Five for Fighting

Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the Top 40 hits "Superman (It's Not Easy)" (2001), "100 Years" (2003) and "The Riddle" (2006).

Early years

Ondrasik was born in Los Angeles, a child of a musical family. In his early years, Ondrasik learned the piano, and in his teens he learned to play the guitar and started to write music. While he also learned to sing opera briefly, he soon decided that he would like to be a singer/songwriter. Ondrasik graduated from UCLA with a degree in applied science and mathematics. While in college he continued to pursue music in his spare time. He adopted the name "Five for Fighting", an ice hockey term that means a five-minute major penalty for participating in a fight. Ondrasik is a lifelong fan of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings.

Career

Ondrasik's first album, Message for Albert, was released by EMI in 1997. Capitol Records then re-released this album after the success of America Town.

Story of Your Life

Story of Your Life is a science fiction short story by Ted Chiang. It was the winner of the 2000 Nebula Award for Best Novella as well as the 1999 Sturgeon award. The major themes explored by this tale are determinism, language, and an interesting take on the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis.

A film adaptation is expected to be released in 2016, starring Amy Adams as Dr. Louise Banks and co-starring Jeremy Renner, with the film directed by Denis Villeneuve based on a script by Eric Heisserer.

Plot summary

Dr. Louise Banks is enlisted by the military to communicate with a race of radially symmetrical aliens who initiated first contact with humanity. Woven through the story are remembrances of her daughter.

The heptapods have two distinct forms of language. Heptapod A is their spoken language, which is described as having free word order and many levels of center-embedded clauses. Understanding Heptapod B, the written language of the aliens, is central to the plot. Unlike its spoken counterpart, Heptapod B has such complex structure that a single semagram cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence.

Story of Your Life (film)

Story of Your Life is an upcoming American science fiction drama film starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. The film is directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Eric Heisserer. The film is based on the short story of the same name by author Ted Chiang. Filming began on June 7, 2015.

Synopsis

When alien craft land across the world, a linguist expert is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat. As she learns to communicate with the aliens, she begins experiencing vivid flashbacks that become the key to unlocking the greater mystery about the true purpose of their visit.

Cast

Production

An adaptation scripted by Eric Heisserer has been planned since at least November 2012, filming in Montreal, Quebec, involving the production company FilmNation Entertainment.