It’s holiday season at YouTube, and inside one of the many sound stages at the video platform’s Los Angeles campus in Playa Vista, three creators have come together to promote beauty products on a set reminiscent of a cozy cabin in the woods. But unlike these YouTubers’ typical fare of edited beauty tutorials and lifestyle vlogs, this highly produced collaboration is being broadcast live for their thousands upon thousands of fans.
Branded as “From YouTube to You,” YouTube’s holiday shopping extravaganza was a year-end culmination of the company’s growing expansion into live shopping, a format that has taken off in international markets like the Asia-Pacific region, where the ecommerce industry is expected to hit $3.5 trillion this year.
In trying to capture that success in other markets, including the U.S., YouTube brought out some of its biggest creators like MrBeast (110 million subs), Simply Nailogical (7.5 million subs), Manny Gutierrez (a.k.a. Manny MUA, 4.8 million subs), Amber Scholl (3.6 million subs), Blogilates (7.6 million subs), Larray (8.6 million subs) and Mai Pham (2.7 million subs) for 10 days of shoppable live videos across beauty, fitness, fashion and technology in November.
For the beauty-focused livestream, which The Hollywood Reporter attended on Nov. 16, brands like Ulta Beauty and TULA skincare took on major sponsorship posts to heavily feature their products during the nearly hourlong event hosted by Scholl, Pham, Allyiah Gainer (a.k.a. AllyiahsFace) and Gutierrez (who joined virtually). The result was something like a yassified QVC or HSN show for younger audiences complete with a makeover reveal, bubble bath demonstration, a makeup-spewing piñata and drop-ins from a suited man who delivered discount codes on a silver platter.
YouTube creator Mai Pham demonstrates products from an on-set bathtub during a Nov. 16 live shopping event.
B17 Entertainment for YouTube Shopping
YouTube’s goal isn’t, of course, to only have its creators participate in highly produced shopping events, but the holiday shopping effort was an opportunity to introduce more creators and viewers to the format, especially since the U.S. market has been relatively slow in adopting live shopping compared to the Asia-Pacific region, according to YouTube executives who spoke with THR.
“A lot of our focus here … is about basically giving support for creators so they can experiment in the space, so they can start to feel more and more comfortable doing it, so they can start to learn what’s working, what’s not working,” Michael Martin, vp and general manager of YouTube Shopping, said. “This is a newer thing, and it’s a bigger transition, but I think it’s a transition that will still happen.”
A representative for YouTube declined to share specific sales figures generated via the “From YouTube to You” shopping series, but creators like Larray, who was promoting new products from his clothing line, were able to sell out items, according to the rep. As of publishing, the beauty-focused live event hosted by Scholl, Pham, Gainer and Gutierrez received a modest 1.3 million combined views across their respective channels.
Cassey Ho, a.k.a. Blogilates, shares products from her Popflex activewear line on Nov. 15 as part of “From YouTube to You.”
B17 Entertainment for YouTube Shopping
For Scholl, live shopping videos on her personal channel are a lucrative chance to connect with her most “dedicated” subscribers and work best with new product drops or offers on exclusive discount codes. And depending on the shopping integration being used with YouTube, such as Shopify, Scholl said she’s able to see the direct sales and conversion rates in real time as she’s hosting a livestream. “You may be advertising to a smaller number of people watching a live stream in the moment, but of those people watching, the customer rate is like 90 percent,” she said.
Gainer said she plans on incorporating more live shopping videos into her content slate for the next year, though she’s careful not to make it “overkill” with her audience, since her channel isn’t solely focused on product recommendations. “I don’t want to ever shove it down their throats, but I’m definitely going to be incorporating it every now and then,” Gainer said, pointing to videos like her monthly favorites as a great use case.
To close the loop for creators discussing products in their videos, YouTube is also preparing to launch an in-house affiliate program that will allow creators to, among other benefits, receive a commission when their subscribers click on a shopping link from their videos. “As with all things with creators, we want to provide the best possible deal in the market for the creators,” Martin said. “We’re here to help them build and diversify their business, and so we’re going to do everything that we can to make that happen. And we think that the affiliate network is going to be a key piece of it.”
Though specifics of the program have not yet been disclosed, a YouTube affiliate program, backed by the power of Google’s ad business, could increase the frequency of affiliate links appearing on videos and offer a major boost of revenue for creators who mention products in their videos, regardless of whether a marketer sponsors the video. “We can make it much more visual and intuitive and really bring those products to life,” Bridget Dolan, the managing director of YouTube Shopping partnerships, said.
And the company is getting even more bullish on advertising for Shorts, YouTube’s short-form video platform that rolled out shoppable videos earlier this year. According to Tara Walpert Levy, YouTube’s vp Americas, Shorts sees the “most purchase behavior at scale.”
“We’re just seeing even higher take rates on that format, which is why we’re getting in a little bit more aggressively there,” Walpert Levy told THR. “One of the big challenges and opportunities of working in a place like YouTube is to figure out okay, where’s the most bang for the buck? In the United States, we’re thinking it’s likely shopping on Shorts.”
Marketers, who are being more judicious with budgets in anticipation of a recession, may also lean more heavily on creators as a better way to reach buyers. “We’re not economists so we can’t say how this is going to play out, [but] I will say, though, when you look at the traditional situation around a macro economic downturn, people tend to pull back away from things like brand advertising and move more towards direct response,” Martin said. Consumers, who may also be shying away from impulse purchases, are seeking out information from creators they trust to inform whether to make a purchase.
“If I think of myself from a brand standpoint, this is a situation where it’s not just a direct response ad. It’s actually a creator coming in here and providing that strong endorsement to a consumer who’s looking for a really solid indication [of whether to buy a product], and then the conversion and the purchase can happen at that moment,” Martin said. “So it has both the benefits of a more traditional direct response model, but then it’s got this extra boost of confidence and trust from the creator side.”
A version of this story first appeared in the Nov. 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
YouTube says it has fixed its iOS app after many users reported the app was crashing. It’s unclear exactly how widespread the problem was, but it did appear to affect quite a few users.
In a tweet from its TeamYouTube account at 2:19PM ET, YouTube said that “many” were dealing with crashes, and a lot of people reportedcrashesdirectly to the account. At one point, DownDetector indicated there were more than 7,500 reports of problems. I didn’t run into issues in my brief testing, but a colleague experienced the crashes.
The company didn’t reply to a request for comment.
Update November 30th, 5:29PM ET: YouTube says it has fixed the app.
Netflix’s “The Midnight Club” has been canceled after one season, Variety has learned.
The cancellation comes on the heels of executive producers Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy exiting their overall deal at Netflix for a new pact with Amazon Studios.
“The Haunting of Hill House” and “Midnight Mass” mastermind Flanagan turned his attention to a younger audience for “Midnight Club,” his first YA series, adapting the work of author Christopher Pike for the show about terminally ill teens living at Brightcliffe Hospice — a place with many a supernatural mystery to it.
“The Midnight Club,” which launched Oct. 7, consisted of 10 episodes, the first of which broke the world record for most jump scares in a TV episode.
The series marked not just Flanagan and Macy’s first foray into young-adult content, but also their first show that was intended to be a multi-season project. However, Flanagan had already mentally prepared for the idea it might not be renewed, and told press ahead of its premiere he would share his Season 2 plans if “Midnight Club” was scrapped.
“This was designed to be ongoing,” Flangan said at a gathering with press in October. “I don’t know if it will. We’ll see how it goes and we probably won’t know for another month or so what Netflix wants to do. But it was very much designed to continue. Pike has 80 books, so we have a lot of unused material to pull from… We also didn’t answer some of the bigger questions of the season. Those answers exist, but were meant to be for the next season. If there isn’t one, I’ll put them up on Twitter. Then we’ll at least all be able to talk about it.”
TheWrap was the first to report “Midnight Club’s” cancellation.
After playing “Fat Amy” in the Pitch Perfect franchise, Rebel Wilson is facing backlash over her new fashion line’s limited size range.
On November 3, Wilson announced a “limited edition drop” of a new fashion line with girlfriend Ramona Agruma, the L.A.-based owner of the loungewear company Lemon Ve Limon. So far, the R+R “experiment” features just one pair of sweatpants ($149) in sizes XS-XL and a hoodie ($179) in sizes XS-a combined L/XL. Considering Wilson has spoken about being treated differently by society depending on her size, fans were disappointed by R+R’s limited range, to say the least.
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In a video that has been viewed over 96 thousand times, TikTok user Destiny Ann questioned the logic behind Wilson’s latest venture. “I don’t understand how someone who was plus size for the majority of her career, the majority of her life — someone who knows how hard it is to be fat, to shop for clothing and actually find it in your size — I don’t understand how someone with that background, that knowledge, can release a brand that only goes up to an XL,” she said.
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There was even further discussion over on the actor’s Instagram feed, where one user commented, “Imagine once being a plus size gal then bringing out a clothing range that isn’t size inclusive.” Comments on that particular post have since been limited. Another wrote, “Really disappointed in this, only up to l/XL? As a former plus-size person, you should know better.”
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The actor died on Tuesday, according to a rep, but no cause was revealed.
Henke appeared in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black” as Desi Piscatella, a gay corrections officer at Litchfield Penitentiary who served as the main antagonist of Season 4 and 5. He shared a SAG Award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series in 2017.
He had a lead role in the series “Going to California,” which ran for one season, and also had recurring roles on “Justified,” where he played Coover Bennett, “Lost,” “October Road,” “Nikki” and “Dexter.”
Born on April 10, 1966, in Columbus, Neb., Henke played college football at the University of Arizona, where he was team captain. In 1990, he played on the defensive line for the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV against the San Francisco 49ers.
After sustaining injuries that forced him to retire from professional football in 1994, he began a career in acting and scored guest spots on such television series as “Chicago Hope,” “Silk Stockings,” “ER,” “Michael Hayes,” “Arli$$” and “The Pretender.”
He later guested on “Law & Order,” “Life on Mars,” “Trust Me,” “Party Down,” “Royal Pains,” “Criminal Minds,” “Shameless,” “Grimm,” “Bones” and “Castle.” Other TV credits include “The Bridge,” “The Stand,” “Manhunt,” “The Office” and “The Chicago Code.”
On the film side, Henke appeared in “Split,” “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” “Pure Love,” “Draft Day,” “Pacific Rim,” “The Frozen Ground,” “Jobs,” “I Am Not a Hipster,” “Magic Valley,” “The Space Between,” “Choke,” “Must Love Dogs” and “The Assassination of Richard Nixon.”
Every year, the FOX 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 FOX TV shows here, instead.
FOX TV series that have premiered (so far) during the 2022-23 television season:9-1-1, Bob’s Burgers, Call Me Kat, The Cleaning Lady,Family Guy, The Great North, Hell’s Kitchen, LEGO Masters, The Masked Singer, Monarch, The Resident, The Simpsons, and Welcome to Flatch.
Here’s a ranking of how the FOX TV shows from the 2022-23 season (roughly September 2022 through August 2023) 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 FOX TV series do you rate as wonderful, terrible, or somewhere between? If it were left up to you, which FOX TV shows would be cancelled or renewed for another season?
Check out our FOX status sheet to track the network’s new series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.
Writer-director River Gallo stars as an intersex runaway in the feature based on the 2019 Tribeca award-winning short film.
Dylan O’Brien is a bloody mess in the upcoming drama “Ponyboi.”
Based on the 2019 award-winning short film of the same name, “Ponyboi” stars O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, and Indya Moore, with writer-director River Gallo leading the feature.
The official synopsis reads: Ponyboi is an intersex runaway. He works at a laundromat and hustles as a sex worker. But after a mysterious encounter with a man from his dreams, he learns that perhaps he is worthy of leaving his seedy life in New Jersey behind.
First-look photos show O’Brien covered in blood, with Pedretti sporting a fake pregnant belly. The duo previously worked together on 2020 anthology series “Amazing Stories.”
Gallo co-directed the short alongside Sadé Clacken Joseph, with Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, and Seven Graham executive producing. “Ponyboi” premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.
The feature film is directed by Esteban Arango (“Blast Beat”) with Ed Wu serving as the cinematographer.
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“It began with my passionate yet complicated relationship with my home state New Jersey,” Gallo told Subvrt magazine in 2020. “New Jersey has always been my biggest muse, in that much of my trauma growing up intersex is rooted there. Most of life I dreamed of running away from New Jersey and all the painful memories I experienced there. As I got older and discovered my intersex identity, I began to appreciate and be grateful for what those experiences taught me.”
Gallo added, “I cultivated a reverence for that highway heaven and all the affliction and loneliness I had feeling like an outsider in my teen years. However, being a misfit can be one’s greatest gift. If you survive and come to terms with your struggle, you realize that you had the power all along to change and to get what you want out of life.”
O’Brien recently appeared in “Not Okay” opposite Zoey Deutch. The actor is in post-production on upcoming thriller “Caddo” and political satire “Maximum Truth,” co-written by Ike Barinholtz and “The Mindy Project” director David Stassen.
O’Brien’s “Ponyboi” co-star Pedretti, who exited upcoming series “Saint X” earlier this year, previously addressed playing a queer character for Netflix’s “The Haunting of Bly Manor” in 2020. The “You” alum told NBC News that she studied Timothée Chalamet’s performance in “Call Me By Your Name” for inspiration.
“Every character has a voice and has an issue and is privileged in some way and oppressed in another, and there’s a conversation to be had there about how they exist in the world,” Pedretti said. “I can’t feel passionate about a project unless I feel like it’s saying something.”
Finding the best gifts for college students might sound easy at first, but chances are things have changed since the last time you were in school—and the backpack or coffee once upon a time on your wish list might be yesterday’s news. Your favorite students are probably pressed for space (and cash)—not to mention all over what’s blowing up on TikTok—so we’re here to help you be very particular about the holiday gifts you bestow upon them this year.
We’ll be the first to admit that it can be tough to shop for people in that awkward first stage of adulthood: Gifts for teens can feel too young, but you don’t want to give something way too mature, either. (Weighted blankets, for example, tend to make better mom gifts.) But as long as you know a little bit about their living situation, their interests, or their dietary habits, you can make an educated guess about what they’ll love.
Whether you’re searching for the perfect gift for a teenage girl who loves to decorate every inch of her dorm room, a twenty-something living in an off-campus apartment for the first time, or someone who’s feeling homesick, these thoughtful ideas are bound to be a hit. Better yet, plenty of them are cheap presents and under-$25 gift ideas to help you stick to a budget. (Make sure you revisit this guide when you’re putting together care packages and graduation gifts.) Ahead, shop 40 of the best gifts for college students that’ll lock in your favorite relative status.
Our top picks
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
“My Name is Pauli Murray” profiles the multi-hyphenate activist, lawyer, poet and priest who had a non-binary gender identity and was a pioneer in civil rights and feminism. Filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West, who previously directed the Oscar-nominated “RBG,” show how Murray set precedents for later chapters of history that became famous.
Russia appears to be preparing for another large-scale air attack on Ukraine with dozens of bombers spotted massing at a key airbase.
Two dozen Tu-95 and Tu-160 long-range bombers have gathered at Engels-2 air base, near the city of Saratov, alongside fuel tanks, support vehicles, and repair supplies.
Analysts say crates – likely ammunition boxes containing Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles – are also visible near the aircraft, suggesting a large-scale attack on Ukraine is ‘imminent.’
The attack will almost certainly focus on destroying Ukraine’s already-battered power and water network which has been pounded by cruise missiles and Iranian-made kamikaze drones in recent weeks, leaving people freezing in their homes.
Large-scale air attack on Ukraine’s energy network is feared after two dozen long-range bombers (file image) were spotted massing at a key air base
Images of the airfield were captured on November 28 and first published by Germany’s Der Spiegel.
Arda Mevlutoğlu, a military analyst, told the magazine: ‘The unusually high number of bombers on the tarmac is an indication of an increase in operations, if not an imminent large-scale attack.’
Ukraine has been bracing for more Russian air strikes with at least two country-wide air raid alerts issued this week that were subsequently called off.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking on Sunday, also warned that Russia is planning more attacks.
He told viewers in his nightly address: ‘We understand that the terrorists are planning new strikes. We know this for a fact.
‘And as long as they have missiles, they, unfortunately, will not calm down.
Ukraine is currently suffering through blackouts and a lack of hot water after Russian missile attacks on its power plants and pumping stations
Winter is now beginning in Ukraine with temperatures regularly dropping below freezing leaving people shivering in their homes (pictured, snow in Kyiv on Wednesday)
Zelensky said the coming week could be as difficult as the previous week, when attacks on electricity infrastructure subjected Ukrainians to the most acute power cuts since Russian troops invaded in February.
‘Our defence forces are getting ready. The entire country is getting ready,’ he said. ‘We have worked out all the scenarios, including with our partners.’
NATO leaders are currently meeting in Romania to discuss the next phase of support for Ukraine, with advanced missile defences top of the agenda.
Jen Stoltenberg, head of the alliance, and US officials have suggested talks are ongoing to give Patriot anti-air defences to Kyiv.
The missile batteries are adept at shooting down incoming rockets but are complex and difficult to operate, meaning they are often supplied with an experienced crew.
For example, when Germany has lent Patriot batteries to Slovakia and Turkey in the past they have also supplied men to operate the weapon.
That complicates the picture in Ukraine, due to fears Russia would try to target the Patriots and could end up killing NATO personnel potentially sparking war between global super-powers.
Ukraine has called on allies to urgently supply air defence systems that can be used to protect its critical infrastructure, or else risk a fresh refugee crisis
Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and now head of the security council, warned yesterday that NATO would be making itself a ‘legitimate target’ by supplying the weapons.
He wrote on Telegram: ‘If… NATO supplies Kyiv fanatics with Patriot complexes along with NATO personnel, they will immediately become a legitimate target…
‘I hope the Atlantic impotents understand this.’
Kyiv says around 50 per cent of its energy infrastructure is damaged including a third of its power generating capacity, leading to blackouts across the country.
Entire cities, including the capital Kyiv, are being plunged into darkness for hours or days at a time even as temperatures fall below freezing.
Mr Stoltenberg has accused Putin of trying to ‘weaponise winter’ and spark a new wave of refugees into Europe after failing to achieve victory on the battlefield.
Never-the-less, Ukraine’s Western allies have vowed to keep supporting the country for ‘however long it takes’ to achieve victory.
The former star of Disney Channel claimed that she celebrated her 30th birthday with a wedding attended by several famous people even though she was not married. According to what she shared with Rolling Stone for the most recent cover story for the publication, “I imagined I would be married by now, so I threw myself a wedding.”
The A-listers came out to celebrate her birthday on July 22, and the party that took place during the summer in her honor was an expensive affair.
Gomez revealed that the guest list included people who influenced her life during her 20s. These included Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, Francia Raisa, Camila Cabello, and Billie Eilish. Gomez also mentioned that Billie Eilish was also on the list.
She told the publication before the premiere of her new Apple TV+ documentary, My Mind and Me, that they had great drinks, and it was beautiful, but then her buddy Cara [Delevingne] came in and brought strippers.
The best way to describe it is as an amalgamation of highbrow and silly elements.
The actress who starred in Only Murders in the Building during that period referred to her 20s as a “good, hard, and beautiful” decade.
Gomez accompanied an Instagram snapshot she posted after the party with the following message: “I am someone who is still learning but is more certain about what is important and what she wants.”
I’m starting to enjoy being 30 more and more. I want to give you an ENORMOUS thank you for being a part of my life, and I wish you the best for the next ten years! I love each and every one of you so deeply that it physically hurts!
Throughout most of the 2010s, Gomez was romantically involved with Justin Bieber on and off. Their final split occurred in March of 2018, only a few short months before the “Baby” singer, who was then 28 years old, proposed to his now-wife Haley Baldwin in the Bahamas.
Her dating life has remained largely under wraps, but she has been linked to celebrities like The Weeknd, Zedd, Niall Horan, and Nick Jonas.
A code flaw that allowed criminals to steal cars over the internet has now been fixed, according to reports, with owners urged to update their systems immediately.
The flaw was found in Connected Vehicle Services, a software suite offering a slew of features such as automatic crash notifications, enhanced roadside assistance, remote door unlocking, remote start, stolen vehicle recovery assistance, turn-by-turn navigation and integration with smart home devices.
Connected Vehicle Services is built by SiriusXM, and is used by a large number of automakers, including Honda, Nissan, Infiniti, and Acura, all of which were vulnerable.
VIN for authorization
The flaw was made public by Yuga Labs security researcher Sam Curry, who has a history in finding security flaws in automobiles. In a Twitter thread (opens in new tab), Curry explained how the flaw works, and added that SiriusXM already fixed it.
Apparently, the problem stemmed from the fact that the telematics platform uses the car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), which is often found on the windshield, to authorize commands and grab user profiles.
This means that whoever knows the VIN number can issue a number of commands remotely, from unlocking the doors to starting the engine.
Responding to the findings in The Register, the company’s spokesperson said SiriusXM was tipped off via its bounty-hunting program
“We take the security of our customers’ accounts seriously and participate in a bug bounty program to help identify and correct potential security flaws impacting our platforms,” the statement reads.
“As part of this work, a security researcher submitted a report to Sirius XM’s Connected Vehicle Services on an authorization flaw impacting a specific telematics program. The issue was resolved within 24 hours after the report was submitted. At no point was any subscriber or other data compromised nor was any unauthorized account modified using this method.”
“Morning Joe” spent a good amount of time on Thursday lamenting the continued tailspin of the Republican Party as moderate, mainstream politics gives way to extremism.
Co-host Joe Scarborough particularly brought this to task in light of California Congressman and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s ongoing campaign for House speaker – an effort that sees him bending to extreme right-wing politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene in exchange for their support.
The latest example of the influence extremist ideology has on McCarthy is shown in his latest promise to investigate the Jan. 6 committee’s own investigation into the 2021 insurrection on the Capitol.
In short: Scarborough thinks it’s all a mistake, for no reason less than that the Republican Party’s continued centering of extremist ideals has led to a string of lost elections.
“But McCarthy, instead of trying to play to voters that they keep losing – by talking about taxes, by talking about balanced budgets, by talking about whatever Republicans want to talk about to get those suburban voters back – they’re doing these extreme things, virtue signaling, talking about investigating the investigators, and defending coming out and demanding justice for the January 6 rioters and insurrectionists.”
Ironically, Scarborough added, the rioters that McCarthy is now defending “are the very people who lost the suburbs for Republicans.”
“They’re running straight toward the same tornado that keeps knocking their house down,” he said.
Helping to frame the morning discussion were insights from co-host Mika Brzezinski, the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, MSNBC host Jen Psaki and Obama 2012’s campaign manager Jim Messina.
At one point, Brzezinski turned to Scarborough and asked why this moment – one in which conspiracy-based investigations are being called on by the Republican party’s furthest wing – wouldn’t be prime time for the party to course-correct its values.
“Isn’t this the opportunity for the Republicans, whether it’s the right thing to do, whether they wanna win, or whether they just don’t want to look stupid sort of trying to investigate Jan. 6 while the DOJ is doing their job – wouldn’t this be the moment to press reset and find that old Republican party again that actually had conservative values and policies?” Brzezinski asked.
“You would think so,” Scarborough said. We talk about it every day: If you’re not going to do it for the right reason, do it for the wrong reason. Just do it, move away from the extremism. This is simple, simple math.”
Watch the full “Morning Joe” segment in the video above.
Gomez spoke to Vulturelast month about how she felt watching the project, which captured her life and mental health journey over a six-year period.
“I think it brought me back to a time,” she started. “The things I was watching from 2016, 2017, 2018—I can’t believe I was that girl. That breaks my heart. I’m grateful to be on the other side, but when I watched, for example, the first part of the film where I discuss my body—I don’t want to cry now, but I was completely upset with myself. I couldn’t believe the things I was aspiring to be. Which really aren’t possible unless you have a lot of money and you’re willing to spend it to do that to yourself. It really broke my heart. That’s not the feeling I want to give anyone. I hope I don’t. So watching it was a bit shocking and upsetting.”
“But I feel genuinely proud,” she continued. “I’ve had so many moments with people, real genuine moments, where women who are in their 40s tell me about their divorce or something they’re walking through. I can’t help but just love people for who they are, even when it’s frustrating and even maybe when I shouldn’t. I believe in people. Ultimately, I sacrificed my story—which I don’t mind, it’s just a little weird—I hope it has a bigger purpose and can carry on as a conversation for people.”
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
Cast: Neelam Kothari, Maheep Kapoor, Bhavana Pandey and Seema Khan
Showrunner: Uttam Domale
Growing up as a starry eyed kid glued to the television at all times, film magazines used to be my window into the lives of the people who I would obsess over on screen. Actors ceased to be all about their work on screen long time ago, and tabloids exploited the viewer’s curiosity to get closer to the real person beyond the scripted character.
‘The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’ wants to cash in on that curiosity. It has got nothing to do with Hindi cinema, and everything to do with Bollywood, this imaginary shiny town which stars supposedly inhabit.
It is everything you hoped for and more. Intimate details of celebrity lives served with Karan Johar’s sense of humour where he is not afraid to take a dig at his friends, and sometimes, at himself.
He has shown his knack for getting the most controversial details out in the open on Koffee with Karan, he brings the same sass to ‘Bollywood Wives’. The showmakers know exactly what the Instagram addicted audience wants, and are ready to deliver it.
Everything is over the top in this world – right from fashion to lifestyle, affection and parenthood. They have adapted very well the Kardashian way of criticizing your own family members in public, so you get to know the wives’ opinion of their husbands.
There are ample guest appearances from legit Bollywood stars, enough to give the audience something more than just the lives of these Bollywood wives. The series follows Bhavana Pandey, Maheep Kapoor, Seema Khan and Neelam Kothari Soni, wives of Chunky Pandey, Sanjay Kapoor, Sohail Khan and Samir Soni. Maheep is mother to Bollywood aspirant Shanaya Kapoor, and aunt of Arjun and Janhvi Kapoor, while Bhavana actress Ananya Panday’s mother.
None of them have superstar husbands, but they move in the right circles for enough cameos to come in. From Ekta Kapoor to Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar himself, there are enough big faces to keep the audience hooked. The show is one big parade of celebrities going in and out of frames.
It’s not all about flashbulbs and fancy gowns though. Nepotism, online trolling, fake accents, fitness obsessions, cosmetic surgery – no topic is off the table. The show does give us a peek into the insecurities of each woman, even though momentary.
The quartet is also very frank about their opinion of each other, sometimes too honest to sound real. The wives are shown as anxious, abusive, obsessive, paranoid, extravagant, and downright nasty at times – everything a gang of celebrity mothers is expected to be.
But it’s mostly candyfloss. There is no deep dive into anyone’s psyche, or any shocking revelation. The show feels like one big party, and you are just along for the ride.
Netflix could have paid a bit more attention to the subtitling – Gujarati was termed as Bengali at one point in Episode 2.
This show is that guilty pleasure many will indulge in but few have the ‘guts’ – to borrow from Kareena Kapoor Khan – to admit to. It does begin with a bang, but the pace drops after a couple of episodes when you start wondering if you really want to know more about these wives and their lives. I mean, how much of crabs, claws and catfights can you really sit through.
Watch it if you are missing Sima aunty from Indian Matchmaking and need a fresh dose of reality TV ‘bi**hiness’ in your lives. Bigg Boss just doesn’t cut it anymore. I stopped watching after Season 7.
The trailer for Transformers: The Rise of the Beasts is a blast from the past.
The film, inspired by the ’90s Beast Wars cartoon, stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, with Michelle Yeoh and Pete Davidson taking on voice roles. Peter Cullen reprises his voice role as Optimus Prime, with other stars including Tobe Nwigwe, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Liza Koshy, John DiMaggio, David Sobolov, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Cristo Fernández.
Rise of the Beasts hails from Creed II director Steven Caple Jr., who has touted it as a location-spanning adventure that takes the story from Brooklyn, New York to Peru.
Since 2007, Paramount has released six live-action transformers films, including the 1980s-set spinoff Bumblebee. Michael Bay directed the first five Transformers film, released from 2007-17. To date, the franchise has grossed $5 billion globally.
Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes; Steve Carell and Jennifer AnistonPhoto: Dia Dipasupil; Kevin Winter (Getty Images)
Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? In the case of morning shows and The Morning Show, the answer is more like a snake eating its own tail. The series was born from the real-life scandal surrounding Matt Lauer’s sexual misconduct allegations, but seemingly fabricated the affair between the hosts of its titular show. But now a couple of the hosts of a real-life morning show are being exposed for an alleged affair, and the lines are truly being blurred between morning news and primetime drama.
The internet is abuzz after the Daily Mail published photos of Good Morning America co-anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes that imply a romantic relationship. People provided yet more sordid details about the pair, both of whom are married, including a source who claims rumors of an affair have been circulating behind the scenes at GMA for a year. Further fueling the tabloid fodder is the fact that Robach previously told People that the pair have “gone on tons of double dates with our spouses and my daughters babysit his daughters.” They also, the outlet reports, “bought Robach and Holmes domain names online in case they ever decided to start a podcast or website together.” Huh!
One can practically hear The Morning Show writers salivating over the situation—if only they hadn’t already used the co-host affair card with Alex and Mitch (Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell, respectively), or Bradley and Laura (Reese Witherspoon and Juliana Marguilies, respectively), or any of the other various workplace relationships of varying appropriateness that have occurred on the Apple TV+ series. Though if the purchasing of a joint domain name can be dramatized, this writer would like to see it happen.
To complete the ouroboros, The Morning Show (which is based partly on consulting producer Brian Stelter’s book Top Of The Morning) apparently spent time on the set of GMA when they began production, according to one of the other hosts, George Stephanopoulos. (Did they pick up on the vibe between the co-hosts back then?!) And as an amusing addendum, The Morning Show guest star Mindy Kaling tweeted on Thursday: “Good Morning America is trending because of my appearance on it, right?” Mindy, don’t play coy! You’ve already written her piece about a Late Night host who has an affair with a coworker.
Showbiz insiders clearly love to fictionalize their own drama, though if you ask Katie Couric she would at least have preferred they made her fictionalized self more charismatic. Maybe Robach and Holmes will have more luck when they get their own thinly veiled storyline.
“Although we’ve come…to the end of the road…it’s so natural…” Excuse me while I shed a tear to the ending of this season of BIP and the completion of 2/3rds of the roughly 9 months straight of Bachelor programming. Last season there was a one week break between Michelle’s season ending and Clayton’s season starting. This year, we get about a 9 week break since Zach’s season doesn’t start airing until January 23rd. But still, we just had basically 5 straight months of Bachelor programming on Monday and/or Tuesday nights, starting with Gabby/Rachel’s season that began on July 11th and going through last night. So this will be the final “Reader Emails” until Jan. 25th, and probably won’t be too many columns until then either. The Daily Roundup podcast will still exist every day, with probably less Bachelor Nation talk only because there just won’t be a lot to cover. Nothing is airing and Zach’s season is done filming. You have a lot of your spoilers for that, and I’m sure a lot more will trickle in between now and Jan. 23rd, so I’ll keep you updated anytime I hear something. With that out of the way, lets get to the events of last nights finale.
Today’s Daily Roundup covers your BIP finale last night, all the social media comments from contestants during and after the show, and all the stuff that was left on the editing room floor – which was A LOT.
You can listen to it on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:
What’s in today’s Daily Roundup is pretty much what I’m gonna cover below. However one thing I forgot to mention in today’s podcast that was probably the #1 question I got last night was, “Why was Victoria Fuller in the preview for Zach’s season.” This was something I spoiled weeks ago when I told you that on the first group date of the season, Victoria (along with Courtney Robertson and Tahzjuan) were “judges” for the date hosted by rapper Latto. That’s why she was in the preview. No, she’s not competing on Zach’s season. This would’ve been right around the time (if we’re to believe Victoria’s timeline) that she and Johnny were already broken up and she was talking to Greg.
As for the BIP finale last night, holy crap a ton was left on the editing room floor. This taping by the way, was 15 HOURS LONG. 9am to 12pm on Friday, Nov. 4th. So obviously they can’t possibly squeeze so much footage into a 2 hour show (80 minutes roughly with commercials). Of the 19 contestants who were on stage last night, I counted 7 that we never heard one word from. 7!!!! Andrew, Salley, Hunter, Jessenia, Ency, Justin, and Lace. If any of them spoke a word, maybe it was one sentence. That’s a lot of people to leave out when clearly each of them spoke during filming. But where do you even begin with last night?
Lets start with Kira and Romeo, two people that I didn’t include above, but maybe should’ve? Romeo never even spoke, just laughed and blinked, and Kira may have said one sentence. They built up this storyline and Jesse was like, “Ok, lets talk about this guys,” then literally spent less than :30 on them. I’m sure they did speak and did address everything, but did we see it? Ummmm, no. That kinda set the tone for what we were going to witness the rest of the night.
Kate sure had an interesting take on things she said during the season. She apologized to Logan…sort of? She said she regrets the things she said. Not because they were condescending and mean, but because they weren’t supposed to be heard. She said she was telling that to her friends in private and she never meant for him to hear that. Ummmm, that’s your apology? She then took to Twitter last night with this:
2/ I’ve apologized to Logan, but want to extend that apology to anyone who may have been offended by those comments. I have nothing but respect for Logan and the rest of the cast, and I’m still so grateful to have gone on this adventure with them #BachelorInParadise
Again, I guess that’s better than nothing, but it still doesn’t explain why she shamed Logan the way she did. She could’ve said this weeks ago when the things she was saying about him were airing. Why say this now? It seems like she heard all the crap from viewers and felt she wanted to apologize, and like I said, I guess this is better than nothing, but it still seems like she’s missing the point. I’m still not sure she understands why people were so put off by her. And her take on the finale last night didn’t help matters saying you were only saying that to your friends in private. Sounds like she’s more sorry for getting caught than sorry for what she actually said. This tweet tried to apologize for that, but it kinda falls on deaf ears because it seems to be more in response to the reaction she’s getting from people and less about her words and how insulting they were to Logan.
The Eliza/Justin/Rodney love triangle got even more confusing last night. So here’s what we saw happen on the show:
-Eliza chooses Rodney over Justin at the rose ceremony. -Eliza the next day tells Rodney she made a mistake, she has stronger feelings for Justin, and wants to pursue him. -Eliza flies to Baltimore to tell Justin she made a mistake. Justin basically rejects her advances. -On the finale last night, Eliza tells Rodney she made a mistake and shouldn’t have left him in the first place.
I’m so confused. So you told Justin you made a mistake by not giving him a rose over Rodney, but now you’re telling us that mistake was a mistake? If Justin would’ve taken her back when she went to Baltimore, would she have told Rodney what she did last night? Eliza did not come across well last night at all. Sounds like she only said that to Rodney last night because Justin rejected her in Baltimore and it didn’t work out between them. To which Justin commented last night:
I was told a mistake was made in Baltimore, just to hear that that same mistake wasn’t a mistake at the reunion? This is why I was skeptical. #BachelorInParadise
I mean, he’s not wrong. She keeps saying she made all these mistakes, yet you can see why Justin is confused. As am I. How many mistakes did she make, what were they, who is she really interested in, and can we believe her? It’s probably best for all parties involved to handle things like they did last night. Justin, Eliza, and Rodney all move on and go their separate ways. Yet, for all that, we never heard Justin speak last night – only Rodney and Eliza. Which I thought was bizarre.
Speaking of bizarre, lets now turn our attention to Tyler and Brittany. This seems to be a case of he said/she said because that conversation we saw on screen last night seemed to be highly edited and things were left out. This was Brittany’s take online last night:
Unfortunately they can’t show the entirety of the reunion. I know that I came off “cold hearted” but I was just feeling frustrated for being blindsided. #BachelorInParadise
So she’s saying they had a mutual break up. She thought everything was cool, then he dropped all that on her at the reunion. Tyler clearly had a different side to it. There isn’t a whole lot to add to this one since unless one of them speaks in specific examples, we don’t know what happened. I don’t think ending a relationship over a FaceTime is a respectful way to end a relationship, but now I don’t know if that’s truly when it ended. It’s hard to know because both are telling a seemingly different story. Until either one of them gives specifics, looks like we’re not gonna know much about this one.
Wasn’t a ton to go over with Michael and Danielle since they gave Sierra one sentence, yet again, when we know more was said. But just like most everyone else, I’m over it. I don’t think Michael handled their breakup the best, and neither Michael and/or Danielle have still yet to answer the question of (which is what Sierra is basically getting at) is Michael knew Danielle was coming on the beach and specifically was the one asking for her. Why can’t he just admit that? If he would’ve told Sierra that on the beach, this all would’ve been avoided. But he didn’t then, led Sierra on to think he wasn’t “ready,” when in reality it was because it was Sierra, and not something that had to do with him not being ready. It’s frustrating but I doubt he’ll admit it post show either, so it’s a lost cause. Lets just move on.
With less than one week to go until the runoff election for Georgia’s senate seat, Herschel Walker is facing more controversy with rising questions about his Georgia residency. But, for “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah, Walker living somewhere other than Georgia would be definitive proof that he treats Georgians exactly as he treats his own family.
This week, reports surfaced calling back to a campaign speech Walker made earlier this year, in which he outright reminded voters that “I live in Texas,” despite the fact that he’s trying to represent Georgia. “Which, I was shocked about, because I did not think Herschel Walker knew the names of two different states,” Noah mocked. “This was really impressive.”
While campaigning, though, Walker has claimed that he’s maintained a residence in Atlanta for nearly two decades. Then, on Tuesday, it was reported that that house has been rented out by Walker’s wife for years, until he used it as his official address when he launched his Senate bid last year. And for Noah, the idea of Walker living in an entirely different state than his constituents might actually work in his favor.
“When you think about it, this just proves that Herschel Walker views Georgians as family,” Noah reasoned. “Because he’s never around them!”
The “Daily Show” host is, obviously, poking fun at the many other scandals surrounding Walker. Earlier this year, it was reported that Walker — who is vocally anti-abortion — actually encouraged and paid for an ex-girlfriend to have an abortion several years ago. In the days following that news, Walker called it “a lie,” but was then revealed to have fathered multiple children that he had never publicly mentioned.
Noah latched onto that quickly, making it the butt of several jokes in his show. In October, after losing Pennsylvania senate candidate Mehmet Oz said that abortion is a decision that should be between “women, doctors, [and] local political leaders,” the “Daily Show” host argued that there’s only one politician in the country who should get to weigh in on an abortion — and that’s only because he might have a personal stake in the matter.
“I think we can all agree, there is only one politician who should have a say in your abortion — and that’s Herschel Walker, ’cause it’s his!” Noah joked. “It’s his. It’s probably his. Ladies, check. They’re all his.”
You can watch the full segment from “The Daily Show” in the video above.
Narcotic delivery, nostalgic samples, desaturated production. We’ve come to expect these from a MIKE track, and most of the people allowed into his world tend to yield to his weary disposition, a testament to his soft power. But on his latest single “Stop Worry,” MIKE collaborates with dancehall pioneer Sister Nancy, who refuses to mute her siren call. “Wake up!” she demands, to a squeaking synthesizer refrain. The song is a tug-of-war between his wooziness and Nancy’s unwavering glow; MIKE grumbles about fame and “another summer with them grey clouds,” while Sister Nancy insists, “Mike have to rise up! … I say the hungry must be fed, I say the blind must be led.”
Even as she shines, MIKE’s grief for his mother, a grief he has been writing from since 2019’s Tears of Joy, is still with him; he dedicates the music video for “Stop Worry!” to her. Together, he and Nancy show the beginnings of moving forward after a great loss. But compared with the wintriness of his previous output, the song is a more auspicious mourning. “I wear your number when it’s game time,” he says to his mother. “Stop Worry!” indicates that he intends to step into the sunlight, in his own way.
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If you look at a picture of a train, can you hear it? Or a picture of a crying baby? What if you see someone’s hand on a chalkboard, with fingers curved and spread, and fingernails biting in… Can you hear that?
For most of us, life is a multi-sensory experience. Objects that are completely silent are rare (clouds, for example), and so we constantly see with our ears. Hands clapping, children screaming, an earthquake, a rainstorm, an orchestra, a bus ride. We hear as we see.
But what if what you see is injustice? Or a couple quarreling. Or an exhausted refugee, barely walking. A basketball team winning a tournament. Deforestation. Getting a college acceptance letter. A family getting evicted. Or simply a heartbreak. Does heartbreak have a sound?
One approach to writing music for film is to mix and match, try different things, see what “fits best”. This is when filmmakers usually work with libraries and publishers, trying to find the perfect match to support the image.
But what if the music emerges from the image, the same way the sound of a train emerges from a picture of a train? It is not an “add-on”, but an intrinsic property of the image.
Yes, we have to admit, it’s more challenging to extract sound from an emotionally charged situation than from a mechanical object, which simply cannot escape the physics of its own engine. One person may hear a heartbreak completely differently from another.
But if it’s true what they say, that music is a “universal language” of some sorts, then isn’t it also true that there could be a “universal soundtrack” to a heartbreak? Or rather, that all music that emerges from heartbreak shares something in common? And the same goes with other scenes and emotions. Perhaps there’s something in common among all soundtracks depicting loneliness, or a sense of loss, or the victory of overcoming.
Let’s reflect on the nature of that common aspect. Could it perhaps be a certain type of instrumentation? Or some specific harmonies? Musical intervals of some sorts? We could certainly analyze plenty of soundtracks, and find technical commonalities, similar patterns in harmonies, etc. For example, sparse instrumentation, unresolved harmonies, and plenty of sweet lingering dissonances are great tools for the composer wishing to write “lonely” music. But it only takes a few exceptions to the rule to turn this idea upside down. A thick, bass-heavy, synthesizer sound echoing through layers of reverb can be just as lonely as a solo violin playing thin harmonics. And there is also a way to write simple consonant music in a major key, using the full symphony orchestra, and still end up sounding sad, even desperate.
It seems then that if all music that emerges from a scene of heartbreak shares something in common, it is not at the technical/instrumental level, but rather at a human and emotional level. The tools may be varied, but the effect of music, as it reverberates in our emotional selves, intimately correlates from person to person.
When people cry during movies, they usually cry around the same time. When listeners get goosebumps while listening to music, they also tend to be coordinated.
How exactly music succeeds in triggering common emotions among a wide population is a highly complex subject, studied and discussed by neurologists such as Daniel Levitin and Oliver Sacks. Partly, it has to do with our biology and evolutionary roots. Daniel Levitin, for example, suggests in his book This Is Your Brain on Music, that the reason we humans enjoy repetition and a steady rhythm is because, in nature, repetitive sounds are sounds that are “safe” – the sound of the wind, ocean waves, leaves in the trees, etc. – whereas irregular, sudden sounds can be life-threatening – a lion’s roar, the sound of lightning, rocks tumbling down, etc. Next time you find yourself loathing Schoenberg’s music, you can put the blame on lions.
At the same time, one needs not to know exactly how an apple tree grows apples in order to crunch on one. Most of us find ourselves using electricity every day without truly understanding what electricity is. Likewise, we, at Vessels to Motherland, have been luring music out of films using our own method, working with an emotional substance whose inner workings we don’t quite understand:
We start by emptying ourselves of any musical idea, structure, or style, and we let ourselves be moved by the moving images. As we feel things, we listen to them attentively. Our emotional selves then become translators of some sorts, translating the moving image into sound. Each movie score we make ends up being very personal, like the journal entry of a person who lived through the film.
Through decades of music making, we came to the conclusion that in order to reach people’s hearts, in order to create music that is truly moving, that moves one “to the core”, we need to look inwards. We need to be moved ourselves. Hence, being a musician is equally being an orator and a listener, simultaneously. But perhaps “speaking while listening” is not an oxymoron if we invite the possibility that what speaks is not quite our selves…
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Vessels to Motherlandis a film composer ensemble and electroacoustic duo, based in NYC. If you are interested in collaborating with them on your next film, you can write to vesselstomotherland@gmail.com. Other ways to connect:
HIV activists are marking World AIDS Day by urging Ottawa to help stop a global backslide in progress on stemming infections and stigma.
“It’s clear to us that this government is seized of the issue, but the truth of the matter is, no movement is happening quickly enough for people with HIV living in Canada,” says Janet Butler-McPhee, who co-leads the HIV Legal Network in Toronto.
The Public Health Agency of Canada estimated that 62,790 people in Canada were living with HIV in 2020, and that 10 per cent of them didn’t know they had the virus.
That represented a slight drop in overall cases from 2018, but an increase among the most vulnerable.
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Indigenous people accounted for nearly one-fifth of new HIV infections in Canada in 2020, the data say. That year, women and people who inject drugs made up an increasing share of infections, while men who have sex with men made up a smaller share.
‘One pandemic cannot overshadow another,’ health minister says on HIV/AIDS
Advocates argue that the numbers reflect the uneven effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Butler-McPhee noted that the Harper and Trudeau governments both pledged funding for grassroots groups that serve people with HIV that hasn’t fully materialized, despite the added factors of a toxic drug crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You’re talking about organizations who have had to pivot pretty significantly and take on new work without funding that has been long-promised,” she said.
Meanwhile, Canada continues to trail its peers in criminalizing HIV non-disclosure. Canadians living with the virus can be prosecuted for not disclosing their status to sexual partners, even when prescription drugs make it impossible to transmit the virus.
“Criminalization can lead to the stigmatization of people living with HIV, which can often discourage individuals from being tested or seeking treatment,” the Department of Justice noted in October.
The Liberals have been promising to fix the issue since 2016, but only launched a national consultation in October. They have also asked prosecutors to avoid criminalizing people with HIV in the territories, while suggesting provinces follow suit, with mixed success.
“For the last six years, there has been a recognition by this federal government that HIV criminalization is an issue in Canada, but there has been not as much movement as we’d like to see,” said India Annamanthadoo, a lawyer with the HIV Legal Network.
Specialty hospital for people living with, at risk of HIV
Abroad, the World Health Organization reported disruptions in HIV patients accessing treatments that suppress symptoms and stop the virus from progressing to AIDS, as countries targeted their health care systems at stemming COVID-19 infections.
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That’s put a dent in progress toward the United Nations sustainable development goal of ending the epidemic of HIV-AIDS by 2030.
Before the pandemic, the UN’s joint program on AIDS reported that AIDS-related deaths had gone down by 68 per cent since the peak in 2004, and by 52 per cent since 2010.
Thursday marks World AIDS Day, which the United Nations has marked every year since 1988. The disease has killed roughly 40 million people, including 650,000 in 2021.
In a report this week, the agency said inequalities will make it impossible to reach global targets, whether it’s the presence of girls and women in school or continued stigma against men who have sex with men.
Girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa aged 15 to 24 are acquiring HIV at rates three times that of males in the same age group, the agency reported.
HIV advocate shares her journey of acceptance to help combat stigma
Gay men and people engaged in sex work are more likely to avoid HIV testing when the country they live in criminalizes their behaviour, the agency says.
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In September, Canada was praised for pledging $1.2 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, after months of concern that Ottawa would pull back its funding.
The move came after the Liberals cancelled a ministerial address to the International AIDS Conference in Montreal this summer, a summit clouded by controversy after African delegates were refused visas.
Back home, the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network argues that mainstream public-awareness campaigns and access to HIV-preventing drugs are not reaching Indigenous communities, particularly women.
Trevor Stratton, an Ojibwa activist with the group, told an online panel on Wednesday that Ottawa ought to launch an inquiry into the disproportionate rates of HIV among Indigenous peoples.
“It’s a national embarrassment; when I travel internationally I am actually embarrassed to be a citizen of Canada,” he said.
Justin Bieber, 28, andPattie Mallette, 47, were spotted on a rare outing together this week. The singer and the his mom were headed to a church in Los Angeles, CA when they were photographed walking near each other outside. He wore a turquoise and light red hoodie, gray sweatpants, gray and white sneakers, and a white knit hat during the outing, and she wore a black leather jacket, jeans, and black boots.
Justin and Pattie outside a church in Los Angeles. (PRJ / BACKGRID)
At one point, Justin walked behind Pattie and they both appeared relaxed and content. She had her hair down and carried a purse that matched her jacket. It’s unclear if anyone else joined them for the service but it’s the first time they’ve been seen out together in public for a while.
Justin and Pattie during their recent outing. (The Daily Stardust / BACKGRID)
Before Justin’s latest outing with his mom, he was seen on an outing with his younger brother, Jaxon, 12, who is the son of his father Jeremy Bieber. The siblings were getting coffee in L.A.’s Larchmont neighborhood and both wore matching black puffer coats. Justin put his hand on Jaxon’s shoulder at one point, showing off their close bond.
When Justin’s not hanging out with just his mom or siblings, he’s hanging with his wife, Hailey Bieber. The lovebirds, who were married in 2018, are often seen at events or on casual outings in L.A. and beyond, and also show off their love on social media whenever they can. They recently posed for cute pics while sitting on a plane together and the “Baby” singer shared them in an Instagram post he captioned with several red heart emojis.
The husband and wife also dressed to impress to enjoy a dinner at Nobu restaurant on Nov. 29. They were joined by Kendall Jenner and showed off PDA by holding hands. Hailey looked incredible in a red dress and Justin went for a more stylish casual look that included a hoodie and jeans.
If there’s anything unexpected about the depiction of slavery in director Antoine Fuqua’s “Emancipation,” it’s the unflinchingly grim imagery that populates its frames. The intent seems to derive from the photographs of the real-life subject who inspired the film: Gordon, or “Whipped Peter,” an escaped slave whose viciously scarred back was immortalized as a way to show the world the unspeakable horrors Black people faced in the United States.
For their part, Fuqua and screenwriter Bill Collage (“Assassin’s Creed”) feature severed heads, burning corpses and hanged men, among other hard-to-stomach acts of brutality, as well as casualties of combat, made only slightly less bluntly shocking by the phantasmagoric quality of the extreme desaturation of colors on screen. But for as much sense as the correlation between the aesthetic choices and the themes make, the visual statements on such dehumanization overpower most other narrative elements.
The historical drama maps the grueling journey that Peter (Will Smith), a slave in Louisiana, undergoes to reach a semblance of liberty in 1863, the year that Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Unlike Solomon Northup in “12 Years a Slave,” Peter has never known freedom. Born a slave in Haiti, his only respite from the abominable treatment lies in his unwavering faith in the Christian God.
Separated from his wife Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa, “The Good Fight”) and his children to build a railroad for the Confederate Army, Peter waits for an opportunity to run away. “I will come back to you,” he tells his family not only in hopes of comforting them but also with the conviction of a promise he intends to keep. Soon, he and three other Black men capitalize on a moment of chaos to scurry into the swamps and travel to meet the Union soldiers in Baton Rouge.
Not only must Peter and his comrades hide from the human monsters that chase them relentlessly, but they must also fight the savagery of nature. Alligators, snakes, and even bees turn an already treacherous ordeal into a never-ending nightmare for these desperate men.
In what is likely one of his most physical demanding parts to date, Smith sweats and groans through an astoundingly visceral performance marked by exhaustion and pain. He repeatedly convinces us that such remarkable vigorousness comes from a spiritual fortitude that allows the character to go on even when his body wishes to surrender.
A role with limited dialogue, where the few lines spoken require a Haitian Creole accent, pushes Smith to convey the rage consuming Peter with a proud yet stoic expression. While eventually one catches on to the fact that the Oscar-winning actor’s turn doesn’t permit much modulation or for him to exhibit much range, he plays the role proficiently.
On his trail is Jim Fassel (Ben Foster), a typically malevolent racist raised with a poisoned white-supremacist mindset. A campfire story he tells about his father’s murderous ways is the extent of our engagement with him. Not that Collage or Fuqua needed to spend much time humanizing the villain, but despite Foster’s intensity, Jim remains a familiar caricature.
Beyond the desaturation, which at times tricks the eye into believing the picture exists in black-and-white or sepia tones, veteran cinematographer Robert Richardson mines the locations for their dangerously mystifying beauty. There’s a coarse elegance to how the mud, the murky water and the vegetation register through this nearly monochromatic palette, which call to mind “Vazante,” the Brazilian film on slavery by Daniela Thomas.
Near the end of Peter’s ongoing odyssey, as he encounters a different type of forced labor in the seemingly dignified duty of becoming a soldier, several war sequences let Fuqua flaunt his directorial abilities while Richardson focuses on fallen fighters and their wounds.
Yet what dampens the impact of “Emancipation” is the lack of an inner world for the hero outside of the survival mode that defines his great feat. No anecdotes of life in Haiti are told; no memories of his parents recalled; no tender recollections of how he became enamored with Dodienne are shared. In an effort to sear in our consciousness the heinous crimes perpetrated against Black individuals, the writer makes no room for Peter to fully exist.
One could blame the burden of accurately honoring reality for this. But since it’s likely that Collage took creative liberties in plenty of other aspects, considering the limited information available on Gordon’s life before and after the war, one has to wonder why he didn’t enrich Peter’s backstory. After all, fiction gives storytellers access to invent new entryways into history. Instead, Fuqua’s latest zeroes in on the suffering and unfolds as a series of gruesome trials that results in a simplistically satisfying, fictional ending.
As stark corroboration that this country was built on hatred and death, “Emancipation” successfully rattles you, but it can hardly be described as revelatory. Still, some could argue that today, as segments of society willfully wish to ignore the past and to prevent new generations from learning about it, a ruthlessly straightforward reminder is needed. For interested audiences watching the film on Apple TV+, enduring it might prove an uphill task.
“Emancipation” opens in US theaters Dec. 2 and premieres on Apple TV+ Dec. 9.
More than 91,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2020, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal agency.
Those staggering numbers loom over the documentary Our American Family, an intimate look at a Philadelphia family with a daughter, Nicole, in grave danger of becoming one of those casualties. The film directed by Hallee Adelman and Sean King O’Grady screened Tuesday night as part of Deadline’s virtual event series For the Love of Docs.
At one point in the film, Nicole speaks of being “Narcanned six times,” referring to the medication Narcan that is used to revive people suffering a potentially fatal opioid overdose.
“It was just showing you how much addiction was in their tissues, how much this disease had lived within their family and affected them so deeply that [Narcan] became a verb, in a sense,” Adelman observed during a panel discussion after the screening. Before the documentary got underway, “[Nicole] was at the time overdosing about four times a year and had been to 17 treatment centers.”
Our American Family sprang from a friendship between Adelman and Nicole’s mother, Linda. They live in the same area of Philadelphia and had become acquainted through yoga, which both of them taught in studios. Years into their friendship, Adelman learned the severity of what Linda’s daughter was experiencing and the idea of making a documentary was born. Linda, her children Nicole, Chris and Stephen and Linda’s husband Bryan – stepdad to the kids – all agreed to be part of it.
“Nicole really wanted to help people,” Adelman said. “Her family was at a point where they just wanted to make sure their journey wasn’t in vain… The one thing we were certain about is that no matter what, we were going to have a story that showed people how hard families are working, how hard families touched by addiction are fighting, and how much strength that they have… I think we were all guided by [the family’s] mission of saying, let’s help people and let’s put the strength forward.”
When Adelman and O’Grady began filming it appeared Nicole, a young mother herself, might be turning a corner.
“Nicole was, I think, three weeks clean at the time when we first met her. And a whole different set of challenges begins then,” O’Grady said. “Itwas also that sense of like, okay, there’s struggles here, but everything’s on the right path. And being able to tell that story and see that story unfold over the course of the first year and Nicole’s long-term sobriety was just incredible.”
The filmmakers captured complex family dynamics – Nicole’s guilt over not being able to raise her daughter by herself; Linda’s sense of guilt that she had failed Nicole; one of Nicole’s brother’s openly doubting her ability to stay clean, while overlooking his own addictive behavior, and the other sibling – with no addiction struggle of his own – feeling overlooked because he wasn’t going through a life crisis.
“Sean and I share the same sensibility along with Joel [Plotch] and James [Carroll], our editors,” Adelman said, “of wanting to make sure that people could experience what the family experienced to move beyond that kind of fly on the wall feeling to more of an immersive feeling.”
O’Grady remembered feeling struck by the family’s openness, despite their struggles.
“Fromthe minute that myself and the rest of our team set our foot on the ground and in the family’s house, we were just so welcomed,” O’Grady said. “It just felt like we were extended members of their family. And I think that without that, without them being so inviting of us into their lives, this just wouldn’t have happened. And, so, from the minute we met them, it felt like a real honor and a duty to be telling their story.”
Watch the conversation in the video above. Our virtual event series For the Love of Docs is sponsored by National Geographic.
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Priyamani is a household name across the South film industry. The actress has often received adulation from audiences and critics for her exemplary performances in films like Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam and Paruthiveeran. She was in the headlines recently after speculations of her doing a pivotal role in a movie with Chiranjeevi. The film is yet to be titled. If Priyamani works on this project, it will be her first movie with the megastar. As of now, there is no official confirmation about her stint in this project and Priyamani has also not revealed any details about it either.
Apart from this film, Priyamani is also pumped up for her upcoming movie Dr 56. The trailer of this movie has already created ripples on social media. Going by the trailer, many feel that Dr 56 is a blend of sci-fi and suspense thriller genres. Priyamani will play the role of a CBI officer, who leaves no stone unturned to catch a serial killer. Her path to reach this murderer is not easy due to some dishonest officers in the CBI team. Dr 56 revolves around the question of whether this officer will be able to catch the culprit or not. Audiences were hooked to the trailer and are waiting with bated breath to see this Rajesh Ananthleela directorial. The trailer has garnered more than 2,79,00 views. Apart from Priyamani, Deepak Shetty, Ramesh Bhatt and Veena Ponnappa will play pivotal roles in Dr 56.
A Tamil-Kannada bilingual, Dr 56 was dubbed in Telugu and Malayalam as well. It will be released on December 9. Hari Hara Pictures and Sri Lakshmi Jyothi Creations have backed Dr 56. Producer Praveen Reddy T has penned the story and screenplay.
Apart from Dr 56, Priyamani will also play the character of a contract killer in multilingual dark action thriller, Quotation Gang. Directed by Vivek K, Jackie Shroff, Sunny Leone, Sara Arjun will also play important roles in this movie.
“Whipped Peter” spent 10 days traveling through the alligator- and insect-filled Louisiana swamps to join the Union Army after his escape from Lyons plantation in Louisiana. During his medical examination, onlookers marveled at the constellation of raised scars on his back from constant whippings. When war photographers took a picture of his back, and shared it with others, it reminded white people of the viciousness experienced by the enslaved. Antoine Fuqua’s Emancipation retells the story of Peter and his blood-soaked journey to freedom. Written by Bill Collage (Exodus: Gods and Kings), the film is an unforgiving portrait of a man separated from his family and risking his life to reunite with them.
Emancipation begins when Peter (Will Smith) is sold to a work camp to build the railroad. On the journey, he sees the heads of Black men lining the roads and Civil War deserters hanging from trees by their neck. What awaits him at the work camp is even worse, with endless whippings, beatings, brandings and death. The enslaved work day and night, and sleep in cages like animals–but although the situation is perilous, Peter encourages others to remember that God is with them. It is then he is swiftly reminded to look around at the circumstances and question if God is really there at all.
While working, Peter overhears Confederate soldiers Leeds (Grant Harvey) and Howard (Steven Ogg) having a conversation about how President Abraham Lincoln has freed the slaves and that the Union Army is located in Baton Rouge. Upon hearing this news, he and the other enslaved discuss escape, but don’t have a plan for how to do it. However, when the opportunity arises, Peter and the others go running for their lives, with hunter Jim Fassel (Ben Foster) on their trail. Once they reach the swamps, they find that many other dangers await them besides a bullet.
That photo of “Whipped Peter” has been seared in my mind since high school. When walking into Emancipation, I knew the film was about him, but even knowing that, the film doesn’t earn the reveal moment of Peter’s scars. It comes out of nowhere because there is no previous reference to the upcoming moment, not even a flashback. Someone who would walk into the film blindly most likely would be shocked to see this. Then again, there isn’t much time to take in the experience because you’ll be recovering from the relentless brutality that comes before.
Antoine Fuqua consistently delivers an air of epicness as a director, and he captures Peter’s gaze as he traverses the swamps on his journey to Baton Rouge. However, that dynamic movement featured in many of Fuqua’s films isn’t a part of Emancipation. The color-graded hues sit somewhere between black, white and gray, but why wasn’t the full color spectrum utilized? Probably to protect the audience from the nonstop blood and gore projected onscreen throughout its 2-hour, 12-minute runtime.
Smith’s and Foster’s performances are strong and sincere; they recite their lines with conviction and are committed to their character goals. However, these are characters that have been seen time and time again in other films about slavery in America.
One highlight of Emancipation is the sound design. It’s so sharp, especially in the scenes where Peter travels through the swamps. You can hear insects directly buzzing past your ear and the squishing of mud under Peter’s feet. Everything is done with intentionality and specificity. The sound goes right through your bones and adds to the “thriller” aspect of the film (if you can call this type of film a thriller).
There is an ongoing debate on about whether films like this are “trauma porn,” or unnecessary in an age where the Black people yearn for modern stories of other types of heroics. There are valid arguments on both sides: Do these types of films get greenlighted more often in Hollywood than any other films about the Black experience? The violent savagery is a part of Black American history that should be recalled and recognized, right?
With Collage penning the script, it adds another layer of nuance to an already complicated conversation that digs up further questions about how these stories are told, and who is telling them. Would it have been a different experience if Collage were Black? Hard to say. One thing the script doesn’t do is create an unnecessary white-savior narrative. Thank goodness that was left out of this because I was dealing with enough based on the visuals.
Honestly, the thought of walking out crossed my mind several times. Not because the film wasn’t up to par, but seeing so much Black death onscreen is exhausting and painful, and there is only so much I can take — even if the ending of a film is hopeful. These types of films are fine if there is something beyond the generic. Is there something new to expect from what the audience is going to see? Is there anything else besides seeing relentless violence? The story of Whipped Peter and the impact he had on the culture of war and American slavery live on to this day, but there has to be another way to tell these stories.
“Horror is the removal of masks,” playwright Bertolt Brecht allegedly said. “Horror is the removal of masks that reveal sweaty C-listers you haven’t thought about in ages,” I’d amend.
Tonight marked the Season 8 finale of Fox’s bizarro singing competition. If you’re uninitiated, here are the basics. The show, an American version of a South Korean format, showcases “celebrities” (the quotation marks will become evident in a few moments) who don elaborate costumes and perform covers of popular songs while a panel of judges attempts to guess which well-known personality is behind the mask. Each episode also includes several clues about the performers’ true identities.
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The Masked Singer debuted in 2019 and, yeah, it was fun for a while! Silly fun. Mindless fun. The kind of fun you could watch with your grandma, your kid and/or your cat, and everyone would have a good time. Week to week, audiences tried to discern the contestants based on little more than their voices, the clues and the guesses that judges Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nichole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke would toss out during the broadcast. (Not that that last part helped much, given how wildly unrealistic the judges’ suggestions often were. No, Ken & Co., Denzel Washington was never going to be under the sequins and feathers.)
And when COVID-19 had us all huddling at home, scared and looking for various manner of diversions to take our minds off a very frightening reality, of course The Masked Singer was exactly the type of thing we wanted as a break from doomscrolling and washing our produce with dish soap.
First, the decision to have former New York City mayor/President Donald Trump crony Rudy Giuliani compete as Jack in the Box in Season 7 was a crass grab for… notoriety? Red state love? I’m still not sure.
Second, this season’s major format change had only one singer move on each week, gutting the week-to-week suspense that was more than half of the show’s fun. Because if I’m going to dither about whether someone wearing an oversized giraffe costume is Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Brian Austin Green or Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, I want to work for it, damnit.
The whole shebang just feels tired now. And to my earlier point about “celebs”: This season’s unmasked players have included Blossom’s Joey Lawrence, Exorcist star Linda Blair, Ghostbusters crooner Ray Parker Jr. and TheBrady Bunch boys — most of which would be meh gets even if this show were airing in 1992.
For the record, this season’s winner was Harp, who was revealed to be Glee’s Amber Riley. The runners-up were Lambs, a three-person entry that was revealed to be girl group Wilson Phillips. And to invoke that trio’s biggest song, while I know things can change, and things could go my way, I definitely hope the show does not hold on for one more season.
But if you disagree, cool. You’re in luck: The show’s holiday special airs next Wednesday at 8/7c.
Do you want more Masked Singer? Hit the comments and let us know!
Simu Liu will return to emcee the 2023 Juno Awards after making his hosting debut for Canada’s music awards in Toronto earlier this year.
Charlotte Cardin was the big winner at the 2022 Junos, Canada’s version of the Grammys, as she picked up four trophies. But Liu, best known as the Marvel superhero Shang-Chi, arguably captured the biggest buzz with his “I am Canadian” speech, a satirical take on a classic beer commercial, and sang his own rendition of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated’ single while playing a guitar.
He will be back hosting the 52nd annual Juno Awards in Edmonton on March 13, 2023, organizers said on Wednesday. “If you thought my rendition of ‘Complicated’ was good, just wait until you hear my Nickelback cover,” Liu said in a statement.
The Junos, produced by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, will air on the CBC network nationwide. Last year’s national music awards was the first in-person Juno ceremony in three years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Liu, who gained a following for his breakout role in Kim’s Convenience, a Canadian comedy about a Korean Canadian family running a convenience store, has been busy in Hollywood with Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Lionsgate’s canine drama Arthur the King.
He also has a role in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, which is set to be released in the summer of 2023.
Chubby and the Gang have shared a new song called “Violent Night (A Christmas Tale),” the front half of their forthcoming double-A-side single Chubby and the Gang Presents: A Christmas. The single—which also includes the song “Red Rag to a Bull”—is due out December 14 via Partisan. Check out “Violent Night (A Christmas Tale)” and the single’s album art below.
Of the single, Chubby frontman Charlie Manning-Walker said in a statement: “I wrote this Xmas song sitting in my van freezing cold waiting to start work during the holidays. Because I’m tired of hearing the same four songs on repeat over the season.” The band will celebrate the single’s release at a December 15 show at the Lower Third in London, where they will debut a new lineup behind Manning-Walker that includes Will Goodey (guitar), Geoff Wilcox (bass), and Lee Munday (drums).
Earlier this year, Chubby and the Gang released the EP Labour of Love, sharing the single “Who Loves Ya (Coup d’Etat)” on Valentine’s Day. The band’s 2022 tour—which included a scheduled appearance at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago—was cut short due to “unforeseen circumstances.” The released the LP The Mutt’s Nutts in September 2021.
Givers of Death introduces audiences to a pandemic and several surprises. Writer, director and star Addison Henderson lends his talents as a giver of death, so to speak. Henderson plays a mysterious hire-hand named Phog who is surviving in a world where a virus has wiped out 2/3s of the people. The deadly virus seems to peel off people’s flesh and skin.
If that wasn’t gross enough, some dude like Phog gets paid to exterminate the infected (usually by the infected themselves). Without giving too much away, it is heavily implied that Phog lost his family to the viscous, skin-eating pandemic. This has caused the hitman to have a set of issues. But what compelling character doesn’t have an array of misfortunes and problems that haunt them?
Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty of what works, or doesn’t, about Givers of Death. For the most part, the sci-fi thriller has a lot to be proud of. It has plenty of heart and emotional resonance that compliments the actors’ performances. The city’s landscape, always encased in an always-overcast sky, is often viewed as a dark and dismal component, similar to The Walking Dead.
“…Phog gets paid toexterminate the infected…”
The visual style is something that needs to be revered and studied by future filmmakers hoping to create a neo-horror apocalyptic film. The sleek and bleak background foreshadows a certain doom and chaos that surrounds each character from the very beginning. The foggy haze of disbelief and gloom never seems to lift. There are enough full-throttle thrills and surprises to keep the audience on edge. But Henderson includes a touch of heart to be found within his creation’s macabre core.
That isn’t to say that Givers of Death is bereft of any faults during its runtime. The story starts out pretty well but fails to keep audiences enraptured in the final act. It’s almost like it built itself up, only to be torn down at the eleventh hour. This could have been easily fixed with some better writing and a more clever device for the characters towards the end. I’ll leave audiences to ponder what they thought of the misshapen ending, but without spoiling anything, certainly, I was not too fond of it.
Givers of Death is almost like something out of a Zdzislaw Beksinski painting. I would have been happy to pay the necessary twelve dollars for a movie ticket to experience the visuals and the performances. Yes, I’d pay, even if it means falling asleep during the last scene. The actors do a remarkable job with the work that they are given. It’s no easy feat working on planned sets, in the heat or cold, with, possibly, some prosthetic makeup plastered onto your face for the duration of the shoot. However, I’m still a little saddened because the film could have been so much better.
Swish!Prince William and Princess Kate wrapped up their first day across the pond by enjoying one of America’s favorite pastimes.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 40, made a surprise appearance at the TD Garden on Wednesday, November 30, to watch the Boston Celtics play against the Miami Heat. The couple, who took in the event courtside, sat with former professional basketball player and Massachusetts Governor-Elect Maura Healey, former Celtics star Thomas Sanders and two of the team’s owners.
“Let’s go Celtics, let’s go!” the pair captioned a snap of the game via their official joint social media accounts.
The twosome arrived in Boston earlier on Wednesday, marking their first time in the states in nearly a decade. It also is their first overseas engagement since William’s father, King Charles III, ascended the throne upon the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
“Catherine and I are delighted to be back in the United States and are extremely grateful to Governor [Charlie] Baker and The First Lady of Massachusetts for their warm welcome into Boston,” William wrote via the couple’s official joint Twitter at the time. “On this, our first overseas visit since the death of my grandmother, I would like to thank the people of Massachusetts and particularly of Boston for their many tributes paid to the late Queen. She remembered her 1976 bicentennial visit with great fondness.”
While visiting, the duo will be attending the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony. The organization, which William launched with David Attenborough in 2020, inspires practical and impactful solutions for problems caused by climate change.
In July, the former military pilot took to social media to announce that Earthshot — a nameinspired by President John. F. Kennedy’s Moonshot program, would award “the next five winners” of the prize. “And we will be doing it right here in Boston,” the prince wrote via Twitter in a video with Boston Red Sox player Xander Bogaerts.
Prior to their trip, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the royal couple were “excited” to be traveling across the pond after an “emotional few months” following the death of the queen in September.
“[They’re] hoping to boost their royal profile across the pond,” the insider explained. “Kate and William are not taking this trip lightly and have been brainstorming with their team about the most effective ways to make a positive impact in the U.S. They’re taking a hands-on approach with speeches and engagements.”
The source added that both the prince and princess had an “absolute blast” visiting America in 2014 and Kate is hoping to “enjoy the festivities in the build-up to Christmas” with a quick stopover in NYC.
“[She’s] dying to go ice-skating at the Rockefeller [Center] and shopping for fun souvenirs for George, Charlotte and Louis,” the source told Us, referring to the couple’s three children, who are ages 9, 7 and 4, respectively.
Major web browsers moved Wednesday to stop using a mysterious software company that certified websites were secure, three weeks after The Washington Post reported its connections to a U.S. military contractor.
Mozilla’s Firefox and Microsoft’s Edge said they would stop trusting new certificates from TrustCor Systems that vouched for the legitimacy of sites reached by their users, capping weeks of online arguments among their technology experts, outside researchers and TrustCor, which said it had no ongoing ties of concern. Other tech companies are expected to follow suit.
“Certificate Authorities have highly trusted roles in the internet ecosystem and it is unacceptable for a CA to be closely tied, through ownership and operation, to a company engaged in the distribution of malware,” Mozilla’s Kathleen Wilson wrote to a mailing list for browser security experts. “Trustcor’s responses via their Vice President of CA operations further substantiates the factual basis for Mozilla’s concerns.”
The Post reported on Nov. 8 that TrustCor’s Panamanian registration records showed the same slate of officers, agents and partners as a spyware-maker identified this year as an affiliate of Arizona-based Packet Forensics, which has sold communication interception services to U.S. government agencies for more than a decade. One of those contracts listed the “place of performance” as Fort Meade, Md., the home of the National Security Agency and the Pentagon’s Cyber Command.
The case has put a new spotlight on the obscure systems of trust and checks that allow people to rely on the internet for most purposes. Browsers typically have more than a hundred authorities approved by default, including government-owned ones and small companies, to seamlessly attest that secure websites are what they purport to be.
TrustCor has a small staff in Canada, where it is officially based at a UPS Store mail drop, company executive Rachel McPherson told Mozilla in the email discussion thread. She said staffers there work remotely, though she acknowledged that the company has infrastructure in Arizona as well.
McPherson said that some of the same holding companies had invested in TrustCor and Packet Forensics but that ownership in TrustCor had been transferred to employees. Packet Forensics also said it had no ongoing business relationship with TrustCor.
Several technologists in the discussion said that they found TrustCor evasive on basic matters such as legal domicile and ownership, which they said was inappropriate for a company wielding the power of a root certificate authority, which not only asserts that a secure, https website is not an impostor but can deputize other certificate issuers to do the same.
The Post report built on the work of two researchers who had first located the company’s corporate records, Joel Reardon of the University of Calgary and Serge Egelman of the University of California at Berkeley. Those two and others also ran experiments on a secure email offering from TrustCor named MsgSafe.io. They found that contrary to MsgSafe’s public claims, emails sent through its system were not end-to-end encrypted and could be read by the company.
McPherson said the various technology experts had not used the right version or had not configured it properly.
In announcing Mozilla’s decision, Wilson cited the past overlaps in officers and operations between TrustCor and MsgSafe and between TrustCor and Measurement Systems, a Panamanian spyware company with previously reported ties to Packet Forensics.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
There have been sporadic efforts to make the certificate process more accountable, sometimes after revelations of suspicious activity.
In 2019, a security company controlled by the government of the United Arab Emirates that had been known as DarkMatter applied to be upgraded to top-level root authority from intermediate authority with less independence. That followed revelations that DarkMatter had hacked dissidents and even some Americans; Mozilla denied it root power.
In 2015, Google withdrew the root authority of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) after it allowed an intermediate authority to issue fake certificates for Google sites.
Reardon and Egelman earlier this year found that Packet Forensics was connected to the Panamanian company Measurement Systems, which paid software developers to include code in a variety of apps to record and transmit users’ phone numbers, email addresses and exact locations. They estimated that those apps were downloaded more than 60 million times, including 10 million downloads of Muslim prayer apps.
Measurement Systems’ website was registered by Vostrom Holdings, according to historic domain-name records. Vostrom filed papers in 2007 to do business as Packet Forensics, according to Virginia state records.
After the researchers shared their findings, Google booted all apps with the spy code out of its Play app store.
They also found that a version of that code was included in a test version of MsgSafe. McPherson told the email list that a developer had included that without getting it cleared by executives.
Packet Forensics first drew attention from privacy advocates a dozen years ago.
In 2010, researcher Chris Soghoian attended an invitation-only industry conference nicknamed the Wiretapper’s Ball and obtained a Packet Forensics brochure aimed at law enforcement and intelligence agency customers.
The brochure was for a piece of hardware to help buyers read web traffic that parties thought was secure. But it wasn’t.
“IP communication dictates the need to examine encrypted traffic at will,” the brochure read, according to a report in Wired. “Your investigative staff will collect its best evidence while users are lulled into a false sense of security afforded by web, email or VOIP encryption,” the brochure added.
Researchers thought at the time that the most likely way the box was being used was with a certificate issued by an authority for money or under a court order that would guarantee the authenticity of an impostor communications site.
They did not conclude that an entire certificate authority itself might be compromised.
Reardon and Egelman alerted Google, Mozilla and Apple to their research on TrustCor in April. They said they had heard little back until The Post published its report.
Is it any wonder that Danny Elfman, Mark Mothersbaugh and Trent Reznor, three of today’s most revered film composers, all started their music careers as members of rock bands? Clearly there’s something to be said for the patience and nimbleness scoring demands, but rock stars also make strong composers because they understand the dynamics of working with a team of other creatives, and seeing a sonic vision through.
These are all things we learned during Music for Screens’ Rock-to-Score Stars panel, which gathered Este Haim (one-third of beloved sister band Haim) and her composing partner Christopher Stracey, Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange), Ian Chang of Son Lux, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Finneas, whose work with sister Billie Eilish has made him an in-demand producer and songwriter.
All are relatively new to scoring, but that’s proven to be an asset when it comes to putting music to picture. Finneas, for instance, saw his first credit as a composer for “The Fallout,” a movie about a high school shooting and the trauma it inflicts on its students, directed by Megan Park. Finneas says he considered “where music would be inappropriate.”
Take the scene involving the three girls hiding out in a bathroom. “The more I scored it, the more I thought the scene should have no music,” he says. “It was really beautifully directed — the shooting all takes place outside so you don’t see anything, you just hear gunshots and kids screaming — so to have thumpy horror movie-esque music felt too on the nose and disrespectful to the whole subject matter.”
For “Passing,” one of Hynes’ screen credits alongside “Queen & Slim,” “In Treatment” and “Rap Shit,” less also sometimes proved to be more. “Rebecca Hall, who directed it, initially didn’t want any music; she didn’t want a score,” he says. “So it was tricky but fun for me because it became more about sound design and emphasizing space through tonal, droning-type sounds which interspersed with the piano you hear throughout the film.”
As a team, Haim and Stracey approach composing more as a band. For Apple+’s “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” their second collaboration after “Maid,” they spent three months together “really burning the midnight oil,” says Haim. “For us, it was more about learning on the job how to elicit a feeling without being too obtrusive and supporting what was on the screen. It was a lot of trial and error, but luckily we had a really great collaborator in Cooper Raiff, the writer-director-star.” Adds Stracey: “Cooper shared playlists and we imagined that we were a band in that time and in that world. So the music that we were making wasn’t out of place from a lot of the needle drops.”
Karen O’s poignant accompaniment to “Where Is Anne Frank” follows a previous Oscar nomination in the original song category — for “The Moon Song” from “Her.” O’s hushed vocals lent the melody for what would become the musical theme to the film, directed by Ari Folman. “I probably write music like a like a 7- to 11-yearold,” she cracks. “It’s all anchored in humming. When trying to think of a melody that’s emotionally resonant, the easiest thing for me to do is just hum. It’s that median between singing the words that have meaning that people take from it, and this ineffable human connection that’s anchored in melody and emotion.”
Last but certainly not least is the incredibly ambitious work of Chang on “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert enlisted the band Son Lux “early on in the process,” Chang says. “It was 2019 and there was just a script; nothing was shot yet; it wasn’t even cast. So we started like we were working on our own albums.” The band would go on to create 100 cues. And even though they had an extra year to work on the music, due to COVID, it still came down to the wire. “The Daniels definitely pushed us to do a lot of things we didn’t know we could do.”
The 21-year-old model donned a simple, dark green sweater and a pair of form-fitting black leggings as she toted a green juice.
She added black Nike socks to the outfit and a pair of comfortable sneakers.
Gerber parted her dark brown hair in the middle and protected her eyes with thick black sunglasses.
Looking relaxed: Kaia Gerber looked casual while jogging into a workout in Los Angeles on Wednesday – days after wowing in a Blade Runner inspired Alexander McQueen campaign
She flashed a brilliant white smile and held a couple of drinks in her hands as she headed into the studio.
Gerber’s appearance out came after she appeared in a futuristic advertisement for Alexander McQueen’s The Slash handbag.
The stirring clip sees the daughter of Cindy Crawford don a bulky black blazer over a chic matching dress slit down the left leg as she emotionally confronts a mannequin of herself.
Out and about: The 21-year-old model donned a simple, dark green sweater and a pair of form-fitting black leggings as she toted a green juice
Wow: Gerber’s appearance out came after she appeared in a futuristic advertisement for Alexander McQueen’s The Slash handbag
The advertisement begins with a wide brown eye fully taking over the screen before futuristic flying cars zoom across the sky through towering high rises.
The daughter of Cindy Crawford then walks along a large ledge after her car is parked at one of the high buildings.
She adds knee high black boots to the look, and her black hair is slicked straight behind her head.
She carries the expensive designer bag with her as she makes her way down a spiraling staircase.
Silicon? Unseen people watch her as she makes her way into a huge white room devoid of nearly anything except silicon faces clinging to mannequins
Stopping: She walks past several of the faces before settling on a young woman whose face is identical to her own
Replicant: The ad campaign is inspired by the iconic 1982 film Blade Runner – in which synthetic humans known as replicants are bio-engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation to work on space colonies (pictured Darryl Hannah)
She removes a key card from the bag, which gets its own close up, and swipes the card in order to stalk through a door.
A voice over the intercom blares out that the whole area is ‘restricted,’ though Gerber pays the voice no heed.
Unseen people watch her as she makes her way into a huge, white room devoid of nearly anything except silicon faces clinging to mannequins.
She walks past several of the faces before settling on a young woman whose face is identical to hers.
Realization: In a Blade Runner-esque moment, Gerber seems to realize she is a synthetic human as she strokes her own face tenderly
Crying: She sheds several sad, distraught tears
Darkness: She jumps back with a start and the white, sterile room falls into darkness as the lights go off
Back to the eyes: Her eyes, now dulled by the darkness, search as the clip fades to black
In a Blade Runner-esque moment, Gerber seems to realize she is a a bioengineered humanoid as she strokes her own face tenderly. Her eyes glisten.
She sheds several tears though her sadness quickly catalyzes into white hot rage.
Gerber looks away for a moment, but when she turns back the face she recognized as her own peers deeply into her soul.
She jumps back with a start and the white, sterile room falls into darkness as the lights go off. Her eyes, now dulled by the darkness, search as the clip fades to black.
The Slash is a high-end handbag from Alexander McQueen, currently retailing for approximately $3,300 on the famed designer’s website.
Dynamic duo: Kaia is dating actor Austin Butler (seen May 02, 2022 in New York City)
The lovely and magnetic young actor Emma Corrin certainly has a thing for characters who marry unwisely.
We cringed when Corrin’s winsome, affection-starved Diana married Charles in “The Crown,” knowing the heartbreak that lay ahead. Heartbreak also loomed for Harry Styles’ blushing bride in “My Policeman,” since we knew Styles’ character was already in a passionate affair with a man.
And now we see Corrin as a beaming bride yet again at the start of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” a new adaptation of the once scandalous 1928 D.H. Lawrence novel, launching another union that will bring grief. After all, the story is called “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” not “Lady Chatterley’s Husband.”
And yet unlike those first two characters, Corrin’s Lady Chatterley does get pretty much what she wants, ultimately, in a version tailor-made for, if not the #MeToo-era, then at least 21st-century views of female empowerment. This new “Chatterley,” directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre with a screenplay by David Magee, aims to tell the well-known story of an upper-class woman’s scandalous affair — crossing class barriers to achieve sexual pleasure and romantic love — from her own point of view, showing a woman who fights tooth and nail for control of both her body and her life, fiercely believing she deserves both.
Lawrence’s novel may have been shocking when it was published — most famously, it was the subject of a major obscenity trial in Britain — but it is not shocking now, no matter how frank the sex scenes. So any adaptation needs more to distinguish it than heaving bodies, however attractive.
And the best thing this one has is Corrin, ably supported by co-star Jack O’Connell as Oliver Mellors, the hunky yet sensitive gamekeeper on the Chatterley estate. From that very first bracing smile in the first scene, Corrin draws us in with a vibrancy that only deepens as the two-hour run time progresses. Yes, Corrin looks fabulous in the wonderful period (and yet somehow ephemeral) costumes by Emma Fryer, costumes that track young Lady Chatterley’s evolving mood and spirit. But mainly this is a performance that radiates emotional intelligence, spirit, and especially drive — drive to live, drive to love, drive to experience.
We first meet Constance Reid on her wedding day to Lord Chatterley, posing joyfully for photos, excited for the future. But this is the middle of World War I, and after a rushed wedding night, her new husband (Matthew Duckett, effective in a challenging role) is off to the front. When he returns six months after war’s end, he’s forever marked by war, paralyzed from the waist down. The couple settle into his vast country estate, Wragby, and Constance into her wifely duties bathing, dressing and tending to her spouse.
But Connie, as her family calls her, soon finds herself struggling through the long days in the countryside. She misses city life and resents her husband’s insensitive treatment of his workers. She takes restless walks, and soon finds herself in the shed where Oliver keeps his game. They strike up a conversation. Soon, they strike up a lot more.
Any “Chatterley” has to find a way to convey the transformative effect that carnal passion has on Connie, a passion that changes the trajectory of her life. Corrin and O’Connell are both fine actors who make us believe in their chemistry. But there’s an odd directorial choice here to bathe the lovers in a gray-blue light during their trysts, almost as if trying to hide them, whereas other scenes are presented in the brilliant light of sunny days and green fields. It gives a clinical quality to the proceedings, not the most enticing way to depict desire.
In any case, the passion evolves from lust into love, doomed though it surely must be, and soon Connie suspects she is pregnant. Oliver, though, is hardly the man Lord Chatterley had in mind when he suggested, with cool calculation, that his wife secretly enlist a man to help conceive an heir to the Chatterley name, since Chatterley himself is unable to do so. And Connie soon has different ideas. She wants a child, yes, but she also he wants a divorce. And she wants Oliver.
Though the plot is familiar, those who remember the book will find the ending different in important ways. What sticks in the memory, though, are the qualities Corrin brings to a famous character — grit, smarts, and a determination that she deserves personal fulfillment. It might be overstating the case to call this a feminist take on the novel. But Corrin, an exciting talent who we will doubtless be watching for years, gives us reason to crack open the dusty volume and consider it anew.
“Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” a Netflix release, has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America “ for strong sexual content, graphic nudity and some language. “ Running time: 126 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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This episode aired on Tuesday November 1st on The CW at 8/7c.
My Preamble
Lots to unpack from S01-E03, so lets get right to it!
It is Ada’s dream to become a powerful witch,
Mary’s parents are separated, and Samuel is still MIA,
Mary wrestles with her lost childhood, and difficulty envisioning a life outside of hunting,
Lata has some childhood issues of her own that are still shrouded in mystery
Mary is hurtling towards some pivotal crescendo by making the quest of finding her father, the culmination of her hunter’s life,
John believes hunting is his calling but struggles with wanting Mary to remain by his side as a hunter, and finding a new life for herself,
They have the magical box, but it still isn’t working,
The Akrida are already on earth, and if demons are to be believed, are here in great numbers,
Their leader is posing as a red-haired radio host named Rockin Roxy,
The Akrida are summoning a whole host of rare monsters whose essence is being harvested for some sinister purpose.
Wow! What’s in store this week?
Episode Recap
Dean Winchester: Fighting the battle between good and evil isn’t easy, especially when the first monster you have to face is the one inside yourself.
The CW-Patches Pasternak
Dean’s opening remarks paint a pretty accurate foreshadow for this week’s episode. In the opening scene we are introduced to a spear carrying monster who is wearing horned headgear. He has found fertile hunting grounds in the psych ward of the local hospital treating battle wearied veterans. We saw the victim, Thomas Patches Pasternak, as he walked through the halls of the hospital, haunted by memories of war while “Paris Cheri” by Josephine Baker plays in the background.
Carlos interrupts a sparring session between Mary and John to deliver the news that Pasternak was later found dead in a locked room. The hospital staff called it a suicide, but Carlos’s vet-friend Manny saw the singe marks on the floor, walls and ceiling. John is surprised to learn that Carlos has war-vet friends, and even more surprised that Carlos is a Navy vet himself. During their sparring session, John reminisced about his lost friend Murphy saying if he hadn’t died he would have been on The Tonight Show.
The CW-Morgue Delivery
Lata wonders if the monster is a Persian Manticore who are massive lions with flaming manes, but they need more information to be sure. Carlos outfits the team with lab coats and ID badges so they can get inside the morgue. Carlos is stowed away in a body bag on a gurney, while the others pose as attendants delivering the body. Once inside, they are able to get a closer look. Patches’ wounds are deep, cauterized around the edges and too clean to be made by claws are teeth, so that rules out the Manticore.
The CW-Murphy Flashback
While inspecting Patches, John notices his crucifix on the table and it triggers a traumatic flashback to the day that his friend Murphy was killed by stepping on a land mine. The resulting explosion embedded the metal from Murphy’s crucifix into John’s forearm. Mrs. Pasternak arrives to pick up her husband’s personal affects including the crucifix that John is holding. Mary introduces her and John as Joan Mitchell (I’m not sure if this is the painter or the musician, so I referenced both) and Graham Nash. We can see that John is visibly shaken by his flashback and excuses himself.
Mary continues her chat with Mrs. Pasternak and learns that Patches was wrestling with post-war issues. Mrs. Pasternak was also discussing Patches’ circumstances with an Investigative Reporter named Kyle Reed. This is the same young man that Mary saw Omega Man with.
The CW-John Flashback Visions
John is alone in the men’s room, struggling to calm down. His hands are shaking. Behind him in the mirror, he sees that same horned-masked figure that killed Patches. He spins around to confront him, but he disappeared. John lashes out and punches the metal paper towel dispenser until he can get himself under control. When John and Mary talk again out in the hallway, Mary tells John that the best plan is to have him and Carlos get admitted to the same inpatient program and therapy group as was Patches, so they can investigate more closely. Both Manny and Mrs. Pasternak claim that Patches and his doctor, Dr. Z. were arguing.
The CW-Admission
As Carlos and John get admitted, Mary and Lata meet up with Kyle Reed, the reporter she met and who was talking with Mrs. Pasternak. As it turns out, Kyle is in Lawrence because he is chasing a story. He claims that other vets have been similarly killed in psych units all across the country.
As the patients are waiting for circle discussion therapy to begin, John meets another war vet by the name of Jimmy Mixon. He warns John to manage his expectations where Dr. Z is concerned. In his opinion, the Doctor isn’t very good. The plan is that once the session starts, John will distract the doctor while Carlos inspects his office for information in Patches file. Carlos started the session with a very revealing story about his experience in the war, and then turns the conversation over to John.
John talks about Murphy but struggles with sharing the details when his new acquaintance Jimmy Mixon interrupts and tells Dr. Z to lay off. He thinks these sessions are a waste of time and argues with the doctor about Patches’ before he storms off, and John follows. John yells out for Jimmy to wait up, but by the time John rounds the corner in the hallway, Jimmy has disappeared. He can’t see him, but he can hear him. He follows his voice and just as John gets to the room where Jimmy is, blood is splattered against the glass and Jimmy has been taken by the same monster who got Patches. When John sees Jimmy on the floor, his flashbacks intensify.
John and Carlos call Lata and Mary to update them about the latest victim. Lata thinks it sounds like some mythological figure and Carlos shares that Dr. Z’s file on Patches reveals that he was also haunted by images of a man with a horned mask, holding a spear. John decides to confront the doctor head on by storming into his office and demanding to know who the man in the horned mask is. Carlos had no idea that John saw the masked man too, and herds him away from the doctor to form a new plan. They decide to split up in the search for any clues to where the masked man is hiding.
The CW-Mars Neto
Lata knows that there is little in the Men of Letters clubhouse library that will help them to find information on the masked man, but she knows where she might find something. Maggie’s room. No one has entered her room since she died, and Mary struggles to cross that threshold. One of the first things they notice is Maggie’s Donny Osmond poster. They also find a shoebox of old postcards that Maggie used to record both good and bad things that she experienced. They also find a useful book under her bed containing a reference to a creature called Mars Neto. It is no monster, but in fact is an immortal deity, and they know they must find a way to see John and Carlos to warn them.
Carlos and John have split up to find clues as to the masked man’s whereabouts, and in the same way that Patches’ surroundings began to alter, so has Carlos’ just as he is pulled into a room. John is not far behind and when he walks into the same room that Carlos was pulled into, we see nothing but jungle. We intuitively know this is some Viet Nam war scenario playing out.
Mary and Lata figured the best way to get in to see John and Carlos was to enlist the help of John’s mom Millie. Visitation is only allowed for family members, so once Millie is in, they will group up with her to search for the one object that the lore explains will stop Neto. It’s a totem, a kind of vase called an amphora which is a symbolic item that links him to his immortality while he visits earth. If they can find it and destroy it, then Carlos and John will be able to kill him.
The CW-Carlos steps on a Mine
While both trapped in the jungle scene fabricated by Neto, John and Carlos find each other. But almost immediately after, Carlos takes a step and his foot comes down on a land mine and he is trapped in the same way John’s friend Murphy was, before the mine ended his life. Neto seems to be re-creating John’s worse memory to entice him to battle. It is his intention to sharpen John into a formidable weapon to take on the Akrida. John agrees to join him in battle if he agrees to set Carlos free. Neto only agrees to let Carlos go free if John is able to draw first blood, otherwise he will kill both of them.
All during the battle between Neto and John, Millie, Mary and Lata continue to search for the amphora. Once they find it and destroy it, it will give John the edge he needs to kill Neto. Their fight builds and intensifies, until John sees a change in Neto as his amphora is destroyed and uses the spear to kill him. The moment he does, Carlos is freed, and the altered reality of the jungle slips away, and they are back in the empty room at Hannibal Park Hospital.
Once Neto is destroyed, the Fab 4 are outside the Hospital where Dr. Z chats with Carlos and encourages him to keep up with his counselling sessions. Dr. Z is committed to improving the treatment for veterans and Mary tells him she thinks she knows someone who would be willing to help, as she hands him Kyle’s business card. Carlos is still a bit shaken from the events and Mary offers him a place to stay; Maggie’s old room, if he can survive the Donny Osmond posters.
Carlos thanks John for all he did for him and offers to be there if he ever needs to talk. Mary offers to drive Millie and John home and the episode ends with a montage of them coping with their versions of trauma while “Everybody’s Talkin” by Harry Nilsson plays in the background;
We see Mary packing up all of Maggie’s things in cardboard boxes. A sure sign of moving on from Maggie’s death,
We see Carlos in circle group with Dr. Z working through his issues, and an empty chair beside him. The implication is that the chair is saved for John,
We see Lata and Mary filling out postcards, carrying on Maggie’s tradition of sharing both the good and the bad,
We see Millie setting the table for a meal, but when she goes to look for John, she finds him fully clothed in the tub, letting the warm water shower down on him while he weeps. John clearly continues to struggle over the loss of Murphy. His mom moves in behind him to comfort him.
Super Mario, two words that most even faintly familiar with video games would recognize. Of course, with so much weight on the name, one expects a movie to do it justice. Of course, there was a live-action attempt in the 90s. But the less that’s said about that film the better.
Still, it seems Nintendo and Illumination are up to the challenge. During a Nintendo Direct at 5PM, Nintendo and Illumination released another trailer for the upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Aside from more of a look at Bowser, Mario, Luigi, and Toad, this time we have our first look at Princess Peach(Anya Taylor-Joy) and Donkey Kong(Seth Rogen). The trailer shows a bit more of what to expect from the movie, and it seems there are some changes to a few characters this time around. Filling in the role of damsel-in-distress the iconic Princess does not, instead that role seems to be going to Luigi. No, rather, Peach seems to be taking more inspiration from the Super Mario Adventures comics from the early 90s. In said comics, Peach was much more of an active force against Bowser.
In this trailer, Peach dons attire similar to her biker outfit from the Mario Kart series, fitting given the heavy references to the series present in the trailer. As well as changes in character, the designs have notable overhauls. Donkey Kong’s redesign now implements elements similar to his 80s design, being far more cartoony and expressive. Bowser has more broad shoulders and green tints and Peach’s face is slightly more round.
Of course, fans are already coming the trailer for all the little references they can find. You too can search in the trailer below. For more information, check out the movies page on Universal’s Website.
Notice anything else in the trailer? Think the movie looks better than you anticipated? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Following American Horror Story : Double Feature, the direction of the horror anthology series was left uncertain. While the first half of the season was strong, the second half left a lot to be desired. In addition, many were uncertain if future seasons would continue with multiple distinct story lines, or one focused narrative. Recently, fans got their answer with Season 11, AHS : NYC. Set unsurprisingly in New York City, the story follows the Gay community in the 1980s as a series of murders and a mysterious new disease ravage the community. Compared to previous seasons, NYC is more grounded in its horror aspects, however, there are slight supernatural elements. These supernatural elements aren’t entirely explained, but are rather used in a metaphorical sense. This provides this season with an excellent through line, and one of the most effective finales any of these seasons have had.
Death Follows
Courtesy of FX
Throughout the entire season, death plays a prominent theme, more so than most other seasons of AHS. Being set in the 80s, this is a time when the LGBTQ+ community faced far more discrimination. As such, many of the murders and mysterious deaths of gay men are overlooked by the police. While some of these are a result of murders, inspired by the Last Call Killer, other deaths are harder to pin point. A mysterious, large man clad in leather straps follows the majority of the cast.
While his identity is a mystery, it is clear that this being is the personification of death. Even tarot cards play a part in this season, as all readings of them revolve around death. This results in the season concluding in such a way that shows how numb people can be to death, especially after fighting it for so long, and will even welcome it. It’s haunting, somber, and a grim reminder of how even now, society still has a way to go.
AHS Maintains Great Performances and Casts
Courtesy of FX
One thing that AHS has always done well creates interesting characters with a stellar cast. NYC is no different, and among the highlights of it are the new stars. Joe Mantello plays Gino, an investigative journalist who is partners with Russell Tovey’s Patrick, a closeted detective trying to track down the one responsible for the murders in NYC. They are joined by Charlie Carver’s Adam, who seeks to find his friend after his disappearance. All three of these new faces to AHS bring so much gravitas to their roles, and their performances easily stand as some of the best in all of AHS. Of course, return actors like Billie Lourd, Zachary Quinto, Denis O’Hare, and more were given excellent performances. It results in each of these characters being among the series most memorable, despite this season’s more grounded nature.
Conclusion – AHS Shows it Still Has So Much More
While Double Feature left many fans disappointed, NYC captures what made so many people love AHS, while also making its own identity and flair to make it among the show’s strongest seasons. What the following season shall bring is uncertain, but hopefully it’ll take many cues from NYC.
The wait is over and Tell Me Lies has been officially been renewed for Season 2. I know we all can’t get enough of all the drama surrounding these college kids. Especially the main love interests Stephen and Lucy and all their toxic messiness. Let’s be honest we all had a Stephen in our lives. It’s the bad boys every single time. We all binged this show in 2 days don’t lie.
Courtesy of Hulu
The show is taken from Carola Lovering’s bestselling novel of the same name. Season 1 first premiered in September starring Grace Van Patten as Lucy, a college freshman who gets swept up in a steamy, toxic, on-and-off romance with Stephen played by Jackson White. It takes place over the course of eight years. This season introduced us to the dark secrets from Stephen’s past which came to light. Will he ever get caught? We shall see next season.
Hulu officially announced Season 2 on Twitter this afternoon (please see below)
It’s too early to tell what it will about but we can be sure it will be an extension what transpired on the Season finale. If you haven’t seen it, please watch it. Fingers crossed it will be releasing next year which it is rumored. We will also be seeing plenty of new cast members being introduced.
***SPOILERS ARE BELOW…DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED THE SHOW***
The wait is over and Tell Me Lies has been officially been renewed for Season 2. I know we all can’t get enough of all the drama surrounding these college kids. Especially the main love interests Stephen and Lucy and all their toxic messiness. Let’s be honest we all had a Stephen in our lives. It’s the bad boys every single time. We all binged this show in 2 days don’t lie.
Courtesy of Hulu
The show is taken from Carola Lovering’s bestselling novel of the same name. Season 1 first premiered in September starring Grace Van Patten as Lucy, a college freshman who gets swept up in a steamy, toxic, on-and-off romance with Stephen played by Jackson White. It takes place over the course of eight years. This season introduced us to the dark secrets from Stephen’s past which came to light. Will he ever get caught? We shall see next season.
Hulu officially announced Season 2 on Twitter this afternoon (please see below)
It’s too early to tell what it will about but we can be sure it will be an extension what transpired on the Season finale. If you haven’t seen it, please watch it. Fingers crossed it will be releasing next year which it is rumored. We will also be seeing plenty of new cast members being introduced.
***SPOILERS ARE BELOW…DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED THE SHOW***
Jeremy Allen White is already the internet’s boyfriend thanks to his beloved turn on FX’s “The Bear,” but that title should only intensify when White packs on pounds of muscle for A24’s “The Iron Claw.” White is starring as the wrestler Kerry Von Erich in the Sean Durkin-directed drama, which co-stars Zac Efron and Harris Dickinson. The actor told GQ magazine that he’s gaining 40 pounds of muscle for the role.
“The Iron Claw” tells the tragic true story of the Von Erich wrestling troupe. Kerry Von Erich’s career was derailed after a motorcycle accident resulted in his right foot being amputated. Kerry later died by suicide. White said there are parallels between Kerry and the chef Carmy he plays on “The Bear.”
“There’s something human about never feeling like you are really your own man,” White said. “All great drama is about family, whether it’s blood or not. It’s about acceptance, it’s about belonging, and just getting away from loneliness.”
Zac Efron has gone viral on social media due to photos of him from “The Iron Claw” set in which he appears jacked. Efron wrote White “a really lovely note” after the latter was cast in the film. The letter read: “Get training, eat, keep doing what you’re doing, stay hard.”
The film is one of many projects that White got courted for following the explosive success of “The Bear.” According to White, “four A24 scripts” landed on his desk following the show’s runaway success and “The Iron Claw” was chosen.
As reported by QG: “[How did White’s career shift after ‘The Bear’?] Kathryn Bigelow invited him out to lunch just so she could bounce a few ideas for projects off him. Out of nowhere there were ‘four A24 scripts on my desk,’ White says. And he heard from a friend that Dustin Hoffman—another idol of his—loved the show so much that he wanted to send White a handwritten letter.”
White’s career resurgence is surprising even to him considering he played the same character, Philip “Lip” Gallagher, on the Showtime series “Shameless” for 11 seasons and 134 episodes across 10 years. White admitted earlier this year that he was left in an “upsetting head space” when the show came to an end after a decade.
“I love ‘Shameless’ so much. I love everybody that was a part of it, and the experience was incredible,” White said. “But I’m not sure if shows are meant to go that long…There was a period where I stopped feeling like an actor and I started feeling like I was just here to do this show.”
White added, “It was an upsetting head space to be in. When it was going to end, I was questioning: maybe I do just exist on this show. What else is there? Am I an actor? I was definitely having a lot of doubt when I was finishing ‘Shameless.’”
If you’re trying to figure out what to watch on HBO Max, you’ve come to the right place. Below, we’ve assembled a list of the best movies available to stream on HBO Max right now, from comedies to blockbusters to rom-coms to Oscar-winning dramas and beyond. Since first launching in 2020, HBO Max has quickly solidified itself as lowkey one of the best streaming services around, with a robust library of some genuinely great movies past and present to choose from. It’s a true bounty of choice with plenty of older films alongside bona fide new releases.
Take a look at our curated list of the best movies on HBO Max below. This list will be updated weekly with new titles, so be sure to check back often.
Seven
New Line Cinema
Director David Fincher is known for making dark films, but his 1995 thriller “Seven” remains his darkest – and one of his best. Written by Andrew Kevin Walker, the film stars Brad Pitt as a young detective who is partnered up with a veteran on the brink of retirement (played by Morgan Freeman), and for the latter’s final case the two find themselves chasing a serial killer who is killing according to the Seven Deadly Sins. The film takes place in a slightly exaggerated version of reality, all reflective of the themes of futility, morality and justice explored within.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Universal Pictures
One of the best and funniest comedies of the 21st century, full-stop, “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” finds The Lonely Island putting their own twist on a “Spinal Tap”-style story. Andy Samberg stars as a Justin Bieber-esque pop star who used to be part of a three-person group in the vein of the Beastie Boys. “Popstar” is a mockumentary, following Samberg’s character on tour after the disastrous release of his new album. The laughs are plenty and hearty throughout, but the film is also a sweet story of friendship. And the songs – written and performed by The Lonely Island – are legitimate bops.
Nightcrawler
Open Road Films
If you’re in the mood for a dark thriller with a powerhouse lead performance, check out 2014’s “Nightcrawler.” Written and directed by Dan Gilroy, the film is a darkly comic look at the world of local news media, as Jake Gyllenhaal plays a stringer named Lou who records violent events and sells them to a local Los Angeles news station. But as Lou’s ambition grows, his motives become murky. The film certainly has shades of a modern “Taxi Driver” with Gyllenhaal delivering a transformative performance that gets under your skin. The whole thing is anchored by terrific co-starring turns by Renee Russo and Riz Ahmed.
The American President
Sony Pictures Releasing
Before Aaron Sorkin created “The West Wing,” he wrote a romantic comedy called “The American President.” You’ll find the bones of Sorkin’s acclaimed drama series within this film, but at heart this is a romance about a widowed president (played by Michael Douglas) who strikes up a relationship with a lobbyist (played by Annette Bening) and all the complications that ensue. This one’s funny, romantic and sharp.
Old
Gael Garcia Bernal in “Old” (Universal Pictures)
If you’re in the mood for a twisty and tight little thriller, M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old” will do the trick. The 2021 film stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Vicky Krieps as a couple considering divorce who take their kids to a tropical resort for one last family vacation. But when they go down to a secret beach one day, they not only find themselves unable to leave, but also discover that they all start aging rapidly. Like, very rapidly. The family and a few other strangers must try and figure out what’s going on and if there’s a way out before they literally grow old and die.
Inception
Warner Bros.
If you’re in the mood to watch a mind-bending thriller, you can’t go wrong with Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster “Inception.” Written and directed by Nolan, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who is proficient in performing heists within the subconscious of individuals who are subdued. He’s offered one last job in exchange for his freedom, and assembles a crew to perform a task thought near-impossible — planting an idea inside someone’s head. Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Caine co-star in this action-packed adventure with surprising emotional heft.
Elvis
Warner Bros.
“Elvis” is a biopic of The King by way of “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet” filmmaker Baz Luhrmann. Which is to say it’s wildly kinetic, exciting and unlike any take on Elvis Presley’s life before. There are the usual Luhrmann flourishes, especially in the first half of the film, but they fit snugly with the chronicle of a larger-than-life figure. Austin Butler transforms into the role of Elvis, delivering a jaw-dropping performance, while Tom Hanks anchors the film as Presley’s conniving business manager Colonel Tom Parker. The story is told from Parker’s perspective, which offers an interesting twist to the storytelling, but it’s clear Luhrmann cares deeply about doing justice to Elvis’ story. And that soundtrack!
Locke
A24
If anyone can pull off commanding an entire movie set inside a car, it’s Tom Hardy. Filmmaker Steven Knight’s 2013 film “Locke” follows a successful construction manager in Birmingham who gets a phone call on his way home that dismantles his life. The rest of the story plays out inside the car as the man drives and makes a series of phone calls in an effort to control the fallout, with Hardy serving as the only character you see onscreen while Tom Holland, Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott and others fill the roles on the other end of the phone. This thing is riveting.
The Devil’s Backbone
Warner Sogefilms A.I.E.
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s third film put him on the map in a big way – and for good reason. 2001’s “The Devil’s Backbone” is a Spanish-language ghost story set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. The story takes place at a small orphanage where the ghost of a young boy haunts the halls and its inhabitants, all while the threat of the war encroaching on the orphanage’s grounds looms.
Beetlejuice
Warner Bros.
Tim Burton’s comedy classic is a great watch pretty much anytime. “Beetlejuice” revolves around a couple who die in a car accident (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) and become ghosts trapped inside their home where they’re forced to witness its sale and renovation by a gauche family from the city. They enlist the help of a “bio-exorcist” named Beetlejuice (played by Michael Keaton), and all hell breaks loose. The film is a colorful and inventive twist on the afterlife, offering up a darkly comic spin on the living dead.
Out of the Past
RKO
One of the best film noirs ever made, “Out of the Past” is indicative of the kinds of essential classic films that are par for the course on HBO Max. This 1947 film stars Robert Mitchum as Jeff Bailey, a man quietly living out his life in a rural mountain town, only to be interrupted by a figure from his past. Flashbacks then reveal his former life as a private investigator in New York City, with the film solidifying many cinematic flourishes that would become hallmarks of the film noir genre. Kirk Douglas and Jane Gree co-star.
Annabelle Comes Home
New Line Cinema
If you’re looking for a spooky horror movie that’s light on gore but heavy on the scares, 2019’s “Annabelle Comes Home” is well worth a watch. The film is technically a sequel to the “Annabelle” movies and is set in the “Conjuring” universe, as it focuses on the daughter of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, respectively) played by McKenna Grace. Left home alone with a babysitter, the Warrens’ basement full of cursed objects gets loose, resulting in a bevy of horrors being unleashed on the young girl, her babysitter and her babysitter’s friend. You don’t need to have seen any of the previous “Annabelle” movies (or even a “Conjuring” movie) to enjoy this one.
Ex Machina
Alicia Vikander in “Ex Machina” (A24)
A heady sci-fi two-hander with an iconic dance break from Oscar Isaac, 2014’s “Ex Machina” contains multitudes. The film hails from writer/director Alex Garland, whose knack for telling smart (and thought-provoking) sci-fi stories ranges from “Annihilation” to “Devs.” In “Ex Machina,” Isaac plays an enigmatic billionaire who summons a programmer (played by Domhnall Gleeson) to his remote compound to assess whether his A.I. creation (played by Alicia Vikander). Philosophical conversations are interspersed with feelings of dread and horror, as Garland masterfully weaves a tale about what it means to be human.
Goodfellas
Warner Bros.
One of filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s many classics, 1990’s “Goodfellas” is a quintessential gangster film. Based on a true story, it chronicles the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill, as played by the late Ray Liotta. Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino co-star in what is essentially a prototype for “The Sopranos,” with Scorsese drawing the audience into the world of the mob through the eyes of a wannabe gangster. The filmmaking is some of the best of Scorsese’s career, from the iconic oner at the Copacabana night club to a cocaine-fueled third act sequence that’ll have you on edge no matter how many times you’ve seen it.
Batman Returns
Warner Bros.
Tim Burton’s 1992 sequel remains one of the boldest, most interesting and sexiest Batman movies ever made – and it holds up tremendously well. “Batman Returns” is the superior follow-up to Burton’s 1989 hit, with Michael Keaton reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Michelle Pfeiffer is phenomenal as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, with the character serving as a tempting mirror of Bruce Wayne’s own dichotomy — a more violent path towards vigilantism and revenge. There’s also Danny DeVito’s snarling Penguin, and perhaps most terrifying of all Christopher Walken’s soulless businessman Max Schreck. With a Christmas setting and Burton pushing the Gothic aesthetics to the extreme, this is one of the best Batman movies ever made.
The World’s End
Focus Features
If you like “Shaun of the Dead” or “Hot Fuzz,” you owe it to yourself to check out the third film in the loosely connected Cornetto Trilogy, “The World’s End.” Edgar Wright once again directs with many familiar faces from those previous two films – including Simon Pegg and Nick Frost – returning to tell the story of a group of childhood friends who reunite in their hometown to reluctantly take part in a pub crawl, as organized by Pegg’s character who’s an addict stuck in the past. But their night of friendship turns into a fight for survival, as they discover the town’s residents may or may not have been taken over by robots.
The Heat
20th Century Studios
A riff on the buddy cop formula, “The Heat” is a hilarious comedy that pairs Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, under the direction of “Bridesmaids” and “Spy” filmmaker Paul Feig. Bullock plays a tight-laced FBI agent who’s forced to let loose when she’s partnered with a tough-as-nails cop who doesn’t play by the rules, played by McCarthy. Together they try to take down a mobster in Boston, with each learning a little something about themselves in the process.
13 Going on 30
Sony Pictures
An absolute delight of a romantic comedy, the 2004 film “13 Going on 30” is the epitome of “feel-good movie.” The story concerns a 13-year-old girls in 1987 who, after being humiliated by her friends, wishes on her birthday that she was 30 years old. She’s then suddenly pushed forward in time to her 30-year-old self’s body (played by Jennifer Garner), and is appalled to see where life has taken her. Garner delivers a terrific performance as a teen trapped in an adult’s body, and her romantic pairing with Mark Ruffalo is swoon-worthy. There’s also a top-notch “Thriller” dance break.
Under the Skin
A24
If you’re an adventurous sci-fi fan, “Under the Skin” is a must-see. This singular, unnerving film from director Jonathan Glazer stars Scarlett Johansson as an alien woman who preys on men in Scotland. But instead of high-flying theatrics, CGI or predictable plot structure, “Under the Skin” surprises at every turn. Johansson’s performance is predatory and elegant all at once, and the way Glazer captures her character’s kills will keep you up at night. Add in a transfixing score by composer Mica Levi, and this one will have you under its spell.
Colossal
Neon/Voltage Pictures
If you’re looking for something a little off the beaten path, check out the 2016 film “Colossal.” This darkly comic sci-fi film stars Anne Hathaway as a self-destructive alcoholic who realizes she controls a giant kaiju monster in Seoul. At the same time, she’s working out a relationship with her childhood friend Oscar (played by Jason Sudeikis), whose “nice guy” exterior hides a more toxic underbelly. Written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, the film reveals itself to be a smart and impactful story of toxic masculinity and alcoholism. It’s also a ton of fun.
The Firm
Paramount Pictures
If you yearn for the days when a new legal thriller was in theaters every few months, it’s a great time to revisit the Tom Cruise-fronted John Grisham adaptation “The Firm.” The 1993 film follows a young Harvard law school soon-to-be-graduate who is recruited to join one of the top law firms in Tennessee. But once he’s inside, he learns more sinister works may be at play. Sydney Pollack directs an A-list cast that includes Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ed Harris, Hal Holbrook, Wilfred Brimley and Holly Hunter.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Columbia Pictures
One of the best sequels ever made, James Cameron’s 1991 film “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” is hailed by many as even better than its predecessor. Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a killer robot sent from the future, only this time he’s sent to protect a young John Connor (Edward Furlong) who is destined to lead the human revolt against the machine uprising. Linda Hamilton is a full-on action hero in this follow-up, traumatized by the events of the first film in which she was told that her son was the key to humanity’s future. This film pioneered CGI characters with Robert Patrick’s T-1000 antagonist, but still manages to keep a beating human heart among all the spectacle.
The Batman
Warner Bros.
Putting a new spin on a character like Batman is incredibly difficult, but director Matt Reeves and star Robert Pattinson accomplish this and much more in the 2022 reboot “The Batman.” The film picks up in Bruce Wayne’s second year of prowling the streets as the caped crusader, and finds him roped into an investigation into a series of killings committed by The Riddler (Paul Dano). Reeves draws from films like “Zodiac” and “All the President’s Men” to result in a process-driven (and wildly compelling) crime thriller that packs some of the most striking cinematography in the character’s history thanks to Oscar-winner Greig Fraser. And that score by Michael Giacchino is a new classic. At three hours in length this one’s quite long, but it’s the detective-driven Batman story fans have long been waiting for.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet
20th Century Fox
“Moulin Rogue!” and “The Great Gatsby” filmmaker Baz Luhrmann has always had a flair for the theatrical, which made him a brilliant fit for 1996’s reimagining of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Aptly named “Romeo + Juliet,” the film retains much of Shakespeare’s dialogue but features a contemporary setting and characters, trading swords for guns and Verona for “Verona Beach.” The freshly popular duo of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes make a firecracker pairing at the center of the film, and a hip soundtrack pairs nicely with Luhrmann’s fast-paced visual approach.
Dune
Warner Bros.
Director Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” is the kind of prestige, epic sci-fi adaptation that studios rarely make, and for that alone it’s worth seeking out. Based on the Frank Herbert novel of the same name, the film stars Timothee Chalamet as the young Paul Atreides, a man who accompanies his family House Atreides as they’re tasked with overseeing the mining of a valuable resource on the planet Arrakis. But once they arrive, they struggle against the planet’s native population and the nefarious House Harkonnen who wants its position back at all costs. This film, gorgeously crafted, is the first half of the “Dune” story with the second half due to be adapted in the forthcoming sequel “Dune: Part Two.”
West Side Story
20th Century Studios
Steven Spielberg’s first-ever musical “West Side Story” is one of the best films he’s ever made, and that’s saying something. This new adaptation of the Broadway hit is set in 1957 New York, where two warring gangs – the Polish youths The Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks – battle for control over a strip of land that’s due to be gentrified anyway. Caught in the middle are Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler) who fall in love despite coming from opposite sides of the tracks. Spielberg crafts a film set in the past that speaks to the tensions we face today, grounded in an emotional and tragic love story.
Nobody
Universal Pictures
If you’re in the mood for a contained action movie, Bob Odenkirk’s “Nobody” will do the trick. The “Better Call Saul” actor trained for over a year to get in fighting shape to play a family man who, after experiencing a home invasion, returns to his dangerous former life. Directed by Ilya Naishuller, the film boasts some jaw-dropping action scenes in the vein of “John Wick” (and it’s no surprise to find that the film was written and produced by “John Wick” alums).
Free Guy
20th Century Studios
A delightful original blockbuster, “Free Guy” stars Ryan Reynolds as an NPC (aka Non-Playable Character) living in a “Sims”-like video game populated largely by online players. When he suddenly gains consciousness, he begins making decisions for himself outside of his predetermined routine, all the while a female gamer from the outside world played by Jodie Comer enlists his help to find some embedded code within the game. Taika Waititi plays a nefarious video game designer and “Stranger Things” breakout Joe Keery plays an employee at the game company who may or may not be helpful in Reynolds and Comer’s quest. If you’re looking for a delightful and surprisingly emotional film for all ages, check this one out.
Nightmare Alley
Searchlight Pictures
Guillermo del Toro’s 2021 drama “Nightmare Alley” is not for the faint of heart, but it is a rich and disturbing character piece about identity. Set in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Bradley Cooper stars as Stanton Carlisle, a drifter who ends up working for a traveling carnival where he picks up a mentalist act. Years later, he’s now stolen this mentalist act as his own and finds success in the big city, but when he teams up with a mysterious therapist (played by Cate Blanchett), his world begins to crumble. Cooper is terrific in the lead role, and the film builds to one of the most unforgettable endings in recent memory.
News of the World
Universal Pictures
The Tom Hanks-fronted 2020 Western “News of the World” is a surprisingly touching and poignant film that speaks to the world we live in today. Directed by Oscar-nominated “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “United 93” filmmaker Paul Greengrass, the film takes place in 1870 and follows a former Confederate officer (played by Hanks) who now travels from town to town to read the news of the day. When he rescues a young woman who has seemingly been captured and raised by Native Americans, he makes it his mission to deliver her to her home.
Malignant
Warner Bros.
You must be on the right wavelength to enjoy “Malignant,” but if you’re down for a horror movie that plays out with a knowing wink, this might become a new favorite. From “Aquaman” and “The Conjuring” director James Wan, the film stars Annabelle Wallis as a woman who begins to have visions of people being murdered, and when she starts digging into her past she discovers disturbing secrets – all while a killer is on the loose. This thing goes from creepy horror film to murder mystery to campy monster movie and never misses a beat, and the third act is a total blast.
The Last Duel
20th Century Studios
Ridley Scott’s historical drama “The Last Duel” made an early streaming debut on HBO Max, and if you missed this 2021 film in theaters now is a great time to catch up. The story recounts the last officially sanctioned duel in the 1400s, and kicks into gear when a woman (played by Jodie Comer) accuses one of her husband’s (Matt Damon) former friends and semi-rival (played by Adam Driver) of rape. The film plays out in three parts, telling the story from three different points of view — that of the woman, that of her husband, and that of the man she accused of raping her — and in doing so serves as an insightful and unsettling look at the way men view the world and their place in it, and how that impacts women. Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofencer wrote the screenplay.
Singin’ in the Rain
MGM
Quite simply one of the most joyous films ever made, there’s no way that “Singin’ in the Rain” will leave you in a bad mood. Released in 1952, the film is set against the backdrop of the transition from silent films to “talkies” and revolves around three Hollywood performers: Gene Kelly is Don Lockwood, Debbie Reynolds is Kathy Selden and Donald O’Connor is Cosmo Brown. In addition to telling a compelling Hollywood-set story, the film boasts some of the most mesmerizing musical numbers ever put to film, from the acrobatics of “Make ‘Em Laugh” to Kelly’s iconic “Singin’ in the Rain.” This is a perfect feel-good movie.
The Suicide Squad
Warner Bros.
While filmmaker James Gunn brought a lighter sensibility to his “Guardians of the Galaxy” films for Marvel Studios, his DC film “The Suicide Squad” harkens back to the darkness of his earlier work. Not quite a sequel and not quite a reboot, the 2021 film largely stands alone as it follows the anti-hero team of Task Force X – which includes Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Idris Elba’s Bloodsport – as they’re assigned to sneak into a foreign country on a top secret mission. R-rating antics abound, but there’s a surprising humanity at the center of this gloriously weird and wild superhero movie.
When Harry Met Sally…
Columbia Pictures
One of the classics. Director Rob Reiner and screenwriter Nora Ephron make for a perfect duo in 1989’s “When Harry Met Sally…” which follows two people played by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal through over a decade of near-misses and friendship in New York City. Everyone can relate to this story of friends who can’t decide if they want to be something more, or can’t get on the same page with how they truly feel about one another. Reiner, who was coming off of a divorce, served as the basis for Harry while Ephron served as the inspiration for Sally.
Spielberg
If you’re a fan of the work of Steven Spielberg, then the documentary “Spielberg” is a must-watch. The film is anchored by an interview with Spielberg himself (and his family members) as it runs through his storied career, with the filmmaker offering candid insight along the way. If you’ve ever wondered how Spielberg took the blow of “1941” or why “Catch Me If You Can” was rooted in a family secret, those answers and more are found within.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
HBO Max
At four hours in length, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is really for interested parties only, but for those with even a passing familiarity with “Man of Steel,” “Batman v. Superman” and “Wonder Woman,” this HBO Max exclusive marks a fascinating, rich and wildly different take on “Justice League” than the one that was released in theaters in 2017. Presented in six chapters with an epilogue, everyone gets more story this time around, and it’s for the better. Cyborg (Ray Fisher) provides some emotional heft; Superman (Henry Cavill) actually gets some depth; and Ben Affleck’s Batman gets more to do than half-heartedly pull together a Justice League. This film is director Zack Snyder’s unfiltered vision for better and for worse, and that includes some major teases for sequels that never came to fruition, plenty of violence and lots of slow motion. And honestly? It’s good.
All the President’s Men
Warner Bros.
One of the best films ever made, 1976’s “All the President’s Men” chronicles the real-life investigation into the Watergate scandal by journalists Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and Bob Woodward (Robert Redford). Director Alan J. Pakula captures the electric atmosphere of the newsroom but treats the investigation with the seriousness it deserves, as there’s no need for embellishment when the story’s this good. Shades of a paranoid thriller keep the tension up even when you know how the story unfolds, and Hoffman and Redford are stellar as the two journalists at the center.
In the Heights
Warner Bros
If you missed Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning musical “In the Heights” when it was released in 2021, now’s your chance to catch up with this joyous, colorful and hopeful film. Anthony Ramos stars as Usnavi, a young man living in Washington Heights who dreams of reopening his late father’s business in the Dominican Republic. As Usnavi and others in the neighborhood struggle with xenophobia, gentrification and the decision to move back home, he must make a decision that will determine the trajectory of his entire life. The songs are incredible, the musical numbers are stunning and the whole thing builds to an emotional finale that celebrates community.
No Sudden Move
HBO Max
Steven Soderbergh’s HBO Max original film “No Sudden Move” is a heck of a crime thriller. Set in 1954 Detroit, it stars Don Cheadle as a gangster short on cash who wants to leave town, and who reluctantly agrees to do a job that immediately goes sideways. He’s then on the run with a fellow gangster played by Benicio Del Toro, trying to figure out who he can trust and discovering who’s behind it all. The script by Ed Solomon brilliantly weaves a twist-filled story with thematic resonance, as the film uses historical context to add to the complexity of its plot and characters.
The Harry Potter Franchise
Warner Bros.
All eight films in the “Harry Potter” franchise are currently streaming on HBO Max, making for a fulfilling binge-viewing if you so desire. The eight-part series still stands as one of the best and most complete film franchises of all time, as it charts the adventures of a boy wizard from his very beginnings to his final showdown with the evil Lord Voldemort. What makes “Harry Potter” so brilliant is the films evolve and mature along with the characters, so while the first few films are bright and cheery – just like their young protagonists – the latter films are dark and complex, reflecting the characters being forced into adulthood. Brush up before the big reunion on HBO Max in January.
The Shining
Warner Bros.
One of the scariest films ever made, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is the story of a father slowly going insane while serving as caretaker of an empty hotel high up in the mountains. Based on the book by Stephen King, the 1980 film stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, who agrees to live in a snowed in hotel with his wife and young son over the winter. But once they arrive, Jack slowly starts to go insane (due in part to the fact that the hotel is haunted) and then things turn murderous. You no doubt know the iconography for this one, but if you’ve never seen it it’s certainly a thing to behold.
No Country for Old Men
Miramax Films/Paramount Vantage
If you’re in the mood for a dark, complicated drama, the Coen Brothers’ Oscar-winning 2007 film “No Country for Old Men” will do the trick. The Cormac McCarthy adaptation stars Josh Brolin as a man who happens upon the aftermath of a deadly shootout that has left behind a bag full of money. He takes the money for himself, but in doing so puts him and his wife in the crosshairs of a cold-blooded killer played by Javier Bardem. The film is a harrowing meditation on morality and chance, and won four Oscars including Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay.
Promising Young Woman
Focus Features
“Promising Young Woman” not only checks the “fairly new release” box but also the “movie you won’t stop thinking about for days” box as well. The 2020 thriller from writer/director Emerald Fennell stars Carey Mulligan as a young woman with a traumatic secret who spends her nights picking up men and punishing them for preying on what they thought was a drunk, barely conscious woman. As the story unfolds, twists and turns abound, but Mulligan centers the entire story with a conviction that’ll rattle you to your core, up through the jaw-dropping ending. The film won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Jackie Brown
Miramax Films
Pam Grier takes center stage in Quentin Tarantino’s wonderfully romantic 1997 film “Jackie Brown.” The story revolves around a flight attendant, played by Brown, who’s smuggling money from Mexico for a dangerous criminal played by Samuel L. Jackson. When she’s approached by the authorities about setting Jackson’s character up, she’s faced with a tough decision, all while striking up a romantic relationship with a bail bondsman played by Robert Forster. “Jackie Brown” is more measured and, frankly, more tastefully sensual than any of Tarantino’s other films, and Grier shines as a woman who works her way out of a tight spot.
Citizen Kane
RKO
Widely hailed as the greatest film of all time, 1941’s “Citizen Kane” is also just tremendously entertaining. The groundbreaking effort from co-writer/producer/director/star Orson Welles traces the life and career of a mysterious and wealthy newspaper publisher by beginning with his death. The film employs techniques that were, at the time, unheard of in order to weave the complicated narrative and immerse viewers into the story. Eighty years after its original release, “Citizen Kane” remains a humdinger of a film. That’s cinema, folks.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Warner Bros.
For a jolt of adrenaline, check out filmmaker George Miller’s action masterpiece “Mad Max: Fury Road.” You don’t have to be familiar with the “Mad Max” franchise in order to appreciate the pulse-pounding at the story of this film, which finds captive Max (played by Tom Hardy) hopping aboard an oil tanker driven by Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who is absconding from Immortan Joe’s Citadel with his “wives” in tow. A chase ensues, and indeed the entirety of “Mad Max: Fury Road” is one car chase from start to finish, but captured in jaw-dropping form by Miller, who takes a meticulous approach to the action. But on top of the theatrics, the film is also a meaty feminist diatribe that leaves you with much to chew on after you’ve finished your popcorn.
The Truman Show
Paramount Pictures
“The Truman Show” came at a time, in 1998, when reality television was just starting to take hold, and in hindsight it’s a tremendously prescient film. Jim Carrey plays a man named Truman who, unbeknownst to him, has been on camera since the day he was born. His parents, his friends, his co-workers and even strangers are all actors living inside the world’s biggest soundstage, as Truman is literally the star of a television show being broadcast across the globe. But when Truman starts to get curious about why he’s never left his small island town, the whole thing starts to unravel. This film is funny, sweet and wildly inventive.
Jurassic Park
Universal Pictures
Look no further for proof of Steven Spielberg’s brilliance as a director than his 1993 film “Jurassic Park.” This Michael Crichton adaptation follows a group of strangers who are whisked away to a wealthy billionaire’s tucked-away island, where he’s built a theme park full of resurrected dinosaurs in secret. Things soon get out of hand when the power goes out and the dinosaurs are loose, and Spielberg relishes in thrilling and terrorizing his audience in equal measure.
2001: A Space Odyssey
MGM
If you’re looking to watch a sci-fi classic that may or may not make your head hurt a little bit, try Stanley Kubrick’s masterful 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The epic adventure takes place in the year 2001 (then the future) and follows a crew that’s sent to Jupiter after a mysterious monolith is discovered on Earth. Aboard the ship is a computer named HAL that wreaks havoc on the mission. This is one of the most visually stunning and perplexing films of all-time – a true work of art that’s open to various forms of interpretation by the time you reach the end of the journey.
The Matrix Trilogy
Warner Bros.
Revisit the original trilogy before taking in the truly bonkers fourth “Matrix” film “The Matrix Resurrections.” “The Matrix,” from 1999, remains the best of the bunch, as Keanu Reeves plays a man named Neo who is awoken to the truth that the world he inhabits is actually a computer program called The Matrix, and the real world is actually a desolate landscape run by machines. The story gets far more complicated from there in “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions,” as the few humans awake in the real world stage a coup against their machine overlords. Writers and directors The Wachowskis break ground both in terms of action and allegorical storytelling, as the films are loaded with heady philosophical ideas.
Inside Man
Universal Pictures
Spike Lee’s 2006 thriller “Inside Man” is one of the director’s best and most entertaining films. The story opens in the aftermath of a bank heist, with those taken hostage giving their interviews to police about what happened. The film then flashes back to portray the events as they unfold, with Denzel Washington playing the detective trying to talk down the robber and kidnapper (played by Clive Owen) who seems to be harboring some kind of secret. Mind games ensue, and this one keeps you guessing all the way up through the end.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
New Line Cinema
With the holiday season comes plenty of vacation time, and if you’re in for a really long binge-watch, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy will do the trick. Peter Jackson’s epic trio of J.R.R. Tolkein adaptations remain some of the most accomplished achievements in the history of moviemaking, as this fantastical tale of a young hobbit who sets out to save the world as he knows it is crafted with ingenuity and passion to spare. Whether it’s your first or fifth time to Middle-earth, it’s a journey well worth taking. As a bonus, HBO Max offers both the theatrical versions and the richer extended versions available to stream.
Welcome to this years SpoilerTV Cancellation Predictor
Last year, each day after the Finals are released, we update our data (see the notes below about how we get our data) in order to see if we could predict which show(s) would be renewed or cancelled.
As you can see from last years summary, we did pretty well apart from a few strange ones such as Welcome to Flatch, Grand Crew renewals and the cancellation of Magnum PI
This index is by no means a 100% accurate guide about if your show is safe or in danger and should be seen as a bit of FUN.
NOTE: Until we have at least 3-4 weeks of data for each show that this table is not going to be very accurate and it will vary a lot each update. We’ll try to update the full Cancellation Table once per day the new season starts and the ratings are released.
Understanding the Table – Please Read
1) The LOWER the Index Rating number the more likely a show is to get cancelled, HIGHER numbers = safety.
2) This is an ongoing exercise that I hope to refine each week to make the index more accurate.
3) Only the major networks are included currently ie ABC/FOX/CW/CBS/NBC. And only for the main TV Season ie we don’t cover Summer Shows.
4) This chart is a prediction of all the shows using our own formula based on the viewing numbers, 18-49, and + 7 Numbers. These 3 factors are the main weighting of the Index number, however we also factor in things such as the Network they are on (eg CW shows get lower numbers), the day of week they air (eg Fridays are lower numbers), DVR Numbers and +7 and +3 numbers,DVD/Blu-Ray Sales,Production Costs, Cast Contracts/Availability, Syndication, online popularity such as streamed views, Nielsen Online Ratings etc.
5) Shows still might not get renewed despite good numbers due eg a show coming to an end of run eg A show might be in it’s final season no matter what the ratings are etc or could be due to key cast wanting to leave after their contracts have expired. Recent Examples are H50 and SPN, when the leads wanted out despite the ratings being strong enough for another season. etc
6) Remember Ratings are relative to ratings for other shows on the same network.
7) Shows that have been renewed for a New Season are marked in Blue
8) You can access this page via either the Start or Features Menu above or simply by Bookmarking it.
Tilda Swinton takes on two roles in her latest film, The Eternal Daughter in which she plays both daughter and mother with the kind of remarkable effectiveness and invention the world has grown to expect from one of the globes truly great actors. It is the latest film , and most recent collaboration between filmmaker Joanna Hogg and Swinton after reaching high acclaim for the two prevous Souvenir films. Swinton joins me this week on the eve of The Eternal Daughter’s U.S. release (it world premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival) for the latest edition of my Deadline video series, The Actor’s Side. We talk about this unique project and the novel way they found to let the star play opposite herself without the usual movie trickery. We also talk about the current restoration and new theatrical release of her breakthrough movie role, Orlando which is now celebrating its 30th anniversary and still timely, even more so. Swinton won an Oscar for Supporting Actress in Michael Clayton yet she never possessed the statuette after that win, and we discuss just who got it and why she gave it to them. Her vast filmography includes Deep End, Snowpiercer, We Need To Talk About Kevin, I Am Love, A Bigger Splash, Trainwreck, Okja, Dr. Strange, Suspiria, Memoria, The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and so many more. The list of directors who keep begging to work with her says much about this unique talent and include Wes Anderson, Luca Guadagnino, Bong Joon Ho, Jim Jarmusch, Sally Potter, and also earlier this year George Miller with 3000 Years Of Longing which debuted in Cannes, and the upcoming 2023 release The Killer for David Fincher. She talks about all of them. Join us to get the ‘actor’s side’ from Tilda Swinton by clicking on the link above.
Watch for a new episode every Wednesday this Oscar season of The Actor’s Side.
It certainly is a bustling time of year! Between announcing the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations (!), the holidays, and 16 screenings from this month alone, you’ll never run out of great indie films to enjoy! We’ve gathered all of November’s offerings – both theatrical and virtual – to keep you in the loop on the documentary and narrative films coming soon to a theater near you.
Dive right in to these bold and exciting films and check out the Q&A conversations on YouTube. We’re sure you’ll walk away with more than a few insights for your own filmmaking journey!
We have a long list of screenings already in the works for December – check out our calendar and sign up here!
SALVATORE: SHOEMAKER OF DREAMS
Guests of honor: Luca Guadagnino (director), Dana Thomas (writer)
Synopsis: This year’s Spirit Awards nominee for Bones and All and alum for Suspiria and Call Me by Your Name, Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino tracks Salvatore Ferragamo’s life from his humble beginnings in Bonito, Italy, to California, to a storied studio in Florence, Italy. With Spirit Awards Robert Altman Award winner Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Call Me by Your Name) narrating Ferragamo’s 1955 memoir; a trove of 100-year-old archival footage; an extraordinary “shoe ballet” created by stop-motion artist PES; and commentary by Martin Scorsese, Manolo Blahnik, and Christian Louboutin, Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams is a portrait of a man whose vision, passion, and craftsmanship made him “shoemaker to the stars,” an architect of Hollywood magic, and an enduring cultural, fashion, and artistic influence.
What critics are saying: “Guadagnino’s carefully and lovingly detailed history lesson, free of stylistic flourishes, is as satisfying and methodical as that red shoe–making.” Dave White, TheWrap
ART & KRIMES BY KRIMES
Guests of honor: Alysa Nahmias (director) and film participants Jesse Krimes and Russell Craig; moderated by Jenn Wilson (Senior Programmer, Film Independent)
Synopsis: While locked up for six years in federal prison, artist Jesse Krimes secretly creates monumental works of art – including an astonishing 40-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspapers. He smuggles out each panel piece-by-piece with the help of fellow artists, only seeing the mural in totality upon coming home. As Jesse’s work captures the art world’s attention, he struggles to adjust to life outside, living with the threat that any misstep will trigger a life sentence. The story unfolds through original footage and animations made in collaboration with award-winning animator Molly Schwartz and Jesse Krimes.
What critics are saying: “Although the film is structured as a straightforward biography, Nahmias has infused it with an artistic sensibility as well, gathering a team that has clearly been meticulously chosen.” Elizabeth Weitzman, TheWrap
TAURUS
Guests of honor: Tim Sutton (writer/director) and star Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly).
Synopsis: A rising but troubled musician (Colson Baker) spends his days and nights searching endlessly for the inspiration to record his next song. His assistant (Maddie Hasson) wants to save him and his collaborators want him in the studio, while his dealer and his ex push him deeper into the void.
What critics are saying: “Set over a few days, this is an involving portrait of a lonely, angry man who’s seeking solace in drink and drugs, while neglecting many people in his life.” Anna Smith, Deadline
ARGENTINA, 1985
Guests of honor: Santiago Mitre (writer/director/producer) and Ricardo Darín (actor/producer); moderated by Bárbara Muschietti (Producer; Mama, It)
Synopsis:Argentina, 1985 is inspired by the true story of Julio Strassera, Luis Moreno Ocampo and their young legal team of unlikely heroes. In their David-vs-Goliath battle, they dared to prosecute Argentina’s bloodiest military dictatorship against all odds in a race against time to bring justice to the victims of the Military Junta.
What critics are saying: “It’s a forthright, muscular and potent movie.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Argentina, 1985 is available on Amazon Prime.
THE TERRITORY
Guests of honor: Alex Pritz (director); moderated by Jenn Wilson (Senior Programmer, Film Independent)
Synopsis:The Territory provides an immersive look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought on by farmers and illegal settlers in the Brazilian Amazon. With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape and richly textured sound design, the film takes audiences deep into the Uru-eu-wau-wau community and provides unprecedented access to the farmers and settlers illegally burning and clearing the protected Indigenous land. Partially shot by the Uru-eu-wau-wau people, the film relies on vérité footage captured over three years as the community risks their lives to set up their own news media team in the hopes of exposing the truth.
What critics are saying: “A striking first feature for cinematographer Alex Pritz, as well as a notable collaborative work.” Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
BRUISER
Guests of honor: Miles Warren (director) and Trevante Rhodes (producer/star); moderated by Eric Kohn (Executive Editor, IndieWire)
Synopsis: In director Miles Warren’s searing feature debut about fathers, families, and the effects of toxic masculinity, 14-year-old Darious (Jalyn Hall) explores the boundaries of his manhood through tumultuous interactions with Malcolm (Shamier Anderson), his strict but loving father, and Porter (Trevante Rhodes), a charismatic drifter. When Darious learns Porter’s true identity, he is thrust into a conflict between the two men that may rip his family apart and threaten his safety.
What critics are saying: “Performances are what ultimately sets Bruiser apart as a debut and signal Warren’s potential as a director…A mellow and compelling spin on a familiar story.” Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter
LAST FLIGHT HOME
Guests of honor: Ondi Timoner (director) and Rachel Timoner (subject); moderated by Josh Welsh (President, Film Independent)
Synopsis: Behind a white picket fence on an unremarkable suburban street, we discover 92-year-old Eli Timoner, who founded Air Florida, the fastest growing airline in the world in the 1970s. During his final days, his extraordinary life filled with incredible success and devastating setbacks, and most importantly, the innate goodness that won him the enduring love and support of his family. Through stunning verité footage recorded by his middle child, Last Flight Home takes audiences on an unforgettable ride through Timoner’s life, illustrating a modern-day success story built on the power of human connection.
What critics are saying: “Ondi Timoner’s home-movie memoir is a heartbreaking and unexpectedly complex film about her elderly father in his final days.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
SR.
Guests of honor: Chris Smith (director); moderated by filmmaker Robert Greene (Procession, Bisbee ’17)
Synopsis:Sr. is a look at the life, work, and last days of filmmaker Robert Downey, Sr. as he races to complete his magnum opus – a documentary on his own life – while his son, Robert Downey, Jr. tries to learn as much as possible about him in the process.
What critics are saying: “A non-fiction biopic that’s infused with the unique humor and creativity of its subject, as well as steeped in the complicated but palpable love shared by a father and son.” Nick Schager, Daily Beast
A LOT OF NOTHING
Guests of honor: Mo McRae (writer/director), Inny Clemons (producer), David Oyelowo (executive producer), and actors Y’lan Noel, Cleopatra Coleman, Lex Scott Davis and Shamier Anderson
Synopsis: James and Vanessa seem to be the perfect couple – happily married, successful and comfortable. One night, their lives are rocked to the core when, after watching a tragedy play out on the evening news, they realize their neighbor was involved. In a state of shock, and with opposing viewpoints on how to address the issue, they embark on a highly combustible journey to “do something” about it.
What critics are saying: “All the same, social and racial issues at the center of things here possess a real electric charge, the performances convey considerable heat and the filmmaking, especially in the first hour, pushes you into a feeling of great intimacy with the characters.” Todd McCarthy, Deadline
RETROGRADE
Guest of honor: Matthew Heineman (director)
Synopsis:Retrograde captures the final nine months of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan from multiple perspectives: one of the last U.S. Special Forces units deployed there, a young Afghan general and his corps fighting to defend their homeland against all odds, and the civilians desperately attempting to flee as the country collapses and the Taliban takes over. From rarely seen operational control rooms to the frontlines of battle to the chaotic Kabul airport during the final U.S. withdrawal, Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman’s latest film to offer a cinematic and historic window onto the end of America’s longest war, and the costs endured by those most intimately involved.
What critics are saying: “Rather than have talking heads tell us what the ramifications were of the U.S. leaving, Heineman lets the reality of the evacuation shake us into a clarity about choices and consequences.” Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
SELENA GOMEZ: MY MIND AND ME
Guests of honor: Alek Keshishian (director/producer), moderated by Jazz Tangcay (Artisans Editor, Variety)
Synopsis: After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
What critics are saying: “Gomez has been open about her struggles with anxiety and bipolar depression, but her honesty about mental health has never been expressed as starkly as in the documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me.” Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times
From Apple Original Films, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+.
TURN EVERY PAGE
Guest of honor: Lizzie Gottlieb (director)
Synopsis: Directed by Gilbert Gottlieb’s daughter, Turn Every Page explores Gottlieb’s remarkable creative collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Robert Caro, including the behind-the-scenes drama of Caro’s The Power Broker and the LBJ series. With humor and insight, this unique double portrait reveals the work habits, peculiarities, and professional joys of these two ferocious intellects. It arrives at the culmination of a journey that has consumed both their lives and impacted generations of politicians, activists, writers, and readers, all of which converge to further our understanding of power and democracy.
What critics are saying: “A love letter to many aspects of the publishing world that have more or less fallen by the wayside.” Owen Gleiberman, Variety
From Sony Pictures Classics, Turn Every Page will open in theaters in LA and NY on December 30.
BAD AXE
Special guests: David Siev (director/producer/cinematographer), Rachel Siev (subject) and Daniel Dae Kim (executive producer); moderated by actor Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives)
Synopsis: A closely knit Asian-American family living in rural Michigan fights to keep their American dream alive. As owners of a local prominent restaurant, they reckon with a global pandemic, racial tensions, and generational scars from Cambodia’s killing fields.
What critics are saying: “It is not just among the finest and most important films of the year, but it will stand as a valuable historical and social document of these times.” G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
TO LESLIE
Guests of honor: Michael Morris (director) and actors Andrea Riseborough, Marc Maron, Andre Royo and Stephen Root; moderated by Josh Welsh (President, Film Independent)
Synopsis: Leslie (Andrea Riseborough) is a West Texas single mother struggling to provide for her son (Owen Teague) when she wins the lottery and a chance at a good life. But a few short years later, the money is gone and Leslie is on her own, living hard and fast at the bottom of the bottle as she runs from the world of heartbreak she left behind. With her charm running out and nowhere to go, Leslie is forced to return home to her former friends Nancy and Dutch (Allison Janney, Stephen Root). Unwelcome and unwanted by those she has wronged, it’s lonely motel clerk Sweeney (Marc Maron) who takes a chance on her when no one else will. With his support, Leslie comes face to face with the consequences of her actions, a life of regret, and a second chance to make a good life for herself and her son.
What critics are saying: “Morris’ direction offers other filmmakers a template for how to make a small movie that feels big, just by making definitive choices and sticking to them.” Mark Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
BLONDE
Guests of honor: Ana de Armas (actor); moderated by film critic Amy Nicholson
Synopsis: Based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe. From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom, and romantic entanglements, Blonde blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, the film boasts a cast led by Ana de Armas and featuring Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel, and Evan Williams.
What critics are saying: “… A horrifying indictment of fame, men and the American Dream itself. It’s a tough watch, and is equally tough to shake.” Adam Graham, Detroit News
A Netflix Original, Blonde is streaming exclusively on Netflix.
NANNY
Guests of honor: Nikyatu Jusu (writer/director and Film Independent Fellow), Sinqua Walls (actor); moderated by journalist Gregory Ellwood
Synopsis: In this psychological horror fable of displacement, Aisha (Anna Diop), a woman who recently emigrated from Senegal, is hired to care for the daughter of an affluent couple (Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Spector) living in New York City. Haunted by the absence of the young son she left behind, Aisha hopes her new job will afford her the chance to bring him to the U.S., but becomes increasingly unsettled by the family’s volatile home life. As his arrival approaches, a violent presence begins to invade both her dreams and her reality, threatening the American dream she is painstakingly piecing together.
What critics are saying: “A work of compassion and unease heralding a thoughtful, genre-probing talent.” Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
From Amazon Studios, Nanny comes to Prime Video on December 16, 2022.
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Manitoba RCMP say four teens have been charged in connection with an out-of-control house party in East St. Paul that left neighbours scared to leave their homes and led to significant damage to the home and police vehicles.
Police responded to numerous calls on Oct. 29 about a house party involving several hundred youth at a home Saddleridge Lane.
Police have previously said partiers had spilled out onto the street by the time officers were called around 10 p.m.
They’ve said officers were swarmed by partygoers, many of whom could be seen in a viral social media video jumping on the roofs of a pair of RCMP vehicles and kicking the windshield out of one. Police from outside jurisdictions were called into help, including officers from Winnipeg.
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4 charged, with more arrests to come, in viral East St. Paul party, Manitoba RCMP say
Some in attendance hurled racial slurs at visible minority officers, spit on police and launched fireworks at police and their vehicles, police have said.
Officers also intervened and stopped two males from allegedly sexually assaulting a female youth before fleeing.
In the days following the party, investigators said they would work to identify every person captured on video who was involved in the mayhem. Last week they announced mischief charges against three males and one female between the ages of 16 and 18.
All four have been charged with mischief and were released on a promise to appear in court March 7.
Manitoba RCMP say several hundred young people were at a house party that got out of control in East St. Paul Oct. 29.
Instagram / @jordan_jutiz
None of the charges laid as of yet suggest an arrest has been made in relation to the alleged sexual assault, although police have said the incident is considered a priority and is still being investigated.
Police said Wednesday investigators have identified a woman in a photo released last week, but add they’re still looking to identify a man also seen in the photo.
They have previously said the pair may have important information that can help their investigation into the various offences committed that night.
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Anyone with information is asked to call Red River North RCMP at 204-482-1222 or Crime Stoppers at 204-222-8477.
Manitoba RCMP vow to ‘hold people accountable’ following call to rowdy East St. Paul house party
Neighbours of the home where the party was held have described a scene of general chaos on the street around the house the night of the party.
Monica Bulacso, who had friends and family over celebrating a birthday that night, told Global News her guests were afraid to leave at the end of the night.
“They were being wild,” she said of those attending the party next door.
“We were scared because we don’t know, what if those kids come here, inside the house.”
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— with files from The Canadian Press and Global’s Rosanna Hempel and Sam Thompson
Update- Over the past week #rcmpmb have made 4 more arrests. 2 females aged 15 & 16 & 2 males aged 16 & 17 are facing a charge of Mischief. We have identified the female in the photo last week, however we continue to look to identify & speak with the male. Info? Call 204-482-1222 https://t.co/9GDyDaX39Zpic.twitter.com/KtuRrgA0XN
