Problem: Once is a 2007 Irish romantic musical drama film written and directed by John Carney. The film stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova as two struggling musicians in Dublin, Ireland. Hansard and Irglova had previously performed music as the Swell Season, and composed and performed the film's original songs. Once spent years in development with the Irish Film Board and was made for a budget of EUR112,000.

A rough cut of the film was previewed on 15 July 2006 at the Galway Film Fleadh, but the film was subsequently turned down by several prestigious European film festivals. However, once finished, it secured spots at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival on 20 January 2007 and the Dublin Film Festival in February 2007, and received the audience awards at both events.  The film was first released on cinema in Ireland on 23 March 2007, followed by a limited release in the United States on 16 May 2007. After its second weekend in release in the United States and Canada, the film topped the 23 May 2007 indieWIRE box office chart with nearly $31,000 average per location. As of 28 March 2009, Once has grossed nearly $9.5 million in North America and over $20 million worldwide. After 2007's box office success and critical acclaim, it won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film. Steven Spielberg was quoted as saying "A little movie called Once gave me enough inspiration to last the rest of the year". When informed of Spielberg's comments, director John Carney told Sky News, "in the end of the day, he's just a guy with a beard". At the time of this interview, Carney himself was also wearing a beard.  The song "Falling Slowly" won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song. The nomination's eligibility for the Oscar was initially questioned, as versions of the song had been released on The Cost and The Swell Season albums, but this was resolved before the voting for the award took place. The AMPAS music committee satisfied themselves that the song had indeed been written for the film and determined that, in the course of the film's protracted production, the composers had "played the song in some venues that were deemed inconsequential enough to not change the song's eligibility".

How did the film do in the United States?

Answer with quotes: As of 28 March 2009, Once has grossed nearly $9.5 million in North America and over $20 million worldwide.


Problem: The Goo Goo Dolls (originally Sex Maggot) are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, vocalist and bassist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. Mike Malinin was the band's drummer from January 1995 until December 27, 2013 (but not made an official member until 1998). Although renowned for their commercially successful 1998 single "Iris", they have had several other notable and popular singles including "Name" and "Naked" from 1995's A Boy Named Goo, "Slide", "Black Balloon", "Dizzy", and "Broadway" from 1998's Dizzy Up the Girl, "Here Is Gone" from 2002's Gutterflower, "Better Days", "Give a Little Bit", and "Stay with You" from 2006's

In 2006, the Goo Goo Dolls marked their 20th anniversary with their new album Let Love In, which included the studio recording of "Give a Little Bit" as well as other top 10 radio singles "Better Days", "Stay with You", and "Let Love In". With their third consecutive single ("Let Love In") from the album, the Goo Goo Dolls hit a record 12 top 10 hits in Adult Top 40 history, beating Matchbox Twenty and Sheryl Crow until Matchbox Twenty's release of Exile on Mainstream and the Goo Goo Dolls' release of "Before It's Too Late" from the Transformers Soundtrack, which left both groups with 13 top 10 hits in the Adult Top 40. Goo Goo Dolls planned to release another single from Let Love In, "Without You Here", as well as a song from the July 2007 Transformers movie called "Before It's Too Late", originally titled "Fiction". To promote the new single, the Goo Goo Dolls performed "Before It's Too Late" at both The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 8, 2007, and again at The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on June 22, 2007. In July 2007 the band discussed their career as a whole and gave a live performance on A&E's Private Sessions. Rzeznik stated that after the release of "Without You Here" and their summer tour with Lifehouse and Colbie Caillat, the band would return to the studio to begin work on their next album, their ninth overall.  On June 27, 2007, the Goo Goo Dolls performed to a sold out crowd at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. The performance premiered on HDNet in high-definition on Sunday, September 30. The entire concert was released as a DVD on the limited edition version of their 2008 release, Vol.2.  The Goo Goo Dolls and the NHL Buffalo Sabres came together to create a video for the Sabres 2007 playoff run. The video was a compilation of shots from the Buffalo area and Sabres players played to the song "Better Days". It was played on jumbotron and at the HSBC Arena before every playoff game.  Though not certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the album is said to have gone Gold by various music sites.  The song "Better Days" was used in the trailer for the 2009 film Love Happens. It was also used in the pilot episode of the CBS TV show, Jericho and in a promo for WGRZ aired during Super Bowl XLVI.

anything else interesting?

Answer with quotes: Though not certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the album is said to have gone Gold


Problem: Hopkins was born at 512 Tenth Street in Sioux City, Iowa, the fourth child of four sons and one daughter of David Aldona and Anna (nee Pickett) Hopkins. His father, born in Bangor, Maine, ran a harness shop (after an erratic career as a salesman, prospector, storekeeper and bowling-alley operator), but his real passion was bowling, and he eventually returned to it as a business. Anna Hopkins, born in Hamilton, Ontario, had moved at an early age to Vermillion, South Dakota, where she married David. She was deeply religious and active in the affairs of the Methodist church.

In 1915, New York City Mayor John Purroy Mitchel appointed Hopkins executive secretary of the Bureau of Child Welfare which administered pensions to mothers with dependent children.  Hopkins at first opposed America's entrance into World War I, but, when war was declared in 1917, he supported it enthusiastically. He was rejected for the draft because of a bad eye. Hopkins moved to New Orleans where he worked for the American Red Cross as director of Civilian Relief, Gulf Division. Eventually, the Gulf Division of the Red Cross merged with the Southwestern Division and Hopkins, headquartered now in Atlanta, was appointed general manager in 1921. Hopkins helped draft a charter for the American Association of Social Workers (AASW) and was elected its president in 1923.  In 1922, Hopkins returned to New York City, where the AICP was involved with the Milbank Memorial Fund and the State Charities Aid Association in running three health demonstrations in New York State. Hopkins became manager of the Bellevue-Yorkville health project and assistant director of the AICP. In mid-1924 he became executive director of the New York Tuberculosis Association. During his tenure, the agency grew enormously and absorbed the New York Heart Association.  In 1931, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt named R. H. Macy's department store president Jesse Straus as president of the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA). Straus named Hopkins, then unknown to Roosevelt, as TERA's executive director. His efficient administration of the initial $20 million outlay to the agency gained Roosevelt's attention, and in 1932, he promoted Hopkins to the presidency of the agency. Hopkins and Eleanor Roosevelt began a long friendship, which strengthened his role in relief programs.

Did he do any other public health work?

Answer with quotes:
Hopkins and Eleanor Roosevelt began a long friendship, which strengthened his role in relief programs.