Patrick Fugit

Based on Neil Armstrong, the film explores the triumphs and costs - on Armstrong, his family, colleagues and the nation itself - of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

Darren Shan is a regular teenage kid. He and his brooding friend Steve hear about and attend a rare freak show coming to town - the "Cirque du Freak" - where they see many strange acts, including a wolf-man, a snake-boy and a bearded lady. Steve and Darren think it all a joke until a vampire, Larten Crepsley (whom vampire-aficionado Steve recognizes) comes on with a very poisonous performing spider. Slipping away from a police raid after the show, the boys split up. Darren, due to his infatuation with spiders (as strong as Steve's infatuation with vampires), sneaks backstage to examine Larten's caged spider more closely. While hiding in a closet, he overhears Steve begging Mr. Crepsley to be made a vampire and become his apprentice. Mr. Crepsley tests Steve but finds he has "bad blood" and will not transform him. Steve becomes angry and threatening before being thrown out. Escaping the theater with Larten's spider, Darren quickly accepts a ride home from a retund stranger - Mr. Tiny - who seems to have designs on Darren and vampires (and, very conveniently, just happens to have Darren's bicycle in the trunk of his limo). Next day, Darren takes the spider to school with him. Steve finds out and accidentally drops the cage in the middle of the halls. The spider gets out, panics the students, bites Steve and escapes. Steve is rushed to the hospital where doctors say that there is nothing they can do. Darren sees Mr. Crepsley about the possibility of an antidote. The vampire agrees to give him the only cure if Darren agrees to become his half-vampire assistant. Darren complies, and Steve gets the cure. Steve recovers but starts to realize that Darren is now part vampire, becoming angry and jealous and feeling betrayed. Darren concurrently develops a taste for raw meat and his little sister's blood and comes to know that he can't stay home anymore. Larten stages Darren's death and Darren is buried (with Steve - infuriated at being left out and left behind - noticing signs at the funeral that all is not as it seems). Mr. Crepsley comes to dig up Darren and deliver him to the circus freak encampment of Mr. Tall. As Darren begins a life of chores amid his new family at the freak camp, Steve, seething, becomes ripe pickings for Mr. Tiny, who appreciates the kid's violent nature. Following a visit from the ominous Mr. Tiny, Larten begins Darren on lessons in vampire fighting, but Darren's avoidance of drinking blood keeps him physically weak and incapable of full fighting power. Meanwhile, Steve gets initiated among the vampaneze (aggressive, violent, victim-killing vampires). His first assignment: a late-night visit to his least-favorite school teacher. Four vampaneze visit the freak camp. Unable to take Darren, they take monkey girl Rebecca, of whom Darren has grown fond. Meanwhile, Steve and Mr. Tiny pay a visit to Darren's parents and abduct them as well. Against his wishes, Larten heads back to the theater where Darren confronts vampaneze Murlaugh and Steve, fighting for the survival of Rebecca and Darren's family while Mr. Tiny enjoys watching the groundwork form for a war between vampires and vampaneze.

A group of Confederate soldiers hole up in an abandoned plantation after robbing a bank and find themselves at the mercy of supernatural forces. In Civil War-era Alabama, a band of outlaws takes refuge at an abandoned plantation after robbing a bank that held a cache of Confederate gold. Led by William, the group includes Sam, Todd, Annabelle, Clyde and Joseph. They intend to flee to Mexico, but nightfall and a thunderstorm force the robbers to remain in place. As the night wears on, each member of the group begins to have visions of the atrocities that occurred within the house. As supernatural forces begin to manifest themselves, the six turn on one another. —Anonymous In 1863, in Fairhope, Alabama, a group of former Confederate soldiers robbers a commerce bank and kills many clients and employees. While escaping to Mexico, they spend the night in an isolated house that belonged to a dead soldier of their company. When weird events happen in the stormy night, they find that the dwellers are demons. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

When a girl attending a Christian high school becomes pregnant, all of her former friends turn on her and she is ostracized and demonized. Mary is a senior at American Eagle Christian High School in suburban Baltimore. She considers herself born again; her rebirth was at age three. Her best friends are two classmates that comprise the Christian Jewels band with her. Hilary Faye is the alpha Christian who outwardly is perfect, especially in her connection to God Veronica is ethnic Vietnamese who was adopted and thus saved by a black Christian couple. A third is Tia, who is generally an outsider in her geek status but who aspires to be in this Christian clique. Also within their social circle--solely from necessity--is Hilary Faye's older brother Roland, who has been in a wheelchair since age nine after falling out of a tree; out of family obligation Hilary Faye transports him to and from school and everywhere else, but the rest of the time the siblings scorn each other. One of Hilary Faye's God-driven missions for the year is to save new student Cassandra, a Jewish girl who was expelled from her last school and only attends this faith-based school as a marginally-better option than the alternative. Mary's world starts to fall apart just before the start of the school year when her boyfriend Dean tells her he thinks he's gay. Mary receives what she believes are messages from God, including one indirectly through Hilary Faye, that make her believe she can save Dean by having sex with him and if this does save Dean, God will restore her spiritual virginity. The outcome? Dean is outed anyway and sent away for conversion therapy; and Mary becomes pregnant, something she doesn't tell Dean or Lillian, her mother. Her pregnancy affects how she treats another new student, Patrick, the son of the school's principal, Pastor Skip. As Mary tries to figure out what to do, her Christian faith is tested by many other Christians justifying what may be considered sins in having a higher Godly purpose, which she is unaware includes a relationship between her mother and married Pastor Skip. —Huggo Mary is a good Christian girl who goes to a good Christian high school where she has good Christian friends, mainly Hilary Faye, and a perfect Christian boyfriend, Dean. Her life seems perfect, until the day that she finds out that Dean may be gay. After "seeing" a vision of Jesus in a pool, she does everything in her power to help him turn straight, including offering up her virginity. But none of it helps because Dean's caught and sent to a "degayification" center and Mary ends up pregnant. During her time of need, Hilary Faye turns her into a social outcast, but she becomes real friends with the school's set of "misfits," including Cassandra, the school's only Jewish girl; Roland, Hilary Faye's wheelchair-bound brother; and Patrick, the skateboarder son of the school's principal, Pastor Skip. —Will In a Christian school (not Catholic), Mary's friendship with wealthy fanatic Hilary Faye ends when Mary gets pregnant trying to "save" her gay boyfriend by having sex with him and (gasp!) questions Jesus' will. Meanwhile, Jewish rebel Cassandra dates Hilary's wheelchair-bound brother Roland, and they and newcomer Patrick, son of the local pastor and school principal, become Mary's new, true friends and support her situation. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In 1969, young William Miller (Michael Angarano) lives with his widowed mother Elaine (Frances McDormand) and older sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) in San Diego, California. While William gets along well with his family, his academic-minded mother and rebellious sister are at odds with each other about a number of things. William also receives a startling revelation when Anita has Elaine confess that William is actually 11, and not 13 as he has been led to believe. Once she turns 18, Anita leaves home to become a stewardess. In the wake of her absence, she leaves her record collection to William. Four years later, the albums have led William (Patrick Fugit) to write a number of freelance articles about rock and roll. When famed rock journalist Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) visits San Diego, William takes the opportunity to meet him. Impressed by William's drive, Lester gives him an assignment to interview Black Sabbath at the San Diego Sports Arena. While the arena's door person refuses to let him in, William manages to enter with some help from the band Stillwater, who are the opening band for Black Sabbath. William also meets a group of young women calling themselves Band-Aids. Led by Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), they claim they are there to support and inspire the bands. After the concert, Stillwater's lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) invites William and Penny to meet up with the band in Los Angeles. The two make the trip, where it becomes apparent to William that there is something going on between Russell and Penny. William next receives a phone call from Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen), who requests William write an article for the magazine. William suggests interviewing Stillwater, and is soon touring with the band (and the Band-Aids!) for a few days to interview them (much to the horror of his mother). On the road, William is privy to a number of notable events. In Tempe Arizona, Russell gets electrocuted, leading to the band leaving before finishing their set, much to the ire of the show's promoter. In Topeka Kansas, the band's first t-shirt design focuses more on Russell, leading to an argument with lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee). Following this, William and Russell go to a local party where Russell drops acid and proclaims himself to be "a golden god." In Greenville Tennessee, William is "deflowered" by the Band Aids (not including Penny Lane), and has to contend with a phone call from Ben Fong-Torres about the story. William manages to buy himself some more time to finish it, but is informed that Rolling Stone is considering putting the band on the next issue's cover. Still not having gotten an interview with Russell, William is forced to accompany the band to Cleveland, Ohio. He gives his Mom a call to try and make amends that he is staying longer than intended, but the call is intercepted by Russell, only for the lead guitarist to be freaked out by Elaine's well-educated "directness." Following the Cleveland concert, a manager named Dennis Hope (Jimmy Fallon) meets with the band at the behest of the record label. While the band does not want to lose Dick Roswell (Noah Taylor) and claims they play for the fans, they soon buy into Dennis' vision of making more money by adding more tour dates. The next day, the band ditches their tour bus "Doris," and hop aboard a private airplane to Boston, Massachusetts. It is here that William is privy to a poker game wherein the Band-Aids and Penny Lane are "sold" to Humble Pie before Stillwater reaches New York, where Russell's girlfriend Leslie (Liz Stauber) is to meet up with the band. William tries to keep quiet about this, but hearing how Penny believes that Russell really does love her, he lets slip what he heard. In New York, William receives a call from Ben Fong-Torres, claiming the magazine has approved the band for their next cover, and requesting he send what he has for the fact-checker to start reviewing. The band celebrates the cover news at a restaurant, but Leslie soon sees Penny Lane eyeing the band from a corner. Dick gets her to leave and she rushes off with William giving chase out of concern. He follows her to the Plaza Hotel, where he finds she has overdosed on Quaaludes. He manages to call a doctor and saves her life. In the aftermath, Penny confesses to William that her real name is Lady Goodman, and he makes sure she gets back to San Diego via airplane. William rejoins the band afterwards, but as their plane flies over Mississippi, they are buffeted by extreme turbulence and it seems possible that the plane may crash. Fearing that they may die, people begin to confess secrets: Dennis tells how he was a hit-and-run driver Dick tells how he took more than his salary from the group Jeff confesses to sleeping with Leslie, and also tells about Russell and Penny William confesses what happened to Penny, and that he loves her Silent Ed Vallencourt (John Fedevich) finally speaks up, and confesses that he's gay The plane makes it through the weather, and once the plane lands, William separates from the band, with Russell telling him to "write whatever you want." William eventually makes it to Rolling Stones' main office with plenty of notes, but no interview with Russell. He begs for the evening to get everything put together. Seeking advice, William calls up Lester, who tells him to be as honest and truthful as possible about what he saw. This results in an article about the band revealing everything from their infighting, to the confessions on the plane. In the end, Russell denies the story to the magazine's fact-checker, and William is sent home. At the airport, his sister Anita sees him, and offers to go on an adventure with him. In the end, she helps William get back to San Diego, and she and her mother make up. As Stillwater's tour ends, the band members go their separate ways. During a meal, a Band-Aid named Sapphire (Fairuza Balk) chastises Russell for causing Penny to almost kill herself, let alone killing William's story. Russell then calls Penny, claiming he wants to meet with her and make up. She gives him an address, but when Russell arrives, he realizes he is at William's house! Talking to William, Russell mentions that he did contact Rolling Stone and retracted his previous statement. William also takes the time to get what he never could while on the tour: an interview with Russell. Following these events, Stillwater goes on tour the following year, touring on their bus "Doris." Anita returns home to live with William and Elaine. William's article is published by Rolling Stone magazine. Penny Lane fulfills a dream, and heads off to live in Morocco for one year.