Dame Vivienne Westwood, the rule-breaking fashion designer who helped bring the British punk movement into the mainstream with her clothing, has died. In a statement, her representatives confirmed that she died today (December 29) “peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London.” Westwood was 81 years old.
Born Vivienne Isabel Swire in Hollingworth, England on April 8, 1941, she began working with jewelry when her family relocated to Harrow, Middlesex and she took a silversmith course at the University of Westminster. Disillusioned with the idea that a working-class girl could make a living in art, she left to start a factory job instead and created her own jewelry on the side before becoming a primary school teacher. After marrying Hoover factory apprentice Derek Westwood in 1962, she gave birth to her first son Benjamin Westwood. A few years later, however, they divorced and she married Malcolm McLaren. She gave birth to her second son, Joseph Corré, in 1967.
In 1971, Westwood left her teaching job to create clothing full time, with McLaren designing many of the looks. The couple opened a boutique specializing in revival outfits, but it wasn’t until they renamed it SEX in 1974 and stocked it with rebellious clothing—defined by ripped t-shirts, plaid patterns, integrated rubber, mohair tops, and safety pins as embellishments—that it took off, serving as a meeting space for key figures in the music scene at the time such as Sid Vicious, Siouxsie and the Banshees guitarist Marco Pirroni, and the Pop Group singer Mark Stewart. When McLaren became the Sex Pistols’ manager shortly afterwards, the band started wearing the couple’s designs, bringing that British punk look into the mainstream and forever linking the two in history.
“It changed the way people looked,” Westwood said of her early punk clothing in an interview with theIndependent. “I was messianic about punk, seeing if one could put a spoke in the system in some way. I realized there was no subversion without ideas. It’s not enough to want to destroy everything.”
In the 1980s, Westwood shifted her design focus from the punk scene to parodies of women in the upper class. It didn’t hit Westwood that she was a fashion designer until she debuted her official fashion collection, Pirates, in 1981. From there, she introduced the “mini crini,” a reinvention of the Victorian crinoline as a mini skirt, and began pushing at the boundaries of clothing as a representation of women’s sexuality. In the years that followed, Westwood would go on to design academic dresses for London’s King’s College, create uniforms for Virgin Atlantic flight crews, and mock up digital garments for video game characters like Lunafreya Nox Fleuret in Final Fantasy XV.
Select Festivals: DOC NYC, Montclair, Santa Barbara, Annapolis
About: In this career-spanning portrait, richly illustrated with vintage musical performances, Dionne Warwick is a marvelous raconteur sharing candid stories behind her hit songs.
Jetstar has ended 2022 in much the same way the rest of its year went – with infuriated passengers.
After a year of cancelled flights, delays and lost bags, the budget airline did something experts say no airline has managed before – dramatically turning a flight back to the airport it left from because someone had stuffed up the paperwork.
Flight JQ35 was packed with Bali holidaymakers when it left Melbourne late on Tuesday night after having already been delayed by five hours.
Then, 4 hours into the journey – with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner somewhere over Broome, Western Australia – it was forced to turn around and fly back to Melbourne.
Two of Australia’s best known aviation experts told Daily Mail Australia they had never heard of anything like it happening anywhere in the world.
‘I’ve been researching airlines for more than 20 years and I’ve never heard of it happening before,’ said Greg Bamber, a professor at Monash University in Melbourne and co-author of airline industry book Up in the Air.
Flight JQ35 was packed with Bali holidaymakers when the plane left Melbourne Airport late on Tuesday night after having already been delayed by five hours. Pictured is a Jetstar plane
A Jetstar spokesperson said the airline swapped the Melbourne to Bali service to a larger Boeing 787 aircraft to carry more customers during the holidays.
‘Unfortunately, due to an internal miscommunication, we did not have approval from the regulator in Indonesia to swap to the larger aircraft,’ the spokesperson said.
Geoffrey Thomas, of airline safety and quality review website AirlineRatings, has also never heard of anything like Jetstar’s mishap before
He was clear about where he believed the blame lay.
‘First of all, the Indonesians did not turn the aeroplane back,’ Mr Thomas said.
‘Jetstar turned the aeroplane back because Jetstar had not correctly applied for permission for that aeroplane to fly.’
Mr Bamber agreed, saying that ‘Jetstar seem to be, to some extent, blaming miscommunication but then blaming the Indonesian authorities’.
BILATERALS
Before an airline can operate international services to another country, the government must first negotiate a treaty-level agreement with the destination country.
These treaties are known as bilateral air services agreements, and that is what caused the trouble with Flight JQ35.
Treaties known as bilateral air services agreements are part of wha caused a Jetstar plane (flight path pictured) to turn around
‘With the bilaterals between countries, there are agreements on capacity,’ Mr Thomas said.
‘Jetstar increased the capacity on that service from a 210-seater to a 300-seater aeroplane, from an A-321 to a 787.
‘And they made the mistake of, when they sent the paperwork through, they didn’t identify the fact that it was a change of aeroplane, an upgauge of aeroplane.’
While it is possible to downgauge an aeroplane – moving to a smaller plane – it is not possible to upguage under a bilateral agreement without informing the destination airport.
Pictured are Greg Bamber (left) and Geoffrey Thomas (right), both of whom are aviation experts
But that is exactly what Jetstar did.
‘They realised their mistake when the plane was just past Broome and they turned it around,’ Mr Thomas said.
‘It hadn’t even gotten into Indonesian airspace, it was still in Australian airspace.’
NO DISRESPECT MEANT
Mr Thomas said what happened was down to human error and no disrespect was meant to the Indonesian authorities.
‘It’s a very sensitive thing with the Indonesians and so Jetstar just didn’t want to upset them,’ he said.
‘It was definitely human oversight. There’s no way they thought “This’ll be OK, don’t worry about it”, as evidenced by the fact that they turned around.
‘It would have damaged relationships with a very important country that they deal with all the time.’
Some customers shared their complaints online, with one calling it the ‘worst travel experience of my life’ (above)
He said if Jetstar, having realised its mistake, had continued with the flight and tried to bluff its way through, Indonesia would have taken it as an insult.
‘But the fact that Jetstar saw their mistake and turned around… the Indonesians would have taken that as a positive thing,’ he said.
‘(They would have thought), “Hey, you made a mistake, you didn’t try and bluster your way through and you turned back”.
‘So I think it’s a positive thing from that perspective… Although it was a pain in the neck for the passengers, that was far and away the most expeditious thing to do.’
PRESSURE ON AIRLINES
Mr Thomas said there are many reasons we are seeing more flight cancellations than we’ve ever had.
‘Airlines are under pressure over Christmas and heavy travel holiday periods and because of Covid, maybe departments aren’t as well staffed as they normally would be,’ he said.
‘The stress is a lot higher, particularly at the back end of the airline, so mistakes can creep in.’
Mr Bamber said understaffing was a major contributor to the problems.
Frustrated customers took off on the flight at 11pm on Tuesday but were told at 3.30am on Wednesday they were heading back to Melbourne Airport (pictured, passengers in Melbourne)
‘Airlines, and the Qantas and Jetstar group in particular, were very quick to lay people off, to make them redundant when the pandemic first hit,’ he said.
‘They made thousands and thousands of people redundant and they got very large compensation from us, the taxpayers, to keep the airlines afloat.
‘But they’ve been very slow to re-recruit people, to rebuild the staffing.
‘They are still running on quite skeleton staffing, much thinner staffing levels than before Covid-19 hit.’
LESSONS TO BE LEARNED
Airline passengers who are badly affected by delays and cancellations in Australia do not have the same kind of protections as those in the European Union, the US and the UK.
‘Something coming out of this should be a wake-up call to Australian regulators and legislators that they should be introducing such a scheme, because that is an incentive to airlines to treat their passengers and customers better,’ Mr Bamber said.
‘And it also gives the customers back something if they are badly disrupted. There is nothing like that in Australia at the moment.’
Passengers (above) landed in Bali shortly before 9pm local time on Wednesday but faced new problems with pre-organised accommodation and transport
He said that while the cost of flights has gone up, the service level has gone down.
‘People are paying now much higher airfares than they used to before the pandemic, and so people’s expectations are pretty high,’ Mr Bamber said.
‘Given they are paying a lot of money they expect good service, but the service is not good.
‘The quality of the catering has declined, the number of cancellations has increased, delays have increased, so there is a real disconnection there.’
According to Lauren Graham, the key differences between her and her long-term lover Peter Krause led to the demise of their relationship.
After 11 years of knowing each other, the Gilmore Girls actress and Krause’s co-star on Parenthood acknowledged they may not have known each other, as well as they believed they did. However, the couple began dating in 2010 while they were both working at Parenthood.
Graham told People that he believes some of the benefits of having known each other for such a long period were present in the relationship. And one of the drawbacks is that despite both of us being in our 40s at the time, we virtually went into the relationship without asking any of the questions that people in their 40s need to be asking.
The individual, who was 55 years old, proceeded by saying, We had such a fantastic time together that I didn’t ask some essential things like, What are your values, and what do you envision? And those things that are more appropriate for adults. Then, without any further delay, they caught up to us.
The actress who met Krause in the ’90s and started their relationship said in an interview with Good Housekeeping in 2017 that the couple’s early chats were focused more on their shared interests than any disagreements either of them had.
We were unable to silence one another. The producer reassured the media that their lives were uncomplicated, not about themselves but about the world, books, and family.
They announced their separation in June last year, and Graham claims that being a single woman in her 50s has only strengthened her.
The actress shared her thoughts with the media organization, “I knew I was resilient because I just always have been.” You don’t whine and accept the consequences of your actions. This is how I’ve always been brought up.
Netflix shares were soaring 6 percent in mid-day trading Thursday after an analyst reversed his position and upgraded the stock to buy from sell based on its new initiatives.
CFRA analyst Kenneth Leon sees Netflix’s new advertising tier, which he expects to both bring in more users as well as the addition of advertisers, as well as its crackdown on account sharing as revenue catalysts for the stock. Leon raised his price target to $310 from $85.
Netflix launched its advertising tier on Nov. 3, at a lower price of $6.99 a month. The streamer has already begun taking measures to limit account sharing, by allowing users to move their profiles to new membership accounts, and The Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 21 that a password crackdown will come in earnest in 2023.
On the content side, Leon said he also sees several new releases, including Emily in Paris, Glass Onion and Blood Origin, contributing to subscriber retention. Glass Onion, which premiered on the platform on Dec. 23, streamed 82.1 million hours in the first three days, marking Netflix’s sixth biggest film debut.
Amid conversations about the need for streamers to add live sports to draw in users, and the recent battle among streamers for NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, Netflix management has continued to hold to the line that the economics of acquiring sports rights don’t make financial sense for the streamer. This is the right tactic, according to Leon.
“We agree that NFLX does not need a major sports event or sponsor, which risks a big loss leader. We think it will be difficult for competitors to catch NFLX, one of the few profitable streaming providers with global scale,” Leon wrote.
Shares of Netflix have fallen 8 percent in the past month, after gaining 22 percent in the past three months. Disney’s stock was on the rise Thursday too, up 4 percent in midday, after a weeklong decline and after closing at an eight-year low Wednesday.
“It was a tornado of fame and a lot of buffeting. It was very overwhelming”
Of the three leads of the original “The Hangover” film, Ed Helms was arguably the most famous at the time of its release in 2009. Whereas Bradly Cooper and Zach Galifianakis received a sizable boost in public profile from the film’s massive success, Helms was already well known for his regular role in “The Office,” as well as his appearances in “The Daily Show.” But the film, which grossed $467 million at the worldwide box office, making it the most successful R-rated comedy in history, still gave Helms a boost in public profile — something he found difficult to handle.
Helms spoke about how the “tornado of fame” that came with “The Hangover’s” success on a recent episode of the Conan O’Brien podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” calling it “a whole new level” of public scrutiny compared to his work on TV.
“It was a tornado of fame and a lot of buffeting. It was very overwhelming” Helms said on the podcast. “I really was reeling a lot of the time, like in the aftermath of ‘The Hangover,’ I was getting scripts for all these different kinds of projects. ‘Like what do I do? I dunno.’ I was kind of spinning out and panicking about different things. Like, ‘Well, what kind of a career do you want?’”
Related
Related
Helms said he felt “very lucky” to have these opportunities, but admitted that it caused “a lot of anxiety and like identity kind of — just turmoil.”
“I will say one of the — one of the craziest things about a massive jump into fame like that, and what I think people who have never dealt with that or been close to it just can’t understand, is the just total loss of control of your environment,” he said.
Helms, Cooper, and Galifianakis went on to star in two sequels to “The Hangover,” released in 2011 and 2013. Helms said that he leaned on Cooper and Galifianakis to keep him grounded and sane while dealing with his newfound fame.
“If it wasn’t for those guys, I don’t think I would’ve stayed sane. But we all had each other to kind of be like, you know, I don’t know, just to commiserate and measure ourselves,” Helms said. “And I think we kept each other from drifting too far. And being too unprofessional.
Theophilus London, a rapper from Trinidad and Tobago who has worked with Kanye West, Tame Impala and more, was reported missing by his friends and family on Wednesday. They said in a statement to Variety the last time someone spoke with him was in July 2022 in Los Angeles.
London’s family members traveled to Los Angeles on Tuesday after trying to uncover his whereabouts for the last few weeks. They filed a missing persons report with the LAPD and are now seeking help from the public. They ask that anyone with information about his whereabouts or well-being contact the LAPD or London’s cousin, Mikhail Noel, on Instagram at @iamdjkellz. LAPD confirmed to Variety that a missing person report was filed Tuesday but had no other information to provide.
Since 2011, London has released three studio albums and worked with artists like West, Travis Scott, Tame Impala, Ellie Goulding, Big Boi and more. He was Grammy-nominated for best rap song and rap performance for West’s 2015 single “All Day,” which he featured on with Paul McCartney and Allan Kingdom. His most recent album, “Bebey,” released in January 2020.
Read London’s family’s statement below:
Over the last few weeks, friends and family of Theophilus London have been working together to piece together his whereabouts. The last time someone spoke with him reportedly stretches back to July 2022 in Los Angeles.
On December 27th, family members of Theophilus London traveled to Los Angeles to file a missing persons report with the LAPD. They are now seeking the public’s help with any information as to London’s whereabouts:
“Theo, your Dad loves you, son. We miss you. And all your friends and relatives are searching for you. Wherever you are send us some signal. No matter what we will come get you son.” – Lary Moses London, father of Theophilus London
London is 35 years old, Black, 6’2″, 175 pounds, with dark brown eyes. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts or well-being, please reach out to his cousin Mikhail Noel at his instagram account @iamdjkellz, or the LAPD.
Broadway fans took to social media to share news of a pop-up drama happening from the front row of the Hudson Theatre during the second act of Death of a Salesman. While no one seems to know the nature of the couple’s disgruntlement, Wendell Pierce did his level best to diffuse the situation from centre stage. Sadly, the situation could only be resolved with the application of police authority, as the seemingly intoxicated couple were escorted out. From the video shared on social media platforms, it looks like help arrived in the nick-of-time as the audience was clearly becoming more disgruntled and impatient as time pressed on. To the credit of all involved, things did not escalate further and calm was restored.
The second act resumed from the beginning and the old adage, “The Show Must Go On” was never more true to form.
Death of a Salesman is in it’s final run at the Hudson Theatre in New York and runs until January 1, 2023. It stars Olivier Award nominee Wendell Pierce and 2022 Tony® nominee Sharon D Clarke, as they reprise their roles as Willy and Linda Loman in a revival-told for the first time on Broadway-from the perspective of an African American family. A new cast of supporting actors join the production in New York, led by Tony® winner André De Shields and Khris Davis. This powerful interpretation of Miller’s classic drama illuminates the dark underbelly of the American Dream and its elusive promise of equality and opportunity for all.
Besides Wendell Pierce’s theatre credits, many fans will know his work on roles in HBO dramas such as Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme; as well as portraying James Greer in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, high-powered attorney Robert Zane in Suits, and Michael Davenport in Waiting to Exhale, to name a few.
For some, Christmas is all about romance and being with that special someone. Just Friends takes that idea and flips it on its head.
Released in 2005, the film follows the idea of “just friends” with Chris and Jamie being best friends in high school. After Chris moves away and essentially makes over his entire life, the two meet again after Chris ends up getting embroiled in his client’s hijinks. The film is basically a highlight reel of the shenanigans Chris gets into and his friendship rekindling with Jamie along with their eventual relationship.
While the film is known for being incredibly funny and at times, romantic, Just Friends has an amazing cast. Chris is played by Ryan Reynolds while Jamie is played by Amy Smart. Some of the supporting players include Anna Faris, Chris Klein, and Chris Marquette.
For some reason, Just Friends ends up getting lost in the shuffle of other popular Christmas movies. If you’re looking to rewatch the flick or watch it for the first time, you’ll want to know where it’s streaming.
Where is Just Friends streaming online in 2022?
If you’re looking to watch Just Friends this holiday season, then you’re in luck as it’s streaming on Peacock in 2022. When it comes to Christmas movies, this is one I usually revisit every year as it’s just so dang funny. I’m not sure if it’s the amazing cast on the whole or just Ryan Reynolds being himself.
That’s not to say that the film doesn’t have its issues as some of it focuses on Chris when he’s fat and Jamie not wanting to be with him. There are also a few questionable scenes with Samantha, Chris’ client but aside from that, this film is really a product of its time yet it’s still a delight.
If you haven’t watched Just Friends before now or if you’re looking to revisit it, then all you have to do is either go to your Peacock account or find someone who is willing to let you use theirs. Either way, Just Friends needs to be on your Christmas wishlist this year especially if you liked watching Ryan Reynolds in Spirited and want some more Ryan Reynolds Christmas goodness.
Have you watched Just Friends? If not, do you plan on watching it in 2022?
Doing full-glam makeup isn’t easy or suited for all of us—especially those of us who don’t have the time or access to a professional makeup artist. So when you’re in the mood to try something new and spruce up your makeup, there are some simple eye makeup ideas that are not only impressive-looking but also easy to execute.
Celebrity makeup artist Ash K. Holm, who has worked with stars like Ariana Grande, Megan Fox, and Khloe Kardashian, says that her mind automatically goes to the “model off duty eye makeup,” when thinking of the perfect simple eye makeup look. “Makeup that looks and feels effortless,” she says.
Sometimes, to create an eye look, all you need is one shade of eyeshadow and your favorite eyeliner. It doesn’t have to be as complicated as it seems. Holm believes you can achieve a simple eye look with products you most likely already have in your makeup bag. “Grab your concealer, bronzer, eyeliner, and mascara to create a soft eye makeup look,” she says.
To help, we’ve rounded up 7 simple eye makeup looks you can pull off right at home. Keep scrolling and get ready to screenshot.
Model Off Duty
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Models like Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid, and Winnie Harlow always look fresh-faced off duty. The goal for this eye look is to keep things light and natural. “To achieve this look, take your concealer and apply a small drop to the inner corner of your eyes and then set the outer corner of the lid and crease with a bronzer,” says Holm. To get that sun-kissed look, chose a buildable bronzer like Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’r or Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Perfector. Then, you’ll want to top it off with smudgy eyeliner in the outer corner or sharp kitten eyeliner and a lengthening and volumizing mascara.
Contoured Lid
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Status: Returning Series”Brown and Friends” is a TV show produced by Kickstart and Million Volt. The show was originally broadcast on Netflix and premiered on December 29th 2022. So far there have been 1 seasons (comprising of 1 episodes) of “Brown and Friends”.
Some of this year’s best supporting performances in film didn’t arise from your classic scenery-chewing powerhouse monologues or even a de rigueur prolonged cameo by a stalwart veteran — the kinds of smaller dramatic roles that net major industry awards. For every heartrending speech in Women Talking, The Whale and The Fabelmans, there are still dozens of biting one-liners and sidesplitting visual gags in a handful of 2022’s strongest comedies that should not go ignored. Comedies are often honored for their screenplays, but it takes distinctive talent to bring those vibrant pages to life.
At the top of my personal ballot are the performances I was not expecting when I settled in to watch their films. Thanks to the marketing materials for movies like Triangle of Sadness, Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Menu, for example, I anticipated that I would be struck by one or two lead roles in each — your Charlbi Deans, your Michelle Yeohs, your Ralph Fienneses and your Anya Taylor-Joys. But many of the smaller roles in these films popped brighter and louder onscreen than the leads. I cannot forget Dolly de Leon in Triangle of Sadness, who starts off as little more than a background player in the class satire, playing a put-upon Filipina maid aboard a luxury yacht who suddenly finds herself in a position of authority when events on the ship go awry. Watching de Leon is like listening to a simmering growl crescendo into a full-blown roar. As her character, Abigail, begins to revel in the spoils of hegemony, she is absolutely masterful in her justifiable impiety.
Both Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once) and Hong Chau (The Menu) also play women in service roles who wield their small amount of authority to exact a sociological revenge of sorts. Curtis hilariously plays against type as a frumpy IRS auditor, beaten down after decades of bureaucratic banality, who gradually tightens her squeeze on the struggling Wang family merely because she can. Chau, on the other hand, is deliciously devilish as a luxury restaurant hostess who uses her bleached eyebrows and cruel tongue to intimidate her dark-hearted patrons. De Leon, Curtis and Chau let their rage drip, drip, drip and then gush in these uproarious performances.
Watching these women inflict their pent-up wrath is just as funny as watching pent-up wrath inflicted on piggish Justin Long in Barbarian and priggish Janet McTeer in The Menu. These horror-comedies do not spare the wicked, and their moments of cinematic justice are that much more satisfying thanks to the hysterical precision in Long and McTeer’s performances. Viewers should go in cold to Barbarian, one of the creepier charmers of the year, but rest assured that Long’s seemingly effortless petulance punches up the morality play at the center of the film. His character is as slovenly as McTeer’s is measured, the latter playing a snide restaurant critic so deeply impressed with her own words that every florid pseudo-intellectual comment she utters about “eating the ocean” or “a neediness to the plating” just pushes her closer to the edge of destruction.
Sometimes, though, it’s fine to root for a comedy underdog who just wants to live their life in peace. Ke Huy Quan delivers one of the best performances of the year as Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s emotional heart, a nebbishy husband and laundromat owner who, thanks to the chaotic misfirings of the multiverse, transforms into the martial arts action hero his wife (Michelle Yeoh) didn’t know she needed. His range flitting from beta to alpha while his character redefines physics as we know it displays a unique talent for splicing comicality, vulnerability and brawniness.
Additionally, while Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson remain the most buzzed-about players in The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh’s tragicomedy of manners set in 1920s Ireland, I couldn’t stop thinking about Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan afterward. Condon appears as the acerbic sister of Farrell’s bland everyman, a woman increasingly fed up with the abrupt feud that develops between her brother and his only friend and how it suddenly makes everything on their isolated island seem unbearably small and insignificant. Keoghan’s village simpleton, who becomes a poor substitute friend for Farrell’s character, is both delightfully weird and gradually gutting as the traumas of his upbringing become clearer.
Awards prognosticators expect these two films to go the distance to the Oscars, but several under-the-radar supporting roles knocked me out this year. Funny Pages, the sweatiest and most stress-inducing movie since Uncut Gems, boasts compelling performances from Matthew Maher, as a psychologically unstable comic book colorist, and Miles Emanuel, a scene-stealing geeky best friend. Meanwhile, Jane Austen adaptation Persuasion may not exactly have been a critical hit, but Mia McKenna-Bruce playing a young Regency wife and mother with all the poutiness of a modern-day teenager had me in stitches. And who could forget Rachel Sennott in Gen Z slasher satire Bodies Bodies Bodies? She flushes her rich, narcissistic wannabe-podcaster character with genius dummy-girl line readings as epic as ones you might have heard from Judy Holliday herself. Sure, I appreciate it when actors wring tears from me, but it feels so much more organic to guffaw instead.
This story first appeared in a December stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
Marvel Entertainment tweeted a 25-second video on Wednesday confirming the 2023 release of a Disney+ documentary on Stan Lee. The announcement aligns with what would have been the 100th birthday of the late comic creator.
“100 years of dreaming. 100 years of creating. 100 years of Stan Lee,” Marvel Entertainment wrote in a caption that accompanied the teaser. “Stan Lee, an Original documentary, is streaming 2023 on @DisneyPlus.”
The newly released video shows glimpses of some of Stan Lee’s minor roles and guest appearances in cinema. The celebratory montage concludes with a gradual zoom-out that reveals an illustration of the multi-talented creator.
Working alongside fellow writer-artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Lee is best known for creating beloved characters like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, the X-Men and more. Even after retiring from Marvel in the 1990s, Lee continued to stay involved with the company through cameo appearances and executive producer titles on Marvel productions.
Celebration of Lee’s centennial launched earlier this month through Genius Brands International, which released a new online store with three exclusive Lee-branded collections. The entertainment company owns the rights to the name, voice, likeness, signature and licensing of intellectual property relating to Lee and is signed on to co-executive produce the “Stan Lee” documentary.
“100 years ago, Stan was born in NYC. Over the last century, his work changed the pop culture landscape & influenced millions,” reads a post from the official Stan Lee Twitter account, which is kept in use by POW! Entertainment. “At LA Comic Con, fans left messages for Stan’s centennial. Inspiration. Legend. Hero. These are some of the words that came up again & again. #StanLee100.”
100 years ago, Stan was born in NYC. Over the last century, his work changed the pop culture landscape & influenced millions.
At LA Comic Con, fans left messages for Stan’s centennial. Inspiration. Legend. Hero. These are some of the words that came up again & again. #StanLee100pic.twitter.com/dHnXkHJukE
He may not be old enough to get his driver’s licence, but the South Alberta Hockey Academy (SAHA) winger is driving through defences all around Western Canada.
McKenna has tallied one goal and four assists through his first two games at the tournament, including a three-assist performance against the Calgary Northstars on Wednesday.
Story continues below advertisement
“I think I’m doing pretty well. Obviously there’s a little bit of a target behind my back,” McKenna laughed. “But that’s when I’ve just got to use my linemates and try to make space for them.”
His head coach, Brayden Desjardins, is a little more forthcoming with the compliments.
“Some of the plays he makes, you’ve got to remind yourself he’s probably the youngest kid in the tournament,” Desjardins said. “He plays with a lot of pace.
“You see when he gets the puck everyone’s kind of on the edge of their seats. He doesn’t play slow, he doesn’t give guys time to react to him.
“He’s a pretty special guy. You see his skill, but I don’t think a whole lot of people know the kind of person he is. He’s an unbelievable person. You’d never know he was a first-overall pick if you talk to him.”
The winger from Whitehorse, Yukon has dazzled at all levels of the game, with his family and community coming together to support him as he travelled south to pursue his hockey dreams.
Earlier this year, McKenna was granted exceptional status and snapped up by the Medicine Hat Tigers with the first overall pick in the 2022 WHL Draft.
He’s only had a cup of coffee in the “Dub” so far but quickly made his presence known, putting up four assists in his Tigers debut.
The dominance continued when he returned to the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, where he’s currently ranked second in his sophomore season with 20 goals and 21 assists in 16 games (seven fewer matches than current scoring leader Terik Parascak).
McKenna said he is drawing on that experience as he chases the Circle K Classic championship — and loftier goals down the road.
“The WHL is a bit faster, but it’s not by much,” McKenna said. “You have to play the exact same way you would play in the WHL. There’s a bunch of talent here, and yeah, just try to take as much as I can from the Dub and bring it down here.
“There’s a big goal of getting drafted to the NHL… It’s just step-by-step. You’ve just got to take it day by day and work hard every day off and on the ice.”
High-level scouts told Global News McKenna is already being eyed as a future top pick at the NHL Entry Draft even though he won’t be eligible until 2026.
Should he make the jump to the big show, McKenna would become the fourth Whitehorse hockey player to suit up in the NHL, behind Buffalo Sabres 2019 first-round pick Dylan Cozens, and Peter Sturgeon and Bryon Baltimore, who suited up for a handful of games in the 1950s.
Story continues below advertisement
In the meantime, McKenna is focused on SAHA’s title defence.
SAHA faces off against the St. Louis Blues in its final round-robin match Thursday at 4 p.m. at Max Bell 2.
Circle K Classic prepares for biggest U18AAA tournament in event history
Cindy Crawford is a model known for her success during the 1980s and 1990s.
She has two kids.
The beauty has been married to Rande Gerber since 1998.
Most recently Cindy shared a hilarious Christmas card that featured her two kids on Dec. 25, 2022.
Kaia Gerber, 21, is one of the hottest models in the world right now, having made her runway debut in 2018 as part of Calvin Klein’s Spring show at New York Fashion Week. Most impressively, she walked like a seasoned model at just 16 years old! Kaia didn’t just pop into the high fashion world out of nowhere; she’s the daughter of a supermodel who was at the top of her career in the 1980s and 1990s: Cindy Crawford.
Cindy, 56, is an American model who made her runway debut in 1991 for Donna Karan at New York Fashion Week and would become a staple at the coveted show for years. Now, Cindy focuses more on acting and her various business ventures, such as her anti-aging skincare brand, Meaningful Beauty, and her Cindy Crawford Home furnishings and décor brand. Most recently, on Dec. 25, 2022, Cindy took to Instagram to share her family’s Christmas card. “Merry Christmas!”, she captioned the hilarious photo of her family as elves. And of course, she’s the doting mother of Kaia and her older brother, Presley Gerber, 23, Learn more about Cindy, her relationships, and her children below.
Cindy Crawford began her modeling career in the ’80s, and now focuses on her business ventures (Photo: Photolink/mediapunch/Matt Baron/Shutterstock)
Who Is Cindy Crawford?
Cindy was born on Feb. 20, 1966 and grew up in DeKalb, Ill. A studious student, she graduated from DeKalb High School at the top of her class in 1984 and went on to study chemical engineering on an academic scholarship to Northwestern University. “[It was] super exciting,” Crawford told Oprah Winfrey in 2014 for a special live stream of Oprah’s Lifeclass (via Huffpost). “There was no way my parents could have afforded to send me to school there.”
However, by then, Cindy already had modeling on her mind thanks to a photo shoot she participated in when she was 16 years old for a local newspaper. “When I was 16, Roger Legel, a local photographer in my small town of DeKalb, Ill., asked to photograph me for the college newspaper. I agreed, and he shot this picture at the backyard pool of my high-school boyfriend. I was still a teenager and dreamed of becoming something big — a nuclear physicist or the first woman president, the two biggest jobs I could think of. Doing this first shoot changed my life,” she recalled in her 2015 memoir Becoming (via Vanity Fair).
She continued, “The photographer encouraged me to go to Chicago to try to find an agent. At the time, my dad thought modeling was a nice word for prostitution, so my parents were very protective of me. I went to Chicago, ended up signing with Elite, and from there started doing catalog shoots as well as working with Victor Skrebneski — the most important photographer in Chicago. This one photograph opened my eyes to a whole new world and started me down the path of modeling.”
Cindy eventually dropped out of college to pursue modeling full-time. “It started to feel like I wasn’t going to do either one well, so I felt like, ‘Yes I need to choose,’” she recalled in a past interview. She added that she felt like her modeling career “couldn’t wait”, while school would always be an option. “I knew with modeling, the moment was then, and it was, I just felt like, ‘This is my chance and I have to take it’,” she explained. “But it was a really hard decision because academics had been so important to me all through school, my high school, and it was kind of like, “Wow, I am abandoning this dream for another dream.’”
Once Cindy dived into modeling headfirst, she became a bona fide superstar, modeling for the likes of Versace, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kohrs, and so many more huge names, per Vogue. She has also covered countless Vogue magazines, as well as Cosmopolitan, People, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, and several others. She also posed for Playboy, once in 1988 and once in 1998. Her only regret? Not showing her body off more. “I look back at some of my old Playbοy pictures and I think, ‘Why wasn’t I walking around naked all the time?’” she revealed in an interview with Net-a-Porter’s Porterin March 2019. “I’m not getting younger. So I want to celebrate who I am today.”
Although Cindy is no longer walking runways, she still is dressed by some of the biggest brands while cheering on her kids as they build their modeling careers, as well as working on her above-mentioned lifestyle brands.
Cindy Crawford’s Relationship Timeline
Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere were married for four years (Photo: Bei/Shutterstock)
While Cindy is rumored to have dated some big names such as Val Kilmer and even Robert De Niro, her biggest relationships are her two marriages. The fashion icon first walked down the aisle with Hollywood heartthrob Richard Gere in 1991, about three years after they met at a barbecue hosted by a mutual friend, per People. Sadly, though, their love faded, and the pair divorced in 1995. “I think a lot of what happened with Richard and I was, I was still 22 and at 22 — as a young woman — I was kind of still figuring out who I was and what I wanted to be and he was already 37,” explained to Oprah on Oprah’s Master Class (via Entertainment Tonight).
She continued, “I just think your twenties for women is such a time when you’re starting to come into your own and feel your own power and connect to your inner strength. … I think I was more willing at 22 to be, like, ‘Okay, I’ll follow,’ but then you start going, ‘Well, I don’t want to just follow — I want to lead sometimes and I want to walk side by side sometimes.’”
Three years later, Cindy would become a wife again. This time, it was to Rande Gerber, an American businessman and model. They tied the knot in a casual ceremony on the beach at the Ocean Club in Nassau, the Bahamas in front of 90 guests, according to People. The Baha Men, who won a Grammy for their 2000 hit “Who Let the Dogs Out,” performed, and guests were fed pasta, roast beef, seafood dishes, and carrot cake.
Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford have been married for over two decades (Photo: Jim Ruymen/UPI/Shutterstock)
The wedding was so casual that Cindy bought her dress off the rack and walked barefoot down the aisle with her future husband. “I wanted to look like the best version of the girl Rande loves waking up to every morning,” she wrote in Becoming (via Brides) of her natural wedding look. “Rather than have my dad walk me down the aisle and give me away, Rande and I chose to walk each other down the stairs that led to the beach and the ceremony.”
In 2015, Rande, now 60, who founded Casamigos Tequila withGeorge Clooney, revealed the secret to his happy marriage. “We started as friends and we remained friends,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “You have to just keep that friendship and fun in the relationship.”
And in 2021, they sweetly celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary, which Cindy posted about on Instagram. “This night 23 years ago was magical…and you’re still the one! Happy anniversary! I love you,” she wrote alongside a photo from their wedding night. How sweet!
Cindy Crawford’s Kids
Cindy Crawford poses with her daughter, Kaia Gerber, and son, Presley Gerber (Photo: David Fisher/Shutterstock)
Cindy and Rande welcomed two children together in the first years of their marriage, as noted above. Their son, Presley Gerber, was born on July 2, 1999 — about a year after his parents’ wedding. Kaia Gerber was born two years later on Sept. 3, 2001.
Being a mom is a joy for Cindy, and she opened up about her parenting style in a 2015 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “I’m still figuring it out. But I do know that kids watch you,” she noted. “So if I’m kind to myself, and not going, ‘Oh my God, I hate my … fill in the blank.’ Even though I still have insecurities, I want to be a good example even if I’m faking it sometimes.”
Meet Kaia Gerber
Kaia, 21, is nearly a spitting image of her mother with just as much talent. She landed her first Versace campaign at the age of 10 and signed with IMG models when she was just 13. Speaking of Kaia’s first gig, Cindy said she was there every step of the way. “We allowed her to do it because it was with a great team. She loved shooting for Donatella Versace with Mert and Markus. I chaperoned her and I knew besides getting great pictures, she would have fun,” she explained to Teen Vogue in 2016. “Because she didn’t do another modeling job right away, the media falsely said I was pulling her back from it. The truth is, there aren’t that many incredible opportunities for young girls and I only wanted her to have great experiences.”
Kaia Gerber has been modeling for more than half her life (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock)
As mentioned above, Kaia started walking runways at just 16 years old and has not looked back. Aside from walking runways, she has covered Vogue internationally and has worked with many of the same brands as her mother: Versace, Marc Jacobs, and more. As of this writing, some of her most recent brand collaborations include CELINE by Celine Dion, Marc Jacobs Fragrances, and Beats by Dre.
Like her mother, Kaia has also dipped her feet into acting. Her upcoming projects include Emma Seligman-directed Bottoms and Apple TV’s Mrs. American Pie. She also notably appeared in Season 10 of American Horror Story in 2021.
Aside from her impressive professional endeavors, Kaia has made headlines for her romantic relationships. She famously dated Kim Kardashian‘s newest ex, PeteDavidson, for a few months between 2019 and 2020. Kaia then dated Euphoria star Jacob Elordi and moved onto Austin Butler, where they were photographed holding hands on the carpet of W Magazine‘s annual Best Performances party in March 2022.
The Elvis star was recently spotted supporting his beautiful girlfriend at the “Celine at The Wiltern” Fall Winter 2023 show on Dec. 8, 2022. Kaia notably closed the show and also rocked two stunning looks for the evening. “@celine at the wiltern. thank you hedi the king of cool and a true genius, in every sense of the word. it’s the age of indieness and we’re just living in it,” the 21-year-old wrote via Instagram. Austin and the brunette bombshell were also spotted on Dec. 21, 2022, running errands together in Los Angeles just days before Christmas.
In 2017, Kaia toldTeen Vogue that she chose to become a model rather than being forced to follow in her famous mother’s footsteps. “It’s fun for me, so it doesn’t feel like work. I choose to do it,” she said. However, she also admitted she did not fully understand how big of a name her mother really was in the modeling world until she took a shot at it. “I knew she did it, but I didn’t really realize it was a job?” she recalled to i-D in 2020. “Like if your parents are doctors or lawyers, that’s a different thing. It wasn’t like ‘Cindy Crawford’ was my mom, she was just mom and she happened to be a model. It was only when I started working in the fashion industry that I began to really grasp her impact and influence.”
Cindy is clearly a supportive mother, and Kaia has appreciated her being there as a positive role model. “Beyond her beauty and obvious appeal, she has always been my hero and my role model because of the way she treats people and the lens that she sees the world through, and that’s something for which I’m beyond grateful,” she wrote in a 2019 essay for Vogue. Two years earlier, Cindy gushed about the person her daughter was becoming. “I’m just proud of the young woman that she is becoming and just the way she handles herself,” she told ET Canada. Speaking about her bustling fashion career, she added, “I was excited for her because this is a dream that she’s had, and it just happened in the nicest way possible.”
Meet Presley Gerber
Presley Gerber is the eldest child of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber (Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock)
Although he’s not quite as famous as his sister, Presley, 23, is also a successful model. He was signed to IMG Models at 16 years old, according to Stylecaster, and made his runway debut alongside Yolanda Hadid‘s son, Anwar Hadid, at the Moschino Resort show in June 2016, per Us Weekly. On the same day of his runway debut, Voguepublished an email interview with him, in which he admitted he was not expecting to feel at home in the modeling world as much as he does. “Honestly, I have enjoyed [the fashion industry] a lot more than expected,” he revealed. “I think I just didn’t feel that I had enough experience in the fashion industry before, but now I believe I’m ready.” Presley has been photographed with Kaia for Calvin Klein, and some of his most recent collaborations are with Kygo‘s Palm Tree Crew brand and BLUESALT, a Malibu-based clothing brand.
Presley is super private about his life, but he has still managed to show up in the headlines for some controversial issues. First, he was arrested in 2019 for driving under the influence, per Today, and in Feb. 2020, he shocked people when he got a tattoo that read “Misunderstood!” across his right cheekbone. By Aug. 2021, he had gotten it removed.
Cindy and Presley have a great relationship, despite his eyebrow-raising antics. In 2021, Cindy posted a throwback photo with her son in honor of his 22 birthday and made sure he knows he will always have his support. “Happy Birthday @presleygerber! I can’t believe how quickly the years pass and that you are turning 22! How did that happen?! I just want you to know that you have your mother’s love today and everyday,” she gushed. “Excited to see your life unfold. I will always be your biggest cheerleader!”
When it comes to his love life, Presley has also recently made headlines. The handsome model reportedly broke up with his girlfriend, Lexi Wood, one month after going Instagram official, per E! News. “They realized very quickly it wasn’t going to be a long-term relationship,” the outlet’s source said. The online news outlet also claimed that a source close to Lexi claimed that it was her choice to end the romance. Although neither of them have commented on the split publicly as of this writing, they have deleted all photos of each other on their respective Instagram accounts.
Upcoming Appearances And Works With Cindy Crawford
Cindy is a busy woman, but she appears to be taking a bit of a breather. She has not announced any brand deals or professional developments in 2022, but she has certainly been living her life to the fullest with Rande. In June, they were spotted vacationing in France with George Clooney and Amal Clooney. Plus, her Instagram is full of memories, such as jet skiing, waterside lounging, and boating. And on Dec. 18, 2022, Cindy spent time with Christy Turlington and Danish model Helena Christensen for the holidays. “Love The Big Apple anytime but especially leading up to the holidays – with all the lights and decorations And nothing gets me in the holiday spirit more than catching up with family and friends!”, she captioned the sweet photos.
A new malware variant has been detected that is capable of listening to a users’ calls, recognizing a callers’ gender and identity, and even recognizing, to some degree, what’s being said.
Fortunately, the good news is that the malware is part of a research experiment done by white hats and poses no risk to smartphone users (at the time).
Researchers from five universities in the United States – Texas A&M University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Temple University, University of Dayton, and Rutgers University – teamed up and built EarSpy.
Abusing the hardware
EarSpy is a side-channel attack that abuses the fact that smartphone speakers, motion sensors, and gyroscopes, had gotten better over the years.
The malware tries to read the data captured by motion sensors, as the endpoint’s ear speakers reverberate during a conversation. In earlier years, this wasn’t a viable attack vector as the speakers and sensors weren’t that powerful.
To prove their point, the researchers used two smartphones – one from 2016, and one from 2019. The difference in the amount of data gathered was quite obvious.
To test if the data could be used to identify the caller’s gender and recognize the speech, the researchers used a OnePlus 7T device, and a OnePlus 9 device.
Caller gender identification on the former was between 77.7% and 98.7%, while the caller’s identification between 63.0% and 91.2%. Speech recognition danced between 51.8% and 56.4%.
“As there are ten different classes here, the accuracy still exhibits five times greater accuracy than a random guess, which implies that vibration due to the ear speaker induced a reasonable amount of distinguishable impact on accelerometer data,” the researchers explained in the whitepaper.
The researchers were also able to guess the caller’s gender quite well on the OnePlus 9 smartphone (88.7% on average), but identification fell to an average of 73.6%. Speech recognition fell between 33.3% and 41.6%.
YouTube will be the new home of NFL Sunday Ticket, Google and the NFL announced, ending the months-long question of where the major broadcasting package would end up. NFL Sunday Ticket has been available in the US exclusively via DirecTV since 1994, but the satellite provider won’t have it starting with the 2023 NFL season.
Now, it will be available either as an add-on for YouTube TV subscribers or à la carte via YouTube Primetime Channels, which launched last month to “bring shows and movies from more than 30 services directly into the YouTube interface.”
No one has confirmed how much it will cost for viewers, but the Sunday Ticket package for this season costs $293.94 to purchase from DirecTV or nearly $400 if purchasing the Max package with extra content.
NFL Sunday Ticket is coming to YouTube.Image: YouTube / NFL
TheWall Street Journal reports that, according to sources, YouTube is paying $2 billion per season in a seven-year agreement for the residential streaming rights to NFL Sunday Ticket.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said in a statement that “through this expanded partnership with the NFL, viewers will now also be able to experience the game they love in compelling and innovative ways through YouTube TV or YouTube Primetime Channels. We’re excited to continue our work with the NFL to make YouTube a great place for sports lovers everywhere.”
For months, Apple had been considered the front-runner for the package, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saying earlier this year that the league expected to pick NFL Sunday Ticket’s new home by the fall. But Apple and the NFL’s negotiations reportedly dragged on until Apple eventually backed out. And now, one of Apple’s chief rivals will be getting NFL Sunday Ticket instead.
In scoring the broadcasting package, YouTube could become one of the most dominant players in sports streaming. YouTube TV already offers access to a lot of sports programming, and by adding NFL Sunday Ticket, which lets subscribers watch out-of-market Sunday games, Google is further positioning itself as the one-stop shop for live streaming. It also gives Google a new tool to compete with Amazon, which just kicked off its 11-year deal to exclusively broadcast Thursday Night Football, and Apple, which is about to launch a streaming service with Major League Soccer.
The NFL itself has dipped its toes further into streaming with its own NFL Plus service, which launched this year. But you can only use the service on a mobile phone or tablet and it has a limited selection of games, meaning it might not be enough for some NFL superfans.
The week between Christmas and New Year’s exists so we can all sit around in our PJs and/or sweats, eating snacks, staring at a TV screen, and texting with friends. Sounds like the perfect time of the year to drop a new season of The Circle. Season 5 is out on Netflix right now and it is truly end-of-the-year goals. This show lets you watch people do exactly what you are doing right now, except they’re doing it with the chance of winning $100,000. Kinda makes you feel better about your slovenly choices right now, right? The first four episodes are out on Netflix, so get on board with the latest season of The Circle right now! This is the best binge for the chillest week of the year.
After a drug overdose, Shiv (Akshay Oberoi) unknowingly becomes guinea pig for a trio of doctors performing lab experiments on their subjects at a rehab-cum-research facility located in the outskirts of Mumbai. Turns out, Magic, as they later name their super compound, exhibits unparalleled healing properties and is a sure shot cure for addiction. Now begins the rather predictable cat-and-mouse chase between erring samaritans, already functioning drug lords who are bummed with this new competition in the market and other parties with vested interests.
Set against the backdrop of rampant drugs abuse amid youth, High dabbles with familiar themes of morality, power and its corrupting influence, criminal enterprise and so on. What sets it apart though is how it connects the various storylines and characters that are teased initially. Ashima (Mrinmayee Godbole), a journalist, described as ‘poster girl of fake news’, is now looking to move towards sincere reporting and finds her big story in locating the source of Magic. As a consequence, her life ties up with the mafia, which is the main track in the series.
Laakda (Ranvir Shorey) is another interesting personality that is thrown in the mix. He is a henchman, who invariably fires more gunshots in public than he speaks to people. Laakda is monosyllabic, and in Ranvir, the character finds a decent delivery. His blind killing sprees, which are one too many, may force you to look away from the screen every now and then.
Coming back to Shiv, who plays an addict turned messiah, he is one of the most relatable characters in the series. Akshay lends a certain sincerity to the part and his performance stands out from the lot of template characters. While the storyline keeps slipping into the familiar zone, Shiv’s various facets keep the interest alive.
High is technically sound. Nikhil Rao’s direction does not stand out but there are certain scenes where he manages to churn out real emotions through his characters, and in turn leaves an impact on viewers. He presents us Mumbai city as high in contrast and low in empathy for fellow beings. Gore and bloodbath is handled decently and do not leave a bad aftertaste.
MX Player series plays by the rule book of a crime drama and rarely ventures into the unexplored. In that, it gives us average entertainment dose but falls flat when it comes to originality and novelty. Watch it for its poignant portrayal of human emotions.
November 16, 2022: On Davidson’s 29th birthday, the pair are photographed in similar outfits. In the pics Davidson can be seen sharing an embrace and a laugh with the 31-year-old model in the hallway of a residential building.
November 23, 2022: Apparently, this “rebound” is just what the doctor ordered. “Emily is doing well and getting more adjusted to her life as a single mom since her divorce,” a source tells Entertainment Tonight later in the month. “She is dating and having fun with it. She’s in a good headspace.”
The source continues, “Emily has been seeing Pete and thinks he is super charismatic, funny, and a good rebound. It is casual between them, but she likes that they’re comfortable with each other and have a good time together. Things are going well for her.”
November 28, 2022: The pair hit up a Knicks game alongside other celeb pals and were apparently “besotted” with one another. There is nothing more official, in celeb world, than sitting courtside!
Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images
December 12, 2022: A source tells People that the pair “are really enjoying their time together.”
“They are going strong and getting a little more serious,” the source says. “They have a love of the East coast in common and similar vibes personality-wise and style-wise. And it’s always the same thing with him: he really makes her laugh and keeps things fun.”
December 15, 2022: The guy loves sports! On December 15, Davidson is spotted at a New York Rangers game with Bodies Bodies Bodies costars Chase Sui Wonders and Rachel Sennott, which seems completely innocent…
December 20, 2022: …Until he and Chase Sui Wonders are seen at his apartment a few nights later. Hey, guys and girls can be friends!
Every Saturday Night Livefan has a favorite sketch, even the SNL cast members themselves. Ahead of the last episode of the year, which aired on Dec. 17 and was hosted by Elvis star Austin Butler — and which also served as Cecily Strong’s final episode after her 10-season run on the NBC sketch comedy series — The Hollywood Reporter asked members of the cast which sketch inspired each of them to one day dream of making audiences laugh in Studio 8H on Saturday nights.
Bowen Yang
“It was a ‘Gemini’s Twin’ sketch with Charlize Theron. I couldn’t believe that they made the set actually look like TRL, and the music video looked like a real Destiny’s Child production. It was comedy, pop culture, characters and music all rolled into one.”
Mary Ellen Mathews/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Kenan Thompson
“‘James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub Party,’ with Eddie Murphy.”
Heidi Gardner
“Eddie Murphy’s James Brown ‘gonna get in the hot tub’ sketch. My mom and dad saw it and had to show me and my brother. I love thinking about us in my childhood living room, laughing as a family. One time my brother did get in one when it ‘was too hot in the hot tub’ and jumped out just like Eddie did!”
Cecily Strong
“I’m not sure if there was one sketch I saw that pushed me into thinking, ‘Now I want to be on the show,’ because I wanted to be on the show the minute I knew there was a show — which must have been pretty young, because I know I was 5 or 6 when I was tricking my babysitter into thinking my parents absolutely let me stay up late on Saturday nights to catch it. I definitely re-created ‘Bill Swerski’s Superfans’ sketches for talent shows. I was probably imitating Mike Myers characters and sketches pretty often. I’m sure I had a bad impression of every single SNL character at some point in my life.”
Chloe Fineman
“I distinctly remember being obsessed with ‘Dog Show’ with Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell. It’s just a perfectly bizarre and hilarious sketch. And I always howl when I watch it — like a human, not a dog.”
Mikey Day
“ ’Massive Headwound Harry’ with Dana Carvey in the titular role. So dumb and so, so wonderful.”
Ego Nwodim
“ ’Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood.’ It was the perfectly edgy yet silly nod to such an endearing show. I was mesmerized with Eddie Murphy’s ability to say such shocking things while keeping a charming smile on his face! Like, ‘Should I be laughing at this?!’ But I always was.”
Andrew Dismukes
“The sketch that made me want to be on SNL was Will Forte’s ‘Spelling Bee’ sketch. Forte is an all-time favorite of mine, and this sketch was so odd and perfect and exactly the type of thing I was into.”
Punkie Johnson
” ‘More Cowbell,’ because I love being dumb and doing dumb things, and it was the funniest, dumbest thing I’d ever seen. I love when they break character … and that means people are having a GREAT TIME!”
This story first appeared in a December stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
“Sex and the City: The Movie” was produced by New Line Cinema, Darren Star Productions and HBO with a budget of $65m. With it’s initial release on May 12th 2008 it made approximately $415.25m at the Box Office.
Watch the trailer for “Sex and the City: The Movie”
It seems this time of year every critic is going to weigh in with their 10 Best List for something or other. It is what we do at the end of the year, and 2022 is no different. And as I always do, I cheated. So sue me.
In what has turned out to be a very good year, I think, for movies, considering the sad state of box office success for the more ambitious and adult-aimed films out there, it has been heartening in this still-pandemic-affected era to see the Hollywood studios so heavily in the game of producing quality crowd-pleasers that also are good enough and deserving enough to make any of these lists — unless you are one of those grumpy critic-types who only go for the most obscure anti-entertainments out there. That ain’t me. I like to cheer on what I call movie movies, and I don’t penalize any of them for making some money along the way and bringing back audiences. If they are good, big or small, they are worth championing, so this annual ritual is just another cog in the wheel of doing just that. Now for the “cheating” part.
My actual list is 11, not 10, because I declared a tie, just because I could. I also am going to lead off this list with some other films that I think stood out significantly in their own genres or specific category. This is a celebration of the best, and it doesn’t have to be finite.
In putting together this list there were all kinds of really good movies I saw, some thrillingly performance-driven that deserve mention including Danielle Deadwyler in Till; Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain in the chillingly good true story The Good Nurse; Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Jean Smart, Diego Calva, PJ Byrne and a great cast in Babylon; Michelle Yeoh in Everything, Everywhere All at Once; the wonderful Lesley Manville in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris;Viola Davis and the entire ensemble of The Woman King;George Clooney and Julia Roberts doing it old school and channeling Tracy and Hepburn in the welcome rom-com Ticket to Paradise;Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward in Empire of Light;Emma Thompson in Good Luck To You, Leo Grande;Brendan Fraser and a trio of remarkable women (Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, Samantha Morton) in The Whale;Bill Nighy in Living; and the ensembles of She Said, Armageddon Time, Thirteen Lives and Cha Cha Real Smooth. It has been a very good year, and I haven’t even gotten to the “list” yet.
I am happy to also acknowledge three films as part of our look at the year’s best international films (aka foreign language). Each of Deadline’s critics, as we did last year, submitted a detailed reason for their top 3 in the category, and it will publish this week. Mine are Germany’s All Quiet on ohe Western Front, Belgium’s Close and the French romantic charmer My Donkey, My Lover & I.
It actually was a fine year for donkeys in movies, including two films on my list below, as well as the official Polish entry for the Oscars, the wonderful EO. Still, if you are looking for a recommendation for a donkey movie that will leave you happy, not sad, then seek out the aforementioned My Donkey, My Lover & I.
There were some entertaining entries in the horror genre this year, notably The Black Phone, the latest iteration of Scream and the holiday season’s Violent Night, but without question the winner in this category goes to Barbarian, a delicious mixture of smart creepiness, comedy, chills and an amusing turn from Justin Long that simply stood out from the crowd.
For the documentary category, there were many fine and completely depressing movies, but for me the unqualified best of show is Good Night Oppy, Amazon and Amblin Entertainment’s uplifting, moving and magnificent saga of the 14-year Mars Rover mission, which was a combination of The Martian and WALL-E, except it really happened.
Here then finally are the movies that, for one reason or another, made my Top 10 — OK 11 — films of 2022. Arbitrary, yes, but why not?
In alphabetical order:
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER James Cameron proved he hadn’t lost a beat in the 13 years we waited for a sequel to the biggest box office hit of all time. This one exceeded all expectations.
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN Martin McDonagh’s wry and human Irish story is undeniably the work of a master storyteller, with a splendid cast along for the ride.
ELVIS His story has been told many times, but Baz Luhrmann did the definitive biopic of Elvis Presley with a performance by Austin Butler that was astonishing.
THE FABELMANS Steven Spielberg has nothing left to prove, but that didn’t stop him from proving it again in crafting a cutting-edge autobiographical look at the life we thought we knew, but not quite. A moviemaking dream.
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY Rian Johnson shows us again there is life in a time-honored movie genre, the murder mystery, and tops the first film. Agatha Christie would be proud.
GUILLERMO del TORO’S PINOCCHIO The great del Toro brought his heart and soul to a classic story and made it new and unforgettable in the stop-motion-animated triumph of this year or any other.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK Thirty-six years later, Tom Cruise demonstrates the sky is not the limit with a movie that was as thrilling and emotional as movies can possibly get.
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS Ruben Ostlund’s masterful, Palme d’Or-winning comedy not only wildly entertains, it managed to say much about the human race, warts and all. Billy Wilder would have loved it.
(TIE) TÁR : Like its Focus Features stablemate Vengeance, Todd Field’s first film in 16 years has more on its mind than mere plot as it follows Cate Blanchett’s tour-de-force turn as Lydia Tár, an iconic composer/conductor who finds herself in a career crisis at the intersection of social media and cancel culture.
(TIE) VENGEANCE: The generic title tells you nothing as B.J. Novak stars in his stunningly original and very fine feature writing and directorial debut that works not only as a darkly comic mystery but also as a journey into the rabbit hole of red state-blue state America in the era of Trump.
WOMEN TALKING: Sarah Polley’s finest writing and directing effort is anything but talky as a group of Mennonite women gathered together in a barn have 48 hours to decide the fate of the rest of their lives. An extraordinary film that blends social urgency and Hitchcock suspense in ways we rarely get to see in mainstream movies.
Look for the next episode of Deadline’s video series Take Two on Friday, when Todd McCarthy and I take a deep dive into our own choices for the top five films of 2022.
“The Meaning of Hitler” is a documentary essay enlisting writers such as Martin Amis and Francine Prose to make connections between the past and the present. Filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker explore how Hitler tapped into chaos and victimhood, laying down strategies that demagogues still use today.
(BEIJING) — China says it will resume issuing passports for tourism in another big step away from anti-virus controls that isolated the country for almost three years, setting up a potential flood of Chinese going abroad for next month’s Lunar New Year holiday.
The announcement Tuesday adds to abrupt changes that are rolling back some of the world’s strictest anti-virus controls as President Xi Jinping’s government tries to reverse an economic slump. Rules that confined millions of people to their homes kept China’s infection rate low but fueled public frustration and crushed economic growth.
The latest decision could send free-spending Chinese tourists to revenue-starved destinations in Asia and Europe for Lunar New Year, which begins Jan. 22 and usually is the country’s busiest travel season. But it also presents a danger they might spread COVID-19 as infections surge in China.
Travel services companies Trip.com and Qunar said international ticket bookings and searches for visa information on their websites rose five to eight times after Tuesday’s announcement. Top destinations included Japan, Thailand, South Korea, the United States, Britain and Australia.
Japan, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan have responded to the Chinese wave of infections by requiring virus tests for visitors from China.
China stopped issuing visas to foreigners and passports to its own people at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
The National Immigration Administration of China said it will start taking applications Jan. 8 for passports for tourists to go abroad.
The agency said it will take applications to extend, renew or reissue visas but gave no indication when they might be issued to first-time applicants.
China will “gradually resume” admitting foreign visitors, the agency said. It gave no indication when tourist travel from abroad might resume.
The changes will “create better conditions for orderly cross-border travel” and “bring more benefits to global economic development,” said a foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin.
China will “work with all countries” to “restore safety and stability to global industrial and supply chains and promote world economic recovery,” Wang said.
Health experts and economists expect the ruling Communist Party to keep limits on travel into China until at least mid-2023 while it carries out a campaign to vaccinate millions of elderly people. Experts say that is necessary to prevent a public health crisis.
During the pandemic, Chinese with family emergencies or work travel deemed important could obtain passports, but some students and businesspeople with visas to go to foreign countries were blocked by border guards from leaving. The handful of foreign businesspeople and others who were allowed into China were quarantined for up to one week.
Before the pandemic, China was the biggest source of foreign tourists for most of its Asian neighbors and an important market for Europe and the United States.
The government has dropped or eased most quarantine, testing and other restrictions within China, joining the United States, Japan and other governments in trying to live with the virus instead of stamping out transmission.
Japan and India have begun requiring virus tests for travelers from China. South Korea tests all visitors with elevated temperatures. South Korea says anyone who tests positive will be quarantined at home or in a hotel for a week.
South Korean officials said possible additional measures for arrivals from China will be announced Friday.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to relate internal discussions, said Washington is considering taking similar steps.
Taiwan on Wednesday announced visitors from China will be tested starting Jan. 1.
On Monday, the Chinese government said it would scrap quarantine requirements for travelers arriving from abroad, also effective Jan. 8. Foreign companies welcomed the change as an important step to revive slumping business activity.
Business groups have warned global companies were shifting investment away from China because foreign executives were blocked from visiting.
The American Chamber of Commerce in China says more than 70% of companies that responded to a poll this month expect the impact of the latest wave of outbreaks to last no more than three months, ending in early 2023.
The government has stopped reporting nationwide case numbers but announcements by some cities indicate at least tens and possibly hundreds of millions of people might have been infected since the surge began in early October.
Experts have forecast 1 million to 2 million deaths in China through the end of 2023.
Also Monday, the government downgraded the official seriousness of COVID-19 and removed it from a list of illnesses that require quarantine. It said authorities would stop tracking close contacts and designating areas as being at high or low risk of infection.
___
AP Writers Zeke Miller in Washington and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul contributed.
“As we’re walking around, who comes swooping down in front of us for about 100 yards is Sofia Vergara,” Manganiello said of their first encounter on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show in April 2020. “She was wearing this dress that looked great on her, and I just could not take my eyes off of her.”
Manganiello proposed to the Modern Family alum on Christmas Day in 2014. The couple tied the knot in November 2015 at The Breakers Palm Beach resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
“We realized very early on that we each had to put the other person’s happiness and well-being head of our own,” he explained to the magazine in 2017. “Once you realize that kind of trust has manifested, you hang on for dear life. Or in my case, you go and buy a ring.”
The Hot Pursuit actress, for her part, told the publication the likely reason their relationship works so well is their shared sense of humor. “He is so funny and ever since we met, that has been really important,” she shared at the time. “We even talk to each other all the time in this little voice that we made up, like a couple of dorks. Whoever heard us, would say, ‘What’s their problem?’”
In 2019, Manganiello opened up to Men’s Health about the thing he appreciates most about his marriage to Vergara. “I love that she knows how to take care of herself, obviously, because I needed to be with somebody confident,” he previously explained. “It takes a really strong and secure individual to handle the types of projects I’ve done. But when we’re at home, we’re opposites in all the best ways and we’re compatible in all the best ways. Masculine/feminine, yin and yang, whatever you want to call it.”
The Rampage actor added, “My life is great because I really like my wife. I like talking to her. I like goofing around with her. We f–king laugh all day long every day.”
Scroll down to take a look back at their PDA moments through the years.
Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage; John Shearer/Invision for PUMA/AP Images; Gregg DeGuire/WireImage; DMac/CPR/FAMEFLYNET
Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello’s Cutest Couple Moments Over the Years
It’s safe to say that Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello are easily one of Hollywood’s sexiest couples, but they also have the sweetest romance.
“As we’re walking around, who comes swooping down in front of us for about 100 yards is Sofia Vergara,” Manganiello said of their first encounter on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show in April 2020. “She was wearing this dress that looked great on her, and I just could not take my eyes off of her.”
Manganiello proposed to the Modern Family alum on Christmas Day in 2014. The couple tied the knot in November 2015 at The Breakers Palm Beach resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
“We realized very early on that we each had to put the other person’s happiness and well-being head of our own,” he explained to the magazine in 2017. “Once you realize that kind of trust has manifested, you hang on for dear life. Or in my case, you go and buy a ring.”
The Hot Pursuit actress, for her part, told the publication the likely reason their relationship works so well is their shared sense of humor. “He is so funny and ever since we met, that has been really important,” she shared at the time. “We even talk to each other all the time in this little voice that we made up, like a couple of dorks. Whoever heard us, would say, ‘What’s their problem?’”
In 2019, Manganiello opened up to Men’s Health about the thing he appreciates most about his marriage to Vergara. “I love that she knows how to take care of herself, obviously, because I needed to be with somebody confident,” he previously explained. “It takes a really strong and secure individual to handle the types of projects I’ve done. But when we’re at home, we’re opposites in all the best ways and we’re compatible in all the best ways. Masculine/feminine, yin and yang, whatever you want to call it.”
The Rampage actor added, “My life is great because I really like my wife. I like talking to her. I like goofing around with her. We f–king laugh all day long every day.”
Scroll down to take a look back at their PDA moments through the years.
[podcast_block]
Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/VF14/WireImage.com
Politically Correct
The pair first met at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in May 2014, while Vergara was still engaged to Nick Loeb at the time. At the glitzy Washington, D.C. event, Manganiello was caught by photographers checking out Vergara’s butt as she chatted with guests.
Credit: DMac/CPR/FAMEFLYNET
Taking It Public!
The Modern Family stunner and True Blood hunk went public with their romance in L.A., while taking a stroll together in Beverly Hills, in July 2014. According to observers, the two seemed inseparable during this outing.
Credit: DMac/CPR/FAMEFLYNET
The Next Day
The day after taking their romance public, the new couple enjoyed lunch together at Aroma Cafe in Studio City, where an observer noted that Vergara “seemed smitten” and “couldn’t keep her hands off him.”
Credit: MiamiPIXX/SBMF/FAMEFLYNET
Miami, Mami!
Packing on the PDA at the baggage claim! Vergara and Manganiello turned up the Miami heat in late July 2014, when they were snapped passionately kissing inside the airport. Their smooch-fest preceded an exciting trip, where the actor got acquainted with Vergara’s family members and close pals.
Credit: John Shearer/Invision for PUMA/AP Images
SexyBack
They must like their “Mirrors.” The couple attended Justin Timberlake’s concert together in L.A., in August 2014. “Joe was practically on top of Sofia,” one guest in the Puma/Hyde VIP suite told Us. “He pulled up his shirt to show a nipple and she jokingly grabbed his crotch. They were laughing all night — the sexiest and most fun couple!”
Credit: Nic/X17online.com
Gaga… For Each Other
The hotties enjoyed a double date night with Joe’s brother, Nick, and his pregnant wife, Lena, which started with dinner and was topped off by a Lady Gaga concert. “Sofia and Joe were completely making out at the table, very touchy-feely the whole time,” an observer told Us Weekly of the pair during their meal. “Sofia was talking [a lot] and was very animated.”
Lucky lady! Manganiello brought a gorgeous bouquet of red roses to his girlfriend on the set of her Head & Shoulders commercial. The actor was spotted holding the floral arrangement before stepping into a studio, and later, Vergara emerged in L.A. holding the same set of roses.
Credit: Brandon Clark / ABImages via AP Images
Locking Lips
The dynamic duo made a scorching hot appearance together at the CAA’s pre-Emmys party in Beverly Hills in August 2014. “Sofia looked smitten!” an eyewitness told Us of the Colombian-born beauty. According to the observer, the couple cozied up to each other and locked lips in the middle of the celeb-filled restaurant at the bash. They continued to make out before Vergara pulled away giggling.
Credit: RAMEY PHOTO
Leading the Way
Manganiello was ever the gentlemen while the couple went shopping together in L.A. in August 2014. “You know, I’m just having a great time,” she told Extra of her relationship with Manganiello a few weeks before. “It’s a special time in my life, and I’m trying not to think too much about it. It’s something very new, so we will see what happens.”
Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage
Red Carpet Ready
The two stunners stepped out together at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 25, 2015. Vergara showed off her massive engagement ring, which she accepted from Manganiello weeks prior, at the awards show.
Credit: Jeff Kravitz/MTV1415/FilmMagic
Cozy Couple
The engaged pair had a blast at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles on April 12, 2015. Manganiello slung an arm around his future wife as she posed in a slinky blue dress that showed off her famous curves.
Credit: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Stealing a Moment
Manganiello supported his leading lady at the Los Angeles premiere of Hot Pursuit on April 30, 2015. He stared into her eyes ahead of the screening of her flick with Reese Witherspoon.
Credit: George Pimentel/WireImage)
High-Fashion Stunners
Vergara and Manganiello brought their A-games to the China: Through The Looking Glass Costume Institute Benefit Gala at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2015. The Magic Mike hunk was ever the dapper gentleman with the Modern Family star on his arm.
Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage
By Her Side
When Vergara was awarded her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 7, 2015, her fiancé was ready and waiting to give her a celebratory kiss. The star was honored for her television and film work, landing her on the walk alongside Hollywood greats.
Credit: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Supporting Her Hunk
Vergara grabbed her man for a kiss on the red carpet at the Los Angeles world premiere of Magic Mike XXL on June 25, 2015. Though he loses his clothes playing a male stripper in the steamy sequel, Manganiello looked just as hot in his formal suit.
Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Turner
A Shoulder to Lean On
Vergara leaned on her husband’s shoulder while attending the SAG Awards together in January 2016.
Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
The Look of Love
The five-time Golden Globe nominee and the True Blood vet only had eyes for one another while walking the red carpet at the 2017 SAG Awards in January.
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Hearts Galore
The Emoji Movie star cuddled up to the Smurfs: The Lost Village actor for the couple’s third wedding anniversary in a sweet pic posted to Instagram in November 2018. “Happy aniversary [sic] love of my life!!!!!!!” the actress captioned the photo, along with 14 heart emojis.
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
A Little R & R
The lovebirds looked more in love than ever while on vacay at Vergara’s beach house, Casa Chipi Chipi. “Te amooooo,” she wrote on a photo of herself nuzzled up against Manganiello on Instagram in December 2018.
Credit: George Pimentel/Getty Images
Best Friends
Manganiello opened up to Men’s Health in May 2019 about his lighthearted marriage to Vergara: “My life is great because I really like my wife.” He added, “I like talking to her. I like goofing around with her. We f–ing laugh all day long every day. My favorite thing in the world is making my wife laugh so much she cries. It’s the best.” He also talked about how the pair complement each other at home: “We’re opposite in all the best ways and we’re compatible in all the best ways. Masculine/feminine, yin and yang, whatever you want to call it.”
Credit: John Photography/Shutterstock
Going Strong
The twosome showered each other with love on their fourth wedding anniversary via Instagram. “Happy Anniversary mi amor!!!???????” the actress wrote alongside a throwback from their nuptials in November 2019. Manganiello also shared a sweet snap from their wedding, writing, “¡Feliz Cuarto Aniversario mi amor!”
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Best Night Ever
The couple posed together while enjoying a night out in Las Vegas in March 2020.
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Better Together
The duo posed together for a cute selfie while attending the 2020 Oscars.
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Crushing Hard
The America’s Got Talent judge shared photos from her chill at-home barbecue in April 2020, during which he hubby is seen lounging by the pool and cooking on the grill.
Credit: Tyler Golden/NBC
Praising Wifey
Manganiello raved about Vergara on her first episode of America’s Got Talent, where she was seated behind the judge’s table. “My wife’s first episode of America’s Got Talent is TONIGHT,” he wrote in May 2020.
Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock
Feeling the Love
In June 2020, Vergara celebrated the six-year anniversary from when their romance began. “6 yrs since u went and found me!!!” she wrote via Instagram, sharing a throwback image of the two. “Happy aniversary [sic] @joemanganiello U r mine!!!!”
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Quarantine Anniversary
The couple celebrated their six-year dating anniversary in quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic in June 2020. “Gracias!!@manologonzalezvergara ?? @cdvergara ? and others? for our surprise aniversary dinner date in quarantine ?????” Vergara captioned a photo of the twosome enjoying dinner at home.
Credit: Courtesy Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Their 5th Wedding Anniversary
Not only did the duo celebrate their milestone with a “family picnic” in November 2020, but the actress also penned a sweet tribute to her husband on Instagram. Sharing several pics from their nuptials, she wrote, “Feliz 5th anniversary!!!@joemanganiello ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ you!”
Credit: Courtesy Joe Manganiello/Instagram
Family Is Family
Vergara and Manganiello celebrated Thanksgiving together with family in November 2020.
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Feliz Cumpleanos
The Con Is On star wished her husband a happy 44th birthday via Instagram in December 2020 with an adorable photo of them celebrating at home with their dog.
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Still Dating
Vergara and Manganiello marked the seventh anniversary of their first date by going out on the town all over again. “Feliz first date anniversary @joemanganiello,” she gushed via Instagram in June 2021. “7 años luuuv uuuuu.”
Credit: Courtesy of Joe Manganiello/Instagram
Adventure Time
The pair enjoyed each other’s company during a tropical getaway with family.
“? zero,” Manganiello captioned a selfie with their dog via Instagram in July 2021.
Credit: Courtesy Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Family Vacation
Vergara and Manganiello documented their travels via Instagram in October 2021. “Family time in Ireland,” she captioned a sweet pic of the duo cuddled up during their trip.
Credit: ALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Supporting Her Guy
The couple walked the red carpet for the season premiere of Mythic Quest in November 2022. Manganiello has a guest role in the third season of the Apple TV+ series.
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Christmas Getaway
The couple celebrated an “Island xmass” together while on vacation, Vergara captioned a sweet snap with her man standing in front of the tree.
Credit: Courtesy of Sofia Vergara/Instagram
Birthday Wishes
“Feliz cumpleaños mi amor❤️?? its going to be an amazing 2023 for you?,” the actress captioned a shirtless photo of Manganiello on his 46th birthday.
In order to view the gallery, please allow Manage Cookies
The long awaited, box office dominating sequel to James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has finally crossed the 1 billion mark.
However compared to the first film, Way of Water continued to underperform making only $53 million on opening day and only $24 million in China, one of its biggest movie going markets, and the film’s opening weekend saw a total of only $130 million.
Courtesy of Disney
Avatar 2 is reported to have a budget of $460 million, making it the most expensive movie in Hollywood history according to Deadline.
James Cameron explained that Way of Water will need to be the “third or fourth highest-grossing film in history to be profitable. That’s your threshold. That’s your breakeven.”
On Tuesday, December 27th, 14 days after the film’s release, the worldwide box office total of Avatar: Way and The Water reached $1.03 billion. It is the sixth fastest film to reach a billion at the box office and the 4th highest grossing film of 2022, following Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Jurassic World: Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick. It has also reached the 60th highest grossing film of all time at the Box Office and is continuing to climb.
Avatar: Way of the Water had a worldwide opening of $441.7 million, the 11th-biggest of all time, and the third largest in the pandemic era behind Spider-Man: No Way Home ($601 million) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($452.4 million).
Courtesy of Disney
Having reached over $300 million domestically and over $700 million internationally, Avatar: The Way of Water is continuing to make waves at the Box Office as it enters its 3rd week. The first Avatar film took 19 days to reach 1 billion dollars at the box office. The previous record.
Outside the United States and Canada the film grossed $307.6 million in 52 countries in its first week of release. The largest running-total markets by December 27 were China ($104.3 million), South Korea ($24.9 million), France ($21.7 million), Germany ($19.4 million) and India ($19.2 million), the film performed very well in India.
Aside from it’s box office success, Avatar: The Way of Water was nominated for five Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. It was also named one of the ten best films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. It is a strong contender for the 2023 Academy Awards.
As the film continues to perform well in both local and international markets, it is expected to surpass Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as the 3rd highest grossing film of the year. Whether it can beat Top Gun: Maverick for the top spot remains to be seen. However it is expected that Avatar: The Way of Water will reach the $2 billion mark by the end of its box office run.
James Cameron has definitely set high standards for himself, he has delivered, now its time to wait and see if he can top himself.
One family has been fighting for over 70 years to recover what they say is rightfully theirs – a $28 billion treasure buried deep inside a mountain in the New Mexico desert. Some believe the U.S. Government stole the 16,000 gold bars and priceless artifacts, while skeptics claim it never existed. But what is the truth? Now, for the first time ever, the family and its supporters reveal exclusive evidence to prove their case and crack open the mystery of America’s greatest treasure story. The truth of Victorio Peak has never been told…until now. From Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson and Archie Gips’ Unrealistic Ideas, the company behind the Emmy-nominated hit series McMillions, the six-part docuseries Gold, Lies & Videotape premieres on Friday, January 13 at 9:00PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel and will be available to stream the same day on discovery+.
In 1937, Doc and Babe Noss stumbled upon thousands of gold bars, jewelry and coins hidden in a cavern within the walls of Victorio Peak in New Mexico. While attempting to excavate the treasure, an unfortunate accident sealed the only entrance to the cavern, leading to a series of calamities and ultimately, murder. Before it could be reopened, the government annexed the land for White Sands Missile Range, forcing the family to relocate from the Peak.
Questions surrounding Victorio Peak have haunted the Noss family ever since. Today, Doc and Babe’s grandson, Terry Delonas shoulders the weight of his family’s incredible discovery of a potential fortune sealed underground. Immediately after the family’s relocation from Victorio Peak, reports began to surface of others, including rogue government agents, pilfering the Peak and taking the gold bars, leading to lawsuits, illegitimate claimants, and clues pointing all the way to the White House. Driven to find the treasure that many believe is still there, Terry has been a thorn in the U.S. Government’s side for the last 50 years, unrelenting in his pursuit for answers and access to the mountain. Alongside Terry has been filmmaker Alex Alonso, documenting every minute of the quest – from the hallowed halls of the US Capitol to caverns deep inside the mountain. Together, they have amassed an extensive trove of footage, photographs, and documents dating all the way back to the 1930s.
Featuring first-person and present-day interviews paired with never-before-seen archival footage, including images of the treasure, the premium documentary series unpacks the events from Doc and Babe Noss’ discovery in 1937 to Terry mounting a massive expedition in the 1990s, while revealing eyewitness accounts, murder, an alleged government cover-up, a connection to the Watergate hearings, multiple US presidents, and much more. With billions in gold still at stake, the true story of Victorio Peak is finally being told.
In addition to watching Gold, Lies & Videotape on Discovery and discovery+, viewers can join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #GoldLiesandVideotape and following Discovery on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest updates.
Gold, Lies & Videotape is produced for Discovery Channel by Unrealistic Ideas with Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, and Archie Gips as executive producers. Andrew Jacobs is executive producer for High Five Content and Paul Sadowski serves as executive producer and showrunner. For Discovery, Carter Figueroa serves as executive producer and Jessica Mollo serves as coordinating producer.
Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 224 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com
Spoiler alert: The following article discusses the entirety of Netflix’s “Wednesday.”
In the spring of 2019, “Smallville” creators Al Gough and Miles Millar conjured the idea for what would eventually become Netflix’s fantastical hit “Wednesday.” The pitch, which began as a six-word long concept centering on an adolescent version of the sardonic Addams family offspring, kicked off a three-year process that would culminate in an eight-month-long shoot on-location in Romania, featuring Tim Burton’s first foray into TV in 30 years and a star-making turn by lead Jenna Ortega.
After tracking down the adaptation rights-holders at MGM (which released the 2019 animated “The Addams Family”), the company — under then-head of scripted television Steve Stark — agreed to finance the writers room as the duo pitched the series.
“We say in typical Wednesday Addams fashion that we had probably one of the first Zoom rooms because our room started the week of lockdown,” Gough said. “We did a 10 week writers room, I’d already had a full Bible, and we’d already written the first episode.”
While the initial pitch included the setting of Nevermore Academy, a mythical boarding school filled with outcasts like goblins and vampires, Millar said the pair “wrestled” with the concept, wondering if it would be “too ‘Harry Potter’ or too Hogwarts,” before settling on the idea that the locale would provide a “gothic space” for the Addams family sire without her relatives in the picture.
Throughout the decades, the singular, off-kilter clan has been depicted numerous times following Charles Addams’ original 1938 New Yorker illustrations, which served as the inspiration for the Netflix show and subverted the idea of the traditional nuclear family. Even after the beloved 1991 film starring Christina Ricci as Wednesday, “The Addams Family” musical based on the Broadway phenomenon is the No. 1-produced high school musical nationwide and has been for nearly a decade — a fact that eluded even Gough and Millar.
“It’s a smorgasbord of tones: it’s funny, it’s sad, it’s emotional, some horror elements, spooky and kooky and all the things that you love about the Addams family, but I think elevated for a new generation,” Millar told TheWrap. “It has an edge to it, lots of real emotion. I think people will be surprised at the end of the eight episodes that they feel the emotional impact of the characters and what happens to them, and that was certainly our aim to add complexity to the situation. What would it really be like Wednesday? She’s a very difficult character to deal with in terms of the modern world, and how does she respond to different people? She’s always been around her family, so to put her somewhere else felt like we were adding something to the lore of the Addams family.”
Burton, who executive produced and directed four episodes, was always the “first choice” for the duo. A year after the initial concept was born, Gough and Millar sent four scripts to Burton’s agent, who liked it and sent it over to him.
“So suddenly, we were on a FaceTime with Tim Burton, and he was out in his garden with the dinosaur topiary behind him, very, very on brand for Tim,” Gough recalled. “He goes, ‘I read the script, it really spoke to me, I would have dated Wednesday Adams in high school’ — we just got him at the right time. And he committed on the spot.”
Even though Burton only had a directing role with half the series, he was in Bucharest during the entire shoot, with the duo describing him as “very active” and “involved” with the project.
“People have approached Burton about the Addams Family before, but he said it was always too cartoony and too based on sight gags for him,” Gough explained of the Oscar-nominated “Edward Scissorhands” filmmaker.
Once Burton signed onto the project, he brought along with him frequent collaborators and veterans in their respective fields, costume designer Colleen Atwood and composer Danny Elfman, whose work was supplemented by a full orchestra in Bucharest.
“It was just a lot of fun, getting a call, and the fact that it’s Charles Addams-inspired — I already knew it was just going to be really fun and second-nature to me and so much a part of my own life,” Elfman told TheWrap.
That excitement — of getting involved with the series’ making — is something cast member Gwendoline Christie understands dearly.
Netflix
“One day I was on a walk in the countryside with some friends and I got a text saying, Tim Burton would like to speak to you about his new project. And it’s the Addams Family. And my heart just exploded with complete and utter joy because I wanted to work with Tim Burton my entire life,” she said. “What Tim does so brilliantly, is that he explores and celebrates the outsider, but also illuminates it with real humanity. And I think he’s one of our truly great auteurs that has managed to also achieve this enormous, mainstream success because what he’s managed to translate are some of the universal themes of what connects us as human beings, and also delights us with a dazzling and blisteringly original visual sense. So I was over the moon.”
Shooting on location in Romania allowed the country’s neo-gothic architecture to permeate into and influence the show’s world, with the Carpathian Mountains and Peleș Castle (which inspired the castle in “Dracula”) serving as a backdrop to the Addams family reimagining. At the same time, everything — including the sprawling Nevermore — was built from scratch inside a studio.
“The best part about it was that — it sounds bad at first — we were all alone,” Hunter Doohan (who plays Tyler) said, laughing. “But then we all got to bond with our cast so quickly because it was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know a single soul in this city.’”
Luis Guzmán, who portrays a new version of the ever-passionate Gomez Addams, had a different take on the shoot: “I got pissed off when I found out that the story takes place in Vermont — I live in Vermont! We could have shot this in Vermont? Are you kidding me? But no, Romania was great,” he joked.
The actor echoed other cast members’ jubilee at the shoot, saying, “I welcome the opportunity to be part of this kooky family … I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m like a kid in a candy store showing up to work every day, it’s beautiful — putting on the costume, putting on that wig, you couldn’t ask for anything more.”
When it came time to craft the visual and sensory details of the series, the process was akin to the show’s central tenets — of being both a retelling and an homage of sorts to the various generations of the Addams family that had come before it.
“She begins as Wednesday in an American school, with her typical Wednesday dress where she stood out amongst all the kids and their hipster, American colors, and then she goes to Nevermore and the second she gets [there], she gets the uniform that’s her special uniform,” Atwood said, describing the approach to costuming. “So immediately you’re in a new world with her. Her off-duty and her casual clothes became a big part of the story — running around, doing stuff — so we could incorporate contemporary fashion.”
The Oscar-winning “Chicago” designer continued, “Jenna’s take on the character was so strong, she was so sure of who Wednesday was from the start, that in the fittings it just flowed that way.”
Costume design also played an important role in the depiction of other characters, like the iconic Morticia Addams (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones), whose signature plunging black dress Atwood was thrilled to reinvent for the modern world. The same was true for the creation of Christie’s Larissa Weems, the principal at Nevermore Academy, whose persona and appearance was heavily influenced by an old poster Atwood had of Alfred Hitchcok’s “The Birds,” featuring a woman with a high collar and an updo.
“What she does is close to witchcraft, because she can totally transform the body,” Christie said of Atwood, whom she called a “legend.” “She’s also one of the most collaborative costume designers I’ve ever worked with, which I was really overwhelmed by. It was such a privilege. She wanted to know what I thought. She has a range of references I have never seen before that are entirely appropriate and completely specific and sometimes obscure … She made me feel beautiful, and she really worked with my best assets and in carving this character physically and her appearance … and I’ve never felt beautiful on screen before.”
That attention to detailing was also reciprocated by Christie, who originated the idea of adorning her character with “surrealist” haute jewelry by Schiaparelli, whose designer, Daniel Roseberry, the “Game of Thrones” alumna is friends with.
“We have a bracelet covered in eyes and so I liked the idea of those being active and always watching,” she explained. “And so no matter where she was, Larissa had a 360 degree view of what was going on. But also Larissa wears a Gemini necklace very often, which of course is duality and the twins and so we have that duality captured in the necklace piece that she wears by Schiaparelli, so Larissa’s shapeshifting and dual sense is always hiding in plain sight.”
Sonically, it was about taking elements of the seminal Addams family tune and creating “almost like an alternate universe, side part,” Elfman said. “We had to give it its own tonality with the music, but every now and then, we just applied a little snap-snap because that original theme is so great, but it makes it the easiest theme to go ‘There it is.’”
Netflix
Another standout element of “Wednesday” is, of course, Thing, crafted and played by Victor Dorbobantu, a former magician. The artist began the process “from zero,” building the strange helper’s look with the VFX team and improvising a form of sign language that enabled the severed hand to communicate and gesticulate.
“Everybody tried to make this character look natural and human,” he told TheWrap. “I tried to find anything with hands. I studied all the work of Christopher Hart, [who played Thing in the ‘90s films]. I documented everything, I saw all the movies that contain hands and cut hands, even zombie movies. I tried to take a little bit from each one.”
When it came down to the grand finale, the reveal of Tyler as the malicious, easily manipulated Hyde, the look of the monster is entirely Burtonian, Millar said.
“He called us one afternoon for a monster conference, he’d actually done a bunch of sketches. And he had this one watercolor, and it was awesome,” Millar explained. “It was the silhouette of the actual monster in the show. And he’d done it. He’d been up all night painting this little thing and that’s basically what it became.”
Netflix
Naturally, there is no talking about “Wednesday” without its title character, whom Ortega brought to life as a teenager for the first time. The “Scream 5” actress previously discussed the difficulty of nailing down the character — someone who exhibits little emotion but must grow even in incremental ways to make her a compelling protagonist to root for. It was a gargantuan task for anyone, and was further complicated by an isolated shoot in a country feeling the effects of the war in Ukraine and a bout of COVID.
“She brought an intensity and intelligence to it,” Gough said in praise of Ortega. “We were all trying to make sure that Wednesday was always Wednesday … that she didn’t turn into Nancy Drew.”
At the very end of the show’s eight episodes, Wednesday exhibits a “tiny” character arc — when she hugs her roommate Enid (Emma Myers); it was essential for Millar that the persona wasn’t “softened” during the series’ unfolding.
“It was insane, and the show was huge,” Millar said. “It was overwhelming … It was a very hard shoot.”
Gough added, “But she was a total trooper and really stepped up and I think she’s phenomenal.”
20th Century Studios’ “Avatar: The Way of Water” has officially grossed over $1 billion at the global box office, continuing a torrid pace that will likely see it soon join its 2009 predecessor among the top 10 highest grossing films of all time.
Disney/20th Century reported that James Cameron’s blockbuster sequel added $74.6 million on Tuesday, with $23.8 million coming from domestic theaters. That domestic total is an 24% increase from the $18.2 million grossed on the film’s first Tuesday, showing how well the film is legging out over the holiday period.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is the fourth film since the pandemic began to cross the $1 billion mark, joining fellow sequels “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Jurassic World: Dominion.” It also hit the mark after 12 days in domestic theaters, the same amount of time as “No Way Home” and faster than “Maverick” or “Dominion.”
Late last week, it was looking like it would take at least a few more days of theatrical play for “Avatar 2” to reach this point. The winter storms gripping much of North America had worsened domestic grosses in the days leading up to Christmas, causing weekend estimates to drop from $95 million to as low as $81 million.
But after “Avatar 2” beat expectations with a $29.5 million Christmas Day domestic total, it ended up meeting those original $95 million estimates and has now passed $300 million in domestic grosses as of Tuesday. While COVID-19 surges have denied the film an equally large windfall in China, overseas grosses remain robust, particularly in Korea and France, where admissions remain strong in the film’s second week and totals in France have exceeded $68 million.
With almost no competition from rival films with the possible exception of the Universal/DreamWorks’ family film “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” is in position to continue legging out through January. At its current pace, it is a virtual lock to pass $1.5 billion globally sometime next month. When it does, it will join the top 10 all-time box office list before inflation adjustment and pass “Top Gun: Maverick” as the highest grossing release of 2022.
Film producer Edythe “Edie” Landau, known for Oscar-nominated Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Hopscotch and The Deadly Game, has died. She was 95.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that she died “peacefully” of natural causes at her home in Century City on Dec. 24.
From the beginning, Landau was a pioneer for women in the industry. After graduating from Wilkes College, she started her career in New York City at National Telefilm Associates. The company was founded by Ely Landau, who she later married.
Eventually, Landau became executive vice president of the company, where she oversaw original programming, including The Play of the Week, The Mike Wallace Show, The David Susskind Show and Open End.
The National Telefilm Associates later expanded to television and motion pictures and went on to produce Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Oscar-nominated films The Pawnbroker and King: A Filmed Record…Montgomery to Memphis. The latter film was also added to the National Film Registry in 1999.
Once Landau launched The American Film Theatre in 1973, she took several plays to the big screen, including A Delicate Balance, The Iceman Cometh, The Homecoming and Oscar-nominated The Man in the Glass Booth. She also produced several films in the ’70s, including Hopscotch, The Chosen and The Holcroft Covenant.
As Landau continued to pave the way for women interested in producing, she added cable television productions to her list of credits with Separate Tables, Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson and The Christmas Wife.
Throughout her career, she took on several other roles, including as an equal rights advocate when she helped change restrictions that stopped women from boarding all-male passenger planes in 1958. Then, after decades of producing films and TV, she went to the University of West Los Angeles School of Law and became a member of the State Bar of California in 1982. She also later published several pieces of poetry.
Her son, Jon Landau, followed in her footsteps and went on to produce Oscar-winning films, including Titanic and Avatar. He took to Instagram Tuesday to pay tribute to his mother, saying, “Edie, thank you for all you taught me, thank you for the life example you always were, and thank you for all the love you bestowed on me. You will be in our hearts forever.”
Landau is survived by her children Jon, Tina and Kathy, her stepson Les, and their families.
Rajkumar Santoshi’s Daughter Tanisha in the first look from her debut film.
Rajkumar Santoshi is launching his daughter, Tanisha Santoshi, with the film Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh.
Veteran filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi has returned to don the hat of a director with Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh a decade after his last directorial Phata Poster Nikla Hero (2013) starring Shahid Kapoor. He made his directorial debut with Sunny Deol starrer blockbuster film Ghayal (1990) and then followed it up with other successful films such as Damini (1993), Andaz Apna Apna (1994), Ghatak (1996), China Gate (1998) and The Legend Of Bhagat Singh (2002), among others.
Apart from Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh being the filmmaker’s comeback vehicle, what’s also interesting about it is that he will be launching his daughter, Tanisha Santoshi, with the film. Her first look from Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh was unveiled today and it sees her in a de-glam avatar.
Taking to Instagram, the debutante also shared her look and captioned it, “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a really long time. And it’s finally here!!! I’m extremely grateful to be a small part of a one of a kind film, made by a visionary film-maker. Feeling extremely emotional to be sharing the first look of my character. I need all your blessings and love.”
It received a lot of love from her young actor friends like Janhvi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor, Shanaya Kapoor and Vardhan Puri, who sent their good wishes and cheered for her using red heart emoticons. Early this year, Janhvi shared a picture of Tanisha on her Instagram story and wrote, “My best friend, my favourite person and the funniest girl I know is now on Instagram, starting a very new and special journey. Please give her lots of love and virtual hugs and good wishes. Lots of exciting things coming up.”
On December 15, Tanisha shared the announcement video of Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh and lauding her father, wrote, “The ability of one man to be versatile enough to ace so many different genres still baffles me. A legendary filmmaker, an ever evolving artiste and a person with a heart of gold. This one is going to be the most special, for more reasons than one. The best is yet to come. I love you Papa.”
A day ago, the makers released the motion poster of the film, which depicts the war of ideologies between Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse. While actor Deepak Antani will essay the role of Gandhi, actor Chinmay Mandlekar will be seen playing Nathuram Godse in Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh. The film depicts the war of two extremely opposite ideologies between Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse. The Santoshi Productions LLP and PVR Pictures venture is produced by Manila Santoshi. The music is composed by AR Rahman. It is set for a theatrical release on January 26, 2023.
Titas Chowdhury, senior sub-editor at News18, lives for and writes about cinema and 90s music. Interviewing celebrities, writing about latest trends i…Read More
Radio Company, in their first ever ticketed live performance at a sold-out venue in Nashville, TN on December 19, 2022, was in equal measure, predictable and exceptional. For anyone who is following the ever-burgeoning musical success and popularity of Radio Company, it stands to reason that the talent on display would be the calibre any Radio Company fan has come to expect. That’s the predictable element. However, what every fan got that night, was exceptional. And here’s why:
The Opening Act
Louden Swain is a group out of Los Angeles, California and is made up of Rob Benedict, Michael Borja, Billy Moran and Stephen Norton. All four members share a creative and committed bond that began in 1997 and is standing the test of time.
When they took the stage the audience could immediately feel the energy on tap, and it was a fantastic precursor to what followed. There has been a long standing relationship between Louden Swain and Radio Company. It’s immediately apparent that these two groups demonstrate their open love and support for each others work. Music, just by its very nature is an act of giving, and Louden Swain did not hold any of that sentiment in check. They gave it all to the audience in a wonderful performance. They shared a mixture of old tunes, some fan favorites and played a few of their new songs from their 2022 anticipated album, “Feelings and Such” to the delight of all who attended. Their contribution to this first ever Radio Company event was electric, exciting and queued up the high emotion that greeted the headliners when they took centre stage.
Louden Swains Setlist: Trigger Finger-Sky Alive-2014, Pop Tart Heart-A Brand New Hurt-2009, Eskimo-Eskimo-2012, Guilty One-Feelings and Such-2022, Worlds Collide-Eskimo-2012, Crystal Ball-Feelings and Such-2022, She Waits-Eskimo-2012, Amazing-No Time Like the Present-2017, Medicated-A Brand New Hurt-2009, and Mamma’s Jam-Eskimo-2012.
The Venue
The locale for this gig was the Analog at Hutton Hotel. The Analog straddles the line between high-end cocktail lounge and intimate music venue. The space is stunning with double-height ceilings, a dramatic color palette, a beautiful mural on the acoustic panelling by Nashville artist Chris Zidek and the use of old analog electronics as decorative touches in a space that lauds admirably, all that is music and creativity. It offers its guests an up-close-and-personal experience while boasting stellar acoustics. It is well-appointed and just oozes that Nashville music vibe so many have come to love.
On a personal note, as an attendee of Radio Company’s first-ever concert, the venue played its part in the overall aesthetic. Calling Analog an intimate music venue is a well-chosen phrase. You feel as though you are actually sharing space with the artists and musicians in a way that is not possible otherwise. It was like watching talented musicians picking up instruments and jamming while all their friends looked on. We could easily have been at a friend’s backyard party and the vibe would have been the same. The only downside being that these two musical groups have more friends then this place could possibly handle. Oh, and before I forget, the bar is wonderful, and they make a mean Margarita if that’s your thing.
The Crowd
While there was some jockeying for position to get a coveted piece of real estate that would give standing room only ticket holders full viewing access of the stage, things settled down once the music started. Fans were immediately carried away. It was at this time that all the light and love for these gentleman and their music, saturated the very air, and all focus turned to centre stage.
What an absolute gift it was, that Radio Company brought in Stage-It to livestream the concert for all those dedicated fans, friends and family who couldn’t be there. It was especially heartwarming to hear the crowd cheer out “We love you Danneel” when Jensen waved hello to his wife and their kiddos watching from the west coast.
Jensen is an accomplished actor who spent fifteen years portraying Dean Winchester on Supernatural. Understandably the majority of those in attendance at this concert are a part of that fandom. Jensen introduced Steve by inviting him to sing at Supernatural conventions and he was immediately adopted into the fold. For a musician as accomplished as Steve is, their adoration came naturally. From the time that Radio Company formed in 2018, the band became intrinsically linked with the fandom. Why is this important?
Jensen has on several occasions demonstrated a humbleness about his gifts as a singer and musician. As such, a great many of his fans have watched him grow his then-untapped musical talents. Not only have they watched him stretch those “confidence” muscles but have relished in, and felt a participatory support in his trajectory as a professional musician. That success belongs to him, no doubt about it. However, the following is also true; his Supernatural fans have watched, wooed, loved, nurtured, supported and ultimately felt the exultation and pride in the place he found himself on December 19, 2022 – the shared headliner of Radio Company’s first-ever sold-out show in Nashville.
This concert has been anticipated for some time and this crowd, collectively, took immense pride in the accomplishment unfolding before them. It was deeply personal to many in attendance. So personal in fact, that it was difficult to not become overwhelmed. If the crowd didn’t cheer, stomp their feet and bang on every surface available, that emotion might well have found it’s way out in tears. Instead, the crowd did the next best thing– they sang their hearts out.
The Concert
Stage-It live-streaming aside, nothing compares to live music. The incredible love and enthusiasm that pulsates outward from the stage is pure generosity. It is an intimate relationship that an artist shares with his or her fans. It is an indescribable high, and these artists delivered. Big time.
Steve and Jensen shared a wonderful mix of high energy and laid back sound that delivered all the feels. It drew you in and kept you wanting more until the very last note. Their complimentary voices are adept at delivering perfect harmony. Both are equally proficient at singing everything from gritty rock, to the soothing dulcet tones of a ballad, to the clear twangy quality we all associate with good country, and all points in between. To round out their repertoire, both of these men are capable of singing the sweet, soft musical quality reminiscent of crooners of old.
Jensen Ackles-Clare Feldman Photography
Steve Carlson-Clare Feldman Photography
Jensen Ackles-Clare Feldman Photography
Steve Carlson-Clare Feldman Photography
Jensen Ackles-Clare Feldman Photography
They came out of the gate double strong, starting with a fan favorite “All My Living Time” showcasing jazzy horns and rocking guitars topped off with the soulful harmonizing that Radio Company is so well known for. The song continued to build with Steve’s raspy notes accompanied by Jensen’s clear baritone, belting out the powerhouse crescendo as the crowd paid homage. Their next song, “Let Me Be” was delivered with Jensen on lead vocals as Steve harmonized. Strong overtones of jazzy horns dominated once again. This upbeat tune, switches tempo in the middle and levels out while Jensen sang those pensive lyrics until the song escalates to a sharp finish.
Next, the band slowed things down with “Watching Over Me” and delivered a beautiful rendition of this melancholy tune. Then Jensen sang “Drowning” which included some powerful, throaty guitar riffs– a wonderful backdrop to buoy that clear baritone of his as he rendered those haunting lyrics. I could go on and on. Every song delivered better than the one before it. It was such an incredible gift to hear this music performed live and to sing along with these talented gents.
Jensen Ackles-Clare Feldman Photography
Jensen Ackles-Clare Feldman Photography
Steve Carlson-Clare Feldman Photography
Jensen Ackles-Clare Feldman Photography
Jensen Ackles-Clare Feldman Photography
Both of these men had an easy presence in front of the crowd, and their on-stage banter exuded the lighthearted confidence that comes from years of friendship. Their good humor and unfettered camaraderie belies the stress inducing demands of a live performance. Steve shared that choosing the setlist for this show took on a deeply personal tone as their intention was to choose the songs that chronicled the evolution of their friendship. They have been writing songs together long before the band formed, and so they included music that predated Radio Company, like the tender love song “Pinata Novia,” the cover that Jensen sings so well “Angeles,” the title track from Steve’s vagabond journey album “Different Town” and a little taste of Christmas with “Auld Lang Syne.”
There are two songs that stand out in my mind that were dominated by audience participation, being “Quarter To” and “City Grown Willow.” Both songs easily being fan favorites. “Truly Forgotten” and “Angeles” being delivered as vocal solos by Steve and Jensen respectively, also rank up there as high points in the show. But I really have to give it up for their sweet rejuvenation of ’70’s Memphis Soul when Sheree Smith stepped up to the mic and belted out her rendition of Ann Peebles, “I Can’t Stand the Rain.” She had the whole place vibing.
The rest of Radio Company’s songs that rounded out their performance were; “Dead to Rights,” “Any Way That You Want Me” and “Sounds of Someday.” All beautifully done. I love that Radio Company concluded their show the way they did. While Graceland was home to Elvis, he was a familiar face in Nashville and came to this cradle of musical creativity to record new songs in the famed Studio B. I thought Steve and Jensen’s rendition of “That’s All Right Mama” was a nice nod to the King.
And finally, to report on something really exciting, now is the time to make mention of the two new songs that Radio Company performed that will be on their album release coming in January 2023. Those songs were “Every Light” and “Right Kind of Trouble.” Both of these tunes have a country backbone, and come in strong with that familiar twang of the steel guitar. While “Every Light” carries the sharp, crisp sounds from the fiddle in its medium tempo, “Right Kind of Trouble” diverges somewhat sans fiddle while it picks up speed and works in a rock-like flourish in it’s kicky up-beat rhythm. Both these songs are destined to be sure-fire hits.
The Band
The talent up on stage were as follows; Steve Carlson-Lead Vocals/Mandolin/Guitars, Jensen Ackles-Lead Vocals/Guitars, Megan Jane-Drums/Percussion, Dean Moore-Bass, Harrison Finks-Keyboards, Jules Belmont-Guitar/Steel Guitar, Sheree Smith-Background Vocals, Angela Miller-Background Vocals, Josie Klein-Fiddle, Gideon Klein-Cello, Zakk Garner-Saxophone, Andrew Golden-Trumpet and Billy Moran-Bass.
Radio Company Setlist
Song
Artist
Album/Year Released
Performed By
All My Livin Time
Radio Company
Volume 2 – 2021
Radio Company
Let Me Be
Radio Company
Volume 1 – 2019
Radio Company
Watching Over Me
Radio Company
Volume 2 – 2021
Radio Company
Drowning
Radio Company
Volume 1 – 2019
Radio Company
Dead To Rights
Radio Company
Volume 2 – 2021
Radio Company
Truly Forgotten
Radio Company
Volume 2 – 2021
Steve Carlson Solo
City Grown Willow
Radio Company
Volume 2 – 2021
Radio Company
Pinata Novia
Steve Carlson
Spot In The Corner – 2005 (Also on Kane Live in London-2004)
Radio Company
Angeles
Cover of Elliot Smith
Re-Released by Steve Carlson-Under the Covers-2012
Jensen Ackles Solo
Different Town
Steve Carlson
Different Town – 2012
Radio Company
I Can’t Stand the Rain
Cover of Ann Peebles
I Can’t Stand the Rain-1973
Sheree Smith Feature
Quarter To
Radio Company
Volume 2 – 2021
Radio Company
Every Light
Radio Company
New Song on the Next Album-2023
Radio Company
Any Way That You Want Me
Radio Company
Volume 2 – 2021
Radio Company
Sounds of Someday
Radio Company
Volume 1 – 2019
Radio Company
Auld Lang Syne
Steve Carlson
An Auld School Christmas – 2007
Radio Company
Right Kind of Trouble
Radio Company
New Song on the Next Album-2023
Radio Company
That’s All Right Mama
Cover of Authur Crudup
Re-Released by Elvis Presley – 1954
Radio Company
The Future
Both Steve Carlson and Jensen Ackles are family men with demanding careers so their fans will be mustering all their powers of manifestation for another live concert. If all the stars align, perhaps we will see a small Radio Company tour. For now, every fan is excited for the January 2023 release of their next album.
The poster for A Man Called Otto invites us to “fall in love with the grumpiest man in America.” But really, was there any doubt, considering that he’s played by Tom Hanks? The inevitable transformation of the title character from ill-tempered sourpuss to lovable softy wouldn’t generate much suspense anyway, since the film is a remake of the hit 2015 Swedish film A Man Called Ove, adapted from the best-selling novel by Fredrik Backman. Add to that the fact that you have the modern-day inheritor of Jimmy Stewart’s mantle playing the lead, and you can pretty much predict the film’s every beat.
But that doesn’t it make any less enjoyable or moving, thanks to its reliably effective redemption arc, narrative structure and Hanks’ enduring appeal. Unlike the Swedish film’s lead actor, Rolf Lassgard, who was genuinely intimidating in his curmudgeonliness, Hanks is never truly convincing as a perpetually aggrieved, hostile widower who takes his grief over his wife’s death out on the world. But you can sense how much enjoyment he’s getting out of playing against his popular image, and you happily go along for the ride.
A Man Called Otto
The Bottom Line
Plucks your heartstrings effectively.
Release date: Friday, Dec. 30 Cast: Tom Hanks, Mariana Trevino, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Truman Hanks, Mike Birbiglia Director: Marc Foster Screenwriter: David Magee
Rated PG-13,
2 hours 6 minutes
Set in an unnamed Rust Belt town that has clearly seen better days (the movie was filmed in Pittsburgh), this American version directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) closely follows its Swedish predecessor in most regards. Otto, who has recently been pushed out of his engineering managerial job, mainly spends his time scowling and grunting at anyone who has the temerity to cross his path and enforcing the rules of his gated neighborhood, which is controlled by the sort of real-estate company whose smarmy representative (Mike Birbiglia, in a role making little use of his comic talents) would have made a suitable villain in a Frank Capra movie.
Yes, Otto is cranky, alright. He yells at a young woman for letting her dog urinate on his lawn, a delivery truck driver for unauthorized parking, a neighbor for exercising too vigorously in a skintight outfit, and a stray cat for showing up on his property. He’s even willing to spend precious time arguing over being charged 33 cents too much in a big-box hardware store. He more than lives up to a bystander’s description of him as a “grumpy old bastard.” But we soon understand the cause of his despair, which prompts him to make several unsuccessful suicide attempts. He’s childless and alone, having recently lost his beloved wife Sonya to cancer.
His humanity only emerges during his regular visits to her grave, where he makes it clear that he intends to join her soon. It’s also revealed in a series of flashbacks to his younger days, in which the young Otto (Truman Hanks, Tom’s son, bearing an uncanny resemblance to his old man) has a meet-cute with Sonya (Rachel Keller, suitably endearing) when he boards a train going in the wrong direction in order to return a book she’s dropped. We see the couple moving into the home where the middle-aged Otto still lives and making friends with their neighbors, and then Sonya getting pregnant and tragically losing the baby in a bus accident that results in her being confined to a wheelchair.
As the film progresses, you find yourself counting the minutes until Otto will regain his soul. It starts to happen with the arrival of a young family in the neighborhood, consisting of the feisty, very pregnant Marisol (Mariana Trevino, in a breakthrough performance), her klutzy husband (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, The Magnificent Seven), and their two young daughters. At first, Otto resists Marisol’s good-natured efforts to be friendly, but he eventually finds himself getting involved with his new neighbors in spite of himself. You can feel his resistance melting when he takes the first bites of a delicious homemade meal she’s gifted him, although in his thank-you note he can only begrudgingly describe the food as “interesting.” But it isn’t long before he’s babysitting the adorable tykes and teaching Marisol how to drive.
The storyline’s less convincing elements include Otto becoming a social media sensation after he’s filmed rescuing an elderly man who’s fallen onto train tracks. That allows him to exploit his newfound fame when the real estate company attempts to evict his longtime neighbors after they experience major health issues. It’s the sort of melodramatic plot contrivance that feels wholly unnecessary, as if screenwriter David Magee didn’t trust that the story of a grief-stricken man regaining his will to live would carry enough emotional weight.
But it’s hard to mind too much, thanks to Hanks’ perfectly modulated, understated performance — he’s truly moving when you feel Otto’s frost slowly starting to thaw — and the welcome comic moments that alleviate the film’s more heavy-handed aspects. There’s a particularly wonderful moment when Otto winds up in the hospital after collapsing in the street and Marisol is gravely informed that his heart is “too big.” Instead of registering alarm, she collapses into hysterical laughter, with Otto having the grace to fully get the joke.
Although A Man Called Otto never fully rises above its obvious plot machinations, director Forster thankfully applies a fairly restrained, subtle approach. The result is a film to which you ultimately find yourself succumbing even though you never stop being aware that your heartstrings are being shamelessly pulled.
Full credits
Production companies: Playtone, SF Studios, 2DUX², Columbia Pictures, Stage 6 Films, Artistic Films Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing Cast: Tom Hanks, Mariana Trevino, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Truman Hanks, Mike Birbiglia Director: Marc Foster Screenwriter: David Magee Producers: Fredrik Wikstrom Nicastro, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman Executive producers: Marc Forster, Renee Wolfe, Louise Rosner, David Magee, Michael Porseryd, Tim King, Sudie Smyth, Steven Shareshian, Celia Costas, Neda Backman, Tor Jonasson Director of photography: Matthias Keonigswieser Production designer: Barbara Ling Editor: Matt Chesse Composer: Thomas Newman Costume designer: Frank Fleming Casting: Francine Maisler, Molly Rose
Rated PG-13,
2 hours 6 minutes
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
British actor and satirist John Bird has died aged 86.
The Bremner, Bird and Fortune star passed away “peacefully” on Christmas Eve at a care home in West Sussex, UK, according to his representatives.
Bremner, Bird and Fortune, which was from Vera Productions, ran for 16 seasons in the UK on Channel 4, ending in 2008.
His long-time comedy partner Rory Bremner led the tributes, writing on Twitter he was “deeply saddened to hear that the great John Bird has left us. One of the most modest of men and most brilliant of satirists. And one of the last surviving pillars of the anti-establishment.”
Bremner urged people to view Bird and John Fortunes’ ‘Long Johns’ comedy sketch interviews, in which they played members of the establishment, “and ask yourself if it’s ever been more beautifully done.
Bird (left)on stage with Rory Bremner and John Fortune. Credit: Chris Young – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images
“I used to watch from the wings and marvel at how the two friends made it look so effortless, so blissfully funny, their skill and enjoyment in the moment making light of the seriously detailed research that went into each piece.”
Bird also worked with Fortune and Bremner on Rory Bremner, Who Else? for Channel 4 and the BBC’s Now Something Else.
Fortune died aged 74 on New Year’s Eve 2013.
“Lord knows, satire has missed them this last decade and now that loss is permanent,” said Bremner. “John may not have felt he got his life right, but by god he got it written.”
Bird met Fortune at Cambridge University, where he was part of the famous Cambridge Footlights Revue, where his contemporaries included Peter Cook.
His career included spells at the Royal Court Theatre and acted in fantasy comedy film Jabberwocky, UK comedy series Yes, Prime Minister and One Foot in the Grave, and also played Professor Plum in a TV adaptation of board game Cluedo. He also appeared in popular British detective shows Jonathan Creek, Inspector Morse and Midsomer Murders.
Welcome to your weekly rundown of the biggest stories from Netflix’s top 10 hourly figures drop for the week ending December 25th, 2022.
Netflix updates its top 10 stats page weekly with 40 new hourly figures of the top movies and shows of the past seven days. If you want to browse the top 10 hourly data easily, visit our tool.
This week, Netflix also released its top 40 list for the entire year, which we’ve summarized here.
Note: In this report of Netflix’s hours viewed from December 19th to December 25th, 2022, we’ll use “Complete Viewings Equivalent,” or CVE, expressed in millions. That means we divide the hours viewed announced by Netflix by the runtime of films or series. It allows for better comparisons between films and series, but it’s not an audience metric. It is the minimum number of viewings if they were all complete from the first second to the last of the film or season.
1. Glass Onion scores the third-best launch of 2022.
Picture: Netflix
The much-hyped sequel to ‘Knives out’ did a decent opening week-end with 35.5M CVEs in just three days, good enough to be the 6th best launch for any film released on a Friday since June 2021 and the third best of 2022.
Glass Onion vs other Netflix Original movie releases
Netflix released the charts for the most watched films of 2022, and if we compare Glass Onion to the top performers, its launch is quite good, ranking between Hustle and The Gray Man.
Its second week will be key, but it has not a lot of competition ahead. My early guesstimate for its first 28 days is around the 90M-100M mark.
2. Emily in Paris returns strong with season 3
Fans all around the globe of Emily in Paris were at the Rendez-Vous for the return of the series for its third season. With 21.6M CVEs in over five days, that’s exactly what the second season did a year ago
Emily in Paris season 3 CVE viewership vs season 2
The series is already renewed for a fourth season, but even without it, its renewal would have been a sure thing. Santé!
3. The Witcher: Blood Origin is starting slow – could it be the first The Witcher flop?
It is quite hard to analyze the numbers for The Witcher: Blood Origin as the series was released on Sunday, the last day during which Netflix logs hours viewed.
So with only one day under its belt, it launched with 4.7M CVEs.
Since Sunday is not a typical release day for Netflix, it’s impossible to compare that one-day number with anything else. Still, we can try and compare it to the second season of The Witcher and as you can see here, Blood Origin did not manage really to get all the fans of the main series to watch.
The Witcher: Blood Origin day 1 vs The Witcher season 2.
Its short duration and quite cold critical reception also mean it might fall off the charts quite rapidly.
4. Season 4 of I Am A Killer is a copycat of season 3
Let’s call this week the week of the similar charts as season 4 of the docu-series I Am a Killer landed with 3.5M CVEs over its first five days, which puts it on the same trajectory as the third season.
I Am A Killer season 3 vs season 4 viewership
It might fall off the charts next week, but if Netflix was happy enough with the numbers of season 3, it might equally be happy here.
5. Alice in Borderland is the wild card of the week
Kento Yamazaki as Arisu in Alice in Borderland Season 2
Alice in Borderland returned last week with a second season that launched with 7.2M CVEs.
It’s a bit too early to see how it will evolve and how this launch fared against other series, as we lack some series to compare. Its second week will bring more certainties about its fate, especially if it gets renewed for a third season.
The narratives of an awards season tend to unfold over months as festival winners and various film groups anoint front-runners and winners, but this is a year that couldn’t settle on just one storyline. And that’s an encouraging and hopeful message and story for everyone to latch onto.
One trend: The return of the blockbuster. “Avatar: The Way of Water,” from 20th Century Studios and distributed by Disney, and Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” are two films that can re-engage the public with the Oscars, which used to have a strong track record with big-budget spectacles. Indeed, 25 years ago, the highest-grossing film of all time, “Titanic” (1997), ran away with 11 statuettes. Even afterward, the Academy didn’t hesitate to reward epics including “Gladiator” (2000) and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003) or crime sagas ranging from “The Departed” (2006) to “No Country for Old Men” (2007). Sprinkle in the potentials for Netflix’s “Glass Onion” and Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and the Academy has the ingredients for a delicious ceremony.
Another great storyline: The comeback kids. Brendan Fraser showing everyone that he’s not only a star but a terrific actor in “The Whale” and Ke Huy Quan’s return to movies in such an emotional and crowd-pleasing role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” are great stories.
Yet another welcome back: Todd Field. It took 16 years for Field to return to the director’s chair after blazing onto the awards scenes with “In the Bedroom” (2001) and “Little Children” (2006), and now with Focus Features’ “Tár,” he has one more shot at Oscar gold.
Veteran actors also provide a good narrative for this awards season as artists such as Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) are all well-positioned to receive their first Oscar noms.
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood, who made an outstanding debut over 20 years ago with “Love & Basketball” (2000), seems in line to receive her first Academy Award nomination for her action epic “The Woman King.”
International names and titles are being embraced in a significant way. Go to any social media platform and type in “RRR” from surprise NYFCC winner S.S. Rajamouli, and you’ll be greeted with a barrage of song memes and passionate fans of the Indian feature. Cinephiles have long known about German actor Nina Hoss, who gave indelible performances in “Barbara” and “Phoenix.” Now, seeing her as the fragile yet stern wife to Cate Blanchett in “Tár,” Hollywood is finally catching onto the secret many of us have known for years — Hoss is one of the best in the game.
And let’s not forget about the music. Aside from historical potentials such as the first Black woman finding recognition in original score — Chanda Dancy for Sony’s “Devotion” — the original song race is full of the biggest pop stars in the world — Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Joe Jonas, Billie Eilish and the Weeknd — are all angling for a trip to the Dolby Theatre.
The Academy has learned a lot over the past decade. It expanded its membership following #OscarsSoWhite, it knows to never put lead actor last during an awards ceremony and now knows that if an eventual winner slaps a presenter, organizers should probably show the door.
Christian Slater and Warwick Davis in WillowPhoto: Lucasfilm
Christian Slater’s long-awaited Willowepisode is here at last. For viewers of a certain age, or anyone familiar with his filmography, this is a pretty big deal. In the ‘80s, he was known for playing iconoclastic characters in films like Heathers and Pump Up The Volume, so bringing him on board a series based on a movie from that era makes sense. Up until now, we had Boorman filling in for Madmartigan as the wisecracking warrior of the group. Slater’s character is similar in tone, but he adds a new energy to the show, and there’s plenty of room for both of them. It’s just too bad they couldn’t get him for the whole series. (I prefer to think it was a scheduling issue rather than the creative team’s choice to have him in only one episode, because who wouldn’t want Slater as a regular?). He plays Allagash, who was briefly name-checked in the previous episode so it should sound familiar when we finally meet him here.
Before we meet him, we see the trolls leading Kit and Willow through the mine. It’s a massive operation, and there are many other captives here—both Daikini and Nelwyn—working as slave labor. Kit and Willow aren’t put to work, though. They’re thrown into a crow’s cage, just like the just like the one Willow found Madmartigan in at the crossroads all those years ago. Kit is sure they can work together to find a way out, but a skeptical voice interrupts her with a laugh. Christian Slater has entered the chat.
He tells Willow and Kit that he’s been imprisoned for 10 years, give or take (apparently we’re now counting in years instead of moons, which was the only time reference up until this point). He tried to escape many times, but gave up hope long ago. “I suppose in the end, it’s hope that really breaks your spirit,” he says, giving the opposite of an inspirational pep talk. As a clever bit of meta misdirection, he introduces himself as Madmartigan.
Before we can get more clarity on that, the trio is joined by a surprisingly articulate troll who introduces himself as Lord Sarris, chief administrator at Skellin. These trolls are a vastly different species than the feral monsters we met at Tir Asleen in the original. They’ve evolved into bureaucrats, and even have upper and lower managers. Sarris continues: “This ill-tempered crank on my left is my brother, Falken. Say hello, Falken.” I kind of like this new take on the trolls. I mean, they’re nasty villains, and Sarris is outright rude to Willow, but they’re weird and funny, without the humor being forced. Sarris asks Kit who she is and she tells him—maybe those truth plums haven’t worn off yet. He tells them to settle in because no one is coming to save them. He’s wrong, of course.
G/O Media may get a commission
The rest of the party is outside at that moment, formulating a plan to break them out. Boorman wants to go alone, but they all insist on going in together. Scorpia, who’s joined the quest for the moment, asks Boorman how he got out the last time when he slaughtered all those trolls. He has to admit he didn’t slaughter them so much as he “slaughtered their pizzazz.” They still seem pretty pizzazzy to me. Boorman leads them through the sewers, which is the actual and unglamorous way he got out the last time.
Sarris has Kit tied to a chair while he goes on about how great the Crone is. Is she the eldritch nightmare that people make her out to be? Yes, but she has some positive qualities too. She taught them how to refine the vermiscus, the evil goo at the bottom of the mine, and how to make an elixir that is presumably the cause of their evolution. As servants of the Crone, they’re preoccupied with the same question she is: Where is Elora Danan? Little do they know, she’s currently sneaking into the mine a few floors below.
Elora’s powers are growing rapidly due to the proximity of the vermiscus. She’s hearing things and causing the whole cave to shake. As they try to sneak past the trolls, Graydon wants to clarify some things that were left unsettled with Elora. She doesn’t want to have the feelings conversation at that moment, and she has a point. It’s underscored by the way their conversation is framed in the foreground with a big fight scene going on behind them. Graydon also casually reveals what his father whispered to him before they left on the quest. I had totally forgotten about that, to be honest, though it seemed important at the time. He told him to kill Boorman. But Graydon never intended to go through with it (as if he could). Everyone gets distracted when they noticed the glowing goo is reacting to Elora’s presence and lighting up Cherlindrea’s wand. She’s losing control of her powers.
Willow tells Christian Slater that he knows he’s not Madmartigan. He carries on the act for as long as he can but ultimately admits he isn’t. Willow knows that he’s Allagash. Kit recognizes the name and recalls her father telling her he was “the only knight in Galladoorn that was dumber than he was.” He also might be the last person to have seen Madmartigan before he disappeared. Allagash was originally on the quest with Boorman and Madmartigan to find the Kymerian Cuirass when he was captured by the trolls. Like his former companions, Allagash is a bit of a rogue who will think nothing of lying, cheating, and stealing, but is equally capable of doing something selflessly noble in the heat of the moment. You never quite know what to expect with these types, which at least keeps it interesting.
Allagash spins a tale of betrayal among the crew who set out searching for the Kymerian Cuirass. He claims the betrayer was Boorman. Am I supposed to be suspicious of Boorman now? I find it highly unlikely that this character we’ve just met (even if he is played by Christian Slater) is more trustworthy than the guy who’s been with us on this quest since the beginning.
Willow | Official Trailer | Disney+
The rescue team gets their first good look at the full scale of the trolls’ mining operations. Scorpia wants to stay behind to save as many prisoners as possible. With a warning to Jade that she’ll one day have to choose sides and a kiss to Boorman, Scorpia takes off. The rest disguise themselves as trolls and try to blend in. One troll leads Graydon away for an assignment on another floor, and he has no choice but to follow.
With Allagash’s help, Willow and Kit manage to escape. As they sneak away, Allagash tells them what happened to Madmartigan (occasionally accompanied snippets of the original Willow score, a nice touch). It turns out this mountain isn’t just a mine, there are hidden and ancient places the trolls don’t know about. One of those is the Tomb of Wiggleheim, the final resting place of a famous Nelwyn “adventurer, raconteur, and darts champion,” who had all of his treasures buried with him. One of those treasures is rumored to be the cuirass. When their search party found the tomb all those years ago, trolls attacked them. Allagash fought them so Madmartigan could go in, and gave them his name when he got captured so they wouldn’t search any further for him (which does make sense, since they’re servants of The Crone, and she’s got a specific grudge against Madmartigan).
At the same time, Boorman is also leading Jade and Elora—not to save Willow and Kit as they believe, but straight to the tomb. When they find out they’re understandably pissed. He argues that they’d never be able to free Willow and Kit without it. It’s a convenient excuse to retrieve something we know he’s desperate to find, and maybe it’s intended to make the audience suspect him more, but I still don’t see Boorman making that kind of heel turn at this point. A magic breastplate certainly would come in handy when fighting the trolls.
Our two separate groups—plus Allagash and minus Graydon, who’s still undercover as a troll somewhere in the mines—finally meet up at the tomb. Allagash and Boorman aren’t thrilled to see each other again. They fight, hurling insults like “You puckered old bergencoif,” and “You spineless little zudcutter.” Their lively exchange feels more Willow than just about anything we’ve seen on this show so far. Boorman clarifies that it wasn’t him but Allagash who betrayed their crew (yep, called it). He stole the Lux Arcana (the magic key that unlocks the power of the cuirass for those who are worthy) and got some of their companions killed. Boorman stole it back from him but regrets that he didn’t stay with Madmartigan until the end.
The Wiggleheim’s tomb holds a series of booby traps and tests before they can get to the treasure. Working together, the group solves some riddles and gains entrance to the tomb. Allagash and Boorman waste no time racing inside and rummaging through piles of treasure, each trying to find the cuirass first. Kit follows them in at a slower pace, almost in a trance, and finds her father’s sword. A swirling portal opens, and someone on the other side calls her name. It sounds a lot like Madmartigan. He asks for her help, but Elora and Jade drag her out of the tomb before Kit steps through the portal and gets stuck in there too.
Allagash has already taken off with the cuirass and the Lux when they come out. The trolls catch up to them and demand to know which one is Elora Danan. They all say, “I am.” You’ve got to appreciate a well-placed “I am Spartacus” moment. Suddenly one of the trolls steps out—it’s Graydon, just the upper hand they need. He returns Willow’s staff, and a fight ensues. In the middle of it all, Allagash returns, not out of any altruistic motive but because the cuirass doesn’t work. Boorman says it’s because he’s unworthy. Allagash tells the trolls who he really is, calling himself “Chloe Allagash’s brave little man.” How can I stay mad at you, Christian Slater?
Before Allagash sacrifices himself so the rest of them can escape, he tells Kit that her father only let him live so he could one day tell his family that they had to protect what matters most in their world: Elora Danan. Just as it seemed Kit was starting to get over all those resentments they come rushing back. It all adds to her anger after coming so close to seeing her father again, only to be torn away. Elora has already seen this happening exactly as it unfolds here. They yell at each other for a bit (it’s always the same argument), then Kit is struck by falling debris and falls beneath the surface of the vermiscus. Elora tries to save her with a spell, and that’s where we leave them.
Finally, this episode is bookended by two brief Airk scenes. In the first one, he’s all alone in the Immemorial City, or so it seems. He hears whispers calling to him: “Join us. Embrace your power.” He isn’t tempted and tries to walk out of the city. In this last scene, he comes right back to the place where he started. Exhausted and thirsty, he drinks from a pool that looks a lot like the glowing evil goo in the mines. Then a pretty young girl appears, tells him she’s imprisoned too and asks him to let her out. It’s a good thing the quest to find Airk is back on track, because our prince may be in more trouble than he realizes.
Stray observations:
This week’s anachronistic end-credit musical track is The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.” So much to read into there.
Willow has been mostly fun, though it’s sometimes felt a little forced. Slater’s presence really took things up a notch, like finding just the right seasoning to complete a dish. He won’t be back this season, but I hope the writers were taking notes.
Speaking of which, although it looked like Allagash was in dire straits when we left him, I have to believe there’s a chance they could bring him back in some way if they get a second season. This is a fantasy show, after all.
Let’s hear it for the new and improved trolls and Tom Wilton, who plays Sarris. They were the second-best part of this episode.
There’s a good reason the voice of Madmartigan in this episode sounds so much like Val Kilmer—it was recorded by his son Jack Kilmer. Jack’s mother is Joanne Whalley (Sorsha), who married her Willow co-star shortly after the film came out.
Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, who played Tyene Sand on Game Of Thrones, joins the show this week as “Lili,” the girl who finds Airk at the end. We’ll see her again in the next two episodes. I have a bad feeling that may not be her true name.
As photographers and Cinematographers, the power to capture and tell stories with our images is essential, and to do so we need to master some important concepts that will always come in handy in every job. The concept that we will study today is dynamic range.
By understanding and mastering the concept of dynamic range, we can learn how to properly expose every scene and get more information out of every camera sensor we will ever work with.
Let’s dive right into it!
What Is Dynamic Range
Dynamic range in digital sensors is defined as the range of signals from the strongest signal to the weakest signal. The difference between the photonic and/or electronic noise in the system with no signal present and the maximum signal the system can record without clipping or distorting the signal is considered to be the dynamic range of the sensor.
In more simple words, the dynamic range measures how well a camera can accurately record and display variations in brightness levels. High dynamic range means that there is more available detail in both bright and dark areas of an image. With low dynamic range, details get lost when they become too bright or too dark for the camera’s sensors to accurately record them.
This ratio is usually measured in f-stops of latitude.
Usually, the smaller a sensor of a camera, the lower the dynamic range of the camera will be. With such sensors, it is more difficult to properly expose the highlights and shadows. On the other hand, cameras that have bigger sensors can retain more easily information in the shadows and highlights.
As a photographer, it is essential to understand the importance of dynamic range since it will help to produce more accurate images with more depth and detail and as a Cinematographer, understanding this concept will help you adjust the exposure for different scenarios (as we will see later on).
Video dynamic range vs Film Dynamic Range
From the early days of film on into the digital era, photographers have been challenged by their camera’s inability to record the scene as their eyes see it. Those who were able to master the limitations of the camera learned to “see” as the camera sees and take better pictures.
However, for the large population of amateurs and serious hobbyists, many images continued to be a disappointment, with flowers and landscapes lost in murky shadows, and washed-out skies
that lacked the blue so vividly remembered.
Human vision is capable of sensing up to 30 stops of light. A dynamic range of such magnitude cannot be recorded by any current photographic device except by integrating numerous successive bracketed exposures.
The resulting high dynamic range (HDR) image can be contained in a 32-bit floating point file that preserves the values of the original scene ranging from the darkest darks to the brightest highlights, all with full detail.
Modern color negative films are capable of recording between 14 and 15 stops of latitude.
Both Film and Digital cameras can only pick up a limited portion of the dynamic range that human eyes would.
This simply means that something we perceive as a very light gray in a scene, will be then recorded by the camera as pure white, since that level of brightness is not seen by the camera.
Vice versa, if we perceive something as dark gray, it will most likely be recorded as pure black because the camera doesn’t have a high enough dynamic range to see that specific tone.
One of the benefits of shooting in film rather than digital is the quality of the dynamic range. By this, I mean that if we were to overexpose a scene shot in film by 3 or 4 stops, we would be able to recover all the information in post-production with minimal to no loss of information.
When we shoot in digital, we have a flexibility that goes to 1 to 2 stops max and we don’t have any certainty that we will recover that information in post-production.
That’s why, every time a film is shot in film, the Director of Photography decides to overexpose 1 stop the negative.
Relationship between Dynamic Range and ISO
The dynamic range of a camera is not something that we can change, but what we can do is adjust other settings in the camera to change the values of the dynamic range. This will all make more sense shortly but before we have to understand what is ISO.
What is the ISO?
ISO (which stands for International Standards Organization) is a number that represents the sensitivity of light for a specific film stock or digital camera. In detail, it means how much light we needed to produce a good image.
Obviously, it is always possible to shoot a scene in very low light conditions and then try to fix it in post-production, but the result you will get is most likely be with a lot of noise, low resolution and with very unusual contrast ratios.
Every camera has what’s called a native ISO. It represents the perfect parameter for the sensor for the camera to expose at without having any alterations such as gain. It is basically just the amount of exposure that fills the photosites, without over or underfilling them.
One important note when it comes to measuring ISO, is that 1 stop of light equals double the amount of ISO. So, for example, let’s say that we have an ISO at 800. If we want to gain 1 stop of light we can either open the aperture of 1 stop or increase the ISO to double the amount we have so in this case, 1600.
Dynamic Range and ISO
Now that we understand how ISO works, we can finally understand how it works in relationship with Dynamic Range.
To explain this concept, let’s take as an example the dynamic range of an Alexa Mini which has 14 stops.
Changing the ISO in the camera doesn’t change the dynamic range. It is 14 stops and it will remain 14 stops. What we can decide is where this dynamic range falls.
We can see the chart down to understand better this concept.
As you can see in the chart, changing the ISO doesn’t affect where the dynamic range fall. This might sound a little bit strange and backward, but if we increase the ISO we would get more information in the HIGHLIGHTS and vice versa, if we decrease the ISO we would protect more the SHADOWS.
If we, for example, are shooting in a living room and sunlight is coming in from a window, the first thing we might do is lowering the ISO, but doing the opposite would protect the highlights more, as we saw in the image above. What we can do to avoid it clipping is to add an ND filter.
This is very important to understand since it can really help you in post-production to actually adjust and change any information in the shadows or highlights.
Conclusion
In conclusion, dynamic range is a very powerful tool to understand and I hope that this article will make you experiment in your shoots with different ISO to see firsthand what we discussed in this article.
If you have any questions, feel free to comment below and I will be more than happy to reply!
Matteo Martignago is a Gaffer and Director of Photography based in Los Angeles. He has recently founded ArtisticHive which is an educational company and go-to resource for helping today’s artists and creators to build and grow their careers or simply start a new creative journey.
The war in Ukraine and the “Freedom Convoy” protests were overwhelmingly chosen by Canadians as the top news stories of 2022, a new poll suggests, with economic concerns like rising inflation not far behind.
The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found 71 per cent of those surveyed said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the top international story of the past year, while 62 per cent said the convoy demonstrations in Ottawa and across the country was the top news story at home. Forty per cent said rising interest rates and inflation around the world was a number-one issue globally.
Ukraine and the convoy were “two pretty lurid stories that really captured a lot of attention,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, but for different reasons.
The protests in Ottawa, particularly, was an “unprecedented story that Canadians couldn’t take (their) eyes away from,” he said.
“I think that was really more about values and how people were feeling generally about the direction of the country than it was specifically about the economy.”
Although the protests themselves lasted about three weeks in late January and early February, the government’s unprecedented decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to help clear the demonstrators ensured the story stayed in the headlines for months afterward — culminating in a weeks-long inquiry that wrapped public testimony last month.
The convoy protests, and the movement’s opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, also likely helped ensure the pandemic remained top of mind for Canadians: 34 per cent said it remained the most important news story this year.
‘2023 won’t be much of a break’: Food prices expected to keep soaring in 2023
The war in Ukraine, meanwhile, has now dragged on for more than 300 days since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion in February. The conflict has had major implications on the global economy, energy prices and supplies, and food security, while Canada has joined Western allies in sending billions of dollars to help Ukraine’s war effort and humanitarian aid.
Beyond those concerns, Bricker says the “tragedies that we’re seeing in Ukraine” have continued to capture Canadians’ attention and sympathies.
“There was a lot of emotion around these stories and there continues to be a lot of emotion, particularly around the war in Ukraine,” he said.
Domestically, the widespread Rogers outage in July was ranked the second most notable news story of the past year, with 37 per cent of those surveyed saying it was a top issue.
Thirty-four per cent said the death of Queen Elizabeth II was the major international story of 2022, while 35 per cent said King Charles III being named Canada’s new head of state was the top Canadian story.
One in five Canadians said the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and removing abortion as a constitutional right was the biggest story in the world this year, rounding out the top five.
For Canadian stories, Fiona’s battering of Atlantic Canada and Pierre Poilievre’s election as leader of the Conservative Party earned 23 and 22 per cent support among those surveyed, respectively.
Notably, only seven per cent chose the reason for Poilievre’s campaign and victory — Erin O’Toole’s ouster as Conservative leader — as a top news story.
Story continues below advertisement
Guns, health care and inflation: Singh takes stock of NDP-Liberal agreement
Twice the number of Canadians polled (21 per cent) said they were more enamoured with Canada qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup than they were with the competition itself (11 per cent).
Other top stories for Canadians domestically were Pope Francis’ visit to Canadian Indigenous communities (15 per cent) and conversion therapy becoming illegal (seven per cent), which younger respondents were twice as likely to see as significant than older Canadians.
Only six per cent of Canadians surveyed said Mattea Roach’s winning streak on Jeopardy! was the top Canadian news story of the year. Unsurprisingly, interest was far higher in Roach’s home region of Atlantic Canada, where 14 per cent of respondents chose the story compared to single digits across most other provinces.
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between December 14 and 16, 2022, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,004 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
2022 has come to an end, and with it a year full of video games news. A lot went on in the gaming space this year, with the industry seeing waves of acquisitions, the rise and fall of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, some game releases that took the world by storm and a casting choice for a video game movie that we all came together to dunk on.
Think you can remember all the big stories? Try our quiz below to see how well you know the gaming news of 2022.
Question 1 of 10
Which actor voices Mario in the upcoming “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”?
Nintendo showed the first trailer for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” in October, giving all of us an earful of Chris Pratt (of “Parks and Recreation” and Guardians of the Galaxy fame) as the iconic plumber. Many fans were swift to decry the choice for the snub to Mario’s longtime voice actor, Charles Martinet, and for what they felt was Pratt’s uninspired voice acting (not to mention his ties to the controversial megachurch Hillsong). At least the non-English voices are fun.
Question 2 of 10
Which major tech company announced this year that it’s shutting down its cloud gaming service?
Google’s venture into cloud gaming came to an end this year, when in September it announced the shutdown of Stadia by Jan. 18, 2023. Released in 2019, Stadia promised the ability to play video games without needing a high-end console or powerful computer, using Google’s data centers. Stadia had a lot of potential, and it was, briefly and unexpectedly, one of the more reliable ways to play “Cyberpunk 2077” following the game’s rocky 2020 launch. Players can get refunds for their games and hardware, and several game developers are offering ways to transfer saves to a new device.
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Question 3 of 10
Which video game studio — the first to unionize in North America — found itself back in the news this year when it announced it was shutting down?
Vodeo Games, developer of the game “Beast Breaker,” announced it was shutting down in September. Vodeo became the first officially recognized video game union in North America in 2021, part of a movement that swelled this year to include employees at studios such as Raven Software, Blizzard Albany, ZeniMax and others.
Question 4 of 10
Which popular game series’s next entry leaked this year, with large amounts of footage appearing widely online?
In September, over 90 clips of a new game by Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar were leaked online, apparently in-development footage of “Grand Theft Auto VI.” Rockstar was quick to take them down, later confirming the leak was the result of a hack. The clips showed a potential female protagonist, a first for the popular crime/driving/doing-crimes-while-driving series. The “GTA VI” leak was one of the largest in the history of the notoriously secretive video game industry. The leaker, a teenager from England, was arrested and charged with computer misuse.
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Question 5 of 10
Which of the following gaming acquisitions wasn’t announced this year?
2022 was a banner year for video game acquisitions, the biggest of which was Microsoft’s in-progress purchase of Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion. The FTC sued to block the deal in early December, and the European Union has been investigating it, with both governing bodies citing concerns over the deal’s impact on competition in the video game industry. Other acquisitions this year included Embracer Group buying Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics and Deus Ex developer Eidos-Montréal from Square Enix (among many other studios), Sony acquiring Destiny maker Bungie, and Take-Two Interactive buying “FarmVille” creator Zynga. (Microsoft acquired ZeniMax in 2020, which was approximately 1 million years ago.)
Question 6 of 10
What was the name of the “Elden Ring” player who helped gamers across the world by taking on the tough boss Melania wearing nothing but a loincloth and a pot on his head?
Notoriously difficult game “Elden Ring” saw an unexpected hero in player Let Me Solo Her, whose avatar — naked except for a pot on his head — appeared in players’ games to take on the notoriously challenging boss Melania. Gamers came together in May to watch Let Me Solo Her kill Melania for the 1,000th time, a feat that earned him a special gift from “Elden Ring” publisher Bandai Namco and developer From Software.
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Question 7 of 10
Which revived gaming-focused television network shut down this year after being brought back by Comcast in 2020?
The original G4 made popular many personalities gamers know today, such as Adam Sessler, Olivia Munn and Geoff Keighley. Fans were cautiously optimistic when Comcast announced it was reviving the channel in 2020. But the new G4 struggled to find its footing, facing shifting content priorities and several rounds of layoffs. Its owners abruptly closed the network in mid-October.
Question 8 of 10
Which cryptocurrency firm — which became mired in controversy at the end of this year — had a partnership with troubled esports organization TSM?
Esports organization TSM signed a 10-year naming rights agreement with cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2021, but that deal dissolved this year when FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down following accusations of misappropriation of funds amid broader declines in the cryptocurrency space. Most recently, “League of Legends” developer Riot Games ended a seven-year sponsorship deal with the now-bankrupt FTX (Bankman-Fried is, reportedly, a big “League” fan.).
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Question 9 of 10
What longtime goal did Pokémon protagonist Ash Ketchum finally achieve this year?
After 25 years of trying while admirably remaining only 10 years old, the Pokémon anime’s protagonist, Ash Ketchum, became Pokémon world champion, finally becoming the best, like no one ever was. Perhaps as a result of this achievement, Ketchum won’t be the star of the Pokémon anime series moving forward. Maybe now he’ll finally be allowed to have a birthday.
Question 10 of 10
What was the best-selling game of 2022?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II released in late October, and in its short 2022 life span it managed to surpass previous bestseller “Elden Ring” to become the top-selling video game of the year. In its first weekend, the game made over $800 million dollars in sales, and the subsequent additions of multiplayer modes Warzone 2.0 and DMZ have kept players coming back.
You have to admit that David Magee is certainly versatile. In 2022 alone, the in-demand screenwriter has seen the release of the Netflix YA movie The School of Good and Evil, the sizzlingly hot adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s classic Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and opening at the end of the month is the heartwarming American remake of the Swedish comedy A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks.
That might be enough for a career for some writers in Hollywood, but it is just another year in the life of this go-to talent. Magee first won acclaim, and an Oscar nomination in 2004, for Finding Neverland. He earned a second Oscar nomination in 2013 for adapting the book The Life of Pi. For the latter, Ang Lee-directed film, many thought it an impossible task to adapt the book for the screen, but Magee found a way and the film won four Oscars, and like Neverland was nominated for Best Picture.
Magee’s other credits include Mary Poppins Returns and the upcoming Rob Marshall version of The Little Mermaid. From Disney to D.H. Lawrence it seems nothing is too daunting for Magee, who also took on a challenge in living up to an enormous global bestseller and hit Swedish Oscar-nominated movie A Man Called Ove. But with the endorsement of Hanks and Rita Wilson, who are also producers, his A Man Called Otto works on its own terms.
Magee joins me for this week’s episode of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens.To watch, click on the video above.
Join me every Friday during Oscar season for another edition of Behind the Lens.
Edyth “Edie” Landau, producer of The David Susskind Show and Long Day’s Journey Into Night as well an executive at National Telefilm Associates, died in her home on December 24, 2022. She was 95.
The producer was born on July 15, 1927, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. After graduating college she moved to New York City to pursue a career in entertainment where she became an executive at National Telefilm Associates, a company run by Ely Landau, who Edie ended up marrying.
Edie became Executive Vice President of the company, overseeing the station’s original programming including the anthology drama series The Play of the Week, The Mike Wallace Show, The David Susskind Sho, and Open End.
She and her husband continued to work together producing films like 1962’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, an adaptation of the Eugene O’Neill play. Directed by Sidney Lumet, and starring Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards and Dean Stockwell, the film won Best Actor awards for all its leading actors at the Cannes Film Festival and earned Hepburn an Academy Award nomination.
Films like 1964’s The Pawnbroker followed for which Rod Steiger received an Academy Award nomination, and the landmark documentary King: A Filmed Record…Montgomery to Memphis (1970), about Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and in 1999, it was added to the National Film Registry.
In 1973, the Landaus launched The American Film Theatre, bringing two seasons of outstanding stage plays to the big screen as part of a subscription series. The 14-film series included Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance starring Hepburn, O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh with Lee Marvin, Pinter’s The Homecoming with Vivien Merchant and Ian Holm and Robert Shaw’s The Man in the Glass Booth for which Maximilian Schell received an Academy Award nomination.
Edie would venture into cable television producing films for HBO, including The Deadly Game with George Segal and Trevor Howard, Separate Tables with Julie Christie and Alan Bates, Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson with Sir Laurence Olivier and Jackie Gleason and The Christmas Wife with Robards and Julie Harris.
At the age of 55, Edie became a member of the State Bar of California after attending the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. In 1989 she started an agency in Beverly Hills called Nannies Unlimited.
Edie turned to write poetry and published five original volumes titled “Smiles for Seniors: And Anyone Else Who Can Poke Fun at Themselves,” “Life in Two Lines: Poems to Make Seniors Smile,” “Life in the Coronavirus Era: Poems to Help Seniors Smile,” “Edie’s Book of Wisdom” and “Edie’s Anatomy Lesson.”
“I feel confident that you’ll never take part in violence / But I do worry that at some point you might resort to silence,” Edie wrote in one poem at the age of 93 about the importance of speaking up.
Edie is survived by her children Jon, Tina, and Kathy, her stepson Les, and their families.
It’s probably not fair, this season especially, to recoil at the remaking of a classic. “A Christmas Carol,“ for one, has been told and retold countless times, and who among us won’t jump at the chance to watch the Muppets or Bill Murray do their version of Dickens.
Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film “Ikiru” has no holiday connection, but it likewise concerns the late-in-life redemption of an old man whose awakening comes amid softly falling snow. There’s a good case to be made that “Ikiru,” with its sublime sense of sorrow and compassion and its stunning third-act perspective switch, ought to be staged and restaged annually like “A Christmas Carol,“ to perennially stir our spirits. “Ikiru,” after all, drew from the at-death’s-door existentialism of Leo Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.”
And yet, I can’t help a “bah humbug” welling up in me over Oliver Hermanus’ coolly elegant “Ikiru” remake, “Living.” The film, written by the Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, is a handsome piece of work and finely acted, particularly Bill Nighy, who stars as a British civil servant named Mr. Williams.
But, well, it’s an inalienable right that if your heart belongs to a movie, you can skeptically eye any remake. My grip on “Ikiru” (which translates as “To Live”) may be too tight to loosen that bias and embrace this dispassionate, eminently British spin on near- sacred cinematic ground. But I found it too neatly arranged, too crisply composed to register as much more than a pale reflection.
“Living” is the story of an ordinary man, reduced by years of oppressive office routine to a shadow existence, who at the eleventh hour makes a supreme effort to turn his dull life into something wonderful.
The first thing you notice about “Living” is its starkly stylish photography. Hermanus, the South African filmmaker of last year’s striking Apartheid-era drama “Moffie,” and his cinematographer, Jamie D. Ramsay, open the film with a chorus of bowler hats and pinstriped suits on a train platform outside London in 1953. As exquisite as the images are, their formal beauty enhances the sense that “Living“ is more content at an artful remove from daily life than earnestly reckoning with it.
Of course, no one does repression quite like Ishiguro, author of “The Remains of the Day” and “Never Let Me Go.” In transferring “Ikiru” to midcentury England he’s taken dead aim at a traditional notion of gentlemanliness and a classic sense of Britishness. We’re introduced to this world not by Mr. Williams but a new hire named Peter Wakeling (Alex Sharp) in the Public Works department. It’s there where Mr. Williams quietly rules over a hushed corner of sprawling bureaucracy and “skyscrapers” of paperwork. On the train platform, some veteran colleagues hint at the severity Peter is walking into. After speaking a little too excitedly, one advises, “Not too much fun and laughter, rather like church.”
Much the same could be said of “Living,” more of a museum piece than its title suggests. Inside the Public Works office, Mr. Williams sits hunched over papers that either transfers to some other department or adds to the pile. “We can keep it here,” he says. “There’s no harm.”
It’s striking to hear Nighy’s voice so colorless and see his manner so stiff. His best performances are much more vibrant than his in “Living,” ironically enough. But Nighy has impressively drained himself of the wit and charm that usually flows naturally out of him, adding a tension to “Living.” We know that deep down there’s a more animated soul in Mr. Williams.
When Mr. Williams is diagnosed with a fatal cancer and given a few months to live, the way Hermanus and Ishiguro play the scene couldn’t be in starker contrast to Kurosawa. In “Ikiru,” Takashi Shimura’s Kanji Watanabe is told by a doctor that it’s just an ulcer, a lie that both he and we know to be a cover for stomach cancer. Despair is written all over Shimura’s face. In “Living,” the doctor gives it to him straight and unemotionally. “It’s never easy, this,” he says. “Quite,” replies Mr. Williams.
He is, as his young, livelier colleague Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou Wood) later describes her impression of him, “sort of dead but not dead.” With his life given an expiration date, Mr. Williams slowly begins to throw off his habits of propriety. A gentleman, he says a little regretfully, “is what I longed to be.”
In stolen moments with Margaret, he begins grasping his last bits of life. It’s here that you would expect most any modern telling of “Ikiru” to slide into sentimentality. The dryness of “Living,“ to its credit, avoids those pitfalls, and, overall, has trimmed Kurosawa’s tale into a more focused 102 minutes. But there’s a stale emptiness to “Living” that doesn’t entirely dissipate in even its most moving scenes. When Mr. Williams devotes himself to seeing through a local playground — his first and last bid to make something lasting outside of the daily grind — the crescendo is again both affecting and disquieting. Because it’s told, after his death, through the gossipy chatter of colleagues, “Living” leaves you with a melancholy puzzlement: Why does it take death to allow anyone to truly live?
“Living,” a Sony Pictures Classics release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for some suggestive material and smoking. Running time: 102 minutes. Two stars out of four.
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free)
Sign In
Register
Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the Code of Conduct. The Star does not endorse these opinions.
Christo Grozev, the investigative journalist featured in the Navalny documentary, has been put on Russia’s “wanted” list.
According to the Russian Interior Ministry’s website, via CNN, Grozev is “wanted under an article of the Criminal Code,” but doesn’t further cite the article.
Grozev took to Twitter and said, “I have no idea on what grounds the Kremlin has put me on its ‘wanted list’, thus I cannot provide any comments at this time. In a way it doesn’t matter – for years they’ve made it clear they are scared of our work and would stop at nothing to make it go away.”
A general comment: I have no idea on what grounds the Kremlin has put me on its “wanted list”, thus I cannot provide any comments at this time. In a way it doesn’t matter – for years they’ve made it clear they are scared of our work and would stop at nothing to make it go away. https://t.co/fd4Evbd7gJ
Grozev has been reporting about Russian international crimes, including the poisoning of Alexey Navalny in 2020. The latter is the focus of the documentary film Navalny by Daniel Roher where Grozev is featured. Grozev recently talked to Deadline Contenders Documentary about the film, in particular, a scene where Navalny impersonated a Russian official.
“My God, this guy’s giving us much more data than we even had before the beginning of the phone call to somewhere midway through the call, I was starting to feel pity for him and sorry,” Grozev said. “I’m thinking what have we done to this killer or one of the killers? And then towards the end, I was already kind of jaded and thinking, ‘OK, I peaked. I’m never gonna see anything as good as this in my life. So what else is there to do for the rest of my life?’”
Navalny also recently made the Oscars shortlist for documentary feature.
Edyth “Edie” Landau, a producer who oversaw original programming like “The David Susskind Show” and the anthology series “The Play of the Week” during her tenure as executive vice president of the National Telefilm Associates, died in her home Saturday. She was 95.
Other series under Edie’s purview as EVP included “The Mike Wallace Show,” “Open End,” “The Bishop Queen Show” and “One Night Stand.” She remained at the television production company until 1961.
Born on July 15, 1927 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. to a Jewish family, Edie moved to New York in 1948 to embark on a career path in entertainment. She first served as a production coordinator on radio shows like “Gangbusters” and “Mr. District Attorney” before moving into her executive position at National Telefilm Associates. At the time, the company was a start-up run by the late producer Ely Landau, who Edie ultimately married.
Edie continued to collaborate with her husband to produce original projects, such as “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” in 1962. Adapted from Eugene O’Neill’s play of the same name, the film secured acting awards for Katharine Hepburn, Dean Stockwell, Jason Robards and Ralph Richardson.
Features like 1964’s “The Pawnbroker” and the 1970 documentary “King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis” similarly received critical acclaim, with both films receiving Oscar nominations. The latter was even added to the National Film Registry in 1999 for its illuminating first-hand footage of Dr. Martin Luther King’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.
Edie and Ely launched The American Film Theatre in 1973, an initiative that adapted dozens of plays into film for a series of brief theatrical runs. Totaling at 14 films, highlights from the series included Academy Award nominee “The Man in the Glass Booth,” “The Iceman Cometh” and “A Delicate Balance,” which once again starred Hepburn.
From the 1970s onward, Edie continued to produce films like “Hoscotch,” “The Chosen and “The Holcroft Covenant” along with made-for-television HBO features like “The Deadly Game,” “Separate Tables,” “Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson” and “The Christmas Wife.”
Edie later began instruction at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law and became a member of the State Bar of California at 55-years-old. Edie went on to start a Beverly Hills-based agency called Nannies Unlimited to help domestic guardians find trusted child care personnel.
In more recent years, Edie channeled her creativity through writing poetry. Her five original volumes are titled “Smiles for Seniors: Any Anyone Else Who Can Poke Fun at Themselves,” “Life in Two Lines: Poems to Make Seniors Smile,” “Life in the Coronavirus Era: Poems to Help Seniors Smile,” “Edie’s Book of Wisdom” and “Edie’s Anatomy Lesson.”
“I feel confident that you’ll never take part in violence / But I do worry that at some point you might resort to silence,” Edie wrote in one poem, reflecting on the importance of speaking out against injustice — an ideal she’s upheld throughout her own storied career.
Edie is survived by her children, Jon, Tina and Kathy; her stepson, Les; and her children’s families.
Every year, the NBC television network airs new and continuing TV series. Many are cancelled and many are renewed by the season’s end. Although everyone understands that Nielsen ratings usually play a big role in TV cancellations and renewals, most fans do not get to participate in that system. So, we are offering you the chance to rate NBC TV shows here, instead.
NBC TV series that have premiered (so far) during the 2022-23 television season:Capital One College Bowl, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD, La Brea, Law & Order, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Lopez vs. Lopez, New Amsterdam, Quantum Leap, The Voice, The Wheel, and Young Rock.
Here’s a ranking of how the NBC TV shows from the 2022-23 season (roughly September 2021-August 2022) stack up with our readers. Rate the TV series you watch via the “Vote Now” links, below. (You can see how all of the 2022-23 network shows rank here.)
What do you think? Which NBC TV series do you rate as wonderful, terrible, or somewhere between? If it were left up to you, which NBC TV shows would be cancelled or renewed for another season?
Check out our NBC status sheet to track the peacock network’s new series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.
– English Audio Description
Not yet rated
Facebook
Twitter
Mastodon
Login or register for updates…
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24310922/SundayTicket_16x9_TK_V01A_BLK.max_1000x1000.jpg)
Facebook
Twitter
Mastodon
Login or register to get email updates…
The locale for this gig was the Analog at Hutton Hotel. The 
