'WILDFIRE' TAKES THE TRIPLE CROWN WITH THIRD SEASON ORDER OF ABC FAMILY'S HIGHEST RATED ORIGINAL SERIES FROM LIONSGATE
Production Of 13 One-Hour Episodes To Begin This Summer
ABC Family has picked up a third season of the original drama series, WILDFIRE, it was announced today by Paul Lee, president, ABC Family. A total of 13 one-hour episodes will be produced for the third season order with production set to begin this summer in New Mexico. The drama, produced by Lionsgate (NYSE and TSX:LGF), the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, in association with Piller² and The Segan Company, is set in the world of horse racing and centers on the struggles of a young woman (played by Genevieve Cortese) to turn her life around. The series also stars, Greg Serano (“Kingpin”), Nana Visitor (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”), Micah Alberti ("All My Children"), Andrew Hoeft, James Read, Ryan Sypek and Nicole Tubiola.
"We are thrilled to be renewing WILDFIRE," said Lee. "The show has done tremendously well for us, drawing in key demos and establishing ABC Family as a home for quality dramas."
“We’ve been blessed with an outstanding cast and wonderful creative partners in Piller² and The Segan Company,” said Kevin Beggs, president of television, programming and production, Lionsgate. “We’ve also enjoyed great support from ABC Family, and we are looking forward to another successful season of a series that we see as one of the staples of our primetime lineup of cable programming.”
For its second season WILDFIRE has increased its time period delivery double digits, versus year-ago in key demos. The series increased 50% in HH rating (1.2 vs. 0.8), 49% in total viewers (1,555 vs. 1,041), 25% with Adults 18-34 (0.5 vs. 0.4) and 55% with teens 12-17 (1.7 vs. 1.1).
ABC Family's highest rated original drama, returns with more secrets, seductions and suspense. Kris is now a local celebrity since riding Wildfire, but even her new-found fame can't keep her from thinking about Junior. She also has the support of the Ritter family, but realizes it takes a lot of work to maintain that trust, and one wrong move can cause her world to tumble.
WILDFIRE is produced by Lionsgate in association with Piller² and The Segan Company. Lloyd Segan (“The Dead Zone,” "The Bachelor," "Boondock Saints," "Bones") and Marjorie David (“Dark Angel,” “Chicago Hope”) serve as executive producers.
Lionsgate is the leading independent filmed entertainment studio and is a premier producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of more than 5,000 titles is a valuable source of stable, recurring revenue and is a foundation for the growth of the company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.
Distributed in over 89 million homes, ABC Family features original movies, series and specials. Storytelling about today's relationships – with all of their diversity, dysfunction, humor and passion.
April 14, 2006
April 13, 2006
Redick first men's hoopster in 33 years to win Sullivan
NEW YORK -- Duke star J.J. Redick won the Sullivan Award on Wednesday night, becoming the first men's basketball player since Bill Walton in 1973 to be honored as the nation's top amateur athlete.
Redick beat out Texas quarterback Vince Young, who led the Longhorns to a national title with a win in the Rose Bowl over Southern California and its two Sullivan Award finalists -- Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.
The Duke senior also took the 2005 Sullivan Award over two-time AP women's basketball player of the year Seimone Augustus of LSU, Florida hurdler Kerron Clement, two-time Olympic gold medalist in taekwondo Steven Lopez, Olympic diving champion Laura Wilkinson, 2005 World Cup champion skier Bode Miller, and gymnast Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 world gymnastics champion.
The Sullivan is presented by the Amateur Athletic Union and a third of the vote is determined by fans voting online.
The Sullivan Award went to a men's basketball player for just the third time in its 76-year history. Before Redick and Walton, UCLA's All-America center, Princeton's Bill Bradley won the 1965 award.
Last week, the Duke guard took home the John R. Wooden award as the nation's top college basketball player. But for the Sullivan, he was up against tougher competition. Of the other nine finalists, only Augustus, Leinart and Bush had not won the championship in his or her sport in 2005. Leinart and Bush have won the last two Heisman trophies.
Redick was also the ACC player of the year.
The most recent college basketball players to win the Sullivan were women. Chamique Holdsclaw won in 1998, followed by Kelly and Coco Miller in 1999.
Redick plans to hire an agent in the next couple of weeks, then begin training to prepare for the NBA draft in June.
NEW YORK -- Duke star J.J. Redick won the Sullivan Award on Wednesday night, becoming the first men's basketball player since Bill Walton in 1973 to be honored as the nation's top amateur athlete.
Redick beat out Texas quarterback Vince Young, who led the Longhorns to a national title with a win in the Rose Bowl over Southern California and its two Sullivan Award finalists -- Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.
The Duke senior also took the 2005 Sullivan Award over two-time AP women's basketball player of the year Seimone Augustus of LSU, Florida hurdler Kerron Clement, two-time Olympic gold medalist in taekwondo Steven Lopez, Olympic diving champion Laura Wilkinson, 2005 World Cup champion skier Bode Miller, and gymnast Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 world gymnastics champion.
The Sullivan is presented by the Amateur Athletic Union and a third of the vote is determined by fans voting online.
The Sullivan Award went to a men's basketball player for just the third time in its 76-year history. Before Redick and Walton, UCLA's All-America center, Princeton's Bill Bradley won the 1965 award.
Last week, the Duke guard took home the John R. Wooden award as the nation's top college basketball player. But for the Sullivan, he was up against tougher competition. Of the other nine finalists, only Augustus, Leinart and Bush had not won the championship in his or her sport in 2005. Leinart and Bush have won the last two Heisman trophies.
Redick was also the ACC player of the year.
The most recent college basketball players to win the Sullivan were women. Chamique Holdsclaw won in 1998, followed by Kelly and Coco Miller in 1999.
Redick plans to hire an agent in the next couple of weeks, then begin training to prepare for the NBA draft in June.
April 11, 2006
Actress-Turned-Nun Publicizes Disorder
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Dolores Hart, who at age 24 startled the film world in 1962 by leaving a thriving screen career — including two roles opposite Elvis Presley — to become a nun, has returned to Hollywood for her first visit after 43 years in a monastery.
Now the Rev. Mother Dolores Hart and prioress of the cloistered community at Abbey of Regina Laudis in Connecticut, she has been renewing friendships from her studio years.
Why? To spread awareness about a largely mysterious neurological disorder that afflicts countless Americans, including herself, called peripheral idiopathic neuropathy.
Last month, Hart testified at a congressional hearing in Washington, citing the need for research into a cause and cure for the painful and crippling disease.
Over a recent lunch at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Mother Dolores spoke of her ordeal with the disease. She also told of her long ambition to be an actress and what ended that phase of her life.
She seems in radiant health at 67, her cheeks smooth and rosy, her blue eyes clear. She wore traditional nun's attire, with a couple of additions: a green hand-knit sweater under the robe and a jaunty black beret.
In 1999, Hart underwent a root canal. The dentist suggested doing another root canal at the same time, and she agreed. Two days later, Hart awakened with searing pain.
"I couldn't eat," she recalled. "When I put my feet on the floor, I couldn't stand. My feet felt like they were on fire. I couldn't talk. I thought, 'This is ridiculous.' I couldn't understand what in the world was going on. A doctor said this would improve, but it kept getting worse."
For six months, she journeyed from doctor to doctor, yet none could figure out what was causing her pain. Finally, a New York specialist tried changing her medicine and she gradually was able to leave her wheelchair and resume a more normal life.
The luncheon conversation moved to her acting career, and she spoke fondly of that period in her life.
"From the age of 7, I never in my life wanted to be anything but an actress," Hart said. She was a strong-willed girl even at that age. When her parents divorced in Los Angeles but were constantly wrangling, she wrote a letter to her grandmother in Chicago asking to live with her. She was soon on a train to the Windy City — alone — a ticket pinned to her coat.
Hart's grandfather was a projectionist at a downtown movie palace and she often accompanied him to work. Her special job was to awaken him from naps every 12 minutes so he could change reels.
Years later, Hart was back in Los Angeles playing the lead in a school production of "Saint Joan" and an admirer asked where she had studied acting technique. She admitted that her only schooling came from analyzing actors' performances — without sound, no less — in the projection booth of a Chicago theater.
A friend notified the studios of a remarkable young actress in "Saint Joan," and Hal Wallis, an independent producer at Paramount, sent a scout to check her out. He ended up recommending Hart, and a film test and contract soon followed.
She made her screen debut as Elvis' love interest in 1957's "Loving You," his first starring role.
"I had no idea who Elvis Presley was," she admitted. "When I first met him, he was just a charming and very simple young boy with longer sideburns than most. He couldn't have been more gracious. He jumped to his feet and said, 'Good afternoon, Miss Dolores.' He and Gary Cooper were the only ones in Hollywood who called me that."
Hart made another film with Presley, "King Creole," and appeared in prestigious productions such as "Wild is the Wind," with Anna Magnani and Anthony Quinn, and "Lonelyhearts," with Montgomery Clift and Myrna Loy.
"I was never a star," she insisted. "Being a star means your name is above the title. Mine never was."
A clever talker, she was a regular on the talk-show circuit and was a fan-magazine favorite.
"I really loved the acting life," she said. But when she was appearing in the Western "The Plunderers" with Jeff Chandler in 1959, she looked in the mirror and heard a voice saying: "You're really enjoying this, but you're not going to do this much longer." She was puzzled but continued working.
After nine months in New York with the play "The Pleasure of His Company," she complained to a friend that she was weary. The friend recommended a retreat at a Connecticut monastery. Hart was hesitant but decided to go. She found a remarkable peace. She continued returning to the monastery twice a year.
Back in Hollywood, she became engaged to Los Angeles businessman Don Robinson. One night, she related, he asked her, "Do you love me?" She answered, "Yes, I love you." He asked her again. Same answer. "It doesn't sound right," he said. The engagement was canceled, and in December 1962, she flew to Connecticut, never to return — until now.
Mother Dolores is proud of one element of her Hollywood life: being invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is still a member and votes each year for the
Academy Awards.
Does that mean she sees all the nominees, no matter how bawdy?
"Yes, I do," she replied with a smile. "If you're a Benedictine, as I am, you're supposed to be capable of integrating anything."
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Dolores Hart, who at age 24 startled the film world in 1962 by leaving a thriving screen career — including two roles opposite Elvis Presley — to become a nun, has returned to Hollywood for her first visit after 43 years in a monastery.
Now the Rev. Mother Dolores Hart and prioress of the cloistered community at Abbey of Regina Laudis in Connecticut, she has been renewing friendships from her studio years.
Why? To spread awareness about a largely mysterious neurological disorder that afflicts countless Americans, including herself, called peripheral idiopathic neuropathy.
Last month, Hart testified at a congressional hearing in Washington, citing the need for research into a cause and cure for the painful and crippling disease.
Over a recent lunch at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Mother Dolores spoke of her ordeal with the disease. She also told of her long ambition to be an actress and what ended that phase of her life.
She seems in radiant health at 67, her cheeks smooth and rosy, her blue eyes clear. She wore traditional nun's attire, with a couple of additions: a green hand-knit sweater under the robe and a jaunty black beret.
In 1999, Hart underwent a root canal. The dentist suggested doing another root canal at the same time, and she agreed. Two days later, Hart awakened with searing pain.
"I couldn't eat," she recalled. "When I put my feet on the floor, I couldn't stand. My feet felt like they were on fire. I couldn't talk. I thought, 'This is ridiculous.' I couldn't understand what in the world was going on. A doctor said this would improve, but it kept getting worse."
For six months, she journeyed from doctor to doctor, yet none could figure out what was causing her pain. Finally, a New York specialist tried changing her medicine and she gradually was able to leave her wheelchair and resume a more normal life.
The luncheon conversation moved to her acting career, and she spoke fondly of that period in her life.
"From the age of 7, I never in my life wanted to be anything but an actress," Hart said. She was a strong-willed girl even at that age. When her parents divorced in Los Angeles but were constantly wrangling, she wrote a letter to her grandmother in Chicago asking to live with her. She was soon on a train to the Windy City — alone — a ticket pinned to her coat.
Hart's grandfather was a projectionist at a downtown movie palace and she often accompanied him to work. Her special job was to awaken him from naps every 12 minutes so he could change reels.
Years later, Hart was back in Los Angeles playing the lead in a school production of "Saint Joan" and an admirer asked where she had studied acting technique. She admitted that her only schooling came from analyzing actors' performances — without sound, no less — in the projection booth of a Chicago theater.
A friend notified the studios of a remarkable young actress in "Saint Joan," and Hal Wallis, an independent producer at Paramount, sent a scout to check her out. He ended up recommending Hart, and a film test and contract soon followed.
She made her screen debut as Elvis' love interest in 1957's "Loving You," his first starring role.
"I had no idea who Elvis Presley was," she admitted. "When I first met him, he was just a charming and very simple young boy with longer sideburns than most. He couldn't have been more gracious. He jumped to his feet and said, 'Good afternoon, Miss Dolores.' He and Gary Cooper were the only ones in Hollywood who called me that."
Hart made another film with Presley, "King Creole," and appeared in prestigious productions such as "Wild is the Wind," with Anna Magnani and Anthony Quinn, and "Lonelyhearts," with Montgomery Clift and Myrna Loy.
"I was never a star," she insisted. "Being a star means your name is above the title. Mine never was."
A clever talker, she was a regular on the talk-show circuit and was a fan-magazine favorite.
"I really loved the acting life," she said. But when she was appearing in the Western "The Plunderers" with Jeff Chandler in 1959, she looked in the mirror and heard a voice saying: "You're really enjoying this, but you're not going to do this much longer." She was puzzled but continued working.
After nine months in New York with the play "The Pleasure of His Company," she complained to a friend that she was weary. The friend recommended a retreat at a Connecticut monastery. Hart was hesitant but decided to go. She found a remarkable peace. She continued returning to the monastery twice a year.
Back in Hollywood, she became engaged to Los Angeles businessman Don Robinson. One night, she related, he asked her, "Do you love me?" She answered, "Yes, I love you." He asked her again. Same answer. "It doesn't sound right," he said. The engagement was canceled, and in December 1962, she flew to Connecticut, never to return — until now.
Mother Dolores is proud of one element of her Hollywood life: being invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is still a member and votes each year for the
Academy Awards.
Does that mean she sees all the nominees, no matter how bawdy?
"Yes, I do," she replied with a smile. "If you're a Benedictine, as I am, you're supposed to be capable of integrating anything."
Ford marks 90 years in rare appearance
LOS ANGELES - Glenn Ford will make his first public appearance in 15 years when film preservation group the American Cinematheque salutes the actor May 1 on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
The event, to take place at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, will include a screening of 1946's "Gilda," in which he starred with Rita Hayworth; a 1937 short film that marked his screen debut; and a postscreening discussion led by his son Peter Ford.
LOS ANGELES - Glenn Ford will make his first public appearance in 15 years when film preservation group the American Cinematheque salutes the actor May 1 on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
The event, to take place at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, will include a screening of 1946's "Gilda," in which he starred with Rita Hayworth; a 1937 short film that marked his screen debut; and a postscreening discussion led by his son Peter Ford.
April 09, 2006
Redick, Augustus Win Wooden Awards
LOS ANGELES - J.J. Redick took a West Coast vacation this week, spending some time with Adam Morrison and beating out his buddy for the John R. Wooden Award as college basketball's male player of the year.
Redick, a 6-foot-4 senior at Duke, edged the Gonzaga star by 72 points in the third-closest balloting in the history of the award.
Mark Few, who coaches Morrison, believes both players were deserving.
"Society always wants to pick a winner. I don't know how you can choose between the two of them," Few said following Saturday's presentation ceremony. "They've been great for college basketball, they've raised the attention up a notch this year.
"We were rooting for J.J., I feel like Duke was rooting for us."
Redick, completing a sweep of the men's player of the year awards this spring, collected 4,646 points to 4,574 for Morrison. Duke's Shelden Williams finished third with 2,142 points, followed by Villanova's Randy Foye with 2,050 and Washington's Brandon Roy with 1,885.
"I'm extremely honored to received this award," Redick said. "All the candidates were very deserving. I never set out to win individual awards. To win is just a huge honor."
Redick finished second last year behind Utah's Andrew Bogut.
Seimone Augustus capped her exceptional career at LSU by winning the women's Wooden Award, getting 298 points in the balloting of over 200 voters to finish 83 points ahead of North Carolina's Ivory Latta.
Augustus, a 6-foot-1 senior, has won the women's award each of the past two years to join Virginia's Ralph Sampson (1982-83) as the only two-time winner.
Cappie Pondexter of Rutgers finished third in the women's division with 135 points, followed by Oklahoma's Courtney Paris with 106 and Duke's Monique Currie with 96.
The awards are named for the former UCLA coach who guided the Bruins to 10
NCAA championships in a 12-year span before retiring in 1975. UCLA's Marques Johnson was the first to win the award — two years after Wooden stepped down.
Redick is the sixth Duke player to win the award, joining Christian Laettner, Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Jason Williams and Alana Beard, who won two years ago to become the first woman so honored.
"He's had a great career," Morrison said of his friend, adding he wasn't disappointed about finishing second.
"That's the way it goes. I know what I did on the court," he said.
Redick shot 47 percent from the field, 42 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the free throw line in leading Duke to a 32-4 record. He finished his career with 2,769 points and the record 457 3-pointers.
Redick and Morrison kept in touch during the season.
"We're both very competitive," Redick said. "The main thing about it was to help our teams win ballgames, and I think we did that."
Morrison, a junior, hasn't decided whether he'll pass up his final year of eligibility to make himself available for the NBA draft.
"It's his decision and it's his time frame," Few said. "He loves basketball, he loves his teammates. I have to do the best job I can of giving him proper facts about it."
Morrison, who averaged 28 points for Gonzaga (29-4) figures to be one of the first players picked if he opts to go pro.
Augustus was unable to attend the ceremony because she was traveling to Australia, where she's trying out for the U.S. senior Olympic team.
"She doesn't know yet because she's on a plane," said Augustus' mother, Kim, who attended the ceremony with her husband, Seymore. "It's really exciting for us. Once she finds out, she's really going to be excited."
Seymore said his family was also proud that Seimone is graduating in four years with two degrees.
For the first time since the award was first presented, Wooden didn't attend either the award ceremony or the banquet honoring the winners and other nominees.
The Wooden family announced last August he wouldn't attend due to a trademark dispute concerning the use of his name. The 95-year-old former coach was hospitalized earlier in the week following a bout of diverticulitis.
"The club has no interest in having a voice in how Coach Wooden licenses his name," Wooden Award spokesman Chip Namius said. "It's the 30th anniversary of the award, and it certainly would be great if he could be with us today. Hopefully the situation will be resolved and he can be with us again soon."
Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, honored as the Wooden Legends of Coaching winner, presented the men's award, and former Southern California star Cheryl Miller presented the women's award.
LOS ANGELES - J.J. Redick took a West Coast vacation this week, spending some time with Adam Morrison and beating out his buddy for the John R. Wooden Award as college basketball's male player of the year.
Redick, a 6-foot-4 senior at Duke, edged the Gonzaga star by 72 points in the third-closest balloting in the history of the award.
Mark Few, who coaches Morrison, believes both players were deserving.
"Society always wants to pick a winner. I don't know how you can choose between the two of them," Few said following Saturday's presentation ceremony. "They've been great for college basketball, they've raised the attention up a notch this year.
"We were rooting for J.J., I feel like Duke was rooting for us."
Redick, completing a sweep of the men's player of the year awards this spring, collected 4,646 points to 4,574 for Morrison. Duke's Shelden Williams finished third with 2,142 points, followed by Villanova's Randy Foye with 2,050 and Washington's Brandon Roy with 1,885.
"I'm extremely honored to received this award," Redick said. "All the candidates were very deserving. I never set out to win individual awards. To win is just a huge honor."
Redick finished second last year behind Utah's Andrew Bogut.
Seimone Augustus capped her exceptional career at LSU by winning the women's Wooden Award, getting 298 points in the balloting of over 200 voters to finish 83 points ahead of North Carolina's Ivory Latta.
Augustus, a 6-foot-1 senior, has won the women's award each of the past two years to join Virginia's Ralph Sampson (1982-83) as the only two-time winner.
Cappie Pondexter of Rutgers finished third in the women's division with 135 points, followed by Oklahoma's Courtney Paris with 106 and Duke's Monique Currie with 96.
The awards are named for the former UCLA coach who guided the Bruins to 10
NCAA championships in a 12-year span before retiring in 1975. UCLA's Marques Johnson was the first to win the award — two years after Wooden stepped down.
Redick is the sixth Duke player to win the award, joining Christian Laettner, Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Jason Williams and Alana Beard, who won two years ago to become the first woman so honored.
"He's had a great career," Morrison said of his friend, adding he wasn't disappointed about finishing second.
"That's the way it goes. I know what I did on the court," he said.
Redick shot 47 percent from the field, 42 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the free throw line in leading Duke to a 32-4 record. He finished his career with 2,769 points and the record 457 3-pointers.
Redick and Morrison kept in touch during the season.
"We're both very competitive," Redick said. "The main thing about it was to help our teams win ballgames, and I think we did that."
Morrison, a junior, hasn't decided whether he'll pass up his final year of eligibility to make himself available for the NBA draft.
"It's his decision and it's his time frame," Few said. "He loves basketball, he loves his teammates. I have to do the best job I can of giving him proper facts about it."
Morrison, who averaged 28 points for Gonzaga (29-4) figures to be one of the first players picked if he opts to go pro.
Augustus was unable to attend the ceremony because she was traveling to Australia, where she's trying out for the U.S. senior Olympic team.
"She doesn't know yet because she's on a plane," said Augustus' mother, Kim, who attended the ceremony with her husband, Seymore. "It's really exciting for us. Once she finds out, she's really going to be excited."
Seymore said his family was also proud that Seimone is graduating in four years with two degrees.
For the first time since the award was first presented, Wooden didn't attend either the award ceremony or the banquet honoring the winners and other nominees.
The Wooden family announced last August he wouldn't attend due to a trademark dispute concerning the use of his name. The 95-year-old former coach was hospitalized earlier in the week following a bout of diverticulitis.
"The club has no interest in having a voice in how Coach Wooden licenses his name," Wooden Award spokesman Chip Namius said. "It's the 30th anniversary of the award, and it certainly would be great if he could be with us today. Hopefully the situation will be resolved and he can be with us again soon."
Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, honored as the Wooden Legends of Coaching winner, presented the men's award, and former Southern California star Cheryl Miller presented the women's award.
April 08, 2006
Writers Guild of America (WGA) - 101 Greatest Screenplays
1. CASABLANCA
Screenplay by Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. Based on the play "Everybody Comes to Rick's" by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison
2. THE GODFATHER
Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Based on the novel by Mario Puzo
3. CHINATOWN
Written by Robert Towne
4. CITIZEN KANE
Written by Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles
5. ALL ABOUT EVE
Screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Based on "The Wisdom of Eve," a short story and radio play by Mary Orr
6. ANNIE HALL
Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
7. SUNSET BLVD.
Written by Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder and D.M. Marshman, Jr.
8. NETWORK
Written by Paddy Chayefsky
9. SOME LIKE IT HOT
Screenplay by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond. Based on "Fanfare of Love," a German film written by Robert Thoeren and M. Logan
10. THE GODFATHER II
Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo. Based on Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather"
11. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
Written by William Goldman
12. DR. STRANGELOVE
Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Peter George and Terry Southern. Based on novel "Red Alert" by Peter George
13. THE GRADUATE
Screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. Based on the novel by Charles Webb
14. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. Based on the life and writings of Col. T.E. Lawrence
15. THE APARTMENT
Written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond
16. PULP FICTION
Written by Quentin Tarantino. Stories by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary
17. TOOTSIE
Screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal. Story by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart
18. ON THE WATERFRONT
Screen Story and Screenplay by Budd Schulberg. Based on "Crime on the Waterfront" articles by Malcolm Johnson
19. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Screenplay by Horton Foote. Based on the novel by Harper Lee
20. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Screenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett & Frank Capra. Based on short story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. Contributions to screenplay Michael Wilson and Jo Swerling
21. NORTH BY NORTHWEST
Written by Ernest Lehman
22. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Screenplay by Frank Darabont. Based on the short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King
23. GONE WITH THE WIND
Screenplay by Sidney Howard. Based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell
24. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman. Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth
25. THE WIZARD OF OZ
Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf Adaptation by Noel Langley. Based on the novel by L. Frank Baum
26. DOUBLE INDEMNITY
Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler. Based on the novel by James M. Cain
27. GROUNDHOG DAY
Screenplay by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis. Story by Danny Rubin
28. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
29. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS
Written by Preston Sturges
30. UNFORGIVEN
Written by David Webb Peoples
31. HIS GIRL FRIDAY
Screenplay by Charles Lederer. Based on the play "The Front Page" by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur
32. FARGO
Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
33. THE THIRD MAN
Screenplay by Graham Greene. Story by Graham Greene. Based on the short story by Graham Greene
34. THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
Screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman. From a novelette by Ernest Lehman
35. THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Written by Christopher McQuarrie
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY
Screenplay by Waldo Salt. Based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy
37. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
Screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart. Based on the play by Philip Barry
38. AMERICAN BEAUTY
Written by Alan Ball
39. THE STING
Written by David S. Ward
40. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
Written by Nora Ephron
41. GOODFELLAS
Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese. Based on book "Wise Guy" by Nicholas Pileggi
42. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan. Story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman
43. TAXI DRIVER
Written by Paul Schrader
44. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood. Based on novel "Glory For Me" by MacKinley Kantor
45. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. Based on the novel by Ken Kesey
46. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by B. Traven
47. THE MALTESE FALCON
Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
48. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
Screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson. Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle
49. SCHINDLER'S LIST
Screenplay by Steven Zaillian. Based on the novel by Thomas Keneally
50. THE SIXTH SENSE
Written by M. Night Shyamalan
51. BROADCAST NEWS
Written by James L. Brooks
52. THE LADY EVE
Screenplay by Preston Sturges. Story by Monckton Hoffe
53. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on the book by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward
54. MANHATTAN
Written by Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman
55. APOCALYPSE NOW
Written by John Milius and Francis Coppola. Narration by Michael Herr
56. BACK TO THE FUTURE
Written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale
57. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS
Written by Woody Allen
58. ORDINARY PEOPLE
Screenplay by Alvin Sargent. Based on the novel by Judith Guest
59. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
Screenplay by Robert Riskin. Based on the story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams
60. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
Screenplay by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson. Based on the novel by James Ellroy
61. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Screenplay by Ted Tally. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris
62. MOONSTRUCK
Written by John Patrick Shanley
63. JAWS
Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Based on the novel by Peter Benchley
64. TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
Screenplay by James L. Brooks. Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry
65. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
Screen Story and Screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green. Based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown
66. JERRY MAGUIRE
Written by Cameron Crowe
67. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
Written by Melissa Mathison
68. STAR WARS
Written by George Lucasn
69. DOG DAY AFTERNOON
Screenplay by Frank Pierson. Based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore
70. THE AFRICAN QUEEN
Screenplay by James Agee and John Huston. Based on the novel by C.S. Forester
71. THE LION IN WINTER
Screenplay by James Goldman. Based on the play by James Goldman
72. THELMA & LOUISE
Written by Callie Khouri
73. AMADEUS
Screenplay by Peter Shaffer. Based on his play
74. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
Written by Charlie Kaufman
75. HIGH NOON
Screenplay by Carl Foreman. Based on short story "The Tin Star" by John W. Cunningham
76. RAGING BULL
Screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin. Based on the book by Jake La Motta with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage
77. ADAPTATION
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. Based on the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean
78. ROCKY
Written by Sylvester Stallone
79. THE PRODUCERS
Written by Mel Brooks
80. WITNESS
Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley. Story by William Kelley and Pamela Wallace & Earl W. Wallace
81. BEING THERE
Screenplay by Jerzy Kosinski. Inspired by the novel by Jerzy Kosinski
82. COOL HAND LUKE
Screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson. Based on the novel by Donn Pearce
83. REAR WINDOW
Screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Based on the short story by Cornell Woolrich
84. THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on his novel
85. LA GRANDE ILLUSION
Written by Jean Renoir and Charles Spaak
86. HAROLD & MAUDE
Written by Colin Higgins
87. 8 1/2
Screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rond. Story by Fellini, Flaiano
88. FIELD OF DREAMS
Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson. Based on the book by W.P. Kinsella
89. FORREST GUMP
Screenplay by Eric Roth. Based on the novel by Winston Groom
90. SIDEWAYS
Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor. Based on the novel by Rex Pickett
91. THE VERDICT
Screenplay by David Mamet. Based on the novel by Barry Reed
92. PSYCHO
Screenplay by Joseph Stefano. Based on the novel by Robert Bloch
93. DO THE RIGHT THING
Written by Spike Lee
94. PATTON
Screen Story and Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North. Based on "A Soldier's Story" by Omar H. Bradley and "Patton: Ordeal and Triumph" by Ladislas Farago
95. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS
Written by Woody Allen
96. THE HUSTLER
Screenplay by Sidney Carroll & Robert Rossen. Based on the novel by Walter Tevis
97. THE SEARCHERS
Screenplay by Frank S. Nugent. Based on the novel by Alan Le May
98. THE GRAPES OF WRATH
Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson. Based on the novel by John Steinbeck
99. THE WILD BUNCH
Screenplay by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah. Story by Walon Green and Roy Sickner
100. MEMENTO
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan. Based on the short story "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan
101. NOTORIOUS
Written by Ben Hecht
1. CASABLANCA
Screenplay by Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. Based on the play "Everybody Comes to Rick's" by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison
2. THE GODFATHER
Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Based on the novel by Mario Puzo
3. CHINATOWN
Written by Robert Towne
4. CITIZEN KANE
Written by Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles
5. ALL ABOUT EVE
Screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Based on "The Wisdom of Eve," a short story and radio play by Mary Orr
6. ANNIE HALL
Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
7. SUNSET BLVD.
Written by Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder and D.M. Marshman, Jr.
8. NETWORK
Written by Paddy Chayefsky
9. SOME LIKE IT HOT
Screenplay by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond. Based on "Fanfare of Love," a German film written by Robert Thoeren and M. Logan
10. THE GODFATHER II
Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo. Based on Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather"
11. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
Written by William Goldman
12. DR. STRANGELOVE
Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Peter George and Terry Southern. Based on novel "Red Alert" by Peter George
13. THE GRADUATE
Screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. Based on the novel by Charles Webb
14. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. Based on the life and writings of Col. T.E. Lawrence
15. THE APARTMENT
Written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond
16. PULP FICTION
Written by Quentin Tarantino. Stories by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary
17. TOOTSIE
Screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal. Story by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart
18. ON THE WATERFRONT
Screen Story and Screenplay by Budd Schulberg. Based on "Crime on the Waterfront" articles by Malcolm Johnson
19. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Screenplay by Horton Foote. Based on the novel by Harper Lee
20. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Screenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett & Frank Capra. Based on short story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. Contributions to screenplay Michael Wilson and Jo Swerling
21. NORTH BY NORTHWEST
Written by Ernest Lehman
22. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Screenplay by Frank Darabont. Based on the short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King
23. GONE WITH THE WIND
Screenplay by Sidney Howard. Based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell
24. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman. Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth
25. THE WIZARD OF OZ
Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf Adaptation by Noel Langley. Based on the novel by L. Frank Baum
26. DOUBLE INDEMNITY
Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler. Based on the novel by James M. Cain
27. GROUNDHOG DAY
Screenplay by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis. Story by Danny Rubin
28. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
29. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS
Written by Preston Sturges
30. UNFORGIVEN
Written by David Webb Peoples
31. HIS GIRL FRIDAY
Screenplay by Charles Lederer. Based on the play "The Front Page" by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur
32. FARGO
Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
33. THE THIRD MAN
Screenplay by Graham Greene. Story by Graham Greene. Based on the short story by Graham Greene
34. THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
Screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman. From a novelette by Ernest Lehman
35. THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Written by Christopher McQuarrie
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY
Screenplay by Waldo Salt. Based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy
37. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
Screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart. Based on the play by Philip Barry
38. AMERICAN BEAUTY
Written by Alan Ball
39. THE STING
Written by David S. Ward
40. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
Written by Nora Ephron
41. GOODFELLAS
Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese. Based on book "Wise Guy" by Nicholas Pileggi
42. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan. Story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman
43. TAXI DRIVER
Written by Paul Schrader
44. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood. Based on novel "Glory For Me" by MacKinley Kantor
45. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. Based on the novel by Ken Kesey
46. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by B. Traven
47. THE MALTESE FALCON
Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
48. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
Screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson. Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle
49. SCHINDLER'S LIST
Screenplay by Steven Zaillian. Based on the novel by Thomas Keneally
50. THE SIXTH SENSE
Written by M. Night Shyamalan
51. BROADCAST NEWS
Written by James L. Brooks
52. THE LADY EVE
Screenplay by Preston Sturges. Story by Monckton Hoffe
53. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on the book by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward
54. MANHATTAN
Written by Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman
55. APOCALYPSE NOW
Written by John Milius and Francis Coppola. Narration by Michael Herr
56. BACK TO THE FUTURE
Written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale
57. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS
Written by Woody Allen
58. ORDINARY PEOPLE
Screenplay by Alvin Sargent. Based on the novel by Judith Guest
59. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
Screenplay by Robert Riskin. Based on the story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams
60. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
Screenplay by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson. Based on the novel by James Ellroy
61. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Screenplay by Ted Tally. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris
62. MOONSTRUCK
Written by John Patrick Shanley
63. JAWS
Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Based on the novel by Peter Benchley
64. TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
Screenplay by James L. Brooks. Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry
65. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
Screen Story and Screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green. Based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown
66. JERRY MAGUIRE
Written by Cameron Crowe
67. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
Written by Melissa Mathison
68. STAR WARS
Written by George Lucasn
69. DOG DAY AFTERNOON
Screenplay by Frank Pierson. Based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore
70. THE AFRICAN QUEEN
Screenplay by James Agee and John Huston. Based on the novel by C.S. Forester
71. THE LION IN WINTER
Screenplay by James Goldman. Based on the play by James Goldman
72. THELMA & LOUISE
Written by Callie Khouri
73. AMADEUS
Screenplay by Peter Shaffer. Based on his play
74. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
Written by Charlie Kaufman
75. HIGH NOON
Screenplay by Carl Foreman. Based on short story "The Tin Star" by John W. Cunningham
76. RAGING BULL
Screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin. Based on the book by Jake La Motta with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage
77. ADAPTATION
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. Based on the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean
78. ROCKY
Written by Sylvester Stallone
79. THE PRODUCERS
Written by Mel Brooks
80. WITNESS
Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley. Story by William Kelley and Pamela Wallace & Earl W. Wallace
81. BEING THERE
Screenplay by Jerzy Kosinski. Inspired by the novel by Jerzy Kosinski
82. COOL HAND LUKE
Screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson. Based on the novel by Donn Pearce
83. REAR WINDOW
Screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Based on the short story by Cornell Woolrich
84. THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on his novel
85. LA GRANDE ILLUSION
Written by Jean Renoir and Charles Spaak
86. HAROLD & MAUDE
Written by Colin Higgins
87. 8 1/2
Screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rond. Story by Fellini, Flaiano
88. FIELD OF DREAMS
Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson. Based on the book by W.P. Kinsella
89. FORREST GUMP
Screenplay by Eric Roth. Based on the novel by Winston Groom
90. SIDEWAYS
Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor. Based on the novel by Rex Pickett
91. THE VERDICT
Screenplay by David Mamet. Based on the novel by Barry Reed
92. PSYCHO
Screenplay by Joseph Stefano. Based on the novel by Robert Bloch
93. DO THE RIGHT THING
Written by Spike Lee
94. PATTON
Screen Story and Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North. Based on "A Soldier's Story" by Omar H. Bradley and "Patton: Ordeal and Triumph" by Ladislas Farago
95. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS
Written by Woody Allen
96. THE HUSTLER
Screenplay by Sidney Carroll & Robert Rossen. Based on the novel by Walter Tevis
97. THE SEARCHERS
Screenplay by Frank S. Nugent. Based on the novel by Alan Le May
98. THE GRAPES OF WRATH
Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson. Based on the novel by John Steinbeck
99. THE WILD BUNCH
Screenplay by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah. Story by Walon Green and Roy Sickner
100. MEMENTO
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan. Based on the short story "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan
101. NOTORIOUS
Written by Ben Hecht
A Final Salute
The death of the young Army coach stuns the women's college basketball community, in which she was believed to have an extremely promising future
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Death is no stranger here. It is the United States Military Academy, Army for the less formal. The chapels here, for Catholics, for Jews, for Protestants, are used often to mark the deaths of young soldiers, male and female.
But even so, on a cold and rainy spring Friday, more than 670 packed the 550-seat Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity, which sits on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. Mourners attending this memorial service had come to cry for and laugh about, to praise and honor Maggie Dixon, 28, not a soldier, a coach.
Dixon, who grew up in North Hollywood, had coached the Army women's basketball team for one season. She died Thursday after collapsing Wednesday afternoon while having tea with a friend who had recently lost a job.
According to a spokesman at the Westchester (N.Y.) County Medical Examiner's office, an autopsy Friday showed that Dixon had an enlarged heart and a malfunctioning valve that might have caused her heart to beat irregularly and stop.
Her brother, Jamie, men's basketball coach at Pittsburgh, said in a statement, "Maggie touched so many people beyond basketball. I know she looked up to me. But I always looked up to her too, and it's obvious that a lot of other people did as well."
Dixon's older sister Julie, a Los Angeles lawyer, and her parents, Jim and Marge, had arrived at her bedside about 4 a.m. Thursday, after flying from Southern California. Jamie, 40, had spent Tuesday night at Maggie's place while on a recruiting trip. They'd had breakfast Wednesday morning.
And Dixon, who was 6 feet 1 and a standout basketball player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High and the University of San Diego, had seemed in great health last weekend when she joined Jamie, his wife and their two children to cheer on UCLA at the men's Final Four at Indianapolis and then for a quick trip to Boston to watch part of the women's Final Four.
Three weeks earlier, Maggie had joined Jamie in New York for a celebration after Army had won its Patriot League tournament while Pittsburgh was playing in the Big East tournament.
Jamie Dixon had been UCLA Coach Ben Howland's assistant at Pittsburgh, and Howland's voice shook when he spoke of Maggie.
"She was on target to be the next Pat Summitt," Howland said, referring to the highly successful coach of the women's team at Tennessee. "I firmly believe that."
And, indeed, the final game Dixon coached was in the first game of the NCAA tournament, when Summitt's Volunteers rolled over upstart Army, 102-54.
That didn't get Dixon down, though, after the Cadets finished with a 20-11 record.
"She could hardly wait until next season," said Cara Enright, a sophomore guard from Norco. "Coach Dixon made us love the game even more, and we played our hearts out every single time we stepped on the court."
Dixon's team marched smartly into the chapel. The players comforted Dixon's parents and hugged Jamie, whose shoulders shook.
In a matter of only seven months, senior Ashley Magnani said, "Coach Dixon taught us so well that there are now 20 Maggie Dixons right here at Army."
Dixon had gotten her first head-coaching job only 11 days before the season began after the previous coach's sudden resignation. By March, the Black Knights had won their first Patriot League regular-season and conference tournament titles.
When Army beat traditional power Holy Cross by a single point to win the tournament and advance to the NCAA tournament, cadets lifted Dixon onto their shoulders.
It was that picture that graced the cover of the program for Dixon's memorial service.
Army Athletic Director Kevin Anderson said it had taken him only a single interview last fall to know that hiring the inexperienced Dixon was the right move.
"And after she met with this team for the first time, I knew I was absolutely right," he said.
The suddenness of her death seemed to reflect the way Dixon had lived. Rob DiMuro, then Dixon's coach at Notre Dame High, said Dixon would sometimes act as a 6-1 point guard for his team, as well as being a ferocious defender and an excellent passer.
Kathy Marpe, Dixon's college coach, said that although her former player had been an agile all-purpose player, she didn't quite have the speed to be a perimeter player in the pros, nor the muscular strength to be an inside player.
Still, after graduating from San Diego, Dixon tried out for the WNBA's Sparks because her good friend Michael Cooper was the coach.
She didn't make it, and after she was cut, she and a friend drove to Chicago because Dixon had heard the DePaul women's team might be looking for a graduate assistant coach.
Doug Bruno, DePaul's coach, remembers Dixon's arrival seven years ago.
"I was in our old Alumni Hall, which was about to be torn down," Bruno said. "It was Friday afternoon, I was taking a shower, ready for a night out with the guys, all soaped up, and our trainer comes running in saying there's two 6-foot-1 girls in the gym that wanted to see me."
Bruno's great wish was that two mysterious 6-1 players had come to join his team. Instead it was Dixon and her traveling companion, Dixon looking for a job. Bruno said he gave her a courtesy interview the next morning.
"All I had to offer was an $8,000 grad assistant job," he said. "You can hardly live on that in Chicago. But she was so eager. So we got her another job at a great Italian steakhouse. She waitressed and coached."
Anderson called Dixon last October.
"I had to call her five or six times before she returned the call," he said yesterday. "I got on a plane and flew to Detroit. We met there."
In front of the altar and guarding Dixon's casket were a basketball, the Patriot League trophy won so recently and a team photo of smiling young women surrounding Dixon.
Seniors Magnani; Micky Mallette, a 5-8 guard from Elmira Heights, N.Y.; Adrienne Payne, a 5-6 guard from Petaluma, Calif.; and Megan Vrabel, a 6-1 forward from Stafford, Va., spoke emotionally of their coach.
"Maggie didn't let us lose that many times, but when we did, she told us to keep our heads up and to learn from the loss," Vrabel said. "Maggie, we'll learn from this and we will keep our heads up. We've learned from you how to be a loving daughter, a great sister, an aunt, a mentor and a best friend."
Magnani said she'd felt an immediate connection to Dixon because "she was as easily distracted as I am. We were both always kind of dancing to our own beat."
One of Dixon's first acts after accepting the job in October was to talk 54-year-old Dave Magarity out of his job as assistant commissioner of the Mid-American Conference and into the job as her assistant. He had been coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for 18 years before moving into administration two years ago.
His voice breaking, Magarity said, "I came to West Point last fall as an assistant commissioner and left [the interview] as an associate head coach, and I'm not sure how it happened, except Maggie talked me into the job in about a minute. She was somebody who had such a great energy about her. That's the only way I could explain it."
Magnani said her favorite memory of Dixon was a day at practice when Magarity had given a 10-minute lecture about "the dreaded gold play and telling us to get rid of the high screens because we weren't any good at them anyway. After he was finished, Coach Dixon walked over and said, 'Coach, what was that?' She'd been walking around the baseline in her own world."
Funeral arrangements are still incomplete. Bruno said he and his DePaul team would be in Southern California for the wake and funeral. Army's team will be there as well.
Anderson said there must be a reason for what happened.
"Maggie was in my office Wednesday, and we were talking about how she was inundated with phone calls offering her other jobs, all of a sudden. She told me, 'Kevin, I'm not leaving.' God apparently wanted her to coach his team, though, and I can't fight that. God bless you, Maggie."
The death of the young Army coach stuns the women's college basketball community, in which she was believed to have an extremely promising future
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Death is no stranger here. It is the United States Military Academy, Army for the less formal. The chapels here, for Catholics, for Jews, for Protestants, are used often to mark the deaths of young soldiers, male and female.
But even so, on a cold and rainy spring Friday, more than 670 packed the 550-seat Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity, which sits on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. Mourners attending this memorial service had come to cry for and laugh about, to praise and honor Maggie Dixon, 28, not a soldier, a coach.
Dixon, who grew up in North Hollywood, had coached the Army women's basketball team for one season. She died Thursday after collapsing Wednesday afternoon while having tea with a friend who had recently lost a job.
According to a spokesman at the Westchester (N.Y.) County Medical Examiner's office, an autopsy Friday showed that Dixon had an enlarged heart and a malfunctioning valve that might have caused her heart to beat irregularly and stop.
Her brother, Jamie, men's basketball coach at Pittsburgh, said in a statement, "Maggie touched so many people beyond basketball. I know she looked up to me. But I always looked up to her too, and it's obvious that a lot of other people did as well."
Dixon's older sister Julie, a Los Angeles lawyer, and her parents, Jim and Marge, had arrived at her bedside about 4 a.m. Thursday, after flying from Southern California. Jamie, 40, had spent Tuesday night at Maggie's place while on a recruiting trip. They'd had breakfast Wednesday morning.
And Dixon, who was 6 feet 1 and a standout basketball player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High and the University of San Diego, had seemed in great health last weekend when she joined Jamie, his wife and their two children to cheer on UCLA at the men's Final Four at Indianapolis and then for a quick trip to Boston to watch part of the women's Final Four.
Three weeks earlier, Maggie had joined Jamie in New York for a celebration after Army had won its Patriot League tournament while Pittsburgh was playing in the Big East tournament.
Jamie Dixon had been UCLA Coach Ben Howland's assistant at Pittsburgh, and Howland's voice shook when he spoke of Maggie.
"She was on target to be the next Pat Summitt," Howland said, referring to the highly successful coach of the women's team at Tennessee. "I firmly believe that."
And, indeed, the final game Dixon coached was in the first game of the NCAA tournament, when Summitt's Volunteers rolled over upstart Army, 102-54.
That didn't get Dixon down, though, after the Cadets finished with a 20-11 record.
"She could hardly wait until next season," said Cara Enright, a sophomore guard from Norco. "Coach Dixon made us love the game even more, and we played our hearts out every single time we stepped on the court."
Dixon's team marched smartly into the chapel. The players comforted Dixon's parents and hugged Jamie, whose shoulders shook.
In a matter of only seven months, senior Ashley Magnani said, "Coach Dixon taught us so well that there are now 20 Maggie Dixons right here at Army."
Dixon had gotten her first head-coaching job only 11 days before the season began after the previous coach's sudden resignation. By March, the Black Knights had won their first Patriot League regular-season and conference tournament titles.
When Army beat traditional power Holy Cross by a single point to win the tournament and advance to the NCAA tournament, cadets lifted Dixon onto their shoulders.
It was that picture that graced the cover of the program for Dixon's memorial service.
Army Athletic Director Kevin Anderson said it had taken him only a single interview last fall to know that hiring the inexperienced Dixon was the right move.
"And after she met with this team for the first time, I knew I was absolutely right," he said.
The suddenness of her death seemed to reflect the way Dixon had lived. Rob DiMuro, then Dixon's coach at Notre Dame High, said Dixon would sometimes act as a 6-1 point guard for his team, as well as being a ferocious defender and an excellent passer.
Kathy Marpe, Dixon's college coach, said that although her former player had been an agile all-purpose player, she didn't quite have the speed to be a perimeter player in the pros, nor the muscular strength to be an inside player.
Still, after graduating from San Diego, Dixon tried out for the WNBA's Sparks because her good friend Michael Cooper was the coach.
She didn't make it, and after she was cut, she and a friend drove to Chicago because Dixon had heard the DePaul women's team might be looking for a graduate assistant coach.
Doug Bruno, DePaul's coach, remembers Dixon's arrival seven years ago.
"I was in our old Alumni Hall, which was about to be torn down," Bruno said. "It was Friday afternoon, I was taking a shower, ready for a night out with the guys, all soaped up, and our trainer comes running in saying there's two 6-foot-1 girls in the gym that wanted to see me."
Bruno's great wish was that two mysterious 6-1 players had come to join his team. Instead it was Dixon and her traveling companion, Dixon looking for a job. Bruno said he gave her a courtesy interview the next morning.
"All I had to offer was an $8,000 grad assistant job," he said. "You can hardly live on that in Chicago. But she was so eager. So we got her another job at a great Italian steakhouse. She waitressed and coached."
Anderson called Dixon last October.
"I had to call her five or six times before she returned the call," he said yesterday. "I got on a plane and flew to Detroit. We met there."
In front of the altar and guarding Dixon's casket were a basketball, the Patriot League trophy won so recently and a team photo of smiling young women surrounding Dixon.
Seniors Magnani; Micky Mallette, a 5-8 guard from Elmira Heights, N.Y.; Adrienne Payne, a 5-6 guard from Petaluma, Calif.; and Megan Vrabel, a 6-1 forward from Stafford, Va., spoke emotionally of their coach.
"Maggie didn't let us lose that many times, but when we did, she told us to keep our heads up and to learn from the loss," Vrabel said. "Maggie, we'll learn from this and we will keep our heads up. We've learned from you how to be a loving daughter, a great sister, an aunt, a mentor and a best friend."
Magnani said she'd felt an immediate connection to Dixon because "she was as easily distracted as I am. We were both always kind of dancing to our own beat."
One of Dixon's first acts after accepting the job in October was to talk 54-year-old Dave Magarity out of his job as assistant commissioner of the Mid-American Conference and into the job as her assistant. He had been coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for 18 years before moving into administration two years ago.
His voice breaking, Magarity said, "I came to West Point last fall as an assistant commissioner and left [the interview] as an associate head coach, and I'm not sure how it happened, except Maggie talked me into the job in about a minute. She was somebody who had such a great energy about her. That's the only way I could explain it."
Magnani said her favorite memory of Dixon was a day at practice when Magarity had given a 10-minute lecture about "the dreaded gold play and telling us to get rid of the high screens because we weren't any good at them anyway. After he was finished, Coach Dixon walked over and said, 'Coach, what was that?' She'd been walking around the baseline in her own world."
Funeral arrangements are still incomplete. Bruno said he and his DePaul team would be in Southern California for the wake and funeral. Army's team will be there as well.
Anderson said there must be a reason for what happened.
"Maggie was in my office Wednesday, and we were talking about how she was inundated with phone calls offering her other jobs, all of a sudden. She told me, 'Kevin, I'm not leaving.' God apparently wanted her to coach his team, though, and I can't fight that. God bless you, Maggie."
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