In sports, the terms Cinderella or "Cinderella Story" are used to refer to situations in which competitors achieve far greater success than would reasonably have been expected. Cinderella stories tend to gain much media and fan attention as they move closer to the championship game at the end of the tournament. The term comes from Cinderella, a well-known European folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. The title character is a woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune. In a sporting context the term has been used at least since 1939, but came into widespread usage in 1950, when the Disney movie came out that year, and in reference to City College of New York, the unexpected winners of the NCAA Men's Basketball championship also that year. The term was used by Bill Murray in the 1980 hit movie Caddyshack where he pretends as the announcer to his own golf fantasy: "Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion."

A Cinderella Story is a 2004 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Mark Rosman. The film stars Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge and Regina King. The film's plot revolves around two Internet pen pals (Duff and Murray) who then meet in person at a school dance and fall in love, but two different worlds keep them apart. It received negative reviews from critics, but was a commercial success. The film was followed by two direct-to-video stand-alone sequels, Another Cinderella Story and A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song.

Plot

Ten-year-old Samantha "Sam" Montgomery (Hannah Robinson) lives in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, with her widowed father Hal (Whip Hubley), who runs a popular sports-themed diner. Hal soon marries a vain, self-absorbed woman named Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge), who has dimwitted fraternal twin daughters from her previous marriage, Brianna (Carly Westerman) and Gabriella (Andrea Avery). During the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Hal is killed when he runs to save Fiona. Having supposedly left no will, Fiona receives all of his belongings, including the house, the diner, and to her dismay, Sam.

Dawson's Creek, an American television series, was created by Kevin Williamson, who was the executive producer until the end of the show's second season. Paul Stupin shared the executive producer role until Williamson left, and remained until the series finale along with Tom Kapinos and Greg Prange. It is produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television.

The series stars James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery, an aspiring film maker. Katie Holmes portrays his best friend and love interest Joey Potter, with Joshua Jackson as their fellow best friend Pacey Witter. Michelle Williams plays Jen Lindley, who moves from New York to Capeside after being sent away by her parents. Kerr Smith and Meredith Monroe plays siblings Jack and Andie McPhee.

Between January 20, 1998 and May 14, 2003, Dawson's Creek aired six seasons on the American television network The WB, the first a mid-season replacement and the following five as regular seasons. One hundred and twenty-eight episodes were produced over the show's six-year run, and concluded with a two-hour series finale. All six seasons are available on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4.