Every year, The CW 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 CW TV shows here, instead.
The CW TV series that have aired (so far) during the 2022-23 television season: Coroner, DC’s Stargirl, and Family Law.
Here’s a ranking of how the CW TV shows from the 2022-23 season (roughly September 2022-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 CW TV series do you rate as wonderful, terrible, or somewhere between? If it were left up to you, which CW TV shows would be cancelled or renewed for another season?
Check out our CW status sheet to track the smallest network’s new series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.
The 60th New York Film Festival kicked off Friday night with the North American premiere of the film that had previously opened the Venice Film Festival, Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s allegedly “unadaptable” 1985 novel White Noise.
The satire about existential angst, which stars Baumbach’s two most frequent muses, Adam Driver (Frances Ha, While We’re Young, The Meyerowitz Stories, Marriage Story) and Greta Gerwig (Greenberg, Frances Ha, Mistress America), was warmly received at both its press and public screenings. (It’s currently at 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.) And in a year in which the Oscar race seems wide open, Netflix — which was behind the opening night film and Tavern on the Green after-party for the second time, three years after The Irishman, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos on hand for the festivities — hopes that there may be a path to recognition for an unconventional project that is rumored to have cost the streamer nearly $100 million.
White Noise is set in a 1980s college town where the Gladney family — comprised of husband Jack (Driver), wife Babette (Gerwig) and a collection of precocious children from their respective multiple prior marriages — enjoy a rather happy life … until, that is, a nearby train derailment results in an “airborne toxic event” that sends them fleeing and forces them to confront their mortality even more than usual.
The film is jam-packed with dry humor and sight gags, like Driver sporting a forehead-raising wig and a notable paunch, and its story features subjects which are old favorites of Baumbach’s: academia, pretentiousness, neuroticism and the list goes on. Tonally, it’s a bit all over the place — one sequence evokes memories of National Lampoon’s Vacation, while other scenes feel like classic Woody Allen or Wes Anderson — although this is, I’m told, an accurate reflection of DeLillo’s novel.
And while White Noise feels, at 136 minutes, way too long (like so many 2022 awards hopefuls), it has enough winning moments to make it worthwhile, from a hilarious exchange in which Jack, a “Hitler Studies” professor, and a colleague (Don Cheadle), engage in dueling monologues highlighting similarities between Hitler and Elvis; to an end-credits sequence that serves as something of a release after the heaviness of what leads up to it (and unfolds to the tune of “New Body Rhumba,” a catchy original song by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy).
The film — which will receive a limited theatrical release in November before dropping on Netflix on Dec. 30 — won’t make the same sort of Oscar dent that Baumbach’s last Netflix film, Marriage Story, did (six nominations, one of which resulted in a win). But it cannot be counted out when it comes to categories like adapted screenplay, original song, original score (Danny Elfman) and production design.
Singer takes to her Instagram Story and TikTok for the sixth episode of “Midnights Mayhem With Me”
Tick tock, tick tock (or should we say, TikTok), it’s time once again for another late-night Taylor Swift song title reveal as Swifties count down the days to the release of her highly anticipated Midnights. The LP is set to arrive on Oct. 21.
As Sunday slipped into Monday, Swift shared a new “Midnights Mayhem With Me” episode, where she has been revealing the names of the tracks that make up her 10th studio album. For each episode, Swift spins an old-school bingo cage, and fate drops a ball featuring a tracklist number and then she unveils the corresponding song title. Sunday turned up Track Three and the song is called “Anti-Hero.”
With “Anti-Hero,” she has unveiled six song titles of the 13 that will appear on Midnights. Last week, she shared Track Two “Maroon” and Track Six “Midnight Rain.” She previously dropped the song names “Question…?,” “Vigilante Shit,” and “Mastermind.”
The leaves don’t really change color in Los Angeles. Or on the internet. Therefore, we irascible creatures of Hollywood—the Hollywood of the map or simply ofthemind—must look elsewhere for tangible markers of seasonal transition. But forget pumpkin-spice soylent and the proliferation of cableknit adventurewear. For us, this time of year means only one thing: the return of Film Independent’s Filmmaker Forum, a four-day hybrid in-person/virtual conference for indie filmmakers and content creators, beginning Monday, October 24, 2022.
As always, the Filmmaker Forum seeks to inspire and empower filmmakers with the information, tools and connections to get their projects made and seen. You want topics? Oh, we’ve got topics. Financing. Production. Distribution. Narrative. Nonfiction. Episodic. Plus industry networking and pitching workshops.
The official Forum schedule can be found here—though we can guarantee another great year of wide-ranging and inclusive conversation about the tricky (increasingly so!) business of independent film and the thrift, creativity and support needed to sustain a career in cinema.
So save the dates: October 24-October 27. In the meantime, here’s some info about three big marquee sessions you won’t want to miss, as well as what to expect day-by-day.
DANIELS
Daniel Kwan (left) and Daniel Scheinert (right)
Who: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as DANIELS—the two-headed filmmaking dynamo responsible for this year’s Michelle Yeoh-starring multiverse megahit Everything Everywhere All at Once, which made history as prestige indie shingle A24’s first $100 million (worldwide gross) release.
What: From their phallocentric, viral and ultimately Grammy-nominated music video for the DJ Snake/Li’l Jon hit “Turn Down for What” to their heartbreaking farting-corpse feature debut Swiss Army Man, the Daniel 2x collabo has flourished, thanks to its odd mix of earnest humanism, sharp (often raunchy) humor and inventive visual flourish. Part Michel Gondry, part Adult Swim, DANIELS will deliver the 2022 Forum’s Filmmaker Keynote, delving deep into their career, collaboration and creative inspiration. A must-catch session, no matter what reality you happen to be occupying at the time.
Where: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s Filmmaker Keynote will kick-off the 2022 Film Independent Forum at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, October 24 and will be subsequently available to watch in full on Forum online platform for Virtual Forum attendees.
THE INSPECTION
Jeremy Pope in ‘The Inspection’
Who: Our Truer Than Fiction Award winner at the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards, filmmaker Elegance Bratton’s semi-autobiographical narrative feature debut is the story of young gay man who, rejected by his mother, finds unexpected strength, camaraderie and support after he joins the marines.
What: The Inspection will screen as the Forum’s Opening Night Film, in advance of its November 18 release from A24. After the credits roll, attendees will be treated to an in-depth Q&A with Bratton and producers Effie T. Brown (CEO, Gamechanger) and Chester Algernal Gordon. Brown is of course already a Film Independent Forum veteran (not to mention Project Involve Fellow), first as an attendee way back in the early days of her career, then, memorably, as a marquee keynote speaker in 2016. The Inspection is also a product of Film Independent’s own Artist Development Labs, with producer Chester Algernal Gordon taking the project through both the Producing Lab and Fi Fast Track.
Where: The Inspection Opening Night Screening, Directors Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles, Monday, October 24. The Q&A will subsequently available to watch in full on YouTube.
EMERGENCY
‘Emergency’ (2022, dir. Carey Williams)
Who: Director Carey Williams, writer KD Davila and producer John Fischer, of the critically acclaimed Sundance hit and eventual Amazon original campus comedy-drama Emergency, a project first developed between Williams and Davila as 2017 Project Involve Fellows at Film Independent.
What: After an epic night of partying, three college students of color return home to find an unconscious white girl in their apartment. Worried that the police might suspect them of wrongdoing, they try to get the woman to safety without drawing suspicion. As a featured Fi Forum Case Study, Williams, Davila and Fischer will go deep on the film’s unlikely success story—from its humble start as a short hatched within the walls of Film Independent, to an award-winning Sundance short, to buzzy festival feature, to tidy thumbnail sitting alongside The Rings of Power on the Amazon Originals carousel.
Where: As a virtual session available to Forum pass holders happening live online Tuesday, October 25 and available on demand afterwards.
The Forum’s kickoff IRL on Monday, October 24 at the DGA will also include our popular Industry Connect networking sessions beginning at 2:oopm, as well as a session focused on social impact campaigns featuring Brian Walker of Picture Motion. From 2-4pm, prior to DANIELS taking the stage, attendees can rub elbows outdoors over drinks and hors d’oeuvres on the DGA patio.
Starting Tuesday, the action moves online with virtual sessions including Pitching & Financing Clinic, the aforementioned Emergency Case Study and Sustainability on a Budget Global Case Studies.
Wednesday, October 26, remains online with virtual sessions including Stray Documentary Case Study with filmmakers Elizabeth Lo and Shane Boris, a Pachinko Series Case Study with Creator Soo Hugh, and a session focusing on Inclusivity on Set. In addition we will be streaming live at 5:30 pm a panel spotlighting the career paths of a group of Film Independent Fellows making waves today—an advance celebration of next year’s 30th anniversary milestone of the launch of Film Independent’s Artist Development program.
Thursday, October 27, wraps up the 2022 Film Independent Forum with virtual sessions on the Global Marketplace, a Case Study of Cassavetes Award winner Shiva Baby, and our signature Producers at the Table session, which will stream live at 5:30 pm.
Confirmed 2022 Forum panelists and speakers include:
Aitch Alberto, Director, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Miranda Bailey, Producer, God’s Country
Shane Boris, Producer, Stray
Miguel Angel Caballero, Writer/Director, Angel in Retrograde
Sarah Calderón, Founder/CEO, The Film Agency
Linda Yvette Chavez, Creator, Gente-fied
Stephanie Dawson, Producer, Eclection Media
Soo Hugh, Creator, Pachinko
Ornella Jaramillo, Producer, Angel in Retrograde
Elizabeth Lo, Director, Stray
Billy Luther, Writer/Director, Frybread Face and Me
Paula Manzanedo, Film Finances
Joseph Marconi, Writer/Director, Wild Animal
Jhane Myers, Producer, Prey
Diego Najera, Director of Narrative Films, Participant
Shari Page, Program Director, Half Initiative
Myriam Sassine, Producer Costa Brava
Lizzie Shapiro, Producer, Shiva Baby
Valerie Stadler, Producer, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Lysette Urus, Producer, Wild Animal
Brian Walker, CEO, Picture Motion
Angel Kristi Williams, Director, Really Love
Full Accesspasses are $189 for the general public and $149 for Film Independent Members (Oct 24: In-person at DGA; Oct 25 – 27: Online)
Virtual Onlypasses are $99 for the general public and $79 for Film Independent Members (Oct 25 – 27: Online, includes access to recordings from DGA sessions)
Passes are FREE for Arts Circle Members; Filmmaker Pro and Arts Circle Members receive priority at one-on-one Industry Connect sessions.
The 2022 Film Independent Forum is sponsored by the Directors Guild of America, SAGindie and the Mississippi Film Office.
Film Independent promotes unique independent voices, providing a wide variety of resources to help filmmakers create and advance new work. Become a Member of Film Independent here.
Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support us with a donation, click here. Your donation–and impact–will be doubled through our Board Members and Friends Matching Challenge, available through September 29.
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Header picture credits: Daniels (Image: Adele “Supreme” Williams), Elegance Bratton (Photo: Josiah Rundles), Effie T. Brown (Courtesy of Effie T. Brown) and Chester Algernal Gordon (Photo: Mary Evangelista)
A suspicious package was found in a vehicle at the Ambassador Bridge, closing North America’s busiest land border crossing connecting Detroit, Mich. and Windsor, Ont., late Sunday evening.
Motorists were asked by Windsor police to use the Detriot-Windsor Tunnel instead as the bridge would remain closed for an “undetermined period of time.”
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On a daily basis, the border crossing handles roughly $400 million in goods travelling between Canada and the U.S. on a daily basis. Overall, it facilitates nearly a quarter of the trade activity between the two neighbours.
Robyn Brown, Meri Brown and Janelle Brown were filled in on Christine Brown’s decision to leave Kody Brown and move to Utah on the Oct. 2 episode of Sister Wives. Christine had made up her mind weeks ago, but finally sat down with the other wives to share where she was at. All five adults came together to film the tense conversation.
Meri and Robyn were incredibly caught off guard by Christine’s decision. Meanwhile, Janelle had an inkling that Christine might be leaving, but she still vocalized her fears for what would happen with their kids’ relationships. Christine was planning on taking her and Kody’s youngest daughter, Truely, with her to Utah, which sparked a big debate amongst the group.
Kody Brown with his four wives. (Puddle Monkey Prods/Figure 8/Kobal/Shutterstock)
“She’ll be fine,” Christine assured everyone. “It’s going to be hard and she’ll miss everybody and I’ll be taking her from Kody…it’s hard, don’t get me wrong.” Kody, who had mostly been quiet up to that point, jumped into the conversation at the mention of his daughter. “You won’t be taking her from me,” he insisted. “We’ll have to get shared custody. It’ll have to be 50/50.”
In a confessional, he added, “I’m not going to sit here and have her do this without objecting to it and saying that we gotta work something out for custody. I don’t know what that looks like. This discussion hasn’t happened.” Christine was surprised by Kody’s reaction, and told him that she thought they had already discussed this privately. “I never said it was okay that you were moving,” he retorted. “We just talked about moving.”
Kody Brown posing with his wives. (SplashNews)
Christine remembered things differently, but Kody stood his ground. “I never said it was okay,” he said. “I never made a big deal of it, but I never answered that. You never asked if you could move. You said you were moving. Okay, I let you go, that’s what I said, I agree. But you never told me the first time you talked about this that you were going to move. You just said, ‘Let me go.’ That doesn’t mean you just run with Truely and Truely’s out of my life.”
Kody was adamant that he needed to remain a key figure in his daughter’s life. That set Christine off, because she didn’t feel he was spending adequate time with any of their children, even when she lived close by. “I find it ironic that now he wants to be involved in my kids’ lives now that I’m leaving,” she admitted. “Now he wants 50/50 time with us. The whole time we lived here, if he wanted 50/50 time, he should’ve been around more. He doesn’t get 50/50. He hasn’t been around enough for that.”
The conversation continued in circles before Christine moved on and assured the other wives that they would figure out the future of holidays and birthdays as a family. “Me leaving won’t change the relationship my kids have with you,” she insisted.
Still, Robyn and Meri were shook. “I’m still in shock a little bit,” Robyn admitted. “I’m still trying to figure out what this means for the family. The idea that Christine wouldn’t be my sister wife feels wrong to me. I haven’t seen a lot of positive examples of the aftermath when a wife leaves a plural family and that’s scary to me.” Meri added, “I don’t know how long this has been coming, but it’s really disappointing to me.”
The lengthy conversation ended with the episode, and there were clearly still some hurt and confused feelings. Sister Wives airs on Sundays at 10:00 p.m. on TLC.
We’re expecting the Google Pixel Watch to make its full debut on Thursday, October 6 – alongside the Pixel 7 and the Pixel 7 Pro – but in the meantime a major leak has revealed much more about the upcoming smartwatch.
Seasoned tipster @OnLeaks (opens in new tab) has posted the haul, which shows off some of the color options and band styles that we can look forward to next week. We also get a few shots of the watch interface and a picture of it being synced with a smartphone.
Watch faces are included in the leak too, covering a variety of different approaches to displaying the time – both in analog and digital formats. Another image shows the watch being used to take an ECG reading to assess heartbeat rate.
Just got my hands on a bunch of #Google #PixelWatch promo material showing all color options and Watch Bands for the first time. Some details revealed as well…@Slashleaks ?? https://t.co/HzbWeGGSKP pic.twitter.com/N0uiKaKXo0October 1, 2022
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Full colors
If the leak is accurate, then we’ve got four silicone straps on the way: black, gray, white, and what seems to be a very pale green. Leather straps look to cover black, orange, green and white, while there’s also a fabric option in red, black and green.
We already know that the Pixel Watch is going to work in tandem with the Fitbit app for logging all your vital statistics, and included in the leaked pictures is an image of the Pixel Watch alongside the Fitbit app running on an Android phone.
There’s plenty of material to look through here if you can’t wait until the big day – and we will of course be bringing you all the news and announcements as the Google event unfolds. It gets underway at 7am PT / 10am ET / 3pm BST / 12am AEDT (October 7).
Analysis: a big moment for Google
It’s been a fair while since Google launched itself into a new hardware category, and you could argue that there’s more riding on the Pixel Watch than there is on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro – as Google has been making phones for years at this point.
While Wear OS has been around for a considerable amount of time, Google has been leaving it to third-party manufacturers and partners to make the actual hardware. Samsung recently made the switch back to Wear OS for the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, for example.
Deciding to go through with its own smartwatch is therefore a big step, and it’s clear that Google is envious of the success of the Apple Watch. It’s the obvious choice for a wearable for anyone who owns an iPhone, and Google will be hoping that Pixel phones and Pixel Watches will have a similar sort of relationship.
What’s intriguing is how Fitbit fits in – the company is now run by Google, but so far we haven’t seen many signs of the Fitbit and the Pixel lines merging, even if the Pixel Watch is going to come with support for the Fitbit app.
Finance executives John McIlwee and Verna Grayce Chao sat down with Variety Intelligence Platform President and Chief Media Analyst Andrew Wallenstein to talk about the digitization of compensation within the entertainment industry at the Variety Entertainment & Technology Summit presented by City National Bank on Thursday.
“My office has not mailed a hard check since 2019,” McIlwee said about the changes made to compensation in recent years. “They really like the fact that they don’t have to process these hard checks, which costs them extraordinary amounts of money versus an electronic transaction.”
McIlwee is the founder of McIlwee & Associates, Inc. and Grayce Chao is the executive vice president of City National Bank’s treasury management solutions. The two spoke at length with Wallenstein about the rapidly changing landscape of compensation within the industry due to innovations in payment technologies, which have resulted in more efficient and transparent compensation for talent in entertainment, executives and other industry stakeholders. They discussed new software programs like Exactuals, which work to eliminate paper checks in favor of more direct deposit payments.
“Agencies do have their own processes, but they’re all still striving for the same things: transparency, accuracy, the ability to reduce manual and higher-risk activities,” Grayce Chao said. “There’s technology out there that’s like a runaway train, and we’re all talking about how to harness it, and then there’s the reality of incumbent and entrenched technology and processes.”
Grayce Chao expanded on the advancement of payment technologies and remarked how her company and others are figuring out the right balance of push-and-pull to make the most efficient use of the technology available to them. McIlwee talked about the convenience of recent adaptations to remote work, and how the work he does can be done wherever he is outside of the office.
Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American actress who took the Oscars stage in 1973 to decline Marlon Brando’s award, died Sunday, the Academy of Motion Pictures said. She was 75.
“Sacheen Littlefeather, Native American civil rights activist who famously declined Marlon Brando’s 1973 Best Actor Academy Award, dies at 75,” read the tweet.
Sacheen Littlefeather, Native American civil rights activist who famously declined Marlon Brando’s 1973 Best Actor Academy Award, dies at 75. pic.twitter.com/OlpsoItlCw
In 1973, Littlefeather got up on stage to decline Brando’s win for The Godfather where she said the following: “He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry… and on television in movie re-runs, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”
Earlier this year, a documentary titled Sacheen: Breaking The Silence had Littlefeather revealing she was “blacklisted” by Hollywood following the political stunt.
“It was the first time anyone had made a political statement at the Oscars,” Littlefeather says in the documentary. “It was the first Oscars ceremony to be broadcast by satellite all over the world, which is why Marlon chose it. I didn’t have an evening dress so Marlon told me to wear my buckskin.”
She also noted that John Wayne “was in the wings and wanted to storm onto the stage and drag me off.”
The first episode of Bigg Boss 16 has already set the tone for the fresh season with several major updates. While Bigg Boss has made it clear that there will be no morning alarm song but an ‘anthem’, Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia and Archana Gautam got into an ugly war of words during the episode. We also saw a minor argument between Gautam Vig and MC Stan. However, it is Abdu Rozik who has left everyone impressed. Here are some of the major highlights from the first episode of Bigg Boss 16:
Archana Gautam tags Nimrit Kaur ‘Bekar’ During a task, a person claiming to be actor Pankaj Tripathi called Archana Gautam in the Bigg Boss 16 house and asked her to write ‘bekar’ on the forehead of the person who she thinks deserves the tag. Like all expected, Archana wrote the same on captain Nimrit’s forehead and shared that she wasn’t happy with her house duties being changed repeatedly. While Archana mentioned that she wanted to work in the kitchen, Nimrit argued that nobody liked the tea she had made and therefore the actress-politician was asked not to work in the kitchen. At the end, Nimrit allowed Archana to write ‘bekar’ on her forehead but was left disappointed with it.
Bigg Boss Asks About Tina Dutta and Sreejita De’s Equation During the episode, Bigg Boss also called Uttaran actresses Tina Dutta and Sreejita De to the confession room where he asked them about their equation. While Bigg Boss asked if they are friends or foes, the two maintained that there are not each other’s enemies. When Bigg Boss asked them about the time when they stayed together in Goa, Sreejita mentioned that Tina was dominating sometimes. To this, Tina asked added that there were minor fights between the two.
Abdu Rozik Impresses All, Netizens Call Him ‘Cutest’ Abdu Rozik has turned out to be one of the cutest and most entertaining contestants in Bigg Boss 16. His level of energy is unbeatable by any other contestant. After the first episode, several social media users argued how Abdu is the cutest in the history of Bigg Boss and mentioned they are rooting to watch him in this season of Salman Khan’s show. “Bro I’m in love with him and it’s a bad one . Just look at him yaar the way he was singing haye,” one of the fans wrote.
Gautam Vig Vs MC Stan In Bigg Boss 16 House During the episode, we also saw a minor argument between Gautab Vig and MC Stan after the former asked the rapper to arrange the chairs. While Stan mentioned that would do it the next morning, Gautam lost his cool and asked him to do his duties properly. The two got into a heated argument after Stan told Gautam that nobody will sleep on chairs and therefore those can be arranged later. Later, the two also hugged each other after Sajid Khan asked them to clear the differences.
Amy Redford’s Roost, which premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival boasts a gaggle of strong performances spearheaded by Grace Van Dien, but the shaky direction and a clunky script bog down this family thriller.
For the first time in its full-theatre glory post-pandemic, the Toronto International Film Festival returned to King Street in Toronto for 11 days: bringing with it an endless onslaught of stars, buzzy titles, soon-to-be Oscar winners, and plenty of duds in between. Premiering on the 15th just before the closing nights of TIFF was Amy Redford’s Roost, a chilly, tense family drama starring Summer Phoenix and Stranger Things‘ Grace Van Dien. Though Van Dien gives a raw, spirited performance that breathes life into weak writing, Roost‘s strangely stiff script and aimless direction from Redford result in a middling drama that doesn’t come anywhere near realizing the promise of its admittedly intriguing premise.
Roost follows young Anna (Van Dien), a 16-year-old Emily Dickinson-loving teen with an eclectic wardrobe and a close bond with her mother Beth (Phoenix). Anna’s head over heels for an older man she met online, Eric (Kyle Gallner) despite having never met him in person – which changes when he shows up unexpectedly at her house on her 17th birthday. Though initially wary of the grand gesture, Anna is quickly charmed by Eric in-person as well as online, but while she may be smitten, Beth is shaken by “Eric’s” sudden appearance – and the more we begin to learn about Eric, the more we begin to question his motives, and the nature of his relationship with both Anna and Beth.
What’s immediately clear about Roost is the particular type of film it sets out to be – a thoroughly modern thriller that takes a new, internet-oriented approach to a familiar story. In that aspect, it’s successful – from the opening titles done via iMessage to Anna’s texting lingo, the film does a good job of establishing itself as a drama set squarely in the online realm, but without coming off as out-of-touch or preachy. The first act overall is generally successful in establishing both tone and character dynamics – Anna is an offbeat but whip-smart teen. Though Beth may not be her closest confidant, it’s. clear the two have a strong bond that functions well as the emotional undercurrent throughout the entire film.
Where things start to go wrong, though (both in and outside the narrative of the film) is with the in-person introduction of Eric – a 28-year-old lacking the charm and charisma to function as a pseudo-Ted Bundy, but also not *quite* suspicious or intimidating enough to play out the ‘creepy guy you met online’ angle either. Instead, Eric spends his first half an hour of screen time awkwardly navigating his first few meetings with Anna, but fundamentally lacking any kind of intrigue that might make us suspicious or interested in his character as the film seems to hope we will be.
It’s frustrating how tepid Eric is as a character – though some of it can certainly be chalked up to him not wanting to spook his 17-year-old paramour, his speech patterns, posture, and even body language are so thoroughly tepid it’s hard to establish a bond to his character or form any strong opinions (good or bad) about his relationship with Anna. Is it strange that he’s so much older and that he showed up unannounced? Absolutely. But despite her initial surprise and suspicion, Anna glosses over the intrusion rather quickly, and instead of emphasizing that fact, the film seems content to similarly brush past any interesting questions surrounding his dynamic with Anna.
Instead, once the film hits about the halfway mark, the focus shifts (in an almost jarring 180) from a story about Anna and Eric with Beth as an outside observer to a story about Beth and Eric, nearly forgetting Anna entirely in favor of unpacking Beth and Eric’s complicated dynamic. To the film’s credit, the twist regarding Beth and Eric’s preexisting relationship is certainly interesting and injects some much-needed life into the slow burn as it heads into the last act. Where the trouble comes, though, is that Beth has been a minor character until this point, and when you spend the first half of the film developing one character to suddenly drop them and switch gears to focus on another, it leaves both mother and daughter feeling underserved and underwritten.
To the cast’s credit, the performances are without question the film’s strongest suit – and though Summer Phoenix, Kyler Gallner, and Jesse Garcia are all strong, it’s Grace Van Dien who steals the show – despite the fact that her character is almost entirely written out of the film’s last act. Though it may sound like an exaggeration, it really is strange how Anna disappears from the narrative entirely once the nature of Beth and Eric’s pre-existing relationship is revealed, which is a shame, because Van Dien delivers the film’s strongest performance, more than making the most of a lackluster script.
As Anna, Van Dien projects the kind of youthful innocence familiar in teen coming-of-age narratives but mixed with paradoxical wisdom beyond her years that helps sell her sisterly bond with her mother and the notion that she would fall for an older man online. Though her soft, gentle voice and waiflike features paint an exterior portrait of a young woman in over her head who doesn’t know any better, there’s an unlikely fire and ferocity to Van Dien’s performance – especially in her last few scenes – that lends a surprising and fascinating strength to Anna that the film would’ve done well to explore further.
Even with the power of Van Dien’s layered performance, there just isn’t enough vivacity or depth of character in Roost to do justice to the film’s dynamic premise. Held back by a script full of robotic dialogue and continually undercoated by bizarre editing and directorial choices, wobbly filmmaking holds Roost back from the effective family drama/thriller it could’ve been, and the star-making turn for Van Dien it should’ve been.
What cheating scandal? On October 1, Behati Prinsloo joined her husband Adam Levine at a charity event in Las Vegas just a couple of weeks after Instagram model Sumner Stroh went public with intimate DMs from the Maroon 5 frontman.
According to People, Prinsloo was in the audience during her husband’s seven-song set at The Event benefiting The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation. People reports that Levine did not mention the alleged affair but seemed to sing part of his song “Sunday Morning” in his wife’s direction. Prinsloo was also featured in the 2018 music video for “Girls Like You,” which played in the background during the band’s performance of the song.
Prinsloo and Levine married in 2014 and have two daughters: Dusty Rose, born in 2016, and Gio Grace, born in 2018. The Victoria’s Secret model is currently pregnant with their third child.
Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine and Shaquille O’Neal perform at The Event hosted by the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation at MGM Grand Garden Arena on October 01, 2022.
Denise Truscello/Getty Images
On September 19, Stroh posted a TikTok video detailing her alleged affair with Levine after the singer messaged her asking for permission to use her first name for his unborn child. “Ok serious question. I’m having another baby and if it’s w boy, I really wanna name it Sumner,” the DM read, according to a screenshot. “You ok with that? DEAD serious.”
A day later, Levine admitted to messaging Stroh but denied a physical affair. “I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner,” said in a statement. “I did not have an affair. Nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period of my life.”
He continued, “In certain instances it became inappropriate. I have addressed that and taken proactive steps to remedy this with my family. My wife and my family is all I care about in this world. To be this naive and stupid enough to risk the only thing that truly matters to me was the greatest mistake I could ever make. I will never make it again. I take full responsibility. We will get through it and we will get through it together.”
One of my favorite podcast guests, Dave Neal, joins me today to talk about pretty much every recent story happening in Bachelor Nation. Always great to have Dave on because of his insight, and the fact that with a lot of things in this franchise being looked at as so black and white by its fanbase, it’s nice to have a more nuanced discussion about the hot topics within the franchise. Also in the open before Dave comes on, I update you on what’s happening today with Zach’s 1-on-1 including where it’s taking place. If you don’t feel like listening, scroll down this column and you’ll see some notes regarding the Bachelor filming which started on Monday night at the mansion. Those wondering why this is up a little later today, it’s because the Daily Roundup went up so much later than normal today. I have it set to upload to Apple Podcasts at the same time every morning, which is 6:40 CST. Since I know it takes usually 20 minutes before it shows in your feed, I like to have it in there by 7:00am CST. Well, as of this writing, it hadn’t been showing up in my feed by 8:20am CST. Not sure why Apple Podcasts is taking forever today. Anyway, that’s why everything is delayed. As always, if you’d like to reply to today’s interview with Dave, please include his Twitter handle (@DNealz) in your replies. Thanks again to Dave for coming on, who’s probably going to be my most frequent podcast guest as we move forward. Plan on having him on every 3-4 months.
You can listen to today’s podcast on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:
(SPOILERS) I begin by talking about some info on Zach’s season of the “Bachelor” including today’s 1-on-1 date location, thoughts on DWTS and Survivor. Then Dave joins me (10:31) to talk about all the latest stories in Bachelor Nation – the Rachel/Gabby discrepancy that’s happening, breakups in Bachelor Nation, scandals in the franchise and how they’re handled, plus much, much more.
A few notes regarding “Bachelor” filming that started Monday night at the mansion:
-Social media activity is NEVER a 100% indicator of who’s been eliminated or who’s still there. I say it every season, yet, every season people seem to think they’ve figured something out because of IG activity. Not the case.
-Yesterday was the first date of the season – a group date. Not sure what happened yet but I do know the night portion was at Big Daddy’s Antiques on La Cienaga in LA. They’ve filmed a ton of group date after parties there in the past. They’ll also be there Friday night for the group date after party.
-Today’s 1-on-1 is at Anaheim Hills golf course, then the night portion is at Orange County Mining Company, a restaurant that, ironically enough, is where my mom had her wedding reception when she got remarried in 2010. I’m sure at some point today either pics/videos will get out at the golf course which I’ll relay. If not, I’m sure I’ll know by tonight who is on today’s 1-on-1 with Zach.
UPDATED with Night 2 winners, 7:35 PM: National Geographic was the big winner on the doc-focused second night of the 43rd annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards, which were handed out tonight at the Palladium Times Square in Manhattan. The cable net took home eight statuettes, doubling the haul of its nearest competitors HBO and PBS, which won four each.
CNN and Netflix were the only one multiple winners Thursday. See the full list of Night 2 winners here and read about the news-focused first night of the 2022 News/Doc Emmys below.
ABC came into this year’s News/Doc Emmy race with a leading 39 nominations, followed by CNN (37), PBS (28) Vice (28), CBS (26) and HBO (23).
David Attenborough, the biologist, humanist, filmmaker and revered narrator of nature docs, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
PREVIOUSLY, September 28: ABC and Vice led the news portion of the 43rd annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards, which were handed out tonight at the Palladium Times Square in Manhattan. Both scored eight statuettes, followed by CNN and The New York Times with five each and CBS and NBC with three apiece. See the full list of Night 1 winners here.
ABC came into this year’s News/Doc Emmy race with a leading 39 nominations, followed by CNN (37), PBS (28) Vice (28), CBS (26) and HBO (23).
“Tonight’s Emmy winners exemplify broadcast journalism at its best, reporting that values fact over fiction, accountability over advocacy, and that champions the advance of truth in the interest of the communities we all serve,” NATAS Chairman said Terry O’Reilly said. “America has never needed its journalists more than today. We congratulate tonight’s honorees and thank them for the indispensable service they provide to our nation.”
NATAS
Judy Woodruff, the longtime anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. She announced plans in May to step down from her anchor post and pivot to reporting and special projects.
Elsewhere, the 2022 International Emmy for News was presented tonight to ITV News: Storming of the Capitol (ITV News, UK). ITV News was the only TV news team in the world embedded in the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, covering the insurrection firsthand.
The International Emmy for Current Affairs was presented to Germany’s Slahi und seine Folterer (In Search of Monsters).
“The International Emmy gives us an opportunity to reward quality in television from around the world even as in this case, the subject matter of the programs produced in the UK and Germany is events in the United States.” said Bruce Paisner, President & CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Interview with Mel Brooks from Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
Comedy occupies a curious position in the world, or at least in American society. For me, and for many others I would presume, comedy scatters the encroaching darkness of life’s banality. Routine, conformity and correctness confine all of us, and comedy is that obstinate leech that feasts on that darkness produced by the utter boredom that pervades.
But strangely, for most of us, the moments where we seize these boundaries that confine us and kick them open (or at least nudge the door open), have their own protocol. We wait for a movie, a Netflix binge, a radio show or a stand-up comedy routine. We laugh, in controlled exhalations, and marvel at that greatness. Perhaps we even wonder why every day cannot be this cathartic. In fact, as I watched “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise,” I wondered whether it would be possible to get a pocket-sized Mel Brooks so I could experience life in this vivid color indefinitely. Unfortunately for us, technology has not yet advanced that far.
Comedians like Brooks elevate life through one word: “No.” No, I will not lower my voice. No, I will not sit down. No, I will say this, and you’ll like every word of it. Carol Arthur, an actress who worked with Brooks on “Blazing Saddles” and “Silent Movie,” summarized this quality in Brooks, which can only aptly be called bravery. When discussing Brooks’ audacious film “Blazing Saddles” in an interview for “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise,” she lauded the bravery involved in creating a film with such groundbreaking use of humor. According to Arthur, “He’s the bravest in this world because he just faced the world and he said, ‘This is what I want to do.’ And he came from a very meager beginning and he decided what he was going to do and he did in face of everybody telling him, ‘No. No. No.’”
DIGITAL ARCHIVE
Interview with Carol Arthur from Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
This is an audacious maneuver. Brooks’ friend and co-screenwriter for films like “Silent Movie” and “High Anxiety,” Barry Levinson, like many other interview subjects, agreed that Brooks’ brand of comedy was entirely distinct. While other comedians extracted little laughs from audiences, drawing on familiar comedic tropes like family and love, Brooks pursued an elevated form of comedy that physically engulfed you. “Mel was not interested in a little laugh. He literally wanted you to collapse and fall on the ground, and can’t breathe, that’s the moment of comedy that he would like.”
Indeed, Brooks is nothing short of fearless. In “The Producers,” a film created by Brooks in 1968 and then adapted into a Broadway play in 2001 with record-breaking success, Brooks directed his comedic prowess to disarm Adolf Hitler. Brooks, born into poverty in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, had helped defeat the greatest enemy of the Jewish people, and one of the greatest threats to the West once before. During World War II, Mel served in the United States Army, embodying bravery in one of its most familiar forms. Thirteen years after the war ended, however, he again summoned his courage, pursuing the enemy in a way that was unprecedented. Carl Reiner, a longtime friend and colleague of Brooks said, “I love the fact that Mel Brooks is the only one in the world who dared to do to Hitler, what Hitler did to the Jews, he decimated him by making fun of him.”
So infamous is Hitler that the mere mention of his name jolts the listener into some hyper-vigilant state. What one does to disrupt the silence, or, more precisely, what one should do remains debatable. Many prefer that he be addressed only in careful criticism. Brooks clearly disagrees. Instead he wages war against Hitler through comedy, laying bare his insanity like an open wound.
DIGITAL ARCHIVE
Interview with Matthew Broderick from Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
Through this laughter, the weight of World War II and the weight of the world becomes something more digestible. It is this sort of comedy that enables the world to carry on. My professor at New York University, author James McBride, told my class, “Anyone can be a critic,” and pointed to “The Producers” as an example of a different and more potent form of critique. There are billions of voices in this world who are more than willing to offer their critiques of any public enemy, whether it is Hitler or Joseph Stalin. But these voices dissipate. Comedy disarms and it endures.
Few, however, possess the rare, serendipitous combination of intelligence, bravery and charisma which seems to overflow from the Mel Brooks spring. Each interviewee for this documentary emphatically emphasized their utter reverence for Brooks as both an artist and a human being. Perhaps Matthew Broderick, an actor who played Leo Bloom in the Broadway production of “The Producers,” summarized this affection most succinctly: “I love him. And I loved him before I knew him. You know, that’s the peculiar thing, when you have these people who you know through their work and it’s always strange when you have to greet the real, whole person. But, I love the real person so it was quite easy,” he said.
But comedy need not be waged against a foe as grave as Hitler, or in a person as indelible as Brooks. Comedy is nothing short of a resistance against the mundane. While the majority of the world falls in its utterly bored line, people like Brooks create their own line, scattering the darkness along the way.
Two more senior Russian military and intelligence figures have been killed, bringing yet more woe to Vladimir Putin as Ukraine’s armed forces drive deeper into the eastern Donbas region to liberate more occupied territory.
The first, Aleksei Nagin, was a highly respected commander in the infamous PMC Wagner Group – a private army headed by close Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin – which has been instrumental in supporting Russia‘s invasion.
Nagin, a three-time Order of Courage recipient, was killed on September 20 as Ukrainian troops advanced further into the Donetsk and repelled Russian forces.
Meanwhile in the southern Kherson region, Colonel Aleksei Katerinichev – a career FSB secret service officer and deputy head of Russia’s occupying forces in Kherson – was hit in a ‘pinpoint’ strike by a HIMARS missile today, according to a Russian news agency report.
Katerinichev was a veteran of more than 20 counter-terrorist operations and a key architect of Russian operations in southern Ukraine.
The deaths of such esteemed military personnel just 10 days apart underscores the frailty of Putin’s ‘military operation’, even as the warmongering Russian president today signed agreements formally incorporating the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions into the Russian Federation.
Zaporizhzhia and Kherson are only partially controlled by Russia, while Putin’s troops in the key city of Lyman in the northern Donetsk have been almost completely surrounded by Ukrainian forces in the latest counter-offensive.
Aleksei Nagin (L) was a highly respected commander in the infamous PMC Wagner Group – a private army headed by close Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin. Aleksei Katerinichev (R) was a career FSB secret service officer and deputy head of Russia’s occupying forces in Kherson
Nagin was a distinguished soldier, having seen combat in Chechnya and Georgia with the Russian army before signing a contract with PMC Wagner as a mercenary
A junkyard of destroyed army vehicles near Izyum, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, 29 September 2022
(L-R) The Moscow-appointed heads of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo and Zaporizhzhia region Yevgeny Balitsky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin and Lugansk separatist leader Leonid Pasechnik react after signing treaties formally annexing four regions of Ukraine
The death of Nagin represents a significant blow for PMC Wagner, who posthumously awarded the veteran combatant their Platinum Star award.
Nagin was a distinguished soldier, having seen combat in Chechnya and Georgia with the Russian army before signing a contract with PMC Wagner as a mercenary and deploying to both Syria and Libya.
He was also posthumously granted the title of Hero of Russia, and was designated the hero of both the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR).
Katerinichev meanwhile held the position of first deputy chairman of the Moscow-installed Kherson civil military administration – effectively making him the second in command of the partially occupied region.
Russia today completed its plan to formally annex huge swathes of Ukrainian territory as Putin signed an official decree recognising the incorporation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson into the Russian Federation.
The president was pictured celebrating in Moscow today after signing the papers along with the pro-Russian heads of each partially controlled area, where sham referenda were held in a pathetic attempt to legitimise the annexation.
But the seemingly jubilant scene in the Russian capital belied the despairing situation confronting many of Putin’s troops tasked with holding the freshly annexed territories.
Several Russian units currently find themselves trapped in the city of Lyman in northern Donetsk, with Ukrainian forces encircling their positions and only a slim spit of land through which to retreat deeper into Donetsk.
Moscow’s soldier spent weeks and suffered considerable losses amid their attempt to take Lyman back in the spring.
DPR leader Denis Pushilin this morning confirmed that several settlements close to Lyman had been attacked by Ukrainian troops, hours before he met with Putin for annexation celebrations.
DPR leader Denis Pushilin (2-R) this morning confirmed that several settlements close to Lyman had been attacked by Ukrainian troops, hours before he met with Putin (C) for annexation celebrations (pictured)
An Ukrainian soldier looks out from a tank, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in the frontline city of Lyman, Donetsk region (file photo)
‘Friends, the news about [Lyman] is disturbing. The [Ukrainian military] is trying its best to somehow overshadow a historical event for us, Pushilin said.
‘Svatovo is under our control but is under fire periodically. Yampol and Drobyshevo are not fully controlled by us.
‘Our guys are fighting, we are pulling up reserves, we must hold out, but the enemy has also committed serious force. Very unpleasant news, but we must look soberly at the situation and draw conclusions from our mistakes. We’ll cope with everything!’
The pro-Russian telegram channel Rybar said that ‘the boiler’ around Lyman has almost completely closed.
‘If emergency measures are not taken in the near future to unblock Liman and transfer a significant part of the reserves, then the city, together with its defenders, will fall,’ Rybar wrote, while military correspondent of pro-Kremlin newspaper ‘Komsomolskaya Pravda’ Alexander Kots said the situation was ‘critical’.
Living is set to premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival next week. The film takes place in 1953 in London who is shattered by WWII is still recovering. Williams (Bill Nighy), a veteran civil servant, is an impotent cog within the city’s bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild. Buried under paperwork at the office, lonely at home, his life has long felt empty and meaningless. Then a shattering medical diagnosis forces him to take stock – and to try and grasp fulfilment before it goes beyond reach.
Courtesy of HIFF
At a seaside resort, chaperoned by a local decadent (Tom Burke), he flirts with hedonism before rejecting it as his solution. Back in London, he finds himself drawn to the natural vitality of Margaret (Aimee Lou Wood), a young woman who once worked under his supervision and is now determined to spread her wings. Then one evening he is struck by a revelation – one as simple as it is profound – and with a new energy, and the help of Peter (Alex Sharp), an idealistic new recruit to his department, he sets about creating a legacy for the next generation.
Living began rather serendipitously. One night, when author Kazuo Ishiguro and producer Stephen Woolley were having dinner, Bill Nighy dropped by for a drink. “[They] are film nerds,” laughs Nighy of that evening. “They sit and exchange names of significant figures who made films, mostly in black and white, between the years of 1930 and 1957. They challenge one another to name the designer, the director and who played the policeman at the end. At the end of dinner, Ishiguro and his wife were talking amongst themselves. Then they came out of a huddle and said, ‘We know what your next film should be’. I said, ‘Well, when you feel comfortable, let me know’.”
Courtesy of HIFF
As Woolley remembers it, Ishiguro called him soon after that dinner and said that Nighy should star in a reimagining of Ikiru, the Akira Kurosawa film of 1952, transposed to London at around the same era. Woolley had fond memories of the film but hadn’t watched it recently, so he screened it again, “and cried and loved it,” he says. He quickly saw the parallels.
Courtesy of HIFF
“I’ve been wanting somebody to make a British version of this Japanese classic Ikiru, which I had loved for most of my life,” says Ishiguro. “I think I first saw it when I was a boy on British TV, and it had a huge impact on me. Partly because of my Japanese background, but quite regardless of that, I think I always lived my life informed by the message in that film.” Ishiguro had long had the sense that the story could work in the UK. While Ikiru had dealt with the losing side of World War II, the job of reconstruction and rebirth was similar even for the winners – and there were parallels between the countries’ sense of imperial entitlement, their stoicism and their emotional reserve. On that night at dinner, it suddenly seemed to come together.
“Ishiguro was inspired to think of Bill for this part,” says Woolley, “because Bill brings such empathy. A common emotion between people in Japan and Britain, which I think Ishiguro has found, is that they both have the same stoic restraint. Japanese society and British society are based on a lack of effusiveness. Ishiguro quite rightly thought Bill was perfect to play that kind of character. I suggested to Ishiguro that he write the script. He said he was not very good at screenwriting.”
“I said, ‘You should get a proper screenwriter. Anyway, I’m writing a novel,’” remembers Ishiguro.
Woolley managed to persuade the Nobel and Booker Prize winner that he had the necessary skills, happily. That proved invaluable in securing the rights to the film from the Kurosawa estate, who were wary but intrigued at the promise of Ishiguro’s involvement. “The idea of teaming up Kurosawa with Ishiguro was something they couldn’t resist, really,” says Woolley – at least once they were convinced it was really him, after a number of handwritten notes and a video call.
Check out the teaser trailer here:
Living is a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru, and is directed by Oliver Hermanus (Moffie, The Endless River) from a script by Kazuo Ishiguro (author of the novels The Remains of The Day and Never Let Me Go). The film is produced by Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen for Number 9 Films (The Crying Game, Mothering Sunday, Carol). LIVING stars Bill Nighy (About Time, Emma) as Mr Williams, Tom Burke (The Souvenir Part I, Mank) as Sutherland, Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) as Margaret and Alex Sharp (The Trial Of The Chicago 7, The Curious Case Of The Dog In The NightTime) as Peter. The creative team includes Director of Photography Jamie Ramsay (Moffie, Mothering Sunday), Production Designer Helen Scott (Small Axe, Fish Tank), Costume Designer Sandy Powell (The Favourite, The Irishman) and Hair and Make-Up Designer Nadia Stacey (Cruella, The Favourite). The score is by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch (Rocks, Censor).
Buy tickets to screen Living at HIFF’s opening night here.
Trouble in paradise? Adam Levine denied cheating on his pregnant wife, Behati Prinsloo, as multiple women came forward claiming that he had inappropriate relationships with them.
Levine continued: “My wife and my family is all I care about in this world. To be this naive and stupid enough to risk the only thing that truly matters to me was the greatest mistake I could ever make. I will never make it again. I take full responsibility. We will get through it and we will get through it together.”
The “Payphone” singer’s comments came one day after Sumner Stroh claimed that they had a year-long affair via a now-viral TikTok video. “At the time, I was young, I was naive … I was very easily manipulated,” the Instagram model said in the clip, adding that she never planned to come forward with her story. “My morals were unknowingly compromised. I was completely manipulated. … [But] I had sent some screenshots recklessly to some friends that I trusted, and one had attempted to sell [them]. So here I am.”
Amid the drama, two more women came forward claiming that Levine had sent them flirty messages. “I shouldn’t be talking to you you know [that] right ??” the “Maps” musician allegedly wrote in a screenshot shared by one woman in a since-deleted TikTok video. She claimed that she had “a lot more” evidence to support her allegations but chose not to share them because she “wasn’t “comfortable posting everything” Levine allegedly sent.
“I guess if any other girls have experienced this with him … I just think they should post it ’cause I feel really bad for his wife, and nobody deserves this,” she said in the clip, referring to Prinsloo, who married the Begin Again star in July 2014.
“Smile,” despite its sunshine-y name, is currently scaring the hell out of America.
The original Paramount horror movie debuted at #1 at the box office this weekend. And for good reason – it’s really scary! “Smile,” from writer/director Parker Finn, follows a young doctor named Rose (Sosie Bacon), who uncovers an insidious curse after one of her patients murders herself in front of Rose.
“Smile” recently had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, an international film festival in Austin, Texas that specializes in genre movies. Known for its raucous crowds, Bacon told TheWrap what that first screening was like.
“My gosh. I was a bit like, Is everybody okay? This is a lot,” Bacon said. “I sort of felt uncomfortable for everybody because obviously it was uncomfortable to shoot, but watching with the crowd, I was like, Oh my God, this is intense. It was fun also to see how the laughter and the scares… I don’t know. Everyone seemed very physically and emotionally affected by it. I’m not going to lie. My mom was on the floor.” (Bacon’s mom, by the way, is Kyra Sedgwick. Her father is Kevin Bacon, whose horror credits include “Flatliners,” “Tremors” and “Stir of Echoes.”)
TheWrap spoke to Bacon about the appeal of horror movies, what it was like interacting with “Smile’s” big monster and whether her dad had any thoughts.
As an actress, what is the appeal of horror movies?
Let’s see. Well, I definitely think I’ve drawn to the dark and disturbing. I always find that to be something that’s interesting to get into. And also this movie in particular, this script, when I read the script, I was like, everything that I have to create typically as the history of a character, because I play a lot of dark characters, and I usually have to sprinkle some childhood trauma in there. But he sprinkled it all in for me. So it was kind of like, cool. I get to not just remember it, but you get to see it.
You’re so emotionally distraught throughout the film. How is easy it for you to get to that place?
I don’t know. There’s no real trick or way that’s easy to describe. It’s sort of just living the memories beforehand so you really are remembering the character’s memories and not your own in a way. I don’t know how to… It is… It’s hard. It’s hard.
Did you watch any classic horror movies to get prepared for this?
I try not to watch movies to prepare for a part because then I worry that I’m going to try to repeat or copy. But I do watch a lot of documentaries and I’ve seen all the classic horror movies. And actually Parker had me watch this movie called “Safe,” with Julianne Moore. I loved how the hospital had those ’70s colors. They’re so bleak in a way. That probably wasn’t his comp at all because there’s so many different colors in this movie.
He just brought that up to me!
He did? You’re kidding. That’s because we have mind connection. And actually… No, I’m just kidding. No, but that was a movie that I watched I hadn’t seen before. Because I’ve seen all of them, and it was really cool to watch that one for other reasons, like “Kalifornia” and whatever. But mostly I watched documentaries, interviews with people going through similar things to try to understand.
Did you know what the monster was going to look like before?
Nope. No idea. It all just… But again, it all felt like a fever dream.
Was it just a tennis ball?
It was not a tennis ball. Everything you see is what it was. We didn’t use any CGI except for tiny, tiny little things that they did later. It’s all practical.
Really?
Yep. Every single thing. I’m not even… Is that, I mean, is that a secret? All real. I swear. We used all practical special effects.
That’s amazing.
Isn’t that crazy? They built it all. Every single thing. And same with his short. So that’s why it was so visceral. That’s probably why it feels so visceral to watch it because there was no tennis balls.
You brought up the short, I mean, first-time filmmaker, what was that experience like?
I mean, it definitely didn’t feel that way. He really didn’t fall into so many first-time filmmaker traps, which is rushing and skipping things. That didn’t happen. He is meticulous, passionate about everything that he sought out to do. That’s why it is the way that it is. It just worked. And he built everything. It was all consistent with the short in the sense that the short was all set design. That’s why it was so amazing. Just cool.
Your dad’s done a bunch of horror movies. Did he say something after the movie like, “It was no ‘Tremors.’”
Yeah, he did. He was like, “Did they build those worms?” No. No, he loved it. He’s proud. He was really proud. I could tell. He was like, “Great.” I think they were a bit like, “Whoa.”
The first sketch of the new season proved that, even if “SNL” has a lot of problems to deal with, the show is in on the joke.
When “Saturday Night Live” kicked off its 48th season on NBC last night, fans knew that the show was going to look very different. Many longtime cast members departed the show last year, including Pete Davidson, Chris Redd, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, Aidy Bryant, Melissa Villasenor and Alex Moffat. So the show was tasked with introducing a lot of new faces on Saturday night while working to update its comedic identity. Turnover has always been a part of the show and longtime fans are used to the drill by now, but turning over a new leaf after such a massive talent exodus is never an easy job.
To do that, the show took a page out of ESPN’s playbook. The Season 48 premiere opened with a clever parody of “ManningCast,” ESPN’s alternative broadcast of “Monday Night Football” games that features retired quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning offering a more lighthearted commentary than what viewers would hear on the flagship broadcast. But instead of a football game, the sketch saw Peyton (Miles Teller) and Eli (Andrew Dismukes) analyzing the new “SNL” cast.
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The Manning brothers begin watching a fake “SNL” sketch about Donald Trump’s legal troubles, which gave the writers an angle to acknowledge some of the recent criticisms of the show.
“Oh good, a Trump sketch,” Teller’s Peyton Manning said. “Way to mix it up.”
As the sketch goes further and further off the rails, the Manning brothers take the opportunities to point out all of the obstacles that the new season of “SNL” has to overcome. Much of the humor arose from the fact that so many cast members left the show, with Peyton joking that Kate McKinnon’s departure left the show without a single funny political impression. There were also plenty of jokes about the new cast members’ inability to replace their predecessors, with Peyton and Eli analyzing the new talent as if they were rookies on a football field.
It wouldn’t be a “ManningCast” without a celebrity cameo, and “SNL” delivered by bringing in Jon Hamm. The “Top Gun: Maverick” star explained that he was a fan of new cast member Devon Walker and was excited to watch his debut, only to be disappointed by Walker’s deliberately terrible character known as “Corn Kid.”
By the end of the meta sketch, Hamm was echoing the sentiments of many viewers.
“I’m gonna stick around and see what the hell this show’s gonna be,” he said.
You can watch the video of the “Saturday Night Live” Season 48 premiere cold open, “ManningCast,” below:
Paramount’s “Smile” debuted to a sizzling $22 million this weekend, easily topping the domestic box office. The horror film beat out the weekend’s other new wide release, Universal’s LGBTQ romantic comedy “Bros,” which landed in fourth place with a paltry $4.8 million bow.
“Smile” ranks as one of the better original horror openings of the year, beating out 20th Century Studios’ “Barbarian” ($10 million) and Sony’s “The Invitation” ($7 million). As the box office enters October, the horror genre will continue to take center stage with Universal’s “Halloween Ends” releasing in two weeks and hoping to cash in on the seasonal thirst for thrills and chills.
The box office result for “Smile” is a frighteningly good haul, seeing as it cost a measly $17 million to produce and had originally been seen as a streaming release.
“It’s honestly sensational,” said Chris Aronson, Paramount’s distribution chief. “I don’t like to use hyperbole, but this exceeded our wildest expectations.”
But “Smile” has been exceeding expectations throughout its production. Paramount opted to give the film a full theatrical rollout after it scored with audiences during test screenings. The company used some clever marketing tactics this week by strategically placing paid actors, with huge, creepy smiles plastered on their faces, behind home plate during televised Major League Baseball games. Social media users quickly noticed the unsettling fans, who wore “Smile” t-shirts, when the cameras zoomed in on batters stepping up to the plate.
Last weekend’s champ, “Don’t Worry Darling,” fell sharply in its second weekend, dropping 62%. The Warner Bros. thriller earned $7.3 million for a second place finish, bringing its domestic total to $32.8 million. Sony’s “The Woman King” finished third with $7 million, pushing its stateside haul to $46.7 million. Disney’s re-release of “Avatar” rounded out the top five, earning $4.7 million. By putting the James Cameron fantasy back in theaters, the studio is hoping to whet appetites for the December debut of the long-awaited return to Pandora, “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
“Smile” is the latest hit in what has been a sizzling run for Paramount. Six of the studio’s last seven films have now opened in first place, including such box office winners as “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Lost City” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.”
“We’ve been very careful in our release dates and we’ve been very strong in our campaigns,” said Aronson.
The horror film stars Sosie Bacon, (daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick) as a therapist who becomes haunted by horrifying, smiling hallucinations after witnessing one of her patients die by suicide. The cast also includes Kyle Gallner, Kal Penn, Jessie T. Usher, Caitlin Stasey, Rob Morgan and Robin Weigert. “Smile” attracted an audience that was 52% male, with the bulk of ticket buyers, some 68%, ranging in age from 18 to 34.
“Bros” didn’t represent a major financial risk for Universal, carrying a modest production budget of $22 million. The film earned rave reviews, but clearly struggled to connect with audiences. Its opening is about half of the $8 million to $10 million that Universal projected “Bros” would make.
While it may have fallen short commercially, the Billy Eichner film is already in the record books: It’s the first gay rom-com to be given a theatrical release by a major studio, the first with an all-openly LGBTQ cast and Eichner is the first openly gay man to ever write and star in a Hollywood movie. Universal expressed optimism that the critical notices and the positive audience reaction (“Bros” earned an “A” CinemaScore) will fuel word-of-mouth and help the movie stick around in theaters.
“We are incredibly proud of ‘Bros,’” said Jim Orr, president of domestic distribution at Universal. “Everyone who saw it, absolutely loved it. And given that response, I think the film will continue to find an audience and have some legs.”
In “Bros,” Eichner plays Bobby, a brainy museum executive down on his luck, who falls for Luke Macfarlane’s Aaron, a muscular lawyer who may change everything for him. The film is directed by Nicholas Stoller with a cast including Guy Branum, Ts Madison, Dot-Marie Jones, Bowen Yang and Jim Rash.
Romantic comedies were once a reliable theatrical genre, but with the notable exception of “The Lost City,” which boasted the combined star power of Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, it’s rare for one to score at the box office. Universal will try again this month with the release of the George Clooney and Julia Roberts “meet cute,” “Ticket to Paradise.” We’ll see if that film fares better when it opens on Oct. 21.
For actors Josh Duhamel and Elisha Cuthbert, the true story of Gilbert Galvan Jr., a.k.a. Robert Whiteman — who still holds the record for the most consecutive robberies in Canadian history — is nothing but fascinating.
The duo star in Canadian director Allan Ungar’s feature film “Bandit,” which follows Galvan Jr. in the 1980s after he escapes a Michigan prison and assumes a new identity in Canada. He then goes on to rob a record 59 banks and jewelry stores while being hunted by a police task force. The media sensationalized his crimes and dubbed him the Flying Bandit.
Calgary-born Cuthbert, who stars as Galvan’s love interest, Andrea Hudson, was not aware of the story at the time. The actor, who is married to former NHL player Dion Phaneuf, found the story wild and exciting as she prepped for the role.
“Going back to watch ‘The Fifth Estate’ and the piece they did on him was fascinating to me,” she said. “To see him taking up residence in the Glebe in Ottawa, where I lived while Dion played for the Ottawa Senators, was just amazing. To actually know and feel like I’d been to all these places and that he was doing this was just so crazy.”
For Duhamel, who takes on the title role, playing the character with all his disguises proved to be the most fun. “I’ve never felt as playful as I have in this character because of these disguises. I’d be sitting in there with hair and makeup. And suddenly, after about an hour of the new nose and the moustache and the wig, you just start to become somebody else,” he said in a joint video interview with Cuthbert.
The 49-year-old actor met Galvan while they were shooting in Georgia and it was not what he expected. “In my first conversation, I went in there like, OK, I’m an actor learning how to get inside of his head. ‘Where were you emotionally? What were you going through when you first did it? Was it an adrenalin rush?’ And, he said, ‘Yes, yes, yes.’
“But he was more interested in talking about how he was able to cut his turtlenecks off in the back and he cut the sleeves off, because it’s easier to pull off when you leave. It’s all about getting in and out as quickly as possible,” Duhamel said, laughing. “He really wanted to talk to me because he wanted me to talk to the producers about when he was gonna get paid.”
Duhamel described Galvan as a “very friendly and affable guy. You can understand why he was able to charm his way into a lot of these situations. I mean, the first time we saw him he had a black eye.”
Cuthbert, 39, added, “Obviously he tells stories very well. But I was like, ‘I don’t know if we can believe anything.’ He’s robbed 59 times.”
They laughed as they recalled Galvan telling them he saved a little old lady from a burning building. Duhamel found it fascinating that Galvan eventually figured out how to get out of the desperate lifestyle he lived for so long. “He fell in love with (Hudson) and wanted to create a life and family, and his only option in his mind was to start robbing banks.”
“I think when you look back at the interviews of Gilbert, you can see there’s a smile on his face like he was proud of it and that he got away with it,” added Cuthbert, 39. “So it was a lot of fun for you to kind of play with that.”
The film, which also stars Mel Gibson and Néstor Carbonell, showcases a 1980s setting in Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton. While the film was initially scheduled to be shot in Canada, the pandemic affected those plans and shooting was moved to Georgia.
Cuthbert said filming in Georgia in the heat while making it look like Ottawa in winter was wild. “It was June, 110 degrees in Southern Georgia. And here we are trying to make it look like Ottawa in the dead of winter. As you know, Ottawa in the winter is like an intense, intense winter. Allan made it happen somehow.”
North Dakota-born Duhamel said he loves Canada, and it seemed like an ideal and relaxed place for Galvan Jr. to move to. “This was in the ’80s and I think, in general, Canada is more relaxed than we are about a lot of things. It was a good time to live there. I think that’s part of the reason why he went is because he knew he could live a much better, easier, less stressful life in Canada.”
In “Bandit,” the robberies feel less like heists and more like civil transactions. According to the actors, it was perhaps a bit of Canadian politeness and Galvan’s charm.
“He didn’t have to be mean about it,” Duhamel said. “A part of his charm was that he knew it didn’t have to be like an aggressive type thing. If they knew that he had a gun in his pocket, he could be as nice and cordial and affable with them as he needed to be. He never pulled a gun in any of these 59 heists and he was proud of that. He was able to sort of do it in a friendly manner.
“The guy just fascinates me. The reckless sort of abandon and devil may care attitude that he had. I was like, ‘Wow, dude’s got some cojones!’”
“Bandit” is now playing in selected theatres and available on demand.
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Dating and relationships are the name of the game this week as Bachelor in Paradise airs two episodes and CBS premieres The Real Love Boat, inspired by the iconic 1970s series. The unscripted dating show features some surprise guest stars from the scripted series, and the husband-and-wife team of Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell try to help a group of singles find love on the high seas. There’s nothing I love more than celebrating love in a gorgeous location, and this delivers.
On the drama front (though BiP and TRLB can never be accused of not bringing the drama), Grey’s Anatomy returns for season 19 and The Good Doctor begins season 5, both on ABC. Big changes are afoot for Grey’s, especially with Ellen Pompeo taking a much-deserved step back, though Meredith will still be front and center. More on the premiere episode below.
Pompeo as Meredith in the season 19 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy.
Liliane Lathan/ABC
Finally, ahead of the release of my oral history of The Big Bang Theory, I’ll be on The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 5 podcast this Friday talking about some of the things you never knew about the series. Next week, Glamour will have an exclusive excerpt from the book focusing on Kaley Cuoco and Penny’s very polarizing haircut at the start of season 8. Stay tuned for that.
Speaking of The Big Bang Theory, Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali) has a charming new movie out on Friday with Lucy Hale, Scott Foley, Christina Hendricks, and others. It’s called The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, and it’s the perfect weekend film to see in the theaters.
See you back here next Sunday! Happy October!
Monday, October 3
Bachelor in Paradise(ABC): Week two is here, and that means more sunburns, bug bites, and drama. Also, have a listen to Nick Viall’s Viall Files podcast, where the former Bachelor and I break down last week’s premiere and the arrivals we’re most excited to see (Victoria Fuller for him, Sally for me). 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT and streaming the next day on Hulu
The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power was the most streamed program for the week of Aug. 29, according to Nielsen’s Streaming Top 10 list.
The Rings of Power attracted 1.25 billion viewing minutes, driven by an audience that was 55% male. It is the first Prime Video series to come in at No.1 in its opening weekend. The family comedy Me Time starring Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg came in second place with 927 million viewing minutes, and crime procedural NCIS had 812 million viewing minutes.
Disney+ had several titles on the Top 10 List. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was No.6 on the Top 10 Streaming Original Programs list with 472 million viewing minutes. The comic book series had a 21% uptick in viewership, skewing mostly male among 35-49-year-olds. The children’s show Bluey made the Top 10 Streaming Acquired list with 581 million viewing minutes. Lightyear and Encanto were No.9 and No.10 on the Top 10 Streaming Movies list.
Even if you’ve never once set foot in a movie theater, you probably know about AMC’s Nicole Kidman ad. It’s a spot so serious — so wildly self-important — that it’s taken on a life of its own. Shot by an Oscar nominee, written by an Oscar nominee and starring a four-time winner walking in the rain, it’s practically begging for a Saturday Night Live parody. This weekend, it finally got one.
The sketch might be a little late; the ad first appeared over a year ago. It’s been hashed and rehashed online countless times. Tweets have been shared, drag queens have posted reaction videos, T-shirts have been printed. But when it comes to this commercial for a product inside the product itself that you’ve already paid to see (they don’t print milk ads inside the carton, do they?), it’s possible there is no expiration date on this one.
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Chloe Fineman turns her Australian accent up to 11 to portray Kidman, chewing up all the scenery while slinking up stairs and making uncomfortable eye contact with fellow movie patron Kenan Thompson. Another patron, James Austin Johnson, stands and salutes the screen. Lest you think this is too over the top, a man actually did this at a screening of Top Gun: Maverick back in May.
Others in the theater begin standing as the music goes from patriotic to cultish. They begin chanting the line, “Heartbreak feels good in a place like this,” and why not? It was scripted by an Oscar nominee, gosh darn it. Kidman begins levitating and sparking as if possessed by either the spirit of cinema or possibly Raiden, the God of Thunder. Only Thompson and Punkie Johnson clock that anything is wrong as Kidman shakes the building’s foundations with her power.
It’s a pretty silly sketch, but maybe it doesn’t go far enough. The ad has already inspired near Rocky Horror Picture Show levels of ironic adulation. Why stop with lightning? Why not gouts of blood, burning fields, TIE fighters screaming into the trenches of the Death Star to stop legions of movie goers from firing torpedoes into the exhaust port? Though, considering AMC’s already working on a sequel to the commercial, maybe SNL is just saving it for Part 2.
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
LAST UPDATED: Oct. 1, 2022
2023 Oscars Predictions: Best Actress
Viola Davis in “The Woman King” (Sony Pictures)
Sony
CATEGORY COMMENTARY: Danielle Deadwyler cements her place in the best actress race with “Till,” which premiered at the New York Film Festival on Saturday. Playing Mamie Till-Mobley, the breakout star from “The Harder They Fall” (2021) delivers one of the year’s single best performances, by any person, bar none. It will be up to Orion and United Artists Releasing to make sure the film is in front of voters and they are giving Deadwyler (and the film) the consideration it deserves. It would be criminal to let a turn such as this, pass voters by.
Michelle Williams’ work as the piano-playing mother in Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” will be campaigned for the Oscars in best actress, instead of supporting as many pundits had speculated. This throws a huge wrench in both the lead and supporting actress races.
Roles that can go either way between lead and supporting have triumphed before. Olivia Colman won her Oscar over Glenn Close (“The Wife”) and Lady Gaga (“A Star is Born”) for “The Favourite” (2018) while Kate Winslet still managed to top Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”) and Meryl Streep (“Doubt”) when she was switched by the Academy from supporting to lead for “The Reader” (2008). Winslet had won the Golden Globe and SAG prizes for supporting prior to the switcharoo. Perhaps Williams can follow in their golden shoes?
Let’s not forget the box-office performance of “The Woman King” that has Oscar-winner Viola Davis (“Fences”) in the thick of it once again, potentially becoming the second woman, to be recognized as a producer and acting in the same year. The first was Frances McDormand for “Nomadland” (2020), winning both categories for best picture and actress. Coincidentally, Davis was among that lineup for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
Ana de Armas, on the cover of Variety this week, could overcome the mixed reception for “Blonde” while it’s always foolish to count out someone as noteworthy as Olivia Colman (“Empire of Light”) or Margot Robbie (“Babylon”).
To see the ranked predictions for each individual category, visit Variety’s Oscars Hub.
ALL AWARDS CONTENDERS AND RANKINGS:
And The Predicted Nominees Are:
Rank
Name
Film
Distributor
1
Michelle Yeoh
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
A24
An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save the world by exploring other universes connecting with the lives she could have led.
2
Cate Blanchett
“TÁR”
Focus Features
Set in the international world of classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár. widely considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra.
3
Danielle Deadwyler
“Till”
Orion/United Artists Releasing
The story of Emmett Louis Till and the legacy of his mother who pursued justice for her lynched son.
4
Viola Davis
“The Woman King”
Sony Pictures
A historical epic inspired by the true events that happened in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.
5
Michelle Williams
“The Fabelmans”
Universal Pictures
A semi-autobiography based on Spielberg’s own childhood growing up in post-war Arizona, from age seven to eighteen.
Next in Line
6
Olivia Colman
“Empire of Light”
Searchlight Pictures
“Empire of Light” is a love story set in and around a beautiful old cinema on the South Coast of England in the 1980s.
7
Zar Amir Ebrahimi
“Holy Spider”
Utopia
A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called “Spider Killer”, who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.
8
Ana de Armas
“Blonde”
Netflix
A fictionalized chronicle of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe.
9
Emma Thompson
“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
Searchlight Pictures
Nancy Stokes, a 55-year-old widow, is yearning for some adventure, human connection and some sex–some good sex.
10
Margot Robbie*
“Babylon”
Paramount Pictures
Set in Hollywood during the transition from silent films to talkies, focusing on a mixture of historical & fictional characters.
The 95th Oscars ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre and televised live on Sunday, March 12, 2022, on ABC.
2022 category winner: Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Searchlight Pictures)
About Variety Awards Circuit:
Variety’s unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provides inside reports on all the contenders in this year’s awards season races. In addition to predictions, the section includes — Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders in the race; Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly series featuring interviews with the top contenders in the awards race and an expert roundtable discussion with Variety’s leading editors and columnists; Awards Circuit Predictions Video Series, a deep dive into specific categories, led by the leading pundits.
Kylie Jenner is slowly but surely changing up her signature look.
On September 30, Kylie introduced a new, shorter haircut while attending the Loewe spring/summer 2023 runway show in Paris, France. Though Kylie appeared to rock a shoulder-length bob in photos from the event, a post on her own Instagram revealed a slightly longer, layered cut. However, it was still a change from her previous waist-length style.
Kylie Jenner is seen on September 30, 2022, in Paris, France.
MEGA
While she debuted the new chop in a pair of menswear-inspired Loewe briefs, she opted for a black bra, matching underwear, and a pair of thigh-high boots to show off her newly bleached brows. First showing off the process on Instagram Stories, the Kylie Cosmetics mogul shared a series of photos with her freshly blonde brows on Instagram on October 1.
“Slay sleep repeat,” she captioned the unrecognizable images. Well, Kim Kardashian at least recognized the undergarments. She commented on the slideshow, “Skims bras?”
Winner of the Directing Award for US Documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Reid Davenport’s debut feature, I Didn’t See You There, is, according to the Stanford-trained filmmaker, a doc “about disability from an overtly political perspective”— i.e., the kind of cinematic project the TED fellow and one of DOC NYC’s 2020 “40 Filmmakers Under 40” has long been pursuing with his accolade-laden shorts (A Cerebral Game; Wheelchair Diaries: One Step Up; Ramped up, et al). And it’s equally an art film; informed by the personally lensed work of visionaries ranging from Chantal Ackerman to Kirsten Johnson to RaMell Ross, I Didn’t See You There is, as the director-DP also puts it, “an invitation to see through my eyes.” In other words, an offer any passionate cinephile would be unlikely to refuse.
Indeed, Davenport is even willing to serve as our narrating escort on this mesmerizing, at times magical realist, journey, whisking and wheeling us via his camera-mounted wheelchair from today’s fast-gentrifying Oakland—where one day, in rather Lynchian fashion, a circus tent inexplicably pops up outside the filmmaker’s apartment—to sleepy Bethel, Connecticut (the shared hometown of Davenport and 19th-century impresario/freak-show progenitor P.T. Barnum), tracing and subtly interweaving personal and political history along the way. It’s also a film in which the director serves as his own protagonist, and thus presents the perfect excuse for Documentary to feature the filmmaker as our September Doc Star of the Month.
I Didn’t See You There premieres theatrically on September 30 at the just-opened, New York City-based Firehouse Cinema, run by DCTV, followed by a broadcast premiere on January 16 on POV.
DOCUMENTARY: So why place yourself both inside [as narrator] and outside [mostly off-camera] the film? Was this always the plan?
REID DAVENPORT: Yes. People are usually seeing me but not hearing me, so I wanted to do the opposite. I really just wanted to show how a disabled person does—or does not—fit into society, and how disabled people need to adapt to be “palatable” to society. I wanted to present an approximate version of my vision, without giving viewers the “satisfaction” of looking at me.
D: Even though we get a personal sense of who you are from several interactions with your family [and one friend], we’re not really privy to much of your backstory. For example, we know you moved to Oakland, but I only learned that you’re a Stanford grad from the press notes. How did you decide which parts of your life to reveal and what to keep off-screen?
RD: This isn’t an autobiography. This is a film about me in a specific place and time—or, I should say, a version of me that doesn’t exist in real life. It’s a specific version that you see on-screen.
I think I was pretty opaque. If people think they know me by watching the film, they are mistaken. I included what I included in order to make certain points. I purposefully took out what I thought the audience wanted to know—to make them question why it is they wanted to know that. D: Were you maybe thinking of yourself as a character that you were creating on film?
RD: Yes and no. I think character came in in the editing process. When I was shooting, I didn’t know exactly what form the footage would take. I wanted to capture visually what I thought was compelling—what would help me cut a story. I didn’t necessarily see myself as a character as I was creating. Yes, what you see onscreen is a character, but I wasn’t necessarily thinking of this character as some sort of alter ego.
D: What are the biggest challenges—physical, emotional, mental—inherent in creating self-focused work?
RD: I really think this film is a completely different piece unto itself—simply because of the attention it has gotten. And because it’s feature-length. I became aware of answering questions outside the film—questions about my life beyond what I actually show you. I think that’s one of the points of the film. I really don’t owe anybody any explanation.
I’m not using the film as a jumping-off point to talk about my life. In an odd way, this film is just a film. I think focusing on that and being as non-prescriptive as possible is how I want the film to be received—which has been a challenge.
D: I was also quite blown away by your stunning cinematography. The images are so strong that the doc really could have worked equally as an experimental film, without any narration at all.
RD: Thank you! I agree!
D: But then I realized the “overtly political perspective” might have been lost. So how do you balance the message with the medium? Do you start with a concept or image?
RD: It’s a great question—and it’s a balancing act. I don’t believe I have a set process. At least not consciously. For this film I definitely started with image. When I started I wasn’t sure this was a film. I thought maybe it was a media installation. Or a social media series. I really didn’t know what it was.
So I started with the image—and then the circus tent went up. And even then I still didn’t know if I could use it. But it was so beautiful and bizarre and disturbing that I just kept on shooting it; I kept on thinking about it. So the circus tent, and what it represented, was always on my mind. I wasn’t sure what the commentary would be, but I knew that would be the first piece of the skeleton, beyond just the visuals.
D: So this was a different approach from your other films, then?
RD: Yes, this was different from my past films. This was my first independent documentary not in a school setting. So I had time to explore, process, hit possible dead ends. I didn’t have to be so rigid and organized. I was able to go back and forth in all directions. I had time to figure out what it wanted to be. D: I’m likewise interested in this idea of “ethical purgatory” that you address. Because your physical movement is restricted, you choose to live in urban areas with robust public transportation—which inevitably puts you in the uncomfortable position of being one of the financially able gentrifiers moving into impoverished communities that are likewise physically restricted [due to systemic racism]. How does this complicate the intersectionality you so clearly care about?
RD: I think you always grapple with that. But it doesn’t really matter how I feel, right? It matters what my impact is. It’s something that I try to keep in my mind. I think we could all do more. It will never be resolved. I think mitigating damage or trying to become an asset is all we can do, and to be aware of our own actions.
D: It also seems that your self-described “intense” nature is a sort of intersectional rage—one that women, BIPOC, queer [and anyone whose POV doesn’t conform to that of the straight, white, non-disabled cis male] might share. It’s exhausting to be around powers-that-be that consider their own idiosyncratic point of view “neutral” or “benign”—and one to which all must conform. So do you see your filmmaking as therapeutic, a way to perhaps “channel” righteous anger?
RD: For sure. Though I do have to say, My past personal films were more therapeutic. And I think I’ve just realized why this film feels a bit more painful. In my past work—whether it was going to Europe to figure out access or growing up and having a passion for baseball—those two films were both about a finite period of time. The issues I explored in I Didn’t See You There are still happening. They are still not resolved. It might be doing good for me personally, but it also feels very raw.
And going back to this idea of intersectionality—I think I have more leeway as a white man to express my point of view. There’s always that. It really never ends. So returning to your comment about idiosyncratic points of view—yes, of course.
D: And maybe all we can do is acknowledge that idiosyncrasy.
RD: I agree.
Lauren Wissot is a film critic and journalist, filmmaker and programmer, and a contributing editor at both Filmmaker magazine and Documentary magazine. She’s served as the director of programming at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, and has written for Salon, Bitch, The Rumpus and Hammer to Nail.
The teams match up Sunday for the 19th time this season. The Blue Jays lead the season series 15-3.
TOP PERFORMERS: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has 35 doubles and 31 home runs while hitting .274 for the Blue Jays. George Springer is 13-for-39 with a triple and four home runs over the past 10 games.
Alex Verdugo has 39 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs and 74 RBI for the Red Sox. Triston Casas is 11-for-29 with a double and three home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jays: 5-5, .265 batting average, 3.54 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs
Red Sox: 3-7, .234 batting average, 6.51 ERA, outscored by 23 runs
INJURIES: Blue Jays: Santiago Espinal: 10-Day IL (oblique), Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Tayler Saucedo: 60-Day IL (hip), Hyun-Jin Ryu: 60-Day IL (forearm), Nate Pearson: 60-Day IL (mono)
Red Sox: Trevor Story: 10-Day IL (heel), Garrett Whitlock: 15-Day IL (hip), Franchy Cordero: 60-Day IL (ankle), Kutter Crawford: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (back), Eric Hosmer: 10-Day IL (back), Chris Sale: 60-Day IL (finger), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (back), James Paxton: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Gotham Film & Media Institute (The Gotham) announced today the launch of The Gotham/Variety Audio Honors, presented by Wondery, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to recognizing the boldest voices in the ever-expanding world of audio storytelling. The honorees have been selected in recognition of their innovations in audio storytelling by a committee of distinguished audio industry professionals, chaired by award-winning podcast creator, producer and new host of NPR’s “It’s Been a Minute,” Brittany Luse. The Gotham/Variety Audio Honors are set to take place in person as a luncheon and a staged presentation in New York City on Friday, Oct. 14.
“As an organization dedicated to celebrating and nurturing independent creators, we are proud to recognize these brilliant, innovative, and groundbreaking audio storytellers,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “As audio content reaches a pivotal point of engagement and innovation, it is crucial that we launch new platforms of recognition, such as The Gotham/Variety Audio Honors, to celebrate the most daring creators in our industry.”
The Audio Honors will be hosted by Gotham Executive Director, Jeffrey Sharp, and Variety COO/CMO, Dea Lawrence. Variety Executive Editor, Brent Lang, will moderate a discussion with the honorees. Variety will aso will feature the winners and their profiles as part of its New York Issue, set to publish on Friday, Oct. 21.
The winning shows, creators, and episodes of the inaugural The Gotham/Variety Audio Honors are:
Bag Ladiez (Cin Pim and Rafaela Uribe) – “Octavia was right…” (Link)
Marijuanera: A Podcast for Potheads (Mala Muñoz and Diosa Femme) – “Soliloquy for Sad Girls” (Link)
Misrepresented (Nikki Aggarwal) – “The Myth of the Pink City” (Link)
“The audio storytelling space is experiencing unprecedented creativity, and I’m thrilled to partner with The Gotham in highlighting some of the freshest, most original voices of this moment,” said Brittany Luse. “Our inaugural honors will recognize the efforts of truly original talents, creators who stand to make an impact in our industry for years to come.”
The Gotham Film & Media Institute, host of the annual Gotham Awards, has been at the forefront of nurturing and celebrating independent creators for over 40 years, providing access to the industry, pathways to wider recognition, and creative- and career-building resources and mentorship. Over the past five years, its community has grown to include audio storytellers, furthering its mission to elevate original voices and influence the industry to be more expansive and inclusive. The Gotham Film & Media Institute has celebrated emerging voices through its annual Podcast Certificate Program, Audio Forum projects at Gotham Week (now in its third year), podcast pitch events as well as year round film and TV labs and programming and The Annual Gotham Awards, now in its 32nd year.
“There are so many talented podcast creators who deserve to be recognized for building on the medium’s rich history and pushing its future forward,” said Lawrence. “In partnership with The Gotham and Wondery, we hope these new honors can celebrate a few of the people behind some of the truly excellent podcasts leading this industry forward.”
“There’s so much opportunity in podcasting right now. We’re seeing more and more emerging creators who are entering the space and bringing in new ideas and perspectives,” said Marshall Lewy, chief content officer at Wondery. “We are thrilled to join Variety in honoring these up-and-coming new voices and look forward to seeing how they shape the future of the industry.”
As well as being featured in Variety’s New York Issue, the event will also be covered online at Variety.com and across Variety’s social media.
Even when users tell YouTube they aren’t interested in certain types of videos, similar recommendations keep coming, a new study by Mozilla found.
Using video recommendations data from more than 20,000 YouTube users, Mozilla researchers found that buttons like “not interested,” “dislike,” “stop recommending channel,” and “remove from watch history” are largely ineffective at preventing similar content from being recommended. Even at their best, these buttons still allow through more than half the recommendations similar to what a user said they weren’t interested in, the report found. At their worst, the buttons barely made a dent in blocking similar videos.
To collect data from real videos and users, Mozilla researchers enlisted volunteers who used the foundation’s RegretsReporter, a browser extension that overlays a general “stop recommending” button to YouTube videos viewed by participants. On the back end, users were randomly assigned a group, so different signals were sent to YouTube each time they clicked the button placed by Mozilla — dislike, not interested, don’t recommend channel, remove from history, and a control group for whom no feedback was sent to the platform.
Using data collected from over 500 million recommended videos, research assistants created over 44,000 pairs of videos — one “rejected” video, plus a video subsequently recommended by YouTube. Researchers then assessed pairs themselves or used machine learning to decide whether the recommendation was too similar to the video a user rejected.
Compared to the baseline control group, sending the “dislike” and “not interested” signals were only “marginally effective” at preventing bad recommendations, preventing 12 percent of 11 percent of bad recommendations, respectively. “Don’t recommend channel” and “remove from history” buttons were slightly more effective — they prevented 43 percent and 29 percent of bad recommendations — but researchers say the tools offered by the platform are still inadequate for steering away unwanted content.
“YouTube should respect the feedback users share about their experience, treating them as meaningful signals about how people want to spend their time on the platform,” researchers write.
YouTube spokesperson Elena Hernandez says these behaviors are intentional because the platform doesn’t try to block all content related to a topic. But Hernandez criticized the report, saying it doesn’t consider how YouTube’s controls are designed.
“Importantly, our controls do not filter out entire topics or viewpoints, as this could have negative effects for viewers, like creating echo chambers,” Hernandez told The Verge. “We welcome academic research on our platform, which is why we recently expanded Data API access through our YouTube Researcher Program. Mozilla’s report doesn’t take into account how our systems actually work, and therefore it’s difficult for us to glean many insights.”
Hernandez says Mozilla’s definition of “similar” fails to consider how YouTube’s recommendation system works. The “not interested” option removes a specific video, and the “don’t recommend channel” button prevents the channel from being recommended in the future, Hernandez says. The company says it doesn’t seek to stop recommendations of all content related to a topic, opinion, or speaker.
Besides YouTube, other platforms like TikTok and Instagram have introduced more and more feedback tools for users to train the algorithm, supposedly, to show them relevant content. But users often complain that even when flagging that they don’t want to see something, similar recommendations persist. It’s not always clear what different controls actually do, Mozilla researcher Becca Ricks says, and platforms aren’t transparent about how feedback is taken into account.
“I think that in the case of YouTube, the platform is balancing user engagement with user satisfaction, which is ultimately a tradeoff between recommending content that leads people to spend more time on the site and content the algorithm thinks people will like,” Ricks told The Verge via email. “The platform has the power to tweak which of these signals get the most weight in its algorithm, but our study suggests that user feedback may not always be the most important one.”
The Top Gun: Maverick star makes his debut as host of the long-running NBC comedy series on Saturday’s episode, which also features musical guest Kendrick Lamar. In video clips shared ahead of the premiere, SNL castmember and Bros actor Bowen Yang asks Teller to assess his summer.
“Really great,” Teller responds. This leads Yang to gripe, “Mine was a bust, but whatever. I’m happy to be back.”
Teller continues, “Yeah, I had a hit movie.” But Yang quickly cuts him off and is clearly more interested in sharing details of his own experiences, including claiming that his therapist describes him as having “emotional inertia.”
In other spots promoting the episode, Yang teases Teller about his name sounding like a colloquial description of an odometer, and then the pair bond over their shared enthusiasm to rewatch Gilmore Girls this fall.
Calling this a banner year for Teller’s career is no overstatement. Top Gun: Maverick, also starring Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly and Jon Hamm, has been the biggest film success story of the year and the only 2022 movie to surpass a billion dollars at the global box office. Additionally, Teller and Chris Hemsworth starred in the Netflix film Spiderhead that was released in June, which was the same month that Teller’s The Godfather-focused limited series The Offer ended its run on Paramount+.
SNL’s season premiere is hotly anticipated for a variety of reasons. The series has been the subject of numerous headlines in recent months due to the long list of castmembers who will not return for the new season, including Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant and Chris Redd. Four new featured players are set to debut in season 48.
Apple held the first screening for Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming film, Emancipation, on Saturday in Washington D.C. Though the fate of the project seemingly hung in the balance following Smith’s now-infamous Oscars slap, the screening indicates Apple is looking to release it soon.
At the 2022 Oscars, Smith walked onstage during the ceremony and surprised the world when he slapped presenter Chris Rock, who had made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Since then, Smith has resigned from the Academy, some of his projects have been put on hold, and he has apologized to Rock, Rock’s family, his fellow Oscar winners and more.
Apple and NAACP hosted the Emancipation screening during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 51st Annual Legislative Conference for representatives from the Congressional Black Caucus, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Divine 9 (Historically Black Fraternities and Sororities), National Council of Negro Women, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Power Rising and #WinWithBlackWomen, among other social impact leaders.
It was followed by a conversation about the film with Fuqua, Will Smith and Mary Elliott, curator of American Slavery at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, moderated by politics and culture commentator Angela Rye.
“Throughout my career, I’ve turned down many films that were set in slavery,” Smith said at the screening. “I never wanted to show us like that. And then this picture came along. And this is not a film about slavery. This is a film about freedom. This is a film about resilience. This is a film about faith.”
He continued, “This is a film about the heart of a man — what could be called the first viral image. Cameras had just been created, and the image of whipped Peter went around the world. It was a rallying cry against slavery, and this was a story that exploded and blossomed in my heart that I wanted to be able to deliver to you in a way that only Antoine Fuqua could deliver.”
Based on a true story, Emancipation follows Peter (Smith), who runs away from his plantation in search of his family, outwitting cold-blooded hunters and surviving the Louisiana swamps along the way. Peter eventually joins the Union Army. During a medical examination, his bare back, which had scars on it from a near-fatal whipping at the hands of his former plantation’s overseer, was photographed. The Independent published the photo, undoubtedly proving the cruelty and barbarity of slavery in America.
Fuqua directed and executive produced Emancipation from a script by William N. Collage. The film is produced by Smith and Jon Mone through Westbrook Studios, Joey McFarland through McFarland Entertainment and Todd Black through Escape Artists. Chris Brigham, James Lassiter, Heather Washington, Cliff Roberts, Glen Basner and Scott Greenberg are executive producing.
Saturday Night Live‘s season 48 opened with Miles Teller and Andrew Dismukes in a “ManningCast” sketch, humorously analyzing the show — from what the cast is doing right and wrong in their jokes to the many departures. The premiere also featured guest appearances from Jon Hamm and Shaun White.
Throughout the opening bit, Teller (playing former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning) and Dismukes (as brother Eli Manning) touched on some of the biggest news from the last few months while SNLwas off, like the raid at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, how her corgis are probably happy not to be going to Prince Andrew and more.
“There were a lot of changes at the show, which could be exciting. Let’s see what they spent the entire summer coming up with,” Teller says. “We’ve got an establishing shot of Mar-a-Lago,” Dismukes replies. “Oh, good. Trump skit. Way to mix it up,” Teller quips.
Their back-and-forth leads into a skit where James Austin Johnson’s Trump is advised not to be hiding during a hurricane, featuring Heidi Gardner impersonating the governor of South Dakota.
“A political impression nobody asked for,” Teller says. “What about a fun impression, like Anthony Fauci? or Lindsey Graham? Or Rudy Giuliani?” To which Dismukes responds, “Those were all Kate McKinnon,” poking fun at one of the many cast exits SNL faced at the end of season 47.
After breaking down the cold open’s stats, Teller pointed out that it’s going to be a year of change for the sketch comedy series, before introducing Hamm, his Top Gun: Maverick co-star and three-time SNL host.
When asked what his thoughts are on the cold open, Hamm said he doesn’t know what he’s been looking at, but “it’s not comedy.”
“They haven’t even used Kenan [Thompson] yet,” Hamm continued. “That’s like putting a whole team of Elis on the field when you’ve got Peyton sitting on the sidelines.”
The season opener marked the first episode after one of the biggest SNL cast shake-ups in history, with eight members from last season’s ensemble no longer on the show. Repertory players McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd and Melissa Villaseñor, as well as featured performer Aristotle Athari, all left SNL between seasons.
To fill out the cast some more, Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney and Michael Longfellow are also joining the show, which still leaves SNL with a net loss of four performers and is the biggest change to the size of the cast in almost a decade.
With the industry returning to somewhat normal, SNL season 48 will be a “transition year” Lorne Michaels said, with long-time players like Thompson, Gardner, Cecily Strong, Mikey Day, Michael Che and Colin Jost providing continuity.
The Fall season has returned and it came in with some big monumental performances. There will be no shortage of phenomenal performers for all of you to nominate. Who will get enough nominations to make it to voting?
If you are new to this feature, please read the 2022 rules.
2021 Staff Choice Performer of the Year:Kate Winslet 2021 Readers’ Choice Performer of the Year:Danielle Savre
January 2022 Winners:
February 2022 Winners:
March 2022 Winners:
April 2022 Winners:
May 2022 Winners:
June 2022 Winners:
July 2022 Winners:
August 2022 Winners:
Please note that a performer can now only win once per year and a show can only be represented by two winners per year. No exceptions will be made for any performer or show, so please use thoughtful consideration when making your nominations. You will have to fill out the submission form for each nominee you submit. You can submit the document up to 5 times, but each entry must be for a different performer or all of your other nominations will be disqualified. The Top 5 most nominated actresses and Top 5 actors will be placed in the poll next week to determine the Readers’ Choice Performer of the Month.
After you place your nominations take a moment to use the comments section to discuss your nominees with others. Episode number for the nominees is critically important, so discuss with others why you think a performer deserves to be recognized for a certain performance.
With Tori Anderson winning in March and Yasmine Al-Bustami’s win in May, NCIS: Hawai’i performers will not be eligible for the rest of 2022. The eligibility for the show’s performers will resume starting with the first round in 2023. Both actresses will have one additional chance to win during the 2022 Performer of the Year competition.
Nominations will run until October 3rd at 6 pm ET. The poll will post on October 4th at 6 pm ET.
Enter the episode number as 101 or 1.01. Either will work on the form and both will be accepted.
Please take note that any performer that won earlier in the year is no longer eligible for the rest of 2022, so please take note of the above list of winners before placing your nominations.
NYFF: Danielle Deadwyler gives a heartbreaking performance as Emmett Till’s mother Mamie, but little else in this uneven historical drama matches her passion.
In the summer of 1955, doting mother Mamie Till Bradley — with significant trepidation — sent her only child, 14-year-old Emmett (AKA “Bobo” or just “Bo”) for a family visit to Mississippi. Mamie had left the Delta long ago, her Emmett born and raised in Chicago. He was a real city kid, a spunky Northerner who used his charm to deflect from a stutter that was a relic from an early battle with polio. Emmett was in Mississippi for less than a week before he was kidnapped, beaten, murdered, and tossed into a river — a lynching, let’s not mince words — forever changing the course of both Mamie’s life and the American civil rights movement.
What set Emmett’s murder and Mamie’s crusade apart from other lynchings of the time — of which there were many — was Mamie’s fierce dedication to showing, quite literally, what a pair of white Mississippi men (and, perhaps, others) had done to her boy. Showing Emmett’s desecrated body at his very public funeral, a ruined, bloated, mutilated shell of the vibrant child, was a non-negotiable for Mamie, and it’s the same for Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till,” which offers a lightly dramatized version of Emmett and Mamie’s story, one that only comes to life when daring to be as fierce, as confrontational, and as passionate as the real Mamie.
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Chukwu, her actors, and the craftspeople don’t flinch in the recreation of young Emmett’s corpse for the film — a horrible sentence to write, but that’s the point. Their approach is more than admirable: It’s ambitious, necessary, and it’s the most bold expression “Till” is willing to make. No film about Emmett and Mamie would be complete, would be truthful without it, but 0ther story beats in “Till” don’t follow suit. Chukwu’s film occasionally unleashes rage, but much of “Till” feels as if it’s pulled from the innumerable mild-mannered biopics about other historical events that preceded it.
Written by Chukwu, Michael Reilly, and “The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till” documentarian Keith Beauchamp, “Till” strives to deliver a warm family backstory, a tick-tock of the horrible events that led up to Emmett’s murder, and a rage-inducing courtroom drama all in one. Each element comes up short, though star Danielle Deadwyler (who offers real nuance in her portrayal of Mamie) unquestionably delivers, as does her charming supporting performer, Jalyn Hall as the bright-eyed Emmett.
The film, Chukwu’s first since her heartbreaking and finely tuned Sundance winner “Clemency,” opens with appropriate unease: Emmett wants to go to Mississippi, but Mamie can’t shake the feeling that it’s a bad idea. It’s not just mother’s intuition; it’s the steady uptick in racist incidents, even in Mamie’s daily life in Chicago, that rankle, as does the sense that her confident son doesn’t understand the rules of the Jim Crow South. (It is also in Abel Korzeniowski’s dissonant score, which rings out whenever Mamie feels a prickle of worry.) Alas, she relents. Bo is a good boy, he’ll be with family, and he so wants to see where his mother came from.
“Till”
UAR
When Bo arrives in Mississippi, we already know enough about him, thanks to Hall’s charismatic performance as the young teenager (bolstered by a strong bond with Deadwyler’s Mamie) to care about him — and to dread what is to come. The interaction that led to Bo’s lynching — a run-in with a local white store owner, played chillingly by Haley Bennett — is deftly handled, though everything that follows is delivered in a dreamy, hazy fashion that obscures many hard facts. Chukwu chooses not to show Bo’s beating; it’s only heard. It’s a respectful decision, but it’s one that doesn’t stand up when cast against Mamie’s righteous fury in its aftermath.
As Deadwyler tells us before Bo’s funeral, when she demands his body be shown and is asked why: “We have to.” The film’s most powerful beats embrace that reasoning: We have to show Bo’s body, we have to force everyone to see it, we have to endure Mamie’s heartbreaking testimony (done in a remarkable single take that screams “Oscar!” for Deadwyler, and rightly so), we have to confront how very ugly, how very sick, how very wrong this all is.
As the late, great James Baldwin wrote: “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” The things that made Emmett Till’s lynching possible, the things that made Carolyn Bryant’s indignation possible, the things that made Roy Bryant and JW Milam’s kangaroo “trial” possible, every horrible incident of racism both before and after Emmett Till, all of that must be faced first — and “Till” only succeeds when it embraces that ethos.
Danielle Deadwyler in “Till”
screenshot/Orion
While Deadwyler turns in a remarkable performance as Mamie, beautifully calibrating her love and anger in one riveting package, the rest of “Till” is prone to trope-ridden, predictable sequences that do little to advance her story or Emmett’s legacy. They flip by, padding a story that is at its best when it’s lean, when it’s mean. The pacing is loose, the timing flabby, every set feels artificial (does no one live in these houses? work in these stores?), and most conversations feel expository, pushing along a story that shouldn’t require such additions.
Mamie meets other key members of the civil rights movement who only reveal their true identity via hammy dialogue. Medgar Evers (Tosin Cole) is introduced with a wink, in a film that does not need any. A key witness is rounded up in the middle of the night, oddly breaking the film’s perspective for little dramatic payoff (it happens again, and with worse results). Mamie speaks at a boisterous rally about the need for everyone to join the fight against racism, then heads home to her lonely house and cries.
We have seen images like this before, and that’s the problem with “Till.” We need to see something more, something harder, something meaner, something more honest, something that doesn’t fit the genre restraints of historical biopic dramas. Emmett and Mamie demand more than that. When “Till” recognizes this, it’s as necessary as any other piece of art made on the subject, but too often it turns away from the very horror it has to face.
Grade: C+
“Till” premiered at the 2022 New York Film Festival. United Artists Releasing will release it in theaters on Friday, October 14.
It’s been a half-decade since 2017’s American Dream, and LCD Soundsystem have been coaxed into finally releasing new music by Noah Baumbach, who commissioned the band to make a single for his Netflix adaptation of Don DeLillo’s White Noise. Like LCD hits of yore, “new body rhumba” is a geometric, cowbell-friendly dance-punk track that looks warily at modern society. Over a jagged guitar loop, clapping percussion, and wiry synths, James Murphy bellows about the capitalist desire for more, more, more (“I need a new body/ …to represent my needs”), mocking a world of fast-casual salads and temp gigs. (“Would you like to add a protein?/Would you like to ask me about my day rates?”) Five minutes in, the song plunges into a swirling electronic dreamscape, guided by crescendoing chords and starry synths. Murphy gazes at the light on the other side of eternity, his tone softening from bitterness to acceptance.
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Select Festivals: True/False, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Sydney
About: Spurred by the spectacle of a circus tent that goes up outside his Oakland apartment, a disabled filmmaker launches into an unflinching meditation on freakdom, (in)visibility, and the pursuit of individual agency.
Indonesian police said 127 people died and 180 others were injured in a stampede following a soccer game Saturday evening.
Among the dead were 125 civilians and two police officers, East Java Police Chief Nico Afinta told reporters. They suffered breathing problems and suffocated as they tried to exit the stadium, he said.
Thirty-four people died at the scene, Afinta said, and the rest died at hospitals.
“Mass commotion” followed the match, and the number of those killed was still being determined, the soccer league, Liga 1, said in a statement.
The stampede occurred after the home team, Arema FC, lost to Persebaya, at which point dozens of fans stormed the field, according to local media reports.
Videos showed fans scattered across the field as loud bangs and clouds of smoke erupted in the arena. Uniformed officers carrying riot shields were seen chasing down fans on the field and beating them with batons.
Matches were suspended for a week, the league said. “Hopefully this will be a valuable lesson for all of us,” said the head of the league, Akhmad Hadian Lukita.
Bruce Willis’ team is dismissing the notion that the star sold his digital likeness to a deepfake company.
Recent media reports, including one from The Telegraph, suggested that the actor sold his rights to Deepcake to authorize the creation of a “digital twin” of himself to appear in projects following the announcement that he has stepped away from performing. Although reports stated that this made Willis the first Hollywood personality to set up this type of deal, his team denies the existence of any such arrangement.
In a statement shared to The Hollywood Reporter, Willis’ representative said that he “has no partnership or agreement with this Deepcake company.”
A publicist for Deepcake confirms to THR that Willis’ digital-likeness rights cannot be sold, as they are his by default, and that the company’s involvement with the star was set up through his representatives at CAA. Deepcake’s spokesperson explains that their company created his digital twin for 2021 ad campaigns, and that any future use of the likeness would be up to Willis.
Deepcake’s website touts the company’s digital-twin technology as an ability for A-list actors to virtually include their likeness in marketing campaigns without the need to physically appear in front of the camera. The site prominently features quotes attributed to Willis about a 2021 commercial that aired in Russia for mobile phone carrier MegaFon.
“I liked the precision of my character,” Willis said, according to the quotes on the Deepcake site. “It’s a great opportunity for me to go back in time. The neural network was trained on content of Die Hard and Fifth Element, so my character is similar to the images of that time.”
In March, Willis’ family posted a statement to social media to announce that the star would be “stepping away” from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia, which had impacted his cognitive abilities. Aphasia is a disorder that limits the ability to understand or express speech.
Bella Hadid had a dress sprayed onto her body during last night’s finale of the Coperni fashion show for Paris Fashion Week, stunning those in attendance. And now video fo the moment is making the rounds.
The 25-year-old model took the runway in only a pair of heels and underwear, holding her breasts in her hands for two men to spray paint white latex onto her body, so that she eventually got dressed in front of a live audience. Synth music accompanies the formation of the gossamer gown as the transfixing video below shows.
It wouldn’t be Paris Fashion Week without a major gasp moment – and the Coperni SS23 show concluded in the most spectacular fashion with Bella Hadid acting as a human mannequin for a spray-on dress that was fashioned before the audience’s eyes. pic.twitter.com/nroyqo9qdK
The final look, which took 15 minutes to create, consisted of a midlength gown with off the shoulder sleeves, in which Hadid walked off the runway. A woman cut a slit in the skirt of the dress and pulled the sleeves down off of Hadid’s shoulders.
THIS! Is by far the most interesting part that has been cut out from everyone! Why isn’t anyone seeing this part of Bella Hadid & the spray-on dress at #Coperni: can you imagine the pressure not ruining the dress while it’s wet & everyone watching ?❤️ pic.twitter.com/r6Zcpay9tf
The Cut also detailed how the dress exhibit came to be, all starting with a can of silly string and a man named Dr. Manel Torres.
“I thought I could create a mist,” he said in a 2013 TED Talk. “That was the eureka moment.”
According to People, Manel Torres, PhD, inventor of the spray-on fabric, and other specialists surrounded Hadid to make the vision come to life. The fashion show took place in the Salle des Textiles at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris.
“We wanted to dedicate this moment to Dr. Torres, because we respect what he does so much,” Coperni’s Arnaud Vaillant told Vogue. “We felt that it was absolutely necessary that he led the performance – to us, that makes the experience even more magical.”
Vaillant and Meyer also told Vogue how the concept behind the viral video reaffirms their “celebration of women’s silhouettes from centuries past” while also “updating their aesthetic in a scientific way” as well.
The French brand has previously used DIY fashion in the form of hand-blown glass objects that accessorize celebrities like Doja Cat on red carpets, as mentioned in Glamour.
Hadid shared a slideshow of photos of the dress in formation (which you can view below) — evolving from gossamer threads almost like cobwebs to a solid flowy white material — as well as its duration throughout the night.
Madame Sylvia Wu, whose Santa Monica Chinese restaurant served generations of Southern Californians and many celebrities, died on Sept. 29 at 106, her family confirmed.
In her later years, Wu stayed in the West side’s mind with cookbooks, television shows, and charity work, particularly at the City of Hope cancer center.
Her restaurant was one of the first in Southern California to offer a stylized cuisine beyond Chop Suey (although she did cater to conventional tastes as well). She was a fixture at her business, even taking telephone orders for take-out while working the room.
Frank Sinatra, Mia Farrow, Mae West, Paul Newman, Princess Grace and many more dined at Madame Wu’s over the years. She closed the original Wilshire Boulevard restaurant in 1998, but then opened Madame Wu’s Asian Bistro & Sushi in newly opened Grove. That venture was not as successful, but Madame Wu remained dear to her longtime customers.
Survivors include sons George and Patrick and numerous grandchildren. Her husband died in 2011. The two had been married 67 years.
Godzilla Vs Kong Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri Director: Adam Wingard
Sequels are made because there is big money to be made. When you run out of sequel ideas, there is always the brainwave of clubbing associated franchises of the same studio, because there is bigger money to be made. If Batman can take on Superman, if Alien can fight Predator and rake it in, Godzilla Vs. Kong was waiting to happen.
The film literally goes for a monster kill in search of its pot of gold. The challenge here was obvious. You have fans of Godzilla, you have fans of Kong. The big deal always was to keep both the armies happy.
Calling the shots on the extravagantly expensive monster mayhem is Adam Wingard, who rose up the Hollywood ladder directing low-budget Hollywood horror. Wingard’s grindhouse background perhaps made him apt for the creature feature tone of Godzilla Vs. Kong textually. The filmmaker goes about juxtaposing standard big-studio pomp — in terms of CGI excesses and monster violence — with its core narrative idea to set up the visual entertainment quotient.
Creature feature as a genre doesn’t appeal to all unlike, say, superhero flicks, but it does have a huge and loyally audience base, particularly in the Asian market. On cue, the film’s extended climax is set in Hong Kong. Plenty of Asian characters flit in and out of the frames. With a pathbreaking storyline not being priority, the film’s focus was clearly on reaching out to diverse markets that will let it thrive in an era that welcomes inclusivity.
There are films where you can figure out the entire story watching the trailer. Godzilla Vs. Kong is a film that tells you its entire ‘script’ with one look at the poster. There is Godzilla, there is Kong. We have seen the two prehistoric monsters in individual franchises before, and we know their individual stories. The script of this film is about setting up an excuse to let the two mighty beasts fight it out, even as swanky Hong Kong crumbles all around them like an expensive toy city.
A lot of what goes on in the early hour is a build-up to the final fight. To give it an iota of logic, Wingard and company try setting up the story against a sci-fi backdrop.
Of course, when Kong the super ape and Godzilla the super lizard find themselves pitted against each other, neither can really be the bad guy. Screenwriters Terry Rossio and Michael Dougherty find the perfect ‘villain’ in the desperation to establish humans as the supreme species on the planet, even at the cost of destroying the two monsters for no reason.
The film rides a lot of sound and fury as mindboggling SFX brings alive the action overkill. It gets monotonous after a while once the monster action starts, although it is technically a brilliant film that should satiate lovers of the genre.
In a film called Godzilla Vs Kong, you naturally don’t have much to do unless you are either Godzilla or Kong. Most of the human cast is as much a spectator as the ticket-paying audience, once Kong and/or Godzilla hold centrestage (which is almost all the time).
For all its big bang execution, the film starts to fade from your mind even as you leave the theatre. After 113 minutes of an explosive experience, the lack of resonance is a downer of sorts.
UPDATE: Authorities have now upped the death toll from Hurricane Ian to more than 77, with an estimated 1,100 people rescued from flooding. Rescue efforts are ongoing, and officials warned that the death totals could rise as floodwaters recede in places littered with wrecked homes.
EARLIER: Florida continued the grim task of digging out from Hurricane Ian today, as authorities surveyed the damage and death totals from the devastating storm.
Officials said Saturday morning that they expect the death count to top 50 people.
Of the 31 people confirmed dead, 27 were from Florida. Four people died in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said Saturday. Ian headed northw Saturday across central North Carolina, now considerd a tropical cyclone. It was heading toward Virginia after hitting the coast of South Carolina.
Elsewhere in the state, things were starting to return to normal.
After being closed for three days due to Hurricane Ian, Universal Orlando Resort theme parks returned to normal operations today. Its “Halloween Horror Nights” will be open tonight.
Disney reopened its Walt Disney World theme park and Disney Springs shopping area in Orlando, Florida, on Friday in a “phased approach.” As of today, all four Walt Disney World theme parks are now open.
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park will reopen on Sunday, Oct. 2. Winter Summerland Miniature Golf and Fairways Miniature Golf will remain temporarily closed at this time. Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park is currently closed for the season.
The National Football League has scrapped its contingency plans to move Sunday night’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Minnesota. The game will continue to be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa as originally scheduled.
With just eight episodes of The Walking Dead left, the stakes are higher than ever.
The series returns at a breakneck pace as we delve deeper into the conflict behind the walls of the Commonwealth and the desperate battle for survival.
Pamela Milton (Laila Robins) is the leader of this compound, and she’s been left vulnerable for the first time following an explosive story in the town paper.
Robins tells TV Fanatic that Pamela is “determined” when the series picks back up because her entire family legacy is at stake.
“Pamela carries the weight,” Laila adds of Pamela.
“Carrying that weight has warped her personality a little.”
Laila doesn’t think Pamela thinks about her own mental health because she’s so focused on the Commonwealth and the responsibility she holds.
Mercer was tirelessly devoted to the cause of the Commonwealth, but he’s starting to put together the fact that some shady things are going on.
“He’s in a shit storm, and he’s trying to figure out how to solve it,” Shaw tells TV Fanatic of his character’s mindset.
“He’s got a lot of decisions to make. He’s got to start taking action at this point,” Shaw adds, noting that it’s time to make a move if he wants to save his family.
Eleanor Matsuura, who plays Yumiko, thinks her character’s mindset is similar to Pamela’s, but she also desires to keep everyone safe.
Eleanor believes that Yumiko has a pursuit of freedom.
“It’s like a real burning drive for her,” but Yumiko is on the wrong side of the Commonwealth and has been thrust back into a role she never thought she’d be in again.
“I think we’re seeing a full circle moment for Yumiko,” Matsuura adds.
“All of her past is coming suddenly into her future, and it’s like, how can she do the right thing here?”
“How can she do these jobs within these rules and fight for what she believes is right and fight to keep her people alive?”
“Yumiko has to use all of her tricks, and there are so many more things to unravel this season.”
Eleanor adds that Yumiko is pushed to the limit, but she always aims to do what’s right for her people.
Matsuura delved into playing this side of Yumiko in a world that’s filled with peril.
“As an actor, I’ve loved every second of it.”
“I spent the last few seasons covered in mud in the woods, getting covered in bites, and getting bruised,” she adds, saying that while there’s a great joy to that, the evolution of her character has been satisfying.
“I’m in a suit, chopped all my hair off, and I’m suddenly getting to play on a courtroom drama.”
Eleanor says it is surreal because she looked at her co-stars while filming these scenes and thought she was on a different show.
“This is The Walking Dead, right?” she recalls saying with a laugh. She says that it is a great privilege to work on the show.
Naturally, there are questions about how some of these characters would fare if they were back on the road.
Mercer’s situation is tricky because he’s built up this strong track record inside the Commonwealth, but his sister Max (Margot Bingham) leads what can only be described as a rebellion.
Mike believes Mercer would thrive if he had to go back on the road.
“He’s definitely a survivor and has all the tools to survive.”
Mike added that he thinks Mercer has survived so long because he has a purpose at the Commonwealth.
As for Pamela surviving away from a cushy community, Laila notes that she wasn’t a girl scout, so she might lack the skills.
“She’s a hunter, though,” Eleanor interjects, referencing an episode in which Pamela hunts with Maggie (Lauren Cohan).
“Yeah, but does she know how to put up a tent?” Laila responds with a laugh.
“Can’t you just see me for hours trying to put a tent up?”
“The soldiers may have handled that,” Mike offers.
Laila said she could imagine Pamela having a hissy fit about being unable to put up a tent and having no soldiers to help.
“I have a feeling she’d find some, though. Even out on the road, she’d quickly assemble some stuff and a group,” Eleanor says, noting that “we’ve all been led by Pamela Milton.”
“She might be able to pull it together, but she wouldn’t be a happy camper. Let’s put it that way,” Laila says of Pamela in the great outdoors.
Undoubtedly, there is a lot of excitement about the final season, so I asked the cast how the series finale would challenge expectations.
Eleanor believes that ending a show after such a long time naturally leads to many expectations.
“This show has a huge following,” she warns, adding that living up to everyone’s expectations is tough.
“The only thing I can say is that it will go places you don’t imagine it to go to.”
“You think you might know how it ends, but I don’t think you do. I don’t think anyone will ever guess how it goes.”
“Even though it is the end of the main series, the universe is still thriving,” but the star says this is a definite end to this chapter.
Eleanor said making every viewer happy is tough, but plenty of spinoffs on the horizon will give fans the option of which characters to follow.
Laila spoke about the conclusion of The Sopranos because there was a lot of debate about how it wrapped up.
“In some ways, it was perfect,” but it all comes down to the person watching and their expectations, she notes.
The Walking Dead returns Sunday at 9 p.m. on AMC and AMC+.
Return to TV Fanatic for more TWD interviews ahead of the premiere and as the series is airing.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
“Real Time” host Bill Maher has no complaints about President Joe Biden when it comes to him getting things done. He does, however, worry that Vice President Kamala Harris might prove a sticking point when it comes to a 2024 re-election, going as far as to suggest she be replaced on the Democratic ticket.
On Friday night’s “Real Time,” Maher and his panel – The Atlantic writer Caitlin Flanagan and CNN commentator Van Jones – discussed the successful track record thus far in Biden’s presidency. Maher argued against some Democrats saying Biden’s age come 2024 puts him in a vulnerable place for re-election.
“It’s very hard to take the nomination away from the president,” Maher said. “What I could see is replacing the vice president because she’s not very popular anywhere. And it didn’t seem to work out. And I don’t know. That’s been done before in a ticket.”
Flanagan agreed, saying of Harris, “In addition to being, for some reason, an off-putting person, she also has, I think, a lot of baggage that probably wouldn’t do well under a lot of scrutiny.”
“I just think she’s a bad politician. And I don’t…I mean…I don’t think…I think she’s a very bright person,” Maher stumbled. “But I can see them doing that because a lot of the problem with Biden being old is, ‘Oh, if he dies then you know you’re gonna get this person.’ OK, so here’s the problem with the Democratic party. They’re so boxed in by identity politics that you cannot conceive of a Democratic ticket that doesn’t have a woman and person of color on it. And pretty soon you’re gonna line up behind that gay Latino and you’re gonna have to have, you know, a deaf Eskimo be the…”
Jones pointed out that both sides play that “identity politics” game.
“You talk about identity politics. Joe Biden is an example of identity politics. Joe Biden is an example of Black voters saying, ‘We think we need to put a white guy in here.’ And nobody says he’s an identity politics guy. [Former Vice President Mike] Pence, how do you get Pence? You have [Donald] Trump, who is not the most saintly guy in the world, needs somebody who identifies as a conservative Christian. He goes and gets Pence. So politics is about identity. That’s what it is. But whenever there’s a person of color or a woman, we say, ‘Well, that’s identity politics.’ It’s all identity politics.”
Maher, of course, did throw in some humor to the serious topic — as he usually does – hitting back at those who come down on Biden because of his age.
“Would I like to have great wisdom in the body of a 20-year-old? Yes,” he said, adding that everybody would. “I admit, he is gonna have trouble in the debate. Debates are gonna look bad. Prepare for it now. There’s gonna be some senior moments. OK, he could show up without pants. That’s true.”
But, Maher went on, “It doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with running the country.”
In Elena Avdija’s documentary “Stuntwomen,” which is world premiering at Zurich Film Festival, you don’t just become a stuntwoman: you have to work for it. Virginie Arnaud, Petra Sprecher and Estelle Piget certainly do, but they don’t always get to showcase their skills.
“Cinema has a fascination with sexist violence. We like to see women suffer, getting kidnapped or raped,” Avdija tells Variety. These are the scenes her protagonists are usually asked to portray.
“What we see on the screen influences our society and our way of thinking. Seeing sexist violence normalizes it in our minds. We need to find new ways of talking about it and Michaela Coel’s ‘I May Destroy You’ is a great inspiration.”
Petra Sprecher, who is also an actor, was recently spotted in “Westworld” and “Lovecraft Country.” Arnaud worked as a stunt coordinator on Séries Mania-selected series “Syndrome E” and “Hors Saison,” while Piget appeared in Quentin Dupieux’s Cannes curio “Smoking Causes Coughing,” and soon will be seen in “The Three Musketeers: Milady.”
But the professional stunt industry is still a man’s world, observes the helmer, with few women able to access it. Those who do, especially in Europe, are stuck playing victims.
“The European market isn’t as crazy about action spectacles. The best stunts are in comedies, but in comedies women still wear high heels and play dumb. Then we have more realistic films, but sometimes it means [scenes of] domestic violence, basically.”
“Virginie used to laugh, saying: ‘There is no work in love stories, unless they turn sour.’”
For some, replaying such violent interactions can be triggering.
“I think one in three women has been assaulted in her life. Virginie implies that if you go through something like that, it’s easier to play it. But others find it much harder,” she notes.
Avdija shows stuntwomen trying to make light of the situation, but sometimes, the lines get a bit blurry.
“When they have to play the victim and their colleague plays the oppressor, it’s a game. But I saw one man – he is not in the film – who seemed to enjoy it a bit too much. You never know when the game stops and reality begins.”
Virginie Arnaud
Those who want more from their careers tend to struggle to progress.
“Virginie is trying to focus on being a stunt coordinator, but it’s hard – this industry is a cartel. You have to belong to ‘the family’ to get certain opportunities. These guys, they didn’t really understand why I was focusing on women. They made it hard for me to film and hard for her to work.”
And yet they keep on going, eager to test how far they can go. Admitting that sometimes “it’s cool to jump into a void and not die,” even though their families may beg to differ.
“There is freedom in being in control of your body, in knowing exactly what it can do. I am not athletic, so I envy that. Also, we all know how it feels when our families don’t understand what we do. My family had no clue, all these years I was making this film,” jokes Avdija. But she remains pragmatic about what’s in store.
“There will always be work for stuntwomen, because there will always be stories about women getting hurt,” she says.
“I just hope that those who come next will get to have much better jobs. Maybe we just need cool female directors to write new kinds of roles? Stuntwomen are more than the characters they get to play. It applies to all of us, really. We are more than the chances we get sometimes.”
“Stuntwomen” was produced by Agnieszka Ramu, Marie-Lou Pahud and Ursula Meier for Bande à Part Films (Switzerland), and Cécile Lestrade and Elise Hug for Alter Ego Production (France).
“It was important for this film to be overseen by female producers,” adds Avdija.
“They really helped me find a language for the story based on these women’s experiences and traumas. One that wouldn’t just focus on their impressive physical capacity.”
Bande à Part Distribution handles distribution in Switzerland, and Andana Films is looking after international sales.
