or inaccuracies caused by the film. In response to the controversy surrounding the project, the production held a press conference in Buenos Aires on February 6, 1996.

Principal photography began on February 8, 1996, with a budget of $55 million. Production designer Brian Morris constructed 320 different sets. Costume designer Penny Rose was given special access to Eva's wardrobe in Argentina, and she modeled her own costume designs after Eva's original outfits and shoes. She clothed 40,000 extras in period dresses. The production used more than 5,500 costumes from 20 costume houses located in Paris, Rome, London, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, and Budapest as well as 1,000 military uniforms. Madonna's wardrobe included 85 costume changes, 39 hats, 45 pairs of shoes, and 56 pairs of earrings. She broke the Guinness World Record for "Most Costume Changes in a Film".

Filming began in Buenos Aires with scenes depicting Eva's childhood in 1936. Locations included Los Toldos, the town of Junín, where Eva was raised, and Chivilcoy, where her father's funeral was held. On February 23, 1996, Menem arranged a meeting with Parker, Madonna, Pryce and Banderas, and granted the crew permission to film in the Casa Rosada shortly before they were scheduled to leave Buenos Aires. On March 9, the production filmed the musical number " Don't Cry for Me Argentina " there, utilizing 4,000 extras for two days. Filming in Buenos Aires concluded after five weeks.

The cast and crew then moved to Budapest, Hungary, where 23 locations were used for scenes set in Buenos Aires. The production spent two days re-enacting Eva's state funeral, which required 4,000 extras to act as citizens, police officials and military personnel. The filmmakers shot exterior scenes outside of the St. Stephen's Basilica, but were denied access to film inside the building. For the musical numbers "Your Little Body's Slowly Breaking Down" and "Lament", Parker had Madonna and Pryce record the songs live on set, due to the emotional effort required from their performances. After five weeks of shooting in Hungary, the remainder of filming took place on sound stages at Shepperton Studios in England. Principal photography concluded on May 30, 1996 after 84 days of filming.

#### Cinematography

Director of photography Darius Khondji was initially reluctant about working on a musical but was inspired by Parker's passion for the project. For the film's visual style, Khondji and Parker were influenced by the works of American realist painter George Bellows. Khondji shot Evita using Moviecam cameras, with Cooke anamorphic lenses. He used Eastman EXR 5245 film stock for exteriors in Argentina, 5293 for the Argentinean interiors, and 5248 for any scenes shot during overcast days and combat sequences.

Khondji employed large tungsten lighting units, including 18K HMIs, dino and Wendy lights. He used Arriflex 's VariCon, which functions as an illuminated filter, and incorporated much more lens filtration than he had on previous projects. Technicolor 's ENR silver retention, when combined with the VariCon, was used to control the contrast and black density of the film's release prints. The finished film features 299 scenes and 3,000 shots from 320,000 feet (98,000 m) of film.

### Music and soundtrack

Recording sessions for the film's songs and soundtrack began on October 2, 1995, at CTS Studios in London. It took almost four months to record all the songs, which involved creating the music first and then the lyrics. Parker declared the first day of recording as "Black Monday", and recalled it as a worrisome and nervous day. He said, "All of us came from very different worlds—from popular music, from movies, and from musical theater—and so we were all very apprehensive." The cast was also nervous; Banderas found the experience "scary", while Madonna was "petrified" when it came to recording the songs. "I had to sing 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina' in front of Andrew Lloyd Webber... I was a complete mess and was sobbing afterward. I thought I had done a terrible job", the singer recalled.

According to the film's music producer Nigel Wright, the lead actors would first sing the numbers backed by a band and orchestra before working with Parker and music supervisor David Caddick "in a more intimate recording environment perfect their vocals". More trouble arose as Madonna was not completely comfortable with "laying down a guide vocal simultaneously with an 84-piece orchestra" in the studio. She was used to singing over a pre-recorded track and not having musicians listen to her. Also, unlike her previous soundtrack releases, she had little to no creative control. "I'm used to writing my own songs and I go into a studio, choose the musicians and say what sounds good or doesn't... To work on 46 songs with everyone involved and not have a big say was a big adjustment," she recalled. An emergency meeting was held between Parker, Lloyd Webber and Madonna, where it was decided that the singer would record her part at Whitfield Street Studios, a contemporary studio, while the orchestration would take place elsewhere. She also had alternate days off from the recording to preserve and strengthen her voice.

By the end of recording, Parker noticed that Rice and Lloyd Webber did not have a new song in place. They arranged a meeting at Lloyd Webber's county estate in Berkshire, where they began work on the music and lyrics for " You Must Love Me ". Madonna's reaction to the lyrics was negative since she wanted Eva to be portrayed sympathetically, rather than as the "shrewd manipulator" that Parker had in mind. Although Madonna was successful in getting many portions in the script altered, Rice declined to change the song. He recalled, "I remember taking the lyrics to Madonna and she was trying to change them... The scene can be interpreted in different ways, but my lyrics were kept, thank God!"

The soundtrack for Evita was released in the United States on November 12, 1996. Warner Bros. Records released two versions: a two-disc edition entitled Evita: The Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack, which featured all the tracks from the film, and Evita: Music from the Motion Picture, a single-disc edition. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the soundtrack as "unengaging", while Hartford Courant ' s Greg Morago praised Madonna's singing abilities. The soundtrack was a commercial success, reaching number one in Austria, Belgium, Scotland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as selling over seven million copies worldwide.

## Release

In May 1996, Parker constructed a 10-minute trailer of Evita that was shown at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for reporters, film distributors and critics. Despite a minor technical issue with the film projector's synchronization of the sound and picture, the trailer received positive response. Roger Ebert, for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote "If the preview is representative of the finished film, Argentina can wipe away its tears." Barry Walters of The San Francisco Examiner stated "Rather than showing the best moments from every scene, the trailer concentrates on a few that prove what Madonna, Banderas and Pryce can do musically. The results are impressive." Evita premiered at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on December 14, 1996, the Savoy Cinema in Dublin, Ireland, on December 19, 1996, and the Empire Theatre in London on December 20, 1996.

Hollywood Pictures gave the film a platform release, showing it in a few cities before expanding distribution in the following weeks. Evita opened in limited release in New York and Los Angeles on December 25, 1996, before being released nationwide on January 10, 1997. The film was distributed by Buena Vista Pictures in North America and Latin America. Cinergi handled distribution in other countries, with Paramount Pictures releasing the film in Germany and Japan (through United International Pictures), Summit Entertainment in other regions and Entertainment Film Distributors in the United Kingdom and Ireland. A book detailing the film's production, The Making of Evita, was written by Parker and released on December 10, 1996 by Collins Publishers. In 2002, Evita became the first and only American film to be screened at the Pyongyang International Film Festival.

### Home media

Evita was released on VHS on August 5, 1997, and on LaserDisc on August 20, 1997. A DTS LaserDisc version and a "Special Edition" LaserDisc by the Criterion Collection were both released on September 17, 1997. Special features on the Criterion LaserDisc include an audio commentary by Parker, Madonna's music videos for "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "You Must Love Me", two theatrical trailers and five TV spots. The film was released on DVD on March 25, 1998. A 15th Anniversary Edition was released on Blu-ray on June 19, 2012. The Blu-ray presents the film in 1080p high definition, and features a theatrical trailer, the music video for "You Must Love Me" and a behind-the-scenes documentary entitled "The Making of Evita ".

## Reception

### Box office

Evita grossed $71,308 on its first day of limited release, an average of $35,654 per theater. By the end of its first weekend, the film had grossed $195,085, with an overall North American gross of $334,440. More theatres were added on the following weekend, and the film grossed a further $1,064,660 in its second weekend, with an overall gross of $2,225,737.

Released to 704 theaters in the United States and Canada, Evita grossed $2,551,291 on its first day of wide release. By the end of its opening weekend, it had grossed $8,381,055, securing the number two position at the domestic box office behind the science-fiction horror film The Relic. Evita saw a small increase in attendance in its second weekend of wide release. During the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, the film moved to third place on domestic box office charts, and earned $8,918,183—a 6.4% overall increase from the previous weekend. It grossed another $5,415,891 during its fourth weekend, moving to fifth place in the top 10 rankings. Evita moved to fourth place the following weekend, grossing a further $4,374,631—a 19.2% decrease from the previous weekend. By its sixth weekend, the film moved from fourth to sixth place, earning $3,001,066.

Evita completed its theatrical run in North America on May 8, 1997, after 135 days (19.3 weeks) of release. It grossed $50,047,179 in North America, and $91,000,000 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $141,047,179.

### Critical response

Evita received a mixed response from critics. Rotten Tomatoes sampled 39 reviews, and gave the film a score of 64%, with an average score of 6.7/10. The site's consensus reads: " Evita sometimes strains to convince on a narrative level, but the soundtrack helps this fact-based musical achieve a measure of the epic grandeur to which it aspires." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, assigned the film a weighted average score of 45 out of 100 based on 23 reviews from critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Writing for the Hartford Courant, Malcolm Johnson stated "Against all odds, this long-delayed film version turns out to be a labor of love for director Alan Parker and for his stars, the reborn Madonna, the new superstar Antonio Banderas, the protean veteran Jonathan Pryce." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, writing "Parker's visuals enliven the music, and Madonna and Banderas bring it passion. By the end of the film we feel like we've had our money's worth, and we're sure Evita has." On the syndicated television program Siskel & Ebert & the Movies, Ebert and his colleague Gene Siskel gave the film a "two thumbs up" rating. Siskel, in his review for the Chicago Tribune, wrote, "Director Alan Parker has mounted this production well, which is more successful as spectacle than anything else." According to Time magazine's Richard Corliss, "This Evita is not just a long, complex music video; it works and breathes like a real movie, with characters worthy of our affection and deepest suspicions." Critic Zach Conner commented, "It's a relief to say that Evita is pretty damn fine, well-cast, and handsomely visualized. Madonna once again confounds our expectations. She plays Evita with a poignant weariness and has more than just a bit of star quality. Love or hate Madonna-Eva, she is a magnet for all eyes."

Carol Buckland of CNN considered that " Evita is basically a music video with epic pretensions. This is not to say it isn't gorgeous to look at or occasionally extremely entertaining. It's both of those things. But for all the movie's grand style, it falls short in terms of substance and soul." Newsweek ' s David Ansen wrote "It's gorgeous. It's epic. It's spectacular. But two hours later, it also proves to be emotionally impenetrable." Giving the film a C− rating, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly criticized Parker's direction, stating, " Evita could have worked had it been staged as larger-than-life spectacle... The way Alan Parker has directed Evita, however, it's just a sluggish, contradictory mess, a drably "realistic" Latin-revolution music video driven by a soundtrack of mediocre '70s rock." Janet Maslin from The New York Times praised Madonna's performance as well as the costume design and cinematography, but wrote that the film was "breathless and shrill, since Alan Parker's direction shows no signs of a moral or political compass and remains in exhausting overdrive all the time." Jane Horwitz of the Sun-Sentinel stated, "Madonna sings convincingly and gets through the acting, but her performance lacks depth, grace and muscle. Luckily, director Alan Parker's historic-looking production with its epic crowd scenes and sepia-toned newsreels shows her off well." Negative criticism came from the San Francisco Chronicle ' s Barbara Shulgasser, who wrote: "This movie is supposed to be about politics and liberation, the triumph of the lower classes over oppression, about corruption. But it is so steeped in spectacle, in Madonna-ness, in bad rock music and simple-minded ideas, that in the end it isn't about anything".

### Accolades

Evita received various awards and nominations, with particular recognition for Madonna, Parker, Rice, Lloyd Webber and the song "You Must Love Me". It received five Golden Globe Award nominations, and won three for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actress – Musical or Comedy (Madonna) and Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me"). At the 69th Academy Awards, the film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me"), and was nominated in four other categories: Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Sound. Madonna appeared during the Academy Awards and performed "You Must Love Me". The National Board of Review named Evita one of the " Top 10 Films of 1996", ranking it at number four. At the 50th British Academy Film Awards, Evita garnered eight nominations, but did not win in any category. At the 1st Golden Satellite Awards, it received five nominations, and won three for Best Film, Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me"), and Best Costume Design (Penny Rose).