LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Chopper (Movie): Eric Bana
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The film opens in 1978, when Chopper (Australian comedian Eric Bana) is in prison for kidnapping. In an attempt to gain power over H Division, he knifes a guy quite bloodily; in retaliation, Chopper's one-time friend Jimmy (Simon Lyndon) stabs him up real good.
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After screening "Chopper," Ridley Scott cast Bana as Hoot Gibson, the sardonic special forces soldier in "Blackhawk Down." Then "Hulk" producer Gale Anne Hurd ("Terminator," "Aliens") came calling. She was searching for a fresh face to play Hulk's alter ego, scientist Bruce Banner. Ignoring the romantic sparks of his lab colleague (Jennifer Connelly), the genetically altered Banner gets violent and "Hulks out" whenever the repressed rage he feels for his father (Nick Nolte) takes over. Hurd and director Ang Lee needed someone who could convey the neurosis fueling Hulk's earth-stomping tantrums.
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The young director has style to burn and knows how to sustain racing pulses with his depiction of the unpredictability of Chopper's temper. He coaxes a corrosive and powerful performance from leading man Eric Bana, who went on a beer-and-junk-food diet to gain weight to play Chopper and morphs into a frightening and hypersensitive figure. His performance won the Australian Film Institute prize for best actor in 2000.
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This Australian drama is based on the life and times of Mark "Chopper" Read, a notorious Aussie criminal who went on to become a best-selling author, publishing nine books about his exploits outside the law. In 1978, Chopper (played by Eric Bana) is serving a 16-year sentence for abducting a judge who was overseeing the trial of his best friend Jimmy (Simon Lyndon). Jimmy and Chopper end up sharing a cell, along with Keithy George (David Field), a crime boss; when a disagreement between Keithy and Chopper escalates into violence, Chopper kills Keithy, leading to retribution from the gangster's mates, who hire Jimmy to do their dirty work. To escape, Chopper forces a friend to cut off one of his ears so he'll be transferred to another prison. Eight years later, Chopper is out of prison and looking for Jimmy in hopes of getting revenge; in the meantime, he's looking to get even with another of his enemies, Neville (Vince Colosimo), and trying to keep his eye on his girlfriend, Tanya (Kate Beahan), who supports herself as a call girl. While the real "Chopper" Read was not directly involved in the production, comic Eric Bana was cast in the lead at Read's suggestion.
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CHOPPER tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a murder sentence in prison. His book, FROM THE INSIDE, upon which the film is based, was a best-seller. Screened at Sundance in 2001, CHOPPER was originally released in Australia in 2000 where it won Australian Film Industry Awards for Best Actor (Eric Bana), Best Supporting Actor (Simon Lyndon), and Best Director (Andrew Dominik).
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It was Mark Read himself who suggested that Eric Bana play Chopper, after seeing him in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal. Bana spent two days living with Chopper to help him practice for the role. Chopper later praised Bana's performance on the 20 to 1 episode Great Aussie Films, where Chopper came 17th.
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Eric Bana